Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is his own person and can speak for himself.

Warning: This one gets a bit dark. Mostly death and violence. See the author's note for sanitized summary.

Chapter 11

Kakashi frowned. This "routine" mission had gone downhill very quickly. What had started as a quick reconnaissance of the border with Kusagakure had turned into a nightmare when Rin, who he was supposed to meet after his last pass through the less used country routes, had failed to appear.

And now he was miles away from home, infiltrating a base full of kiri-nin to rescue her. I'm sorry, Obito… I'll find her. He silently bypassed another sentinel. He had managed to remain undetected so far, using both his speed advantage and the sharingan to exploit shift changes, moments of inattention and the environment to his advantage.

Ahead of him, Pakkun led the way, following his teammate's scent. The pug had been Kakashi's first contract, and an invaluable ally during the war. This was far from the first time Kakashi had trusted the ninken's sensitive nose for tracking, and hopefully wouldn't be the last.

They reached the lowest level before Pakkun signaled to Kakashi he had found the source of Rin's scent. It came from a conspicuously unguarded cell, just at the end of the corridor, just at a corner. Something is fishy. In fact, the whole infiltration had been a bit too easy. Kakashi was good, and he knew it, but infiltrating a base full of Kiri ANBU undetected was the sort of thing Minato-taichō pulled.

He approached the cell carefully, keeping his ears and nosed primed to detect any enemies coming from around the bend. None came. The door was simple to unlock—he'd filched some keys from a room, having caught its sole occupant in a genjutsu—but what lay behind it wasn't as easy to deal with. Rin!

She lay on the floor unclothed, her face bloodless, hastily applied fūinjutsu crawling across her torso. From her position, she appeared to have been heaved onto the floor after whatever seal had been applied to her. Minato-taichō would know what this is.

Kakashi had seen some horrific sights during the war. Men and women mutilated beyond recognition by jutsu and blade both, strewn across the battlefield. Towns torched and sacked, either by conquering ninja, or by the armies that inevitably followed the shinobi onslaught. Yet all that hadn't prepared him for seeing another comrade broken.

But there was no time for this. He checked her pulse, found it thankfully normal, then reached into his pack and retrieved a soldier pill, which he placed on her tongue. It wouldn't be the best for her recovery, but they needed to get out now.

Kakashi retrieved what appeared to be her clothes and threw them at her just as she began to regain consciousness. I found her, Obito. I'm getting her home, just like I promised. And pity any Kiri-nin who got in his way.

Rin was not having a good day. She'd been kidnapped on a mission again, and now Kakashi had risked his life to rescue her. Again. The timing had been terrible; Minato-sensei had been out on an extended leave to negotiate with Iwagakure, for a more permanent peace treaty between them.

The war between the great countries was supposedly over, but the villages still fought, with black ops and sometimes overt clashes. Konoha had mostly stayed out of it, but this kidnapping signaled Kiri was still baring its fangs… geopolitics were complicated. She didn't envy Minato-sensei his future job.

There was also the question of the mysterious sealwork around her torso. It had looked familiar, but where had she seen it? Somewhere in Kushina-san's books, she was sure. It was getting hard to think, with the blood loss and the exhaustion, but something told her she needed to figure it out.

Rin felt dizzy. Still, she was moving much too well for someone in a shape as bad as she'd suspected she was. Perhaps her injuries hadn't been as serious as she'd first thought. The soldier pill would have helped, but she should be coming down from it soon.

Maybe it's love making me stronger. She peered over at Kakashi, who looked every bit as tired as she felt. And with good reason—he had probably rushed to her rescue as soon as he'd found her missing, and followed her all the way to Kirigakure's outskirts.

"We're being followed," he said. "More than twenty, probably jōnin level. Can you run faster?" I have to. Whatever Kirigakure wanted with her, she couldn't let them get it. She reached deep inside herself for whatever scraps of chakra her exhausted body would provide.

And then, a surge of wild chakra spread from her chest, burning through her coils with blazing intensity. Kill them, came the thought, unbidden. Kill all of them, for doing this. It felt a bit like Hinote's chakra, but more violent and entwined with malice.

Rin gasped. Where did this come from? For a moment, she'd desired nothing more than to take her pursuers and break them open and let their blood flow everywhere. She shook her head. It's a stupid plan, she reminded herself. I can't take on twenty jōnin. She noticed Kakashi looking at her, concerned.

"I'm okay." I can't drag him down. Still, the temptation to fight the kiri-nin was driving to distraction.

The answer came to her suddenly: they'd sealed a tailed beast within her. Now that she knew, she could feel the malevolence seeping through the seal, mixing with her emotions. Damn Kiri ninja. I should kill destroy maim all of them. She shook her head. Focus. Why would they do this? Why give up their weapon?

She kept thinking on it, while they leapt from tree to tree. They were almost back within the Country of Fire, and should make it to Konoha in a few hours. And then… And then what? This seal is so shoddy, it's liable to burst inside the village.

Oh no.

Obito was running as fast as he could. Rin and Kakashi need me! Wait for me, guys, I will rescue you! He wasn't quite looking forward to explaining the creepy old guy claiming to be Uchiha Madara, but he really wanted to see his friends. And if Zetsu was right, they were in trouble, they needed his help!

Then came the vision of Rin, a grimace of pain on her face, an arm sticking out of her chest. He shook his head. What was that? He rushed to the clearing where Zetsu claimed they were, just in time to see Kakashi and Rin drop, connected by the white-haired boy's arm no more.

He ignored Kakashi, who was sporting burns on his right arm, along with a few nasty cuts, and hurried to Rin. She can't be dead, he told himself, looking at her face. She wasn't breathing. He screamed at the sky, a desperate howl of anguish and sorrow.

His eye hurt for a moment, but he barely noticed with the pain in his heart. It hurt more, way more, than having half his body crushed. This can't be happening. Madara's words came to him: "There is no light without shadow. This life is made of suffering and emptiness. There is no escape from this cycle of suffering."

He looked around him, at the Kiri ANBU who were part of this travesty, this falsehood. He looked at them, and he slaughtered them. Yet it did nothing to soothe his pain. Where am I? Screams echoed in the forest, and blood soaked the ground. Where am I?

Where could this be, a place where Rin was dead, Kakashi had killed her. If there was any good in the world, how could this happen? This can't have happened it can't it can't. Another shinobi advanced towards Obito, and flinched when the Uchiha turned to him. Soon he was also dead, his face frozen in a rictus of dread.

I see… I'm in hell.

A/N: This one was a bit hard to write. Nowhere as hard as chapter 10, though. Tune in next time to see what happens now! Reviews are welcome! I want to hear what you think of this. Any guesses on what's next? And no, "Chapter 12" doesn't count. Chapter 12 is mostly written, by the way! Is this the legendary "buffer" some speak of in legends?

It's also a bit longer than this one, so maybe I'm getting my pacing back?

Quick Summary: Rin and Kakashi were on a routine mission when Rin was captured and taken to a base just outside Kirigakure. Minato was unavailable doing diplomacy with Iwa. Kakashi and Pakkun go to rescue her.

Rin correctly concludes she has been made into a jinchuriki, and that the Kiri-nin want to release the beast in Konoha.

Obito arrives at the scene in time to see Rin taking a Raikiri to her chest. He kills the surrounding kiri-nin, mad with grief and rage.