Yumiko stood over her parents' graves, a single rose in her hands. She quietly knelt down and placed the rose atop the mound of freshly overturned soil, closing her eyes. At least they went together…they must have really loved each other…
A hand on her shoulder startled her.
Yumiko turned around, surprised; she hadn't seen anyone follow her…
"I have skills."
"Who are you?"
The person looked like Kabuto; the perfect picture of her former boyfriend. It was probably someone Henged…
"I'm me," "Kabuto" said simply. Yumiko glared.
"Kabuto blew himself up," she spat, standing up. "And how dare you try to convince me otherwise?! I watched him die…" She shook her head, black hair flying back and forth. "I can't stand it!"
"Kabuto" stepped closer to her and lifted her face. "Try your bloodline."
Yumiko's Byakugan and Sharingan crackled to life, glaring at "Kabuto." She focused the Sharingan part of it, still staring "Kabuto" right in the face.
No flames appeared around his figure.
Yumiko's jaw dropped. "Then-that was-"
"A clone," Kabuto said. "I thought Orochimaru had done the same…apparently not, otherwise I would have killed myself."
Yumiko heard how hard and bitter his voice sounded. She stepped up to him and put her arms around him, sharing in his sorrow. "I'm sorry."
Kabuto shook his head and returned the embrace. "We can be miserable together, right?"
Yumiko nodded, inhaling his scent. He smelled like the forest after a rain, and the skies were still cloudy. Rain was hovering over them like the deep purple clouds overhead, and Yumiko could smell it.
"Come on," Kabuto said as the first drops began to fall. "We better get inside."
Yumiko nodded, and they ran for the complex as it started to pour.
OOOOOOOOO
Tsunade glanced at Misao, standing in front of her wearing her ANBU gear and a very sour expression.
"Well?"
"Nothing," Misao spat. "Not even a body."
Tsunade sighed. "Then he's still alive."
Misao nodded. "How's Dad?"
"He's live."
Misao nodded again. "So…what happens now…?"
"We wait for another move from Sound. If it never comes, they're smart. If it comes, they're incredibly stupid."
Misao snorted. "Well, at least it's true…what about Orochimaru?"
"Dead and buried."
"Found Jiriaya?"
"Sure did. In a pub."
Misao laughed and sighed at the same time. Tsunade didn't even know it was possible. "Well, what was he doing?"
"What Jiriaya does best: goofing off and 'researching.'"
Misao grinned. "So what do you want me to do?"
"Shower, clean up, and change Kakashi's bandages."
"Again?"
"That's funny."
Kakashi emerged from the bedroom, looking very disoriented. "Hey, I'm still alive, you know," he grouched. "Forgotten me already?"
"Only missing you more," Tsunade murmured, sliding an arm around Kakashi's waist and avoiding the broken ribs. She gently kissed him and reached for the mask.
"Watch," Kakashi warned. "We have an audience."
"I'm leaving," Misao said quickly. Tsunade grinned and kissed Kakashi again over the mask, waiting for Misao to leave to pull the mask off and kiss him full on the mouth.
"You taste so much better when that stupid mask-"
"Don't go insulting me," Kakashi whispered, pretending to be genuinely hurt. "I can bite you at any time, you know."
"I wouldn't care."
"Not in front of the kids!"
Tsunade smiled. "Fine, fine; we can take this to the bedroom."
OOOOOOOOO
Temari sat down next to Shikamaru, grinning impishly.
"What?"
The Nara broke the silence in response to Temari's childish expression. "What?" he repeated, and Temari's grin only widened.
"Guess what today is?"
"August twenty-third?"
Temari smiled. "Don't play stupid with me, I saw it in the basement freezer…"
"Aw…" Shikamaru smiled. "I wanted it to be a surprise."
He got up from his bed, leaving Temari lounging in the corner in a beanbag chair. The kuniochi sat with her legs crossed, that sly grin still on her face. Shikamaru smiled and went downstairs to the freezer. Temari's present was down there…Shikamaru opened the freezer door and pulled out an ice cream cake: Temari's favorite desert, because she could rarely get a hold of it in Sunaga.
Shikamaru went back up to his room, gathering two plates, a knife, and two forks on his way up. Temari was still sitting in exactly the same spot when he walked back in, and Shikamaru grinned and handed her the cake.
"Surprise," he said dryly. Temari smiled, stood up, and kissed him on the cheek.
"I love it."
Shikamaru smiled and set it down on his desk, took the cover off, and cut a slice for him and one for Temari.
"Happy birthday."
He handed her a card and smiled. Temari read the front, then opened it and read the inside. A soft smile slowly spread across her face, and she carefully set down her cake as Shikamaru did the same. He knew what was coming.
Temari jumped on him like a cat, tackling him around the neck and tipping him over backwards. Shikamaru burst out laughing, and Temari kissed him again.
"Thank you," she murmured, and slowly crawled off Shikamaru. She curled up in the beanbag chair again and began eating her cake, cool as a cat, acting like nothing had happened. Shikamaru smiled and sat up, then picked up his own cake and took a bite.
"Like it?"
Temari nodded vigorously, and Shikamaru smiled. "Good, then I know you."
Temari nodded again. "Yes, you do. You're my boyfriend, I'd be worried if you didn't know my favorite desert."
"What kind of boyfriend doesn't know what his girlfriend's favorite desert is?" Shikamaru asked, feigning shock. "I'd have to break up with you because you deserved someone better!"
Temari finished her cake and sat back, sighing with pleasure. "You're the best boyfriend ever," she said. "And that was the best cake I've ever eaten!"
Shikamaru finished his cake an picked up the plates and silverware. "Could you take that please?" he asked, jerking his head towards the cake. Temari nodded, picked up the cake, and followed Shikamaru downstairs with it.
Shikamaru put the dishes in the sink, took the cake from Temari, and put it in the freezer, this time in the one attached to the refrigerator. Then he and Temari went back up to Shikamaru's room.
Temari grinned when she saw the Shoji board set up.
"You first."
OOOOOOOOO
Yumiko sighed as she went through paperwork scattered around Orochimaru's headquarters. Kabuto was helping her, and they had already announced formal takeover, since everyone else had died. Kabuto was now handing off papers to the Sound Five and confiscating Jiroubou's bag of chips. "Stop eating!" he screamed in exasperation. "Or if you're going to eat like an Akimichi, at least eat something healthy!"
Kabuto turned around and chucked the half-empty bag into the garbage can in the corner. Jiroubou looked crushed.
"Moving on: Orochimaru-sama left no will of any sort, given that he thought he was immortal, so I have taken possession of most of his belongings. His experiments and such; his personal possessions I have left as they were. I'll decide what to do with them later. But for now, I have secured all experiments and such and freed all test subjects and prisoners. We have no use for them anymore. I have either altered or altogether wiped their memories, and that should take care of itself. As for you all-either stay with me and obey me as you would Orochimaru-sama, or I can wipe part of your memories and let you do whatever you want. I will offer this to anyone in this village, but specially the ninja. I also have reason to believe that Orochimaru-sama left a record of everything that transpired here, but I have yet to find it. But I am fairly certain of its location and will commence my search shortly after I take care of the immediate crisis. Kimi, you have a choice, the same as everyone else, but you may want to stay with me, as I can continue treating this disease to make sure it never comes back. We may never be certain if it will return or not."
Kimimaro nodded, and Kabuto handed him a paper. "A record of what I've been doing to fight off this disease, should you decide to leave," Kabuto said, and handed a paper to Tayuya.
"Don't lose it, it's your physical records and ninja registration. Everyone else has theirs, I don't know why you don't have yours."
Tayuya nodded. "Thanks."
"Jiroubou, watch your diet. Ukon, Sakon has the final say in anything physical because it's his body. Sakon, respect your brother. Kidomaru, don't kill someone just because they killed a spider. There are many more spiders in the world. Kimi, drink your milk."
Yumiko smiled. "Hey, Kabuto!"
Kabuto turned around. "What?"
"This."
Kabuto glanced at Yumiko's discovery; a small, red ring that read "Sora." Kabuto picked it up and began turning it.
"It's his Akatsuki ring," Kabuto murmured. "I thought it was on his hand…"
Yumiko shook her head. "Decoy."
Kabuto shrugged. "Well, that's Orochimaru-sama for you. Anyway, I wonder why he even hid it to begin with…probably contains a portion of his soul or something."
Yumiko smiled. "Ushi, saru, u, ne, inushishi, tori, uma, tora, ne, tora, inu, tora, mi, ne, saru, ushi, saru, hitsuji, ne…"
Kabuto watched in fascination as Yumiko chanted and formed signs over the ring, unlocking its deadly secrets. Yumiko continued to chant, her hands flashing to match her chanting. Finally, she paused and set both hands on the ring, a spark of chakra discharging into the ring. A scroll appeared, tied with a red satin ribbon and signed in elegant kanji-
"Orochimaru-sama's writing," Kabuto whispered, and picked up the scroll. His heart pounded as he slid the ribbon off and cracked the seal. He slowly opened the scroll, staring at the kanji spiraling down its entire length.
"To my pet-Kabuto," the silver-haired ninja read slowly. "I always treasured you above even Sasuke, and I want to give this to you before I die. However, if I cannot, I trust that anyone with sense in his or her head will give this to you, hai? And if they do not…well, let's not think about that. I want all my experiments to go to you-do what you want with them, but I pray you will use them for the good of the village. You are in charge of Sound if I die, so take good care of it. No one deserves it better than you, anyway. Don't fail me now.
"Jiroubou-Stop eating, hell! Tayuya-Kabuto knows where the soap is. Kidomaru-I smashed a spider yesterday. Bite me. Ukon-Sakon has the final say. It's his body, bloody hell! Sakon-you still have to respect your brother. Kimi, get enough calcium to keep your bones from falling apart, and trust whatever Kabuto does. Be nice to him. Yumiko-God, Yumiko, you better not give Kabuto as much mouth as you gave me! If I ever…well, I lived.
"Let Itachi know I never really trusted him-if I'm not dead already I should be by the end of next hour or so. Yasu was pretty and powerful and a great ally, but she could be a pain with Itachi and crap. Tell Tsunade I love her-sarcastically of course. If you weren't backhanded you failed your mission.
"And finally, to all the shinobi of this village…
"…I'll see you in hell."
Kabuto smiled as he got to the end of the scroll, and re-rolled it, wordlessly sealing it again and slid the ribbon back over it. He walked away without a sound, and Yumiko watched him with interest.
Orochimaru-sama…I won't fail you…not again.
A/N:…all so cute and fluffy…