Beacon of Hope

Traps

A small blood sample —which I would later alter to my liking—, was all I needed to invent an infectious disease for Sasuke, but that meant a greater risk by making him vulnerable to the feudal lords.

I thought about all the drawbacks and dangers this could cause, but I wanted to believe in myself and my brilliant mind to come up with a good plan that would save him from execution.

Sasuke was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes, or so it seemed. Kakashi Sensei and I suspected that the whole deception of his arrest was based on the fear that Sasuke's eye power could endanger the well-being of the "powerful men" and that any wrong move could be fatal. We were more than convinced that they would do everything possible to eliminate his existence.

But I couldn't let that happen and I was willing to try anything to get Sasuke out into the world.

I took a quick glance at the guard, he definitely wasn't looking and was far enough away that he couldn't hear my whispered voice. I glanced at Sasuke as I carefully took his arm, noticing the thinness of his limb, he was undernourished and that would definitely get him into serious trouble if things continued like this.

"I'm going to take a blood sample for analysis," I changed the volume of my voice so only he could hear me. "Look, I know this is a lot to ask considering your condition, but I need you to pretend you're sick, say that your head and joints hurt."

Sasuke gave me a slight nod to indicate his agreement. I looked back at the guard and I swallowed saliva to calm my nerves. It wasn't the most salubrious place to take a blood sample, but I needed it to carry out my plan; I would explain everything to Kakashi sensei later.

"Please make a fist."

I palpated his arm with my fingers and when I found the vein, I applied the tourniquet. I disinfected the area and punctured to draw the blood and empty it into a tube. I didn't need too much, but even though I was going to lie about a contagious virus, I wanted to be aware of his defenses and all other aspects.

When I finished taking the sample, I put the tube away and loosened the tourniquet. Then I put a cotton ball with antiseptic on the puncture site and asked Sasuke to keep his arm flexed.

"I'll give you a pill to control the vomiting."

I pretended to look for the medicine in the first aid kit, I just took a bottle of water and opened it. I waited at least a few seconds before asking Sasuke to open his mouth, then I made it look like I was giving him the medicine and finally put the bottle over his lips and he drank the water.

My eyes were still scanning the cell, soon I noticed a very strange sound and although the dim light didn' t allow me to observe the room clearly, I could deduce that it was a drop that echoed as it fell.

I searched everywhere, my hand brushing the wall, trying to find the source of the sound. It was not a constant sound, but I could feel the moisture and cold shock of the substance on my forearm. I looked up and saw some kind of pipe coming out of the top of the wall, almost touching the ceiling. I went straight to my first aid kit and grabbed a small flashlight so I could check it out for sure. The guard reacted quickly to my movement.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to check something." I replied.

The moment I illuminated the area, I could see what it was. I was so irritated when I discovered it that I felt I was about to lose my cool.

"What the hell is this?" I turned to the guard, he frowned, "This! I mean this! It's a storm drain!"

"What about it? Haven't you ever seen one before?"