Shoma listens to the chaos of noise coming from outside, eyes glaring at the guards as they run by. The boy holds onto the front bars of his prison as he glances at the few others that were in the same situation as him. As the alarm continues to sound, he quickly grabs the rock that he had been able to sneak inside of the cage when the guards hadn't been looking. He takes a few deep breaths before he raises his arms and quickly brings it down, watching as the lock on the cage broke. Shoma checks to make sure no-one is around before he is quickly doing the same for the other prisoners. He knows they have limited time to escape.

The other prisoners mostly start rushing for the exit, many taking on their cursed seal forms and killing any guards they come across. A few start helping Shoma with the escalating escape - 

But the exit doors are shut, solid, and no one's managed to bust through them, and tunneling through the earth isn't working...

There's a roar, and a scream, and people scatter as Juugo, fully transformed and covered in blood, comes tearing down the hall.

Shoma watches as the other prisoners help, his eyes then dart to those rushing to the exit. He has just gotten the last prisoner free before he hears the roar and scream, clear signs of danger. He calculates his next moves, estimating how quickly Juugo would reach the exit. Shoma then quickly darts forward, knowing that his plan could fail due to his inexperience, however in this moment there is no time for second guesses. He uses the seal that had been forced onto him, quickly absorbing whatever chakra he can. He makes sure to not absorb others to exhaustion, knowing they would need to be quick if they were to escape. He focusses the chakra onto the weakest point of the door and quickly expels it, not wasting any time in watching the doors easily bend to his will as they are blown off of their hinges. He darts into a hiding spot before he can be noticed, knowing that Juugo was extremely dangerous and it would not do him good to be in his way.

Juugo slams past a few people who aren't fast enough in hiding, but he doesn't do lethal damage - he seems far more focused on freedom than on the kill.

He blasts out into the sunlight, roaring and ripping through the two guards there.

Shoma stays where he is as he watches Juugo continues on with his single-minded goal. As soon as he hears the roar, and the screams of the guards, he darts out of his hiding spot and races towards the light. He hears the sound of others running as well. Freedom is close for all of them right now. Once he is out, Shoma as well as the other prisoners run into the woods, desperate to return home. He isn't sure of where he's going, but he keeps running, not wanting to be caught and returned back. To be experimented on again. 

It doesn't take long for the alarm to be raised elsewhere. Sasuke can only surmise Orochimaru has sensors monitoring all of his bases, from how quick the response is (he notes that; it'll be important, later).

Orochimaru's probably testing him, because Sasuke's sent out with nothing but his new hawk contract and a new, unbloodied sensor to hunt down the escapees. The orders are to capture anyone he can, kill anyone he can't.

(Sasuke doesn't want to kill any of them, but he can't fail, but he doubts many of them want to be returned... And he's not sure yet how he comes down on that. Not sure what will cause Orochimaru to trust him with more.)

Shoma's far from the first one found, as Sasuke and Karin rapidly round up prisoners - killing no one, and with minimal injuries - but after a few minutes Sasuke's hawk will flit over Shoma's head, narrowing in.

Shoma continues to run, being sure to use his surrounds as cover for himself, not wanting to leave a trail. He knows that that would be a foolish mistake. He looks behind himself every now and then just to be sure that there's no-one following him. He focusses on the land, so does not think to look up, unaware of the hawk that follows him and narrows in on him. 

Then he won't notice Sasuke until he drops down in front of Shoma, sword already drawn and by his side.

Shoma instantly stops in his pursuit of escape as Sasuke drops down in front of him, eyes darting to the sword. He doubles back, not going to give up his chance at escaping just because he has been found. Even if it is futile, he won't stop.

Sasuke's fast, but Karin's avoiding closing with anyone dangerous, so he's on his own, and he's not striking fatally. He darts alongside Shoma and closes, trying to see if he can resolve this with taijutsu alone.

Shoma continues to run, sensing that Sasuke is planning something. He knows that he barely as control over the seal that was forced upon him, and that if he uses it so quickly after his first go, he runs the risk of overloading his body due to his inexperience. However, the pros outweigh the cons in this moment. He raises his hand, the mark on his palm a symbol of his experimentation. He begins to absorb Sasuke's chakra, intending on using it on a jutsu to be able to escape, however, he finds that he is too weak and not too long after starting, his body grows weak, and he forces himself to stop. With a last futile attempt to escape, he tries to evade the other by darting up into the trees, forcing his body to continue on, intending on losing him through the winding forest.

Sasuke has plenty enough chakra to rush into the trees as well, closing with Shoma and striking at him with his sword, aiming to force him to dodge into a more precarious position from which Sasuke can easily unbalance him.

(It's very, very clear Sasuke grew up in forests much like these.)

Shoma darts through the trees, trying to keep his body going, however he realises it isn't enough as he hears Sasuke closing in, glancing back in time to see the sword coming towards him, darting out of the way quickly, however understands his mistake as he finds that he is unable to dodge whatever comes next. He has clearly underestimated the one dubbed by other prisoners as, 'Orochimaru's favourite'. He has heard of Sasuke before, due to small whispers that worm their way into the prisoners area. 

Shoma knows it it futile to try another escape, so he simply waits for the final blow, wishing that he was more able to control his new power, however he refused to train it when he was told to, having not wanted to become a simple weapon to be used.

He pauses, sword tip hovering at Shoma's throat. "Would you rather die than return?" he asks, bluntly.

Shoma tilts his head back slightly as the sword stops just by his throat. He looks up at the other, his once shocked expression having morphed into one of anger. "I would rather die than become that snakes experiment," he says, fists clenching at his sides. He prepares himself for the blade that will ultimately kill him.

Everyone else has wanted to live.

Sasuke hasn't actually had to challenge his determination to not let Orochimaru win versus -

(He hates death, has never killed. Naruto has. Even Sakura has. Every person in Orochimaru's damn village has except him. Blood doesn't make him shake anymore because he can't let it but it's close, he's lost fights he shouldn't have because someone started bleeding - )

He freezes slightly, hesitates.

Shoma continues to wait for the final blow, although soon wonders why the other hasn't done it yet. He looks at the other with a determined expression. "Are you going to do it or not?" he asks. "Or do I dare ask if one of Orochimaru's little puppets has grown a backbone?" he continues, not backing down even when his own life is in danger. "Living in that hell hole of a place is worse than death. I will not be forced to go back and let him continue his experimentations on me," he says with a snarling undertone.

He shouldn't say anything. He should just kill the other boy.

But - he's angry now. (A lot of emotions loop back to anger.)

"Death is final. You want to give up?"

Shoma simply laughs. "Trust me, I would give anything to be able to kill that snake myself," he states angrily. "But if that's not an option, I'd rather give up than let him have one more vessel that he can use for his own benefit," he continues, his voice raising slightly, having to force himself not to yell. "You're his favourite, so you wouldn't understand how he views those that he imprisons and what extra experimentations he does on us," he lashes out, eyes still trained on Sasuke's face.

Sasuke already has a very, very good idea what experiments Orochimaru performs. (He does worse, sometimes, to those he likes. He's never been careful with Sasuke's body.)

"You're not a good shinobi, if you don't know how to wait," he says instead, voice tight and harsh.

Shoma doesn't say anything at Saskue's words. "And how would waiting be of any benefit to me? No-one is willing to go up against him aside from me. They're too afraid," he says. "So, are you going to kill me or not?" he asks, moving his hands so they were raised. "If you wish to fight then there's no way I can deny that. I was barely a shinobi when I was kidnapped. I'd only been one for a few months," he informs the other. "I apologise if I'm not what a shinobu should be in your eyes, but I haven't had experience being trapped in a secret hideout," he remarks, not going to simply back down.

"You don't see what plots are moving outside of your little corner."

He's annoyed, but - he's leaning against killing him.

He'll give the other boy one more chance to respond before knocking him out. He needs to move onto other prisoners.

Shoma hesitates a little at his words, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. "And what exactly does that mean?" he asks. However, he's skeptical mostly. This could be a ploy to have him come back willingly. He wasn't born yesterday. "Will these so called plots benefit us prisoners?" he questions, however doesn't hold out hope for an answer.

He's not even sure why he's trusting the other boy and asking these questions. Maybe it's just the experiments and torture that have finally worn him down.

"They should."

Assuming Sasuke's succeeds, at least. He's currently planning on just releasing everyone once Orochimaru's dead, after all.

And he moves to knock out Shoma.

Shoma thinks it over, wondering if trusting the other is a smart idea. However he doesn't have time to think this over before he feels himself being hit on the head and his conscious wavering. 

"I hope it's right of me to trust you... Uchiha..." he manages to faintly say before he falls to the ground unconscious.

He'll wake up, back in a cell an unknown time later.

(Sasuke and Karin caught everyone, with zero fatalities and only a few deep scratches to Sasuke.)

Shoma wakes up instantly once he regains consciousness, his posture moving upright immediately and his fears are confirmed as he is greeted by the stone walls and darkness of his prison. He can only wonder if what Sasuke had said was right. If it was the only thing he had to lean on, then he was going to put his hopes on it. There wasn't any harm in it considering that everyone was in the same hopeless situation. 

Things do change a bit - new guards and scientists are appointed. Many of them are just as cruel as the last, and some of them are more punitive, and most of them are more powerful, but there's a handful who watch the others with careful eyes, who stop excesses from going too far, who actually seem to believe in anesthetics during surgery...

And after a very short time, one of the new guards - who some of the prisoners say helped regather them - ends up being the one to escort Shoma to his cell after an experiment. She's about his age, thirteen or fourteen, with her skin covered except her face, and her hair and large glasses concealing a good bit of that.

She stops them in the hallway when no one else is around, and regards Shoma, tilting her head a bit. 

"You're the one Sasuke-sama was talking to," she says, voice confident.

Shoma doesn't notice these changes at first, simply viewing them as guards who are all the same. However, it interests him when he finds that they start using anesthetics and stopping those who appear to be going to go to far with a prisoner. 

He has gone through another experimentation in order to try and strengthen his body so that he can use his seal more effectively, not talking to the guard that escorted him to his cell. Shoma is surprised though as she stops them in the hallway, He lets her regard him, unsure of why his usual routine has been changed.

He raises his eyebrows as the guard beings to talk to him. He considers for a moment that this is some sort of trap to get him to talk, but figures that if it was, he could put up with whatever punishment came afterwards. "Yeah, we talk," he says. "What of it?" he then asks, wondering if she's also a part of those who Sasuke had alluded to when he'd re-captured him and mentioned plots. He is not as standoffish as usual, not wanting to potentially ruin his chance of speaking with a guard.

"I was curious what he saw in someone like you."

Shoma blinks in surprise, his own head tilting now. "What do you mean?" he asks. He simply views the talks as nothing more than idle chatter, the boy having not said anymore on the matter from before. He had been surprised when Sasuke had spoken to him at first but after a while it had grown to be normal. 

"You don't seem like much of anything of worth."

Shoma isn't sure if he should feel insulted or not by her words. However, he hasn't had an argument in a while, so hopes for even just a little one. "Why do you think that? I must be some sort of worth if Sasuke talks to me," he says with an innocent smile. 

"He has odd tastes sometimes," she says, voice light.

The boy simply nods. "I suppose I'm just an odd taste he thinks is interesting," he says with a shrug. "Is that what we stopped here for?" he then asks, seeing that the other is not taking the bait. "I haven't heard of a guard stopping to talk with their prisoner before," he adds.

"You could use some lessons in subtlety." She shrugs, and prods him to start walking again.

Shoma doesn't speak, simply walking again as he's prodded. He spares a glance at the guard, and he wonders why they're so young. Wouldn't adults be more efficient in keeping prisoners in line? He doesn't think over this for too long though as he keeps his head down. "What makes you interesting?" he then asks, breaking the silence around them. There is no malice in his voice, simply curiousity. "I know that I'm not worth much, considering I'm a prisoner," he says. "But what are you worth?" he asks.

"You haven't heard? I'm a sensor."

His eyes widen slightly as he hears that the guard is a sensor. "I suppose that is quite a lot of worth," he says. He knows that sensors are renowned for their capabilites, some having stronger abilities than others. "I suppose I should watch my back then," he says, knowing that messing with the other wouldn't end well.

"Perhaps."

He doesn't speak anymore during his return to his cell. 

She'll leave him to his thoughts, after locking him in.

He is unsure of how much time passes, but the routine continues on as normal. He has been forced to practise his powers more often now, the experimentations working on making his body more capable. The guards remain the same and there is no other signs of another potential escape, nor a break in.

He walks with a guard as he's brought to the usual place where his experimentation takes place, expecting the usual. However he sees that there's another guard with another prisoner. Shoma instantly recognises the other as Juugo. He simply keeps his head down as the two guards argue about who was there at the right time and who wasn't. 

Juugo seems smaller than he did during the escape. More uncertain. He glances at Shoma a lot.

Shoma simply listens to the guards, both of them unable to come to a decision. He feels Juugo's glances on him, and he finally looks up, managing to make eye contact with him for a few brief moments before the two guards are guiding them towards abandoned cells. Shoma barely listens to them as he's locked up, glancing at Juugo a few times before he focus on looking straight ahead. He's surprised as the two guards turn and leave, wondering if they were new and inexperienced. "Don't get any funny ideas. If you try and bust out it won't end well for either of you," one of the guards say before they go down the hallway to sort out the mix-up.

Juugo seems very uncertain about this, and glances at Shoma a few times, before mumbling, "Sorry if I've hurt you before..."

Shoma keeps his eyes ahead until he hears Juugo's mumble. He leans back against the back of the cage and looks at the other. "It's no worries. You haven't hurt me before," he tells him. He's heard about the others rage outbursts, not really blaming the male for it. 

"How'd you end up here?" he asks after a lull.

Shoma shifts so he can face the other. "I was on a mission not long after I'd graduated," he begins. "I had to go a bit further out than my team-mates to deliver a parcel and since we wanted to finish quick, we split up. I went off into the outskirts of the leaf village, but I found that there wasn't anyone living at the house at I was meant to go to. Turns out that before I got there, the people living there had disappeared," he says. "It was then that I got kidnapped. Apparently Orochimaru got wind of it. I didn't have much time to do anything or try to run away," he shrugs. "That was about a year ago I think, I can't tell time in here," he tells Juugo. "I don't know why me though. Maybe it was just whoever was there was the unlucky one," he sighs.

"He promised me he'd fix my rages if I came to him."

"You really want to get rid of those rages, don't you?" he asks, his voice soft. "I suppose we're all here until he's either fixed us or he's done what he's wanted to us," he sighs.

"Or we die."

He didn't like thinking of that option but reluctantly agreed. "or we die," he repeated. "I just hope it doesn't come to that in the end," he murmurs.

"It's better than some outcomes."

"I suppose so. It would mean no more experiments or being forced to use your powers for things you don't want to do," he agrees. 

He nods.

Shoma falls back into silence, unsure of what else he can say. "Why do you think there was a mix up?" he asks, figuring there's nothing else to do so he might as well continue the small conversation.

"High turnover? And they've been bringing in a bunch of new guards. Less good ones. Don't know why."

He nods. "They're not as experienced," he murmurs. "With the lack of training, they wouldn't be very good at guarding yet," he says to himself.

"They still have backup..."

"Still... they might be in such a state of panic they wouldn't think of backup until later," he says. "What am I saying... it'd never work," he sighs softly, leaning against the back of the cage once more. 

"Especially not with that sensor around."

He nods in agreement. "She'd be onto everyone and ringing the alarm," he sighs. "He really has thought all of this out... the damn bastard," he huffs, hitting the bottom of the cage with his fist.

"Yeah..."

"You don't regret coming here?" he asks. 

"I hurt people less here."

"Has he been able to find a way to get rid of the rages?"

"Kimimarou used to be able to control them for me, but he died."

He's heard of Kimimarou, but hadn't ever met him since he'd come in not long after he'd died. "I'm sorry," he says. "Will you stay here until the rages are taken care of?' he asks.

"Probably. I don't want to hurt people."

"I hope there's a way to help you," he says softly. He hears the guards coming back and returns to being quiet.

He nods, but goes quiet as well.

Shoma's guard unlocks his cage and pulls him out. Not a word is passed as he's taken by the arm and forced to follow the guard back to his cell. He looks back at Juugo. He isn't sure why he does so, but he gives the slightest smile to the other, having barely smiled ever since the first time he'd arrived. 

Juugo doesn't smile back, but he does incline his head seriously.

Shoma finds that that is enough for him, he turns away so that the guards don't catch the gesture. He's taken back to his cell. He watches as the guard simply walks away before he turns and faces the wall, thinking over the new information he has about the guards.

Things go on similarly. It'll quickly become apparent that 'cooperative' prisoners don't just get little rewards - they sometimes get promoted out. (There is, in fact, a very blurry line between prisoner and loyal - at least one prisoner leaves and returns as a guard, some guards become prisoners...)

The high-end guards are also slowly phased out in favor of returning to a level more similar to pre-breakout. Karin's rumored to have been reassigned; some say she's managing an entire hideout herself.

Shoma catches on quickly to the benefits of those who are 'cooperative' with the guards as well as others. He's seen the guards and prisoners swap in and out, as well as switching places sometimes. He calculates who is more vulnerable and who he would be best cooperating with. He slowly becomes more cooperative, gaining the ability to listen to the rumours that go about the hideout. He learns more than he had previously. He doesn't try too hard however, knowing that being too obvious would mean he would be caught out.

He's pushed into combats to test his abilities more than a few times. Some of the people who fail the combats vanish. Some of them are subjected to more and more experiments. Some of them are merely denied food for a while, possibly as part of some esoteric experiment.

After a while, as he works his way up, he's informed he'll be fighting someone a bit more special this time.

Shoma works hard in his combats. Sometimes he loses, but is fortunate enough to only be denied meals. He thinks that this is luckier than disappearing or having more experiments. He improves with each combat, his compulsory experiments soon growing less in need. 

When he learns that he is to fight someone special, he feels fear rush through his system briefly before he simply accepts it. He wonders who it could be that he will be fighting against. 

Whoever he's fighting seems to be very aggressively and creatively cursing at the guards right now.

Shoma listens to his opponent's spew of choice words against the guards. He himself stays silent, not going to create a ruckus. 

That doesn't seem to be one of his opponent's concerns. The guards prod Shoma into the observed room, revealing a white-haired boy a bit older than him, whose form keeps wavering fluidly.

"Let me have a fucking sword at least," he's snarling right now, fists clenching. His guard snorts and shakes her head, then sends a disdainful glance Shoma's way.

"Let's get this over with," the guard says, and Shoma's nudged into the arena while the guards retreat.

His opponent just stands there, hands on his hips and expression furious.

Shoma steps forward as he feels the prod, looking at his opponent for the first time. He watches as his form wavers, at first thinking it's his eyesight, but soon realises that it's not. 

He rubs his wrists and makes sure that he isn't too stiff, knowing that he has to be fluid with his movements. He allows himself to be nudged, looking around the room with quick glances out of the corners of his eyes, surveying what he could work with in the observed room. He sees that there's barely anything, the area open intentionally.

The male looks at the other, not going to start a conversation with someone who looks as though he wants to be done with this, so simply starts, using his swift release to easily dart around the other in a simple blur, looking for openings before he starts to use his experiment given power, beginning to suck chakra out of his opponent, however he never stops moving, knowing not to let his guard down.

His opponent laughs and throws himself at Shoma, form bursting into water - it doesn't make his chakra un-stealable, but it makes it very, very hard.

Shoma is surprised as his opponent turns to water, having suspected he used water ninjutsu, but not that he had the ability to manipulate his form into liquid. He quickly dodges out of the way, having to rethink his tactics. 

His opponent is both fast and aggressive and not in the slightest bit cautious, so taking time to think won't be easy.

He indeed finds it hard to catch a break to think, doing his best to dodge the fast and aggressive attacks. He keeps up his own speed, however in a moment of hesitation, he finds himself off guard and he's hit, the male feeling himself flying backwards and he hits the ground, a low grunt escaping him. He is quick to get up however, not going to go down from one simple punch.

"You're good!" his opponent says while continuing to attack. "I'm Suigetsu. What's your name?"

Shoma doesn't let his concentration slip despite his opponent beginning to talk. "Shoma." he replies. "I think you're a bit better than me," he says. "I'm already preparing myself for what experiments they'll do," he said with a slight laugh. Despite the fact they were fighting against one another, he found that he was slightly happier than he had been ever since he was kidnapped. "Why's my name of interest to you?" he asks.

"Like knowing whose ass I'm kicking if they're any good."

"I suppose I'll take that as a compliment then," he replies back, trying to use his ability again, focussing on his movements.

Suigetsu's recklessness does mean he leaves a lot of openings, even if he's dangerous to close with for long enough to steal a significant portion of his chakra. Still, Shoma can whittle him down a good bit, and Suigetsu clearly grows a mixture of amused and frustrated as Shoma keeps dodging.

"You're faster than that Sasuke asshole," he says after a bit, huffing. 

Shoma has honed his ability to move quickly, his taijutsu having grown more sharp due to his constant battles he'd had with other prisoners. He keeps draining Suigetsu's chakra, pleased with himself when he noticed that his consistent effort was working. His training had also helped him be able to endure longer stealing of chakra. 

"Oh, you've fought him?" he asks, however never stops his attack and movements. "I don't think I want to go up against him," he replies. He then starts absorbing the chakra, focusing some of it in front of him before he lets it all out in a sharp burst, aiming to try and knock the other down so he could have an easier angle to be able to move forward and attack.

Suigetsu starts breathing a bit more heavily.

"Yeah. He's a pain in the ass. Decided to test some fancy lightning technique on me."

Shoma focuses his chakra, deciding to wait a few seconds more. 

"Guess it wasn't the best fight?" he asks. "I'm surprised you didn't fry, what with water and lightning not going well together," he says. Shoma is then quick to dart forward, sensing a gap and he pushes his hand against Suigetsu's chest, activating his seal and began heightening his draining of chakra. He never took too much that would kill anyone however. He only takes enough so that his opponent is rendered in capable of moving out of weakness. 

Suigetsu punches him in the face.

Shoma isn't expecting the punch so it rocks him off balance and he quickly darts away, out of reach of any potential attacks.

Suigetsu laughs, sharply, and pursues.

Shoma does his best to dodge the attacks, having to keep his steps quick as the other continues pursuing him. He quickly pushes himself upwards and flips over the other, landing behind him and he aims a sharp attack at his back, quickly darting backwards in case the other lashes out.

Suigetsu bursts into water again, dropping to the floor and flowing around Shoma's feet.

Shoma's eyes widen as the other bursts into water. He tries to dart out of the water, however knows he is defeated so tries one last ditch tactic. He quickly activates the more advanced part of his seal, using all his energy to absorb a higher amount of chakra, knowing that he has yet to master this technique so he will ultimately lose. however he won't do so without a fight. He quickly concentrates all the chakra beneath him before he activates his move, blasting a hole through the ground. It was a sure fire distraction. However, he'd made sure not to create a large explosion that would result in major damages.

Suigetsu flows to the side and reforms - and he actually looks like he's having trouble keeping together, water dripping from his skin - and he launches himself at Shoma.

Shoma lets out a weak groan as he hits the ground, his energy is sapped up. He shakily gets to his feet, however isn't quick enough as his opponent launches at him, Shoma easily being hit and he hits the ground. He tries to get up again, the sudden and strong use of his seal having also sapped most of his own chakra.

"Hah! Do you give?"

Shoma looks at him, taking in deep breaths. "the only way i'll ever give up is being knocked out," he says. He manages to get to his feet again. "I've been through a lot worse than just being tired," he says.

"I'm happy to oblige, then."

And he'll start going for a knock-out blow.

He waits until the others hand is close enough and quickly grabs it. However he doesn't go for a retaliation blow. He instead uses his seal once more and saps some chakra from the other again, the connection making it easier to do so and he absorbs it into his own body. He then quickly darts away, no longer feeling weak. "You fell into the oldest trap in the book," he said with a grin. "I'm not going to just lose because I used up too much energy," he says.

He laughs, turns into water - 

And surges for Shoma, aiming to wrap around him.

Shoma darts away, trying to avoid Suigetsu from being able to make his move. 

Suigetsu is able to spread out his water a lot more than he indicated earlier, and can fairly easily make it difficult for Shoma to avoid any of it.

He's surprised at the capacity in which Suigetsu can spread his water. He tries to think of any attempt to avoid being trapped. He then thinks of one. He stops trying to dart away, instead moving forward and letting himself end up right in the water. He then uses his swift release, beginning to spin around on the spot, watching as the water created a tornado around him. He figured that if he did this, it would become more difficult for the other to be able to use his attacks. He then quickly pushed all the water away, watching as it went in all directions.

Suigetsu glomps back together with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Okay, you're annoying me..."

Water bursts from the gourd on his side into a whip, slashing at Shoma's face and filling his field of view.

He quickly shields his eyes with his hands, however is blinding as some of it gets in his eyes and he has to clench his eyes shut, momentarily distracted

Suigetsu darts around him, and turns his arm into a whip, moving to knock Shoma out.

Shoma blinks away the water, managing to catch sight of the water whip, quickly holding his arm out. He tries to think of something he can do but can't think of anything, simply trying his best to avoid any major damage to himself.

Suigetsu presses his attack.

Shoma ends up on the ground again from the attack. "It's harder than i thought to fight water, I feel like i'm just splashing about," he remarks.

"You're doing pretty well for a sand brat."

And he tries - again - to knock Shoma out.

"I like to think I've learnt at least one thing from being here," he says. 

He dodges again. "Why don't we just call it a tie?" he calls out in an amused tone.

"Not sure they'll allow it, but hey, let's try."

Shoma comes to a stop but keeps his stance, on guard in case this was a trick. "You'd seriously call a tie?" he asks, keeping his eyes scanning for any tricks he might be doing.

"Sure, why not."

Shoma looks as the other suspiciously, however backs up and relaxes his stance.

He laughs and sits, taking his gourd out to drink a few sips of water.

"Hey! You two! Keep fighting!" one of the guards shouts.

Suigetsu's response is a string of curses directed her way.

Shoma is still on edge but he sits down as well, not moving when one of the guards yells at them to continue fighting, merely beginning to restore his own chakra levels, making sure he didn't have any serious injuries. 

He gives an amused smile at the string of curses, knowing they'll be in trouble after this, but found he didn't care. "Your ability's impressive," he tells the other. "I've never seen anyone with that kind of power before," he says, clearly impressed.

"Heh. I used to be a Seven Swordsmen candidate... You're pretty good, too."

"You seriously are at the top if you were going to join that group," he tells him, having heard of the group. "I wasn't this strong before. If we'd fought closer to the time I came here, you would've beaten me in one blow," he says. "I've got a lot of improving to do," he admits. "Thanks though," he adds. 

He looks at the guards. "How long do you think they'll just stand around for?" he asks.

"Dunno, haven't tried this yet," Suigetsu says.

After a minute, several of the guards will emerge, clearly angry and on the defensive.

He waits patiently, the room eerily quiet when the two aren't talking. He watches as several guards emerge, not liking the expressions on their faces as well as their body language.

"I don't like the looks on their faces," he says. "I feel like we'll be punished for doing this," he tells Suigetsu before shrugging. "It was nice to meet someone strong though. Most of the other face-offs I've had to do were against weaker people," he says.

"Eh, they can do their worse. Good to meet you too, though."

The guards demand that they both stand and separate. Suigetsu seems content to ignore them for now.

"Not much they can really threaten us with anyway."

He stays where he is as well, also ignoring the guards. He barely fears them anymore.

"Can't escalate too far without damaging us, either," Suigetsu says, laughing as the guard prods him.

"Oh, we can threaten you alright," the female guard says. "You've both already got double time listed. How does testing how you do without medical care afterwards sound?"

Shoma lets out an amused snort. "Pretty much a stalemate there," he says.

He looks up at the guard that speaks, simply raising an eyebrow before he shrugs, looking away again. "I think I can handle a little pain. I haven't grown soft ever since medical care started," he says.

"Suit yourself."

And seals along his shoulder flare to blinding life.

Shoma doesn't flinch. He knows he can fight back if he wants to but he knows he cannot show too much defiance otherwise the consequences could be severely worse.

He's dragged to his feet.

Shoma glares at the guards as he's dragged to his feet, instinctively trying to pull away. He manages to do so, rubbing his arm which had been grabbed tightly. He's tempted to give the guards a run for their money, the punishment almost seeming worth it now. 

That definitely seems what Suigetsu's inclined to do, going by his snarling.

Shoma hears the snarling. He looks at the guards, figuring that whatever punishment came, it would be worth knocking a few guards down. 

He turns his head slightly so he looks at Suigetsu. He gives the slightest of nods, indicating what he's about to do. He then kicks the nearest guard, raising his hand and created a blast that could easily unbalance the guards. 

"I think it's about time I stop letting you guards have such inflated heads," he says.

Suigetsu laughs and tackles one.

Shoma's seals are going to flare to where all his muscles scream and his bones jar in his skin and it's like being set on fire or having acid poured in his veins. (Suigetsu seems almost immune to whatever seal.)

Shoma had forgotten about the seals on his body. He can already feel the beginning effects. He knows he has limited time until his body is immoble. He lunges forward, aiming a punch at a guard, quickly beginning to absorb as much chakra as he could while dodging attacks.

He manages to knock one of the guards out, quickly dealing small yet sharp blasts of chakra in another guards face, pleased when it has the intended affect and renders the guard sightless.

Suigetsu takes another one down, but they're both subdued without any fatalities' on the guards' parts. Still, some of them will have trouble getting back up anytime soon, and Orochimaru isn't known for patience with the injured.

Shoma easily takes out another guard, simply choosing to knock him out again. The other guard will regain their sight after a while, Shoma is careful not to cause any severe injuries. 

He feels the seals beginning to become more painful, his movements slowing down as he tries to keep his attacks sharp and on point.

The female guard's faster than she'd been letting on - apparently they haven't fully relaxed standards here yet - and flows around his attacks, striking at him from behind.

Shoma grits his teeth as the guard avoids his attacks, letting out a choked gasp as he was struck from behind, stumbling forward but he quickly spun on his foot to face her, The seals on his skin were glowing brighter now and he had to bite back a cry of pain. He wasn't going to let the marks weaken him so quickly.

She's quickly out of his reach, ducking down to touch the floor - 

And lightning lances up around his feet.

He turns as quickly as he can, however finds himself too slow as the lightning appears. He tries to use a jutsu, however the marks reach their limit and there is a searing burn within his body, forcing him to crumple to the ground, his mouth open in a silent cry of agony.

It'll stop after a very, very long minute.

It's the most agonising minute he's felt, still not used to the searing agony that courses through his body. He tries to stand up but is unable to, merely ending up lying on the floor.

Once it is over, Shoma feels exahusted, his eyelids drooping even as he weakly tries to move, not wanting to give up.

Both his arms are grabbed as he's hauled to his feet.

Shoma tries to move out of the grasps of the hands, but his head falls forward and he can barely stand.

He's dragged forwards, out of the arena.

Shoma simply lets himself be dragged, unable to keep his eyes open and he ends up unconscious.

He'll wake up restrained, in a different cell than his usual.

Shoma is alert as soon as his eyes open. He is unused to the unfamiliarity of the cell and immediately begins to struggle.

That won't get him very far, unfortunately.

He's left there for about an hour, before the newest round of experiments begins.

He realises he's going nowhere fast so simply lies there, wondering what difference there will be in his experiment.

He soon finds out.

He'll come out of it stronger, faster, with a better capacity for his own and others' chakra, at least.

He endures the experiment, vaguely remembering parts of it, however he'd soon passed out from pain as he had not been given anaesthetic. That was part of his punishment for disobeying the guards commands.

He always prefers not to think about the experiments once they have happened.

They'll end eventually, and he'll be moved back to the general population, though in a different, more isolated area than before.

The hide out is in panic. The prisoners watch as the guards run in the havoc. They all know that orochimaru is dead. There is an air of uncertainty and fear, everyone not knowing what this will mean for themselves.

Shoma has been kept more isolated ever since the fight with Suigetsu. However even he knows what has happened, and he’s pleased. Although he is worried about what will happen to the rest of the prisoners.

Several of the guards start to abandon their posts, and a few prisoners break out, breaking even more out - 

And then there's a resounding boom. A crash. A sudden silence.

Two minutes later, a familiar voice comes over the intercom. "There has been a change in management. You will be released from your cells shortly." As soon as he figures out the controls. "Anyone who attacks anyone else will be dealt with."

Shoma stays in his cell, unable to break out due to the seals that had been carved to keep him unable to use his abilities. 

He hears the boom and the silence that falls. He stands up, going to the door of the cell and looks out, wondering what's happened.

He recognises the voice, eyes widening at hearing that they would be freed. He stays in his cell, wondering if this is truly happening. The silence continues, the prisoners now quiet, all of them wanting to know what was going on.

The cell doors all open, and instructions crackle over the intercom to gather at a certain point if they feel they're able to leave their cells - if they're injured, or if they think they're a danger to others, stay where they are, he's sending medics around.

He watches as the door opens, he slowly steps out of the cell, walking to the designated spot that they had all been told to gather. He sees the prisoners looking at one another, some talking. All of them are unsure of what will happen next. 

Sasuke heads to a place there where he's clearly visible - and audible with the help of a small sound-manipulation technique - from most of the room. "I killed Orochimaru," he begins, "And am setting everyone free. You have a choice. You can stay with Sound, work for me - openly, as part of my village - or you can leave, and go elsewhere. I plan to continue changing Sound, so things will work very differently."

All of the prisoners listen to Sasuke as he speaks, some of them looking at one another, hardly able to believe the words. 

Freedom? It had been so long since they had been free. 

Shoma watches as people make their decisions, small groups appearing, as people chose what they would do. He bit his lip. He could go home at that moment. It hadn't seemed like a possibility before. He realises though that he wants to help with this change. It has been far too long since he was home and he had no clue how people would take to him once they learnt he had been an experiment. He sees that some have chosen to stay and work. He makes his choice and moves to join them, seeing some prisoners clustering around the door.

Sasuke gives the ones leaving a few further instructions, and some offers of help, then comes up towards the group staying. He inclines his head towards Shoma, and says to them: "I will expect people to set aside any grudges they have. I'm clearing house of Orochimaru's loyalists; but many of those who worked for him aren't in that category, and many of those are staying."

The prisoners listen obediently, none of them speak up, out of fear more so than anything. However, they all nod their heads, knowing that any grudges they continue to hold onto would result in an unhappy ending for them. 

Shoma is not as afraid as the other prisoners, simply nodding as well, although he doesn't have the timid stance that others do. He's just glad that he no longer has to be an experiment anymore. "What sort of things do you want us to do?" he speaks up, the other free prisoners looking at him with surprise. Shoma simply ignores it, genuinely interested in what was to be done.

"Long term? That'll depend on individual skills and inclinations. For now? I need to finish sorting out this base - a lot of people didn't leave their cells. People they might trust would help with that. I also need to know if there's anything the surrendered guards are hiding from me."

Shoma nods at hearing what he wants them to do both long term and short term. He knows that the prisoners will only trust other prisoners. "Others can help get prisoners out of their cells. They trust those on the same playing field as them than those higher up," he says. 

The guards don't say anything, simply shaking their heads to indicate they weren't hiding anything. Shoma eyes them, not sure he entirely trusts them but doesn't say anything as he is not the one leading this, nor does he have any authority.

"We should get moving on that now, there's some people injured."

Some of the prisoners quickly move to find those that have remained in their cells, the ex-guards not moving, knowing that the prisoners would not trust them to get them out of the cells. 

Shoma is more concerned about the guards, keeping an eye on them. He notices one of the guards shift, his eyes noticing a sharp gleam which he easily recognises as a knife. He's quick to move as the guard aims to attack one of the weaker prisoners. Shoma easily takes the guard down, flicking the knife out of their hand and grabbed it, pointing it at the guards neck as he put a foot on their back.

"Good work," Sasuke says, having moved to crouch behind the guard right as Shoma was taking him down. "I'll have this one dealt with." To the guard, "I said no grudges. The offer to leave was extended to you all, too."

Shoma nods, looking down at the guard who's gritting his teeth, a look of anger on his face at having been taken down so easily. "It wouldn't be wise to trust everyone so easily. There's plenty of those still loyal to Orochimaru here," he says. "Many will want to stay and stop this coup that you've created," he says.

Shoma keeps the knife at the guards neck in case he tries to make a wrong move. 

"I was expecting they'd have a modicum of common sense."

"Letting these prisoners go is a mistake. They have been made into weapons for us," the guard says. "That's all our work gone down the drain," he says.

"I'm impressed by your stupidity," he says. "You have a bounty in Iwa, don't you?"

The guard glares at Sasuke, knowing what he's trying to do. "You can't force me into submission with that weak threat," he says. 

"No. You have a choice. I execute you and collect the bounty on your dead body, or I hand you over to their justice."

"I'd rather die than let them have the satisfaction of putting me in prison to rot," the guard says. 

(There is a distant screaming inside his head. Sasuke had successfully avoided killing anyone until he took down Orochimaru. Sasuke has not killed anyone since killing Orochimaru.)

"Very well," is all he says. The sharpest message to send might be breaking the guard's neck, but... He doesn't want to be another dictator. He gestures to one of his own loyalists. "Have him secured. He will be facing a tribunal with the other traitors."

There haven't been other open traitors yet. Most people are trying to ride out and see which way the wind blows. Many have left. Sasuke supposes they can make an example of this particular idiot.

The loyalist nods and moves to take the guard, Shoma steps back so they can take the guard. A few other prisoners move to help in case the guard tries to break free. 

Shoma steps back with the other prisoners who were unsure of what was going to happen. He pockets the knife the guard had in case any others show their true colours and try anything.

Sasuke starts directing people more in depth, keeping a better eye on anyone who looks like they're feeling like being stupid.

Every keeps their eyes down, behaving so that they don't end up being the next ones. They do as they're ordered, no-one argues.

Then he'll have the prisoners still in their cells sorted soon enough - 

Juugo had been cowering in the corner of his cell, but when there's activity, it's like a switch flips and he comes barreling out, already transformed - 

To be met by Sasuke, who stops him with a single glance - and reverses the transformation.

Shoma works with the other prisoners, moving to check on any prisoners that were still hiding in their cells. He manages to gather everyone out of the cells and into the open area of the hideout. He checks to see if there are anymore prisoners, and sees Juugo barelling out of the cell. He's about to turn back and warn the others but sees Sasuke has easily stopped him. 

Sasuke talks to Juugo quietly for a bit - from what little Shoma can overhear, Juugo's mentioned Kimimarou, and a cage...

Sasuke seems to convince Juugo not to lock himself away again, because the teen follows the other.

Once things have settled - Sasuke hangs back now that he has Juugo shadowing him, focusing more on keeping an eye on everyone - Sasuke approaches Shoma slightly apart from the others.

Shoma returns back to the group, seeing that everyone has settled down and everything seems in order. He stays back from the group, not keen on socialising with the others. He likes to be more quieter in large crowds.

He notices Sasuke as he approaches, the males' stance relaxing a bit however still on guard. He stays silent, waiting for the other to speak with him. 

"You've done well here," Sasuke says as an opening.

Shoma nods and looks at the group. "After you spend so long around them, you learn how they act," he says. "It also helps that we're all in the same boat," he tells him. "I think they're all just relieved that the experiments are over for good," he adds.

He nods. And, bluntly: "I'm forming a team. Of advisors - and technically guards."

Shoma raises an eyebrow, folding his arms and nods. "Smart idea," he says. "You need my help with something about it?" he asks.

"You're familiar with this hideout. Many people here listen to you. You're strong enough. I would like you on the team, or associated with it."

Shoma thinks about it, before he nods. "I'd like to help out," he says. "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it," he tells him.

"Right. For now I need to finish securing this base - quickly. I can put you in charge, with some of my known loyals to help keep order, while I move on to others."

He nods at hearing what needs to be done. He knows that the longer the base is un-secure, the more likely it is for them to be attacked. 

Then he can introduce Shoma to his loyalists, and - "If there's anyone here you'd trust to assist you, I can have their records pulled."

Shoma thinks it over, not knowing anyone well enough that he would risk allowing to know information. "I don't know them well enough to trust them with a big task," he starts. "Although, Juugo is probably the one that would impossible to take down in case there is a breach here," he says.

"I'm taking him with me. He's asked to join my guards, and I can control his rages."

He nods, not knowing anyone else who could be of use. He would have suggested Suigetsu, but Shoma hasn't seen him ever since their fight. 

"I'll do what I can," he says.

"I can send you more backup once things calm."

Time passes, Shoma doing as he was told and keeps the base in order, making sure no-one is showing any signs of retaliation or defecting. He makes bonds with other ex-prisoners, gaining their trust. He knows that having them on his side would make them easier to manage. However, he also enjoys these bonds. 

There had been a few skirmishes and fights, however they had been easy to subdue. Shoma works with the other loyalists during this time, the base more secure and less prone to attacks than it had been originally.

Sasuke, meanwhile, finishes securing the less critical hideouts. The one Karin's been promoted to is the easiest; she's the sole shinobi in charge, and she laughs as she ceremonially hands keys that don't actually do anything over to him. The prisoners there are already aware of the coup - Karin'd been successfully faking reports and avoiding experiments - so transition is easy.

The others are more problematic. Some of them are farther, grown wild far from Orochimaru's influence. Many refuse to bow to him. Some actually give him a moderate challenge in doing that.

Still, it's less than a month before he's almost entirely sure he's secured his rule and cleaned house of the dumber traitors.

His advisory council and guards have a lot of overlap, and both are as diverse in origins, potential secondary loyalties, and opinions as he could arrange. He closes most of the foreign bases - no point in tweaking the noses of people he or the new daimyo Kyoku will be trying to ally with. He assigns shinobi to Kyoku's whim, who she promptly uses to start clearing out bandits and pirates and protecting traders.

And then, about a month after freeing Shoma's base (there's been plenty of communication in that time of course), he returns in person.

Shoma remains vigilant in keeping the base in order, however does not do this with harsh words or threats of punishment, simply having to speak to others to calm them down. There had been a few who had tried to attack the base, but they were easily held back by those who had stayed behind to help protect the base.

The people have grown stronger and some have even worked on improving their powers, having become useful allies. Shoma is checking over the supplies that they have when Sasuke returns. Now that things were quieter, some of the focus had gone onto providing food for everyone at the base which proved difficult since they were miles away from the closest village and some might be recognised due to their disappearances. They had managed to create a system where a different person went on the journey to gain food, as well as remain hidden.

Shoma makes a list of what they will need to stock up on, having left the other loyalists to keep an eye on the others in the base.

"You've been doing well," he notes when the meeting arrives.

Shoma nods, grateful for the calm and quietness. "We've been doing our best," he says. "Everyone's been well-behaved and there's been no uprising. They're all happy, although that's likely because they're not being experimented on," he tells him. 

"That's good. I'll want to look into moving people to the Land of Rice Fields - I'm trying to close the foreign bases, to simplify supply and diplomacy."

"They'll go easily, no-one will complain about leaving here," he says. "When would they be moved?" he asks. "Some might wish to return home," he adds, knowing that many stayed behind to help but some were longing to return to their families.

"Over the next two months; here's stable enough a sudden mass emigration isn't called for, and it'll take time to prepare wherever they'll be stationed. People who want to go home can; I'm presuming no one's been handed state secrets."

He nods, understanding the logic. "No-one's been told anything secretive. Only those that were chosen to be part of the group and proved themselves trustworthy enough within the group know" he says. "When should I let them know of the move?" he asks. 

"Tomorrow. I don't want rumors spreading if only some leave in secret, so it'll have to be known widely."

"Tomorrow then," he says. "Anything else we should be notified of?" he asks.

"There's a new daimyo in Rice Fields. Ueda Kyoku. She's ambitious, and has plans for a restoration of the country."

"Sounds like a better daimyo than the last one," he says. "Should we be keeping an eye on her?" he asks. 

"There's no good candidates to take over for her, and she seems pretty passionate about improving things, so an eye's worth keeping but I wouldn't undermine her. We'll want to prevent any attempts to remove her, too, I don't want to deal with the headache if we wind up without a royal line." Especially because people might try to make him take the country over, which'd make Rice Field's few samurai angry and which'd alarm the neighboring daimyo... And which'd be a pain in the ass even without international politics.

"We'll send a few people out to keep an eye on the situation then, and make sure no-one tries to remove her. If anyone starts anything, we can deal with it effectively and under the radar," he says. He knows that lacking a royal line would create a difficult and politically suicidal situation. 

"That was the plan, yes. Recruiting for that will be delicate; I'll want to be sure of everyone involved's allegiance."

"I'll wait to choose those who will go then. If you want to question those who are chosen then that can happen," he says.

"We'll be taking multiple precautions. Are you interested, in a post as an advisor?"

He was surprised at the offer, however didn't show it. "If i'm needed, I'd be more than happy to take the post," he says. 

"It'd be a useful position for you. Especially once this base has been fully integrated into the nation."

"I'd like to take the position then," he says. "Anything specific you'd need me to do?" he asks.

"Administration. Organization. Advice."

He nods. "I can do that," he says. 

"Good. I'll leave you in charge here until transition's done."

"I'll do my best, everything will run smoothly."

He nods. "Anything you need from me?"

 He shakes his head, "we have everything we need here," he says, ready to be useful.

As the base is reformed, Shoma is able to find other prisoners to assist him in acting out Sasuke's orders. He made sure that none of the prisoners tried to start anything serious, always ready to have a restless individual spoken with, however he never uses violence against them, knowing that they had all had enough of that to last a lifetime. The base has managed to survive quite well under the circumstances they had been placed under.

A few of them had also been sent to become watching eyes on the new daiymo, and check on how everything was being handled, in case there was to be anything that would affect the base and push it off of the balance. Shoma made sure to only pick those that he truly felt were trustworthy enough and would stay under the radar of the village effectively.

He keeps in contact with Sasuke to let him know how the base is holding up, knowing that other bases do the same. Shoma always checks that the other bases are also staying strong, as losing one might be dangerous.

And soon enough the transition has been completed. Things are getting more and more streamlined, a professionalism creeping into the forces. Sasuke's insisting on retraining several large swathes.

Once done, he summons Shoma.

Shoma is curious at the summoning, wondering if there had been a breach or a threat was looming over the bases. He makes sure that the base is in order before he leaves, knowing that leaving everyone alone with one another could result in fights. Shoma leaves a trusted loyalist in charge before he ventures to where he was told to go and lets his mind mull over thoughts of what he was being summoned for.

"I mentioned an advisory post, last time we talked," he says without much in the way of preamble, once Shoma's settled in his office.

Shoma nods as he remembers the last conversation that they had had. "I recall that," he says. "I gather that this was the reason for the summoning?" he asks.

He nods. "Is it something you're still interested in?"

Shoma only hesitates to think briefly before he nods. "I am still interested," he says. 

"Good. What do you have the best understanding of?"

He thinks over what he's learnt in the past months of managing the base. "That would be the organisation of groups and managing people," he says. "I'm able to keep them from arguing or starting fights," he adds. "I also understand negotiations with others in order to gain the best outcome for both sides," he tells the other.

"I might put you in charge of arbitration for a division, then, for a bit."

He nods at the decision, "I'll do my best," he says.

"We'll see." And he goes over the duties Shoma can expect to have, and the challenges that are most likely to come up.

Shoma listens to the duties that are expected as well as the challenges that come with the role.

And Sasuke dismisses him to his duties.

Which are fairly straightforwardly fulfilled. The reconstruction of Sound proceeds apace. Sasuke consults him in a few cases of handling conflicts between ex-prisoners and ex-guards, or in diplomatic outreach to Sand. (Sasuke would like to spread the information Orochimaru had on the Akatsuki far and wide, and is really bad at diplomacy in a way that hinders people believing he legitimately isn't playing games.)

Shoma took his role seriously, making sure everything ran smoothly and to the highest quality it could. He could sense that diplomatic outreach would be difficult as other villages would unlikely take them seriously in their information. Dealing with conflicts was easy enough, although Shoma sensed that the guards had yet to grasp the idea that they were no longer in power over anyone. He focusses mainly on the outreach, knowing it would be beneficial to have an alliance, no matter how hard he has to try to get the leader to trust the Sound.

Between everyone working on this, they're able to get Sound in good working order, with the start of diplomatic relationships.

Of course, they'll need every last scrap of stability for what comes next.