I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Imprisoned

Ryuu groaned as his head throbbed. He slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling, where odd, swirling designs made their way across his field of view. He could feel his swollen left eye, his broken right arm, and his left shattered kneecap. Except, he didn't remember any of those injuries during his fight with Mhao and Zetsu.

"Don't try to move," a familiar voice warned before Kabuto appeared over him. "You've got several broken bones. I'm tending to them now."

He moved away again, returning to his work, the pain in Ryuu's knee slowly fading a little at a time.

"I wasn't injured in the fight," Ryuu said. "How'd I get broken bones?"

"I'm not sure," Kabuto admitted. "You just showed up like this. I'm not even really sure who brought you to us."

"Mhao," Ryuu guessed. "Mhao did. He claimed that his master wanted me alive, but never said who it was. He's really pale, almost white, and carries a katana with a blue grip and a demon-themed tsuba."

"Mhao?" Kabuto asked. "I don't know a Mhao. And that description doesn't sound very familiar either. He must have been powerful to beat you, though."

"I only lost because I was fighting both him and Zetsu from the Akatsuki," Ryuu said. "Mhao I've beaten before. Actually, I've killed him before. Like three times. And then I burned his body away to ash each time, but he was still there."

"That's impossible," Kabuto said.

"Tell me something I don't know," Ryuu said. "But it's true."

Kabuto remained silent as he began to work on Ryuu's arm. "I'll see what I can find out. In the mean time, allow me to explain why you're here. It's Orochimaru's goal to discover all of the Sharingan's weaknesses and strengths from you before taking Sasuke's body. Additionally, he wants to learn to copy Kekkei Genkai, and pass them on to others, allowing him to raise an army. Of all Kekkei Genkai, in theory, Dojutsus would be the hardest to transfer, yet the most rewarding."

"So, what, he's going to dissect my eyes?" Ryuu asked.

"Not yet," Kabuto said. "He'll likely resort to that if he continually fails to figure out how to do it before hand, but for now, you're safe. Well, maybe not safe, but you won't go blind. The tests will start out basic, studying use in real combat scenarios, tissue samples, nerve ending samples, blood tests."

"Combat scenarios?" Ryuu asked. "Tissue samples? Nerve endings? Please tell me you don't mean my eyes."

"For the combat, you'll be pitted against one or more of Orochimaru's other, and less valuable prisoners, likely starting with those that he has lost interest in," Kabuto explained. "During those fights, you'll be instructed to use your Sharingan. For the sake of them not removing your eyes altogether, I suggest you do as instructed. That will include killing, probably. As for the tissue and nerve endings, that's from the various pieces making up your eyeball, and the nerve ending is from the optic nerve behind your eye. It will hurt, but I'll make it quick and heal the damage afterward. I'll also give you local anesthetics to help with the pain."

Ryuu nodded, noticing his neck was stiff, but Kabuto healed that quickly, followed by his black eye. Finally he was finished healing Ryuu and Ryuu sat up, sighing. He was going to hate his life.

"Am I allowed to break out?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Kabuto said. "Trust me, if you try to escape, you'll pay for it. Orochimaru will either catch you himself and take your eyes, or he'll go after Fu. And he'll reach her long before you can."

Ryuu nodded, standing and looking around. The room was empty, having no decorations beyond the medical table he had just been lying on and a few candles. Kabuto led him through the base away from the room, Ryuu noticing that the closest thing anywhere in the base were the strange designs on the walls, ceiling, and floor, giving everything a scaled appearance. Finally, they reached an arena, a wrought iron door with a barred window near the top against one wall. Kabuto opened it and Ryuu stepped inside, looking around. Prisoners, male and female, young and old, sick and healthy, strong and weak, filled the room. Kabuto closed the door behind him and Ryuu sat against the wall. Within seconds, two prisoners, a boy a little younger than him, and a girl a bit older than him walked over, standing in front of him. The girl, like everyone else, to include Ryuu, was wearing faded rags for clothing, but had seemingly ripped her pants into short shorts and the shirt into a tube top that barely covered her breasts. Ryuu looked up at them and the boy smiled.

"I'm Max," the boy said. "This is Lena. What's your name?"

"Ryuu," Ryuu said. "How long have you been here?"

"Years," Lena said. "Since you're in this room, I assume you have a Kekkei Genkai." She set her hand on the ground, then lifted it, a skeletal rat bursting out of the ground. "Mine can bring corpses back to life, and no matter what condition they're in, or what damage is done to them short of completely obliterating them, they continue to follow my commands. Even if you were to dismember the bodies, I could still control the pieces." She pulled off one of the skeleton's legs and set it aside, Ryuu watching it inch its way back to the rat, the rat rolling over it and reattaching it. "Skeletons work the best, because I can reassemble them. Of course, they want to find the skeleton of the bone-wielder that fought the Hidden Leaf so long ago. Imagine what I could do with his."

"Break us out of here," Ryuu said.

Lena and Max both laughed.

"A lot have tried," Max said. "Every single one of them died."

"How far did they get?" Ryuu asked.

"The furthest was about three hundred feet," Max said. "Then the Warden arrived and killed him in a single blow."

"Who's the Warden?" Ryuu asked.

"It varies, depending on how soon they make Orochimaru mad, or if Orochimaru decides to send them elsewhere, or just decides to kill him," Lena said. "But you'll see them during your fights. They oversee the battles."

Ryuu nodded. He didn't want to stay. He wanted to break out. But for better or for worse, he had no choice but to remain there.

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