Just like that, Ariha became an everyday companion. Kabuto felt slight annoyance, though he knew she had changed from how she'd been as a child, that she was always at Lord Orochimaru's side. It made it harder to keep important matters private. He still didn't trust her. She was, after all, a shinobi and former student of Tsunade. Who knew where her loyalties lay?
"Ariha!" Kabuto said, with slight enthusiasm, catching her in the kitchen that morning before she had a chance to find Orochimaru.
She'd paused, looking at him, bored but waiting.
"I have a need of some herbs," Kabuto explained, waving the list in her face. "Would you mind?"
Ariha took the list, glancing it over.
"I can collect all these no problem," she remarked. "Most of these grow in the area."
Kabuto chuckled.
"Yes, but it could get dangerous. I turned a few subjects out into the forest. I'd go myself but some of them have come back almost in tatters. Relentless bastards out there."
He eyed Ariha. She'd found clothes for herself, consisting of a mesh net top with thin straps as well as a skort that gave her plenty of access to the weapons bag secured around her thigh.
"You may want to change," he advised.
He wanted to scare her back to Konoha. Not kill her. Orochimaru would kill him if that happened.
"I'm good," Ariha replied with.
She was already leaving, grabbing her satchel as she did.
"I'm not afraid of a few psychos."
With that, she was gone. Kabuto couldn't help but laugh. She probably wasn't but she would be.
"I know his game," Ariha wrote, lounging in a tree, her diary propped open. "Kabuto wants me to be afraid. He thinks I'll run scared . Ha! Joke's on him. I've lived in Hell all my life. I've seen things he can only imagine."
Ariha snapped the book closed, hearing the telling sound of rustling bushes as a man crept from the underbrush. He was crawling, looking around as if any threat to him would be on the ground. Ariha studied him curiously. He was dressed in all black, which matched his neck length hair. And as he fully emerged into the small clearing, Ariha noticed he was barefoot. He was probably one of the test subjects Kabuto had talked about. Ariha held back a laugh. He was supposed to scare her? She watched him crawl on, wanting to warn him that just past that bush he was heading for was Matsuro, the most bloodthirsty of her father's test subjects. Would it interfere in whatever test Kabuto was running? No, better question. Did she care? Ariha reached into the bag on her thigh, drawing out a shuriken. Without even taking the time to aim, she threw them, vanishing right as they landed in front of her intended target. His head flew upwards, looking for the source of the shuriken but found none. A warning, perhaps, not to go that way? He almost wanted to disobey but instead, he changed course, heading away from the shuriken that had stopped him.
"I'm back," Ariha sang, strutting in.
She dropped her bag of herbs in front of Kabuto.
"I have repeatedly ask that you NOT come into my room," Kabuto grouched.
"I don't listen," Ariha replied.
She flopped onto his bed.
"Now, if you'd be so kind as to direct me to Lord Orochimaru."
She'd almost said "my father," but had caught herself last second. Orochimaru had advised her to keep their relationship a secret and she agreed. She really didn't want to deal with people trying to use her as a hostage against her father. That included Kabuto, whom her father did not trust. His words, not hers.
"He's in his study," Kabuto replied. "And he's requested that we not disturb him."
His last words fell on an empty room. When he turned around, Ariha was gone.
"I hear Kabuto sent you out on an errand," Orochimaru remarked offhandedly as soon as Ariha entered his study.
She smiled.
"He's trying to scare me off," she informed him.
She sat on the floor, folding her legs beneath her and sitting up straight. Orochimaru looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes reflecting the light from the candle.
"You look like your mother," he remarked.
Ariha smirked.
"I look like you," she argued.
Orochimaru chuckled darkly.
"My mistake," he relented.
Ariha tried not to jump as she noticed a snake slither past her. She hated snakes but for her father, she'd tolerate them.
"Ariha."
Orochimaru's voice was a whisper.
"I've kept a log of your progress. You're only a chunin," he said.
"I was working on becoming a jonin," Ariha admitted. "But I left before I qualified."
"Unacceptable," Orochimaru declared.
Once again, he looked over his shoulder at her.
"If Kabuto wasn't so busy keeping my subjects alive, I'd instruct him to teach you."
Orochimaru rose, standing over her.
"Likewise, my research keeps me busy."
"I don't see why it matters. I have the skill sets of a jonin. Isn't that enough?"
Orochimaru smiled dryly at her question.
"Foolish child. Tsunade is no fool. You are not a jonin because you do not qualify."
Ariha glared up at him, eyes blank. Orochimaru hid a smile. He knew the blank look was for when she was at her angriest. Yet she never spoke of it.
"I have a most interesting research subject in the field today," Orochimaru went on. "Should he survive, he will train you and set you on the path to become a jonin."
"Oh boy," Ariha said through gritted teeth.
Orochimaru allowed his lips to quirk.
"It is called tough love, my dear daughter. And if you so wish to survive in my world and remain at my side, you must get use to it."
He returned to his work and Ariha knew she had been dismissed. Angrily, she stood, storming out, her eyes storming with barely contained rage.
'Who does he think he is?' she snarled mentally.
She paused, briefly chastising herself for being so stupid. He was her father, of course. And he certainly played the role excellently.
His ribs were broken. At least three. And his eye was swelling, almost completely closed. But he was alive. Caleb was grateful for that as he spotted Kabuto in the distance. Kabuto was smirking.
"The prodigal son returns!" Kabuto said with empty gusto, his words sarcastic.
He was annoyed by something.
"I'm fine," Caleb announced. "Thanks for asking."
He rested his hands on his hips, trying not to flinch. Broken ribs, he reminded himself.
"So, why are you out here?"
Kabuto didn't wait. Survivors dragged themselves back inside and came to him. Not the other way around.
"I have to heal you. As of tomorrow, you have a student."
Caleb crossed his arms.
"Student?" he asked.
He smiled.
"I'm game."
Ariha's eyes opened on the first knock and she sat up, ready to kill. Despite her grogginess, she stumbled to the door, managing to open it before the second knock came.
"I will kill whoever you are and eat your mortal soul!" she snarled, brushing her bed raggled hair out of her face.
She found herself eye to eye with the guy from yesterday that she had seen crawling through the forest. The one she'd saved. And he'd come crawling out with a death wish, looking extremely amused at her disheveled state and also a little cute.
"You must not want to live anymore," she remarked, standing straight and hearing her back crack.
She was trying to look as dignified as possible. Well, at least she wasn't naked. Her mind was drawn back to a certain vampire lord who'd had that honor. Of course, he'd kept a cool face while she'd freaked out completely, throwing anything she could pick up at him.
"So, you're my student?" the guy remarked.
Ariha's eyes widened a bit, recalling her father's words. This guy could not be the one who'd be training her as a jonin. He'd been crawling through the woods rather than facing the threat head on.
"Who are you?" Ariha demanded.
"I am your new sensei," he replied. "Call me Caleb. Everyone does."
"Caleb?" Ariha repeated.
Her lips quirked.
"For the record, my old sensei is just fine. And I don't work before noon."
With that, she closed the door, locking it as well as adding… extra assurances that nothing would get through the door, come Hell or high water. With that done, she returned to bed, tunneling beneath the sheets.
Caleb stared at the door, a bit of rage bubbling within him. How dare she? He almost kicked the door in right then and there but held himself back. Mostly because he'd sensed the her power bubble up, as if it had been lying dormant in her, waiting to be used. She had already tapped into her potential, knew how to access it at will. She wasn't like the others he'd trained. She made him nervous. And he didn't like that. He would retreat for now though, lest she use that tapped potential directly on him.
When he returned to the kitchen, he found Kabuto already there, heating water.
"I should probably have warned you," Kabuto said offhandedly. "Ariha doesn't do mornings."
"She'll start," Caleb declared.
The resolve in his voice made Kabuto turn, the glare from his glasses making it hard to see his eyes.
"Don't hurt her," he advised. "For some reason, Lord Orochimaru actually cares what happens to her."
"Duly noted," Caleb replied.
"Don't think you'll get away with hurting her where Lord Orochimaru can't see, either," Kabuto warned. "I examine her and unlike Ariha, I have no qualms about tattling. She's important to me too."
Caleb smirked darkly.
"Duly. Noted."
With that, he turned on his heel and left again. Kabuto, meanwhile, heard a dark chuckle and matched it with his own smile.
"Good morning, M'lord," he greeted.
"Good morning to you, Kabuto," Orochimaru repeated, sounding amused.
Then his presence faded and he left Kabuto alone.
Noon rolled around, finding Ariha sprawled in bed, just staring at the wall. She was awake, yes, but she didn't feel as motivated to get up as she had on other mornings. Probably because her father had saddled her with an incompetent teacher. Was it a joke? Or was he trying to keep her so occupied that she'd leave him alone? Maybe, maybe, he was trying to make her go home. Kabuto had failed to scare her. She sat up. That had to be it. But… if he didn't want her, he should just be direct. Slowly, Ariha rose from her bed, pulling on her boots. Her pajamas would have to be enough, she decided, clomping out. She drudged to the kitchen, following the smell of coffee, a result of a late night for Kabuto. He probably never slept. Her suspicions were confirmed, at least about the coffee, when she made it to the kitchen. Water boiled in two pans on the stove while Kabuto was busy using a third pot to make his coffee.
"You intend to-" Ariha began.
Before she could finish, Kabuto handed her a mug which she took gratefully.
"You have my thanks," she said.
"I guess you met Caleb," Kabuto remarked, yawning.
"An absolute pleasure, let me tell you," she joked.
Kabuto glanced at her, his eyes bulging as he took in her incredibly short boxer shorts and the tank top. Her usual pajamas now turned day clothes.
"Ariha," he began.
"Yes, I am aware that the majority of your psychos are men," she groaned, having heard the lecture plenty of times. "I am capable of handling myself!"
Kabuto shrugged, shutting his mouth.
"If you say so," he relented.
Ariha hid her smile behind her mug, unaware that Kabuto was still watching her, his mind cataloging her skin and its lack of bruises or scars. He'd make sure she stayed that way, even if it meant going against his lord.
"So," Ariha prompted, drawing his attention. "Where is my so called new sensei?"
"Outside," Kabuto replied.
Ariha stood.
"Then my day has begun."
Caleb was staring into the distance when he heard her approach. He knew who it was because he felt her power.
"Caleb," she greeted.
He glanced back, his eyes sweeping over her appearance.
"Unacceptable," he declared. "Go change."
He returned his eyes to the view and waited for her to leave. But she stayed put. After a few moments, he looked back. She hadn't moved, standing right where she had been, still showing skin and looking highly amused. Her gold eyes, though, held contempt as well as the promise that she'd rip him apart if he threw another order at her. He suddenly understood what kind of woman she was and she was the kind he hated. But he knew how to deal with them. He'd done it before, plenty of times. And he would do it again.