A/N: Sorry for the long wait! But I've had another project that was near completion and wanted to finish it. "HBTC" was it's name. Hope you like this!

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Orochimaru peeked in on the sleeping couple. Jealousey rising. ' That should have been us.' He thought. ' I deserve to be like them! Like her!'

-

" Come here, little princess." A big, fat drunk man said to a little girl hiding in between pieces of trash that was strewn through out the ally. His buddies laughing behind him.

" We won't hurt ya." He slurred. " We just want to show you some fun." She sat there quivering, wondering why her mother left her out on the streets.

" Hey," A boy said. " Leave her alone!" The man looked up, confused, as if he spoke in a diffrent language.

" And wha are you gonna do about it?" The man slurred, sounding as if he'd fall at any minute. " This." The boy said, kicking the man in between his legs, making him fall to the ground. Out cold. The man's buddies ran away, afraid to end up like their 'dead' buddy.

The girl shook. Fearful of the boy. " It's okay." The boy said in a calmer voice. " I won't hurt you." He gave out his hand to hers. Inspecting it further, she noticed that it had scales instead of flesh on it. But the voice was so soothing, she took the hand.

" My name's Orochimaru, what's your's?" The boy said.

" Sandra," The girl said.

-

Orochimaru hissed, sitting on the ground under their window. The memories were painful to him. ' Why did she betray me?' He shouted in his mind. ' After all I've done for her!'

-

" Everybody," Orochimaru said. " This is Sandra. And she wants a job."

They were in the camp of Madam Bageit's Carnival and Freak Show. All the crew and preformers looked at her. The crew wondered what she could do. The preformers, Orochimaru's fellow freaks, looked at her and saw a normal little girl.

After a few minutes, an old woman walked over to Sandra, wrinkles and liver spots caked her arms and face. She looked right into Sandra's eyes. As if inspecting her soul.

After a few seconds she smiled. " How would you like to be my apprentice fortune teller?" She said. Sandra nodded.

The old woman smiled. " Now for introductions. I am Madam Bageit. Sooth sayer for the living and dead." Sandra curtsied, causing everyone to laugh.

She looked at Orochimaru. " You don't need to curtsiey." He said. " We say ' How do you do?' or just ' Hello' here. None of us deserves anything fancy." She looked back at Bageit and said "Hello."

-

Orochimaru laughed. ' Finaly! An embarassing memory about her!' But that then passed. Another memory struck him.

-

Years passed. And Madam Bageit passed away, leaving Fredrick the wolf man in charge.

Sandra became a successful fortune teller. All her predictions came true, everything was right, nd she never played the customer into giving her more information about it. She just knew.

" Tell me how you do it." Orochimaru asked her on one of their breaks. " I can't." She said. " And why not?" " Because not even I know."

" Fine," Orochimaru said rather upset. " Be that way." He ran off. " No," She shouted. " Orochimaru, wait!" She ran after him.

-

He gave up and let the memories take over.

-

They were both twenty when it happened. Despite his height, Orochimaru didn't appear to be twenty, the scales woudn't allow it. Sandra turned into a beautiful woman, a woman Orochimaru loved.

They were taking a moonlit stroll around a lake, their hands clasped. It was their first real date. Orochimaru had to summon all of his courage to ask her out.

Their was a rushling in the bushes. " Who's there?" Orochimaru asked, trying to frighten it off. It didn'y work.

A female stepped out from behind them. Her front teeth were sharp. She looked hungry. She ran so fast towards Sandra, her teeth biting down into her neck.

" Get off her!" Orochimaru shouted. She just punched him in the stomach that flung him into the lake.

After a few minutes he came out of the water and saw the woman slit her wrist, giving it to Sandra. Sandra greedily lapped up the liquid. " Enough," The woman said. " I'm sparing you because I sensed a great power in you. A power that wouldn't be a good thing to waste." Sandra looked horified. " I'll be waiting for you." The woman said. " In due time you will return to me, Kyuubi."

Sandra screamed when the strange name was said.

Orochimaru felt bad that he couldn't have saved her.

-

The carnies knew, but didn't care. They still saw her as one of them. Even more so now. But Orochimaru was both intregued and devistated.

" The one I love will be eternal while I rot and die." He said sadly to Fredrick. " I don't find it fair." " Look at us, mate!" Fredrick said. " Life aint fair! We should know this by now so get used to it!" He wasn't mad, just trying to get a point out.

Sandra started getting abilities. And Orochimaru exploited them, trying to see how far they went. How far they might go for him when he would get bitten.

They sat in a meadow, watching the moon. " Sandra," He said. " What?" Sandra said. " Can you bite me?"

Sandra looked appauled. " Why would you want me to do that?" " I love you." Sandra looked sad. " I don't like being like this." She said. " I'd rather be like you. A mortal. Besides, we might not make it as a couple in love as we would friends."

That drove Orochimaru over the edge. " So you're breaking up with me?" He shouted. " No!" Sandra shouted back in defense. " It's what it sounded like." He hissed. " So just go! Leave us! Leave all of us!"

Sandra ran away crying.

-

After ten years, Orochimaru tracked her down. The thought of immortality too great to give up.

" Run!" The woman who turned Sandra shouted to her and the rest of her subjects. They flitted out of the room. Only Sandra stayed and watched from a corridor.

" You think you can stop me?" Orochimaru said, an insane look on his face. " Yes," She said. " And if not, then I shall give my title to Kyuubi." Sandra screamed, revealing her to be in the corridor. The woman knew she was there all along.

Orochimaru screamed as he plunged into the woman's chest cavity, puncturing her lungs. " You didn't even slow me down." He said. " That wasn't my intention." She whispered right before she fell to the ground in a pile of ash.

-

Orochimaru knew now what she meant. Sandra gave up on believing him to be a friend. An innocent little snake that doesn't want to strike.

He'd give her one last chance before he exicuted his plan.

-TBC

A/N: How'd you like it? Please R&R!