Itachi paced the floor impatiently. Orochimaru would probably be here in several minutes in great pain, and Itachi wanted to relish that. As long as Orochimaru was suffering, he was happy.
A massive explosion shook the lair, and a wall came down.
Itachi sighed as a flash of white sped past him.
Orochimaru stood in the middle of the rubble, several giant snakes flanking him, Kabuto slightly behind him and off to the right, a smirk on his face. Itachi sighed.
"I should have expected the brat," he sneered, glaring at Kabuto. "Pain in the ass, every time. Well, Sasori can take care of you. Excited to see him?"
Kabuto smiled. "Of course," he said flippantly. "This chance to kill him is the perfect one, really."
Itachi shook his head. "Stupid child," he said. "There is so much you don't know…Sasori! Your puppet has arrived!"
A hunched over figure emerged from the shadows, a long tail flickering behind it. "Well, well, if it isn't Kabuto…I almost miss having you around."
Kabuto grit his teeth and took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. "Really, you miss me, now? Too bad; you should have treated me better. You enslaved me, treated me like your personal servant, used me like a tool, and then told me to spy on one of the most dangerous men in the world, fully expecting me to do it perfectly? It's really no wonder I stayed with Orochimaru-sama; and now I have someone who loves me and genuinely loves me. I'm staying, so it's too bad, so sad, if you miss me."
Sasori snorted. "Always the smart-ass little child, I see. I was hoping Orochimaru could teach you some manners, but apparently not."
Kabuto grinned in return. "Come on, you know me better than that! When I want to be stubborn, Goddammit, I will be stubborn!"
Sasori's smile faded. "Insolent little child!" he hissed from inside Hiruko. "I will teach you submission like you have never felt before, and you will obey me!"
"Hate to break up this little love fest here," Itachi sneered, "But we have a small problem in the form of Orochimaru!"
If Hiruko could have grinned, Itachi was sure it would have been at that moment in time. "Don't worry so much, Itachi-san," he purred, raising his tail. "I used to be his partner, remember? I know all his tricks."
Itachi stared at Orochimaru, still standing in the doorway, flanked by the enormous snakes and backed by Kabuto. "Don't get cocky," Itachi finally said, still looking at Orochimaru. "He learns new techniques very quickly, and invents them as well. Don't count on knowing every one. I might be better off facing him, because I can anticipate and counter his attacks, and copy them if need be. Or we could both attack him and use our combined knowledge to defeat him that way."
"You speak as if you feel you could possibly defeat Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto scoffed. "Get real."
Orochimaru jumped up onto one of his snakes and spurred it into action, chasing down Itachi. The Uchiha jumped out of the way, forming a single hand sign as he did so. Orochimaru steered out of the way of the giant fireball Itachi had created careened his way, forming a hand sign of his own. Kusanji rose up within him, and he grabbed the sword's hilt. He's fast, Orochimaru realized.
Kabuto had long swallowed the pill for the chakra scalpel and was viciously attacking Sasori, trying to at least cut off his chakra. Sasori responded by summoning a puppet; the one of Sungakure's third Kazekage. The Iron Sand was swirling around Kabuto, but apparently Orochimaru's favorite had been experimenting again…he had created a chakra shield from a simple fan, opening it and focusing chakra through it to blow the chakra out and form a shield. Orochimaru admired Kabuto: he never stopped trying out his latest ideas, and it almost always had a good outcome. Unlike what was going to happen in a minute…
Orochimaru sent a burst of chakra into Kusanji and slammed it into the ground. "Nirvana Fist: Snake Destruction Jutsu!"
The ground crumpled, buckled, and rose up in different places, and Orochimaru began to see the members of the Akatsuki coming out from hiding to avoid the rocks. Orochimaru took advantage of the distraction to charge Itachi and begin a vicious duel with Kusanji and a kunai for weapons. Itachi jumped into the air, hurled several shuriken at Orochimaru, landed, and moved in for a hit. The kunai just barely grazed Orochimaru's shoulder, but there was still blood on the kunai-
And Itachi was moving for Hidan.
"Oh, no you don't!"
A flash of tan and black-
Red hair-
Six arms-
A huge body-
Two heads-
The Sound Four took their positions around Itachi and Orochimaru and immediately erected a barrier around them. Orochimaru breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to Itachi. The Uchiha was seething, and as the Sounds created the same barrier around themselves, he only looked angrier. He glared at Orochimaru, and suddenly, Orochimaru felt like he was trapped beneath that overpowering gaze.
"Little help…?"
"We can't really help; not with the barrier," Tayuya said apologetically. "This one's all you."
Orochimaru sighed. "Well, I guess I'm in for it, then," he said tiredly. "But whatever. If I die, tell Kabuto I love him."
Ina flash of white that even Itachi's Sharingan could hardly track, Orochimaru dove into the battle again.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Kabuto was fighting tooth and nail against Sasori.
Sasori's puppets and Iron Sand combined were proving a challenge for Kabuto. He only had so much antidote on him…and he needed to use it when he began to dodge attacks less easily, or lost all his chakra. Kabuto glanced at Orochimaru. He was surrounded by a barrier created by the Sound Four, and he looked unharmed. Satisfied, he returned his full attention to Sasori and creating a deeper chakra scalpel. He was aiming for Sasori's heart, but so far he couldn't get anything that went deep enough. However, if he could disconnect parts of Sasori's body he could weaken him-
Sasori was suddenly kicked back, and a tall figure stood in front of Kabuto, poised to strike again. A smirk worked its way over Kabuto's face.
"So glad you could make it, brat," he said as Sasuke turned, and the two pressed their backs together. "I was starting to think you had given up on revenge!"
Sasuke snorted. "Only a fool would believe that," he said, deflecting an attack from Sasori. "I'm looking for Itachi, as you know. Where is he?"
"Fighting Orochimaru-sama."
Sasuke grit his teeth. "The barrier is from the Sounds?"
"Hai," Kabuto sighed. "I'm almost jealous of Orochimaru-sama; everyone goes straight to him."
Sasuke grinned. "Well, then, you should be jealous of me, too."
Kabuto sighed again. "The sad part is, I am."
"There's a lot to be jealous of," Sasuke said, still grinning. "Anyway, what's the plan?"
"Um…"
"You mean you don't have a plan?!"
"I'm kind of making this up as I go along, here!"
Sasuke sighed. "Whatever. So, what are we doing?"
"Surviving!"
"Besides that!"
Kabuto groaned. "Killing people?"
A slow smile spread Sasuke's lips. "Okay, I can do that. When I say so, jump away from me as fast as you can. This is dangerous, but I think we can pull it off."
Kabuto nodded. "Hai."
"Ready…? Go!"
Kabuto sprang into the air, and doing so gave him a good view of what Sasuke was doing. The Uchiha had drawn his sword and unleashed Chidori Nagashi on some poor sap that happened to be in his way. With a start, he realized that it was Hidan.
"Aw, shit, that's a lot of blood!" Kakuza swore. "You might like it, but can you do that when you've got someone's blood on your scythe?!"
Hidan moaned in pleasure and submitted himself to Kakuza's stitches and healing. "God, Kakuza…"
"Shut up, you prick," Kakuza muttered through gritted teeth. "I've got problems, and so do the rest of us. Grow up and do something productive!"
Hidan smiled. "Sure, whatever."
Kabuto aimed several kunai at Kakuza's back, each wrapped in exploding tags. He almost knew it wouldn't work, but it could make a nice distraction-
"Katsu!"
The tags exploded around Kakuza, and Kabuto moved on to form a jutsu. Feathers began gently floating down around the entire battle.
Only Zetsu was caught in the genjutsu.
Kabuto sighed and activated his chakra scalpel again, diving into Sasori again and cutting at the puppet master's chest. Sasori caught Kabuto firmly within his tail, and Kabuto knew it was over.
"Nobody move!"
The entire battle froze.
"Release the barrier."
The Sounds looked to Orochimaru, confused. Orochimaru nodded to them, and the Sound Four reluctantly released the barrier. Sasori held Kabuto far up over his head, taunting Orochimaru, and beckoned the snake closer. Orochimaru grit his teeth, but obeyed.
A firm smack to the back of his head knocked Orochimaru out.
OOOOOOOOO
Orochimaru woke up in chains.
Sighing, he tested his boundaries and found that his hands were twisted up behind him, a short tether connected his neck to the wall, and his feet were secured to the floor. Orochimaru sighed. His weapons had been stripped away, and even his earrings had been removed.
"Orochimaru-sama?"
Kabuto was next to him in exactly the same position. "Awake already? I thought you would be out for longer than that-"
Kabuto was cut off by Orochimaru's kiss.
"What happened?" Orochimaru gasped when they finally pulled away to breath. Kabuto shook his head.
"Sasuke and the Sounds got away. We, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. I did, however, manage to catch some of Itachi's and Sasori's conversation before they went away. They said something about your connection to a bijuu, and your bloodline was connected to it…but then they said something about Sora being a bijuu and an elder for some old clan called Yasumori, and then they walked away and I couldn't hear any more…"
Orochimaru sighed. He knew Kabuto was nervous, even if the genin wasn't showing it. He was nervous; but not for himself. He was afraid for Orochimaru; afraid to lose him, afraid that the sannin might be harmed, afraid that-
"Kabuto…"
The whisper was so soft, Kabuto wasn't sure it was even Orochimaru. But then he looked into Orochimaru's eyes and saw something he had never seen before.
Regret.
Kabuto shifted his position so he rested on one hip, facing Orochimaru. "Orochimaru-sama, please, just-"
"Kabuto…I've…I've been lying to you…ever since you figured out I had a bloodline…ever since you recognized the power of the rings. I never told you…that my true clan is called Yasumori, and that the only reason I am here right now is not because of my ring…nor my plans…not even my ninja status…no, it's because of what's inside of me…and I can't believe…that I would lie to you-" Orochimaru's voice broke, but Kabuto hardly even noticed. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at Orochimaru as if he were a whole other person.
"My bloodline is still a bloodline…but it would be nothing without the bijuu inside of me."
Kabuto gasped and drew back, still in shock.
"I never told you…because I was forbidden to. My clan said that if I ever told anyone…I would allow the demon within me to take over me, and I would lose myself completely. For that reason, the seal was placed on my inner thigh, where no one would look. But when Itachi…" Orochimaru shook his head. "He found out…he saw through the many genjutsus I had on it and he…" Orochimaru inhaled and continued. "I thought something would happen. But instead…nothing did…I thought nothing of it after that, and that's when I started digging.
"I found out that the rings could channel the bijuu, so I started using mine to summon Sora and control her. Eventually we drew up a contract and signed it in our own blood; like my snake summon. Sora…where is she…? Whenever someone else touches the ring, she'll come out and attack the person. It's a safety measure we took. I told her who was allowed to touch the ring and who wasn't…she must have been subdued or…" Orochimaru's eyes widened. "The seal! Kabuto, is there any way…?"
Kabuto shook his head. "I'm sorry; I can't check…"
Orochimaru sighed. "Kabuto…I'm so sorry…"
Kabuto shushed him suddenly. "Someone comes…!"
Both fell silent immediately. "It's Itachi," Kabuto whispered after a moment. "Please, Orochimaru-sama, if we are separated, promise me one thing…"
Orochimaru nodded. "Anything."
"Promise me…promise me you'll never forget me."
Orochimaru's solid gold eyes melted into pools of liquid metal, molten and hot in the caverns of his soul. He nodded just a the door opened and Itachi stalked in, releasing the chains around Orochimaru's feet and neck and yanking him to his feet and shoving him away.
"You'll never be alone, Kabuto!" Orochimaru called back as he was pushed out of the door, fighting all the way. "I will always be with you; even in death! I would die for you; but I also live for you!"
A/N: I was going to name the chapters, but then decided against it. . Oh well. This would be called "Death Induced Confessions" if I was naming chapters. Just thought that was cool and wanted to share. Review, please!!
