Konoha was well prepared. They had warned their allies of the apperent threat, and had assembled their own forces, ready for an attack at any time. The snow was beginning to melt, and the days were growing warmer as Spring approached. It had been two weeks since Koumei had been taken, and Kasei had just woken up a little while ago.

Right now, he was asleep again after another recent operation, but was recovering incredibly fast due to attention from Kawa and the Hokage herself. The internal bleeding had stopped completely, and all of his minor fractures had healed. The only thing left was for him to regain energy and lost chakra.

Kawa was watching him warily, staring into space and letting her mind wander. Kasei suddenly twitched and opened his eyes again. He groaned.

"So... hungry," he complained quietly. He sat up rubbing his eyes. "I need some real food, not this stupid hospital stuff. When can I get out of here, anyways?"

Kawa looked up, "I already told you, whenever you can walk, you're free to go. Even Sora got tired of the food and left. And Genma said he didn't like hospitals, so he went off to go sleep at his house."

Kasei turned and let his legs dangle over the edge of the bed, testing his legs before standing. He rubbed his eyes again, before stumbling over to one of the chairs and sitting down.

"Hey. Where are my other clothes? These hospital clothes are.... well, they're hospital clothes," he said, brushing light brown hair from his face.

"Why don't you just cut your hair? It just gets in the way..." Kawa sighed and stood. "I'll go get your clothes, if you really want food that badly."

A moment after she left, Kasei heard voices outside, and before he could hide under the covers again, none other that Anko burst in with a large smile on her face. He groaned, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Kasei! You're finally up!" she almost bounced into the room, and to Kasei's suprise, dragged a somewhat exaughsted looking Sora with her. Anko took the other chair and left Sora to stand off to the side.

"So... When ya gonna go rescue Koumei? Huh?" asked Anko, leaning forward. Sora took a sudden intrest in the conversation.

"What do you mean?" asked Kasei, looking confused.

"Awww... come on. Why else would you jump in front of a thousand needles to save her?" said Anko, winking.

Kasei stumbled. "Wh-what?"

"Geez. Admit it already. You'd make a cute couple anyways," said Sora, leaning against the wall.

Kasei cast around for something to respond to that with, when he was saved as the door opened and Kawa came in with a neat pile of folded clothing.

"I'm getting changed now, so you can leave," said Kasei lifting the pile. Anko grinned and left, dragging Sora behind her, and Kawa followed. Why can't they just leave me alone for awhile.

Koumei flapped harder, pushing her body to the limit for the umpteenth time this morning. Kuro had informed her of her comrades comdition, and she was just about ready to get out of the Moon Village. The moon shone brightly above her as she managed to get three feet off the ground, hovering for a moment before collapsing. Mastering flight with her normal wings had been much easier.

There were four weeks left until Orochimaru's hunt would begin, but Koumei planned to be leaving as soon as possible. Orochimaru himself had informed her that even if she did manage to break through the missing-nin and escape, he would not pursue her far because the experiment required a month and a half before he would be able to continue with the second part.

She had still not managed to draw in her wings though, they had different properties than her other ones and she couldn't control them yet. Soon, she thought, soon I will get out of this Hellhole...

Picking herself up off the ground, she readied herself for another day of training. She was slowly getting better.

Kasei sat at the Ramen bar with Genma, a pile of empty bowls beside him. They were not the only ninja's present, however. The entire town buzzed with activity, under 24-hour survaillence by chuunin, jounin, Anbu, and even some of the Gennin. Kawa and Sora had even agreed to help, since their 'sensei' had not yet returned, if she ever would, and their own Villages were stronger than Konoha.

The villagers were tense also. There were less people on the streets, and those that were kept to the edges, and watched their surrounsings closely. Another week had gone by with no news from Koumei. Not even Kuro had come to Konoha. I hope nothing's happened to her...

Kasei finished his sixth bowl of ramen and stood. The snow had completely melted away now, and Spring was only two weeks away. It had been a month since Koumei had been taken, and Sora and Anko had been pressuring him to go after her. But he had no clue where she was. When she came as Kuro, or when she sent Kuro to deliver news, she had always avoided giving any information on her state or her location. And now that they hadn't heard from her for a while, Kasei and the others were beginning to worry.

Koumei slumped into her uncomfortable bed. Tonight. Tonight she was going to run for it. She had a complicated and dangerous plan, but she would go through with it. Kaitahi had no clue, even though she had followed her everywhere. She had also finally managed to draw in her wings, although she had not yet mastered flight, but there was a small problem. She could not release the seal.

She would try, and she would feel blood dripping slowly down her back, but it felt wrong. There was barely any pain, and no matter how much chakra she put out, the seal refused to break. But she had found a way to escape without them.

She sat up after awhile and moved over to the wall of weapons, selecting a intricately designed katana from the wall. She attached her nekotes on each hand, and grabbed her Akatsuki robe. It was different from the normal ones though, in that it was lighter and the designs were grey instead of red. Draping it over her shoulders and adjusting her headband, she turned to leave.

"Again? This is the hundredth time, Toji," said Kaitahi casually.

"It was a stupid thing to underestimate me," said Koumei, slamming the door open. Kaitahi sensed something different about her instantly, and froze. There were no ninja in this building, they only followed her around outside, making Kaitahi the only one. She dashed after her.

Kaitahi found Koumei in a dark room where there was no moonlight filtering in. Over her shoulder she carried a sack full of God knows what, but Kaitahi guessed what it's contents were. They were the experiment files. All of the scrolls with her information on them. She was serious this time.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? You don't stand a chance against a thousand ninja!"

"I'm not going to be the one fighting," she said simply. Then, with incredible speed, she dashed out the door and through a window, into the night. Before Kaitahi could follow, she heard a yell. And another one. It had begun.