Kabuto was worried sick.

"But Kenshin!" he was protesting, "I can't just sit here and imagine what's being done to him right now! It's already been days, and you're still telling me to sit here?! Old man, he's not coming back without help! This is Uchiha Itachi we're talking about here; he doesn't exactly just turn a blind eye and let people escape from right under his nose!" Kabuto was nearly beside himself with worry, anger, and frustration: worry that Orochimaru was going through severe pain, and Kabuto wasn't even there to comfort him. Anger that he had allowed this to happen. Frustration that Kenshin wouldn't let him go. Wouldn't let him go to his lover! Kabuto had been fighting with Kenshin over these very matters for the past fifteen minutes. Kenshin's demeanor had hardly changed, but Kabuto was pacing back and forth and screaming at the top of his lungs at this point in time. Kenshin was still sitting in his chair, legs crossed, hands folded and resting on his knees, eyes calm and looking Kabuto right in the face. Kabuto was up and running, pacing back and forth and covering the entire room in huge steps. His arms were waving wildly in the air as he ridiculously berated Kenshin, and his mouth seemed to be going a hundred miles a minute. Kabuto was frustrated also, that Kenshin seemed not to be listening to him at all.

"I recognize that Orochimaru might be in danger," Kenshin said, annoyingly calmly, "But he won't be killed, or hurt too badly. Itachi keeps claiming to love him, right?"

"But what does that have to do with-?"

"Just listen." Kenshin gestured placatingly to Kabuto, and the genin stopped pacing for a moment. "Just shut your motor mouth for a Goddamn second, and let me talk." Kabuto reluctantly sat down in the seat across from Kenshin, huffing with indignance and pouting. Kenshin continued, smiling a bit at Kabuto's childish glare. "Anyway, Itachi keeps claiming to love Orochimaru, right?" Kabuto nodded. "So, if he does that, Orochimaru has a fail-proof excuse. He can just say, 'If you really loved me, you wouldn't do this.' And then, at least, Itachi feels bad. Well, not feels bad, but it bugs him. And Itachi wouldn't want to hurt his lover too badly, now would he? He's probably just giving him a hard time, making him do some dirty work, taking him to bed, and leaving it at that; now, I know what you're thinking: that's awful, I can't stand it, but think about it: it could be much worse. Itachi is probably trying to win Orochimaru over, so he won't be going too hard on him. Making him do something nasty, and then offering him a bit of kindness and pretending like he's risking something big to do it. So, Orochimaru's probably pretty well off right now…but, I am concerned about the long run. Itachi might get tired of waiting. So, start organizing a rescue team to leave in three days. I figure a week and a half is plenty of time."

Kabuto sighed, but nodded an affirmation. If he cleared his mind, and thought rationally, that was really a good way of thinking about it, and probably what was really going on…Kabuto sighed again, stood up, and simply left the room. Kenshin remained sitting in exactly the same spot, though, a smirk growing over his face.

"I'm always right."

OOOOOOOOOOOO



Orochimaru staggered through the woods, fighting the exhaustion that was threatening to take away his entire resolve and take over his entire body. One hand clutched at his side: broken ribs. Every breath was agony; every step a war in and of itself. Orochimaru had to fight himself simply to stay on his feet at this point.

He knew he was close-that, at least, was a condolence. At least there was a better chance of someone from Oto finding him than someone from Akatsuki. Orochimaru took one, last halting step, then stopped and leaned against a tree with the hand that wasn't clutching at his side in pain. Orochimaru stopped, doubled over and fighting not to vomit up everything he had just eaten. He knew he had to keep it down, otherwise he had no shot. Orochimaru let out a small whimper of pain, denying himself even more than that. He wouldn't even admit his weakness to himself.

Orochimaru heaved in a deep breath, stood up defiantly straight, and then took another step forward. One foot in front of the other: he would take this one step at a time. One more step…then another…his side screamed with pain, and his legs begged for him to stop. Blood dripped from his arms, legs, shoulders, stomach, back…oh, bloody hell, everywhere! It was crusted over almost all of his skin, and what wasn't coated in blood was bruised or cut in some way. Orochimaru could feel broken bones simply begging for mercy, but he ignored them. Orochimaru could feel endorphins beginning to flood his body, brought on by his desperate sense of emergency. He knew his arm was broken by the severe bruising and swollen area. His ribs were also broken; four on his left side and one on his right. He may have fractured his leg, as well, from the throbbing. He knew his opposite ankle had been twisted badly, and his opposite wrist was sprained rather badly. His shoulder had been dislocated twice, and Orochimaru had crudely shoved it back into place each time, ignoring the pain. But now, the strain of his injuries, the lack of rest, and the starvation was beginning to catch up with Orochimaru, big time. He was starting to feel faint and dizzy again, and the entire world spun like a top. Orochimaru was losing consciousness as he fell to the ground at last, and he was completely unconscious by the time he hit the ground.

He was on the pathway to Oto, only two hundred yards away from the gate.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"What was that?"

One of the guards turned from his post, staring out over the path leading to the Oto's main gates where he saw what looked to be a person lying in the middle of the path. "It looks like…it looks like a person," the second guard muttered, staring out over the horizon. His heart skipped a beat; it looked like..!

"Get Kabuto," the first guard said slowly, as if in a daze. "I think I know who it is."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Kabuto came running out of his lab the second Orochimaru's name was mentioned, sprinting out to the front gates and running right through, not bothering to ask about how long or why the gates were open. Instead, he remained fixated only on the possibly that Orochimaru might be back. He charged through the gates, skidding to a stop when he saw a guard kneeling on the ground, an unconscious form on the ground in front of him. "I didn't want him to wake up and have me be the first thing he saw," the guard said slowly, standing up and moving away from Orochimaru the second he saw Kabuto. Kabuto ignored the man, instead dropping to his knees next to Orochimaru and sliding one hand under Orochimaru's shoulders. He carefully lifted the man into his arms, putting one hand under Orochimaru's legs and picking him up, seemingly effortlessly. "He weighs next to nothing," he whispered. Kabuto felt tears prickle at the back of his eyes: his lover, abused and treated so badly! But he needed to take care of Orochimaru first. Revenge came later. But he would make sure that he got it! Kabuto rushed Orochimaru back into the village, down into the Oto's main complex and directly into the medical wing. Once there, he dodged into the first empty room he saw, laying Orochimaru out across the bed and immediately checking him for severe injury. "Get Kenshin in here!" he screamed at the first person he saw out of the corner of his eye. Turned out it was Kenshin.

"I see," Kenshin said, through gritted teeth. He came to stand next to Orochimaru, on the other side of the bed, lips pursed into a thin line. Kabuto glared, lowering his hand to Orochimaru's forehead.

"He's completely overtaken by fever," he growled, green chakra flaring up around his hand. "His immune system is failing due to overload. His heart is fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird. His lungs are trying to keep up, but not doing well against the injury. One of them is punctured by a rib, five of which are broken total. His leg is fractured; his arm is shattered. His wrist and ankle are both sprained. He's severely underweight; about thirty pounds. He's taken over by acute exhaustion, and he was lucky to have even survived thus far. Right now, I'm trying to keep his body from frying itself alive."

Kenshin sighed. "I know, I know," he muttered, stepping away from Orochimaru to set up an IV. "I feel terrible, okay? Is that what you're looking for?"

"Precisely."

Kenshin sighed and gently pushed the needle into Orochimaru's unbroken arm, pursing his lips with concern until they were almost invisible. "He's dehydrated," he said slowly, sounding genuinely hit by Orochimaru's condition. "Kabuto…Kabuto, I'm sorry. I didn't think it would go this far…"

"Check the undersides of his arms for cuts," Kabuto said tersely. "He has a history of cutting."

Kenshin gently lifted both of Orochimaru's arms, searching for the long, angry stripes of red that would signify that their Kage had been cutting. Surprisingly, though, his arms were almost completely free of the deep wounds that Orochimaru tended to inflict upon himself. Kenshin focused a bit of chakra to his right hand, laying it on Orochimaru's ribs and trying to heal them. He carefully pulled the broken rib out of Orochimaru's lung, fusing the bone back together and closing over the lung. Kabuto had gotten the fever under control; he worked with Kenshin on Orochimaru's ribs for a time, and then went on to help strengthen Orochimaru's immune system. He began fighting off the many diseases that threatened Orochimaru right now, clearing the sannin's body of most of its afflictions. The rest, he ignored. Even Orochimaru's weakened system could handle that, and he needed to focus on Orochimaru's more serious injuries.

"He put himself into a coma trying to get back," Kenshin whispered, "My God…Orochimaru, I'm so sorry…"

"Can I get that in writing?" Kabuto muttered. "Because I want him to hear that…"

Kenshin glared, and Kabuto shut his mouth.

Two hours later, both ninja were almost out of chakra and about half the population of the Oto was clustered at the doorway, asking about Orochimaru. Kabuto refused to answer questions, just telling them that only the medical staff he had personally chosen would be allowed into the room. Kenshin then came out, and started yelling at people, and then everyone ran away from the door. Kenshin shut the door, only opening it once to allow a young nurse into the room. Kabuto recognized her as Mikoto, a highly trained nurse that reported directly to him. She immediately set about taking Orochimaru's vital signs, while Kabuto and Kenshin continued to heal Orochimaru. Finally, another twenty minutes later, Kabuto collapsed into a chair, completely spent and totally exhausted. He only had something like one tenth of his chakra left, and Kenshin had completely emptied himself into Orochimaru. There was almost nothing left that was wrong with his body: but he was still unconscious. Mikoto was still hovering around Orochimaru, though, and so Kabuto kept an eye on her. She seemed to be leaning over him, saying something…Kabuto caught a spark of chakra, and Mikoto's hand began to glow green. Kabuto was surprised to say the least; he had never even known this girl could use chakra! Kenshin leaned over, muttering, "I didn't know she could heal." Kabuto shrugged.

"I didn't either. But, I'm checking her chakra right now; it's perfect."

Mikoto turned around suddenly, raising a green hand to get Kabuto's attention and letting the chakra dissipate. "He's awake!" she announced with a smile. Then, she stepped back, motioning to Kabuto to come over. "I figured the first thing he should see is you," she said softly, stepping back.

Orochimaru's eyes fluttered open.

Kabuto sat down on the edge of the bed, near Orochimaru's hips, and raised a hand to take Orochimaru's in his own. Orochimaru turned his hazy, golden eyes to catch Kabuto in their hypnotizing gaze, and, for a bare instant, Kabuto caught an unheard of expression on Orochimaru's face: unreadable. He could see a mixture of emotion in it, including relief, desperation, and underlying pain. Orochimaru looked…almost…innocent?

"Kabuto…"

There was only the unspoken word passed between them, and then, Orochimaru simply leapt into Kabuto's arms. Kabuto threw his arms around him, finally feeling the stress of the last few days come pouring out. Bittersweet tears stung both of their faces, and Orochimaru buried his face in kabuto's shoulder, trying to hide the shame of weeping for his pain.

"My love," Kabuto whispered, reaching up and tenderly stroking Orochimaru's hair. "I swear, I won't ever let them touch you…ever again. Never. Never again."

"Don't," Orochimaru said softly, sitting back and setting his hands on Kabuto's shoulders. Such beauty Kabuto saw when he looked into Orochimaru's tear-filled eyes! Such love, such trust for his lover, such pain for the sufferings he had endured! Such innocence suddenly radiating from his prone form, which Kabuto seemed to bask in as Orochimaru's hands moved to fall from his shoulders and rest in his lap. "Don't swear to me such a thing. Because then it will happen again, and we'll both be sorry for our vows."

Kabuto shook his head. "I can't accept that," he whispered, taking Orochimaru's slender, fine-boned hands in his own. "My love, I simply can't accept that. I will fight, every step of the way!"

Orochimaru leaned forward, gently placing a soft, sweet, chaste, kiss on Kabuto's lips, tasting the pain of the past few days and taking it all into himself. "I know you will," Orochimaru whispered, pushing himself into a sitting position. "But, please, don't kill yourself over it…" Kabuto shook his head, pulling Orochimaru closer to him and taking him into his arms.

"I wouldn't. Besides, then I wouldn't be able to see you."

Orochimaru smiled, shifting closer to Kabuto and moving sideways, so that he was half propped up against Kabuto's shoulder. Orochimaru was lying out across the bed, curled up with his head and shoulders against Kabuto's chest, hands wrapped around Kabuto's neck, clutching at his lover like there was no tomorrow. Kabuto could tell how badly Orochimaru had been traumatized by this simple gesture: the day Orochimaru became clingy was the day he totally lost it. It wasn't quite there yet, but Kabuto could sense the underlying grounds set for a blow; set up so that when that final, fatal blow fell, Orochimaru would be traumatized beyond repair. "Love can kill, and love can resurrect," Kabuto whispered, gently reaching up and stroking Orochimaru's hair. Right now, he just wanted him calm; nothing else mattered. He was mostly healed; the trauma they would just have to deal with as it came. All he needed was to relax, rest, and get a good meal into him. And love, however cliché it sounded.

"What one does with it is up to their heart."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"He's gone!!"

Itachi had been out for a minute and a half, and when he came back, his love slave was gone! "Where is he?!" he screamed, rounding on Kisame. The blue shark-man merely shrugged, taking a swig of the black coffee in the mug he held in his hand.

"I dunno," he said. "I went down to the training rooms for, like, a few hours. I sparred with Kakuza, and then Hidan taught me some good sword techniques. And then I had my normal workout-"

"Okay, Kisame, I don't care!"

Kisame, at first, plastered a shocked, hurt expression on his face. Then, it changed to something like disgusted disdain. "Well!" he huffed, holding up a hand to Itachi and turning away from him. "Be that way!" Itachi rolled his eyes, ignoring the blatant drama in front of him.

"How long were you gone?" he pressed, otherwise ignoring Kisame's overdramatic remarks. "I know you left before I did, but I was in and out all day."

"I got back at around eleven," Kisame replied. "I left at eight."

Itachi gave a hum of annoyance, and then resumed his furious ranting and pacing. Kisame gave a snort of laughter at this: what with all that waving around of the hands, Itachi had to have some Italian blood in him. Heh…Itachi. Italian. And Pein was an Egyptian belly dancer. Kisame almost choked himself on that one, but managed to turn away from Itachi before letting his grin take over his face. He grabbed the conveniently placed newspaper and unfolded it to a random page, pretending to read to hide his snorts and fits of laughter. Pein even female was funny enough, but Egyptian...? Plus, the skimpy costume, and all that, and…Kisame was trying so hard not to be noticeable to Itachi, but he got the sinking feeling he was failing miserably.

The newspaper took a furious beating from Itachi's hateful words.

A/N: I don't know what happened at the end…just kinda…got in the mood. After so much angst and cheesy romance, decided to take a break, I guess. Well, please review.