Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 20

I sat up in the bed, an uneasy feeling consuming my tired mind as I pulled on some more appropriate clothes before stepping out into the back area. The soft whirring from the heating machinery indicated that it was still nighttime, drawing a yawn from me while I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Grabbing a small cup from one of the cupboards and filling it with water, I leaned against the prep table and stared out towards the doors of the enclosures.

Soft hissing came from a few of them, one of them louder than the others. I stared harder at the enclosure closest to me, wondering if Ichi was sleeping right against the door before I noticed that the door was open a little bit.

Swallowing the rest of the water, I put the cup down gently and made my way towards Ichi's enclosure, hearing a voice whisper beyond the door. Taking in a deep breath and pulling the door open the rest of the way, I saw three figures slowly approach the lavender naga pressing himself against the far wall, his hissing growing louder as I stepped into the room.

"Come on, we'll take you home," A feminine voice called out softly, "We're not here to hurt you."

"Get away from him!" I shouted out as loudly as I could, seeing them flinch away from me while I approached, my adrenaline spiking. If these three were the ones that Oso heard talking about the raid then I couldn't afford to mess around, "You're trespassing onto private property! Leave before I alert the authorities."

Ichi's hisses lessened a little, using my distraction to back away towards the rear wall and dive into cover. The low light of the enclosure made it hard to see the details of their faces, but I could tell that the three were female.

"You're the one that keeps these poor people hostage!" Another voice called out, one of the three approaching me, "You should be put in jail for ripping them away from their homes and shoving them into the spotlight."

The enclosure lights flickered on and I caught the last bit of a lavender-scaled tail passing through the open door, moving to keep myself between the women and the door.

"You don't understand what you're talking about. If you want to free them the proper way, start by signing a petition."

"Of course we know what we're talking about. You kidnap these men, brainwash them into thinking that they're something they're not, and parade them around in scale suits for everyone to see while you get to reap the benefits," The last woman spoke up, sounding and looking a lot younger than the other two, "Even if they aren't real nagas, you're still guilty of abuse!"

"She doesn't abuse us," I heard Ichi's voice growl out behind me, seeing the three women react in shock to something, "You're as ignorant as everyone else outside that wall."

"I'll free you!" A new male voice called out as Ichi screeched in pain, making me turn around quickly to see a young man digging a pocket knife into Ichi's waistline, the angled blade biting down between the line of scales and skin as he tried to pry off the scales.

"Ichi!" I rushed towards him, grabbing the young man before pulling him off of the writhing naga. The young man looked pale, shocked at some realization that he clearly wasn't expecting, "Why would you do that?!"

"It's real--" His brown eyes were wide.

"Ichi!" I shoved the man to the ground from my arms, focusing on the wounded naga who had pulled the knife out and completely retreated into the back area, his hisses loud and agitated.

Someone grabbed onto my shoulder and pulled back, spinning me towards them before a closed fist collided with my jawline.

Staggered for a moment, I tried to raise my arms in front of my face before the volley of punches and kicks landed on me, knocking me to the ground while the attackers spewed out insults and slurs. Adrenaline flooded my nerves as I tried to stand back up under the blows, feeling someone pull at my hair and yanking my head up before a foot slammed its booted toes into my throat.