Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
——————

-

monk
-

They started traveling between bases on a weekly rather than biweekly basis after that, and Sasuke no longer accompanied him to the cages. Kabuto was mostly pleased by that, except for the small downside that now that the teenager was no longer at his side to be a witness, he started getting propositions again.

It was always the women, of course--Kabuto wouldn't have risked releasing anyone on sexual favors alone, but a woman who was pregnant would earn herself a couple more years of life, until she finished breastfeeding. The Sound couldn't rely completely on attracting outsiders to grow.

He'd been mildly surprised to see one of the people near the end of the cage--there was only one main cell, and one single; this was a small base--standing when he came in; but when he was a few steps closer Kabuto could tell it was a woman, and knew what was coming.

He ignored her, running quick and efficient eyes over the contents of the cell and judging that no one inside needed medical attention at the moment. They did seem to need more water, however. It was hotter here than the base they'd last been at, and the allotted amount hadn't taken that into account.

The woman at the end of the cell leaned her forehead against the bars, letting her arms dangle out over the horizontal one. "I'll sleep with you," she called, as he was making a note on his clipboard.

Kabuto made a small, wordless noise in the back of his throat, and finished writing the question mark below Check water amounts?

"Your kids would be brilliant," she continued, voice flat. He'd been told once that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results each time, but it was possible that this woman had been brought in after the last one who'd tried. "They'd be allowed to survive."

Kabuto hooked the pen over the edge of the clipboard and looked at her. She was dirty, the same as all the people down here, and her hair was slightly matted, but she wasn't completely unattractive. With a shower, maybe. . . .

"I have no interest in being a father," he told her, with a small smile.

Her expression didn't change, just remained in that same tired desperation that had driven her to the offer in the first place. Kabuto tucked the clipboard under one arm and stepped over to her.

The woman's arms were still hanging outside the bars; he gripped one by the wrist and then pinched the skin below the crook of her elbow.

"Ow!" She almost reflexively tried to pull back, but he felt her make herself relax a second later.

He stopped pinching after counting to three. When released, the woman's skin remained slightly tented rather than going flat like normal.

Kabuto let go of her wrist, and she hesitated, watching him warily. When he began to walk away, she jerked her arm back behind the bars.

As he left, he crossed out his previous note and wrote instead: Subjects display signs of dehydration--increase water.