Chapter 44 - Regrets
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, this chapter would have been done a lot sooner, but I didn't realize that I hadn't put a cutoff at the end of it, leading me to believe the start of the forty fifth chapter was part of this chapter. Sorry for the wait, I know it's short, but the next one will be juicy!
Enjoy!
The heat of desire burned throughout most of the night, but soon the embers died and Kaede returned to her room to rest, having been dismissed by Orochimaru, like she had merely fulfilled his orders and was no longer required. Nothing more than a useful tool for a necessary situation. Without hesitation, she had dropped onto her bed and sparked out with barely enough time to roll over and shift into a more comfortable position.
Hours later, she found herself rousing from her sleep with a groggy groan, aching in places no man had touched in many years. "Hnngg..." She grumbled, yawning loudly as she combed her fingers through her fringe and went through the nights activities in her mind, coming to terms with them now that she had time to refresh her sobering thoughts.
She had let the one man in the world she hated more than anyone else take her in a way that only Kiyoshi had access to prior her captivity. Not only that, but she was discarded like a tissue that had been sneezed on. Used and no longer needed. Her stomach sank as her actions settled against her like a heavy fog sucking the air from her lungs. She growled, her self-hatred burning brighter than ever as she moved her hands to cover her face, using them to rub her tired eyes.
Of course, she was glad he had not allowed her to stay the night, not that she would anyway, but it proved to her that he had no intentions of allowing romantic feelings to spark on his end, and that made it much easier for her to continue hating him without fearing how he might become around her. Last thing she wanted was that asshole pining over her like some lovesick fool.
Not that she thought he was capable of loving someone else as much as he loved himself. Such an idea was ludicrous.
The deal resurfaced in her mind, the ghost of his cool breath still tickling her neck, even after an entire night to sleep it off. His words a tantalizing mix of seduction and logic that she hated to admit worked wonders against her alcohol and arousal addled mind.
"I believe I can assist you, and gain something myself in the process." He smirked when she actually gripped his waist, she was slowly seeing things his way. "It would be nothing more than a sexual release, no feelings will be shared between us, it would be nothing more than a carnal exchange to relieve our frustrations."
His fangs nipped at her skin and her breathing hitched, her fingers digging into his waist as she felt herself waning, she wanted it so badly. "You can continue to hate me." The Sannin continued, causing Kaede's eyes to widen as she had silently questioned her own hatred for a split second before he spoke. "I couldn't care less regardless, as long as I get what I want in the end~!" He brushed his lips against her jaw, grinning when she let out the softest of moans.
She sucked in a sharp breath and hissed out a curse, tossing the blanket off her form before she stood up and stormed into the bathroom to take a cleansing shower. Anything to wash the night off her body and ease her mind even just a little. She was sick of her headache-inducing worries spreading through her mind like a plague. The redhead already knew her self-respect had been tarnished detrimentally, she did not need a constant reminder.
However, as Kaede discarded her skintight suit and stepped into the shower, she stared down at her bruised and bitten skin, counting each mark Orochimaru had left as a sign of his dominance. With the visuals before her, of course her mind wandered back to the topic at hand and she scoffed, glaring at the wall as they rushed through her head like a runaway train.
She could not forgive herself for laying with her enemy, mistakes had been made, and now she had no choice but to live with them and find a way to deal with the aftermath. What she hated the most, was the fact that he was the one she had to report to after her missions, therefore even if she wanted to, she could not even avoid him.
Great...If there was a God, they hated her with every fiber of their almighty being.
Kaede quickly finished her shower, leaving herself plenty of time to dry off before her genetic weakness to water kicked in and rendered her a shivering mess. She sighed as she stepped onto the tiled floor and ruffled her hair with a second towel, having discarded the one used on her body, as it was damp and would not remove the water from her hair as effectively as the second one. Once she was done and her hair was dry, which took some time on its own, she tossed the cloth aside and slipped into a clean black bodysuit that covered a majority of the night's evidence from view.
For the sake of her pride, she would train with her robe on today, if anyone saw the marks Orochimaru had left on her skin, it would be the first time she wished that she would burst into flames since gaining her Chakra dysfunction.
The redhead huffed and tugged on her robe, pulling her arms through the sleeves and latching it shut before she left her bedroom tying the sash around her toned waist. 'I ain't going t'get much done sitting in my room all day...' She thought reluctantly as she closed the door and headed down the corridor towards the study she dreaded entering.
As she made her way towards her destination, she passed a familiar form in the hallway, Kabuto, who she barely acknowledged with a glance. He, however, paused further down and turned to watch her leave, glowering at her with distrust seeping from the black depths of his irises. She had a tense posture as she passed and seemed to be radiating a more aggressive aura than usual.
This caused him nothing but concern, but sadly, he bit back his suspicion and turned away from her, continuing on his way to the laboratory he all but lived in at this point in his life. If Orochimaru trusted her to such an extent, it would be impudent and insubordinate for him to go against the older man's wishes and spy on the veteran kunoichi.
Even if he was adamant she would end up betraying them a second time.
Kaede, who was oblivious to Kabuto's mental disagreement, stopped outside the snake-carved door leading to Orochimaru's study and grimaced as she braced herself for the mocking she would receive upon entering. She took a deep breath and rapped her knuckles off the wooden surface.
"Enter." Came the distracted, raspy voice of the Sannin from the other side.
When she opened the door, she stepped inside to see the Otokage hunched over his long desk, standing with a hand planted firmly on the surface, while the other held the scroll he was intensely studying open for his eyes to scan with little to no space for distraction. His hair had fallen over his face from his back, hiding most of his features from view, only moving slightly when he lifted his chin and glanced at her through a gap in his fringe, his yellow eyes snapping up to meet her brown ones.
The sight filled Kaede's cheeks with heat, which in turn made her scoff and avert her gaze elsewhere. Orochimaru's devious voice echoed through the room in a low chuckle as he straightened up, tilting his head to the side curiously with an arrogant grin on his white lips. "Did the night's events leave you unable to meet my gaze, Firecracker?" He asked with light amusement and stroked his chin, a thin brow arching upwards. "I never thought it possible to render an immovable force such as yourself speechless~! Perhaps I should take note of this for future use, should your defiant nature flare up, hm?"
Kaede huffed as a response and shot him a sharp glare, which was considerably less threatening with the dusty rose tint to her usually tanned, scarred cheeks. "I think you're going senile, Ol' Snake-Eyes!" She retorted, crossing her arms as she rested her weight primarily on one leg, giving her the usual attitude-fueled posture she was well known for. "Just give me my mission for the day so I can leave? I ain't got time t'play mind games with you."
Honestly, she was not in the mood for his taunts today, she was really pissed off with herself and him, so his words just added more salt to her already deep wounds.
Of course, this did not stop Orochimaru, who retrieved a list of objectives to give her, as they had piled up overnight. "Perhaps you should train your manners instead of your muscles today, Kaede-chan." He suggested as he turned and held the parchment out for her to take. "To speak so rudely to someone, let alone your superior, especially so soon after sex, it is quite unbecoming of you~!"
The redhead snarled as her irritation only increased and she quickly snatched the paper, ensuring her hand did not even come close to touching his own. She looked over the orders listed and nodded sharply, turning to leave. "Keep y'comments t'yourself, asshole! I don't care what y'think of me or my 'manners!'" She snapped, reading over the list before crumpling it up in her hand, hidden by her sleeve.
Orochimaru watched curiously as she opened the door, storming over the threshold before slamming the wooden barrier shut behind her, shaking the candle on its floor-length wick which rested to the right of the wooden barrier. Though she was a little more combative than usual, the Sannin knew to expect it, after all, mixing the night's activities with her sobering mind and hatred towards him made for a very bitter cocktail indeed. However, instead of finding her attitude to be irritating, as most would, this only drew forth another chuckle from the sadistic Sannin.
He wondered just how long she could avoid him for before her desires returned and she had no choice but to put aside her pride for the sake of her sanity. The mere thought of her caving into her needs and coming to him for release made his own wants flare up. She was the most difficult challenge he had been given in terms of sexual partners, and due to that, he found it difficult to give up on her entirely.
He never expected her to be so entertaining. However now that he had tasted the forbidden fruit, he would wait until she caved before making another move towards her. Once she finally acknowledged her own needs and gave in to his 'generous' offer, then maybe she would actually gain from the experience at long last.
His tongue slithered out and licked the curve of his lip as he thought of her coming to him for a much needed release. Perhaps the fruit would be even sweeter then?
Only time would tell.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading, please review as it helps me improve as a writer.
Japanese = English
Otokage = Sound Shadow
