Yo!

This is a piece of literature written for the time gap between Sakura's 'Haunting' to Itachi's Abduction. It shifts between the point of view of Kabuto and Orochimaru and is my rendition of what's going on in the background.

Hope ya like it. -

He'd always wanted an Uchiha body; thinking back he could even recall when his first strong desire for a lithe frame with black hair and blood red eyes was awoken. That time was when he first 'met' the young Uchiha Itachi who had joined the Akatsuki at the tender age of thirteen. At that point in time he had just begun forming the idea of creating an organization of his own, separate from the Akatsuki. A new village, so to speak. And he'd decided in that very moment, at that first glance from those cruel Sharingan, that that thirteen-year-old boy would belong to him, and no one else…

But his plans back then were not to be fulfilled. Uchiha Itachi grew stronger and stronger under the influence of all the older Akatsuki members and even Sir Leader himself; so much stronger that he'd surpassed Orochimaru in strength in a single year, forcing the elder to resign from the Akatsuki or else risk himself and his aspirations for the future when the Uchiha finally decided to retaliate against the snake charmer's earlier advances.

After that slight, he'd lain low for a period of time; bringing other, less significant young men and women to himself and forming his village without the body he so desired. It would be years, and a number of other bodies, before Sasuke would finally come to him… the only other remaining Uchiha. The boy was as proud as Itachi had been, and just as perfect, and so Orochimaru had felt then that victory would soon come to him… But it was not to be at that time either.

It seemed to be a generic trait of the Uchihas to grow arrogant when his or her strength increased, and Sasuke was quick to become unruly and difficult to tolerate… but Orochimaru was no fool. He let the boy grow as wild as he liked, feeding his power so to fuel the fire of vengeance that was Sasuke's one weakness. This weakness was one Itachi had not had, and ironically it was Itachi himself who created this in his younger brother… Sasuke had made it clear from the start that his body was of no importance to him once Itachi was dead… But still all this was not enough…

You see another cursed trait existed in the Uchiha bloodline, and that was the tendency of the Sharingan to damage the eyes and weaken itself over time with excessive use. It was rumored that Itachi's own eyes were even worse than Sasuke's had become, and the Sannin had been forced to question whether he would ever receive the perfect Uchiha body he so deserved after all this work. Why did he seem to be condemned to never achieve his goals? Either it was no Uchiha at all… Or one who was nearly blind.

Even his medic, Kabuto, was unable to help him in this predicament. The skilled, young man could not perform such a delicate healing as that which was required when dealing with the human eye. He'd have to find another way to heal the Uchiha eyes… perhaps another medic. It was finally time for Orochimaru to get his lucky break.

The negative trend of all the events thus far changed over night, beginning with a game that was meant only to humor himself. Through entering the dreams of a young woman he merely intended to torment due to her connection with an 'old friend', Orochimaru uncovered a memory of great importance to him… One that told him Itachi's eyes were no longer beyond his grip… They were whole again, and how so? She was a medic… capable of healing the human eye. And, thanks to her healing abilities, his dream could be fulfilled… a perfect Uchiha body… with perfect Sharingan.

But how to get those pretty red eyes that belonged to him in his dreams?

The medic was in company he dare not challenge on his own…

How to get her?

That was the question, indeed.

Kabuto had been observing the training from afar for a good few hours now. Not that he didn't have a more pressing task than that of evaluating the young Uchiha's fighting style, but because he'd been called here 'incase something should happen''. So much for that, this was all just wasting time watching the arrogant Sasuke miss his opponent time after time, but still manage to cripple the weaker fighter.

The medic observed in silence as the Uchiha used his katana, making a wide arc for the other's head to compensate for his bad vision and taking two fingers off of the other boy's hand. His opponent was quick to drop his kunai, sinking to his knees on the ground with a pained cry.

But, despite his chance success, Sasuke was not pleased, and he expressed his displeasure verbally, turning to his master and scowling before letting out his opinion on the matter, "Screw this training exercise. How am I supposed to kill an opponent if I can't see them, Orochimaru?"

His wounded opponent remained on the ground, crouching low and panting hard while clutching his injured hand in shock. Blood was dripping from between his whole fingers and onto the ground, and Kabuto watched the boy's frightened gray eyes dart between the two equally intimidating figures of Sasuke and Orochimaru. He turned to look between the both of them as well, and this is what he saw:

Sasuke still held his katana, its point nearly touching the ground as the blood he'd drawn from his opponent slid down the blade to pool upon the floor. His scowl had darkened, and the vestiges of his Chidori Nagashi danced over his form, letting out a shrill whistle now and then as it powered down.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was meeting his apprentice's sour expression with a smirk upon his lips. The Serpent looked tired behind those youthful lips and shining eyes, but Kabuto was the only one who knew the full extent of his master's weakness. He knew Orochimaru was dying, and that he had little more than two months before his body shut down completely… Of course that had never kept the elder man from pushing his borrowed bodies beyond their limits anyways.

Kabuto was brought to look at that boy again when he stirred, observing the fool shift to his knees slowly and get into a submissive posture. He must be waiting for a sign of dismissal from Orochimaru. The poor idiot had probably thought he'd been called down here for a personal training exercise, but instead he'd been turned into a toy for the Uchiha.

'Doubt he even knows his fingers are gone', Kabuto thought to himself before pulling his attention away. Usually watching someone as their last bits of hope were torn from them, leaving them merely waiting for a form of release, as this boy was, amused him. But this circumstance struck too close to home. He understood this kid's thinking processes; he'd shared them long ago… And he found no pleasure in watching his own suffering from afar.

Irritation crept upon him now as he tuned into the conversation between the two other men in the room. Sasuke was disrespectful and rude, even when his usefulness just might be coming to an end. Kabuto was not quite certain what Orochimaru's motives had been when he first took the boy in and began training him rather than switching bodies immediately. Even now his master was tolerating the boy's arrogance, just smiling in his way that said he was plotting…. It made the medic want to shiver, glad that look was not directed towards himself.

From where he rest against the far wall, Kabuto was able to hear their last comments to one another. Orochimaru was the one who spoke first this time, coolly responding to the other's heated remarks, "If you wish to end your training then do so, Sasuke-kun." The next part sounded more like Orochimaru-sama to him than the first, a bit of bite in the words, "But as of now, you lack even half the ability required to destroy Itachi. Do you wish to give up your vengeance?"

The cutting remark served to spur the young Uchiha into a moment of angry silence. Any mention of the elder Uchiha seemed to put Sasuke in a mood, the medic had noted. Orochimaru was quick to chuckle in this moment, he was known to enjoy bringing up hard topics so to watch others around him squirm. Kabuto also noted that the boy on the floor was smiling in a grim manner, perhaps readily amused at the expense of Orochimaru's favorite apprentice. But he gripped his hand tighter as well, his smile waning.

When Sasuke finally recovered enough from his fuming to speak he had to bite his tongue first to take the poison out of his words, asking as carefully as possible, "You can teach me to fight blind then, Orochimaru…-sama?"

Orochimaru grinned all the more now, pleased by his subordinate's quick return to more submissive behavior. But Kabuto shook his head, 'Idiot…' he thought to himself, Sasuke should've known better than to show so much interest. To do so was to give the elder man something to hold off on. The Snake smiled in a smug manner before saying, "It's simple enough, Sasuke-kun... But today's lesson has gone on long enough. I have other things to deal with tonight."

Heh, that's what Sasuke got… and the boy bit his tongue again so not to show how angry he was, for that would just encourage Orochimaru to take even more of his sweet time getting around to properly training him. The Uchiha noticed the soft chuckling of the boy on the floor and shot the other a sharp look with his Sharingan, though he looked a few feet off to the side of his actual target.

Well if he couldn't send a withering glare the other's way, then it seemed Sasuke would at least show off. Kabuto observed the young man as he tossed his head, mockingly wiping the blade of his katana off on his lower pant leg and sheathing the sword casually. He stalked off then, casting a glance over his shoulder at Orochimaru when he was nearly out of the room and snapping, "Same time tomorrow, Orochimaru."

He was gone at last.

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Now the injured young Sound eased himself slowly to his feet, biting down on his lower lip so not to cry out from the pain. Both remaining men in the room, one still hidden, watched him stumble slowly up to Orochimaru, who paused to look down upon him in an imperious manner. The boy was worthless, his one hand no longer able to carry a weapon…. And that was not mentioning any of the other damage that had been inflicted upon him… The medic could predict the other man's words before they came.

"Kabuto", Orochimaru called at last, attention turned away from the young man hunched before him, trembling. Finally the white-haired medic slipped out from his nook in the wall to float forward much like a ghost.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Take this boy, make use of him", the Sannin instructed in a detached tone, seeming to spurn the boy and ignore the gentle sob that escaped the child at his words. Kabuto nodded his head and took the other by the elbow, beginning to lead him away without another word, though he could hear the soft sobs coming from the Nameless Sound Nin and could predict the boy's thoughts, 'Am I so worthless to you, Orochimaru-sama?' Would be the first response. The disbelief resolved when he felt the boy's spine straighten and his gait become smoother.

The final thoughts before he closed his eyes Kabuto predicted as well, '…I will die if it will further your cause…' They all came to the same conclusion when it was their time… This was the effect the Sannin had on all his subordinates… The medic was disgusted each and every time… he was not controlled in such a manner.

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'Alone then', Orochimaru thought to himself at last before turning his head to eye a giant statue at the head of the room from behind which came a few soft noises, 'But not entirely alone.'

The Sannin stood quietly then, eyes following movement in the shadows and ears picking out the whispery voice of one of his vipers as the giant reptile slithered out into the light. This snake in particular was no more than fifteen feet in length, built like an anaconda with that wide head which it came to rest upon Orochimaru's shoulder by coiling itself slowly about the man and rearing up.

Orochimaru raised a hand to gently stroke the venomous beast's dark green snout, listening as it spoke in its hushed, serpentine language, 'Blind SSS-Sharingan, Orochimaru-sss-sama?'

The Serpent smiled faintly then, "You found the other Uchiha, did you not?"

The true serpent bobbed its head gently; intelligent eyes waiting for the explanation it knew was coming.

Orochimaru ran his long fingers along the eye ridges of the snake, murmuring, "He has Sharingan as well, the man you found for me, darling. Ones that can see… There might have been a woman there with him, she is the medic who healed his eyes when they were worse than Sasuke's."

'Why does-sss she not heal the other SSS-Sharingan?'

"Would seem much easier, don't you think? But Sasuke's Sharingan are not as developed. I want Itachi's eyes, I want the Mangekyou."

The viper listened silently, enjoying the petting it was receiving, but at last it lowered itself back to the floor, raising its head just a slight bit to answer, 'The medic was-sss there as well. The Konoha Council seems-sss to be retrieving her… The Kirigakure border is-sss where my master will find them.'

Orochimaru nodded his head gently, watching the serpent slide back towards the shadows from whence it'd came. But then something crossed his mind and he chuckled, causing his companion to pause and look back. "Kabuto would be waiting for you, darling. If you don't mind giving him what he needs before retiring."

The viper chuckled then as well, a soft, muffled sound, before lowering back to the ground and going in another direction, for the door and up the stairs, 'Yes-ssss.'

Now it was gone… And, the Sannin smirked; soon he would be as well.

If there were any of his tasks he did not like to perform, checking up on the young Uchiha's eyes would have to be one of them. It was simple enough to avoid the brooding adolescent at most times of the day since Sasuke tended to stick to his own room, but at this time of the week he was required to go to the boy himself.

The entire day Kabuto had been able to hear the angry Sasuke expressing his displeasure at having found Orochimaru had taken off in the night without saying a thing about his training for the evening. Now he had to go into the Uchiha's very lair to perform this perfunctory check up, which was always tied with a bitch-fest.

The moment the door was opened he could see Sasuke seated at his desk in the usual chair with his eyes glaring as best as they could at the floor. The medic came forward undetected until he stood just a foot before the other. The first thing out of the younger male's mouth was, "Where the hell is Orochimaru?"

Kabuto took his time in responding, building the tension as he positioned himself to the side of the desk chair and placed his hands in their usual places upon the Uchiha's temples. His chakra slowly set to work in scanning the teenager's eyes. Nearly a full three minutes had passed before, finally, he answered the other in a coded manner, "To visit an 'old friend'', is all, Sasuke-kun. He'll return by the morning, I'm sure."

He'd known this answer would irritate the other, and felt Sasuke stir beneath his fingertips as the chiding he'd gotten ruffled his feathers. The boy crossed his arms over his chest, huffing in an immature manner before speaking again, "He'd best take my training seriously, since he's not getting my body till I've killed Itachi… He's postponing getting what he wants, running around like he does."

The elder man said nothing in response to this, thinking instead, 'He's gone to see Itachi now… Why then, does he keep Sasuke? Itachi has the Mangekyou, but why switch them into Sasuke's body rather than simply keeping Itachi's? It would be less trouble.'

Sasuke did not seem to have noticed that his audience was distracted, continuing on with his complaints, "That snake's been wasting time, if he'd show up as much as he says he will then maybe the third Chidori I've been working on would be finished… He seemed to like it enough in the first place."

Kabuto picked up on these words as he came upon a realization on his own, the two connected, 'He works with Sasuke to develop new techniques… but he doesn't work on them for Sasuke… He does it for himself; he wants Sasuke's body… and his abilities.'

It all made sense now. Orochimaru had thought about this quite a bit, to have the body he'd been working on with Sasuke… and the Mangekyou he'd desired for so long… it all required extra work. He was going to get Itachi and transplant the more developed Sharingan into the younger body… Youth and Power, all in one.

The medic scowled then, he'd not seen it before… but Orochimaru was preparing for a lot more than just a new body… He was aiming for something permanent… This did not bide well with him. Sasuke's voice broke into his thoughts, irritating him, "Are you not listening to me, Kabuto?"

At last he could not resist the urge to put the boy in his place, venomously saying, "You speak of yourself as if you are the only one important in this place. Do you not realize that the moment you began to go blind, you lost your importance?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, meeting with Kabuto's as the younger absorbed the tiny bit of shock he'd gotten from the other's vocalization, which was a rare occurrence. The medic continued, "Your life is forfeit. Your goals don't matter! Orochimaru-sama will take care of you soon enough. Who do you think he went to see? Someone about you? No. Someone to replace you!"

Sasuke finally broke from his shock, his teeth grating against one another as he sat up and snapped, "I am not replaceable! You have no idea what you're saying."

Kabuto paused for a moment before drawing away with a sneer that went to show how little Sasuke knew. His parting comment was enough to chill even the Uchiha's blood as he began to the door, "Your eyes have deteriorated faster than expected in the past week, Sasuke-kun. Best start counting your days if you want to keep that arrogance up…"

The door slammed behind Kabuto, and the Uchiha was left angrily eyeing the door as he listened to the slow footsteps of the other out in the hallway recede. "Fuck you, Orochimaru needs me… just you wait, asshole."

He'd kept this body for far too long… Every joint was weakening. He could no longer digest food properly and so ran off of injections of pure glucose instead… His skin was growing leathery… His eyesight was weakening… All these things that were happening to him Orochimaru knew well. It was not a new thing for him to run a body till it shut down, though perhaps he'd not forced one to go on this long before.

He'd always had another body waiting for him before; ready to be switched out the moment his current one began to fail… but not this time. He didn't have the complete body just yet… though as he stood before the cell in Kirigakure, looking in on one piece of the puzzle, he was unable to help but feel it was all coming together.

"My 'old friend''", Orochimaru chuckled, looking towards the guard who had allowed him inside to see the unconscious Uchiha. The elderly man gave the Sannin a soft nod, having silently stood there the entire time to watch as Orochimaru turned his attention back to Itachi laying inside the cell alongside three others…

"The kunoichi is for the Konoha Council, then?" The Serpent asked, sizing up the crumpled form of a young woman with pink hair on the far right. He snickered and shook his head after a moment of consideration. "I'll just have to get her next time… but if it weren't for that little complication, I would think this were all too simple."

Another cold chuckle came to him and slowly his long tongue ran along his lips, "I'm so excited… Prepare the Uchiha for me then, he'll come now. Let the fun begin…"

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And that's where it ends. Merry Belated Christmas. -