Chapter 2

Naruto's fingers flexed on the table and fisted for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day.

He knew the information had to be there; it was just eluding him. Where was it? A drop of water fell onto one of the pieces of paper and smudged a few of the words. The drop was then followed by a few on his hand.

"Naruto," a voice called from behind him softly. Naruto looked up from the papers scattered across his table and wiped the back of his hand across his wet face.

"Uh-huh?" he choked out. His voice sounded strangely void of emotion even to himself.

"I-I don't mean anything rude by this, but... It's been four years now, Naruto."

"I know, darn it!" Naruto snapped slamming his hands on the table. The legs shook precariously, and several papers flew off and glided to the floor. When he spoke his voice was broken and heart wrenching. "That's why... That's why I have to find him, Hinata."

Naruto turned to Hinata who was hiding partially behind the door.

"Naruto, if they haven't found him by now... What makes you think-"

"They're all missing something, Hinata! It's in this information somewhere; I just don't know where."

Naruto's eyes skimmed the papers with a new fire in his heart. It had been four years to the day since it had happened and he wasn't going to let the mystery stretch any further.

Naruto glanced at one of the papers on the ground and something about it had caught his eye. He walked around the table and crouched before the paper. He picked it up delicately and let his eyes dart around the page.

He began reading the page out loud, "'There appeared to have been no struggle; though, blood was found going diagonally across the victim's bed, the wall, and lightly dribbled on the ceiling. A few drops were found on the opposite wall. Most likely the victim was immobilized immediately and slashed diagonally upward by the murderer's weapon. Victim would have been dead upon contact.' How could she have not put up any sort of fight? This sounds like she just lied down and took it! Did she know the person or was it something else? And another thing, if she was labeled dead upon contact of the blade why take her body? It's not like she had a Kekkei Genkai!"

Naruto threw the paper that had given him a flicker of hope earlier, down in disgust.

"Naruto," Hinata said quietly; her voice a mixture of excitement and horror, "look at this."

Naruto turned and saw her holding a piece of red cloth.

"That's from her dress; they already matched the DNA," Naruto sighed lying down defeated on the floor.

Hinata shook her head even though Naruto couldn't see it. "It may have her DNA on it, but this fabric is a shade darker than her dress."

Naruto sprung up, but stopped himself from rushing forward when a thought came to mind. "It's probably just discolored from dried blood or faded through the years."

Hinata shook her head again studying the cloth closer. "If it was blood the cloth would be crusted and dried, and for all cases they put a jutsu on evidence that prevents them from aging. And look at this," Hinata held the cloth towards Naruto, "there's a tiny sliver of white, but it's grayer than the white on her dress."

Naruto took the cloth from Hinata and studied how the white dipped in randomly. The answer hit him quickly and he could have kissed Hinata if he wasn't so thoroughly outraged. He crumpled the fabric in his hand and ignored Hinata as she extended her hand and let out a cry to stop him. Naruto slammed the cloth into the table splitting the table in two.

Hinata flinched away. His eyes had slit and turned red while fangs protruded from his mouth. "Itachi Uchiha did this!"

"But, Naruto, he's been dead for two years and he was on-"

"-Our side?" Naruto interrupted. "Madara is full of lies, Hinata."

"That may be true, but Madara also has a Sharingan, Naruto," Hinata said putting a hand on his shoulder. Naruto relaxed slightly as the truth of her words sunk in.

"But why would he have taken her body or attacked her in the first place?"

"That doesn't matter right now. We need to tell Tsunade."

Naruto nodded his eyes still red, but he had more control of the Kyuubi now. He wouldn't lose control this time.

Hinata grabbed the piece of paper Naruto had read aloud and unlatched his grip on the cloth. She grabbed his hand and led him towards the Hokage's tower.

Sasuke could not think of a time he had ever felt so angry. Madara had gone too far this time, and Sasuke wasn't going to stand for it!

Madara had refused to allow Sasuke to be a part of the hunt for Kabuto and added insult to injury by not allowing him to step foot outside until Kabuto had been found!

Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration and let his Chidori run freely into one of Zetsu's clones that was barring his way.

"Sasuke, you are not-" Sasuke cut the Zetsu off with his katana.

"Madara can't keep me here. I'm no one's pawn; I do what I want to do and go where I want to go when I want to go there," Sasuke smirked. Killing the Zetsus was more satisfying than he thought it would be.

He took slow steps out of the cave - not because he was being cautious - because he was in no hurry.

He found himself hoping the worst had happened to Kabuto. The part-snake-part-Orochimaru-part-Kabuto thing disgusted him, and he had never liked Kabuto anyway. It was true that Sasuke had been part of Orochimaru before, but he didn't parade it or let the snake-sannin live on half of his face. Knowing that Orochimaru was alive inside of him had been a sickening thought from the start.

A sudden rustle in the leaves caught his attention. He looked towards the noise and saw a rock. He crouched before it and picked it up to examine it. Rocks didn't generally throw themselves.

Another rock flew in his direction and lazily hit a tree. Sasuke turned to the offending rock and then back in the direction it came from. Was someone throwing rocks at him?

Once more a rock flew lazily at him. Whoever it was wasn't throwing them at him, just in his general direction. That was enough to upset him. He strode through the trees and into a clearing where the rock-thrower with a death wish was. What he wasn't expecting was Kabuto lying facedown on the ground with blood oozing out of him, or that there would be a girl sitting perfectly relaxed on a stone - one hand behind her bracing her weight, the other lazily tossing a stone up and catching it. One leg was bent at the knee and resting on the stone while the other dangled casually and bounced off the rock in a slow rhythm.

That wasn't the strange part; the strange part was she was wearing an all black robe that was completely unscathed after killing Kabuto. That was a feat he could do easily, but the fact that it was just a simple kunoichi was strange. Who was she and why had she killed Kabuto?

"It was self-defense," the girl said continuing to bounce her heel on the stone.

Sasuke didn't respond.

She turned her hooded head towards him. "He attacked me, so I killed him," she shrugged at this. "That's what you're wondering, right?"

Sasuke didn't grace her with a response. Her voice had sounded familiar, though. He looked her over more thoroughly. As he had observed before, she was wearing a solid black cloak with the hood up. The cloak was pushed behind her shoulders revealing she was a girl with good physique. There was a piece of cloth wrapped around her arm, it was from an Akatsuki robe, but he had no earthly idea where she could have gotten it from. She wore a netted body suit that stopped above her knees and above her elbows, and there were holes at the shoulders. The color of her clothing was red and white, she had a sleeveless zip up shirt that stopped just below her ribcage and a skirt that was mid-thigh with a slight poof and a slit that ran halfway up on the right side. Her boots went below the knee and had holes at the toes. The heel was practical for fighting and not high like Karin's. She wore fingerless gloves, one was the same netted fabric as her underclothes and stopped just after her wrist. The other was red and white with a band that went around her middle finger to keep it up and stopped just before her elbow. It had a metal plate on the front that Sasuke guessed was for defense. A piece of metal caught the sun and glinted drawing his attention to it. He first focused on her fingernails that were painted a bluish green and then traveled down her finger to the piece of metal. It was an Akatsuki ring.

He knew this girl was most likely dangerous. The thought didn't phase him; he could take on a simple kunoichi if she attacked.

"One day you'll learn how to talk," she said dropping the rock on Kabuto's lifeless head. It bounced off and rolled a few inches away.

Sasuke didn't like the way she was talking to him so familiarly.

"It's sad really," she said referring to Kabuto as she looked down at his motionless body. Her face was still shadowed as she nudged his head with her toe, "he didn't really put up a good fight. I expected him to do something to me. He only succeeded in dirtying my robe..." she held up the hem of her robe that looked more like she had stepped in a mud puddle. "I don't know why Tobi would choose him as an ally."

"Who are you?" Sasuke found himself asking; his curiosity had gotten the better of him for once. He didn't like mysteries.

"I'm offended that you've forgotten me," she said in mock hurt. She sounded so familiar but something about the voice was off. "Has all of Akatsuki forgotten about me already? Surely you've heard of me!"

"Hn," Sasuke said simply. She must have been trying to make him think she was the Akatsuki member that had vanished.

"You're expecting me to believe you're the missing Akatsuki member?" Sasuke voiced his thoughts.

The girl shrugged. "I knew that a member was missing, didn't I?"

"Any mediocre spy would know that," Sasuke responded.

The girl crossed her arms in anger. "You're saying I'm a mediocre spy?"

"The missing Akatsuki member couldn't be a weak, little girl."

"You forget, I killed Kabuto."

"You forget, any number of amateur ninja could do that."

"I am not a weak ninja."

"You're right; you're a kunoichi," Sasuke spat the word like it had defiled his tongue. "It's much lower."

"Are you implying that all kunoichi are weak?" the girl sneered.

"Every kunoichi I've ever met is," Sasuke said thinking of Karin, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura.

"So, just because you haven't met many kunoichi you believe we're all weaklings? What about Konan, she was an Akatsuki member."

"Was. You forget that she's dead now."

"Not until after she nearly killed Tobi and took off his arm. What about the five Kages? Two of them are female."

"There are a few exceptions to my opinion of kunoichis."

"You only say that because people would consider you a fool for believing Tsunade and Mei to be weak."

"I have four exceptions to my opinion," Sasuke growled. She was getting underneath his skin. How unbearably annoying could she get?

"Let me guess, one of them is your mother?" the girl guessed. "Is it because she's dead or because she actually had some skill?"

In the time it took someone to blink, Sasuke brought his katana down on the girl. He was shocked when he saw she had deflected it with the metal plate around her arm, but he concealed his shock well.

"You don't need the Sharingan to anticipate an attack of that low of caliber," the girl almost laughed. "I am not a fool, Sasuke."

Sasuke was mildly impressed, but not enough to believe her to be the missing Akatsuki member. "Where did you get the fabric around your arm and that ring from?"

The girl tensed and he could tell she was angry with him. "From Tobi."

"His name is Madara," Sasuke said. Did this girl know anything?

"If he chose to go by the oaf-of-a-name before revealing himself then there is no reason for me not to call him that now," the girl scoffed.

Sasuke glared at the girl.

"I got your attention because I want you to take me to Tobi." the girl continued unfazed by Sasuke's glare.

Sasuke stared at her for a while before replying with a, "No," and walking off.

"So you're just going to go back now like an obedient little puppy, right? He's trained you well. I'll just follow you I suppose," the girl said standing up and brushing her skirt off.

Sasuke mentally twitched at her insult but wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a bodily reaction. "What makes you think I'm going back there?" Sasuke snapped at her.

"My my, someone's a little touchy on the subject of his master," the girl laughed. "Your leash isn't very long, is it?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Why shouldn't I just kill you on the spot? If you really are an Akatsuki member, shouldn't you know how to get back without me showing you."

The girl laughed again. "As if you could lay a hand on me! You seem very defensive of the Akatsuki for someone that believes he's his own master."

"Answer the question," Sasuke grit out. The girl was pushing him over the edge when he was already in a horrible mood.

"I thought you might want the glory of bringing Tobi his personal medic and right-hand man back to him."

"Madara's right-hand man is Zetsu."

"Sad how he had to replace me with a thing that is half-person half-clone. You must be ashamed that you weren't competition enough for half a person."

Sasuke was infuriated with this girl. He chose to bring her to Madara, so Madara could confirm that she was an impostor and allow Sasuke to dispose with her however Sasuke saw fit. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now.

"Follow me," Sasuke growled walking towards the hideout. The girl followed silently behind and he could tell she was relishing in the fact that she had won. She could relish in the thought all she wanted; Sasuke knew she would soon be killed for her insolence.

Upon entering the cave Sasuke saw that Madara had returned. He was waiting for Sasuke while leaning up against the stone wall.

"This is the second day in a row that you have disobeyed my orders, Sasuke," Madara sighed. "I'm going to have to tighten your leash."

The girl snorted behind Sasuke.

"And what's this?" Madara asked looking behind Sasuke and sneering. "Not only do you disobey my orders, you also bring a female outsider into our hideout. I thought you were above such acts, Sasuke."

The girl walked out from behind Sasuke and got on her knee in front of Madara while bowing her head in humility.

"Madara-sama," the girl said her voice even sounding more humble. Sasuke scoffed at how she wasn't brave enough to call him by his "oaf-of-a-name" when she was actually in front of him. "I come before you and anxiously await my return to your side."

Behind his mask Sasuke could tell that Madara was surprised. "So, Akatsuki's Thunder has returned to us."

The girl nodded. Sasuke was inwardly shocked. The girl had really been in Akatsuki? Not only that, but Madara seemed to consider her a very important part of Akatsuki

"Follow me," Madara told the girl. "You must explain your absence to me, and, depending on your explanation, I will decide if I can trust you enough to be by my side again."

"I see that Akatsuki is still built on mutual distrust amongst its members."

Did Sasuke's ears deceive him or did he hear an amused cackle come from Madara?

"Sasuke, you will wait somewhere while I decide your punishment," Madara drawled. "Who knows both of your punishments may be intertwined."

The girl tensed somewhat upon hearing of a punishment.

Sasuke stared after them; this day could not get any worse.

Naruto kicked Tsunade's door right off the hinges. Before Tsunade could reprimand him, he had made his way to her desk and slammed the piece of paper and the cloth onto the desk.

"The Akatsuki. Killed. Sakura," Naruto growled looking angrily into Tsunade's eyes. Her eyes widened and she looked down at the two objects.

"What makes you suspect-"

"This isn't from Sakura's dress! It's a cloud from the Akatsuki robe!" Naruto yelled at Tsunade. His voice sounded so broken, so defeated. "This piece of paper states that she didn't put up a fight! The Sakura I know would have put up one heckuva a fight! The Sharingan paralyzed her and then they killed her."

Tsunade's eyes skimmed the report of the room and then she looked at the cloth. "How stupid I've been." Tsunade put her hands over her eyes and sighed. "How could we not have seen this before?"

She looked up suddenly, her eyes red and moist, and looked at Hinata. "Hinata, tell Kakashi I want to see him and tell Shizune to fetch Kiba and Shikamaru on your way out then come back here immediately."

"Hai," Hinata said and then burst from the room.

Tsunade brought her attention back to Naruto whose hands were still on the desk. His head was hung low in defeat as his entire body shook from grief and anger.

"Naruto," Tsunade said placing her hand on his. "We're going to strike Akatsuki. This ends now."

Ha ha, I killed Kabuto. That makes me happy. See - :D

Yeah, yeah, it's obvious who the girl is and stuff... Kind of meant to be surprise, but not at the same time... That makes no sense, right?

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