Kenshin sighed, standing up straight. "I can't do anything," he finally said. "Anything that I might need to look at or heal, he probably won't let me touch. I can heal the wounds from where Itachi beat him, but I'm not sure if he'll be comfortable being touched around an area where he was beaten so savagely…"

Kabuto shook his head. "He'll let me," he assured Kenshin, shifting so he was more facing Orochimaru. "Calm down," he whispered, reaching up and gently stroking Orochimaru's hair. Orochimaru hardly had any reaction; he allowed Kabuto to touch him, but he clearly wasn't comfortable with it. Kabuto gently worked his hands over Orochimaru's face, healing the bruises as fast as he could. He knew Orochimaru was in pain, and wanted to ease that, but he found that sudden movements would cause Orochimaru to start and jerk away from him. Then, Kabuto would have to start all over again, trying to get Orochimaru used to his touch again. Kenshin stood on the other side of the room, watching in amazement as Kabuto seemed to work his magic over Orochimaru. He would never understand…what ever went on between those two?

"He's all healed."

Kenshin shook his head. "I'm going to take it you didn't get between his legs-?"

"No!"

Kenshin shrugged. "I wasn't watching half the time, you know…"

Kabuto sighed. "If he wasn't so traumatized, we might have appreciated that more," he said dryly. Kabuto turned back to Orochimaru, offering a hand. Orochimaru slid his hand into Kabuto's, slowly standing up with Kabuto's help-and a wince of pain. Kabuto inwardly flinched, knowing how much pain Orochimaru must be in. Itachi wasn't a gentle lover, Kabuto knew that much. He would have to work with Orochimaru to get over his new-found fear of being touched anywhere remotely close to his hips. Kabuto had seen it developing, but hadn't known the cause until now. He hadn't even tried to touch Orochimaru below his stomach, knowing that Orochimaru wouldn't allow it. But sooner or later, they would have to work past the fears Orochimaru was developing.

"So, what are we going to do? That couldn't have been it. Itachi's gonna come back."

Kabuto exhaled through flared nostrils, thinking for a moment. It was true; Itachi was definitely going to be back, and soon. He wasn't done with Orochimaru, that much was certain. Kabuto didn't want Orochimaru hurt ever again the way he was, let alone so soon. Orochimaru couldn't handle the trauma. "We'll have to keep him close," Kabuto finally said. "If there are a lot of people around, Itachi should be deterred. We could at least fight him off. What I'm worried about, though, is Itachi getting mad and going on a rampage. He could destroy an entire village single-handedly. I don't want us to lose so many lives over this. I can sacrifice a few, but honestly, this is ridiculous!"

Kenshin nodded. "We could have the Sounds establish a barrier around him right before he goes to sleep. Itachi can't get through a pre-established barrier, can he?"

Kabuto sighed. "I don't think so, but it would have to cover even the floor and the ceiling," he said. "As long as it's a strong barrier, not even a mental jutsu should be able to get through. The Sounds are perfectly capable of putting up such a barrier-and, just in case, they can put up an inner barrier, as well. And we'll have guards on the inside, as well-I'll stay with Orochimaru-sama, and Kimimaro can, too. A few people he trusts. And then have a load of people on the outside. That should be enough to keep even Itachi out."

Kenshin nodded slowly. "That should work," he said. "Well, we'll have to do it every night…until Itachi is dead."

Kabuto gave another sigh, this time, of defeat. "That could take a while," he murmured. "Can Orochimaru-sama hold out that long? Doubtless, the stress of this entire affair is going to drive us all up the wall, but Orochimaru-sama is pretty much already on the ceiling…"

"I'm right next to you," Orochimaru said dryly. "And if you're lucky, you won't be stuck to the ceiling by the time I'm done with you." But, even as Orochimaru uttered the words, he knew he didn't mean them. His eyes couldn't meet Kabuto's; his head was down; his hands were together in front of him, fingers interlaced and palms up. Kabuto could tell that Orochimaru was trying to muster the courage to act like himself, but was failing with his recent trauma. Kabuto set a hand on his shoulder, gently turning Orochimaru to face him.

"Don't worry about it," he said softly. "I swear, I'll protect you…whatever happens, I won't let that happen to you again. You did so well fighting him off the first time-I can help you, so it happens again and again, and he can never catch you. And then, we get him out of the way for good. Orochimaru-sama, you don't deserve this. You shouldn't have to live in fear."

Orochimaru sighed. "Look, can we just…worry about this later? I want to get something to eat…"

"Stop dodging it," Kenshin interjected smoothly. "You can't run from this, Orochimaru. Or, even if you can, you can't run for a long time. Just work with us, here. Deal with the problem. This kid wants to help you; let him. Don't treat us like we know nothing."

Orochimaru's mouth opened, as if he was fully prepared to sit nails back at Kenshin, but after a moment of silence, Orochimaru's mouth snapped shut again. He lifted his head, tossing his hair arrogantly, and stalked past Kenshin with his nose in the air. Kabuto watched him go, one eyebrow raised and his arms folded across his chest. He turned his gaze to Kenshin, about to ask a question, when the door abruptly slammed. Kabuto flinched as the sound of shattering glass filled the room, clenching his eyes shut and tipping his had down towards his shoulder. Kenshin sighed. "He's always been like this," he said dejectedly, "with hating to be wrong, and such. He thinks he's got the last word. I'm not sure if he's irritated, angry, messed up, or just got rubbed the wrong way."

"He's probably on the roof," Kabuto suggested. "That's where he goes when he wants to be alone. Or when he wants to brood, or to think."

Kenshin smiled. "You really do know him, huh?" he said with a grin. "Our dear Orochimaru is truly a hard one to figure out. You seem to have him all sorted out."

Kabuto offered Kenshin a small smile, glancing around for the source of the shattered glass. Ah, there it was: an entire shelf had fallen in the shaking of the walls, spilling empty glass containers onto the floor. "Well, it's certainly difficult to place his mood," he offered. "He has a tendency to bottle everything up, and then explode later, often for apparently no reason. There may or may not be a trigger. Orochimaru-sama hates failure more than anything else, closely followed by being wrong. He loves the scent of lavender, and burns it to get to sleep. Something no one knows: he hates water. His main chakra affinity is earth."

Kenshin smiled. "His second chakra affinity is fire, and then air, and then water. Yes, as you said, he hates it."

Kabuto smiled in return. "Well, I better go calm him down before he starts taking advantage of being left alone for a time."

Kenshin nodded, waving a hand at Kabuto. "Go," he said, "by all means. Our drama queen won't take well to being left alone, as you said. Bring him some food, too. He'll sweeten up a little."

"Thanks," Kabuto said dryly. "But I doubt it. We don't have any taiyaki on hand."

Kenshin gave Kabuto a smile-one that clearly said that he knew something Kabuto didn't, and he wasn't planning on sharing his wisdom. "I wouldn't be so sure," he said slowly, and then he, too exited the room.

Kabuto was confused, but headed for the kitchen anyway.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

He found Orochimaru leaning on the counter in the kitchen, munching on cookies.

He announced himself with an exasperated sigh, drawing a sharp glance from Orochimaru. But then, he suddenly seemed to see who was standing next to him, and muttered through a mouthful of cookie: "Don't tell Jiroubou."

Kabuto laughed, walking over to Orochimaru and grabbing the package of cookies that Orochimaru was currently eating from. "Chocolate chip? That might just make him cry," Kabuto remarked, replacing the package before Orochimaru had a chance to wrestle him for it. "Anyway, I'm going to take it this is comfort food."

Orochimaru nodded, shoving another cookie into his mouth. He said nothing, so Kabuto continued. "Look, I understand you're traumatized. And I can't even begin to fathom what you're going through right now. But you can't just…shut us out." Kabuto fumbled with his words, trying to find the right way to express himself. He needed Orochimaru to see that he wanted to help, but didn't want to crowd him. "You need to let us help, and try to talk to us. Don't keep all your emotions bottled up inside…you don't need to keep it all to yourself, you know. It's really not good for you."

Orochimaru shrugged. "Jumping off a building isn't good for me, either. And yet, I do it on a daily basis."

"Speaking of things bad for you," Kabuto said dryly, reaching over and stealing the box of cookies. Orochimaru let out a whine of complaint, but managed to steal one last cookie before Kabuto gave him a scolding glare slightly reminiscent to a slap on the wrist and stowed the cookies in the pantry. "How may have you had?"

"Almost half the box."

Kabuto sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't eat any more," he scolded gently. Orochimaru rolled his eyes, muttering something unintelligible and undoubtedly murderous that Kabuto couldn't hear, nor wished to hear. "Hey, I don't want to be the victim of the training session that works that off," Kabuto said defensively. "Take it out on someone who you can afford to lose."

This brought the smallest of smiles to Orochimaru's face, and he ducked his head, letting his hair cover his emotion. Kabuto felt a smile tug at the corners of his own lips, and crossed the room, back to Orochimaru. He gently lifted the sannin's hair, tucking it behind his ear and bending over a bit to put himself on eye level with Orochimaru.

"Much better."

A small, peach flush rose to Orochimaru's cheeks, which Kabuto thought was adorable. Orochimaru didn't blush pink-his skin was so white to begin with, he blushed peach. Kabuto had caught him one time with his entire face so flushed it almost looked normal. Granted, Orochimaru had been in intense agony and stress of body…his arms were kind of decaying on his body…Kabuto shook it off, gently pushing back a bit more of Orochimaru's hair. "Come on, such a pretty face, hidden behind all this mess?" he teased, giving Orochimaru a gentle smile. "Don't be so ashamed of yourself. You're not a wallflower-that's just not you. Don't act like one." Kabuto placed a gentle kiss on the side of Orochimaru's face, and then released the hair he was holding back. "Come find me when you're ready to talk. I'm always open." Kabuto decided to leave then; crowding Orochimaru or pushing him was always a bad thing. He quietly exited the kitchen, leaving Orochimaru to his own devices. If he was lucky, Orochimaru would come around quickly enough to call him back, or at least come after him. Kabuto knew, though, that Orochimaru needed to come to him at his own pace. Rushing things never went well around one very temperamental sannin.

"Kabuto!"

Kabuto paused, halfway down the hallway going away from the kitchen. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" he asked, turning slightly back to Orochimaru. Orochimaru jogged up to him, stopping a few feet away and approaching Kabuto much more slowly.

"Look, Kabuto, about last night, I'm sorry…I just..."

Kabuto waited, but Orochimaru couldn't seem to find his voice again. After Orochimaru had allowed his voice to trail off, he couldn't even seem to muster the strength to try again. Kabuto gave him a minute, but then decided to step in. "It's alright," he whispered. "What, about telling me not to talk to you again? It's alright. I know, I know…you were under a lot of pressure, and you were stressed, and so on and so forth. You don't have to make excuses."

Orochimaru was still silent. It seemed he had nothing left to say. Kabuto stepped closer to him, lifting his face with a hand under Orochimaru's chin. "Don't worry about it." He leaned in, hand sliding around the back of Orochimaru's head, and softly pressed his lips to Orochimaru's. At first, the snake seemed startled at kabuto's actions, but he made no attempt to pull away. He finally relaxed, seeming to melt into Kabuto's arms and the genin worked his magic over him. Kabuto moved even closer, sliding his other arm around Orochimaru's waist to hold him close. Orochimaru still didn't seem to mind, so Kabuto pressed on, giving a deeper, fuller kiss, teasing at Orochimaru's lips with his tongue. Orochimaru returned the kiss, and Kabuto could feel Orochimaru wrapping his arms around his neck. The sannin's mouth opened underneath his, and Kabuto found himself unable to resist. Those hot, full lips, practically begging him for-

"No."

Orochimaru broke away, hands trailing down to rest on Kabuto's shoulders. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "but I shouldn't have done that."

Kabuto shook his head, letting his hands fall to Orochimaru's slender sides. "It was my fault," he apologized. "I'm sorry." His hands came off Orochimaru's sides, and Orochimaru's arms dropped back to himself. The two exchanged another brief apology, and then each headed in the opposite direction. Still, Kabuto couldn't shake the memory of that kiss-that one, bitter-sweet, beautiful kiss, the one that sent shivers down his spine and at the same time, set his body on fire…never before had he dared to touch such a beautiful creature, never before had he even thought about wanting such a creature…! And yet, here he was, almost begging for him to hold him in his arms, to comfort him, to be there for him, hell, maybe even be a lover to him-!

"Always knew you were a snake charmer."

Kabuto gave a cry of surprise as Kenshin seemed to appear from nowhere-the fact was, Kabuto had just turned a corner. He let go of a deep breath, laughing slightly at the same time, and pressed one hand to the wall. "Scared me," he said lightly. "So, you were saying…?"

"Snake charmer." Kenshin jerked his head in the general direction Orochimaru had taken off in. "He's so gorgeous, untamable-and you just slipped the bridle right over his head. Whether he realizes it or not." Kenshin threw Kabuto a wink and breezed past, hiking his pants up with a groan as he did so. Kabuto made a face resembling disgust, shook his head, and walked away. But still, Kenshin's words lingered in his mind:

Damn, he had seen that?!

OOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru slipped effortlessly through the hallways, using the stone as a method of transportation. He had sunk down into the stone, and then began racing through the complex as fast as he could. Occasionally, Orochimaru would jump out of the walls to see where he was. But, for the most part, he fully intended to continue in the walls for as long as he could. He didn't want any human contact for at least the rest of the day, and so, he was on his way to the roof. He could always be alone up there, and the walls were always the fastest way to get there. Orochimaru burst free from the stone with a spectacular explosion of streaking colors, all created from his body launching upwards and spiraling back down. Orochimaru landed cat-footed on the roof, and checked to make sure he hadn't left a hole where he had erupted from the tiled roof. Nothing. Orochimaru gave a small huff of relief and turned around, heading for the east end of the roof.

A silver-haired figure stood, back turned to him, where Orochimaru usually sat.

Orochimaru recognized the short, red-beaded hair, the purple kimono, and the pale skin as Kimimaro's. He approached the teen, announcing his presence with footsteps that were audible-for a change. Kimimaro turned, looking slightly annoyed at first that he had been disturbed, but the second he saw Orochimaru, his gaze softened. He gave Orochimaru a gentle smile, quietly asking about him. Orochimaru waved off the question, assuring Kimimaro he was fine, butt he teen still seemed to have something to say-something he couldn't quite spit out. Orochimaru decided to leave it for a moment, and sat down at the edge of the roof, where he could easily look over most of the village. Kimimaro, however, remained standing, but kept taking nervous glances at Orochimaru, as if he was afraid something had happened to Orochimaru that he might catch. Finally, after several minutes of the awkward silence, Orochimaru bothered to break it.

"What do you keep giving me that look for?"

Kimimaro flushed a deep pink, averting his eyes from Orochimaru's. He slowly lowered himself to sit next to his master, but Orochimaru could tell Kimimaro was stalling for time. He gave Kimimaro an expectant glance, and Kimimaro blushed even darker. Finally, he took a deep breath, and seemed to have his solution. He leaned forward, one arm settling around Orochimaru's shoulders. Orochimaru found his heart beating faster-don't tell me-Kimi, too?

Kimimaro kissed him.

Orochimaru was surprised, to say the least: surprised enough not to move, and let the kiss settle. But, then, the shock set in, and Orochimaru shoved Kimimaro away with a small noise of disproval. Still, Kimimaro seemed not to care. He allowed Orochimaru his space, but he stared intently at the snake sannin for a moment. At last, both regained their senses, and Orochimaru dealt Kimimaro a full, hard, brutal slap. Kimimaro allowed his master to punish him for the gesture, but neither moved apart. Kimimaro offered his version of an explanation:

"Who do you want?"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What kind of a question is that?!" he asked incredulously.

Kimimaro shrugged. "I saw you kissing Kabuto," he said vaguely, "but you pushed him away. I thought you would want me instead…"

Orochimaru shook his head. "If this is a matter of who's a better kisser, you would take that cake. But Kimi, I don't think I would want that kind of a relationship with you…"

Kimimaro sighed with defeat. "Had to try," he said dejectedly. "What, you're going with Kabuto?"

"Kimi, I can't have a relationship right now," Orochimaru insisted earnestly. "If I did, Itachi would be furious with me. He'd think I was cheating. And the chances were, he would harm my lover, whoever it was. Don't force that upon me."

Kimimaro nodded, standing up. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Within the second, he had leapt into the air with a blur of lavender robes, and was heading off in the opposite direction Orochimaru was currently facing. Orochimaru sighed, letting his head hang in sadness.

He loved Kabuto, but he loved him too much to show it.

A/N: Kenshin is everywhere, lol…well, review, please. It makes me happy, and brings out the next chapter much quicker. Sorry for the delay, but I had writer's block soooooo much…I finally got past it, though, so the next update should be much better. Review!!