"Uchiha is expected to arrive tomorrow, Orochimaru-san," said Kabuto. Orochimaru's eyes flickered over to his assistant.
"That's great. Does he have anyone else with him?" Orochimaru questioned.
"No, he doesn't. He is to arrive by himself. He was able to get away from the Jinjuriki. Kimimaro and the others were disposed off," Kabuto said, indifferently. Orochimaru didn't say anything. He didn't really care. Human losses didn't seem to faze Orochimaru.
"Oh, well. Where is Sayu?" Orochimaru questioned.
"She should be returning from a mission. She's been gone for a couple of days, but she's been rather worried about you," Kabuto spoke. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
"I want to see her when she arrives," Orochimaru hissed.
"Yes, Orochimaru-san," Kabuto said. He left the room, leaving Orochimaru alone.
Orochimaru sat unaccompanied in his room. The flames around him were flickering, barely illuminating the space around him. The flames let brooding shadows surround him, flickering and disappearing. His mind wandered over to Sayu, his little Sayu.
Sayu was like Kimimaro and the others, a tool. She was just an instrument, but he felt something for her that he didn't feel for the others. Sayu had captured his interest, more than anyone had ever. Sayu was his in a way that the others weren't, in a way no other would be, but she was still a just… another object for him.
Kabuto had said that she was worried. There was no need for her worrying. She didn't know very much of his jutsu, and he hoped it would stay that way. He wanted her unknowing and naïve. She didn't know that Sasuke was going to be used for his new body in three years. Orochimaru didn't want her to know. Sayu would never understand it. It would contradict everything she has been told. She would never know, and he would keep it that way.
He grimaced internally. He felt slight remorse for having someone so compassionate and innocent in his plans, plans that most people would find inhumane and dark. It was something that he should regret, but he couldn't fully. Orochimaru loved her, and that was his excuse for keeping her alive and unknowing. He should have never done this, but he had her mind, heart and soul.
Orochimaru knew how gullible she was. He influenced her into listening to him, to do whatever he wanted, just like everyone here. She was under his control, and she didn't even know it. She always would be, and she would never know.