Drip… Drip… Drip… Creeeeeeeak

The soft breath of wind seeped through the crack of the ajar door. The figure which had opened it had leaved as quickly as she came. At incredible speeds, the masked Jonin sprinted down the corridor, her footsteps silent like a ghosts. The leering faces upon the walls watched her dash from her room and out of sight, their faces masked to hide the glee.

Wax was tickling down from her candle, and scolding against her bare hand. Yet it cooled quickly and within seconds the burns were covered with the thick wax. The flame flicked against the speeds she was going, yet her other hand remained in front of it so it didn't went out. Without the light, she wouldn't be able to find her way through the darkness. Truly, this was the path to Hell's gates. Not even the daylight could find a crack to go through.

The torches on the walls had long since been extinguished, and if anyone was to catch her… It would lead to the end of her mission. Despite the mission, her focus was settled on one thing. And one thing only. Her brother that laid half to death in the cells below.

Her memory tracing back its steps to where Orochimaru had accepted her. Left, right, left right. The maze felt like it went on and on causing even the most skilled of ninjas to be lost in the pits of Hell. Her sprinting pace slowed into a walk once she noticed the large gate before her.

Sheltering behind the corner, she listened closely to the voices on the other side. One… Two… Three guards. Orochimaru must have known that the prisoners were too weak to even move… A large knot in her stomach formed and her fist clenched tighter to the candle. What had he done to them… She didn't wish to know.

Her eyes quickly narrowed and her hand rose in defence. Blood oozed to the ground, mixing in with the hot wax. The ninja yelled in pain, clutching his hands over his eyes from where she had forced the burning candle into. Pulling his kanata out of his hands and twisting it around so she was now holding the handle, she sliced the weapon across and left the dying man upon the ground.

The two had heard the commotion and were quick to respond. Fukuko ducked from a sword, and swung her leg around to bring him down. However, the ninja predicted her next move but the weight of his weapon was countering his weight, causing him to crash down to the ground. She picked up his sword and tossed it just in time to pin the third ninja against the wall.

He glared at Fukuko, and begun to call out. "INTRUDER!!! TRAITOR!!! SPY!!!"

Her heart leapt with the adrenaline rushing through her muscles. Her eagerness to free her captured brother must have been fogging over her mind. She needed as much time as possible to rescue the prisoners. Without hesitating, she ran through the prison gates and sealed herself inside.

Dropping her guard, Fukuko placed her hands to her mouth and called out. "HINA! HINA!!!"

Half slipping down the steps in her desperation, her eyes sprinted in attempt to even see the outlines of the cells. Her breath was still, though the most delicate sound would block out her brother's voice.

"Fukuko…" A strained voice barely whispered back.

"HINA!"

Dashing towards the source of the sound, Fukuko fall down upon her knees and frantically ran her hands along the bars for any signs of him. Soft warm hands found hers and grasped tightly onto them, soaking his hands with the blood of hers.

"Fukuko… You shouldn't have…"

"Save the talk later!" Fukuko whispered. "I'm going to get you out - nothing will stop me! Move back!"

Freeing her hands from his, she grasped the handle of her kanata. After hearing the shuffling of her brother moving back, the kanata slice through the air, the blade carved through the bars, knocking them down to the ground. Keeping her weapon withdrawn, her hand clashed in the air for Hina. Grasping a piece of his torn shirt, she pulled him through.

A nausea feeling washed over her now. She could feel his bones through his skin and the lack of muscles could barely hold him upon. Growing impatience, she pulled his arm over and her shoulders and began to move away when the cries of the other prisoners caught her ears.

"TAKE US PLEASE!!!"

"DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!"

"Fukuko…"

Her brother could sense the hesitation from her stillness. Tears slowly burned down her cheeks. What could she do now? Most, if not all, the prisoners were in a poor state and wouldn't even be able to leave the hideout within being killed. But if she left them here… There was still someone waiting at home for them… Someone to cry for them… Wishing they were back.

"Hina… I'm… sorry."

Placing her brother against the wall, she settled for freeing the prisoners. Not all would be able to make it out alive… but if just one or two could… then…

Cries from behind the gates caused her to look back. She had forgotten about the guards outside. They would have gotten backup by now… They were properly being surrounded that very minute.

"Listen!" Fukuko tried to call over the desperate cries from the freed prisoners. "We have to -"

"LET US OUT!" They screamed, running weakly up the stairs and fiddling with the locks. "FREEDOM!"

"NO!!!"

It was too late. The freed prisoners had opened the locks and were instantly killed by the ninjas on the other side. Captives ran in every direction, trying to find even the most smallest of holes to crawl through. Screams and shouts rose above stamping of footsteps and clanging of bars against skulls.

Fukuko cornered back against the wall. Her brother was laying weakly, looking half conscious already. Panicking in the mist of the bloodshed, she scooped back up her brother and dashed to the far side of the dudgeons.

Her eyes pierced through the darkness, looking for the most smallest of cracks in the walls. Though someone had heard her pleas, she felt the faint touch of sunlight against her skin from above. After crawling upon the top of a cell, her kanata instantly begun to crash through the rocks, trying to enlarge just enough for her to squeeze through. The adrenaline made the work quicker, and through she hated to admit it, the prisoners were holding them off just long enough.

"Hina!" she whispered, pulling back up her brother. "Get through now!"

A scream echoed from just behind them. The prisoners that were strong enough to run were now being caught up to. Hina turned his yellowy thin face towards her and smiled weakly.

"I'm proud of you… sister."

"Hina! Get through now!"

Hina ignored her and pulled himself back up and half dragged himself towards the sounds of the screams and clanging of weapons. "I'll hold them off…"

"HINA NO!!" Fukuko screamed, reaching out her hand to take hold of him. Yet he was moving further and further out of her reach.

"Get out of here alive…" Hina whispered, moving his hands together in form of a hand sign. "Make that my dying wish."

She watched him tearfully as he vanished back into the crowd of darkness. Her hands were frozen in their position though hoping he would return. It wasn't till a body crashed against the wall beside her did her senses return. Wasting no more time, she squeezed herself through the hole and ran as fast as she could from the hideout.

"Fukuko."

Her body slid to halt. Standing there between the trees were Orochimaru's right hand man himself.

"Kabuto." She hissed, her hand reaching behind her to take hold of her kanata… only to feel thin air instead. Her weapon was left back in the hideout.

Kabuto's lips curled into a dark smirk. "Are you really that foolish into thinking we would just let you run free?"

"No… but if you were even half decent enough to… I would be grateful."

Anger was building inside of her. Monsters. She thought furiously. Monsters from the Devil himself.

"I can't do that. You now own us new bodies for experiments. Yours would be the first to the new collection."

"Over my dead body." Fukuko hissed.

"That was the general idea."

Fire whipped through the trees, burning everything within its path. Kabuto leapt back in time to miss the attack and quickly formed his chakra around his hands. Fukuko had vanished within the blaze.

Kabuto raised his head, the sun glistening off his glasses. The birds had grown noisy after the attack and had taken to flight. Watching the same birds, Fukuko leant back against a tree. Looking back at the records Konoha had, Kabuto was a medical ninja with expert control over his chakra. If she got even within arm range of him, it would be the end of her. Not even she would be able to escape from him… she had to fight.

Forming a series of hand signs, Fukuko knelt down to the ground and placed her palms flat down. It was the last chance she had for escape. The ground from beneath her feet began to rise higher and higher into the air, lifting even the trees from their roots.

Kabuto smirked at the sight and took to his stance. Trees were suddenly launched towards him. Kabuto moved forward and leapt over them to dodge. However, just as he started to move towards her, the trees lashed at him, curling their thick roots around his arms and legs and crushing his bones.

Not to be beaten, Kabuto formed precise chakra around his feet and kicked back. The chakra ran down the tree, splitting it in half and leaving it useless. His hands sliced through the roots gripping onto him, leaving his body to land limply on the ground.

Fukuko landed down before him. Her hands grasped hold of a large thick branch of the tree, ready to attack if he was to move. She wasn't going to run until made certain he couldn't follow.

Her eyes widened slightly when a insane laugh broke the crumbling of the trees around them. Kabuto slowly pulled himself back up, his bones fixed like they were new and his sickening enjoyment lit in his expression.

"This is getting interesting… But now you have to defend yourself from me."

Kabuto sprinted towards her, his arms out and ready to slice through her body cells. Fukuko threw the tree branch towards him. With the smirk still lit up his face, Kabuto sliced his chakra threw it expecting it to break into pieces. A huge explosion burst through the branch. The fire bomb that had been disguised as a branch unleashed its power directly into Kabuto.

With her arms shielding her face from blast, waves of the explosion set Fukuko back into the trees, her back slammed directly into one. Sliding down to the ground, her arms lowered to see a large crater in the place were Kabuto had previously been.

She paused, hesitating to move. That seemed… easy. Too easy… Something was up. A sharp pain suddenly ran through her leg. She bit her lip and pulled up the bottom of her trousers to find a large cut across her leg. Feeling her legs with the tips of her fingers, she discovered that she must have broken it when thrown back in the explosion.

Shaking, she rose back up and leant against the tree to catch her breath. It had been a while since she had to use chakra attacks. But… it had been a while since she was sent on such a serious mission. One that she had already failed to do. Ashamed, she begun to limp towards the Konoha direction when sudden force knocked her back.

Coughing up blood, she sat up shaking. To her disgust and mild surprise, Kabuto was standing in front of her. So, she thought angrily, during the first attack he slipped out and created a clone. All that time she had been wasting her needed chakra on a worthless clone.

"Your mind becomes easily cloudily." Kabuto remarked. "How you got to become a ninja is beyond me."

Fukuko growled and went to stand up when more pain shot through her chest. It felt though something was devouring her from inside. Her eyes glanced over his hands that was covered with the blue chakra. The match had been over the minute it started.

"Don't get so curious…" Fukuko muttered, trying to ignoring the weakening feeling. "It killed the cat after all."

Slamming her fists down on the ground, the earth began to shake from beneath their feet. A gapping hole grew from under him, and Kabuto just managed to jump back to avoid getting eating by the ground. Trees were shaken and brought down on top of him. Kabuto had to take to the air, leaping back with each crushing tree.

Forming another set of hand-signs, fire erupted from her mouth and sparked up a raging forest fire upon the falling logs. The flames were scorching the sleeves of Kabuto's shirt when he landed behind her. Running back at her, Fukuko just turned to take hold of his wrist and hit his other wrist away with the sole of her foot. With her hold on him, she flung him back towards the fire.

His body disappeared in the growing smoke and flames. The heat was growing intense, and Fukuko moved back to avoid the light burning her eyes. Her breathing grew heavier, trying to inhale more of the fresh air.

Dragging her broken leg with her, Fukuko edged around the fire and towards home. The Hokage would not be pleased to hear the news of her mission, and it wouldn't surprise her if she was demoted back into the Jonin squads. Right now though, her mind was one another failed task. Her brother died in order for her to escape… It was her who caused the mess. Those prisoners could have been alive and found their own way of escape… but instead their were brought to their deaths by her blindness to accept defeat.

The sound of cutting air caught her attention. Fukuko had hardly turned and taken in the Kabuto cutting through the air on an invisible string he placed upon a tree when blood was spurted down her face and her mind knocked into the empty pit of darkness.

Kabuto released the invisible thread and landed back down with a small pant. Ash from the air was mixing in with the tears and blood from her face. Kabuto smirked at his job well done.

"Kabuto, did you start without even waiting for me?"

"Gomen Sama." Kabuto said, looking back at his Master who appeared nearby. "I got carried away."

"Always so eager." Orochimaru chuckled and glanced down at the body. Blood was strained across her face from the large wound across her eyes. "Such a waste of life."

"Shall I add her to the list Orochimaru-Sama?"

"No." Orochimaru said with the sadistic smile on his pale features. "Leave her to the birds away from here. It would be a befitting end for her."

Author's Note: Gah, This story is ancient compared to the new ones I have been working on. Looking back at this shows a huge lack of detail and feeling to it - don't get me wrong, I love the plot but the way it is written… Though would too much ruin it? LISTEN UP! I will finish this story, I don't know how long it will take though. Just one HUGE question before you stop reading - Should I go back and redo it? This means making the chapters longer by including more detail and so forth? Or, are you happy with the way it is now? The style of writing I have used now, is mostly the improved (or so I hope) style I write in now. So PLEASE let me know! I would love as many tips are possible on how this could be improved!