A/N: Every chapter prior to this has been rewritten/updated 10-03-2015. That really took forever. I got tired and didn't proof read this chapter bc it's just too much, I can't. I'll do it some other time. Thanks for following!

"Is this what you were planning all along? To lock me up like some freaking animal?"

I could lie to this girl, but at this point as there are forces undeterminable and unforeseen that have gotten in the way I see no point. "I told you, Shani… that I would bring you great pain."

"Yeah and betrayal is the ultimate."

"Physical pain… That is what I'm giving you. I am putting you through physical pain. It's necessary in order for me to unleash your powers. Once I do, they will be within your control with intense training. However until then you will be a danger to everyone and yourself. You may need to be put in the cell but it's not guaranteed."

Her eyes still have not left the cell. She shakes her head slowly, uncertain and seemingly confused. "I mean I noticed I've been weaker since I got here. Maybe it's because it's all brewing inside of me but… I'm not dangerous enough to hurt you guys."

"Trust me. Kabuto and I know what's best for you."

"Well maybe the best isn't good enough for me," she declares with a pout and storms away.

SHANI POV

I walk away unsure of anything anymore. I get the intention, and I know how dangerous I can be. But if you leave a person in the dark for so long, they can't find their way back to the light, because darkness is all they know. I'm fucked in the head, I'm well aware. Keeping me locked up in a cell while I suffer excruciating pain isn't what's best for me. Once I get out, everyone here will be in the same place as Muscle Head and his goons. It's been all of maybe four days I've been here and they swear like they know me. They know shit about me; what I'm capable of, what exactly I'm afraid of, my desires, my past. They know what I want them to know. I'll always have this upper hand on them.

I hear footsteps approaching that I try to ignore, and my growing apathy allows me to not look back. "Shani, return to Lord Orochimaru now."

"Piss off, freak," I dismiss without looking back.

"I'll use force if I have to."

"Try me. I'm not gonna sit around and take orders from you people. All these lies, all these games. I'm hurt, not stupid. So if you wanna go," I put my fists up. "Let's go."

"The hell is going on here," I hear Sasuke from behind me.

I've never had such a deep feeling of relief in my life. I swear he wears a cape around me. "Orochimaru. He wants to lock me in a cell so I don't hurt people-"

"We're giving her the Curse Mark. It's time she hones her powers."

I wait for Sasuke to say something, and at first he doesn't. Instead of expanding on whatever the hell the curse mark is or protesting locking me up, he tells me to come with him. We walk down the halls in silence to his room, and he sits on his bed, clearly in deep thought. Finally he speaks. "Shani you need the mark."

I shake my head in disbelief. "Dude I don't even know what the hell that is! Everyone keeps talking like they know things that I don't. How am I supposed to except all you people making decisions for me?"

"You're always scared. Your dreams are eating you alive. Even when I first laid eyes on you, bloody and terrified and angry, your skin and hair and everything about you was still radiant. In the past three days between your dreams and the time you spend with Orochimaru, your light has been dimming. Fear and dependence are ruining you. You have to get stronger. It's the only way to be you again.

"Shani, do you think that when I get strong enough I'll stay here taking orders like a dog?"

"I can tell you're the type that hates orders, so no. But you've been here longer than me. You'd be free sooner than me."

"I'd be free sooner than you not because of the time I've been here. I'd leave sooner because you don't see yourself as a prisoner."

I sigh. He's right. I sit next to him. "Why do you think that is? Some moments I feel like I am and other times I feel like I belong here."

"Yeah that's the tricky part. Get the Curse Mark, and get stronger than everyone here."

"Even stronger than you," I ask with a smirk.

He offers a little chuckle. "Yeah right. I don't even think your taijutsu is up to par."

"My who?"

"Taijutsu…hand to hand combat? Boy, you really have been out of it haven't you."

I jump up from the bed. "Oh, you swear. My hand to hand combat is damn infallible. Wanna see?"

"Is that a challenge?"

"I'll have you know I'm also a pro at wrestling," I brag.

"Ooh, maybe I should be sca-"

I tackle Sasuke onto the bed, catching him off guard. He grunts and groans trying to get me off of him as I put him in an arm bar, and then a headlock after he starts struggling too hard. "Shani what the hell!"

"C'mon Sasuke, I thought you were supposed to be stronger than me!"

"Sure you're strong but you really think you can beat me, red head?"

He lifts his arms above and flips me over the bed, my back smacking against the hard floor. "Shit!" He straddles me, towering over me, and grips my wrists wayyyy too tight, holding them above my head. I kick and flail my legs as if that's gonna help. "Get off! That hurts."

"You can't tell me you're that weak. What happened to the spunk?"

"Don't tease me. I'll show you spunk…punk." I burst out laughing to myself at the unintentional rhyme, and I feel like a total goof. I blush, embarrassed for being such a dork!

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "You're pretty weird for somebody so cute."

"Oh, so you do think I'm cute! You seem so indifferent a lot of the time. You're a looker too, Sasuke. I couldn't help but notice it."

He blushes and loosens his grip on my wrists, and I scatter from underneath him like a little bug. We sit next to each other right there beside the bed with red faces. I feel like we're in a great moment for me to ask what I've been wondering since Sasuke and I first spoke. "Why are you here? Where are your teammates you mentioned back at the hotel? And that girl…Sakura?"

"They're in Konoha," he answers in a sad voice.

"Oh dang, the same place where you aren't welcomed? That's a bummer. Are they the reason you're here?"

"No, my brother… He killed my parents. He killed my entire clan. And now he's part of an organization full of S-Rank criminals."

Rings a bell. "So he's part of Akatsuki then?"

"He is. His name is Itachi Uchiha. He's stronger than me. When I was 12 or so I was given the Curse Mark by Orochimaru. The moment it activated I felt the power flowing all throughout me. I just couldn't control it. That's why I'm here. But once I get just a little bit stronger, I'll be able to…"

"You're gonna kill Itachi."

"I have to. I have to avenge my clan. It's my sole purpose in life."

Everything clicks in my head. This is why Sasuke is so serious. He probably has this on his mind all the time. Painful memories of looking at all those dead bodies of people he loved. Leaving behind his friends and being seen as the enemy by his own village. It isn't right or fair. "It must hurt. I thought it was hard having loveless parents, a dead sister and an entire clan out to use and kill you. I don't know if anyone will ever know what it's like to have all that love and family then have it just taken away. I'm so sorry, Sasuke. Do you ever get lonely?"

Sasuke leans his head back and closes his eyes. "Shani, you have no idea. Every night when I try to sleep the feeling consumes me. I feel like a candle is inside of me and it just starts to fade and fade until it blows out, darkness taking over me. I hate it so much you just don't understand."

"Can you help me understand?"

"No. I've already let you in too much."

"I don't want you to hurt anymore. You're misunderstood and don't deserve to feel this way." I grab his hand and hold it tightly to reassure him, but his still face doesn't move. "Train, fight, and do whatever you can to get stronger, and get out of here. Avenge your clan. Show no mercy. And if you let me…I'll kill anyone that stands in your way."

Sasuke doesn't say anything for a moment, just squeezes my hand. I use this silence to get a better look at him. I want to get used to his face in case after he leaves I never see him again. I want to remember what he looks like so I can miss him when I'm old and wonder how he's doing. I know that sounds super fucking dramatic and storybook, but it's the way I feel. After taking a moment to take in what I've said, Sasuke finally opens his eyes and looks at me. "Why do you care so much," he asks.

"Why do you?"

"I don't know."

"Then neither do I."

"I hope you don't leave too soon, Shani. You lighten things up around here."

"We'll leave together. Maybe that way you won't have to spend another lonely night."

He smiles at me very subtly. "Is that a promise?"

"It is."

"Cute. Very, very cute," a voice intrudes. "So my suspicions have been confirmed. There's puppy love in the air, and the Uchiha is making efforts to take away my precious Daisuri girl. Treason so soon, my love?"

"No, it isn't like that," I protest, half lying.

"So I didn't just hear promises of running away together to fairytale land," Orochimaru spits a condescending laugh at us. "It's fine. Come with me, Shani."

It takes everything within me to let go of Sasuke's hand and get up. He doesn't look at me or say a word like I expect him to. But I should have figured. He wants me to have this Curse Mark. As I stand and walk to the door I avoid Orochimaru's gaze. I try talking but I know something serious is about to go down. "Lord Orochimaru, you aren't mad are you?" No answer. "Look, I was just trying to get to know him. I'm like the only person that took the time to understand him."

"…"

"Lord Orochimaru! Are you really gonna ignore me?"

"…"

"Well this is FUCKING stupid," I emphasis to pull a reaction. Still nothing. "FINE! UGH!"

I pout my way to his room, which is a long time to be pouting. He closes the door. "Stand there, Shani."

We haven't got but a couple of steps in front of the door before he orders me to stand still. I blink, and my back is against the wall with his hand grabbing my face roughly. I grit my teeth and try not to spit at him. "The hell is wrong with you, get off of me!"

Orochimaru peppers light kisses all over my face, slowly letting his grip go and letting his hand travel down my body. I would be turned on but I know I've upset him. Nothing good could come of this. "Why are you scared, my love? You don't want me to make love to you?"

"You're not really going to," I accuse with a voice weaker than usual.

"And how do you know that," he asks lifting my shirt above my head and untying his robe. His solid body presses against mine and I instantly feel hot and dizzy. His mouth on my neck makes my knee give in and he picks my leg up, wrapping it around him. I only hope my other leg doesn't give out to his caresses. "You could have this any time you want," he hisses at me. "Yet you make plans of leaving me. Where did I go wrong?"

I almost don't want to answer. "You tried to lock me away in a cell. How could I not be afraid?"

"You have trust issues. I told you many times I would never hurt you." Orochimaru slips his pale, slender fingers down the front of my shorts, rubbing me until my suppressed moan lets itself out. "Does this hurt, Shani?"

The only response my mushy brain allows is to beg. "I want you. Please."

"This doesn't hurt either, does it?" A finger explores me deeper and I gasp. "How does that feel?"

"I love it. Please, my lord. Please, I need it so badly."

He smirks and laughs quietly and smoothly, music to my ears. "So you remembered what I said before about how much I love begging." After a few minutes of his sweet tortures he removes his hand, and his face becomes harsh. "Now beg for your life."

And somehow I'm still not intimidated. My mind and body are out of sync. I whimper. I can't say anything. He scowls at me, and he doesn't look like himself when he does it. Who is this man!? He orders again for me to beg but I can't think straight enough to do it. Without warning he tosses me to the floor, my head banging against the hard floor. I'm not even able to lift my head before he snatches me upward by my hair. I fight and kick and he manhandles me. "Come on, let me go!"

The pale demon digs his knee into my stomach, kicking me down and confining me to the ground. "Where is your loyalty to me when you're around the Uchiha boy? I can't have you escaping on me before I learn your jutsu." I spit at him and his hand, like white lightning, strikes my face.

My whole world seemed to stop in that very moment. I see Muscle Head in his eyes. Everything around me goes red. The minute a man crosses that line and hits a woman in the face, even in battle, you know he has not an ounce of respect for you. I see me, giving myself to him for the first time, and I break down. My chest heaves and my breath escapes me with every tear that falls. It catches him off guard, having expected me to fight more. "Why are you doing this to me? I thought you loved me, Orochimaru."

He only sneers. "Silly girl. I have no time for love." His anger seems to simmer and he gets off of me, offering me a hand. He helps me up, only to stare at me as if there's shit all over my face. "We are using each other. There is no love here."

"That's not true and you know it. You don't do these things for anyone else. There's something inside you that stirs up at the sight of me and I know it for a fact." Orochimaru's fist balls up beside him. I take note of how naked we are from the waist up, vulnerable to each other at least a little. "You love my body. You love the way I look, the way I taste, the way I feel. And you love the power I can give you."

"That may be so. But it changes nothing that is to come."

I reach for the kunai strapped on my thigh. "Then you can kiss it all goodbye."

"It'll take more than a kunai to stop me, you know."

"Yeah. I know."

I take the kunai to my throat in desperation. I won't let him have me; my death will be the bane of his plans, and all the hell we've created in knowing each other will be for nothing. I wince as the blade sinks into my skin and I grit my teeth at the smell of the blood. A hand is on my waist and I open my eyes.

It wasn't my blade. Orochimaru had sunk his teeth into my neck, his long tongue licking off the blood. "I'm sorry Shani. I had to push you to do this."

My stomach starts heaving and all my insides hurt, as if my whole soul is going to come out of me. Everything gets blurry and I feel like I've been stored in a block of ice. My kunai drops as my hands go to cover myself, in attempt to warm my body. "I can't breathe. Why does everything hurt so bad? What did you do to me?"

Hands tangle in my hair at the back of my head. Through the blur I see another person. Orochimaru is gone. These aren't his hands. "Who are you!?"

I hear my name but I can't tell who it is. I reach my hands out to feel a warm, bare chest. Lips press against my forehead and arms hold me tightly. "It hurts so bad, please help me!"

"Shani it's Sasuke. I've got you. Don't worry, I'm right here."

Sasuke. His name spreads around me like a wildfire of echoes. In his arms I feel myself sinking down into darkness. And he doesn't let me go.