**Just a disclaimer - beyond the usual "I do not own these characters - they belong to Masashi Kishimoto" - I feel the need to inform you that I can't write fight scenes. I've tried, but my brain apparently just doesn't work that way. For that matter...I can't really write at all, so just enjoy this if you feel like it!**

It was a late season thunderstorm, one of those that might be enjoyable if it was actually warm outside. But it wasn't, and the rapidly dropping temperature was slowly sapping Raidou's energy as he huddled, shivering on a tree branch. Hail pounded through the leaves, popping off the tree bark and stinging his skin. He checked the wound on his leg - still bleeding sluggishly. He didn't want to waste the chakra to try and heal it again.

He had been in the woods for three days now. Three days without sleep or food, save for the soldier pill he had taken during the first night. He knew he needed to find shelter before he crashed. Once the effects of the pill wore off he would be essentially helpless. His attackers - 5 ABNU - had been relentless, allowing him no more than a half-hour rest at a time.

At least they didn't want him dead. He would have fallen a long time ago if they actually intended to kill him.

He peered through the rain and leaves at the building that loomed in front of him. The tower had been his destination all along, and now he sat a mere twenty yards from it, surrounded and rapidly running out of options. His meager weapons had been depleted, and all he currently had left was an exploding tag – one that he prayed hadn't been saturated by the rain.

His attackers were waiting. He knew he had to move quickly. There was only going to be one shot at this. He willed his muscles to cooperate, his arms and legs shaking so badly that his twenty year old body ached. If the pill didn't wear off first, he would certainly be downed by hypothermia.

He plotted his course of action, hoping that his intentions wouldn't be telegraphed to his pursuers. And then he sensed them coming.

Raidou leapt off the branch a few seconds before it exploded in a thousand deadly shards. He careened off an adjacent tree and spun out of the way of a fireball. The doors to the tower were only a few yards ahead. He feinted toward the entrance and ducked as a handful of kunai embedded in the branch in front of him. He spun around the branch, yanked one of the blades out of the wood and dove to another tree. He sent a wind shuriken toward his attackers and reached for his last exploding tag. His fingers were numb and he fumbled with the paper, praying it would still be effective. He activated the seal, wrapped it around the weapon's handle, and took off toward the tower. He twisted as he cleared the branches, flinging it back at the trunk of the tree. Then he turned and dove through the door.

The force of the explosion knocked him off his feet, and he slid, fetching up against a pillar. The doors rebounded with their own weight and swung shut again. Raidou lay still for a moment, breathing heavily in the dry warmth of the vestibule. He listened for sounds of his attackers but there was nothing except a faint buzzing in his ears – remnants of the explosion.

He rolled slowly to his feet. Water dripped from his clothes and his soaked shoes squished slightly as he moved around the pillar. He ignored the aching protest of his injured leg and crouched in the shadows near the wall. There were torches lit along the length of the room and a door stood ajar at the far side. He peered around him again, his over-focused eyes picking up stark details in the relative brightness of the torches. There was still no sign of his pursuers.

He waited a moment longer and then straightened. He slipped out of his sandals, knowing even their soft sound could give away his position. Keeping to the shadows between the torches, he slowly began to make his way down the open corridor. His feet were silent against the cool stones of the floor and he tried to control his breathing. He listened around the sound of his teeth chattering for any other noise, but heard nothing to indicate that other people were in the building.

Raidou reached the far door in a matter of moments and stood outside. It was open but not far enough for him to make out what was on the other side. He wasn't sure what to do next. This was his access to the rest of the building, but he knew that bursting through a door unarmed against potentially lethal adversaries wasn't a smart move. Still…

He took a deep breath and tensed, ready to leap into the unknown. And then a voice carried through the opening.

"You may come in. We will not harm you."

He froze for a moment at the unexpected invitation and exhaled. He didn't have much of a choice. He straightened out of his crouch and pushed slowly on the door. It gave easily and swung open.

Raidou stepped into a softly lit room already occupied by five other individuals. Five masked faces watched him as he entered cautiously, looking as if he was ready to dive back out into the hall at the sign of a perceived attack.

The closest masked figured stepped toward him slowly, a tall man – the one that had given him the stinging wound in his leg.

"Congratulations, Raidou-san," the large man said, voice muffled by the bird-mask covering his face. "You've done very well."