The sounds of birds chirping could be heard as Sanosuke was getting himself ready for yet another mission that he must take. It looked to be well into the morning based on the sun's positioning. It was a good morning indeed. Already, he and Navi has explored much of Kiri so there really wasn't too many things that Navi was surprised about in Kiri anymore. She was sleeping in peacefully. Even though she is a light sleeper, Sanosuke was able to take a full shower with her still sleeping tightly. It was kind of cute really. There were few times where Navi would turn off her light chakra and have her wasp form revealed. She only did this when she was sleeping, or it was just between her and Sanosuke. Sanosuke let out a sigh as he walked in to check up on his partner in the room. Resolving that he would wake her up later, just before he headed out Sanosuke went to drink a tall glass of orange juice before heading out. He always had a drink of orange juice before every mission he did, waking up. It was always just a morning tradition that required him to do that, but now it's just something he just does for fun.

Even though the war between Seven Bells were hard fought, they won victoriously. But that left clean up crew, and a few political term that had to be situated. Since Sanosuke was the only well known Kumo shinobi  still in Kiri, the silver haired sage was the only person whom was drafted to be the representative of the village hidden in the clouds. Fantastic. So here he was doing some more missions with Kiri to cement relationships between the two. Finishing off his tall glass of juice, Sanosuke let out a sigh before picking Navi up carefully and petting her awake so that they could begin walking towards the main office to get the mission. Sanosuke would be meeting Gin along the way, so that they both may do the mission. Kiri wanted someone around Sanosuke's skill to accompany him on this mission as a showmanship of good faith. But still, why did it have to be her? Sanosuke mentally mumbled as he walked out of his apartment with Navi lazily flying above his shoulder.

Peace and quiet was overrated. It was boring as hell. Gin didn't know why Sanosuke treasured it so much. Maybe that was the reason why she had recently become the bane of his existence. Where the hell was his sense of adventure? And he dared call her an old hag. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect. Just as he stepped outside of his apartment, into the floor's hall, she crashed through the window with a loud bang, no doubt waking up everyone there. They had about a minute before people decided to come check out what was wrong. It was more than enough. "Change of plans, asshole, we're going to the Lightning Country, ASAP," she said without so much as a good morning or any other kind of greeting.

Then again, the young woman had her reasons. "Chie and Reiko got their asses arrested, we're busting them out of jail before they get themselves executed, got that?" She explained as quickly as possible. She was panting. She had run at top speed in order to get Sanosuke as quickly as possible. She had woken up to a ciphered letter that took about two hours to translate into any normal form of speech. And even so, many of the details were still a mystery to her. She had stopped translating the second she found out that this involved her children.

However, Gin was well aware that this could easily be some sort of trap. Ayakashi and Sanosuke were the only two living people that knew anything about her escape from Sunagakure and her children being held as political hostages. And Since the former was unable to leave her post, she needed Sanosuke's help by default. Sure, he was an asshole 90% of the time, but he could be trusted. Not only that, but he was fairly strong as well. She hated to admit it, but she needed his help at the moment.

Expecting him to follow, Gin leaped through the same broken window she had come through, heading towards the gates of Kirigakure no Sato.

He hadn't taken 5 steps out of his door, before the kumogakure jounin knew that his day was already off on the bad foot. Sanosuke loved the peace and quiet of the day. It made it so much easier for him to relax and take it easy. There were only a few times where he wanted to do something adventurous, but he usually took that out with doing missions. Never once had he thought of it boring. The second he stepped out, barely having time to lock the door, Sanosuke heard the sound of glass shattering. Letting out a sigh, Sanosuke cursed as he would probably be charged for that as well. The chances of a thief or an assassin having the nerve to come and attack him during the day was mute. Considering the two glaringly obvious factors; 1: it's the day and 2: it's against Sanosuke Flynt. Meaning there was only one other person with the gaul to ruin his perfect mood. His suspicion was confirmed when the bane of his existence appeared before him: Gin Kuroka.

Just looking at her, she was caked in sweat from how fast she was running. Sanosuke wandered what got her in such a frizz.  Gin would normally enter buildings in the most unorthodox ways, but the way she did was just off. It was as though she didn't have time to waste. Before Sanosuke could say anything even remotely insulting to Gin, she started talking. That's when she sped through the reason why she was acting like this. Something about Chie and Reiko. Her kids, that's enough to get her riled up. Just like that she was off. Letting out a sigh, Sanosuke ran after going at speeds that would be fast enough to catch up with her. This was certainly enough to have Gin acting not quite like herself. She was being brass and impulsive and it had to stop before she got herself into trouble. Moving faster than she could so that he can cut her off, Sanosuke put an arm out to stop her. Her eyes were red shot and her breathing was ragged, she was definitely tired.

"Okay will you knock it off you old hag?! You're gonna run yourself ragged if you keep running at this speed. There's no point in you running to the rescue when you can barely stand on your own feet." Sanosuke said to stop her. For as long as Sanosuke and Gin knew each other, Sanosuke knew that Gin would probably strike him with a punch or a slap. So Sanosuke would be quicker than her and gently hold her hand to stop the attack from happening. It wasn't in an opposing way, but in a supporting way. No matter how many times Sanosuke would make fun of Gin because of her kids, he always knew just how close they were to her. "Now did you even get the chance to even look at the note that you were given closely? If not then I'm pretty sure that Navi can decipher the note entirely in just a few minutes. That way we know the details of the note like where in the Tea Country and exactly what prison they will be held in." Navi nodded in approval as she came close to Gin.

Letting go of her hand, Sanosuke put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's do this smart. One wrong move and you could make the Chie and Reiko's situation that much harder." Sanosuke said to Gin slowly so she can understand.

Gin was hardly listening to anything or anyone. Being true to her stubborn nature, she was headed directly towards where her goal was taking her. She didn't care for breaks or for realizing how tired she was. Her mind was racing. She was much too busy thinking of ways in which she would kill anyone who harmed her baby girls. They would pay with their lives, with their pain and with their suffering. And yet she was brought out of her reverie by Sanosuke's words. She stopped dead in her tracks, a few meters away from where he was. She was annoyed that he had stopped and was demanding that she do the same. Couldn't they easily do this, discuss this, while they ran?

The young woman pulled out the note from her weapon's pouch and shook her head. She took a deep breath, willing herself not to burst out at Sanosuke. She had to remind herself that he was there to help and was only looking out for her, as odd as that sounded in her head. Sanosuke looking out for her and worrying about her safety. Hah.

She looked down at the scroll and then back up at Sanosuke and Navi. And at some point along the way, he had begun to comfort her. His hand slipped into hers and she willingly gripped firmly. "I haven't seen them in over a year and now this," she whispered. "They came looking for me. That's what got them into this mess. Shit," She closed her eyes tightly for a moment and took another deep breath. She wasn't about to break down right now. She let go of Sanosuke's hand after a brief moment of silence and directed her attention back to the scroll. "It's written in Chie Speech. She made that cipher up herself. The only one that can perfectly translate it is Reiko, since she knows exactly how Chie's train of thought works. I used to be able to, but I'm rusty. The hard part is sorting out through what's bullshit and what isn't," Gin explained the best she could. She had managed to figure out where they were and some of the reasons why, but their current circumstances were a mystery to her still. She would work on finding out along the way.

Just looking at Gin as she was, Sanosuke could see that she was extremely tired and exhausted. He wanted to do something to her like make her rest, but that would lead into a fight where nothing would get accomplished, thus making Chie and Reiko's lives that much in danger. Sanosuke was generaly concerned for the children as well. Even though they haven't met, Sanosuke always had a soft spot for children and those kids are really bright. All they wanted to do was see their mother. Sanosuke looked into Gin's one visible eye and could see just how blood shot they were. She must have been up for so long. While they were holding hands, Sanosuke would stroke her hand gently as he spoke to make her feel at ease. It was working as she was now getting herself more put together and actually thinking. That was good, she didn't need to rush into a situation without thinking everything through. There will be time to punish the kidnappers soon enough, but until then they had to play this smart or else it won't be so easy. Sanosuke knew how this would go down if they went in half cocked.

"I know, you're doing all you can. I don't like seeing you like this. We'll get them out, I promise. Besides I need to tell your kids how you were crying at your doorstep for me to save them." Sanosuke was saying slowly to her at first squeezing her hand back before letting go. That's when he realized what he said was very out of place for him, and soon masked his feelings with a quick insult at her while taking the notes from her. Can't have her mistaking his good intentions for something else. Besides he was simply comforting her, nothing more nothing less. In a split second, one could see a tint of a blush on the sage's cheeks before it was wiped clean. Navi began looking it over in a few minutes and just like that, Navi had figured it out and relayed the information back to Sanosuke's ears. He smirked. Navi was rather intelligent and hell of a lot smarter than Sanosuke when it came to analytical smarts.

"Okay, Navi says that they're being held at a prison in the Thunder Country, near the northern mountains of Kumo. We have until sunrise tomorrow to get them out." Sanosuke relayed to Gin before taking off knowing that Gin would follow him shortly. True it was sunrise tomorrow, they had some ground to cover and not much time to get there.

Gin Kuroka's stamina was not something to be underestimated. Under normal circumstances, the young woman would have been able to run at full speed for days, even with her legs broken. Combined with her incredible strength, she was built like a tank - overall, a force to be reckoned with. More than a fair share of people had met their deaths at her hands. However, as much as it shamed her to say, Sanosuke was right. When it came to her children, she lost all sense of rationality. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair - what little of it was revealed under the bandages that covered most of her body. It was an old habit, one of the few that she had still had, albeit a more healthy one than the others. She had had to keep smoking to a minimum, since it would require revealing her face. She still drank every once in a while, though not half as often as before. As for gambling, it apparently wasn't much of a thing in Kirigakure, not that she had much money to spare.

Gin smirked halfheartedly at Sano's comment. "As if I'd let you steal my limelight," she tried to say lightheartedly, though it came out slightly more somber than she meant it to. Had this been any other time, she would have noticed the blush cross his cheeks momentarily and would have given him all kinds of hell for it. But right now, it slipped her view entirely. Furthermore, her reaction would have most likely been a mixture of shock and embarrassment had she seen it. She would have most likely been caught off guard by it. Luckily for her and for Sanosuke, she had other things on her mind - like the revolting anxiety turned nausea that was haunting her very existence at the moment.

When she handed the letter to Sanosuke, she waited for a moment until Navi skimmed over it. "I already knew that much - it's what's scribbled on the margins. I just... I want to get every detail I can out of that message. I might have already gotten everything, who the hell knows. Navi can keep looking at it for the rest of the way," she explained. Her eyes were now set on a single goal: Getting to Kumo. This obviously had "trap" spelled all over it. What better way to drag her out of hiding than this? Whoever was behind this, she would mount their heads on her wall if she had her way. She would massacre everyone there in a blind rage. Gin knew how her emotions worked - somewhere along the way, her fear would turn to anger. And if her two little girls were hurt in any way, she would rain fire on that god forsaken prison.

Typical Gin. She was already back to how she normally acts; using her strength to get her way, using her brain to think of how she can effectively use her strength upon those whom have wounded those she had loved, and using her wits to challenge Sanosuke. That was the Gin that Sanosuke liked having around. Now that she was thinking clearly once more, they can focus on the goal ahead: getting the Kuroka girls out of that prison they were in. Sanosuke sent the former Kazekage one of his trademark smirks as he cracked his knuckles. "Now that we've gotten that settled, let's move out. I've got to crack a few skulls open myself before you burn that damned prison." Sanosuke said while looking towards the direction they had to run towards in order to reach the lightning country. He nudged the silver haired shinobi playfully before taking off in that direction. Gin would follow of course and the two would be taking off like rockets towards the location where Gin's kids were being held against their will. The silver haired swordsman had stamina indeed to push herself to the limit, but that would play against her in the upcoming jailbreak fight for Rie and her sister. She won't be at her top condition to be able to react to the attacks coming at her, that's why he'll be there to fight. He'll protect Gin to those whom would dare attack her.

They've been running from felt like hours straight towards the prison. More and more information was coming towards them as Navi was reciting the code from memory and translating it as they ran. It was amazing how large and powerful a wasp's brain is compared to a humans. Even though she had seen the cryptic message once, her photographic memory was precise enough to memorize the message entirely so that she was abe to recite it word from word. Every now and than as they would run, Navi would tell them a snipet of information that she had found out. The wasp informed the swordsmen that the girls were being held in a prison that was nicknamed the Underworld. As soon as he heard of that, Sanosuke cursed under his breath. They were being held in the Underworld. He had heard of that prison before on his travels. It was a prison that held some of the most dangerous criminals in Mizu no Kuni. To think the girls were in that prison, and they were to be executed as well. They had to hurry and get there before the execution, there's no telling that the girls will even survive to see their very own execution. Sanosuke looked to check up on Gin to see how she was doing, he needed her to keep a straight head even when hearing this information; she can't overreact like last time.

"There's also something about them going through a cave where the top of it looks like two cat ears. But I don't see anything like tha-" Navi began to say but was cut off by Sanosuke whom took a burst of speed to get about a foot ahead of both Gin and Navi. Grabbing the girls with each hand, the sage yanked them into some bushes that were big enough to conceal there presence. Gin would probably look to see what the hell is problem his problem was. Pushing his finger to her mouth to get her to keep it down, Sanosuke used his other hand to point straight a head. He made a soft meow noise from his mouth to get the message across. They're close to the cavern. Sanosuke could see it. It was about 30 meters away from them now, but his sharp eyes could see the tips of the mountain and they did indeed look like cat ears. With that messaged said, Sanosuke took his finger away from Gin's mouth and stuck out 4 fingers. They were close to the cave that the girls were taken through to get to the prison, but now there were 4 people guarding the entrance. He felt their chakra as they flared up for some reason, why Sanosuke wasn't too sure but they had to investigate.

Nodding at Gin, Sanosuke signaled her to stick close as they went to investigate. When they were close to the cavern's entrance, they would need to stick to the shadows of the forest or else they would risk being seen. Access the situation first before going in on them, hopefully Gin would remember that as Sanosuke listened in on the guards guarding the cavern entrance. They were 4 shinobi that had chakra levels that made him guess that they were at the very least jounin in skill. Most of them were louging around playing cards with each other, while the others looked at another man that was tied up. A hostage? The tied up man looked more like a hippy and was singing some sort of tropical song. Wait was that a ukulele he was hearing? This man was playing the ukulele with his hands tied behind his back. Why didn't the man escape?

"Come on guys, singing alone isn't much fun. It's even better when people join! Here I'll start dude....♪Gentle butterfly, flowing through breeze. OF SUMMER OF SUMMER! THE SUMMER BREEZE IS CALLIN MY NAME!!♪" the hippy began singing while jamming around in the forced sitting position he was in because of the ropes that binded him.

"Will this guy shut up!"

"Geez we only needed this guy because he knew the way through the cave!" One of the guards complained.

"He's more annoying than those piss ants girls that we kicked through the cave!" The second he said that, Sanosuke cursed. Damn it those bastards were with the people that had taken Chie and Reiko. Hearing that portion, there was no telling how Gin would react. So much for assess the situation right?

Sanosuke pushed Gin into the bushes unceremoniously. Like a teenage girl, she was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that she was pretty much sprawled on top of him. Unlike a teenage girl, however, she wasn’t thrilled, but rather, annoyed. ”This isn’t the time for you to try to get off on-“ Her words were cut short as Sanosuke pressed a finger to her lips. She adjusted herself so that she could crouch in the bushes and follow his gaze to see what it was, exactly that was going on. She surveyed the area. It was the entrance to a rather underwhelming cave inside a small clearing. The four guards seemed rather bored and looked like they could put up a half way decent fight. Other than that, there was little in the scene that drew her attention, except…

“Hey! Haven’t we seen that guy before?” Gin whispered, referring to the tied up man with the incredibly versatile ukulele that could play everything from rap music to songs from children’s movies. Yeah, the one playing the instrument with his hands tied behind his back. That was the one, there was no mistaking it. It was an odd coincidence. He now had Gin’s full attention, however. She listened carefully, trying to discern the specifics of the situation. From what she gathered from what Navi said before the small creature was interrupted, that was the cave that they had to head through anyways to reach their destination as quickly as they could. They might as well help the poor man get out of the situation, not that he seemed too bothered by it.

In her mind, Gin was devising a plan to take out the men as quickly and efficiently as possible. They were all grouped together, so a smoke pellet to throw them off proceeded by quickly drawing her sword and using her sharingan to see through the fog would make things quick. They would be dead on the ground before they realized what was happening. It would be a quick death, painless, for the most part. But that would be a kindness that these men did not deserve.

Piss ants girls… That we kicked through the cave…

The words echoed in the former Kazekage’s head for what seemed to be an eternity. She rose from where she stood. Her eyes were wide, set on the men in front of her. Nothing else existed now. The only thing she heard was the steady beating of her own heart ringing in her ears. If there were any attempts for Sanosuke to stop her, she didn’t hear them. She seemed surprisingly calm on the surface, but anyone that looked closer could tell that there was an entirely different story to be told behind her slow steps and complete silence.

”Hey! You! Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

A steady hand reached for the sword in her belt – just a normal katana. Using Soul Cutter would have been too merciful, too fast. She slowly pointed her blade at each of the men as if counting them. They braced themselves and charged for an attack. Gin didn’t bother to move from where she was. These men likely surpassed her in terms of raw speed, but that needn’t be a problem. As long as they attacked her, she held the advantage. However, they wouldn’t realize this in time. Gin didn’t even bother to discern the kind of jutsu that they were using against her. They surrounded her, one shinobi standing at each of her sides. She felt the heat of flames and lightning surround her. She moved on her own, purely on instinct, using her flexibility to stretch back as she spun in order to dodge both of the attacks. The trees around them caught fire almost instantly, lighting up in a blaze. A spark of the fire landed on the bandages that covered the young woman’s face.

Like a layer of skin, they seemed to melt away from her face, turning to ash and scattering in the wind. Her white hair now flew freely, dancing around her exposed face. One of the other men charged towards her with a spear in hand almost instantly, without giving her time to breathe. She dodge the thrust of his spear by side stepping out of the way, though barely. She grabbed on to the spear’s shaft and pulled the otherwise unarmed man towards her. She bashed her skull against his, breaking his nose upon contact and sending him staggering back a few steps. She used the weapon to sweep under the feet of the fourth man, knocking him off balance.

She crashed the hilt of her blade against the side of his skull and felt it crack under the pressure. She made sure that he would stay alive. The two initial assailants were preparing for another attack. One of them covered his fists in searing flames. He moved quickly, aiming a successive flurry of punches at her. If any of them made contact with her, Gin didn’t notice. Blade in hand, she cut through his arm, a vertical slice that left the tips of his fingers and his forearm split in two perfect halves. Blood from the man’s open wound splashed onto her face. She landed a kick on the man’s chest, sending him flying against the trunk of a burning tree.

He would bleed out soon.

A flurry of senbon, covered in a stream of lightning, pierced her back. She flinched, but felt nothing more than a mild discomfort. She turned towards the man in question, standing only a few feet away from her. She tossed her sword to the side, lunging at the man, tackling him to the ground. Her thumbs sank into his eyes. The man screamed and begged. She applied more and more pressure. His screams worsened. She felt his skull start to crack. In only a few seconds, his bones caved in. His head exploded outwards. Gin was covered in blood and grey matter.

The man whose face she had broken with a blow from her skull at full strength still stood. He was shaking. His eyes were wide. He collapsed onto the ground, kneeling. Picking up her sword from the ground on the way, Gin sliced his head off cleanly. His body collapsed. She sheathed the blade and walked towards the man with the broken skull. She grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him to the entrance of the cave.
”Who the hell are you?!” The man’s voice cracked. Fear flooded his eyes.
”The mother of those piss ass kids you kicked down the cave,” She finally spoke. Her voice was steady, dry and cold.
”You’re… you’re… Kuroka Gin… But they said you were…”
”Dead?” She finished for him. She looked at the man dead in the eye. ”Tell me everything you know and I’ll let you go. Start with who sent you.” But before he could answer, his mouth began to foam. His body shook violently. He sounded as if he were struggling to breathe. In a few seconds, he went limp. Figures. With this finally over, she would finally revert her attention to Sanosuke. He would most likely approach her.

But as they would speak, time was ticking by in more ways than one. Each and every single one of the bodies had been equipped with an explosive charge set to go off mere minutes after their hearts stopped. This would be what eventually blew them and the poor hippy into the cave, blocking their way back. In the meantime, they had a minute and a half to discuss what had just happened.

That was completely unexpected. When he had pulled Gin towards her towards him in the bushes, Sanosuke didn't think that from pulling her that the silver haired kunoichi would wind up on sprawled on top of him. He was well aware how close she was to him, her face was just a few inches from his. She growled at Sanosuke barking at him to figure out what the hell was the big idea. What the hell was she complaining about, he only meant to bring her closer, Gin was the one that swung her weight that got them in this awkward position they were in. Placing a finger just on the lips of Gin, Sanosuke began to silently explain the reason he had to hide her. When she did such a thing, to save both of them from this embarrassing and unprofessional position they were both in, Sanosuke showed her where she should be looking. "Now that you mention it, he does look kind of familiar." Sanosuke said as they listened into the casual conversation they were having along with the singing of the mysterious hippy that was so familiar that he couldn't place a finger on where he had seen the man. That's when he also heard of the threat one of the guards shot at the hippy. One of the threads mentioned about what they did to two girls that were kicked through the tunnel. It was no surprise that the girls that they were referring to were Gin's kids. Gin's eyes popped open in shock as they heard that. The Kuroka stood up and was beginning to approach the guards in a daze.

"Gin get back here!"

His voice reached deaf ears as she continued to walk towards them. She wasn't listening to a single word that he was trying to tell her. Sanosuke tried and tried to get her attention but it was too late. The guards had spotted her in shortly and demanded her to reveal who she was. No words were returned as she reached for a katana on her belt and unsheathed it. This was bad, she was about to go on a rampage. Knowing her, those guards were dead. Even if Sanosuke tried to restrain her, she might turn the blade on him. A fight between the two of them, while she's in this state, would just cause them to lose precious time and plus the guards would get away before they could even interrogate them. Lightning and flames danced around the woman as it caught the nearby trees and lit them. It caused for Sanosuke and Navi to get out of there hiding place lest they wish to be burned alive. Gin had taken down on of them men with a surprisingly strong headbutt and then sliced right through the arm of one of the guards that was delivering punch after punch at her. None of those punches had an effect as she absorbed each punch taken and let the man bleed out.

Cursing to himself, Sanosuke dashed outwards towards the hippy that was tied up with several ropes. At the moment getting in Gin's way would only lead to his own demise, he'd just have to let Gin have his way and handle the guards alone. If Gin actually killed all the guards them they would be without that much information and a tunnel that could just be crawling with even more guards meant to slow them down. The two of them had just until sundown to rescue Chie and Reiko from their imprisonment, they couldn't afford to waste time on some low leveled guards. Maybe this guy here had heard something that they could use. Sanosuke materialized a kunai from his kunai pouch and began to cut the ropes that were binding the captive man in place. When he was done, the man stretched outwards to let out the stress in his muscles and was on to tuning his ukulele. Kind of an odd thing to do after being rescued, but Sanosuke wasn't paying attention to him at the moment he was looking at Gin whom had just taken out all of the guards in quite the messy way. She tried to let one of them lived, but before she could even interrogate the poor man he died. Her mask was burnt off and revealed her face. Gin's long silver hair blew through the wind as she stood there looking at her work.

"Whoa dude, is that your wife? She's pretty scary bro."

"Not quite." Sanosuke replied to the man as he got up and walked over to Gin. She was covered with blood and had some brain on her. "Idiot, you have some brain in your hair. Now what the hell are we going to do for information, we could very well be walking into a trap meant to slow us down. Ever thought of that you old hag?!" Sanosuke said annoyed at the predicament they were in while briefly using his hand to wipe some of the brain that had gotten on her face. He couldn't talk to her while she looked as though she stepped into a pool of organs and blood. She just had to kill the prime fountains of information they needed; there were times where he wished that she could have restrained herself properly. Then again Sanosuke might've acted the same way if it was Navi they had kidnapped. Of course an argument would have broken out where Sanosuke would tell her that she's being too stupid to realize what she had just done. But then the sound of a ukulele could be heard that got his attention. Looking back, Sanosuke saw it was coming from the ex-captive.

"Guys, guys calm down. There's no one else in the tunnel, I'm the only one whom can walk through it and get out to the other side. My compass of love is what guides my way man." The hippy said calmly as he was playing his instrument.

"Why's that hippy?" Sanosuke asked while tapping his toe annoyed. He was under enough stress of trying to figure out a way to fix the situation that Gin had screwed up. So riddles weren't really appreciated at the moment.

"Come on man, I have a name it's Koto." Koto said as he introduced himself formally.

"Sanosuke Flynt, the old hag over there is..well I think you already know whom she is." Sanosuke introduced himself while pointing right at Gin with his thumb. His hands in his pockets trying to figure out exactly how much this man, Koto knew. "Now explain."

"Those dudes took my son, Puki, and told me if I wish to see him again I'd have to act as a guide through the secret tunnel." Koto said quite easily as though it was something very trivial and not at all important. Gin was going through the same thing and he's brushing it off as though it was as though Puki was taken to daycare.

Sanosuke's eyebrow rose at that. Made sense, having someone whom can navigate through the tunnel as a hostage. "The Secret Tunnel?" Sanosuke asked skeptically?

Koto's ears twitched. What the hell was he about to do now? Getting his trusty ukulele out, Koto began playing it. It left Sanosuke in a daze as he was just dumbfounded at the man's singing:

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another
A war divides their people
And a mountain divides them apart
Built a path to be together

...Yeah, and I forget the next couple of lines, but then it goes...

Secret tunnel!
Secret tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!"

Grabbing the man's collar, Sanosuke held the man straight up from the ground. A vein was pulsing through his skull in annoyance. Koto didn't looked scared and was just laughing nervously as he was hoisted up. "What the hell does that have anything to do with this god forsake tunnel?!" Sanosuke roared as he began shaking the man. "You have to use true love as your map to get yourself through the other side or else....wait I think I just remembered the rest of the song!" Koto pushed Sanosuke off him and skidded towards the entrance of the cave while making sure he didn't trip on any of the corpses while he was walking.

"And die!!"

Before Sanosuke could even pummel the hippy into a messy pulp of blood and muscle, Sanosuke heard something go off. He sensed something in the area they were in. It was as though he got a really strong, deadly vision of something that was coming their way but what was it. It caused for Sanosuke to look at the corpses that Gin had butchered mercilessly. It was coming from them, but what was so intimidating about corpses. In a split second Sanosuke saw something happen to the corpses, they were illuminating as though they were glowing and about to ignite like a ticking time bomb. Damn it, that was what Sanosuke was sensing this entire time. Those punks had bombs on them that would go off the minute they died. Sanosuke was the only one that could react fast enough do something. Navi was strong enough to erect a barrier to protect Koto alone, but not Gin. His body moved on his own as Sanosuke swiftly moved to wrap his arms around the Kuroka to use his own body as shield from the explosion. A blast from the bodies of the guards exploded and created a shockwave that launched them into the tunnel. Biting his lip so he would yelp in pain as his body took a majority of the blast, Sanosuke felt him and Gin launched farther from Navi and Koto whom was also launched in the cave. The sounds of rocks could be heard tumbling on the entrance of the cave sealing the 4 in the tunnel. There was no way out.

Gin stared at the dead body in front of her - what was left of it at least. She spat to the side, barely noticing that Sanosuke was approaching her. Her stare was cold, bordering on emotionless. Albeit, she wasn't planning on letting the man live, no matter what she promised him beforehand. He deserved little else than a slow death. "His teeth were laced with cyanide, set to poison him if he ever came into a situation like this one. I couldn't have stopped him from dying in time, not even if I blew all of his teeth from his mouth." She explained. Her voice sounded detached. She wasn't herself - not completely. Had she been acting like she usually would, the former Kazekage would have laced her voice with condescending annoyance and would have thrown in a couple of insults. She was absorbed into her own train of thought, teetering between what existed around her and the surreal world that was her mind.

Gin's breathing had become calm once again. She stared at the man that had now introduced himself as Koto. The young woman didn't really pay much attention to what he was saying. She only heard bits and pieces of his conversation with Sanosuke.

"...I'm the only one whom can walk through it and get out to the other side..."

"...Those dudes took my son, Puki..."

Chie and Reiko... She hadn't seen the two girls in little over a year. She wondered how much they had grown since then. Their eyes had grown to match over the years - crimson, a shade that reminded Gin of the color of blood. They were incredibly similar to each other, save for very small differences - the way they smiled, the way they held themselves, the way they spoke, the shades of silver in their hair. Despite the fact that Gin hadn't seen them in son long and that she was unable to take so much as a picture with her when she left, the young woman could still close her eyes and see her two little girls exactly as they were when she last saw them.

Some sort of song broke her out of her brief reverie. She turned to look at the two men. She had almost forgotten that she still had about 15 senbon or so stuck to her back. She didn't even want to look at the mess of charred sin that was underneath her tattered clothing - not that she really could right about now. In the end, it made little difference. Gin could hardly feel the pain. It was nothing  more than an uncomfortable tingle in the back of her mind.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sanosuke wrapping his arms around her torso. Gin was startled, but before she could even think of telling him that this was hardly the time for that, she felt a blast of heat emanating from the dead bodies. The explosion took her completely by surprise. Her eyes widened as she skidded backwards and flew into the air. The dirt and rubble from the explosion blocked her vision. But all that she could think of was that it should have been the other way around. She should have been the one to shield him from the blast. Her mind couldn't come up with a good enough explanation as to why she felt that way. Maybe it was because her body was far more resistant than his? No, that wasn't quite it.

Soon enough, the dust subsided. Gin crashed against the wall of the cave, the impact digging the senbon in further into her skin. She groaned, but barely paid attention at her own injuries. She looked at Sanosuke, covered in burn wounds scattered along his skin. He had landed on top of her. "You fool... You fool!" She yelled at him. Worry and concern were laced into her voice. She moved so that Sanosuke could lie on his stomach. She wanted to look at the extent of the damage. "You... You know I can take more damage than you ever could... You idiot!" She was fumbling to find the scroll where she kept her bandages. She knew very little - if anything at all - about medicine.

She looked around, desperate to find Navi. She was nowhere near them. In fact, she wasn't anywhere in the cave at all... Had they been separated by the blast? The rubble covered the entrance. Not only that, but the section they were in seemed somehow smaller than it had been before. The tunnel had split into two. Shit. "Hey! Sanosuke! Say something for God's sake!" She said, finally finding the scroll the needed.

[Reaction Time D to C2: 2875/2875]
[RPerception B2 to B3: 434/900]

It all happened in an instant. He had no idea when the explosion was going to come and engulf them into flames, but it would happen soon. From his point of view, Sanosuke felt as though he was viewing something from an action movie. Everything went in slow motion, and he saw that the sage leapt in desperation to save the bane of his existence and his one true annoyance, Gin Kuroka out of all people. His own body moved and let himself take the brute of the blast even though Gin's body was far stronger than his own. She had fought several shinobi and still had several senbon in her back from the fight, but that didn't faze her in the slightest. She was a walking tank, whom was more than strong enough to take an explosion of that calibur close range. But his body moved before his brain could process. What made him move so quickly the black haired shinobi didn't know. But the next moment fire blasted the group back into the cave shutting them out from the entrance. Canons went off in his ears as Sanosuke could hear his eardrums slowly popping at the velocity that the two swordsman were being launched at deeper and deeper in the cave. The last thing Sanosuke saw was a ball of blue light that looked like Navi creating a barrier wrapped around Koto in the opposite direction of where Sanosuke and Gin were being launched to. That's when the skidding on the cavern floor occurred. His conscious left him the second his head met the floor for the first time, but even so Sanosuke's protective guard around Gin didn't cease until they had made a full stop.

For a while all Sanosuke saw was darkness from inside his closed eyelids. Not a single noise he could hear as he was unconscious still from the blast he took. Eventually his senses were beginning to stir themselves conscious. First it was smell. A very strong pungent smell entered Sanosuke's nose that he knew very well; blood. Along with the smell of burning, it meant that someone was burnt. It was most likely him, since he shielded Gin from the blast with his body. Next taste came back. Metal filled his mouth as his tongue slowly swished around what tasted like blood that was in his mouth. The blast must have caused him some internal bleeding, probably a broken rib. He would have to be careful when he gets up, a punctured lung would mean the death of him. Sound came back shortly after, all he heard were the sounds of someone very familiar to him. "Hey! Sanosuke! Say something for God's Sake!" Whatever it was, it sure was annoying. Finally sight came back as his eyelids cracked open to reveal a very worried Gin looking at Sanosuke desperately trying to save him. Was that bandages? If this wasn't a life or death situation, Sanosuke would've probably laughed his ass off.

"If I knew you would have been this dramatic, I would've saved Koto's life instead of yours." Sanosuke grumbled in pain from his laid down position. With all of his senses in tact, Sanosuke tried to move and sit himself upright from the laid position he was in. The burns hurt a lot worse than the broken rib he was dealing with. Of all the fights  and scrapes he's been in, he had his ribs broken a lot. So just one broken rib wasn't enough to slow him down. But it did hurt like a bitch. As he finally fixed himself to be sitting properly, he let out a slow hiss from his breath as he exercised the pain that he was experiencing. He looked at Gin and gave her a weak smirk to say that he was all right. "You've never called me by my full first name before....are you all right?" Sanosuke mentioned as he waited for his strength could return before he could proceed into trying to find out where they were and what to do. The question he asked was an obvious one, but still something inside of him commanded to ask her this. These feelings inside of him were something that he had so sort out if they ever escaped this god forsaken tunnel. But first, even before doing that Sanosuke had to find out where Navi was. The two were connected spiritually, so Sanosuke knew that she was alive but not where though.

With enough strength in him, Sanosuke was able to get himself up and began walking over to the nearest wall. Pain clutched at his bruise side, gripping it tightly while swallowing the pain, he trudged on until he finally reached it. Placing one hand on the wall, Sanosuke closed his eyes as he tried to use the senjutsu charka in nature to sense his partner and the hippy. But he got nothing. When he retracted his hand from the wall, Sanosuke suddenly felt weaker as he slumped down on the wall and slid to the ground. What the hell was that? He wondered from his sitting position as he tried to figure out why he suddenly felt weaker after just touching the wall. Even now, Sanosuke felt his strength slowly giving away. That's when he thought of something that was too chilling for words. "Gin...I think this cave is stealing our charka." Sanosuke panted as his face was now caked in sweat. Chakra was also linked to one's life energy, if you run out of chakra you also run out of your life energy they go hand in hand. If they stayed in this tunnel for too long, they might die.

Gin's heart was frantically pounding in her chest. In her subconscious mind, she probably knew it was some form of her fight or flight instinct. She hadn't reacted this way to anything in quite a long time. relief instantly washed over her when Sanosuke woke up. Of course the first thing he would do would be to let out some snide remark. "You would have saved us both a good amount of trouble, you know I can shrug off that kind of damage, you dumbass," she protested. She had trouble understanding what drove him to want to protect her. She was taken aback. After all, why would he want to protect her in the first place? He didn't owe her anything - not that she knew of, anyways.

He pointed out that she had called him by his first name. Now that she thought about it, he was right. She had never really called him that before, not even when they had just met. Without her noticing, her cheeks had gone and turned a slight shade of pink. Considering how dark the cave was, she didn't think Sanosuke would notice. "Yeah, well, don't make too much of it," she mumbled.

"Speaking of damage and injuries, if you could pull these senbon out of my skin, that would be lovely," she said, with a hint of sarcasm and frustration that was rather evident. The small - or at least she considered them small - wounds were beginning to itch.

Gin would wait for him to agree before turning around to let him get to it. Of course, before that, he would already be trying to contact Navi. It made Gin wonder if he had heard her request at all in the first place. She got up in order to follow him and to try to help him stand. He was struggling through the pain. It was obvious. Was she starting to worry about him? Maybe she'd hit her head harder than she thought. Or maybe... no, no, no, no, no. She pushed the shortly lived thought aside and to the darker corners of her mind.

She was snapped out of her reverie by Sanosuke himself. Listening to what he said, she pressed the palm of her hand against the wall of the cave. She felt energy drain out of her skin as if she had just cast some sort of technique. It was slight in the beginning - barely noticeable - but prolonged exposure made the effects worse. With some effort, she separated her hand from the rock. She was panting slightly. "Well shit," was all that she could really say at this point.

Talk about having a bad day.

If anything, this only meant that they had to hurry and catch up to that goddamn hippie. If Sanosuke could still trace Navi down, it wouldn't be terribly difficult. She could use Jishin to manipulate the layout of the earth around them, but then again... Any use of chakra would put them both at risk. If mere contact produced this effect, then using a jutsu could very well siphon out over half of their chakra and what then?

Gin's pace increased. She wasn't all out running, but she was walking as quickly as she could. She needed to think. "Until we find out anything more about this god forsaken place, using chakra is out of the question. As for who's behind this... whoever it is know me and knows me well. Otherwise they wouldn't have known how to corner me so quickly. They probably weren't expecting me to trust anyone else enough to bring them along, so at least we have that little surprise going for us. It won't do us much good if we can't get out of here alive," she was thinking out loud at this point, expecting Sanosuke to follow her and give her his input.

[Perception B2 to B3 900/900]
[Speed E to E1 - 75/75]
[Speed E1 to E2 - 116/150]

A few chuckles escaped his lips as Gin got flustered from what Sanosuke had said. When they first met, Sanosuke remembered the former Kazekage calling him Sano-teme the very second that Sanosuke had introduced himself to her. Ever since then that was always what she called him, but now was the first time that she had ever used his actual name. What made her do such a thing? Was she really that worried for Sanosuke's safety? There was no way, Gin probably wouldn't have risked her life to save his unless she was getting paid to do so. Sanosuke would have said the same thing about himself about Gin. That would be a lie  considering what he did to save Gin from the explosion at the mouth of the cave. "Be right there." He groaned a bit as he walked over to Gin first and stooped low enough to begin yanking out the senbon needles from her body. Needles were literally covering her entire backside of her body. Taking care while yanking to not break any vessels, he began yanking them slowly. He started from her back and worked his way up.

When he finally got to her neck and shoulder, the needles were dug into her skin rather deeply. It required more precision and accuracy to pull them out. If he was a medical ninja, then those needles wouldn't be a problem to get out. Pulling them out slowly, the sannin knew that despite Gin's tolerance to pain that this was going to hurt a lot from how he was pulling them. After he finished, he looked to see all the needles were out of Gin's body and on the ground. All 23 of them. "Geez Gin, what the hell is it going to take to keep you down?" Sanosuke whistled as he began massaging her neck on the points that caused her the most pain. If she resisted, he would push her back down to the ground until her shoulders were loose enough to be used. His thumb pressed against her shoulders and the bones firmly yet gently enough to not cause her pain. Soon his fingers slowly and smoothly flowed down from her shoulders to her sides like a river flowing downwards on her body. Each point of her body was being exercised well and gently with the sole purpose of relieving her of pain.

The entire process took about 7 minutes. When he was done, he got himself up and walked over to the wall to try and contact Navi. But that was null and led to him being slumped on the wall trying to catch his breath. This cave meant death of they stayed in it any longer. In terms of chakra reserves, Sanosuke could last longer than Gin but then again Gin's body was more toned and can do without chakra longer due to the amounts of physical training she did. So if anything Gin would be able to walk around longer than Sanosuke before she collases. Either way they had to find a way out of here soon. After waiting a bit, Sanosuke hoisted himself up and began to follow Gin as she began walking deeper and deeper into the cavern. It didn't take him long to catch up with her considering how much faster he is than her. She may be a tank but god damn, an academy student could keep up with her. Snapping his fingers, Sanosuke focused the smallest amount of chakra in his palm. It was the size of a marble that was showing them the way about 1 meter ahead of them.

"Hey don't look at me like that, we need to see right?" Sanosuke would retort to Gin should she mention why he was using chakra when she suggested that they don't. He was already beginning to feel the effects of the cave beginning to suck away the chakra from the technique. He kept on fueling it more chakra so that it wouldn't go out. "I don't think that caving us in the cave was their intention. That explosion was meant to kill a last ditch effort to kill you in case you killed the men at the cave. I doubt they expected you to survive the explosion, but now we're dealing with this cave that can kill us for being in it for too long. Without the hippy to guide us out of the cave, we can easily be walking around in circles and not know it.." Sanosuke threw in his one cents into Gin's thoughts. As they walked, Sanosuke felt his foot trip over something. A rather drastic incline that the light Sanosuke was using as a flashlight couldn't catch. Sanosuke reacted quick enough to the incline so he wouldn't stumble and potential break his ankle. Making sure that Gin wouldn't do the same thing, he made sure to catch her in both arms to stop her from falling.

"Didn't think you would be trying to get yourself injured on purpose so I can give you another massage." Sanosuke joked dryly as he would catch her in his arms. The light still illuminated as he was holding the tiny orb in his right hand so they would still be with a little light.

Sanosuke knew little of medical techniques, that was clear. Nevertheless, he still knew more than Gin ever had. Her distaste of the practice had always kept her away from learning how to fix even the most basic of injuries. The proof of that lay in the bandages, badly wrapped around Sanosuke's body at the moment. Seeing as they were cut off from anyone else's company, their less than basic first aid would have to do for now. She was grateful for it, though she would never say so out loud. The burns in her back had basically cauterized the wounds caused by the senbon, which minimized the bleeding. She had done her best to keep herself from flinching as Sanosuke dug them out with less precision than he thought he had.

As she walked, she still felt the warmth of his hands on her back. The feeling was... odd. She didn't know how to explain it. She had struggled against his touch before calling it quits and just letting him get to whatever the hell it was that he wanted to accomplish. It had felt nice and relaxing, but she hadn't quite eased into his touch. It made her feel strange. It was both pleasant and unnerving at the same time. She didn't really know why, exactly that was. Therefore, she simply chose to do what she did best when there was something in her that she didn't like: ignore it and pretend that it didn't exist. At this point, he had caught up to her and was walking by her side. After glaring at him for his use of chakra, she sighed and decided to simply leave him to it. He had a point, though she knew that it would likely end with her having to carry him out of there - assuming that they even found a way to exit the damned place.

The former Kazekage listened to the man speak. In her head, she tried to piece everything together to try and figure out what, exactly, was going on. This whole ordeal was a mess. It was perfectly planned and well executed, she had to give whoever it was that much. It made her feel like a wooden puppet attached to a set of strings. Gin shook her head slowly. "No, this is too much of a coincidence. If these people know enough to use Chie and Reiko as bait, they know that a bunch of weak-ass jounin won't kill me, much less and explosion of that caliber. I only know a handful of people with the connections and resources to pull this off. Fortunately, I've only pissed off half of them... that I know of, anyways," she said, mostly thinking out loud.

Lost in her own thoughts, she was about to trip over the small change in level on the ground. Luckily, Sanosuke caught her. "Don't flatter yourself, that massage was half-assed at best," she said, still awkwardly caught between his arms. They spent a few seconds like that without moving and in silence. "You can let go now, Teme," she said finally, separating herself from him and shaking her head. They didn't have time to waste. She kept walking, albeit, slower than before. The cave was taking its toll, that was sure. Steadily, she could feel her chakra draining away, leaving her body through every pore in her skin. She could feel herself growing cold, though her body pressed on. There was no indication in her expression or body language to indicate that anything was wrong.

"Hey, this might be a long shot, but didn't that hippy guy say something about how to leave this place? It's the best lead we've got right now," she said in slight distaste. She was skeptical, but at least recalling what the man had said before had some entertainment value. Might as well go for that.

[Training Reaction Time: B-3 to A - 778/1000]

He wished he could've have dropped Gin as soon as she said that he could let her go, but the woman was already off him and truding on in the cave. Following her lead, Sanosuke dragged his feet along her side. Cold seemed to seep into his pores as Sanosuke tried to fend off any sign of fatigue that he was feeling. With every second that passed chakra was leaving his body, thus leaving him with less energy to spare. His breathing was ragged as he tried his best not to pass out. A thought came to him that Gin was feeling the effects like him. He knew how to sparringly use chakra without it having to effect his body too much; that didn't mean that Gin could. She may be a tank, but she was no chakra master. Drapping her arm around his shoulders to support her, Sanosuke looked ahead. His knees were weak and his palms were sweaty, that still didn't stop him from moving forward without hesitating. "Come on damn it, you're not dying in this cave. Not if I have anything to say about it." Sanosuke gasped. Before Gin could make any protest for him to get off, the man guided her harder forward. Surely that would get her to take him seriously about the issue.

Why was he so dedicated in keeping her alive? As he could understand the situation Gin and Sano's condition were very similar. The only thing that they had going without them walking in the dark was the tiny orb that was in his right hand while the other hand was used to help support him and Gin together. Precious energy was being wasted while supporting Gin and him, but even so he had to. Something inside of him gnawed at his stomach should he have left Gin to die in this cave. Even if it meant his own demise, Gin would see the light of day. That's when the words from Gin's mouth formed, she reference the Koto's words. True love huh? Sanosuke weakly smiled at that. So this was what he was feeling, had he actually fallen for the former Kazekage these years they've known each other?

The silver orbs in his head cast his vision downwards and were remained shut as he prepared himself what he was about to do. This would be the end for him. His feet stopped in his tracks to cause both of them to stop moving. "Only true love will guide you out..." Sanosuke smiled meakly. With a strong toss that even surprised Sanosuke despite how weak he was, he tossed Gin away from him a good 15 meters away from his position. He knew that he did it quick enough for her not to prepare herself for the sudden movement. There was no way that Gin would be okay with this. By the time he threw her, Gin would have definitely retaliated to being tossed like a ragdoll. He didn't have much time it was now or never. Clapping his hands loudly so that his hands were brought together to gather chakra. He sent Gin a smirk as she would now have an idea what he was going to do. Looks like this is goodbye Navi. I'm sorry I couldn't stick around for you.

Releasing the seal from his clapped hands, Sanosuke bashed his left hand against the tunnel wall that was closest to him with all his might. He had enough strength for his arm to burst through and keep his arm in place. That's exactly what he wanted. In that instance every ounce of chakra that was in his body went into the wall so that his chakra resonated with the tunnels. He let out a roar as he focused more and more chakra into the cave, despite the fact that it was killing him. The chakra absorption process was accelerating so fast that it felt that time was slowing down. Any second he could pass out and die. Not yet, he had to find a way out for Gin. He had to. The thought of her dying sent chills down his spine. She had to live. A chunk of his chakra went missing that sent the man to his knees. His left eye was closed as he was struggling to keep his right eye open. Sanosuke's entire body felt weak, it felt that any second it would give in to his life energy being sucked away. Memories he shared with Gin flooded his mind. Each one of them close to his heart; the first time they met, the times they fought along side each other, the numerous times they went drinking together and laughed together. He was doing this for Gin.

Thats when the path he saw before him came into his mind. It was the way out, Sanosuke was sure of it. It had suddenly came up. Looks like his sacrifice wouldn't have been in vain. "Gin....keep going that way we were going....go make a right and go in that direction for a minutes....that's you're way out...." The Kumogkure jounin said weakly as he did everything in his power to stay awake while he passed on the message to the woman he would admit to himself that he loved. Darkness was quickly creeping into his vision, she had to escape. Or else this would have been for nothing. Using his one conscious eye, Sanosuke glared at Gin. "Get moving teme!" That's when he realized that he used Gin's favorite insult that she would use to call to Sanosuke. It caused him to use the small amounts of energy he still had to smile. Even with Death looking straight at him, he would still quote her...oh the irony.

True love, huh? Gin currently had trouble believing in such things. When she was younger and more naive - about ten years ago, more or less - she would have thought differently. However, several betrayals and the loss of so many loved ones had damaged her perceptions on such pure notions. There was nothing pure left in Gin, the way she saw it. Maybe her love for her children, but even that had been tainted by the blood that stained her hands in order to protect them. She had always wondered why life often decided to spare the cruel and wicked, those tainted with the blood of others, while throwing away the lives of the innocent and kind so casually. And yet here she was, feeling as the very energy that kept her alive was being forced out of her body, pulled out by force no matter how much she tried to resist. If there was some sort of higher being, he definitely had a sense of humor - letting Gin die while she was trying to save the life of another, as if telling her that that was not her purpose. She could only kill and destroy.

It had never been in Gin to give up so easily. She was stubborn 'til the end and that wasn't likely to ever change. She had thought to force Sanosuke off of her, but decided that her energy was best used to keep walking forward. She would deal with him later. There was one thing that she didn't understand, however. They were friends, yes, but was that anywhere near enough to warrant this? They could barely be together for more than a few minutes without wanting to tear each other's throats out. They were rivals, constantly trying to best each other at every turn. But why was he doing this? Why was he going so far for her?

Absorbed in her own thoughts, she barely felt Sanosuke move in order to toss her to the other side of the cave. "What the hell was that - ?" she began to yell, but cut herself off mid sentence once the realization hit as to what he was doing, once she saw himself pressing the palm of his hand on the wall of the cave and pouring all of his energy into it. Her eyes widened. "Stop that! You idiot, stop that right now!" she screamed desperately, but in vain. Her heart was beating hard and fast against her chest. She cursed her legs for giving up under her weight. She cursed her arms for not being able to drag her quickly enough towards him. Tears welled in her eyes. This... this wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this, never like this. Her cried fell on deaf ears. She tried once more to stand up, panting, heaving, her body barely able to support itself with what little energy she had left.

The desperation was clear in her eyes. Slow steps guided her towards him, but he had already collapsed. She knelt down in front of him, listening to him telling her how to leave this place. He couldn't die. No. He had to live. "You're not getting rid of me that easily!" she said, swinging his body onto his back. Chakra or no chakra, her body was strong. It was built to fight through this sort of thing, past pain and past any lack of energy. She could push herself, for both their sake. For a second, his weight didn't matter. Her lack of energy didn't matter. Her willpower alone let her move her body.


Images of the past. Why were they coming to her now, of all times? Her vision was growing cloudy, to the point where her body moved by itself. In front of her, she saw these things - memories - passing by as if they were happening now.


It had been at least seventeen years since that had happened. Her first love, slipping through her fingers like rain from the sky. They had grown to hate each other after that, getting into nothing but fights and arguments whenever they were forced to spend time with each other. Gin kept moving, following the trail Sanosuke had instructed. She still carried him on her back. She coughed violently. What was that...? Its taste was familiar. of course, blood. The crimson liquid slipped from the corner of her mouth and ran down her neck.


One foot followed the other, slowly imitating something akin to walking. Gin could feel her muscles straining, her bones trying to collapse under her weight. As if she would let them. As if she would die in a place like this. As if she would leave Sanosuke here, after all that he had done for her. Never. But one fleeting thought came into her mind and left just as quickly: if she died, at least she wouldn't be alone. And for a moment, Gin smiled.


Heavy breathing was the only sound that resonated within the cavern. Gin didn't dare to check whether or not Sanosuke had a pulse. No, of course he had one. He was alive, she just knew it. He was almost as stubborn as she was. And if that meant anything, it was that he was still breathing and that his heart was still beating, however faintly. They would get through this, they would live. That was the only outcome that Gin Kuroka was willing to accept.


It was odd to see herself in all of her past forms. It was like she was looking at someone else. She had changed so much over the years. Her life - once happy and carefree - had also transformed into something unrecognizable. The experience was ethereal. For some reason, it reminded her of smoke - seemingly there, yet impossible to recapture, to manipulate, to change. There was no going back to the past, no matter how much it hurt. All that was left was the future and whatever it may bring.


Gin could see the exit now. Or rather, she could feel that it was nearby. The scent of fresh air filled her nose. They would be out of here. Navi would heal Sanosuke and everything would be alright. He would live. Gin's feet dragged on the dirt. Blood trickled from her eyes. She could feel it tracing lines of crimson red across her face and joining the rest. She coughed and a small puddle of it was left on the ground. She was pushing herself past her body's limits, she could feel it.


She finally reached the outside of the cave. She collapsed onto her knees and set Sanosuke on the ground as gently as she could. It was funny that she would be worried about such things considering her current state. Now images of how they had met and the time that they had spent together filled her mind - the times they got drunk at the bar or trained together, the times when they had just spent a whole day together doing nothing but pester each other. Before she knew it, she was pressing his lips to hers, staining his face with blood. Why she had done this, she didn't yet know. All she knew was that everything would be fine now. For the first time in a long time, she actually believed it.

[Training Reaction Time: A to A-3 - 3475/3450]

The sounds of chirping could be heard as the kumogakure jounins eyes creaked open, completely reluctant of being opened in the first place. There was something blocking his vision as he slowly got used to the rays of light bouncing off his irisis that were still dilated. Thoughts swam around his head as he tried to recount what had happened. Then he remembered it all in an instant. He was about to throw his life away. His future. His body. His soul. All just to keep Gin alive. The thought of Gin caused the man to get up from whatever he was laying on in a quick instance. His body pulsed in pain. It was most likely due to the strain of having no charka and also the wounds he got from the explosion. The pain was nothing as he blocked it out to the best of his ability. The boiling hot ball of pain that he was experiencing near his abdomen and chest was reduced to the sensation of hot coals as he looked to see this silver hair woman laid on his chest.

Blood streaked her face and her body was paler than it usually was. Her clothes were also caked in sweat as well. There was definitely blood in the material of the shirt as well. That he had no doubt about it. Either way, she was in critical condition. Sanosuke had gladly thrown down his life for Gin so that she would live. She was supposed to take his advice. Use the directions he had given her, and escape the cave. Murder the bastards that tried to kill them, rescue her children and they would be happy. He alone would die in the cave. Her kids were waiting for her. Surely she didn't wish to spend the rest of her life dying in a cave with the likes of him. But why? Why did she not just listen to him? "Damn you! Gin why couldn't you just listen to me?" Sanosuke wanted to yell but his voice was so dead and he himself was so drained that it came out in the form of a harsh whistle that left him wheezing. Using what little he had in his body, Sanosuke pulled Gin and himself onto the trunk of a tree instead of the forest floor.

The man propped the ex kazekage on his shoulder so that she could rest. Her breathing was more shallow and slower than it usually was. If she didn't get medical attention soon, she wouldn't make it. The blood on her clothing was sticking to her. He had to do something. Sanosuke pulled off her top and threw it on the ground with a wet sounding splat that it almost made him vomit. Her body was covered in cuts all over. The strain form her carrying him must have opened them and made them enlarged. Sanosuke pulled off his longsleeved shirt and pulled it over the kunoichi; not before wrapping the worst of her wounds with his short length cloak of his attire. It looked kind of silly on her considering how big the outfit looked on her due to the size difference between the two that he forced a chuckle. "Now that won't due at all..." Sanosuke pursed his lips and used a tiny scrap of his chakra to cut the sleeves off so it was more like a sleevless top on Gin.

That left the man wearing his skin tight black undershirt and his pants. This should be enough to stop the bleeding for now. Sanosuke wrapped his arms around Gin and held her close to him. There was still blood on her face. It was bothering him so he decided to lick his palm and wipe the blood with his wet palm to get rid of the dry blood on her face. From how close she was, Sanosuke could feel her pulse. It was there, but weak as well. She's definitely stubborn all right to not be dead after carrying him and the injuries before hand. Stupid girl he thought as he kissed her forehead and waited for Navi to arrive. It was only a matter of time considering they were finally out of the cave and he could now sense where the wasp was now. She wasn't that far, and judging how fast she was heading towards their direction Navi must have felt how weak his chakra is and was stopping at nothing to return to his side.

The thought of Navi raging and nagging him about how careless he was made him cringe and suddenly tired. Maybe he might rest until they got there. His eyelids were feeling heavy. The effort to transfer them to the tree must have took more energy from him than he thought. He would need to rest while absorbing chakra in the environment. There should be enough to replenish some of his strength and Gin's considering how close the two were Sanosuke could transfer some to her as well. Maybe Koto had a medical kit that could bandage up him and Gin. That would be like a dream come true. Sanosuke smiled as he leaned his head on Gin's who was on his shoulder. They would just have to wait...

Gin's breathing was heavy. She was drained and tired. Her wounds were a minor nuisance compared to how tired she was. For a moment, she closed her eyes, trying to focus on regaining some stability in her heart rate. This was a rare sight to say the least. Not even her fight with the Hokage had gotten her anywhere near this state. After all, Gin Kuroka was renowned for her stamina and durability in combat. Who would have thought that a simple cave would have this effect? Stupid fucking nature. She heard Sanosuke faintly, but his words registered clearly. Why had she saved him? That was a stupid thing to ask. "I've never listened to you, Sano-teme, why would I start now?" she asked jokingly. Her voice was little more than a tired mumble, but she let out a soft chuckle followed by a deep sigh. She needed sleep and rest. But there wasn't any time for that, was there?

This whole situation was a damned mess. At the moment, she hadn't considered the fact that saving Sanosuke might cost her the lives of her children. She was too stubborn to think of the consequences. She had always been that way. In her mind, both things were perfectly achievable. She could save everyone and anyone that thought that she couldn't could burn in hell for all she cared. But now... her body wouldn't move. She didn't have the strength that she needed and she could only blame herself. Did she regret saving Sanosuke? Not in the least. Had she been given the chance to repeat the events that had just happened, to do a repeat, she wouldn't have changed a single thing. The only thing she did regret was her own weakness, her lack of power.

Frustration filled Gin. She was only calmed by Sanosuke's arms wrapped around her body. She hadn't even noticed that he had covered her with his jacket. She was so tired, so very tired. A small smile graced her lips - barely noticeable - when he pressed his lips against her forehead. Some part of her must have notices the small show of affection as she dwindled between being conscious and unconscious. She couldn't quite feel the pain anymore. It was in that delirious state that she felt someone's chakra linking to hers. She could feel that it was only a thin string connecting her to the source. It was distant, possibly days away from their location in terms of travel time. Whoever it was must have been going through great lengths to establish the connection. Gin only knew of one person who was capable of such a thing.

Gin opened her eyes only to see herself surrounded by the color white, a man in impeccable robes standing regally a short distance away. "You yet live," his words echoed in the limitless space. The voice of the old man sounded impressed and bothered at the same time. "I do," came Gin's simple reply. The man nodded, his eyes closed as if thinking and considering the situation carefully. "I will keep this simple," he began after a few seconds of silence. "You have made it painfully obvious that you refuse to die. And so I give you three days to reach the prison and exchange yourself for your children. They will not be harmed and nor will your ally until the moment you get there. That promise is guaranteed to stay in place if you turn yourself in peacefully. For old time's sake, this is all I can offer you." Just like that, and before Gin could respond, the connection was broken and the image before her dissolved. When she reopened her eyes, she was surrounded by the image of a forest and of Sanosuke holding her.

"They know where we are and they know we're coming. They know we took the bait and they know that if they kill Chie and Reiko, they lose any sort of leverage they have on me. After all, it's me that they want, not them. So three days to recover and get there. Think we can manage? They'll let the kids go if I turn myself in," She explained. Her voice was little above a whisper. For the time being, she had no intention of moving. Her energy was drained and her body was wounded. She remained perfectly still. "But they know I won't give them that so there'll be a considerable force waiting for us there. It'll be fun," she added.

It bothered Sanosuke how useless he was to Gin's cause of saving the children. So they would be given an extension? It sounded more like pity. Although Sanosuke didn't know where Gin got this sort of information, the jounin knew better than to question her. His body was wounded and his conscious was fading in and out at a moment's notice. He may not like it, but they both needed time to recover. Sanosuke didn't want to admit it, but there was absolutely no energy in him to continue. Clamping his hands with hers, Sanosuke clenched it to give her a squeeze with the small amounts of energy he had. Resting his forehead against hers, Sanosuke smiled. "Don't take me lightly. I'm heading out in 2 days. Want to come with?" Sanosuke said. Their faces were so close that him and her were exhanging breaths. Even while she was caked with dry blood and wounded from head to toe, there was still the faint scent of chestnuts coming from her. Sanosuke smiled. That was one of the things that Sanosuke loved about Gin, her scent always seemed to calm him down whenever they were close enough for him to pick it up."We're gonna get them out, I promise." As he spoke, he noticed how dark it was outside.

It seemed as though the two of them were sleeping for quite a while. They were fortunate to have their deadline pushed forward. The night sky had crept in and covered the forest in darkness. It seemed as the chakra that Sanosuke had linked with Gin was covering them like a blanket and illuminating the area around them. Wisps of reminant chakra floated into the sky as Sanosuke passively restored both his energy and Gin's. The rate of how much chakra he was getting back was definitely slower than he was familiar with. If he was just absorbing chakra for himself, he would have all of his chakra. But at the rate they were going, it would be a while. His hand was still holding onto Gin's. Her palms were so much softer than his own. Sanosuke let his eyes close once more, just for a brief second.

When his eyes were opened once more, Sanosuke felt the pull of chakra he was getting from the environment increase dramatically. Sanosuke wondered where this increase in pressure came from. A small scratching sensation came from the back of his mind. It didn't take him long to realize that Navi had synced her chakra with his own in order to replenish their strength. Sanosuke realized that Gin was no longer in his arms. It caused the man to panic involuntarily and move violently to sit up properly from the tree to look for the woman. "Don't move so quickly. You'll reopen your wounds." Navi communicated through his mind. Sanosuke felt like his brain was sluggish and not at all responsive to Navi's words. It took the man several minutes to compose his thoughts before he could get out a nod. Navi didn't say a word as she let Sanosuke gather himself mentally. "She's to your right by the way" This caused Sanosuke to whip his head to the right to see Gin laying under a tree that was about 5 feet away from his position. She had bandages around her body and from what she could see her breathing was stabilized. He didn't know that he was holding his breath the entire time until he saw Gin resting, Sanosuke let out a sigh of relief. Sitting in front of her, with a stringed instrument was Koto. The hippy looked at Sanosuke and waved at him. His words reached deaf ears. His body was so tired. He had no idea how tiring it was to maintain a connection for two people for so long.

"Navi I..." Sanosuke said speaking to Navi before she cut him off by shaking her head.

"I know. I looked into your conscious before you passed out. We'll worry about that when you're better just rest" Sanosuke didn't need to be told that before he finally let the darkness around his eyes take him to sleep. He would need to be ready in 2 days to rescue the children....for Gin's sake.

Gin felt herself drifting closer to unconsciousness. Her body demanded rest while her mind demanded that it stay awake and alive. The only movement she could muster was a slight twitch in her hands when she tried to move it towards Sanosuke's, to hold it, to give him reassurance, to silently tell him that she was here and that she wouldn't leave. It was almost as if he was able to read what she needed and what she wanted to convey. His hand rested on hers, squeezing it gently. Gin wanted to smile, despite everything. His words seemed distant to her now. He could have been screaming and all she would hear was a broken whisper. His forehead rested on hers. With a sudden burst of energy and movement, she closed the distance between them, gently but firmly pressing her lips against his before her body decided that it had had enough. Darkness clouded her vision. She was asleep now...


Alive and well wasn't exaclty how Gin would describe herself right about now. It usually took her a very short time to recover her stamina and energy. Her chakra pool was slightly smaller than that of the average shinobi of her level, but it took a shorter time to come back to her. Maybe it was for that very reason, maybe it wasn't. In ant case, this time had to be an exception. The cave had definitely messed with the wirings of her chakra system. There was also the possibility that she was getting old, but she would never admit to that. She was much too stubborn to say that she was becoming weaker with time. Sure, she was no teenager, but thrirty was still a good age to be on active duty.

Gin could only guess that it would take some time for her body to regain its composure and natural workings. She was impatient. She wanted to grip her sword and swing it away against the air, to practice her form before the time came to leave their temporary resting place. Of course, she had no energy to do that. She looked at herself, covered in badages. The wounds would heal in one more day, ahe estimated. The former Kazekage was no medical nin - far from it, really - but she knew her body well enough. She also knew thag she was angry, bored and frustrated with the entirety of this situation. She cursed under her breath, leaningher head back against the tree trunk behind her. A few feet away from her, the damned hippy was playin whatever stringed instrument he had. Gin supposed it was some sort of lute or guitar. Whatever. The sound was annoying. She gritted her teeth and bared with it. The man had taken the time to dress her injuries, after all.

From the corner of her eye, Gin saw Sanosuke shift and wake up. It was about damned time. She smirked and focused her gaze on him for the moment. Like her, he seemed to be recovering at a slower pace than usual. It was good to know that it wasn't just her. That would have been a blow to her pride. She sighed and looked away once again. "Two more days... It's insulting, don't you think?" Gin mused out loud, her hands resting comfortably on her belly, her eyes once again closed. "I'm sure the council just wants to play their cards carefully, but rubbing salt in the wound is just a nice bonus. And to use him of all people as a messenger... Sure, he's probably the only person in the world that can establish a mental link from a whole country away, but it still pisses me off," she kept going. It soundsd like a rant, which, in a way, it was.

The Council of Elders belonging to Sunagakure no Sato was composed of five people, each with a different set of abilities and lerspectives that made them valuable members of the group that they had established. They held firmly onto their power, often afraid of losing it. To them, the Kazekage was meant to be a figurehead of sorts, something that Gin had never been during her rule. Needless to say, they didn't like her much. The young woman sighed. What a mess this was.

To think Gin had enough energy to be snarky with him as well as rest comfortably against the tree as though she just woke up from a nap. Sanosuke didn't have that much stamina in his body to shake death off so easily. Right now his body hurt just from laying propped against the tree and sitting up properly was the most he could so. While he let Navi recover his strength, Sanosuke observed the bandages that were wrapped around his body. He could feel where each of his bandages were wrapped. Navi was filling him in on what areas did Koto eventually wrap. There were bandages around his abs that were tightly closed around his sides in order to align his ribs. Most likely due to the fact that he had several broken ribs, caused by the explosion he saved Gin from and also from the knock back of said explosion that sent him flying like a rock being skipped across a lake. Yeah he remembered that part well. Each time he bounced against the cave's floor, he felt one of his ribs pop. It's a miracle that he didn't have a punctured lung. A majority of his bandages were around the chest area, and around his forehead. Most likely from a major concussion. It would explain why he was having such a hard time trying to keep consciousness.

Sanosuke had no idea what Gin meant when she was talking about "him." It's already established that it was someone the silver haired woman knew from back in the days where she ruled a Kazekage, a council member most likely. What was he to her? And why did it affect her so greatly that she would rant away? All these questions and more pounded against Sanosuke's mind like an itch that he couldn't scratch. He knew too well that his body was too sore and tired to vocalize his thoughts on the matter. Even his thoughts to Navi were disjointed and making little to no sense to the wasp entity. It was the reason why the sage didn't feel his partner pursue him with questions. Maintaining a chakra link with yourself for this long was a feat that should have left one half dead from the mental strain; but doing that while in conjunction with fueling someone else's chakra was a feat that should have left Sanosuke dead. The irony of how he was barely alive almost made him chuckle.

All Sanosuke did was smile at Gin. Even though his body was too tired to respond with words, the man had to do something to acknowledge Gin. His smile was weak, but if Gin looked at his eyes there would be an array of emotions. There would first be his exhaustion that was visible from the bags under his eyes. Happiness that Gin was still alive and well, slightly annoyed with her prattling on about her rant, and finally determination to save the children. All those emotions were there for the woman to see before Sanosuke lost consciousness once more. Of course Sanosuke suddenly passing out in front of Gin might alarm her, so Navi cut her off. "The idiot is fine. He'll most likely need an entire day to sleep." Navi said out loud to Gin. Her tone was cold towards the wounded woman. Navi let her body solidify and transform into a girl that looked to be about 10 years old with violet hair wearing a white sundress. Her eyes were light blue and sparkling with ancient knowledge that would reveal to a stranger that she definitely wasn't human. Pointing a pale finger at Gin, Navi spoke. A tiny irritated buzz could be heard while she strung her words carefully. "You better not break his heart, Gin Kuroka." Navi warned simply. Her voice was also hushed to not awaken Sanosuke, but that was very unlikely. It's better to be safe than sorry. With that being siad, Navi transformed back into her fairy form and flew off past the group. Most likely to do reconnaissance. They would need know if the group was indeed safe for the time being.

2 Days Later:

Rays of sunlight creaked in Sanosuke's eyes as he stirred himself up from his sleep. His body tinged with pain slightly as he readjusted himself to stand up. It wasn't as bad as he thought to move along. Before he could barely think, let alone stand up  on his two feet. His legs felt like jelly. Not surprisingly since he hasn't been on them for a full 48 hours. It didn't matter, 2 days was 2 days and he promised Gin. Stretching his arms and legs, Sanosuke did some light exercises to get used to moving around his own skin once more. Using the forms he learned from the wasps to warm up, Sanosuke felt his body get more accustomed to pain of the exercise. The forms to an onlooker would like like a very high speed version of very advanced yoga stretches mixed in with a strength workout regimine at the gym. With some of the steps Sanosuke did, it left him leaping in the air while gracefully landing on one of his hands. When he finished, his face was caked with sweat.

Sanosuke felt satisfied more of less with his body now. From those exercises, he felt like he was more or less around 45% of his strength. Even so, that should be more than enough to help Gin break the girls out of prison. His bandages were still wrapped around his forehead and there were still bandages around his chest that wrapped also around his neck a well. The wounds that he received shouldn't impact him much due to pain, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't press his luck. The man looked at Gin who was most likely watching him exercise. Smirking at the woman, Sanouke wiped a bead of sweat that was on his forehead. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's get a move on before Koto wakes up." The reason fro Koto not coming with the two of them is obvious: the man would slow them down. They had to hit the prison hard and fast. The whole point of them coming 1 day earlier is to surprise attack them. Having a civilian would slow them down.

Darting off, Sanosuke went at a slow pace so that Gin could catch up but also so he wouldn't push his body too much. He was after all still not up to speed. Navi followed him quickly so she would catch up. It was early morning, and as Sanosuke and Navi was moving the wasp informed the man about what she learned while she did reconnaissance the other day. The prison would take them all day to get there if they went nonstop. That was the plan after all. Since they'd be there earlier than expected, the enemy wouldn't have the time to prepare the troops for Gin and him. Now is the time to strike.

---

9807 WC
9807/6000----> Reaction Time Training to S-3
3807 WC remaining(Speed A-->S)

As she looked at Sanosuke, Gin's expression contorted into one of confusion and frustration. His gaze was unnerving. It was as if he was willingly putting himself in a vulnerable position, showing how much he trusted her and how he was so willing to put every part of him in her hands for her to do as she pleased. She wasn't used to it. She wasn't used to it at all. Sanosuke was supposed to be unrelenting and stubborn. He was supposed to never show any weakness. He was supposed to always try to prove himself to be stronger than she was. He was supposed to throw an insult at her and pretend to be condescending. It was the nature of their relationship: they were rivals, after all. Sure, there was some sexual tension under that, which they relieved by sleeping with each other every so often when they got drunk. That was fine. Gin could manage friends with benefits.

But this... Everything that had happened in these past couple of days turned everything she knew about Sanosuke on its head. And what the hell was she supposed to do with that?! She had spend years - almost ten, now - constructing barriers around herself to avoid getting hurt. She still cared about the people close to her, sure, but never romantically. She couldn't handle another Jurou or another Sake or another Trilby. And yet somehow, this annoying, self-centered show off of a man had managed to slip past her defenses.

A tint of red appeared on her cheeks as her facial expression tried and failed to convey what she was thinking. She was completely thrown off by that look. It felt like she was reverting back to her teenage years, coming undone just with a simple look from the would-be Raikage. Gin Kuroka wasn't flustered. She didn't do flustered. And yet everything about her body language spoke to the contrary. She was slowly losing herself and this man was the cause of it.

Before she could retort anything or say anything that would break the mood - god knew she needed to do so for her own sanity's sake - Sanosuke began to slip from consciousness. Gin's heart skipped a beat and she suddenly felt all kind of nausea at the thought that he might be in any kind of danger or pain. Her eyes were widened and her body was tense. It was then that Navi spoke, gaining some sort of a provisional human form.

Every word she spoke sounded protective. She was looking out for Sanosuke in any way that she could. If Gin hadn't been utterly confused and if her thoughts and feelings hadn't been a jumbled mess at the time, the silver haired woman would have smiles appreciatively of this show of affection and might have even smirked, followed by some coy phrase. However, Gin was drawing a blank and could only stare at Navi.

You better not break his heart, Gin Kuroka.

Those words would echo in her head for the rest of the day. Gin didn't remember what her response had been. Everything after that was a blur. All she knew was that, despite her injuries, she gone over to a separate clearing to draw her sword and train. It was all that she could do in order to settle this odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

~

Gin had woken up several hours before. She had spent the time swinging her sword and doing basic repetitions in order to get her muscles warmed up and ready for what was to come. She sighed, an expression of slight worry etched onto her face for more reasons than she could bother to count right now. She turned to look behind her as soon as she heard Sanosuke start moving. Finally, he had woken up. It had been two days since he had fallen unconscious, which meant that is had been two days that Gin had been taking care of him in her own way. She sacrificed several hours of sleep to make sure that there weren't any dangers in their surroundings and helped changed his bandages when she thought they were much too soaked with blood (consequently, that meant that they were likely wrapped much too tightly in certain parts and much too loosely in others).

Sanosuke was still somehow managing to move rather smoothly. That was a relief. "Took you long enough," she said, smirking while he stretched and contorted his body into several different positions, transitioning rather smoothly from one to the next. For a moment, she was thinking about how that flexibility could be put to better use, but quickly shoved the thought out of her head. There would be time for that later. Right now, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Gin hid her worry behind a mask of confident excitement. She stood tall, her weapons strapped to her waist. "I was waiting for you to wake up, Sano-teme," she said.

The least they could do was leave a note for the old hippie. In her terrible and barely legible penmanship, Gin scribbled a few words to explain where they had gone and when they would be back. "Let's go," she muttered mostly to herself as she went off after Sanosuke.

~

In about half a day's time, they reached the outer walls of the prison. Gin examined the structure closely, taking note of the guard towers, the wall's height, its materials and everything that she could think would be worth knowing. It wasn't like Gin to wait around and think of a strategy. She was more the type that would just tear the walls down by force and storm the place to get what she wanted. However, she had to consider the risks. If she did that, there was a chance Chie and Reiko would come out injured.

She ran the multiple possibilities in her head, trying to predict the outcomes with the information she had. There were no guarantees, nothing that could tell her that her children would come out of this completely unharmed or that she herself would survive in one piece. She eyed Sanosuke from the corner of her eye. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She wasn't referring to her romantic status (whatever the hell that was right now), though the question certainly applied.  She was thinking about her life in general. Gin Kuroka was apparently a magnet of bad fortune and misery, dragging everyone around her into her conflicts.

Every scenario she considered ended badly. All except one. Gin simply stepped out into the open, towards the gate. Te guards braced themselves, ready to kill her on sight. But she raises her hands and dropped her weapons to her side, clearly surrendering. If Sanosuke intervened or messed this up, she would choke him to death with her own hands. She only hoped to god he didn't try to be a hero, she hoped he would understand what she had to do. "Tell that bastard Gendo I'm here and that I surrender."

The trip to the prison went rather well as the two shinobi didn't take breaks at all. From what Navi gathered about the stronghold, they weren't expecting Sanosuke and Gin for another day so their forces weren't at all organized. They were ripe for the picking. It wouldn't take too much pressure to take the prison with Gin and himself working together. They did after all had the element of surprise. Sanosuke would rather not be all sneaky through the base, hell if he had it his way, then Sanosuke would have simply destroyed the prison and rescued the girls. The only problem with that plan was, it was simple yes, but it put the girls' lives at risk. What would happen if they were caught in the aftermath of Sanosuke sieging? He wouldn't forgive himself, and Gin wouldn't either. They would have to play this smart if they wanted this plan to work out. No mess ups, they had to keep this element that the enemy doesn't have over them yet. Sanosuke planted his right hand on the woman's shoulder as they stayed behind the walls of the gate entrance just out of sight of the guards. This must be hard for her, Sanosuke thought as he gently brushed her shoulder with his thumb to sooth her. He wanted her to know that everything would be okay so long as they stuck to the plan.

Then Gin threw everything away as she walked forward from behind the wall and towards the gate. "Gin! What are you doing? Get over here!" Sanosuke whispered harshly as she let herself become more exposed to the guards. But it was already too late, the guards saw her and Gin Kuroka had dropped her weapons so she would be captive. For the first time in his life, Gin had surrendered. That wasn't like Gin, that wasn't the woman that caused Sanosuke to experience these feelings of longing that he hadn't had in this way before. Gin Kuroka didn't surrender. Clapping his hands, Sanosuke moved to summon his swords but was stopped by a sudden thought from Navi. Sanosuke! Stop! You'll be captured too! Navi warned her partner mentally. Sanosuke growled as she knew she was right. All it would take was one guard to get the others and they would be in a bad situation where her would have to fight by himself. Gin was unarmed. His hands shook in fury as he looked to see the guards restrain the woman. I can't just let her be captured! If she's taken in, then what was the whole point of this?! If they so much as harm a single hair on her I'll- Sanosuke rampaged through his mind to hold in his anger of his uselessness of the situation.

However he couldn't finish the thought as he noticed that Navi had seen through her partner's rampage. The source of why he was worked up. It was fear. Sanosuke Flynt was scared, he didn't know what he would do if Gin was harmed. Just the thought sent chills to his spine. And Navi knew it, which was why she was trying to get him to calm down. The clenched fist Sanosuke was gripping onto the wall as he let it fall down and watch hopelessly. Was there really nothing he could do? Nothing he could do for the woman he just realized had strong feelings for? I have an idea. But you have to follow every word if you want Gin and the kids to make it out alive. Navi instructed Sanosuke. There was no resistance in the dreadlocked hair man as he nodded solemnly. He'd do anything for the silver haired woman before her. The look of a desperate man was what was before the wasp as she explained the plan to Sanosuke.

Both of them used the henge no jutsu at the same time. When the smoke cleared, Navi had transformed into Sanosuke and Sanosuke had transformed to a guard of the prison. With their disguises already set, it was time to act. While transformed, Sanosuke let out a yell. "Don't move you bastard!" Sanosuke yelled as he threw the transformed Navi on the ground. Navi let out a grunt as she hit the ground and acted as though she was disorientated. Her acting was enough to cause the guards to look away from the restrained Kuroka and towards the supposedly exposed Sanosuke Flynt. Sanosuke approached Navi and picked her up and restrained her with a kunai to her throat to cause her to stop moving at all. Navi let himself thrash around angrily to get free but was met with a backhand to the face.

"What's he doing here?!" One guard as Gin quizzically as the others moved towards Navi with their weapons in hand. Of course Gin had no idea what this was and would honestly believe that Sanosuke might have gotten captured considering that he's still recovering from his injuries meaning his senses aren't as sharp as they usually are. It's entirely possible for one guard to get the jump on him this close to the prison.

"I caught this one trying to advance on you all when you weren't looking."

"Yeah I would've gotten away with it too, maybe slit your throat for talking too much." Navi joked with a sneer. Acting so cocky even though she lost, yeah Navi was imitating Sanosuke perfectly that the jounin believed he was looking into a mirror. Without missing a beat, Sanosuke pushed the knife closer to the wasp's neck. Enough for a little blood to be drawn. Of course this might cause Gin to jump protectively. "One move Kuroka, just one, and he dies" Sanosuke barked. Navi gritted her teeth looking at Gin with eyes of fire despite the situation. She wasn't going to give up, not yet. She could still fight. That's what she communicated to him. The guards approached and got the ropes used to restrain Navi so she couldn't move.

One of the guards came closer to Navi and inspected her. That caused Sanosuke to look at said guard wondering what this man wanted from her. Finally he spoke. "That's the bastard that killed my brother during the battle with Lady Mizuru!" The guard exclaimed as he withdrew his sword and advanced towards the restrained man. "Gonna have to refresh my memory there. I killed too many of you Seven Bell followers to count." Navi snorted at the man to coy him. The guard shook with anger and tears built up in his eyes as he angrily charged Navi. He was delivered a kick into the stomach so hard from Sanosuke that it left him winded. Sanosuke looked at the man while transformed as a guard.

"Quit your sniveling you idiot! We're take the Kumo bastard in the cells with the rest of the prisoners. We have to deal with Kuroka first. Let's go people!" Sanosuke barked as he looked at Navi and then his eyes went to the man. The man wiped the tears from his eyes and spat in the face of Sanosuke. "You, you're coming with me to bring Kuroka to Gendo-sama. The rest of you men, throw this Kumo trash in a cell for him to rot in." With that Sanosuke pretended he noticed the bandaged up head of the Kumogakure jounin. A sneer came to the back of his mind that would really sell the idea. "Looks like you have a concussion. It'd be dangerous if something like this happened!" Taking the kunai away from Navi's neck, Sanosuke struck her at the back of her head with the metal ring of the kunai knife. His partner followed suit and pretended he had fallen unconscious. The guards picked up the crumbled Navi from the ground and made sure he was still breathing before moving the transformed Navi into the prison first. There were 3 guards, 1 guard for each arm holding Navi up, and the other one who had the key to the cells.

When the 3 guards had already taken Navi away, that left Sanosuke and the raging guard with Gin. "Get moving Kuroka, I'm sure Gendo-sama will be glad to see you." Sanosuke sneered and went behind Gin to be the one restraining her. The other guard would be in charge of guiding them towards Gendo's quarters. With that organized, the 3 of them went into the prison. As they walked through, he noticed how many guards were actually here. It was fortunate that Sanosuke didn't follow through with his plan of storming the prison. With this many guards, there was no way he'd be able to destroy the prison without having harm being done upon the girls from his jutsu. Sanosuke did his best to control his breathing and look natural. So far so good, at this point Gin probably believed that Sanosuke was one of the guards and Navi, transformed as himself, had been captured.

Navi's plan was simple. She would transform into himself so the enemy would believe that they had captued Sanosuke as well. They would put the transformed Navi in a cell where she would wait for the time is right to break out of her bindings. It wouldn't be that hard since they were made to seal shinobi, not entities like Navi that could use senjutsu chakra from nature to rip apart her bindings. Once done, she would get out of her cell and rescue the children and bring them to Sanosuke. While transformed as a guard, Sanosuke will act as Gin's escort towards their leader. Once he's delivered Gin to him, he would wait outside of his office until Navi gave him the signal that the girl were with them and were safe. That's when Sanosuke would strike. In order for this plan to work, the two of them would have to fool Gin into believing this was real and also Sanosuke had to keep calm no matter what.

They had reached the door, where the other guard opened the door for Sanosuke to guide Gin inside. Pushing the woman further in the office, Sanosuke kneeled low so he couldn't see the face of this Gendo person. "Sir, Gin Kuroka has surrendered herself to us." Sanosuke said obediently. He would wait for the man to dismiss him before walking out of the door and be on standby. The door would close and Sanosuke would be waiting outside until Navi gave the all clear. This will work, this will work. Sanosuke mentally chanted to himself as he would wait for Navi's signal. But each second lasted a life time, what was going on in the room he couldn't tell. Shaking his head free of any thoughts of Gin being harmed by the man, Sanosuke had to calm down. Getting worked up wouldn't do anyone good. He would just have to wait...

Gin let the guards cuff her hands behind her back - a formality, really. It wasn't like she couldn't break them with a snap of her wrists. Gin supposed that the split second it would take her to do that was enough for them to shoot an arrow through her chest. No, not them. Gendo was likely the only person here that would be capable of killing her so easily. Nevertheless, she wouldn't fight or struggle. There was no point in it when she had already turned her self in so willingly. Now she could only hope that Sanosuke would just wait patiently for her to negotiate the release of her two girls. He would just have to keep them safe once they were out of the prison and then she could focus on getting herself out of there. If she could kill Gendo in the process, that would be more than an added bonus. He deserved to die as much as the rest of them did.

Kurou.

Ragyo.

Shou.

Shinsen.

They would all die by her hand. She would make sure of that. This was the event that would set off a chain reaction that would put her on the path towards her ultimate goal. Whether or not she survived the ordeal... well, that would come later. She had no intention of dying. She stared forward as the gates began to open before her eyes. She remained stoic, clam and composed. That was until someone dragged Sano out of their previous hiding place. Gin's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Her teeth gritted and her heart stopped. Why? How?! The Sanosuke she knew wasn't stupid enough to get himself caught by a random guard. Gin's fists clenched tightly as a wave of protective instinct. She suppressed it, fought it back in order to keep herself composed. She couldn't risk the safety of her children, not right now. But this... something was off. None of this was like him at all. The guards dragged her away in one direction while they took Sano in the other.

The office was clean and pristine - everything that Gin would have expected from the older man. His fingers were laced together, covered with his pure white gloves. He had worn them ever since Gin could remember. His face was expressionless and cold, trying to examine her under his cool gaze, framed by his dark glasses. He hadn't looked at her that way in a long time - years, really. Once her mentor, this man sitting before her was little ore than a stranger. He had been the one that had introduced her into the world of the shinobi when she was a small child in Sunagakure's orphanage. He had recognized her potential and ensured that her education went as well as it possibly could. He used his influence - vast as it was - to get her everything she wanted and needed. He had put her on the path to Kazekage, guiding her both firmly and gently, believing that someone with her warrior spirit and determination would bring great things to the village. And here they were now.

"Where are they?" Those were the first words our of Gin's mouth as soon as the guard left the room. Her gaze matched his - cold and void of any sympathy.

"Straight to the point, as always," he sighed. His movements were controlled and calculated. He didn't fidget or hesitate. He waved his hand slightly, directing Gin's eyesight to the corner of the room. Slumped in the corner were two small forms with tangled mops of white hair. They were perfectly still, eyes closed peacefully. Sleep, they were asleep. Gin let go of a breath that she didn't know she had been holding. "They made quite the mess - four riots, several break-out attempts. They blew up one of the prison blocks before we decided it was best to keep them in stasis."

Gin scoffed, still standing in the edge of the room, not daring to take a step forward just yet. Her muscles were tensed, ready to react to anything the older man did as quickly as her body allowed her to move. Every movement counted. To the untrained eye, Gendo appeared rather relaxed, but Gin knew enough about him to tell that he was in the same state. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sounded impressed."

"I am," he answered imply. "To be able to pull off something like that at their young age takes talent. You were like that as well when you were 16," he extended his hand slowly, taking a sip from a small cup of tea at the edge of the table.

"And just like me, they can't be controlled like you'd want them to be. They know better than to let you treat them like puppets on your twisted little strings." At this, he let out a small chuckle.

"Do you really think that lowly of me, my child? I am simply doing what is best for the village."

"You dragged them into this. The second you did that, you overstepped your boundaries. You could have just let us life our lives away from you and you would have never seen my face again," Gin fought to keep her voice under control. Her teeth were gritted, the tension obvious in her jaw. Gendo shook his head gently, without breaking eye contact from the younger woman.

"You have all of the village secrets with you, you know all of the weaknesses and how to exploit them. You know all of the strengths we have and how to work around them. Your strength and power is paralleled only by a handful. You already betrayed us once. What would stop you from doing it again?"

"I never betrayed my village," Gin whispered, the anger tangible in her voice.

"No, you just let a known SS rank criminal into the village on multiple occasions, let him roam around unguarded and let him smuggle his comrades and spies into out midst!" Gendo finally yelled, slamming his fist on the table, rattling the small cup until it fell onto the ground and shattered into a hundred pieces. "And just as he sliced off your arm, you would do the same to this village - your village," he snarled.

"So you decided it was better to make me into your enemy by threatening my children. You sealed your fate as soon as you involved them in this."

Everything that happened after that went by in a haze. A sharp pain shot into Gin's shoulder, her skin crackling with the familiar burn of raiton chakra. The chains that bound her now lay broken on the floor as her heel crashed into the center of the man's chest with as much strength as she could muster. One crack, two cracks, then three. A punctured lung. She let the lightning spear dissolve into her skin and travel across her entire body, sending painful shocks through her nervous system that made her double over and screech in pain while Gendo tried to stand. He put his fingers together into a seal - one that Gin instantly recognized. Just like that, the world stopped moving around her. Every image was still. Her body was heavy, so much so that she couldn't bear to lift a finger. Time was nonexistent. And all she could think of now was of Chie, of Reiko, of Shinji and Misao and Ren. And of course, Sano.

As Sanosuke stood on guard outside of the office door, Sanosuke was attempting to listen into the conversation. But this Gendou guy was smart enough to make sure eavesdropping was impossible by applying a simple seal to the door to prevent such an invasion of privacy. Even though he wouldn't outwardly express it, Sanosuke had to admit that this door was pretty top notch. Despite him using everything in his power to put all his concentration into his senses to figure out what was happening on the other side of the door, nothing was being given up. However the kumogakure jounin figured out that he could still sense chakra just fine, despite him not being able to listen in. The perks of being a sage did pay off. From what he could sense in the room was 4 different life forms. 2 of them, from what he could tell from their body signature, were sleeping and vaguely familiar from the chakra signatures he was already familiar with in the past. The girls, Sanosuke thought as he zeroed in on the remaining 2 chakra bodied. One was Gin, and the other was a signature he had never sensed before. That signature most likely belonged to the warden of the prison: Gendou.

A flash interrupted Sanosuke from his thoughts as the chakra signatures from both Gin and Gendou shot up drastically. Something was happening, and it wasn't just a discussion this time around. Still being transformed, Sanosuke didn't think and barged right in. Of course the door would be sealed so that nobody could open it unless they were already in the room. Which was why Sanosuke simply bashed right through the door by pushing his entire weight into the door along with sending chakra into the door to disengage the seals that could've been place to keep this exact scenario from happening. The door swung open and what was before him was Gin unconscious on the floor while this man, that Sanosuke could only assume to be Gendou, was approaching her with a dagger. Genjutsu was never one of Gin's strength, so she must have let her guard down and this snake took advantage of it.

Of course Gendou would be confused by his own guard had burst down the door, Sanosuke took the time to then to cancel out his own henge. It would reveal to be the real Sanosuke Flynt looking not so pleased. Gendou tried to make a move to deal with the new intruder as in page for backup. The man was lucky to catch Gin when her guard was down, but Sanosuke would ensure that the same thing wouldn't happen to him; and Gendou knew he couldn't get away with the same trick twice. Before Gendou had a chance to use his kunai to most likely avert the jounin's eyes from the intercom he was trying to get to, Sanosuke saw this and focused chakra into the tips of his right finger. "Experlliarmus!" Sanosuke called out as he shot a beam of red chakra outwards at the man. The beam caught Gendou on his hand with such intensity not only was the knife sent flying across the room clattering before Sanosuke's feet, but it was also strong enough to slam Gendou into a wall. A groan could be heard from the man as he tried to recollect himself. Enough time for him to awaken Gin.

Reaching over to Gin's collapsed form, Sanosuke held her in his arms so that her slumped head was leaning against his chest. Sanosuke held the woman's hand in his own to send chakra into her body to release the genjutsu. It wouldn't take long for Gin to awaken immediaetely to Sanosuke hold her body so close to his. Their hands were held in each others as Sanosuke would look at her once she woke up. Before she would have the chance to push him off, Sanosuke made a move to push his lips against hers in a ongoing kiss. As they kissed, Sanosuke for an instant almost forgot the reason why he made this spontaneous kiss happen between the two. He got caught up in the moment for a few seconds and began passionately kissing her. Then he moved to pushing fuuton chakra into her longs with enough oxygen to last her a few minutes. It would be long enough for her to get the children out of here. Breaking away from the kiss, Sanosuke stood back up on his feet.

As soon as he stood up and his back to Gin, Sanosuke exploded in a violent torrent of chakra that was more like a whirlwind of energies. Wind was picking up within the office as Sanosuke's entired body was wrapped in torrents of wind forces that made the man look more like a demon than a man. The winds around Sanosuke was taking all of the oxygen out of the room and replacing it with his own generated by his fuuton chakra but contaminated with raiton chakra. Breathing in the new air from this torrent of wind would cause anyone to be paralyzed. They would see this form of Sanosuke and not know what to do. "Quickly Gin. Get the girls and get Navi out of her holding cell. I'd like to speak with this Gendou guy..." Sanosuke said calmly despite his demonic appearance, his calmed voice somehow carried through the storm. "Alone. I'll meet you all outside." Sanosuke added in the last part to make sure that she knew that this wasn't up for debate. Besides, she would have to get the girls out of the room as well. As Gin would leave, Sanosuke wouldn't keep his eyes off Gendou as he was looking at the slowly recovering from the hit he took earlier.

Once the girls and Gin were clear, Sanosuke would drop the technique and the whirlwind he created in the office would die down. Papers that were fluttering in the air dropped lifelessly to the ground. Now it was just the two men, one of them tried his best to not look baffled while the other man was sizing up his meal like a lion. Walking over to him, Sanosuke delivered a viscious backhand to the older man's chin to send him back at the wall he was just sent flying to previously. Before he could pick himself up, Sanosuke raised him up by the collar and threw him back into his chair with a rough shove. In a swift motion, Sanosuke used chakra threads to wrap his body to the chair like a harness. "Why Sanosuke Flynt, I must ask what business would you have with me?" Gendou finally asked. His glassed knocked clean off his face as he looked straight up at his new captor. "Here to kill me in Gin's steed? No that couldn't just be it."

"Gotta say, councilman, you're a lot smarter than you look. But when I walk out that door you'd be dead, and I would have some information that you know." Sanosuke said to the man sitting right on the table in front of Gendou. That statement got the councilman quiet. So he wanted information, but what could he possibly have. Now would be the time to question this man. He had to know this once or else there might not be a chance like this again. Councilman always knew about some dirt about the village that it would be best of the public didn't know about it. Gendou looked back into Sanosuke's eyes. Even though he was the kumogakre jounin's prisoner, he couldn't help but kind of wonder if this was really his prison or not "And if I refuse?"

His answer was given in the shape of Sanouke's palms clamping on the man's forehead. His fingers curled around the man's head like a ball before he sent a rush of chakra into the man's head. The chakra would be like a raging headache pounding against his cranium. Gendou howled in pain as more of the molten sensational chakra went inside of his head. The councilman tried to struggle and fight under the chakra from invading his mind, but to no avail he wasn't going anywhere. When enough was enough, Sanosuke retracted his hand from the man. Gendou slumped his head back down to rest on his chin as he tried to recapture his breath. "What I just did was use ninjutsu to tamper with your memories instead of genjutsu. Should never be done by the way, it's a lot like building a chainsaw into an operation table. Too hard to control and not at all accurate." Sanosuke informed the man with a sneer as he looked at the man who had a face of disbelief. Gendou couldn't remember what the face of his wife looked like, the woman he was married to close to 40 years and he couldn't remember it at all.

"Now that I have your attention, you'll be answering my questions." Sanosuke glared at the councilman. Whipping out a kunai from his holster, Sanosuke spun it around from the ring. Gendou watched as the knife was being toyed with by the jounin, he believed it was just another scare tactic. But sadly he was wrong as the kunai went straight into his right calf. Gendou screamed in pain as Sanosuke was pushing the knife further and further into the man's calf. Blood gushed from the wound as the jounin violently twisted the blade into the wound. It was a good thing that the doors were soundproof, or the guards would've came in a long time ago. Ironic how his own door that he bought for privacy was being using against him. Backhanding the councilman to stop his screaming, Sanosuke held him by the cheeks with a vicegrip. "The Court Of Owls. Information about them, now." Sanosuke barked out.

"They're an organization that works seperately from the Suna shinobi forces. They assissnate those that they believe are unjust and a menace to society as a whole. But they're just a myth, not real at a-" Gendou made it that far before Sanosuke placed his palm on Gendou's head once more and sent the chakra back into his cranium to forcefully remove chunks of his memories. The councilman screamed for mercy, but the calls reached the deaf ears as Sanosuke continued his interrogation. I mean they are real. Some of them that are left, still take orders from some of the councilman. Me not being one of them I swear, I haven't used them in close to 10 years. He wasn't lying anymore, that much was good. Sanosuke toyed around with the embedded kunai in the man's leg however his silver eyes were piercing into the councilman's eyes.

"I was told the the Court of Owls were looking for me. Which one of you gave them the order to kill me?"

"That I do not know, Sanosuke Flynt." The knife that was in his right thigh already was pushed in deeper than before. Before the councilman could pass out from the pain, Sanosuke sent a shock of raiton chakra through the kunai to awaken the man from falling unconscious. Gendou screamed in pain as he was forcefully awaken from his time passed out. "Honest I don't know! Nobody has used the court of owls in years, I swear!" That was peculiar, nobody had given the hit on him. But why were they attack him of all people? What had he done to draw out their attention? That just mean there was only one question left to ask. Thoughts of a woman with silver long hair and blue eyes matched his memory banks. Sanosuke clenched his fist as the words of the Suna Assassin that he saved the Misora girl from. His mother was apart of this Court of Owls organization, a killer from what i looked like as well.

"Kikyo, a former operative from the organization, what do you know about her?"

Gendou looked at Sanosuke in a new light as the councilman tried to decipher the shinobi. "She was one of the best operatives if I remembered correctly. She went missing during a mission she was on. That is all I know, I swear to you." Sanosuke inspected the man to be sure that was indeeed all there was to tell. Right now, the man was before him like a servant to a god. It seemed as though he was indeed telling the truth. This man was tapped out. However he would also continue now to killing him. There couldn't be any notice of him shaking down a councilman like that. Retracting the knife from the man's leg savagely, Sanosuke put the knife back into his holster and jammed his right hand against the man's cranium. More chakra invaded the man's mind to completely overtake the man's mind. All that could be heard from the room, if the door wasn't soundproof, was the pleading screams of the councilman of sunagakure.

When he was done, Gendou was left in a pile of his own spittle and blood from his wound. Sanosuke had completely rummage through Gendou's mind, stripping the man of memory after memory until he was just lying there like a vegetable. The wound on his leg was still left open and bleeding out. As the man was now, he'd most likely bleed out. A death that would be suitable for this man. Getting himself up from the desk, Sanosuke dusted himself off and walked out of the office to regroup with Gin and the rest of them outside of the prison. Soon they would be going home and they could put most of this behind him. However, the dreadlock hair shinobi would still be wonder who was this Court of Owls organization and what did they want with him?