"I believed in one thing, always. My mother, for all the lies she told, never lied about my father."

Ariha stared coldly at the words of her diary, written by a naïve child who disgusted her. She wanted to return to that time, to the her that had so confidently scrawled those words on the blank page and slap her. Or scream at her. Maybe both. Ariha took a deep breath, fighting back tears of betrayal as she closed the book, tucking into her small satchel. On any other day, she used it to carry the herbs she collected for lady Tsunade to use. Today, no, tonight was not one of those times. Tonight, Ariha would break free of all the lies and seize the truth. All that stood between her and that goal were the village gates. She secured her boots a final time. It would be hazardous if, in the middle of a chase, she tripped. Her mother had spies everywhere. Why should Konoha prove different? Once her boots were secure enough for her tastes, she clomped heavily to the door, grabbing her poison mask and adjusting it to her face. She had no intention of poisoning any fellow shinobi but the smoke bombs were hazardous to her demon senses. Nothing was slowing her down tonight. Not even Hell itself.

Naruto almost leapt out of his skin as the sound of a loud explosion found its way to his ears. He turned around, towards the sound's direction, in time to see a figure swing from one roof to another, releasing the cable they used in favor of grabbing the edge of the building. His eyes widened as he watched the figure turn on the roof, looking down at him. His eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

"Ariha!" he called in surprise.

She offered him a smile before she vanished completely, leaving him in total darkness.

"What is that girl doing?" Tsunade demanded.

The explosion could only be Ariha. Only she would be so careless in her experiments to result in a small explosion and an equal sized fire. Sometimes she was so much like her father, it was annoying. Tsunade paused. No, she couldn't think like that.

"Shizune!" she bellowed.

She could already feel Lilith breathing down her neck, demanding to know why Ariha had been allowed to board in his old apartment and why she'd been allowed access to what research he'd left behind when he'd left Konoha years ago.

"Yes, M'lady!" Shizune said, speeding towards her.

"I want Ariha, here, now," she declared.

"But, M'lady, she may very well be buried somewhere under the rubble," Shizune argued gently.

Tsunade turned beady eyes on her assistant who instantly began to panic.

"But then again, she may not!" Shizune gushed. "Right away, M'lady."

With that, Shizune bolted, leaving Tsunade to glare out at Konoha. She knew, without a doubt, Ariha was not buried deep under any rubble. More likely, he had left behind one final bomb that had gone off and shattered Ariha's entire world.

Ariha skidded to a halt, propelling herself back into the shadows as fast as possible. She wanted to growl in frustration at Shino's presence. What was he doing? Sure, the explosion was an obvious thing but why wasn't he in more of a rush, like the other shinobi she'd passed? Ariha's eyes narrowed. Perhaps her beloved mother had recruited him as one of her spies? She wouldn't put it past Lilith to do such a thing.

"I know you're there," Shino began with. "Are you running?"

"I'm not running," Ariha replied. "I'm escaping. Either get out of my way or I will take you down."

She knew her threat fell on deaf ears. Shino did not believe she was as deadly as her reputation said. He'd made sure she knew that many times.

"Fine," Shino said.

Ariha breathed a sigh of relief. Had she fought, it would have alerted other shinobi to her location and then her escape would be so much harder.

"But remember," Shino added. "You leave us at the mercy of that woman you call your mother."

Ariha shook of his words, crouching to leap away into the night air.

"I have no mother."

Then she leapt and was gone.

The sun clawed its way to the sky the next morning, though its warmth was choked by the dark storm clouds that gave Tsunade her first warning that Lilith's spies had not failed her in their ability to report to her. She was coming, if she was not already there. And Ariha was gone, lost to the night. The thought was not one she pondered long for the doors were wretched open by tendrils of shadow, that slid into the room, twisting and coiling around themselves as they slammed what was left of the doors closed before reforming into the Queen of Hell. Just like that, Satan stood before her, her elegant dress stretching as though it were alive and had been suffocating tangled within the shadows that Lilith so often traveled in. Those red eyes focused on Tsunade immediately.

"Where is my daughter?" she demanded, even before the shadows had all reformed themselves.

"We have no idea," Tsunade admitted.

She watched anger fill those red eyes as the Queen of Hell's shadows raved about what she had of her body before they settled. Not a good sign.

"Did she leave no trace of evidence as to where she was going?"

"As I'm sure your spies have told you, their was an explosion," Tsunade said, trying to keep her face impassive.

She knew she had succeeded as she watched those red eyes scan her face for traces of some emotion. Finding none, those eyes darkened.

"I'm aware you housed my daughter in his former domain," Lilith remarked.

Her voice shook, the only trace of emotion that man could stir up for Lilith. Regret. Not at what had been but rather at what could have been had Lilith's resolve been stronger all those years ago.

"She must have found something there," Tsunade reasoned. "And she's gone to find him."

"That cannot be allowed!" Lilith declared. "His madness-"

"His madness?" Tsunade cut in. "You underestimate your daughter. Had I worried she'd lose herself like her father, I would never have handed her his notes."

Tsunade rose, mindfully of the fury within Lilith's bloody gaze.

"Ariha is strong and she has her values. She is nothing like that man. She is nothing like you," Tsunade went on. "She is simply looking for something you have denied her."

Tsunade almost bit back her last words as she stared at Lilith. The shadows had finished finding their own forms and now the Queen of Hell was whole.

"And I hope she finds it."

Ariha's fingers dug deep into the tree but her failing strength made it impossible to support herself. She slid to her knees, her nails making claw marks in the bark as she did. Her fingers found the wound, the only evidence of her scuffle with a few rouge shinobi lurking miles outside Konoha. Despite her departure, she had family within its walls and she would protect them even now. But she'd been careless, not taking the time to notice three makeshift nests when she'd only seen two rouges. The third had snuck up behind her, digging his kunai into her side before she could run him through. It did not matter. She was so close. Drawing on power she hadn't know she possessed, she rose again, Either she would die alone in this miserable swamp or she'd continue on and find him. She would not be deterred.

"Lord Orochimaru?"

Kabuto watched his lord step into the crisp evening air, taking purposeful strides outside their latest "den". Something had made his lord uneasy and it had started just this morning, waking his lord from an almost peacefully sleep. With no other choice, Kabuto followed Orochimaru across the almost swampy terrain, as silent as possible. Something told him that Orochimaru was listening for something. Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped before taking off in a burst of speed. Kabuto hurried to follow, almost dripping over a discarded snake skin. He managed to stay on his feet, keeping up barely with Orochimaru who vanished behind a tangled bit of underbrush. When Kabuto finally made his way through, with a dozen cuts from thorny vines, he froze. Orochimaru was kneeling beside a body. Said body was a girl with long black hair that fanned around her as she lay face down in the dirt. Her pants were torn as though she'd taken a steep fall and a satchel rested not too far from her, the strap broken and the corner of a sleek black book peeked out. Kabuto bent to pick it up but was stopped when he noticed Orochimaru rolling the girl over. For some reason, his motions were gentle, unlike how he was with his usual test subjects.

"Shall I go ahead and prepare the lab?" he asked, standing fully.

The satchel remained on the ground. Orochimaru's eyes snapped to him.

"No," he said. "Return and prepare a room."

He brushed a few stray hairs away from the girl's face. He looked almost sad. Kabuto decided it was best not to question his lord further. Obviously, this girl was important to Orochimaru and he did not intend to risk inciting his lord's anger should he waste any time.