Author: Ibilintu/Aryna
Pairing: NaruSasu
Rating: M
Warnings: Disturbing imagery! Gore, violence, cannibalism, character death, blood, intestines, mad scientists (at least mentions of them) (separate warnings for part 2). If you don't like queasy stuff, please don't read this.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi, I'm just borrowing and making no profit at all.
A/N: So, a few words about this baby. I wrote it in the autumn actually but I've been postponing posting it because I originally wanted to post both parts at once but plans change. Also, this fic doesn't really have a name. While working on this fic I listened to Editors a lot and somehow parts 1 and 2 were named after one of their songs in my head and in the end I couldn't change it. So, this fic has no real name, just two parts with separate names. I enjoyed writing this, as weird as it is things like this and 'Knife' are my favorite type to write.
But, moving on. Please read the warnings. While this isn't half as gross as it could've been it still isn't for everyone. Consider yourself warned. But I hope you enjoy this anyway and please let me know what you think
Part 1 - Eat Raw Meat
Naruto gulped as he stared at the laboratory buildings in front of him. The clouds were gray and heavy, boding a snowfall that had yet to come, and the grass on the ground was icy and cracking lightly as the rest of their crew headed to the main doors. There were hardly any plants, only a couple of crooked trees near the doors, and the area around the laboratories was plain and aversive. The main building itself was large and painted with a lighter shade of gray, with very few windows. There were two smaller buildings behind the main laboratory, one of them Naruto suspected had served as the personal areas for the scientists that had worked here.
Shivering, Naruto pulled up his collar to protect his face from the cold, and with one last glare at the obscure building he headed straight towards it, jogging to catch up with his comrades. Even if he wasn't really looking forward to entering the place and seeing what remains of the sick and twisted experiments they might find, there was no way he'd stay out here alone either. It was late already, nightfall wasn't far away, and by the looks of it a snowstorm would hit them soon. Staying outside or even in a car really wasn't an option. The laboratories might be disgusting, but at least they were warm and would give him a shelter from the wind.
The large doors creaked as the head of their team pushed it open, giving them a sign to stay silent. Nothing happened for a moment, and Naruto stood behind the newest member of the group, a dark-haired young man called Sai, bristling and shivering from the cold. Perhaps his nerves had something to do with it as well, not that he would ever admit it though, and for once Sai didn't feel like picking on him like he had done right from the start. This place had a certain air around it, something that sucked away the need to even smile, let alone tease other people, and Naruto was partly grateful for that. He really didn't need stupid comments from the other man right now.
"It's safe. Let's go", their leader announced with hushed voice and pushed the doors all the way open.
The stench that greeted them was horrible. The laboratories had been closed down for barely two weeks, but the stuffy smell mixed with the disgusting stench of rotting flesh made Naruto's stomach churn. Someone in front of him gagged and almost threw up, and even Sai seemed to be having troubles with keeping up his calm facade. Yes, they were prepared for bad things but it was already starting to look like the building was trying to keep them away. It looked very uninviting and the smell would've made some people stay outside for sure. Trying not to breath, Naruto glared at the doorway and tried to get used to stench floating around them, knowing that he was being stupid again. It was just a smell, as disgusting as it was but a smell anyway, it wouldn't kill him.
"Heh... I guess we'll be leaving the door open", a brunette in front of Sai mumbled and then turned to wink at Naruto, but he was pale as well and clearly not as excited about what they were doing as he'd been in the car.
"Put on the respirator masks." The order wasn't all that necessary because every member of their tight-knit 6-member team was already fishing white simple masks from their bags and putting them on hastily. Who knew what kind of bacteria floated in the air along with the stench?
In the silence that followed, Neji, their leader, stepped forward into the dark hall and searched the walls for a light switch. Finding one, he pressed it and the lights immediately flickered a few times before going mostly out, only one or two lamps being still in a working condition. The light was dim, but there was enough of it for them to continue anyway. The building was empty so only things they had to be afraid of were rabid rats and stepping on something unpleasant. The team that had been there before them had done a quick check on the building to make sure there was nothing that could cause any harm to the scientists and at the moment it was easy to believe that they were safe; what kind of creature would want to live in a place like this?
The long-haired brunette moved forward to stand in the middle of a simple hall, and Naruto gulped as they followed Neji inside, the air now at least somewhat breathable. His eyes were nervously wide as he took in their surroundings, the white-painted walls that were now splattered with reddish brown stains. None of them needed to ask what they were, and Naruto forced himself to stare at one particularly large stain, a frown crossing his face. It was just blood, for god's sake, and he had known what he'd signed in for when he'd decided to be part of this group of scientists for this very trip. It wasn't like he hadn't known to expect blood and such, he had seen them before and usually with remains of different creatures, but something in this very place gave him chills. It was quite unlike anything he'd seen before, and they had barely entered the building. What bothered him the most wasn't the blood itself though but the placement of it. They were in the entrance hall for God's sake, why would anyone slaughter anything here? Had one of the test subjects run away and the crazy scientists had just chopped it into pieces on the spot? That was what it looked like at least, with the amount of stains around.
As soon as their whole team was inside, Neji cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to himself. He looked just as calm and confident as ever, his face expressionless as he studied the people in front of him. This wouldn't be a nice little study trip, no. They were here to find out what had actually happened and what kind of evidence against the scientists that had worked here they could find as well some sort of records of their studies. It would be mentally rough and probably very gross as well and not over in a day, but he had brought only the best with him. He'd practically handpicked them, knowing that only a team of real professionals would be able to handle it, but getting familiar with the studies and experiments of the notorious Orochimaru wouldn't be easy for anyone.
"Time to split up", he informed the team unceremoniously, his brows knitting together.
"This building is empty. There's nothing here to be afraid of, so it's safe to proceed in teams of two. I have three maps, one for each team, and we'll all return to this room in three hours. You all have your cellphones charged, keep them near in case you find anything. Look for anything useful; papers, disks, electronics, you know the deal. If you happen to encounter something unexpected, call the other teams. And stay together with your partner. Understood?"
A few nods followed and Neji handed the maps to the teams. He was taking Kiba with himself to the office areas in the middle of the main building, Shikamaru and Shino were sent to the east wing and Naruto was paired up with Sai, Neji's orders sending them to the west wing, the area where the test subjects had formerly been kept.
As he listened to Neji's final advice, Naruto couldn't help but wish that he'd been signed to Kiba or Shikamaru or anyone else but Sai, actually. Even Shino would've been better, regardless of the man's tendency to keep quiet all the time and wear odd clothes that covered his face completely. Sai was... He was new and very annoying, at least to Naruto, and it was hard for him to take the man seriously even if he'd been told that Sai had some serious work experience in his past. And besides, the man seemed to enjoy riling Naruto up, making disturbing comments about the blonde's sexual preferences and his dick, which was by the way very well formed and healthy, why thank you.
Yet there he was, paired with Sai to go look through the probably most awful areas of the building, and all Naruto could do was to grit his teeth and hope Sai would keep his mouth shut for once.
"Alright, let's go then. See you in three hours." With that, Neji dismissed them, and Naruto immediately headed to the west, hoping to get some distance between himself and his partner despite Neji's order to stay together.
With the other two teams they left the hall and entered a long hallway that led straight to all three directions they were supposed to go. Neji and Kiba took the hallway forward while Naruto turned to the right, heading down the hall and counting the doors they passed. According to the map the door for them was the sixth on the left, it would lead them straight to the so called cage areas.
Walking in the silent building, Naruto couldn't shake off the nervous fluttering in his stomach. They were the first ones to enter the laboratories after the police specialist that had come and arrested the few scientists that had still remained inside. Those men had been quiet and somehow shaken, their eyes darting wildly around at the smallest noise, but no-one had been able to tell the police what exactly had happened in the laboratory that had caused all the workers flee like rats. Their leader, the notorious scientist known as Orochimaru had never been found, and all the others had kept insisting that they had only obeyed Orochimaru's orders. They were unable to tell the police anything, and so the group of scientists lead by Neji were sent to the building, to look for something out of ordinary. They would be closely followed by law enforcement members, but for a couple of days the place was only theirs.
"It's getting messy", Sai commented suddenly with his ever-pleasant voice, an odd smile on his face as he stared at the walls.
Frowning, Naruto turned to look at him to ask what he meant, but as his eyes turned to the said walls and the floor they were walking on he got his answer, his mouth clamping shut.
Sai was right. The closer they got to the end of the hallway and the door they were looking for, the more dark stains there were around them, and alarmingly some of the stains also looked fresher and more recent than the ones in the main hall. There was an odd smell lingering in the air, metallic like the stench of blood but there was something else to it as well, something Naruto had never smelled before. It was dark in there but not dark enough to hide the stains and against his will the blonde's steps started getting slower and slower, a cold shiver running down his back. He was starting to feel like coming altogether hadn't been such a good idea after all and that alone was making him feel stupid. The building was empty, empty dammit, old stains weren't that bad. Still, something was off. Perhaps it was just his head messing with him, but Naruto could swear something was wrong and he couldn't help but to wonder if the other man felt it too.
The blonde turned his head, trying to exchange a look with Sai, but the brunette was too occupied with staring at the ceiling above them.
"Now that's interesting", he commented unconcernedly, pointing upwards.
There was blood up there as well. And not just blood, but odd scraping marks like something had been walking on the ceiling or clinging to it, with long blood stains like something (Naruto refused to think 'person') had been dragged along the ceiling and that something had most certainly been bleeding as well. Blood had dropped to the floor, following the trail on the ceiling obediently until they suddenly ended in a larger stain. It looked like whatever it had been that had been dragged up there had eventually been dropped to the floor and left there to bleed to death. That was where the stains ended, and as Naruto looked up he realized they had come to the door.
"What the hell happened here?" he whispered to himself, neither wanting nor needing an answer, but as always Sai decided to grant him one.
"Human experiments, of course", the man stated calmly, completely at ease with his surroundings as he walked over to the door and read the sign on it. The look on his face reflected curiosity and nothing like the nervous twitching Naruto had been experiencing a moment ago.
"'Cages. Danger.'" Sai turned to look at his blond-haired partner with a pleasant yet empty smile on his face, his head cocked to a side.
"Shall we enter?" he asked as if he actually cared about Naruto's opinion.
Not wanting to be outdone by such a rookie, Naruto stepped forward and nodded, pressing his hand against the cold metal door.
"Let's go", he confirmed with another nod, watching Sai as the man checked a couple of locks that held the door shut and then grabbed the doorknob, attempting to push the door open. It was clearly taking some effort, the door was heavy and slightly stuck from not being used, but a couple of kicks did the trick.
"Holy shit..." That was everything Naruto could say after he'd passed Sai at the doorway and entered the room, flicking on the lights from the switch as he went. It was nothing like he'd expected, to be honest. There were no little cages scattered all over the area or lined up on the walls like on fur farms, just more doors with a small window next to each of them. It looked almost like a very wide hotel hallway, if you counted out the dry blood dripping down the walls and on the floor.
"Wow... Someone has tried to get out."
Another unexpected comment from Sai had Naruto almost jumping out of his skin, and he mentally cursed the man before turning to look at the door behind him. Not that he really wanted to see what was there, but he knew Sai wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't look.
The whole door was covered with dried blood, and so were the walls and the floor around it. There were smaller stains on the walls further away and on the ceiling as well, the scattered drops giving the impression that something big and bleeding had been thrown against the door again and again, the blood smearing everything around the way out. But what mostly unnerved Naruto were the deep claw marks on the floor and the walls. It looked like something at least as large as a bear had been scratching their surroundings, even the ceiling, and the blonde couldn't for the life of him come up with any animal that had claws strong enough to scratch concrete. The only thing that came to mind was a dragon and if Orochimaru had really tried and managed to create a dragon in his labs, then they would all be doomed. There was no way this place could keep something like a dragon trapped and the creature would have to be outside already, and... Well, now it was his imagination running again. There had been nothing about a dragon on the news so he shouldn't be stupid.
"And he wasn't even the only one."
Almost afraid to turn around, Naruto reluctantly turned to look at the way Sai was pointing at. The man was already annoying him, taking everything so easily and acting like he couldn't care less about the fact that people had been killed here, a lot of people, and it hadn't ended but only a couple of weeks ago. Sai just made remarks, pointing out everything that hinted of the blood splatter with eagerness that made Naruto feel the other might actually just be enjoying what they were doing. Maybe he was one of those people that got their kicks from others' pain and suffering, or maybe he was just outright crazy.
The thought made Naruto sneer, but his expression fell as he found himself following Sai to a pile of bones on the floor not too far away from the door. It had obviously been a human, but all that remained was a crushed skull and some of the larger bones, and even those had marks on them that spoke of chewing. The number of bones definitely didn't match the number that there was supposed to be in a human body and Naruto found himself glancing around, looking for the rest of the bones but finding nothing. It also bothered him how the bones had been gathered to such a neat pile, it looked like something only a human could do or maybe a monkey of some kind, but Naruto knew better than to start thinking about a monkey dragon. That was ridiculous.
Okay, maybe the scientists had kept a dog here, but somehow it was becoming harder and harder for Naruto to believe. Even if a dog could've have explained the bones, it had nothing to ease his mind about the scratch marks on the walls and the floor, and especially on the ceiling.
Shaking his head, he walked over to one of the doors and peered through the small window into the room behind it. It small, hardly large enough to fit two beds into it comfortably, and there were a couple of rags that might've been blankets on the floor. Otherwise it was empty, with no trace of a living creature. Almost surprisingly it was also free of blood, the walls almost shining spotless white.
Trying to ignore the nervous chills running down his spine, Naruto swallowed hard and moved on to the next window, wishing from the bottom of his heart that it would be empty as well. Even if he'd been curious about the laboratories when they'd been on their way here, now he wished more than anything that every little room here would be empty and that they'd find nothing but papers and electronic notes from here.
But as usually, luck wasn't on his side. The bright blue eyes narrowed as Naruto tried to get a good look of what was inside, all the while dreading the sight and a growing feeling of nausea making his stomach churn almost painfully.
"Sai...", he murmured, wiping the window with his sleeve to clear it up, "I think there's someone here..."
Or at least had been. The figure that sat leaning against the wall was thin and didn't look all that alive anymore. There was something on the floor next to it and Naruto had already recognized it as another bone. Sai had appeared next to him but he paid the man no attention, just staring at the creature in the room with growing horror.
It was no human. The creature's body resembled human's well enough, but it looked weird and somehow deformed, and it had long sharp claws instead of fingers. Its head was hanging, but Naruto could easily tell its features were twisted as well, the ears of the practically bald creature large and torn and one overly large fang had pierced its upper lip. There was also something sticking out from the creature's shoulder, but Naruto couldn't quite tell what it was. With some imagination he could've said it looked like an additional head but he really didn't want to get too deep into it. His gaze roamed around the room, searching for any kind of plates of food and water bowls, but there was nothing. Then, as though he'd just remembered something, his eyes snapped back at the creature's legs and he gagged, turning away from the gruesome sight.
"...tried to eat itself", Sai noted somewhere in the background as Naruto fought to keep his lunch inside himself. He was suddenly glad that he hadn't had time for a dinner.
"Thank you, Sai", he groaned, stepping away from the window and pulling the other man with him.
"I wonder what kind of person that thing was when he was still a human", Sai mused quietly and Naruto was too grossed out to snap at him. How could the man be so calm about it? What they had seen just now was gross and disgusting, not fascinating like Sai seemed to think. It was unbelievable how the man took everything so easily. The blonde didn't even want to start imagining that creature's life before the labs, it was way too cruel to take a human and turn it into something like that.
"Oh well. Let's go on", the brunette interrupted Naruto's thoughts and shook off the blonde's hand that had still been clutching his jacket desperately.
Naruto nodded and actually pushed ahead of Sai, his jaw tense as he moved forward. The sooner they were done here the better, and while checking the little rooms here might be fascinating to Sai, Naruto didn't see any point in it. They needed papers or something, and those rooms wouldn't give them that. Besides, he hated being this weak especially in front of Sai, but this just wasn't really something he was used to seeing. He hated seeing people treated badly, yet he had come here, thinking that it might actually do some good. So far, it had only given him a promise of nightmares in the future.
Without thinking much of it, Naruto left the main hallway and turned around a corner, seeing only a similar view of windows and doors, scratch marks on the walls and floor and blood stains all around the place. He glanced quickly at the doors as he passed them, listening to Sai following right behind him and apparently paying some attention to the windows as well if his comments were anything to go by. The man sounded like a kid in a candy store.
"...two heads! Amazing, how did they do that... And what is that... Wow, that's so sick..." His words might been a bit more tolerable if they hadn't been said with the same almost cheerful voice he'd been using almost the whole day, making Naruto want to throttle him. He tried not to listen, though, and just walk forward, towards the end of the hallway, to a door that was there.
As he got closer, he squinted his eyes to read a sign written in red on the door.
Danger!
Experiment 701
Proceed with extreme caution
And that was it. Naruto stared at the sign for a while, trying to ignore the way half of the text was almost covered with blood, and he reached for the doorknob.
"I wonder what that 701 was", Sai mumbled thoughtfully from behind Naruto, and finally the blonde snapped, turning to face his partner, his blue eyes darkened with anger.
"Shut up, Sai! Or at least stop sounding so goddamn cheerful, this is no joke, you jerk!" the blonde snarled, his hands clenched into fists and itching to punch the brunette in the face.
Sai just smiled pleasantly but something harder flashed in his eyes and he took a step closer to Naruto.
"Of course it's not", he replied softly, his hand reaching to touch Naruto's cheek and the blonde immediately stepped backwards, his back pressing against the door.
"But they're dead already. No need to act like they actually mattered. We can do nothing to help them."
Naruto's eyes burned as he stared at Sai in disbelief. What the hell was the man saying, the victims of this madness did not matter?
"Of course they did! Still do! And it's not like I don't know that, I just wish I had been here in tim-!"
"But you weren't", Sai cut him off unusually sharply, the smile finally faltering a little bit.
"Accept it, Naruto-kun. They are dead, so they don't matter anymore. Now step aside and let me open that door if you won't. I'm curious about '701'."
Naruto blinked owlishly and then closed his eyes, counting to ten in attempt to calm himself down. Sai wasn't worth of his anger, that little piece of shit didn't care about anyone but himself which meant Naruto could just ignore him. Drawing in a deep breath, Naruto leaned against the door, and then let out a startled yelp as the door gave in and opened, sending him crashing to the next room's floor.
Curling up as he hit the floor, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his head to stop spinning and almost expecting something to attack him. He knew that there was nothing alive here, but seeing all the things in the small rooms or cages as they were called here, he wasn't exactly sure what to expect anymore. It was making him twitchy and nervous, not knowing what to expect from the place. But at least he hadn't landed in a pile of remains of something, he supposed he could be grateful for that.
Naruto didn't open his eyes before he heard Sai's footsteps as the man passed him, not offering to help him up. With a non too pleased grunt the blonde peeled his eyes half open, staring at the wall in front of him before the other man's very unexpected gasp made him lift his head from the floor.
"I didn't expect this."
That was all Sai said, but hearing that much immediately got Naruto curious. Still feeling a bit dazed from his meeting with the floor, he pushed himself up and dusted his clothes quickly, still thankful that he hadn't ended up in a pool of blood or something. Then, still hearing nothing more from Sai, he walked over to the man, quickly analyzing his surroundings as he went.
They were in a place that looked like some kind of a monitor room. There were a couple of dark screens at the far end of the small room and under them was another door that looked so small a grown man would have to crouch of he wanted to get through. There was another warning sign on that door, the word 'danger' printed with even larger letters than on the previous one. On their right from the door Naruto had just fallen through was a window that covered almost the whole wall, and under it was a simple desk with a computer and some electronics full of different buttons and switches that the blonde suppose were to control the monitors. In front of the desk were four chairs that looked comfortable enough for a man to be seated for a few hours, and on the floor was still some trash, food wrappers and other things Naruto didn't recognize.
It would've been a perfectly normal monitor room except the monitors weren't placed so that they could be observed from the chairs and there was the large window that covered one entire wall.
Scooting closer to the said window, Naruto stared at the computer on the table, hoping that it would enlighten their studies a little. Other than that, there was nothing else in the room that would be of any help for them, but the computer itself was good enough. Still focusing on the computer, the blonde absentmindedly listened to Sai dialing a number and starting to speak as soon as Neji picked up, or at least he thought it was Neji.
It was just a normal computer, much like the one they had in their own work room, but as he tried to look for an USB port or anything to insert a disc to he found nothing. It seemed that it would take a little more to get the information out of it than they had thought but the protection also hinted that there might be something valuable inside. Naruto had already given up on listening to Sai until certain words caught his attention. It took him a moment to realize what the man was saying, but when he did, his eyes snapped to Sai and he drew in a sharp breath.
"...down there and I'm sure it's alive..."
With two steps Naruto was at the window, staring through the glass, his eyes desperately searching for whatever it was that was alive down there. He was staring at a something that looked just like the rooms they had seen before, it was built of the same concrete only the walls were gray and there was no window except the large one he was looking through right now. The room was high and the floor was a lot lower than the monitor room's, probably on the basement level, so Naruto was literally looking down into the room. He couldn't see a blanket or anything that would've made the room even slightest bit comfortable or simply habitable, no.
But in the far left corner there was a person.
Practically pressing his nose to the glass, Naruto tried to get a better look. It was hard to tell whether the human was male or female, but Naruto's guess would've been male. He had black hair that had fallen to his face as he sat slumped in the corner, his legs crossed the Indian style and hands resting in his lap. His skin was pale, almost sickly so, but to Naruto's surprise he didn't look necessary thin, at least from the distance. The scientist wouldn't have been able to tell if the man was dead or alive either had that poor person not moved slightly as the blue eyes watched him, and Naruto took a step back, startled, as the man in the room slowly lifted his head, staring straight at Naruto through the window.
Gasping from shock, the blonde tore his eyes away from the the man behind the glass and searched for a way to get down there. This person was alive, he was fucking alive in this sick sick place, Naruto couldn't understand how it was possible but there the man was, looking at him like asking for help, and he would go for sure, to save the poor man. He had wanted to help earlier, and now, finally, there was someone here he could save from this nightmare.
Glancing around desperately, he finally spotted the other door and rushed towards it, yanking it open. But before he could enter, there was a hand grabbing his shoulder, holding him back, and a hot breath ghosting over his ear in a way that made Naruto's skin crawl.
"I'm coming with you", Sai whispered in his always so cheerful voice.
That made the blonde stop for a moment. He had expected the other man to tell him not to go, to wait for the others, but then again, he should've already known not to be sure of anything when it came to Sai. The brunette had surprised him more than once during the time they'd been working together.
Nodding shortly, Naruto crouched down and made his way to the stairs behind the door. Just as he had expected they took him down, to the lower floor, and they were easy to follow even when there was no lights to be turned on. However, the stairway was so narrow and the ceiling so low it was already making Naruto feel slightly claustrophobic, and if Sai hadn't been right behind him he might've just as well turned and headed back up straight away. But now he couldn't, and the drive to go and save the only person left alive in this hellhole was pushing him forward.
The stairs ended to a large metal sliding door with an electric lock that required a password code to get in. Naruto cursed loudly, staring at the lock for a moment, but before he could start persuading the lock to open with his fist, Sai stepped closer, practically pressing against Naruto's back and reached to type in the 6-digit code. The blonde gaped at the lock as it let out a little sound and the door slid open, disappearing inside the wall.
"The code was written on a notebook", Sai explained happily as he pushed past Naruto and into the room.
Still slightly stunned, Naruto followed and then immediately stopped at the doorway, staring at the man in the corner.
He hadn't noticed it from the monitor room, but the raven-haired young man was shackled to the wall. He had cuffs around his ankles and wrists and they were connected to the wall with heavy chains, keeping the man in his corner. They allowed him to stand up and maybe take a couple of steps, but nothing more. It didn't look like the man was suffering from them, though, he wore the shackles with ease that looked oddly natural, like he really didn't even notice them anymore. It was a frightening thought on its own, that someone could be shackled for so long the restraints began to feel natural, but Naruto was trying not to get too deep into it. This place was sick so he couldn't have expected anything less. He had also been right about the fact that the raven wasn't malnourished or skinny, it was almost the opposite actually. His body looked unnaturally strong considering where he was and his chest rose in steady rhythm, almost like the man had been asleep. He didn't appear the slightest bit bothered by the chains or the uncomfortable position he was in, and had his skin not had an odd greyish shade Naruto would've never guessed he'd been trapped into this hellhole for such a long time.
"Hey...", Naruto murmured, and the dark eyes that had been almost closed and looking at the floor slowly opened and turned to look at Naruto, the inky bangs slipping easily away from them to frame the man's face.
And oh dear, that face. The blond scientist couldn't remember ever seeing such a man in his life. His face was a combination of something that Naruto couldn't describe as anything else but beautiful yet it most definitely wasn't feminine. His features were so fine and delicate and briefly the blonde thought about old vampire tales, of men with aristocratic faces and pale skin and dark hair and eyes that held you captive as long as they wanted. Because indeed, the most distinguish feature of the raven were the eyes. The shackled man had the most captivating eyes Naruto had ever seen in his life. They were dark, dark as night itself, and endless like an ancient well; it felt like he could drown into them, be pulled into the midnight depths and never be able to swim back to the surface. When he tried to look away he found he couldn't, and for a moment Naruto thought he didn't even want to. It felt like he could see straight into the man's soul through those eyes and like they could pierce his in return. Those eyes, they were so old, way too old for a face of this young man, yet somehow they also belonged to him. Naruto couldn't imagine another person with such eyes, with a different face they would've looked unnatural and weird but with this man...
"What's your name?" Sai's voice interrupted Naruto's train of thoughts, and the dark eyes turned immediately away from him, staring at Sai instead.
Naruto was left feeling somehow cold and empty and also a bit annoyed of how easily the raven had been able to break the eye contact. He hadn't been ready to break it, there had been so much more to see but as usually, Sai had ruined the mood. Biting his lip to stop an irritated sigh, the man watched, somehow fascinated, as the pale lips parted and a pink tongue darted out to moisten them. The man in the corner wasn't attempting to answer, however, his eyes narrowing as he kept staring at Sai. Slowly his lips curled into a knowing smirk and then he suddenly coughed roughly, the pale body shuddering and writhing in a way that had to be painful. The coughs sounded like they were ripping his throat as they came, crawling out of him like little animals with their claws biting into him before they were out. Then they were suddenly over as soon they had began, and after a moment the man cleared his throat, his eyes turning back to Naruto as he spoke.
"Sasuke." The man had an odd voice, it was hoarse and deep like no other voice Naruto had ever heard. It sounded like something in his throat was blocking the sound, not letting it out and twisting it, almost like... Somehow the man's voice reminded Naruto of an animal of some kind. Not any large cat, but more like... Oddly enough, the only thing he could think about were dinosaurs, the huge ones with lots of sharp teeth and the image wasn't very pleasant at all. Suddenly his mind was filled with reports of the human experiments that had taken place in this very lab and he shivered lightly, trying to shake away the ominous feeling.
"Are you dangerous?" Naruto forced the words out of his mouth, his lips suddenly dry as he kept his eyes on the man, wondering how odd it was that the coughing had ended so fast and how the raven was staying so still. Even his hair wasn't moving, the odd hairstyle having immediately caught Naruto's eye. Did it stay up from the back like that naturally? It was funny what one noticed when in a situation that could turn serious so very quickly.
The pale man nodded and the shackles making little noise as he shifted slightly.
"Yes", he drawled with that same sinfully low voice that immediately made clear he was dead serious.
"I'm hungry..."
At that, Naruto perked up and rummaged through his pockets to find something edible to give to the man. It was unbelievable that he had survived alive this long with no food, and the blonde was already feeling guilty for carrying only some sweets in his pockets. He should've had at least energy bars or something, it was so irresponsible to go around with no food... But then again, he hadn't really expected to encounter anyone still alive here, so he couldn't be blamed. He was also relieved to get something to do, something to occupy his thoughts with even if it was just food, it helped him to keep from thinking about the answer the raven had given to the question.
Grinning widely, the scientist fished a couple of wrapped candies from his pocket, and he had already stepped closer to hand them over to the raven when Sai caught his arm and stopped him with a shake of head.
"Don't", the brunette ordered, holding Naruto back.
The endless black eyes turned to glare at Sai, narrowing dangerously, and the slender body shuddered again, curling up momentarily. Naruto watched, feeling somehow helpless as the raven's body suffered from cramps or whatever it was, and his hands slowly curled into fists. For all he knew, that could be caused by hunger, and there was no way he would make another human being suffer like this any longer than necessary no matter what his stupid partner of work said.
"Let me go, Sai", he snarled in warning, trying to pull his arm free from Sai's iron-like grip.
"I don't think so, Naruto-kun", Sai practically singsonged in return, the smile on his lips never faltering even the slightest bit.
"We're not feeding him before I know why he's here."
"What the hell are you talking about?" The blonde snapped right back, his gaze jumping from Sasuke to Sai and then back again, anger coiling in his stomach as he turned to face the brunette, ready to punch him if he wouldn't let go. The struggling didn't seem to do any good and the situation was starting to freak him out. What the fuck was wrong with Sai?
"Fuck you, Sai, it's just some candies, he has to be starving!"
Cocking his head to a side, Sai kept up the smile, his fingers holding tighter onto Naruto's arm. Without a word he pulled something out from his pocket, a small injection needle full of transparent liquid, and held it on his palm for Naruto to see.
"He won't be eating before we've tested this.
Naruto's eyes bulged and at first he refused to believe what was going on, the situation making his head spin a little. Why, oh why had they chosen to take Sai along? Why hadn't his papers said anything about mental problems because this was not normal, no scientist would even consider sticking a random needle to a man shackled to a wall before... No, they wouldn't do it at all .
"Are you mad?" he half yelled, yanking his hand to free it.
"You can't just do that... You're crazy! We don't even know what that is! Where did you get it? Let me go, Sai, let the fuck go!" The blonde was slowly starting to panic as Sai ignored his yelling and stepped closer to the test subject, dragging Naruto along, the needle ready in his hand. When the hell had the man gotten this strong? Naruto had seen him shirtless a couple of times and he could swear he hadn't seen anything that could explain the strength that Sai now used to keep him in his hold.
The raven in the corner had stilled completely at the sight of the needle, his eyes glued on the object as Sai approached him. When there was only a couple of steps separating them, Sasuke let out an odd gurgling sound and he was on his feet in a flash, the chains on him not bothering him the slightest bit as he pressed back against the wall, his eyes suddenly wide and almost... scared.
"Sai! Stop it!" Naruto yelled, still wondering how Sai could be so strong, enough so to drag him with him this easily. He still couldn't tear his eyes away from Sasuke, the poor raven was staring at the needle with eyes that made Naruto want to comfort him, to help him somehow, and just now...
"Fuck!" The blonde pulled his fist back and then punched Sai's side with all the strength he could muster, his knuckles letting out a little crack as they came in contact with the other's man body.
Not having expected it, Sai let out a little yelp of pain and surprise, doubling over and holding his side. The action forced him to let go of Naruto's arm and the blonde immediately jumped away from him, closer to Sasuke to protect him if Sai was honestly going crazy on them. The raven shifted and Naruto glanced at him, seeing the dark eyes flaming with anger that hadn't been there before and slowly they started to swirl, hints of red flashing in them. Instinctively, Naruto took a step to a side, to get more distance between them while trying also to stay away from Sai, but it wasn't necessary. The man wasn't angry at him.
With a ferocious growl the raven leaped forward, the chains on him weighing nothing. Sai was just beyond his reach, but he kept struggling against the shackles, still growling like a rabid animal, his eyes rippling in the faint light. Naruto stared at him in a shock, trying to understand how a man that had been tied down for so long was actually moving that fast and gracefully or even moving at all and how he had just ignored the shackles.
Having recovered from the biggest shock, Sai chuckled breathlessly and stood up, standing right in front of the raving man. He was so close, just an inch or two and the man could've torn his eyes out of his head, but the brunette wasn't giving him a chance, the injection needle gleaming in the unnatural lighting as he held it up.
"I'm sorry", he apologized politely and his hand rose, too fast for Naruto to follow, and then things happened so quickly he couldn't keep up with it.
Sasuke let out a howl of pain, the needle hanging in his arm. He didn't bother yanking it away, but instead he reached forward, grabbing Sai's arm before the man had a chance to pull back, and with another growl he threw the man to the wall. A broken cry of pain escaped Sai's lips as he hit the wall, sliding down to the floor as crumbled heap.
Feeling suddenly very cold, Naruto stepped back again, staring at the raven before his basic instincts kicked in and he rushed towards Sai. Fuck, oh fuck, this couldn't be... Even if he didn't necessarily like Sai, and the man had been about to do something that was so very very wrong, there was no way Naruto would ever leave him behind if there was any other chance.
He was kneeling next to Sai with a couple of steps, grabbing the man's shoulders and carefully shaking him, trying not to move him too much just in case he had hit his head.
"Can you hear me?", he demanded loudly, expecting the raven to be on his back at any moment. He could hear the shackles making noise and odd scraping sounds plus something that sounded like Sasuke gasping for air, but the blonde wasn't going to waste time and turn to look, not when he was given a moment to help Sai.
The said brunette looked rather dazed, but his eyes were open and slowly focusing on Naruto's face. Blinking owlishly, Sai lifted his hand and then shook his head, his lips curling into that familiar smile almost immediately after he'd gotten a hold of himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but just as Naruto was about to tell him to keep quiet and ask him if he could walk, Sai's eyes widened almost ridiculously, staring at something behind Naruto's shoulder.
"Oh my god..."
He almost didn't have to see it. The moment those words left Sai's lips Naruto went completely still and suddenly he knew he should've looked back when he had a chance. He didn't want to turn now, he didn't want to see, because whatever it was it had to be horrible to make Sai react like that when usually it was almost impossible to get any kind of reaction out of him. Still, not wanting to be taken by surprise, the blonde slowly turned to look over his shoulder, his lips parting in shock. He felt the color draining from his face and his eyes widened to match Sai's in size, his knees going weak, and he was suddenly very grateful that he was already crouching.
Sasuke was lying on the floor, his body spasming and convulsing. His mouth had opened to a silent scream and his eyes were impossibly wide and full of pain, so wide that it looked like they were going to tear soon. They were still swirling madly, but Naruto couldn't catch the details with the way the man was trashing. His beautiful pale skin rippled like water, streaks of light red color spreading over him from where the needle had stabbed him. It was now lying on the floor, shattered to million pieces, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice. He didn't seem to notice anything, really, not with how his body twisted and his eyes went from wide open to screwed shut and then open again, the familiar cough shaking him again.
"Sai...", Naruto whispered, tugging at the man's shoulder.
"We have to get out..."
But before they had a chance to move, Sasuke let out a gut-wrenching scream that combined agony and horror and rage, a sound that just wasn't human, and then he was on his knees, bent over until his forehead touched the wall. He was still for a moment, breathing hard and Naruto hoped with everything he had that it was over. He prayed that it had just been some kind of seizure, it had to be over now, the man wasn't moving... But something else was. The scientists watched, horrified, as the skin of Sasuke's back rippled and stretched and something pushed against it from the inside. It was like huge worms eating their way through the man's body, trying to reach the skin to get back to the fresh air, and finally they did. Nothing came out but the skin of the man's back tore, shredding to pieces on some places and blood poured out, staining the floor and running down his back.
Not wanting to see any more, the blonde forced himself to stand with wobbly legs, trying to yank Sai up with him. The brunette didn't budge, and Naruto kicked him as gently as he could in panic, the urge to get away flooding over him. Fear was clouding his mind and he had to all he had to fight against it, to remain in his senses. He had never been so utterly horrified in his life and it was making it hard to think as he still watched the raven-haired young man trash and turn again.
Another scream from Sasuke, and Sai was finally on his feet, inching away from the shackled man with Naruto backing away with him, neither of them daring to move too fast, just in case Sasuke was still in his senses and the movement would catch his attention.
The body of the pale man shot up and his back arched back to the point Naruto could actually hear the raven's spine protesting, the cracking noise making him want to throw up, and he swore he could see bones under the blood for a moment. The sight was so unreal, so gruesome, yet he couldn't turn away, his eyes glued to the raven's form when Sasuke slouched again, his back and shoulder still tense. His hands rose in front of his face, clawing at air desperately, and suddenly his fingertips burst, long claws pushing out, momentarily red from the fresh blood. As Sasuke's mouth opened to a scream that sounded more like a roar already, Naruto spotted the sharp fangs that had already formed in his mouth. The man's hair was also getting longer and losing some of its color in the process, the formerly inky black locks becoming dark blue-tinted gray, matted with dark blood.
"Oh my fucking god..." Sai whispered beside Naruto as they made their way closer to the door, still slow and careful and fighting the instinct that told them to run as fast as they could. Somehow Naruto just knew that no matter how fast they run, Sasuke could catch up.
A mistake. Before the last word had left Sai's lips, the creature that had been Sasuke had already turned to stare at them, his previously dark eyes now completely white. The monster stared at them for a moment, making Naruto freeze on the spot before another attack of spasming shook his body and send the raven crouching down against, another roar of agony and hatred rising from his throat.
Seemingly from nowhere appeared something that looked like dark flames, and they spread over Sasuke's already torn skin quickly, swallowing him whole. At the same time something burst out from his back, two huge skinny hands, covered with blood and slices of skin, and suddenly the claw marks on the ceilings made sense to Naruto. The hands flapped in the air a few times and Sasuke straightened, staring straight at the two scientists. His lips parted and he took a step forward, his body still shivering and shaking, and that was when Naruto noticed the metal chains had already fallen off him.
"Sasuke...", he whispered, praying that he would wake up from this nightmare already. Maybe he had fallen asleep in the car and was now dreaming about this all? It had to be, no human experiment could produce such a monster... It just had to be a dream.
The eyes that stared at him were no longer white but black and yellow, reminding Naruto of a bird, and the look of them was one of a hawk as well, cold and unforgiving. The creature was not happy, not happy at all, and suddenly the blonde realized they would not be getting out of here alive. The thought left him empty and cold yet somehow calm, and he stopped, just staring at the monster, Sasuke, in the eye.
"What are you doing?" Sai whispered desperately, his usual cockiness now gone, panic taking over.
The odd hand wings on Sasuke's back flapped again, spreading shreds of flesh and skin around him and then the man wasn't there anymore.
Naruto only felt a gust of wind passing him as the now gray-skinned monster rushed past him after running Sai.
"NO!" That was all he had the time to say before a horrified scream and a sickening wet crunch that ended the scream told the blonde it was too late. It had been too fast, there was now way... How could Sasuke be that fast?
He knew he should've run, to save himself, but heading to the door would've meant turning to see what had happened to Sai, and Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to bear it. There were more wet sounds, something tearing and cracking, and finally a guttural satisfied growl accompanied with a disgusting slurping sound. Squeezing his eyes shut, Naruto fell onto his knees, his nails digging into the fabric of his pants as he tried to block the noises. He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't, there was no way that monster was just now... He didn't want to see it, but he couldn't stop, even covering his ears didn't help. Something soft and wet hit the back of his head and the man didn't need to guess to know what the hot liquid dribbling to his neck was. He wanted to reach and wipe it off and quite irrationally he even thought of turning and throwing whatever had hit him back at the monster but he couldn't bring himself to turn. He didn't want to see.
Another gurgled groan rode from the creature's throat and the blond-haired scientist bent over, emptying his stomach on the cold concrete floor. The disgusting smell of vomit mixed with the metallic, distinguish scent of blood and Naruto gagged until there was nothing more in his stomach. The wet noise had ended, replaced by rough crunching and scraping and Naruto wasn't able to stop the images of those sharp predator teeth biting through bone, crushing it like a dry leaf until there was nothing left but the bloody mess. Shaking like a leaf, the man crawled backwards to get away from his own puddle of vomit, hoping that he wouldn't bump into the gray-skinned monster or what was left of Sai. He wasn't thinking anymore, he was just moving, he knew he had to get away but there was no way for him to escape.
A warning growl stopped him. Gulping hard, Naruto forced his eyes open, and slowly turned his head, searching for the door. It was a dead end and he knew it but he didn't care.
Sure, he did spot the door, but between him and the escape route was a bunch of bloody mess that didn't look much like a human anymore and the thing that had been Sasuke crouched over the torn body, and there seemed to be nothing left of Sasuke itself.
The demon's lips curled back to reveal long fangs, blood staining his mouth and hands as well as half of his body. Naruto wasn't sure whose blood it was, probably a mix of both Sasuke and Sai's, and he tried to turn away but again he was unable to. Pieces of intestines were scattered on the floor, some even hanging from Sasuke's wings, and in a clawed hand the monster held a bunch of bowels, blood dripping to the floor. As the scientist watched, Sasuke brought the hand to his mouth and easily tore a piece of bloody flesh with his teeth, chewing on it with blood pouring from the corner of its lips. Fighting the urge to throw up again, Naruto blinked, his mind hitting blank all of a sudden. He was going to die, just like Sai and he knew it, and suddenly he could almost accept it. He turned around completely, the demon's wings fluttering irritably as he watched the man, and then the blonde pushed himself up from the floor to stand, his eyes trained on the creature.
The monster, Sasuke, mimicked his movements and let the intestines fall to the floor, and even in this form he was just some inches taller than Naruto. As he moved, his steps and gestures were surprisingly human, including the way he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then let out a sound that might've been a burp.
"Naruto..." Surprisingly enough, Sasuke's voice hadn't changed that much. It was deeper than before and more hoarse too, but other than that it was the same. Maybe the man pronounced the words a bit oddly, but that was probably because of the fangs.
"You're not..." He stepped closer, drawing in a deep breath and smelling the air between them, the yellow eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Naruto.
Naruto followed the example except to him the direction meant backwards. Just because he knew he would die didn't mean he wasn't scared, and oh, he was so close to breaking down and begging the man-now-monster to at least do it quickly. He didn't care if he was eaten afterwards, he just didn't want to be alive when it happened.
His back hit the wall, and the man plastered himself against it as tight as he could, instinctively shutting his eye and praying for the end to come quickly. Heavy footsteps drew closer and Naruto could hear the creature that was Sasuke breathing close to him, the upsetting wings making an odd slapping sound as the not-so-human man moved. The smell was horrible, the stench of blood and other things that he didn't want to smell and had there been anything in his stomach he would've thrown up again.
"Naruto...", the guttural voice repeated, so close now, and then something sharp and cold pressed against Naruto's cheek.
The blonde shuddered uncontrollably and tried not to flinch as the claws stroked down his cheek and to his neck, scratching the skin as they went. The smell of the monster's breath was making him gag and he screwed his eyes shut, making sure he wouldn't see the end coming.
"You... your smell...", the demon man murmured, his tongue licking over the sharp teeth.
"Mine..."
At that, Naruto's eyes shot open, the shock and horror swirling in them as he stared at the black-and-yellow eyes of the transformed human in front of him. His heart was beating so fast it was making it hard for him to hear anything else but the sound of blood rushing in his ears, and his legs were trembling so much he was afraid they would give in at any moment.
"Wh-what?" he choked out, not caring much about how terrified he sounded.
"Is that so?" Sasuke answered, and his bloody lips curled into a small smirk, much like the one he had worn before the transformation.
"Soon enough..."
The hard body of the former test subject pressed against Naruto's, an involuntary gasp escaping the blonde's lips, and the blue eyes were shut again, the sight of Sai's destroyed remains having caught his eye. The scientist shuddered, his stomach churning and flipping as he felt a pair of slick lips pressing against his neck and then moving closer to his ear. This would be it, he would die now, and a quick recap of his life flashed past his eyes. This wasn't how he had thought he would die, this was far from his worst nightmares, but at least he was leaving no-one behind to miss him.
"It's contagious", an amused, growly voice whispered, and before Naruto could do or say anything his right shoulder was pierced with pain like he'd never felt before. Sharp teeth bit to the juncture between his neck and shoulder, tearing the flesh as they went and with the burning pain radiating from the bite, it felt like his whole upper body was in fire.
Naruto screamed and tried to push the creature away, but his right hand refused to move and he just squirmed, the cry of pain dying only when he was out of air. His vision was starting fade already, he could feel blood pouring down his arm and back and chest and then he couldn't feel anything, his arm going numb all over and the same numbness spread over his whole body, finally knocking him out into blissful darkness. At least the end had come quickly.
TBC