Orochimaru slept deeply and restlessly.

All night, he was haunted with images of Kikyou, Itachi, and Kabuto, all turning against him. Several times he woke up, drenched in sweat and screaming. Someone would rush to his side, quieting him with soft words and the occasional touch from someone a bit closer to him; namely, the Sound Five. He would push anyone else away, shaking violently and holding his head in his hands. Eventually, he could be coaxed back to sleep, but only after several minutes of shaking and the occasional sob. Of course, no one believed he was actually weeping; they figured he was just having trouble breathing, or something. Either way, nothing was done, and after the fifteen minutes it took to get Orochimaru calm enough to sleep again came a few hours of quiet. Orochimaru finally got up and refused to go back to sleep, shaking his hair out of his face and heading to the bathroom. Even after a half an hour in there and a shower, he still looked tired when he came out. He refused to eat, instead throwing himself into rigorous training for hours on end. Only after five or so hours of training did he finally submit to the team of medics hovering near the entrance to Otoga, waiting for him to come back. They pulled off his clothes, treated his wounds, and cleaned him up, and Orochimaru promptly collapsed in bed and went right back to sleep. Tayuya sighed and closed the door, leaving Orochimaru alone.

Kabuto released the genjutsu over himself.

He let out a dainty sigh, so as not to wake Orochimaru, and slowly approached his master with a saddened look on his face. "Orochimaru-sama," he murmured, reaching out to trace the line of one pale cheek. "I'm sorry…I'm so…so sorry…"

He ran his hands through Orochimaru's hair, frowning when he felt a tangle. He gently worked at it with his fingers, smoothing down the formerly-knotted hair. Orochimaru barely stirred; Kabuto was troubled. A shinobi should wake the second he heard something, was touched, was spoken to-! and yet Orochimaru simply lay here, beneath Kabuto's hand, out cold. Kabuto sighed. Maybe he just knew it was Kabuto…but no. Then he would certainly be shying away from him-

Kabuto hardly knew what he was doing, but he leaned down and claimed one small kiss from Orochimaru's soft, supple lips.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, sitting down next to Orochimaru. "I never should have pushed you…I don't know what I was thinking. I just don't want this to go on…"

Orochimaru's golden eyes slowly opened, and he gazed up at Kabuto with sudden trust in his eyes. "It's probably my fault," he whispered, looked down. He propped himself up on one elbow, then shook his bangs out of his face. Kabuto shook his head.

"No," he protested, moving closer to Orochimaru. "Really, it was completely my fault. I never should have pushed you that far; I was upset, and-"

Orochimaru moved over into Kabuto's lap.

Kabuto was abruptly cut off by Orochimaru's sudden trust in him, and exhaled slowly. He lowered his hands to Orochimaru's body: one to his shoulder, the other to his hair. The hand in his hair moved slowly, soothingly, calming Orochimaru and almost putting him back to sleep. Kabuto sat there with Orochimaru for at least an hour…an hour of quieting Orochimaru, reassuring him he was safe…Kabuto would kiss him occasionally, and each time, Orochimaru would beg Kabuto to continue. Kabuto would be forced to deny him, though: he was afraid he would go too far. But this last time Orochimaru raised his head for more, Kabuto found he simply couldn't resist anymore. He pulled Orochimaru up against his shoulder, sliding one arm around his waist while the other slid around the back of his neck. Kabuto held Orochimaru still with both hands, kissing him deeply and supporting him at the same time. Kabuto gently pressed his tongue against Orochimaru's lips, asking for entrance. Orochimaru granted it to him, lips going slightly slack to allow Kabuto to push his way in. Orochimaru slid his tongue past Kabuto's, dipping into every curve of Kabuto's mouth. Kabuto did the same for Orochimaru, reveling in the way his master's body shivered with pleasure from Kabuto's touch. Every shiver he made was felt through Kabuto's contact with him, and it thrilled Kabuto no end to feel Orochimaru trapped beneath him, underneath him willingly, no less! He wanted to be pleasured by Kabuto and Kabuto alone-only Kabuto was allowed to touch him, and only Kabuto was even allowed to see him when he was like this. Orochimaru simply lost himself in Kabuto's embrace, kissing him even more deeply.

"Orochimaru-sama…"

"Hm?"

Orochimaru momentarily broke the kiss the look up into Kabuto's eyes, staring at his lover. "What?"

"Not here-"

"I don't care-"

"You have to-!"

"I don't! Please, Kabuto…" Orochimaru's eyes pleaded the way his words did, melting into pools of liquid gold. "Kabuto, take me. Take me so everyone in the world, even the densest fool, will know that I belong to no one else but you! Kabuto-"

"What is this about?" Kabuto whispered, placing a hand over Orochimaru's mouth. "Do you want me to mark you as mine? Is this about keeping away from Itachi?"

Orochimaru seemed to turn this over in his mind for a moment before finally shaking his head and pulling himself into a sitting position against Kabuto's shoulder. Kabuto sighed and leaned back, settling Orochimaru next to him. "This is about Itachi…isn't it?"

Orochimaru sighed. "I just want him to leave me alone…"

He looked up at Kabuto, face streaked with tears: "I just want him to leave me alone."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Well?"

Itachi sighed. This was getting ridiculous! Every time, they almost had him, only to have him yanked away by stupid little minions. Really, it was getting on his last nerve!

"I say we ask Konoha," he said. "A temporary truce. After all, enemies united to defeat a common enemy are not really enemies, are they?"

Pein drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking this over. "But, the fact remains that we will still be enemies in the end, and are enemies currently. We would really have to stretch the truth or flat out sweet-talk them into joining our endeavors."

"But, even if we are enemies in the end, we will still be allies for a time, and that should be long enough to take Orochimaru."

Pein exhaled slowly and leaned back. "Konan?"

"Go for it," the woman said. "The worst they can do is say no, and Itachi is more than capable of fighting off even Tsunade. He would be able to escape easily."

"Unless Jiraiya shows up," Itachi murmured. "I should be able to defeat him, but I will not come away unscathed. At best, I would have a few cuts and bruises. If I falter even once, I will be dead."

"Hm…but still, it's very unlikely that Jiraiya will show himself," Pein said slowly. "And Itachi, you should be able to escape, even with him fighting you. Kisame will be coming as well, so I believe that you should go. Especially with Kisame, you'll be able to at the very least escape."

Itachi nodded. "Very well," he said. "Should anyone else come?"

Konan shook her head. "The larger the group, the more it looks like an attack. Two is good; one to negotiate, the other incase something goes wrong. If you send one, you look short-handed or overconfident. We would reveal our strength doing that as well, since it would be considered our best member, to be sent alone."

Pein nodded. "It's settled then. Itachi, you and Kisame will go and ask Konoha for a temporary alliance. Be ready to go in no less than two days."

Itachi nodded once and turned away. "Oh, one more thing, Pein-sama," he said with a smirk. "Is this little arrangement for the records?"

Pein returned Itachi with a smile of his own. "Of course not. Use whatever means necessary to get Tsunade to comply."

Itachi grinned. "My thanks to you, then." And with that, he was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Yes!!"

"But I don't wanna clean the bathroom!"

"Do it anyway!"

Tayuya had just won a game of rock-paper-scissors, and now Jiroubou was forced to clean the bathroom. Everyone was grumbling and fighting, but after a half an hour, Tayuya and Jiroubou had finally signed a contract with each other for a rock-paper-scissors tournament. Tayuya smirked and went off to train, being let off early by the "contract," and Jiroubou headed for the closet.

As she was walking, Tayuya almost ran into Orochimaru.

Her master looked…quiet, was really the only thing that could describe him. He wore only a thin black kimono, tied with a thin red sash, and he looked a bit absent. He glanced at Tayuya as she stepped around him, and then continued walking without a word. Tayuya turned around and watched him go for a moment, thinking to herself about what he was doing, then shook herself and headed off to train. Kimimaro was probably waiting…

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi threw several pounds' worth of weapons into his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and opened the door.

"Let's go!"

"Little zealous, aren't we?" he asked, grabbing Samehada and walking out. "What's got you so excited?"

"The fact that I get to threaten her," Itachi said, slamming the door and locking it. "I get revenge!"

"Oh, yeah, 'cuz killing your entire clan isn't revenge enough," Kisame muttered. "What's your revenge for, anyway?"

"Being bastards," Itachi said simply. Kisame sighed.

"Well, when you're like this, I know I'll never get an answer out of you, so I guess I'll just kind of…go with it…I guess…"

Itachi sighed. "I'm the one carrying the money and ten times the weapons as you, so watch what you say."

Kisame gave Itachi a blank stare. "I do that already…"

"Which is really the sad part."

OOOOOOOOOO

Tsunade opened the door to her house, slamming it behind her, locking it again, and kicking off her sandals. "Shizune!"

The woman was at her side in seconds. "Tsunade-sama, this is your fourth night up too late! You really need to get to sleep, and you certainly need a lot more of it!"

Tsunade sighed and headed for the kitchen. Shizune tagged along behind her. "Sit," she said, motioning to the chair across from her half-empty plate. Tsunade collapsed, chin in one hand.

"I am so tired."

"I can tell," Shizune said sympathetically. "Here; I made you some tea…"

Tsunade nodded her thanks, accepting the steaming cup from Shizune. "So, what did you do today?"

Shizune sat down across from Tsunade, pulling a squealing piglet into her lap. "I chased this one all over creation, fitting in paperwork where I could," she said ruefully. Tsunade smiled.

"Were you a bad little piggy?" she teased, grinning at Tonton. The pig whined and glared, but gave no answer.

"Pig Latin never seemed so clear," Tsunade said, leaning back again. "Anyway…"

Shizune glared. "Just eat."

"Touchy, touchy."

"You need your strength."

Tsunade sighed and began picking at the ramen set in front of her. It took her several minutes, but finally Shizune was able to coax Tsunade into eating. When she was finished, Tsunade promptly went back upstairs to bed, and Shizune was left to clean up. She opened the door for Tonton, put the dishes in the sink, and then headed upstairs herself. It had been a long day, and she wanted her sleep as well. Despite what she said to Tsunade, she didn't get much sleep either…Shizune sighed and went straight to bed. She could shower in the morning.

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi crouched on the tree branch outside Tsunade's window, staring in and watching the Hokage blow out the last candle and settle into her bed. He glanced down at the lights below; still not off. He gave a frustrated sigh. When was that stupid little girl going to collapse in bed?

Now.

Itachi smiled as the lights went out and took out several kunai. "Kisame, it would be a pain if we got interrupted in our negotiations," he said slowly. "Mind keeping an eye on the little girl?"

Kisame grinned. "Not at all, Itachi; not at all."

Itachi nodded once. "Don't even wake her, just make sure she doesn't get to us if she hears anything. From what I hear, subtly isn't Tsunade's strong point."

Kisame nodded once, and each of the Akatsuki members went their separate ways.

Itachi was surprised when he tried the window: it was unlocked. Sighing at Tsunade's carelessness-or cleverness-he slowly opened the window, red eyes flickering over the room and searching for any sign of security.

None.

He smirked, and slipped into Tsunade's room easily.

"Now, Tsunade," he whispered. "I'd appreciate it if this went smoothly…"

A/N: Haha, I left you hanging!! Review, or no next chapter!