Hey, sorry for the lat post but I have had one hell of a week and not in a good way either. Anywho...I hope you enjoy.

I woke up to the feel of a foot nudging me in the ribs. It was Konan but not the Konan I had come to expect. This was the cold, unfriendly woman I hadn't seen since my first night in Amegakure.

'Get up, we have something for you to do.'

'What? Where are we going?'

'Dungeon.'

'Dungeon? Why?'

'Get up. Now.'

I got dressed and followed her soundlessly downstairs. We stopped in the large circular room on the ground floor and she pressed her hands to a portion of the wall. It slid open soundlessly revealing a stairway leading underground.

'Move.' She said stepping back to allow me to go ahead of her.

I took a deep breath of clammy stale air and started gingerly going down the stairs.

By the time I got to the bottom I was freezing. It seemed like we had been walking for a long time and the deeper we went, the colder it got. The steps had gone from dry and cool to wet and freezing. At the bottom of the stairs was a long corridor with cells on either side. The cells looked like they belonged in a maximum security facility of some kind; there were no bars, only solid metal doors with a small metal slot near the floor. They were all empty with their doors opening inward revealing nothing in the poor light. I counted 13 cells before we came to one that was occupied. There was dim light coming from an open doorway and I could see shadows moving within. I looked back at Konan who nodded to me. I took a deep breath and went inside.

I entered the room and stopped. Strapped into a chair and gagged was a woman who looked no older than I was. She had long dark hair and wide green eyes. She also had a steady stream of blood running down the side of her face and the visible portions of her face were a mottled reddish blue.

'Jesus...' I said.

Her eyes came up to meet mine. They blazed with a mix of despair and defiance. I wanted to leave right then and there. I turned and came face to face with Konan who effectively cut off any chance of escape. A sound drew my attention and I turned to see three figures materialise out of the gloom. The first is Deidara who comes just far enough near the light to be seen, the second is Hidan who moves to stand behind the chair, resting his bloody hands on the back of the chair and lastly there is Pein who moved to stand in front of me blocking my view of the woman. I raised my head and met his eyes.

'Erica, this is your final test. There will be no excuses and no preconditions. Prove that your life has value to us and I will make you a member of the Akatsuki. Tell me who she is and what her abilities are and you live. Fail me for any reason and you die.'

He held my eyes for a long moment, apparently trying to glare me into believing that he was serious. He needn't have bothered. The atmosphere was thick with tension just waiting to snap into violent motion. I was shaking with cold one moment and fear the next.

'I'm not even a ninja. You can't be serious.'I replied

To my surprise Konan rested her hand on my shoulder and whispered 'Just do it, everything will be fine.' I nodded mutely in response and moved robotically over to the woman. Pein took up his usual position next to Konan.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. There was blood and sweat mixed in with other more offensive things. My breath sped up till I was almost hyperventilating. Very gingerly I put my hand against hers where it lay limp against the armrest, right below the straps that held her down. The first thing I noticed was that her skin was cold and sweaty. I tried to calm my breathing and focus but every breath I drew made me more nauseous. I gathered chakra into my hands and prayed for a miracle not that I deserved another one but a person can hope. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes as I began to panic. The woman made a gagging sound and my startled eyes met hers.

For a second I felt nothing but then chakra rushed into my hand. Where our hands met felt like a bubble of force had developed or like two magnets pushing against one another. Then the bubble popped and I felt myself falling forward.

I found myself lying in a grassy field with a bright blue sky overhead. The breeze was strong and in the distance I could see mountains. Behind me a large forest loomed.

'Beautiful isn't it?' I jumped.

A young girl plopped herself next to me on the grass. She looked about eight or nine years old with long brown hair and unnaturally vivid green eyes.

'Shit.' I said

'Thanks for bringing me here. I haven't seen this place in eight years.' She lay back against the grass. 'It was probably the only thing I missed about being home. I used to come here with my Dad before he was killed. Mom would make us a picnic and the two of us would head out with my little brother. She would stay at home and sleep... and bake. They were good times.' She turned to look at me again. 'What do you need to know?'

'Who are you?' I asked breathlessly. 'And how did we get here?'

'You don't know? You brought us here, your chakra. I have to say, this is the best genjutsu I've seen in a very long time.'

'I didn't...'

'Yeah, you did, I felt it. I may not be able to use genjutsu myself but I've had it used on me at least a few times. No chance of adding some sake, is there? No? Oh well. As for who I am,' she sat up and offered me her hand 'Arisawa Kazumi, nice to meet you, though circumstances could have been better...I think you should ask me what you need to know before your chakra runs out, 'kay?'

'I don't understand. We were in that room, they ... tortured you. How could they? I shouldn't be helping them.' I was very confused. How could we be in a genjutsu I had created? As far as I knew genjutsu was more on the advanced side and I couldn't even get halfway up a wall. I was puzzling this out when she spoke again.

'Listen kid,' her voice was suddenly serious 'you heard the creepy guy, now is not the time to reason why, it is the time to do or die...or something like that. Why are you helping them anyway? You don't seem like the power hungry type.'

'Honestly, I don't know. It started with a lie, I suppose but it's all out of proportion now.'

'I see. My story is kind of the same, you know, things blowing out of proportion.'

'You lied to the wrong person?'

'Well no, I helped the wrong person but I couldn't let them kill little kids, could I?'

I looked at her and scowled

'Thanks, I didn't think I could feel worse... congratulations.' She actually laughed at me then.

'We're running out of time. Let me give you the short version of my life and you can decide what to tell them afterward.'

I flopped back unto the grass. 'Why are you helping me?'

'There's no point in both of us dying, is there?'

I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was that I was very, very dizzy. I noticed that Kazumi's eyes were closed and her breathing was extremely shallow.

'What did you learn?' Pein asked

'Her name is...it's Arisawa Kazumi. She's a taijutsu specialist with rather weak ninjutsu.'

'Is that all?'

'No, she's a missing nin from Iwagakure. She fought Deidara two days before he met me in Mikan. He had been hired to take out a caravan headed from earth country to fire country. She had been hired by the caravan leader to protect it and she'd gotten close to the man and his family. When Deidara showed up, she decided to run, at least at first. She didn't want to die and she knew she couldn't beat him. When it became clear that he was going to kill everyone there, women and children as well, she tried to help. She didn't stand a chance against him. He detonated a series of explosives in the middle of their fight... It started a rock fall that killed everyone she had been trying to protect. She used the last of her chakra to get away and it seemed to her that Deidara decided not to pursue her.'

I swayed suddenly. My vision darkened and I found myself falling forward. I braced myself at the last minute and found myself almost face to face with the unconscious girl. Without meaning to I reached out and began fumbling with the cloth that was bound tightly across her mouth. Realising that I couldn't undo the knot, I tried pulling it down over her chin. It was then that I realised that there was something stuffed into her mouth, it felt almost like... I was pulled back, landing hard on the floor.

'Katsu!'

There was an explosion. I closed my eyes at the sound and the feeling of being bathed in hot liquid.

'You bastard!' shouted Konan 'Give us a fucking warning next time!'

I heard Hidan's laughter and Pein's quiet. 'We weren't done with her Deidara.'

The rest of the conversation was a blur. I think someone said something to me but all I could see was my hands covered in blood up to my elbows. My hair was dripping wet with it and heavier, thicker things. I glanced up at what had been a human being and began to throw up immediately. It was only when my stomach was completely empty did sound return to the world.

I realised that I was alone. I tried pushing myself to my feet but only succeeded in falling flat against the blood soaked floor.

I cried till I felt cold and hollow on the inside. It was only then that I found the strength to get up. I looked at the cooling body and finally felt nothing.

I felt myself leave the room and walk zombie-like down the corridor. I reached the stairs, stopped and frowned. For a second I thought I saw red eyes watching me from the darkness but decided that I didn't give a shit.

I began the slow, exhausting climb up to my room only to realise that I wasn't going to make it.

Sitting down on the cold stone, I stared at my hands. I felt my eyes prickle.

A woman was dead tonight.

I thought that I had been taking life here seriously but I clearly wasn't. I was now the member of an evil organisation who killed wantonly and indiscriminately and I didn't have a choice. If I wanted to continue living, I would have to do what they said. If I didn't want to find myself carefully and violently disassembled, I was going to have to become a cold and ruthless killer too. I couldn't do it. I knew that I couldn't do it.

I forced myself to my feet. I climbed two stairs before the sparkles in front of my eyes widened and my world went white.