Kabuto wasn't sure what Orochimaru wanted at this point; he was probably feeling really crappy at the moment, and Kabuto wasn't sure what to do...

Kabuto leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on Orochimaru's quiet lips. "Well? What do you want to do about this?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Kiss again and pretend the world is shit?"

Kabuto smiled. "Good idea."

Orochimaru reached forward, slipping his arms around Kabuto's neck. Kabuto's hands slid into the small of Orochimaru's back, and he pulled the sannin closer to him, gently kissing into Orochimaru's mouth.

"Who said you could be seme?"

Orochimaru, slightly breathless from the kiss, seemed more than amused at Kabuto's assumption of positions. Kabuto, on the other hand, seemed slightly surprised that Orochimaru hadn't taken to the idea. "Come on, we all know how this is going to end."

Orochimaru grinned. "Right: with me on top."

"You're brutal. But this time, I'm not getting topped. You've had your share; I've only topped you once or twice."

"As compared to…okay, I see your point. But I'm still seme!"

Kabuto sighed. "Fine. But only because I feel bad for you and want to make you stop being so emo."

Orochimaru's smile widened. "That's better. Now be a good little fuck and kiss me."

Kabuto's hand flashed out, suddenly capturing Orochimaru's and shoving him back to the couch. Kabuto was now entangling himself with Orochimaru's long, lean body, shoving his tongue into Orochimaru's mouth and easily overpowering the sannin. Orochimaru seemed slightly surprised at Kabuto's advance, but he allowed the genin to do as he pleased. Kabuto's tongue dipped into every crevice and curve of Orochimaru's mouth, running over smooth teeth and slippery tongue. He and Orochimaru were soon fighting, Orochimaru forcing Kabuto's tongue out of the way and shoving past him into Kabuto's mouth. Kabuto had to smirk into Orochimaru's soft lips; he had finally provoked the sannin into action, and he knew that if Orochimaru could regain his confidence, no matter the way, it would be a much help. Kabuto retreated meekly to his own mouth, allowing Orochimaru to do as he pleased.

"So submissive all of a sudden," Orochimaru breathed, and sealed his mouth over Kabuto's again. "Any reason?"

"Mmmm…no."

"Liar."

"Well, at least you're smart."

Kabuto smiled and crushed his mouth to Orochimaru's again, slipping his tongue past slightly-slack lips and taking control again. He wanted to see how far Orochimaru was willing to go, and how far he dared go. Kabuto placed a gentle nip on Orochimaru's protesting tongue, and Orochimaru drew back immediately at the reprimand. Kabuto inwardly sighed; the smallest scolding could hurt him so much…

Kabuto bore down with his hips, putting a bit of pressure on both of them, and Orochimaru gasped at the contact. Kabuto smirked and let his free hand wander up the pale column of Orochimaru's throat, touching what he knew was sensitive: the scar he himself had healed right after it was created, the junction of neck and shoulder, and the small space of collarbone he knew was currently bruised. Kabuto healed the marks almost subconsciously, and continued sliding his hands over Orochimaru's body.

"Sex on a couch? Man, you two are pathetic. But I can't say you aren't cute together."

Kabuto jerked his head up, sending Orochimaru an apologetic look as he did so. He could see the flinch of pain as he abruptly tore himself from his lover, and gently climbed off his hips. "Do you want something, Sasuke-kun?" he hissed venomously. "Because if you do not, I'd like to give you quite a smack."

Sasuke snorted. "Whatever. Anyway, I-"

He stopped cold when he felt the cold hand on his throat.

He hadn't even seen Orochimaru move, let alone noticed him get up. And suddenly he was behind him, one long-fingered hand coiled around his throat. "Not only did you neglect to knock, Sasuke," he spat, "You also left the door open."

Sasuke swallowed hard past the constricting hold Orochimaru had on him. He vaguely felt the other's hand stray down and take one of his in a firm grip. It didn't hurt just yet, but Sasuke could tell it could easily completely crush his wrist. He didn't move a muscle; maybe if he didn't move, Orochimaru would take it as submission and let him go.

Five sharp nails dug into his throat, drawing five tiny rivulets of blood.

"Get out. And make sure you close the door."

Kabuto held back a snort as Sasuke gulped and nodded as much as he dared with Orochimaru's hand still firmly grasping his neck. Orochimaru released him with a firm swat to the mouth, and Sasuke scampered off to rush out the door. Orochimaru watched him go, then locked the door and fell into Kabuto's waiting arms. Kabuto ran his hands through Orochimaru's soft black hair, waiting for the sannin to come to him.

Orochimaru finally straightened a bit more and put his arms around Kabuto's neck. Kabuto placed a soft, gentle kiss on Orochimaru's lips, feeling his lover lean into the kiss, begging for more. Kabuto carefully slipped into Orochimaru's mouth, making sure he didn't nip him at all. Orochimaru was quiet, staying with Kabuto and offering no protest to anything. Kabuto thought he should change that.

"Come on, you're just going to let me kiss you and not do anything? I thought you wanted to top me…"

Orochimaru smiled. "I was waiting for that." He suddenly seemed discontented with being uke and dove forward, plunging into Kabuto's mouth and easily overpowering Kabuto. The silver-haired teen rose up against him, and soon the two were fighting for dominance of the kiss. Orochimaru extended his tongue farther back, brushing against the back of Kabuto's throat. Kabuto almost choked, pulling back and shaking his head.

"That was dirty, Orochimaru-sama," he purred. "And strangely…I'm okay with that." He lowered his head for another kiss, and pressed his hips against Orochimaru's. His hands traveled across Orochimaru's lithe hips, playing with the waistband of his pants. Orochimaru leaned into the touches, and Kabuto obliged him. Soon his hands were skating across Orochimaru's smooth chest, moving his shirt up and only breaking the kiss to lift it over his head. Orochimaru's hands were on the back of Kabuto's neck, yanking the tie from his hair and entangling his fingers in the silver locks. Kabuto pushed past Orochimaru's tongue into the other's mouth, wrapping around the slippery muscle and forcing his way past Orochimaru's defenses. Orochimaru didn't seem to mind, though: his hands began wandering down Kabuto's body, and their kiss was broken again, this time to pull of Kabuto's shirt. The second it was gone, they two crushed themselves together again, hands groping and tongues intertwining. Kabuto's gloves were long gone; now, he slid his hands into Orochimaru's pants, brushing against his growing erection and extracting a breathy moan from his master. Teasingly, Kabuto pulled his hand back, leaving Orochimaru, who gave a soft whine of complaint.

"What, Orochimaru-sama?" he whispered, brushing against Orochimaru again. "Impatient? And after all those lectures about how 'patience is a skill of a shinobi.'"

Orochimaru smiled. "Must you always turn my own words against me?" he purred, pressing back against Kabuto. The silver-haired teen gasped, then grinned and pushed back.

"Of course," he murmured. "Otherwise it's not fun."

Orochimaru still didn't seem satisfied. "But it's only fun if we fight?"

"Exactly."

A knock on the door drew Kabuto's attention away from Orochimaru. He sighed and stepped back. "We're not going to get any privacy are we?" he asked. Orochimaru shook his head.

"Probably not."

Kabuto sighed again and handed Orochimaru his shirt, picking up his own and sliding it back on. "Well, then, it's really not worth it."

Orochimaru nodded, and the same person knocked again. "Well, at least they have manners," he muttered, tying his sash and heading for the door. "I'm coming, have a little patience!" Kabuto restrained a snort; Orochimaru was upset because his hot sex had been interrupted.

"What, what do you-?"

The towering figure of Jiroubou stood in the doorway, slightly taller than even Orochimaru. "We have a problem."

"What, we ran out of food?" Orochimaru said sarcastically. Jiroubou rolled his eyes.

"Someone's in a good mood. Anyway, there's someone outside who desperately wants to speak with you."

"The problem?"

"We have no clue who it is."

One of Orochimaru's eyebrows arched in a skeptical expression. "They refuse to reveal themselves?"

Jiroubou nodded. "Kidomaru set up a net and a few traps in case they are dangerous, but I'm not sure if you want to go out there-"

"Who do you think I am, some little-?!"

"Orochimaru-sama, temper," Kabuto said soothingly, stepping up behind Orochimaru. "Jiroubou, we'll be out momentarily."

"That's another thing," Jiroubou said tentatively. "They insist that no one else be there when they speak with him."

Kabuto almost laughed.

"Come on, that's impossible! Tell them so, and that I and you four are staying in the room. We will keep our distance, but we must be with him."

"Because of the attempts on his life."

"Well don't tell them that!"

Jiroubou nodded. "Okay…should I get Kimimaro?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yes. Tell him Orochimaru-sama needs him; he should come running."

Jiroubou smiled. "Yeah, he probably will. Okay, I'll get you when Kimimaro comes."

"Shouldn't be long," Orochimaru muttered. "Anyway, just go, I'll wait for you."

Jiroubou nodded and gently closed the door; no small feat for someone his size. Orochimaru sighed and slumped against the door.

"What if something goes wrong?"

Kabuto knelt next to him and took him into his arms. "If anything goes wrong, I'm here; I can heal anything."

Orochimaru sighed. "Who could this possibly be? Of all the people in the world…I think it's safe to honestly say that for once I do not have a clue."

Kabuto shrugged. "Completely beyond me. I have no idea, either. Sorry."

Orochimaru sighed and tipped his head back, letting it fall to Kabuto's shoulder. "This is a real pisser. And if I let the in, they'll know we're leaving and that could be bad…"

Kabuto exhaled again and pulled Orochimaru up, despite the many protests from his master. "Well, nothing is going to happen sitting here and moping. So, up you go, and let's see if Jiroubou-"

A knock on the door, almost as if on cue-

"Well, we're back."

Kimimaro was standing behind Jiroubou, waiting for Orochimaru. Orochimaru and Kabuto stepped out into the hallway, and Kabuto shut the door. "Come on; this person's getting a little testy."

Orochimaru sighed. "Where will you be?"

"Well within sight," Kimimaro grunted. "If this person makes a move, I want them to know exactly what they're up against."

Orochimaru smiled. "Let's go. If anything goes wrong, you might want to stay back."

"Translation: I'll activate my bloodline and give this person a run for their money."

Orochimaru groaned. "Why do I have the sinking feeling that we're all doomed?"

"We're all gonna die," Jiroubou said simply. "It's just a mater of how pretty it is."

"I'm not dying any time soon," Orochimaru reminded them.

"Care to share your tactics?" Kimimaro asked dryly. Orochimaru glared.

"Over my dead body…that was a poor choice of words."

"Hurry up," Jiroubou prodded. "If this whack-job gets mad, I for one don't wanna be in their way!"

Orochimaru suddenly seemed confident, striding down the hallway in front of Kabuto. Kabuto made an effort to keep up, and Kimimaro was close behind. Jiroubou…well, speed wasn't his strong point.

Orochimaru stopped in front of the massive gates to the complex, and pressed his palms to the doors. "Oaky, if anything goes wrong, tell my Mom I love her."

He pushed open the doors and walked out, everyone else following him.

Tayuya greeted them with a worried face. "Orochimaru-sama, he's getting really pissed now, the little shithead-!"

"Tayuya, language," Orochimaru reminded her. Tayuya sighed.

"Whatever. But this person is really mad, and I don't think I want to be here when you two smash faces!"

"Not nice."

Orochimaru stepped past her, and Tayuya made an effort to get in front of him again. "Stand back, please," she begged, running alongside him. "I have a bad feeling about this-"

"We all do, Tayuya," Orochimaru said with a sigh. "We all do."

"But this could get real bad, really, really fast-!"

Sakon and Kidomaru were standing on either side of the last gates to Otoga, seemingly arguing with a shadowy figure standing at the gates. "Orochimaru-sama is coming, just knock it off-! Oh, Orochimaru-sama, thank God," Kidomaru was saying. "For a second, I think she was about to murder us!"

"She?" Orochimaru repeated.

"Yeah," Sakon said. "She says her name is Hikari, and she's affiliated with Akatsuki. That's all we got."

"Allow me to pass," the woman said slowly. "And I will allow you to live!"

"Shut up," Orochimaru spat, "And I'll allow you to pass."

The woman fell silent. Apparently, she really wanted to get beyond the gates of Otoga…

After a moment, Orochimaru waved his hand, parting the massive gates with a gust of chakra. The woman slipped through, and Orochimaru noticed a shock of green hair sticking out from underneath the woman's hood. Glowing green eyes could be seen in the shadows of her face, and it was plain that she was angry from the way she sent Kabuto a harsh glare. Kabuto shivered under the woman's intense gaze; Orochimaru's face remained set in stone.

"This way," Kabuto said quietly, stepping in front of her. The Sound Four stayed well between her and Orochimaru, and Kimimaro was behind Orochimaru. Kabuto slipped into a small room off to the left once in the complex, and stood to the side as the woman waited in the middle of the room for Orochimaru. The room was dark; only one light and several candles illuminated the room, and there was only a single table and two chairs. Orochimaru moved silently through the room, stopping across from the woman. She glanced around at the Sound ninja still in the room.

"Orochimaru, tell them to leave us."

"We're not going anywhere," Kabuto said venomously. "We do not know who you are, what your intentions are, or why you have come here. All we know is your name, and therefore we cannot trust you."

"But surely you recognize me, Tayuya," the woman said, turning to Tayuya.

"What the fuck?!" Tayuya screeched. "And, and hell's colder than Orochimaru-sama!"

Orochimaru snorted. "Thanks."

The woman smiled and reached up, hooking long, green fingernails around her hood. "You should know me, Tayuya," she said, slowly pulling down the hood. "I think you know who I am now, hai?"

Tayuya gasped as the woman's face was revealed.

"Cissy…"

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know: late…review please, no flames.