FicWad

Chapter 8
Price of Loyalty

Unaware Sarah and his Lord had taken a trip outside to spend some time enjoying the sunlight; Kabuto was quick to busy himself with his normal duties. One of them involved checking in on Sasuke to see how the teen was fairing. He was still in disbelief that Sasuke had tried to kill Sarah. It went against all rational thought. Didn't the boy realize Orochimaru had spies everywhere? Even without the usage of other minions, Lord Orochimaru had control over the snakes, and the slithering creatures did his bidding.

"Perhaps, I should have a talk with him," Kabuto said out loud to himself as he stood from his desk, and made his way down the hall to Sasuke's room. The boy was still wrapped in bandages, unable to really move that much.

In the boy’s chambers, Sasuke had nothing else to do but lay in his bed, eyes shut for a time, focusing on something other than the pain he was feeling, which was the dream he had. So far, it was working pretty well. He still was unsure what that dream or even what that 'thing' was he saw before he awoke. As far as he could tell, he wasn't in any immediate danger and that was good enough for him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the medic enter. He looked almost disgusted by the fact the silver haired man was there, but his eyes remained shut.

"You look comfortable as always," Kabuto joked, trying to piss off the Uchiha. "How did you sleep?"

He walked over and noticed there was a peaceful look on the boy's face. "What has got your spirits up? Last night you were in complete agony."

"Heh... what does it matter to you?" the boy grumbled under his breath. A scowl appeared on his face, covering the peaceful look, making him look more like himself. "That says a lot about your bedside manor, now doesn't it?" The teen mocked, referring to how the medic left his patients in agony. He wasn't going to mention the dream to him, or anyone else for that matter.

"Sarah would disagree with you on that," Kabuto commented, knowing he was being mocked, as he checked his vitals. "She probably thinks my bedside manor is very admirable." He paused a moment. "Then again, if she wasn't attacked so ruthlessly then there'd be no need to be grounded to the bed."

"Shows what she knows..." he huffed under his breath. "And your point is?" Sasuke said rather arrogantly, he didn't care. The thought of her alone annoyed him. She was in the way, plain and simple.

"Nothing really," Kabuto shrugged, as he was satisfied in what the vitals were saying on the monitor before him. He then turned to the boy. "Well time to see how your wounds are doing." He then began to remove the bandages so he could replace them and work on healing more of the wounds.

It was still evident Sasuke had quite a bit of pain as Kabuto undid the wrappings. Gritting his teeth. He didn't trust the medic as far as he could throw him, and right now that wasn't far.

"Well your flesh is beginning to heal a little, so that's good." He continued to deal with the bandages. Like yesterday, he wasn't very gentle with cleaning and redressing.

The boy cursing in his head, he was very well aware of that. "Spare me the commentary..." Trying to distract himself before the pain drove him nuts.

Not long after Kabuto began to remove the bandages, Orochimaru entered the room, not bothering to knock. He took a bit of pleasure in seeing the teen suffer. It was well deserved in his opinion. "Maybe next time you'll learn boy..." The man replied lowly in almost a hiss before turning his attention to Sasuke.

Sasuke, agitated by the man's presence, looked very defiant but still couldn't help the chill of fear in the pit of his stomach.

"Not too much now Kabuto…. we don't want to spoil him."

"My Lord," Kabuto said, as he stopped long enough to greet the Sannin. He then smiled at the man's comment. "No, of course not. But I do have to be sure his wounds are clean. Once he's able to move around again, you do need to train him more. His training isn't complete, if he wishes to one day defeat his brother."

The man's grin seemed a bit menacing. "Hm, but of course. If he remembers his place...there should be no trouble. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth this time out of anger. He wanted so much to lunge at him but he was in no shape to do so. He kept his mouth shut to avoid getting in more trouble, especially when he couldn't defend himself.

His temper only amused the Sannin further. "Once you're finished here Kabuto, do meet with me. We have a few things to discuss." Turning for the door, he wouldn't stay any longer than was needed.

"Of course, my Lord," Kabuto nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, how was your trip outside? I know Sarah was very excited about the idea of being able to see the sun again. I'm surprised you’re back already."

The snake nin hummed. "It went rather well. She seemed to enjoy herself, but she begun to get upset again. There was no way around it, I had to tell her."

Sasuke wondered what they were talking about. Tell her what?

"You had to tell her?" Kabuto asked, knowing what he meant. "So she then knows the real reason why she's here?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke tried to snap through the pain.

Kabuto looked to the boy, wondering if the information should be told to the teen.

"Precisely." Orochimaru glanced to the boy, looking very smug. "I believe that is on a need to know basis," he answered with a smirk. Glancing back to Kabuto, "She took it rather hard but she's calmer now. I don't think she'll be attempting to run from us any longer."

Kabuto nodded. "Perhaps keeping it from her wasn’t much help, but I guess there's no need to cry over spilt milk. So I take it, she's resting now. Would you like me to check in on her after we speak later?"

He knew he was just pouring more salt to injury. The more he spoke of Sarah, the more Sasuke was getting curious about the woman. So having her here wasn't just for a sex slave after all. There was a purpose and sex was just an added bonus.

"That would be preferred. We'll discuss the details later. Till then…" Orochimaru took his leave.

Sasuke was quiet as he listened. He was confused which only irritated him more. What was that snake bastard hiding?

"Well," Kabuto mused. "That's the end of that conversation." He looked at the boy on the bed. "Guess that means I best hurry up with you and go and see what our Lord wishes to speak with me about. I suppose you're now full of questions, which unfortunately I can't give."

Sasuke just tsked and turned his head away from him slightly. "A lot of help you were anyway..." he said in a harsh sarcastic tone.

"Now, now," Kabuto smirked. "That's no way to speak to your doctor. Without me, you'd be dead right now. Remember, I'm the one who prevented him from killing you." He was just finishing up on the fresh bandages.

Sasuke said nothing. He just huffed under his breath and waited for Kabuto to finish his work. He knew the medic wasn't doing him any favors. At this rate there would be scarring when he finally did heal.

With the bandages done, Kabuto brought his hands over the teen's chest and they began to glow green. "Now, for the last part."

For several moments Kabuto healed him, when he stopped, he gave him one last look. "I'll be back later. Someone will be around to give you some food." There were a couple servants who lived in the lair, but they were rarely seen.

Sasuke was actually surprised to feel just a bit of the pain ease off and glanced to him, a bit suspicious. Kabuto could be mysterious at times but not as bad as Orochimaru. Intentions were rarely clear but in this case he wasn't going to complain.

Kabuto knew what he did and he knew Sasuke would feel it nearly instantly. However, there was no way he would admit to what he did. After being years in the services of Danzo and then the Akatuski to all the way to working with Lord Orochimaru, Kabuto learnt how to put on a 'poker' face, as gamblers would put it.

"I will take my leave now." With that the young man left.

/

The snake Sannin was in his study, looking over some things, which was a normal expectancy from him. He had a few plans to go over as well as some new jutsu he was working on. It was enough to keep him busy, but he would tend to enjoy himself rather than work as Kabuto often did. The Akatsuki’s movements were becoming more active as of late, which was a bit troubling. He was currently going over a scroll when Kabuto entered, of course the man knew his loyal minion was approaching.

Kabuto made it easy for the snake nin to know his presence, even before entering the room. "You wanted to see me, my Lord?" the young silver haired man asked, pushing up his glasses.

Orochimaru looked up from the piece of parchment, setting it down. He gestured for the medic to come in before he spoke. "Sarah has requested her belongings regarding her mother to be retrieved. For that, I would like you to bring the rest of her belongings here as soon as possible. The less dealings we have with that village the better. We have enough matters to worry about."

"Of course… I have to admit, I feel bad for Sarah. She trusted those people and this is how they repay her. I'm glad you took an interest in her or she'd most likely be dead now.”

“I am well aware of that,” the snake answered. “I have been going over that first night several times. That night, I had no choice but to trust her. She awakened something in me, I hadn’t felt in many years.”

Kabuto nodded. “If I may be so bold, she is very attractive and quite the remarkable woman with many talents. Even her trained skills as a kunoichi doesn’t do her justice." His heart went out to Sarah. She was lucky to know the love of a mother and a father. Neither himself nor his Lord was that lucky.

Orochimaru quirked a brow to the boy's choice of words, smirking a bit. "Oh? Is that a hint of something I hear in your voice Kabuto? Perhaps you two have gotten closer than I expected," he chuckled under his breath. He could tell Kabuto had gotten closer to his assignment than was originally intended. He found it amusing that his right hand man had found a friend in her.

"Not at all," Kabuto answered. "I would never get between the two of you, but I am glad to have become her friend. Friends are very hard to find these days. There isn't much trust in anyone anymore." He stepped further into the room. "I could get ready to leave now, but I must be on the side of caution. The last time, I nearly was caught. They may have already begun to suspect someone has her."

The Sannin hummed. "That comes with the territory I'm afraid," listening a moment. "It's likely they might, but should they find out, you know what to do... you are to evade capture at all costs and be sure that you're not followed."

"Of course. It will take a better part of the day to reach her village as it is in the mountains. Quite a marvellous place to have a ninja village and so close to your own borders." He got ready to turn to leave to prepare for his half a day's journey.

"And one more thing..." The Sannin's voice caused the medic to pause a moment.

Immediately Kabuto stopped at the sound of the voice. He looked over to his Lord as the older man spoke.

"Sarah has also requested more lighting in her room. See to it when you return, won't you?"

Kabuto then smiled. "Of course. I have been wondering if she spoke with you about that. She mentioned it to me the other morning. Perhaps you could teach her the same jutsu you taught myself and Sasuke to find our way around here."

Orochimaru agreed. Thinking it would be for the best. Now that she wouldn't try to escape there was no need to leave out such details anymore. "Just watch your step boy," the Sannin warned before dismissing him. The village leader was in no way a kind man. From what information they had managed to retrieve was evident of that, enough to consider him a threat.

Kabuto gave a nod and exited the room. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his Lord and now Sarah. He cared for both of them very much and though he only knew Sarah a short time, she was special to him.

/

Deep in the mountains that bordered the Land of Rice Patties and another country, there was a man sitting at his desk with a deep scowl on his face. He was deep in thought. Last week he had let one of his own ninja go on vacation after the death of her father, at least that's what she was told. In reality he had plans to have her killed while on vacation but the plan was never executed. She had vanished and no one had seen her leave. Most of her things were gone too.

"Where the hell is she!?" the man snapped.

The man's name was Faustes, leader of the Village Hidden Underground. He had been in rule since Sarah was a young girl, perhaps longer. How he came to power wasn't really known, but he had his way around, which was never good. Behind the face he put on in public, he was someone else completely.

One of the village ANBU had returned after searching for any possible trace of Sarah. "Sir... there's still no sign as to where she may have gone, but we have found something you may be interested in..." The masked man placed a file on his desk.

"This shinobi disappeared around the same time. Upon further inspection, the file was forged." The folder’s cover read ‘Buto’. The masked ninja handed his leader a picture. “We got intel from nearby villages of a man that fits his description. His name is Kabuto, a spy for Orochimaru. He's known for his art of disguise and infiltrating villages. He must have slipped in when we weren't looking."

Faustes looked at the file and his brows immediately creased in anger. Letting the paper drop to the desk, his other hand formed a fist and slammed down on the surface. "Damn it!" he cursed. "Why the hell didn't I connect the dots? I knew something was up with him the moment he stepped into the village. Orochimaru must have Sarah."

"What makes you say that, sir?" the guard questioned.

"If you’re telling me Buto is really Kabuto Yakushi, a former ninja of the Hidden Leaf who betrayed them when he sided with Orochimaru and the fact that bastard became close friends to Sarah, it's plausible to say the Sannin has her."

His eyes were on the image of Kabuto's true appearance. Beside it was 'Buto's' image, aside from the glasses and braid, the two looked nearly identical. His eyes then snapped to the man before him. "The other night, wasn't there evidence in Sarah's home to indicate someone had been there?"

"Yes sir, most of her belongings were missing like they had been taken. But some of it was left behind." They had noted.

Faustes snarled. "Tighten security! We have an intruder who keeps finding a way in here. We're going to capture the little bastard and then find out where Orochimaru is hiding Sarah. We'll get her back and then kill her, and in the process we can do away with Orochimaru..." he paused. "Well let’s just say many people would be thankful if I got rid of him. He is, after all, the killer of the Third Hokage.”

"Yes sir," The guard bowed and left to give their order to the other ANBU.

/

That same night, around midnight, Kabuto arrived to the village in secret without much trouble. It was silent throughout the village. Something felt a bit off. Despite that, he managed to make it to Sarah's house, gathering her things as instructed.

The ANBU had seen a cloaked figure approach in the darkness and allowed him to enter. They wanted to see if this was the man they were after. Carefully they watched, following the mysterious figure, which led them straight to Sarah's house.

"He's the one," one of the ANBU relayed through some form of radio. "Keep on your toes. He's a minion of Orochimaru."

Not realizing he was being watched, Kabuto made his way into Sarah’s home and worked on gathering the things she wanted to be able to remember her parents by. What he found, he placed in a bag as he did before. Once finished his task, he left the safety of the house only to suddenly find himself surrounded.

"Halt! Kabuto Yakushi... You're under arrest."

"Well I guess you guys have caught me then, have you?" he asked in a cocky like manner. He had a feeling he was being watched and it didn't take a genius to know his cover was blown. He worked with the ANBU of the Leaf, so he knew the ins and outs of how they worked.

"However, do you think I really came unprepared?" He tilted his head. "Really? You guys must be stupid or something. You know who I am..."

Suddenly he disappeared leaving behind a log.

Catching the group off guard. "Substitution?! Where did he go? Fan out and find him!" the leader of the group ordered. "Don't let him escape!"

The ANBU that were now surrounded in an empty circle scattered to try and find the intruder.

Meanwhile not even 20 yards away, Kabuto hid in a bush, keeping his chakra well hidden. This wasn't good. Since his last adventure into the village, they have realized something was up. Sarah was in more danger than originally realized.

"I didn't want to get my hands dirty, but it would appear I will have to fight my way out of this." In truth he had expected he would get cornered but not by so many ANBU. With them fanned out, he carefully came out of hiding and decided to take the high road. Perhaps if he was able to make it back into Sarah's house, he could escape like he did before.

A few guards spotted him. "Over there!" Two appeared in front of him blocking his way, forming hand signs. Still the ninja in this village weren't as skilled and they weren’t very bright as to what they were up against.

"Got to be quicker than that," Kabuto announced as he brought his hands together and did several signs before clapping, creating a bright ball of light. Ninja in the five great nations would know how to counter such a jutsu but those in less than worthy villages... judgment was still up on those.

Most of the ninja were blinded, giving him the time to escape. Only a few had such training. Those who did, were able to counter the jutsu and followed him but still trailed several feet behind. Managing to get back to the house, he had to hurry.

He kept the trinkets he found of Sarah's parents well secured in a backpack that was on his back, which he now was grateful for having. Once getting inside the house, he moved some furniture to be against the door to slow down the ANBU outside. He didn’t have the necessary equipment to bard the door in a more interesting manner. There were no windows in the house and that was something he was thankful for.

Rushing to Sarah's room, he again barred the door before working on getting to the hidden hatchway.

Banging could be heard as the guards tried to get in. Luckily they hadn't discovered the passageway from before so it was easily accessible. Able to get it open just as a loud crash was heard. They were through the front door.

"Better hurry." He hurried into the hatchway just as noise was heard just outside of the bedroom.

Heading down the escape passage, he arrived at the area where the stairwell was. He turned behind him, knowing if the guards got down there they would catch up. Needing a way to slow them down, he glanced around the cavern. A smile formed on his features as he dug into his ninja bag attached to his backside.

He pulled out a few paper bombs and neatly set them around the opening into the cavern. He then pulled out some wire and attached it to all the paper bombs. When finished he admired his handy work. “There, I think that will just about do it.”

He had rigged the entrance to the cavern to explode upon entry. Whoever would take the first step in, would trip the wire, which would then cause the three paper bombs to explode, collapsing the entrance. This would ultimately allow him to continue traveling upwards to the top of the mountain without any more interruptions. If he was fast enough he would be on his way back to the lair. Not wasting any more time, he quickly fled, working his way up the stairs as fast as he could go before the bomb was to go off.

Kabuto had only been on the long stairwell for five minutes after planting the bomb when suddenly there was an explosion. The vibration was enough to knock him as some looser rocks fell from the ceiling, causing the stairs he was on, to buckle. The stairs rattled as the ones behind him gave way. The section he was on was holding by some metal rods. The stairwell was ancient and there was no telling how well the old metal would hold. He had to move fast.

He had to brace himself against the stairs to be sure he didn’t fall off, however he did manage to lose his footing and collapsed to the floor of the stairs. An audible gasp escaped his lips as he tried to pick himself back up. Ignoring the pain from falling on his arm, he got to his feet and he continued on his way, knowing the stairs were no longer secure.

Focusing his chakra, he increased his speed. Working with the tremors in the rock as the tunnel began to collapse behind him. In moments he was able to see the exit was in sight.

With much difficulty, since the entire cavern felt like it was about to fully cave in, he was able to reach the top just as the rest of the stair well gave away, indicating that he would no longer be able to use that as an exit. But right now that was furthest from his mind.

Once Kabuto cleared the cavern, he took a deep breath of fresh air, happy to be out of there, but now he had a new problem on his hands. He had to get to the bottom and had a feeling there'd be company waiting for him, which meant he had to find another way around to get home.

Working his way to the ground in a different path then when he went the first time, he was able to reach the bottom easily enough only to find several ninjas were approaching the mountain, concealing themselves as best as possible. Their persistence was becoming a nuisance. Figuring he was going to need to fight his way through, a sudden hissing noise got his attention.

There at the base, in a bush, a small snake was hidden by the rock. He could tell who had sent it. It slithered along showing him a path that was concealed that only a snake would notice. It was big enough for him to slip through.

Kabuto smiled. "Always the watchful one." He was quick to follow the snake.

“He’s gone that way!” he heard one yell, indicating there was a sensory ninja in their ranks.

He had to get back home without showing them the way. That meant he would need to get to one of the nearby hideouts that were abandoned and then slip out the back unnoticed. It was dangerous but worth it. The path led him to one of the old laboratories. For a common or even a skilled ninja it would appear nothing was there, until the snake slithered to a hidden passage that Orochimaru often used to escape if he needed. Its small body hit a switch, causing the wall to shake before the door opened.

"Very good," Kabuto smiled. "Perhaps we can trap my pursuers. This place, I'm sure is still booby trapped." Kabuto suddenly got an idea and turned to wait for his followers. There were three following him. For several moments he waited until he saw them in the distance. He wanted them to chase him now.

"This is not good!" he yelled. "You found Lord Orochimaru's hideout. He isn't going to be pleased with this." He then ran inside.

The ANBU buying into the bait hurried after him. Rushing inside when the door behind them slammed shut.

As soon as the door shut, a small light lit and they could see Kabuto's face. "You've entered the lion's den, I hope you had said farewell to your families because you will never see them again. Then again, I suppose that is the risk in being a shinobi isn't it?"

"You won't be so smug when we're through with you," one of them snarled. "Where's the woman?"

"You mean Sarah? I'm not sure, my Lord has her somewhere. Perhaps you can find her. My Lord doesn't like outsiders and he probably will be very angry." The whole time Kabuto was giving an evil smirk.

“You can’t fool us!”

One of them stepped forward causing Kabuto’s smirk to widen into a grin. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Just then a trap triggered and arrows shot from all directions hitting the three men, paralyzing them momentarily. Before they could react, the floor then opened up to a lava pit below. The glow of the molten rock shined on Kabuto's glasses as they fell through. Screams could be heard as they feel in and began to burn to death.

He approached the edge of the opened trap door. "Should have listened," Kabuto answered, as he watched. "Never play chicken when you're going up against followers of Lord Orochimaru." He turned away, closing the trap door. "Now in case others come, more traps will follow. I better get out of here before they see me."

Making it out the back way, it appeared that he had lost them. The traps designed by the sannin were often deadly. There was a strong possibility none would make it out alive. Still not wanting to take any chances, Kabuto immediately took to the trees. As he started to jump from tree to tree, he hissed in pain. "Damn. When I fell, must have injured my arm…" Splitting his concentration, he continued to jump from tree to tree while at the same time, working on healing his arm. He had no idea he had some cuts on his face due to large shards of rock had scraped his skin.

Returning to the lair, it had taken longer than he had expected. Orochimaru waited outside the entrance, his arms folded though he looked pleased as he saw the young man appear in the distance. "Looks like you had a bit of trouble this time.”

Kabuto landed in front of the older man. "Sorry about that, my Lord. It would appear they've learnt we have Sarah, which means they are now going to be looking for your lair. I directed them to the abandoned one, not far from their village." He pulled the bag off his back. "I saved what I could but there's nothing more left for me to retrieve. Sarah's home has been destroyed."

This news was troubling but not unexpected. "No matter. They will be unsuccessful I'm certain," Orochimaru hummed. "As long as you got some of what you were sent out for." Glancing, seeing the cuts on his face, he pointed them out. "You best have those wounds looked at. Don't want them scarring now."

Kabuto blinked and brought a hand up to his face. Removing his hand there was a little bit of blood on his fingers. "I had no idea. When I was escaping the mountains, I used the same escape as before, but when I was followed, I had to blow up the tunnel. Guess my arm wasn't the only thing injured." He then smirked. "Faustes is not very bright. None of his guards could match a candle to the Leaf's ANBU."

The man chuckled under his breath. "As to be expected. Underestimating their enemy will be their downfall…" Turning, the two went inside.

Kabuto nodded. "How was Sarah today? Did you want me to check in on her injuries?" Kabuto was showing signs of fatigue, but did not want to admit it. He just wanted to get back to work and to make Sarah happy to know he was able to save some of her parents’ things.

"She seems to be doing better aside from the lack of movement in her chest and arm." Happy with her recovery, as it would seem there would be no permanent damage.

"So who shall hand her the trinkets?" Kabuto asked. "She should be waking soon."

The trip to her village and back had taken him to just after dawn of the new day.

"I'll let you do the honors. No doubt she'll be pleased to have them back." He had a feeling the boy would enjoy seeing her face light up.

"Of course. I'll first get cleaned up." A good shower would do him good. He had a feeling even Orochimaru could smell the odor from him dodging his would be captors.

The Sannin hummed "I'll leave you to that then. I have a few matters that need tending to. You'll know where to find me should you need to." He turned to go, but stopped for a moment "So you're aware, in a few days I'll be leaving the lair. I'm trusting you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone..."

"Yes my lord. I take it that is what you were supposed to do the other day when that was diverted rather quickly?" He was referring to Sarah's attack.

Orochimaru acknowledging that his suspicions were true. "It is a private matter...surely you understand. In time it will all be clear... I'm sure." Taking his leave the man disappeared in the shadows that made up the hallway.

Knowing the snake nin was leaving it at that, Kabuto retreated to his room for a nice hot shower and to heal his wounds before Sarah saw them and became worried.