Author's Note: Continuation of Part 1. Mostly told through Flashback.

Summary: The research subject tells the minions what happened before they arrived.

Time Check: Minutes after the events in the previous chapter.

Research Mishaps Part 2

FLASHBACK

Sasuke had been bugging Orochimaru for a week to get his sensei to teach him some new jutsu or other useful technique. By the time the snake man complied, the raven haired youth wished he had been a little more specific in his request. Orochimaru decided the appropriate thing to instruct him in was how to aid in creating a new snake related jutsu. Not what Sasuke had in mind to say the least. Then there was the request for him to strip before the lesson could begin. Suspecting the kind of snake Orochimaru planned to use was not the scaly, hissing kind Sasuke bailed on the so-called "training session" as quickly as could. Training of that sort certainly would not help in defeating his brother so he wanted part in it.

He had tried to find somewhere he could hide where the perv wouldn't find him. They hadn't occupied this lair for very long, and it was very expansive, so Sasuke soon found himself to be lost. Completely and utterly lost and too prideful to ask a minion for directions, the boy started opening doors at random. After about 15 minutes of this he stumbled across Kabuto's lab/research library. Kabuto didn't appear to be in the room so Sasuke took this opportunity to search around. This would be the bad decision which eventually led to the scene the others had witnessed not long ago.

Sasuke wandered around the room trying not to touch anything for fear of Kabuto's wrath. For the most part he succeeded. His success was short lived though. One of the operating tables had a body on it and near this table was some kind of chemistry style set up. From the looks of things Kabuto had been in the middle of some kind of experiment and documenting the results on nearby scrolls. Or the scrolls were texts used for reference, Sasuke couldn't tell the difference and he wasn't about to read them to find out. He couldn't care less about the scrolls but he was intrigued by the corpse.

Sasuke quietly crept over to the table and pulled back the sheet. He was shocked to discover he thought he recognized the corpse. It looked like an older Chunin he remembered seeing around Konoha before he defected. 'I will never understand that man's fascination with playing with corpses if they were dolls,' thought Sasuke wearily. Just as he turned to walk away the arm of the corpse twitched violently upward and hit the boy on his butt. The young shinobi was more frightened then he would ever admit and launched himself back away from the body and half spun around mid-leap so as to face the thing. A very unmanly squeak of surprise had passed from lips in the process which seemed to disturb all manner of abominations in holding tanks around the lab.

Now Sasuke could barely control his own actions mid freak out as he saw what Kabuto had been doing in here all week. His flailing knocked over some of the vials and test tubes and they spilled all over the scrolls and furniture in the immediate area. Much to the ninja's surprise the mixing of the liquids created a chemical reaction resulting in the scrolls catching fire. Quickly Sasuke raced around the room trying to find some water to put out the fire before it could spread. Unfortunately whatever container he picked up was full of an alcohol based substance which in his panic Sasuke thought was water. The fire, fueled by the alcohol, had gotten much worse.

Desperately the boy searched for something to smother or beat the fire out with, no longer trusting any liquid within reach. The first thing he tried to smother the fire with shot up in the air for who knows what reason. He then tried beating it with something and that caught fire causing him to fling it aside and light up a pile of rags. (Not that Sasuke noticed since his focus was on what was in front of him, not behind.) Beating the fire out seemed like a horrible plan so the Uchiha switched back to trying to smother the fire. Whatever he chose looked like it worked at first, but then his attention was drawn by the smell of smoke somewhere behind. Only now realizing he had lit another part of the lab on fire, Sasuke was no longer paying attention to the supposedly smothered fire in front of him. While he scrambled to find something to put the other fire out with the pressure began to build under the first object. When it couldn't take it anymore the thing exploded and sent everything flying all over the room, including Sasuke who was knocked off his feet with the force.

The explosion caught the attention of Kabuto who was returning to his lab, Orochimaru in tow complaining about how he couldn't locate his favorite (and only) student. Meanwhile Sasuke had recovered and gotten back on his feet. Now the lab was an utter mess with burning rubble and corpse bits strew all over. Then he remembered something about how when fighting forest fires there is a way to purposefully start a fire in such a way that it causes an approaching blaze to burn itself out. Or maybe it only redirected it; Sasuke wasn't really paying attention during the lesson because he thought it was a dumb idea to have shinobi's in charge of wild fire prevention. As he thought this over Kabuto burst through the door.

"What the HELL happened to my lab!"

Kabuto then raced over to one of the walls, opened up a panel, and flipped a switch. Something akin to fire sprinkler activated and doused the room and effectively putting out the blaze Sasuke started. The medic-nin was beside himself with anger.

Seething with rage he bellowed at Sasuke, "YOU! You did this didn't you! All my research gone! Weeks and weeks of research for nothing! Everything's destroyed. Here me, DES – TROY-ED! If Orochimaru-sama wasn't dead set on needing your body …. I'd …. I'd kill you! Kill you and use your corpse as a replacement for one I lost."

Sasuke tried to make a break for the door.

(K) "OH NO YOU DON'T Sasuke! You will be helping gather new specimens and redo this research no matter what!"

At that Sasuke put more effort into escaping. Maybe if he hid long enough Kabuto would just kill off some of the more useless minions and recruit someone else to be his research aide. Not that he had the chance to test the theory as Orochimaru stuck his head in having doubled back at the sound of the name of his prey.

(O) "Did you say Sasuke? Is Sasuke here? Kabuto are you remodeling?"

'Shit now I'm really trapped,' thought Sasuke with agitation, 'How am I going to get past both of them?'

(K) "Remodeling? You've got to be kidding! You're little brat destroyed the place and he's going to help me fix it!"

"But Kabuto we aren't finished our training yet," Orochimaru whined.

(K) "Finish it some other time. AFTER I have a functioning lab again."

"I'm not doing anything with either one of you if I have something to say about it!" Sasuke protested.

Sasuke then attempted to get past both older ninja and failed miserably. Then he retreated back into a corner of lab hoping to draw them away from the door. Both men came at him and Sasuke started dodging their lunges for him. Running across rubble, jumping from furniture remnants, scaling shelving units, and weaving between fallen wires, Sasuke did everything he could to get away. Kabuto and Orochimaru were maneuvering all over the place too and all three at some point had thrown bits of things at each other as if they were ninja tools. What was left of the lab was falling into a worse state of disrepair. Somewhere along the way, clothes had been caught on things and torn or ripped free from someone's grasp. Soon enough the three made it to the center of the room and this is where Sasuke was captured. The older shinobi, each grabbing hold of one of Sasuke's arms started their tug of war which drew the attention of the passing minion. This minion saw his masters fighting over the Leaf runaway and ran off to tell the others.

End Flashback

"Aww man. I was hoping for a lovers' triangle. That would have made for better gossip," complained a female minion.

"To think a corpse got us into cleaning up the brat's mess," a taller male mused.

"You don't think any of us will be used as replacement research do you?" a second male asked with hesitation and fear.

"Better not. If he tries I'm recommending the most useless males I know as victims … I mean test subjects," a young kunoichi admitted.

That comment sparked an argument over who was the least useful around the lair and little cleaning actually was accomplished. Which made them have to work twice as hard later once Kabuto saw how much of the mess place still was by the time he came back.