Hardened Heart |Sequel to The Strength of the Weak|

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Satomi was completely and utterly exhausted.

No one had come to check up on her in many hours, the female Uchiha being deprived of her basic needs of food and water. Her throat was raw, horribly raw, to the point that it hurt to even breathe. The only thing that could soothe her burning esophagus is water.

She felt grimy and dirty, her hair unavoidably greasy, but even so all she wanted in that moment was to see her sensei.

Sure, Orochimaru made a deal with her, but she didn't exactly trust the snake man to actually follow through on his end of the deal. Even so, there was quite literally nothing she could do at the moment to enforce it. All she could do was lay there in wait, hoping that the next time Kabuto returned he would have some sort of sustenance.

Her teeth grind against the cloth meant to be a gag in her mouth, the urge to swallow screeching at her but Satomi merely ignored it, knowing from experience that it was better to lay in discomfort rather than the misery that swallowing entailed. The blindfold over her eyes did nothing more than keep a constant stream of panic in her gut, just knowing that if she opened her eyes there would be nothing but a dark void taunting her and giving her the chills.

Her room was almost unbearably cold, the stone walls giving her no warmth at all. She was sure that if her nerves weren't so frayed she would be shivering uncontrollably, alone in the dark.

Satomi laid like that for hours on end, drifting in and out of sleep although she couldn't be sure how long she was sleeping for or what time of day it was. Eventually, her door swinging open was what coaxed her out of her trance-like state. What surprised her, though, was that she hadn't heard nor sensed anybody approaching her room.

Without a word, the person who entered the room walked to beside her bed and undid the restraints on her wrists, the chafed skin sighing in delight from the release. Next came her neck, the relief of being able to turn her head surging through Satomi as she stretches herself out. The person who had released her forcefully sits her up, leaving Satomi dizzy and disoriented from the sudden action. The calloused hand pulls the cloth out of her mouth quickly, a trail of drool escaping the corner of her mouth.

"I've brought food and water. Eat up, I'll be back in five minutes to take you to the bathroom," Kabuto informs, exiting the room as quickly as he entered. Satomi reaches her hand out greedily, not even bothering to remove the blindfold as she gulps down the canteen of water provided to her.

It's all gone within seconds, leaving Satomi gasping for air once she downs the whole bottle. Licking her chapped lips, she then reaches her hand out to feel for the food, her restless fingers clenching around the bread and eagerly bringing it to her mouth. All of the food is gone within a minute and a half, much to Satomi's dismay.

All too soon, Kabuto returns to Satomi's room to find her blindfold tossed to the side and the girl massaging her throat, as if all of the pain would go away. Satomi glances up wildly, resisting the urge to back away from the silver-haired ninja. Kabuto sighs, casually walking to where Satomi was laying and undoing the constraints on her ankles.

"Let's go," he orders, turning and walking to the door, expecting Satomi to follow him. She does, as she advised herself would be the best idea, her legs having trouble keeping herself up.

Stumbling through the hallways, her eyes travel across the paths they take, although she is unable to remember exactly which way she had gone, something that was very alarming to her. Her memory was pristine, but because she was so physically inoperative, even the most primal quirks of hers were reduced to mere memories.

Satomi knew exactly which door led to the bathroom. It was filthy, barely able to stay on its hinges. Not only that, but the putrid odor resonating from behind it was enough to tell the whole story. Satomi clenches her teeth, holding her head as high as she could as she walks into the room.