Just a little break from Godchild/Count Cain. ^^
"You have to take your medicine, you know."
The snake Sannin's bandaged hands clenched tightly at the voice. That concerned tone was certainly becoming condescending, and it made his heart quiver…or what is just his aching muscles? "It never helps, you know that."
"It will eventually." Kabuto's sillohuette shifted from the illuminated doorway and disappeared, melting into the shadows of the dim room before moving to Orochimaru's bedside. The latter of the two eyed the other, especially taking notice of the gleaming glass bottle in his physician's hand. "You just have to give it time to stick, if you will."
Orochimaru avoided Kabuto's gaze, redirecting his narrowed, yellow glare to his hand. He longed to snap, to teach Kabuto a lesson about defying his master's wishes, but he was much too drained to do anything of the sort. Even talking was strenuous. "Well…"
Kabuto smiled and drew a spoon from what seemed to be his pocket, and for a moment he actually appeared quite humane. He tipped the glass medicine bottle above it, pouring a viscous liquid into it and offering it to Orochimaru. "Open up!"
"Ugh…" groaned the injured, not wanting to take the liquid at all. He was tired of it…tired of the taste, the texture, the way it slid down his throat like a thick snake, the side affects of exhaustion and loose-mindedness. But it couldn't be worse than the dull ache of his wounds now…in the long run… He sighed. "Fine."
Kabuto gently placed his free hand under his master's chin, carefully guiding the stubborn Sannin's head towards the medicine and tilting it slightly upwards. Eventually Orochimaru opened his mouth, and when he did Kabuto hurried to pour the spoonful inside. "There, see? That wasn't so bad."
Like the snake he was Orochimaru recoiled, forcing himself to swallow the vile substance and shivering violently. He struggled not to lash out and strike the nearest thing out of pure spite, but he kept reminding himself…this medicine will work. This medicine will work. It's helping already. He leaned back on his pale elbow and gritted his teeth.
The assistant set the medicine and spoon on a bedside table and turned back to his master, reviewing his condition with a trained eye. "Hmm… You need more bandages. Gauze or no gauze?"
"I don't care!" the other man snapped angrily, still trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth and flattening on his bed. Blood was leaking from his arms and onto the sheets, but that was the least of his worries.
Kabuto frowned, but then smiled and retrieved a roll of gauze from the table. With this he approached Orochimaru, already starting to unroll the sticky netting. He placed it on his master's chest as he knelt with grace by the bed, taking Orochimaru's left arm with care. "No need to get cranky sir, I was just asking your preference."
The latter's expression twisted into a cross snarl as Kabuto slowly peeled the bandages away the injured flesh, wincing as the skin stuck to them was ripped away. The metallic, sweet smell of infected blood rose into the air around the bed, and it took everything Orochimaru had not to yelp. "Just…hurry with it, Kabuto…!" he growled through clenched teeth.
"I apologize for any discomfort, there's just no good way to do this... We'll just leave the wound open for a minute so the wound can breathe, alright?"
"Why are you telling me these things?! I don't care, just fix it!"
"I'm working on it, Lord Orochimaru."
___________
Pain crept like sinewy snakes through Orochimaru's arms, winding a taut web of cord through his chest and roughly stirring his stomach as he rested. His muscles shuddered, his teeth and fists contracted on odd intervals, his skin crawled. He had a gnawing feeling that Kabuto was with him, watching him as he slept off his horrible pain.
It was an eerie dark, like he was in the recesses of a whale's gut. The air had a sickly smell to it, a scent that made Orochimaru feel sick to his stomach with every inhale…something like a mixture of blood and strong medicine, maybe even rotten milk. It was the same way as he had fallen asleep, but one thing was amiss, a huge difference than before…his whole body was completely and utterly numb.
"Wake up, Lord Orochimaru. Time for another dose."
He heard the viscous sloshing of the medicine he hated, the metallic clinking of the infamous deliverer, a rustle of sheets as who he assumed was Kabuto sat on the edge of his bed. Orochimaru let out a groan and kept his eyes closed…he decided to this time let the medicine come to him. With little effort he slacked his jaw, preparing his tongue and mind for the hideous tonic, even prematurely clenching his hands.
It came right as he thought it would, a river of thick syrup, but as he swallowed, he noticed… "…What medicine did you use, Kabuto? The taste wasn't bitter at all."
"Good! It's something of my own creation, I was so hoping you'd approve!" His voice was unusually chipper, bright and optimistic as opposed to his usual arrogant indifference. He sounded nearby, but Orochimaru still didn't open his eyes… Now that the dosage was over, he could go back to--
A roaring thunder arose in his throat, a burning that made him cry out in agony. His heart began thumping furiously, his nerves were destroyed and his chest seemed to be torn in half. He let out another snarling yelp, a cold sweat beading on his furrowed brow as his eyes shot open from the pure pain. "Kabuto, what the hell did you DO TO ME?!" he barked, looking around for his assistant. He still couldn't move his body…he was beginning to get worried.
"Don't struggle against it, my lord."
His contracted slits snapped to the voice's direction, a snarl contorting his features, but what he saw shocked him… It was none other than Kabuto, clad in a dark hooded cloak and holding a stained amputation saw in his hand. His jaw dropped, allowing blood to drip down the side of his mouth. "…Kabuto…what the…"
"I need your blood as well. My own tonic got your blood flowing… Not very safe, but I'm sure you won't care, will you?" Kabuto moved closer, a look on his face that suggested a deep-seated madness. He completed the walk, now standing over Orochimaru with a wide grin. "Now stay still. The less you move, the easier the procedure will be."
"Procedure?! What are you talking about?!"
Kabuto grinned wider and used his free hand to grab his master's shoulder, gripping it tightly with sharp fingertips. "Your skin… Your eyes… All hold your power. I want your power, Lord Orochimaru." He placed the saw's blade on the other man's upper arm. "Just stay still. It won't hurt much, I promise."
Orochimaru resorted to pleading, begging, trying to move his arms, but none worked. His voice became raw as the saw worked back and forth, back and forth, cutting into his numbed flesh with a grim grating of bone and muscle. Blood splattered everywhere, on the walls, on the two men's faces, on the bed, and it seemed like it lasted an eternity before the arm was completely gone.
Orochimaru lay in horrible, utter agony, his breathing shallow and his movements nonexistent. He was too embedded in misery to speak, to move, to even open his tightly-closed eyes. He could barely hear his assistant's cold laughter over his own flesh's screaming.
Kabuto circled the bed and grabbed Orochimaru's other shoulder, posing the saw in the same fashion. "One more arm, then we'll move to your eyes, alright? Just hang in there." The snake Sannin barely felt the procedure on the other side, still screaming, his body systems slowly shutting down…
___________
"Wake up, Lord Orochimaru. Time for another dose."
A hand was on his chest, shaking and applying gentle, light pressure on his ribcage. Orochimaru's eyes snapped open as soon as he realized the contact, and immediately his heart began racing as he sat up in his bed.
Kabuto was certainly taken aback as his master jolted awake, and he dropped the spoonful of medicine in his haste to apologize. "Sir, are you alright?! Did I hurt you?!"
Orochimaru hurriedly stood from his bed and backed up several steps, watching Kabuto carefully with contracted pupils. "You want my power," he gasped, stooping his shoulders and gritting his teeth as blood dripped from his mouth. His stringy black hair "You want to take my skin and my eyes, my arms, my blood!!"
The other man quirked his eyebrow and slowly began approaching the distressed Sannin, stepping as carefully as humanly possible. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. You just had a bad dream."
"What's in that medicine?!"
"Nothing harmful, on my honour."
Orochimaru's breathing slowed as he stared Kabuto down, first looking him in the eye, then boring a hole into the new medication's glass bottle. He was still extremely suspicious of his counterpart, but if he didn't trust Kabuto Yakushi, his own personal medic, then who could he trust? He kept his breath in as he lowered his shoulders, still staring concretely at the bottle as if it was going to bite.
The other man sighed gratefully, smiling and fully approaching him with confidence. "Good man. Now come on." He put an arm around Orochimaru and began leading him to the bed, looking at him with a concerned expression. "Let's get you some dosage, shall we?"
As Kabuto sat, feeding his employer the medicine, he thought about what he had said. His skin, eyes, arms, blood…they all had Orochimaru's power? He attempted to push the notion away, to never think about such sinful things ever again, but still…that plan held some certain appeal. And it would be so easy to pull off… Kabuto grinned and began unwrapping the Sannin's left arm. As he did, he couldn't help but take a good look at the injured arm… His grin widened considerably.
"What is it, Kabuto?" Orochimaru said with a pronounced growl, glancing at the ninja out of the corner of his eye.
"Nothing at all, Lord Orochimaru. Except…can you explain that dream to me once again?…"