AN: Welcome back for the third installment of Hard Time. I had originally written the chapter and had it ready a while ago but after re-reading it while editing I really started to dislike it. As a result, I decided to scrap close to half the chapter and rewrite it. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Thank you everyone for your likes, reviews and patience. Here is Chapter III.

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter III

"Naruto Namikaze."

Naruto was given no more time to converse with his new-found partner. It was his turn to be registered.

Naruto begrudgingly sat up from his spot on the concrete bench and walked towards the open cell door. Standing at attention holding the door was one of the few guards that helped transport the prisoners from the boat to the prison. He didn't pay any mind to him and continued on his way towards the processing room across the way.

As Naruto turned his head up in the direction of the room he found Mui staring him down with a cold calculating gaze. Like he was playing chess and was trying to think of his next move. He continued gazing at Naruto as he walked from across the way and into the processing room. Within a second of entering the room he heard, "Turn around." It was said in a commanding tone that left no room for a rebuttal. Not that Naruto would anyway.

When Naruto turned around he was greeted with a plastic board being shoved into his arms and further instructions from Mui. "Stand against the back wall and keep a straight face. For the first picture face towards the camera and then face towards the right side of the room for the second. We are behind schedule so don't make me repeat myself."

The door slammed shut with a bang after Mui ended his small monologue. Naruto not wanting to enrage Mui immediately strided towards the back wall and stood patiently facing the camera on the other side of the room.

He stood there for a minute before his vision was blinded by a white light. The camera flash had caught him of guard, his vision was blurry from looking directly into the light but he instinctively turned to face the right side of the room. He didn't have to wait long for a second flash to signal the end of the photo shoot. A couple seconds after the second flash the door to the room swung open and Mui walked back into the room, his straight face betrayed no thoughts currently going through his head. Naruto was broken from his thoughts when he heard Mui say, "Stand still so we may now finish the proceedings."

Naruto stood as still as a post while Mui continued walking towards him. It grew harder for him to stand still though and Mui's facial expression changed from that of a blank canvas to the smile of a mass murderer. Mui calmly spoke, "This is always my favorite part of registration. The way the prisoners always wither around in pain just sends shivers down my spine." Naruto heard the words but he didn't want to believe them. What was Mui going to do that caused immense pain? Was he going to burn his prisoner number into his skin? Naruto's mind was too busy thinking of the different scenarios that could play out to notice Mui drop into an elongated stance with his legs spread shoulder length apart, left arm pulled in towards his body and his right arm fully extended in Naruto's direction.

When Naruto finished playing out all the different scenarios that Mui was implying he finally took notice of his stance and before he could react Mui shifted his weight from his back leg forward through his body pulling back his right arm and thrusting his left arm forward in a palm strike motion. As Mui's left palm struck Naruto in the sternum he shouted "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison Seal!" The technique name easily gave away that it as a seal of some sort but those thoughts were cut short when a blazing burning pain circulated throughout his entire body. Naruto had never quite felt pain like this before. It felt like his entire body had been thrown inside an Uchiha fire blast. It was anything but pleasant. Naruto didn't know at what point during his suffering he fell to the floor but the pain started to subside and he rolled onto his knees. Naruto breaths were deep and heavy as he came back to his senses. The excruciating pain took up all of his attention and left his mind no room to process anything else that was happening.

Naruto gazed down at himself and could see that he was covered in hot sweat and his clothes were most likely drenched from that very sweat. As Naruto kept assessing himself Mui triumphantly walked back into the processing room and stood over Naruto. Gleefully Mui stated, "That was wonderful. Not you can see why I love this part of registration. So much pain and suffering, it's truly a wonderful thing."

Despite Mui's ramblings Naruto kept looking over himself to check for any damage left from the experience. The only lasting reminder he found was a large red X-shaped seal covering his torso. The seal itself was stripped and he could clearly see space in between the individual matrices. It was definitely going to take him awhile to decipher the seal that was just put on his body.

Naruto finished assessing his body and looked up to see Mui was done rambling and was now instructing him on what his fate would be. "Now that your processing has been completed you will change into proper prison garb and be brought to your jail cell. Enjoy your stay at my prison." Mui swiftly left the registration room and his presence was replaced by the guard from earlier that held the door for him. Except this time, he was holding a bright orange jumpsuit. The guard tossed the jumpsuit in front of Naruto and commanded him to change fast. Naruto complied quickly taking off his outerwear before sliding on the cold cloth. It was anything but comfortable. It was like being wrapped in garbage bag.

The registration processes were now finished and Naruto, freshly clad in an orange garbage bag, was led out of the room. The guards started leading Naruto down the hallway towards the entrance they came in through.

On Naruto's way by the holding cell he glimpsed back at the cement bench that he shared with Ryuuzetsu. She wasn't sitting on the bench anymore and when he peered around the jail cell he found several other inmates missing. They must be using another registration room as well to speed up the process.

Naruto cleared his mind of his thoughts now and started to pay attention to his surroundings as the guards led him out of the building. Naruto would need to know the layout of the land if he were to sneak around and find this mysterious box. He didn't get a lot of time to look though as the guards led him out of the building and into the courtyard.

The guard's boots smacked against the gravel walkway grabbing the attention of all the other guards in their immediate vicinity. He noted that he would be located in the fifth building from the entrance on the east side of the complex. Just a short walk across the facility.

It took very little time to get across the courtyard and soon he was upon his new home. The building was extremely similar to the registration center. Then again, all the buildings in the complex were nearly identical. He entered his new humble abode and noticed that the building was only a shelter for jail cells. The entire building was just rows of jail cells. Spacious metal barred containers ran the length of the building. As Naruto looked up he noticed that there were three levels of cells.

Naruto and the guards continued walking down the path in-between cells until they reached a metal stairway towards the center of the building. He was escorted up three flights of stairs to the very top floor. Once they reached the top floor Naruto noticed something interesting. Most of the guards in his current detail were taking deep breaths. Like just exerting the effort to climb the stairs was too much. Interesting. If all the guards were this out of shape then his odds of escaping this hell hole just rose a few percentage points. It would also mean that sneaking around would be easier. He would be able to easily out run the guards if they caught sight of him outside of his cell.

As Naruto was pondering this development the guards escorted him back towards the entrance of the building. His cell was located in the middle of the stairs and the buildings entrance. One of the guards off to his left broke off from his guard detail and made his way towards the door. Taking out his key ring and started flipping through all of his keys. Naruto looked towards the guard to see if he could memorize what key he would need to take to escape his cell when he noticed another advantage. All of the keys on the man's ring were labeled. Each key had several kanji on it. The key the guard had settled on had the Kanji for "5" and "3" written on it. Just based on those two number Naruto assumed that this was building number 5 and that key unlocked every cell of floor 3. It seemed like things were looking up since he had his insides broiled earlier.

The guard now held the door open gesturing with his right arm for Naruto to go into the cell. Not wanting any trouble Naruto peacefully walked into the cell. After walking into his new home for the foreseeable future the guard slammed the metal door shut with more force than necessary. The guards marched away back towards the stairs leaving Naruto alone in his cell. Naruto peered around his cell and took in everything that it offered. There were stone slabs jutting out of the wall on either side of the cell supporting some padding, it would be a stretch to call it a mattress, on top of the padding was a small pillow and a paper-thin blanket. Against the back wall was where the bathroom was set up. A toilet was stationed slightly off center towards the wall to his left and directly in front of him was the sink. Glancing up Naruto saw a small shower rod positioned around the facilities with a ripped cloth to give the user some privacy.

Seeing as it was a shorter walk Naruto took the bunk to his right. The second bed in his room would be for his partner Ryuuzetsu but the last time he checked she was still being processed. Lying down Naruto instantly felt the itchy cloth blanket under him. He did his best to ignore it but after several minutes he stood up and threw the blanket off the bed. It felt as though the blanket was actually living and nipping at his exposed skin. It would be another half hour before Ryuuzetsu showed up and that half hour was filled with tossing, turning, and Naruto failing to get comfortable.

The sound of voices and boots slapping against the ground alerted Naruto that his building was receiving another prisoner. Sitting up from his position on his bed Naruto could hear the voices and steps becoming louder. Which each growing second Naruto began to believe more and more that his roommate would be joining him. She was. Stopping at the door to his cell was the same contingent of guards that escorted him here. Between all of the guards stood his gray-haired teammate. A jostling of keys and a click later the door to his cell was opened and Ryuuzetsu was let inside. Once let inside Ryuuzetsu walked over to the bunk on the opposite side of the room. She started to pull back the blanket on the bed like she was going to sleep, right as she slipped under the covers the guards had finished locking the door and made their way back towards the stairwell.

Breaking the silence Ryuuzetsu opened her eyes and mouthed, "Are they gone?" Naruto silently nodded and as if the nod was her queue she pushed the covers off her body and sat up. After sitting up, she stepped towards the bars of the cell and glanced around. Once she knew nobody was listening she crossed the length of cell and sat next to Naruto. Naruto followed her actions with eyes and tracked her till she had taken a seat next to him.

Naruto broke the short silence by asking how her registration went. Ryuuzetsu simply replied, "My insides are still on fire but I will survive." Naruto nodded in understanding before he continued, "I don't believe we ever properly introduced ourselves. My name is Naruto Namikaze, Jonin from the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Ryuuzetsu's lips perked up at hearing his explanation. They both didn't know who the other was from their briefing and the gesture spoke volumes. Ryuuzetsu turned her body a bit so she was facing Naruto more before saying, "It's nice to meet you Naruto. My name is Ryuuzetsu, I have no surname, Jonin from the Village Hidden in the Grass." Naruto was pleased. It seems like he wasn't partnered with an idiot for this mission. He has been part of many missions in the past where he was forced to deal with delinquents. Thankfully, he won't have to this time.

Naruto began speaking again but this time with a little bit more cheer in his voice, "When genin teams are formed in my village they have a tradition of asking different questions to get to know the other person better, understand them on another level. My team told each other their likes and dislikes, what kind of ninja they were and some other nonconsequential details about themselves. I believe if we do this then our teamwork will improve and the mission will go by smoother." Naruto ended his short monologue with large inhales. His nervousness over her answer spoke through his actions. He was too worried about how she would respond to his statement to remember to properly breath while talking.

Ryuuzetsu looked towards the wall her bed protruded from, like the answer was written in the stone above her sleeping arrangements. After a few seconds Ryuuzetsu chuckled before saying, "You are an interesting one, Naruto Namikaze. Not too many ninjas want to be this open with a ninja from another village. How do you know I will not just sell this information or give it to the leader of my village? Or maybe I use this opportunity to get to know you, gain your trust and then assassinate you in cold blood?" The atmosphere that was calm and cool a minute ago but now it raged like a hurricane. Ryuuzetsu knew this world like the back of her hand. Ninja's are not people you can trust and when you do honor someone with your trust it is usually after years of a faithful friendship.

Naruto's faced wavered a little at her response. It was one that was realistic and too the point. Naruto's face did regain a little cheerfulness though and he said, "I am not the average ninja. I also believe that in order to complete our mission and return home safely we will need to trust each other like comrades that have worked together for years. Even if you do not trust me, I will trust you to help me complete the mission." Ryuuzetsu wore a pensive look on her face as she absorbed all of Naruto's words. It took her a minute before she opened her mouth and then closed it again. This action repeated itself several times before she said, "You may have the ability to trust me with such valor but at this moment I cannot give you the same commitment. I think though that given time I can come to trust you and reward your blind faith in me." Naruto grinned at that. He did not need her full trust but she was willing to test the waters and that was enough for him. Just as Naruto was about to continue talking a loud clang was heard.

Naruto and Ryuuzetsu were on their feet immediately both in relaxed defensive stances. Their eyes surveyed the area, looking for the cause of the loud noise. The loud clangs continued throughout the next couple of minutes and with each passing second the volume increased. Finally, a figure approached their cell door with a set of keys. It was a guard, Naruto noticed it was a different guard then before. They must have switched shifts. Unlocking the cell door with a clang and then opening it the guard stood facing them. Then the guard all but screamed, "Move out of the cell calmly and line up next to the other prisoners! We will begin escorting you to the cafeteria for your meal once every inmate is accounted for!" Still standing in the middle of the cell Naruto and Ryuuzetsu moved towards the entrance of the cell. Once outside they noticed the long line of prisoners ready to make the pilgrimage to the cafeteria. They simply walked towards the line and stood waiting to make their way out of their cell block.

-On the way to the Cafeteria-

The procession to the cafeteria was rather boring. Nobody dared try to escape and most of the prisoners were quiet and marched. The cafeteria was only one building over from Naruto's cell block. Naruto's building was the fifth building from the entrance making the cafeteria the sixth. The building looked relatively the same on the outside but that could not be said for the interior.

The tables and seating took up three quarters of the building while a wall with a door separated the area from another room. Naruto assumed that was where the guards ate their meals. The building itself was very open. Besides the small opening in the side of the wall where the so-called chef distributes the meals the interior was lined with metal tables. The tables went from the entrance of the building all the way to the wall.

Looking around Naruto also saw that guards were lined up along the walls ready to put an end to any fight. Each guard stood about 15 feet apart and that went on from the entrance of the building down to the locked doors of the separate room. That's when Naruto noticed the entire room was made of metal. The walls were metal like the tables. It was like being in a giant metal box.

"Hey," Ryuuzetsu's voice broke Naruto's focus on the architecture, "Your observations are starting to get the attention of the guards. Let's get food and keep moving." Naruto nodded along with Ryuuzetsu's plan. It was simple and was the most logical move in his mind at the moment. They kept moving and reached the food line, they each grabbed a metal tray, and moved in sync with the line. Eventually they both had some white oatmeal looking substance on their plate and moved to find a table. Ryuuzetsu and Naruto walked together towards a table near the entrance when a voice stopped them in their tracks, "Do you guys hate how dreary it is in this place? All of this metal is too much for me." Ryuuzetsu turned her head to see who spoke while Naruto looked out the corner of his eye. The person who spoke was a dark-sinned man with brown hair. His hair was shaved on the sides while it was long on top and tied in a man bun. Going down his face Naruto saw that he had grey eyes and a thick beard. He was wearing the same orange jumpsuit as Naruto except he had left part of the zipper undone showing his upper chest. "All I am saying is that I need some green. I need to wake up and see the grass. I do not want to see metal buildings and concrete walls." Naruto was about to continue walking to get away from this madman until Ryuuzetsu sat down across from him. Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. Did she have a thing for lunatics? His thoughts ceased though when Ryuuzetsu said, "So, you are Maroi?"

-Until Next Time-

Thank you for reading, please review!

Constructive criticism is welcomed.