Orochimaru POV

I feel a light nudge on my side, disturbing my slumber. Despite several attempts to ignore it, the nudges become prevalent, and I grow irritated. I open my eyes to see Shani sprawled out on the bed and uncovered by the sheets. Her leg is thrown over my body. She wears a look of discontent on her face, giving me reason to assume she may be in the middle of a nightmare. I lean over to lay the sheets back onto her, and she makes even more restless movements. I tap her cheek lightly to wake her, then on the lips of her open mouth which she slaps my hand away from. One eye peeks up at me to her alarm, followed by the other. She lays there for a moment looking at me before I decide to speak.

"I assume you were having a bad dream," I offer in a whisper as to not alarm her even more.

She remains silent, but sits up and turns her back to me. "What are you planning," she asks after a moment.

"Your dream was of me then?"

"You're not gonna kill me, right? I mean, you said."

"I won't. I told you I had great things planned for the both of us."

"I just keep having this feeling… My instincts are never wrong."

I reach over to take her face into my hand. She looks genuinely disturbed. I stroke her face softly. "I would never hurt you. I need you, and you need me. What reason would I have for hurting you?"

"Maybe you like that. Maybe you're a sadist. Maybe you like hurting girls because it gets you off."

"Mmm, not quite."

"Liar."

"You seem to be in a fine enough mood for humor. Are you going to be alright?" She doesn't respond for a while, and I stop pressing for a response. Quite frankly I don't really care anymore. "Well then," I start. "I'm leaving now. You go back to sleep."

"NO," she protests abruptly. "Please don't go."

"My Shani, you're like a child. Make up your mind."

"I know. This is all just really beating me down emotionally. Just losing everything. I'm here with a bunch of strange men I don't know yet again, no offense, and I have nowhere to go and no one to trust or believe in me and this is happening too fast. I haven't even gotten the chance to properly mourn over my sister because I'm here. I can't function properly without her, and I can't fucking do it and I just won't. I won't fucking do it!"

I sit in silence, listening as the young girl goes through her mental break down, one that is trivial in comparison to the one when I first laid eyes on her. I'm just as amused as I am concerned. "So what are you not going to do? I don't follow."

She pouts, pondering. "I dunno exactly. I don't even know what I'm talking about."

I pull her close to me, in which she initially resists, but I'm persistent. I note that her breath is shaky and unsteady, so I coddle her and stroke her hair until she relaxes. She leans her head against my shoulder but she's still very tense. "That's yet another thing I like about you Shani, that loyalty. We can do great things together. I want you by my side. As strong as you are, it would behoove me to make sure your talents do not go to waste." I debate my next words carefully, needing the right ones to bait her so that she's too deep in to quit. She has to be here because she strongly desires to, not because she insists on being a woman of her word. That is rather faulty. "Don't forget who I am, the power I have, and what I can do for you."

"That scares me, because I don't exactly know all those things. There's always so much going on around me that I'm oblivious to. I've gotten so used to that that I can't handle when my routine is broken, and I get lost. I hate spontaneity because it's never a spontaneous situation in a good way."

"I would like to disagree with you. I think much good will come out of me finding you. All the things I can do for you- I can give you the world."

Shani takes the arm I have wrapped around her, pressing her mouth to the palm of my hand. "Why do you do this for me, huh? You could have left me there but instead you decide you wanna give me the world."

"You have so much potential. Though you are so sweet and beautiful, the spunk and fire inside you will allow for you to handle this. I believe in you."

Shani drops my hand, her suspicions not assuaged. "What exactly do you want from me? You could have just forced me to do what you wanted but instead it's all this flattering and alluring."

"You continue to say that you trust me yet you have not stopped questioning me."

"I want answers. So I have to ask questions," she responds matter-of-factly. "And I still don't know what your end of the bargain is."

"This we will speak of tomorrow my darling. Until then, please try to sleep. I'll lay with you for the rest of the night."

She speaks not another word, and crawls back under the sheets, her back to me.

Shani POV

"WAKE UUUUUP!"

Lord Orochimaru groans as I jump all over him. "Shani, what do you want?"

I hover over his body, looking down at him. His eyes are still closed, and I never noticed these cute little purple slits on his eyes. "The chick made breakfast. I'm hungry, are you?" He doesn't answer. "ARE YOU HUNGRY?"

"Shani, hush please…"

I poke his stomach lightly, noticing the feel of the barely-there ripples. I whisper this time, "Well you have to get up some time today. Look at me, I'm already dressed. Chop, chop! Why not get breakfast while it's hot?"

"Perhaps because… I'm tired. You kept me up all night. You talk in your sleep."

"Do I? Why didn't you leave then?"

"I told you I wouldn't."

It's basically impossible to hold in my smile. "I'm so lucky you found me," I comment, leaning down to kiss his pale, pretty face as the smallest gesture of kindness I can think of to show my appreciation. "But you really should get up now. We have important stuff to talk about huh? Didn't you say?"

His arms wrap around me and pull me onto him, but he still lays in silence with his eyes shut. I decide to stop bothering him about it and get comfortable in his arms until he's ready to get up. I thought he'd be offended or thrown off by me touching him and kissing him, but he doesn't seem to mind my sensuality. It seems like he likes it, actually. I feel Orochimaru's fingers lightly massaging my back, breaking the embrace. My heart, my stomach, maybe both, jumps all around inside of me at his he opens his eyes and looks at me.

"You've warmed up to me faster than I've ever seen anyone do," he says.

For a while I don't say anything, unsure of how I could respond to that. He gives me time to figure it out, and we both remain silent in each other's arms. I consider what he said. "I think I'm just happy I found someone, yeah? I feel safe. It's kinda ironic actually."

"How so?"

"The people that raised me make me fear for my life. And here I am with this strange man in a strange place, an unfamiliar name and an unknown location, yet I've never felt so protected."

Lord Orochimaru sits up, me still in his lap. A thin smile appears on his lips as he strokes my face tenderly. For a second I thought he was gonna kiss me. I wish he would already. I swear, the physical attraction between us is undeniably strong. I bite my lip, trying to hold back the inappropriate thoughts (a typical thing I have to do). He sighs. "I have to get ready. I should go now."

I sit there and stare at him in disbelief. "Isn't that what I was saying since the beginning? Ugh! You did that on purpose!"

"Did what?"

"No, no. Whatever! I gotcha. I'm leaving- NOPE, don't say anything! I'm out."

Anything but gently I scurry off the bed and leave the room, slamming the door behind me. I walk faster down the hall, realizing he would be right behind me heading to his own room to change. I make my way into the dining room, which is empty besides Tanaka setting up two plates. I don't know how many people reside in this lair, but I find it a little creepy that, clearly, this dining room doesn't see many faces…like, ever, even though it's large enough to hold a feast for 20. Tanaka doesn't notice me despite my less than hushed entrance. "Hey lady," I call out to catch her attention. She looks up briefly and goes back to setting the table, then leaves to the kitchen. I gotta say, I'm perplexed at her change in attitude. I mean to completely ignore me? She liked me last night. Whatever though, it isn't like I particularly cared about the lady anyhow.

Once she finishes setting the plates I take a seat on the floor in front of the table. The mats underneath are so silky and soft, totally luxurious. "Oh fuck yeah, this man lives the life! I wonder how come I don't have this kinda money. I'm the famous one."

"Lord Orochimaru is famous in some respect too you know," Tanaka interjects.

"He is?"

"He's a famous shinobi. He is one of the three legendary sannin!"

"Oh... So... So what is he now?"

Tanaka tilts her head to the side, wide eyed. "You do not know of the legendary sannin, Shani-chan?"

"She has been out of touch with the shinobi world for far some time now. Isn't that right my dear?"

Speak of the devil, I turn around to see him standing in the archway, leaning against the smooth frame. "Yeah he's right. I've been out of it since I was a kid. And even then my clan was sorta out of the loop…Hey, you think they know of you Lord Orochimaru?"

He says nothing, but the smirk on his face tells me enough. I watch him, as does Tanaka, as he walks towards the table with all the grace in the world. This time he takes a seat right beside me instead of across the table. "You said you were hungry, no?"

"Oh! Hungry, yes. Super duper hungry."

"Well Tanaka-san seems to have served most of the food, so I shall allow you to go ahead and eat now."

"Pft, allow me," I roll my eyes. Both he and Tanaka are acting funny as shit. "I always do what I want."

He laughs as if I was joking, but I'm pretty sure he knows I wasn't. I start to pig out almost immediately like a starving child. If I keep getting meals like this I'll never leave (FREE too!?) I watch Lord Orochimaru take bites of his breakfast that are like baby bites compared to mine. I consider eating less sloppily, but only for a moment.

It takes me no time to finish my food, which they both notice. Tanaka bends down from behind me and touches my shoulder lightly. "Would you like seconds?"

"Nah. I'm alright, I think. So, Lord Orochimaru. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Hm? Well, wanting to get down to business are we? Fine by me. I wanted to inform you that I've spoken to Kabuto as we searched for you. We agreed that once you have settled in you would be spending a day or two with him-"

"Aww, fuck! Not the four-eyed creep! You've got to be joking," I cry out. But seriously, he's gotta be joking.

He sighs loudly, with a tsk tsk forming from his lips. "I've asked you to stop swearing, have I not?"

"Yeah, what the fuck ever."

"So you'd rather spend more time with Kabuto, is that it?"

"Dude, get out you can't be serious right now. If I don't stop cussing you're really gonna keep me around him?"

Casually he takes a bite of his food, shrugging. "If you really don't care that you disappoint me so."

"My shitty speaking habits shouldn't disappoint you. If I was weak that'd be a lot more disappointing. But I have awesome things I can show you. You can't give up on me already just because I have a debased mouth. Please?" Lord Orochimaru stops eating to take a look at me. He lets his hand trace down my cheek in a tender touch, making me blush. "I'll stop cussing, you win," I give in.

"That's all I ask my dear. Now, back to the original conversation. When you are with Kabuto I want you to be very polite, and obedient."

"Polite and obedient? So I'm 9 and a half now, really?"

"Don't interrupt me. Kabuto is my right hand man, my protégé. He will be giving you examinations, taking blood tests, etcetera. Your body must be 100% healthy for me, just in case."

My body… just in case…That rubbed me the wrong way...and the right way. "My body? Healthy for you? You wine and dine me just a little and think you can have sex with me that fast huh? Well...well maybe that's the case but that's really wrong, ya know."

He only chuckles. "That's not quite what I meant, but if it's what you wish then I'm sure we can arrange something."

"Okay." Not sure what he was talking about, I just leave it at that.

"Oh look here, speaking of... Good morning Kabuto."

"Good morning, my Lord."

I roll my eyes. "Ugh."

"Good morning to you as well Shani," the leech greets me.

"Eh."

"Shani my dear, be polite," Lord Orochimaru reminds me.

"Grr... Good morning Kabuto," I say through gritted teeth.

"Are you ready to start with your examinations?"

"Yeah whatever, I guess."

I stand reluctantly, not bothering to look at the man that took me in, knowing he would ignore my protests and pleading looks anyway. But to my surprise he notices my pouty face, and stands up right in front of me. He places his hand behind my head, kisses my forehead lightly. "Be good for me, will you?"

I feel my face get hot, blushing like crazy. "Alright," I agree. "But only for you! That's the only reason I'm doing this." His golden eyes pierce through me, and holy fuck the way he looks at me makes me want to be under him. I think he knows it too. I can tell by that stupid smirk. I stand on my toes and I lean into him. At the same time his hand moves over to my cheek, holding my face. And just in that one move, his mouth is on mine, tasting the kiss I've been craving from him. It gives me a feeling I've never felt before, all throughout my body. I forget to breathe for a second. It should be a sin to fall this fast. But if he doesn't mind it then I'll just keep falling.

Too quickly he breaks the kiss, leaving me dazed. "Be good, Shani."

I only nod, unable to do anything else. I don't feel his touch upon my face anymore and I swear, I could cry. For a moment I forgot just about everything. It was just me and this gracious stranger. Why'd it have to stop?

I feel a hand on my back that isn't his. Kabuto. "Come on, Shani," he tries to pry me away from him in a gentle voice. My feet start moving against my will, out of the dining room and towards yet another room in this unfamiliar place. "Don't worry you'll see him tomorrow morning. I promise I won't keep you from him too long."

"I should hope you won't."

I don't even feel like myself anymore after that moment. I feel scared. That man has a strong hold over me. I don't know how he did it but all I know is that I'm in love, that I'm his...and that I'll be getting some sex soon which is pretty cool too.