Please don't read the first one. It's not good .

TheContheDistance doesn't own Naruto.

Found unconscious along the streets of Konoha, a girl named Emiko is sent to Suna to try to regain her memories. While remembering part of her past in Suna, she begins to have feelings for Gaara before joining Sakura, Temari, and Kankuro to return to Konoha for the latter three's Chuunin exams. Through attacks by Hunter-Nin and frustrating training sessions with her new sensei, she realizes that she comes from the Land of Mist and inherits a special yet dangerous kekkai genkai. She was assumed to be the last of her clan through her memories.

Finally deciding to break out of Konoha's suppressing chains, Emiko leaves behind Gaara and the village, seeking power to control her Hyouton kekkai-genkai and find her purpose in the world.

Michi (Path)

The orange-haired kunoichi propped open one of the windows in the office. The room was unbearably stuffy and it only added to the austere atmosphere. How he managed to work alongside the other coarse Council members of Suna, she didn't know. They didn't seem to trust him either. Everything about the Sand was crude and severe. At least the political turmoil had settled down recently. With a new Kazekage elected, things began to calm.

The corners of her mouth twitched downwards, she had been feeling quite useless recently. There wasn't much for her to do other than the occasional missions (which she wasn't supposed to be doing) and try to regain her memories. It was a pathetic existence. Yet there was still Gaara, but caring about him didn't give her a reason to be alive.

Emiko heard a sudden gust of sand, and straightened up quickly. The sand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, settling into the form of the Kazekage. A slight frown marred his pale face; the shadows around his eyes were darker than usual. It must have been a bad meeting. The severity of his expression softened to a mere scowl as he sat down in his chair. His tired eyes met her grey ones.

"Gaara-"

"Wake-y, wake-y, brat. It's time for your daily check-up."

The orange-haired kunoichi sat up wearily, casting a furtive look to the man who entered the room. She could already feel the all too familiar heat of chakra binding her wrists and ankles together. It was unfortunate too; she thought with distaste, she hadn't even been able to get out of bed yet.

As customary, she managed to shift her body so her back was facing him. Emiko closed her eyes, and waited for the scuffle of his sandals to indicate when it would start. Her eyes opened again. Silence permeated the room. What is he doing? She grimaced.

"Ibara, are you waiting for something?"

The man sneered as blue chakra grew on his hands. He forcefully placed his palms on her back, her spine tensing at the familiar routine. He heard her breathing become labored, and her shoulders sag. She'll be out for a day. Finally. I won't have to back here for another four days.

Ibara scoffed as he removed his hands from her back. Emiko had fallen on her side without his support. It was quite a pathetic sight to see, the same girl that had tried to escape twice, slumped on her bed and utterly helpless. He smirked and left her room, knowing that this was probably the best thing to happen to him today. Yes, he was a sadistic bastard. But then again, most of his comrades (if he could call them that) were exactly the same: bitter, sadistic, and unique in their own grotesque ways.

Emiko stared at the ceiling, resentment and anger burning in the pit of her stomach. Gray eyes traced every crack in the stone, memorizing each fault in the ceiling. She wasn't going to pretend that being in this situation wasn't a major blow to her pride. She knew that she had lost, and she had given up; and that made her even more disgraceful. She couldn't even move her neck to stare at something other than the fucking ceiling, for Kami's sake! She was revolted by everything in this situation.

She wasn't going to be able to move for two days, maybe one if she was lucky. Having her chakra drained every four days made her weaker than ever. She'd probably die because Ibara drained her chakra so much, but that didn't seem true for they hadn't killed her even when they had the opportunity to. After all of Emiko's attempts to flee, one would think that they wouldn't bother themselves with such an unruly captive and just do away with her. Apparently that wasn't right.

The first escape attempt hadn't been planned out very well, and occurred as soon as they accompanied her outside of her holding cell. Basically put, she made a run for it and knocked out anyone who tried to stop her. Emiko hadn't even made it outside the lair, yet no one was following her. It was surprising, and in a moment of naivety, she believed she could actually escape.

That was Emiko's thoughts before she stopped to vomit and passed out. When she woke from that little escapade she vomited again and had violent migraines for a week. She was put on "probation", and so began the routine of draining her chakra. The probation period only lasted a month, and Emiko was locked up in room with a meal consisting of bread only once a day. Clearly they didn't want to kill her. All the same, as soon as the probation ended she was moved into a bleak room with a cot to serve as a bed. There was a small closet, as well as a tiny bathroom on the other side. Minimal, functional, and private; a generous life for a prisoner.

……………………………………

Ibara scowled as he waited for a response. It was bad enough that he was inside this room with the disgusting smell of decay hanging in the air. That's not all I can smell. He grimaced and scratched his back brusquely, still trying to overlook the pungent smell of death. He usually didn't mind it, even going as far to enjoying the smell of an opponent's blood… but the stench hung so thickly in the air that he felt the urge to puke.

Various body parts floated lazily in their jars. A tentacle uncurled itself in the thick fluid. The wood panels on the ceiling and walls were coated with a thick layer of grime and dirt. Candlelight reflected off the dirty beakers, the shadows quivering like living things only added to the sinister atmosphere. So much for a sanitary medical room…

The young man's hands deftly separated the brown powder. He ground the brown seeds with a mortar. He nodded to himself cheerfully. Ibara wondered how in the hell someone so malicious could act so happy and carefree. Not unlike all his so-called associates, he really disliked the grey-haired man. The simpering expression on the medic's face seemed to be capable of pissing any shinobi off. Perhaps, the medic even thought of it as a gift.

"Your ability, Ibara-san, is that of the Akadou clan. You were chosen for this reason, and you will be rewarded for it as well. You don't want to go back to the prison cells, do you?" the man looked at Ibara with a grin.

Ibara snorted in response and adjusted his dark glasses on the bridge of his nose. He still felt resentful because of his time as a captive.

The real prison cells (unlike the captive's room he just visited) weren't maintained and as a result, were horrible places to live in. The ground, walls and ceiling were made of stone. Since the cells were on the lowest level of the base, the air was clammy and it had no source of light other than the few candles lining the walls. Rodents had found their home in those diseased cells.

There were at least ten people per cell, tension and random outbreaks of violence were a constant. Although food wasn't hard to come by and there was enough for everyone, it was insipid and old. The guards often terrorized or humiliated prisoners for their own sadistic amusement, and the bleak atmosphere became even drearier. The captives were dismal and the all-consuming sense of insignificance and oppression only prompted their fervent desire for freedom.

"I won't go back to that hell hole."

The grey-haired man smiled, Ibara snarled in anger. This stupid medic could invoke such anger. Bastard…

"That's good, Ibara. Your loyalty is appreciated."

The dark-haired shinobi was already turning on his heel, more than willing to leave the medic's presence. The smirk still in place, the younger man called out to him.

"Oh, Ibara? Don't forget that you should speak to Orochimaru-sama."

He walked out of the door, pretending that he didn't feel a shiver run down his spine as he heard that name. He didn't even pause when he nearly ran into a black-haired boy. Ibara felt sweat form at his brow as he pounded down the hall, away from the sinister chakra filling the air.

Hello! Long time, no see, huh? Well this is the sequel to Breathe, for Everything Ends. May be a good idea to read the first one, but you don't have to (wasn't that good anyway). This will be probably equal in length, but hopefully much, much better! Hope you enjoyed the beginning! - TheContheDistance