Captured

Chapter Four: Tests


A/N: Once again, I would like to apologize for how long this update has taken me. Thank-you all for your continued support and patience. Also, (and I should have made this clear earlier) GSD did not happen for the purposes of this story.


Warnings: A little more Kira suffering, but its okay in this chapter. Other than that, this chapter is fairly safe. Enjoy!


Summary of Chapter Three: As promised, I will summarize the events of the last chapter briefly here. Orga and Shani competed to see who could extract the location of the N-Jammer Canceller from Kira. Implementing terrible tortures, they eventually leave Kira after beating, whipping and threatening him. They give him an ominous warning that the worst was still to come. Before departing, Shani branded Kira as one final punishment for not speaking.


------+++++======+++++------

“I begged you…”

Kira was surprised by the sound of Crot behind him. He had his eyes closed and was focusing on repressing his blinding pain. He gazed out to see the door was open, but the lights were still off. Crot was currently undoing the chain in order to let Kira down. He did so slowly, easing Kira onto the ground. The pressure was relieved from Kira’s wrists, and blood began to recirculate. The pain caused his vision to blur, and he nearly blacked out.

He became vaguely aware of a set of arms hoisting him to his feet. He was dragged across the room to a nearby table. His assailant seemed to be struggling with his weight, much unlike his previous two captors. Once on the table, the red-haired boy left. Kira heard the sound of the door closing and being locked in the distance, and the lights coming on caused Kira to become semi-conscious of his surroundings. Suddenly, Orga’s ominous warning flashed through his mind. Panicking, he rolled off the table and onto his feet. His legs, however, would no longer support him. Kira crumpled to the floor.

Groaning, Crot hoisted his prisoner back onto the table. “Please, no more!” begged Kira, knowing he was at his absolute limit; that he could take no more. “No more! Please!” he cried. He thrashed about as best as he could, but to little avail. He was turned onto his stomach, and each limb was restrained with a thick leather strap. Kira squirmed, but the efforts were tiring. Reduced to mumbling feeble begs for mercy, Kira listened while his red-haired assailant rattled things behind him.

Hissing sharply, Kira arched his back as he felt a burning pain on his previously inflicted wounds. The process was methodical. Every open cut was exploited; the stinging was unbearable. The procedure seemed to last hours. However, not once did Crot demand information. In fact, Crot had not said a word since his remark upon entering. Also, this captor did not seem to be in a great hurry like the others. The combination of these factors deeply troubled Kira. He wanted to know what was being done to his back. It hurt, but he did not know what, or why.

One final, especially deep cut was administered to, making Kira wince in pain. There was a thud beside his head; something had been set on the table beside him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. Before him sat a large bottle. The label on it said iodine. Absolutely stunned, Kira gazed at Crot. “What are you doing?” he asked meekly.

“Trying to help you, what does it look like?” replied Crot crossly.

Kira refrained from asking for elaboration. He did not want Crot to change his mind, and, judging by the sharpness of his tone, that probably would not be difficult to do. Also, he didn’t particularly care why as much as the fact he was being helped.

“If I untie you, are you going to do something stupid like stand or run again?” asked the Earth Forces pilot from somewhere behind Kira.

“No…” replied Kira defeated, realizing trying to stand would probably hurt him more than his captor at the moment. The bindings were undone. Crot tried to pull Kira into a sitting position, but was stopped. “No!” said Kira, “Please don’t…”

The red-haired boy looked at Kira suspiciously, then knowingly, and walked away as Kira lowered himself onto his stomach. He also noticed that the pain in his back had subsided marginally. Crot approached Kira holding a syringe. Kira cringed.

“There isn’t much I can do for that burn, but this is a local anesthetic. It will alleviate the pain around the area,” explained Crot, “Do you want it?”

Kira hesitated for a moment, and reluctantly agreed. He did not particularly trust the boy, and did not like the idea of an enemy administering him drugs. However, the promise of relief was far too tempting. He closed his eyes as the needle pierced his skin.

“Here, take this while we wait for that to take effect…” ordered Crot as he put down the needle and handed Kira an ice pack. Kira accepted it and placed it on his battered eye. He watched his captor cross the room and retrieve the stool through his other eye. Placing it by Kira’s table, Crot took a seat beside him. “That’s about all I can do for you now,” he said as he sat, “put that ice pack on your wrist for a while. I’ll see if I can bring you a split or something for it later.” Kira did as he was instructed immediately. Fifteen perfectly silent minutes crept by.

“Why are you helping me?” asked Kira, hoping to answer one of the thousand questions he had for the boy.

“You want to know the truth?” asked Crot. Kira nodded in affirmation. “The fact of the matter is I don’t believe you telling us where this stupid thing is, a couple hours before we find it anyways, is going to alter the outcome of this war. They’ve already stripped the armour off your mobile suit. It’s now only a matter of time. However, the Director wants to take his find to the Earth Council as soon as possible so he could brag.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you are helping me…” replied Kira, hoping to uncover more information. “You could have just left me hanging there until they found what they’re looking for.”

“I’m helping you because I have other plans for you,” replied Crot sharply. Kira winced, fearing he had overstepped his boundaries. Crot stood and began pacing. “Besides,” said Crot, “I needed to patch you up a bit. You’re no good to me in your condition.” He stopped and looked at Kira thoughtfully. “I have you for the rest of the night. If you’re lucky, they’ll find it before eight hours pass. Then maybe…” trailed the EA pilot.

Kira slid himself to the side of the table, and carefully stood. His legs were still weak, and he had to brace himself on the table to prevent from falling again. Crot looked at him angrily, but then his expression changed. “You really shouldn’t be trying to stand right now,” he said blankly and emotionlessly.

Kira tried taking a feeble step forward. “Moving helps…” started Kira.

“I think you’re forgetting who is the prisoner here,” responded Crot as Kira took another feeble step. He moved towards Kira, and placed his hand firmly on the boy’s chest. Crot pushed him back onto the table. It was not gently, but could have been far worse.

Kira felt weak again, but was still aware of something odd. His captor’s hand seemed to linger just a little longer than was necessary. “Well what are you going to do, then,” asked Kira.

Crot gave his prisoner a funny look which basically said “who-are-you-to-ask-me-what-I’m-doing.” Aware that he was already pushing his boundaries, and still unaware of Crot’s intentions, Kira decided to not press any further. A conversation slowly emerged as time passed. Crot asked Kira questions about his past involvement in the Earth Forces, and other things he had heard. Kira answered the questions for the most part, but sidestepped any questions about the Clyne faction. He was still dedicated to guarding their secrets.

“Is there anyone waiting for you to come home? A special girl, maybe?” Crot asked. Kira was unsure how to react to this question. Was it simply casual? Was it a ploy to gain exploitable information? Perhaps it was an indirect method of gaining information about the Clyne faction. Kira decided to play it safe. Surely Lacus was waiting; praying for his safe return. However, Kira knew, deep down, that that relationship would never amount to anything. They were more like friends; too alike to become anything more.

“No,” replied Kira hesitantly, still unsure of his captors intentions. He paid close attention to the boy, hoping his body language would betray him. It did. Crot looked slightly pleased by Kira’s answer. “Why?” asked Kira, trying to learn as much as possible. He was using his wits to derive information that brute force could never extract. The red-haired boy stood and walked away in response.

The reaction was enough to pique Kira’s interest. However, he decided to ask no further questions at the moment. Currently, his captor was friendly. He did not want to change that. Kira did have a theory, though, about his current assailant. If he was correct, it would be an exploitable weakness that he could use to his advantage. He never imagined such an upper hand would be given to him so easily.

A hope entered his mind. It was small but bright, and worth anything to achieve. Kira knew very well that it would take them far longer than eight hours to find the N-Jammer Canceller in the Freedom, even if they did already have the all the armour stripped (which he didn’t fully believe). Not without the help of the computer anyways. Thankfully, he had taken care of that. Perhaps there was still a way to save the technology from the Earth Forces.

“How about you?” asked Kira, “do you have anyone waiting for you on Earth? A girlfriend?” He gave Crot an appraising look, and watched to see his reaction. He wanted to make it appear like he was interested in the boy, but seem oblivious to the hints he was sending. When Crot turned and walked away, Kira knew he had succeeded.

Only one further question needed to be answered: was he attracted to Kira. In his present condition, it was doubtful. However, Kira decided he needed to test Crot, and he would use himself as bait. He sat-up as casually as possible; the anesthetic had taken effect thankfully. Crot watched him intently. He held his captor’s attention as he moved, but Kira could not discern whether or not he was simply being a diligent guard. Finally, Kira decided to try a definitive test. He began rubbing his thigh slowly, allowing his hand to occasionally brush his groin.

Crot’s eyes followed his hand. When he realized what he was doing, however, his head shot up and a slight blush crossed his face. This reaction confirmed Kira’s suspicions, and plans immediately began to flow through his mind. He wanted to act soon, but he knew that now was not the time. It would seem too obvious, and too forced for anything to work properly.

“ALL HANDS, LEVEL ONE BATTLE STATIONS! I repeat, all hands, level one battle stations!” The warning was broadcasted across the ship.

Crot looked towards the intercom, then at Kira. “Shit!” he said as he turned and ran towards the door. Kira heard the deadbolt lock from the outside shortly after his captor left the room. The ship was about to enter battle. He looked around, wondering if there was anything he could do to escape. He noticed immediately that there was first aid equipment on a nearby table. It had been retrieved from a locker, which his captor failed to close. Moving towards the table, Kira decided that he would focus on healing his wounds, and returning himself to the best possible condition. With everyone on the ship at full alert, it was unlikely that he would get very far even if he could open the door.

The shipped rocked violently. ‘Of course it couldn’t be that easy,’ thought Kira, retrieving various fallen items from the floor. ‘At least they won’t be looking for the N-Jammer Canceller now.’ He continued to struggle against the movement of the ship as the battle outside progressed.

TBC…
------+++++=====+++++------

A/N: Once again, I am sorry this chapter took so long. I found that when I got to this chapter, I was somewhat directionless. Let’s just say I basically had to re-write this three times because my previous attempts either seemed forced, or too fake. I’m still not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I felt I could wait no longer. Besides, it was really beginning to try my patience.

Anyways, please read and review, even if you had some problems with this chapter. They really do help me.

Also, I am thinking about writing a Shinn x Athrun oneshot that was inspired by an episode of Gundam Seed Destiny. Is there any interest in this pairing? Please let me know. Finally, there will be an update to “Witness” soon, for all those who are patiently waiting for that story as well.

WinterAxe