Professionalism

Reasons
sassy_lion
I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever. That sucks.
I have to say a HUGE thanks to my beta IronDog. Tearing this to shreds was the only way she knew how to do this, and I have to continuously say thank you. Any mistakes left are truly my own.
Thanks to all the people who reviewed! Sorry this chapter took so long for me to post, its been pretty hectic in my life lately. The next chapter should though -- as it has already been sent out for corrections.... Be out soon so keep a look out for it!
Any review is appreciated and will be used to help me get the next chapter out.
Yaoi. Anal. Non-Consentual Sex. Violence. Humiliation. Torture. WIP.

Reasons

Sasuke was angry as he was lead to the training grounds of the main base. He’d dropped his pack on his bed and barely managed to take a shower before being summoned to Orochimaru's side.

He’d just spent the last two weeks at the southern base – mostly in Karin's company – training. Sasuke had been down right furious when he’d arrived at the base and found that while the report of an attack and damages had been true, Orochimaru's statements had been overly exaggerated. He hadn't even been expected. Karin and the others hadn’t received proper notice of his arrival.

At first, he’d helped around the base, mostly lending a hand with major problems that required more than five ninja to fix. After all the major repairs were done, he’d blatantly refused to do any menial tasks, leaving those to ninja below him.

Instead, he’d spent many hours training with Karin. She'd damn near died of happiness to have Sasuke training with her. Sasuke frowned at Karin's behavior. She reminded him so much of Sakura when they were younger, always fawning over him. The attention irritated him, as it always had back in Konoha, but he tolerated it, knowing nothing he said or did would change her attitude towards him.

“This way, Sasuke-sama,” the Sound nin spoke up, bring Sasuke out of his reverie. The nin was motioning for Sasuke to head toward the largest training ground the base had. It was covered by two and a half acres of trees with a small pond near the western edge. Sasuke wasn't particularly fond of this training area, preferring to spar in one of the smaller areas on the far end of the base, near his own suites.

He stepped into the training area and was promptly greeted by an oddly cheerful Kabuto. Sasuke noticed the lack of tension in Kabuto’s body, figuring that must be the reason for his much better attitude than when Sasuke had left. Sasuke immediately raised his defenses to the maximum, but the silver-haired nin turned his back and waved his right hand in the air as he walked off. Inside, Sasuke was a little pissed, but he knew better than to attack Kabuto. He let his irritation with Kabuto go quickly.

“Orochimaru-sama will be with you in a moment. I was just asked to stay and make sure you reached this area properly,” Kabuto glanced over his shoulder at the still battle-ready Sasuke. “I was to come find you if you hadn't arrived in twenty minutes,” Kabuto then disappeared from sight, but Sasuke noticed the smirk on his face before he turned and he knew that Orochimaru had meant that as a threat. Sasuke easily picked Kabuto’s chakra signature out of a neighboring tree and kept a mental tab on it. Experience taught him to always be wary of the nin.

“Welcome back, Sasuke,” Orochimaru's voice came from behind him. A hand landed on Sasuke’s stiff shoulders. “I assume the southern base is completely cleaned up?” Orochimaru smile was oily as he stepped past Sasuke and turned to face him.

Sasuke refused to answer the question. He instead glared at his teacher. It had been appalling clear what was going on when he reached the other base. The true reason he’d been sent away was because of the concern he’d shown for Naruto. He’d made a serious mistake when he’d returned to Naruto's cell after their last conversation and inquired where the blonde was when he’d found the cell empty. Sasuke now knew he’d been sent away from the base to keep Orochimaru's interest in Naruto from him. Sasuke admitted to himself that he might have done something foolish if he’d stayed.

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru closely. He knew it was drawing near the time for Orochimaru to switch bodies. The Sannin looked horrible. His almost albino-colored skin was starting to deteriorate and hang slightly from his bones, the muscles underneath starting to lose their mass. His face looked different as well. Orochimaru's eyes were still as dark as ever, but sunken into his face. The flowing robes Orochimaru wore covered what else might be happening to his body.

“Karin sent a message ahead, letting me know exactly what was still in need of repair, but the list was quite short. She also mentioned that you’d trained quite extensively while you were there,” Sasuke made a noncommittal noise as Orochimaru continued. “It's time to test your skills then, Sasuke.”

Orochimaru turned his back on Sasuke, motioning for whoever else was standing in the woods to come forward. For a brief moment, Sasuke was extremely tempted to pull a kunai from his hip pouch and drive it into the Sannin's back. He managed to resist the pull to end the Sannin’s life as he saw Saiyuri step out from the tree line. He could feel her chakra flow immediately and knew that Orochimaru had removed the ever-present seal on her personal chakra.

Sasuke remembered when he’d first seen Saiyuri. It had been a little more than three months since Sasuke became Orochimaru’s apprentice. She had been presented to him as a demonstration of a Jinchuuriki at the western base. It was also then that Sasuke had learned that his best friend was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He'd been surprised at first, but it explained all the things that had happened when they had been children, including the chakra from their time on the bridge in the Land of Waves. He really couldn't care less now though.

He stared at Saiyuri. She was still in the same clothes he’d first seen her in. She wore a pristine, cream colored kimono with a scattering of sakura petals across the bottom half. Her feet were bare and her hair – a warm brown with purple and blue streaks – was pulled into two pigtails. Sasuke watched as she slipped the kimono off her shoulders to reveal a black halter-type top and standard black ninja pants. She folded the kimono neatly on the ground and placed it under the tree Kabuto was currently sitting in.

Sasuke stared at all the sealing kanji on Saiyuri's back. It ran down her spine, dipping into the back of her shirt. The line of kanji ran cleanly through another set of kanji in the shape of a five pointed star. Sasuke had watched Kabuto place that sealing jutsu on her back, effectively binding the chakra of the Houkou no Inu inside of her. The seals had caused her to lose her personal memories, but Sasuke knew she still retained a deep (but well hidden) hatred of at least Orochimaru and Kabuto. He hadn't been around her enough to garner hatred, but he could be hated simply for the fact that he was Orochimaru's apprentice. Sasuke wasn't too sure about himself, nor did he really care either.

Orochimaru had spoken with Sasuke about it, and mentioned that he knew that while Saiyuri's memories could give him the answers he wanted on his quest of immortality, Saiyuri was powerful enough with the demon's chakra to break the control he had on her. He wasn't willing to allow that just for a little information. Kabuto had been researching a way to bypass the seals he had placed on her back to reach her memories without allowing her power any control over Orochimaru.

Saiyuri stepped back to Sasuke, bowed lightly and stiffened herself into a defensive pose. Sasuke attacked immediately with taijutsu. Saiyuri blocked each and every one of Sasuke's attacks before using her own. Sasuke countered her moves, but with extreme difficulty. It was no surprise though. Even without memories, Saiyuri was an extensively skilled fighter, even better than Sasuke in certain areas, especially hand to hand combat. Sasuke knew she was skilled in ancient fighting techniques that he hadn't had the opportunity to learn.

Tiring of taijutsu, Sasuke stepped back from Saiyuri. Large fireballs filled the landscape. Saiyuri quickly dodged a Chidori aimed at her torso by jumping to a nearby tree. Summoning her own chakra to the surface, she slammed her hand to the ground and a large silver dog appeared.

It charged at Sasuke quickly. Sasuke countered the first attack with a dodge. He could feel the chakra pouring out of the animal as it barreled past him. He turned to face the dog, summoning another Chidori, feeling angry he’d left the Kusunagi in his rooms.

The dog turned around, heading back towards him. Saiyuri took the opportunity and attacked Sasuke's back. Sasuke blocked Saiyuri's attack, quickly changing tactics and dodging the dog as well. Looking at Saiyuri, he could see the murderous intent in her eyes. Sasuke wasn't afraid though. If she was ordered to stop, Sasuke knew she would immediately. He knew Orochimaru had no plans for his apprentice to be killed, injured was a high possibility, but not complete out of the question.

For several minutes, Saiyuri and her dog kept Sasuke on his toes. He spotted an opening on the right side of Saiyuri's form and moved his foot backwards, kicking her directly in the chest. She flew backwards onto the ground and a familiar popping sound occurred. Sasuke knew immediately it had been a clone. Naruto was fond of them as well.

Sasuke turned his attention back to the dog. He kicked it squarely in the nose when it charged him once again. The dog flew backwards into a tree and popped as well. Another clone with a henge. Sasuke knew from the beginning that this was going to be a difficult fight, but now it was just getting ridiculous. He cursed as he tightened his guard even more. They could come from any direction and Sasuke would be ready.

A soft, nearly silent, rustle in the trees behind him alerted Sasuke to the position of one of them. He knew Saiyuri could be quite impatient at times – like Naruto – so he waited.

Soon enough, he saw Saiyuri as she leapt out of the tree in front of him, her fist charged with chakra. Sasuke dodged, barely. He could feel the pressure of the punch against his foot as it slammed into the ground where he had been standing.

Before he could move away, the same foot was grabbed. He was promptly pulled to the ground, a knee pressed against his throat. He moved quickly, grabbing the knee and twisting. Sasuke flipped himself over Saiyuri, his hands held her wrists, his legs tangled with hers to keep them from wrestling free. He could feel himself breathing heavily at the difficulty the fight had been. His fights with Karin hadn't even been this intense.

“That's quite enough, Saiyuri,” Orochimaru spoke from the tree where he stood.

The murderous intent disappeared immediately. Saiyuri wrestled one of her hands free from Sasuke's grip, placed it in her mouth, and whistled hard. The silver dog appeared in front of Sasuke seconds later. Saiyuri simply nodded and the dog puffed out, his summons over.

Sasuke promptly allowed Saiyuri up. She shuffled away to the nearby tree where her kimono was. She quickly slipped the kimono over her shoulders and tied her obi.

“You never fail to prove your strength, Sasuke.” Orochimaru spoke up as he left the shade of the tree, heading towards Sasuke. Kabuto was at his side moments later.

Sasuke grunted softly and made his move to leave. He was held back by Kabuto quickly enough when the man moved from Orochimaru's side to grab his wrist.

“Take Saiyuri for something to eat, Sasuke. Then place her in her cell,” Kabuto motioned for Saiyuri to come to them. She appeared moments later at Sasuke's side.“ She is allowed to eat in the kitchens today. She has been behaving,” Sasuke noticed the small smile on Kabuto's face, but didn't question it. Sasuke didn't want to know what Saiyuri's good behavior involved, but knowing Kabuto, it probably had to do with more testing on her seals and her memories.

Sasuke just stared at Kabuto before turning around to leave.

“Come to my rooms later on, Sasuke,” Orochimaru's voice spoke up. It held authority with a sexual undertone and Sasuke knew if he didn't show up, Orochimaru would come looking for him and that never turned out well. Sasuke knew. He’d done it a few times when he’d first arrived in Sound and quickly learned not to provoke the Sannin by disobeying orders.

*~*

Stepping into the kitchens, Sasuke noticed one of the cooks standing with his back to Sasuke. He was attending to someone, but Sasuke couldn't see who until the cook moved. The cook turned and moved away from the table. Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto sitting quietly at the bench, eating out of a large bowl. Sasuke's first thought was to question why the blonde was here in the kitchens.

Sasuke mentally smacked himself. He was eating, and Orochimaru was never one to let his favorite pets starve. Sasuke had only been back a handful of hours and he’d already had heard that Naruto was fast becoming one of Orochimaru's favorite subjects. Sasuke's second thought was that he really couldn't picture the blonde here, docilely eating and that it was an illusion of his overworked mind.

It was completely out of character for Naruto to carefully and slowly eat his ramen; at least Sasuke was pretty sure that's what it was in the bowl. The times he’d watched the blonde eat in the past, especially with ramen, it had been quick and extremely loud as Naruto tended to slurp his food.

The cook turned away from the table he’d been standing by, causing Sasuke to take his eyes off the blonde.

“My apologies, Sasuke-sama!” The cook became frantic, bowing several times before Sasuke held up his hand for the man to stop. Sasuke glared at the man like he was extremely irritated, but if he was completely honest with himself, he would’ve admitted that he’d enjoyed watching the blonde without anyone's noticing.

“Feed her,” he pushed Saiyuri forward forcefully into the cook's hands and went to lean against the wall where he could watch her.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a second, letting the sounds around him fill in for his eyes. He honestly hadn't wanted to stare either, but he opened his eyes once again when he heard a whispered “Itadekimasu” from Saiyuri. The cook had placed her on Naruto's left and from his vantage point against the wall; he could clearly watch the both of them eat quietly. The cook stepped up to Sasuke and handed him a cup of tea, which Sasuke nodded his appreciation to the cook for.

He gave himself the excuse that Saiyuri might act up and he needed to keep an eye on her, but again, if he allowed himself to be completely honest, he simply wanted to watch the blonde next to her.

He took in the Naruto’s appearance. Nearly a month had passed since he’d caught Naruto in the village. By all appearances, the blonde looked healthy enough. Sasuke knew better. He could see things normal people probably wouldn't look for. Naruto's skin was starting to pale as it had been a month since he’d been allowed in the sun. Naruto's shirt was in pretty bad shape and Sasuke could see he was thinner now. Sasuke could see his ribs beginning to show through his skin thanks to the holes in his shirt. His cheekbones were more prominent and he seemed less muscled than the last time.

His eyes were the most dramatic change Sasuke noticed. They were no longer the carefree sky blue they’d once been. They were dull now, and Sasuke knew by staring at his eyes that Orochimaru had broken him and broken him quickly. Sasuke was beyond angry at that thought. He was tempted to kill Orochimaru now simply because of that fact.

He still had an appetite though, and that made Sasuke feel a little better. In the half an hour it took Saiyuri to eat, Naruto consumed three bowls of ramen and two pears before softly excusing himself from the table.

Sasuke's heart clenched in his throat at Naruto's voice. It was soft and subdued; nothing like the loud, brash voice he normally associated with him.

The blonde stood up from the table as the kitchen doors opened. Sasuke was nearly surprised when Yuushi stepped through the doors. He’d been so occupied with watching Naruto, he hadn't noticed any chakra signatures.

“Naruto,” Yuushi spoke clearly and quite sharply. “Come,” Yuushi bowed lightly to Sasuke in respect and left with the blonde meekly in tow.

Sasuke kept his outer composure, but inside he was fuming that Naruto was following commands like a simple dog.

Sasuke wasn't usually one to examine his feelings on a personal level, but he could only ignore them for so long before he had to admit he wanted to rescue Naruto from this situation. A situation he had caused. The blonde didn't deserve this. Sasuke wasn't completely sure he could leave with the blonde though. He’d caused many people in Konoha a lot of pain. He also knew that missing nins were usually never welcomed back into their villages and if they were, they were subjected to degradation, humiliation and generally not trusted among their fellow villagers. He rather live free and on the run than end up in that kind of situation or worse in prison, subjected to the same.

As Sasuke led Saiyuri back to her cell, he began to formulate a plan to get his blonde out of Sound with or without him.