Smitten
A pale hand cards through thick, pitch-black hair and from his vantagepoint over by the head of the bed, Rasa is enjoying the view, still a little dazed and far too grateful to completely comprehend how he could be this lucky.
It is unlike him to consider himself fortunate; he is used to getting what he wants, as is the norm for those in a leader’s position but the truth is, he has never asked for something like this before so when he gets it, it makes him feel impossibly blessed in a way not much else in his life has made him feel.
Maybe because it was given to him willingly and not taken with violence and force, something he didn’t even know that he wanted until it was presented to him.
The slim, pale figure has his back turned against him but Rasa enjoys that view as well and the satisfaction spreads like a warm blanket inside his chest as he allows his eyes to travel across each detail, drinking up the sight with a thirst reminiscent of the one you can suffer from when wandering too far into the desert unprepared.
He has no been unprepared since being a kid, as the Kazekage of the land of Sand it would be unforgivable not to know the necessities of survival in a place like this, but he can still recall how his throat constricted from dryness as a child, when he had still been too young to know any better.
Then the satisfaction of gulping down water once he returned back home, it felt glorious, just like this.
He has never seen anyone quite like Orochimaru before and at first it almost feels daunting to look into those strange golden eyes, like he’s falling, tumbling out of control into the unknown, but he can’t deny that he was charmed more or less from the start.
It was easy in the beginning to think that he was doing this for the sake of the village, just as he has made so many other difficult decisions that might seem cruel in the eyes of others but felt necessary to make for the sake of his people.
Gaara is one of those questionable choices he’s made that toes the line of morally ambiguous, even cruel perhaps, but as a leader you can’t always make decisions with a soft heart.
Difficult choices need to be made with logic and for the sake of the greater good, even if Gaara is his son.
And that same logic applies when he allows Orochimaru to explain the plan that he has travelled all the way to Sunakagure to persuade Rasa to go along with.
Rasa can hear the thinly disguised vitriol in Orochimaru’s voice as he explains but he can also hear the silky tone that wraps itself around Rasa’s heart like a vine and makes it beat faster with something undefined that nonetheless excites him.
He pretends that it is the geniality of the plan that affects him but deep down he knows that he is far more moved by something else than the other man’s scheming against a rivalling village.
Despite this surprising realisation, he listens carefully and even allows the details to settle in neatly inside his head, nodding in agreement when Orochimaru eventually stops talking.
Konoha has been an ally of sorts for many years now, but the world is a place where things never stay the same for long and loyalty is only as strong as the latest show of allegiance. Now the previous bond between the two countries is strained and rivalry sparks in a place where friendship used to be.
The rivalry has created an opening to partner up with someone new.
Orochimaru has a silver tongue and a persuasive way about him so it doesn’t take a lot of convincing for Rasa to agree to join forces against a perceived enemy, not even questioning why Orochimaru has come to him specifically to make this offer of collaboration.
Some of his advisors has cautioned him that inviting a serpent into his chambers is a bad omen but they don’t always know what’s best, they don’t know specifically what Orochimaru and Rasa are planning against Konoha and they haven’t seen Orochimaru like he has - magnificent against his bedsheets, spread out, agile and so very, very good with his tongue.
Rasa is certain that there is no one else like Orochimaru out there, in the world outside the land of Sand, someone with such sharp intelligence and stunning disposition, like a rare creature not made for ordinary men to take to their bed.
Fortunately Rasa isn’t ordinary, he is the Kazekage of Sunagakure himself and, as Orochimaru has assured him, he has the honour of having him like this, when many others have been denied.
Rasa has no doubt that this is the truth, he can’t picture Orochimaru agreeing to slip in between the sheets of just anyone, it needs to be someone unique, and as Orochimaru so silkily whispers in his ear, Rasa is just that kind of special.
This bond between them has not been going on for long but it has grown on him with alarming intensity.
Orochimaru came to Sunagakure a few months before Gaara, Kankuro and Temari left for the Chunin exams, though he never actually met them, so they know nothing of their father’s plans for the future of their village.
After their first appointment that ended in a far different way than any meeting Rasa has ever had the opportunity to experience with other visitors, Orochimaru has made visits sporadically after that, mostly alone but once with two underlings in tow, two young men that followed their master like silent, obedient shadows until Rasa sent them away, annoyed by their presence and unwilling to allow them to witness him inviting Orochimaru into his private chambers.
One of them was quite striking, if not as striking as his master of course. He lacked any of the silky charm Orochimaru has but he had a memorable appearance, very pale, white hair parted in the middle in some strange zigzag pattern and melancholy green eyes.
He didn’t speak unless spoken to, but he followed Orochimaru’s movements with such intense devotion that Rasa suspects he wasn’t just obedient but probably smitten on a more intimate level than mere dedication to a master.
That’s hardly surprising, Rasa would probably feel something similar if he was in the same position, but luckily he isn’t and he gets to have what Orochimaru’s underlings can never have.
The other one was not as memorable when it came to appearances.
A young man with greyish hair and spectacles, quiet, with dark onyx eyes that conveyed nothing but dull mildness but still managed to signal a silent dislike of his surroundings.
He had a way of looking slightly disapproving of where his master had led them, even if the reason for that dislike was unclear to Rasa.
It almost seemed like he was jealous but why waste his energy on something so pointless as envy when someone of Orochimaru’s standing will never show a mere subordinate any special consideration or attention.
Luckily Orochimaru only brought his underlings with him once and if Rasa never has to look at them again, all the better for it. The way they silently stared made him feel uncomfortable.
He doesn’t like the idea of subordinates not knowing their proper place.
Finished with carding his fingers through his hair, Orochimaru now turns his head to look at Rasa over his shoulder, the purple marks around his eyes making the yellow of his irises more prominent, especially as they catch the light shining in through the window.
He really does look like a snake right now, beautiful but strange and undoubtedly lethal, at least to his enemies. Once more, Rasa is reminded of how blessed he is that he gets to have this, something he didn’t even know that he wanted until it was offered to him.
He can’t imagine turning it down, especially now that he knows what that pale, unblemished skin tastes like.
It’s morning and someone will come knocking at his door soon but Rasa isn’t prepared to let go of this moment quite yet.
He isn’t normally this mawkish but Orochimaru makes something inside of him feel young and vibrant in a way he hasn’t felt in years.
Rasa is aware of the other man’s reputation and a voice inside of him whispers that he should tread carefully, because Orochimaru is as slippery as mercury, he has left a lot of mayhem in his wake and he is a wanted man as far as Konoha is concerned, there is no getting around that fact.
But Konoha’s perception is not enough to sway him in a different direction.
There is no doubt that Orochimaru is a great ninja, one that legends are made of, a genius unprecedented and most importantly, Rasa tends to put his own perception of a person above anyone else’s and so far, he is more than impressed, he is smitten.
So the offer Orochimaru made him, to form an alliance against Konoha, was never a difficult decision to make, despite the hesitation he can see in the eyes of some of his advisors.
Rasa is aware that the guidance of a council is expected to take into consideration when making important decisions, but he is still the Kazekage and there is no one he trusts more than himself, so even if some of his men still seem hesitant regarding his interactions with Orochimaru, especially as they have noticed their nightly activities, he really couldn’t care less.
High on bliss as well as ambition he allows himself to bask in the knowledge that he has made the right decision.
Last night has only managed to manifest that belief even further.
“I need to be on my way, I have business to attend to,” Orochimaru says but contradicts his own words by remaining where he is, the sheets still pooling around his waist, the expanse of his pale back tantalising in the morning light, as if beckoning Rasa to reach out.
Which he does by leaning forward, shortening the distance between them by wrapping his strong arms around a slender frame and holding it in place, unmovable against the mattress.
The other man’s skin is cool to his touch, soft and cold like marble, and he presses his lips against it, trailing along the shoulder, carefully pushing the dark hair away so he can better access the neck that remains unblemished no matter how much he might suck on the delicacy of sensitive skin.
He has no idea what business Orochimaru has to deal with but he is aware that Otogakure is under his protection, a village created for the purpose of gathering shinobis that don’t want to serve under any of the villages that are constantly on the brink of war with one another.
Although Rasa technically doesn’t agree with the idea that people get to decide for themselves if they want to serve a village or not, he can still see the benefit of forming an alliance between Otogakure and Sunagakure against Konoha, an alliance that will profit both his own ambitions as well as Orochimaru’s.
He assumes Orochimaru is heading back to his own village when he says that he has business to attend to, and he understands the necessity to do so, even if he doesn’t like how short this latest visit has lasted.
“Are you in a hurry?” he asks, despite knowing that he should get out of bed as well.
People are waiting for him and he has a written statement on his desk that urgently needs to read, a statement that was brought to him last night.
It contains the progress of Gaara and his siblings during the Chunin exams.
He expects them to do him proud, he isn’t really doubtful that they will manage that, but Gaara is Gaara after all, unreliable with all his power and fickle mood, so he has people reporting back to him, ready to interfere if things take a less desired turn.
The boy is a ticking bomb waiting to go off, but for as long as Rasa is in charge, he will make sure that the impact won’t hit their village when it happens. Blood is blood, but duty is duty and it will always come first to him.
Orochimaru rises from the bed, the sheet falling down to the floor as he gracefully moves and Rasa watches him walk over to the desk where his clothes are draped across a large chair.
It’s Rasa’s chair in fact, but Orochimaru sits down on it as if it was his own and not belonging to the powerful Kazekage of Sunagakure.
He is bold like that, Orochimaru, charmingly brazen and Rasa allows it because he is enthralled by this man, but if it was anyone else, he would never permit such insolence.
Slender fingers pick up the document that lies unopened on a silver tray on the desk, turning it around as if examining a curious specimen before dropping it back on the tray once more, pulling his clothes on instead.
“What is so special that it needs to be brought in on a silver tray, yet insignificant enough for you to leave unopened for so many hours?” he asks, as if throwing a random question out into the open instead of actually being curious about it.
Maybe he isn’t curious but Rasa doubts it. Orochimaru strikes him as being a person that it always thirsty for knowledge.
This letter, luckily, is no secret document, his advisors will not be able to chide him for sharing the contents of it.
He rises from the bed, very much aware that he is still naked, hopeful that it might earn him an appreciative glance.
But as if denying him what he wants, Orochimaru’s eyes are not looking at him and for a second he feels stupid for hoping, before he shakes the feeling off.
He’s just enjoyed his guest’s very pleasurable company in bed, so if he isn’t granted a look from him the very second he wants it, he shouldn’t sulk like a spoilt child about it, it’s just his own ego that craves assurance he really doesn’t need.
He’s had those golden eyes trained on him during the time that matters, he shouldn’t be so needy as to ask for limitless attention like a silly schoolgirl with a crush.
It’s just that he feels so light and happy, in a way he hasn’t felt since he was a teenager, if even back then. If he really thinks about it, his youth was pretty harsh, it’s quite possible he didn’t feel this happy even back then.
He tries to remember if this was how it felt with Karura but he realises that this is something else and for a second he feels embarrassed that he tried to compare two such different people.
Karura was his wife.
Orochimaru is...well, intoxicating for sure, but....he shouldn’t liken one to the other....
He dislikes the implication that he might be infatuated but it is the closest he gets to describe what he is currently feeling.
Karura is the mother of his children, the one who died for her village and the one he once made his wife.
He loved her, of course he did.
But did he ever feel the way he is currently feeling, heady with a never-ending lust and desire, almost sick with the need to be seen by Orochimaru?
If he did, and he secretly suspects he didn’t, he can’t remember it now.
At the moment he can hardly remember what she used to look like and it should perhaps frighten him that this is the case, but he is too far gone, and all that he can see at the moment is the alluring image of long dark hair and pale slender limbs that dresses in front of him.
The council would claim that he’s been bewitched if they knew how he feels, and maybe he has, in a matter of speaking, but he knows that Orochimaru will be good for the future of Sanagakure and he can rest safely in that at least.
Orochimaru came to him with a plan and Rasa can see the advanntage of going along with it. Gaara will need to step up and show his allegiance to his village, he will play an important role in their scheme when it is time to unfold it and this knowledge grounds him when he starts to suspect that he has gone too deep with Orochimaru, that he should stop and think things through one more time.
This is for the sake of my people, he thinks. It’s for their survival.
That he has been given Orochimaru in the process is just an unexpected but fortunate bliss, nothing more. He is doing all of this for the right reasons.
He isn’t going to be made a mockery of if he chooses to take things even further by sleeping with the man he has formed an alliance with, it doesn’t lessen the fact that he knows what he is doing and that it is for the good of his country.
For its survival.
He just allowed himself to be entertained in the process, that’s all.
He picks up the letter that lies discarded on the desk and opens it, his eyes trained on Orochimaru who arranges his collar and seems completely emerged in that task.
But Rasa knows curiosity when he sees it and smiles, teasing words on his lips that he at the final moment decides to swallow instead of allowing to slip from his tongue.
He still isn’t sure how Orochimaru reacts when made fun of, even if it just playful mockery.
He hasn’t earned his dangerous reputation without reason after all and Rasa knows that they haven’t reached the stage where they can joke around with each other yet.
Frankly he isn’t sure they will ever get there, he can’t exactly picture Orochimaru being the type who makes jokes the way other couples might tease one another, endearingly and tongue in cheek.
He isn’t even sure he is that person himself.
He can’t remember being like that with Karura. But for some reason he wants to be that way now.
Be careful, you old fool, he chides himself, but even his inner voice sounds forgiving, because happiness is such a powerful feeling and so difficult to grasp that he is allowing himself these silly thoughts, at least as long as he keeps them to himself.
“It’s the latest report from the Chunin exams. I’m curious of course as all my three children are participating. And considering our plans, Gaara’s involvement in particular is interesting to read.”
Orochimaru doesn’t lose his focus on getting himself dressed.
He is wearing far too much clothing for the oppressing heat of Sunagakure, but he did say that he was only stopping by for a short visit, he is about to leave again and Rasa wishes that he didn’t need to do that.
While tying his obi around his waist, Orochimaru remarks, almost absentmindedly, as if not really that interested, merely humouring Rasa by asking:
“I hear that the participants are quite interesting this year. Aside from Gaara, there is the Uchiha boy for example. If he is anything like his brother, he might prove to be a formidable shinobi in the future.”
“All the more reason that we do what we can to prevent Konoha from growing even more powerful,” Rasa mutters and turns his eyes away from Orochimaru to scan the document.
Sasuke Uchiha is indeed mentioned in the statement and he can’t help but frown, even if some random runt is of no concern to him, even if he is a descendant of the otherwise formidable but eliminated Uchiha clan. If he indeed is like his older brother, not only skill but also treachery might very well lie dormant inside of him and Rasa has no interest in a future traitor.
Gaara seems to have done well for himself, as has his other children as well, and even if pride isn’t exactly what he feels, a sense of satisfaction still settles in the pit of his stomach.
Unsure why he suddenly cares, he puts the document down on the table and turns his eyes back on Orochimaru who has finally finished dressing.
“What business do you have that is so pressing at a time like this? You can stay here with me, for as long as you like, you know. Seems like a waste to go when we will need to meet up so soon again....”
He tries to sound as if it is all the same to him but he isn’t sure he manages to pull it off because a small smirk graces Orochimaru’s lips, his eyebrows slighting rising in amusement.
“My business can’t wait, I’m afraid. But no need to worry, we’ll meet up soon, in the place where we agreed, just ahead of the final exam.”
With that he walks up to Rasa and takes his chin in a firm grip.
Their reflections are mirrored in a gilded ornament hanging on the wall - white, purple and black slightly taller, hovering in front of beige, grey and brown.
Rasa is stockier and looks much stronger than his visitor but the grip around his chin is firm and he knows about the muscles that hide underneath Orochimaru’s garments.
His face is pulled forward and he is allowed the ghost of a peck against his eager lips, then his lover is gone.
Rasa thinks he should get dressed, get ready for the day, face the members of his council before they come knocking on his door, but he remains standing where he is, rooted to the spot, tasting the chaste kiss that still tingles on his lips.
He already longs for the next time.
*****
He has Kabuto and Kimimaro with him but he intends to deliver the killing blow himself.
He has Kusanagi at his disposal which will make the job an easy one.
Even if he technically doesn’t need to be the one to do this, he has underlings to do his dirty work after all, he still feels the necessity to deliver the deadly stab himself.
He can tell, even from a distance, that Rasa doesn’t look happy that he didn’t come alone and maybe he should have, as this really doesn’t concern his underlings but for some reason he feels more prepared of the events about to go down when being flanked by his most obedient men.
He can sense Kabuto’s bloodthirst like a poisonous shield around him and he silently tuts at the young man’s overpowering jealousy.
It is a strange quirk Kabuto has and Orochimaru can’t deny that it sometimes amuses him to wind the other man up by taunting him, but most of the time he views it as a weakness he thinks Kabuto should grow out of.
He vaguely recalls Sasori being of a similar possessive nature and how it tended to eat away at him in a manner that seemed tortuous and turned his former companion surly and bitter.
Jealousy can be such a devastating feeling, dangerous too, because Kabuto stops thinking logically when under the influence of green-eyed envy, staring with hatred at those he perceives as rivals.
That he hasn’t tried to kill Kimimaro yet is something of a miracle and Orochimaru assumes it has to do with the fear of his master’s rage more than anything else.
It is true that he would strongly disapprove of a murder attempt on Kimimaro, especially when he still considered him a worthy vessel, but a part of him can’t deny that it would be intriguing to see it happen, just for the curiosity of finding out who would end up victorious.
Even if the obvious bet would be Kimimaro with all his unprecedented talent, Orochimaru is well aware that he shouldn’t underestimate Kabuto when he is fuelled by hatred and jealousy.
Kabuto is far more vicious, lethal and unpredictable than Kimimaro, when motivated enough, so who knows?
At the moment Kimimaro is prepared to step in if Orochimaru orders him to, but he doesn’t vibrate with killing intent the way Kabuto currently is, he just stands there obediently and watches the scene unfold.
Maybe he doesn’t understand what his master has been up to with Rasa, or maybe he simply accepts it in a way Kabuto is incapable of doing.
Kimimaro is such a devoted and faithful servant that he never would dare to question what Orochimaru does, however much it might hurt to see him with someone else. He is above such petty feelings as jealousy and envy, and that is remarkable considering how unfaithful Orochimaru tends to be.
Orochimaru can’t decide if Kimimaro’s faithful acceptance is greater than Kabuto’s obvious jealousy and desire to kill those trying to get close to his master.
Kimimaro’s love is certainly purer, there seems to be nothing that can deter him in his loyalty while Kabuto is something of a wild card, certainly not as trustworthy and Orochimaru often suspects that he has his own agenda running while acting the part of his right-hand man.
But he can’t deny that is pleases him a bit to witness such violent need of ownership that Kabuto nurtures inside of him, and he can even accept his sneaky personality as long as it doesn’t interfere with Orochimaru’s own plans.
Let Kabuto have his puerile schemes if he wants to.
As Orochimaru meets Rasa’s stare when Kusanagi pierces through his heart with the ease he knows only his own precious sword can deliver, he expects to see surprise in the other man’s dark eyes.
But what he sees is hurt, nothing more than pure sadness, as if he’s crumbling from the inside instead of succumbing to the wound that is rapidly seeping the life out of him, and Orochimaru finds himself being the one experiencing surprise instead.
It only lasts for a fleeting second, like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wing against his conscience, then it’s gone and he bends over the dying Kazekage, gently putting his hand against his face before using the vanishing facial copy technique.
In the background he can hear Rasa's men following the same fate as their master, silently falling to the ground while Kimimaro wipes his sword clean from the blood.
Once dressed in the white robes, the triangular hat with the sign of wind shadow upon it and a white cloth that covers his lower features, an attire that signifies the fourth Kazekage’s appearance, he is ready to play his part during the time that remains until the final Chunin Exams starts.
He knows enough about Rasa to know that he will be able to act as him convincingly and he chooses not to look at the cooling corps of his former lover as he walks away from the scene.
He is already looking forward to seeing a completely different man, dressed in a similar outfit as himself, marked by old and worn features but with the same keenness in his eyes that Orochimaru remembers from his youth.
Someone who might suspect but yet doesn’t know that Orochimaru is finally coming for him.