Truthfully, I'm not sure how much I love this chapter because let me tell you, it was a pain to write. But anyways, please enjoy this chapter.

Kurenai blinked a couple of times, making sure she read the letter properly once more.

"Oh."

Hinata looked up from where she was tending to the campfire, a long stick in hand. "Pardon, sensei?"

The red-eyed woman was frowning at the sheet of paper in her hand, a hawk perching on her shoulder. Her face became even darker as she read down the contents of the page.

"Sensei?" The Hyuuga prodded.

"Ah," the woman sighed, "it's nothing serious."

"It certainly doesn't look serious," Kiba replied dryly, sitting opposite Hinata, across the fire. Their third teammate sad between them, opposite their sensei. The four of them sat in a perfect square, one person per side. The adult of the group didn't even know how it happened, maybe it was a subconscious decision made by the team.

"Well, Sojitz-san seems to have recovered," Kurenai's distaste for the man leaked into her tone, "and he'll be accompanying us on this mission. We're going to rendezvous at Hoshi Village. Oh, and a member from T&I is also coming along with him, though I don't know why we'll need a torture specialist with us."

The jounin did know, but she didn't want to scare the children. After all, there was nothing worse than planting baseless doubts into young genin minds, especially if they were going to be travelling with the man. But Hotaru Sojitz rubbed her the wrong way — it wouldn't kill her to be wary around the man, would it? She had to keep her guard up all the time.

Shino gave her a sharp glance.

Kurenai crinkled her eyes in a smile. Ah, she couldn't keep it from her sharpest student, could she?

"A torture specialist?" Kiba shrugged, a lazy smile on his face. "Maybe we're gonna use their really cool skills to interrogate people to see if they've seen the bastard's team?"

"Sasuke," Hinata corrected, "it's rude to call someone a bastard."

The Inuzuka huffed. "Sure."

"Alright, pop quiz time!" Kurenai changed the subject, earning a long groan from her loudest student.

"Really sensei?" Kiba made a face that resembled a pout, but the boy would never admit it (he had the 'canine genes', he claimed, there was absolutely no way a dog could pout). "Please don't—"

"Where are we?" She continued anyways, a smile forming on her face.

It was Shino who answered, his voice terribly quiet. "About thirty-forty kilometres south-west of Konoha. Still in the Land of Fire."

"Thank you. Where's the Hoshi Village, someone who's not Shino?" Kurenai prompted while ripping apart the message in her hands. The hawk, seeing the paper being destroyed, lifted up into the sky soundlessly, on its way back to Konoha. The jounin tossed the paper remains into the campfire, watching them twist and burn in the yellow-orange flames.

"A v-village found under — found under the br-brightest star in the sk-sky," Hinata answered.

Kiba frowned. "Eh?"

"A village constructed under the brightest star in the sky," Kurenai repeated, but gave her female student an encouraging nod, "founded for the sole purpose of letting Konohagakure shinobi find a safe-house. Do you know when it was created? Why it was created as a safe-housing village?"

Kiba shot up on the spot. "I know this! This has something to do with — with uh — with the shinobi war!"

"Yes," Kurenai nodded with a warm smile, "correct. Which war?"

Shino raised a hand.

"Yes, Shino?"

"Mostly the third, but it was often used as a rendezvous point during the Second Shinobi War too."

"Correct. Now it was strategically built under the brightest star in the sky — named Hi, after fire — because..."

After a pointed glance from Kurenai, Hinata spoke up timidly. "B-because it c-could be easily seen at night-t, and K-Konoha-nin could find their way — their way back if th-they got lost during battles or t-travelling."

Kurenai beamed. "Yes, exactly. Now, if I were to tell you, we need to find a way to get to Hoshi Village, how would we do that?"

"Follow the star!" Kiba announced loudly. "Right?"

"Yes," the woman smiled, "but what about during the daytime? How would you get there if you couldn't see the star?"

"You mark the direction the star is during the night, and follow the one direction in the day," Shino answered. "Trial and error. You'd check the position of the star once night falls again."

"Perfect! Who can identify Hi in the sky right now?"

All three children snapped their heads upwards, eyes darting to the stars. Kurenai chuckled at their enthusiasm, and even Shino was peering up into the sky through his dark lenses. It was Kiba who pointed a finger first, to no one's surprise, and he got it wrong, to no one's surprise yet again.

"No," Kurenai corrected, shifting over to kneel beside him. One of her eyes were closed, trying to see accurately where the boy was pointing. "That's Ryu, but you're close. It is pretty bright."

Hinata's arm went up next.

"How can you even tell if it's Ryu or Hi?" Kiba squinted at the sky. "We definitely weren't taught this at the Academy."

Kurenai remembered the times when it was the very first thing children were taught in the Academy — if you're ever lost, you must go there, you have to go there, it's safe during war-times, it's the only safe place you can trust — and the retired veterans of the Second Shinobi War recalling how the village had saved their lives. Hoshi Village was a miracle village back when she was their age, but she herself had never been there during active wartime. Actually, the only person from their generation would've been the golden boy Hatake Kakashi—

The jounin shoved the thoughts of her ex-comrade — the traitor — out of her mind, sharply looking at where Hinata was pointing.

"Sensei?" Kiba looked at her, slightly confused since she didn't answer his question.

"We were taught it for emergencies during war," Kurenai replied after a beat of hesitation, but there was no point in sugarcoating it. The Academy was already dulling everything about the shinobi life — they didn't teach about death, they didn't teach about trauma, nor did they didn't teach about grief. It was bizarre, that in a way, the Academy was only grooming fresh meat for the tough career.

"Oh yeah," the boy nodded to himself, "you were in the Academy during the Third War days, right?"

Kurenai smiled wearily. "Yes." She turned back to Hinata, giving the girl a fond pat on the hair. "You're correct, Hinata-kun, that's Hi. Good job."

"Really?" The girl's eyes widened. "I-I was taught by t-tou-san. H-he taught Hanabi-ch-chan and I st-tar gazing."

"That's great," the adult softened her tone, "do you want to show me some constellations later?"

The heir smiled shyly, and the jounin sensei breathed a sigh of relief. The girl was finally coming out of her shell; it had taken almost a month for her to open up. Kurenai knew she had to teach the girl so that she wouldn't be so timid all the time, especially to allow her to be promoted to chuunin and start leading teams.

"This one!"

"No, Kiba, that's still Ryu."

"What?" The boy squinted at the sky. "No way! Isn't that Ryu?"

Kurenai let out a soft chuckle. "Now that's Hi."

The boy groaned. "This is impossible. Eh, Hinata, how'd you do it?"

"Kurenai-sensei," Shino said quietly. "I think I've identified Hi."

As the woman shuffled around the camp, helping guide her students towards the bright star in the sky, she distantly wondered if Team Seven were fairing well. She certainly hoped it wasn't a kidnapping, because that meant they were in danger. Well, shinobi were always in danger. She could only hope that if the children were in danger, they'd protected each other (but the last time she saw them, Sasuke was sporting a dark scowl towards his teammates and Naruto didn't look any happier with him) and they'd use the skills they were taught to survive.

There was still an unease that ate away at her mind.

And Kurenai, although having just been promoted to jounin three months ago, knew to trust her gut instincts.

She bit the inside of her lip, weighing the pros and cons in her mind. If push comes to shove, she might just sacrifice Team Seven for her own team. It didn't matter that she didn't have the Jinchuuriki or the last Uchiha; she had her trio, and that was enough. But then again, the political backlash and the show of weakness for Konoha...

"Kurenai-sensei!"

She hid her worries with a smile, turning to Kiba. She just had to hope that Team Seven wasn't in a situation that would force her to make that call.

.

Ten minutes left.

Sasuke's foot was twitching, and he didn't know if it was because his foot was disfigured and was going through a 'moment', or if he was too filled with anticipation. (Somewhere deep down, he knew it was fear.)

"Don't look so weary," Kakashi tried to sound light, but even his usually casual tone was dampened by the mood. "This is a good plan you all have."

Naruto was still in the corner of the cell, refusing to meet eye contact with any of his teammates. "I didn't want to leave you behind."

"I know," the nukenin smiled, but Sasuke barely managed to make it out in the darkness. "You've been telling me since I woke up."

He had woken up about half an hour ago, and as soon as he moved, Naruto had pounced on him, demanding he tells Sasuke off for choosing to leave him behind. Much to the blond boy's despair, Kakashi had simply told him that Sasuke was right and that the best way for the three of them to get out was to leave by themselves. He had repeated the exact things Sasuke had said, making the Uchiha feel proud, but now that the time was getting closer, the boy could only feel dread getting heavier and heavier in his stomach.

"You all remember everything I've taught you?" Kakashi was trying to change the subject.

Thankfully, Sakura was quick on the uptake. "Yeah," her tone was warm, "those lessons on Konoha history were great. It was so much better than what they taught in the Academy."

Sasuke snorted. "History? I thought the military hierarchy and ranking system was most useful."

"That gave me a headache," Naruto grumbled. "The war stuff was really cool. The story about the Yondaime was great."

Kakashi's head moved to the side, and Sasuke imagined a raised eyebrow. Though it was harder than he thought it would be; he's only ever seen the man's face once because it was a rare moment when the torch burned brighter than usual but he didn't remember clearly, since he was in a daze. "Those were all theory," the nukenin was saying, "nothing practical?"

"There's nothing much in our practical classes," Sakura hummed, and she was stretching out her limbs. "But that chakra sensing exercise was really useful."

Sasuke frowned. "Chakra sensing?"

"With Naruto," Sakura inclined her head, "you...weren't here."

"Ah."

It was always awkward when talking about what they were going through, especially since the team spent so much time split; when one person was in 'the room' and the other two were in the cell. Surprisingly, the three of them got used to the torture pretty quickly. Sasuke was almost impressed at how good his two teammates were at evading specific words and subduing one another while they were thrashing in their sleep.

Sasuke sighed. Sleep. He didn't know when the last time he had a good sleep was — it was probably a couple of years ago before the thing that happened when he was seven. He cursed. He was just getting better, and now this happened—

"The boot—"

"Ah, this? This is a kunai, though I'm sure you know—"

"Yes, I did hear water would be a good tool—"

The feeling of not being able to inhale air, water just rushing down his throat and clogging up his windpipe — when he can't even cough it out — he can't get enough air — was this how he was going to die—

"Hey!" Sasuke's face suddenly stung like tape had been ripped off from his skin. "Stop thinking! You've got that glassy look again."

The Uchiha's eyes focused on the girl in front of him. He touched his cheek tenderly. "Did you just slap me?"

Sakura didn't even falter. "Yes. You were thinking about it again, weren't you?"

Sasuke sighed, turning away.

"It's not healthy, and it's not a good thing to do." She glared, eyes filled with concern more than anything else. "If you, y'know, if you need help, you know you can come to us."

"Yes," Sasuke's voice was tired but he nodded with his reply, "I know."

"I think chakra meditation worked really well," Naruto interrupted, and Sasuke heaved a silent sigh of relief. Somehow, conversation with Sakura was always awkward. Maybe it's because the last time they slept at the same time, Sakura ended up wrestling with him when he threatened to slam her into the ground when unconscious. He was an apparent 'thrasher' in his sleep.

"Oh? I thought you didn't like it?"

"Hey," Naruto pouted at Kakashi, "just because I'm not the most patient person in the world doesn't mean I don't appreciate good chakra control!"

The man paused. "That's a valid point. Sasuke? What did you enjoy?"

And the Uchiha had to think for a moment, his mouth opening to respond only after a beat. "Stretching."

"Stretching?" Sakura nodded slowly. "Oh yeah, that was really good for relaxing our muscles."

"I'm glad you found it helpful," the nukenin said softly.

Naruto perked up, tilting his head in concentration. "We need to get ready, I think I sense someone heading over. You said someone will come to let us out, Kakashi-sen — Kakashi-san?"

"Yes," there was an amused lint to the nukenin's tone, and Sasuke understood instantly the man knew what Naruto was trying to cover up. "Just about now."

All three of them looked to the cell door, and a soft patter of footsteps was getting closer and closer. Sasuke knew who it was from the soft nature of the footsteps, and his throat felt dry. Of course.

"It's—"

The door clicked opened with a satisfying scratch of metal. All of their eyes were trained on the metal bars, and when the door remained open as the person walked away, none of them relaxed. They were tense. Their shoulders were locked in place, joints stiff.

"Aren't you going to take the chance?"

It was Naruto who whirled to the nukenin, irked by his words. "Wait, but that means—"

"Okubo's taking the risk, yes."

Sasuke's body stiffened even more at the mention of the girl's name. She had kept her head low, her bandaged eyes cast downwards, but there was the slightest upturned smile on her face. She knew what she was getting into; she knew what she was going to have to go through if she — they — got caught.

"But that's dangerous," Sakura said through gritted teeth, "why—"

"Go." Kakashi looked up towards the exit. "Don't waste time. If you don't want anything to happen to Okubo, don't get caught."

There were so many things wrong with that sentence — for one, Okubo could be punished after they were gone — but Sasuke pulled himself onto his bare feet, and approached the metal door with a slow, exaggerated movement.

"Let's go."

"Yeah." Surprisingly, it was Naruto who was behind him first. "Let's go."

Sasuke pushed the door open, flinching as it creaked. He tensed when he stopped the door just before it could collide with the metal bars on the other side, waiting for the squeaking echo to die out. Sakura appeared under his arm, green eyes darting side to side. Naruto peered over his shoulder.

"So," Sakura cleared her throat, "let's go?"

"We'll be back, Kakashi-san," Naruto called back to the nukenin.

The man's chuckle magically calmed the Uchiha's rapidly beating nerves. "Well, I'd hope not. It was nice to meet you, Team Seven."

"Alright," Naruto pushed past Sasuke's body, "I'm going first. Sasuke-teme, try to keep up."

"Tch," the boy replied automatically, mouth moving before he could think, "don't slow us down."

Naruto grinned at him, with the smugness of a fox, before he was gone. Sasuke wanted to ask how on earth he was going so fast — but he himself couldn't drag behind, so he was after his teammate without a second's delay. Sakura was keeping up without an issue, and that was when the Uchiha realised, wow. The chakra meditation exercises really did help with the control, because he was speeding across the walls with the least amount of chakra he'd ever thought would be possible.

He hadn't even thought of the possibility of setting off their location with the amount of chakra layered on his feet. All three of them were using such a minimal amount it was hard for Sasuke to pinpoint how much they were using, and he was literally right next to them.

"Left!" Naruto called quietly, making sure that his teammates heard.

Sakura leapt gracefully from the ground to the ceiling, her long pink hair falling into Sasuke's face.

He had a snarky comment on the tip of his tongue, but his disfigured foot slipped from the wall and he stumbled towards the ground.

A small yelp. "Sas—!"

"I'm fine," he regained his balance by silently flipping and landing on the ground, barely stabilising himself on the staircase. He crouched lower to avoid her long hair drooping from the ceiling. As much as he'd like to avoid eye contact, he knew that Sakura was worrying over him — the constant gaze on top of him was enough to start making him feel pressured.

"Right," Naruto's voice rang out clearly even if it was soft.

All three of them veered to the right — the walls became lighter, Sasuke noticed, probably cleaned more often or maybe the paint was different. It was certainly different to the gloomy walls he had gotten into the habit of staring at.

That was when they suddenly came to the end of the staircase.

A hallway. Naruto hesitated.

"Left or right," Sasuke hissed, not wanting to waste time.

The blond boy doesn't move.

Sakura nudged their shortest teammate, their designated sensor, trying to shake him out of his frozen state. She was buzzing on the spot — all three of them had cold adrenaline rushing from head to toe.

Sasuke knew they couldn't wait. "Left or right?"

Naruto's eyes hesitantly drifted to the right. Sakura didn't let the doubt catch her, bolting in that direction. They had been through this multiple times in the last two hours; they had to go at a fast pace. Fast and undetected was the only way they were going to do this, they couldn't afford to attract any attention. Hesitation was a big no — Kakashi's last lesson to the trio.

Naruto looked horrified at her split-decision movement. "Sakura!"

"Go," Sasuke got a good grip on the Jinchuuriki's arm, focusing on his feet to lace it with more chakra, but only a small amount to keep it low. He had to focus on making the small amount give him maximum results.

"But—"

"Stop being indecisive. Who's on this side?"

"Huh?" His teammate blinked. "How—?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Are you going to make me repeat myself?"

Naruto shook his head. "Ao-san. Ao-san's over here."

"The woman?" Sasuke let go of his arm, the two of them running side by side. Sakura was just ahead, her signature pink marking her position in the hallway. Not for the first time, Sasuke was grateful for that startling colour, or else he might've lost track of her quick movements.

Naruto, beside him, opened his mouth to reply, turning his head to alert Sasuke—

"Scram."

The two of them flattened themselves against the wall at Sakura's warning.

She herself was up on the ceiling, her back stuck to the wall, pink hair sliding past her shoulder and down towards the ground. Both boys quietly touched the ground, slowly retracting their chakra. As much as Sasuke wouldn't admit it aloud, Sakura was the only one with the best chakra precision to be able to use it in this situation.

Sasuke held his breath, not wanting to break the silence.

A muffled set of footsteps echoed in the hallway behind him — the wall was probably shared. The boy's heart was beating so loudly he could feel the vibrations in his skull, rattling and disorientating his brain more than it already was.

Naruto's hand gently touched his arm in reassurance. Sasuke felt a sudden urge to look in his direction, but he couldn't risk it. No noise. Nothing.

The footsteps gradually disappeared.

None of them dared to move.

"Go," Sasuke was the first to move, feet cased in the lowest amount of chakra possible and bolting towards the exit. Naruto and Sakura peeled themselves off the flat surface they were stuck to and followed.

Shunshin had crossed the Uchiha's mind before, but he couldn't leave his teammates. They couldn't do the quick sharp coating of chakra they needed, not while in the middle of an escape attempt. They would panic, and put too much, drawing too many eyes. And he didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't just leave them in this hellhole. He...he had to pay Sakura back for all those times she pushed herself onto the brink of chakra exhaustion to give him his ability to move like shinobi and Naruto for making sure he never hit anything when he was sleeping. He didn't like being in debt to others. (Or he just didn't want to leave them behind, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered.)

"Sasuke—" Naruto's voice was urgent.

He reacted on instinct. His feet flared in chakra as he shot to the ceiling, landing right beside Sakura with a quiet thunk. The two of them shared a sharp look before their advance was halted.

Naruto joined them on the top, quietly making his way from the wall. "Ao-san. She's walking over."

"You can sense her?"

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes in good nature, "I think your question is, where is she now?"

Sasuke glared at him. Now was not the time to be annoying. His teammate simply shrugged.

"Ten or so meters and approaching." Sasuke stiffened. "I don't think we'll be able to get out of here without getting physical."

Sakura flinched. "Are you saying we engage? Can we avoid confrontation?"

"We might have to," Sasuke grunted. This wasn't looking too good. They had no weapons, no protective clothing — or even clothing that wasn't ripped in at least three different places — and if they drew too much attention, they were going to get caught.

A cold nervousness spread from his fingertips to his heart, making his whole body shiver. He hasn't felt like this in a while.

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked, trying to shake off the tingles that danced along his skin.

Naruto frowned. "She's coming. Very close. Five meters."

"I can't hear her," Sakura said, her voice rising in pitch. "Naruto—"

"I see her," Sasuke muttered, muscles tensing. "We're engaging."

No one questioned his judgement. They all seemed to think the same; if they wanted to get out of here, they had to fight. It didn't matter what happened to 'Ao-san', she needed to go. The thought of death never frightened Sasuke, but he could see Sakura's hands shaking when she pulled them off the ceiling.

He opened his mouth to say something reassuring but nothing came out. He closed his mouth, and thankfully, no one had seen his awkward mishap.

Ao was passing underneath all three of them. Sasuke sharply caught Naruto's gaze before he cut off his chakra and fell. Naruto smacked a hand against Sakura's mouth to prevent her from shrieking as Sasuke landed right on top of Ao, his legs tightening—

—on air.

Sakura's muffled yell was still clear enough for Sasuke to understand: "Bunshin!"

"Shit," he tumbled through the dissipating clone and onto the ground painfully with a crack. "Move, move! Oi!"

Naruto's mouth opened. "Go," Sasuke interrupted, pulling himself together. He had to be more careful, how hadn't he seen it wasn't a bunshin? He should've used his Sharingan — he didn't even know when he triggered their awakening, all he could remember was the sensation of spikes and Naruto's screams beside him — but he had ruled it off because that would've used too much chakra.

The Uchiha berated himself, eyes turning red with two tomoe each. He had to start making the right calls; it was his and his team's life on the line.

"Two more Ao-sans approaching from the left corridor!" Naruto whispered, and Sasuke gave him a sharp look. Two? More bunshin. Or one could be a clone and the other real one. They couldn't underestimate her. It seemed like she had experience with the shinobi arts.

Sakura jerked her head. "I'll take them. The two of you run."

"Eh?" Naruto scowled. "No, one each."

Sakura wasn't budging. "Sasuke."

"Naruto, we're going ahead." Sasuke nodded at their female teammate. Maybe she could deal with the two better than the boys could, with her refined chakra control.

"You're just going to let her—"

"I'm not letting her," the Uchiha growled, "I'm going along with her plan."

Naruto realised what he was doing, but he was still unsure. "Sakura—"

"I can take care of myself. Run." Sakura managed a smile before she shot forwards, and even Sasuke with his spinning red eyes couldn't pinpoint the small burst chakra she used to power forwards. Her body twisted mid-air to face the adjoining corridor, her right foot coming down in a merciless kick.

Sasuke blurred past her, barely catching a glance at the two Aos that stood before her. Naruto followed suit, after a moment of hesitation.

"One more Ao-san in front of us," Naruto frowned. "How can she create so many?"

Three clones, Sasuke mused. Sakura, he checked by tossing a glance over his shoulder, was already finished forcefully dispelling the two, and rushing to catch up to the boys. On average, the normal Academy student could create one complete clone — Ao had created three. If he had to guess, then the one in front of the real one. She'd have to be at least a two-three year genin to create more than three clones. Or she was just as skilled as Sakura in control, but the fact that Naruto could sense her from a while away proved that she wasn't.

"On guard," Sasuke murmured. "Ready?"

"No," Naruto breathed. "Let's go."

"Traps!"

Sasuke's body seized at the sudden yell, but he managed to stay balanced to turn to look at his teammate. "What?"

Sakura arrived, slightly out of breath. "Traps. She's probably setting traps. She's just standing there, right? There has to be a reason why she didn't charge in to grab us yet. She wants to be prepared."

Sasuke agreed, his mind running fast. "You're right. We need to be prepared as well, then."

"Explosive tags?" Naruto suggested. "Or maybe wire. Senbon, other tags if she's learnt some fuinjutsu, shuriken, chopsticks could work if she's creative enough. She could be using anything if she's being supplied well. Actually, I think hair could be an option."

Sasuke suddenly didn't want to know where he got all the ideas.

Sakura inhaled sharply, before nodding. "Yeah. Or maybe she's going to use elemental jutsu, you can't forget that. Three bunshin isn't a good sign."

"We can't sit here and brainstorm every single possible outcome," Sasuke set his jaw, "we just need to be on guard. Got it?"

"Course, dattebayo." Naruto's smile reappeared, and his eyes crinkled. "Let's go kick some ass together."

With a confirming single look between them, the three of them shot forwards. Sasuke's feet twisted on the ground, and with a refreshing whoosh of air by his face, he was running side by side with Naruto.

The Jinchuuriki had been right, Sasuke thought as he flew under a gleaming wire. She was using ninja tools. Naruto wasn't as lucky, his arm catching on the thin wire, setting something off. Sakura yelled something, Naruto yelled something, and Sasuke distantly realised he was probably yelling too. He was probably yelling about how he could see Ao in front of them — she was right there—

A wall blew up to the right.

Ao became a blur of movement, appearing before Sasuke for a split second with an outstretched arm, fist closed. Sasuke ducked under her hook, latching onto her arm and using his body weight to pull her to the ground. She wobbled, but stayed on her feet, and countered the imbalance with a heavy lean against him. Sasuke felt his back hit the ground with force and Ao's arm was applying pressure to his body.

Something moving caught his sharp eyes.

With a quick burst of chakra, he used kawarimi to change positions. It had been a flying rock, throw by Naruto, who was just as surprised as Ao was to see Sasuke suddenly behind the woman.

She turned — but wasn't as fast as he was. He had a foot coming straight down, and she only barely managed to pivot and let it crash into her shoulder. Sasuke cursed — if he didn't have awful cramps shooting up his body from not using taijutsu in a while, he would've taken this woman down two moves ago.

She latched onto his leg, holding him in place as his upper body fell towards the ground due to gravity. The boy knew exactly how to get out of this; he twisted his leg so her grip would shift and yanking it out of her hold, using the twist to cushion himself on the ground.

There was a shriek of metal.

He didn't react fast enough. Sakura appeared in front of him in a defensive position, almost in a textbook fashion — blood splattered over him. Sasuke's rapid eyes just managed to see her injury before she was tossed aside, slamming against the wall. A kunai through her shoulder.

"Sakura!" Naruto moved fast, catching her before she hit the ground. There was an ugly amount of blood on the wall.

Oh. It looked eerily like that door with the Uchiha symbol that had a dead body decorating it. Sasuke could still remember the vision of the girl being killed by his brother. She had let out a guttural scream, begging for mercy, having just seen her friends being murdered in front of her.

But this time, the girl didn't scream and had pink hair.

Sasuke felt himself light up with chakra, the energy flowing through his veins, all while alerting every single person within a kilometre's distance of his location. Although Ao was fast, he was faster. She hadn't trained every single day since he was seven, burnt through her chakra like there was no tomorrow on a weekly basis, and learnt how to cope without weapons after they were confiscated.

His hand found her temple, and the bottom of his palm met the side of her head with a satisfying crack.

Her head snapped to the side.

But she didn't disappoint — her hand shot out in an attempt to grab his throat. Sasuke almost scoffed at how slow it was; everything was in slow motion because of his dojutsu. He could find eleven different ways to counter, seven different openings, and he could count the specks of light reflecting in her blue eyes. Not only could he see it, now with his chakra fully in use, he could move just as fast as he needed to keep up with his eyes.

He easily evaded her lousy grab, lightly touching the ground to balance himself before swinging his foot up in a roundhouse.

Something shattered his foot. Or the pain did. Electricity ran down the foot that was supposed to connect with her head and he spasmed on the spot. Sasuke fell, but he used that to his advantage. Allowing himself to fall backwards, he rapidly formed the hand seals that were most familiar to him, ignoring the biting pain in his foot.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

A fireball as tall as the woman itself erupted from his mouth, completely engulfing her.

He panted, crawling away on all four limbs, backwards with eyes glued to the flames — the woman screeching her throat out, wriggling on the spot, trying desperately to escape the heat. His red Sharingan eyes spun, the dancing lines of the fire and the hollow screams of Ao being etched perfectly into his memory.

The scream stirred something inside the boy. It didn't sound like Naruto nor Sakura; was she really in pain? Was she really feeling the hot-white burn of pain, of the excruciating moments where you could feel the pain creep up your body centimetre by centimetre? When you know it's going to reach your chest and you're just waiting ever so patiently for it to be over?

(Did he really just think that—?)

"That," Naruto appeared beside him to drag him away from the scene and the thoughts, Sakura awkwardly tossed over his back, "was amazing. How'd you get such a big fire out?"

"Chakra, how else?" Sasuke pulled himself painfully to his feet, shaking off Naruto's hand. "You've got Sakura to worry about, that's enough," he added hastily when he saw Naruto's offended expression.

"Wait, you used chakra?"

"You need to conserve energy," Sasuke replied sharply, turning to meet Sakura's gaze harshly. "You're the one injured."

She ignored him, shuffling out of Naruto's arms, her feet landing on the ground lightly. She wobbled, wincing, but didn't waste time in tending to her ankles first. Blood dripped down her shoulder, but there was a piece of cloth that was strung tightly over the wound, the hilt of the kunai protruding out of her body.

She gave him a sharp glance. "That means we can be tracked—"

"Ao lit up when she was using clones," Sasuke grumbled. "Out of the two of us, she was the one who used more chakra. Plus, she probably already informed...other people. I was just dealing with her faster."

Naruto gave him a dubious look, but didn't press. "We're going now, right?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "Go. Next time don't wait."

"Next time?" Sakura had a look similar to someone who had swallowed a lemon.

Naruto shakily glanced over his shoulder, eyes reflecting the orange flames that licked at the woman's body, before he was leading again, moving quietly along the concrete ground. Ao had a low chance of being alive, having been so close to the jutsu, but Sasuke could turn around right now, encase his hands with chakra and shove his whole arm through her chest down to his elbow to make sure that she was truly dead.

But he turned around and ran, because he knew that there was no time to waste.

They made it to another intersection where Naruto quickly made a decision, knowing exactly where to go. It still managed to surprise the Uchiha how well Naruto could remember these twisting hallways, but he had a sneaking suspicion that there were still clones around the place to help the Jinchuuriki navigate.

"Left then right," Naruto nodded to his teammates. Sakura was getting by well, despite leaning heavily on one foot. "You sure you don't want me to—"

"No," Sakura tried to smile but they were moving too fast for Sasuke to see her face properly, "I'm good."

This time, Naruto didn't argue back. The three of them bolted down the left corridor, and were met with a tall staircase. They didn't waste any time — Sasuke launched up onto the ceiling and ran forwards that way; Naruto used a burst of chakra to leap from step to step, and Sakura stuck to the walls like an agile spider.

To Sasuke's utter annoyance, she was doing much better than he was with a foot that didn't hurt. He slipped once a while thanks to his uneven balance, but she was blurring quite well even sideways on the walls.

"There!"

It was the exit. It was still a while away, but it was closer than ever. Just a little more chakra and they were going to get there. Sasuke grit his teeth, because he couldn't be the one to drag his teammates down—

There was a distinct cry of pain. Sakura was falling.

Sasuke moved without thinking, dropping down. He barely managed to soften her landing by catching her not-so-gently, trying his best not to agitate her shoulder wound. "Shit, you okay?" He grunted, helping her stand properly. She nodded, a little winded and taken aback.

"You two!"

"Go," Sasuke called, "we'll meet you there!"

His hands lit up in green chakra, and he tried his best to make the bruises on her shin disappear. Naruto appeared by his side, despite his glare, and moulded chakra into his own hand to stop the blood coming out from Sakura's shoulder. She opened her mouth to complain, but Naruto's voice was first.

"Someone's approaching," Naruto's tone was grave, "from top. Someone got there before us."

"We're not gonna make it," Sakura breathed.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. We try. Once that thing," he have a pointed look to her shoulder, where Naruto was trying to stop the blood, "slows down, we'll barge through."

"It's him."

"I know," the Uchiha bit out, "I know."

"I can move now," Sakura hit their heads lightly. "Trust me."

They both gave her matching stares with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sure, I promise." She smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine. We need to move right now, and you both know it. I'll be able to run properly now, promise, so let's get going."

Sasuke withdrew. "Fine. Naruto, take the rear. I'll go first."

And without waiting for their confirmation, the Uchiha shot forwards crawling up the stairs on all fours, before he pushed himself onto his feet and was speeding across the concrete ground. He distantly heard the patter of his teammates behind him, the sound somehow easing his rapid breathing. His mind cleared, the hazy mindset from battling Ao wafting away as a new goal entered his mind — leaving this damn prison. He had one more obstacle, and it was going to be the hardest obstacle of them all.

Sorocho. That man was going to be difficult. The Uchiha bit the inside of his bottom lip a little too hard, the copper taste of blood washing over his mouth. It was nothing new. He probably had scars littering the inside of his mouth with how much he was biting the flesh whenever he was in a 'session'.

"Well," Sasuke's body seized up involuntarily, and he stumbled over air. "It seems I've underestimated you all."

That was not something Sasuke wanted to hear. Not with the arrogant lilt to the tone.

But the three of them powered on, with a slight vigour added to their advance. They ran faster, they poured more chakra. Their destination was almost like a door of pure light, showing the path to their escape.

"You've done well, making it this far."

There was a sudden burst of chakra to his left, and a blur of familiar pink shot forwards, straight in the direction of the man who was standing in their way.

Sasuke felt his stomach drop.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke's augmented vision suddenly switched off — fuck, he still didn't have perfect control over them yet — and he tripped over his own feet, barely able to catch himself and push forwards using momentum.

Naruto had slowed, looking torn between both his teammates, but Sasuke only yelled, "move!"

The Jinchuuriki did the opposite. He rushed back, hauling the Uchiha to his feet, helping the boy stand properly. "I can't leave you—"

"Go," Sasuke felt his body flood with chakra, no longer caring about how he was a huge glow stick in the darkness and forced the energy to his feet. "We can't stop here."

Naruto shook his head. "We gotta—"

Sasuke shoved him forwards. "Don't make me carry you."

The two glared at each other, hedging their wills against the other. Naruto lost, knowing that look in the Uchiha's eyes, and without delay, the two of them were back at it, running like there was no tomorrow. There was no tomorrow, not unless Sorocho was going to be nice and keep them alive if he caught them, so they had to escape. They had to.

They made it to where Sakura was creating bunshin after bunshin, using them to decoy Sorocho, but left painfully obvious openings that led to the exit. Blood was everywhere (Sakura's blood), the stench of the liquid filling Sasuke's nose, and suddenly—

His vision returned to its red tint.

Everything slowed, and his tomoe spun. He could see it.

He could see the path to freedom, the path to let him out. He could see Naruto's hesitation, the exact moment when the boy started losing momentum as he slowed. He could see Sakura being overwhelmed, her shoulder slowing her down.

He could see Sorocho's gleeful look that made Sakura look like a mouse under the paw of a lion.

Fear could have two meanings; forget everything and run, or face everything and rise. He's done it before, he could do it again. He could get over a loss. He could survive by himself, he could add another name to his revenge list, he could escape alone. Shunshin was at the tip of his tongue. He would catch Sorocho off-guard, he could make it. He would finally run free from all this unnecessary pain and suffering.

He did catch Sorocho off-guard. But it wasn't because he was already halfway out the door.

"Sasuke…"

His eyes morphed from two spinning tomoe to three, his teeth bared, aiming straight for the man's throat. He was running on pure adrenaline and the smell of blood and stale air mixed into one as he inhaled sharply.

Sakura's green eyes were wide, but they were warm.

"...thank you."

Thank you readers for reading this and taking the time to read and review, I hope to see you all in a month's time!