Ariha fought not to move, not to cry out as she awoke and became aware of her body's pains. In her injured state, she'd ignored her senses and had toppled right off a cliff, unable to brace herself for impact fast enough. She had broken her leg on the way down, that she was sure of. The demon within, the one that made her a Jinchuuriki, had made sure she had healed. She knew that the wound on her side was gone. Despite her broken body, she could feel the sweet caress of fresh sheets beneath her as well as covering her body, though the location of her clothes was a mystery. With a bit of a struggle, she sat up, the sheet falling away to reveal her bare chest encased in bandages. Her eyes widened as she looked around. Had she made it? She threw off the covers, struggling to her feet and dying the sheet around her waist before limping to the door. She had to use the bed as support and then practically threw herself at the wall next to the door. She took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders until they cracked before reaching for the doorknob. She paused, just shy of touching it. What was she doing? In all her excitement, she'd almost forgotten the lessons drilled into her since she could walk. She was a shinobi and caution was her best friend. She was in a strange place, unaware of the dangers that could lie in wait for her. Backing away from the door, she scanned the room once more, eyes falling on the surgical scissors resting on the small surgical table. Good. She had a weapon. Now all she needed to do was wait.

Kabuto went to check on the girl. He knew that Orochimaru would have remained at her side had a problem not arisen with some of his prisoners. And he himself needed no prompting. Weak or not, if she was awake, though he doubted she'd even be alive seeing as how close she'd been to death only the previous morning, he intended to ask her why Orochimaru had taken such pains to make sure she was comfortable and taken care of. He removed the paper bombs he'd placed outside her door after Lord Orochimaru had gone, removing the key from his pocket and unlocking the door. All this security would not have gone over well with Lord Orochimaru but Kabuto would have faced those consequences rather than the risk of a slit throat. He stepped into the room, his eyes finding the empty bed only and widening. How had she escaped? He'd taken so many precautions. Kabuto hurried into the room, looking behind the door and even under the bed. There was nowhere else for her to hide.

"You forgot up," a demanding feminine voice informed him.

He looked up right as the girl dropped onto his back. Strong legs wrapped around his torso as fingers wormed their way into his hair, yanking his head back and exposing his throat. The point of some sharp weapon rested at his throat.

"Where am I?" she demanded, her voice harsh.

Kabuto seized her arm, trying to force it away from his neck but it was unmovable, like stone.

"And who are you?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Kabuto got out.

"Ariha," she replied. "That is my name. Your turn!"

Kabuto had frozen at the name, his mind recalling all the terror that name had once brought for him, many years ago.

"Ariha?" he repeated. "Ariha Okami."

"I see my reputation presides me," she remarked.

"Of course it does, you devil," Kabuto spat. "You tormented me-"

He stopped, realization washing over him.

"That's why Lord Orochimaru was so gentle," he gasped.

"Orochimaru?" Ariha repeated.

She leapt from Kabuto's shoulders, shoving him away from him so that he fell onto the bed.

"Where is he?" she demanded, pointing the scissors in her hand at him.

Kabuto could only stare. The woman before him, for he could call her no less, reminded him nothing of the girl Orochimaru had left behind when he and Kabuto had stolen away into the night. She held murder in her eyes. Had she come, like so many others, to kill Lord Orochimaru?

"Did you come here to kill Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto demanded.

Ariha looked at him with golden eyes, filled with sadness and rage.

"No," she replied, with a shake of her head. "Nothing of the sort."

"Then why are you here?" Kabuto growled.

Ariha's eyes narrowed.

"To unravel the lies that shaped my life," was her reply.

Kabuto, somewhat reluctant, led Ariha down the almost endless hall that led to Orochimaru's private room. It was so private, Kabuto had never seen the inside. It was the one room Orochimaru packed himself rather than letting Kabuto or any prisoners help him.

"Speed it up," Ariha ordered, poking him in the back with the scissors.

Kabuto obeyed, knowing that with one well placed stab, she could sever his spinal cord.

"I can only get you to the room," he explained. "I've never been inside. I've never even seen the inside."

"Good," Ariha replied. "Then I'll know something you don't."
"There's a lock on the door," Kabuto went on. "You need a key."

He glanced over his shoulder to look at Ariha's face. She smirked dryly.

"I have a key."

Orochimaru paused, his gold eyes narrowing as he observed Kabuto. Kabuto looked back at him, obviously annoyed, most likely because he was tied to a door.

"She ties pretty tight," he grumbled.

"So, she's awake?" Orochimaru said, his amusement quelled by that thought.

"And she's in there," Kabuto replied, pointing to the room whose door he was secured to.

Orochimaru sighed, reaching for the handle. It was locked. Drawing the key from his pocket, Orochimaru unlocked the door, freeing Kabuto as soon as he opened the door.

"Should I accompany you in there, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked, rubbing his formerly bound wrists.

"No," Orochimaru replied. "She is my responsibility."

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. The room stared back at him, pictures and albums, even trinkets, all from a life he left behind. A life he couldn't bring himself to forget. Ariha was not hard to find. She stood amongst the memories, the most prized of the things in the room. She was holding a familiar chain of pearls in her hand, staring at it.

"That woman," she began with. "Hates pearls."

She turned to Orochimaru with eyes as gold as his own.

"I never knew why, honestly," she admitted. "I saw pictures of her wearing them before."

Orochimaru offered her a smile but his mind was blank, unable to grasp onto a thing to say. What could he say? He'd expected her to be more upset than she was. Ariha set the pearls down.

"You remember that I never passed the Chunin exam?" she said. "I'd get my team through the Forest of Death and then I'd lose that third part?"

"Indeed. You used all your chakra and energy getting your team through the Forest in one night."

He saw her smile, weakly.

"I finally made it," she explained. "I could have been an Anbu but I chose not to. So, Lady Tsunade offered me a job more fit for my skills."
She faced him head on.

"I was a code breaker. More to the point, I was hired specifically to crack your research notes. To find a safer way around them. One without all the human experimenting."

Orochimaru said nothing, crossing his arms. Where was she going with this?

"I succeeded, of course," she bragged. "But try and imagine my surprise when I find that the last book wasn't research notes at all but a journal."

Ariha held up said journal, all traces of her earlier amusement gone.

"You knew," she accused.

She threw the journal down.

"You knew and you didn't tell me!"

Orochimaru was prepared for her anger but was completely surprised by the intricate tattoos that quickly swirled into place across her skin. His eyes widened, drawing Ariha's attention to them. She looked at them, briefly, before her attention returned to him.

"Did you even care?" she asked.

"Yes," Orochimaru replied. "I cared very much. But this prestige you speak of, do you really think it would have been awarded so easily if they knew the truth?"

"Why do you assume that telling me would have ensured anyone else would have found out about it?" Ariha demanded.

She ran a hand through her hair, combing it back a bit.

"She told me you were dead," Ariha admitted.

"The day I left her, I was dead to her," Orochimaru replied.

"But you weren't dead to me!" Ariha insisted. "And I wasn't dead to you! Why didn't you say anything when I was a child? When I trained under you?"

Orochimaru remained silent just staring at her.

"Answer me," Ariha ordered, voice completely calm. "If you wish to salvage any mother/daughter bond between her and I, don't bother. She was never a mother to me."

Orochimaru sighed deeply, pain going through him at those words.

"Your mother ordered me to never reveal my identity to you. She said that if I did, I would never see or hear from you again. With that as the alternative, I'd much rather have remained just a sensei."

He met her eyes, amused at the small amount of shock. She was a smart child, knew her mother had monster tendencies but was still surprised by what that woman could do.

"That does not mean," he assured her. "That I ever stopped loving you. You are my daughter after all."

Ariha's cheeks went a deep red and she looked away from him.

"Whoopee," she murmured, obviously trying to play off how happy his admission meant to her.

"So, what now?" Orochimaru asked.

Ariha's gold eyes went to him, as if wondering what he meant.

"You've tracked me down, you have your answer, so what do you intend to do now?" he went on.

"I can't go back," Ariha proclaimed. "There's nothing there except more lies. I don't want any more of those."

"Then don't go back," Orochimaru suggested. "Stay here."
"You won't lie to me?" Ariha demanded.

"Not to you. Never to you."