Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

T&I

Not long after catching up with all of the people Sakura had brought with her I started stumbling because the adrenaline that the fight brought had worn off and the events of today had finally taken its toll. Naruto had to carry me on his back because I was moving so slow. I recall resting the side of my head his neck and the crook of his shoulder, just feeling grateful to finally be going home with someone I consider to be family, and I fell asleep to the rhythm of Naruto's footsteps.

However, when I wake up I am no longer in Naruto's possession. A cold, hard surface presses against my back as I slump against it. My arms rest on the same cold material and my legs hang limply. Groggily I pick up my head from its slumped position and lazily think about rubbing the sleep from my eyes. However when I attempt to do so some cloth like thing restricts my movement. What? I think as I open my eyes only to see what I believe to be Naruto's cloak wrapped around me. It is a bit strange that the cloak does little to block out the cold surface I am on. But if this is Naruto's cloak then where is Naruto? Looking down, but away from the borrowed cloak I see that I had been propped up in a large, grey stoned chair. With my eyes wandering from the chair I spy a matching stone floor before my vision wanders to grey cement walls with no windows and random, rusty red splatters decorating it. What the? Is that dried blood? Suddenly no longer sleepy I sit up and really look at my surroundings. With the exception of old blood stains the walls are bare, and make the room feel smaller than it actually is. From the ceiling there is only one fluorescent light right in the center. It makes the area around the chair bright, almost painfully so. But the corners are dark with shadows, making the room feel sinister. The only way out is a solid iron door with iron hinges. Even by some miraculous chance the door is not locked I doubt I have the strength to open it. My breathing picks ups as I snuggle deeper into the borrowed cloak, since it is the only form of familiarity I have at the moment.

Please do not tell me that I have somehow been kidnapped again! That should not be possible. I was with Naruto and five other shinobi of Konoha. Naruto would never let me be taken when he is around. For a brief moment I calm, taking comfort in the surety of that statement. Naruto would not let bad things happen on his watch.

However the moment passes as the situation refocuses in my head. I still do not know where I am and my hero of an adoptive brother is nowhere in sight. What am I supposed to do? This was not supposed to happen.

I should be back in the village with Naruto as he disgustingly gorges on ramen. And messing around with Akio as we cause problems for Iruka-sensei, ultimately making his hair turn prematurely gray. Nowhere in that plan does it include being trapped in a cold concrete room with blood coloring the walls!

My internal, terrified rant is cut off by the heavy iron door being thrown open which makes me jump in my sit. My thoughts still. "So the brat is awake", drawls out a voice in a creepy monotone. Starting from the bottom I see a pair of standard black shinobi sandals, and shin guards. The rest is bland clothing with an ominous trench coat draped over before I get to a face what has an evil, gleaming sadistic smile and eyes sparkling with sadistic bloodlust. Strands of hair and bangs frame her face as well as cover her fore-head protector so much that I cannot tell which village she is allied to. The rest of her hair is pulled into a spikey ponytail. Very much like Pineapple's head, but for some unexplained reason her hairstyle seems much more threatening than Shikamaru's. The woman's whole being radiates killing intent.

Just great! I think, frozen stiff. This woman is going to hurt me and she is going to enjoy it.

"About time too!" The woman crackles. "I was getting bored waiting".

Well you did not need to wait, I think. I would not have missed you. But instead I said, "Where is Naruto nii-san?" In a high voice that makes me sound younger than I actually am.

"Oh", she exclaimed slowly in mock sympathy. "Your brother won't be com-"Her terrifying sentence is cut off by an equally scary voice.

"Anko!" The new voice announces it's self before appearing in my line of sight.

"Hey Ibiki. What's up?" This Anko lady greets, sounding carefree and suspiciously innocent.

The man is also wearing a trench coat with a matching bandana and scars running down his face. He chooses to ignore her greeting. "I asked you to put the kid in the civilian questioning room. Not an interrogation room", he grounds out.

The woman's shoulders slump. "Oh come on" she whines. "It's just for a laugh. A little hazing is good for future ninja. It toughens them up. Besides it's not like I put the brat in a room with chains and some of the more painful toys".

What? Being locked in a room with chains and toys is an option? And what are painful toys? Who would want to make toys that hurt people? Is that not what weapons are for?

I am only capable of asking myself questions as Anko grins at the scarred man while he sighs and rubs his face with his hand. "Just go". Ibiki said after a while. I really hope he is talking to me, but I know his order is for Anko.

Anko grins before winking at me, and makes me flinch. "Thanks for the entertainment kid", she said before giving Ibiki a mock salute and walking off with a chortle.

What the hell was that? I stare at the doorway where the man remains. He remains with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as if he has a head-ache, and his free arm he holds across his torso in support of his other elbow. Despite his less than approachable appearance I stare at him, as if he is going to give me an explanation. I am not sure I can handle an explanation.

After one last sigh Ibiki picks up his head and makes eye contact. "Come on kid. You're supposed to be in a different room",

Keeping my eyes on the strange man I slide forward and wait until my feet hit the floor before leaving the stone chair with Naruto's cloak still securely wrapped around me. However, once I am standing. I do not step closer to the man. He is wearing a village head band, but as I have recently learned wearing the village symbol does not automatically mean safe. "Where am I" I asked; giving myself brownie points for sounding stronger than I am actually feeling on the inside. I guess after surviving the killings of my family, being chased by a giant centipede, living through the village being destroyed, and being kidnapped I am finally growing a back bone. Father would be pleased.

Ibiki does not miss a beat as he answers "T&I".

"T&I?" I question.

"Torture and Investigation division".

My shoulders tense. "So painful toys are…" I leave my question open ended, knowing that it is already applied that they are made for the torture part of the division.

"Yup" Ibiki affirms.

I blink up at him. Why does stuff like this always happen to me?

Naruto's cloak drags on the floor as Ibiki leads me from the torture room to a more clean and regular room. Fortunately it is a room without bloodstains. This room also has more than a just one chair. It has two wooden chairs and a matching table. Without giving any instructions Ibiki walks over to the table and sits in the chair closest to the door, which makes me feel obligated to sit in the other chair. The minute I do, without snagging Naruto's cloak, Ibiki asks, "Know why you're here?"

I have a vague feeling it has something to do with the whole kidnapping thing but since I am not sure if this man really is a part of the village I just shake my head, all the while focusing on keeping my face blank. That Anko woman terrified me for obvious reasons but I will not let this man do the same. Or at least I will not show it.

Ibiki's lip twitches as he stares at me, his eyes shining with amusement. "You witnessed the meeting of the five kages and the death of Danzo. You may have information that can help the village".

I swallow and force myself to take a deep breath. I will not let this man trick me. "What village would that be?" I asked in my attempt at an even voice.

This time Ibiki really smiles; a type of smile that makes wrinkles in his skin. Unfortunately that makes him look like a deranged murdered. If I met him in the middle of the night when he is smiling like that I would have mistaken him for a Shinigami. He looks me straight in the eye and I feel like I can almost sense his approval. But approval of what, I have no idea? "Konoha", he said gesturing to his protector that is front and center on his forehead.

I stare at it and trace the symbol of the village with my eyes. "Just because you represent the village does not mean you are not going to hurt it". I said as thoughts of Danzo cross my mind; flinching as the memory of Danzo gripping the back of my shirt in order to use me as a shield presents itself. Then Sasuke yanking me away from him; tarring my shirt in the process. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why I have Naruto's cloak.

"And who in the village would you trust enough to tell them about what you saw?" Ibiki asked in a light voice.

Immediately I answer, "Naruto ni-san" and then pause as I try to think of others. "Shikamaru, Neji", I continue. I want to add Akio's name but know that it would not matter. Akio and I are in the same boat when it comes to things like this; powerless. "Chouji and Naruto's sensei" I finish after a while. Only adding in Kakashi because I watched him save Naruto. And I did not add Sakura because of all that stuff she said earlier about destroying Konoha for Sasuke.

Ibiki lets out a single gruff chuckle. "That's some strange company you keep kid" He said, eyeing me as if I were some code that needed to be cracked. "What about your sensei at the academy? Can you trust him?"

Iruka-sensei? I did not even think about him. Slowly I filter through all of the memories I have about Iruka-sensei. He is nice and does not stay mad for very long. I think, recalling all the times Akio and I got under his skin. Iruka-sensei has not do anything to not make me not trust him. Slowly I nod my head.

Ibiki reaches into his trench code and pulls out a stack of papers and plops them down on the table in front of me. It takes me a while to free my arms from the confines of the cloak, but when I do I use them to pull the papers closer so I can read them. On the top of the stack is a note addressed to me. It says in a familiar script:

Manami,

You are in Konoha's T&I division. It is the safest place to be since the attack on the village as it exists underground. No need to worry about kidnappers there. Some of Konoha's finest work in that division. Please trust them and help them as much as you can by telling them everything that you know. You'll be free to rejoin the class as soon as it is safe for you to do so. Until then I have gave you some assignments to complete and some that you have already turned in to review. I expect that you'll be on your best behavior and not fall behind.

-Iruka

P.s. I'll let Akio know that you're safe.

I put down the note, steal a quick glance at Ibiki before thumbing through the rest of the papers. It is just like the note said. There are some new worksheets that I have not seen before, which I scowl at. And there are some old ones that I have finished with Iruka-sensei's handwriting all over them in red ink; pointing out my mistakes and praising the questions I answered will. There is also the occasional comment about me needing to pay more attention in class, and how I cannot keep my rank in class just by my practical grade alone. That is all I need to know that these papers really did come from my sensei.

"Ready to tell me what happened?" Ibiki asked after a moment.

I nod. "But why is it not safe for me to leave? And how does Iruka-sensei know that I got kidnapped?" I asked referring to Iruka's note where it said that I would return to class when it was safe to do so.

Ibiki answers my question with another question. "Why did Danzo have you kidnapped?"

My brow furrows as I reply, "to use me as bait against Sasuke".

Ibiki nods his head to tell me that I got it right. "Sasuke has many enemies that want him dead and right now you're everyone's best guess of how to get to him". I want to point out that I do not even know Sasuke and do not see how people could use me against him. But I know that is not a valid argument. After all, Sasuke did pull me away from Danzo and kept me from getting seriously hurt. "Right now Konoha has no hokage to properly deny the people who would want to use you, and thanks to Danzo all of the major village leaders now know another Uchiha exists".

"So I will not be safe until Konoha has a leader that does not want to use me as bait". I sum up.

Ibiki nods again before answering my second question. "Your sensei knows about the kidnapping and where you are because we told him. You were asleep for a long time kid. Enough time for you to be brought us, under Kakashi's orders, and enough time for us to contact Iruka to explain your absence and to have him write you that note. It was his idea to add homework". Ibiki finishes smirking as I frown at the mention of the assignments.

After my questions were answered Ibiki quickly started grilling me on the kidnapping and all of the events that followed after that. I felt like we were in that room for hours, and we probably were, as Ibiki pulled every little detail that I could possibly remember from me. I was already half asleep by the time Ibiki decided enough was enough and lead me from the questioning room to the division's barracks. The sleeping quarters he led me two had six beds in them, two of them already occupied by sleeping shinobi. "You can sleep there", he said pointing to the corner closest to the door where a cot was set up. "Be quiet in here, and don't wake anyone up unless it's an emergency or you want to get a hand chopped off". He instructed. I nod my head solemnly. Yes, let sleeping ninja lie. "You can start your school work tomorrow", he said handing me the stack of papers. I barely have the energy to scowl at the thought of it. "Night kid", He said, preparing to leave.

"Ibiki-san", I call out softly before he completely leaves the sleeping quarters. He stops but does not turn around. "That Anko lady does not sleep here right?" I asked.

Ibiki looks at me from over his shoulder. "Don't worry kid. She won't bug you tonight". He said with a smile. "But I make no promises about tomorrow", he said before he walked away. Just great.

"Brat!" Anko screeches as she throws down her cards in frustration. "I know you're cheating!"

"No. I just have luck", I talked back mockingly as I pull the chips I won in that hand towards my side of the table. I have been here for three days now. The food is terrible, I have to wear a shirt that is way too big since Danzo ruined mine and I finished all of the class work Iruka-sensei sent after the first day. But I have made some new acquaintances and pick up on some new skills. A jonin that sleeps in the sleeping quarters that I got assigned to, taught me how to pick locks last night, and Anko, whose bark is worse than her bite when you are not an enemy, taught me how to play poker. Both lessons Ibiki did not approve off.

The two chunin who we are playing with laugh at Anko's rage. "You shouldn't have taught the girl to play if you were just going to lose." One of them said in mirth.

"Can it underling!" Anko retorted just as a voice echoed throughout the hall and common room as a random shinobi goes running by, shouting, "Tsunade-sama's awake, she's awake". Everyone playing poker is still before the two chunin start cheering and Anko grins. Konoha has their hokage back.