Dawn was beginning to break.

Snore. A vein popped on a pale forehead, irritation beginning to seethe under her skin. Snore.

Smack!

"Uh hu!?" Satoshi sat upright immediately, placing a palm to his cheek in confusion. Wiping the excess drool from the corner of his mouth, he looked to his team member. "What's the time?"

Tora crossed her arms, mildly annoyed. "It's five-thirty. We still have a lot of ground to cover." Packing her stuff away neatly, she tied her hair back into a sleek bun and brushed her teeth.

Satoshi scratched his rear-end, digging through his own pack for breakfast. "Any word from the others?"

Tora looked to the sky. "Not yet. Hopefully soon."

"Hmm." Satoshi stowed away his own things, taking a bite of seasoned jerky. "Well, let's get started I guess."

Tora nodded in agreement.

The duo held a steady pace, flitting through the treetops, keeping a keen eye for anything unusual. When the bright neon-lights and tall, colorful buildings of Tanzaku came into view, they descended to the forest floor and continued on.

"Ah. Tanzaku." Satoshi placed his hands behind his head, breathing in deeply. Barbecue chicken lingered in the air; a few restaurants prepping early for the day. "Fond memories of this place, eh, Tora-chan?"

The woman went beet red, remembering all too well of Satoshi's drunken antics a few years ago. Even though her heart swelled for the lazy ninja, it was all too clear he was entirely oblivious of her affection, and thus she had to suffer at his flirtatious indulgences with other women.

"Oi oi, Tora-chan, why is your face so red?" The purple haired ninja was suddenly in her view, peering at her with his glinting eyes. "Are you ill?"

"Aiiiii!" Tora smacked the ninja fifty yards away, sending him flying with that dull look on his face. "I-idiot! Don't just ask a woman these kinds of questions! I'm not sick!"

Satoshi flew into a dumpster, cursing himself as he crawled out of the filth and brushed a banana peel from his shoulder. "Sheesh, women…"

Without further incidents, the duo began their investigation at their designated quadrants, asking their scripted questions for any clue as to where the missing girls had vanished. A few relatives of the women mostly gave sorrow-filled answers, and were just as confused as the shinobi were. When late afternoon came, the team took a lunch break at a hamburger joint, digging into their food and watching the young kids play their video games around them.

"So strange, no one knows anything. You would think with so many missing, someone was bound to hear or see something." Tora chewed thoughtfully. "It's almost as if they vanished in thin air."

Satoshi was on his second burger, slurping the squid tentacle topping he had ordered. "Hmm…maybe they did."

Drip drip drip

All was black. Kisame was alone. It was dark.

Drip drip drip

Water flowing, a rhythmical sound echoing in the vast emptiness around him.

"She's here."

A gender-less voice, whispering behind his ear. He wanted to turn his head, see who was calling to him. But he couldn't move. He was paralyzed.

"She's not real."

Drip drip drip

"Why did you betray me, Kisame-san?" A shadow, moving forward. An orange mask, swirled. "I gave you a mission, and you failed me."

Madara?! Kisame grunted, unable to speak. His eyes roved the abyss. The shadow moved back.

"How could you be so…weak?" A hand laid on his arm. Itachi moved around the immobile shinobi, tightening his grip. "You are nothing but a mere animal…after all."

No! I'm not! I'm-

"She makes you weak."

"Give her to us."

"Fulfill your mission."

Drip drip drip

"Do not fail us."

Kisame sat upright, his blade already unsheathed and laid across his chest in a defensive stance. Taking timed breathes through his nostrils, he promptly scanned the area for any sign of an intruder.

Evelyn was lying with her back to him, head in her hands. She was snoring softly.

The sun was beginning to rise.

"What exactly happened? Tell us to the best of your ability, sir." The Hidden Leaf jounin was scribbling on his notepad details of their informant. "Whenever you're ready."

You have got to be kidding me. Tora wanted to sigh out loud. After spending an entire day and coming up empty handed, the mission seemingly came to a stalemate. It was only when they had caught wind of a witness that was present during his granddaughter's kidnapping did they rush to the scene. When they stepped into the home where many other shinobi awaited to listen, they had realized they were not the only ones to come up with nothing.

However, there was a hiccup. The old man was blind.

So much for an identity. Tora pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked around the room for her partner. Surprisingly, she found Satoshi sitting perfectly still next to the old man, completely engrossed. The ninja was only this perceptive when he was onto something, so perhaps she was the blind one instead.

"I-I'm sorry I can't be of better help." The old man smiled sadly, teeth missing. "I'll help you as best I can."

"That would be very kind of you, please, go on." The jounin bowed slightly, ready to begin taking notes. All of the shinobi in the room waited on bated breath.

"Very well." The old man took a breath. "It was very quiet that afternoon…"

"I said to keep your hands off me!" The woman screeched out at Kisame. "How dare-"

"If you're going to do nothing but scream at me all day, I'll cut your tongue out." Kisame's strong grip encircled the woman's small jaw, and he wiggled it with mirth. "Your choice."

Snapping her mouth closed, the woman sneered at him, but said nothing more. Satisfied for the moment, the shark wrapped the excess of rope around his hand and gave a sharp tug, nearly sending the kunoichi tumbling to the ground.

Evelyn stood at a distance from the dangerous shinobi, her head turned to face the salty breeze that kissed her face. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly released it and had a few memories of home cross her mind. Benji sat atop her shoulder, wriggling his fur.

"Hey, let's go." Kisame called to Evelyn, pulling on his prisoner to walk forward. Even with her ankles and hands bound together, the woman walked with her head held high, ebony hair floating in the wind behind her.

Remaining silent, Evelyn took the lead with Benji at her feet, taking the sandy white path along the coastline. The uncomfortable feeling of eyes on her back made her turn her head and make eye contact with the shinobi woman. Those emerald depths made her skin itch, and she forced herself to look away. Even with fury written over her face, the woman was beautiful.

"You're making a mistake." The woman spoke after an hour of travel, making everyone turn in the direction of her voice. She snapped her gaze to Kisame. "You must come with me."

"And yet you won't tell me why. Trust goes both ways, kitten." Kisame waggled a finger at her, grinning sardonically.

"Ehhh, don't trust a word she says!" Benji huffed.

"I'll kill you rat!"

Kisame snorted. "I actually wouldn't mind that."

Turning her attention to Evelyn, she stared at her with a mixture of fear and loathing. "Just how long do you think you can keep her under control?"

"What?" Evelyn stopped in her tracks, turning to fully face the woman. Blinking in bewilderment, she crossed her arms. "Just who are you?"

"Do you think they aren't searching for her? Even now, rumors are being spread of a darkness. You have no idea what is happening, and what actions will come of this." The woman was speaking so fervently now, Evelyn could barely register what she was saying. "This land will be reduced to ash, and many people will lose their lives for it. That woman is mad!"

Dark. Kisame felt ice grip his gut, and he watched Evelyn turn away.

"She does not care what happens to the lives of innocent people! She only wants her!" The woman took a step towards the silent girl, ignoring Kisame stepping between them. "I will not let you destroy my home!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Evelyn was screaming now, mussing her fingers into her hair and closing her eyes shut. "I don't know what's going on, and no one will tell me!"

The woman took a step back, wary of Evelyn's skyrocket of emotions. "Have you not seen it?"

Kisame blinked, and his dream came back to him.

Do not fail me.

"It was cold. So very, very cold." The old man's hands were shaking now, and he gripped them together firmly. Nobody made a sound in the room, besides the scratching of pen on paper. "I…I thought perhaps it was the wind…"

"What made you consider otherwise?" The jounin prompted.

The old man looked off to the side in the direction of the voice. "It was dark. You could feel it. I've never been so scared in my life. It was so cold."

Licking his chapped lips, he took a shaky breath and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I called to my granddaughter, Aila, but she didn't answer me. I knew she was home, she was in the middle of making me my favorite tea…the kettle was whistling." He looked down to his lap, wringing his wrinkled hands together. "It felt as though all of the life had been sucked from the room…there were no voices, she didn't make a sound. She was just, gone."

Satoshi closed his eyes, envisioning the old man's words.

"You must listen to me! This whole world will burn because of her!"

"I'm not the one who wiped out a whole town!" Faces of soot covered children came to Evelyn's mind. "How can you stand there and call me a monster when you killed everyone!? Did you kill Momo and the others too?"

A brief look of bewilderment. "Kill? Why would I kill my own people? They were already dead! That town was gone by the time I arrived!"

Whisk

The excess of rope made its way to Kisame's feet, as the furious kunoichi was sent flying towards him and received a direct punch to the gut. Spit and blood speckled the sand. A glinting blade was held to her throat, ever so slightly making contact with her skin. A trickle of red dripped.

"I am tired of these games!" Kisame roared, applying pressure against his sword. "You will answer my questions, right here, or I will cut off your head." He grabbed a fistful of ebony hair between his fingers, arching her head back to the heavens. "And I will make it slow."

The kunoichi remained stone faced, her breathing steady. Evelyn had already backed a few paces away, wary of the fury written across the shark's face. She had never seen him so angry before. Benji remained quiet, hiding behind her hair.

The sky was growing dark; the sun casting its farewell behind gray clouds. A storm was brewing along the coastline, and the smell of rain was in the air. In the distance, thunder rumbled.

"Show me her seal."

Evelyn instinctively placed a hand over the dragon ink. "It's a tattoo."

"Kunoichi, come here." Kisame didn't look to her, and spoke to her rather indifferently. Slowly, and cautiously, Evelyn came to stand beside him. Benji had sprang from his perch, not wishing to be in the shark's way. "Turn around."

She complied.

Releasing one hand and not even glancing at Evelyn, he took a hold of her garment and roughly moved it aside, exposing her entire right shoulder blade. A wet drip of water kissed her skin. It was beginning to rain.

"You can see it?"

Kisame nodded. A white hand print, laid over the darker ink underneath.

"Place your hand over it."

In. Out. In. Out. Kisame could feel Evelyn's deep breathing under his palm, as he shifted to lay his hand flat against her skin. To his surprise, the outline fit perfectly. Evelyn closed her eyes, feeling tears of angels kissing her face from the heavens.

"…now infuse some chakra."

Evelyn took a sharp intake of breath, and she screamed.