The infantile body was composed of two hundred and seventy bones and she could feel every single one of them shift underneath her skin.

She could feel the twist and crack of her frame as it moved and every time it happened she watched the surface of her skin ripple and wrinkle with a sick fascination.

It frightened her sometimes just as it frightened her now to know that her skeleton - the thing that keep her vital organs safe and kept her alive - could move and dislocate so easily.

Fear bubbled in her chest as her rib cage caved in on itself and she could feel her eyes moisten and her throat grow tight. But just as her lips begin to tremble and a cry touched her tongue, a heavy - intrusive, abusive - feeling drifted into the air and she cut off her sob with a choke.

She had learned very quickly what that sensation meant and committed it to memory.

Killing intent felt like pressure.

It felt like the gravity of the densest planet was crushing her, like tiny daggers rotating in her gut, like frozen water swirling in her heart, and it was terrible.

With a sharp click a paint brush was set against a table as cold jade eyes traced the characters on the paper and a low rumbling voice spoke out, freezing her in place.

"Kimimaro," The man who was the father of this body said - no - commanded and she forced herself to settle down. "Enough."

And like that the foreboding aura dissipated and "Kimimaro" could breathe easier.

Stifling the remaining whimpers as best as she could, Kimimaro looked up at her creator from where she lay on her cushion. Him with his white hair and two red marks on his brow that marked him as one of the clan and she could feel herself internally despair.

His name was Kaguya Sosune and she was Kaguya Kimimaro.

Kimimaro whose entire clan was murdered.

Kimimaro who Orochimaru considered a perfect vessel.

Kimimaro who died.

Kimimaro of sound five.

Her own green eyes met the dispassionate gaze of Sosune's for a mind numbing couple of seconds before the man looked away, paint brush reset between his fingers.

It always frightened her how this body's father could so easily use a technique like that on his young child without a care as to the consequences and she always had to remind herself that this wasn't Boston. That they didn't operate by the constitutional rights or the amendment. That the rules she was used to following no longer applied, that they would be continually broken and the best way for her to survive in this dog eat dog world was to be the bigger dog.

But that was easier said than done.

Again she felt the movement - this time her femur as it twitched and shook - and she knew despite the fact that he wasn't looking her way, that he was watching her.

The noise of the flaps being pushed open was heard as two brown haired clan members walked inside.

"Throw him on her floor." The pale haired man said and without a word they tossed their captive inside without a care to as where he landed.

Watching as Sosune finished up his writing and pushed himself to a stand Kimimaro knew what was coming next and for not the first time she wished she could move enough to cover her ears.

A familiar clacking sound filled the room as out from the top of her father's neck, came his spine.

"The Kaguya has something to say to your clan." Sosune murmured as he bent down next to the bound figure he had brought into his pavilion - it was the tenth one in the past ten minutes. "And I'm sure the sight of your dead carcass delivering my heart felt message will drive our point home."

A familiar blood curdling look filled in the jade of Sosune's eyes, darkening it two shades and like always the pitiful victims had no time to panic before the red sprayed but oh how they screamed afterwards.

And despite the horrific things she knew were happening to that poor unfortunate soul Kimimaro couldn't help but wonder between the two of them...

...

...

...who had it worse?

1/19/18