Nothing else happened to me after my slip in the interrogation room. I was sent to a smaller prison, where I was chained to a wall to keep from going very far. I was fed everyday, but only small portions of what could hardly even be considered a meal in the first place. If it hadn't been for the occasional visits for food and going to the bathroom, I could have believed I had been forgotten.

It was hard to track the days in a prison. A small, barred window sat far above my head, too high for me to reach. When the sun would shine through it, I would stretch as far away from the wall as I could so I could lay in the small patch of sunlight. When night fell, I curled in on myself to stay warm. I was no longer tortured or hurt, but I was still a prisoner. There were no perks to being a prisoner.

Some days I slept a lot, and other days I didn't sleep at all. There were times when I would stay up and watch the sun rise, shine for the day, watch it set, and watch as the moon rose. There were times when I didn't eat, and there were times where I couldn't eat enough. I was never fully relieved of my hunger, and I was never completely quenched of my thirst.

My days blurred together at some point. I couldn't remember what my plan for escape had been, if I had even planned one in the first place. There was a part of me that wanted to believe that I was being sought after, and that wherever it was that I had come from, they still needed me there. It was nice to think you were needed somewhere. But then there was a part of me that was fond of telling me how stupid I was to think that I was needed anywhere. I had been captured. I had given away my most precious secret. I was a failure. No one has time for a failure.

When I had been captured, escaping was all I had wanted. Wherever home was, that was where I wanted to be. But as time passes, motivation slips, and desires fade to dust. Not only was I forgotten, but I wanted it to remain that way. I was not sought after. I was not needed in any way. I was going to be left here. I was going to die here.

At some point, this thought brought me comfort.

Sometimes I liked to close my eyes and forget where I was. It reminded me of what I could remember most about where I was from. It was always dark, but for some reason, it was never cold. Closing my eyes, opening my eyes, it didn't matter. I could never see anyway until I was let outside. Going outside didn't happen often, but when it did, we were sent out with other people. We were sent out on what we were told were called missions. A lot of us didn't come back, but that was okay. We had accepted this. When missions were over, we were locked up again and monitored. When stability returned, we were given another mission. More were lost. More tests. Repeat. A never ending cycle.

My moments in the sun were shortly lived and few and far between. It was not enough. It was never enough.

It was almost difficult to believe that I had gotten myself into this situation. I had fought numerous enemies at once, all alone, because everyone else had not survived. I had been the last one standing, for whatever reason, and I had come out successful, if a little broken and bruised. It never ceased to amaze me. And how could it be that I was here now? It was shameful. Why had I surrendered? Why had I not fought back! Was it pity for my comrade, a brand new addition to the group, and the last of five who had stood before him? What was it then, that had caused me to be so irrational. I could have fought. I could have won. I could have escaped. We could have escaped together. Instead I had sent him back with instructions to tell our superiors that I had been captured.

Was it because I hadn't wanted to go back? Was it because I had wanted to experience a world different to the one I had always known? One of the rules that had been drilled into us was that you could not change destiny. Could I truly have fought and won against twelve professionally trained shinobi? Was I under the impression that I was that strong?

I was sitting in this prison cell, chained to a wall, unable to walk more than five feet forward, and I thought I could defeat them. I was foolish. I turned, pressing my feet against the wall, and pushed. My shoulders popped and I grimaced. I had missed my small amount of time to lay in the sun. It was too far away. I had to wait. I sighed and stopped pushing, relaxing against the floor, staring up at the shadowy ceiling. In a few hours, or what I thought would be a few hours, the sun would be on the roof, taunting me, just out of my reach.

Suddenly a different kind of light stretched to the opposite side of the cell, bathing the wall in a dull, yellowy light. I frowned and turned my head to look up at two men, who were staring at me. They had a comical expression on their face; they were obviously wondering why I was stretched so far away from the wall. I twisted and sat up, folding my hands in my lap. I glared at them, and it was then that their expressions went from comical to serious in an instant. The guard that stood closest to me was the first to open his mouth.

"You're free to go," he said. He stepped forward to unlock the chains around my hands and ankles, but once I was free from my restraints, he grabbed my wrist and looked at me, unblinking. "Of course, you're not allowed to leave the village." He didn't look very happy about that.

"You are to wear this bracelet at all times," he held up what looked to be a simple chain link bracelet. "If you come within thirty feet of the Konoha barrier, ANBU will be notified directly. You are to be monitored at all times by a member of ANBU or the Uchiha Police Force. Should you choose to leave their side, you will be dealt with swiftly and immediately. By order of the Third Hokage, you are no longer a prisoner of this nation, but a citizen of Konohagakure."

Unable to move, I didn't fight the guard as he secured the bracelet around my wrist. A tingle went up my arm; I had another reason I shouldn't remove it. Once the bracelet was in place, another guard, the one standing closest to the door, stepped forward and held out his hand. Unsure of myself, I hesitated. In the end though, I grabbed his hand and he lifted me from the ground. I was unsteady on my feet, swaying a little, but he wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me walk. He didn't seem to mind helping me at all.

"It's a little cool out today," he said conversationally as we stepped out of the cell and walked down a long corridor. "Would you like a sweater, Naoko?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Please."

"She speaks after all!" The other guard exclaimed with a lopsided grin. "I'll be back in a moment Ginjiro."

As we waited, I glanced at the man named Ginjiro out of the corner of my eye. He had a small smile on his face, and he was still supporting the majority of my weight with his arm. I frowned and looked down at the ground. I didn't understand. Why was I being treated like this when, moments ago, I had been a prisoner?

"I hope it fits," the other guard said apologetically, rounding the corner and walking towards Ginjiro and I. "This was the smallest one we had and, well... you've lost a lot of uh..."

"I understand," I whispered, reaching for the sweater. "Thank you."

My hands were shaking badly as I tried to put it on, so instead of fighting with it, I just draped it over my shoulders and pulled it tight around me. When I was done, we began walking towards the doors that would lead me to the outside. I took a deep breath, and when I felt the sun on my skin, I couldn't help but smile. It felt nice.

"You look happy," Ginjiro noted, looking down on me. I nodded once.

"It is warm."

He frowned, "I guess. Keita," he was addressing the other guard now. "Where is that damned Uchiha?"

"Calm down, he was sent on a long mission. He's only just returned today, so give him a little break. He gets run into the ground sometimes. He might still be resting. Until he gets here, we could show Naoko the boundary lines."

A prisoner again.

"That's not our job."

A burden.

"It still needs to get done."

A chore.

"We have more important things to do."

"May I sit?" I asked quietly.

"Of course!" Ginjiro said quickly, as though remembering he was still supporting me. Turning us around and setting me carefully on a nearby bench, he asked, "Will you be alright here for a moment? I need to speak with Keita."

"I will be," I said. He smiled, patted my shoulder, then walked a ways away so I couldn't hear them. I folded my hands in my lap and stared at the ground, kicking my feet back and forth; they barely even reached the ground. I sighed and watched them argue out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to know what was going on, who this Uchiha person was, and if they would pretend to be as nice as Ginjiro and Keita.

"Oi, Shisui!" Ginjiro suddenly shouted. Keita glanced over his shoulder quickly and glared at the advancing boy. He had black hair and equally dark eyes, but an amiable smile. "You're late!"

"I'm tired," Shisui rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Keita!" He glanced at me and then back to the guys. "So I hear I'm playing warden. Is that the girl?"

Ginjiro nodded. Shisui's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me Danzō is afraid of this little girl?"

Keita grimaced and covered his mouth as he whispered something to Shisui. He nodded sagely, pushed past the duo, and plopped down beside me. He was alarmingly close.

"Uchiha Shisui, at your service!" He said with a grin.

I hesitated. "Naoko."

Shisui was about to say something when Keita interrupted. "That's all she goes by. I don't think she knows anything about herself. Inoichi couldn't find anything except for a bunch of rules, and Ibiki couldn't get anything out of her except for her name, but that was at the tail end of the interrogation. Can you believe she lasted that long? Grown men can hardly stand up to Ibiki and his torture prowess. She even had the guts to ask questions, from what I hear!"

Shisui stared at me, his expression half amused, half bewildered, and half in awe. Obviously people like me were a rarity, but I didn't understand what people like me entitled. I knew I was not being treated like a normal prisoner. What did they know that I did not?

"So," Shisui grinned suddenly. "Shall we get started?"