I don't own Naruto. AN: Okay, I just wanted to cover a few things present in this chapter, allitalics usually indicate a flashback, ~o~ will be when it switches to Kotana's view, ~x~ will be Ritsa's view, and ~xox~ will be Deidara's view. It seems to happen a lot in this chapter, but they will become more spaced in the remainder of the story. Please bear with me as this is like a prologue.

Times were indeed terrible.

The trudge of uncountable feet had wore the mountain path nearly smooth, even though it didn't make Deidara's traveling any easier. Guards usually referred to as 'heads' walked in front, behind, and to the sides of the group ensuring none would run.

Where was there to run to? The general population of normal people outnumbered to ninja population of the times… Even more under the circumstances. Ninja should have been able to defend themselves better. They had many resources, jutsu, kunai, speed, the ability to hide… However, they did not hold the numbers required to fend off such a vast amount of attackers alone.

Yes, ever since the beginning of the revolution, all the ninja had decided splitting apart into groups of one or two would be best, since they would be harder to locate. He even remembered the Akatsuki splitting up. Leader had regretted it…but he said it was for the best, and after the revolution passed, they would all regroup.

Leader couldn't have anticipated how much situations depended on numbers now. There was now safety in numbers…and also ruthless and seemingly endless attacks with teamwork. Deidara recalled his capture, almost tripping over a rock in the process.

They came on him when he was sleeping, an unfair advantage in any situation, but he had woken up before they could do much, promptly fighting off those around him, but they kept coming, from every direction, and eventually, he was running low on chakra. Seeing as soon he would not be able to, he ran, trying to find a place to set off the getaway bird necessary for a quick escape. But fast as he ran, there were people everywhere, in the trees, on cliff edges, there was no way around them.

So he did what no sane person would do. He charged for the cliff, at least hoping they would move out of his way, lest they be dragged off with him.

He misjudged their boldness, and as he rushed them, one slapped a chakra drain on his back, while another grabbed for him…and missed. Running purely on adrenaline, he felt the ground fall away from his feet. Then there was the disorienting feeling of weightlessness… Then nothing.

He roused in a makeshift hospital apparently four days later. He had misjudged to height of the cliff, and had not fell far enough to die…Only far enough to break a few bones and get a concussion. "Lucky to be alive son." "What were you thinking? You could have been much worse off!" Most of his doctors said similar things… "Nothing could be worse than this." He thought bitterly.

Where were the other Akatsuki members? Were they any better off than he was? Or were they all dead? He preferred not to think about the last option, seeing as it was the worst. The sun was beginning to set, and he knew they would be pulling off soon, heading to a post in the woods, where they would all be granted a little water but no food. Some people were so tired that they wouldn't even bother with the water and they would just drop where they saw fit, falling to sleep. Some never woke up.

Once he had gotten his water, he had found a suitable place to drop for the night…Or at least the few fleeting hours anyone could manage. He scanned to groups of people, searching for a familiar face, and just soothing his obsessive compulsive demands of ensuring he wouldn't be attacked in his sleep again.

Of course, the crowds proved fruitless, but there were a few people like him who didn't clump together with the others. When he scanned them and saw the flash shock of white and green, he didn't bother looking for the darkness he was certain would follow. "Zetsu!" He called, and suddenly the figure snapped to alertness, whipping its head around until it settled it's gaze on him. His eyes narrowed as the figure rose and, looking towards the heads, scurried over to where he was.

It definitely was not Zetsu. Of course if Zetsu had ever had breasts, he would have been proven both correct and stupid for not noticing sooner. However, the eyes were what proved him wrong, since instead of Zetsu's yellow stare, these eyes were a steely gray color. Oops.

She dropped next to him, leaning back and looking at the moonless sky, she cautiously questioned, "So, you know Zetsu?" "Not well, if that's what you're asking, yeah. We used to work together somewhat." She hummed thoughtfully before mumbling, "I'm Ritsa." "Deidara, yeah."

Their night passed with little conversation and quick catnaps since neither were used to the company. However when the sun rose, they stuck close together, quickly being pushed towards the front of the group. Deidara would glance Ritsa's way every so often, picking up details slowly. Her hair was a bit longer than Zetsu's…more shaggy than anything. At one point when she had turned to talk to him, he discovered that her sclera's differed with the body's coloration. On the darker side, the sclera was a very dark gray, almost black.

Once the sun began setting, they saw a large staircase leading up a large steep hill. Smoke puffed out on the upper right side of the hill. "That is our destination. Go! Move!" One of the heads barked harshly. People in the front lines fell back, quickly replaced by the next in the group as they all began ascending the stairs.

At the top of the stairs there were several heads, each in charge of one crate full of large bottles of water. Every person in the group gained a bottle, and most drank half of the bottle before they even got to where the train was. Deidara, Ritsa, and twelve others were forced into the first boxcar as a clear female voiced blared over the platform speakers.

"Hello. You have all been provided with one bottle of water, please use it wisely. Once you arrive in your boxcars, there will be several cots, plenty for everyone, so no pushing please! You have cooperated thus far and are expected to do so for the remainder of the trip. Thank you for agreeing to be relocated. This is the last leg of your trip. Thank you for your time."

With a click, the message was over, causing all activity to resume, and Deidara and Ritsa to head for the front of the boxcar, nearest the engine. There was another person sleeping on one of the cots, which were held above the floor, which was stained from Kami knows what, by thin metal rods. This person's bottled water was tucked into their waistband, and was only half gone, re-assuring the two new arrivals that they had been accurate in drinking only a mouthful of their own waters.

Tentatively testing their beds, which were just as filthy as they were, both of them soon drifted off to sleep.

~o~

Waking up during the cooler part of the night is essential to being here, seeing as you are provided with only one bottle of water to hold you over for an entire trip. It's very dark in the boxcar at night, so I only opened my eyes for short periods of time to get a good look at the two newer arrivals. One was male and one was female, and that's all that was important at the moment.

If they woke up during the hotter part of the day, it would be bad for them if they didn't find relief from the heat. My ears twitched as I heard someone snoring from the other end of the car. Hopefully that person would die first.

~x~

When I woke up the next morning, Deidara and that other person were under their cots. I only wondered why until I realized how sunny it was getting to be. So I scrambled under there as well, Deidara leaning against the wall, and the other person, a woman, curled up on the floor, napping.

When a black tipped brown ear twitched, I found myself strangely amused. Her hair was an auburn color, and a tail resembling a fox's presented itself curled with the curve of her body. Deidara had already noticed though, and was instead focusing on conversations on the other side of this crate on wheels.

"Well what do you think they're going to do with us?" "Nobody knows what really happens in the relocation, but I've heard rumors that no-one makes it out alive." "Well rumors are just that, rumors." "I heard that they use all sorts of experiments, from shock therapy to drug testing."

"Well I heard that they just take you there to kill you." "Why can't we be a bit more optimistic?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "Well, what if they really are relocating us? I've never heard from anyone who's been picked up, so maybe they're just somewhere without a way to send word of their well being."

"We need to stop assuming the best and prepare for the worst." A voice offered from next to us. I turned my head and looked in the woman's direction, finding her eyes still closed.

"What do you mean 'stop assuming the best'? If we have nothing to hope for what's the point of even waiting for it?" "Yeah, If we have nothing to look forward to then there is no point in waiting for it, we might as well try jumping off the train!" "Go ahead. The doors are locked anyway." She said crossly.

Deidara turned to face her, offering, "Maybe…you should let them hope, yeah." "Why even bother? I've been here for a week, and I had walked for three days before. We're on a train going nowhere fast and all we're waiting for is something that may not even exist."

"Well what if there is something there? Something that could at least be better than this?" He argued. "Anything would be better than this." She muttered, still keeping her eyes shut. "Exactly." He said, "If anything would be better than this, why not live for whatever's on the end of the line, un? The train line I mean. For all we know, it could get better."

"Yeah," She replied, "Or it could get worse."

The entire boxcar had gone quiet listening to our conversation, and as Deidara pondered on what she had said, I added halfheartedly, "Whether it gets better or worse, isn't it better to think you have something to look forward to than to die thinking, 'Wow, this is it? This is what I was really working towards all my life? To die in a filthy boxcar?' Sorry, but I'm not going to die in here. If I'm dying, I'm dying outside so I can see everything past the walls of the boxcar one last time."

She opened one green eye, viewing me skeptically, "You don't sound sure of yourself." I pushed the usual knots in my stomach down as I calmly said, "Of course I'm not. Nothing's ever certain except the fact that we don't know." Her eyes went from skepticism to calm, "Well, you seem to have your priorities worked out then. Wish I could say the same."

She stretched before returning to her previous position, "Well, see you guys tonight then." We nodded before deciding a quick catnap never hurt anyone.

~xox~

When a hand brushed over my arm, I thought about smacking it away until I realized it was the woman from earlier, and it was very dark now. Our catnaps had apparently turned into another night's sleep. I quickly turned to prod Ritsa awake, and we all moved to the tops of our cots once more.

"I apologize for my crossness earlier, but can I get names? I'm Kotana." "I'm Deidara." "Ritsa." She hummed, before continuing, " Well, we could be here for a while, and things could get ugly and desperate, people will start dropping like flies. So I have a few tips if you're interested."

When we both agreed, she took a breath before continuing, "Sleep is one of the big essentials, it allows you to use less energy, and with our chakra shortages it helps ease it a bit, not to mention sleeping through the hotter part of the day will help conserve your water. This is also where your cots come in handy, we utilized them in the right way today."

"So conservation and adapting is the key to surviving here." Ritsa muttered quietly. Kotana hummed in affirmation, before suddenly asking, "So how did you guys find yourself captured and on this one way train to hell?" "It's a long story." I said a bit too quickly, as Ritsa said. "It's complicated." Kotana simply laughed, "I don't know if you noticed, but we have tons of time."

So I went through my story, and when it ended, Ritsa said happily, "Wish I had thought of that!" "Well what happened to you?" "I-"

It was a hot day, and the river seemed so inviting, so I just jumped right in, clothes and all. I was busy sunning the water off when I heard the people coming. I tried running but I was already trapped, I tried fighting them off as they came, but there were just so many of them that I could fight them off and still have energy. I tried going through the ground when it seemed like it was the only thing left to do, but they got to me right before I was going to go under and they slapped the drain sticker on my back.

"Yeah, I haven't been famed for my battle tactics." She said in explanation. "They ended up putting me in the psych ward, trying to figure out if my other side was simply a multiple personality disorder. She hasn't talked much since. I hated being in there just as much as she did, neither of us were fond of being around people, we haven't been since I was sixteen. That was three years ago…"

She trailed off, before quickly adding, "I'm still all nerves being around people, but these are desperate times calling for desperate measures." "Well," Kotana began, "It never hurts to have a few allies in times like these. Mine skipped out on me as soon as they heard the people approaching. They left me to fend for myself and here I am."

That night was filled with halfhearted laughter, and once the sun rose, an agreement was formed to stick together if we could. People began running out of water quickly after that, and there were several times when we had to remain awake to defend our own supplies. Soon enough, people did begin dropping. The boxcar reeked of waste and we knew it would eventually stink of the dead too.

I was surprised when it was Kotana who approached one of the bodies first. She gave it a cursory glance before deciding it wasn't worth it. When I looked to Ritsa, she narrowed her eyes and said, "I'd rather starve." "Be careful what you say. It might happen." A voice drifted from the other side of the boxcar.

A woman with amethyst eyes appeared soon afterwards, "My name's Ayaka, may I join you?" Her chin length blonde tresses and charming attitude…Could we have said no? After all, we might as well try having some numbers.

A few more days passed, and we were just waking up from our late afternoon nap when we heard a buzzing and a white glow began filling our car. The train groaned before beginning to grind to a halt, "Everyone else feels that right?" I asked, seeing them all in the almost sun-like lighting.

Once the train finally stopped, we heard weak pounding from the boxcar next to us mere moments before the slamming of boxcar doors being opened. We all slowly slipped over to the wall opposite the door, just as it opened, flooding our car with the full brightness of the white light. "Holy crap. We're dead aren't we?"

Well, this was it for chapter one. Or maybe it was a prologue…Oh well. I apologize if it was a bit boring, please bear with it until I can get the next segment out. The next installment will hopefully be a bit better…maybe have a few citrus-like tidbits…Maybe.