Chapter Six

"The song of midnight will cry out"

Sasuke came back just before the crack of dawn. He felt very guilty about just getting and leaving her in the cold because of his overemotional state. Naruto did help the previous night by giving him a mini-"it's in your biology to be emotional, Sasuke" speech. It was cruelly similar to one he had received about four years ago by the Second Hokage during the Fourth Shinobi World War. He went to her bedroom and knocked on the door, when he opened it however there was no one there and the bed was unmade. He tilted his head confused about that. He knew she was very tidy, he saw how her apartment was, it was very out of character for her to leave her bed unmade, however he decided to pay no mind to it. He then went to his bedroom, nothing. He knew that she wasn't at work because it was too early. He sighed and went to the kitchen and that's when he saw a note left. He took it and opened it up.

Naruto screamed as Sasuke pulled him out of his bed and abruptly woke him and Hinata up. "Up, now." He order, his tone bitter, as he practically tossed Naruto out of his own bed.

"What the hell was that for?!" Naruto screamed. Naruto stopped when Sasuke looked at him and sharingan was in his eyes. When Naruto registered Sasuke's attire he knew there was trouble, the white shirt he was wearing and the purple rope around his waist that held his katana. Sasuke had put all those things behind him years ago. He put them away four years ago at the end of the war. Naruto could not image what was so bad that his hatred and rage had built up so badly that this attire had returned to his life. "What's wrong?" He asked. Naruto noticed the note in Sasuke's hand and how he gripped it tightly. Naruto got up onto his feet and his eyes widened. "No… Sasuke…" He thought that Akina had left him, that was hurt by the previous night and left Sasuke, but he was wrong, horribly wrong.

"They took her." The words dripped out of his mouth with spite and anger. "They took Akina. They want me to go back to the cave to fight for her." He said and handed the piece of nearly crumpled piece of paper to Naruto. Naruto took it and opened it up to read over it. His eyes widened became wide with shock at the contents. It was a threat, a challenge but ultimately what it was, was an ultimatum. They gave him an ultimatum. He would come to them to fight for her. He either failed and they kill them both or he kills them and takes her back. Naruto now understood why Sasuke was in his hateful mood. Someone broke into his home and took Akina from his own house right after he promised to keep her safe.

Naruto knew his friend was now suffering very badly and because of this was Sasuke he was liable to do something utterly reckless. Honestly, Naruto was surprised that he came to him first instead of rushing in headfirst and mangekyo sharingan blazing. "You can't go on your own." Naruto said and he was met with Sasuke's sharingan that tested Naruto's will to put those words into action. "We are going with you. She's important to you so she's important to us too." Those words shocked Sasuke; it allowed him to take a step back from the situation, his head clearing from some of the emotional turmoil. Sasuke took a few deep calming breaths and let the sharingan fade back into the normal black of his eyes. He nodded to Naruto giving him the all clear.

"Hinata, can you get ready?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." She whispered.

"Sasuke go wake Sakura and Sai then go to the main gate, we'll be there with the team. We are getting her back. There is no way were are going to let something like this just go by." Naruto went to his closet and pulled out the orange pants and jacket and the red and white sage robe. He was dressing according to his mood and feelings too and to him his old clothes reminded him of the journey to get Sasuke back. This was another retrieval mission so the old clothes felt very appropriate. "Let's do this." Naruto exclaimed old enthusiasm pumping into his veins.

Sasuke nodded and left Naruto and Hinata to get ready.

Sasuke's overemotional state came back to him as he made his way towards Sakura's apartment. What if ran through his head. However one thing was definitive, he shouldn't have gone. He should have stayed with her. He suddenly felt like a child, he had run from his problems instead of facing them. He felt so calming opening up and telling her things that it took years to tell Sakura but intimacy completely shut him down? If he hadn't left even if he told her that he wanted to sleep instead, it would have stopped this whole thing from happening.

He banished the negative thoughts from his head, it didn't matter now, the point was that it was done and now he had to get her back. Get her home to safety.

His feet landed in front of Sakura's door and he knocked on the door. "Sakura, hurry up its an emergency." He called out.

In a moment Sakura opened the door. She was still in her pajamas. "What is it this early in the morning?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Akina." Sasuke wasted no time explaining. "The bandits took her last night, Naruto and I are putting together a team to get her back." She looked shocked. "Will you join us?"

She nodded, "I'll meet you guys at the gate." Sasuke nodded and she closed the door to the apartment and began to get ready.

Sasuke went to Sai next and explained the situation. Sai also agreed to help and then Sasuke was left with nothing to do but wait at the gate. Moments later Naruto was there with Hinata and then Sakura and Sai. "So we know how to get to the hide out but how do we get past the poisonous hall?" Sai asked, his hand finding his chin as he pondered this dilemma.

"How we got out. I'll go into the Kyuubi Chakra Mode and ram in the door on the other side, that way even if the poison starts we'll exit through there." Naruto said.

"I should break down the entrance door just in case as well." Sakura said.

They all nodded at each other and went off into the forest towards the cave and the lair of their enemy.

"I was truly, truly…"

Akina woke up and her head spun and she found it difficult to remember. She did remember changing into work clothes because she couldn't sleep. She also remembered the knock on the front door; she swore that it was Sasuke… he said that he had forgotten his keys behind? Or at least that who she thought it was. What had happened after she opened the door? Trying to think about it gave her a headache so she stopped and concentrated on getting her head straight. After that moment her memory felt like it became blank. She took a few deep breaths and cleared up her head. When her senses began to focus again she found herself in an unfamiliar bed. The walls were grey and lit with small lanterns; the bed was in the center of the wall perpendicular to the wall with the door. She got out of the bed and saw she was barefoot. The floor was cool and had a texture of rock.

She went to the door and pushed against it since there was no handle on it. She eventually grabbed the edges of the door and began to pull. She lodged the door slightly from its frame when it swung open. She stumbled back and fell sitting onto the bed. There was a new atmosphere in the room, a suffocating one making it severely difficult to breathe. Each breath was laboring and it took her a while to register the new presence in the room. A man took a step so he could stand in the doorway. "Oh, boss…" The man said in a singsong voice that sent shivers down her spin. "The girl is awake."

"Good." A low yet soothing voice replied. "Bring her here."

"Don't touch me." Akina said and swung her legs to the other side of the bed, trying to gain as much space between this man and her.

"You heard the boss little lady, he wants to see you." The man disappeared from her sight and reappeared before her. He grabbed her arm and began to drag her towards the door.

"Let go of me!" Her arm hurt badly, this man's grip was of steel and it was unnatural. He brought her to the other room beyond the room she was in. It was a room that had one wall completely made of glass looking out towards another room that had one door. She was nearly mesmerized by the grandness of the room beyond the glass that she missed the man in the room. The small chuckle brought her attention away from that room and to the man in the room.

He was a man with straight black hair that reached his shoulders and he wore red armor. She had seen armor like that from books that were about pre-Konaha era. He was sitting in a seat; in front of him a small round table with a tea pot and two cups and another empty sit. "Please sit. Your name is Kobayashi Akina, correct?" He said taking off a pair of black gloves from his hands and placed them on the table.

The girl didn't say anything. "Please, I wouldn't hurt you. Sit down, please, have a cup of tea with me." The man said. Akina just stared at him and would not move she was a marble statue. "Gin." The man said and the other man behind Akina grabbed her arm again and moved her to the table and forced her to sit down. "See, not that hard at all… but we can use force if necessary."

"Let me go, I have nothing that I can offer you."

"Wrong, child." He said and smirked, he placed his elbow on the table, his hand propping up his hand as his chin rested in his cupped hand. Dark black eyes stared back at her. They were the same color as Sasuke's but held a completely different aura. Was this the same coldness that Sasuke had described once to her? She almost refused to believe that Sasuke once had such cold eyes as this man stared into hers. "You see what we want from you is on it's way… well, my sources tell me that he is on his way." He smiled and Akina felt her heart drop into her stomach.

The man smirked as he noticed the paleness that took over her skin and as she stammered out a soft, "N-No…"

The man smirked. "Usually, a woman would be delighted to hear that her lover is on his way to save her." Akina shook her head and she was about to get up from the seat when she felt two large hands push her back down onto the seat. "What is it because of what happened to the two of you last night?" Akina turned bright red at the thought that someone had watched them last night.

The man laughed at her bashfulness and her embarrassment. "Don't worry child, don't you know anything about the Uchiha clan? It's in their nature to be over emotional, he didn't mean it in an insulting manner."

"Stop this…"

"Depends… I'll stop when he takes you back… if he can. Or perhaps he will die here and then, you will join him. Don't worry, I am not needlessly cruel." Another smirk came over the man's face.

"Lonely"

Naruto stopped in the trees. Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata and Sai all stopped behind him. "Let's stop here for tonight." He said.

"Naruto, we can't stop!" Sasuke shouted in protest.

A glare was set on the young man's blue eyes before Naruto looked over his shoulder. Following suit, his whole body turned so his body was facing where he was glancing. "Sasuke, what do you plan on doing? Going in there in the middle of the night head first and get killed? We've been traveling since dawn, let's rest and then we can get her back. They gave you three days, it will be all right…" He said trying to ease Sasuke's worries, however it backfired onto Naruto. Sasuke instead met Naruto's intense gaze with one of his own.

There was no longer any sense of calm over the Uchiha heir, just worry and panic. "We can't just wait around Naruto." Sasuke replied, his hands in the air, indicating how strongly her felt about this. There was a strong scowl on his face as he continued to speak. "If we go now, in the middle of the night they won't be prepared for an ambush?"

"We won't be ambushing because they are ready and waiting! The one's who will be ambushed for going in so recklessly, will be us, Sasuke and you know if that happens we will fail! Do you want her back?! Because if we fail, you won't!" Naruto said, his voice was instense, and Sasuke's eyes became wide. He stared at the blonde, letting his words sink in. With anger and frustration beginning to ravage his system again Sasuke lowered his head.

Naruto nodded and they found the nearest clearing the forest. Naruto was the first to land down and drop his backpack to the ground. "This place should do. We should make a fire, eat and get some sleep so we well rested and prepared for tomorrow.

The rest of the shinobi got down to the ground and set up camp for the night. It was small and temporary, perfect for the night. They spoke about the next day's plans. They would get up at dawn and go to the cave. Sasuke watched as everyone ate, he had not packed anything and he was not in the mood to eat, he thought of her in the kitchen making the riceballs for him and caused him to curl up slightly. He was worried sick about her. The longer that she was there with these unknown men the more danger she was in and it made Sasuke feared the worst. He got up while everyone else was mid-meal and went off into the forest.

Frustration, anger, failure, hate… all of these negative emotions ran through Sasuke's head before he clenched his hand into a fist and raised it. He began pounding his fists into a tree.

The team left behind at the camp looked at each other. Sakura was the one who got up and went after Sasuke. She caught his wrist before he landed the umpteenth punch. He watched her hold his hand and healing his hand from the harsh punches. His knuckles had become bloody and the tissue and bone damaged. She had seen these injuries once before on Naruto after the first mission to get Sasuke back from Orochimaru's men. She couldn't help but think about how alike they were in that regard at the moment. They were both trying to retrieve something precious to them and Sakura's feelings of loneliness were returning, however she let a smile light her face. "Sasuke… we will get her back. You worry too much, you need to have some faith." He scoffed slightly and looked away from the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura smiled at his reaction. "Remember how long it took you to learn to lean on Naruto a little bit. Don't take it back now. Remember what he taught you, it's ok to lean on a friend when you are hurting." His hands completely healed under her touch. Her green eyes rose to meet his. "You can still lean on me too if you want." She let go of his hand.

His hand dropped down to his side and he couldn't help but look down at her.

"We will get her back. We can all tell how much she means to you and that is enough to motivate us as well." Sakura said a large grin on her face.

Sasuke sighed, trying to let go of all the negativity in his head. "I promised her I would protect her and then I walked away from her. This is my fault." Sasuke said lowering his head before Sakura touched his arm. She wasn't trying to be seductive she was being friendly. Sasuke shook his head. "I knowing she was taking makes me feel this hate. It's hatred towards the world… why is it that my important people are taken away from me? My clan, Itachi, Akina…" He thought of them all, and in his mind's eye all of them standing in a big crowd looking at him, smiling and happy to see him.

It was that joy that was taken away; they all turned their backs to him. First it was the clan and his parents, then Itachi and then finally Akina. He trembled at what they were facing. A wall, infinitely high and infinitely wide in all directions, not only that but the material was cold, hard, grey concrete. It felt like it stared down at him as everyone he had cherished looked towards it, heads down accepting it. What they were all facing was death.

It boiled in him how all these people used to love him and he thought of them as so precious to him. Why was it that with all the conditions and changes of the world each person was taken away? The massacre and coup that took away his clan, his brother taken away by the Leaf's brass and himself, now there was Akina who was taken away by these people who meant ill to his village. Was it wrong for him to feel this hate towards the world that he felt so wronged by?

No, it wasn't; Naruto taught him that. It was wrong to let it consume you take it over you and taking that pent up energy and not using it productively. That was the wrongdoing in these situations. Sasuke knew this, he truly did so why was he not listening now when he needed those teachings the most?

"Remember what Naruto told you about people we lose. They might be gone but their will remains inside us." Sakura touched her chest, just above her heart. "With that will burning within us we are never alone. There is no reason to be. Your clan is always with you, so are your parents and your brother. Every person that you have ever met that has put their faith in you, you carry their will in you. No matter what darkness you are in… their will is a flame that guides you back towards the light.

"If you truly, truly want her back then think of her and the faith that she has placed in you. Let that faith be what drives you forward from here on out. Not the hate and resentment that you feel for the people that took her. You will get the same result if you think about the positive and feel great about it afterwards, not a sense of loss and emptiness. It won't be the same hollowness that you felt after you killed Itachi." Sakura said.

"You've been spending way too much time around Naruto…" Sasuke muttered. He smiled regardless at his comrade. "You are starting to sound him. You've got everything he preaches on your tongue too. How annoying."

Sakura laughed. "You are the one who needs the repetition." She said with a smile before turning on her heel to go back to the camp. "Think about it." She told him before disappearing.

Sasuke took a deep breath; he sat down pretzel style on the ground and began to meditate. He thought about Itachi and thought about how he would have wanted him to handle the situation. The night passed and Naruto and the other began to get ready to leave again. It was then that Sasuke opened his eyes, the bright red of his sharingan seemed to pulse. He knew what he had to do, he overcame his extreme emotions but the energy from it would be put towards making it better. He would take down this enemy that was threatening Konaha and bring the young waitress back. Naruto saw the look of determination in his eyes and watched the Uchiha get back onto his feet. The wind softly blew through the area, the grass rustled beneath their feet and the soft golden hue of the sun faded out towards the bright blue of daybreak. Sasuke took a deep breath of the crisp morning air and slowly released it.

Their eyes locked, the two friends stared at each other. "I am ready."

Naruto grinned. "Let's go then!" He said, his enthusiasm returning to him. Sasuke picked up his small traveling back, put it on and followed Naruto as they all continued on the journey. That night they would arrive, that night Sasuke was determined to win this fight. Not just for Akina but for the village as well, it was time to end this farce.

"Even if I were to be erased by the sun's radiance."

Akin had been placed back in the bedroom. She checked her arm and sure enough it had turned black and blue from being manhandled in such a manner. The villager could do nothing but sigh and concentrate on her escape. Her guard was outside the door and there were no windows to speak of. Another sigh escaped her lips realizing that there was no way that she could break through the walls either. Suddenly she wished that she was a ninja, she despised this weakness and she despised putting Sasuke and his friends in danger.

After realizing that there was nothing she could do in a place like this she did the one thing she could do. She got down onto her knees and thought of her father and began to pray. She begged him, with every fiber of her being that, that he would watch over Sasuke and Naruto and make sure that they were safe. "Keep them safe, make sure they make smart decisions, take care of them, aid them. Please, please, please." Her begging continued until she became dizzy with fatigue.

The girl stood once again and looked around the room, trying for one last time to look for an escape. None appeared once more. With nothing left to do the girl listened to her body, which was shouting at her and took herself to the room's bed and laid for the night. She knew that she would need energy and strength for the next morning. Her head fell against the pillow but as soon as it did tears began to stream down her face as sorrow and guilt took over her. How could she have done this? How could she put Sasuke in danger? Akina curled up in her bed and decided that she would never forgive herself for this just as sleep overtook her.

Akina was woken abruptly that morning. The man named Gin grabbed her arm that was bruised from the previous day and dragged back out to the room from the day before. "See that?" The man from yesterday asked her as he gestured out towards the grand room below them. "That's the room, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke will die in today, and they will die trying to save you and protect the village. Isn't that so valiant?"

"Go to hell." Akina said.

The man laughed. "Oh so you do have some spunk in you." Even though Akina wasn't looking at him, she could practically feel him smirking behind her. Gin let go of her but new hands were placed on her shoulders. "Do you know what the old leader of my village used to say?" Akina did not reply so he continued. "He used to say that 'love breeds sacrifice which breeds hatred, then you know pain'." The words sent chills down her back. "Let's see the circle of hatred begin again amongst the great villages of the ninja world. Let's test this 'normalcy' the end of the war brought by returning pain."

Her eyes widened as she felt the cold, metal edge of a kunai press against her throat.