The two boys dashed forward, shadows following. Their escape was blocked when more shadows rose up between them and the glowing outline of the exit. Stopping abruptly, they looked around desperately for another exit. There was none in sight and the screeching creatures were almost on them. They whirled and ran into the dense trees, hoping to find cover and another way out.
Sasuke tried to quiet his breathing as he ran through the trees, Naruto a blur of orange and blond ahead of him. The park seemed to stretch on endlessly, much larger than the one in reality. The nimble neko focused on the dark woody ground, uneven from twisting roots and undergrowth.
He didn't know exactly how long they ran but his lungs were burning. The howling of the shadows slowly seemed to fade. Naruto paused ahead of him and together they stood still and listened. The sounds that had been hounding them were fainter now and seemed to be drifting further away from them.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Sasuke crouched down for a moment to catch his breath. He looked around but all he could see were unnaturally pale tree trunks and green foliage strangely vivid in the stark moonlight. He could estimate the direction they had come from but aside from that knew nothing of their current location. As the world quieted around them, he realized the shadows could now be lurking in any direction. They had no way of knowing where there were until they were upon them, and by then it would be too late.
Naruto crouched down next to him, looking up towards the dark sky. "What should we do?" His whisper seemed too loud in the fearful silence.
"I don't know. We can't go back the same way. There's way too many shadows there now."
Naruto glanced around into the impenetrable blackness. "What if we don't find another exit? What will happen to us?"
Sasuke had never considered that possibility before. Would they be doomed to wander around endlessly, or starve to death? He looked at the strange trees. Was anything here edible? How much time had really passed? Struck by a sudden idea, he reached for his cell phone and was surprised to find it in his pocket. But the time and date were unchanged from when they had entered the shadow world and there was no reception.
Naruto had watched with interest but now his shoulders slumped as they realized they were on their own. "I think we should go back the way we came. At least then we know we're heading to an exit."
He had a point, but Sasuke still felt it was too dangerous. Their battle would have drawn attention from miles around. "Let's just go a bit further. If we don't find anything we'll head back." Naruto nodded his agreement and they proceeded forward cautiously, ears alert
After a while the dense trees began to thin out and the boys excitedly moved faster in the hopes of emerging from the dark foliage. Eventually the trees fell away completely and they found themselves standing on a paved street that fell away in front of them into a steep cliff. Their eyes opened wide, mouths agape as they stared at the sight in front of them.
Rising from the black chasm in front of them was a glowing building spiralling up into the clouds. A long staircase ran all along the sides of the structure, winding upwards until it disappeared into the clouds. The building itself was lit up by strobing lights, the intricate golden sides glowing in the darkness as they reflected the light. There were long queues of people at the base of the building. Looking closer, Sasuke saw the people all had the same similar, featureless visages – they were a part of the distortion. "What are they lined up for?" He voiced the thought out loud.
"I think those are ballot boxes. An election?" Naruto pointed near the entrance of the building, "Look, they're handing out little pieces of paper." Sasuke followed his gaze, noting there seemed to be only one word on the paper, but he could not make it out from this distance.
"So … this is all someone's fucked up perception of reality?" Naruto stared upward where lights flashed behind the roiling clouds above the building. "That is so messed up."
Sasuke was surprised by the size of the place. He had been in Orochimaru's amusement park before, but he had not seen it from the outside so had no way to know how large it was. He suddenly felt uncertain – would he really be able to face the man's shadow? He thought of Kabuto then, of how he had lost control. What would become of the man? Would they still be able to get the information they needed?
He looked down at the sharp slope in front of them. It was a long fall to the bottom. They had no way to get down to the entrance without injuring themselves, even if they wanted to. They began walking the circumference of the chasm in search of an exit and before long a familiar rectangular glow caught their attention. It was attached to one of the many nameless storefronts lining the cracked street.
When they stepped through with relief, they were standing in front of a book store on a mostly empty street in Tokyo. The sign was flipped to the closed side and it was dark out, the streetlamps fighting with the moon to illuminate the street. Sasuke looked at his phone – three hours had passed and he had three missed calls from his mother and two from Itachi. He glanced at Naruto in horror, who looked up from his own phone with an expression mirroring Sasuke's. "Jiraiya called … three times."
Fuck.
They would need to come up with something good if they were to survive their guardians' wrath and continue exploring the darker world. He thought briefly of just going back to the shadow world, but decided he likely had a better chance of surviving with the humans in the real world.
"We better call them. Just tell them … I don't know. What do we say?"
Naruto thought about it for a moment. "We could say our phones died."
"Both of our phones? That's a bit unrealistic."
"What if they were both turned off … because we were at the library?"
Sasuke looked at Naruto in disbelief – Naruto at a library? The blonde laughed nervously, "Alright, maybe not the library. A movie?"
"That's better."
They decided on a movie so their stories matched and Naruto even gave Sasuke a run-down of the plot before they faced the adults responsible for their wellbeing.
Sasuke hesitated, thinking of who to call first. He decided on his mother. After all, Itachi was usually busy at night these days. The phone barely started ringing before Mikoto answered, "Where are you? Why weren't you answering? Are you ok?" She sounded hysterical.
Pushing away his guilt, he answered as agreed, "Sorry Okaasan. I went to a movie with Naruto and turned my phone off. We forgot to tell Jiraiya-san before leaving."
He heard a heavy sigh on the other end, "That's alright. Just … remember to tell someone next time. Are you two headed home now?"
"We were just going to grab some food first, if that's ok."
There was a pause on the other end and Sasuke waited with bated breath. Finally Mikoto agreed, "Alright, but please be careful. I don't like you staying out too late. I'll let your brother know you're safe."
After saying goodbye he turned to Naruto. Jiraiya's voice boomed loudly through the phone and he was rubbing the back of his blond head nervously as he tried to calm the man down. He finally turned to Sasuke, putting his phone away with a heavy sigh, "I'm in so much shit."
"Never mind that. Do you know how to get back to the park from here?" They had to find Kabuto.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
There was a warm wind in the city that night, lifting Itachi's long dark hair to flutter around him. It was a beautiful night. The moon shone brightly in the clear night sky, an almost perfect disc. Slender fingers pushed back dark bangs as the wind suddenly changed direction.
Footsteps approached and he turned to greet the newcomers. An unlikely group, held together by a common cause.
"Let's begin." Their leader's voice carried through the warm air and scattered the group like leaves in a flurry.
"Beautiful night," Kisame observed, walking beside him. "I hope it'll be the same on the other side. It'll make everything easier if we don't have to run around in the dark."
Itachi glanced at his phone one last time as they headed to their designated locations. Sasuke is ok. He was at the movies with his friend. The shadow of a smile touched his lips as he put the phone away, before the world transformed around him. Such a beautiful night.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"A man found unconscious in Kiba Park three days ago passed away last night. Police are asking anyone who can help identify the man to come…" A picture of Kabuto accompanied the news report on the small television mounted in the corner of the ramen bar. Naruto and Sasuke sat transfixed, food forgotten.
Murderer.
For the past three days, Kabuto's unseeing eyes had looked at him in accusation every time he closed his eyes. He could still see him clearly, collapsed on the hard earth. His glasses had fallen next to him, broken. He had still been breathing then, and they had hope.
Naruto had placed the anonymous call at the phone booth – "We have to get him to a hospital! – and they had watched from a distance as the flashing lights took the unresponsive man away.
The news report ended and moved onto the entertainment report. They were seated at a table by the window, steaming bowls of ramen in front of them. The patter of raindrops against the foggy window accompanied the buzz from the television. There were a few other patrons seated at the bar, warding off the wet chill of the weather with the spicy soup.
The food that had tasted so delicious a moment ago was suddenly unappetizing. Sasuke's mouth felt dry as he looked at Naruto, his worry mirrored on the blonde neko's face.
"He's dead! This is crazy. This is so fucking crazy." Naruto held his head in his hands, "What the hell is this shadow world anyway? What if … what if there are others that can go there? They could kill anyone and no one would ever know." The thought was disturbing, adding an uncomfortable edge to the slight chill from the window.
"There probably are other people with Personas. It can't be just us."
They sat in silence watching the raindrops, contemplating the implications of this new discovery.
Murderer. The thought came again unbidden to Sasuke's mind. Kabuto was dead because of him, after all. I didn't know what was going to happen, he argued with himself. It won't happen again. Kabuto's unseeing eyes stared accusingly at him, lying on the ground, glasses broken.
Naruto's voice thankfully cut through the turmoil of his moral dilemma. "What do you want to do now? You said that Kabuto guy would lead to the ones responsible for everything."
"We'll just have to keep looking until we find something. His operation is huge – he even has cops on his payroll. Someone has to know something. If we keep taking down shadows maybe we'll find something. Either way, our Personas will get stronger too." He looked his friend in the eye, "Naruto, you don't have to come with me. I can do this on my own."
"Shut up, teme. It's too late for that." The resilient blonde gave him an uncertain look, "Just … I don't want to kill anyone."
"What happened wasn't your fault."
"I was there. I could have stopped it."
"We had no idea what would happen," Sasuke retaliated. "And it won't happen again."
Naruto nodded in silent agreement. The two friends finished their meals in quiet understanding – they were not killers.
"Do you still want to go today?" Naruto asked between mouthfuls of ramen. They had planned to head back into the shadow world today.
Though shaken by the news report, Sasuke had no intention of giving up. "I think we should check out that building we found." They had come up with several theories about the spiralling structure and Sasuke wondered if the ballot boxes were linked to all the recent talk about elections at his home.
The ring of Naruto's phone halted their conversation. Cursing, he fumbled in his pockets for the offending object. "Oh no…" his face fell, ears drooping, "It's Sakura-chan." He looked apologetically at Sasuke, "I have to answer."
Sasuke just rolled his eyes as Naruto answered. "Sakura-chan! I – um … haha … yeah, I was just going to … ah … I'm just busy right now so – " he jerked the phone away from his ear as the voice on the other end increased several decibels. "Alright, alright. Ok, I'm headed over right now." He hung up with a frown, shoulders slumped in defeat.
"What is it?"
"We're supposed to be working on a project together and I haven't really done very much yet, so …" he laughed nervously, sheepishly grinning. "So she was a bit upset. Anyway, I told her I'd be right over." He looked apologetically again at Sasuke. "We'll have to check the building out next time."
"Whatever, dobe."
"You better not go without me."
"I won't go without you," Sasuke sighed in annoyance.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The rain waged war with the sun for the rest of the week. The ground had just enough time to soak up the moisture before another rainfall drenched it. Sasuke had been stuck at home for two days. He had seen neither Itachi nor Naruto. Mikoto noticed his low mood, and tried to take him shopping for a relative's upcoming wedding, but Sasuke had no interest in attending.
"But Itachi will be going too!"
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to go to a wedding."
"It'll be good for you to get out of the house and meet people."
"I don't want to meet people."
"It'll be fun."
"It'll be boring." With that he barricaded himself in his room again.
Despite the lure of the shadow world, a part of him realized he was glad they hadn't gone back yet. He had yet to face another distorted shadow since Kabuto. Knowing the consequences of his actions, he felt suddenly nervous at the prospect of another battle. What if he lost control again? What if someone else died because of him? He fell into a troubled sleep as the thoughts bounced around in his dark room, fed by guilt amidst the sound of pounding rain.
He saw Kabuto's lifeless form again. His shadow turning to ash and being swept away. His worn glasses, lying broken on the ground. He thought of him as a little boy, taken in by Orochimaru. Preyed on, brainwashed, succumbing to a life of slavery. Now he was just a body. No one even knew who he was.
He turned over on the bed, willing the choking dreams away, but it was useless. As his mind argued with itself it flashed with images of the silver-haired main. Dragging him to his car. On his knees as his distortion disappeared. Smirking, eyes hidden behind his glasses. Lying motionless on the ground. Looking on as Orochimaru trained Sasuke. His picture on the TV screen. Naked, panting over Sasuke's broken body as Orochimaru laughed in the background …
His vision turned red as blood pulsated in his ears and the world shimmered. He sat up abruptly, focusing on the falling rain to calm down. I almost lost control again…
Seeking solace from too many nights of disturbed sleep, he picked up his phone and his fingers hovered over Itachi's number, but he hesitated as he thought of what he would say to his brother. What good would calling Itachi do? He imagined his brother's response if he told him he murdered someone. Shuddering, he put the phone down. There was no one for him to turn to.
Yet he found himself staring at the small pile of documents he had received from the hospital, pushed to the back of his desk. Moving forward slowly as if someone else were controlling his body, he dug through the papers until he found the small card the doctor had given him. "I am recommending a psychiatrist who has significant experience with childhood trauma. He has agreed to see you specifically at my request."
He didn't want someone in his head but he also didn't want to lose control again. Anything was better than that. And he needed to sleep. So he dialled the number.
The receptionist scheduled him for an appointment two weeks later, but then called back the same day to say the doctor would like to meet with him sooner, given his particular circumstances and request from his colleague. So he was scheduled to see him in two days, sending him into a slight panic.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, dobe, now hurry up."
Uncertainty painted across his whiskered face, the blonde obediently stepped off the train, Sasuke following. Sasuke hadn't wanted to bother Itachi as he was always busy these days, and his mother would make a big deal out of things. So instead Naruto was walking with him to the psychiatric clinic.
The building was two storeys tall, surrounded by trees and a lush lawn. Sasuke noted darkly that it also had huge windows with a perfect view into the lobby so anyone walking by could see you going in.
There were a few other people seated in the lobby and Sasuke tried to face away from them as he waited, not wanting to be recognized.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" To Sasuke's frayed nerves, Naruto's hushed tone seemed too loud in the quiet room.
Sasuke was not in the mood to discuss this with Naruto. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. His skin was crawling, and he thought the other people in the lobby were looking at him as if they knew.
He leapt up and rushed down the hall when his name was called, sinking gratefully into a chocolate-coloured recliner. The receptionist closed the door, leaving him alone in the warmly lit counselling room. The carpet was soft, muting the sound of the ticking clock. Bookshelves lines the walls, interspersed with potted plants. One corner with occupied by a tidy desk. On it sat a picture of two young boys, one dark-haired and wearing orange goggles, the other with lighter hair and a scarf covering half his face.
Sasuke wondered again if he was doing the right thing, as he read the name on the golden plaque on the desk: Hatake Kakashi, child psychiatrist.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
It took Sasuke some time to get used to his psychiatrist. The first two visits had ended prematurely with him storming out of the office to Naruto's surprised response, "How was it?! What did he say? That was really short!"
The difficulty of discussing his past already put him on edge. The therapist's bizarre behaviour didn't help.
He was late for their first session. Sasuke had waited with mounting anxiety as he watched the ticking clock. His heart nearly stopped when the man suddenly appeared, 15 minutes late.
"Yo!" He was clearly the second boy in the photo on the desk, now older. He had wild white hair and in place of a scarf, his mouth and nose were covered by a surgical mask. An angry scar ran down the left side of his face, the thick, knotted tissue forcing the left eye shut.
"Sorry I'm late. There was this old lady having trouble crossing the street, so I had to stop and help her." He rubbed the back of his head, a smile causing his good eye to squint.
On edge from waiting, Sasuke did not respond well to his lame excuse. "It took 15 minutes to cross the street?" He asked, teeth clenched.
"Ah, well, traffic was really quite terrible."
Is this guy for real?
"But you must be Sasuke-kun. I'm Hatake Kakashi."
"Hn. What's with the mask?"
"I have a friend in the hospital and don't want to catch a cold. But please, let's begin. I want you to start by telling me why you're here."
He tried to brush the man's strange behaviour aside, remembering that this man was supposedly an expert.
"I've been having nightmares." He fought to keep the sudden flood of emotions in check as he started sharing his story. The man's cool demeanour didn't help either. He found it hard to discern his emotions behind the surgical mark and with only one good eye. What is he thinking right now?
When he told him about the hands grabbing and choking him at night, he wondered if he imagined the man look at him as if he were crazy. And when he brought up the abuse, he thought maybe the man grimaced in disgust.
Suddenly he didn't want to be there anymore, letting this man into his head. He tried to backtrack, to take back what he had given the man. He felt he was in a silent battle – with himself or the man, he wasn't sure. Sasuke's move – I'm fine, he was trying to say. "But I don't always have the nightmares, just sometimes."
"Is it always the same nightmares?" Kakashi countered. No, you're not fine.
"It's usually the same few, but they're more like memories and they've been going on for weeks and I've been fine so far." I don't need this.
"What made you decide to come in after all this time?" You chose to come here.
"I just thought I'd try it out." I can do this on my own.
"Have you opened up to anyone else?" You don't have to do this alone.
But just as with Itachi, he was up against a master at seeing through words. His crumbling defence soon fell, and he found that after a while his answers started to resemble the truth. Perhaps he was losing the mental battle, or perhaps the battle was all in his head and he was just tired of faking it.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Even after stubbornly proclaiming to Naruto he would never go back, he still returned to the psychiatrist. He realized the man's words had struck a chord with him, mulling over them days later. And talking had offered some catharsis at last.
They never delved into the details of his abuse, just that his capture and torment had occurred. Rather they focused on coping strategies.
"What do you mean they'll never go away? Isn't that what I'm here for?"
"You will carry these scars forever, Sasuke. But life will always move forward, with or without you. It's up to you whether you move forward with it."
He even opened up to the man about his concerns with bringing his captor to justice. "He even threatened me in the hospital. There's no way I'll be able to get him behind bars."
"Pursuing justice is a difficult track and will reopen old wounds. Proceed cautiously if you wish, but do not let it consume you. I can tell you right now that staying behind in the past will only end in more pain and suffering."
"How the hell can I let that creep just get away with what he did?"
"Do what you feel is right, but don't forget you're free now. Don't forget to live. Make new memories, enjoy your freedom. Spend time with your family and friends. And open up to someone you trust. You might be surprised at how liberating it is."
He even gave him small tasks to do in between sessions – go to a new shop, try a new food, strike up a conversation with a sales clerk. When he tasked him with reuniting with his family, Sasuke agreed to attend the upcoming wedding, to his mother's delight.
"Build new bonds. Create new memories. The old memories won't disappear, but they will fade." The man's eye crinkled as he smiled reassuringly at the troubled boy. "Terrible things have happened to you in the past, and the future is in no one's control. But you control the outcome of this moment. The present is all we have."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
You better be right about this, Kakashi. Sasuke looked wearily around the atrium of the church. People dressed in traditional finery were milling around and indulging in wine prior to the service. A few had wandered into the nave of the church, claiming their seats on the wooden pews.
The church was nestled comfortably next to a large office building downtown. The green lawn and tidy grounds separated it from the surrounding concrete and steel. Well-kept flowerbeds and rows of blooming trees created a mosaic of colour around the wooden building.
The service wasn't due to start for another half hour so Sasuke was tagging along behind his parents as they met with distant relatives and other important-looking people. There was more talk of political matters in the airy atrium than of the wedding they were attending.
Sasuke wondered again if coming had been a good idea. He had no interest in the dull conversations whirling around him. In fact he had no interest at all in any of the occupants of the church, and glanced again at the entrance. His brother still hadn't arrived.
The light shifted outside as a light drizzle began to fall. With disappointed murmurs guests rushed inside from the lawn. As the atrium became flooded with more people, Sasuke anxiously looked for an escape from the suffocating throng. But the sound of his name drew his attention back to the couple his parents were talking to. "… Sasuke, my youngest," Mikoto was saying.
"Oh, he looks so much like Itachi-kun." The chubby woman responded. Her pink kimono was tied too tightly and made her face appear flushed. Her husband looked at Fugaku, "Such a shame he left the party. He had so much potential! I hear he runs a coffee shop now, is that right?"
"Yes, but I am sure he will return before long," Fugaku did not look pleased – it was clearly still a sensitive topic.
"And what about you, Sasuke-kun? Will you be joining the party with your father as well? Oh, but you must still be in school right now. What grade are you in, dear?"
"I'm not in school."
The woman looked scandalized by his response, uncertain how to respond. Fugaku's face was dark as he turned away.
"There's been some extenuating circumstances and he's taking a leave of absence from school right now," Mikoto hastily cut in, smile plastered on her face as she lied. "We have him home-schooled for now."
The man gladly pounced on her excuse, "Ah, I see! Well, there are several benefits to home-schooling. I was actually speaking with the superintendent the other day …"
Sasuke tuned out the rest of the conversation, head thrumming with the image of his father's disappointed face. He excused himself and escaped into the nave, sitting with a relieved sigh on one of the empty wooden pews near a window. He watched the rain falling outside the stained glass as he waited for the service to begin.
The bench shifted next to him, drawing his attention back into the room as his brother sat next to him. The coloured light painted his smiling face with a dancing rainbow, and Sasuke committed the sight to memory to later put on canvas.
"I'm glad you came."
Sasuke didn't want to be childish and say he wished he hadn't come, so instead he did his best to smile, "I haven't been in a church in ages. Shouldn't you be in there?" He jerked his head to the crowded atrium, but Itachi only shrugged.
"That is not necessary. I would rather be here." He looked relaxed. Normally he would be much more serious at such events, and Sasuke was glad to see him like this. He wondered if maybe the pressure of living up to their father's expectations had finally gotten to be too much for him, and that was why he left home.
Itachi chuckled suddenly, looking down at Sasuke's yukata. Sasuke had cut a hole under the obi and his tail rested on the wooden pew. "I remember when I had to cut holes in all your clothes, otherwise you would refuse to wear them and just run around naked."
"Why do you have to bring up something like that?!" Sasuke was blushing and felt flustered with embarrassment, but Itachi was smiling so he didn't really mind. Itachi's gaze turned distant, smile fading as he looked at the obi. After a few moments he reached out to touch it, fingers running along the soft material. "Why this colour?" His voice was suddenly hard, matching the eyes that looked at Sasuke.
"You … you remember?" He looked down at the pale blue yukata and periwinkle obi. He didn't think Itachi would recall such a small detail.
"Of course I remember. You were wearing that colour four years ago, the night you disappeared."
It felt like it was just the two of them in the room, every other guest forgotten. Sasuke was acutely aware of the sound of raindrops hitting the coloured glass, and the feel of his brother's hand on the obi. The air was damp and heavy from the rain, clinging to him and creating a layer of sweat under the material.
He looked down at the dreaded colour, and saw it fluttering in the bushes in the cold night air as he was carried down concrete steps by a strange man. It was startling how many emotions a single colour evoked in him. He wasn't precisely sure why he chose that particular outfit, subjecting himself to this emotional turmoil. It had drawn his attention instantly at the little shop his mother had taken him to.
Before he could think of an answer, guests started filing into the nave and took their seats as the ceremony was about to begin. Sasuke's parents joined them, and Itachi gave him a look to tell him their conversation wasn't over.
The service began, but Sasuke was distracted by his thoughts and the raindrops outside the glass window. The drops of water created a shimmering pattern on the coloured squares, casting a mesmerizing glow.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today …" the priest spoke the familiar words, his voice resonating though the church and slicing through Sasuke's reverie. His face paled, ears flattened and eyes widened in terror as he turned to look toward the source of the familiar voice. At the front of the church stood the priest, swathed in black robes. He had a scar on his chin in the shape of an X, a scar that Sasuke had seen hundreds of times. His entire body tensed as the sight of the man wrenched him back to his time in captivity.
Time slowed down as he looked around. No one else seemed to be affected by the man's presence. Of course, why would they? No one else knew of Orochimaru's compound and the activities of the men that frequented it.
He felt like he was going to vomit. His clothes felt too warm, the noise in the church too loud and everything was starting to blur. Standing up, he rushed down the side aisle back into the empty atrium, not noticing the glances in his direction.
He fell to his knees in the atrium, but the feeling of suffocation didn't go away. He could feel the man's hands around his neck, choking him as memories overwhelmed him and dragged him back into hell.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x (flashback) x-x-x-x-x-x-x
So far the men had treated him well, ensuring he ate and bathed. But they wouldn't tell him why he was there, or even where they were. Sometimes they would dress him up –as a sailor or kitten, one time even a dress like a girl – and then they would take him to meet other men.
Right now he was soaking in the bath. They said they found the highest bidder and he had to dress up again. They had brought a school uniform like he normally wore, with shorts and a button shirt. But the colours were different – all white instead of the blue and white he normally wore.
There were other kids in the building too, but he never got to talk to them. The pale man with the long hair kept him nearby at all times. He even forced him to sleep next to him. Even though he was being kind to him, he did things that Sasuke didn't understand and he didn't like him.
One time he took him to see one of the kids getting hit with a stick – he said that was what would happen if he didn't listen to their orders. Sasuke had watched horrified as the boy lay shaking and bleeding on the ground. Then the men beating him started doing other things to the boy with their private parts, and the pale man touched Sasuke as he watched.
The door to the bathroom opened and Orochimaru came in, wearing a bath robe. He shared Sasuke's bath too sometimes. The little neko's ears flattened because he didn't like what the man did in the bath with him.
Slipping off his purple bathrobe, the man stepped naked into the hot water, Sasuke scooting over to the edge. But the man's thin hands pulled him close, gripping tight when he squirmed. He touched him between his legs and it felt strange to the little boy. The man's erection pressed against the boy, rubbing against his smooth skin as he held him close and rubbed his butt and tail.
"Listen closely, Sasuke-kun," he was panting against his neck. "You're going to meet a man soon and it's important you do everything he says." The man reached between his legs with one hand and started rapidly stroking himself, churning the water. "If you don't listen, you will be punished. Do you understand?"
As Sasuke nodded, the man stood up abruptly, gripping his hair as the white stuff spurted out onto his face. Grimacing in distaste as the bitter liquid dripped into his mouth, Sasuke yanked backwards, splashing water onto his face to get the sticky substance off.
The man helped towel him dry and get dressed, then dragged Sasuke by one arm to a room with a bed and told him to wait there. They boy stood uncertainly, tail flicking, wondering what was going to happen.