Psychologically, it’s something that he can’t explain.
He didn’t even know what he is feeling, what is happening, he just knows he’s there. The world now has no purpose for him, there is no importance of fighting back, his entire world had shattered around him, leaving him in a state of numbness. His mother, his one true source of strength and happiness, was now gone, and everything seemed meaningless in her absence. Yes, he was still alive and breathing but it felt as if a part of him had died along with her.
Kabuto’s vision was consumed by a maelstrom of black and red. The absence of his mother cast a black shadow over everything, while his anger and hatred burned within him like a raging inferno.
He didn't know whom to direct his hatred towards - the village that had once been his home, the cruel fate that had befallen him or himself. Perhaps it was a combination of all these feelings that boiled inside him, clouding his mind with a rage that threatened to consume him entirely.
“Come… be by my side.”
Those were the words that snapped him out of his trance, and the words that he would have never thought that will change his world forever.
With a touch of hesitation, Kabuto stretched out his hand towards the Sannin's, as a gesture of forming a new partnership. But in an unexpected turn of events, the Sannin drew him closer instead, enveloping him in a warm embrace.
The Sannin's arms encircled him, like the coils of a serpent, but there was no malice here. Just a rare moment of vulnerability and human connection, even if the Sannin was less than human and more of a psycho.
“I promise you… you will never be alone.”
Now, Orochimaru guided Kabuto towards his bedroom, their footsteps quiet on the wooden floor boards. The room was sparse but comfortable, with a simple bed, a desk, and some basic furnishings. As they entered, Orochimaru gestured for Kabuto to sit down on the bed.
"Make yourself comfortable,” The reptilian being said. “As I told you earlier, this whole island laboratory will be your new dwelling place. Make sure to get some rest, I’ll show you around and educate you more.”
Kabuto nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed, feeling a sense of exhaustion wash over him with the weight of everything that had happened. He took a quick look around the room, noting that it was modest but functional. Orochimaru held the door knob before the Sannin heard him.
Kabuto asks quietly. “… may I ask, do you… also have a grudge in Konoha? I… the books and stories shared that you were raised there, and I wonder if… being rogue made you different.”
"Konohagakure was never my home," Orochimaru replied with no hesitation. "It was just the place where I happened to grow up, living in a cramped little apartment surrounded by plaster saints that started wars which I was cursed to attempt to end.“
"Being rogue has not changed me," He continued. "I have always despised that breeding ground for misery that is Konohagakure. Have I satisfied your curiosity, boy?"
"Yes," Kabuto replied quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "You have... satisfied my curiosity."
“You’ll know better as you grow older.” The wooden door closed, and apparently one hindrance had been replaced by another.
***
Kabuto couldn’t rest as much as he wanted to, his thoughts were consumed by images of his mother. The memory of her death was still fresh in his mind, and the loss weighed heavily on his heart. He tried to push the thoughts aside, to focus on the situation at hand, but it was difficult. The grief and anguish he felt were like a heavy weight on his chest, and he found himself unable to think of anything else.
Her death had been brutal and sudden, and it had left a deep scar on Kabuto's soul.
His thoughts turned to Danzo, the man who had orchestrated Nono's death. The memory of her lifeless body still fresh in his mind, he felt a rage building inside him.
He remembered the way Danzo had ordered the mission that had taken his mother Nono from him, and the nonchalant manner in which he had spoken of her death like she was nothing more than a tool to be discarded.
Kabuto rose from the bed and made his way towards the balcony in the room. He pushed open the doors and stepped outside, feeling the cool night air against his skin. The moon shone bright in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the landscape.
He leaned against the railing and looked out over the laboratory and the sea beyond. The anger and grief still coursed through him, but somehow being outside helped to dampen its intensity. He closed his eyes, picturing his mother’s face in his mind.
As Kabuto stood on the balcony, lost in his thoughts, he was suddenly joined by a small snake that slithered up onto the railings next to him. He was fond of animals, and dangerous animals were not an exception. The reptile flicked its tongue out, tasting the air, and then coiled itself up, seemingly content to just sit there in silence.
Seeing the snake, Kabuto felt a strange sense of comfort. He turned to the snake and began to vent all of his problems, all of his anger and grief.
As Kabuto poured out his heart to the little snake, he felt a sense of relief. Talking to the reptile somehow helped to lighten the burden of his emotions, and he felt as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
The snake listened in silence, its beaded eyes unblinking. Occasionally, it would flick its tongue out, but Kabuto never thought twice about it.
Little did Kabuto know, but the snake that had joined him on the balcony was connected to Orochimaru in a deeper way than he could have ever imagined. Orochimaru could see and hear everything that Kabuto was saying, even as he spoke to the snake as if it were an old friend.
Orochimaru lay on a soft, circular bed in his quarters, his long, lithe body stretched out in a relaxed manner. A snake coiled around his arm as he rested, its presence a familiar and comforting comfort.
The room itself was styled in a traditional manner, with minimalist decor and soft, muted colors. Despite the simplicity of the space, there was a subtle sense of elegance and sophistication.
Orochimaru's thoughts wandered as he lay on the bed, the snake coiled around his arm providing a sense of comfort and connection. He thought about the boy that was in another room, the boy who had lost everything just like he had once been lost.
“Troubled...” he murmured to himself, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “But with great potential.”
Orochimaru continued to watch as Kabuto spoke, his words a mixture of anguish and anger. He could sense the pain and grief that the boy was feeling, and a pang of strange familiarity echoed through his own heart.
“Just like I was,” he said quietly. “Lost and alone, desperate for purpose.”
“Perhaps there is still hope for this one,” he thought to himself, watching as the moon shone brightly.
Orochimaru felt a slight stirring of sympathy for the boy, a feeling that he wasn't used to. Normally, he would have dismissed the child as insignificant and worthless, but there was something about him that made him seem... different.
"Perhaps he can find peace, in his own way," he mused to himself, stroking the snake coiled around his arm. "And maybe I can help him, don’t you think so?”
The snake coiled around his arm flicked its tongue out, as if in agreement.