one_long_mission | [OPEN] The Strange Man's Arrival

Entry tags:

[OPEN] The Strange Man's Arrival

Within hours of finding himself in this new location, he'd removed his Sound forehead protector and buried it in a copse of trees beyond a rice paddy. It was clear that there were no shinobi here, and he had no desire to stand out. What was the saying about the post that sticks up...? If captured, he would need to be able to morph his allegiances to suit, not be branded prematurely by a piece of metal. Purposefully, he'd masked his Chakra and made to blend in, smiling and earning himself the trust of a simple herbsman within the village itself. To even the most trained eye, the young man with the prematurely-grey hair had made himself a home in this so-called Michi no Sato.

Yakushi Kabuto had no home, only cover stories.

Whether this was a test of Orochimaru-sama's or a genjutsu prison devised by any one of their many enemies, Kabuto would survive, would thrive, and would eventually escape to rejoin his master. Any lingering doubts that he might eventually be happy here on his own were quickly squashed. Independence was not an option.

Within a few days, other shinobi began to arrive, some more obviously than others. Through it all, the young man only smiled, collected herbs, mashed poultices, and took careful, careful notes.

The bustle of the Frost Festival provided the perfect opportunity to personally gather more information. The shifting timelines and alternate personalities he'd observed would only be to his benefit here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Orochimaru headed out of the little cavern as well, going to the one with running water and filling the bucket that sat next to the spring before coming back to the Uchiha. "You need washed. And yes, it does get worse, but the saying -is- that it gets worse before it gets better, now isn't it?"

Itachi groaned. Did he really just hear what he thought heard? Orochimaru wanted to bathe him?! No no no no no...

He couldn't fathom uncurling from the little ball of agony he was in, but he did manage to glare back at the man.

"You're filthy now, you need the wash. Do you really think -you- can manage it?" He just stared back at him, meeting the glare without fear. The man was too tired to do anything more without killing himself.

He clenched his teeth and forced himself to sit up. A drop of sweat ran down his cheek, over his lips. It tasted like liquid fire... like that first batch of medicine... it made him feel sick all over again.

"I can... manage to... to hit the bucket... maybe..."

"So no." He put the bucket out of range and pulled a cloth from his pocket. "Shirt off and tossed to the side. I'll at least deal with the blood."

Unfortunately, with the bucket out of range, Itachi just gagged over the ledge, with nothing really to bring up except blood-tinged bile.

It was a feeling that made coughing up blood seem pleasant.

"The bucket has clean water in it, sicking up in it would defeat the purpose we're aiming for presently." He wet down the cloth and approached the Uchiha. "Now, are you capable of cleaning yourself or not? Last chance."

The cloak had already fallen from his shoulders.

"... Give me... that..." he stretched out his arm for the cloth and doubled over in pain again. Both arms retreated around his stomach as he slid face-first off the ledge.

He stepped forward and braced his hands on his shoulders, shoving him back. "I believe you wouldn't survive the attempt Itachi-kun. Just let me take care of you, mmm?"

"... g...get off of me..." he whimpered at being pushed back.

"Hush. You need to be cleaned and I do think you've irritated Kabuto-kun enough that he is not going to help you. Now. Sit still and let me bathe you." He planted one hand on his chest, the other bringing up the wet cloth to wipe his face of blood.

It was an almost impossible realization... that being undressed by Orochimaru of all people wasn't nearly as painful at this very moment as being forced upright. Any position that wasn't curled up made his stomach burn, as if someone was setting off a fireball technique up his throat. His eyes teared up, purely out of instinct, and it was completely bloody.

He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the change of his eyes, and he released him, fishing out another cloth to tie it securely over his eyes. "Not after last time Itachi-kun."

The moment he was released, he slumped to his side in pain, curling up again. He struggled against the blindfold, but there wasn't much he could do.

Satisfied that the blindfold was staying, he pulled the bucket closer and set it out of the way in reach before bringing his hands back to Itachi to resume the cleaning, working his way down his jaw and neck.

Itachi tensed as Orochimaru's hands touched him. His pulse was rapid, he gasped for breath.

"Relax Itachi-kun, it's just a bath." He moved his empty hand to pet his dirty hair, making a hushing sound, and carefully worked down over his shoulders and upper chest after rinsing the cloth again.

This felt nothing like a bath.

His cloak gone, his shirt off, he could feel every edge of rough stone against his skin. His fever was high enough that even tepid water felt like ice.

The more he tensed, the more exposed he looked, until Orochimaru could clearly see the outlines of his bones in several places.

He sighed, getting what he could reach until he was sure everything facing up was clean. That finished, he used both hands and picked the man to a sitting position, then moved him until he was laying on his other side. Then, he resumed washing, now that the man was out of his mess.

He winced as he was moved, but curled up just the same on the other side.

He cleaned him carefully there too, then hummed, cleaning up the mess on the stone and going to dump the water for fresh, taking the over clothes with him so he could rinse the damp things out while he was at it.

He hung them up in a cavern away from the water and returned a moment later, tugging Itachi around until he could get at his hair, pulling the tie free. "I didn't think you had time to roll around in your mess Itachi-kun."

His response was nothing more than a whimper.

"Stop... Make it..."

And then nothing.

Orochimaru carefully picked through his hair, making him hang off the ledge a bit as he worked and carefully rinsing away the grime. "Shhh."

Itachi was silent, but not by choice.

He had passed out.

Well, that worked out nicely for Orochimaru, as he set about cleaning the man the rest of the way, checking his pants and deeming them clean enough before putting them back on him as he situated him securely on the ledge. A bit of fussing at wind jutsus and the cloak was flicked over the man as well once he deemed it dry enough to do so.

Once he had everything from -that- venture put away, he moved to another room to start assembling what had been saved from his lab.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject