Another Nine-Tails?!

Tour

"Once you get back on your feet, you can learn these halls. We're never in the same hideout for long, so you better have a good memory."

"I actually have a photographic memory." She held up a finger in front of his face, making sure Kabuto was paying attention to her. He reached up, moving her hand away from his face.

"Good. Then it won't be difficult for you." By the way she hummed, he could tell she wore a smile. "I know you would like to get back to your brother, and you might not like it here. At least at first. I'm sure you'll come to enjoy it."

"I... don't really care."

"Heh, of course you don't. I didn't have anything to do with your encounter with Lord Orochimaru, by the way. That was purely by chance."

"I know. The world works in odd ways. It brings together the most unlikeliest of people. People who shouldn't go together, yet somehow do. My father used to say 'everything happens for a reason'. I used to think that that was stupid. Then I learned he was right. Everything does happen for a reason, you just might not see it in the moment. By the way, how old are you?"

"19."

"Wow. Only 4 years older than me. I knew you weren't that much older." She poked his cheek.

"Would you stop?" He swatted her hand away from his face again. Akiko suddenly straightened up, placing both hands on his shoulders. She looked around wildly, making the boy adjust his grip on the back of her knees. "What are you doing?!"

"Where's Maru?!"

"In front of us." She leaned forward, seeing her white dog a few yards in front of them. Letting out a hard sigh, she rested her chin on his left shoulder.

"Good. I can't lose him."

"It seems he thinks the same thing. He keeps looking back, making sure we're still following him."

"Maru is a good boy. Just like you to Orochimaru." He stopped, slowly turning to look at her.

She grinned, meeting his eyes. "I meant that as a compliment."

"No, you didn't." He began to walk again. "You and I both know it."

"Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?" He sputtered, looking at her again.

"Wh... s-stop talking!" For once in his life, Kabuto was at a loss for words. This red-haired girl single-handedly flustered him, but just slightly. He suddenly wasn't a spy for Orochimaru with great medical knowledge and skills. He was just a teenager who was getting attention from a cute girl.

"If I have to be 'sick' for a month, I'm gonna have fun any way I can. And if that means you're my victim, so be it."

"These next couple of weeks are not going to be in my favor, are they?"

"Nope!" The boy sighed, shaking his head.

-:-

They walked into a decent sized room. It was clean, but barely had anything in it. "This is my room. That door over there is connected to my lab. There's a bathroom in the lab as well."

"Do you experiment on people in there? Or cut them open?"

"No, I don't dissect or experiment on people. Medicine is kept in my lab. I never said it was big." He walked over, placing her on his bed. "Stay here. I'll be right back." She watched him disappear before letting her body fall backwards.

"Okay. Think. Think, think, think. You can't walk on your own, and Maru is here with you." She brought a hand to her face. "Even if you do manage to escape safely, you have no idea where you are. You don't even know if you're still in the Land of Fire." She looked at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. She jolted up, suddenly feeling bile rise in the back of her throat. Throwing herself off the bed, Akiko coughed up what little food remained in her stomach onto the floor. She sat back, a few stray tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Feel better?" She looked up. Kabuto stood in front of his lab door, a small towel hanging off his wrist and a cup of water in his hand. At least she hoped it was water.

"Please don't tell me I'm gonna do that the entire time?" She leaned over, feeling the bile return. Nothing came out this time though. "Please, just kill me now."

The ash-haired boy chuckled, kneeling in front of her. "It's not that bad, I promise." She sat back up, glaring at him.

"Are you the one vomiting? No. Shut up."

He chuckled again, placing a hand on her forehead. She attempted to swat him away like he had done earlier but he grabbed her wrist before she could. "You're already breaking out into a fever."

"No shit." She yanked her wrist out of his hold. He stood up, placing the cup and towel on his small bedside table. He looked down at her for a moment before placing her back on his bed.

"Don't move." She glared at his order but followed it anyway. "And drink some of that water."

"I don't wanna. It's probably poisoned."

He stopped. "If I wanted to poison you, I would have done so already. I had plenty of skin to infect earlier. Now drink some water. You need liquid more than food in you right now." He disappeared into his lab again.

Akiko stared at the cup before picking it up. It didn't look weird, or smell weird. Just plain water. She downed the entire cup in one gulp. "Huh, it was just water." A yawn left her lips, followed by a groan. She rested her head on the pillow, curling into herself slightly. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her, dragging her into the realm of sleep.

Kabuto entered the room, a small syringe in hand. He looked at where she should have been and came to a stop. She was curled into herself in the middle of his bed. "That didn't take long at all."