Kabuto was right. Akane changed her mind a few days later. Akane had been in her cell three days and the hungry gnawing at her stomach was nothing compared to the sandpaper on her tongue. Akane pressed herself to the cool wall, where she could have sworn she could hear something dripping. Licking along the stone wall, she found nothing, and leaned against the bars of her cell. She no longer had any energy to fight.

"I think I'm dying," Akane said out loud.

'That's not part of the plan,' Ibiki's figment said back, 'You know why you're here.'

"Because of my poor choices?" She asked him, and he chuckled back, "You're just a hallucination."

'But, as we've discussed before, no less impactful.' Ibiki's figment sat on her cot and laced his fingers together, looking at her with familiar steele gray eyes. 'Orochimaru is too powerful for you to handle him with force. You can't go over it. You can't go under it. You must simply go through it. What do you need?'

Akane understood, but it made her hackles rise. She rolled her eyes at him and snorted. "...water…" she said quietly.

'Louder, he can't hear you,' he said, almost bored.

Akane grabbed the bars of her cell. It took every ounce of her remaining energy to even stand. She pressed her skin into the bars until she could feel new bruises forming. "WAAAATER." As she collapsed to the ground she heard the door opening. She looked over to the fading figment of Ibiki. "He was waiting…"

'Just like I told you,' he whispered. 'He'd wait for you to break, first."

Kakashi was called into the Hokage's office the moment his foot passed the gate of the village. He bid his fish smelling, soggy, slightly moldy, ocean hating team with a wave and disappeared in a puff of smoke. He emerged from the smoke as the Hound. His uniform felt well used. Like he'd worn it just the night before, Not that it had been locked behind his closet inside a scroll for almost four years. Hound stood from his bow and instantly his team fell behind him, as if it…

"Hound, welcome back," the Hokage began. He took the pipe out of his mouth, and tapped the ashes out onto the floor. He unrolled the green buds and packed them into the pipe, lighting it, and taking a deep long inhale. When he exhaled, he seemed to slump forward. "Uchiha Akane has been captured," the old man said. Hound kept his reaction in check but he sought out Tiger who stood at his right hand. Tiger flared his chakra and Hound understood. "We have reason to believe that Yakushi, Kabuto has been a spy for one of the Sanin, Orochimaru, and taken her to him for reasons unknown. There is already an A-Rank mission to all Jonin available. To reclaim Akane from her captors. I am placing you at the head of this S-Rank mission:

"Danzo has issued orders to his own people to capture Akane. I believe his schemes for this girl are perhaps even worse than what Orochimaru has planned for her. So, Hound, here are your orders. Find Uchiha Akane, and do not return with her. Keep her safe and away from the village."

The surprise was palpable, the ANBU all stiffened, eyes widening behind their masks.

"Yes…not until Danzo has died. Or until she is married, and has had children, or until she's strong enough to defeat Danzo on her own if he does kidnap her. Whichever comes first." He almost rolled his eyes, but managed to stop himself. He faced Tiger and the bags under his eyes grew. "Tiger, my order to you was only to show my old friend that I'm not going to easily sell him whatever powerful genetics he desires. However, if you think you could stomach it, present yourself as an option to her, but the decision must be hers."

Tiger dropped to his knees and placed a hand on his chest. "I…I can't," he said. "She's like a daughter to me, I can't. I couldn't."

"I understand," the Hokage said, gently, holding out his hand. "Please forgive me for putting you on the spot like I did."

Hound touched his back and Tiger stood, hands clenching and unclenching. Hound looked at his leader and bowed. "I accept this mission. But…what about Sasuke?"

The Hokage sighed and shook his head. "Until Danzo is no longer a threat to her-"

"He can't take it," Kakashi said, and snapped his mouth closed. The Hokage looked at him in shock. "If she were dead, Sasuke would not survive it. Be it his body or his mind. He cannot take it. I trust him. We should tell him she's alive." Hound tucked his arms behind his back. "But it's at your discretion, of course. Lord Hokage, sir."

"It is possible that Orochimaru may try to take Sasuke as well. Perhaps you may take him with you. On a long training mission?" The Hokage offered and Hound took it with a nod. "As for Naruto and Sakura...let me handle that. Dismissed."

The team all disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hound signaled to them to meet him at the gates at midnight. The perfect amount of time for him to hunt down Sasuke. Kakashi faded into a more casual mode and searched the streets. Sasuke, luckily, hadn't even made it home. Kakashi flashed behind him, pride swelling in his chest, when his student was able to sense, and strike him in the stomach. Or try. Kakashi grabbed his fist and flipped the boy over, shaking his head teasingly at the young man. He grabbed Sasuke by the front of the shirt and put him back on his feet. "Come with me, we've got to talk," he said, gesturing with his chin to the roofs. Sasuke cringed and Kakashi kept his amusement under wraps. Learning water walking hadn't been that bad, had it? Sasuke jumped ahead of him, landing on unsteady feet on the closest building. Kakashi landed beside him, and took off running, letting pride overtake him when he heard his student running behind him with no problems. All of his students had made him proud over the last two weeks. The idea of leaving the other two behind made him hurt, but what choice did he have, besides…Kakashi had a feeling he knew what the Hokage might have been planning. Or maybe not.

Kakashi only stopped when they were in their old training field. He stood in front of the stone and looked over the names, mostly out of habit. Kakashi turned and looked down at his student. "Sasuke…there's no easy way to tell you this, but Akane was kidnapped during her last mission." Sasuke's stance tensed instantly, his Sharingan flashing at Kakashi. His face was blinded by rage, he looked like a rabid animal, growling, opening his mouth no doubt to demand answers. Kakashi held up his hand. "I've been ordered to join the team to recover her. I wanted you to come."

"Was it-"

"No, it wasn't Itachi," Kakashi said. "I'll give you more details, but this is a long term, secret mission. We may not be returning to the village for years, Sasuke…and you can't say goodbye to anyone. You need to be ready at the gates by midnight with your pack."

"Who then?"

Kakashi didn't see the point in lying to his student. He straightened his back, letting the boy see the cold glass of the AMBU's eyes. Sasuke's shoulders stiffened. "We believe Akane was kidnapped on her last mission by her teammate, Yakushi Kabuto under the orders of a traitor by the name of Orochimaru."

"That four-eyed bastard, he's dead!" Sasuke snarled, digging his nails into the palm of his hands, drawing blood.

"That's the passion we need!" Kakashi said cheerfully, and gently punched Sasuke on the shoulder, taking his hands, and uncurling them. "So, go ahead and get ready."

Sasuke nodded and sprinted back to his home. Kakashi watched his back and swallowed. He was glad he'd gotten to Sasuke before Danzo. Hound disappeared and reappeared in his old barkeks room. His supplies fit easily in his storage scroll. He didn't need to over pack, anything they needed could be found at a safe house at some point.

But what about his other kids? His students would freak out if both their teacher and teammate disappeared on the same night. 'Let me handle it,' the Hokage had said, far too pleased with himself. But how cruel, to separate team seven, when they'd finally started to work together. Kakashi felt resentment for the young woman he'd been charged to rescue, and with that resentment came guilt. Kakashi knew that the Uchiha should have been trained harder, made stronger, there was always the understanding among the higher ups that Orochimaru may try to take them both. And on her own team, there had been a spy. And now there he was, leaving his team and his responsibility to go find some lackluster Eternal Genin who'd gotten in over her head.

"Captain," Tiger said, poking his head through the door. "We're ready."

"Sasuke is packing his things now, I told him to be at the gate at midnight."

"I'll go get him," Cat said, disappearing without a word.

"Does he know?" Otter said, touching his tattoo.

"He will," Hound shrugged. The three of them teleported to the exit behind the village and waited for Cat, who came with a subdued and fairly ruffled Sasuke. Hound signaled for Cat to let go of him. He stood before his student, showing the boy for the first time, the face of a real Shinobi. "Uchiha, Sasuke…this mission is S-Rank and secret. The details will be given to you as necessary. Your involvement in this operation is a privilege that can be revoked at any point in time. Your absolute obedience is required. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, quietly.

"Then, keep up," and they were off.

Orochimaru hooked Akane up to an IV drip. She knew that it was hydrating her. But it wasn't nearly as satisfying as the large bottle of water Kabuto had on his desk. She watched a bead of cool water run down the side. The ice cubes were melting. Akane licked her lips and Orochimaru chuckled. She was grateful that it was just them. She couldn't tolerate Kabuto seeing her shame. Akane looked at the snake and frowned deeper. She turned her head away and flinched when she felt Orochimaru place his hand on her forehead.

"Calm yourself," Orochimaru said and Akane almost cried in relief when the pain began to fade. He was healing her, she realized. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"Yeah…I guess," Akane said. She closed her eyes until his hand left her. "I wasn't ever supposed to be able to use Sharingan," Akane confessed. "Most women can't. My mom couldn't. I think the last female Uchiha in my family line that had it was my three times great aunt."

"Well, unlike many Dojutsu, it doesn't transfer along both parents' DNA. The Sharingan is a recessive gene, and typically female Uchiha don't carry markers for both. So…" Orochimaru paused to stand in front of a whiteboard, grabbing a red marker and making four boxes with four boxes inside them. He wrote a lowercase d and upper case S on the top and left side on each. He then wrote inside the boxes, dividing the letters, only the bottom right having both two S's. "Your parents both had the allele for sharingan, however, to be able to pass Sharingan on to you, your mother would have needed to have expressed the Sharingan herself, so she may have simply never awakened hers. She was a civilian, wasn't she? So you don't have the allele for dormate sharingan. In other words, if you were to have a child with Itachi, for example, all of your children would have the recessive allele for Sharingan. Does that make sense?" He asked, tilting his head.

Akane's eyes scanned over the boxes and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess…but why is mine different?"

"Oftentimes, when a recessive gene is passed down there are…mutations. The Uchiha clan, and please don't take offense to this, has been practicing strategic inbreeding, marrying fourth cousins, sometimes third, like the Hyuga clan in order to pass down the Sharingan. It's possible that your parents were a little closer related than they thought."

Akane's mouth dropped open and Orochimaru laughed at her, though it wasn't cruel, he just seemed to find that genuinely hilarious. "Is that…is that why Itachi is so psycho? Because we're all inbred?!" Akane demanded.

"There are frequent psychological effects to having children with relatives, yes." Orochimaru's grin widened. "I believe it's called 'The Uchiha Cycle of Hatred.'"

Akane ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "Nasty."

"Your Sharingan has yet to be recorded, did you know that?"

"Does that mean I'm extra inbred?"

"No, not necessarily. But it is a mutation. Will you tell me what happens when you use it?"

"I see the moves my opponents are going to make. Like if their eyes twitch, I can see the three moves they're going to make next. And I can see it in super High Def. Everything seems to move a little slower."

"Well, you and I will just have to see what you can do." Orochimaru tapped her left eye and then helped her sit up. "Would you like a glass of water, Akane? You seem to be obsessing over Kabuto's bottle."

"Please," Akane choked out. Orochimaru moved and motioned for Akane to follow him. They walked through the halls and Akane memorized the purple walls, but quickly realized that the pattern was designed to confuse you, and lead you further down into the snake pit. "So, what happens now? I assume you aren't going to let me just waltz out of here."

Again he seemed to find her amusing. "No," he confirmed.

"So what am I supposed to do all day?"

"You could consider training with me, yes?" Orochimaru offered and Akane sighed. "Oh? You don't want to improve your skills?"

"I only became a ninja to protect Sasuke," Akane muttered.

"I find that when you live for someone else, you limit your own potential." Orochimaru stopped and spun around. "Regardless of your reasoning, you now have basic shinobi abilities, what would you like to do with them? Besides protecting Sasuke, that is."

Akane stopped, almost running into him. She realized that she had no idea. For the past six years her life had revolved around protecting Sasuke. Around making sure that he stayed as childlike as she could manage. She rolled her eyes and realized that her lack of ambition was probably why she sucked. She had no goals in her own life and while it had led her down some strange paths, it had still kneecapped her. "I don't know," she confessed. "I've never thought about it."

Orochimaru closed his eyes and shook his head, like he was scolding her, and Akane felt a flush of embarrassment. How dare he? "Well, you've got time to think about it, don't you." Orochimaru pressed his hand into the stone wall and a door formed and he opened it. "These are your quarters. Take time to explore. Some food and water will be brought to you in a few minutes. I'll be back to collect you, and we can begin your training." Orochimaru turned to leave and Akane stepped into the room.

"Wait, but I didn't-"

The door slid closed, Orochimaru not staying to listen to her. The room was nice. Cozy, even. In the left corner was a fluffy bed with three huge pillows. The floors were a warm red wood, the walls were still stone, but had wall scrolls with the Uchiha clan symbol embroidered on them. The blankets were thick and purple. Her wardrobe was filled with many styles of clothes, modern and traditional. Feminine and masculine. There was a bookcase stacked to the brim with books and scrolls, mostly about training, but there was one shelf on the bottom dedicated to fiction and…manga… Akane looked at the books, throwing one at random on 'her' bed. The bathroom had a huge tub to soak in, and a shower in an adjacent room. There were fluffy robes with uchiwa fans printed all over them in various pink and purple tones hung on the wall. There was an entire section in the bathroom dedicated to beauty products, perfumes, hair ties, makeup. She would want for nothing.

In fact the elegance of 'her' quarters left her feeling…unsteady.

'We've discussed this,' Ibiki's figment said, sitting at her new vanity.

"So this little hallucination is permanent, then?" Akane asked him, grabbing a handful of salted peanuts that had been left on her desk. She stopped. No, that would just dehydrate her.

'I told you, didn't I? He'd try everything in his power to make you forget your mission. The finery is a smoke screen.'

"I'm aware," Akane snapped and led the figment into her main room. She tumbled into the bed and almost moaned when the soft mattress swallowed her up with all of her aching joints. "I know that he's trying to endear himself to me. And…I know I'm not immune to propaganda."

'Good, it's good you recognize that,' Ibiki said, helping himself to the peanuts. He was fake, he didn't have to worry about dehydration. 'I really need to impress upon you that no matter how kind he's being to you, it's all an act. He needs you to be complacent. Trusting. He may attempt to make himself a father figure. A lover. A best friend. No matter what-'

"He's a snake, I know," Akane said with a sigh. She looked him in his cold gray eyes, letting the fear ripple over her shoulders, a shudder wracking her entire body. "He's trying to take my body from me. He just doesn't want to inhabit someone with skills as subpar as mine. You said he'd spend years training me. To use that time wisely-"

'Hush, he's got cameras to watch you in here.'

Akane's mouth snapped shut. She looked down at her hands.

There was a knock on her door and Ibiki faded when her old teammate came in with a tray of food and water. Akane stood and had to restrain herself from rushing him to grab that entire pitcher out of his hands. Kabuto smiled at her, reminiscent of their days pretending to be comrades. Kabuto didn't say anything at first, putting the tray down on her desk, and pulling utensils out of his back pocket, putting them down on the tray. "Eat up!" He invited her.

Akane pushed him away and grabbed the pitcher of water. He grabbed her hand. "Slow," he instructed her. He grabbed the pitcher and poured her a glass. "You'll make yourself sick if you aren't careful."

Akane drank slowly. Then held out her glass and Kabuto chuckled, filling it back up. Akane sat criss cross on her bed, and finished the pitcher as slowly as she could stand it. She sighed when she finished, and tossed it behind her on the bed. "So, now what?" Akane asked Kabuto, coldly. His smile grew and he laughed at her again, shaking his head.

"There's no need to be so defensive, Akane. We're comrades now."

"No, we were comrades. No matter what, you still stabbed me in the fucking leg, and…and Daichi…did you kill him? Were you responsible for that mudslide Yakushi Kabuto?" Akane demanded, standing up and getting in his face. She reached just under his chin and had to stand on the tips of her toes.

"I was not," Kabuto said, pushing his glasses up his face. "But I'm sure you don't believe me, so feel free to hate me all you want."

Akane rolled her eyes but backed away anyway. She looked at her food and winced at the egg drop soup and rice. She hated eggs. "Ew," she said, but drank the entire thing anyway. "Can I have another one?"

"I'm afraid not," Kabuto said, taking the tray, save the rice that he put on her desk. "Your stomach has been mostly empty for days. Lord Orochimaru doesn't want you to get sick."

Akane said nothing and looked around her room, gesturing with her pointer finger. "And what's with all this? Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Of course!" Kabuto said, holding out his arms. "But it's to your liking, then? Are you sufficiently bribed, Akane?"

"It'll take a lot more that a fancy room and water to make me betray-"

"Oh, but they've already betrayed you…" Kabuto interrupted. He took a step forward and Akane stepped back. "They ordered your death," he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

Akane schooled her expression. No, she knew better. Ibiki and her hand gone over this a thousand and one times. That he would try and turn her against them-

"Itachi…what a sad character," Kabuto said, shaking his head. "Just thirteen years old and ordered by his village to kill every Uchiha, down to the last man woman and child."

Akane felt the flood of panic flood her. He shouldn't know that. Well, she shouldn't know that, but she'd been given an unfair advantage. Akane let the shock at his knowledge overtake her, if only to give him the performance he wanted. He wanted her to be shocked. She sat on the bed and touched her mouth with a shaking hand. "Get out," she told him quietly. He didn't hesitate.

'That was good,' Ibiki said, somewhere behind her. 'That was really good…'