Drip, drip, drip...
His mother's heartbeats resonated between the walls. He had been floating in the lukewarm liquid for about five months, or was the estimate after his mind had developed enough to understand. Then, after days, weeks the fragmented images of his past began to coalesce and gradually, he discovered a picture of a life long forgotten, but slowly being remembered again. Then moments of clarity came more frequently as he developed, though along with them, feelings of apprehension as well. The words 'reincarnation' and 'rebirth' surfaced more often as he began to understand what was happening. Yet unlike the past life he remembered, there was little certainty within the monotonous void, and much less hints of the identity he might soon take. Would he be born to an affluent family of politicians and lawyers, and live a privileged life due to the success of his family? Or, would he take the unassuming role of an average Joe, and grow up as an exemplary worker of the middle class? Like most reincarnated characters, he wondered a lot about these things.
The uncertainties troubled him with an increasing urgency as the days passed. Then one day, a frightening realization had hit him. While there weren't clocks in this dark place, he could still feel the passage of time...and it felt like... he had already lived out one year of his life in the dark place, literally.
Well the amount of time passed was weird, but he was optimistic. Maybe he was finally on the cusp of seeing the outside world!
Drip, drip, drip...Drip, drip, drip, drip...
But then another month passed and nothing.
Drip, drip, drip...
Then a few more and... huh.
Eventually whatever waited outside started to seem much more appealing than his boring bubble of a world. He tried falling back to sleep under the dripping sounds of his mother's heart, but was too restless. Had it been another six months of this monotony? At least let something happen!
He started with a few pokes, then kicks, twists, flailing arms, and attempted spins. He worked it until he no longer had the energy to move. And seeing that he couldn't move, there was only one thing to do, which was brood as Uchihas often do. Really, who gets pregnant for over a year?
And so like that he brooded on until he no longer had the energy to do even that. As he began to drift into sleep, he noted that his mother's heartbeat seemed a little off. For someone to have dripping sounds for heartbeats...
Drip, drip, drip... ...Clink!
Clinking? Wh-what...
"Orochimaru! Lord Orochimaru! One of the clones has shown signs of life!" yelled an enthusiastic Kabuto as he scampered through the lab rooms, reports in one hand, a trail of floating documents behind as the wind sucked them from the tables and settled the sheets onto misplaced heaps on the ground. By the time he had entered Orochimaru's lab room, the assistant was panting heavily with one hand against forehead in disbelief. "To think, out of the hundreds of clones you've attempted to create using the Uchiha sample, one finally worked! And had I actually given up after the first fifty. .. Can you imagine our luck?"
Orochimaru was beyond disbelief. A miracle had happened! He was quite happy of course, since after months of research to confirm Madara's identity before the meeting, the weeks of planning to prepare for the encounter and extraction of DNA, and the long, arduous hours of purifying Madara's DNA of the contaminant DNA in the blood sample, he had finally created the perfect vessel with a Sharingan, and it was Madara's copy nonetheless! (Not that he knew how the sample had gotten contaminated, but it no longer mattered as now he had a working clone. His efforts had finally paid off!)
He still couldn't believe his luck and took the offered lab reports. When he finished perusing Kabuto's documents, both men eagerly hurried to the incubation chambers. Inside, they pushed away a few treys and carts that held various beakers and assorted petri dishes. Some clinked against each other and the sound echoed loudly between the walls.
The room had been darkened to simulate lighting during the gestational period, though seeing that the clone was alive and would be approaching the age of two after normal birth, Orochimaru decided it no longer needed the incubational precautions. If nothing else, the new lab reports indicated the importance of creating an environment for the clone that would be mirror a normal two year old's.
However, the reports were also going off the assumption that the clone was 1) taken out as soon as the gestational period was over and 2) had already been living outside for two years.
Well, the second condition was partially fulfilled, as the clone would be two years of age by now if they had followed the report instructions. But the first, not at all. Not that they left the clone there on purpose, but to be fair the project was practically abandoned long ago and been somewhat forgotten. The first three hundred attempts hadn't worked and things weren't looking hopeful. So it was with the same spirit that this fifth hundred and eighty third attempt had been made, and not expecting a great outcome, they all but abandoned the project and left the clone on its own with minimal resources spent to monitor it. Well, the sensor equipment also came refurbished for econom - anyway so the reports may not have been completely reliable.
On the other hand, considering the clone was made from the stuff of legend he could possibly handle it. He may need to get used to the outside world, maybe also being awake at first, but they would take him out now. Orochimaru gave the okay. Kabuto disappeared into the switch room and flicked on the lights.
When the clinking stopped momentarily, he recounted the months since he gained awareness and realized he was already overdue for delivery. Then the clinking appeared again, and this time in greater frequency. He was scared. From the memories, he remembered that it wasn't healthy for a baby to be born too far past the due time; there were complications for both the child and mother in the long run. So were the doctors inducing his birth? Was that where the clinking came from? The fluid wobbled around him. The clinking echoed outside. Without a doubt, he would be getting out. They must be in a hospital. Soon, he would be surrounded by a group of doctors and medical assistants, and he might even see his mother for the first time!
He was excited, but as great as it seemed, he knew he'd still have to go through the dreaded process first. He braced himself and waited, as would be expected from the reincarnated.
Wait... Give it time... Maybe... ... What, nothing? The clinking had stopped and the liquid was no longer wobbling. There was only silence and nothing else. He was lost. Was it just a false hope? He had stayed in this cage and counted twenty months, and this was what happened? Nothing? Absolutely nothing? At least let something happe— Sudden explosions of bright lights erupted everywhere. Hey what's going on? He couldn't see. What happened? This wasn't birth! Did he die again? No, it can't be. Where was everything? How? What? Why? When? No, no. Here, here, give a minute... The water is gone, I'm being lifted out. Lifted out? ...
Wait but there's something yes, he thought. It's...it's grey? He could only see so much. His arms reached out to touch it. Maybe it was the doctor. Did they do a C-section? Was it that likely? It didn't seem or feel like it...
"Get the report forms, Kabuto. The clone's more responsive than we had thought." Kabuto? Was that the name of the nurse? The name sounded familiar. Did it come from his memories? If only he could see past this blinding whiteness. Kabuto.. he thought about ninjas. Why was he thinking about ninjas? Kabuto...and the grey doctor. They might be ninjas. How did he know this? Was he living in the past? Ninjas don't exist in the modern world! The cartoons of his past flashed through his mind. Then, a doubtful idea started forming at the edges of his mind. For a brief moment, he remembered something important about a world he read, and almost would have been shocked for ending up there.
However, realization hit first and he soon found he could to care less. Where he ended up was almost insignificant. Above everything else, that one word from the grey doctor stood out, and an overwhelming sense of fear and incredulity engulfed him.
He was...a clone?!
Orochimaru stared blankly at the intel reports in front of him. Off to another Akastuki meeting then, not that he was allowed to skip them. Sure he had missed the first few - all of them if given the choice - but that pesky Madara just wouldn't stop materializing in his lair with the entire group of missing-nins, swords and explosive tags in hand.
Now being busy as he was, these days he barely had any time to check on the clone. As much as he wanted to, he also wasn't likely to conduct most of the experiments on the clone as he had wanted to. He'd have to let Kabuto do it for him then.