Having settled from a distance that the paler figure seemed reliable enough, the masked man materialized and began, "Seeing that you're here, I assume my messenger has managed to pass on my intentions. Have you agreed to the proposition Orochimaru?"

They were both in the dark of the night, but the two shadowy figures stood poised and alert as they faced each other across a desolate clearing in the forest. What had supposed to have been a simple meeting on business terms soon elapsed into strained silence as each studied the other figure for indications of power as well as merit of trust - although judging by their capabilities, such an assessment was not so much as far fetched as it was necessary.

From the few streaks of moonlight that fell onto each person, it was clear by their outlines that both were of about equal stature, though one seemed a shade paler and perhaps even sicklier than the other. His yellow, snake-like eyes shone under the darkness with a certain greedy intensity. On the opposite side, the other one had obscured himself with a coat which collar had covered most of his profile, though strange, orange patterns of swirls could still be distinguished from his mask.

"Well, have you agreed to -"

"No."

There was a short pause before the masked figure blurted out, "...What? Why- wait... Then why are you here?"

Orochimaru said, "My priorities don't lie in playing criminal ninja for a man with no background. Not to mention, one who claims to be someone who died over half a century ago." The snake's expression was indecipherable under the murky shadows of the night, and his eyes conveyed nothing of what needed to be said. From two golden orbs that shone through the darkness, there was arrogance in the snake that seemed to hold a strange certainty over the situation. It was almost as if Orochimaru knew he could manipulate the circumstances to his advantage. Orochimaru's gaze was making the masked figure uneasy, but the negotiator convinced himself that he had encountered far stranger missing-nins on past recruiting missions. Not that many though.

He needed to stay to get this over with. The masked man processed Orochimaru's statement. The allusions to the Akatsuki and questions about his identity were of no surprise, if not a little tedious to hear. Above anything, they had met for the same purpose. The Sanin was getting repetitive, and he also didn't answer the question at all, though the rest of the meeting wouldn't carry any differently as 'Madara' soon learned.

However, he was surprised at how Orochomaru was approaching the issue."...Well, if we're talking about criminality and escaping old age, the last person I would expect to doubt the organization and my claims-" The masked figure never finished the sentence before the snake hastily cut him off. He looked over as the man spoke and realized that the Sannin's yellow eyes were now piercing the darkness with an hungry intensity that only increased as the seconds went by.

"For your other question," the snake man resumed, so absorbed in his plans that he barely noticed his interruption, "You claim to be Madara, which might make me reconsider your offer if I believed it. So far I've seen nothing to change my view," There was a short pause before he continued, "That is, unless you have proof? Any techniques to confirm your identity...?"

The lingering question further reinforced the masked man's eerie notion that Orochimaru might not have come to simply discuss membership into the Akatsuki. As a cold gust of wind broke into the clearing, 'Madara' felt a shiver run down his spine. Yet, it wasn't just the weather that was setting off almost every alarm bell in his head. He looked across the clearing and realized his guest was studying his every movement, as a snake would do to analyze its prey's actions, before pouncing in for the kill. The Sannin expected something from this meeting, and wouldn't likely leave until he got what he wanted.

Well it definitely wasn't joining his group of missing-nins like he hoped. The masked man thought it was perhaps best to back out of the situation right then. He could call off the meeting and run away from the snake man, who was quickly turning business into an interrogation without having said anything that anyone really needed.

However, he had also been stuck at a standstill for ten months with the Akatsuki, which just reminded the masked figure just how desperately he needed the snake. Not only were they incredibly short on people, but unlike the other members, Orochimaru was likely the only guy they could recruit with medical knowledge and a head level enough to carry out missions exactly as to the demands. He was a year behind in his plans, and with the missions gone wrong and failed recruits...if he had to risk revealing a few of his playing cards so soon, well, he was desperate enough to give it a try.

The sky was faintly lit by the morning's presence. The sun hadn't risen, but already a bluish tinge was washing over portions of the starlit blackness above. He flared up the Mangekyou, confident the snake man would see his bloodline under the light, and vortexed closer to Orochimaru's end. However, the snake's grin only grow wider as he made an empty strike into the masked figure's head. "Hmm, pesky mask." Orochimaru said as he retracted his arm from the man's face, and asking almost to test any other abilities kept hidden, "Is that all you have?"

"It's enough, and we're out of time. Give me your answer."

The two were an arm's width apart so Orochimaru lifted his hand for a shake. "Your skills show that you are as good as what you claim to be, though I'm still not convinced," he said, "However, for that demonstration, I'll give your organization a chance. Let's shake our hands to this agreement."

Something was certainly off about Orochimaru's logic and sudden change in perception, and in hindsight, maybe the masked figure should have just listened to his instincts and left. Yet after months of work, running around, and research into Orochimaru's encrypted contact list so to arrange this meeting, he was just so close to changing the Akatsuki and inducing movement into his stagnated plans. He already had Orochimaru's partial consent for cooperation, all he needed now was to play his words right. It would be worth it, the masked figure convinced himself. Thus, he asked the one thing that came to his mind, "Sure, whatever you want. What's hand shaking?"

"Something of a family tradition, we take each others' hands and shake" Orochimaru replied, "It's a formality to commemorate an agreement and show trust. We do trust each other right?"

The meeting had never been arranged on the basis of trust, though done out of blind, desperate need was another matter altogether. The masked figure kept that to himself. Skeptical of Orochimaru's offered handshake but unwilling to reveal his hesitation with the situation delicate as it was, he gave his hand and shook.

The sun loomed behind a set of rocky mountains in the distance, and the risk of being discovered only grew as each speck of light entered into the clearing. However, the masked man was just glad the meeting was coming to an end. Of course, it did go a lot more smoothly than he had predicte- Ouch! He felt a small prick to palm of his right hand. Alarmed, he broke the handshake.

He tensed his body for a possible attack, but the Sannin quickly explained, "Nothing but a small sample of your DNA to confirm your identity. With this our agreement is complete. I'll attend your meetings once I've verified your claims."

Suddenly, the snake sank into the ground and disappeared. For a while, nothing happened as the masked figure tried to process the sudden change in events. The forest was quiet except for the occasional rustling of the leaves. Then, his small chuckle broke through the silence and echoed between the trees.

Oh but that snake was something, the masked figure thought, too bad he didn't really get his genetic stuff. He supposed it was a good thing his right side was composed almost completely out of regenerative material because Orochimaru was going to have a hard and confusing time trying to make heads out of tails from the stolen sample - not that he'd ever find what he wanted. There was Senju DNA for what should undeniably be an Uchiha's blood sample, and he knew even the little amount of his own DNA that could have gotten mixed in would not be sufficient for identity testing. At most his blood sample would confirm his Uchiha lineage due to his clan's special chakra carrying blood cells. This was more evidence for his identity claim, but it was impossible to disprove he was Madara.

The masked man now had a deal he could hold on to. All he needed to do then would be to act smug during the next few meetings to convince Orochimaru he had been outplayed with the sample, or act smug when he materialized inside Orochimaru's lair if the Sanin didn't come to the group meetings. It was a fair deal as far as the masked figure was concerned, and he would use it to convince the other Akatsuki members to back him up if something went wrong.

With that "Madara" slipped into the forest as he headed to his hide out, with the prospect of a job well done still lingering in the back of his mind. He was finally getting somewhere with his plans and it seemed that little could go wrong from here.

However, the masked figure's assumption was actually somewhat inaccurate, and as he would later discover, he should have simply bolted when his instincts told him to run as fast as his two legs could have carried him.

Somewhere in another world, a person who had spent an entire childhood reading manga books soon found himself reincarnated, though he did not know it, into Orochimaru's and the presumed 'Madara"s world. When he realized he was stuck within the gestational, or the developing period as a baby, all he could do was wait impatiently until he could enter into the world again. And waited he did, and wait and wait, and... was that clinking he just heard?

AN: Story where orochimaru tries to clone Madara after his defection from the village