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Chapter 6: Strategies

What about us,
Isn't it enough?
No we're not in paradise…
This is who we are,
This is what we've got,
No it's not our paradise,
But it's all that we want and it's all that we're fighting for,
Thought it's not Paradise.

Paradise (What About Us?)- Within Temptation ft. Tarja

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-Kiame-

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"God, I hate that guy."

I chuckled, careful to avoid my sisters detection. Ayame had been complaining about that black-haired man ever since he came in and fed us. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't really keen on him either, but I'm not going to lie and say I didn't enjoy the food…I was starving. But then again-why was it he who came in and took care of us? I know there must be others like him here, the blue guy I fought earlier at least, and seeing as he mentioned others coming to check on us, I'm sure there are more. Besides, I'm sure he wasn't told to show kindness to us, especially with my wounds. It's not like he owed my sister or I anything either, he was one of the ones who captured us, after all.

"Ayame," I bumped my foot into hers, trying to get her attention. With all of my sister's talk of hating that intruder, I'd forgotten to ask her about how she felt after the chakra ropes had electrocuted her. "Are you okay?"

My sister scowled as she met my eyes. "I'm fine."

I flinched at the way she stressed her words. "What about the chakra ropes? Didn't that hurt you..?"

"I'm fine, Kiame."

"But, y-"

"I'm fine, OKAY?"

I bit my lip and turned away, trying to hide my welling tears. I didn't like when Ayame got into these moods…she could be…well, unkind, to say the least. I know we had been in here for a while, and yes, it was a stressful situation, but…I was just curious about how she was doing…that shock looked like it hurt…"Kia," I heard shuffling coming from my left. "Hey." From underneath my hair I could see Ayame's familiar figure scooting over to my side, "I'm sorry imouto-chan, it's just been a long day, okay?"

I sniffled and met my sister halfway, leaning over onto her shoulder. I'd forgotten she hadn't slept in awhile… "It's alright."

"We will get out of this you know," Ayame stated, tilting her head to rest atop of mine. "I promise."

I sighed. Even though I had the comfort of my sister, her words still felt distant…We'd been thinking of ways to escape for the entirety of our time in this prison, but we still hadn't come up with a plan. Everything was just starting to feel empty at this point…"I know."

"What's on your mind?" She asked, nudging me.

"Nothing..."

"Come now, I know you better than that."

"I'm just…curious." I mumbled. "Why…do you think it was that guy who came in to take care of us, instead of the others?"

"I don't know," Ayame's face seemed to harden at the mention of his presence. "But we need to be on our guard. If we're going to find a way out of this, we need to try to come up with a plan…"

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-Itachi-

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The raven-haired Uchiha sighed as he gazed out his bedroom window. Normally, he'd try to go out and enjoy the night's rain before he would retire, but he was just so exhausted-it wouldn't be worth it at this point.

"I'm presume the capture was successful?"

Itachi glanced back over his shoulder to find Pain standing near the threshold to his room. "Yes," He answered, somewhat annoyed by the intrusion. "They're in the containment chamber down the hall."

The orange-haired man nodded, pleased. "Alive?"

"Yes."

"And what of their abilities?"

Itachi scowled, "Reasonable. One uses kasai, and the other aisu."

"As you were informed when you were assigned the mission," Pain stated, turning to take his leave. "I was simply asking if there was more than just their elemental power."

The Uchiha turned to face his superior, surprised. "Is there more?"

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-Akatsuki Base Outskirts, approx. 14 miles-

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"Do you still have it?" Kakashi stated, pressing the radio on his neck.

A familiar buzz hummed back before a response. "Yes, sir." Kunyai responded. "Coordinates currently six miles due East of your location."

"Is Ruki in transit?" He asked.

-"Yes, sir."

"Proceed to aforementioned marker." Kakashi stated. "We will rondevu there, do not take action until I arrive."

"Understood."

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-Ayame-

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"So why didn't you get that guy to patch your wounds?"

I glanced down at my sister, trying to keep my anger at bay. "I'm not letting that man touch me, Kia."

"Yours are just as bad as mine…" She mumbled. "Plus…he did feed you."

True, it would have been a wise move to get that Itachi guy, or whoever he was, to bandage me-hell, he was the one who did the damage-but, again, I had my pride, and that man would not lay another hand on me. He's lucky he was able to approach my sister, had I of been loose, oh, I promise that arrogant attitude of his would change. "I'm alright. Now, try to rest."

"I can't…" She whined.

"And why not?"

"You're not going to sleep…and I want to be awake with you…"

I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. Kiame really was something. I felt bad for snapping at her earlier…"I'll try to rest too." I nuzzled into her head, making her giggle. "But for now, you need to recuperate. Sister's orders."

She huffed as she cuddled into my arm. "That won't work on me anymore, you know."

"If you say so," I smiled, closing my eyes.

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-Hokage Building-

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Tsunade sighed as she leaned back into her chair. "Has there been any word from Kakashi's party?"

"No, ma'am." Shizune stated, bowing nervously.

The blonde-haired Kuniochi nodded. Since Kakashi would still be on leave for this mission, she needed to take measures to protect his students…Especially since Naruto had just been targeted by the same organization not months before. "I have a job for you."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"I need you to suspend Squad 7 from all upcoming missions."

Shizune's eyes widened, shocked. "U…u-uhm…"

"I don't need Naruto running off to go help Kakashi," Tsunade began rubbing her temples, exasperated. "Nor do I need that Uchiha running off to stalk his brother. They would both be better off not knowing the details of what happened."

"I…I understand, but do you really think they will listen? You know how Naruto is…" Shizune mumbled, fiddling nervously with her hands. "…And we already saw how Sasuke tried to go after Itachi the first time, he won't hesitate the second…"

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-Ayame-

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'"What have you done now, Ayame!?"

I lifted my hands up to my face; they were smaller, not quite the size they had been last I remember. The voice speaking was familiar as well…Ah, now I remember. A dream, a memory. Our father stood above me, tall and definitely angry. His face was contorted into a horrible frown, and his fist was coiled back behind his head, ready to strike. "I…I didn't mean to, Oto-san…"

"You little liar," His bright green eyes burned with rage as his hand connected with my face. I cried out, surprised by the force of his strike. He had done it a million times, but the act itself had never ceased to surprise me. Father's weren't supposed to hurt their children, after all. "Tell the truth! You were there when Kiame was hit, were you not?!"

The tiny child's body I now inhibited no longer had the strength to stand-she just laid there on the ground, crying out to her father. "I…I couldn't do anything, Oto-s...san…" Tears began to roll down my cheeks, pooling over the hand print on her face and spilling quickly onto the tatami floor. "W…We aren't supposed to intervene during sparring w…with other students…It's r…required for us to m…move up in rank…"

"So you want to be stronger than your sister, is that it?!" He yelled. The sound of his approaching footsteps made the smaller me sob even harder.

"N…No, Oto-san..! I…I couldn't—"

"You want to surpass her?! You want her to die?!" The footsteps were getting closer. "You selfish little bitch! I'll show you what pain really is!"'

"Ayame!"

I gasped, desperately trying to block the onslaught of attacks that I knew would be arriving at any time now. Clenching my teeth, I tensed my body-trying to build up a barrier to block the sting of his fists. Rather than physical attacks, however, I was greeted with a different barrage of pain. Trying to bite back my screams, I felt my body veer down into the concrete-spasming from the electricity now pulsing up through my arms and into my chest and legs. "Ayame?!"

Closing my eyes, I began to prepare for the worst, but just as quickly as the pain came, it went-leaving me laying in the cold concrete-heaving and empty.

"N-nii-chan, please answer me."

"I'm okay," I choked as blood began to fall out from of my mouth. How disgraceful…Not only had I overreacted and fallen victim to the damn ropes, again, but I had hurt myself in the process.

I heard Kiame breathe in a sigh of relief. "What happened..?"

-"It was just a bad dream."

"Oh…"

"Yeah." I stated, sighing as well. I never would have expected the chakra ropes to react to my body in that way-but then again, I'm sure what chakra I did have managed to spike during my dream, making the shock even worse than normal. Wait. That's it. "Kiame," I glanced up at my sister through my bangs, trying to lock eyes. "Do you have any chakra right now?"

My sister gave me a confused look. "Why?"

"Answer me."

"Well, maybe a little? But not enough to do any jutsu or anything, besides-the ropes, remember?"

I rolled my eyes; she was clearly referring to the fact that I'd just electrocuted myself. I spat more blood onto the floor before speaking-I definitely tore my lip when I fell. "Yes, I know, the ropes."

"Then what are you getting at?" She stated.

"I think I found a way to get out of here."

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-Approx. 9 Miles out of Akatsuki base outskirts-

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Kakashi came to a hault among the trees, dropping down into the foliage just before his rondevu point. His teammates, Kunyai and Ruki, were just below him, waiting for his arrival. "Yo."

The two beneath the silver-haired jonin nodded as he dropped down to join them. "Kakashi."

"So what have you found, Kunyai?"

The ANBU in question ran his hands through his sandy brown hair, glancing at his superior nervously. "Well earlier, when Urushi was travelling with me he caught a scent he thought was the girl's, so we started to trail it."

"And?" Ruki prodded.

"It stops here," Urushi stated, stepping out of the forest. "It doesn't make any sense though. The scent was so strong, and it still is, but it doesn't go any further than here." The dog stiffed as he approached a set of rocks adjacent of the men.

"Perhaps there is some jutsu cast to hide the scent? So no one could track them?" Ruki mused.

Kakashi shook his head as he joined Urushi. "I don't think that's the case. If they were worried about being tracked, there wouldn't have been a scent that lead us here." The silver-haired nin scowled and he ran his fingers over the ground. From the looks of it, someone had stopped here, and for an extended period of time, no less. "Urushi, I need you to gather the others and tell them to meet me here."

"Understood, boss." And the dog vanished back into the forest.

Kakashi scowled. Something about this didn't add up. "Why would their tracks vanish…" The jonin glanced around the area, investigating the trees, looking up and around at the sky…'That's odd.' "Kunyai?"

"Yes?"

Kakashi stood and stepped away from the prints. "Don't you find it strange that the wind stops right here?"

Both the ANBU and Ruki began glancing around the clearing, suddenly aware of what the jonin had said. Neither the wind, nor animals or any other form of life could be found around the clearing they were in-it was as if the world had stopped just beyond the trees. "Y..yeah?"

"Don't you specialize in wind techniques?" Ruki asked.

Kunyai glared at him, somewhat embarrassed that he hadn't noticed until now. "Yeah."

"Perfect." Kakashi smiled. "I want you to use a jutsu to break down," He pointed back to the area where the prints were, "This barrier."

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-Sasuke-

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The raven-haired boy frowned as he gazed around his hospital room-he'd been trapped here for weeks now, and he was growing restless. Naruto was growing stronger by the minute, and here he was stuck here in this damn room. Sasuke growled as he tried to sit up, his ribs immediately screaming in response, but he didn't care. Itachi was still out there, and he needed to get stronger if he would ever stand a chance at killing his brother.

"S…Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha scoffed as he heard a small, familiar voice call to him. "Get out of here, Sakura."

The pink-haired kuniochi frowned. "I…I was just worried about you. Tsunade said you should be back on your feet in the next week or so…I thought I'd bring you some lunch…"

Sasuke glanced down to the small bundle of apples she held cradled in her lap. Two of the red fruits had already been sliced and placed on a plate by his bedside-undoubtedly for him. "I don't want anything."

Sakura frowned. "Well, uhm, I can just leave them here, for when yo-"

"Where is Naruto?" He snapped.

The kuniochi's eyes widened. She'd grown used to Sasuke's constant inquires about their teammate-she almost looked forward to them, seeing as she couldn't get much conversation out of him otherwise. "He's been training with Jiraiya-senpai. I haven't really seen him around lately…"

Sasuke growled. Anger was beginning to boil inside him…So he was right-Naruto was training, getting stronger by the minute-while he, as he said before, was stuck in this hospital bed, barely able to move. How would he ever be a match for Itachi? His brother said it himself, he was far too weak to take him on now, and laying here for another week would only set him back more. It was infuriating. "Get out of the way."

"I-" Sakura tried to protest as the Uchiha forced himself out of bed, making his way to the door, but he continued on, determined. "Y…You need to get back into bed!"

"Don't try and stop me!" He snapped, opening the door.

The kuniochi bit her lip, trying to keep her tears at bay. Sasuke had grown more and more hostile the longer he had stayed in this room, and it had only gotten worse since his battle with Itachi. It pained her to see him like this-she loved him after all, and she only wanted to help him…couldn't he see that?

"Alright, Sasuke-kun…"

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-Ayame-

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"There's no way you're serious?" Kiame stated, bewildered.

"I am?" I stated, rolling over to face her. "Completely."

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought..." She mumbled. "There's no way to get out of here, we've tried."

"Not everything." I stated, somewhat insulted that she had brought up my fall again. "I have an idea."

Kiame scowled.

-"Now, can you pull on your restraints? Any at all?"

My sister continued giving me a look, clearly not believing a word I had said, but she tried nevertheless. "Well, they give a little, but not enough to slip my hands or legs through-not unless I want to be electrocuted."

"Good." I grinned. "And you said you have chakra, right?"

Kiame rolled her eyes, tired of my game. "Yes, Ayame, I have chakra. Now explain what it is you're planning."

"These ropes that bind us are chakra sensitive," I stated. "So the more chakra they sense, the worse the shock, right?"

"I guess?"

"So what if we used very little? I'm talking, precise, miniscule amounts?"

Kiame shrugged. "I don't know?"

"If my theory is correct, we can try feeding little bits of our chakra into these ropes-and I'm talking very little, you just saw what happens if you try feeding in more than it's set amount-and if we feed in the right amount there's a possibility that we could cut the fibers from the inside out-meaning, in short, they'd break." I explained, satisfied.

"That doesn't sound like a solid plan to me," Kiame shook her head. "How do you know a smaller amount won't electrocute you anyway?"

"Our bodies give off certain amounts of chakra regardless-just because of our abilities as a shinobi." I stated. "So feeding in around 5% more shouldn't do anything but benefit our escape. But it has to stay at 5%; if it's too weak it won't work and there's no way it will ever break through-you'll just end up wasting the little bit you can muster-and if it's too strong…well, you know."

My sister scowled. "These are chakra bindings though, Aya, I'm pretty sure they would be able to sense chakra being fed into them-especially foreign chakra."

I let out a sigh; I was beginning to get somewhat annoyed that Kiame had shot my plan down so quickly. "I don't know then…"

"What about your kekkei genkei?" Kiame asked, "Or even mine?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think I have a plan," She stated. "It still uses some of your idea, but I think I'm going to put a better spin on it."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's hear it then."

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-Akatsuki-

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"Those two are being awfully quiet today," Sasori mused, taking a place on one of the futons. It was true-neither of the girl's had made any attempt to yell for the men-a welcome sight, in comparison to their incessant whining from yesterday.

"Perhaps Itachi finally struck some fear into those ungrateful brats." Kisame chuckled, glancing over at his teammate. The Uchiha in question ignored him, focusing instead to the scroll now outstretched in his lap. "You know, you never told us what happened to those two when you went to feed them, Itachi?"

Hidan, who had been busy drinking in the kitchen, left his station to come listen in to the other member's conversation. "Did you smack any of 'em? Did they scream?"

"No." Itachi stated, annoyed.

Sasori sighed. "That's a shame…They would make really nice puppets…"

The Jashinist rolled his eyes. "All you ever think about are those creepy dolls anyway, freak."

Itachi scowled-normally he had the patience to deal with the idiotic conversations his fellow members usually partook in, but he was tired-and after the past few missions, he would really like some peace and quiet-for once. Still, the Uchiha's curiosity was peaked. His conversation from the following night with Pain hadn't answered all of his questions-and his leader wasn't about to give him answers, well, not yet anyway. Just what did the Akatsuki want with these two?

"What's going on in here, yeah?" Deidara asked, strutting over to the futon now containing Sasori. He took a seat alongside him, causing the puppet-master to scowl.

"We're trying to get Itachi to tell us about these new toys he fed yesterday." Hidan smirked, downing another shot. "We heard one of them scream while he was in there and I'm just trying to find out which one he fucked."

"Hm," Deidara grinned as well, intrigued by the thought of the new girls. "I suppose I'll have to go and feed them today then, yeah, see what they're all about."

"Be my guest," Kisame sighed, taking off towards the dormitory halls. This conversation would be going nowhere. "I'm not feeding those mouthy brats."

Sasori sighed again. "I wish Pain-sama would give the order to eradicate them already…"

"He said they are to be kept alive," Itachi snapped, sending the red-haired boy a dangerous glare. "And so they will be kept."

Deidara, finding the entire situation in humor, burst into laughter. "Since when do you obediently take orders from Leader-senpai, Uchiha, hm?" Itachi glanced in Deidara's direction, but refused to answer. "I guess I will feed them then, hmmm," He continued to laugh. "And if one of my creations just happens to go off, then I suppose it would simply be an unfortunate accident."

"It would be unwise, Deidara."

The group of bickering Akatsuki glanced up to see Pain and his partner, Konan, standing in the doorway. Itachi scowled as the two's eyes met-he knew Pain was still hiding something from him-and he was determined to find out what. "L…Leader-sama…" Deidara stammered, taken aback.

"The will of Pain is the will of God, Deidara." Konan stated. "We do not question, and we do not disobey, we simply do."

The blonde glared at the woman.
Man, did he hate her.

"Zetsu has just informed me that there has been a breach in the barrier." Pain stated suddenly, causing the room to grow silent.

"Barrier?" Hidan asked.

"The thing that conceals this base from wanderers." Sasori quipped, rolling his eyes.

Hidan began to speak before Pain cut him off. "Zetsu is in route to eradicate the intruders-he should eliminate the threat, but I want you all on guard." He stated, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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