She woke up with a considerable headache. At first, Sabaki was confused as to why she was lying on her side on a cold stone floor, in a dark and dank room with no windows but a steel door, her wrists secured behind her, and completely alone. Then, the past events came rushing back in an overwhelming flood, causing her to sit up abruptly.

Ouch!

She winced as pain stabbed both her arms, and remembered that that redheaded boy with the kunai whip had slashed them... Turning her head to examine the wounds and finding that they'd been bandaged, she realized for the first time that someone had taken off her jacket. Thankfully, she was still wearing her other articles of clothing, including her white tank top and black cargo pants. So where was her jacket? Awkwardly rearranging her position to get better balance, Sabaki twisted around and found it bunched up against the wall.

Her eyes inadvertently traveled up the wall and rested on a pair of manacles dangling from the ceiling. Gulp. Thank Kami-sama they hadn't put her in those, but then again having one's hands bound behind one's back wasn't exactly comfortable, either. Well, that could be remedied fairly easily...

Concentrating chakra into her fingers, Sabaki focused on loosening the knots in the rope, and after a few minutes wriggled her hands free. Rubbing her wrists, she stood. Okay, so far so good. Now, to get out of this place.

Ouch!

It had only taken one step to make her wince again. Coincidentally, she'd put weight on the foot that been wrapped in the kunai whip. Damn it, that whip was really making things hard for her, wasn't it...? Sabaki knelt down and lifted her pant leg to inspect her ankle, but was surprised when she found it bandaged, just like her arms. Had her captors done that? Why?

Somehow, knowing that they had a heart gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't hurt her. Too badly, that is. If she found a way to gain their trust, perhaps she would be able to think up a plan of escape.

Sabaki turned around and limped over to her jacket, pulled it on, and hobbled back to the heavy steel door. Meticulously, she felt around it, wishing for some sort of secret switch or a weak spot, but no such luck. It was indeed what it looked like: a heavy steel door. Well then, were there any loose bricks in this prison?

But what good was it trying to find a means of escaping this melancholy room if she couldn't even run away properly? Her best chance would be to ambush them, injure them, and get away before they could give chase. That might've been a good plan, but her weapon holsters had been removed. She felt inside her pant pockets. No, no, her senbon were gone, too.

It took a good deal of restraint not to curse aloud.

As the thought that it couldn't get much worse crossed her mind, it did. She jumped backwards as the door suddenly opened, crossing her arms in front of her body defensively. Augh, too bright... Sabaki squinted, straining to see the face of the towering figure in the doorway, but couldn't get a good look; it was totally obscured by shadow.

She was caught off-guard when a strong gust of wind plowed into her, sending her flying into the wall. The chains jingled. It knocked the breath out of her, but she was back on her feet in an instant.

What was that? A jutsu? A... wind jutsu?

Every fiber of her being tensed as the man walked into the room, closing the door with a great 'bang'. Now, she could see him better. He was wearing a black turtleneck of some sort, a dark cloak over his shoulders and fastened in the front with an ornate silver clasp, and equally dark pants that blended into the depths of the cloak. Her gaze nervously wandered towards his face. Long strands of silver hair, a strong and square chin, no marks of any sort on his pale skin. But most outstanding of all were his eyes. They were a vividly cold azure hue, shining dangerously and fixed in a most disturbing manner on Sabaki. She shifted; not a word was exchanged between them as each observed the other.

To be truthful, she had been expecting one of the boys, not this intimidating man. But of course, he had been the one to murder Gasumi-sensei... His stare made her feel as if he could freeze her in a block of ice if she dared look back. Swallowing hard, she moved in the direction opposite to him until her back touched the wall. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

"Who... Who are you?"

The ice-like eyes narrowed. Sabaki held her breath. Was she not allowed to speak? Was he going to finish her off now? She had a hunch he hadn't been the one to bandage her wounds. He didn't appear to be the caring type.

"You may call me Yuumoya. And you are Shikeru Sabaki, correct?"

He knows my name. Oh, Kami-sama, he knows my name... Just don't answer. Don't confirm it, let the statement slide...

Yuumoya took a step closer, effectively breaking off her train of thought. "Shikeru Sabaki, Genin of the Hidden Cloud Village." Another step. "Thirteen years old, ID number 60278." Another step. "Academy instructor Tonjiru Hana, Room 11..."

She inhaled sharply, attempting to back away again but finding the wall in her way. How the hell did he know this?

He continued to move closer, now about three feet separating them. If he noticed her heightened panic, it didn't show in his face. "Graduated with a class ranking of 14th out of 60 students, favorite jutsu Kumo Bunshin, strongest area is ninjutsu, once received detention for breaking a globe while throwing shuriken in the classroom..."

Two feet between them. "Born in Kataburi village north of Kumogakure, mother is Shikeru Junsei, owner of a ceramics shop, father is Matomaru, deceased."

One foot. "Two-story house, painted light yellow, the cobblestone walkway in front rounds once to the right and twice to the left."

Mere inches. Sabaki wasn't certain if she knew how to breathe anymore. Her pulse was racing so quickly it hurt, blood was pounding in her head, she couldn't see straight; Yuumoya was just a dark, blurry mass. The blurry mass gestured forward, and she felt him cup her chin in a warm, gloved hand. Through the frightened tears that had formed, she saw clearly his penetrating eyes, drilling holes into her mind.

"N-No," she choked out. This wasn't right. "You... You're just trying to scare me." A desperate smile crept onto her lips. "Any half-decent stalker could've found those things out." Inside her head, Sabaki was screaming at herself. Was she actually taunting this guy? This evil man who looked very capable of ripping her throat out with his bare hands? She must've had a death wish. And besides, if she was really listening to herself, she was basically hoping Yuumoya was only a crazed stalker and not some murderous shinobi bent on making her life hell.

Yuumoya was not amused. To her relief however, he let go and deliberately strolled back to the center of the room. Those piercing eyes shifted towards the bundle of ropes she'd freed herself from, then swiveled back onto her.

"You're skeptical. Shall I delve into more personal facts, then?"

More...personal facts? Her mouth grew dry. Just how much did he know?

Thankfully, he stayed in the middle of the prison, but his glare alone was enough to keep her cornered. "There is a birthmark on the back of your right shoulder that looks like a swan."

A chill slithered its way up her spine. Unconsciously, Sabaki moved her right hand and touched the spot, flinching as though she'd been burned.

Yuumoya ignored her and continued. "Sometimes you wake up in the dead of night and find that, for just a brief moment, you can see in the dark. But then it fades, and your room appears just as black as when you slipped into bed."

The chills had spread to the rest of her body. It was utterly impossible for him to know that, unless... unless he'd been watching her at night as well as the daytime... Who the hell was he? How did he know? What did he want with her? Those questions and a hundred more swam in her mind.

Sensing that he almost had Sabaki at her breaking point, Yuumoya pressed on. "Oftentimes, when you walk the streets of your home village, you imagine that the residents are glaring at you, hating you, silently cursing your existence for a reason you do not know. In Kumogakure, too, the adults do not offer friendly smiles. They judge you differently from the other children."

It was true. It was very true. But how did he know? Sabaki did suspect that the adults in her hometown disliked her, but she never knew why. Her mother always told her to stay indoors after sundown, always warned her to steer clear of the neighbors and stay alert when traveling alone, as if fearful that someone might try to hurt her... In the Hidden Cloud Village the academy teachers and other shinobi treated her just fine, but the civilians were like the adults at home. Cold, distant, spiteful.

Her legs had become jelly. Unable to support her weight any longer, Sabaki slid down the wall, gazing blankly at a spot somewhere to the left of Yuumoya's feet. "What do you want with me?" she whispered, voice barely audible.

She didn't expect him to answer, but he did. "I require your services. You do not know it yet, but something you harbor could prove very useful to my cause."

"What? What cause?"

Answers she wanted more than anything else to have, but he denied them to her. Instead, he approached her again and crouched down, keeping her frozen against the wall with his stare.

"You will find out in due time. But first, there is something I want to know..."

He had removed the glove from his right hand and was rolling up his sleeve. Sabaki had no idea what he wanted to know, what he was about to do, but she didn't want to find out. The desire to resist, which seemed to have melted during past few minutes, came to life, and she dove to the side in a pathetic attempt to flee.

Yuumoya's left hand caught her quickly about the throat, and as she emitted a short gasp, he calmly slammed her against the wall. His other hand was placed on her forehead, blocking his upper face from her view.

"N-No," she stammered, "Stop-"

"Hush. Ninja do not beg, girl. Shinreitejutsu."

Pain exploded in her head; Sabaki squeezed her eyes shut and tried to scream, but no sound came out. She was drowning in a blank ocean of white noise, she couldn't feel anything... Then, like watching a silent movie about herself, images from the past came crawling to the surface, playing before her eyes.

The morning she was kidnapped, Kanake in a treetop, waving at her with a wide grin.

Her team's first meeting with Gasumi-sensei, on a balcony of the academy's third floor.

A day in class, Hana-sensei teaching them how to perform the Henge no Jutsu.

Her seventh birthday, her mother had given her a green ribbon with a jeweled cat on it.

One of the afternoons she was left home alone, staring at a framed picture of her father.

Three years old, her next-door neighbor giving her a venomous look.

Too many memories. Too much pain. Just when Sabaki thought she couldn't take it anymore, Yuumoya removed his hands and stepped back, leaving her weak and trembling, slumped against the wall of her cell. She could feel her awareness of the situation escaping, sending her back into the blissful recesses of her mind.

Just before she fainted, she heard him murmur, "As I thought. She has it." And her world evaporated.

Unnamed (Rope Untying Technique) – Uses chakra to loosen knots in rope.

Unnamed (Wind Gust Technique) – A strong wind that knocks the target back.

Shinreitejutsu (Psychic Surgery) – Allows the user to look into the vistim's mind, pulling out information about his/her memories, thoughts, feelings, etc.

Thanks for reading. Let's see if I can let her remain conscious at the end of the next chapter…