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“someone is being difficult today.” the masked man said, a small creaky laugh grating through the interior walls of the room. “more or so than usual, it seems.” he trailed a gloved hand through the purple locks of kunikuzushi‘s hair, twirling them around his fingers silently. or what had remained of his hair. now it was a bowlcut just right above the crane of his neck.
it had been quite a while since the two had encountered one another again but the doctor did have a distinct memory of his visibly long strands of hair and how it almost reached his hips. almost exactly how the raiden shogun had intended of him. her exact copy.
“what a shame. your long hair was beautiful.” a sigh left the man’s lips and for a fleeting moment, he almost sounded disappointed. he continued to run his gloved fingers through the boy’s hair, slowly but careful, acting as if he were dealing with a wilting rose.
kunikuzushi remained silent, lowering his gaze to the small table before them. ah. what a predicament, he thought. since he was brought to snezhnaya, he would have never imagined himself in the presence of dottore again. not like this. if he wanted to, he would have never wanted to meet eyes with this sick and twisted man for the rest of his life. but the more he thought about it, it wasn’t like he was being held captive to stay within the walls of the palace. he was free to leave whenever he pleased. yet, kunikuzushi stayed against his own better judgement. he didn’t have a place to go to. nobody who wanted him, anyway. he doubted any region would accept a being like himself. especially after the mess he had left back in inazuma.
even his own mother didn’t want him. after he was discarded, he made a vow to himself. he decided that he would never let anybody see the worst in him. that he would never let anybody call him weak, pathetic.
a mistake.
in all honestly, he wasn’t even sure he could believe that himself.
he never once had an answer. he wanted to be strong. powerful. or at least, be seen as such. but here, the t’saritsa acknowledged him for his true potential.
and he couldn’t have wanted it any other way. if their god was able to see just how strong he could really be, then perhaps someday he, too, would be able to see it.
as for now, though, he had other matters to handle.
except this certain matter wasn’t one that he took as kindly to.
“and you’re a lot more irritating than usual.” he swatted at dottore’s hand, scowling quietly. just the mere touch of him made him nauseous in every way imaginable. “don’t touch me.”
“what the hell do you even want with me this time?”
“i think you know the answer to that.”
“would i be asking if i did?”
kunikuzushi couldn’t make do of his face, but he was almost sure that the doctor had just finished rolling his eyes under his mask.
“quite the mouth today, too, huh? i’ll be adding that to the list of corrections.”
kunikuzushi furrowed his eyebrows, turning away from the doctor. he made sure to display his displeasure before continuing, “you’re so sick.”
“hm. i’m a lot of things, doll.” dottore smiled against his temple before letting his hand fall back down to his side, promptly stepping away to take care of the scattered files on his workspace. kunikuzushi tensed at the name, clenching his fist, yet watching with careful eyes as dottore picked up a file with the words project scaramouche written in large bold letters.
“scaramouche? what’s that?” kunikuzushi asked, tilting his head just enough to get a better view of the doctor.
no answer.
”is this what you’ve been working on all of this time? scaramouche?— god, i can’t even pronounce it right.”
nothing.
”not talking, huh? you know, for your sake, i do hope your little lab rats are hidden somewhere in the room and that you’re not planning to run whatever the hell that is on me. or could this be why i was called in to begin with?”
dottore couldn’t stop himself from smiling, the visible corner of his mouth curving into a twisted grin.
“how many times am i going to have to tell you that i am not your lab rat, dottore. i made that very clear last time.”
“oh, my dear.” he began, eyes glued down to the documents in his hand. “that’s not your decision to make.” his voice was low and raspy, sending a large wave of shivers down kunikuzushi’s spine. a wave that he would most rather forget. he quickly wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned on his heel, headed for the door. “i’m leaving. this was a waste of my time.”
to hell with this and to hell with him, he thought. he never once signed up to become this man’s personal rat, let alone allow him to make demands as if he owned him.
he was his own person.
he didn’t belong to this sick fuck.
”i can make decisions just fine on my own, bastard.”
kunikuzushi stopped at the exit, quickly but carefully wrapping a hand around the cold handle of the door, pulling it just hard enough to leave the cold premises of the laboratory. yet..
the door didn’t budge.
kunikuzushi raised an eyebrow and pulled again, trying both handles this time. when he realized that wasn’t working, he tried pushing the door, grunting quietly. and when that didn’t work, he kicked the door, his hand never once letting go of the handle.
“what is happening?”
again.
“why isn’t it-“
and again.
“dottore, what is the meaning of this?” he turned to the doctor who seemed utterly calm and immersed in his work. “did you lock the fucking door? let me out.”
dottore took a few steps closer to the struggling boy, suddenly trailing a gloved finger down his skin, humming as he gently caressed the symbol just below his neck. kunikuzushi flinched, while holding his breath, startled out of his own thoughts. “you know i can’t do that.”
kunikuzushi trembled in place, starting to grow rather fearful of what dottore was planning to do to him. it was no surprise that the man had a few loose screws in his head but, if this really was a new experiment for him to try out then, he wanted absolutely no part in it.
he’d rather be dead than go through any of that ever again.
the unsealing of his powers was already painful enough as a memory alone. it took kunikuzushi weeks and weeks to rid himself of the constant nightmares of that night, terrified that someday he would wake back up tied down to that table again.
the last vivid memory he could remember was being held down by his wrists, ridiculed for being weak.
ridiculed for things the boy already hated about himself.
“what would the shogun say if she saw you like this? pathetic.”
kunikuzushi struggled against the arms of the fatui members holding him down, letting out a cry of frustration. “LET ME GO. I SWEAR I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL.”
dottore scowled at the bad mouth, quickly making work of him by injecting him with a sedative that would render him of his movements, finally silencing the boy from the immature remarks, as he would call them. “tie him down. we wouldn’t want our sweet dove to break loose and fulfill his little wish, hm?” he turned to face the lower ranks with a sinister smile.
“yes, sir.”
”when i get out of here..” kunikuzushi spoke, hardly able to form a proper sentence now. “i’ll.. kill you.”
dottore pushed past the men who had just finished strapping him to the table, leaning down just enough to catch his gaze. “i’ll be waiting.” he whispered, silently watching as the boy had finally succumbed to the darkness before proceeding with his reconstruction.
the beginning of a new him.
“i wish i could lie and say this were a painless procedure. but unfortunately, it’ll only get worse from here.”
kunikuzushi snapped himself out of the flashbacks this time, swallowing a lump in his throat once he realized just how violently his hand was shaking above the door handle. “let me go.” he mumbled, his voice nearing to a whisper. “now.”
dottore placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders and gently led him away from the door, shushing him. “it’s gonna be alright, doll. you know i’d never let anything happen to you.” the man bent a hand down to reach for the small table behind them, picking up a long needle with a purple substance in its compartment.
“nothing fatal, of course.”
“fatal..?”
“the t’saritsa would prefer if you were alive and in one piece. her words. not mine.”
that’s what did it. those final words had been just enough to push him too far. “get the fuck off of me-“ kunikuzushi pushed past the man and jolted out of his light grip, charging at the door while screaming violently. he kicked, punched and rammed himself against the door until his knuckles became red and tattered, his frame shaking steadily as he prepared himself for another round.
he wouldn’t go back.
he wouldn’t let himself get used again. how could he trust him? he knew he couldn’t. he was like everybody else. he knew that deep down, dottore would discard of him just like everybody else had. he was no different. he only wanted to hurt him.
dottore stood aside, watching with a sick grin on his face as the boy continued to take his frustrations out on the solid door.
like how a brat does when they can’t get what they want.
he tapped a gloved finger against the side of the needle until a few droplets fell to the tip, ready to be injected.
“doll, i do suggest that you calm down. let’s make this easier on us both. believe it or not, these aren’t my orders. i’m merely following the t’saritsa’s wish.”
kunikuzushi ignored him, hardly allowing the man to finish speaking before proceeding to slam himself into the door repeatedly, he could almost hear the hinges coming loose. he was so close. he couldn’t bear to give up now.
“i’m not going-“ bang. “to let you-“ bang. “hurt me.” bang. “again.”
“what is stopping you from understanding, i’m not trying to hurt you. my only desire is to make you s-“
“SHUT THE FUCK UP.” kunikuzushi had just had enough before he cried out, lifting his leg into the air to shove the doctor away with a swift kick to the chest, sending him stumbling back.
“just. shut up.”
the temperature dropped. both men standing on opposite sides from one another, and when the silence fell between them, kunikuzushi immediately knew he had done the wrong thing.
now he was fucked.
just hearing the man begin to giggle sent an indescribable feeling all throughout kunikuzushi’s body. and he was sure it wasn’t the good kind. if anything, quite the opposite.
”dottore, wait.. listen.. i-“
kunikuzushi could practically feel the doctor’s eyes scorching through him, tensing up almost entirely.
”please, do save it. don’t be so tense, doll. i’m not upset.” he began, inching himself closer like a predator does with its prey. “but you sure do love trying to get me there.”
a hand suddenly grabs his chin, forcing him away from the door to face him. kunikuzushi couldn’t stop himself from letting out a small gasp, the force in the man’s hand definitely leaving marks on his delicate skin.
“don’t ever raise your voice at me again.”
kunikuzushi clapsed a hand over the man’s wrist, blood quickly rushing to his cheeks.
“kunikuzushi.” this time, dottore wasn’t playing. his voice gruff and colder than ice. his loose grip on the boy’s chin quickly tightened when he felt him trying to look away, manhandling him to look directly into his bright red eyes. “look at me when i’m talking to you.”
kunikuzushi’s first instinct was to struggle, he so desperately wanted to kick that horrid expression right off of his rigid face. but with the combination of dottore’s hand gripping his chin, and with a needle at the ready in the other, he didn’t want to push his luck and take any more chances.
he had already pushed a very dangerous button.
“apologize.”
kunikuzushi retracted into himself as best as he could, embarrassed.
he was ashamed to admit that he was almost fearful for his own life right about now.
dottore let his tongue hit the back of his mouth before letting his hand glide down to meet his neck, stopping just before he could fully squeeze his airways. “i said to apologize. trust me when i say i won’t be repeating myself again.”
the tone was enough for kunikuzushi to push his ego aside and oblige to the man’s wishes. “i’m sorry.” he mumbled, breaking eye contact.
“much better.” dottore stared at him for a still minute, using his free hand to carefully brush the boy’s bangs out of his face to get a better look at him. “hm, you’re beautiful. did you know that? more exquisite than any specimen i’ve ever seen before.” he traced his thumb down the paleness of his cheek, stopping at just the edge of his bottom lip. “don’t make me damage you more than i have to.”
kunikuzushi bit down on said lip, the strange burning sensation building in the back of his throat rendering him from talking back. he felt like crying. just how quickly did his anger turn into fear in an instant?
he had never feared anyone before. not the raiden shogun, or the t’saritsa.
why was that so different with him?
dottore quickly took notice of this and pulled his hand away, dragging the boy to his examination table. whatever gentle nature he had before was long gone now, and he definitely wasn’t going to let himself get swayed by tears.
not by those of a brat.
“sit down.”
and for some reason, kunikuzushi did just that. one of the first order’s he had ever obeyed.
“ah! see how easy that was? why can’t you always be this obedient?”
dottore pushed the boy until his back hit the table, continuing to berate him. “i should fucking kill you for how you spoke to me, brat.”
“if my instructions weren’t to keep you alive, you’d be dead.”
dottore was serious. kunikuzushi could tell that much through the glossiness of his eyes.
“who knows, maybe i’ll just keep you confined to the walls of this room until you’re of no more use to me.” he continued, harsh with his choice of words. “somebody needs to teach you your place, doll, and if nobody else will step up to it, i will.”
“and if that doesn’t work, a lobotomy may just do the trick. you know just how much i’ve always wanted to see what wires connect with what inside that pretty little head of yours.”
“to tear you piece by piece until i can finally unravel what your archon has left behind in your vessel.”
dottore paused for a short second, “hm, or i’ll simply program you until you’re nothing but a lifeless puppet again. is that what you really want? i practically gave you life. i can take it away from you just as fast.”
kunikuzushi swallowed a hard lump in his throat, fighting back tears. he could practically feel his gut writhe at the dose of degradation.
“anything to say? hm?”
“no, i.. i’ll learn my place.”
”good. very good.”
dottore’s lips curved into a grin as he snatched up the boy’s wrist into his hand, taking a deep breath before sinking the unused needle down into his fleshy skin. the doctor remained pleased with just how well the boy was cooperating with him.
like how it should have always been.
“i’ll be good.”
dottore hummed in response, dropping the limp wrist in his hand back down next to kunikuzushi’s side. “and?”
it didn’t take long for the fluid to take affect. and frankly, kunikuzushi could slowly feel himself slipping away, losing consciousness.
“dottore..? why am i-“
“sh. sh. keep going.”
this couldn’t be an anesthetic, could it? there was no way it could have been. after that little stunt he just pulled, he could almost picture dottore running the experiment on him while he was fully awake.
purely out of spite.
but that wasn’t the case. he was putting him to sleep.
and did he even want to know why?
“i.. i won’t fight you.. again.”
dottore smiled at that, pleased with his answer. “good boy.” he sighed happily, “i’m being generous enough to put you to sleep, doll. you don’t deserve this, and i shouldn’t even waste my resources on the likes of you.”
“but, if my previous procedures were the cause of such an outburst, i’ll let you off with a light punishment, yeah?”
“i can’t have you stressing out. that would only make it a lot harder on me.”
kunikuzushi nodded, far too gone to even understand the true meaning behind the tone. he could only watch as dottore pressed his cold lips against the side of his head, whispering small words of praise now.
“my obedient doll.”
“i’ll take good care of you.”
kunikuzushi could feel his eyelids get heavier before they finally fell, succumbing back into the same darkness he had fallen in all those years ago.
only this time, he was at the hands of an insane doctor.