Nurse Me

kit: Orochimaru is indeed being possessive. Very possessive. That and he isn't quite ready for his favorite toy to die.
KiraRaven: Kabuto is pretty much going to be a zombie from now on. It was a huge slap in the face to him.

By the way, thanks for the regular reviews. :)

Chapter 10

Saya sat on the floor at the head of Orochimaru’s bed, waiting for the man to wake. There wasn’t much else she could will herself to do but stare at the wall and wait for him to stir. In just twelve hours the man had done something horrible to her, something she still had no clue about, and had saved her life. It was as if he had bi-polar disorder.

A dull prickling made Saya rub her neck every now and again. It wasn’t hurting like it was before, but it was still uncomfortable. She wondered if Orochimaru had also healed it along with the gash. It was still hard for her to wrap her head around what had earlier happened. Kabuto was way out of line, that was for sure, and Orochimaru could have very well left her there to die.

On the other side of the room, and the bed, Kabuto stood up against the wall and watched his lord like a hawk. Saya didn’t feel the least bit comfortable, even if he had brought her the needed supplies for her injured hand.

“You should go lie down,” she eventually dared to tell him.

For a while it seemed as though Kabuto had already left the room, but he finally replied. “I should stay with him. This is my fault.”

Saya couldn’t agree more with the latter statement. Otherwise, she really wanted him out of the room. She was staying by choice, but she also felt like he was blocking her exit. She continued to push at him. “I’m sure he would rather have you resting than worrying. You may be the better of you both now.”

Kabuto pinched the bridge of his nose and readjusted his glasses. “Maybe you’re right,” he muttered before finally leaving the room. He left like a dog with its tail between its legs.

A minute passed until Saya peeked over the bed to make sure he was really gone. She sighed a breath of relief when she saw the room was empty, save for her and the man in the bed. It would be some time before she bantered with Kabuto again. She may not be so lucky the next time.

Saya gently sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over Orochimaru. “Hey,” she whispered as she shook his shoulder, “wake up.”

Little did both of them know, but Orochimaru had slowly been regaining his consciousness over the past few minutes. The more Saya shook him, the closer he came to being able to open his eyes. Needless to say, Saya jumped with a start as his eyes flew open.

Orochimaru blinked several times before rubbing at the darkness that clouded his vision. His tired face turned to the blur that was close to his face. “Saya?”

“Finally,” she said as he tried to sit up. She put her hand on his back for support.

His head slumped back once he was upright. Saya tucked his pillows up behind him. As his mind began to clear, Orochimaru turned his attention to her in the form of gazing at her neck. He met her eyes once he noticed she was shaking.

Forgetting everything else he had done to her, Saya leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Orochimaru’s eyes instantly widened as he uttered a slight gasp. His eyes looked over towards her, but all he could see was her dark hair.

“Why did you do that?” she asked directly into his ear.

Orochimaru opened his mouth to speak, but he just as quickly lost his words. He pushed on her back until she was right up against him and wrapped his good arm around her. “What he did was uncalled for.”

“Then what about what you did to me last night?”

He smirked as he ran his hand over her hair. “That’s completely different.”

Saya rolled her eyes and dropped her arms, but he still held her close. “I just don’t understand you at all. Nothing you say or do makes any sense.”

“It would be startling if you did,” he muttered in response, lowering his gaze.

“What?” Saya quickly asked. She pulled back enough to look at his face.

Orochimaru grinned before his eyes rose to meet hers again. “Nothing. Now, how are you feeling?”

Saya was taken aback. Had he just asked her how she was doing? He had just regained his consciousness after passing out from some fancy shinobi healing. Add that on top of his other injuries and it made for a surprising question.

She looked down at her hand. Orochimaru only had to follow her eyes to know how she would reply.

“Let me see it,” he offered as he held his own hand out to her.

Saya shook her head and kept her hand in her lap. “And you call me stubborn. You just came to! While we’re on about it, just why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?”

He chuckled. “You hurt my feelings, Saya. I thought I had been nice to you since you arrived.” His pupils expanded and shrunk before he continued in a harsher tone. “And believe me, nothing I have done to you could be considered horrible in comparison to what I could do.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.” She folded her arms and looked back at him without a twinge of fear.

Orochimaru shrugged. “Sorry.”

A sharp twinge in her neck made Saya’s shoulders tighten and roll forward. She grabbed at the spot as it continued to pulse sharp pains throughout her neck. She eyed Orochimaru with an expression that was sharp and soft at the same time. “What do you want with me?”

“I think the real question here is,” he started as he sat up further, “what do you want me to do with you?”

Saya lowered her brow in confusion.

“Your body language says more than you think and if you will recall last night before things went awry, well, I think it’s clear what’s going on inside that head of yours. You’re just so defiant, even of yourself.”

She looked past stands of black hair and into his golden eyes. This was the first time in a while she really looked at them instead of him. They really did match the eyes of any snake she had seen before. But as she scanned over the rest of his face, she knew he wasn’t. Literally speaking, anyway. But instead he was a man.

Saya dropped her eyes and chose to focus on a spot on the bed, anything that wasn’t part of him. Orochimaru took the opportunity to hold his hand out to her. She saw it enter her line of vision and went rigid. Her blood pounded in her ears as she debated on what to do. Something inside her made her want to take his hand, but she knew that doing so would mean letting him win.

Sensing her dilemma, Orochimaru raised his hand to brush it against her face. “I can be gentle and,” he told her as he then reached for her hand. He held it loosely as he brought it up to his mouth. He moved it so Saya’s fingers slowly brushed against his lips before he lowered it. “I don’t always bite.”

She willed herself to look back up into his eyes. “And what happens when it’s time for me to leave?”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” he told her softly.

“But-”

Orochimaru spoke softly again. “Saya, don’t think about it right now. When the time comes, you can decide for yourself.”

A moment passed as the thought was pushed to the back of her mind. Not completely forgotten, but certainly far enough for her to ask, “How gentle?”

Saya went still as she let Orochimaru put an arm around her and pull her back to his chest. Her head rest in the crook of his arm with widened eyes. They darted around the room in anticipation as he continued to hold her there. Not that he had an actual hold on her; she could have easily moved away if she wanted to. Still, she waited for him to make another move as she sat there against him.

Her back tingled as she sensed his eyes on her, forcing her to instinctively turn her head. She looked up at him with wide eyes and slightly raised brows. He was indeed looking down at her, but not in his usual harsh way. Maybe it was her bewildered expression.

His eyes were tired, though. They clearly showed just how much energy had been drained from him earlier that morning. Saya couldn’t help but let the scene play out in her mind again. The way his eyes moved frantically in their sockets before he pulled the weapon out of her neck, the way he grinned at her as he witnessed her wound closing, and especially the way he continued to heal her until his body gave out.

Orochimaru’s arm fell as Saya sat up. For the first time the close proximity of their faces was peaceful, and Saya couldn’t help but grin. She would be angry with herself later, but she let her head learn forward and close the distance between them. A smile formed against her mouth as she closed her eyes.

As he mentioned, Orochimaru was gentle with her. He let his hand rest on her back instead of pushing against it and pushing her toward him. Even when Saya parted her lips to let his tongue enter her mouth and when she cupped his face in her hands, his intensity rose but he let her lead.

Saya’s head was swimming in the meantime. Her stomach was doing somersaults from the mix of jubilation and loathing. She hated the fact that one good deed, granted a large one, was enough to push her feelings of disgust aside. That and a pair of alluring eyes was all it took to unlock an animalistic need within her.

But it wasn’t just his eyes. It was his dark flowing hair, his paper white skin, his battle hardened muscles, his confidence, even his silly purple eye markings. Everything about him drew her eyes to him.

Saya slowly drew her lips away from him, but she let her forehead rest against his. His heavy breathing could be felt against the top of her neck. Her hands dropped from his face and instead held the bottom of his neck. As she opened her eyes, she found Orochimaru calmly looking back at her, albeit a small glint in his eye.

She laughed softly and asked, “So what’s the next try of my patience? Hold me down and try to take me against my will?”

Orochimaru was as still and calm as could be when he answered with a question of his own. “Would you like that?”