Prologue
All I see is shattered pieces
I can't keep it hidden like a secret
I can't look away!
From all this pain in the world we made!
Hidden in the shadows of the canopy above, a lone figure concealed himself from view, watching the road that lay before him. On the other side of the road, a taller, broader figure stood on the branch of a large tree, unmoving. Together, they watched the road, listening, waiting. A very faint breeze kicked up, and the figure standing in the tree stirred, smelling for any scents that the wind had carried with it. He made the slightest motion, moving barely a fraction, yet it was enough to catch his partner's attention across the road. He made a quick hand signal, telling his partner that their target was approaching. Dropping his hands, he moved into the shadows and stood, hidden from sight, quietly. He knew his partner had seen the signal, despite the fact that it was night time, and knew that he would also be moving deeper into the shadows. The two stood motionless in the shadows for well over an hour, waiting for their target to come into view. Whatever happened, they must not give themselves away, and failure of this mission was not an option. The target was moving closer to their positions, but she was not alone. One other travelled with her. He knew the drill, he would take down the target's companion, and his partner would capture the girl they had been waiting for. The pair of traveling ninja had passed beneath his tree, now was the time to attack. Carefully, he reached over his right shoulder and grasped the hilt of his shark-skin sword. He stepped forward, moving out of the shadows, and leapt down to the ground behind the pair of ninja. Releasing his sword, he swung it over his head and it went screaming toward the targets companion. The target reacted first, blocking the sword with her kunai. The little kunai hardly looked like a match for the massive sword, but she held it firmly against the rogue nin's sword. Unconcerned with the girl, the rogue nin cast her aside and attacked her companion. He swung Samehada, his shark-skin sword, toward the ninja, who carelessly brought up his own kunai to try and ward of the attack. Too late. He wasn't quick enough. Samehada had shorn though his left shoulder and was stuck in his torso. His forehead protector glinted faintly in the moonlight, revealing the symbol of Konoha, before he toppled to the ground, dead. The rogue nin turned around only to find that his partner had the target held in his Tsukuyomi genjutsu. A heartbeat later she lay unconscious on the ground. His partner, standing beside the girl, looked over his shoulder at him and asked "You ready, Kisame?" Kisame turned to face the ninja he had slain and pulled his sword, Samehada, from the limp body. "Let's go, Itachi" he said, turning to face his partner once more. Kisame hefted the girl over his shoulder, and turned to move off the road.
"Good work Itachi, Kisame" Pein looked down at the unconscious girl on the floor. How pitiful, he thought. Her hands and feet had been tied in preparation for when she woke. Her primary weapon had been removed from her body and placed on the other side of the room. If she got out of her bondage, she'd have to go through himself and four other Akatsuki members besides, to get to her precious weapon. In the room with him were his partner Konan, Itachi and Kisame respectively, and Zetsu. The girl on the floor stirred, blinking, she tried to push herself into a sitting position, only to find that her hands and feet were tied. She looked up, and saw the five Akatsuki members looking down at her. Pein looked at her and said "Well, well. You're finally awake, Temari".
Darkness was all around her. She could hear the faint murmur of talking luring her out of the emptiness. She fought it, she didn't want to leave. She knew that if she woke, she would face something – something bad, but she couldn't remember what. Dizzily, she stirred and tried to sit up. She found that her movement was restricted. Confused, she blinked rapidly until her eyes adjusted to the light in the room. Five figures stared down at her. There was something familiar about them. She looked at them a moment longer, still not comprehending who they were. Then, in a moment of confusion, she looked at their clothes. The guy standing directly in front of her was wearing a large black cloak with red clouds on it. They were all wearing large black cloaks with red clouds on them. The Akatsuki… she looked up at the man standing in front of her, she could tell by the aura around him, and the way the others respectively kept their distance, he was the leader. He moved closer to her, and with a wicked grin spread across his face, said "Well, well. You're finally awake, Temari". She glared up at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when he straightened and turned to one of the other Akatsuki in the room. He spoke directly to the younger man. "Itachi, you will glean any information regarding the one-tailed Jinjuriki you can from this girl. Use any means necessary. As I understand it, she has already had a taste of your Tsukuyomi genjutsu. Maybe she will loosen her tongue this time around." She stared at the leader. The young man he had addressed – Itachi – looked at her before replying "Yes". Temari's hands had been tied in front of torso, and while the Akatsuki members were preoccupied, she slowly and carefully reached down under her skirt. She had a hidden kunai there. She grasped the hilt and slowly began to take it out. She froze when Itachi looked at her, his gaze narrowed, but he shifted his eyes back to Pein. She pulled the Kunai out and severed the rope that bonded her hands together. "You won't get Gaara!" She yelled. She pulled her hands together and performed a memory sealing jutsu, sealing away all her memories.