A prisoner of Orochimaru is finally free. When she finally arrives home after four years, her smile is gone and her eyes hold only sorrow. Now it's up to a certain Hyuuga to relight the joy in the eyes of an old friend. Neji x OC

Warning: Major spoilers for the latest manga chapters

Chapter 1: Homecoming

"Where will you go now?"

"Home."

"How long has it been for you?"

"Four years."

"Wow, four years? It's only been two for me. I still can't believe he's dead, though. It seems too good to be true."

Kazue stopped in the middle of the path and looked at her companion, Yuka. She blinked her cold, emerald green eyes slowly and said bitterly, "Does it matter? We're free. We can finally go home. What difference does it make whether the bastard is really dead or not?"

Yuka let out a single laugh that was carefree, wise, joyful, and sorrowful all at the same time before saying, "You're right."

Neither girl talked at all for the next hour until they reached a place where the road branched off in two different directions.

"I guess this is goodbye. Time for both of us to rejoin the world," Yuka said, breaking the silence. "Look me up if you're ever in the Water country, okay?"

Kazue nodded and embraced the only friend she'd had since being captured by the Sound Village. Yuka whispered, "Don't worry, I'll come visit you in Konoha when I can. Hang in there, girl."

They parted, each going to their own countries; back to their own family and friends; back to their old lives. That day four years ago when Kazue left for a simple escort mission was still etched clearly in her mind. She had said a cheerful goodbye to her parents and siblings, promising to be back in a week. She hadn't seen them since. Kazue wondered what had changed in her absence. Did her family still own the resturaunt? Her little brother Tsukino would be graduated from the academy, maybe even a chuunin by now. What about her old teammates and sensei? Would they even recognize her? These questions and many more were pondered during the remaining twenty-four hours of her journey home. When she reached the gates of Konoha, she hesitated only a moment before entering.

"Morikawa Kazue reporting back from away mission," she said to the gatekeepers with a small bow as if no time had passed. They eyed her worn, grey tunic, pale, dirty skin, and lack of shoes suspiciously.

"I've been gone a very long time. I just want to go home," she half stated, half pleaded.

"Welcome back, then, Morikawa Kazue," said one of them. The other one grabbed a light jacket that was draped across his chair and tossed it to her.

"You look cold," he said simply. She thanked him, slipping it on and heading down the street towards the small resturant her parents kept; or at least they had when she had gone missing. Kazue smiled in relief when she saw it, looking exactly the way it had four years ago. It was about ten o'clock, so the place was empty except for a middle-aged woman with emerald green eyes, who was busy wiping down the counter. She glanced up briefly and said, "Menus are over there. The name's Koyami, I'll be your waitress. You want something to drink?"

Kazue was neither surprised nor hurt that she hadn't recognized her. She had been only thirteen when the Sound ninjas had captured her. Now seventeen, Kazue had grown a great deal taller and more developed in her time away from home. To put it simply, she had grown up.

"It's been a long time...Mother," she said softly. "It's me. I'm home."

Koyami turned around slowly, as if afraid to move too fast. Or perhaps she was afraid that she would turn around only to find that her daughter wasn't really there, that it was only a dream.

"...Kazue...?" she whispered. Their identical green eyes met. Kazue gave a small smile, and Koyami threw her arms around her in a tight embrace, sobbing tears of joy.

"Oh, Kazue, it's really you! I was so sure you were dead!" Koyami cried. After a few moments, she held Kazue out at arm's length from her, taking in the sight of her firstborn child. "Look at you, you're all grown up now."

"Koyami? You okay? I heard a shout," came a voice from behind her.

"Daddy!" Kazue exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father.

"Kazue?!"

"Our, baby's home, Tenichi," Koyami laughed happily. After a few more minutes of crying and hugging, Tenichi finally asked the important question.

"When you didn't come home after a month, the ANBU investigated. They said you'd been captured by some of Orochimaru's men. Is that true, and if it is, how did you escape?"

"It's true," she said, shivering at the memory. "I completed my mission escorting the politician to the Rice Field country. I was on my way home when I was ambushed. It happened so fast, I barely knew what was happening. They gave me some drug, and when I woke up I was in his hideout."

"But how on earth did you escape?" Koyami pressed.

"I didn't. I was set free," she explained.

"Hey...that's Uchiha Sasuke!"

Kazue looked up and saw the dark haired teen, accompanied by a white haired guy. Yuka nudged her and whispered, "That's Suigetsu from the Hidden Mist. They call him 'the second coming of Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist.' He's supposed to be a really vicious ninja."

"What's he doing here?" questioned another prisoner.

"Wait, Orochimaru's not with him... The rumor must be true!"

"Yeah...Yeah!!! He defeated Orochimaru and came to free us!"

Kazue's heart jumped. Could it be? Was he really gone? She had heard the whispers of the snake master's demise, but hadn't believed them. There was simply no way a boy of only fifteen could defeat one of the three legendary Sannin.

"Get real, you dope. There's no way Orochimaru's dead," snapped one of the prisoners.

Kazue lowered her head. He was right. It had to be just another rumor.

"Set free? But...how?" Tenichi asked.

"By Uchiha Sasuke," she told them. "Orochimaru is dead. He killed him."

"What?!" Koyami gasped. Kazue nodded.

"Really...? So what we heard about Uchiha Sasuke defeating Orochimaru was true?"

"Sure was," grinned Suigetsu.

"What's gonna happen to us?" asked a man to Kazue's left.

"You get set free. Duh," Suigetsu said.

"Y..you mean it?"

"Yep... Look at me. I'm free, aren't I?" he chuckled. "But before I let you out, I need you guys to promise me something"

"Anything! You name it!"

"When you get out, spread the word. 'Uchiha Sasuke killed Orochimaru and set us free,' and that 'he's here to bring peace and safety to the whole world.'"

Suigetsu chuckled and unlocked the cell. Kazue couldn't believe it. After four miserable years, she was free. She grabbed Yuka's hand and rushed out with the others. When she stepped outside, she had to shield her eyes from the brightness of the sunlight. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the light of day except through a tiny window in the cell she resided in.

Koyami and Tenichi decided to close the resturant for the day and took Kazue home, asking questions the entire way.

"Did they question you about Konoha at all?"

"Not really. They asked me my rank, and I told them I was new chuunin. I guess they figured any information they could get out of me wasn't worth the effort," Kazue responded flatly.

"Were you alone the whole time?"

"No, I shared a cell with about twenty other prisoners."

"Did they...hurt you at all, Kazue?"

"Yes."

Koyami and Tenichi exchanged worried looks and didn't ask anything else, perhaps afraid of the answers they might get. When they arrived home, Kazue let a small smile spread across her face.

"I didn't think I'd ever see this place again," she said.

"We kept your room the same as when you left," Tenichi stated, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That's good," Kazue nodded, then tilted her head in thought. "My old clothes won't fit me anymore. I'll have to borrow something of yours, mother."

"Of course, dear. Would you like something to eat? You look like you haven't eaten in a while. Did they even feed you at all in that place?" Koyami joked.

"Yes, but only enough to keep us alive," Kazue responded simply, with no emotion. "But yes, I am quite hungry."

"Well, what would you like? We'll fix whatever you want," Tenichi smiled.

"Could I have some soumen, onigiri, a plate of gyoza, and a glass of warm sake, please? Oh, and some dango. I haven't had dango in ages."

"Sake? When did you start drinking sake?" Koyami asked in surprise.

"They would give it to us as a painkiller. I acquired quite a taste for it, I suppose," Kazue shrugged.

"Alright, then. What will you be doing while your father and I are cooking?" Koyami asked. Kazue smiled slightly.

"Taking a long, hot bath. I haven't bathed in a very long time. In the Sound, they just hosed us down with cold water when we got too dirty."

As Kazue relaxed in the warm water of her first bath in four years, she thought about what she would do now that she was home. I should probably get back to training as soon as I can. I wonder how Nana, Hiroshi, and Koji-sensei are doing. It'll certainly be a surprise when I show up after four years absence. After a good hour of soaking, Kazue drained the water and wrapped a towel around herself. Hearing a soft knocking, Kazue opened the door to find her mother standing there with some clothes in her hands.

"I brought you some of my old clothes," she explained. Kazue thanked her and turned around to grab her old Sound clothes for her mother to throw away.

"Kazue, your back!" Koyami gasped, reaching out to touch the series of deep scars stretching across her daughter's back. "What happened?"

"Punishment from the first time I tried to escape," Kazue explained as if it wasn't a big deal. "Isn't this your favorite yukata, mother? The one you wore when you met dad?"

"Er, yeah. I always wanted to see you in it," Koyami said, taken aback by the sudden change of subject. "I'll-I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Kazue slipped on the simple, blue yukata and looked in the mirror. Seeing how much she now looked like her mother, the young kunoichi almost laughed. The only thing wrong with the reflection was her hair, tangled and matted, making her look like some street beggar. She'd have to fix that. Taking out a pair of scissors from the drawer, Kazue got to work snipping away at her hair. Inch by inch, black locks of hair fell into the sink like falling leaves. When she was finished, Kazue admired her handiwork. She'd taken off a good six inches of hair so that now the ends just brushed her shoulders. She gave herself bangs, too.

"Kazue, are you still in here?" questioned Koyami through the closed door.

"Yes, I was just cleaning up," Kazue replied, brushing the discarded locks of hair into the garbage. Koyami entered and laughed when she got a look of Kazue's hair.

"Your ends are crooked. You should've asked me for help, dear," she chuckled, picking up the scissors and sitting Kazue down on the edge of the bathtub. While she was trimming, Koyami noticed a mark on the back of Kazue's neck. Three curved, cresent shapes arranged like a pinwheel.

"What's this?" Koyami asked, touching the mark. She jerked her hand back, however, when she felt a sharp flare of chakra, like an electrical shock, shoot from it.

"The Earth seal. It's a cursed seal I got my first month in the Sound," Kazue explained.

"But what is it?" Koyami pressed.

"It's a way for Orochimaru to control those he gives power to. The seal allows the wearer to access more than three times the amount of chakra they have when they activate the first stage of the seal, and more than ten times the chakra in the second stage. The thing is, though, that the more you use it, the more you lose your free will until you eventually become nothing more than a mindless killing slave of Orochimaru. His followers choose to get the mark, but we prisoners had no choice. He used us to test the seals, trying to improve it. I think that was the closest I've ever come to dying, when I got the seal," Kazue finished casually, as if talking about the weather.

"What do you mean, the closest you've ever come to dying?" Koyami asked, disturbed by Kazue's apathy about being a test subject to Orochimaru's sick experiments.

"Once the seal is placed, the wearer has a one out of ten chance of surviving. I guess I was the lucky one. I was the only one out of the fifteen in my test group who made it. Would you like to see what it looks like?" she offered, but Koyami shook her head.

"No, in fact, I'm going to see the Hokage about getting it removed. I don't want you having any more connections to that place," she said sternly. Kazue nodded her head. "Okay. We can go see her after lunch if you want. I need to report to her anyway, in case she doesn't know about Orochimaru's death."

"Lunch is ready!" called Tenichi from the kitchen. Kazue hurried down, stomach growling eagerly.

"Itadakimasu," she said, seperating her chopsticks and diving in immediately. It had been two days since the last time she had eaten, and it showed. In less that ten minutes, she was finished, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. It suddenly occured to Kazue that she hadn't seen any of her siblings yet.

"Where are Tsukino, Ryota, Moriko, and Hanako? Oh, and did Tsukino make chuunin yet? What about the twins, they're graduated from the academy now, aren't they? Is Ryota in the academy now? I bet he'll be surprised to see me."

"Slow down there, kiddo," Tenichi laughed. "Tsukino is out training with his team, and yes, he made chuunin six months ago. Moriko and Hanako are genin now, and they're on a team together."

"We should warn you, Kazue, that there's a chance that Ryota won't remember you," Koyami explained. "He was only two when you disappeared, after all."

"Yes, I guess you're right. He most likely won't have a clue who I am. It will be interesting for him to suddenly have another sister. Perhaps it would be better for you to break it to him before I see him so he won't be shocked," Kazue reasoned. "Mother, do you have something else I can wear? If we're going to be walking around town all day, I'd like something a bit more practical."

"Hm, that's a tough one. Most of what I have is nicer stuff for work, and my mission outfit is in the wash right now. You might fit some of Tsukino's clothes, though," Koyami informed her. "He's grown quite a bit. He might even be a little taller than you."

Koyami got her a pair of chuunin-issue navy blue pants and a plain black shirt to try on. Thanking her mother, Kazue hurried up to her room to change. When she was done, she reached under her bed and pulled out a trunk with her name engraved in the lid. She blew off the layer of dust that had settled and stood up. Grabbing a book from her bookshelf, she gently shook it until a small key fell out, which she used to unlock the trunk. In it were all her old weapons, scrolls, and extra forehead protectors. She took out a hitai-ate and ran her fingers over the leaf symbol on it.

"They took mine away, along with all my weapons and my chuunin vest," Kazue said as she tied the hitai-ate around her head, sensing her father's presence at the door. "It's nice to be a leaf ninja again."

"You always were a leaf ninja, Kazue," Tenichi assured her, stroking her black hair. "Your mother said to tell you that the two of you will leave whenever you're ready."

Kazue grabbed her belt of weapons and shoved the trunk back under her bed.

"Are those really neccesary? You're just going downtown," Tenichi inquired. Kazue just shrugged and fastened her belt around her thin waist. "I'm never letting myself be caught off-guard again. Four years of hell is enough for one lifetime."

A few minutes later, they were off.

"We're here to see the Hokage. It's somewhat important."

"Have a seat over there. She's in a meeting now, so you'll have to wait a few minutes," said the tired-looking receptionist, pointing to some uncomfortable looking chairs with her pencil. Twenty minutes later, a door down the hall flung open and three younger looking shinobi (genin maybe?) flooded out, followed by a livid Tsunade.

"So next time you three decide to pull a stunt like that, I'll have you picking up garbage and walking dogs until your arms fall off!"

"Your turn," said the receptionist cheerfully, with a sucks-to-be-you grin plastered on her carefully made up face.

"Wow, I never thought she'd get that mad," said one of the three genin, a brown-haired boy with a mischievous face, as they scampered by. "I mean, all that for using my brilliant distraction technique on Ebisu-sensei?"

"I think she was more mad about the fact that you used your henge no jutsu to turn yourself into a naked female in the middle of a crowded public marketplace, Konohamaru," said the small redhead girl running to keep up with the other two boys, though she was laughing as well.

"Who's next?" shouted Tsunade as the trio rounded the corner out of sight. Kazue stood up, told her mother that she should wait for her to finish before she comes in to talk about removing her cursed seal, and walked into the office.

"Well, what is it?" she barked irritably. Kazue decided to get straight to the point.

"Orochimaru is dead, if you're not already aware, Hokage-sama. He was killed by Uchiha Sasuke," she said bluntly, not even bothering to introduce herself first. Tsunade didn't look like she had that much patience left.

"Yes, we are aware of the situation. Our intelligence informed us of it just yesterday. The fact that he is dead, however, is still highly classified and hasn't been released to the public. You told me 'Orochimaru is dead' as if you know this fact firsthand," Tsunade said, looking at her expectantly. Kazue nodded and explained, "Hai. I know this firsthand because I was there."

"Come again?"

"Up until two days ago, I was a captive of the Hidden Sound. I just got home this morning. Sasuke-san and Suigetsu of the Hidden Mist freed us after he killed Orochimaru."

Tsunade smiled at Kazue. "Welcome back, then. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do with your friends and family, so if there's nothing else you wish to say, miss...?"

"Morikawa Kazue," she filled in, remembering that she hadn't introduced herself. "There's a couple more things I need to inquire about, actually. Plus my mother wishes to speak to you as well, so I'll make this quick. First I'll need my name officially taken off the 'deceased persons' list, which I'm assuming I'm on."

The rule was that if a ninja has been missing for two years or more with no evidence pointing to them being alive, they are officially considered deceased. Though, knowing that she had been taken by the Sound, they may have cut that time in half. Not many people lived more than a year or two in Otogakure.

"Just how long were you there?" Tsunade asked.

"Four years."

"You survived four years under the mercy of Orochimaru? You must be a strong person indeed, Morikawa Kazue. I know the things that man does to his subjects. I want you to see the medical team for a full physical evaluation to make sure you don't have any long-term damage. I'll have your records changed by tomorrow so that you are officially alive and well and able to rejoin your duties whenever you decide you're ready. You said your mother has something to talk to me about as well? Go ahead and bring her in," she directed. Kazue ushered Koyami in. She looked somewhat nervous, apprehensive even, about seeing the Hokage. It was only natural, although Kazue didn't have any problems with it. She'd faced things a lot scarier than a grumpy Tsunade (which is certainly saying something).

"What is it you need?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, you see," she began, "Kazue came home with this...thing, and I want it gone. A mark of some sort. From...him. I didn't really understand when she explained it to me, but if it has anything to do with Orochimaru, it can't be good."

"So just what is this 'mark-thing'? You're not being very clear," said Tsunade with a hint of irritation. Rather than leave it up to her mother, who had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, Kazue turned around and lifted her hair up to show her. The blonde sannin groaned, "Please tell me that's not a curse scar."

Kazue nodded. Tsunade folded her hands together and turned to Koyami.

"I'm sorry, but I can't remove it."

"Why not?" Koyami demanded.

"I can't without risking your daughter's life. Normally, I'd seal it to prevent Orochimaru from activating it, but seeing as he's dead, I think it's best to leave it as is. It won't harm her, as long as she doesn't remain in the second stage for extended periods of time. In fact, it may provide a distinct advantage in battle if she has a good amount of control over it," she explained. "How's your control over the mark, Kazue?"

Kazue formed her hands together in a seal and allowed the black pattern of the mark spread over her, careful to make sure the curling, calligraphy-like lines stayed on just the left side of her body. She held it for a few seconds before switching to the right side.

"My control is sufficient, ne?" she asked, looking between the two. Tsunade nodded and dismissed them, reminding Kazue to report for her physical evaluation in the morning. The young kunoichi released the mark, and the lines receded back to the mark on her neck. Koyami paled beside her and quickly walked out the door with Kazue in tow. It wasn't until they were downtown when Koyami finally spoke.

"You know, if we hurry, we'll be able to catch your old teammates. They come to the resturant every day for lunch at about this time."

"That sounds good," Kazue answered, noting how her mother's smile didn't quite reach her eyes, as if forced. "I've been wondering what they've been up to."

They arrived outside the resturant and only had to wait a few minutes before four people, still sweating from training, rounded the corner, joking and laughing.

"Sorry, guys, we're closed today," Koyami grinned.

"What? Why?"

Kazue stepped out from behind her mother.

"Long time no see," she greeted. A girl with aquamarine hair and light pink eyes let out a high-pitched scream and launched herself at Kazue.

"Kazue?! Oh my God, it is you! We thought you were dead!"

"It's good to see you too, Nana-chan," she replied, hugging her old friend before turning to the others, a boy with long, rust-red hair and blue eyes, an older man in his late twenties with shaggy black hair and black eyes, and a third male whom she didn't know. A friend of Nana's maybe? The red-head clapped her on the shoulder and tousled her hair.

"I knew you wouldn't let those fuckers in the Sound village do you in, Kaz," he laughed.

"I see your vocabulary hasn't changed, Hiro-kun."

"Damn right, and I'm damn glad to see you, girl! You got tall, you used to be such a shrimp!"

"Language, Hiroshi," scolded the older ninja good-naturedly. "It's great to have you back, Kazue."

Kazue nodded. "Good to be back, Koji-sensei."

The fourth member of their little party, the one she hadn't recognized, cleared his throat and smiled, "So you're Kazue. I've heard a lot about you from the team. It's good to finally meet you."

"Arigato gozaimasu, but if you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but Nana cut him off, saying, "Well, when we thought you weren't coming back, we kind of had to... replace you... so, uh... this is Daichi."

"Good to meet you. It will be interesting working with you," Kazue nodded, bowing slightly in greeting. Koyami put her hand on Kazue's shoulder and said, "I'm going to head home so I can talk to your siblings when they get home. Make sure you're home before dinner, okay? Here's some money so you can go buy yourself some new clothes."

"Okay, mother. Thank you," she answered. As Koyami left, Nana seized Kazue's arm and looked at her excitedly.

"C'mon, we're going shopping," she stated enthusiastically, and began pulling her down the street. "Just like old times, huh? Remember that time we blew a weeks worth of mission wages to go shopping for new clothes? Then your dad got mad at you and said that you should've used the money to buy a new set of weapons, didn't he? Oh, and remember when we..."

Kazue partially tuned Nana's constant stream of talking out, offering a "yeah" or "uh-huh" every now and then. She supposed she should be relieved that Nana hadn't changed from the talkative girl she had been at thirteen, but at the same time she had expected her to act a little, well, older than she had four years ago. Kazue noticed that Hiroshi and Daichi were trailing behind them. They gave her a look that said, "You've been gone for four year, it's your turn to take one for the team."

At some point in the conversation, Kazue stopped dead in her tracks to stare at someone as they passed her on the road. It took a couple seconds for Nana to notice.

"Kaz?"

"Was that Hyuuga Neji?"

"What? Oh, yeah, that was Neji alright," Nana confirmed. "He made jounin, you know."

"My, that's...impressive," Kazue replied. Neji had been a friend back in her academy/early genin years. She used to practice taijutsu with him on occasion, since neither Nana nor Hiroshi were taijutsu types. Nana nudged her in the ribs, giggling, "He's pretty damn fine, ne? Even with that ridiculous robe of his."

Kazue, however, was saved from answering by Hiroshi coming up and demanding, "What're you two whispering about? No secrets now."

"I was just telling Kazue how nice it is to have someone other than you two buffoons to talk to," Nana retorted, making a face at the two boys. Daichi let out a small cough that sounded suspiciously like "gossip". When they arrived at the small shop, Kazue made short order of choosing several outfits, much to Nana's disappointment.

"Come on, you have to spend more time than that," she insisted. "And all you did was pick three of the same outfits in three different colors. Here, pick one of them to keep and I'll help you pick out something else."

Kazue, not wanting to crush her friend's enthusiasm, simply followed Nana's not-so-subtle hints on what "matched her eyes" and "brought out her complection" the best, until they finally walked out of the store with several bags of clothes two hours later. Kazue had changed out of her brother's clothes and was now in an outfit with a black kimono-style top with white trim with a pair of loose pants that were also black with white trim. It also had a white sash that tied around the waist that she could tuck her weapons into. She had to admit, it looked pretty damn good on her. Ignoring Nana's protests, she had also taken off her (brother's) shoes in favor of walking around in bare feet.

"What's the point in getting new clothes and looking nice if you're gonna walk around with no shoes like some country hick?"

"I like it," she had responded with a casual shrug. Coming to her defense, Hiroshi added, "Yeah, Nana. If she doesn't feel like wearing shoes, she doesn't have to, you dork."

"But-"

Kazue cut her off by explaining, "I haven't had shoes since I outgrew the ones I had on when it happened. I'm getting blisters from wearing shoes again, that's all."

Wisely, Nana said nothing. It was shortly after this that Kazue said goodbye to her teammates and headed home, inviting them to come by for some catching up over dinner. She was eager to see her siblings again.

Opening the door to her house Kazue's heart skipped a beat as she observed seven pairs of shoes scattered around the entryway, indicating that the entire family was home and probably waiting for her, plus one extra person. Hearing voices coming from the living room, she slid the door open and stepped inside. Every head immediately turned to her, making her the slightest bit uncomfortable. She swallowed once before uttering an almost shy, "Um, hello."

Her siblings merely stared for half a second before exclaiming her name all at once. The next thing she knew, she was being tackled to the couch by three bodies.

"Alright, you three. Get off of your sister," Tenichi scolded. "It'd be an awful shame for her to be crushed to death after just getting home."

After regaining the use of her arms, Kazue immediately scooped them up into a tight hug.

"Tsukino, Moriko, Hanako, I missed you guys," she said with a small smile, then looked around. "Where's Ryota?"

She spotted him sitting on her father's legs, looking unsure about the whole situation. Kazue got up and knelt beside the small boy, asking in a gentle voice, "Do you remember me, Ryota?"

In a careful voice he replied, "You're Kazue. I remember you from the pictures on the walls."

Well, it was better than him having no clue who she was, she supposed. Just then, Koyami stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kazue, dear. There's someone else we'd like you to meet," she said, stepping aside to reveal a small girl, maybe three or four years old, clinging to Koyami's legs like a life raft. "This is Kiku; she's your sister."

Shiori's Blurb:I've had the idea for this one floating around my head since the chapter where Sasuke "kills" Orochimaru (Haha, it's Kabuchimaru!). Well anyway review would be nice. Makes me feel loved.