Fractured/Friendship
(Kelly’s P.O.V.)
“So you’re saying he’s a ticking time bomb?”
“Precisely.”
I sighed and leaned back in the chair in front of the Hokage’s desk.
“A little over a year ago the timeline of the manga split from the timeline of here. And in the manga Sasuke runs off with Orochimaru after receiving his curse mark in the Forest of Death. Great name by the way.”
Tsunade shook her head.
“The only person to have encountered Orochimaru during the Chunin exams was Anko, his old student. He tried to get her to follow him by marking her but she’s got a pretty strong will.”
“So then, she hadn’t been marked before?” I asked.
“No.”
I sat back and thought about everything she had told me.
“For some reason, Anko wasn’t marked when Ochi left the village, but rather when he appeared in the forest during the Chunin exams. And so Sasuke wasn’t marked at all…”
“This could possibly work in our favor but there is still the threat of Itachi. I came here shortly after his attack just outside the village where he incapacitated Kakashi and then went on to beat down Sasuke. Itachi is Sasuke’s weakness, his breaking point if you will, he’ll do anything to get strong enough to kill him and that includes siding with the bad guys.”
“Well he’s not about to join the Akatsuki.” Tsunade said. “And I doubt you’d allow Orochimaru to mark him. And from what I can see he’s not about to go behind your back and do it anyway.”
“Thank-you, that kind of trust is valued. However, while the Akatsuki are our biggest threat right now they may not be the only threat in around. Keep like, a suicide watch on him…a deserter watch…I dunno, you think of something, but he has to be monitored for suspicious activity. Griffin’s already watching out for him but she’s still bound by holy oath to follow Kakashi on missions so if he leaves the village so does she.”
“I’ll see to it that that’s done. As far as the Council of Elders is concerned, you’re as good as a prophet.”
“Thank-you, that’s such an awesome compliment. I just hope I can keep the team together, like the good-old days.” I smiled, “Such happy times.”
Then I realized that all the nostalgia was lost on Tsunade so I excused myself on the premise of going to fetch Orochimaru so that the second day of the meetings could begin.
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(Ochi’s P.O.V.)
Images flashed through his mind, his training days, the mission to Snow when he had made his first kill, Tsunade practicing her healing jutsu on him and Jiraiya. (though it was mostly Jiraiya) But most of all he thought of the talks they had, under the stars or between the trees on the long missions into enemy territory. It was in those days that they were constantly besieged by war, and yet, they still found it in themselves to laugh at each other’s jokes, however lame.
“Such a perfect friendship…and you destroyed it.”
“It was doomed from the start.”
“You’re the one who lit the powder keg.”
“If this is what Kelly has to deal with all the time I pity her.” Orochimaru mumbled to himself as he shut out his own conscience.
That’s when he heard the door open.
“There’s 423 squares on the ceiling, in case you were wondering.” She said, referring to how I had been staring.
“Well that saves me some time.” I chuckled, deciding to play along.
“I’ll save you thirty bucks too, watch: Dumbledore dies on page 596.”
I just smirked, content to let her Earth pop-culture references blow past me. She lay down next to me and I put my arm around her waist, drawing her close to me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. We lay there for a moment, content just to be close to one another. That is, until she decided to roll on top of me. Instinctively, I curled my legs around her, pulling her against my body, a deep purr of satisfaction rumbling in my chest as she kissed at my neck.
“We have meetings.” She whispered.
“I’d rather not go.” I whispered back.
“Me neither.”
We held each other like that for some time, her kissing me over and over as I stroked up and down her back. At last we had to separate, not wanting to be late. But the warmth she left me with was comfort enough to get me through the second day of negotiations.