Ryuu Speaks With His Childhood Friend (PRIVATE)

The unknown woman let out a cold, harsh laugh that seemed to echo around the entire room, her lips peeling back to reveal a deranged smile. "Don't make me laugh, boy! This is just a vessel. If you hurt it, you hurt her and not me. Even if you destroy me, you cannot win. There are 3 reasons for this. One; Her chakra flow has become so dependent on me that it might even kill her to get rid of me. Two; No matter if I'm here or not, her constant fear of what she just saw will forever continue to influence her actions. Three; I am the only connection she has to her mother since I am part of her. If you were to take that away, she would loathe you for it. Surely, you don't want that?" She grinned smugly before snarling, a flash of green coming into her right eye as Kurai started fighting back.

"Don't call me boy wench. I hate it when I am referred to as boy. The last person to use that term to describe me was Orochimaru and you saw what happened to him. My actions may sometimes be questionable or horrifying and I may have become twisted by my hatred and desires of punishing the unworthy, but that doesn't mean I am no longer the man Kurai loves. Unlike Orochimaru, I don't kill anyone unless I am given sufficient reason. I am sorry for snapping at Kurai and I disgusted with myself but you are only making things worse" he snarled at her angrily as his chakra burst out into monstrous, incredibly powerful bursts beyond that of anything the Spirit Form ever felt. How dare this wench say that he would ever endanger Kurai's life. Kurai, who was fighting over dominance with her Spirit Form, could feel that even though Ryuu was angry, Ryuu was also suppressing high amounts of depression and self-loathing for how he is acting, a similar form of depression and self-loathing that was very familiar to Kurai, so familiar in fact that it reminded her of the day where Ryuu was so overcome with grief that he actually attempted suicide.

The body, although it was unclear whose it was right now, let out a suffocated scream as a massive burst of pure white chakra swirled around it. Kurai's chakra. In a final attempt to push the most stubborn of all of her demons back, she was using every drop of energy she had left. Everything around her shook as the black marks on her face disappeared into dust, her eyes flickering back to their original colour slowly as Kurai let out a series of pained gasps and curses, constantly yelling that it didn't matter what Ryuumaru was because he was hers. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of struggling for her, she won. Her body shuddered as the white chakra faded, her body slumping forward as everything just gave way and she collapsed.

Ryuu caught her before she hit the ground and dragged her over to the couch he had in his office. He sat down and placed Kurai in his lap, his left hand wrapping around her waist and his right hand combing through Kurai's silky black hair softly as he whispered the words 'I'm sorry' constantly in her ear softly.

Her body stirred after a few moments, her head shifting itself so it could rest comfortably in the crook of his neck. Her breathing was still slightly laboured but it was slowly calming itself. "I'm sorry too..." She whispered as she wrapped her arms snugly around his neck to pull him into an extremely weak embrace. She seemed like a shell of what she was in such a weak and exhausted state but even then Ryuumaru came first.

"Kurai, no matter how bad I get, never forget that I love you" he whispered as he kissed her softly, giving her a gentle kiss to help calm her down as he gently held her chin in his right hand. Kurai was the only thing he had left of his past that kept him sane. If he lost her, he had no doubt he would become just like his father.

"I know you do..It's why I fought so hard for you. I'd never fight that hard for someone I didn't love," She murmured in reply as she kissed him back, her breathing slowing to a normal pace as her shaking totally subsided. She knew that Ryuu treasured her greatly and she was all that he had left. She'd never betray him or leave him and she wanted to prove that to him in any way that she could.

"Kurai, I can't tell you how ashamed of myself I am at snapping at you and not telling you of what I did to Orochimaru, the man who murdered my mother in cold blood" he said softly as he avoided looking her in the eyes. After his deception and his snapping at her, he felt he didn't deserve it.

"Ryuu...Ryuu, look at me," Kurai replied as she placed her hands on the sides of his face and turned it towards her own so she could look him in the eye. "You've been through so much crap and you're under a lot of stress. It doesn't matter if you slip up now and then. I'm not going to judge you for it. I promise," She smiled softly as her lips brushed the crescent moon on his forehead.

(Brb ^^)

He closed his eyes and smiled softly. "Kurai, you always said you would follow me wherever I went, even to the fiery pits of hell if that's where I lead you. No matter how bad or how twisted I become, I know I can count on you not to leave me behind because you are the only thing that I have left that keeps me human. I fear that without you, I would become like...HIM" he said with a scowl as he turned Kurai's head to make her look at the silver-haired Naraka Path Orochimaru, who silently made his way back to the Uzoshikage's Office and was calmly standing there in a shadowy corner, his multiple-pierced face stuck in an emotionless expression.

(Back! Sorry I took so long Dx)

"I'm you're light, aren't I? Part of what light does is illuminate darkness. I'll fix you, Ryuu. No matter what happens to you I'll always be there to fix what I can. You're perfect as you are right now, but I'll spend my life trying to keep it that way or even to improve on it. I'll never let you become your father," She cast a cold glance at the path before clasping both of his hands in her own, squeezing them gently as her smile widened, her eyes pleading with him to trust her and believe in her.

Orochimaru smirked a cold smirk as he licked his lips and chuckled coldly a bit to himself, somehow retaining his slimyness even in death. Ryuu narrowed his eyes at the path and refrained from snapping at his mother's killer before turning back to Kurai, smiling at her as he caressed her face, glancing at the door for a second as he heard it open, watching as his Deva Path lead a now much calmer Shia back into the Office, standing silently at the door like a diligent guard.

Kurai glanced at Shia and smiled, nodding to show that everything was ok before she relaxed back into Ryuu again, purposely turning her head in the opposite direction of Orochimaru so she didn't have to look at him. That chuckle of his sent a cold, familiar shiver down her spine which made her retreat into Ryuu even further, seeking his warmth and comfort.

Shia growled at the path as she made her way over to the two, nudging Ryuumaru's hand with her nose and giving him a nod to show that he'd been forgiven of what had happened, looking back at Kimi to see if she approved.

Ryuu looked at Kurai with his Rinnegan eyes, taking in her features. He smiled down at Shia and nodded his head softly in acknowledgment to show he understood. Instead of focusing his attention on Kurai again, he turned to look at his Deva Path.

Kimi looked at Shia and smiled slightly, nodding her head in approval before she turned to look at Orochimaru. She smiled sadly as she walked up to the Naraka Path and gazed at him fondly, caressing his pale face with her hands as she stared into the Rinnegan eyes of the Snake Sannin.

Orochimaru frowned slightly as he closed his eyes and felt an electric shock course through his reanimated body. He didn't return her touch but he definitely push her away either.

Ryuu clenched his teeth as he watched the two and growled softly in a bit of anger, though he didn't interfere. It amazed him how even though the silver-haired traitor killed her, his kind and caring mother STILL loved him, even in death.

"Love makes you do a lot of stupid things," Kurai whispered in Ryuu's ear as she too watched Kimi and Orochimaru interact. "Leave them, even in death your mother can look after herself," Her head drooped down onto his shoulder as she gently kissed the side of his neck. In all honesty, she admired Kimi for her dedication even if it was misplaced. Perhaps it wasn't. Who was she to say? All she knew for sure is that she was glad that Ryuu would never turn into that traitorous snake across the room and she would always be there to make sure of that.

Shia snarled quietly at Orochimaru, obviously displeased that Kimi would even consider approaching him, let alone touching him. After all, Shia had nearly pounced on the Sannin and would've done so too if he hadn't disappeared before she'd managed to reach him. She just didn't want to see him hurt Kimi, if she could even feel pain.

"I can't help it. Even in death she loves that man, even though he murdered her simply because she was protecting Konoha from being destroyed by him. Why? Why does she love him so, after he abandoned her, after he said that she was a fool for protecting this village, after he murdered her in cold blood and actually laughed as he stood over her corpse? WHY DAMMIT, why does she love him?" he asked her in a cold whisper as he closed his eyes tightly, remembering all the emotional pain and grief Kimi felt years after he left her alone and pregnant with no one to love her.

Kimi hesitantly wrapped her arms around Orochimaru's body and buried her face into his chest, embracing him in a way that made it seem as if Kimi thought he was a hallucination that would disappear if she let go.

Orochimaru's body tensed up, his eyes opening wide in what could be called total shock, his face lacking that cold, superior smirk. It seemed to those who's eyes laid upon him that he seemed surprised Kimi would even touch him after what he did.

"Perhaps the good memories she had outweighed the bad. Your mother seems as if she would be the sort of person that could never change how she felt about someone she truly loved, no matter what happened," Kurai replied quietly as she too turned slightly to observe the two paths. She decided that it would perhaps be best to say as little as possible from here on out since the slightest thing said wrong could put everything into turmoil. She didn't know exactly why Kimi was currently being this way towards Orochimaru but she knew that Orochimaru was just as puzzled as everybody else was. Or as puzzled as a path could be. She watched Kimi embrace him and suddenly understood where she was coming from to an extent. "You can't change what happened, you can only make sure history doesn't repeat itself," She whispered to Ryuumaru before she fell silent.

Shia kept silent, always watching the two paths as she sat down next to Ryuumaru, her golden eyes silently judging the Snake Sannin who Kimi was currently holding onto. She'd love to pull of his limbs piece by piece but she held herself back for Kimi's sake as well as her own.

"I guess your right. I just understand why she doesn't hate him, despite after all he's done to her" he said with a frown on his face as he let out a slight chuckle as he looked at the expression on the Snake Sannin's face. Even though he hated his father, it felt good to him that Orochimaru was just as confused as the rest of them as to why Kimi would even touch him, let alone love him despite all that's gone on.

Orochimaru, after getting over the shock of Kimi embracing him, he slowly but hesitantly hugged her back. Orochimaru's superior, cold, slimy and cruel expression slowly disappearing from his face to be switched with an odd softness and kindness that really didn't belong on legendary Snake Sannin's face. No words were needed to be said as because with that expression alone, it was finally revealed to the three on exactly what Kimi saw in the Snake Sannin.

As Kimi was embraced by the Snake Sannin, she looked up at Orochimaru and seeing that expression on his face seemed to make Kimi glow in utter happiness from seeing that expression on the 10+ years older man that she loved.

Kurai smiled gently to herself and removed Ryuumaru's arms from around her waist, silently standing up before stooping down to kiss him on the forehead. She was still a bit unsteady on her feet but not so much that it was easy to see. "I think it's best for family matters to stay within a family. It's probably time for me to leave," She explained, her expression unreadable as she nodded to Shia who stood up as she did. The two silently moved around the two paths and slipped out the door, lingering outside for a moment so Kurai could make sure she was ok on her feet and was able to think everything over now that she was fully aware of everything that was going on. "He wasn't always that man then..."

Ryuu stood up and followed her out, giving the two a mental command to take care of any paperwork that is sent up to the office. "I think we should leave them by themselves, to make up for lost time" he said as he trailed after Kurai, nodding his head in agreement with what she said about Orochimaru. He saw the expression on Orochimaru's face, that one expression that made his mother so happy and he wondered privately to himself what it was that effectively drove his father into becoming that cruel manipulator who murdered his mother. Kurai and Shia didn't need to use their Kekkei Genkai or heightened sense of smell to know what he was thinking as because they as well must have been thinking the same thing.

She only nodded as she moved out into the village, thankful to breathe in the sharp, fresh air. It cleared her head. "So...Do you have any commands for your right hand?" She asked him quietly, an expecting look in her eyes as she glanced at him curiously. Sure, she was curious about what the hell had just happened but they weren't going to get any answers right now. It was best to busy him with other things for the moment. "Name it, it's my job isn't it?"