Haunted

Chapter Three: Pity Tasks

Kabuto walked out of his room. It was about 4:50 a.m. He looked around the dim corridor. He could hear footsteps in a room down the hall. He slowly approached it. When he reached the door, he knocked quietly.

"Come in..." Orochimaru's calm, slightly gravelly voice murmured. Kabuto carefully entered the room. It was a sort of lab, with counters bolted to the walls. Vials, beakers, burners, and other various science equipment were placed neatly on top of them.

"What are you doing up so early, sir..?" Kabuto questioned.

"I should ask you the same.." Orochimaru replied.

"I- couldn't sleep... I thought I'd make myself useful..." Kabuto said. Orochimaru nodded, picking up a vial filled with translucent blue fluid and holding it to a light.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Kabuto asked. Orochimaru set down the vial, sighed somewhat quietly, and looked at him.

"I suppose... let me think..." He said. He racked his brain for busy work to keep Kabuto occupied. He wasn't used to someone helping him with lab jobs...

"I suppose you could clean some equipment... I have scalpels that could use some polishing up.." He finally responded. Kabuto nodded.

"Thank you... anything else?" Kabuto asked.

"Well... there is one more thing... but I'd have to help you out... come back once you finish cleaning and I'll explain it.." Orochimaru said. Kabuto nodded again. Orochimaru handed him a box of tools that needed cleaning. Kabuto looked inside, turning away from orochimaru to face a counter. His eyes widened a little.

How many of these does he have..? Or even need? He thought, looking at the numerous scalpels and syringes (among other things) inside. He took some disinfectant and a rag and got to work. Many of the tools were caked with dried blood. Some still had small puddles of relatively fresh blood on it, maybe only thirty minutes old. He turned to Orochimaru.

"Where's the hydrogen peroxide?" He asked. Orochimaru pointed to a cabinet without looking up. Kabuto briskly walked over to it, opened it, and found the brown bottle of H202. He carried it back over to the counter.

After about an hour of diligent polishing and disinfecting, the tools were all spotless. They looked brand new. Kabuto looked over his handiwork with strong satisfaction. Maybe he'd found a new hobby... He suddenly froze. He realized he'd gotten so focused on the task that he'd abandoned all of the dark, intrusive thoughts about his mother. He smiled slightly.

"Lord Orochimaru... I'm finished.." Kabuto said, turning around. Orochimaru walked over. He looked at the tools.

"Hm... nice job... you do good work..." He said, mildly surprised.

"Thank you sir... what was it you wanted to show me?" Kabuto asked. Orochimaru sighed.

"Well... come with me..." Orochimaru said. He walked out of the room, Kabuto following promptly behind him. Kabuto was led down many halls. Soon, he heard mumbling, and some groans. He furrowed his brow in a bit of confusion. He entered yet another hall, but now, he was surrounded by cells. Each cell had four to six people in them. Some had odd mutations, and others looked sick. Many were soughing in pain.

Huh..? what's happening here..?

Orochimaru stopped in the middle of the hall. Kabuto was so distracted by the prisoners that he narrowly missed ramming into Orochimaru's back.

"This is one of many halls of cells... they're all my experiment subjects." Orochimaru said with a hint of pride in his voice, either ignoring or not noticing Kabuto's near mishap. Kabuto looked at him, stepping back a bit.

"Really?" He asked. Orochimaru nodded.

"What's the task?" Kabuto asked.

"Feeding them.. And giving them water... Don't worry, there are.. More exciting parts at different times... but for now.. I need you to give them the bread and water.. If they fight, it's fine... these are the less important experiments anyways... the most noteworthy ones are kept in a separate space..." Orochimaru answered. Kabuto nodded slowly.

More exciting..? He wondered. He looked at Orochimaru.

"Well?" Orochimaru asked.

"Oh!- yes sir- sorry- I just- spaced out.. Of course. I'll get right on it." Kabuto said. Orochimaru smiled a tiny bit and nodded. He led him back to a room.

"There's half a loaf and one jug of water per cell. It'll take a while to get to all of them but I'm sure you can handle it, right?" Orochimaru asked.

"Of course sir..." Kabuto said.

That should keep him busy... maybe distract him from what happened... it really is a shame... oh well... Orochimaru thought. Kabuto hurried off, carrying the jugs of water and bread.