Wow, it's been a while, sorry! School and such has kept me really busy (not to mention the lack of insperation) Hope I still have some of you faithful readers!

Disclaimer: Yes, I own everything. NOT! I own nothing!

Chapter Seven

Downfall

"You know what would be amazing?" he said, looking up at the cloudless night. "What if it started to rain, but there were no clouds? And then a shooting star would fly across the sky," he waved his over the star lit sky, as if to imitate a possible shooting star. "It would fly through the rain, in front of the moon, and we would have a night rainbow!"

She giggled, and smacked his arm playfully. "Oh, Naruto-kun, you know that could never happen!"

Naruto looked down at her and grinned. "Well, not with that attitude, Hinata-chan" he said lightly.

As they settled down deeper into the dark green grass, a slight breeze picked up, gently ruffling the grass on the flat terrain. There was grass as far as the eye could see; no trees, no animals, or any kind of civilization. And that was exactly the way they wanted it.

They lay on their backs; Naruto had his hands behind his head, looking at the bright, twinkling stars, and Hinata put her head on his chest. Naruto dislodged one of his hands and put it around her. Together they sat and watched the stars blink in the darkness.

Hinata turned her head to face him, and then gazed back up at the sky. "I wish we could stay like this forever," she said quietly. "It's so peaceful here, and we're safe…together."

Her words puzzled him, but he decided not to question her. "Me too, Hinata-chan," he agreed, "me too…"

Then suddenly, the stars were gone; not as if they had been snuffed out like a candle, but as if they were never there in the first place. The sky grew darker, if possible, and the grass became hard stone floor.

And Naruto was alone when he woke.

His eyes snapped open, and the dirty ceiling was there to greet him. The dream stayed with him for a moment, but soon, it slipped away, along with any other coherent thoughts. He got up off the floor stiffly, rattling the chains that bound him as he did so. He struggled to awake fully, his mind and body still groggy.

He could feel himself slowly breaking down, and each passing day it all became harder to cope with; the thoughts, the dreams, and the nightmares. But now, it was hard to differentiate between them.

He slid against the wall and rested his head on the stone. I don't understand...

They stood in front of the gate, all nine of them: Hinata, Sai, Yamato, Sakura, and the five ANBU whose code names Sakura had already forgotten. Yamato, of course, was captain of the squad. They stood in a little group outside the village, with Yamato at the front.

"Well," he said, adjusting the pack he carried, "are we ready to set out?"

Sakura hated how he talked as if they were simply running some small errand. She couldn't understand how no one else looked nervous—though she was with Sai, who never expressed anything, and five ANBU, whose faces were always hidden—while she was on the edge of the world. But maybe it was because, after the weeks of anticipation and worry, they were finally doing something other than just waiting.

She looked over at Hinata, standing beside her, and then realized how tense she looked. Sakura reached over and squeezed Hinata's hand in comfort. Hinata turned her head and smiled worriedly back.

"Alright then." Yamato answered his own question. "Let's go."

When there were no objections, he turned started down the road. The group followed him, Sakura and Hinata in the led, followed by Sai, with the ANBU in the back. After a few minutes, they broke into a run, and turned into the forest.

Hang on, Naruto. We're coming.

Itachi shut the heavy metal door behind him, cutting off Kisame's view. Kisame groaned. "You know, after a while, this just becomes boring and repetitive."

"That's only because you refuse to go back in there after last time." Itachi said with a smirk.

Kisame grit his teeth together. "You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?"

"Probably not," Itachi agreed.

Ever since Kisame had tried the poison on Naruto, he didn't dare go back in. He had experienced another small portion of the Kyuubi's power, and he didn't want to see any more. Although, as Itachi pointed out, he didn't have to use the poison anymore, but then what would be the point of their "sessions"? The wounds wouldn't last long enough.

"You do realize," Itachi said, interrupting Kisame's flashback, "that I can't be the only one weakening him. It will take too long."

Kisame sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He groaned in defeat. "How about this; I'll try it again tomorrow, and if I die, I'll have Tobi follow you around for a month."

"But you'll be dead," Itachi pointed out. "How are you going to get anyone to do anything?"

"I'll tell him in advance," Kisame growled.

Pein was exactly where they left him, where he always was: sitting on top of the statue, his digital image flickering in the dim light.

He looked down at the pair, and Kisame was doing his best not to look too annoyed. This is really starting to bug me, he thought.

"They're coming," was all Pein said to them.

Itachi nodded his understanding, while Kisame looked between them, confused.

"Er….someone care to explain?" Kisame said, miffed at being left out.

"Shinobi are coming from Konoha, for their dearest Naruto-kun." Itachi sighed. "I suppose we need to fight them?" Itachi was tired from using his Sharingan, but he was pretty sure he could fend off anything his old home threw at him.

But, to his surprise—and Kisame's—Pein replied with "No, we won't fight."

Kisame was momentarily stunned, while Itachi kept his face carefully composed. "Why the hell not?!" Kisame yelled, forgetting for a moment just who he was talking to.

Pein's head snapped towards Kisame, glaring at him. "I said we won't fight." Pein might have smiled, but no one could really tell. "But you," he continued slowly, "you will."

It had only been a few hours, but it felt more like a few years. They moved swiftly and silently through the dense forest and its thick trees that blocked out most of the sunlight. They had switched their positions during the journey; two ANBU members had been posted at the front of the group, the other three in the back. They never broke formation, and never said a word. Sai had followed behind the first two, with Sakura and Hinata behind him. Yamato was the only one who moved around; for the most part he was at the front with the ANBU, but occasionally he would drop back to run with Sai, or the ANBU in back. No one had spoken; everybody was wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Sakura waited until they were well into the forest before she broke the silence. "Where is this place, anyway?"

Yamato slowed until he was beside Sakura, keeping pace with her. "Surprisingly, it's not too far away from the village. We don't know much about it, and it will probably blend in with the rest of the forest, so keep your eyes open."

"How much longer, do you think?" Sakura noticed how Hinata came in a little closer to hear.

"Shouldn't be too much farther…a day maybe, two if we stop."

Sakura nodded, relieved. She had been expecting a week long journey, and wasn't looking forward to it.

"So," she said casually, wanting to keep the conversation going, "are the ANBU always so…"

"Quiet?" Yamato laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. They're supposed to be, though."

"But, why?" Sakura didn't know much about the ANBU Black Ops; the descriptions in her books were never very detailed.

"Well," Yamato started, looking up at the trees around him, "I suppose you could call it their 'nature'. They're trained to fight, not be social. You could compare them to a lion; hell of a fighter, but pretty boring otherwise." He smiled down at Sakura. She nodded, not really understanding, but decided not to press the issue.

The light was fading, so Yamato called them to a stop. They set up a small camp, with two fires; one for the five ANBU, and one for the rest. Sakura sat next to Hinata by their fire, glancing over at the ANBU every few minutes. They might have talking, but it was impossible to tell.

She looked to Yamato, unable to resist asking questions. "What are they talking about over there?"

Yamato looked over at the black ops, and shrugged. "I have a good idea, but if I told you…"He stopped, and seemed to rethink his joke. "Well, I guess I'm in too far to give you my opinion, because I might be right." He laughed quietly.

Sakura just stared at him. Yeah, real helpful, she thought.

Yamato noticed her frustration, but he knew it had little to do with the isolated ANBU Black Ops.

The next day they were on the move as dawn broke. As beautiful as the sunrise was, nobody stopped to admire it.

After the fires were put out and covered with sand, their things packed away, they set off once again into the forest, where they traveled for a good part of the day.

It was just as quiet as it was before, but this time, it was a tense silence. They all knew they were close to their destination, but nobody knew what it looked like. Someone could have smacked into it without knowing.

But then Yamato and the ANBU abruptly changed course, breaking away from the forest and landing in a small open patch of grass. Sakura, Hinata and Sai jumped down with them, landing softly next to their captain.

"Alright men," Yamato said, "and women," he added, looking over his shoulder, "we're a little ahead of schedule, so good work. From what I've been told, we're close to the Akatsuki's location. If I'm right, it's probably protected by some serious Genjutsu, so look closely, look hard, and look everywhere!

"But when you think you've found a possible doorway, double check, and triple check, whatever! Make sure you're in the right place. We don't want everybody running out of chakra from shouting kai at a tree for an hour. Now go!"

They scattered, searching for the hidden entrance. Sakura was growing impatient, but she had to force herself to calm down and search carefully. She wouldn't be any help if she missed the doorway.

It was a solid hour and a half of searching before someone cried out. "Here!" It was one of the ANBU, the only female of them. She wasn't too far away from Sakura, who was the first one to reach her.

The door itself wasn't very spectacular; it was a tree from one angle, but with the Genjutsu gone, it was an archway leading to darkness in front of a giant, stone cave.

Sakura just stared for a moment. Yes, it was an actual cave. Like ones that animals would sleep in.

They all looked in, but it was impossible to see anything. The darkness covered the walls like a blanket, so it was pointless to look.

Yamato called them farter away from the entrance to brief them on the plan. "They've probably already sensed our arrival, so we should be extra careful." Yamato looked to the ANBU. "You should go in first, to make sure it's safe enough for the rest of us to continue."

They nodded, then scattered. Yamato then turned to Hinata, Sakura, and Sai. "There will most likely be a fight, so be prepared."

It was silent for what seemed like hours, until one of the ANBU came back. "Well?" Yamato addressed him.

"Nothing, sir," the ANBU said, with a touch of surprise audible in his voice. Must be new, Sakura thought. The ANBU continued, "It's completely empty. There's nothing, no one."

Yamato frowned, puzzled. "You're sure?"

The ANBU nodded. Yamato still seemed unsure, but he once again turned to Sakura, Hinata and Sai and said "Alright then, move in!"

They moved as one, and were soon swallowed by the darkness.

The inside of the cave was unspectacular; the walls made of crumbling, gray stones, as was the ceiling, but it still maintained a sturdy structure. As they ran, they encountered no lights of any kind, kicking up dirt from the floor.

Sakura noticed something on the wall, and then stopped. Yamato stopped almost simultaneously; they shared a look, then nodded.

"Genjutsu," they said together. Yamato and Sakura had both noticed how they passed the same crack in the wall a good three times.

Yamato made a hand sign and said softly, "kai," then touched the wall closest to him.

The group was immediately hit with light. It was a dim, yellowish light, coming from a single lamp attached to the north wall. In its new light, they saw the five ANBU Black Ops, on the floor, all unconscious. Beside them, smiling triumphantly, was Kisame.

"Well, hello there," he said smugly. "It seems you've finally figured your way out of the Genjutsu. Too bad, it was fun watching you run on the spot for ten minutes."

His smile turned into a smirk. "And it seems that you've met my own ANBU." As he said it, the ANBU which Yamato spoke to appeared from the darkness. It titled its head, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Amazing what you can do with shadow clones these days, eh?" Kisame chuckled. He picked up Samehada, which rested against the wall beside him, and began to unravel the wrapping which covered it. He looked up and smirked again. "I'll give you a hint: we only have one cell in this particular base."

Hinata and Sakura shared a look, which Yamato caught. "Go on!" he said. "Sai and I can handle him. You two go!"

Sakura nodded, but Hinata seemed unsure. After all, Kisame had just taken out five ANBU Black Ops on his own. She pulled on Hinata's arm. "It's ok," Sakura said quietly. "We need to find Naruto."

This seemed to snap Hinata out of her doubt, and she ran ahead of Sakura. The two of them went down the first hallway they found, a little to the right of the entrance where they originally came in.

They swiftly made their way down the first hallway, which was a brightly lit passage with many twists and turns. After passing door after door, Hinata stopped and turned to Sakura. "What are we looking for? How will know which door leads to him?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, but we'll just have to keep going, and hopefully we'll know when we see it."

Hinata still looked worried, but they continued on. They came to many other joining hallways, but in the end, decided to stick to the original way they came.

It turned out to be a smart choice. Soon, the two came upon a large, beat up metal door, with an iron handle. They skidded to a stop, and shared a look. "That's a prison cell if I ever saw one," Sakura declared.

Hinata first tried to turn the handle, but it proved to be too strong. Sakura gathered up the chakra into her fist, and gave the metal a good punch.

It didn't give at first, and she had to try another three times before there was a large enough gap to fit through. Even then, the jagged metal which surrounded the hole tore at their clothes and scratched their skin.

Finally, the two kunoichi landed on the other side of the door, and were dumbstruck by the state of the room. The once smooth walls were now riddled with large cracks and holes, as if an immensely destructive force had lashed out at the rocks. The floor was littered with small stones which fell from the walls.

But as they looked around, they knew they were in the right room. There was blood on the walls, and little spots of red here and there on the ground. But it was in one certain area where the blood pooled, a large crimson mark against the darkness of the ground.

Sakura took in the condition of the room, and was horrified. Something bad had happened here, and by the looks of it, it happened more than once.

Another thing was certain: the room was empty.

Chapter 7! yay!

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SNK