The Snake's Lair
"What are you doing here, you bastard!?"
"Such cruel words. And here I thought you would rejoice at my arrival".
"Never! Go back where you came from, I have no interest in you".
"Oh, but I have an interest in you, my dear".
"I hate you!"
This is just too creepy. He's here.
Fatal memories from my childhood flash before my eyes; my mother's face crying in pain, his cruel eyes glistening with malice, my screams echoing around the empty room.
"Where's Mommy!?"
"Give her back!"
"Why?"
"Don't leave me alone!"
I hate him. I summon my chakra to my eyes and glare at him. My kekkai genkai assesses him and tell me exactly how to take him down.
"I see my experiments worked", he chuckles.
"Thanks to you, my life has been Hell! I hate you, I hate this stupid kekkai genkai, and I hate The Akatsuki!"
"So that's where you've been hiding. How has the Akatsuki been?"
"Like I'd tell you. Even though I hate them, they're a million times better then you".
"Have they told you how beautiful they are? Have they seen the pain and hatred you cling to so tightly? Do they know about me?"
"You haven't changed a bit", I say.
"And you have changed. You used to be this adorable little girl begging for my attention. Now that I'm giving you my undivided attention, you say you hate me".
"I was a fool, I couldn't see the true monster you were".
"And what of your mother?"
I cringe at those words, but remain silent.
"You used to call me daddy".
I cannot deny what I know is true. I thought my father hated my mother and me, so Orochimaru was a replacement for the person I lost.
"My mother died to save me. You defile her memory with your words".
"That wasn't all I defiled", he says casually.
"Bastard".
"Cruel words don't become you, my dear".
"I'm no one's dear".
"And what of Deidara?" he asks.
"D-D-Deidara? How do you know about him?"
"Even though I am no longer a member of the Akatsuki, I still have my ways of getting information".
I glare at him a little longer before sliding some shuriken out of their pouch and launching them at him. He dodges then easily, and it's only now that I realize his arms are bandaged.
"What happened to your arms?" I ask.
"Just a minor setback from when I killed the 3rd Hokage".
"So the rumors are true".
"Yes, but my setback will be solved soon", he says.
"What are you planning?"
"Only to seek out an old teammate and await the arrival of my new body".
"You still plan on learning all the jutsu in the world? I thought you gave up that ridiculous dream long ago".
"Yes, and I believe you know my new vessel too, or have briefly met".
"Who have you marked?"
"Sasuke Uchiha".
"That weakling? Your judgment has slipped, Orochimaru".
"He's stronger then he looks".
"He's not stronger then Itachi'.
"But he has something Itachi lacks; ambition".
"Why are you really here? Surely not just to chat".
"I told you, I'm here to claim you", he says.
"Take a number", I mutter.
"I wish for you to join me".
"You don't own me anymore".
"Then I'll just have to steal you", he says.
"Good luck", I retort, "How are you supposed to do that if you can't even use your arms?"
"I never said I was alone".
I hear a rustle in the trees and glance up just as I feel a hard jab on my pressure point.
I wake up in what I figure to be a prison cell. I hear water dripping in the distance and I smell mildew. I feel a sharp pain as I move my shoulder and realize that it's been dislocated.
"Fuck", I mutter.
I snap my shoulder back in place and sit up. I move my leg a bit to be in a more comfortable position and hear a jingle of chains. I realize that my feet are chained to the wall. I can only move them a little without any pain. There aren't any windows in my cell, but my eyes adjust to the darkness. I'm the only person in the room, there's a door on the opposite side of the room. My chains' maximum length is two feet which is only 1/5 of the distance to the door. Escape is somewhat impossible.
I sigh and lay back down on my "bed". Staring up at the ceiling, my mind flashes back to the Akatsuki. They probably think I ran away. Or they're hoping I'm dead. Probably the second one. Will they rescue me? Unlikely. Will they even care. Only if it benefits them. The bastards.
I shield my eyes as the door opens. A dude a little older then me walks in. He has white hair, glasses, and a smirk on his face.
"Good evening, Mizuka. I am Kabuto".
"Good evening, asshole", I reply sweetly.
"Lord Orochimaru was right, you do have quite the mouth on you".
"Funny, he didn't say anything about you".
Kabuto frowns and he moves toward me. Just a little closer and I can slap the bitch. I watch as he summons chakra to his palms and he grabs my wrists at a frightening speed. I stifle a scream as I feel the muscles near my hand tear. This guy uses medical-ninjutsu. Smart . He then unlocks the shackles and, since I have trouble walking, walks me out of the room. He leads me down many twisty-turny walls, until we reach some random door with the number 213 on it. Kabuto knocks and some small girl answers.
"Is Matsuri available?" Kabuto asks.
"Yes, Lord Kabuto. Just wait a minute".
She returns a bit later with a girl around twelve. The girl, Matsuri I guess, has black hair about shoulder length. She's wearing woolen clothes and there's a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
"Yes, Lord Kabuto? How may I serve you?"
"Matsuri, this is Mizuka. She's one of the Master's "special" friends".
"Hello, Miss Mizuka. My name is Matsuri".
Turning to Kabuto I say, "I am not one of his friends", and turning to Matsuri, "Hey".
Kabuto ignores me and says, "You'll be here servant while she's here".
"Yes, Master Kabuto".
Kabuto walks off, but then turns off, "She'll be having dinner with Master Orochimaru at 10 o'clock. Make sure she's ready".
"Yes, sir", Matsuri chimes.
Kabuto then (FINALLY!) leaves and Matsuri takes me by the hand and leads me down the hall.
"First you should have a bath. Then we'll get you dresses and do your hair and make-up", she says.
"I'd rather I look the way I do, he doesn't deserve anything", I seethe.
"But Master Orochimaru is a kind person; he saved me from a life in the brothels".
"Trust me, the brothels would be kinder then he is by far", I reply.
"Please don't say those things about the Master," she says, "Do you need help bathing?"
"No thanks, Matsuri. I can bathe myself".
She leads me into a room surrounded by pools full of steaming water. Matsuri shows me to one of the pools. She shows me where my robe, towel, and washing utensils are. I dismiss her and undress. Stepping into the hot water, I can't help but sigh. After days on the road, I agree that I'm covered with dirt. I grab a sponge and lather myself with soap. Dipping under the water, I rinse all the soap and dirt from my body. Returning to the surface, I relax a bit. I swim around a bit letting the water heal all the wounds and bruises, as well as my mind.
After awhile, I decide that I'm clean enough for the "Master". I climb out of the pool and dry myself with the towel. Cloaking myself in a purple robe, I walk toward the door. Outside the door stands Matsuri, patiently waiting for me to finish.
"Oh, you look much better", she says.
"Yeah, nothing like a good bath to prepare for the gates of Hell", I reply.
Matsuri sighs in defeat and leads me toward some room.
"This will be your room, Miss".
She opens the door and leads me in. I freeze in amazement and shock. The room hasn't changed one bit. I bite my lip to stifle a scream. This was the room my Mother stayed in eight years ago. This is the room she was raped and died in. That bastard has a sick sense of humor.
Matsuri guides me over to a screen and pulls a kimono out of nowhere. It's an elegant black kimono. There's white lace tracing a few parts, but otherwise it's all black.
"Master Orochimaru has requested that you wear this at dinner", Matsuri says.
I sigh in defeat and let Matsuri capture me in the folds of cloth. Even I have to admit, I look good.
"You look beautiful, My Lady".
"Just call me Mizuka, please".
"Yes… Mizuka".
Then Matsuri spends hours brushing my hair. Brushing it, combing it, and making it shiny. She ties it up into a high bun, but leaves two strands of hair falling into my face. Next comes the joyful make-up. She powders, glosses, and covers my in goo.
When she's done, I look like a completely different person. While I'm dazed, Matsuri guides my feet into sandals and leads me out of the room. We walk down the hall a ways and stop in front on a large door with iron-wrought snakes covering it. Matsuri moves to knock, but I stop her hand.
"I'll go in unannounced", I say.
She nods and walks off. I take a deep breath and kick the door in.
"As elegant as ever", Orochimaru says.
"You know me. Gotta come in with a bang".
He smirks as I walk for the seat set for me. It's on the opposite end of the table, which is to my liking. I sit down and fix my icy glare upon the thing I loathe so much.
"You look even more stunning in the kimono. Is it to your liking?" he asks.
"I appreciate the thought and concern that went into it, but not you", I say carefully.
His mouth twitches and I smirk. Servants bring food and I observe the plethora of choices. Meats, noodles, breads, and, I observe dryly, pocky. He remembered my love of the food. He smirks at my observations and our battle of wills continues.
I eat little, keeping my attention on the good-for-nothing snake sitting across from me. That Kabuto rat feeds him like the baby he is.
"Mizuka, eat. You must be famished", he says.
"I'm afraid you stole me appetite", I retort.
I avoid the pocky (No! Temptation!) and focus on the meat instead. Hanging out with guys for months limits your choice of food. I bite into the fish, sheep, and pig with relish; enjoying every bite. I glare in between every tow bites, looking at the sonofabitch. He returns the glares with amusement and that ticks me off. When I decide I've eaten enough, I push my plate away.
"Done already?" asks Orochimaru.
"Yes", I say coldly.
"Very well. Kabuto you may leave".
"But-" Kabuto protests.
"I have some things to discuss with my guest".
Kabuto reluctantly leaves and Orochimaru stands and moves toward me. Instinctively I recoil, but I regain my composure. He sits down in the chair next to me and licks his lips with his extremely (NOT AGAIN!) tongue.
"I see you still have that disgusting thing".
"Cruelty is not a way to hide your pain. Let me help you".
"Help me? Help? You're the one who created the pain!" I say.
"And you are the one who nursed it into hatred," he replies, "Let me heal the wound I created".
"Your talents lie in destroying things, not healing them".
"But I can learn".
"Healing requires love, something you don't have".
"Ah yes, I came to that conclusion too. But it does not matter if I can love. What matters is, can I be loved?"
"You're crazy".
"Crazy about you".
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that".
"Your mother loved me".
"Loved you so much she had to kill herself you mean', I say.
"An unfortunate turn of events, but it brought me closer to you".
"Sure", I say sarcastically.
"I can bring your mother back to life", he says.
I pause and stop in shock. Mom? Back to life? Memories of her fill my head; her smile, her laugh, her hand on my head.
"Mom", I whisper.
"In fact I already did", he says.
At that moment a door opens and she walks in. She looks just like Mom, smells like her.
"Hello, my little Usagi", she says.
Usagi. My mom's nickname for me. I was her little baby rabbit. I'd forgotten about that. In fact I'd forgotten a lot of things about my mom.
"Mommy", I cry.
Tears roll down my cheeks as I run to her; Orochimaru forgotten. I embrace her and cry into her kimono.
"Mommy", I whisper, "Mommy, I missed you".
She holds me in her arms as I cry. The sobs wracking my body with violence. I cry her name a thousand times as the memories cloud my mind. I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around. I feel as though I'm seven again.
"Daddy's here", Orochimaru whispers.
I can't resist the memories; I embrace the insanity. Orochimaru hugs my mother and me together, his arm's surrounding us. I wonder how they can do that? His arms don't work. But I don't care; I'm seven again and Mommy and Daddy love me…
Days pass in happiness, but this nagging feeling follows me everywhere. Something I've forgotten, but what? Every morning Mommy, Daddy, and I go for a walk and every evening Mommy and Daddy tuck me into bed. I play in the gardens with Daddy's snakes.
My favorite snake, Kirosu, is climbing up my arm, but I move my arm wrong and he bites me. I bite my lip and suddenly images stream though my mind. Akatsuki… Mommy dead… Daddy dead… Deidara… Orochimaru, I scream as the images flood my mind; my body frozen by fear. And then I remember.
"Usagi, what's wrong?" my imposter-mom says.
"Nothing Mother", I say innocently, as I finger a kunai, "Kirosu just bit me".
"Oh darling, do you want Mommy to make it better?"
"Yes, Mommy", I say sweetly.
My "mother" moves my wrist to her mouth to suck the blood away. At an amazing speed, I stab my kunai through her chest. Her eyes go wide in shock and she collapses; dead once again.
"You can come out now", I say.
"I knew it wouldn't last long. But I enjoyed while it did", Orochimaru says.
"Using a re-animation jutsu on my mother to make me trust you was smart, but Usagi is dead. I am not the fool I used to be".
"That may be but you are still my prisoner", he says.
"Not for long", I answer.
"I'll see you at dinner", he says.
I collapse soon after he leaves. I can't believe I fell for that. Bringing the dead back to life is impossible. Their bodies may move, but their souls are gone. I haven't changed at all. Laughing to myself (never a good sign), I walk off to prepare for .
"As beautiful as ever", Orochimaru says as I walk in the room and sit down.
My midnight blue with silver stars kimono matches my mood perfectly; I'm not in the mood to play. If I have to kill him to escape I'll do it. I eat my meat as usual and glare at Orochimaru and Kabuto. After the meal is done, I stand up and leave the room without a word. Once I reach my room, I fall on the bed; exhausted. I don't know why though. He couldn't have poisoned my food, could he? He's evil enough to do it. I struggle to move my legs, but they feel like lead weights, as do my arms.
"Fuck", I curse.
I hear the door open and try to look up to see who it is. Of course, it's Orochimaru. I try to scream, but my voice caves in. Move! Mizuka! Move! But my body is so weak. I can't summon any chakra.
"As you've probably noticed", he says, "You cannot move or use chakra".
I bite my lip in frustration and gather spit in my mouth. As he nears me I spit all my saliva at him. He blinks in surprise, but only moves closer. His face is an inch away.
"You are mine Mizuka. I made you and you are nothing without what I have given you".
He pulls a kunai out of my pouch with his tongue and puts it to my neck.
"Go ahead take the easy way out, like your pathetic mother".
I'm trembling in fear and hatred for this, this man. But he moves the kunai down to my right arm and pulls the sleeve up. He makes a deep cut and the crimson floods me arm.
"Spilling so much blood is such a waste", he says.
His tongue licks up the blood and he cuts my arm over and over again. And he keeps licking it up. I cannot move or protest, no matter how much I try. He moves on to the left arm, but pauses when he sees Hidan's name.
"So I'm not the only one to claim you", he says.
He ignores my left arm and moves up to my kimono. My heart is pounding at a million beats per second. His tongue licks my lips and I shudder. His mouth leans down until he touches my lips. Thankfully, the darkness offers an escape from this nightmare.
I wake up in extreme pain. It feels like I've been cut everywhere. Every time I try to move, my limbs cry out in agony. I can only guess what that did to me. And my guess is that he raped me. him. I try to move, but realize that I'm chained to a wall and also that I'm naked. .
I spend the day in this painful solitude until the door opens… and he comes in again.
"I see you're awake", he says.
I'm too weak to reply and I return to my dark refuge as his lips seek mine.
Days, weeks, pass in this living . I've given up all hop of rescue. If they wanted to save me, they already would have. I think that the tears have stained my cheeks and I'm always bleeding and bruised. He comes every night without fail and I wonder what his reasons are for this torture.
He just left and I feel the tears slide down my face. him. I snap at precisely this moment. I'm going to get out of here, even if I have to die. These chains are rusted; weak. Perfect. Gathering what little chakra I have left, I begin work on my escape.
It takes two more days, till the shackles break. I rub my wrists painfully, and notice the dark bruises surrounding them. I wobble at first when I try to stand, but I gain balance. I grab some weapons, food, and clothes. I walk out of my room. My escape goes somewhat smoothly because I only had to kill three people and knock fifteen people out.
As soon as I leave the lair, I take off running. My will to escape overcomes the pain and exhaustion as I run. But it catches up to me as I reach a clearing.
"Safe", I gasp.
I fall unconscious where I hit the ground. I run/walk for days as I try to gain my bearings. It's been so long that I can't remember where the hideout is. Um… where is it? I follow rivers and roads until I reach the crossroads between Konoha, that gambling town, Sunagakure, and a hot springs. I recognize the area; I need to head toward Sunagakure, but turn at the Lightning Tree.
I smile when I see the tree and immediately turn. The sun sets as I enter the forest, but I don't care. I take off running at shinobi speed; happy to be near home. Akatsuki… home? Yep, I must be crazy. My smile grows larger as the area becomes familiar. When I reach the big rock, my face splits into one gigantic smile. I release the lock on the "door" and walk down the genjutsu hallway. I release it and walk into the living room; no one. Kitchen also equals no one. They must be asleep.
I walk to my old room and open the door. No one's been in here for a while, about an inch of dust covers every surface. And then a wall of exhaustion hits me. I about fall right there, but somehow I make it to the bed. I happily fall into a deep and pleasant sleep- ALONE!!
Rayne Says: So yes, Orochimaru raped her. Why? Because it is important to the story. My creative team constantly teases me they keep saying, "Orochimaru raped you! Ha! Ha!" But in my friend's fanfic, everyone gets raped by Orochimaru. It's not that he's evil... he's just sick.