"Queer"

Disclaimer: this is NOT Orosasu.


Hey boy, take a look at me
Let me dirty up your mind

The shadows were only broken by the flickering light of a small lump of wax, once a candle. The melting wax slowly dripped down onto the brass holder, glossing the metallic scales of the snake wound around the holder.
Half masked by the dominating darkness, the figure seated on the tall chair slowly exhaled. One of his eyes slowly opened, the thin iris expanding in the dark, the amber orbs slowly taking in the boy standing before him.
A smile playing around his thin lips, Orochimaru suppressed his chuckles. Leaning forward, he extended his hand towards the kneeling figure.
“I take it you have completed the objective?”
“Hai” replied the other, voice hollow.
“Were there any difficulties?”
“No, Sensei.”
The snake-nin nodded, bandaged fingers closing around the precious document. He studied the other for a few moments, silence stretching between them, only broken by the soft whisper of the dancing flame.
Orochimaru smirked. Still, after all the months he had trained the Uchiha, he couldn’t believe what he found in the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan.
How, despite the tough frontier and actions, how innocent the other’s mind really was. How naïve the Uchiha still was.
How easy he was to corrupt.
Like soft iron, his mind was easily moulded, the stainless texture almost begging to be dirtied and distorted.
And the sa-nin was all to eager to do so.
     
I'll strip away your hard veneer
And see what I can find

“…Orochimaru-sama…” the other’s voice cut out. The mentioned blinked and turned his attention back to the boy, who’s straight face was laced with some discomfort.
“Oh yes. You may go.”
Watching him exit the room, the snake master leaned back on his chair, supporting his head with a soft grip, his ivory canines flashing in a dim light.
Oh how that boy defended his secrets. Always wearing a living mask, steely determination barricading his feelings away from the world.
Yet it only took a few hard pries from the snake nin to see into the Uchiha’s unwilling mind, oiled and eased with his years of experience. If there was one thing the raven-haired ninja could do, it was break down walls, slithering his way into people’s minds and getting what he wanted out of them.
Either through sweet promises and cunning words or harsh, merciless physical beating, Orochimaru had his methods of unlocking his subordinates’ minds.
And oh, just how interested he was in finding out what lay hidden behind the cold Sharingans.

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb

It was indeed extremely surprising that the chaotic depths of the warrior held a fragile child.
Sasuke, despite the hardness, was ultimately a scarred child who’s traumatic past have deformed him in such a way that even frightened Orochimaru a little. His past wasn’t exactly rosy, and from his short but painful experience, he knew what unimaginable horrors the Uchiha prodigy was capable of.
Yet…
This child was almost like an apprentice’s experiment gone wrong, all sorts of ingredients heaped and entwined with each other, forming an unpredictable, unsolvable cluster.
He had a queer, one-sided view of the world, yet his child-like innocence shone through disturbingly through his hesitance. His intelligence on the battle-field defied half of the existing Oto-nins, yet the way he weaved his life was incredibly stupid.
Throwing everything stabile away just so he could prepare for another useless attempt to kill Itachi Uchiha. An attempt that was most likely to end with the boy’s messy death.
Leaving his friends and stabile home to provide an empty shell, a body, a future for someone who ultimately cursed him, soured his life.
Throwing his life away for a lost cause and Orochimaru.
There were times when the snake nin himself wanted to shake the boy awake and scream at him to think a little.

I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

Yet how he fought back to avoid revealing all this was notable indeed.
His cocky and daring attitude, dripping with sarcasm, the evil smile that often lit up his features when his team mates challenged him. Jokes were answered by snarls, the onyx eyes burning with the ferocity of dozens of bonfires.
Yet it was all play.
A carefully played act, to hide the terrified child he nursed inside, the threats somehow empty of all threat.

This is what he pays me for
I'll show you how it's done
You learn to love the pain you feel
Like father like son

He was like a challenge, something Orochimaru simply couldn’t resist.
Turning this child into a cold, steely, hard-hearted warrior. To stamp out those insecurities, fuel his hatred and anger, and mould him in a way so that his act becomes reality.
Sure, it would be painful.
It wouldn’t be half as interesting without suffering, physical and emotional alike.
But that won’t matter. It will only be a matter of time before the Uchiha will embrace the pain, thrive on it, let it consume him and heal his wounds.
Pain, just like hatred before.
Orochimaru smirked, flooded with almost parent-like caring at the thought of passing on his experiences to the younger one.
His own past, his own fight against himself and the narrow minded people around him who failed to understand his quest for immortality and shunned him.
Oh how he knew the suffering.
And how he longed to teach the young one how to teach those hypocrites a worthy lesson they will never forget.  

The queerest of the queer
Hide inside your head
The blindest of the blind
The deadest of the dead
You're hungry cause you starve
While holding back the tears
Choking on your smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

He could see it all.
The falling smile every time he turned his back on his new sensei, his muscles tensing, the fear creeping back into his stance.
The way he would stare at his makeshift targets during training, eyes blazing with fury (funny how all the targets had blood-red eyes painted in the middle…)
The nights where nobody and nothing could force or plead him out of his room.
The film of moistness covering his unreadable eyes whenever they talked of Konoha. The unshed tears he blamed on the dust in the air.
The amber eyes never missed anything. Silent as he remained, the snake-like irises flashed knowingly.

I know what's good for you
I know you're dying to
I know what's good for you  
But you can't stop

Don’t fight it, Sasuke-kun.
Don’t fight the hate spreading through your veins.
Why struggle against its poisonous embrace when it can take you to the place you desire?
The strength and power you desire is in your reach.
Let hate take you over.
Let me show you the way through it’s hazy mists.
You know that’s what you desire.
And once you begin down the path…Orochimaru’s grin widened to an almost hysterically happy one.
There’s no turning back.   

The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
The lamest of the lame
The numbest of the dumb
I hate to see you here
You choke behind a smile
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer
The strangest of the strange
The coldest of the cool
You're nothing special here
A fake behind the fear
The queerest of the queer

Brushing past his subordinates, Sasuke trailed down the corridor, head hung, lost in his own hazy thoughts. His eyes lazily traced the candle-lit walls.
Someday, he WILL kill this snake bastard. He WILL define everything he is being turned into. The corners of his mouth twitched in a smile at the rebellious thoughts.
Suddenly, he felt cold scales brush past his arm. He whipped his head around to face one of Orochimaru’s summons, slowly wrapping around his arm, immobilizing him. It bared its ivory fangs, its low hissing clearly a warning.

I know what's good for you
I know you're dying to
I know what's good for you
I bet you're dying to

Don’t fight it.
But challenge my word and you’re a goner.
Hypnotized by the death glare, Sasuke could swear he heard the hissing morph into words his ears.
In the other room, the snake master allowed his eyes to close.
The boy was in his grasp.
And he will crush him slowly into obedience.