AN: I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. After this chapter it might take me a bit to get the next chapter written and finished. The fight that follows will be one of the hardest I write as of yet. There was a guest who voiced concern that I made Sachi seem to week. I did not, in my opinion.

She may have the experience of a past life behind her, but she lacks the weapon she fought with back then - magic. She has to rely on chakra and what she's learned from her parents and developed herself. She is only sixteen, and while powerful (the reason I made her a Tokubetsu Jonin) she still has a ways to go. There were circumstances that led her to be in the situation she's in now.

First they were ambushed out of the blue, near the end of their mission. They had not expected this, and most of the Kiri-nin went straight for them since taking Sachi was their mission. They separated the Konoha ninja so they could not effectively work together, knowing it was one of the reasons Konoha was so strong - their teamwork.

They grouped up on them after that so they had five or more ninja on them at all times. It was a loosing situation, and at the end Sachi got distracted, and Yuu and another ninja took the opportunity to capture her. In any case I did put her in a damsel-in-distress sort of situation, but that doesn't mean she's gonna stay in it. Though it wont be easy for her to get out of it, and you'll find out why this chapter.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Meddling In Fate.

Chapter 9: Wrong Side Of Heaven Part I.

"Where is she?" Shisui demanded glaring harshly at the shorter Mizukage. His usually black eyes shinned crimson with the Mangekyō Sharingan. His knuckles turned white by the grip he kept on his ninjatō.

"So that's the great Uchiha Shisui's reason for storming the Bloody Mist? A girl?" Yagura laughed. "How the mighty have fallen."

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Genma groaned, his eyes opening slowly and adjusting to the harsh light. His first thoughts were on the fact he was still alive. He'd been positive he'd die from the wound he'd suffered.

He was pretty sure only two people could have healed such damage so close to his heart, Senju Tsunade or Sachi. Yet when he tried to move he found it nearly impossible, his body hurt too much.

The pain he could get through, he was a ninja and most have high pain tolerances, but his body felt heavy. As if it were numbed, probably from some form of pain killers given to him by whoever had healed him. Worst case scenario he was captured by Kiri-nin and it was actually a tranquillizer keeping him mostly immobile.

"S-sachi?" he croaked out, but there was no answer. "Sachi... you around?"

"Genma, you're finally up," Aoba said, and Genma looked at the spiky haired man startled.

As long as he'd known Aoba he'd never seen him without his sunglasses. He could only assume they'd been destroyed in the battle, and that was the reason gray eyes could be seen. Aoba had bandages wrapped around his arm, and around his chest were bandages barely seen through the mesh armor. Genma noticed he was also bandaged, more severely than his teammate.

Looking around he failed to find Sachi and a rock dropped into the pit of his gut. He remembered the fight, and everything about it just didn't sit right. He'd been positive none of them had let their true intentions in the village out.

Sachi was probably the best at pretending to be a normal civilian. Possibly because of how she'd grown up. That meant either he or Aoba had slipped up somewhere in the last two weeks or there was another leak... and the attack on the village hadn't been random at all. They were searching for someone. He hoped his theory was wrong.

"Aoba, where's Sachi?" he asked, forcing himself into a sitting position. The muscles in his chest and arm protested but he expertly ignored them.

"She was captured," Aoba admitted with a sigh of regret. "You've been out for three days. Your wounds were more severe than mine."

"Which is amazing, considering you had part of a building fall on you," an unknown female said from the entrance to the room.

The woman was tall, curvy, of slender build, and had ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, one of four bangs covering her right eye. Leaving the left in view and a bottle green. She wore a dark blue, low cut, battle kimono.

She wore mesh armor under the kimono that covers slightly more of her upper body than her kimono. A black skirt under the kimono could be seen because of the long slit on the kimono that went from her left hip down. Around her waist was an ivory belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left, and she wore high-heeled boots on her feet.

She couldn't be older than her early twenties. She stood with an older man, wearing common hunter-nin clothes for Kirigakure Shinobi, and an eye patch.

"Who are you, where are we?" Genma demanded, instantly suspicious.

The woman chuckled. "There is no need to be hostile, we're here to help. We arrived to search for survivors of the purge only to find you two. We realized instantly you were shinobi from your wounds, no civilian would have survived or had such defensive wounds."

"They questioned me when I woke. They're the resistance group we were briefed on before our mission," Aoba informed Genma.

Wavering Genma nodded, He trusted Aoba's words, and if they were still alive and not locked up in a dingy cell then he couldn't see many more options left. Even the Mizukage wouldn't be so arrogant as to heal foreign ninja and leave them relatively free to move around.

"I guess we should thank you then," he said. "Do you know where our third teammate would have been taken?"

"You're welcome, and though you didn't bother to ask," she began, "my name is Terumī Mei, and this is my best ninja, Ao."

Genma nods and says, "I apologize, but right now our teammate is either dead or getting close with every passing second."

Mei pursed her lips together but nodded. She understood perfectly. Her shinobi had been in similar situations before. Aoba had been just as concerned even if he wasn't as demanding as Genma was being.

"That depends. We believe the village was targeted, usually that only occurs when bloodline users are being hidden there, but this time we think your teammate was the target. We don't know why, this is unusual for Yagura. We do know it means she was most likely taken back to Kirigakure." Mei sighed, catching her breath before continuing. "The good news is they probably only reached Kiri late last night."

"Great, at least we can assume she's alive," said Genma, his bandaged hand holding onto his head. He'd been put in situations like this before, what seasoned ninja hadn't been, but this situation was more serious then any of those past experiences. "We need to plan our next move, Aoba."

"We do..."

"You wont get into Kirigakure, I'm afraid to say your friend is on borrowed time. Yagura has a way of knowing everything within fifty miles of the village. Your best bet is to throw in the towel," Ao said firmly, his face blank of emotion. The glares Genma and even Aoba sent his way didn't even cause a flinch.

Mei's eye twitched, hearing something completely different from what he'd actually said.

"Ao, shut up or I'll kill you," she snapped, and turned her attention back to the two glaring Konoha ninja. "For a price the rebellion is willing to lend you our aid in putting together a rescue mission."

Aoba raised an eyebrow. "What kind of price are you asking?"

"Nothing outrageous, in my opinion. We've heard rumors of your recent clan massacre. I simply ask for a few supplies shipped to us when we need them, and a few medic-nin to if nothing else teach some of my ninja to be medics better than a book can. In return we'll help you get this Sachi girl back, and in the future we can talk about an alliance between Kiri and Konoha," she replied.

Genma and Aoba exchanged glances, honestly it was a pretty good deal, but at the same time they were giving the rebellion more than they'd receive. An alliance couldn't take place until after Yagura was dead after all. Then there was no telling when that would be, added to the expenses of giving them supplies. Konoha wasn't in dire straights as far as the economy went, but usually trade agreements went both ways.

Aoba shook his head.

"Slow down. I want to save Sachi as well," Aoba said, looking at Genma with a serious expression. "She's our comrade, our friend even, but we need to report back to the Hokage. Who knows what his orders will be. Invading Kiri, even to retrieve one of our own, could start a war. Maybe even the next great war."

Genma clinched his fist at his side, knowing Aoba was right. He didn't want to abandon his comrade though, there were few times he had to in the past. Sometimes comrades and friends died on missions, but the few times someone had been captured he'd been able to work with his remaining teammates to retrieve them.

Sachi was a good Kunoichi, maybe even one of the best Konoha had at the moment. If she were to become a medic-nin he was positive she'd be the best medic Konoha had to offer next to the Slug Sannin. Other than her importance to Konoha as a ninja she also had a sister and adopted ward waiting for her at home. He dreaded having to tell them their older sister was dead. Narrowing his eyes he made up his mind.

"You go back to Konoha alone, Aoba," he said sternly.

"What?" he asked, startled. "Why?"

"Well for one I'm too injured to make the journey," he began, though it was obvious Aoba didn't buy his excuse, not completely. "I won't abandon Sachi to Kiri, and I think the Hokage will agree with me when I say there is too much at stake to lose her to them."

Maybe it was a bit cold to think of it that way, but while it wasn't his main motivation he knew with Sachi it was too much of a risk for Kirigakure to get their hands on her. Dead or alive. She was an Uzumaki, with special chakra unseen before, and there were plenty of reasons a hidden village would target her.

How they realized who she was during the mission, particularly with the changes she'd applied so it wouldn't be obvious, he had no idea.

Aoba nodded.

"You can leave as soon as you're ready," Mei told Aoba. "We'll leave you both to discuss your course of action. Let me know soon so I can ready my own shinobi." Mei and Ao left the room, leaving two sullen ninja behind.

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Two days later Aoba made it back to Konoha. He had raced back as quickly as he could, knowing that every passing minute didn't bode well for Sachi's well being. He went straight to the Hokage's office, not caring that he had interrupted a meeting between the Sandaime and his now two advisers.

After the advisers had left, though they appeared reluctant to do so at first, Aoba stood in front of the Sandaime grimly.

"Aoba, you may speak freely. What's the situation?" Hiruzen asked, already figuring out something had gone wrong since neither Genma or Sachi were with the man. Then there was his lack of sunglasses and sign of a recent fight.

"The mission was going smoothly, we were nearly ready to return to Konoha with our findings when Tōsui Village was attacked by Kiri-nin. They seemed to know who we were, Hokage-sama. The battle was intense, we were separated from each other." Aoba hung his head.

"And what of your teammates?"

"Genma was critically injured, and has remaining behind. Sachi... has been captured by enemy ninja sir. We believe the village was attacked not to search for bloodline refuges, but for Sachi. It's possible we slipped up or there is a leak somewhere," Aoba answered. "Genma and I were saved by members of the Kirigakure Rebellion."

Hiruzen frowned deeply. This was the worst that could have happened, and on a mission that was supposed to be rather simple. It was why he had sent Tokubetsu Jōnin. No matter how Kiri found out who they were, the fact remained two of them were injured and the third was captured. The fact it was Uzumaki Sachi was worrying. There could be many reasons Yagura wanted Sachi.

The Uzumaki were not counted among most as a bloodline clan, despite their special chakra and longevity. They had been feared enough to be destroyed though. Now the idea of having an Uzumaki was rather coveted. They were slippery, and though Hiruzen believed their to be a few more than Sachi, Naruto and Karin still out there they were wonderful at remaining anonymous and hidden.

Karin and Sachi were probably the last pure-blooded Uzumaki's though. Kumo had tried this with Kushina, though it appeared Kiri had succeeded where Kumo had failed. This left him with a hard choice. If he assembled some ninja to invade Kiri and retrieve the Uzumaki clan head than war could start between Kiri and Konoha, which could easily spread to Iwa and Kumo.

It could easily start the Fourth Shinobi War. If he did nothing though he'd have to deal with the fallout of it. If Yagura didn't kill Sachi, he could easily use her to breed more Uzumaki who may or may not inherit her healing ability and chains.

Hiruzen sighed, lowering his head as he nodded. He knew what had to be done.

"Hokage-sama..." Aoba began, but he was interrupted when Hiruzen raised his head.

"We do nothing... not yet at least," Hiruzen said. "Go to the hospital and have yourself looked at. I will see about putting together a rescue team."

Aoba nodded and left seconds later, a poorly hidden look of relief on his face.

"ANBU, get me Nara Shikaku, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui, and two ANBU Squads," he said, and his only sign that he'd been heard was the hidden ANBU leaving the room.

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"What!?" Shisui shouted, eyes wide.

"Kirigakure has captured Uzumaki Sachi. For what reason is unknown at this time. What's known is that they have taken her back to Kirigakure, and Terumī Mei, leader of the Kirigakure Rebellion, has agreed to help us should we attack Kiri to get Sachi back."

"Of course we're going to attack them! They have one of our own!" Shisui exclaimed, eyes cold.

Kakashi sighed, placing a hand on the younger mans shoulder to calm him down. He too was upset over the whole thing, and wanted to rush out to help retrieve Sachi, but he saw what was left unsaid. Attacking Kiri was dangerous.

Not only could they fail, but if they didn't fail they might start a war. It came down to how important Sachi was to Konoha, as horrible as it sounded. In times like this there wasn't much choice, thankfully this kind of situation didn't happen very often. Not as dire as this at least. Not since the attempted kidnapping of the Hyūga heiress.

"It's not that easy," Shikaku said. "There are things to think about. Getting into Kiri wont be easy, we at least have the support of the rebellion to find the village which is well hidden. We'll have to send some of our best ninja to get this done, and on the chance we fail that leaves Konoha vulnerable."

Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "True. We must retrieve Uzumaki Sachi from Kirigakure, and hope for the best outcome. I will prepare for the worst while the mission is underway. Genma is already with the rebellion, and Aoba will lead you back to them."

"You want us all to go?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. I will also be sending Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza to complete the Ino–Shika–Chō trio. Shikaku will lead this mission, Kakashi you will take over should something happen. Two ANBU teams will be sent with you. Tenzō will lead the two ANBU squads combined."

The assembled ninja nodded, eight of which were dressed in ANBU attire, masks and all.

"You'll leave tonight. We can not afford to lose much more time. Shisui stay behind please," Hiruzen said, and the others left leaving only Shisui behind.

"Shisui, I am aware of how close you and Sachi have become. This won't become a problem during this mission I hope," Hiruzen said, and Shisui skillfully wiped his face clean of any emotion.

"No, Hokage-sama," he said monotonously.

"Good. Before you leave, I believe this may have to do with the masked man Sachi reported encountering during the Massacre."

Shisui's eyes widened marginally for a second. He remembered her mentioning him, but no matter how they searched they never found any trace of another shinobi in the compound. There was no sign of him anywhere else either.

"I see," he said. "If that is all?"

"Yes. You may go."

He bowed out of respect before leaving.

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She woke after five days. Sachi assumed she would have woken sooner if not for the Death-Like state they'd put her in, and the drugs to keep her unconscious until they reached what she assumed to be a dungeon in Kirigakure.

She woke in a dimly lit cell, chained to the wall. Her kimono was torn from the fight and she could also feel old injuries from it as well, but otherwise she felt no different. She assumed they'd done nothing to her while she was unconscious, which was a relief to her. She'd been told of the dangers being captured brought from her mother.

Twisting her wrist to test the chains, she groaned at the tightness of them. Whoever had attached them was leaving no room for error. Great, she hated competent bad guys. She wondered how they expected her to go to the bathroom without being able to move her hands very far from the wall they were chained to.

She had already spotted a bucket close by, which had her wrinkling her nose. She knew what that was for. She couldn't help but chuckle bitterly at how terribly cliché this whole thing was. The cell even had a leak somewhere because she could hear the sound of water drops hitting the stone floor.

Maybe this was some sort of physiological torture. It would probably have worked on someone else, but she'd lived through too much to let some stupid dank cell drive her crazy. Twisting her wrist more she brought her hands together, forming hand seals very carefully.

She hissed at the feeling of her chakra pooling and going nowhere. It was as if someone had placed a dam in the way, she could feel it but she couldn't use it. Trying to hurt like a burning cramp, or maybe that was just from the position she was forced into.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Sachi raised her head, noticing for the first time the shadowed figure outside her cell. The person was short, so short she thought he couldn't be much older than her sister and Naruto. His eyes and the scar on his face ruined the image though and she realized he had to be older. Probably older than herself.

"Why not?"

"Seals were placed to stop the use of your chakra. The more you try the more pain it causes your body, too much and it would be like an electrical shock and could become fatal," he said, smirking. "My name is Yagura..."

Sachi narrowed her eyes. "You're the Mizukage."

"Correct."

Craning her neck and glancing around she noticed the seals on her arms. They were inked in bold black and she wondered how she'd missed them before, but she chalked it up to just waking up and being more concerned with getting out. They were rather advanced seals, but it would take her longer than a look to decipher them completely. If she could get a better look at them there was the possibility she could break them down. It would take time and probably be painful if they did what Yagura said. Just from a glance it did look that way.

"Great, just great," she muttered.

So she was at an impasse. Her first thought was to use her reverse summoning seal to bring herself to the Uzumaki Storage Mask Temple, but with these seals covering her and blocking off her chakra she was helpless. Gods, she missed magic.

"Get comfortable," Yagura said suddenly, his voice suddenly a bit deeper, but she could also still hear his own voice under the deeper one. It was echoing... that made no sense! She thought with a start. "You won't be leaving."

From behind him she saw the outline of a shadowed figure. A familiar mask was outlined from the shadows and light that was given mostly by torches on the walls. A Sharingan spun in the one visible eye. Then everything just went black for her, and her head slumped forward.

Madara watched as Yagura left, his usefulness over at the moment, and turned back to look at the Uzumaki chained to the wall. Her hair fell in front of her face, the black dye she'd attempted to disguise herself with gone. She sat with her knees tucked under her, and it pooled on the stone floor like blood.

This time she wouldn't escape him.

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The entire time Shisui raced to the Rebellion's base in Water Country his thoughts didn't stray far from Sachi. In the time he knew her she really had become his friend, a best friend even. She would listen if he needed to talk, and was always happy to heal anyone who needed it. It was why she stopped by the hospital occasionally.

Some wondered why she bothered working at the Yamanaka's flower shop, but he knew it was simply an outlet. As ninja they fought for their life nearly on a daily basis, they killed hundreds by the time they finally landed themselves in the grave. They needed an outlet of some sort or they'd go insane. Kakashi had his porn books, while his tardy behavior and excuses kept him even more grounded and reminded him what he still fought for.

He couldn't speak for the others. For him he had his clan, his more laid back attitude was born from a need to keep himself from going insane when he gained the Mangekyō Sharingan. His pranks had also been an outlet of sorts, though he no longer turned to them often – usually only when he was helping Naruto out. That kid had a talent with pranks, more so than himself. He lived for his precious ones, and along the way Sachi had earned her place amongst them.

He assumed working at the flower shop when she wasn't on a mission kept her happy, and from over thinking the lives she took. Visiting the hospital did the same, and helped the guilt she surely had. They were after all human, and they only stopped being human when they took pleasure from their jobs and the lives it took.

"You need to think clearly during this mission, Shisui," Tenzō said from his side, and he only knew it was said man through his mask and voice. As cold as he sounded Shisui knew he was right.

"Right," he muttered as they continued running along the wet terrain.

They ran into no resistance during their travel, which was both concerning and a relief. Once there they were led to Genma and the Rebellion leader. The leader was with a few of her subordinates. The young redhead who had led them to the room shut the door behind them as they entered, remaining with the group of thirty to thirty-five ninja. Considering how many ninja Yagura could have it was a puny number, but it would have to do.

"I'm glad you made it," Mei said, nodding at the ninja Konoha had sent.

She recognized some of them from the Bingo book and wondered how important this girl was to them. She must have been well off in Konoha, a regular ninja wouldn't have been given such a rescue party. She noticed Ao shift at her side, his eye locked on a man with unkempt black hair and black eyes. An Uchiha, she thought. Seeing as Ao recognized him he could only be Shunshin no Shisui.

"I'm Nara Shikaku, the leader of the Konoha ninja present. I assume you are Terumī Mei."

Mei nodded.

"I am. We should go over plans. We can't rush into this. Honoka here is our fūinjutsu expert, and a budding scientist. She may be with us when we attack Kirigakure." Mei motioned to the redhead who'd escorted them there.

Her dark eyes were rather hard, and though she seemed somewhat cheerful it was obvious things she'd seen had hardened her. She hardly seemed older then thirteen. She was younger than any of them at least.

"I see. That may come in handy. There is no saying what they've got holding Sachi back. She is quite the kunoichi, there is a certain seal she knows that should have gotten her out of there instantly. If she hasn't done so yet than there must be a reason," Shisui spoke, a grim frown on his face.

Honoka's eyes flashed over at the mention of the name, a look on her face that was suspiciously like recognition. She thought about speaking, but kept her mouth shut.

What were the chances it was the same Sachi?