"So, Mizuki," Gwen smiled widely. "Why do you think such an important clan, like the Uchiha, had so suddenly be killed by one of their own?"

Mizuki clenched her fists. She bit her lip and her eyes moved to where Volk stood. His gun was down, but he had a firm hold over it. If she were to take a step anywhere, he would easily aim and shoot. "Why would I believe your story?" Mizuki asked, her eyes returned to her mother. "I find you capable of modifying your version just to get me to join you and beat Madara. Am I right?"

Gwen huffed. "Why would I change the story?"

"I don't trust you, Mother. Whatever comes out of your mouth, I won't believe it. You can say Madara's a monster, all you like, but I still won't change my mind."

Gwen aimed the gun again, and Mizuki got into defensive stance. This was the moment to act, to get them to follow her back into ground level, just to get the blueprint of the building. That way, Mr. T would be able to guide her around the place, and let her get weapons. "I can't believe how low you've fallen. You're just like your father, so damn blind." Gwen shoot.

Mizuki had moved, and missed Gwen's bullet. She saw something move in the corner of her eyes, and moved again to miss Volk's bullet. She took off towards the stairs, another shot was heard, and Gwen let go of her gun. Mizuki looked at Madara's weapon, which was aimed at her mother. She shook her head, and continued running.

Gwen turned towards the Uchiha. "Why are you helping her? What do you want from her?" Gwen asked, hatred lacing her words.

"I don't want anything from her. I just hate to see her mother trying to kill her."

Mizuki had disappeared from the room, getting safely to the stairs. She didn't stop after hearing Madara shoot his weapon, but he also realized that Volk had run after her. Madara had no choice but to deal with Gwen and then go after Volk. In half and hour, the Akatsuki would come. They just had to stay alive until then.

Come on, Mizuki. You said you could take him. I have no other choice but to take your word now.

"You're a liar. You would do anything to get what you want. You even sacrificed your entire family, just to get your plans out of the radar." Gwen's voice was raising, and her body was trembling with rage.

"They brought that upon themselves, I had nothing to do with that. You just want to blame me, because I'm the one alive and unaffected." Madara's tone was calm, the hold on his weapon didn't bulge.

"You had Itachi do it."

"No, I didn't. You don't know even half of the story Gwen. Mizuki made the right choice when she didn't listen to you. You would have only put false accusations in her mind to get her to join you. But she's smart, she won't fall for it." Madara narrowed his eyes.

Gwen scoffed. "I know enough." She took a step back and pulled out from her pocket a small lighter. His eyes widened when he realized what she was planning. "Now, I will get rid of you and go after my daughter."

Madara looked at the surrounding boxes. This is why they came down here. TNT.

The stairs Mizuki took were right beside him, if he was fast enough, he would get there before the boxes exploded. How did Gwen plan to walk out of there in the middle of the explosion? No, she wasn't going to blow anything up. The expression on Gwen's face didn't mean that though.

Mizuki got to ground level and heard T's voice in her head. "Got it. The blueprint's here. It's quite a large building Mizu, you have to be careful."

"I imagined." Mizuki didn't see anyone follow her, but she was certain she had heard another set of footsteps. It wasn't Gwen, she wanted Madara. She must have stayed with him. It was Volk. "T, I think I'm being followed, does the blueprint show our positions?"

"Wait a moment, I'm activating the live function." Mizuki moved behind a wall, waiting to hear the news. "All right, live activated. Where are you?"

"Just about ground level, the last floor before the basement."

"People in the map are sensed through the heat they emit from their bodies, shown as red dots. There are two red dots. One is you, and the other one must be whoever's following you."

"It's Volk. How close is he?"

"Pretty close."

"Mizu," Upon hearing Hanzou's voice, relief flooded through her. "You've got this. You always get the most exciting parts of the mission, remember? This time I'm her to cheer you on."

Mizuki couldn't help the smile gracing her lips. "You're not angry with me? You're probably dying to be here."

"I am, but now's not the time. Look, the stairs are right across the hall. There are no viable weapons in the building, the army probably rid the deposit, or Gwen did before the meeting. But there's a lot of dynamite, so if Volk shoots some TNT, the building will go boom."

"They knew Madara was coming..." Mizuki narrowed her eyes. "But they won't make the building explode while they're in here, will they?"

"Probably not. Still, be careful."

"I need to get where Madara is."

"You need to get rid of Volk. You're an agent, Mizu. If Madara, doesn't make it out, it's best for us."

Something in Mizuki went cold. "I can't leave him. Not like this. He's not bad."

"Mizu." She knew the warning tone in Hanzou's voice. Protecting Madara was against her orders, but if Madara dies here, her mission would also be over. But it's not anywhere near finished.

"Stop, Hanzou. I won't leave Madara. Where is he now?"

"Still in the basement, but not alone. It must be Gwen with him."

"I need to get Madara out before they make the building explode. How much dynamite is in the basement?"

"Lots of it. Gwen is probably the one to set up the explosion. But if she's down there, she probably doesn't care that you and Volk are still in it."

"She'll make it explode either way." Mr. T spoke in sudden realization. "She wanted Volk to get you out. She'll take down herself as long as she takes Madara down with her."

"I can't let her do that." Mizuki sighed, and reached for the Minasaki gun in her boot. "I'll incapacitate Volk, and get to Madara before she does."

She moved out of the corner right at the moment Volk appeared around the hall. "There you are." Volk smiled. He was only wearing a black shirt, wrapped tightly around his big muscles, trousers and combat boots. He was ready for engaging in a fight.

Mizuki gripped the gun in her hand. "What's the big plan? I saw a lot of explosives, you're not planning on making the building blow up, are you?"

Volk smiled wider. "What if we are?"

"You're not that stupid," Mizuki aimed her gun at him.

"You're not that stupid, either." Volk walked towards her. Mizuki smirked.

"Of course, I'm not." She put down the weapon and ran to him, she aimed a fist in his direction. Volk pushed her hand away and tried to hit her head. Mizuki dodged, and kicked his hand. Volk dropped the weapon, and went to hit her again. She grabbed his arm and twisted it. Volk gasped in pain, and tried to grab her hair with his other hand.

Mizuki moved under the arm she was holding, twisting it until something cracked. Volk hissed loudly, and she let go. Holding back his injured arm, Volk produced a knife from one of the pockets in his trousers. "You should have stayed put." The look in his eyes wasn't anything close to friendly. "Gwen only asked not to kill you, but I don't think she would mind a few deep cuts."

Mizuki tightened the hold on her gun. Just one shot to the leg would be enough. Volk sprinted in her direction and Mizuki aimed to his thigh. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time."

A gun shot alerted Madara. Gwen smiled at the sound and lowered the lighter. "Well, I wonder who that was."

Madara clenched his hands around his pistol, aiming it at Gwen. "Was it Volk?" she smiled. "Or was it Mizuki?" He didn't reply. "Volk was carrying his gun, but I wouldn't be surprised if Mizuki had one of her own hidden somewhere in her clothes. You know, when I was an agent, I used to hide small pistols in my boots. I wouldn't leave without one. I bet my daughter must have picked up some of my habits."

Madara lowered the gun. "Agent? You were an agent?"

Gwen laughed. "Yeah, I forgot. By the time we met, I was kicked out. I offered you my services out of a personal hunch. But when you left me there to die, five years ago, I decided you deserved to be destroyed."

She started to walk around, Madara moved. For every step she took, Madara moved the other way, they started to move in a circle. "I met Volk, not long later. He said he wanted your company. He aims to take your place and become the most powerful man in the world."

Madara was not getting a good vibe from this conversation. "You think I'm the enemy here. I'm just a pawn, that's all I've been. But as long as I get to destroy you, I'll help him. Mizuki works for the Agency, the Anbu. She wants to bring down all of us. She's your enemy too."

Madara gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything. Gwen was surprised to find no reaction out of him. "You knew, didn't you? And you let her stay."

"I've killed numerous spies from the Agency," he said. "But for some reason, I can't find myself wanting to harm her, as long as she doesn't become a problem." Gwen smirked.

"Do you have feelings for my daughter, Madara?"

The man was taken aback. He never felt anything for anyone, why was she asking such a stupid question. "I saw you, this last few days. You took her with you around, bought her clothes, showed her you were just a normal business man. Do you really think she's not going to betray you?"

Madara put down the gun. "She's in contact with the Agency right now. They'll tell her how to get out, save herself from the explosion, and leave you here. The best outcome for them is the three of us dying here."

He knew she was right, but a part of him wished Mizuki wouldn't turn her back on him. Everyone always turned their backs on him.

No. Itachi trusted him. Yahiko trusted him. The rest of the Akatsuki trusted him. But he wanted Mizuki to trust him too, he wanted to trust her. "She's not like you." At this point, he didn't know if he was talking to her, or trying to convince himself.

"She's my daughter, she's everything like me."

"I'm not like you." Madara found Mizuki standing at the stairs, aiming her gun at her mother. He fought the smile threatening to show, but realized he was failing when his lips curled up at one side.

"I see you defeated Volk." Gwen smiled. "I underestimated you. Did you kill him?"

"No," Mizuki took a step down. "I shot him in the leg. He won't be able to move, but if you don't hurry out, he might bleed out. I might have hit an important artery."

Gwen chuckled. "Like he cares about that."

Madara saw a shadow move behind Mizuki. "Mizuki, behind you!" The tone in his voice was full of terror. Mizuki looked over her shoulder at the same time she felt something strike her shoulder. She let go of her weapon. Her knees gave out, and the pain was so intense she didn't even feel when she hit the ground.

Gwen pulled out the lighter, gave her daughter one last look, and threw it towards the boxes. It landed close enough to heat the wood, but not to make them explode immediately. She looked again at Volk, her eyes trailed down his bloody leg. "Let's get out of here."

Madara hurried to Mizuki, and helped her up. "Are you okay?" He watched with concern the blood staining her clothes. She had her eyes closed, and her teeth clenched tightly. "Mizu, open your eyes. Don't close your eyes, please. Look at me, I can take your pain away."

Mizuki listened to him. When her blue eyes met his, she took a deep breath. His eyes were a bright red, and she felt like if she was being swallowed into them. The pain disappeared, but the bullet was still there, and blood was still oozing out. "Can you run?"

Mizuki remembered the explosives, and her eyes grew wide. She nodded, and Madara helped her up. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her good arm around his shoulders. "Let's go."

As soon as they put a foot outside, heat rushed their way. They were forcefully thrown into the pavement, as the building shook violently. Roaring sounds attacked them from behind, and smoke came out of every opening. Madara positioned himself over Mizuki, protecting her from the falling gravel.

It died down after a few seconds, and he pushed himself up, looking down at the girl under him. "Mizuki, look at me."

She did as told, Madara felt something burning in his chest when he looked at the bright blue eyes looking right back at him. Mizuki was amazed by his eyes, burning red, as he stared at her. "You're okay," he smiled. "You're really okay." He put a hand on her cheek. "Damn it, you scared me." He glanced down at the blood in her shoulder, and grimaced. "We still have to get that bullet out."

Mizuki looked down at her shoulder and remembered the stinging pain. "Crap, I had forgotten I was shot." She looked again at him. "You made me forget I was shot." She accused.

Madara continued to smile. "There's a lot more I can do."

"Holy fucking shit!" They heard a voice they were familiar with, and looked at Deidara gawking at the burnt building. "They really blew it up!" Sasori, Itachi and Kisame were right behind him. The redhead hurried to Mizuki once he saw the blood. Out of the four, he had knowledge about first aids. He took off his flannel shirt, leaving him in only a white tank top, and tore it. He wrapped it around her shoulder, tight enough to stop the bleeding.

"This will stop the bleeding, but you already lost a lot of blood. We'll need to get you to a hospital as soon as possible." Madara nodded.

"I'll take her."

"You need to get yourself checked as well, Madara." Itachi reached for him, but Madara slapped his hand away. "I'm fine. I'm more worried about her. Where's the car? Take us to a hospital."

Sasori nodded, he noticed that Madara was still holding Mizuki, and he assumed he would refuse to let go. He stood and looked at the others. "Bring the car, I'll stay with them."