FicWad

Chapter 4 A Brush with Death

The hallway was quiet and dark as usual, except for the light of the lantern. She was glad Kabuto had given it to her. It helped to brighten the space better. She could now see designs on the walls, making them look almost golden. The designs were all in oval like patterns. It was amazing to have such unique designs on walls below ground. The tunnels in her village didn’t have these, but they were lit up with virtual windows showing the outdoors, as if the village wasn’t even underground. The virtual windows were the work of a jutsu.

Looking down at the map, she began to make her way through the labyrinth of hallways, working her way back to her room. As she followed the scroll, she failed to notice in the darkness two red eyes approaching her from behind. The owner of them had been following her soon after she left the kitchen. He was quite surprised she didn’t detect him when she had passed him in the halls. He felt this was a perfect opportunity to deal with this matter, when no one was looking.

"Damn it! These damn hallways all look alike," she muttered, completely distracted from the approaching danger. "Why can't that bastard just let me go and I can go back home."

The eyes continued to get closer until soon they stopped just in arms reach of her, but kept out of the light. From the shadows, an arm reached behind and pulled out a long blade. The sword appeared to be straight and the guard or handle couldn’t really be seen, but there was a distinguishable difference between the handle and blade.

Sarah immediately felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Startled by this sensation, she jumped at the feeling something was behind her. She swiftly turned then gasped in horror as she dropped the lantern and map.

"Sasuke!" she gasped. Her eyes were on the weapon in his hand.

“So, you remember my name?” he asked, voice cold as ice. “You’re not wanted here.”

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I don't even want to be here. I'd rather get away from here than be around that snake."

The boy’s eyes were hard and he wasn’t withdrawing. "Perhaps this will be easy then. He could think you did it to yourself because you don't want to be here."

Her heart once again hammered in her chest as she took a small step back. “I have no grudge against you.”

“You’re interfering with my training,” he stated coldly. Without hesitation, using an attack the sannin had taught him, snakes shot out of his sleeve attacking her.

"No!" Sarah screamed as she tried to jump out of the way, but being confined with the crowded walls all she could do was jump back a few feet. "Sasuke, please! I don't want trouble with you. Just leave me in peace! PLEASE!"

“Can’t do that.” His red eyes were not blinking, nor were they moving from a cold stare. “You’re the cause of my current situation. Never underestimate the power of an Uchiha.”

Sarah tried to step back once again, but this time one snake was able to wrap around her leg, preventing her from moving. She was completely unarmed and at a disadvantage. She dodged a few of the snakes but one managed to nick her ankle. She cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor.

“No one is around to hear you scream. You already drained Kabuto when he left last night, and now he’s gone to get some sleep.”

Tears sprang from her eyes as she felt venom track its way into her blood stream. She now understood what Kabuto said about danger being outside her room. She gave a few whimpers, not looking at him as the boy gave a menacing grin.

Without another word he lunged forward, intending to slice her head. He did not expect for Sarah to roll away at the last second and his sword clanged on the stone floor. “Good move. So it’s true and that you are a ninja.”

“A ninja from the Village Hidden Underground!” she jerked wincing in pain, trying to get the snake to let go of her leg. She could feel her body wanting to get heavy. She had no idea what sort of venom the snake injected into her. There were different kinds of snakes and not all were poisonous. Some actually rendered a person immobile.

“Even so, that won’t help you here. You’re unable to move and I have you right where I want you. So why don’t you just stop all the nonsense and let me end your stay here. Then we’ll both be happy.”

He swung again, this time he managed to inflict damage. Since she was trying to remove the snake, he was able to get her in the arm. He could hear the skin tearing as the blade pierced her skin, immediately causing blood to flow out.

Sarah cried out as the hot stinging sensation of the metal pierced her skin, creating a large gash in her arm. On reflex, she used her good arm to press a hand against the wound to try and slow the bleeding down. The pain was too great for her to try and continue her efforts. It was then the snake finally removed its hold on her and she was able to move.

"Sasuke... Please!" she begged as tears poured out. Trying to back away on her ass but more snakes surrounded her, preventing her from escaping.

“Stop whining like a child. Be a woman and die like a shinobi!” he replied coldly. His eyes narrowed as he swung his sword once again. This time he was able to catch her in the chest just above her breasts, slicing the robe.

“Damn, missed the neck,” he said as she howled in pain. The force of the blow caused her body to back up, but not before blood seeped onto the robe. She had to take her already wounded arm and drape it across her chest to prevent her breasts from being revealed to the teen.

He slightly chuckled as he watched her try and struggle. To his surprise, she was able to move her body so her back was to him. “So you can still move. Well not for long!” Her stubbornness was beginning to annoy him.

With another swing, he got her in the back near her spinal column. Her robe nearly fell off her body now as she collapsed to the floor, unable to move. He could see blood pooling around her.

Sarah screamed once again as her heart raced like mad, as if it was about to pump out of her chest. This was the end of her. In the position she laid, blood was easily able to seep out of her chest wound. 'So long life,' she thought. 'At least I won't need to deal with that jerk who brought me here. This is his fault.'

"And now to end this." He brought his sword up over his head, ready to deal the killing blow, but something suddenly grabbed his arm. He looked up in time to see a rather large snake. His red eyes widened just as something hard collided with the side of his face, sending him flying into a wall, sword clanging to the floor.

The snake nin himself appeared out of the shadows. "What do you think you're doing, boy!?!" A look of rage on his face.

Sasuke's eyes turned to see the Sannin. He pulled himself up on his feet rubbing his jaw. "What does it look like?" Sasuke answered coldly, acting as if he wasn't surprised. "I'm getting rid of the competition. For months now you've been pining over a woman, ‘her’, saying she would make a good addition and ignored my training. I came to you willingly and this is the thanks for it. Last night you were more brutal with me on the training all because of ‘her’. This is your fault she's in this condition. Should have left her alone."

Sarah, lying on the floor, heard Orochimaru's voice, but since she was losing too much blood she couldn't really focus on who just rescued her. All she could do was silently cry as the pain numbed her body and shock began to set in.

The snake nin seethed in rage as he noted the boy hadn’t deactivated his sharingan yet. "This is your last mistake boy!" he hissed. “You will not get another chance again!” Using his quick speed he ran at the teen and kicked out, easily catching the Uchiha in the side, sending the teen flying down the hall. Once his body hit the floor hard, he then rolled a few feet further. But Orochimaru wasn’t finished.

Not giving the boy time to move or do anything, he once again lunged at him. Sending out several snakes, each one bit him causing the boy to cry out in pain. Blood oozed out from each puncture wound the snakes gave him. Orochimaru then swung around, kicking the teen again, sending him flying back further down the hall.

Sasuke barely was able to breathe from having the wind knocked out of him. He coughed up blood when he once again, for the third time felt a foot jab into his side, breaking a few ribs. He was too out of breath to be able to wince as he yet again crashed into the floor, this time slamming into a wall.

"My lord! Stop! You're going to kill him!" Kabuto came rushing from down the hall and over to his Lord, pushing on his chest to stop him from attacking.

He had heard terrible screams and his heart filled with dread. Those screams had come from Sarah. That could only mean one thing… Sasuke had attacked her. In just his sleeping clothes he was quick to pull himself out of bed and ran towards the screams, which were now being called out by a male. In no time he came upon his Lord, showing Sasuke no mercy. He could see the teen was nearly unconscious, bleeding from several wounds. But that wasn’t all. A little behind Orochimaru, he could see Sarah was bleeding out. Kabuto had to stop his Lord and fast.

Sasuke coughed up more blood as he now supported three broken ribs; a broken arm and two broken legs. The teen would have to be moved by someone else. Still on the floor several feet away, Sarah was beginning to have trouble breathing.

Still enraged, being held back by Kabuto, Orochimaru finally backed off. Noticing he was listening Kabuto released him, stepping away giving the snake nin some space. The sannin’s eyes went to Sarah and for the first time, he felt his heart ache. The woman was in shredded clothing, blood pouring out of her. Going over to her, he kneeled down.

"Sarah?" he said in a gentle voice, resting a tender hand on her cheek. He had to know if she could hear him, pity in his eyes. Being caring was an uncommon thing for him.

Knowing he had to deal with Sarah but also needed to get Sasuke out of there and fast, Kabuto went over to check the damage done to Sasuke. “I tried to warn you,” he breathed. “But you wouldn’t listen.” He looked over to his Lord to see how tender he was being towards Sarah. What worried him though was her immobile body.

After giving Sasuke another look over, the medic assessing the damage he stood and walked over to Sarah. Seeing the rather large gash in her chest, he kneeled down. His hands immediately glowed green as he began to heal her chest wound. "They're both going to need serious medical attention sir."

Sarah felt her face being touched and she tried to look up, but couldn't really focus all that well. She did notice some silver and glasses and could tell it was Kabuto.

"Ka…bu…to… help me..." she whimpered.

“I’ll heal you up in no time,” Kabuto responded quietly. He looked to Orochimaru. He could feel the man was extremely angry over what just happened. “My Lord?”

“Sarah’s wounds are tended to first,” the older man finally replied, eyes not leaving her crumpled body. He saw her head slightly move and her unfocused green eyes looked up to him.

"Oro...chi...maru..."

“It’s alright,” Orochimaru replied in a soothing voice as he combed his fingers through her brown locks. “You’re safe now.”

Surprised by how tender the man was, the medic kept quiet and continued to do what he could for Sarah’s injuries. Her chest wound being the worse.

Despite feeling the warm power of Kabuto’s medical jutsu, darkness swam around her body and her head went limp. Eyes closing, she had fallen unconscious. The last thing Sarah felt before everything went black was Orochimaru’s hand against the side of her face, soothing her.



Sarah woke, feeling comfortable. For a few moments everything was foggy, but in time memories began to resurface. Her eyes snapped open, feeling lost, confused, and in pain. Sasuke had attacked her and nearly killed her, but he wasn’t able to finish the job because someone stopped him. No, not someone. It was Orochimaru who showed up and saved her life. She looked over to her left to see Kabuto was there at her bedside, checking her vitals.

"Kabuto…" she breathed. "I'm alive…" the statement was more of a question, but in her weakened condition it didn't sound like it.

His eyes went to her. "Try not to move, you're still in pretty bad shape," he cautioned, taking a needle out of his pouch. "This will help with the pain." He then lifted her good arm and pierced her skin, injecting some painkillers into her system.

Tears resurfaced once again from the pain she was feeling. She then winced at the needle. She watched as Kabuto administered the drug and could see he was quite concerned for her.

"Sasuke…he…he…" she tried to say he tried to kill her, but she was stuttering too much.

"I know," He reassured her. "He won't be able to hurt you anymore. It was a good thing Lord Orochimaru showed up when he did though. Mind you, you’ve been unconscious most of the day."

“You serious!?” she squeaked.

“I am,” he answered. “I had to heal your chest and back, which were the worst injuries, and to be sure you didn’t wake I made sure to keep you unconscious while your body was in that much pain. I’m sorry for doing so, but it was needed to allow your body time to heal.”

Sarah gave a small nod and relaxed on the bed. She was beginning to feel the drug taking affect, which meant the pain was numbing away.

"Was it just me… or was Orochimaru there too?" she asked suddenly. She could still feel a gentle hand on her cheek, which now confused her. If that was Orochimaru's hand, who was a cold-blooded killer, why was he so gentle to her?

He continued to check her vitals and make sure her bandages weren't soiled. "Yes, he was. He showed up just in time to stop Sasuke," the medic replied.

"Why?" she asked. "Why would he care? He's my kidnapper." She was surprised she hadn't seen the snake nin yet. If he was her savoir, why didn't he come check on her? She began to wonder.

“I don’t have an answer for you,” he admitted. “My lord has always done things without telling others first.”

She sighed. "How bad is it?" she asked, half expecting Kabuto not to give her an honest answer by saying he didn’t know.

"Not too bad," he answered, knowing what she was referring to. "The bleeding has stopped and he didn't hit anything vital. You'll probably be able to move again by tomorrow as long as you don't push yourself. Mind you your arm is a different matter. I’d like you not to use the arm if you can, for the next week."

"So I'm bed ridden for the rest of the night then." Sarah turned her head to face away from him. It was then she realized something about the snake nin. Who knew what went on in Orochimaru's head. Though from hearing Kabuto call him 'Lord' all the time, she was beginning to wonder if he would make her do the same. Sasuke didn't call him that, but it was plain to see Sasuke didn't like the guy either. "Where is he? He saved me and yet he's not here?"

With the pain easing away it was easier for her to speak without stuttering, but her voice was completely soft unlike her feisty tone.

The medic frowned knowing the answer. "He's still calming down. He dealt a little more damage then was necessary. I have to tend to Sasuke after I'm done here."

Sarah frowned turning back to the man. "Why help that jerk? He's the reason I'm like this. He deserves to suffer!" She tried to sound spunky, but there was no way her voice was able to get any higher.

Kabuto didn’t bother looking her in the eye as he worked. "His injuries are near fatal. If they're not tended to he will die."

"Then let him," Sarah tried to snap as she turned away again. "But let me guess, your Lord has something planned in mind for him too? I'm not stupid, you know. He's very manipulative, and I had heard he likes getting people so he can implant his conscious into them, taking over their bodies.”

Kabuto looked at her surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Like I said, I have heard, meaning I got it from people. After Orochimaru attacked the Hidden Leaf, messengers were sent to all hidden villages of Orochimaru's movements. I do remember Orochimaru before he brought me here, the bastard, he said something about knowing too much." She wanted to snort but when she tried, she winced from her healing chest wound.

His expression eased. "Hmm they wasted no time in getting that out. Though it will do them no good." He sounded a bit devious himself. "If you must know, Sasuke is my lord's next vessel. We can't have him dying on us just yet." Kabuto finished what he was doing when there was a crash in another room.

Kabuto sighed adjusting his glasses. "Seems he's still angry." He paused. "Excuse me." He stood, leaving the room. After he left, she could hear a few more crashes and an angry hiss. Soon she could hear Kabuto's voice but couldn't make out what he was saying.

Sarah wanted to cringe but felt it would have been better for her to just lie there and rest. She wished she was fine and could use her skills to find out what was being said. Normally, it wouldn’t take much for her to get up and put her ear up to the door to listen. Perhaps then she'd actually get some answers. That was probably the only way she'd get a straight answer anyway.

After a bit it quieted down. It was silent for a while before the door began to open. This time it was Orochimaru himself.

Sarah turned her head to the door, nearly expecting it to be Kabuto again. She was quite surprised when it was her kidnapper, which she hadn't seen since the day she woke up there. Unaware of the time, she had no idea if it had only been one day or two.

"Orochimaru," she said quietly.

His expression was calm but it bore no smirk, yet he wasn't showing any weakness either. Closing the door behind him, he approached the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to answer, she could see his eyes were holding an emotion she'd never seen on him.

"Better now that you've saved me," she replied quietly, being honest. "Thank you. He was going to kill me and try to make it look like I killed myself."

"I know." His hand clenched into a fist, as a trickle of anger was heard in his voice. He sat on the bed beside her. His hand went to her cheek like before.

She gasped quietly at feeling his hand so gentle on her cheek. She wasn't sure what to say. Wanting to speak about something else, she decided to talk about the day he brought her there. "Why did you kiss me?" she suddenly inquired. "Why did you force me to have sex with you when you could have just knocked me out and brought me here and have sex with an unconscious body."

"Yes, I could have done that,” he admitted, “But I wanted to pleasure you." He felt like being honest, which for the moment, he didn’t care if that was a sign of weakness. "To see how you'd react to me." He leaned forward kissing gentler then he's ever done.

Sarah gasped again before her breath was taken away when he leaned down, kissing her. Except this time it was even softer than the last one, unlike any other kiss she ever had before. Her eyes involuntarily closed as she immediately found herself kissing back. She hated herself for falling victim to his charm once again, but there was something else as well. It was as if she wanted to kiss him as a ‘thank you’ even though she already thanked him.

Pulling away, not wanting to go too far with her healing, his eyes gazed into hers. It pained him to see her like that.

When Kabuto was able to begin healing her, the medic noticed there was venom in her system, which was a sedative to immobilize her body. That was how Sasuke was able to attack her without her able to defend herself.

She gazed back at him with surprise, worry, and something else unnamed in her eyes. "What makes me so special?" she whispered. Probably if she wasn't hurt right now, she had a feeling he would have wanted to go further.

Her question was something he couldn’t really explain. Taking her hand he placed it against his chest. She could feel his heart beat faster than normal. "Because… you do this to me."

She nearly had her own heart beat faster at feeling his. His hand was very tender against hers. With the sudden inability to move it, as if she was frozen by her own free will. She continued to hold her hand against his chest, taking comfort to know this cold-blooded killer was still human, in a sense, and had thoughts and feelings. He was only mortal, though he tried to think he could beat the odds.

Wanting to feel her touch he raised her hand placing it on his cheek. "Sarah..." his voice cooed. He still couldn't understand this power she had over him.

Her heart skipped a beat as her name rolled off his lips. The way he said it, sounded as if her name was created solely for him to say it. Was it fate for her to be born only to become a possession of Orochimaru’s? But she wasn’t somebody to be controlled or used as property. She was a person. Although, with him speaking to her like that, she didn’t feel as though she was his property.

She didn't try to stop him as he took her hand and rested it against his cheek. His skin felt cold to the touch, like his eyes were most of the time, but this time his eyes showed warmth in them. She didn't understand why she was allowing her kidnapper to do this without putting up a fight. She also didn’t understand why he felt so cold.

The snake nin had never known real love, which meant he didn’t know how to act in such a way. He only ever did what his mind wanted. Now, as if he wasn’t in control of his own body, it did things automatically. Showing him something he never knew or ever experienced before, and that alone slightly unsettled him. He would rather have brought his old sensei back to life just to relive their final battle together instead of feeling these uncontrolled emotions.

Though staring at Sarah, his body was immobile and he found himself not wanting to leave her side. He wanted to stay there and make her happy. Yes, he given her pleasure and he wanted to do that again, but now wasn’t the time to do so. Other things had to be dealt with first, namely her well being.