A/N: I have been out of town for a while, and now, I'm back. I am now...posting the newest installment of my story, but I'm so sad, because no one reviewed while I was gone. Now, I have to beg. Please gets down on knees and begs... Man is that pathetic! You should see me! The puppy-dog eyes alone would kill you with their cuteness.

Oh, and I guess I should start putting the evil disclaimers at the start of each chapter, ne? So here goes. Ahem: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters in said manga/anime. The characters Hori Amaya and Hoshi are mine, however, as is the plot of this story. Now, the men in suits can leave me alone.

Please don't forget to review, guys!

Four: In the Belly of the Snake

"What are you talking about, Kabuto?"

He sighed in a nearly exasperated manner. "Orochimaru-sama has explained it to me in this way, and that is all I can tell you, Amaya-sama. After his transfer into Uchiha Sasuke's body, he intends on producing an heir, with the Uchiha blood."

Her stomach lurched. How long would she have to be kept here, waiting to be a baby factory for Orochimaru? Is this what he calls love? "Is there nothing that can be done, Kabuto?" She turned to him, her eyes brimming with tears. He stared at her, his face a mask of surprise and confusion. He remained silent. "Say something, damn you!" She flew at him, clutching the cloth of his shirt. If there was one thing that frightened her, it was small or enclosed spaces. The place she was being kept had the distinct feeling of being underground, and there's nothing more enclosed than that. Amaya was nearing the point of being hysterical.

Her heart then began to beat oddly, as it had a habit of doing when she was overly exerted, or distressed. This caused her to gasp for breath. The problem with her condition was that when this happened to her, she couldn't breathe, and her muscles would go entirely slack. Her eyes bulged, and her hands let go of Kabuto's shirt. Her knees buckled, and she fell. As she hit the floor, Kabuto blinked in surprise, and an instant later, he was kneeling at her side.

His features were drawn in a look of grim determination. Chakra ignited around his hands, and he moved them over her chest. "Amaya-sama, you…"

By this point, her breath had begun to return. "Don't tell Orochimaru, Kabuto. Please. He'll only take it as a weakness." He shook his head, indicating that it was his duty to inform his master of any condition that might effect his plans. "This…is why…I quit being a shinobi. I was diagnosed with this condition, and there were no treatments for it. After I collapsed on my last mission, I was forced by my commander to resign my post."

Kabuto put a hand over her heart, chakra surrounding his hand once again, and the warmth of it sank into her chest. When his probing was complete, he nodded. "There is a way, Amaya-sama, but if you go through with this, there is a more than a slight chance you will die."

"So my options are death, or becoming Orochimaru's baby factory?"

Kabuto smiled wryly. He nodded, "Not in so many words, but yes, basically."

"Son of a bitch. Help me up, Kabuto. I am going talk to Sasuke-chan." He helped her off of the floor, and walked her to the door. "Where is his room?" Kabuto led the way, holding Amaya's arm since she was still shaky. The passages were winding, and she realized that there would be no way for her to escape. Damn you, Orochimaru! About halfway to Sasuke's room, Kabuto stopped.

"What are you going to talk to him about?"

"What do you think, Kabuto?" Her voice was even, and she thought he could tell that she had formed some kind of plan. "Anyway, I don't think that the hallway is the right place to discuss this, do you?" He nodded, and they proceeded down the hall. It took a while, because she was still a little weak from the attack. Kabuto walked silently beside her, and as she snuck a look at him, Amaya saw that there was an expression on his face that she had not yet seen. There was worry there, as well as a good bit of determination, but the overriding emotion she saw on his face was anger. He was scary just then.

When they reached Sasuke's room, Kabuto knocked on the door three times. The young man opened the door just enough to admit his head. "What do you want, Kabuto-kun?" His eyes widened when he saw Amaya. "Why did you bring her here? Are you insane? Orochimaru-sama has ordered that she is to remain in her room for the time being." The fifteen-year-old Uchiha ushered them quickly into his room, looked up and down the corridor, and then closed the door.

Kabuto had settled onto the floor, and she was sitting on the bed when Sasuke turned around from closing the door. Amaya looked up at him, and asked, "Do you remember what I spoke to you about, Sasuke-chan?" Kabuto's eyes flashed warning. Sasuke apparently did not like being referred to in this manner. He had, however, learned to keep his temper since the last time she had seen him.

"I remember, Amaya-sama." His face was a mass of anger and tension.

"Good. I need to ask you something."

"What is that, Amaya-sama?" Sasuke stared at the wall, just over her head.

"I wanted to know how you feel about Orochimaru's plan to continue the Uchiha line without you." As she said this, Kabuto's shoulders slumped. The Uchiha looked her in the eye, stark disbelief on his face. She continued, "I have just been informed of my fate. I know that you won't really be the one to do this to me, but I wondered how you felt about me bearing the children of the body you'll leave behind." Sasuke's face changed from its usual pale hue to a vaguely magenta color.

Before Amaya could stop him, he had picked Kabuto up off of the floor, and the silver-haired shinobi's legs dangled in the air. "What else do you know that you're not telling me, four-eyes?" Kabuto hung there for a moment, suspended, and then ignited one of his medical jutsus in his left hand. When he had done this, he held it at Sasuke's neck. The younger shinobi lowered him to the floor, and seemed to regain some amount of his composure. So he had not known…interesting. Apparently, being Orochimaru's future container was not such a trusted position as Kabuto's was.

Sasuke sank to the floor. He stared up at Amaya, horrified disbelief all over his face. His eyes had turned the red of the Sharingan when he hauled Kabuto off of the floor, but they were their natural black color now. He had not been in control of himself at that point, and it was good that Kabuto had kept a cool head. She left the bed, and came to rest in front of him, sitting on her heels. Taking his hand in hers, she held it gently. As she looked down at his hand in hers, she saw that his skin was the same creamy hue as her own.

Raising her eyes to his face, she asked softly, "Do you really want to become his vessel?" He was very close to crying, and she did not want to see this young man weep, but it was necessary for her point to be taken. It was necessary for both of their sakes. "One of your objectives will be achieved, that is true, and that is the revival of your clan. The other, if it is accomplished at all, will be done by someone other than you. Is that alright with you?"

His head drooped, and his shoulders began to shake. "Given the choice, I know that if you could, you would kill Itachi. What will you do then? Would you remain here, or would you go home afterward? You will have avenged your clan, your family. But is that enough? Is revenge all there is for you? I want you to think long and hard about this, Sasuke-chan. Your life, your clan, and your vengeance depend on it." There were now several wet patches on his lap where tears had fallen. She raised his face toward the light. With the sleeve of her kimono, Amaya wiped away his tears.

There was a look of innocence on his face just then, so much so that he seemed far younger than he was. "You remind me of someone…" His voice came in a whisper, choked by emotion. "You remind me of my mother." Moving closer to him, she took him in her arms. Sasuke collapsed into the embrace, wracked with sobs. Between gasping cries, she could hear him wispering, faintly, "Okaasan…" She was very nearly moved to tears herself. Kabuto only stared. He was unsure of how to react to such a situation.

Soon, he quieted, and raised his head. Face stained with tears, he smiled at her. It was not the malicious Orochimaru-like smile she had seen him use when he attempted to fight her before, but a real smile. She had the feeling that this was not an expression his face was used to. "Please give it some thought, Sasuke-chan." He nodded, and they both stood. Amaya smiled, and hugged him reassuringly. He was not stiff as she thought he would be. This boy had suffered much; that was clear. But for him to go to Orochimaru in order to attain his revenge was just pointless. He was beginning to see that now.

Kabuto pulled at her sleeve. She followed him from the room, and he took her back to the area of the "mansion" where she was being kept. She paused with a hand on the door to her room. "Kabuto?"

"Yes, Amaya-sama?"

"Am I really nothing special?" she asked in a bemused way. Truly, she had been thinking the entire way back about her position, and how things had turned out. Amaya felt horrible for using him, for using Sasuke. Sasuke was not so bad, as long as he came to his senses, and Kabuto had a side that was almost likeable. The problem was their proximity to Orochimaru. But what she was wondering at the moment was her exact position in the scheme of things.

She then felt Kabuto's presence behind her, very close now. His arms encircled her waist, and his chin came to rest on her shoulder. "Amaya-sama, you are a powerful shinobi, even with a heart defect. You have caught the eye of Orochimaru-sama, you have changed Sasuke-kun in only a few minutes, and I…" His hands moved from her waist to her shoulders, and he used them to turn her toward him. She could feel his heart beating through his palms. Her hands moved on their own, removing his glasses just before their lips met. She realized all too quickly that the situation had just become much more complicated. She felt Kabuto's arms around her again, and then was she suddenly being lifted off of the floor. When he had pushed his way into the room, he kicked the door closed and carried her to the bed.

Is this the same person who nearly killed me not that long ago? She felt herself being gently lowered to the bed, and Kabuto's weight settling on top of her, though not uncomfortably. His every move, every touch, was gentle, and she silently thanked him for it.

Hours later, she woke up in his arms, and watched him sleeping. He really did look innocent when he slept. Like an angel. Amaya sighed, but softly, so that she wouldn't wake him. This is an unexpected turn of events…How will Orochimaru react? At the moment, it really didn't matter. At the moment, Orochimaru did not even exist.

She was given fresh clothes to wear, a black kimono with a white obi. It felt like being a prisoner, but the visits from Sasuke and Kabuto helped. Sasuke had brought a small collection of books, ranging in topics from ninjutsu techniques to physics. The physics books remained untouched, as she had never really had a head for that sort of thing, but the rest were greatly appreciated. The entire gesture was appreciated, and she told him so. In the days since Amaya had been brought there, she had not once seen Orochimaru, and wasn't sure that she wanted to. Sasuke was usually training during the hours that she assumed were the daytime, but since her room had no windows, it was difficult to tell the passage of time. When he was finished, he usually came to her room to talk with her.

On the third of his visits, he was quiet for some time, but then said, "Amaya-sama?"

"What is it, Sasuke-chan?" He no longer seemed annoyed when she called him 'Sasuke-chan.' It was a term of endearment between them.

"Did Sakura seem well when you saw her?" His eyes were downcast, and she could tell he had been wanting to ask this question for some time, but had been too ashamed to.

"She was in good health, Sasuke-chan. Sakura-chan is a strong girl, but…" She took a deep breath. "She misses you, Sasuke-chan. But you already knew that, didn't you?" He looked up at me, his brow furrowed in distress. So, you do care about her…how cute. "Do you care for her, Sasuke-chan?"

He looked away. Perhaps he was not ready to admit to such things yet.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-chan, I did not mean to offend you." She crossed her hands in her lap, and looked down at them, in an apologetic posture.

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "You didn't offend me, Amaya-sama. It's just that…Sakura-san is—" he hesitated, thinking of how to word what he was going to say. "—she is very important to me." He sighed. Wow. That was like pulling teeth. But at least it's out there. His eyes flicked over Amaya's face, and back down at his lap, and then he seemed to gain some courage. "You asked me what I meant when I thanked Sakura-san."

"I did."

He looked into her eyes, and drew himself up. "I meant that I was thanking her for trying to make me stay. I didn't want to stay, because I thought that if she was near me, I would never really get stronger, because I would always have to be protecting her. In the past two years, I have become stronger in my jutsu, in my chakra control, but there's still something holding me back." He nodded, satisfied with what he had said. He had been giving this a lot of thought. Sasuke smiled his boyish smile at her, and she smoothed his hair.

"Save those smiles for Sakura, you little devil." She grabbed him roughly and hugged him, wrestling with him and laughing as he tried to get away. When he had extricated himself and straightened his kimono, he composed himself and tried to look like the Sasuke she had first met. "Oh, what's this all of a sudden? You're getting all dignified on me. Don't tell me that now I really have offended you!" He looked coldly at her, and she reached over and poked the middle of his forehead. His surprise was very visible. "You really do need to learn how to take a joke, Sasuke-chan. Then, if you hear a good one, you can actually laugh."

Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Please, don't talk that way about me and Sakura-san, Amaya-sama. I don't think she'll want anything to do with me now." He seemed very disappointed. His eyes narrowed at her. "By the way, I saw Kabuto-kun sneaking in here last night. What's going on with that?" This was a valiant attempt to change the subject. Sasuke's mouth had begun to curl into a wicked smile, but this one was not like his own, nor was it like Orochimaru's. It reminded her of Naruto.

"That's for me to know, and you to keep your nose out of unless you want your eyes to burn out of your skull." She smiled just as wickedly right back at him, and he started.

He shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head to clear any possible bad mental images. "Ack! Amaya-sama, that's terrible! You know, there is such a thing as too much information." She laughed at him, and he scowled at her. After a moment, the grin reappeared on his face. "Isn't he a little young for you, Amaya-sama?"

She stopped laughing. Her tone became serious. "Sasuke-chan, is that really much of your business? And no, for your information. He's only four years younger. Anyway, according to Orochimaru, it'll be you next, and you're younger than Kabuto. So I wouldn't be saying much about age if I were you." He seemed to understand the situation better now, which was good. There was little she could do other than try to prod him into action, and the fact that she had become fond of him didn't hurt.

For a time, both of them were silent.

"We'll see about that."

That surprised her. "What did you say, Sasuke-chan?" She had been leafing through a book on wildflowers, and looked up from it. His face had the look of one in serious thought, and she could tell that the wheels were turning, but in what direction were they headed? For long moments, he was silent, staring at her. She began to think that he had spaced out, but after a moment, he spoke.

"I think that there may be a way to save both of us." His nose crinkled as his brows drew down, and he thought. "But a large part of it depends on your…influence with Kabuto-san." He elaborated on his plan, and Amaya listened. They both were keeping their ears open for any signs of spies. No one seemed to be around, but he spoke in a low whisper, very close to her ear. His plan seemed sound, but as he said, it depended much on her pull with Kabuto. It all depended on her…

Suddenly, there was the faint sound of footfalls in the corridor. Sasuke moved a few feet away, and she re-opened her book, laying it on her lap. "How was your training, today, Sasuke-chan? You still haven't told me about that."

"It was ok. I didn't really get that much accomplished, because Kabuto's heart didn't seem to be in it. He's really slacking off lately. I wonder why that is…" he shot her a grin as the knock came at the door. "Orochimaru hasn't noticed anything yet, but if I tell him, he may want to supervise."

"Come in, please." She said, and the door opened, admitting Orochimaru's newest acquisition, a tiny shinobi, formerly of the hidden Rock Village, a young girl named Hoshi. Her green eyes fell on Sasuke and she blushed. Amaya could almost feel his eyes rolling. It seemed that even here, he could not escape the 'Sasuke Fan Club.'

"Ah, Amaya-sama, if you would please come with me?" She gestured to the door, and Amaya rose to leave with her.

Before she left, she turned back to the young man seated on the floor. "Sasuke-chan, if you have any books on birds, I would greatly appreciate it if you could lend me one. I have always been fascinated with how they fly." He nodded, his face solumn. As they walked, the captive woman thought about the young Uchiha. She was beginning to see why Sakura liked him so much. He was dark and brooding, but there really was a likeable side to him, it only needed exercise. Speaking of exercise, we've been walking for a while, I wonder where she's taking me? She asked Hoshi as much, and she told her that she was being taken to Orochimaru.

"Has he requested my presence?"

"Yes, Amaya-sama, he has."

"Did he give a reason for it?"

The girl paused momentarily, and turned to look up at blankly up at Amaya. "No, Amaya-sama. He did not. Now, please?" She turned and continued to walk down the corridor. Down. They had been going down for some time. The temperature began to drop, and soon, Amaya was shivering, her bare feet beginning to sting with the cold. Her breath created mist before her eyes, and the walls seemed to have a thin coating of ice on them. What is this place?

The girl stopped, and pointed to a door at the end of the corridor. Nodding her thanks, she proceeded without Hoshi. She raised a hand to knock on the door, but it opened before her knuckles could touch the ironbound wood. A rush of warm air came from the room beyond the door, and she hastened inside, if only to get out of the chill in the corridor. This room was brightly lit, but was very sparsely furnished. There was a table in the center, with a stool next to it, and a couch in one corner. As the room was rather large, she wondered what it was used for.

On the couch, Orochimaru sat. He gave a little wave, and said, "Hi." His voice was almost perky. Something was wrong, here. "Come and sit down, Amaya-san." She walked the twenty feet to the couch, and sat next to him. It was the first time she had seen him in what must be weeks.

"Where have you been, Orochimaru?" Amaya tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. Though she had been dreading it, she had also been waiting to see him, if for no other reason than to give him a piece of her mind. He smiled, but remained silent, watching. His gaze had a weight to it, and she felt uncomfortable beneath it. She wanted to get up and pace, but could not. His eyes held her fast to her seat.

"I have been busy. I take it Kabuto told you about my plans for our family?" He smiled again, this time in a way that chilled her to the bone. He was having fun watching her squirm. This was his way of teasing her. Oh, why do I always attract the evil types? Now, he leaned toward her, and whispered in her ear, "It won't be long, now. Only a few more months. Soon, I will be able to transfer into Sasuke-kun's body, and we can begin a new line of Uchiha, just as he wants." She felt his breath on her neck, and his hand on her arm, a slow and persistent pressure. That hand moved up to the collar of her kimono, pulling the fabric aside to expose bare skin. His fingers traced her collarbone, causing her to shiver. Her heart beat faster. She felt strange. What's going on?

Amaya suddenly realized that she couldn't move. For all of her training in psychology and genjutsu, she did not understand what technique he had applied to render her motionless. She could breathe, so it wasn't a total paralysis technique. And when she tried, found that she could speak. "O-Orochimaru?" her voice was weak. He did not answer. She felt his hands begin to remove her obi. The knot was not complex, and he had no trouble removing it. My heart…it beat even faster than before, and her breath came in near-gasps. "Wha—" she began, but gasped as he pulled the narrow sash away, dropping it to the floor. "What are you doing?"

"You won't make me wait so long, will you?" His voice had dropped lower in tone, and it was hypnotic. His hands were so warm…and there seemed to be so many of them. He was clearly enjoying himself. Is it genjutsu? Is it some kind of trick? Or is it just Orochimaru?

Suddenly, Kabuto's face flashed before her eyes. He was hurt and angry. It was this image that finally gave her the strength to push Orochimaru away. Her hands shook as she placed them on his chest and shoved as hard as she could. He was pushed only a foot further from her on the couch, but it was enough. She breathed heavily. Gathering her kimono around herself once more, she stared daggers at him and said between gasps, "You'll wait—as long as I—damned well—say—you will."

He raised an eyebrow. Without a doubt, he had not expected her to be able to break his spell. "You are full of surprises, Amaya-san." He leaned closer to her, and chuckled. "I have a feeling you may be worth the wait. Perhaps I should ask Kabuto-kun?" Her eyes widened, and she blushed. "He would know, after all, but then again, it was his first time, so he would have nothing to compare it to, would he?" Orochimaru's laugh echoed through the room. She felt a small knot of tension release. He had not found out about she and Kabuto yet…But he was being cruel, because he knew very well that asking Kabuto about any such thing would be useless.

Orochimaru lounged on the couch once more. He made a dismissive gesture with his hand, and her eyes narrowed. Jaw clenched, she muttered a tense farewell. It had been a very long time since she had been so thoroughly dismissed. How could this man claim to love her if he did such things? Was it only that he wanted to have a line of little Uchihas ready for when Sasuke's body gave out? Why did he find it so important to have an heir if he had already performed his immortality jutsu? There were too many questions left unanswered. And there really was not much time left.