"I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter 16: Putting the "T" in T&I

Ibiki was waiting outside the interrogations office with a dangerous smirk on his face. "Ah, Yakushi, back for another day, eh?"

"Oh yes, I'm thrilled," Kabuto retorted, leaning heavily on Hinata's shoulder. He really should have sat on the couch when he'd had the chance… "Been looking forward to it all day. Do you want to know about the Akatsuki's dental plan, or their health insurance today?"

Ibiki sneered. "I thought we might discuss stairs again."

"Oh really? Like what? Ideal stairs are not too steep, nor too long. They don't go more than three stories up, I've heard some people like marble steps, but I prefer cherry wood with carpeting to soften the blows that accost one's body when they tumble down said stairs. What do you think?"

The first ANBU leaned over to the second. "I think he's nuts."

The second ANBU sighed. "No one asked what you thought."

Hinata was eyeing Kabuto with a thoughtful expression.

"Well then, shall we?" Ibiki asked, gesturing in the direction of the interrogation chamber.

"I don't see why not," Kabuto replied, smirking.

Kabuto was once again shackled to a table and generally irritating his interrogator. So far, he'd told Ibiki all about the weather forecasting system that the akatsuki had, their dental plan, their health insurance, their paid vacation days, and their unforutnate appreciation for Twinkies. None of these were true, of course, but it was keeping Kabuto entertained and slowly wearing through Ibiki's patience.

Finally, Ibiki decided he'd had enough. "That's it, kid," he scowled, rising to his feet. "We're transferring to a different location."

"Ooh, a beach house?" Kabuto quipped, rising unsteadily to his feet.

"Not quite," Ibiki replied. "Though you'll get your fill of water, I daresay."

Kabuto frowned slightly. "What?"

Ibiki sneered. "Just come along, Yakushi. You'll know soon enough."

Kabuto followed, flanked by two different ANBU who were waiting just outside the door. The one on the right offered Kabuto an arm when the former missing-nin stumbled. Slowly they moved down a dimly lit corridor, and then…

"Ah, stairs. My favorite," Kabuto drawled, still leaning on the ANBU. "Where are we headed? The dungeon? Let me guess, the rack. Or no, the iron maiden. Or are you going to have the rats eat me?"

"No, we were just planning on throwing you down the steps," Ibiki retorted.

Kabuto shrugged. "Go ahead, then."

Ibiki ignored him and started down the steps. The two ANBU, along with Kabuto, followed.

"Aww, and I was really looking forward to falling down these steep, slick, dirty steps," Kabuto snorted as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

Ibiki ignored him again, moving off down the hallway. After making a few turns, he paused at a door. "You'll want to be taking off your clothes," he told Kabuto calmly.

Kabuto blinked. "What?"

Ibiki just stared at him, waiting.

Kabuto frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If you want your clothes for later, you'd be wise to leave them here," Ibiki explained after a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Kabuto muttered, stripping down to his boxers. "Is it just me or is it cold in here?"

"It's just you," Ibiki replied dismissively. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Kabuto asked.

Ibiki unlocked the door and pushed it open. "In here," he said.

Kabuto moved into the room cautiously, not sure what to expect. In one corner of the room was a wash basin of sorts, with a sink, some towels, and a watering can. In the opposite corner was a cot, though it seemed to be horizontally challenged. It was tilted in such a way that one end was much nearer to the ground than the other end. The cot was equipped with restraints, and appeared very sturdy. The room itself was dingy and dark. A lone light bulb flickered in the middle of the ceiling, and spidery cracks were crawling across the walls, roof, and floor.

"Sit down," Ibiki ordered, gesturing in the direction of the cot.

Cautiously, Kabuto approached the cot and sat down, though it was awkward, sitting on an incline. "Now what?" he asked.

"Lay down," Ibiki answered, moving across the room and filling the watering can. "You two, make yourselves useful and find me another can or something," he told the ANBU officers.

Kabuto lay down, feeling as though he was going to slide off of the cot feet-first.

"Not that way," Ibiki told Kabuto. "Turn around. Your head is supposed to be down."

Kabuto frowned. "I'd rather not. The blood will rush to my head."

"Not my problem," Ibiki said dismissively. "Get settled down. We're going to be here awhile."

The two ANBU officers returned, one lugging a bucket, the other another watering can.

"Perfect," Ibiki murmured, taking the second can and filling it. "Get Yakushi secured."

The ANBU officers approached Kabuto, who was still lying on the cot wrong.

"You need to turn around," one of the officers told him.

Kabuto shrugged. "Make me."

The ANBU officer shrugged and glanced at his fellow ANBU. The two of them grabbed Kabuto and turned him around, securing his wrists, biceps, ankles, knees, abdomen and torso.

"This is a lot of straps for a massage chair," Kabuto piped up. "The Akatsuki only had three restraints."

Ibiki shrugged. "We're not the Akatsuki. They were behind the times."

"Uh-huh," Kabuto sniggered. "Sure." He wasn't yet sure what exactly they were planning on doing to him. He began to run through possible torture methods in his mind that involved watering cans, towels, and slanted cots. It didn't take him long to understand what they were planning.

Just about the time he'd figured it out, Ibiki dropped a wet towel over his face, which was followed by an sudden deluge of water.

And I didn't even have time to really take a deep breath, Kabuto thought irritably, holding his breath as the water pressed the towel flat against his face. He tried to suppress the automatic gag reflex, reminding himself that he wasn't really drowning. But alas, reflexes have this nasty habit of not bowing to the whims of the conscious mind. He would have to control his body's impulses.

It would have been a lot easier if he'd had any control over his chakra. As it was, he was struggling to swallow to fight back the choking sensation that took hold, not to mention holding his breath. He realized he'd stiffened, and grew angry that he was already showing Ibiki that his little torture was working. Kabuto realized that nearly forty seconds had passed; the average time for water-boarding sessions was between twenty and forty seconds.

Another ten agonizing seconds passed. Then another ten. By then, Kabuto could feel his chest muscles spasming, and small dots of color were swimming behind his closed eyes. Just when he thought that he was going to pass out, the cascade of water ceased, and the cloth was pulled back.

Kabuto gulped for air, hearing his choking, near-sobs and hating how weak it made him sound. He was in mid-gasp when the cloth dropped down again and the water returned in full force. Still oxygen-deprived from the first seventy-five seconds, Kabuto's throat and chest spasmed painfully, and he found himself thrashing, straining for the breath of air that he knew would only come far later. Each second dragged by like an eternity, and Kabuto found himself nearly swallowing his own tongue, fighting to keep his body under control to no avail.

Ibiki was saying something along the lines of "Intrigue me Kabuto, and I'll stop." In that moment, the cloth lifted again, and Kabuto gasped for breath, though the air seemed to catch in his throat, which was still spasming. He could barely get two halfhearted breaths into his lungs before the towel dropped back over his face and the water resumed pouring over his towel-smothered face. This time, Kabuto's body was so oxygen deprived that he found his body bucking uncontrollably, heaving against his restraints, in a desperate struggle for air. He momentarily lost control over his own mouth, and it sprang open, sucking for air- which, of course, was completely useless and did nothing except pin his mouth open, with a steady stream of water running down into his windpipe. Hacking and wheezing, Kabuto's lungs tried to expell the unwanted liquid, but with the towel still plastered across his features, any effort was entirely futile.

A moment later, the towel was pulled back again. Kabuto couldn't even breathe in, his lungs were too busy spewing up the water he'd inhaled, and when the towel dropped down a moment later, his lungs were empty. Again, his body struggled for air, despite the distinct absence of nitrogen, oxygen, and the various other gases that make up the atmosphere. The towel was pulled back again, and Kabuto choked, expecting a wave of sweet relief, but instead receiving only a trickle of air to his oxygen-starved lungs before the towel dropped back into place.

The process seemed to take forever in the next bout, Kabuto's 'vision' sparking and misting over as his brain began to revert to 'survival' mode. When the towel was pulled away that time, Kabuto's breath wouldn't come at all, only a gargling, choking sound escaped his throat as a dull panic set in. I can't breathe at all, Kabuto dimly realized. Dry drowning. I'm suffering a laryngospasm. An extremely severe one, at that. They should be hyper-extending my neck and applying 100% oxygen, not throwing the towel back over my face…

The next half-minute felt every bit as long as the first few sessions. Suddenly, the towel was ripped away from his face.

Again, Kabuto struggled for air, and again, he could not get any air into his lungs.

"I need a medic ninja in here now," Ibiki barked at the ANBU, unfastening the restraints and pulling Kabuto upright.

Oh yeah, sitting me up is really going to help, Kabuto thought hazily, body still bucking as his chest and diaphragm struggled for breath.

"Um, there's a bit of a situation at Konoha hospital right now…" one of the ANBU said apologetically.

"I don't care if you have to drag one here kicking and screaming!" Ibiki shot back. "Get the Godaime if you need to! I need a medic!"

"Wait! The Hyuuga girl!" one of the ANBU exclaimed.

"Brilliant! Instead of talking about her, go get her!" Ibiki roared.

The two ANBU practically tripped over each other in their hurry to get upstairs. (A once-in-a-lifetime event, to be sure.)

Meanwhile, Ibiki was shouting in Kabuto's face, "Breathe! Breathe!" before letting loose with a string of colorful curses, slapping Kabuto across the face, sending him toppling over. Ibiki lunged forward, catching Kabuto before he hit the floor. He whacked him once on the back for good measure, and that was when Hinata arrived.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hinata shrieked, barreling into the room, byakugan activated. She shoved Ibiki aside, stretching Kabuto out on the cold stone floor. She ran her hands across his chest, wincing at his erratic heartbeat. She tilted his head back, and focused on his windpipe. The muscles of his larynx were constricted, cutting off nearly all airflow. She was about to get to work when his heart leapt suddenly, then stopped. Working quickly, Hinata managed to restart his heart and get it into a regular, though weak, rhythm. Then she moved on to his windpipe, opening his restricted airway and relaxing his convulsing chest and diaphragm muscles.

Kabuto gasped, choked once, and then panted as air finally reached his aching lungs. His eyes flickered open to a terrifying sight. Hinata was staring down at him, her face contorted into a mask of fury.

"I-it's not…" Kabuto coughed weakly. "My fault…"

Hinata blinked, and the angry mask fell away, replaced by a slightly baffled look. "What?"

Kabuto blinked back. "You…looked…" he trailed off, deciding that breathing was enough work at the present, and he was enjoying the sensation of air in his lungs.

"You'll recover," Hinata decided after a moment. She stood, and her expression morphed back into the look of unadulterated fury as she glanced across the room at Ibiki, who was calmly taking notes on his clipboard. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" she roared, stalking across the room, fists clenched, legs stiff, byakugan activated. "HE COULD HAVE DIED! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?"

Ibiki shrugged noncommittally, not gracing her with an answer.

Hinata's fury bubbled over at his cavalier attitude, and she struck at him, specifically targeting a sensitive pressure point. Ibiki was able to mostly dodge the blow, but Hinata's gentle fist style managed to cut off the flow of chakra in that area, if nothing else.

Ibiki's eyes grew cold. "Miss Hyuuga. You have attempted to strike a superior officer."

"Yes," Hinata shot back furiously, "I have."

The two ANBU exchanged glances. Kabuto watched their blurs from the floor with puzzled interest. One could practically feel the tension in the air, between the fury radiating from the enraged kunoichi and the ominous warning look from Ibiki.

Kabuto coughed, unable to hold it in. His body jerked slightly, and his head landed on the hard cement with a thunk. "Ow," he mumbled.

Hinata whirled around to face Kabuto. "I'm taking you to Tsunade-sama," she decided, marching over and gripping Kabuto by his right bicep, hoisting him from the floor. She glared at Ibiki. "I'm reporting this matter to her."

"I was planning on doing the same," Ibiki told her dryly, gesturing at his clipboard.

"I meant in medical terms," Hinata snarled. "Something you would have been wise to consider before you started this."

Kabuto, meanwhile, was dangling in her grasp, knees buckled and head hanging with his wet and bedraggled hair falling in his face. His bicep was beginning to twinge from her tight grip, and his shoulder wasn't especially happy with the way things were turning out either.

"Goodbye, Ibiki," Hinata snarled, whirling and marching from the room…

…dragging Kabuto with her.

She didn't even seem to realize that she was the only reason that he was mobile until she began to ascend the stairs. Kabuto's knees had an unfortunate collision with the first step, which resulted in a grunt of pain from Kabuto. Hinata paused, suddenly remembering that Kabuto had just suffered cardiac arrest and was in no shape to be dragged across Konohagakure. She reached down, hefted him into a fireman's carry of sorts, and once again headed out.

A/N: I'm only just now realizing that I hate coming up with Chapter titles. It's not enough that I have to title the story itself (which is hard enough when you're a blurt writer and aren't entirely sure where the story is going or how long it will be), but to actually wrack your brains and trying to come up with a title (AND A QUOTE) is a long and arduous process. (At least, that's how it feels, especially when no title really seems to work...)

All that to say, sorry for the very sad excuse for a chapter title. It will probably happen again... meh.

But hey, thanks for reading past the Chapter title, oh faithful readers, and thank you to all of the reviews that I may or may not have replied to due to time constraints. (Yay for graduation season... haha, college is murderous...)

Thanks again folks... and hey, Midnight Anime Angel, this chapter's for you... updated quickly. ^_^