Hi everyone, I won't take up too much time here. Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed! I've gotten lots of helpful feedback. Please enjoy this next chapter and let me know what you think~Ponchoninjax3

Beki approached the Hokage's mansion feeling a little more prepared to do her job. She had copies of the proposal for Tsunade and had even gone as far as to highlight points of interest. The guard let her in right away. Tsunade waved her over to take a seat in front of her desk.

"Alright Tsukimori, what do you have for me?" Tsunade held out a hand for the papers.

Beki handed over Tsunade's copy of the negotiations. "These are the adjustments my father had worked out with the court back home." Beki pointed at the highlighted sections. "I checked in with Ishida and had him go over anything that might be new for you. That's the highlighted stuff. I figured it would save you some time."

"That's sweet of you," Tsunade rifled through the papers. "I'm still going to have to go through everything though."

Beki sat expectantly across the desk from the Hokage, ready to answer any questions she might have. As the silence stretched from moments to minutes a question tugged at the back of Beki's mind. She tried her best to repress the idea because it was a professional visit. Her patience waned quickly and before she could stop herself, Beki had blurted: "So, any word on my father yet?"

Tsunade paused and looked up from the paper in her hands. "I'm afraid not. I probably shouldn't go into details but since it's your father I guess I can spare some information." Tsunade set the papers aside. "Your father has disappeared without a trace. The kanabo was a lucky find but that's all that has turned up. No one has even seen a man matching his description within a hundred-mile radius of where he fell off the map."

Beki's heart sunk. She had hoped that there would have been a sign by now that her father was alive. A ransom demand would have even set her heart at ease. "So how will we proceed?"

Tsunade sighed. "We'll keep the search on a few more weeks but then we'll have to call the search parties back. I'm sure Getsu will continue to investigate reports of his appearance on that side of the world and if we hear anything over here I'll dispatch a scout or two."

Beki kept up a brave face but Tsunade could plainly see the girl was in distress. She loved her father and had so much forced on her shoulders. Unfortunately, she was being faced with the fact that her father wasn't as important to the world as he was to Beki.

"I…" Beki looked down and shook her head. "Thank you for your time. I'll leave all this for you to review and I'll stop by later to go over any issues with you."

Tsunade let her go. The tears had already begun to well in Beki's eyes and her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. Beki held her breath all the way out of the office. It wasn't until she had reached the bottom of the stairs that she allowed herself to breathe. There was a painful ache in Beki's chest, a knot that wrapped around her heart and squeezed it until she couldn't think straight. Before she knew it, Beki had stumbled back to Hinata's house and was fumbling with the door.

The house was empty. The absence of sound and warmth was like a sucking void drawing Beki inside. She pulled off her shoes and trudged up the stairs as if compelled by an outside force. Beki removed her clothes and pulled on a long soft t-shirt and crawled under the sheets. He cat was there, burrowed deep down under the blankets. He was a mysterious creature that somehow always turned up when Beki least expected it. She made a soft clicking sound with her tongue and the cat mewed. He crawled up to her and nudged her face with his head. Beki kissed the top of his head and pulled him close.

"Where do you hide out all day?" Beki sighed. "I don't even know if Naruto knows you live here."

The cat meowed again and began to purr while he kneaded her stomach.

"Where do you think dad is?" Beki picked up the cat and held him so they were face to face. "Miki hasn't sent word, so he isn't in the Sound. Or she's dead. Where could he be, Socks?"

They cat reached out and touched Beki's nose with his paw. At first, she thought it was a touching gesture but then he put his other paw in her eye. Beki sat Socks down and lay back on the fluffy pillows. She pressed her palms into her eyes, using the pressure to relieve the throbbing behind her eyes.

A gentle knock at the door drew Beki's attention. "Come in."

Hinata peeked her head in. "Rough day?"

"I'm just," Beki sighed. "I'm having a hard time coming to terms with things."

"What sorts of things?" Hinata crossed the room and sat on the bed. "Ambassador work?"

"No," Beki sat up and hugged her knees. "It's, you know, they're going to stop looking for my dad soon. If he doesn't turn up in the next week or so they're going to call everyone back."

Hinata listened patiently, nodding occasionally with a concerned expression on her face. "You're worried they won't find him?"

"I have been doing a really good job of juggling this ambassador business," Beki reburied her face in her hands. She pressed hard against her closed lids, the black behind them lighting up bright red and white before she let them go with a sigh. "That's only because I've told myself it's to make things easier for dad when he gets back. I've been stressed to the max but I've held in there for him. If he's gone, I can't do this. I can't be the ambassador."

"You've already been the ambassador, Beki," Hinata rubbed Beki's shoulder comfortingly. "You would just have to start doing it for yourself."

"Hinata, if my dad is dead," Beki shook her head. "I couldn't keep this up. The hassling I get from the kage and more experienced diplomats would only get worse. This is the shinobi world. People are not kind and considerate or understanding of people's circumstances. They will smell blood in the water and go in for the kill."

"I'll do whatever I can to help, Beki. If you want, I'm sure Tsunade would be happy to send us along with you for diplomatic missions." Hinata offered.

Beki stood up and walked over to her closet. Hinata watched quietly to see what her friend was planning to do. She started to fish around behind her clothes.

"How about I draw you a bath," Hinata stood up and walked into Beki's bathroom. "I'll put a bath bomb in it for you and you can just soak a while. While you're in here, do some brainstorming. While I make dinner, I'll do the same thing. We can share what we come up with when you get out."

"Hinata," Beki's voice was small, almost childlike. "What if they aren't looking that hard for my dad?"

Hinata walked back into the bedroom. Beki was standing outside her closet with a duffel bag. Hinata's gaze shifted back to Beki's crestfallen face.

"Everyone's been saying there's no evidence, that he's disappeared without a trace." Beki fiddled with the strap on the bag. "My dad is over six feet tall and has a build like a tank. His bounty on the black market is steep but not steep enough for anyone to risk crossing him. He specialized in taking on large groups of enemies and has a reputation for making ambushes backfire."

"So who could have possibly taken him down?" Hinata pressed her hand to her chin. "You're right. Something doesn't add up."

"I can't just sit by and wait anymore," Beki started to stuff gear into her bag. "They've told me enough that I can do some investigating myself."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hinata gripped her hands nervously. "What if you get abducted as well?"

Beki shook her head. "Hinata, he's my father. He is the only family I have in this entire world. If I lose him and there was something I could do about it, I will never forgive myself."

"Can you promise me you'll be careful?" Hinata reached out and took Beki's hand. "Why don't we ask Tsunade to send some people out with you?"

"I don't have time for that," Beki sighed. "Tsunade will stall me and do everything in her power to convince me to stay. She'll assure me she has her best people on it and that I would be helping more by staying put."

"You know she would be right," Hinata reached for the bag and Beki held it behind her.

"Please, Hinata. When you got grabbed, I went after you. When Akatskui nabbed Gaara, I went after him. What kind of person would I be if I did that for my friends by not my father?" Beki started to strap on her kunai belt and gauntlets. "I have gone against my instincts and listened to other people long enough. I need to go."

Hinata sighed and opened the door for her. "Are you sure you can't wait until morning?"

"I know it's dark but I'm familiar enough with this part of the country that I shouldn't have any trouble at least making it to the border by midnight." Beki called out as she descended the steps.

"You have to write me then," Hinata chased after her. "Every town you pass through, you must send me a letter telling me how you are."

"I'll let you know what's turned up in the case," Beki strapped on her boots. "Maybe if I find something good Tsunade and the King will commit more men to finding my dad."

Hinata pulled Beki into a tight hug. "Please, please come home safe. I wouldn't be able to handle it if you disappeared, too."

"This is me we're talking about," Beki grinned. "I've got a flawless record."

Hinata winced and gave a silent prayer that Beki didn't jinx herself. The door closed behind her friend and Hinata was left with an unshakeable sense of foreboding.

Watch out, Beki. Something is out there.

…

Beki knew the streets and the patrols well enough to dart unnoticed through Konoha. She headed for one of the lesser used side gates and was running through how to distract the guards when a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned with a start only to see a stern faced Yasahiro staring her down.

"Beki, I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I can explain-" Beki began immediately but Yasahiro held up a hand.

"I went by the Hyugas and Hinata told me you had set out on your own," Yasahiro tightened his grip on her wrist.

She sold me out that fast? Beki sighed. I guess Hinata didn't want me to go.

"I'm not upset," Yasahiro pulled Beki closer and dropped his voice low. "I have a lead on your father."

"Where is he?" Beki's heart began to pound. "Is he alright?"

"It's just a lead," Yasahiro looked around. "I'll explain on the way. Come on."

Yasahiro tugged on her arm and led her in the opposite direction.

"I was going to take the side gate," Beki pointed behind them. "It's more lightly guarded."

Yasahiro shook his head. "There's an incident going on at that gate. Someone with stolen papers or something. I headed straight there after I left the Hyugas hoping to cut you off."

"So why didn't Tsunade tell me about this lead?" Beki tailed him closely, matching his gait. "I just saw her today and she said they hadn't found anything."

"That's because something isn't right with the investigation," Yasahiro's voice was low and his eyes darted from the rooftops to the alleyways. "The reports coming in from the Getsu and Konoha shinobi have differed greatly. It almost seems like evidence is being lost or misplaced at every turn."

"What do you mean?" Beki asked.

"Someone is trying to cover their tracks, cleaning up after themselves between teams," Yasahiro explained. "I think the teams have gotten close to finding him several times but then the abductors move him between sweeps."

"So where are we headed now?" Beki noticed Yasahiro had stopped. She stalked up behind him and waited. A patrol passed by, seemingly unawares of the pair in the shadows.

"I've noticed a pattern in the locations I think your father was being held at," Yasahiro waved for Beki to follow him. "The investigation started at your father's last known location and has been moving towards Konoha. I think the abductors have been forced to move in the same manner, closer and closer to Konoha. There are a few locations that meet the criteria of the previous holding sites in the Land of Fire."

"Thank you for bringing me along," Beki extended and retracted the claws on the gauntlets. Yasahiro's eyes were drawn to the movement and he frowned.

"I'm hoping we won't have to use those."

"I've got them if we need them," Beki sighed. "I just want to find dad."

"We'll find him, Beki." Yasahiro smiled reassuringly. "We'll find him."

…

It had taken twenty minutes to find an opening to slip past the guards. Once they were clear of the gate, Yasahiro led Beki deep into the woods. She was familiar with most of it for about an hour and some change. At that point, the landscape started to change. The woods and brush were denser and it looked less traveled overall. The moonlight hardly penetrated the thick canopy so the pair had to move slowly in the darkness. It warped her sense of time so they could have been traveling for as little as twenty minutes or as much as several hours before Yasahiro motioned for her to stop.

"There," He pointed to a small clearing in the trees ahead. The brush was still thick but it looked as though all the trees had been chopped down. As they approached, Beki made out the shape of a burnt-out farmhouse half-collapsed in the middle of the clearing. Yasahiro reached over and took ahold of Beki's arm. "This house burned down but it's cellar is still intact. There are two entrances, one on the outside of the ruin and one inside the house."

"Which one are we taking?" Beki extended her claws.

"You will take the outside and I will take the one inside the house," Yasahiro poked her nose. "Go in loud and I'll flank them from behind."

Beki furrowed her brow. "Do we know how many people are down there? I can take a couple of hits, uncle, but I'm not my dad."

"Just be a distraction, dummy," Yasahiro sighed. "Don't try to fight everyone at once. Besides, I don't think there's more than five of them. They'll be good, don't get me wrong, but not good enough to fight the two of us plus your father once we've released him."

Beki nodded. "Got it."

…

Beki watched intently as her uncle crept through the ruins. After a few moments, she saw his handkerchief flapping and took the signal to approach the cellar entrance. Sure enough, there was a chain securing the handles shut. It looked rusty, so Beki bashed the lock with her gauntlet and it snapped like a dry twig. She tossed the ruined chain aside and opened the cellar door. Beki was careful to open it off to the side in case breaking the lock had alerted the people inside. No one came charging out but Beki stood in wait for a few more moments. She didn't hear anything suspicious so she cautiously began to descend the steps.

The stairs ended at a wall and the corner opened into a large space. Beki stopped short of the opening and peered inside. In the center of the room an enormous man was tied up and slumped over in a chair. Beki held perfectly still. She couldn't sense anyone else in the room and heard nothing aside from the labored breathing of the man in the chair. Beki stayed low as she crept towards the man in the chair. As she approached him Beki smelled the unmistakable sour smell of blood and metal. It was everything she had not to run up to the seat. After the eternity it took to get to him, Beki reached out and lifted his face in her hands.

It was Seiichiro. His face was bloody and beaten, the swelling making him almost unrecognizable.

"Dad," Beki's voice cracked at the sight of her father's wounds. "Dad, it's me. It's Beki."

He slowly opened his eyes but they stared out blankly before him.

"Uncle and I are here to rescue you," Beki pulled away slightly to survey his bonds. The chains were flimsy and should never have been able to hold her dad. It made her worry about what other injuries he must have that bike chains could keep him bound.

Seiichiro inhaled sharply and Beki's eyes darted back to his face. His eyes saw her at last, the flicker of recognition paired with terror. "Beki, you have to run."

Beki looked at him in confusion, taking his face into her hands again. "No Dad, it's okay. We're going to save you."

"There might still be some time," Seiichiro hissed. "Run."

Beki sensed them too late. Two men were on her before she could react, taking her by the wrists and shoulders and slamming her hard into the dirt. The impact knocked the wind out of her chest and stunned her. Even through her disorientation she felt them unstrapping her gauntlets and tossing them aside. They were not only physically strong but technically experienced. No matter how Beki wiggled or adjusted their grip remained vicelike.

"Beki…no…" Her father's voice was pathetic. "Please. Please let her go. You already have me, you don't need her. This has nothing to do with my daughter."

"You're mistaken," The one on Beki's left had a gravelly voice. "You're looking at Getsu's new ambassador."

"Everyone already thinks you're dead," The one on the right sounded young, maybe Beki's age. "She's more valuable a hostage than you are."

Beki heard a third set of footsteps approaching and looked up hopefully. Help had to be on the way.

…

"I have a terrible feeling about it," Hinata wrung her hands. "I never should have let her leave."

"What could you have done?" Neji folded his arms. "She's a bull when she has her mind set on something."

"I mean, couldn't you have just, you know?" Naruto imitated the gentle fist. "Pow pow, goodnight?"

Neji shook his head. "She's built up an immunity. Blows that should put a person down for a week only bring Beki to her knees."

Naruto's face twisted in disbelief. "No way."

Hinata tapped her fingers together. "We may have used it as a form of suppression a little too much."

"I don't know how," Naruto folded his arms. "I've been hit with it lots of times and it isn't getting easier for me."

"Should we tell Tsunade?" Hinata paced. "Maybe we can stop Beki before she gets too far?"

"I would say at this point it's our only option," Neji sighed and headed for the door. "Hinata, you should stay here in case Beki calls the house or doubles back. Naruto, would you come with me to talk to the Hokage?"

"Yeah, of course," Naruto nodded. "If the Gentle Fist doesn't work on Beki, we'll just drag her home with an army of shadow clones."

"That's crazy enough that it just might work," Neji sighed.

…

"What the hell do you mean Tsukimori's gone?" Tsunade had only opened the door a crack for them, but at the news she swung her door wide open. The boys were met with the unattractive sight of Tsunade in her pajamas and averted their gaze respectfully. The Hokage's face shifted from shocked to furious. "What kind of half brained scheme is she up to now?!"

"Apparently, she decided to find her father on her own," Neji explained. "She left about an hour ago."

Tsunade massaged her temples. "Do we know what direction she headed out in?"

The boys shook their head. "Just…to find her dad?" Naruto shrugged.

"Go wake up Sakura and bring her along in case she's managed to fall off a cliff or something," Tsunade sighed. "Get her back here in one piece, if you can. I'll deal with her when you all get back."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "We'll track her down."

"The sooner the better," Tsunade sighed. "This girl really can't just sit back and let professionals handle things, can she?"

The boys gave Tsunade a bow and headed off to wake up Sakura. The entire run to her house was spent playing paper, rock, scissors to see who had to do the unpleasant task of rousing her from her beauty sleep.

Naruto tossed rocks beside the window of Sakura's room. It took three or four attempts before she angrily stormed over and threw open the pane.

"What's the big idea!? It's one in the morning!"

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "We're getting called out on a mission. Tsunade wants us to go and bring Beki back to Konoha."

Sakura blinked in confusion. "When did she leave? I just saw her a few hours ago."

"She decided to go look for her father on her own," Neji folded his arms. "Which is obviously a terrible idea and the Hokage agrees."

Sakura closed the window with a groan. A few minutes later she emerged out the front door in full mission gear. "Leave it to Beki to just run off and risk getting kidnapped herself. When we catch up to her I'm going to give her an earful."

"I call first dibs on lecturing her," Neji frowned. "Just marching off and putting Lady Hinata in such a bad spot-"

"Save it for Tsukimori," Sakura marched off towards the gates. "Do we at least know where we're headed?"

"Beki wouldn't take the front gates. She's straightforward but not that foolish," Neji pointed behind them. "She most likely took the east facing gate. I'll start scanning for tracks as soon as we're in the woods."

"The sooner we get this over with the sooner I can get some sleep," Sakura stretched with a pained expression. "I just finished a shift at the hospital and I'm dying to rest my aching feet."

It only took Neji a few minutes before he spotted the familiar tread of Beki's shoes. "That's odd," He furrowed his brow. "Why would she be going north?"

"Maybe she's trying to throw off trackers?" Sakura offered. "There's no way Beki didn't think she was going to be pursued."

Neji homed in on the tracks as they approached Beki's trail. "She wasn't alone. I don't recognize the second set but based on the size I'm guessing it was a man."

"Her father?" Naruto grinned. "Wouldn't that make this great if she went out to find her dad and did?"

"They aren't big or deep enough to be Seiichiro's," Neji picked up the pace. "This isn't right. Who could she be running off with?"

"She might have been followed," Sakura reached into her pack and popped a soldier pill. Naruto shot her an odd look. "Look, this doesn't sound as simple as bringing Beki home anymore. We don't know who this man is and should be ready for a fight, just in case."

"Fair enough," Naruto looked ahead. "Let's just hope she's okay."

…

The scent of burnt hair and flesh hung in the air like a macabre perfume. Thick smoke dulled the light and made Beki feel like she was suffocating. The poor air quality was drawing hacking coughs out of the body huddled in the corner. Beki was pressed flat into the grime, numb to the sting in her eyes and the burning sensation in her lungs. The pool of blood a few feet away had been scorched, a shiny black splatter on the dirt floor of the cellar. The charred chair had tipped over as the body it contained fell to the floor in a heap. All that remained of Beki's father at this point was his smoldering armor, which lay in the same shape it had been on his body. In her addled state, Beki half expected the fingers of the empty gauntlets to twitch.

I feel so heavy, Beki tried to determine where the floor stopped and she began. It vaguely occurred to her that she was naked and she wondered where her clothes had gone. The memories of the last few hours were foggy at best. Beki recalled the feeling of rough hands forcing her to the floor, glimpsing a knife shining in the dark, her father's motionless body, and then the clicking. During the chunin exams when Ren had almost died, Beki remembered hearing that same sound, that incessant aggressive clicking. This time the sound had been faster and louder like it was desperate. Then there had been a whoosh, which Beki at the time had thought was the rush of air of the cellar door opening. The room had instantly exploded in light at the same time. Now that she lay there in the dark smoky room she knew that couldn't be the case. No one had opened the door; something had just exploded.

The memories grew dimmer and less focused from there. There were screams, that burned smell, and a feeling of anger so intense that remembering the sensation sent a wave of nausea coursing through her. It was like nothing Beki had ever experienced before. She had of course felt angry before but this was a consuming thing; a blind senseless rage that lashed out at everything in its path while simultaneously turning it inward, eating away at its host like a parasite. That must be why I'm so tired, Beki's realized as she tried to move and found herself completely drained. She couldn't even muster the effort to turn her face out of the dirt, let alone roll off her stomach. Beki knew she needed to get on her feet. A sense of foreboding was tugging at the back of her mind, although she couldn't remember what it was she needed to run from. The fear made her legs itch as her skin turned to gooseflesh. All she knew was that her father was dead and now she was going to die.

Would that really be so bad? Beki thought. Mom's dead and now Dad is dead. If I die, I won't be alone anymore. I'll be with my family. The pain will end and I won't have to be afraid anymore. Tears formed in Beki's eyes and a lump pulled at her throat. Beki wanted to die and that terrified her more than whatever else was lurking in the room. She heaved a sigh and centered herself. If she concentrated, Beki was sure she could at least adjust her position so she could see. She awkwardly tucked her arm under her body and rotated up onto her side, pulling her legs up to support herself.

Beki noticed how dark it had become. They were down in a cellar, but before dull atmospheric light had peeked in between the cracks around the entrance. God knows how long we've been down here, Beki thought. Has it been hours? Days? The body in the corner gave a soft groan. Whoever they were, they had resigned themselves to their fate just like Beki had. If we do die, may death take us peacefully, she prayed.

Hours passed, or days, Beki couldn't tell. She had zoned out to a point near sleep where she was conscious but nearly unperceptive of the world around her. On the edge of her awareness Beki thought she heard something familiar. The signal, Beki thought blankly, automatically raising her filthy hands to her mouth. She sputtered out a single weak note from her incredibly dry mouth and waited. Once or twice, Beki thought she heard the sound again. Just as soon as she heard it, though, she immediately questioned whether she had just imagined it. The effort to reply was too great; her arm rested limply before her with the fingers curled gently, unable to move.

After what seemed like an eternity spent in suspension, Beki heard the great groan of wood being moved against its will. An expectant silence followed it wherein Beki felt the person's gaze piercing the darkness. But it wasn't complete darkness. Not only had they flooded the room with moonlight, but Beki had noticed over time that as the shadows came to claim her they were held at bay by a strange glow that surrounded her.

She heard soft reassuring voices and then a gentle plop, so subtle and subdued Beki nearly missed it. Beki could feel movement in the darkness behind her. Whoever they were, their movement was completely silent. Not a footstep echoed or the ruffle of fabric gave away their position. At least until they had come within a few feet of Beki's body. All pretense of stealth fell away and their heavy footfalls as the approached should have filled Beki with fear. Once again, she came to the realization that her life was in danger but Beki was simply too exhausted to bring herself to do anything about it. She lay there with her eyes closed, waiting for whatever would come. A hand cradled her neck as carefully as if she were a baby. With the help of their other hand, the person simultaneously rolled Beki over and hoisted her up until they were cradling her. Their breath caught in their throat and Beki recognized the sound.

"Neji?" She asked, weakly opening her eyes. The look of horror on his face was softly illuminated by the glow that surrounded her. Seeing his face reminded her about her comb. She reached up with the arm hanging limply by her side and ran her fingers through her filthy, sooty hair. Her nails scraped against a thick wad of crispy debris, which when she fished them out crumbled in her hands. One of the burned bits looked distinctly like a starfish. "My comb. It's all burnt up."

Neji peeled his eyes off her to survey the room. Beki saw his eyes hover on the smoldering armor, the figure huddled sobbing in the corner, and the blackened blood.

"Is it clear?" A voice called out from somewhere above them. Beki recognized that voice too. Are all my friends here? Maybe I'm just dreaming and I'll wake up any second now.

"Yes," Neji's voice was measured, forcibly calm. Beki recognized that voice to be the ones parents used when their child was injured severely and they were trying to reassure them they were fine. "I have the ambassador she needs medical attention. There's an unidentified person in the southwest corner. Proceed with caution."

No wonder he's a jounin. He's so good at his job. Beki watched him talk, his voice never betraying the distress on his face. He looked down at her again and a spark of realization came over him. He set Beki down on the ground carefully and then removed his shirt.

"Let's get you covered up."

Beki feebly raised one arm and he slid on half his shirt. He leaned her against him for support and slid the other sleeve over her far arm. Neji pulled the opposite sides closed, like a kimono, and then cautiously picked her up bridal style. "I'm bringing her up."

Neji walked back over to the cellar door and jumped the seven feet to the surface with the ease and grace of a cat. There was a hum of soft voices and a gasp at the sight of Beki's squalid form. As arms began to grab at her limbs, Beki felt her consciousness slipping away. She had held out after all. Her parents would have to wait.