Rei's cell in the Intelligence Building was much nicer than it had been in the prison, but it was still just that: a cell. With dimensions of twelve feet by twelve, she had little room to do much more than eat, sleep, and read. The room and everything in it were a blinding white, and Rei had grown used to the subtle pain behind her eyes that struck for a few minutes every time she woke up.

She'd been left completely to her own devices for the first twenty-four hours, locked away, ignored when she screamed and threw things. They only looked through the windows that made up one entire wall of her cell. Her bathroom was hidden behind a white curtain, offering the tiniest modicum of privacy, and it was tempting to just sit by the tiny sink.

Kina was the first person to make a peace offering. On day two in her cushy white prison, Rei was refusing her fourth meal to be slid through a slot in the door when Kina came by with a covered basket the size of a large shoe box. The young doctor looked at Rei apologetically through the glass, then pressed a button by the door that projected her voice inside. "Can I come in to give you something?"

Rei hadn't even gotten out of her bed yet and turned over to face the wall, pulling the blanket up to her neck. An electric buzzing signaled that Kina had entered anyway, and the slight pressure down by Rei's feet made her look over incredulously. Kina had seated herself at the foot of the bed, and she smiled tentatively. "I thought you might like some company."

"We both know that it doesn't matter what I'd like," Rei spat, heaving herself into a sitting position. "Because what I'd like is to get out of this box and find Utakata, then get home so I can find out if what's left of my family is still alive. If you can't make that happen, then get away from me."

Kina didn't look surprised at Rei's outburst; she just nodded sadly and stood, setting her basket down where she'd been sitting. "Let me know if there's anything I can get you." Then she was gone.

Rei tried her hardest to ignore the basket by her feet, but it proved too tempting and she snatched it up and retreated behind her curtain. Closing the toilet lid, she sat and pulled off the top, feeling that same sentimental prickling behind her eyes that she was coming to hate.

Her Mist uniform was folded neatly inside the box, complete with some acid burns, and her headband lay on top. She pulled it out and held it to her face, inhaling deeply. It had been cleaned since the battle at the lake, but it still retained hints of her life before: the smells of the sea, the mountains, the snow.

There was so little she could do against these people, but whatever she did, she'd do it as a Shinobi from the Mist. She muttered insults and expletives about the Third Hokage as she stripped off her prison clothes and dressed in her black shirt and pants, tying her headband around her bicep and sliding her flak jacket over her head. It had, naturally, been relieved of all weapons, but she discovered a small slip of paper in the left breast pocket.

Screw the 'Will of Fire,' it read. I'm coming to get you.

Rei had to cover her mouth to stop the little scream that actually found its way out. That handwriting was unmistakable.

Koichi.

Days passed. Rei had no company but her own horrifying thoughts until one evening, when her meal was delivered personally. Kina pushed the door open and set the tray of food on the small white table by Rei's bed, looking at her almost as if asking permission.

"Sorry for before," Rei murmured. "I was angry."

"Well, I'm angry now," Kina replied, but her face was serene. "Look like we're having the most mundane conversation ever. They can't hear us unless they press the surveillance button outside the door."

"Oh." Rei stood and took a seat at the table, taking the roll from the tray. Kina took the chair opposite, her back to the glass wall, and laced her fingers together.

Even though Kina had just said no one could hear them, the young woman kept her voice low. "There have been some developments in the last few days. Listen, don't talk," she said the moment Rei opened her mouth. "The boat that was to take Utakata back to the Mist was carrying some of your other friends. They were able to disable the guard and escape into the woods. They managed to make contact with Tenzo, and they are waiting for you."

Rei could hardly breathe. "You're letting me go."

Kina's nod was barely perceptive, as was the smile on her face. "The Jonin Council votes tomorrow on what to do with you, and it'll be close. Release isn't even an option, and there are several of us who can't stomach the idea of someone in your position being executed for situations totally out of your control." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Including the Third Hokage."

So the old man wasn't totally evil after all. "When?"

"Midnight."

Rei forced herself to nod. She supposed that was as good a time as any to risk her life.

Kina passed her a wad of napkins, which Rei immediately noticed was wrapped around something small and solid. "Be ready."

Rei couldn't choke down any of the food Kina had left. She knew it would be suspicious to retreat to her bathroom immediately, so she stuffed the napkins in her jacket pocket and tried to nibble on the roll. Koichi was alive. Utakata was alright. Somehow, everything might actually be okay.

There was no way for Rei to tell the time, so she decided to be ready anytime Kina returned. She waited what she assumed was probably half an hour before hiding behind her curtain and unraveling the napkins to reveal another familiar item: one of her scrolls. "Hope this is the one with the weapons," Rei muttered to herself, tucking it back into her pocket and flushing the napkins down the toilet.

Time had never passed so slowly as it did while Rei waited for midnight.

There was always someone in the Intelligence Building, but hall traffic slowed considerably at night. Every time someone walked by, Rei watched them until they were out of sight, hoping against hope that it would be the person to release her. She was sure that she looked quite suspicious.

One of the handful of times that she looked away was when the door finally buzzed and swung open. "Tenzo," she breathed, and the young Anbu gestured with his head.

"Quickly. The cameras are disabled, but they won't be down for long."

Rei ran by Tenzo's side as he bypassed several electric security checkpoints, and she was suddenly grateful that the Leaf hadn't yet started using chakra barriers like the ones Headmaster Iwa had created. "Wait," Tenzo said before they reached the final door, the one that would take them outside. "Can you feel your chakra yet?"

Focusing intently on her hands, Rei tried to summon any little power that she might have, but only the smallest flicker answered her call. "Maybe a little."

"No problem. This way." Instead of heading into the night, they took a left turn into a different room. This one was full of computer screens showing the different hallways of the building. They were all being monitored by a single Shinobi. "Aika," Tenzo said, "Can you…?"

"Of course," the woman said, standing and turning to them. She had those same large, white eyes as the woman who'd blocked her chakra network. "I was waiting for you."

For only the briefest of moments, Rei wondered if this had all been a ruse of some kind, if Tenzo was leading her into a trap, but then the woman placed her hands on either side of Rei's head and closed her eyes. She spoke something soft under her breath, then exhaled hard. And it was like the sun exploded behind Rei's eyes.

Suddenly, she saw everything. The woman in front of her had a mild purple peaceful chakra, and Rei wondered how she'd ever mistrusted her. Tenzo's chakra was the same pale green as the trees Rei had learned to read with Mangetsu, and it was flickering anxiously. "Are you done?"

"Yes," Aika said, turning back to the computers. "I've wiped the memory from the last five minutes, from before you entered, and replaced them with dummy files. She'll have been there one moment and been gone the next."

"Thanks," Tenzo said while Rei tried to remember what was going on. The Leaf Village was beautiful. Even in winter, the trees were lively and reaching out to her, and the people she could sense were typically happy, at peace, not scavenging the streets for a meal or dying in the snow. "Come on, Rei. We don't have much time."

"Right."

Rei's first Jutsu since being imprisoned, a Transformation Jutsu, was flawless. She stepped out of the Intelligence Building disguised as Aika and didn't let it drop until she and Tenzo were far outside the village walls. They finally slowed to a stop when Tenzo was certain no one was following. "We have a long way to go," he said, fishing a couple food pills from his pack. "Your friends will meet us at Inaho Village, which is still a solid day's travel."

Rei took a food pill and swallowed without tasting. "We can't stop yet."

"Wasn't planning on it," Tenzo quipped. "Just waiting on the rest."

"The rest of what?"

"My team."

Rei actually shook her head in disbelief. "Tenzo, how many people are involved in this? Aren't you all going to get in trouble?"

The young man just looked at her with pity and shook his head in negation. "Rei, you've got no idea how things work here."

"Clearly," she scoffed. "Because we tried something a little like this, and it got some really good people killed." Tenzo ignored her for several moments, surveying their surroundings. "There's no one anywhere around us," Rei said testily. "Would you talk to me?"

"About what?" Finally facing her, he narrowed his dark eyes. "You're not a Shinobi of the Leaf; there's not much I can tell you."

"I don't want any insider information. I don't need codes or names or anything that you might have that you don't think you should give me. All I want is to know how your Hokage decided to let me go, even though the Jonin Council was about to decide something very different." She almost kicked a little snow drift in frustration. "What's the point of even having a council if the Hokage is just going to do whatever he wants anyway?"

She didn't look at Tenzo until he cleared his throat, obviously trying to get her attention. "That's what your Kage does, right?"

"Of course he does." Rei pulled her scroll from her pocket and spread it on the snow, sighing happily when she was easily able to Summon her weapons pouch and shortsword. "The Mizukage doesn't answer to anyone. If he wanted someone dead, they'd be dead. And since he's the jinchuriki for the Three-Tails, no one can beat him." Rei hadn't expected how good it would feel to tell someone else the foundation's secrets.

"And that's why you were trying to recapture the Six Tails."

"We weren't trying to do anything. We did recapture the Six Tails."

He chuckled lightly. "And it ended up with us all the same."

"Tenzo, we can't let the Six Tails end up back with the Mizukage."

"I know." Releasing a long-held breath, Tenzo muttered something about his senpai always being late and crouched to touch the snow by his boots. Almost instantaneously, a house rose from the ground, upturning a few trees and showering Rei with dirt clods and slush. Despite knowing about his abilities, Rei was shocked into silence again. Dusting his hands off, Tenzo set his hands on his hips and surveyed his house, trying to pretend that he hadn't used every scrap of energy the food pill had just given him. "Come on," he said, stepping over a mound of displaced dirt. "I don't know about you, but I don't plan to wait in the snow."