#v. EVER-COILING SNAKE BURROWING INTO INFINITY; THE HABITS OF OUROBOROS (Post War)

[hatredcurse]

👥Starter Generator || @bladedhunter

It's mid-morning. There's a band of heavy cloud. You're in the countryside. There's a desolate feel to the place.

Empty. The Konoha countryside was an empty, dismal place with this heavy smog of chthonic energy. The type of smothering miasma that made the air dense, even when the rising sun burned away at the morning fog to clear the air of vapor, this heaviness remained.

It wasn't ideal to travel through backroads in the countryside. Not that it has ever been a safe mode of transportation. Wars raged and died away, bandits picked their favoring trails only to later migrate away, the ever ambitious rogue shinobi might find themselves particularly lucky with boon on backroads— all the time, danger would always be lurking. Especially in the quiet spots.

Orochimaru was both a formidable peril and a minor threat all the same, depending on this mood. In later years, he was finding himself bored of his field of study. Everything he yearned to learn, excavated and shoved into a dusty back shelf in some well-guarded room. Yes, there was a level of elation to be had maneuvering expensive yet useless traps for a goldmine of information, but it didn't change the key component that he didn't conjure the knowledge himself. Rather, he is as he was before: robbing graves for unoriginal ideas.

It was no good for him to be bored at such an early stage of immortality. He's yet to shed his first skin of the century, iridescent scales dull and bleak into complacency.

Burying this latent dissatisfaction keep into the coil of his almost-mortal being, he pursued forward on the footpath, praying for divine revelation to re-ignite his flame with the unexpected.

"Oh, well, what do we have here?" his mouth moved before his mind pieced together his words," a little far from home, aren't we?"

Narrowing those golden eyes, he sharpened his view on this lovely figure before him. All light absorbed into his rather drab wear and all the humor in the atmosphere sucked dry from that scowl: Sasuke Uchiha, the youngest remnant of a forlorn history, boy miracle. The smile imprinted itself instinctually upon his lips, one that reached his eyes, but couldn't fool well-trained perception.

[hatredcurse]

Orochimaru expected the two of them to keep to their careful dance, walking in circles around each other. It seems that the sannin drew the man too close, tipping into the treacherous waters of their forbidden union.

Once-wooden lips were plush, warm, inviting. Orochimaru graced them with a single kiss; incisors dragging along the length of Sasori's lips, threatening to bite and break the skin. Not yet, he seeks his restraint to tease this needy man just a bit more.

"Were you waiting long for this? Or, am I just next on your docket?" Either was a slim possibility with no real basis to it, serving only the purpose to rile him further.

Lips met again and Orochimaru pushed in, crowding Sasori back against the counter's edge. The elder seized that lithe waist and pushed the younger on-top, leaving enough space in between his thighs for him to fit into, pressing them near-flush to each other at the chest.

Sasori swallowed thickly. Orbs of amber watching closely, how the sannin's soft skin pressed against his skin, how it felt. Breathing visbly shuddering as Orochimaru got closer and closer. It's familiar. Scarily familiar. The look in those hypnotic eyes, the playful tone that he used. Kami damn it. "Fuck you." The puppeteer hissed, grabbing the snake by the collar and pulling him down. Slamming his lips into his and reveling in the feeling of fangs dragging lightly against the bottom half with the suddenness of the move.

[hatredcurse]

👥 Starter Generator || @savagesweet

It's evening. There's light snow falling. You're by the sea. There's a hostile feel to the place.

A world entirely of its own. Shimogakure was always a sight of grandeur for particularly sore eyes. Beautiful luminescent frost that powdered itself on notably Feudal architecture. Bright reds peaking out though thin and absent layers of snowfall. It was cold, but a dry cold, one that could be enjoyed with warm gear and a sunny day.

Even more beautiful than the glittering snow was the blue sea. A blue so dark it was near black, with glaciers colliding into each other and against the cliffside, slowly but surely eroding away the continent with friction alone.

In the middle of it was stood a lone woman, who knows who she could have gotten here. Rather, why she had travelled all the way out here. Orochimaru certainly didn't. More pleasantly surprised than he was concerned, he stalked himself up near her, head inclining ever-so-slightly towards the side to peer at her face; the age in her eyes, the snowflakes resting on the curtain of her lashes, the blue coloring her lips from the cold.

"Anko, my dear," his voice rasped out, calling to whoever was home in this body," it's getting late, don't you think?"

Perhaps an hour at most before the sun vanishes over the horizon, leaving nothing in its wake to assail the cold.

[hatredcurse]

" This is a familiar face you don't see often, " Orochimaru slips from in-between the many shadows layering his suite, allowing the gentle slants of sunlight to color his otherwise pallid skin.

" What sort of trouble did I find myself into now? Or, are we here to share a glass of pinot noir and reminisce about old times? I sure hope it's the latter. "

Closed starter — @medicsannin

[hatredcurse]

There was always the possibility that Sasori may not have been accustomed to his new body, but hyper-sensitivity wasn't something Orochimaru had accounted for. Interesting.

"Vetting my interests with you," he hummed, placing another full kiss just below the first one; trailing himself up the scorpion's arm— a snake looking to swallow this insect whole.

"I find this- you- very intriguing," he closes the distance once more, an inspecting glance upon that unsure face," whoever made this body did a very good job. I'm itching to know what else I can find with it."

Sasori sneered at the taunt, teeth showing in an uncanny feral smile. "I will once I hit you again." The puppeteer is going to attempt to slap the Sannin again when he suddenly, ever so gently grabs a hold of his wrist. Taking the suna ninja off guard. Tensing as Orochimaru raises it to his mouth... The kiss makes him shiver. Admittedly, his nerves were still very sensitive, having had no feeling for so many years. She the action has his cheeks flushing. And that dreaded tongue didn't help. "Bastard... what are you doing?" He whispers. Not able to look away from hypnotizing gold.

[hatredcurse]

Orochimaru did nothing to evade the slap. He allowed the full collision from the red imprint down to the needle-prick sting that followed after. Stray black strands of hair followed the motion, covering his features inelegantly.

"Feel better?" the sannin asked, taunt threading into his voice.

At first his head did not move, instead it was his eyes that shifted back, staring at this little scorpion. His hand raised and it caressed over the palm that struck him; feeling over all the veins and bones that did not exist previously.

"I can see that you certainly haven't changed at all," he smiles ( a little too eerily, a little too uncannily ), "there's eternity in your heart. I'm glad to see it thrive."

The scent of blood and hormone was so close, so tantalizing. Without restraint, Orochimaru placed a hard kiss on the surface, followed by a warm, wet drag of his tongue down to the wrist.

Orochimaru's mocking of his own maiming makes Sasori's frustration fizzle, bitting down on the inside of his lip to control himself. Amber eyes hard molten as he glares at the Sannin through narrowed eyes. And "precious Itachi?" Did the bastard really get off over the fact that the Uchiha had fatally wounded him in self-defense? The flirting comment, however, is shamefully what tips him over the edge. Fully seeing red at the statement. Nose scrunching up as his mouth formed into a snarl. "You bloody cunt." His hand flies upwards without much though, aiming to smack into Orochimaru's jaw.

[hatredcurse]

Orochimaru's eyes widen, only a tad, before they narrowed back in on the center piece before him; livened with intrigue. Sasori was always such a curious little thing, with his fits and attitudes. It was nearly impossible not to edge just a touch more to see what makes him tick.

"Abhor me? No. What sweet Itachi had managed to do was an impressive feat of self-defense." Since the ex-puppet was so bold as to close in, the sannin matched his forwardness by leaning back in, daring to hover mere inches from him," if you could ever manage to do it, then I'd think you were flirting with me."

He searched those eyes for intent, non-blinking and securitizing. Oh yes, the former body would be an excellent piece to his collection, but a dangerous part of him was baiting in greed for this new one as well.

Sasori can feel Orochimaru’s breath against his still senstive skin, and he holds back a shiver. Desperately trying to ignore how the feeling sent chills throughout his body.

“A masterpiece, aye? You flatter me.” The puppeter tauntingly said whispers, mocking the words that the sannin had used on the memorable day they had first met. A cunning beauty that was keen on getting information on the newly forming organization.

His lips twitch at important. Amber eyes narrowing as he releases a soft scoff. Right, important.

“I’m so honoured. Fuck you.” He spat, closing the distance between the once more. When Orochimaru stepped away, he stepped after him.

“Would it abhor you if I up the Uchiha and cut both your arms off?”

[hatredcurse]

"A preemptive gift for me? How generous."

A likewise smirk curled onto those beautiful lips, only teasing Orochimaru to draw in closer. He holds steadfast to very few inches held between them, breath and heat intermingling in dead space.

"Oh, I would. I've been itching to get my hands on the masterpiece that was your body. The final piece to all the notes I've compiled on the subject," he jests, before sliding his hand away along with himself. "I'll find it, no less, add it to my growing collection of very important people."

Confident with himself, he tilts his head, assessing Sasori from head-to-toe taking in the sight of this reclaimed flesh.

"What is it like feeling your body dying by the minute once again? Tell me, does it abhor you?"

"No fuckin clue. But if I ever do catch the bastard, I'll offer em to you after cuttin his limbs off." Sasori huffs, closing his eyes fore a moment before opening them once more. Only to see the golden orbs had become far more closer, nightlike strands daring to tickle his shoulders. Amber eyes narrow slightly, a slight smirk coming across the puppeteer's face. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He taunts lightly, head tilting his head. "I'm sure if you really wanted it, you would find it."

[hatredcurse]

There was a phantom static of electricity travelled up Orochimaru's intrusive arm and crawled down the length of his torso. The air quieted, Sasori's tone softened, and somehow, the sannin's surveying gaze lessened in intensity, following suit to everything else.

He didn't need to yield to the warning. A daring part of him didn't want to. This ache —this want— to push the boundaries with a man now so unfamiliar to him. But, he won't, not yet. It'll spoil the meal.

"Is that so?" his voice, near-purring," who did it? Do you know?"

Was that a hint of jealousy or morbid curiosity? The golds of his eyes shined under the dim light and, every so slightly, he leaned in. Not too close, just enough for his long black tresses to slip forward off his shoulders. His body chasing a stare that was no longer on him.

"What of your true body? I won't be finding it on the market, will I?"

The redhead's glare sharpens at the dismissal, a twitch of a sneer appearing on his face. "Oh, I'm sure you remember a lot of things differently..." His voice has gone dangerously soft, just waiting for the sannin to make a move. And he does. Sasori would rather not admit it, he hates it, but his breath hitches just slightly as fingers dangered to move closer. Just inches apart. He can feel the warmth radiating off of him... "That's as far as you get." He threatens lowly, ambers staring deeply into hypnotizing yellows. Sighing out quietly at Orochimaru's pressing for answers. "It's not like I had a choice... thought I kicked the bucket finally, en then I wake up in his stupid mound of flesh." He glances away.

[hatredcurse]

"I don't seem to remember it happening that way," the sannin hummed.

For a moment, his gaze scanned over the left arm, lingering over where it was cut clean through by the Uchiha's kunai. It had been so many bodies ago that the phantom memory was lost with the decay, but the memory was fresh as day.

A minor setback- it's all it was.

"Oh?" the treat of discovery was within his grasp and with it came more that he found himself desiring," is there more I ought to learn about you from you?"

Fingers travelled over the table beside the two of them, sliding over the smooth top and stopping mere inches from Sasori. It had no intention to touch him nor enter his gravity. The senses were searching for a heat— a confirmation for his curiosity.

"This body of yours... Tell me- did you trade in your eternity?"

Sasori's brow twitched, the playful dismissal of his bitterness only making his hidden anger more visible.

"Am I still on that? Fuck yeah I am! Years of research, everything I worked hard on, gone! All because you got cocky and couldn't handle finally getting your ass handed to ya!" Perhaps some part of him was also still bitter over the fact that the sannin had left without a word, but he wouldn't admit that, fuck no. The redhead postures stiffens as Orochimaru closes the distance the two had between themselves, guard up. Completely loathing burning in his eyes. "Lots of things happened, Kokuja. Which are you blabbing on about?"

[hatredcurse]

"Oh my," he withheld the amusement in his features," it has been so many years now, you're still on that?" He chided. Tsk, tsk for being stuck on the past.

Oh, how the sannin wanted to approach him, hold his newly form face within his hands and trace the veins with his own thumbs; from artery to vein, outlining the complex map of human biology. Was the ex-puppet truly human? Or merely wearing the portions of one and passing himself off as a living being once more?

"He did — for a little while." No use in lying about it. "I was released on good behavior."

If "good behavior" constituted as well-formed connections, then yes, it was the whole truth. Not that he figured his beloved ex-partner cared all too much now that he stands before him and not behind iron prison bars that could barely hold one of Orochimaru's creations- much less himself.

"Tell me, Sasori-kun," he closed in the distance, tentatively, not wanting to disturb the palpable boundary between the two, but his curiosity was most definitely winning. "I'd like to know— what happened here?"

"A colleague you leeched off of." Sasori spat back bitterly, orbs of amber narrowing in on the sannin as he saunte over. So carefree, so annoying. The puppeteer rolls his eyes at the comment of rumors. Rumors were floating around everywhere since the war ended, weren't they? "Well, ya got your answers, didn't ya?" He stands up from his sit, crossing his arms over his chest as he dares to take a step closer towards the snake. "Thought the hokage finally grew a pair and threw you in a cell to rot." Oh, if only.

[hatredcurse]

What a friendly greeting; brash and indelicate as ever. Despite all the circulating rumors, at least Sasori's personality has yet to change. That thieving smile found its way onto Orochimaru's face as he welcomed himself into puppeteer's place.

"Must I need a reason to see an old and dear colleague?" he ignored all the clear flags of danger and approached with absolute nonchalance. His saunter was carefree as was the look in his golden eyes, looking about the hideout, taking in all the fine details of Sasori's personality imbued within them.

"I've caught whispers in the wind— and I simply had to see for myself if it were true."

Never mind Sasori's living presence, Orochimaru was far more interested in the other news: this rumor, this concept that the puppet revoked his wooden immortality.

@hatredcurse

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Or rather snake. Sasori wasn't expecting to see the white scales of his ex partner anytime soon. Then again, this was Orochimaru. Fucker had his methods of finding things out. "Now what's got someone like you coming to visit lil old me, aye?" There's a dangerous smile on the once-immortal beings face, watching the other closely.

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke stands before him, eyes ravenous for this thing he longs for. Information from the dead long passed. Try as Orochimaru might, he found himself unable to sympathize with these urges and demands of his other than assuming there was a trigger for such behavior, and thus accepted that he may never know what that might be.

"O-" and the Uchiha started his sprint," -kay..."

He kicked himself forward to keep pace, not particularly fond of being rushed, but seems as he has little choice. It would be easy to let the Uchiha travel along off to Ame on his own, stand around and brood until the sannin chose to join him. Although, last thing he wanted was the nosey little man to start digging for his base and mess up a perfectly good lab out of his heated impatience.

"Haven't been keeping up with your homework?" he humors," Ame is currently locked into a power vacuum since the demise of Nagato and Konan. We may run into conquering shinobi, rogue bandits, genuine Ame citizens— it's a gamble."

Orochimaru was banking on all three to be true, or none at all. Ame could have been whittled down to the loose dust on the ground after the events of the war. The village was none too active in their reporting, after all.

Sasuke's eyes follow Orochimaru's movements, the grin, the tongue darting out to trace along teeth. He breathes in, eyes narrow. The urge to grab him, perhaps by the throat, do... something to maybe make him be a little less... gleeful about all this... It doesn't threaten to overtake him, but it's strong, and for a moment Sasuke just stands there, fingers twitching slightly.

But Sasuke gets his assent, and that placates him, for a moment. He nods once. No thanks. He's never been the most polite, as far as Orochimaru's concerned.

His head turns to look in the direction they need to walk to get to the outskirts of Ame. He's packed enough, of course. "Let's go," he says, starting to not walk, but run.

There's no actual hurry, but he's still going there as fast as possible. He turns back to the other as they run. "What's the threat level there?" he asks.

Probably nothing to be concerned about, for someone like him, but it might be a hassle. Might be... trouble if whoever, or whatever's there, has destroyed the research, or destroys it during the fight.

[hatredcurse]

A grin spread across Orochimaru's lips, the edges of his incisors peaking out with his tongue lapping over one of the sharp caps. It was so adorable how petulant Sasuke was at times. Needing, wanting, demanding— it was in his nature to just be so... greedy.

Never mind all the nuance that spurred on such an attitude in the first place. He went along with his former student's whims.

"I will take you to one and if that doesn't satisfy all your questions, then we will move to another," he emphasized. He wasn't lying about the data not being contained in one spot.

"The main lab of operations is within the outskirts of Ame. Are you equipped for such a trip?" he asked, redirecting his trek that way.

In other words, the home base near the Akatsuki rendezvous point. Back when Itachi was much nosier and active, it was a frequent and accessible meeting point for them. If they were lucky, the lights would still be one and the original sample would still be in the freezer. Though with no culture, it probably went stagnant years ago.

Sasuke takes a deep breath in, and lets it out slowly. "Yes," he says, steeling his own capacity for patience as well. Of course he wanted it all. That was why he said he wanted it all.

And of course Orochimaru would say it was just scattered throughout. What a vague answer that gives Sasuke nothing. Again, Sasuke has to tap into what little patience he had, though he does stop in his tracks and puts a halt to their meaningless little walk.

He thinks, probably, Orochimaru is telling the truth. But that doesn't mean he likes the answer.

The nickname makes him pause, an eyebrow raising as turns to look at the sannin. He'll let it slide. "You want patience," he repeats skeptically. Does Orochimaru think he's not getting it?

The question -- he hesitates. No, he does not need it immediately. But he wants it immediately.

"I want it now," he answers after a brief pause. It is the truth. "Take me to the place with the data that shows how the illness is contracted. Now."

[hatredcurse]

Orochimaru's slit-gaze falls upon Sasuke, watching him weather the storms within; wading through a conflict that the elder dare not surmise. Thankfully, he was patient, as he always has been with the Uchiha, so he did not mind the prolonged pauses between them.

"Do you?" the sannin mused.

No doubt Sasuke did. Uchihas were like that, after all, all-encompassing, preserving, and aching for whole truths that they seldom attain. Along with that hidden tablet within their forgotten shrines, the mere existence of such a prophetic item should have predicted their want and need for deep and total knowledge on topics they didn't understand.

With a chaste, non-informing smile, Orochimaru looked outwards away from the young man next to him," scattered throughout."

It were nothing, but the truth. Research for niche ailments often happened in varying areas. It's true that the sannin could have taken precaution with the archive, but with as much study as he did, an illness as rare as Itachi's didn't call for such thorough indexing as other items did.

Which is a shame that Orochimaru didn't consider Sasuke's comeuppance on needing such information. For him, he'd re-organize a whole cabinet to keep him satiated. Back in the time that the quasi-immortal long for his body and craved his ability. The prospect was far out of the picture now, so his motivations were undoubtedly minimized by lack of drive; he had no need to continually cater to him.

"If you want the 'whole', then you'll have to bring me patience, Sasuke-kun." He tested the name before continuing," research was held over many years. I've conducted study in several different countries that it'd take time for me to gather it all in one place."

"Do you need such trivial data immediately?"

Oh, and of course Orochimaru would spell it out, even though they both knew that Sasuke knew what he meant. Exactly the way to to stab him with a knife and twist it, just to see what the reaction would be. Sasuke's mouth goes into a straight, hard line, so taut that it almost twists into a grimace, but he won't let it, as if that will mean the betrayal of his emotions, not his frozen, stiff shoulders or the curled, half-fists, or the determined staring straight forward.

He doesn't want to be this emotional. Itachi is dead, and grieving or feeling pain will not bring him back. But the lack of grief would also do dishonor to his sacrifice, his love... Sasuke takes a harsh breath in, really wondering to himself if this was the right idea. His eyes shouldn't deteriorate, after, all, right? Because of Itachi's sacrifice. But there are other people to account for, now...

The staring forward, though, has to be broken at some point, which is when Orochimaru admits, almost with glee, that he has the information. Sasuke turns to look at him.

"All of it. I want all of it," he says sharply, eyes narrowed. He'd take it by force if he knew where to find it.

Speaking of which... "Where is it?"

Orochimaru is not that dumb. But Sasuke is going to ask him anyway.

[hatredcurse]

"I'm certain you know what I mean, my dear. If not for himself, he lived for you," Orochimaru spelled it out, seeing if that will strike a nerve.

Itachi could have been selfish and lived out of spite, but that assumption didn't sit right with the elder. The actions didn't match an egoist's ambition, which were decidedly a good thing, considering what sort of havoc a man that like could devastate.

The idea alone sent electricity down to his fingertips.

"Who would I be if I didn't?" he smoldered with a little look that said 'if I didn't who am I really?'.

"I took a culture of it for study back during my time with the Akatsuki," he conveniently left out the part about reaching a cure by the time Orochimaru had defected from the organization.

There were attempts to replicate the symptoms in other test "patients" down to creating a synthetic RNA structure that should have behaved similarly, if not exactly, as the illness. He believes in his time in experimenting, he was successful and had made a cure, but without the "Patient Zero" whose faithful donation drove the whole operation was no longer an option, Orochimaru could never truly state he found a genuine cure.

He's also attempted tours to find someone with the ailment, but none came close. It was a far cry to check every medical record known to man.

Turning his attention back to the Uchiha, he noticed him feign. He didn't need to read too hard into his behavior since his questions alone were painting a clear enough picture of what might be wanted here.

"Which part of the information did you want?"

As Sasuke falls into step beside Orochimaru, there's an oddly comforting familiarity that comes with it. He had spent so long at the other's side, it shouldn't be surprising, but he had also spent so long cultivating his aloof and indifferent demeanor, it always sort of surprised him when emotions rose up unexpectedly, even something as seemingly innocuous as comfort.

Still, it doesn't last for long. That is to say, the lack of any negative emotion doesn't, because upon Orochimaru calling his deceased brother a poor sickly thing, Sasuke grits his teeth and glares, not in Orochimaru's direction -- he won't look at him -- but at the sky and the flat earth in front of them. He doesn't protest, doesn't say what he wants to say, namely, Itachi wasn't sickly. He had a disease, but he was strong. Mostly because he wants Orochimaru to continue, and he knows if he interrupts, this will derail. But also because he knows this will reveal a weakness. Too much emotion. Too much care.

Instead he grunts: "I don't know French. What do you actually mean?"

He senses Orochimaru is saying that Itachi stayed alive for his brother. Sasuke already knew that, and it hurts in a way he doesn't want to admit. Doesn't want to think about. This is why Sasuke frowns and turns his head, away from the snake sage, only turning back when Orochimaru asks his questions.

"Nothing important," he lies. "I'm simply tying loose ends." There's a pause, and then he continues: "Do you have the information or not?" His breathing is sharp, slightly ragged. Hearing Orochimaru speak about Itachi's illness seems to have triggered the grief again, which Sasuke generally does not allow himself to feel.