Bleach © Tite Kubo

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

The concept of Jiryokou © Dahlia Derbyshire

( Some Random Pathway Near Land's Edge )

The ninja's mind felt ready to implode on itself. Sai was thoroughly confused, and unsure of how to handle his situation. He viewed Naruto as such a great friend, just imagine how self-defeating it would be to follow Naruto like a spy. 'I don't deserve his trust.' Sai thought to himself. There was no doubt in his mind that it was because they were friends that Danzo was forcing him to do this; Naruto would never suspect Sai of being a good-for-nothing cheat.

As his mental battle ensued, the nearly nonexistent emotions began to reveal themselves. 'No, don't be angry at yourself. Be angry at Danzo,' Sai thought to himself, only to be countered by other thoughts. 'You moron! You still have a choice in this.' Obviously, his conflicted thoughts were not making this any easier.

His pace was extremely slow. He didn't bother to run through the treetops. He'd find Naruto soon enough, and when he did, he'd be condemned to a life of self-loathing. But for now he was content in postponing that time by walking as slow as he could, completely unaware that the very person he was trying to avoid was searching for him at that very moment.

The possibilities of his mission entered his mind. Naruto was as unpredictable as ever, especially in his prime. Anything could happen. Sai doubted his ability to merely watch from the sidelines in a near-death situation like Danzo would want him to. If Naruto was attacked by a whole army of shinobi (something that seemed eerily possible) would Sai bother to extend a helping hand like he should? Naruto had taught him one of the most important concepts to a ninja: that a comrade was more important than a mission.

Sai sighed, massaging his temples exasperatedly. All this thinking he had been doing recently had given him a splitting headache. At this point, he worried for his sanity. Especially since there was no doubts in his mind that, at any time during the day, a ROOT member could be watching.

Danzo was no fool. The man could be aware of Sai's predicament. More importantly, Danzo was a man who knew what he wanted in life, and if spying on a subordinate who was supposed to be spying on the Nine-Tails meant getting said things, it would happen.

'I don't think I have the privilege to relax anymore…' He thought.

It was just his luck that he felt approaching people, so very similar approaching people! He stopped to look forward, practically ripping his eyes from the safe sight of the dirt path. Before him he clearly saw two distinct heads of hair, hair that could be seen miles away! Anyone who was anybody knew who that hair belonged to. It was painfully obvious. Pink and blond; Sakura and Naruto were here to (unintentionally) mock Sai's morals.

"Sai! We've been looking for you!" Naruto called out, waving a hand. He and Sakura quickened their pace, eager to approach Sai. They were yet to notice something was off, both being severely unobservant when it came to anything but a full-out brawl. Sai approached the duo on his own speed, nevertheless, the usual emotionless expression painted on his features. Those empty eyes of his flickered between the two, waiting for the beginning of a conversation Sai got the distinct feeling he wouldn't like.

Naruto was the first to jump into the scene. "We've wanted to ask you something." His reply was so quick, and easy. He didn't wait for a moment for Sai to ask what it was; anyone with a frontal lobe could have predicted Sai's response. Thus, he continued on, "Tell us more about Danzo."

It sounded most like an order. The two looked at Sai expectantly, and he felt a little sorry at how much he would disappoint him. Though he had expected this, one day… He knew this conversation was inevitable, and he should have been quicker to avoid it. Naruto's blatantly obvious introduction to the topic should have been a warning sign for Sai to evade. Unfortunately, doing something so rude to two people he had begun to lay his trust in was increasingly hard to do. Complex human emotions were just that…complex.

His shocking answer was short, and sweet. "I can't." He stated blankly.

Not to his surprise, the two before him became defensive and accusing. They both slanted their bodies forwards, fists slightly clenched together. Sai felt a little bad. Couldn't they trust his reasons? Hearing their words hurt slightly. Naruto yelled out a 'Why not?' while Sakura became ensnared with an 'Are you taking sides?' question. Sai didn't know how to rebut.

"No." Sai responded, taking a brief moment to see the confusion on their faces before he went on, "I literally can't talk about him. Because of…" He opened his mouth wide, making sure to tilt his head back to give them a better perspective. The marking was quite clear to them. It was a seal. It fit squarely on his tongue, and looked difficult to remove. Sakura had never seen anything like it, and it was no surprise when her thoughts centered around what Tsunade might do if she knew about this.

Naruto inquired as to what it was, and Sakura was very determined that all in good time things would begin to make sense. The more Danzo became involved in their lives, the more difficult their lives became. She sighed, crossing her arms. "It's a seal…"

Sai nodded, shutting his mouth. "Yeah, all the root members have it. Danzo put it on all of us, so if we try to talk about him our bodies will be paralyzed, rendering us defenseless and unable to speak."

Sakura's eminent shock practically vibrated off of her skin. "That Danzo's really cautious…" The seal felt and looked completely unfair in her opinion. It was like taking away a person's natural rights. Stripping them of what made them: their voice. She gulped, forcefully preventing her eyes from widening any more than they already were.

As mentioned before, Sai was ready to explain everything. He'd known one day the two would come asking questions. Heck, anyone in their situation would have done the same thing. He began with, "Danzo and the foundation are top secret. We've done some pretty shameful things to protect Konoha. By placing the seal on us, he can make sure information about those deeds never get out. Even in confinement, or near-death, not a single person could make us talk." Sai took a break, to look at their startled faces. "That's how he's protect Konoha for so long. He really does care."

The medic wasn't sure what to think. It was so dishonorable to do that to his own men, but she couldn't really blame him. Previously, she was aware that Sai's organization was secret, and had their own fair share of skeletons in their closet. This whole situation was still a little difficult to come by, and fully understand. She couldn't think much more rationally up until that point, however.

The thought of Danzo's devotion to the village made her laugh. If he was devoted, wouldn't he show a little class before completely uprooting Tsunade like he did? Even more so, wouldn't he give even the slightest bit for Tsunade's promise about Sasuke? Sakura was quick to bring that up in the dialogue, expressing her dislike clearly with wild hand gestures. Danzo seemed like such a hypocrite. A hypocrite that was plotting to kill Sasuke… She felt her heart flare that moment, and she had to close her eyes to calm herself.

Sai seemed thoroughly surprised to hear that. During his talk with Danzo, the new Hokage had failed to mention anything of the sort. It perplexed him, to say the least. To think that Danzo was withholding information! Yet it did not set Sai off the edge, or render him speechless. Danzo was a sketchy person; something like this only seemed natural.

Needless to say, the pale ROOT ninja was having an explicitly unlucky day. Something that became obvious with each second that passed. He first felt them, and eventually he heard them. Before he knew it, they were standing before the trio, one of them with their blade outstretched.

"Tell me everything you know about Sasuke!"

( Ten Minutes Ago )

Finding a new body for Kon was difficult. Ichigo and Rukia could still remember how complicated it had been to find the stuffed tiger, and in this place where they doubted it would be that simple, their hopes were wavering. It's not like they could just walk down the streets and take one from a villager. (Especially since both Rukia and Ichigo could not be seen by villagers, and a ghost stealing dolls would send the already disaster-stricken village into panic.) The same went for dead bodies. Despite all the mass destruction that had occurred, the people of the village were alive and well, a story that piqued the interests of Rukia.

"Hinata, do you mind explaining why everybody looks so…happy? Despite the fact they're all living in poverty." Rukia asked, looking to the slightly taller and much bustier girl beside her. From that side, she saw a slight curve to Hinata's lips, signifying, of all things, a smile.

Indeed, Hinata was smiling. Konoha was indebt to two very strong people whom she admired deeply. (One more than the other, of course.) She sighed contently. "No, not at all, Rukia-san." She replied, straightening out her back. She wanted to tell this story with pride. "The villagers are all grateful. Had it not been for Tsunade-sama and Naruto-kun, they would have died."

The short shinigami raised her eyebrows in question. "How did they manage to do that?" Rukia didn't know who Hinata was referencing, but she spoke about the second person with a nearly inaudible hitch in her voice. Even Ichigo didn't know as much of the story as Rukia was inquiring and Hinata was about to let on. Sakura had only told him the bare minimum, completely forgetting any detail. It was seemingly important to Ichigo to know Naruto's strength for, well, future references.

The Hyuuga closed her eyes gently, her hands crossed in front of her. "Well, they protected us from an Akatsuki villain named 'Pein'. The Akatsuki is an organization of S-class criminals and traitors who are trying to collect the Tailed Beasts. In fact, Pein –their leader– came here in search of Naruto-kun, who was off training, I think. One thing led to another, and Pein began to raise into the sky. He planned to blow up the whole village." A sad gleam overtook Hinata's eyes.

She remembered that moment clearly. Everyone saw Pein rise into the sky, and merciless say those few words. Nobody knew what he was doing, but everybody could tell that whatever it was, it was anything but good. She gulped at the memory of herself at that moment; trembling and pale, yet still prepared to give her all to protect her village.

Pushing whatever she could aside for the time being, she went on. "Tsunade protected everyone using her summon from the blast. Everything but the people was destroyed. I remember being stuck under a big piece of wood, luckily set free when a cousin of mine came to help. Nobody could believe just how ruined everything was…" Hinata looked forward, in the distance was something she knew her companions couldn't miss. She pointed to it, and within moment's notice, they gasped inwardly.

"That's the crater Pein caused when he released his Jutsu. He was floating in the very center of it." She gulped. It was still hard to believe one person could do so much damage. Putting a slightly brighter face, she didn't hesitate to continue. "Luckily, Naruto-kun came back from his training afterwards. He fought Pein, and…" Hinata's gut told her to leave out the part where he was nearly defeated, and she stepped in. The part that caused her so much pain to remember; Naruto's face as she was falling was pure fear. Hinata never wanted to instill such an emotion in him every again.

Hinata was a great storyteller, in Rukia's point-of-view. The suspense had been building as Hinata went on, explaining everything. When Hinata trailed off, the shinigami was left eager. She hastily imposed, "…and…?"

The kunoichi sighed, the smile from before returning to her. "He fought Pein, and he won. Something he did got Pein to give the lives back to all the people he killed during his invasion. Naruto-kun came back to the village as a hero." Hinata felt her eyes water. Naruto was officially a hero, he'd finally been accepted by the village. She felt so incredibly happy for him, that she was shedding small tears of joy as she remembered it.

Her tears didn't go by unnoticed by Rukia, or Ichigo, but they knew not to step in. The happiness on her face was clear, and astounding. The tears could not be those of sadness. Thus, the trio walked along, allotting Hinata time to gather herself together. They still had a goal, and even though she had many great things to talk about, there wasn't any time. Besides, if she had continued, Rukia's eyes would have watered too. In fact, she could feel the heat in her eyelids as she refused to blink, drying up whatever excess water she may have had.

Calm and collected, a thought occurred to Hinata that would make their mini-mission so much easier. From the comments her new friends had shared, she knew one thing: they were either looking for a doll, or a body. Hinata lacked any dolls from her childhood, her father had thrown those out fearing it would make her weak, but she did know a certain medic nin who had access to dead bodies…Well, she knew two medical ninjas, but due to extenuating circumstances, one was currently off-duty.

"Sakura!" Hinata exclaimed, pounding a fist down into one hand. She stopped briskly, swiveling to face the other two. Her eyes flickered from one to the other. (Up and down, due to their height difference.) "I've got it! Sakura-san can help us get a body that, uh, Kon-san can use."

At the mention of Sakura, Ichigo's face fell. He hadn't managed to have many decent path-crossings with Sakura. Their little meetings only ended with heated argument, or complete ignorance and utter abandonment. He began to hate the fact that Sakura was seemingly becoming such an important person in his recovery home. Just the mention of Sakura was enough to erase the brooding questions in his mind lingering from Hinata's story. (The fact that Pein was after something she called 'Tailed Beasts', and he was also after Naruto who had something he heard as a 'beast' inside of him was definitely not a coincidence.)

Nonetheless, he was forced to comply. He needed his body to dig up any information from villagers, and he was afraid that if Kon had it for two long, he might do something stupid.

In search of Sakura, Hinata placed her fingers on her temples. Muttering the classic phrase, 'Byakugan' her vision changed as it always did. She saw the chakra of others, as odd as it sounded. Doing her best to ignore the strange energy both Rukia and Ichigo possessed, she instead looked for Sakura's chakra, something she knew too well to miss. With what she saw, she led the group in whichever direction.

Nothing went unseen when Rukia was around. She spied Hinata's visual changes. Her eyes emptied, and veins where Crow's Feet would usually be protruded out as if she was concentrating to a magnified degree. These shinobi sure were…weird, especially Hinata and her strange eye-magic. It wasn't a surprise to Rukia that only she noticed it, Ichigo was far too busy looking away and at other things. 'Baka, he needs to get that gunk out of his ears when I tell him to be more observant,' she thought, rolling her own eyes.

This whole situation was still a little fishy, and it was hard to believe the hot-headed Menos named Jiryokou could have planned this far in the five minutes their battle lasted. It seemed highly improbable. Rather than planning, the most-likely action for Jiryokou would have been a hostage. But instead he planned? Rukia did her best to think of any possible flaws in his plan, whatever they were. She didn't like the fact that here their basic Reiatsu was half the strength of Chakra. Then again, just how did Jiryokou know that? Sure, he was a very old Menos, but not all knowledge came with age. That was the thought that bothered her more; the fact that Jiryokou knew of the Elemental Nations, a subject that was a sacred part of Soul Society's secrets.

Her thoughts were stirred with the presence of unknown energies. (Of course, everything was unknown in this world to Rukia.) She looked to Hinata and her Byakugan for guidance, but even the violet-eyed girl had a look of confusion. If Hinata was confused, Rukia got the distinct feeling something wasn't right.

Ichigo thought that too. The uneasiness in the duo's breathing as they stopped. He noticed both of them were looking towards the sky, an action Ichigo followed. The sky looked completely normal to him. That is, for the first few seconds he looked at it. Three figures suddenly darted through the sky, emerging from treetops behind the group and subtly landing in the foliage ahead. It was such a strange occurrence. Three figures, who weren't even dressed like the other shinobi he'd met, just darting through the trees ahead? Was that even safe?

"Kumo nin?"

Both shinigami turned to Hinata, the one who'd muttered those words. Only Ichigo wondered who she was talking about, and what the term 'Kumo' referred to. Before he knew it, the two rushed forwards, nearly leaving him behind if it hadn't been for Rukia's sudden and painful grip on his wrist.

"Just what the hell is going on?" He demanded, looking at Hinata's puzzled and slightly frightened face. She only looked over her shoulder, an unsure tenor to her breathing.

Ichigo knew one thing was for sure: whoever the people were, they weren't allies.

They burst into the trees, Hinata using her Byakugan to follow the Kumo shinobi in the treetops. Here and then Ichigo would be forced to duck under random branches, apparently forests in this place weren't grown for taller people.

"Those three were ninja from Kumogakure, another village." Hinata spoke, her voice slightly strained from their intense speed. "Thing is…I don't know why there here, and I haven't seen them before." She mumbled, not once slowing down. This was completely urgent, especially since they appeared to be in a three-man squad. That meant business.

But wait…what was that above them?

( Approximately Three Minutes Prior )

"SHUT UP!"

Using her fist, a mocha-skinned Kumo kunoichi made sure to land a hit on her playboy teammate Omoi, who had been currently annoying her with jokes about her under-developed nature. She smiled when she heard the painful crunch of his bones upon impact.

Omoi yelped, spitting his lollipop-like candy out to the dry ground. He clutched his side dramatically. "Owwww! Karui! You should really learn to be more graceful. A woman, even one as pitiful as you, should never be so disrespectful to a strong man like me!" He whined theatrically, making sure to close both eyes when Karui came in for another hit.

Another hand came out and stopped Karui, a pale hand; an elegant hand. Samui stood between the two, a tasteless expression to her face. "Stop it, now. We're not here to fool around." She told Karui, shooting a glance from over her shoulder to Omoi. Her face was completely serious, and the way her eyes gleamed with irritation, both her teammates loosened up. They had no chance. Samui was the boss.

"We're here for reconnaissance, and only that." She told them, putting her hands on her hips. She turned to look around them. They were still standing in Konoha, people filing past them. They had no reason to fear an attack; the Hokage knew they were here and why. She sighed, it almost seemed too easy. "Uchiha Sasuke is a criminal. A killer. The kidnapper of Bee-san, this mission is vital!" She glared at Omoi specifically. "So stop messing around and focus! Or do you want Bee-sama's death to be for nothing?"

Her words were painful, and both tan shinobi shook their hands. They wanted vengeance for their precious Killer Bee, taken by the cruel Akatsuki. Instead of responding, they gathered into a formation, and the trio sped off and up into the trees. The run was a little exhilarating, for they knew somewhere there was someone who had information on the Uchiha.

Samui didn't make it obvious when she felt something strange below them. She wasn't transparent like her partners. There were no strange faces or sarcastic comments made. She stayed blank, only with a slight curl to her lips. The people following them were powerful. She could feel it, something completely out-of-this-world for normal shinobi. The busty female felt eager to fight these new people. Eager to test their power, she couldn't help but give a small laugh.

Her teammates looked to her, and she raised her dominant hand to stop them from saying anything. "Continue on like normal. I'll catch up later." She told them. They both nodded and sped up ahead of her, allowing her to drop down from the tree. The wind from the fall felt good against her legs, and she made an effort to land calmly, and without any extra force to the ground beneath her.

The group before her stopped, at least now they knew what had been in the sky.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the woman. She was tall, and her body was sensual. But those eyes of hers, those thin, blue cat-like eyes made him weary. He didn't like the idea of fighting her, yet he didn't condone it. He was offended by her. Did she really think she could take on all three of them? If so, she was thoroughly mistaken. His hand rose slowly to Zangetsu, the fingers lingering there. If she wanted a fight, that's what she would get. That was only, however, if she initiated it.

"Hold it. I'm not here to fight." She lied smoothly. Well, it wasn't an out-right lie, just a half truth. She held her hands in front of her, as if it would help to loosen up these people's tense muscles. She took the opportunity to look them over. In front was no doubt a Konoha Ninja, hailing from the Hyuuga clan. But behind the Hyuuga were two clothed figures that confused Samui. They were wearing something completely out of the ordinary, there were no words to describe it but: traditional. Ah, well, Samui put that aside. The swords that they were armored with told her they were definitely fighters.

She lowered her hands, the unreadable expression on her face unchanging. "Please, comrades. Tell me everything you know about Uchiha Sasuke."

The words hit hard to Hinata. Her eyes widened dramatically, and she felt her skin get goose bumps. It had been such a long time since she'd last spoke, or heard about Sasuke. Sasuke was a dear friend to her, only because he was a dear friend to Naruto. Perhaps a little meaninglessly, she blubbered, "Why do you want to know about Sasuke-kun?"

'Sasuke-kun? This girl knows him,' Samui thought to herself. Quickly, she responded, "I have orders from your Hokage to eliminate him."

Pish-posh. Rukia thought the way Samui spoke about another person was cruel. Nonetheless, it apparently hit a chord in Hinata. For she was quick to take a step forwards, her eyes burning like never before. "Tsunade-sama would never do that. You're lying." She barked, completely forgetting about Tsunade's current predicament.

Samui quirked an eyebrow inquiringly, and said. "Who said anything about Tsunade?"

Hinata's face fell, her Byakugan deactivated with the news. In response, Samui merely shrugged, walking to the left as if to circle the group. "Didn't you hear? The Hokage isn't this 'Tsunade' you speak of. When I went to talk to the Hokage, it was some old man with half-his face and body in wraps. Oh, what was his name again…" Samui stopped directly in front of the Hyuuga, leaning forward. "Danzo."

She gulped. Only briefly had Hinata heard of Danzo, but even those few minutes were enough to understand the magnitude of this person. Before she knew it, her Byakugan was reactivated and flaring with an unknown determination that had risen somewhere inside of her. "Gentle Fist."

Two words. All it took was two words to make the world slow down. Both Ichigo and Rukia bounded backwards to avoid a fatal strike that Hinata sent at them in effort to put a distance between them. She didn't want to hurt anybody. The fight was magnificent to watch, for the shinigami could have never guessed so much power resided inside of Hinata!

The Hyuuga was quick to act. After putting a good, safe distance between her and Ichigo and Rukia, she began on her assault at Samui. Her first strike, an uppercut to the jaw line was easily diverted. Samui slid backwards, quickly arming herself with her tantō.

"You're an Uchiha ally?" Samui asked menacingly. She evaded each of Hinata's Gentle Fist strikes. Though she had to admit, dodging them without being hit in even the slightest was difficult. Naturally, her ignorance towards this specific technique made her more careful than usual. When she didn't get a verbal response from Hinata, she knew it was time to take this more serious.

Hinata came forward, her hands glowing, prepared to hit the center of Samui's chest. She came close, but not close enough. Samui lightly spun to the side, limberly kicking upwards at Hinata's chin and sending the girl reeling backwards. Dirt puffed out as Hinata was thrown back, stopping short from running into Rukia directly. That kick hurt, and Hinata could feel blood trickle down her chin from when she'd bit her tongue.

Rukia helped Hinata up, grabbing under the shoulders and pulling up. This girl had courage; Rukia couldn't help but acknowledge that. Seeing movement in her eye, Rukia used one arm and held it in front of Ichigo's chest.

"Don't be stupid, Ichigo. We're outsiders, if we fight, there'll be penalties." She said. "I'll stay and help Hinata. You go and follow the other two; it's likely they'll lead you somewhere." She released Hinata, who ran forward to attack some more, and restart her Gentle Fist assault on Samui.

His lip twitched. He didn't like the idea of leaving Rukia and Hinata there to fight Samui. Something about Samui seemed off… Why was it the woman only fought with a tantō? Whatever the reason was, Ichigo didn't stay long enough to hear it. Rukia gave him a very serious glare that sent him forward and away.

Seeing the orange-haired man escaping, Samui tried to stop him by swinging an arm out, gradually loosening her grip on her tantō. She intended to shoot the weapon at him like a rocket. But was stopped when she felt a brutal fist hit against the inside of her elbow. She yelped, her body rocketing backwards. The tantō fell to the ground. She'd let one of them get away, and now she was angry.

"Don't bother trying to chase after him." Hinata told her, taking a step back with her fists rose in the air. By now she had a clean cut along her jaw line, but ignored that like she did her bleeding tongue. "He doesn't know anything about Sasuke-kun."

It seemed nearly impossible, how she could narrow her already thin eyes even more. Samui glared at Hinata, but something about her tone told her the girl was being completely honest. Thus, she didn't focus on the surprisingly tall orange-haired teen. She turned her attention back to Hinata. "Very well," she mused. With a low kick to Hinata's ankle, the battle had begun again.

( The same Pathway from Before )

Thus, brings us back to Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. Who, at current time, were being confronted by the very two Kumo ninja Samui had been with only minutes before. From the bushes was Ichigo, watching closely. Rukia was smart to advise him like she did. Following the shinobi did lead to something, or rather, someone important: Sakura was standing right before him. But time to approach her about Kon's body would come later, she was preoccupied with a katana outstretched and pointed towards her neck.

Naruto was quick to respond. He swatted the katana away from Sakura, pushing her back to attack the female, known as Karui. But she was stopped when Omoi ran the butt of his own katana into Naruto's arm. Of course, if they did anything, they should have immobilized Naruto's hands.

Watching what Naruto did was curiously entertaining. He made a single, only a single hand-seal and blurted, "Kagebunshin no Jutsu!" Unfortunately, half-way into his words, Omoi had the opportune moment. He rolled over the kneeling Karui's back, warning her not to cut or injure them. The edge of her blade look sharp, making it seem invincible as it shot towards Naruto.

All Ichigo could do was mutter his approval. The words Naruto had spoken earlier had led to something interesting. Very interesting. Next to him was a second Naruto, who grabbed Karui's blade with his bare hands. Ichigo was beginning to see why the blond squirt was so important. The shinigami doubted this was the limit to his power. There just had to be more.

Time turned into mush. Both Sakura and Sai jumped into the action. Ichigo smirked, looking at Sakura's bare fist. Their first encounter had proved just how strong that tiny hand of hers was, and he felt sorry for the poor soul that would encounter it. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. Omoi was faster, and alert to her.

Ichigo felt a compulsive need emerge, and instantaneously he was following his instincts. He bound out of the bushes just in time to catch Sakura as she was violently kicked back by Omoi. They tumbled backwards, Ichigo failing to calculate the distance he needed to make matched with Omoi's brute force.

Meanwhile, Naruto (who had been prepared to save Sakura himself) was taken by surprise with the sudden appearance of Ichigo. 'What the- Why is the shinigami here?' He thought to himself bitterly, completely distracted. It was at that very moment that Karui's free arm hit hard into the real Naruto's chest, sending him back and causing his clone to poof to oblivion.

The Kumo shinobi bounded backwards, surprising even Ichigo (who could walk on air) when they stood on the water of the lake nearby. He shook his momentary surprise off to look at Sakura, who rubbed her head.

"Geh…thanks…" She mumbled ungratefully. The roseate didn't like being saved, especially by someone she never seemed to agree with. Forgetting she was still in his arms, she asked, "Just what are you doing here?"

The change in her voice (from annoyed to questionable) sent vibrations throughout Ichigo's body, reminding him he still held her closely. The whole situation was awkward, and the light red on his face made that obvious. They both separated in haste, Sakura brushing dirt off her front, and Ichigo rubbing the back of his neck. A little too quickly, he mumbled, "I was just in the neighborhood…"

The two walked over to Sai and Naruto, who were looking at the foreign ninja curiously. Naruto had a vein popping out of his forehead, from both the irritation of Ichigo's heroic actions and the fact they'd practically been ambushed. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" He spat, his hands balled up behind him.

If the Kumo nin from afar hadn't been yelling with every word they said, hearing them would've been a real chore. "You were talking about Sasuke!" Omoi accused, before Karui jumped in, "Yeah! Tell us about him!"

It seemed to Ichigo that everything came back to Sasuke. Everything. It was like he was the scapegoat in this tragedy. Anything could be pinned to this dude, whoever he was. Ichigo didn't like it. Especially because every time the 'Sasuke subject' was brought up, a sort of darkness fell on both Naruto and Sakura's faces.

"What does it have to do with you?" Sakura refuted angrily.

Omoi felt increasingly irritated. He ever-so rudely pointed his finger at the four before him (not really caring that somewhere in their battle, their numbers had increased by one) and had a fit of rage. He brandished them eternally with what he said next: "Uchiha Sasuke attacked our village!"

The shock on their faces was overwhelming, and Karui was quick to jump in with, "And he took our master! We don't even know if our master is dead or alive!"

"No way! Sasuke would never do that! And why would he?" Sakura's denial was so obvious. Ichigo could see it clearly. Although he didn't know much of the topic, and it hardly concerned him, he had heard a lot of things about this 'Uchiha'. Not to mention that whenever the name was brought up, he felt Zangetsu talking in the back of his mind; talking about vengeance. Even a Zanpaktou wasn't oblivious; this Sasuke seemed to be a pretty bad guy.

Omoi rolled his eyes, infuriated. "How should I know what the Akatsuki wants?"

"What do you mean, the Akatsuki?" Naruto mumbled.

"Are you kidding?" Karui began. The water splashed and rippled as she slammed her foot forward in an overreaction. "Don't you know? Sasuke is a member of the Akatsuki!" She swung her arm to the side before she went on, "Our Raikage sent us here because you let that missing-nin roam free! We have permission to kill him!"

The words they heard were piercing. To think that it only took so long for Sasuke to fall so deeply! Naruto didn't want to believe it, and neither did Sakura. Trying to imagine Sasuke, the younger Sasuke, wearing an Akatsuki cloak and killing innocent people? They just couldn't see it. The imagine of Sasuke's occasional smile kept popping into their heads, engraining itself into their vision. As much as they tried, they couldn't match up the old Sasuke with the new. It was as if Sasuke didn't even exist anymore…and it hurt. It hurt like hell.

( Outside the Gates of Sunagakure )

The recently-appointed Kazekage stood outside the gates, his siblings at both his sides. His face may have shown no emotion, but he was as proud as ever. Before him was a crowd of his people. The people of Suna were waving madly at him, saying their goodbyes and wishing him well. His siblings, Kankuro and Temari were taking advantage of the moment to truly bask in their 'awesomeness' pretending that most, if not all, of the people were waving goodbye to them.

"Gaaaaah! So long!"

"Don't be gone too long!"

"Kankuro, Temari, take good care of him please!"

The last comment made both the older, yet equally as powerful siblings chuckle. Temari shrugged, fanning herself. It certainly got warm in the desert. "Don't worry, we will." She said, knowing they couldn't hear her.

Kankuro had a mild smile on, and it was obvious despite all of his bright face paint. "Though it's not like Gaara needs any bodyguards…" He said, putting his weight on one leg. He leisurely grasped the strap that held his puppet to his back, rolling his eyes at all the loud voices back in Suna. Gaara sure did have a lot of fangirls…

Gaara swiftly turned around, beginning his walk through the sand. The other two did the same and trailed on either side of them. The more distance they put between the village and themselves, the quieter things got. In fact, after five minutes (for ninja, they moved at an alarming rate) the voices of the village were completely gone, having ebbed out of their hearing range. All they heard was the swish of sand as the wind blew lightly. They were speeding through an expanse of nothing but sand, completely reasonable considering their location.

Yet, they stopped short. Or rather, Gaara had his sand reach out and stop the other two. He felt something vibrate in the sand. Right below his feet… Kankuro eventually felt it too, causing him to grind his teeth in deliberation. They could ignore it and continue on, risking the lives of those back in Suna; or they could stay and see what it was. To Gaara, he leaned more towards the latter. He was the Kazekage after all.

The vibrations were becoming more urgent, and something felt as if it was rising up towards the surface from below the sand. Curious, Gaara knelt to his knees and prodded at the ground with his index finger. The more he touched it, the more he was sure something was coming up. And quickly, too. In fact, if it hadn't been for his ultimate defense, he and his siblings would have been pushed back rather violently.

Inevitably, they were all still pushed back as the sand from his gourde came down on their torsos, forcing the three of them back. A large explosion of sand happened right where they had been standing. Grains after grains fell everywhere, being thrown into the air by an unknown source. All three siblings took their stances; Kankuro with his wrapped puppet in both hands, Temari with her fan, and Gaara with his arms crossed.

Slowly the great fog of sand cleared, allowing them to see colors, but not shapes. Black…white…and was that red? Everyone was confused as they came to see a figure, an actual person emerge. This person was coughing violently, no doubt choking on his sudden exposure to the sand. (Though they didn't know that.) From the violent hacking, he collapsed to his hands and knees.

This man was a pretty darn good height and muscular. He was wearing something black that oddly required an obi. Though that was hardly what caught their attention. It was his bright red hair, precisely the shade of Gaara's, that was pulled back tightly in a high pony-tail. His forehead, where a headband should have been, was covered with some white cloth. Underneath it they distinctly saw tattooing. And to make matters worse, the mysterious figure was armed with a sword.

The man coughed again, this time rolling over to his back. His sleeves were ripped up, signifying he'd been in a fight. "What the fu-" He mumbled, stopping himself when he saw the three not far from him. His brow furrowed as he came to a sitting position and muttered,

"Damnit! Just where am I?"

Author's Note:

I've been feeling so extremely bad about that strain until the chapter before this I had. I still can't believe it took longer than a week to get a chapter up, especially with all the thoughtful reviews I had been getting! Ah, anyways, because I felt so bad I began to work on this chapter earlier, refining it more than I usually do.

I feel that Kishimoto doesn't go into too much depth about Sai's thoughts, and I try to portray Sai based on his passed. I find it intense to write for a character I didn't originally invent. Bwa ha ha.

Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW. I'm not a stickler, so I'm not going to say something like: "Give me _ reviews and I'll upload the next chapter." NO. That would be like exploiting my work, and the last time I checked, my work was not a curvaceous female with a fake personality and a very open limit. My work is pure, and innocent. So please, review! Even something small would be a little nice. (It's just a little disappointing. This is on the favs and alerts list of 52 people, and only 21 reviews? You guys can do a heck-of-a-lot better than that.

I've also started a second fanfic, based off of Death Note. So if you like Death Note, I think you should try to read it. It's called 'Bored to Death', and the link can be found under my profile.

Again, if you can, and you're not tired of my annoying voice right about now, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

Anyways, until next time~

Adieux.