Kotetsu ran a hand lightly through his mop of dark hair, brooding over what to do. Izumo was no help, staring blankly between the girl and his clipboard, blinking behind the tangle of brown hair that fell over his eyes. They were the Village guards and yet...

They'd never quite had a situation like this.

Man, I'm really not in the mood for this... Kotetsu internally groaned.

"Oi, Izumo!"

His partner blinked, wide-eyed, and lifted his head to meet Kotetsu's eyes.

His silence prompted Kotetsu to sigh and go on.

"I'll inform the Third, you bring her to Ibiki for questioning," Kotetsu ordered as he straightened up from his crouched position, taking a glance to inspect his gray uniform for unsightly dirt. The Jonin always scolded them for not keeping up appearances. Especially when they were caught sleeping on the job.

Almost wish I'd been sleeping this time, he thought, letting out a quiet "Che" of frustration.

"Ibiki?" Izumo was surprised. Why not allow the Third to pass judgement on her first? He was tempted to ask but Kotetsu caught his gaze and frowned, clearly annoyed for having to explain himself. He knew Izumo doubted him; they'd been friends long enough for him to clearly read the brunette's thoughts with just a glance.

"Take a look at the forhead protector on her arm."

He flicked a hand towards her left arm and Izumo followed the movement, eyes narrowing slowly at the sight of the black-clothed headband she'd tied around her bicep. It was strange, like nothing either Shinobi had seen before. A symbol they didn't recognize. It resembled a sun, one prominent circle in the middle with curl-tipped triangles surrounding it.

But something was wrong.

A mark had been slashed straight through the sun, ruining the otherwise intriguing symbol.

Izumo nodded brusquely and tossed Kotetsu his clipboard, the latter catching it unwilling with much grumbling on his part. The brown-haired Shinobi bent down, watched the girl for signs of movement and, when he decided she was no danger for the moment, scopped her into his arms.

She was light, lighter than a girl her age should have been. Izumo was well-aware young Kunoichi forced strenuous diets on themselves for the sake of their "beloveds" but the girl looked too worn, too haggard for such a simple explanation as that.

The two guards needed no further instructions. They nodded to each other, once in confirmation, before disappearing in opposite directions.

Kotetsu made a bee-line for the center of the Village where the current Hokage dwelt in his mansion, while Izumo made his way across rooftops, his destination distant enough to call for the seemingly odd mode of transportation.

_____________

"It's late Kotetsu. Is what you've come here for so worthwhile that it cannot wait until morning?"

Kotetsu, standing erect and respectable in the large, cluttered office, dipped his head.

"It is, Hokage-sama," he replied seriously. "A rogue Ninja collapsed just outside the gates."

The Third Hokage hooded his eyes. His wide-brimmed red-and-white hat shadowed his grizzled face, making it difficult for the young Chunin before him to comprehend his thoughts. A puff of smoke rose lazily into the air, having escaped the piped held gently to the man's lips.

"A rogue Ninja, hmm?" he murmured around the pipe. He heaved a soft sigh. "Do we know who it is, what Village they belong to?"

The Chunin shook his head regretfully.

"I didn't recognize her face from the Bingo Book."

"She must be quite a recent defector for her face to be missing from our databases," the Third mused.

More smoke clouded the air, swirling as complexly as the man's thoughts. He betrayed none of them, either in expression or body language.

"What of her headband? Surely you must have at least discovered which Village she fled from?"

Kotetsu grimaced. The messenger was never an opportune job and required being grilled no matter who they reported to. He wasn't fond of the questioning he was currently being subjected, not having all the answers himself.

"I'm afraid not, Hokage-sama," he answered carefully, wary of the watching eyes of the masked Ninja hidden among the shadows of the room. "It was a Village symbol I can't remember seeing before."

"Interesting," the Third mumbled.

Interesting? A bead of sweat formed on the side of Kotetsu's head. Is that any way for a Hokage to react to having a rogue appear at his doorstep?

Kotetsu shook off the thought. As odd as his Hokage seemed at times, he was dependable and trustworthy.

"Izumo should be handing her off to Ibiki soon," he added.

Ibiki...

Smoke curled away from the Hokage, fading into bleak nothingness as it rose higher and higher inside the room.

I suppose we'll have our answers soon then...

____________

Izumo pasued outside the large building, bearing the name of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force. It was inconspicuous enough, the sign aside. Most passed it by every day, ignorant to the horrors that awaited some inside its walls.

He was hesitant. Hesitant enough to refuse handing over the small girl in his arms to the master of torture.

Looks could be deceiving.

It was a very basic teaching for Ninja and even Izumo understood. The girl could very well be hiding a demon behind her delicate face and silken snow-white hair. But he couldn't ignore the blood that welled up between his fingers, the stains that nearly drowned out the original color of her hooded-jacket. Her airy frame came to mind again.

How could a girl this young become a rogue? he wondered, shifting the girl in his arms nervously. She's definitely no older than Naruto...

There had to some explanation, something rational to dispel the doubts sprouting up in his mind like weeds. Answers. Answers were what he craved then. But he was no interrogator, didn't know how to persuade enemies to tell their hearts' darkest secrets. For that, he'd need a specialist. And there was no one who fit that category better than Ibiki Morino.

With a resigned sigh, Izumo moved the girl to one arm and raised the other to rap softly at the building's door. Heartbeats later, a panel near eye-level slid open and a pair of shade-covered eyes stared out at the sunset-colored Village. Izumo relayed the situation as best he could, what with the girl's crimson blood now soaking his front. She needed intense medical aid, he knew. But there was nothing he could but follow orders. It was for the good of the Village.

The panel slid shut, to be followed by the sound of locks clicking out of place, the door creaking open soon after.

"Morino-sama just received word from the Hokage about this," the featureless Shinbo said, fixing his glasses into place with two careful fingers. "Thank you for bringing the culprit here so quickly."

The girl's weight disappeared from Izumo's arms but its absence did nothing to remove the vile, uncomfortably warm feeling of her blood, now settled on his skin. It was as though his uniform hadn't been there in the first place.

He found nothing to say in the situation and simply made a quick bow before exiting, heading back to his guard station where Kotetsu would no doubt be waiting. Even as he moved father and farther away, he could still hear the near-silent click of the door closing.

_____________

The girl now sat propped up in a sturdy metal chair, not quite alone in the small, dim room she'd been placed in.

Her eyelids fluttered but refused to fully lift. Small shudders racked her body from time to time, becoming more frequent as time went on. She twitched in her unconscious state.

A man clothed in black watched her from the shadows by the door, harsh glinting eyes narrowed. He hadn't yet begun his interrogation, as the girl hadn't stirred once upon being escorted down here. He could plainly see the dark patches clouding her jacket. The sound of her blood dripping down the edge of the chair and to the floor was ominously loud in the quiet of the room.

The man sighed.

He lifted a hand to knock three times on the door her stood by. Not a second passed before it slid open and a Ninja poked his head in. He looked only at the man, unconcerned with the deathly-pale girl so close by. He was used to the unsettling results of his boss' particular techniques.

"Call the medics," the man ordered shortly.

The Ninja barely kept himself from flinching in shock.

"But Morino-sama, this is a rogue--"

"I'm well-aware of the circumstances," Ibiki cut in. He continued his unrivaled stare; the girl remained motionless, silent apart from her wheezing breaths. "However, I'd rather obtain answers from her than simply allow an autopsy to be done so soon after she was brought into my care."

The Ninja didn't move, still to jolted from the abrupt and fleeting moment of his boss ordering something that seemed so out of character.

"Did I not make myself clear?" Ibiki's voice was low, a warning tone the young Ninja recognized from many a past experience.

He snapped to attention, bowed respectfully to Ibiki, then calmly hurried from the room, silently closing the door behind him.

Ibiki wasn't forced to wait long, as several Medic Nin were stationed in the building at all times. Many interrogations resulted in unspeakable harm to the enemy's person, and so it was natural to have a response team on call. They arrived in due time and, without a word to Ibiki, began their task of seeing to the girl.

He watched as one white-suited Nin unzipped the girl's blood-stained jacket. And even Ibiki had to raise a brow when the small, black-furred puppy tumbled from her jacket into an unprepared Medic Nin's arms. The Nin, startled, looked over his shoulder at Ibiki for instruction on what to do with the strange occurence.

The puppy was as bloody as its owner. It wouldn't last long, left untreated. Its chest heaved with every uneven breath; blood dripped from its dirt-ridden claws.

The Hokage didn't mention a Ninken, Ibiki thought.

Its heartbeat must have been too weak for the guards too notice it.

Ibiki Morino sighed again.

"You."

He indicated another of the Medic Nin, who stood at his call.

"Bring an Inuzuka here. That Hana girl would probably be best. She's a well-known vet in the Village."

"We're saving the Ninken as well?" a different medic asked as his comrade obeyed orders and left. "Are you hoping to question it?"

The medic was only half-teasing, perhaps not even that much. One didn't tease Ibiki Morino and expect to come away unscathed.

"A true Ninja wouldn't discount any source of information," was Ibiki's indifferent response.

The medic winced, nodded briskly to show he understood and returned to seeing to the unconscious girl. His hand lit up with the etheral green glow of chakra as he pressed it to the wound slashed across the girl's abdomen. The others were busy trying to staunch the blood flow of her various injuries while one stood off to the side, awkwardly holding the Ninken.

___________

"Morino-san!"

Ibiki turned just as the young Chunin girl bounded through the door. He watched her, silent, as she took in the situation, eyes already zeroed in on the whimpering Ninken.

"The puppy is your responsibility, Hana-san," Ibiki said as he turned abruptly on his heel, striding past her to leave the room. "I expect good results when I return," he added to the Medic Nin, who lacked an expected lull in their work even when Ibiki left.

He smirked.

It seemed good medics weren't as hard to come by as one might have thought.

Hana hurried over to the Ninken and carefully plucked him from the man's arms. She spared a glance at the girl, still sitting in her chair. Her head lolled against the chair's back, frosty white hair spilling out behind her. It, too, was spattered with globulets of crimson.

Her jacket had been removed, tossed to the side, forgotten in the darkness, and she was left in nothing but her fitted knee-length black shorts and black shirt, cut up as it was.

Hana tore her eyes away, aware of the meaning behind Ibiki's words. She wasn't meant to care about the girl; the Ninken was her only priority.

And yet...

She dropped to her knees, setting the puppy out in front of her. Its injuries were severe, but, if treated in time, survivable. Hana could only hope the same was true of the girl.

So this is another one of those I posted it a while ago but lost interest in it fics. And it's one I'd really like to see completely, even if it's not by me.