"So what does he want?"

The question was spoken with casual nonchalance, but Orochimaru detected the burning curiosity that lay beneath, and he smirked, allowing a torturous pause to linger in the air before he replied. "Nothing that need concern you, Kabuto-kun."

Tension at odds with the tranquil environment of the lush riverside followed this statement, the silence between the two men punctuated only by the sound of rushing water and the chirping of birds. With just a quick sideways glance the Sannin could see hints of conflict on Kabuto's features, hints no other could pick up on. But he knew the boy well, and he knew what that crease in his brow and that subtle tightening in his jaw meant.

It was all he could do to suppress a chuckle. Oh, but he did take sadistic pleasure in tormenting the poor boy.

As expected, Kabuto replied defiantly, but in so measured and careful a manner that on the surface he retained a respectful tone. "On the contrary, Orochimaru-sama, I feel that as your right-hand man I'm entitled to the disclosure of your motives."

This time, Orochimaru allowed himself a chuckle as he sat languidly perched on the rock some ways away from where their new companion, the ever-stoic boy from Root, knelt by the water. Kabuto obviously didn't want to be overheard, and that was telling; after all, why should he care about this Sai hearing the contents of the message that he himself had come to relay? No, this was more personal than that, and they both knew it.

When he turned to face Kabuto, he found his medic's expression to be one of a plain dearth of any amusement, if not a little offense at Orochimaru's laughter. His smirk only broadened. "Really, my boy, I wish I could say that your level of sensitivity is surprising," he teased, "but that would be a lie."

Kabuto was visibly struggling to contain his frustration now, and his next words were blunter. "Danzō is someone with whom we are both very familiar, Orochimaru-sama. As such, I would like to know what you're plotting with him."

Ah. This was more straightforward than he would have expected of Kabuto, and, deciding to stop tantalizing and just indulge in a rare display of his brand of kindness, he said, "He has proposed a liaison with Oto as a means of overthrowing the current Konoha regime." He spoke more seriously now, but he couldn't help a wolfish grin at the thought. It was absolutely ludicrous. Hence his intrigue.

Kabuto frowned. Orochimaru wondered what was going through his head, but he couldn't possibly have been pleased. Indeed, his next words were laced with a bitterness that was almost like anger. "So much for doing whatever it takes to protect the village."

The simple sentence was a trigger of a memory shared between the two men, but their perspectives on the event were decidedly different, as Orochimaru mused in the ensuing pause. He behind Danzō—all the easier to stab him in the back, metaphorically speaking—and Kabuto, as usual, hiding in the shadows. Again Orochimaru smirked. So he did remember that meeting still, after all that time.

"Is the proposal legitimate?" Kabuto's voice, back to being cool and careful, pulled Orochimaru from his reverie.

Cocking a smooth brow, Orochimaru brushed a silky curtain of ebony hair over his shoulder, meeting the gaze of his right-hand man. "I have no way of knowing." Amber eyes gleaming gold for a moment, he lowered his voice to a murmur. "But I should say not."

Silence. Then Kabuto spoke again, and his tone was not inquisitive, but dry. Knowing. "You're making a game of the encounter."

"It was a game from the start," he said with a flippant wave of a pale hand. "My dear Kabuto, surely you know that."

Of course he did. The game of lies and deceit and ever-changing loyalties was one that Kabuto was all too familiar with, and he knew better than anyone how to play it. Orochimaru went on when the boy lapsed into silence. "I confess, this isn't entirely like you. I'd expected at least some interest in the idea, if not enthusiasm. Are you so put out with the old man still?"

The gross understatement elicited a ghost of a scowl on Kabuto's face, but his reply was characteristically cheeky. "If you expected that it would evoke such a response, then why did you wait until now to share the information with me?"

"So defensive," the older man practically purred, a wicked smirk on his lips. "I waited until we were alone because you'd never risk expressing these issues in front of a member of that organization." He gave a slight nod of his head towards Sai, whose back was still turned as he went through his things. "Expressing anything at all, really. I suppose that's understandable... Especially when that boy is so much more proficient at keeping his emotions in check."

The sting of this comment was apparent, but even as Kabuto quickly shielded it Orochimaru felt the slightest bit of remorse. It wouldn't do for Kabuto to feel inadequate for being unable to erase himself like the members of Root could when that inability was what he had sought from the Sannin in the first place, and he backtracked, speaking more gently. "We shall see in due time what Danzō has in store for us. I assure you, I am not keen on the idea of allying with him again. Sound and Root are not bedfellows just yet."

Orochimaru was not one to be dishonest for the sake of comforting, and Kabuto seemed to know this because he nodded, accepting his words as the truth. He was appeased for now, but he would not speak, and that wasn't good enough for Orochimaru. As his medic's gaze started to turn away, he grabbed ahold of Kabuto's face, nails digging into his skin, hissing out as the eyes of the younger man widened. "But I should hope it's clear to you that you are not to question my motives so extensively in the future. Do not forget your place."

Kabuto's throat constricted with a swallow, but he replied calmly. "Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama. It won't happen again." He was collected. Controlled.

Well, that was easy enough to fix.

"Good boy..." the Sannin murmured, and, slipping his hand to the back of Kabuto's head to give his hair a sharp tug (drawing out a delightful little gasp), he captured the boy's lips in a rough, bruising kiss. With little to no difficulty he thrust his tongue into the medic's open mouth, pleased at the breathless moan he heard as he savored Kabuto's familiar taste. It wasn't the most orthodox method of getting Kabuto to forget about his ties to Root, but as their teeth scraped together and their tongues rubbed against each other and the medic kept making those wonderful sounds, Orochimaru could easily say that he didn't mind it in the least.

With a low rumble from his chest, he sank his teeth into a soft bottom lip and licked away the sweet, coppery blood that was drawn as Kabuto moaned again. It wasn't often that they did this in an area so bereft of privacy, but that wasn't stopping Orochimaru as some uncontrollable base instinct brought his hand down to the bulge in Kabuto's pants, squeezing and feeling heat pool in the younger's groin through obtrusive fabric. Kabuto whimpered out his name and a fierce sort of desire threatened to overtake him at such submission, but...it was neither the time nor the place.

Pulling away his hand and breaking off the kiss as quickly as he'd started it, Orochimaru breathed in deeply and watched Kabuto, if for no other reason than to see him struggle to regain control of his senses as he resurfaced. There was some color to his cheeks and behind those huge lenses his onyx eyes were more than a little hazy.

Perfect.

Lips curled upwards in a smile that was positively venomous in its sweetness, Orochimaru said smoothly, not saying a word about what had just transpired and ignoring the flustered expression of the other, "Why don't you go join him? We'll be moving on soon."

Momentary confusion slowly turned to comprehension as Kabuto glanced towards the water, where Sai knelt, seemingly undisturbed. He started to give another nod to suffice as a reply but seemed to think better of it instantly, bowing his head instead. "As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." His voice was slightly hoarse, and he cleared his throat before straightening up, gathering his scrolls, scalpels, and composure, and walking away without another word.

Orochimaru watched him go, torn between fond fascination and amusement at the sight of his precious medic kneeling as well by the riverside. Fascination because of just how much more interesting Kabuto promised to make this unexpected sequence of events as it played out. Amusement because of how desperately he knew the boy was hoping that Sai hadn't, at any point during their "conversation," turned around.