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NiikoInPanicMode

Without your reviews, I never would have continued on with this story. You have all been way more helpful than I ever dared hope for. Thank you so much for everyone who has been reading so far. All of the songs you suggested were great songs, and it was really hard to choose one. I've decided that since of course I couldn't use all the songs you suggested for the title, i'll feature one in each chapter!

I am only saying this once, but it applies to every chapter under the story title ' Whispers in the Dark'. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. All rights belong to the creator Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my own original characters Emiko Chou, Sota, Hiroshi, and whomever else I decide to have appear in this story. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

For Ch.I : Beginning of the End

Start Again by RED

The chains that dug into her wrists and ankles filled the desolate dungeon with a soft tinkling noise when she shifted. The sound of her blood dropping into the steadily growing puddle was nothing but familiar background noise to her. She shifted again, her twisted leg dragging pathetically across the ground.

"How...did I end up here..."

Even in her mind, her voice was horse and broken. Unused and forgotten. Dirty brown hair hung around her as a last attempt to shield herself from the horror that was now her life. A sharp knock on her door made her jump and cringe, shrinking as far back into the wall as she could. Her broken leg spread the blood around her across the ground.

"That's right..." The light burned her eyes, but she refused to look away from the door that was slowly opening. Even when the figure stepped into her room, if you could even call it that, and visibly flinched, she refused to look away.

" I remember now..."

Kakashi stood next to Emiko with a firm hand on her shoulder. He was trying his best to reassure her that everything would be fine, but she just wouldn't stop shaking. He couldn't even get her speak. He sighed and looked toward the group that was quickly approaching. Naruto, who picked up his speed when he saw Emiko, Neji, Ten-Ten, Sakura, Lee, and of course, Guy were all coming on the mission to save Gaara. Naruto stopped in front of Emiko and gave her a big grin. It was obviously forced, but it was the first time they'd seen each other in three years. Kakashi's heart dropped a little when the usually cheerful girl only looked at him before speaking in a dead voice.

" We should hurry."

" R-right." Naruto nodded. Without arguing, the group of Ninja took off toward Suna. It was an unspoken agreement that they would move as fast as possible. Breaks were either going to be very short, or entirely out of the question. They were all jounin now, excluding Naruto and Emiko, so they were expected to be able to keep up the fast pace.

" It's been a while, Emiko." Naruto quickened his speed to run next to Emiko. She glanced at him before they both jumped to the next branch. Their feet barely touched the tree before they shot off toward the next one.

" Yeah. You've grown." The others shot Emiko surprised looks. She was talking? She shocked them even further when she smiled at Naruto.

" heh, yeah." He grinned at her. " Your shorter than me now." He laughed when Emiko stumbled on a branch. She quickly regained her footing and glared at Naruto.

Her glare soon turned to a pout as she sighed and looked forward again. " Gaara's taller than me now too." At that, Naruto burst into laughter, making small smiles appear on everyone else's faces. Leave it to Naruto to make Emiko smile at a time like this.

" So you two are finally together now huh?" Emiko flushed at Sakura's question, blushing even deeper when Naruto started laughing again. " I knew it when I saw the way you two-"

" Sakura!" Sakura giggled when Emiko whined her name. She looked ahead with a happy smile on her face and hummed to herself.

" Is it true you were his body guard?" The boy known as Lee spoke up from behind Emiko. She remembered him. Gaara was the one who crushed his legs during their chunin exam. She was always grateful to Lee for managing to forgive Gaara.

" He would never admit it," Emiko thought, " but Gaara would never be able to forgive himslef if Lee hadn't forgiven him first." Sakura fell back so Lee could run on the other side of Emiko. " Yes, I a-was. I was."

" You must be very powerful then!" While Lee rambled on about her power of youth, Neji took the chance to size her up. She had been a 'body guard' for the Kazekage.

Just how strong was she really? He could always tell she was holding back when they'd spar. It was almost like she was hoping the fight would just end already and she wouldn't really have to fight.

Neji's eyes widened when he felt a flare of chakra. " Byakugan!" His muttered word went unnoticed by almost everyone. Emiko had stopped responding to Lee and was now staring ahead with a hard expression. " Three...no, ten...fifteen! Shit, Kakashi-san, Guy-sensei."

The two older jounin glanced at Neji and nodded. They then looked to Emiko. She nodded stiffly, discretely.

Naruto couldn't find out. He mustn't know that fifteen sound Ninja were close by. Their mission was to save Gaara. If Naruto knew...he might choose to attack them for information on Sasuke instead of going after the akutsuki.

" Naruto," The blonde narrowed his eyes at Emiko, " You'll save him right?" Naruto's gaze grew even darker, but he nodded regardless. " You've grown alot, Naruto. You were able to sense them shortly after Neji did. I know you'll be able to bring him home." Thankfully he couldn't tell they were from the sound.

" Come back safe. Gaara will kill me if you don't." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Naruto shivered at the thought of having Gaara pissed at him.

" Emiko-chan, be safe." Lee gave her a small salute before passing her to keep up with his Sensei. Sakura gave her a sad smile while Kakashi nodded at her. Emiko decreased her speed even more, allowing the two of them to pass her and follow after Naruto.

" There are fifteen of them, but they seem to be of a low enough level." Neji studied her for a moment with cold eyes. " Hopefully you have improved." With that, he and Ten-ten left her side.

" Alright," Emiko sighed. " Hopefully they don't keep me from him for to long." Now that the others were gone, she didn't have to pretend anymore. Stopping abruptly, Emiko stumbled on a branch before crashing into the trunk of the tree. She looped an arm around in it an attempt to stay upright, but her heart throbbed painfully, sending her to the ground. She only had a minute before the sound Ninja caught up to her, but laying on the ground, breathing in the deep, earthy smell of the forest, she couldn't find the strength to get up.

"Gaara's gone."

Ever since those words left Temari's mouth, Emiko had been battling with her heart.

She wanted to run to him, but Kankuro was hurt, and only he could tell them the direction to go in.

She wanted to kill everyone in Suna for allowing him to be taken, but she knew it wasn't their fault.

She wanted to fight the men that took him head on, but she knew that even trying, she would still most likely loose.

She wanted to give into her grief and doubts, allowing the darkness in her heart to overtake her mind, but she knew that she couldn't rely on Naruto and the others to save him by themselves. She loved him, and she had to save him. No matter the cost to herself.

"Emiko." His voice seemed to drift through the trees, riding on the wind that was now weaving its way through her hair. She actually looked up, expecting to see him standing above her. Instead, the sun glared into her eyes in anger. Why was she being so weak? Gaara needed her now.

She wouldn't leave him behind this time.

The empty pill container shattered against a tree. Emiko flexed her outstretched hand before making sure the bandages around them were tight. Ignoring the way her heart felt like a ravenous beast trying desperately to claw its way out of her chest, Emiko squared her shoulders and faced the direction they would be coming from. Her vision wavered slightly, but just as she heard the first rustle of their footsteps, the trees shifted back into their proper places.

" I coulda sworn there were more than just one of ya." A tall, rather thick man landed heavily on the ground before Emiko. " They run off pissin' their pants?"

Emiko kept a straight face and watched as the other fourteen landed around her. " Neji was right. Fifteen sound ninja." She quickly glanced around the group. " Ten men, five women. Eleven only fight with weapons, the others must use jutsu." She glanced at the man in front of hers hands, noticing that he was not wearing gloves. He must be a jutsu user. " None of them seem particularly strong, must be new."

" I asked ya a question bitch." The man spit at her, the others laughing when his spit landed just before her feet.

Emiko looked down, then slowly looked back up at him. " I am Emiko Chou." She said, putting a hand on her hip. When the man just stared dumbly back at her, she made circular motions with her other hand. " And you are?"

" Don't get smart with me whore!" He seemed to have quite an extensive vocabulary. " I don't owe ya shit! 'Specially not my fucking name!"

" It must be hard to keep all the ladies off you huh?" Emiko kept her hand on her hip and a blank look on her face while the ninja around her burst into laughter.

" She got's you pegged Jumba!" One of the girls clutched her stomach and doubled over while the others pointed and laughed at him.

...Jumba?

His face grew a furious shade of red and purple, veins pulsing to life on his forehead. " I'll have ya screaming my name on ya knees!"

" Wait." A monotonous voice broke through Jumba's rage. He froze his slow and clumsy hand signs to glare over at a comrade. A tall man dressed like the rest, covered from head to foot in blue cameo and over sized jackets, stepped forward. Emiko stared at him. " Emiko Chou you say?"

" Yes." Her vision shifted again, briefly making a clone of the man speaking to her.

" Yama. Pleased to meet you, miss Chou. You've just made our job a hell of alot easier." He seemed to be smirking underneath his mask.

" Your job?" Emiko took her hand off her hip and straightened up.

" Yes. You see, our master's become quite infatuated with you." Emiko shuddered. " We were sent out to retrieve you. Alive of course, is the preferable way."

" This bitch is tha one we s'pose to bring back?" Emiko couldn't pin point the one that'd spoken up. She could already feel a migraine coming on.

Could none of them speak properly?

" So then, will you come with us? Orochimaru-sama would be most pleased." Yama held his hand out toward her. He closed his eyes in a fake smile, the corners of his face crinkling upward with his smile.

" I'm sorry, but I have someone who truly needs me right now. You've wasted enough of my time." Yama's expression shifted so quickly into a cold, sinister glare that Emiko could've sworn he was never smiling in the first place.

" Ha! Ya think ya can take us on? Why don't ya get ya pant pissin friends back 'ere to help ya?" Jumba laughed loudly while cracking his fingers. Several sound ninja unsheathed weapons while the rest readied their hands.

" Unfortunately, their per-occupied at the moment. Your lucky though," Emiko shifted slightly, making a few quick hand signs, " they wouldn't let you live. Roku, raihigyou no kami!"

The next ten minutes passed in seconds. Trees burst into flame around Emiko. The screech of hidden animals could be heard, but the roars of anger from her enemies was louder. One of her wings instantly shattered, the others quickly shifting to fill the gap.

" Ahhhhh!"

" Shit!" Emiko sped backwards, dodging between people in order to avoid touching any of them with her wings.

The girl that had tried to grab her wings in an attempt to hold her down was now staring in horrific shock at a bloody stump. The spot where her hand used to be was now a jagged and smoking stump. Small beads of blood managed to force their way through the seared section of her skin.

" Don't touch her wings!" Someone yelled. A kunai flew past Emiko's face, but she ignored it and instead, focused her attention on finding a more open area. If her wings touched any of the trees, she would start a huge forest fire. Emiko took of into the sky, curses and shuriken following after her. It only took her a second to find a small patch of clear land. Making sure they would follow her, she flew over to the clearing, landing gracefully and readying herself for the attack. Just two minutes later, the group of sound ninja came bursting out of the forest. The majority of them tried attacking her with their weapons, while a few threw weak jutsu at her.

A small blast of water landed just a few feet away from Emiko. " Crap." She dodged a punch, throwing one of her own and hitting the man square in the jaw. She threw herself to the ground, landing on her hands and kicking her feet out around her. She twirled once on her hands before pushing off the ground and landing a further away from the water. The people she'd just kicked were getting back up, wiping blood from thier mouths.

Jumba came charing toward her, rock formed over his hands like gloves. " Sensei gokeki, rein"! Not even a split second after her first wing shattered did multiple bolts of purple lighting rain down upon the sound ninja. Several of them were hit, convulsing sickeningly before dropping to the ground. Ignoring the smell of burning flesh and the way her stomach threatened to empty, Emiko grabbed a kunai out of the air and hurled it back toward its wielder. Emiko was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain, and a grunt when she slammed her fist into Yama's face.

She was right. These sound members were fairly new. They fought with a blood lust, but not even close to enough skill to touch her.

" This has gone on long enough!" Emiko shouted. She grabbed Yama's throat before tossing him into two men that were sneaking up behind her. " Activate!" A burst of light surrounded Emiko, pulsing a moment before expanding to cover the entire clearing. Some members of the hidden sound village were thrown back into trees, their bodys twitching and small electrical currents dancing on their bodies. Others however, were electrocuted on the spot, arching their backs and screaming out in pain before dropping to the ground.

Choruses of 'my eyes!' and ' I can't see!' Told Emiko her shield had been a success. Ignoring the twitching bodies that littered the forest around her, Emiko looked to the distance. She could just barely feel Naruto's chakra. " They've gotten pretty far." She sighed.

Just when Emiko was about to jump back into the forest, a low hissing sound made her freeze. "no..." She slowly turned around. Her heart throbbed and her vision shifted for just a split second, but that was when she saw it. A pair of giant, yellow eyes staring at her from the safety of the trees. Emiko took a step back, fear flashing in her eyes. He was here.

Dammit! She should finished the sound ninja off faster! Before Emiko could turn and fly away as fast as possible, the monster in the trees lunched itself out into the open. One unfortunate sound member had finally succeeded in standing up. Emiko watched in horror as the scene played out before her in slow motion. The gargantuan snake ignored the man in front of it and rammed into him. Instead of knocking the man into the air, the momentum of the beast proved to much for the frail mans body to handle. There was a sickening cracking sound, accompanied by the unforgettable sound of flesh taring apart. Wide purple eyes saw everything. The snakes head created a bulge in the mans stomach before moving through it. Thankfully the mans clothes spared Emiko the sight of watching the skin of his stomach tare away from the skin of his hips. Part of his spine protruded from his torso that was air born at the moment. Blood seemed to freeze in the air, painting that space a dark red. She saw a look of unimaginable pain flit across the mans face. Yama, she recognized. Their eyes connected for the longest second of her life.

She would never, for the rest of her life, forget the look of unmeasurable pain and unmatched fear that filled his eyes.

Tearing her eyes away from the gruesome sight before her, Emiko concentrated once more on the giant snake in front of her. Blood covered its face. The beast was easily three stories tall, it's body thick enough to swallow an elephant whole with no problem. A scream caught in her throat when before she could blink, the snakes tail whipped out and caught seven sound ninja. They had been slowly backing up toward the forest, not trusting their masters summon.

The snake almost seemed to laugh as it slowly squeezed the men and women in it's grip.

Move! Help them! Don't just stand here!

Despite the voices shouting in her head, Emiko was frozen to her spot.

You didn't spare them just so they could die like this!

Their screams echoed throughout the forest. Emiko flinched violently at the crunching sound that ended their screams of terror and pain. The snake hissed loudly before tossing the bodies in a random direction. The bodies were now crushed to such a degree that bones protruded from impossible twisted limbs. While most just fell to the ground and rolled to a stop, a few found their way to stray tree branches that hung them up for the world to see.

The two remaining women had seen what their so called masters summon had done. " Orochimaru-sama, why?" Were their last words before they cut their own throats. The snaked eyed them with something akin to disgust.

There was the faintest shift of a rock behind the snake. " NO!" Emiko roared and stretched her hand out to the five remaining men. The fools had tried running away.

In less than ten seconds, the giant summon was looming over them. It's jaw seemed to unhinge, allowing its mouth to open impossibly wide.

Emiko choked down the vile burning her throat when their screams disappeared within the beast. Their bodies barely made a bulge in the snakes body.

" Well well, what a disappointment. Here I thought they would be more than enough to bring you back to me."

" Orochimaru." She would never forget that voice. He chuckled softly as he walked out of the forest.

His voice was smooth, seductive as he spoke to her. The sick promise of power seemed to lace his words. " Shall we head back, Emiko Chou?"

Emiko's fear turned to rage when the pale snake master finally stepped out of the shadows. A cocky smirk was plastered on his face, just daring her to say no. His greasy black hair swayed in the wind, exposing more of his face than she ever needed to see. " I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on you my dear."

" is that so?" Emiko silently congratulated herself for keeping her voice steady. Her heart was beating wildly against her rib cage, only adding to the pain it was already in.

" You don't look so well dear." His voice was a soft hiss, one that made a cold shiver run down her spine. " I think I may know what will make you feel better."

A feeling of dread instantly flooded through her. There was no way she could take on a Sanin. She may have grown stronger, but Sanin were on a whole other level, even outranking S class criminals. Orochimaru continued to walk forward, stopping only to put a hand on the snake. It's tongue flicked out, tasting the last of the blood in the air before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

" Now then, will you come with me?" He held his hand out to her. Emiko stared at his hand for a moment before meeting his twisted gaze.

" I'd rather die."

Instead of getting angry and attacking her like Emiko thought he'd do, Orochimaru laughed. His laughter grew louder and louder untill his shoulders were shaking and his head was thrown back. Emiko took several steps back, suddenly very scared.

" Death is a funny thing." He said between fits of laughter. He finally calmed down enough to only chuckling every now and then. Emiko narrowed her eyes when he snapped his fingers. " You never really know if someone is gone for good until you burn the body yourself, wouldn't you agree?"

" I-" Emiko halted her confused response when a figure landed next to the rouge Sanin. It was a boy, she could tell that much. However, when the boy finally stood all the way up, raising his head to face her, she realized who it was.

Her heart was now a white hot iron conveniently placed in her chest. Every pump sent waves of pain through her body, increasing so much that it was like an endless circle of pain. The color drained from her face and her arm stretched out pathetically toward the person. Her pupils had dilated, and lines were forming under her eyes. She took a weak step forward, stumbling and barely catching her balance.

Orochimaru only watched with a sick satisfaction as she seemed to shut down. The boy beside him shifted, hooking his hands behind his head and shifting from foot to foot.

" Hey sis." His voice was deeper than she remembered.

" Hiroshi."

I hope this was worth the wait! I know I got this out faster than the last chapter of Guardian Angel...but still! I've come up with a good method to writing these stories that keeps me from getting to borde of them. Write a little everyday! I come back to them a couple times a day and write a little more each time instead of trying to finish one in one sitting. Feel stupid for figuring that out just now but oh well! Hopefully this wasn't to cheesy! Whispers in the Dark is gunna be a little more morbid than Guardian Angel, so i'll put up warnings on the chapters that'll be a bit gory.

Till next time! ~xxpaperheartxx~