Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter Warning: Accidental humor XD
Note: If you're reading this chapter straight from an update notification e-mail, I suggest you go back and read the first two chapters. Basically the plot is still the same but I worked out some kinks so it makes more sense.
Chapter Three: Always watch where you're going
Sasuke begrudgingly went down the library stairs while thinking over his newly developed situation.
"This is going to be a good thing for you." Orochimaru said, "Besides it is possible if I collect enough research, that I may be able to get rid of your problem all together. Then you could go home again normal. Isn't that what you want?
"Well, you don't have to answer me now. When we get to the first floor, I'm going over to the circulation desk to check this out" The older waved the silver book for emphasis. "You are to pretend we've never spoke and leave out the entrance doors in plain sight. After you get outside, there should be a white SUV down the road waiting for you to get in. The young man will have silver hair and is called Kabuto, he will drive you to our jet and I'll meet you there."
When they got to their destination, what kind of experiments was Orochimaru thinking of? Sasuke could see himself strapped to a table while a white figure above him moves closer to his face with a scalpel. He mentally shuddered.
And getting rid of the side-effects of his infection? Did he even want them gone? Sasuke wasn't sure. Fear of exposure stopped him from using them and he could count all three times on one hand.
The first time he noticed his eyes were different; he had been alone in his bedroom…
The only sound that could be heard in Sasuke's room was the dull ticking of his expensive watch. It was a constant reminder to the young boy that it was very late, and he had yet to fall asleep. He had tried about everything he could think of such as counting down from two hundred, three hundred, than four hundred, clenching and relaxing his muscles, pretending he was asleep, but none of them seemed to be working for him tonight.
The cause of this usual occurrence of insomnia: the worst cluster headache Sasuke ever had the misfortune of experiencing. The back of his eyes were burning and felt like someone had taken all the information of an encyclopedia and crammed it in there.
Frustrated, the dark haired boy decided he probably wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, and rolled over from his side, onto his back, and opened his eyes.
He flinched; it stung more than he anticipated even though it was dark. He had to blink several times to adjust to the lack of light. He wondered why his normally white ceiling seemed to have a red tint to it, but passed it off in favor of seeking the time.
He sat up carefully and reached over for his watch.
Sasuke's breath hitched. His arm had become a faint outline, surrounding a flowing river of color. He watched as the bright red pain mixed with a surprised yellow.
What is this? What happened to me?
Throwing off his covers in panic, he ran over to the mirror and looked at himself in shock. His whole body was a silhouette lit with the circulating colors, the yellow almost completely taking over the red.
Horror flooded his senses, changing the river into a harsh dark purple.
No, no no no no, This has to be a side-effect of that.
Sasuke closed his eyes desperately wishing for it to go away, for him to go back being safe.
Knowing the somewhat comforting gesture was useless, he opened them again and to his surprise, he noted that everything had changed back to normal. His eyes went back to their usual black instead of an eerie red and his skin regained its usual paleness.
Sasuke blinked feeling his fear mix with relief.
At least it could be turned off.
The second time it happened was during a heated Kendo match, luckily he had a mask on to cover his face. He almost stumbled due to his shock when they activated. In slow-motion it was much easier to keep up with his opponent, not to mention he could quite easily read the moves the other was going to make, allowing for quick counters. His opponent's river was a frustrating red, darkening with Sasuke's every par. In the end, Sasuke had quickly finished off his partner and won the match.
The third and last was the most recent incident in the construction zone where he discovered this new speed. If only he'd wielded more control and ducked out of the way before the thing hit the ground, he wouldn't be in the mess that he was in now.
Lost in his musings, he didn't realize he was outside until he automatically stepped down from the steps in front of the library. Right, Orochimaru had said something about an SUV and a man with silver hair?
Surveying the area Sasuke's brows furrowed in annoyance. Couldn't the snake have been more specific? There were at least three SUVs in the parking meter slots on the busy street. Two of them were white.
Taking a guess, he walked over to the nearest one on the left. He could see a silver haired man sitting in the driver's seat. This must be the one.
He pulled the handle of the unlocked door and climbed into the passenger seat, swinging the car door shut behind him. Sasuke turned and looked at…What was his name? Kabuto?
The man had lowered the orange book in his hands and was staring at Sasuke oddly. Well he did look weird enough to be the sort of person Orochimaru would be friends with. This man had an eye patch after all.
Sasuke stared back for a second but feeling the awkwardness of the situation, focused on the man's book. It had a red cross out sign on the back…Sasuke's voice ran ahead of his thoughts and he blurted "Is that porn?"
The other looked back down at the book and back at him before answering slowly. "Yes… Why, do you want to read it?"
"No" Sasuke rested his elbow on the ledge near the window and pinched his nose. Orochimaru was leaving him to sit in this car with a pervert.
With a sigh, the Uchiha turned to the stranger once more and tired to clear the tense air. There was no way he felt like staying in a car for a while with this atmosphere. "So your name is…Kabuto or something, yes?"
It was then the man's gaze shifted from confusion to amusement and the laughing started.
Sasuke took his turn to be momentarily confused but on the outside was glaring. What was so funny? This man must be mad as well as a pervert!
The silver-haired man finally seemed to calm himself down and got his breathing back in order. "Actually, my name is Kakashi."
"Oh…" Sasuke let out in a small voice, feeling his rare embarrassment color his cheeks. He hurried and pushed the door open and jumped out. Ignoring the man who was giggling, he slammed the door shut and walked away from the white SUV.
It was an easy mistake anyone could have made he reassured himself. The snake said there would be a young man in a white SUV with silver hair named Kabuto. The vehicle behind him fitted that description almost exact. The only difference being the man was called Kakashi, which was still sounded fairly close to Kabuto.
Refusing to think anymore on the matter, he hesitantly started down the street to the second white vehicle.
There was a possibility that he could go back to this Kakashi and contact the police to make the snake leave him alone. But if he did that then, Orochimaru would just let everyone know what Sasuke was. Of course, the Uchiha could deny all claims, and call the man insane. There was a slim chance it would work but the seeds would already be planted in his parent's head. No, it wasn't worth the risk or the embarrassment of going back.
Cautiously approaching the second white SUV, Sasuke peaked at the driver's seat through the window. The man pushing up his glasses had silver hair.
He jerked the door open and decided to ask this time before he jumped in. "Kabuto?"
"Yes?" the man replied turning his head to look at the Uchiha.
Sasuke just nodded and lifted himself up to the passenger's seat, not bothering anymore with conversation.
At least this way if he went with Orochimaru, he could have a chance to get away from the stifling environment in the house. He wouldn't have to deal with following his parent's every command.
Yes, they'd be angry when their window of opportunity to get more wealth by marrying Sasuke off would be gone. What would they tell everyone else? That Sasuke was abducted, or that he ran away, maybe they'd even say they threw him out.
In any case, if he could play off that he got kidnapped by the creepy snake for a while then Sasuke could come back when Orochimaru was finished with his experiment and his parents would welcome him back.
The two hour trip to the jet was mostly silent and Sasuke probably would have fallen asleep to the lull of the car if it weren't for the fact that he was memorizing the route in case he needed to know it later.
After arriving, Sasuke climbed out of the passenger seat and slowly took in his dark surroundings. This jet was actually just a small plane with six windows sitting on a lit runway stretch enshrouded by trees.
Closing the door, The Uchiha turned around only to be blocked by Kabuto who was extending out a pale hand.
"Cell Phone," was all the man said.
Sasuke raised his eyebrow.
"Come now Sasuke, don't be difficult. Just give Kabuto what he wants." called a voice behind him.
The teen turned his head and watched Orochimaru with a plastic bag in one hand, use the other to shut the door of a black Honda and lock it. Sasuke waited until the snake was standing next to the glasses-clad man to fish his phone out of a side pocket and reluctantly place it in Kabuto's palm.
"Alright, let's go." A hand rested on his shoulder and steered him in the direction of the plane where two men in purple waited by the boarding ramp.
"Yoroi, Misumi," Orochimaru greeted them. "Are we ready for takeoff?"
"As soon as everyone takes their seats," The taller of the two replied.
"Splendid."
The snake thankfully removed his arm and Sasuke advanced up the stairs. The outside of the plane may have looked small, but the inside was extremely cozy. The few tan leather seats on the right side were arranged around a clear table. On the left side was a two seated couch. In both the front and back there was a door. Sasuke could only guess that one was a pilot's den, the other a bathroom.
Selecting a single seat at the end of the table, Sasuke sat himself down. It wasn't too long until Orochimaru and Kabuto followed suit and the aircraft took off.
Eventually the silver haired man stood up and went past the tan couch to a nearby box. Sasuke watched as he opened it and pulled out three water bottles. Going back to his seat, he set one in a cup holder attached to his chair and offered the other two to Orochimaru and Sasuke who almost gasped when his finger wrapped around the frigid liquid. The box must have been a refrigerator.
Unscrewing the lid, Sasuke opened his water and drank most of it down, not realizing how thirsty he had gotten. Closing the lid back up, he set the container in his own cup holder.
A few minutes later, he started to feel light headed. Sending a frantic glance toward a smirking Kabuto, he felt himself slump back in his chair before everything went black.
To say Sasuke was pissed off would be an understatement.
First off, he should have known better than to drink something a stranger gave him.
Secondly, it was pitch dark. The fact that he couldn't see a single thing also seemed to enhance his other sense, making him hyper aware of the biting cold. Especially so since his shaking was faintly rattling the chains binding his wrists, keeping them locked upwards and secured to a wall. Or what he assumed to be a wall, his upper half was leaning against it after all.
Trying to block out the frigid air and the horrid smell of mildew, he concentrated on trying to pull his wrists out of the shackles. If he could rub enough skin off, he might be able to use his blood as a lubricant like he'd read in a book somewhere. So far, he wasn't having much luck.
Besides, even if he did manage to slip himself free, he wouldn't have a clue on how to escape. Was he in a room, a cage, a dungeon? Aside from the noise he was making everything was silent so it was safe to assume he was alone. Unshackled, he could try to feel around for an exit, but who knew how long that would take. They'd probably check up on him before he could locate anything.
His stomach made its displeasure known with a growl.
The last meal he ate was lunch, how long had it been since then, or even since he'd been trapped here? Without light, it was impossible to tell the time. To Sasuke it seemed like hours, sitting here in the darkness, stuck with his thoughts.
He wondered if his parents had noticed he was gone yet. Sasuke could see them sitting at the table waiting for him to show up for dinner. His father would be thinking of a suitable punishment, while his mother fighting the urge to go look for him herself.
The sound of keys jiggling made him try to locate the source.
A lock was being turned, and then the door opened. Sasuke shoved his head into his already raised right arm, blocking out the light shining in the room. Even though he was curious to see where he was, the light was too blinding.
"My, why is it so dark in here?" The noise resembled Orochimaru's voice but Sasuke didn't want to check, he was still trying to adjust.
"Tsk and tied up too? That Kabuto is quite over cautious. I asked him to take you downstairs and make you comfortable. Clearly, I'll have to have a word with him."
A few moments after what Sasuke guessed was a match being struck, he felt a warm hand grab his wrist, and unlock his restraints.
"Over cautious indeed" the voice hissed above him.
His arms dropped into his lap, sharp needles signaling their attempt to 'wake back up'.
Flexing his hands, the Uchiha peaked out his lashes, assessing the damage. When his retinas didn't feel like they were on fire anymore, he examined his surroundings.
Both the walls and floor were composed entirely out of grey stones. Torches now seemed to keep the room lit, revealing a single bed lined against the back wall, directly across from the front door.
Sasuke found himself looking up and wondering why there were restraints imbedded into the wall behind him.
"This is going to be your room for the time you'll be staying here. The bathroom is just down the hall. Is there anything else you need?"
"Food" was the first thing Sasuke croaked out, his voice cracking from lack of water, "and something to drink as well" he added.
"Of course, I'll be right back" the snake man said, turning around and closing the wood door behind him.
It was impossible to tell, but 'right back' must as translated into more than twenty minutes or so because it certainly felt like that's how long it took before the door opened again.
This time it was a slow moving Kabuto carrying a food tray. It was hard to tell with this lighting but the left side of Kabuto's face appeared to be a swollen red.
The glasses clad man set the tray in front of a smirking Sasuke.
Even though the raven wanted to be the one to dish out the punishment, he was still glad to see other in pain. Oh well, he was sure there'd be another time to extract his revenge on the man who thought he could get away with his little jokes.
"Enjoy" the tone of the silver-haired man was bitter as he stood up and departed out the door, locking it behind him.
Sasuke examined the breakfast meal in front of him, and decided that it was probably the next (Sunday) morning. It wasn't likely that this was drugged; the Uchiha assumed they had him right where they wanted.
Flexing his hands to test the circulation, he noted that the 'asleep' feeling had worn off and grabbed the glass of orange juice. Taking it slow, he sipped the beverage feeling the cool citrus juice seep down and sooth his parched throat. Setting down the now half empty glass, he picked up his fork and started on the rest of the meal.
A/N:
Sorry, I know this wasn't as long as the other chapters, but that just seemed like a good place to stop.
Yoroi and Misumi are Kabuto's teammates from the Chunin exam in case you didn't realize.
I couldn't help but add the part with Kakashi XD Besides, I'm sure it's safe to assume everyone has heard a story from friends/family or possibly experienced it themselves a time when they've almost gotten in the wrong car. I know I have. Oh, and also, you haven't seen the last of Kakashi :D
Please let me know if you have corrections, comments, suggestions, ratings, questions or just plain complaints.
Thanks goes to SinsofYouth, who beta'd this :)