Manda sighed. "Are you with these retards?"
"Kind of. Just get your snack?"
Manda snorted in warning, but slithered forward. "What do you whack jobs want? Orochimaru and I, especially me, have stuff to do. Don't waste our time."
Itachi glanced at the Akatsuki members around him. "Kisame, the snake. Deidara and Sasori, the others. Hidan, Kabuto. Zetsu, guard the door. I don't need interruptions."
The men did as Itachi instructed, and Kakuza was left with Itachi. "What do I do?"
"Back me up. He's going to be difficult about it this time around, but I'm getting that freaking ring."
Kakuza waited for Itachi's move, but Itachi didn't move at all. Kakuza settled into position slightly behind Itachi and waited.
"Three…two…one…"
Kabuto moved just as Itachi finished counting, and the missing-nin smirked. "One!" Itachi slammed his fist into Kabuto's gut, waiting for the poof of smoke he was sure would follow. It came, and Itachi looked up from the empty scroll Kabuto had substituted with. "Two!" He hurled two kunai at the Kabuto above him, and it disappeared again. A clone this time…he was smart. But Itachi was smarter.
Hidan came out of nowhere, sword cocked and ready to be heaved at Kabuto. Kabuto came up through the floor behind Itachi, reaching for his ankles. Itachi whipped around, but made one crucial mistake: he kept his feet firmly on the ground, thinking Kabuto was trying to pull them out from underneath him. Instead, Kabuto's hands were blue with chakra as they fastened over his ankles, severing bone and tendon. Itachi heard a startled, humiliating squeak escape his lips as he sank to the floor, unable to stand. Hidan barely drew back; Kabuto had swung again, this time aiming for Hidan.
"Bastard!" Itachi began to swear, trying to use chakra to support his weight.
"Cut with chakra," Kabuto reminded him, coming up again, fully this time, to stand in front of Itachi. "Well, well, what have we here? A weasel in the trap? Oh, and by the way: while I was slicing up those ankles of yours, I also screwed up your chakra-all the way up to about your second layer of stomach muscles. You may have trouble molding chakra. I've seen you do it: you form your chakra low, where it is more difficult to strike behind your hands. Clever, but not if your enemy can get at you from somewhere else. And you're so used to being tripped that you forgot about medical ninjutsu. Well, better luck next time." Kabuto walked away, chakra scalpel still blazing, heading for Kakuza. Several snakes had anchored him to the floor, and Kabuto quickly cut his ankles as well.
"Stay put," he spat, "Or I cut your heart muscles, too."
Kakuza's mouth was soon so foul as to rival Tayuya, and Kabuto sighed.
"Kids these days."
A shout from Orochimaru brought Kabuto's attention back to his master.
"Kabuto, get your sorry ass over here! This is painful!!"
Kabuto looked up. Kisame had driven Manda into the wall, and Orochimaru was pinned from the waist down. He was trying to use chakra to free himself, but apparently Samehada absorbed chakra too…
"I'm coming, try to calm down! Stress-"
"I don't care what it does to the body!" Orochimaru snapped. "I just care that this hurts! And Manda is not letting go!"
Manda snorted. "I'm not running into that sword again! Forget it Orochimaru, even the Akatsuki aren't worth this much. I'm going."
Manda disappeared in a cloud of smoke, letting Orochimaru fall from his grip to the hard floor. Orochimaru hit the ground and the breath was immediately forced from his lungs. Orochimaru lay there, trying to draw a breath, and he felt the vibrations in the floor as Kisame charged, Samehada fully prepared to cut him in half. Orochimaru struggled to move-was this the way he was to die? Helpless on the floor, deprived of breath-?
"Get out of the way, runt!"
"I won't let you-!"
Orochimaru could suddenly draw a breath, and he inhaled deeply and swiftly, coughing and choking. He tried to move, and rolled out of the way of the fight. There was a scream, and the dull thud of Samehada striking a body. The sound of a blade sinking into flesh reverberated throughout his mind: what had he done? Kabuto…
A scroll fell to the ground. Two hands were on his hips, pulling him up against a firm chest and jumped back, using chakra to cling to the wall.
"Are you hurt? Orochimaru-sama, talk to me! Come on, are you okay?"
"N-No…Kabuto…why did you-?"
"Down!"
Kabuto pushed him down to the floor, falling on top of him and creating a shield using his own body. Orochimaru closed his eyes as he hit the floor; whatever was going to fall on him, he was not looking forward to.
Impact…
No pain…
Orochimaru felt crushed under an oppressive weight and looked up. Kabuto was laying across him, trying to support his own weight above Orochimaru to avoid smothering him. Orochimaru looked past Kabuto to…whatever was on top of him.
"Kabuto…" Orochimaru grunted as he tried to move. "What happened?"
"I collapsed the ceiling," Kabuto panted. "I need you to sink us into the floor and get to…anywhere else…"
Orochimaru nodded and reached up, wrapping his arms around Kabuto and using his chakra to sink down into the ground. He felt Kabuto's muscles gradually relax, and he came up in Kikyou's room.
"Hello."
Kikyou was sitting on the couch, one eyebrow raised, her lips twisted into a bemused smile. She was reading a book, but now she set it aside and stood up. Kabuto sat up, still centered on Orochimaru's hips. The sannin whined in discomfort, and Kabuto leaned forward, taking a bit of the pressure off.
"I'm almost afraid to move."
"Do it anyway."
Kabuto slowly crawled off Orochimaru and helped him stand. Kikyou came over to them and glanced back and forth at the two.
"So…someone want to tell me what's going on?"
A cat jumped up onto her shoulder, three tails waving. The cat's eyes were azure blue, the kind of blue that made you feel like ice had just taken over the world and held your gaze captive until they and they alone decided to release you. The cat was snowy white, its three tails tipped with blue. Blue highlights ran through its fur, but only a powdery white, the kind that sparkled when it hit the light. The cat's paws were the same blue as its tails, and there were blue streaks over the cat's eyes and on the tips of its ears. Orochimaru held out his hand and allowed the cat to sniff his hand, and the cat began to purr.
"What's her name?"
"Mizu."
"Water…"
Orochimaru scratched the cat's head, smiling when she purred again and licked his hand. "You're cute, you know that?"
Don't get me mad; I'll really get nasty.Orochimaru smiled. "I'll take your word for it."
"She said her name was Mizu?" Kabuto asked. Orochimaru nodded. "She's a demon; a water demon. Whenever she fights, water surrounds her in a hurricane and she grows to tiger size. Her blue markings turn into blue flames; water chakra. She becomes one of the more powerful of the demons, but she is not as powerful as a Tailed, like the Kyuubi and the Ichibi." Kabuto placed his hand under the cat's jaw and gently lifted her lips. "She has poisoned fangs, but the poison only comes out when she wants it to. The poison itself, combined with…um, a few other things from her…is the antidote to it. So…don't let her bite you, because I will not be able to get a hold of the antidote easily. I might be able to sustain you for…a day, maybe two if a couple others chip in."
Orochimaru's eyes widened. "That's not powerful?!"
"No, the poison is just highly evolved."
Orochimaru sighed. "And you're over here sticking your fingers in her mouth?!"
Listen to the snake, Mizu said dryly. Despite his disgusting appearance, he actually has some babble worth listening to regarding me.
"Thanks," Orochimaru snorted. Kabuto released the cat's mouth, and she immediately began to groom herself.
Oh, don't mention it. My, I haven't had a bath in so long…my fur is losing color!Kabuto couldn't help but snort. And I thought Orochimaru-sama was a bit of a diva.
The cat looked up from her grooming and stared at Kabuto with a calm, collected gaze. Something funny?
Kabuto smiled and shook his head. "No, no-but you do outclass even Orochimaru-sama when it comes to being-"
"Don't even say it," Orochimaru snapped, covering Kabuto's mouth. He sighed. "Kids these days-eeeeeeeew!!"
"It's saliva, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, pushing down laughter. "It's not going to kill you; you won't get STD's; you won't explode-"
"It's still disgusting! Ugh, and you think the cat is losing color, ugh!"
Kabuto smiled. "Don't touch my mouth."
"Message received."
Kikyou sighed. "Yeah, yeah. So what gives?"
"Akatsuki," Kabuto muttered.
"They're either really stupid or really smart."
"That's exactly what I said!"
Orochimaru exhaled. "Okay, two and a half minutes before they get here…how do I get out?" He began pacing, trying to think of a way out. "Oh, man, what now?" He froze in the middle of the floor. "The plant guy…"
"That's right."
Zetsu appeared out of the floor, much the same way Orochimaru had. "Yes, Itachi was very happy to figure out that I could track…and now you're going to hand over that gorgeous little ring right there," he hissed, pointing to the ring on Orochimaru's last finger. Orochimaru's hands curled into fists at his side, and a snarl could be heard forming in his throat.
"Come and get it."
Kabuto glanced at Zetsu. Something wasn't right about him…something was definitely not right…Kabuto focused his chakra to his eyes and commanded, "Kai!" A rush of chakra slid past him, and suddenly he was staring at-
"Itachi!"
The figure grinned and slowly turned to Kabuto, the genjutsu slowly washing away. "Very good, little rat," he hissed. "But I'm afraid just knowing it's me won't deter me for very long. You see, I have a score to settle and more jutsu to copy from Orochimaru, so if you will, leave us alone to fight?"
Kabuto grit his teeth. No way…no way in hell was he leaving Orochimaru-sama!
"Absolutely not, you pig!"
"Kabuto, be careful," Orochimaru said quietly. "He's…wait a second…I thought you cut his ankles-!"
"He did," Itachi said smugly. "But he's not the only one who knows medical ninjutsu. I copied it from a Grass ninja I was sent to assassinate in the field. I healed myself, copied the jutsu from Orochimaru, and came around here. Oh, and what's this? A demon kitty-cat-so cute!"
Mizu hissed a warning. Don't get me mad, punk-I might just let you have a piece of this!
"Can I have the demon part?" Itachi asked sweetly, teasing the cat. "Come on, I don't want to get in a fight with a cat-I love animals."
"Which would explain why you 'love' Orochimaru," Kikyou said dryly. "From what I hear, we have ourselves a case of classic rape."
Itachi shrugged. "When you're a ninja, you can't care about that. Do whatever it takes to break your opponent. And if it weren't for that meddling kid over there I would have myself a love slave."
Kabuto's lips lifted in a feral snarl, and Orochimaru saw how bloodshot his eyes looked. "Kabuto, no! We don't even know-!"
"I do," Kabuto spat. "I know everything about this bloodline, and there is no way I'm hesitating now. Mizu, can I get some help?"
The cat jumped down from Kikyou's arms and began circling around Kabuto's ankles, building up chakra. She circled larger and larger every time, and her markings became blue flames. Kabuto noticed her size increasing, and her fangs grew down to a slightly larger size. Her back was going to touch the ceiling if she grew any more-!
"I thought you said she only grew to the size of a tiger!" Orochimaru exclaimed. Kikyou shrugged.
"Usually, but now she looks like she knows what she's doing…maybe a Singapore showed up someplace…"
"Whatever. Just…what does that mean?"
"The Singapores were Mizu's original 'people', so to speak, and she loves them and has formed a bond with them. When any Singapore is with Mizu, they are able to unlock a part of their bloodline that they normally would not be able to even get near."
Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Kabuto's real clan is the Singapores…"
Kikyou exhaled. "Then get ready for a show."
A/N: Who thinks the kitty is cute?? Well, if you can draw a super-cute picture of her, you win a free dedication one-shot! Just send me a PM with the link and I'll check it out. The winner will be announced in one month, on July 19. So bust out your pencils, and good luck to everyone!!