Kankuro was on his way back to the Leaf to report when he heard a low whine come trickling out from Black Ant. He scowled, annoyed. Apparently his opponent hadn't died of trauma and blood loss yet. That will complicate things.

Kankuro didn't want to kill the ninja outright- that'd be a waste of energy since he (they?) were already contained. Besides, Kankuro thought, there's always interrogation. I'm sure the Leaf will find a use for them.

Kankuro arrived at the Leaf village near sunset. The leaves were red and orange from the sun's dying breath, and a night breeze was picking up. Still, it's nothing like the sunsets in Suna. Our open horizons give us a spectacular view. He sighed, wishing he were home. Soon. Soon.

Kankuro reported to Lady Tsunade's office immediately, ignoring standard protocol, mainly because he was uninjured. Well, aside from mild chakra depletion, but that can be fixed with a little rest. And that sound ninja in the Black Ant...well, it's been awhile since he's made any noises. Probably unconscious. Kankuro snickered. Poor bastard.

"Are you going to keep me waiting laughing by yourself outside my door or are you gonna come in?" The fifth Hokage did not sound very happy. Kankuro shook his head and entered.

"I apologize, my Lady."

"Hmph. Go on, stop wasting my time and give your mission report. And what happened to my genin?"

Tsunade, Kankuro realized, was impatient. Definitely worried. And smelled of sake. So probably tipsy, if not drunk. "Well, when I arrived on scene the enemy was about to finish off what's-his-face- dogboy- but I intervened."

Tsunade frowned, then asked sharply, "You mean Kiba?"

"Yeah, I think it was him." Kankuro scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I've got a bad memory for names." That, of course, was a lie, but the Fifth had no need to know that.

"You think I care? This information is important, hurry it up!" Tsunade was starting to look angry now. Kankuro decided to stop stalling and give the rest of the mission report. Thing is, it's so damn boring...

"Well, er, Kiba needed emergency first aid. The medic nin you sent along with our team were able to start working on him almost right away. He has a deep wound on his abdomen- looked like the oblique muscles, and I don't think he'd injured his internal organs." Kankuro shrugged. "But again, I didn't get a very good look. And the medics said they could definitely handle it."

Tsunade's shoulders relaxed, dropping down. "Good," was all she said. And then, grouchily- "Anything else? I want to know why your puppet is dripping blood all over my damn floor."

Kankuro smiled. "My gift to you. I captured two of the enemy ninja. The two that were attacking, erm, Kiba."

The Fifth hokage scowled. "I thought you said you finished off his enemy, not enemies."

Kankuro was still grinning. "Well, they were sort of both."

Tsunade steepled her hands and glared at him. "Explain."

"Well, they were conjoined twins. Who can separate at will. And re-enter each other's bodies." Kankuro repressed a shudder. "It was kind of gross, actually."

"Mm. More disgusting than the blood you so rudely let get on my nice floors, hm?"

"My apologies. My Black Ant tends to be a little messy."

"Hmph. You brought them to be interrogated?"

Kankuro bowed his head. "If that is what the Leaf believes is best."

Tsunade smiled. It was a terrible, chilling smile, and Kankuro really, really wished it wasn't directed at him. "Take them to the medic core. Let the chunin I send to meet you handle it from there. And then you come back here to clean this mess from my floors."

Kankuro nodded. Anything to get away from that smile. It's almost as bad as Gaara's. "I'll be back." He began to walk to the door.

"And, Kankuro?"

He swallowed. Please don't be smiling. He turned and winced (her smile would haunt him for days). "Yes?"

"Thank you for your help."

"Of course. It's the Sand's pleasure." Now will you let me go, please?

"Hurry. Their blood stinks."

Kankuro hurried.

The medics were not at all fazed when Kankuro opened Black Ant. Not when the blood splattered everywhere, and not when the white-haired twins came falling out with a sickening crunch (there goes someone's nose, Kankuro thought). He was almost impressed by the medic's stoic-ness. Keyword: almost. Kankuro's seen some shit, thanks to Gaara. He's not surprised easily anymore.

The brown-haired chunin with the scar stepped forward. "We'll take it from here," he said. "Our thanks to the Sand."

Kankuro nodded.

Cleaning Tsunade's floor sucked, and reminded Kankuro of their old D-rank missions, but at least it didn't take long. He was out of her office and back to the rooms Kohona had provided in less than fifteen minutes. There, he began the long task of cleaning Black Ant and Crow, a far more captivating task.

The moment Kidomaru regained consciousness he struggled not to scream. His belly was on fire, and it was all he could do not to curl up and cry. He could feel something ruptured and bleeding in his abdomen, could see the swelling where his belt bit into his skin. A rib was nudging his lung, gently. It hurt like hell, almost worse than Orochimaru's lab. Almost.

Kidomaru was convinced he was going to die. He had organ damage. Hardly any chakra left. It was a battle just to breathe. And in his rising sense of panic he almost forgot where he was.

The light filtering down from the trees was bright, too bright, and all he could see now was a fuzzy white light cloaking everything and making the trees glow. The urge to curl up on himself was overwhelming now, but he couldn't, because his legs weren't responding, and neither were his arms. Fear shuddered through him, and Kidomaru squinched his eyes shut tight.

He stayed that way, listening to his rabbit-fast thumping pulse for what felt like forever (he was surprised he wasn't dead yet), until footsteps crunched the gravel near his head. "Hey!" came a deep, scary voice, "This one's still alive!"

By the time Kidomaru processed that (enemy ninja, his mind buzzed, probably Leaf. I'm a dead man) there was a rumbling sound replying. He didn't catch the words. Pitch too deep, and I'm too tired.

He was exhausted, now that he thought about it.

Something heavy and warm touched his abdomen, and Kidomaru flinched back into the dirt. "Don't," he mumbled, mouth dry and heavy, "Please," he added, knowing it'd make no difference.

"Whoa, easy there," said that same deep voice, except now Kidomaru almost heard- "I'll heal you right up. Need you alive for the interrogation."

Chakra buzzed against Kidomaru's belly, and even as he opened his eyes in shock, it sank its teeth into his skin. The chakra seeped into his belly, pooling around broken capillaries and clogging them, blocking the flood of blood. Warmth spread through him. Something akin to a whimper escaped him. The man merely blinked at him, fuzzy with that white light.

"You need rest," he said.

Kidomaru's eyes were heavy. He tried to stay focused, and calm, and ready, because he had to escape. But the warm heavy hand on his belly was too soft, too gentle, and despite himself Kidomaru was fighting to stay awake. He knew it was just the effects of the healing, but-

Kidomaru's breathing slowed, deepened. His hands relaxed from where they'd been gripping white knuckled at the dirt. His mouth got slack and soft and wide.

"Poor kid," the medic-nin sighed. "Intel'll rip him apart." He finished wrapping the bandages over Kidomaru's chest and pulled him up onto his back. It'll be too easy, too, after the sedatives I just pumped into him.

Kidomaru woke when he was being strapped to the cot in the medic ward. He was groggy and terrified and weak, but he struggled. "No," he said, low and mumbling, "don't. Orochimaru-sama, please."

One of the medic nin paused. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"No," another cut in, "he has to be secure."

The medic nin nodded. "Yes ma'am." And held down Kidomaru's wrist. The boy struggled for a few seconds more, and then slumped into unconsciousness.

When Sakon woke, he was blind and alone. ...Ukon?

Silence. He tried with his voice, low and cracking, "Ukon..?"

The drip of faraway water was his only response. Sakon swallowed, hard. He inhaled, took the smell of the place in- it was humid, and something was rotting, and there was the scent of blood and piss and shit. The faraway water kept dripping.

Okay, he thought hazily, so I'm probably in a retention facility of some sort. I don't know where Ukon is...or if he's alive. Sakon bit his lip to avoid thinking about it. If Ukon died...I wouldn't...I couldn't…

It took Sakon a few moments to get his breathing under control. Can't panic. Not now. Later.

It was time to assess the damage to his body. He was badly bruised. His eyes were swollen shut, and leaking something down his cheeks, which were crusty with it. They stung horribly. Sakon wanted to cry, but couldn't. So instead he cursed that damn leaf nin and his dog. They ought to rot in hell, after what they did to us.

He had two stab wounds. One was through his femur, and it had swollen enough to tell him something had nicked the bone. His right hand was bisected through the palm, but, with effort, he could move most of his fingers. …Good.

Sakon took a deep breath. Someone had patched his wounds with gauze and wraps- there was a faint smell of some kind of herbal ointment. It was just enough to keep him from bleeding out. Sakon suspected someone had also pumped extra chakra into his system to prevent him dying from shock. And there had to be something in his blood keeping the pain level down. Because the general ache he was feeling? Was nothing compared to the pain he ought to have been in.

...They must want information. Why else would they keep me alive?

Sakon tried to remember what had happened. He'd washed his eyes out...and then, that explosion...Ukon merging in him...tracking the enemy nin...splitting up...the puppet intervening, Sakon needing to heal...something trapping them both, and Sakon raking his fingers down the side of it, yelling, scrabbling to get out, then- pain. And after that he'd woken up here.

Sakon ground his teeth in frustration. I need Ukon. He'd know what to do.

When Kidomaru finally came-to, he found himself tied to a cot. Each of his arms were bound with chakra dampeners, and fastened at the wrist to the side of the bed. His fingers were swaddled with cloth and impossible to move.

So much for jutsu, he thought woozily, and the dampeners will prevent me from activating my curse mark. ...Well, it shouldn't be a problem. Although it's unusual to be tied down after a mission. Maybe I caused trouble when Kabuto tried to heal me?

His legs and torso were also secured in a similar fashion. Kidomaru scrunched his nose in frustration, and instead focused on cataloging the room, which was slightly blurry. ...Probably from some drug or another, he thought absentmindedly. Kabuto's never been especially picky with his medicines.

But what he could see was white: white walls and white equipment and white tiles. The only strange thing was that he couldn't see a door, which was odd, really, because most of Orochimaru's labs were connected to several other rooms, for viewing the results and monitoring things. Genjutsu? Or maybe it's behind me...His hand twitched, and something tugged at his skin. Kidomaru remembered to turn his head. Funny that I'd forgotten… There was an I.V. line attached to his hand, and several somethings were dripping into it.

He tried to swallow and winced. His mouth was pasty dry. Fuck, I'm thirsty...and I've gotta pee. Kidomaru shifted his weight a little, jostling an...Oh god...I hate catheters. He blinked down at his torso, which was uncomfortably bare, and narrowed his eyes. His stomach was bruised to hell, and still slightly raised. They must've stopped the internal bleeding somehow. He grinned, a little. I ought to be thankful Kabuto's such a skilled healer.

But then Kidomaru remembered something. A leaf nin, pumping hot heavy chakra into his abdomen. Being tossed over a shoulder. Medics with a leaf hitai-ate holding him down, securing him to a cot.

His eyes widened, and his pulse jumped as his heart began to race. I'm not at home.

I'm in the belly of the beast.