disCLAIMER: While I do not own Naruto nor any affiliated subjects therein, Kishimoto-sama does and therefore he owns my soul.

Chapter 13: We Belong Alone

Something was different. The cave echoed hollowly and stank of decay. But the strange sense that Shinobi developed for danger didn't twinge, so Kaori continued forward without delay. She'd felt quite guilty the first time she left the team, leaving behind her hitai-ate and earring with no plans to return. This time, she had no plans to return, but it was well-deserved. She'd murdered two people with absolutely no control over herself, meaning she was a liability to Konoha if she remained on the mission. Instead, she preferred losing control near Orochimaru and his goons, so at least she would do something useful on her way out. She could feel it: each time Juubi took over she had a harder time coming back. And the physical effects worsened as well. One time she may never return to being Kaori and then someone else would have to stop her...

Kaori climbed through the areas in the cavern that were somewhat accessible, unsure of what she was looking for. She continued deeper, sensing fresh air. There was a sharp turn left, then right, and she gaped at the temple she stepped into. Enormous walls, arching gracefully into a dome ceiling made of a transparent material. The marble-like structure glowed white with blue shadows, and the floor was so shiny she could see her blurry reflection. If she could imagine a heaven, it would probably look a lot like this. Long steps led to an altar, where a distinct black-haired figure knelt.

"I've been waiting." The sultry voice lingered in the air, reflected about the temple like the light.

"Sorry I took so long," she said sarcastically.

"It burns for me, doesn't it." Orochimaru stood and faced her. "Oh, perhaps not so much now that that annoying person put his seal on it. Let me fix that for you." In a flash, the 20 meters between them disappeared as he appeared before her. Kaori jumped, barely able to react as he formed seals and slammed a palm into her chest. Besides knocked the wind out of her, the seal burned painfully before returning to a dull throb. Kakashi's seal had disappeared.

"Ah, that's better. Now I know what you're feeling." His snake tongue flicked over his teeth. "Now you're mine to abuse. My personal Jinchuuriki." He leaned in.

"Does the name Saris mean anything to you?" Kaori managed to prevent her voice from trembling. Orochimaru hissed and stepped back. He eyed her face for a moment before turning back to his altar.

"Not anymore."

"The name means nothing to me, but the person behind the name...that disgusting man...who knows how long he's been keeping himself alive. Who knows how many women he's raped, how many children he's bastardized, how many siblings I have."

Orochimaru's posture went rigid. "You have?"

"I mean besides you." Kaori met his eyes evenly when he whirled about. His face displayed such hatred as she'd never seen, but his eyes were fearful.

"Saris is..."

"My father. And your father. I know because when you gave me this seal, I dreamt of your memories for awhile. And then we found him in the Land of Dragons." Kaori relished in the panic on his pale features. "Oh don't worry. I tore him to shreds. Actually, less than shreds. More like confetti."

Orochimaru swallowed hard. "Are you sure? Are you sure you completely destroyed him?"

"Would you preferred it if I'd brought him here with me?"

"No! No. If I'd seen that ghastly face again..." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "I see what you're doing. You're making me drop my guard using my father to make me afraid. But if he's as dead as you say he is, then I have no fear."

"But you do have fear. Just hearing his name makes you wig out. So he's the reason for all this crazy shit you've done."

"He's not the only reason. Anyone would desire immortality and endless power. I still intend to master all techniques, and while the Sharingan would have been helpful, I have several back up plans." He eyed her with once-again cold eyes. "One of which involves possessing a certain Jinchuuriki."

Kaori gulped. "Me?"

Orochimaru let out a cold, hard laugh. "Of course not. I know that your bijuu is passed through the womb into a female child and cannot be forcibly extracted. No, silly imouto, you're the bait."

"Naruto." She turned to leave only to discover that the entrance had disappeared.

"Once you enter, there's no leaving unless I release my technique."

"They won't come for me. I told them not to."

"Don't you get it yet? That's not how these Konoha natives work. They can't let a teammate go, even if their leaving is entirely their choice." Orochimaru smiled ruefully. "Maybe that's why you and I keep running: we're not meant to live in such a place. We belong alone, always on guard. People want us dead, but all we want to do is survive."

"Don't compare me to you," she spat. "I'm nothing like you."

"We share blood, imouto, and there's no tie stronger."

"Stop calling me that! And don't expect me to call you nii-san!"

Orochimaru's hand shot out and grasped her bandaged wrist. She winced; it wasn't healing well without a medical ninja to tend it.

"Then you can call me sensei," he sneered, throwing her to the ground. He formed the usagi seal, which immediately started a burning sensation from the cursed seal. The heat spread, her body becoming hot and sensitive.

"What is this?" she gasped.

"Until Kyuubi arrives, your mine to play with."

"But I'm your half-sister! This is wrong!"

"Not as wrong as being fucked by your own father, so I really have no qualms. Plus," he squatted beside her and licked her cheek with his long tongue, "we look nothing alike. Not that that matters, because you're going to use the transformation technique. I want you to become...Uchiha Sasuke."

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"I think you're right, Naruto."

Naruto nearly fell off his perch on the rail. "S-s-sakura-chan! I thought you'd deny it!"

Sakura's brow twitched. "How many times do I have to say I'm not in love with him anymore?"

"Well yeah but if someone said you were in love with someone I wouldn't believe it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she growled.

"Ahhhh nothing nothing. It's just you're so much like Tsunade-obaachan I figured you'd spend all your time trying to look young and hotOWOWOW!" Naruto reeled from the punch Sakura dealt to his head.

"Idiot."

"So you agree that Sasuke's likes Kaori-chan?"

"I think it's a little more than 'likes,' Naruto."

"What? Why?"

"Just look at him." She gazed into the rigging. Sasuke had been perched on the fighting top the entire voyage, staring intently west, as if the second he saw land he would bolt. "His face is...I don't know how to describe it, bu because it's something I've never seen before, I can only think that he's in love."

"Eh? But they fight all the time!"

"Oh come on, Naruto! You should realize by now that these sorts of feelings are going to be stronger than just 'like'. We're not kids anymore. I mean, how do you feel about Hinata?"

"I like her well enough..."

"See? It's because you've never been in love, so you wouldn't understand Sasuke's feelings. You've never woken up in the morning and seen yourself in the mirror looking like that because you know that no matter what, he's never coming back." Sakura paused. "I'm still worried he's going to go away again."

"Maybe this rescue mission will get rid of any reason he has to leave. Make sure Orochimaru's good and dead this time. I'll make sure."

"Think if we asked him he'd tell us how he feels?" Sakura said, half-jokingly. Sasuke was known to express his rage and irritation but not much else. She blinked, noting that Naruto was no longer standing there.

"Sasuke-temee! Do you love Kaori-chan?" Naruto stood with his fists on his hips, actually looking intimidating as he stared down at Sasuke. Sakura smacked her head with her palm. Tactless as Naruto was, she wanted to know the answer just as badly.

Without even looking up at Naruto, Sasuke muttered, "Is that what this is called?"

Naruto turned and gave Sakura his good-guy thumbs-up pose. Oh geez.

"I want to kill her for running off again," Sasuke continued. Naruto gulped and Sakura's eyes widened. "But. But I'd do anything to kiss her once more." He touched long pale fingers to his lips. His teammates' jaws dropped and Naruto let out a resounding "ehhhhhhh?".

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Orochimaru had finally tired himself out and fallen asleep. Kaori transformed back into herself, but that didn't make her ass hurt any less. She just lay there, naked, shackles on her wrists. She'd cried at first, but after so many times she became numb to her half-brother fucking her, or rather Sasuke's, ass. She wanted Naruto to come so that it would all be over, but then she didn't want him to see her like this. Even worse still she knew somehow that he wasn't coming, which meant these disgusting activities would continue. She was trapped, and even if she could escape the seal would keep bringing her back.

It hurt so much to move, but the semen dripping from her was very uncomfortable and she needed to wash. The bastard wasn't even considerate enough to wear a condom. A slight advantage (could it even be called that?) was she couldn't get pregnant while being a guy. It would be bad if she got pregnant, first of all because, ew, it would be Orochimaru's child, and second the Juubi would be passed on to the baby. And yet another life would be ruined because some idiot long ago deemed it a good idea to seal a monster in a girl.

"I shouldn't have come back," she whispered to herself, suddenly feeling ill. Everything from the past week hit her at once, and she dry-heaved on the floor. Her wrist hurt so badly; the shackles were too tight on the swollen appendage. She was so tired, but she was too scared to fall asleep. And those damned tears wouldn't stop. Ever since the night she killed Tomi. She thought at one point she'd go blind from crying. Was it possible to go blind from crying? Her eyes burned so badly that she really thought so. She could hear Naruto yelling at her. He was probably telling her to get up and fight. Then they'd go out for ramen. Ramen. She didn't realize how hungry she was til just then. Except instead of dreaming ramen bowls she saw a mass of blond hair hovering over her.

"Kaori-chan! Kaori-chan! Are you okay?"

It wasn't a hunger-pain-fear-induced hallucination. It was really Naruto.

"You shouldn't have come," she rasped through a raw voice.

"If you weren't already so beat up, I'd beat you up myself," he growled. He pulled a blanket from his bag and lay it over her naked body. Sakura swam into view, her soft hands tending to the wounds on Kaori's body. Moving her head slightly more, she could see Sasuke and Kakashi. Kakashi's eye was concerned, but Sasuke was unreadable. He seemed to be shocked, angry, and upset all at once.

"You weren't supposed to see me like this." Kaori's tears started anew. It was meant for all her friends, but it seemed to be aimed at Sasuke.

"Everyone has their bad days," Naruto said, attempting to be light-hearted.

"No. No they don't." Kaori turned away, the pain and discomfort going away, but a new fear filled her heart. Now that they'd seen her as Orochimaru's little bitch, what would they think of her. Naruto stood and stalked away, sniffing about for Orochimaru's stench. He picked up a trail and headed out. Kakashi took off after him, should the eager Jounin run into any other traps besides the one Kaori had fallen into.

"Kaori-san, how do you feel?" Sakura asked gently.

"Dirty."

"Oh, um. I'm afraid there's not a bath around that we can use, but I do have some antibacterial wipes in my pack."

"No. Even if I wash, it'll still be in my mind."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who finally gathered the courage to approach her. When Sakura sat her up, Kaori refused to look at him. Sakura left the pair alone, noting that this had to be a very difficult moment between them.

Kaori pulled the blanket tighter around herself, wincing from the pain in her lower body.

"I don't think you're dirty," Sasuke said at last. Well that wasn't lame. "It's not your fault. Well, it is because you came back, but you're not the one who did this."

"You don't understand," Kaori whispered. She gasped when Sasuke hugged her tightly.

"How am I suppose to protect you when you keep leaving me?" He buried his nose in her hair, the chopstick bun long gone.

"Sasuke..." Kaori shuddered. "I can't tell you...I can't." He sat back and pulled her into his lap, and she finally fell into the embrace. She'd always seemed like such a big person, with that super-attitude like Naruto's, but now she was a scared, trembling woman who needed him. And it was breaking his heart.

"Well isn't this interesting?"

Sasuke had his sword out and on guard before the voice even spoke. That disgusting presence could be felt anywhere.

"I wonder what it would be like to fuck two Sasuke's..." Orochimaru licked his lips with a moan. "Me doing one, another doing me..."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked vehemently.

"Just that, because I couldn't have you, I had to settle on a fake Sasuke. But I must say that it must have been just as good as the real thing, if not better. Fake Sasuke cried the entire time and begged me to stop, whereas you would probably demand to be the seme. Am I right?"

"You make me sick!" Sasuke spat. He stood, leaving Kaori huddled on the ground. "How could you do that to her? How could you do that to anyone? Fucking asshole!"

"Yes, that's exactly the kind of thinking I want you to have, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru's hand seductively slid down the front of his tunic.

"This time, I'll make sure you don't come back." Sasuke tightened his muscles and sprang forward with the might of years of hatred. Orochimaru smiled.

"Good."