Of Bones and Blossoms

Chapter One.

"Nothingness."

Surrounded by tubes again.

That was his life now, it seemed. He was reduced to being nothing but a patient, waiting for the time when he could be of service again. The ragged, worn hospital bed on which he laid was his only constant. He was fed through tubes, medicated through tubes; he lived off of the tubes.

And he hated it. He hated his life. His only purpose--serving Orochimaru--had been taken away by disease. Yet, he was kept alive, and he didn't know why. There were many times when he wanted to ask, but he barely had the strength to breathe, much less talk. His nineteenth and twentieth birthdays passed without so much as any sort of recognition.

Life was tedious. Every second felt like a minute. Every minute felt like hours. Every hour felt like years. He hated, hated the feeling of weakness. It made him furious to the core.. yet he couldn't even make his discontent known. He couldn't even move.

He wanted to move, he wanted to fight, he wanted to serve. It wasn't fair that he couldn't; it wasn't fair that Uchiha Sasuke--Who Kimimaro knew was not planning on being a vessel for Orochimaru--was roaming freely while Kimimaro, who was more than willing to serve, was chained to a life of experimentation and sickness; of being surrounded by lab equipment twenty-four-seven.

One day, Kabuto entered the lab as usual. "Good morning, Kimimaro-kun."

Already, Kimimaro knew something was up. Kabuto usually remained silent as he healed him.

His emerald eyes watched Kabuto's every movement as he checked different machines and monitors. "Looks good," he commented, straightening. "I'm going to perform a little operation on you today; I'll put you to sleep so you won't feel a thing."

Kimimaro was used to surgeries. He didn't respond in any way; he only watched as the spectacled man put some anesthetic into his IV. And he drifted off into blackness.

xXx

He woke up.. and immediately knew something wasn't right.

He couldn't sense Orochimaru's presence at all. Did that mean that Kabuto..?

No, he couldn't have.

.. Did he?

Kimimaro's earth seal was what linked him to Orochimaru. He clung to that seal; now he knew why Kabuto put anesthetic in his IV. Had the Kaguya known the curse mark was being removed, he would've cause chaos; as much chaos as he could, anyways.

Now life would be even worse than before, if that was possible. Orochimaru, the person he adored more than anything, was completely out-of-reach, now. He didn't understand it. Why would Kabuto have removed the seal? Could it have been Orochimaru's orders? No, certainly not. Was Kabuto just jealous? He doubted that, too.

Then what was it? What was the purpose in the removal of his seal?

xXx

A week went by; Kimimaro's urge to demand Kabuto tell him why he removed the seal increased day-by-day. Finally, Kabuto noticed this.

"Something the matter, Kimimaro-kun? You look like you want to ask me something." His pleasant tone of voice made Kimimaro's face darken.

"I bet you're wondering why I removed your curse seal, 'ne?" he smiled. "I was told to d--"

The alarms went off.

"What the?!" Kabuto looked around, wide-eyed. "S-Some broke through Lord Orochimaru's genjutsu!?"

And he rushed off.

Kimimaro remained still. After a minute or so, he heard an explosion. What was happening out there? Was it shinobi? It had to be shinobi. No ordinary person would be able to even so much as detect the genjutsu in the slightest.

But Kimimaro could do nothing to stop them. He couldn't even move.

Suddenly, the ground shook. Trays rattles, equipment began falling to the floor. Kimimaro could feel his bed trembling, and his facial expression remained the same, although he could feel the panic rising in his chest. What was going on? More importantly, was Orochimaru alright? Without the curse seal, Kimimaro knew nothing.

The rattling grew worse, and he could feel the bed jerk. Something had broken. His eyes widened--the first facial expression he'd made in years--as the bed turned and he tumbled to the floor.

xXx

Pain. That was all he felt. The pain of breathing, the pain in his joints, the pain of the deep cuts broken glass had made in his skin as he fell.. The only thought that ran through his mind at the moment was.. 'Am I going to die?'

He tried to remain conscious, in hopes of Kabuto coming to retrieve him, but Kimimaro doubted that was the case. That knowledge sent a non-physical pain shooting through his heart. Did Orochimaru not care about him anymore? He certainly didn't have any need for him.

But what about companionship? Kimimaro remembered the last words Orochimaru had said before taking his hand and leading him away. "I will be your new companion."

Kimimaro know next to nothing about human relationships, for he was deprived of it when he was young, but.. No, it was probably for the best. If Orochimaru had no more use in him, then he should be left to die. It was logical.

But it still hurt.

He blamed the disease. If the disease hadn't damaged his body, he would've still had value in Orochimaru's eyes.

Kimimaro remembered that flower her took care of as a child, when he was alone. He remembered how Ocochimaru so carelessly flattened the beautiful blossom with his foot. Didn't Kimimaro think of himself as that flower, once..?

The flower.. dead... Kimi.. maro.. de..

He lay there, naked, unconscious.

xXx

"Orochimaru-sama.." He tugged on the sleeve of his shirt.

The pale Sannin looked down at the boy. "Yes, Kimimaro-kun..?"

"Are you going to teach me something new, soon?"

"In time, Kimimaro. In time."

Kimimaro trusted in that. Orochimaru was his master, his friend, his companion. "You won't leave me, right, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru looked down at him, considering him for a moment. "Why do you ask that, Kimimaro-kun? You know I would do no such thing.."

Kimimaro smiled, reassured by his words. "I was just wondering, Orochimaru-sama.."

Orochimaru held a hand out to the boy as they walked. "Come, Kimimaro.. There is someone I need you to capture."

xXx

His eyes popped open. He could feel a cold sweat developing on his pale skin. He felt so weary..

He was still on the floor; the alarms were still going, the chemicals on the floor dampening his hair, his body cold and naked on the hard, tiled floor. Was this what happened when one was dying..?

Footsteps.

He heard footsteps. Was Kabuto coming to get him? Thank Kami, he knew Orochimaru-sama wouldn't forge--...

"Is he dead?" one questioned.

"I'm not sure.."

"Move, move!" A sharp female voice said, and he heard the bustling of bodies being pushed. He couldn't see anything, so he closed his eyes, hoping they'd just leave him there.

He felt someone kneel over him and check his pulse.

So much for being left alone.

"He's still alive," she murmured, cool, gentle fingers pressing to the pulse in his neck. "He must just be unconscious."

"What do you suggest we do, Captain?" one of the lower-ranked shinobi asked.

"I'll take care of him," she replied. "You all, split up into troops of four and scout the rest of the area. Go!"

"Hai!" They all grunted, and Kimimaro heard(and felt) the pounding of feet against tile. His eyes remained closed, and he wished he could just die. Orochimaru left him to whatever enemy was hauling him up off the floor now. He loved Orochimaru. He trusted him.

And look where it got him.

But he didn't hate him.. The man gave him a purpose in life, however temporary.

He wished the girl holding him would die, too. He didn't know who she was, but she caused all of this. She took Orochimaru away from him, she..

.. was pretty.

He popped open an emerald eye to look at her. A Konoha headband rested in her bubblegum-pink hair, and her eyes were just as striking a shade of green as his. A Konoha headband..

.. Konoha?

Uchiha.. Sasuke..?

He wanted to ask the girl whether she knew of Sasuke or not, but he couldn't, so he settled on remaining silent and feigning unconsciousness.

After a while, he truly did pass out.

xXx

"Orochimaru.. Where are you?" He asked the blackness around him, as if truly expecting an answer. Two hands reached out--wait, reached?-- and felt around for the one he knew wasn't there. Why was he standing? Why could he move, why could he speak?

"Lord Orochimaru.." he murmured, enjoying the sound of it rolling off of his tongue. His green eyes searched about, looking for even a trace of something other than the stifling blackness that surrounded him. Was this some sort of dream-state? He's never really had dreams. Not like this one. He remained calm, although the pure darkness around him slightly unnerved him.

Was he dead? If so, this couldn't be heaven. Was it hell? Where was the demons? The fire? If this was what happened when one died, he wanted nothing more than to come back to life. He could deal with the Konoha shinobi; anything was better than this. This.. Half-dead, half-alive state of nothingness. That was what Kimimaro had been reduced to...

Nothingness.