The last two locations had turned out no results, leaving their hopes resting on the last location, the one on the borders of the Grass, Rain and Sand. Rikou had already scouted it out, and they were now about to enter it. It consisted of a large cave, which normally would have been easily accesible, had it not been located underwater.
The four hunter-nin slipped into the cold water of the lake in complete silence. Rikou took a deep breath before sumberging her head in the cold liquid, swimming quickly to the underwater entrance. The cave's mouth consisted of a large, gaping darkness that swallowed her up as she swam into it, following Ken. He had taken off his white trenchcoat and hidden it above ground along with their other supplies, but he still wore white and was easy to follow.
Just as Rikou thought she was going to suffocate, she saw something splashing ahead and picked out Ken getting out of the freezing water. She kicked faster, her lungs almost completely empty. Just before she reached the surface, her instincs kicked in and she opened her mouth, breathing in the icey water and coughing it out as she broke the surface.
Ken grabbed her arm and helped her out, where she joined Shikamaru gasping for breath on the cold stone floor. She swallowed hard, getting her breathing under control and sitting up, surveying the cave. She instantly recognized it, and when she did she almost fell back into the water as she suddenly stood. This is... This is the exact same cave that I was...
"What is it?" asked Neji, looking around as well. She coughed a few times, her eyes darting around nervously at the familiar feeling she got.
"This is the exact same cave... I remember, I spent an entire year here," she said quietly, glancing around. The place seemed deserted.
She moved slightly, stepping forward and leading them into the next room. She remembered four rooms, one was the one they had just been in, another was where the Akatsuki had stayed when not on missions, the third was a kind of torture room, and the third was a serious torture and interogation room where she had spent most of her time. The whole place was actually alot smaller than the last locations, but it had a different feel to it, more dangerous and dark.
They entered the first torture room, the ground scattered with abandoned torture instruments, bones, chains and a few blank scrolls. She swallowed hard, stepping past a skull and heading into the last room, her room, the one she had been kept in.
She froze and fell to the floor as the memories poured back to her. Looking around at the walls, which stretched higher than the previous room's, she shivered as the other three came up beside her, gasping in horror.
Hundreds and hundreds of instruments were neatly arranged on the walls, long poles, wires, knives, needles, tweezers, metal spikes, chains, screws and even, in one corner, a small burner where they used to heat things and burn her with them. One wall was permanently stained red, the dried blood spattering the wall and drying in pools on the floor, where every once and a while a footprint tracked it across the floor.
About eight feet off the ground were a number of wires and two metal spikes tangled in them where Kankuro had freed her last time. She stood and pulled off her mask, stepping forwards slightly as she remembered every single detail, every moment of blinding pain.
"That's where they pinned me to the wall," she said quietly, moving over to the wall and touching it. It was covered with drops of moisture and a bit of blood came off with it as she pulled her hand back suddenly.
'Idiot, if you hit an organ playing with her like that, we'll never get any information out of her...'
She looked to the left where there had always been someone watching as she suffered, often laughing.
'Hahahaha!!! Look at her burn!'
Pain flashed across her arms as she remembered the countless hours she spent alone, stewing in her own blood and listening to the voices in the back of her mind that were telling her to bite off her tongue and commit suicide.
'Bite off your tongue, and your team mates get it.'
Rikou spun around again, looking into the corner where they had hung her two team mates. They had no torture, but they were treated worse if she tried to do anything other than fully cooperate.
'Have you ever seen it rain blood? I'll spill his intestines at your feet and it'll be all your fault.'
She remembered how they had killed her team mate, cutting open his stomach with a dull sword and letting him bleed to death at her feet slowly.
'Look what you made me do, now both of them are dead. You got me excited and now look who pays with their blood.'
"Can we go now? I feel sick..."
Ken eyed her for a moment as the others continued staring at the wall in horror. "Are you alright, Rikou?"
She shook her head, her vision turning red with her teamate's blood as she remembered how it had splattered all over her. She covered her mouth, remembering how he had bled to death with his internal organs littering the floor before him. The utter and disbelieving horror in his eyes that she remembered the instant before he had died.
"I can't take this. Let's go," she rasped, pushing herself up and running from the room. She suddenly froze as a familiar tingling crawled up her spine and opened her eyes wide in fear. She skidded to a halt and ran back in the other direction, crashing into Neji and falling down.
"They're coming back... I don't want to be stuck here again.... I can't take it!"
"Calm down... There's no one there, Rikou," said Ken, looking into the darkness. Neji helped her from the ground and she looked after him, the feeling growing stronger.
"Let's go," said Shikamaru, eyeing the walls.
"I really think we shouldn't go back there..."
"There's no one there, we would have sensed their chakra by now," argued Ken.
"I really really think we should hide.... The entrance... The entrance is blocked," she whispered, backing away.
Shikamaru moaned, turning to Neji. "Geez, how troublesome. Neji, use your Byakugan and tell her there's no one there."
Neji brought his hands into a seal and shouted "Byakugan!"
There was a moment of silence as he looked into the darkness before turning off his bloodline, shaking his head. "No one."
"See?" said Shikamaru, stepping forwards.
"Ken! Please listen to me! I'm trained in the same things as you three, I know the signs that signal an enemy is near... Really, there's someone there, blocking the entrance!"
Ken grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards. "C'mon, Rikou. Neji would have seen something. It's just this place, the memories are getting to you."
Rikou let herself be pulled forwards for a moment, before putting her foot down hard. The other three turned to look at her oddly. Her mask was still off, and she was glaring angrily at them, her green eyes almost glowing in the darkness as she dashed in front of them, blocking their path, and set herself into an almost offensive pose, as if ready to attack them.
"I'm not going... This is exactly what happened last time. And you know what happened last time? My entire team was brutally slaughtered without a thought right before my eyes. I won't let you go, even if you have to kill me to get me out of here," she said, her voice low and dangerous.
Shikamaru was glaring back at her angrily through his mask. "The sun's going to rise if we don't leave now. Stop playing around."
Rikou didn't move, but closed her eyes, a tear leaking down her cheek and melting into her face mask as she turned to Ken. "Ken... Please believe me... Please."
Ken sighed in frustration, but turned away in thought. "Well... She probably has the best instinct here, so let's humour her for awhile."
Shikamaru grumbled something as Rikou dashed past them, back into the other room and looking up. The ceiling was completely dark at the top, a good place to hide. She ran up the wall, followed by the other three and climbed to the top, hiding in the darkness completely. She huddled close to Ken as the silence took over again, pressing her body absent-mindedly into his to ease her shaking.
Ken looked oddly at her, but shrugged it off and turned his eyes back to the dark room below. They remained there for a long time, before Shikamaru sighed and began heading back down.
"Let's go-"
"Get back up here, Shikamaru!" hissed Neji. Shikamaru didn't hesitate, he was back up beside him in a flash. Rikou began shaking as a shadow flickered across the floor before melting back into the dark.
It did this a few more times, flickering for a moment here or ther, but disappearing quickly every time. Rikou pressed herself into Ken further, sliding behind him and trying to tear her eyes away, but fear held them there. She felt the other three freeze as nine shapes appeared in the shadows, each wearing a black and red Akatsuki robe, and each, strangely, without a drop of water on them.
Rikou would have whimpered had Ken not spun around and grabbed her roughly, pressing a hand over her mouth. The nine shapes made no noise as they somehow communicated in the darkness, some taking instrument from the wall. They surrounded one shape who she assumed to be the leader, and she noticed that there were not nine, but eleven figures. The leader threw two small figures on the ground where they cried out.
They're just kids like me, she thought, looking down at the two boys as they whimpered. She noticed dark red blood leaking from them, pooling on the stone floor.
"We no longer need you two, Tenshi and Gyou... Now that we have the Demon Wolf brother's chakra, you two are useless. Kill them," rasped the leader, stepping back slightly. As the eight other shapes moved in for the kill, one of the boys suddenly burst into blue flame, screaming in pain.
"Oi, Tatsu, don't hog it all for yourself!"
The blue flame suddenly disappeared as the circle moved back slightly. She heard Tatsu laughing as the boy writhed in agony on the floor, moaning as the other looked on in horror.
"Hey, Hey... Why don't we let Itachi have some fun with them first.. He has his genjutsu!"
Itachi stepped forwards and even from her position, Rikou could see his sharingan glowing red in the darkness. Two other Akatsuki stepped forwards, grabbing the boys by their hair and forcing their heads up.
"Pay attention and look into his eyes."
There was a moment of silence, but it was broken by wild screaming that echoed through the chamber. It lasted only a moment before dying away again.
"Toushin, get rid of the smaller one," rasped the leader, a hint of laughter in his voice. A particulary large Akatsuki stepped forwards, drawing a gigantic sword and placing a foot on one of the boy's legs, pinning him easily before running the blade across his stomach, spilling his insides.
There was a chorus of laughter, but it died away along with the boy. The leader raised his hands, ending it suddenly and stepping forwards, grabbing the remaining boy by the shirt and lifting him off the ground. He placed a hand on the boy's face almost lovingly, but the boy began screaming in agony, writhing for a moment before falling away, being thrown beside the other.
"Now... We need to decide what to do next," came the leader's voice.
The Akatsuki moved back into a perfect circle around their leader, some still snickering. Rikou felt her chakra draining, but managed to keep up a steady flow.
"Kagi, come here," ordered the leader. A single figure stepped forward into the middle of the circle, his keys jingling and striking fear into Rikou's heart.
"Yes?"
"Why do you not have her yet?"
"The same gennin rescued her again, and they got away."
"I need the girl, Kagi. She is all I want right now. Either we torture the information out of her, or you remember what the hell you did wrong when you cursed her."
"I think I get the point. We dealt with the Sand that kept rescuing her, they're both dead now."
"I don't care! Do you understand how much I want her!? I need that power! I would trade in everything I have now to get it!"
"It's not my fault that you-"
Kagi cried out in pain suddenly, falling to the ground. "Yes, it is your fault! You have absolutely no memory! You can't even remember the name of the curse you put on their family! When I get my hands on Rikou again, I won't lose her! She's mine! If you fail to get her this time, I'll kill you."
"Hehehe... Yeah, I guess so."
"You have one more chance."
Kagi bowed and retreated to the edge of the circle, and that was the exact moment Rikou's chakra ran out. She slipped from the ceiling, falling a few inches before Ken's arms wrapped around her waist tightly, stopping her. The leader below was suddenly alert, glancing around at the slight noise she had made.
He looked around for awhile, but seemed to shrug it off, turning back to the circle of missing-nin and clearing his throat quietly.
"Let's get out of this place and head to Konoha. Orochimaru os about to make his move on the village with his new body, and we need to kill him when he is weakened by the Leaf's troops. If the Leaf interferes at all though, we'll crush them as well. Go!"
The eight shapes surrounding him suddenly vanished, but he remained for a moment, looking around. He looked directly at her where she hung, his eyes peircing the darkness but not seeing anything. He sighed and disappeared as well, his shadow flitting across the floor and out the door.
Rikou was perfectly still. Her eyes were riveted on the place where the leader had stood moments before, and they slowly moved across the bodies of the two boys who were in piles of blood and organs.
"We don't stand a chance against these guys... Especially not nine. We have to get back to Konoha to warn the Hokage-sama," muttered Shikamaru. Rikou began shaking again.
"They're going to kill me... They're after me and they won't stop... You heard them... I... I..."
"Quiet, Rikou. Let's get out of here right now," said Neji, walking back down the ceiling.
Shikamaru walked after him and Ken carried her down carefully, placing her on the ground where she stood shakily. And Kankuro, she thought, they killed him...? I was forbidden from seeing him at all after the war, he never even got a chnce to write, but I didn't want him to die...
"Rikou!" barked Shikamaru, dashing forwards. "Let's go!"
Rikou regained her senses and dashed after him, followed by Ken. She pulled her mask back on and slid into the water after Shikamaru, holding her breath and submerging herself fully and kicking through the darkness.
Her legs slowed down as her breath ran out and she sucked in a lung ful of air. She geabbed her throat and kept kicking half-heatredly, her heart slowing. But someone grabbed her and pulled her along with him, back to the surface where she coughed up water under her mask, Ken dragging her up onto the rocks. It seemed wetter outside than it was in the water itself. It was pouring rain and the wind was whipping in every direction.
Rikou coughed up more water before stabilizing her breathing. She forced her body off the ground and stood, facing Shikamaru.
"We have to leave immediately, the village is in danger," said Shikamaru urgently. They nodded, moving to the trees and grabbing their bags. Ken grabbed his trenchcoat and pulled it on, which only seemed to weigh him down because it was waterlogged.
Rikou's hair was whipping around in the wind as the pouring rain drenched her completely. She took her place in the B formation beside Shikamaru as they dashed off quickly, along the border of the Rain country towards the Grass.
They reached a deep canyon and began skirting it, following the path they had taken. Rikou dashed quickly along the edge as fast as she could to keep up with Shikamaru and hold her position, but the wind was slowing her down.
A gust suddenly whipped up from her left, throwing her off balance. She reached out and grabbed for a branch, but her hand closed around air as she pitched forwards into a freefall. The sudden change in gravity caused her head to spin and stole her breath away.
Oh shit! What's happening!? Damn, I'm gonna... I'm gonna die... Right here... Right now!