Chapter 15

The next morning, Neji woke up after a deep sleep. He wanted to cuddle against his boyfriend, but frowned when he didn't find someone next to him. Confused, he sat up and opened his eyes, looking around, searching. But the only thing he found was a letter on Sasuke's pillow. As Neji stared at the letter, he already knew what had happened. Feeling himself getting sick, he knew Sasuke had left him.

"Fuck.." He whispered to himself, as he took the letter in his hand and opened it. He was silent for some time, not thinking about anything in particular, before he started reading.

Dear Neji,

First of all, I love you. Don't you ever forget about that.

Second, I left. You know where I went, I can't stand not having my memory anymore. After Kakashi arrived as well, I realized I can't move forward before I get my memory back. And for that I need to go to Orochimaru. So that's exactly what I did. I suck at letters, so I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for leaving. I can't offer you a future with me right now, it would be unfair to you and to me.

I told you, you could tell Itachi I went to Orochimaru after a month. Please keep to that. I don't want him ruining my chances. I don't know what else to write right now. So once again, I love you and don't forget it. I won't forget you either, I promise.

Love,

Sasuke

"..You asshole.." Neji growled, glaring at the letter as if it was his worst enemy, while he crumbled the letter in his hand. He'd better come back soon. He'd better get out of there alive. He had no idea what to do if Sasuke would die in there. Neji sighed, as he sat down onto his knees, while thinking of an excuse to make up for Sasuke's departure. He couldn't think of something straight away. In his rage, he lashed out towards the wall and hit it with so much power that cracks appeared in the wall. While overcoming the pain he felt a new pain exploding in his chest, as he tried to calm down. While he was panting heavily, he tore the letter apart and threw it behind the bed, not wanting to see it anymore. He got reminded of how hard this was as a low whimper escaped from his throat.

It didn't take long, before someone slowly opened the door of Neji's room. Shikamaru stood in the doorway, staring at Neji.

"I heard some strange noises. What's going on?" He asked.

"...Nothing." Neji bit out while his jaw started tightening up and he clenched his teeth together. He violently stood from the bed and yanked on a robe, not caring about the fact Shikamaru saw him naked.

".. Where is Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, quick at making conclusions. He looked at Neji patiently.

"Gone." Neji shortly replied. Shit. Now he had to lie to everyone. He was furious with the fact that Sasuke left, but he couldn't help but obey to his wishes.

"To where?" Shikamaru asked. "Maybe you should calm down a little." He closed the door now.

"Don't ask me to calm down." Neji snapped. "I'm furious. He left and he's not coming back."

"Where did he go then? And how do you know he's not coming back?" Shikamaru asked, frowning a little.

"He wrote me a letter and he told me to not follow him." Neji snapped, looking away. The angry look on his face was soon replaced with a frown as he tried to swallow away his emotions.

"Then where did he go? He didn't leave to Orochimaru right? And sit down." Shikamaru said.

"He didn't write me where he went to." Neji said, as he shook his head. Instead of setting down, he walked towards the door. "I'm going to take a walk."

"Shouldn't you dress first?" Shikamaru asked. "If he didn't tell you where he went, then I bet he's gone to Orochimaru. We need to tell Itachi and the others."

"He promised me he wouldn't ever go there, so he probably just left the city to start a new life, without any of us in it." Neji said. "And I am dressed." He opened the door now and walked out, towards the stairs. He just needed to get out of here now. And fast.

Shikamaru followed Neji.

"I don't think so. Why would he want to leave you?" Shikamaru asked.

"To start a new life obviously." Neji snapped. "Just drop it Shikamaru." He walked towards the door and opened it, not caring about the cold of the morning right now. He just wanted to take a walk, to get rid of those emotions.

"Fine. But I'm telling Itachi he left. I'm sure he'll conclude the same thing I have." Shikamaru said, taking a turn to go see Itachi in the kitchen.

"For god's sake Shikamaru, do you want Itachi to get killed?" Neji suddenly snapped, as he turned around, getting even more angry. "... Understood? He left me, he left Itachi, he left Kakashi, he left 'everyone' behind."

"He just doesn't strike me as the person to just leave without gaining anything from it." Shikamaru said shrugging.

"Me neither no." Neji muttered, as he shook his head.

"Did he tell you he wanted to leave everyone behind?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, but that's what I assume when he writes that he wants a new life." Neji said, as he shook his head.

"... I guess you really need that walk." Shikamaru said. It was odd, that Sasuke would want a new life without Neji. But somehow, it made sense as well. He probably couldn't be with the ones he once knew, because they would make him remember he lost his memory too much.

Neji bit his lip for a second, before he turned around and walked out of the door, into the woods.

Shikamaru looked at Neji leaving and then sighed, before walking into the kitchen. Itachi, Deidara and Kisame were all there.

"Itachi... maybe you should sit down." Shikamaru said.

Itachi looked at Shikamaru and frowned as he heard the door fall closed and saw Neji leaving. He then looked at Shikamaru again.

"...Please don't tell me Sasuke left." He then said.

"I'm sorry. Neji got a letter from him this morning.." Shikamaru said. "The good news is, he didn't leave to Orochimaru."

"...Then where did he go?" Itachi asked, as he sat down. He felt like he had just received a slap in the face though. "Shit..."

"Are you ok Itachi un?" Deidara asked, looking at Itachi worried.

"He left to start a new life..." Shikamaru said.

Itachi let out a groan while he put his face into his hands.

"Shit... it's his own choice of course, but... shit.." Itachi muttered.

"I'm really sorry." Shikamaru said.

"Itachi?" Deidara asked again, putting his hands on Itachi's arms.

"I'm fine Deidara." Itachi muttered. "How is Neji?" He asked Shikamaru.

"Not too well. He left with just his robe." Shikamaru said. Deidara frowned now.

"You sure you're ok? The forest is not the right place to roam through in just a robe. I'd better get Neji back un." He said.

"I'm fine, but indeed, Neji should get back here." Itachi said, sighing.

"I'll go get him un." Deidara said and gave Itachi a quick kiss before leaving. He knew Itachi would be fine with Kisame there. So now he needed to find Neji. It didn't take long once he was in the forest before he spotted the brunette by a small brook.

"Hey Neji un." He said.

Neji looked up shortly, before looking away again.

"..Hey." He then said. Why did Deidara come here?

"You know, it's not very smart to go to the forest with just a robe on un. It can be dangerous out here." Deidara said.

"Sure." Neji muttered. "I could take them on if they wanted to do something." He looked at his legs anyway, that were half naked. Perhaps Deidara had a point.

Deidara sat down next to Neji now.

"I'm sorry about Sasuke. But this wasn't a very wise choice to make un." He said, smiling slightly at Neji.

"...Has someone ever been attacked in here for not wearing enough clothes?" Neji asked, making a weak attempt to make a joke.

"... I was un." Deidara said. "When I decided I would take a swim naked."

Neji looked at Deidara now.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Oh well there are gangs here that like to assault good looking guys and they won't hesitate if you walk around half naked or completely naked un." Deidara said and smiled. "What did the letter say?" He then asked.

Neji sighed as he looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it." He then said. "...I'm sorry for you about what happened."

"Oh that's fine un." Deidara said. "But really, you should talk about it. There's nothing worse than keeping your feelings inside."

"I did that for my whole life already, I think I can manage some more years." Neji muttered.

"You're not even half way with your life Neji. Really, it would be better to talk. Otherwise it will only hurt more un." Deidara said.

Neji bit his lip while staring at the water.

"I don't want to talk about it." He then said.

"You remind me of myself when I was younger you know un." Deidara said, looking at the water as well.

Neji was silent for some time, before admitting he was curious and looked at the blonde next to him.

"Why?" He then asked.

"I used to shove everything away as well." Deidara said. "And until Itachi came along, I thought it was doing me good un. But it didn't at all. All I was doing was lying to myself."

"..Lying about what?" Neji asked.

"First of all, that I didn't need emotions. Second of all, that I didn't need to talk about what happened un." Deidara said. "You're telling yourself not to give in to your feelings is best, but it's really not Neji un."

"...Showing those emotions has no use and people will think you're weak when you let them out." Neji said, as he shook his head.

"So.. what are you keeping inside un?" Deidara now asked. He wondered what had made Neji this way.

"..Nothing much." Neji stubbornly said.

"I'm pretty sure that's not true un." Deidara said, as he looked at Neji.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Neji asked, as he gave Deidara a look. This conversation was bringing his damn problems up, while he had worked so hard to keep them inside.

"Because, I want to know if I can help you. Should I just tell you why I used to keep everything inside un?" Deidara asked.

"Fine." Neji muttered.

"I don't need help. I'm not weak."

"Help is not just for the weak. It's for everyone un." Deidara sighed. "But I'll tell you. When I was four, my parents had to flee with me to another city because we were outcast. And two years later they died, leaving me behind with nothing un. I became a terrorist out of anger, thinking if I could just blow up everything that got in my way, I would be fine. If I could just pretend I was a terrorist, then I didn't need to show any emotions and I didn't have to think about what had happened un. About being alone. Until I almost blew up myself and Itachi found me."

Neji frowned as he looked at Deidara now. Damn. And then he thought that 'he' had been insane.

"...But your situation is different.." He then said, feeling sorry for Deidara.

"That doesn't mean there aren't similarities. Would you tell me about you un?" Deidara asked.

"...Not so long ago, a monster attacked the city.." Neji started after he had been silent for some time, doubting. "...He set the whole city on fire and killed the whole village. Except for me... and Sasuke, who was there as well. I looked the monster directly into the eyes when it came walking towards me.. my parents protected me, but... " He bit his lip now, as he shook his head.

Deidara kept silent as he waited for Neji to finish. He knew how annoying it was when people didn't keep silent and you tried to tell them what happened. He remembered Kisame not being able to shut up when he wanted to tell Itachi and him about his past.

"...They were killed in front of my eyes and it hit me unconscious." Neji then softly said, almost whispering. "...The images are still hunting me. My whole family and all of my friends were killed and my entire city was burned down the ground."

"I'm sorry for you." Deidara said. "I get that you think pretending you're fine and acting tough will make you forget. But I'm sure the pain has only gotten worse un."

Neji's jaw locked once more, as he glared at the water now, not being able to say anything. He was too busy with pushing his emotions back. He didn't even notice that he stopped breathing. Until the pressure of his lungs started becoming painful. He let out a soundless gasp as he tried to fight down the feeling and breath without Deidara noticing.

Deidara pulled his legs to his body and stared ahead of him.

"It's hard to be alone. But the best thing you can do is talk about what happened and then find new people un." Deidara said. "The best thing you can do is try a little less hard forgetting and acting tough."

"..I g-guess." Neji said, swallowing as he started to feel panic. Why couldn't he breathe? He pressed his eyes shut as he felt the panic and emotions becoming worse and fought them down desperately. Shit. What was wrong with him? He couldn't hide it from Deidara anymore as he started to gasp for air.

Deidara pulled Neji close now, giving him a hug.

"Calm down and breathe un. Follow my pace." Deidara said, as he made sure his breathing was calm. He remembered he had passed out when he started talking to Itachi. Breathing would become irregular when people panicked.

Neji frowned in his panic as he clung himself to Deidara as tears started forming in his eyes. He felt the pressure becoming slightly less as he tried to focus onto Deidara's breathing. His heart was racing as he kept gasping for air. Finally a tiny string of air was allowed into his lungs and he started breathing in and out like mad, starting to hyperventilate. His eyes were completely wet now and tears started coming out.

"Now breathe into your own hands. It'll help un." Deidara said, letting go of Neji just slightly so he could put his hands before his mouth.

Neji followed Deidara's advise blindly as he clenched his hands together and put his hands in front of his mouth, concentrating on his breathing. He was relieved he was doing this, because at that moment his lip started quivering like mad as more tears came out and they came into contact with his own hands.

Deidara stroke Neji's back softly.

"It's ok Neji. You can let it out un." He said.

Neji shook his head desperately, trying to block away his emotions like mad as he clenched his eyes shut. Shit..

"You shouldn't fight it." Deidara said. "Really Neji, it's fine un."

Neji let out a whimper before he broke down completely and crouched from the pain he felt in his chest. God... He missed everyone so much..

Deidara pulled Neji close again and shushed him a little. He knew he shouldn't talk now. Neji just needed to cry.

Neji leaned against Deidara as he cried about everything he had cropped up so far.

"...I c-can't tell you how much I m-miss them... and n-now Sasuke left... I c-can't take it..." He whimpered, as he shook his head.

"I know.." Deidara softly said. He rocked Neji a little. "But you're really not alone in this un."

Neji kept sobbing as he grabbed Deidara's shirt and hid his face in it.

"..I w-want Sasuke to come back..." He whispered.

".. I can understand that un." Deidara said. "I'm so sorry for you Neji."

"..Don't s-say that.. please don't..." Neji sobbed as he shook his head.

"Sorry." Deidara said, stroking Neji's hair a little. "All I can tell you now is that things will get better. Even though it seems impossible now un."

Neji sniffed up his tears as he finally sat back and started wiping away his tears. He then looked at Deidara.

"...H-he's not coming back Deidara... he's not..." He then said.

"How do you know that un?" Deidara asked, frowning slightly.

"...I just k-know.." Neji muttered. He was so scared that Sasuke would die in Orochimaru's hands. He knew he would.. Sasuke should never even have went there in the first place.

"You can't know that for sure un." Deidara said. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know..." Neji softly said, as he shook his head. A clear sign for Deidara to drop the subject.

"... If you want to talk about things, you can always come to me un." Deidara said.

Neji looked at Deidara as he swallowed. He then nodded. He should not tell anyone where Sasuke went. He bit his lip, doubting... should he tell Deidara? There was a high risk that Deidara would tell Itachi.

"Don't forget that you can talk to me un." Deidara said, looking back at Neji.

"...I want to tell you something, but... you have to swear to me to not tell anyone." Neji muttered. "..Especially not Itachi."

Deidara was silent for a while, doubting, but then nodded.

"I promise un." He said. Neji needed someone. And if having to keep a secret from Itachi was gonna mean he would be that person, he would just have to do it. Neji shouldn't suffer the way he had.

"...Sasuke went to Orochimaru." Neji then said.

Deidara was once again silent now. Even though he could have expected this, he hadn't. So now he was gonna have to keep it a secret from Itachi, that he knew where Sasuke was. And that Itachi could get him back.

"... He told you?" Deidara asked.

"Yes." Neji said. "...We had a fight about it. He told me to not tell Itachi and lie to everyone about where he was... In a month I could tell Itachi."

"So you have to keep it a secret for a month un?" Deidara asked. That meant 'he' had to keep his mouth shut for a month as well.

Neji nodded.

"...When Orochimaru held me hostage, he waited two days before he started experimenting on me." He said. "If we can't help Sasuke for a month... I don't think he'll be alive around the time Itachi goes there... but he'll be furious if we come earlier, because then he probably won't have his memory back yet.."

"Maybe things are different for Sasuke. He has been there for four years before." Deidara said. "Maybe he'll be fine un."

"...I don't know... Orochimaru seemed angry that Sasuke had left.." Neji muttered, as he shook his head.

"That doesn't mean anything." Deidara said. "I'm pretty sure Sasuke pissed Orochimaru off more often un. He's good at pissing people off from what I've heard." He smiled at Neji a little.

Neji snorted.

"Good?" He asked. "He's a damn master at it."

Deidara chuckled a little.

"So I've heard. I'm sure he'll be fine Neji un. He can take care of himself." He said.

"...I hope so." Neji said, nodding.

"I'm sure about that un." Deidara said. "Do you feel a little better now?"

Neji nodded once more, as he stroke the last of his tears away.

"..Thank you." He then said.

"You're welcome un." Deidara said. "Now please come back home, so you can put on some clothes."

Neji chuckled a little now.

"Well I'm not that tempting to jump on you know." He then said.

"Sure Neji." Deidara said as he got up. "You haven't looked at yourself in a while haven't you? Practically everyone would jump on you un."

"It's not like the whole world is gay." Neji said, as he stood as well.

"No but there are plenty. And plenty amongst those who will find you attractive un." Deidara said and he and Neji started walking.

"You're hilarious Deidara." Neji dryly said. He then snorted. "I could be afraid that the men will think I'm a woman."

"You really think men won't be attractive to you?" Deidara asked.

"Yeah." Neji said. "I just had it twice until now that a man showed attraction towards me. A guy that offered me and Sasuke a place to stay, and Sasuke."

"I think you have more chance of men being attracted to you than me." Neji added. "I tend to scare people with my eyes."

"I tend to scare people with my character un." Deidara said, grinning a little. "I'm sure lots of guys look at you when you walk by, and not because of your eyes. You need a little more confidence."

Neji chuckled a little.

"You're not 'that' scary, right?" He asked. "You're only quickly annoyed."

"I can be very scary un." Deidara said. "I don't like guys asking me out and such, so I just go crazy on them. Itachi really is the only one who I allowed to flirt with me or look at me."

Neji smiled a little.

"And why did you allow Itachi to do that and no one else?" He then asked.

"Because have you ever looked at him? He's hot un." Deidara said and laughed a little. "No really it was because he treated me with respect. Lots of guys think of us as pieces of meat."

Neji chuckled now.

"Itachi is handsome yes, both him as Sasuke are lucky with their features." He then said. "But you said something about Itachi saving you from yourself. Do you want to talk about that? I must admit I'm curious."

"Around the time that you were a terrorist I mean." He added.

"Yeah I know what you mean." Deidara said. "Itachi started coming up to me every once in a while when I was travelling through here. And he was very nice to me and such, and I hated it 'cause I really didn't want to feel anything anymore. But I still fell for him, so I... well I actually attempted to blow up Kisame's house, knowing Itachi lived there too. I ended up getting hurt myself though and Itachi took care of me. In that time we got to know each other more and more and he made me realise that sometimes it's just not best to keep things to yourself. I'm sure that if he hadn't been able to get through to me, I would have ended up blowing myself up at some point."

"...So in the beginning you actually wanted to kill him?" Neji asked. Now 'that' was a story.

"..Yeah that was stupid un." Deidara answered, nodding slightly.

"Well thank god you didn't succeed." Neji said. "So Itachi taught you to not throw bombs at everything anymore and taught you how to love. That's beautiful."

"I know. I'm very grateful for him." Deidara said. "Like I said, without him I would have been dead by now un."

Neji smiled a little.

"I'm happy for you." He then said. "But I can also understand what it must feel like to have to share him with Kisame. Speaking of Kisame, how was 'his' childhood?"

"... Funny enough, he tried to kill Itachi at first too. Kisame had it rough. I don't know any details though, all I know is that he lost everything, had to raise himself and then got stuck in some freaky gang. Orochimaru was actually in that gang as well. While he was in that gang, he tried to kill Itachi for getting in the way, but Itachi stopped him and talked to Kisame. We both owe a lot to Itachi." Deidara said.

Neji raised his eyebrows and snorted.

"Itachi sounds like some kind of superhero." He then said.

"He's just the nicest man in the world un." Deidara said smiling. "Kisame and I were lucky to have run into him. I think we were blessed that he loves us."

"Don't think so low of yourself, I think Itachi is someone who is selecting some people as well, right?" Neji asked. "I don't think he could love 'everyone'."

"I know, but Itachi is a better person then me or Kisame could ever be un." Deidara said. "Itachi's special."

Neji nodded.

"I'm happy for you." He then said.

"Itachi says Sasuke is the same great person, he just had a lot to deal with and shows it a little awkwardly un." Deidara said.

Neji smiled a little.

"A little?" He asked.

"Right. He's probably a master at that as well un." Deidara said, laughing slightly.

"He has a lot of issues." Neji said, as they reached the house.

"Itachi says he had even more before un." Deidara said.

"I'm just afraid the frustration will come back when Sasuke gets back his memory." Neji said, sighing.

"I think both options aren't really great for Sasuke. He'll be frustrated without his memory and with un." Deidara said.

Neji nodded as they entered the house. He then turned around to Deidara.

"You have to promise me to not tell Itachi." He then said.

Deidara looked at Neji a little surprised for a while, before nodding.

"Once again, I promise un." He said. Itachi was gonna kill him for this, but Neji needed some help.

Neji gave Deidara a thankful look.

"..Thank you." He then said. "And again, thanks for before."

"You're welcome. Now go put on some clothes un." Deidara said and smiled at Neji.

"I will." Neji said, nodding. "Thank you." He then turned around and walked up the stairs, to put his clothes on.

Deidara watched Neji walk upstairs and then sighed. He wondered how much he was screwing up his relationship with Itachi right now. If he ever found out..

That same day, Sasuke arrived at Orochimaru's hide out. He took a deep breath before descending down some stairs. He didn't know what would be waiting for him once he announced he was back. He still wasn't sure if it was the wisest decision, but he needed to try. Once in the hide out, he looked around, not having a clue of where to go. All he knew was that once he would start walking, the hallways would come back to him, like they had done when he had rescued Neji. So he just started walking. Hallway after hallway seemed familiar and his legs brought them to a room. He stopped in front of the door, sighed and then opened it. Immediately he was met with a stench that was close to unbearable. Like something was rotting away. He looked inside a dark room, but he could see everything. Kakashi was right about seeing well in the dark. He then rested his eyes on a man, who was slicing into a dead body, pulling out organs and blood vessels. It was disgusting. And it was exactly what he would expect from the man.

"Orochimaru." Sasuke said, trying to keep his voice calm.

The snake man just smirked as he placed the heart of the person that was laying in front of him in a box. He didn't answer for some time before he let out a sinister chuckle.

"So you've come back, Sasuke?" He asked. "How sweet of you. What is it you need?"

"You know what I want. My memory back." Sasuke said, slightly annoyed because Orochimaru just chuckled at him.

"And why do you think I would know how to give it back to you?" Orochimaru asked. "You're still so naive, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the phrase that was put behind his name by this man.

"I know you have something to do with me loosing it. So give it back." Sasuke said.

"Sure I have 'something' to do with it my boy." Orochimaru said, as he left the body and washed his hands. "But I did not snap my fingers to let your memory disappear. It was one of the side effects that could have occurred during our experiment."

"Then what did you do to me?" Sasuke hissed, not liking how Orochimaru talked to him at all.

"You should know that by now." Orochimaru said. "You should have noticed by now that your body changes once in a while."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked frowning. His body changes?

"When you grow really angry or get panicked Sasuke." Orochimaru said. "Your body form changes. Don't tell me no one ever told you you change into a monster that destroys everything on its path."

Sasuke was silent now as he stared at Orochimaru. He... changed into a monster? Did that mean...?

"You're just saying that, I don't change into a monster." Sasuke said, hoping he sounded calm enough.

"Oh you do." Orochimaru said. "You wanted more power, so I implanted the DNA of one of the monsters I own in your body. It worked magnificent. You become so strong that you can kill as many people as you like. Not too long ago you even wiped out an entire city I recall."

"That's not true, you're just messing with me." Sasuke now snapped. He couldn't be a monster... because that would mean 'he' had wiped out Neji's city. It would mean he had killed Neji's family.

"Why would I?" Orochimaru asked with a chuckle. "Since you don't know, you probably lose your memory during your transformation. You don't remember a thing of what you did."

"... It's not true, you just wanna freak me out." Sasuke snapped. It did make sense though. He lost his memory and was suddenly laying beside Neji. And that other time he was angry as well and lost a part. It made too much sense to not be true and it 'was' freaking Sasuke out.

Orochimaru smirked broadly now.

"Do you know who almost killed Neji the time you lost your memory and woke up while staring at Kabuto?" He asked. "Fill in the blanks Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru angry. He knew Orochimaru was right. It was the only explanation for it all. He 'had' killed Neji's family and he had tried to kill Neji as well. He was the one who had made Neji's life a living hell, it was all him. How could he ever face Neji now? How could he ever tell Neji that it was his fault he had lost everything? Sasuke swallowed, not wanting to look as weak as he felt. It was useless though. He was a horrible monster and he wasn't quite sure if he could live with it all. Coming here might have been the biggest mistake of his life right now, especially when he felt a panic attack coming up.

"So what is it exactly that you want from me Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked, smirking. "I can't remove the DNA anymore, sadly enough. I would have to take all your DNA and kill you with it."

Sasuke was silent for a while longer before he spoke.

"I wanna stay here to get my memory back." He said. If he was a killing machine, then he might as well stay here. Neji would not want him anyway once he found out. It would be better for everyone else if he stayed away.

"I could of course try to help you with it." Orochimaru said, giving Sasuke a sinister smile. "But not for free of course."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Orochimaru right now. Of course not for free. But right now he needed his memory back even more. He needed to know why he would do something as stupid as becoming a monster. Or he would kill himself for being so stupid in the first place.

"What do you want from me then?" Sasuke asked.

"As you probably already noticed, I'm running a lab in here." Orochimaru said. "I would like to run some experiments on you. In exchange, I will tell you everything you wish to know and search for a cure to settle down the monster within you."

"What kind of experiments?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. Even though he knew he was probably going to say yes, he wanted to know what he would get himself into.

"I cannot say that yet, but most will be looking at your blood and reactions." Orochimaru said. He then smirked his evil smirk as he patted on the body. "Don't worry, you will not end up like him."

"I'd better not." Sasuke said. "Fine I'll do it." He was being stupid right now, but he deserved this. It was not like he had anything to go back to now. Nobody would want him, knowing he was a monster. He would just have to spend his life here, until he knew what to do next.

"Excellent." Orochimaru said, smirking broadly. He raised his hand, and suddenly there was a white snake crawling up over it. "My little comrade here will point you to towards your room. You must be tired."

"I'm not tired, but fine." Sasuke said. He wasn't afraid of a little snake. Although it freaked him out that it came crawling out of Orochimaru's clothes. Or even worse, out of his body probably.

Orochimaru walked towards Sasuke and handed him the snake, that immediately crawled onto Sasuke's arm and settled there. It turned his head back to the door Sasuke had entered through. Orochimaru just smirked before walking back to the table and picking up the knife again.

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru a little longer, before quickly leaving the room again when he started cutting up the body. He really didn't need to see that. As he followed the directions of the snake, Sasuke felt his stomach turn over. He was nauseous just from the thought of having killed Neji's family. And from the thought that he had tried to kill Neji before. It really felt like all he could do now was stay away from everyone else. All he needed to do was make sure Neji would never tell Itachi.