The Raven

He didn't really want to be here. Playing by someone else's rules wasn't really his style –their problems had little importance to him. He had come for a simple reason; the man had power, and it was the strength he possessed that was reason enough to leave his village and never go back. Because, after all, compared to the man he wanted to kill the most…Sasuke was weak.

Although he held his fair share of disgust and contempt towards Orochimaru, he couldn't help but respect the Sannin for his abilities. His strength and skill was undoubtedly what Sasuke needed, but he also had an impressive knack for manipulation, along with a sadistic, twisted outlook on life and other life forms. He was a demon, poured into a man's body.

But one thing Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about was that girl in Orochimaru's study, shrinking away into the corner when he barely had glanced over at her. She couldn't have been a day older than him, yet she had already been wasted away. She was so pale, so fragile looking that it seemed like if she had fallen off the chair she had been sitting on she'd have shattered.

There was something else, too; something within those eyes that showed that her mind wasn't yet completely gone. When she cringed away from Sasuke, he automatically knew that she wasn't a lost cause. That girl knew that he was special the second he had made his presence known, sensing the dark powers he already possessed, and, somewhere in her mind, calculated how terrifyingly strong he'd be after Orochimaru was through teaching him. She knew something he didn't, and he was certain of that.

Tomoko ambled aimlessly through the halls of her prison, as she had come to call it, taking small, slow steps and trailing a hand behind her, fingers skimming over the rough, cracked wall. She knew nothing of the boy stealthily creeping up behind her.

A pair of arms snaked around her waist. "So, he actually has enough faith to let you out now." Kabuto's voice purred in her ear. "How very fortunate for me…"

She tried to pry his arms from around her, amusing him to no end.

"Tomoko-chan, you honestly still try to resist me," Kabuto mocked, pushing her up against the wall. "Good, because that's what makes it interesting."

He crushed her lips beneath his, quickly drowning out her protests with his tongue. Tomoko put her hands on his chest, attempting to shove him away, but she was just too weak; he was so much stronger.

"I don't think she likes you."

Kabuto's grip loosened as he heard the voice, giving Tomoko the opportunity to slip away from him. As she saw who was behind him, a look of pure fear took over her face.

Uchiha, Sasuke…

Kabuto turned to glare manically at the youth, smirking as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Oh, hi, Sasuke," he said innocently. "I didn't see you there; I was too busy showing Tomoko-chan here her place." Kabuto laughed quietly and began making his way in the opposite direction. "Well, I guess I've been found out. I think I'll be going now…"

As Kabuto turned the corner, Sasuke looked down at Tomoko, who, during their conversation, had slid down the wall to the point where she was sitting on the ground, cowering. "Who are you?" he asked in his cold, hard voice.

She looked at him, trembling slightly. "Hatsumomo, Tomoko," she said in a shaky, drawling voice.

"What are you doing here?" He took a step towards her.

Tomoko tried to shuffle away from him, but the wall prevented her from doing so. "I-I'm just a servant of L-Lord Orochimaru," she whispered, voice hoarse-sounding.

Sasuke crouched, only inches away from her face, and glared at her. "Tell me what you know. Everything you know." He wrapped his fingers around her throat. "Or I'll squeeze…"

Tomoko's breath came in shaky pants, a hand weakly gripping his wrist. "H-he doesn't j-j-just want you here t-to be a h-henchman," she stammered, panic glazing over in her eyes. "Your h-here for a r-reason. L-Lord Orochimaru h-has plans for you."

"And you will tell me those plans now," he said coolly. His face moved closer to hers.

"I-I don't know!" Her voice cracked as her dread intensified. "H-He doesn't tell me these things, I-I swear. I-I'd tell you if I knew…I-I can find out for you."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, nodding at her offer. Slowly, his hand fell from her neck, sliding down her chest and hovering over her heart, feeling its erratic beating from her fear. He looked up at her face, noticing the terror on its beautiful features, noticing how close he was to her. Before he knew what he was doing, Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

His hand, still over her heart, felt it race as he kissed her, her arms loosely wrapping around him. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he jerked away from her, panting slightly.

"That wasn't supposed to happen."