Resistance Strength: Low, slowly increasing

Honored Resistance Member- Code Name: Lady Arachne

Dedication: Chapter 8- It Was A Game

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your reviews. They definitely got me thinking :D. When I started this fanfic, I was planning on doing my best to keep the characters in-character. Man, it is difficult! I have to make sure the way they speak really reflects them ;). Now when I write about Itachi, I think of what he went through. So sad really and I cried when he died because I totally thought it wasn't fair (I mean in the manga and stuff), but I see where you're coming from about the hair and stuff. I never meant for it to sound like romance, but reading it now, I completely understand. Yeah, that would be early. REALLY EARLY! I meant for it to be just that... her head on his shoulders or so and he sort of doesn't have much choice in smelling it or not since it was so near... Kind of hard to be understood with smelling hair without romance :(... Hope that clears that up! This chapter is dedicated to you! Welcome to the Resistance ^^

I just realized that you guys don't see the asterisk when the points of view are changed :(

Well, I'm 8 chapters late... so I am going to try another symbol so you guys could see it (if you do see it, them please tell me!)

NEW SYMBOL: 4319 ← it stands for something ;)

Newscast: "HE'S COMING!"

"Get ready! When the door opens, we shoot!"

CREAK

Bullets exited their chambers rapidly as loud explosions emerged from the men's guns. Bullets lodged themselves onto the walls, doors, and their enemy as his body fell to the ground with a loud thud. After a few more minutes, and shots being thrown, the men, breathing heavily, release their aching fingers from the trigger hastily.

"We did it!"

"WE DID IT!" Their joys were loud and prideful.

Little did they know that their celebratory cheers were to come to a dead end as their enemy rose to his feet again. "Well, I see that you have arrived here prepared to kill me."

The men's grasp tightened upon their weapons as they noticed their previous bullets lodged into the flooring and not a scratch was evident on their enemy's body. They aimed, yet again, and pressured hurriedly onto their triggers.

CLINK CLINK CLINK

"Out of bullets", their enemy spoke with severe knowledge and boredom all at once.

"But we saw you fall!" One of them spoke.

Their enemy was amused by their desperate voices. "Just because I fell does not consider me dead."

"But the bullets hit you!" Another pointed.

Their fidgeting bodies and their terrified stares told him of their desire to escape him. "You rely far too much on your eyes and now they have fooled you. Tsk", their enemy spoke with dissatisfaction, "You should have known that bullets aren't enough to kill me."

"We don't need bullets! I will kill you with my fists!" Quite stubborn he was in front of his enemy, however his threat hadn't been able to leave his enemy shaken.

Instead, their enemy realized his victory from days before. He directed his sight to the mastermind of this infiltration, the wise man. "Why did you bring them to me?" He questioned him.

The wise man stood and walked to Madara's side as his body began to alter into a white creature with a fraction of a face. "You need some help operating this System", the creature spoke to his master with respect, "I brought you some help."

The two men who were led into this trap had their tongues tied as they gaze at their used to be leader. In defeat, their faces darkened and their teeth were grit.

"THIS WAS A TRAP!"

Their enemy took his privilege and sat before them on the kitchen counter with this belittling stare. "Which one is important and which one is a waste?" He was not prepared to lose another second on these weak beings and their pathetic attempt.

The men's bodies tensed as one of them was to be labeled as 'important' and the other 'waste'. Each of them wished to be the 'important' and wished for the other to be the 'waste'.

The white creature absorbed his used-to-be partners' faces before he spoke the final words one of them was to hear. "The kid decided to follow us."

With that, one man fell to the ground and one man was left. "What a waste", his enemy's words hung in the air as his young partner's body laid motionless beside him.

The last man watched in horror as his partner bled onto the ground, realizing that he didn't even see his enemy's attack. What speed!

As his enemy stood to leave, the man knew he still had to put up a fight for all the people who had placed their hopes on him. The people of the world wanted a victor and he wanted to be that victor. Without a second thought running through his mind, he ran toward his enemy with the intension of breaking his neck. Little did he know that his enemy was a master in fighting. With a swift turn, his enemy lodged his fist mercilessly into the last man's abdomen. The man fell to the ground in wails of pain as this formidable enemy began to leave once again. "Bring him", he told the white creature as he contemplated on what to do next, "This System... I want to make it rain."

The white creature clutched onto his previous partner's body then flung him over his shoulder as if he were a bag of laundry.

As they exited, their enemies' footsteps crushed the camera that watched the young man, who once treasured it dear to his heart, and left this infiltration as an utter failure.

Chapter 8- It Was A Game

It's been two weeks since my confession to Itachi and, from then on, our relationship had only gotten worse. He was never at base and, when he was, he never looked my way. It's like I didn't even exist anymore! I never believed people when they said that some things were best left unsaid... but now I do.

Other than my moments of distress, my recovery, from the blast I had taken earlier from Deidara, was astonishingly fast. The wails of agony are gone now when the doctor cleans my wounds, however the stinging returns every now and then. Even though, I am able to move about the base without any problems. Now that my organs are back in their proper location and are able to function properly, I was taken off of soups and blended foods in cups, which made me even happier.

As I rested on my bed one Saturday afternoon, as the doctor recommended, I could see the environment of the base tense as the people moved about in fatigue and pain, dragging their feet across the dirt floor as if they had nothing left to live for. When I slowly begun to settle into my bed, a loud and obnoxious voice roar, "Bring her" startling me and shattering my desire for sleep. The roar was unusual and powerful as it bounced across the walls as if it were a lion's growl to his loyal subjects or a demanding call to his small cubs. I knew the odds that this monstrous call wasn't for me were low. A shiver was sent down my spine as a man stepped into the room I was in, acknowledging my thoughts, demanding me to stand up and present myself before the leader of this base.

As I uncovered myself from the comfort and warmth of my feather filled bed, the cool air took this chance to curl itself around my body. With a stretch to delay the time I still had left before I met him, I followed the man obediently as he led me to another part of the base where a dark muscular man with great heights stood awaiting my arrival. It was quite difficult for me, as I stepped closer to this man, not to feel intimidated and small for his body was twice, if not thrice, the size of my body. Each gesture he gave, I made sure that my guard was up. So when he motion me to sit, I never averted my eyes from his just to make sure that he wouldn't pounce on me and kill me.

He sat on a chair before mine in this darkened room underground. I could hear his heavy breathing and see the fatigue filled expression on his face. Black spots and bags of darkened skin were evident underneath his eyes. He appeared old, but I was certain that all of this weariness changed his appearance tremendously.

The room itself wasn't quiet, so we weren't alone to discuss whatever he wanted me for privately. There were shifting sounds, whispers, and coughs here and there, but all I was able to make out were the slight figures of people in the background, Itachi leaning on the wall near the door, and the doctor standing in the doorway I had just walked through.

Narrowing my eyes on the man who appeared to be the leader, I began to inquire what was going on.

"Just a meeting", he answered simply with an exhausted sigh. But to me, it felt more than a meeting. It felt like I had done something wrong and I was being punished for it. It was difficult to focus as the flowing nervousness washed its way within me. It sent this discomforting feeling of a thousand eyes, hiding in the darkness, watching me like a hawk, judging me for simple pleasures. "What do you want?", I asked the most ridiculous question with a mumble and a tensed body. I had to know why I was brought into this room and tortured mentally.

"I want you to forget everyone in the room and focus on me. I just want to ask you a couple of questions and I need you to answer truthfully", he informed me with a calm focused voice. I did as I was told and tried to only fixate my sight and mind on him. It worked, at first, however as the men in the background emerged with sneezing then coughing or clearing up their throats, my thoughts ran allover the place.

Concentrating on the man and his tired red eyes, I tittered under my nervousness. "So your going to interrogate me."

His stare was firm. He didn't fidget under my knowledge. His eyes were set on me and my reactions. It was like I was a math book filled with problems and he was the man with enough brains to try and provide the solutions for each. Or, at least, attempt to ease the pain they provided me. He was here enduring his hurting to help me and I felt like he was just being mean.

He took matters seriously. "I prefer you think of this as sharing ideas with your saviors", he corrected. 'Saviors', I thought. He termed his reaction perfectly as he was trying putting me on the spot. After all, these people did save my life... and it worked. Guilt would pour its way through me if I were dishonest with the people who had mended my wounds, sheltered me and then fed me. And I didn't want that feeling to run through my system suffocating me gradually with its venom.

"Fine", I melted under the pressure.

He shifted his posture as he knelt forward, intertwined his fingers together on the table before him. Directing his eyes on me with sincerity, he spoke his first question. "Why did you summon them here?"

The sound of the words as they escaped his tongue, the burden of the question itself, left me speechless. "Why?", I let the words sink in slowly as I thought of what to say, "Why did I do it?" His question filled me with thought as my mind swirled itself around matters that may have caused me to commit this crime. "I don't even know anymore.", I answered at first as my unconscious mind decided. After a few more seconds, I added on, "It was only a dream", my mind and sight were set on the ceiling, "To make the world different. To live with people you have read about in fiction. That was the reason... I wanted to be with those who had abilities we may not possess. Experience life with them... and save them from their dire end." As I spoke the last words, I saw a change in Itachi's expression from the corner of my eye. He seem unhappy with my answer. He, unlike the others, liked to stick to his script even if it ended with his own death.

The Captain seemed to accept that answer. As for the rest, I couldn't care less.

The Captain motioned for his next question. With my nod to move on, he asked, "How were you able to bring them about?"

"My great great grandfather", I spoke without hesitation, "He gave me the comic books that he got passed down to him from his father", a small smile involuntarily spread itself across my face as the memories I had of him flooded back into me. After I few moments of silence, I spoke to him of my simple ritual I had committed that day. It seemed so long ago I was sitting in the living room picking at my finger to let it bleed for them... I was so innocent back then...

The Captain, along with the others, found that my explanation was quite absurd. It baffled them how the laws of nature happened to fail. The first time I saw them, I was just like these men around the room. In disbelief that that could have happened.

The silence took over shortly after that. They tried to soak it all in, but it was difficult for many of them to comprehend so the Captain moved on to his following question. "Who is Madara?" he asked with very strong desire to know.

"Wouldn't you like to know?", I inquired with defeat. The truth was... I didn't even know. "I never finished the manga", I noted simply. It was killing me on the inside that I didn't know! I fell in love with the words it spoke then summoned them here without thought. I knew he wasn't the real Madara, however I was simply dying with every minute passing by to know who really was behind that orange mask.

Everybody was frustrated with my answer. Including myself. If they only knew who it was, they thought, they might be able to get the upper hand. Even I knew that that wasn't going to happen. His identity speaks nothing of his strengths or weaknesses. It's just a name labeling him as a being... like the bar codes that were burnt into the skin of the inner part of our ankles when we were young.

"I'm sorry", I couldn't help but add. The books that contained the truth of who was hidden behind the mask were secretly held preciously by a few people of my time. This series, along with many others, were destroyed for violating publishing rules. Any book that possessed the feelings to bring about a rebellion were destroyed. Nowadays, the most popular manga were Fighter Jet and Seven Single Streets. Both talked about government officials, or hero and heroine children, who were secretly trying to rid their government of spies or evil villains who try to destroy their world. They were pretty good, however, they were not very satisfying like Naruto or other manga of that time. The other manga had thrills and filled you with anticipation. The stories grabbed you into this world that you didn't belong in where rules were broken and re-enforced. The story differed greatly to the ones that were being published currently where the government was being threatened by some outer force. A titter escaped my lips. I guess I'm living inside those unappealing manga of my time hoping that they will end the same, with evil defeated and the government restored.

With a guilt filled sigh, I felt like it was my fault that I didn't know who Madara was. It felt like needles were plunged into my chest preventing me from moving on. The sensation of helplessness invaded my body restlessly. My head drooped to the ground, but I didn't cry. The tears were held inside of me to prevent myself from feeling weak and defeated. We could eventually rip that mask off of his face one way or another.

"It's okay", the Captain's voice broke my train of thought, "If you don't know then you don't know". He reassured me. His features were relaxed and his breathing was steady. That allowed my body to relax along with his and accept the fact of my ignorance. "It's been less than a year since Madara had arrived here on earth-" the Captain spoke before I interrupted him with shock.

"WHAT?! He's been here for around a month now! Check your dates!" Anger and disbelief seeped its way across my body as the Captain allowed his sight to drift toward Itachi then back to me.

"Madara has been here for nearly eight months now." He resumed, "Where have you been all this time?"

Inspecting the people around me, it was evident that I was far behind. For a moment, it felt like time had swallowed me up and spat me out into the bitter future where we still hadn't won. I couldn't wrap my mind around what I had just heard. I just stood there with my mouth hung open and a dumbstruck expression plastered across my face. "Where have I been?" I mimicked with a small voice as my thoughts ran the news again within my head when my eyes directed themselves toward my only answer... Itachi.

His expressionless face assured me that he was hiding something. Everything felt like several days when in all actuality it had been almost a year! What was going on?!

With a glare of suspicion, he remained unmoved on the wall. "It was a game", he finally confessed. "You were in his genjutsu", he went on as a knot formed in my gut.

"How long?" I stepped closer to him demanding immediate answers.

"A very long time", he replied simply. "He wanted to mess with your mind if you were ever to find a way to escape him... and it worked."

The world seemed to revolve around me now. Everything Madara did was to torture and torment the inner part of me. As my feelings of safety withered like a flower under this pressure, my eyes searched for comfort in his dark ones. There were more secrets in his eyes to uttered to me and I was afraid to push further on to find out what it was he was concealing. Even with this tormenting sound in the back of my head telling me to change the subject, I pressed on. "What do you mean?" My voice quivered, my body shook, and I heaved every breath I took with pain and a wheezing chest.

"You couldn't handle the truth then", he tried to avoid the topic, "I don't think you could handle it know."

The truth that has been hidden from me like files of papers dispersed in the wind, swept me off my feet then plunged me down a deep dark valley. Itachi has been concealing the truth from me, hiding my memories with him, carrying the burden that I was meant to carry and he still persisted on keeping that heavy load on his chest a little while longer. "What do you mean?" I repeated angrily.

His eyes closed in contemplation then opened moments later. "You sense that it were mere days before this world fell, when in all actuality it took several months", he confessed the truth slowly, "Whenever you were free of the jutsu, we acted like it had been only hours of the day we were summoned so you could clutch on tightly to your hope." He fell silent again signaling his desire to discontinue this speech.

Right then, it felt like it was just me and him in the room trying to unravel what had been out of sight. One question entered my mind and I spoke it with all fear and hate. "What happened when I wasn't free of that jutsu?" My voice fell into a mere mumble for all I did remember were the very brief moments I was conscious in.

His eyes averted and his posture changed. He prepared himself for the worst as he spoke the horrid story. "When you were engulfed into that genjutsu, you were always beside him." A shiver shook my body with fright as a chilling coldness crawled its way through my skin. "You would rush to him whenever you were away from him." Goosebumps formed on my bare skin and my head felt light. "You would speak to him of everything that came to your mind." My heartbeat pounded against my chest with turmoil then my legs began to quiver. "There were no secrets you kept from him." My breath went short from the lump that formed within my throat and I was unable to keep my body above ground for long. "And whenever you saw him working on his desk, you would rebel to draw away his attention by took your seat, unquestionably, on his lap." My body began to itch severely at the thoughts of him touching my skin gently began to emerge in my mind. My nails fought back, uncontrollably, as they clawed my skin severely. "You were his pet", he said the last words with disapproval.

"NO!" I denied it. It wasn't true!

The world stopped then for me as the thoughts of him touching my skin, petting my hair, and speaking to me as I was seating on his lap attacked my head. My body quivered with disgust and I wished I could have been able to replace my skin from his impure touch.

The memories of back then suddenly infested my mind like a swarm of insects attacking an intruder or fighting their prey. I was reliving the horrid vivid fragments that had been hidden from me. The ones I had been blinded to.

The world around me dissolved slowly when, suddenly, I was surrounded by white majestic walls. A cool breeze was hitting my face gently when I found myself sitting on the couch I recognized as that of the House of Unity. Slightly, my gaze fell to the cold doorknob when the sounds of twisting emerged. It opened. Scanning around the room, he founded me seated and content. He approached me.

"I couldn't find what I was looking for", he spoke with sheer frustration. "Are you ready to submit willingly?"

His words fell like stones in my head. Fast and unbearable. "You know I will never submit", the words exited without consideration.

"Then you shall remain my slave. You will always be engulfed by a genjutsu", his words came out with power and impatience.

"That's the only way you will ever be able to control me." The sound of my voice, the taste in my mouth, the pressure in the air brought about my illusive memories. The jutsu he placed upon me left my personality intact, however, it prevented me the ability of a hasty exit. With force, I attempted to run, but my feet were plastered on the ground with no hope of moving them.

"You will be the prisoner of my illusions", he voice was gruesome and slow in my ear. As he spoke, I was able to take a whiff of his mint fresh breath.

"One day one will save me", I told him with recognition, "And he will be one of your men."

He tittered in his seat, gently stroking my cheek, then pulling the loss hair from my face to the back of my ear. It was evident that he knew quite well who it was. "That's why he isn't allowed by you."

With a simple grin I breathed, "My birthday is coming up soon."

He uttered the first words that came to mind, "Would you like a cake?"

"No", I said firmly, "I have a wish."

I felt a grin spread across his face even though I couldn't see it. "What is it?"

A tilt of my head then a gaze into his eyes. "A chance", the words slipped quickly and firmly, "To play this game against you."

He nodded with a chuckle. "I guess I can't be content with an easy win... You have one chance."

I gazed at him with joy as I stroked his mask with the tips of my fingers then placed a kiss upon them to taste the wood underneath my lips and wish him good luck. "You should know you'll lose, Master." Like lightening, I ran from beside him then added at the other end of the room, "Release me."

He stood then walked up to me. "This game is going to be played with my rules." His hand made contact with my face as my head flew to one side. My cheek felt wet, but my hand hadn't the slightest desire to trace it and my stare was unmoved from his face. It reminded me of the moment I defied him. The stinging felt so real.

"We wouldn't want you to know the truth or question it", his eyes narrowed when he placed his hands on my shoulders. He gripped them tightly as his eyes fell onto mine. The other world began to vanish, shatter, slightly from my eyes and my scream was all I heard as my head pounded against my skull.

"Don't touched me!" The tears fell from my face as I clawed onto my skin from the filth I felt they contained. "Don't touched me!" The words were choked in my throat as my skin tore underneath the pressure of my sharpened nails.

Slowly everything began to fade until all I was able to see was red. It was like the sun, burning within my eyes. Each second I continued to stare at it, I found myself being devoured by it slowly until I awoken again, finding myself on the solid earth near the chair I had been on minutes earlier. Suddenly everyone was around me, calling my name as I found myself on the hard ground, facing the ceiling, unable to breath. As they commanded me to breath, I tried to follow their orders only tormented with the fact that I had forgotten how to. The doctor rushed to my side as everyone tried to hold me down as I scampered across the earth in pain. Pushing them away with the desire for air, they returned their grip on my body with more strength. The world around me spun as the doctor stung the soft part of my arm allowing this cold fluid into my bloodstream.

My breath was heavy and fast, once it returned, as if I were running miles, but I was able to bring air into my lungs voluntarily now. Everyone was standing beside me with their pale white faces and their shaky wide eyes. Gazing at my body, I found my hands blooded and my arms soaked red.

The doctor took liberty in mending my wounds again when I caught a glimpse of Itachi in the background speaking with Captain.

Once his gaze caught mine, he advanced toward me. "That's why I didn't want you to know", he said with a belittling voice, "You can't handle the truth."

Before he could turn around and leave, I directed my view to him with the feeling of betrayal. "But you shouldn't have taken your freedom to try and conceal my memories."

After that, he left without another word and the doctor demanded several nurses to keep an eye on me incase of another panic attack. I demanded a shower to clean the filth off my skin when the Captain walked up to me and directed me to a stall and a place I could rest after I showered. He commanded me to use as little water supply as possible, for we were limited, but as I was about to enter to cleanse myself, I called to him. "Train me", I spoke with a will of iron. "Teach how to use a sword."

He chuckled with surprise. "A sword could wound you if you hadn't had prior training", he said with a prideful, yet shocked, smile, "You could cut your legs or shoulders or even wound your head. But", he revived my hope slowly as my eyes met his, "I will teach you how to use a gun."

Days later, I was running through the wood with my gun in hand, shooting at the trees with fake images of fake villains to defeat and innocent people to save.

Each villain, to me, looked like Madara and I aimed at him with my heart pumping iron.

I'm going to win this game!

File X Opened

Name: Sasori

Weapons: Flamethrower, Hiruko, Hundred Puppet Army, Iron Sand, Third Kazekage Puppet, Poison, Senbon, Sword, Water Stream Shooters

Jutsu: Iron Sand Drizzle, Iron Sand Gathering Assault, Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique, Prepared Puppet: Eight Waves of Needles, Red Sand Technique: Performance of A Hundred Puppets, Thousand Hands Manipulation Force

In Case of Contact: He appears as a wooden doll. He is completely made out of wood, however, he has a secret compartment in which he has a beating heart. AIM FOR THAT AND DO NOT CALL HIM THE BROTHER OF PINOCCHIO! He will kill with different techniques such as poison and needles being flung at your body. However, the result of all will be the same. You will end up being a wooden brother of his with weapons bursting out of your corpse. You won't be able to control your actions around this enemy especially if he was able to weave his puppet strings around your body. Your best chances of survival is by hiding and concealing your presence or by running away. You will be unable to approach this type of enemy head on or from afar. He is a skilled puppeteer and one way you may survive if captured is to confess your dying love for eternal beauty such as his art. YOU MAY BE TURNED INTO A WEAPON, however you will still be able to possess your beating heart in your chest.

Author's Note: Next chapter will be dedicated to the other new Resistance member Angel's Garden ;)