Time

If life had a cruel master that it serves, then it had to be Time.

It was one of those things that was either against you or with you, but as people learn, they also see that time was not always their friend. It was more of a foe that waits for the right moment, ready to take everything away or in this case, hurl you into a world of misery and pain.

Otogakure was more than just a base. It was a number of bases, intertwined at some point. There was no absolute location for it, and it was one of the places that, when infiltrated, was filled with traps. But beyond those traps are a number of winding roads and doors, and each one led to a specific room of function. Any foolish enough to end deep within the bowels of it would be "lucky" enough to be used for experiments. Their head medic was known to be a two faced sadist. He appeared friendly most of the time, as for half of it, it was better to merely be spoken off than to be witnessed. If one was beholding such a thing, then they were probably already being used. The daily screams could not be unheard as the wall had ears that listened. It was only a matter of time.

And speaking of time…

A loud cry could be heard from deep within one of the rooms.

Yakushi Kabuto, Otogakure's medic, was up to his cruel devices once again…especially now that Orochimaru was gone.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH! GYAAAAAAAAAAH!" The cries continued as vile liquid was pumped within her veins. The syringe was a 5cc syringe with a 22m gauge needle. And the liquid that now flowed within her body was a very potent venom that came from a scorpion. The girl that was strapped to the table thrashed around, her body burning from the administered toxin. It was a daily routine to keep her immunity constant. Usually she would have been used to this, but the dose was too much today. It was a sort of punishment as well, due to her current insubordinate behavior.

"Kiomi, what did I tell you about being inconsiderately stubborn?" He asked, pulling down his hood to reveal his face that was half taken over by their lord's genes. The good doctor placed his syringe down on the table and sat across from the young victim. She was still crying out, trying her best not to make a sound, but failed miserably. Sweat covered he whole body, shivering and shaking helplessly as she fought against her restraints. Kabuto watched there, much like he had years ago when he performed the same procedure.

"I'm sorry!—GAAAAAAAAAH-I'm sorry!" Kiomi cried out as she fought against the restraints. So far she could feel herself getting tired, mostly due to her limbs going numb. Soon enough even her struggling would die down and only the sound of her heavy pants filled the room. Kabuto's eyes were on her, watching. The dose that he gave was more than usual; he hoped that she would not die because of this. But if she did, then she could be easily replaced. After all, she was just one of those pawns that lived through to this day. It didn't mean that there was no need to get rid of her if she became a burden to him and his plans. "I won't…do it again…"

And those were the last of her words as she stopped in her struggle. Her breathing more labored than before caused her to suffer much, and her organs, she felt were starting to collapse. Kabuto's sigh of amusement passed soon enough and he would come to stand. Something told him that this was enough punishment. After all, she did say that she was sorry. That and she would never do it again. The medic in his own right was kind, kind enough to let her suffer through other means.

His steps were quiet as his snake tail moved about. Its eyes watched the feverish girl. From under one of the tables, he would get the toxin's antidote, and bring it to where the kunoichi lay. She was so helpless and near death. Had her immunity to poison been anything weaker, then surely she would have been dead by now. All those years of doing this to her paid off. He'd imagine that even her blood would be poisonous enough to kill anyone had she truly wished to use it like that. Still, the girl incorporating it to her jutsu was a feat that he marveled at. Not everyone was capable of extracting poison from their bodies only to mix it with chakra. And according to their earlier conversation, control over it was becoming harder and harder to grasp. This current introduction would surely make it harder for her. It would be interesting to watch.

Once close enough, Kabuto took the vial's cork off. A free hand would slip under the girl's head so that he could lift it with ease. The vial on the other hand was placed along her lips, tipped slightly for the contents to flow in her mouth. Slowly and weakly the girl drank it, but it provided her with no comfort. Usually these cures were a mixture of poisons as well. Of course only poison can cure another poison. And as the vial was emptied, Kabuto set her head down on the cold operating table before proceeding to check on her vitals.

The effects of the antidote were not fast, so it was only natural for her to be in a dead like state. "You'll be fine in a matter of hours. Rest for now, we have an important agenda to uphold."

Those eyes with a likeness to platinum only moved about once to look at the medic. How he resembled Orochimaru in a way made her eyes tick slightly. But her gaze was returned by his, and in silence, an understanding came to pass among the two.

"Why do you bear with this all alone?"

There was a voice in the distance. Everything was dark, not a shroud of light. Lifting up her hands did no good, she couldn't see them. Everything was shrouded in a perpetual darkness, but she was sure of one thing. There was a voice that called to her. A deep voice that was filled with scorn and malice, and yet it tried to comfort her in the most mocking of ways. This was how she felt at least. It was laughable to a degree.

"Come to me. I will give you everything that you desire."

On that note, her feet started to move. Useless steps made its way forward. No turns, the path she threaded was straight, but it was endless. A void that led into a darker abyss and then as if playing a trick on her, there was a light that surged straight for her. Blinding her and in turn forcing the darkness away.

Gasp.

It was the first thing that she did as she sat up abruptly. The restrains on her body was gone. The leather straps were off and she could breathe a little better than she did earlier on. And then she'd flinch. Her insides were still hurting. And she could barely feel her organs functioning properly. This caused her to cough up blood.

"I see you're awake."

A voice called out to her.

"Kabuto…san…"

There was a lifeless gaze in her eyes as she looked at his direction. Currently the medic had just entered, bringing in some scrolls for his own perusal. Seeing the blood on her lips though made him approach her. And gently, scaled hands would wipe the mess away. Kiomi was unflinching. Kabuto was not as bad as everyone thought him to be. Even with the countless hardships that she had experienced from him, the medic was still amongst one of her most trusted people. And even if she had betrayed Otogakure before, she always came back. And amongst everyone else, this Kabuto was the one person that she could not lift a hand on. She would dare to strike Orochimaru, but never Kabuto. This unification of the two though gave her conflicting feelings. But her better judgment got the better of her. She did not dare strike at him.

"How long have I been out?"

She asked, her voice shaking slightly. It meant that she was still unwell. "For about four hours. Your recovery time is getting better. Do you feel feverish?"

To this, the girl only shook her head, her fists clenched along her lap slightly. She did not feel feverish, but there was something else that bothered her. That dream. She should have felt relieved by something like that, but comfort shrouded in darkness was always something that she felt weary about. She didn't like it.

"Very good, I will need for you to rest more though. I have brought scrolls into your room for you to study. Soon enough, I will be teaching you various things. I will let you meet an important ally. I wish for you to be prepared," He paused for a while in order to wipe his hand on his wine colored cloak. "Return to your room and sleep, I will need you up in eight hours. We will make our move then." She was sort of like a backup plan for him. That and for a few reasons trusted her.

Kiomi was like him after all. Even if she betrayed them once or twice, her loyalty was unquestionable. She wouldn't have returned after all if that was not the case.

On the other hand, the girl complied and staggered out of the door. The way to her chambers were a long one, and when she got there, she couldn't even make it to the bed. She stumbled on the floor, her flesh shaking while her insides still felt like they were melting; this was the effect of the antidote that she drank. It was another kind of poison after all; it had its own side effects.

Why do you bear with this all alone?

"I'd like to ask myself that too…I just don't know how to answer."

She mused as she crawled to the bed, her hand slipping on a scroll making her lose her balance. Looking at the scroll, it had the seal that reads Jikan ryoko.

"Jikan Ryoko?" She mused as she sat down with all of her might. The scroll was sealed tightly, and she was curious. This was never a good thing. Her curiosity always led her to one trouble or another. Kiomi wasn't well versed with fuuinjutsu, but she knew how to unseal small ones. How? She took some training before, plus it was almost the same as the sealing techniques used for normal scrolls. With a few strings of hand seals, she broke the seal and much to her displeasure, light would burst from the seal and the scroll alike, and in one go she would be engulfed in it. When the light died down, all that was left was the scroll that had been undone.

"Izuna, what happened, what was that li—ight…Izuna!"

Whatever it was that happened was not accepted warmly by whoever shouted. Being in the middle of a mission and all, that huge distraction from where his brother was could cost them gravely. They had a reputation to uphold after all, and failure was not a part of their fame.

"I'm alright, don't worry."

The man called Izuna spoke, wincing softly as he sat up, steadying what seemed to be a girl, on his lap.

"What the hell is that, an enemy? Did she attack you? Did you take her out?"

Questioned the other as he quickly went to Izuna's aid, checking if he was fine or not.

"No, somehow though she saved me…after falling out of nowhere."

And with that ending statement, he gazed north of him, where three arrows struck the ground. "Let's take her with us."

"Are you insane?"

Izuna shook his head and placed the unconscious girl on the ground. Once he was on his feet, he bended down and slipped his hands underneath the girl. One hand would support her back by holding onto her shoulder while his other hand would be slipped under the girl's legs…in short a princess style of carrying someone. "I'd like to show her my gratitude, that and she has a fever. Madara, you know that I can't leave someone like this."

There was no response from the person called Madara just yet. Eyes would narrow shortly thereafter, and with a quick motion from his hand, the kunai that rested on his hip was clutched and thrown towards Izuna. The blade missed the other male's cheek barely, only, it didn't seem to miss whatever it was that lurked from behind. With a dying gasp, the creeper ninja fell beside Izuna, pupils dilated and hardly breathing.

"Do what you want. Just don't become vulnerable to attacks." Madara retorted, and left.

"Thank you, brother." Was Izuna's silent reply before he himself left with the mysterious girl.