Itachi could see something different in Orochimaru's eyes as they ran. He looked like a man who had seen the true horrors of the earth and come back from hell to tell all. And, in a way, Itachi supposed he had. His love had been tortured so badly during his stay at Akatsuki, and it pained Itachi to know that he could do next to nothing: only comfort him. But, with Orochimaru's massive comeback, they could both continue their lives. But what had sparked Orochimaru's emotions so? What had brought him back from his broken, crumpled nature and demeanor of submission?
"Orochimaru?"
The snake glanced over at him. "Yes?"
"What happened…back there? What made you throw that back at Kisame?"
Orochimaru's gaze dropped to his feet. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I just kind of…did it. It was like my body was acting on its own." He shrugged. "I'm just happy I get to see Kabuto again." Orochimaru's eyes seemed to light up at the thought of Kabuto; his love, who he had raised from childhood. And when their ages came close, by Orochimaru's switching bodes, they grew even closer than before. Itachi could see it in Orochimaru's body and soul throughout their entire affair-Orochimaru was not a virgin, and no one in Akatsuki was responsible for such a statement. There was only one person who could account for even touching Orochimaru, let alone having sex with him. And that person was a certain silver-haired nerd Itachi had grown to envy quite a bit ever since he had seen his cute little face.
Sure, his plans for keeping Orochimaru for himself had been trashed. Sure, he might have just written his own epitaph by fleeing and laving behind a body. Sure, he had probably just sealed his crush's fate as well, by him being the murderer. And sure, he had lost everything, including a friend, by going after Orochimaru, but…
But he was happy.
Orochimaru was alright, and, with luck, the trauma wouldn't get too far. Kabuto should be able to reverse it…Itachi shook his head. Orochimaru was so lucky to have Kabuto. He only wished him happiness at this point.
"You're quiet."
"Hm…"
Itachi made no response further to Orochimaru's comment, still deep in thought. Orochimaru shrugged it off, knowing Itachi's nature, and said nothing further on the matter. The two travelled silently for a few more minutes, but Itachi broke the silence again.
"Orochimaru…will you miss me?"
Orochimaru was startled by the question. "Well…of course," he said, puzzled by the question posed to him. "I mean, you were my only comfort through out those weeks of pain and torture-you were my savior. I can't just forget you. I don't think I'll miss you to the point that I cut and starve myself, if that's what you're getting at, but I will miss you a lot."
Itachi gave a hum of recognition. "Well, I don't want you to miss me. You have such a wonderful life, and someone else who loves you more than I do. Orochimaru, I never meant to love you. I always wanted to tame you, and to make you rely on me so much you submit to me willingly. And I wanted to make you mine. I never meant to love you purely…but somehow, I ended up doing so, and I hated myself for feeling such emotions for…a mere slave. But then I realized: you were so much more than just my toy. You were my love interest; a person on equal footing with me. Just because other people treated you like garbage didn't mean I had to. I also realized…that you were not mine to take." Itachi paused, unsure of what he wanted to say. "I couldn't stand seeing you with another. It made me angry, that you would refuse to belong to me because of another. So, I sought Kabuto's life. But then I saw how happy you were…and I couldn't do it. So, I let Kabuto go, but decided to keep you and try one last time to win you over. But it was Persephone and Hades-you kept refusing me, the sweet taste of our one kiss reminding you of someone else. I almost felt guilty for making you feel such pain, but I knew I couldn't just let you go. And then Kisame gave you to Kakuza, and that was it. Konan said you couldn't be beaten again, or you would be truly broken. And so, I resolved to get you away from the Akatsuki, so that you would never have to be hurt again. And then Kisame…" Itachi shook his head. "Things just kind of fell into place."
Orochimaru was nothing short of shell-shocked. He could only stare at Itachi for a moment. "Well, then," he whispered. "It's a good thing I will leave you with no regrets."
Itachi knew what Orochimaru meant. He meant that he never wanted to see Itachi again, and he would not regret leaving him-and no looking back. And that he hated Itachi for what he had tried to do. And that he would purposely throw himself at Kabuto when they reached Oto, just to spite Itachi. Itachi sighed lightly and chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I don't blame you for hating me," he finally said. "You have every right. But…I would like you to promise me one thing."
Orochimaru glanced over to Itachi, his face like stone.
"I would like safe passage in and out of your territory. Me, and me alone. I will let you know when I am coming and going. Would that be alright?"
Orochimaru sighed. Itachi had saved him; he supposed he could repay Itachi a bit. "Sure," he said. "But if you dare bring anyone else in, or spill anything you might have found out in this land, Itachi, so help me, my debt to you will fall to your tombstone!"
Itachi smirked. "Really, now, dear," he said softly. "Well, then, I suppose I'll just have to behave myself for once, hm?"
Orochimaru nodded, and began slowing down. He jumped down out of the tree they were running on, landing gracefully on the ground and walking on. "There are several of my ninja here," the sannin said softly, motioning Itachi after him. "We're at the gates, but coming from an odd angle. The path is a bit east of here." Orochimaru approached the gates without hesitation, though, pushing through the bushes with Itachi right behind him. The guards at the gate seemed surprised; they asked Orochimaru for a password. Orochimaru gave it to them gladly in an ANBU code that seemed to apply only to Otonin. Itachi couldn't understand their words at all. The guard's faces suddenly seemed to fall into shock, and they immediately took in the state of their lord. Two of them gently put Orochimaru's arms over their shoulders and helped him walk into Oto, Itachi following closely. The Otonin led Orochimaru around a back way, to spare him a bit of dignity. When Orochimaru finally got to his room, he was panting with the effort of moving with his wounds and whimpering in pain. The guards seemed tired, as well: they were moving as slowly as their master, and they seemed almost tired. Itachi stepped in, wrapping his arms around Orochimaru's waist and gently prying him from the Otonins' grip. Orochimaru went to him gladly, leaving the Otonin puzzled. They glanced at each other before taking a step towards Itachi, attempting to pull Orochimaru away from Itachi.
"Go away."
Orochimaru's eyes were closed, but it seemed he could sense the Otonin moving towards him. "Get Kabuto," Orochimaru whispered. His eyes slid open, and he saw the Otonin hesitate. "Now!" he barked, half turning around. The Otonin took off at a run, and Orochimaru let out a small moan of contentment.
"Don't get confident," he muttered. "Because once Kabuto gets here, you are yesterday's news."
Itachi smiled and gently began stroking Orochimaru's hair, just like he had comforted him back in Akatsuki. "So, you're just using me until then?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
Itachi sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're beautiful," he whispered, placing a soft, chaste kiss on Orochimaru's lips. Orochimaru whipped his head around, then planted it firmly against Itachi's shoulder.
"Don't gimme that shit."
Orochimaru's hands settled on Itachi's shoulders, and he slipped a bit closer to the Uchiha. "And yet, I still want you to be close to me. Amazing."
Itachi's smile grew. "It's because I actually love you. I know it's hard to believe, but I see my wrong now and want to make up for it."
Orochimaru sighed and stepped back. "You certainly know how to sweet-talk me," he mumbled. "Look, when Kabuto gets here, just…just don't tell him any of this, okay? Let's just…pretend it never happened."
Itachi nodded. "But…you do know that I'm not going to just leave and never come back? I will come back occasionally."
Orochimaru shook his head. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides-" he paused as he heard his door open. "We have other business to attend to right now." Orochimaru turned around just as Kabuto stepped through the door-
And froze.
Orochimaru took off at a run, throwing his arms around Kabuto's shoulders and holding onto him for dear life. Kabuto's arms wrapped around Orochimaru's waist, picking him up and spinning him around before coming to a halt and kissing him. Itachi just watched for a moment, face set like flint, before breezing past the couple and disappearing.
Orochimaru was left on his knees on the floor, gasping and clutching at his stomach in pain.
Every Otonin was suddenly clustered around him, trying to protect him from something they couldn't see. Orochimaru was knocked to his side when a blow was dealt to his face; he was suddenly kicked in the side, and then lifted up and thrown across the room. A figure suddenly appeared before the Otonin, clothed in red and black and pierced with metal bars and studs. Orange spiky hair half-covered a scratched-out Amegakure symbol, and the rest of his body was hidden by a long cloak.
"Pein," Kabuto snarled. "I should have known. How did you find us, though?"
Pein smirked and reached out, seizing something they could still not see. Pein dragged out a struggling Itachi by the hair, catching the hand that lashed out at him and wrestling Itachi to the floor. "He led me right to you," he said smugly, grinding Itachi's face into the ground. Itachi grunted with the pain and struggled even more, desperately trying to free himself. He couldn't let Pein just take Orochimaru-he just couldn't! Pein's weight lifted from his back, and Itachi heard footsteps heading away from him. His heart leapt to his throat as he heard a frightened squeal, and then he turned over onto his back. His eyes widened in horror.
Pein had viciously struck Orochimaru, and a bruise was forming on his pale cheek already. His hand was wrapped around Orochimaru's throat, holding him at arm's length in the air. Orochimaru's nails had already clawed long scratched in Pein's arms, something that Pein was obviously not happy about.
"Shut up!" he shouted, and threw Orochimaru back into the wall with such force that Orochimaru's body caused the wall to buckle in under the pressure. "Stupid little-"
"Leave him alone!"
A kunai dug its way deep into Pein's shoulder, and he whipped around just in time to deflect the one headed straight for his heart. "Don't you dare touch him," Itachi snarled, letting loose another pair of kunai. "Leave him the hell alone!"
Pein slowly turned around the rest of the way, smirking. "And give me one reason why." He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not taking either of the two seriously. "Itachi, you're weak and pathetic. This little slave has brought you so low…I can't believe that you would be such a sucker for a whore's charm, but hey, you're young. Testosterone runs rampant at your age. I'll forgive it; if you forget him completely. But until then, Itachi, you have greatly lost my respect."
The entire time Pein was talking, Orochimaru had been inching closer and closer to the kunai Pein had knocked away when Itachi threw it at him. His fingers slowly curled around it; his hand's shaking transferred to the blade. Still, his resolve was never stronger as he rose to his feet, still keeping silent, raised the kunai-
"Itachi, you really need to learn to-"
Pein's mouth was suddenly spewing blood instead of words.
Orochimaru was behind him, letting go of the hilt of a kunai buried deep in Pein's heart. His body was failing him-he fell to the ground, eyes glazed over and glassy. Itachi was shocked-had Orochimaru really come that far so fast?
Orochimaru ran directly to Kabuto, throwing his arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. Bitter-sweet tears fell from molten eyes, trailing down pale cheeks in whispers of glassy sorrow and emotion. Orochimaru just stood there for a moment, crying into Kabuto's shoulder while tears slipped from dark black eyes and fell onto ebony hair, stroked by the hand of a lover.
"I'll leave him with you. He's happy."
When Orochimaru looked up, Itachi was gone.
A/N: A tad short, but I thought that was a nice place to end. One more chapter, folks! Review for a good one!!
