Dawn Hunters

A/N: VERY IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! Okay I have no excuse that I could possibly come up with but I do have four things to say….write…type whatever! First off, I want to thank anyone who reads this or have and still do, not to mention those reviewers. Two is that I will try to update once every two or three weeks but! Only if three is followed, otherwise expect an update every month. Three is that I want at least four reviews! They truly do inspire me, it took me forever to get through this chapter which I think is really pathetic but they made me push through it! And lastly…..ENJOY! ONWARD!

Chapter ŒŒŒŒ

?'s POV

"So what do you know about bijuu?" "That they are powerful beings of energy. They can also be placed inside a person and that makes them a jinnchurikki, which by the way I am NOT!" "Hmm... How about chakra, what do you know of that?" "Chakra is the natural energy of a creature that moves inside it in a network and can enhance our abilities with some training." "You're rather knowledgeable, why are you at a civilian school?'" "*Huff* The 'rents, what other reason? Me being undercover or something? I wish."

"Well since you're not a shinobi, then what are you?" "Simple, I am me, myself and I. Look, I feel as if what I am is something you have to earn the right to know and so far you've pup-napped me, taken me to some random place and are going to do who-knows-what to me! Frankly, I don't think that I should tell someone like that what I am." The older she-wolf caught on and nodded when she realized that the younger was sitting up quite tall and rubbing the fur on her underbelly so that the light revealed nothing but light-toned fur. "So what are you?" the aqua wolf tried once more. "Hmph, that's for me to know and for you to find out, ne?" "He won't let you go." "And who ever said that I want to stay here?"

"So the pup's on board huh?" The blue giant concluded as the aqua wolf surfaced out of the calm center of the river and a frost coat materialized out of the small surf created by the stream bubbling into around the bend further up river. After a quick shake to get most of the moisture out of her fur, the pup responded to the statement; "I never said that." "You didn't deny it either." Sasori interjected. The pup upped him one. "I thought that such high ranked and notorious criminal shinobi would've been able to pick up on it." Kisame snickered by Sasori; "Well, she's definitely a snarky one!"

Meanwhile, the look the older she-wolf had brought back with her from the other bank brought up a general recounting of the quick questioning. This, in turn, brought up the inevitable 'What do we do with her now?' conversation with the light auburn Alpha-male; that interrupted his subordinates' conversation at that moment.

"Yes she is and she's also going to learn that that's not going to help her where she's going." I turned to look incredulously at him. "And where exactly do you think I'm going?" "Wherever we decide to take you." "Am I going to get to know what's going to happen to me?" "Perhaps." "…Am I going to at least go there, wherever it is, on my own?" Even though I was ready to growl, I restrained myself to curving my neck up a bit and pointing my ears back. "So I might get to use my own paws." He hesitated, seeming like he was actually thinking it over then said, "Sorry, not today." I managed to catch a small glint of amusement in his distinct eyes before a set of paws knocked my own out from under me and before I could catch myself, a prick in my side went me under and into someone's awaiting jaws. My final thought was that I hoped that those canines didn't belong to Zetsu or Kisame.

The scent of earth was less damp this time. I forced my eye lids to lift as I felt whoever was carrying me slow down. Apparently, they felt me waking up a little and lowered me to the ground. I sank all the way do the stone floor and rose again as soon as I had a few more muscles in my legs working. I felt a paw prod my side as Sasori tested by balance. I held steady and he gave a nod to Pein.

"For now, you will go with Sasori." He then turned to order off everyone else to go and handle any damage control at the school most likely. He and Konan then went in a different direction in the forest for other business while Sasori led me into their cave.

We had walked a little ways in when I couldn't help but wonder aloud where we were headed. The tan-ish wolf glanced over his should and used a curt tone. "I am taking you to the infirmary." He stopped to look back with some annoyance when my paw-steps stopped echoing his.

"…What?" "Why are we going there?" "Just so I can make sure that the drugs have completely left your system." He turned back and continued on before throwing another 'incentive' back to me. "If you don't move, I'll make you." My ears lay back a little. I wasn't looking forward to it, I'd had some previous …interesting experiences with modern medicine and I doubted that I needed another, or the last seven. Reluctantly, I made myself move then catch up to the desert hound before I had to find out how he would make me.

I wasn't particularly afraid of the Akatsuki but I wasn't anywhere near comfortable either. The tunnel continued into darkness. I could see perfectly fine but Sasori then used a jutsu to light an extended fire bowl on either side near the top of the tunnel. The bowl itself wasn't that large but it couldn't be removed. That one was connected to another one further down. Sasori had noticed my study of the system while he lit the other side. "We need some light don't we? You just don't need to know why we use these." "I already do."

I divulged the information I had regarding their lighting; "Inside each fire bowl, there's some form of kindling that burns slowly and for a long time, while the path connecting the bowls has a quickly burning substance so in an instant you can light the entire passage and with water, darken it as well. …It's to confuse anyone that may follow or wander in here. They walk in and light one, thinking that they can carry it but they light them all and alert you. Then you make them all go out at once and while they're trying to adjust back to the darkness, you take care of them. They won't even be able to give anything other than a verbal signal because the first fire bowl is too far in to have its light seen from the outside. As for why you don't use artificial lighting, isn't it so you can cut off the light at certain areas?" I finished, still looking at the fire bowls in a bit of admiration for their simplicity and ingenuity.

I finally looked back, expecting to see a growingly irritated wolf about to force me to move, was instead greeted with the sight of a calculating look on his face, not an irritated one. His eyes were slightly narrowed and his ears were pressed forward in my direction as if trying to hear something in my words. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"And you got all that from seeing me light it?" he questioned, I responded even though I didn't like the disbelief underlying his monotone voice. "Well yea I did and it's the simplest ideas that sometimes work best right?" All I got was a 'hmmm' in response. I decided to take it as an affirmative and nodded my head toward our original direction and waited for him to take the lead once again.

His russet coat going through several tones and shades in the flickering light kept my eyes entertained for a while, I enjoyed seeing how the light and shadows flitted around and the color of his coat just added to the somewhat surrealistic image.

Eventually, I noticed that we were passing other side passages that were smaller than the main tunnel we were in. I thought of it like a delta, with one main river and many little tributaries running off in different directions. I wanted to follow each one but I was not exactly feeling like being carried like an untrustworthy pup again. My scruff still felt a little tug from just thinking of it.

It was clear that the older wolf was keeping an eye on me because his voice drifted back to me once again. "You won't be going down any of those alone and only a few even with someone." I frowned a little at this and called back. "Then where will I be able to go on my own? I don't want and much less need to bite anyone's shoulder fur to go everywhere." (A/N: to bite someone's shoulder fur is like holding someone's hand) I made sure to stress 'everywhere' enough for him to get the message. He threw a bit of a glare back at mine. "I haven't made you hang onto mine, have I?"

I opened my jaw to retort then closed it when nothing came to me and looked away, ears tilted back in slight embarrassment for not being able to respond with such a childish conversation. He gave a little smirk and slowed down covertly so that I wouldn't notice it enough to comprehend what he was doing. When I realized that he had moved, I was at his left shoulder and he had also come a bit closer, just so I would only have to turn my head less than forty degrees and I'd be able to grab onto his fur. My glare intensified as he kept looking straight ahead and appeared bored even though I just knew he enjoyed irritating me in this stealthy fashion because I swear his eyes were smirking at his newfound way of teasing me!

Just as I was about to bite a good chunk of his shoulder and take off with a piece of it, his head lifted a bit so I decided to look ahead as well. We had made several turns during out little underground expedition, and had arrived at a boulder. He stopped in front of it and made a few jutsu signs, ears flicking back and forth. The boulder began to rumble aside as he looked back and told me to 'step inside' with a gleam in his eyes that made me shiver, and after a moment of hesitation, my paws moved me into the small, dark cavern without my permission.

Again, thanks to those that have stuck with me and my story for this long, I personally hate it when authors don't update so don't worry, I beat myself up a good bit over this but I WILL finish this story! Other than that, you know you want another update so encourage/guilt trip me into getting up the next chapter!

P.S.: To those that read Onsen Escapade, I need inspiration there too! But this is my priority! Well, at the moment anyway.

Ciao! §≈The Mockingbird≈§