Getting dried blood out of your hair can be quite a challenge. Not that it should matter to Sara, as the blood is almost the exact same shade of red as her hair. Yet, she has spent hours in the bath, diligently trying to remove any remaining stains. The few times she got out of the bath were only for a sip of water or a quick meal when Kabuto's assistant (or whoever she was) brought us some cooked rice.
But I hated it, hated everything related to Kabuto. He had clearly thought this through, no doubt. In hindsight, I should've objected and done something to get Sara away from him. Sara would've still had to deal with Rinji then, but at least she might have had a chance to complete the mission with clean hands.
Sara didn't reveal what had truly happened that day. The only plausible explanation for the blood in her hair is a complete and utter slaughter. The red bruise on her cheek, resembling a palm, only confirmed that she had done something she was vehemently against.
"Dinner," I heard Kabuto shout from afar, almost in a mocking tone. If there was any positive from yesterday, it was that my senses had sharpened. I could now estimate the distance of his shout from me with ease.
In an instant, I saw Sara appear in our room, her eyes as tired as they were empty. Both of our eyes must appear terrifying to most, with pupils slightly more vertically slit, and we blink less frequently than any normal human should.
We only have two types of clothes: Otagakure's clouded Shinobi attire and civilian-like ones. I wore a simple gray hoodie and dark-blue baggy pants, while Sara had a simple light-blue blouse and black leggings.
Putting down the book I was trying to read with little to no success, I then led the way through the underground maze that was one of Otagakure's many secret hideouts. One must have either memorized each and every spot or have a skill to help them get to places.
"Why are we having dinner together? You always go off or don't come here at all," I cut to the chase after we entered the room in which our food was always served. It was compact, darkly lit, with boring whitish gray plastering across each piece of furniture. It was warm in the room, almost hot.
"Oh, you'd like me to sit here every time you two eat? I didn't think you were such a baby, Yagura," Kabuto responded sarcastically. "I'm here to discuss important matters, not to chit-chat."
I sighed deeply and sat down, with Sara following my movements almost in unison. Meeting Orochimaru was a scary thought but, truthfully, an exciting endeavor. To see who's behind it all. A man that's looked up by Kabuto can't be anything less than the devil himself.
"Tomorrow, you'll meet Orochimaru. It was a bit of a surprise for me to hear that he wanted to meet my test subjects — he hadn't cared in the slightest about my previous ones," he informed. "The 'Power of the Black Snake' title might have intrigued him enough to see the fruits of it. But..." Kabuto trailed off, sounding afraid to finish.
"You don't know why we're being invited there?" I asked him curiously. Neither Kabuto nor I have yet to touch our dinner, but Sara was trying to look oblivious and censor anything we talked about, pouring the whole soup into her mouth.
"No," he replied sorely, a barely visible scowl appearing. If there was one thing I had in common with Kabuto, it was that we both hated a lack of knowledge. I had already dived nose-first into my first mission, and it obviously didn't pan out that great because of it.
"...So, what was the point of you giving us a visit?" Sara, shockingly, broke the ice as the two of us fell into silence.
For the first time, I saw Kabuto being flustered. "Yeah, right," he said after some time. "Despite what you might think, I want you two alive. As my underlings, you need to fall into Orochimaru's good graces."
"Act with manners befitting a servant to a king. Do, and answer whatever he asks or tells you to do," Kabuto said with an out-of-place smug smile, speaking like he has completely figured out Orochimaru. "And most importantly, promise him something big you'll do in the foreseeable future. There isn't anything he hates more than unambitious people."
Part of me wanted to ask if my goal of smacking Kabuto's smug face to the ground would impress Orochimaru, but I refrained.
"What if I don't have anything I want to do?" Sara, whom I at times forgot was even near me, asked quietly.
Kabuto chose to ignore such a question. "Don't promise him what you can't do. There is only one first impression, and you better not fail at it," Kabuto said harshly and stood up, leaving his yet to be touched food behind.
"We'll think of something that you'd want to do, Sara," I answered her question instead. "I... I promise you." She gave me a weak smile in response, one that made me freeze at the sight. My words sounded pathetically dubious and worthless. A waste of words.
This time there can't be any more 'buts.' I have to play all my cards to the absolute best I can. I can't be swayed the way the snakes in this deep pit want me to fall into, and most importantly, I can't let my promises go to waste anymore.
...
I knew Sara had no such answer. She had nothing to move her forward. Even if I provided her with a script on what to say, I doubted that someone like him would buy any of it. All my night was spent carefully considering the many possible ways it all could unfold: from instant decapitation out of disgust for weakness by Orochimaru, to him not caring in the least bit about her and waving her off to take her leave.
My deck had only a few cards left in it; if I were to survive this encounter, I needed to become stronger because with wits alone, I wouldn't make it far. I really believed that I can fix whatever comes our way, yet I still shivered furiously as we went step by step to meet him. Each step I took, the air around me became colder and colder.
A door with a giant golden serpent symbol etched in the upper half was what I envisioned him staying behind. Something perfectly lit and immaculately clean. Only half of it was right - as Kabuto took hold of the handle of a simple dark-brown wooden door and opened it, I saw a room completely engulfed in darkness, with only a small candle radiating just enough light to reveal... whatever it was.
I knew I didn't look normal, not even in the slightest. My snake-like pupils and my animalistic razor-sharp fangs would definitely terrify a few. Orochimaru was another animal in that aspect. A devilish grin, pupils looking even more like a snake's than mine does, and skin so pale that you'd think he had been dead for years. But he wasn't dead; if anything, he looked far more alive than Sara.
Every foot I placed seemed to take an eternity. Every sound echoed in my ears for what seemed like minutes, and the sly grin he wore seemed to radiate an actual, tangible aura that made my hairs stand on end. His vicious eyes seemed to go right through everything I am.
"Good to see you, Kabuto," he said in an eerie tone, echoing across the dimly lit room. "And I guess these two are your latest achievements, aren't they?"
Kabuto nodded. "Yes, master. They are the two who survived the process of 'The Power of the Black Snake.'" He reaffirmed and bowed. "Was there anything you wish to know about them or the experiment?"
The sly grin suddenly turned into a low chuckle, sending shivers down my spine. Glancing to my right, I saw Sara looking down with her eyes closed, possibly trying to distance herself from this situation. Not that I can blame her; I'd do anything to get out of here as soon as possible as well.
"Could you let me talk with them in person, Kabuto?" Orochimaru said/demanded and I saw Kabuto's eyes flinch, and his small smile drop.
"Of course," he responded a tense second later and took his leave with a facemask hard to decipher. The door closing left only the three of us alone in this room. I hated Kabuto with every fiber of my being, but I still felt a lot more confident with him around in the presence of this... thing.
"How about you two properly introduce yourselves?" Orochimaru asked. He definitely already knew the numbers we've been given, so it was likely just a test to see how we'd respond to such a simple demand. Possibly to see how we'd talk while speaking honestly.
"My name is Yagura, and she is my friend, Sara," I introduced us. I knew that telling our code names would have been simpler and raised fewer questions, but my pride couldn't let me sink so low anymore.
Orochimaru didn't say anything in response, just that same grin stretched further slightly across his face.
"Has Kabuto been treating you well? He's been acting a little odd recently whenever I've had the chance to talk with him," Orochimaru said, licking his lips with a tongue that reached 10 inches and staring through both of us at the same time.
"I haven't exactly noticed. The time we spent was very limited, and he has a lot of work," I responded as flatly as I could. I would love to push Kabuto off a cliff whenever the chance appeared, but it wasn't the time. I doubted my words had much legitimacy in the first place, so to backstab and risk being considered a traitor was an awful idea that I dismissed instantly.
"Hmm. How's the power you've been given? From what I've read, it should enhance just about every part of your body," he said eerily. "Just imagine what would happen if I added the curse mark to you."
"I believe you'd always make the right and fair decision, sir," I said, and bowed a bit more to show complete submissiveness.
The same low chuckle echoed through the room yet again. "I only give my curse mark to those whom I find interesting and useful. So tell me, what do you want to do?" he asked in a clearly sarcastically pleasant voice.
"I want to become strong enough to take out an entire village by myself, without any help. As for a more nearer goal, I want to help Kabuto with his... our experiment, possibly adding something more to myself." It was an answer that I thought would be perfect - a lofty goal for the future and another one that would help the monster in front of me with his own sick plans.
"Not often do you see kids so prepared to answer such intricate questions," he responded with a sharp grin, making me wince. Did he see through me? Does he know about what Kabuto thinks is 'the strategy' to Orochimaru's mind? It seems that he sees me through already despite just meeting, yet I know nothing about the man in front of me.
While my answer took a millisecond for me to deliver, Sara's took a solid minute. I thought about interjecting a couple of times, but I refrained to avoid making her look so weak that she couldn't even say a word in response. Orochimaru's previous expressions were exaggerated to a point where I don't know how he'd normally react, or if that's really his true face.
"I don't have one yet," Sara finally said, and I both sighed and placed all my focus on what's to come. I had placed most of my bets on this answer, and I hit the jackpot.
"I see," he responded... so nonchalantly. I was taken aback, and he definitely noticed, as his sharp teeth and mouth raised in satisfaction. "What makes a human human? Knowledge and the understanding that you have the knowledge in the first place. Follow my lead, and you'll never be lost again. To strive to learn is the ultimate goal one can have, and I'm willing to share."
Did he see through my ploy? Did I give away my quick answers, or through my body language, I couldn't tell. Did I get a completely wrong impression of him, or is this all just a sick joke to him?
Unconsciously, I moved closer, as his eyes seemingly invited, or rather, demanded to come closer. Was it genjutsu? I knew next to nothing about it, so I was at a loss. All the little confidence I had previously had now evaporated. We both came close enough to hear his deep breathing. I didn't even register when he instantaneously placed his teeth inside my neck, but once it all occurred, I definitely felt it.
A sharp pain pierced me, as if a thousand needles were being thrust into every inch of my skin. The agony continued relentlessly, and I couldn't stifle my own screams. However, this torment paled in comparison to the excruciating pain of a thousand glass shards cutting into my neck. My mind spun in every direction, every cell in my body shrieked in anguish as my thoughts descended into chaos. The last thing I was aware of was another scream beside me.
...
A faint glimmer of light seeped through my closed eyelids, yet I couldn't muster the strength to pry them open. I had no idea how long I'd been unconscious. Throughout my slumber, the only constant was the echoing sound of Sara's terrified scream.
My entire body throbbed with pain, and I was certain I would need another week of rest to fully heal, but Kabuto's persistent kicks forced me to wake up. My eyelids felt heavy and swollen, but against all odds, I managed to open them. "Where's Sara?" I demanded instantly, not wasting a moment to look around where I was laying.
"She's been assigned elsewhere," he replied, crushing the small glimmer of hope that I had left. Once again, I had failed her. "We have more pressing matters to attend to. Orochimaru has given his approval and wishes to create more examples of my experiment."
"Where is she?!" I snapped, disregarding everything else he said.
"We have a lot of work to do," he said, completely dismissing what I wanted to hear. Kabuto's sadistic smirk was the last thing I wanted to see. "Aren't you thrilled to reunite with your siblings? I thought you'd appreciate the family reunion I've arranged, but it seems that I've spoiled you too much."
I felt my heartbeat miss a beat. My family... I would meet them, only to take them to the same experiment I've been placed in.
Welp, Yagura just can't catch a break! But the fic is called Enslaved for a reason. Until next time.
I just realized that the titles are all messed up. I tried fixing them, but doesn't sem to allow me to change or edit them. Well, it technically does, but it working and this site don't correlate well.