This is a collection of stories about the time Sasuke spent with Orochimaru during his training.

Time-Out at the Hot Springs

Less than one year in training

Snowflakes covered Orochimaru's dark cave, and a peaceful silence filled the corridors of said place. On the inside, the situation was a little different since it was the time of the year when Orochimaru was experiencing his annual winter depression. Feeling a vast lethargy, the snake Sannin sat in his bathtub and stared at the wall in front of him.

Why did he want to know all jutsus again? Did it make any sense to be immortal if all the cool guys like Tsunade, Jiraiya, or the Akatsuki don't want to have anything to do with him?

He thought about his current team. His most promising students were strange:

His apprentice Kabuto was overly devoted and seemed kind of fake, a kiss-ass if you will. Sometimes Orochimaru would enjoy startling him by randomly declaring that he'd kill him. But even that had begun losing its appeal.

His new other student Sasuke was the opposite, the arrogant kid who would constantly disrespect and pick on Orochimaru. To scare and to get some respect from his student, Orochimaru would tell him that he'd take over his body soon, but Sasuke didn't seem to care. He seemed too cool to care. In the real world, his apathy would be pathological, and he would have seen a psychotherapist. But in the shinobi world, his attitude was admirable.

Finally, all the other subordinates weren't better. Either they hate Orochimaru so much it would annoy him, or they were afraid of him. That wasn't fun at all.

Orochimaru kind of missed the other iterations of subordinates, like Anko. She had a great sense of humor. A desperate sigh escaped him, pondering about it. Why did he always have to screw up every amicable relationship? As he thought of his old sensei Sarutobi, suddenly he had to fight back a small tear. Couldn't he just wait for a year? His sensei had been old; he would have died one day.

I really tend to be impatient. Orochimaru sighed, shaking his head.

After a while, he climbed out of his tub and looked in the mirror. His mood worsened even more because he didn't like what he saw: a pale, old snake with broken arms. But then Orochimaru started to search for solutions.

Maybe it's just time for a little vacation?

The following day Orochimaru sat with Sasuke and Kabuto, eating breakfast, observing his students. In the gloomy light of the dark, the two looked way too old for teenagers. After clearing his throat, Orochimaru announced, "We're going on vacation."

"Ugh." Sasuke was obviously overflowing with excitement. "I don't want to!"

So ungrateful. Orochimaru rolled his eyes. He hadn't expected another reaction from Sasuke, though.

Kabuto smiled brightly. "Great idea, Lord Orochimaru." His kiss-ass attitude was almost worse than Sasuke's awfully cranky mood.

Teenagers, Orochimaru thought while shaking his head slightly. We were so different in our days. Orochimaru's thoughts drifted to an easier time when he would be training with his team. His snaky mouth turned into a small and nostalgic smile.

Meanwhile, his students were staring at their sensei, waiting for him to continue speaking. Sasuke was frowning, and Kabuto was smiling slyly.

Orochimaru's smile faded after a while, and he sighed deeply. Maybe he should travel alone? He glanced at Kabuto and Sasuke. But who would babysit the two shinobis then? Sasuke couldn't even light a fire without burning down the kitchen with his Katon. And Kabuto was a mediocre cook, but he was so clumsy that he would poison Sasuke by accident. He had done it before, and Orochimaru had needed to mix some antidote. It had been very stressful. So leaving Sasuke and Kabuto alone would most likely result in two dead students.

And that would leave Orochimaru without a vessel.

And maybe with another lawsuit from Itachi.

The first case (when he tried to steal Itachi's body) had been bad enough: he had been forced to leave the Akatsuki and lost his hand. And the permission to wear his fancy personified Akatsuki ring.

Orochimaru sighed again.

"Where would you like to go on vacation?" he asked out loud.

"I'd love to learn more about…." While Kabuto started listing all the things he wanted to study, Orochimaru had already zoned out. Indeed, Kabuto was a nerd "..so how about visiting this laboratory?" Kabuto concluded his speech.

"I'd like to train to get stronger! I want to go to a place where we could train!" Sasuke's annoying voice brought Orochimaru back to reality.

"I see. I suggest we visit some hot springs," Orochimaru said, deadpan. He didn't even pretend to consider their suggestions.

Kabuto's and Sasuke's mouths both fell open, both faces covered with disappointment. "But-" Both simultaneously exclaimed. They started to shout and complain about everything.

"But we always... "

"You promised..!"

"This is not fair..!"

"We never.. !"

Their sensei couldn't care less for their accusations. Tuning out their pesky voices, he stood up from the table and walked away from his students. He was in no mood to argue with the two. A trip to an onsen would be a good change of scenery, he thought.

Orochimaru really needed a vacation.

With wide eyes, Kabuto and Sasuke looked after Orochimaru leaving the room. Even his body posture was different, the shoulders slumped, his tongue not wiggling around as happily as usual.

"He seems off," Sasuke noticed with his eyebrow raised.

"He does." Kabuto nodded. "Very strange. What do you think it could be?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Do I look like I care?"

What a jerk. Rolling his eyes behind his misty glasses, Kabuto wished Orochimaru would have picked another teenager as his future body. After analyzing all the stats of the Konoha shinobis, Kabuto thought that many other candidates would have been so much better. For example, the positive and joyful Naruto or the funny Lee. But then, it appeared to Kabuto that only a weirdo would choose to live in a dark cave with a snaky stranger who had bitten and infected him with a cursed seal.

I really should just poison you, Kabuto thought, glaring at Sasuke. But then Orochimaru would get very angry again. And, of course, Kabuto didn't want that.

The three arrived at their destination in the afternoon. The chosen inn had been visited by Orochimaru often in the past. Its own onsen and good reviews for the food and rooms made it the number one travel spot in the area.

A flicker of excitement flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. "It looks just like I remember. We are going to enjoy our time here."

His students seemed excited, too. Well, Sasuke frowned deeply, and Kabuto sighed in frustration.

Orochimaru went to the reception and picked up the room keys. After he had thanked the receptionist, he walked over to his students. Handing one key to Kabuto, Orochimaru said, "You and Sasuke will share a room."

"I want my own room!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily.

"Well, then pay for it!" Kabuto hissed at Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him, Sharingan activated, his fists clenched, ready to kill Kabuto right there. Kabuto also got ready to fight, his glasses misted, arrogant smirk already flashing on his face.

A deep sigh escaped Orochimaru. Being a sensei was a hard job. You need to be a fitness trainer, mom, and teacher in one. And as for the payment? Unfortunately, Orochimaru didn't have an official working contract, meaning that he was doing it for free. Well, almost for free, he still wanted Sasuke's body and would get it one day. But was it really worth the hassle?

"There were only two vacant rooms left," Orochimaru explained in a calm voice, trying to ease the tense mood.

"Then Kabuto could sleep in one room with you," Sasuke suggested with a sly smirk.

For once, Kabuto agreed with Sasuke and nodded in agreement. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru, I can share the room with you."

As a deep frown covered his face, Orochimaru shook his head. "Kabuto is always snuggling up to me when he's asleep. I have a light sleep, and it wakes me up. You two sleep in one room."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in utter annoyance.

"But Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto tried to reason.

"End of the discussion." Orochimaru suddenly hissed at them, changing his form from his human form to a more snaky one. His long and nasty tongue was wiggling viciously, his elastic neck was growing unnaturally, and his eyes looked terrifying.

Instantly, the two boys fell silent while a cold shiver ran down their bodies. Orochimaru always knew how to look scary, and even two ninjas got afraid of his creepy appearance from time to time.

It always works on children, Orochimaru thought proudly while trying to suppress a cheeky giggle. Unfortunately, his transformation also led to an instant backache. Every power comes at a price. Sighing deeply, Orochimaru picked up his bags and headed for the rooms.

Kabuto and Sasuke slowly shuffled behind him, still exchanging angry glares.

The night was restless for Sasuke, who lay awake with his katana in his hands for the whole night, scared that Kabuto would snuggle up to him during the night. That night Sasuke felt homesick and wished to go hom...to the cave again. There he would at least have his own roo... cell.

After a delicious breakfast in the morning and a training session, an exhausted Sasuke went to join Orochimaru and Kabuto at the onsen in the evening.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Naruto were on their journey in the woods. As they were walking through the mud, Naruto was pouting.

"I wanna continue my trainin'," exclaimed Naruto. "Come on!"

Jiraiya smiled at his determination and patted Naruto's head. "We trained the whole day, you need a short rest, at least."

"But I wanna get stronger. I promised to bring Sasuke back."

"I know, I know. But without rest, you won't be able to get stronger." Jiraiya looked at a small map in his hands. "Ah, perfect, we're almost there. I know a great place nearby where we could take a break. I already reserved a room."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Again? Oh dammit. You just wanna get drunk and do your perv' things."

Jiraiya laughed brightly. "It will be a lot of fun, I tell you."

Naruto rolled his eyes and mumbled, "I wanna train. Stupid onsen."

After a short walk on foot, the two arrived at the inn.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke were sitting in the hot springs. The outside onsen was spacious, surrounded by some trees and stones. Orochimaru was trying to relax in the warm water, but it wasn't easy because of his annoying student.

Sitting in a tub made Sasuke remember the times he bathed together with his father and brother. Suddenly, he showed the demeanor of a little child, babbling about everything and everyone. It meant the boy was talking non-stop. "..and then dad told me I'm his son! And after that...and Itachi then said..."

Closing his eyes, Orochimaru tried to tune out Sasuke's voice.

Kabuto's mouth was opened in astonishment as he was looking at Sasuke, trying to understand what caused the sudden change of mood. The big issue was that Sasuke's babbling was getting really annoying and Orochimaru and Kabuto started to miss the cranky, cold but mostly silent Sasuke. It was a delicate situation, they knew they needed to treat Sasuke in a sensitive way. Obviously, he seemed to go through some sort of trauma after all.

Finally, Kabuto decided to speak up. "Seriously, could you just shut up for a minute?" he hissed at Sasuke.

Orochimaru was very relieved that Kabuto handled the tricky situation in such a sensitive way. He nodded in approval.

Now, Sasuke looked hurt, and he fell silent instantly. At that very moment, he could help but miss his old team. Good thing that his best friend was just around the corner. He just didn't know it yet.

Naruto was meeting Jiraiya in the showering area before the springs. As his sensei entered the room, Naruto instantly noticed the heavy blush on his sensei's face.

"Are you drunk?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, showing a disapproving scowl.

"Maybe a liiiittle bit." Jiraiya grinned brightly and poured water over his head.

Naruto repeated his action and sighed. "Why do you always have to get drunk?"

"You'll get it when you're as ol' as I am. Everythin' is more fun then." Jiraiya grinned and led the way to the onsen. He was in an excellent mood. "You know we used to come here with my old team.."

He was just about to finish his sentence when he spotted Orochimaru in the hot spring.

"Orochimaru?!" Jiraiya shouted out, thinking that maybe he was more drunk than he had realized.

Orochimaru slowly opened his eyes to look at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya?" His voice showed his surprise, he didn't expect his old teammate to show up at the same onsen.

"SASUKE!?" Naruto exclaimed as soon as he spotted his best friend.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Naruto."

"Oh yeah and I'm Kabuto, by the way," Kabuto mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Sasuke, I'm gonna take you home!" Naruto's loud voice rang in everybody's head.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in annoyance. That again.

The naked Naruto got ready to jump, but Jiraiya held his wrist.

"Naruto," he pleaded quietly. "Careful now."

"Sensei, we need to fight them! They've got Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed desperately. "Come on! Shadow Clo-" He was interrupted by Jiraiya's fist pounding on his head.

"Naruto, we're outnumbered. And I'm not in my prime physical condition," he whispered, trying to hide a slight hiccup. "We can't fight them, we better get goin'." His hand pulled Naruto's arm, and he turned around to leave the place immediately.

"Wait," Orochimaru hissed softly. "There is no necessity for you to leave. We will not harm you."

Kabuto and Sasuke gaped at him, completely baffled. "Wha-?"

"To be precise, we are here on vacation," Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders, and a small cheeky smile covered his lips, "And we are not interested in fighting you.. At least for now." His soft chuckle sent a shiver on Jiraiya's skin.

Still, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and thought about the invitation. Could he trust Orochimaru's word? His drunken brain was working hard on finding an answer to this question.

Naruto looked at him with big eyes. "Sensei?"

Maybe Jiraiya was more drunk than he had thought to be because he just shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? We could use a break," he said and climbed into the onsen. "We already paid for it."

Orochimaru smiled at his old friend. "Excellent."

Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke into the water. "Let's go, Sasuke. I'll take you with us," he shouted and started pulling Sasuke's shoulder.

"Stop touching me!" Sasuke hissed at him. "Leave me alone!"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes because of their loud shouting.

"Sasuke!" Naruto roared.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted at his friend.

Their loud bickering led to Orochimaru changing his human form into his snaky form again. "Stop shouting. We are in an onsen, and you are acting disrespectfully." With his creepy elastic throat, he let his head jump close to Naruto's and Sasuke's faces.

The two friends froze in horror. Orochimaru's snaky form was even more terrifying when he was naked.

Jiraiya laughed brightly. "You still got it, Orochimaru!" Orochimaru was still the creepiest shinobi in the room.

If Orochimaru could have blushed, this would have been the time for it.

"Kids.. Right?" Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

"Being sensei is harder than I had expected," Orochimaru mused. "These students.."

"Totally. We're teaching them, raising them, and then what? The student kills the sensei." The drunk blush on Jiraiya's face was still visible as he winked at Orochimaru.

Almost unnoticeably, Orochimaru lowered his head. "Yes..I.." He wanted to say something, but he stopped. It wouldn't change anything.

The glimpse of guilt on his old teammate's face that Jiraiya spotted surprised him. Maybe not all hope was lost, and Orochimaru could be redeemed one day? "Well, let's hope that at least our students won't kill us!" Jiraiya laughed brightly.

Nodding his pale head, Orochimaru quietly said, "I am positive that yours would not dare to try. You have always been a popular sensei…"

Jiraiya laughed and stroked the back of his head. "Thanks! I wish I could return the compliment, but I don't wanna lie to you."

Orochimaru chuckled softly.

"But you are a very popular sensei, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto exclaimed.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged a bemused look. This kiss ass attitude again. Orochimaru rolled his eyes.

"What were you thinking when you accepted this one?" Jiraiya asked Orochimaru, his eyebrow raised mockingly.

Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders. "It is getting harder to find good students nowadays."

Hearing the two speak about him that way made Kabuto pout the whole evening. He turned away and stayed silent.

For a little while, all shinobis were just sitting in the onsen and relaxing.

As time passed, Jiraiya watched Sasuke and Naruto teasing each other. Naruto was splashing water at Sasuke, and Sasuke was splashing it back. A small smile covered Jiraiya's face as he was reminded of a time when he and his teammates were young and carefree.

However, after some time, the boys started to show off their more severe attacks, Naruto began to mold his Rasengan, and Sasuke started forming a Chidori. Jiraiya and Kabuto watched the scene in sheer horror. Electricity in an onsen - Was he aiming to kill everyone in the hot springs?

Sasuke's and Naruto's foolish behavior was immediately punished by Orochimaru slapping both hard with his snaky and slimy tongue. Sasuke needed to go shower again after this. Naruto tailed him immediately. Leaving his best friend behind again was entirely out of the question for Naruto. Just to be safe, he even instructed his shadow clone to hide Sasuke's clothes, so Sasuke couldn't leave the onsen without him noticing.

"Chidori in the onsen. And I thought my student wasn't the brightest bulb in the box," Jiraiya mused.

Orochimaru nodded his head in concern. "I wanted to go here by myself, but I figured they would kill themself by accident." And I cannot let another body go to waste.

Kabuto huffed at this comment. Yes, sure, he had contemplated poisoning Sasuke, but that wouldn't be an accident. A cheeky chuckle escaped Kabuto, but nobody paid attention to him anyway.

"And your student thought he'd be strong enough to fight Itachi." The wide grin Jiraiya showed demonstrated his amusement.

Orochimaru's snaky smile widened. "Well, I guess that's what youth is for, to feel overpowered. How is Tsunade doing? I heard she is Hokage -"

They were interrupted by Sasuke and Naruto shouting again.

"He doesn't let me go to the toilet by myself! I need my katana, where's the locker key?!" Sasuke exclaimed in desperation. Orochimaru and Kabuto started to understand his wish to leave the village for some time.

"I'm not gonna let you run off again!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke as he sprinted behind him.

Naruto's fixation on Sasuke might be getting a little out of hand, Jiraiya mused. "I'm gonna talk to him about this," he said, scratching his head.

After a lengthy discussion with his sensei, Naruto finally let Sasuke go to the toilet by himself. Jiraiya and Orochimaru leaned back again and continued their conversation about old times. Nobody would fight that night.

"By the way, your newest work-," Orochimaru quietly said, turning to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked at him with wide eyes. "You read it?"

Orochimaru nodded his head. "Exquisite."

The positive review resulted in a proud cheeky grin appearing on Jiraiya's already flushed face.

In the meantime, Naruto and Sasuke were goofing around again. The boys tried to skate on the floor with soap bars under their feet. It ended with them headbutting each other and both passing out. They had already been tired from their training, so one hit on the head had been enough that day.

Looking at their unconscious students lying naked on the ground, Orochimaru and Jiraiya sighed. It was already late, so the two decided to call it a day.

"Alright," Jiraiya had managed to clothe Naruto somehow and put him under his arm to carry him to their room. "It was kind of … fun." Jiraiya grinned widely. "But I guess it's time to say goodbye now."

Smiling a snaky smile, Orochimaru nodded and hissed, "Until next time."

After Jiraiya left with Naruto, Kabuto and Orochimaru desperately tried to find Sasuke's clothes. But Naruto had hidden them so well that they gave up after a while. It was already late. They were tired and longed for their beds.

"Our room is just around the corner." Kabuto shrugged his shoulders. Sure, he could have gone and brought some clothes to retain Sasuke's dignity. But this was his time to pay back for all the times Sasuke had annoyed and bullied him.

Orochimaru nodded. He didn't care for human nudity. Being more a snake than a human, a naked teenage boy wasn't an issue for him at all.

Kabuto refused to carry the naked Sasuke. Orochimaru's arms were still broken, so he used his long tongue and tied it around Sasuke's chest to carry him.

They left the onsen and headed for the room.

Meanwhile, Kisame and Itachi arrived at the same inn. Instantly, Kisame went right to the room.

"No onsen for you, Kisame?" Itachi asked his partner politely.

"Nah, it's way too hot there. I don't like to be boiled," Kisame groaned while a frown covered his sharky face. It made sense somehow, and Itachi forced himself to hold back a comment about tasty shark soup.

Still trying to suppress a sly smirk, Itachi just nodded his head at Kisame. It had been a tough week filled with straining assassination and torture missions. As a result, his chakra was drained, his body aching from his chronic illness, and his usual melancholy clouded his mind.

The thought of a relaxing bath was a welcome change for Itachi. Walking out of the room and heading to the onsen, he wondered what his little brother might be doing at this very moment. Probably training or sleeping, Itachi thought.

He wasn't wrong.

With his tongue still tied around the chest of the naked and unconscious Sasuke, Orochimaru carried him to his room. Kabuto was walking behind them.

The trio was only one corner away from their rooms when suddenly they ran into Itachi.

Kabuto gulped. Damn. This does look wrong.

Itachi's eyes widened as he tried to assess what kind of new terrifying genjutsu he was trapped in. After some seconds, he acknowledged with horror that this scene was the ugly reality. His little brother Sasuke was naked and unconscious while Orochimaru's nasty tongue was tied around his chest.

"Orochimaru! What are you doing with my brother?!" Itachi screamed. A furious frown covered his face, his Sharingan spinning in sheer anger. In order to punish Orochimaru with the most painful death, Itachi started to rank the level of torture of his techniques in his mind.

Watching Itachi get so mad made Orochimaru groan in desperation. It seemed like Itachi's next lawsuit against him was just around the corner.

Why did every one of his vacations have to end up like this?

A\N: Thanks to JadeDragon927 for beta reading this.

Thanks for reading. If you liked it, consider writing me a review :D

Means a lot to me.