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Orochimaru had run out of options.
Well, sort of.
He'd run out of palatable options, and was left with one he'd discarded rather early on as being not his type of solution.
It wasn't the best option – it was nowhere near as certain to work as Orochimaru preferred his plans to be – but it was the best option he had left available to him.
It also, unfortunately, had a rather short window of time in which it would work, and he would need to get started sooner rather than later if he wanted to succeed. And if he wanted to minimise the emotional damage this entire incident had caused little Kakashi.
He hated going in without a guarantee of success, but his options were minimal and his time running short, so this was the only choice he had left.
Once he triumphed, though, he was going to smack some sense into the idiot for pushing him into such a course of action.
"Tell me why you have summoned me, mortal."
"I want access to the Pure Lands to retrieve Hatake Sakumo." Blunt, stating his desire, tone calm and firm.
"And how do you intend to bring him back with you?"
"That is none of your concern." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes just a little, his neutral expression becoming almost hostile. "That is for me to worry about, not you. Are you going to let me in?"
"Bold child," the Shinigami chuckled, and Orochimaru bristled a little at having been called a child. Though, admittedly, to the Shinigami, he probably was. "I will guide you to the sole entrance to the Pure Lands from this realm, but everything after that is up to you."
"That I am aware of," Orochimaru nodded once, briefly, almost curtly. "Well?"
"You wish to go now?"
"Obviously." He'd left Kakashi with Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina to watch over him, knowing the two would never let harm come to their student and sensei's son respectively.
Luckily, the Shinigami didn't take offense to Orochimaru's caustic manner, and instead offered an arm.
"Then hold on, little serpent."
Orochimaru took the proffered limb, and the world around him faded and blurred.
When the world came back into focus, he was standing in a gloomy cavern, a dark river before him. The Shinigami took a step away, and Orochimaru turned towards the being.
"Here is where I leave you. The rest is up to you."
The Shinigami vanished, and Orochimaru turned back to the river. Crossing it would not be an issue for him – water walking was a basic shinobi skill, after all – but he would not cross until he had prepared himself as much as possible for the task ahead of him.
He would not fail like the man in the myth that had led him to this course of action. He refused.
Orochimaru bit his thumb, quickly flashing through the hand signs needed to summon a few of his contracted snakes and pressing his bloodied thumb to the ground before him.
When the smoke cleared, three of his summons were before him – deadly Kaede, the largest of the three he had called, a colourful and venomous viper; intelligent little Hideki, a small but smart python who would be instrumental to Orochimaru's return to the world of the living; and brightly-coloured Aoi, a little corn snake who was one of the calmest and most placid creatures Orochimaru had ever met.
"What do you need of us, Orochimaru?" Kaede asked calmly, corralling the two smaller snakes towards their summoner with ease.
"You recall my contingency plan?" he asked her in turn, and she nodded once. "We're at the borders of the Pure Land and the world of the living. Are you still willing to help?"
"Of course," Hideki huffed, tongue flicking out as he glanced around. Kaede and Aoi made quiet noises of agreement. "You have not been the same without your mate, so of course we will help you get him back."
Orochimaru sighed. He should have known his summons would notice his growing desperation and troubles.
"Let's get moving," Aoi suggested, moving closer to Orochimaru and coiling around his right arm when he held it out to her. The other two snakes followed, Kaede draping herself over Orochimaru's shoulders while Hideki made himself into a bracelet on Orochimaru's left wrist, just above the hem of his summoner's sleeve so that the fabric hid him from sight. "The sooner we begin the sooner we can leave the Pure Lands. The living do not belong there."
Orochimaru made a soft noise of agreement, and once sure his summons were settled, he stepped out onto the dark surface of the river that acted as a border between life and death.
The Pure Lands didn't seem much like a blissful afterlife, but Orochimaru supposed that was because he wasn't yet dead. All knowledge of the Pure Lands – as minimal as it was, and mostly hearsay – spoke of how the mists he was currently in would reshape into the viewer's perfect afterlife, their perfect world. For Orochimaru, though, the mists stayed shapeless and indistinct, although he could most definitely feel some form of ground beneath his feet as he walked, unceasing, undeterrable, through the haze.
Anyone with less mental fortitude, he was certain, would have become despondent by this point, unable to see or hear anything distinct among the mist. Orochimaru, though, had three mouthy little summons and his own unfaltering determination on his side. He was stubborn, although he would never admit it to Jiraiya or Tsunade, and he would not allow a little mist to turn him from his goal, from his purpose in being where he was.
He lost track of time, admittedly. He didn't know how long he had been in the Pure Lands, only that he had been walking for what felt like a long time yet no time at all. It was only the conversations between his companions, his loyal summons, that let him take note that time was moving at all.
"We are close, Orochimaru," Aoi mumured, sliding beneath his voluminous sleeve as Kaede slipped down around his chest and waist beneath his outer layer. "I hope you have a plan, because Izanami-no-kami is rarely in a good mood."
"I don't need her to be in a good mood, I just need her to be willing to bargain," Orochimaru muttered back, and paused as the mists before him swirled and cleared.
The room he was suddenly in was vast, the epitome of 'cavernous', with high ceilings, wide-spaced walls and so much depth it felt never ending.
And, despite the great expanse of space before and behind him, he was mere feet from the base of a throne, upon which sat a figure of great power.
Izanami-no-kami, the goddess of creation and death, ruler of the afterlife. The being who could deny or approve his request, who he had to convince of the need for him to take Hatake Sakumo back to the world of the living.
This was going to be difficult, but Orochimaru had made it to this point and he was no coward.
He would succeed. He had to.
"What demand do you have of this one, mortal, that you would come to this realm?" Izanami-no-kami demanded, her voice quiet yet echoing throughout the vast cavern-room.
"I only wish to make a request, Izanami-sama," Orochimaru quashed his pride and knelt, bowing low and as formally as possible to the goddess. "Should you deny me I will not attempt to sway your decision." He kept his eyes down, his head bowed in respect and submission, and waited for the goddess's response.
She hummed, the sound thoughtful.
"How unusual for a being to not demand something of this one," she mused. "Stand and speak your request, human."
Orochimaru stood, movements graceful, and folded his hands into his sleeves.
"My request is that I am given the chance to bring one of my dearest back with me to the world of the living, if he so chooses to accompany me," he said calmly, politely, and waited for Izanami-no-kami's response.
"You want to cheat this one of one of her subjects?" Izanami-no-kami asked, voice neutral, and Orochimaru shook his head.
"I do not wish to cheat you, Izanami-sama. There is precedent among the living of those who have won the right to attempt to bring back their loved ones, and that is all I wish for – a chance to bring home my partner. I am willing to face a challenge to win that right, and am aware there is further trial in returning to the world of the living."
"The last to win that right was the musician, and ultimately he failed to return to the surface with his beloved," Izanami-no-kami murmured. She stood, descending from her throne and standing before Orochimaru with her head tilted to one side. Her long white hair fell about her, a twisted mirror to Orochimaru's dark locks. "You are an interesting one, mortal. So certain of your success."
"Leaving room for doubt does me no good," Orochimaru responded calmly. "What must I do to win my partner's soul and life?"
Izanami-no-kami laughed.
The sound was dry, darkly humorous, and echoed as her voice did through the space around them. It was the laughter of a being who never laughed, unpracticed and hoarse.
"This one quite likes you, human. You have fire." She reached out, slender fingers gripping Orochimaru's chin and lifting his face so she could see his in full. "What is your name, human, and who is it you wish to take back with you?"
"My name is Orochimaru, Izanami-sama, and my partner is Hatake Sakumo."
"Ah, the early arrival," Izanami-no-kami mused, releasing Orochimaru's face and drifting back a step. "He is not supposed to be here anyway, so it is a small matter for him to return." Orochimaru blinked, just the once, the only sign of his surprise, and when his eyes opened Izanami-no-kami was back on her throne. "The price is minimal, little snake. Should you succeed in leaving the Pure Lands without looking upon your lover until you are both back in the world of the living, you will not pay the price until your natural return to this realm. Should you fail, you and your lover both will be this one's servants for the rest of your existence."
"And the price should I succeed?" Orochimaru asked, tone still polite.
"The price remains the same, though you may live out your human lives before becoming this one's servants, and your service shall be terminable after two centuries." Izanami-no-kami tilted her head again, dry cracked lips curling slightly in what might be an attempt at a smile. "This one does like you, little snake." She waved a hand, and the mists swirled at her side, coalescing into a familiar, if faded, figure. Orochimaru's eyes snapped away from the shade of his lover-partner-husband to Izanami-no-kami, who gave that almost-smile again. "Turn, little snake, and make your way back to the living world. Your lover will be behind you. Remember, do not look until you are both out of the Pure Lands."
"Thank you, Izanami-sama," Orochimaru bowed, and turned as he straightened. He waited only a few seconds, and then began to walk.
He knew the story. He knew that the Pure Land would attempt to trick him, would tempt him into looking back to check that his partner was still with him, still behind him, still moving from Pure Land to Impure World. So when the mists swirled around him as they had during his trek from river-border to Izanami-no-kami's throne, he knew not to listen to the whispers and the soft calls of the soul behind him.
"I will guide us, Orochimaru," Kaede hissed softly from where her head was now poking out of his collar, and he lifted a hand to touch her head lightly in appreciation.
"I will watch your mate," Hideki added from around his other wrist, and Orochimaru couldn't help the fond smile that formed on his face. He did so adore his summons.
"I will watch also," Aoi said, and Orochimaru inclined his head. "Hideki can hide in your hair, for better range," she suggested, and Orochimaru lifted his hand so he could look at Hideki.
"And you are content with this?" he asked quietly, determined to ignore the murmurs around and behind him as he continued walking forward.
"Put me in your hair, Orochimaru, and I will keep my focus on your mate," Hideki promised, and Orochimaru smiled as he lifted his arm close enough to his hair for Hideki to wind through the locks.
"Keep walking," Kaede advised, keeping her voice quiet, and Orochimaru did so.
"I can't access my chakra here, Orochimaru, I can't keep up," Sakumo's voice called, muffled and faint, and Orochimaru bit his tongue and kept walking.
"Please look at me," Sakumo said, voice fainter still.
"Keep walking," Hideki hissed by Orochimaru's ear, and he kept walking.
"Help me, Orochimaru, please," Sakumo's voice called.
"He's right behind you, it's not him talking," Aoi whispered.
Orochimaru kept walking.
The murmurs of voices Orochimaru didn't recognise grew louder, though remaining indistinct, and Kaede hissed at the approaching shades when some made as if to stop Orochimaru's forwards progress.
"They're trying to keep you here, but they can't touch you, so don't stop!" the biggest of the summons said, and Orochimaru trusted her.
He kept walking.
Finally, finally, the mists cleared enough for him to see the river, the border between the Pure Land and the Impure World, and Orochimaru very nearly gave in to the temptation to pause and check that his lover was still with him.
"Keep moving," all three of his summons ordered, and despite the worry tugging at his insides Orochimaru obeyed them. He took his first step onto the river, chakra cycling through his feet, and flinched at the sudden increase in pleading from the not-really-Sakumo voice behind him.
"I can't follow you there! Come back and help me, please!"
"Keep moving!" Hideki hissed sharply. Orochimaru bit down on his tongue again, bit down so hard he tasted his own blood, but he didn't speak to the not-his-mate voice and took another step.
Aoi slid up from his arm to wind around his head, covering his ears but keeping her head close to his right ear so whisper into it.
"I will keep you distracted from the fake one, my summoner," she hissed softly. "I will tell you Hideki and Kaede's words. Keep your focus on me, Orochimaru, or you will fail in your task."
She kept up a rambling litany, telling him this and that anecdote about what had transpired among the newly-hatched summons in the dimension in which they lived, only occasionally interrupting herself to transfer a message from one of the other two. Orochimaru kept his eyes forwards, focusing on reaching the other side of the river and trusting in his summons. He was trusting them not only with his life, but with that of his mate, his partner, his lover. His husband, though their marriage was only formalised in the ways of their clans and their summons, not according to village law.
They'd have to change that when they got back to Konoha, really.
Orochimaru took the last step on the river-border, and then stepped onto dry land and took a few extra steps just to make sure he was clear of the water.
"Do not turn yet," Aoi advised, interrupting herself again. Past her voice, he could vaguely hear the not-Sakumo voices calling still, sounding more distressed than Orochimaru had ever heard the man in life. "Take a few more steps, you must make sure you do not have any contact with the Pure Lands before you turn."
Orochimaru obeyed, pausing only when the Shinigami once again appeared in front of him. The figure stayed silent, this time, instead looking past Orochimaru and remaining motionless.
"You are past the borders fully, now," Aoi advised. "Wait until your mate comes into contact with you to look at him. That is the safest way."
Orochimaru nodded, just once, careful not to jostle Aoi or Hideki too much, and waited.
It was possibly the hardest thing he had ever done.
The uncertainty was the worst part, the lack of knowing, the lack of certainty. Especially when he could still hear the distressed noises from the Pure Lands behind him.
But he refused to lose, not when he was so close to having his mate back. He would not be fooled, nor would he give in to the uncertainty that had seized him partway back to the Impure World, the world of the living.
Sakumo was only metres from his lover, his mate, and still he couldn't speak, couldn't call out to him to let him know that he'd crossed the border, that the voices he was hearing weren't Sakumo's but the trickeries of the Pure Lands.
The Shinigami stood before Orochimaru, looking at Sakumo, silent and wordless, but Orochimaru was completely still and silent, ignoring everything. He had a snake in his hair and another around his head, and Sakumo once again was struck by how blindingly intelligent his chosen mate was. Still, hearing Sakumo's voice calling out to him for help couldn't be easy, and Sakumo was going to do his damnedest to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.
He pushed himself those last few steps, determined to reach his mate-lover-husband-partner, and stumbled to a halt, sinking to his knees, as pain ricocheted through his entire being.
He gasped, completely silent, and clutched at his chest as pain radiated through him in waves, resonating from his core right through him to the very tips of his fingers and toes. He sucked in a breath, startled to be able to actually do so, and bit through his lip – tasting blood – as the pain intensified to almost unbearable levels before vanishing altogether.
He… could feel his heartbeat again. Could taste the blood in his mouth from his bitten lip. Could breathe again, in a way he hadn't been able to even as he raced after Orochimaru from Pure Lands to Impure World.
He staggered to his feet, marvelling at how strange it was to be able to feel his body after so long of just being a being of spiritual presence, and then looked at Orochimaru.
His beloved partner was still facing away from him, still unmoving and silent, the Shinigami still in front of the snake summoner.
Sakumo took one step, then another, and then two, three, four more to cross the distance between himself and his beloved Orochimaru. He wrapped his arms around his lover's narrow waist and held tight, lifting him off the ground to swing him around with a laugh.
A laugh that actually had sound, had volume again.
The voices faking his own cries ceased and vanished, and Sakumo grinned as he set his lover down once more.
It was difficult to contain his instinctual yelp when strong arms closed about him and lifted him off the ground, but the familiarity of the gesture – the amount of times Sakumo had picked him up just like this in greeting were too many to count – settled him just as much as the cessation of the not-Sakumo voices and the rich, warm laughter that sounded from the man now holding him.
As soon as his feet hit the ground again he turned, and met the warm eyes and laughing grin of his beloved partner.
"You did it, lovely," Sakumo murmured, big rough hands coming up to cradle Orochimaru's face with astounding gentleness. "You won, Orochimaru."
"Don't you ever make me need to do that again!" Orochimaru snapped, but then he grabbed hold of his partner's hair to haul him down for a fierce kiss.
Sakumo kissed him back, warm and familiar and there, and when they parted Orochimaru slid his arms around the bigger man's middle and hid his face in Sakumo's neck.
He'd succeeded. He'd won. He had his beloved back.
"I didn't actually commit suicide, by the way," Sakumo said later, much later, once they were back in Konoha and Sakumo had officially been declared alive again, once he had apologised to his son and dealt with the rage and fear and grief and tears, once he had put his emotionally-exhausted little boy to bed and gone to bed himself with his beloved partner, his mate.
"What?" Orochimaru's voice was a hiss, the sound one of pure outrage, and Sakumo sighed, tugging his enraged lover back down to his side to continue embracing him.
"I was contemplating it, but I wasn't going to. We need to get rid of Danzo's little private army."
"Of course it was ROOT," Orochimaru spat, disgusted. He was bristling like a cat, much more like a feline than his usual snakey self. Sakumo turned his head, pressing a kiss to Orochimaru's temple.
"We'll deal with them in the morning," Sakumo promised. "Dai will help, and I'm sure my former students will be willing to help out their old sensei."
Orochimaru stilled for a moment, and then Sakumo saw a vicious smile curl his lips.
Well, there was a reason Kushina, Mikoto and Hizashi had gotten along with Orochimaru so well when Sakumo introduced the Snake Sannin to his former students. They had similar senses of justice and similar levels of viciousness to their plots and plans.
Gods, he loved this vicious, beautiful, powerful creature with all his heart.
He would almost feel sorry for Danzo and ROOT… if they hadn't been the ones to kill him. But since they had, he was just going to point his former genin and his lover in the right direction and watch the carnage that came of it.
Maybe he could bring Minato and Kakashi along and they could cook dinner over the resulting fires…