Chapter 11 The Sound Four

(Once again, about a week later. Yeah, nothing worth mentioning happens in between)

From what I could tell, there weren't a whole lot of people in the hideout, not counting the prisoners. I occasionally saw some doctors that assisted Kabuto and a Oto nin every now and then but that was about it. Earlier, Kabuto had asked that I take some tea and omusubi to room 974. I expected some visitors (Orochimaru occasionally got some) and Kabuto had made this request before when they were present. So I found in strange, when walking towards the room, I heard the bickering voices of teenagers. I knocked on the door.

"Yeah, yeah come in." A male voice called.

I opened the door slowly. I was a bit taken aback when I found myself starring at a group that consisted off four boys and a girl that appeared just a bit older than me. There was a rather heavy set boy with his red hair cut in a strange style; a dark skinned boy with his black hair tied back in a puffy ponytail, and not to be over looked, he had six arms; two silver haired boys, defiantly twins, with bob like hair cuts; and last was a dark pink haired girl with a scowl on her face. Their outfits, like Kimimaro's, were of typical Oto nin fashion.

"Eh? I've never seen you before." Said the twin with his bangs covering the right side of his face.

"Uh…I've been here for about a month and a half." I said. "I'm Uchiha Karasu."

The five all looked at each other.

"Were supposed to go after some Uchiha kid tonight." Said the other twin.

"Uchiha Sasuke, right? The little brother of Uchiha Itachi?" Said the dark one.

I tensed but didn't let it show.

"Yeah, anyways, I'm Sakon, this my brother Ukon, Jiroubu, Kidoumaru, and Tayuya. Were the Sound Four."

"Hey! Why'd you introduced me last, jackass?!" Takuya complained.

"Shut up, because I was going around in order, and you were last." Sakon said, annoyed.

I stood there with my tray of provisions as the group began to bicker amongst themselves. I didn't mention the fact that I found it strange that there were five of them but they were the Sound Four (I later learned about Sakon's and Ukon's ability). I waited patiently, hoping they would calm down shortly. They didn't.

"Hey!" I said loudly.

They turned back to me again. I held up the tray.

"Where do you want to me to put this so I can leave?"

Ukon smirked. "Sick of us already?"

"Well if she's gonna be a bitch about it let her leave." Said Tayuya.

"Nah, stay and chat," Sakon said. "and put the tray on the table."

I really didn't want to stay and chat but, out of respect, I set the tray on the table and seated myself in an empty chair.

"So," Sakon began, he and his brother seemed to be the most talkative. "Where are you from?"

"I am…I was…an Akatsuki spy. Before that I was a resident of Sunagakure." I stated.

Sakon whistled. "Akatsuki, huh? How was that?"

I shrugged. "It was fine I guess. While I didn't always agree with their methods, I learned some useful stuff and got to travel quite a bit."

"You like that better than here?" Kidoumaru ventured.

"Anywhere's better that here!"

"I take you're not a fan of Orochimaru-sama?" Ukon said.

"Can't stand the guy. You his goonies or somethin'."

Kidoumaru laughed.

"Karasu, were Orochimaru-sama's elite, the best of the best! Orochimaru-sama trusts us with his most personal affairs."

"Heh, well good for you." I said. "That bastard left me with a stupid mark and brought me here against my will. He could get hit by a train for all I care."

The five looked at each other.

"Mark?" Jiroubu asked.

"Yeah." I looked at their faces, now staring at me intently. "What?"

"Then…" Tayuya began. "it doesn't matter how you feel. You're bound to Orochimaru-sama."

I looked at the faces around me again. "What are you talking about?"

"The curse mark isn't always a means to power, usually it's just meant to chain you to Orochimaru-sama." She continued. "We have already lost our freedom."

Sakon lifted his bangs and above his right eye were three black circles. "You're not Orochimaru-sama's only pet."

I subconsciously lifted my fingers and brushed them across the heaven seal.

"In order to gain something," Tayuya said, almost distantly. "You must also give something up."

"B-but I never wanted this in the first place!" I protested.

Kidoumaru shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"You're like us now." Ukon said. "Pawns at Orochimaru-sama's disposal."

"Whether you wanted it or not, learning to control the curse mark gives you power, thus a price must be paid." Tayuya stated.

"Well, I'm not just some pawn!" I said defensively. "I don't care if I have this mark or not, I refuse to be used by Orochimaru like a fucking puppet!!"

The five stared at me again and a smile spread across Ukon's face.

"You've got spirit, I'll give you that."

"Not to mention guts." His brother agreed.

"You'll just make your time here harder that way." Jiroubu said.

I shook my head. "I don't care. Perhaps there are a lot of things Orochimaru can take from me but my will is not one I will let him have the pleasure of manipulating!"

Sakon bust out laughing and his brother continued to smile at me.

"You're not half bad. I like her, Ukon." Sakon said shortly after he finished laughing.

"You're not gonna let Orochimaru-sama have an easy time with you, are you?" Kidoumaru asked.

I smiled. "No one has an easy time with me!"

"You've got spunk," Ukon smirked. "I like that in a girl."

Tayuya glared over at him.

"Well, except for Tayuya." He added.

"What?!?!" Tayuya yelled as she planted a fist on his head. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean, ass-tard!?!?!"

"OW! I means you're a unattractive macho bitch!!!"

"Tayuya, a woman should use such foul-" Jiroubu began.

"Can it, fat-ass!" She cursed.

The five began to bicker again but this time I found it amusing. I began laughing. They stopped fighting to stare at me for about the third time. I continued to laugh.

"What?" Sakon asked, arm raised and ready to punch Tayuya.

I calmed myself enough to speak. "You guys work together all the time, right? But you can't even get along with each other?" I started laughing again. "Y-you guys are almost worse that the Akatsuki!"

I stayed a bit longer to talk with them, but eventually we ended up parting ways. It was kind of sad. I had come to like them more than I would have imagined. I felt comfortable around the five, especially Ukon and Sakon. The two brothers were the kind of people you could trust to never change. I looked forward to seeing them again but, like Kimimaro, I never did.

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The next day, out of sheer boredom, I decided to explore the hideout. Mizuko warned me to be cautious because not everyone here was as friendly as them.

"People die here, Karasu." She had said. "It doesn't matter to some if you live under the same roof, you're just someone they can kill for sport."

I acted like I had brushed it off as nothing, but even now I remained completely alert. I did as Mizuko told me and didn't go into unknown rooms, even though some of the sounds and voices from within perked my curiosity. Occasionally I would catch parts of conversations and once I heard what sounded like a shamisen.

Eventually, I neared towards the head of the hideout. I turned a corner and found myself staring at hallway where each wall was a cage. I stared at the many people imprisoned. Of course I had heard about the prisoners but I had never seen them before. I had no idea Orochimaru had so many, and this was one hideout. As I walked between the two large cells, some glanced up at me and a few stared. They all huddled in small groups, one occasionally would sit alone in the corner. Their clothes were as tattered, if not more, than Juugo's. I felt the familiar feeling of pity spread across my face. I had always tried to hide the way I felt about imprisoned people, especially those who had done nothing wrong, but every time I witnessed such a scene it would awaken memories of my room in Sunagakure, the windows barred and locked.

I noticed four men gambling, Chou-Han I think. I stopped to watched them as they shook the cup and dumped the dice on the stone floor. When a man would win he would barley crack a smile and mutter something to his partner. There was nothing to bet, thus the game had no objective, just something to pass the time. One man noticed me staring, his face ragged and long unshaven, his eyes blood shot and desperate. The other three men followed his gaze.

"Why are you here?" The question slipped out before I could really think about what I was asking. I felt all eyes turn to me.

The ragged man sighed. "Who knows anymore. When Orochimaru needs a test subject he grabs one of us. The one who is taken usually never comes back, though."

I shuddered.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" One his companions asked, a young blond man.

I shrugged off my right sleeve and held out my arm, showing off the Rai Ring.

"Like you I'm a prisoner, but," I paused. "I guess I have more freedom."

A red headed man spoke. "You're and experiment too but you're not disposable like us." He stopped to cough. "Orochimaru wants to keep you alive, probably wants to make you his subordinate eventually."

"But even you might not live." A another person called out from behind me. "Orochimaru makes his mistakes."

I turned to respond to him but suddenly a hand took a hold of the hem of my yukata. I looked down to see a man in his early twenties with shaggy brown hair pulling me towards the cell.

"Saves us!" He begged. "I don't want to die this way!!"

He sated up at me, his eyes wild but pleading. I wanted to tell him I would but I couldn't make a promise I wasn't sure I could keep. His companions rushed forward and tried to pull his back.

"Didn't you hear her?!"

"She's a prisoner too!!"

"What makes you think she could save us?"

I yanked myself free but lost my balance and fell backwards. I slid back into the opposite cell from the man as his eager hands still tried to reach for me.

"Save us! Please, saves us!" He kept repeating.

His pleading started a chain reaction and soon about fifty percent of the prisoners began to beg for my salvation. The people behind me began to reach out a grab at me arms and clothes.

"Save us!"

"I don't wan to die!"

"I have a wife!"

The voices kept calling out to me. I covered my ears and pulled away violently.

"Stop it!!!" I screamed in a voice I hardly recognized.

I ran out of the hallway and ran until I felt I was at a safe distance and could no longer hear their cries. Insanity had become part of their nature but who could blame them with the lives they lived? I dropped to my knees still covering my ears, as if trying to block out the memory of their crying voices. I wanted to help them, I really did but I couldn't even dream of such an attempt. In those few minutes that I crouched on the stone cold floor, I felt helpless and weak for feeling that way.

After I had recovered from my trauma, I resumed my wandering, only this time I just wanted to go back to room and sleep my day off. I was so caught up in my thoughts I almost didn't hear the singing coming from a room I was passing. I stopped to listen, stunned by the idea of someone singing in a place like this. The singer had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. Every pitch was sung perfectly and each note seemed to soar through the air on sliver wings. I felt every emotion and the wall around me melt away. The music seemed to be everywhere, it even had weight and mass. Despite what Mizuko had said I could control my curiosity and had to know who this singer was. I opened the door slowly and peeked in. I stifled a gasp and couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"Ekima-san?!" I blurted.

Ekima stopped singing abruptly and stared at me, her face flushed. She fidgeted.

"Karasu-chan, what are you doing here? Am I bothering you? I can always-

"No, no, no." I said as I entered the room. "No, I was just passing by and…I didn't know you could sing so well."

Ekima blushed a deep maroon. I looked around Ekima's room for the first time. It was noticeably bigger than mine. Her room was filled with different instruments; a piano, harp, koto, flute, violin, cello, shamisen, etc.

"Can you play all of these?" I asked.

She nodded. "I've been practicing since I was very young."

"How did you get all of this? I mean, you've never been outside."

Ekima looked around at everything, then looked back at me.

"Orochimaru-sama gave them to me."

I stared at her, shocked.

"Nothing new recently," She added quickly. "But I got most of this when I was younger. I think it was supposed to be motivation."

"For what?"

"Well, Orochimaru-sama used to train me but I wasn't that good. He kept telling me I had hidden talent. I think this was all supposed to motivate me. But now he says that it turns out I have no talent."

"Are you kidding?!" I said. "You're an amazing singer, you can play so many instruments, you have incredible talent! Have you ever thought of learning shinobi arts through your strengths? Like music can be used for several things."

She looked at me, surprised. "I-I never thought of that…"

I nodded. "There are many advantages to sound. Genjutsu, something that can affect the way the enemy thinks or how their brain functions, hypnosis, tons of stuff."

Ekima smiled. "I could try that but I'm currently working on something else."

"Like what?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

Ekima gave a little laugh and put her finger to her lips. "It's a secret."

Author Notes: Yep, had some trauma in here. Don't know what inspired it but it just kind of typed itself out. I was glad to be able to talk about the sound four before they kicked the bucket. I adore Ukon and Sakon, their very cool! And next chapter, the moment you all have been waiting for! (or maybe that's just me XD)