Chapter 2—Falling Out

Orochimaru led Tsunade to a rocky landscape. It seemed there was nothing around for miles, but he stopped there and waited for her to catch up.

"Here," he said when Tsunade was standing beside him. She glanced around then gave him a skeptical look. Orochimaru only grinned in return. Then Tsunade saw him perform a quick succession of hand signs. He summoned a single snake and it slithered away, disappearing at the base of a rock formation nearby. A few moments later the ground trembled slightly and a cloud of dust rose up where the snake had vanished. A layer of earth crumbled away, revealing a stairway that led underground.

Orochimaru descended the stairs without a word to Tsunade. She hesitated only a moment before following him down. At the end of the passage there was a thick wooden door. Orochimaru opened it and stepped into the room beyond, but paused to wait for Tsunade to enter before closing it behind them.

Tsunade took in the room in a glance. There wasn't much to look at. It was a large, circular room carved entirely in smooth stone, and completely empty. The only features were the torches that punctuated the curved walls.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A hideout in the making," he answered. "I decided some time ago that it was too close to Konoha, so it was never finished. We can talk freely here. Your reputation will be safe."

Tsunade crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't care."

Orochimaru smiled. "You care."

"You don't have to be so smug about it," she muttered under her breath.

"Of course, Lady Hokage." Orochimaru stepped away from the door and sat down against the wall.

Tsunade sat as well, a few feet from him in the open space of the large room. "Why do you care, anyway?" she asked. "You're certainly playing along readily enough."

"Any opportunity to corrupt a Leaf ninja," he said simply with a subtle shrug.

"And how is Kabuto?"

"He's still useful. Of course, compared to you..."

Her tone quickly turned sharp and cold. "What are you getting at, Orochimaru?"

"Only admiring your skill," he deflected casually. "Although… if you'd rather not be Hokage, I could offer an alternative."

Tsunade scoffed. "Not this again. I didn't accept last time. I told you, I'm not interested."

"You weren't Hokage then. The situation is different now. I thought you might have… changed your mind?"

"Well, I haven't," she snapped at him. "I still want you back in the village."

"That would never work." He had lost all humor, knowing too well the turn their conversation had taken.

"I could make it work."

"Tsunade–"

"I'm Hokage. I should be able to help my friend. Or at least talk to you without having to lie about it."

"Help me? Tsunade, why would I want to go back?"

"I–"

"I don't want to go back. I left on my own."

"…I know that." She sighed and leaned back on her hands. "Of course, I know that. I'm just being selfish."

"We've talked about this before."

"I know," she said quietly.

"You already know how it ends."

"I know!" Tsunade got to her feet and walked a short distance away from him toward the other end of the room.

Orochimaru stood as well, but slowly. He was grateful Tsunade's back was turned as he used the wall for support. "I don't want to have this conversation again," he said.

"Even if we don't, Jiraiya will never let it go."

Orochimaru could not help himself. He laughed and Tsunade whipped back around to glare at him.

"Is it so wrong that we want you back?"

"You want the past," he said dismissively.

"So what if we do?"

"You're as naïve as ever." He pushed himself away from the wall and headed for the door. "You haven't changed. Neither of you."

"Wait! Orochimaru!" Tsunade ran forward and grabbed his shoulder, wrenching him away from the door and turning him around to face her. She kept a firm grip on his shirt so he would not move away. Orochimaru met her eyes, his expression flat. He seemed mostly unbothered by Tsunade's actions, merely unamused.

"Okay, Orochimaru," Tsunade said, her voice low and seething. "You want to talk about something else? What about your attacks on the village? Or stealing the Uchiha boy away with promises of power when you only plan to kill him?"

Orochimaru knocked Tsunade's hand away but did not retreat or back down. "This is exactly why I am not coming back," he said coldly. "I'm tired of being questioned. I'm sick of the Leaf's cowardice – hiding behind rules and regulations–"

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted. "I'm tired of sending teams after you, I'm tired of losing those teams, and I have had it with your secrets and experiments!"

They stared at each other and Orochimaru was the first to look away. He turned back to the door. "…Then what are you doing here?" He waited for a reply but none came. Tsunade neither moved nor spoke even after he opened the door and stepped out to the small landing at the bottom of the stairway.

It was dark outside of the torch-lit room. It seemed that some part of the jutsu that had revealed the hideout also covered it back up once they had gone inside. In the feeble light that reached outside the door, Tsunade saw Orochimaru raise his hands and begin to form the seals once more, but they seemed much slower now. Almost clumsy.

"…Oroch–?" Tsunade cut herself off with a small gasp. Orochimaru staggered and collapsed at the bottom of the stairs. Tsunade ran to his side.

"Orochimaru! What's wrong?" She turned him onto his back. His eyes were closed. He did not respond.

The chakra was already at her hands. She laid them over his chest, attempting to heal him even as she tried to determine what was wrong, but nothing seemed to help.

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered. "Orochimaru…"