This story is about Asano Sakurai, a self insert original character, but everything is told entirely from an outside point of view. She's best friends with Sakura Haruno, and on Team 13 with Kabuto. Asano has only recently become a Shinobi and Team 13 has just left on their first C-rank mission. Meanwhile, Team 7 has also been assigned their first C-rank mission, earlier than in canon.

This chapter has serious trigger warnings. There are graphic depictions of violence and torture. If you want more details, check the end notes.

xXx

Sometimes missions go so horrifyingly wrong that there's no path back. This mission is one of them.

In the cell next to him Yoroi is unconscious as the chakra suppression seals slowly steal his life energy. If this goes on too long he may die, a weakness of bloodline ability. He had been injured in the fight, and Hokori doesn't know if it's been healed. Some shinobi take pride in how they care for their captives before they break them. Most don't bother.

Kabuto was taken somewhere else, which is going to make it a lot harder to escape. He tries not to think too hard about why Kabuto isn't here. He was hurt in the fight, but not as badly as Yoroi. He was clever though, and with his (suspected) ROOT training means Hokori's the least worried about Kabuto of his genin.

Hokori is hanging from his wrists, the balls of his feet barely touching the ground. The chakra suppression seals are low quality and Hokori can already feel his core starting warm up again, but he doesn't have enough to spend supporting his shoulders. Hopefully the damage won't be permanent.

He can hardly care about that at all though because their captors are cruel. They enjoyed the pain they caused while subduing them, and now they have his team. He can hardly care because there's a window in his cell door and he can see the entrance of the interrogation room, the corner of a steel table barely in sight. He can't care at all because he's just watched as Asano was dragged into the room.

As Asano was the youngest and most vulnerable member of their team, she obviously had the least information. Konoha's gentle reputation was the only reason she was in this situation. If they were Kiri nin then it would obviously that no matter what happened to Asano, he would say nothing. He was a Konoha nin though. Therefore they were under the mistaken impression that if they tortured Asano enough then he would tell them whatever they wanted.

Unfortunately for Asano, he had been taught by Orochimaru. Asano's life, and her peace in death was not worth the lives of all of the shinobi Hokori had information on. Her life wasn't worth the lives of the shinobi would die to the same tactic if it worked for them this time.

All he could do that this point was steel himself to what was no doubt coming.

"Alright, this is how this going to go," the shinobi of unknown origin says from the other end of the hall. "I'm going to hurt you until you or your commander tell me what I want to know."

Hokori hears as Asano forces out a laugh, clearly terrified. "If you think my commander will tell you shit then you're fuck out of luck."

"Well that's very unfortunate," the interrogator says, sounding sympathetic even as Hokori can see the way he picks something up from the tray. "We'll start gently, just in case you're wrong."

Asano's scream is entirely unrestrained and Hokori is thankful that's she's not one of the ones foolish enough to hold back. Without a mouth guard or gag, she would most likely crack her teeth trying to hold back screams. It still raises the air on his arms, the protective instincts in him screaming in sync.

Hokori can tell when they pause (eventually) because Asano's scream trails off, replaced by murmurs he can't quite decipher.

Then the screaming is back and when it stops the murmurs are back. Louder. It doesn't sound like she's giving up village secrets, though even if she was he couldn't hold it against her. Hokage Sarutobi declared that no one under the rank of chunin could receive high-level capture training. Something which seriously hurt Team 13 as they were technically a genin team. Not even Kabuto had received the training, not officially at least. Who knew what he'd learned in ROOT.

Screams and mumbling. Back and forth, louder and loud. Finally, he can hear her words, spoken through a torn throat.

"Jashin, I dedicate my pain to you. My pain shows I'm alive. Jashin, I dedicate my pain to you. My pain shows I'm alive."

Over, and over, and over again. The name means nothing to him.

The shinobi who'd taken down Asano in the fight appears in the doorway.

"Please," she whispers, "please, it doesn't have to be a lot. Reo might like doing this, but the rest of us don't. We just need something new."

Hokori just stares at her.

"What was that?" The nin torturing Asano, Reo presumably, says, "it sounds to me like your commanding officer isn't giving us the information we need. What about you? Are you feeling more helpful?"

Hokori can't help but feel a bit proud of the way Asano doesn't even pause in her chant. The other part of him is horrified that realisation that the best he might be able to hope for at this point is that they realise he won't give them anything and they kill Asano sooner rather than later.

He activated the emergency seal. He has to believe that help will arrive eventually.

"Please," the kunoichi pleads, stepping back into the shadows when it becomes clear that she'll get no answers.

"You know... we have a while before we need to report back in," Reo says, his voice still ever so kind. "I am very patient. Did you know that drying blood will start itching? When I was first interrogated, it bothered me a lot. Like I expected getting cut up would hurt, but it felt unfair that the healing hurts too." The man sets down the implement he'd been using and picks up something new. "I learned a lot, those few months. One of them is that you have to mix up the pain, or you can start to almost ignore it."

"Jashin, I dedicate this pain to you. My pain shows I'm alive."

"Nothing? Well, if you insist."

The screaming starts up again. This time Hokori can smell burning.

xXx

The shinobi aren't wearing any identifying markers, although they're wearing the typical Iwa red and are in a squad of five like Iwa shinobi work. Hokori knows they aren't Iwa shinobi though, he worked undercover there for over a year. Among other details, Iwa shinobi tend to be of the consummate professional variety. These shinobi aren't.

xXx

Something happens that makes Reo call for a medic. That makes them stop.

Asano doesn't reply when he shouts.

xXx

The sound of fighting brings Hokori back to focus. He'd been unable to sleep but pain and a lack of chakra makes him feel as though he's spinning in place. It's deeply unpleasant. His shoulders send bolts of pain down his spin with every breath.

"Hokori?" Kabuto's voice hisses in the dark.

"In here," Hokori replies. The ground shakes from a distant explosion as Kabuto gets the door open. "Yoroi is in the one to the right." Kabuto nods, breaking the cuffs around Hokori's wrist and slowly running a glowing hand over his shoulders so he can at least move his arms.

"Asano's in the interrogation room. I'll get her," Hokori says, stumbling forward as pain shoots through him.

"They had me treat her earlier, " Kabuto warns, "she- " A scream from another part of the base reaches their ears and they move forward with their own tasks.

Asano is asleep, or perhaps unconscious on the polished stone table. Hokori swallows back bile at the marks on her skin. He removes the straps as fast as he can, his hands feeling swollen and clumsy. He pulls off his shirt, leaving behind his mesh undershirt, and sits Asano up to put her in it.

Her whole body stiffens and Hokori places a hand on her mouth before she can draw too much attention to them.

"Quiet, Asano. We are still captured but currently working to escape. The shinobi who captured us are currently fighting someone else. We need to work quickly and quietly." When she nods he moves his hand and she swings her legs off the table, a grunt of pain escaping her lips.

'Prefer - jutsu - me?' Asano signs, her hand movements clumsy.

"You can talk, just quietly," Hokori assures, "and your favourite area is fuuinjutsu."

'No - talk' Asano signs, and when she opens her mouth Hokori can see a stump of a tongue. The teeth marks show that the wound was self-inflicted.

There is one horrifying moment where Hokori's brain refuses to accept what he sees, refuses to process it. But the time is short, so he folds it up, and puts it to the side. Asano will need medical help when they return to Konoha either way. He'll just have to make sure she can communicate while they escape.

"Understood," Hokori nods, helping her off the table.

She grabs onto his sleeve for a moment while finding her balance, making Hokori's arm spike in pain.

'T - R - A - I - T-' Asano starts to tap on Hokori's arm.

"Are you ready to go?" Kabuto asks, Yoroi pressing heavily on his shoulder. Asano stops tapping for a moment.

They're standing in the doorway, and Hokori in no way miss Asano stiffening, he wonders if their captures even have a medic. He wonders if Kabuto was the one who healed Asano, that would explain why her tongue hadn't been reattached. Kabuto just wasn't that good of a medic yet.

"Yes, do you know who's attacking?" Hokori asks, keeping Asano close to his side.

"No, but I know where an exit is, I think, and there's a decent chance we can get them before we go."

'O - R' Asano finishes, adding a 'K' a moment later, in case it wasn't clear.

"Lead the way," Hokori says, guiding Asano to run in front of him, in the center of their group.

He doesn't want to believe it, that Kabuto could be a traitor.

xXx

Even if Kabuto is a traitor, he seems to believe that no one knows, and Team 13 is in no state to fight right now. If they make it back to Konoha then Hokori will deliver Kabuto to T&I himself, to clear everything up if nothing else.

The entrance to the base in busy, red armour on both sides. Apparently, some actual Iwa-nin had a problem with their captors' costumes. Kabuto runs in the front, Asano in the middle, and Hokori has Yoroi over his shoulder to carry him. It's incredibly painful, but he wouldn't be able to aim any weaponry right now anyway. It's better than Kabuto protects from the front, that way Hokori can see him.

The world shakes as a bomb of some kind shakes the building, cracks appear in the floor and walls.

Ahead of them is a team of Iwa-nin, real actual Iwa-nin, Hokori's pretty sure. For half a second Hokori despairs when he thinks they'll need to fight. They see Kabuto and Asano first though, and let them pass after only a second of hestiation.

They run as fast as they can, trying to avoid drawing attention. Outside of the base is a disaster zone, a squadron of Iwa-nin fight a dozen or so of the fake-Iwa-nin. Kunai are flying through the air and Kabuto ducks under one. Even if they aren't targetted, it's easy to get hit by accident, and with how weak they all are? That would spell death.

The ground feels like it's wobbling and Hokori can't tell if that's because he's going to pass out at some point, or because of something one of the shinobi have done. The tree line that they're aiming for draws closer. Hokori stumbles, but neither Asano nor Kabuto looks back. A scream shoots through his head from behind and he tries to shake off the budding headache that makes his breathing grate like sandpaper.

Asano and Kabuto draw further ahead.

Hokori dives to the side as he senses a flare of chakra coming in his direction. Rock bursts through the mud, creating spikes dividing Hokori and Yoroi from the other two genin.

xXx

The ground rocks again, this time Hokori falls against a tree, Yoroi slumping into the muddy ground. The pain in his shoulders is ceaseless screaming. He stares at Yoroi and can't help but think that if he kills his genin, maybe no one will know and he can make it back to Konoha in much, much less pain.

He would never actually do that though, so he lifts the man into a fireman carry and starts walking again. Asano... Asano is ahead with Kabuto. They'll be fine for now, probably. If (and that's a pretty big if) Kabuto is actually a traitor, he seems to still be undercover, so he'll hopefully keep protecting Asano.

Hokori pauses less than a second to shake his head, that is very much not how that works. He needs to find them, now.

One of the Iwa-nin had a bear summon that is now roaring, and even though, logically, that a single bear doesn't pose a huge threat to a jonin. It's a terrifying sound.

Hokori pushes himself to start jogging, keeping an eye out for a flicker of Asano or Kabuto's chakra. If he can get a lock on their chakra then he can keep track of where they are. The world around him is still too bright, either from exhaustion or chakra depletion. He doesn't know is Asano or Kabuto had chakra restraining cuffs. It looked like Asano did, but they clearly hadn't been cleaned like they should've been. They might not have actually done anything, or they could have actually started sucking on her chakra, the way his had. If it was just a little, it wasn't a problem, but with Asano in such a bad state, she would need chakra to boost her along the way home.

The world rocks again, but Hokori only stumbles without falling.

He knows that it's almost night, the twilight making it all much harder to see. He's thankful for that though since it means that they're much less likely to be caught. They need to head South-West, approximately. He doesn't actually know where they are - he was unconscious while they were moved - but if they can find a patrol or tower then they'll be safe. It's hard to miss Fire Country, if you're on the continent and go South-West.

There's a flair of chakra, Asano's, and Hokori turns to run towards her. He still hasn't felt anything from Kabuto, but that's probably because his chakra control means that even if he was using it, that wouldn't guarantee that Hokori would feel it.

There's a cliff in front of him, and Hokori knows that Asano is on the top of it. That doesn't mean he has a way to get up though. He has some of his chakra back, and it'll start coming back faster and faster the longer he's out of chakra suppressors. How much chakra can he afford to spend on climbing? Not much if he wants to keep carrying Yoroi, he decides after a moment.

Asano's chakra moves further away. Hokori can't shout for her because drawing their captors attention would mean death at best, but he wants to scream. Instead, he turns and starts running along the bottom of the wall, looking for it to slope back downwards, or for a tree that's fallen against it. A path worn into it by a semi-local town? Anything.

There's a scream, and this time Hokori does recognise it. It's Kabuto, and it's come from approximately where Asano is.

Hokori pushes chakra to his feet, he can't rush with and mess this up. He can't afford to be any later.

One foot against the cliff face, then another. Chakra to his core to help keep him straight while he carries Yoroi. One foot then another. One foot after another as his shoulders scream in agony and the weight of Yoroi is heavy. Moving his chakra is like trying to scrape the last bits out of a bowl and the cutlery slipping, it feels like the awful sound that makes.

He's at the top through.

He starts running even though he just wants to stop and catch his breath against the pain.

One step then another. One foot after another. Find Asano. Find Kabuto. Find Konoha. The sun is almost completely gone and Hokori can smell blood. He stumbles into a tree but doesn't pause. He can't afford to, he needs to find his genin. He needs to get to them.

One step then another. One foot after another. Find Asano. Find Kabuto Find Konoha.

He can hear breathing, but his eyes aren't focusing enough. Asano is right around here, here chakra is still there, she's still alive.

He can't sense anyone else, even though he can tell that Kabuto had used chakra very nearby. It's a little worrying because it seems like his control flickers, Hokori can feel flecks of his chakra, but he can't feel Kabuto.

He turns towards where he can feel Asano's chakra.

Backlit against the last flames of the sky is Asano, kneeling bloody over Kabuto's body. A bear, one of the Iwa-nin's summons, is standing next to her, unmoving.

"Asano?" Hokoi whispers, Asano's head jerks up. Hokori's eyes finally focus and he can see that Asano got her hand on a kunai and is using it to cut out Kabuto's heart. His head is sitting, separate from his body, below the bear.

The sound of fighting is ongoing, but decreasing, and they need to move so they're out of range before the shinobi start looking for survivors.

Hokori takes a steadying breath as she pulls out Kabuto's heart with her bare hands and offers it to the muzzle of the bear standing beside her. They need to go, Kabuto is dead. When they get back to Konoha, Asano will go to T&I and they'll decide if it was in defense of Konoha, a mental break, or a malicious attack.

"We need to go, now," Hokori says, approaching Asano slowly.

(This was his fault, she wasn't ready for a C-rank and because of that they were caught. They were caught and she was tortured. This was all his fault.)

Asano puts one hand up to hold him back as she stands and throws herself on top of the bear. She turns to look at him and gives him a shooing gesture. (It's so childish he could laugh if she didn't have her teammate's blood dripping off of her.)

"Hold on, I need to at least burn the body first."

Asano snaps her fingers, points at him, and nods her head. Hokori kneels over Kabuto's body, looking at the mess of blood and guts, and feeling a bit sick despite his ample experience with such things.

"I need your kunai to cut a seal into him, since we don't have any tags or paper," Hokori says, feeling a bit of relief when she hands over the kunai with ease.

Hokori slits the leg of Kabuto's trousers and pulls the fabric apart so his shin is bare to the world. Usually, Hokori would do this on the head or chest, but those are both unavailable. He uses the kunai to quickly cut into the skin, leave the marks for 'spread', 'material', 'fire', and 'contain' as the main elements of the seal.

It's a moderately difficult seal. It needs to burn the flesh, bone, and fabric, without too much smoke or spreading to the nearby land. Ideally, Hokori could stay and make sure it burns, could dig at least a small hole to bury the ashes in, make sure no trace remains. That's not an option now, and if Hokori tries to dig a hole he will be completely out of chakra.

(How did Asano get the bear summon to work with her - or maybe even sign with her?)

It doesn't take too long, despite the complexity, since it's one of the seals he's had to use most. He was alive during the 3rd shinobi war and he used it on many bodies, belonging to Konoha or otherwise. Orochimaru had taught it to him, Hokori wonders if Orochimaru used it to hide his misdeeds from Konoha. It's an unpleasant thought, but still better than the reminder that his genin is dead. Kabuto was an orphan, adopted late by one of the hospital directors. Kabuto wasn't close with his guardian, it had been done as a work of public service. Decreasing the number of orphans with the minimum amount of work. Hokori suspected the man would still be distressed.

(How did Asano manage to kill Kabuto?)

Once the seal is finished, not his neatest work but not the worst he's ever done either, he says,

"Asano, I don't have any chakra left, can you push some into it. You'll know when it's full so it's hard to mess up." He'd added in a few signs to the seal so would give a minuscule electric shock when it was full. Eventually (if Asano wasn't found guilty of killing a comrade and executed) Asano would instinctively know how much chakra to add to a seal. He was planning on teaching her the chakra measurements soon. A set of sizes used to guide how much chakra to pour into a seal. If he said 'halfway between 'second' and 'third' then Asano would know, at least approximately, how much to put in.

Asano nods and jumps off the bear, placing her hands on each side of the seal and letting in a trickle of chakra.

"You'll need more than that."

Asano gives him a hesitant look, and when more chakra starts pouring out he notices that Asano winces in pain.

(How did Asano even get permission to be an Academy Student? The first, first requirement is to be of sound mind and body. He'll have to make sure she gets whatever is causing that checked.)

She stands, wavering slightly before she pulls herself back up (slower now) onto the bears back. Kabuto's body burns before them.

"Alright, we're going to be travelling non-stop until we can get help," Hokori says, turning and starting to jog as fast as he can with Yoroi over his shoulder. The bear ambles along beside him. "You'll have to go to T&I when we get back to Konoha. In the meantime, we need to go as fast as possible." He glances at Asano, tiny atop the bear, over Yoroi. "Can Yoroi go in front of you so I can run faster?"

Asano's arm moves but Hokori can't see what her hand is doing, buried in the bear's fur. The bear makes a snuffing noise and Asano nods at him. He pauses for a movement, wincing as he lifts Yoroi up so he can lay across the back of the bear in front of Asano.

"Yoroi's not a traitor right?" He probably should've checked sooner whether Yoroi was at risk from Asano. She pauses before shaking her head and shrugging. He assumes that means no.

xXx

The forest gets deeper as they run, the night sky blocked by trees. If this mission had gone well, then Asano would be sent to climb the tree and report on the stars. It would be a good way for her to practice tree walking and reading the stars. Instead, he glances up at the slim stretch of moonlight, and thanks the Sage that it's not a new moon. Maybe they could stop now, sleep for the night and run more tomorrow. They could hunt for food in the morning.

Hokori doesn't know why they were targeted - and they were targeted. He doesn't know why Asano was so sure Kabuto was a traitor that she would commit treason to kill him. And she did commit treason. Even if she's right, she should've helped them all get home, and helped deliver him to T&I. Even if she's right, she will be punished for this.

Hokori stumbles, a tree root and exhaustion working together. When he stands, Asano puts a hand on his shoulder.

'R - E - S - T' She taps onto him.

"I can't, we don't know why we were captured, so we don't know if they'll be trying to hunt us down."

She looks at him, her face shadowed in the dark so he can't read her expression. After a moment she nods though, and they continue on. Yoroi still hasn't awoken.

xXx

Hokori can sense familiar chakra nearby, he's not sure who it is though, and he doesn't know where they are. He thinks they're friendly, but he doesn't know. He's too tired. His whole body aches with exhaustion and his shoulders send stinging pains through him with every moment.

There's an owl hoot - the noise from one Konoha jonin to another.

A shiver runs through Hokori. Almost there, almost done. It takes far too much effort to lift his hands to his mouth and hoot back.

Ahead, four figures drop out of the trees. Tsume Inuzuka and her ninken, Anko, and one of the branch member Hyuuga.

"Got any followers?" Tsume asks, her ninken approaching Asano's bear slowly.

"Not that I know of, we've been going for a while but I wasn't sure if they would follow." Asano waves at the dog and makes a happy humming noise.

"Alright, is your third nearby?"

"Kabuto's dead."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Tsume approaches him, far slower than a jonin's usual speed so as to avoid scaring him. Behind her, Anko pulls out a seal and activates it. It's probably the 'green' seal for emergencies, meaning at least one member of the team was found alive and able to communicate.

"Asuka, can you see anything?" Tsume asks, turning to the Hyuuga. Their chakra flares ever so slightly as the byakugan actives and for a moment no one but Asano moves, so they don't distract the Hyuuga - Asuka.

"I can't see anyone, though Team 13's left a pretty clear path."

Hokori glances behind them, and yeah, Asuka's right.

"You look pretty rough girlie, you alright?" Anko asks quietly from Asano's sign. Hokori glances to see her open her mouth. "Oh that's not good!" Asano reaches to Anko, putting her fingers onto Anko's shoulder. Hokori turns his attention away, back to Tsume who's checking over Yoroi.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" She asks, taking his pulse while her ninken sniffs around.

"He's got a chakra absorption bloodline so the chakra suppressors drained him."

Tsume's ninken whines at the same moment that Anko gasps. Both Tsume and Anko jerk their heads towards him and he makes the higher level hand signs for 'INTEL - UNCONFIRMED'

"Asano's told me that Kabuto was a traitor. I don't know what happened in between our escape, but Asano killed him. We'll get the details figured out when we get back to Konoha." Hokori says when it occurs to him that should he die for whatever reason - perhaps even killed by Asano - then the truth of the situation needs to be known. This way, at least three other shinobi (and a ninken who can speak) are aware of the situation.

Tsume nods and lifts one of Yoroi's arms before letting it go and watching it drop.

"He's not doing well," she say while checking Yoroi's eyes. "He's got extreme chakra depletion and considering it's been a while since he was in the chakra restraints... He'll have to go straight to the hospital when we get back to check his bones and muscles. For the time being," she glances at Asano and then to him. "You two need to rest, we can't do long, but at least three hours."

Hokori thinks about arguing. He thinks about fighting against it. If Yoroi needs a hospital then Hokori's wants him there ASAP. That's not how things work though. It'll do no one any good if they pass out.

"Can one of you get Yoroi back to Konoha?" He asks, Tsume looks over the group again.

"We need myself and Asuka to make sure no one is getting close, and Anko is our ranged fighter. I don't think it would be a good idea. Konoha's at least 50 hours away, and that would be at Gai's pace. I can patch Yoroi up, but he's either going to make it home or he's not. Hokori, you can use Anko's stuff." Tsume turns to Asano and looks at her, long and hard. "You can use my stuff. I have an extra pair of clothes you can use as well. They won't fit but it'll be something, but you should at least clean up a bit first."

It's a fair assessment, Asano has blood splattered up her arms, cuts under his shirt, and she doesn't have any trousers. She nods and slides off the bear's back.

"Is our agreement met?" The bear asks, it's voice deep and unsettling. Asano glances around and nods, the bear disappears in a puff of smoke.

"What's that about?" Anko asks, pulling a scroll out of a pouch. Asano reaches over once more and starts tapping on her arm. He can't tell what she's saying, but Anko pauses to understand. "Why you though?" She asks.

"Oi! None of that now, reports and stories can come later. Get cleaned up, changed, eat, and asleep!" Tsume growls, throwing a scrap of wet cloth at Asano. It's a pretty common bit of equipment among jonin. It's rare that you can actually take a wash while in the forest, but having an old bit of clothing or bandage to wipe down your face, pits, and hands can make a huge difference.

xXx

In the morning Asano looks at where the bear had stood the night before and Hokori can tell she misses being able to ride. After a moment she sighs and starts tapping on Tsume's hand, receiving a roll of bandages to tie up the excessive sleeves and legs. Hokori had been planning on waiting until Asano was asleep before talking with the other three. Almost as soon as he'd sat down he'd passed out. Anko had woken him up to pass over a blanket he could use to keep warm.

Asuka was a typically compact Hyuuga, not much taller than Asano, but more than twice her width. Hokori didn't recognise her from jonin meetings, so either she was fairly new, part of ANBU, or a chunin. He thought about asking, it was always good to have connections.

Kabuto was dead though. The thought echoed through him every time he tried to think of anything else. Kabuto was dead.

"We need to move soon," Tsume says, and Hokori jerks a little, realising she'd been looking at. "If we go at a good pace today then we can get back to Konoha in four days."

Hokori realises he doesn't actually know how long it's been since they got their mission - how long they were captive for. He doesn't even know where they are really. If it took four days to get back to Konoha, going straight, then tracking must've taken longer. Even if they could get support out to where they'd been ambushed fairly quickly... Then he remembers the tracking seal he had gotten after Orochimaru's betrayal.

The lack of trust from the village had been palpable, that decade ago. He often forgot about those times, he didn't want to remember. Danzo had built the seal into his skin with the help of Hiashi Hyuuga, made as a tracker and long-distance kill switch. He didn't know how it worked, he wasn't allowed to inspect it fully so it had been placed on his upper back.

It might've saved Yoroi's life, for them to be able to find him so quickly, but he was still bitter. It placed him in danger, to have a kill switch, no matter how much he trusted the Hokage (he did) or Danzo (he very much didn't). There were traitors in Konoha, even someone angry enough over Orochimaru's betrayal and wanted what they thought of as revenge.

Hokori lets his thoughts drift on the bitter subject as they start to run, matching pace with himself and Asano would doubtlessly be the slowest. Tsume was carrying Yoroi, since Anko was the tank of the group and couldn't be burdened if they got attacked, and Yoroi's legs would drag if he was carried by Asuka.

"Alright, hold on," Tsume says just a second later. "Asuka, can you carry Asano?" Asuka nods. "Excellent, Asano, get on her back. Sorry, I forgot you were a genin." Tsume's looking a bit more green at the reminder - Asuka is too.

They're running again.

xXx

That night Hokori listens with half an ear as Asano taps on Tsume's arm and Tsume talks about Kiba's training. She doesn't get into any details, just talking about generally known stuff, like his team, teacher, and D-rank mission hilarity.

"Yeah, he's a good kid, Kiba," Tsume says in response to something Asano must be tapping. "Yeah, a troublemaker too," she admits and Asano grins. Something painfully tight in his chest loosens just the tiniest bit.

xXx

Now that he's less exhausted, he wakes up every time Asano awakes up from a nightmare. She doesn't scream, or jerk upright. She doesn't even gasp each time. It's silent but her chakra trips. It's a weird sensation where the smooth flow of chakra while she sleeps disappears for a second, before returning stronger for a second, then slowing down to normal. If Hokori could stop tracking her chakra, like a child listening to a parent's heartbeat, he probably wouldn't even notice. He probably wouldn't strain his ears to hear, and end up realising she's tapping against fabric.

("T-R-A-I-T-O-R," Asano taps again and again, every time she wakes up. Hokori can't decide whether it makes him more inclined to believe she had a mental breakdown or not.)

He can tell that when each of the others is on guard, they notice as well. No one says anything.

xXx

The sight of Konoha doesn't make anything better, but it sure as hell doesn't make anything worse.

xXx

A/N:

Trigger warning notes:

- Asano is tortured

- She also bites off her own tongue

- Hokori (the POV character) is in pain throughout the chapter as an effect of their capture

- Asano kills Kabuto and it is described graphically

xXx

I never meant to leave From Outside Eyes for so long, but this chapter was hard. I'm still not happy with it, but every time I put it to the side to work on later though, it takes weeks for me to come back. So, I decided to upload it as is.

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