Song on the side is Crazy by Andrew Garcia  --->

Pic of Ashley that I drew --->

-- Obviously I drew the two Ashleys myself, and then made the background using images from Google lol --

Ashley’s POV

Ace slowly lifts his head my shoulder and looks down at me as I raise a hand to his cheek, the blue fur wet from his tears. He regards me solemnly, his pale eye hooded and shining.

“Forgive me, but I cannot believe you so easily right now” my Guardian says quietly, his voice sounding a little hoarse. “I need more than vague assurances…..”

I smile sadly through my tears and gently run my fingers through Ace’s fur, hating myself so much for making the Wolf feel this way. I’ve never felt so guilty in all of my life, even the times I’ve killed innocent people in the distant past…

“You’re not the one who should be asking for forgiveness Ace” I reply softly, shaking my head. “I am…..”

Ace stares at me for a few moments, a faint, skeptical expression making its way onto his face. I can’t say I blame him for being suspicious of me of course, considering I’ve been holding out on telling him the truth for awhile now. I’d be skeptical too, except, I’d have confronted him a long time ago and there definitely would have been more yelling……On my part anyway.

“Why did you make me take those papers to the Leaf Village?” my Guardian questions seriously. “After all of the effort you went through to get them, why have you risked your life to send them back to the Village?.....”

“Because I don’t want the Akatsuki to have them” I reply simply, giving Ace a troubled, half hearted smile. “Seeing as the Hidden Stone, a Village that the Leaf isn’t allied with, went to the trouble to hire the Akatsuki to get those papers, I figured they must be important.”

“…While that all makes sense Milady” Ace comments, brows furrowing in confusion, “I do not understand why you risked your life to get the papers back to the Village. Were they not your ticket into the Akatsuki? Why do you care if the Akatsuki get the papers?”

“Because I’m still very much a Leaf Ninja Ace” I state firmly, sounding surprisingly proud of myself. “I don’t want the Akatsuki to do anything to the Village any more than you do.”

Here, Ace stares at me with a slowly widening eye, his mouth hanging slightly open as if he wants to say something but just can’t.

“I….I do not understand” the Wolf eventually admits, shaking his head. “Your words contradict your actions…..I do not know what you are trying to tell me but…..It sounds as though….You are not wanting to join the Akatsuki?”

“I don’t want to join them Ace” I sigh, rubbing at my eyes, “But I have to.”

“Why do you have to?” my Guardian immediately retorts, beginning to scowl. “You do not have to do anything Milady. Joining their ranks is suicide for you!”

“I know that this could get me killed Ace” I murmurs, dropping my eyes to the ground, “But I need to do this. For Kiba, for Naruto, for Sakura and everyone……”

“But….But what are you doing for them?” Ace asks loudly, seemingly feeling exasperated and confused. “How is this going to help anyone?”

“This was an order” I state quietly, thinking back to months ago when it was first mentioned. “Lady Tsunade…….She said only I could do it….”

“How could you replace me?!” I shout, unable to contain my anger any longer. “First you replace Kakashi Sensei, and now you’re replacing me as well?! Do you really think Sakura and Naruto are gonna stand for that?!”

I throw my hands in the air, as Lady Tsunade watches me carefully.

“And to top it off, you’re replacing me with someone you don’t even know let alone trust!” I snap, glaring at the blonde woman angrily. “Why can’t you just let me go back to my team?! What’s so wrong with putting us all back together?!”

“I haven’t replaced you” Lady Tsunade suddenly says, making me pause.

“Excuse me?” I ask incredulously, staring at her with wide eyes. “I’m not being replaced? Oh, I guess I just imagined that whole thing then did I?”

Lady Tsunade rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

“I haven’t replaced you” she repeats pointedly. “I’ve requested that someone fill in for Sasuke. You, I don’t think I could replace if I tried. I’m not getting anyone to fill in for you. Understand?”

I blink, processing this new information.

“That still doesn’t explain why I can’t rejoin Team Kakashi” I eventually say, feeling a bit calmer. “If it’s just going to be a four man squad now, why can’t I be the fourth person instead of this new guy?”

Lady Tsunade picks up her pen and begins writing again.

“I already told you” she says mysteriously. “I have a plan-”

“I wish you’d just let me in on this plan of yours already” I interrupt, sick of not knowing just what it is the Hokage is planning for me.

“If you’ll just shut up” she says lowly, eyes flicking up to my face, “I’ll tell you.”

I blink at this, before stepping back and crossing my arms, a confused scowl tugging my lips downwards. Lady Tsunade had better have a good reason for not letting me rejoin my team, because if she didn’t, I was going to go mental.

I watch as Lady Tsunade sighs and leans forwards in her chair, resting her elbows on her desk and folding her neatly manicured hands together in front of her mouth. She hoods her caramel eyes as they flick up to my face, no humour behind them.

“I understand that you have only recently come back from following the Akatsuki and you’ve been doing that for quite some time” the Hokage begins seriously, “However, I have another request for you…………”

“….Okay” I speak up, unsure as to why Lady Tsunade has paused, “Well, what’s the request then?”

“You won’t like it” she replies knowingly, to which I roll my eyes and shrug a shoulder.

“Let me be the one to decide what I do and don’t like” I retort smartly. “What’s your request?”

“………” Lady Tsunade remains silent, seemingly hesitant to reveal her request to me. “I need you to……To join the ranks of Akatsuki. Become one of them and make your way into their inner circle.”

I narrow my eyes at Lady Tsunade so much that they become nothing but slits, my mouth twisting into a thoughtful scowl. Is she serious? She’s chickening out on her real request and throwing this lame excuse at me instead? Her real request must be stupid, and she’s trying to make one up that will make me feel better about being replaced on Team Seven. How dumb does she think I am?

“Come on Lady Tsunade” I eventually sigh, sweat dropping, “Cut the crap. What do you actually want me to do?”

“I’m not kidding” the Hokage informs me, raising an eyebrow and leaning back in her chair, arms crossing over her large chest. “I really need you to do this. We need information on them, and we need it now. The Akatsuki have gone after the One Tails and Five Tails, so we can only assume the Tailed Beasts are their targets. We need to know why, and just what they plan on doing after they’ve captured the Beasts. We’re not planning on allowing them to capture all of the Beasts of course, but we need to know their plan so they don’t launch some sort of attack on the Village. And an attack is inevitable in the future if they succeed…”

My eyes slowly begin to widen as Lady Tsunade continues talking, realisation dawning on me. This crazy, old bat……She’s not kidding. She’s actually serious about me joining the Akatsuki! But, but……How could I do that?! I’m a Jinchuuriki myself, and the Akatsuki are going after the Tailed Beast hosts! Not that Lady Tsunade knows I’m a Jinchuuriki, but I have to convince her that I can’t do it!

I begin to internally panic, not even listening to Lady Tsunade’s words anymore. Even if I could somehow manage to worm my way into the Akatsuki, I’d be in so much danger of them finding out about Hakuba. And then they’d kill me.

“I won’t do it!” I shout over Lady Tsunade, causing her to fall silent. “It’s crazy Lady Tsunade. Not just crazy, but it’s a suicide mission! How the hell am I supposed to convince those psychopaths to let me join them?! I’ve been following them for a year and a half, and I’ve fought against some of them a few times! As soon as they see me, they’ll be trying to kill me! Why can’t you just get someone else to do it? Let me rejoin my friends on Team Seven and just get someone better qualified to-”

“There’s no one else Ashley” Lady Tsunade interrupts calmly, not at all put off by my outburst. “No one even has the slightest chance of pulling this job off. Who would you suggest sending in your place? Kakashi? He’s a famous, well  known Leaf Ninja, they’d see right through him. Same with Jiraiya. I can’t send Naruto, because they know he’s got the Nine Tailed Fox sealed within him. No one else has been exposed to the darker side of life like you have Ashley. I know you’d be able to handle it.”

“Just forget it!” I cry, shaking my head and throwing out my arms. “Get someone to tail them, or catch one of the Akatsuki members and interrogate them!”

“They would sooner kill themselves than be interrogated by us” the Hokage explains coolly, closing her eyes, “And besides, I don’t wish to bring any of them into the Village. Jiraiya has been following them for quite some time, but we can only find out so much information hiding in the distant shadows. We need someone who can stand in their midst and draw out information without making them suspicious.”

“And a small girl from the Leaf Village asking questions isn’t going to make them suspicious?!” I snap, beginning to grow angry with Lady Tsunade, my sharp teeth bared a little. “You’re freaking insane if you think I’m leaving the Village to try and join those psychos! I don’t think my life is more important than anyone else’s here, but I’m not running straight into a Lion’s den like that. No way!”

“……I’m sure the Akatsuki will have information on Orochimaru” Tsunade mentions after another short pause, causing me to freeze. “We have no clue where he is right now, but if you joined the Akatsuki, I’m sure they’d have some idea, seeing as he used to be a member.”

“O-Orochimaru?.....” I repeat quietly, brows furrowing. “Bastard snake……”

“Then we might be able to find Sasuke as well” Tsunade continues, making me raise my eyes and look at her, a confused, conflicted look on my face. “Just think Ashley, you could find Sasuke and bring him home……Naruto and Sakura would be so happy to see him home again, free from Orochimaru’s clutches……”

I stare at Lady Tsunade for another few seconds, before hanging my head and allowing my shoulders to droop.

“Sasuke……” I whisper, squeezing my eyes closed and burying my face in my hands. What do I do?! I…..I’m scared to leave the Village and try to join the Akatsuki. I don’t know if I’m strong enough….Physically or mentally. I don’t want to dwell among them and aid them in their missions, but most of all……I don’t want to see Itachi-kun again. I love him, but the person he is now scares me……He makes me feel so conflicted and he messes with my head. I don’t want to be around him again!

I slowly begin opening my eyes, lifting my head from my hands.

But……Naruto and Sakura……And even Kakashi Sensei. Sasuke’s departure hurt them all so much, and if there’s just the slightest possibility that I can take away that pain, then isn’t it worth risking all of the danger and fear? I need to be stronger, for the people I care about……This isn’t about me. This is about protecting the Village from the Akatsuki, but most of all, it’s going to be about finding Sasuke and bringing him back so that the holes in the hearts of my most loved ones will be mended.

I raise my head and square my shoulders, brows furrowing as I cast Lady Tsunade a solemn look.

“……I’ll do it.”

Lady Tsunade smiles faintly at my declaration, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

“I won’t order you to go right now” the blonde woman explains, “You can leave for the mission whenever you feel ready, but it needs to be soon, before the Akatsuki get even further out of control.”

I remain silent, but nod my head as I turn to leave the room. Lady Tsunade keeps quiet as I walk up to her office door and pull it open, eyes hooded and trained on the floor. While I know I can’t be selfish and not go on this mission, I……I don’t want to do it……

“One more thing Ashley” Tsunade calls after me, making me pause in the doorway, my back to the Hokage. “You can’t tell anyone about this mission. Not a soul. It would mean disaster for you if you came across any Leaf Ninja and they blew your cover. Remember, the best way to truly fool your enemies, is to fool your friends as well.”

My grip on the doorknob tightens at Lady Tsunade’s addition to this stupid mission of hers, though I bite my tongue to keep from snapping back at her.

“Fine” I growl, slamming the door behind me as I exit her office.

Ace stares at me in disbelief, his visible eye wide. He slowly begins shaking his head, ears lying flat against his head.

“That woman….” he growls quietly, eye narrowing as his fur begins to bristle in anger. “That woman….You realise that she has blackmailed you into this suicidal mission, do you not? Her intention is not at all for you to find your cousin Milady, she merely wants information and is willing to risk your life to get it!”

“Heh, she didn’t blackmail me Ace” I smile sadly, placing one hand to the side of my head and shaking it, “She guilted me into it. I absolutely realise it, but when she mentioned making Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi Sensei happy again……How could I say no?.......And besides, if I can find out what the Akatsuki are doing, we can devise a plan to protect the Leaf Village, and everyone in it.”

Ace stares down at me for a few moments as I hang my head again, brow creased with worry and frustration. I can tell he’s not happy that this is all because of Lady Tsunade guilt tripping me, but at the same time, I think he’s beginning to realise that I didn’t just run away on a stupid whim. I’m doing all of this for good reason, despite how horrible it is…..

“I…..I must apologise then Milady” Ace eventually sighs, deciding to accept my reasons. “I feared you had left everything behind for frivolous reasons, but I can see that your movements had meaning.”

“You have no need to apologise my friend” I reply softly, raising one hand gently rubbing behind Ace’s ear. “I should’ve told you in the first place…..”

“I knew it was hurting you to fight them…” Ace murmurs, shuffling closer to me and nuzzling my cheek. “I could see that you were pretending it did not hurt, but the pain was obvious to me. You still have very strong feelings for all of those Leaf Ninja, do you not?”

“…….I want to protect my friends” I reply after a moment’s pause, “And if doing so means that I have to hurt them and be hurt in the meantime, then…..So be it I suppose….”

“You are very strong Milady” Ace informs me seriously. “I admire this about you, but….I cannot help but feel that you did not need to embark on this quest by yourself. Surely we, the members of your Pack, could have helped? Your friends, would they not have understood?”

“They would’ve tried to stop me” I chuckle, smiling at the thought of all my wonderful friends back home. “Especially Kiba. He would never let me out of his sight if he knew what Lady Tsunade was planning for me.”

“The boy is protective” Ace agrees. “I like this quality of his. You need it Milady, because you have a knack for getting yourself in trouble.”

“Heh, yeah he is very protective” I laugh softly, the affection clear in my voice. “He’s such an idiot……”

‘He still believes in me too’ I think to myself. ‘Despite everything I’ve done, he’s still on my side. You’re an idiot Kiba……But I’m so thankful for you…..’

“Speaking of the Leaf Ninja” Ace speaks up, something suddenly coming to mind, “Why did you fight them so hard when they were trying to seal the Three Tailed Beast? If you do not wish for the Akatsuki to take it, why did you help them capture it?”

“It was all just an elaborate play Ace” I inform him with a faint smirk. “I helped them capture it, healed it right under their noses and then played down my power so it could escape into another dimension.”

“You….You healed the creature?” my Guardian questions, looking bewildered for some reason. “You are a silly girl. You could have easily been caught doing that!”

“Tobi did almost catch me” I sigh irritably, annoyed by the thought of that orange faced twerp. “But he’s so stupid, he bought my excuse that he was just imagining everything.”

“……….” Ace watches me for a few moments, one ear flopping over cutely as he tilts his head to the side. “……Milady, please do not take such risks any more. You have already come this far, do not do anything crazy that will get you found out…….”

“I won’t Ace” I promise, giving my partner a tired closed eye smile. “I’m just glad that we’re best buddies again!”

“We will always be best friends Milady” Ace sighs as he presses his forehead against mine, before leaning backwards, a flat expression on his face. “You could never do anything to make me hate you. However, I do believe you will need to explain this to the others as well. They are quite down, and I know that Jet is rather angry at you as well. You must calm him and assure him that you have not changed.”

“Right!” I agree with a nod. “I’ll do that just as soon as-”

Suddenly sensing a presence behind me, I leap to my feet and whirl around, flicking my Wolf mask down in the process. Ace, having reacted at the same time as me, stands by my side with his head lowered and teeth bared, a low, guttural growl emitting from his throat.

Two burning red eyes meet my gaze, as Itachi appears through the darkness, like an ominous apparition. He stops a few metres ahead of me, staring at me with that usual flat expression of his, hooded eyes revealing nothing.

Though I maintain my defensive position, my heart beats rapidly in my chest, nervous butterflies whirling around inside my stomach. Had he heard what we were talking about? Why is he just standing there and staring at us like that? Is he angry now? Is he going to give us up? Maybe I should try to attack him before he can inform the others of what-

“Get out of my sight traitor” Ace snarls viciously, razor sharp teeth gleaming as he takes a step forwards. “You do not deserve to stand in the presence of Milady! Get out of my sight, before I tear out your throat……”

Itachi’s eyes lazily flick down to my furious Wolf for only a moment, before he glances back and me again, not fazed at all by Ace’s threat.

“Wolves” the dark haired male says in his deep, velvet voice, “…..They are such loyal creatures. Always protecting what is dear to them….”

“Take your metaphors and analogies” Ace snaps, taking another step towards Itachi, “And disappear murderer. Your words mean nothing here!”

Itachi narrows his eyes at me the slightest amount, before he slowly closes them and turns away, silently walking off into the night. Before I have so much as a chance to breathe however, another person looms in front of me, though this time, I growl. He makes me uneasy, mostly because I know he seriously dislikes me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to launch an attack at me right now. He can’t be around me and not try to kill me….

“Poor little brat” Kisame chuckles, Samehada slung over his shoulder, with one hand resting lazily on the hilt, “Stuck out here in the cold. Well, lucky for you, the adults have stopped talking now.”

I raise my fists into a fighting position as Kisame tilts his head to the side, beady eyes gleaming in the darkness. He shifts Samehada to a more comfortable position, before heaving a sigh.

“Unfortunately it looks like I won’t be able to kill you today” the blue skinned man informs me, sounding disappointed. “But don’t worry, the opportunity will arise again in the future, I’m sure of it.”

“….Wait…….What?” I ask myself, brows furrowing in confusion as Kisame follows after Itachi, disappearing off into the night. “Why aren’t they coming out to kill me? It’s not like I gave the Leader and pa-”

“F*****g hell” Hidan’s irritated voice sighs from ahead of me, “Why do we have to deal with the f*****g brat? I don’t wanna babysit her!”

“……They’re our orders Hidan” Kakuzu replies flatly. “Deal with it.”

“F**k you Kakuzu” the silver haired man replies, stepping up out of the hideout and pausing in front of me, shoulders drooping. “And f**k you too bitch.”

With an angry snarl, Ace launches himself as Hidan, not appreciating his disrespect towards me. The purple eyed man lets out a cry of surprised, before Ace’s large paws land on his shoulders, and Hidan is pushed roughly to the ground. My Wolf stands over the man, baring his teeth, before he flicks his head down, aiming for Hidan’s throat.

The Jashinist reacts quickly however, whipping his scythe out and holding it above him, Ace’s jaws snapping closed around the black pole.

“Get this crazy f*****g animal off of me!” Hidan orders, his arms shaking with the effort of having to hold my Guardian back. “Kakuzu!”

“Get up Hidan” Kakuzu replies dully, pausing at the top of the staircase and glancing down. “We have a mission to complete.”

“I’d get up if I f*****g could you bastard!”

My attention flicks from Ace to Kakuzu, as I feel the tall man look over at me, a grim expression on his face.

“You’d best call off your Wolf” he suggests lowly, “Because the three of us have a mission to get started on, and I don’t have the time or patience for disturbances like this.”

“……What?” I ask after a short pause, my eyes widening behind my mask. “A mission? What the hell are you talking about? I thought……Why doesn’t your Boss want to talk to me again?”

“He decided to send you on a mission with us” Kakuzu informs me as he walks past, not sparing me another glance. “If you can’t keep up, you die.”

“But…..But I didn’t even give your Boss the papers yet!” I argue, gesturing for Ace to come back to my side. With one last growl at Hidan, my Guardian obediently releases his scythe and stalks back over to me.

“F*****g Itachi gave him the papers” the silver haired man informs me grumpily, dusting himself off and casting Ace a murderous glare. “He told the Boss how he had to hold them while you made a f*****g mess of killing some Leaf Ninja bastard.”

“While I killed…….” my eyes slowly widen as I trail off, feeling beyond confused. Itachi told them I’d killed one of the Leaf Ninja? But….How could he think that? Surely he’d seen that I hadn’t killed Neji, especially considering he was fighting against Kisame!

And wait……How had Itachi given the Leader any papers anyway? I’d given them to Ace and he’d taken them back to the Leaf Village. If I’d had the papers, it’s not like I’d have given them to Itachi.

‘What’s going on here?’ I wonder, feeling somewhat suspicious of the situation. Are they setting me up for something?....

“So……What’s this mission then?” I ask after a few moments, trailing after Kakuzu and Hidan, though I maintain a small distance between myself and them.

“Are you gonna ask f*****g questions the whole way?” Hidan asks rudely, glaring at me over his shoulder, to which Ace growls right back.

“That’s the first question I’ve asked about the mission!” I snap, hands balling into fists. “You two haven’t explained anything to me, so sorry for being confused!”

“Hmph…..Stupid little bitch….” Hidan mutters, causing me to grow an anime vein. How dare he speak to me like that?!

“What was that?!” I bark angrily, readying myself to launch an attack at Hidan’s stupid back.

“We’re delivering these papers to some Stone Ninja to take back to their Village” Kakuzu intercedes before I can do anything, holding said papers up in one hand and waving them back and forth.

I pause in my walking for a moment and stare at the papers, eyes narrowing. So…..They did actually have some papers. But how? There’s no way they’re the same papers I took from Shikamaru, so what had Itachi given them?....

Third Person’s POV

Lee lies still and silent in the hospital bed, his breathing even and calm, as if he were only sleeping. Neji, standing at Lee’s bedside, stares down at his unconscious teammate with a faint scowl, his injured hand newly treated and bandaged.

Though Lee’s overly positive and energetic personality often annoyed the usually stoic Hyuga, he was quite angry right now. Ashley had hurt one of his closest friends, and she’d gotten away with it. If Itachi and Kisame hadn’t shown up back then, he would’ve taught the blonde girl a lesson…..

Standing in the doorway, Kiba leans against the frame and folds his hands behind his head, a solemn look on his face. Shikamaru stands across from him, hands shoved in his pockets and one knee bent to rest his foot against the wall.

“Neji hasn’t said one word since we got to the hospital” Shikamaru comments quietly, hooded eyes watching the Hyuga’s back. “I think he’s pretty mad about Lee, he just doesn’t want to admit it…..”

“Mm…” Kiba agrees half heartedly, eyes drifting over to Lady Tsunade, who is standing beside Lee’s bed along with Neji. “Well, he’ll be alright soon.”

“Please Lady Tsunade” Guy pleads, anime tears pouring down his face as he grabs onto the Hokage’s arm, “Please heal him! He is my precious student, and I can’t stand to see him like this!”

“Guy, please” Tsunade sighs, as Neji casts his Sensei a flat look, “Let me concentrate.”

“I’m sorry Lady Hokage” Guy sighs heavily, slumping down into a chair and placing the finger tips of one hand to his forehead. “I’m not very good when it comes to my students getting injured.”

“Understandable” Tsunade replies with a faint smile, before she performs a hands sign, her hand beginning to glow with a soft green aura.

She ushers Neji out of the way and leans forwards, placing her glowing hand to Lee’s forehead. The woman closes her caramel eyes as she concentrates on healing Lee, trying to bring him out of Ashley’s Genjutsu and fix his undoubtedly damaged mind.

Everyone in the room remains silent for as Lady Tsunade works on Lee, when, after no more than two minutes, the unconscious boy lets out a sigh.

Guy leaps up out of his seat and fidgets anxiously, as Tsunade leans back and crosses her arms. She watches as Lee’s large eyes slowly begin to open, a sleepy look on his face.

“Lee!” Guy shouts joyously, launching himself at the boy and slinging an arm across his shoulders, causing Lee to wince a little. “I’m so glad that you’re alright! Good job Lady Hokage, and thank you!”

“Not a problem” Tsunade replies off handedly, as Neji smiles faintly to himself. “Now Lee, how do you feel? Do you have a headache? Are you hurting anywhere?”

Lee blinks his eyes a few times, before tilting his head back to look at Tsunade and raising a hand to rub at his eye.

“Why did you wake me?” the boy asks tiredly. “I was having such a nice dream…..”

Everyone’s eyes widen at this, with Guy and Tsunade exchanging confused looks. Kiba’s brows furrow in confusion as Akamaru lets out a confused bark from behind him. Neji merely raises an eyebrow down at his teammate, as Shikamaru shakes his head and steps forwards.

“What do you mean you were having a nice dream?” the Nara questions. “Ashley used her Sharingan to cast a Genjutsu on you. You’ve been completely out of it for hours!”

“Yes” Lee says with a yawn, “I remember her casting the Genjutsu and I couldn’t get out of it, but it was not unpleasant. I was fighting in a huge tournament that had Shinobi from every Village in it, including all of you. I was winning my way to the top and I was just about to fight Naruto in the final round, but then you woke me up before I could win……Now I will never know who wins out of Naruto and myself!”

As Lee hangs his head, a small cloud of depression forming over him, Shikamaru can’t help staring in disbelief. Ashley had cast a Genjutsu on Lee…….So why hadn’t it hurt him? Why had he thought he was just having a nice dream? It…..Just didn’t make sense.

“Heh, I told you guys” Kiba states with a knowing smirk, before pushing himself away from the doorframe and exiting the room, Akamaru hot on his heels. “She’s still one of us deep down…….”

Despite how violent she’d been behaving and the awful words that would come from her mouth, Kiba still couldn’t fully believe that Ashley had really joined the Akatsuki. He didn’t know why she would run off and pretend to join the Akatsuki, but so many of her actions went against the words she was saying.

Kiba had no doubt Ashley hadn’t wanted to hurt Lee, and so she’d put him under a Genjutsu that wouldn’t affect him. And now that he thought about it, Ashley hadn’t hurt Shikamaru either. She probably would have avoided combat with Neji, Akamaru and himself as well, if they hadn’t attacked her…..

Heaving a tired sigh, Kiba runs a hand through his hair and pauses with his hand covering one side of his face.

“This is all so confusing boy” the Inuzuka mutters to his Ninken, “I dunno how long I can keep doing it….”

“Ruff ruff?” Akamaru asks, tilting his head and giving Kiba an enquiring look. “Ruff ruffruff…..”

“Heheh….” Kiba chuckles, dropping his hand and shoving it in his pocket. “Nah, I’m not givin up boy. I’ll prove Neji and Shikamaru and everyone wrong. Call me crazy but…..I just know Ashley’s still on our side…..”

** Time Skip **

Ashley’s POV

“You’re even more deceitful than I thought. Tell me, is it true? All of it?”

Hearing a deep voice echoing around me, I slowly open my eyes, only to find that I am surrounded by darkness, a cold chill hanging in the air. Turning my head to the right however, I see two wide, bright red eyes staring at me, unblinking.

“Tell me. I grow tired of your lies. What is the truth?”

“Hakuba…..” I say with a faint smile. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been face to face.”

“And what a pleasant time it has been, fabricator of tales” the Demon replies in an unfriendly tone, causing me to roll my eyes. “Now, answer me. That story you told to your Wolf friend, was it the truth?”

“Why are you so concerned whether it was or not?” I ask, crossing my arms and tilting my head to the side. “It doesn’t affect you either way.”

“Doesn’t affect me?” Hakuba asks, chuckling nastily. “I do recall a small, blonde haired brat proclaiming to me that she’d ‘change my opinion of people, and show me that they can be trusted’. So far, you have failed to convince me of anything! You’ve merely strengthened my opinion that humans are truly disgusting and should never be trusted!”

I cast Hakuba a faintly concerned look, crossing my arms as he rises from his lying down position and sits back on his haunches. His lips pull back into an unfriendly smirk, revealing his large fangs.

“All I have seen of late is you berating your former friends” the Demon continues, narrowing his eyes at me, “Hurting them with your words and going so far as to attack them. How can you possibly hope to change my opinion brat, when your actions contradict everything you say? I don’t trust you one bit, because I know you’re only doing this for selfish reasons and-”

“Selfish reasons?” I interrupt, frowning up at Hakuba. “You idiot, this is anything but selfishness. If anything, I’m trying to be selfless here!”

“By doing what?” Hakuba retorts, ears lying back against his head. “Betraying everyone and attempting to kill them when they try to help you?”

“That’s not what I’m doing!” I shout angrily. “Why do you always twist my words and actions around to suit you?! I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it to help my friends and my Village! You heard what I told Ace, and all of it is a hundred percent true!”

“I never heard that discussion with your Hokage” Hakuba is quick to inform me, rising to his feet. ‘And I’ve never heard one single thing about your alleged plan with her to join these Akatsuki fools.”

“That’s because I’ve been using my chakra to block you out” I growl, glaring at Hakuba as he pauses. “I didn’t tell you about it for the same reason I didn’t tell Ace, because you would’ve tried to talk me out of it. The Akatsuki are after Tailed Beasts, and if they knew you were sealed inside me, you know as well as I do that they’d try to capture you.”

Hakuba stares at me for a few more moments, before he begins slowly pacing back and forth along the bars of his cage, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“I already didn’t want to go on this stupid mission because I knew it’d be hard” I continue, lowering my voice a little, “And the last thing I needed was someone trying to talk me out of it. If you or Ace had known about this mission, I know it wouldn’t have taken much for me to be talked out of it because I was really uncertain about it…..”

“…….I remember your Hokage saying something while you were in the hospital that time” Hakuba mutters, ears pricking up, “About not worrying about that mission anymore. I am going to assume she meant this mission!”

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you here?” the Ten Tails presses, turning around to watch me again. “Why are you going against orders? Were you so eager to betray your so called friends?”

“Stop it Hakuba, I haven’t betrayed anyone!” I snap, my eyes wavering a little as I glare at the Demon once again. “I….I’m doing this mission to try and find Sasuke, so my teammates can stop feeling so down about it and they won’t have to burden themselves with finding him anymore. And besides, I need to find out why the Akatsuki are capturing Tailed Beasts and murdering Jinchuuriki. Lady Tsunade fears an attack on the Leaf Village, and I want to prevent that if I can…….Lady Tsunade only told me not to go because she fears the Akatsuki will discover that I’m a Jinchuuriki too, but…..But I need to help my friends and try to protect my Village!”

Hakuba tilts his head and narrows his eyes, casting me a suspicious, side long glance.

“So, you are willing to risk my life to help everyone else” the Demon scoffs, shaking his head. “It’s like I have said to you before, the needs of the many will always come before the needs of the individual.”

“I’ll protect you Hakuba” I state seriously, ignoring his last sentence. “I won’t let those Akatsuki bastards anywhere near you! They won’t be getting their dirty hands on you……I think you’ve suffered enough at the hands of people, so I’ll do everything I can to prevent any further suffering. I promise I’m telling you the truth Hakuba! Please believe me!”

Hakuba’s brows furrow at this, his lips pulling back into a silent growl as he glowers down at me. I stare back just as intently, willing the powerful Demon to believe me. I mean it too. I have absolutely no intention of betraying Hakuba’s trust or letting the Akatsuki get to him.

After a few moments, Hakuba sighs irritably and closes his eyes. Swishing his ten tails around behind him, the Beast turns around and begins disappearing into the darkness of his prison, obviously done with our conversation.

“The only way to protect me is to protect yourself” he informs me seriously, sparing me a swift glance over his shoulder. “So make sure you do just that brat. I have no death wish.”

“O-Of course!” I cry, giving the Demon a playful salute. Who knew he’d react like that? Normally he’d rant on and on about how powerful he is and that he doesn’t need me to try and protect him. Maybe he hasn’t completely given up on me yet? Or maybe he’s just bored of our conversation?.....Who knows? It’s hard to tell with Hakuba sometimes……

But if I feel that way, why am I smiling to myself right now?

“Well, well” a voice greets us, snapping me back into reality. “It’s about time you guys showed up.”

Kakuzu and Hidan pause in their walking in front of me, two Stone Ninja seated on a boulder before us. I peer around Kakuzu at the two Ninja, frowning behind my mask at their arrogant expressions.

I get that the Leaf Village isn’t allies with the Hidden Stone Village, but I don’t understand why they’re going so far as to want papers that the Sand Village were giving back to us. Maybe they’re planning another attack on the Leaf Village? I’ve heard they’ve tried to attack them in the past, and even almost won a War against us. I wasn’t around back in those days, but still…..

“Thanks so much for retrieving those documents for us” one of the Stone Ninja says, sliding down from the boulder and holding out his hand. “Now hand them over.”

“Give us the money and we will” Kakuzu is quick to reply, his tone monotonous.

“And watch your f*****g attitude you little shithead” Hidan warns, eyes narrowed. “I don’t like being a f*****g errand boy like this, so I’m in a shitty mood right now…..”

Raising an eyebrow, the Stone Ninja produces a small sack and shakes it up and down, the loud jingling noise causing Kakuzu to perk up a little. He pulls the papers out of his cloak, to which the Stone Ninja smirks and throws him the sack.

Catching it easily in one hand, Kakuzu then shoves the papers towards me, clearly wanting me to hand them over.

Scowling behind my mask, I snatch them from Kakuzu and stalk up to the Stone Ninja, just about throwing them at him.

“Do you even know what those documents are about?” I ask flatly, to which the man shakes his head.

“Nah, Lord Tsuchikage just ordered us to meet you here to get them” he replies, before the two Stone Ninja perform hand signs and disappear from sight.

“Idiots…..” I sigh, sweat dropping. Why would the Tsuchikage go to all the trouble of hiring the Akatsuki to steal papers when he doesn’t even know what they’re about? I don’t even know what they’re about!

“Okay, now we head to the Land of Lightning” Kakuzu announces, with Hidan expressing his gladness to be getting back to normal missions.

“What are we going all the way there for?” I question, to which Hidan smirks over his shoulder at me.

“We’re going to capture the f*****g Two Tails” he informs me with an ominous chuckle.