The Fallacy of Greed

Hello! This is the second and final part of the Orochimaru One-shot!
Thanks for reading so far and enjoy!

The Fallacy of Greed- Part 2.

All Mai could see was black.
And beyond that... there was even more black.
After seeing black for so long, she swore that there were shades of black.
She sighed and shook her head at her foolishness.
Now was not the time to think about silly tricks of the light... or lack of it.
There was no way to tell time in this jail cell so each second seemed like an eternity.
Was Madara just going to leave her there forever?
Somewhere in the distance, there was the sound of footsteps and for a second, she hoped it was Orochimaru.
A frown formed on her lips at the idea that she would rather be in Orochimaru’s presence than Madara’s. Choosing one captor over the other; this whole mess had completely screwed with her sense of ‘good’.
The footsteps were closer now and Mai swallowed the lump in her throat.
She felt like she was about to meet with the devil himself.
The walking stopped and it sounded like someone was opening the door to her vast universe of darkness.
She took a deep breath and forced her face to go blank. Even in the face of death, she refused to be afraid.
“Hello Mai, have the accommodations been to your liking?” Madara mocked lightly as he opened the heavy metal door and let a pale, yellow glow flutter into the room.
The female moved around in her chains, which tied her to the wall and restricted practically all movement.
Naturally, her response should have been cursing, sneering or angry screaming, but the Uchiha’s threats from before where still heavy in her mind.
“I am very comfortable. Thank you for your hospitality,” she finally managed to state and she mentally appraised herself for keeping her voice free of distaste and rage.
Madara chuckled and stepped into the cell. He was holding a small lamp, which lit the cell up for her to see.
It was much smaller than the entrapment Orochimaru had provided her with and it was a lot more hopeless.
The walls were a murky brown color, but Orochimaru’s had been a light grey, which gave more of an opportunistic feel.
Madara’s cell was just plain depressing.
“I understand that Orochimaru used his fangs to extract your blood, but I have a more sensible approach,” the elder Uchiha started as he leisurely hung the lamp on the wall.
From his body language, Mai could tell that he was completely relaxed and that he had to qualms about making her suffer.
She clenched her teeth when he came closer to her and examined the bite mark Orochimaru had left.
“I will take your blood out using the classic Maple Tree method,” he continued and he pulled out several needles.
Her brow furrowed at the tree reference, but she was too worried about the massive length and width of the needles to think about it.
Madara picked up on that so he explained, “Up north, farmers use round saws to make holes in Maple trees. Then, they put a pipe in and hang a bucket so that the Maple Syrup would flow into the bucket.”
A horrified expression was shadowed on Mai’s face as she realized what he was going to do.
“For research purposes, I must make several holes and extract your blood,” he finished like he had just been telling a story to a child.
She was disgusted by his carefree attitude about poking her through with thumb sized holes.
He chose one needle from the bunch and Mai instinctively tried to press herself against the wall and away from him.
If he found her feeble attempt amusing, he did not say anything because to looked quite concentrated on the task at hand.
The first needle he brought to the vein at her right elbow and with the preciseness of a surgeon, he inserted the needle.
Mai grit her teeth, but it did not hurt that much.
For a second, she wondered if Madara was actually going to be merciful.
He took out another needle and this time, he put it in the same place, but only on her other arm.
The third and fourth were places in the calves of her legs while the fifth was uncomfortably inserted in her neck.
Moving became impossible because if she so much as twitched, the needles would dig further into her.
Madara took out the sixth and final needle and twirled it in his finger for a moment. Her eyes narrowed and he said, “This is the most important one.”
She reviewed where the rest of the needles were and realized that each was in a main artery. But he had left out the most crucial one.
Her heart.
“Wait-,” she choked out but suddenly unimaginable pain exploded in her chest.
Mai looked down in disbelief as she saw the thick, rigid needle prodding out of her heart.
Each heartbeat and breath caused a whole new wave of pain to flush through her.
She gasped and tasted blood in her mouth.
Her heart was struggling to keep pumping sufficient blood to her limbs and Madara knew it.
Looking up at him, she saw his one eye narrowed slightly- completely merciless.
By now, the needle was half full with blood; the same went for the other needles embedded in her body.
To much blood was being taken out and she started getting lightheaded.
Fearing it was her last few moments, she forced herself to take a deep breath and bite out, “I hope you... will die... a slow and painful death.”
More blood entered her mouth and a tortured cough shot out. It made each needle burn like a blue flame.
Madara acted like he had not heard her say anything and he stated, “When each needle is full. I will leave you for today.”
Relief was supposed to rush through her, but all she could feel was pain.
Her vision was getting blurry and breathing was becoming more of a challenge.
Mai barely felt Madara remove the needles in her arms, legs and neck because her full attention was centered on the one piercing her heart.
It was almost full but she could no longer tell because her head drooped and her eyes automatically shut.
The Uchiha removed the needle with a blank expression under his mask. She was unconscious, but not dead.
He removed the chains around her and let her fall to the ground.
Now her remaining blood could go to her head and prevent brain damage.
Her life was meaningless to him, but its usefulness was not yet fulfilled.
He took the lamp and needles with him before shutting the door.
Mai’s bloody body was drenched in darkness.

...

Pain. Relief. Confusion. More pain.
Mai really didn’t know why she was still alive.
Sure, she was glad, but it made no sense to her.
So much blood had been taken from her that it seemed impossible for there to be enough to keep her alive.
She took a deep breath, but then regretted it because a sharp pain stabbed at her chest and all the other entry wounds.
At first, she was content to just lie on the floor and thankfully listen to her heartbeat, but she soon became aware of the sticky, clammy feel of her own blood on her skin.
Though it was unlikely, Mai wanted to feel comfortable.
She gathered all her strength and used her arms and knees to get herself into a dog position, but then got stuck.
Her calf muscles were not strong enough to let her stand and her arm muscles would not be able to support her weight either. Plus, the head rush she could get if she stood up might knock her unconscious.
Gritting her teeth, she decided to crawl forward and try to find a wall to lean against.
It was still pitch black and there was no way her tired eyes would be able to see things anyway.
She thought about sticking her hands in front of her to feel for a wall, but she barely had any balance as it was.
That just left her head...
Sighing and clearing her throat, Mai began to crawl forward at a snail’s pace.
A few times, she nearly crumbled to the floor, but she was determined to get to the wall. After what seemed like an eternity, her head tapped against one of the walls.
Mai wanted to smile at the accomplishment, but she thought it would be silly to be glad about finding a wall.
Some maneuvering later, she had her back against the wall and her muscles could finally relax.
She let out a long sigh, but regretted it because it started a fit of painful coughing. Even though it was dark, she knew she was coughing up blood.
Her head was feeling dizzy again and she wanted to just give in to the temptation of going to sleep and never waking up.
There was a grim frown on her face as she understood that if she fell asleep now, it was unlikely she would ever open her eyes again.
The pain was ebbing away, now merely a throb, but Mai had no choice but to sit and stay awake.
After sitting in the silent black void for what seemed like hours, she was a little startled to hear footsteps.
Had it already been a day?
Panic welled up inside her at the idea that even more blood was going to be taken away from her.
With each second, the footsteps were getting closer and closer, but Mai still had no idea what to do.
She couldn’t run or fight, which meant all she could do was give up.
Frowning at the thought, she mentally kicked her brain in an attempt to come up with something- anything.
There was a click and the door opened.
Like in a horror movie, it creaked and the person about to walk in cast a long shadow. Her breath hitched in her throat and she could feel her panic taking over any rational thoughts.
“I brought you some food,” the owner of the shadow spoke.
Her mind went blank. Why didn’t she think of that?
“Uh...Th-Thanks,” she stuttered after realizing she should be thankful.
Madara took a step into the cell and she saw that he was carrying a plate of grey gruel. It looked absolutely disgusting and she wondered if she even wanted to risk eating it.
Her mind wandered over to the nice, edible meals Orochimaru had given her, but then she snapped back into reality.
“Come get it,” the Uchiha stated as he made no move to come closer to her.
She stared at him questioningly, but then replied, “I can’t.”
He seemed to narrow his eyes at her. “Then you do not get any food.”
Mai’s face looked pained as she started at the food and she started using the wall to push herself into an upright position.
She was about to make a step forward, when suddenly she was against the wall opposite to the one she had just been leaning against.
Something in her back cracked painfully and she felt completely tense, yet unable to do anything.
Madara was holding her neck with one hand and the bowl of gruel with the other. Though the food was atrocious, she could not help but look at it longingly.
“Too late,” he sneered about her earlier attempt at the food.
She forced her face to go blank; willing the pain of starvation to the back of her mind.
But the anger... it was back. Mai felt so outraged at everything that had happened to her.
Having nothing to loose, she looked up at her cruel ‘master’ and growled, “Fine, don’t give me your shitty crap. I would rather eat a chuck of cement than anything you touched.”
The Uchiha growled back, but it was a deep, savage sound that chilled her to the bone.
“You should be praising me for letting you live this long,” he started out with pure murderous intent.
Then he took a long breath and leaned closer to her to whisper, “But I guess that is because I have not shown you what I can do.”
Instantly, he had both hands around her face and he was forcing her to look into his eye.
The bowl of gruel, now no longer being held by something, fell to the ground and covered the floor with its being.
Mai, however, did not hear anything because she was already deep within Madara’s genjutsu world.
Everything was red so it shocked her to some extent after being engulfed by black for so long.
“You have one last chance to beg for forgiveness,” Madara’s voice mocked from all around her.
Pride on the line, Mai replied, “Why don’t you stick that ‘last chance’ up your butt because I’m sure that’s the closest you will ever be to getting laid, you old sack of-.”
She gasped as several metal nails burst out of the redness and toward her.
Her first reaction was to run, but she could not move as suddenly, each nail stabbed through the top and bottom of her lips, rendering her unable to speak.
A muffled scream ripped through her throat as she tried to get them out.
“My, my. When your mouth is open, you sure have a lot of rude things to say. It’s a lot better when you’re quiet,” the Uchiha continued as he watched her writhe in pain.
He chuckled. “That pain was nothing. We still have 72 hours to go.”

...

Mai lay on the floor.
Her eyes were wide open, but they were so blank that it seemed she no longer had a soul.
Madara had long since finished with her and left with a smug smirk.
It seemed that causing people pain brought him some kind of twisted joy.
Her physical injuries had not changed, but mentally she was just a pile of blood and bones.
72 hours at the hands of a merciless expert torturer simply were too horrific to describe.
She wanted to cry out in pain and make herself forget, but the memories were burned into her mind like he had taken a branding iron and written down each and every little thing he had done to her.
At last, a tear slipped out of her eye and yet, she still did not blink.
She couldn’t.
Every time she closed her eyes, vivid images of her living nightmare accosted her.
The abandoned bowl of spilled gruel was inches away from her, but she was too distraught to reach out to it.
She doubted she could even move.
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps and her entire body went tense.
Fear overwhelmed her and she instinctively threw herself to the nearest corner. She pulled her knees toward her and used her hands to shield her face.
No matter what, she was not going to look him in the eyes.
The door creaked open and Mai stopped breathing.
“Mai, come here,” a soothing voice whispered.
The voice was kind; caring almost.
Still, she did not look up as she whispered back, “Please Madara-sama, you have already done enough for one day.”
A few hours ago, she would have spat at his name and never begged. But the genjutsu...
“It’s me, Orochimaru,” the voice reassured and Mai cautiously peeked to look at him.
“Why are you here?”
“To rescue you from Madara. I was worried that he had already killed you,” came the reply and she became even more confused.
One captor rescuing her from another?
She staggered up, but made no move toward him.
Though there was poor lighting, she could tell he had a reassuring look on his face and that it really was Orochimaru.
Mai took a step forward, her first one in days, and instantly, her knees buckled and she started falling.
He caught her just before she hit the ground and said, “Try not to make any noise. I don’t want him to find us.”
She nodded and let herself be carried. Her pride had been cut so short thanks to Madara that she simply did not care anymore.
Orochimaru ran down the hallways and eventually made it outside of the base. Since he was a former Akatsuki member, he knew exactly how to get around.
Then, he ran through the forest and somewhere during that, Mai fell asleep.
At last, she was free again, even if that meant she was going to be a prisoner again shortly.

...

“Tobi, Orochimaru just took Mai,” white Zetsu informed Madara calmly.
The Uchiha made no move to react to that and instead gestured for the plant-man to come closer.
“I was finished with her anyway. The blood was more than enough to construct a mindless flesh creature,” Madara explained.
In front of them there was a large transparent tube inside of which was a lump that vaguely resembled a human.
“Just like with Hashirama, I was able to use the DNA to re-create the being. It has no mind, but it can properly create the blood that I need,” he continued his explanation.
Zetsu fell silent and looked at the creation.
“Actually, it’s better that Orochimaru took her. Now he has one more way to see the effects of my genjutsu.”

...

Orochimaru looked down at the sleeping form of Mai.
She was supposed to look peaceful and calm, but instead, her face was contorted with pain.
It looked as if she was feeling an extreme ache and that she was trying to fight it off, but couldn’t.
Occasionally, she let out a small cry or whimper, but other then that, her mental torture was silent.
He thought about waking her up but she needed to heal her injuries in her sleep so he didn’t.
They had been back at Orochimaru’s base for a couple of hours now and he was determined to stay by her side until she awoke.
After all, he had to ask her what Madara had done to turn her from the placid, composed female ninja to the injured wreck in front of him.
Mai rolled over to her side and tightened herself into a ball.
She had lost some weight and he guessed that Madara had not given her a single thing to eat.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and within a second, she was at the opposite side of the cell.
She was in a defensive position and her eyes were wide with terror.
When she saw it was him, she relaxed slightly and scanned the area.
They were back in the cell he had placed her in the beginning.
“Mai, you are safe now. Madara won’t be able to get you,” the snake-man comforted as he took a few steps toward her.
There was a wild, frantic look in her eyes, but there was also confusion, pain and fear.
“I brought some food. You must be hungry,” he continued as he gestured to the plate of ramen and some sushi.
Her gaze flashed between him and the food and she cautiously inched toward the food.
At last, when she was a step away, she said, “Thank you.”
She sat down and ate like a savage, but he could tell that she was holding back from looking like a complete animal.
When she was done, she stood up again and examined her bandaged wounds.
Her face turned somber and she stated, “Madara can teleport. He can get me at any moment. Besides, he has blocked my chakra.”
Orochimaru did not look concerned as he replied, “I will not let him get you and I am sure that he was done collecting his blood samples already. He will no longer be coming after you.”
He paused and she analyzed the information. She wanted to believe him, but the negative was outweighing the positive.
“As for your chakra,” Orochimaru continued, “I am an expert at breaking seals and your chakra will be restored.”
Mai shook her head in confusion. “You are going to restore my chakra?”
He nodded. “Yes. There is no point in trying to keep you captive, but there is also a large risk when you go outside.”
She was even more confused.
“There are many people like Madara. They will find and kidnap you. I might not always be there to protect you.”
Both of her eyebrows were raised so he continued, “You are free to stay at my base and I guarantee your safety. However, you will still have to give me your blood once a week.”
“Once a week? Freedom?” she blurted with shock written all over her face.
“I will only need your blood once a week because some of it has already adapted to my system. And yes, you are free to come and go as you please,” he answered patiently.
Mai leaned against the wall and narrowed her eyes in thought.
She stayed silent for a few minutes before looking up at him and announcing, “I will stay with you, Orochimaru, and I will willingly give you my blood in exchange for protection. However, I intent to make frequent trips outside because living in caves will make me go insane. Is that acceptable?”
Her formality surprised him a bit, but he smiled at her usual, composed self that was back. “Yes, your terms are acceptable. I am glad that you are staying, Mai.”
A small smile crossed her lips and they shook on it.
“Now come, you will no longer be staying in a jail cell.”
Orochimaru led her away from the entrapment and toward her new room, which actually had furniture and was suitable for living.
Mai followed him silently.
This was the start of her new life.

...

“Is that the best you got, Sas-UKE!?” Mai yelled as she threw several kunai at the Uchiha while avoiding his fireball jutsu.
“I’m just getting started, Mini-Mai!” the teen yelled back as he charged at her with his sword.
“I’m not little!” she hissed and tried to kick him in the side.
Sasuke jumped out of the way and replied, “And I’m not gay but you still call me that!”
They ran at each other again and exchanged blows.
Orochimaru chuckled at the scene.
It was so nice to see his former prisoner and student being so... active.
Sasuke and Mai trained after lunch daily, but it was mostly because one would provoke the other during meal time and they would fight.
He had long ago restored her chakra and the first thing she had done was provoke Sasuke with the affectionate nickname mentioned earlier.
“Fine! If you’re not gay, you’re a chicken ass head!” Mai announced while making odd chicken noises and flapping her arms like said bird.
The young Uchiha growled at her and they exchanged some more blows.
“Mai, Sasuke, I think that is enough for one day,” Orochimaru interrupted and they jumped away from each other.
“Sasuke, you are free to go but Mai, could you come with me?” he continued.
She was beside him shortly and she chirped, “What is it, doc?”
Her posture was completely relaxed and she was carefree enough to give him a nickname. A smile was usually on her lips and her mood was always light.
“It has been a week,” the snake-man started out slowly, not wanting to upset her.
Mai nodded and a small sigh escaped her lips. “I figured. Go ahead and take my blood. It’s the least I can do for you letting me stay here and annoy your student.”
He was a bit confused by her reaction, but nonetheless, he had to do it.
She stopped walking and leaned against the wall so he stood in front of her.
Brushing her hair out of the way, he leaned toward her and his fangs were extended. He tried to be as gentle as he could as he pierced her soft flesh.
A minute later, he pulled away and licked his lips.
Mai gave him a smile and said, “That wasn’t so bad.”
“I am glad that you’re okay,” he replied and her smile widened.
“You’ve been so kind lately. If Madara hadn’t kidnapped me, would you be this nice?”
Her question was innocent, but he could feel a hint of calculation under it.
Orochimaru placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I hope I would.”

...

“It’s snowing! Come quick!”
Mai ran into the room covered in snow and jumped up and down.
“Stop yelling. It’s not that exciting,” Sasuke replied as he continued reading his book.
She scowled at him, reached into her pocket, pulled out a snowball and chucked it in the direction of the moody teen.
He dodged it easily and she ran out of the room with a small yelp.
Orochimaru looked up from his book and said, “Go. I know you want revenge for every little bad thing that happens to you.”
The Uchiha ignored the insult, but ran after Mai, who was already outside.
A minute later, Orochimaru sighed and started walking in their direction. Seriously, sometimes it was like babysitting children.
By the time he got outside, Sasuke was using fireball jutsu to melt all of the snow and Mai was countering it with a waterfall jutsu.
“Water will also make the snow melt,” Sasuke stated in between breaths.
She scoffed. “No! The water will freeze and create ice.”
Another round of fighting began and soon enough, they were exchanging insults as well as blows.
Orochimaru watched patiently until finally, Sasuke got tired of being called a ‘giant man-boob’ and left.
Mai landed on the ground beside Orochimaru and took a deep breath.
“This is absolutely beautiful.”
She caught a snowflake on her hand and her hand clenched around it.
“Mai, you get excited about many things, but why this specifically?” Orochimaru finally spoke up, his curiosity getting the best of him.
Her face turned somber. “I thought I was going to die a month ago. I thought I would never see snow again and yet, here I am.”
He put a reassuring arm around her shoulders and they looked out onto the falling snow.
“Each moment I live... I feel like it’s a gift and I am happy.” She laughed dryly. “I wish I had been like that before this whole ordeal.”
Now it was Orochimaru’s turn to chuckle. “Your happiness feels so normal here. No one has ever smiled in my presence willingly.”
She looked up at him in surprise, but then remembered his experiments and many prisoners with a grim nod.
He looked down into her eyes and she suppressed a gasp at the staggering amount loneliness that she saw.
“Mai, I am used to being hated. But the kindness and care you show around me is so new. I don’t know what I am supposed to do,” he shared his feelings and her eyes widened.
“Is this the occasion when people give each other presents?” he continued with genuine wondering.
She recollected her thoughts and explained, “In normal cases yes, but... you have already given me so much that I ask for nothing more.”
Orochimaru smiled and they continued looking out into the snow.
Suddenly, he twisted Mai around to stand right in front of him and crushed his lips into hers.
She gasped, but kissed back.
The snow just continued to fall around them.

The End!