So the real reason this took so long to update is because I have been too lazy to proof read. I actually finished this a few weeks back, but just never got around to a final editing and posting. Sorry... I still haven't worked out all the tweaks, so I will probably re-post this sometime later.

Also, this is another excerpt that takes place early in the story arc, and may answer at least some questions. Maybe? Sorry for the lact of liner consistancy. ... Actually, we seem to be consistently moving backwards in time... .

It had been a while since Itachi and Kisame had been in Earth country, much less so close to Iwa itself. The last time the pair had been there was almost a year or so ago, when they recruited Deidara. The country, as one might presume, was filled with high mountains and deep ravines, and like now with its usual dismal overcast. Where the two Akatsuki found themselves now was mid way up a nameless member of said mountain population. Alone and far away from even the smallest village, the two camped on the side of an abandoned road overlooking their recently acquired quarry.

"For such an uneasy girl, she sure sleeps well." Kisame said offhandedly, cutting the silence.

It was true, Asaya slept sounder than a dead cow as far as Kisame was concerned. She laid not too far off from them, curled into herself on the ground, and using her flimsy haori as insulation from the autumn chill. Other then the obvious discomfort of the environment, she held a dreamy expression on her face.

"What a troublesome thing. Why come all the way out here to grab this feeble, midget girl?" Kisame continued. In the years he had known Itachi, he had picked up the habit of rambling his inner thoughts every so often, because wasn't like Itachi would complain, or had anything much to say himself. Thus, Kisame was allowed to speak freely. "What are leader's plans for her anyway? She can't possibly be a jinchuriki or a potential recruit. She clearly has no special abilities, or we would have been told."

Leaning forward, Kisame continued, "And how are we supposed to keep her, huh? Tie her up with rope and lead?"

"She will follow without further incidence. She's learned her lesson." Itachi replied. They were referring to her little escape attempt about a day ago, where she managed to get two miles away before they caught her. Kisame immediately implemented her repercussions with a beating. Effectively, it got the message across.

"And we will receive further instructions soon," He continued. "Zetsu-san should be on his way."

"Tch," Kisame gazed back at the sleeping girl. Fretfully, Asaya turned over in her sleep. What a pain in the ass this assignment was going to be.

Itachi sat cross legged, hands folded into his sleeves. The temperature was already cold and combined with the thin air of the altitude his fingers and toes began to grow numb. How was it that the girl was able to fall asleep so easily? Perhaps it was a natural resistance built up from living in the country, but he could also swear it was inhuman.

At approximately five in the morning, neither he nor Kisame were very well rested, as they were both kept awake from the biting cold. Needless to say they were both a little irritated. Through his heavy squint Itachi stared intensely at their dying camp fire. Iwa was a terrible country to travel in. It was cold, there was never any sun, the wind blew damp, musky air in their faces, and the terrain was so steep and rocky they could travel no more than a few measly miles in a day.

There were no villages, towns, or any form of advanced civilization on the route they were ordered to travel. There was only one small village that they passed at the base of the mountain yesterday evening, and the 'population' – as it was too small to even be called a town- was so backwater that there was no inn or any other form of true commerce. The entire centre of stabilization revolved around a rice field, river, sparse livestock, and a few ramshackle houses. The villagers spoke with such a thick dialect not one of the three could communicate to ask for a place to stay. And as Asaya suggested, they may have been speaking bits of another language as well. Needless to say, they chose to forgo staying the night and traveled another few hours until they came unto where they are now; camping on the side of a long abandoned road and very unhappy.

"To have to travel all this way, is a much more extreme attempt to hide our presence within this country than ever before. This woman must be important." Itachi took the initiative to speak his thoughts in the silence this time.

"Girl, you mean? I doubt it; we specifically have had to lay very low ever since that one visit to Fire Country about two years back. Leader-sama probably just wants to be extra careful now that we have this thing to cause complications." Kisame's point was valid. Ever since the failed attempt at catching the Kyuubi, the name of Akatsuki became too fluent on the tongues of many village's higher ups. For this transgression the two were given orders to remain as low as possible, but they were never before denied access to civilization altogether. "Besides, like I said before, if she were anything special we would have known."

A rustling came from behind the sleeping body of their current mission. Both Akatsuki turned their heads immediately. Up from the ground, a green sprout immerged, growing taller and fuller to reach full stature as the strange being known as Zetsu. Their anticipated guest had arrived.

"My, I see you are all doing well," Spoke the white half. "Tell me, is this one doing well too? She looks as tasty as a dead cow." There was a clear, hungry glint in his eyes.

Kisame smirked at his comment. "Good for this shitty place. Now what message do you have for us?"

"As you know, Leader-sama wants you to take a specific route out of this country." The black half spoke this time, but it was the white that finished the thought. "There is a cave system below these mountains. The entrance is on the other side. You are to exit the country using the map we have provided."

"You will be able to come out on the other side by sometime tomorrow, if you don't stop for a break."

Zetsu stretched out a hand holding a map, for which Itachi bent forward and grasped.

"I must warn you, if you get lost in there, chances are you will never get out alive. Ah, well then, I'll see you on the other side!" With those final words Zetsu receded back into the ground, leaving no trace of his previous presence.

Itachi stood up and briefly looked at the map, then stuffed it into his pocket. Behind him, the sky began to brighten just the slightest bit. "Wake her up. We will leave now; the sun is starting to rise."

Kisame stood up as well and dusted off his jacket. Only needing three steps to reach the girl, he then kicked her firmly onto her back.

Asaya immediately awoke, with a loud gasp and clutching at her stomach. After a few seconds of moaning she fluttered her eyes open to look at the offending criminal above her. What now? The dread rose in her mind.

Seeing her eyes firmly fix on him, he ordered, "Get up girl. We are leaving."

After traveling back down the mountain in total silence for some hours, Asaya and the two Akatsuki began to grow weary. The steep and rocky terrain they traveled was far too unenjoyable. About an hour ago, the dilapidated remains of the road they had been traveling disappeared altogether. Easily they adapted to simply climbing up and down and around whatever miscellaneous object may be in their way. This task was not all that difficult, but the stress of their overall situation still tugged at their minds.

Asaya simply recoiled into the seething bitterness and anxiety in her chest. The other two gave no hint as to what they truly thought. Although Asaya could tell from the fatigued looks on their faces that neither of them had gotten any rest last night, giving her a small sense of pleasure.

And then from behind thunder cracked, faintly and off in the distance, but it could still be heard. Itachi and Asaya had stopped to look back, while Kisame continued on unfazed. The standing pair could then see lightning within the high clouds. Like lace it adorned the sky for that momentary instant of ignition.

Aww, fuck… The unfortunate girl thought to herself. Though it had not started raining yet, a glance over her shoulder told Asaya all she needed to know about the oncoming storm. It was fast approaching behind them. If the trio didn't find shelter fast they were going to be in deep trouble. The storms in the mountains of Earth Country were famous. They were violent, brutal, and could last for days. As there was sparse foliage to hold the earth together, mudslides commonly supplemented the storms as well.

The immediate problem was that there was no shelter. Within this specific mountain range there were only a few fir trees and bushes, with none of them big enough to keep even one of them from getting soaked. Much worse was the effects of the climate. The temperature was roughly five degrees Celsius; cold, but not quite cold enough to freeze. Once the rain did finally come and drench them, it would also chill them to the bone. No matter how tough they were as shinobi, they could not escape the very real threat of hypothermia.

Asaya herself had almost died from hypothermia on one occasion, and had no desire to relive the experience. What would they do in a worst case scenario? Easy, follow the survival guides she was taught at Iwa's Academy.

Huddle in a tight ball for warmth, and wet clothing… Asaya's thoughts stopped right there. The prospect of the two men before her... No, just no.

Needless to say this made Asaya more anxious. Turning to Itachi, who was standing only a few feet in front of her, she began to speak. Sadly she immediately found herself unable to form exactly what to say. "Um, Uchiha-san…"

Immediately he narrowed his eyes at her, and she shyly looked down at the ground instead. "What?"

"The storm, we need to find shelter." She whispered softly.

She was right. He had heard the rumors about the storms in Iwa's mountains, and had no particular desire to find out exactly how true they were. Hopefully, the cave they were heading towards was not too far away. "I know."

Silently, he turned to follow the direction Kisame continued up ahead. Obediently, Asaya followed.

The thunder continued to boom. Over the passing time it had begun to become more boisterous, and it was clear that the storm was creeping up at an increasing rate. The trio was much farther down the mountain now, walking along the edge of a ravine. Slowly they traveled, each stepping, climbing, and jumping at their own pace.

From ahead, Kisame halted. "Oi, Itachi-san," He called at the rear, "I think I found it." Itachi quickly moved to stand right beside his partner, leaving Asaya stumbling to catch up. He scrutinized the landmark Kisame pointed out.

It was a two foot stone with a tiny imprint of Iwa's rock symbol. Was this truly what they were looking for? Itachi guessed that it was the best sign they were going to find though, out in this wilderness. "Down over the edge are some stairs, but I can't guess how far they go." Kisame informed.

Itachi looked. There were in fact "stairs" as he had been informed, but they were so shallow and unsound, barely wide enough for one person. No doubt that at least a few would crumble beneath their feet, if they were that lucky. Unfortunately, there was no telling how far they went down. The ravine itself sunk deep into the earth, its true depths hidden in a shroud of darkness.

Asaya came up beside them to examine the rock and peer over the edge herself. "What do you think of this?" Itachi asked her.

"I'm not quite sure…" She thought for a moment, "There is probably a hideaway carved into the face of the ravine."

Itachi considered her answer for a moment. It was risky going all the way down there, as there was chance that they may need to climb all the way back up, wasting valuable time. The muted cry of the storm echoed behind him. "We will go down. In any case we need shelter."

With an affirmative nod Kisame took the first leap downward.

Asaya continued to look over the edge. Though she herself did not know exactly what was down there, she knew the fact that these men had specifically looked for and found it was bad. This was not something that many in Iwa would know the existence of. Perhaps only the Tsuchikage and a few of the elders at most. It was common knowledge that Iwagakure hadn't sent any forces to this region in over one hundred years, in one of the previous wars. Whatever was down there was abandoned and hidden for a reason.

Before she had a chance to linger to long over the edge, a haunting presence flickered beside her. Turning to look, Asaya was met with the oncoming assault that was sharingan. She winced slightly, but was otherwise able to keep eye contact.

"Go." Was Itachi's stern command.

Immediately Asaya scampered down the side of the cliff.

It wasn't too far down until Kisame saw a hole in the face of the cliff. For his impressive height of 6'3", the distance between the bottom step and the cave's ledge was nothing more than a large step down. Behind him Asaya with her short body had to make a small leap across. Itachi was only a few steps behind and easily glided down.

"I suppose we have found it?" Kisame stated more than asked.

Before them was the entrance to a cave. It wasn't very wide or tall. Just large enough for Kisame to walk into without trouble. There was no light inside, only the dark shadows one would expect to see.

"What did that thing Zetsu gave you say?"

In response to the question Itachi removed the map he was given from his pocket. Quietly he examined it. "This is the entrance into a cave system. If we pass through we will be able to reach the border by tomorrow."

A cave system? Asaya wondered. There were cave systems all over Iwa. But for one all the way out here to be mapped and abandoned... Well, the prospect of what they would find was not good.

A flash of light gave a brief peak into the cave, followed by a clap of thunder.

"We will need light then." From within his cloak Kisame pulled out a scroll, unwrapped it, and summoned a small lantern. As he led the way into the cave the others followed in the order they descended the cliff.

At first there was nothing but a narrow passageway that curved and swelled. At different points it was required to duck or slide sideways, and throughout most of the tunnel it was necessary to keep at least one hand on the wall for stability. As soon as their path widened into a full sized passageway, he tunnels began to fork off into two or more places at a time. Itachi moved to the front and took command navigating.

Eventually they reached a clearing. Although not very big, it was more than enough to accommodate the three travelers.

The lantern light revealed the space to contain some human intervention. Around the room was some miscellaneous rubble. Mostly small rocks, but also pieces of dry, aged wood were piled on one section of the wall. The wood had been some form of manmade structure, the cut and sanded edges were proof. Perhaps it had been a small shrine? However, it had decomposed and fallen to ruins long ago.

According to his history lessons, the best Itachi could guess at this place's original purpose was in one of the previous Shinobi Wars. There was never any substantial fighting in this area, so a tunnel that connected this side of the mountain range to the other side of the border was most likely used to secretly import and export supplies or messages.

In the center was large stalagmite, of which the top had been cut off and carved into a shallow basin. Itachi walked past Kisame and Asaya to inspect the object. Etched in the center of the basin was the kanji for light, while other small symbols decorated the rim. On the side of the structure was Iwa's rock symbol.

This pillar is a lantern. Itachi realized. "Kagami-san, come here." he bid.

Asaya did as he commanded and timidly walked to stand behind him to the left.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked.

She inspected the structure as he did, and came to the same conclusion. "…..A lantern."

"Do you know how to activate it?"

"…No." She only half lied. Although Asaya didn't know what hand seals needed to be preformed to activate the lantern, she was capable of finding out what they were. That little detail could be neglected. Besides, why do anything nice for these people?

"Kisame, how much oil do you have left?" Itachi asked.

"About enough to last for another few hours, but I have enough sealed away to last another few days."

Good. If they ran out of light while running around in the tunnels their chance of survival was nothing.

Without explaining his actions, Itachi walked over to the pile of wood and grabbed three large pieces, and then set them towards the center of the room. He then drew in a deep breath, encircled his hands around his lips, and exhaled to release a small fireball, igniting the three pieces of wood. Then he retreated to sit on a large rock against the wall.

"I see." Kisame said.

Itachi was essentially saying that they would take a break here for a while. This was more than welcome. The large blue gentleman took his own place against the wall, setting the lantern off to his side. He knew Itachi would keep first watch, as it was how their routine always worked.

Asaya, in her awkward state as the only one still standing, glanced at the others, unsure if it was safe to do the same. She saw no indication otherwise, and so crashed against the wall too. It only took a moment before she fell back asleep.

From the corner of a sharp, tooth-white eye Kisame peered at her in a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Did she really fall asleep that fast? Dead cow… he thought bitterly, jealous that she could rest so easily.

It was late and Itachi was tired. The flames he lit now only dully lapped at the remaining firewood. To stay awake he occupied himself by reading the map Zetzu had given him. It was only a small, concentrated section of a larger map. The only complete route it contained was the one connecting the entrance they came through down two or three possible paths leading to one exit. Many of the tunnels that webbed across the page were only detailed to a certain point, then left to dangle off without further explanation.

Luckily though, there was a map key. There were six small symbols, but the descriptions were illegible to him, as they were part of a code Iwagaure used and stopped using long ago. However, even if he knew the code it wouldn't do him much good; the ink was too warn and faded to clearly make out the tiny characters. Some symbols, like a little red triangle were easily understandable; the presence of a lantern. The junction they were in now was marked with one. But others were not so simple. In a few sections of the map, there were spots littered with black diamonds. The meaning to them was completely indecipherable to him.

Enough was enough though, Itachi's mind had become too opaque with fatigue. To his left he could see the sleeping bodies of Kisame and Asaya. Kisame gave an unpleasant snore every so often, but Asaya was completely silent, like an infant. It disturbed him, the same way a dead cow would.

As Itachi leaned his head back against the wall, a blanket of fatigue covered him. His hand dropped to the side, map falling out of his grasp. Every muscle in his body cried out its own ache. How long had he been awake? Almost three days, he'd guessed. As he closed his eyes, he concentrated on the tenderness racking his body. How good it felt to finally be able to rest and soften those muscles back up. Heavy eyelashes swelled with weight and refused to flutter back open. But it was fine; Itachi could indulge in a few more moments of….

A pair of feminine lashes shuddered awake. The eyes hiding behind them remained unfocused and translucent before they realized something; sleeping with a rock protruding into your solar plexus is rather uncomfortable.

Asaya shifted herself up and into a sitting position. She folded her torso foreword and extended her arms out in front of her. Amazingly, despite that one rock, she felt very refreshed. Her spine felt nice and stretched, her lungs were opened, and her head was bestowed with a wonderful clarity.

Those same eyes blinked a few more times as they adjusted to the light. It was dim, but Asaya could see the sleeping bodies of Itachi and Kisame. It was strange that they would fall asleep on the job, but she supposed it wasn't too unreasonable. As long as they were underground she was trapped with them, as they were the only guide out.

A clinking sound invaded her ears. In his sleep Kisame stretched out one of his legs and knocked over the lantern.

She snapped her eyes at the abominable blue man. Bastard.

Oh well, what state was the other one in? Itachi was sleeping quite exhaustedly. Even through the draping form of his cloak she could see how heavily he breathed. Now that Asaya thought about it, she had never once seen Itachi sleep in all three days of travel. She almost felt sorry for him. It appeared that he was in a deep sleep too. He must have stayed awake for some time reading the map sitting at his side…

How serendipitous, she thought. Asaya now found herself with a lamp, a map, and two idiots.

Maybe I will get the next pert of this up... -_-;

And thank you to everyone who helped me finish this!