"I'm out of my head,

of my heart in my mind.

'Cause you can run but you can't hide,

I'm gonna make you mine."

The Wolf, SIAMÉS

"Find a deep puddle and hide in it," Yahiko instructed, eyes on me. "Mamoru-sensei won't go in to fish you out, but he could set up a genjutsu trap to lure you out. If you think you hear Nagato, Konan, or me, check if it's a genjutsu first."

I nodded.

"If he's on your tail, make a bird noise as a signal. That way we'll know to come rescue you."

I smiled. "You should make one too. So I'll know to come and rescue you."

Yahiko made a sound between a laugh and a snort. "Getting arrogant, are we?"

"She gets it from you," Naga said.

Yahiko turned towards Naga, shaking his head. "That hurts," he said. He paused, ensuring Naga saw the hurt in his eyes before he spoke again, "You should hide as far away as you can while still being able to sense us. A lot of the buildings around here have rooms blocked off by rubble that you can fit through, but Mamoru-sensei wont."

The four of us were crouched in a circle beneath a flat piece of steel covered in thick, mossy vines. A tree had grown within and around the skeleton of the building it used to be, and bits of warped metal stuck out of the bark.

"No one put you in charge," Konan informed Yahiko, across from him.

He didn't look at her. "If he catches you and you can't summon Namekuji, make a duck sound."

Naga blinked, then said, "I don't know what a duck sounds like."

I sat back and crossed my legs. "What's a duck?"

Yahiko looked between us, contemplative. "It's like a bird but bigger. Merchants used to skin them and sell their meat and feathers in the market," he paused to rub his chin. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever heard one either—"

"Don't ignore me," Konan said sweetly.

"I don't talk to spies," Yahiko responded airily.

"Spy?" Konan spluttered. "Why do you think I'm a spy?"

"Because you're Mamoru-sensei's favorite," he explained like it was obvious. "You go off with him on secret genjutsu training missions all the time."

"It's not a secret if you know exactly what we're doing," Konan deadpanned. "He offered to train you too, you know. You said no."

"I did," Yahiko agreed thoughtfully. "I could learn genjutsu, but I want to learn something that I can combine with my ninjutsu, like kenjutsu. I want a sword that I can coat in wind chakra."

Konan stared at him for several seconds. "You don't have wind chakra," she finally told him.

"Yeah," Yahiko said. "It's so sad."

I hummed. "Can't you put your water chakra over a sword?" I asked.

"I can," Yahiko tapped his chin. "But I don't know how that would help me in a fight..."

Nagato coughed loudly.

Yahiko blinked, gaze shifting back to Konan. "You were with Mamoru-sensei when he suddenly decided we needed stealth training. It's suspicious."

"It was coincidence," Konan protested. "I'm not a spy!"

Yahiko's eyes narrowed. "That's exactly what a spy would say."

"How am I supposed to prove I'm not a spy if I can't say I'm not a spy?" Konan asked.

"She's a spy," I whispered, inching closer to Yahiko.

"I'm not," Konan insisted.

Yahiko turned to Nagato. "What do you think?"

Naga gave her an apologetic smile. "It is a little suspicious," he tentatively admitted.

Konan frowned deeply. "I can't believe you would side with him over me—" Faster than I could blink, Konan shoved her hands together, locked eyes with Yahiko, and he abruptly keeled over with a loud ack!

Naga and I scattered in opposite directions.

Konan nonchalantly stood, dusting herself off. "Thanks to Yahiko, I know exactly where you'll be," she sang. "And because he wasted your time talking about birds and swords, Mamoru-sensei should be here any second."

Yahiko was still on the ground in front of her, stiff and frozen like a statue. A second later, he jerked up with a gasp and dived between the roots of the tree.

As I ran, I heard Konan's laugh. "You should've pretended to be under the paralysis longer. I would've gone after Oka," she said. "You can't hide from me."

I ducked behind a small tree, pressing my back against the wood. Its branches scraped the ground, spine curled in half by the slabs of concrete and stone piled on top of it. Mamoru-sensei told us that the area had been a battleground during the First Shinobi World War, but never got fixed before the Second started.

He said that everyone that lived here moved inland a long time ago.

I waited, listening past the rain for Konan's footsteps. I wouldn't hear Mamoru-sensei coming, but Konan wasn't that good yet. When I heard neither her, nor frantic bird calls from Yahiko, I pushed away from the tree, leapt over a thick root, and searched for a good puddle.

Most puddles were just that. Shallow and small, only big enough to sink my feet into. They were everywhere. A few, though, were deceptive. They looked like regular puddles at a glance but stepping in one would send me straight down into the murky dark.

I knelt beside a puddle. Droplets rippled the surface like any other body of water, but it wasn't. The grass around it wasn't dry, but it wasn't soaked like it would be for a regular puddle. The grass around the lake was dry-ish because the rainwater drained into the lake.

I stuck my hand in the 'puddle', leaning down until my arm was deep within the water. I grinned. I held my breath, inching my body forward until it swallowed me. I twisted around in the water, weightless as I sank. The grey-tinged light that was coming from the sky dimmed, growing smaller and smaller.

It was... different than the dream I had, where the sky was brighter than I'd ever seen in Amegakure and kelp waved around the girl in vibrant greens. I wanted to live, while she wanted to die.

I just barely managed to put my hands up in time to stop my flower crown from floating away, loose strands of my braid pulled up while I floated down.

I was the second-best at holding my breath. Only Yahiko ever beat me.

I felt the wall—mud, packed so tightly that I couldn't move or scrape pieces of it off. There was only enough room for me to stretch my arms halfway out.

I looked up at where I knew the surface was and waited. And waited. And waited.

I was beneath the water for five-and-a-half minutes before I felt the familiar burn in my lungs, the pressure in my throat as my body urged me to take a breath. I kicked up, paddling my arms until the light came back.

I slowed right before I surfaced, cautiously raising my head above the water so only my eyes and nose were visible. I looked around, expecting to see an illusion of Naga telling me to come out, a fake bird call, Konan's smile as she offered me a hand.

But... there was nothing. My only company was the pitter-patter of rain on the grass. I frowned, sinking a little, more suspicious than before. Mamoru-sensei didn't grab me from behind. Naga or Yahiko, newly converted to the side of the enemy, didn't jump in after me.

I waited a little more, but still nothing.

My eyes darted to the right when I heard a shout, and then it abruptly cut off. Naga. Yahiko and Konan were the opposite way. Was that why it was taking so long? Did Mamoru-sensei go after Naga first?

I hesitated. "Kai," I said, bringing my hands together.

I still heard noise. A muffled yell. Footsteps that were quieter than Konan's but not completely silent like Mamoru. Carefully, I climbed out.

"Kai," I said again, just in case.

The sounds didn't disappear.

I moved closer, slowly, using the remains of buildings as cover as I thought of a rescue plan. I peeked over a jagged piece of collapsed stone and saw two figures in black raincoats, blank masks covering their faces. I stilled. Naga's bright red hair peeked out from over the shoulder of the one on the left. He was tied to their back.

"The kid will just be dead weight," the one holding Naga said, voice feminine. "I'll take him back. You keep looking for the target."

"We're supposed to stay in pairs," a male voice reminded her, annoyed. "All this damn rain is making it impossible to track the scent." He raised a hand to his face, as if to rub his nose, but aborted the motion just before he touched his mask, hand dropping back to his side.

My eyes widened and I covered my mouth with both hands to stifle a gasp. Neither of them were Mamoru-sensei. This wasn't a game anymore.

And... they had Naga.

"The target might still put up a fight. It's better if we keep the kid from being damaged before he's shipped back with the others."

An image twisted to life inside my head of a white ship big enough to carry dozens of metal boxes and hundreds of people. It didn't feel real, like I was remembering something I'd read about in a picture book but forgotten about.

It confused me, but it didn't matter. I wouldn't let them take Naga. I stepped around the stone, fingers curling into fists.

The two went abruptly silent.

"Let him go," I said firmly. They were bigger than me, stronger, but.

They would not take my brother.

I would fight with my fists and teeth and nails until I couldn't anymore. They wouldn't take him, because I was going to show them exactly what I meant when I told Mamoru-sensei that I bite.

The two exchanged a glance.

"We don't have time for this," the male said. "Dispose of her, but be quiet about it—"

Crack.

The male took a half step back, head tilted to the side, cracks spreading across the center of his mask. The rock he'd been hit with fell silently to the ground. I looked up.

Yahiko stood on a pillar, tossing a pointed rock and up and down. More were fisted in his other hand. He was smiling, all teeth, like a predator about to clamp down on the neck of his prey. "You heard my little sister," he said. "Let him go."

The last of the man's mask crumbled away and I saw red, triangle-shaped marks on each cheek. He glared up at Yahiko, baring his teeth right back at him. "Usagi, take care of the little one," he growled. "That one is mine."

He leapt without waiting for an answer, drawing a tantō from his back. Yahiko hopped back and tossed the rock in his hand. The man deflected it and the rock shot off course, hitting the ground with enough force to make a tiny crater.

The man paused on the pillar Yahiko vacated, eyes narrowing at it.

Naga's head lolled against Usagi's back. I breathed out, then pushed off the grass and charged.

Usagi's hands flipped through hand-signs. Rat. Dog. Ox. I didn't stop. Nothing mattered but Naga. Usagi raised a hand and water condensed around her arm, forming a whip.

I got through two of the signs for Mud Wall before Usagi jerked her arm at me and the whip lashed around my ankle. I tried to stop, but Usagi was faster. She yanked her hand back and the whip tugged sharply on my leg. I slipped and slid, falling hard.

My shoulder hurt. The whip tightened, and I had half a second to think, get up! before it jerked me backwards, dragging me through the mud towards Usagi. Grass scratched at my face. I clawed at the ground and dug my feet in, which slowed, but didn't stop her.

When the whip finally went slack, my nails were chipped and bloody. I rolled to a stop at Usagi's feet. Face down, I barely managed to grab a handful of mud and shove it in my mouth before the whip jerked me off the ground.

Usagi dangled me in front of her, upside down and hanging by a painful grip around my ankle. A scrape on my elbow burned, dribbling blood down my arm. Pain twinged through my fingers when I tried to move them.

I looked from her mask to Naga, still unconscious and trapped. It made me angry.

I'll save you, I thought at him. I'll protect you like you always protect me.

Growling at Usagi, I clawed at her mask—just barely out of reach—and kicked at the whip. Usagi observed me. "You have spirit," she admitted. "Perhaps I should take you instead of him. You would be a more useful tool to Konoha."

The thought of Jiraya and Tsunade flitted in and out of my head.

I reared back and spit mud into her eye holes.

Usagi yelped and dropped me. I landed harder than before, disoriented by the sizzle of pain down my back. Usagi stumbled back and threw off her mask.

I still had to save Naga.

I winced and pushed myself up onto my elbows. Yahiko would keep getting back up, no matter how many times he was knocked down. I managed to ascend to one knee when Usagi grabbed me by the collar and yanked me up towards her.

Brown was splattered around her green eyes. She stared at me. "I was wrong," she said quietly, with an undercurrent of something that was almost fury. "You're better off dead." She unsheathed a tantō at her side.

I screamed my rage and frustration at her, biting at her fingers and beating my fists against her arm.

Naga's head tilted up slightly, just enough for me to see the malice in his eyes. He mouthed two words without a sound. Summoning Jutsu.

Namekuji burst into existence in a puff of smoke between Naga and Usagi. The wire holding Naga snapped and he fell.

"Naga!" I yelled.

Usagi stiffened, her full attention on the summon suddenly on her back.

"I told you I would reverse summon you when Lady Chiyoko made her decision—" Usagi swiped her tantō in a quick motion towards her back and I heard the vaguely gelatinous squelch of the short sword passing through Namekuji's body.

"Huh," Namekuji said after a moment. "You're not Nagato." He slid up Usagi's back and looked over her shoulder, unconcerned and unbothered when she sheathed her tantō and tried to yank him off by hand. His tentacles peered down at me. "Huh," he said again.

I heard a soft hiss, the sound of armor and skin melting under Namekuji's acid, and Usagi screamed and let go of my shirt.

I landed on my side and couldn't get up again.

Namekuji followed my descent with his tentacles, even as Usagi dropped to her hands and knees and emptied her stomach. "I have a lot of questions," he said casually, with an undertone of something dark. Usagi scrabbled at Namekuji, but he refused to be moved. Patches of red spread up her neck and down her front.

Naga dropped down in front of me, blocking my view. He was clutching his arm where the wire left dark red marks. He ducked his head and shuddered hard as Usagi screamed again. "I don't regret it," he said through his teeth. "I had to do it. I heard her, Oka, and I couldn't let her—I wasn't going to let her—" He stopped and shoved his hands over his ears.

My eyes widened as I watched tears mix with the rain on his cheeks.

Naga sniffed. "Why am I crying?" he asked himself, frustrated. He wiped a hand hard against his eyes. "I made the right choice," he insisted, but his tears didn't stop.

Usagi fell forward and went quiet.

I tried to roll over, but my hands wouldn't work right. My fingers were numb, and a painful throb pulsed down my knuckles. I held my hands against my chest, watching Naga cry.

Was it wrong that I didn't feel bad? I knew she was dead. I knew that Naga had summoned Namekuji, knowing in that moment exactly what would happen if he did. But all I felt was relief. Relief that Usagi was gone. Relief that she didn't take Naga. Relief that Namekuji saved us.

Was that the wrong way to feel?

Namekuji appeared behind him. He took one look at Naga, crawled up his back, and curled around the back of his neck without a word. I thought Namekuji would be covered in blood, but he wasn't. There wasn't a single drop on his body.

I heard someone land quietly behind me, followed by a heavier thud, and glanced back. Mamoru-sensei stood directly in front of me, Yahiko tucked under his arm. He was limp but didn't look hurt.

In front of Mamoru was the male from before, on one knee and panting hard. The man clutched his arm, blood dribbling through his fingers. He made himself stand, and I saw the bright red cut across his chest. His tantō was broken in half, but he still pointed it at Mamoru.

"He always sends children to do his dirty work," Mamoru said. He sounded weary and sad.

"Tell me where the target is," the male growled. His eyes flicked to and away from Usagi's remains. His expression didn't change. "His scent is all over you."

Mamoru didn't immediately answer. He looked away. "I can't let you go," he said. "You'll tell Danzo all about me and those four, and that's a brand of hell they're not ready to deal with yet."

The male tightened his grip on his tanto and surged forward. He took three steps, stopped, and the blade fell out of his hand and sank into the mud. His eyes glazed over and he stiffened, arms pressed against his sides like he was being held down.

Mamoru lowered Yahiko to the ground and pulled a kunai out from under his shirt. "Even without a canine partner you've got a damn good nose," he said, moving to stand in front of the man. "But, like most people, little to no defense against genjutsu." Mamoru flipped the kunai and in one quick motion, slashed it across his throat.

He made a gurgling sound and collapsed, blood pouring out of his neck like a river.

Naga turned me towards him (too late, always too late), and gently pulled my hands away from my chest, his own glowing green.

A/N: I'd like to think the Rinnegan works like the Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi Uchiha, despite experiencing war at the age of four and living through the Kyuubi attack, only activated the Mangekyō when Shisui died. canon!Nagato only activated the Rinnegan after watching his parents die (or, the author's excuse for why Oka didn't activate the Rinnegan this chapter).

I'm going to start a petition for more non-Konoha based fics written in [CURRENT YEAR]. Who's with me?