The sun began to set and we knew it was time for the talking to stop. We could no longer make any noise, which was easy enough for me than my team mates. Hiroma does his best to be completely silent, but Sachi was kind of a klutz. Since I was going to be the one doing the moving, Sachi was to remain at the base until I apprehended the suspect.

I positioned myself on a branch of a tall tree, readying my bones for a long, motionless wait. The branch I was occupying positioned me almost over the road, so I had a perfect view of the stretch of land. I flicked my eyes to the underbrush where I knew Sachi and Hiroma were lying in wait.

The sun was almost gone when I heard the talking. It was only buzzing at first, and then I could make out the words. Then I saw him; our target. A man with a hat set low over his face wearing a black suit with black gloves over his hands. I couldn't see any of his face except for his mouth. There were about five men dressed in black robes and carrying swords arranged around the target, some of them talking amongst themselves.

I tuned out the chatter and watched the man in the suit and his guard as they continued walking down the path. I crept slowly along, following them silently from the tree tops. I kept up with my trailing until they were far enough away and getting closer to my trap.

I lagged behind as they kept moving down the path, towards a stick that was standing straight up in the middle of the road. I waited for it.

"What the hell is this?"

I pulled a kunai out of my pouch and threw it towards the stick, slicing it in the middle. Several things happened.

The hired guards let out a cry, seeing the kunai fly in front of them and snap the stick. As the stick snapped, thickly knotted nets shot out from the woods, capturing anything that happened to be on the road. My eyes widened as the target of the mission jumped out of the net's path and began running.

"Shit!" I cursed and sprung out of the tree, using a bit of chakra to gain on the man. I needn't have bothered. It was easy for me to catch up and tackle him to the ground. I pulled out a chord of rope and tied his hands behind his back as he tried to throw me off.

"Stop your struggling!" I growled and stood, yanking him up by the back of his suit jacket.

He said nothing, but still tried to break loose from my tight grip on his clothing. I let out a huff and began dragging him back towards the netted hired guards. The nets had been cut, and Hiroma was bending over the unconscious mercenaries that he'd tied up together.

"Good work," He nodded as he finished knotting the rope. "You caught him quick."

"It was too easy." I smiled and shook the now cooperating man by the back of his suit. "Did you relieve them of their weapons?"

He nodded and jerked his head towards a pile of burning rubbish. How on earth did I miss that? I took out my frustration on my prisoner and began to drag him back towards where we had left Sachi so she could call for some pick up ninja that could take the hired hands out of our sight. Night set in as we drew nearer, and I thought about how much I wanted to be home with my family. They'd be having dinner in an hour or so, and if I hurried home I might be able to see my niece open her presents.

"Sachi?" Hiroma whispered to the shadows. "We've got them if you want to come out now."

We waited for our friend to push her way through the thicket, or to light a match but we saw nothing of Sachi. I sighed.

"Should I go in after her?" I asked and gazed dryly at the forest. "She probably fell asleep or something."

Hiroma ran a hand through his short black locks, a look of pure worry plastered onto his face. "Maybe we should both go. If something did happen to her, it wouldn't be wise to split up."

"But Hiro, it's Sachi. She's probably trying to catch a squirrel or daydreaming or something-"

"I realize that, but-" He let out a sigh. "But I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. Or if I lost Sachi, for that matter."

The shadows hid my smile ever so slightly and I cuffed the back of the suited man's head. "But still, we both can't look for her if we still have the baggage in our possession. If you hang onto him, I can slip in there and find her easily."

Hiroma breathed a sigh and rubbed his temples. "Fine. But, please be quick about it. I just want to get home soon."

I smiled as he took the prisoner. His stone grey eyes locked with mine as I winked, turned toward the woods, and darted inside.

The forest was definitely a lot creepier at night. The sounds of nocturnal animals were heard throughout the trees and I felt a shiver roll down my spine. I slunk through the underbrush, keeping my eyes and ears open for any signs of Sachi. As time slowly ticked on, I decided to use some drastic measures.

"Sachi!" I whispered, listening for any sort of reply. After a few moments of silence, I tried again and stood up from my crouch. I looked under trees and bushes for any signs of her, but there was no trace of my friend.

Maybe Hiroma was right. What if Sachi was in danger? We shouldn't have left her by herself, she was the weakest fighter of the group so it would've been easy to over power her. Why did we do that? We put her life in danger and now she must've paid for it-

The wind blew through the trees, allowing more moonlight to seep into the woods. I looked at the forest floor and swung my head around so fast I almost hurt my neck. There was no doubt about who it was slumped against the trunk of a tree, face hidden in shadow, and palms facing the sky.

"Sachi!" I beamed and darted forward, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her. My smile fell and I whispered quieter, "Sachi?"

Hiroma tapped his toe impatiently and looked for Akira. Where the hell was she? She should be out by now, dragging Sachi in tow. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered her trademark wink before darting into the foliage for the other third of their team.

Oh, how he wished they were back already! Then he could stop worrying and they could be home before visiting hours were over at the hospital his mother was staying at. He felt his heart wrench at the thought of the state his mother was last in. Pale face, wiry hair, weakened muscles, and the hollow, dead eyes…

He shook those thoughts from his head. This wasn't the time to think about that. He had to look out for his team mates. He scowled when the prisoner they had recently acquired started laughing.

"I don't think you've got anything to laugh about." He said darkly, hinting at what their superiors had in store for him.

"Oh, I think I do." He replied and kept laughing. "I'm sure you'd agree."

Hiroma couldn't speak. His breath seemed to get stuck in his throat as he spun towards the man kneeling on the ground, grabbed him by the throat, and knocked the hat off his head. Even in the scarce moonlight, Hiroma could still see his face.

"What the hell is going on?" Hiroma growled and took a step back. "Explain yourself, Haru!"

The fellow Kumogakure Jounin threw back his head and laughed, his eyes wide open. Hiroma took a few more steps back. The dead ninja, the Raikage, the rumors, body bags, so many body bags…

"If I explained everything, it would only be a waste of time." He chuckled. At the sound of his laugh Hiroma felt the hairs on the back of his neck as he looked towards the trees.

"Thinking of your friends?" The silver haired, steely-eyed ninja asked as he smiled, his over large canines showing menacingly. "Don't worry about them; it's you you'd best be worried about."

"What-" Hiroma began as the sound of shredding rope echoed through the night. His eyes widened as Haru, a ninja he had grown up with in Kumogakure, shook off his bonds and sprung at him, kunai drawn.

He didn't scream or draw a weapon; there was no time. There was only a brief pain and then… Darkness.