Chapter 1- The Sixth Path

The green garbed ninja ran to and fro through the smoking crater they had once called their home. Konoha hadn't fared well against the invasion of the Akatsuki's leader Pain. What remained was a flat dirt bed with all of the rubble pushed to the outer ring of the city. The outskirts of the village still contained a few houses- damaged non-to-liberally, but intact all the less.

The center of Konoha was being monitored by Konoha's black op forces. The ANBU were cataloging and bagging the enemy's corpses left behind from his match with the village's hero Naruto Uzumaki. Only one body still was unaccounted for, but she was here.

The short orange-haired kunoichi was lying face down into the dirt. Her eyes were both shut. If it wasn't for the dry blood inked down the corner of her mouth, one would think she were in a peaceful state of sleep.

The red-head's eyes widened instantaneously. She let out a gasp. She quickly shut her eyes again as particles of dirt were blown into her face. The girl pulled up her knees so as to sit with her arms planted squarely in front of her. Her eyes were deathly wide now. She looked back and forth hurriedly. Heavy breaths began to escape her lungs. She put a hand to her black cloak. Her hand made contact for her skin for a second before she threw it off. Her chest was bare. There was a large tear in her clothes.

She placed her hand in front of her mouth defensively. Her eyes continued to glance around. An unmistakable expression of fear was on her face.

Where am I?

A black figure teleported in front of her. The girl was startled and fell backwards. She looked up to see it was a shinobi wearing a black-hooded cloak and an animal mask. The man dwarfed her in comparison.

"This one's alive." he said.

Two more figures appeared beside him.

"Should we dispense of it? It could be dangerous, perhaps wired."

She screamed and began to crawl backwards.

"No!" she shouted, "Please! No…"

The center ANBU tilted his head to the left. He pulled out his katana and held it in front of him. He watched as the red head's eyes followed it. He saw them opening even wider than before. She attempted to stand up, but clumsily. She quickly fell back off of her feet. The girl was trembling now.

"How odd" he thought, "Not only is one of the bodies is still operating, it's showing fear. That doesn't add up to Pain's earlier behavior. Wait a minute…"

He focused his gaze onto the stiffening features of her face. Her eyes… they were a sky blue. The Rinnegan had disappeared.

"Take her. Kakashi-sempai will want to know about this."

The other two nodded and than walked up to either side of her.

"No! No!"

They ignored her frantic protests. One of them reached into the pack tied to his pants and pulled out a strip of white cloth. He opened a small bottle and applied a drop to the rag. A small pink cloud erupted from it. The other ANBU walked behind her and scooped her up by her arms. His partner veered closer to her now. He placed the rag on her mouth and nose. Having worn herself out, she fought weakly for oxygen. She felt a warm vapor permeate her lungs. Her entire body began to shut down. She saw the ninja facing her disappear behind a black veil as her sight faltered. There was nothing she could do now. Everything was all fading. Her eyes shut and her body went limp in the ANBU's arms.

When she woke up, she would well recall the last words that had went through her mind at the time.

Help me.

Author's Notes: This story is something I wrote a couple of years ago, around the time of the Pain Invasion arc.

My story's first two chapters are inspired by NeonZangetsu's fiction Pain of Love. As I've already completed the chapters for this, expect regular updates!