"This is suicide!"

Tsunade had slammed her hand on her desk. Dosu jumped a bit but was unfazed.

"You need intelligence on Orochimaru and Sasuke. I'm really not into the idea of helping that little emo bitch, but if it hurts Orochimaru I'm up for it."

Tsunade shook her head. "You'll get yourself killed. I know what he's capable of."

Dosu scowled. "And I don't? He practically raised me, Tsunade. I know how he operates, which means I know how to slip past any security he might have. If anyone can get you the intel you need, it's me. Not to mention you can't really afford to sacrifice any of your leaf shinobi with the Akatsuki still at large."

Tsunade looked at him, then at Shikamaru. "Please tell me you have a way to talk him out of this."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Nope. He's right. But I don't think going alone is a good idea."

Dosu scowled at him. "You really think that letting another person in on the secret of my survival is?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not saying you have to go with someone you don't already know."

Dosu narrowed his eye. "Who?"

"Someone who's also an old disciple of Orochimaru's. Guy's been in recovery from the Sasuke retrieval mission for a while now, he had multiple organ failures, but... According to Sakura he's ready to get back in the game."

Dosu's eye widened. "You got one of the sound ninja five?" Dosu had always heard about them or had seen them in passing, but he had never actually met any of Orochimaru's most skilled followers.

"You'll touch base with him and then start gathering supplies for the mission." Tsunade scowled at Dosu. "I've come to really trust you during these past few years, so you'd better not come home in a box."

Dosu nodded. "I'll do my best."

Dosu came into the hospital via the back entrance and waited for Sakura to meet up with him and take him to the sound nin. When she came walking towards him, he almost didn't believe it.

"So you're a medical ninja now?"

Sakura glared at him. "Yeah. Trained by Tsunade herself. Why?"

Dosu raised a brow. "You know what? Never mind. If you've been trained by Tsunade, I really have no desire to insult you." Though he had been making good progress with his abilities as a shinobi. It had taken a lot of research, including a few physics classes and researching the history and development of rare jutsu styles. Perhaps it had been beneficial to end up in konoha, since this was a village founded by a man who had been able to use a rare style such as wood.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Sakura opened the hospital room's door. It had been locked.

"So he's a prisoner?"

"Kidomaru is a lot less...cooperative than you are. You'll have to make sure he doesn't try to ditch you."

Dosu narrowed his eye. He remembered the things he'd heard about the spider nin. "Good to know."

At first Dosu had thought Kidomaru had escaped, since the room was empty. He looked around, a little panicked, then actually shrieked when Kidomaru dropped down in front of him from the ceiling.

Kidomaru snickered. "Well well well, looks like konoha's got a mummy and a ghost. Lord Orochimaru said you were dead."

Dosu made a note that Kidomaru still called Orochimaru lord. "Surprisingly enough, snake skin doesn't know everything."

Kidomaru sneered. "How dare you insult him! You owe him your life!"

Dosu nodded. "Right, a life he saved so he could use it and dispose of it like a Kleenex at his convenience. Really an excellent role model, I must say."

Sakura smirked a bit. "I get the feeling living with Kakashi-sensei is starting to rub off on you."

Dosu scowled at her. "How do you know that I live with him?"

She snorted. "He told me. He seems to really like you."

Dosu blinked. He felt a little surprised at that. Nobody had ever liked him. Tsunade trusted him, but only because he had proven himself. Shikamaru seemed to tolerate him. Maybe Iruka liked him, but sometimes he felt that Iruka and Kakashi only pitied him. He wondered if he was wrong about that.

Kidomaru hit his head lightly with the book he had been reading. "Yo, quasimoto. Why are you talking to me?"

Dosu glared at him, growling a bit and trying very hard to remember the breathing exercises Kakashi had taught him and Iruka to deal with their anger problems. "A mission." He said through his teeth.

Kidomaru sneered. "What kinda mission?"

"Intelligence gathering. Specifically intelligence from Orochimaru on the whereabouts of Sasuke Uchiha."

Kidomaru scowled at him, took a deep breath, then said one word.

"No."

He slammed his door shut.

Dosu shrugged. "You heard the man, I guess I'll just fly solo..." He turned to leave and was stopped by an pink clad iron grip on his shoulder. "Nice try. You're taking spider man with whether you want to or not."

Dosu groaned and slumped. "In the words of Shikamaru Nara, this is going to be such a drag..."