It had been weeks since the start of the curse.

Kabuto was surprised Orochimaru had lasted this long. The foremost pain had been so outrageous, Kabuto thought that Orochimaru would have to transfer within days of coming back to Otoga. But still, the snake had stubbornly held out, even going so far as to track down his old teammate, Tsunade. But, even his promises of resurrecting her dead loved ones had no effect on Tsunade. Well, no, not exactly, Kabuto corrected himself. They had an effect, and their promises should have worked. But, outside influence from Jiraiya and assistance from said annoyance later on in the game had really done them both a number, and Kabuto had been forced to carry Orochimaru back to the Oto. After retreating, Orochimaru had collapsed, leaving Kabuto to bring him back using his own limited reserve of strength. Kabuto himself had almost collapsed, and, despite his best efforts, they simply couldn't do it in one day. Kabuto had set up camp, and the two of them had ended up sleeping in the woods that night. But both were feeling much better in the morning, and so they were able to make it back to Otoga in the rest of that day. Orochimaru had gone to his room to take a shower-and Kabuto could hear him screaming still.

"Orochimaru-sama, you must listen to reason!" Tayuya was begging through the closed and locked door. "Please, change bodies. I'll see personally to retrieving that brat you want for your body, but I doubt I can make it back in time, so please, change your body before it's too late!"

Tayuya's pleas fell on stubborn ears, and she was offered only curses in response. Tayuya sighed and began digging around in her kunai pouch for the lock pick she usually kept around for…incidents like this…or at least, that was her excuse. She inserted the thin pick into the lock, twisting the knob open quite easily. To her disappointment, the shower curtain obscured all view, but she could see the silhouette of Orochimaru's body, leaning against the wall and clearly in pain. "Orochimaru-sama," she warned, taking a step forward. "Please, is there anything I can do?"

More cursing ensued, and Tayuya realized that she could do nothing more. A sudden pang of fear struck her heart: even in his maimed state, Orochimaru could still probably hurt her very badly. But, if he didn't change bodies soon, he was going to end up killing himself! Tayuya braced herself for the next round of swearing, and felt her fear building. No! Not in front of her master! But still, the tension built and finally, Tayuya had had enough.

She turned and fled the room.

Tayuya aced down the hallways, screaming for Kabuto. She occasionally threw in that Orochimaru needed him, which she knew would bring him running. Sure enough, Kabuto came flying out of his lab, almost knocking over several vials of flammable liquids before finding Tayuya and asking what was wrong. Tayuya fell upon him like a woman possessed, fisting her hands in his shirt and screaming still.

"Please, help him!" she cried, feeling her knees give out from weakness. Running so long, and screaming so much…Kabuto reached down, catching her upper arms in his hands and helping her to stand up. "He listens to you, please, help him!" Tayuya continued, relying almost completely on Kabuto for support. "He won't do it, please, he listens to you, you can make him o it, Kabuto, don't let him die, he's dying, don't let it happen!"

"Tayuya!"

Tayuya's mouth snapped shut at Kabuto's demand that she do so, and she waited for a response from the genin. Kabuto took a deep breath, glancing at Tayuya and encouraging her to do the same. Tayuya took a few deep breaths, and then calmed down, and Kabuto released one of her arms. He kept his grip on her other, though to make sure she didn't fall. "Come on," he said, gently tugging her after him. Tayuya instead pushed in front of him, picking up a jog and calling over her shoulder,

"This way!"

Kabuto knew to pick his battles. Tayuya was severely worried about Orochimaru, and if she felt like he was being threatened in any way, she would explode, even if it meant taking on an enemy much stronger than herself. If Kabuto told her to get behind him, Tayuya might flip out, for any number of reasons. Kabuto allowed her to lead him to where Orochimaru was-apparently, a bathroom. Kabuto felt confident that he could have easily found Orochimaru, had he been willing to put in the chakra and tiny bit of effort. He had spent so much time with Orochimaru that he could find his chakra signature anywhere. Spent so much…meaningless…time…Kabuto fought down the desire to cry out in despair as Orochimaru's harsh screams reached his ears, echoing off the tiled walls of the bathroom-

"Tayuya," Kabuto asked slowly, "Why is the door open?"

Tayuya gestured Kabuto in. "I tried to calm him down," she said hurriedly. "Long story, I'll tell you later, go now!!"

Kabuto sighed and stepped into the bathroom, reaching for the door knob. "Look, don't do it again, okay?" he said tiredly, beginning to close the door. "Just don't come in, okay? I'm going to try to calm him down, and I don't want you getting mixed up if he flips out. Just stay out here, okay? I promise, I'll take care of him."

Tayuya nodded, almost looking fearful, and Kabuto closed the door on her. He knew that there was only one way to do this now, and he was going to have to do something drastic. Well, try talking first. Orochimaru might just listen to him…might.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto started, taking a few steps towards the shower. "Look, I know you're upset, and stubborn, and willful, and headstrong, and don't really listen to anybody, and…I lost my point." Kabuto was hoping maybe his usual sarcastic, caustic comments would lighten Orochimaru's mood even the smallest bit, and maybe mold him into Kabuto's design. He knew he would never be able to do that, but it was worth the shot to sway him.

"Shut up, you stupid boy!" Orochimaru gasped, cursing several more times. "You have no idea what I'm going through right now! You have no right to just walk in here and treat me like this!"

Despite his harsh exterior, Kabuto could hear the undertones of pain in Orochimaru's voice. The way he used the passive tense when referring to Kabuto's actions; the way his voice was slightly pitchy and higher than normal, hoarse from screaming; the way he assumed Kabuto wans't suffering alongside him-!

"Orochimaru-sama, you must change bodies!" Kabuto cried. "Or would you rather lose everything?!"

This seemed to shut Orochimaru up for a moment. Then, another whimper rose in his throat, and Kabuto braced himself for the blood-curdling shriek he knew would follow. Orochimaru simply couldn't help it. Kabuto waited until Orochimaru had quieted again, and then sighed in defeat. Orochimaru was swearing at him now, and rather profusely. He could give Tayuya a run for her money! Kabuto realized now just how dire the situation was, and also that Orochimaru probably couldn't even stand at this point. With that in mind, Kabuto pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, setting the shirt aside on the counter next to the sink. He set down his glasses, gloves, and headband next to the shirt, and then pulled off his pants, putting those in the same pile. Kabuto then proceeded to shamelessly take off his boxers, and dumped them right on top of the pile. Hell, he was a doctor-both he and Orochimaru were males, and neither had anything the other didn't have. Kabuto could keep his eyes to himself, anyway.

Well, for the most part.

Kabuto gently pushed aside the shower curtain, stepping in behind Orochimaru and letting the curtain fall again. Kabuto caught an audible gasp from Orochimaru, and the sannin spun around, trying to see who had gotten in with him. But, Orochimaru's coordination had been thrown off by the pain. He stumbled, falling into Kabuto's chest and trying to hang onto him with his weakened arms. Kabuto, however, had much faster reflexes than Orochimaru in his current state, and caught the sannin around the waist as he fell. Orochimaru stood for a moment, slouched again Kabuto's chest and trying to regain his breath. Kabuto gently lifted Orochimaru's body, helping him stand up, but still letting him lean on him. Orochimaru accepted the offer gladly-even his pride couldn't deal with this. Kabuto slowly raised the hand that wasn't supporting Orochimaru's weight, gently placing it in Orochimaru's hair and guiding the sannin's head to his shoulder. A shiver went through Orochimaru's body, and Kabuto realized what was happening-right before it did happen. Orochimaru collapsed to the floor, his legs giving out as another groan of pain escaped his throat. Orochimaru expected to have Kabuto control his fall, and then help him up again, but that wasn't the case. Kabuto slowly eased him to the floor, and then into his lap, laying Orochimaru out across his legs and holding him still. Orochimaru's immediate reaction was to fight, but he was subdued with a quiet word and a sweet whisper from Kabuto. Kabuto just knelt on the floor for a moment with him, letting him regain his breath, and then reached up and shut off the water. It had gone cold, anyway.

"Come on," Kabuto whispered, coaxing Orochimaru to his feet. "You need to get dried off."

Nothing more was said between them. Kabuto helped Orochimaru to his feet, pulled him out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around his shoulders. Kabuto grabbed another towel, which he wrapped around his waist and then immediately went back over to Orochimaru. He gently ran the towel over Orochimaru's dripping body, picking up the moisture and moving on in swift, long strokes. Orochimaru didn't seem to like the attention: he avoided meeting Kabuto's eyes, keeping his own downcast, and his shoulders were hunched. Kabuto tried to finish as quickly as possible; he didn't want to make Orochimaru uncomfortable.

When he was done, Kabuto stood up again and took a quick glance around the room. There was a long, light kimono on the back of the door-that was probably Orochimaru's. Kabuto leaned over, grabbed the cloth, and threw it over Orochimaru's shoulders, gently maneuvering his arms into the sleeves and closing the material in the front. As he worked with Orochimaru's arms, Kabuto tried to get a feel for how much damage there was, and where the most damage was located. So far, he wasn't getting much of a reading on that. It seemed that no matter where he touched, it was agony for the snake sannin standing there now, looking as if he was in a daze-

"Kabuto."

Kabuto glanced up as he finished knotting the sash around Orochimaru's waist, fighting down the sudden urge to take Orochimaru's face in his hands and simply kiss him. "What?" he murmured, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. He couldn't let Orochimaru hear just how rattled he was by his master's condition.

"I…I suppose I should thank you…"

"It's not in your character to do so, but I would appreciate it if you would," Kabuto said, drying himself off and putting his own clothes back on. Orochimaru offered a small shrug. It was all he could manage in his condition.

"Well, thank you…"

Kabuto wasn't completely sure how to respond to that. He could see a mild pink tint over Orochimaru's cheeks, and was positive he felt one blossoming over his own. So, to spare them both the dignity, he turned away, and began rummaging in the cabinets under and over the sink for bandages. He found some, along with a bit of painkiller. Kabuto took both and set them on the counter, and also brought out some medical tape. When he turned around again, Orochimaru was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, looking completely defeated and almost…almost submissive….it broke Kabuto's heart to see his master so, but he knew to offer the snake comfort would be to risk his own fool neck. So, he did the next best thing: disguised comfort as medical treatment.

Kabuto walked over to Orochimaru and sat down next to him, wordlessly picking up his hand and pushing the sleeve of his kimono up his damaged arm. He began winding the bandages around Orochimaru's wrist, knowing he would need to get smaller ones for the fingers of his hands. Still, he could at least try to take the edge off the pain…bandaging actually did help, because it applied a small bit of pressure to the wounds, closing the veins and stopping the bleeding. When he was in the shower, Kabuto had seen the blood all over, and known that it was from Orochimaru. It depressed him, it really did. Still, Kabuto kept his emotions out of his hands, keeping his touches as soft and gentle as possible.

He could only pray that he was relieving the pain.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru loved the feel of Kabuto's hands on his body. The man had such a gentle touch, especially for a ninja who was so well-versed in killing and brutality. The snake sannin couldn't even begin to express his relief when Kabuto had been the one to come into the room, but still, he had to maintain some semblance of his reputation of never accepting comfort from anyone. He had fought back surprisingly viciously, and was afraid for a moment that he had driven Kabuto away. But, fortune favored him today: Kabuto stayed, and even went so far as to come into the shower with him, sacrificing his own dignity to take away even the smallest bit of Orochimaru's pain. It never ceased to amaze Orochimaru. It couldn't be fear of him-maybe it was fear for him the sannin couldn't help but feel like he would never know. He fought it down, through, and tried his best to remain calm, and emotionless.

"What's wrong?"

Kabuto's question knocked him off guard, and he started at the sound of the young man's voice.

"Am I hurting you?"

Orochimaru found himself speechless at the concern in the other's eyes. So beautiful…such emotion…was this love? What was it that Orochimaru felt, this ache in his chest? Orochimaru suddenly came to his senses and shook his head, looking away hurriedly from Kabuto's eyes. He just couldn't take the pressure of looking at him anymore-

"Orochimaru-sama, I'm sorry, what's wrong?"

Orochimaru again shook his head, feeling something sting at the back of his eyes. He fought back the tears, but they came anyway, pouring out in silent sobs over his marble-white cheeks. His shoulders shook with the sobs; his chest heaved with his deep breaths, efforts to keep himself under control. Orochimaru knocked his hair into his face, trying to hide it-

Too late.

Kabuto had seen his breakdown, and pulled his hair back behind his ear. "Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto whispered, shocked by the sight of his master crying. "You…" There was another long pause, before Kabuto murmured those fateful words that drove a spike through Orochimaru's heart-

"The Amaranth weeps."

A/N: Now, wasn't that mushy? Sorry, peeps, got into the mood and couldn't shake it…whoo! Halloween! Trick-or-Treating!! Candy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Please review, I really like how this came out, and I'm really likin' this story. Thanks! Extra candy for you all!!