A/N: Hey, so this chapter's all about the Sasuke factor. Had to line up moody boy's thoughts on the whole Naruto and "friend" thing...blah blah. Yep, so enjoy
Disclaimer: Lawyers are like mosquitoes...just horrible, horrible creatures. Don't own Naruto...nope. So go suck someone else dry!
Warnings:Now with 100 more gay sex Graphic violence, torture, rape, coarse language, sexual situations, disturbing themes (the psychoanalytical aspects of the inner mind) and BAD HUMOR.
Chapter Three:
" Illusions "
It was raining, Sasuke hated the rain. It was the smell. Rain seemed to bring out everything's scent, mostly wet dirt and greenery. To someone who had been confined to rock and earth for nearly three years, the smell was foreign and unpleasant. This was ridiculous. Why the three of them were out here standing in the rain, when their guests could easily just come and knock on the front door was something of a mystery. Then again, it would be quite funny if he became ill from this outdoor experience and the stupid snake lost his "precious" vessel. Sasuke frowned. No, most likely he would be personally nursed back to health by the creature.
" Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru chuckled. " You look positively disgusted."
" Hn." He wasn't in the mood for this. It seemed the entire day was against him. The weather was gloomy, the snake was in (unbearably) good humour, and his brother was coming.
" Do you sense him?" The Uchiha nodded. He coiled himself, ready to leap off in search, but the Sannin held his momentum. " Strange that I cannot," he hissed, twisting Sasuke's collar. " Are you sure you're not playing games, Sasuke-kun?"
" No, " he replied, careful to keep any emotion hidden. " There are four of them. Two coming from the west, two from the south."
" Our wards have just been tripped, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto informed, opening his eyes and shaking off the effects of the ninjutsu.
" They're not trying to mask their presence," Sasuke replied, removing Orochimaru's hand from him.
" I'm curious to know how you are aware of them," Kabuto sneered.
The Sharingan flared to the surface, focussing on the medical ninja. Kabuto flinched mentally and glared back. Sasuke smiled and held out his hands. A pair of small, non-descript serpents soon slithered out from under his sleeves, subtlety hissing at the silver-haired man. " Their clones have been watching the two teams since their arrival," he explained. The two reptiles then dissolved into puffs of smoke.
" You cloned summons?" Orochimaru asked, narrowing his golden eyes.
The raven shrugged. " Why not?" He knelt down, scanning the trees. " I would like to go meet them."
" Did you see which four of the Akatsuki are arriving?" The snake master inquired.
Sasuke shook his head. " Not by appearance. The snake's heat sense picked up on their profiles, however. Two I know to be Itachi and Kisame. The other two I do not know. One seems to have long hair and his air tastes of powder and clay. The other tastes of metal and wood."
Kabuto turned to his master. " Deidara and Sasori?"
" If it is them, this is going to go easier than expected," Orochimaru smirked.
" Why?" Sasuke asked.
The Sannin chuckled darkly. "They don't get along very well together. If they are more focussed on harassing each other, this'll be too easy." He paused, scowling. " Although your brother and that damn Sasori may prove resourceful."
" Itachi will be pre-occupied," Kabuto quipped, smirking at Sasuke. When he didn't receive a rise out of the young man, the medic nin's grin grew. " You look a lot like him in the rain."
The silver haired medic suddenly was paralyzed. His pupils dilated as the world around him grew dark and a horrible stench assaulted his senses, like some rancid creature was breathing in his face.
" Kabuto?" Orochimaru hissed.
" How-?" he croaked.
The Sannin turned to his soon-to-be vessel. " Sasuke!" he snapped.
The raven's eyes flickered and the snake master swore he saw the three tomoe spinning rapidly. Kabuto then screamed, clutching his head with one hand and clawing at some invisible threat in front of him with the other. The man was already drenched with sweat and beads of blood soon oozed from the pores.
He couldn't move. Kabuto stiffly tilted his head to the left and saw he was strapped down. Whatever he was lying on was cold, the surface biting into his exposed skin. The smell was what caused him to gag. It was a combination of rotting flesh and alcohol.
" Where am I?" He tried to shout, but his larynx was slowly closing. The metal clasps suddenly snapped down and a sickening crunch resounded in the empty room. The medic screamed as both wrists and ankles were broken, pieces of splintered bone piercing through skin to allow blood to run down the edge of the table. Despite the pain, the shinobi glanced around to what appeared to be an examination room of some kind. Jars of floating body parts sat in formaldehyde and ghostly florescent lights hummed and flickered.
A lab?
" Why are you surprised? Don't you spend enough time in here to at least feel 'comfortable'?"
" Sasuke," he growled. " let me out right now!"
The dark haired boy suddenly appeared before him. " You'll have to get out yourself, I'm afraid. This is the first time I've tried this on a human."
Kabuto started to choke, his throat swelling. " Stop it..."
Sasuke leaned on the table, watching. " Don't you want to feel what it's like to be an experiment?" The raven produced a thin scalpel, delicately tracing the man's jaw line. " Don't you want to feel the exhilaration of the first cut?" With that, he applied slight pressure and began to carve an elongated "U" shape starting from under the jaw to the collar bone. Kabuto shrieked, trying desperately to move his detached appendages. Sasuke peeled back the thin layers of skin, laughing as they caught on the strings of attached muscle.
" You know," he sighed, ignoring the cries of anguish, " if you hadn't made me study human anatomy day after day I most likely would have broken a few bones for torture instead of this. So in a way, this is your fault." Suddenly the throat passage spasmed and vomit flew from Kabuto's mouth. He began choking on the viscous bile and his body convulsed. The Uchiha looked disdainfully down to where the acidic stomach fluid had spilled onto his hand. " Enough," he said.
" SASUKE!"
The young man turned his gaze to his sensei. Orochimaru's skin seemed to burn under the crimson eyes, but as soon as the ordeal had begun, it was over. Sasuke squinted as if in pain, and he shook his head.
" How dare you!" Orochimaru's voice quivered with anger. He ignored Kabuto's pained gasps and grabbed the Uchiha's throat.
" Be careful, master," Sasuke smirked. " Itachi's here."
No sooner had those words been spoken, four figures cloaked in black appeared in the clearing. They were not dressed in their traditional Akatsuki attire and large hoods covered their features.
" Get behind me now," the Sannin ordered. " Both of you," he glowered. Sasuke complied and Kabuto followed, masking his residual pain.
" Wouldn't want to ruin your little plan," Sasuke whispered.
" Watch your mouth," the Sound leader smiled. The golden serpentine eyes turned to the boy. " I won't hesitate to strike you down. Even in front of your precious brother." He honestly didn't know what was with the boy. He hadn't been this insolent since the first stage of his training. The boy had been whiny, selfish, annoying, and rude. Now it seemed that the little shit was trying to undermine him. He was sorely mistaken if he thought there wouldn't be a reaction.
Orochimaru glanced at his next vessel. 'Good,' he smirked. The dark haired ninja was playing his part. The young man's face was void of any emotion and his glorious eyes were now dull and misted over. Even his posture was slumped and listless. The Sannin turned his attention to the four members standing before him. He was slightly surprised to see that one in particular was not in his usual hunched decoy.
" Orochimaru," the figure acknowledged. The voice was hollow and rusty with under use.
So he was going to be the spokesman. So be it.
The pale snake master bowed languidly, his whole manner mocking. " Sasori-sama."
The puppeteer drew back his hood, and Orochimaru was shocked to see it was actually him. " Not in your usual get up?" he asked.
"...No" The red head nodded and the others removed their covers and as Sasuke had said, they were the shark, the Uchiha prodigy and the ill-mannered artist. " Leader wanted none to be aware of our movements," Sasori explained. His lips quirked into a small smile. " He is greatly disappointed that he couldn't be here personally to meet with you today."
" I'm sure," Orochimaru said dryly.
" You seem to have a rather concerning frog infestation."
The Sannin smiled. " Yes, my pets have been eating well this last month."
" Blew up fourteen on the way here, Un," the blonde sneered. " You sure you're taking care of them?"
" I hope you realize those summons have relayed their cause of death to that idiot Jiraiya," he countered. " Not the wisest thing you've done Deidara."
" You little-"
" Enough Deidara!" Sasori warned. " You know I don't like arguments." The former Sand nin looked at their former companion. " He has a point, however. Has any information leaked?"
Orochimaru shrugged. " If any information got out it's because of your little blow up doll there." Deidara bristled and Kisame snickered. " Konoha is under the impression I will march on them with a mass army."
" Then what's all the men for?" Deidara leered. " Planning on having an orgy?" The blonde pointed at Sasuke. " If so, I call Itachi's little hot bitch of a brother, Un."
Orochimaru quickly glanced at the young Uchiha. Thankfully he was keeping the act up. Itachi also seemed unfazed by the comment. The snake grinned. So, it was a game to see who would blink first huh?
" You can have him," he said nonchalantly. " He is a rather good fuck." The pale man's elongated tongue slithered out and grazed the young Uchiha's neck. " Not as sweet as when he was a little boy though." It was slight, but Orochimaru caught the gradual hardening in Itachi's blood red eyes.
But it was Sasuke who moved first. A kunai deftly sliced the long muscle upwards right into the Sannin's throat. Sasuke spun his wrist effectively cutting the man's skull in half, the bottom half of the jaw twitching sporadically. His eyes remained their endless black color as he watched the body slump to the ground. " I don't appreciate being talked about in such a degrading manner. If you want to spread filth and lies, do it when I won't react."
" Ha ha Baby Uchiha has teeth!" Deidara grinned. He walked up to Sasuke and threw his arm around his shoulder. " You're quite the little anarchist."
" Don't touch me," Sasuke replied, removing the Akatsuki member's arm. He watched unconcerned as Orochimaru rose. The gored skull stretched and cracked as marble white hands grasped the sides of the mutilated head and pushed. It was like some sort of grotesque strip show as a regenerated Orochimaru shed his former skin, translucent slime gelling his hair and body.
" Thank the gods you're clothed or I would be losing my lunch right now," Kisame groaned.
" He does kind of look like a big wad of spit doesn't he?" Deidara laughed.
Orochimaru glared at the pair and then looked at Sasuke. " You will pay for that Sasuke-kun."
" I don't recall sexual submission in our little discussion on fooling the gang bangers here," he sneered. He inwardly grimaced when he saw Sasori raise an eyebrow at his comment. He didn't even want to look at Itachi. " If you want me to tell them I'm you're student who is apparently incapable of taking care of himself in combat, fine. But you do not own me." He stopped smiling. " Not until my last three months are up."
" You think you're safe with the Akatsuki here?" Orochimaru raged. " It's time you learned your place." The Sannin drew up his sleeves, tearing the fabric in his haste. Slicing his thumb, he smeared the welling blood over the archaic symbols and slammed his palm onto the ground.
" I think our former brother is pissed," Deidara commented to his partner. Sasori glanced at Sasuke and sighed.
The Uchiha watched, unconcerned as viscous purple smoke exploded around him. The hiss of sliding scales echoed about him like the breath of an enormous creature. And it was. Sasuke smiled as two large amber eyes glared down at him. A long silky tongue lashed out, tasting the air, identifying all present. When Sasuke witnessed the ebony and violet scales, his smile grew. ' Big mistake.'
" Orochimaru," the towering snake boomed. " Why have you awoken me?"
" Manda," the pale man gritted, bowing stiffly. " I implore you to punish a reckless student of mine."
The Serpent King narrowed his eyes, furious. " You have called me for something so trivial?" His speech was an angry rasping hiss. " Perhaps it is you who needs punishment."
" Manda!" Sasuke called, stepping forward. The great snake whirled around, his throat flaring dangerously. The raven realized he had to play this smart or he could wind up very dead very quickly. He bowed languidly careful to avoid eye contact. When he was sure his greeting wasn't arousing the snake's anger further he straightened and stretched out his hand. Manda lowered his head, flicking his tongue out.
" Uchiha," it stated. " What is the meaning of this offense?"
Sasuke glanced at his sensei. " Oh you mean this? It's just a common wrestling match between two inferior males. A king such as yourself should never be involved in such a matter." He paused tilting his head. " Especially on an empty stomach."
The long lithe body coiled comfortably around itself and Sasuke followed suit by crouching down. He realized everyone was watching the exchange. ' Good,' he smirked.
" You have some form of sacrifice" Manda questioned, flickering his tongue.
" I have something even better than a sacrifice." Sasuke motioned with his hand and the snake lowered its great head, bumping the boy's hand with its snout. " What do you think of war?" he ventured.
" It is pointless," Manda sneered. " A human concept that wastes too much energy and has such a fruitless outcome."
" Yes," Sasuke admitted. " But what if you thought about it this way...what if this was a great hunt instead?"
Manda cocked his head, this conversation was turning interesting. He turned back to Orochimaru. " Why would you want me to punish such a clever creature?" he asked. The Sannin's face was furious as he looked to his pupil.
" What do you think you are doing?" he demanded.
" Enough, Orochimaru," Manda ordered lazily. " I am going to bestow a gift on this boy. I suggest you guard yourself from now on." The Serpent King opened its mouth, stretching its elongated fangs out in mock bite. Sasuke watched as thick, yellow venom rolled from the gum line to the tips of the sharp teeth. Manda lowered his gaping maw. ' Take it.' Sasuke cupped both hands, the deadly liquid gathering in his palms, spilling over the sides. Manda closed his mouth. ' Drink.'
Sasuke glanced at the giant serpent warily.
Manda chuckled. " Do you not trust me?"
The Uchiha smiled darkly. " Like poison." He brought the toxin to his lips, drinking it all.
" NO!" Orochimaru cried, lunging forward. He was stopped when the summon wrapped itself protectively around the young man and hissed warningly. " I need him!" he shouted angrily.
Manda's golden eyes glimmered with malice and mirth. " Be still," he grinned. " You will not lose your vessel. Not today."
Hidden by the massive coiled scales, Sasuke was squirming on the ground, barely containing his cries of pain. His pale skin shone with slick sweat and it felt like every organ in his body was roasting under searing flames. He lurched when it felt like something moved within him, crawling and sliding down his bones. Ruby droplets fell to the grass and the dark haired nin realized he was crying blood. The Sharingan flared to life, the three tomoe spinning frantically around a pupil which flickered to a serpentine slit. As soon as Sasuke clutched his eyes, the pain abruptly stopped.
He hastily wiped at his face. ' If Itachi saw me now...'
' Are you so concerned about what that man thinks?' Manda asked, looking at him.
" No!" he spat. Sasuke suddenly felt something move by his heart slowly traveling up to his collarbone. Pain and rage abruptly filled his being and Sasuke fell to one knee grasping his neck where the Curse Seal flared angry red. " What-is this!" he choked.
Manda titled his head. " I seem to have forgotten about Orochimaru's mark." He moved closer to the boy's neck. " It seems she does not like his hold on you."
" She?" the Uchiha managed. " What have you done to me?" he choked out.
' Protection, boy,' the Serpent King explained. ' Do not be ungrateful. This little conflict you are having with that old snake is more dangerous than you realize. You are being very foolish.'
Despite the affliction, Sasuke looked up into the great cunning eyes. ' You don't think I can defeat him on my own?' he mentally snapped.
' I have no doubt that you can, but Orochimaru is old, slippery, and shrewd. A true snake.' Manda grew serious. ' I do not think you are fully aware of what our species is capable of. That is why my daughter will protect you when the time comes.' The great snake uncoiled himself, glaring at the rest of the assembly. " If you're done wasting my time, Orochimaru, I am leaving."
The Sannin was livid. " Why are you doing this?" His voice whispered with rage.
The summon's golden eyes smirked. " Because you have chosen greed instead of respect." Manda glanced at Sasuke who rose, rubbing his shoulder. " Have fun." And with that the Serpent King dismissed himself with a blast of smoke.
Orochimaru stalked towards his pupil and angrily grabbed his arm. " What did he do to you?" he demanded.
' Caution...'
The voice floated inside of his mind, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. It was right, Manda was right. The time wasn't right yet to strike and he had to revert back to the controllable lackey. Most of all, he could not reveal Manda's trump card that now inhabited his body. " I don't know," he replied, faking weariness. " All I remember is pain."
The Sannin was not buying it. " Sasuke I will not ask again. If you don't want me to slit your throat here and now, you will tell me what that idiotic snake did!"
The whispers began again. ' Greed for respect. Tell him a lie...'
The Uchiha wasn't revelled as a genius for nothing. He kept his eyes lowered. " Punishment. The venom he gave me was a hallucinogen, it brought back certain memories." To emphasize his point, he caressed his curse mark again. " He told me if he had to come a second time because of my insolence, I would not survive the second drink."
Orochimaru's eyebrow rose. " He seemed awfully fond of you."
" He was laughing at me," Sasuke sneered. " My plan, everything. He told me I should never try to outwit an old snake."
The Sound leader smirked. " You were scheming against me? Perhaps I should call him back." The pale man made to redo the summon, but Sasuke clutched his arm.
" No," he hissed. " Please don't."
So, the Uchiha boy had learned his place. Orochimaru was more than pleased. And here he thought Manda was losing his touch. Although, he should make an example of the boy further. Insolence in front of the Akatsuki, his enemies, would never be tolerated.
" Orochimaru," Sasori interjected. " We cannot stay out in the open like this. Take us to your lair now."
" Of course," he smiled. " How silly of me." He stopped when he noticed Itachi's gaze on his younger brother. The Sharingan watched the boy's every move and the mass murderer's eyes held a mild surprise and amusement. " Something wrong, Itachi?" he ventured.
The assassin glared and looked away.
Deidara shrieked as a small brown snake suddenly crawled up his arm and bit him. " What the HELL?" He flung the serpent off, which hissed miserably. The same thing happened to the rest of the Akatsuki members, only they did not react as loudly.
" What the fuck was that?" Kisame growled, rubbing the bite mark.
" Don't be alarmed," Orochimaru chided. " My pets were only relaying the co-ordinates to the lair. I wouldn't want anyone getting lost or accidently ending up somewhere they shouldn't." He smiled and made the hand signal, transporting in a puff of smoke. Kabuto and three of the Akatsuki members also disappeared.
Sasuke went to follow, but stopped as Itachi suddenly came before him. The younger Uchiha stiffened, ready to withdraw his sword. " What do you want?"
Nothing revealed what the killer was thinking, he only stood there, staring. " You are playing a very dangerous game, little brother."
" You have no idea," he sneered, glaring at the man. " Why don't you just run along with your little friends, brother."
Itachi's crimson eyes narrowed. " Your impertinence is most annoying. No wonder Orochimaru saw fit to humiliate you today."
Sasuke's own eyes bled into their furious color. " He did no such thing."
The lithe man's lips tightened. " You're right. You humiliate the family name gloriously on your own."
The younger Uchiha growled. " What did you say?"
The haunting eyes stared with boredom and contempt. " Losing your temper so soon? You're pathetic, letting him touch you like that."
" I wouldn't talk of family disgrace if I were you," Sasuke's voice was hollow. " Tell me brother, how many times did he sneak into your room at night?"
Without warning, Itachi's arm lashed out, deftly slicing Sasuke's throat clean with a hidden kunai. The body stumbled and then disappeared. Itachi sighed. " Picking up new tricks are we?"
" Who said anything about new?" The older Uchiha turned to see Sasuke standing behind him with one eyebrow raised. " You've been doing that one for years." The Sound ninja sighed as a serpent suddenly appeared by his feet, hissing with annoyance. He looked up with an icy stare. " Too bad. We're going to have to finish this some other time." He lifted two fingers and released his chakra, transporting himself to the set destination.
The raven looked up as he landed right next to his brother's partner, who flashed a grin of razor sharp teeth. " Hey Baby Uchiha," he joked, ruffling the blue black spikes. " Have fun reminiscing?"
Sasuke jerked his head away grumbling under his breath and turning away to fix his hair. " Don't call me that."
The shark man's smile widened. " What 'baby'?"
" Yes 'baby'!"
" As I recall you referred to us as 'gang bangers'," Sasori commented from the side. " Isn't only fair we call you something as degrading?"
Sasuke flinched internally. He remembered that did he? His brother suddenly appeared, walking into the conversation unconcerned and scrutinizing his sibling's reaction. Sasuke bristled. He didn't have to put up with this! They made it seem like he was a joke, the little tag-a-long wanting to impress his awesome big brother's friends.
" Hn, it's not important."
" A snappy comeback as ever, little brother." The distain in Itachi's voice was loud and clear.
Kisame began to laugh." You know, watching this sibling rivalry between you two is really amusing."
Sasuke stopped. " Rivalry!" he shouted incredulously. " You think this is a stupid game?" He caught himself before he lost further control. This wasn't what he had been training for. He had to remain emotionless, emotions revealed weakness and he could not afford that now. Not with Itachi and the Akatsuki so close. He had to grow up. He had to win.
" Aw are we sulking now, Un?" Deidara teased. When the younger Uchiha only responded with a cold stare, he sighed. " Where did you get that gang-banger term anyways?" he asked, curious.
Sasuke shrugged. " Someone I knew was always saying things like that. I supposed it grew on me."
" We talking about the Kyuubi kid?" Kisame asked, scratching his head.
" Perhaps."
" What a coincidence! 'Cuz we're here to-"
" Kisame!" Itachi snapped. Sasuke was surprised to see his brother react with severity. His blood red eyes flashed dangerously at the shark-like man who immediately shut up.
The damage was done, however. Sasuke's mind was already turning with a million questions and theories. If the Akatsuki weren't here to join with Orochimaru's war, what were they here for?
A/N: Ugh, freaking long chapter. I couldn't stop writing. Sorry about the update delay. I forgot to update before I went on vacation. OOPS! But it's here now.
Anyways, next chapter we find out what Sasuke's plan is and what exactly Manda did to him. We also follow up with Naruto and the gang.
See you guys next time!
P.S. REVIEW!!