I coughed shakily, something hot and metallic flooding up my throat.

"Get up," Kabuto hissed. There was the sound of a pen scratching paper. The thought that somebody could be so cold as to record the amount of torture he was putting another person under made me want to throw up.

I have to be strong. This was only just the beginning, even though I had absolutely no idea how long I'd been in this hideout; it could have been five minutes. . . or five years. Either way, I couldn't show Kabuto how weak I was becoming.

He'd given me neither food nor water this entire time— he'd told me he was researching how different body types held up without proper nourishment— and I was definitely starting to feel it. I felt so light, and, yet, so heavy; and the fact that I was steadily losing alarming amounts of blood wasn't helping.

I stood, forcing myself not to put a hand to the stony wall for support. I'd received a hard blow to the heart from another one of the devices Kabuto had been working on; this time, he'd wanted to see just how the human body could adjust to various forces of impact. His heartbeat relished in every hit, every cut, every burn. . . and I still had trouble figuring out which was worse: that, or the way he'd bandage me up after every experiment, as if he were making amends in a sick, twisted way.

"Hmm. . ." he mused quietly. "That was the highest setting. . ."

Shuddering, I wondered what he'd have in store for me this time; he'd already burned my legs beyond recognition with an acid that was meant to reduce my imperviousness to chakra, clawed the front of my torso to bloody shreds in order to increase my threshold of pain, and starved me to the point of collapsing simply to make a record of my stamina. . . would he break my bones next? Bury me alive? With Kabuto, the possibilities were endless.

Suddenly, he was right in front of me, his breath snaking down my forehead. Then his hands were caressing my tender stomach, fingering the places where we both knew the gouge marks were. I gritted my teeth to keep my agonized gasp to myself, hating the way Kabuto easily pressed me against the wall and put his lips to my collarbone. I pulled away, my palms almost, almost straying to my heart.

"Why not just give in?" he murmured, bringing me to him again. "I won't hurt you. . ."

"Hilarious," I growled, extracting myself from his grip.

As long as I was alive, Kabuto would not have me. He could maim me until I didn't look human anymore, but he could never take what was meant for my husband. A saddened jolt ran through my heart. Neji. . .

Kabuto chuckled, the sound as dark as his intentions. "You'll succumb soon enough."

He grabbed my arm, leading me to what I assumed was another machine meant to "test" my abilities. My wrists and ankles were soon bound, Kabuto's fingers lingering for too long at each of these places. He wasn't going to have the advantage of knowing how scared I was. I'd never asked him what his machines would do to me; I'd simply waited.

Nothing was happening yet. Nervous, I gulped silently—

He began unbuttoning the back of my dress.

I thrashed away from his touch, now terrified that I wouldn't be able to run, but his hands caught my waist and pushed me roughly against him.

"Relax," he muttered. "It's part of the experiment, that's all."

If he were in front of me, I would have spit at him. He continued undoing the buttons, the bo-dum beating eagerly behind me. His fingers brushed the unmarked skin at my back, causing frightened goosebumps to treacherously reveal themselves.

"You know," he breathed, "I just can't get over how soft your skin is. . ."

I froze in horror as I felt his lips on my spine, and I suddenly became very dizzy. No, no— please. . . stop it!

But he let me go, his pulse moving away.

I didn't know whether to be relieved or petrified; he wasn't latched onto me anymore, but that could only mean one thing—

There was a loud crack, and my back was on fire. Before I could gather my wits, the crack resounded again, bringing with it another round of flames. I was too shocked to even scream. Amidst the sounds of what I finally guessed to be a whip, I could hear Kabuto taking more notes, and I felt sick all over again. If I'd thought his other experiments had been torturous before. . . then this was beyond agony. There wasn't even a word out there that could do it justice.

Something white-hot and heavy flowed into my bloodstream, and the pain increased tenfold. Don't scream, Keiden. . . don't do it. . . I bit my lip, gasping as I broke the skin and tasted a warm liquid that dripped down my chin.

I didn't know how long this turmoil had gone on, but, then, it was over. The whip had stopped tormenting the raw skin at my back, but the deep pain was still there; with every ba-dum of my exhausted heart, the flames licked at my new wounds.

"Incredible." Kabuto was behind me once more. "Even without the poison, my other guinea pigs passed out on the first hit."

Poison?

He undid the binds, and I willed myself not to crumple to the floor, clenching my fists as the heat continued to pump relentlessly at my back. "Absolutely incredible. . ."

It must have been time for his perverse first-aid routine, so I braced myself.

I was pinned beneath him in an instant.

This move had caused the stone floor to scrape at the broken skin, creating such an array of pain that a piercing scream escaped before I knew what was happening. Kabuto covered my mouth with a hand, his breath hot in my ear.

"Shh. . . it's all right. . ." he purred, his hips grating against mine.

I shrieked under his weight, my eyes tearing up at the smarting of my wounds.

"Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?" His other hand trailed up and down the parts of my back he could reach, and I screamed again. "Shh. . ."

This time, his hand travelled down my leg, clutching at the fabric of my skirt and pushing it upward.

"No— stop! Leave me alone, please!" My cries were still muffled by his powerful hand. There was nothing I could do; my body wouldn't listen to me anymore. "Let go. . . let go. . ." I whimpered before screaming once more, for Kabuto had dug his fingernails into my shoulder blades.

"Mmm. . . but doesn't this feel so good?" His mouth was at my neck, biting greedily at the sensitive skin there. Every movement sent a shock right through me, and, all the while, I was selfishly wishing for death.

His hand was at my thigh again, twisting it around his hip, and a sharp, new pain attacked me now, thrusting itself into me over and over and over—

"No! No, please, please!" I couldn't move, I was so limp. "P-please!" I cried. Let it be over oh please just let it be over I can't take this anymore please please please.

He was panting heavily, his heart savoring every moment. "Oh, but isn't this for your dear Neji?" He pressed himself even harder against me. "You're telling me you don't want to protect him anymore?"

I cried weakly at the mention of my husband, the hand on my mouth soon catching my tears. Kabuto released my thigh and ran his fingers through my hair, as if trying to soothe me. His other hand joined it not long after.

"I'll give you the night to think about how selfish you're being," he said coldly. "Maybe tomorrow, you'll see sense."

In an instant, he was gone. There wasn't even a trace of his heartbeat.

Shaking with tormented sobs, I somehow found it in me to roll onto my left side and fix my skirt— an action that had racked hotly through me.

Tomorrow. He was going to do this to me again tomorrow.

I put a fist to my mouth in an effort not to moan at that prospect while simultaneously trying not to concentrate on the coppery smell pooling beneath me. Would I even make it to tomorrow? I mentally kicked myself, wishing it would hurt more than this. I absolutely had to make it to tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. And every day afterward. . . until I'd taken Kabuto down with me. No matter how much I had to endure, I simply had to keep my family safe.

I shuddered, wincing at the accompanying rip of my back.

"Neji. . ." I croaked. "I'm so tired. . ."