Chapter 42 - Fanning the Flames


A/N: I do not own the Naruto Franchise!

I do however own Mari Kaede and any other OCs mentioned.

Warnings: Contains dark themes, such as depression, murder, experimentation, emotional, mental and physical torture, possible attempted suicide and mentions of sexual activities!

At this point, I also want to point out that the relationship between these two characters is actually toxic if you are in a similar situation please seek help, it is not healthy and it won't end the same way this story will end.

I do not condone these kinds of relationships, despite writing this story.

Hey guys, I've got a new chapter here for you, but first of all, I want to give a special thanks to Antex-The Legendary Zoruark for their suggestions in designing Sage Mode Kaede! I'm going to add her into the story at a later date, but right now, there's more important or distracting matters Kaede has to deal with first.

Enjoy her suffering!


It was silent in the cooling savannah as autumn started to descend over the once lush, green surroundings, tainting everything with an orange hue while the leaves died and fell from their places in the very few trees that were scattered around Otogakure. Kaede was once again, outside, basking in the fresh air as she read her novels, while deep inside the confines of the dark, dingy settlement, Orochimaru sat in his throne room, drumming his fingers on the wooden arm of his chair as he mused through his own thoughts.

It had been a month since he had opted to push Kaede's emotional responses to his advances further, and so far, he had seen many different reactions that made every single experiment worth his time. His lips tugged upwards as he relived every outburst, blush and curse she had given him in response. He knew himself that his own views on the woman were beginning to change during this time, he now spent a little longer watching her as she slipped her robe back on, stretched or even when she flashed him that signature grin she was well-known for.

No, he would not deny that he found her sexually attractive. She had all the right curves and the muscle that he found desirable in strong women. Not only that, but she gave him a challenge, she was powerful and had a personality that left little time for dead conversation. She was an ideal sexual partner for him, especially as of late, when she would become just a little more amusing to deal with when put in 'awkward' situations.

Despite this, it did come as a surprise to him at first, since he did not think it was possible for such a defiant woman to peak his interest. However, he realized that the more she accepted her role within his ranks, the more submissive she became to his whims, and that was a big turn-on for the narcissistic Sannin. Of course, her stubborn reactions still caused him great entertainment and he would find her boring if she were to submit to his ideals completely, which is why he made sure to test her patience once or twice to get those rather delicious attitude-driven outbursts from her.

He felt her fiery personality fan the flames within him, and he knew she felt the exact same sense of arousal. Of course, unlike himself, she would not admit to this, as she still harbored some strong hatred towards him. Well, that's what she told herself anyway. He could see her personal grudge whittling away with time, and wondered just what she would be like once such emotions were forgotten completely.

'Kaede...' He thought, his smirk turning into a grin as he rested his cheek on the knuckles of his pale hand. He wondered just how far he could push her until she snapped and he could finally take what he wanted. The thought of his fiery beast rolling over at his command had his tongue snaking from his mouth to lick at the curve of his lip.

He would fan the flames of her desire, just as she was with him, albeit subconsciously, and see just how far he could drag out his advances until something within either of them would cave beneath the crushing weight of the lust they felt. The only one who would suffer in this endeavor would be Kaede herself.

Well, until she accepted his prompts, of course. Then he would show her what an excellent decision it was.

Meanwhile, Kaede was laying on a large stone surface outside the hideout, above the barely-visible doorway that lead to her village. She had her book held out above her, and was basking in the cooling weather as she read through the pages of her already heavily-read Icha-Icha books that she had only gotten over half a year ago. The chapter she was reading happened to be rather steamy and even she felt heat flush in her cheeks at the words she read.

"His hands slid up his thighs with a slow elegance only he could muster. With a small smirk whispering untold promises, he grasped the edges of his shirt and carefully pulled it up and over his head, revealing his strong torso to her anticipating gaze. He combed his hair through his fingers and pushed it back over his face, eyes burning with a heat she had never experienced before."

Without really realizing it, the image of the man she had in her head warped with that last paragraph, turning the rather plain male character into a very, very familiar face. His humanly pale skin bleached white with long black hair as those smoldering snake-like eyes watched her like a mouse about to be devoured. His torso matching the description of the character in the book, thin and lightly muscled with enough tone to hint at a hidden strength unseen by the naked eye, but felt in the heat of battle.

A second ticked past, then another, before Kaede's eyes suddenly widened and she sat up, snapping the book shut in horror at what she was even thinking about, while both her cheeks and body burned with the knowledge of her own mind's musings. Why the hell was Orochimaru popping into her head at a time like this?! It had never happened before, so why now?!

Unable to shake the uncomfortable burning feelings that rushed through her body like a wave of heat, she let out a disgusted groan, grimacing as she hopped down from the rock onto the soft dirt below, dampened by rainstorms she had been wary of before leaving her room. She knew why these strange thoughts were slipping into her mind, but refused to dwell on them, they had become apparent to her perhaps a week prior, and she was just as appalled then as she was now.

She knew these strange emotions were sparked by reading his journals, understanding his person better, and were only exacerbated further when she saw the evidence of his masculinity for herself. However she knew not to let her own womanly urges take control, she had lost everything, she would not lose her self-respect any more than she already had.

Opting to vent her frustrations, she cursed softly and turned to walk into the hideout, thinking of the many hours she could spend beating up a dummy to ensure all the pent up energy she felt was completely spent.

She would douse the flames before they engulfed her completely, that she would guarantee.

~BHBL~

It was only a few days later that the perfect opportunity presented itself to the mischievous megalomaniac. He was sat in the kitchen, using the table as his desk while he read through the Kinjutsu scrolls he had been meaning to examine for some time. He had opted to switch to the small public area to get a breath of fresh air from his stuffy office.

Sometimes a change of scenery did wonders for the mind.

Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that Kaede was currently in the room alongside him, looking through the cupboards for something to eat, while he did his work silently in the background. He had been biding his time for several days, but if the opportunity should present itself, he would be more than happy to begin his little experiment. It turned out, he did not have to wait long, as he heard a soft curse and peered through his fallen fringe to see Kaede on the tips of her toes, reaching into an open cabinet in an attempt to grab the box of ready-made curry just shy of her fingertips.

His curious frown turned into a devious smirk.

The redhead hissed when she realized she could not reach the box, no matter how hard she tried. "Damn." She mumbled, going to move, only to freeze when she felt the air behind her shift, and a solid object press against the entirety of her back and legs, all but pinning her to the counter she used as leverage. With her eyes fixed on the box above, she saw a pale, white hand reach up and grab the meal with ease, carefully placing it down beside her before a soft breath wafted past her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"To think someone as ferocious as yourself cannot reach such a simple boxed meal alone." His tone was light and playful, a tease of the highest order. She felt the cool air of his words caress her ear, and his own cooling body temperature seep through her clothes and into her dangerously overheated skin. "Perhaps a stool is in order~."

With that, he stepped back, leaving her to shudder at the sudden loss and strolled his way over to his work, pretending he had not seen, or noticed her pleasant reaction to his touch. Her eyes immediately snapped back to watch him as he sat down and began reading from where he had left off. She looked utterly flabbergasted as he fought every urge he felt to chuckle.

It would be pointless to let slip that his advances were intentional, so he would do his best not to give away his true intentions. Though the blush that covered her cheeks, and the wonderful shiver he had seen when he stepped back were making his primal desires burn to the surface. Oh she was a delicious treat waiting to be devoured, and the more she showed that tasty side of herself, the more he wanted her beneath him.

Of course, Kaede herself was struggling to contain what she was feeling just as much as the Sannin was. She awkwardly turned back to her boxed meal, preparing it absent-mindedly as her heart thumped loudly in her ears, causing her skin to tingle with the adrenaline she felt. Of course, she mentally scolded herself for how she reacted, he was just being an ass for the sake of being an ass.

Though she could still feel the lingering cold of his chest against her back.

~BHBL~

"C'mon, put your back into it! I've had more exciting patrol missions!"

Kaede stood in the large training hall Otogakure provided, arms crossed in front of her face as she blocked another feeble punch from Sasuke. She quickly grabbed his ankle, and as he jumped into the air to kick her again, she twirled in such a way that he missed and went tumbling to the hard floor with little protecting his weak body from the fall. The redhead let out a sigh and waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, that's enough for today." She stated, watching as the boy stood up and clicked his tongue, dusting himself off as he tried to catch his breath, sweating bullets from the intense training the two had just partaken in.

Kaede had won several of their little spars throughout the four-hour training session, and seeing his frustration in being too weak to beat her, the redhead felt her confidence surge and she grinned tauntingly. "Got t'say, Sasuke-kun, I expected more from the esteemed Uchiha Clan!" She goaded, unaware of how much she sounded like Orochimaru. "I guess I can't expect genius level improvements every single time we fight, can I?"

Sasuke's cold black eyes turned sharp with anger and he hissed out a rebuttal that knocked the smirk of the older woman's features. "I have nothing to prove to someone like you..." He planted his hand on his hip. "After all, I beat you back during the Chuunin Exams, so you're nothing but talk anyway."

"Listen here you little brat." Kaede snapped, stepping forward and pointing her finger at the young boy aggressively. She would not be disrespected! "The only reason you got one-up on me, is because I had to lower my skills to stop that asshole-" She turned her pointing finger to Orochimaru, who was walking towards them with an amused smirk. "-from getting caught!"

"Hm, hm, how kind of you, Kaede-chan~!" Orochimaru chimed in, his smirk widening when she shot him a glare that mirrored Sasuke's.

"I already told y'once. Don't get used to it! I ain't protecting y'cause I want to!"

"Then why are you 'protecting' me, as you put it?" The way he tilted his head, hair cascading down to cover most of his features had the older woman blushing slightly from her body's natural reaction to his graceful, if not accidental, movements.

"I'm protecting y'cause I'll be in the shit if y'get caught too!" She stated, crossing her arms and meeting his gaze stubbornly, she refused to let these fluttering emotions affect her hatred towards him. "I ain't risking my freedom for the sake of an impulsive psycho like you!"

Orochimaru was about to respond, when a shuffle was heard and the two of them turned to see Sasuke heading towards the door. "Hey!" Kaede called out to him, which in turn, made him pause and glance back. "Where're y'going? I didn't say y'could leave yet! I thought y'would try and get another spar out of me, at least!"

"I haven't dismissed you yet..." Orochimaru added, crossing his arms as he arched a brow. "Until I give the word, your training isn't complete."

Sasuke huffed, looking away from them. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to you guys flirt when I'm supposed to be getting stronger..." He stated, leading to Kaede's jaw dropping in horror, and a rare look of surprise to pass over the Sannin's face. "I'm going to the surface to train, don't bother coming to find me, I'll be back when I feel like it."

With that, the young teen left and Kaede stood there, eyes wide in disbelief as she opened and closed her mouth, trying to process his words. He thought they were flirting?! What the hell kind of drugs was Sasuke taking to make him think that she would flirt with Orochimaru?!

Of course, Orochimaru was equally as surprised as she was, though in a different sense. He had believed their little conversations to be nothing more than light words and jestful remarks. Now that he thought about it, there seemed to be an air of flirtation to most of their interactions, leading as far back as the Chuunin Exam itself.

Chemistry had been brewing between them for quite some time, according to his own analysis.

Interesting.

"Wh-what the hell is that brat thinking?!" Kaede blurted out suddenly, her voice an octave higher than usual as she gestured from the Sannin to the entrance with erratic, slightly panicked movements. "Like I'd ever flirt with an asshole like you!" Her hand then curled into her fringe as she started questioning everything at a million miles an hour, overthinking every single word Sasuke had spoken.

Now that he had pointed it out, she looked back at their conversations and she too could see the slight chemistry between them and the mere thought alone disgusted her to the point of actual nausea.

"That's quite a hurtful remark, dear Firecracker~." Orochimaru jeered, his smirk widening when she shot him a very angry snarl. "Though, I expect this kind of fiery tongue from you by now, so perhaps it isn't the words that are sharper than usual, hm?"

Not in the mood for his usual taunts, Kaede hissed and gave him the finger. "Kiss my ass, Snake-Eyes!" Then she spun around and stormed out without another word, leaving Orochimaru to laugh to himself in the large, empty room. Though he enjoyed her aggressive responses, this gave him the perfect opportunity to come up with new ways to drive her mad with desire.

He wanted to see just how else she could entertain him, and seeing her react so strongly to Sasuke's remarks made him realize just how close she was to snapping completely.

Meanwhile, Kaede stomped into her room and slammed the door closed behind her, leaning against it as she took deep breaths, fighting both intense panic and overwhelming anger at the same time, gripping her hair so tight, she was surprised her scalp had not bled yet. "Damn this village and everyone inside!" She hissed out, gritting her teeth. "I should've killed that pale bastard when I had the chance, then I'd never have heard that crap!"

No matter how much she tried to ignore the comments, she could now see every single rebuttal or remark she had given that would be seen as flirtatious behavior to an outside ear, and with that knowledge, she felt the nausea return once more, stronger than before. Letting out a sharp, angered curse, she pushed off the door and went into the bathroom, wanting to wash the evidence of the conversation off her body, like the filth it was.

Even the thought of hot water soaking her body until she neared death was better than letting the devious occupants of this hideout affect her mentally.

~BHBL~

A few weeks passed since that awkward, uncomfortable moment, and now Kaede stood in the small kitchen, holding a can of cola in one hand, while drumming the fingers of the other off the stone counter she was leaning against. Despite the rather calm state of the hideout and its occupants, the Ninjutsu expert glared at the wall with such a strong sense of pent up frustration that even the air of the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Over the last three weeks, Orochimaru had gotten uncomfortably close to her on many different occasions, and because she was now aware of their rather dangerous chemistry, she was noticing these moments more than she ever wanted to admit. His barely-felt, tingling touches, hair brushing against her as he passed, even leaning just shy of her ear to speak to her, leaving his cool breath to flutter across her ear and drag a shiver from her frame.

It was making her both uncomfortable and frustrated at the same time, and she cursed the fact that she had not had a partner in eleven years. She doubted her wants and desires would be this bad if she had been regularly getting the attention she needed as a woman. Without that release, she could feel the need hitting her like she crashed into a brick wall at a break-neck speed.

The way her body was reacting started to cause doubt in her mind, as she wondered if she even hated him anymore, since she never reacted this way to people she hated. Shaking her head, she sneered and looked down at her drink. She was about to start scolding herself for her doubts, when the door to the kitchen opened and she was forced to look up and see who had broken the silence she needed to keep sane.

She could have died and went to hell when she saw Orochimaru walk into the room. Of course, her mood soured further when he smirked at her obvious scowl. "Good afternoon, Firecracker." He greeted casually, walking towards the counter she was resting against. "The door will need to be replaced if you continue to burn holes into it with your gaze." He chuckled when he heard her scoff, preparing some tea for himself. "Perhaps there's something on your mind?"

"Why d'you care?" Kaede sneered, taking a swig of her fizzy drink to wash the disgusting taste of his company out of her mouth. "It ain't like I'm screwing up one of your missions or something."

"Hm, hm, that is true, but your actions tend to become questionable when something is on your mind." Orochimaru glanced at her over his shoulder, the two locking eyes for a moment before she looked away, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she felt her needs awaken, once again.

Seeing this, the Sannin's eyes gleamed deviously, and he decided this would be the perfect opportunity to push her further towards her breaking point. With graceful, calculated movements, he turned and walked over to Kaede, surprising her when he stood just millimeters from her body. "What the-?!" She started loudly as he leaned forward, reaching out behind her for the green tea, while his other hand rested on the counter, pinning her between his form and the surface she was leaning against.

When he finally grasped the box he was searching for, his torso was pressed rather pleasantly against her own, her warmth burning through his clothes and into his skin, causing his own desires to rise while she flushed deeper, a sight that would plague him for days to come. With the closeness of their bodies, their lips were not far apart, and because of this, Orochimaru heard her breathing hitch when the situation finally dawned on her.

The two remained there for a moment, the serpent shinobi drawing it out for as long as he could while Kaede raised her hand as if to push him away, only to hesitate for a moment, looking him up and down as she finally let out a single breath, burning his cool cheeks. His eyes clouded with lust as he saw her own brown orbs dart to his lips, the heat of the moment growing between them, becoming more unbearable with every passing second.

Was she going to crack? Would he finally get to taste her lips for himself?

However the moment was ruined when reality crashed down on Kaede like a tonne of heavy bricks. She clicked her tongue and used her free hand to shove him away, maneuvering around his slim form to dart out of the room, not wanting to be in his company anymore, especially when her body was betraying her so openly. "I don't know what y'think you're doing, asshole, but don't think I ain't going t'kick your ass if y'do it again!" Was the last thing he heard before she stomped down the hallway and out of earshot.

His yellow eyes lingered on the door, still feeling the heat of her body against his as his smirk fell. He had to admit, he was quite dissapointed that she did not succumb to her desires there and then. He was rather hungry for her now, and for a second, he wondered just how she would react if he were to pin her to his chest and nip at the bone of her jaw with his sharp fangs.

The snake-like Sannin let out a guttural growl, not expecting her hesitation in pushing him away to affect him so strongly, and he licked his lips.

It was time to up the game, otherwise he may crack before she did. After all, they were both just tormenting each other at this point.


A/N: Well, that escalated quickly...Lol, joking. These two put the slow in slow burner romance.

Anyway, please review, each one helps me improve as a writer, and I'm more than grateful for each one!