FicWad

Chapter 9
Personal Treasures

Waiting in his office, Foustes was becoming impatient. He had heard a lot of commotion throughout the night. Sure the ANBU had found the spy and were working on apprehending him. Knowing it was going on, an evil smile had graced his lips but as the minutes turned to hours, his mood soured. By the time his patience completely wore out, it was the early hours of the morning and still there was nothing. Everything had quieted down. "Where the hell are those idiots! They should be here with him by now..."

"Sir," a guard announced as he knocked before entering. "We have lost sight of the intruder. He was who you said he was, Kabuto Yakushi. However, I’ve lost some of my men.”

"You idiots!" Foustes fumed, slamming his hand on the desk, standing. "Do I have to do everything myself?!" he couldn't believe they were stupid enough to let the man slip through their fingers. "What happened?!” he demanded.

The man took a deep breath. "We had cornered him in Sarah's home, but when we entered one of the bedrooms, he was gone. He must have found the secret tunnel that leads to the top of the mountains, the same tunnel that was used to escape from Hanzo during the Second War. However, there was a huge explosion shortly after they entered."

The man was furious with their incompetence and showed a complete disregard for ninja they lost. Gritting his teeth, he continued. "Useless! Is that when you lost him?! Where are the rest of your men?"

The ANBU Captain shook his head. “We were able to catch up with him at the bottom of the mountain, just outside the village, but he managed to escape into the forest. Three of my men followed after him. They were under the impression Orochimaru’s hideout is closer than they believed."

“You’re such a moron! Orochimaru would never have his hideout so close to us. Get out!”

Without so much as a nod or word, the man disappeared from sight, allowing Foustes to slump back in his chair before taking his hand and swiping it across the surface. Everything that was on the desk crashed to the floor, in either a fluttering of papers or thud from whatever else was on the desk. Obviously they had underestimated Kabuto. This way wasn't going to work. He could only hope they would get another chance to trap the devious spy.

-

Now that he was comfortable back in his own home, Kabuto was quick to reach the privacy of his room. Immediately, he dropped the bag by the door and stripped off his clothes and took a swift shower to wash off the night's events. He couldn't very well go to his friend's room looking so filthy. She would immediately question him on why he was looking like that. He had no intention of letting her learn he was now a target.

The second the hot water hit his skin; the muscles instantly started to uncoil. It felt good on his tired body. With his muscles being as sore as they were, he had the water as hot as his human body could withstand. Relaxing his body, actually helped to wake him up a bit. His arm was still a little tender from the fall and it would still take a day or so for him to get all use back in it.

Finishing up with the shower, he got dressed in a clean set of clothes and fixed his hair, tying it back with an elastic. Without a second thought, he dusted off his headband and then tied it around his head. He knew he didn’t need to wear it, but it was a habit. Picking up the bag, he set aside, he left his room and proceeded down the labyrinth of tunnels to Sarah's room, gently knocking on the door.

Moments before there was a knock, Sarah woke. With very little light, it was hard for her to remain comfortable. Turning her head, she stared at the snake above her head. As soon as she heard the knock, her eyes shifted from the snake to the door.

"Come in," she called, knowing it was Kabuto. Seeing him made her happy, as he was currently the only person she could handle seeing. She knew Kabuto would always knock before he’d enter, probably more out of respect. Where as the snake nin himself often entered without knocking. He saw no reason to.

Kabuto entered, closing the door behind him. "How are you feeling today?" the young man asked as he approached the bed, bag in hand.

Sarah snorted. "I think that is very obvious. I hate being bed ridden, I always have. I can't even go to the bathroom without having some form of help and it's really annoying the hell out of me." As he drew closer, she noticed something was in his hand. She gave him a good look. "Hey, what's in the bag?" Eyeing it, she began to get a hopeful look on her face.

Kabuto looked to the bag, setting it down on the dresser. "It's the rest of your belongings I was able to retrieve," he answered. Opening the bag he began to show her the contents, first pulling out a few pictures of her family and a ring her father wore, along with a burette that belonged to her mother. Any clothing he managed to retrieve, he immediately put them away as well.

Tears reached the surface but she refused to let them shed. "Thank you," she breathed as she watched each piece be revealed. "Family is extremely important to me and I have no one now, at least not in blood anyway. I have you and...Orochimaru..." She lightly shuttered, a bit hesitant on saying the Snake's name.

Kabuto smiled, but it wasn't his usual cocky one he wore most of the time in front of others. It made him happy to know she appreciated what he did, as he set the items on the dresser. Orochimaru often didn't thank him for anything, but when Sarah did, for some reason it felt good. "I know it's not what you're used to. But living here with my Lord and I, you'll be safe. And his ideals aren't as bad as others may make it out to be."

Emptying the bag finally, Kabuto pulled out a single plush toy. The only one he found in her room. Putting it behind his back, he walked over to her, intending on surprising her with it.

"Says you," she retorted as she turned away a moment. "I know being a ninja there's risks and you can be killed. But Orochimaru has killed for the sake of sport and that is something I don't forgive."

She looked up and noticed he was concealing something behind his back. "What do you have there?" she asked.

His smile widened. “Just this.” He pulled it out from behind his back, showing he had a small stuffed bird, not too small but not too big either. It looked like a cuter version of a messenger bird. He handed it to her so she wouldn't have to stretch her bad arm.

Her eyes widened. "You’ve got to be kidding me!!!! You found that!?" This time a few tears did track over her cheeks. "I thought I'd never see this again. This was the very bird that was the most famous in my village for messenger birds. My parents gave this to me when I was a child for a birthday present and father told me to always keep it and cherish it."

"It fell behind your old dresser. I thought it might be important," he answered. It was a little worn but clean and still as soft as she remembered.

"Wow." She held it close to her as best as she could, remembering the last time she saw it. "The last time I saw this, it was the day when Foustes asked father to take that mission... the one he died. I was so mad dad accepted it that I threw it. I didn't pay attention to where it landed. Thank you so much for finding it." Her eyes widened again. "The day Orochimaru came for me, Foustes asked about it, which I found was very odd."

Kabuto quirked a brow suspiciously, that was odd indeed. "Really? That is strange... do you mind if I see it?" the man asked.

She blinked several times and stretched her hand up to allow him to take the plushie. "Why? What is it?" Now she was getting a little worried and curious that he wanted to see it.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses before looking over the small stuffed bird. Feeling it with his fingers a moment before the tips sunk into something. Discovering a small pouch he pulled out a slip of paper. Looking at it he then handed it to her.

Kabuto then unfolded the piece of paper. Opening it was a coded message with a language he wasn't familiar with. There was also another folded piece of paper with the message, which had her name on it. "There’s something here. And it has your name on it. I believe it's... from your father..."

"What?" Sarah blinked and took the letter and read it out loud.

“My dearest Sarah,

By the time you read this, I may be long gone. Know that your mother and I loved you no matter what. I'm sure you'll have grown up to be a fine Kunoichi.

I've hidden a secret about our family’s bloodline along with this note in your favorite doll. You'll be able to read it when you're ready. Keep it safe.

I hope you will have a happy life.

With love,
Dad”

When she was done, more tears fell. There was a bloodline. That was something she didn't know. She looked over to her friend. "Wh..." She cleared her throat. "What is that?" she asked.

He looked at her, showing her the paper in his hand, it was heavily coded. "Seems to be some kind of language... I've never seen one quite like this before."

She blinked several times. Where she was lying down, it was a bit difficult, but she managed. "I don't recognize it either." She then groaned. "Oh great..."

"If I may... I might be able to decipher it. There is some information here in the lair for decoding." Kabuto offered. Taking the toy, he rested it at her side on the bed. The snake on the headboard just looked at it and flicked its tongue.

Sarah blushed suddenly. "I hate to say it, and even that," she carefully pointed to above her, "It knows when I'm in discomfort." She blushed more. "I need the bathroom..."

Taking the note from her, Kabuto put it in his pocket for safekeeping. He then swiftly took her good arm, helping her to get up and then draped her arm around his shoulders. His other arm was around her waist as he helped her to walk so it wouldn't bother her chest too badly. He escorted her to the door on the other wall that led to the bathroom. Turning the handle, he opened the door for her.

Luckily for her when Orochimaru dressed her last, she didn't have to worry about under garments. "Thanks." The entire time she was blushing. "Just give me a few minutes." She began to wonder if Orochimaru was going to enter during this moment. It wouldn't surprise her, but Kabuto was her doctor.

Kabuto let her walk in on her own, closing the door for her. He patiently waited outside, looking over the coded message again. He would definitely have to take a look at it once he installed the lighting in Sarah's room. No doubt his Lord would want to be informed on this discovery as well. While waiting, the feeling of fatigue was getting stronger, making it harder for him to ignore but he still managed to hold it together. Knowing Sarah was approaching the door, he put the coded message away.

When Sarah opened the door to the bathroom, she was cringing in pain. "Damn, I hate not being able to do things on my own. I'm a trained ninja for crying out loud," she fussed as she waited for Kabuto to wrap his arm around her. She was mildly surprised to not see the Snake Lord.

Kabuto helped her again back to the bed. "That's part of being a ninja too unfortunately. Not everyone is lucky enough not to sustain an injury of some kind." Helping her in bed he adjusted her blankets so she would be comfortable.

Sarah groaned as she was taken back to the bed. "I'm really starting to hate this bed." Of course it also brought in mind about her dream she had. When she was fully situated, she was more sitting up in bed as she continued to think about the dream of Sasuke killing Orochimaru.

"I wish he was here," she muttered very quietly as she shivered with the vivid memory of remembering him dying in her dream.

Kabuto looked surprised a moment wondering if he heard correctly, though he was sure he did. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" She looked up. "Oh no." 'Oh god! Did he just hear me speak about Orochimaru?' she thought. "What gives you the idea that something is wrong?"

"Well you shivered." the medic lied, though he did see her shiver. "Are you cold?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm just remembering a dream I had is all, nothing to worry about. Besides I was in this bed when I dreamt it. I just had a shiver of thinking about it." It was partially true. She was trying to cover up that she was actually missing Orochimaru at that moment.

Kabuto hummed softly to himself, hiding a smile. He had a pretty good idea of which dream. He then stood up. "Well if you don't need anything else, I'll make breakfast and get started with installing the lighting. Remember, the snake there will get either my Lord or myself," he said pointing to the small snake still resting on the headboard, both eyes open looking at them. He then turned and went for the door but stopped and looked back. "I'll also give this message a look for you and let you know what I find."

"Yeah, you do that. May want to inform him about it. He told me yesterday I'm a target by my people." She looked over at the snake and gave a faint smile, feeling a little comfort with the slithering creature. The reptile just raised its head looking at her and flicked its tongue.

"I'll be sure to tell him," He said, this time with his smirk. Sarah was beginning to show subtle signs of liking the snake nin though she wouldn't admit it. Taking his leave, he closed the door behind him, going to make breakfast first.

After Sarah had eaten and was taken care of, Kabuto went to inform Orochimaru of the message. He knew to find his Lord in the room where his throne was located. He gave a quick knock before entering. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I have something that may interest you greatly."

Orochimaru looked to his right hand man. "Oh? And what might that be?" he asked, entertained at the idea.

“It matters with Sarah,” the medic answered. “She misses you.”

The man's ego was given a boost with that knowledge. "I had a feeling she'd come around..." he hummed.

"Don't start celebrating yet," Kabuto added. "She heavily denied ever bringing you up, and she only said something like wishing you were there but she did distinctively say 'he'. I can only presume she meant you, considering I was there and you're the only other person who can see her."

"True," Orochimaru agreed. "But it’s a start... She's come a ways from believing she hates me." He looked very cocky, knowing what he said was true.

Kabuto slid his hand into his pocket and his face frowned into a serious expression. "However, there's possibly a new problem." He pulled out the note. "While searching for her belongings, I found a plushie that was hers from when she was a child. After her father died, Foustes asked her about it. Once hearing that, I inspected the plushie and found this."

Orochimaru's smile faded, listening, curious once more. Taking the piece of paper, he looked it over. "This message is heavily coded, I haven't seen many like this in all my years..," He glanced up to the boy. "Was there any indication of what it might be?"

"Only there was a letter addressed to Sarah, from her father, stating he knew he was probably going to be killed, and that piece of paper is a secret about their family bloodline. She'd be able to read it when she was ready." Kabuto sighed. "My Lord, whatever the reason Foustes is after her, I get the feeling that coded letter is the key."

"So it would seem," the older man breathed. Looking over the paper more closely, a look of realization dawned his face. "I thought I recognized this language..." his eyes then narrowed. "I've seen this before... once... it's the language of the Senju clan..." Orochimaru said, looking up to the boy again. "Tsunade's family."

Kabuto could tell by his expression he was serious. "So your girlfriend could be linked to the First and Second Hokage?" He touched his chin. "Then there's a sinister plot that could be unfolding dealing with the Leaf Village. You know this takes me back when you first met her. You stated to me she was travelling to the Leaf Village to form an alliance but it didn't happen. Is there any chance Foustes wanted to form an alliance to get closer to the Senju secrets?"

"Perhaps. But her bloodline was feared in her village. That much we know. It could be possible he wanted to eliminate the origin of it..." Handing the paper back. "I want you to look into this... do not tell Sarah any of this until we are sure." Orochimaru sat back in his chair before releasing chuckle after a moment. "Never thought this would bring me back to my old home," he said with a grin. He still hated the Leaf and couldn't care less but this was worth looking into.

"Are you sure?" Kabuto asked. "She is already curious about the note as it is. She will question me in how it's going." Of course with Orochimaru, he probably had ways to distract her from questioning her friend.

"As it is, it will take some time to decode such a complex message. It was made that way for a reason. Which means... whatever secret it is, its very important." The snake nin was confident of this.

He then smirked. "This is true. And it may come down to having to step foot back in our old home." At the mention of his former home, a face popped up in his mind and he began to wonder how she was doing. It had been a long time since he had last seen her.

The older man chuckled then hummed. "That may be the case but for now lets try to figure it out with what we have here... if all else fails I have my way of getting into that village undetected..." his smirk was menacing, his tone voiced his amusement at the idea.

"I have no doubt you do. You are, after all, the one who killed the Third Kazekage undetected. You can get yourself in and out of areas very easily. Probably is the reason why people refer to you as the 'snake' sometimes."

"Perhaps," Orochimaru chuckled under his breath. That and other reasons made him a very cunning and dangerous shinobi.

Kabuto took the piece of paperback. "I will get started on it right away. At least with you, we know it won't fall into the wrong hands. But first I need to install that extra lighting."

"See to it then," He watched the boy leave. Their new addition to their small group had had proven to be very interesting investment, but she was becoming more than just an investment now.

-

Once leaving his Lord, Kabuto went to gather the supplies he needed to install the lighting and went to Sarah's room to get started. As he installed it, she noticed how sluggish he was in his work and she knew from the three weeks of getting to know him and what she knew of his true personality, that wasn’t normal for him. She tried to keep quiet, to allow him to concentrate but soon, staying quiet was no longer an option.

"Kabuto, is something wrong?" she asked.

Kabuto's eyes remained focused on his work when he answered. "Not at all." He wasn’t doing a very good job at convincing his words was the truth, especially when he had to work harder to keep the tools in his hand steady.

Sarah stretched forward, knowing full well it would cause her pain. But she was a ninja and she had to start acting like one. She held back the pain and wincing as she sat fully up. When she was and with Kabuto distracted, he didn't notice she was closer to him. Taking several breaths, she reach with her good arm and snatched his arm.

"That's bull and you know it!" she gasped as she did what she could to ignore the pain. "You lie better when you're fully focused and right now you're not."

Kabuto was surprised when he felt her hand. He was so tired he didn't notice she was sitting up. He sighed softly, lowering his hand. "I have to get this done," he told her, looking to her now. She could see soft bags under his eyes. Remembering what Orochimaru told her about the boy working too hard.

"Damn it, Kabuto!" Sarah yelled as best as she could while still trying to force the pain away. "You're not going to get anything done like that. At least not properly and what will Orochimaru say if you're sloppy in your work?" Her eyes were hard and her face was dead serious.

Kabuto stopped a moment thinking about it. He knew she was right and her expression was unmoving. After a moment he gave in. "Alright..." putting the tool down. It was then he realized how Sarah stopped him. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

Kabuto helped her to lie back, which eased the pain a bit. "You're still injured. Lord Orochimaru would have my head if he found out." He said a bit playfully but tired.

"Well then next time don't try and lie to me when we both know you're tired. You can't fool me. I'm a spy just like you. And just because I didn't know you as well I should have before, I am now, so I can now see through you better." She sighed. "You were out all night, weren't you? Did Foustes give you some trouble?"

He hesitated to tell her the truth though he knew she could tell. "Some... but you needn't worry. I managed to throw them off my trail."

She smiled. "Well you're here, so it's easy to see you threw them off. Besides what I know about you, you've always been good at throwing people off the trail. Please don't keep things from me again. We're friends."

Kabuto nodded, making sure she was comfortable again. In doing so, Sarah accidentally brushed his tender arm from the injury he sustained when he fell earlier. He flinched a little, trying to keep it hidden.

She looked up to seeing him wince. "I'm sooo sorry. I didn't mean to." She immediately was apologetic. Her eyes then narrowed. "Wait a minute... Why is your arm sore? It wasn't yesterday."

Kabuto was silent not going to tell her at first, not wanting her to worry.

"Kabuto! You better tell me what the hell is going wrong or else. And don't you dare think I won't do something, because I will. Now what the hell are you not telling me?!" She snapped, blood pressure rising as she was getting more and more upset and that would indeed harm her healing injuries.

Kabuto had no choice and he knew it. He didn't want to jeopardize her health any more than it was. "When I got to your village the ANBU were waiting for me... I had to destroy the passage I used to escape to avoid being captured. While escaping, I lost my footing when the explosives went off and a hurt my arm." He looked down when he said it, adjusting his glasses.

She was quiet for several moments. "It's been a bit since I've gone missing and you went missing too." She snorted as she leaned back. "Don't underestimate Foustes and his loyal men. Good to know you got back here safely. It's safe to say my village is not safe anymore." She looked to him again as her eyes hardened. "You're to stop this minute and get some rest. I don't want no buts. You're no good to me as my friend or my doctor if you're half dead from exhaustion. Besides Orochimaru won't like it as I'm his favorite prize..."

Kabuto agreed, getting up again once she was settled, putting his tools off to the side for when he got back up.

Seeing he was going to do what she ordered, she felt relieved. She closed her eyes a moment before opening and then added. "Oh and Kabuto. Don't ever lie to me again or when I get back on my feet you may regret the day you saved me. I do know where to hit a man... 'hard'." The last word held a lot of weight to it.

With Kabuto's back to her, he was caught off guard a bit when she said that. He knew immediately what she meant by it. Playing it off, he looked over his shoulder. "I'll do my best..." He ignored the threat that if it came true, would not tickle. Though if made him rethink his strategy if he ever had to keep the truth from her again.

He waved good-bye to her for now; and went to his room to get some rest. He couldn't say he hated the idea.