Chapter Twenty-Five: You Smell Like Dinner.

Tyrannicide:- the killing of a tyrant or unjust ruler.

XxX

Needless to say, Sasuke didn't sleep that night. All he could think about was the photograph, which was a still in a life of many memories, some good, but mostly bad. It was a still from one of the few good moments that Sasuke believed he had had- time together with the family, actually not too long before his brother had…well.

He sat on his bunk, hunched over the photograph, not wanting it to get taken off of him, but simultaneously also wanting to hurl it at the wall. Having it here, looking at his family's face…something in his chest burned. Burned. It wasn't indigestion; it actually felt like something was dying inside of him. He hadn't thought that he could feel like this, but here he was, hunched over a photograph, chest burning and doing his best to hold back the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill.

Who had done this? Who had delivered this to him? It couldn't have been Itachi; that made no sense. Why would he murder Sasuke's whole family, and then steal a photograph, only to send it back to Sasuke? That was utterly pointless. Unless….unless he WANTED to fuck with Sasuke.

That thought made Sasuke hurl the thing at the wall, making it smash even further. He wanted to stomp on it, tear the picture up, chew it up, he wanted to do EVERYTHING to it to destroy it.

But he didn't. Even as he raised it in his hands to throw against the wall, he couldn't do it. It was as if his arm had suddenly become wooden; he couldn't control it at all, couldn't make it move that little bit more to destroy the picture. It was too precious to him. And no matter WHO had delivered it, he couldn't bear to destroy it.

"Fuck it," he growled, and brought it back to his chest, hugging it tightly to him. If he closed his eyes and cast his mind back, he could almost remember what it was like having his mother hug him and kiss him goodnight. He could almost remember Itachi poking him in the forehead and saying 'Sorry, Sasuke, maybe next time', he could almost remember his father's stern gaze when he told his son he could 'do better'. He could even remember cousin Shisui and his pretty girlfriend waving at him at the training field, saying hello.

He could almost remember what it was like…

…to live.

He lay on his side on his bunk, still hugging the photograph to his chest. Without him knowing, tears began to slide down his cheeks, to wet his lumpy mattress and pillow. He did finally get to sleep, but there was no reprieve there; he tossed and turned all night, crying without knowing he was crying, his thoughts a twisted, gnarled mess of his family, Itachi, Shisui, his girlfriend, and Naruto.

What a fucking mess he was in.

XxX

To Naruto, it felt like he had only just shut his eyes when he was being woken up by the sound of guards rapping their batons on the cell bars. "Come on, up and at 'em, boys!" said guards bawled happily. Naruto yawned and sat up, feeling exhausted. It was like he'd gotten no sleep at all. His whole body was aching.

Kakashi, however, was positively bubbly today. "Rough night, Naruto?" he asked, one visible eye dancing with mirth.

"Ah, shut up," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his eyes. His clothes were rumpled, and smelled quite bad- he'd have to ask for a new pair soon. "I didn't sleep well last night."

Kakashi clapped him on the back light-heartedly. "You're going to need all your energy for today," he said, and it took a moment for Naruto to get it. He stared at the silver- haired ninja for a moment, mouth hanging open, before he understood.

"Oh…yeah!" he said, and gave his cellmate what was undoubtedly a shit-eating grin. "I forgot about that."

"Did you two die in there?" the guard snarled. "Out, I said!" He waved his baton at them for good measure. Naruto saw that he wasn't waving a gun for once, and there was something strange about that, but he wasn't sure what. He resolved to ask Kakashi or Iruka about it later. Or maybe Kankuro and Gaara, they seemed to know even more about prison life than the other two- if that was even possible. Surely being friends with the go-to guy had its perks. And he had Shino and Kiba as well…wow. Naruto actually had quite a few people he could turn to now. And if Sasuke accepted his offer…he wasn't one hundred percent sure that he would, but stranger things had happened, that was for damn sure.

Shaking their heads at the blustering guard, causing him to nearly drown them both in spittle, they stepped out into line with the other prisoners, and walked down to the dining hall with casual disinterest. Kakashi seemed to have something to say to Naruto, but didn't seem to dare with all the other prisoners about. Up ahead they could see Shino and Kiba, who looked like they were staring at the back of Choji's head, who looked like he had sunk into such a deep depression that he wasn't aware of the world around him. In front of Choji, several ninja ahead, Naruto could see Hidan, the one who had broken Choji so thoroughly. He gritted his teeth. If he could kill Hidan, he would, but he was immortal, so...

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kakashi asked quietly. Naruto's mouth thinned, and he cast a half-glance at his cellmate.

"I'm just pissed that Choji is broken," he muttered. "He was such a nice guy, you know, and the person that broke him is only a few people away…I wish there was some way that I could fix all the wrong in here, ya know?"

Kakashi gave him a funny look. "Well, you can start by working with Kankuro and Gaara," he said, casting a surreptitious glance around them. When he saw that a guard was nearby, and giving them the stink-eye, he added, "I'll elaborate later when the others are with us. You know, you want to do so much good, Naruto. It's kind of refreshing, actually."

Naruto waved Kakashi's compliment away, like it was an annoying fly buzzing around his face. He had other things on his mind.

Like a certain pink-haired ninja, for one.

Geez, I haven't written to her for ages, he thought guiltily. I know I gotta for Kankuro's plan, but that shouldn't be the only reason why I talk to her. And she's probably pissed with me, because I haven't replied for so long. Damnit.

He didn't say any of this aloud to Kakashi, though. Too many eyes and ears around that weren't welcome. "I dunno about you, old man, but I feel like some bacon and eggs this morning," he faked a yawn, scratching the back of his neck as he did so. "A big tall glass of orange juice, maybe a coffee…"

"Oh, shut up," somebody muttered, and Kakashi chuckled.

"You know, you have a sick sense of humour, kid," he said to Naruto, though his one eye was sparkling with good cheer. If Naruto could see beneath that scrap of cloth that covered his lower face, he knew he'd be smiling. Not for the first time, Naruto wondered what his cellmate actually looked like beneath the mask.

If he ever removed it though, you wouldn't know about it. That bit of cloth seemed like a second skin to Kakashi Hatake.

As they made their way into the dining hall and filed into line, Naruto caught a glimpse of the female ninja, also lining up for their food. At the head was a tall blue-haired woman, several other ninja he didn't recognise, and somewhere in the middle…a flash of pink hair. Sakura.

He supposed it was silly, but when he saw that shock of pink hair, he felt something jerk deep within him. A kind of warmth that was completely unrelated to the nine-tailed fox.

"You're blushing," Kakashi remarked, poking Naruto in the shoulder lightly. "see a pretty girl or something?" His tone of voice was light enough, but when Naruto spun around to give him what for, he saw that Kakashi knew exactly WHO he was looking at. Of course he did. He had been with them yesterday, when he had heard the plan, hadn't he?

"Quit being a perv!" Naruto snapped, punching his cellmate in the shoulder, maybe a tad harder than absolutely required. "So what if I was?"

Kakashi raised both of his hands in a calming gesture. "Hey, easy, easy," he said, obviously trying not to laugh, "it happens. We all go through it. It's a fact of life that sometimes boys, even stupid ones such as yourself, will-"

"I get the picture!" Naruto barked, feeling his cheeks grow redder. He didn't need the sex lesson, thanks very much. He sighed, and grinned despite himself. "You're annoying, ya know that?"

"Well, I do live with you," Kakashi countered. They bickered that way for awhile, pushing and shoving each other playfully, until a voice interrupted them. It wasn't particularly deep, but it did the trick.

"Enough, ladies," Obito said. Naruto did a double-take when he saw the captain of the guards. Though dressed in his black uniform, his clothes were rumpled, and Naruto saw through the scars that Obito looked exhausted. His eyes were also slightly bloodshot. He thought themselves lucky. If Captain Obito was having a bad day, at least that meant he couldn't scream at them like a banshee for once. "That's enough out of you two."

"Obito," Kakashi said quietly. The Uchiha's eyes met Kakashi's single one, and for a moment, his face was so full of sadness that Naruto felt disheartened even looking at him. He wasn't sure how to explain it; it was like the hardened mask Obito usually wore, the sneering, ugly kind, broke apart, and it was like they were seeing the REAL Obito, the one before becoming captain of the guards.

His face broke apart; and he was utterly miserable underneath. Naruto looked from Kakashi to Obito and back again. Both of them were looking at the other like they'd seen a ghost. Surely this wasn't the first time they had seen each other? No, it wasn't, but it was the first time Obito had apparently been so vulnerable.

Suddenly Naruto could see the relation between Sasuke and Obito; though of course they looked alike (it seemed to almost be a given that every Uchiha be hauntingly handsome, even a scarred one like Obito), it ran deeper than that. He wasn't sure he could make the comparison between Sasuke and his brother (he hadn't been near Itachi save for punching him in the jaw that one time), but here, it was all too clear. There was that same droop in their mouth, the way their eyes flitted everywhere at once, mistrustful yet yearning. They both had that angry, miserable way about them; they practically exuded unhappiness.

For the first time, Naruto wondered what Obito would have been like, if he hadn't of been stolen and brainwashed. But then, of course, was the question: WAS he really brainwashed? From how he looked right now, one could argue that he was as much a prisoner here as anyone else…

It might have sounded like it took an age for Obito's face to harden again, for his half-twisted mouth to curl into a snarl, but really, it took all of two seconds. If Naruto had blinked, he'd have missed it.

"Keep moving, prisoners," he barked, and that miserable illusion was gone, just like that. "I don't abide loitering. I'm not in a good mood this morning."

They shuffled away obediently, while Obito stalked away in the opposite direction. Naruto scowled and muttered, "Is he EVER in a good mood, that guy?"

He'd been expecting Kakashi to go along with the joke (they were, after all, in public and they had an image to maintain), but he was surprised when he didn't. "Don't," Kakashi said quietly, "he's not a bad man, Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "Ya know what?" he said, and then lowered his voice to a whisper as the Akatsuki passed them with their food trays, Hidan giving them the finger as he passed. They were ignored by the others for the most part. "I don't think he is, either," he added. Still keeping his voice low, he continued: "I need to write to Sakura, if this plan of ours has any hope to work."

Kakashi nodded. They collected their food, and went and sat down next to the others. Naruto had come to think of them as 'The Musketeers'; Kankuro, with his knowledge and connections, not counting that cigarette he always had, Gaara, a fellow jinchuriki and the knowledge of how to rule a nation, Kiba, with his energy and loyalty, Iruka, a long-time friend of Kakashi and Naruto, and finally, Shino, quiet but smart, with perhaps more prison know-how than any of them. And this group would only continue to grow; if Kankuro was to be believed, then Killer Bee (the eight tails), and Utakata (six-tails) were also on their side.

It was a subdued affair, breakfast. They were all, to some degree, shitting themselves. Kankuro, despite numerous proclamations to his brother that he'd quit, was smoking already. The cigarette wiggled in his mouth despite him not talking- probably the only sign that any of them (except perhaps for Gaara, who knew his brother better than anybody) saw that he was nervous. Gaara was doing a great impression of a statue, and even Kiba was quiet that morning. He ate mechanically, his mind clearly on other things, but Naruto thought he was quiet not because he was nervous: he was excited. Like a dog waiting patiently for its treat, Kiba was waiting for when they would all take action. He was like a tightly-wound spring.

Actually, they all were. They were just watching…and waiting for the right moment to strike. Or, in this case, to forgo their meds, which pretty amounted to the same thing.

While his friends ate in relative silence, Naruto planned his note to Sakura. He wasn't sure if she knew that he had been in the infirmary for some time, but in the end what he came up with was this:

Sakura-

I'm sorry for not writing you sooner. I was attacked by the Akatsuki, and I was in the infirmary for a few days. Don't worry, I'm fine. I heal quickly. I told you before that some birds aren't meant to be caged; until I came here, I didn't know what that meant. I do now.

Sakura, I need your help. If you can, contact Fuu and Yugito Nii. It sounds absurd, but I hope they're in here with you. You must show this note to them- say Kurama needs your help. They'll understand. I'd tell you everything right here in this note, now, but it's getting more dangerous every day to do this. I'll write again soon with more details.

I know you have almost no reason to trust me, especially in this place, but this is important, Sakura. Please.

-Naruto.

There. That seemed good enough. He would have liked to have written it all down in one sitting, but he could only fit so much on one sticky-note. He probably could write on both side, but he liked folding the note in two (sometimes four), and having writing on both sides was really just asking for trouble. It sounded good in his head, and when he'd scribbled it on the note, using Kakashi's slender frame as a kind of 'shield' against him and the wandering eyes of the guards, he nodded. It sounded great.

Tucking it just inside his collar (these damn clothes had no pockets, and so made smuggling ANTYHING, even a scrap of paper, nearly impossible), he turned to his friends. "Before we do anything, can we rehash over the plan?" he asked them quietly, his cheerful face now unusually serious. "I don't want to mess up," he added, scratching the back of his neck shamefacedly.

Kankuro gave a kind of wheezing laugh around his cigarette. He inhaled sharply, drew in far too much smoke, and began coughing. Gaara thumped him on the back solidly, and the ciggy went flying, to land in his gruel. Kankuro hacked and coughed for a few more moments before he tried speaking again.

He beckoned them all closer, and if they looked shady as hell, Naruto found that he simply didn't care. "So, ultimately, the plan is, we get all the demon hosts-" he gestured towards Naruto and Gaara, "- to stop their meds, let the demon's chakra manifest, and we storm the place."

"Right!" Naruto said stupidly, and added, "wait…how are we going to do that?"

Kankuro smiled. It was not a pretty sight. "Well, it's given to each jinchuriki in different ways, depending on how they want to control their demon as a whole. Yagura evidently didn't like takin' tablets, so he opted for injections. Probably there's a few more that do that, but you gotta take time out of your day, and get a guard willing to take you down to the infirmary to get that shot. Now, that shouldn't be a problem, but in case you guys haven't noticed, the guards have been slack lately. Almost…sluggish. They're spooked. So Yagura must have had some trouble getting somebody to take him down to the infirmary for his shot."

"But why?" Kiba asked. "Wouldn't they rather take a jinchuriki to the infirmary to get that shot rather than risk…well, you know."

They did. Though it had happened more than a week ago now, the sight of Yagura laughing hysterically at the top of his lungs after breaking Zabuza's legs was stilled fresh in their minds. Naruto wasn't sure about Gaara and Shukaku, but that fear of losing control like Yagura had was a constant fear of his. He could get along with Kurama- mostly- but there was still that fear that he'd lose control, and wake up surrounded by those Kurama had killed.

"I can answer that," Gaara said unexpectedly. "I know Yagura decently- as Kage, we have to- and he has an unmoveable will. You might call it the 'will of fire'-" he gestured towards the leaf ninja, and Kankuro nodded brusquely. "- as such. It's different in each village. I imagine in Kirigakure it would be something along the lines of 'will of ice', meaning unshakeable frozen water. You understand what I mean. In any case, Yagura was a stubborn man. He probably thought that he could control the three-tails out of sheer willpower."

"I…that's insane!" Naruto said, uncomfortably loud. A guard entering the dining hall, looking haggard, glanced towards them briefly. His hand jerked towards his holstered gun, but after apparently deeming them not a threat, went back to his side. Naruto watched him approach Obito and begin talking very fast, looking apologetic. Well. This was interesting. Kankuro was right- the guards were spooked. Or lazy. "I believe in the will of fire, or ice, or whatever, but I would never try to-"

"Then you are lucky," Gaara overrode him, lamplike eyes downcast. "Trying to control your tailed beast without some form of assistance is…difficult. I remember my father used to run trials on Shukaku, to see how long I could control him without either succumbing to madness, as Yagura did, or needing help. I lasted about an hour." His mouth took a definite twist downwards, as he recalled some painful memory. Kankuro patted his brothers' back somewhat awkwardly, even as he reached for another cigarette. Naruto wondered whether he didn't quite have a problem with addiction. "It's an awful experience, and from the sounds of it, Yagura lasted at least several days before he snapped. He must have been in considerable pain."

"Huh." Naruto let that sink in for a moment. "Then Yagura would have been awesome in this plan." Too bad he was stashed in the dark with Akatsuki's leader, like an old boot or something.

"He would have been, yes." Gaara was unusually talkative today. Even Kankuro seemed surprised.

"Are we going to rescue him?" Naruto asked, "Like, I think that he would still be a great help, ya know." Beside him, Kakashi chuckled. Confused, Naruto made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Kankuro frowned at him. "'Course," he replied, and then they all fell quiet as two guards walked past, staring hard at them. They didn't draw their weapons, but their hands were hovering. Damn it, they were HOVERING.

Naruto glared right back at them, outwardly defiant but feeling sickened inside. He felt like a rat in a trap here; forget the bird analogy he'd given to Sakura, he felt like a dirty rat, scurrying around in this shithole. The guards staring at them were mangy cats; their facial expressions practically screamed 'YOU SMELL LIKE DINNER'. They knew something was up, but they didn't know what, so they couldn't do anything.

Geez. One day into the plan and already they were walking on eggshells.

Which meant the sooner they could get this plan into action, the better.

XxX

Nori Hayashi was late for his shift. Hiking his boots on, he left the guard barracks and rushed down towards the dining hall, the beads in his hair clacking in his haste. When had he gotten that done? Sometime before this fucking horrorshow, that was for sure. Back when Hoshigakure hadn't been burned to the ground, and he wasn't dying from radiation poisoning.

His gun on one hip and his baton on the other, they bounced as he ran through Blood Prison's halls. He wore the prison's winter outfit despite it nearing summer, and he was already drenched with sweat. The poisoning had accelerated overnight; it had progressed from his fingers and hands to up to his elbow. It was downright ugly; he had considered wearing bandages, but that would have stuck out like a sore thumb. He tore through the halls looking for Captain Obito; it was him that he had to report to for his absence yesterday.

He had meant to turn up for his shift, he had, but he hadn't been able to get out of bed. When he'd tried to, his whole body had quivered, and he'd thrown up violently all over the floor.

There had been some blood mixed in with the puke. Frightened, he'd gone back to bed, and asked someone else to take his shift. He'd had to practically throw all of his savings at them to do it, but it had been worth it. He'd then lain in bed in considerable pain for the rest of the day, and he still felt pretty bad now.

He finally found the captatin in the dining hall, and he was less than impressed with Nori. "Where have you been?" Obito hissed, looking less than stellar himself today. He looked tired. "You missed your shift yesterday, and you know what happens to guards that are consistently tardy." By which he meant that Nori would be fired, and thrown in as a prisoner himself. Not good.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Captain," Nori panted. "I- I was so sick, and I couldn't-"

"You don't look well," Obito said, interrupting Nori. He gave him a once-over, and his expression hardened. "What happened? Is it contagious?" Guards had to be contained if they came down with a contagious illness- that was one of Danzo's rules. If it was too bad, they bought a ticket out of this joint- by which Nori meant they were shot. Nobody escaped this place, nobody.

"No, not contagious." Not unless he was cut open. He understood radiation probably better than anybody. "I'm just a little under the weather, captain. But I'm fine, I swear. I'll take double shifts to make up for the one I lost."

Obito stared at him levelly, dark eyes appraising. At that moment, he looked very much like his Akatsuki relative, Itachi. Maybe it was an Uchiha thing, that steady gaze that made you feel like you were being x-rayed. "Fine," he said abruptly, turning away. "You can supervise the dining hall with us, and then patrol the field, got it?"

Nori saluted. "Yes, sir!" A piece of cake given his condition. He wondered how his sister was holding up with the poisoning. He also wondered whether that scumbag was leaving her alone. Like she needed any more stress.

He moved away, and Obito caught his arm with one gloved hand. "I don't know why you're lying to me," he said now, voice low, "but I WILL find out, do you understand me, Hayashi?"

"I- I understand," Nori said shakily. Nodding curtly, Obito let him go, and Nori scurried off.

He might have imagined it (he was still very sick, after all), but as he went, he thought he heard Obito say; "What the fuck is going on here?"

You're telling me, Nori thought viciously, glaring at the group of ninja as they were huddled and whispering to each other. One of them was smoking. I haven't got a damn clue.

XxX

Down in the darkness, the leader of the most hated organisation in the world spoke. "Do you know what tyrannicide is, Mizukage?"

"Of course I know what it is," Yagura spat, "I'm not stupid." He repressed the urge to actually spit at the unseen man before him, whose entire purpose seemed to be to aggravate Yagura through reflective questioning.

"Well?" Whoever he was, he was at least a patient man. Yagura supposed that was one positive trait in what was a legion of entirely negative ones. Though they'd come to an agreement that Danzo had to die, he still didn't trust this man at all. You couldn't trust these kind of people at all. Christ, the Akatsuki bullied, bribed, and killed everyone around them! And for what cause? To forward their own personal interests! Yagura had seen firsthand, through Kiba and Shino, the psychological torture that the member Hidan had put Choji Akimichi through. The boy was now useless, scared silly by whatever the immortal had done to terrify him out of his mind.

"It's the murder of a tyrant," Yagura said dully. "One in a position of power that another deems they shouldn't be."

"Quite correct," Inflectionless replied. His voice was utterly emotionless; he could have given Itachi Uchiha or Sasori of the Red Sand a run for their money. "I took part in tyrannicide once, you know."

"What, as the one being the tyrant?" the words were out before Yagura could stop them, but Inflectionless didn't seem to take offence. In fact, he didn't seem bothered by the insult at all.

"No, as one killing a tyrant," he replied calmly. "He ruled over my village for many years, and we saw him as…unfit for rule. Especially after the murder of my comrade." There might have been a hint of sadness in that sentence, but then again, there might not have been. It was damn near impossible to tell. "You might think us Akatsuki as monsters, and I'm sure from the outside, it must appear so. But think about this, Mizukage; I killed a tyrant, and brought peace to the nation in the rain. Tyrannicide is not unfamiliar to me."

"Why are you talking so much?" Yagura demanded. "You've been more than happy to keep silent most of the time; why this spiel about killing tyrants? Are you implying that the Kage are tyrants?" He really didn't think this, but he did at the same time; Yagura, though actually in his mid-twenties, looked much younger, and had been mocked from those outside of Kirigakure. It had been infuriating to say the least; nobody wanted to deal with the 'boy-Kage' of the Hidden Mist. Well, except the Kazekage, who actually was as young as he looked, and had suffered the same mockery.

"Not at all," Inflectionless said. "I'm implying that Danzo is a tyrant. And do you know what I find amusing, Mizukage?"

"What do you find amusing?" Yagura thought it odd that Inflectionless found ANYTHING amusing; you'd have a better chance at getting a plank of wood to laugh than this guy, honestly.

"Danzo was the one to convince Hanzo to pillage my village, did you know that? They're of the same cloth, and for what they've done, they will die." He paused. "We will leave this place, you and I, but I will be the one to kill Danzo. He will know true pain." It sounded like Inflectionless was smiling.

Yagura shuddered.

XxX

Naruto went to implement his side of the plan as soon as breakfast was over. Blathering some excuse to the grey-eyed guard about needing to pee, he flew over to the restrooms, where the 'God Squad' were in full force today.

Lee's eyes practically bugged out of his head when he saw Naruto. "Naruto! Hello!" he greeted the blonde ninja, pumping Naruto's hand furiously. People thought that Naruto was full of energy, but geez, Lee was a ball of energy. He exuded such an air of positivity that Naruto found it hard not to smile around this guy. Despite the horrible haircut and brows that desperately needed a trim, Lee was such a genuinely nice person that he was like a breath of fresh air for Naruto. Being surrounded by assholes made you appreciate the nice guys more, he thought.

Neji wasn't as happy to see him. He looked openly sceptical of Naruto's return, especially since Naruto hadn't picked up a mop or a rag immediately upon said return. Neji was holding a dirty rag of his own, apparently mid-clean, but stopped when Naruto loped into the room. "What are you doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes, his mouth no more than a thin line. "I take it you're not here to clean," he added, as Lee kept announcing his delight at seeing Naruto again. He did it as he was cleaning; he was the happiest person to be mopping that either of them had ever seen. Neji and Lee were like chalk and cheese. "Since Kankuro hasn't sent word ahead that you have to repay a debt," Neji continued. His eyes narrowed to mere slits. "What are you up to?"

"Who says I'm doin' anything?" Naruto retorted. "Maybe I just needed to piss!"

"You're up to something," Neji observed, ignoring the jibe, "I don't need the Byakugan to see through you, Naruto Uzumaki. You're a bad liar. What are you planning?"

Naruto paused. Neji was a Hyuga, one of the clans distantly related to his own (as were almost all clans, he supposed), but he had no idea if Neji could be trusted or not. Sullen while Lee was cheerful, Neji exuded his own quiet air of menace. Not the kind that the Akatsuki did, more an air of calculated observation. Naruto had a feeling that Neji could probably land him on his ass if he felt so inclined. He also got that feeling that maybe Neji was looking out for somebody- but who, he had no idea. There were no other Hyuga at Blood Prison- not in the male section, at least. "Nothing," he said finally, cutting the conversation off at the knees.

Neji squinted at him, like he was trying to activate his Byakugan despite not being able to. It would have been funny, under other circumstances. "All right," Neji said finally. "I won't pry. Can I ask one thing, though?"

"Depends what it is," Naruto said, hedging his bets. They moved deeper into the lavatory, closer to that crack in the wall where the notes were sent. Naruto could have gone straight to Yuko, the heavyset female server, but he felt now that was too risky. Out in the open like that, and with Obito and the other guards circling him like vultures…that was way too risky. This way was better, though there was the chance that Temari, the female version of the go-to guy, would read the note before handing it to Sakura. Naruto didn't care. He thought that Temari would have enough sense to simply pass it on without alerting the guards; she dealt with contraband, after all.

"Is it good, what you're doing?" Neji seemed genuinely worried now. "I worry about my cousin Hinata so much, over there. She's easily intimidated. So I want to know…is it good?"

Naruto smiled and slipped the note through the crack. It was taken almost immediately from the other side. "Yes," he said, and Neji seemed satisfied.

"You should come and visit more often!" Lee exclaimed, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He clapped Naruto on the shoulder heartily. "The power of youth is only enhanced through God!"

Naruto grinned. Phase one was complete.

XxX

"Sasori, my man, what do you think of this place erupting in a cloud of artistry?" Deidara couldn't help himself. Now that he had thought of the prison being blown up by his art, he found he was enchanted by the idea. If only he had his clay pouch handy, and was able to use chakra…

Sasori apparently didn't share his enthusiasm. "What did you say?" he growled.

"What, are you deaf as well as angry?" Deidara was in a glorious mood. It was a combination of both his image of the prison exploding and that he'd spoken to the guard that he was able to ignore Sasori's anger better than usual today. Sasori gave him a look that would have made a lesser ninja pee themselves. He might have an eternally young face, and he usually had a dreamy look to him, but he knew how to glare. "I said, what do you think of this place become art itself?"

"Shut up," Sasori said, polite next to Hidan, who not only said 'shut up', but 'shut the FUCK up, you faggy weakling!'. Deidara was unperturbed.

"This whole prison is a canvas, you know," he said to his partner, who was staring stonily in the opposite direction. "It will be my greatest piece yet, yeah."

"Deidara, you're dreaming," Kisame said dispassionately. He said it without any real malice though; the hulking man was keeping a careful eye on his partner, for reasons that Deidara didn't give two shits about.

"Whatever. I wouldn't expect you to understand, yeah." Slightly miffed, he cast his eyes around the exercise yard. The ninja were all in their own groups (Akatsuki included), but as he watched, two ninja, one bulky and dark, the other tall and thin (and what looked like a silver spoon up his ass) hurried over to Naruto and his band of misfits. "What are you doing?" Deidara muttered, slanted eyes narrowing slightly. He wished he had his scope so that he could see better, but of course that had been taken off of him, hadn't it? "Where are you two going?"

"What are you babbling about?" Sasori muttered. Deidara pointed, not caring if anyone saw him. Following his gaze, Sasori frowned. "Why do you care?"

"They're jinchuriki, yeah."

"I know that, you idiot. But we can hardly capture and extract them here. Don't keep me waiting, Deidara; why do you care?"

It wasn't just Sasori that was interested in Deidara's answer. All of the members were listening, though of course they weren't all staring at the jinchuriki like Deidara was. Even Itachi seemed interested, if his lamplike gaze was anything to go by. "I get the feeling that they're planning something, Sasori my man. Something dangerous."

"I hope it's a fucking way out of here, Jashin is pissed with me-"

'We're all pissed with you, Hidan," Kakuzu growled. "Your weird religious babbling has gotten us in enough trouble already. And where's our reward?" That was right. Hidan had signed a deal with the literal devil, to beat up Naruto, and for…what exactly? It was enough to draw Deidara's attention away from the jinchuriki, just for the moment. They all turned and stared at Hidan.

"What fucking reward?"

"That's exactly what we want to know," Sasori said, and gave Hidan a chilling smile. "Now, don't keep us waiting. Go and find out what it is."

"Now wait just a fucking second-"

"Hidan. Shut up and go." Kakuzu snarled. Kisame was right, Deidara thought, biting the inside of his cheek, the Akatsuki was slowly but surely falling apart. One bad thing had happened, and suddenly they were not the self-supporting group, but a group full of suspicion, lies, and distrust. Sasori could hate it all he wanted, but Deidara thought the best thing to happen to this place would be to blow it up. Maybe then they could carry on as normal. But right now, the Akatsuki was a fucking MESS.

Hidan glared at them all, gave Kakuzu the finger, and turned on his heel and left, mumbling obscenities under his breath.

Angry as they were at Hidan, it turned out that Hidan knew a lot more about Akatsuki's position at Blood Prison than they thought.

XxX

Tani was tired. She sat in the barracks, on her break, a bowl of rice in front of her. She was so, so tired. Double shifts meant that she'd had to stay up all last night, and she was nearly dead on her feet. She'd done her best to cover up the dark shadows with some makeup, and she'd done okay, but if you looked close enough, you could still see them. Her hair, normally in a ponytail, had been pulled into a high bun, and she'd allowed her fringe to hang out today. Her brother had some beads in his, but she hadn't bothered. Instead, she'd threaded two senbon into her bun, positioned them so they crossed over in her hair. She was probably going to be asked to take them out, but right now, she really didn't care.

What she cared about were the marks on her arm. They'd appeared two days ago; faint, purple, and ugly. She knew them well; back home, they'd meditated with the meteorite, which granted them enormous chakra levels…but her home had been destroyed, and so had the meteorite.

Or so she thought. Apparently her twin brother had found it, and used it, because she was hurting. Not as much as he would be, undoubtedly, because HE had been the one using it…or had he? That made no sense. Even if Nori had somehow managed to get his hands on a shard of that rock, how had he managed to USE it? You needed chakra to even activate it…

Her eyes snapped open. Danzo. It had to be.

But…

"No," she whispered, lips shiny with gloss, her expression utterly shocked. Nori would never hurt himself, not when he was doing his best to get them out of here. That meant that Danzo had done it, which also meant…

"Oh, you bastard." She sat up straight in her chair, utterly furious. Before now, she had thought that the destruction of the Star village had been a freak accident, but if Danzo had the meteorite and was hurting Nori with it, that meant that HE had razed the village to the ground. That also meant that he had killed Shisui. "You bastard!" she flung her bowl at the wall. It shattered, and rice went everywhere. She didn't care. She COULDN'T care.

A woman poked her head into the barracks, evidently just coming off duty. "Everything okay, Tani?"

"I'm fine," she replied through gritted teeth. "Just fine. Just got a bastard of a headache, that's all."

"A headache made you throw your food at the wall?" came the sceptical reply. Tani forced a laugh.

"No, no. I found a maggot in mine. I hate maggots. I guess I just compulsively threw it, sorry. I'll clean it up." I've got to talk to Nori. He must know that Danzo did this.

Feeble as the excuse was, it was apparently enough for the woman. She laughed. "I hate that. I do that as well- but you've also covered yourself in rice, silly girl. You smell like dinner."

Tani forced a laugh, and set to cleaning up the rice, shoving it into a garbage bag and tossing said bag into the bin. She patted down her uniform of any stray rice and vegetables, bade her co-worker goodbye, and left, fringe swaying and earrings glittering.

Her thoughts were a real mess lately, and this latest revelation had messed them up even more. Nori, Shisui, she thought, I'm sorry…

It made sense. It made so much sense that her heart hurt.

…I miss you.

XxX

His office was beginning to smell.

Danzo scowled, switching off his sermon mid-speech, and wrinkled his nose delicately. Katsuro was really stinking this place up, and if he didn't clean it soon, the smell would only get worse.

The voices were jeering at him. They called him a murderer. Kagami's was loudest of all, and Danzo covered his ears. For a moment, despite his advanced age, he looked like a very young boy. "Be quiet!" he eventually roared at them, and they did for a moment, before coming back tenfold.

"God help me," Danzo muttered, crossing himself and making his way over to the secret door. With a single push, it opened instantly, revealing Katsuro's body. Only several days old, he had already begun to rot. The smell was fucking awful, pardon his French.

Beyond the body, the shapes twisted and fluctuated in front of him, taking many forms; Danzo saw his old friend, Kagami Uchiha, before he was replaced by Torifu, and so on. It would have been frightening, had Danzo not seen this before.

"Danzo, think about what you are doing," Kagami's voice floated out to him from the void. "There's no need for this. Please."

"I do not hear you," Danzo said, picking his cross off from his chest; he held it towards where he thought Kagami's voice might have been coming from. He thrust it forward the same way someone might ward off a vampire. "Foul creature, I do not hear you!"

"You hear me, old friend," came the sad reply. "I know you do."

"This is wrong, and you know it, too," another voice added. Who was it? Danzo didn't know. There were so many voices in the void that aside from Kagami's, he couldn't discern between them.

"Please, Danzo," Kagami called out. His face flashed briefly in the voice, and it was just as sad as the voice. Normally so stoic, he wasn't now. "Stop this madness."

"We're not your damn batteries!"

"Let us out!"

"You're killing people!"

"I do not…HEAR YOU!" Danzo roared, and they all felt silent, stunned into silence. Danzo looked down at the body at his feet. "This needs to go," he muttered. "Otherwise it will fill my holy place with its' foul stench." Katsuro hadn't amounted to much, and Danzo wasn't sorry for his loss. If he hadn't of gone poking around, he would still be alive. Curiosity killed the cat, he supposed.

He left the room and pressed the button on his intercom. "Send Sai and Shin to my office, please," he barked into it, and not two minutes later, his treasured ROOT members were at his door. Before he had sealed their personalities away with a chakra-infused tattoo on their tongues, they had called themselves brothers. They weren't, but they had grown up together, and in their eyes, they may as well have been. Sai was tall and pale, hair cropped close to his skull. Shin was different, still tall, but darker, with longer blue hair and a kinder disposition. Before the tattooing, that is. Danzo didn't have many ROOT members left; they had been ninja, after all, and they all knew where ninja went, but Sai and Shin had been two of his most beloved subordinates.

They had served him nicely, and wouldn't blink at the sight of the rotting Katsuro, whereas a guard might have. He could control them perfectly, and unlike Katsuro, would not find anything out of the ordinary in the void.

"There's a mess in that room over there," he said to them now, pointing a gnarled thumb in that direction. His other arm throbbed uncomfortably. Somehow, the eyes had awoken at the sound of Kagami's voice; blood called to blood, he supposed, but what could he do about it? "I'd like it cleaned up, the body disposed of, thank you."

"Of course, sir," Sai and Shin said simultaneously. Without another word, they went into the secret room, and began cleaning up the body just like that. They ignored the voices screaming for them to stop, and five minutes later, they had the body packed away neatly into a garbage bag. They bade Danzo farewell, and moved out to burn the bag. A neat solution.

A knock at his door. "Yes?" Danzo asked warily, crossing himself.

"Where's my fucking reward?" came the reply.

Danzo sighed and crossed himself again.

XxX

Sakura got the note that afternoon. Temari gave it to her, scowling, and she read it once, twice, three times, before she finally got it. Naruto was okay. And it looked like he had a plan to get out of here!

"He finally wrote back," Hinata noted, pale eyes shining with excitement. "What are you going to do, Sakura?"

"Do what it says, of course," she replied absently. Konan or no Konan, nobody was getting in her way now! She felt as though whatever Naruto was planning was just below the surface; if you scratched enough, you'd surely find it. Her body bristling with excitement, she grinned at Hinata. "Let's go!"

"I, um, don't want to be a spoil-sport, but how do you know if this is going to work?" Hinata almost blanched when Sakura turned her furious gaze on her, but she didn't back down. Well done, Hinata, Sakura thought inwardly.

"I don't," she said simply. "But I have to do this. For Naruto."

"I'm coming with you," Hinata said instantly. Sakura nodded, and they made their way over to the other side of the exercise field, where the 'rejected' ninja hung out. There was a girl with light green hair and a beautiful tan, and a woman with hair plaited meticulously. The girl looked at them curiously, a small smile on her face, while the woman openly glared. Her movement were lithe, quick- like a cat's, one might have been inclined to say.

"Hello," Sakura said, feeling braver than she thought, "I'm Sakura Haruno. And I have a message for you."

A/N: Hey there! Here's the next chapter! Lots of reveals here, aren't there? What do you guys think of Tani, Danzo, and of Naruto's plan? It's all coming together nicely now! I'd like to thank you all for all the love I've received on this story, it really means a lot :3 I thought I'd give you a really long chapter this time, because I start work tomorrow- early rises and late nights :_: (This was twenty pages, whew!)

Also! I finally have some reference material for some of the characters. Just check on my profile for the link (it'll be at the top since FF won't let me post it here). Also, I'm not pimping this guy's work. I ordered this to be done, and he didn't ask me to pimp his work for him. But he's a great artist and do recommend his work C:

Thanks so much for the support, and please let me know what you think of this chapter- I put a lot of love into it! Have a great day! x