"Tama! Give Konyo back his toy!"

We stare at the fight going on in front of us. I glance at the boys. They seem shocked as well.

"So, I'm not the only one experiencing déjà vu," I conclude. "Help me, Sasori."

"It's genjutsu," he states right away. "The way they ignore us… Their simple answers and feelings, the things they do and repeat the day after. It has to be."

I bring my hands together to break the illusion, but nothing seems to happen. We even try to do it together, but nothing seems to change.

"So much for you figuring it out." Kazuto snorts and I give him one deadly look as Sasori frowns at the village around us.

"They don't notice us…they do the same things…the way they talk and act… Like they're stopped from noticing anything weird going on," Sasori mutters to himself. After over a minute passes, he wakes up from his thoughts. "Risu-chan. Try to talk to one of the villagers."

I blink but obey. Walking to the three women I had chatted with, I greet them quickly, and they give me no answer. Which is not different from the usual.

"Have you always lived in this village?" I ask the first question that pops into my mind, but they ignore me again. I blink and wave my hand in front of them. No reaction. I turn back to my teammates. Kazuto looks confused, and Sasori is back in his thoughts.

"So, it was genjutsu," he states when the people suddenly run away from the marketplace. I frown and back away to stand next to my friends. "And I thought they wouldn't notice so fast… They had to be watching us constantly."

"I still have no idea what is going on." I sigh when a dozen men suddenly appear in the marketplace. Sasori glances at me.

"Let's escape from here first. We need to get this information to Rasa-sensei as well."

One of the men is suddenly right in front of us. Shock freezes me in place momentarily. I never saw him move or even think about moving! As he slashes his swords we disperse. I grimace when they quickly succeed in separating us and backing us into corners. There's no way Kazuto can fight in small places like between buildings, and Sasori has that same problem. With the fight happening so suddenly and the man with the flickering ability attacking him, he's at a complete disadvantage. And me? Somehow the enemies seem to be able to read our every move, our every strength and weakness. They give the wind user no space to use wind. They force the puppet user into a sudden and quick-paced taijutsu match.

And even though I have used my time to learn many different skills, they still succeed in finding a weakness. With most of them surrounding me with raised weapons, I can't find a way to break through without being cut in the process. I could try some technique, but my seals aren't fast enough to be able to dodge all their attacks that would surely ensue. I do have a chance at trying to maybe use seals or puppets, but using them would take time as well, making me vulnerable to all those kunai and shuriken… Which I could easily dodge if only I had more space to do so.

Too late I realize I used too much time in thinking about what to do, and too little time actually doing anything. The man I know went after Sasori suddenly appears next to me and grabs my right wrist. That makes me unable to get to the kunai and shuriken pouch in my right leg, but luckily, I have the daggers… I bring my left hand behind my back and take out one of them, ready to attack the man. I know he has way more strength than I do, so I cannot try and pull my hand out. But if I can hit him… Somebody else grabs my left hand, this one holding on so tight I feel like my bones may break any moment. I hiss and jump, yanking my right hand and twisting my body to kick the man holding it away from me, forcing him to let go. I try to reach my kunai since I know the daggers are too close to the other man for me to successfully get to them, but then something hits me to the back of my neck, and I feel my eyes closing against my will.

»»-««

I wake up in a dark room. It takes a few seconds for me to realize I have been blindfolded, and my hands and legs both have been cuffed. Since I can't see a thing, I turn to my sensory skill to locate any enemies and the boys, but sense nothing. Something akin to despair fills me. I suddenly feel so empty, like there is a hole right through my chest. Chakra… It's my chakra missing. Is it the cuffs? Chakra cuffs, eh… Well, I guess our enemies this time are a bit more intelligent than usually.

It feels like every other thing I had on me has been taken. At least they had the decency to leave my clothes on, and that means I still have few senbon seals on me. I hum and try to move around a bit, but it seems like as well as being cuffed from all my limbs, I am already tied to a wall right behind me. I can barely move at all. The ground under me is stone covered in a thin layer of something akin to soil or sand. The air is cold and still, indicating I am most likely underground.

Pulling at the chains and moving around slightly, I listen for the echoes in the room. After calling out a few times, I am sure the room is small and there is no one else in it. "Sateto… What should I do?"

After few minutes of trying to free my hands and legs I deem it impossible. Next, I do my best to find any chakra, but it is all being locked away. I can feel it if I try hard enough, but I can't summon any. What does that leave me with? Pretty much nothing. I shouldn't be relying on being saved, so… I purse my lips. This is no doubt our hardest mission to date.

After an hour or so I hear a door open to the room I am in. I turn my head towards it at instinct even though I cannot see a thing.

"There you are."

I blink. I know that voice. "Kazuto?"

After thirty seconds I am completely free. I feel an urge to sigh. And I was just thinking I shouldn't rely on anyone coming to the rescue… "How come you're free?"

"And that's the thanks I get…" the boy mumbles. "I managed to escape from them when they caught you. Oh, and here are your weapons."

"Thanks. I feel like you're making this mission too easy for me now…"

Kazuto rolls his eyes. "C'mon, learn to rely on your teammates. And don't curse the mission. It's not over yet."

"What about Sasori?" I ask as I tie the weapons pouch back around my leg. Kazuto seems to be smiling a little.

"And I was betting that would be your first question…"

I shoot him an annoyed look, and he chuckles.

"Don't know. I've been going through the rooms one by one and this is the fifth one, and you happened to be in."

I sigh and place my double-bladed daggers on my belt. "Where are we?"

"Under the mansion. It's like a maze in here. Most of the ninjas residing here are out, maybe looking for me. But we should hurry out."

"Give me a second. I'll locate Sasori."

Kazuto walks to the door as I close my eyes to focus better on the signatures surrounding us. I have spent enough time with Sasori to distinguish his signature anywhere. Now it takes a bit longer, and I realize the reason as soon as I find him. His signature is dim, just like I think it would be if the chakra is being suppressed.

I open my eyes and follow Kazuto to the door, passing him by and heading right, down a dimly lit corridor. There are a few signatures close by, but if I am correct, they shouldn't be on this floor.

When I get to the door of the room where I know Sasori is, I freeze. Kazuto looks at me.

"We need to run," I state. Kazuto takes out a key and opens the door. Sasori is kneeling on the floor of the dark room, hands and legs connected to the wall behind him with chains and a blindfold over his eyes.

"This might sting a little," I warn as I shoot a shockwave at the chains locking him to the wall. They shatter in an instant. After taking his blindfold off, he gives us one look and sighs.

"You couldn't take off-"

"It takes too long," I interrupt him as I pull him up. While his movements are no longer restricted, there are still the chakra cuffs around his wrists. They wouldn't be so easy to take off. It had taken Kazuto half a minute or so. "We need to leave. Right now. Or we'll probably die in here. There's around thirty signatures closing in on us."

Those words get the boys finally moving, and we can hurry out of the building. With my sensory skills we succeed in avoiding the few enemies inside the building and soon we're out, heading north. I should probably notify Rasa, I think when I feel more than half of the signatures turning to chase us. I grimace. Sasori glances at me.

"They're chasing us."

"How many?"

I count the signatures, making sure which ones stay back and which ones follow us. "Seventeen."

That gets no answer. We already know they're quite skilled. Seventeen of them is too much for us to face. We have a better chance at getting away than trying to fight.

But it doesn't seem like we are getting away from the enemies, I need to grimly state to myself when minutes pass and the enemies are only getting closer. They are adults and thus faster than us, but still… I could probably outrun them with my lightning chakra, but my teammates don't share this luxury.

"We probably need to face them," I must state after a while. "They're only getting closer. It's probably the best if we just stop and get those chakra cuffs off."

Currently, Sasori would not be able to use his chakra at all. And as it looks like we will have to fight, we would definitely need his help.

"Let's find a clearing," Sasori nods, and we press on.

Just as we see a small clearing coming up, from the corner of my eye I notice something small flying through Sasori's chest. My eyes fly open, but I am sure Sasori looks even more shocked than me as he coughs up some blood and starts falling towards the ground. I curse and turn around, chakra covering my legs to help me reach him before he falls to the ground. Kazuto stops, turning towards us. There is only a small wound in Sasori's chest, but it goes through him and is too close to his heart for my liking. I feel panic somewhere inside but succeed in keeping all those emotions in check as I turn him over and start the first-aid healing.

"I don't think you're allowed to die yet," I mumble as I track the enemy signatures in my mind. They are quickly surrounding us. I am sure the one cutting us off is the one who shot Sasori, since they have had the most time to move around. We are completely surrounded.

"Nice to see you care," Sasori jokes and immediately starts coughing up blood. Who would've thought he is actually an idiot?

"And one would think you've been studying enough healing to know not to speak when your chest has been impaled."

Sasori rolls his eyes, winces in pain, and closes them. I hiss as the enemies step into the small clearing. Kazuto is slowly backing away from them, back to us. Even the first aid isn't nowhere near ready yet… And even that wouldn't keep him alive for long.

"Keep your eyes open or I'll seriously think you're going to die."

Brown eyes open to look up at me. I'm not going to die, they seem to say. I bite my lip hard as the first enemy charges at us.

"How long?" Kazuto asks as he gets between us, forcing the man to back off. I feel the need to grimace, but I think my grim face is the only thing he and the half-dead boy in my hands need to see. Under normal circumstances I could've healed his injury, but since my chakra seems to be oddly low – probably because I was chained up – and unstable, and there are enemies attacking us constantly, it makes it so much harder. If Kazuto cannot protect me, Sasori would most likely die.

"One minute," I answer him, and Kazuto grimaces, giving me one flat look. I close my eyes. He can't do it. I want to curse again, but once more, that is another thing a healer should not do in front of their patient. I turn to Kazuto for a moment, and the look he gives me tells me everything. He would not die protecting us. And I can understand that. But I can't look at him any longer, so I just turn back to Sasori and ignore the question in his eyes. Of course he is not going to die. He is supposed to die in Sakura's hands, not on this stupid mission with me. Yeah, me. A variable that wasn't there that time around. If he dies, it's not even Kazuto's fault. It would be mine.

There's seventeen of them surrounding as us. At least seven of them are jounin rank based on their chakra – beating even one would take a bit of time, and now that there is seven of them, facing them would be hard even on our best day. Along with the ten others this situation would be grim even without Sasori laying half-dead. My thoughts visit our sensei, but I know we can't rely on him. He does not know anything of our situation, so he should still be in Pond – hours away from here. Getting any help is impossible.

When three people attack together and Kazuto can barely keep them back, I am forced to think whether or not I could stop the first aid, even for a second. But I know I can't. His major arteries have been cut and if I don't constantly keep them together, he would die. He can't even heal himself since his chakra has been completely cut off by the cuffs… If only we would have had enough time to take them off… No use in worrying about that now. I need to figure out something to help us here and now.

As Kazuto faces three shinobi behind my back, two kunai are thrown at me from the front. Ah, hell. At this point it seems like we have a choice between either Sasori dying, or us all dying. If only I could use one hand to make techniques… How much time is there left…? 40 seconds. I really can ramble a lot to myself in such a short time… I tilt my body to one side and one kunai flies by me. The other buries itself to my shoulder. Sasori's eyes fly open when I grimace. It succeeds in hitting my chakra network or something, as the healing is suddenly going a lot slower. Damn, that hurts…

"Kuro-chan…"

I glance at Kazuto, who has one knee on the ground. He is bleeding. Two of the enemies are dead, but the seven stronger ones are alive. Two wouldn't make much of a difference. The healing is about half-way done, and Kazuto is at his limit. Panic almost settles in. What should I do? What can I do? I can't let Sasori die, no questions asked. But at this rate we're all going to die.

At this point if I stop the healing for one second, Sasori would still survive. The arteries are being slowly forced back together, and they should hold for that one second. But after that they would break again, and I'd be forced to start the healing process all over from the beginning. With my wound slowing me down it could take twice the amount of time to get to the same point. So… If I cannot kill fifteen skilled shinobi in one second, we would all die. I want to laugh. There is no way I could do that. I might be able to slow them down or kill a few if I'm lucky, but that would not be enough to give me enough time to heal Sasori. Should I just try to heal him now, ignore the enemies? That seems even less probable to work.

I can't rely on anyone showing up. I can't rely on Kazuto getting suddenly more powerful – I guess that would work if we were in the anime or manga, but we aren't, and Kazuto doesn't care about us enough to try and sacrifice himself and get that powerup in the process. I could always try and use one hand to heal and one hand to perform other jutsu, but I have never tried that. I believe it is something that takes high skill, control, and training. I don't think I have any of those. Even if I somehow succeed in using that method, it will require quite a lot of concentration. I am in pain, I am exhausted. I am already low on chakra so my control will only get worse from now on. Chances are, if I try it, I will just kill Sasori myself.

The only other thing I can think of is that if Sasori could heal himself… But he can't, thanks to the cuffs stopping his chakra from flowing. Maybe if I could destroy them… But it took Kazuto about fifteen seconds to destroy mine and trying that means I would have to stop the healing process, which gives me only about one second at this point. And any more I will not be getting. I try to remember what Kazuto had done. Just do the same thing. Do it faster. All the steps he took to break the cuffs… Compress the information. Different parts of the method he had used… Analyze and compress. Just do it faster. You can do it.

"Kuro-chan!"

I got it. "Give me five seconds!"

"And not one second more."

I take a deep breath and meet Sasori's eyes. "You need to take over."

He seems shocked. Well, I would be as well. I am telling a chakraless person to heal themselves using chakra. And then I let go of him. Now he already looks a bit suspicious. Is he already thinking I would really let him die? I grab both his wrists with my hands as he coughs up blood. I gather lightning chakra and release it. The cuffs fall to the ground. I quickly guide Sasori's hands over his wound and make sure he starts healing it before I get up.

"That was six," Kazuto whispers and falls to the ground. A sword is going through his stomach and coming out of his back. Great. Now I have two dead boys behind me and fifteen skilled shinobi around me. With no chakra to spare or energy to really fight. I can already see black dots dancing in my eyes, and I only just got up.

I take another look at Kazuto. With the sword where it is, it shouldn't have gone through any vital organs. As long as he doesn't pull it out, he'd be fine for now. I warn him of it before facing the enemies.

I take in the situation for a second, pinpointing their locations in my mind, connecting the images before me to the signatures in my head. Seven dangerous. Five difficult and three easy. The easy ones have one water user, the other two being taijutsu users. Out of the difficult ones three use fire, one earth and one genjutsu. There are also three genjutsu users in the dangerous ones, with one being adept with fire style as well. One uses water and wind and one only wind. One seems to be earth user, but his chakra also has something more to it – something I can't discern. The last one – the one who shot probably a kunai at Sasori – uses lightning and wind but seems to be good with taijutsu as well. I bite my lip.

With the two boys in the same area, I cannot use poison. I cannot leave them since the enemies would most likely only kill them and chase me after. Developing a plan from these variables… With how their natures are spread out, I cannot rely on elemental strengths. Target number fifteen is the most dangerous one. Target fourteen may present a risk with his unknown ability. Should I kill the dangerous one first to make the others fear and escape? Or should I build my way up from the bottom ones, systematically destroying them all?

I pull out the kunai sticking out of my shoulder and heal the wound. Wind is picking up even though we're surrounded by forest. It seems natural since none of the targets is using chakra at the moment. I bring my hands behind my back and two kunai are thrown at me. Thunder rumbles as I flicker to the two easy taijutsu users, opening their throats with my two-bladed daggers. The kunais thrown at me fly deeper into the forest.

Target number one, the easy water user, is readying a technique next to me. I start my seals later than her and finish at the same time. When her Suiton: Mizurappa and my Raiton: Jibashi clash, I am already on the move. Lightning runs through the water jutsu and into the target's mouth, shocking her from the inside while I meet target number eight, the difficult genjutsu user. He opens a satchel and throws its contents towards me as targets four, five, and six shoot fire together at the two boys on the ground. Cowards.

Thunder rumbles again. My skin crawls and itches from using lightning chakra to flicker around so much. I've used it only a couple of times, but it is hard and takes some chakra which I should not be using. But it is also the only way to move fast enough on this battlefield.

As target number eight makes sure the powder or whatever he threw doesn't get blown towards the other targets, I do a Mizurappa. The cone of water is barely enough to counter the combined fire jutsu of the three targets. As they ready another attack, target number fourteen with the unknown ability slams his hands to the ground. Summoning?

Targets number seven and thirteen are running towards me. They clearly expect me to use water again to counter the fire and then be left vulnerable to their attack. I duck, grab the boys and flicker to the side of the clearing. Kazuto is slowly dying.

"How is it going?" I ask when the fire surrounds targets seven and thirteen who had thought they could get me, only to end up being hit by their friends' jutsu. I lower my hands on Kazuto to heal him enough for him to not die just yet. Target seven does an earth wall but is not fast enough to block the fire. His face is burned to a crisp and while he does not die like target thirteen, he will be unable to fight. Four dead, one unable to move, 10 to go.

"First-aid is done. Four minutes before I can move." Sasori gives me his report, looking at me. I feel like he is giving me quite an odd look, but I have no time to focus on that. Two wolves are running towards us. I leave Kazuto be. If I had enough time, I would've stopped to worry for a second. The technique I want to use is one that needs a lot of chakra, and I haven't been able to pull it off once in a real fight. A normal Suiton: Mizurappa wouldn't cut it anymore, though. And since I don't really have the luxury to stop and think, I just do it.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

The targets seem surprised when the jutsu actually works. Targets four, five, six, and eleven jump in to stop the gigantic wave of water by countering it with fire, only to fail. As the wave sweeps over the wolves and the targets, it pushes numerous trees to the ground and snuffs out three chakra signatures. Targets four, six, and eleven join the dead targets. I am disappointed. Only three for that much chakra…

Something is wrong. I bring my hands together. "Kai!"

A kunai is two centimeters away from my face. How did they get me? I twist my body to the side and when the target and the kunai follow me, I drop to the ground. As I feel the earth shake with target fourteen's chakra, and target eight with the kunai strikes it down at me, I do a backflip, pushing target eight down as I jump away using him as a platform. Earth opens up to swallow him whole. One difficult and five dangerous ones left.

A pack of wolves is closing in on me. I do a Raikyu – multiple small balls of lightning – and am surrounded by puffs of smoke. I need to get rid of target fourteen. He uses earth and summoning… Lightning is the answer. The ground around us is wet from the gigantic wave. They have most likely realized that as well. They would be careful. I hum and throw a few senbon seals to the sky. As they start shooting senbon at target fourteen and targets five and nine standing near him, I charge at them. The senbon are poisoned, so even one hit would be enough for them to die. And for me as well.

My gamble pays off. Between the senbon raining on them and me charging at them, they don't pay so much attention to the ground. When I enter the senbon rain I cover myself with lightning chakra and flicker to target twelve, away from the trio in the rain. He seems surprised when I completely change my target to him, but succeeds in blocking my daggers in time, while my combined senbon and water-lightning combo succeeds in killing target five immediately – after I flickered away, the lightning chakra I used also struck the water and through it anyone standing in it. I dodge target twelve's wind attack done with her fan before charging at target nine heading for me.

My chakra is running low. He raises his kunai. I don't stop as he throws it, but instead I raise my hand, catch the kunai with chakra threads, and throw it back. He raises his hands to block, and I run my daggers through his neck as I pass him on my way to target fourteen. It doesn't take me long to get myself behind him.

Target ten has turned from my battle and is nearing the boys. It seems like he is focusing on Sasori. I cut target fourteen's neck a bit too deeply and my hands are covered in blood. Once again thunder rumbles as I hurry to kick target ten before he can bury his kunai into Sasori's chest. My skin feels like it is burning. I know the next time I flicker it would burn for real. I shoot ten shuriken at target ten still flying in the air and turn to the others.

I blink.

They are gone.

The clearing is covered in bodies, some alive and some not. Only two targets are standing. Target twelve and target fourteen do not move as they study my every move. I slowly smile as I feel target ten's chakra signature disappearing. One more and fourteen would be the only one left.

I throw some kunai at them, and they dodge, without moving more than that. Then they bring their hands to the same seals. I know those seals. Suiton: Mizurappa again. The targets want to make it stronger by doing it together, eh? Feeling a bit overconfident, I do the same seals.

When three of the same technique clash, I quickly see that I am losing the fight. Using the techniques as cover I throw another few seals of senbon to the sides and jump up. As the senbon start shooting themselves at the two targets, I do a Jibashi to shock all the water below me, then summoning one of my Mamoru-lookalikes only used in situations like these to change my direction in the air to escape the hell below me.

As I land on the ground, I look towards the targets. They are fine, if a little shaken by the water and lightning. They glance at each other, and target number twelve turns tail to flee. I hiss and charge at him but am stopped by the last target. Oh, well. I could care less about target twelve anyways.

"You'll soon wish you were the one to escape." I smile slowly as I copy his use of combining water and lightning to shoot at me. The two combo attacks meet in an explosion, and I charge through it towards him, only to feel a kick landing to my side. I feel awful and need to cough. When blood comes up, I am a bit shocked. That is one hard kick. My eyes fly open when the man flickers next to me, readying another kick. I flicker as thunder rumbles to dodge his attack, getting some distance between.

My skin is on fire, pain covering every part of my body. I can see it cracking, small wounds covering me all over. I summon Ichi, Manda, and Ho-Oh. Together the trio attacks target fourteen. He flickers next to me without caring about them at all. I hiss as I transfer the control of the puppets to my left hand and raise my right hand to bury a kunai into the leg kicking me. As he sends me flying, I control Ho-Oh and Manda to shoot their senbon at the man. He uses a water technique to dispel them all, succeeding in also destroying Ho-Oh. I should really make it more durable…

The man flickers behind me when I am still flying in the air. My eyes fly open, and I let the three puppets go. This is yet another thing I have never done before…. Chakra threads find their way behind me in a flash and succeed in making the next kick almost powerless. With its little power I turn around in the air, yanking the man towards me and burying the daggers into his chest. He coughs up blood on me.

As we fall towards the ground, I spend no time worrying about the fall. I ready a Jibashi and shoot it at the man, not stopping before I can hear him scream. Not even the fall to the ground made him grunt, so it takes some time before the sounds escape him. Only then I let myself breathe in ease. Taking out some kunai, I strike them at the arms and legs of the man to lock him in place to the ground.

That is the moment when I feel Sasori moving again. Some weight is lifted off my heart as I glance at the boy who turns to Kazuto. Smiling, I return to the man in the ground.

"What should we try next…?" I ponder as I heal the wounds and burns he is getting. "Oh, I know."

I take out a few senbon dipped in poison that makes the victim feel extreme pain and shoot them at his neck which should be one of the more efficient spots. The man screams beautifully.

"Who is that?" Sasori asks as he steps next to me. I study him for a moment, making sure he is really fine, before I answer.

"He's the one who impaled your chest."

"I'm sorry I'm-" His frantic sobs come to a stop when another scream finds its way out when struck by lightning.

"Pathetic." Sasori scoffs. "Do you want to kill the one who burned his face?"

I shake my head. "Go ahead."

He nods and turns around. I return to the screaming man.

"You're so boring," I mumble, yet I keep going. There is still anger inside of me, there is still chakra inside of me. I will keep going as long as I can.

It takes a while before the screams stop. It makes me blink.

"Wait, did you die?" I frown at the man. Yes, the chakra signature is gone. Shit. I forgot to heal him. This is the first time my target dies from simple torture… They are all gone. No chakra signatures besides my two teammates remain. I breathe a sigh of relief. Sasori is alive. I am alive. And even Kazuto seems to be still alive. My heart feels like it will break under all the sudden feelings flooding in. The feelings I locked away to get through that fight while my best friend was dying.

As if sensing my overflowing emotions, Sasori turns to me.

"I thought you were going to die!" I cry out and jump to hug him. I feel tears burning my eyes when I wrap my hands around him to hide my face in his chest. Have I ever cried in this world? I think to myself when I feel tears running down my cheeks.

There's a bit of anxiety inside me over Sasori not reacting at all and being stiff as a statue but it disappears when one hand wraps itself around my back and other finds its way to the top of my head. I can't hold back my sobs as he slowly pets my hair. There is something so soothing about it, I begin to think I don't ever want to move again.

"Hey, you know, I almost died as well!" Kazuto exclaims and breaks my little illusion. We let go of each other and I start wiping my tears away.

"Would you like me to cry for you?" Sasori deadpans at him.

"What?! No freaking way, man!"

"Then don't complain."

My tears quickly turn to laughter, but that laughter is short-lived when I turn to look at the clearing, the sixteen dead bodies and beyond them, towards the village we escaped from. Anger boils inside me, and Sasori steps next to me, looking to the same direction.

"I will kill them all," he promises, and I glance at him. There's fierce determination in his eyes I have never seen before.

"We will."

"We should probably flay them alive as well," he adds, and I chuckle.

"I like that idea."

"Fucking monsters," Kazuto grumbles from behind us. "I want to go home…"

"We should find Rasa-sensei," Sasori states, and I nod. That had been the original plan when we escaped. "But if he tries to send us back to Suna…"

I nod again. We turn and head north once more.