The room was deadly silent as Orochimaru sat across from Haruno Reiko. The shoji doors had been shut tightly as soon as they both had made themselves comfortable, the sound of the outside world not permitted with the four walls encompassing them. All of his summons had been dismissed so they could have absolute privacy. He had watched warily as the matriarch had gone around the room, placing seals at an interval. Recognizing the silencing seals, he had narrowed his eyes at the complicated seals that would purposely trap anyone daring to disrupt the barrier the seals were creating.

Anyone else would have assumed he would be the one being this paranoid.

Now, they sat motionless as they watched each other.

Orochimaru had dressed as smartly as he did when he traveled to every major clan only a month before. However, he had decided on a slightly more masculine kimono as he did not want to cause any rifts between his own beauty and the radiance coming off Reiko in abundance. He had gone out of his way to acquire the silk kimonos he owned, however, it was obvious that they simply fell into Reiko's hands at her whim—not surprising since her clan dealt a great deal in silk.

However, it was her youthfulness that had his shoulders stiff.

There were wrinkles under her eyes and around her mouth from her often frowning, however, they were not as severe as one would think to exist on a ninety-year-old civilian woman. Meeting her eyes, he could feel it in his bones how desperately he wanted to pick this woman apart and learn her every secret, no matter how small or dark.

And by the calculated way Reiko was staring back, he had a feeling she had a similar feelings.

"I thank you again for coming to Konoha to discuss Sakura-chan's training," Orochimaru began, an easy and polite smile slipping onto his face. "As her clan head, I wanted to make sure you had a say in how your clanswoman faired."

"I appreciate the invitation." Her voice was like steel wrapped in silk—beautiful, yet ready to cut deeply when given the chance. "I do not have many opportunities to be part of my grandchild's lives, and encouraging Sakura would be an honor for me."

"She is incredibly bright, I can only assume it comes from your side of the family."

"But, of course."

The tension was slowly growing in the room, but neither occupant acknowledged it in favor of playing the roles of sensei and clan head. They had no audience, but certain games needed to be played so the players could truly understand one another before the real battle could being.

"What has Sakura been training in so far?"

Orochimaru nodded graciously. Reiko was making the first move, not surprising with her track record. Strike first and hard.

"Even though she has trained at the Academy since the age of seven and at a genin rank for half a year, her physical skills were severally lacking. Thus, I have had her learning taijutsu and fighting katas in this last month. On top of that, she had grown great initiative to study topics on her own, seeking out information in any way that she can. With her eidetic memory, I do not doubt she will be a poison master by the time she is ready to become a jonin."

"One of the Legendary Sannin, and all you have your student doing is simple exercise techniques?"

While his body was relaxed, his eyes snapped up to meet hers, but she revealed nothing.

"Tell me, Reiko-san," he spoke tersely, smirking internally at the way her lips pulled downward at the honorific. "Do you know what elemental jutsu types are?"

"I am familiar." Her frown was growing.

"Sakura-chan has shown to have equal control over water and earth chakra, thus allowing her to recreate the mokuton, which is—"

"The very thing that made Konoha's Shodai famous," she drawled. The tension in the air threatened to crack like lightning. "Unlike Senju Hashirama, I have lived to see Konohagakure grow into what it has today. I do not require a history lesson. What I do need to know it what you are planning on teaching my granddaughter."

Jaw clenching slightly, Orochimaru despised the position he was in. The last time he had been left so helpless in a social interaction was when he was a child. Ever since then, he had refused to let anyone get the better of him, no matter if they were an elder or a superior. He refused to be backed into a corner and cower like a weakling.

But, as he kept eye contact with Reiko, he knew he was dealing with someone on a completely different level.

Haruno Reiko wasn't just another clan head. No, she was a merchant with a silver tongue that knew far more than she should have. If he slipped up even an ounce, she would smell weakness a mile away and potentially take Sakura away from him. They both knew who had the upper hand in this situation, even though he was clawing his way out from under her supposed social power. He had dealt with the council and other bloated elders who thought they knew what was best simply because they had lived longer.

"Tell me, Orochimaru-kun," Reiko purred, her lips curling into a cloyingly sweet smile. "Will you have her recreating your latest experiments?"

Before he could control his expression, his eyes widened. Damn her!

"I don't understand," he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Oh, don't be surprised, child," she chuckled darkly. "You hid your labs and failed experiments very well, but as you know, my family specializes in finding things once thought lost."

"Such as the Earth Grudge Fear technique?"

If this wasn't such a delicate situation, Orochimaru would have laughed cruelly at the way Reiko's face paled slightly. However, that was the only part of her expression that gave her away; even her eyes stayed passive as she met his gaze. The small glint of excitement was the only thing giving her away.

"You have done your own research into my family." Was all she responded with.

"I needed to know everything about my apprentice," he said, shrugging in faux nonchalance. "Discovering just exactly who her great-great-uncle was an interesting tidbit. Although, learning that the feared Kakuzu had used the technique on his little sister, now that, had been quite interesting. I have to wonder how many hearts you have gone through so far to live this long."

"Hearts are useless to fools."

Her chin was shoved forward in challenge as the words hung in the air. In that moment, the illusion Reiko had woven so expertly around herself disappeared to reveal who she truly was:

A woman who had faced down wars, negotiated with lords and self-proclaimed gods, had cheated death as many times as she cheated her own clients. She had seen the weakness in the world around her and decided to bend these people to her will, only growing more powerful as she realized how easy this manipulate truly was. With the power of near immortality on her side, who would are to question her decisions?

Smirking opening, Orochimaru would never not admit to opposing just about anyone simply because he was in the mood to.

"Those who can't use their talents do not deserve them."

Perhaps having the room completely sealed benefited them in more ways than one. If his dear, old sensei had heard those words then perhaps Shimura Danzo's death might have been investigated, along with certain experiments that had occurred before Orochimaru had left on Anko's training journey. But, as it was, the only one to hear his thoughts was a woman who should be dead a few times over.

"Does this apply to my granddaughter?" Reiko's eyes were narrowed as the tension grew to be thick enough to almost feel pressing onto their skin.

"She has proven herself to be far above her peers," he said smoothly. "All of her abilities and skills promise her to become something far stronger than myself and my teammates."

"Is that so."

"Sakura has the intelligence to learn anything that I can teach her, and with the correct guidance, I don't doubt she would make a worthy heir to the Haruno clan."

"That's quite presumptuous of you." Her voiced hardened. "My third son had already shown his ability to take that position."

"Was he the one to inherit your brother's mastery in earth jutsu techniques?"

"Has Sakura even approached mastery in anything?"

"She will." There wasn't a drop of doubt in his mind that she go even further than Kakuzu even would. Kinjutsu or not, she was destined to become a legend, no matter how trained her.

"You speak far too freely for someone so young," Reiko sneered. "Barely half my age and you think you can win me over with a few found secrets and empty promises. I still do not see why I should leave my granddaughter in your hands, little snake."

"What would you have me do to prove myself?"

A risky move, no doubt. He was giving her far too much power over his future actions, and against someone who would live for another hundred years, this was becoming troublesome. However, he had seen it in her eyes that she would not simply agree to Sakura's apprenticeship without being given something on top of it. She had Konoha and Orochimaru under her thumb presently, and she was far too intelligent not to use the situation to her benefit. He could only hope that Sakura wasn't as business orientated when she grew older. Another reason to keep her under his wing.

"I am quite curious to know whose body you currently inhabit," she drawled, pinning him with a knowing look. Keeping the tension out of his body, he showed no reaction. "You question whose heart I currently poses, however, I believe on organ is hardly a crime compared to what you've done, child."

"You wish to compare notes." His eyebrows rose.

"What is immortality if not something to improve upon?" She asked sweetly.

"If that is all—"

"Of course," she once again spoke over him, and he didn't bother hiding his irritation. "I will be included in any decisions concerning Sakura's education."

"As to be expected." Not taking his eyes off her, he grabbed the scroll containing Sakura's apprentice contract. He had yet to have her look it over and sign until Reiko had added her own amendments. "Are there family jutsu you wish for me to focus on?"

"Yes, but when she is older," Reiko greedily grabbed the scroll from his hands and opened it. Her eyes scanned over the scroll efficiently with practice from reading countless contracts before this one. "Will she be learning anything from your teammates?"

"If you will it, then I will ask."

"Has she shown interest in their fields of study?"

"Her chakra control is better than Tsunade-hime's, however, there is no evidence she has any inclination towards fuuinjutsu."

"A shame," Reiko glanced up to meet his eyes once again. "I was hoping she could learn much under the famed Toad Sage. I especially enjoy his stories."

"You do." Orochimaru had to admit, that statement alone had his well-crafted mask crack. Out of everything he had expected during their meeting, he had not been prepared for her to bring up Jiraiya's poor excuse of literature.

"Oh, yes," she smiled wickedly. "Especially the book following Yuzuki."

Orochimaru willed his heart to continue beating and the heat in his cheeks to cease. Knowing that someone had found his labs and discovered his experiments was one thing, to know that someone had made the connection between himself and one of Jiraiya's lewd characters was quite another.

"Cheer up, child," Reiko chuckled. "If he is too busy training my granddaughter, he will not have time to write another story featuring a skilled tongued beauty with an affinity towards snakes."

Once this was all said and done, Orochimaru was going to accidently drop every poison he had on his person into Jiraiya's sake.

"Of course, I do hope that Tsunade-hime arrives soon start Sakura's medical training," Reiko spoke lightly. "It would be a shame to have her buried in her debts."

Orochimaru kept his face strictly passive as he listened to the threat against his teammate. This was exactly what he had tried to circumvent with Tsunade, but once again, Reiko had seemed to be one step ahead of him. Crafty woman.

"Now, I am curious as to Sakura's wishes in her training," Reiko pointed to the small notes added in the middle of the scroll. "What kind of sword would she prefer?"

"I am sure she would be very enthusiastic to tell you about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," he drawled. Her near adoration of the swordsmen had been a constant source of teasing from her siblings, accusing her of having a crush on the swords themselves.

"Is that so?" Reiko's smile was large as she showed off her sharp teeth and Orochimaru cursed. What was it with the Haruno and absorbing characteristics from every nation?

In more ways than one, they were all bastards.

"Reiko-san, I think—"

Before he could finish his thought, he feel a sharp pull in his gut. Normally, this wasn't a strange feeling as he had a connection to all of his children, however, this time, it felt as if a chakra string had been pulled from his core, pulled so tightly that it had finally snapped. The severed connection reverberated in his body, leaving him slightly hollow as he instinctively search for the missing chakra strain. No matter how hard he search, he felt nothing, but swore he could hear a faint scream of terror in the back of his mind as he felt Sakura's chakra leave their world.