"Put her down here," Pein ordered, as Itachi and Kisame entered the hideout, with motionless Mirai on his Samehada. "You guys didn't kill her completely, did you?" he asked, as they put her down. "Because she's different, and I need her chakra to look for a way on how to undo the ultimate seal."

"Don't worry. Since the last two days we checked her, she has a weak pulse until now," Itachi stated, as Pein walked over to Mirai and placed a hand on her abdomen, silently examining it.

"The seal comes with a separate key. Since I don't have it, I'll do it by force," Pein said, before doing a series of hand signs and placed his palm on the ground, a seal pattern emerged on the ground. "It will do if we only get her or the Wolf's chakra. Their chakras are too great. Looking at the seal, we might not get the Wolf, but only its chakra. So a little pulse will do. After all," he paused for a moment, and a long metal rod slid out of his right hand, before continuing. "She'll die anyway after this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ugh!!!"

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sai asked, as he stopped Naruto. The others stopped running and rushed towards them.

"Suddenly... I felt a sharp stab in my chest, and Mirai-neechan's necklace is giving out a strange vibe," Naruto stated, as he pulled out Mirai's kunai necklace, that they had found while on their way yesterday, from his pocket. It kept giving out a faint pulsing of bluish-white light. "The vibe feels gloomy. Also, I couldn't brush off this uneasiness that I've been feeling since few days ago. What does that mean, Kakashi-sensei?"

"We need to hurry up, and we can just hope for the good. Not to forget the bad ones too. We need to brace ourselves. Jaa, let's continue. She seems to be ahead," Kakashi said, before leading the way again. Without losing his pace with the others, Naruto looked down at the necklace and clenched it tightly in his fist.

"Hang in there, Mirai-neechan... We're coming!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

"Just a little bit more, Mirai-san. Then you'll have an eternal rest," Itachi calmly said, while doing the sealing of her chakras, along with some of the White Wolf Shadow's chakras. with the other Akatsuki members.

"Hah... we've never done sealing like this before. The container is still conscious," Hidan snickered. "Also, it seem like this one will finish soon! If only the other sealing are this instant..."

"After this sealing, the other sealing will take less time than usual. Three days will become one-and-a-half to two days. We're only able to take her and a bit of the Wolf's chakras," Pein explained, taking a pause before proceeding. "The White-Wolf Shadow is ultimately sealed with a complex seal, which cannot be broken into by force. If we got the whole Wolf, the other sealing will take lesser time."

"Chi...kusho!!!!" Mirai shouted despite her hands were chained by Pein's seal to the ground. "I won't... let... you guys...!!!" Her chakra continued to leave her body through the hole on her chest, right on where her kunai necklace used to be. "UUAARGH!!" Blood began to soak her clothes through the hole pierced by Pein. "Kuso!! My... body..."

"Tch! Shut up! This girl reminds me of one of our targets. So annoying! Hm!" Deidara said, taking a quick look at her. "That Kyuubi boy... Hm! Both of them really likes to shout words out! What, are they related or something?" Mirai's eyes widened at the mention of Naruto, and glanced up at Deidara as he spoke. "Hm, it will be an easy task for us if we could use a bit of these chakras to capture the Kyuubi."

"DON'T EVER DREAM ABOUT IT!!!" she shouted, as she tried to sit up, but that was impossible since she was chained. "Naruto... is beyond your expectations, and he will always be strong! You guys... won't get him! As long as I live! I've existed, to protect him!"

"Oh, don't worry. We've planned to share a bit of the chakra we took from you and use it to get him, then you're off from your task," Pein stated, still concentrating on the sealing ritual.

"Heh! Even though... I die, I'm still alive in Naruto, to protect him! And that's the promise... I've made sixteen years ago! There's no way that I'll break it, because..." She halted, and smiled while staring the high ceiling of the hideout. "I never... take back my words. That's what my oniichan always taught me." Slowly, her eyes closed as she finished her words.

I can't... feel... my body... anymore. For real... Am I really... going to die? Naruto, take care... protect your friends... everyone... and Konoha, nee? I can't protect you anymore... Gomen nee, oniichan... I've broke your promise, I can't protect Naruto... even after what you've trained me... Gomen...

---

"Mirai-chan," a soft, male voice echoed through her ears. She opened her eyes, and all that she saw was endless white. She sat up and look around, but she found no one. "Mirai-chan," the voice called out again, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. By the time she recognized the voice, she froze, and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Oniichan!!!" she cried, as she turned around and hugged her cousin immediately. "Gomen nee niichan, gomen nee!!!" She continued to cry on his shoulder as he replied the hug, tightly. "I've failed..."

"It's okay, it's okay... Don't worry about it, I don't blame you... We never know what would happen, right?" he calmed her down, patting her head softly. Then he pulled away from the hug, and cupped her cheeks, wiping away her tears. "Well now, look at you... You've grown up more beautiful."

"Tch! What a joke nee. I've just died here, niichan," Mirai said, rubbing her eyes. "How can you still smile, when I've failed to carry out my promise?" He chuckled, and patted her head softly.

"Firstly, Shiroi is still with you, right?"

"Eeto..." She looked around, hoping for the appearance of the Wolf. "Oh, come here!" Suddenly she shrieked, as she saw a wolf coming towards them, right from her cousin's behind. Shiroi whimpered, as it approached her. Mirai hugged her, stroking her soft, fur delicately. "Shiroi... Gomenasai nee... I was thinking to give you back to your master, but even me myself didn't know how to undo the seal." The cousin was just watching her, with a smile of hope.

"Ah right..." Suddenly, Mirai looked up at him, surprising him a bit. "You're lying, niichan! He's got a grey hair, more to silver though! It's not white! Something wrong with your eyes that time?"

"Ah sou ka? Wari wari... but you've met him haven't you?"

"Yes... and he's so... annoying! He supposed to teach me, but it ended up that I've invented a new jutsu by myself! Right!" She looked like she had turned on an idea. "Now that I'm here with you, I want to tell you eeeeeverything about my journey! You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment. 16 years!"

"Hm, you're more talkative than when you were... nine or ten? You must've a long and hard journey eh?" her cousin said, smiling and sat properly. "Okay, go on."

------

"Sensei!" Kakashi stopped as Naruto called out. "The necklace... It's pulsating even faster and brighter! Does that mean she's nearby?" he asked, showing them the necklace, still pulsating on his palm.

"Sai!" Kakashi called out, and Sai nodded, knowing exactly what he wanted him to do. He pulled out his scroll and brush, and started to draw rows of black mice.

"Ninpou." The mice started to emerge from the scroll and began to scatter around. "Now that they're searching, should we get going?"

"Ah... We can't just stand here, doing nothing. We'll just go along with Pakkun's guide; her scent faints off at a place with a waterfall ahead."

"But, could we stop for a while? Let's send our report to Hokage-sama, telling her that we're at Hidden Grass," Yamato told Kakashi, which he then agreed.