Otogakure Base
We ran back in total silence. Not a word was shared between the three of us and all for different reasons.
Orochimaru was happy. Completely overjoyed that I came back with him even though Tsunade promised me so much. He was smiling to himself and shooting me prideful and approving glances the whole run back.
Sasuke is a different story. He's... confused. He must be trying to figure out my motivation for picking Orochimaru. No doubt he's wondering why I'd risk so much. He wants to know what my plan is. I hope that is what he's thinking.
And me, the one who got us all back here. Why I was quiet is a very simple reason. I've been asking myself a question, bouncing idea after idea, scenario after scenario, over and over and over again in my head.
Did I make the right choice? Should I have let Tsunade and company kill him? Was it right of me to spare Orochimaru just so that I can do it myself later? Do the pros outweigh the cons? It's a simple question but an impossible one to answer.
What's done is done, now I have to live with my choice whether it is good or bad. This is all on me now, I have no one else to blame.
"Alvarcus." Orochimaru breaks the quiet once we've entered the base. "Come child, let's get you that heart. Sasuke you may return to your room or accompany us."
"I will go to my room." Sasuke glances at me briefly then leaves us alone.
"Alright then. To the prison complex." I say as Orochimaru leads me there again.
"You know Alvarcus, until today I never truly thought that you would stay with me." Orochimaru says happily. "You're always so distant and reclusive. You barely opened up to anyone here, myself included. But now I see I was worrying for nothing. You recognize that Konoha will limit you, that they will hinder your improvement. I promise you here and now, I will not."
"Look, Orochimaru-sama, I get that today is a fantastic day for you. Really I do. But for me it's been hard. It's been trying, testing my resolve and patience. For me today was terrible. It's just..."
Orochimaru is raptly listening. He's hanging on my every word.
"Everyone is so damn fragile. People break so easily, I feel like I have to treat everyone as if they're made of glass." I sigh and my body slumps in defeat. "Sasuke lost an arm today. The only reason it's back on is because we got lucky. I'm no medic nin, it was all the Jiongu that saved him. I was powerless to do anything. To me losing an arm is nothing, I'll get it back in seconds. Hell even with a blown up hand I still got one back quickly!" I wave my black left hand dramatically. "But almost no one can do that. What if next time Sasuke doesn't lose an arm? What if it's his head? I can't put that back on."
"What are you suggesting I do? Keep him here under lock and key?"
"No. He needs to get better. Make him fast enough to dodge next time. Make his awareness so acute that no one can sneak up on him. Make him as good as me."
"Alvarcus there's just-"
"Consider it my reward. I want you to take his training seriously. Or would you rather train up your 'next body' yourself?" I cut in and Orochimaru's eyes widen a fraction. "Yeah, you definitely said that and I explicitly remember it."
"You're... not freaking out?" Orochimaru questions me warily. He's ready to defend himself if I snap. "Didn't you say that the only reason you were here was for him?"
I pin Orochimaru in a glare. "We're both here to get stronger. Don't forget that. I admit that when I first came here I was deluded by my need to protect him. But now? After seeing what others are capable of? After witnessing so much I've changed my most important goal. I was not kidding when I said strength and power rule the world, so I will become someone no one wants to fuck with."
"Even if it means sacrificing Sasuke?" Orochimaru asks with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Depends on how big of a boost it'll get me." I coolly say. "But you need to make him strong too. Not only for yourself, but to make sure he doesn't die before you can make the switch. You need to start taking his training seriously."
"I will." Orochimaru promises me and I know he'll uphold it. I spun it so he'd benefit from it too.
And now I don't have to worry about Sasuke's training being neglected. The things I do for him. He has no idea how good of a friend I am for him, I basically coerced a Sannin to spend more time training him. Well... I did kinda allude to Orochimaru that I'm okay with him taking Sasuke's body so maybe I'm not the greatest friend out there.
"Ah here we are!" Orochimaru and I enter the prison complex. "Now then, any characteristics you want?"
"Can I just go in there and pick one? The Jiongu can sense affinities, I'd be able to pick the best one out of them all way quicker than you looking through that damn list again."
"Go on inside!" Orochimaru insists.
I casually stroll past the two guards as they both intently observe me. I can't blame them for their close scrutiny of me, it isn't everyday that you see someone talking with Orochimaru casually and it's even rarer to see one of his two prized pupils. Even in his secret base he's kept Sasuke and I hidden away from the masses, only the elite have seen us more than a handful of times.
"Now, I wonder what it'll be like this time." I mutter to myself as I stand in the center of the large circular room.
~Hmm... choices choices! There's a nice falsetto to our left, but a beautiful tenor behind us. Oh perhaps the quiet alto singing to our right? I just can't pick!~
Why are you using musical terms to describe them? Where did you even learn those? Wait, don't answer that last one. You got it from my memories.
~Correct! Plus it just feels right. Each and every one of them is like a musical masterpiece! No two are the same, each has their own melody. Host we simply must come here more often!~
Just pick one already. I have more important things to do.
~You have no respect for my talents. If you could hear the songs you'd want to stay too. The tenor will complement us nicely.~
"Finally." I turn on my heel and promptly walk over to the 'tenor.'
The tenor is a man shivering in the corner. He's ragged and obviously has had better years but there's a glimmer of life still in his eyes. Even after all the time he's been here he still has a sliver of hope.
"So. Buddy." I say on the other side of the bars of his cell. "Any last words?"
The tenor looks at me in confusion. "I'm... sorry?"
"Apology accepted." I extend my left arm through the bars and the Jiongu surges to life.
The man tries to crawl away from the slowly advancing threads while screaming until his throat bleeds, he's scooting across the floor as fast as his feeble limbs will carry him. Then his back hits the far wall, he's gone as far as possible.
It's not far enough.
Like a viper the Jiongu lashes out at the man, spearing deep into his chest. Then it withdraws carrying a red pulsating lump, his heart. Within moments the Jiongu gently places into my back, bringing me up to five hearts again.
"And that's that." I turn on my heel and start walking out of the prison towards Orochimaru.
"I knew he'd be back." One of the prisoners yells to the others as I'm walking past. "This is what happens when we act up! This is what happens when we don't behave! Orochimaru sends in this monster and he kills one of us! This is what you've all brought upon us! You've brought the black eyed demon's wrath down on us!"
"Oh shut up you crazy loon. He killed a defenseless old man, there's no way that pathetic kid could – URK!" The speaker cut off because there's a long whip of earth coiled around his neck.
"Alright you fuck ups, listen." I call out to everyone. "I've had a bad day, a really bad day. So it's in all of your best interests to not piss me off further when I come down to this cesspool of filth and garbage. Because when I do, one of you is going to die. Whenever you see me someone will die. And frankly I don't really care who it is at the time because to Orochimaru you're all disposable, so shut the fuck up!"
CRACK
"Looks like two died this time. How unfortunate." I sneer at the corpse of the person who had the gall to call me pathetic. "Does anyone want to make it three?"
No one speaks up.
"That's what I thought." I start to storm my way over to the exit.
~Host are you okay? You're not usually this violent without provocation.~
Yeah I'm just fucking peachy! Or did you forget every damn thing that has happened so far today? I defeated every single one of my friends and spat on their hopes to bring me home. I manipulated them to become stronger by playing the bad guy. Then once all of that was over Tsunade, Kakashi and the others showed up only to watch me take them hostage and leave with public enemy number one! Oh and the best part is I'm pretty sure Orochimaru is going to make me go see Kabuto to get my skin back on my hand, so I have that to look forward to and I still can't kill him!
~You need to get laid.~
...
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