Author's note: Sorry for the long delay! I hope more will come to read this story soon. I will be making a poll for what the next chapters will be, after this get a few more viewers.

If I mess anything up (characters, names, spelling or otherwise) please let me know, but if I'm doing it on purpose I'll let you know in the intro author's note.

Thank you! Please R&R!

I do not own Naruto.

'Thoughts'

Second lesson

"Sweetheart, please promise me you will never tell anyone our secret…." a desperate and fearful, yet soothing voice begged me. "Promise me, that you will never tell anyone that is not a most trusted ally, even your real name…" my mother's desperate voice begged again. My voice at the time answered with sorrow and fear "I promise! I promise! Please save…" The thick smell of blood and death filled my senses and of the survival desperation burned my body.

I jerked awake with my mother's begging promise fading into the adrenaline rushing my ears. I took several deep breaths and slowed my heart as I laid there trying but failing to recall the rest of the memory.

Pain. Pain woke me even more as I shifted slowly into a sitting position with leaning against the wall for support and for the cold helped with the pain. I was panting from the effort of moving. I breathed through the pain as I have always done. My wounds were worse than I thought as I soaked in the cold from the wall with my eyes closed.

I followed pain's sting in my body to fine most of my bones still mending and my organs slowly burning from my "spar" yesterday. The damage was far more than I thought it was even with my body healing through the night. My body was far from being fully recovered.

If only I could let myself heal at my usual speed then I wouldn't be in so much pain. I think Kabuto didn't heal me more because of his anger and disapproval. I probably won't be able to really sleep after that dream and the pain would make it a nightmare if I were to try. This is going to be a long day.

I rested like that for a few hours before I heard Kabuto's footsteps coming to my door. He unlocked my door and came in with a small torch again and another try of food and if my nose is still working correctly, the powder ingredients of food pills.

Like before he lit the other torch and put his on the wall and came over to me with the tray. When he turned to look at me, he regarded me with a shocked and irritated look. He came over with the tray of food and sat it on my bed as he took a seat in the chair in front of me. I looked over at the tray to see what was on it, which was: two plates that looked to have half of all the food divided between the two. The food was the same as the other time and the bowls to make food pills.

I turned to look at Kabuto to give him a flat refusal when I saw him staring at me with a calculated look. Inside I flinched, but outside I simply stared at him back with a slight glare. Neither of us moved or said anything for a few minutes during our glaring contest.

Finally, Kabuto sighed and started eating from one of the plates and gestured for me to do the same. I hesitated for I still didn't trust them, but they didn't need to know that so I picked up the plate and started quickly and quietly eating.

Kabuto stop eating which caught my attention so I looked at him with a bit of confusion. I blinked as I saw his shocked face again, before he put up his cold mask on more. Then he finished eating but he didn't leave. He waited until I was done eating and start to heal me once more and I just sat there and let him.

Once I felt the pain fade I relaxed a bit and started studying Kabuto. He still had that sly scent and he seemed to have a bit more tension in his shoulders than yesterday. He almost seemed angry but I caught his eyes a moment before he looked away. There were empty except for the irritation that seemed to be the emotion I will always see in his eyes.

When he finished healing me he picked up the tray and took his torch by the door. Then he turned to look at me and said "follow me." but he wait for me to get up. I slowly got up but was surprised he healed me enough that I barely felt any pain when moving. I quickly went over to him and cautiously followed him deeper into the maze of this place.

We walking in silence for a while with me glancing at him trying to guess where we were headed before we stopped outside a wooden door. Kabuto opened the door with a key and went in. I waited a few seconds before going in to see Kabuto putting the tray on a table that was now completely covered with plants, papers, and other things.

The room was actually two rooms together with the separating wall removed but with two small and skinny windows. The only light came from torches and candles that littered the room but the dark atmosphere was still heavy in the air. The shelves were full of books and other things that were plants or a mix of things I could not recognize which. It was messy everywhere except for the floor which had only dust mixed with dirt but free and open.

The tables, desks, and bookshelves that also filled the room had mostly paper and scrolls scattered and mixed with experimental equipment and some ingredients from a recent experiment were left out as well with the scent of dried blood of human or animal it was difficult to tell.

There were many signs in this room that showed it was used often and into the early hours of the morning with a light sinister air that mixed with mischievous and curiosity that would make anyone uncomfortable. My skin tingled with pricks of unpleasantness and instinctual fear.

Yet the candle and torch light gave a warmth to the room and the noises of Kabuto's movements brought a nostalgic feeling that I couldn't quite remember why.

I looked over to Kabuto who was clearing a space on the table. He had moved two stools there and put several of the scrolls away. He had just finished pulling away some kind of plant before sitting on one of the stools then he gestured to me to sit on the other on which I did. He pulled out some scrolls from across the table closer and then turned to me.

He said "Today, I am going to start teaching you the basics of medical knowledge and Jutsu…" He started lecturing me on what chakra was and the different types of chakra in detail which I listened to as seriously as possible as if I didn't know any of it. He went on to talk about the human body, different types of cells, and showed me sketches to help me understand his lecture. He had given me a scroll to take knows that I had written as much as possible.

This went on for a good two to three hours before Orochimaru came to see me, which seemed to irritate Kabuto more than teaching me did, especially when Orochimaru took us outside to train a little more. They talk if not argued quite a bit during the times I was going through the steps that Orochimaru's clone was teaching me.

After we sat and ate. When we were done eating Orochimaru asked with curiosity "Rin, do you like it here?" I said calmly "I do. It is peaceful here." Orochimaru asked "where did you learn your jutsu and other ninja skills?" I thought about for a bit before replying "I learned from watching my captures and from trying to escape many times."

What I said wasn't a complete lie. I did learn much from my escape attempts and some of the jutsu from watching them.

This made Kabuto stare at me with disbelief and Orochimaru to laugh. He asked "Do you know how long you were their prisoner?" I replied with a shrug "I don't know… They didn't tell me and the drugs they were using made it hard to keep time. I think the drugs had some black effects to them, because I remember trying to escape sometimes with only going so far, before everything going dark and my body shutting down on me."

I hated it so much! I had to save up so much chakra, ignore the pain of my various wounds, and wait so long, before I was able to break out of my cell! All to black out before even seeing outside!

I asked "Orochimaru, why do live so far outside your village?" Kabuto's eyes widened at my question, but Orochimaru replied calmly "I live out here with Kabuto because it is easier than living with the citizens of my village and the restrictions that the hokage enforce.

What about the others that live in there? It seems he won't tell me about them and thinks I don't know about them. I have to be careful not to reveal too much about why I was captured and who exactly had me prisoner.

I nodded in understanding. Kabuto asked "If you were drugged, why did it not show up when I checking your health? Why were you drugged in the first place?"

I took a moment to think it over as if double checking my memories. I replied "I was drugged in the first place because I would not stop escaping. As for the drugs not showing up in the check up well that is because I had not been taking the drugs for a long time."

It was true that I kept escaping so they added the black-out effect to the drug as well the other effects could be for the same reason. If I didn't know otherwise...

Orochimaru laughed and asked "How did they not notice that you were not taking the drugs?" I replied "They did not notice because I didn't do anything outside of what I normally would do and they didn't really talk to me."

It is kind of hard not to do normal things, when most of the time you are sitting in the dark watching guards or staring as the ceiling trying not to irritate or reopen wounds.

Kabuto asked "How did you stop taking the drugs?" I replied with a smile "I stopped eating for a while." This made both of them give me confuse looks so I explained "They would only give me food pills and water so I stop eating the pills. At first they would try to convince me to eat them, forcefully, but the one who was taking care of me made them stop after a day or two."

It was more like four days without eating and that they couldn't just force me to eat them. It was funny hear my body make so many noises but difficult if I wanted to move at all.

I shrugged and continued "She would give me a few pieces of bread which I ate. She talked me into eating the food pills, but I was able to convince her that I needed one meal of bread instead of food pills only. So after that I pretended to eat my food pills, but really only ate the bread and the few scrapes of fruit or vegetables that they gave me."

She really tried to talk me into eat those vile pills and even tried to put a genjutsu on me to do so. I really hate her. I, at least, was able to negotiate with her into getting me real food. I won't tell them that I still have the pills or that the real reasons behind the drugs.

This made both of them smile if not laugh, well Kabuto chuckled while Orochimaru laughed. Once they were done I asked with curiosity and inner prankster "Orochimaru, you look like you can pretend to be a woman as well as a man. Which do you prefer to be?"

This made Orochimaru smile more like a snake and Kabuto to frown at me for the disrespect the question had. Orochimaru replied calmly "I prefer to be a man though Kabuto probably preferred it if I was a woman."

This made me laugh hard as Kabuto looked at Orochimaru in shock and then with irritation. Orochimaru just smiled back, until Kabuto started muttering under his breath of how childish we both were behaving.

We went on talking and asking questions and Kabuto got over his irritation of our childish-ness. I did my best to give half-truths to their questions if not very vague answers. We continue to talk for what seemed like hours to only amount to be about two of them. Then Kabuto and I went back to his study to continue with my medical lessons as Orochimaru followed to watch from the doorway, or not far behind Kabuto, which he seemed to do make Kabuto angry.

Once back in what was Kabuto's study he used several obvious yet polite suggestions to Orochimaru to leave so Orochimaru left with a small amused laugh that echoed in the hallway.

We continued on with the lessons, but I noticed that Kabuto seemed to like teaching me these things and even more when I asked about things I didn't understand. He was even smiling before Orochimaru came and after he left for a while.

I don't think Kabuto realizes that he is smiling. At least, I know he doesn't hate teaching me. I look forward to learning more from him.

~to be continued~

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! Please review!
I tried to make it longer with more than once scene.

Is it long enough? -I need to know for the next chapter.

My computer is going to be sent in for repairs,

but I wanted to get this one out before that happens.

I will write another chapter hopefully soon!

(I even have an idea of how it will be!)

~~

Kabuto: "Why is Orochimaru laughing like a mad man practically throughout the chapter?"

Moonlight46: "Uh... because it is... realistic and he has an unforgettable laugh?"

Kabuto: "Why was I portrayed like an irritating cat?"

Moonlight46: "No idea, yet. Hmm... You just gave me a great idea for later!"

Kabuto: "Huh? ...oh no. No. No way! Never!"