Sakaki

"What is this?" Sakaki whispered.

"I believe this might be a photograph of the facility where Haley had been kept at, although I don't see how this little cottage could be considered a factory," Akisame said.

"I know what this place is! What I don't understand is how Haley took it, and why no one found this thing before!" Sakaki said.

"Maybe we should check the diary for the answer to that? In the meantime, I'm going to show Hayato this picture. Maybe he's seen it before when he had gone training in the mountains one time," Akisame said. He left the room, taking Allie and the picture with him. Sakaki slowly sat down on his hardwood floor and picked up the fallen book.

"Okay Haley. Give me some clues. Anything would be helpful," Sakaki whispered. He gently opened the book to a random page.

Day 2190.

Dear Diary,

Today marks the fifth year I have been here. By now I am 10 years old! Saka says his birthday is coming up soon as well! We don't know what day it is exactly, but he remembers the general time it is.

For the first time in five years, we all got to go outside! It was really nice. Saka even showed me his two prized possessions. He had got them in this place. I believe one of them is called a Taser and the other a camera. Both he had stolen from a guard when he acted out against one of them. He said he somehow felt like he should have, like something inside him had a bad yet good feeling about things to come. So like I said we had all gotten to go outside and play in the snow. It was so much fun and the snow was so white! I could even see mountains behind the factory! But it was weird, the factory looked more like a smaller version of my parents cottage than a factory. But looks can be de-cei-ving right? I learned that word from one of the guards that watched us. All the men who had tested on us stayed inside and watched us all play.

We have made friends with all the other kids on our cell block hallway. They are all nice people, once you get past the fear and pair-a-no-i-a. I also learned that word from the guard. That guard was nice, the rest were mean like the men inside.

I got to take a picture today with Saka for the first time! Sadly though, there was only room for one more picture. So first we made a promise that at least one of us would get out of here alive. Once we did that, that person would go get help. After our promise was made, we took a picture of the cottage including what was behind it so we could remember what to look for, although I doubt I'll ever forget. Today was the best day I've had in five years. Oh, and make sure to wish Saka a happy birthday Diary! Lights are about to go out. Goodnight.

Haley.

P.S. the snow is reeeeaaallllly cold! Saka pushed me into a snow bank… I'll get back at him the next time we get to go outside though.

Sakaki shook his head and set the book down and away from him gently.

"Oh Haley, if only you knew," he whispered. "But I guess I just found out how she got that picture." There was a knock on his door and said for them to enter. Kensei opened the door.

"Hey Kensei! What's up? Have Kenichi and that blue haired friend of his come back with Ashley yet?" Sakaki asked. Kensei shook his head.

"No, not quite yet. But we do need you to come to the meeting. We are discussing our next plan of action concerning Haley. Elder said for you to bring the book," he said. Sakaki nodded, grabbed the book, and stood up. He followed Kensei wordlessly out of his room and to the meeting room. Upon entering the room, he sat down next to Akisame on his butt with his legs crossed.

"So, what are we going to do?" Sakaki asked.

"Akisame showed me the photograph. If I remember correctly, then I have passed by that very cottage several times while training. I had knocked and even went inside once or twice but no one was there, so I assumed it was vacant. If it's true that there is a factory in there, then I've never seen it," Elder said.

"Could it have been hidden somehow? Did you ever get the feeling that there was something below you? Maybe something big?" Sakaki asked, tightening his grip on the book a little. The contents of it made him want to protect her even more, from her past and anything else that might want to hurt her again. The old man shook his head.

"Not in the slightest. If there was a factory, they hid it well," Elder said. "Which is why I want you to go there, Sakaki. If I remember correctly, you seem to like destroying things. Besides, you're the one that likes Haley the way you do. It's only fit that you go rescue her." Sakaki blushed a little but nodded.

"I understand," Sakaki said. He looked down at the book.

"Is there anything that you've read yet that could help us at all?" Akisame asked Sakaki. He shook his head.

"Just stuff about her time there. I just finished reading a part about her going outside and playing with her friend in the snow when she was 10. According to the timeline, her friend died not three years later. They had made a promise about getting out of there alive, getting help, then going back to save the other," Sakaki said.

"And then her friend died, so even though Haley somehow got out, she wouldn't have had to go back to save him," Elder said.

"How did she get out, Shio?" Akisame asked.

"I haven't gotten that far yet," Sakaki said.

"For now, just skip to the end. She might have written a few details of her surroundings that could help us," Elder said. Sakaki nodded and flipped open the book to its last entry. He read it out loud.

"Day 5840,

Dear Diary,

Today is the 16th year I've been here. It's also been six years since Saka died. I still have the picture. But guess what? I'm free. That's right, no more tests, although Saka's dead and I won't ever see him again. I thought as time went on it would be easier, but it's not. I still see him in my dreams every now and then, but he is dead in those dreams as well.

You'll never believe how I got out. About a few weeks ago I had argued violently with one of the men about the point of the experiments. For some reason it took them a week or two to decide my punishment. Recently they had gotten a hold on some huge electrical things, big enough for me to stand on a pedestal between them. They had handcuffed me to them, my right arm and leg to one, my left arm and leg to the other. Thankfully they were close enough to each other that I wasn't completely uncomfortable. They told me that the test was to see how much electricity a body could handle before it quit. That was meant to be my death sentence but as you can tell, I am alive. I still feel the horrible currents going through me, but I am alive. Anyway, once they thought I was dead they uncuffed me, and tossed me outside. Sadly though, once I got my energy back, I snuck back inside. I couldn't leave you behind. If I did, they might have found you and destroyed you. And I can't let that happen. The world will see how they treated us one day and I will make sure that factory gets destroyed! And if someone is reading this, I finally figured out where I am. It looks like I'm about 50 some miles north of a dojo called Ryozanpaku ... Please, if I haven't destroyed it by now, then that means they found me again and I left my diary behind. Help me, please. This is the last time I will write in this diary. Goodbye Saka, goodbye my old self, goodbye to this life, and goodbye diary.

For the last time….

Haley.

Sakaki closed the book with a sigh.

"16 years is a lot of time," Kensei said. The old man nodded.

"Yes, it is. And it seems like our friend Haley has foreseen that these people would come for her again, thus leaving directions behind for whoever wanted to come rescue her," the old man said.

"But I wonder, how did she know of our dojo?" Akisame asked.

"It could have been possible that she happened upon our humble home while she was escaping from that place. No matter. We found out what we needed to know from her last diary entrance. Those directions, added in with the picture, have allowed us to be able to track this place down. The question now is, do we wait for Kenichi and his blue haired friend to return with Ashley, or do we go on ahead?" the old man said, crossing his arms. Sakaki jumped up.

"We don't have time to wait for them! Haley's in serious trouble and the slightest second of hesitation could cost her her life!" Sakaki yelled.

"Calm down Shio. I understand how you feel. But we cannot simply rush in. We need a plan of attack. This laboratory is very well hidden and they went to the trouble of getting a master to kidnap the girls in the first place. What makes you think there won't be more masters at the place itself?" Akisame said.

"Akisame is correct. We need to be smart about this," the old man said.

"Tch," Sakaki muttered and sat back down, resting his head on his hand which leaned on his knee.

"I think we are forgetting one more thing," Kensei said.

"What could we have possibly missed? We've got pretty much all the facts, well, enough to know where to go to find her at least," Sakaki said, glancing at him.

"I'm no longer speaking about Haley. It's Ashley's situation that concerns me. What makes us think that there wouldn't be any masters where she is? If there is, then even Kenichi and the blue haired fellow combined wouldn't stand a chance," Kensei pointed out. The sound of glass breaking behind them made them all jump up and turn towards the noise. It was Miu. She wore a grave expression and not a second later did she run out of the dojo and in the direction Kenichi and the boxer went. On the ground was a fallen tray with broken tea cups littered all around it, soaking in the green tea that Miu had prepared. The old man sighed.

"Kensei, I fear that you may be correct. Why don't you go after Miu and help the boys? Sakaki, you and I shall go to this laboratory. Akisame, Allie, and Shigure will stay here to protect the dojo. Are we all clear?" the old man said. Everyone agreed and Kensei was the first to head out, catching up to Miu as quick as he could, as well as getting to Kenichi's aid.

"I just have one question, why are you going along Hayato?" Akisame asked, glancing at the old man out of the corner of his eye.

"Let's just say I have a bad feeling about what is to come, and that Sakaki will need my strength to back him up," the old man said, stroking his long blonde beard.

"I see. Very well, are you two heading out soon then?"

"Yes, but before we do that, Sakaki, why don't you get a good look at some of the later entries in Haley's diary? Perhaps there could be signs of what we will be dealing with when we get there," the old man said.

"You're being awful thorough for once," Sakaki said.

"I agree. Normally you just rush in with your eye on the target. Everything else normally doesn't matter to you," Akisame said. The old man laughed.

"Well, we are dealing with very smart people here. They work in drug testing and, from what Akisame briefed me on earlier as well as Haley's last diary, they also know how to handle electricity to the point where our young friend almost died. One can't be too careful in handling scientists, even though they are typically physically weak," the old man explained. Sakaki and Akisame nodded. Sakaki took Haley's diary and headed back to his room to read the later entries. Akisame stayed in the room and thought about what to say to Allie, for he had made sure she wasn't in the room when they discussed it. He didn't think it was worth it to upset her even more by her learning of Haley's past. It was hard enough to hear it as an outsider, let alone someone who has been with her this entire time.

Takeda

Takeda was sent flying back into the wall of the cellar, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. He felt the back of his head start to drip with blood.

"Damn it! How is this guy so strong?" he muttered. The guy roared a laugh.

"Stop it! Stop hurting him and let me go!" Ashley screamed, struggling against the ropes that tied her to her chair. When Takeda had opened the door, he found her lying on a flat, stainless steel table, her hands and feet bound to every corner of the table. The guy, who he later found out was named Kizaru, was on top of her, pushing his hips against hers. Thankfully both of their clothes were still on, so he wasn't too late. Kizaru had also had a whip in his hand and when he wasn't grinding against her, he was whipping her stomach and legs. It looked like he had made sure not to hit her chest, arms, and head. Sickeningly, Takeda instantly understood why: Kizaru wanted to touch those places with his hands later, with her still bound to the table. That thought was what initially sent him into a rage big enough to make him forget about common sense and send him flying down there, throwing himself against Kizaru to get him off of Ashley as quickly as possible. That thoughtless action was Takeda's first mistake: not taking into account that this guy might have been a fighter as well. His second was when he didn't think about what level of fighter Kizaru was. It was evident to him now that Kizaru was no rookie. Hell, he seemed stronger than Takeda, maybe even Kenichi if they were ever to engage in a fight. If Takeda lost here, then he would have to depend on Kenichi once again to protect someone Takeda really cared about.

"I can't do that. When I used to really like Miu, he protected her. Heck, he still does. Ashley is my girl to protect. I can't lose this fight!" Takeda yelled at the end. Kizaru laughed.

"You honestly think you can win? You're not even a master! What makes you think you could even hold your own against a serious fight with me? You can't even touch me!" Kizaru said. Ashley continued to struggle against her ropes. At some point in the fight, Kizaru had taken Ashley from the table to the chair that stood a few feet away from it, closer to the torture devices. There was a light right above her and when Takeda shifted his eyes for a second, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. No feelings of romance came to his heart. Not this time. She was covered in scratches and bruises from the waist down, the clothes around her stomach slashed open, and blood flowed down onto the rest of her clothes from there. Even through the slashes and blood Takeda could see bad bruises begin to form. Her eyes weren't filled with the usual brightness and joy he found when he heard her talking on a usual basis. No, these were filled with terror, begging him to help her. Or at least to untie her. Unfortunately, Takeda couldn't get near her. Every time he tried, Kizaru would punch or kick him away into a wall. Takeda coughed up some blood onto the cold ground as he struggled to stand up. He didn't know how long the fight had been going on for, but he knew it was too long. His body was starting to grow tired and his muscles began to ache.

"What are you saying? You're a master or something?" Takeda muttered. Kizaru roared a laugh, then he gave Takeda the most menacing and evil smirk Takeda had ever seen, and Takeda had seen plenty of his share of horror movies.

"Exactly!" Kizaru said. Takeda's eyes widened, then he shook his head and got into an offensive position again.

"No, I don't care! I'll defeat you even if you're a master! I have to," Takeda said, glancing at Ashley. He saw tears form in her eyes, then her shaking her head, making the tears go away.

Just you watch, Ashley. I'll beat this guy and save you. I promise! Takeda thought, running at Kizaru once again.

HELLO ALL!

I HAVE FINALLY UPDATED ONCE AGAIN!

NOW FOR THE THANKS!

THANKS FOR REVIEWING:

MOLLY GRACE 16

MOMOCHAN77

HALEY

DRAGONGIRL180

ALLIE

QUESTION ANSWERING TIME!

MOLLY GRACE 16: TO BE HONEST, IT DIDN'T OCCURE TO ME THAT THEIR NAMES WERE SO SIMILIAR UNTIL YOU POINTED IT OUT. I WAS MORE GOING FOR AN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER REFERENCE XD. PLUS SAKA WAS THE FIRST JAPANESE NAME TO COME TO MIND. THANKS FOR THE QUESTION!

PLEASE READ, REVIEW, AND ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY!

THANKS!