Sora brought Orochimaru as close to his room as she could. Orochimaru thanked her and began walked through the hallways to his room. It didn't take long; Sora knew Orochimaru's lair inside and out, and she knew exactly where she could get him and where she could get herself.
Orochimaru pushed open his door and went immediately to his bedroom. Kabuto had passed out in his arms on the way there, so he simply laid Kabuto on his bed and began hunting in his bathroom for some bandages and ointment. Apparently, Kabuto had run out of chakra to heal himself with, so he had just given in and fallen asleep in Orochimaru's arms.
You really love that kid…don't you, Orochimaru?
Orochimaru straightened, a roll of bandages in his hand. A tiny, red snake sat atop the counter, black-tipped tail coiled inside her sinewy body. Orochimaru nodded and bent down again, emerging a second later with a small jar of ointment. The snake retracted its body, than snapped forward again, jumping onto Orochimaru's arm.
Orochimaru…what would you do without that boy?
Orochimaru shrugged. "I probably wouldn't be able to get along…"
How true…Orochimaru sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Kabuto's shirt off, revealing harsh wounds still only half-healed. He turned Kabuto fully onto his stomach and began smearing ointment across the wounds. The snake slithered off Orochimaru's arm onto Kabuto's neck and began carefully nudging the boy's hair off to the side.
"Thank you."
The snake nodded, and curled up under Kabuto's ponytail. It's soft.
Orochimaru smiled and set the ointment aside, reaching next for the bandages. He carefully wrapped them around Kabuto's torso, taking care to cover each and every wound. The snake suddenly awoke and shot out from under Kabuto's hair. Orochimaru looked at it in curiosity. "What?"
He's waking.
Orochimaru finished wrapping Kabuto's wounds and carefully laid him back against the pillows and sat back, waiting for Kabuto to make it to full consciousness. It didn't take long; Kabuto was apparently only dozing.
"O-Orochimaru…sama…?"
"Kabuto."
Kabuto sat up slowly, minding his wounds. "I know I sound really stupid right now, but where am I?"
"In my bed."
Kabuto sighed and fell back. "So that's why there were so many pillows."
"Hey-I like a lot of places to put myself," Orochimaru said menacingly, and Kabuto couldn't help but smile.
"Orochimaru-sama, thank you."
Orochimaru shook his head. "We've been down this road many times before, Kabuto: I owe you far more than you could ever owe me."
Kabuto shrugged. "I can still thank you."
"Well, then what do you want me to say?"
Kabuto shrugged and turned onto his side. "I don't really care…just thank you…"
Orochimaru nodded wordlessly and sighed at a knock on the door. "I'm coming!" He turned to Kabuto, gave him a look of apology, and went to the door.
"What-? Oh, Kimimaro."
"Is Kabuto alright?"
Orochimaru nodded. "You want to see him?"
Kimimaro nodded and darted past Orochimaru, rushing up to Kabuto and pulling him into his arms.
"For Orochimaru-sama's top medic, you sure get yourself into a lot of trouble that could be easily avoided."
"Shut up. It's bad enough to know that, it's even worse when you tell me."
"What are friends for?"
"Getting me a glass of water, please."
Kimimaro set Kabuto down again on his side and went into the kitchen, looking for a glass.
"Top cabinet on the right, Kimi," Orochimaru called. "And you left the door open."
Kimimaro ignored the last part, simply getting the glass and filling it with water. He walked back to Kabuto and handed him the glass. Kabuto drank it quickly, and Orochimaru sat down next to him.
"Are you okay?"
"Define 'okay' and I'll answer."
Orochimaru smiled and pulled Kabuto upright against his chest. "Will you make a full recovery at some point?"
Kabuto nodded, curling up in the curve of Orochimaru's body. Kimimaro felt s light twinge of jealously pull at his heart; he was slightly jealous of Kabuto's ability to completely capture Orochimaru like that. He had used to be ale to do that; but now that he couldn't be used, Orochimaru paid him no mind. Kabuto, though, seemed to genuinely care about Kimimaro's well being, and Kimimaro was grateful, although it made him feel torn between two lovers: Orochimaru, or Kabuto.
But he might choose Kabuto, if only because he was the only one who cared.
"Um…I'm going to eat…" Kimimaro said slowly. "I'll…see you later…"
Kabuto nodded. "Okay…see you…"
Kimimaro slipped out of the room, and Kabuto couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Maybe Kimimaro felt left out…
"He'll be fine," Orochimaru said, holding Kabuto to his chest. "But really, we need to move bases…the Akatsuki may strike again at any time, but I think they will attack with a bit less haste this time, as now they know of my ring's powers and the powers it holds."
"Hmmmmm…"
Kabuto knew Orochimaru was right. The Akatsuki would certainly try again, but probably not for a while. They would need a way to get around Orochimaru's ring, and then the sannin himself would be left for them to deal with. And by that time, he would probably be very angry…
"Get some rest," Orochimaru advised, slowly sliding out from underneath Kabuto. "And when you feel well enough to, you can start packing up. In the meantime…" Orochimaru stood up and stretched. Kabuto vaguely thought Orochimaru should come with warnings. "I am going to start cracking the whip and make everyone else pack up, so you don't have to. They're probably more afraid of you, but they'll soon return to shitting themselves whenever I walk into a room." Orochimaru's arms dropped back to his sides, and he walked to the door. "It's good to be back…"
Kabuto smiled and turned over again. Nice to have you back…
OOOOOOOOO
Kabuto awoke a few hours later to the rising sun. Wow, I didn't realize we even got back that late…
He swung his feet over the side of Orochimaru's bed and slowly stretched, still watching his wounds. He found his shirt, pulled it over his head, and wound his sash around his waist. Sighing, he pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, took a quick glance at himself in the mirror, and walked to the door. He slipped out silently and went down the stairs to his lab, occasionally taking a different turn or two to ensure he wasn't being followed. He would duck into doorways and use genjutsu to check for trailers, and then he would dart away, using the shadows as cover. Finally, he made it downstairs, and he lit a candle at the first of many doorways and tunnels.
Kabuto had two different labs; the one he could most often be found in, his "public" lab, if you will. And then his other lab; the lab he used for things Orochimaru-sama might not approve of…like the experiments he was doing on the sannin's original hand. The DNA structure of Orochimaru's true blood was amazing to Kabuto…and all he needed to do was swipe a cotton swab across the dead, decaying skin, and all of a sudden he could do…just about anything, whether it be to Orochimaru, or simply using his genetics for a test of some sort. And he found that many antidotes for various poisons could be made especially for Orochimaru, since Kabuto possessed his original blood.
It may also be the sannin's only true weakness.
And speaking of weaknesses, Kabuto had to start working with Orochimaru in breaking genjutsus…if the Akatsuki were striking again, they would almost certainly utilize Itachi's Mangekyou to the fullest, and Kabuto knew he had to be able to teach Orochimaru to get out of it before the time came for him to use his skills against Itachi. Kabuto shielded the candle as he walked, deep in thought. If he could teach Orochimaru to break genjutsu, it would help them a lot, in many different aspects. Kabuto shoved a door open and flicked a light switch, blowing out the candle shortly after that. His lab was brought into full light, and he immediately went to check on the hand.
A hand on his shoulder startled him beyond belief.
Kabuto whipped around, but somehow the intruder stayed behind him at all times. "Shhhhhh, Kabuto," the person hissed. Kabuto immediately began utilizing his hearing skills to determine the person's identity: female, of course, about as tall as he was…from the depth and resonance, in very good shape; muscular, but not masculine at all. Tsunade, perhaps?
"You don't need to know who I am," the person continued, "Only what I bring."
She closed his hand over a small bag, and Kabuto tried to glance down at her hands. Damn; she was wearing gloves. A hand on his ponytail gently directed his head upwards again.
"I told you before, you don't need to know who I am. But utilize this well against Itachi."
There was the slightest breath of wind, and suddenly the presence behind him vanished in a flash. Kabuto gasped and whipped around, but the woman had completely disappeared. That takes Kage level power…so it probably was Tsunade…
Kabuto glanced down at the bag in his hands and thought over what the woman had told him. Against Itachi…yes, it all made sense. Wanting the Akatsuki out of the way, the information Kabuto had gotten from her voice, and the bag that seemed to be something medical…yes, the chances were very high that it was Tsunade. Kabuto checked the bag for traps and used his chakra to check the contents inside. It was a waterproof bag, signifying that it held liquid. Poison, perhaps? Kabuto wouldn't put it past Tsunade to give him poison as a gift…
Kabuto slowly opened the bag, taking a peek inside. It was just clear, colorless, tasteless, odorless liquid…Kabuto groaned. Of course it was poison! The sannin was renowned for making some of the best poisons in the world…a medical specialist, duh. Kabuto closed the bag again and labeled it "poison from Tsunade (?)" and dropped it onto a drawer in one counter. Sighing, he pulled out a hypodermic needle and a sample of Orochimaru's original blood. He set both down on a table and found a small test tube, adequate for a tiny amount of the poison. Time for a few tests on the poison itself…Kabuto dropped the sample of Orochimaru's blood into the test tube and poured a single drop in as well.
The blood hissed, steamed, and dissolved immediately.
Kabuto grinned and began hunting for a few needles. Oh, the damage this could do if he could land a few on Itachi! Or anyone for that matter…
Note to self: than Tsunade extensively for the poison.
OOOOOOOOO
Orochimaru watched as thousands of shinobi worked at packing up the lair. It really was a lot of work, and Orochimaru knew this. But he also wanted the lair moved by the end of the week; five days should be enough for his shinobi. If not…oh well, they would live. Hopefully…it only made him appreciate even more the work Kabuto did for him, and how much easier he made Orochimaru's life.
A kuniochi stepped up to Orochimaru, dragging the sannin's attention back to the present.
"Yes, what is it, Karin?"
"Sasuke-kun needs you," she said. "He says it's very important and he needs you immediately…"
Orochimaru snorted. "Sasuke-kun's idea of 'important' and the world's idea of 'important' are two completely different 'important's."
Karin smiled. "Yea, but I think this concerns Kabuto."
"What about him?" Orochimaru asked casually.
"He's…kind of…missing…"
"What?"
Orochimaru glared firmly at Karin, to which the kuniochi gave no reaction other than a flippant, "What?"
Orochimaru sighed. "No wonder you and Kabuto get along so well," he muttered. "You both show me the exact same level of disrespect, but I get so much of I stop caring after a while."
Karin smirked. "Well, that's what they say. But I still think I'm worse than Kabuto-"
"You probably are, but where's Sasuke?"
Karin started walking quickly, and Orochimaru tailed her all the way to Kabuto's room. Sasuke was standing in the middle of the room, trying to move a bookcase.
"It's just awkward," he said with a grunt, and gave one last shove. The bookcase slid to the side, revealing a small doorway. Sasuke grinned and opened it, extending his arms to Orochimaru and Karin.
"After you."
Orochimaru held the candle Sasuke handed him ahead of them as the three descended into the caverns that Orochimaru didn't even know were there. Either Kabuto took the years and years to carve this, or it was already there and Kabuto had simply never seen it. More likely the latter, but then again, Kabuto was very good at cleaning up and covering his tracks…
The tunnels wound back and forth, and more than once Orochimaru took a wrong turn. He was beginning to sweat by the time he reached one last doorway and shoved it open. A flurry of shuriken flew at his face, and he swiftly deflected them all. Typical of Kabuto; he grinned. "Now I know we're here."
He went ahead, disabling all the traps. There was one last door; with a grunt of effort and annoyance, Orochimaru shoved it open and immediately stumbled upon-
-a very surprised Kabuto.
A/N: Summer is almost here! Just a little longer!!