Kabuto seized another scalpel, folding it back against his forearm as he jumped in front of Orochimaru. House, however, turned his full attention back to his patient.

The masked soldier paused to close the door, giving Kabuto just enough time to question how peculiar the situation actually was. Was there really only one of them? No village would dispatch just one shinobi, even if they were ANBU, to do battle against Orochimaru. Such a mission would be suicidal. And if there were more, Kabuto felt certain that special jonin House would have at least readied himself for combat. In going through with the operation, he had essentially marked himself a traitor. Surely he would defend his own life…

"Put that scalpel to better use, Kabuto." House finally glanced up from his work.

Still, Kabuto refused to lower his defenses, unable to shake he sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that in trusting this jonin, he had somehow walked into a trap. The soldier took a step toward House, and Kabuto matched it. House, meanwhile, just answered with an annoyed grunt.

"Even if you've had too many sleepless nights to recognize your own disguise, someone at your level should be able to sense their opponent's intention through their chakra." he mocked. "But you've messed that up before too, right?"

The soldier took off the mask.

"You've already marked me once. Try it again, and neither of you will walk out of here alive."

"She…" Kabuto stuttered. He knew all too well who she was. She was a member of House's cell, the one who recognized who they were, the most recent victim of Orochimaru's juinjutsu...

"Report?"

"I followed you after you left your office." Cameron replied quickly. "I heard everything."

"What about the others? Are they having second thoughts or are they halfway to Tanzaku Town by now?"

"Chase and Foreman are gone. They caught me on their way out the door and told me to get out before Cuddy called for ANBU reinforcements." Cameron replied, a little too calmly for Kabuto's taste. He couldn't hide the knot in his stomach or the boulder now sitting uncomfortably in his throat.

"But since you're here, I'm going to go ahead and say I didn't make a mistake when I hired you."

"I told them I would, just not with them. I said I was going to go see Cuddy about taking some well-deserved leave time." She shrugged her shoulder intentionally and cast a scathing glare in Kabuto's direction. "They couldn't argue with that. And it's a good thing they didn't."

House arched an eyebrow.

"I think I got to Cuddy's office just in time. They were right about one thing. She's arranging for a secret assassination. I'm just here long enough to make sure they weren't right about you getting caught up in the crossfire this time."

A tenuous sigh escaped Kabuto's pursed lips as he let out the breath he wasn't even aware of holding. From the sound of it, there was still more to the special jonin's past than he was willing to reveal. Strange as that seemed, the thought placated him. Trusting that, at least for the moment, they were still safe, Kabuto turned his attention back to the operation.

"How soon?"

"I don't know." Cameron shook her head dismissively. "It depends on how long it takes Cuddy to find out she's been tricked."

"You decided to try out the ANBU trick for yourself even though…"

"I told her I received a secret tip regarding Orochimaru's whereabouts from one of the guards at the village gate." Cameron interrupted her superior. "She sent me straight here."

"Did she say anything else?"

Cameron nodded.

"To be finished with the mission before dawn, so as to arouse as little suspicion as possible…"

"Then she wasn't tricked." House countered as he dropped a rotten piece of Orochimaru's forearm into a nearby basin. Kabuto immediately stopped what he was doing and stared up at House again.

"How do you know that she…"

To House, it was painfully obvious. As a jonin, it was unlikely that Cuddy would fall for such a simple disguise. The effect of the recent curse mark on Cameron's chakra was profound, especially to the one that sealed it. And of course, personal experience always counted for something.

"Last time, she warned them first. 'Don't underestimate the one with the cane. He can be a real bastard in a fight" House added with his usual arrogant grin. "Didn't do them much good, but it's the thought that counts."

His tone and demeanor quickly turned serious again.

"The only reason why she wouldn't warn you about me is because she didn't need to. She was just using you to pass along a message."

"You mean…"

"We only have until dawn to finish this, patch him back up, and get them both as far away from the village as we can. That's our mission."

Cameron glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was already a quarter past midnight.

"House, is that even possible?"

"Ask me that again in a few hours."