My Lord

"Your goal to attack the Hidden Leaf is going according to plan, Lord Orochimaru."

"Good. The final pieces are coming together as I intended. Won't be long now."

The medical ninja flicked up his glasses, looking over their pain-staking developed charts.

For them to take on a massive point as the Leaf, was going to take precise execution. Not a single pawn could be out of place.

"Kabuto, you've held up your side of things in this, I trust?"

"Yes, sir. I've already worked my way into being a part of the Chunin exams. Your recent body is nearly prepared as well."

Orochimaru smiled. "Ah yes, Subject 15, is it? I've been so looking forward to using his jutsu."

Kabuto hesitated. "Oh... no. Unfortunately, Subject 15 won't be the chosen vessel for this rotation."

"Excuse me?"

He flinched under the tone of his words, bowing low. "My deepest apologies, Lord Orochimaru. Experimentation has been under way on his regenerative capabilities, but I'm not finished with his training. He wouldn't be worthy enough for your use."

There was a heavy silence.

Kabuto kept looking at the ground, the anger he felt from his master, dripping off like a toxic sludge and pooling around him.

Suddenly, a cool hand found his chin, tilting it up.

Amber eyes held him in their wake; the unnatural, vertical slits assessing him. "I specifically wanted him for this mission, Kabuto. Didn't you just say that all things were going according to my plan? It doesn't sound like that's the truth. Are you lying to me?"

"N...no, my Lord. Another vessel has been selected and is eagerly awaiting your presence. I assure you, by the time I finish with Subject 15, he will be the perfect choice. You have my word."

Orochimaru scanned his face, that intense gaze piercing him with each passing moment.

After an agonizing wait, he finally released Kabuto from his grasp, turning away to stare out the large window of his hideout. "Out of my sight. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

He was about to reach the door, before Orochimaru cleared his throat. "Wait a moment."

Kabuto froze in his steps. "My Lord?"

"Bring me the girl. 18. Inform her trainers that I'll be using her services for the rest of the night."

"Yes, right away, my Lord."

When the door closed, Orochimaru let out a disgusted tsk.

This plan needed to be perfect.

He couldn't return to his old village a disgrace. If he were to conquer its power, he had to be at the top of his game.

Failure wouldn't be a possibility.

But why then, was there a sinking feeling in his chest? The smallest thing that tore away at his resolve?

He'd planned every step, every possible solution and yet...

A quiet knock at the door tore his attention away from the window and he settled on the cot he kept in his office.

It had been years since he slept anywhere else, if at all.

"Enter."

"You summoned me, my Lord?"

"I did. Come in, 18."

The young woman slid the door open and closed it again behind her.

She kneeled on the ground, her fingers coming to an elegant point, as she bowed her head. "How can I serve you this evening, my Lord?"

Orochimaru snapped, signaling for her to approach him.

18 stood, keeping her head lowered and waited at the side of his cot.

His cold fingers gently wrapped around her wrist. "The usual... please."

This request was becoming more and more common these past few weeks.

18 lost track of how many times he summoned her, sometimes keeping her there for days at a time.

That suited her just fine.

The more she was working, the less she thought about losing 15... Haru.

The sting of his missing presence encircled her waking moments and tormented her through the night.

Though a large part of her feared Orochimaru, in some odd way, he gave her solace during this time and she was responsible for doing the same for him.

18...Rin... she chose to think of herself as the name Haru gave her, even if it were secret, complied with her lord's secret requests perfectly.

As if she'd done it a thousand times, Rin let him pull her until she was sitting on the cot.

He lowered himself to the floor and rested his head in her lap.

She reached for the comb tucked under his pillow, kept away from prying eyes, and gently brushed his long, jet black hair. "What's on your mind tonight, my Lord?"

He sighed. "Something is gnawing away at me. Deep inside, something feels off and I don't know what it is."

Rin paid special attention to a small tangle that was forming at the base of his neck, gently undoing it with her fingers. "Are you worried about the upcoming attack on the Leaf?"

She knew everything about it.

In all their sessions together, he went over the plan again and again, obsessing over every detail.

By the end of the night, Rin memorized it almost as well as he had and she'd never even been to the foreign village.

"No. I'm not worried. Even though part of my plan fell through today, it won't matter in the end. I'll be victorious."

"Of course, you will, my Lord. No one can stand against you."

He closed his eyes at her sweet words, enjoying the sensation of the skillful comb in her hands.

It was an accident making 18, but the happiest one of his career.

Her original host showed extreme promise in her chakra control, her ability to enter the mind of an opponent valuable to his needs.

However, the mind was such a tremulous place, so much of it unexplored. His scientific curiosity, begged to know what would happen with two different approaches.

Which would gain information the quickest? Pain or pleasure?

It never occurred to him that he would be the one using her talents for himself or that he would become as dependent on her presence, as he had.

Something about such small comforts, in his world of treachery and paranoia, was an unexpected reprieve.

"My Lord... may I ask a question?"

His eyes remained closed. "Proceed."

She hesitated. "My training has intensified in recent months. There's talk of a great war coming between shinobi. After your victory against the Leaf, the other nations will rise to battle you."

"You're worried for my safety?"

"Of course not."

His eyes cracked open at that, surprised at how the answer irked him. "Why wouldn't you worry for your master?"

Rin smiled, combing out the final strands of his hair. "Because I know you'll always win. There isn't a single shinobi alive who can stand against you."

Orochimaru smiled. Clever girl.

"Then what are you worried about, dear one?"

She set the comb down, her voice soft. "Will I be expected to fight like the others? Is that why they're pushing me so hard? I've been casting nonstop for weeks."

"Does the idea of doing harm to another trouble you?"

Rin's hands rested in her lap, the image of Haru's blood splattering from his chest, taking her memory in a sickly wave. "It does. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

Orochimaru turned so that he was facing her.

His hand came up to take her chin, turning her to look at him. "Then you shan't. Your original model will suffice for that purpose. I have something else in mind for you."

"My Lord?"

He smiled. "You will stay close to me. I'll use your jutsu for clarity of mind and in exchange, you won't have to worry about fighting anymore. Does that sound fair?"

She gave him a small nod.

"Good, I hope that eases your worries, little Sparrow."

"It does, my Lord. Thank you."

He laid his head back in her lap. "Then let's continue with your purpose. Discover why I'm experiencing this unpleasant sensation inside."

"Yes, my Lord."

Her fingers came to frame his face, trailing down the markings that reminded her of tears.

She traced all along his high cheekbones and settled her hand on the top of his head. "Somnam Jutsu."

Orochimaru's mind opened to her, an impressive feat, considering how closed off he was to everyone else.

The first few times he ordered her justu on himself, it felt terrifying.

The locked armory of his mind would slam down on her at every turn, shooting her out of her induction and draining her chakra.

Now, it felt as easy as walking through a waterfall; slight hesitation at first and then freedom.

Her steps brought her to the massive labyrinth that was his subconscious.

Large, twisting walls, constructed from years of training and mental focus, rose up around her, but Rin continued on.

By now, she knew the shortcuts, memorized the layout.

Her fingers tapped along the stone maze, as she made her way forward, waiting for the guide that had a nasty habit of sneaking up on her.

"Rin. Sssso nicccce to sssssee you again."

The hissing voice sent shivers down her spine, as she turned to face the large snake, that slithered through the walls, its scales scratching with its movement.

"Hello, Manda."

It wasn't the actual Manda, of course, but the extreme connection and respect Orochimaru felt for the snake demon, always manifested as the guide into his mind.

Rin hated reptiles.

"Why are you here again? It hasn't been, but two nightsss sssince your lasssst visit." He hissed, curling his tail around her.

"I'm here to find out what's troubling my lord and master."

"Ah yesss, the weak boy isss feeling apprehenssssive, isssn't he?" Manda chuckled to himself.

Rin allowed herself to be lifted onto his scaly back and held on tight, as he slithered through the walls of memory, images popping up left and right.

She tried to ignore the pictures of her fellow experiments falling at his hand; stupid, pleased grins on their faces.

No matter what they promised, whatever pride they tried to instill in her, she wouldn't smile when he took her body.

In fact, she'd been actively working to be irreplaceable to him ever since Haru was killed. She was meant for bigger things than his meat-sack.

A sudden image caught her attention and she patted her guide's back. "Manda, wait."

He slowed. "What isss it?"

"Who is that?"

The guide turned his massive head to take in the moving image displayed on the wall.

An older man, with kind looking eyes, was facing a younger Orochimaru.

"Sssarutobi Ssssensei."

"Sensei?" Rin asked, as she slid off her guide's back and stepped closer to the wall.

"Yesss. Took our boy under his wing that day."

Her eyes trailed along the image of a graveyard and rested on a large tombstone. "Is that the grave of his parents?"

"Yesss."

Rin placed a hand on the man's face, watching how it filled with compassion for the child before him. "He looks kind."

Manda didn't reply.

Her attention turned to the child she'd never seen before.

Orochimaru always kept this side of his mind hidden from her in the past.

He looked so sad.

"You found a white snake's skin. What luck." The man's voice drew her eyes to his face.

"I've never seen anything like it, Lord Hokage."

"That's a good sign. White snakes are the symbol of good luck and renewal. It was your good karma that led you to find it. Who knows, maybe this means your parents have been reincarnated and you'll meet them again?"

Her jaw fell slightly at the shy smile on his face. Whoever this man was, he meant something to that child.

The image went dark and another popped up to the right.

He was older there, more of his current form, than the child she'd seen before. He traveled with two companions; a lovely woman and a man with white hair.

Rin felt the warmth of the campfire they stared at, each discussing their dreams for the future.

What dreams did he have before she knew him? Who were these people and why was he only seeing them now?

"Manda, are these all shinobi from the Leaf Village?"

"Yesss."

"That man, the Hokage, is he still in office?"

"He would be an old fool now, but yesss."

Rin's hand came to rest on the labyrinth wall and she sighed. "I see. I'm ready to return now."

She turned, just in time for the giant snake to lunge at her and snap her out of her jutsu.

Orochimaru twitched under her hands, his hooded eyes rising to meet her. "Well?"

Calming her racing heart from the unnecessary snake strike, Rin brushed his hair back with her hand. "Permission to speak freely, my Lord?"

"Granted."

"Your mind showed me images of people in the Leaf who were important to you, in some fashion. A beautiful woman and a lecherous man by a camp fire."

"Tsunade and Jiraiya. Former teammates of mine."

Rin nodded, her mind returning to the old man's face. "It also lingered on one person. The Hokage."

"Ah. Sarutobi Sensei."

"I saw him several times. Why do you feel your mind is showing me his image? Particularly in front of your parents' grave?"

Orochimaru's eyes sorted through his thoughts, an uncommon amount of introspection in his expression, as he mused. "I'm not sure."

Rin's hand came to his face, lightly stroking her nails down his cheek, the way she knew sent tingles through him. "I think I know why."

He waited, amber gaze turning to meet her deep eyes. "Tell me."

She sighed and slid that hand down to his chest, resting over his heart. "Your resolve to destroy the Leaf and take power, is hindered by the knowledge that to do so, will mean you'll face off against him. You're former teacher."

"I'm not afraid of him."

Rin shook her head. "It's not fear, my Lord, but shame."