Oh god, I'm breaking one of my cardinal rules and actually writing a fic that has Orochimaru in a major role. I blame it on Kativa-chan, her fic 'Daddy Dearest' actually made me like Orochimaru but only in that fic. So since I've got a HUUUUGE case of writer's block with "Why Orange?" I'm gonna write this out and hope it helps break through the block.

WARNING: This fic WILL have yaoi, also known as male on male loving. If you don't like this then hit the back button. Don't flame me for the pairing if you read anyway.

Disclaimer: Is Sai Itachi's private plaything in the manga? No he's not ergo I don't own Naruto.

Pairings: I'm keeping that a secret for now.

'thoughts'

emphasis

flashback (if I do any)

Chapter 1

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Naruto glared ruefully at the chains that held him. Why he was in this situation was a bit of a mystery to him. How he'd come to be in this situation was easy though, it was a combination of a drunk peeping Toad Sage being chased by a bevy of bloodthirsty beauties, complete exhaustion from a day of hard training, and a certain snakey sannin. That's right, he'd been abducted by Orochimaru, not Akatsuki, hence his confusion as to why he was currently chained up. As far as Naruto was aware, he was useless to the evil Sasuke-stealing snake. At the thought of Sasuke being under Orochimaru's control, Naruto's glare turned vicious.

"My my Naruto-kun, who would have thought you could summon a glare so venomous."

The sibilant hiss came from the shadows and Naruto's glare intensified even further, "Show yourself you sick son of a bitch!"

Orochimaru chuckled as he stepped forward, "I do believe that glare could rival one of Sasuke-kun's."

"What the hell do you want with me you jackass faced butt monkey?! Abducting Sasuke wasn't enough for you?!"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at the slur, "You certainly are creative with an insult Naruto-kun. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Sasuke-kun not leave Konoha of his own free will?"

"That's debatable. He'd never have considered it if, one you'd never put that mark on him and, two you'd never sent your lapdogs to mock him."

"Hmm well one certainly can't argue with that. It would appear that just one year with my old teammate has done wonders for your acquisition of knowledge Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked, "Don't you mean my intelligence?"

"No. From what Kabuto managed to gather and what little I've heard from Sasuke-kun, I'm rather certain that you've always been intelligent. I believe that your ineptitude came from a simple lack of instruction."

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Uh-huh riiight, sure you do. What is it that you want?"

"Such suspicion Naruto-kun, I assure you that one thing I will not do is lie to you. As for what I want, it's quite simple. Sasuke-kun has stopped progressing and he needs some kind of motivation to push him further. From Kabuto's information on you and Sasuke-kun, I know that the two of you push each other past your normal limits, therefore I believe that training the both of you will prevent Sasuke-kun's progression from stalling. This would benefit you as well Naruto-kun."

Naruto stared at the pale man in disbelief for a moment then, "Pfft! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha y-you have got to be delusional if you think I'm going to help you train Sasuke just so you'll have a strong body to take over,"

Naruto's laughter echoed in the cell as Orochimaru watched the blond youth in surprise. The last thing he'd expected was laughter. Insults, a flat no, a loud hell no, even immediate acceptance, all of those he'd have expected but laughter had not been on his list of possible reactions and truthfully it made him feel more insulted than the worst slur Naruto could come up with. Naruto gradually stopped laughing and met the snake sannin's eyes steadily, "Go find someone else to challenge the bastard because I don't want to help you."

Orochimaru swallowed his outrage at Naruto's laughter and smiled, "I think not Naruto-kun. You are the only one who will suffice and I'll be keeping you confined until you agree."

"So what should I look forward to? Torture? Experimentation? Starvation? Thirst?"

"Oh no Naruto-kun, I am not so cliché as that. You won't be starved or tortured. Kabuto will come down every day to feed you and give you water. I will simply wait you out; eventually you'll agree to train under me."

The snake sannin then left Naruto to his thoughts.

The boy sighed and closed his eyes to get some sleep. 'You know, just once it'd be nice to have someone want to train me cause they see something in me alone, not cause it'd benefit someone else or cause I remind them of someone.'

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"Good morning Naruto-kun."

Naruto opened his eyes to see Orochimaru standing in front of him. It had been a week since the snake had made his first offer and, true to his word, Kabuto had come three times daily and fed him by hand since Naruto's hands were chained to the walls. However, though the medic fed him, he never spoke to Naruto or touched him, or even met his eyes. Naruto was starving for attention, so much so that he was actually a bit glad to see Orochimaru. With the man in front of him now though, Naruto had to wonder what game the snake was playing. If he thought that just depriving Naruto of attention would get the blond to agree to help him then he was sorely mistaken.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as Orochimaru came closer, "So how are you feeling?"

"I doubt it matters to you."

"Oh you're wrong about that. Your health is of great importance to me. If you'll notice even your shackles don't chafe."

Naruto blinked as he realized that the snake sannin was right, the usual chafing and pain that shackles caused was missing.

"What the?"

"They are of a special design, intended to bind without causing any kind of damage. I had them created especially for you Naruto-kun."

"Aw I feel so honored...no wait, it's just indigestion."

Orochimaru chuckled, "I must say that you are quite entertaining."

"So what do you want this time? I can't believe you'd think that I've changed my mind."

"Of course not. I doubt that you're so weak-willed. I am simply here to keep you company."

"Uh-huh, pull the other one."

"I told you Naruto-Kun, I will not lie to you. I imagine you've been fed enough lies in your lifetime that you'll find a little honesty refreshing."

Naruto glanced away because the man had hit the nail on the head. Orochimaru smiled, "I see that I'm right. I wouldn't be surprised if my dear old teammate lied to you about the reason he trains you."

"Says I remind him of the fourth."

"Well you do look a great deal like him but that's only to be expected."

"What do you mean?"

Orochimaru blinked, "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

The snake sannin's indrawn breath was audible, "No one, not even Jiraya has told you about your parents?"

"I know they're dead that's all."

Orochimaru's jaw tightened, "That perverted bastard, even I am not so cruel."

"Oi! Don't insult ero-sennin!"

"Naruto-kun you cannot tell me you haven't asked Jiraya about your parents."

Naruto blinked and shrugged, "He said I wasn't ready to know."

The pale man's lips twisted in a frown, "That is no excuse to keep knowledge of a child's family from them. I'm disappointed in Jiraya; I thought he'd learned that."

"What do you mean?"

Orochimaru came closer and ran a finger over Naruto's whisker marks and the boy had to fight to keep from turning into the soft touch.

"We are more alike than you think you and me Naruto-kun."

"Have you lost what's left of your sanity? We're nothing alike!"

"No? We are both orphans who desired the Hokage post, who were shunned at a young age, who think in non-liner way and come up with new ways to utilize jutsu, who will do whatever is necessary to realized our dreams, and who were never accepted by Konoha. Are we truly so different Naruto-kun?"

Naruto swallowed, "You made a couple mistakes in tense. I desire to be Hokage, present tense and I will be accepted by the village one day!"

"Do you truly believe that? You truly think that through effort you will make them see you as you alone?"

"Yes!"

Orochimaru examined Naruto's eyes and saw complete faith in his own abilities in the cerulean depths, "How can you manage to make them see you through effort when the council doesn't see you despite who your father is?"

"Who the heck is my father? How could his identity possibly change their opinions of me?!"

Orochimaru cupped Naruto's cheek, "Your father's name was Namikaze Minato but his name isn't as important as his title."

"And his title?"

"He was the Yondaime Hokage."

As that sank in, Naruto began shaking his head, slowly at first then violently, "No, no, no ero-sennin wouldn't keep that from me! You're wrong, you have to be!"

The pale man gazed at Naruto with uncharacteristic sympathy, "I am not. Recall what pictures you've seen of the Fourth and what Jiraya has said about you and the Fourth. You may not believe me but I...regret that this causes you pain."

"GET OUT!"

The snake sannin nodded, "I will leave for now but I will return Naruto-kun."

Tears leaked out of the corner of Naruto's eyes as he thought of all the times that Jiraya, Tsunade, the Sandaime, and even Kakashi would seem to look through him and realized that they had been seeing the Yondaime. 'Why did they keep it from me? Even Kakashi-sensei didn't tell me and he knows how much I needed to know about my family!' The sharp sting of betrayal made Naruto sag in his chains.

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The pain of the betrayal sent Naruto spiraling into such a depression that he became ill and ran a high fever. A week after the revelation, Orochimaru stood in the cell and released the shackles, then he lifted Naruto in his arms, marveling that such a vibrant, strong person had such a delicate frame, and he carried the boy to the infirmary where Sasuke was treating a wound on his arm. The avenger glanced at his sensei and his eyes widened at the sight of the man's blond burden, "The hell?"

The raven's voice was a soft exclamation.

"I've been holding him here for two weeks in an attempt to convince him to train with you."

Sasuke snorted softly, "He'll starve to death before he'll agree to that. He'd never betray Konoha."

"Perhaps, perhaps not but for now he has a fever and needs to be tended to."

Orochimaru laid Naruto on an infirmary bed then, gathered supplies for treating a fever and Sasuke watched closely, "He never gets sick."

"This was caused by his emotions spiraling out of control. It threw his immune system out of balance resulting in his body becoming vulnerable."

"Hn," Sasuke stood staring at Naruto intently for a few more moments before leaving the infirmary. Orochimaru's gaze followed the Uchiha, surprised at the boy showing so much concern. 'Hmm it would appear that Sasuke-kun cares more for Naruto-kun than he likes to let on.' The sannin then turned his attention back to the feverish blond.

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Naruto's fever had been raging for three days and he'd become delirious, crying out unintelligibly and struggling against whoever was taking care of him, calming only marginally when he heard Sasuke's voice when the avenger would visit. Orochimaru was reaching his wits end, nothing was working to bring Naruto out of his fever and if it didn't break soon the boy would die. Orochimaru decided to do something drastic. He went to a cabinet and pulled out a special summoning scroll. As he prepared to break the seal on the scroll, bittersweet memories washed over him of the moment he'd been given it...

Orochimaru stood near the village's gate watching for one certain person and noting the number of lives falling to the Kyuubi's tails. A tall blond man walked over to him cradling an equally blond infant, "Orochimaru what are you doing here?"

"I came to offer my help."

"I thought you hated Konoha."

"I do."

"Then why..."

"I do hate Konoha but you, you love this village and out of my feelings for you I am willing to set that aside to help you protect it."

The blond man blinked then looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms, "I fear that your aid won't be enough. This beast was summoned by Uchiha Madara and has had its yin and yang separated. It is unstable and there is only one was to stop it."

Orochimaru stared at the beautiful man before him in horrified comprehension, "No Minato, you can't be planning to..."

"Yes I am. I will seal the fox's yin chakra into my son and the yang into a scroll that will reside with Jiraya."

Orochimaru inhaled sharply and looked down at the baby, "Your son?"

"Yes, Naruto. He will carry his mother's name to protect him from my enemies however."

The snake sannin reached an unsteady hand to stroke the newborn's hair, "He deserves to know his father Minato."

The Yondaime smiled sadly, "I wish there was another choice but," Minato's voice trailed off as he met Orochimaru's eyes in understanding, then he spoke again, "There is something you can do for me Orochimaru."

"Name it."

"First I know you will want to take him with you, don't. I want him to grow up in Konoha so that I can watch over him in the only way I'll be able to, through a stone face."

Orochimaru bit back a protest and nodded.

"Second," Minato handed Orochimaru a scroll, "That is to summon the scroll with the Kyuubi's yang chakra. I want it in your keeping and I want your word that you will never NEVER use it unless Naruto's life is in extreme danger. I know you will not go back on your word."

The pale sannin swallowed thickly and his voice was raspy with restrained emotion when he spoke, "You have my word Minato."

The blond Hokage smiled gently and reached his free hand up to cup Orochimaru's cheek, "Forgive me Orochi-kun, for not following you when you left."

Orochimaru's hand covered Minato's, "I would never have expected it of you so there's nothing to forgive 'Nato. You are simply far too good a person to follow me, my darkness would have consumed you eventually."

Minato glanced over his shoulder at the battle with the Kyuubi then turned back to Orochimaru, "I don't have much time but for one moment let me be selfish."

He pulled Orochimaru's head down to his and claimed a swift passionate kiss from the pale man. they pulled apart when the Naruto fussed, a string of saliva stretching between their mouths, foreheads resting against each other. Blue eyes connected with gold, "Orochi-kun, ai shiteru."

With those final words Minato pulled away and ran to the battleground, not hearing Orochimaru's whispered, "And I you."

The sannin watched as Gamabunta was summoned, as Minato performed the seal, as the fox fell, and finally as Minato crumpled to the ground protectively cradling Naruto. Orochimaru turned away and left, unaware of the single tear that fell down his cheek.

Orochimaru's hand clenched on the scroll then relaxed. He unsealed it and summoned the scroll of Kyuubi's yang chakra. A smart-mouthed toad was fused into the scroll but before it could say anything Orochimaru pinned it with a lethal glare and motioned towards Naruto. The toads subsided and allowed the sannin to open the scroll.

The pale man began to transfer the chakra from the scroll to Naruto in small increments, resting between each transfer and having Kabuto heal the damage the transfers did to Naruto's body. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the last of the chakra was sealed inside Naruto and the toad scroll disappeared. Orochimaru knew it was the calm before the storm and ordered Kabuto out and telling him to keep Sasuke out of the room. Suddenly Naruto began writhing on the bed and screaming in agony as the fox's chakra began reforming his organs and cell structure. Orochimaru joined Naruto on the bed and clasped the boy to him tightly and sent his own chakra into the blond to siphon off some of the pain into himself. The sannin ran his hand soothingly over Naruto's hair and sang a quiet lullaby to make the boy focus on him instead of the pain. For the next several hours Orochimaru took as much of Naruto's pain into himself as he could and did his best to distract the blond as his body changed. As the fox vessel calmed, he began to whimper and Orochimaru listened closely to what was said, clenching his jaw so tightly the teeth should have shattered as what Naruto revealed in his delirium infuriated the former Konoha nin, "No stop. Stop touching me. No! It hurts, it hurts! Stop please stop. No more, stop!"

On and on it went a litany of pleading and begging that revealed the truth of just how sick Konoha's hatred had become. Sometimes Naruto would be begging a specific person and each name was noted in Orochimaru's memory to be dealt with later. Soon, though not soon enough for the angered sannin, the pain stopped, the fever broke and Naruto quieted and lay still. Orochimaru let go of the boy and went to get a cloth to wipe the sweat that covered Naruto's body, fresh clothes for the boy, and clean sheets for the bed. As he bathed and dressed Naruto and changed the bed sheets, he gathered his fury into a corner of his being and locked it away for the time being. Calm again, he laid Naruto down on the clean sheets, sat in a chair beside the bed, and gently stroked the boy's hair. 'How can one so young, small, and delicate be so strong? He's suffered more than anyone should at the hands of that damn village yet he's determined to become its protector.' Orochimaru sighed and laid his head on the bed, letting his eyes close now that the danger to Naruto's life was over. Orochimaru's last thought before sleep claimed him was how proud Minato would be of his son.

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Whew! That may be the longest chapter of anything I've ever written. Now let me know, should I continue this or junk it? Please review and let me know what you thought? Ja ne!