DISCLAIMER/ I don't own Halo or Naruto

Chapter 17: Spiritual Apprehension

"I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his Humility."

-John Ruskin

1 1/2 years later

(Special Ninja Felony Prison)

A mouse let out append final squeak as it was stomped on by a dirt matted foot wrapped in bindings. A prisoner eyed the bars he was behind and glared at them furiously. Water dripped from his scarred brow and down the side frame of his face, slowly trekking its way down to his jaw, and then off of the tip of his chin.

The ANBU unit assigned was now on his 16th and final hour of keeping the Spartan watched. Rather closely if Chief could say so himself. The seals were still fresh on the cell doors which were about 4 feet thick of lined lead doors with a row of bars going in front of them. The cell containing him was below ground with uncountable booby traps that would catch even the most cleverest of shinobi.

The possibility of getting out, 5% chance.

The possibility of getting killed before getting out, 95%.

Likelihood of survival, very unlikely.

"Spartan?" A stern feminine voice said through the bars of John's cell. He had his back up against the wall as two metal pushing pins kept his arms bent and locked into place. While that was pinning his arms at an irregular angle, both of his legs were put into holes with locks and massive staples over each thigh.

He could escape his cell if he thought out a route, he just didn't care really. He'd been in here for what seemed like forever that time wasn't important.

Looking up, he was met with a familiar face with a pair of massive hazel eyes.

Tsunade Senju.

"Do you remember me?" Tsunade questioned. Today she wore her traditional blue blouse over a white colored V neck shirt that was left without the first two buttons done.

John didn't say anything but continued to look up at the female who would have broken his neck if not for his indestructible bones.

Tsunade looked to the side and looked at the masked ANBU, before saying. "I wish to speak to him, alone."

"I'm not allowed to leave, lord third's orders." The nameless ANBU responded.

"I was told by Hiruzen Sarutobi, himself, that you are relieved of duty." Tsunade told the man.

"I've gotten no such word." The ANBU said.

"Go ask him yourself then," Tsunade replied.

"I remain where I am." He said diligently.

Tsunade bit back a sigh. She couldn't just get this man to leave and she'd rather not have this kind of talk in front of him anyway, but she really had no choice in the matter.

"Spartan, my name is-"

"Tsunade Senju," The Spartan's deep raspy voice echoed through the bars like the mist in a swamp, "you have a brother named Nawaki...yes... I know you." The spartan said as his head was left down and his eyes wandered around the dark room. Tsunade wasn't surprised in the slightest. From what intel could be gathered on him, which was minimal, was that he was a master at collecting information. Mutilated corpses from secret service squads transporting hefty messages were found in various poses along roads, held up by statues, all hindering a message. A warning.

"Then you know what you did?" Tsunade questioned. He had been in here long enough to write a full scale book so maybe his thoughts weren't as guilty as he made himself out to be.

"I didn't want it to be like this." The man once known as the master chief said. "I wanted to stop..." The armored prisoner coughed. "None if it's changed."

"Then you should have been more humble to lord third. He runs this entire nation and doesn't have time for petaling criminals like you." Tsunade said as she crossed her arms.

'That's what they think?'

"How's Nawaki?" The Spartan asked.

"He's none of your concern," Tsunade said before pointing at him. "You don't have what it takes to be called-

"He is my concern since I saved him and brought him back to you. All of you... And for what..." Chief began to move his arms, not at all finding the metal bindings pressing his arms down and to the side at all comfortable.

"Wha-"

"I had to end this war... I've seen... Too many innocents were being taken. The loss was becoming too much. I wanted to help." Then he looked to his shackled wrists. "And this is the respect that I get." John gestured to his dilemma by lifting up his hands, since they were the only ones free and accessible.

"We don't know who you are and where you come from... Or what exactly you are planning. But whatever resistance you're putting up is useless. And this thinking that you have needs to stop." Tsunade rambled on. "We're trying to maintain peace in our village."

"Peace is a lie. A trial is what I need." Chief said not too loudly.

"You don't get trails. We don't follow democracy in this village. All power is pointed out to lord third and his orders are final." Tsunade answered back.

"What will convince him to let me go..." Spartan asked Tsunade who looked at him with much of her emotion hidden.

"I can't say you will be leaving... Ever again."

"Won't change anything." Chief finished. "This cell will be mine until time... Ends."

"Your life expectancy that is." Tsunade replied.

"No."

"You're being rather stubborn. Everyone dies."

"I won't." Chief told her without looking up.

"Don't jinx it. Men in this village all want to kill you for what you did."

"I won't stop them if they try." Chief looked up at her with his teeth baring.

"I don't get it. Why are you still helping but creating more enemies? There's a reason to all this." Tsunade murmured to the Spartan. He eyed her carefully.

"I don't like war. I don't like violence."

"That's ironic coming from you Spartan. Because the bounty on your heads gotten the attention of every bounty hunter from here all the way to Kumo. But why? Are you some freedom fighter, or an extremist?"

"Neither."

"You are a soldier though?"

"No, not anymore."

"Anymore? Who is it that your aligned to?"

"United Nations."

"Haven't heard of them."

"You won't, they're gone."

"Gone? Where they killed?"

"Yes. By him."

"Whose him?"

"I'm... in not sure how to explain that."

"Come now, what are you some kind of alien?"

"I don't even know anymore... just a name that's been haunting me." The Master Chief groaned.

"Name, is it going to be some kind of old forsaken prophecy?" Tsunade asked him.

"I don't know how Madara Uchiha fits into all this."

Tsunade's soft brown eyes snapped towards him and she eyed the chained man suddenly. "How do you know of Madara Uchiha?"

"Who wouldn't? He's caused many deaths... and he's alive." The aged Spartan told her. "I was only interested in the war ending. His war."

"You're not making any sense and I feel your up to something." Tsunade looked at him while he stared at the floor.

"What do you think I am?" Chief asked.

"A killer." Tsunade accused. She watched as his face stayed the same but his gaze went downward.

"I kill to save lives. Those men, the ones I killed here were because they drew their weapons on me first. I had a mission, they got in the way." Chief growled. "I've seen what they were capable of... I didn't want to risk it."

Tsunade stepped closer to the bars. "What gives you the right? To think you can decide who lives and who dies?"

Chief lunged up. "THEY MADE THAT CHOICE WHEN THEY ATTACKED ME!" Tsunade stepped back at his seriousness and slipped a kunai from her pouch. Even from this distance, she could've slipped it right into his neck but she wasn't here to kill him. If she did she'd be reprimanded for killing a prisoner that was not to be executed under the hokage's orders.

Chief saw this and with a tired sigh, leaned back and slumped against the wall. Scratching the wall with his back plate.

"I... Apologize for my outburst." Chief told her while looking down. "They've... I haven't eaten in over a week. Think I'll give them more secrets, but I've told them what they needed to know."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as her anxiousness slowly left her. "What they needed to know?"

Chief nodded. "It's a procedure that if you're captured don't bother trying to stay silent."

Tsunade listened.

Chief went on to say, "because otherwise, they'll extract info from you. Some way."

Tsunade scoffed. Figures. "Even from you? I've heard stories of men-"

"Mostly exaggerated." Chief butted in. "I'm not... Not from here. But I am human."

"Wait, not from here? Then where do you come from?" Tsunade asked rather forcefully. "Suna? Kumo?"

'No." Chief replied.

"Not from any large nations? Then perhaps you're from the distant islands?" Tsunade asked while thinking back to her lessons of the islands across the seas.

"Not from any of them. I'm, not from this world." Chief admitted.

"World? Then what are you, some kind of moon demon?" Tsunade asked.

"Maybe I am a demon, they all said I was... Covenant... Flood... Cortana..." Chief started murmuring.

Tsunade frowned as the Chief started to whisper and saw that his hands were clenching. His words were coming out in short breaths and he was beginning to hyperventilate.

Chief nearly banged his head on the wall. "Del Rio, cant save Cortana... Forgive me Lasky..." Chief then growled. "Didact... I'll..." Chief's eyes suddenly surged open with them burning in rage. "Stop him before he-"

"What's going on in there?" A voice yelled from outside the cell. Tsunade looked to her left and noticed that she had forgotten to lock the door. Quickly leaping toward the ceiling and applying a small amount of chakra she stuck there as if she were a spider. Tsunade watched as the two guards entered the cell, armed with barbed melee weapons in case of crowd issues.

"Having another nightmare?" The guard asked cruelly while unlocking the cells bars.

Chief looked at him before frowning and sitting on his knees. Here comes the third round for today.

Gurd looks down at him, before Chief slowly stands up, towering over him. Chief frowns while keeping his jaw locked in place.

Guard didn't look intimidated. "On your knees prisoner."

Chief didn't move.

Guard took the stick and bashed it against Chief's cheek. His head moved to the side slightly with some blood running down his lip. Other than that he looked unfazed. The guard said something unknown and smacked him again, and again, and again.

Tsunade watched as the guard took his time on the spartan. Using whatever strength he built the guard didn't hesitate to lay one of many strikes on the so-called demon. Tsunade wasn't dumb though to stay too long, however, the Spartans reasoning weren't incorrect. Many of the reports were false since the hunter nins giving them were usually low ranking ones. Low-rank ones had a tendency to be former criminals with a long string of crimes, lying to be included with one of them.

Before she left she could still hear the sounds of Chief's head getting pummeled.

She would never forget it.

XXXXXXX

As the aged Spartan let the blood dry to his face he could've sworn he'd be here forever. When they came in to feed him it would be enough for sustainability if you scratched out the pleasure of enjoying the food. Water wasn't a problem if you boiled out the hell out of it to kill any harmful bacteria. Sleeping came whenever it was available. John didn't have much comfort from it though. His sleeping would often be restless and not enough.

As Chief looked up from the ground toward the bars he could make out the eight lined bars with reinforced steel and hidden explosive tags along with numerous seals on them to prevent him from leaving. Sure many of them were noticeable from him since he had come across them more than once, but his chances of escaping this prison were one thing. From the Hidden Leaf village though was another. With the amount of shinobi they had at their disposal and could be alerted at any moment's notice left him without many options.

He had planned escape after escape dozens of times. The festering images of Cortana continued to haunt him. She looked upset and it made him feel like she was angry at him for giving up.

Would she really be upset?

More than likely. She would probably yell his ear off for even a moment considering giving up.

Back to escaping though it was a rather high impossibility. He'd run the numbers countless times but his chances were slim. Sure if he could escape and make it outside, what would happen if they caught him again? Would they double the security or just straight up execute him?

He could feel an invisible line of cold steel press against his neck and slowly cut back the flesh to let his warm blood run down his chest. That'd be a thought, being killed by the same race he had defended for more than half a century.

He was so engrossed with his thinking that he never noticed a pair of eyes open above him. Chief did however, hear the slow breathing along with the few nearly silent movement above him. He could tell the difference between a rat rustaling above to a person skilled enough to sneak by quite well at this point.

Not bothering to pick his head up, he breathed in through his nose. While all he could taste was blood he could still make out the faint scent of a deep nut fragrance. Almost like a... perfume?

"Someone trying to sneak shouldn't be smelled out so easily." Chief referred to the being above him. "Especially you Senju."

Tsunade dropped down clad in a skintight mesh armor and a mask concealing her entire head besides her eyes. She pulled the mask over her face and head, allowing herself a moment to let her blond hair rest down before huffing.

"I figured you'd know." Tsunade grumbled.

"What do you want?" Chief looked up. Tsunade was about to speak before she saw the state he was in. His face was covered in gashes, both sides of his face held noticeable dirt marks along with dried blood. His skin was a bit darker which could've been the blood or under skin swelling. He was sweaty with a hoarse voice, or that probably could've been the water dumped on him from earlier because she heard the guards speak about it.

He looked like a beaten animal.

Coming inside the prison this late was one thing but breaking in was punishable by death. Not to mention if anyone found out about this she'd be stripped of her title, her inheritance, and anything she held dear for. Nawaki would be on the top of her mind but she knew him better. He wouldn't take shit from anyone.

"I asked you a question." Chief said more forcibly.

"Listen, I didn't imagine this is what you'd receive for treatment." Tsunade began.

"I deserve this. Everything." Chief told her dryly.

"Cut the shit! Now..." Tsunade began walking towards him. Chief studied her and noticed she wasn't carrying any weapons but this didn't stop him from making his eyes wonder. From what he could gather female shinobi, otherwise known as Kunoichi relied on seduction tactics to extract missions such as infiltration, assassinations, intimidation, and anything that would get the village their pay.

Chief didn't move when Tsunade leaned down next to him. About a few meters to be exact. Chief watched her before leaning back. "What're you doing?"

"Don't distract me." Tsunade removed brother her gloves and revealed her pale yet smooth clean hands to Chief. He without a second, tried to move away and loosened his wrists a bit. The chains were rigged to an alarm system. He learned this the hard way when he tried to move. If he moved to hard or erratically they'd alert the entire prison within seconds.

"Please." Tsunade began, still harsh but somewhat soft. "Let me-"

"You're not touching me." Chief told her.

"I wasn't asking." Tsunade then began pushing her hand up against her arm and winced a bit. Chief looked and noticed that her hands were now giving off a soft green hue and she suddenly pressed it against his skin. A bit too fast.

Chief tried getting up, but a sudden shift in the air stopped them both. Almost as if the air grew thick. Chief knew something was wrong because a low rumbling began to sound outside and was loud enough to travel within. He knew this wasn't the work of anyone normal. Well, to narrow it down it sounded like covenant.

Why'd they wait so long though?

Tsunade looked toward the ceiling with a solemn look. Something wasn't right. When she looked back to the Chief she saw that his wrists weren't bound anymore.

"What the- how did you?" Tsunade began as Chief stood up and began walking to the cells door. "We can't just leave that way!" She rushed forward and grasped his bicep/

"I'm not leaving." Chief began, he turned around and looked at Tsunade. "I'm going to finish what I started."

Then the wall exploded.

AN: Yes, it's been a bit of awhile since I updated this story. But here it is. The next chapter. I recently recovered old notes from this story and decided to do a little writing. The next chapter for this one, I don't truly know when I'll update it next.

Leave a review, would you kindly?