Chapter 9
Many Years Ago...
A line of bodies rotting from fever, trudged forward. Expression grim, the young doctor took each by the chin as he examined their vitals. For all intents and purposes they were the walking dead. The gaunt beauty scribbled something on his clipboard as he motioned for the next one.
"When will it end", Fugaku sighed.
Orochimaru jumped. He hadn't felt the other man approach. But then, when did he ever?
"Uchiha-sama", he murmured. He didn't miss a beat, despite the presence that pulsed beside him with authority. "We're close."
"Konoha is in your debt Orochimaru. With your help we've managed to isolate the Kyuubi strain."
"Yes sir. If we could just…"
"Don't worry about that. I've got the perfect subject in mind. She's with child and her blood is strong."
Orochimaru scowled down at the calculations he'd scratched out in a hurry. "I leave it to you then." He turned and motioned to his assistant. Kabuto, face also drawn, straightened his shoulders and pushed up his glasses as he came forward.
"Get the room ready. We'll begin immediately."
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"You can't do this to me!"
"Namikaze get ahold of yourself. Guards, restrain him!"
"No! No, Kushina!"
The redhead turned, teary eyed but resigned as the armed men at her back jostled her forward. The cold muzzles of their guns pressed into her spine and her lip trembled.
"Minato", she whispered.
The blonde the other goons were having trouble restraining stilled instantly, anguish carved on his handsome face for all to see. She nodded to him, a silent understanding passing between the two lovers as his pregnant wife was escorted outside into the armored truck. He sagged into their hold, the fight drained from him.
"Namikaze it is for the good of the village. You understand that don't you? It's your duty as a citizen. With this we'll finally have the cure."
"Fuck you", the blonde spat as Fugaku tried to take a step closer. "And fuck duty. Kushina!"
The raven-haired man tsked and spat back, hitting his target full on because the other couldn't move.
"She's saving hundreds of lives", he tried to reason. "Don't you see that?"
"Why", Minato yelled. "Why couldn't you pick someone else for this sick experiment?" His hoarse yell choked off as an arm wrapped around his throat and squeezed.
"My, my. You don't seem to be getting it at all. We have tried and for some reason your little Kushina was the candidate with the best results."
"Liar", the blonde howled. "You lying piece of shit!"
Fugaku threw back his head and laughed. "Really now, you're not still obsessing over the past are you?"
"She's my wife asshole. You're taking my future", the man's voice cracked with the weight of his desperation. The ones holding him released their grip and he slid to the floor before crawling forward and clutching at one of Fugaku's ankles.
"Please…she's carrying my son."
"Now, don't be like this", the Uchiha simpered. He hauled his blonde rival to his feet and made a show of dusting him off. "What was it you told me all those years ago?" Fugaku tapped his chin. "Ah! Right. There's plenty of fish in the sea."
"I-I'll do anything", the blonde man stammered.
"That you will." He clapped a hand on Namikaze's shoulder then turned on his heel, the entourage following suit in a staunch march. Minato stood for a long time after the throaty sound of the trucks faded then walked over to the wall and slammed his head against it until he felt blood trickle down.
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"Well?"
Orochimaru blinked at the readings blipping across the screen. He blinked again, glanced down at some figures in the binder, glared at the screen…blinked again. "We have it", he said breathlessly. "We have it!"
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"Minato…Mina—"
"Shhh. Sh, he's fine."
"Where's my husband", the redhead moaned. She was strapped to the table with her legs restrained in an apex. Wires were hooked to her temples as vials upon vials of blood were drawn then infused back into her body. Her naked belly bulged with child and glistened in the harsh fluorescent.
Kabuto stood over her and frowned at the machine's readings as he swirled some liquid in a test beaker. "Just relax miss."
The woman's head sagged back and she squeezed her eyes closed. Suddenly, she started to babble and convulse. Kabuto set the beaker down and stepped forward, flicking a syringe as all the machines hooked up to her spiked with her hysteria. He angled the needle down and squeezed the sedative into the opening of her IV drip.
"There, there", he crooned when she stopped thrashing. "It'll all be over soon."
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Fugaku reclined in his chair with a smug grin as he nursed his drink of choice. Taking a leisurely sip, he eyed the man across from him over the crystal rim.
"Come now, Orochimaru. Why the long face?"
He selected one of the cigars Marian proffered to him and placed one end in his mouth. The manservant made quick work of snipping the end and setting a flame to the frayed tip. Fugaku took three long hauls off it before shifting the cigar and trading it for another sip of brandy.
Orochimaru chose silence as he fidgeted.
"Would you like one?"
Marian trundled forward and offered him the box as well but Orochimaru waved him away. "I don't see how you can stand those things."
The eldest Uchiha chuckled lowly. "When you're in my position, it's more a blessing than a curse. I assure you. But tell me, why do you look so distressed?"
Orochimaru bit his lip. "This…isn't right…"
"What? Is something not adding up in the antidote?"
"No", the gaunt beauty said quickly. "No everything is fine. We have plenty of back stock and…well everyone is pretty much cured now…but…"
"But?"
"Why do you insist on holding onto that woman? She's served her purpose and she's fit to burst any day now."
The burn of the alcohol slithering down his throat numbed as rage clouded Fugaku's vision. "You dare question me?"
Orochimaru shook his head, panic setting in at the expression on the Uchiha's face. The slender man fidgeted then propped his ankle over one knee. Like a magnet, Fugaku's black gaze was drawn to the tantalizing juncture of the taller man's crotch. Good. Now if he could just..."N-no sir, It's just—"
The rest of his words garbled into white noise as ebony eyes simmered.
"Come here."
The lithe man jolted in his chair as Fugaku set his crystal snifter down with a clack on the glass table in front of him.
"Don't make me say it twice."
Because Uchiha's never asked. Orochimaru sighed. It was like a Uchiha privilege or something, anything they wanted they got. Resigned, he rose to his feet and stepped closer to the eldest and most powerful. "S-should we be doing this…here? Your wife is sleeping upstairs isn't she? A-and your son—"
He waved a dismissive hand. "He's away at a friend's for the night and she hasn't let me touch her since I got her with child." Fugaku's dark eyes shuttered to half-mast as he patted his lap. Without needing clarification, Orochimaru straddled the proffered area. Hands came up and caged around pale hips with bruising pressure as the politician ground Orochimaru against the swelling bulge between his legs.
Thinking quickly, the gaunt beauty rummaged around in his lab coat before Fugaku could slip it off. He placed the procured item, a crimson tablet, on his tongue before relaxing into the embrace. A door clicked off to their left, signaling the manservant's departure.
Fugaku descended on his mouth with a vengeance. Orochimaru leaned into the touch as he'd conditioned himself to do while the Uchiha swallowed his offering with a flourish of sloppy tongues and possessive growls.
"This is the new one you were telling me about?"
"Fresh out of the lab", the lithe man panted.
Fugaku convulsed beneath him, the previous buzz from his booze excursion spiking into a piercing ring as Orochimaru began rocking his body against the shorter man's.
"G-God", he hissed, clutching and kneading Orochimaru's ass. "Just like that", he gasped.
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"He's gone?"
"Left town just like that."
"Poor Namikaze. I can't blame him though, what with his wife passing after giving birth to that boy. It'd make anyone go insane."
"The immune one?"
"I've heard that he talks to himself."
"Well sure. He has no one else to talk to."
"Why does it have to be him", another mother muttered bitterly. "I've lost three people to this insipid virus and yet he gets to live!"
"It's all in his body now. And we're cured. Should we really be treating him this way?"
"He deserves it. He doesn't know our pain. As you said, he's immune."
In a complex a little ways away, the blonde child hugged his knees and buried his face into the space offered there. He could hear their words. He'd just learned long ago not to listen. Besides, they were right. He was blessed. He had no one; no friends, no family, not a single person who cared.
He had no one to lose.
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"Hey rich boy."
Naruto ignored them as he sat on the swing nearby, idle toes buried in the warm sand as he rocked himself back and forth.
"Leave me alone!"
"Your daddy gonna do something if we don't?"
"Quit it! Give those back!"
"You can just get another pair can't you?"
Laughter tore at the blonde's ears and he finally dragged his eyes over to the scene. Boys in their class had cornered that Uchiha kid again. This wasn't the first time. But at least they acknowledged his existence.
If it weren't for the fact that this was the only grade school in the whole town, they'd probably be in different worlds. But they weren't because some dickhead came up with the idea that all kids should have the same base education, then they could excel in their own ways.
"Stoppit!"
Bet that Uchiha kid wished for the same thing. Difference…separation…Naruto got to his feet and ambled over. "Leave him alone."
He was ignored as one of the boys jostled Sasuke's shoulder.
"Leave him alone."
Stop looking at him for once. Listen to me! I'm right here!
Again, no one seemed to hear him. Naruto didn't pause to wonder why today. His belly gnawed at itself with hunger, the bruises on his skin pulsed and ached. He just wanted someone to notice him. To turn towards him with a smile or a sneer. Either one would have been fine.
He loathed this Sasuke, loathed him because he was always the center of attention, whether it was good or bad.
"Leave", Naruto spun one boy around, "him alone!"
The children faced him and jumped as one force; kicking, scratching, spitting, punching. The blonde welcomed the pain.
"Freak."
"Monster!"
"Just shut up and stay invisible."
"Nobody wants you!"
Again and again their blows fell until the pain and numb blended into a single sensation. Yes, yes more.
But then it stopped. He heard the poignant sound of little feet pattering away. Yelling. Crying? The blonde rolled over and looked up into charcoal eyes that glittered with intensity.
"You", the pale boy panted. "You alright?" He reached out a small hand and hauled Naruto up to sit, even as he swayed.
The blonde didn't deign to answer as his entire body pulsed with 'attention'.
"Thanks for what you did."
Nothing. I did nothing.
"They're such jerks."
Jerks who don't ignore you. Jerks who're jealous of you. Who—
"What's your name?"
Cobalt blinked as the blonde eyed him carefully. A pale arm wrapped around his quivering shoulders as the taller boy guided him carefully to his feet.
"N-naruto", he whispered.
"I'm Sasuke."
I know.
Sasuke stepped back and braced his hands on Naruto's shoulders as a solemn scowl smeared itself across his brow. "Wanna be friends?"
Take the offer boy.
The voice, the only one who talked to him growled in his head and without realizing it, Naruto was nodding.
Sasuke grinned. "Cool. You're sticking with me then."
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"You've saved us all but now you're leaving?"
"Its cost me too much."
"Don't go." Fugaku halted the lithe man with a manicured hand on his elbow. "Stay", he implored. And Uchiha's never begged for anything. "I know what you want to do and I don't want to have to come down on you for it. Stay here with me where it's safe."
Orochimaru shook his head as he shrugged off his lab coat and hung it on the coat tree. "I'm done lying to myself."
He slipped a tube of something into Fugaku's hands and pushed past him on his way out the door that Kabuto was propping open for him. He paused though, and turned back to face the demanding politician.
"You know where to find me though", his eyes flitted to the tube Fugaku was fingering. "If you want more."
A heavy rush of air hissed as the door shut behind them.
Fugaku worked a furious muscle in his jaw as the corked test tube rolled smoothly between his fingers. To date, Orochimaru was the first and last person to ever go against him. And that was why he intrigued the Uchiha so.
By rights, he never kept around anyone who forced him to look up. Orochimaru was a good head taller than him, slender defiance that galled every fiber of his being. No matter how he controlled their sex Orochimaru was always the one to dictate when it was okay.
He hated and loved that lack of control.
Bribes hadn't worked. And the man had tried; with fame, with fortune. The gaunt beauty denied them and chose to slink back into his shadows. He said he lied to himself.
Fugaku scoffed. Everyone lied to themselves.
Some were just more honest than others when it came to admitting that though.
He had a stunning wife who suited his image a lot better than that ginger twit would have. He'd crushed his only rival. He had everything a single man could possibly want; fame, power, wealth, and a family that adored him.
Yet…
Yet he craved something he shouldn't, from another man no less. Was it vanity? Or something else…
He was definitely not one of the honest ones.
The raven-haired man drew back his arm like he wanted to shatter the glittering tube of crimson liquid. But then, he lowered it again as he brought it up for closer inspection. With his thumb, Fugaku popped off the cork and took a good whiff of the heady aphrodisiac.
Dirty, filthy, willful little—
He tipped his head back and his throat bobbed with the lengthy swallow. A hand shot out to support him as he swayed in the empty room. Fire.
He was on fire.
Fugaku moaned and stumbled out the door. Yes, he knew where to find him.
Booooo! I'm sorry if that seemed confusing. This entire chapter is one big clusterfuck of a flashback. I wanted to give a bit of background to the story and so here it is. I hope you weren't too confused. And it'll all even itself out in the end. :3 Look at me, jeez! I'm on an update rampage yo xD Thank you for reading~ and please forgive any typos you will most likely encounter x3
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