A/N: I'm back everyone! :) Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year! I certainly had fun and saw some really beautiful sights in Hangzhou and Suzhou. Unfortunately, I also got food poisoning, which meant puking on New Year's Eve. Still feeling queasy even now :(

I wish I could start the year with something fluffy and uplifting, but alas, we are at a particularly dark and gritty juncture of the story. And sorry for the sheer English-ness of the terms "scullery maid" and "butler". I have no idea what other terms I can use :(

Deep in the heart of Ame there is a sprawling compound heavily guarded by shinobi. Between shallow koi ponds, winding verandas and weeping willow trees, a network of buildings in the traditional style stand proudly in contrast to the dingy high-rise apartments outside its borders. It would be a show of untenable arrogance if not for the reputation of the man who lives within its walls. Hanzou's blatant advertisement of his personal residence-cum-seat of governance is a challenge to anyone who dares oppose him, including the Akatsuki.

The two Konoha ANBU spend a few days discretely observing Hanzou's guards and relaying their observations to Konan via their dead drop at the closest wet market. The mission slows and comes to a standstill for nearly a week as the ANBU consider how best to infiltrate the tightly secured compound. The time is not wasted, however. The pair compile a detailed map of every nook and cranny in the city and make it their business to learn every fact or rumour drifting about.

One in particular perks their ears: children sometimes are picked off the streets to work in the compound or to be trained as a shinobi, should they be lucky enough to possess sufficient chakra reserves. At the back of the compound where the servants' quarters are tucked away, an iron grill door opens out into the street. When the sun sets, homeless children gather outside a safe distance away from the guards, waiting for the servants to bring out the little extra food left over from the day's meals. Usually there isn't much; sometimes there isn't any at all. It's another long three weeks spent watching the gate before the rumour comes to fruition, when one night someone in addition to the usual scullery maid appears.

The man with greying, neatly combed hair is a manservant of high standing – a butler, perhaps. He peers down at the street urchins with distaste. The children leap at the opportunity, crowding up against the grill and waving their arms. "Sir, please! Pick me!"

Some, knowing that they're too young to be chosen, dash for the basket of food set out by the maid instead. With startling speed, they begin stuffing their mouths and grabbing whatever food they could fill their small hands with. Though there is the occasional kindness, too often the weaker amongst them are pushed aside and left hungry by those older and stronger. Even after all these weeks, it breaks Sakumo's heart all over again to see them so stripped of their dignity, scrabbling for mere sustenance.

The butler's narrowed gaze skips from child to child, his arms crossed before his plain, black kimono. Under his assessing eyes, the children grow subdued, their initial excitement tempered into something quiet and anticipatory. Snake and Kakashi are squashed up against the gate in the front, craning their heads and trying their best to get noticed without seeming pushy. This is their best chance to get into Hanzou's residence – otherwise, they might have to resort to disposing of two of the servants and taking their places.

An exhale of relief whistles between Sakumo's teeth when Snake and Kakashi are amongst the five children who are chosen, all of around the same age. With a grimace at their filthy state and a glare at the remaining children's whining, the butler opens the wrought iron gate just enough for those selected to wriggle in. A muffled crying starts at the back of the throng when the door slams shut again.

Kakashi glances back as he hurries after the butler's long footsteps, his eyes dark with regret as his mouth moves silently. "Sorry."

With a soft frown, Snake wraps an arm around Kakashi's shoulders and pulls him close, whispering in his ear. Kakashi's gaze falls to the pebbled path beneath their feet and he nods minutely in response, his expression smoothing. Smiling tightly with worry in her eyes, Snake lets him go.

Unlike what they'd expected, they're not taken to the servants' quarters but rather to the shinobi barracks adjoining the compound. The butler hands them off to a scarred, dark-blonde man at the entrance of the squat cement building, exchanging brief words before leaving with more leisurely footsteps. Their newest guide - a shinobi, no doubt, from the shrewd glint in his eyes and the uniform he wore - leads them into the building and down several flights of stones steps.

The various Ame-nin they pass barely spare the nervous children a glance – used, perhaps, to such a sight. "There is a test," their shinobi guide drawls, striding soundlessly through the narrow, barely-heated hallway. From the harsh scrub of chakra wards over their skin and the jangle of keys pulled from the shinobi's pocket, it is quickly becoming apparent that they are in some kind of dungeon for holding prisoners. "To work here, you'll have to pass the test." He smirks when his charges exchange alarmed looks. "No pressure, ne."

"This place..." Rin murmurs, her troubled gaze darting from the flickering white lights to the parallel rows of cells beyond. Already the air is growing stale and thick with odours of unwashed bodies, open toilets and a disturbingly pervasive scent of old blood. It's a far cry from Konoha's cells under T&I, which are almost meticulously clean in comparison. But then, foul living conditions serve as a tactic of its own. Sakumo pulls the collar of his shirt over the lower half of his face and notices Kakashi drawing measured breaths through his mouth, his expression pinched.

The Ame-nin hums a merry tune as he strolls by the cramped cells, seemingly oblivious to the half-hearted abuse hissed at him by hollowed-cheeked prisoners. The children walk in a close huddle, shying away from every raised voice. Once they pass, miserable silence reigns again.

They stop at the last cell in the row. There is only a single prisoner in this one, slumped unconscious against the wall. His hands are manacled behind his back and his light brown hair is blood-matted where it falls over his closed eyes. Kakashi reaches for Snake's hand and traces something under her sleeve in ANBU code, their gazes meeting briefly but meaningfully behind their guide's back.

The Ame-nin fits a key into the lock and kicks open the creaking door of bars. Yahiko slips forward, crouching down to look at his face. "Young," he mutters with a frown, his gaze lingering on the prisoner's bruised but beardless jaw. "I don't recognise him."

"This man has betrayed Ame by consorting with the Akatsuki," their guide declares as he herds the pale-faced children in. Grabbing a wide-eyed Kakashi and pulling him, stumbling, to stand before the prisoner, the Ame-nin smiles. He withdraws a kunai and presses the weapon into Kakashi's trembling hand. With a quick step forward, their guide comes up beside the prisoner and winds his fingers into the unconscious man's hair, pulling to expose a pale neck.

"Kill him."

A/N: My grades last semester weren't all that good :( I have to really work hard this semester to make up for it, so once the semester starts on 15th Jan, I don't think I can maintain my previous daily update schedule even though I really, really want to. We'll see how it goes!

On another note, I've finally gotten an AO3 account, also under the name Saengak. If you prefer that site's format, you can find me there too :)