Kabuto knew Orochimaru's temperature was still spiking; the sannin was locked in a deep, restless sleep, riddled with nightmares and images of Itachi. Kabuto had to wake him up several times to keep him from crying out in his sleep. Orochimaru was in serious pain, this Kabuto knew; he also knew that the sannin needed the comfort of his own room and Kabuto needed the comfort of his own lab, where he had access to anything he needed. Here, he had to make do with rags and a bowl of water. Maybe when Hidan was out he could sneak some ice from the freezer. And Orochimaru wasn't doing well between the trauma and the frequent stops the Akatsuki made.
But Kabuto was two steps ahead of them. As usual.
Sasori still thought he was under his control, and Kabuto was acting like it. He was feeding Sasori a lot of false information about Orochimaru, and so far the Akatsuki member was sucking it up like a sponge. Kabuto was also making notes of when the Akatsuki stopped by, and after a few days he began to notice a pattern. All it took was a little math and probability figuring…
Kabuto was also making notes of the particular scents each member carried. Just like Orochimaru's, Itachi's was a slight smell of smoke and sandalwood. Sasori carried an earthy scent, more dry and sandy than anything else. Zetsu was a very earthy person, given that he was half-plant, and he smelled very much like Jiroubou. Hidan carried a saltwater smell, like a summer beach, and Kisame was slightly…fishy. Well, he was half-fish. And Kakuza was…different, Kabuto would admit. He was completely neutral, and he was on a completely different level than anyone else here, besides Itachi. And Itachi just had no equal. Deidara smelled like fresh rain, the wet, sodden ground after a spring shower. Kabuto was soon able to use his chakra to smell who was coming, and disguise his own scent. He knew how to do this; simply find where the most oils on your body were generated and wash them thoroughly. Keep yourself very clean, and leave no fingerprints. Brush objects with the sides of your fingers, and you will leave no traces.
Kabuto could also tell where people were by locking onto their chakra signatures. Soon he had chakra trips all around Orochimaru's room so he would know if someone was coming. Itachi ghosted Orochimaru's presence, taunting him, and it drove Kabuto mad. He knew that time was running out if he wanted to get Orochimaru-and himself-out of there safely.
And one day, a miracle happened.
Orochimaru woke up, sat up, and faced Kabuto.
"The window."
Kabuto shook his head. "It's locked."
Orochimaru handed him a coil of wire. "Itachi tried to strangle me and I snapped it."
Kabuto shook his head and kissed Orochimaru. "You are a miracle," he murmured, handing the sannin his clothes. "Get dressed and I'll pick this."
Orochimaru wordlessly dressed and walked over to Kabuto, face set in stone. "Go."
Kabuto straightened the wire and inserted it into the lock, using chakra to keep it straight and to find the trip.
"Got it. And Orochimaru-sama, how long have you had this?"
Orochimaru shrugged. "However long I was out."
Kabuto sighed and pushed open the window. He helped Orochimaru out first, and waited until the sannin was clinging firmly to the wall with chakra to let go and climb out himself. Orochimaru skittered down quickly, his chakra and body still weak, and Kabuto dropped down next to him.
The second Kabuto's feet touched the ground, he grabbed Orochimaru and took off into the trees behind the Akatsuki headquarters. The sannin did his best to keep up as Kabuto bolted, but he was quickly falling behind in his state. Kabuto wasted no time; his hands slid underneath Orochimaru's body and carefully lifted him up into his arms.
"Don't move; I might drop you."
Orochimaru nodded and lay quietly as Kabuto headed for Otoga.
OOOOOOOOO
At the gates, Kabuto set him down and exhaled. "Here we go."
Sakon and Tayuya were standing guard.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Tayuya cried, running up to Orochimaru and taking him into her arms. "What happened to you?"
"Leave him, Tayuya, he's been through a lot." Kabuto guided Orochimaru away from the two and into his complex. Tayuya watched them go, mouth agape.
"Was it just me," she said slowly. "Or was Orochimaru-sama actually being…submissive…?"
Sakon shook his head, rattling Ukon. "Watch it," his brother snapped.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Sakon. "And, yeah, Tayuya, he almost was…"
Tayuya shook herself and returned to guard.
OOOOOOOOO
Kimimaro saw them in the hallway.
"Kabuto-sensei!" he called, running up to them. "Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru nodded a greeting and Kabuto motioned for Kimimaro to follow them.
"Is he okay?" Kimimaro asked, noticing immediately how quiet Orochimaru was. Kabuto shifted uncomfortably.
"Later."
Kimimaro understood and fell silent. He followed Kabuto and Orochimaru back to Orochimaru's personal quarters, to Orochimaru's bedroom, and waited while Kabuto gently pushed Orochimaru down on the huge bed.
"Stay."
Orochimaru hissed a warning to Kabuto, but complied.
Kimimaro smiled and sat down next to Orochimaru. "What happened?" he asked quietly, taking the sannin into a gentle embrace and tenderly stroking his hair.
Orochimaru exhaled quietly and laid his head against Kimimaro's shoulder. "Itachi…Uchiha Itachi…you know him?"
Kimimaro nodded, and Orochimaru continued.
"He raped me once in Tsukiyomi, and another time in the real world. He beat me into submission and tied me to a cross and stabbed me for three days."
Kimimaro gasped at the list of tortures Orochimaru had endured. "Are you all right?" he cried, and held Orochimaru closer. Orochimaru didn't seem to mind; he didn't pull away, and he didn't hiss in warning or say anything to Kimimaro.
Kabuto came back, carrying a roll of bandages and a hypodermic needle. These he set on the table next to Orochimaru's bed, and he wordlessly exited the room again. Kimimaro shivered.
"He creeps me out. Remind me again why you keep him around?"
"Because he heals anything and he is a double agent with the Akatsuki. He was invaluable in the Konoha mission, and he is invaluable in almost anything I do. And he is the one who washed that disease out of your system."
"Oh, yeah…"
Orochimaru sighed and gently pushed Kimimaro away a few inches. Just at that moment, Kabuto walked back in, this time carrying a snake and a bowl of water, with several towels draped over his arm.
"Niagara was looking for you," he explained. Orochimaru held out a hand and allowed the snake to slither onto his arm. Hisses escaped his lips, and the snake curled possessively around his neck.
"Make her move," Kabuto ordered, and brushed the snake to the side. Niagara hissed angrily and sank her fangs into Kabuto's arm. Kabuto smacked the snake over its long, flat head and checked the wound.
"It's not poison, but if it was, this little snake right here would be in big trouble," he snapped, and began cleaning out Orochimaru's wounds.
"You really are your own person, aren't you?" he mused, wiping blood from underneath Orochimaru's eyes. "This shading…" He ran a single finger across Orochimaru's sinuses, tracing the purple markings. "It's totally unique. Just like your eyes. The vertical pupils are rare, but the color even more…" Kabuto's voice was spacey, but his hands were gentle and focused on Orochimaru's abused body. "Golden. And your chakra is purple, not blue like everyone else's."
Orochimaru shrugged. Kimimaro opened up his finger, a tiny bone sliding out. The bone bender took it and carefully pinned back Orochimaru's hair with it.
"So it's out of the way," he said quickly. "But it does look good."
Orochimaru sighed and Niagara slid around his waist, hissing and sounding frustrated. "Whatever you say. But I'll have you know that I am not pinning this back every time you want me to!"
Kimimaro smiled. "Then I'll do it for you."
Kabuto dropped the dirty towel on the floor, seemingly the start of a pile. "Here." He handed Kimimaro a damp cloth and said, "Clean him up."
Kimimaro picked up one of Orochimaru's wrists and began gently rubbing the dried blood off. Kimimaro felt a twitch of pain from Orochimaru and looked down.
"Oh, there's wound there isn't there? I'm sorry."
Orochimaru made a face, but kept quiet as Kabuto and Kimimaro continued wiping down his wounds. Niagara began licking Orochimaru's wounds, trying to comfort him.
"Orochimaru-sama, please hold still," Kabuto said, rubbing at a bit of dried blood on Orochimaru's chest. Kimimaro pulled another bone out of his fingertip and pinned back Orochimaru's hair on the other side, out of Kabuto's way.
"Thank you," Kabuto said, and reached for the bandages. Orochimaru watched as the boy unwound them, cut the edges, and began wrapping them over an abrasion on his left wrist.
"It's still sensitive," Kabuto explained, "So I need to keep it covered until it heals over."
Orochimaru nodded, and Kabuto continued. Green chakra covered his hands as he began healing the wounds he could, focusing first on the more severe ones. "You're going to be okay," he murmured. "But from now on, training will focus on breaking genjutsu and escape jutsus and maneuvers. You don't seem to have much experience in that field, and guess who does?"
Orochimaru sighed. "Very well. But what makes you think I can break Tsukiyomi?"
Kabuto shook his head. "We'll see what you can do first. Some people just can't do genjutsus, breaking or making."
Orochimaru sighed. "And who is the master of the Art of Paralysis?"
"So you can cast," Kabuto said with a shrug. "I suspect you can break, but I'm not sure to what level. I could probably find out now if you wanted me to."
Orochimaru looked at Kabuto, curious now. "How?"
"Just maintain eye contact for as long as you can."
Orochimaru stared at Kabuto, bright yellow eyes bearing down on soft gray. Kabuto was staring back, and seemed quite at ease. Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed, and Kabuto knew what he was doing.
"No cheating," he said. "I just need to see…" He let his sentence trail off, instead cupping Orochimaru's face in his hands. Orochimaru immediately yanked away, somehow never breaking his stare. A grin spread across Kabuto's face, and he let go.
"You have so much potential for breaking genjutsu. All you need is a bit of training, and I think you can break Tsukiyomi."
Orochimaru smiled and looked down. "You know what Tsukiyomi is, then?"
Kabuto grinned and reached behind his hip, drawing out a stack of orange cards. "You really want to see this?"
Orochimaru nodded, and Kabuto swept his hand over the stack, drawing out the desired card. A puff of chakra revealed the information, and a diagram exploded from the card.
Orochimaru leaned over for a better look. "It's…perfect…like you were there yourself…"
Kabuto's smile spread. "While I was sitting with you, I wasn't completely wasting my time. I was burning info into the cards. I was probing your mind, and I found this…" He pulled another card from the deck and set it down. Another puff of chakra ignited the information beneath the shield of Kabuto's chakra, and Orochimaru looked at the new card as Kabuto put the other away.
"A list of what Itachi has been known to do, and your own attempts to replicate and break the jutsu, as well as the anatomy of the Mangekyou."
"I have a full Sharingan anatomy if you would like-"
"Wait a minute!" Orochimaru cried. "Back up! You said you obtained this information by searching my mind?!"
Kabuto blushed and ducked his head, letting his bangs fall forward to hide his face.
"What did I tell you about that?" Orochimaru repeated, and Kabuto handed him a card.
"Please, Orochimaru-sama, forgive me. I needed the information you wielded, for many purposes. First, I needed to know what was really going on so I was sure to flat out lie to the Akatsuki. Also, I needed to wipe a few things from your memory, so if they used the same jutsu I did you wouldn't have any of the information. I burned it all into this card, and I left it…um, let's just say somewhere unpleasant, and I…I disinfected it before it got here."
Orochimaru sighed. "How do you get it back into my memory?"
"Simple. I put you to sleep and transfer the information. Now that you will be able to properly defend yourself, it's safe for you to get everything back. Tell me if you are missing anything, and I'll try to help you. As long as the information is there, though, you have to remember on your own."
Orochimaru nodded. "Do it, then."
Kabuto's hands glowed with healing chakra, and he touched Orochimaru's temples. The sannin felt the world fade, and then Kabuto faded from his view.
A/N: I had to stop it here, otherwise it would have been a little long…but whatever. Review please! And fudge brownies for whoever does!