Kabuto returned to the hidden village of Sound. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face a bit tear-streaked. He missed her already, and he knew he would have a rough time ahead.
In the morning Orochimaru would expect him to prepare the children for the sacrifice. This time it caused him to shudder because he thought of Jaren. He thought of the parents that he would hurt and the lives that would never come to be because of the selfish appetite of the demon-snake. Still, he couldn't let Orochimaru know anything was amiss.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru greeted him warmly "I was afraid you'd overslept. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I've secured the victims. I convinced a group of unwed mothers that their children would be better off if they sold them as slaves. I paid them 25 beri a head for each child. That will feed their others handsomely for a few weeks."
"Excellent."
Kabuto knew that he was wrong for convincing the women to sell their children into slavery, and he knew that Ana would never have fallen for such a cheap ploy. He tried to blame the women for their greed, but he knew it was society's fault in the end for creating situations desperate enough that a woman would even consider doing such a dreadful thing.
"Are we ready to begin?"
"Yes Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru began reading from the ancient scroll as Kabuto gave a tranquilizer to the first infant victim. At least they wouldn't suffer as they died, he thought. Though he knew instinctively it wasn't true.
The flames burned high as Orochimaru grabbed the first child by the ankle. As he said the final phrase of the enchantment, he threw the child headfirst into the inferno. Kabuto said a silent prayer that Ana and Jaren were still safe, and that he could get out of this arrangement he had with Orochimaru as soon as possible. Until then, this was all in a day's work.