A/N: It's been raining a lot recently. Stay comfy, stay dry!

Resonance

Blue Chakra

Chapter Two

Akane watched as the men approached, wishing her legs would move. She felt as though the missing-nin were pain itself. They would hurt her whether she stayed or ran. There was nowhere, however, to run. She knew she could not bypass them. Behind her was a cliff and below that, rocks. She thought of the charred remains in her village and wondered if she could make it to the cliff in time to throw herself off.

As though reading her mind, one of the men raised his hands and said, "Not so fast."

She glimpsed the red tattoos under his eyes, when a rope of water bound her wrists and legs, and she fell hard sideways to the ground.

She lay motionless, breath knocked out of her. Pain shot through her shoulder and she thought she might be bleeding. She felt rather than saw the men approach. Water swirled around her wrists and ankles, almost alive, not budging despite her struggles.

Footsteps sounded behind her and a voice called out.

"Akane!" Haruki slid to a stop in front of her. Something glinted in his hand. Is that a kitchen knife? Akane thought. The one he used for cutting vegetables, when he was in the mood for cooking in the tower.

"Another one," the tallest one snickered. "You her boyfriend?"

Haruki did not reply. He glanced at her. "I called for help. They should be here soon." His voice shook.

"I called for help," Tall mimicked. "Maybe they will come tomorrow, in time to retrieve your body!" Tall appeared in front of him in a flash. With one kick, Haruki was sent flying backwards. He slammed into a tree behind. Something cracked. Haruki slid down and did not get up again.

"Quiet," Red slapped her face. Akane's voice cut off abruptly. She had not even realised she was screaming, until the silence rang in her ears. "I hate noisy women."

He gripped her cheek with two fingers. "You're a pretty one," he said, turning her cheek one way then another.

"Make it quick," the missing-nin who had till then remained quiet said. His hair was dusted with grey and his eyes seemed tired. "The boy said he sent for help. I don't want to be here when it arrives."

"Relax," Red said. "We probably have hours more."

Hours more. Akane barely heard the exchange but the ring in his words turned the pit of her stomach cold. Her eyes remained fixed on Haruki. A pool of blood was starting to grow under his limp form.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, words coming out before she could stop them.

"What?" Tall was looking at her hungrily, eyes roving down her body and up again.

"Why are you doing this?" Akane asked again.

"For fun, really…" Tall's voice trailed off as leaves rustled. He looked up towards Haruki, who made a soft groan and seemed to be waking up. "Heavens, he's a sturdy one, isn't he?" He walked over to Haruki, pulling out a kunai.

Akane felt her heartbeat in her ears. Her skin felt every blade of grass under her. She saw Haruki's eyes open and the kunai slide almost lazily towards his throat.

They made eye contact. She saw his pupils constrict and his arm jerk weakly. She saw a line of blood draw against his throat and -

"NO!" She screamed. Something inside her moved, like an organ she didn't know she had. Blood pounded in her ears, seemed to reverberate in her entire body. Blue chakra erupted in front of Haruki, crackling with fury. Tall stumbled back, eyes wide.

"What in the heavens..?"

The chakra swirled, unformed, before dissolving into the air. Tall spun around, scanning the surroundings, before staring at her hands, still bound behind her back. She hadn't moved at all.

"What did you just do?" Red snapped.

She looked up at him, eyes wild. She could feel the connection to the blue energy, whatever it was. Chakra, the word came to her mind, a whisper from a long time ago. She did not know what she had done, but she had the faint feeling that she could do it again.

Red grabbed her arm and pulled her upright. "Was that you? What did you do?"

"Let us go," Akane said, trembling, forcing herself to meet his eyes. She could not explain to him what she had done.

He slapped her, hard, again. She choked and spat blood. "What did you do?" He asked again, fury mixed with something else in his eyes.

He drew a kunai and set it against her thigh. "I will ask you once more." But he did not wait for her reply. Pain exploded in her thigh, burning, searing, incredible pain. She could not breathe. She could not scream. He twisted the blade and she almost fainted.

He did not let her. Red pulled her hair, pulled her head up. "What did you do?" He said, and now tears gathered in her eyes.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Please…" He dragged the dagger down her thigh and she screamed, chakra exploding in front of her, slamming into him, throwing him backwards.

Akane panted, not daring to look at her leg, feeling the warm rush of blood.

"You bitch!" Tall shouted. The world tilted. A blur of movement. Pain.

"No!" She heard someone shout. "She is -"

She was in the air, flying, then falling. Past the outcrop. To the rocks below.

When the faint scream carried to them in the wind, Team Chouza stopped their search and ran towards its source. They dashed through the trees, branches scratching their faces and arms, feeling the urgency in their bones.

"Something's…" Genma muttered.

"Hm." Chouza grunted. They ran faster.

They reached the tower in almost no time at all. Just in time to see the missing-nin swing his leg into the girl, flinging her off the cliff. With unspoken communication, Genma leaped down the cliff while Chouza and Raidou tackled the enemy.