Since it's not official update day, that means it's special occasion update! Guess what?! I have a job! OMFR! FINALLY! I know it's not THAT exciting, but it is to me! I've never had a job (26 and never had a job LAME, but I was doing school and yeah I don't need to explain myself) point is: I have a job! It's not the best thing in the world or the best pay, but whatever! It's a job! Also, I have officially started my volunteer work. Ohhh! And my uncle is looking for a car for me because my grandma and I are having to share her SUV and she needs it during the day, but I just have to make payments to him and pay for insurance. I'm so excited! Ahh! :) FINALLY! :D I hope I don't fuck this up. Ugh! So nervous and excited! Anxiety! :( I start Tuesday :) Wish me luck guys!

(hey, and look on the bright side here, y'all get an early update :D )

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. This is just for fun, no profit will be made from this (and I don't want to either). This is purely for my and the entertainment of Naruto fans.

Dedication: To my beautiful, amazing, intelligent, girlfriend Phillipa (Shadow Spirit Dragon-wolf) for being there for me through not only my writing (both fanfiction and my original story) but real life in general. You have been my inspiration and my support through everything.

Warnings: Violence, explicit sexual conduct (no rape!) homosexual relationship, relationship with a large age gap, struggles with belonging, self-hatred, obsession, self-harm, self-experimentation, human experimentation, mental disorders, a dark view of the "afterlife", (bonding of) pain and isolation, self-worthlessness, and male pregnancy.

Pairings: OroNaru, cannon pairings (except, obviously, NaruHina).

Summary: Sometimes, the deepest scars are the ones no one can see, but in a world moving into the light even the oldest inner wounds can be seen

Enjoy! :)

Chapter Sixteen: Depths

Naruto

I pull him closer and run my fingers through his hair even as he tenses. He coils up more, burying his face in the front of my soaked shirt. He pulls back suddenly.

"Naruto, I didn't mean-"

I brush the hair that's always covering the right side of his face. "I'm not angry. I have no reason to be. You're allowed to have emotions, Oreo. Just let it out. It's okay. I'm here," I say gently. I place my palm against his face, cupping it gently and run my fingers through his hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Comforting you."

"And this is… how you comfort people?"

"Well, maybe not exactly this way, but I feel like I can help someone better by having psychical contact with them. I believe it expresses a deeper bond than simple talk does. I can't tell you that everything will be alright, but… well, don't you feel it?"

Oreo stares into my eyes for what seems like hours. "Why?"

"Because you are my friend, Orochimaru. I care about you."

"Do you only care about me because you know me? You hated me before. What changed?"

"You're not the only one I didn't like before but would do anything to help," I say. "You know me. I want everyone happy. Even you."

Especially you.

Oreo removes himself from my hold and stands up.

I look at him sadly. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to be alone right now," he mutters.

I grab his wrist. "An experiment?"

He looks over his shoulder at me. "No, I'm not really in the mood."

I hold his wrist for a bit longer, then drop my hand. I watch him leave. I don't call his name or pull him into my arms even though I want to. I know he wishes to be alone. I won't crowd him. I'm here for him. He knows that even if he can't accept it.

He broke down during the story. He tried to suppress it, but through his hair, I saw those gorgeous eyes filled with tears. I did the first thing that came to my mind: I pulled him into my arms.

He settled in rather quickly. I suppose he was just too upset. He wanted and needed that comfort. I could tell he hadn't told this story to many people. Which means he trusts me. I'm grateful for that.

Ten months, nearly eleven. I never thought I'd ever enjoy myself as much as I have. The only people who even know I'm here are Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato, and Granny Tsunade. It's best that way. I want Oreo to be better. It's taken me such a long time to get to this point with him. After all, it is my mission to help him and bring him home.

(It's what Tsunade wants. It's what Jiraiya would have wanted. And it's what I will make happen!)

'There's something amiss with the Snake Man's chakra,' Kurama informs me.

"Shit!" I curse, jumping up from Oreo's chair and running through the hideout, searching for him. This hideout isn't as big as the one Sasuke was in, but it's still a decent size.

I stop in a hallway. "Where is he?" I ask, eyes flicking back and forth.

'He's around this area.'

'But there are no rooms,' I frown.

'Sage Mode should help.'

Right. I active my nature power. It leads me to the point in the wall several feet from where I'm standing. I walk over to it, pressing a hand against the rock wall. There's a small room on the other side. I focus on Oreo.

Waves of pain shoot through me. I pull back and blast the wall down. I step over the debris and make my way over to the Sannin. He's turned away from me, on his knees. There's a large purple snake with yellow stripes and two sets of horns and a silver and black rattle on the end of its tail. Tears splatter against the large reptile as Oreo shakes.

He lets out a choked gasp as he lets out the breath he's been holding. The snake shakes its rattle gently, creating a sound between a soft chime of a bell and flute I've heard people use to charm snakes. I have to admit; it does have a nice sound to it. It almost makes me want to fall asleep, but I won't.

(I should ask Oreo if that's even a real thing. But for now…)

"Oreo?" I say gently, moving closer. I place a hand gently on his shoulder.

He nearly jumps out of his skin. The snake hisses, ready to strike.

"I'm not here to hurt either of you," I inform the snake.

It still stays in the striking pose until Oreo relaxes.

"Oreo, will you turn around for me so we can talk? We can talk in here if you'd like," I say.

I take a look around at the room. A small room as noted earlier. Perhaps big enough for two people, three if they really squeezed in here hard. There's a desk with scrolls and books neatly stacked on the desk. A small lantern that sits on the desk is lit.

On either wall are wall ledges with cushions and blankets. I suppose he sleeps in here sometimes? The wall ledges are big enough. Not that he needs a lot of space. I've seen him completely curled up on a pillow on his giant bed. I have to admit; the sight was adorable.

"Talking… it won't…" he struggles, his body shuddering as he tries to suppress the urge to be human.

I lean down and wrap my arms around him from behind. He tenses, then lets out another choked gasp.

"It's okay. I'm here."

Anger flares within me when I look at his left arm. I let out a snarl, eyes on the verge between Kurama's and my own as I grab it, stretching it out so I can see the full extent of the damage he's caused to his own body.

"Let me go," Oreo hisses.

"No," I reply, equally as fierce.

I pull him up and turn him around. I'm met with fierce golden eyes that would put anyone to their knees and freeze them in terror. His chakra whips around him in a deep purple. The snake slithers up his leg and coils around him, head resting on his shoulder, and flicking its tongue at me, waiting for its master to promise a meal out of me.

My eyes shift to his left arm again. It's covered in blood. I don't need Sage Mode to see what's caused so much blood.

"Why did you cut off your summoning tattoo?!" I demand, my own chakra and Kurama's rising and swirling around me. "What's going on?!"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," he hisses.

"That tattoo is important to you! It's from your clan! It's a part of who you are! Why the hell would you just cut it off?! I understand you miss them, but is that any way to-"

"He's gone!" Oreo exclaims.

I blink, frowning. "Who's gone?"

"Who do you think?! I came here to see my summons and he's gone!"

"Well, I'm sure he's doing something. I mean sometimes I can't summon Bunta even when I had the chakra control to do so. Someone else would take his place."

I assume that's what happened here.

"No, imbecile! He's gone! He's… dead!" he hisses, tears falling.

"Oh, Orochimaru," I whisper.

I break the little distance between us and wipe his tears away gently. He shakes, but doesn't pull away. I look at his arm and then to the snake.

"Hi, I'm Naruto. I know you're only trying to protect your master, but please don't bite me. I'm only trying to help. Oreo is my friend."

"My name is Zeikka," the snake replies with a soft hiss. "I will stay as long as Lord Orochimaru needs me."

"You don't have to stay," Oreo mutters.

Zeikka slithers forwards and stretches out until she is looking at Oreo's face, blocking my view of it. "He was my father. I miss him as well."

"I know," he whispers. "Mourn with your family, Zeikka."

The snake looks at me then to her master. "Summon me if you need me. I think you need to be with this fox smelling hatchling."

"I'm not-" I start to say, but Zeikka disappears before I have a chance to finish. I look at Oreo for a bit then return my gaze to his arm. "I'm going to heal your arm. I'll try to be gentle. Do you want to sit down?"

Oreo shakes his head, beautiful silky black hair hitting against his equally gorgeous face.

I study him for a bit then nod. I place a hand under his arm to support it then the other on top of it. I close my eyes, focusing on my healing chakra. Oreo hisses as his muscles and bones are healed from their minor wound and his skin is reattached bit by bit.

"So that was Manda's daughter?"

"Yes. She is the oldest of his five hatchlings."

"I thought snakes hatched around the same time? Or is this the whole "I was born a few seconds before you; therefore, I am older." Nonsense?"

"No, she's actually a few months older than the youngest."

"I'm not following."

"Summons are different. They get bigger and more powerful than animals we keep around."

"So it takes more time for them to grow?"

"Exactly."

I work on his arm a bit longer then let it go. It falls to his side. "There, it should feel better. I'm not Granny Tsunade or Sakura, but…"

"You should have left it alone."

"You know I would never do that," I say, staring into his eyes.

"I'm weak."

"You are not weak."

"I should have been stronger! If I were stronger, then I could have saved them! They wouldn't be suffering right now!"

Oreo, they're not suffering. What do I have to do to make you understand?

"I know you're upset. You have every right to be. I'm upset as well, and I didn't even know them. It hurts when we lose the ones dearest to us. I still remember the day I found out Jiraiya died. I isolated myself away from everyone and blamed Tsunade even though deep down I know she wasn't to blame. I just wanted someone to blame. I wanted to vent my anger, rage, and frustration out. Now, looking back, I see it was wrong. Still," I say, wiping another tear as it sneaks past his guard, "I'm here. I'm always here for you. You can vent in any way you need to. If you want to fight, then let's fight. If you want to cry, then cry. But one thing I won't allow you to do is hurt yourself or others. You are too important to be hurting yourself for things you had no control over."

Oreo stares at me for a while then licks my face.

I smile, placing a hand on his face gently. "I'm here."

"I know."

We pull away after a bit. "This sure is an interesting room. How come I've never seen it?"

"It's a secret room. I didn't want anyone to know about it. It's a place I come to when I need to relax. The atmosphere is less dense in here and I can clear my head."

My eyes flick to Sage Mode. "Now that you mention it…" I trail off, letting my eyes return to normal. "I can understand why something like this would be a nice place to relax. I assume you do studying in here as well?"

"Yes. It's where I figured out the Reaper Death Seal."

"Ah, so this is the place Suigetsu stumbled upon?"

"Indeed."

I smile. Silence fills the room, but it's not awkward or annoying in the slightest. I stare at Oreo. He's dressed in the purple and silver kimono I bought him for his birthday. It seems like years ago, and honestly, I didn't even give it to him for his birthday. It was in January before he even told me when his birthday was. When I went out to get supplies, I saw it and thought he would enjoy wearing it.

More than that, he looks beyond beautiful in it. The purple really brings out his clan markings around his eyes and the silver highlights the earrings Oreo never takes out.

And that face. That beautiful face. A face I hated seeing before, but now… now I just can't stop. And those eyes… they're so…

My heart pounds. What's going on? Naruto, get a grip! Oreo needs you!

"I look up to you," I say, forcing my mind elsewhere.

"You do? Why?"

"You're strong, loyal, and talented. Sure, you've done some fucked up shit, but you did what you thought was best. You did what you believed was the right thing to do. I may not agree with your actions, but I look up to you because you're determined to get what you want. Your charisma is powerful. You make people want to follow you."

"Only to get what I want."

"In the past, but now I don't think that's the case."

"Perhaps," Oreo mutters.

I stroke his face, staring into his eyes. "You're amazing."

Oreo blinks and stares at me.

My heart beats wildly as I stare. What are these feelings rushing through me? I've never felt this way before. This overwhelming happiness. This incredible feeling swelling up and begging to explode.

Staring becomes too much. I move even closer, cupping his face and threading my fingers through his hair. I stare just a moment longer, then press my lips against his.

I don't even think I need to explain what's going to happen next chapter. ;). Just to warn y'all: I don't warn. I've already done that. So from next chapter on such things can pop up at a moment's notice. I'm hoping to write chapter twenty-nine soon. :) So a few things:

1) I know the place Suigetsu found doesn't have some of the stuff I put in it, but it does today. I thought I'd add a bit of stuff in there because I don't know. I just did :D.

2) Remember back in whatever chapter where I said Oro doesn't know Manda died? Told you it was coming up :)

3) What Oro means about the summoning noodles is, basically, they hatch at different times because they were laid at different times and take longer to grow. (I mean, it makes sense to me *shrugs* )

The update day is still this Saturday, so prepare yourselves for

Naru: It's KitOreo! *angry face*

Okay, okay lol prepare yourselves for some KitOreo. (And yes, Naru is topping. Want Oro to top? It won't happen in this story (unless I change my mind)

And now I can shut up :D

Preview

Naruto

"What about Hinata?" he whispers.

"I love Hinata-"

"I know," he barely manages above a whisper, heart breaking.

"But I'm in love with you."

Next update date: August 26

I hope y'all enjoyed! Until next time :).