Five Years After
Kabuto saw Sasuke Uchiha nearly every day. One might assume that this meant Kabuto knew quite a bit about Sasuke: his likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and so on.
That assumption would be incorrect.
Kabuto knew precious little about the Uchiha, mostly because he didn't care to know anything about him. But it was impossible to spend so much time around a person and not even inadvertently learn things about them. And Kabuto had learned plenty about Sasuke Uchiha, specifically in regard to his temperament. Which, incidentally, caused him to take even less of an interest in Sasuke as a person. The boy, after all, was an insolent, arrogant brat, with absolutely no regard for anyone but himself. So, no, Kabuto did not know much about Sasuke Uchiha. But after being around the child for so much time, he could say one thing with absolute certainty.
His doppelgänger proved to be far better company.
Kabuto was aware that the comparison wasn't entirely fair: the fake Sasuke was lying comatose in a lab. Kabuto had never spoken to him, had never interacted with him in any meaningful way, really. He simply checked his vitals and administered his medicine. But those interactions were far better than any he had with the real Sasuke, so he still felt justified in his opinion.
The real Sasuke didn't know that his unofficial twin was also being housed at the hideout. In all fairness, though, Orochimaru hadn't originally intended on acquiring both boys; he'd only been interested in the real Uchiha and his Sharingan, Danzo's plans for the fake hardly registering as something he should concern himself with. But when Kabuto had mentioned that the doppelgänger may provide some interesting scientific insights (after all, they had no idea what Danzo had done to create the boy, whether he was actually some sort of clone or the product of another lab experiment), Orochimaru had relented, allowing Kabuto to collect the boy while he himself retrieved Sasuke.
Kabuto had barely been able to save the child. His intel was scant; he knew the doppelgänger and his teammates would be outside the village walls, completing some trivial mission that didn't require a jonin's oversight. But otherwise, he'd known little about the situation, thinking that he'd only be facing resistance from the boy's genin team during the actual extraction.
So he was quite surprised when he came upon the group and saw a ninja brutally driving a kunai through the doppelgänger's abdomen.
He waited to intercept the boy, watching in vague concern as he laid bleeding in the river. But the ninja had decided to leave the boy alone for the moment, instead attacking his teammates and driving them farther and farther away from the boy's body. So Kabuto bid his time and waited. And as soon as they disappeared into the depths of the forest, Kabuto came and grabbed the doppelgänger, his hands smearing with blood as he hefted the boy out of the water.
And then Root showed up.
Kabuto had barely gotten them out alive. Danzo's men were well trained, ruthless in pursuit of their goals. And, based on the lethality of their attacks, they apparently had no compunction about killing the doppelgänger along with Kabuto.
Kabuto's blood still boiled at the mere thought of the encounter. Danzo had intended for the child to die that day, he was sure of it. The wound was deliberately placed, deep and precise and guaranteeing death if medical ninjutsu was not quickly applied. The official report would have been a mission complication, an unforeseen attack by an enemy shinobi. It would be a tragedy, but nothing that Danzo or the Leaf could reasonably be held responsible for. It's how spies were typically dealt with — they were disposed of silently, their lives and the work they'd done earning them little more than a checked box with the phrase "collateral damage" written next to it.
Kabuto took a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that he had helped this boy avoid that particular fate.
Not that his life at the hideout was much of an improvement, Orochimaru ordering him hidden away immediately upon his arrival. Kabuto was to examine him and report back any findings, but the doppelgänger was to be kept unconscious. And at no point was the real Sasuke to be made aware of his existence.
Kabuto had not agreed with the treatment, but he complied without argument. He examined the doppelgänger, trying to be as gentle as possible even though the boy was not aware of anything happening to him. Kabuto had been diligent in his inspection, hoping that there would be something unique about him, something that he could use to convince Orochimaru that the boy would make a good addition to the Sound.
Unfortunately, the child turned out to be completely ordinary. He wasn't a clone and he didn't appear to have been experimented on too extensively. His chakra levels were normal, and he certainly didn't have any kekkei genkai. The only exceptional thing about him was that he looked vaguely like Sasuke Uchiha. And even that had evidently needed to be improved upon by a series of cosmetic surgeries.
Kabuto was sullen when he reported these findings to Orochimaru; the Sannin would hardly waste his time with a doppelgänger who was merely the product of surgery and poor luck. Kabuto tried to defend the boy, tried to convince Orochimaru that he could still be useful. Perhaps Kabuto could take him under his wing, could teach him medical ninjutsu. They could give him a new life, one free from the plague of Sasuke Uchiha; he'd surely be a grateful and loyal follower as a result.
The Sannin had dismissed him, telling him that he'd consider it. But he was going to oversee Sasuke's training for the afternoon and that, of course, took precedence.
Kabuto had swallowed his rage and left.
• • •
Months passed. Kabuto tried to stop thinking about the child as the doppelgänger, tried to extricate the two Sasukes from each other in his mind so the boy could awaken free from the bonds of his past identity. He tried different names in his mind, tried to find something that fit, but he supposed it would be best to just ask the boy what he'd like to be called once he woke up.
Orochimaru kept the boy in his medically induced slumber. He had yet to order him killed, though, which Kabuto thought boded at least somewhat well for his future.
He had been wrong.
"Wake up the doppelgänger," Orochimaru ordered one day. "Make sure he's functional by the end of the month."
Kabuto had gone straight to work, elated by the news. He woke him gently, easing him back into awareness as slowly as he dared. The boy blinked his eyes open after five days.
His voice was gravelly from disuse, his muscles terribly weakened. He rolled his eyes to the left, trying to look at Kabuto.
"Where am I?" he croaked.
Kabuto gave him a small smile, one he hoped would be reassuring. "You're in the Land of Sound," he answered. "Lord Orochimaru saved you."
The boy's glassy eyes turned back towards the ceiling. "Do you know who I am?"
Kabuto kept the smile firmly on his face. "Why don't you tell me?"
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," the boy recited robotically. "I'm a Leaf shinobi, I —"
Kabuto hushed him. He should've expected that answer; the boy surely wouldn't have forgotten the years of brainwashing he'd undergone so easily. "Give your voice a rest. We'll have plenty of time to talk later."
Kabuto spent hours with the boy, visiting him daily. He concocted a number of medications meant to improve his condition, even taking the time to explain what each of them did as he administered them. He couldn't tell if the child was particularly interested in any of these explanations, but he seemed to take some comfort in Kabuto's talks.
He tried to broach the topic of Sasuke Uchiha on a few occasions, tried to see if the boy would admit to any awareness that he was not, in fact, Sasuke. He had little luck, though, which was unfortunately expected. It would take months, maybe years, to unearth the child's real identity, to assure him it was safe to put aside the role he'd been ordered to play. In the meantime, Kabuto allowed him his illusion, knowing that the boy would likely suffer a breakdown if he tried to convince him otherwise.
By the end of the month, the boy was largely functional. He had yet to return to the level he had been at before the incident, but he was walking and talking and was able to complete most basic physical acts. So Kabuto escorted him out of the lab for the first time in over a year and brought him to Orochimaru.
He had gotten word that the Sannin was at the training pit. He made his way there with the boy slowly, talking about how wonderful the boy's future was going to be there in the Sound.
"Lord Orochimaru will give you a proper room," he said. "You'll also be permitted to walk around, I'm sure, though some areas will surely remain off limits. I'll try and convince Lord Orochimaru to give you some time to train, but I can't guarantee —"
Two individuals suddenly emerged from the shadows, a man and a woman. Kabuto stopped, forcing the boy to halt beside him. The man gave him a grisly smile. "Lord Orochimaru wants to see you," he stated, his voice rasping.
He stared at the two people standing in front of them, feeling himself beginning to tense. But it was fine, he told himself, rolling his shoulders back. Nothing was wrong, at least not yet. Orochimaru had likely just not been aware that he was on his way.
"Fantastic," he smiled, feigning nonchalance. "I'm on my way to see Lord Orochimaru right now. I'm introducing him to the boy."
The man shook his head, and Kabuto felt his heart thud into his throat. "He wants to meet with you alone."
Kabuto paused. "And what of the boy?"
The woman started moving towards them, and Kabuto had to make an effort not to push the boy behind him, getting him as far away from her as possible. "Don't worry," she crooned, "we'll take good care of the pipsqueak."
He grit his teeth; he could hardly disregard the summoning, not if it was Orochimaru calling him directly.
He looked down at the boy. The confusion was clear in his eyes. Kabuto tried to ease his tension with a hand on the shoulder and a smile.
"Go with them, okay?" He gestured towards the man and woman. "I'll be back soon." The boy looked at him, unsure. But he soon nodded and shuffled towards the woman. She gripped him with exuberance and hurried him down the hall.
The man nodded, clearly pleased by Kabuto's cooperation. "Lord Orochimaru is on the third level of the training pit," he informed him.
Kabuto scoffed, annoyed. "I know."
He slipped around the man and made his way to the pit, skulking his way up the steps until he reached the third floor. Orochimaru was standing at the edge of the balcony, his arms crossed. Kabuto approached him slowly.
"You wanted to see me, Lord Orochimaru?" Orochimaru didn't directly acknowledge him, only motioned him closer. Kabuto took a steadying breath and joined him at the railing, surreptitiously peering over the edge.
Sasuke was standing in the middle of the pit, his sword in his hand while he blankly gazed at the arena's gaping entrance. Kabuto could just barely make out the red tinge of his eyes. The Sharingan.
Kabuto stood next to Orochimaru in silence, waiting for him to either speak or for Sasuke to do something. Seconds passed, then minutes, and the longer Kabuto stood there, the less on edge he felt. He was starting to assume that he'd only been summoned to discuss Sasuke's progress. The Sannin was surely going to point something out to him, was going to ask if there was a medicine or drug he knew of that would correct whatever issue he'd decided to focus on that day.
But then the boy, Sasuke's doppelgänger, was roughly pushed into the pit. The echo of the door shutting behind him cut sharply through the silence.
Kabuto looked towards the Sannin, alarmed. "What are you doing?" he asked, forgetting himself.
Orochimaru only gave him a smile in return. "I'm providing Sasuke with a bit of necessary motivation," he explained. He motioned towards the pit. "The boy has quite the conscience, don't you think? So adamant in his refusal to kill any of the people I send against him." His smile grew larger. "I'm expecting him to feel a bit differently this time around."
Kabuto's breath tangled in his lungs, his throat constricting painfully. "So Sasuke knows, then," he ground out. "He knows what Danzo did." It wasn't a question.
Orochimaru answered anyway. "He knows about the doppelgänger, yes." The smile was back. "He was quite angry when he found out."
The fake Sasuke struggled to his feet as the real one looked on impassively. Kabuto didn't spend much time watching Sasuke fight, but he was no stranger to that look. It was often the one he wore before things started breaking.
He looked towards Orochimaru again, starting to grow desperate. "The boy isn't ready," he tried. "He's been asleep for over a year. He only just learned to walk again. It's hardly going to be a fight —"
"It's not meant to be a fight," Orochimaru interrupted. "It's meant to motivate Sasuke." He glanced at Kabuto, motioning back down towards the pit. "Watch."
And so Kabuto watched. And when Sasuke ripped through his doppelgänger's body with Chidori, he wished he hadn't.
The boy hadn't even tried to run.