"Sasuke, since I will be going back to the Akatsuki soon, I think it's time you signed your contract with the snakes."

Sasuke had merely nodded at those words, but on the inside, he was thrilled. Finally, he could summon! Orochimaru had then taken him to a large, near-empty stone room and instructed him to take off his shirt, with the explanation that snakes were more comfortable with bare skin. Sasuke had grumbled and grouched about it, but eventually he removed his shirt and set it aside. Orochimaru had then pushed up his sleeve, trailing blood across the swirling tattoo on his forearm. A snake had appeared at his bidding, and had sneered at the sight of Sasuke shirtless.

"I think we have a new summoner," he said, and his voice dripped with sarcasm. Sasuke had said nothing, seeing that the snake was deliberately trying to provoke him. It was a test, Sasuke knew.

"Yes, I do wish to sign the contract," Sasuke replied calmly. "What do you want me to do?"

The snake turned its flat, narrow head and stared at Sasuke out of its left eye. "We will need something in return…"
Sasuke lifted his head. "Name it."

The snake lowered its head and dropped a scroll on the ground in front of Sasuke. "Sign it. In your own blood."

Sasuke knelt down and unrolled the scroll. There were only three other names on it; two that Sasuke did not recognize, and Orochimaru's, signed in neat, elegant, swirling kanji. Sasuke found a kunai in his kunai pouch, which he had put aside with his shirt, and carefully nicked the skin of his index finger. Sasuke wrote his full name in the same elegant kanji that Orochimaru had used, never letting the blood smear.

"Handprint."

Sasuke smeared the blood over the rest of his fingers and curled them in, staining his palm crimson. He pressed his hand to the scroll underneath his name, sealing the contract.

The snake looked at the scroll, then looked at Sasuke. "Yes, you'll do…" it said slowly. Sasuke let the snake look him up and down, occasionally pressing its warm, dry nose to his skin. The snake wrapped itself around Sasuke's body, and Sasuke held perfectly still.

"So, you wish to form a contract, mm?"

Sasuke nodded mutely. The snake still traveled over his pale white skin, and he felt no urge to anger it, or even move much.

"Well, I will need something in return, as I said earlier…chakra, maybe? I sense you have a very large amount of it…"
Sasuke nodded. "Very well, if that is what you must take…"

"Hold still and don't scream."
"What the-?"

The snake closed its jaws on Sasuke's neck, just below his curse seal. Orochimaru watched as the snake's fangs pierced his body's flesh, then began to leech chakra from Sasuke. Sasuke flinched ad groaned at the pain, but otherwise he didn't move at all. The snake remained on top of Sasuke for at least fifteen minutes with Orochimaru watching anxiously. Finally, the snake's fangs left Sasuke's flesh, and Sasuke shuddered and sank to his knees in front of the contract. He waited while the snake marked the paper next to Sasuke's name and handprint with two bloodied fangs. Sasuke smiled; his pact was complete. Orochimaru waited while Sasuke and the snake completed the signing, and then the snake rolled up the scroll with its nose.

"Thank you, Sasuke-sama," it hissed, taking the scroll in its moth. "We will be waiting for your call."

Sasuke nodded his thanks and the snake vanished in a cloud of smoke. Moving slowly as the curse seal closed his wound, Sasuke pulled his shirt back over his head. Seeing Orochimaru still standing in the corner where he had been before, he felt compelled to ask,

"What?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Nothing. But did you notice what Oto-kun called you at the end?"

Sasuke nodded, and Orochimaru chuckled.

"Sasuke-sama," Orochimaru repeated, as if he could not believe it. "I never would have guessed…"
Sasuke sighed and settled his kunai pouch behind his hip. "No…neither would I…"

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto watched from the doorway, feeling slightly stung. Orochimaru had never invited him to sign the contract with the snakes…and yet here was Sasuke, fresh out of Leaf, and he signs the contract only a month into his stay at Otoga. Kabuto sighed and turned away. He still needed to find Kakashi and help him escape…

Kabuto turned from the doorway and headed for the nearest ceiling vent.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi sat in silence, waiting for Kabuto. The genin was probably in the vents right now, trying to get to him-

"Kakashi."
Kakashi turned at the sound of the familiar voice, and Kabuto appeared in front of him.

"Come on," he said, motioning for Kakashi to follow him. Kakashi did so meekly, and without any questions whatsoever.

Kabuto took him left and right through a maze of tunnels, and eventually Kakashi was so confused he simply concentrated on Kabuto and ignored where he was going. Past fans, grills, and holes they passed, until finally Kabuto stopped him.

"Listen to me, and listen to me carefully, Kakashi," he whispered. The jounin nodded, and Kabuto continued.

"This is as far as I go," he began. "You must go farther. Orochimaru-sama doesn't know, but this very passageway leads to another system that leads almost directly into Konoha. Go to the end of this, and you'll see a forest. Keep going south until you know where you are, and then continue to Konoha."

Kakashi nodded. "How do I get out of here?"

Kabuto handed him a scroll. "This is a map of here on. Use it to get out of here, and then just keep heading south. It's 3 p.m. now, so use the sun for direction."

Kakashi nodded. "Kabuto, how can I ever thank you-?"

"Don't," Kabuto said firmly. "I'll hear nothing of it. I know you let me live back at the hospital three months ago; I know you let me get away. Consider this compensation."

Kakashi hesitantly nodded, and Kabuto gave him a gentle push forward. "Go, and don't look back."

Kakashi obeyed, but not without terrible, terrible temptation.

OOOOOOOOOO

Kabuto knew Orochimaru would be furious if he ever found out that Kabuto even knew what happened to Kakashi, so he planned to just act like nothing had ever happened. And if Orochimaru suspected anything, Kabuto was gone.

Kabuto dropped out of the vent and slipped through the hallways as silently as a shadow.

"Kabuto!"

Kabuto froze at the sound of his master's voice and slowly turned to face the snake. Orochimaru's pale white skin glistened in the bare light, and his purple shadowed eyes were narrow with annoyance.

"Where have you been?" Orochimaru barked, and Kabuto dropped into a formal bow as his master approached him.

"I apologize, Orochimaru-sama," he said quietly. Orochimaru's feet stopped just inside Kabuto's range of vision, and Kabuto prayed that his sensei would not kick him. "I was not aware that you were looking for me."

"Well, I was," Orochimaru snapped, and prodded his servant with the tip of his foot. "And next time, make more of an effort to show up when I call you."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto whispered. He was afraid now; he knew Orochimaru was angry, and he didn't want to make things worse. Orochimaru bent down and seized Kabuto's hair, right at the nape of the neck, and hauled him to his feet. Kabuto felt himself being pressed into a wall, and powerful hips ground against his as he was pressed back violently to the stone surface. Orochimaru's long fingers wrapped tightly around Kabuto's neck, and Kabuto felt the air choked from his lungs as Orochimaru squeezed his neck in a vise-like grip.

"And you have neglected several things I told you to do," Orochimaru hissed, and released Kabuto's neck. Kabuto fell forward, collapsing into Orochimaru's chest and struggling to breath. Orochimaru removed his hips from Kabuto's and let him fall to the ground.

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Kabuto-kun?"
Uh-oh. Orochimaru was using formalities. That could only mean he wasn't happy with Kabuto at all.

"Orochimaru-sama, please don't kick him."

Kimimaro stood in front of Kabuto, cool as a cucumber, in front of the raging sannin.

"Kimimaro-kun," Orochimaru said smoothly, stepping back from Kabuto. "I thought you were ill-"

"Well, I wasn't," Kimimaro said shortly. "I met up with Itachi-san in the hallway, and he is looking for Kabuto. Apparently he wants to have a look around…?"
Kabuto nodded and stood up, healing a scrape on his arm. "I'm coming."

Orochimaru sighed. "Kabuto, you know you are still obliged to do what I told you to earlier," Orochimaru threw over his shoulder. Kabuto sighed.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

Kimimaro took Kabuto's wrist and began pulling him after him down the hall.

"Itachi-san is not happy," he said. "He's not a very patient person…"
Kabuto nodded and Kimimaro pushed him in front of him as they rounded the corner. "Good luck."
Itachi stood there, leaning casually against the wall. He looked up when Kabuto stumbled around the corner, and Kimimaro spun around and ran.

"Finally," he said. "All right, now what exactly have you been doing while you were holed up in here?"
Kabuto exhaled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Helping Orochimaru-sama with new jutsus."

"Where?"

"Lab."

"Show me."

Kabuto turned around and began walking down the hall. "There's Orochimaru-sama's rooms," he said as they passed the huge double-doors. "Don't ever go in there unless you are called or you have a damn good reason; the place is on fire, Kimimaro, me, or Sasuke is dying, or the village is under attack. Any of the above do not apply, you are dead meat."

Itachi nodded, and Kabuto kept walking. "My room. Don't touch anything in there or you will mutate into something. Orochimaru-sama has a tendency to tell me to boil a chemical solution, and I have no idea what it does. So please…don't touch anything."

Kabuto turned a corner and opened a small wooden door to a staircase. "So…who wants to go first down the dark, creepy tunnel?"
Itachi shrugged. "You know it; I'll follow you."

Kabuto stepped down the stairs, Itachi mirroring him. Kabuto's hand flared with chakra for illumination, and he kept going down. Finally, he stepped off the stairs and his hand moved to the wall.

A switch flipped, and the entire place burst out in light.

Itachi saw a well-kept laboratory, presumably Kabuto's, and his Sharingan immediately picked up every detail of the room. It was very clean, and there was a row of tables across the back of the room. Cabinets were mounted on the wall over a counter with a sink in it and several jars lined up against the wall in the back of the counter.

"I can actually show you something I'm working on if you want," Kabuto said, stepping forward to allow Itachi past him. "But please, watch what you touch."

"Just like everything else in this place," Itachi muttered. "Please, show me your latest project."

Kabuto nodded and stepped forward to the cabinets. Opening the first one, he pulled out a scroll and set it down on a table. He unrolled the scroll, and Itachi could see a summoning spell on the inside.

"What is-?"

Kabuto set his finger on the scroll and Itachi could see chakra flowing around his hand, and the scroll emitted a poof of smoke. A body appeared on top of the scroll, and the scroll disappeared. Itachi's eyes widened as he copied the jutsu. The boy is a medical genius…preserving bodies in a scroll…

"You can come closer," Kabuto said by way of invitation. Itachi stepped over to the table, and Kabuto looked up at him.

"I take it you're not squeamish with blood?"
Itachi arched an eyebrow and smiled. "Must you even ask? I love it!"

A smile teased at the corners of Kabuto's mouth and he picked up a scalpel. "Then you are about to see something incredible." He set the scalpel on the stomach of the body and applied a bit of pressure to slice the skin open. Itachi watched in fascination as Kabuto cut the skin into two panels and peeled it back. Itachi was shocked; despite everything he had ever read about or seen pictures of, this was something completely different. The bones were perfectly white, the organs perfectly layered and positioned, and everything fit together perfectly like pieces in a puzzle. In short the body was…perfect.

"It's so clean and neat…" Itachi commented. Kabuto nodded.

"I killed this one myself," he said. "I am planning to use this one to see how a certain drug reacts with the body. Orochimaru-sama wants this tested as soon as possible."

Itachi watched as Kabuto took a syringe and inserted it into the ninja's arm and began forming signs. Itachi's Sharingan immediately picked up and copied the sign: a revival jutsu. Kabuto's jutsu was one used to spread the blood of a cadaver without making the blood actually flow. Itachi watched as blood vessels moved under the surface, beating with the beat of a heart. Itachi watched as the organs under the surface began to react to the drug, shrinking and turning black. Kabuto sighed and released the jutsu.

"I apologize; that should have gone differently."

Itachi shook his head. "Whatever. May I see some successful experiments?"

"Of course."

Kabuto handed Itachi a small vial of fluid and smiled. "The best thing to happen to Otokagure in its history. There was an epidemic; horrible, wiped out half the village as it was. Orochimaru-sama worked furiously on this for days on end, and got no sleep at all. We finally finished this antidote, and I'm pretty sure we saved the rest of the village."

Itachi nodded. "Very nice. Anything else I should see?"

"If you need to know more, I do have several other very successful experiments…"

"No, that's fine," Itachi said. He handed Kabuto back the vial of dark purple liquid and waited while the boy placed the container back in the cabinet, and asked,

"When does Orochimaru plan to switch bodies?"
Kabuto looked up, surprised at the question. "Huh?"

"Orochimaru has to switch bodies soon," Itachi repeated, "When?"

Kabuto lowered his head. "Soon," he replied. "He is getting restless waiting for Sasuke, and this body is getting old. His arms are beginning to pain him again as well; Sarutobi's seal was seemingly temporary, but it still hurts him from time to time."
Itachi slowly nodded. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Kabuto nodded and carefully walked past Itachi to the set of stairs.

He didn't know what hit him.

All he knew was that the world abruptly went black.

A/N: I hope that was IC… . Bleh…I'm tired. It's 11:34 now, so I'm going to bed. If you like it, great. A lot of people do. If you don't, that's fine too. Just no flaming. Thanks peeps!! .