"Naruto!"
He couldn't tell if it was a voice outside, if it was the Kyuubi, or if he was being a delusional little freak again and he was imagining it. He tried to move his fingers and a fiery pain shot up his body. A familiar pain, yes, but it was entirely unwelcome. He stifled a groan. Even he knew to be quiet in times like this. He cracked open an eyelid, and he noticed a few of his fingers were swelled, possibly broken. However, the Kyuubi's healing powers were already targeting the areas; they'd probably be as good as new in a few minutes.
"That's ironic," thought Naruto bitterly, briefly closing his eyes before opening them. "The Kyuubi and my stress are combining to attack my internal organs, but he sure as hell can heal a few broken fingers."
Naruto glanced over to the side, and his eyes finally flashed wide open as he saw smears of red across the walls. It was like a painter had a very bad day, and even a few droplets were splattered here and there. There was so much that it couldn't possibly be all his, and he paled. It was drying, clotting, and it was a deep copper color, so it was obvious it was a few days old. He tilted his head side to side, trying to clear the fuzziness in his brain. His eyes hurt. Maybe they were blackened?
Now he was aware that his left cheek was swollen; it certainly had been punched or another sort of trauma was affecting him. He slightly opened his mouth and flinched at the pain that had greeted him when he did so. The muscles in his jaw were sore; someone had fun beating the snot out of him.
Naruto squirmed a little. He winced as his sides seemed to rip, and he looked down. His jacket was badly frayed and torn, along with his black t-shirt underneath, and long scabs marked his sides. They were healing just as fast, in fact, the process was almost done. The blonde sighed in relief. He would be able to fight his way out of here properly, with no delay. But there was one problem…
The young ninja had heard no noises other than his own breathing and the sounds of his struggles. That wasn't right, because his companion should be right near him. He looked around. No Miori. He felt panic start to mount up in his systems. They have been attacked… obviously! But where did she go? Was she kidnapped… or worse? Naruto didn't want to think about it. Miori had been a valuable friendship, and while she was no Sakura, she was someone of significance in his life, whether he meant her to be or not.
Naruto straightened up.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The voice was right, whoever he was, Naruto realized. A searing shot of agony wracked through his chest, and blood was spurting out of his mouth at a rate that he had never experienced before. He leaned back, and luckily, a wall caught him. He had to catch his breath before he could even speak, but he made sure he recovered quickly so he could speak as soon as possible.
"Who… are you? Where's Miori?" heaved Naruto. It was a bad idea, because soon he was gasping and panting for even more breath. He should have waited longer, but he was too frustrated and too worried to breathe properly anyway.
"Tsk, tsk, Naruto-kun. Have you no manners?"
Naruto finally looked up with dull, tired blue eyes, but they flashed wide open as he saw the familiar glint of glass, and the ninja's trademark of pushing his glasses down to stare out with his evil eyes. It mocked him: It was all of what Naruto stood against, and he was once foolish enough to fall for that trick back when he was young.
"You," Naruto spat out. "Figures. What did you do to her?"
Kabuto let out a small chuckle, and took a step, one step that brought him out of the shadows and into full light. It was quiet but it had the force of an explosion, taking Naruto by surprise before he threw up his defensive walls. "My, my. Such vagueness. Whatever do you mean?" By his cruel and mocking tone, Naruto could tell that Kabuto knew damn well who he was talking about.
"Who do you think, you damned asshole?!" Naruto roared, and this time he ignored the need to cough. "Miori!"
"Oh yes, the girl? Mmm… it's of no importance."
Naruto spat the red crimson that threatened to fill his throat to the side. He watched as it hit the drying blood that already existed on the floor; it must have dripped down from the walls. Kabuto never understood his empathy and worries for his friends. He always thought it was about him, nothing and no one else. "No, I think she's pretty high up there on the importance scale. Baka. You just never will get it, do you?"
"I understand more than you at this point." Kabuto's smiled in the dark and it sent shivers down the blonde ninja's spine. "But you are correct, I spoke too soon. You must realize it's a knee-jerk reaction of mine, I apologize. The girl is of extraordinary importance… just not in the way you might think."
Naruto's stomach dropped. Black, spiraling feelings of dread and fear started to sink down in his abdomen. The last time he had a bad feeling like this, Sasuke had left the village and Sakura finally fell apart. Remembering this, he shot up his defenses and his eyes darkened. He remembered. Miori had said it herself, when they were headed to the village. Why didn't he say something before? And her wailing screams, they almost were like… an alarm?
"I'm a ninja. Since when are things the way I think?" he said dryly, sitting himself up against the wall. He ignored the bile and blood that rose in his throat from the movement, and the pain that followed. The raw feeling of betrayal was the main feeling in his heart. "Did she know all along?"
It was like Kabuto read his mind. His smile grew wider, and the bile in Naruto's throat rose at the very sight. He narrowed his eyes, determined to look like the bigger person. He straightened even further, and he squared his shoulders. The two stared at each other for a long time.
"A little paranoid, don't you think?" Kabuto said at last, breaking the link their gazes made. "Miori was telling the truth, I assure you of that. She has no idea who she is or where she came from."
"But she is linked to your sick village, isn't she?" Naruto shot back, the relief immediately squashed down by dread and fear. "Isn't she? She said herself that Otogakure rang a bell."
"Correct. Do you remember when that Hyuuga brat and her team left the village?" Kabuto turned his back towards Naruto, and walked off. Naruto squinted his eyes, but he couldn't see very far in the darkness. He nearly jumped a mile when Kabuto spoke up again.
"That was fun. At least, watching it was."
Naruto's heart leapt. He wasn't so stupid that he couldn't understand Kabuto's implications. "You sick asshole!" he shouted loudly, only to be interrupted by a spurt of blood. He impatiently spat on the floor again and wiped his mouth. "What did you do to them?"
"I didn't do anything. I was just along for the ride." He heard shuffling movement in the back, and Naruto finally realized he was gaining his strength back. The bones in his fingers had begun to mend, and his sides were healing.
"Just a few minutes… stall for another few minutes…"
"Because you were too scared to go up against them yourself?" Naruto snarled. It took all of his energy to let himself rest, to finally regain enough energy to maim Kabuto with every inch of his being. Sasuke had finally vanished from his mind. It could have been easily Sakura out there, and Hinata was like his sister. If he killed her…
"Guess I can't blame you." Naruto ignored his negative thoughts. He had to buy more time, make Kabuto pay for whatever he did to them. "Hinata's a hellcat when you mess with her friends. Kiba and Lee aren't much fun either, especially with Akamaru. Not to mention Shino, Tenten and Chouji are just a pain to fight." Now it was his turn to be mocking, and Kabuto obviously didn't take well to that.
Naruto wasn't surprised when a kunai was shoving its place in his throat, and he didn't even flinch when he felt a few droplets run down his skin. Kabuto was quiet, but Naruto could feel the raw fury coming out in pulses from the older ninja. Naruto forced his breathing to be sickeningly calm, just to mock Kabuto even further. It was working, for Kabuto's inhales were ragged and choppy.
"Shino is dead." Kabuto growled into his ear, finally releasing him. "Hinata nearly died. She totally shattered her leg and was practically beaten to death. Chouji was in a coma last time I checked, and the rest have suffered injuries as well. Don't go shooting your mouth off unless you know what you're talking about."
Naruto felt his stomach plummet down. Shino… dead? Hearing about Hinata in itself was enough to make his blood boil, but the others…one dead and the others so badly injured? His rage built and built until it exploded over the edges of its constraints, like one extra drop in an already full bucket.
"What did they ever do to you?!" he screamed, feeling like his vocal cords would burst from the sheer power, the force. "Why?!" Hinata was as good as his sister, one of the few people who understood him. She didn't deserve Shino being taken away from her, and she sure as hell didn't deserve bearing that responsibility of him dying and others injured under her command. Naruto's rage was boundless now, and his fists were clenching despite the physical protests his hands were giving him.
"Simple. They got in the way of the experiment."
That answer wasn't expected. Naruto's mouth chewed on thin air, a fish out of water.
"What experiment? How could you do something like that? They were scouting, for Kami's sake! How could they possibly get in the way?"
"Scouting is to find out information. I had to stop them before they figured anything out… and of course, Shino was a perfect candidate for it."
Naruto felt more and more squeamish at the thought of Kabuto playing with Hinata and her team like toys. He felt even sicker at the thought that Sakura was considering going with them. If she had, she might have died. He knew Kabuto had an interest in her strength and healing abilities.
"What have you done?" Naruto whispered.
Kabuto flicked on the lights.
Naruto could only stare as capsules lit up in the room. They all had blue-green liquid pulsing in and out of them, but the flow was so slow it couldn't possibly be working. But that wasn't what he was staring at.
Cords from each container all ran into one machine, and the machine was off. But in each one of those capsules, was a humanoid shape with several different colors of hair flowing in the thick liquid, each strand separating. They were all naked, with knees drawn to their chests and heads nestled into their knees. Their pale, seemingly porcelain skin was almost glowing. Some were male, some were female, but something was off…
"They're all dead, of course. They're all failed experiments." Kabuto gazed at each one, resting his hand on a black haired female's capsule. It was hard to believe one with such beauty was dead. Naruto barely felt himself standing up.
"What-"
"Ever since Orochimaru died, you know, Sasuke took him over, I've been out here, trying to find something that can actually beat him." He laughed without mirth, and bitterness seeped into his tone. "It won't happen anytime soon, of course, but now that we actually had a success… it's a start. We just have to keep that success alive."
Naruto lost all patience. "What. Are. You. Talking. About?"
If Kabuto had heard him, he didn't acknowledge it. "Our experiment steals internal organs, since each ninja is different. In Shino's case, it was his heart, brain, and lungs that were crucial. Chakra waves go to those points, and that's what controlled his bugs." Kabuto straightened, smirking widely.
"I found a way to convert these organs into pure, solid chakra. Chakra that can be fed into those pipes…" He gestured towards the multiple tubes leading to the machine, "and dispersed around these failed experiments. Of course, each experiment was created by chakra."
Naruto stared out in horrified fascination. It was disgusting, sick, twisted. How many people had Kabuto killed for this cause?
"Shino was the third for this, but the first ninja." Kabuto seemed to have read his mind. "The other two were just common villagers, for the sake of chakra I couldn't give."
"Their life chakra," Naruto said, growing more and more alarmed every second. "So they could come to life!"
"You've grown smarter since I've last seen you, Naruto-kun. Yes, exactly that. However… converting life chakra into a new soul is highly unstable and very dangerous." Kabuto moved and placed his hand on the capsule of a red-head male this time, almost affectionately. Naruto was forced to swallow back more bile.
"But of course… we recycled that life chakra into our success, so we wouldn't have to waste… you see, Naruto-kun, I'm not killing more than I have to. That's why all these," he knocked on the glass- "are still here, instead of being disposed of. And now… my weapon can truly come to life."
It was like a lightbulb going off. "I'm your next victim," Naruto whispered in realization. "You're after the nine-tailed fox!"
"Nothing personal, Naruto-kun. You will die anyway, what's the harm in making your life a little shorter?" He snapped his fingers.
A shape appeared in the darkness, and this time, Naruto was going to be sick. He threw up right then and there, on the side, with speckles of blood. He wiped his mouth and staggered to his feet, his eyes wide and staring.
A girl stood there, her eyes blank and desolate. Dark hair fell around her shoulders, and Naruto felt increasing dread.
"She has two personalities, and each can be temporarily turned off. One is so she can learn basic skills and interact and fool others, while the other… is a killing machine," hissed Kabuto, his eyes dark and laughing, with cruel mockery.
"No…" Naruto whispered.
"Yes," hissed Kabuto, his word filled with glee. "Kill him."
Bugs flew out in all different directions, but this time, with a different master. She lifted her hands, and all Naruto could do was jump up and out of the way. But he couldn't feel anger, or even hate. His shoulders slouched, and for now, all he could do was fight. He didn't want to, but he had to.
The only emotion he could feel was pity as Miori's eyes flashed, not with emotion, but the fiery desire to kill as her bugs swept in for the target.
--
I know it took me two weeks to write this, but as you can tell, this chapter was extremely hard for me to write. Obviously Miori has become a bigger part in this story than I previously planned, but hey. I try.
And to that certain reviewer who told me that chapter 5 would be the hardest for me to write… I proved you wrong with this baby. :O But I love you anyway. ;) You have skill in making me feel special, so I appreciate it.
Review, people! I LIKE to know how I'm doing. :P
