Hi everyone. Once again I apologize for the slower production, but I am going to try to get back to my old twice a week publishing schedule. Ideally, they will be posted on Wednesdays and Sundays (+/- 1 day) every week. Once again, I really appreciate all of your support for my story through the PMs and reviews you have left me. I can't tell you how encouraging and rewarding it is to hear that you are enjoying my story. I am also always happy to answer any questions you have for me. Tallman and I have been in the planning process for our crossover, which will happen in the near future, and I think you guys will really like it. That being said, please enjoy this next chapter and I look forward to hearing from you all soon!

The Konoha shinobi trailed along after Kiba and Akamaru as they tracked Beki's scent away from the hotel. According to Akamaru, Beki had been taken recently enough that the squad had a high likelihood of catching up to them. Hinata was worried sick and hadn't said a word since Neji had reported Beki's disappearance to everyone.

"Remember," Gai sensei said under his breath. "We find Beki and then report the incident. If we go off halfcocked it could cause a lot of problems for Tsunade."

"It'll be a finger pointing nightmare," Tenten shook her head. "The Leaf, Cloud, and Sand will all foot part of the blame from Getsu, won't they?"

"If this goes poorly, yes," Gai narrowed his eyes. "I don't think it will come to that. Knowing Beki, she's giving her abductors all the hell her youth can muster!"

Neji had his Byakugan activated and was scanning beyond the rocks in the bends in the road ahead. There was no trace of Beki or her abductors, but he prayed Gai sensei was right. If Beki could hold them off long enough for the Konoha shinobi to find her, everything would be fine. Neji had seen Beki decimate her enemies in the arena and he just hoped she could carry that into a real fight. If Kumogakure took another one of his loved ones away, Neji didn't know what he would do.

…

The groaning grew louder and more frequent as the water built up pressure inside the coffin. Beki had been vomiting water into the coffin for at least five minutes and she was beginning to feel light headed from the effort. At last, there was a pop and Beki began to prepare for her escape. There was a crack and the wood panels parted enough for Beki to see the world beyond. She raised her legs and kangaroo kicked the weakened panels, cringing at the pain that radiated up her legs from the impact.

Her abductors had been hauling her on a wagon, which stopped suddenly at the sound of Beki's escape. The stop knocked the coffin to the ground which split it apart even more. Beki sprang out of the wreckage right into a run. Miki was yelling something at her but Beki ignored it. She leapt over a retaining wall on the road only to find that it was there to prevent people rolling down a steep hill. Unable to catch her balance, Beki wrapped her arms around her head and tucked into the tumble. She bounced off of the gravel and seemed to roll for an eternity. The rocks felt like millions of tiny daggers tearing at her clothes and rending her flesh during her descent. When the rolling stopped at last, Beki ran her hands along her sides to check for major injuries.

"Hey!" A man's voice called out from the top of the hill.

Beki looked up to see a man whom she could only assume had been her assailant in the Cloud village before the finals. It figures, Beki thought as she dragged herself back up and onto her feet. Miki had been working with him all along. He began to slid down the embankment towards her and Beki backed away defensively. Her feet were torn to shreds from the barrel and the fall. Blood was dripping from her arm wand was tapping on the ground beside her. Instinctively she reached up and clenched at the wound to staunch the flow.

The man squared off with her. He was a large man, almost two meters tall and barrel chested. Miki's drugs were still numbing Beki's senses and she had burned through a decent amount of chakra busting open the coffin.

These are exactly the sorts of situations the Drowned Maiden was meant for, Beki thought. Then again, if she coated her body in water there would be no chance of the blood clotting. In fact, there was an equal chance she would bleed out during the course of the fight as there was this guy would kick her ass. As she weighed her options, Beki caught sight of the headband tied around the man's upper arm.

A musical note. Otogakure.

A chill ran down Beki's spine as fear washed over her in a wave. The hair stood on her neck and arms as she realized Miki and this asshole were Sound ninja. Orochimaru's men had come for her just like they had when she was a child. The last time this happened, my mother was killed.

No, she thought. It won't go like that. Not this time. I won't give them the chance.

The adrenaline had given her a surge of chakra which she immediately used to summon a slew of ghostly arms from the pool of water her transformation had formed. The pale limbs latched on to the Oto shinobi, who struggled against their grasp. Beki looked up and saw Miki standing on top of the embankment looking unsure how to proceed. Go to hell, Beki thought as she turned and ran further into the mountains. I'll die of exposure before I let them take me.

…

Wagon tracks, a smashed coffin, and blood stains were all the Konoha shinobi found on the path outside of town.

"Is that Beki's blood?" Hinata's voice quaked. She was afraid she already knew the answer.

Akamaru sniffed the blood, looked at Kiba, and barked. Kiba turned to his teammate and gave her a grim look. "Yes, it's hers." Akamaru sniffed at the ground intently, pacing back and forth around the path near the shattered coffin.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked. "It seems like he's having trouble finding the scent."

Kiba sniffed. "It must be very faint, like it was washed away or something."

"That's Beki," Hinata sighed. "She must have been so scared."

"You think she was in Drowned Maiden form?" Tenten asked.

"More than likely," Neji held his chin. "Any time she is frightened or in distress it activates of its own accord."

"She's probably around here somewhere, then," Hinata said, trying to put on a brave face. "Beki must have made her stand here."

"BEKI!" Lee called out.

"What are you doing?!" Neji grabbed his arm and hissed. "Her abductors could be nearby!"

"Or she could have gotten away," Gai looked over the wreckage. "They wouldn't have left all this unless they took off in a panic."

"So she probably got away!" Tenten jumped up. "BEKI!"

Neji watched his teammates running around on the path screaming their heads off. "Shh!" He held up his hands and they looked at him. "She wouldn't answer to that. Even if she did get away, there's a good chance her abductors would use a similar tactic to lure her out."

"What do you propose then, Neji?" Gai sensei asked. "Calling out embarrassing personal secrets that only we would know?"

"No," Neji shook his head. "Just…just trust me."

The others all fell silent as Neji took a deep breath and listened. There was a slight breeze that created some white noise, but otherwise the pass was silent. It felt uncomfortable having everyone's eyes on him, but Neji just told himself it was for Beki. He had to help Beki.

He raised his fingers to his lips and whistled as loudly as he could. Akamaru whimpered and Kiba grimaced at the sound. A few of the others shot each other questioning looks as if to say, "This has finally done it. Neji's cracked for sure." An expectant silence followed that after several uneventful moments became awkward. Neji sighed. It was worth a shot.

Kiba and Akamaru perked up. "Wait! Someone's whistling back!"

Hinata grabbed Kiba's arm and activated her Byakugan. "Where is it coming from?!"

KIba pointed off the side of the pass, over the edge that had a small retaining wall. Hinata turned her gaze in that direction and scanned for movement. "There!" Hinata said as she hopped over the retaining wall. "She's down there!"

Neji ran over to the wall and saw the steep slope on the other side. Hinata had managed to slide down gracefully and was running across a clearing towards the rocky mountainside beyond. Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru leapt over the retaining wall and followed after their teammate.

"Let's go," Neji waved to his team as he followed suit.

…

Beki had torn up the remnants of her cotton shirt and bandaged up her wounds as best she could. Field medicine had always been one of her weakest points. She was sure that anyone would have done a better job, but at least Beki wouldn't bleed out. Now that the Sound ninja had given up on finding her, Beki had bigger things to worry about, like freezing to death. The adrenaline was wearing off and her wet clammy skin was chilling her to the bone. Beki's teeth chattered in the cold and she hugged herself to no avail. Well, she thought, at least Orochimaru won't get to do freak experiments on me.

Most of her chakra was gone but she didn't want to call it quits just yet. Beki cast the illumination jutsu. She hovered over the tiny flame and felt it drying off her hands and face as she held it up to her nose. Off in the distance, she could hear yelling. Travelers could have stumbled across the coffin. Beki laughed to herself as she imagined what a farmer would think of a broken bloody coffin lying in the middle of the road. Vampires, she chuckled and immediately set her teeth into another chattering fit.

A loud whistle pierced through the sound of her teeth clacking together, echoing against the stones. Neji, Beki thought as she raised her fingers to her lips. At least they aren't chapped she laughed as she whistled back as loudly as she could. She let off two more long shrill whistles, just in case. Moments later she saw someone coming across the clearing towards here. Beki clenched up but then accepted that as noble as the idea of freezing to death was, she would rather live to fight another day.

When peeked out of her hiding place, Beki saw who it was coming across the snow towards her and smiled against her quivering jaw. It looked like she wouldn't die today after all. Beki stumbled out into the clearing and limped towards Hinata, who was already ripping off her jacket.

Beki held out her arms for a hug but Hinata bypassed her to wrap the coat around her. It was a fur lined parka and instantly blocked out the chill. She shuddered and hugged it more tightly around her as Hinata looked her over.

"Are you alright?!" Worry was filling Hinata's eyes with tears. "Did they hurt you?"

Beki shook her head. "No," she laughed. "I did a lot of this to myself. Now that you guys are here I'll be just fine."

The rest of the group caught up and got to work. Gai sensei asked Beki to debrief him on the situation while Hinata and Tenten properly addressed Beki's wounds. The boys hovered around the perimeter facing away once they realized Beki wasn't wearing anything other than a bra.

"Here," Tenten tossed a duffel bag at Beki. "I grabbed this when we left. It's all your stuff. It may not be clean, but you'll have dry clothes at least."

"Th-thank you," Beki said as she picked it up and ducked into the rock crevice she had been hiding in earlier. "I'm bummed they tossed my shoes, though. I have my backups in here but they're all worn out."

"You won't be walking much," Gai folded his arms. "As if we would let an injured comrade travel on foot."

"Yes, Gai sensei!" Beki couldn't see him, but she knew the exact hardcore expression Lee was making as he called out. "I will carry Beki all the way home!"

"That won't be necessary, Lee," Neji grumbled. "There's plenty of us. We can take turns."

Beki stepped back out fully dressed and handed Hinata's coat back to her. "Seriously, thank you all. I would have been an ice sculpture in another five minutes."

"We're just glad you're alright," Tenten sighed. "Sound ninja? Seriously? Those guys are such jerks."

"I'll have to report this to Tsunade," Gai held his chin pensively. "I take full responsibility for your abduction on my watch, Beki. This should have never happened. I apologize for my failure as a guardian."

Beki shook her head. "Let's just keep this between us-my abduction, I mean."

"We can't lie to Tsunade, Beki," Neji scoffed. "She's the Hokage."

"I'm not saying we don't say there was an attempted abduction," Beki stuck her hands in her pockets. She really wished she had packed some gloves, even the stupid fingerless ones the Konoha shinobi seemed to favor would be welcome right now. "The Hokage needs to know that Orochimaru's men are still using the chunin exams to scout for targets. The Kazekage and Raikage need to know as well, however we'll how to tell them in Tsunade's court."

"You want us to act like this didn't happen?" Tenten shook her head. "You almost died, Beki! You're all busted up from this!"

"We can say this is from the chunin exams. By the time we see Tsunade, they'll be mostly healed anyway." Beki said. "Look, I'm not happy about this. I've been afraid that the Sound ninja would come after me all my life, but frankly it's my fault for letting my guard down. I should have seen it sooner."

The Konoha shinobi were all looking at her like she was speaking in tongues. Beki sighed. None of them had any experience with politics, that much was obvious.

"That's why we can't tell Tsunade I was abducted. It was my fault it happened, but if we tell her it will become her problem," Beki explained. "First off all, she'll have to punish you all for leaving me alone and letting it happen. Second of all, she'll have to let my dad know it happened."

Tenten cringed. "That would be bad."

"That would be devastating from both a political standpoint and a physical one," Beki said. "My dad wouldn't necessarily go to war, but he would let everyone know how incompetent the Hokage is. It would affect the Leaf's relationships with other villages because it would make their leader look weak," Beki explained. "That doesn't even cover what he would do from a personal standpoint, which I can only assume would be terrible. Blackmail, character assassination, you name it. He might even get her impeached for gross negligence."

Their looks had turned from confusion into a mixture of horror and awe. She didn't show it often but today Beki was proving herself an ambassador's daughter. Time to seal the deal, she thought.

"That's why you'll let me do the talking with Tsunade, but the story is this: An Otogakure shinobi posing as a local developed a friendship with us as a staff person at one of the establishments. Towards the end of our stay, her and the rest of her three-man squad accosted Neji, Shino, and I. We were able to hold them off until Gai sensei and the rest of you walked out, which scared them away."

"That's perfect!" Lee punched the air. "Of course it would be Gai sensei who would scare them away."

"It's also perfect because if she calls any of you up for questioning your stories can be a little different. Neji, Shino, and I are going to have to get ours water tight, though," Beki sighed.

"Why did you pick me?" Shino asked. "You and I never talk. Why would I be with you and Neji?"

"I picked you because you have a poker face that is the stuff of legends," Beki folded her arms. "You're also the rational type, so if Neji was walking me back to the hotel it's plausible you would volunteer to accompany us for safety's sake."

Shino nodded. "Alright."

"Now that we've got that figured out, can we get the hell out of here?" Beki shivered in her clothes. "I am so damn done with the Cloud Village I can't even."

"You can't even what?" Hinata asked, still worried but confused.

Beki opened her arms, gestured at the mountain, and then the road. "Any of it. I can't."

"She's still addled," Tenten whispered. "Let's get her home."

Lee leapt over to her and turned around while popping a squat. "HOP ON!"

"Okay, Lee," Beki said as she climbed onto his back. "Don't be so excited about carrying me. It makes it weird."

The group set off. Things were awkward at first but soon they had all broke into the usual conversations.

"Listen, Beki, I'm glad you're alright," Neji was forced into a light jog to keep up with Lee's pace. "I have your kunai bag if you need it."

"Thank goodness," Beki sighed. "Was any of my other stuff found?"

"Your headband and family crest was in there," Neji said. "No shoes though."

"Dammit," Beki said as she popped her fist on Lee's shoulder. "Oh, sorry. Forgot."

"I didn't even feel it!" Lee smiled.

Beki watched him with an odd look for a moment. "If you were anyone else that would worry me. Anyway,"

"Anyway," Neji continued. "Our signal worked, it seems."

"It sure did," Beki sighed. "I hope we don't have many occasions to use it."

Neji looked up at Beki, her face covered in cuts and quickly erupting into a rainbow of bruises, and his heart ached. He was furious with himself for allowing her to fall into harm's way but also massively relieved that Beki was alright. It was everything in his power not to reach out and hug her. "Look, if you thought that I was on you like white on rice before, just wait till we get back to Konoha," Neji said. "This won't happen again."

Beki smiled. "Of course not. If anyone tries to hug me again, I'm going to sock them in the face."

"YEAH!" Lee cried out over his shoulder.

"Lee, it's awkward with you interjecting into the conversation." Neji shouted behind Lee.

"But I am part of the conversation too, Neji!" Lee smiled.

"He's kind of got you there," Beki adjusted. "The guy is basically my steed at this point."

"Am I a noble steed?!" Lee looked at her pleadingly.

"The noblest." Beki patted the top of his head and Lee looked forward with determination burning in his eyes.

"I won't let you down!" Lee said as he reared like a horse and took off at top speed. Neji groaned to himself as he heard Lee whinnying between Beki's pleas for him to slow down. Things look like they went back to normal fast, Neji thought.