Chapter Seven

"Not that I mind or anything, Hatake-sama, but why are you following me? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Jin spoke softly, staring up at the stars as Kakashi came to sit next to him. "It's rather late to be up and stalking me, no matter how pretty I am." There was a teasing lilt to his voice now.

"I could ask the same of you. It's rather suspicious for foreign shinobi to be out in the dead of night. Someone might get the wrong idea." Kakashi pointed out, studying Jin's face. "But I don't think you're up to anything."

"I suppose that's a fair point. I just needed some fresh air, though." He glanced at him and smiled sweetly. "I don't sleep well at night. I like to take walks, though. It's calm and quiet. Easier to think and clear my head when everyone else is asleep."

Kakashi nodded slightly, understanding how that felt. There were still nights when he was reminded of Rin, and of what he'd done to her, intentional or not. It wasn't nearly as bad now, but the pain and guilt remained. He wondered if Jin had suffered something similar.

"You don't have to worry about me causing any trouble. Konoha is a very peaceful place, and I don't want to do anything to change that. The people here are so kind, so much kinder than in Kiri. To be honest, I think this village has made me go soft, despite the fact that I haven't been here for very long yet. I've been treated better here than I ever was back in Kiri. The village I was born in is still the kindest I've ever been to, aside from a few people, but...it's not the same. What is it with this village? It's so full of life." Jin wasn't used to the kindness he'd experienced here, especially since he was a foreign shinobi.

"Is that so?" Kakashi couldn't help but smile beneath his mask. Jin was a little odd, but he didn't think he was that bad of a person. Though he did wonder how badly people treated each other in Kiri for Jin to be amazed by what was generally common courtesy in Konoha.

"Yeah. It's much nicer here, though I must admit that the weather is rather difficult to deal with. It's too hot here." Jin wrinkled his nose a little. "I'm glad you have air conditioning. Without it, I would probably have keeled over dead by now. Raizo's probably laughing at my suffering right now, wherever he's at." He puffed his cheeks out in a pout and let out a huff.

Kakashi watched Jin curiously. He mentioned this 'Raizo' a lot, yet didn't seem to want to talk about him. But really, it was none of his business, anyway, even though the sadness in Jin's voice made him curious. "Well, you did say earlier tonight that you were born in the coldest part of Water Country. Try not to turn my place into an ice box, though." He teased.

That got a laugh out of Jin, a real laugh. Generally, he was a very open person, but he often restrained his reactions around people he wasn't very comfortable with. He wasn't doing that now. "You're funny. I like you." He said, now trying to stifle a yawn.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile a little more. "Well, you should be getting some rest now. You just got out of the hospital, and you don't want to end up sick now, do you?"

Jin heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose you're right." He began to pout again, getting up slowly. For a moment, he swayed, as if dizzy. Then he felt a hand on his back, supporting him. Knowing it was just Kakashi, he managed not to tense up. As a general rule, he didn't like being touched without permission, unless it was by someone he was close with or if he initiated contact first. "Thank you. I still haven't recovered all my chakra, and I'm prone to this sort of thing when I'm running low. One of the hassles of having a large chakra reserve; it takes a few days to recover fully, and what's low for me, wouldn't be for someone else. I'm a bit reckless with how much I use, though, so I guess I should admit."

"You should be more careful, Jin-san." Kakashi began to guide him back to his place slowly, frowning a little more.

"Haven't I told you to just call me by my name, Hatake-sama? Just 'Jin' is fine with me. You don't need to use honorifics with me." Jin wrinkled his nose.

"Then just call me Kakashi." Came the copy-nin's retort. "You certainly don't need to use the 'sama' honorific with me. It's a bit excessive."

Jin looked scandalized. "I'm not familiar enough with you for something like that, Hatake-sama! Besides, I'm of lower rank than anyone here. It would be disrespectful to use any other honorific, or, god forbid, just your name." He shook his head rapidly. "I can't do that, Hatake-sama."

"Don't make yourself dizzy again." Kakashi said, just as Jin began to sway again. "Jin-san, you shouldn't have left while you're still recovering." With a sigh, he pulled Jin's arm around his neck, and then secured his own arm around his waist to help support him.

"Hatake-sama, I'll be fine. Thank you for your help and concern, though. I appreciate it." Jin leaned against him slightly, smiling. "I'm sorry that I'm such a hassle. I haven't been able to do anything useful the whole time I've been here…" He shook his head slightly, letting Kakashi help him inside once they were back at his place.

"That's not true." Kakashi said, taking him over to the table and sitting him down in one of the seats. He sat across from him, studying Jin's face in the dim light that Kakashi had left on before going to follow the Mist shinobi. "You made sure that Sakura stayed safe when you were both taken."

"Ahh, now that you bring that up, where were the three of you when we were being taken away? I didn't sense your chakra. Though, I suppose that may be because I'm not a sensor type. When it comes to it, I can really only sense those that I'm really close with from farther distances away." Jin shrugged a bit. "I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. In the end, everything ended up fine, I guess. None of us suffered permanent injury, though I am still concerned about Haruno-hime's mental state…" He was beginning to ramble a little now.

"Relax, we just got stuck dealing with the aftermath of our investigation into the courtesan houses. That woman, Suzume Aiko, I think her name was, mistook Sasuke for one of her younger courtesans." Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, and shook his head.

"I see…" Jin glanced down at the table, thinking for a moment. Then he let out a sigh and decided that he would need to speak with Sasuke again tomorrow. "I apologize for that situation. I didn't think she'd just go and try to pick up more children just like that." He shook his head, and then smiled at Kakashi. "Say, I don't think I saw you eat once when everyone was here. You must be hungry, right? I'll make you something. After all, I did promise you dinner in exchange for taking care of Hakaru-chan."

"Don't worry about it. I ate plenty today." Kakashi said cheerily, closing his eye in a smile. "You should go back to bed, though."

Jin shook his head. "I don't believe you. I was watching all of you closely, and I saw that you didn't eat a thing. I'm a little offended." He puffed his cheeks up and got up. "No arguments. It's important to take care of your health. And if you weren't eating because you didn't want anyone to see your face, you don't have to worry; I won't look at you while you eat."

Kakashi wanted to protest, but he could tell by the way Jin spoke that there would be no point in it. "Fine, fine." He gave in with an exasperated sigh, and then glanced at what he'd been studying earlier, before he'd followed Jin. It was the ANBU mask that had been shattered in the fight that he himself had not witnessed between Jin and the missing nin Sakura had killed. Sakura had picked up every single piece with Naruto's help, and had somehow figured out how to piece the whole thing back together. She'd asked him to return it to the Mist shinobi when he woke up, but Jin had been so impatient, and had been so busy despite the fact that he needed to rest and recover as the nurse had told him to.

Jin smiled and set to work cooking up something simple for Kakashi. He'd become quite adept at cooking, though that was most likely because he had been forced to cook for his parents when they got too drunk, or when they decided that they didn't want to feed him. But he'd really gotten good at it when he'd taken in Hakaru. Hakaru had had no one else to take care of him, and Jin had wanted him to grow up healthy. He loved him dearly as his little brother.

It wasn't long before Jin had finished cooking and dished it onto a plate. He'd made tonkatsu, and was rather proud of how the deep-fried pork cutlet had turned out. "Here you are." He smiled, setting the plate down in front of Kakashi. He didn't notice his mask on the table, instead turning around and going about cleaning the dishes that he'd made.

Kakashi studied him for a moment before slowly removing his mask. When he was sure that Jin was focused on the dishes, and not his face, he began to eat. He had to admit that the food was quite tasty.

When Jin finished cleaning up his mess, he kept his back turned, staring quietly out one of the windows. He was relaxed, quietly lost in thought. He supposed that Kakashi was a kind person. He had helped him twice now, first when he'd lost consciousness on the way back to Konoha from wherever they had ended up, and second when Kakashi had helped him home earlier that night when he'd been dizzy.

The copy-nin finished eating and pulled his mask back up over his face. He got up and went into the kitchen, reaching in front of Jin to put the plate in the sink.

"Ahh, sorry." Jin moved out of the way and offered him a smile. He turned to head back to the room he and Hakaru were currently sharing. "I'm gonna try to get some rest. Goodnight."

"Wait, Jin-san. Sakura asked me to give something to you. I haven't had much of a chance because you've insisted on running around all day, despite your nurse's warning to rest." Kakashi returned to the table, picking up the mask as Jin turned around.

"Oh, is that…? It broke during the battle…" Jin stepped closer to Kakashi and took the mask as it was offered to him. He could see the fine lines where it had broken, but they were hardly noticeable. Even the paint that had chipped off when it had broken had been fixed with a fresh layer, matching the design it had had before nearly perfectly. "I...Haruno-hime...did...this…?" He was at a loss for words. "Why…?"

Kakashi nodded slightly, a little surprised at Jin's shocked expression. "She felt bad that it broke when you were protecting her. She and Naruto fixed it together. Naruto helped her find the pieces."

"I…" Only three people in Jin's life had ever been so kind to him before, and he was very close to all of them. He hardly knew Sakura, and yet she had gone to the trouble to piece together his mask. It was enough to bring him to tears. He quickly looked away, trying to hide the tears that threatened to spill. "She's such a kind girl. I...I don't know what to say…" He couldn't wipe the smile from his face. She reminded him vaguely of Kaoru and how sweet he had been while he was alive. She was so very kind. "She reminds me of my baby brother a little…"

"You should get some rest now." Kakashi said, pretending not to notice the catch in Jin's voice, or the tears that he'd noticed before he'd turned away. "It's late and you're still recovering. Goodnight." He turned and went off to his own room.

Jin stared at the mask for a moment longer before turning and returning to the futon in the room he shared with Hakaru. He didn't have any trouble sleeping after that.


Jin woke up feeling more well-rested than he had in years. He slowly got up and smoothed out his hair, which stuck up at odd angles. He saw immediately that Hakaru had left already, probably to shadow Kiba. He'd arranged for him to hang out with Kiba at least once or twice a week, unless it conflicted with missions Kiba had, to continue trying to get over his fear of dogs.

When he shuffled out of the room, he noticed that Kakashi was also gone. With a sigh, he turned back around and went back into the room. Since they were gone, he supposed it would be a good time to set up the two little shrines he had for Kaoru and Raizo.

Jin sat down in front of the window, and grabbed a sealed scroll that he had set on the windowsill. He opened it and took out the two framed pictures he had.

The first picture was of Kaoru smiling brightly into the camera. His violet eyes sparkled, and his gap-toothed smile was incredibly infectious. The picture was old and worn in a few places, but had otherwise survived all this time very well. He set the picture in the windowsill and set a small bowl in front of it for offerings. He couldn't completely make a shrine for either of his dearly departed, but he did the best he could with what he had.

The second picture was of a man who looked a few years younger than Jin was now. His white hair was braided in the way it had been on the fateful day that they had met, though it was certainly longer. His lips were curved into a gentle smile, and he looked relaxed and at peace, despite his Kaguya heritage. Something silver glinted on his finger, but it was impossible to tell what it was because of the angle the picture had been taken at.

Jin smiled a little, and placed down a second small bowl in front of Raizo's picture. He stared at it for a moment before getting up and shuffling over to the nightstand next to the bed that he'd had Hakaru use instead of himself. He took out a few more pictures and set them on it, smiling at each one. One of Raizo and himself. Two of Raizo and himself playing with Hakaru. One of just Hakaru and Raizo. One of just Hakaru and himself. And the last of Zabuza, Haku, and himself. He had more pictures of Raizo and Hakaru, of course, but he didn't want to take up too much more space.

Once he was done with that, he grabbed a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom. He was feeling much better today, and he felt even better when he got in the shower. He didn't take a long shower, just long enough to wake him up.

Jin slipped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying himself off. He got dressed, and dried off his hair. He ran his fingers through it to smooth it out, and then turned and left the bathroom. He wasn't hungry, so he just pulled on his shinobi sandals, and tied his Mist headband around his neck, where it normally rested when he wasn't in his ANBU uniform, and headed out for the day.

He had a checklist today. First, he needed to speak with Sasuke to make sure he was alright. Then he needed to thank Sakura and Naruto for fixing his mask. After that, he was planning on speaking with the children they had manage to rescue. He needed to figure out how to stop whatever was going on. And last, he was going to return to the place he and Sakura had been taken to explore it more thoroughly. He had a busy day ahead of him.

It didn't take long to find Sasuke; he was training in the training grounds by himself. It seemed that he never took a day off. He turned around when he heard Jin approach, his expression unreadable.

"Uchiha-sama, you're up early this morning." Jin smiled at him for a moment before his expression turned serious. "I heard that you were held up by Suzume-sama. Was that what you wanted to talk about yesterday?"

Sasuke stiffened a little, staring at Jin. "No, I had no trouble dealing with her." He replied, turning his gaze away. He turned and resumed practicing throwing shuriken. His aim was near perfect, only one flying slightly off course. Perhaps it was because he was rattled by Jin's questions.

"I see. I'm glad nothing happened." Jin relaxed a little, watching him quietly. "However, Uchiha-sama, I can see that there is something seriously wrong. I get the feeling that for too long, no one has bothered to wonder how you're really doing. I've seen how Haruno-hime acts around you. It makes me wonder if anyone has ever seen you for who you really are, rather than for your heritage. It makes me wonder if that's why very few people seem to have noticed that you're not okay."

"Mind your own business!" Sasuke snapped, throwing one shuriken with more force than necessary. "You don't know anything. I'm perfectly fine."

Jin smiled faintly. "Uchiha-sama, I've been saying those words long enough myself to know that they're a lie. Come on, let's find somewhere to sit for a bit." He put his hand on Sasuke's back and guided him away from his target practice. "I'm talking to you as an outsider looking in. This is just what I've seen. As I've said before, I don't know your circumstances. I want to help you because I can't stand to see children suffering."

The pair stopped at a small creek, and at Jin's nudging, Sasuke sat down. He didn't say a word, not wanting to talk to Jin. What did he know, anyway? He couldn't possibly understand his suffering! However, before he could say just that, Jin began to speak.

"I grew up in a land known for its civil wars, for its hatred and fear of those who had the misfortune of possessing a kekkei genkai. That aside, the Land of Water itself isn't a hospitable place. The people are not, either. When I was little, I had a dream to become a powerful shinobi. However, my family was poor. Not so much that we ever went without, but enough so that when I began at the Academy, my mother had to become a courtesan to help pay for that. Both her and my stepfather started drinking not long after that. They were not kind people when they were drinking like that. My mother ended up forcing me to work at the same courtesan house she worked in during all my spare time to help pay for it. Working there during the day wasn't so bad. It was just people who wanted to talk because they had no one else to talk to. The nights, however, were when the undesirables came to play." Jin took a moment to think and clear his throat.

Sasuke watched him closely, eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Jin leaned back a little, watching the creek's current carry away twigs and leaves. "Let me finish, please." He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. "When I was four, my stepfather lost his mind. Ever since he'd started drinking heavily, he'd started hitting my half-brother, and myself whenever we upset him. He's a shinobi of the Mist, like I am, so as you can imagine, he hits rather hard. Anyway, one night, he came home and, long story short, killed my baby brother because I couldn't keep him quiet. The next year, just after my fifth birthday, I passed the graduation exam and barely a year after that, I was forced into one of the many civil wars. I was used as a weapon to help quash down the opposing side, whether or not I believed in what I was being forced to fight for." He paused for a moment. "I guess I'm telling you this because I know what it's like to have your childhood taken away from you. I suffered a lot because of things I couldn't control. I didn't have anyone to help me back then, and I wish I had. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I'm here to talk if you want to. I may not know your circumstances, and I may not know what it's like to go through the same things, but I do know what it's like to be alone, to suffer. I know what it's like to want revenge, to want to die, to want to destroy everything around me. I know what it's like to wish I could change the past. For as long as I am here, in Konoha, I'll be here for you, for Uzumaki-sama, for Haruno-hime, for Hatake-sama, for whoever needs me. You don't have to suffer and carry this burden alone."

He went quiet after that, licking his lips and taking a deep breath. He glanced at Sasuke, a bit worried when he hadn't said anything for a while. He was rather shocked to see that the poor kid was breaking down, his eyes wide with shock. He sat rigidly, trying his hardest not to lose it completely.

"Uchiha-sama...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you so much. Forgive me." He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder gently, hoping to reassure him. "But you don't always have to be so strong. Don't bottle everything up inside, okay? You can't move forward with your life until you stop living in the past. Though, I suppose it makes me a hypocrite to say that, since I can't leave the past behind." He smiled a bit, and pulled Sasuke into a gentle hug. "Uchiha-sama, please tell me what's wrong. Think of me as a sibling. Anything you say to me will be in confidence, and I will never tell another soul."

"I...I…" Sasuke paused to clear his throat so that his voice wouldn't tremble. "I...everyone's dead." He whispered, staring down blankly. "He killed them all...even...even mother and father." A tremor ran through him as he remembered that night.

Jin stroked Sasuke's hair gently, in the same way he had done with Hakaru when he had still had nightmares and fits of panic in his younger years, and the same way he had done with Kaoru when they had lost all hope of their parents becoming kind once more. He stayed quiet, though, not wanting to keep Sasuke from letting it all like he seemed to need to.

"My...brother...killed them all. My whole clan...is dead because he killed them…" He hadn't really ever said much to anyone about what had happened that night. Now it was all flooding forth, like water from a broken dam.

Jin didn't know what to say. He was appalled by just the thought of that. He didn't understand how someone could do something so terrible. Family was precious, blood related or not, and something that shouldn't be thrown away so easily. It enraged him to think that someone could be so heartless as to destroy their family. He didn't know the circumstances behind it, but to him, it didn't matter. What Sasuke's brother had done was unforgivable.

"Shh, Uchiha-sama, shh...don't cry." He could see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "It's going to be alright now."

"I...I'm going to kill him." Sasuke couldn't keep his voice from trembling any longer. "I'm going to kill him."

"Uchiha-sama…" Jin shook his head slightly, but didn't try to dissuade him. Instead, he continued to stroke his hair in an attempt to calm him. "I'm going to tell you something that I had to tell Hakaru-chan a few years ago, okay? Someone very close to him was killed, and he spent his days crying and crying, and wondering why he had to die and leave him behind." He was changing the telling just a little bit because he didn't want to think about what he himself had gone through during that same time. "So, I told him that it was just his time. I'm not saying that he was destined to die just then, but that it was a time that he was happy and had no regrets. I told him that even though he was gone from this earth, he was still far above, watching his progress. I told him that he wouldn't want to see Hakaru-chan so sad, that he would want him to have the strength to move on and understand that just because he was dead, did not mean that he was gone forever. Uchiha-sama, life and death are funny things. They are beautiful and tragic, and neither could exist without the other. People live, and people die, and sometimes there's nothing we can do to change or stop that. Those loved ones of ours that have long since passed or just recently passed are gone from this earth, but they are not gone from our hearts or the world they entered when they left this one. What I'm trying to say, is that even though your family is gone, they are still watching you, and they still love you dearly."

Sasuke seemed to listen quietly, though he didn't look up or acknowledge what Jin was saying just yet.

"We, as shinobi, are not supposed to show our emotions, not supposed to let things get to us, but I don't think that's always good. On the battlefield, yes, but in situations like yours, it should be okay to let it out. If you keep everything bottled up inside, you'll shatter yourself, or you'll become the monster you saw, but never thought you could become." Jin patted his head gently, offering him a small smile. "Come on, I've got some things to do today, and you're welcome to help me out if you want. I promise this time, that it'll be much less dangerous. No one will be kidnapped or anything. Wipe your tears, alright?" He let go of Sasuke and got to his feet. He stretched his legs out a little. "Aww, man, I forgot my umbrella."

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered as he got to his feet, though it wasn't malicious. He'd wiped his tears and reverted to his usual expression, embarrassed to have been so vulnerable. "Let's just go. What did you need to do?"

"Ahh, I need to thank Haruno-hime and Uzumaki-sama for fixing my mask, and I need to speak with the children who were held captive, though that can wait until they've rested more, and then I need to return to the place where they were kept to investigate it more thoroughly. I didn't have much chance before because we needed to get the children out of there. Though...I did pass out before we got back, I so really don't know where that is…" Jin frowned, thinking quietly. "That doesn't matter right now. Let's just go find Haruno-hime and Uzumaki-sama."

Sasuke didn't reply, instead starting off ahead of him. He had a feeling he already knew where Naruto was, though he thought it would be a little more difficult to find Sakura, since she didn't do the same thing every day at the same time, like Naruto did. He supposed that sooner or later she would conveniently show up wherever he was at, though. "I know where Naruto will be."

Jin smiled and followed him closely. "Great. Thanks, Uchiha-sama." He studied Sasuke for a moment. He hoped that he had managed to help the poor kid even just a little. He hated to see people suffer, and always tried his hardest to help in any way he could. He couldn't just do nothing, just the same as when he had found Hakaru as a little kid. He wondered if he just had a habit of picking up strays, metaphorically speaking. He shrugged to himself. That probably wasn't the case. Hakaru was the only person he had taken in like that.

The pair ended up at Ichiraku's, where Naruto was slurping down ramen, as per usual. Really, Jin should have expected to find Naruto there to begin with, judging by how his first day in Konoha had gone. They slipped into the seats on either side of him.

"Hey there, Uzumaki-sama. Thanks for helping Haruno-hime with fixing my mask. You didn't have to do that, but I really appreciate it." Jin smiled at him and ruffled his hair the same way he did with Hakaru.

"Ehehehe, it was no problem! I wanted to help Sakura-chan." Naruto beamed, wiping his face. "It was hard finding all the pieces, though! You really broke that thing." He tipped his head to the side slightly.

"Ahh, no, I'm not the one who broke it. I was just hit so hard that it shattered. Honestly, I'm surprised that there wasn't more damage to my face." Jin rubbed his badly bruised cheek, wincing at the tenderness of it.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura poked her head inside, blinking. "Naruto? Jin-san? What's going on? I thought I heard you here…"

Jin glanced over and smiled at her. "Hey, Haruno-hime. It's nice to see you. Hatake-sama passed along my mask from you. Thank you for fixing it for me. You're far too kind. I was just about to go looking for you to thank you."

"Oh...it was no problem at all. You protected me, so it was the least I could do…" Sakura looked away awkwardly.

"I didn't protect you. Sure, I stepped in, but you saved my life. You made it possible to come back to Hakaru-chan. Thank you." Jin reached over and ruffled her hair. "Moving on, though, do you two want to come with us to where the children were kept? Uchiha-sama and I were going to go see what more we could find. You're welcome to come along."

"I'll come with!" Naruto said, leaping to his feet. "Lemme just finish my ramen…" He plopped back down and began gulping down the rest of the bowl. He finished in a matter of minutes and forked over his money. "Let's go!"

Sakura giggled a little at Naruto's antics. She hadn't really been doing very well since they'd returned. What she'd done had been weighing heavily on her mind. It was nice to see Naruto acting like his normal self now. It cheered her up a little. "I'll come with, too."

Jin got to his feet. "Great, let's stop at Hatake-sama's place for a minute, though, so that I can change and leave a note."

Quickly, the four of them made their way to Kakashi's place, Jin letting them all in, while he went to change. He grabbed his spare ANBU uniform, though he left his mask behind. He went into the bathroom, and changed into it quickly. He pulled on his metal plated gloves, and flexed his fingers. They were still plenty flexible, despite the fact that the metal plates on the backs were dented slightly. The metal on the fingers of his gloves were still perfectly in shape, which was all that mattered If those were bent out of shape, he wouldn't be able to bend his fingers properly, and would risk breaking them in the event of a fight.

Jin stepped out of the bathroom, pleased to find the three genin still waiting for him. "Let me just write the note, and we'll get going, alright?" He smiled and went into the kitchen, grabbing a pen and paper along the way. He leaned over the table, writing a note for whenever Kakashi came home, mentioning where they were going.

"Hey, are you done yet?! I wanna get going!" Naruto called from near the front door. There was a yelp as Sakura hit him, and heavy sigh of irritation from Sasuke.

"Yes, yes, please don't fight, alright? Out you go. One of you needs to take the lead, since I have absolutely no idea where I'm going, though. Uchiha-sama, perhaps that had better be you." Jin replied, nudging them all out the door.

Sasuke nodded slightly, and led them to the village gates, where they would then be able to move more quickly. Once they were out, he broke into a dash, leaping from tree to tree. The others followed close behind as he navigated the way there.

It took maybe an hour and a half to get there because of their speed. The area looked completely normal, as if there weren't some sort of holding place for kidnapped children in the area. But there were a few things that were suspicious. First, there was none of the typical rustling of small animals or chirping of songbirds in the area. Second, the ground was all torn up in one area, revealing a rough, wooden trapdoor.

"This is it?" Jin asked quietly, approaching the trapdoor. He leaned down and grabbed the handle, pulling the trapdoor up easily. He peered down into the darkness, listening for any sounds. There was nothing. It was dead silent. "Okay, it sounds safe enough. Let's go." He lowered himself down onto the ladder, and then slid down the whole way. It seemed that the place was deep underground, because it took longer than he had expected to reach the bottom. He stepped away from the ladder when he was at the bottom and waited for the other three.

Sakura took her time going down the ladder, being careful not to slip and fall off. She was being cautious, which was smarter than what Naruto ended up doing once she was out of the way. He just jumped down, ignoring the ladder altogether. He landed fine, but it wasn't exactly smart. Sasuke, on the other hand, slid down in the same way Jin had. It was definitely safer than what Naruto had done.

"Alright guys, I'm going to lay down some rules right now, just so that there aren't any problems. First off, we all stick together. I don't want to end up getting separated for some reason or another. I'm certain that we won't run into anyone down here, but it's better to be safe than sorry, you know. Second, none of you are allowed to touch anything. If you see something odd or suspicious, let me know right away. I don't want you setting off any traps or anything and getting yourselves hurt. Last, you will not tell anyone who isn't already involved about what we find here. Hatake-sama can, of course, know, but I don't want you telling your friends about this. We don't know what we're dealing with yet, here." Jin blocked the path forward, knowing they couldn't see him in the dark. "Come on."

Each of the genin nodded in agreement, following Jin closely. The place was rather eerie, especially now that it was so dark and quiet. Jin lit a match, lighting up just a little bit of the area.

The hallway was narrow, and Jin barely remembered Kakashi half carrying him through it when he'd found them. It was cold down there, like a cellar or a basement. It was definitely not suited for holding captive children, though he doubted that even if the children could have gotten to the ladder, they wouldn't have been able to climb up it fast enough to escape.

He wasn't surprised when the hallway opened up into the room where Sakura had saved his life, and though Ryuu's body was now gone, presumably taken away by whoever had come after they had left, the ground was still stained with his blood, and with Jin's own blood as well. Behind him, he heard a sharp intake of breath from Sakura.

"It's okay now." He said softly, guiding them across the room. The only other passage was through the door on the other side of the room, leading to the place where the children had been kept. "Uzumaki-sama, Uchiha-sama, please take Haruno-hime's hands. There's no one here, so you don't need to be worried about an ambush. Haruno-hime needs your support right now." He didn't glance back, but he hoped that the two had done as he'd asked.

The four of them went through the door, and stopped once inside. Though nothing had been shifted, there was the terrible feeling of something wrong. It was as if something so terrible had happened that it had left some sort of intangible imprint within these next few rooms.

There weren't any other doors in this room, except the one that the children had apparently been taken through one by one. The same room where Jin had caused a bloodbath. He was rather relieved that none of them had seen what he was really capable of, though even that was just a fraction of his power.

When they entered the next room, Sakura gasped in horror at the sight of the bloodstained walls and floor, the only remnants of what Jin had caused all on his own. "W-what happened in here?!" She asked, trying to hide her fright. She hadn't ever seen anything like this before.

"Haruno-hime, please don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to." Jin said quietly, ignoring the bloodstains and immediately going to the door across the room, where he'd found the little girl. He hadn't had a chance to look around in there before because of the situation they had been in, but now they could look at what exactly had been going on in that room. "You three should stay out here for now." He said when they reached the door. "I'll be right back."

Without waiting for them to complain, he opened the door and slipped into the room, glancing around at what the tiny match's light showed. Though he didn't know what exactly had been in this room, he could tell that someone had come by to take important evidence away before anyone else could find it.

At first, Jin thought the trip out there would be a total waste. Despite that, he was thorough in his investigation, and was glad that he had been, because of what he managed to find wedged underneath a heavy chair that had been overturned for one reason or another. Beneath, laid two syringes, one half full of some strange blue liquid, and the other full of something akin to sludge.

He reached inside his pocket, and grabbed a spare scroll, glad that he had brought it. He opened it, and carefully sealed the two syringes inside, careful not to prick himself with them when he picked them up.

Jin turned and left the room, replacing the scroll where it belonged as he did so. He hoped that they would at least be able to figure out what they were trying to do with the children with this evidence.

"What took so long?!" Naruto demanded, frowning at Jin. He and Sasuke both were still holding Sakura's hands, to keep her at ease. "You were in there a long time!"

Jin smiled. "I found something that may give us some leads. We can go now, and we'd better hurry. I don't like the feeling this place gives off. Something's not right." His expression grew serious, and he nudged the three young shinobi back out the way they'd come.

The four made it back to the ladder without any problems. Naruto went first, followed by Sakura, and then Sasuke, and finally Jin. All of them blinked rapidly in an attempt to get used to the bright sun again, and none of them noticed the quiet clicking sound that came from the passage below them at first.

Then Jin froze. There was the sound of a small explosion down below them, as if it had come from the room where he had found the syringes. Then it grew louder, as if the initial explosion had set off a chain reaction. His eyes widened slightly, and he leapt into action, shoving the three genin forward in an attempt to get them moving.

They all managed to get several feet away before the explosions reached the surface, setting off another round of explosive tags that had been hidden well in the leafy branches of the trees around them. They were all knocked to the side and into the ground or a tree.

None of them moved until the explosions died down, and then Jin shakily rose to his feet, bleeding profusely from his shoulder. His ears were ringing and his vision temporarily blurry from the blast. He turned and slowly made his way to where the other three were shakily rising to their feet.

"W-who would do something like that?" Sakura asked, her teeth chattering as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Jin shook his head slightly."Someone didn't want to risk us finding anything in there. It looks as if they rigged the whole place. We're not dealing with a simple trafficking ring. We're dealing with something far more serious."

Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the scene between Jin and Kakashi. There hasn't been a lot of that yet, so I'm glad I could get that part in. The chapter ended up longer than I thought it would, which is why it took so long. I hope you're enjoying it so far, though! Thanks for reading, and feel free to review and tell me what you think!