So, this one has a bit of insight into Orochimaru to better explain his actions, and then a surprise (or not so surprise) appearance of everyone's favorite anbu. Enjoy!


Orochimaru was a planner. He'd always been a planner. Every event that had occurred in his life had been well thought out in advance. When he entered unpredictable situations he assessed each possible scenario and derived the best course of action to deal with the situation. That was just what he did, that was what he always did, and that was something that had never changed. Never. Except perhaps, when it came to Mitsuki.

He shouldn't have brought her along in the first place. He knew it from the beginning, and the Hokage knew it when he gave him permission to do it. It was an odd thing to do, and one with no benefit. A chuunin on an A-rank mission was the kind of nonsensical notion that Orochimaru rebuked. Yet in Mitsuki's case he was willing to make an exception. To be honest it was a combination of things that made him decide.

He had lied when he said she was the only survivor of his experimentation. There were many, and the majority of them unaware of their... condition. A week before the mission was scheduled, another of the animal chakra subjects had died.

He regretted killing the only people with any knowledge on the subject, but he was making do with the information he had. He had determined that the rampaging animal chakra was triggered by an excess of basic human instincts, ranging anywhere from pure distilled hatred to extreme starvation. There was no indicator as to just what would trigger it, or when, but when it occurred it was possible to control. All one had to do was calm down, and force the chakra to retreat, which given the situation was much easier said than done. The subject in question had been unable to stop it, and so, in a stroke of brilliance common to a man like Orochimaru, he sealed the chakra away, thus putting the subject out of danger. He had come to this idea too late though, and the subject had already suffered a great deal of damage. Orochimaru could've saved him if he really wanted to, but the desire wasn't there. What was one more mediocre failed specimen when he already had the perfect one in his possession? It made him think though.

The only way the specimen could've survived was if Orochimaru was there to stop the animal chakra from tearing him to shreds. What if an attack happened to Mitsuki, and he wasn't there to stop it? The mission he was assigned to was scheduled to take about two weeks, and a lot could happen in that time. What if he returned only to find her dead? It was something he couldn't allow, and perhaps it was time to tell her the truth all along. He would take her to Earth, to the remains of the village that had first put the idea in his head, and he would explain to her what he had done. There he would tell her what to do if it got out of control, and perhaps his plans for saving Konoha. He was sure she would hesitate at first, but he'd make it so that she had no desire to return to leaf. Bringing her along wasn't the most rational decision, but to Orochimaru it was the most desirable, and for the first time in his life he did what he thought was best for her, instead of best for himself.

When they were in the tea shop, and he spotted Hideki, he could see the hatred radiating off him. He knew the ex-anbu wouldn't attack him out in the open, but he also knew that Mitsuki would be a liability should a fight occur. On the night of the festival, he could feel Hideki following them, waiting for his opportunity to attack. He'd been on edge the majority of the festival, and finally he'd decided that the best course of action was to go somewhere isolated and kill him there. So he parted from Mitsuki, wanting to keep her out of harms way, so that he could quickly finish the mission. After that he would return to the festival and the two of them could enjoy the fireworks together, her looking particularly endearing in her new kimono. Things didn't go as planned though.

He hadn't expected her to follow. Mitsuki had always done a good job of obeying his orders, and doing what he told her. He realized that perhaps his actions were too rash and unorthodox, and that she couldn't think of a solid reason for his sudden disappearance, but he assumed that she would wait for him to return. He'd noted her presence too late, and by that time Hideki had already spoken out the truth. He killed him as quick as he could, which though not difficult, proved to be unnecessarily time consuming. He then set out to find Mitsuki. He wasn't sure just what her reaction would be, but he had to hurry and explain things. He had worked too hard to lose her now, but things only fell apart from there.

When he saw her speaking to the Tsuchikage, he should've killed her. She was a liability with her newfound knowledge of him, and though the likelihood of her telling the Tsuchikage that he was a killer wasn't probable, there was always the potential that she knew something else that she shouldn't. Furthermore, he had been the one to insist on her coming and therefore any harmful actions on her part, would be his burden to bare. Therefore, the most logical course of action would've been to assassinate her, and he was in a position to do it. The autopsy would reveal that she was a leaf shinobi, but no other secrets would be found in the dead body of a no named chuunin. The Tsuchikage would consider it an isolated incident and leave it be. That was the most logical and effective thing to rectify the situation. It had the most desirable and beneficial results and would be easy to carry out. For some reason though, Orochimaru struck the idea from his mind right away.

Sure he attempted to make up valid excuses. He had put a lot of time and energy into her, and it would be a waste to kill her off before she had even reached close to her potential, but it was a weak excuse. The normal Orochimaru, one who could see things clearly, would've slit her throat in a heartbeat, but he was blinded when it came to Mitsuki. That was alright though, there were other options.

The second best strategical move would be to leave her in the Tsuchikage's possession to rot. He would send message to Leaf that she had been captured, the Hokage would than in turn spread the word that Mitsuki had turned traitor. Her interrogators, whom would most likely torture her to death, would think she was insane as she began speaking nonsense about how she was on an A-rank mission with a sannin, let alone that said sannin was a crazed serial killer. It would be a bit of a hindrance, but it was an acceptable alternative. It was a solid rational plan, and again Orochimaru struck it down without really thinking about it. He couldn't kill her, but he also couldn't leave her to die.

He pondered his other options, his other rational alternatives, but then he saw her glance around in a panic daze as though looking for someone, as though waiting for someone. She was counting on him. She was most definitely confused about what she had heard, but that didn't stop her from still believing in him. So again, Orochimaru did what was best for her, and walked right into the hands of the Tsuchikage.

By some twist of fate, everything had worked out. He still wasn't sure why, or who it was that had persuaded the council that her life was of value, but regardless he was grateful.

He had thought for sure that he had lost her then, that there was nothing he could do to win her back, but as they stood in the Hokage's tower, Orochimaru spewing out lies, he waited for her to correct him, to tell the Hokage the truth, and she didn't. He had spies all over the village though, and he knew that she had confessed, to whom it was he was not sure, but eventually she had spoken the truth, but that wasn't what mattered to Orochimaru. She had hesitated. Instead of betraying him right away, she paused and thought about her actions, and it was in that moment when he told his false story and she stood passively by that he realized he might be able to persuade her.

When she approached him on the mountain, confronting him, he was shocked at just how much she knew. He played it off to the best of his ability, making it seem as though everything had gone as intended, even adding in that she meant to hear the conversation between him and Hideki. When he told her about her parents demise though, her anger was unanticipated. He was an adept shinobi no doubt, but he had a long way to go before he grasped the basic concepts of human emotion. Mitsuki had clearly cared for her parents, much more than Orochimaru had cared for his. Again, the most logical thing to have done would've been to kill her, she was unstable and reckless, and attacking him, but he made excuses for her.

It was only when her chakra went out of control, that he realized just how much he cared for her. It wasn't the thought of losing her that scared him, but it was what came after. Orochimaru was a planner. Mitsuki hadn't changed that, sure she had made his plans less rational, less effective, but he still had them. Normally, he would've thought about what he'd do if the chakra inside of her killed her. It was the logical thing to do, to think up a plan for the worst case scenario, but he couldn't do it. He refused to think of a series of events that didn't include her, and he refused to let her die. Orochimaru, the famous strategist that he was, forgot about all the possibilities that could occur, the likely outcomes, and focused only on the one he wanted, and on the only one that he'd allow. Mitsuki would live. She could not die. He would not allow it. There was no back up plan for her death, there were no alternatives, no other options, she had to survive, and he had to make sure that she did.

As he sat there on the Hokage mountains with her in his arms, he felt relief. She had calmed down now, and he was sure that if he explained himself, and how he refused to let her go, that she would come with him, willingly. He stroked her hair softly, and then pulled her back slightly, so he could properly assess her. Her eyes seemed glazed over, and she looked exhausted. He glanced down at the seal he'd made on her chest, confident though that it was still intact. It was then that he noticed her slightly indecent attire, and it was a second later that he noted that the two of them were no longer alone.

"Ah, it seems you've tracked me down." There were four of them. No doubt they were scouring the village looking for him. He eyed the anbu masks, trying to match them with each shinobi, but the odds were in his favor. His escape plans were in order, and he doubted a single squadron would stop him. He glanced down at the girl in his arms, barely conscious, but complacent. She may not understand now, but once he got them out of the village he was sure she'd view things differently.

"Orochimaru, you've been accused of treason against the village," Orochimaru suppressed the grin as he recognized the voice. Yes, everything was working out as he had planned. He didn't have as many followers as he would've liked, but the ones he had were in instrumental positions, this particular anbu among them. Sanjiro had been one of his most dedicated followers, excelling at tracking jutsus, it was no surprise he was in charge of the anbu squad looking for him, and judging by what he knew, Sanjiro also must've taken his sweet time in hunting them down. "You are also held under suspicion for the murder of seventeen civilians and nine shinobi. You are to come with us so that we may commence your trial."

"I understand, but you see I have no intention-" The kunai itself was easy to dodge, but it was the shock that kept him still, and as he felt the blade slice across his cheek, he quickly regained his bearings.

Anbu were not permitted to disobey orders. Their missions were dangerous and so particular that even the most miniscule of discrepancies could cost them their lives. To attack the target without permission of the squadron leader was a direct violation of the village orders, and could in severe enough cases be considered treason. An act like that would undoubtably strip a shinobi of their rank, not to mention keep them in tedious missions for at least a few years. Orochimaru realized with disdain though that he'd killed a few anbu, and perhaps they were comrades of the one whom acted on impulse, regardless though, Sanjiro proved ever the ally.

"That's enough!" His order alone should've been enough to stop the anbu, but instead of apologizing for his actions, the anbu charged directly at Orochimaru, this time though he had no problem dodging. "I said stop! What do you think you're doing!" It was only at the last second though, as Orochimaru moved back and distanced himself from the attack that he realized he wasn't the target. He was a mixture of shock and rage as he watched the anbu lift Mitsuki up from her position on the ground, and retreat to his original formation, with the barely conscious girl in his arms. Orochimaru stood there, slightly dazed, but mostly annoyed. Again, things weren't going as planned. "You realized you violated a direct order?" Though Orochimaru valued Sanjiro's skills, he could not help but lose respect when it came to his temper. He made anbu rank only because of his tracking ability, after that he usually stood on the sidelines, a fact only made clearer by his flimsy disposition.

"I merely obeyed the order you forgot to give, or did it slip your mind to save the helpless civilian?" Orochimaru caught on to the trap immediately, but Sanjiro in his fit of rage completely missed it.

"She's not a civilian!" He could practically feel the smirk on the disobedient anbu's face. Sanjiro was one of the few who knew about his experiments, and with Orochimaru taking a particular interest in Mitsuki, it was no wonder he knew who she was, but the majority of the shinobi in the village didn't even know that Orochimaru had an apprentice, let alone who it was.

"And how would you know that?" The remaining two anbu, standing on the sidelines slowly caught on to what was happening. "I heard you were an excellent tracker Sanjiro. I heard you could track down a squadron of shinobi miles away, so isn't it suspicious how long it took you to track down one, in the same village at that?" In an instant the formation had changed, the remaining anbu moving defensively in front of the disobedient one, and Sanjiro positioning himself between them and Orochimaru.

"My lord, you should escape while you can, I'll try and buy you some time." The logical thing to do would be to listen to him, and flee, but when it came to Mitsuki, he never did what was logical. He recognized the familiar markings on the mask, the pattern forming the illusive image of a weasel.

"I would, but I can't," he focused his attention on the man holding Mitsuki in his arms, and felt instant recognition as he removed his mask. "You have something that belongs to me, Uchiha Itachi."


So what'd you think? Orochimaru's such a complicated character, I always wonder if I get his thoughts right, and did you enjoy the ending, or did most of you see it coming? Review and let me know, the more you review the more I update! I hope you enjoyed! :)