Chapter 3—To Encourage Reluctance
Orochimaru woke slowly and at first did not remember where he was. He sat up and immediately regretted it as sharp pain shot through his body. He endured this silently until it passed then looked around. He was back inside the room – a fact he thought strange if only for a moment before his eyes fell on Tsunade. She was asleep, sitting up against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Tsunade," Orochimaru said, but his voice was weak, hardly more than a whisper. Quiet as it was, it was enough to rouse her from her shallow sleep. She lifted her head.
"You're up," she noted mildly. "How are you feeling?"
"Well enough," was his curt reply but Tsunade was already crossing the room to see for herself.
"You should lie down," she said, sitting next to him. She reached toward him, chakra around her hand, but he pushed it away.
"I've long since lost my tolerance for standard medical jutsu."
"Well then what do you suggest I do?" Tsunade crossed her arms and glared at Orochimaru. "From what I can tell, your body's in bad shape."
He allowed himself a wicked smile. "Heh. I don't need you to do anything. I just needed to rest for–" He stopped short and his expression was serious again. "Tsunade… hasn't it been too long since you left the village?"
"You were out for about a day," she said lightly, ignoring his question.
Orochimaru watched her expression carefully for a moment. Then the smirk returned to his face. Interesting, he thought. Well then, I certainly won't be the one driving her back. "Tsunade, could I ask a favor of you?"