The kitchen area clunked and clanked as Orochimaru struggled to find the perfect pan the recipe called for. Keiko was ready for different food substances other than her formula milk and he wanted to try making some baby food for her.
Only thing was, the man had never cooked a meal before and this was his first time in a kitchen (instant ramen didn't count). Luckily, they had just moved from the cave hideout to...another cave-but!-this one actually had windows and was in a forest. It was the middle of winter, but that didn't take away the beauty of the land.
The snowflakes perched on tree branches and contrasted against the evergreen needles and the pinecones. There were even icicles that were long enough to tower over Keiko-chan, something that unnecessarily worried him. She wouldn't be going outside this winter.
Or the next one.
And definitely not the next one after that either.
"Are you looking for something?" a feminine voice asked. He didn't bother looking up, there was only one woman in Akatsuki.
"As a matter-of-fact, I am," he replied as he continued digging through the absurdly large stack of pots and pans. None of the members cooked much so it made almost no sense as to why there were so many.
"What are you looking for?" Konan asked more specifically, taking a step inside the cluttered kitchen. Orochimaru waved a hand at the book, barely paying attention.
Her golden eyes widened. The killer in front of her was trying to make baby food for a child he would use as a vessel in the future?! Her instincts were whispering that something wasn't quite right here.
"Do you know where all of that is or if not, do leave me, I have much to do." He heard her huff in indignation and listened as her footsteps went around the room, coming back with an armful of utensils.
"Move," she demanded. The Snake Sannin hastily moved, knowing full well of what women could do when angered. An image Tsunade in a rage quickly made itself known and he almost shivered at the memory. Jiraiya had gone to the hospital that day and he thanked the gods that she was rarely mad at him.
The woman dug through the pile and immediately pulled out the correct pan, something Orochimaru couldn't help but gawk at.
"Give me the book, I'll make the baby food," she demanded with a calm stare. He shrugged and handed it over, but instead of walking away, he watched from some distance as she deftly chopped, minced, puréed, and combined the ingredients together. His eyes were narrowed, could he someday cook like that for Keiko-chan? They had only survived this far due to the good grace of Konan and his trips where he bought easy to make things (instant ramen and already made meals mainly).
When she set the finished product on the counter, Orochimaru looked in wonder at the blue-haired woman. A quick glance at the cook book and his eyes widened as he noted that they looked the exact same. H-how on earth did she do this?!
Konan, for the most part, seemed quite smug at her culinary skills. Her usual, melancholic face was radiating pride, her lips almost up in a smile. "I have cooked for my entire life, Orochimaru. I have experience."
He fought to roll his eyes. Why was it that all women liked to point out his weak points with obvious reasons? He also had a sneaking suspicion that she would be asking him a-
"So would you like to tell me why you're making baby food for a 'vessel', Orochimaru?"
-question. Damn. He weighted his options, lie to her or tell the truth. Now, if he actually trusted the woman, he would have gladly told her. Shame he didn't. There were only two people he trusted and she was not one of them.
"It is none of your-"
"As a matter of fact, it is," Konan interrupted him. Her eyes narrowed and she moved the baby food further away from Orochimaru's grasp. "Pein may not care about what you do in your free time, but I do. If you are planning something that could bring Akatsuki to its knees, I will not hesitate to kill you and that child if I must."
The Snake Sannin's eyes also narrowed at her words. He could feel his blood starting to boil with fury. All he wanted, was to raise his little girl up in a good environment.
Yes, that's right, his little girl. He was the one who snuck into the tent where Konoha kept her dead shinobi. He was the one who got Dan and Tsunade's DNA. He was the one who created her, who gave his gambling teammate a chance to have her own child.
No one could change the fact that he was going to raise the little blonde to be the strongest kunoichi in the world. No one would be able to separate him from Keiko, not his sensei, not his teammates, and definitely not this woman.
"She is my vessel, Konan, I will do what I want with what I own. I refuse to let my future vessel be weak. The food is merely a step for success," Orochimaru replied in a low, soft, dangerous tone. Everyone, even Jiraiya, knew better than to cross him when he used this tone, it seemed that Konan did too.
The blue-haired woman stared quietly at him before pushing the bowl towards him before softly replying, "I do not trust you, Orochimaru, but I trust that your parental instincts will win over your greed and hunger for power. I will keep an eye on the child, for I know what it is like to be alone with only those stronger than you for company. We may have blood on our hands, but even we can still be gentle with what we care." With that statement, the only woman in the dark organization left the kitchen, leaving Orochimaru to ponder silently about her words.
He wasn't sure what to make of her words though. He had assumed that she was cold-hearted like Pein, a puppeteer hiding behind the shadows, pulling strings to make her puppets dance. Not once did he realize that she wasn't as bad as she seemed, not until that confrontation.
With a small shake of his head at the new knowledge he gained, he brought the food into his room. Perhaps, someday, he would be able to trust Konan with Keiko, but for now, such an option was still shaky and unsure. He wouldn't know if she would tell Pein about something he wanted quiet.
His clone popped out of existence and he ruffled the girl's golden whisps of hair. She looked up at him and giggled, clapping two blocks together in a fast rhythm, trying to showcase her happiness at his presence.
He felt his chest warm up and felt his lips tug up, forming into a soft smile of adoration. Her rosy, chubby cheeks lifted up as she mimicked his smile. "Come on, Keiko-chan, it's time to eat. Konan prepared this for you, but I'll see if I can make it next time."
The baby gurgled and clapped her toys blocks together in excitement, wondering what her guardian brought her and what it would taste like. Those wooden toy blocks were the primary colors with pictures of the shinobi nations. He figured it was better to get a head start on her education about the world she would be entering.
The cruel fact that he knew she wouldn't be able to fit into civilian life was a fact he had accepted when he had conflicted feelings about the mini versions. She wouldn't be able to fit in because of her mother's enhanced strength and her father's natural ability to transfer chakra at will. He wasn't completely sure she would develop these traits, but there was a very high possibility she would. There was also the fact that she had Senju blood within her too. He didn't think she had mokuton, but it was likely that she had the gene for it.
Orochimaru set the bowl on his desk and lifted Keiko off the green rug on the floor, setting her on his lap as he sat in his desk chair. It was an uncomfortable chair, but he'd survive.
He lifted up a baby spoon with a pink rabbit as a handle. Scooping up a little of the baby food, he lifted it up to her mouth. A chuckle almost slipped out from him as he noticed her furrowed brows. It seemed as though she were contemplating whether or not to eat it. "It's okay, I watched Konan prepare it, she had no time to slip anything into it." He sighed as she continued to look at the spoon, it seemed he would have to coerce her.
"You know, everything in this is very good for you, Keiko-chan. It's freshly bought from a village and Konan was the one to make it." The black-haired man had always preferred facts over fluff. "There are plenty of vitamins in this and there's nothing hard to chew," he told her as he brought the spoon to his mouth. It wouldn't hurt if he ate it right? How bad could it be anyways?
The answer- very bad.
He coughed as the smooth, bland...thing slid down his throat. How could this have been the end result?! He wondered in shock. The color was similar, Konan added everything in that the recipe called for, and yet it tasted nothing like how it looked.
His brows furrowed and he set the spoon down with a sigh. "I suppose I'll have to continue feeding you your formula until I figure out how to make some food for you, Keiko-chan."
He massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to fight the frustration growing within him. Then he heard te most curious sound. A happy little "Ah!" from the little girl on his lap. His dark eyes looked down in curiosity and found the girl had the pink spoon in her chubby fist with baby food smeared on her cheeks.
He was speechless.
His eyes widened in worry. "Hold on! You're not supposed to eat that, Keiko-chan!" He swiped away the bowl, only to flinch when he was met with large, brown eyes overflowing with tears. "Okay, okay, I get it. I'll put it back alright?"
As soon as he set the bowl down, the blonde girl dug in with gusto. Orochimaru could only shake his head in confusion. How could anyone like that? It just made no sense!
Perhaps it is merely preferences? He wondered silently as his logical mind raced to find an answer. I have lived for about 4 decades now while she's been alive for less than half, perhaps I'm just more used to flavoring?
He made a mental note to do an experiment on it and check his hypothesis later. With a sigh, he patted the little girl's head and leaned over her in amusement. She still smelt sweet, almost like caramel or that one snack he saw at a festival, it was pink and baby blue, completely made of sugar to his surprise!
"I suppose once you're old enough, I'll take you on an adventure with me. I think it'd be good for you to "broaden your horizons" as sensei would say." The girl giggled, almost as though she were agreeing with him. He took it that way at least. With a chuckle, he leaned back into his uncomfortable chair and sighed in content.
Despite being a traitor to his home village, life was pretty good.
Aww, Orochimaru is so sweet with Keiko-chan! Haha, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Somehow, I kind of enjoyed writing Konan, something that really confuses me... Meh, oh well!
So I hope you all enjoyed this long chapter along with Orochimaru's first encounter with baby food! From my experience, baby food is very bland and slimy; something I thought would be amusing to see how our beloved Snake Sannin would act when he tried it.
I also apologize for the long wait as well. I tend to have periods of time where I don't have my writing muse and then times where it just suddenly pops up.
I hope you've all had a great year!
Well, thanks for reading this! Hope you'll have a great day! I'm so happy that this got reviews, favorites, and follows! Thank you so much!
Thank you very much and I'll see you all later!