Author's Note: I'm beginning to get excited. I don't know what my orignal plans for this story might have been, but as of now I've completely re-invented how I want things to happen and despite my lack of knowledge for this fandom I will admit I am impressed with myself for once, haha. Anyway, I have things planned out and I see an end in the future. I'm determined to see this through to the end, and I'd be flattered if you'd stick around for it as well.

The child sat next to her father, watching him with unfaltering interest as he moved his brush skillfully. His handwriting was impeccable, and even though she was too young to know anything about proper penmanship, she knew it was something worth admiring.

"Papa, that's really pretty. I bet you're the best at what you do." the child said, grinning as she dipped a wandering finger in the ink jar.

Her father laughed and set the brush down, patting his hand against his child's hair. There was still ink on his fingers, and it rubbed off atop her head. He laughed.

"No, but I try my best," he told her gently. She didn't look convinced. Reaching over, she grabbed the brush. She was disappointed to see she had a difficult time holding it. Her hands were tiny, the tool felt awkward in her fingers.

Everything about her was tiny.

"Are you interested in your papa's field now, Sada?" the father asked, grinning. Shrugging, the girl set the brush down and shied away.

"No, my hands are too small."

"You'll grow." he told her reassuringly.

"No, I won't." she replied, poking her lip out in a pouting gesture.

Her father, still offering her that same soft smile, cocked his head and asked gently, "What do you want to be, then, Sada?"

The girl sat in silence, considering the question with a great weight. Her father was patient. finally, she said,

"A giant."

Her father laughed. Looking up with large brown eyes, the girl couldn't seem to understand why her father was laughing at her.

The man picked his child up and set her on his shoulders, spinning her playfully. The girl laughed in delight and gripped to her father's head steadfastly.

"I think," he said in between her laughter, "You will make a fine giant one day, Sadako."

We knew exactly where we were going.

I ran in the center of the loose formation, Gai and another nin by the name of Otome were to each of my sides. The others ran ahead, scouting. I was impressed by their skill. We hadn't been searching fifteen minutes before they caught sight of a trail. We were instantly following whatever clues indicated the direction our teammates had ventured.

We were speedy, too. I was having a hard time keeping up with the others, but I was determined not to be the one who was constantly asking for breaks. My calves were killing me by the time we took to the tree tops and began hopping from branch to branch. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing because I kept slipping or stumbling.

I held my own, though. I lagged behind a little the further we went, but no one seemed annoyed with me. For that I was really grateful.

All the harsh silence in the atmosphere really reminded me of the days me and my teammates spent on our first "serious" missions. We hadn't talked much then. It was only we had gotten to know each other we began cutting up.

Those were really good times.

They seem so long ago, now, though...

I shook my head and tried to remain focused. The real reason we were on this mission.

The Konohagakure Chokugaku.

Earlier when we had started off on our venture to locate our comrades, I had asked Gai if he knew anything about the scroll other than "it's really, really important." He had said it held many secrets and important historical documents about our village. It also contained some deadly skills and jutsus and even deadlier summoning jutsus.

More summoning? Didn't this group of nutballs get enough of that during their first escapade with the original scroll I was accidentally protecting?

It didn't seem to make much sense to me. Why were they going through all this trouble for something so stupid?

I could only assume the answer was written inside the Konohagakure Chokugaku itself.

In all honesty, I really had no desire to find out. I was beginning to get sick of all these "advanced" and "deadly" techniques that came from these things. As far as I was concerned, whoever thought writing down a list of really, really good ways to kill people was an idiot. I'd spent my entire life lugging scrolls around, and in the past week or so of my life they seem to have been escalating in level of annoyance at an alarming rate. But, despite this...I had a responsibility. It was ultimately my fault the scroll was in the hands of the enemy, naturally I had to take actions to rectify this.

So, I was convicted.

I wouldn't run home with my tail in between my legs. I was going to help. Damned if I ran into Kisame.

I really don't want to run into Kisame...

Oh, get over it! Why should you care? Kisame's a selfish idiot anyway!

Yeah, but...

I hated the way things had ended.

I hated that I hadn't said anything better for closure.

Most of all, I hated that despite everything, I still missed him. I still wanted to speak with him. To make fun of him and his stupid sword. I wanted to accidentally change the channel to adult oriented shows and cause him to turn that specific shade of pink. I wanted to run off in the rain and get him cold medicine every time he got sick. I wanted to be held by him while I was standing shin deep in freezing water. I wanted him to stroke my hair and call me an idiot in that same patronizing yet oddly affectionate tone he always seemed to take with me...

Geez, when did I get so sentimental?

Over a giant walking shark, of all things...

I shook my head.

As much as I tried, I could not bring myself to hate him.

We stopped quite suddenly when the forest had begun to die. Jumping from the branches we landed in silence. The man in front signaled for us to follow, he said in a hushed voice that he thought we were close.

Beyond the forest the earth grew jagged and rocky. There were hills and mountains close to us, I could hear rushing water far in the distance. Perhaps there was a canyon nearby.

We stayed close together and began to work our way through the dramatic crevices in some of the stone walls. They were thick, but once we got to the other side my initial assumption was confirmed. There was a large canyon spreading across at least two hundred feet. It was equally deep, the bottom had a thin river running through it.

The rocks were too thick and scattered. I could tell by the way they were splintered that it hadn't been naturally. There had been a fight here.

"We'll descend," one of the trackers said, eying the cavern with a determined expression. He looked up and pointed to me and Otome.

"You two will scout around the edges quietly, looking for any entrances. I can sense several high level chakras, our teammates are here. You two will be in charge of finding them and the scroll. Don't be seen. The rest of us will act as the front line," he paused and looked back down into the canyon. "Keep your guard up."

While I was secretly grateful I wouldn't be expected to fight, I also felt a sudden sensation of disappointment. Go get the scroll. Find the others.

Well, I guess it was at least a realistic task for me...

The three of them descended down a narrow ledge in meticulous precision. Otome was beside me, she gave me a reassuring look.

"Come on, then," she said, her magnificent blue eyes flashed in the same determined way the tracker's had. "Let's try to be swift."

Something about her confidence reassured me. I nodded. She pointed in two directions. She would be descending from the eastern ledge, looking near the large cracked boulders for any entrance ways. I would take the northwestern walls, near the thinner caverns that snaked through the massive chunks of earth.

I jogged around the edge of the canyon, feeling the rush of adrenaline course through me. I could feel a cold sweat gather on the back of my neck and my palms, though I wouldn't let myself be fazed.

Come on, Sadako, you can do this. This is important. You can do this, just keep focused and try to detect any unusual chakra levels.

I took a deep breath and began a clumsy yet thankfully quiet decent down a rocky ledge way. I don't know how long it took me to climb down, but it felt like an eternity. My hands were shaking, and I forced myself not to look down. Honestly I was scared out of my pants, but keeping my eyes on the wall ahead of me helped out quite a bit.

I let out a shaky breath when my feet hit the uneven earth of the cavern floor. I looked up, seeing exactly how high I had climbed from, and a swelling of pride grew inside of me. I wasn't looking forward to the climb back up, but I told myself to worry about that later.

I gave myself only a few minutes to recover from the queasiness in my stomach before I began tracing along the walls of the cavern, pressing my palms flat against the hard stone.

I shut my eyes and tried to concentrate.

Come on, Sadako...do you sense anything?

No.

Open your eyes then, doofus. Do you see anything at least?

Yeah. Dirt. Lots and lots of dirt.

I furrows my brows and examined a thin black crevice in the side of the wall. There were a few gnarly roots jutting from the sides, entangled among themselves. I walked over and took a closer look. It was a small crevice. It would be a tight fit.

For a normal sized adult, anyway.

Going on a gut feeling, I sucked in a breath and squeezed through the crevice. It was surprisingly easier then I would have guessed, even for someone of my size. As I continued deeper into the cave like crevice, it grew pitch black.

I felt roots and moss brush against my face and ankles, and...

...Oh, my God something just scurried against my toes!

I want out I want out I want out I want ou-

Calm down, meathead! You're almost there!

Sucking it up, I bit my lower lip to keep from squealing and pressed onward. How on God's grand earth I managed I will never know.

I was gratified with a trickle of light in the distance. Elated, I forced myself forward and saw an exit.

I peeked through the jagged Sadako-sized hole and gasped.

Toshiyo!

Wait, no, not just him...everyone was there. I slunk back and pressed myself flat against the wall. They all looked dead. Masked cracked, skin pale. They were awake and conscious, however. A thick line of blue chakra kept them from moving.

Prisoners? But why? Why wouldn't they just have killed them?

I shook my head, deciding to wonder about the details later. The important thing was they were all alive. Peeking out again, I surveyed the area.

Well, that was weird.

There wasn't anyone else there. At all.

I waited in silence for a few more moments, straining my eyes and ears for any sign of life. There was none.

I don't like the look of this...

Despite myself, I crept from the shadows and edged towards my bound comrades. The tensed when they saw, obviously surprised it was me. I locked eyes with Toshiyo.

"Sadako...!"

I almost didn't recognize him at first without his mask. His hair was trim and fashionably short, a deep maroon. His eyes, which were now riddled with obvious unspoken questions, were a deep green. The colour of the sea.

I grinned and made a reassuring waving motion as I hopped on down to where they were.

"Hey," I whispered. Toshiyo shook his head and gave me a chastising glance.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, though he did have a hint of relief in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and reached to touch the chakra rope. I immediately pulled my hand away. It burned.

"Where are the others? Are they with you?" Kurenai piped in. I shook my head.

"They're outside somewhere, still trying to get in."

"Go get them. Bring them here quickly, Sadako," Toshiyo said sternly.

Now wait just a minute, I think I was doing a pretty good job with this rescue thing all on my own...

I frowned and stood back up, looking around the area. "Do you know where the scroll is?" I asked.

Toshiyo frowned. "Sadako, just do what I say for once."

"The blonde man took off with it. He was trying to get it to unlock, but he couldn't open it."

I looked over at the man who had spoken, feeling grateful.

Bending over, I examined the chakra rope. If I could break it myself, I wouldn't have to waste any time going to find the others.

Er, a good plan in theory...

...but that required some technical skill that I frankly did not posses. After mulling it over, I gave up and quickly darted back to the crevice, not looking forward to the venture through it again.

However, just as I had squeezed into the hole, I heard something behind me.

Turning, I peeped through the crevice and saw two figures enter the room where my teammates were still tied up.

One of them I immediately recognized by the light blonde hair and girlish features. Scroll in hand, Deidara entered and walked passed the group of bound shinobi with little interest. He seemed annoyed about something as he set the scroll down against the cavern wall.

The other...

I held my breath.

It was Kisame.

-to be continued in the next installment-