Shameful advertisement: Read my Time-travel story, Rainy Days, please! :3

Oh, boo. Was a little disappointed about the feedback for last chapter, considering everyone was anticipating it, but I've stiffened up my upper lip and finished off this chapter. I swear my writing style is changing a little bit, and so I'm actually a little awkward about this chapter. I love what happens in it, but I dislike my writing for it. Maybe it's just because there was SO much to do.

But anyway. Thank you to those who reviewed and favourited and alerted. :)

On another note… I AM ALIVE! Heh. -_- I have barely been on this site for the past month because my addiction went elsewhere, but still… here I am. XD Sort of. Secondly: boy, have I effed up keeping the chapters a constant size. Next story they will be constant. I am very sorry. T.T

Still... Read. Enjoy. Review—complain, criticise, love, so on. :)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Into The Fray

"Ino. What is your diagnosis?" Captain Unohana asked. She stood behind Kankuro's bed, watching the blonde inspecting the groaning brunette's wounds. His tanned skin was coated in a sheen of sweat, his right leg wrapped in bloody bandages.

The Suna medic's waited silently and patiently to the side, observing closely, but Temari was getting impatient. She was tapping her foot, looking frantically between Ino, the strange, long-haired woman, and her brother twitching in pain, his eyes lolling to the back of his head.

"Well, what can you do?" she snapped.

Ino straightened up. "A very strong poison," she stated to herself. "Captain Unohana, we'll need to extract some of it to create an antidote."

Temari blanched. "And how are you going to do that?"

The fair woman nodded calmly, smiling. "You should be able to do that, Ino. Don't worry. I am here."

The blonde procured a small vial from her small blue bag on the floor, by her feet. A mint green liquid sloshed against the walls of the glass tube, making Temari stare suspiciously at it.

"What's that?" she asked, worried. She didn't exactly trust these two, despite one of them being a former ninja of Konoha.

As an ally of Konoha, Suna was informed of what had occurred there three years ago, but the details were very limited. Gaara had admitted to his siblings that the village was clearly hiding something, but Suna did the very same thing.

It seemed that even though they were allies, not every bit of information was shared, which was… unsettling.

Ino unscrewed the top and poured the liquid into a cupped palm; it seemed to glue together, but still somehow remained thin enough to spread out like water. Inhaling calmly, she started to spread the solution on Kankuro's chest.

His reaction was an immediate jolt of surprise at the cold, and he gripped Ino's elbow til his skin turned white. The medic's and Temari lunged forward, unprepared, but stopped themselves quickly. Captain Unohana had put her hand comfortingly on Kankuro's shoulder, and his tired eyes slowly closed as he let go of Ino's elbow.

She continued, smearing it better.

After a moment she created a tent with her fingers on his bare chest, the liquid glued to her hand and dissolving into his skin at the same time. Pain rolled through Kankuro and he tensed, breath hitching, veins protruding from where his muscles pushed harder. Temari grew more worried in the background, shown by her restless interlaced fingers.

"It's alright, young man," Captain Unohana whispered, stroking his broad shoulders like a soothing massage. He groaned, eyes wide. "Miss Temari. Please get a wet cloth."

"Right." The blonde distractedly nodded. She skittered on the spot before running to the basin and following the rest of the order.

Still concentrating, Ino gradually moved her fingers into a pinch, the glue-like liquid much thicker than before, and with a slow exhale, pulled up directly. The substance turned a light pink as it oozed out of his chest, drawing more pain to his body, until eventually it hung from Ino's fingertips like stretched chewing gum.

"Good work, Ino," the Captain congratulated. She stepped to the side and let Temari drape the blue cloth of her brother's forehead.

"Will he be okay?" she asked, running her hand over the material. She swallowed thickly.

Ino exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from her brow. In her palm was a small pink ball which was now hard – the medic's eyes widened at the find – her fingertips dirty with unneeded substance. "He's not out of the woods yet. I'll need room to concoct an antidote. Where may I do that?"

"Uh… this way, ma'am," one of the Suna doctor's said, gesturing the way.

Temari turned to the older dark-haired woman, still caressing her brother's forehead. "What is she going to do?"

"Ino will create an imitation of the poison she has extracted," she replied.

"But… how? What did she do?"

Unohana smiled warmly. "Her specialty is poisons, so she is more than suited for the job. The substance she used just now is a special combination of herbs and liquids that she has collected and brewed – this, I cannot divulge. The longer it is exposed to air, the quicker it hardens, becoming first like a sticky ball of glue," she explained. "The poison she extracted is held in that small pink ball, much like an egg."

Sweat fell from Temari's chin as she swallowed nervously and nodded. "I see."

It had been over two hours since Ino and Captain Unohana had left, and Captain Kuchiki had not yet returned. Sakura wasn't worried, just very curious – and she pondered how Ino was going.

Kankuro was someone she hadn't actually ever spoken to after the Chuunin Exams, the same with Temari. Gaara had apologised to her – well, sort of – before returning to Suna after the small war with Sound, but otherwise she had no real relationship with the three.

Things were weird, though.

Not long ago the smaller group had felt a tingling of a spiritual pressure. It couldn't be ninja, but they all knew it wasn't Captain Kuchiki's. Hitsugaya and Ichimaru hadn't commented on it – the shorter shinigami was still leading while the latter was lagging at the back – but the shini-nin had discussed who it could have been.

Kiba.

They knew it was him. They hadn't felt his full pressure before, but it was definitely him, and it made Sakura's skin crawl. She had only ever sparred with him, and now he was actually battling someone? Who, most of all?

Any chance of conversation had been quenched as soon as they realised this – because Tenten had been looking worriedly over at Neji and Hinata was bugging her cousin about something at that time. Now they were concentrated on their mission, full aware that there seemed to be more going on than just that.

At the same time, the terrain morphed from heavy trees to a barren wasteland.

"We're almost there!" Hitsugaya called from upfront.

And they were. They could sense the motions of battle coming closer and closer.

"This is the latest team that left Konoha," he explained. "Three of us will remain here to assist them."

"I can do that," Ichimaru offered, grinning.

"Right. Hyuuga. You two as well," Hitsugaya ordered. They nodded.

Water suddenly sloshed against their feet and the shinigami readied themselves, either for battle or to slip passed. The level reached their ankles, and Hinata withdrew her Zanpaku-to, activating her shikai. Speeding ahead of Hitsugaya, she gritted her teeth, shouted, "May it be mine!" and sliced the top of the water with her small weapon.

The water separated instantly, creating a narrow path with rolls of waves that tumbled down either side.

"We have to hurry," she huffed.

The height of the walls grew taller until it was higher than Ichimaru, and by then the battlefield of ninja could be seen up ahead. The shinigami stuck closer to Hinata and if they looked up, they'd be able to see the ninja involved, but there was no chance to.

The female Hyuuga did a U-turn, and as soon as she passed Ichimaru, made a C-motion that knitted the water together and swirled it anti-clockwise. "You three will make it out easily!" she shouted. "Neji, Captain Ichimaru, stay here!"

They didn't hesitate, and as Sakura pushed herself harder, she looked behind to see a forming whirlpool and the pathway closing in a rush behind her. Five black figures could be seen standing atop the water, looking oddly confused.

She wished she could have gone back to take a closer look at who was there, but a sharp tug from Tenten spurred her on, just as the waves became small and splashed against her feet.

They were out.

"Tenten! Did you see who was there?" she shouted.

The brunette glanced over her shoulder, and Sakura could see unshed tears in her chocolate brown eyes. The rosette nodded.

Gai and Lee were two of them.

"Woah! Woa-woa-woah!"

The water surface was suddenly very unstable, knocking the four of them slightly off balance, even the larger cloaked man just feet away.

"Watch it, Chouji!" Shikamaru warned, grabbing onto the larger boy's shirt and pulling him back upright with difficulty. Gai might've cheered something about teamwork, but honestly the strategist wasn't listening to him.

Then out of nowhere, the massive body of water had suddenly split in two, cutting right between the ninja team and the blue Akatsuki member wielding the giant weapon on the other side. Tiny waves rolled from the suddenly created pathway, rippling and playing with the current the ninja had to adjust their chakra flow to.

"What's going on?" Lee cried, taking a step back.

Six figures could be seen through the clear blue water, which then separated into two groups, the second running on. The liquid from behind then crashed inwards, combining, before suddenly spinning in a certain direction that then closed off the other side of the path.

"It's them," Shikamaru muttered. "It's the shinigami! Get back!"

They didn't need to be told again as the four scooted back on the water – Lee landed on a rock in his way – just seconds before the whirlpool stabilised and a gush of rough wind stirred up the surface. Shikamaru hopped back another step onto a rock platform, and Chouji followed, on another to the side.

The Akatsuki member growled in the distance and buried the tip of his weapon into the water and made a sign. He slammed his hand against the water surface, and several bubbles extended from his fingers, spinning down and quickly morphing into sharks.

"Hi!"

Shikamaru yelped, jumping around and just barely getting his footage on the water in time. Chouji had flinched, and Gai and Lee had directed their attention as well onto the silver-haired man perched on the rock.

Ichimaru grinned. "You four head on, mmkay? We've got this guy covered."

There was a very loud pause – loud because of the rushing water and wind – until Gai nodded and shouted for them to move on. Shikamaru reluctantly followed, not looking on from the shinigami who was waving cheerfully goodbye to them.

"Shikamaru, are you sure it's okay to keep going?" Chouji whispered as he wiped his brow.

Lee and Gai were quickly disappearing ahead of them, completely enthused to meet up with the next team.

"They'll be fine, Chouji," he answered.

"You look uncertain," he pointed out.

Shikamaru huffed and sighed loudly. "So troublesome!" he cried.

"Sakura!" someone screamed from behind.

"Is that—?" Sakura started, looking.

"Lee!" Tenten exclaimed.

Hitsugaya frowned. "How did they catch up?" he grumbled to himself.

"They're ninja, Captain," the rosette reminded.

Two specks of green were quickly coming into view against the brown wasteland – luckily, because they were reaching a second forest – and Lee and Gai suddenly skidded back down to their pace, throwing up a cloud of dust that bathed Hitsugaya in a light brown.

Sakura snorted in amusement, and Tenten was about to do the same before she was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace.

"It's our Princess, Lee!" Gai shouted, effectively stopping the entire group.

Lee's eyes sparkled, and he appeared momentarily torn between greeting Sakura and hugging Tenten. Sakura inconspicuously gestured to the brunette, and the bug-eyed boy nodded profusely before complying.

"Tenten! Princess!"

"Oh, how much we have missed you!"

"How is my rival, Neji?"

"Uh… you just missed him," Tenten squeaked, having trouble getting her voice. "He was one of them left behind."

Gai gasped and jumped back. "My poor student is left in the fray of battle!" He clenched a fist and growled, pumping it into the air. "So youthful, Neji Hyuuga! So youthful!"

Lee had a similar look of fire in his eyes.

At that moment, Sakura glanced back to see two more people coming into view, and the already slight buzzing in her body was becoming louder and harsher.

"Enough!" Hitsugaya shouted over the excited peels of the two Green Beasts of Konoha. "We have to move on," he stated firmly, frowning, glaring, and dusting off the dirt coating his shoulders.

Gai punched the air again. "Too right, young man! Lee, Lee's Blossom, Princess…" he turned around and raised his voice even more, cupping his mouth, "…Shikamaru and youthful Chouji! We must carry on!"

Sakura swore she heard Shikamaru groan loudly from where he was; she giggled.

"Sakura."

She perked, finding herself staring up at Lee. "Hey, Lee," she greeted.

He gave her the thumbs up. "You look more beautiful than you did before, Sakura."

She found herself blushing a deep red at the compliment and was having trouble getting rid of the flattered smile from her lips. "T-Thanks, Lee."

"Lee! Come on!" Tenten shouted. Hitsugaya was already somewhere up ahead, barely seen.

"Coming!"

He followed. Sakura decided to wait for Shikamaru and Chouji to catch up, and they eventually did, panting slightly. She wasn't surprised considering that the sun was directly above them and wasn't letting up on the amount of heat it pounded back down on the earth. So for that, she was quite thankful that she had gotten quite wet before.

"Sakura," Chouji greeted.

The rosette sized him up, partially surprised by his big build and longer hair. As a kid, she would have definitely described him as fat, but now, even though he may look a little bit thicker, it suited completely. It looked like it was just all muscle or something.

Shikamaru, though, had hardly changed a bit, and neither had his personality as he just raised a hand in welcome before exhaling heavily. Sweat dribbled down his cheeks.

"Nice to see you two again," she answered honestly. "But we better get going."

Chouji laughed merrily as they continued. "I can picture a big party for you guys when this mission ends, Sakura!"

She giggled too, skipping for a second, overcome with joy of seeing her old friends. "Looking forward to it!"

Right then she did. Several hours ago she was nervous, and a few days from now… well, she may feel that same anxiety again. What if she wasn't accepted? Chouji, Shikamaru and Lee were all so happy to see her, but that could have been for different reasons. They had met on the battlefield, so the relief she could understand.

If it had been a peaceful time back at the village, the circumstances would have been different. They might've approached her and the others another way. Though, in the back of her mind, Sakura knew that it was most likely just Naruto that she was worried about.

"Haruno! Pick it up!" Hitsugaya shouted from up front.

The group of seven were stretched out in a long line, before eventually Gai led his team in another direction. Sakura and Tenten bid them goodbyes with just a simple wave and continued to trail behind the snow-haired Captain.

This was when the brunette said to Sakura, "What are the chances it's going to be your sensei, Sakura?"

She engulfed her bottom lip in contemplation. "Very likely."

Sasuke was pissed.

Glaring at the panting brunette opposite of him, Sasuke spat some of the blood sloshing about in his mouth out onto the grass. He took a few steps to the left, limping slightly, his heart pounding. Kiba copied him, blood coating his shins, his pant legs torn to shreds and basically gone.

Red stained the grass and trees in light smatters, but it just goes to show how much these two fighters were absorbed into their battle.

But that was why Sasuke was pissed. He remembered Kiba Inuzuka from the Academy, and how the brat had lost against Naruto in the Chuunin Exams, so he absolutely hadn't prepared to see this giant brute burst from the trees.

The sheer size of the Inuzuka almost made him lose his footing on the tree branch. Scanning him initially, Sasuke had deduced that the boy was at least a head taller than him, and he was bulky; that massive weapon on his back said this. He wielded it effortlessly, kind of how Zabuza had managed to wield that giant sword way back when.

He didn't want to admit it, but he had underestimated this big brute, and was somewhat intimidated. The sheer pressure he exuded had slowed his movements initially until he got used to it but it had taken a moment.

What the hell did they give this guy? he demanded profusely in his mind. Enlargement pills? Something else that gave him such power?

And he had taken note of the fact that the Inuzuka was without that white puppy of his. He had asked as well, just out of curiosity when Kiba had paused for a moment, but that simple question just sent him on a rampage.

That was a mistake.

I'm running out of chakra, Sasuke realised, shifting the handle of his katana around in his right hand. His left arm was wounded, blood sliding down his arm and dripping from his fingers. If he so much as tensed the muscles in his hand, pain would spasm up his limb.

"You're making a mistake," the Uchiha tried to coerce.

Kiba grinned. "Heh. Worried that I'm kicking your ass?"

Sasuke held up his katana. "I'm still alive aren't I?"

"Not for long." The Inuzuka twirled his nodachi in his big hands, air spinning in tiny spirals at the speed, and he suddenly gripped it firmly.

How has he been able to avoid my Sharingan for so long? He's been able to sense where I'm going without even looking at me. That has to be it. It looks like he's kept those canine instincts after all. Sasuke breathed out silently. I'll have to force him to look me in the eyes, then. A small Genjutsu should hold him back long enough.

Despite his sore left arm, Sasuke held the handle of his katana firmly with both hands and started sprinting. Kiba pushed off as well, the ground under his feet at his departure creating a shallow crater from his weight.

Before they met in the middle Sasuke created a clone and split up. A large swipe to his side and Kiba's blade nicked the clone; it burst into smoke. He was open for that split second and Sasuke was going to use it to his advantage.

He stayed low to the ground as he moved in. Predicting Kiba using his legs to deflect, Sasuke slipped to the Inuzuka's opposing side to his nodachi, disabling the predetermined attack but—shit! Sasuke cursed.

A thick fist suddenly came down from above and he barely dodged it by slipping further from Kiba. Balance off, he saw his foe coming again with another attack but had no chance to dodge before blood suddenly splashed across his face and pain burst between his eyes.

He gasped and skidded back, wincing as the red liquid seeped into his left eye. That was too fucking close.

"Having trouble, Sasuke?"

Kiba tensed, and the Uchiha growled loudly. Someone chuckled.

Before he knew it, two syringes had sunk into his thick skin, and Kiba's eyes rolled upwards as sleep came over him. Sasuke growled again.

"I had him!" he snapped.

Kabuto emerged from behind the trees, laughing. "Not from where I was standing. You're precious to Lord Orochimaru. We don't want you to lose those eyes of yours."

Sasuke crossed his arms, irritated, and looked away. "Whatever."

"You and that attitude of yours," Kabuto mused. He crouched down next to Kiba's sleeping body crumbled on the ground, his red nodachi still in his grasp slowly fading to an ashy grey. "Now. We need to get this guy back."

"Why?" Sasuke grunted.

"He wants me to experiment. Mind you, he would have preferred that man from before, but I guess your former friend would have to do."

Sasuke didn't even both correcting him.

The scientist had laid one hand on Kiba's shoulder when he instantly flinched back, hissing in pain. "What—?"

Interested, the dark-haired nin raised an eyebrow as he sat himself down to get a breather. He started working on removing the blood on his face, and as he traced his fingers over the scar, he was even more thankful that Kiba wasn't a little more to the side. There'd be a scar right between his eyes, extending from next to his nose to above his left eye.

"This is interesting," Kabuto remarked, and he took a few steps back. "I cannot touch this boy."

"Why?"

The Uchiha forced himself up to a stand again and saw why. Kiba's tanned skin was glowing red, and he spied wisps of smoke curling from somewhere on his large body. He had taken one step towards him when all of a sudden a fire flourished around Kiba's neck, making Sasuke retreat those paces back.

The fire quickly spread, engulfing Kiba's body completely so that he resembled a lit log. He burned brightly, but didn't wake, like he couldn't even feel the eating spirit of the flames.

Kabuto fixed his glasses, amazed. "Lord Orochimaru would be most displeased he could not see this."

"He's dead. He won't survive that."

"I did not start the fire, Sasuke. And neither did you," the scientist reminded, still sounding fascinated.

Sasuke grunted. "I don't care. Let's go. Let him burn."

"You are a cruel man." Yet he chuckled in amusement.

But as soon as they were out of sight, far away, the flames enveloping Kiba's body started to recede into the knitting of his clothing, into the strands of his hair and into the very faint lines on his skin. He looked exactly the same as before; no burns marring his skin, no sign of a fire ever being there.

And there he lay, sleeping, waiting to be found.

Ino was almost there. She could feel it.

She had blended the herbs the Suna doctor's had in store in their small greenhouse near the hospital, and after cracking open the 'egg' she tilted the suspect poison into a tube and set it aside for the moment.

She explained, as she tested antidotes by letting a drop dissolve into one half of the egg, that if the shell returned to the mint-green it once was then the poison was neutralised – and if it failed it needed a quick wash. It required a precise measurement of herbs, made somewhat quicker by the solutions her Zanpaku-to excreted that filled in the blanks.

Her long list of plants and herbs and toxins made her aware of which ones would be best suited for the symptoms she checked beforehand. It, by no means, meant she was faster than a medic-nin, because she went through trial and error just like they did to reach the result.

"Would you need anymore?" a male Suna doctor asked.

Ino flashed a smile. "No thanks. I'm almost there. And good news." She readied a dripper over the egg shell. "There will be several vials of antidotes afterwards."

"That's great!" he cheered, watching closely as the next droplet fell into the concave shape of the shell.

To their joy, the mint-green quickly returned, and Ino gave the man beside her a mischievous smile. "We're awesome," she stated. He stared for a second before chortling. "Quick! Let's head back to Kankuro!"

"Right!"

The two herbalists quickly but carefully poured the rest of the solute into three syringes. "There will be two left, and I will leave a transcribe of what I did to make it so you can make more in the future. Each shot will eradicate the initial poison in the body almost immediately."

Renji let out a loud, satisfied sigh as he slunk against the edge of the hotspring, resting his arms along the brim with a sake cup held tightly in one hand. A huge grin was on his face as he soaked in the atmosphere.

"This is good," he moaned. He flinched when he stretched his back. "Damn. Sparring with the Captain still makes my body ache like a bitch."

Ikkaku chuckled menacingly opposite the slouching redhead, running a wet hand over his shaved head – as though he had the hair to rake back. "I've heard that it won't stay that way for long, Renji," he commented.

Hisagi and Kira raised an eyebrow and looked at the tattooed man with interest, while Yumichika was stretching his way out of the hotspring to grab a near towel – he was doing his best not to reveal too much.

Renji grinned broadly. "And where'd you hear that?"

Ikkaku ran a finger over his lips. "Well, you know what those Fourth Division groupies are like. Apparently you're going to be considered for promotion sometime soon. At least that's what they say. They are your fans, though."

Renji chuckled. "Can't trust what they say." He sighed in satisfaction. "Hm. I have groupies," he stated. It wasn't toned like a question, but it definitely seemed that way.

"Ah," Hisagi hummed. "Is that why those females ushered me into the infirmary when I had a simple nick?"

Kira turned to his senior. "You went to the infirmary with a nick?"

The '69'-marked man splashed water at his blond friend. "I was passing by."

Yumichika sighed as he relaxed back into the water, his hair now curled into a safe nest in the towel he had on top of his head. "Renji's groupies were asking if you had any more tattoo's, right, Hisagi?"

The dark-haired Lieutenant slimmed his eyes. "How'd you know?"

"That was where you were heading." A cat-like smile stretched over his lips. "Those girls love tattooed men."

"Touché."

"Groupies. Groupies," Renji muttered. "Fans. Ahh!" He shot up, eyes wide. "That was where my spare underwear went!"

The other four men burst out into laughter, Yumichika trying not to let his turbaned hair come undone, but it was proving difficult.

"Be careful, Abari," Kira snorted. "They may have their telescopes on you now!"

A smirk met Renji's lips and he slouched back into his seat against the stone. "Then let them stare."

Kira blushed deep red, and it didn't have anything to do with the steam around them.

"But speaking of women," Ikkaku started, eyes shifting to the side to stare at Hisagi. "You and the Hyuuga, huh?"

Yumichika moaned in approval. "He. Is. A. Dish," he commented, leaning his head against a fist; his cat-like smile had returned.

Hisagi eyed the feminine man. "His cousin. The female."

Yumichika grinned wickedly. "I know."

"Sometimes you scare me," Ikkaku muttered more to himself than to his best friend. "So how far have you gotten?"

His teeth were bared in an almost perverted smile, but Hisagi wasn't taking the chance to identify if the bald man did want the nitty gritty, because he just shoved Ikkaku's head under the water anyway and held it there.

"None of your business," Hisagi ground out.

A small water fight spawned between the two, which was ignored by the remaining three who sat in silence and soaked in the hot water, with Renji taking the occasional sips of his sake. It was Kira who broke the silence, and the fight, with what he said next.

"Have you heard the rumour?"

Hisagi had his muscled arm around Ikkaku's neck when he stopped and watched the blond. "What rumour?"

"About the Twelfth Division," Kira continued.

Renji took another sip of his sake. "Referring to Kiba?"

"That's no rumour," Yumichika reminded, chuckling. "Anyone who is interested about the boy would know that Captain Kurotsuchi is doing something with him."

"With Head-Captain's consent," Ikkaku croaked in Hisagi's headlock.

Kira shook his head. "No."

"Oh!" Ikkaku exclaimed, pulling himself from the dark-haired Lieutenant's grasp and massaging his now sore neck. "I know the one you're talking about."

"Ah!" Yumichika smacked a fist into his hand in realisation. "About the shini-nin."

Renji's eyes widened in interest, and Hisagi – who was stretching over to steal some sake from the red-head – had lowered himself back down slowly at the feminine man's words. The two mulled it over quickly, before remembering.

"It's a bad idea," Renji stated instantly.

"Is it really?" Kira countered, and without skipping a beat, continued. "If they go ahead with it, then wouldn't everywhere be safe?"

"Nowhere is safe, Izuru," Hisagi said.

The blond faced his friend. "You don't agree, either."

"I didn't say that."

"But it's all a rumour, isn't it?" Yumichika asked. The nearby lanterns hanging from the building next to them flickered on as night started to come.

"Yeah, sure," Ikkaku affirmed.

But the silence afterwards proved otherwise.

Lights flashed periodically. Blue and green and yellow were spotted about the consoles, all bleating to convey the current conditions of the many projects Twelfth Division had taken on. It was dark, the only light source being the many computer screens that were on and displaying their statistics.

Nemu surveyed the results of their current projects, pressing a few buttons and recording the data that was given. Her blank eyes slowly moved over the screens until she stopped on one. There, she stared.

Two of the differently sized, fluctuating, yellow bars were flashing red, and steadily they started to climb the screen. Nemu watched closely, quickly checking to see if this was being recorded, before witnessing the two bars return back to normal, and remain a bright yellow.

She pressed a button on her headset, and in an even voice said, "Captain? Project 119 is showing signs of change."

OMO! What does Nemu mean? What's Project 119? What's the rumour the guys are talking about? What's going to happen with the battle between Kisame, Ichimaru and the two Hyuuga? What about the other shini-nin group? What the hell happened with Kiba? Do tell if you're wondering the same things. :3