Chapter Twenty-One: Death is Not the End

His cell felt strangely empty without Naruto goofing around in it, Kakashi reflected, albeit a bit sadly. He sat cross-legged on his own cot, and there was nothing to stop him as he stared directly across at Naruto's.

It was empty, of course.

It was funny, Kakashi had always complained that Naruto was so noisy and that he hardly ever got time to think while the kid was around, but now that he was actually GONE and Kakashi had all the time in the world to think, he didn't want to. He sighed. His copies of Make-Out Paradise held no appeal to him right now. He'd read them all hundreds of times, anyway.

For the first time in ages, Kakashi Hatake was…bored. Bored out of his brain. What was he supposed to DO now that Naruto wasn't around? He wasn't going to talk to himself (not that he really had anything he WANTED to talk about), he didn't want to read, and, well, he didn't exactly have anything else to do, except be alone with his thoughts.

And in prison, being alone with your thoughts was a dangerous thing.

Kakashi sighed. He felt hopeful, sorry, angry and annoyed all at once. He didn't like it. He sat on his cot for a long time, simply brooding. It wasn't like he had anything else to do.

"Excuse me- Kakashi Hatake?" Rock Lee's voice jerked Kakashi out of his reverie. The older ninja blinked, stretched his legs, and got up, approaching the door where Lee and Neji were waiting patiently, an enormous cart beside them.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" he asked wearily, frowning. This was unusual. Danzo had once offered books to all the inmates, but decided against it when he began to receive books that had been…well, defecated on. He never did find out who did it, but everyone had their suspicions.

"Warden Shimura has asked us to pass out bibles to everyone," Neji replied smoothly, looking somewhat disgusted at the thought. While Lee had very much taken up the whole 'God Squad' thing enthusiastically, Neji had not. Rumour had it he only stuck with Lee because it ensured protection for both of them.

"A bible?" Kakashi asked dryly, his eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth, "you're not serious?"

"Very serious!" Lee replied happily, passing one sideways through the bars. He gave Kakashi an infectious grin. "Here's your copy, Kakashi!"

Very reluctantly, Kakashi took it. "Uh, thanks, I guess," he said, puzzled, and Lee's grin grew wider.

"That is okay!" he exclaimed. "Religion makes one more youthful!"

Neji rolled his eyes when Lee wasn't looking. "Sorry," he muttered over his shoulder, as the two grabbed hold of the cart and pushed on. Kakashi promptly tossed the book aside as soon as they were out of sight. It wasn't that he was an atheist or anything, he WASN'T…but he didn't want to have anything to do with someone he hated.

And he hated Danzo a hell of a lot.

In fact, if the old geezer had come around at that moment, Kakashi might have told him where exactly he could have shoved his dusty old bible…and choke on it on the way up. He could only imagine what Hidan's response would have been when he had received his bible, given how violently he had reacted when Danzo had announced that they were going to build a chapel.

But, like Iruka had said, the Akatsuki were unusually meek after their scuffle with Naruto. It was like they'd gone against orders.

Against orders, Kakashi thought, sitting back down on his cot, I wonder why they would choose to do that? And if THEY aren't the power of Blood Prison, who is? Who's in control of this bizarre freakshow?

Little did he know that he (and many others) would find out the answer to that question very soon. And they would not like the answer.

Not at all.

XxX

Rin was in the middle of changing Naruto's bandages (soon he wouldn't need them at all, he was healing so fast!) when there was a knock at her door. Almost instinctively, she tensed, looking around guiltily despite herself. You're being downright ridiculous, she told herself sternly, if anyone was to come in right now, you couldn't be more obvious if you tried! Get your act together, Rin Nohara!

"C-come in," she eventually quavered, doing her best to keep the nervousness from her voice. There was no need to let whoever was on the other side of that door to know that she was nervous- she didn't want to be found out now. Or ever.

"It's Officer Hayashi," came the familiar voice of the twin brother, "I have some patients for you, Nurse Nohara."

"Bring them in, please," Rin said without turning around. She heard Nori open the door, and several pairs of feet enter the room. She still didn't look up- she could tell without looking that the Akatsuki were here. She wasn't sure HOW she knew it, but she did. It was like a feeling of- well, dread. Several guards shuffled in- she knew they were guards from the heavier treads, the sounds of fancy boots squeaking on her floor.

Ugh.

"Hello, Nurse Nohara," Nori said pleasantly when Rin finally mustered the courage to turn and face her visitors. She fought to keep an expression of calm on her heart-shaped face. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Rin replied sweetly, eyeing her patients. Yep, they were Akatsuki all right. Hidan, Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara, all with varying degrees of injuries. "Busy day?"

"You could say that," Nori said neutrally, and several of the other guards grinned. Deidara looked absolutely dubious- well, on the part of his face that wasn't either covered by his fringe or black and blue. Kisame rolled his sharklike eyes, Hidan swore, and Itachi was presently doing a great impression of a statue.

"What happened?" Rin asked, pulling on a pair of latex gloves, and gesturing for Deidara to sit down on the chair she had just pulled out. He definitely looked the worse for wear out of all of them, and despite him being Akatsuki, Rin allowed herself a moment of pity for the destruction of the blonde boy's face, despite him beating up Naruto. She was by no means a sympathiser (in fact, the very thought made her feel ill!), but Rin was by nature a kind person, and she hated to see someone hurt. Even if that someone was a member of Akatsuki.

"There was a fight," Nori filled her in while she tended to Deidara's injuries. She could do little more than give him some pills for the pain, and reduce the swelling, but he would have to return to get his nose pushed back into place. She couldn't do it now, not with the amount of pain he was clearly in, despite him trying to sneer at her the whole time. "Akatsuki and Naruto."

"Really?" she tried to sound questioning, but of course she knew this already. In a moment of perfect synchronisation, all the Akatsuki members turned and raised an eyebrow simultaneously. It would have been funny, under other circumstances. Hidan went to say something, and was promptly elbowed in the stomach by Kisame. It must have hurt, because the silver-haired immortal didn't say anything after that. "How- odd."

There was a pregnant silence. It was one of those queer moments when everyone knew what was going on, and all knew it was a poorly-created façade. It wasn't the Akatsuki's problem, though.

"That's one word for it," Nori said eventually, falsely cheerful. "If you're done with these prisoners, Nurse Nohara, we'll escort them back to their cells now."

"Yes, of course," Rin said vaguely, thinking hard, "there isn't much more I can do for them right now. But Deidara-" the blonde glared when she openly addressed him, looking miffed, "-you'll have to come back in a day or two for me to reset your nose, okay?"

"Whatever, yeah," came the sullen reply.

"All right, time to go!" Nori stood up, gun at the ready, as did the other guards, and one by one the Akatsuki members were escorted out of the infirmary. Rin watched carefully, and when Itachi's heel whipped out of sight, the door closing behind him, she sighed with relief.

That had been intense.

It was times like these that Rin simultaneously loved and hated her job.

XxX

As Nori Hayashi was leaving the infirmary, with the Akatsuki and three other guards in tow, he heard a familiar voice.

"Officer Hayashi!" a familiar figure was striding towards them, her expression angry. When Nori saw who it was, his expression softened for all of a second. It was his twin sister, Tani. But what was she doing here, in the male wing? That was highly unusual- Danzo had always had female guards in the female wards, and likewise with the men. Nori didn't see his sister very often. "I need to speak to you for a moment!"

Nori hastily rearranged his face into a neutral expression, ignoring Hidan's audible guffaw.

"It's funny cause they're twins!" he was chuckling to Kisame, "they're both fucking called 'Officer Hayashi'! What a big crock of shit!"

"Shut up," one of the other guards said mildly, and jammed the butt of his gun into Hidan's stomach, effectively shutting him up for the moment. "Not another word out of you."

"Well, sure," Nori said comfortably, "what can I do for you?"

Tani finally caught up with them, ponytail swinging. Deidara's one visible eye widened slightly when he saw the depth of her beauty, and promptly covered it up with an unattractive sneer. She ignored it.

"Warden Shimura has asked me to-" And she stopped mid-sentence, and stared, her eyes wide and her face slack-jawed. Her face had gone very pale. "I-" I know you, was what she was GOING to say, but a sharp look from Nori made her swallow her words.

Itachi gazed back levelly at her, looking utterly deadpan. Those cool, calculating onyx eyes met grey, and he very deliberately turned his gaze elsewhere, as if dismissing her.

The other Akatsuki members were flicking their heads back and forth like they were watching a tennis match or something. The guards looked a little amused, but otherwise entirely ignorant of what had just passed between the two.

There was a very heavy pause, one that Nori interrupted, scowling. "You see somethin' green?" he asked the Akatsuki harshly, eyes narrowed, "keep moving, prisoners, otherwise I'll put you back into the infirmary!"

"You don't need to be a dick about it," Hidan muttered, as the group started moving again. Tani made as if to move forward with them, and Nori shook his head quickly.

No, not now, that headshake seemed to say, we'll deal with it later.

She nodded back, still looking terrified.

"I'm a dick when my prisoners are dicks," Nori replied smartly to Hidan, and poked him in the ribs with his gun, to prove his point. "And stop ogling my sister, you," he muttered to Deidara, whose face (what little part of it wasn't bruised) flushed furiously.

"Like I was," he snapped. The bomber received a jab in the ribs for his mouthing off.

Soon, thankfully, they were gone. Tani was left standing out in the corridor, still very pale but otherwise in control of herself. I know him from somewhere, she thought, I'm sure of it. Did my…?

She banished that thought from her mind, pursed her lips, and turned and walked back towards the warden's office, hips rolling and ponytail swinging.

XxX

"What was that about, yeah?" Deidara muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Kisame, as they walked back to their cells. Itachi had elected to walk ahead of them, his body rigid and exuding such an air of tension that the others didn't quite dare walk beside him at this point. It wasn't that he was AFRAID of Itachi- God, Deidara hated the Uchiha with a passion- but given the state of his face presently, he didn't particularly want to damage it further. You couldn't make art if you couldn't see.

"Beats me," Kisame murmured back. "I've never seen Itachi so rattled before."

"He's off his game, huh? That's weird," Deidara remarked. "I wonder what that girl knows, yeah."

"I don't really care," Kisame said dispassionately. His face grew grave. "What I care about is the welfare of the Akatsuki. Something's wrong."

"Hmm," Deidara said noncommittally. His thoughts were still on the female guard. It had been months since he- any of them- had seen a woman. Akatsuki member or not, Deidara was still a young, healthy nineteen years old, and his thoughts were somewhat lewd as he was led back to his cell. He didn't bother saying goodbye to Kisame or the others- he'd see them tomorrow, after all- but one thing stuck to him:

Something was definitely wrong here.

XxX

THE NEXT DAY

Kiba woke up earlier than usual that day. He stared around his cell blearily, rubbed at his eyes furiously for a few moments, and sat up, yawning widely. His cell was empty- oh yeah, Yagura was in solitary!- and as such, it was almost peaceful for all of two minutes. In fact, he had time to daydream about escaping before the guards came along and began unlocking cells, yelling as usual.

Normally Kiba hated this time of the day- he was a man who enjoyed his sleep- but he couldn't wait to begin building the chapel and getting to talk to Shino. He'd been thinking about escape plans ever since Choji had broken, and since Shino was both his friend and a person who'd been in jail previously, he was the guy to talk to about such things. With all the hammering and talking that would be going on, it would be the perfect time to talk without fear of being overheard.

So, when he got told to go to the back of the cell, Kiba leapt up almost happily, and he couldn't get out of the cell quicker when it was time for breakfast. He spied Shino's spiky hair ahead in the line, and he shot ahead to meet up with his friend.

"Oi, Shino!"

He turned, glasses on, and gave Kiba a quirky little smile. "Oh, hello," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets, "it's been awhile, Kiba."

"I know! Ya keen for today?"

"Not particularly," Shino replied, pushing his glasses further up his nose, "but I suppose it has to be done. You want to talk today?" he added in a hurried whisper, casting a furtive glance at the guards. They weren't paying attention.

"Hell yeah I do," Kiba whispered back, "I got some neat ideas-"

"That's enough out of you two!" a guard snapped, waving his arms around in his anger, "git to the dining hall, already!"

"Yes, sir," they said together, and hurried off.

The waiting for breakfast seemed to take forever today. Kiba shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously, doing his best to reign his nervous energy in. Damn it, all he wanted to do was get outside and talk to Shino already! It was beyond frustrating to have the person in question RIGHT THERE and not being able to talk to him for fear of being found out.

Damn it, Kiba hated this whole prison thing so damn much.

When he finally got his unsatisfactory bowl of gruel and got to sit down, he scoffed it down so quickly that it was a wonder that he didn't immediately puke it back up again. Shino watched him, somewhat amused. He wasn't sure that Kiba was even swallowing, he just seemed to be shovelling it in, spoonful after spoonful of gruel. He spilled a little on his shirt, but the former dog-master didn't seem to care in the slightest.

Shino shrugged and kept eating. It didn't matter how fast you ate, you got let out when the guards decided to let you out. He personally admired Kiba's tenacity, but in this situation, it would achieve nothing.

Thankfully, by the time Shino actually finished his breakfast, it was time to start building. The guards swarmed in, like they had yesterday, but instead of escorting them to their cells, they were led out to the exercise yard.

Now, not much surprised Shino these days, but even he had to stop and blink when he saw the massive pile of timber, the cartons of nails and hammers, the stacks of bibles.

Oh yeah, and all the guards with their guns at the ready. Dimly he could see that even some of the guards from the turrets lining the driveway to Blood Prison were there, made noticeable by a distinct change in uniform colour- instead of the putrid green, they were a navy blue, similar to Obito's own black garb. Also, they had bigger guns. Shino made note of that, and nudged Kiba to discreetly let him know not to get on their bad side. Obviously Danzo wanted to make sure nobody would try to put a hammer through someone's skull or something, and he was apparently paying through the nose for it.

As much as Shino hated the guy, he had to admire the lengths the warden had gone to to ensure that his chapel was built and nobody got hurt. He could have made an effective leader, had he not been a heartless bastard that everyone despised.

In any case, there was no glamorous speech this time; the guards simply put the prisoners to work. Mere moments after the duo had stepped onto the field were they given a hammer and a packet of nails, and told to start right away.

"How the hell do they expect us to just start without any reference?" Kiba grumbled under his breath, as he and Shino approached the pile of wood hesitantly. Many of the other prisoners looked apprehensive as well- with the Akatsuki milling around, looking scary despite Deidara having a very obviously broken nose, nobody wanted to get close. Plus there was the added risk of being overheard by said group if Kiba and Shino wanted to discuss plans about escaping. "That's just damn stupid."

They didn't exactly want to get into a fight with the group, especially after they'd bashed Naruto.

Better to stay on their good side, anyway.

They both hunkered down Indian-style beside the patch of wood, and pretended to be considering the pile of wood, when in reality they were about to start discussing plans.

"So?" Shino asked quietly. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, out of sheer habit. "What have you got?"

Kiba grinned. He looked distinctively wolf-like when he did so. "I got the best idea," he said excitedly, clapping his hands together. For a moment, he looked like a small child. "we can git to be Danzo's little playboys, and while he thinks we're doin' his bankin', we can get a rock-hammer, and-"

"Tunnel our way out of the prison?" Shino somehow managed to sound both amused and disgusted at the same time. "Crawl through a sewage pipe into the free world? Sounds ridiculous in theory, Kiba, and has even less chance of working."

"Aww, what?!" Kiba was distraught. "I spent ages thinkin' that up,ya know!"

"Did you?" Now Shino was surely laughing at him. "Or did you get it from a movie? It sounds like the escape of Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption." He laughed quietly as he said it, and looked at Kiba both fondly and in wonder, like he couldn't imagine someone could suggest something so silly.

"Oh yeah," Kiba sounded deflated. He had in fact seen that movie, but he hadn't put two and two together until Shino had pointed it out. Damn it, he had felt so SMART! He'd wondered where he'd gotten that idea from; he'd felt so queerly intelligent, thinking of every possible loophole, and Shino had just shot it down in flames, basically. "Shit, I feel stupid now."

"Don't," Shino said, giving his friend a smile. It was a little strange, seeing Shino smile like that. He didn't do it often enough. "To your credit, it was a good movie."

"I forgot it was a movie till ya pointed it out," Kiba grumbled. "Good thing I have some more ideas."

"Okay, shoot."

"We attack Obito and get him to shoot Danzo."

He was met with stunned silence. Shino looked at him oddly. His glasses were sliding down his nose, and Kiba could see his dark brown eyes, narrowed in disbelief. "You're not serious?" he asked eventually, not bothering to push his glasses back up.

Kiba gave a shaky laugh and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Of course not!" he giggled, unable to meet Shino's gaze with a straight face any longer, "Ya must think I'm a total moron!"

Shino relaxed visibly. Letting out a sigh, he carefully pushed his glasses back up. Casting a surreptitious glance around them, he leaned in close to Kiba and whispered, "I'm glad. That was a fucking stupid idea."

Kiba grinned, meeting Shino's eyes squarely. "Ya see, here's the thing," he whispered back, "I have an idea, but we need Naruto. And a hell of a lot of support."

And he told him. When he was done, Shino's glasses fell clean off his face, and lay on the ground, glittering cheekily. His face was utterly shocked- another expression Kiba had never seen.

"That- that's so insane," he said finally. His face was a confusing array of emotions- disdain, amusement, anger, shock, and- hope.

"I know, I know, it's stupid, ain't it?" Kiba said sullenly, picking up a plank of wood and slamming it against the ground with unnecessary force. "Ya don't need to keep sayin' so-"

"Oh, shut up," Shino said irritably, glaring at Kiba. Then he smiled.

"It's so insane, it might actually work," he said.

"I- what?"

"You heard me," Shino replied happily, "it might just work. Kiba, I may not have said it before, but you really are smarter than I thought you were."

"I- thanks?" Kiba stammered, recognising the backhanded compliment a shade too late. He flushed. "Ya really think it'll work?"

Shino stood up abruptly. "Absolutely," he said, scooping his glasses up and sliding them back on, "and I suggest we implement it immediately."

XxX

Gaara and Kankuro were on a mission.

Or, well, as much as 'on a mission' as they could be while pretending to collect supplies for this damn chapel. Each had an armful of wood and nails, and stumbled around with some sort of purpose, their eyes scanning the exercise yard for someone- anyone. Anyone with a tailed beast inside them, that was.

"Tell me," Gaara said suddenly, "what do you think of that man over there?" Unable to point, he flicked his green eyes in the direction of a tall, lanky fellow with brown, long, unkempt hair. Unlike majority of the prisoners, he didn't have any supplies, and nor did he seem inclined to. In his long-fingered hands he held a flut- how had that not gotten confiscated?- and he was twirling it from hand to hand, almost irritably. He exuded such an air of snobbishness that Kankuro disliked him immediately.

There was a fellow who would neither respect Kankuro nor his position. In fact, he was almost Akatsuki-like in his aloofness, though Kankuro was sure, if he asked him, he'd reply with disgust.

"The guy with the silver spoon up his ass?" Kankuro asked unbelievingly.

Gaara smiled a little. "Yes, him," he replied. "He's a jinchuriki."

"How can you tell?" Kankuro asked around his pile of timber.

"I just know," came the reply. "He may not look like much, but he seems to be a man we would like on our side. And he's host to the six-tails."

Kankuro was going to ask how his brother knew this, but he knew he would receive the same answer he'd gotten before: he just knew. It was a jinchuriki thing. Maybe Gaara could see something about this snobby asshole that Kankuro couldn't, or maybe it was Shukaku's secret sixth sense or something. Hell, for all he knew the two could communicate telepathically or some shit.

"Well, what should we do?" Kankuro asked, resigned to the fact that despite not wanting to, they were going to have to talk to this dude.

"Speak to him, of course," Gaara replied. "He might not join our cause, but the least we can do is alert him to it."

"Ain't you worried he'll rat on us?" Kankuro asked weakly.

"No," Gaara said confidently. "Friend or not, the guards have something over us jinchuriki that they don't have over…normal people. He won't rat us out."

"You're the boss," Kankuro said wearily. His arms were staring to ache. "Let's get this shit over with."

And so they approached the flute-wielding guy. He stared at them coldly as they approached, and Kankuro realised that he was familiar with how this guy looked; he was the same as Gaara had been when he was a kid- this guy loathed what he was, and more to the point, he loathed everyone else for being 'normal'. Yet this loathing was coupled with a 'high and mighty' attitude that just seemed…odd. He hated being host to a demon, but he was simultaneously proud of the power he had within.

Man, this guy was just a barrel of contradictions.

"Yes?" he asked irritably when they approached. "Can I help you?" His eyes slid over Kankuro dismissively, paused on Gaara for a moment, and his face became even harder.

"Utakata," Gaara said quietly, and the other guy flinched, "we need your help."

"How did you know my…oh," Utakata gulped, and for a second looked very frightened. He just found out that Gaara is a jinchuriki as well, Kankuro thought, and knew he was right. The puppet-master was being ignored entirely, and that was fine with him. Utakata's attention was focused entirely on Gaara now. He seemed both nervous and impressed with him. "…Gaara?"

"Yes."

Christ, they really ARE telepathic, Kankuro thought wildly, what the actual fuck?

"And what do you want, little boy?" Utakata asked rudely, puffing his chest out, having regained his snobbish temperament. He towered over Gaara; his red hair barely brushed against Ukataka's chest. "I have no time for games or idle chit-chat. I'm a busy man, you know."

"Doing what, exactly?" Gaara asked, just as rudely back. Gaara was normally well-mannered and respectful of others these days, but yeah, Ukataka wasn't exactly being civil. Like Kankuro had observed earlier, this guy was just a bundle of confliction. He was getting real tired of his shit already.

"That- that's none of your business, brat," Ukataka spat furiously. "Who are you to bother me like this?!"

"I'm someone that needs your help," came the reply.

What Gaara got in return was a very rude noise. Kankuro raised an eyebrow. Wow, this guy was actually an arsehole. He expected shit to start coming out of his mouth at any moment.

"Perhaps you'll be more compliant when I say who you would be helping," Gaara said evenly, ignoring the rude noises. "Have you heard of Naruto Uzumaki?"

"That stupid, loud, irritating no-hoper?" Ukataka asked, looking amused. He smirked. "Fat chance of me doing anything for that idiot."

"I thought you'd say that," Gaara replied, "so I'll say another name you'll be familiar with. Yagura."

Ukataka looked genuinely startled. "You mean the Mizukage?" he asked. "I was quite good friends with him. What has happened?" He dropped the snobby façade and got down to business. His young face was lined with concern for the other man.

Kankuro stepped forward. "I can't believe you haven't heard," he said loudly, and Ukataka was forced to drag his eyes away from Gaara to Kankuro. He looked at him dubiously, like he didn't trust him. "Yagura's been put in solitary with the leader of Akatsuki for doing the right thing, to cut a long story short."

Ukataka flinched. "The Mizukage…with that filth?" he gasped. "I don't believe it. I won't believe it." He crossed his arms defiantly. Gaara sighed.

"Be as troublesome as you want, Ukataka," he snapped, "but your friend and fellow jinchuriki-"

"Do not use that word around me!" Ukataka hissed. "I will not stand for it!"

"- has been put with Akatsuki for doing what he's always done," Gaara continued, over the top of Ukataka's protests, "and that's being a good man. Kankuro and I have decided, in order to free him, and everybody else, we will need the assistance of the other demon hosts. That's why we have come to you."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Ukataka demanded.

"You're host to the six-tails," Gaara pointed out. "I am host to the one-tail. Yagura is host to the three-tails."

"And your point is, little boy?"

"My point," Gaara continued heatedly, "is that we need your help. Are you going to help or not?"

Ukataka stared at them for a few moments, and then sighed. "Hmmph. Fine," he grumbled. "I still think the idea is ridiculous; however, Yagura has been a good friend to me in the past. He…helped me with Saiken. If he was imprisoned for doing right, then I suppose I owe it to him to at least try to help. Saiken agrees with me." He looked utterly miserable, as if helping an old friend was quite the effort. "I do hope whatever idiot plan you have, Gaara, that it works and I won't get in trouble. I like Yagura, sure, but I don't particularly want to end up in solitary with him for the rest of my life."

Gaara smiled for the first time since the conversation had started. "And you won't," he said. "I've talked the plan over with Kankuro, and Shukaku agrees with me- if it works, nobody will get in trouble. We simply need all the help we can get."

"I suppose you want me to talk to the others?" Ukataka asked dully. Gaara nodded. "Fine. I suppose I can do that for you. But I'm warning you now, if I get caught…"

"You won't," Gaara reassured him. "Thank you, Ukataka."

"Whatever," Ukataka replied.

And they parted ways.

XxX

"Officer Hayashi!" a guard came sprinting down the hallway, where Nori was just about to eat his own breakfast. He was sitting in a chair, nursing a cup of hot noodles. He'd had a late shift, and was eating relatively late compared to everyone else. Goddamn it, even the prisoners got better care than the guards did! It was ridiculous.

"What is it?" Nori asked, instantly on the alert. His little cup of noodles would have to wait.

"It's- it's your sister," the other man replied. "She's crying."

"Oh, no," Nori sighed, setting his cup down. Yep, looked like he'd have to eat later. "Where is she?"

"In the bathroom, sir," the man stammered, and Nori was off.

XxX

He found her in the guards' bathroom, staring into a mirror and gulping back tears. She was very pale, and her grey eyes- his grey eyes- sparkled with tears. He hurried over and slung a casual arm over her shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked tenderly. This was the one place the guards weren't monitored, and so Tani felt she could let her tears run freely- until someone came bursting in that wasn't Nori, that was. "Speak to me, Sis."

"Y-yesterday, i-in the infirmary-"

"Yeah?" He began rubbing her shoulder gently.

She turned her face to him, and he was struck once again by how similar they were. Identical twins or not, it was kind of weird to see a female version of himself staring back at him. "I know that man," she said now, and Nori's worst fears were confirmed, "he- he was a f-friend of-"

"I know," he said, hugging her more tightly, "I know. I'm sorry."

"I- it's just so hard!" she said shrilly. "I never found out what happened to him, or anyone else!"

"I have my suspicions," Nori said quietly, voice hard. Tani looked back up, startled out of her tears.

"You do?"

"Yeah. But I'm not going to say. I can hear someone coming."

And they could.

XxX

It was the first day of building, and already Danzo had a splitting headache. His arm was aching, he had somehow developed a limp in his right leg, and the voices in the room wouldn't shut up.

No matter how loud he had his radio cranked up, and really, that was just making things worse.

"Shut up back there!" he eventually roared, and for a second, the voices stopped. Then they resumed, this time louder than ever.

"Oh, praise Jesus," Danzo moaned, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples as the voices howled and screamed behind him, "praise Him. It seems that death is not the end, after all."

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little late. I was trying to make it as good as possible xD It's getting spooky, isn't it? :P A couple of notes here, while I'm at it: Ukataka's name. I REALLY hope I got the spelling right. If you see a glaring spelling error with his name (for some reason I found it really hard to get right!), it's on me, sorry xD Also- Saiken is the official name for the six-tailed slug that's inside Ukataka. Y'know, like Kurama or Shukaku. I used that to explore the relationship between the hosts and the demons themselves a little :D What are your thoughts on what's happening? Do you like it? Please let me know! I have about five more chapters planned, so let me know where you think this will go! Thanks everyone for your support and super sweet reviews! :D