Hey guys, SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR SO LONG!!! My new job is CRAZY busy, and like I said, I have to work some Saturdays, so I don't have much time anymore :/

Also, for the past few weeks, my internet has been stuffing up and not working, so that's been SUPER fun to deal with.......

Anyway, make sure to read the bold writing at the end of the chapter! :3

Just coz I feel like it, a pic of Naruto and Kiba <3  --->

Ashley’s POV

‘How wise of you’ Hakuba says sarcastically, sounding aggravated. ‘Just when I think you’ve begun to smarten up, you run to these Akatsuki people. I thank you for risking my life, you stupid little brat.’

I remain silent and close my eyes, holding in an irritated sigh. Hakuba has been snapping at me for a good two hours now, and my silence doesn’t seem to be putting him off at all. However, he is not the reason that I’m feeling ready to scream. That idiot Tobi hasn’t shut up once. I’m seriously beginning to consider pushing him off of Deidara’s Owl.

“So Masked Lady-chan?” Tobi addresses me for the hundredth time, poking me in the back. “Where are you from? How come you wanna come and be one of us? Why are you wearing that mask? How do you get your hair so shiny? Seriously, look at it Deidara Senpai! It’s so shiny shiny…..Wheeeee!”

I visibly flinch as Tobi flicks my hair up, seeming to enjoy himself while it flies out behind me. Deidara also lets out an annoyed grunt, subtly glancing back over his shoulder as my hands ball into fists.

“Would you stop touching me?” I growl lowly, turning my head and glowering at Tobi, though he obviously can’t see my face underneath my mask. “Do it again, and I’m going to throw you off of this bird. Got it?”

“Eep!” Tobi squeaks, throwing up his hands and scooting backwards in a panic. “Sorry Masked Lady-chan!” Tobi apologises childishly, “I’m sorr-EEEEEEEEE!”

I can’t help sweat dropping as Tobi falls over backwards, tumbling down the Owl’s back and rolling right off of it. He somehow manages to grab onto the bird’s tail however, his feet kicking wildly as tears stream from the tiny eye hole in his orange mask.

“Help me Deidara Senpai!” Tobi calls in distress, his Akatsuki cloak billowing in the wind. “Help me!”

“Help yourself hm” Deidara mutters, shaking his head and turning to glance at me. “I’m sick of hearing that idiot calling you the Masked Lady hm. So, what’s your actual name?”

“Ashley” I reply shortly, eyeing Tobi and wondering whether I should help him off of the bird. I’ve only just met Tobi, and I’m already wondering how someone like him got to join the Akatsuki in the first place. He’d probably be better off in a day-care, rather than a criminal organisation.

“What, don’t you have a last name hm?” Deidara chuckles, his blue eye glittering with amusement as I frown at him.

“Don’t you?” I shoot back, causing the blonde male to pause for a moment.

“Are you always going to be difficult?” he eventually asks me, raising an eyebrow.

“Probably” I say with a smirk, crossing my arms. “I find that being difficult really works in my favour most of the time.”

“Leader is gonna eat you alive hm” Deidara informs me flatly, not sounding concerned about the fact. “You speak to him like that, and he’ll kill you where you stand.”

“I look forward to meeting him” I state confidently, though on the inside, I’m actually quite nervous. This could have been a really big mistake on my part. I have no idea who the Leader of the Akatsuki is, and what if he’s insanely powerful? If he deems me unworthy to join the Akatsuki, which I’m beginning to feel is a big possibility, would I actually be able to escape with my life?......Was it really worth taking this risk and abandoning the Leaf Village, all for a whim?

‘Yet another possible flaw in this brilliant idea of yours’ Hakuba comments dryly. ‘For my sake, I hope you come out of this alive brat. And you better not let them take me kid. I have no interest in furthering their plans or becoming their slave. It’s bad enough being stuck inside you.’

‘I won’t let them find out about you Hakuba’ I assure the restless Demon. ‘And even if they did find out, I’d defend you, so don’t worry.’

‘Oh, you’d defend me’ Hakuba chuckles humourlessly, rolling his eyes. ‘Well, I feel a lot better about this ridiculous situation now…..Don’t be so arrogant brat. I’m an almighty being. There’s nothing you could do to defend me. I can defend myself.’

‘Is that why you’re sealed inside of me?’ I ask wryly. ‘You clearly did a great job of defending yourself.’

‘…It’s a little hard when the entire human race is after you’ Hakuba growls angrily. ‘I did my best and was only ever overcome by one man. But that damned Sage is dead now, so I could defend myself……Don’t mock me.’

“So your name is Ashley-chan then hmmmmm?” Tobi asks enthusiastically, interrupting my thoughts as he scrambles back up onto the clay Owl’s back. “That’s…..Interesting.”

“Who are you to judge?” I sniff, turning my head away, “With a stupid name like Tobi? Is that even your real name?”

“D-Don’t be so mean to Tobi Ashley-chan” the dark haired male snivels, his head hanging sadly. “I just meant that it’s a different name. It’s very pretty!”

“That may be” I reply, smirking meanly behind my mask, “But I still think Tobi is a stupid name.”

“Are you children quite done?” Deidara asks with a sigh, momentarily closing his eyes as the clay Owl begins to descend. “I’m not in the mood for your bickering hm. Tobi, you should know better than to act this way. Akatsuki members are meant to be cool hm. You’re acting about as cool as a forest fire…”

“Deidara Senpaaiii…..” Tobi whines, as I try to stifle a chuckle. Who knew Deidara could be funny?

I soon lose my desire to laugh however, as Deidara’s Owl lands gently on the ground, with the blonde male sliding down and wincing. Tobi eagerly bounds down from the clay bird and spins in a circle, apparently enjoying the warm sunshine.

“What’s going on here?” I demand to know, giving Deidara a suspicious look as he slides off his Akatsuki cloak and sits down on a rock. “I thought you were taking me to meet this oh so mighty Leader of yours.”

Deidara glares at me briefly, before looking down at his chest. From my position on top of the Owl, I can see that Deidara has a long, diagonal gash across his chest, a large amount of blood staining his mesh shirt. Looks like those ANBU didn’t go quietly.

“Ungh…” Deidara grunts, plucking a small shuriken from another wound lower down on the side of his torso. He tosses it to the ground and sighs once again, while Tobi just leans down beside him, hands resting on his knees as he examines Deidara’s injuries.

“Haha, they didn’t even get me!’ the dark haired male brags, turning around and giving me a peace sign. “But they got Deidara Senpai a few times!”

“That’s because I did all of the work you imbecile” the blonde teenager mutters darkly, before his visible eye flicks up to me. Sneering at me slightly, Deidara lifts his hand and folds down two fingers, keeping his pointer and middle fingers straight up.

I barely have time to react, before the Owl I’m sitting on suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke. I manage to flip around at least, landing on the ground in a crouched position and giving Deidara a dirty look from beneath my mask. It’s kind of annoying that they can’t see my facial expressions. Maybe I should lose the mask for awhile.

Rising to my feet, I push my mask up to rest on top of my head, almost like a hat, and place one hand on my hip.

“I don’t care if you’re injured” I begin dryly, “Tell me why I’m not currently talking with your Boss.”

“I never said I’d take you to him right away hm” Deidara informs me smartly, pulling a face as he presses a hand to his bloodied chest. “It’s too bad for you, but we actually won’t be seeing him for quite some time.”

“What?” I growl lowly, hooding my eyes. “And just why won’t we be seeing him exactly?”

“Because we all just saw him a week ago” Deidara smirks, tilting his head back a little, as Tobi annoyingly begins staring at me, “When we sealed the FourTails.”

I can’t help the way my eyes widen at this news, with Hakuba beginning to growl unhappily in my head. Without him even telling me, I know why this information irritates him. Half of Hakuba’s power was taken from him long ago and split into the Nine Tailed Beasts that exist today. He wants all of that power back to regain his former glory, and the fact that people like the Akatsuki have control of it must be really frustrating for him.

“You managed to capture the FourTails’ Jinchuuriki?” I question carefully, narrowing my eyes a little.

“I didn’t hm” Deidara informs me matter of factly. “Kisame caught him. He wasn’t much of a problem apparently, but it'snot like anyone came to help him. It doesn’t seem like people care too much for these Jinchuuriki hm.”

I scowl down at the ground, balling my hands into fists and biting my lip to keep from snapping at Deidara. I don’t want to agitate him or make him suspicious of me by spouting my opinions on how wrongly Jinchuuriki are treated. He wouldn’t understand anyway. Only an actual Jinchuuriki can truly understand how it feels…

“That’s sort of why we’re out here anyway hm” Deidara mutters, rolling his visible eye, “Leader wants us to find the Three Tails.”

“So, you’re searching for another Jinchuuriki….” I mumble quietly, before raising my eyes to meet Deidara’s. “Well, you’re looking in the wrong place. If there was a Jinchuuriki anywhere around here, I’d have heard about it by now. News like that wouldn’t stay secret for long.”

“The Three Tails has no host” Deidara informs me tightly, apparently in a fair amount of pain. “We’re searching for the actual Beast itself. Unfortunately, we don’t have many leads on where it could be hm….”

“A Tailed Beast without a host?” I repeat curiously, brows furrowed. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. If it doesn’t have a host to control it, wouldn’t a Tailed Beast be roaming the land and attacking people?”

“Not exactly” Deidara chuckles lowly, a strained look still on his face. “The Three Tails is able to send itself to another dimension to hide its presence hm. It possesses a lot of power, like all Tailed Beasts hm, but without a host, it doesn’t have the intelligence to control and use its powers properly.”

“….Why are you telling me all of this?” I ask suspiciously, after a brief pause. “You were being pretty secretive about all this just a few hours ago.”

“Here’s the deal” Deidara states, giving me a smug look, “You can either help us find and catch the Three Tails hm, which will make you look good to our Leader, or you can screw off. Your choice hm.”

I give Deidara a hard stare, my mind a mess of jumbled thoughts. Did I dare help the Akatsuki acquire another Tailed Beast? While it wouldn’t mean one of my fellow Jinchuuriki would die, it would still be wrong…..Wouldn’t it? Or, do I help the Akatsuki catch another Tailed Beast and pretty much secure some sort of position within their organisation? I mean, I did leave my teammates behind to try and join up with the Akatsuki, so if I don’t help them, it was a wasted effort…..

Sighing lightly, I walk towards Deidara and begin performing some hand signs, causing him to stiffen slightly and narrow his visible eye at me.

“Don’t try anything funny hm” the blonde male warns me, tilting his head down and watching as I kneel in front of him. “I may be injured, but I’m a member of the Akatsuki for a reason.”

“Shut up” I command, rolling my eyes and placing my hands on Deidara’s chest as a soft, green aura surrounds them. I hear the older male suck in a sharp breath as the gash across his chest begins to heal immediately, though his blue eye remains on my face.

After a few minutes of me healing Deidara and feeling him staring at me, causing my annoyance to slowly rise, I glance up at him and scowl.

“What are you staring at me for?” I demand to know, to which Deidara pulls a face at me, raising one eyebrow at the same time.

“What’s up with your eyes hm?” he questions, leaning back on one hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen someone with purple eyes before. Well, except for Hidan hm…..”

“They’re not purple Deidara Senpai” Tobi is quick to correct, holding one finger up and nodding wisely. “They’re fuschia!”

As Deidara turns his head and glares at Tobi with irritation, I can’t help blinking and looking up at the dark haired male with slightly widened eyes, eyebrows raised. Seeming to catch me staring at him, no doubt looking somewhat incredulous, Tobi folds his hands behind his head and turns to face me.

“Don’t worry Ashley-chan” he assures me brightly, “At least Tobi knows the difference!”

“……Thanks” I eventually reply slowly, frowning to myself as I return my focus back to healing Deidara’s wounds. Why did Tobi have to correct Deidara like that? Everyone just assumes my eyes are purple, and I’m usually the one who has to correct them. Not that it’s really a big deal or anything, but no one has ever just said to me, oh, you’ve got fuschia eyes. No, people always call them purple.

I subtly flick my eyes back over to Tobi, hooding them as he hums merrily to himself, studying a Butterfly that is flitting past him.

‘……There’s something…..Weird about him’ I think to myself, trying to shake the feeling that Tobi is familiar to me somehow. It’s impossible that we’ve met before though. I’d definitely have recognised his presence earlier if I’d previously met him…But still……I’m keeping my eye on him.

“You’re all done Deidara” I announce, pushing myself to my feet and dusting off my hands. “Now, let’s go and find this Three Tails.”

Third Person’s POV

“What?!” Tsunade explodes incredulously, slamming her palms down on her desk and rising out of her seat. “What do you mean by gone?!”

Kakashi can’t help sweat dropping at Lady Tsunade’s reaction and scratches the back of his neck, as Hinata flinches backwards and Kiba hangs his head, eyes trained on the floor. He still has Ashley’s backpack in his hands, though they’re balled up into tight fists.

Akamaru whimpers softly, ears drooping and his tail between his legs. He was worried about Ashley too, but since he had such a great sense of hearing, it tended to hurt his ears a little when Lady Tsunade would yell. She may as well have been screaming into a bullhorn.

“It’s like we said Milady” Kakashi sighs, shoulders drooping a little, “She was following the Akatsuki from a distance, and when we went to catch up with her……She was gone….”

“A-All we found was her b-bag…..” Hinata adds timidly, pale eyes drifting over to Kiba.

“So…..You didn’t actually see them take her?” Lady Tsunade questions, hooding her caramel eyes as she slowly lowers herself back into her chair. “Then, perhaps she wasn’t kidnapped by the Akatsuki?”

“We can’t think of any other scenario Lady Hokage” Kakashi explains quietly, brows creasing with worry. “Hinata couldn’t see Ashley with her Byakugan, and Kiba and Akamaru couldn’t find her scent anywhere…”

Here, Lady Tsunade glances over at Kiba, feeling a wave of sympathy wash over her as she takes in the boy’s sorrowful figure. His head is hanging towards the floor, so she can’t see his face, but Lady Tsunade’s eyes are keen enough to spot when the brunette’s knuckles begin turning white from clenching his hands so much, his arms trembling slightly.

“I see…..” the Fifth Hokage murmurs, leaning back in her seat and drumming her fingers on her desk, a thoughtful, yet disturbed look on her face. She was finding it hard to believe that Ashley, someone who had tailed the Akatsuki for almost two years, had somehow managed to get herself captured.

And surely, if she had somehow managed to catch the Akatsuki’s attention while she was tracking them, she would have put up one hell of a fight and caused a huge commotion. Yet, the three Ninja before her had assured the Hokage that they hadn’t heard a thing. Apparently between the time Kiba left Ashley and when they found her backpack was only a space of five or so minutes….It just didn’t make sense…….

“It’s my fault she’s gone….” Kiba speaks up, causing everyone to look at him. “If I had’ve just gone with her anyway, I could have protected her…..”

“No Kiba” Kakashi sighs deeply, feeling an invisible weight pushing down on his chest, “This is my fault. I knew that we could’ve been dealing with the Akatsuki on that mission, and I still let the two of you go off on your own. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight…”

“This is no one’s fault” Lady Tsunade speaks up in an authoritative voice. “Ashley is a Jonin and an experienced young Ninja. She knew the risks and chose to take them by going off on her own. I won’t have anyone blaming themselves for this unfortunate situation.”

“Are you saying that this is Ashley’s fault?!” Kiba exclaims angrily, his head snapping up so he can glare at Lady Tsunade. The blonde woman’s face hardens at this accusation, her caramel eyes flashing.

“I just said that this is no one’s fault” the Hokage repeats strongly, making Kiba pause, though he continues to scowl. “I am not blaming Ashley for anything. However, she is a Ninja and Ninja take risks every day. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don’t….”

Lady Tsunade trails off, pausing for a moment and staring down at her desk with furrowed brows. Where had Ashley disappeared to? And why had she disappeared?....Lady Tsunade couldn’t think of any possible reason why Ashley would run away, so perhaps there was some truth to this pressing matter….

Lady Tsunade’s train of thought is quickly interrupted, when there is a sudden knock on the door, causing everyone to turn around.

“Yes, come in” the Fifth Hokage sighs, raising her head as the Ninja before her move out of the way, allowing the door to open and reveal a worried looking Shizune.

“Milady….” the charcoal haired woman greets somberly, stopping in front of Tsunade’s desk and reaching into the front of her kimono. “An ANBU Shinobi bird just arrived in the Village. This is the message it was carrying.”

“An ANBU Bird?” Hinata asks softly, looking to Kiba as Tsunade takes the small note from Shizune and begins reading it. “I wonder why an A-ANBU is sending out a message like that?.....”

“What does it matter?” Kiba replies roughly, glaring down at the small, yet strangely heavy, back pack in his hands. “Unless that message says that they’ve found and rescued Ashley, I don’t care….”

“It’s quite usual for ANBU to take Messenger birds with them Hinata” Kakashi explains, trying to keep a light tone despite noticing the way Lady Tsunade’s eyes are narrowing at the note. “Sometimes they need to relay reports and information back to the Village, and a Messenger bird is the fastest way to do that…..Although…..I’m getting the feeling that there’s a bit more to this one…..”

Lady Tsunade’s eyes immediately flick up to Kakashi at this, the note fluttering down from her fingers and landing on the desk as the blonde woman raises a hand to massage her forehead.

Before she can say anything however, Shizune takes a step forwards and leans a hand on Tsunade’s desk.

“Did the ANBU Black Ops find Orochimaru’s lair Milady?”

“Unfortunately, no…They didn’t” Lady Tsunade replies morosely, shaking her head. “This message says that they were attacked just as they were beginning to zero in on it….We need to form a new team immediately. I don’t want that trail going cold.”

“Yes Milady” Shizune responds respectfully, nodding her head once and watching as Tsunade spins around in her chair to look out of the window.

“Two teams of ANBU just….gone…” she mutters disbelievingly. “And now the one who relayed this information to us is but a memory as….”

“The code of the ANBU Black Ops” Shizune begins quietly, only to be interrupted by Kakashi.

“Never leave a corpse when you die” he finishes automatically, still remembering the number one rule from when he was an ANBU member. “What’s going on here Lady Fifth? Did you have people watching Orochimaru?”

“No” the blonde woman says flatly, spinning back around to look up at Kakashi, hands now folded in front of her mouth. “A team of ANBU had been searching for one of his hideouts, but they’ve been….eradicated. So now, I need a new team to continue the search……….I need you to lead that team Kakashi.”

“Of course Milady” Kakashi replies dutifully, bowing his head with respect, “And if it’s alright with you, I think I know the three best Chunin for the job.”

Here Kakashi tilts his head back towards Hinata and Kiba pointedly, causing a faint smile to grace Lady Tsunade’s lips. She also nods, to which Hinata straightens up a little, her pretty pale eyes blinking rapidly.

“O-Oh” she stutters, fiddling with her fingers. “Of course, I’d l-love to help Kakashi Sensei.”

“Ruff ruff!” Akamaru agrees as well, tongue lolling cutely as he wags his tail, before looking up to a still scowling Kiba. “Ruff?”

“No way” Kiba decides sharply, hooking one of his arms through the straps of Ashley’s back pack and then crossing both arms over his chest. “I refuse to go. The only mission I want to go on is a search and rescue mission for my Angel. She could be fighting for her life right now! I’m not going on some lame mission to look for some stupid hideout that belongs to Orochi-”

“So I’ll be taking Hinata, Akamaru, Kiba and Shino with me” Kakashi interrupts, feeling a little bad, but also knowing that he has duties to fulfil. “I can’t think of any people better suited for tracking than them.”

“Excellent” Lady Tsunade says appreciatively, though she can’t help growing an anime vein as Kiba begins muttering whiny insults under his breath. “I’ll fill you in on the information that has been relayed to me, but basically, your mission is to pinpoint the exact location of Orochimaru’s hideout.”

“Ashley would have been good for this” Kiba sighs irritably, running a hand through his messy, brown hair. “Why haven’t you ever just asked her where it is anyway? She was only there for about five years.”

“Kiba…” Hinata whispers uneasily, seeing Lady Tsunade’s annoyance growing. The young Hyuga knew of Lady Tsunade’s legendary temper, and the last thing she wanted to see was her teammate getting beaten up by her Hokage.

“I’m going to ignore that mocking tone of yours kid and chalk it up to your worry for Ashley” Tsunade growls, narrowing her caramel eyes at the brunette. “As a matter of fact, I have asked Ashley about the hideouts before, a long time ago. You probably already know this, but she spent most of her time at the hideout in the Land of Sound, however….She cannot remember its exact location, as she informed me she only went outside to perform missions, which was rare, and hasn’t been back to the land since…”

“….Isn’t that the hideout that was partially destroyed by Naruto, Sakura and Master Jiraiya awhile back?” Kakashi asks slowly, tilting his head to the side as Tsunade shrugs a shoulder.

“I don’t know and I don’t really care” the blonde woman says flatly. “I just want this hideout located and I want Orochimaru found.”

“So, do you even have a clue where the Three Tails is?” Ashley asks flatly, trudging along beside a sombre looking Deidara, Tobi skipping merrily ahead of the two blondes.

“Of course we do” Deidara sighs roughly, turning his head slightly to give Ashley an unimpressed look. “We’re the Akatsuki hm. We have everything all planned ou-”

“We haven’t a clue at all where it is Ashley-chan!” Tobi sings, spinning around to face Ashley and flinging his arms out to the side as he begins walking backwards. “We’ve been searching for it all week!”

“Tobi……” Deidara growls, his visible eye twitching with irritation, while Ashley pushes her mask up to smirk at the teenage male beside her, eyes gleaming with amusement.

“And here I thought the Akatsuki were always well organised” she says in a mocking tone, causing Deidara to grumble something incoherent and turn his head away. “So much for an organisation of badasses. You can’t even locate something as huge and powerful as a Tailed Beast.”

“And I suppose you know where it is then hm?” Deidara asks pointedly, leaning down towards Ashley and raising an eyebrow. “Why don’t you share your wisdom with us little girl?”

“I don’t need to know” Ashley retorts, her smug smirk dropping into an irritated scowl. “I’m not the one who’s employed to find Tailed Beasts. You are, so you should know where they are.”

“Don’t worry you guys!” Tobi cries cheerfully, jabbing a hand in the air as Deidara and Ashley both stop walking, glaring at each other challengingly. “Tobi will find the Three Tails all by himself!”

Both Deidara and Ashley’s necks wrench around so they can glare at Tobi, before the blonde male’s mouth twitches up into a smirk, a dark look coming over his face. Tobi immediately sweat drops and takes a step back, as Deidara reaches a hand into one of the pouches on his hip.

“That’s not going to happen hm….” Deidara mutters lowly, swiftly raising his arm and tossing a small, white object at Tobi, who whirls around and tries to run in the opposite direction.

“No Deidara Semp-AAAAAIIIIII!” Tobi shrieks tearfully, when the white figure hits him in the back and suddenly explodes with a deafening boom. Ashley tilts her head back and places one hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow as her hair streams out behind her from the blast. Warm air hits Ashley’s face, a sharp contrast to the chilly breeze the night had brought along with it.

“He’s lucky if he can find his own shoes in the morning hm….” Deidara mutters out loud, deadpanning as a fried Tobi crashes head first into the ground, his clothes blackened and smouldering a little.

“Can you please tell me just how Tobi was recruited for the Akatsuki?” Ashley asks suspiciously, pulling the black robe she is now wearing tighter around her body, as she and Deidara begin walking again, ignoring the gibbering Tobi.

“Nobody has ever told me hm” Deidara replies blandly, a look of distaste on his face. “Apparently he’s got some sort of skill, but I personally think we just needed a replacement for my man Sasori, and Tobi was the quickest one we could find….”

“Surely if a moron like him can join the Akatsuki” Ashley begins, tilting her head back to give Deidara a hopefully look, “Your Leader will let me join? Maybe you can even give Tobi the boot and I’ll replace him?”

“No Ashley-chan!” Tobi cries in the background, hurrying to climb to his feet and catch up. “Please don’t replace Tobi! We’re friends!”

“A little arrogant aren’t we hm?” Deidara questions with an amused chuckle, glancing down and giving Ashley a teasing smirk. “As nice as it would be to get rid of Tobi and have a more attractive partner, I highly doubt Leader would do that. You’re going to have to prove yourself to him hm.”

Ashley crosses her arms at this and rolls her eyes, unhappy with Deidara’s answer. Ashley didn’t do anything to prove herself to others and gain their approval. They should be trying to get her approval. This would be a big blow to her ego……She just couldn’t understand how someone could possibly think that Tobi is more valuable than her. How had someone like the Akatsuki Leader, whom Ashley imagined to be very powerful and intimidating, possibly recruit such an idiot? The mere idea of someone finding Tobi more valuable in an organisation such as the Akatsuki than Ashley completely offended the blonde.

“Which is why I’m helping you find the Three Tails I guess…..” Ashley mutters begrudgingly, raising her eyes to look up at the night sky. Sure, she’d prove herself by catching the Three Tails, but only to prove to those stupid Akatsuki members that she was powerful and someone not to be underestimated. And she’d certainly show them that she was far more valuable than Tobi.

“Can’t we stop for the night?” Ashley asks Deidara roughly, unhappy that she needs his permission to do so. “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“A little rain never hurt anyone hm” the blonde male replies smartly, smirking to himself, though he keeps his eyes straight forward. “You’ll be fine.”

“I agree with you Ashley-chan” Tobi speaks up, suddenly appearing beside Ashley and almost making the Kunoichi jump. “We could get sick if we stay out in the rain!”

“You’re like a fly that doesn’t go away…..” Ashley grumbles miserably, struggling to resist the urge to facepalm. Surely Deidara wouldn’t mind if she just killed the black haired male right then and there?

“Where are you from Ashley-chan?” Tobi randomly asks, towering over Ashley as he strides alongside her. Tobi’s shoulders hunch a little while he leans down towards Ashley, eager to hear the girl’s answer. “You said you didn’t come from the Leaf Village right?”

“None of your business” Ashley snaps, brows furrowing as she flicks her mask back down to hide her face. “Now get away from me. Go bug Deidara.”

“Try it Tobi hm” the blonde male challenges without turning his head. “I dare you.”

“Uhhh…..Hey!” Tobi trails off, only to cry out as a raindrop falls through the eyehole in his mask. “My eye! It got in my eye!”

“Isn’t that what she said?....” Ashley can’t seem to help asking rhetorically under her breath, to which Deidara can’t help letting out a short laugh. Ashley smirks with grim amusement as Tobi slaps a hand over the eyehole in his mask and begins to run in circles, before he crashes face first into a tree.

“I don’t think anyone here has great depth perception” the young Minami suddenly states, pausing and glancing down as a half conscious Tobi falls at her feet. “It’s a wonder we don’t all crash into trees……”

That said, light rain begins to fall from the cloudy sky, as Ashley gingerly steps over Tobi and follows after Deidara, unsure of exactly where they’re heading. She still couldn’t believe the Akatsuki had no idea where the Three Tails was, yet they’d sent to members out to search for it anyway. Considering Deidara had said the creature could hide itself in another dimension, there was a possibility that they’d never find it. How do you find something in a different dimension to you?

“Hope you didn’t spend too much time on your hair this morning Deidara” Ashley teases as the rain quickly grows heavier, raising up one hand with her palm towards the sky.

Looking back over his shoulder to reply, Deidara’s visible eye widens slightly, seeing that Ashley isn’t getting hit by any rain. To him, it looks like she a sort of invisible dome around her, or some kind of clear force field.

“How are you doing that hm?” the blonde male demands to know, noting that Ashley is completely dry. Ashley’s brows furrow in confusion for a moment, before a light bulb seems to turn on in her head. Seeing as using her Katsuryoku was second nature, she hadn’t even really noticed she was using it to deflect the rain away from her.

“It’s…..My Kekkei Genkai” Ashley explains, being careful not to say that it’s one of her Kekkei Genkai. If Deidara knew she also possessed the Sharingan, he might assume that she was related to Itachi, and for some reason, Ashley wanted to keep that fact a secret.

“By focusing all of my natural energy” Ashley continues, seeing that Deidara is genuinely interested, if the look on his face is anything to go by, “I can control elements….You know, like water, fire, earth….Stuff like that…..Watch.”

Smiling to herself behind her mask, Ashley drops her hand, rain immediately beginning to drench her, before she lifts her hand again.

In an instant, a small red flame ignites in Ashley’s palm, floating just above her skin and flickering cosily. Deidara’s blue eye widens a little more, intrigued as Ashley clenches her hand into a fist, causing the small flame to disappear.

Now holding her arm straight down, palm towards the ground, Ashley slowly pulls her arm up, raising a mound of dirt out of the earth. Ashley subtly moves her fingers and twists her hand, forming the shapeless mound into a very detailed sculpture of Deidara, much to the teenager’s amusement.

“Interesting…” Deidara murmurs as he watches Ashley wave her hand, causing the sculpture to immediately drop and disappear back into the earth. “This is very interesting art hm……The beauty of your art is that is doesn’t last forever, so that means you share my views. In an amateur sort of way, it almost reminds me of my own art hm……Though it is clearly not as skilful or fleeting.”

Ashley deadpans at Deidara as she raises her hand again to once again keep the rain off of herself. Deidara was just lucky that Ashley couldn’t care any less about art. Art was lost on her. All Ashley knew was fighting and training and eating meat. To her, a well cooked piece of steak with an assortment of different spices was a work of art, and that certainly didn’t last forever. Not when she was around at least.

“I’m not sure why you’re so intrigued by this” the Minami states flatly. “You’ve seen me use my Kekkei Genkai before. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve met.”

“Yes…..” Deidara murmurs thoughtfully, turning around to continue walking. “I couldn’t forget you hm….You’re incredibly annoying to fight.”

“Thanks!” Ashley grins, closing her eyes momentarily.

“…..What do you call that Kekkei Genkai Ashley-chan?” Tobi asks slowly, arms crossed as he tilts his head, seeming to study the blonde Kunoichi closely as they too resume walking.

“Katsuryoku” Ashley replies carefully, wondering why Tobi’s demeanour seemed to have changed, and why his clothes were no longer charred. “It means vitality.”

“….Hm…….” is all the ebony haired male says in reply, finger now tapping his chin in thought. Ashley narrows her eyes suspiciously at Tobi, unsure of what he could be thinking about. She still had a weird feeling about him, but Ashley wasn’t sure why. She couldn’t have met him before, so perhaps it was just because she felt uncomfortable with a grown man that had the mentality of a four year old?

Two figures bound swiftly through the trees, flipping and leaping across the thick, sturdy boughs with ease. The loud chirping of Crickets echoes through the air, giving a creepy effect to the dark forest, a light rain drizzling through the leaves.

The two figures suddenly come to a stop on a large branch, one landing on all fours and the other in a crouched position.

“You smell anything yet boy?” the brown haired male asks his Canine companion, before the white animal shakes its head and whines.

“Yeah, me neither…” the brunette sighs, when he hears someone land on a branch somewhere behind him and glances back over his shoulder.

“You find anything Kiba?” a silver haired man calls, rising to his feet just as two other people land beside him.

“Nah, not even a whiff Kakashi Sensei” Kiba informs the Jonin, also rising to his feet and turning around. “Akamaru can’t smell anything either. They’ve totally disappeared on us…..At least before we had a scent to track.”

“My Byakugan isn’t picking up any chakra networks either…..” Hinata says slowly, before something catches her attention. “What’s-?!….Oh, it’s just a Bat….”

Hinata gives the small, brown animal a concerned look as it swoops past her, squeaking and flapping its leathery wings as it disappears into the night.

“…There are some signs though….” Shino speaks up, hands stuffed into his pockets.

Kiba seems to perk up a little at this news, as he turns to look at his teammate, a hopeful look in his eyes.

“There are?” he questions loudly. “Where?!”

“It’s just one of my bugs…..” Shino informs the brunette, before mockingly adding, “Don’t get so excited….”

“Ugh, just your bugs?” Kiba sighs with exasperation, head hanging as his shoulders slump. “Don’t do that Shino. Last time I checked you had about ten thousand of them! It’s not exactly exciting news that you found one of them….”

“Yes, but what you don’t realise is that this insect came into contact with our enemy…..And survived…” Shino explains mysteriously, a faint light reflecting off of the male’s glasses as he turns his head. “And that makes it a great asset to us.”

“Huh?” Kiba questions, feeling less than enthusiastic about Shino’s insects. “What kind of asset?”

“Well, it presumably came into contact with the enemy’s Jutsu” the young Aburame answers. “You remember that I sent out my insects to scope ahead of us? Well, we saw that many of those insects didn’t survive, and the rest haven’t come back yet…..Except for this one……”

“So, you think it may have some kind of immunity to our enemy’s Jutsu?” Kakashi questions, guessing correctly as to what Shino is getting at.

“It’s very possible” Shino says with a nod. “My bugs only have short life spans, a few hours at most….It wouldn’t take too long to breed more of them with the same immunity.”

“Are you kidding me?” Kiba asks, now a little more interested in the conversation. “That’s awesome!”

“It’s just a possibility” Shino reminds his brown haired teammate, “But I need to find as many survivors as I can….Assuming there are any….”

“Don’t worry Shino-kun” Hinata says kindly, giving the male a tiny smile, “We’ll help you look for them.”

“Right!” Kiba barks confidently, placing his hands on his hips. “We got this!”

“That’s alright” Shino says, shooting his teammates down. “I’m the one who should go looking for them. You need to stay put, or you’re just going to go around stomping on all of my insects…..I can’t have that happen.

“Ya know” Kiba complains, “If you’re gonna shoot us down, at least be a little nicer about it.”

“I didn’t want to waste time dancing around the issue” Shino explains with a shrug, to which Kiba sweat drops.

“Alright then” Kakashi speaks up, glancing around at the young members of Team Kurenai, “I think we’re all set. We’ve sent a sample of the enemy’s Jutsu back to the lab, Shino is going off to find his insects and we’re going to get back to tracking the enemy. We need to find them.”

“Fiiiinnne…..” Kiba sighs, before turning to Akamaru. “Let’s go boy!”

“Ruff!” Akamaru replies, leaping into the air, with Kiba, Hinata and Kakashi close behind.

‘And whenever we actually get done with this weird mission’ Kiba thinks determinedly, his brows furrowing, ‘I’m gonna find you Angel…..I’ll save you from those dirty Akatsuki bastards!’

“Grrrrrr!” Akamaru suddenly begins growling nastily, coming to a halt on another branch. “Grrrrr……..”

“What is it boy?” Kiba asks worriedly, pausing and kneeling down beside Akamaru. “Can you smell somethin?”

“Ruff ruff!” the white Ninken barks in reply, clearly irritated by something. “Ruff!”

“Huh?...” Kiba asks in confusion, tilting his head to the side as Kakashi and Hinata land on the same branch. “Heyyyy…..I hear it too!”

“What is it Kiba?” Kakashi asks seriously, watching the brunette as he seems to listen to something a far off.

“Akamaru says he heard a dog whistle or something” the young Inuzuka explain, turning to his teammates. “I didn’t hear anything at first, but I just heard a really faint sound…..Like a high frequency noise or something.”

“A dog whistle?” Hinata repeats slowly. “So, could that mean that our enemy is working with a Dog as well?”

“No way” Kiba replies certainly, though he still looks a little confused. “If they had a Dog, me and Akamaru would’ve smelled it a long time ago…..”

“So then……Why a dog whistle?” Hinata asks, as Kiba crosses his arms and shakes his head.

“Wish I could tell ya……” the brunette mutters, frowning slightly. What had that noise been? It wasn’t something you usually heard in the forest….”

“Can you pinpoint where it came from?” Kakashi inquires, to which Kiba shakes his head again.

“Nah sorry Kakashi Sensei” Kiba replies, turning his head and looking out into the dark forest, rain dripping on his head. “I can’t tell you where exactly it came from, but it wasn’t too far. I know that for sure.”

“Well team” Kakashi says dutifully, brows furrowing slightly. “Lets head in the direction of that sound then.”

Okay, so yes, for those who don't realise, this is the beginning of the Three Tails Arc. I have never watched/read it before, so I'm watching the episodes as I write this Arc lol. And it's pretty damn hard too!

Anyway, I DO realise that the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc comes before this in the anime/manga, but as usual, I'm changing things up a litte, and that Arc will come later. This suits me better lol xP

For those who are confused as to what has happened with Kakashi and Team Kurenai, here is a link for Naruto Shippuden Episode 90, which is the beginning of the Three Tails Arc. Copy and paste into you URL bar thingy lol xP (Genius)

http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/naruto-shippuuden-episode-90-english-dubbed-online-free

The Three Tails Arc goes all the way up to Episode 112, and no, I haven't watched that far yet, so bear with me lol.

I will also not be covering every part of the Arc in this story, as majority of this is in Ashley's POV and she is NOT in every major plot line lol. I hope you enjoy it anyway, and I'll......Stop typing now.