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

Prisoner

Ryuu flipped over the prisoner's kunai, slamming a kick into him, launching him away. As he watched the prisoner stand, blood began to form on the prisoner's hands, forming a set of claws on one hand and a spiked flail in the other. When Kabuto had said he'd be fighting other Kekkei Genkai wielders, he hadn't known what to expect. This definitely wasn't it, though.

The prisoner charged, sashing at Ryuu rapidly, Ryuu barely avoiding the strikes. Finally, he ducked under the flail, catching the knee the prisoner threw before punching the prisoner in the gut and sending him flying backward using repulsion seals. He let the seals fade, grabbing the prisoner's fallen kunai, holding it in reverse grip. The prisoner swung his right arm in a wide, slow circle, a blood katana forming.

"I don't want to fight you to the death," Ryuu said.

"Then hold still and let me kill you!" the prisoner snarled, charging at Ryuu, pulling the sword back.

Ryuu sighed, streaking forward, Sharingan flicking from spot to spot as he analyzed the prisoner's form. The prisoner slashed and Ryuu ducked past it, spinning and slashing the backs of the prisoner's knees. As soon as his knees hit the ground, Ryuu stepped in front of him, slashing the insides of his elbows too. The prisoner screamed, falling onto his back, Ryuu stepping up over him. The prisoner stared up at him in terror as Ryuu streamed chakra along his kunai.

"Kill him," the Warden ordered.

Ryuu threw the kunai, sticking it into the ground beside the prisoner's head. "I don't kill. And certainly not for your entertainment."

A door off tot he side opened and Kabuto walked in, walking over to the pair before kneeling. He picked up the kunai Ryuu had thrown and immediately slit the prisoner's throat. Ryuu closed his eyes, turning away as the prisoner choked on his own blood.

"My my, Ryuu," Kabuto sighed. "You really are terrible at following instructions. All you had to do was kill him. Now, I can't use any anesthetics during your operation this afternoon. I'll let you in on a little tip. That prisoner you just fought? He was a criminal before being here. He personally raped and murdered a dozen women. You'd have been perfectly justified in killing him."

"Killing is wrong no matter who it is," Ryuu said.

"Let me say this, then," Kabuto said. "This time, it's no pain killers. Next time, the price will be a full eye. After that, they'll just kill you. If you don't start killing, starting now, you won't see Fu ever again."

Ryuu fell silent and Kabuto turned, motioning for Ryuu to follow. Ryuu walked out of the arena after Kabuto, following him to an operation room. It wasn't the first experiment. He had already had outer, core, and optic nerve tissue removed. As Kabuto strapped him down, he explained that he had been ordered to extract more of all three, and in larger quantities this time. Ryuu nodded his understanding and Kabuto began. The pain was beyond anything Ryuu had ever experienced. He screamed, his body trying to thrash, but seals on the straps held him immobile, even to muscle spasms. After a while, his throat began to bleed, his screams continuing to ring out despite it. Finally, Kabuto healed the damage and set the samples aside. Then, he began on the other eye. Ryuu's voice finally failed after the first few seconds, and as it dragged on, Ryuu felt his sanity starting to slip. He wasn't entirely sure who he was anymore. His entire existence, more and more, was becoming the agony of his eyes being pulled apart.

Finally, the pain began to subside, his vision remaining black for several minutes after the pain had faded to an agonizing throb, where it stayed. Then, finally, as his vision returned, he realized he had been moved. He was back in the holding cell with the others.

"You okay?" Lena asked. "You've been unconscious for hours."

Ryuu nodded, forcing himself up slowly. His head felt like it was splitting open. Pain lanced through his head and he fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Lena knelt, resting a hand on his shoulder, not knowing what else to do besides being there for him. Finally, the pain began to fade and Ryuu stood slowly, Max helping him.

"Never let anyone fuck with you without pain killers," Ryuu growled.

"They've fucked everything except my eyes," Lena said.

"You mean fucked with, right?" Ryuu asked, already knowing the answer.

"That too," Lena said.

Ryuu swallowed hard. There were so very many things he wanted to say to Kabuto. After meeting Tayuya, he shouldn't be surprised, but still. Just then, the door opened, Kabuto stepping into the room.

"Ryuu," Kabuto said. "It would seem I need your help."

Ryuu stared at him for a moment and Kabuto sighed.

"I can't keep one of my patients alive without a second medic," Kabuto said..

"I'm not a good medic," Ryuu said.

"You're enough for this," Kabuto said. "I'll even train you as a medical ninja."

Ryuu remained silent for a moment before nodding, following Kabuto out of the room. After a few minutes, Ryuu stopped, catching Kabuto's arm in a painfully tight grip, Kabuto wincing.

"Was it you?" Ryuu snarled.

"You'll have to be a little more specific," Kabuto said.

"Was it you who raped Lena?" Ryuu asked, keeping his voice low.

Kabuto sighed, turning to Ryuu fully.

"No," Kabuto said. "I never raped her. I did conduct experiments on her, but it is the Warden and his two bodyguards that do that. And just so you know, she's not the only one."

Ryuu nodded, releasing Kabuto and they continued. A few minutes later, they reached a room where a boy Ryuu's age with snow-white hair, violet eyes, and pointed teeth was strapped to a table. Standing over him was a girl with messy, blood red hair, and slightly less ruined rags for clothes.

"Ryuu, meet Suigetsu and Karin," Kabuto said. "Karin will be helping us as a medic. Suigetsu will be providing skin, spinal, and stem cell samples. All the two of you have to do is keep his heart beating and heal the damage as I go."

"And you can't do this without killing him on your own?" Ryuu asked.

"This procedure is going to be incredibly painful," Kabuto said. "The human body can only handle so much pain before shutting down."

"And aphrodisiacs won't work," Karin said. "Please. He's the only friend I have. Please don't let him die."

Ryuu stared at her before sighing. Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep his heart beating," Karin said.

Ryuu nodded, setting his hands on Suigetsu's chest, left over right, and began to regulate Suigetsu's heart rate with his chakra. Karin held her hands to either side of Suigetsu's head and Kabuto went to work. He was efficient and quick, collecting whatever samples he needed and moving it away as Karin sealed the damage. Even so, the progress was slow, and Suigetsu's screams were making it hard for Ryuu to focus. Kabuto rolled Suigetsu onto his stomach, a hole in the table allowing him to keep his head forward. He began to extract spinal tissue and Suigetsu's screams grew even louder, his body thrashing against the restraints. Ryuu struggled to hold Suigetsu still while also keeping his heart rate steady. His heart rate began to spike, rapidly climbing out of control.

"Ryuu, focus!" Kabuto snapped.

Ryuu's eyes flicked to Karin, his mind seeing Fu with the same fear in her eyes, yet the same determined mask on her face. How many times had this been Ryuu? How many times had Fu brought him back from the edge? Ryuu took a breath, hardening his expression before focusing on Suigetsu's heart. He ignored the thrashing, the screams. Before he knew it, Kabuto was done and Ryuu stepped back, sighing and feeling exhausted. His arms were sore from being locked in one position for too long, as well as having to exert a constant flow of chakra for as long as they did, but it was worth it when Suigetsu sat up, groaning, and nodded to Ryuu. Ryuu nodded back before looking to Kabuto.

"Teach me," Ryuu said.

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