A yawn escaped Naruto's lips as he followed his sensei through the Konohagakure Penitentiary Facility's winding underground corridors. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he waited for his eyes to get adjusted to the darkness.

"What's this all about, Kakashi-sensei?"

When he was denied an answer, he let loose a sigh. What was so important that he had to be woken up at 2:00 in the morning? He had just returned from a difficult mission with Shikamaru and Neji, he needed to sleep, not babysit some unguarded prisoner. But, hell, life was unfair. What didn't make sense was the way they dragged him here: in his pajamas, a pair of sweats and a baggy T-shirt.

"Naruto-san!" A voice broke through the silence. It could only be...

"Sakura-chan! You were dragged here too?"

Obviously - she was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, her usually combed pink hair was messy and sticking up at odd ends. She followed his gaze with a deep blush and a smile.

"I didn't really have all that much time for appearance, I was told it's important."

Kakashi seemed to ignore their conversation as he led them deeper and deeper in the labyrinth of stone walls and flickering light bulbs. The shadows grew longer, the floor grew dustier, and the minutes seemed to stretch to hours. It was time for answers.

"Kakashi-sensei-"

"There you are, about damn time! She's in here." Naruto's eyes widened, as did Sakura's, at the sight of the Chuunin exams examiner, the commanding officer of the Konohagakure ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force: Ibiki Morino. The light from the torches darkened his figure, seeming to deepen the wounds on his face. Behind him was a thick metal door, currently open. It was obviously meant to keep something in. The situation sent a shiver up Naruto's spine before he recalled what he had said.

"She?" He asked, slightly annoyed. He was torn from bed for a girl?

"Yeah, we've got her neutralized for now, we're ready to begin the interrogation-"

"Interrogation? What's going on?" Sakura wondered out loud, voicing her confusion as well as Naruto's. Ibiki looked thoughtful.

"Kakashi, you haven't told them?" Naruto and Sakura turned to look questionably at their teacher, who was trying not to make eye contact. He shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want you panicking or losing your head." He stopped to look pointedly at Naruto. "We've apprehended a member of Akatsuki."

The transformation was immediate as Naruto jumped into action, pushing past Ibiki and rushing into the room. In the center of a intricate pattern of kanji written on the marble floor was a young woman, strapped to a metal chair and covered in blood. There were several teams of ANBU surrounding her, speaking in threatening tones. She hardly flinched as they began shouting in frustration. Naruto felt a sudden churning, building sensation in the pit of his stomach as he saw the trademark Akatsuki cloak discarded beside her seat. It was ripped, torn, and bloody. It had a story to tell, as did the young woman. She hardly looked 16.

"What's her name?" Naruto asked Ibiki, not taking his eyes off the pained figure. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel hatred, or pity.

"That... we haven't found out yet, we're working on that. She's stayed strong with the physical torture, we've brought you and Sakura here to watch the interrogation."

"...Why?" He managed to whisper, horrified by what he would have to see.

"Because she's Akatsuki, and we have reason to believe that she has sustained a relationship with the leader of Akatsuki." Jaws dropped, eyes widened, even the woman stopped struggling for a moment, Naruto could feel her gaze burning into his soul.

"What do you want me and Sakura to do?"

"Sakura's to keep a record of her blood pressure, pulse and tell us if she's lying. You're just going to stand back for a while. It might get physical. Now, usually, you have to have a few years worth of experience when you're dealing with these kinds of people, but in your case, we just want to give you a try." Naruto didn't understand anything but the burning fear deep inside him, telling him to refuse and run. Just looking at her frightened him.

"But why-"

"So you learn to screw around with people's minds, like he'll to yours once he finds you." A pained voice whispered. It was spoken softly, but it seemed to vibrate around the room, sharp as a razor blade. Silence ensued. She had spoken. Naruto watched Ibiki scribbling something down on a clipboard he received from a nearby ANBU. He could only guess that they were recording everything she had said. Curious, he peeked over Ibiki's shoulder. She had said nothing else. Good thing that that was about to change.

Finally, Ibiki broke the silence with a vague gesture to the ANBU.

"Someone bring her to the interrogation room, we begin in five minutes."