Orochimaru didn't look up as he meticulously sorted through the vials on the table. His movements were precise, deliberate, as though their conversation was nothing more than a minor distraction.
"You want something?" he asked, his tone indifferent.
Saeko stood before him, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on him as if trying to decode an unreadable script.
She took her time. Thinking. Searching for the right words.
Finally, she spoke.
"Why?"
Orochimaru flicked a glance at her, though he already knew the question. "Why what?"
Her fingers curled slightly. "Why did you do it? The bandages, the medicine. Why help?" A pause. "Why the game at all? First, you tell us one must die. Then, you don't let me die."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a slow, almost saccharine smile—one that didn't belong to him, one that didn't belong to anyone who spoke the truth.
"You're assuming I helped you."
Saeko's brows furrowed slightly. "Didn't you?"
A quiet chuckle. A shake of his head.
"Don't be foolish," he said smoothly. "You're alive because you're still useful. Nothing more."
He turned back to his work, flipping through notes with the absentminded ease of someone who had already moved on from the conversation.
Saeko muttered under her breath, "Still useful…"
Orochimaru let out a quiet laugh, his voice carrying a faint note of amusement. "Of course. This was a test too."
A test?
He turned then, his golden eyes dulling with something that resembled disappointment—though whether it was real or simply another layer of his performance was impossible to tell.
"I had hopes for you," he murmured, his voice laced with something almost like regret. Almost. "I thought you'd be the one to win."
He let the words settle, stretching the silence just long enough for the weight of them to take hold.
Then, a smirk.
"But it seems I was wrong."
His gaze swept over them, slow and deliberate.
"You were the worst."
Saeko swallowed hard.
Orochimaru only smiled. "And that too… after you killed before."
A slow, mocking tch tch.
Yuriko had been impressive—no hesitation, no second-guessing. She had never killed before, yet she pulled the trigger without a moment's doubt. A mother willing to do anything for her child.
Not surprising.
Saya, though… she had a gun too.
But she hadn't fired.
Just a second too slow.
It didn't matter.
The result was the same.
Both had been willing to do whatever it took.
But only one had acted first.
Saeko remained motionless, her stare locked onto the ground.
Orochimaru's voice cut through the silence, smooth and edged with amusement.
"Maybe you just haven't found your priority yet. But that's not really the issue, is it?"
His golden eyes gleamed, sharp as a scalpel.
"The issue is… you never truly accepted yourself."
And even now, she still hadn't.
Not the real her.
She parted her lips—to defend, to justify, to explain—
Orochimaru cut her off before she could even begin.
"In my world, innocence is a lie."
His tone remained unchanged, steady as ever.
"No one gets a free pass."
The words were delivered with a certainty that made them feel absolute.
"Women. Men. The elderly. The young. Newborns, the pregnant—none of them are spared. No one is too pure, too sacred, too untouchable."
A slow, deliberate smile crept across his face.
"Survival isn't a right. It's a privilege."
And privilege?
"That can be taken away at any moment."
He let that truth settle, its weight pressing down like an unshakable force.
Then, almost lazily, he added—
"Mercy?"
A chuckle, low and sharp.
"Mercy is just another way of saying 'not yet.'"
Unless there's a better option.
He spoke again. "Not that it concerns me. I'm leaving tomorrow."
Saeko's head snapped up, understanding exactly what that meant.
He was leaving this world and returning to his own.
She opened her mouth again, but Orochimaru didn't give her the chance.
"You should leave. I'm quite busy now."
Seeing her vanish, he muttered about moral codes and chuckled, reminiscing about his past experiences.
As high as they sound, as low their status is in my life.
Shaking his head, he turned back to his notes, where images of various animals were scattered across the pages.
He took out a fresh sheet and began writing—Centaur, Harpy, Werewolf—compiling a list of hybrids.
On the side, another list rested, names neatly written in a separate column—Saeko, Rika, Saya…
Orochimaru tapped the pen against his chin, lost in thought.
Hmmm… I need more quantity and quality.
His gaze shifted back to the notes, where theories of genetic fusion and chakra adaptation filled the margins.
"The Nine-Tails' rampage will be within the year… I should collect its chakra while I have the chance."
His fingers tightened around the pen, excitement flickering in his eyes.
A proper source of power one that transcended mere biology.
With that… the real experiment begins.
**************
Suggestions