FicWad

Chapter 6
Shadows of Fear

Because of the pain, it was a while before the young Uchiha could fall asleep again, which wasn’t until close to midnight. When his fatigue and frustration got the best of him, the pain eased off as he entered a dream like state.

He stood in a dream like fog; his surroundings pitch black symbolizing the darkness that was now his life since he joined Orochimaru. Walking a ways, he heard the echo of his own footsteps as if walking through water. Nothing else could be seen.

Wondering where he was and how he got there, he looked down at his body; there wasn’t a scratch on him. The wounds he had remembered were gone like he was never even hurt. This was all very confusing for the boy until he looked up when he heard a low hiss of a snake. Going to grab his sword, he found it wasn’t there. He couldn’t help it as a small trickle of fear seeped through, considering his last encounter with the snake nin.

Finally a figure appeared in the distance, which looked to be a young girl around his age. Her back was to him, revealing her hair was a deep red and went down to her shoulders. There was a small ponytail off to the side. She too was in the darkness, though the reasons were unclear. She looked to him, her eyes black with a hollow look to them. A small frown set on her lips, not as if she didn’t want him there but more out of sadness and pain.

He let down his guard a bit. “Who are you?” Sasuke asked out loud, looking at the girl. “I never saw you before.” He didn’t understand what was going on.

Her distant eyes watched him, for some reason the look didn’t unsettle him. She opened her mouth to speak. Her voice echoed almost like a ghost. “Aileana…”

Hearing the hissing again in the distance, it didn’t sound threatening.

The girl then turned from him as the scene changed around them, now standing before a grave in the rain. There wasn’t a name on it that he could see. Her expression was neutral, looking to the stone. “…Mother…” She breathed, her expression soured a bit. She closed her eyes as if thinking. A tear fell, hitting the grass.

Suddenly symbols of red clouds could be seen floating around them at a quick pace. She opened her eyes and looked to them. “They found me… father where are you?”

"What..." Sasuke was getting more confused by the moment. "Father? What do you mean?! Your father is looking for you!? Why is the Akatsuki after you!?" He tried to run towards the girl but she seemed to move further away. "Are you telling me your mother is dead!?"

The girl looked back to him as she faded into the distance. “Help me…please…” She then vanished. Whatever connection there was, was now severed.

He then looked up to see an image of a huge snake that looked very old. He only saw it for a second before he awoke suddenly. He couldn’t feel any pain for the moment as if the dream had taken it from him.

Forgetting the state he was in, Sasuke sat straight up, breathing heavily. What sort of dream was that? He had heard of people dreaming of things like this before but why him, and now of all times?

The pain was quick to greet him once he was fully awake, causing him to collapse back on the bed.

"Damn!" Sasuke hissed. He couldn't believe he forgot what had happened earlier. "Damn him!" Taking deep breaths, it hurt his ribs to breathe. Unable to focus, the beeping of the heart monitor could be heard. Kabuto didn’t respond to it, as expected, leaving him to endure it. It was almost unbearable, until thoughts of the redheaded girl resurfaced again. He let out a rough gasp as he felt his body calm a bit. What was going on?! Whatever it was he couldn’t complain. It was a relief from his suffering.

Continuing to think of the girl in his dream, his mind was able to forget the pain and eventually lulled him back to a peaceful slumber this time. For the first time since Orochimaru’s toy arrived, Sasuke’s mind wasn’t on the brunette.

/

As the sun began to rise, Kabuto woke. Where it was underground, no one could tell what time of day it was. If it weren’t for Kabuto’s ninja skills, even he wouldn’t have known the time. Getting up, he began to start his day. He was first going to check in on Sarah before seeing to Sasuke. He had heard some time in the night Sasuke’s heart monitor went irregular, indicating the boy’s heart rate sped up. He knew the teen wasn’t in any immediate danger, so he ignored it and went back to sleep.

Once dressed, he went to the kitchen to make himself something quick to eat. It was best to get his meal or he may go hours without it. Yesterday, dealing with Sarah’s injuries, he nearly forgot to eat. He was too worried about his friend and Lord to think about eating. Sasuke really got himself into shit this time. He couldn’t believe Sasuke would go that low as to attack Sarah so vindictively, and only because Lord Orochimaru wasn’t spending all his time on Sasuke’s training.

Shaking his thoughts, knowing that wasn’t going to help, Kabuto continued on his breakfast. It did go through his mind perhaps on making something for Sarah, but he thought better of it, as who knew what his Lord had in mind. He no doubt would personally see to every need of Sarah’s, including food and bathing.

A smirk appeared on Kabuto’s features, thinking about Sarah’s reaction to having the snake nin bathe her. She wouldn’t like it, but she’d have no choice and couldn’t fight it either.

“If anyone can change him, it’d be Sarah,” he mused to himself. “He deserves to be happy, for once.”

Clearing his thoughts again, he finished with his breakfast and then started to head towards Sarah’s room to check in on her and be sure her injuries were healing well. With his Lord not allowing him to fully heal Sarah’s chest wound, due to not wanting the medic to see Sarah’s breasts, she was going to be tender there a bit longer. Lord Orochimaru was very possessive when it came to the attractive woman.

Part way to his friend’s room, a scream echoed through the halls. Kabuto’s eyes widened in immediate alert and fear. “Sarah!”

/

With a hazy filter around the scene, Sarah could see she was in the hallway, though it wasn't as dark. She could vividly see the patterns and even the color of the walls. Her attention was then drawn away from the wall with the sound of coughing. Looking to where it had come from, she recognized the bedroom she had come across earlier by accident. The door was open, revealing who was in the room. The snake nin was sitting up in his bed, wearing a red shirt and could easily see he was sweating. He looked as though he was sick. He didn't seem to notice her as she entered.

He coughed again, this time harder. Taking away his hand, blood was coming from his mouth and it looked like he was struggling to breathe.

"Wh--what's going on?" Sarah asked as she approached the bed, worried. She had no idea how she got there but seeing the blood worried her.

Not looking up, it appeared as though he couldn't hear her, or even see her for that matter. He indeed was having a hard time breathing. His breathing was labored much like the night they met. Coughing again, more blood came up into his hand, dripping off his chin.

"Orochimaru!?" Sarah called, as she got closer. She reached over to grab his arm. "Orochimaru! What do you need?! Let me help you!"

Her hand had a misty look to it, like a ghost. It went right through him. Finally he looked up, but not at her. However, just as his head lifted, his hands were instantly pierced by a long chakra sword, pinning him to the wall. Standing in the doorway at the other end of the blade, was Sasuke.

Sarah jumped as her hand went through him but then screamed as Orochimaru was attacked. She whipped her head to the attacker. "SASUKE NO!" She backed away, completely frightened by the man with red eyes.

The scene faded into black. All she could see next was a splatter of blood.

Sarah screamed again, petrified of what was going on around her. Orochimaru had been stabbed and now blood was everywhere. Was it Orochimaru's blood? She wanted to get out of there and run, but she couldn't move.

The scene faded in again, just for a second. The boy was gone now, but the snake nin lay dead in his bed. His body limp, blood everywhere. His eyes rolled back, his expression was that of death.

/

Sarah suddenly sat up screaming. She was in a cold sweat, tears tracking down her cheeks. Her body was giving off compulsive shivers like she was cold, and her breathing was very labored, heart beating like it was about to explode. The snake on her headboard was immediately brought out of her slumber as her eyes gazed at Sarah’s shaking form.

Hearing her scream, Kabuto was the first to rush into the room. "Sarah, are you alright?" He was still haunted from how he found her the last time she had screamed.

Sarah didn't hear Kabuto as she continued to absorb on where she was. She could see she was sitting in bed. From her sudden bolt up, caused her chest some pain and her good arm immediately was clutching her chest as she began to have a hard time breathing from the pain and fear of her dream. The second she saw the sheets around her, she knew it was a dream, but it felt so real.

Seeing her fear was causing her pain, he came to her. "Calm down. You're safe," he assured her. He grasped her arms to lay her back down.

The second she felt someone grab her and push her downward, she instantly feared it was Sasuke. She looked up to see Kabuto.

"Kabuto!!" she gasped.

“You’re safe.” He said again, helping her to lay back down before making a few hand signs getting his hands to glow. He put them over her chest healing her wound.

Seeing it was him, she then allowed him to lean her back. "It was... it was so real..." she stuttered as he healed her.

"It was just a dream," he reassured her, quick to figure out it was a nightmare that startled her.

"Sasuke... he...he..." she tried as she looked into the man's eyes. "He killed Orochimaru."

This catching the medic off guard, his eyes widened. "What?"

Fear was evident in Sarah’s eyes and face. "My dream… He killed Orochimaru in my dream. Stabbed him with a chakra enhanced sword."

The young male was speechless at first, not sure what to make of her dream.

"Kabuto, is everything alright?" Came the snake nin's voice from the hall, knowing Kabuto would have gotten there before him.

"Orochimaru!" she gasped, trying to sit up again, but the pain in her chest and Kabuto prevented her from doing so. She was quite relieved to hear his voice outside her room.

Hearing her call out his name, he entered the room. He looked perfectly healthy like he did the night before. Not a single scratch on his handsome features.

She looked, taking several deep breaths from the pain. "Orochimaru! You're alive. Thank god!" She was too worried to be angry with herself for saying it. She was just completely scared out of her mind.

He looked at her curiously. "What on earth are you talking about, girl?" he asked, approaching the bed.

She was still quite shaken. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still see Sasuke impaling the man.

"Sasuke..." she took a few deep breaths realizing the man wasn't understanding. "I dreamt Sasuke killed you ... and you were coughing ... up blood like you did that night when we met... before he did it."

A bit surprised at her, his expression then eased into a smirk. Kabuto stepped back, giving his Lord the chance to sit down on the bed beside her, his hand to her cheek. "It's alright, my dear."

She didn't notice the smirk as she continued to work on calming down. Kabuto meanwhile, went to the other side of the bed to continue working on lessening the pain in her chest. He was quite surprised that her jolt didn’t tear any of the healed flesh, reopening the wounds from yesterday.

"I was so scared. Scared he would come after me after what happened," she continued. "But before he stabbed you, my hand went through your skin when I asked if you needed help. It was creeping me out and then Sasuke stabbed you."

Gently pulling her into a hug to calm her, careful not to disturb Kabuto. "Hush now. It's alright," he said softly in her ear.

Sarah gripped his sleeves as she hugged him back, relieved. And knowing Kabuto was there too, made her feel even more comfortable. Those two were the only ones she could trust right now. Kabuto was her friend and though she didn’t really like being there, she knew Orochimaru wouldn’t harm her.

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep anymore."

Finishing healing her as best as he could, Kabuto took his hands away. "You don’t have to worry about sleeping. Are you hungry? I could make you something," Kabuto asked, fixing his glasses.

Sarah, with her head leaning against Orochimaru's, looked over to Kabuto. "Yeah, I could use some food. Haven't eaten since breakfast and I have no idea what time it is." Which was true she ate breakfast and then was attacked by Sasuke.

He nodded. "I'll be right back." He left, leaving her with the Sannin to inform her that it had been nearly 24 hours since her attack.

Sarah nodded, but continued to lean on Orochimaru. "I've never had such a dream before."

He continued to soothe her, running his fingers through her hair gently. "It's natural. You had quite a scare yesterday. You were probably still nervous."

Sarah snapped up. "Yesterday!? You mean I've completely missed a total day?!"

Pulling away, he nodded. "It's morning now. Your wounds must have exhausted you."

"I can't believe it I only ate two meals in two days," she replied.

For several minutes the two remained in each other’s arms, allowing the silence to filter around the room. Feeling his arms around her, he was able to fully calm her down. His hair was silky against her cheek as she leaned on his shoulder.

In time, Kabuto came back with her meal. Seeing the plate of food, Orochimaru slowly backed away releasing her, allowing the medic to hand her the plate. "Be careful not to move your arm too much," Kabuto warned.

"Can one of you help me to sit up to be more comfortable as I eat?" she asked as she tried to situate herself better so she could eat her meal.

Kabuto took her plate a moment while the snake nin helped her to sit up, careful not to disturb her wounds. Adjusting the pillows behind her, he leaned her against them. Once he finished, Kabuto handed her the plate again.

"Thank you," she replied as she then began to eat. While eating, she started to wonder if maybe the dream she had was induced by her fear of Sasuke since he tried to kill her, and he didn't care for Orochimaru's plans.

"I'm told," she said. "That you take people's bodies so you can try and live longer. May I ask who your next host is?" She knew the answer, but didn't want Orochimaru to think Kabuto was a squealer.

Surprising the snake nin, his eyes widened a bit. He glanced over a Kabuto then back at her. "Who told you this?"

Sarah frowned, realizing Kabuto could get into trouble. "Isn't that the reason you kidnapped me, because I knew too much?" She took a bite of food. "I do remember you saying that before I lost consciousness. And for your information that day I met you I was on my way to the Leaf Village. And when I got there I learnt you killed the Hokage and the people there warned me about you, so I went home and told what I knew."

The snake nin chuckled at her boldness. "Seems like my old village is still afraid of me." The thought of it only made him smirk more.

Sarah snorted. "Well wouldn't you if one of your people betrayed you?" she asked. Her voice wasn't harsh or anything and she was still a bit shaken up. She was also very grateful he was there, as she had total fear of Sasuke and it was now worse with her dream.

"What's going to stop Sasuke from trying to kill me in my sleep?" she suddenly asked.

"He won't get that chance," the older man replied confidently.

"He still will be bed ridden for a week at least," Kabuto began. "And you won't be left alone again."

"If and when you are, I will have a look out to tell me if you're in danger," The sannin referred to the garter snake that now guarded her.

Sarah looked over to the snake. "Is that who alerted you guys to me or was it my scream?" She was glad to be able to breathe normal again.

"I was nearby so I heard you scream," Kabuto explained and then pointed to the snake. "She most likely told my lord."

Sarah nodded. Remembering she never got a straight answer on who his next vessel was. "I hate snakes, but I guess it's a good thing she's looking out for me then. Which brings me back to an earlier question. Who is your next vessel?"

The snake nin smirked again. "Persistent as usual." With his next breath he finally answered her. "Sasuke is my next vessel."

Sarah smiled, knowing she finally got her answer. "And you should know that about me by my mile long file you have, which you stole." She then thought a moment. "Well then, guess I won't have to deal with him too long."

He chuckled at her remark.

Finishing her food, Kabuto took the plate, leaving to put it away.

"Kabuto tells me you wanted to go outside," the snake nin replied.

Sarah nodded, remembering she was looking forward to going outside before her attack. "Yes. He offered to take me outside but told me I can't leave, which further proves my point that I am a prisoner. And after I took him up on the offer, I began to make my way back to my room when I was attacked." She took her good arm, and rested it lightly on her bad one.

"I could take you. If you don't mind being carried." His grin showed he entertained the idea.

Sarah nearly choked on her own air at the suggested idea of him carrying her. Couldn't she walk? She did have full ability in her legs.

She lightly blushed. "Yes, I want to go out." She slightly turned her head, wondering what it would be like to be carried by him. "I could be heavy though." It was then she realized he already carried her once. "But then again, you already carried me before."

Seeing her reaction only amused him more. "Hmhm," he hummed, remembering how he enjoyed carrying her when he left her village. "It's settled then."

When Kabuto returned, the Sannin turned to him. "I’ll take care of her for now, boy. You can continue with your work."

Not protesting the medic bowed. "Yes my lord."

Sarah bit her lip. "Kabuto, can we talk later. You are my friend, aren't you?" She didn't want to stop seeing him because of his new order. Sarah actually was surprised by Orochimaru's words and didn't want Kabuto to be a stranger.

"Of course," the young male said with a smile, happy to know she wanted to remain friends. "I'll check in on you later." Leaving, he went back to his lab to resume his work and to check in on Sasuke.

The snake turned to her again. "Do you wish to change before we go?"

She looked at him and felt her cheeks blush once more. She really didn't want him to change her again, but from her dream, her clothes were sticking to her like glue.

"I...um..." she didn't know what to say. Turning her head, ashamed, she quietly answered. "Yes."

The snake nin hummed. Standing, he kissed her before going to the dresser. Getting a new change of clothes, he began to undress her.

She sucked in a breath as he began to peel her clothes away again. She hated it but at the same time welcomed it. With his hands on her, allowed her muscles to further relax from that horrid dream. She closed her eyes as she wondered what he'd put her in this time. She had a few dresses as well as pants and shirts.

Slipping her in what felt like a dress. She opened her eyes to discover it was the dress she wore the night they had sex in her village. The man's face close to hers, his smirk was evident. "You look beautiful in this dress," obvious as to why he thought so. Licking his lips she could see he craved her body but was holding back.

Her heart sped up, seeing what his eyes were saying. He so wanted to ravage her body. She whipped her head away, kinda grateful now that she was injured. But she knew the time would come when he would not be able to hold back and she would be powerless to stop him. She didn't want to do it again, but knew it would happen, so all she could do was allow it and try and make it as painless as possible.

"If you're done leering at me in this dress you've so destroyed me with, can we go now?" She was referring to him having sex with her in her home. She actually now hated the dress and wanted to get rid of it.

With a chuckle he pulled. Standing again, he carefully lifted her into his arms.

Sarah held her breath as he lifted her up. On reflex, her arms were quick to wrap around his neck as she leaned against his shoulder because of a small sting of pain through her bad arm.

She was surprised her chest didn't sting, though then again he seemed to be quite careful with lifting her up.

Holding her close to him, he carried her out of her room and down the hall, going slow so it was not to disturb her wounds. Being used to the dark and with his eyes he didn't need a candle to light the way.

"I can't see," she muttered near his ear as she tried to look ahead of them but couldn't see anything. She had no idea where they were. She couldn't wait until her room had more lighting. "Why can't this place have more light?"

"The lair is underground so we won't be discovered. Lighting would draw attention." Remembering how she said about everything looking so similar. "And if someone were to find us they'd easily get lost in the halls."

That made sense and it was quite understandable too. "My village is underground and very well lit up and many have a hard time finding it," she tried to reason.

With a sigh, she gave up in trying to see and leaned her head back on his shoulder, trying not to think of what it would be like to have his hands all over her instead of his tongue. That thought alone suddenly had her blushing and she hoped he didn't sense it.

Sensing her blush, he pretended like he hadn't. He had a pretty good idea what made her do so. The idea of her thinking of him in that way gave him satisfaction.

Soon they came to a set of stairs leading up where sunlight shined through. Sarah lifted her head to look at the approaching light and smiled. She couldn’t wait to see the sunlight again. Continuing the climb up; they soon came to the exit of the lair, straight out into a grassy meadow surrounded by trees.