Log; Complete

[medic-assistant.livejournal.com]

When; November 11th, noonish
Rating; PG
Characters; Shizune {medic_assistant} & Kabuto {snake_servant}
Summary; Kabuto returns to the apartment after having his memory cleaned out by Orochimaru and, having been briefed by said evil villain, proceeds to consider Shizune his enemy. Beware of angst.
Log;
Shizune had tried waiting up at first. Pacing back and forth across the carpet. But after an hour, she’d given that up, shrugged out of her clothes, and gotten into bed to try and sleep. … She’d given that up after four hours. Rolling over, she sighed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to fight back her worry. Nothing good ever came of Kabuto going to Orochimaru. He’d always come back to the apartment covered in blood. Hurting. Not physically. Clenching her fists into the sheets, she rolled over again, willing herself to go to sleep, sliding over to his side of the bed, as if that would comfort her enough to cease worrying and try and get some sleep. Hopefully, he’d be there when she woke up.

It was about ten in the morning when Kabuto entered the apartment two doors down the hall from Orochimaru’s. He had been told the situation by Orochimaru, and filled in on the events of the last five years…. Five years of his life were gone. It was an odd sensation, knowing that the time was missing, but having no perception of it, finding it hard to believe, let alone care.

He had been warned about what the Konoha ninja would try to tell him, the lies, the attempts to get him to join them. One in particular, another medical ninja like himself. This Shizune would apparently say or do anything to get him to believe her. It was a ninja’s job to put everything on the line, but he had valuable information on Orochimaru, or had had. Orochimaru had also explained that, to protect himself, he’d had to erase Kabuto’s memories. He understood, anyone could break under the right circumstances; this time around he would just put himself through more intense training.

Shizune sat up straight in bed. She’d heard the door open. “… Kabuto?” She called softly, leaning down to fumble for her clothes, flicking on one of the bedside lights.

Kabuto paused, ready to fall into a defensive stance at the first sign of trouble. He hadn’t thought that the Konoha ninja would be waiting for him already. It had only been a few hours since his memories had been erased, but perhaps they had known what would happen and were prepared in advance to take advantage of the situation.

“Hello?” He called back, putting on a friendly smile, ready to lie through his teeth until he understood the situation.

Sliding into a thin robe, Shizune stood, padding over to the bedroom door and opening it, stepping over a few of his articles of clothing on the way. She looked him over. No blood, thank god. And he seemed fine. Giving a sigh of a relief and a small smile, she leaned against the doorframe.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, her other hand holding her robe closed. “Come to bed. It’s late.”

Kabuto's easy smile didn't waver as he regarded this woman. She must be Shizune, she fit the physical description perfectly. "Don't you mean it's early?" The sun had been up for a couple of hours already. Though, in truth, he was very tired, most of his night spent healing his many injuries, and then the rest getting an explanation of things from Orochimaru.

"I'm going to fix myself a cup of tea. I'm not interested in sleep right now."

"Alright." She tied the robe loosely, coming away from the bedroom door. "I'll stay up with you, okay?" More than anything, Shizune was glad that he was alright. She had expected him to come back... hurting again. Wrapping an arm around him loosely, she gave a gentle squeeze of an embrace.

"I know you can't tell me what happened." She murmured. "But I'm glad you're fine."

Keeping his eyes on her at all times, he managed not to flinch when she hit a bruise in his side. He had left more of the minor ones so that he would have more energy for the more serious of injuries. He was relaxed, that was the key to good acting, remaining relaxed, and confidant that what you are doing is perfectly natural. "Alright, why don't you get the water on the boil, and I'll go change, I've been in these clothes for too long." Covering for the fact that he didn't know his own apartment's layout, he would let her find the tea kettle. Finding the right room would be simple enough with how familiar she was acting.

"Sure." Giving him a small kiss on the cheek, she headed into the kitchen, taking the kettle out of the cupboard and filling it with water from the sink, setting it to boil. Watching it, she leaned against the counter. "Chouji wants us come to a barbeque he's going to be having when everyone comes back. It sounds like some fun. A nice time." She spoke loudly enough to be heard, humming to herself as she watched the water.

Kabuto ignored the kiss, and went to the room. He dug around in the room until he found clothes that were obviously his; he pulled them on, ignoring the few feminine things strewn about the room. "Sounds like fun." He called back, not sure who this Chouji was, but not doubting it was another Konoha ninja. It seemed their plot to turn him was quite detailed, but Orochimaru was too smart to let things like this slip by his explanation. It was simply his job to find out what, exactly, these Konoha ninja wanted.

He stepped back into the main part of the apartment, taking a seat at the table casually, waiting for the tea.

"..." Something... was wrong. ... Something... She looked at the tea kettle. She couldn't place it... but something was off. That had been... cold. Somehow. "Yeah, I thought so, too." She finally answered, reaching for the box of tea. She opened it, looking through the bags. After a moment, she pulled out a bag of jasmine tea, brewing the pot and taking the kettle of the heat, pouring two cups and coming to the table, seating the cup in front of him, smiling and taking the seat across from him and taking a sip.

Kabuto didn't like jasmine tea.

"Thank you." Kabuto picked up the tea and took a sip, setting the cup down, the smile still on his face. "How long have you been waiting for me?" He took another sip of the tea, careful to not let the hot liquid burn his tongue, but tasting it for any sort of poison she could have slipped into the water or onto the cups. It seemed safe enough, none of the common sedatives or poisons that he could taste.

"A little over five hours..." She answered slowly. Her brow was beginning to furrow. ... Kabuto didn't like jasmine tea. Looking down at her cup, her muscles were tensing.

"Kabuto..." She began slowly, gaze coming up to search his own. "... What did we talk about on the beach that first night?" Orochimaru couldn't know about that. He just couldn't. And she had a bad feeling at the pit of her stomach, she was trying to squelch it, but it kept rising up in her throat. A bad feeling...

"Oh, is that so?" Kabuto took another sip of his tea, watching her reactions to everything he was saying. She seemed aware that something was off.

"The first night on the beach..." So he was found out. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about a beach." Even though his smile and expression never changed, he was ready to reach for a kunai at a moment's notice. He wasn't sure, from watching her for such a short amount of time, what she was going to do now that he no longer had the information Konoha wanted.

"... You've... forgotten then..." She whispered, hands tightening in their grip on the tea cup. If he's forgotten- He'd forgotten her. And that smile on his face had never wavered. It chilled her to the bone.

"Everything..." She was struggling for words now. She'd gone over in her head what she would say if this ever happened, over and over, but none of it seemed right any longer.

"Even that I loved you?" It came out slightly choked, though she was trying to remain calm and composed. Her eyes were still searching his, but found no warmth there, only cold and distance.

Kabuto's smile took on more of a smirking quality, no more need to pretend. "So, you've figured it out have you?" He took a long swallow of his tea, letting the hot liquid slide down his throat before standing and going to the sink to dump the liquid out, deciding that he hated Jasmine tea.

He turned and leaned against the counter, arms folded over his chest as he examined her. "I'm flattered that you would say such a thing, Shizune san. Though I must say I could not return such feelings. After all, we are enemies." Considering how emotional she was acting, the loss for words, he was expected to feel some sort of remorse for her. It wouldn't work. Using her name as well, would help to drive home the point that while me may know nothing about her, he knows of her and her plot.

"… You're right. We are enemies." She murmured, watching his movements carefully. …. She was in danger now, she knew that. He was dangerous. She knew his abilities surpassed hers; he'd managed to beat her with ease that had surprised her, hamstringing her neatly and efficiently. Even with five years memory gone, his skill would still remain. A skill she could not contend with, should he decide to put it to use.

"…. But Orochimaru didn't tell you the truth, Kabuto." Even though she knew he couldn't believe her, she had to try.

"Can you really believe a man who erased five years of your life? What did he replace those years with? Lies?" She paused, her grip on the tea cup still tight, as if using it for her lifeline.

"I can fill in some of the gaps for you, Kabuto. You don't have to believe me." But you might be wise to listen… Even if you want to discard it as a pack of Konoha lies." She didn't know if he would accept, didn't know. But she had to try.

Kabuto tilted his head to the side, in thought, as if seriously considering her question. "Orochimaru sama has his reasons for doing what he did, I obviously knew something that I was going to divulge that I should not. I put him in danger, and he took the proper steps to bring himself back out of that danger. It's that simple. I agreed to the terms, knowing full well that this could happen to me." What was five years? When working under Orochimaru, living loyally to him, he could live forever. He would just need to prove himself properly this time around.

"Lies or not, even you admit we are enemies. So I do not know why I'm even explaining these things to you. But, I'm feeling nice today, Shizune san. So I will tell you this once, and only this once. We work for different goals, and different masters. I have no interest in Konoha or it's morals, and I will never have any. I grew up in that village, and I was not impressed, and am still not." He paused, pulling off his glasses, and cleaning one of the lenses casually before putting them back on. "Do we have an understanding, Miss?"

"No. We don't." Shizune stood, finally letting go of the tea cup and gesturing about her to the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom.

"We live here, Kabuto." There was a stronger edge coming to her voice. "You and I. Right there." She pointed to the bedroom they shared, "And if you think I came to this godforsaken place with the intent of falling in love with you, then you are mistaken. If you think I came here to trick you, to deceive you, then you are also mistaken." She was trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault..

"But I did come here, and I did end up loving you, whether Orochimaru lets you think it or not." Trying not to become frantic, the now pointed at the table. "We got cursed, right there. Or, at least I did. We had our first fight over that." Now pointing to the couch. "And that's when we where we first-" She broke off. …. It was useless. He wouldn't remember.

"… I laughed at you." She murmured, voice growing quiet. "When you first said anything about loving me…."

Kabuto listened to her get angry, try to explain things that, even if they had happened, he would never believe a word of it. He still listened to her, allowing her to speak, and keeping his own emotions in check, though it was hard not be annoyed with the woman. If she thought he would so easily be convinced then she was wrong.

The last part though, the last part, made him laugh. His laugh held no warmth however. "You might have had me going, except for that little bit at the end. Me confess my feellings for someone? I am supposed to be the one who put everything on the line and fell in love with the enemy?" He laughed agian. "My training as a shinobi is much better than that. I would not make such a foolish mistake, and if I did, I deserved what I got for it. No, I deserved death instead, but I understand there is no such thing as truely dying in this place."

"It's what happened." She stiffened. Every bit of warmth he had ever held, and it had been so hard to find, was gone. Gone. Erased from existence by the man whose golden eyes haunted her even now. Especially now. She could almost see him standing there beside Kabuto, the shell of a former lover. "You kept record of how things happened on the network here." She mentioned. "They're private, when you want them to be. You might want to read it." She slowly walked to the living room, picking up a packet of photos, she was so glad her friends had insisted on seeing them soon. Bringing them back to the kitchen, she laid them on the table between them. As much as she wanted to, Shizune couldn't approach him. She didn't want to try and show him…. Because any affection she displayed would only be met with coldness. Which would only serve to drive the point home. "Look at those." She said steadily, looking at the pictures they'd taken at the beach.
Kabuto waked back to the table, turning one of the photos to face him. It was of him and her in swim wear, at the beach. It would seem that she had stolen his glasses and he was trying to get them back, though both were smiling. He felt nothing when he saw it. "And?"

Even if it had really happened, he knew photos could be altered, bunshins could be used, or he could have been acting in order to get information from her. There was, of course, still the remote possibility that what he saw there was real, but he felt no pang in his chest at seeing them. Nothing in him called out to the photos before him, they might as well be someone else for all they had any effect.

"... It's what happened." She repeated, slowly losing hope, draining out of her like a leech on her life. She's always been afraid that if this happened. No, when it happened, that she wouldn't be able to convince him. You'll find a way. He had kept saying. Slowly, she reached for his hand, trying to ignore the voice screaming in the back of her head that it was dangerous, that he was dangerous. But the hurt... she almost couldn't believe that this was over, that they were over, that it could all be over. So fast. So sudden.

"Kabuto, please." She begged. "At least... think about it." Usually she would be ashamed to be seen doing anything remotely like pleading. But this was too important.

Kabuto pulled his hand back, his gaze rising from the photos to look her in the eye. He gave her a level stare. "I will not repeat myself." Persistent, wasn't she? He didn't doubt that this would be the first of many attempts to turn him against Orochimaru, convince him to be a "good guy" and come back to Konoha. That was not likely to happen any time soon. "Now, if you would be so kind. This is my apartment; no Konoha ninja would be so suicidal as to live near Orochimaru sama, so please leave."

Her fingers closed on nothing but air, her heart tightening. Biting her bottom lip, she debated internally whether or not to keep pressing. This was dangerous. ... So dangerous. "... My things are all over the place..." She murmured. "I'll-" She paused, eyes closing for the briefest moment. "... You asked me to say. And I stayed." She finally said, wanting to say that. "... I'll need to get my things before I leave." It had a horrible air of finality about it all... so final.

"Even if that is so, I expect you out of here by noon. That's two hours, I'm sure you can handle it." Kabuto crossed his hands over his chest once more, keeping his eyes on her. She may try something now that he had her convinced that he would not change his mind about her. He wouldn't put force past her, though no matter what was attempted, they would not get any information from him.

"..." Shizune briefly covered her upper face with her hand, closing her eyes and biting harder on her bottom lip to remind herself to stay in control. ... Crying... it wouldn't help here. He'd only see it as acting. All of this... it was all an act to him. An elaborate play she had staged to try and get him to reveal Orochimaru's plans. She slowly turned, heading back into the bedroom, not knowing if he would follow to watch her for any sudden moves. Reaching under the bed, she pulled out a pack, opening it slowly, staring into the empty bag. It would soon be filled. She stared into the empty bag, eyes half-closed. "... Kabuto...?"

Kabuto looked at the pictures on the table for a moment, it was an amusing ploy, a good plan for the more simple minded. To show his apreiciation, and to show Orochimaru sama later, he pocketed one before following Shizune.

"Yes?" He asked, leaning against the door frame, watching the woman's every move. She was not to be trusted in here alone again. He would have to check the place for traps once she had left the apartment, and change the locks for good measure.

She wordlessly opened one of the side pockets, remembering something from their recent trip. "This is yours." She murmured, pointing at the shirt. "You don't remember owning it." Her voice was beginning to take on a monotone quality. "Do you want it back?"
"You can keep it, though I don't know what you would do with it." He stated bluntly, not taking his eyes off of her. He shouldn't have paused at the table for the briefe moment he had earlier. "I can always buy more clothing if the need arises."

"... Thank you." It was barely heard. She rezipped the pocket, sealing the shirt inside. Moving mechanically, she began gathering her things. Opening the bureau drawers and riffling through a mix of their things, pulling out hers when she found them, slowly folding and setting them neatly in the bag. She made sure to move even more carefully when handling her weapons, to make sure he wouldn't believe he was going to be attacked. As she walked about the room, she was still trying to find something, anything, that he would believe. And there was nothing. Nothing would change that. And for once since they'd become lovers she regretted the curse that made her know why he did everything. If she didn't know, then maybe she would have some hope now.

"... I... suppose I'll be going now." She finally murmured, standing in the middle of the bedroom amid a sudden lack of clothing and a few things. And she was still struggling for something, anything, but only grasped at straws.

Kabuto stepped aside, clearing the doorway back out into the main room of the apartment. "You found your way in, I'm sure you can find the way out." He said coldly, glancing at the door for a moment. "I assume I'll see you again, considering what I've been told of this City, don't expect me to be so kind the next time."

"I'll… keep that in mind, Kabuto." She stepped forward to move past him, taking one last look behind her at their bedroom. Something… anything he would at least take into consideration… and there was something.

"And, Kabuto?" She said, reaching for the door to leave. "You may want to check your hormone levels. You should be exhibiting a high level of testosterone commonly associated with recent sexual activity. Think about what that means." Maybe he would believe that. As a medic.

Kabuto smirked at that. "I'll be sure to do that then." That would be difficult to explain if she was right, he would have to look into that. Considering his age, physically, it would not be uncommon for him to be sexually active, the question was, with who. This woman wanted him to know, no, to believe it was with her. It could very well be then, but that would leave a lot of questions unanswered.

He watched her walk away, calling out something before she was gone. "Oh, and that Jasmine tea was terrible. Green tea is much better."

There…. Maybe that would make him look closer. At least she had been able to bring up one thing that brought him to thought. She smiled slightly when he mentioned the tea on her way out the door. But it was a sad smile. "… I know, Kabuto."" She adjusted her bag. "I like it though." And with that she closed the door behind her. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears when she heard the door lock behind her, the final click.

She managed to make it to the stairwell before she fell to her knees, burrowing her face in her hands to cry.