A/N: I'm back! Wow, I've missed you guys so much! Sorry I've been gone for so long.
Since it's been so long, here is a quick synopsis of the story so far, although I do recommend going back to Chapter 9 (at least) and starting from there.
Ayaka (the OC main character) is the reincarnation of a PhD student named Chelsea from our world. Reborn into the Narutoverse and into the Yūhi family, she realises that she has a kekkai genkai by accidentally unleashing it upon her sister – Kurenai – and erasing all memories of Ayaka's existence from Kurenai's mind. The kekkai genkai takes the form of what Ayaka describes as being 'invisible hands' that can reach into people's minds and seem to generally have malevolent intentions. Scared that Ayaka might harm someone else, the Hokage makes Orochimaru place a Seal on the back of her neck that supress the Hands—only Orochimaru – as Sealer – or Ayaka herself – as the Sealee – are capable of undoing the Seal. She briefly meets an odd six-year old boy at the Academy who has already passed the genin exam, but he exits scene before Ayaka gets his name (chapter 9). An unknown entity referred to as 'The Madam' enlists two mercenaries, Sugoi and Zara, as well as a devoted loyalist with no eyes, named Shin, to abduct Ayaka when she is alone. With their mission a success, the kidnappers take Ayaka north to a hidden underground base where she encounters other children that have been kidnapped and are being held captive.
Chapter 13: Jailbreak
I awoke with a gasp, climbing my way out of the horrifying remnants of my dream. Covered in sweat and shaking from both the cold and adrenaline, I pushed myself up against the wall I had slept against. My eyes burned fiercely, it had been pitch black and the sudden light from outside the room brought tears to my eyes. And all the while the only think I could think of was 'this isn't my room'. Where was I?
And then I remembered.
I was a prisoner in some sort of dungeon along with a bunch of other kids around my age. Held in the dark with no sense of how much time had passed and no idea why we were here or what was in store for us. Who knows how long I had been down here. A few days? A week?
The other children had managed to get me out of my chakra-suppressing wires that had bound my hands when I had first arrived. I was grateful that they were here with me now, for both their company in the utter darkness and for getting me out of my restraints.
And with access to my chakra restored, escape was becoming more of a plausible possibility.
"Ayaka-san." A small hand rested on my shoulder, although I already knew it belonged to the boy from Konoha that I had met all those weeks ago. "Are you alright? You're covered in sweat."
"Fine," I mumbled, reaching up to massage my temple against an oncoming headache. I paused. "It's just occurred to me that I don't actually know your name. What should I call you?"
There was a moment of silence, as if he were in thought. "Call me… Tenzō. It's not my real name, but there was a boy here before you, called Tenzō. He was really nice."
"What happened to him?" I actually wasn't sure I wanted to know. Not just after the dream I'd just had of the Madam torturing that red-haired boy.
"They came and took him. They do that. Every now and then they come down here and take a few of us. I haven't been here long, but they've taken a bunch of us since I first got down here—we haven't seen them since." That gave me chills.
"How long have you been down here?" I queried.
"No idea. There's no way to keep track of time down here. The Blind Man took me two days after we met for the first time under that tree," Tenzō said. "I'm not sure how long it's been since then."
The Blind Man? He must mean Shin. I shuddered just thinking about his eyeless gaze. I wonder how he lost his eyes in the first place?
I tried to do the math in my head. "So you've been here for… nearly two weeks!?"
He shrugged. "I guess."
Wow. If these kids could be kept down here for more than two weeks without someone finding them, I didn't like our chances of being rescued. If we wanted to get out of here we'd have to rely on ourselves.
A plan began to take form in my head.
"Okay. I have a plan to get us out of here… maybe." I announced. A hush fell over the large room, not even an echo of a whisper could be heard. I could tell that I had their undivided attention. "You're also not going to like it…"
"Why?" Mia spoke up, her voice small and high. "We all want to get out of here." There was a murmur of agreement in the darkness.
"Well…" I hesitated, knowing this was going to be difficult for them to swallow. "Only some of us will be escaping… the rest of us will have to remain here and hope that those that escape can bring help."
I expected noise, angry shouts of displeasure and fear, but the silence that greeted me felt so much worse.
"Listen, I'm not sure how many of us in here are shinobi, or shinobi-trained, but if we can get the strongest of us in this room past the Blind Man we would have a chance of getting outside this place. And if we can get people outside this place, then the hardest part is over. They just need to cause enough of a ruckus for someone to notice and come investigate." I felt like I was speaking to thin air. Was anyone even listening? If I couldn't hear the quiet breathing of several people near me I would have thought the room to be completely empty.
I was almost glad when someone spoke up. "And I suppose that you'll be one of the people escaping?" I winced at the boy's accusatory tone. He was right. I had assumed that I would be a part of the group.
"That depends on whether there are many others who have had more training than I have. I'm pretty good at genjutsu, and that may be a skill that could come in handy for escaping this place." I replied, hoping I sounded realistic and convincing. "Are there any other questions?"
Silence.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I spoke up again. "Okay then… Who's had shinobi training?"
Silence—wait, no. There was a slight shuffling of fabric.
"Guys," I frowned. "If you're raising your hand, please bear in mind that it's too dark for me to actually see you… How about everybody with shinobi training moves towards my voice? Everybody else, please move away from my voice so there's no confusion."
Pleased, I listened as people began moving. There were several collisions as people walked into each other but there wasn't much I could do about that except keep speaking so people knew where I was. I felt Tenzō brush up next to me as more kids with shinobi training surrounded us. There was a good amount of us, but by no means the majority within the room. If I were to guess based on the number of whispers surrounding me I would have to guess somewhere between eight to ten kids now surrounded me.
"Is this everyone? Alright. Let's sit down." I realised my mistake as soon as the words left my lips but it was too late to take them back as people began accidentally sitting on top of each other. How did blind people manage? We couldn't do anything without our sight. No, actually that wasn't correct. We couldn't do everything, but there's still a lot we could do. Planning an escape, for instance.
"Okay, everyone. I have an idea…"
Kakashi jumped from branch to branch in a dense cluster of trees that were becoming increasingly sparse as they moved further and further into the Land of Lightning. Pakkun had been attempting to track Ayaka's scent for days before the pug had managed to catch a whiff of something that had sent them racing towards the Land of Lightning's border.
He also couldn't fathom why he had been chosen for this mission. Kakashi didn't even like Ayaka. But he supposed that it was important for the other Hidden Villages not to know that Konoha had been infiltrated so easily. It might give them ideas.
"Are you okay, Kakashi?" Sakumo asked, dropping down from the front of the team to keep pace with his son.
Kakashi looked around. He was in a group of six composing of himself, his father, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Chōza Akimichi and, unfortunately, the green-clad Might Guy.
"Fine," Kakashi muttered.
Sakumo nodded, taking his son's answer at face value. "Good. Pakkun thinks we're gaining ground, Ayaka-san's scent is getting stronger."
"They must have been travelling by foot," Shikaku speculated. "It wouldn't have been easy travelling with a hostage, they would have stayed off the main roads so they wouldn't risk being seen."
"Probably," Sakumo agreed.
"Let's just try not to draw the attention of Kumogakure, okay?" Inoichi cautioned. "I don't feel like starting a third Shinobi War because of a rescue mission."
"Doesn't matter. We don't leave comrades behind," Sakumo admonished.
"Guys… Wait up!"
"Hurry up, Chōza!" Shikaku called over his shoulder lazily. "You shouldn't have packed so much food."
"She's not a comrade," Kakashi grumbled.
"What was that?" Sakumo asked sharply, not believing his ears.
"Nothing."
"No. Say it. Why do you dislike Ayaka-san so much?" Sakumo asked tersely.
"She's not even a proper shinobi yet. Just an Academy Student. She's not our equal in any real regard," Kakashi supplied indifferently.
"Ayaka-san is the daughter of one of my fondest friends and an upstanding shinobi. If you truly believe what you've just said then you're the one that's not our equal in any real regard," Sakumo admonished.
Silence fell over the group as the team members both tried not to and yet couldn't help listening to the Hatake family butt heads.
Sakumo took a breath, softening his next question. "Why exactly do you dislike Ayaka-san so much?" He paused, lowering his voice. "Do you like her? Is that it? I know boys your age tend to pick on the girls they like…"
Kakashi recoiled and almost stumbled, falling to the forest floor. "No! It's not her I have any issues with. It's you! You care about Ayaka Yūhi—" he spat the name out like it was a curse "—more than you do me! I bet you wished she were your daughter, so you could have someone to look up to with so much awe!"
Sakumo was dumbstruck. Had he really been projecting the impression that he wanted Ayaka as his daughter? "Kakashi… that's not fair."
"You're right, it's not." Kakashi said through clenched teeth. "It's not fair that you were never around; it's not fair that I had to raise myself; and it's not fair that you want to trade me in for her!"
Sakumo hadn't realised before, but perhaps Kakashi had a point. It was a delight having Ayaka around, having a small person who so obviously idolised him as Kakashi had once done—before he'd grown up.
"Kakashi…" Sakumo began, but he didn't know what to say.
Kakashi quickened his pace, speeding to the front of the group to run just beside Pakkun. He didn't want to hear his father's weak excuses; they hurt him more than the truth. Besides, they needed to focus on the mission at hand. There was a kidnapped girl to save, after all.
How cliché.
Out of the ten people who had claimed to have had shinobi training, there was only seven of us who had learned enough jutsu to help in my escape plan, including Mia, Tenzō, myself and the boy – simply named "C" – who had earlier accused me of assuming myself to be a part of the escape group. All of us – except Tenzō who had passed his genin exam – were Academy Students of our respective Villages.
Mia had surprised me as having shinobi training simply because she was so timid. I couldn't imagine her being capable of being aggressive. But she was an Academy Student from Kirigakure who knew a few water style jutsu that might come in handy, however because she was still so young her chakra reserves were meagre at best. C was also an Academy Student but from Kumogakure. He was around my age too, and knew several lightning style ninjutsu and genjutsu. The other three members of our seven were boys – two from Kumo and another from Yugakure (the Village Hidden in Hot Water, a small Hidden Village north of the Land of Fire in the Land of Hot Water).
The plan was to rush Shin when he opened the door to snatch some of us. The three boys from Kumo and Yugakure would launch jutsu at him whilst C, Mia, Tenzō and myself would make a run for the door as we could use our chakra to enhance the strength in our legs and run faster. Then everyone in the room would try to stampede out too, hopefully causing enough of a ruckus that Shin would be too preoccupied subjugating all the kids that he wouldn't be able to give chase to all of us.
Now we were just waiting for Shin to show up.
And waiting.
And waiting.
I got bored quickly, and a small group of us began playing a weird, warped version of "I Spy".
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with the letter… S."
"Shadows?"
"Yeah! You're turn."
I rolled my eyes. We needed to be ready for when Shin came, we wouldn't have much of an opportunity to orient ourselves when he—
Click!
The sound of the door unlocking echoed throughout the room, making all of us freeze. Please, I found myself hoping suddenly; please let it have been nothing. Please don't let him be here yet.
The door squealed loudly as it opened, making me wince.
We weren't prepared.
"Everybody! Get ready! Now!" I yelled, panicked. Light filtered in from the opening door and I pushed Mia out of the way as the three boys from Kumo and Yugakure started making hand seals.
The door opened fully and Shin stepped into the room followed by two acolytes dressed in the same drab material as Shin just in time for the boys to announce their ninjutsu.
"Lightning style: Electric Strike!"
"Fire style: Flame Shot!"
"Lightning style: Electric Strike!"
Two bolts of electricity and a small ball of fire lit the room as the boys discharged them at Shin and the two followers. It was at that moment that I got my first good and proper look at the room we were being kept in. It wasn't a room at all—or a cell, even. It was a crypt. What we had thought were oddly shaped rocks before were stone coffins with the likeness of their inhabitants sculpted upon the stone lid.
But I didn't have a chance to properly process why there would be a crypt in a hidden underground base run by the mysterious Madam. The kids in the room were screaming, taken unawares by the sudden appearance of our jailors and the ninjutsu the boys had thrown at him. They were running around the crypt, screaming and bumping into each other, it wasn't the distraction I'd told them to do, but it was a distraction nonetheless.
Shin and the other two acolytes dove to the side to avoid the jutsu thrown at them and I took the opportunity to race for the door, pulling Mia by the hand behind me. C was the first to the door and he didn't hesitate to race out and up the stairwell—that was the plan. Don't hesitate. Get to the top of the stairwell and hope that someone would be able to follow you—if not, keep running.
Mia and I reached the door just as Shin rolled to his feet, but he was too far away to reach us so we slipped out the door. I hoped that the screaming of the other kids would be able to distract whatever sixth sense allowed him to sense his surroundings, but the pessimist in me doubted it.
"Ayaka-!" The cry came from behind us as Mia and I reached the stairwell. I turned.
"Tenzō!" He was sprawled on the ground, Shin grasping him by the ankle pulling him back into the dark room.
I hesitated. I had to help him; he was the only person I knew in this place.
"Ayaka!" Mia screamed. Eyes wide in terror, she tried to shove me up the stairwell, and I knew I had to leave Tenzō if I were to have any chance of saving everyone in the crypt.
Trying not to cry, I turned my back on him and raced up the stairs, pulling Mia behind me.
We found C at the top of the staircase and down the hall scouting the passageway for anyone else. We ran up to him, panting. It was the first time I got a proper look at him. He was attractive, I supposed, or would be one day with his spikey blonde hair and dark eyes. He was shorter than me though, but only just.
Mia was a slim petite thing herself, with dark brown hair cut to her chin and bright blue eyes, she was probably only a year younger than myself but retained a lot of baby fat in her heart-shaped face.
"Did anybody else make it through?" C asked, glancing behind us.
"No," Mia supplied, when I didn't immediately offer an answer. "The Blind Man grabbed Tenzō before he could make it out, and he was blocking the door. It's probably just us."
C glanced at me again briefly, but nodded. "Let's hurry. You're not going to slow us down, are you?" C directed the question at me, no doubt ascertaining how upset I was at leaving Tenzō behind. I tried not to be offended.
"Let's just hurry up," I snapped. "Do you have any idea where the exit is?"
He nodded. "I think I managed to keep track of the turns we took when the Blind Man brought me down here."
At least that makes one of us. I was so relieved I could have kissed him. I was so desperate to get out of here that I didn't fancy wondering around this maze of corridors until we happened upon an exit, or Shin.
"But," C continued, "We'll have to take the exact same route the Blind Man took me down. I'm fairly certain he took a really long way too."
"Then let's go!" I urged, pushing C ahead of us. "Lead the way."
He didn't waste any time and took off at a run. Mia was surprisingly fast for such a small girl and stayed right on his heels with myself bringing up the rear.
We ran as fast as we could, no doubt aware that Shin would have the advantage by knowing shortcuts to the exit. We passed a door with a peculiar scratch along the bottom that I remembered from when Shin had first brought me here and felt a surge of relief. We were heading in the right direction.
"Are we close?" I panted, struggling to keep my feet from dragging as the muscles in my legs fatigued.
"Yeah," C replied. Frustratingly, it sounded like he wasn't yet hyperventilating like I was due to the strenuous physical activity. The dick. "Just three intersections down and a left and then it's a straight shoot to the exit."
Oh good.
Mia suddenly stumbled in front of me and let out a short scream as a figure stepped out of the passageway before us.
It was a girl, tall with twisted black hair and wearing a plain grey smock similar in colour to Shin's. When she turned to look at us, she had no eyes in her sockets—just like Shin. My stomach clenched as I recognised her pale, broken face.
"Zara!" I exclaimed, slowing down slightly. "What happened to you? Y-your eyes! They're—"
"They're gone. She took them. She tricked us. She lied! Thought we were getting paid; thought we'd be leaving. Thought…" She kept mumbling under her breath, ranting to herself quietly as if she had lost her mind. Perhaps she had.
"Ayaka! Hurry up!" C called, he was already at the intersecting passageway leading to the exit.
I made to move past Zara, but she tripped over her own feet and fell heavily to the ground with a pathetic cry.
I should hate her for bringing me here. It'd serve her right being trapped down here forever, without her eyes.
I should just leave her.
But watching her scramble to her hands and knees on the hard and dusty floor made me pity her. And before I knew it, I was leaning down and pulling her arm over my shoulder, helping her to her feet.
"Go on ahead," I told Mia and C. "Don't wait for me."
Mia bit her lip, visibly conflicted but did as I bid, disappearing down the corridor towards the exit.
C stared at me. "Are you serious?"
I started shuffling towards him, Zara in tow. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up!"
He hesitated. "Alright," C surrendered. "But hurry up. I'm not—" He stopped as he caught sight of something behind me.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I turned.
Shin.
He was walking calmly down the corridor towards us, as if he knew that escape was not an option.
I knew what would happen. Even abandoning Zara now, wouldn't give us enough time to get far enough away from this place to get help. I would have to keep Shin busy while Mia and C made a run for it.
I would have to be left behind. How depressing.
"Go," I told C. "I'll try to buy you some time."
"Right." He didn't hesitate and darted down the corridor towards the exit. Who said chivalry was dead?
Next, was Zara. "Here," I muttered, leading her to the wall. "Stay here, and don't get in my way."
"Why? Who's there?"
"Shin."
Zara visibly trembled, anxiety overtaking her face. It didn't seem like she had a crush on him any longer. It was a small mercy, I supposed.
"Do you have any weapons on you?" I asked.
Zara pressed her hands to her face and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "My eyes… I can't see… They tricked me."
"Zara!" I didn't have time for this. Shin was getting closer, his footsteps echoing eerily throughout the corridor. "Weapons? Do you have any?"
"I can't see… I can't see…"
Squatting down, I quickly patted her down, finding a small kunai pouch. Bingo! Opening it up, I found two kunai knives and several smokebombs inside. The smokebombs wouldn't help—not if Shin didn't use his eyes to detect me—but I took them anyway, grabbing both kunai knives also. They were better than nothing, I supposed.
"You are a very troublesome girl," Shin stated, only now a short distance away. Zara let out a loud sob at hearing his voice.
"So I've been told," I replied, sounding a lot braver than I felt. "Tell me, why did you bring me here?" I asked in an attempt to stall for time for C and Mia.
"The Madam wanted you," he said, moving ever closer.
I lifted the kunai threateningly, but he ignored them. "Why? How did you know to target me?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. But you and the boy who ran away just now will be the first the Madam sees this week."
Not Mia? Had he not 'sensed' her leaving the room? Or sensed her in the corridor with us? I thought, but was promptly distracted by how close Shin was getting. I launched myself at him, a kunai in each hand, but Shin caught both my wrists easily and with a tug, flicked me over his shoulder.
I hit the ground hard behind him, my shoulder absorbing the brunt of the impact. With Shin now between the exit and me, my chances of escape had just decreased drastically. But that was no longer the plan. I was to stall while Mia and C made their escape. I hoped that they could find someone quickly.
Picking myself up off the floor, I threw myself at Shin again, slashing for his stomach. But he was surprisingly dextrous for a blind man and darted out of reach and snatching my wrist before I myself could back off.
Slamming me up against the wall, he wrapped a hand around my throat pinning me in place. Using his other hand he deftly knocked the kunai out of my hands where they clattered to the floor well out of reach.
I struggled to breathe as Shin's hand tightened around my throat. One hand tried to pry it loose whilst my other reached into my pocket and pulled out Zara's smokebombs. Moving quickly, I slammed the bombs into the side of his face where it exploded into a cloud of smoke that engulfed both of us. Reeling in surprise, Shin backed off of me, coughing harshly in surprise as I dropped to floor spluttering for fresh air. All I got was a lungful of acrid smoke.
I crawled away from Shin, my eyes watering.
I could hear Zara screaming her head off further down the corridor, half-terrified and half-deranged. Climbing to my feet, I made to run towards her—towards where I knew the exit to this hellhole to be, but an arm snaked out of the smoke and caught me in the throat, throwing me backwards.
I tumbled backwards down the corridor, banging my elbows, knees and tailbone as I rolled. When I stopped I didn't move, my body sore from my painful landing and the last two weeks of travel. I was so tired. So very sore… Maybe I could just quit…
Shin emerged from the smoke like a demon, stalking towards me with his face twisted into an ugly scowl. A large burn radiated from where I had slapped the smokebomb into his face.
And he was pissed off now.
Fear overtook me at his approach and I scrambled backwards on my hands and knees. Desperately, I reached out to the Hands, praying that they could save me, but they were oddly quite. They weren't scratching at the back of my consciousness like they usually did. It was like there was nothing there. And I nearly wept at the sheer irony. I had wanted the Hands gone ever since I had wiped Kurenai's memories of me, but now I realised I needed them. I wanted them. They were empowering and made me formidable. Me—a six-year-old girl. And now, when I needed them most—they were nowhere to be found.
Shin reached for me and I lashed out wildly, grabbing his arm in both of my hands and biting it savagely.
He cried out and I tried not to choke and release his arm as his blood spurted into my mouth. Shin tried to shake me off but that only accomplished more pain for him. He began hitting me in the face with his other hand, his clenched fist knocking into the side of my face again and again until one particularly painful punch to my left eye made me scream and release his arm.
"You little bitch!"
His hand came down again and my head hit the floor hard. The taste of iron flooded my mouth and I choked, coughing violently. Specks of my blood covered Shin's face as his face twisted horribly with rage as he hit me again and again and again.
A/N: Please review! I have most of the next chapter written, just need to edit and begin the following chapter. It'll be worth it. ;)