Chapter 25

Keeping as many cards hidden as he could from the always inquisitive Orochimaru, Shinku refrained from asking for his Katana.

Slowly but surely, with Orochimaru's help, Shinku had repaired the damage done to his Chakra veins; allowing for his enhanced recovery to kick in naturally.

Riding the bandages off his eyes and jaw, Shinku focused on letting his eyes readjust for the first time in such a long time. Flexing his jaw, Shinku felt a small tension that faded away after an instant.

"I see you aren't wasting any time." Orochimaru soon entered the dimly lit room with a tray of soup and tea.

Giving a passing glance, Shinku ripped apart all of the bandages off from his torso and moved to stand from the bedside.

Seeing his actions, Orochimaru set the tray down on a table not far away and caught Shinku as his legs gave out.

"Thanks..."

Regaining his mobility, Shinku stood towering over Orochimaru. His bandages having fallen to the ground, leaving him in only a pair of pants.

Stepping past Orochimaru, Shinku took the bowl of soup and sat back down on the bed.

"Quite comfortable when you barely even said 'thanks'." Orochimaru moved to sit behind Shinku on the bed, tracing the chain tattoos on his back.

"..."

"It's alright, though. As long as you pay me back in the future."

"How long have I been under your care?" After some time, Shinku placed a now empty bowl and narrowed his gaze at his tattoos.

Three chains had vanished from the many wrapping around his figure.

'I remember the first one burst against the Raikage, the Second... I was fighting the Hachibi, but... when was the third.. '

"Four weeks. Honestly, the Shinobi world is in chaos because of you."

Shinku downed the shot of tea before turning to face Orochimaru in annoyance.

"Four..."

Sighing, Shinku stood up, glancing around the room he had hoped Orochimaru had brought some clothes. Seeing that there were none, Shinku shifted his focus to his Katana, resting in the corner of the room.

"Whatever, I'm heading out now."

"I wouldn't recommend that."

Pausing, Shinku met Orochimaru's gaze before sensing his surroundings. Deep underground, Shinku forced his senses upward and frowned.

The iconic mountain with three annoyingly boastful faces carved into its side.

"You are even crazier than I." Shinku had initially planned on strutting out and taking his sweet time before returning to Yugakure.

"I couldn't exactly vanish from Konoha for four weeks to take care of you, especially without a reasonable mission. I'd have the anbu on me unnecessarily." Orochimaru's lied back and smiled.

"Tch. Don't fuck with me kid. If I wanna leave, I will." Shinku gave a small smirk at Orochimaru's games, his eyes glowed in the dim room.

"Oh. Then I guess i can take it, you don't want to leave me. Are you tempted by me, even when you're unsure of my gender?" Shinku watched as Orochimaru's shoulders were exposed by slipping off the blue and white Kimono slightly.

"Orochimaru, Orphan of Konoha. Born with snake like appearance, and a Ninjutsu genius. Nobody but you alone is aware of your gender, or so you thought..." Shinku stepped towards Orochimaru, his smirk never leaving his lips.

Orochimaru raised a brow but smiled nonetheless.

Shinku stood over the smiling Orochimaru, placing a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder.

"I'll admit I was skeptical at first of your ambiguous gender, yet your seductive taunts only allowed me to confirm the truth." In a moment, Shinku pulsed chakra through Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's figure jolted from his sudden intrusion, and the smirk Orochimaru had vanished in the same moment.

"You're even more slippery than snakes. And it's annoying." Shinku sighed as Orochimaru's body fell limp and turned into nothing more than dried up snake skin.

"Oh my~, you seem quite feisty for someone who barely recovered." Orochimaru whispered into Shinku's ear from behind.

As the words left Orochimaru's lips, Shinku wrapped his left hand in chakra, so hot that steam emitted from it and stabbed into Orochimaru's stomach.

Once again, Orochimaru turned into a husk of snake skin.

"How long can you keep that up? I'm actually quite interested, now, little girl." Shinku smirked and turned toward the entrance of the room where Orochimaru stood drenched in a slimy substance.

Her normally pale skin seemed even paler, and Shinku could sense that she expended a great deal of chakra to perform the same jutsu twice.

Her hair draped over her shoulders, covering her small breasts, but Shinku had a clear view of her slim waist and wide hips, along with her barely covered pussy.

"I should be asking you that big boy. How long can your body hold up when you're still recovering?" Orochimaru giggled, making Shinku frown with a sense of unease.

Glancing over at the tray of soup and tea, Orochimaru brought earlier for him. He clocked his teeth and glanced over at his Katana in the corner near Orochimaru.

"Oh, it seems you're only taking notice now. Of course, if you could study me, I too could study you." Orochimaru giggled and took a few steps to block Shinku's path toward his Katana in anticipation.

"..."

Disappearing. Shinku arrived beside Orochimaru with his Katana in hand and pressed to her back, seemingly unfazed by whatever she did to the food and tea.

"You feel it, don't you? The ice running through your nerves, slowing your movements." Shinku said nothing at her words and only pressed his blade against her enough to draw a bit of blood.

"The sudden imbalance in your senses."

"..."

"Along with the slow but noticeable loss of the ability to breathe."

"Just hand over my weapon pouches you picked up when you found me, and I'll let you get away with this only once." Shinku growled, growing impatient since he could feel it all but wasn't worried at all.

What he was worried about was the scheming Orochimaru digging through his unsealed items.

"Don't worry. I may be a snake, but even I don't have a death wish." Orochimaru smiled and turned to face Shinku.

His face slowly turned blue, and his eyes paled.

"Rest. It doesn't benefit me if you over exert yourself or leave just yet." Saying this, Orochimaru watched as Shinku dropped to one knee with a fierce glare.

"The medicine lacks immediate activation strength, though it'll hit even harder than Tsunade after."

Shinku's vision blurred before going black. The last thing he saw was Orochimaru moving to help him up.

'Ah Hell. I don't know if it was better to leave or stay if I couldn't stop the brat.'

__________________________________

Chapter End