Two days had gone by, since Tsuki had been confined to her room. Yuki stayed with her to keep her company and Kabuto brought her meals and was kind enough to offer her sedatives, though she refused them. Orochimaru's pain had become unbearable, so much so that she eventually lost consciousness from the residual effects of their link unable to endure the pain herself.
Tsuki woke with a start as the door of her cell opened. The pain had subsided, her arms no longer itched from the residual pain through her link to Orochimaru. He'd found some way to heal himself, though she had no idea how. Groggily she lifted her head as she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She'd collapsed on the floor from the pain with Yuki curled up in the crook of her neck.
Strong arms encircled her, sweeping her off the floor and cradling her in a tender embrace. She gasped as she glanced upward and met a pair of lethal reptilian golden green eyes. "O-Orochimaru-sama?"
"Troublesome child." He sighed, but there was the faintest hint of a smile in his snake like eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asked worried as she attempted to struggle out of his hold to support herself, but she met resistance and stayed put.
"I put you through quite the ordeal..." He noted somewhat remorsefully as his gaze fell to the dark circles beneath her colorless eyes and the sickly pallor to her skin. It was his way of apologizing.
"I-I'm okay." Tsuki stuttered and bit her lip as she thought back on the night she'd offered herself to him, to heal him, it would have worked, he wouldn't have had to endure such pain. "I-it would have worked... why didn't you-?" She cut off with a squeak as his piercing gaze met her colorless eyes, he looked livid.
His gaze softened after a moment as they made it to his private quarters, "I know it would have..." He admitted.
"So why didn't you-?" Her cheeks burned too embarrassed to finish her sentence.
"You were terrified."
Tsuki felt her heart skip a beat in her chest, "W-what?"
"You looked scared." Orochimaru shrugged as he stepped into the bathroom.
Tsuki felt her breath hitch in her throat, the bathroom was aglow with candles. The oversized tub was filled with steaming water and littered with suds and bubbles that threatened to spill over the sides. What was going on?
"Orochimaru-sama?" Tsuki squeaked as he gently set her on her feet.
His hand clapped down atop her head affectionately, "Relax and stay put for today." He was just changing the size and location of her cell, she was still imprisoned. A song bird in an illustrious cage of luxury was still a prisoner.
Tsuki bit her lip as she stared down at the crescent shaped mark seared into her palm. She had no right to complain, for she too had imprisoned him. "I understand."
His snakelike eyes looked down at her as she suddenly turned morose. "If you behave, we can go outside tonight."
Her colorless eyes flit upward meeting his gaze and he felt a strange fluttering sensation at the desolate look revealed within. She looked defeated. Rejection, loneliness and hopelessness all swirled together in her colorless eyes, if he hadn't spent the last few years studying her, he'd never have noticed. His promises of temporary freedom, were losing their effect. He'd caged her for too long.
"Tsuki?"
Those bleak colorless eyes held his gaze, unflinching and devoid of any of her usual light. He'd always marveled at how she'd been through so much yet remained unwavering and strong, but his rejection, his refusal to use her for his own means had broken her. Orochimaru stared down at the hollow shell of the girl who'd been his faithful and bright companion over the years.
He reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek as if to wipe away the tears she had yet to shed before lightly trailing his fingers down to her chin tilting her head upward. "Do you wish to leave?"
There was a faint spark of life revealed in her colorless eyes before it was replaced with fear and abandonment, "Are you going to send me away again?" Her voice trembled.
Orochimaru felt strange, like something was tugging at his chest, his stomach clenched uncomfortably at the look of terror reflected in the girl's eyes, "No. I was asking if you wished to be free..."
Tsuki didn't hesitate. She shook her head furiously before stepping forward, throwing her arms around him with a strangled cry.
That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. With a sigh he lightly pat her on the head. She fit perfectly in his arms. He'd missed the girl's company and regretted locking her away, but it had been for the best, he couldn't be sure she wouldn't have tried anything and in his weakened state of body and mind he wasn't sure he'd be able to refuse her.
"You don't have to stay put." He sighed in defeat, "But if you do venture from this room, make sure Yuki is with you and be careful."
Tsuki smiled, but her smile fell when she noticed the look of concern reflected in his reptilian gaze, "Is something going on?"
Orochimaru lightly smoothed his fingers through her silken moonbeam hair, "Nothing for you to worry about."
Tsuki nodded her understanding. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." She smiled.
He felt something stir within him as she spoke his name and flashed him a radiant smile. She was constantly stirring him up, making him feel and think things he'd never thought possible. After disentangling himself from her, he left without a word.
Tsuki watched him go feeling somewhat relieved that he'd reluctantly given her permission to wander and wasn't sending her away. Yuki slithered into the bathroom once Orochimaru took his leave and curled up next to the tub. After a nice relaxing bath, Tsuki changed into a plain pair of grey tights and a simple black dress before bending down to scoop Yuki up. She giggled as the pale white snake coiled up her arm and rested across her shoulders.
They made it to the kitchen without running across anything out of the ordinary and Tsuki nibbled on some fruit to appease her growling stomach before heading off to explore. As Tsuki wandered through the many twists and turns of the labyrinth, she thought she heard sounds in the distance, like some of the many traps that had been set for intruders were going off. The lair rarely got intruders, usually one look inside the entrance and people turned back once they realized it was a maze almost entirely in darkness.
"NARUTO!" A girl's voice cried in panic not too far from them, she sounded young and like she was in trouble.
Tsuki looked to her reptilian companion. Yuki's bright green eyes met her gaze and nodded his consent upon realizing the girl wanted to try to help. She ran through the labyrinth in the direction she heard the girl's voice careful not to trigger any of the traps along the way.
As she rounded a corner she paused as she spotted a girl who appeared to be no more than thirteen years of age with shoulder length pink hair slumped against the wall with tears in her eyes looking defeated and scared. Tsuki approached the girl slowly.
"Are you alright?" Tsuki asked softly.
The girl jumped and turned her tear filled pale jade eyes in the direction the voice had come only to gasp in awe as she saw a pair of glowing silver eyes floating in the darkness. She hurriedly retrieved a light source from her pack and held it up to see what was approaching.
Tsuki winced at the sudden harsh light and held her hands up to shield herself from the blinding light.
"W-who are you?!" The frightened girl demanded trying to keep her voice steady.
"Would you mind lowering that a little, I'm very sensitive to light." Tsuki squeaked.
The intruder reluctantly lowered her torch, so it was no longer in Tsuki's eyes. "Who are you?" She demanded again, her voice gaining strength and confidence.
"My name is Tsuki." Tsuki smiled, "What's your name?"
The girl seemed taken aback by her politeness, but didn't let her guard down, "Sakura." She tightened her grip on her torch and reached for the pack at her hip for a weapon.
"I can show you the way to the exit." Tsuki offered in an attempt to get the younger girl to relax.
"I can't go back yet." Sakura declared retrieving a kunai from her pouch, "I have to find Sasuke."
Tsuki frowned, "Did he get lost too?"
"What?! No! Orochimaru took him." Sakura looked to the strange young woman curiously, "Are you one of his henchmen?"
Tsuki shrugged at this, "I don't think so."
Sakura relaxed slightly, the young woman didn't appear threatening, her skin was pale, there were dark circles beneath her now colorless eyes. If she hadn't seen the glow of her silver irises in the dark moments before she'd have thought the woman was blind. "Why are you here?" She asked warily.
"I live here."
"Do you know Orochimaru?"
"Yes."
Sakura tensed again, "Are you friend or foe?"
"You've done nothing against me, I see no reason for us to be foes." Tsuki smiled and extended her hand to the girl, "Let's be friends instead, Sakura-chan."
Sakura smiled and accepted her hand, "I'd like that." She straightened herself up and prepared to take a step.
"AH! Not there!" Tsuki yelped but cringed as Sakura stepped on the trap tile. It was going to release bamboo spears from the walls and ceiling. She hurriedly caught the younger girl by the wrist and pulled her against her before a swirling vortex of wind swirled around them with a loud shriek propelling the bamboo spears away from them. "You okay, Sakura-chan?" She asked once her wind died down.
Sakura took a shaky step away from the young woman, who moments ago she had written off as weak and not a threat. "Yeah. Thanks, Tsuki."
"Since you don't want to go to the exit, where would you like to go? I know my way around pretty well."
"I need to find Sasuke. Do you know where he is?"
Tsuki frowned, "No, I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything and you're the only person I've run into in the tunnels. If you think Orochimaru-sama took him, we could ask him if he knows-."
Sakura blanched as if remembering something terrifying, "I'd like to avoid him if possible."
Tsuki noticed the forehead protector poking out of her pink hair, she was from the village Orochimaru had attacked, of course she'd be apprehensive. "Well, how about we look for him together." She offered with a smile.
"That's a great id-..." Sakura cut off with a groan, "I should find Naruto and that pervy old man first. We all got separated." She looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do, she was desperate to find Sasuke. Tsuki could see it in the younger girl's eyes, she loved him.
"I could find your friends for you, while you look." Tsuki offered, "You could take Yuki with you, he can show you where to step safely so you don't get caught in a trap." She indicated the pale white snake sitting atop her shoulders.
Sakura considered the offer for a moment, "You'd do that, for me?"
Tsuki grinned, "Sure, that's what friends are for, right?"
Sakura hugged the starlight woman, "Thanks, Tsuki. You're a great friend."
"Yuki, go with Sakura-chan and show her where it's safe to walk, please." Tsuki lightly pat the pure white snake atop his head. Yuki nuzzled her affectionately before reluctantly slithering to the ground to help guide the young kunoichi.
"Naruto fell in a trap a little ways back, and Master Jiraiya took a different fork when we arrived." Sakura informed her.
"I'll find them and we'll meet up with you. I can sense Yuki so I'll be able to find you." Tsuki smiled before slipping away in the darkness to find Sakura's companions feeling giddy. It was the first time anyone had called her a friend.
After a few twists and turns she heard the sound of rushing water beneath her and the sound of a boy yelling. She stomped her foot down quickly and leapt back to activate a trap door before reaching into the rushing water. From the sound of his scream, he'd be in view any second now.
A boy with bright blonde hair, wearing an orange jacket slipped into view, struggling against the water's current. Tsuki managed to catch hold of his hand and struggled to pull him to the ledge. After a few minutes of struggling, she managed to pull him to safety and the two fell atop the cold hard stone floor gasping for breath.
"Thanks. You're a lifesaver." The boy gasped.
"Gee, thanks doll, we were in a real pinch." An orange frog wearing a blue vest sitting atop the blonde's chest saluted her.
Was it normal for frogs to talk? She'd not come across many frogs in her life. Manda could talk, so why couldn't a little frog? "Sure thing." Tsuki smiled between gasps of breath, "Are you Naruto, by chance?" She turned to the boy, he appeared to be around Sakura's age, at least seven years her junior.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" The blonde asked in awe as he sat up, apparently already recovered from his ordeal.
"I'm Tsuki. Sakura-chan sent me to find you." Tsuki noted.
"You saw Sakura-chan?! Is she okay?"
Tsuki nodded, "Yuki is with her, so she won't fall into any traps."
"Which way did they go?!" The boy asked abruptly.
Tsuki pointed, "That way, but we need to fin-." She cut off as the exuberant youth took off running in the direction she had pointed, "Wait! What about the traps?!"
Naruto was already gone.
Tsuki sighed and muttered to herself, "I hope he'll be okay." She picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off before heading on her way.
Now all she had to do was find the one Sakura called a pervy old man, Master Jiraiya. Was it the same one from the time she'd been captured by the hidden leaf village? Tsuki continued on her way, it was lonely wandering the tunnels without Yuki at her side. A grim thought crossed her mind, Orochimaru told her to keep Yuki with her if she left the room, would he be angry that she disobeyed him. It was to help a friend, and Tsuki knew her way through the labyrinth.
After awhile she found a room tucked into the labyrinth, it looked like a traditional Japanese room for tea ceremonies, but it appeared to have gone under attack, walls had been torn down, all the furniture inside was broken and strewn about at random. There must have been some kind of struggle. Her glowing eyes pierced through the darkness and she spotted two people lying unconscious in the debris strewn room.
Her glowing silver eyes fell on the one closest to her, it was a man with unruly white hair, with red markings on his cheeks. He was wearing a familiar sage like outfit in a dusty hunter green with a deep crimson haori. It was the same man from the Hidden Leaf Village, and the same man who'd fought with Orochimaru, the one who commanded the giant toad. Tsuki hesitantly knelt next to him and lightly shook his shoulder.
"Excuse me, are you alright?" She asked softly and nearly screamed when his eyes flashed open.
His dark eyes latched onto her and widened a fraction before a goofy grin plastered his face, "Is this heaven? There's a pretty girl here." He grinned.
"Master Jiraiya?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, and she knows my name." His grin grew.
"Sakura-chan sent me to find you. Are you alright?" Tsuki ignored his strange behavior as she got to her feet before extending her hand to help him to his feet.
His gaze fell on the mark seared into her palm before accepting her hand and getting to his feet. He dusted himself off and offered her a smile, "Tsuki-chan, right?"
So, he remembered her. She nodded.
"You gave us all quite a scare when you disappeared. Though you seem to be in much better health." When he'd seen her last, her entire body had been covered in burns from the sun.
"Inoichi-san wasn't hurt, was he?" Tsuki asked feeling guilty, she had hoped she hadn't hurt him when she'd broken his jutsu and expelled him from her mind, but she couldn't relive that awful memory again.
Jiraiya smiled as he crossed the room to where his opponent, a young woman around Tsuki's age with dark hair, was lying unconscious. He hefted the unconscious girl over his shoulder before turning to Tsuki with a smile. "He's fine, he was more worried about you."
Tsuki sighed in relief, "I'm glad he's okay. He was nice." She smiled, "We should meet up with Sakura-chan and Naruto." Hopefully Naruto had made it to where Sakura was and hadn't fallen in another trap.
Jiraiya summoned a giant frog to carry them on their way. Tsuki pointed him in the direction she sensed Yuki and cringed as the giant frog began breaking through walls, creating its own path. If they weren't careful they'd collapse part of the underground labyrinth.
In a matter of minutes, they'd destroyed a good portion of the tunnels and burst into a giant hall with rows and rows of decorative columns, though it appeared there had been a great deal of destruction already as pillars were collapsing and there was smoke and dust everywhere. What had happened?
Tsuki spotted a massive piece of the collapsing structure falling toward Naruto and Sakura and hurriedly channeled her chakra into blades of wind. With a wave of her hand the blades of wind diced the rubble to dust. Sakura and Naruto turned to see the giant frog with Tsuki and Jiraiya standing atop it's head.
"Pervy sage!" Naruto cheered.
"Tsuki!" Sakura looked relieved.
"Sorry to be late." Jiraiya smiled, "I ran into a number of obstacles on my end too, luckily Tsuki-chan helped me out." He continued, "Now then, climb up, you two. Let's hurry and get back above ground."
Tsuki was about to move away when she spotted a young man close to her in age with silver hair holding an unconscious girl about Sakura and Naruto's age in his arms. The man tossed the unconscious girl to Master Jiraiya before collapsing.
"Sasame!" Naruto and Sakura panicked.
"She's fine, she's just fainted." Jiraiya reassured the pair of them.
Naruto and Sakura appeared to be in rough shape. Tsuki turned to the pair of them channeling her chakra into the palms of her hands before placing a hand to each of their foreheads. A healing blue glow encased the pair of them and in seconds their chakra was replenished, their wounds were healed and their energy was restored.
"Tsuki, that's amazing, I didn't know you were a medical ninja." Sakura stared in awe.
Tsuki shook her head, "I'm not. It's part of my Clan's kekkei genkai."
Jiraiya looked thoughtful at this. "Naruto, you and Sakura make sure Sasame and this young lady get back to the Fuma Clan." He indicated the unconscious young woman laying at his feet, "I'm going to stay behind with Tsuki-chan for a bit."
"What, we can't leave yet. Sasuke is alive and he's here, Sasame's cousin confirmed it." Sakura looked on the verge of tears.
Jiraiya shook his head, there was no doubt Orochimaru wasn't aware that there were intruders after all the ruckus, and if his suspicions about Tsuki were correct, he didn't want Naruto and especially Sakura to be around for what he'd have to do. Once before, he'd let Orochimaru go, and he regretted it, he swore to himself if he had the chance again, he'd kill him. Now, he had his chance. "We'll look for him. Get them to safety." He said a little more sternly.
"I told Yuki to get somewhere safe before all the fighting happened." Sakura noted before waving farewell to her new friend as Tsuki and Jiraiya leapt to the floor in the crumbling room.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan." Tsuki smiled and waved back before the giant frog soared through a gaping hole in the ceiling getting them all safely out of the lair. She turned to one of the doors lining the walls as the dust began to settle. She sensed a familiar presence drawing near at a fast pace. Her heart stuttered in her chest, he was going to be angry. As she was about to take a step toward the door, a hand caught her wrist, halting her. Tsuki looked to Jiraiya curiously, "What are you doing?"
"I might need some leverage." He offered her a smile he'd hoped was reassuring as he felt a swell of conflict building within him. Tsuki wasn't really involved in Orochimaru's plans, she was more a prisoner than anything else.
Tsuki frowned slightly, that was only going to make Orochimaru angrier. He'd surely punish her. The door she'd sensed his presence from, nearly flew off it's hinges, causing Tsuki to jump. His lethal golden green reptilian eyes latched onto her in an instant, freezing her in place. He was pissed! His gaze flicked to the man at her side, holding onto her delicate wrist.
"Tsuki. Come." Orochimaru's voice came out in a growl.
Tsuki blanched at this and attempted to move toward him, but Jiraiya's grip around her wrist tightened. She let out a gasp as he pulled her back to him and gripped her neck with his other hand keeping her pinned against him.
Orochimaru's glare intensified.
Jiraiya held her wrist up flashing the crescent moon brand seared into the palm of her hand in Orochimaru's direction. "I had my suspicions of the girl when she was under interrogation before." He paused for the briefest of moments as a flutter of fear came over him, Orochimaru looked livid. Jiraiya continued, "I'd wager to guess, you have a similar mark, old friend."
"You think you can kill the girl, to get rid of me?" Orochimaru hissed, "She's an innocent in all of this you know. Could you stomach it?"
Jiraiya felt the conflict in him grow, he didn't want to take the life of an innocent, especially such a cute girl. This was quite possibly the only chance he was ever going to get, to get rid of Orochimaru once and for all. In his moment of self-reflection, Orochimaru lashed out with his hidden shadow snakes. Dozens of dark snakes shot forth in an attempt to retrieve the girl, but Jiraiya recovered quick and leapt out of their reach with his hostage. He tightened his grip on the girl's throat and watched as Orochimaru grimaced. So, their link was strong enough, he could feel her pain.
Tsuki attempted to struggle to break from his hold only to wince as his grip tightened, cutting off her oxygen supply completely. Hot tears of frustration welled in her eyes as she saw Orochimaru grimace. It was her fault! She was too weak and he was getting hurt because of it.
"TSUKI!" Orochimaru looked worried, not for his own wellbeing, but for the girl, upon seeing her tears, "RELEASE HER, JIRAIYA!" He snarled.
Jiraiya eased his grip slightly, he'd never seen his old friend act like this. Was it possible? Was Orochimaru capable of love?
"S-stop hurting Orochimaru-sama." Tsuki sniffled once she was able to regulate her breathing.
Guilt turned Jiraiya's stomach as he looked down at the crying girl. He didn't want to hurt the girl, she was innocent in all of this. "Return Sasuke, and I'll let her go."
Orochimaru glared once more, "You make it sound as if I abducted him, he came to me, of his own volition. Release her and I may let you leave with your life." He hissed.
Jiraiya sighed, he had a feeling that was the case. If Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru willingly, they weren't going to be able to convince him otherwise. "Sorry, Tsuki-chan. I didn't want to hurt you." He breathed softly so only the girl could hear before releasing her from his grip and shoving her lightly toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru caught the starlight girl in his arms before she could hit the floor and breathed a sigh of relief as she wound her arms around him, melting into his embrace as silent tears streamed down her pale cheeks. The dark bruising around her neck vanished as he held her against him.
"I'm sorry!" Tsuki choked. "It's my fault, I didn't listen to you, I even got separated from Yuki."
Orochimaru looked down at the sniffling girl with the faintest trace of a smile. He pat her atop the head lightly ruffling her moonbeam hair causing dust to fall around them. "If you still want to go outside tonight, you should probably get cleaned up. Let's go back." His strong arms lifted her with ease, sweeping her off her feet like a princess. She was safe, and for some strange reason, that was all he cared about.
Video- "Feel Like Forever" By Of Mice and Men (because that is what was playing on my pandora when I was ready to post hahaha)