eyeforaneye | suigetsu+sasuke, first meeting

suigetsu+sasuke, first meeting

[ It’s been weeks now since he’s seen sunlight. How many is a mystery to him; he’d tracked the days successfully up until the second time Kabuto had come to his room, telling him a new injection was ready and that it wouldn’t take long.

That was his first blackout.

But those are preferable to the more insidious after-effects that leave him conscious but disoriented, drifting through longer stretches of time that become compacted into flashes of stone walls and weak flames. All he can do to ground himself is to ask Kabuto for the date; asking Orochimaru ends in mocking questions and a stroke of his cheek. It’s been a while now since he’s bothered. Even something so small feels like a favor, and he doesn’t want any from them.

Sasuke’s quickly becoming more withdrawn than he ever was, aching for human interaction and feeling like the buzz of words and thoughts that he’s having to keep locked up are going to drive him insane faster than the monotony will. Before he could’ve spoken to his team, to his teachers, to his classmates. He thought he’d fully understood all that loneliness could carve out of him but he’d underestimated the simple nonsense chatter that was still a sign of someone hearing him. Here, even a scream just blends in with the others.

And oh how he’s heard them, echoing through cavernous hallways without a shred of insulation to absorb the sounds. They’re how he can time his own next experiments, framed by intense training before and an occasional recovery period afterward. When it’s quiet, he knows it’s his turn.

This time, at least, Kabuto is leading him somewhere new. He’s as quiet as ever as he follows after him, descending somehow deeper into the earth and nearly losing his footing when at the base of winding stairs he steps onto tubing instead. It spiders out over the stone floor, crisscrossed with others both larger and smaller, all connected to the heavy tanks of water that line the walls and surround a more massive one in the center. He forms a question on the tip of his tongue but doesn’t ask it, not when he feels a familiar pale hand alighting on his shoulder to steer him towards an operating table instead. Orochimaru too often likes to be personally present and Sasuke resents it, as both a future vessel and as an individual.

He avoids looking at either of them when he’s laid down and his arm is prepped for an injection, eyes instead focused on the water — the dull glow from the tank is soothing in a way nothing upstairs is, and it distracts him from the first slow crawl of pain through his body once it starts. He’ll choose to be grateful that he loses consciousness as quickly as he does, this time, fighting to stay awake one moment and rousing thanks to gut-wrenching nausea the next.

He’s alone, and his first attempt to push himself up has him knocked back flat on his back again thanks to a dizzying ache and burn in his abdominal muscles; how tense had he been? And then there’s the pull at his arm, slowly turning his head to acknowledge the thin tube still snaked up under the sleeve of his yukata. Is it not over? Sasuke exhales slowly in an attempt to calm his body, staring up at the ceiling. He can hope, at least. ]

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(thinks, sometimes, that he may forget the taste of fresh air, fresh water, and the warm embrace of the sun. then he remembers it's already been around a year and it hasn't happened yet. suigetsu doesn't know what day it is, barely registers that what body he can muster after a long week of altered states of consciousness is fourteen, now, and that the hideout is nipped at by frost — isn't it embarrassing?

shame has yet to fan out of him, after an almost crippling depression led him directly into the white snake's hands, his capture too easy, his imprisonment even easier. it's degrading, demoralizing, and it's starting to drive him into someone far uglier than he was. maybe the thrashing before every serum, poison, and antidote pumped into his tank has calmed some, but it only makes something else flare brighter.

madness has never been stronger in a place with no entertainment, in a cold basement with no one to talk to, cloistered in this comparatively small "home" just knowing that these people walk freer than him. his only solace is hearing hopeful footsteps that simultaneously damn him, desperate to press himself against the glass to chatter at anyone whose stare lingers too long in his direction, ignored by the sannin and his servants alike. today, however, is different; there are more footfalls to eavesdrop on when an ear's pressed against the wall of the water-filled tank, six pairs— no, eight pairs. orochimaru, kabuto, a shuffling scientist, and...

suigetsu pushes away from the side as the door slides open, letting himself disperse, mingling with the molecules of his tainted water. he views the group with a fish-eyed vantage point near the mass of tubes that slither like orochimaru's pets into the ceiling, watches a boy his age walk in without a single bond or struggle.

why are they doing this here? why are they doing this now? did they forget which tube they left him in again, kabuto being the only one keeping up regularly with his maintenance out of desire to use what he was born with a right to?

the boy, interestingly enough, finds the slab of metal by his own accord, speaks to them sparingly but openly like he's opting to be here. but that's impossible, not one person in the history of shinobi would choose to have this done to them, cringing inwardly at having to watch what's happened countless times to himself be applied on this fresh blood, needle finding a healthy vein. it's disgusting, it makes him nauseous despite his lack of sentimentality towards this soul or any other he's come across and stolen before his brother's was in turn.

it's impossible to tell how long his sight sticks to his prone form. hands made of nothing but current sweep against the glass to get a better look. orochimaru, kabuto, and the shuffling scientist leave in silence, but not before gold eyes flick towards him to chill his watery blood. it forces him to retreat to the back and bottom of the tube, facing away from slit pupils that make his lungs squeeze like he needs air when the very idea's ludicrous. so this is on purpose, more likely in uncaring disregard, the very idea making him feel ill, frightened as the door shuts and locks tightly, clutching at himself mentally despite his unwillingness to keep form.

he doesn't know how long they're both still and sedentary, before suigetsu's startled by a gradual shift of cloth on the table. what to do? the boy's moving and there's no one there. what if he's dangerous, despite the drugs being pumped into his arm? those dark eyes look soft and unfocused now, but he's seen how cold they were when the monsters filtered in and kept this person ignorant to the last presence in the room.

the urge, however, to reach out— it's far too overwhelming, the chance to do this rare.)

Sitting up right away... Not a good idea. Makes it spread faster...

(suigetsu marks the hollow echo, accustomed to it from the others outside — but not from himself. it's not often he gets to speak, unless it's to keep himself busy, and even then he's ignored. silence became oppressive, when he began to realize that not even his own voice could break it.)

You must be new.

Edited 2017-03-19 23:55 (UTC)

[ Despite the meaning behind the words, hearing any voice at all causes a panic to well up inside of him, something he'll be so much better at shirking or hiding later. He jerks upward, eyes quickly scanning the room, but the lines of machinery blur together in a sickening streak that further churns his stomach. He turns almost too late but manages to direct his retching onto the floor instead of the slab next to him, a needless consideration when his heaving turns up dry and the acidity seems to stick to his throat instead. Fuck.

Watery eyes try to focus on each tank one at a time now, swallowing thickly. ]

Who are you? Where are you? [ His voice is scratchy with disuse, lower than the other boy's and more adult than his face is. ]

(the jerk up has a ripple of effect that makes suigetsu shrink away again, feeling the back of the tank with a rush of bubbles stirred up from movement. this boy's failure to vomit gives him some kind of clue as to how exactly he's feeling, finding his courage to reply when it's obvious the tube's not going anywhere.)

I'm not telling you. (god, it's difficult to keep the worry out of his voice, but speaking feels good, talking to someone is like an overwhelming relief,) It's just— I don't want any trouble...

(so, for now, he leaves the guessing game up to this experiment. there are several tanks and if he happens to be as volatile as the other inmates and strikes the right one? maybe this is his lucky day, after all.)

I said don't sit up, y'know...

[ The lack of information is something he should've expected but it does nothing to put him at ease, instead only lying back for the purpose of conserving his energy. If he has to fight then he will... but he isn't one of the ones trying to escape. This is just one more thing for him to endure. ]

Do I look like I'm going to try to cause you problems? [ The lofty attitude is there, unbroken, but he sounds tired even to his own ears. Worn. ]

This is the first time I've been down here... I didn't plan this.

I don't know. (honest, wary,) How would I know that?

(his brother once taught him that being cautious is necessary in their line of work and suigetsu let that sink in to his very core, a basic trait in him now. he'll always choose flight over fight, when something feels amiss.

a ghostly kind of hum, however, at sasuke's admission.)

Guess they didn't mind us speaking... Since they know this is where they keep me.

[ This is more than he's said to anyone since he arrived, or at least more than he's said willingly, and he hasn't even seen his conversational partner. ]

I doubt they think it'll make a difference. [ One more prisoner... how many has he met now? Usually it's limited to when he's asked to fight, always holding himself back just enough to keep from killing those Orochimaru enjoys using to gauge him. His head turns again, dragging his sleeve up to see if the drip attached to him is still pumping any fluid or not; he wants it out. ]

How long have you been here?

(and they're probably right. what difference would it make? it's not like anything could come of this conversation, when he's tried to strike up similar ones with similar people who scorned him. at the very least, this guy doesn't seem to be doing that, asking him questions back instead of ignoring him or trying to escape in panicked rage.

suigetsu's witnessed many ways of coping with being imprisoned here, but none as superficially calm as his own. until now.)

Eeehh, I don't know what day it is... (there's a long pause, the room silent as he thinks, before:) A year, I think. You?

[ A full year. The answer makes him pause just after ripping tape away from the inside of his now-bruised elbow, curling fingers when he spots a shudder in them. ]

I don't know. Less than that, though. I don't think it's been longer than twelve weeks yet. [ He needs to keep better track, needs to know exactly how much time he has. His brow furrows and he quiets a grunt when he suddenly jerks that tubing free of his arm, catching himself with his elbow in another more determined attempt to push himself up. ]

(what an expression. it brings back memories he'd very much like to forget, wondering if his face looked the same.)

Two and a half months? Three? (he's never seen him before this, probably a good thing they haven't been pitted against one another yet.) You could look at that terminal there, for an exact date... I've seen them check the time on it, but I can't see that far from in here.

(conversationally, this doesn't seem expressly threatening and, like this stranger said, he doesn't exactly look up to retaliating. certainly cautious, but desperate for the scrap of attention he's being paid, suigetsu presses a solid hand to the glass to watch him, body drawing out of its liquid state. odd light throws rippling shadow, something readily described as eerie, ghostly as hair fans freely in the natural sway of his water.)

...

I'm Suigetsu.

[ The terminal? He cranes his neck for a better view, keeping his movements slow as he eases one leg off of the table in order to brace a foot against the floor, the other following with a less steady jerk. There's a clatter of needles when he throws an arm out against the nearby cart of supplies to brace himself, slowly rising up to his full -- and for now, unimpressive -- height, next lifting his head to finally catch sight of him.

A figure against the glass, one that startles him into a second of wide-eyed silence before his guard's back up, pain still radiating through his unknowingly poisoned body. The nudity doesn't get a second thought from him; he's far too busy being in quiet awe of what he's seeing. ]

Uchiha... Sasuke. [ As if the given name is an afterthought. ] What kind of technique is that?

(suigetsu makes a quiet bet with himself that this boy will keel over before he even reaches the terminal, but he's more hale and hearty than he thought.

—and the name's exactly why, eyebrows raising.)

An Uchiha? From Konoha?

(just as surprised as his current roommate is, still blinking openly well after sasuke tries to conceal his own wide stare... it's obvious without him explicitly saying it aloud, suigetsu thought that clan was a goner. but mangetsu shared the news with him that their senpai was good partners with one of them. a relative of this person's?

funny, everything comes full circle in the end.)

This is a Houzuki clan technique... We're— I'm from Kiri...

Houzuki--? [ His tone is labored and he again forces himself to still, an odd sort of determinedly neutral expression chasing away his frown even if the sweat on his brow remains. He doesn't know this person and doesn't want to share what he's feeling with him... not yet, even if he's a victim. Does that even make him less of an enemy? ]

I don't know them, but I haven't spent much time there. Is it a kekkei genkai? [ The stare he gets is one he's accustomed to, awaiting the jeers and the jibes that too often follow. ]

A-Ah. That's why I'm here, I guess. (what a filthy lie, but it's best if sasuke doesn't try anything funny with those eyes of his.

he's heard the stories everyone else has.)

Though, I never thought I'd meet one in person. You're way less imposing than I thought, y'know, physically. (and that seems to be his only jeer and jibe, head tilting suddenly from behind the glass with a mad little chuckle.) But I guess you can't all be tall and scary, kukuh...

(hands pulling away from the tank's glass, his arms fold with a finger poking up and pointing behind him, stare unmoving. perhaps an odd gesture of faith, to believe in the uchiha's words and trust him to not turn those eyes on him. or something bordering unnerving when the blinking doesn't come, as though willing him to do what he asks next:)

There's a few buttons there, I've seen 'em hit those to bring the date up... If you really wanna know, that is. Maybe you'd like to do that, if you think it's better, before you go moving around too much? It'd be a big help, Sasuke...

[ There's no sharingan active in the eyes that suddenly bore into Suigetsu's from across the room with a sudden lift of his chin, but the intensity is just as present as if there were. No. He doesn't want to show this other boy his emotions (his weaknesses) but there are a few topics that still burrow so deeply under his skin that it's unavoidable, and even the hint of a more intimidating relative boils his blood.

Sasuke exhales through his nose when the spike of anger turns his stomach and causes him to fight another urge to gag, thankfully looking away again at the indicated machine. "It'd be a big help." If he were currently of sounder mind and the room weren't still spinning he'd recognize those words as odd when it's something so simple as a date... but even he can admit how precious something like that is in a place like this. ]

Don't order me around; I'm getting to it. That still involves "moving around". [ Indeed it does, but it's only a few steps to the panel -- steps like feel like miles -- full of buttons and switches that he doesn't recognize. The largest of them sits squarely in the middle, and it isn't an absurd assumption to make that it'll power the system on, or at least that's his motivation when he abruptly presses it down. ]

Sure, take your time.

(a noncommittal, distracted tone of voice that seems hollow as it tapers off into an oppressive silence. his concentration on where sasuke's hands go on the terminal is hawkish, wide eyes following his fingers, chest rising and falling with a sudden increase in heart rate. it's happening, he's pressing all of the buttons unknowingly. suigetsu will be free in seconds, god, where does he go? what does he do? should he think about that before or after this fool's managed to release a great danger into the compound?

because he will kill them. all of them. there will be no creativity in his work, no second's hesitation or drawn out discussions. if he sees them, they will die and he will leave — if sasuke wishes to challenge him, after the metallic grind of something immovable and pressurized slides open the top of his airtight tube, he will win.

there's an immediate, upward rush of water that slams into the network of tubing meant to nourish and poison him, soaking the ceiling as its spray fans out over the lip like a broken fountain. and the very moment the first droplet strikes the floor, suigetsu is building himself, stretching naked legs out of the current, soaking sasuke's legs to the knee when it laps over equipment and washes stains of blood and vomit from the floor.)

Ahhh, someone finally naïve enough to do it... (voice no longer hollow and spoken through thick barriers of liquid and glass, now hoarse from the sudden introduction of pure oxygen he's missed, suigetsu laughs low,) Thank you, Sasuke, you really were a big help. Now if you'd just stay right there, outta my way...

(in the small room, the water ripples inches deep. his footsteps don't make splashes as he turns his face away from eyes that could kill him. and when hands whip up with no sign of a hand seal, every molecule of water following suit, the weight of his tank crashes into the metal door keeping him from the outside world.)

Sorry our meeting has to be this short, but I gotta get going!

[ The machine shows immediate signs of life, humming low with power as it's woken up, but it's overwhelmed not a second later by a violent hiss and then the heavy slam of a wall of water first into the ceiling and then in an arc down onto the floor. It washes up against his legs and forces him back a step, hand grasping at a pained side and eyes widening as the realization of his own gullibility, but--

Shock doesn't metamorphose into anger. It's... thrilling.

This is sheer power in a form he's never witnessed before, sending an automatic shiver up his spine as his body tenses self-preservedly, squashing down every instinct that tells him to fight; he can't, not like this. Not in this condition.

A flinch in response to the tank's explosive collision with the door dulls his split second of mania, thankfully, but he's just as quick to look back. ]

Wait. Wait, you know it won't be this easy. Not with him.

(at the first "wait", all of suigetsu's fingers curl tightly into a fist. except for one, held innocuously by his side.

still, he faces the door, refusing to turn.)

That's why you shouldn't distract me. (the water doesn't continue its onslaught against the door, but needles at the cracks, searching for a broken seal where just one drop can leak through and save his life — but there's nothing.) If I don't go now, I'll never get outta here. I'll just die like all the others—

...

(dripping, naked, suigetsu shifts his head in sasuke's direction, violet eyes staring down at his mouth instead of meeting a gaze that could mean meaning right back inside of that tube. through the curtain of white, dripping hair, it's easy to tell that he's keened onto something. that entrance, unbound and willing, as he walked in the room... little to no fuss, lying down on their table knowingly, accepting the iv with only a deep breath and shut eyes...)

Oh, I get it. (excited to share a false conclusion with his new friend, thin smile splitting for jagged teeth.) You're working for him too, aren't you?

(the liquid drops, small waves lapping at legs that seem to catch them as they come.)

Seems like you've got a lot of freedom... So that's it, right? It's another test. (wrong, but deluded enough to believe himself in this state, with this mental fissure, shoulders angling back towards sasuke.) It's to see if those eyes work on a form with no eyes at all, isn't it, Sasuke?

[ His brow smoothes after a momentary furrow at Suigetsu's first damning words that showcase his bleak outlook on his chances -- how long has he been here? has Sasuke ignored his screams before? -- but he doesn't move. What little energy he has, with even his chakra reserves feeling drained, has to be saved for the very eyes Suigetsu's mentioned. He doesn't activate the sharingan, not yet... That's a last resort, and with his relatively limited genjutsu prowess it's more a bluff than anything else. ]

--what?

Ridiculous... If I was in here to test myself then I wouldn't start off by telling you I'm an Uchiha. And as for Orochimaru... [ There's no honorific, there's never been and never will be an honorific. ]

I work for my goals. That's it. I'm not his lackey here to supervise you. [ He takes a deep breath, throat starting to feel raw from speaking more words than he has in months. ] ... you're strong. I'm saying there's no way he'd let either of us out now.

(a silence blankets their conversation for a moment, as though respecting sasuke's need to take a measured breath and compose himself. that's a fanciful thought, not the case at all, a great deal of skepticism on suigetsu's end. does he kill this guy, or leave him be? the poison might do the job for him, there's always a chance, but those eyes are fearsome even without the sharingan.

he works for his goals, huh.)

So... What? (a vacant question, rhetorical.) I shouldn't even try to run, is that what you're saying? That it's best to overstay my welcome, when this is all that happens day in and day out? This is as close as I've gotten to a real chance, are you really going to stand in my way?

("you're strong", yes he is. not enough to open this basic goddamn door, though, water slamming into it again as sasuke's words bring him a more visible sort of panic, unaccustomed breaths taken with sharp exhales through his teeth. mangetsu would know what to do, wouldn't he? he'd laugh in this situation, grin and bear it for them both. he was always smarter, always stronger, always guiding him like a bobbing lantern in the dark.

now his home is a basement with no light.

this can't be where he's going to die.)

Why the hell are you even here? (finally wide eyes lift to meet his stare with a blatant challenge, stepping forward, the shake in bare shoulders turns into a crazed sort of chuckling.) I know, I know, you're next in line, right? An Uchiha, Orochimaru-sama's newest body... It makes sense...

[ Briefly his eyes squeeze shut as his steadiness wavers, fingers curling more tightly against his side and against the support offered by the terminal he's still positioned near. A dangerous hint of an idea is starting to take root in his mind whether he's consciously grasping it yet or not; all he knows is that he wants this potential resource to be here, nearby for him.

Would he help him escape if he had the capability to do so? He doesn't know and doesn't want to ask himself. ]

Sounds like you think you have all the answers whether I say anything or not... [ Those dark eyes open again, heavy circles hanging beneath them. ] I came here to get the power I needed. I don't care how it happens... and I don't care in what form it comes. I'm taking it and I'm leaving this pit with it.

I don't doubt you can manage, being who you say you are, but you're insane as the rest of them. Coming here readily, getting this shit pumped into your body. You really think it's making you stronger?

(it all comes bitterly, but suigetsu's far too busy to pay much more than cursory attention to sasuke's state. the water stops slamming into the door, not wanting to press at something futile when the noise could alert the scientists — or worse.

instead, it pools at the opposite corners of the room and methodically destroys equipment until the only light they're covered in is the one swinging by wire over their heads. the rest is ethereal blue glow from the bases of his tanks; he's been in every single one. by disabling their computers, they have to escort him to another room, another place, and he'll have another chance to escape at that time.)

Whaddaya want power so badly for, anyway? (maybe if he knows more of this guy's situation, he can use him further.)

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suigetsu+sasuke, first meeting

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