"Kabuto. How long until she is ready?" Snake-like, golden eyes pierced through Kabuto's glasses and through his skull as if expecting a positive answer.
Avoiding eye contact, Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger, the glass flashing, "She should be ready in a few minutes. Everything is going as planned." He plastered a smirk onto his face, "Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama... We will have our weapon."
"I expect she is learned already?" An eyebrow rose expectantly.
"Of course. It would take her the same amount of time as it took Uchiha Itachi to graduate the Konoha Academy. And she would graduate with flying colors, exceeding the top of her class. Her physical abilities will need to be developed, however. You of all people would know that physical ability cannot be developed through the mind only."
"Yes, of course I would know that. Who do you take me to be, Kabuto? A fool? My old sensei was the fourth Hokage and if I were not as smart as I think I am, I would not have survived outside of the village with my name marked in the bingo books." Orochimaru stared off into space, imagining this creation of life that would grow to serve him. He never particularly wanted a child but he supposed this could be considered an exception as she wouldn't actually be his responsibility and he could do whatever he liked with her. After all, she was not fully thought of as a real human being. His eyes drifted from the wall to her floating body, submerged in a fetal position in a thick green liquid. Yes... She would show great potential.
A piercing beeping noise resonating within the room brought Orochimaru back to his senses as he stalked over to where Kabuto was stationed at the control panel. "She's ready to be released." Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, concentration creasing his forehead as he began draining the fluid from the glass container. Orochimaru turned to watch the feat occur and noticed something on the bottom of the girl's foot.
"Kabuto... What is on her foot?" It was strange.. Black markings unfamiliar to him.
"It's kinda like a serial number. We've had it on all of our other test subjects and this is just the next in the series." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and nodded, averting his gaze to watch the glass container slowly sink into the floor. He tentatively reached out and grazed the black markings with his finger before observing the rest of her body. She was soft and plump, her white skin and shoulder length, wavy black hair damp and glistening in the lab light. Kabuto approached them from behind with a few towels in hand. "We should get her dressed up.."
Silence.
All I heard was the piercing silence that rang steadily and increasingly painful in my ears. Keeping my eyes closed, I felt around my body, experimenting every limb and every possible movement they could make. I could clench my fists.. I could open and close my jaw. My toes could curl and my legs would shake on command. Making the mistake of opening my eyes too quickly, I immediately shut them again, my head beginning to pound like a thousand drums... I would never do that again... Turning over, I felt a sense of panic and realized at the last moment, dread washing over me, that I could and was going to fall off the metal table I was laying on. My chest was numb, the air having been stolen back by the atmosphere from my lungs. This is what being alive is like.. hm?
I knew I was manmade and not in the biological sense people expected. I was all test tubes and samples that grew. Multiplied. Metastasized. I wasn't bothered by it, like others will undoubtedly be; I am capable of forming thoughts and moving my body without other influence but my own. I am choosing not to be selfish for now but there will undoubtedly be a time when my greed will begin to rule my mind.
Groaning, I turned onto my stomach and curled up, attempting to pick up my own weight. "Here... Let me help you." I turned my head to my right, seeing a man - grey hair framing his face and glasses that seemed to flash mischievously - bending down and offering to help me. I nodded, taking more notice in what I saw, my reflection in the glass of his frames. My skin was so pale... And my hair.. was blacker than what I thought to be natural. But it were my eyes that held me down, that kept me gripping tightly onto the sleeve of a man I did not know. A vibrant cerulean near the pupil that slowly merged into a near white tint of blue. "We created you to be beautiful, not just useful."
The small details became apparent to me and I licked my dry lips, feeling my breath rattle in my dessert of a mouth, "Why.." The taste of my teeth was disgusting. "If I were beautiful.. Wouldn't it be more of a distraction than an advantage?" I gripped both his sleeves weakly, all of my support coming from his hand which held me up.
"In fact, that is where you are wrong. Beauty is beneficial to those lucky enough to have it, using it to take advantage of those weak enough to be withheld for even at least a second. It is in that second that those who are weak, die." He slowly pulled me up, my bare skin beginning to bear goose bumps. "Can you stand?"
"I can try..." He slowly began to lessen his grip on me, the force of gravity threatening to bring me down until my knees buckled, the point when he caught me again.
"I suppose we aren't at that stage yet," he wrapped my arm around his shoulders and encouraged me to try taking a step forward. I did. "It is expected.. Orochimaru and I have only taken you out a few hours ago. We let your vitals stabilize and let you rest before we began working."
Keeping my eyes on my feet that awkwardly tried to match the man's grace, I thought to interrogate him further, "I never really caught your name... What is it?" What about me... "What's my name?" What about this other person.. "Who's this.. Oro.. Or.."
"Orochimaru, my dear. And do not worry. You will know all in good time. As for me, my name is Kabuto. I will be in charge of your health and wellbeing for the duration of your stay here."
He still didn't give me a name. "Duration of my stay?" What did that mean..? When was I going to leave?
"Yes.. See... your creation was to serve one purpose only, to join a certain organization known as the Akatsuki. The Leader already knows of your existence and has specifically asked for you in exchange for money that we are currently in need of at the moment. He paid a heaping amount of what we need for you so we felt obliged. Or so we said."
"He needs me?" A fresh start.. A tool. A weapon. It seemed logical.
"Yes but that is a discussion for another time. For now, we need to get you into something warmer because a paper thin hospital gown will not provide you with the warmth you need right after waking up." I looked down and noticed for the first time the white dress I was wearing, pink nipples visible through the transparency. I tried to look at my back and noticed an ever widening opening, revealing my entire behind. All I gathered from this was that I was cold.
"That would be appreciated... But where are the clothes?" They were obviously not in the lab room as we were already out into the dark corridor, passing the hall lamps at a painstaking slow rate.
"I hope you weren't thinking that we weren't going to supply a room for you? Of course we are! We need to train you to be human, after all because right now, even if you are to be a ninja, you should at least be self-conscious of the fact that you are naked and anyone could take advantage of that. Embarrassment would be brushing your cheeks red at the moment if you had any sense of that, but it's apparent that you don't. I didn't program the system to have you understand useless feelings like that, otherwise you wouldn't initially cooperate." I saw him smile at me at the corner of my eye but it made me feel uneasy. The more he spoke.. the more I felt cautious of him.. Like he was some impending danger.
The more my legs began to grow weary, the more I felt like Kabuto was carrying me, leaning to his left so my feet didn't really touch the floor. I nearly questioned him as he opened a metal pair of doors leading to another large room and motioned for me to enter when all my weight rested on him. Looking at him expectantly, he stayed put, whispering, "Orochimaru is waiting for you.. He wants to see you awake and how well you are doing. He isn't expecting you to be able to wal. Neither of us were which is why I was a bit pleased when you stood up earlier. So I'll be there to assist you. But know this... You must listen attentively. He does not like to repeat things multiple times unless it is absolutely necessary, and if he does, he will not be very pleased. I designed you so you would pay attention to detail so fight the urge to drift off into your new thoughts." He adjusted me so my feet were firmly back on the ground.. Well as firm as they were going to be with my legs shaking. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah.. Sure.. Let's get this over with." Making an effort to walk right - even though Kabuto said it wouldn't exactly matter at the moment - and keep my eyes forward proved to be a tedious chore I was not fond of and wondered, annoyed, how the hell Kabuto was able to walk with my weight. He stopped me at a wooden chair that I plopped down on, my legs completely giving out under me, taking a moment to take a few deep breaths. There was no way I could be a weapon, especially for some organization that had enough money to convince these people to make me from scratch.
She walked slow, Kabuto clearly her main support. She still didn't give out until she reached the chair... A sign of progress.. Now... Should I introduce her now or later... Perhaps later would be better... He's probably still at a meeting... "Girl."
Her head rose slowly and her eyes reflected more light than I cared for. I thought I told Kabuto brown eyes.. "Yes, Or.. Oro-" Kabuto bent down and whispered something in her ear. "Yes, sir?" A smirk crawled across my lips.
"My, my, we're obedient, aren't we? Well. I would expect nothing more of Kabuto. You should be grateful, girl. He spent hours designing you, making sure you were fed and that your nutrients and vitals were stable," I leaned my head on my hand, my elbow pressing against the cold stone of my chair. "You could say that you owe him your life now." She looked up and over her shoulder at him, but he stood stoic. Good. He still knows his place.
"So I'm sure the girl is aware of her purpose here," He must be done with his meeting.
As my gaze returned to Orochimaru, another figure appeared behind the stone throne, vibrant orange hair and skin, so pale it looked gray, coming from the shadows. As his voice resonated within the room, my being shaking with the chills that ran up my spine, he did not break our eye contact. I averted my gaze to the floor right in front of his feet. "Yes, I am aware. I am to serve an organization - the Akatsuki - as a weapon."
Sneaking a glance at Orochimaru, I saw his confused expression. Was this not supposed to be happening? The new man stepped down the few steps in front of Orochimaru's throne and took deliberate steps in my direction, the sounds his footsteps bouncing off the walls. Run away. What? Why? Do it. This isn't good. There isn't anything abnormal about this man... Orochimaru and Kabuto aren't doing anything. This should be fine. Besides, I can't. It's not this man. It's the situation you're in. Run. The man stopped in front of me but I dared not raise my eyes, even if I was staring directly at his lower stomach. He sneered, scoffed annoyed, and grabbed my face, my chin on top of his palm as he forced me to look him in the eyes. He looked down and turned my face this way and that. "She's too easy a target."
Orochimaru's hands were now pressed together in his lap, "Why. What's wrong with her?"
The man's lip twitched menacingly, "Her eyes are too different. She's incredibly pale and her hair is darker than yours, Orochimaru. It's clear she's too easy to distinguish in a group, too easy to recognize." His gaze turned accusingly towards Kabuto, "I told you brown eyes and slightly darker skin."
Despite being under the inescapable column of pressure that manifested as this man spoke, I could hear the smile in Kabuto's voice, "Yes.. There are glitches in the appearance setting which haven't been worked out yet. But this isn't anything a little sun, hair dye and contacts can't fix. Even so, you could cover her with a cloak and a hood and she wouldn't attract as much attention."
The man's eyes narrowed, "You're trying my patience, Kabuto." He looked back down at me. "Look at me, girl." My eyes flickered to his for a second and it was clear he wanted me to hold that gaze. "Do you know who I am?"
"No.. Sir."
His gaze threw daggers at Kabuto before he addressed me again, his back straightening, "My name is Pein. You will call me master for now, because you are a subjugate and not yet a member.