endless_scrolls: (Different)
endless_scrolls ([personal profile] endless_scrolls) wrote2010-11-15 09:37 am

Hearing Voices

Title: Hearing Voices
Type: Not-So-Drabble
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: Tone Deaf [ 801 ]
Character(s): Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke; brief mention of Orochimaru
Pairing(s): None
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Based on a plot idea originally made for the RP community of [livejournal.com profile] circleobetrayal that eventually inspired the fic 'Inheritance of Betrayal.' Theme borrowed from [livejournal.com profile] 30_tortures.
Dedicated to: [livejournal.com profile] its_game_time

Not-so-discreet comments whispered in the dark were beginning to become a frequent sight and sound as she passed through the long and dimly lit corridors of Oto. And she had heard every single one of them, clear as day. The design of the halls were formed in such a way that allowed voices to carry and drift for miles through the maze of tunnels that branched out under the surface of Rice Field Country. A novice with even an ounce of sense would have learned the truth of that after a week of wandering the grounds. Why the soldiers, who had spent a substantially longer time living there than her, had not caught on to that bit of information Tenten would never understand. -- Then again, she later thought, they probably weren't blindfolded their first few weeks like she had. And in losing one of her main senses, the kunoichi was given the opportunity to focus on the others to gain awareness of what was going on around her. -- But that did not stop the small smile that tugged at the corners of the girl's lips each and every time they spoke of her miraculous achievements.

Rumored achievements.

The fact that Orochimaru had decided to keep her alive was of little consequence and nothing out of the ordinary. After all, a majority of the population of the Sound Village derived from discarded and forgotten souls gathered from every corner of the shinobi nations. Including the Land of Fire. And all of them held the singular goal of serving their master loyally and without flaw. Because here in Oto, mistakes meant the difference between life and death. And she was simply one among many who now served under that principle; the newest edition to the ranks of thousands who already followed under the Snake Sannin's leadership. Or so they first believed. And Tenten had been content to leave it at that. But as life had taught her, things never quite go as planned. Because her case had been much different than theirs.

She had not come willingly to him like they did. Had not had a choice in the matter, actually. The details of that night were still a big foggy and Orochimaru had done his best to remain as completely vague as possible while attempting to give her answers. Just as planned and true to his devious nature, she supposed. -- Strong and respected as he was, the Snake Lord was a notoriously known traitor, after all. -- Either way, whether by his order or some freakish twist of chance, a squad of Sound shinobi had crossed Tenten's path while she was on a routine mission to scout out the perimeter of the Fire Country. Then came the ambush and the battle. And when the kunoichi woke up from the scuffle, she was already chained to a medical bed in Oto. And that had only been the beginning.

A series of grueling tests and assessments followed soon after her recovery, ranging from physical to mental to spiritual, having her fight with every ounce of her strength until she collapsed in fatigue. They placed her in scenarios and situations of extreme stress where a single move made out of place would spell certain death, exhausting every drop of her chakra until even a simple string manipulation was impossible. -- The others, she was sure, had gone through the same, if not under better conditions. They had come willingly, after all. -- All in the hopes of... what? That was the one mystery that had been plaguing her thoughts ever since they began. Particularly after they had decided that placing her in a cell was no longer necessary and moved the kunoichi to one of the many rooms that lined the halls of the underground base. Just a corridor or two away from where he slept.

Scoffing at the thought, she could only shake her head as she entered the library.

After a while, she had learned to stop questioning it. The whispers would continue for some time, Tenten knew. Sometimes she was convinced that they would never stop given how closely the Snake Sannin seemed to keep both of his former Leaf Shinobi so close at hand. And they could go on speculating about the girl from Konoha. She would learn to ignore it all for the sake of her own sanity and paranoia; had already begun to drown out the low hum of their voices. After all, the kunoichi thought as she took her usual seat in the archives, there were other things to focus on. Besides, she had her own voices to contend with.

And with that, she felt around the bottom lip of the table for the scrap of parchment Tenten knew would be there waiting for her.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting