An unintentional groan escaped my lips as I lifted my head in observation. I sat slumped in a rigid metal chair, my hands tied behind my back with wire as well as my ankles to the chair legs. My surroundings were about as interesting as the dirt under my nails. There were rock walls, floor, and ceiling, as well as one dim overhead light, its incandescence flickering subtly from time to time.
"It's about time." A dull voice that I didn't quite recognize echoed from the back of the room. The footfalls indicated that he was moving slowly, but in my direction. Rounding from behind, a man stood before me, staring down with sullen eyes half covered by slightly messy, red hair. I met his morose gaze with my own, silent yet screaming for no one to hear.
"This will either be very easy, or incredibly difficult. It all depends on you." His words flat-lined as he removed his stare from my own and walked past me, leaving through a creaky door. It fell shut behind him.
It was only moments later that it squeaked open once more, however more steps poured in than I could count.
Five figures filtered in and stood before me, only one of whom I recognized in addition to the man I had just seen. Deidara and the red-head were preceded by a man with many piercings and an impossibly pretty woman with blue hair. A tall man with raven hair and scarlet eyes filed in behind the others.
The pierced man stepped forward ominously, his gray, spiraling irises connecting with mine.
"As I'm sure you've already been informed, you can make this as painful as you'd like, ranging from no pain at all, to pain that you never imagined could exist. I am Pain."
Wow, what an introduction.
I swallowed hard and stared up at him with a blank expression, shitting bricks on the inside. I was exhausted and having a hard time even keeping him in focus. He took my empty gape as a signal to continue.
"Who are you?" he asserted, barely making it a question.
"Izumi," I couldn't even manage a full sentence and I hated the way my voice sounded as it eked out of me, timid and weak.
"Izumi is a name, it is not who you are. I do not care about your name. I'll ask again, who are you?" He pressed.
This guy is intense.
My eyes shifted to the people behind him as if any of them would help me out. They all remained stoically regarding me.
"What village are you from?" Pain followed up with another question when I took too long. I could handle this one.
"Konohagakure," I answered as quickly as possible.
He nodded to himself before asking another question, "And what is your purpose?"
My tongue felt dry and swollen against the roof of my mouth. What was with these questions? Pain seemed to be growing impatient. I tried to lick my lips before answering but my tongue just seemed to scratch against them.
"I'm just a girl from Konoha, I was… I was running away from home. That's it, I swear." I admitted in a hurry, my eyes begging for him to believe me.
His irritation grew quickly, a growl murmuring in his throat.
"You expect me to believe that?" he asked in a raised voice. Before I could say anything, he continued, "You, who possess earth-style jutsus, are just a girl running away from home in the middle of the night? And you just so happened to be found listening to members of the Akatsuki? Do I have this correct?"
I winced a bit and stared up at him with a very pained expression. "God, well when you put it like that it sounds really bad…" I said, mostly to myself.
"It does." He agreed coldly. "Now that we've established that, why don't you try again. This time I'd like to hear the truth."
My face was pure anguish. How could I explain this? I was just a shut-in that wasn't even allowed out of the house most days. I didn't understand my abilities any more than anyone else. In fact I grew up trying to hide them.
"I-I know how it sounds... but it's the truth..." I said weakly. "That stuff with, um, what did you call it? Earth jutsu? I-I can just do that… somehow?" I offered almost apologetically, understanding exactly how absurd it sounded.
"How stupid do you think I am…?" he asked dangerously with narrowed eyes. In a flash he was upon me, a kunai in hand. The edges of my vision blurred and blackened as it plunged into my thigh without warning.
An unexpected scream burst through my lips. Like a startled horse out of the starting gate, it raged with intensity. My eyes welted and those gates opened as well, tears overflowing as my teeth chattered together from the pain.
What have I gotten myself into?
Pain tore the kunai out and took a step back, examining me with a dead gaze. I writhed in pain, my fists clenched hard and my knuckles running white.
"You have the ability to be honest I'm sure, just not the motivation… or at least not yet," he drew nearer once again, kneeling down to eye level, our faces were just inches apart. My ragged breath blew against his hair like a sick wind.
"You will confess." His words made my blood run cold. I was so stupid for thinking I would be okay on my own—that I could just flee from my old life and start anew somewhere else with no conequences. Now I was in over my head with no way out. How could I convince a man like this that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Another scream ruptured from within me, echoing infinitely inside the cramped confines of the stone-walled room. The kunai was now buried deep within my previously unscathed leg. Spots danced in my eyes as the pain intensified.
"Who sent you?" Pain asked in a calm and callous tone. I cried out again and squeezed my eyes shut, wracking my brain for an answer as my body shuddered through the torture.
He dug deeper and dragged the kunai towards him. I gasped and looked up past him, my eyes meeting with Deidara. My face was unintentionally pleading, he looked shocked for a moment, perhaps confused as to why I was looking to him for help. I didn't know either. I didn't know what else to do. His shock retreated only to be replaced by uncertainty.
Pain twisted the kunai, causing my eyes to falter. I squeezed them shut for a moment and when I looked back up, Deidara was no longer watching, but staring at the ground in front of him. The red-headed man next to him shared the same look as the man with crimson eyes and the woman—uncaring.
I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut until he stopped. I let out the last of my crooked gasps as he pulled the kunai from my leg and stood so that he towered over my frail form.
"Itachi, see what you can do," Pain ordered before turning around, "the rest may leave."
He led the way out while the others followed suit, Deidara was the only one to give me a second glance. The door wheezed shut behind them, my attention fell on the only man remaining, Itachi. A chill ran down my spine, as if his stare alone could produce the icy wind that I swore to have felt. I gulped before staring up at him, silently pleading for him to leave as well.
There was a shift within his eyes and suddenly I was no longer in that room, just an open space that seemed to go on forever. The pain in my legs was unbearable but I took comfort in the mind-numbing haze due to blood loss. I guessed that kind of thing should scare a person, but to be honest, I was beginning to wonder if death would be my only way out. If that were the case, maybe a quick one was all I could hope for. I mean really, what purpose did I have? I had no real family, no friends, nothing. No one would even notice or care if I were erased from this world.
A pained sigh whizzed past my chattering teeth as I felt a cool blade meet my skin. It moved through the flesh of my stomach like a hot knife through butter.
"I recommend you start talking, this could go on for a while," Itachi's deep, smooth voice pulled me from my lulling unconsciousness against my will.
"I'm n-not lying," I stuttered quietly with a sob.
The blade again. And again. It seemed like forever.
I awoke with a rush, back in the room and in terrible agony. Itachi left without a word, the door didn't even creak behind him. It just simply shut.
I was alone once again, not a noise besides my own haggard breaths and a slight buzzing of the light above me. I let my head fall forward as I cried quietly to myself, tangled and sweat-drenched strands of hair veiling my face. I sat like that for a long time before peeking up to notice maybe I wasn't alone.
I lifted my head ever so slightly to peer through my mess of hair. Scanning the room, I nearly looked right over the small set of glowing yellow eyes that sat almost cautiously in the corner.
"I think she has spotted us." It seemed to whisper to itself.
"Yes it appears she has, what should we do?"
"Kill her?"
"We can't do that, we are only supposed to watch."
"She knows we're here."
"Yes, let's go for now." The figure concluded as it began to sink into the floor.
"Wait, please…" I croaked, not understanding what was happening. "Can you help me?"
After several moments of silence between myself and those brilliant golden eyes, they disappeared entirely and my heart fell once again into the darkness. My stomach growled and curled in on itself painfully, rebelling against my lack of nourishment. I just closed my eyes and let my dreamscape take me, if only for a moment.