X

Jun and Naruto had finally shown up, and it was a good thing they did... Any longer and I would've fallen asleep.

"Sorry it took so long... He gave me a good run." She was tired. Bending down and placing her hands on her knees, she began to take long deep breaths. She had a scornful look on her face and was facing Naruto.

"It's your own fault for chasing me and not showing yourself!! In addition to that, you're a sand ninja! Leaf ninja and sand ninja are enimies!!"

"So you say!" I had to interrupt him. He was beginning to be a giant headache. "Look... Something's going on revolving around the word 'betrayal'. Two Kagunin are dead... a jonin and a chunin are dead... Iruka Umino is near-death..." There was something else I saw happen, but it was too horrifying to talk about. Even if I mentioned it... I'm not gonna finish that sentence. "There's something else, but I don't feel like mentioning it. You don't like that? Deal with it." I looked at Naida and Kenta. Both were eager to learn why I had called them to this... 'mini meeting'. "Earlier today, I went to the Society HQ. I know that eavesdropping isn't considered polite, but...well, I couldn't pass up the oppertunity. Now, I'm starting to wish I hadn't heard, but I suppose it's for the better..."

Naida's arms were crossed. "Quit stalling and say it already!" Impaitence had swept over her. Kenta was nodding his head. "See? Even he agrees with me."

I wasn't stalling... I was hesitating. There's a difference! "Alright already! Sonia and Naida were inside talking with the master. I don't exactly know what they were talking about, but they said 'eliminate Hitomi Yano, Kenta Kasama, Sai Osia, Naida Okisawa and Jun Kenda.' Something about that sentence tells me that we've been betrayed but our own leader. I know I can trust all of you, but I'm not sure about any of the others." I sat on my bed and sighed. "If that job is carried out, what's going to happen then? All of us need to watch our backs, including you, Naruto."

"Wait... What about Seiji, Taji and Rei?" Naida's arms were still crossed and she was now leaning against the wall? "Are you saying that I can't trust my sister and one of my mentors?"

"Yes." Jun wasn't going to accept it easily. "Am I just supposed to go along with you saying that I can't believe my friends?"

"That's not what I'm implying..." Maybe I'd gottenmyself into something that I couldn't get out of. Thoughts of doubt were running through my mind. What if they left me to stand alone? I can't take out seven people at once! "All I'm saying is that we need to be careful with who we trust with our lives. I trust all of you."

Jun had turned so that her back was facing me. She wasn't in a good mood, an nobody liked her when she wasn't in a good mood. "What reason do we have to trust you!?"

"You believed me earlier! Why change your mind now!?" I thought that I might have insulted her when I mentioned that Taji might be one of our new enimies. "Whether you trust me or not, I don't care, I'm just asking you guys to help me figure what's really going on!" I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Naruto was mumbling about something, but none of us could hear what. "Naruto?"

"Um... Yeah... Heh heh... Hitomi sensei, what does this have to do with me?"

"It's simple. You've been brought into our world. You know too much about us now... In other words and language that you can understand, you've become a threat. Not just to us, but them." He couldn't walk the path of a Kagunin. Sasuke still had a chance, but Naruto was destined to only go as high as a jonin. There was no avoiding that. "There's too much risk if we just let you walk away. You know what we look like, you know our names, you even know how we fight and what peice of the Kekayaken each of us has had grafted into us. THAT'S why you're a threat."

He shrinked and backed away. "Whaddaya mean I know all that stuff!? I only know about you!"

Jun turned around to face us, speaking her mind as usual. "You may not know about me or Naida, but you've been exposed to Hitomi and Kenta. You know what their Kekayaken peices are, not to mention their skills. You see, Kagunin don't know each other entirely. As a matter of fact, we mainly only know ninja from our own village. Since I'm a sand ninja, I know Taji the beswt out of all Kagunin. Kenta and Hitomi know each other well because they're from the same village, as well as the late Koji Inakura. Again, Kenta, I'm sorry. Naida, being a ninja of the mist and waves, knows Seiji and Kana like the back of her hand. We aren't all friends with one another, that's for sure. You know too much about ninja that Sonia and Kana call enemies. Sorry, kid. You're stuck working with us."

Kenta and Naida nodded, agreeing with Jun. I, too, nodded in agreement. She was right. He had gotten involved and there was no way out. "Come on." I stood and walked over to the door. "We need to catch up with Kakashi and Sasuke. I've got a bad feeling, and it's getting worse."

...We jumped from tree to tree, staying as silent as five ninja could while hurrying their way through thick forest. Naruto was the loudest, giving away our position everytime he set a foot on a branch. However, we stopped for a break, seeing as how we'd been on our feet for a good three hours.

"Hitomi, before we left the village, you said you had a bad feeling. What did you mean?" Naida had a hand on her hip, curious and angered.

"Two days ago, I had a dream. Blood was everywhere, and people I knew were dying. I could see the shadows of five people and they were laughing..." There was something else but it wasn't clear. "Also... I saw my family...And then nothing... I woke up after that."

"HEY!!! I had the same dream! Well... Except for the last part." Naruto was going off swearing a vow that he would find out what it meant.

Naida was staring at the clouds as they drifted overhead. "Come to think of it... I had a dream exactly like that. What could it mean?"

Kenta shrugged. "Who knows? I haven't had a dream like that. What makes it so special?" He didn't grasp the importance, and it disappointed me. All he did was turn away, and stared off into the distance. "Look, I'm just agitated. Sorry... Do you think it could be a sign from the Kekayaken?"

It puzzled me. Premonitions were rare, but the fact that Naruto claimed to have seen the same thing was what made me believe that Kenta's reasoning wasn't right. "What about Naruto? He isn't a Kagunin."

Jun was whispering to Naida, suggesting something. "What if he's fallen into Its graces? He could be blessed."

"Selected by It? Heh..." I laughed... Hard. Maybe it was what I believed, or what I was told to believe. Either way, it sounded like nonsense. Pure nonsense. "I highly doubt that. Be realistic. Only Kagunin were granted that ability, why a simple genin?"

Naruto raised a fist in the air, angered by my words. "I'm right here, y'know!!"

"I... I guess it's possible, but how could he be selected? For one, he's too old and foolish, and secondly... I... There would be too much of a burden on me if something happened to you. Kakashi thinks of you as family, and I would feel every last bit of guilt!" I sighed. "We've wasted too much time, we need to get moving. If we stay here for any longer, we'll have a hard time catching up to them."

Naida, surprisingly, agreed with me. "She's right. They're hard enough to track as it is, and I should know. I'm one of the best trackers in my village."

Back on the trail. we resumed our course. Clouds went dark, and rain began to trickle from the sky, followed by thunder. Naida stopped ahead of the rest of us, and we could tell that something had gone wrong.

"I've lost them. All traces of the way they took are gone." She turned to me. "What now, Hitomi? I don't have any way whatsoever to track them."

I looked around for any sign, but found nothing. "Let's travel along the road. At least we'll be able to see what's ahead of us and not go in circles. Might be easier to find them that way." The four of them nodded to me and we headed for the road. Still in the trees, the rain beagn to ease and the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud. Some thing dark was ahead. In our attempt to hide from whoever it was, we were caught.

"Sai!!" Naida ran into his arms. She was smiling and acting like a five-year-old. "Sai, it's so good to see you again!!"

He shoved her away and gave me an akward look. "What now?"

"Oh... Just another conspiracy against all the nations involving half of the Kagunin. For all I know, you're not on our side."

"Harlan's plan? You know?"

"We all do." I pointed to Naruto. "Even the Uzemaki kid knows, but only because he's been involved for the past two and a half weeks."

"SSSTRK?" His expression was blank and he showed no emotion. Jun took a step forward. "The insignia. SSSTRK."

Jun leaned against the drenched dark brown wood with a kunai knife in her right hand. "What does that even stand for? You seem to know." She took a look at her kunai. "It's on every weapon that we use."

"No." He drew his ahura and held it horizontally in front of his face. "Only on OUR weapons, Jun. The weapons we use are custom made for the way each of us fights. Our weapons suit us because they were made for us. SSSTRK is just the group who oversees those things. Do you know what it stands for?" He was silent for a minute or two, waiting for one of us to reply. "I guess not. SSSTRK stands for the members who follow Harlan and will do anything for him, including wiping out half of the Society. Incase you haven't figured it out yet, they're after me, too. The letters stand for Seiji, Saika, Sonia, Taji, Rei, and Kana. S. S. S. T. R. K. See? They're the ones who follow him. Their names are ingraved on our weapons. They're the ones who are attempting to kill us."

Naida was speechless to hear the name of her sister. She wouldn't believe it, not matter what. "Not Rei... I don't believe you! She would never try to kill me! Would she...? I don't believe you, Sai! I just don't!" She turned away from him. Not knowing what or who to believe, she began walking back to the village. "I knew this was a waste of time! I'm heading back to the village! You can finish this on your own!"

She left us, heading back to the village and a part of her family. I shook my head. "Can't blame her... She young and has much to learn..." Sighing, I walked forward passing Sai. "Are you coming with us? We're searching for two people who are...unfortunately...involved. I have a feeling that they're on the list."

"So you had the dream as well..." I nodded to him. "The Copy Ninja, and the soul survivor of the Uchiha clan?" He shrugged. "I suppose. Not like I have anything better to do..."

Jun and Kenta nodded to him, and we started on our way, leaving Naida alone. "Let's keep going. I don't think we're far from their location..."

The rain had completely stopped, but the clouds had covered the only peice of sun that had revealed itself. It didn't matter. What mattered was what the two dark lumps up ahead were.

"Sasuke?" Naruto went ahead of us, and kept calling out his comrades names. "Kakashi sensei, Sasuke!?" As we all got closer, we realized that something truly was wrong. "Kakashi sensei!!"

Sai checked over Kakashi, while I was given the duty of seeing to Sasuke. He had been thrashed and was slightly bleeding, but he was still conscious. "Good. Sasuke, what exactly happened?" He didn't answer me, but it was all the same. Sai had stated that Kakashi's chakra levels were low, but nothing too serious had happened to him. Jun sighed, and Naruto was laughing.

"Ha! I knew they were alright! Yeah! Believe it!"

I was about to crush his pride. It felt good to crush his pride. You think that's wrong? Deal with it. "Naruto, I don't know if you've all realized, but they were attacked. By who or what, I don't know." I looked over at the strongest Kagunin. "Sai?"

"He's just exhausted. A day or two of rest and he should be fine." Kakashi was propped up against a tree that Sai was close to.

Sasuke was awake and moving on his own, and I was impatient. "Tell me Sasuke. What happened to you and Kakashi?"

His voice was distorted and cracked at every syllable, but one could make out what he was saying. "Five people... Five people appeared out of nowhere. We didn't stand a chance. I remember being thrown hard by one of them, and then there's nothing...except seeing you, Naruto and two people I don't recognize..."

I sighed and let him relax. His voice had been strained worse than I thought it would've been. "Jun, any ideas?"

"The only thing I can think of would be SSSTRK. Seeing as how there's six letters/ names, and that Saika was a part of it and now dead... Sai?"

The Hidden Sound Ninja shushed her, and kept staring into the forest as if he was following something with his eyes. "Damnit... All of you, prepare for battle. All of you might as well come out. You want a battle, come and get it."

I had left both of my katanas back in the village, so all I had in the category of weapons was a few kunai and six shuriken. Heh... Good thing I'm half decent at taijutsu. It isn't my strongest, but I have some skill. That counts, right?

About a minute after Sai had called out to them, they showed themselves. Taji, Seiji, Rei, Kana, and Sonia... The only one who wasn't here, was Saika, but he was also dead... (check chpt 1 or 2 if you forget what happened). I looked around. Naruto was already unconscious, and Kenta was missing. "Great... Five on three. Any ideas?"

Neither Jun or Sai answered me. They were...um...what's the right word? Um...preoccupied? Yeah, that's it! Jun was facing against Taji, while Sai was left to fight Seiji and Kana. Rei and Sonia were mine.

"Look, Hitomi, it's nothing personal, but if Harlan wants you dead, what choice do we, meaning you, have?" Rei was ready to fight, holding four shuriken in her left hand, and three kunai in the right. Sonia was armed with two of her four katanas.

"Is this really necessary? Why does he want us dead, anyway?"

"Simple..." Sonia's toxic words flowed out of her mouth. "You're holding him back. Stopping him from achieving his goal, his ambitions. He'll probably kill us off eventually, but it doesn't matter. So long as you die before me, I'll be happy." She made a move to strike, getting behind me before I could realize it, and Rei standing in my face. They were working in perfect synch with one another, striking at the same time with out flaws.

"Jun, a little help!?"

"My hands are tied..." She punched Taji, but he blocked and made his move with a kunai knife. Jun had recieved a small cut on her cheek. "...at the moment! Can it wait!?" She dodged a punch and a swipe of Taji's kunai.

"Fine...Nghh." I had taken a hit to the ribs. Yeah, it hurt, but pain is what let's you know that you're still alive. I learned that lesson a long time ago. "By me! Hyah!" Sonia had caught my foot, and I couldn't get free. There was a shrill, agonized scream coming from behind. I tried to sneak a glance at Jun, but my head couldn't turn that far.

"Jun!" Sai was able to glance at her. "Woah!" He barely dodged a blow to his neck that could've been fatal.

Back on my feet and dodging more hits and cuts, I finally saw Jun, who was struggling to say alive. She moaned and cradled her wounds. "Jun!!"

Sonia was infront of me, and Rei was behind, and before I knew it, I had taken a punch to the right side of my neck, and thrown into the air for a few seconds. Landing on the rough, sandy ground, I felt as though I had just been mauled by an animal of some sort. Pain seared through my body, and my vision even went blury.

"Now you die!" Sonia had swung her katanas, but I felt no pain, and nothing turned black or red. All I heard was a scream of pain. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I felt as though I had no choice. Standing over me was Kakashi, a katana wedged in his back.

"Kakashi..." The parts of my body I landed on were still throbing. "Why...?" He didn't answer. Instead, he just fell off to the side, not saying a word or even moaning. He just fell. "No..."

"RAH!!" Sai tossed a shuriken at Kana, and she retreated into the trees. Next to fall back was Seiji, followed by Rei. "Get back!! Leave!" He swung his blade and nicked Rei on the arm.

"They're too strong for us! We need to retreat, Sonia!" Rei backed away from my limp body. Sonia's feet, however, were still planted firmly on the ground. She refused to move. "We can't take on Sai! He's too strong for us."

"I don't care. You can run, be a coward, but I plan to stay and fight. Now might be my only chance to kill her!" She drew her third katana and swung.

I could barely see, but I knew that this time that I would be dead. Nothing could stop the blade, and I would be killed...or not. My vision had left me, but I could still hear the odd word or two, plus two swords clashing.

You will leave...Go...kill you. I...mercy...

I'll return...I'll...you. Both...

So this is the pain of death... Searing pain that only death can release you from. You remember how you were always told that there was a white light at the end of the tunnel? Well, I didn't see it. I don't even know if I'm still alive... Perhaps I am, maybe I'm not. All I know is that there wasn't a white light or tunnel. Maybe you can answer this for me... Does heaven exist? If so, Hell must as well. I didn't belong in heaven. I've done some bad things during my life... Maybe dying the way I had was my punishment... Or was it? Was I actually dead? Don't answer that one.