You mustn't carelessly climb Persimmon tree's. Persimmon tree's are connected to the underworld.

- From a mother who's dead, to a child who's living

She had done something terribly wrong.

Though, her hands did not shake. Her heart did not stutter. Instead, it sat painfully still in her chest, as if she had just woken from a comforting dream. Her captains had agreed, the elders had decided...all the evidence had lined up. The letters her spy had discovered hidden within the confines of Saito's bedroom, the witness that had caught him sneaking away at night...more's to pity, but Saya couldn't think about it.

How was it that he looked her so clearly in the eye, that he could tell her without a single doubt that he was innocent? Could it all have been a mistake? Was she a murderer? No, there had been evidence... The night seemed loose, as if it had let out a breath and refused to inhale a single ounce of oxygen. She had protected the village, right? She had prevented her sister from a betrayal that would have surely torn her apart...didn't she? No, don't think about it. Saya walked steadily down the corridors of the manor, her footsteps hardly audible even in the quaking night's silence. Her armor was simple, a lone leather breastplate and arm guards, her sapphire uniform dusky beneath the blood and darkness. Her hair was tied back, only a spatter of red marred her face, two splotches along her eyes and one at her chin. Although she had not spilled anymore over her, she felt as if she were leaving a trail of blood behind her, each footprint a slather of sticky matter to slick the wood. She felt like a ghost, untouchable and silent, a deafening and horrible heartache squeezing the feeling from her chest, leaving her open to the world and its misery. She turned the corner of the outer walls, the familiar garden to her left and her sister's quarters to her right. The garden was no longer comforting, though, and was but a plot of dark, swaying objects and hungry shadows. It seemed dull and bare, and she no longer felt the need to glance at it to still her busy thoughts.

She had expected its sight, but she hadn't counted on her sisters. She sat in the moonlight, her legs hanging over the side of the walkway with limp movement. Her head was shied downwards, her hands unmoving in her lap and her lips still and visible behind her nettled hair. Saya did not start at her appearance, she only stopped in her walking while looking blankly down at her sister. "Misa."

A brief pause. "Saya." There was a silence without the accompaniment of crickets or other nightly sounds. Her sister did not look up at her, and Saya allowed her gaze to regard Misa until the latter broke the thrum of saddened air. "I have heard...I know what has happened." She said, her voice a tiny stir of its usual cheer.

It was hollow.

Saya didn't flinch, she could not feel the remorse that clawed at her lungs.

She was made of ice. "Then you know what had to be done." She replied tonelessly.

Misa responded with a mirthless chuckle, her head leaning to one side as she pursed her lips.

"Sa-chan…" She looked over to Saya sideways. Her eyes were red, dark lines edging beneath them and black tear stains dripping down her face. Something cracked inside of Saya, but her face held no mercy.

"Sa-chan…" She continued, "I don't think I can ever forgive you."

Something deep inside Saya spider-webbed, the crack widening and distorting her innards.

"Of course." Saya said, walking once again. She passed by her sister, who chuckled darkly. The laugh reverberated in the thick air, strangling Saya and threatening to smother her. The laughter subsided.

"Sa-chan…?"

Saya paused at the corner. She did not look back, nor did she inhale the breath stolen from her. She waited for Misa to continue.

"Will you promise me something, Sa-chan? One little thing, it's the last I'll ever ask of you."

"What is it?"

Misa giggled, the bubble of laughter tightened coils in Saya's belly.

"You have to promise me first, Sa-chan. Promise me…"There was an eerie desperation in her sister's voice, something out of place and altogether shattered. She hesitated.

"I promise." She conceded. "What is it?"

"If a Persimmon tree grows on my grave, will you kindly climb up it and be swallowed by Hell?" She twisted her face to Saya, her small smile crooked and cynical.

The spider web widened, breaking that place inside Saya. Something was cut, forever severed, and the loss was so completely deep that it tore apart a piece of Saya's mind. It was the moment Saya witnessed her sister losing her sanity.

"Well, this looks bad."

Saya bent her legs in a defensive manner, the men around her silent and brooding as they circled around the three Akatsuki.

"Keh, this is just a warm-up," Kisame tightened his grip on Samehada, the blade gleaming maliciously in the afternoon twilight.

"Not all these men are push-over's, Hoshigake. Some of them can easily be placed in the Bingo book right along side your name." Saya flicked her eyes in the direction of Katsu, who was sitting with a silent smile. "There are a couple of pansy-asses, though."

"We will split up," Itachi said lowly. "Imatsura-san and I will lead them towards the forest. Kisame, find the jinchuuriki."

"Sounds good to me," Kisame smirked. "Meet back up at the water?"

Itachi replied with a hum, his eyes continually focused on Katsutoshi. With a twisted movement, Kisame brushed through a throng of the soldiers, casting a quick glance back at Saya and Itachi. With a grunt, he brawled his way through and came out behind them, a cluster of yelling men chasing after him.

Another second later, Saya and Itachi shifted from sight, the sounds of their footsteps receding through the opening Kisame provided for them.

"Hey, form lines! Do not let them escape." Someone ordered with a voice that resembled metal grating against metal. "Katsutoshi-sama has ordered their capture, not death. Now go!"

Saya followed behind Itachi, watching his back as they fled from the room they had barely escaped. They were heading northeast, towards the thin layer of brush they had seen while climbing the path to the base. However, Saya knew that the forest there was a poor excuse for cover, and that a wide river with a strong current resided just past the first mass of tree's. There was no way they'd be able to cross it, at least not successfully with Saya in tow. She'd need to borrow some chakra for that, but she supposed crossing the river wasn't on the Uchiha's mind. They were a distraction for the time being, allowing Kisame to sneak into the cell chambers and steal away the jinchuuriki.

Hopefully he wouldn't have much trouble; after all, most of the squadron was after Itachi and herself. Could they handle all those men if they were cornered? Maybe. She was with the infamous Uchiha Itachi, mass-murderer of his own clan. And she was Imatsura Sayuri, ex-sotaicho of one of the most revered organizations, other than the bigger and better ninja villages.

And Akatsuki, of course.

She sighed with a closed eye.

But that was a lot of sweaty, muscular men to fight.

"Imatsura-san, is there a way back to the manor that obviates the path we just came by?"

Saya looked behind her shoulder, the forms of her old subordinates not far behind but steadily fading into the distance.

"Yeah, through a path just along the tree line. It circles around and ends up just behind the barracks." She replied, looking back ahead. "What's the plan?"

"We will meet back with Kisame at a designated point later. For now we will keep their attention." She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement, the voices of their pursuers quieting in the distance. Saya's lips quirked as though she ate something sour. She had let her temper get the better of her in front of Katsu, all the years of angst and simmering fury finally coming to a hissing, spitting boil. She hated that she had let him get to her, hated the fact that her cool was interrupted by that conniving smile of his.

But truth be told, Saya didn't care anymore now. Now that she thought about it, she didn't care for much now that everything was gone. How much more could that man possibly take?

Nothing, except maybe her life. The idea of her own death had once seemed distant and unreal to Saya, but now it was just around the corner. The thought of death's release hadn't seemed too bad for the past couple of years, actually she had found it quite comforting. But…Now it was disconcerting. Regardless, she was prepared to face what she had decided for herself.

For the sake of revenge she had condemned herself to something a little bit worse than Hell. Her sister should be fairly content that Saya would keep true to her promise.

They slowed once they neared the greenery, the large manor still in sight just beyond the fields they had crossed. The hoard of soldiers were also visible, and as Saya wondered how they were going to lose them, Itachi formed a sequence of hand signals with only but a whisper of his technique.

"Uchiha, genjutsu won't work on them." She said quickly.

"It's not a genjutsu." He replied calmly. Two shadow clones appeared in a swift puff of dark smoke, and she had to commend him on his eye for detail. The image of her and Itachi nodded once at the red-eyed man before rushing off along the trail. Rather than follow them, the real Itachi led her to the right and she followed him behind a group of tall bushes and dry grass, their height masking them from the path they had been traveling. After a few moments of hiding, the squad flew by in a flurry whilst tracking the footprints of the clones. Once they'd passed, Saya kept her sight trained on the far-off manor.

"Efficient." She told him.

"Hn."

"Now what?"

"We will wait until Kisame gives the signal, then we will meet him near the cliffs."

"Does he know that?" She wondered, leaning back and falling onto her bottom, sighing with a heave. He looked down at her with a sharpened stare.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes," she laughed, "I can't believe they fell for the oldest trick in the book. Katsutoshi really sucks as a sotaicho, they're slacking." She quipped.

A silent air fell between them as the noises of nature filled what was left. Crickets and cicadas made the summer heat come alive with their chirps and tunes, a stray birdcall and a careless crack from some animal in the dry grass accompanied them. If they hadn't been in their situation, Saya could have confused this with a typical summer day from her youth. A sudden desire for salty ice cream and watermelon quelled in her mind and teased her taste buds. She had been watching the distance, but a heavy feeling of being watched itched under her skin, and so she looked over to Itachi. His eyes were focused on her, the red in them unsettling. Though, there was no malice behind the look: Actually, if Saya didn't know any better, she would think he was watching her with some form of amusement.

"What?" She asked.

"You broke face."

She shrugged and looked back out from behind the grass, suddenly feeling much too tired.

"Yeah I did, didn't I?" She leaned further back on her arms. "Totally not cool."

"Hn."

"I'm tired of pretending. I pretended most of my life, and I'm ready to do whatever the hell I feel like doing." She confided. "If I'm mad, then watch me blow up. If I'm excited, then be ready to deal with my humor. The only thing I promise not to do, is cry." She looked at him without turning her head. "That cool with you?" She asked crossly. Itachi bowed his head, closing his eyes.

"Do as you like."

"Good answer, Uchiha. You're not half bad."

They grew quiet as a figure appeared along the road, but it was just a villager with a basket of linen. She walked along lazily, chewing a piece of hay and dressed in a loose kimono. It must have been a servant from the manor, otherwise she wouldn't have been so far away from the village, Saya thought. She left them, unaware that they were even there, and all became still again. Whether it was the nostalgia or the boredom, Saya didn't know, but she decided to talk.

"This place really isn't too bad." She started, "I used to love it. Hated the job, but the idea of protecting others made it worth while. Though, the paperwork in itself was murder." She chuckled with a fond grin. "You know, I never wanted to be the sotaicho. My old man brought me up with mud and fistfights, so I learned to have fun sparring. Taijutsu was enjoyable, but I fell in love with swordplay, and when my father discovered this he just about grinned himself silly. He was so happy that one of his daughters might take his place once he retired, so happy that he could connect with one of us."

"One of his daughters?" Itachi asked softly, his eyes grazing her face as she grimaced.

"Yeah…I had a sister. She…" Saya paused, looking down. Itachi watched as her face fell, a solemn expression taking root. She rubbed her hands slowly, looking up with a smile. "Something happened a while ago, Uchiha. It was something terribly silly, but also terribly horrid" She didn't bother looking at him as she said this, though, she did wonder why her tongue had become so loose.

"Have you ever been in love, Uchiha?"

She didn't expect the stoic man to answer her, but she thought she'd ask it anyway.

"Well, if you have, then you know that sometimes love can make you do crazy things. Some people embrace it, others try to hide it. And then there are those who misplace it." She looked at him carelessly. "Katsutoshi was one of the latter."

Saya thought over on what she had just told him, wondering how incredibly stupid she had sounded. Love, of all things, is what had destroyed her life. Something as frivolous and fleeting as love compared to the wide range of emotions that controlled shinobi life. The Uchiha was probably laughing at her, in whatever way that he did laugh.

"He went crazy with want, and the want led him to destroy the thing that he wanted so badly. And I…" She hesitated. "I was just the tool he used to do it."

She went silent again, a myriad of emotions tearing at her heart. It was a wonder that she hadn't gone completely numb.

"What happened to her?"

Saya jerked to awareness. Surprised at his question, she didn't answer him immediately.

"To the woman he loved?" She shrugged. "My sister…she-"

"She committed suicide."

Saya jumped to her feet while Itachi instantly held four kunai, turning around to see Katsutoshi approaching from behind them. How the hell had he snuck up on them? Saya smirked sardonically at him, the smirk twisting into another grimace.

His smile must have been a permanent fixture on his face, she thought. There were no soldiers accompanying him, though, Fuu could be seen in the shade behind him. She smiled and waved, her yellow standing bright against the backdrop of greenery. Katsu drew a thin sword from his side, it's white silver like a strip of solid lightning.

"Hello, Sa-chan. Just how long did you think you could hide?" He pointed his sword at her. "You know better."

"Who said I was hiding?" She quipped. "I was giving the Uchiha here a tour."

"How thoughtful." He took a step back, leaning lightly on one foot. "But now that we're done playing games, how about we get to business, hm?" His eyes flashed maliciously, and Itachi knew then that this man meant to kill their charge.

"Fuu?"

The girl hopped forward, a giggle escaping her closed lips.

"Yes, Katsutoshi-sama?" She sang sweetly.

"Why don't you play with Saya's friend for a bit, keep him entertained." He said while keeping his stare on the smirking woman. Fuu clapped her hands together, and as she pulled them part, thin, nearly transparent threads appeared between her fingers in a spider web of twine.

"Sure, Katsutoshi-sama!" She hopped and spun in a circle, coming closer to Itachi. "Please take care of me, Uchiha Itachi-san." Then with a flick of her wrists, an innumerable pattern of threads spun outward, blocking Saya and Katsu away from Itachi and her, entangling them in network of spinning thread. Just before the last spaces closed, though, Saya and Itachi locked eyes, hers determined and his spinning with dangerous waves of cool regard.

"Now Sa-chan, I believe there is something we must finish." She turned back to the man that stood with the smiling face.

Smiling a smile that smiles without smiling, a funny way to look when no one's looking at all. Why would Katsu smile that smile if she already knew what smile it was? A smile's a smile, and really, it's easier than frowning, she supposed. But damn…she really hated that look he gave her.

"I'm just wondering, Katsu, what I did to make you hate me so much." She slid her feet apart, the grass beneath them making her slide easily.

"Perhaps once I run my blade through you, you will know?" He quarried, tilting his head.

She chuckled darkly, the old tanto sitting firmly against her hip just tucked inside her pants. She wondered what she could possibly defend herself with, after all, she had pictured fighting him with her techniques. And wouldn't you know it? Her chakra was so limited that even a few substitution jutsus would tire her out.

She rushed him as fast as her feet would carry her, feinting to the right before swinging around to the left and kicking upward. He blocked with his katana, of course, before she fell backward onto her hands, planting a spin-kick towards his chest, which did exactly what she wanted it to do: force him back.

What she didn't expect, though, was for his hand to pop out of the ground beneath her like a freakin daisy. It grabbed her wrist, pinning her down and giving him an opening to slice her open. He swung down on her, but she flipped over and slashed his hand with her blade. The sheath fell away as she danced backwards, only to meet him once again, his sword against her dagger.

"Having fun, Sa-chan?" He pushed harder against her, towering over her with a looming gait.

"Loads." She gritted out, slipping from beneath his presence and twisting around just in time to catch another blow. They traded hits back and forth as she weaved through his advances and he blocked hers.

This isn't exactly the epic battle I pictured , she thought to herself with a half amused laugh, ducking under a jab. But the laugh came out too husky and was more of a cough. Spinning on her heel, she avoided another swipe at her arm, gaining a small cut along her upper muscle.

"Tch." She backhanded his wrist, swatting away his attempt to cut something vital near her neck. She thought she would be able to handle this regardless of circumstances, but she suddenly felt fuzzy. Her tongue was heavy, as were her limbs, and the tree's were soaking in the colors around them. Greens and yellows and browns and…The ground was funny too. Why wouldn't it stop moving? It was eating her feet, the bushes laughing at her with strange faces.

"What is this..?" She whispered hoarsely to herself, squinting her eyes in an attempt to settle her sight. A cool sweat broke out on her back, little pinpricks of ice stabbing in and out of her pores.

She blinked.

Where was Katsu..?

A pain. There was a pain in her stomach, and it made her want to retch. It sorta felt like a hangover, only it felt solid and warmer than the rest of her body. An urge to cough crawled up her throat, tickling her insides until a bit of spittle exploded from her mouth. Her mouth tasted like metal too, almost like…

Her eyes focused downward, where she saw someone's arm coming out of her gut. Was she supposed to have three arms? That was a funny thing…

Wait.

Looking up, she raised her eyes to Katsu's, which gleamed with a terrible humor.

"Watch it, Sa-chan. Your insides are out."

With a cruel yank, he released Saya from his hold, allowing her to fall on her face. Her tanto fell away with a noiseless clatter, lost from her field of vision. She couldn't move right. Her hands were numb, and her feet were cold. She felt like she was leaking somewhere, like the hallucination she'd had in the cave.

It was pouring out of her, so maybe she'd drown?

"K-katsu…" She spat, little spatters of blood-mixed saliva coating the grass next to her.

"Yes, Sa-chan?" He sheathed his sword, squatting beside her head.

"W-w-what…w-what d-did you…?" She felt a piece of her shiver, knowing that the Uchiha would be pissed at her for falling down.

"What did I do?" He asked thoughtfully. "Don't you remember? Sa-chan, I thought you knew me better than that." He cupped a cheek, watching her struggle to move her arms. "I'll remind you then, hm? The plants around here are really very interesting. When Jin, you, and I would sit by the tree, I would collect samples and do research on them. Some were very useful at cleaning infection, many were good at curing stomach pains and arthritis. And if you mix a few together, you can even produce toxins that nullify basic body functions." He grabbed a fistful of her hair, dragging her up with him as he stood. "I think it's rather creative to lace my blades with my creations, don't you think Saya?"

Damn. That one little cut, eh Saya? She grinned with a shudder, blood running down her chin.

"Sneaky bastard." She said in a garbled voice.

"I like to think of it as efficient." He told her. "Now, I would like to tie up these loose ends. But before I do that, I want you to recite the Maō Gijutsu to me, if you will."

"Kiss my ass."

He tightened his grip, ripping out a bit of hair from her scalp.

"I know you remember, Saya. And I want you to tell me it. I don't know what deal you've made with Akatsuki, but I now know it has something to do with that technique." He informed her, snaking his hand down to her wound. Poking a single finger inside, he prodded her raw flesh, and with effort, she bit the inside of her cheek, breathing hard and trying not to scream.

"Fuck…you!" She gasped, her glazed eyes shooting daggers into his own.

"Wrong answer."

She didn't know how much longer she could hold back that scream. It wanted to tear through her lips, and there was a creeping black inching along her vision. Maybe she'd die?

A shriek followed by a wave of smoldering heat came from her left, the webbing that Fuu had created melting beneath a wave of flame. She couldn't see what was going on, but from the sounds of things it seemed that Itachi had kicked some ass.

"Hmph." Katsu sighed, his smile unfaltering as he watched the Uchiha walk from beneath a canopy of burns and scorch marks. Fuu lay unconscious on the earth, her clothes charred and her hair muddy. "Disappointing." He said lowly, his eyes flickering to Fuu's body and back to Itachi's glaring eyes.

Itachi reassessed the situation, noting the bloody mess that was Saya's torso and the position they were in, stopping only when he was a few paces away.

"Uchiha Itachi, I see my subordinate was no match for you."

Saya couldn't manage a smirk, but she could speak just fine.

"Obviously, boke."

He pinched her insides, urging a hiss from her. She was just about to curse at him, maybe spit on his face or on that nice white haori, but then she was falling. A blur of black and red, Itachi, trading blows with Katsu. Something, probably the hole in her, was making her fade in and out of awareness, making her lose track of time and reality. She wanted to laugh at herself but couldn't find the drive to do it, and as sleep dragged here deep inside herself, something passed through as a question in her mind.

Where do the damned go when they can't go to Hell?

Itachi, however, was more than a match for Katsu. He knew it, Katsu knew it. And while they both knew it, Katsu would still win. Fighting dirty obviously wasn't beneath Katsu, and that went many ways.

Despite this fact, Itachi held himself back from overwhelming his opponent. This was why Katsu would win, after all. Uchihas weren't idiots, and Itachi was more than that: He knew that killing the sotaicho like this would make the situation bad. Still, he would have to find an opening in order to escape with Saya and treat her wound before she was too far gone.

"Second technique, smokescreen bubbles!"

Itachi clicked his eyes back towards behind Saya, catching a glimpse of a petite, short figure with hands combined. A myriad of bubbles burst forth, clouding the area between Itachi and Katsu as well as Fuu. It was like a barrier of grey clouds, shielding each side from sight and nearly sound.

"Come on!" The figure urged, attempting to pick up Saya, nearly dropping her as she settled limply on his back. It was a boy, maybe Itachi's age from the looks of it. He was at least a head shorter than said Uchiha, though, and looked as though he were staring death in the eye. "Hurry, before all the bubbles pop."

Itachi, without retort, turned to him and followed at a quick sprint as they left behind the clearing and rushed into the first row of barracks. Past turns and twists they found themselves in a thick bamboo grove, completely hiding them from any eyes and muting their steps with deep clunks between shifting branches. Itachi observed the boy and found that he was sweating terribly. He was also pale, if not a sallow pallid. He wore a simple royal blue yukata, decked only with a twine of white bandages around his waist and arms. There was a small pack at his waist as well, a shell insignia stitched into its base.

They emerged from the grove, arriving at an overgrown garden laced with vines and thick weeds. Beyond that was a house, a less grander version of the main manor Itachi had walked through earlier.

The house looked faded, like in an old photo that was stuffed into a drawer and not looked at for a long while. The boy scrambled onto the hanging, panting while leveling himself and then working to slide open a paper doorway. He waved for Itachi to follow him inside.

With a quick assessment, Itachi decided to quietly enter the room and close the door behind him.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but I should be able to clot the wound. The jagged entry will have to be seared…maybe."

Healing chakra enveloped his hands as he set them above her exposed stomach, the pale green glow radiating and casting a glow to the darkened room. Itachi was left standing but his eyes did not leave the pair on the ground.

"Who are you?"

The boy didn't look up from his task as he studied the skin around the impalement.

"Ito Minori." He chuckled shakily, "I'm not much here in the corps, but I'm good at medical jutsu."

The room was stuffed with stale air, coated in layers of dust that made it disagreeable to breathe. There were footprints on the floor where they had come in, upsetting the grey tone on the old wood boards and stirring it up inside the room.

It wasn't small but the furniture in it seemed to reduce its measures. There was something sad about the tea table, a wilted bunch of flowers pitifully dead in a small jar. There were straw mats nearly hidden under more dust, half a tea set sat on their edges but the remnants of shattered pieces were on the floor, the flower pattern on them just barely distinguishable. A vanity mirror and dresser designed close to the ground was across the room, jewelry and perfume bottles dimmed under the heavy oppression of time.

Minori sighed, wiping his brow before reaching back into his pouch and retrieving a roll of bandages and a tube of something unidentifiable. Itachi trusted the situation enough to inspect the room, a picture frame catching his eye. It sat on its side on the floor just a step away, the glass was cracked, distorting the photograph inside.

With a soft pluck, he picked it up and saw that the picture held something he'd seen before. It was a younger Saya, clothed in a summer yukata with three swords strapped at her waist. Her hair was short clipped, messy and girlish compared to her current long hair, just like it had been in the memory Itachi had discovered. But beside her was an unknown woman, her hair pinned up with ornaments, revealing a decorated smiling face. She was dressed in a lavender kimono, her hands politely folded on her lap and her expression gentle, a stunning but pleasant contrast with Saya's folded arms and crooked smirk.

A small whimper came from behind him as Saya shifted slightly against Minori's swift bandaging. She didn't wake, and instead settled back against the floor with a sigh. The boy tied up his remaining gauze and capped his salve, placing them beside himself. Hearing Itachi's unspoken question, he sighed.

"You're probably wondering why I'm helping you…" Minori shuddered slightly, not daring enough to meet an Akatsuki member's eyes, especially eyes like those.

"Hn."

He gulped, wondering how to best approach the subject. His hands, which had been steady whilst attending to Saya, now shook with a small tremor, a nervous fear quaking from inside him. He balled his fists on his lap in attempt to still himself, his flat black hair falling into his eyes and tickling his nose. It was cut short in the back, but his bangs were longer and cut to shape his face.

Without warning, he sneezed loudly, which was followed by another and another. With a helpless expression he turned to Itachi, rubbing his nose with a hankie he grabbed from his pack. Itachi's lips curved minutely, an amused expression flittering across his face for a moment and allowing Minori's shoulders to sag. The sneezes seemed to release his jitters, leaving only a strong sinus headache and a stuffy nose.

"Sorry, I'm allergic to dust." He mumbled, looking away.

"It's fine."

He fumbled with his hands while folding his kerchief, pushing it inside his sleeve and looking back across the room.

"I had the chance a long time ago…To do something right." He worked the words out slowly. "But I was too scared to do it, and because of my cowardice, Sayuri-dono was exiled. This is my chance to help her, to make up for what I didn't do back then." His head suddenly jerked up, his eyes clear and wide as he stared at Itachi.

"Do you know why Sayuri-dono was banished?" He asked in a rush of breath.

He got no reply but the look conveyed his answer. Minori fidgeted again.

"S-she was framed for murder. Twice." He stuttered. "I accidentally overheard Katsutoshi-sama telling Sayuri-dono." He paused, frowning. "I hadn't meant to, but I was walking back to the barracks one night. The senior men had pushed me into doing their laundry again, and so I had to get up really early that morning. But on my way back I heard a cry and some shouting. It sounded really upsetting and just past an alcove of bush I was next to, so I decided to see what was going on."

"Sayuri-dono was there with Katsutoshi-sama. She said something about lying, that he had been wearing something..? I still don't remember. I thought maybe they were having an argument, I knew they were good friends. Everyone knew that Fujikage Jin and Sato Katsutoshi were best friends with Sayuri-dono." He sighed.

"But then I heard something that Katsutoshi-sama said, and I knew something worse was happening. He started talking about control and murder, that she should have noticed sooner and now it was too late. I hadn't noticed second lieutenant Fujikage Jin. He…he was lying on the ground, and there was a lot of blood. It was then I realized what Katsutoshi-sama going on about." His frown deepened as it transformed into a scowl.

"He murdered the lieutenant and framed Sayuri-sama. He betray his two best friends and had one of them blamed for the murder of the other."

Kisame hadn't ever actually been caught and imprisoned, but that didn't mean he hadn't seen the inside of a cell before. Most of the ones he had visited were fairly gritty, and always dark and dimly lit.

So when he finally found the entrance to the cells, he was surprised to find a pristine hallway lit brightly with petite lanterns. It was sort of…classy.

He took care of mild opposition from a small group of guards, though he didn't bother killing them. It was easy enough knocking them out and kicking them aside: There wasn't any fun in killing small fry. That, he thought, would be more like shooting fish in a barrel. There was no fun or sport in a slaughter like that.

The prison was made up of several short hallways, carved out of the cliffs and simply designed. There weren't many doors to check, so when he finally came to one bolted particularly heavily, he knew that he'd found his target. A few seals kept the door up, but with a few touches of his own he had it unlocked and open.

The cell was a void of darkness, much darker than he had anticipated. The light from the hall provided a line of illumination across the room's length, revealing a form at its far end that was bound in dense chain and covered with slips of scrawled seals. The chains looked like they were bolted to the stone floor, troublesome but not impossible, and there were wards all over the place. After working through a combination of handsigns, he heaved his huge blade and made quick work of the binding, the containment seal snapping and fading away.

A backlash reverted the chains to black shadows, which encircled Kisame like striking snakes and weaving around his limbs and torso.

"Hmp." He grunted, making a movement and slicing away the restraints. "A hell of a lot of work to go through for just one guy."

The second wave of security jutsu activated, sending spikes deep into the floor with newly formed chains to envelope the jinchuuriki. Growling, Kisame cleaved at them again and disabled the backlash with a rapid dash and counterattack. He huffed as the chains reformed again.

"You have to destroy the chains with jutsu."

Kisame whipped around to see the slight girl from before. Her white hair lit up in the darkness, making her eyes seem dark and dangerous.

"What're you doing here, gaki?"

"Helping you."

Kisame watched her curiously with hardened eyes.

"Why?"

She stepped forward softly, stopping just beside him as she stared down at the spikes embedded in the stone.

"Because I wish to."

"Hmph, whatever. Just don't get in my way."

He eyed her one more time before using a mist jutsu to eat away at the chains. No recoil was activated, allowing him to work through the rest of the smaller seals and release the man. He was left bound in large metal handcuffs and some type of cloth draped around his head. Besides that he was stripped down to a simple white shirt and scuffed pants, any other feature hidden in the darkness.

"Do not remove the seal from his face, or he will wake up." Yin said placidly, her voice icy and flat.

Kisame sheathed Samehada and flipped the man over his shoulder, eyeing the girl once more.

"You're not like the other brat."

"I do not share Fuu's ambitions." She told him.

"Then just what do you plan to do? Aiding me makes you a traitor." He couldn't care less what happened to the girl, but there was something off about her attitude. He couldn't figure it, but he got the feeling this girl shouldn't be trusted despite her claim.

"Being a traitor requires one to cast away an allegiance with something or someone. My allegiance has never belonged to Sato Katsutoshi." She said simply, walking ahead of him and into the flickering brilliance of light.

Whoa, there it is.

One last chapter of this melodrama and then, vuala, fluff.

Yeah, I know, I know. You want some hot Kisame action right? Eh, it's coming up. You'll see.

Thanks for all your reviews, I really do appreciate them, like, a lot. They're a huge motivation.

And if you want to thank anyone for this chapter, then thank Riley Killer for sending me that cute little e-mail that utterly pushed me over the proverbial edge and egged me on to finish this today. I can't wait to read her new story, 'cause really, all her story's rock my socks. Thank you guys also for your feedback on my last question, it helped me make a decision.

By the way, does anyone know if Tite Kubo is even alive? His name isn't on the list of celebrity survivors, and I'm starting to sweat.

*Boke means dumb, stupid, clueless

~Serb