THE GIRL OF THE SOUND
Chapter 2 – Getting Out
When Kin awoke, she was strapped to a chair, her arms firmly bound and unmovable. She sat in a dark, empty room she didn't recognize, so she wondered if she was still in the building they had been residing in. When she came to she was alone so she tried getting free, but she gave up when the straps proved to be quite tight.
Orochimaru eventually showed up. His words came rushing back to her and she was overwhelmed with fear once again. Yet another emotion would soon replace that as he moved towards her, a mischievous smile clear on his face, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Raite no Jutsu," he said, almost as if he was about to chuckle, and as soon as the words came out of his mouth, lightning began to pour out of his hands and into Kin. She immediately screamed as pain shot throughout her upper body, everything else pushed out of her mind. She struggled against the restraints, wishing with all her might for it to stop.
After a few seconds, the pain did stop. Kin slumped in the chair, breathing heavily. She felt very hot, and her body still stung. She felt a hand grasp her chin and hoist her head up. Her black eyes met Orochimaru's snake-like, yellow ones. He chuckled, grinning maliciously.
"Kin… do you like the village of the Hidden Sound?"
She didn't know what to say. What was his intention in asking that? Did he really want an answer, or was he just teasing her? She searched vaguely for a response for a few seconds, but her thoughts were effectively shattered as Orochimaru repeated his earlier technique, this time the lightning coming out of the hand that was holding Kin's chin. After two seconds, he let go.
Kin's head again fell limply to the side. She felt dizzy. It felt like she was spinning. Or was it the room that was spinning?
Orochimaru laughed out loud now. "Kin! Do you think you'll ever see it again?" he exclaimed. He beamed, opening his mouth wide. His tongue stretched out, becoming impossibly long. It wrapped itself around Kin's neck, drops of drool dripping down on her. His tongue squeezed around her neck, blocking her breathing and forcing her to look at him again.
She gasped for air, both disgusted and desperate as her oxygen ran out. She tried to move her head, but was unsuccessful. His grip was too strong.
Orochimaru leaned forward, and their eyes met. Those beady, yellow eyes were staring into hers, looking for something. Kin knew what that probably was. Fear. Despair.
As much as she didn't want to give him that satisfaction, she couldn't mask it. She was scared, and she basically didn't have any hope left. She was a trapped Genin, in the custody of a man who was one of the three legendary Sannin, a man who planned to challenge a Hokage. There was no hope of escape. She knew she was eventually going to die by the hands of this man. And so he got what he wanted.
Kin gagged, a line of her own drool oozing out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes began to roll back into her head slowly, and her vision became blurry. Just as unconsciousness was about to take her, Orochimaru removed his tongue. As soon as it was off, Kin gasped for air, taking in breath after desperate breath, filling her lungs completely with each inhalation.
Orochimaru let her take a few breaths, and then promptly licked her cheek with his monstrous tongue. He did this jut as she inhaled, and taking in his foul smell stroke her with a sudden and strong wave of nausea that quickly crawled up her throat. She doubled over and vomited on her lap.
Orochimaru laughed out again, obviously enjoying what he was seeing. It seemed he had found a fun pastime while the plan didn't need his immediate attention.
For the several days that ensued, the torture continued. Ninjutsus and genjutsus, each time causing more and more pain, each time more excruciating. Horrible illusions of being ripped apart, burned alive, beaten senseless, all twisted in an infernal mix of pain. Pain… Never ending pain…
She began to regret the events that transpired that fateful night. She wanted to go back and just go along with what Orochimaru had planned. She wanted a quick, less painful death, like Zaku's. She had realized fairly quickly that Orochimaru was only using techniques that would cause agony but not damage her body's condition. She concluded he probably needed it intact for the 'important technique' he had mentioned.
Orochimaru left her alone from time to time. How long she wasn't sure, but it felt like a long, relieving time. It was the only time without pain, the only time she could rest. He couldn't spend all his time torturing her, after all; he had to focus on his plan, as well. It was during this time that she usually slept to recover what little energy she could, and clear her mind as much as possible.
For the first few days, Orochimaru was successful in breaking down her spirit to the absolute lowest. She felt nothing, and wished only to find death as soon as possible, to free her from the pain. But as the days went on, despair started to turn into anger. Anger turned to burning hatred.
Hatred of the man that was supposed to be a leader to her, a role model, and yet was doing such unspeakable acts to her. Hatred of the fact that she had been used, used like a pawn, and now was supposed to be thrown away. What, then, had been the meaning of her short life? She had been born for the sole reason of being a mere tool to Orochimaru's plan?
Kin found strength in her anger. She wasn't sure how many days it had been now, but she had formed resolve. She had gotten some hope back.
She waited until Orochimaru was done for the day and left her alone. After waiting what seemed like a long time – perhaps a few hours – to make sure Orochimaru was really gone, Kin started struggling against her restraints like she had done many times before during these calm periods. However, this time behind her struggling there was faith. She believed she would get free. She had to.
Like all the other times, the straps made themselves out to be a daunting obstacle. Except this time, Kin was determined. She invested all her remaining energy in the effort, forcing all of her strength into getting free. She felt her left shoulder dislocate and had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. Ignoring the pain, she continued, not stopping for a moment.
After what seemed like forever, the straps began to loosen. Realizing this, she felt encouragement. Despite being on the verge of screaming out in pain and practically not having any feeling left in her arms, she kept going. After another eternity of struggling, the straps finally gave loose, releasing their grip and falling limply to the ground.
At first, she was too shocked to believe it. Maybe it was really because this time her struggling had been backed up by hope, or maybe the straps had been worn down from all of her straining throughout the days. She couldn't know, and didn't care one bit.
Kin quickly got up, cringing from the pain coming from her shoulder. The girl walked to the only door in the room and slowly turned the knob, thinking her arms had never felt so tired in all her life. She peeked into the next room and recognized it as one of the rooms in the building she had been residing in with her team. There seemed to be no one around. Had the circumstances been different, she might have stopped to wonder where Dosu was.
She quickly made it to the backdoor. She knew Orochimaru was still in Konoha and that he wouldn't have expected her to escape, but she couldn't know where he was. If he spotted her, from wherever he might be, she was doomed. Before opening the door and walking through, Kin forced her arms to execute the seal for Henge no Jutsu, transforming herself into another random girl.
Kin turned the knob and left the house, immediately starting for the village's exit. The bright, afternoon sunlight blinded her for several moments; she had been imprisoned in a dark room for days, after all. Despite not having eaten anything in days, her adrenaline gave her the strength to keep walking.
When she saw the village's gate come into view, she smiled for the first time in a while. Maybe she wouldn't die, after all. She quickly crossed it and headed into the nearby woods. After she was far in, she let the Henge no Jutsu wear off. It wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. Her stamina was at its limit.
Kin walked and walked, until the sun was low on the horizon, and the sky had turned several different shades of orange. She stopped then, resting her back against the trunk of the closest tree. Sweat rolled down her face freely. The girl was dead tired, and barely had the strength to stand anymore. She decided that she was far enough to be safe for now, though she probably wasn't in any condition to keep walking even if she wanted to.
Feeling relaxed for the first time in a very long time, she let herself slump down to the ground. She closed her eyes, and sleep quickly befell her.