Another Nine-Tails?!

Cleanup

(Fluff chapter)

Kabuto groaned softly to himself, not wanting to deal with the corpse of this woman. He kicked it lightly, a grimace leaving him. "Damn it..!" His tone held agitation as he walked away. He's let some of the lower-ranking servant deal with it. His objective at the moment was to report it to his master.

Golden eyes studied the boy in front of them, taking not of the blood on him. Though, he didn't say anything. "What is it?"

"You've been betrayed."

"By who? Akiko?"

"No. Yūka Isoyomi."

The older man hummed. "I assumed she would have, sooner or later." He chuckled slightly. "She was sent to kill me. I knew from the day I met her."

"Why let her stay then? Let alone live?"

"Mere curiosity. I wished to see if she was foolish enough to attempt to kill me. What did you do to her?"

"I killed her. She betrayed you, and threatened Akiko."

"You killed her... in front of the child?" Gold eyes narrowed, interest swirling in their depths.

"Yes."

"And how did she react?"

"She din't run like I expected."

"You two have come close, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I want you to start training her. Try and limit her outbursts so she won't depend on you for protection."

The words echoed in Kabuto's head a couple of times. He liked the thought of her depending on him. It might have been the small part of him that relished in having control over the situations and others. But he knew it was because of how close they had become. He wanted to be able to protect her while still knowing she could protect herself.

Orochimaru opened his mouth to speak, though he was interrupted by a series of coughs. He managed to get out the word 'leave' between coughs. The young man nodded silently, leaving him.

He made his way back to Yūka's body, only to find it missing. He wasn't surprised, considering he was expecting it. In its place were two woman. One of them looked up, a blue-haired woman who couldn't have been older than 25 or 26. "Kabuto, sir?!" She sounded surprised.

He offered her a smile. "Thank you, for cleaning this up." He nodded, continuing on his way. His thanks confused and surprised the woman more.

"Sir, if I may ask, but what happened?" The other woman, a couple years younger than the first, asked. She had blue eyes and light purple hair.

"The blood you're cleaning up is from a woman that attacked me. I dealt with her accordingly." His eyes moved between the two woman for a moment, realizing he'd never seen them before. "You both are new here?"

"Yes, sir. My name is Haishiko Mochishiba." She bowed her head, getting back to work.

"Hai and I moved here from the northern hideout." The first woman spoke, not looking up from her work. "My name is Kito Wakabe."

Kabuto let out a hum, noticing how Kito had called Haishiko a shorter version of her name. "You two are together." He resisted the urge to smile when they both froze.

"No, sir. We're sisters." Kito continued to scrub the blood of blood flood, Haishiko doing the same.

"Relax. I might be a rouge shinobi who will kill anyone who stands in my way, but I won't discriminate someone who loves someone else even if they're the same sex." The two woman shared a look. "I'm guessing that's why you work for someone like Lord Orochimaru? Because normal people won't accept you?" They nodded, almost ashamed of what they were. "Which one of you is a medical expert?"

"Uh, I am. Why? Aren't you a medical ninja as well?" Haishiko responded, not looking up from her work.

"Yes. What's your job here? Both of you?"

"I help with the snakes. Feed them, help them with shedding. Take care of them in general. Especially when Lord Orochimaru is away." Kito sat back on her hunches for a moment before standing up, talking face to face with the younger boy. "Hai cleans up after high-ranking servants." It was clear that she was the one in charge in their relationship. And it made him respect her, just a little bit though.

"Do either of you have children?" The two woman looked surprised, and lacked an answer for him. "Well?"

"No."

"I thought so. So I have something I'd like to ask you both. There a young woman, 15, that I'd like you to meet. And I want you to keep her company while I'm busy." His order was final, and as such, he didn't stand around waiting for either of them to answer or argue with him. He swiftly made his way to his room.

"Waka," Kito turn her head at the nickname. "If we don't what he says, will we be killed?"

"I don't know, Hai," he looked at where the boy had disappeared. "But from what I've heard, Kabuto's isn't someone you want to underestimate. Ever."

Walking into his room, Kabuto instantly took notice of Akiko cuddling with Maru on his bed. Both of their breathing was calm, meaning they were both asleep. He smiled slightly before looking down at his blood-stained shirt. 'Alright, shower it is.'

-:-

Akiko lifted her head as she heard a door open. Maru, who laid beside her, did the same. Kabuto stood in the doorway of his lab, one hand drying his hair. He perked up when he saw her sitting up in his bed. "Hey." He offered her a smile.

"Hey." She muttered before looking down. Kabuto rested the towel across his shoulders, thinking he did something wrong. He walked over to her, sitting on the edge of his bed. She refused to meet his eyes. He could tell something was wrong, though he couldn't tell the cause. Maru hopped off the bed and ran into the lab, letting his mother have privacy.

"Hey, what's wrong." She looked so sad when she finally looked at him. His eyes widened when he saw the look in her eyes. Her arms were around him before he could say anything.

"I was worried." She tightened her grip. "I froze when she attacked. She was after me, and I didn't do anything when she... when she attacked me. I'm weak."

"Hey!" He gripped her shoulders and pulled her away from him. "You are not weak."

"I couldn't protect you when-"

"You think I care..!" He interrupted with a growl. His right hand moved from her shoulder and used it to grip her cheeks. "That just means that I get to protect you." He smiled. "It also means you need some training. Besides, that woman deserved everything I did to her. She didn't deserve an ounce of mercy. You've never killed anyone, and I doubt you will anytime soon. If you attacked her, you would have shown her mercy. Which would have eventually backfired only you. In the end, it would have ended up the same; with her lying dead on the floor and you safe once more." His voice grew soft at the end. "You can't protect me, so what? I can protect you though. That's all that matters to me." He pulled her into a tight hug.

Akiko's eyes widened as his warmth encased her. She came back to her sensed a moment later, she noticed he lacked a shirt. "Kabu..." he hummed. "I'm sorry for being stupid." She could feel the vibrations in his chest as he laughed. "You also have no shirt." He chuckled again.

"Oh, yeah." His towel fell off his shoulders. He picked it up and threw it in a laundry basin. "Well, that's alright." He scooped her up and sat against the wall his bed rested on, sitting with her curled up on his lap. She looked startled for a moment before relaxing, a smile taking over her face. He laid his cheek on the top of her head. "Let's rest. It's been an eventful day."