The next day Rido was wondering how she'd gotten herself into the sad situation she was in.

"OUCH! Naruto you kicked me in the face again!"

"Sorry," Naruto called down. "I'm almost over, just a little further."

Rido stood on her tip toes trying desperately to get Naruto over the wall to the Uchiha compound. It was dark in the middle of the night, so dark Rido could only barely make out the blonde ninja on her shoulders. She wondered how Naruto could possible find Sasuke's house in this thick shadow. But Naruto had insisted that he knew exactly what he was doing and for Rido to trust him.

Now she was kind of wishing she hadn't.

"Ow, ow, ow! Naruto you're pulling out my hair!"

"Sorry again."

Finally he swung his body feet-first over the wall and dropped down the other side. Rido rubbed her sore shoulders and hurriedly made her way to the back gate which Naruto had unlocked.

"Didn't I tell you to trust me?"

Rido dusted off some lose strands of hair. "Yeah, and if I go bald it's all the more joy. Can we just get this over with?"

"Okay, okay. No need to snap."

Naruto motioned for her to follow him and then lead the way through the community. It was dark alright, but that didn't stop Rido from seeing that the place seemed dead. No lights, no voices, no nothing. It was as if this Sasuke was the only one living in the entire community.

"Hey Naruto? Why is it that there's no one else here?"

Naruto coughed nervously. He didn't feel comfortable telling a story that wasn't his to tell, especially a story like this one. "Oh, well, you see, long story short, Sasuke's older brother Itachi killed off everyone else basically."

Rido stumbled. "What?!"

"Yeah, tragic really. That's why what's going on is so weird! Sasuke's usually hell bent on killing Itachi for vengeance. Nothing else was ever important to him. But now it's as if he's got something else on his mind."

What was Sasuke up to? What was he planning?? He had to know.

Rido didn't know how to respond to that. Instead she followed Naruto more closely as they snuck further into the darkness.

"There it is." Naruto whispered after they'd been going for a while. They'd stopped in front of a large white building. And it had to be it. It was the only house in the whole compound that had the lights on. Rido sighed with relief that they had finally found it and weren't lost in Naruto's poor navigation. "So now what?"

"Now we finally see what he's up to!" Naruto growled excitedly. He grabbed Rido's hand tightly before setting off toward the house. Naruto's grip made Rido feel oddly safer, though if there was any danger at all she could hold her own just fine and in a situation like that, Naruto probably wouldn't be much help. But still something about his hand in hers….. I wonder why that is, Rido thought vaguely. But she didn't have much time to concentrate on weird things. They were on a mission.

Lucky for them the house was one story so they wouldn't have to climb anywhere. They started checking all the windows in the lit rooms. Rido was just about to move to another before she caught a glimpse of someone. "Oh, there! Is that him Naruto?" Rido whispered. She was staring at a boy about their age with spiky black hair.

"Yeah, that's him."

"So what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?"

"Clues."

"Wow. Could you be a little more specific?"

"Anything suspicious."

Suspicious, okay. Rido intently watched the young ninja who didn't seem to be doing much at all except tossing a shuriken in the air and catching it. He actually seemed bored.

Rido frowned in frustration. How am I supposed to know if he's being suspicious if I don't even know what's normal for him? Maybe if he were mixing chemicals and pouring them into a corpse trying to create an undead army of immortal ninja assassins to take over the world, maybe then she could consider that suspicious. But the boy she was watching now wasn't doing anything. He just kept tossing that shuriken up and down.

Up, down, up, down, up, and down, and then up again, for literally hours and HOURS.

Rido yawned. She checked her watch. It was four o' clock in the morning. Had he actually been throwing that damn star for five hours? Gosh, she was tired, no, beyond tired. She was utterly exhausted and bored out of her own scull.

"Naruto," she whispered sleepily. "Maybe we should…."

Only Naruto wasn't where she'd last seen him. She spun around in a circle searching the darkness for any sign of him but he was gone. No trace at all.

"Damn it!!! That idiot bastard skipped out! He'll definitely hear about this when I get home."

But as Rido stood up something changed. No, everything changed. The trees in front of her eyes bent and twisted into impossible knots. A bluebird that had been silently settled on a branch shimmered before turning inside out, its blood and organs spilling to its feet. The darkness swirled in odd, unspeakable patterns and the very wall she'd just been touching altered, changing into a marshmallow-like texture. She soon became so disoriented and nauseated she had to fall to her knees. Her own body didn't even have hold anymore. But the world continued to shift and shake until she could barely stand it.

"Is….is this genjutsu?" She choked out.

Then, no sooner had the words left her lips did the world stop. Everything was right again, the bird was blue once more, no longer covered in its own blood, the trees had unknotted, the wall had become solid again, and her stomach had stopped turning as well. But there was something that different. Something—or rather, someone—was standing before her. She looked up and was met with the infamous sharingan eyes of Uchiha Sasuke.

"This genjutsu was yours wasn't it?" Rido croaked. Her mind was still foggy with the disturbing images.

The boy nodded.

"But how? How could you have cast genjutsu when I didn't even look into your eyes?"

The shinobi smiled a frightening evil smile that made Rido's stomach turn again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shuriken. The same one she'd been watching him throw all this time. "With this." He stated wryly. "Once you saw it for the first time you were immediately under my jutsu. A clever little tool isn't it? Comes in handy for situations just like this one. Now tell me please, who you are and what you are doing here."

Rido blinked hard, finally in control of her thoughts. "Where's Naruto?"

Sasuke's smile widened. He crossed his arms defiantly and narrowed his eyes. "That has nothing to do with you."

"The hell it doesn't!! Tell me where he is!"

His smile disappeared. "Why should I? You were on my property, invading my privacy. That gives me every legal right to kill you both."

Rido gasped. Her heart picked up a frantic pace. "What did you do to him?!!"

"Nothing that concerns you, even if he is dead it's none of your business. Go home."

Consumed with dismay Rido let her face fall. Was Naruto dead? Could he really truly be gone? All this time she'd been planning to kill him. All this time that's all she had ever wanted. Only just recently had she discovered that she couldn't do it. That she could never hurt him herself. But now, as his possible death was staring her in the face, only just at that very minuscule second had she realized how much she liked about him. She wasn't only sticking around because she felt guilty for deceiving him. She didn't want leave Naruto. He was her closest friend. Truly.

"What's wrong with you?" Rido whispered. She was still staring at the ground, unable to find the strength to move even that much. "What is your issue? Naruto actually cares about what happens to you. I don't understand why but he does. You're his friend and that means nothing to you. How could you even say something like that about a man who would go through so much trouble just to make sure you're alright? What is going on in your head?!!"

Sasuke didn't respond. It went on like that for a while, the dead silence. Rido finally found the strength to look at him. He was staring at the sky. Finally he spoke. "Do you really care that much if he's dead or not?"

"Yes, of course I do."

Sasuke looked down at her. His eyes were searching. "What is he to you?"

"He's my closest friend."

He laughed softly. "Then I guess we have something in common."

Rido had just about enough of his cruel mind games. "Please, if he really is your closest friend than tell me where he is."

Rido was desperate and Sasuke could tell. "If you really want him then you'll have to fight me."

"WHAT?!"

"It's been a while since I've had a good brawl. If you win then I'll give him back to you. But if you lose....I'll show no mercy."

Rido gaped at the ninja before her. Was this guy serious??!?!? Was he actually proposing that she win or die!? Did she really want Naruto back that badly?

Yes. She did.

Rido stood up and brushed herself off. She wasn't going to let Naruto down. Not after he'd saved her. He deserved her loyalty if anything.

"Okay Sasuke you insane bastard. I'll fight you. But if I die then you have to swear you'll let Naruto go."

Sasuke smiled. It amused him that she was making demands. "Fine."

But, of course, Rido wasn't planning on dying. If the sentinel wanted out then she'd let it out. There was no way she would leave there without Naruto, even if it meant losing her conscious soul to a ravaging monster.