Authors notes:Hello people! Sorry this is also late. Due to my stage in life at the moment a lot of chapters will probably take a while to come out. I'm terribly sorry about it, and I hope you lovely people can be patient with me and not push me in front of a bus. I try to get these out as fast as I can. :) Anyways, this chapter might not be quite as good as previous ones or as long, but I promise the next chapter will make up for it ten fold. I hope you guys have liked the story so far! Thank you for the reviews. I'll admit it, I'm a review whore. XD
Chapter warning: Not much romantic activity yet. Hell, not even any kissing. Some language. A bit of a medical incident, non-gorey, you'll see when you read.
Everything seemed as though it was in fast forward for Kabuto. Things happened rather quickly as the week went on, time flying faster than he could possibly keep track of.
For example, by Tuesday morning not a single living being in the facility would dare to tease or taunt the silver haired new comer. Everyone knew of the incident in gym, and about Kabutos' darker half. Nobody was stupid enough to tempt his wrath.
A bit of a habit started as well. Being the rather anti-social, reclusive person he is, the dark eyed teen wished to avoid the idiotic masses of teens that spilled everywhere into the building as soon as the final bell of the day rang. He did just that by staying late in his last class every day, helping with simple task such as cleaning up around the already tidy room, and other such things. He also had to admit he didn't mind spending time and chatting with his older, golden eyed teacher. The man was brilliant, and one of the few Kabuto could stand to be around for any extended period of time. Probably his first real acquaintance.
Secretly, very deep in his teenage mind, Kabuto knew it was a bit more than that. In fact it was much more. Orochimaru was beautiful, perfect in every way. He was genius beyond compare, sharing the same views as the silver haired youth, and didn't seem at all deterred by Kabutos' slightly sadistic nature. Actually, the raven haired man seemed to adore his fondness of blood, and the medical realm as a whole. The gracefulness with which he moved was uncompared, and his ivory skin seemed to glow, contrasting starkly with his long, midnight locks. The mans' golden eyes were transfixing, and so wonderfully easy to get lost in.
The man was a god.
Of course Kabuto would never admit to feeling or thinking any of this. He would deny it under threats of torture if it ever came to it, which he was quite certain it never would. There was one thing, though, that the silver haired boy wouldn't ever admit, even to himself.
He was slowly and steadily falling for the god-like Orochimaru like a love-sick teenager.
At the present moment Kabuto was roboticly cleaning out a rack of test tubes, his mind wandering slightly. If it weren't for the freezing cold, very harsh water pouring over his fingers and clinking against the glass in his hand, he probably would have drifted off completely by now.
As he continued along with the rather repetitive action, he starred absentmindedly out the window. It was a usual day in the area, cloudy, but no actual rain. Now that Kabuto thought about it, he hadn't seen the sun once since he had arrived here. How odd...
His thoughts were interrupted sharply when a very familiar voice whispered, right into his ear,"What is it you're looking at that's so fascinating, Kabuto-kun?" The cool breath ghosting along his skin sent a shiver down his spine as he nearly jumped. When exactly had Orochimaru slithered up behind him, and leaned in close enough to whisper into his ear?
Kabuto turned slightly, dark obsidian eyes meeting brilliant gold. The fact that their noses were practically touching didn't bother the younger of the two in the least. After spending a week with his raven haired teacher he had simply grown used to the mans ignorance, and total disregard of personal space.
"Nothing in particular, Orochimaru. I've simply noticed that it's been cloudy every day since I arrived," the teen replied smoothly. He couldn't see it, due to the almost nonexistent distance between the two, but the look in his teachers serpentine eyes told him the pale man was probably smiling.
Kabuto, deciding that the feel of Orochimarus' cool breath tickling his face was just a bit much, making a move to back up and distance himself from the pale man. He was cut off, though, when he ran right into a muscular arm. The teen hadn't noticed before, but Orochimaru had come to rest his arms on the sink counter, effectively trapping Kabuto, much like an anaconda might wrap itself around it prey.
A sinister chuckle escaped pale lips, curved into a playful smile, at the surprised look on the boys face. It was absolutely adorable, the incredibly rare times he managed to confuse the boy. The raven haired man hesitantly moved his arm, allowing his student to escape.
"Kabuto-kun, would you mind if I asked a bit of a personal question? Really, my curiosity has just been killing me."
Kabuto, who was now about a foot or so away from his golden eyed superior, simply nodded in response, knowing very well that the man would ask even if he replied with a 'no'.
A smirk worked it's way across a predatory face as Orochimaru asked bluntly,"How is it exactly that you came about being an orphan in the first place, Kabuto-kun?"
The silver haired boy didn't even flinch. The subject never really bothered him the way it did most orphans. He honestly didn't care, and was used to being asked. For some reason or another his records had never been changed to include the information, and every facility always had at least one curious person who would ask him about it.
"My parents died when I was in first grade. It was dark outside and they got in a really bad car crash. Both of them died instantly."
The smirk on Orochimarus' face instantly fell as soon as the words 'car crash' left the teens' lips. An odd, almost dead look took over his face, draining all emotion. Previously playful eyes hardened over dramatically, his lips pressed into a hard line.
The change was dramatic, almost frightening.
Orochimarus' mind was thrust into a world of its own. Hideous images of twisted carnage, and blood-stained steel flashed through his mind, the screech of tires and moan of metal ringing in his ears. He instinctively latched a hand onto the sink counter, keeping himself from falling over completely.
Kabuto looked on, shocked by the sudden change. He moved forward just as the raven haired man fell completely, catching him in his arms,"Orochimaru, are you okay?" His voice was filled with heavy, honest concern and worry. What in the world had happened to the man so suddenly, without even a hint of a warning?
The silver haired teen was forced to slide onto the floor with a light thump, unable to fully support the larger mans weight. He also noticed violent torrents of shuddering coming from the man in his arms. His mind was working at the speed of light as he figured out what he needed to do. Orochimaru could be having a seizure, possibly something worse. He needed to find help, and soon.
In some attempt to pull both himself and his teacher off the floor, he reached for the counter and pulled. Unfortunately, he had accidentally grabbed hold of a large, paper filled box, not the counter, and when he tugged at it the cardboard container was sent crashing to the floor with a heavy thud.
A muttered curse could be heard under the teens' breath, as he tried again, this time succeeding. Just as he got to his feet, his raven haired teacher in his arms, the door opened. A female teacher, Anko he believed her name was, rushed into the room, asking in an annoyed tone,"What happened?"
Kabuto replied as calmly as he possibly could with a simple,"I'm not entirely sure. He just fell forward and started shaking-" He was cut off sharply, though, by the purple-haired woman muttering quickly,"He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. He's probably having an attack or something. It's weird. He's normally violent beyond belief when he gets like this. Throwing things, screaming..."
She was starting to reach out, to try to help Kabuto support the full grown mans' weight, when the shaking stopped abruptly. Kabuto looked down to see that Orochimaru had an almost nonexistent hint of confusion to his face as he came out of whatever daze he had just been immersed in, but it was only there for a second. The man quickly pulled himself to his feet, the silver haired teen letting go of him and taking a step back.
"Excuse me, I should probably take my leave and head home for now,"the serpentine man uttered in an eerily calm tone before walking out of the room, not bothering to look back or even close the door.
Anko let out a sigh, watching as Orochimaru stalked off boredly. She then turned to the teenage boy next to her, surprised that his expression didn't look the least bit confused. Kabuto had a bit of a gift when it came to masking emotion. Practice over the years had allowed him to nearly perfect the trick.
"Ms. Anko, do you know why exactly Orochimaru had PTSD?"
The question was simple, and emotionless for the most part. A slight curiosity laced his tone, though, as well as an almost unnoticeable hint of concern. The boy had a strong feeling that he had been the trigger of his teachers little episode, and he wanted to know what exactly had happened.
Not to mention he was simply curious about Orochimaru as a whole.
The purple haired woman remained silent a moment, before starting in an almost harsh tone,"Well, if the rumors are true, he basically had a fucked up life before he came here. The guy was made fun of a lot and rejected from a good deal of society because of who he is. Foster parents he was placed with while he was growing up were all terrible from what I hear. I think what really screwed the guy up, though, was what happened to his parents. Supposedly, when he was just a brat they got in a real violent car crash. Both of them died. He was there and saw them die. It was a miracle Orochimaru escaped..."
She trailed off as she realized the boy was no longer listening to what she was saying. He seemed to be lost in a world of his own, and judging from the expression he wore, it was far from a pleasant one.
Anko simply mumbled something about unappreciative brats, and walked out of the room to wherever it was she had originally been headed.
Kabuto remained in the room, standing unmoving next to the window. Clouded over black eyes stared blankly out the window. All was silent in the room, except for the dull sound of the air conditioning coming into the room from the air ducts.
He couldn't believe it. He was the one who had triggered Orochimarus' disorder. He was the reason his teacher, and only real friend had just collapsed in a fit. It had been an accident, right? Of course it had. He hadn't even known of a preexisting condition until now. How could it have possibly been on purpose?
But still...
He blamed himself for it. He truly did. It was his fault that his teacher had practically just gone through a mental breakdown. All his fault.
Normally the boy enjoyed seeing pain in others. He was a naturally sadistic individual after all. But not now. He was shocked to find he not only found no joy, but hated the idea of harming the golden eyed man. He loathed the very thought.
Why was that? Why was Orochimaru different? What did he care if Orochimaru was alright or not? Why should he be any different? He wasn't, was he?
That's when everything clicked into place for the sixteen year old. He wasn't acting like a love-sick teenager. He was one. He had hopelessly, and slowly fallen for the beautifully graceful, twenty eight year old, man, Orochimaru.