I'm surprised I got this out so early, I spent all of yesterday digging up the garden. Guess I was in a dilligent mood or something. Anyways, don't be too surprised by how things turn out, if you think about it, you'd see that there wasn't much else to write about that side of things. Well I'm not gonna go into detail in case I spoil it, so here you go.

Disclaimer: Here's hoping the next chapter shapes up eh?

Cuts that dig deep

The sky had turned to quite a dark blue, though there was still the faintest strip of yellow on the horizon. The streets were empty, from the people who had rushed out of the alleyways everyone else had decided it best to depart as well. The only person visible in the vicinity was Yagura, and even he could not have been seen by anyone looking his way. The Genjutsu he had set would confuse all who passed, making them miss the building that Utakata and the Konoha Shinobi were inside. He had done his job for the most part, but he needed to remain wary of any Shinobi who saw through the illusion.

This would be an easier task if not for the fact that the Konoha Shinobi had had an amount of time to prepare that was impossible to estimate. For all he knew, they had already released the Genjutsu and were moving in their own way. It was that thought that made him worry even more so about his friend even more so.

But there were other things to think of too, Fuu for example. Despite keeping a vigilant watch, he had seen no sign of his female comrade or their employer. He didn't know what to think of that, had Fuu found a way to get out undetected, or had she encountered a problem and was still inside? He didn't want to risk speaking into the transceiver in case it distracted her from whatever she could be doing; he wasn't quite sure how reliable she was yet.

He peeked his head over the roof of a building close by the entrance to the underground arena. He was getting a bad feeling about this, Utakata wasn't really cut out for direct combat and there were scarcely places to hide down there. If not for the fact that he was needed out here, Yagura would be heading down there in an instant to help out. He cursed silently to himself, what was taking so long?

"Damn it Utakata, hurry it will you?" Yagura thought, his brow creasing in frustration. He checked around him for any signs of life, finding there to be none at all. If not for the fact that the older boy had already removed his transceiver, Yagura could have tried contacting him like that. But as it was, he was left-

"Hey, Yagura-kun!" came Fuu's voice, hissing through the transceiver. She spoke in a hushed whisper, urgency clear in her voice muffled by static. Yagura stopped to listen to her words; he was relieved that she was able to contact him. "We got out, but there's a patrol at the harbour. What should I do?"

Yagura looked over his shoulder towards Nami's waterfront; he had a vague idea of the place Fuu spoke of. He hadn't been expecting their employer to leave by water; that was a troublesome factor indeed. Dangerous though the situation was, he, Fuu and Utakata's priority was getting paid for the mission. That was something they couldn't guarantee in this situation, especially if their employer was leaving on boat.

After a moment's consideration, Yagura raised his hand to the transceiver. He had decided what needed to be done, but was reluctant to voice it. "Wait for me, I'll join up with you." he said, grudgingly turning his back on Utakata.

He had already taken measures for locating his fellow Jinchuriki, he knew their chakra signatures well enough to get a good idea of their location. Using that knowledge, he darted across the rooftops towards the place he could sense Fuu. Though it was weak at first, he could gradually sense it growing stronger.

The rooftops flitted beneath him as his eyes soared over the streets. He was wary of the patrols Fuu had spoken of; he sought to incite no more trouble than that which he already knew. He could feel Fuu's chakra presence growing stronger, but to his discomfort Utakata's remained the same. In fact, it seemed to be rising… changing?

"You aren't!" Yagura suddenly thought, whipping his head back agitatedly. He could feel that aura, one that didn't belong to Utakata, and felt like it was part of him. Though he had no memories, Yagura also had no doubt; Utakata was using the power of the Rokubi. "With that power… will it help or get in the way?"

Now more than ever he felt the urge to head back, but he knew well that Fuu had greater need of him. All he could do was hope that Utakata could keep control of himself long enough for Yagura and Fuu to finish up and help him. It seemed a naïve hope though; despite his standing with the Sanbi he was still very aware of its nature. He imagined the Rokubi was even worse, Utakata had learned nothing of controlling his beast past keeping his emotions in check.

He no longer had the time to worry about that however; he was right on top of Fuu's location now. He hopped of the next rooftop and down into the thin, dark alley below, startling Fuu and the man who employed them. They both whipped their heads back to stare at him, wide eyed and fearfully sweating. "Yagura-kun!" Fuu whispered, a relieved look on her face. She was cut off however, when Yagura looked at her sharply.

"What's with that look?" he asked, his creased brow causing Fuu's initial happiness of seeing him to waver. He stepped between her and the employer, looking into the street out there. It was a straight shot to the harbour, but true enough he could just faintly make out the shapes of Shinobi using weaker forms of the Meisaigakure no Jutsu to render themselves almost invisible. It looked like they had been there for a while, if they were conserving chakra by only slightly using that Jutsu's abilities. Though it may have failed in this sense, it still left the problem that there was no way to tell just how many there were; Yagura could only see two right now.

"Hey, care to explain what's going on?" the employer hissed, glaring at Yagura through gritted teeth. He placed his hand on Yagura's arm to force eye contact, but Yagura sharply turned the move against him by raising his arm and pushing the employer against the alley wall. "What do you think you're doing?" the employer exclaimed, glowering Yagura angrily. But Yagura cut him short by pressing his arm against the man's chest, his eyes both cold and commanding.

"The mission parameters are far different from what you described." he said, looking straight into his employer's furious eyes. He was unflinching from such a gaze, instead of seeing that he was analysing everything else. "Why do I get the feeling that those "unfortunate people" you had fighting weren't there by choice? There's no reason for Konoha to use so many Shinobi just to take you down, so what are they doing here?"

Fuu looked anxiously between the two of them, but after what Yagura said a few moments ago, she tried to keep herself a little more composed for the sake of appearances. However, what Yagura was saying now was even more worrying; were they working for a slave driver? She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she knew it was nothing good. And judging by the look on Yagura's face, he hardly condoned it either.

"I'm paying you to take out anyone who tries to bring me down!" the employer spat, not intimidated by Yagura's stance. He brushed the boy off, before drawing himself to his full height. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't much more than Fuu's so he hardly seemed impressive. "If you guys can't get me out of here, don't think you'll be getting a penny from me!"

"That's the other issue." Yagura said, taking a step back to allow the employer room to move. It was hardly to benefit the man before him, but maintaining an appearance like that would have been suspicious. "If this mission continues and you get away, how can we expect to be paid? You don't look like you have the money on you, and we won't accept cheques."

"What do you take me for?" the employer demanded, his face reddening and the veins in his temples twitching. It looked like if the circumstances weren't so dangerous, he'd be yelling until he was blue in the face. As it was however, he was forced to keep it down. "The money's on the boat, you'll get it once I'm there!"

Yagura continued to look at the man distrustfully; so far from the events of the night he had been given no reason to do otherwise. But since their choices were limited, he unwillingly relented. "I guess we'll see then." he said, before turning his back to the employer. He then looked at Fuu, who was unable to hide the look of awe she was giving him; the gruff manner in which he dealt with the employer had made her rather amorous. "Can you sedate the patrols?"

Fuu blinked as whatever fantasy she was concocting left her. She looked over to the guard positions, her expression turning rather upset as she shook her head. "I don't think I could get all of them." she said, feeling sorry about letting Yagura down. But Yagura just shook his head, he hadn't really expected it of her anyway.

"Alright then, looks like we'll have to be a little creative." he said, looking back down the open street. The deep, thoughtful look in his eyes caused both Fuu and the employer to stare curiously at him. It took him a few moments, but eventually he came up with a sketchy, but hopefully effective plan. "This is gonna be tough, but listen up…"

Up ahead, the patrols continued to watch their position. It had been a while since any news had come their way, and with nothing happening here they were growing rather bored. One Shinobi in particular had taken to pacing up and down the street, confident enough in his camouflage Jutsu that he felt he could move freely. It was this decision that led him to be the first to notice that strange sight up ahead, one that made him speak into his transceiver.

"… That's the local doctor." explained one of his comrades, who had turned his eyes to the figure that had appeared at the end of the street. A man with fading hair, glasses and a white coat was walking towards the waterfront, oblivious to the patrols watching down that way. "Still, check him out. It's strange for him to be here, especially with that."

That of course was a direct reference to the cart that the local doctor was pulling. It was a large wooden trolley of sorts, rolling along on small wheels and getting pulled by an iron handle. But what had caught their attention was not the trolley itself, but the two full body bags that lay atop of it.

The doctor continued to pull his morbid package along, while the guard who had spotted him took position in a nearby doorway. Then, once he had released his Jutsu, he headed out into the street and raised his hand to stop the doctor. "Excuse me sir, would you mind explaining what you're doing here?" he asked, taking his steps so that he was directly in the doctor's way. Taking no offence by that, the doctor merely raised his brow in surprise and lowered the handle of the trolley onto the ground.

"Terrible business." he said, with a sombre expression. He indicated down to the body bags behind him, speaking in the half hearted tone of someone who knew the inhabitants of those containers. "Young couple, got lost in the woods and had to survive off the plantation for a while. They both wound up with cholera."

The Shinobi glanced down at the body bags again, he clearly had a suspicious look about him. The doctor seemed honest enough though, but that was easily faked in the hands of skilled people. The Shinobi pointed to the body bags, his attention fixed to the doctor for the smallest reaction. "You don't mind if I take a look do you?" he asked, following his duty despite his desire for the night to end.

The doctor frowned at the Shinobi, looking over the rim of his glasses to study the messy brown hair and dark rings under the ninja's eyes. It looked like he was ready to call it a night. "Is there any need to?" he enquired, clearly not in favour of the idea. However, under the Shinobi's gaze he let out a sigh, this was clearly not something he was going to win. "Very well, though I should warn you that their condition isn't exactly exemplary."

The Shinobi gave a nod of appreciation as the doctor stepped around to one of the body bags and took the zipper in hand. The Konoha nin moved closer to inspect, staring down as the doctor slowly pulled the zipper down. But before he could see what lay inside, he was hit by a force that made his eyes bulge considerably. "Guegh!" he gagged, raising his hand to his face and taking a quick step back. The moment an opening had been made in the bag a rotten smell like nothing that had ever reached him struck like fire to his sinuses. "Alright, fine! Close it up!" he hastily said, signalling with his hand fore the doctor to hurry up and do so.

"I warned you." the doctor gravely replied, as he closed the bag once again. He turned back to face the Shinobi, who had taken the sleeve of his fleece to his face in an attempt to rid himself of that putrid stench. "I'm afraid I don't really have the facilities to make the dead more presentable."

The Konoha nin didn't miss the distaste in the doctor's voice, but in this case it couldn't be avoided. He lowered his arm and looked at the doctor seriously, more than willing to let him move on now. "Why are you heading this way then?" he asked, since there were still underlying issues to be met. "Do you often dump corpses in the water?"

"Show some respect!" the doctor exclaimed, his tone harsh and unforgiving. He gave a cross look to the Shinobi, who looked to be a little surprised from the sudden outburst he received. "These two requested a burial at sea, I am merely honouring their last wishes! You Shinobi of all people should know of this!"

The Shinobi blinked suddenly, his wide eyes met by glaring ones. After he thought for a moment though, he averted his gaze with a shamed look to him. "I… you're right, please forgive me." he said, before stepping aside embarrassedly. He gestured with his hand for the doctor to move on, but was unable to make eye contact at the time. "Please, be on your way."

The doctor regarded the Shinobi, searching his face up and down. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh, before taking up the handle to the trolley and going on his way. "Keep up the good work." he said, as he passed by the guilty looking man beside him. He headed on down the street, while the Konoha nin silently put his camouflage Jutsu back in place.

Though he was watched through his journey from the street down to the docks, the doctor then on was unhindered by the other ninja patrols. He made his way from the hard ground onto wooden walkways, the wheels of the trolley rattling along the planks as he turned and headed down past the line of boats. After a few moments, and a couple of turns, he entered the area where shacks and such obstructed the views of the Shinobi behind him. It was here that he let out a breath of relief, but kept himself enough to continue on as he was.

He eventually found the boat he was looking for, a fairly classy looking one at that. It was a rather lavish motorboat, far from befitting to the person who owned it. The doctor came to a stop here, and with a grunt of effort he picked up the two body bags and slung them over his shoulders. Watching where he stepped carefully, he made his way onto the boat before heading into the cabin. Though the light was very much lacking in here, he managed to place the two body bags down on the floor without doing them any harm.

"This should be fine." he thought, before he was engulfed in a small cloud of smoke. After a moment, a small breeze blew that smoke away and revealed Yagura in the doctor's place. He looked at the body bags below him and crouched down, carefully pulling the zipper of one down and opening it. Inside the bag was Fuu, laying down and looking to be just barely conscious.

"Fuueyyy…" she whined, her eyes becoming dizzy spirals as the decaying smell once more filled the air. Though it took a little while, she eventually came back to her senses. When she did, she looked up at Yagura with tearful eyes, looking to be more than a little unhappy with her situation, "Yagura-kuuun!" she complained, still looking to be rather unsettled.

"Sorry, but I might have needed you awake back there." Yagura apologised, as he helped her up to a sitting position. As he looked at her face, he found himself unsure of if her tears were because of something in the solution he had lined the bags with or if the smell of it had caused her reaction. But in either case, he needed her to get over it quick. "Here, dry your eyes." he said, as he removed his muffler and handed it to her. Fuu looked at him with surprised eyes as she quietly accepted the garment, before she could give a word of thanks Yagura had already turned away.

Their employer had been fortunate compared to Fuu. Yagura had no doubts that the man could survive poor air conditions with his smoking habits, but he couldn't rely on him remaining still with that stench around him. As such he had been sedated before hand, and as proven when the bag was opened, the drug was still in effect.

Once both Fuu and the employer were out of the bags, Yagura rolled them up and tossed them just outside the cabin. He then headed over to the front where the controls were, and stared at them with a look of deep concentration. Fuu looked at him curiously, wondering what was going through his mind when suddenly he announced it. "I got no clue how to drive this thing."

"Eh?" Fuu exhaled, cocking her head with an exasperated smile. She really hadn't wanted to hear that, not with their only other choice being unconscious. And so her inherent nature came forth, and she did the only thing she could do; become totally naïve. "It's easy isn't it?" she asked, getting to her feet and placing Yagura's muffler around the back of her neck. She stepped over beside him and studied the controls, her expression blank but expectant. "Why would they make them difficult?"

"I don't think they intended to do that." Yagura replied, giving Fuu a tired but incredulous look. He watched as she reached out and pressed a random button, before waiting for something to happen. Yagura doubted that Fuu had ever been on a boat in her life, she was swaying lightly and dangerously. "Uh… maybe you should sit down."

"Uh… ok!" Fuu said brightly, flashing Yagura a smile before turning around and finding the bench along the wall of the cabin. Not for the first time Yagura was impressed by Fuu's unusual ways of dealing with stress; he himself was steadily losing it as his attention flew to several worrisome points. He hadn't forgotten about Utakata, who was back there most likely tearing the place apart.

"Yo."

Yagura blinked in surprise as the very person who inhabited his thoughts appeared in the doorway of the cabin. He stared at Utakata bewilderedly, he looked like he had gone running through a blazing thorn bush or something. His kimono was torn in several places and he was covered on black marks. But what was worst of all, was the fact that blood could be seen dribbling out of several serious looking wounds all over his chest, staining his once blue kimono a very deep red. Yet to both Yagura and Fuu's unsettlement, the eldest of the three walked in with a smile on his face, looking as if he was completely unaware of the state he was in.

"Uh… are… you ok?" Yagura asked, shadows obscuring his eyes as he frowned at his critical condition comrade. He was tense, certain that any moment Utakata would collapse from loss of blood. Maybe he was in shock, hell, maybe Yagura was in shock. Whatever the case, this situation was too unreal to just accept as it was.

Luckily Fuu at least managed to react in a somewhat appropriate manner. She shot to her feet, her arms wind milling as her eyes started spinning again. Her lips flapped as babbling talk flew out from them. "Uta- he- Yagu- I- wha- bleed- lots- I- FUWAH!" she finally cried, before she got too dizzy and fell back onto the bench. Both the other boys watched her, distracted from the situation by her sudden but not inappropriate response.

"Is… she ok?" Utakata asked, leaning on the doorway by his arm as he looked down at Fuu with some concern. It was that which snapped Yagura back into reality, he was finally able to accept the shocking sight before him. Utakata however had no awareness of this, as something hit his nose. "… What the hell is that?"

"Never mind that!" Yagura exclaimed, stepping over their employer as he rushed over to check Utakata's injuries. Etiquette almost failed him as he grabbed at Utakata's kimono, had the taller boy not been acting so nonchalant Yagura was sure he wouldn't have worried about such unimportant things. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Utakata turned his surprised eyes to Yagura, before slowly looking down at his chest. The sight of the blood seemed to cause something to spark in his mind, his eyes widening and his lips parting. He stared for several long seconds, his mind flying in all sorts of directions. "That… that's right!" he thought, as memory of the earlier fight finally reached him. "The Konoha nin… they stabbed me… they killed me!"

"No one's gonna be able to kill ya."

He froze there, as those words flew into his mind. He had never taken it seriously, letting the impossible concept push back into the corners of his mind. Not for an instant had he actually considered it… but… it was true? He had many stab wounds running through him, each one burned from the electricity he recalled being pumped with. Why was he still alive?

"Screw the mission, we're taking you to a doctor." Yagura said, grabbing Utakata by the arm and beginning to push him down to the bench. Utakata however came back to his senses from this, realising the situation he was causing just being like this.

It was for this very reason that he resisted, staying upright despite Yagura's efforts. The straw haired boy frowned up at him, feeling both shocked and annoyed as Utakata patted him on the head. "You worry too much niisan." the elder boy said, as he stepped around Yagura and over their employer. "There's nothing to worry about, let's just continue."

"So you say, but it's hard not to worry when your clothes aren't even the same colour anymore." Yagura replied, coming back over to Utakata to try again. He was brushed off however as Utakata took to the controls; at least he had some knowledge on using boats like this.

"Even if you say that, there isn't much choice." Utakata said, fixing his eyes on the glass ahead. He turned on the boat's ignition and the motor roared to life. The cabin lit up and Fuu awakened from her momentary faint to the sight of a morbid angel, the bloodstains on Utakata's back had formed a pair of large crimson wings. "I don't think Konoha will take too long to track us if I'm like this, we need to get out of their range fast."

Yagura's frown deepened and his eyes widened at this thought. He whipped his head back to confirm the idea in his head, and sure enough he saw it. A trail of blood that Utakata had left in his coming here, that he hadn't even been aware of from his own state of shock. As much as he hated it, Yagura had to agree with Utakata. But he didn't have to leave things as they were, there was still something he could do. "Alright, fine, but we'll have to fix you up." he said, as he quickly turned around and opened the first aid cabinet on the wall. He pulled out a roll of gauze and some small bottles before looking at Fuu and jerking his head.

The two of them tended to Utakata as the boat began moving, but Fuu proved to be of little use. Aside from having very poor balance in this situation, she suddenly became very uneasy when they pulled the upper half of Utakata's kimono down. She managed to keep herself from shivering from the large amount of blood, but it seemed that the greatest issue was Utakata himself. "Please don't take advantage of the situation, Fuu-chan." he said, looking over his shoulder with a cool but vulnerable expression.

Fuu reacted just as expected, her face taking on a full on flush as her skin turned a bright shade of red. What was even worse was an unfortunate side effect to Nikusui; the steam that rose from her skin. She looked like a thermos filled with boiled water, much to Utakata's cruel enjoyment. He got his own however as Yagura pressed one of the cuts with a cloth bearing some solution. He winced as his wound stung, and returned his attention to the task at hand. They pulled out of the harbour and began to make their distance from Nami no Kuni, waiting for their employer to awake.