**Author's note: Chapters 1-11 have been edited to make the story more along the canon lines. However, there are still some inconsistencies between the canon storyline and this fanfic. That is intended. If you are coming across this story before the rhirteenth of October, 2015, and just now keeping up with the story, please go back and re read. If you are coming across this at a later date, no worries. :)
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Yamato's shoulder was stiff and sore, but at least it had remained in place. Absolutely exhausted from being kept awake for over two days straight now, he couldn't help finding the smallest amount of comfort he could, given his current situation.
Still, he sat in a room, the only thing accompanying him being the damn machine that hummed quietly. He was grateful that, at least, he had been provided a cot to sleep on, instead of having to sleep in the chair he was tied to before. After undergoing hours of blood transfusions and having different medications administered for God knows what reasons, he was finally allowed to rest.
Everything seemed hazy, and he felt like he was going insane without knowing exactly what time it was, or how much time had gone by. The only thing he could think about was Kakashi. Where was he? What happened to him? Was he somewhere nearby? He knew that Kakashi had to be searching for him by now. He knew Kakashi wouldn't rest until he found him.
Every time Yamato closed his eyes, the last image he saw of Kakashi's face agonized him. He had never before seen that man look so terrified; in fact, he didn't think the man knew what fear was. But everything happened so suddenly, from their kiss to the attack. Yamato kept running the sequence of events over and over in his head, never seeming to be able to stop. However, he didn't necessarily want to stop. He had no way of knowing if he was going to die here, and if that was the case, he wanted Kakashi to be the last thing he thought of. He only wished he had the chance to tell him that he loved him somewhere down the road...
Then, Yamato heard the sound of the locks on the door moving. Someone was coming in. He tensed instinctively, all of his attention focused on the man who entered the room. He shut the door gently behind him, before proceeding cautiously towards Yamato.
There goes rest... Yamato thought. Not that he would have been able to sleep at all anyways; not without knowing what was going on. The man seemed to have picked up on Yamato's tension, as he gave a soft smile and raised his hands up, almost defensively.
"Now now," the man said, "I have no intention of hurting you."
Right, because you've basically been torturing me for the past however long now anyways, Yamato thought bitterly, eyeing the man. Something about him didn't seem sincere.
The man sat down in front of Yamato, brushing his long, black hair out of his face, before beginning to speak.
"Sorry we had to bring you in the way we did, but we knew you wouldn't have come of your own will." He cleared his throat before continuing. "You see, thanks to you, we have successfully been able to achieve something. Your blood samples, and the experiments we ran on you with the injections, have given us useful information. With that information, we were able to extract something powerful that you have, without having to kill you for it. Isn't that wonderful?" He gave a sort of sadistic smile, waiting enthusiastically for a response.
Yamato blinked at the man. He was still trying to process what he had just said. "So you were going to kill me had it not been successful?"
"Well, not exactly. We still need you for one more thing."
"So you intend to kill me after all."
"Why the interest in death? Do you want us to kill you?" the man's eyebrow peaked with intrigue.
Yamato couldn't believe how informal this guy was. What a fucking ass. His eye twitched. He changed the topic.
"Where am I?"
"Can't tell you."
"How long have I been here for?"
"About two weeks, now."
Yamato almost immediately began to panic upon hearing this. He had no idea it had actually been that long.
"Didn't feel that long, did it?" the man mused.
"...No.." Yamato replied quietly.
"That's because we drugged you."
A heartbeat.
"WELL NO SHIT, THANK YOU, I HAD NO IDEA." Yamato was steaming, crossing his arms and looking away in disgust. What the hell is this guy's problem?
The man let out a laugh. "My, what an ugly bark," he chuckled to himself.
Yamato let out a hmmph, gripping his arms tighter to his chest, still looking away. There was a moment of silence before Yamato asked another question.
"Who are you?"
"Oh, how inconsiderate of me. Have you been here this whole time without knowing who we are?"
"I don't believe I had the chance to sit down and discuss names over tea," Yamato muttered.
Smirking, the man answered.
"You see, this here is an organization. We call ourselves 'Akatsuki.' The men who brought you here are Hidan and Deidara. There are others here, and they all have their own men who gather the resources and intel we need to operate. For example, we have Sasori, who's underling brings us information from someone who is infamous for his experiments. We have more members, but they aren't really of that much importance at the moment."
Yamato looked at the man before himself, his left eyebrow slightly perched. "And your name?"
"Madara. Uchiha, Madara."
Yamato was shocked. Uchiha? The only remaining survivors of that clan were Itachi and Sasuke, and they were both loyal to Konoha. Was this man far removed? Maybe directly related? Or perhaps merely a coincidence? No, it couldn't be...
He decided not to comment on it.
"What's so special about me that you had to use me for your experiments?" Yamato looked sternly at Madara and spoke clearly.
"You mean you don't know?" Madara was beyond enthused.
"If I knew, would I be asking you?" Yamato couldn't keep his smart ass tone to himself.
Madara let out a tch, before responding.
"You are a child of an experiment. I suppose you could say you aren't technically even a real human being because of it; you're artificial," he put emphasis on the last word, to make it really sink it. "The man I mentioned early, he created you. I guess that would make him your father, but I suppose you wouldn't even know the meaning of one anyways, would you?" A sinister smile forced his lips apart.
Yamato's eyes widened. How does he know I'm orphaned...?
"I bet you're curious now, right? How do I know these things?" Madara kept musing. "You see, I've been watching for a while now. Waiting to see how you would grow into your own abilities. It seems your exceptional in a lot of areas, however you still haven't quite found your purpose yet, have you?"
Yamato felt uneasy. He felt like Madara had just stripped away every layer of his very being and exposed the core. This was something he kept very private; only Tsunade knew about this. He hadn't even told Kakashi yet. He decided to take a firm approach.
"I know my own purpose. My purpose is to serve Konoha," he spat matter of factly, raising his chin, glaring down at Madara.
A moment passed. Yamato's breathing quivered slightly.
Suddenly, he felt an immense pain as Madara sprung up and grabbed his face by his jaw, squeezing both sides of his jaw line as tight as he could. He peered down at the short haired brunette, his eyes now a burning shade of crimson.
Madara continued to keep his grip on Yamato's jaw with his right hand, as he quickly grabbed both of his wrists with his left, to keep him from thrashing about. He held Yamato's wrists against him, forcing him to keep still.
"You will not speak to me in such a manner again," he snarled. He then threw Yamato back, turned around and began walking out the door.
"The truth is that now you're sole purpose is to lure your comrades here for me. You will watch them die before you, and then I will kill you."
Yamato spat on the ground and wiped the saliva from his face. Upon hearing this, he lunged forward at Madara.
Expecting this to be Yamato's response, he turned and locked eyes with his opponent. Yamato had played right into his hands. He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Madara disappeared without a trace right before Yamato's very eyes. In shock, he stumbled, and then felt paralyzed. He fell back, feeling like he was falling through nothing as the room began to warp around him. All he could see that remained the same was the image of Madara's glowing red eyes circling around him, like a vulture circling it's dinner.
"This is my Mangekyo Sharingan," Madara's voice boomed throughout the void. The room continued to stretch and warp. "A mere few seconds in the real world will seem like years here."
Yamato stiffened. He had only heard of this technique before as Itachi's Tsukuyomi. As far as anyone else knew, he was the only one who could practice this. Clearly this was false information.
Before he could prepare himself for the worst, he got the sensation he was drowning. Water filled his lungs and he choked and gasped in pain as his chest convulsed, his body desperately trying to get rid of the sudden intrusion. Looking up, he could see the surface of the water. He attempted to swim up to freedom, his instincts taking over. No matter how hard he swam, he just kept getting farther and farther away. He could feel his body start to accept it's fate as he began to relax, starting to black out.
Just before he could succumb, he was laying on the ground of the room, coughing and sputtering as his lungs searched for oxygen again. He turned over, throwing up water as Madara watched him from the door.
"However, I can't kill you just yet," Madara concluded, and left, locking the door behind him.
Yamato's body burned and ached, wheezing as he tried to re-train himself how to breathe properly. He collapsed back down on the ground, his face pressed against the cool tile as he prayed for the strength to escape alive.
