Thanks for reading, and giving an OC story a chance, --to anyone thats actually read it.

Chapter Four:

She lay on the cold surface of Kabuto's operating table while he worked on her "badly broken" ribs. Rei was positive Kabuto had thought about slashing Sasuke's throat for not carrying her back more than once.

His skillful hands hovered over her left side where she had four broken ribs. His chakra slowly flowed into her as he fixed each rib with extra care. She tried to pay attention to his slow and steady breathing, and not the pain, or the hot feel of his chakra inside her.

"Rei how'd you get this torn up?" He asked suddenly.

She didn't realize he hadn't even asked until now, he'd wanted to start healing her wounds the moment she got back.

"I felt off a cliff into a gully…"

She saw him shake his head as he did a last check over of her ribs and probably her lung, just in case. That was his way.

"It'll be tender for awhile, go easy on it for a couple of days. Tell me if you feel any pai—"

"I know, I know…" She waved him off the big, long, medic speech. She started sliding gently off the table, but Kabuto grabbed her shoulders pushing her back in place.

"Let me clean that out too." He gestured to her upper arm.

She didn't say anything just nodded and gazed at him as he dabbed medicine onto some gauze which he then gently rubbed over her cut. The antiseptic stung and felt icy as he rubbed it around and in the wound.

He cleaned away the blood that was on the outer edges of the wound and inspected it.

"I'll have to stitch this up…" He mumbled to himself.

"Just heal it." Rei snapped. Her patience wearing thin, she was tired and hungry and she felt disgusting.

He glared at her, "You can't have everything healed by medical jutsu, you know what happens, don't you?"

"Of course." She gritted her teeth, he was pissing her off. "But I don't care. Heal it." She glared back.

"I won't heal this for you." He told her as he reached for I needle on the tray next to the table and threaded it.

"I said heal it! I'll go find someone else if you won't—"

He stabbed the needle through her skin and made the first stitch. That pain must have been worse than the initial injury itself, Rei cringed and clenched her fists tight.

She hissed, "Numb it first, asshole!" Her fingers gripped the edge of the table. Rei reminded herself just how cruel Kabuto could be, she'd forgotten.

"You're too reckless Rei." He sighed as he injected the area around her gash to numb it.

She turned away from him and didn't answer. She'd gotten far too comfortable here; it was reckless, the way she lived now. With Akatsuki she really had been safe to live so freely. Here it was another matter. Everyone here wanted to harm her, except maybe Kabuto, but at one point he too would have killed her.

He snipped the needle off, "Done," He murmured. He looked up at her and it was obvious she was lost in her own thoughts again. She was nipping her bottom lip.

Pushing her way past him she didn't even mumbled a 'goodbye' or a 'thank you'.

Rei must have replayed the fight in her head a hundred times, and only just now she remembered what Sasuke had said about Orochimaru. Why would Orochimaru want her alive suddenly? Unless…he wanted her to tell him more about Akatsuki, but what didn't he know? Between what he'd previously known, and what she'd offered up to him, he should have known pretty much everything.

Her slow pace down the hall gave her time to think. Maybe it was just Itachi he wanted information on. That idea seemed more practical. She didn't know what else fit.

She walked by an open room and saw that Sasuke was inside; tending his own wounds it looked like. "Sasuke?" She leaned on the doorframe, and waited for an answer.

"Hn, go away, Rei." He didn't have to look up to know it was her.

What was she doing? Oh well, she was already wading in the shallows, might as well have a swim.

Taking a step forward then another she slowly brought herself over to him. He looked up at her with the end of a bandage in between his teeth while he wrapped the other around it and pulled it tight.

When the bandage fell from his lips he said, "I told you to go away." Then he looked away.

She ignored him, "Are you alright?" He glared at her and she smirked. "You almost had him," She stated dryly, realizing the cause of his foul mood.

"Rei," He ground out, "What do you want?"

She hesitated wondering if maybe this was a bad idea, but he did ask, so, "What did you mean, when you said Orochimaru wanted you to keep me alive?"

His glared subsided for a more pleased looked. "He was rather adamant that I bring you back alive. I don't know why, so don't ask that next."

"Why?" Rei breathed.

"I just told you not to—" Sasuke's agitated retort was cut short.

"No, I mean, why did you do it? Why did you listen to him?"

"I have my own plans, and if keeping you alive for now allows me to keep following them, I'll kill you later."

"Heh, lovely." A strand of her long hair fell over her shoulder as she crossed her arms. She watched Sasuke pull his shirt back over his arm.

"If you're so curious about it, maybe you should go ask him yourself." Sasuke said as he walked past her.

Turning to follow him out she sighed, "I'm not that crazy,"

"Hn, maybe you should be." Rei looked at Sasuke questioningly. He was never so light, or joking. He pulled the door shut behind them and started down the hall the way she'd come.

"Sasuke…" Rei started, he turned back to her. "Don't…" she shook her head, what was she trying to say? "Never mind." She sighed feeling foolish and started down the hall.

"Rei. Finish what you started." Sasuke said in his authoritative tone.

"Uh…well," She didn't turn back around because she was blushing with embarrassment, "Don't…don't beat yourself up about today, I mean…there'll be other chances…uh! Not that I think you can ever beat him...but…" She stopped realizing she was babbling.

"You talk too much,"

Starting to think Sasuke was right…again, Rei wondered if she should go see Orochimaru. It may be the only way she'd get any answers. Letting her book drop to the floor, she rolled carefully to her back. Her side was tender like Kabuto had said, but that was nothing compared to the pain she would be suffering from had he not healed it.

"Argh!" I have too much on my mind…

She was pissed with Kabuto(for no good reason), wondering what Orochimaru was up to, thinking random thoughts about Itachi, replaying the fights over and over, and…worried about Sasuke.

Yep, the check list was full and the last one was just not right, Sasuke could go drown himself in a puddle, yet she was worried about him, yeah, right, normal thoughts. Rei wondered how her mind could even hold it all.

She sat up stiffly and walked over to her dresser. Couldn't this be easier some how, say, without having to go see Orochimaru? Of course not. Rei ran a brush through the tangles in her hair, pulled on a different shirt and checked herself over in the mirror before she Okayed herself.

Unsure of exactly what she wanted to say to Orochimaru, she walked through the maze like hideout to his cambers. This would certainly be a surprise for him considering she'd never sought him out, save for the times he'd called on her.

Just over a year and a half, that's how long she'd been here already. In that time there were two things she'd hardly done, one was seeing Orochimaru, and two was leaving the compound. It had been a long year and a half, yet it had passed quickly.

She turned the corner to Orochimaru's room and shivered. Her hand brushed against the heavy wooden door before she knocked on it.

"Yes?" A snaky hissing voice called out.

"I-its Rei, I need to talk to you." She raised her voice hoping it would be enough to reach him.

"Ah, Rei-chan, please come in," Orochimaru's voice sounded closer the second time.

The hinges of the door squealed open and she entered letting the door bang heavily back in place. The main room was simple, a book shelf and a table with three chairs was pressed to the back wall. His "throne" chair stood almost center in the room and that was it. A door in the back corner lead off to god knows where, the one on the right wall went to Orochimaru's actual room, the one on the left lead to his lab. The thought of that place made her shudder. Orochimaru was walking toward her from that door, wiping his hands on a grubby hand towel.

"What's troubling you, my dear Rei-chan?" He asked as he stopped a few feet in front of her.

She hesitated trying to figure out what to say. "Well…something Sasuke said to me…it's bugging me…" She fought for the right words.

"Hm?" Orochimaru seemed patient, but she wondered if he was angry that she didn't know what she wanted to say.

"He said you'd asked him…to make sure I was…kept alive…"

"And you're wondering why?" There was a glint in his eyes that said "Dangerous, run, run like prey." Oh how she wanted to heed that warning.

She nodded, not wanting to say anything else to him. Hoping he'd just talk, explain himself completely enough that all her questions would be answered with out a Russian roulette style game of twenty questions.

He smirked at her and she attempted to keep from flinching. The snake like shinobi stepped toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder, looking her deep in the eyes. "Because your very important, Rei."

"Why?" What did he suddenly find "important" about her?

"It's very simple. I can't honestly believe that you don't see it." He looked at her for a moment, "But you truly don't see it, do you?"

"No, I don't." She looked angrily up at him then down. His hand on her shoulder moved to her chin, bringing her face up to meet his.

The snake smiled at her, "Uchiha Itachi loves you."

What?

"You still don't understand," He chuckled obvious amusement showing on his face. This only made her angrier. Infuriated even, who the hell was he to say that Itachi loved her?

"What do you mean "Itachi loves me"?" she tried not to scream, was this his own kind of sick joke?

"Its true, is it not?" He sounded smug.

She ignored his last question, "You didn't want me alive so badly before, why now?"

"Something was brought to my attention not to long ago that would prove your death would be in bad health for me." He paused to glance back at something. "If I were to just let you die, or kill you, Itachi would eventually come for us."

"Because he loves me?" Rei confirmed.

"Yes," Orochimaru agreed.

"Then, answer me this. Why did he go all out to kill me yesterday?"

"Did he really go all out or is that just your perspective?" He questioned her and she remembered thinking Itachi tried to catch her.

If he had wanted to kill her, really wanted to, wouldn't he have come down right away and done the job? Could he have been in shock? Maybe he thought he'd let her die? No, there had been pure bloodlust in his eyes; he must have wanted her dead. But…what if the bloodlust she saw wasn't for her blood, but someone else's, what then?

"But what if I were to switch sides?" Rei thought out loud without meaning to.

"Then Sasuke would kill you both," Orochimaru answered.

"Rei?" Kabuto's voice sounded from behind them, "What're you doing here? You should be resting."

Orochimaru leaned in close, "One piece of advice, don't switch sides." He whispered into her ear before letting her chin drop. "Kabuto would you please escort Rei back to her room." Orochimaru spoke past her as though she were no longer there.

She turned robotically to look back as Kabuto nodded. She wanted to walk over to him but…Sasuke would kill you both…She shuddered.

"Come on, Rei." The gray-haired medic motioned, waving her to him.

Just as mechanically as she'd turned, she walked over to him. His hand brushed the back of her shoulder to push her through the door. Her legs felt like steel, her stomach twisted in knots.

He looked worriedly at her several times as he lead them further and further from Orochimaru, but her face was black. Her feet moved only because he was pushing her onward. It took him a while to realize how rigid her body was.

"Rei, Rei are you alright?" Kabuto demanded in a hushed voice.

"…No…I…I feel sick…" She doubled over clutching her stomach her, face suddenly pale. When he spoke she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Rei!" He knelt beside her. Feeling her forehead for fever, checking her pulse on her neck, "Do you feel nauseous?"

She nodded holding her stomach tighter. What did it all mean; she needed to think clearly without thinking about the worst of what Orochimaru had told her. "K-Kabuto…take me to…m-my room…"

He slipped his hands around her with a silent nod to her request. Lifting her gently with ease, he took her to his room instead. By the time he actually reached his room she'd relaxed her hold on her stomach and pressed against him, holding on to his shoulder with one free hand and burying her face into the other. "What did he say to you…?" Kabuto whispered to himself as he watched her in dismay.

When he softly pulled back the cover of his bed and set her down she protested with a murmured 'don't let go' that made him smile despite himself. Undoing her boots and pulling them off, Kabuto let them fall to the floor next to the bed. She'd yell at him for that later. Resting a knee on the bed side he leaned over her to take off her black sweat shirt.

Kabuto unzipped the garment and carefully slid it off her arms, then out from under her. She had on a long sleeved shirt that didn't look comfortable to sleep in. So going to his dresser he pulled out one of his t-shirts, it would be over sized on her but she usually like to sleep in larger shirts.

Just as carefully as he pulled off the sweat shirt he started on her long sleeved one.

"Think you're gonna get lucky?" She asked groggily. Unable to open her eyes, or just not wanting to, she sighed. The sickening wave of nausea had passed for the moment.

He pulled back a moment, "N-no, I thought you were asleep," Her lips curved sweetly in a half smile.

"Some medic you are," The smile tugged the corners of her lips higher. She opened her eyes up a little and saw the shirt he was holding in his other hand.

"I thought you might sleep better in this," He looked down at it.

"Hm, yea looks comfy." She sounded like a child when she spoke like that, even though she was going on nineteen. Now that made him smile gently.

She helped to put the shirt on her and then she flopped back down to the bed with another strong wave of nausea. Curling herself into a ball helped a little but not much. A pillow tucked against her belly and knees helped a great deal even if she still was doubled in on herself.

Sweat beaded on her forehead after the second round passed. "Sorry…that I snapped at you…earlier." She muttered.

He ran a cold cloth over her slightly hot skin, "Shhh…that doesn't matter now." The medic couldn't resist kissing her forehead; Rei rolled under him onto her back and pressed a soft kiss of her own to his neck. "We were both stressed,"

"I think we still are," She mumbled as he pulled away from her.

End Chapter Four:

KIMI KIA! YESH YOU! KIM! You should call me when you finish this one

Thanks for reading, now please Review, you know you wanna click that button, it calls to you, you know it does!