A/N: Hidden Seals setting, as I said before, if you please. Stand alone or continuance. What was a big inspiration for these two? Honestly? 'Sleep Together' by Garbage. XD Just look up the lyrics.

As surely as a kunai, I am a weapon, a tool. First when I was young—a homeless child with potential. Then when my masters split apart, a mind-puppet for Sasori. His strings to me were invisible to all but Orochimaru-sama. To say he freed me would be too kind… he never feed me. He offered me power, releasing me from Sasori's control but no one else's. Useful. It's what I am, what I strive to me. It's what I have to be to live. I never envy those with the power to hold control over another. There are rules to life, and the first is that there is always someone stronger than you—this I have learned. And anyway, those with power tend to have ambition. A most dangerous thing, remembering the first rule. I once thought of Orochimaru-sama as having no equal, until he confided in me that Uchiha Itachi was stronger. When I met Kimimaro, I remember thinking that he must have no equal at his peak, but the gods struck him down for that crime. And now they say that this Sasuke has 'potential'. Oh, how I remember that word.

Sasori's cold and lifeless voice from inside of the puppet when he and Orochimaru-sama found me amongst the ruins of my village. Among the burned and mutilated bodies of my family and neighbors I bore not a scratch. "This one has potential." This is also a quote that Orochimaru-sama likes to use. What… do I feel? I feel nothing. I don't have time to feel, only to obey. I don't think before I carry out my mission, and I don't think about it when I'm through. Even worse, I've got a bad habit of enjoying it… I look forward to that gleam in Orochimaru-sama's golden eyes when I bring him one step closer to his dream. My old teammates thought that I was insane, back in Konoha, my fellow spies. They said that I was crazy for trying to bring about another war when I had lost my family in it. None of them had suffered such loses, so it didn't mean anything to them—but I was the crazy one. The upstart kid thrust in with his seniors to try and blend in. They never did know my true skill… I almost wish I had gotten a chance to show them.

It was Sasuke that asked me, "You don't have anything to lose this time, do you?"

"Do you mean that?" I asked, taken back.

"If you lost everything in the war then there's nothing else to lose, is there?"

"I suppose you're right. If I die, then no one will mourn me. You're lucky in that respect, Sasuke-kun." To which the other abruptly huffed and stormed off silently. Sometimes my personalities mix themselves together when I don't know how to answer someone. After all, even Orochimaru-sama calls me twisted, and he if says so… then I must be.

He still glares at me when I offer my assistance, usually some bit of advice for his health. I wonder sometimes if my true feelings ever do get across to him, or if he would bother if they did. He might realize already, and just be ignoring them. Not that I could blame him. I'm not supposed to have feelings in the first place. Even if no one can blame me…no, even if everyone could, I would still be defective. I envy Sasuke. I never had any true chance at becoming someone with anything dear to me. What's dear to me is me: Yakushi Kabuto above the rest. What choice do I have? I've survived this long alone.

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Weeks turned into months, and the fighting had not stopped. Orochimaru was actually getting tired of it, and he was taking it out on Kabuto. Every short comment or backhanded order, he was giving to the medic, who was at his wits end. Sasuke slowly calmed, seeing this. He would never admit it, but even he was feeling sorry for the silver-haired ninja. Kabuto's silver tongue always managed to sooth the raging snake, while Sasuke could only make himself scarce. Not that he was afraid of Orochimaru; he knew the Sanin wasn't insane enough to hurt his future body, but it was damn annoying to hear him ranting over his and Kabuto's arguments. It was none of his business anyway. When Orochimaru's anger reached its peak, he wouldn't hear from Kabuto for days. He'd see him during that time, taking care of the prisoners in the cells near the training room or cooped up in his small lab. Sasuke would never set foot in that lab willingly, the one time he had had been on accident. Things living and dead surrounded him in jars, some of them not very well preserved. Jutsu's covered some of them, and half-written notes were everywhere. The medic wasn't very tidy…

But then, neither was the Uchiha. Kabuto avoided the black-haired boy as much as possible whenever their arguing affected his master's attentions on him towards a path he didn't like. While the emo ninja was training one day the medic had the honor of cleaning up his room. Bandages soaked with dried blood, unwashed clothes, scattered kunai and stars, half used candles, and unmade bed sheets. The stuffy room was thick with the smell of blood, sweat, and wax. Kabuto sighed as he walked towards the bed, ripping the sheets off and rolling them into a ball before tossing them into the middle of the room. He grabbed a few pieces of clothing and some usable bandages, adding them to the pile. Picking up the kunai and stars, he set them in a neat pile on the brat's bedside table. He frowned when he saw a dark spot on the floor on other side of the bed. Placing his knee on the mattress he leaned over to see it better, grabbing a candle.

"What the fuck are you doing in my room?" A familiar crude voice said from behind, startling the usually calm medic. He smiled as he turned around, lighting the candle and illuminating the red-eyed teen in the doorway.

"Oh my, the Sharingan for me already?"

"What are you doing?" The Uchiha said again, stepping forward.

"This room is a mess. How can I clean it without seeing it?"

"I didn't ask you to clean it! Get out!" In an instant the candle was set down, just in time for the same hand to catch Sasuke's wrist. With a simple shift of body weight and a gentle push Sasuke was on his back on the bed, both wrists held down tightly. The bed creaked under both their weight as Kabuto caught Sasuke's thighs between his own, keeping them from moving. "What the fuck! Get off, you perverted doctor!"

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun…there's no need to name-call…" Kabuto said, shaking his head hopelessly. "You attacked me, I defended myself. And now I've got you…quite defenseless."

"I'm not defenseless." Sasuke growled, and Kabuto's eyebrows rose as the black scrawlings squirmed around Sasuke's shoulder and onto his face, turning his one eye black. "You think I couldn't hurt you?"

"Oh, I quite expect you can...I would too, if I were in your position." His grip was secure when Sasuke tested it. "Orochimaru-sama would laugh at me for losing, if that happened." He said with a sigh. "All I hear from him is 'Sasuke-kun' this and 'Sasuke-kun' that... I am beginning to wonder what all the hype is about..."

"Don't go projecting your disgusting feelings on me." Sasuke snorted some; he didn't really view the medic as actually having feelings.

"Maybe I am doing that, a little." The taller one admitted, raising an eyebrow. "But then, I think I've forgotten what 'feelings' are like. It's not like I grew up with friends beside me. I kept them at a distance from the beginning. You know what it's like to have them, so, you would be more likely to do something like that." Kabuto's careful fingers began to push up the band on Sasuke's wrist.

"Cut it out! What are you…"

"More likely to do something… because of loss…because of guilt…" He touched the raw skin underneath, pressing until his fingertips got wet. Sasuke gasped in pain, his breath picking up.

"How did you know…?"

"That you cut? The stains. The bandages. The kunai. I heal most of your wounds, so you would have no reason to use them… and besides, there are scars here." Kabuto said, tracing the faint remnants with his merciless fingers.

"Stop…it." Sasuke growled out, but to Kabuto it sounded more like a mewl. "Leave me the fuck alone, what would you care?"

"Are you that lonely?" The medic asked, and Sasuke huffed.

"There you go again, projecting your feelings."

"Am I?" Kabuto released the wrist he'd been abusing, reaching up to touch Sasuke's black-marked cheek. The blood was wet, and cooled quickly in the damp underground air. "I am not your enemy, Sasuke-kun… We're comrades. For now, at least…" He said, his tone of voice so soft that Sasuke almost didn't recognize it. Then he glared. He had heard it before. At the Chuunin exams.

"I don't trust you. Everything you say is a lie."

"So you don't believe that I admire you?"

"What, for my hate?"

"It's an emotion you have. One so strong and vital that they haven't been able to rid you of it. I have nothing like that."

"But I thought… you and Orochimaru…"

"Orochimaru-sama and I have nothing. It's a fantasy, a play… a temporary relief from these sordid walls and daily tasks. You have a feeling so strong that you hurt yourself to feel better."

"It's not like that…"

"Sasuke-kun, can't you trust me even a little? I'm tired of fighting… My head aches from it." The bloody fingers traced Sasuke's lips, and the teen reflexively licked them. As soon as the tip of his pink tongue brushed the calloused ends of Kabuto's fingers, they were replaced with the medic's lips. Sasuke's eyes widened, but he didn't resist. He was more shocked than anything. The medic tasted fresh, and clean—so foreign. The only other people that had kissed him were his mother, his brother, and Naruto. Well, he supposed he couldn't count Naruto, because that was an accident. His brother, however… Angry with himself, Sasuke bit down hard on Kabuto's lip, and the medic winced as he pulled back, licking his split lip. He let go of the teen's other wrist and placed both hands beside the boy.

"Why'd you stop? I thought you wanted to 'get along'…?" Sasuke asked, his seal back in control. His eyes were even black. His voice wavered just a little, and Kabuto refrained to comment. He wanted this. He wanted a different distraction from his inner demons other than the kunai across his wrists. The medic smiled, coming back in to kiss him. The metallic taste of blood in the kiss was familiar to them both, and the kiss became deep in an instant, their bodies both leaning into it. Kabuto moved his legs, placing a thigh between the teen's to bring them against one another, breaking the kiss to regain breath. Sasuke smirked, and a snort escaped him, leaving Kabuto dumbfounded. "Your glasses are getting fogged. They look stupid." He said, and the medic flushed in anger as he tossed them aside.

He bit Sasuke's neck in retaliation, and the dark-haired ninja arched his back into him, hands going to Kabuto's shoulders. As the medic one sucked gently on the pale skin he had bitten, Sasuke pulled the hair-tie free. Silver hair spilled down, and Sasuke tested running his hands through it. Kabuto lifted the teen's shirt up, exposing his stomach and chest to the tender mercies of his lips, teeth, and tongue. The young Uchiha groaned, eyes half-closing as the skillful mouth teased him. The hands on his pants made him jump slightly, and his heart was in his throat. Forcing himself not to react was hard, and he was gripping the sheets by the time Kabuto's skilled hands had released his now full arousal.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun…?" Kabuto whispered, and his tongue flicked over the head of his member.

"N-Nothing…Shut up and keep doing that…" Sasuke demanded, pleaded, his hands called into fists in the sheets as his head pressed back into the mattress.

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Sasuke laid in bed for some time after Kabuto had left, not even bothering to dress. He lay shamelessly on his back, one knee crooked up and starring up at the ceiling. He'd done it: he'd beaten a part of his memory. The candle fizzed, the light flickering. He looked over at his healed wrist, then the other. The medic had been very generous. With a half smile, he closed his eyes. /"It's a fantasy, a play… a temporary relief from the sordid walls and daily tasks…"/ He curled up on his side, grabbing his pillow and grasping it tightly. Kabuto… he hadn't asked for anything in return. He simply took the sheets and left after Sasuke had climaxed. He was half irritated, and half relieved about that. There wasn't even a scent of the immaculate medic left. Still, he had beaten a part of himself. That was something good. He was getting stronger. The candle sputtered and went out.

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Kabuto dropped the sheets on the floor, leaving them for another lower ninja to wash. He headed for his room automatically, opening the door and closing it behind him without a sound. He lit a candle to light his sparsely furnished room. It was late by now, and he was tired. He knew he was playing a dangerous game now. He had told Orochimaru that he would get close to Sasuke, but what would the Sanin think if he knew how far he had taken it? What if Sasuke said something to the snake ninja? The medic took off his headband, his gloves, and his pouches. It was alright. It was only oral sex. He hadn't defiled the pretty raven-haired ninja's body, and he didn't plan on doing it. So why would the images of the pale boy moaning refuse to leave his head? Sasuke trusted him a little now, so it was alright to stop. Still… that small flicker of rebellion had been lit inside of him, and he knew it well. He had felt the same flicker when Orochimaru had taken him away from Sasori, the want to do something he was forbidden to. To tame the shrew of an Uchiha, that prideful and arrogant brat… So it was settled. Kabuto smiled when he realized he had left his glasses in Sasuke's room. How completely careless of him.