A/N: Wow. Long time no see. You're all still here, right? Sorry for the delay since my last update—writer's block is a bitch.
Again, because it's been so long since my last chapter, here's a quick synopsis of what's happened so far:
Ayaka (the OC main character) is the reincarnation of a PhD student named Chelsea from our world. Reborn into the Narutoverse and into the Yūhi family, she realises that she has a kekkai genkai by accidentally unleashing it upon her sister – Kurenai – and erasing all memories of Ayaka's existence from Kurenai's mind. The kekkai genkai takes the form of what Ayaka describes as being 'invisible hands' that can reach into people's minds and seem to generally have malevolent intentions. Scared that Ayaka might harm someone else, the Hokage makes Orochimaru place a Seal on the back of her neck that supress the Hands—only Orochimaru – as Sealer – or Ayaka herself – as the Sealee – are capable of undoing the Seal. She briefly meets an odd six-year old boy at the Academy who has already passed the genin exam, but he exits scene before Ayaka gets his name (chapter 9). An unknown entity referred to as 'The Madam' enlists two mercenaries, Sugoi and Zara, as well as a devoted loyalist with no eyes, named Shin, to abduct Ayaka when she is alone. With their mission a success, the kidnappers take Ayaka north and past the Land of Fire's borders.
The above synopsis leaves out a lot of the particulars, of course. I'd recommend reading from Chapter 9 at least if you want to get a proper sense of what is happening in this chapter.
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Chapter 12: Gone But Not Forgotten
One Week Ago.
"What are you going to do about it?!" Kurei Yūhi raged, pacing the length of the Hokage's office over and over like a caged animal. Jiraiya was present also, standing off to the side, observing the raging man quietly. He'd been giving a report to the Hokage when Kurei had stormed in a flurry of panic and rage.
"We've sent a team of shinobi to track down and retrieve Ayaka-chan and her kidnappers," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied calmly, trying to relax the agitated father. "And where possible, find out the reason for why she was taken, and by who."
"I think we both know who and why!" Kurei exclaimed, his feet stomping to a halt to look at the Hokage. He was vaguely aware of how disrespectful he was being to Konohagakure's leader, but at this moment he couldn't muster the energy to care. "It has to be another Hidden Village."
"We don't know that for sure," Jiraiya reasoned.
"Well who else could it be? We both know that Kumogakure isn't above kidnapping children with kekkai genkai. Especially children with as little political connections as Ayaka had!"
"I warned you that something like this might happen," the Hokage reminded him. "There's a reason why kekkai genkai-users generally belong in large clans…"
Kurei sighed, his anger still present but stifled at the Hokage's reminder that this could all have been avoided if he'd just handed Ayaka over to his in-laws. To the family that disowned his wife and wanted no part in her or her children's lives. Kurei shook his head. He hadn't wanted to abandon her to Kagura's (his wife) family's rigid and unforgiving nature. Ayaka deserved better than that.
She also deserved to not be locked away in her room as he had done to keep her safe. How had he been any better than Kagura's family? How had that made her any more safe?
It hadn't.
"I know," Kurei admitted, shoulders sagging. "I failed her. That's why I need to be out there looking for her." He made his way to the door.
"No."
Kurei stopped, obviously surprised by the Hokage's tone. "No?"
"No," he reaffirmed. "I need you here." Where you can't go around acting recklessly and endangering people in the effort to get your daughter back.
Any rebuttal Kurei was about to make was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Enter."
The door swung open, revealing two Uchiha: a small spikey-haired boy of about eight years whose arm was in a sling, and a man with a severe-looking face that was obviously the boy's father. Obito and Itako Uchiha.
The Hokage tensed slightly as they came into the room. Of course they were early, when weren't they? He'd just hoped to have Kurei calmed and out of his office before they could arrive.
"Hokage-sama," the two Uchiha greeted, bowing. "Jiraiya-san."
"Uchiha-san," Jiraiya acknowledged in turn.
"Uchiha-san, Obito-kun," Hiruzen greeted in turn. "I appreciate that you could come so promptly after the events that transpired this afternoon." Itako Uchiha's lips twitched slightly in irritation. He and Hiruzen both knew that when the Hokage sent a summons, it was not to be ignored or answered with tardiness. And so, like many Uchiha, he rebelled by appearing early.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Itako replied evenly.
"You are aware that I sent for Obito-kun alone, don't you?" Of course, he did.
"Yes. But it would be most improper for a member of the Uchiha to be in your presence unchaperoned, don't you think? He is not even a genin yet—still just a child."
Obito stiffened at his words.
"I'm sure you would not argue that it be incongruous for me to chaperone my own son… for his own good, of course." Itako smiled slightly, although Hiruzen knew that among Itako's top priorities, Obito's welfare was not one.
"Of course," Hiruzen acquiesced, hiding his reluctance in letting the Uchiha man stay. "But now let's return to the matters at hand." He turned to face Obito. "I understand that there was an unknown shinobi within Konoha. Tell me about him."
Obito hesitated, glancing at his father as if he could rebuff the Hokage's command. When no negative signal came from his father, he began to speak, releasing a small breath that he'd obviously been holding for some time.
"Th-there were two of them, actually, Hokage-sama. I… I think they were brother and sister," Obito began, nervous. "The man approached us when we were on the training grounds and—"
"What were you even doing there in the first place!" Kurei ground out through clenched teeth.
Jiraiya huffed in amusement at Kurei's tone and Kurei rounded on him like a bull seeing red.
Obito cringed. "I-I'm sorry! It's just that A-Ayaka-chan was so lonely and no one saw her and I wanted to see her—make sure she was all right. Then we went to the training grounds because—"
"Kurei!" Hiruzen commanded, interrupting Obito's inane chatter. "If you interrupt this meeting again and drive us from the topic at hand I will dismiss you from my office and bar you from any investigation into your daughter's whereabouts." He levelled his gaze at the girl's father, letting him know that his patience with the man was running thin.
There was a tense moment of silence before Kurei's shoulders drooped in defeat.
"My apologies, Lord Hokage," Kurei mumbled, stepping back to lean against the wall. "Please continue and pardon my rudeness."
Good.
He turned back to the Uchiha boy who was staring down at his feet intently. The regret and sadness over his lost friend was evident in his expression and body language.
"Obito-kun. Please continue," Hiruzen commanded.
Obito paused, collecting his thoughts. After a moment he swallowed loudly. "I… I can't remember where…"
"You said that the man approached you," Hiruzen prompted.
"Oh, right. Yeah." Obito took another audible gulp to clear his throat. "He came out of nowhere as Ayaka-chan and were picking up our kunai—we were practicing our throwing. I thought he was a civilian at first, he was dressed in normal clothes and didn't have a hitai-ate on him, so I had no idea that he was a shinobi…"
"Until he attacked you." Jiraiya surmised.
But Obito shook his head. "No. Ayaka-chan realised straight away, I think she could sense his chakra or something." Hiruzen noticed Kurei straighten slightly against the wall, his lips twitching slightly into a pained but small, proud smile. "He wanted to talk to us, but Ayaka-chan reminded me of the one of the rules from our ninja handbooks—the one about a shinobi not wearing his hitai-ate is the enemy, I think. I asked him where his hitai-ate was and when he said that it wasn't important we ran away." He paused, frowning at his feet. "We tried to run away, I mean…" He trailed off, lost in his own memories.
"Go on." Itako prompted. "Don't keep the Hokage waiting."
"S-sorry!" Obito cringed again, seeming to shrink into himself slightly. "Uh, so we were running through the forest when the man's sister jumped out attacked Ayaka-chan. I threw a fireball jutsu at her but she dodged it and came back. When her brother caught up to us I saw that Ayaka-chan had hurt her ankle, so I tried to keep them off her. Tried to distract them so she could get away…" His eyes shone with wetness and he blinked rapidly to stop them from running down his face. "But she stayed and the next thing I remember is that the man and his sister had stopped moving and Ayaka had put them under a genjutsu—"
The four men in the room – Kurei, Jiraiya, Itako and Hiruzen – all reacted with various forms of surprise. Itako frowned; Kurei and Jiraiya's brows rose and the Hokage folded his hands upon his desk, tapping his fingers thoughtfully.
"—but it didn't last long. I tried to kick the man and he broke from the genjutsu and kept fighting me. He was going easy on me, playing with me. I couldn't—there was no way I could beat him." He hung his head in shame, before glancing up again after a moment, a bemused expression on his face. "But then something weird happened," Obito remarked earnestly, looking the Hokage in the eye. "Ayaka changed somehow."
Hiruzen and Jiraiya shared a concerned look and Kurei paled considerably; but Itako Uchiha – intrigued – pressed for more details. "Changed how, boy? Physically? Mentally?"
"I don't know." Obito shook his head, upset. "Both, I think. She got black marks all over her skin and she was bleeding. The sister had been punching her and Ayaka just took it. I tried to get to her—to call to her—but the man kept kicking me and—and—!" He took a deep shuddering breath in, trying to recollect himself. "I was useless… But then something changed inside Ayaka-chan, like she suddenly had more energy. I could feel her chakra—usually I can never feel chakra. And she caught the sister's fist and the sister just stopped moving."
"'Stopped'? What do you mean by 'stopped'?" Jiraiya queried, moving towards the boy. "Did she hesitate? Or fall unconscious?"
"No, no. She just stopped punching Ayaka-chan. She just stood there. Then when Ayaka-chan told her to 'kneel', the sister fell to her knees and just stared." Obito shook his head, his puzzled expression darkening to shame and grief once again. "Then her brother grabbed me and held me up by my throat. He squeezed-" Obito broke off, biting his lip. Hiruzen let him be, he may be training to be a shinobi but he was still just a child and this sort of experience was a first for him. It was important for him to push himself through it also, however.
"She tried to bargain a trade with him," Obito started again, breathing heavily. "A swap. Me for his sister. But he said no. He said that he knew that she was nearly out of chakra and that he would kill me if she didn't give herself up." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying in vain to stop the tears from spilling over. "I told her not to. I told her to run… But she didn't. She let the man take her and released his sister from the genjutsu she was under and left me in the training ground. And the man stepped hard on my arm before he left too… 'Just in case', he said." Obito took a deep, calming breath. "And then I passed out, I think. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."
He looked down at his feet again, chagrined.
"You did well under the circumstances, Obito-kun. Thank you for your report," Hiruzen pacified gruffly. "But I have to ask, is there anything you could tell us to help us identify them? Physical appearance, unique jutsu, anything?"
Obito looked up, appearing thoughtful.
"Well, the man's hair was one of those funny little pony-knot things and, uh, I don't remember his name but I'm pretty sure the sister said it… The sister though… the sister's name was 'Zara', I remember. She was really pretty—beautiful, with really long black hair." He frowned, thinking harder. "They didn't use any jutsu, only taijutsu. It was all a blur, I can't remember much." He admitted miserably.
"It's something, at least." Jiraiya noted. "We had nothing to go on before."
Hiruzen looked from his student to the Uchiha boy again. "There's nothing else that you can remember?"
Obito started to shake his head, but then hesitated. "Well, there was something that they were talking about as they left… but I'm not sure that it will be very useful."
"Tell us anyway," Kurei commanded, earning him a sharp look from Itako.
"Okay, well when they were walking away the girl – Zara – said something about someone called 'The Madam'. I didn't hear much; I think that they said that they were going back to it. Is it some kind of place?"
Kurei shook his head, disappointed. "If it is, it is not one that I have heard of."
You may not have," Jiraiya said, stepping forward. "But I may have something on that subject."
"So do I, but we can discuss this later." Hiruzen said, waving his hand at Obito. "Thank you for you assistance, Obito-kun. I look forward to watching you progress through the Academy." Obito blushed a bright shade of pink before stammering out a 'thank you' and moving for the door.
"Not so fast," Itako stood, making his way to stand before the Hokage's desk. "I would like to know why anyone would want to abduct this Yūhi girl in the first place? Especially when there was an Uchiha with the potential of unlocking the Sharingan that they could have snatched up instead." He said the words harshly, not caring the way they tore at his sons' confidence and self-esteem. To Hiruzen, it almost sounded like he was jealous.
Kurei intercepted the Uchiha before Hiruzen could come up with a diplomatic deflection that wouldn't be obvious and would make Itako drop the subject.
"Perhaps you'd rather it be your son that was taken, Itako-san?" Kurei said evenly, his temper for once bubbling just below the surface.
Itako scoffed. "Of course not. But Sealing script on her body? Holding her attacker as a hostage? She's a six-year-old girl! Mark my words! I know that there's something special about that girl, why else would she be kidnapped, leaving an Uchiha behind like some unwanted common street rat?"
"Well, I apologise that my daughter's kidnappers hurt your Uchiha pride!" Kurei snapped.
"Oh, don't you worry about my pride, Yūhi. It's your daughter whose been taken after all," Itako said almost lazily now, with a small smirk. "I'm just curious as to why my son saw a six-year-old girl from an insignificant shinobi family covered in enough Seals to bind a Tailed Beast."
"My daughter is not a jinchūriki!"
"Oh, I know that! As if your quaint little family could possible grasp your needy little hands on such a power."
"That's enough!" Hiruzen commanded, fixing both the men with a severe look. "Uchiha-san, you are dismissed. As are you, Obito-kun."
"By your leave… Lord Hokage." Itako acquiesced, moving towards the door. He stopped at the door again as if he were planning on saying something else. Fortunately, he thought better of it and left, closing the door behind him.
"Kurei-san…" Jiraiya said, speaking up for the first time in a. "You need to better control yourself around the Uchiha. They will no doubt be fishing for information on any unusual abilities Ayaka has displayed, and I doubt that your wife's identity as an ex-member of the Kurama clan will escape their notice."
Kurei nodded, his mouth puckering at the edges. "You're right. These last few weeks—last few hours, in fact, have been particularly trying. My apologies, Hokage-sama."
"I understand, Kurei-san." Hiruzen said, tiredly looking at the red-eyed man. It was becoming late in the evening and they still had a certain matter to discuss. "But we do have a lead, however. The 'Madam' that Obito-kun heard them speaking of. Jiraiya, I believe you said that you've heard the word before?"
"Yes, well, I recognised the word 'madam' from one of the dead languages once used in the far west. From memory, I think it referred to the general term of a woman of high social standing. I learned the word whilst doing research for one of my books."
Kurei huffed. "I can't say that I'm surprised that you learnt of the word for some perverse uses within your 'book'."
"Well, we all can't be as uptight as you, Kurei-san," Jiraiya shot back, before turning back to the Hokage. "Sensei, you said that the word was familiar to you also?"
"Yes, but from a long, long time ago… when I was still just a child," Hiruzen remarked, thoughtfully stroking his goatee. "The word was used as a moniker by a woman obsessed with revenge. She wasn't from Konoha, but her anger made her well-known in every Village."
Kurei stepped forward. "I haven't heard of this woman before. Are you saying that she was the one to take my daughter? Why?"
The Hokage shook his head. "I can't say anything for certain. The 'Madam' from my past lived and died over sixty years ago, committing many atrocities that the adults at the time would not dare speak of in front of me." He paused, thinking. "No, she's definitely dead. It was sixty years ago—it must be a coincidence."
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Present Day.
A week.
It had been a week since I'd been taken and we had not encountered so much as a patrol of Konoha shinobi as we left the Land of Fire. I wanted to give them more time, wanted to believe that Konoha cared enough about me to send a team in pursuit because the alternative was unbearable to think of. Yet with every passing hour I grew more and more aware that the only person I could rely on to rescue me would be myself.
I just needed an opportunity. And a weapon wouldn't hurt, either.
In fact, I hadn't seen anyone besides Shin, Zara and Sugoi since leaving Obito in the training grounds. They made sure that we stayed clear of towns and roads, probably expecting me to make a fuss and draw attention. They were right to, of course, I would have.
But opportunities to flee were reduced to near zero after Shin joined the group. And although he was blind, I suspected he must have a jutsu that allows him to perceive his surroundings to some degree, possibly some sort of echolocation jutsu? It also made it impossible to know when he was sleeping as his eyes were almost always usually closed during the day. I was unable to ascertain if he kept tabs on me using his sensing jutsu during the night as he leant against a trunk of the increasingly few trees dotting the Land of Lightning's landscape.
After Shin's arrival they'd also re-bound my wrists together using chakra-dampening wires, effectively cutting off chakra circulation to my hands. Being extremely durable, I so far had been unable to saw through the wires with the various sharp rocks I'd managed to find whilst Sugoi, Zara and Shin prepared the campsite each afternoon. I wouldn't be able to use any genjutsu whilst these wires bound me, which was frustrating. A truly great genjutsu-user could cast a genjutsu using only their mind. I could do no such thing.
Plodding along behind Shin, who was leading at the front of the group, I feared that my opportunity to escape was well and truly over now that he had joined the group.
Sugoi and Zara flanked me, for some reason unusually quiet as we travelled through the woods that appeared and disappeared spontaneously along yet another of the countless mountainsides. Although whilst there were indeed trees growing from the ground – as evident from the woods we were walking through – they were thin and reedy-looking, bearing a sparse number of foliage. They would have been too thin and weak to be used as a method of travel as the shinobi of Konoha did with the trees of the Land of Fire.
"We're here."
Shin had stopped and I almost stepped into him, being so caught up in my reverie. I looked around.
There was nothing here. Around us was a copse of trees and Shin stood before a blank rock face that seemed ordinary and similar to the many other cliff-faces we'd travelled past before.
Zara cocked her head to the side behind me, gazing at the rock face bemusedly. "How can you tell, exactly?"
Sugoi shot her a dry look.
Shin ignored her. Stepping in front of the wall of rock, he ran through a series of hand seals before placing his hand upon the wall. Zara and I inhaled a deep breath, waiting…
Nothing.
A cold wind blew and I shivered, goose bumps rising on my bare arms, neck and legs. We waited almost a full minute with nothing happening, before Zara spoke again.
"Well, that's disappointing," she muttered.
It started with a tremor at first. A tremor so faint that I barely felt it, until the wall of rock before us was shaking and shifting and I could feel the earth vibrating beneath my feet.
"Wha-?!"
I nervously shuffled backwards, back towards the tree line but Sugoi placed a restraining hand upon my back.
The earth continued to shift and then fold away until a large set of dark green doors became visible. Shin moved forward, but the doors were already swinging inwards before he even reached them. Spooky.
Sugoi let out a low whistle of admiration. "This is some secret hideout you've got here," he remarked.
"Come," Shin ordered tersely over his shoulder and Sugoi pushed me forward into the dark hallways within the mountain.
It was when I noticed that the floors were tiled that I became especially nervous. Who would tile a secret underground tunnel? A crazed psychopath, that's who. I couldn't begin to imagine how expensive that must have been to get done. If there's one thing about house remodelling that I learnt when I was alive as Chelsea it was that tiling was expensive, and for the length of these hallways this crazed psychopath must be rolling in money. Like Kanye West. He'd probably do some serious tiling like this. Sometimes it surprised me how similar people from Earth and the Narutoverse were.
The air in the passage was dank and stale, and I was fairly certain what I believed initially to simply be a patch of moss had actually been following us along the wall since we'd entered.
"Where are we?" I queried, feigning casual indifference as if I didn't particularly care if they answered me or not. Needless to say, they did not answer me and we continued walking in silence.
I tried to remember all of the villains from the Naruto anime and found it to be surprisingly difficult. Between the struggling family situation at home, and being kidnapped, I had been thinking about the aspects of my old life less and less as time passed. Further, what little I could remember from the Naruto series wouldn't be useful for another twenty or so years. I had less of an idea of who was allied with whom, and which individuals had committed crimes and which were yet to. Villains in the Naruto storyline might not be villains yet, or there may be new villains that never made it into the manga or anime. Take Orochimaru, for example, he hadn't turned against Konoha yet. Not until…
My heart pounded loudly in my throat and my mouth went dry at a realisation.
Hadn't Orochimaru remained loyal to Konoha until he was found abducting and experimenting on children?
Could this mean that Orochimaru was behind this? He did have a penchant for children with kekkai genkai, and he was one of the few privy to the existence of my kekkai genkai ability. It wouldn't be a big leap to guess that the snake had masterminded this entire scheme.
If I remembered correctly, the Hokage had talked about children being kidnapped from towns and villages all over the Land of Fire—just before Orochimaru had walked in to Seal away my kekkai genkai.
No. No no no no. I needed to get out of here. If I were correct in assuming that Orochimaru masterminded my abduction, I was in a lot more danger than if I had been taken by another Hidden Village. An image of myself floating in a test tube of green fluid flashed through my mind, wires connected to a computer running into my body.
"This is far enough."
We stopped before an intersection in the passageway before us.
"I'll be taking the girl from here," Shin informed Sugoi and Zara. "Continue straight down this path and the Madam will give you your reward. Personally."
They bowed to Shin in farewell, Sugoi sending a nod in my direction. "It's nothing personal."
As if that didn't make me loath them any less.
Shin pushed me down the dark corridor and I stumbled forward quickly, trying to stay out of reach of his hands. I felt like throwing up every time he came near me.
We passed several doors and alternating pathways, winding this way and that. I was sure that Shin had made us double back down the same corridor at least twice in an effort to stop me from familiarising my surroundings and remembering which way it was to the exit—we passed by one door in particular that had a peculiar scratch at the bottom at least three times. After that, I gave up trying to orient myself in the seemingly endless and identical corridors in this place. Eventually, we reached a corridor that ended with steps leading down into darkness.
A dungeon, I thought, borderline hysterical. Of course they would have a dungeon. Perfect.
Sensing my hesitation, Shin shoved me again and I stumbled, managing to catch myself on the banister before falling head over heels down the staircase. After a quick second to reorient myself, I began edging down the stairs. It being dark, I couldn't see the next step and had to feel for it blindly with my foot, clenching the handrail tightly.
"Hurry up!" Shin growled behind me. He had no problem with walking down the stairs in almost complete darkness. But then, I'd not long ago established that due to his blindness he could likely orientate himself through the use of his other senses, or a jutsu.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked quietly, hardly daring to breathe in anticipation that he would push me down the stairs as I felt for the next step.
"No talking. Move."
We stayed in silence until I saw a dim glow coming from what must be the end of the stairs before my fear seized me again now that the end of the journey was in sight. What would they do to me? When I reached the end of the staircase I was sure to find out. I tried to swallow down my fear but my throat seemed to be filled with bile and my eyes were already prickling with tears.
"Please. Please, don't do this," I said, turning on the stairs to face his dimly outlined figure. "I haven't done anything wrong! This isn't right!"
"Go. Down. The. Stairs."
"No! Not until I get some answers!" My body trembled wildly with adrenaline and I clutched onto the banister tightly for more than just physical support.
There was a rustling of fabric as Shin moved. Grabbing my small body roughly with a large hand, he punched me in the gut and I doubled over onto the staircase. Managing to catch my fall with my bound hands, I trembled even more than I had before, gasping and spluttering and crying and thinking I was going to throw up. Tears streamed down my face and I sobbed into the stone steps. My chest burned and every breath brought new pain and a sickened feeling to my stomach.
Saying nothing, Shin picked me up and threw me roughly over his shoulder where his shoulder hit solidly with the soft flesh of my stomach, and I cried out as the pain in my torso doubled. He began descending the stairs and every step he took jolted his shoulder into my stomach again and again. I felt like I was being punched repeatedly in the gut. Screwing up my face, I tried to keep from sobbing, but couldn't.
I hung like a sack of dead meat over his shoulder.
"Please… don't. Please… Let me… go… please…" I sobbed, barely fitting enough air in my lungs to rasp out the words.
The eyeless man ignored me.
We reached the end of the stairs. Before us was a small landing, so small that it only took three steps for Shin to cross it. Down here, the walls were made of stone bricks, although the floor once again became tiled. The dim light that I'd seen before came from a single torch mounted upon the wall, illuminating a solitary solid-looking wooden door wrought in iron.
There was a loud click as Shin unlocked the door before opening it. Pushing it open, he threw me inside. Muscle memory kicking in, my body curled itself into a ball and the force of the impact with the floor lessened as my momentum pushed my body rolling into the room.
Rolling to a stop, I heard a bang as the door closed and I was left broken on the floor and in true darkness. The door clicked loudly as Shin locked it and the sound seemed to echo tauntingly throughout the room for several moments after.
My stomach hurt and my shoulders ached from being thrown onto the floor. I curled up into myself on the cold floor, clutching my bound hands to my chest, and cried.
.
.
I couldn't say how long I cried for, but that I only stopped when I ran out of tears. With eyes no doubt swollen and crusty, I tried to look around me but the room was completely black. I waved my hand in front of my face. Nothing.
Sniffling, I gagged and coughed violently at the stench I hadn't noticed in the room. It smelt like… excrement? Wiping my nose on my sleeve, I tried to pull myself together. What would Papa think seeing you bawling your eyes out like a brat? A small voice chided.
Papa's not here, I answered but shook my head. What do I do now? What can I do now?
The voice remained silent and I wasn't sure whether to be frustrated or relieved.
The shuffle of fabric in the otherwise silent room snapped me out of my reverie. That sound plus the smell of excrement had me thinking. Was… Was something in here with me?
I slapped my hands over my mouth to muffle the sound of my loud breathing as I began to freak out, breathing in and out so quickly that I might as well not have been breathing at all. I couldn't breathe. What did they say to do when having a panic attack? Hold your breath? That didn't sound right, I felt like my lungs weren't getting enough air and my head was beginning to feel dizzy and light.
I clamped my hands over my nose as well, blocking airflow to my lungs. I felt like I was going to die and all I could think was no air, no air, no air. But slowly, slowly my lung started extracting oxygen from the air in my body and after about thirty seconds I felt much better and uncovered my nose and mouth. Ignoring the stench, I took in a deep breath slowly through my nose and exhaled through my mouth.
"H-hello? Is someone there?" I whispered into the darkness, half hoping and half afraid of the answer.
Silence.
I tried again and this time a voice replied, sending tingling goose bumps down my spine. It was the voice of a child.
"I-I'm here." The child-voice replied in a whisper. It sounded just as timid as I felt.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?" The voice echoed back, sounding untrusting. It sounded like the voice could belong to a girl but being dark as it was, it was impossible to know for sure.
"My name is Ayaka," I relinquished slowly, making my way to my feet. "What's your name? Do you know where we are?" Whispers broke out in the darkness and I jumped. I definitely wasn't alone.
"N-no. My… My name is Mia." She sounded closer now or maybe she just wasn't speaking as softly, I wasn't sure.
"How… how many people are in here?" I asked Mia, incredulous.
Mia made a sound very reminiscent of a physical shrug before answering. "A lot. We're not sure—"
"—Ayaka? Ayaka-san?" Another voice echoed from further inside the cell and I felt a jolt of surprise at hearing my name. I could hear footsteps approaching towards Mia and I. "Ayaka Yūhi-san?"
"Y-yes? That's me." My answer was a reflex. A knee-jerk reaction to my name.
"I-it's me," the voice breathed suddenly close and I could tell that it belonged to a boy about my own age. "You dropped your pencil once and I gave it back to you."
"I'm sorry—what?"
"We spoke under the tree outside the Academy," he blurted, speaking very fast. "You were with a rude boy but you were really nice to me."
That… actually sounded kind of familiar. A memory pulled at me in my head. It seemed like a million years ago now, but I remembered. It could only have been a few weeks.
"I… I remember." Could this be the same boy? That odd boy from my Academy class who'd already passed his genin entrance exam. Wasn't he supposed to be some sort of prodigy? Apparently not, if he was stuck here with me.
And as I felt my excitement grow at finding someone I knew in this dark hole I found myself in, a small voice in the part of me nagged that something still wasn't right.
"Aren't there any adults here?" I asked suddenly.
"No," Mia replied, still nearby. "Only us kids. The adults keep us locked here."
Only us kids…
Only kids…
Why were they only holding children down here? And who were they? Was this Orochimaru's doing? Was this some sort of waiting room before the experiments would begin?
I took a steadying breath. These kids could have the answers I was after. They might shed some light on who these people were. But first… I had to see if I could do something about my bound hands.
"Does anyone have anything I can use to cut through wire?"
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A/N: So what did you think? The strange boy from chapter 9 has resurfaced and I've loved hearing your guesses and inboxes as to who he really is (so far only one person has gotten it right), although I suspect after this chapter and likely the next one, you will begin catching on. And poor Obito, dealing with the loss of Ayaka. He must feel super-bad about not being able to save her, although I'm sure we can all agree that he was no match for Zara and Sugoi.
Who do you think is masterminding this abduction?
Also, a shout-out to those you who reviewed the last chapter: chaosrin, ShugoYuuki123, Psycho-Jellybean, InARealPickle, Himeno Kazehito, PolkaPox, Rainy-Round, 123paco, 534667lc, Izumikii, LittleWesties9, Ducky the Insomniac Panda and Furionknight. You're all awesome.
Interesting but useless information about the author and other stuff:
In 2008, a married couple in the UK realised they were twins separated at birth.
Speaking of which, a friend of mine's parents recently found out by accident that they are second cousins. Freaky.
Disney World is actually larger than 17 countries.
Even if you are in a plane crash, statistically you have a 76% chance of survival.
Ink for your printer is more expensive than blood
J.K. Rowling was a billionaire until this year. She donated so much to charity that she lost her billionaire status.
Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.
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Reviews would be awesome.