Hey people...It's been quite a while, hasn't it. I'm rather ashamed at the amount of time it took me to publish this next chapter. SERIOUSLY. Not that there's really any explanation for it but I can try some of Kakashi's I guess... I was helping this old lady carry some stuff to her car when the car was hijacked by biker guys who left behind their awesome motorcycles for no reason other than to have me tag along with them on a road trip across the world. And during this road trip I had no access to the internet, at all...
There, that's my Kakashi-like excuse for being so fudging late with this chapter... GOMENASAI MINNA-SAN.
Also here are the people that reviewed since the last time I updated this story (THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!): MinaBlahBlahBlahAnimeFan, Icetail1r, MeMyselfAndZafir, silverwolfigther00, 101bubbly, Freddie4153, and shadowmacer66.
I rewrote this chapter a few times...and I think I like this version. If there are any plot holes, discrepancies, or even just typos please feel free to PM me.
And on that note: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
~Façade-sama
It was simple, really. The fact that the pinkette may or may not have been any longer in her right mind. Hell, the shit eating grin she sported could scare the most hardened of criminals.
I guess that's what I'm becoming, a criminal, she thought. The great Ryuu, hacker extraordinaire, downgraded to assaulting the targets head on instead of messing with their electronics. Rather ironic really.
Sakura's mind had refused to think of a scenario where this turned out bad. There would be no failure. None. Nor would she accept the pitiful things known as emotions right now. In fact, as most people had to do, the pinkette's demeanor had changed into that which was needed in order for her plans to work. She was dead set on finishing this thing. Her family would rest in peace after the next couple of days.
It had taken the pinkette the larger portion of two hours to complete some of her more hurried pieces of equipment. Although, she made sure they worked before she dropped one of them at the door of the house she knew her apprentice lived in.
Sakura logged on to her account quickly, sitting silently in her car just down the block from the kid's house. The package with one of her devices sat snuggly in the crook of the doorframe.
She found her apprentice online, thankfully. Not that that was a surprise by any means. So she proceeded to take control of his computer. She had to give him a little more credit for his protective software devices. There was no way this kid was learning solely from her. The second firewall had surprised her, and even made her use some of her more hardened strategies. Although I did tell him to look into some things on his own.
His face came into view from the web camera as she began to use a text link on her computer.
T1M3STOP… I have a favor to ask
The boy's face lit up as he read the words marching across his screen. He wasn't at all surprised by her intrusion upon his affairs. She had done this before too many times.
What's up, Ryuu? You know you still owe me from last time.
I left something for you outside your door. It's a tiny ear piece. I need some help with… a project of sorts.
I'll be right back.
The male hacker sped out of his room with a smirk on his face. The last time she had called him in on a project (other than the inquiry about suspect information) they had done a full fledge technological raid on an anonymous company from Kirigakure. Of course, after their fun time in the servers she showed him how to reverse the damage done to the system. She had…acquired several interesting files that day, though. Probably enough to blackmail the whole of the government of Kirigakure.
The best part: the company still had no idea who had hacked their system.
The teen came racing back into his room, fumbling a little with the tiny ear piece from the package. Once he had placed it in his ear Sakura left his computer.
Instead she placed her own ear piece in and tried it out.
"Can you hear me, kid?" she asked with a smidge of apprehension in her voice. If these didn't work she had no clue how to stay in contact with him where she was going.
"Hey, that you, Ryuu?" a garbled sound reached her with ease. She had made the whole set so that no one could distinguish her voice tone. However, in doing so she had had to install the same type of voice distortion into the other ones as well. At least the individual voices sounded a bit different over the garbled air ways. Otherwise she'd have trouble with it later. But no police would ever be able to distinguish just who she was with the use of her voice pattern over the com links.
"Hai, it is. I need some help for a particularly nefarious project. I'm going to have to visit some less than stellar locations tonight. You up for an all-night endeavor?"
"Are you visiting that place? But hackers rarely ever go there! There's too many people that –"
Sakura cut him off. "You know I wouldn't go there unless I absolutely needed to. I've already contacted one of my…friends for help. I'm trying to put together a team for this one."
There was a pause, and Sakura watched the clock on her dash board as the lit up numbers displayed 10:17. She heard him take in a breath of air slowly, realizing he was contemplating just what the hell kind of thing she must be doing to be acting both this rash and desperate at the same time.
"You better have some trustworthy people in mind. There's no way in hell you should be allowed to go there without back up." His concern reminded her of her brother when he had been alive. Overprotective to a fault paired with an attitude that commanded respect. And, even though T1M3STOP was younger than her, she had a feeling that the kid could easily back up his words with a nice, punctuating punch aimed for maximum pain.
He continued further. "And I know how you can repay the first favor you owe me. If I'm to go along with this, I want to see you. Just once. Under the street lamp to the right of my house. I know you're about a block down from my place. I hacked the tracking signals in the head pieces as soon as I was back in my room."
Sakura gave a startling laugh at his audacity. Damn, she thought she had had that well protected. Leave it to her apprentice to know all her secret back doors. No one but Koori would be able to do that. Pride welled in her chest at his accomplishment.
"Alright. But my features are rather unique, so I warn you now – I'll be keeping the hood up on my hoodie." She secured her computer under the passenger's seat before getting out of the car. The short walk to the street lamp was spent in suspenseful silence. This would be her first real appearance in front of her apprentice, after all. Last time she had seen him, she had been safe in the garb of Haruno Sakura.
But tonight she wasn't in the outfit of her studious pink-haired cover story, tonight she was Ryuu – clad in variations of grey and black with a nice, raven-colored hoodie to top the ensemble. Tonight she was deadly.
Just before she stepped into the gleam of the lamp post, Sakura secured her hair inside her hood, and checked her appearance one last time. It would not do to appear as anything but the perfect representation of Ryuu from their internet interactions.
And with that, she stepped into the light, visible to the second-story bedroom her apprentice was peering eagerly out of.
His first reaction was almost instantaneous. "Ryuu, you're a girl!"
Sakura nearly cringed. Her current outfit did nothing to hide the curves she always denied she possessed.
Just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone – back into the shadows of the neighboring houses.
"Now that we've established my gender, please open your laptop and get ready for some background help. I need to be at that place before eleven or else my contact may leave before I have a chance to talk to them."
It took a moment for the younger teen to gain back some semblance of normalcy. He noted the sense of urgency and the weird calm that Ryuu was exuding. Almost as if it were just the beginning of something horrible. Something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong. And Ryuu was caught up in the middle of it.
"What is this for, anyway?" he asked as she sat back into her car. "Is there anything I need to know right off, Ryuu-chan?"
Sakura blinked at the suffix. "I know you want to flaunt what you've just found out, but now is not the time. When you address me I want you to just use 'Ryuu'. There will soon be others on this line and I wish to keep certain things from becoming public knowledge."
She paused for a moment to think things over once again.
Am I doing the right thing, Inner? Am I doing it the right way?
But Inner was silent. Sakura felt the urge to pull on her pink hair in exasperation. The one moment she needed an opinion there was no answer.
"You need a code name. We can't have people knowing your main hacker handle. So pick something you like, kid."
She heard the boy give a huff of annoyance as she started her car. "I choose Kitsune," he stated finally.
"Fox?" she asked with a grin. "It does seem to suit you."
"Well, you're 'dragon' so I can hardly compare. But foxes are widely known for being very good at mischief. And what is a hacker if not mischievous?"
Sakura hummed her agreement as she exited the residential area of Konoha. She needed to ditch her car somewhere. There was definitely going to be people looking for her. But she didn't want to leave it just anywhere. Especially not at the entrance to that place.
The pinkette ended up putting her car in the parking lot of a local restaurant 'Ichiraku Ramen'. She remembered Naruto's obsession with this place all too clearly, even with its faded sign and worn, well-loved brick exterior.
"Cause it's the best place to eat in the world, Sakura-chan!" She could faintly hear the blond boy yelling at her one day in class.
She shook her head to rid herself of wandering memories, parked her car, and shoved everything she needed into her bag, including her laptop and several odd items.
First thing she needed to do was become less recognizable.
Sakura idly listened to the chatter of T1M – Kitsune – as she jogged across the street to the moderately large store nestled between the restaurant buildings.
The worker behind the counter glanced at her suspiciously as she entered – still covering her face with her hoodie. The pinkette didn't acknowledge the stare, but went and browsed the hair care section for just the thing she needed: black hair dye.
Sakura paid quickly and hustled into the bathroom in the back to apply it. "What's the time right now, Kitsune?" she asked as she quickly but efficiently turned her candy-floss hair the color of pitch.
"Right now it's 10:43, Ryuu. You've got approximately seventeen minutes until deadline," his serious statement was punctuated by the silent 'hurry the hell up' tone in his voice.
Sakura, now a raven-haired female with emerald eyes, exited the bathroom with haste and urgency exuding from her being. The store worker barely noticed when she left the building, and probably wouldn't have if not for the groaning of the door hinges.
When she began her trek on foot Kitsune asked her once again to tell him what was going on. "There should be a file attachment on your computer. I've hidden it in your basic code files," the raven haired girl admitted with a small, malicious grin. "If you can find it, it'll let you in on what's going on. Read it quickly please."
For the next few minutes Sakura lapsed into silence. She could hear the faint clicking of keys on Kitsune's end, and the occasional curse as he searched his binary code files. Sakura had hidden the file attachment very well. I just wanted to gauge his abilities. She thought wryly to herself. But if he doesn't find it soon I may need to give him a hint. There's not a lot of time I can spare right now.
The entrance to that place was a small door in an alley way literally a single person wide. Sakura had only ever been here once. And that went fantastic now didn't it. She commented sarcastically within her mind.
She took a deep breath as she made it to the door, stealing herself for the people she'd soon have to face.
And then she was through the entrance.
But it wasn't Sakura Haruno that entered and stalked down the staircase into the dark interior. It was the confident persona of Ryuu that shown through. Her steps were light and her eyes scanned everything with apathy masking her emotions. Her whole demeanor shifted, screaming dangerous.
Beyond the alley way door there were two flights of descending stairs, followed by another door, and a large room beyond. Ryuu walked down both flights and entered the room casually, as if she made a habit of being there every day.
There was a pause in conversations as the raven-haired teen entered through the second door way. Several tables lined the walls, and the middle of the room. Most people spoke in whispers, and every so often Ryuu caught the flash of metal signifying there was a weapon on most everyone present. All she had on her were the items in her backpack and a small device in her jeans pocket that she had made for easy access use if she had any hacking needs. She may have modified her cell phone a bit.
Conversations resumed after she had been perused by the patrons of the place. Ryuu took no heed to their eyes. She scanned the people for the pair she was looking for, and found them in a far corner booth.
"Found the file, Ryuu," Kitsune's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Holy crap this is awful. Is all this stuff true?"
Ryuu covered her mouth with a single hand when she spoke so as not to encourage lip readers. "Hack the police if you don't believe me. The Akatsuki will be strangely absent, and I have no idea where the actual policemen are either. But it's not like I checked. Hold off for a few minutes. I have a couple of people to meet."
Kitsune went silent, probably rereading the file, as Ryuu continued forward to meet the two potential allies. One was bulky and hunched his back as if he were used to an omnipresent weight laying between his shoulder blades. He had bandages wrapped around half of his face – strangely reminiscent of Kakashi. The other was scrawny but no less dangerous, sporting an unusual mask made of porcelain paired with an elegant looking kimono. There were several bundles of large needles displayed on the table in front of them, reminding the other frequenters of the place not to bother either of the two.
Ryuu gracefully sat down opposite them, forcing herself not to fidget as both of them watched her carefully.
There was a momentary interlude of foreboding silence before either of the groups dared to speak.
"You are the hacker, Ryuu, I presume. Our…mutual friend explained that there was something you needed help with," the larger of the two intoned, his voice rumbling in a deep baritone.
"That is correct. I have been told you are both very adept at helping people get into locked buildings. I have a proposition for you. There is a heavily guarded, underground facility that I need to get into. Preferably within the next couple of hours." Her voice was cold and cut the air like glass.
"Considerable planning is usually put into operations like this," the third occupant of the table finally voiced his opinion.
Ryuu glanced over in acknowledgement before retrieving her laptop from her back pack. In a few moments she had the blueprints for the place in question up on her screen. She showed it to them.
"I would like to get into this place by 3:00 AM. If you can do this…then you will be overly compensated." Ryuu pulled a notice out of her bag. "I assume this amount is acceptable?"
Ryuu watched the eyes widen at the amount written down, satisfaction swelling in her gut. There was no way they'd refuse that much money.
"We're in, kid," the deep baritone stated. "The name's Zabuza, and this is Haku. We'll get you in there no sweat."
Ryuu couldn't help the small smirk that formed. That's one step closer to avenging my family.
The air was crisp and silent as the darkness cloaked her form. Zabuza said there'd be an opening soon. She thought to herself as she watched the cave-like entrance to the underground abode of the fiend known as Orochimaru. There was a small dirt road that curled up to the opening, and several tiny pieces of metal trailing down into the dark.
Zabuza and Haku had just slunk into the cave to investigate. The pair of them had literally sunk into the darkness right before her eyes, using the forest around them to blend in perfectly. If Ryuu hadn't already known they were there she would have surely missed it when they entered the cave.
"Zabuza-san," Kitsune spoke loudly. "I'm having trouble connecting to the servers. There should be a cable in the wall about three steps ahead. Please plug the device you were given directly into it."
Ryuu smiled at the words of her apprentice. She had had to give both Zabuza and Haku an ear piece before they attempted the operation. Thus, she had also had to introduce her apprentice to them – using only the name Kitsune of course.
She swore she heard Zabuza mumble something derogatory before a beep sounded on Kitsune's end. "Arigato, Zabuza-san. I'm in, Ryuu, ghosting in the servers as we speak."
"Alright, bring up a live feed of any and all security cameras. You're going to guide us through," Ryuu commanded. She fiddled with a mask Haku had given her before placing it over her face, and pulled the hood up on her hoodie. His exact words had been 'facial recognition software works very fast. It will bring a higher percentage of success should you wear this, Ryuu-san. Then no one will have to know what you look like.' Of course, she knew more than most just what facial recognition software could and couldn't do.
You gotta admit this makes us look bad ass, huh Saku-chan?
Inner, where the hell have you been? Ryuu's façade nearly melted back into the soft expressions of Sakura Haruno at the intrusion upon her thoughts.
I was going to leave you on your own for this one, but that comment needed to be said by someone.
The familiar ramblings of her Inner personality calmed the raven-haired girl just a bit before she snapped back into the persona of her counterpart, Ryuu.
Kitsune's voice rang out suddenly. "Haku-san, there are three guards coming down the hall to your right. Knock them out and take their security passes. I'll unlock the door on your left to hide them in. Then proceed down the corridor to the right and you should find the security office. All the cameras are controlled within that room."
Ryuu checked the blueprints on her phone with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan. Just a few more minutes and she'd be inside that building.
"Kitsune, I'm heading in now. Guide me to the Akatsuki." Ryuu had grown impatient waiting outside in the woods. She had had to leave her laptop buried (with her bag) inside a hollowed out tree, marking the location with a tracking device. That had not only set her on edge, but it had also reminded her why she never did field work like this. It was much more satisfying watching her victims over the web cameras than diving into an unknown building to break someone out by hand. Right now she wished she was in Kitsune's place instead.
When she walked forward the scrape and weight of something on both of her thighs felt uncomfortable. It was Zabuza's contribution to her outfit: a set of knives that strapped to each leg beneath her baggy, black cargo pants. The pants themselves had to be modified for easy access to the objects. Pockets had to have the bottoms cut out so that she could reach them in a hurry. All he had said was 'there's no way in hell you're going in there unarmed, kid.'
And she was rather grateful for them. Even though she had no idea how to use them to their full potential. She was a hacker not some type of assassin. Although, I assume it'd give me an edge should I ever need them.
Her gloved hands ('no fingerprints allowed on these operations') moved aside the brush crowding the edges of the road. Ryuu slunk forward into the entrance ahead, already trying as hard as she could to meld with the shadows. Hard to do considering I was only told how this works. Not shown.
She let out silent breaths as she rounded the first bend and descended stairs into the dark. The walls of the cave guided her down gradually and turned smooth against her gloves once she had walked down about twenty steps. There was a rush of air that blew her hair back as if she had just stepped through into a large room.
Ryuu risked the light of her…phone…and checked the blueprints for herself. She had stepping into a sort of antechamber. It was supposedly quite tall and rather long in size. But the immense sizing of the room was not something she took immediate notice of. She was looking for something else. And there it was, an air duct about five feet to her left.
"We've reached the control room," Haku said. "Commencing operation now."
"Alright, send me the video feeds once I'm in the ducts. Kitsune, guide me through them." Ryuu strode over to the medium sized rectangular ventilation cover cut into the side of the wall. Blindly, she managed to unscrew the cover and shove herself inside. And for a moment she gave herself time to rest, staring into the oppressive blackness.
Her phone broke the silence.
On the screen was a split view of the live feed coming from two separate cells. One of them was the obvious outline of Itachi. Ryuu could see another of the Akatsuki in the cell on his left, as well as one across the walkway from him. The second screen gave her a pause. There, caged in a cell pegged as just a few down from Itachi, was an enraged Naruto Uzumaki. He was currently snarling at a very smug-looking guard.
I'll have to revise the plans a bit. It seems there is not only the Akatsuki here. And if Karin tried to kill me for not joining this underground operation, I have to assume the same will happen with Naruto and anyone else who refused.
"Follow the duct for about five more feet, and carefully traverse the downwards shaft to the lower level," Kitsune's voice broke into her thoughts. "Then take a left and follow the curve of the duct all the way down. There should be a grate above each cell. I'll tell you which one's Itachi's when you reach it."
Ryuu followed instructions at an uncharacteristically slow pace. There seems to be more guards than Zabuza thought there'd be. She noted as she was forced to pause yet again when a few passed her by below.
"Kitsune, how many prisoners do they have in here?" she asked as per his instructions she followed the curve of the duct all the way.
"Currently all of the Akatsuki are in adjacent cells and there are a few more filled with teenagers. If I were to estimate, I'd say about twenty people," his answer was swift and serious with an edge of sadness.
"Zabuza, can we get that many out of here?" Ryuu asked.
There was some grumbling on the older man's end, considering the possibility of taking more people. "If you can get the Akatsuki out like we planned then they should be able to help take down any remaining threats and herd the other prisoners out," he stated. "You know, kid, you better be damn grateful I'm helping you release those policeman."
Ryuu snorted. "You just hate Orochimaru more. And the chance to take him down made up for having to release the Akatsuki."
"There. Stop right there, Ryuu," Kitsune's voice broke the silence that had ensued. "Itachi is right below you. The grate into his cell should be only a little further down."
Ryuu paused a few feet from the grate. "Alright, boys. No deviations, no backing out. Part two is a go."
"Ryuu-san, we're all set on our end," Haku's soft tenor stated through the com link.
"They see nothing," Kitsune chimed. There was the faint sound of key taps. "I can squelch all alarms when necessary as well."
Ryuu gave one final deep breath before proceeding forward. "Guards?" she inquired quietly.
"They're too far down the hall now," came the gruff reply from Zabuza.
Ryuu reached the grate and carefully lifted one edge just enough to slip a small piece of cord through. Dangled in the air about four feet from the ground was one of her com pieces. She watched as it took Itachi a moment to notice the abnormality.
With only a casual sideways glance down the hallway he stood up and reached for the small device. It was in that moment that Ryuu got a full view of his face. She had remembered the red on the carpets at Itachi's apartment, but she never would have thought he'd look so beaten up. Perhaps a part of her mind still denied that cool, calm, and sharply intelligent Itachi could be hurt.
But here he was before her with several scrapes on both arms and a blackened left eye.
"Hello," the new voice on the com system made everyone pause. Kitsune's clacking keys stopped and even Ryuu forgot how to breathe for a moment. She slowly replaced the grate and moved further down so she could speak.
"Itachi-san," Ryuu smirked, hiding any of her nervousness.
"May I assume this is not the police?" he asked with a hint of amusement regardless of the situation at hand.
"That is correct, Itachi-san. I am called Ryuu," she answered.
"Ryuu, there's guards coming below. Enacting part three."
It's too soon! There's no way! Ryuu took a deep breath.
Calm. Calm down, you can do this. There's no point in freaking out. Take a moment and then go for it.
Thanks for the confidence boost, Inner. Ryuu took a single second to wrangle her emotions into place.
"Alright, Kitsune's about to open the door for you, Itachi-san. Please exit quickly and quietly, and follow his instructions to head off the guards coming this way. Part three commence."
She continued down until she spotted the grate she was looking for. It was the first one in the prisoner's hallway that wasn't directly over one of the cells.
It was also tiny as hell. Ryuu wasn't quite sure she could get through it.
Ryuu tuned back in to the conversation going on over the com system. "Good job, Itachi-san. I'm releasing the doors on the other cells. It's time to take down this place."
"Itachi-san, the priority right now is taking out the guards and rescuing the other prisoners here. I'll be joining you in a moment to help. Zabuza-san, are there any other cell blocks?"
"One other," the rough tone of the older man said. "You'll need two teams to divide and take it on."
"Momochi Zabuza?" Itachi asked with an edge of steel.
"Save it for later. He's helping to save your ass right now," Ryuu huffed, finally squishing through the grate and out into the hallway. She landed with a small thump and the annoying throbbing of her legs from the impact.
"Release the Akatsuki cell blocks, Kitsune." Ryuu made sure her mask stayed in place and her hood was stable. It was time to meet the Akatsuki as Ryuu, not Haruno Sakura. But damn it all if she wasn't nervous as hell right now.
The clank of the release on several doors could be heard throughout the hall itself. More than one confused and angry male cautiously extracted themselves from the tiny cells they had been shoved into. The red-headed leader seemed the most pissed off. He had a swollen black eye and an almost permanent scowl. He was also the first one to notice her.
Ryuu decided to head off any unintended reactions before they started. "Hello, Leader-sama, it is nice to finally meet you in person. I am called Ryuu."
The voice of Kitsune broke her from the introductions. "There are several guards advancing on your location from the east, Ryuu. They were trying to correspond with the pair that Zabuza and Haku took out earlier. I've managed to intercept anything they tried to communicate to others in the area, though. It's best to take them down quietly," Kitsune informed her.
"There are guards coming this way, Leader-sama," Itachi intoned from a few feet behind the red head.
"Sasori, Deidara, take them out," he said without looking away from her form. It was starting to creep Ryuu out a little actually.
The pair of Akatsuki looked deadly as they reacted instantly to the order from their leader. Two near silent thuds resonated down the hallway from the direction they had disappeared to.
The Akatsuki assembled behind their leader in a silent display of power, Konan standing emotionlessly at his right elbow. "As much fun as it is to converse on enemy territory, I say this rescue was a success. If I give you the layout and access to the other prisoners can I assume you'll get everyone out accordingly?"
The leader of the Akatsuki glared at her for insinuating that he couldn't handle a situation. Although, looking at the pummeling his face took, it could be assumed someone already got the drop on him in the last twenty-four hours. "You will help to assist our escape and I will reward you by not arresting you on the spot."
Ryuu tilted her head in thought. I haven't done anything to warrant arrest, have I? At least nothing I've gotten caught for, right?
There was that one time two years ago when you decided to fry the public wireless because the people sitting near you pissed you off.
I was still learning, Inner. And the police only locked on to the location of the hack, not the hacker handle itself.
Do you really want to call his bluff on this one?
Ryuu grunted in acceptance as she fished out another com link from her left pocket. "Here, Leader-sama," she tossed him the device and he looked it over for a moment before placing it in his ear.
"Give me a full status update, now, Kitsune. We've got the Akatsuki leader listening in now," she said carefully. There was a curse from Zabuza that incited a raised eyebrow from the red head across from her.
"There are currently three more pairs of guards at various locations throughout this area. All six need taken down before you can proceed to take a team to the second cell block. There are approximately seven teenagers being held there including: Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, and Nara Shikamaru. Orochimaru himself is several blocks over, approaching us from the far end of the complex." Kitsune's long-winded speech finished abruptly.
Ryuu stared out of the porcelain mask with calculating eyes. "Strategies, Zabuza-san?" she asked with a hint of a smile at Leader's sudden stiffness at the name.
There was a grunt and a muffled curse before the man answered. "I suggest splitting into two teams, a stealth operation, and one to take on the six guards. Ryuu, you should lead the stealth team through the floor to the cell block while…Leader takes the other team and quietly disposes of the guards."
Ryuu's eyes focused back on the man in front of her. He looked annoyed, pissed as hell, and bent on revenge. That was fine with Ryuu as long as it didn't impair his judgment when it came time to deal with Orochimaru.
"Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara you four go on the stealth mission. The rest of us will split up to deal with the rest of the guards." He spoke with authority Ryuu often disregarded when she was on the other end of a computer connection. She could feel the power radiating from him, and the respect he demanded from his team when he went into this mode.
His eyes swept the four he mentioned and they moved towards Ryuu. "I am obligated to remind you, Leader-sama, that this is a rescue mission, not vengeance. When the innocent people are cleared from the crosshairs our plans can commence."
With one last glance at the pensive Akatsuki leader, Ryuu darted off down the hallway, the four men hot on her tail. With a flick of her wrist she held out the blueprints on her phone. A large golden dot appeared to be their destination, and the two blue locator dots from the com GPS marked her and Itachi.
It took her nearly five minutes to navigate through the enemy doors and hallways to the second cell block. She could hear commands given by Kitsune to Leader on the location of all the rest of the guards in the immediate area. If his voice was anything to go by, he was having fun navigation the second team to incapacitate the bad people. Ryuu couldn't blame him. It almost seemed like a real life RPG game.
But this is not a game. People's lives are in danger. You can't forget that. Ryuu told herself as she rounded the final corner.
Two heavy, iron doors stood imposingly in front of her. "Kitsune, door." She muttered into the com. It took a few seconds, but the sound of the lock unlatching echoed down the hall way.
Ryuu pushed the doors open and immediately wished she hadn't. There were four guards with very real guns staring menacingly at her. She might not have known what to do, but the Akatsuki guys jumped into action.
Despite their passive demeanors during her time with them at school, the four of them were absolutely vicious. Itachi wasted no time in pummeling his opponent into the ground, literally. All Kisame had to do was use his huge hands to knock his adversary into a wall. Deidara quickly and effectively incapacitated the third guard with a sweep to his legs and a knock to the back of the head. And Sasori simply punched the fourth one in the face. She swore she heard an audible crunch at that move.
It was after all four guards were dealt with that Ryuu decided she never wanted to be fighting against the elite Akatsuki, ever. If they managed to come breaking down her door for being Ryuu she probably wouldn't resist knowing the futility of such a move.
The blonde boy in the cell a little further down the hall seemed to think along the same lines. "Wow! That was awesome! You were all like BAM! And then they were all knocked out!"
Ryuu smiled behind her mask. The warm voice of Uzumaki Naruto was a hard one to forget. And seeing as how he still managed to be both loud and bubbly at nearing four in the morning, well, that was just Naruto for you.
Six more heads turned after the exclamation Naruto made. Several had to rub their eyes to chase sleep away.
Ryuu's smile dropped at the people she saw gracing those cells. Of course, she already knew about Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru. But Kiba was a surprise, and so was Neji. Although, I guess if Hinata is here, then I really shouldn't be surprised that Neji was also captured. He practically protects her from everything.
Ryuu stepped out from behind the four imposing Akatsuki members. Her form dwarfed by all of them, especially Kisame's massive frame.
"Kitsune, unlock the cell block, please." She stated calmly even as her mind raged against the conditions Orochimaru had forced her friends into.
The doors to all the cells in the area clanged open at once. Ryuu felt all seven pairs of eyes from the teenagers present as they settled on her.
"Ryuu," Kitsune began. "The Akatsuki has neutralized the threats and secured a way out. Exit the area immediately. Orochimaru is only one hall away now. Hurry!"
"Our escape route is secure. Everyone follow Itachi-san and the rest of the Akatsuki out of here. There's no time for explanations now," Ryuu intoned hinting at the urgency of the situation.
"The prisoners are secured, Leader-sama," Itachi said over the com link.
All Ryuu heard over the coms was a grunt of acknowledgment at the statement. And then Zabuza spoke. "Everything's ready, Ryuu. We'll meet you at the entrance."
Itachi, Kisame, and Ryuu lead the group out, while Diedara and Sasori guarded the rear. Sasori had to constantly remind Naruto to be silent. Ryuu smirked. He's never been silent in his life.
They had to run through the final hall because the alarms went off. "What the hell, Kitsune! I thought you had those squelched!" Ryuu yelled into her ear piece.
"Sorry, Ryuu! Orochimaru used a manual override that circumvented my hold on the system! That, and Zabuza grabbed the cable from the place I had him put it earlier. My control of the system loosened then."
Ryuu grunted as she sprinted into the crisp, morning air. "Itachi-san there are two vehicles down the road from us. Head that way, please. I will be there momentarily." She handed over two sets of generic keys to the man.
Before the raven-haired male could protest, Ryuu peeled off from the main group and merged into the forest. She jogged over to the spot she had hidden her bag, and from there she headed back the way she came.
"Zabuza, we're all clear," she stated as she counted off everyone from a distance. All the Akatsuki and the teens rescued were present. "Commence part four."
Ryuu jogged up the gathered group just as the first explosion went off. Every head whipped around to stare at the smoke curling up. In the first rays of sunlight, Ryuu turned to enjoy the chorus of booms rocking the ground and exploding the base she had just been inside.
She felt several questioning looks on her form from the members of the Akatsuki. "Zabuza-san was not idle during the rescue," she commented with a smirk hidden behind her mask.
The car ride had been very uncomfortable for the group. The Akatsuki had split themselves between the two vans, and the rescued teens had had to do the same. Leader had practically insisted – without using words at all – that Ryuu be kept under his watchful eye as well as Konan's, Kisame's, and Itachi's.
Ryuu's van also had Neji, Kiba, and Hinata in it. She was just thankful Naruto and his loudness were in the other one. After the day she just had – including a night of planning with absolutely no sleep – Ryuu was just happy for small miracles.
At least Zabuza and Haku escaped in their own car. They didn't have to deal with all this crap.
The Akatsuki had taken the amalgamation of different individuals to one of the top secret, military-grade facilities that was used for safe-house placements. It hadn't been functional for a long time, but the building was still standing and the wireless was still operational (after a few tweaks from Ryuu).
The hacker sighed as she sat in the control room with more than a dozen people staring at her for answers. She rooted around in her back pack for a moment, looking for all the world like she didn't give a damn what they wanted to find out.
She pulled a small USB drive from the very bottom of the bag, thankful for her foresight in preparation for a mission of this caliber.
"Here," she said carelessly as she tossed it to the Akatsuki leader. Ryuu stood up from her position and made to leave the room. She was stopped by Kisame. He stood menacingly in front of the door way. Ryuu sighed inaudibly. "Look. I just saved all your asses. I've stayed up way longer that anyone should, and I'm tired as hell. I'll be going to one of the other rooms to sleep, uninterrupted, for at least five hours. All the information you want is on that stupid thing I just gave to Leader. Now please move."
Kisame looked to the red-head before he did anything. Once he got an affirmative grunt he moved out of the way for her.
Ryuu swept out of the doorway, pausing for a moment in the hall outside. "If there are any complications the com link will remain open." With that, a tired hacker holed herself up in the room directly adjacent to the one with the Akatsuki in it. It seemed to be some kind of office. Not that she cared. All Ryuu cared about at that moment was the small couch nestled in the corner. And though it was dusty, it was better than any floor she had ever had to sleep on.
"Kitsune, I think you earned some rest as well. Thanks for the help today. You did really well. And, Zabuza, you and Haku were excellent. I'm glad I called you two." Her voice turned into a whisper near the end as she nodded off to sleep
In the room next door the Akatsuki commenced reading a very well written summary of everything Ryuu had found out about the megalomaniac known as Orochimaru.
"Hey, who was that woman?" Naruto asked curiously as the masked lady left.
"That was Ryuu," Kisame said with a smirk.
The reaction from the group of teenagers was instantaneous. All of them had seen her emblem or heard about her from their parents when the hacker encroached upon the company networks. A few of them exchanged looks of shock, Naruto gave a loud exclamation, and Shikamaru just smirked knowingly.
'Just don't get caught, Sakura.' Shikamaru's smirk widened.
And this is obviously not the final chapter. I think maybe one or two more depending on where I want the plot to go. On a side note, however, I am working on the second story I proposed last chapter. It's maybe a few pages long now... but I don't know if I'll post it until this story is completed.
Those of you watching the follower/minion count it has now reached 69. I WILL RULE THE WORLD ONE DAY... or just not have to do homework :D
Thank you to all who read my stories and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it.
~Façade-sama