Chapter 23 Land of Iron
AN: This is after Suigetsu and Juugo get captured by the samurai, I won't be showing the fight between Sasuke, the Raikage and the rest of Taka.
The Iron bars slammed shut with a loud metallic bang that vibrated the air. I turned to find a moldy old bed on the right and a toilet in the left corner.
"Great." I groaned. Sitting on the bed it creaked loudly and dipped in far,
Might as well sleep on the floor, be just as comfortable. I thought sourly.
"Hey, Juugo!" I called out moving back to the bars locking me in, confined me, trapped me.
"Yes, I'm right next to you," Juugo answered from my right. As two guards pass, we shut up and wait for the damn samurai to leave earshot.
"How the hell do we get out of here," I whispered to him.
"There are too many guards, so we can't just bust our way out," Juugo told me. "Couldn't you turn into a liquid state and go through the sewage pipe?" he asked.
"There is no fucking way I'm doing that." I glared.
"Then we wait for a bit, think up a different idea," Juugo said.
Uggggg, sit and wait? Not my choice of plans, especially when I am confined like this, reminds me too much of the time I spent under Orochimaru's control. I hate being under someone's thumb.
I slammed my back to the shared wall on my left and slid down the wall and sat on the floor. I looked up at the ceiling and let my mind drift for a moment.
Hibiki.
"How long have we been gone?" I called to Juugo behind me.
"About 5 hours, worried about Hibiki?" He asked.
"If we don't get back to her soon, she will search for us if she hasn't already." I sighed.
"She isn't capable of helping us now, she is far too sick." Juugo reminded me.
"I know, but that won't stop her from trying. She'd rather die than do nothing." I told him, my hands rubbing my face before falling useless into my lap.
"She is quite compassionate when she wants to be." Juugo agreed.
Hibiki…. I thought, Please stay away. I'm coming for you I promise.
Man, it would be nice to telepathically call to her. I wouldn't have to worry as much. Hell, it would reduce my stress at least 60%. Being able to know she was safe at any given time she's away from my side. I couldn't help but smile to myself, thinking of Hibiki usually did that to me. And I was glad my face wasn't seen by others. I'm sure it had a goofy ass look.
Her short stature barely reaching my shoulders, I liked the way she had to turn her face up towards me. Her hair was always soft, and often in disarray now that it was shorter. While I do like her short hair, I liked it more when it was longer. Suited her more. I liked how messy it would get in the morning, how it swept off her neck in the wind.
Her pale eyes, they looked dead to me at first, but now I can clearly see all her emotions behind the blank stare. The joy, the excitement, the sadness, the fear, the concern, the affection. I wish I was the only one capable of seeing them, but I'm sure Karin and Sasuke saw through her blank stare too.
She's changed me, or at least a small part of me. I never imagined anything beyond regrouping the Seven Swordsmen, especially after my brother died. It's my only interest really. Everything else is boring, mundane. My only entertainment being cutting shit up, be it the limbs and heads of my prey, or the relationship between Karin and Sasuke. Not that they were even in a relationship. I enjoy the way blood flowed out of a corpse, and the way they would beg for their lives before losing their limbs one at a time, then at the end of their lives, bleeding out, sever their head.
But now I can't seem to see my life without Hibiki being close by. She made waking up interesting, she made eating interesting, she made life interesting.
Fuck what's wrong with me.
When I was with her, the thrill of chopping off people's limbs and beheading them became boring. Maybe that wasn't quite the right word, but if I had a choice between being with Hibiki and chopping limbs, I'd choose Hibiki. Although with her not around the only entertaining idea was violence and lots of blood.
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the guard's indistinguishable chatter. They passed by our cells in groups of two every 60 seconds or so. Each group round of the cells was perfectly spaced, another team never too far away. I probably could take everyone down, but I needed a sword. I wouldn't be as proficient at the job without one and would probably get captured again.
"We might be here a while," Juugo commented.
"Yeah," I agreed.
That night I laid on my back on the floor with the blanket over me, I could hear the other prisoner's bicker and chatter now. Juugo and I were separated from the rest. It's a good idea, considering I would use their bodies as shields to escape. The samurai get points for sensing the malicious intent radiating off me.
I closed my eyes, but sleep evaded me. Instead I thought about Hibiki, she could die. Hell, she would die if we don't return soon. I began to plan my escape, taking joy in the thought of chopping those samurai in half.
...
One week, it's been one week!
Hibiki would have definitely tried to find us by now, and she was definitely going to collapse from using her foresight. What the hell do I do? I paced my cell biting the nail on my thumb. She needed someone with her. Maybe Karin got to her. Yeah Karin wouldn't leave Hibiki like that. Unless she followed Sasuke. The bastard had kicked Hibiki out of Taka, making her disposable. Of course, I would leave her behind if I had a choice. But fuck I don't have the choice now!
Juugo must have sensed my emotions because he called me over,
"You're going to get grey hair if you worry like this," he told me.
"My hair is already white, so who the fuck cares?" I snapped.
"You know what I mean. Stress will bring you closer to death." he fixed his words.
"How the hell are you so calm? Aren't you worried?" I asked.
"Of course, I am. But I know stressing over it will do nothing. Besides the calmer I am the more control I have." Juugo told me.
"Ghaaaaaaa," I screamed.
"You need a distraction," Juugo said mostly to himself. "Why don't we talk for a while, get your mind in a different place?" Juugo asked.
"Fuck whatever," I told him sitting in the corner, closest to Juugo.
"So how are you holdin' up Juugo?" I asked.
"I'm alright, I've been keeping myself calm. My last outburst must have got it out of my system, for now at least." he replied.
"I would suggest we use your transformation to escape but you'd probably kill me too." I snickered.
"I wouldn't get past all the guards. I don't think very well when I'm like that, can't drive myself to one place well, especially if it's farther away." he explained.
"So were both useless right now huh?" I asked back.
"Well you could go through the…"
"I told you there is no fucking way I'm going through the sewers to escape." I yelled.
"Alright alright." he laughed.
My anger turned to a frown on my face, "I probably wouldn't get far through the pipes," I whispered.
I couldn't say I didn't think about using the sewers, especially with Hibiki so close yet out of reach. But I'm not hydrated enough to make it out in liquid form.
"What now?" I asked.
"20 questions?" Juugo suggested.
"Yeah fine." I agreed.
Our game of 20 questions went on for a while, we spent a few days playing to keep us distracted. When that game became boring, we moved on to 'would you rather', we got a few laughs out of each other, that went on.
Being imprisoned was easier when you had company, time went by quicker.
Every day we would wake up, eat, discuss escape plans, then play question games. How long has it been? My sense of time sucks.
Even with Juugo doing his best to distract me, it didn't work. Hibiki was always on my mind.
Was she ok? Was she dead? Was she sick? What the hell do I do. I'm so useless, I'm always useless to her. She seems to be saving my ass more than me saving hers. Have I saved her? Have I done anything to help her? I guess there were a few times, but anyone could have taken my place. Sasuke, Karin, they could have done what I did. I want to see her.
She invades my dreams too. Some had me chasing after her, some walking with her, and a few that left me half hard when I woke up.
"How long has it been," I asked after dinner one night.
"Three weeks." Juugo answered, frustration in voice.
"Fuck." I agreed.
Why was I so useless, how the hell do I get out of here with so many damn guards? How do I get to Hibiki? Was she alive? Was she hurt? My chest hurt.
Juugo punched a wall, "It's been three weeks 4 days." he growled.
"You alright man?" I asked.
"No, my patience is gone, my anger is returning." he growled, "Distract me, I don't want to turn and accidentally kill you."
"Alright, geez what else is there, I swear we've gone through every subject possible." I realized.
"Anything let's talk about something else." he begged, his voice growing deeper and darker.
Was there anything about Juugo I wanted to know about? Not really, I've come to like the guy but knowing personal….
"That night, after you joined us. You and Hibiki spoke about something? What was it?" I blurted out.
"Did you ask Hibiki?" his voice strained.
"Yeah and she told me it was none of my business. Pissed me off." Juugo cackled and I could feel his tension came down.
"She is very tight lipped. Very good at keeping secrets, that's probably why Sasuke trusts her so much." he thought aloud.
"Chhhh, damn Sasuke, anyway are you going to tell me or not?" I demanded.
"I don't see why not," his voice slowly returned to normal.
"I guess to begin there was a guy named Kimimaro, he was my best friend. It seems Hibiki also knew him well. She told me Kimimaro helped her when she was lost, taught her a lot. He was priceless to her." he paused. "You see Kimimaro was sent by Orochimaru and a few others to get Sasuke. Hibiki had warned Orochimaru they would most likely all die. She secretly warned Kimimaro about his death. How he would live if he stayed at the hideout. It was very shocking to Hibiki for him actively choosing to take a path that killed him, it was 'eye-opening' as she described it. Before he left, she showed Kimimaro a vision of the future, a goodbye gift." he glumly explained.
"I don't know if this is too much information for you but, I truly loved Kimimaro and he loved me as well. We never told each other, but after meeting Hibiki I learned he felt the exact same way as me. I didn't understand where Kimimaro went, I knew he died, and I know it had to do with Sasuke, but the details were kept from me. I often wondered what being together would be like. Hibiki had 'saved?' the memory of the future she showed Kimimaro. She explained it to me but, I didn't really understand her, she was speaking too fast." he explained.
"Yeah she talks faster when she's nervous." I agreed.
"Anyway, She showed my life with Kimimaro, she skipped over some parts but she showed me what Kimimaro saw. Then she showed me a possible future, one where I was living away from Orochimaru and was in control of himself. A future I want." he smiled to himself.
"Why did she blush then?" I asked, remembering the blush on her cheeks and the smile on her face.
"She showed me 'with Kimimaro' do you want further?" he asked.
"No no, I get it!" I yelled. Wasn't expecting that. I guess she would blush, kind of weird to show someone else having sex.
Does she blush like then when she's...?
Fuck no don't go there now!
"Hibiki has become very important to me, she is a living reminder that anything is possible. That I could have a normal happy life, she often makes me feel, normal, like my life wasn't so screwed up." he concluded, "So what about you Suigetsu?" he asked.
"What about me?" I retorted.
"I told you about how I perceive Hibiki, now it's your turn." he pushed.
I groaned, if I was going to talk to anyone about this, I guess Juugo was the best of my options.
"When we were younger, she came to the hideout I was kept in, she was there for three months, she always visited me. She was annoying at first, but as we spoke more, she became a ray of hope. After not seeing her for a while, I figured Orochimaru killed her, so she became a good memory." I chattered.
"When she showed up with Sasuke I was surprised to see her. She was annoying at first, we'd hit each other every so often, but she was fun to talk to. She is a pain in my ass, but I liked having her around. When the fire happened, we looked each other in the eyes for the first time. I could tell she saw me, and I guess you can say that's the moment when I knew I wasn't leaving her." I blushed, glad Juugo couldn't see my dumbass looking face.
"You love her." he stated. My face was on fire, "Well it's not, I mean we, I don't…" I stumbled over my words. His loud laughter filled his cell and overflowed into mine,
"Shut up!" I yelled back.
"Have you kissed her yet?" he snickered. I felt so stupid, we were acting like 9-year old's talking like this.
"No, you dumbasses kept getting in the damn way!" I snapped. We both sat for a moment, in empty silence. Then we both burst into laughter. As we calmed down, he sighed,
"You should do it sooner rather than later, I missed my chance to kiss Kimimaro, so don't miss yours." he advised.
"Geez I won't, can we change the topic now!" I asked.
"Sure, the guards seem to have decreased. I waited and counted the rounds of men." Juugo pointed out.
"Your right. Enough to bust out?" I asked
"Maybe we'd have to fight still." he speculated.
As I was replying, loud noises and crashing could be heard. The other guards ran to the commotion leaving one in front of us…
I smiled and stood at the bars, I smiled at him as he passed, then I began to liquify.