FicWad

Chapter 3 Life in the Tunnels

The hallways were long and dark, only lit by the occasional candle. There were many twists and turns, a lot of them looking the same. For a while Sarah thought she was going the right way, since she was mainly trying to back track her way around. When she had left her room she first found herself in the throne room and then Kabuto’s lab. She believed it wouldn’t have been that hard to find her way back, but it wound up becoming a futile motion.

In time, Sarah became lost. "Arg! Where the fuck am I!?" she screamed. She continued walking, soon coming to a door. She knew it wasn't her room, but she was going to enter it and hopefully find someone who could help her.

Opening the door, she stumbled into an empty room. No one was inside. There was a full bed covered in black sheets, a dresser against one wall, and a night table near the bed with a candle on it like the one she carried.

She was completely awed at the bedroom before her. From the looks of the room, she had to assume it was Orochimaru's. She couldn't imagine anyone having a room this fine. It was even better than her own. Glancing around, her eyes narrowed, deciding she would do something. He had snooped on her, so it was only fair to return the favor.

Using her ninja skills she began to carefully go through the drawers trying to find something, anything. Soon she did. She then gasped as an old photo was revealed to her. It was a picture of a child. From the hair and pale features of the face, she had to assume it was him.

"Orochimaru as a child?" she whispered. She then stashed it into her robe and made her way to leave, making sure nothing was disturbed. From finding the photo, it actually satisfied her curiosity.

As she made her way down the corridor, a noise caught her attention. Not wanting to be seen by any unwanted eyes, she hid around the corner just as she heard someone coming. Trying to blend with the shadows, Sasuke soon emerged from the darkness. Unlike the first time she had seen him, she could clearly see he was wounded and bandaged up.

She could remember how the Uchiha teen treated her in front of Orochimaru and knew the snake nin didn’t like it. From her observations, his wounds had to have been made by Orochimaru during training. If that were the case, the man never hesitated in breaking the skin.

Sarah slid her father's trinket into her robe and then clamped a hand over her mouth as she saw Sasuke limp by. She could hear him muttering something under his breath, but they were too low for her to register what they were.

He stopped for a moment thinking he heard something, but then continued on his way. This was the first time he had training quite like this, though not the first time that drew blood.

When the boy was out of sight, Sarah released a sigh and stepped out of her hiding spot. She thought she was about to be discovered when his eyes fell in her direction.

After wondering around a bit more, she still found herself lost. It was then she noticed the candlelight reflect on something shiny. It was a small garter snake that had slithered up to her. It gazed at her a minute flicking its tongue, looking harmless.

With one glance at the snake, Sarah felt like screaming, but she was too drained. It wasn’t that she was afraid of snakes; it just frightened her. "How the hell am I to get back to my room!" she snapped not realizing the snake would understand her. "This is so frustrating!"

The snake turned looking back at her again, flicking its tongue seeing if she'd follow it.

Sarah continued to stare at the snake, not sure what to think. Then she remembered Orochimaru's words about snakes being harmless. Taking a deep breath she stepped closer to the snake, feeling embarrassed that she was looking for guidance from the slithering creature.

Knowing she would follow, it began to slither guiding her down the hallway. After a few minutes it reached a door where it stopped.

"What?" She looked at the door. It looked a bit familiar. Opening the door, she noticed the room she was first in.

"Thank fucking god!" she cried going into the room, ignoring the snake, which slithered away. She made her way to the dresser. Stopping, she noticed for the first time a mirror stood against the wall. She looked at her reflection in the dim light; disgusted for finding herself in the predicament she was in now.

Remembering about the photo, she pulled it out of her robe and looked at it again. She then traced a finger over the innocent features of the face, having a hard time believing how cute Orochimaru looked as a child. What surprised her more though was the photo was nearly 50 years old and he actually had a copy of it.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she opened a drawer and slid the photo inside before closing it. Reaching her hands up, she then removed the headband from her forehead. Resting it on the dresser before pulling out her family’s heirloom, she set it beside the headband. That was now all she had left to remember her village and parents.

"Daddy," she said to the trinket, releasing a tear. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better ninja."

Brushing the tear away, she turned away from the dresser feeling tired. There wasn’t anything else for her to do so she decided she would try and get some sleep in her new unwanted home. She was about to get in bed when there came a knock at the door. Wondering who it was, she went over to answer it, only to have a familiar face peek around the wooden object.

"My lord had to run a few errands and hasn't returned yet, so I've come to wish you good night."

"Kabuto," Sarah replied opening the door further for him to enter.

He took her invitation and entered. As he did so she moved away, allowing him to shut the door behind him. He noticed she stopped to stand by the bed. From her posture, he had a feeling she had something to say. Being silent, he allowed her a moment, giving her time to say it. She didn’t like being there and that was obvious.

"I just have one question. How the fuck am I supposed to be able to know how to find my way back to my room? Everything looks the same. It took me like an hour or longer to get back here."

He chuckled fixing his glasses. "It takes some getting used to, but I do have something for you. I meant to give it to you earlier, but it slipped my mind." His hand reached around to his back and pulled out a scroll from his pouch. With a few hand signs, it started to glow blue. He then handed it to her. "You can use this. It will point out where all the rooms are. Sasuke used it when he first got here as well."

"Could have given me this earlier and saved me the hassle of nearly bumping into him. Mind you though, he was a bit beat up. Those red eyes of his give me the creeps. I heard a story about a group of people who had special eyes that turned red. Can't remember the name right now."

"Oh?" That made Kabuto curious the teen didn't notice her, but then again with him wounded it stood to reason the teen wasn’t up to 100 percent. He smirked; knowing immediately the reason why the teen was wounded. "You’re referring to the Uchiha clan. His full name is Sasuke Uchiha. He's one of the last of his clan."

"Did you say Uchiha?" Sarah blinked. "I thought I seen his eyes somewhere before. About nine years ago a great clan with a kekkai genkai were slaughtered by one of their own. When I went to make my case to the Hokage about joining forces three years ago, which by the way was when we crossed paths the first time, I learnt the Uchiha clan were from the Leaf." She frowned. "But the Hokage was dead by Orochimaru so I had to leave and tell my people the alliance wasn't going to happen."

"Yes, Sasuke was the only survivor from that attack. He left the leaf about three years ago, wanting more power to avenge his clan. Even if it meant slaughtering his own brother."

"Ouch. That's harsh," Sarah cringed. "So his brother is who did it then?" She went and took a seat on the bed. She was still mad he lied to her and she was extremely mad at Orochimaru, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Orochimaru was far too powerful for her.

Walking more into the room when she sat on the bed, he slid his hand into his pockets. "Yes. Itachi Uchiha, now a member of the Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki?" Sarah blinked again, looking up. "I'm not sure if I ever heard of them. I don't recall that name." A thought then popped in her head. "Any possible way they could have killed my father?"

"It's possible. They have done a lot of killing in the past." He took out another scroll, this time from his pocket. "If this helps." He then handed it to her. It had a picture of all the Akatsuki members as well as their wanted posters. All in matching black cloaks and red cloud pattern. "This one is Itachi," pointing him out.

Sarah looked at the man, it showed him with red eyes. "He looks like Sasuke. It appears he's older than him. Poor kid. He watched his family die by his brother. Is that why he's such an ass?" Even with that she still didn't like him.

Kabuto chuckled under his breath. "Yes. That’s why."

Sarah shook her head. "Well that would explain a bit on his sour attitude and why he's demanding. But really, did he have to insult me like that?" She handed him back the scroll. "So if you wanted to make sure I was fine, why did you bring that?"

Taking it back, he put it away. "I just happened to have that on me," he explained. "The Akatsuki have been giving us trouble lately."

Just then the garter snake that had guided Sarah earlier slithered in from under the door. It looked at Kabuto, getting the medic's attention. He glanced at the snake then back to her, not knowing the snake had helped her earlier.

"My lord is calling for me, I have to go." He gave a nod and proceeded to the door. The snake followed, disappearing from sight.

Sarah nearly jumped when she saw the snake appear suddenly. She then pointed to it. "That snake!" she squeaked. "That is what helped me find my way back here!" What did that mean? It was then she registered what Kabuto said. What did he mean his Lord was calling?

Turning back to her a moment. "Oh?" He could tell she didn't know. "They don’t call my lord the snake ninja for no reason. Besides his attacks and appearance, he can also communicate to them." Knowing he had to hurry before his lord became upset. "Good night, Sarah," he said before quickly exiting.

"Oh..." She really still didn't know what that meant. Like why did the snake find her in the first place? She looked up to her friend. "Goodnight… B… Kabuto…" She wanted to call him by the name she knew him as, but knew that wasn't his name. The room fell silent. The shadows had seemed to have gotten darker from it getting so late.

With a yawn, Sarah felt extremely tired. From everything happening so fast, it had exhausted her. Putting the candle on the table, she then climbed into bed, keeping the robe tight around her. She didn't know what else to wear since her clothes were gone and no one said anything yet about other clothing. Looking to the candle, she leaned forward and blew it out before settling into the blankets.

Once leaving Sarah's room, Kabuto followed the snake to where his master waited. To his surprise, he was being led away from the throne room and back towards his own lab.

"You called for me, my lord?" Kabuto greeted upon entering.

"Yes." Orochimaru turned at the sound, he had been looking through Sarah’s file. He was a little satisfied in how he dealt with Sasuke. Hopefully the boy wouldn't cause any more mischief concerning their new guest. His eyes were set while he once again wore a smirk. "I wish for you to retrieve as much of Sarah's things as you possibly can. Since she’ll be living with us, she’ll need them."

"Of course sir. I can leave now." Most of his work was done for the day, including tending to Sasuke's wounds from the boy’s training with Lord Orochimaru. The boy had been in a foul mood ever since meeting Sarah.

"Good. Stay on the side of caution. I don't like the leader, and he's probably looking for her." His smirked faded, turning to a frown. "I don't wish to cause trouble for him quite just yet."

Orochimaru had heard many things about the village leader and none of them he liked. Some of those rumors were about Sarah and that alone pissed him off. "By the way, did you ever get the village leader's name?"

"Yes, my lord," the young man answered. "Foustes, I believe sir," Kabuto replied, not particularly liking the man himself. There were a few times he had to speak with the man and each time, Kabuto felt bad vibes from him.

Orochimaru sneered at the name. "Even his name sounds wary to me. Go. Before it gets too late. I wish for her things to be here by morning if possible."

They both knew the village was actually straight on the border of Land of Rice Patties and another country, which was separated by a large mountain. The village was located in a rural area and was independent under the rule of the village leader, Foustes.

"Yes my lord," he said again. Bowing, he took his leave. He had every intention of getting the task done exactly as his Lord wanted.

The young man immediately left the safety of the Sound village, which was also located underground, and made his way across the country to the border. Where they were currently situated, it only took Kabuto two hours to travel to the entrance of the village. It was surrounded by tons of rocks and looked as if it was just a small cave.

It then took him another hour to reach the main area of the village. Once arriving, he made his way around until reaching Sarah’s family home. He currently was dressed as an Underground shinobi; he blended in, appearing as he did three weeks ago.

The house had been a little ransacked when Kabuto arrived, but nothing in Sarah's room had been touched yet. It would appear as though someone started but didn't have a chance to finish, which meant someone could return at any moment. Hurrying but remaining quiet, Kabuto began to pack the clothes out of her dresser and a few trinkets that seemed important. Some things Sarah had pointed out to him herself.

After an hour of packing, noises were heard from outside the bedroom. This caused Kabuto to stop, learning he had run out of time. He glanced around, trying to find an escape but there were no windows in the room, only a virtual window showing an outdoor night scene. Knowing the only way out was through the bedroom door, something caught his attention around the virtual window.

Upon further inspection Kabuto found a secret hatch, but it was going to be tricky to be sure others did not discover the secret hatchway. He gave a smile as he heard the sounds getting closer. He was quick to figure out how to open it and hurried inside without making too much noise. Looking to Sarah’s room once again, he pulled the screen down behind him and closed the hatch, just as someone entered.

Not paying attention to what the intruder was saying, Kabuto didn’t want to stick around in case the hatch was discovered. He then made his escape through a tunnel, leading upward with a bag of Sarah’s things draped over his back. He suspected the tunnel would lead to a back way out, which would also lead to another way out of the village undetected.

As he traveled he wondered what sort of usage the passage was meant for. There were drawings on the walls in the tunnels and looked very old. Historians probably would be able to discover the tunnels were used a long time ago when a great disaster occurred. The survivors came down from the mountains and settled themselves underground, creating their own village.

Not having time to examine the hieroglyphics, Kabuto hurried to the tunnel’s exit. Finding himself on the side of a mountain, which completely surprised him. Looking to the mountain and then looking below it had to be one of two things, either the village was built inside the mountain or it was built under it. In either case the village symbol now had significance of having the mountain peaks as the design.

Working fast, he made his way down the mountainside until reaching the bottom. With him too close to the village entrance, Kabuto then used his ninja speed to return back to Lord Orochimaru as quickly as possible. He knew his Lord had probably turned in for the night.

By the time he reached the lair the sun was beginning to rise. Ignoring the sunrise, Kabuto made his way to his lab. Upon reaching it, he found instructions to put Sarah's things away and then get some rest. The note was on top of something he had seen Sarah wear earlier. Shrugging, he did as the note suggested. He quietly made his way into Sarah's room. Being sure not to wake her, he started to fill the dresser with all her clothes and put the trinkets on top.

Kabuto thought he was being as quiet as possible, but it would seem lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with him as Sarah stirred and woke to a sound. Her tired eyes caught a glimpse of silver. Taking a moment to focus, she saw that it was Kabuto putting something into the dresser.

"What the hell!" Sarah cried out as she jumped up into a sitting position. "What are you doing!!?" she yelled, showing her spunk once again. She could tell by his hair, glasses, and the fact there was now a candle lit, who was in her room. Just because she considered him a friend, still, wasn't going to stop her from yelling.

Looking to her he pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." He then closed the dresser drawer. "I was just putting your clothes away."

Her eyes narrowed. "What the hell do you mean my clothes?" She pulled the blankets back and made sure the robe was still tight around her, she stood. "Your damn Lord kidnapped me so how the hell do I have clothes when I don't even have the clothing I was wearing when he seduced me!"

He gave a smile and opened a drawer so she could see. Inside were all her clothes from back home. On top was the dress she was wearing that very night, which had been cleaned and was waiting for Kabuto in the lab. "Your dress has been washed. I retrieved the rest from your village."

Her eyes widened as she turned her head away, appalled at the dress. "Why..." she whispered. "Why is this happening? What makes me so special?" Was that why Kabuto had to leave her last night, to retrieve her things?

Closing the drawer again he put his hand on her shoulder. Kabuto had a feeling the snake nin probably didn't even know himself why. “I don’t have an answer for you.” Taking his hand away he went to the door opening it. "My lord will be busy today, would you like some breakfast?"

At the mention of breakfast, her stomach growled. "Yeah, I would. I haven't eaten since that… he… brought me here." She wanted to say asshole but she thought better of it. He may have kidnapped her and has forced her to never be able to return home, but he did help her in some things. She had her belongings and thanks to Kabuto, she had her father's prized possession back. With a shrug, she made her way over to the man.

"Ummm… I was wondering since this is now my home," she sneered at the word as she grabbed a candle. "It's too dim. Can I at least get better lighting so I don't have to rely on a candle?"

“Will have to speak to the Lord about the matter,” Kabuto answered when she reached him. "Hmm follow me." He led her down the hall. On the way they soon came across the Uchiha boy leaning against the wall, most likely bored since his sensei was busy. There were a few cuts on his face.

"So taking the little sex toy for a walk now are we, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked in a taunting voice.

Sarah sneered. "Who the fuck gives you the right to judge me! And I'm no sex toy!"

Sasuke's red eyes looked to Sarah causing her shiver and she took a step back.

The boy was still bandaged from the previous night’s training. Kabuto grinned, looking devious. "Might I remind you what happened last time you did that?" He adjusted his glasses. "You're only making more work for me when my lord returns."

Sarah looked between the two men. "He did that to him because of me?" she muttered to herself.
Sasuke sneered. "She's a waste of time. Should just let her go." With that the teen turned and moved away, leaving the two adults alone.

Sarah kept quiet until Sasuke was gone. "Orochimaru did that to him last night?"

Kabuto sighed relaxing his irritation with the boy. "Yes," continuing to lead the way. "He wasn’t so forgiving with his training session yesterday."

"Because of his rude remarks to me?" At least Orochimaru didn't like her being insulted like that. She shook her head and continued to follow the man. "Why does he say such rude things? If I had my way I wouldn't be here."

"That's just how he is. If he didn't need my lord to train him he probably wouldn't be either." Making it to his lab he opened the door going inside, going over to what looked like a supplies closet. Inside he had medical supplies of all kinds and some supplies in general, including vials and specimens. He pulled out a lantern and a flashlight.

Sarah looked around. "Why are we here? I thought you were taking me to get food?" She then frowned "Or is there actually a kitchen here?" She slapped her arms in the air, slamming them on her legs. "Just great this place is a freaking cave with no plumbing of any kind. This is more a dungeon then anything."

“Actually there is indoor plumbing.” Closing the door he handed her the lantern and flashlight, taking the candle away. "Just getting these first. They will light our way better. The kitchen is not far from here."

Exiting the lab they continued down the hall. It wasn't long till they came to a doorway. Inside there were cabinets and a cupboard tall enough to be a fridge. On one side stood a stove. Like all the other rooms, it was lit by candlelight.

Sarah stepped into the room and saw a table. Going over to it, she set the lantern down. "This place is going to drive me mad. There's hardly any lighting. I'm serious, I'll go mad here!" She took a seat at the table, watching her friend as best as she could.

Going to the large cabinet he opened it to reveal the insides of a fridge. Getting the ingredients he began to make breakfast.

He knew she was still having a hard time adjusting, but he still wanted to help. "If it helps we could go outside," he suggested. "Though I have orders not to let you leave," He warned. Given his orders, if she ran from him, he would have no choice but to seal her in her room.

"Which is what I've said before," Sarah sighed. "I'm a freaking prisoner here. Oh sure I can tour the place and go outside, but I can't leave. Doesn't that sound more like prison to you?"

“There’s a difference.” Not looking at her, he continued to cook. "Prisoners don't even get that," he challenged.

"True, but prisoners also can't go home either. They are forced to stay where they are… which is what you two are doing. I'm forced out of my home to live in this underground dungeon with barely any lighting. I can't leave the place. That's a prison." She sighed again. "I can't sleep in my own bed. I can't hang around or be with my friends. I have nothing."

Of course she didn't really have friends to begin with, which is why she befriended him so easily when he infiltrated her village to keep an eye on her.

“If I remember correctly, you really didn’t have any friends anyway. I was the only friend you had in that village.”

“Bite me!” she snapped.

Kabuto allowed the room to go quiet, knowing he wasn't going to change her mind. Finishing cooking he set a plate in front of her then began to clean up.

Sarah looked at the plate of food and immediately felt hungrier. Sighing, she began to eat. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked suddenly after taking a few bitefulls. "Or you already ate?" As she asked, something else began to bother her. Why was Orochimaru gone?

"I ate earlier," he lied, wanting to just go and get some rest, but tending to Sarah was needed. Resuming to clean, he put the ingredients away.

"Why am I not surprised," she retorted. She then went back to eating in silence. When she was done, she looked up. "Perhaps I will take you up on your offer and go outside. You know I'm used to brighter lighting as if my village was above ground."

Looking at her he nodded. "I'll take you later. I have a bit of work to get done first." Finishing cleaning he went to the doorway. "I'll be in the lab if you need me." With that he left, planning to go straight to his bed for some needed rest.

"Bastard," she muttered. Standing up, she grabbed the lantern and began to make her way back, using the map thingy Kabuto gave her to help her back to her room.