After meeting the Vatos people again and discussing their stay with them, the rules they need to follow, and benefits they get, Sasuke called for the ex-3-prisoners, Oscar, Axel, and Big-Tiny, and told them to show them around before leaving.
Daryl already left to meet Merle and have a reunion with his brother.
And now Sasuke finally got time to fill his stomach.
"Sasuke!" Alena beamed seeing him entering the kitchen, and she surprised him with a hug, tiptoeing to peck his cheek.
She clarified, seeing his questioning look.
"Not fair that Ciri gets to be the little sister while I don't get to be the older one." Sasuke laughed at that strange thought and her fake pout.
"Are you still on that?" She had been strangely persistent ever since he told her he never had a sister, or how it feels having one.
"I am; being the elder sister to our ninja sounds like a good deal, don't you think?"
"And... I get reprimanded? That's what I heard elder sisters do to their brothers."
"Hmm, nope. Well, only if you ignored me maybe... otherwise, you got to enjoy the best cooking in the camp. Many here agreed that my cuisine ranks second to none even when I'm not trying," she smirked pridefully. Looking up at him, who was a head taller.
"So, imagine if I went all out? Only for you. Tempting, isn't it?" She raised her eyebrows repeatedly, and the smell was already doing the rest of the work, convincing him.
"Well, a week of trials," Sasuke nodded, receiving a light slap to the arm.
"Stop treating it like a game event, little brother." She winked, finally moving away and setting his plates for him.
"This was cooked by me and Carol; enjoy." And just on cue, Carol came with Sophia, who rushed to jump at Sasuke, thanking him for the new storybooks she got.
"Ciri went to eat with Katniss and others in the front yard; want to join her there?" Sophia nodded at him, excited at the mention of outdoor breakfast.
She stood, smiling at her mother who told her to go and join the Everdeens and then left, waving at them.
...
"Hah. Carol, Alena, I missed this; you guys can make a piece of bread taste amazing." Sasuke smiled happily, devouring the last bites from his food; those two seem to have some kind of spell that makes even simple plates taste better.
Seems like Alena didn't trick him after all...
"Well, we are happy everyone is enjoying our cooking." Carol smiled seeing him enjoy the food.
He and Daryl were both men of few words and the serious type, yet every time they ate the food made by them, she felt good seeing the joy on their faces.
"So, anything I need to know?" Sasuke, who finished first, cleaned his plates and asked the two of them, who were in fact quite perceptive, and the two who worked as his "insiders".
Katniss was known as his girlfriend, which means new faces possibly are wary of her, so those two mostly went around to see if anything on the women's side called for his attention... whether it be good or bad, they always gave him inputs about things concerning women in their shelter.
"Tara and her people are good; the Blackwells are really nice people too. Martha is a gynecologist."
"Mhm, she can help a lot with her experience." Carol nodded to what Alena said, sharing what she found herself.
"There's a woman named Lola who is inquiring about Daryl, focused on how his relation to Merle was and what he is like." She added, not really liking that.
"I got that; you two probably heard and know about the situation. I got it under control; it's her thing. So let her be; she won't be a danger to anyone. I got her under watch." Carol nodded her head. And Alena gave him the final piece of info.
"And Rowan is good at providing assistance; she was an accountant. Dependable and quite intelligent when it comes to systematization. schedules, lists, and basically transferring every useful thing and categorizing it as a text on papers."
"Their expertise sure helps; I'm just relieved everyone agreed to contribute. What about the rest of Woodbury? Did they change their minds?"
"Not really. Rowan spoke to them yesterday. By evening, they still don't want to join us even after what Rowan said, you know...having a bigger space for themselves now and fewer mouths to feed probably made them take that decision. Milton asked if he can meet Jenner, though."
"I see. Well, let's let fate decide on the rest. I'll talk to Milton later. You still do your exercises and combat training?"
"Yep," Alena smiled, flexing her biceps.
"Me, Carol, Jess, Amy, Andrea, and Katniss. every day, and even Jenny started joining us lately."
"Good job, take it easy, and like we planned, we should focus on melee and shooting."
"Will do. Leaving this soon?" She deflated seeing him ready to leave.
"Yeah, I need to check on others."
"I see, later then."
"Take care."
Carol and Alena waved him goodbye.
...
Sasuke, who just got out, saw someone standing in his way, doing a blocking gesture.
"Well, Harrisons, good to see you. Tell me you aren't the patrolman here."
"Wish so; we could be lazing around if we were. Welcome back, ninja; it's been a long time since we saw you."
"Three days," Sasuke smiled at Andrea and patted Amy, who gave him a quick hug.
"Felt like ten," Amy shrugged.
"So, I don't think I'm blocked here because you wanted to gift me something for the coming Christmas."
Andrea smirked, winking at her sister. "Don't you worry, I'll get Amy wrapped tight and good when time comes for that."
And receiving an elbow jab from the embarrassed Amy.
"I can wrap myself just good." Andrea's mouth was agape, not expecting this boldness from her sister.
She laughed, seeing Sasuke just as surprised. "We want in on your next big adventure."
Andrea shrugged, telling him their real reason: she was the type to seek the thrills...while it was safe of course.
And who is best at keeping others safe? While giving the opportunity to fight?
"I won't really call it an adventure, but alright, if something calls for an outing, you are in," he shrugged. Their shelter wasn't housing that big of a group but they have 8 woman who are training seriously to become combatants, that's a win for him.
"Thank you then, I'm going to have my breakfast. Got watch duty after this." Andrea passed by his side, patting his arm, and Amy talked more to him before following her shortly after.
Sasuke went out, waved at Duan, who was doing his morning exercises, and at the two little girls who were helping with the chores.
He walked down to the field, seeing their source of food finally starting to take shape.
"Dale, I see you guys did a beautiful job out of the land here." Sasuke smiled at the old man, seeing the field here being finally prepared for the step of cultivating crops.
"Well, see who's back. How are you doing, son?"
"I'm good. Any progress with the saplings?"
"Well, we readied the soil and followed the steps from what the books and videos we have and what they taught us. It's wintertime, so for now...cold-hardy crops.
We discussed and found that we can plant garlic, winter rye—"
"What's that? Winter rye?" Sasuke asked curiously, not knowing the thing.
"It's a hardy annual cereal grass widely cultivated in northern Europe, where its grain is the chief ingredient of black bread. It can even be used for forage and soil improvement. Books really teach you wonderful things."
"Great then, what else can we cultivate in winter?"
"Hmm, I'm by no means an expert at this, but we spent a good time reviewing the videos, so we decided on kale, spinach, and cover crops, like clover. Those too can enrich the soil for spring.
Kole..." Dale pointed to a man who was busy with something some distance away.
"Who came from Woodbury also suggested we explore the indoor gardening. You know, microgreens, root cellar storage for winter sustenance; if we can, I suggest we go for aquaponics too, fish farming...We distributed the work between the 9 people who are working on this, like composting, seed saving, food preservation, and all."
"Awesome," Sasuke grinned, hearing they got the plan forward to this.
"The report would be ready to be delivered in a day's work...a lot of work is awaiting you, boy."
"Report? What reports?" Sasuke tilted his head, confused.
"We have many people now; we have different groups working on different subjects, like departments, if I have to call it that...you as a leader, of course it's your job to review all things. This was discussed and planned by 5 people, agreed upon by all. Good luck."
Sasuke stood there with a blank look on his face.
"So...I got more work waiting for me? Written reports nonetheless?"
"It comes with being too reliable; don't press yourself. We all figured that we need to work following one head, and who can be better for that job other than you?" Dale smiled, patting Sasuke's shoulder in encouragement, thinking that the boy may feel the pressure from this sudden news.
While Sasuke was cursing inwardly.
'There's no way I'm suffering like that idiot Naruto. This is just another type of Hokage paperwork, isn't it? Ain't leaders supposed to be laid back and enjoy themselves?' He smiled stiffly and left, knowing full well where to vent his tantrums and frustration.
Sasuke went to the warden's office, which was a room accessed by him and a few other trusted people only.
Closing the door, he took a look around with his Sharingan.
Finding nothing unusual, he crouched, putting a palm on an unassuming spot on the floor, and pushed down, chakra coursing through his veins.
A push with enough force to dent a reinforced thick steel wall in three seconds, the designated time-line to succeed on activating the trigger.
The ground in front of him parted, revealing stairs going down to a dark path.
Sasuke walked down, closed the gap behind him by pushing at another spot, and then kept on going down the stairs.
After 100 stairs, he found himself in a big underground place, the space of a football court, the torches on the walls lighting it up. Only he knows how much of a pain it took to make and reinforce this place.
Coming here whenever he got free time since they secured the prison, using the pitiful amount of chakra and waiting for its regeneration again and again and again.
He sighed in comfort at seeing the place finally put to use; if someone was down here...then their life sure isn't to be a good one at all, and so far, 4 people were enjoying their stay here.
Sasuke walked over to a wall and again palm-pushed, triggering the mechanism that made a sequence of activities that revealed a big room ahead of him. It has nothing to it other than the light and the cushions covering its insides from every place. There, 4 men, looking tired and sad, turned to look at him.
Separated from each other and having basic furnitures near them to do their natural calls, those too, made from soft materials.
"Liked the hospitality?"
"Do you think you are being any different by this? You expect people to call you a hero or what?" One of them spat, tied like a mental, his tone a little unusual due to the soft slippery thing covering their teeth, another small thing to prevent suicide by tongue-biting.
"Nah, governor... Or not, I should start calling you Philip and his three idiots." Sasuke looked around and retrieved a chair from a separate room.
"Hero? I don't give a fuck what they call me, as long as it isn't an insult. Though, for people out there? You guys are as dead as it can be. They saw me putting a bullet through your heads after all."
"You are no human, are you? What are you? Are you the one who started this all?" Philip Blake, previously known as the governor who all thought was dead due to a little genjutsu, spoke. Seething at the idea...
Recalling all the madness this sword freak did, he taunted him while deflecting bullets with a knife; his eyes glow and have a color no human should; he can make things disappear, and his speed makes him seem like he vanished, and the slaps...no slap could be strong enough to make Martinez fly from place to place yet not have his head busted.
Walkers...were a mystery, and they took his daughter from him. What if this alien is the one who made them, or what if he is the one who succeeded in tanking the bite and got those things from—
"Nuh-uh, rein in your horses, Sherlock. I'm just another nobody who found himself lost in this messed-up world, just...a fucking special nobody." Sasuke sat in front of the four men, seeing one wetting his pants just by meeting his gaze.
The man couldn't stop his body from trembling; this devil forced him to dream about killing his wife, the exact same way he killed the wife of another guy a month ago, countless times, until he became afraid of closing his eyes not to experience it again.
"I'm not giving you a new one, and you guys should start asking the million-dollar question."
"Why have you kept us alive?" Philip asked him, fear naturally taking root in his heart.
"Bingo!" Sasuke snapped his fingers, chuckling.
"You see, I really didn't think of having you and those three live. I mean, you aimed for my life s—"
"It wasn't us!!" Martinez screamed, eyes blurry and red from both fear and the sheer hopelessness he was feeling.
"Shush, I can hear just fine. Don't force me to alter your voice to that of a slutty woman, and you expect me to believe that? Not the attack part, true, it wasn't you, but if you were there...would you have let me go?" Sasuke glanced at him, seeing the tears building in his eyes.
"No, you know that, right?. Alas, you could have never stopped me from leaving anyway; it was just a rhetorical question." He ignored him and turned to the disheveled Philip who was glaring at him.
"Well, back to the answer, I paid Milton's laboratory a visit, and it was then I remembered... I got a scientist by my side too; both his and my experiments will need...alive subjects, humans. and the type who I won't feel bad doing that to them...your type of scum."
The four of them had their eyes widening from what they heard, even though they expected it when he let them live.
They just didn't want it to be true.
"I mean, we made a solution for the airborne infection, so he is working on finding a cure for the bite issue now, and... I need someone to be the human lab rat, or multiple, and that's you." The vacant look of the one who had his pants wet attracted Sasuke's attention.
"Ohoh, I have my share of experience in that, torture... I was both the instigator and the one on the receiving end, so I know how to stop subjects from killing themselves.
Don't worry, if the cure succeeds on the first try, you'll get to live." Life returned to the eyes of the man hearing that last part, so in the end he just needed to endure—
"And of course be the subject of other experiments; one of them is called the obedience seal... something I am trying to figure out.
After that, there's the mystic palm, and how far I can push it—there are animals for that, but you guys will be important for the...advanced stage." Sasuke shattered all the hope they got about leaving this damn place somehow.
They didn't know what those things he talked about were, but they didn't sound good. Especially that seal thing.
"I know that look, fear, and eyes screaming how I'm no different than you. A monster." Sasuke turned to Tim, who was looking at him like he was seeing an abomination worse than walkers.
"That's what you chose to believe. I can respect that. I am no good person; there was just nothing around to make me show the real me.
But here's the thing: you lot killed families, women, and men and even youngers" Sasuke kicked Philip in the face just by remembering that the man killed a whole family for something stupid.
" You assholes tortured others to find info about their shelters and raid them; and brought hopelessness to innocent people."
His Sharingan flared red, making them all tense at seeing this hellish sight again.
A literal devil in the skin of a human.
"That's where we are different; while I'm bad, it's only to those deserving it in my book. I won't be as lowly as stealing things from others who are weak. And kill them.
I, work on keeping balance."
Philip finally regained his breath, recovering from the pain on his jaw. Just to see those freakish eyes turn to black once more and Sasuke leaning back.
"All that noble talk, in the end, you are just another me. I kept my people safe, those ungrateful lot. Merle was just as bad as me; where is he now? Enjoying life with his little brother?"
And regaining his courage with it...
Sasuke chuckled seeing him trying hard to keep his composure, it was impressive honestly, if only he wasn't a total madman, Sasuke could've had a good and capable man by his side.
"He is working to repay the pardon I showed him, he got the luck factor by his side, having a brother like Daryl. You will work too, on other sides; since you have no alike factor, it will be years, so if any of you here have the slimmest idea and hope that you can escape and get revenge, or suicide and rest? Drop it; it won't happen. I won't let it happen.
Here's your food; you can choose not to eat, and I will simply have a tube shoved down your stomach and drop your fucking soup straight there. Same result, a tasteless experience. Your choice." Sasuke stood, passed them the tastless soup and walked away, taking the chair with him, but not before dropping his line one final time as he looked back at them again.
"All in all, assholes...welcome to Limbo."
=========
A/n:
Well, now you see what happens to the governor.
Duh, of course I didn't drop a major villain from the show just like that; I got his plan figured out, I just didn't want to spoil it back then.
Anyway, hope you like it.
Here's the thing: something came up, and from here on I get no usual free time to write.
Nah, I'm not dropping it. I've had so much effort put into this fanfic; I even stopped writing my original novels and other fanfics to focus on this one since I published it, so yeah...if nothing serious comes up, I'm not dropping it, but from here, it's irregular updates.
I have no more pre-written chapters, so expect the new chapters to be dropped whenever I'm free to do so. Once I get a bulk, daily update returns.
Hope you are doing well.
Share your ideas and comment, and see you next chapter...