I've Got no Strings
Chapter Six--Slaves
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My head was pounding; I couldn't think properly; it was dark; I was cold. All these things hit me at once as I opened up my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar place--a place that smelt bad and didn't look much better. I slowly reached out my hand to touch the wall. It was dirt, and it was moist.
"Oh, yuck!" I exclaimed under my breath, wiping my soiled hand on the canvas bag I sat on.
"Hina? Is that you?" a familiar voice whispered. I looked over to the side where the voice came from and blinked until my eyes focused to the darkness. There sat Satoko, bound with rope just as I was. Her usually tidy black hair was sticking up on all ends, her ribbon having almost fallen out. Her face and clothes were filthy with dirt. I wondered if I looked the same way.
"Yup, it's me, Satoko," I croaked back.
"What happened?" she wondered; her voice was so distant, I had to wonder if she was alright. Usually Satoko was so focused and her voice showed it.
It freaked me out.
"I'm..."I began, but then stopped. No, I did remember. Satoko had overheard Hideki admitting that he had poisoned Yoshi-sensei. After that...we were hit over the head, and everything went black. I had awoken a while later and felt myself moving. When I had peeked through one of the small holes in the bag I saw trees whizzing past, and up ahead were people clad totally in green. Only one other was carrying a bag.
Then I had gone back to sleep and woken up here, in this...underground place.
"No!" Satoko gasped when I told her all of this; I nodded grimly.
"That's what happened, nee-chan."
"He did seem a bit...off," Satoko struggled to admit. "Well, okay. Maybe more than a bit."
I gave a short nod of agreement and then turned to stare at the dirt wall opposite me. It was so care away, I noticed. It was all so...spaced out. I glanced around and noticed that people broke into a sweat just walking the curve in the circle room.
Any idea where we are? , Uncle asked. I felt his presence beside me and shivered. It was cold enough down here as it was without a mean, spiteful ghost making me shiver. I wouldn't mind so much if he was, like my mom, a warm ghost; a ghost that sought no revenge or had any hard feelings or hate.
But Uncle Hiroshi wasn't like that. He just wasn't.
"No clue. Does Hideki run it?" I asked in reply, careful not too move my mouth too much. I could feel Satoko's dark eyes watching me, searching for the reassurance of a familiar face. It was odd. She was the strong one. She was the one who was supposed to tell me everything would be alright. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasnt supposed to feel worse than usual about being completely clueless and of no use.
How could she expect me to be the stronger person? She knew better than anyone who I was; how I acted.
"I think it's a trade of some sort. An auction..." Uncle replied slowly. "I'm seeing a lot of people and they're all asking how much something would be worth."
"If that's so," I began carefully, avoiding my sister's gaze, "why are we tied up?"
"Maybe they're afraid youd steal something? " Uncle Hiroshi suggested. When did he get so...stupid? They wouldn't bring us to this place just so they could tie us up so we wouldn't steal anything...whoever 'they' was.
And I told him so.
"Well that's the first time I've ever seen you use your brain, I think. Good job."
You could trust Uncle Hiroshi to turn even a compliment into something nasty. I heaved a sigh and said nothing. I was tired, and my head was throbbing.
"Hina?" Satoko whispered, doing her best to crawl close to me. It wasn't easy when your legs were tied together and sever placed and your arms were tied to your side. It was difficult enough lifting a hand.
"Where are we?" she whispered urgently.
"I...I don't know," I replied hesitantly, my lavender eyes darting around. My eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, but it was still dark and near impossible to see anything. I could see people walking around, dragging long ropes--or something--behind them.
"I'm scared," she confided. Her dark eyes were wide with terror, and I felt myself quiver inside. Satoko was scared--I already knew that. But still, here she was admitting it. That meant that she was frightened to death.
What hope did I have? What hope did I, the weak, defenseless, useless piece of trash, have, when my strong, brave, audacious sister was so scared she would actually admit it?
The answer: none.
No, less than none.
"Hina? Hina, did you hear me?"
I shook my head.
"I said, what do you think we should do?"
I froze. She was asking me? I...I didn't get that. No one ever asked me. I was just supposed to fulfill tasks--"if I could manage to do that much," the person assigning it would always add with a sneer. Well I wasnt the only one surprised by this. In fact I probably would have fallen into a coma if I had been. Uncle Hiroshi just had to have his two-cents worth thrown in.
"Oh, dear. Why would she ask you? She's the one who could actually...succeed with something."
"Just shut up!" I snapped, suddenly angry. I rarely felt this way. I mean, sure, I usually felt worthless, but it was never usually this bad. You'd think Satoko asking me would prove something, but it didn't. And Uncle's comments were making me angry. What did he know?! He never gave me a chance! He just decided, Hey, let's kill her. That will solve everyone's problems! .
"...Excuse me?" Satoko asked, looking offended.
"Oh, sorry," I grumbled sheepishly. "I was...talking to myself."
"You'd better hope you were," Uncle growled. "You have absolutely no right to tell me what to do!"
I ignored him and turned to Satoko silently.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well what are we going to do?"
"Why would you ask me?! I'm just here to serve. I have no right to give ideas, opinions, or anything," I whispered, my face bright red. "You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you? You're my sister."
Satoko's face filled with hurt. "I never said that," she breathed, dark eyes swimming. "I never said that. Never! You know I don't think that...don't you?" Her voice was small and trembling. For a minute, I saw her as the little child again, her raven-black hair up in pig-tails, a solemn look on her face as she concentrated.
"You never had to."
"Hina! Hina, I never, and I mean, never even thought such a thing! You were always worth something to me! You're my little sister!" She gave me a weak smile.
I didn't say anything. I felt suddenly very cold inside. I glanced over to where I heard Uncle whispering to myself and frowned.
"What's gotten into you?" was all he said; I shook my head.
"Hina? Hina-chan? What's gotten into you?" Satoko asked. My eyes widened and I slowly looked towards her. Concern was all over her face, and she actually cared, unlike Uncle. But still...what a coincidence!
"Nothing."
"Why are you mad at me?" she persisted. "What did I do? Have I ever acted...have I ever acted like I thought you were worthless before? Because I'm sorry! But right now I think we should be worrying about something else. So stop wallowing in self pity and let's figure out where we are and how we get out of here!" Satoko snapped, suddenly very angry.
"Get out?" A cold, unfamiliar voice inquired. The question was followed by a bitter laugh. Satoko and I both involuntarily shuddered. "No, no. Neither of you are 'getting out'. Not without being sold, that is."
"Sold?" I blinked.
"Yes, sold!" the person impatiently repeated. "You see, you have been brought to my little year-round slave auction. Fun, don't you think?"
I blinked again.
"The auction will be starting in a few hours. I'll make sure you two get cleaned up. You'll want to look nice for the customer's, right?"
And he walked off, his white teeth glistening by some unknown light. I hadn't seen his face at all through the dark, but his hair was an iridescent shade of red.
I looked over at Satoko, who was staring at me in return. At the same time, we exclaimed in hoarse whispers, "Slaves?!"
"Well this isn't good", Uncle Hiroshi said disapprovingly.
"It's horrible," I corrected; Satoko nodded in agreement.
"I hear you," she said solemnly.
But you don't hear Uncle, I thought. Lucky!
"What will we do?" I whispered.
Satoko smirked. "Yes, we. You can do just as much as me, just...in different things. Now let's think!"
\\/\\/\\/
We didn't get much chance to think, but what we came up with I thought was pretty good. And Satoko listened. She listened to my ideas. I don't know why I thought she wouldn't. She was my sister! Out of all the people I knew, she treated me best of all, closely followed, of course, by Haruki.
Before we had even finished collaborating on the matter before two middle aged ladies with wrinkled face and hands came over and told us it was time to 'get ready'.
Satoko and I exchanged frightened glances, but we couldn't say anything to each other. The woman carted us off in different directions and we were forced to bathe and dress in this little public bathing area. I felt extremely self-conscious as I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the luke-warm water. It wasn't as if I had a choice whether or not to do it. The people guarding the area were wearing these horrid scowls and were holding whips--not to mention the swords at their sides.
Plus all my weapons had been left back at the little hut in the woods. And I didn't want to give away the fact that I was a ninja just yet. That was part of the plan Satoko and I had come up with.
So I ignored the people staring at me as I submerged into the murky water. I had to admit that it felt good to wash away all the dirt and filth that had collected on my skin. If only I could have done it in privacy I could be almost happy.
As soon as I was done, the lady who had escorted me to the bath thrust forward a short dress. The midriff area was completely bare, except for a strip of fabric on either side. The sleeves were long and bell-shaped, which I liked, but there were no shoulders, which, combined with the bare-midriff, would cause me to die of mortification. I did, however like the color of the dress: a deep pink.
"You expect me to wear that?" I choked.
"It's this or you go up as you are now," the woman replied, sniggering. I looked down at myself and my face flamed up.
This it is!" I exclaimed, settling the manner.
"I thought so. Get changed--quickly."
I hurriedly the underwear she handed me back on and then slid into the mini dress with ease. "Am I ready?" I asked, refusing to look at any part of me that was showing bare skin. I also refused to listen to the whistling from the males in another nearby area.
"Pervs," I mumbled.
"I agree," said my uncle. I thought I'd go into an early grave. Not only because he agreed with me, but also because he was there in my section.
"Look who's talking. How long have you been there?"
"I just came back, actually," my uncle huffed. "Seriously, you thought I'd hang around and watch you bathe? I'm not sick, Hina."
"Time for hair, now!"
"My hair?" I repeated. "Why do we have to look nice to be sold, anyway?"
The woman sighed. "There's more appeal in someone's who's dressed up. But, we also choose clothes that show off a person's...err...muscle, to prove that they know how to work."
I looked down at myself. I supposed that I did have muscular legs, and a muscled stomach--not to the point of looking like a body-builder, of course, but still--and my shoulders were...okay. But you'd think that they'd try to choose something a little less revealing!
The woman smiled harshly, as if reading my mind. "I don't run this--he does," she said cynically. "And he likes seeing girls in clothes like this."
A horrified look froze on my face, and she laughed.
"Don't worry. He's not an old guy, like me. He's probably seventeen. No one knows for sure. He doesn't talk about himself much."
Still, I shuddered. I wanted more than ever to be out of there and talking to Satoko. We needed a way to get our plan into action.
Satoko sent me a pained look from across the room, and I sent one back. I wish I could see what they were doing to my hair. Whatever it was, though, it felt weird. My hair felt tight against my scalp, with only a few wispy hairs left hanging around my face. She even tried to clip my bangs back, but it didn't work.
"Finished!"
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and was stunned. That woman knew what she was doing. I had never looked better in my life. My thick hair was done in two French braids , which were tied together at the bottom. Little wisps of hair came out, framing my face. She took half my bangs while I was staring at my reflection and forced them to stay clipped back.
"Happy?"
"With my appearance? Sure. With the circumstances..."
The woman snickered cynically before saying, "Alright; you're free to go to your cell. But don't get any smart ideas! There are guards all over the place here."
Oh, I know, I said to myself with a secret smirk. They're a big part of the plan, after all.
That was right. The plan was to seduce--Satoko would be doing this--the guard of our cell. We would then trick him into coming into our cell long enough to have a 'deep oil massage', if you wanted to call it that. I wouldn't. This massage was going to include a lot of sharp weapons and pain. Then I would tie him and gag him and cover him with one of the cell blankets. Anyone who came looking for us--because we would then escape the cell--would think that was us. It wouldn't matter if they discovered it wasnt us, because we would steal clothes and walk around as auctioneers until we found a way to get out.
It was perfect.
"You ready?" Satoko asked, running up to my side; she was shaking.
"Yeah." I paused, trying to collect myself. "You?"
"Sure. It's a good thing we're wearing these clothes. It makes seducing a whole lot easier." She laughed, and I nodded. It was true! The clothes were so revealing! I would be surprised if he didn't drool at the sight of us. Or Satoko, at least.
As we approached, Satoko straightened up and allowed a smirk to slither across her face. Clearing her throat, she walked up to him and said, "Hello."
He was surprised, to say the least. Obviously not many people came up to say hi to him, and I could understand why that was, especially in this place. He was a guard for slaves, first of all, and, secondly, he was kind of sleazy looking with oily, scarred skin, a squished face, and greasy hair.
"You look tired," Satoko commented, running her pale hand along his bare forearm. "It must be tough standing there all day with nothing to do. Look at all this heavy armor! And the weapons!"
"Wow," I breathed in mock admiration. "You must be really strong." I fluttered my eyelashes at him, feeling sick as I did so.
"I am, aren't I?" the guy beamed. He straightened up and puffed out his chest. Satoko had to hold in a snicker.
"Wow! Your muscles are really tense!" she exclaimed, her hands on his back. "You need a massage!"
"No! I...I can't take off work!"
"Come on! It will be quick!" I urged.
"Well..." The guard looked from Satoko, to me, and back again, and shrugged. "Okay, why not!"
"Why not indeed..." Satoko muttered, a glint in her eye. She was scaring me.
The guard fumbled with the keys as Satoko rubbed his back. "Uh...just h-hang on a m-moment," he stuttered, sweating.
"The longer it takes, the longer until the tension in your back is released!"
The man hurried up pretty quickly after that.
I had the task of taking his stuff and putting it in the corner after that. Satoko laid him, face down, on the dirt floor, after that, and began the 'massage'. I tossed her a few of his weapons and then it began. She and I began going over his back with sharp objects, muffling his screams with his shirt. We didn't give him big cuts or scratching, not finding it necessary, but he did have a few lines all over his back which bled. After a few minutes, I slammed the hilt of his sword on his head, and he was unconscious.
"Gather everything up," I whispered as I dragged his limb body towards the wall. I used the ropes we had been bound with and tied them tight. There would be no escape.
Then, I threw the thin blanket stored in the room over him. Using the keys he had, Satoko and I snuck out of the cell and hurried silently along.
But there was no hope of escape.
The man from earlier--the one with the iridescent red hair--stood before us, smiling venomously.
"Going somewhere?"
a/n hey, thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed! This is the last one I had written as of now; I don't know when I will get another out. I am SOOOO sorry, but as I've explained countless times before to many differet people many different places, my Naruto mood is not currently present. It will come back--but I don't know when. My deepest apologies. I hope you stick with this, but if you don't, I completely understand
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