Welcome all to Chapter IX of Escapades in ANBU. Thank you everyone for kind words and reviews on the past chapter. I really loved all the feedback I received. I am going to try and incorporate more fighting/action scenes in the coming chapters. Without further ado, here is the chapter.

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter IX

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto was stupefied. He could see nothing but darkness. His last memory was of himself being struck by a guard's baton inside his cell. He quickly deduced that wherever his new location was, it was his punishment for aiding an escapee.

Naruto's eyes didn't have long to assimilate to the darkness as a bright light showed down from the heavens. Naruto initially covered his eyes as the exposure to the newfound light nearly blinded him. After what felt like a minute of furious blinking, Naruto peered up to see the origin of the light.

The light was unnatural. It was a massive fluorescent light showing through the top of his new cell. His new cell looked like a twisted version of his previous. Instead of the bars being along one of the walls, they were located on the ceiling. To make matters worse, it appeared that there was a retractable roof that covered the bars, isolating him in complete darkness.

Peering around his cell, Naruto noticed he still had some of the same amenities as last time. He still had a bed, a toilet, and bland concrete walls. The only discrepancy between the concrete walls was that there was a large metal door fixed to one of the sides. It was probably how he was brought into the room.

Naruto was brought out of his musings by a familiar voice from above. Turning his head upwards, Naruto saw several figures peering down upon him in his cell. "Oh, how I wish you tried to escape as well. Chasing one person is fun but two people would have made my day." Mui's voice was filled with glee. That sadist relished the chance to hunt down prisoners.

Ignoring Mui's words, Naruto asked, "How long will I be in this cell?"

Mui's face adopted a serious expression before he said, "You will be locked in this room with no light for the next three days. You will soon learn that I can deprave you of the little things you do have inside this institution. Food and other necessities will be provided. I encourage you to spend your time wisely. Think of another way to try an escape with your friend." Mui's face changed into a crazed stare showing that he had lost all sanity years ago. "I look forward to the next exhilarating chase. Maybe this time I can even stretch my muscles a little bit." By this point Mui's mouth had formed a blood thirsty grin.

Turning to the guard to his immediate left, Mui said, "Throw her in."

Naruto's eyebrow rose with intrigue. Who was his roommate going to be for the next couple of days? Idealistically, he hoped that it would be Ryuuzetsu. They would have several days to consider their next move without interruption. Naruto was getting ahead of himself though. Mui was a diabolical man and from what he could see, Mui didn't do anything without a reason. With that line of thinking, Naruto could easily see Mui put another convict in the cell with him.

Naruto's thoughts were put on hold when he heard the clinking of the rusted metallic door opening. Naruto held his breath as he waited to see who would be joining him in his cell. To his much-needed relief, another guard dragged in the unconscious body of his cell mate, Ryuuzetsu. On instinct Naruto was about to reach out towards his comrade but a loud voice interrupted his motion. "Don't move! Any movement towards the guard will be seen as a sign of aggression!"

Naruto froze on the spot after he heard the command. He was already going to be encased in this concrete box for 3 days, he didn't need to extend his stay. What was interesting though is that the voice commanding Naruto wasn't Mui, it was one of his henchmen standing next to him. Naruto peered through the bars of his cell to look at the man.

The man giving the order was nothing special in Naruto's opinion. He was shorter than Mui by a couple inches. It didn't help that the man was a little on the heavy side either. Naruto muttered his thoughts under his breath, "If he ever had to wear my jumpsuit he would look like a massive orange."

Naruto's attention returned to the guard inside his cell. The man laid Ryuuzetsu down on the bed inside the cell. Taking a better look at the bed, Naruto could see that it was an exact replica of the one he had used the past few days. Just a slab of concrete with a cheap mattress and scratchy blankets.

With her body now on the bed, the guard swiftly left the room. The clinking sound of metal hitting metal notified Naruto that the door was locked and he was not leaving for a while. The clinking sound returned and Naruto looked towards the door thinking it was unlocked. It wasn't the case. The light in the room quickly started to recede and that was Naruto's first indication to look up. When Naruto tilted his head upwards he witnessed the retractable door closing, enveloping him in darkness.

Breathing in deeply and exhaling with the same depth, Naruto closed his eyes before opening them. He would need to wait awhile for his eyes to adapt to the newfound darkness. The only thing he could do now is be patient. He would wait for Ryuuzetsu to reawaken, ask her if she found anything, and talk about how to approach the mission from their new position.

Seeing as she was unconscious, Naruto sat down against the concrete wall. Leaning back, the cold rock felt like a large ice wall. Letting the cold wash over him, Naruto tried to relax. With relaxation in mind he closed his eyes and waited for Ryuuzetsu to awaken.

-Several Hours Later-

Naruto eyes fluttered open to complete darkness. He rubbed his eyes thinking he was trapped in an illusion only to remember his current predicament. Before his thought starting raging, Naruto heard the rustling of a blanket and soft groan. Naruto looked towards the sound but the black atmosphere prevented him from seeing anything.

Naruto pushed himself up, stretching out his stiff back in the process. Up against a concrete wall wasn't an ideal place to take a nap. When he finished stretching Naruto started to navigate across the cell when a voice stopped him.

"Who is there?" In a demanding voice, Ryuuzetsu questioned the dark vicinity around her. The last thing she remembered was being knocked out inside Mui's office. Her new pitch-black surroundings put her on edge immediately.

Hoping to put her at ease Naruto simply said, "It's Naruto." Naruto couldn't see her but he hoped that she relaxed a little from his statement.

Ryuuzetsu relaxed slightly but kept her guard up. They could have captured Naruto and were using him to get to her. She couldn't put her guard down when the situation was still relatively unknown. Slowly, Ryuuzetsu slid off the bed and shakily stood up. She felt the hard surface against her feet, reaching down she felt the cold concrete floor.

Rising from her crouched position, Ryuuzetsu carefully put one foot in front of the other and made her way towards Naruto's voice.

Naruto's sixth sense perked up slightly. He had a feeling something was within his reach. This sense saved him from flying kunai and errant justu's multiple times so he had the upmost faith in it. But, what could be within his reach? Ryuuzetsu was on the bed, at least that's what he assumed. Reacting on his feeling his right hand flew out in front of him and grabbed at darkness. It was darkness, until his hand firmly wrapped around someone's wrist.

Ryuuzetsu froze as she felt someone grab her wrist. Thinking fast she took her hand and gripped the wrist of the mystery arm. When she felt the wrist of the opposing person it gave her an idea as to where the other person was. Going for broke, she bent her legs slightly. Before shifting her weight forward, swinging her back leg straight for where she thought the other person's head was.

The rippling air gave away the fact that she miscalculated her kick. They must have been farther away than she predicted. As she was bringing her leg down she was caught off guard when the hand pulled her forward. The strength of the pull almost made her fall to the ground. But, as she was stumbling around she was tackled by the owner of the mysterious hand.

Reacting to the takedown, Ryuuzetsu tried to wrestle her way out from underneath her attacker. All of her effort was a waste as her arms were pinned above her head and the weight of her opponent sat on top of her. She would continue to fight though. She just needed to loosen the grip the person had on her. Then, she may have the opportunity to turn the table in her favor.

Naruto didn't know how the situation got out of hand this fast. He realized that he could have handled better than this. He needed to put an end to this little battle though. Calmly, Naruto said, "Ryuuzetsu, stop." It wasn't said in a commanding voice, it was said in a soft, calm voice. It got his point across though as the girl underneath his stopped trying to escape his hold.

"You're attacking your teammate, Naruto. Now I'm going to let go and-" Naruto couldn't finish his sentence as he was harshly cut off by Ryuuzetsu.

"And how do I know that you're Naruto? How do I know you're not some imposter planted in this cell by Mui? You have no proof, just empty words."

Naruto was slightly astonished by Ryuuzetsu's outburst but he began to think of a way to prove his statements to the grey-haired girl. A small smile crept onto Naruto's face as he thought of his little ploy. This could go two ways, one, Ryuuzetsu is flustered and is too embarrassed to react, or two, Ryuuzetsu punches him. He hoped for the latter.

Naruto forcefully held Ryuuzetsu down as he lowered his body so that they were nearly touching. He positioned his head just to the side of Ryuuzetsu's. His mouth not even an inch from her ear and then he whispered into her ear, "Only the real Naruto would know you have a thing for pillows."

Ryuuzetsu laid there underneath Naruto. Her face looked like a massive tomato but you wouldn't be able to tell from the lack of light. Shortly after Naruto said his words though, he released his grip on Ryuuzetsu and started to get up. She knew that only Naruto would make that snarky comment after the stunt he pulled a couple of nights ago.

Once Naruto was standing again he reached his arm out and said, "Extend your arm so I can help you up."

Ryuuzetsu decided to take him up on his offer. Grasping his extended hand, she let herself be pulled up from the ground to her feet. Only once she was on her feet did she decide that retribution was necessary. She would get him back in due time.

Ryuuzetsu kept hold of Naruto's hand and she guided him back towards the bed she woke up from. "We have quite a bit to discuss. I learned several key details when I explored the prison."

Naruto continued to listen. He was interested in hearing what she discovered while she had been outside their cell. He didn't mind being led either. Plenty of girls dragged him around and told him what to do back in the Leaf Village.

Sitting down on the mattress Naruto and Ryuuzetsu tried to make themselves comfortable. Not surprisingly, it didn't work. While Naruto continued to move his butt around in search for the perfect spot, Ryuuzetsu began speaking.

"I suppose I should start with what happened after I escaped the massive brawl. I immediately went to the cafeteria since we suspected the room on the other side to be where they held the box. Unfortunately, I discovered nothing but the workers lunch area and a few weapon closets. I then moved on to the administration building where I searched through file cabinets and Mui's desk to no avail. I was eventually caught in Mui's work office. The one thing that caught my eye though was the construction happening on one of the walls in the prison."

Naruto was nodding his head while listening in as Ryuuzetsu gave her account of her small mission. Though he stopped nodding when she mentioned construction. If one of the walls of the prison was down that meant they had an escape route once they finished their business with the box.

Deciding to voice his opinion Naruto said, "This is good. It means that we have an escape route once we complete our mission, or worse case scenario, if we are discovered we can escape Mui."

Ryuuzetsu nodded along but due to the darkness Naruto couldn't see the puzzled look on her face. "The construction may have caught my eye but the workers piqued my interest. The construction workers were from the Cloud Village."

Naruto's eyebrows rose at that statement. Thinking it over for several seconds Naruto thought of the only two rational reasons behind a company from a major village working on a prison. "The only two reasons the construction crew could be here is, one, they are oblivious to our current objective and are here to do a contracted job. Two, they are working in conjunction with Maroi as back up for when we get to the box or need to escape. The only problem with two is that Maroi never told us about the construction crew…."

Naruto's voiced drifted off as he finished his answer. The construction crew gave birth to mixed feelings in Naruto's gut. He wanted to believe that the construction workers were their way out of this hell hole but Naruto knew better than to be optimistic with a ninja from a foreign village. He wouldn't be surprised if the Cloud Village was after something else within the prison or had an ulterior motive.

At this point, Naruto could feel his headache grow inside of his skull. Bringing his hands up, Naruto started massaging his temples hoping to find some solace from his touch. It wasn't his touch that calmed him down though.

As if she could sense his distress, Ryuuzetsu moved from her position on the mattress. Raising her hands, she let them rest on top of Naruto's shoulders. Cupping his shoulder's, she started slowly massaging him.

In Naruto's mind, Ryuuzetsu couldn't have picked a better time to help ease his stress. Eventually, Naruto's stature relaxed and he melted into her palms. His ease lasted for several seconds before doubt crept back into his mind. It was dangerous to drop your guard to anyone, especially a ninja from another nation.

Naruto was immediately put on edge when he felt a warm breath blow across the side of his face. Only now did he realize that Ryuuzetsu's body was flush against his back, every curve molded to his body, like they were two pieces of a puzzle. Ryuuzetsu's head moved farther forward to the point where her face was parallel to his. Space between them was non-existent.

Naruto's doubtful mind was replaced with a daring one. Despite his level headiness, he was prone to doing stupid things. He blamed his sensei's, especially Jiraiya.

Pivoting his head so he is facing Ryuuzetsu, Naruto could feel her breaths tickle his lips. With his daring mind fueling him, Naruto moved in to capture her lips.

But, his capture was unsuccessful. Instead, Naruto's face met a soft object covered in a rough sheet. Naruto didn't have to think too long about what happened. Ryuuzetsu got him back.

Ryuuzetsu broke out in a fit of giggles as she felt Naruto's face connect with the pillow. Her plan from several minutes ago came into fruition and succeeded.

As Ryuuzetsu's giggles started to recede she could hear Naruto grumbling under his breath. Deciding to pour gas on the fire she started taunting him, "Oh, is poor little Naru going through a dry spell inside the prison?"

Already a little salty from a couple seconds ago, Naruto wasn't going to let her have a victory lap. With his body facing her now, Naruto slowly crawled across the bed towards Ryuuzetsu.

Ryuuzetsu was a little more concerned now, what was he planning? Will he do a prank in retaliation? Those thoughts raced through her head as Naruto kept moving towards her.

In reaction to Naruto's advances, Ryuuzetsu started to lean backwards. When Naruto finished crawling he was nearly on top of Ryuuzetsu, who was now laying down on her back. Leaning down, Naruto reciprocated her taunting, "Are you sure it's not you who is going through the dry spell, Ryu?"

Ryuuzetsu didn't take kindly to the cocky tone Naruto used. She wasn't going to let him win this battle. She just came back and won round two. Round three would be hers as well.

Responding to his taunts, Ryuuzetsu propped herself up on her elbows, placing her face mere millimeters from Naruto's. "It's cute that you ask me the same question. When you crawled over me you answered my question." Ryuuzetsu smoothly said her sentence with a smug tone, baiting Naruto. She wasn't going to give him any sign that she wanted him. She was proud, she would make him break first, make him move on her, make him kiss her.

Naruto only grinned at her smug tone. Naruto knew she was going to flirt until he broke, until he made the first move. He refused to break though. He was going to make her give in. "If you aren't going through a dry spell and you don't care, then you probably won't mind sharing the bed with me tonight," Naruto spoke confidently.

Naruto also wasn't going to say it but sleeping on a concrete floor wasn't ideal. He already slept against the wall and his neck will probably be stiff for the next two days. He would share this bed with the entire Akimichi clan if he had too.

Ryuuzetsu wasn't going to back down. She has shared a bed before. Sharing one with Naruto wouldn't be any different. Maybe he was bluffing? The thought quickly came and went though. If any of the flirting was legitimate then Ryuuzetsu knew that Naruto was interested in her. She wasn't going to sleep on the floor either. The concrete floor looked about as comforting as Mui's smile.

Concluding, Ryuuzetsu said, "I don't mind sharing the bed, just don't get any funny ideas in the middle of the night. If you do think of something interesting at least wake me up so I can have some fun too," The teasing voice she used to say her words told Naruto that she wouldn't mind.

With their short flirt session over, Naruto laid down next to Ryuuzetsu to retire for the night. If today was anything to go by then the next couple of days would be very interesting.

-Two Days Later-

The midday sun was blinding. He felt like an old man that just had cataract surgery. Being deprived of light for three days will do that to you.

More importantly, it had been a week since Naruto had met with the man who said he could get Naruto into Mui's special project. Today, Naruto was hoping to find out if this special project included the box that Naruto was looking for.

As Naruto crossed the courtyard and recess area he reflected on his time in solitary confinement. He wouldn't really call it solitary confinement as his cell mate was with him for those three days. And for those three days they flirted, talked, and just acted like normal young adults. It's like they weren't even on a mission. It was a sweet escape from the penitentiary and the mission in general.

Maybe under other circumstances other things would have occurred between the two. The two of them did mention sex quite frequently and if the flirting was anything to go by then Naruto was certain they would have ended up at someone's apartment or in a hotel room. Naruto would be lying if he said he wouldn't want to do it and he was sure Ryuuzetsu felt the same way.

His reminiscing ended when he approached the recreation building. Naruto knew he couldn't afford to be distracted going into this meeting. This meeting could make or break this mission. Walking through the doors of the building Naruto ascended the stairs to the second level. He made his way through the empty room to the custodial door on the far side.

Opening the door, the long pipe filled hallway seemed to emit the sense of dread. Naruto did his best to not let his feelings control him. He fought his feelings and did his best to remain calm, cool, and collected.

Naruto strode through the hallway. The clapping of his feet against the concrete echoed down the long walkway.

Finally, Naruto reached the end of the hallway that opened up to the meeting spot. Naruto wasn't surprised to see the small black prisoner he talked to all those days ago standing there, waiting for him.

The dark-skinned prisoner broke the silence when he asked, "Are you the Uzumaki that Hiro was talking about?"

Naruto simply nodded in confirmation to the smaller man. It was better that Naruto played stupid about Hiro. If the prisoner or Mui found out about his charade questions would be raised and Naruto would rather not give them answers.

It seemed that the other prisoner was suspicious of Naruto though. His wary gaze gave birth to his next question, "Okay Uzumaki, where is your friend, Hiro? He was supposed to be in on this project as well."

Naruto knew there was a strong possibility that this question would be raised so he answered with the excuse he thought of beforehand. "Hiro was caught with some contraband inside of his cell. He is currently in solitary confinement. I don't think he will be out for awhile as he's a repeat offender."

Naruto hoped that he would buy the excuse. It wasn't overly elaborate. The excuse was simple and realistic.

"Fair enough," replied the prisoner. "It's his lost. This was his chance to leave this dump and he blew it. Now let's go to the meeting spot before Mui kills someone."

Naruto knew when he left the building with the prisoner that this was where his mission really began.

-Until Next Time-

I know I could have easily skipped their entire time in solitary confinement but that felt like cheating to me. Anyways, please leave a review, tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome.