Collector's Item
by Ky

Summary: Anything beautiful or powerful that wanders into Orochimaru's domain rightfully belongs to him.
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Warnings: Implied yaoi.

Notes: This mini-fic grew from two sentences that randomly popped into my head, a scene that originally wasn't supposed to go with the sentences, listening to "Darts of Pleasure" by Franz Ferdinand way too many times, reading the dictionary, and playing too much Tales of Souls mode in Soul Calibur III. Really, it's actually like 3 almost-drabbles tied together...

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Orochimaru enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful things. Whether they were silk robes, antique furniture, expensive jewelry, or rooms upon rooms of candles, he felt they were his due. He deserved them. So the first time he saw Kimimaro, he knew the boy would be his. Kimimaro was a paragon, his porcelain complexion unscarred by the ways of the cruel world, with a bloodline limit that was an incredible force to be reckoned with. He was unquestioningly loyal to Orochimaru. When the time came, he would make the perfect host.

But Kimimaro took sick, and it became clear he would not recover. Orochimaru was forced to search for a new vessel. He set his sights on another bloodline limit, one with even more potential than Kimimaro's: the Uchiha clan's sharingan eye.

&&&

Sasuke Uchiha had discovered lust and was in love with it. Every word Orochimaru spoke, every gesture he made, was an invitation, a seduction, and Sasuke was powerless to resist. He fell upon Orochimaru's words, intoxicated with promises of power. The snake taught him temptation, brought him into a world that was both an idyll and a nightmare. Sasuke, for all of his dreams of power, allowed himself to become one of those pretty things that Orochimaru owned, and he took a shameful pleasure in it. The feeling of being wanted and the power he was promised… These were things he would sell his soul for.

One day, Orochimaru brought Sasuke a gift. The young Uchiha greedily tore open the paper it was wrapped in. Gifts weren't something he had received often as a child, and to get one from Orochimaru…

When he saw what lay folded inside the wrappings, Sasuke's face fell. It was a kimono, made of elegant crimson silk. It was undoubtedly very expensive. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded.

Orochimaru only smiled, amused. "I'd like to see you wear it. It matches your eyes."

Sasuke threw the kimono back at its purchaser and stormed out of the room.

Orochimaru was still smiling as he watched Sasuke leave. Of the beautiful things he owned, this boy was his favorite. His defiance was adorable but useless. His bloodline limit belonged to Orochimaru, and that was not going to change.