Author's Note: My disclaimer is at the beginning. So I am back again and I have more news…. There is going to be a special entry of a favorite ninja! Though if (s)he remains will be up to you. Thank you to all of you all who added this as a favorite story, added it to you're alerts, or put me as a favorite author. It makes me feel bubbly. And thanks to the following who reviewed:

???- I want to know your name, but thanks. ^_^

Teenage Crisis- Thy request hath been granted. Enjoy.

Sibrael- Yes I know its an interesting team. Part of the reason for the newest entry. Gratci.

Secret world- I tried to get it up as soon as possible. Thanks for the review.

Takara Makoto- You have been my longest standing reviewer, and as a small thanks, I decided to let you in on what happened to the two characters you mentioned in you're review.

Recap:

"Then we better shut up so we can get working on a plan to save her," Naruto said, jumping down with Kiri in his arms. His cerulean eyes glanced at Hinata, then to the girl as the Hyuuga heiress's eyes rew concerned. The younger girl's cheeks were flushed heavily, and her skin was covered with a sheen of sweat.

"Indeed." Itachi agreed, staring at the two as his eyes narrowed. So… there was another demon host as well. Saving the information, he studied the chakra flow. Nekomata, it seemed, had finally resurfaced. And it was her prescience that was making the child sick.

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Flinching away from his touch as he reached out to touch her face, Yichi turned away. Withdrawing, Torin motioned to his guards. "Put chakra restraints on her and then let her loose," he ordered. "And keep an eye on her."

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As it slowly retreated, she got to her feet. She could feel that her chakra reserves had been replenished sufficiently for a fight. "Let's go kill this bastard." She murmured feeling the power of her Yakamichi. Summoning the brilliant red bands, the kunoichi sent them slashing for the door. A hand suddenly seized her shoulder, putting pressure on the seal so that it bled. She sank to her knees as the acidic like feeling continued to burn in her shoulder as Torin smiled wickedly. "Sadly, my parents were married," he mused. "Now… what was it that you were saying a moment ago? Something about killing me? I doubt you can even move."

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"She needs to be sealed." Itachi stated.

"What?"

"The child. She is sick because of the Nibi's prescience within her body. Her frame is too young to handle the cat's chakra unsealed," Itachi replied. "The Unholy Fire, as the Akatsuki calls it, is what is making her fever so dangerous. It is likely that she has not woken because she is battling the cat for dominance."

Hinata turned to Kiri as Naruto set her down. Her nearly white eyes scanned over the girls system. There were traces of another color within the girl's network, but it was difficult to see the navy against the black. Laying her hand on the girls forehead, she mentally counted to five before placing the hand against her own wrist. It was hot, dangerously so. "Neji…"

He shook his head, eyes closing. "None of us have the potential to seal. Hiashi never taught myself or my cousin that art. I can tell that you, Uchiha-san, do not either," he stated cooly.

"He doesn't. But I can," a quiet voice replied as a breeze swept through the area and the leaves swirled.

Itachi's eyes turned slowly to face the Sharingan weilder, his gaze like ice. "Kakashi Hatake… the copy ninja," he mused, almost to himself. "I was not aware that you had managed to steal any sealing jutsu."

Ignoring the Uchiha's subtle remark, Kakashi turned to Hinata, his gray eye serious as he knelt to examine Kiri. Checking her vitals and heart rate, he sighed before shaking his head. "I don't think that sealing her at this point would be wise. Her body is under a lot of tension and sealing her now could put her life in more danger. However, the potential of the cat demon winning dominance is a worse threat, because Neko-mata has equal destructive power to the nine tails."

"Then she has to be sealed." Neji said bluntly.

Kakashi nodded. "With a tetrahedral at the very least. Give her to me, and I will take care of that. You all start discussing a plan to get back Sakura," he ordered. As Hinata nodded, Kakashi scooped the unconscious Kiri into his arms and then vanished.

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"You're power is pathetic… you'll never be able to fight the effects of the Akaidetsu, even with you're healing abilities. But I am willing to make a deal, Sakura."

She stared at him through eyes like stone. "What deal could you possibly offer me that I would accept?"

"How about one that guarantees Yichi's life?" Torin replied with a wicked grin, his eyes boring into her own as the pain in her back fluxed worse making her flinch before removing his hand. As the skin slowly rehealed to a raw state, he paced the cell. "You see, I know a bit more about Konoha than even the Akatsuki could guess. And I know that there is something you've been hiding from everyone, even the other Leaf ninja."

Shivering as the cold air struck her exposed mark, Sakura shook her head stubbornly as her eyes closed. She knew exactly what he was talking about, oh god, she knew. Very few people had learned about it, her own knowledge had been a mistake. But it had been developed by the only other person who knew, and she was dead. Lips tightening defiantly, Sakura replied quietly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

His hand lashed out suddenly catching her against the cheek sharply, leaving a red imprint. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the floor blankly. He'd.. slapped… her? Torin's gaze was like twin black nights as he pinned her down with his gaze. "Lying will get you no where. Tell me about it."

"There is nothing to tell, I don't know what you are talking about," she said calmly. She could not give up that which had the potential to destroy them, to put the world in a darker place than it was now. No, she would not dishonor herself or the secret.

"Then suffer." Torin spat. And then the blinding pain began once more. She bit her lip until blood ran out leaving a copper taste in her mouth as she held in the silent scream for mercy. Her body jerck slightly as her back arched in agony. Her eyes remained closed, holding in the water which threatened to spill down her cheeks like liquid crystals as her back was coated in chrisom ribbons.

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"Kakai-sesu," Kiri whispered softly as she opened her eyes. The young girl's clouded red eyes had seen nothing since the time of her birth, but some said that she had gained another kind of sight.

"Yes Kiri," he answered, continuing the mark the kanji's in blood among the sealing rings.

"Is Sakura-san alright?" she asked quietly, her face turning to where the copy ninja kneeled.

Kakashi sighed as he completed the set of kanji's. His face seemed aged, tired. "I'm not sure Kiri," he replied. "She disappeared and we haven't been able to get any information on her. She may be dead-"

"She's in pain," Kiri said, her clouded eyes dark and reflected controlled sorrow "I can feel her. She's screaming... but he won't stop. Torin won't stop."

The copy ninja turned to study the young kunoichi, his sharigan eye meeting the clouded red levelly, calculating. He had received a scroll with the details on the mission that Itachi had asked for their assistance with; Torin's name had been mentioned. But he knew there was no way the blind girl could have read the scroll. So where had she gotten the name? The truth about Sakura's condition was unknown, but he knew the Akaidetsu well. They were sadists. "I'm sure Sakura is fine," he replied levelly as he walked over to her.

"I don't think she is…" she whispered before sighing as he placed a hand at her lower back.

"This will hurt Kiri. But it will stop Nekomata," Kakashi warned before pulsing his chakra through the seal pulling in the kanji's to box in and then seal off the demon cats chakra. The girl let out a soft moan of pain before falling unconscious. Picking her up, he readjusted her clothing before putting the small girl on his back, the words burning into his mind. "What sense allows her to feel that…" he thought. "How can she sense someone who is so far away and know a name she had never heard before?"

Kakashi silently entered the camp meeting the Hyuuga's curious gazes. They were the best at reading people, and Hinata was able to read him better than her cousin now. "What is wrong, Hatake-san?"

"Did either of you mention the name Torin to Kiri?"

Neji shook his head as the others did like wise, staring at the copy ninja. Where was he taking this?

"She knew who he was. And more importantly, she knew that Sakura was with him."

Hinata's lilac gaze flickered to the forest floor, darkly considering its patterns as Itachi's eyes flickered to her. Her hands were tightened to fists at her knees, and she sat too straightly. "Hinata?" he questioned quietly. He could tell that her mind was remembering something, something that she wanted to forget.

"It's nothing."

"If it is nothing, than I will personally extract it," Neji threatened as his white eyes activated.

"You wouldn't dare," she snapped, her byakuugan activating as she challenged him.

"Are you willing to test the theory?" he returned coldly.

The usual warmth of her gaze was forsaken for ice as she stared him down. "Absolutely."

R&R…. lol This is a horrible cliff hanger, I know, but I'm curious to see what you think.