Ana had turned into a horny psychotic witch. It was the hormones, he'd guessed. A simple touch could send her over the edge with desire. Sometimes they made love three times a day.

"I ought to get involved with pregnant women more often," he thought. Immediately he ceased that line of reasoning. After all, he couldn't really see himself involved with anyone else.

He liked Ana because she wasn't demanding. That seemed silly because he wanted to give her everything he had, but he was accustomed to being controlled. From the time he was a small child, Orochimaru was the only person in his life who'd shown him any regard. Kabuto owed him his life in many ways. With Ana it was different. She simply loved him for what he was.

They lay on the bed, enveloped in each other's arms, bathing in the afterglow of their passionate union. She caressed his hair playfully and kissed him lightly on the back of the neck.

"I love you," he whispered sleepily.

"Me too." She replied.

It struck her suddenly that she meant it. Unlike Max, Kabuto was ecstatic about the pregnancy. In fact, he seemed rather obsessed. He read every book he could find on the subject of childbirth, so he would be ready when the time came. He foresaw no major complications, but one could never be too careful.

Before Ana had moved in, Kabuto's daily diet had consisted of chicken nuggets, sugary cereals, and loads of soda. Because of Ana's prenatal nutritional requirements, suggested to him in many volumes of informational literature, his eating habits had changed dramatically. He cooked a lot more vegetables, and he made sure that they both drank lots of milk.

Ana's presence had a calming influence on him. He slept a lot better at night. His daily schedule had become more balanced. He no longer stayed up through the night and slept half of the next day.

"What names have you thought of," he asked her.

"Lara, if it's a girl. Maybe Jaren if it's a boy."

There was no doubt that she was the perfect girl for him.

The following morning Orochimaru summoned Kabuto to his dwelling at the heart of the sound village. The topic of this meeting was as always the plot to destroy Konoha.

Summoning Manda, the snake God Orochimaru drew his powers from, always took a staggering toll of human lives. The exact number and type varied depending on the mood of the insatiable snake. For this reason alone, Kabuto had been extremely careful regarding Ana and her whereabouts. If Orochimaru discovered her presence, he would most likely kill her.

He wouldn't kill her because she posed the ninjas of the hidden sound any threat. He would kill her to test Kabuto's loyalty to him and his cause. Kabuto was not sure how he would respond given the choice. He had served Orochimaru for most of his life, and he claimed to be his most loyal and trusted confidante. However, Ana, in the short time he had known her had shown him an amount of love he thought did not exist. Orochimaru, Kabuto knew merely used him as a tool to gain power. Kabuto was gifted enough that he hoped once Orochimaru gained power, that he could be eliminated, and Kabuto himself would take over as leader over the vast ninja empire he'd helped create.

"Kabuto, Manda has said that he will not work for me unless he has twenty lives."

"Twenty is a more reasonable amount than he has asked for in quite a while. We should be able to manage that easily. When do we need them by?"

"The plan is set to take place in three weeks. By then the rest of my legions should have infiltrated Konoha to lay the foundations for our large-scale assault."

Three weeks would be plenty of time for Kabuto to gather the necessary victims needed to quell the ever-present bloodlust of the snake god. By all calculations, Ana would have the child within the next two weeks or so, and he'd have plenty of time to spend caring for her.

"The reason why the number is so low this time is because Manda only wants the most innocent of blood. He wants infants."

"Infants?" Kabuto thought frantically. What could he do? He had no wish displease Orochimaru. Holding back a baby that he never should have become attached to in the first place would be a primary step to displeasing Orochimaru. On the other hand, he could not betray Ana in such a way. Everything he had with her would perish.

He knew what he had to do. Ana would have to leave the village of the sound, and she'd have to do it soon.