Drowning in Freedom

Chapter 8: The Predator in the Force

A/N: I am going out of town next weekend so I may be delayed next week in posting. I will try to get it up, but in case I don't, I'm giving you all a heads up.

PrismRootStarlight: Haha yeah out of all the villages Danzo always rubbed me the wrong way. I think I honestly hate him the most. But thank you for all the support! And hehehe yeah this chapter is basically all Amaya/Tsunade so you'll like this one!

DaddysLittleGirl: Oh I know, its going to be so great when Danzo gets done in :P But don't worry, all in good time.

moonlight: Thank you! Ang haha, that is correct... for now. But yeah, don't worry the elders are still assholes, but right now they finally have made the correct decision for once. A few chapters down the road... not so much. Yeah I thought that I really wanted Danzo after "all these years" to be creepier in a different way, so I am glad I was able to convey that. And hey, besties got each other even in the worst of times! Anyway, I look forward to hearing what you think about this update!

Amaya was escorted back towards the interrogation room that she was originally in, what seemed like only moments ago. However, this time, it was different. Instead, the Anbu members on either side of her took a sharp turn, and she was led into a second interrogation room. This one seemed clean and more up to date than the other one. Almost as if this room was the one they used when they brought in non-nin people, the rich, or people who committed a minor offense and the police or interrogation unit wanted to scare some smarts into them. Most of the time, the "scare straight" tactic didn't work, but the kunoichi had to give them props for trying.

The room also had nice lighting too. Almost as if it was a natural setting shining down on them instead of a harsh florescence. Her observation of the room didn't last long, because one of the Anbu members pulled out a chair for her and Tenzo helped her in it. They didn't bother with shackles this time, and Amaya's wrists and ankles were already sighing in pleasure. No metal to roughly rub against her skin and make it raw. Granted, after everything else, she was getting tired. She wanted to take a shower and go to bed, but the kunoichi knew that was a luxury she didn't have time to think about right now.

She knew how this was going to go and she couldn't afford to let her guard down. If she said one wrong thing, no matter her relationship with Tsunade and Tenzo, the both had a job to do—and she respected them for it. They were trying to help her out as much as they could and so she decided right then and there, that with Tsunade, she would give her all the answers that she needed. Amaya just had to make sure to play her part, given that she didn't know who may be watching her. The elder council or whoever, she didn't want to take a step the wrong way and have to backtrack. That only caused problems.

Amaya knew it was a risk, to trust Tsunade, but when she thought about it, the hokage was risking just as much, if not more. The blonde had a whole village to lead, and here she was, personally seeing to this matter. Tenzo was also here, and from what Amaya knew, he had been away for a while, trying to find hideouts that were being occupied by Orochimaru. With her departure, the Anbu had to step up their guard, and Tenzo was one of the people who took that step forward, faithfully. He had been promoted to the rank that the kunoichi once was, and she was happy for the man. She was happy for him, but she couldn't help but feel a pain in her chest at the same time.

Things change, and so do people. She was a clear example of that. She let go of her shy nature and instead, she became hardened by the world around her. Now she was more calloused and didn't trust anyone. But, from the moment that she was brought to Konoha, she couldn't help but think that she didn't lose the trust from some of the people in the village when she left. Even if they had to show it a different, way, it was clearly present. Tsunade wouldn't take a second glance at the interrogation unit doing something to a prisoner, nor would an Anbu member elect to try and be a bodyguard for this situation. Anbu members were told what to do, they weren't given the option.

Amaya knew otherwise in this situation. Tsunade knew who Tenzo felt about the kunoichi, and she wouldn't have placed him in this position if it meant that he couldn't do his job. However, if Amaya knew anything about her best friend, it was that he actively sought out this position. He wanted to be the one in the room when Amaya's verdict was given to her. The two of them knew that he couldn't do anything about it, but it was an act of solidarity. Amaya blinked away her thoughts as the hokage took a seat across from her. This time, the atmosphere seemed less tense, but this time, everyone seemed as if they were waiting for the kunoichi to lash out and do something rash. Make a jump at them in which they would have to restrain her.

She knew that she didn't have any restraints on her as a professional curtesy and she also knew it was a test. A test to see if she was going to act out against them and that would determine if she really was there to help them or harm them. The blonde and the blue-haired women looked at each other, wishing once more that they had met again under different circumstances. Tsunade knew that Amaya was pressured and forced into this role that she took in the Akatsuki, but no one else did. Amaya knew that she needed to tell someone about what had happened, even if it was indirectly, and Tsunade was smart enough to piece everything together. Amaya wondered how long it took the blonde to do that, but she knew it was probably the night that she left. No one scared Amaya more than Danzo did. He was truly, the only one that could have forced her hand like he did.

"That was an interesting distraction."

"To say the least," Amaya responded, finishing the hokage's sentence for her.

Tsunade fiddled with her hands as the two exchanged pleasantries once more. Amaya could tell that the fifth was under a tremendous amount of pressure, especially since she probably knew who was listening in to this conversation. Amaya tried to act the part, so she sat back in her chair and tried to act unfazed by the other bodies crowding her in the small room. Almost as if they were ready to take her down if she tried to go after Tsunade. Amaya kept her eyes trained on Tsuande's hands, and finally the blonde found where the kunoichi was looking. Tsunade stopped fiddling with her hands and tore them apart, dropping them into her lap. When Tsunade's gaze turned back to Amaya's the blue-haired woman could tell that the other was looking at the fresh bruising on her face instead of her eyes.

Amaya knew that she probably looked worse for wear, with her hair tattered, her clothes in disarray, and the fresh marks from Danzo and his subordinate that lined her features. Amaya let Tsunade take her time, and the kunoichi tried to make the situation in the room less threatening. She forced a yawn and batted the tears from her eyes. This seemed to spur Tsuande into asking the questions that she needed to.

"I know that I shouldn't rush this and put this in a cleaver manner to make you talk, but I am hoping that you will still give me a straight answer when I ask for one. When you were a shinobi for this village you never hesitated to speak up and tell me the truth, whether it was good or bad. Right now, I am trying to extend this personal curtesy towards you, and in return, I will extend the same to you."

All Amaya could think of was that this was Tsunade's subtle way telling her not to screw up. If Amaya did, there was no way Tsuande could help her after this. Amaya had to be swift with her answers and not stray from what was real. She knew that Ibiki would be listening in and trying to tell if she was lying or not, along with others. If they didn't like her answers, or if there was something amiss, whatever Tsuande had planned to get Amaya out of this situation, or at least, into a situation that was better for her, would all go down the drain the moment she made a mistake. So, Amaya nodded her head, and Tsunade confirmed, launching into her set of questions.

"I have to ask, firstly, did you know about the attack on the Sand Village?"

"No, I did not."

Amaya heard the other Anbu member snort, not believing her and at the same time, Tenzo started to get stiffer. She had a feeling that every word that came out of her mouth would put stress on her friend. If Tsunade asked the right questions, then Tenzo would have a graphic depiction of everything that she had gone through.

"I guess that I am going to have to ask in more detail then," Tsunade said, turning the spotlight back onto her.

Amaya let her tongue lick her bottom lip, almost as if she was trying to think.

"I ask you again, then, why you didn't know that there was going to be an attack?"

"All that I had knowledge of was the fact that the sand village made the one-tails the Kazekage. It wasn't a direct attack on the village, it was an attack on the Kage. He was the one that the group wanted, not the villagers. The villagers were just a means to an end."

"So, you're saying that if the sand village didn't make the one-tails the kage, the wouldn't have attacked?"

Amaya held back a sigh, careful of her every word.

"I'm saying that it is a lot easier to find out what a jinchuriki holds dear, when there is a whole village to protect under their governance."

Tsunade's face tensed but she knew that Amaya was telling her the truth. At least for now. Amaya on the other hand, was starting to get nervous, as sweat started to collect on her palms. After all this time, she actively kept these secrets to herself, making sure that in the event Danzo got to her, she could tell him. Again, to a fault, she wouldn't let him harm those she loved. She knew that the ones she cared about were fine shinobi, but it is hard to defend against something that you have no idea was even there in the first place.

"What about Konoha? Are we next?"

"The group has to go in order."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there is one through nine, correct?"

Tsunade nodded her head as everyone started to listen closely to what Amaya was saying.

"The collection process needs to be in order… to extract the chakra from the being that it is in."

"And what are you planning on doing once all the chakra has been gathered?"

"That is a great question," Amaya responded with, and she saw the look on Tsunade's face, almost as if she was trying to tell her that that wasn't a good enough answer.

However, before Tsunade could open her mouth and ask for more details, Amaya decided to divulge the information.

"To create a better world. I don't know what that entails, but that is what I have been told about it. I was never an official member of the group."

"How, after spending so long with them did you not become an official member?"

"In order to do that, another member has to die, and to take their place, one needs to get the ring from the previous member. Orochimaru still has his ring, but his spot has been filled. I don't know the entire logistics of that. However, another person, quiet like myself, is working with the group, but on the outside, will probably take Sasori's place."

"How do you know—"

"If Sakura and that old lady was able to get to Deidara and I when he exploded, Sasori wouldn't have let them go. Either he would get out of the fight alive or they would. Therefore, with power of deduction…" Amaya's voice tapered off, her hand waving in the air as she sounded cocky with her knowledge.

Typically, she would never act like this, but then again, everyone else expected her to launch herself across this table and commit suicide. So, the worse that would happen if she got cocky, was that she would get an earful, or maybe not even that. She was a ticking time bomb to them, and they didn't want to accidently set her off.

"This person, should we be afraid of him?"

"I haven't personally had much interaction with him, he always seemed to stay far away from me. I've heard that he is annoying though."

"What's his name? And who told you what he was like?"

"They call him Tobi. I believe. Again, I only had a few run-ins with him and when I did, he didn't like to talk to me. And his annoyance, were words from Kisame. Rumor has it that Kisame never was able to land a hit on Tobi and with Kisame's ego, it is no wonder why he hates him."

"There is a central feud going on then?"

"If you're thinking that is how you are going to be able to have a leg up on the Akatsuki, it won't work."

"Why do you say that?"

"Even though a lot of the members don't get along with the others, it's almost as if they had built up new ideals and are able to function around them. Some just want to slaughter others, some want immortality or money, and countless of other things. However, they have united over only one thing, a position that they can stand behind. They are simply allowed to do anything that they would like, as long as the main objection is met."

"I feel like you know more about this main objective than you let on," Tsunade pressed.

"As I told you, there is nothing more that I know, just that the words that it will make this world better. Granted, if you ask me, I have a feeling that it would be the exact opposite."

"How exactly do they plan on doing this?"

Amaya shrugged her shoulders in response, but then continued.

"I have a feeling that if the plan was ever achieved it would decimate the whole world as we know it today."

With the end of Amaya's words everyone seemed to hold their breath. You could hear a pin drop in the room it was so quiet.

"Even if you say that you weren't an official member, how do you know all of this and how could you be around the Akatsuki looking like a part of them?"

"Kisame decided to take up his hidden mist duties after all."

"What are you getting at?"

"When I was young, he was going to be the jonin to train me, but then my parents died, and through other circumstances, I ended up here and became a nin for Konoha."

No one spoke in the rom again, and Amaya knew the silent question that had yet to be voice. So, instead of letting Tsunade suffer trying to find the right words to phrase her question or bring it up, she decided to take the bullet voluntarily.

"Itachi helped too. Granted, I think for him, it was honestly a way to escape from the day to day."

With that remark, Amaya tilted her head back, and rested it on the chair and her gaze traveled up to the ceiling. Itachi was one of, if not the, number one character in the bingo book that Konoha wanted to see dead. However, Amaya knew the truth about that night and the duty that Itachi upheld for the love of his village. That was the reason why he helped Amaya. He saw himself in her, and he knew that she made a deal for the one thing in this world she couldn't kill.

The questions about Kisame and Itachi went on for a while longer, alongside questions about the Akatsuki. Amaya tried her best to make sure that she was truthful in her answers, even if she wanted to roll her eyes at most of them. She knew that if the roles were reversed she would ask the same things. But, as Amaya started to get too comfortable, especially towards the end of their conversation, she was thrown through a loop.

"And him?" Tsunade questioned, her hands gripped into tight fists.

Clearly, this wasn't a question that she had wanted to ask Amaya =, but she was being made to do so for whatever reason.

"Who?"

"Kakashi."

"What about him?"

"When you left, why did you attack him?"

Amaya sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and started to chew on the soft flesh. She couldn't find the right words and so she remained silent. If she couldn't tell the truth, about everything during that night, she could at least not say anything. Even though not saying anything already seemed like an omission of guilt on her part.

"Amaya, when you left why did you almost kill Kakashi? I thought you two—"

"What we were in the past is not what we are now. It was simple as to why I attacked the man. He got in my way, and he refused to move. So, I made him."

The kunoichi said the words harshly and they floated around the room as if they were actual, dense, things. Tsunade took a deep breath and she tried to press Amaya closer to her breaking point.

"You keep saying him. I don't think you have yet to say his name."

"Why should I say his name when he doesn't mean anything to me?"

"Are you just saying that to say it? Because we all know that isn't true. You saved him when that bomb exploded—"

"I also saved the nine-tails—"

"Naruto you mean. Don't make this conversation into something different."

"I'm not. I know that we would need Naruto in the future and the two of them got in my way. It was a reflex."

"A reflex to save nin's from Konoha?"

"A reflex to save something that I would need in the future to save my own skin."

"I highly doubt that was the only reason. You could have easily taken out both Naruto and Kakashi when they pursued you, but you didn't even fight back. You let your partner do all the work."

"I let Deidara do it because he is a crazy and menial person who only cares about his exploding artwork and I didn't want to get in the middle of that, when I could easily just clean up after his mess."

"So, is that why you let yourself get captured? Was that your way of cleaning up this mess?"

"It was the most logical move."

"You decided that it would be better to get brought back here and tortured, instead of fighting back?"

"In all honesty, yes. I know how Konoha operates. It's been a few years but plenty of things haven't changed."

"But plenty of things have."

"Plenty of things have, I'm not denying that."

"I think it is something more, I think that you still can't hurt the people of this village. That you can't raise your hand against the ones you used to love."

"I have hurt plenty—"

"Hurt, yes. But killed? None of them have come from Konoha."

"How do you know that?"

"You have your ways of gathering intel, and so do we."

Finally, the two women finally took a breath, and Amaya's head finally started to dust off the cobwebs on the gears in her brain. Tsunade had made Amaya vocal, knowing that she could prove that Amaya wasn't a threat, only if she could get the blue-haired woman agitated. The only foolproof way to do that was by bringing up Kakashi and using him against her. Nothing more was said and as the time went on, it seemed as if everyone in the room didn't believe a word of what she was saying. It had started out that way, and of what she knew from people and shinobi alike, it was hard to change a person's thoughts and feelings with only a few, short and simple words. Then, Tsunade took a page out of Amaya's book and leaned back in the chair, almost as if she was trying to digest the information that Amaya had just given her.

"What do you want us to do with her?" A familiar voice sounded, Amaya concluding that it belonged to Ibiki.

Tsunade rubbed her forehead and looked between the one-way glass and Amaya. Sighing, the hokage spoke her orders.

"Secure a perimeter around Amaya's old apartment. No one can leave or enter it without alerting me of it first. I want it under a high security threat and alert."

Amaya nodded her head to Tsunade, as if to say thank you. She was sure that she was just going to be thrown back into a prison cell, but this was better than what she could have hoped for. She was going to be placed under house arrest, and for her, she was fine with that. The public also wasn't allowed to encounter her, nor was she allowed to have anything that could be deemed a weapon for escape. There seemed to be some muffle grunts of protest, but all in all no one could deny a direct order form the hokage herself. Even if the plan backfired on Tsunade, the only one that she could blame was herself. Amaya wasn't planning on that to happen, but if it did, Tsunade would be the one who would hurt the most from her actions.

"Before you charge in here, let me just say that Amaya wouldn't be able to do anything like this, and it would be easier to keep an eye on her."

A rustle, indicating a fight for the mic ensued, but then, the male elder council voice sounded over the speaker.

"It is a waste of resources to do this, especially when we don't trust her. Not only that but once a rogue always a rogue. If we must keep her alive, send her back out into the field and get some use out of her."

"If you don't trust her now, what makes you think that she would come back and tell us anything?" Tsunade questioned the man.

"Not to add fuel to the fire, but if I wanted to escape, I could have done so already."

"That's impossible," Ibiki's voice came out muffled but Amaya could understand his defense against her statement.

"It's true."

"And how would you do it?" Ibiki asked Amaya, sounding sure of himself.

"When you transition to water boarding me, you replace all the shackles at once, leaving me open to attack your subordinates as you got everything ready. That's how I would have done it, if I was looking for a way out."

Amaya stared at her cuticles, trying to entertain herself as she was sure that Ibiki was running through every instance where someone came in contact with her. When she didn't hear a reply from the man, she knew that he thought she was right. Even with the chakra mask on her, she could have physically used taijutsu to get her way out of the mess that she found herself in. Amaya just hoped that that realization helped her in the long run, not harm her. It could help her by stating that she didn't want to hurt Konoha and the people that lived in this village. On the other hand, it could be seen as if she wanted to spy on the village. Both very probably instances.

"Before this escalates any father…" Tsunade muttered, looking at the glass and motioning for the two Anbu members to help Amaya up and escort her back to her new cell, her old apartment.

Just as the two men had their arms under Amaya's lifting her up, Amaya placed her hands on the table and leaned forward towards Tsunade with one final remark.

"You forgot to ask the most important question."

"And what is that?"

"Who the leader of the Akatsuki is."

"I thought that not being an official member, you wouldn't have met him."

"I haven't met him. I don't know what he looks like, heard him speak, or how he acts, or what he is like."

"Then how do you know his name and that he is the leader?"

"Because only a leader gives himself a name for the very thing he inflicts."

"Which is…?"

"Pain. His name is Pain."