Tap, tap, tap. The sink was dripping. Kabuto paused, the fresh ink from his brush spelling out another patients' tragic death in the midst of an experiment. Sighing, he stood up.

The medical ninja was very tidy, keeping records of everything- including failures. Of course, they weren't his failures- It was the failure of his patients' hearts, was what usually caused the death.

He walked to the sink in the corner of the lab, twisting the knob until the water stopped. The sheer panic, and perhaps the blood loss... Kabuto slid back into his chair and continued recording the details of the patient. This time it had been a child, a young civilian from the Hidden Mist Village who had been taken hostage in a raid. She was only eight. Kabuto shook his head. Regrettable that such a strong girl had caved in to her own fear; regrettable that he hadn't been able to continue with more tests. He wrote more details, about the types of drugs administered and the surgeries performed. After the report was finished, he scrutinized it, looking for any mistakes. Seeing none as usual, the silver haired ninja filed it away.

Stretching, he walked down the maze like corridors of Orochimaru's current hideout. Small candles let off dim light, and strange shapes danced in the shadows cast by Kabuto's slim figure. Glasses shining, he turned down a corridor and pulled a key from his pocket, unlocking the door obstructing his path. With a smirk, he stepped into a dark hallway lined on both sides by cages reinforced with chakra seals.

There was no distinction between patients in the cells- but Kabuto knew where each and every one of his test subjects was located, and their condition as well as identification. He was an organized man, and proud of it. Kabuto liked to keep track of such things without needing to look them up. He walked slowly down the aisle, allowing his footsteps to echo across the walls and instill fear into the beaten ninja and civilians alike that had withstood his tests- and to add to the sense of terror he knew the ones he hadn't tested on felt.

The man stopped as his gaze fell upon a boy cowering in the corner of his cage with a younger girl. Siblings, he knew. Both from the Hidden Leaf Village. They were aspiring ninja... he remembered the team he had dispatched to go find more test subjects had found them playing with wooden kunai; then made it appear that they'd been killed by a wild boar and kidnapped them. Kabuto smiled, eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

"Today is your lucky day," he said, stepping towards the cage door. "One of you will be able to leave this place, get out of this cage," Kabuto's voice was sweet as honey as he fingered the key in his pocket, knowing that it would change its shape to fit the lock on the door as soon as the seals on both lock and key touched each other.

The two children looked, wide eyed, at each other. The boy was nearly the same age as the girl, just a little older.

"Y-you go, Aisuka..." he nudged her forward. "G-go home and... and tell Dad where I am, he'll come and save me," The nine year old finished, his brown hair almost black looking in the dark lighting.

"No," the girl replied. "You gotta get out of here, I-I'll be okay..."

Kabuto enjoyed the siblings' exchange. The poor children didn't even know what was coming... "How about I decide?" he said. "You." He pointed at the boy. My last subject was a girl, after all... he thought to himself.

"No!" the boy cried out. "Let Aisuka go! Please, I'll stay here forever, let her go free!"

"Shinji-kun... I never said I'd free either of you," Kabuto said, smirking as the boy recoiled in fear. He took the key out of his pocket and let the seals touch each other, then unlocked the door. "Come along now, come along," he said in a friendly, persuasive manor. Both children were silent now, holding onto each other. "Well then, I suppose I'll have to force you to come," the medical ninja easily separated the two siblings and was already holding tight to Shinji's hand and pulling him out the door before the kids had time to react.

"Nii-chan!" Aisuka screamed, launching herself towards her brother. The door clanged shut, and the girl flinched away from the chakra enhanced bars before they touched her skin.

"Aisuka!" Shinji yelped as Kabuto's free hand alighted with blue chakra and skipped across the back of his neck. Just enough pressure to shut him up. The boy slumped forward, and Kabuto lifted him up and carried him out of the prisoners' area and towards the operating room.