O3o Fast update. Huzzah. :D

DISLCAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced in this fan fiction, except the following:

Tsukuyomi Clan

Nero

Ikiteiru Kage

Mushishokan Gatsuki

Uzumaki Kaede

A/N: Aaaand, back to Ruriko's POV, at the beginning anyway. ;D

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Mission: Rescue Ruriko! I Just Saved Your Life!

I decided to do this little mission myself without informing Sasuke. Yea, I know, it was a death wish. It was also dangerous since he had Roku with him, but I had to do it without him knowing. If knew that I was stealing from a high class criminal, information that I should already know mind you, he'd kill both Roku and I.

I waited a little after the scene at the shop, Kotaro's trio of subordinates leaving the shop. I got up, paid, and tailed them the best I could. I knew it'd be especially hard since Kage was known for being a good tracking ninja himself.

They eventually took off into the woods just outside the town, near the shoreline. I grimaced, glancing back behind me at the village before whipping around and shooting after them. It was a risk I was willing to take. I tried to be quiet about it. After all, stealth was my worst.

I could hear Kaede yelling a lot of the time, something about fake weapons and smoke bombs. Gatsuki would bark at her every so often to shut up, Kage staying utterly silent. In fact, that unnerved me. I could barely see the trio through the blizzard and if Kage had melted into the shadows, I wouldn't be able to see him at all…

He could be right behind me! I didn't like the thought and tried to focus on the path ahead of me. Ice had formed on the tree branches, piles of snow in my way. I had to jump and duck under a lot of things before I came to a halt.

Head of me, I saw that Kage hadn't left Gatsuki and Kaede as they approached a large stone building. It actually looked like an abandoned inn. My throat clenched, however, as I noticed that the front door was splattered with blood.

It wasn't abandoned. It was a stolen inn. I grimaced and inched forward, following and waiting as the door shut behind them. So this was where they were staying. Some, three story stone inn that they stole. I walked around the outside of it, my eyes scanning for any back doors. I came across a cellar, but it was padlocked. I came across a back door at last that led into a kitchen. I was quiet for a while before I pushed the door opened. I immediately regretted it.

I yelped out loud, not bothering to be silent. The kitchen was where the slaughter had apparently happened. The body of a decapitated old man was slumped at the main table, an old woman sprawled across the counter with a hatchet buried into the back of her head, a young woman shredded beyond recognition lying in the sink, which was still running and causing the woman's blood to flood the kitchen. Two young man, about the same age as the woman, were pinned to the wall like butterflies, their arms and legs spread out. A kid's skull was cracked open against the stone floor.

I stumbled back and caught the doorframe, covering my nose and mouth. My nose because the smell burned and my mouth because it watered shamefully. Holy crap…! It's like a slaughterhouse in here! Fucking scary as hell, without a doubt!

I felt my heart pounding, blood rushing in my ears. I really wanted to run back and grab Roku and never let go of him, hiding under my blankets, but I knew I couldn't do that. I managed to stumble in, stepping over the bodies. My boots splashed through some of the water as I shut the door behind me carefully. A few lanterns dangling in the kitchen before I moved into the larger section of said kitchen, where I saw the bodies of some of the chefs dangling from metal pipes.

I was finding it hard to breath. I had to get out of here. I bolted across the kitchen and almost slipped on some guy's puddle of blood. I yelped and caught a net holding up some pots and pans, causing them to crash to the ground. I froze.

I could hear footsteps outside. I scrambled back and looked around frantically. I tore open a cupboard and clamored in, shutting the cupboard door and squeezing myself as far away from it as possible. I didn't move, listening carefully.

The footsteps thudded before I heard the main doors to the kitchen burst open.

"I swore I heard it," An unfamiliar man's voice muttered, "It sounded like someone was in here…"

"Other than the dead bodies? Please, Ichio. There's nothing in here." A woman snorted.

"I guess- There! Look at that!" I heard the footsteps running by me, coming to a halt where the pots and pans were.

"Those weren't like that before, Mizu!"

"Were too! The chefs were flailing all over the place! We gassed this room full of poison on Kotaro-sama's command… Anything in here is dead. In fact, if WE don't get the hell outta here, that poison could still harm us, fool!"

"No, I swear! Mizu-"

"Come on, old man! We don't have time for this!" I heard scrambling and kicking before the sound of the doors shut. I had to hurry and get out of here. I threw the cupboard door open, darting out. I jumped over the pots and pans, racing through the kitchen, breathing hard. I could feel the poison burning my lungs. I gasped for air, throwing the backdoor open and slamming it shut behind me before I fell into the snow.

I shook a little before I leaned over and vomited. I was still trembling as I got to my wobbly feet, struggling to stay standing. I glanced at the door behind me.

Hell no… I had find a different way to get in there. And definitely not through the back anymore. I heard something from instead and it sent me kicking up snow, bolting down the side of the inn at high speed. I scanned the walls as I ran, searching for another entrance, my eyes narrowed. Entrance, entrance, entrance-

My eyes landed on another cellar door, this one had a rusty padlock on it. I swung my foot out and kicked it off. I reached down and tore open the door, flying in and slamming the doors shut behind me. I was engulfed by darkness that made my throat close up for a moment.

I made a hand sign with one hand, holding up my palm toward the ceiling, whispering a jutsu.

"Lightening Style. Rain Fall No Jutsu." A ball of light formed in my palm, the electricity sparking. It was like looking at the thunderstorm without the rain or the clouds. It was a calm sphere of light as I held my palm out in front of me. The cellar was full of bloodied weapons, as well as a few bodies tied up like dead animals. I gulped down the nausea in my throat.

I'd heard that Kotaro was a sick criminal, but this was scaring me worse than Orochimaru ever could. I gulped again and edged through the basement, my eyes scanning for anything that might be of use. I eventually found a flight of rickety stairs that led up, so I moved as quietly as I could on them.

I put out the jutsu as I twisted the handle quiet, peering out into the dark, dreary hall that was lit up with deep red paper lanterns, reflecting nicely on the matching carpet and stone walls. I frowned, stepping out and closing the closet door behind me.

I glanced up and down the halls before going right. I didn't waste time walking, though, I ran as quietly as possible, thankful that the halls were carpeted.

I heard an eerie ticking sound from a grandfather clock somewhere as well as the sound of chains clinking somewhere. I almost turned down a hallway when I saw two people wearing vests with an odd symbol on the back of them.

An octagon with two triangular shapes moving inwards from the top two sides, coming to a stop at a more horizontally stretched triangle that pointed downwards, the tip interrupted by a round red circle.

I frowned curiously, wanting to get a closer look, but I had to duck back against the wall as they walked by. For a second, I actually thought I got away with this, but they whipped around when I sighed. I winced and moved as fast as possible, thrusting my hands outwards and releasing bolts of lightening that shot through their heads.

I winced as the blood splattered across the hall and up on the walls. Shit, that wasn't a quiet death at all. I whipped around the corner they were coming from and moved fast, sprinting down the hall, but I skidded to a stop when I found myself staring at an open bedroom.

It was definitely a lovely suite. The windows were tall, draped with red curtains to match a large canopy bed across the room. There was also a black writing desk with a pile of papers on it. My eyes lit up.

That had to be it!

I glanced up and down the halls. No one in the other and there was a large window at the end of the other, so I was safe. I stepped into the room, immediately getting hit with a weird smell. I couldn't put my finger on it. It was almost like smoke or blood. Yea, I got confused…

I shook my head and ran to the writing desk, picking up a stack of papers and filing through it hurriedly. I jumped when I heard a loud DING-DING-DING. I jerked my head up to see the grandfather clock that had been ticking loudly, sitting across the room from the canopy bed. It seemed to glare at me, reading that it was ten in the evening. I winced.

It really took me almost seven hours to do all this? I shook my head and went back to filing through the papers. Most of them were pacts, information on conquered villages, and a list of subordinates. I set those aside, coming across a file folder that read RECENT INFORMATION on the front of it. My eyes widened, however, as I recognized the handwriting.

Hioshi's! Why was his handwriting on a file that belonged to Kotaro?

I frowned and opened the file folder, then gasped in relief. There it was! Information on Akatsuki in bold print! I beamed happily and shut the file folder before I whipped around.

My blood froze as well as my heart. My eyes flashed as I found myself face-to-face with Kotaro.

SHIT.

Akira's POV

"Is everyone here?" I asked Nero, who flicked the ash off his cigarette, glancing at me.

"Yea. I even grabbed a few more people than intended." He added, gesturing to some shinobi I had never met.

"A lot is good," Kin said, "If we're going to be looking all over the place, ya know."

"Right," I agreed, then looked up at the group of shinobi that we had collected, "Listen up, everyone! Ruriko's been gone for about two weeks now. She could be anywhere by now if whoever kidnapped her is on the move. Searching is going to be really hard with the little information that we have. We're going to split off into groups." I went on explaining, noticing that each person was listening very carefully. I honestly didn't know if they were just doing this for fun, to really save Ruriko, or maybe even just to piss off the older shinobi, but either way, it was clear that they were all ready for this.

"Akira," Nero stated after I took a break from talking to let the groups mingle, "If whoever took her a high class criminal, you should warn everyone to be cautious…. We don't want to lose anyone on this mission. It's definitely an A-rank."

"I think they know," I sighed tiredly, then gave Nero a little smirk, elbowing him, "At least we have a good team. Osamu, Kin, you, me, Daisuke, Ryuuko, and Kasumi. Koyuki's going to lead her team toward the Land of Earth. Sora's taking her group across the sea to the Land of Waves. Even that big mouthed brat, Naruto, said he was going to help… He said he's also looking for a friend. Didn't tell me who, though. Anyway, he's gonna check out Land of Wind. He's also got some his friends looking around."

"Hopefully this is enough people to look… We're practically searching the whole globe…" Nero murmured. I frowned.

"Even so, that's no reason to give up."

"I'm surprised you're not sulking," Nero muttered, "She's your sister." I averted my eyes.

"Just because I'm not having a pity party, doesn't mean I don't miss her… I'm been working harder since Ruriko was kidnapped, so we can find her and bring her back… I'm not going to make myself weak and pathetic because she's gone! She's be pissed off!" I added angrily. Nero stared at me, before frowning.

"Got it." He stated. I nodded confidently, spinning on my heel away from him with a huff to find Kasumi looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice work," She commented blandly before frowning, "You ready to go? People are getting eager."

"Hell yea," I stated with a grin, clenching my fists, "We have to find Ruriko! That's the goal! Now let's move out!"

Ruriko's POV

"Tsukuyomi Ruriko," Kotaro mused, "Hioshi's little sister… He mentioned that you were missing. How ironic that you'd show up here so fast." I glared at him, hugging the file to my chest and stepping back against the writing desk.

"Don't think I was following you or anything! I'm only here for something that I myself need!" I snapped. Kotaro's eyes seemed to glow, despite their dark color mingled with the dim light of the room.

"How selfish of you. Hioshi mentioned nothing about that."

"… How do you know Hioshi?" I demanded. A very faint, amused smirk was on his face now as he tilted his head back, averting his eyes.

"Hioshi's been my subordinate since I tracked him down, a while back, in fact… He's been feeding me information whenever I asked." He explained calmly. I stared at him.

Unbelievable… Hioshi couldn't be doing that! He's been loyal to Sunagakure ever since he became a Special Jounin! I was so confused at that point, looking down at my feet angrily before clenching my fists and jerking my head up.

"Well, I don't care then! I always knew Hioshi was a jerk!"

"He's just a smart kid living in a stupid world," Kotaro responded dryly, then held out his hand, "I'll be taking that file. I don't want your blood to stain its pages."

"Hell no! I need this to get Sasuke off my back!" I snapped. Kotaro's eyes flashed.

"Uchiha? My, you're really hanging with the wrong crowds, kid… Look, just hand over the file and I might not kill you…"

"Might's not reassuring," I muttered, "And hell no. I rather run from you than have Sasuke breathing down my neck."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll kill him too. Now, I'm going to count to three, since I'm a patient man. Give me the file."

"Bite me!"

"One." Kotaro stated. I winced, my eyes flicking across the room to find some kind of quick exit. My eyes landed on the door, but Kotaro stepped right in front of it now, looking ready to tear my face off.

"Two." He warned. I whipped around for the window.

"Three." His hands whipped into a stream of hand signs. In the next second, I found myself getting slammed hard in the gut by a rock that was torn from the wall nearby. I went flying backwards and right out the window. The glass shattered as the curtains were jerked by my weight. I gasped when I hit the ground, the dark curtains covering me.

I scrambled as fast as I could, tearing the curtains off and bolting through the snow, my hair coming undone in the process, glancing back over my shoulder for a split second to see Kotaro glaring at me from his spot in the window.

I didn't dare look back again, running as fast as I could, breathing hard. My lungs were aching and my body was very sore. I could feel something squishing in my ribcage, telling me that I had broken a couple ribs taking the hit from him. Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth as I continued running, even as I went through town.

My heart was racing. I had never been so freaking scared in my entire life! If there was every someone more dangerous than Sasuke or Orochimaru, it was Kotaro.

I ran into the hotel, slamming the door shut and ignoring the dirty looks I received as I ran up the stairs. My legs felt like jello by now and I almost fell on my face, but I managed to keep running. I raced into my room, throwing the file under my blank before whipping out of the room to head to Sasuke's.

Sasuke looked up as I walked in, his eyes narrowed in annoyance before widening slightly in surprise at my beat up state. Roku cried out and leapt to his feet, almost tackling me. His hug sent pain shooting up my spine, but I ignored it, hugging him tightly back.

"B-Back home." I muttered. Sasuke glared.

"Where the hell were you? It's midnight now."

"I-I got caught up-up in…" I couldn't even speak right now, my body shaking. I hugged Roku tighter, burying my face against him as I got on my knees to hold him. I couldn't get the image out of my head of the kid in the kitchen, his head cracked open like an egg on the floor that was soiled with the blood of his family.

"Ruriko, what the hell is wrong with you? You're shaking." Sasuke was on his feet now, glaring at me, but looking more suspicious now than ever. I still held onto Roku, panting a little from running so hard as I glanced up at him past my hair.

"We need to get out of this town. And fast."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"K-Kotaro. He's in the village and he knows we're here." I managed. Sasuke's eyes darkened.

"If you led him-"

"That's why I'm saying we need to ditch this place! Right now! Kotaro is known for taking over villages, small ones especially, like this one! He could have his army swarming this place in a matter of seconds, Sasuke! I'm not asking you! I'm begging you!" I barked at him. Sasuke stared at me, looking completely caught of guard before he slowly frowned.

"I'll go find Karin and Suigetsu. We're leaving in five minutes. Have everything ready." He stated and brushed past me. I watched him go before pulling Roku up in my arms, ignoring the searing hot pain in my ribcage.

"Roku," I told him, "If you ever, ever see that man that you saw at Orochimaru's place, the one called Kotaro, you have to run, okay? Even if he's attacking one of us, me, Sasuke, Juugo, anyone, you need to run. Run as fast as you can." Roku stared at me, looking a little sad.

"Ruriiiko… Suh-car-d?"

"Yes, Ruriko is very scared. We need to go. Come on. Grab your plushie." I added as we went to our shared room. I snatched up the files and tore out the papers, folding them up and shoving them in my shirt.

I'm a woman, give me a break. If you had to choose a good hiding place, it'd be in your shirt too.

While Roku got ready, I went to the lobby and grabbed a bunch of address book papers as well as brochures, shoving them in the file folder before setting it under the futon so it stuck out slightly.

I stood up, taking Roku by the hand and leading him out, shutting the door a tad behind me.

Thankfully, Sasuke ordered Karin to try and help me heal my ribcage, although, it wasn't her best. Hell, even I did a better job than her, but eventually, Sasuke told me to bite her. I thought he was nuts until he explained why.

Oh, and I bit her all right.

"OWW! HOLY SHIT! Her teeth are sharpened!" Karin cried, wincing. I smirked, then unclamped my teeth, leaving a bite mark that stood out from the rest of her other bite marks. I wiped my mouth and we moved on, heading out of the village at top speed, Roku riding on my back since his legs were too small for the snow that had begun to accumulate on the ground.

I glanced at Sasuke to see if he was super pissed, but he just looked very thoughtful and kind of unnerved. I frowned.

"Sasuke." I stated. He glanced at me out the corner of his eye, frowning. I frowned back.

"I just saved your life. You owe me one."

"Che!" But that was all he retorted with as we moved out of the hazardous blizzard, running for our lives.

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A/N: HOLYCRAP. I almost forgot to put an author's note! Kya, I suck. 0o Crap, Kaede's little speech addition this is sticking to me. T.T Oh well… Anyway, I can't remember what I was gonna put here now. :T Darn it… xD Well, thanks for reading everyone, hope the OCs are in character, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!