Thought I forgot about all of you, didn't you? My god, the stuff that happened since the last time I updated, am I right? It's ridiculous!

Anyways, on an important note, with the COVID-19 pandemic happening as we speak, and the uproar it's causing, my message to everyone is to just be wary and cautious over your health and others. And also, no one is to blame for this virus no matter the origin. Everyone in the science field knows that viruses do not discriminate, so we should do the same in the treatment of others. What we should be doing is praising medical professionals and researchers for risking their own health to combat this virus. No matter how dire the situation may seem, I'm confident that we can get past this because we as humans have been through just as bad and worse situations in the past, and we made it.

I would also like to give my regards to those who lost their lives to COVID-19, and those who lost loved ones because of it. Though I may not know them, and this may sound like empty words, but this is coming from my love to them as fellow human beings.

On to lighter things. I'm so sorry for not updating for months. Forget months, almost a YEAR! I swear, it's not because of cold feet or anything like that. It's just that I've been super-duper busy in my life and this arc is more intricated than I originally thought. Don't worry, my readers, I'm not caving in the slightest; I plan on finishing this story no matter how many years it takes me. Just bear with me with your appreciated patience and maybe my story could make up the long, long, LONG wait.

Also, I'm gonna say this right now so that there won't be any confusion in the future. Whether or not you guys are aware, I made the decision to change Katsumi's other name—the name her Leaf comrades call her by—to 'Hitomi'. There's not much of a deep reason as to; I simply liked it a bit better. And to add to that, it's safe to assume that you lovely people are wondering why she even has another name. My answer to that… you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Okay, now I'm done rambling. On with the story!

Chapter 28: Stuck In the Dark (Part 2)

Kabuto's POV:

I sulked through the already dark hallways after facing the discontent of Sasuke's absence in his own room. I shouldn't be surprised; he was probably either training on his own or with Lord Orochimaru. With that thought in mind, the only location I was certain he was in was the indoor training room. Hana sat securely on my shoulder, assisting me on my mission: to convince the raven to assist us on our mission to find Katsumi. In a perfect world, I would go out along with Hana and find Katsumi ourselves without him since he wasn't interested with anyone or anything. But at the end of the day, Sasuke was her older brother and she was his little sister; I knew deep down that heart of his, he loved the ravenette very much. If he didn't, he wouldn't have reacted the way he did when he learned that she was in a romantic relationship with me. It was evident that Katsumi meant a lot to him. Who knows? He might surprise us and lend a hand if we could convince him.

I'm hopeful that we could get him on board fast enough. Every minute that passed was a minute closer to Katsumi's possible demise.

I opened the large double titanium door, and the first thing I noticed was damage and the smell of dust diffused throughout the room from the destruction caused by the boy's chakra. The room was really big, making it hard to locate specifically where the Uchiha male was.

"There's Sasuke over there." Hana remarked gently, beckoning her head towards the boy.

I followed her gaze. Sure enough, there was Sasuke, standing very still in the middle of the room, staring off at the wall. Just the sight of him was already giving me second thoughts; I didn't have enough confidence to talk to him face-to-face. Not when his reactions were unpredictable after witnessing his sister and I together.

"What are you waiting for, Kabuto?" Hana asked curiously, nudging her head on my cheek.

"What if he declines, Hana?" I replied anxiously, lowering my gaze. "He won't want to give us a hand… after what happened. If he refuses, Lord Orochimaru won't give us permission to search for Katsumi."

"Kabuto dear, it's not your fault you fell in love with his sister. It was her responsibility to tell him the truth." She assured sweetly as I gazed into her shiny, sincere eyes. "It's natural for him to feel betrayed…"

"You think he's actually hurt?" I asked incredulously in disbelief.

"It's possible." Hana acknowledged. "His anger was probably his reaction to the pain his sister caused."

"For my sake, I hope he's cooled down a bit." I commented hopefully, eyeing the raven cautiously.

"There's only one way to find out." Hana replied, hinting me to press on.

After taking a deep breath in, I slowly walked over to the raven. I slightly winced when he snapped his crimson pupils aside, eyeing me sharply. I brushed it off as I finally stood close enough for him to hear what I had to say.

"Sasuke. I need to talk to you…" I told him in a serious tone.

Said Uchiha remained silent, however he turned his head enough for me to see part of his face. A face that was dark, unpleasant, and full of hatred. I couldn't tell if he was waiting for me to continue or thinking about taking me out.

"Katsumi has been kidnapped by rogue ninja." I told him straight-forwardly.

The mere mention of her name caused darkness to cloud his gaze and judgement.

"Lord Orochimaru assigned me… and you on a mission to find her." I hesitantly answered, keeping a brave face on.

"Hmph." He responded stoically, turning his eyes away from me.

I parted my lips disappointedly. I expected no other reaction than this. Like Hana mentioned, it was natural for him to react that sort of way. However, I'm not in the position to respect his decline, not when his cooperation was required to find the ravenette.

"Sasuke, you can't decline this request." I argued abruptly. "She needs our help."

Sasuke snapped a hateful glare at me as his Sharingan shined strongly at me, reflecting his despise for me.

"If you're so concerned, why don't you save her yourself?" He inquired in a hiss.

"Because Lord Orochimaru specifically requested the both of us to do this mission. This is a job for two shinobi." I explained assertively. "Plus, I'm not fully capable of doing any mission since my injuries haven't completely healed yet."

"Say what you like." Sasuke cut in sternly, turning his back towards me. "I won't assist you."

"But, Katsumi is…" I heard Hana coo sadly.

"Her being kidnapped has got nothing to do with me." He commented stoically with a hint of distaste in his tone. "She's made herself clear that she doesn't need me. She should be responsible for her own wellbeing…"

Hearing this made my stomach turn. The fact that he would say such things about his own sister made me feel the heartache Katsumi felt behind the large, strong wall. The thought of my partner shifted my anxiety to determination and anger.

"She would never do anything to hurt you like that, and you know it. How could she when she's your sister—you're little sister." I stressed solidly, furrowing my brows at him.

"Quite the contrary, since she happened to not respect me as her older brother." He hissed coldly.

"Because you weren't there for her when she needed you." I interjected hastily as my heart palpitated by anger. "All she wanted was her big brother; that was the one thing she told me she wanted. She missed the sibling bond you two once had."

Sasuke remained silent, bafflingly listening to what I had to say.

"Yes, she disrespected you and yes, she should've been honest about our relationship, but how could she when all you ever cared about is revenge and power." I added considerably, showing that I understood where he was coming from. "She's supported you in everything you do, while you never supported her back."

The Uchiha boy was still refusing to say anything, but he allowed himself to turn around and face me. He gave me his usual blank, stoic look as he seemed to have calmed down from his anger. Instead, he seemed to express more of his pain rather than his anger.

"I know how difficult Katsumi can be, and I know how defiant she is. But… that's the reason why I…" I immediately cut myself off, clearing my throat. "I know you love her just as much, Sasuke. You were ready to kill me on the spot the second you felt like her safety was threathened."

Hearing my words made Sasuke's eyebrows unfurrow just a bit.

"We both love Katsumi very much and her wellbeing is most important to both of us." I remarked gently, showing my determination through my eyes. "We should use this resemblance to work together and save her."

Sasuke stood there blankly, not making a single sound. I wasn't sure if he was considering in helping me or if he was planning on killing me on the spot. As I wondered about his secretive thoughts, I felt a breeze coming from Hana flapping her wings. She flew off of my shoulder and gracefully moved herself closer towards the raven. Sasuke watched stoically as he deactivated his Sharingan, knowing that the beautiful dove came in peace. She landed on his shoulder and gazed up at him with a glossy look as the male returned her look with a dull one.

"Hana." He acknowledged dryly.

"Sasuke, Katsumi needs you now the most." Said dove told him calmly. "Whatever has happened between the two of you should be settled at a later time, so please excuse Kabuto for the time being."

Sasuke blinked slowly as a glint of emotion flickered in his eyes for only a second.

"If you don't help us find her, she'll be gone. Probably forever." She continued firmly, urging the boy a bit. "You'll always and forever regret not understanding her perspective and pain."

Sasuke huffed quietly, then laid his dark eyes on me as I waited for him to say or do something. Instead he shooed Hana off of his shoulder—by which she did—and treaded towards the double door. Hana returned on my shoulder and we both watched Sasuke's back from a distance. He abruptly halted his footsteps, and slightly lowered his head. I could've sworn I saw the boy lightly clenching his fist from the regret he already knew he had for what had happened.

Hana was right all along: the raven was hurt, not angry.

"Let's go." I winced to hear Sasuke verbally beckoning us to follow him.

With that, the Uchiha male proceeded to walk out of the room down the long hallways. Breaking my train of thought, I quickly walked out of the training room with Hana. Though it could've been close to impossible, we had succeeded in convincing Sasuke to be on our side. Now that was done, we could finally start searching for Katsumi.

'We're going to find you, no matter what.' I thought determinedly, clenching my fist.

"Take a seat, Katsumi." Pain offered, eyeing me solidly.

I briefly searched around the table until I noticed there was only one seat that was empty. Drawback is that it was next to my brother, Itachi. As much as I rather not have my personal bubble violated by the man, complaining about it was futile. Besides, all of these guys are S-rank criminals; it's not like they would be gracious enough to switch seats with me. Huffing out loud, I quickly slid towards the seat and sat down. Once the Leader of the Akatsuki was certain that everyone was listening, he spoke.

"Now, as I mentioned in a previous meeting, we were going to recruit a medical ninjutsu specialist." He introduced calmly as everyone listened intently. "Now that that's done, there are stipulations I want you to be clear of, especially you, Katsumi…"

"Which are?" Kisame—who was sitting beside Itachi—questioned respectfully with a toothy smirk.

"Like I've mentioned before, Katsumi will be our medic in the Akatsuki and our producer of medicinal antidotes and such." Pain briefly explained in a serious tone. "In exchange for that, every member is prohibited in harming the medic whatsoever. Also, show some decency towards her as she is working for us from here on out."

"How the hell do you know we can trust her?" Hidan blurted in frustration. "The chick works for that python, Orochimaru. How do you know she's not a spy or something?"

I frowned at the grey-haired male for his disturbance. I wanted this to be brief so that I could be in a place where none of these monsters are near me, and having interruptions such as that wasn't helping.

Pain adjusted himself in his seat then he turned his lavender, cold eyes at me to which I glanced back at him, unfazed.

"During her stay with us, she is required to wear that chakra collar I ordered Kakuzu to purchase around her neck." He answered dryly, ignoring Hidan's obnoxious tone. "With this, it will suffocate her if she attempted to defy and/or betray us. And to be sure she won't try to pull anything, this tool cuts off most of her chakra reserves just enough so she's unable to use her style of jutsu."

'That makes sense as to why my chakra dropped drastically by using medical ninjutsu. This thing around my neck limits the amount of chakra I can use…' I analysed mentally as my lips made a thin line.

So that meant I was able to use basic jutsu I learned from Itachi and the Leaf Academy. It was better than nothing, I guessed.

"I still think it's a bad idea." Deidara then commented as he eyed me coldly. "How can we be sure she won't try anything funny? Considering she was trained under that snake, Orochimaru, there's no doubt she inherited a bit of his devious ways, hm."

If I didn't know that this guy had a huge problem with me, it was clearer than day now. I couldn't tell why even if I used all of my intellectual power. Since the moment I met him, he was nothing but resentful towards me, and I didn't do anything that could give him the conclusion that I was a threat.

'Whatever his deal was, I couldn't really care less as long as he doesn't try anything to provoke me.'

"I'm aware of that, Deidara." Pain remarked huskily. "That's why she's also going to have someone to keep an eye on her."

"I don't see why I need a babysitter, to be honest." I commented in a scoff, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Well, someone needs to keep an eye on you." Kisame nagged mockingly, grinning in amusement. "Besides, a kid like you shouldn't be walking around in a big, dark, scary place like this."

"Listen here, blue-boy." I hissed, watching the volume of my voice. "I'm not pulling anything, okay!? I already promised to do as Pain already mentioned and behave accordingly; I don't need a f**kin' caretaker, I can function on my own, thank you."

"Ugh, she's like Hidan if he were a female." I overheard Hidan's partner comment disgustedly as he held his money securely.

"Shut the f**k up, Kakuzu!" Hidan spat defensively, shooting an enraged glare at his partner who didn't bat an eye.

Said leader cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention again.

"You are required to have a caretaker whether you like it or not." Pain concluded sternly, already impatient with my rebellion. "The chakra collar won't operate at its fullest without a member in the Akatsuki." He pointed out grimly.

I groaned exasperatedly as I slumped into my seat in defeat. I proceeded in making myself at home by placing my feet on the table and placing my linked hands behind my head as I leaned back in relaxation. I opened my eyes only to see my oldest sibling staring plainly at me like a lion stalking a zebra from a distance. I cocked an eyebrow at this then immediately dismissed it, bringing my focus over to Pain.

"If you really want someone to 'look after me', then go right ahead." I sighed tiredly, no longer interested in butting heads.

"Now, it's just a matter of who is going to be the girl's escort…" Kisame grunted in bore.

I rolled my eyes at the large man sitting across from me.

"Well, f**kin' count me out!" Hidan abruptly spoke aloud, holding his hands up as if to say that I wasn't his problem. "I didn't even want some little, weak b***h living with us in the first place."

There were times like this when the nerve living underneath my forehead decided to pop out and say hello to its fellas in my surroundings.

"Thanks for telling us as if we give a s**t about your thoughts, d**khead." I commented impulsively.

Everyone in the room were in awe of my insult that literally shut the man up. Said male showed how shocked that someone could be as vulgar as he was while everyone else was either impressed or taken aback by this development. After processing what I had just said to him, Hidan's stunned face switched into a livid, murderous one as he growled. With this, he pulled out his Scythe and stood up hastily while locking his eyes on his target. He went ahead and jumped straight towards me with a battle cry. I remained sitting on my seat unfazed with a smirk on my face; I wanted to wait until the exact second he was going to make his attack. I was so focused on preparing myself that I was baffled when Hidan collapsed, face first, on the wooden table. The face he made before his face kissed the table was as if he wasn't expecting something to happen, but it did. I blinked incredulously at his limp body, removing my feet off of the table and leaning a bit closer to the wooden surface to get a better look.

I knew full well that this wasn't my doing, so who pulled the trigger?

"Gosh, Itachi. Your timing is impeccable…" I heard Kisame complimented amusedly, to which I glanced up to see what the swordsman meant. "Then again, you've always had a thing for perfect timing, eh?"

Sure enough, there was no doubt that this was my brother's doing; his Sharingan blazing brightly through his dull eyes as they eyed Hidan's body.

'So, he hit him with genjutsu, huh…' I analyzed in thought, sort of surprised that he willingly stopped the dude from attacking me. 'Typical Itachi…'

"The hell is that for, Uchiha!?" Deidara spat harshly, standing up from his seat. "You can't just cast a genjutsu on people whenever you want!"

"Hidan wasn't acting duly." Itachi defended monotonously. "On top of that, Katsumi is unable to fight back, due to sustaining injuries and restricted use of chakra."

I blinked blankly by the way my estranged older brother was defending me on his own free will.

"Your fellow Akatsuki members are far more important than some girl." The blonde countered crossly. "Besides, she deserves it for disrespecting all of us, hmph!"

"What else do you expect, Deidara?" Kisame spoke gutturally, getting impatient with the loud blonde. "She was kidnapped by a dangerous group of S-class criminals out of the blue, bounded by this contraption, and forced to work for us against her will. It's natural for her to act out and make rebellious remarks because of the circumstances she's forced into."

"Kisame makes a good point." The one named Kakuzu remarked bluntly, peeling his partner off of the table and back into his previous seat. "Besides, it's Hidan's damn fault for not being level-headed."

"But, still—!"

"That's enough, Deidara." Pain interrupted solidly, demanding him to zip it as the man earned an anxious look from said blonde. "Your personal resentment is not going to be taken into consideration."

Grumbling underneath his breath, he plopped down on his seat in defeat, crossing his arms stubbornly. My lips curved upward in amusement by Deidara's defeat, until a demanding voice referred to me to grab my attention.

"And as for you, Katsumi." Pain continued tediously. "In spite of the boundaries I placed on my own people, I expect you too to show respect to your superiors… or else you will indeed face irreversible consequences. Understood?"

Though the tone of his voice sounded like he couldn't give a damn, it was evident that he was stern about what he was saying, and he wouldn't be in the happiest of moods if disobeyed. To that, I rolled my eyes in reluctance.

"Whatever you say, sir." I saluted sarcastically with a dismissive hand gesture.

Once that was settled, Pain moved his rippled pupils to the raven and gave him a look, silently ordering him to release the genjutsu on the grey-haired male. Without hesitation, Itachi released his low-level genjutsu and Hidan was up and awake in the next second. Hidan hastily blinked, making sure his eyes adjusted to the new surroundings.

"Damn, what the f**k happened to me?" He asked deeply as if he was experiencing real life for the first time.

"You were put under a genjutsu because you let your impulsive emotions get out of hand, like always." Kakuzu retorted in annoyance. "If you hadn't been put down, you would've killed the girl and we would've gotten penalized thanks to your reckless, violent tendencies."

Hidan begrudgingly adjusted himself in his seat as he glared deadly at me, cursing me for ever being born. I merely blinked at him, unbothered by his death threat to me.

"As I was saying, Katsumi will require an escort in the Akatsuki base." Pain proceeded nonchalantly. "She is prohibited in travelling freely on her own until further notice."

"Me, me, ME!" Tobi chirped eagerly with a raised hand. "I wanna be Katsumi's guide! Please, sir!?"

"You can't even take care of yourself, Tobi, hmph!" Deidara exclaimed in disagreement.

"Besides, you have a better chance in winning the blonde's heart than taking care of a human being." The swordsman remarked savagely, earning a defensive glare from said blondie.

"So, which one of us is going to be her caretaker?" Kisame asked amusedly, intentionally trying to tick me off.

I just narrowed my eyes at him; he knew that I didn't want a "caretaker" in the first place but that choice was out of reach. There was little I could do about this frustration, so I just brushed that aside and waited along with the others to figure out who my escort would be. Pain's next words were nothing but ironic to me because I kind of anticipated it, but such a thing being a reality and not just a hunch still took me by surprise.

"Itachi Uchiha, you will be responsible for Katsumi at all times in this hideout." Pain disclosed firmly.

"Understood." Itachi accepted respectfully with his gaze not faltering the slightest by this decision.

"Good." Pain responded in satisfaction. "Meeting ad—."

"Hold on just a second!" I interjected abruptly, grabbing everyone's attention including my brother's. "Before you call this whole thing off, I have something to say."

"Which is?" Pain verbally beckoned me to continue, though he sounded displeased.

"With all due respect, Lord Pain." I tried to speak as respectful as possible. "But putting me in Itachi's care is something I can't stomach. Believe me when I say that I would rather change Tobi's diaper than have Itachi anywhere near me."

Everyone gaped at my blunt comment about my brother, who hadn't reacted in the slightest. If anything, he couldn't really care less as to what I say about him.

"But I'm potty-trained, Katsumi!" Tobi then remarked beamingly. "Well, when I don't have too much to drink…"

"UGH! Why the hell do I even associate myself with you!?" Deidara whined disgustedly, ashamed that the kid was his partner.

"Because you're just as weird as the fool." Hidan scoffed lowly.

Hearing this made Deidara's face turn bright red from pure rage as his eyes shockingly turned grey out of anger. I honestly expected so much from the formidable, powerful group and so far, I wasn't impressed at all.

"You blood-thirsty, sadistic bastard…" The blonde seethed in response as he clenched his fists in fury.

"Anyways." I stressed obnoxiously, trying to get back into topic. "I strongly suggest you don't pair me up with Itachi; I can't stand him in the slightest, and he doesn't give less of a damn about me. Why force the both of us together when we could end up killing each other?"

We were Uchiha; we wouldn't hesitate to kill if we wanted to kill.

"Like everyone here in the Akatsuki, you will do as I say obediently." Pain responded grimly.

I frowned displeasingly at him as he kept his cold, dull eyes on me.

"As far as your question goes, the reason for choosing Itachi to look after you is evident and simple…" Pain continued patronizingly. "He's your older brother; I'm sure he knows exactly how to handle you."

Those who were unaware of that fact awed shockingly, glancing between the raven and me. I cocked an eyebrow at this solely because it didn't make sense how they knew I was an Uchiha, but they didn't know that I'm a close relative—never mind sister. I expected a lot more of these guys after hearing short stories about them from Orochimaru. Such disappointment I felt as I mentally shook my head.

"Hold the f**k up!" Hidan barked demandingly, shooting a look at the raven who simply eyed him. "Itachi, why the f**kin' hell didn't you tell us this!?"

"Such fact was vain in any previous occasion." Itachi broadly answered in a low tone. "Besides, you never bothered to ask."

"Still!" The blonde cut in, equally shocked and irritated as the grey haired male. "You should've mentioned something about it, hmph!"

"You were gonna find out anyway. It shouldn't matter how soon or how later you know, especially if you're not entitled to know." Kisame grumbled exasperatedly, wanting this conversation to end as much as I did.

With that, everyone sat quietly on their seat as their leader continued to speak.

"Itachi is a wise choice, and you're more familiar with him than you are with any other Akatsuki member." Pain acknowledged somberly. "Despite current terms, you two are family; it will be easier for him and you to interact with each other, regardless of current terms."

"But just because we're 'family' doesn't mean I should be placed under his care! Let someone else be my 'caretaker': Kisame, Deidara, Hidan—f**kin' hell, even TOBI! Just not Itachi!" I countered stubbornly. "He doesn't give any sort of s**t about me to begin with."

"I can understand why…" I heard the blonde mumble to himself.

I gave Deidara a quick glare then continued with my argument.

"After that man betrayed me and played me like his puppet, I made an oath to myself to never breathe the same air as him unless if I shred him to pieces." I gritted lividly then I slowly got up from my seat. "The last thing I want is history repeating itself… I learned my lesson the last time I trusted the bastard, and I don't plan on entertaining the idea ever again."

There was a moment of silence where everyone seated was looking at the anger I displayed that came from within as my body shook from pure rage.

"To your unfortunate, it can't be helped." The Akatsuki Leader broke the silence, dismissing what I had just said. "But rest assured, you will soon be relieved that I was considerate enough to put you under his care out of the rest."

Out of spite, I opened my eyes and my Sharingan subconsciously responded to my hidden anger towards Itachi. Everyone was in awe of this, coming to the realization that I really was his younger sister. I didn't bother sitting back down; I persistently stared at Pain who he too stared back at me.

"Do as you please, Pain." I hissed venomously, then I shot a piercing glare at my brother. "But just so you know, I'm capable of doing so much more than just medical ninjutsu. It would've been better for you and the group if you'd just lock me up."

"Then, let's lock this b***h up!" Hidan prompted. "She just said she doesn't give a s**t about it and she's our prisoner anyway!"

"The girl is our medic, not our prisoner." The blue haired female finally spoke with blank eyes. "It will be unethical of us if we already expect so much from her. Thanks to her medical expertise, any injuries inflicted on us will be taken care of professionally."

I didn't expect this sophisticated female to defend me on her behalf—I believed her name was Konan—and that she could actually speak. She reminded me of a female-version of my brother with that dull look in their eyes.

"Konan is right." Pain agreed respectfully. "Additionally, I know quite well that Itachi won't be too pleased if we do such a thing to his own sibling."

Hearing this made Itachi side-glanced at the Akatsuki Leader. I saw a glint of darkness in his gaze which raised my eyebrow.

'Would he actually be unhappy if that were to happen to me?'

"I don't know." The blonde commented reluctantly, narrowing his eyes. "I still don't think we can trust her, hm."

I laid my eyes on the bitter blonde-headed male as we had a staring contest, seeing which of our eyes were the most dominant. I'm so irritated that Deidara simply didn't like me—on the contrary, he had no reason to dislike me especially after our first encounter which lasted literally a few minutes. I was aware that he was touchy because I was an Uchiha, but there isn't anything else that could've given him the signal that I was a complete "nightmare". Frankly, I wasn't the only one who was curious about it.

"What's your problem with the kid anyway, Deidara?" Kisame inquired bluntly, furrowing his thin brows at the blonde. "You don't even know her."

"That may be, but I did meet her prior to this meeting, hmph." Deidara shot back.

"Care to explain why Deidara isn't taking a liking towards you?" Pain asked curiously, actually interested to know the reason.

"From what I can tell, Goldie Locks' been resentful since disclosing that I was an Uchiha." I answered hardly, folding my arms.

Once I gave in my answer, everyone in the room became very quiet as they eyed me and/or Itachi. Except for blue boy who was particularly looking at the blonde mindfully for some reason. After a long period of awkward silence, Pain cleared his throat, notifying everyone that he had something to say.

"The conditions Katsumi has for the Akatsuki are to stay away from Orochimaru, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kabuto Yakushi during her stay, and we must not interrogate nor question about the Sanin's motives and plans." He proclaimed flatly then turned his attention towards me and asked, "Is there anything I'm forgetting?"

"How long am I going to stay here for?" I questioned curiously, not intending to live here forever.

"You'll know when I tell you…" He answered evenly.

I frowned at him displeasingly. Though creating such medicines wasn't too much of a difficult task, it was gonna take a very long time to make a large supply of it. Not to mention that I was making all of that alone, with limited chakra.

"But I don't have a lab to make them." I mentioned bluntly.

"We have one that will do just fine." Pain offered calmly.

"Do you have a vast supply of medicinal herbs?" I questioned challengingly.

"Yes, we do." Pain mused with a microscopic smirk.

"Hmph." I pouted childishly as I looked away, plopping down on my seat in defeat.

"If there's nothing else to say in this matter, you are now dismissed." Pain concluded, disappearing in a snap along with Konan. I glanced at the once occupied seat located at the far right of the table.

Now that that was over, what to do now?

That was when I heard chairs being pushed back and footsteps distancing themselves from me. That was when I realized the Akatsuki members were exiting out of the room to wherever they were planning on going. Probably to their personal rooms. I examined the room to see that there was no one present except me. Huffing loudly, I got up and started walking out of the same door until I stopped once I got to the hallways. Great, I was lost again. And this time, there was no one who could guide me through this cave. Suddenly, I felt a presence right behind me and I spun quickly on my heel to see its identity. I winced to see no one but Itachi standing idly beside the doorframe. He had his onyx eyes boring into my identical onyx orbs. My lips parted, unable to produce words as the man in front of me straightened his back and walked past me. I felt him brush past me, making my skin crawl and goosebumps to form. This sensation was cut short by the realization being left behind once again if I didn't move. I speed-walked until I was walking beside my brother and we continued travelling down the long hallways in silence.

There were moments where I sneaked a few looks at him, curious to see if he had physically changed over the years. The two stress lines on his face grew in length, corresponding to his age and his bangs identical to mine and Sasuke's were down to his chin. As I carefully examined his appearance a little more, I was stunned to discover that he was slender than he was a few years ago—and I legitimately mean that he dropped a lot of pounds. This was evident to my eyes despite him wearing a large, airy robe. Not only that, the weight I was noticing is unhealthy for his age. He was just twenty-one, yet he looked older for his age. Overall, he looked sick. He reminded me of the patients I used to care for back at the Leaf Village: ill and too stubborn to eat anything what was given to them as their weight dropped before my eyes.

'Is he suffering from an eating disorder?' I hypothesized in thought, frowning.

It was possible, but why? Why would a criminal like him suffer something like that? Besides, I highly doubt he stopped his dango addiction; he would die before he stopped eating those sweets. If that were the case, then the number of calories he consumed—and the strenuous exercise from being a ninja—should be enough to keep his body weight steady. So if it wasn't an eating disorder, then what was the answer?

'I can't help but think there was something deeper. Something that's affecting him internally…' I thought hardly, examining him thoroughly.

As a medic ninja, we were trained to examine a person based on their physical appearance and body language. We were told from day one that if the person's health wasn't affected by the outside, we had to assume that there was something wrong inside. In this case, I don't see anything on Itachi that was alarming to me other than his unhealthily pale skin, possibly affected by the root of the problem. So whatever was going on with the raven, it had something to do with his internal health. But what?

"Something the matter?" Said raven's voice asked me unexpectedly as I flinched by the sudden question.

Sure enough, Itachi noticed me studying him intently without him being aware of it. That failed miserably and now he too was staring at me, demanding to get an answer. I swiftly looked away, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Nothing." I replied straight-forwardly. "Just curious to know where you're taking me."

Itachi took a brief moment to examine my whole figure to see if I was fibbing. The feeling of his stare made me feel nervous, praying that he wouldn't use his mind-controlling tactics on me. I sneaked a look and to my surprise, he didn't press me any further and looked back ahead.

"The kitchen." He briefed monotonously, clearing my curiosity.

I was confused as to why he was taking me there of all places, until my empty stomach decided to make itself loudly known. I covered my tummy, slightly blushing in embarrassment from him hearing it.

Sometimes, I believed others' comments about me being such a kid.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, we approached a door that assumedly led to the kitchen. Itachi opened the door but stepped aside as he held it open, allowing me to enter first. I walked in wordlessly and absorbed my new surroundings. I was impressed by the view I was seeing, however I was confused as to why he brought me to what seemed to be the living room instead of the kitchen like he said.

It was very big and roomy but contained all of the necessary furniture: a couch, chair, loveseat set along with a recliner chair, a medium-sized carpet, a fireplace, a coffee table and a mini-fridge. There were a few indistinctive framed pictures hanging on the walls. Currently there was no one present except for myself and my brother. It felt surprisingly homey; getting accustomed to this place would more bearable than I originally thought.

"Come." Itachi then instructed as he walked towards a handless door located on the right side of the room.

I followed him as he effortlessly pushed open the door, entering the kitchen. I too opened the door, immediately getting an exceptional view of the kitchen too. In the large room we were in, there was a circle-shaped dining table enough for everyone in the organization with leather and wooden chairs placed neatly. One of which was taken by fish sticks who was currently reading a book. I moved my attention towards the actually equipment that made the room a kitchen which were a silver sink with a countertop beside it, cupboards and cabinets, a toaster located at the far corner, an oven, stove and a large, silver refrigerator. To top it all off, there was a dark wooden island counter than separated the dining table and the kitchen itself.

For S-ranked criminals, these guys were good at interior designing.

"You're free to make whatever you please." Itachi notified plainly as we stood by the kitchen door.

That was when Kisame took into notice that he wasn't the only one present in the room.

"Hey, you two." He greeted with a playful smirk. "Getting along well, I see…"

"You wish, tuna roll." I snapped hastily, walking towards the kitchen.

As I smoothly slid past the space between the fridge and island counter, the duo watched me carefully as I pulled out a pan and placed it on top of the stove. I made my way towards the cabinets, searching for food items until the swordsman huskily chuckled.

"Hungry much?" He asked amusedly as his grin grew wider.

I slammed the cabinet shut once I had obtained the needed ingredients. I spun around and threw an annoyed glare at the large man who continued to grin widely at me.

"Well, I was in the mood for a tuna sandwich." I seethed coldly. "But you're not dead yet, so I'm stuck to making stir-fried rice."

Kisame wasn't fazed by my insult, continuing to grin in entertainment. Rolling my eyes, I turned my back towards him and turned on the stove. I started off by placing leftover rice I found in the fridge along with spices and vegetables. I glanced over my shoulder at Itachi who stood by the table examining my movements.

"Mind if you make yourself useful and hand me any meat you guys have?" I asked expectedly, dismissing the two staring at me.

Aware that I was referring to him, the raven moved towards the fridge and searched for said ingredient. He finally reached over and grabbed what supposedly meat. He then walked over to me, holding the ingredient out for me to take.

"Will this do?" He inquired.

With one hand, I took what was in his grasp and briefly examined the ingredient.

'Chicken.' I acknowledged in thought approvingly. 'Perfect…'

After one nod, I held it out for him to take it back. Itachi eyed me with a glint of curiosity reflecting off of his dark eyes.

"Cut them into chunks." I requested bluntly, hinting him that he had no other option.

Surprisingly, he took the chicken out of my hand and did as he was told. Though my confusion and curiosity wasn't great enough to kill a cat, I still wondered why Itachi Uchiha was willingly helping me when he could flat out ignore me.

'I guess you do grow softer as you grow old…' I theorized mentally as I continued stirring the rice.

A moment passed and the raven returned with a handful of raw chunks. I nodded my head, allowing him to place it in the rice. Once he did so, I added more flavouring and spices into the mix and continued mixing the food as Itachi stood against the counter, watching me. I mentally rolled my eyes as I continued stirring the pan. I briefly stopped to grab a few more ingredients. Once I got the salt and pepper, I turned around and to my surprise, the raven who had just stood there frozen was now taking over the stove to make sure nothing burned while unattended. After a couple of blinks, I shrugged my shoulders dismissively and beckoned him to move aside to which he graciously did. As I added the pepper into the food, the loud sound of the kitchen door slammed wide opened made me wince in surprise, almost dropping bits of food on the floor.

"Holy s**t!" The loud, obnoxious voice of the grey haired douchebag of the group exclaimed. "What's that beautiful smell!?"

Just before anyone could answer the jerk's question, in came in another Akatsuki member who I dreaded to see.

"Something sure smells good, hm." Deidara complimented in approval.

I wasn't able to even open my mouth because yet another member burst into the kitchen.

"I smell good food~! Good food I smell~!" Tobi sang cheerily as he skipped.

I huffed tiredly at their sudden excitement for food then turned my attention back to the stove to turn it off.

'When was the last time they smelled real food, never mind consume it…?' I thought curiously but dismissed it as nothing worrying.

I placed the lid on its pan and turned around to get some plates. I originally thought I was just going to eat this myself, but the smell wafted into their nostrils, drooling for a plate too.

'Good thing the quantity is more than enough…' I thought to myself as I mentally patted myself on the shoulder.

I spun around with a pile of plates only to see the whole deadly gang—minus Konan and Pain—eyeing me interestedly. The feeling and sight of them staring at me weirdly antagonized me.

"Stop your drooling and sit your asses down!" I snapped irritably. "You'll get the food soon enough!"

Bafflingly, they listened and did what they were told, scrambling to their seats. Huffing, I placed the plates individually, side by side with each other. I then picked up the pan and placed equal amounts of rice on each plate. As I waited for the rice to cool a bit, quickly went back into the fridge and took out ingredients for the salad. After the last finishing touches, I stirred it until it was perfectly mixed. After quickly placing equal amount on each plate in front of me, I lifted two of the dishes and handed them to Itachi.

"Help me give these out." I demanded.

Without saying a word, the raven took it off of my hands and once again, followed my orders. Because his right arm was still paralyzed from my chakra scalpel, he resorted in carrying two plates with one hand only. I briefly glanced at the members seated near the table and saw that they too were kind of surprised that Itachi was doing my bidding without complaint. Ignoring their heavy stares, I handed him the next two plates as he continued giving them out to the members. Once Itachi handed out the last two plates, he walked over to me one final time to get his own plate. I nonchalantly handed his and turned to take my own until a sudden appearance from behind took me by surprise. I yelped in shock, gaining everyone's attention.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I can't help it when I smell something so divine." The stranger uttered smoothly.

I blinked appallingly at the unfamiliar male who f**kin' popped out of the wall over the stove. Who the hell was this?

"Don't mind Zetsu, kid." Kisame assured calmly, unfazed by the male's sudden appearance. "He frequently pops out of nowhere when you least expect it. That's basically what he does…"

"But that doesn't explain why he looks two-faced!" I exclaimed in strain.

"Because he is two-faced, hm." Deidara replied bluntly. "He has a split personality. Basically two people in one body."

I parted my lips in comprehension, but was still freaked out.

"Is this the girl Pain mentioned about earlier?" Zetsu questioned, unimpressed with what he was seeing.

"Pretty sure." Zetsu answered. "She's pretty."

"Pretty tasty." He added deviously.

I stood there in disbelief as I watched the conversation between the two?

'Is this dude actually talking to himself?' I wondered intriguingly, stressing to understand what was going on. 'No. Deidara just mentioned he has more than one personality.'

I then thoroughly examined Zetsu's physical appearance, particularly his skin. 'Polarizing skin colours corresponding to each personality. Like… two halves of different people combined…'

Wait, did this freak just said that I was tasty?

"Back off, flytrap." Kisame grimed huskily, taking a bit of his food. "That's Itachi's sister; she's off limits."

Zetsu laid his eyes on me, scanning my appearance, and then moved his eyes onto Itachi who remained beside me from taking his plate from me.

"I can see that. You two look quite alike." Zetsu remarked cooingly. "She doesn't strike me as the powerful type like him." His other half grumbled in disappointment.

If I was correct, the one who spoke first was Zetsu in white since his lips moved when he made his comment. Meaning the deeper, monotone voice came from Zetsu in black. It was going to take while for me to get used to knowing which was talking to me and him talking to himself.

'In my opinion, he's what the definition of Akatsuki is in my head…' I commented in thought.

It wasn't until then his comment about me being weak sunk in, and my bitterness kicked in.

"Just because I'm younger than him, doesn't mean I'm weak." I hissed defensively, glaring at him.

"Don't mind him, he didn't mean it like that. I'm certain you're a skilled kunoichi, indeed." White Zetsu complimented reassuringly. "You're such a kiss-up!" Black Zetsu groaned.

"Alright then." I spoke awkwardly, quickly moving towards one of the free seats as Itachi followed suit.

We both sat down and ate along with the other members as Zetsu finally came out of the wall and walked over to join the gang.

"You can cook just as much as you can fight, kid." Kisame commented casually with a mouthful of food.

"Thanks." I acknowledged his compliment lazily, keeping my eyes on my plate.

"Wait, you're telling me this b***h is strong?" Hidan blurted incredulously then pointed his index finger at me. "Is she actually that strong?"

"Of course, you idiot." Kakuzu replied hardly. "She wouldn't be here if she was weak."

"You better not be overexaggerating, Kisame." Deidara bluntly commented, disinterested by this topic until he laid one blue eye at me. "What I see so far is a little girl who's all bark and no bite, hm."

I frowned disapprovingly at the arrogant blonde. By the looks of it, he isn't more than a few years older than me, so he's just as much of a "kid" as I am.

"I'm not overexaggerating one bit. Believe me when I say that it took both Itachi and I to bring her here." Kisame countered frankly as he smirked at me from across the table. "Her appearance may be deceiving, but her abilities and knowledge excel her age by a mile. Plus, her willpower is close to unbreakable…"

I gazed at the swordsman with a bit more softness in my eyes. I knew Kisame was being truthful, but him saying that willingly in front of the Akatsuki made me feel more… flattered?

At the same time, I was secretly mourning my loss over Itachi because it demonstrated that I was still beneath him. But now—after hearing this from his partner—I don't think I lost because I was weak. I lost because I lost. But I lost as a fellow Uchiha and ninja. Knowing that I left permanent damage on the man gave me the reassurance that I had definitely gotten stronger. But I wasn't stronger than Itachi. Looking at it in a different perspective, it wasn't really a bad thing. I proved to Itachi and Kisame that I had a lot of potential, capabilities, and willpower. That itself made me a winner; I changed their viewpoint about me.

Yes, Itachi knocked me down… but he hadn't knocked me out. Not even the Sage's power could bring the likes of me down, so he better get used to beating me down constantly.

"I agree with you a hundred percent!" Tobi beamed in agreement as he threw his arms around me from the side. "I knew she was special the moment when we first bumped into each other!"

Frankly, Tobi wasn't as clueless and annoying as I thought. I smiled microscopically in defeat, allowing him to hug me just this once.

"Thank you, Tobi." I responded gently, patting him on the head.

I took another spoonful of food once Tobi released his grip on me. It wasn't until a moment later when Hidan decided he wanted to open his big mouth some more.

"So b***h, do you have like a love-hate relationship with your big brother? Are you planning on killing him during your stay with us?" He questioned obnoxiously.

"Call me b***h one more time and I'll make you my b***h!" I hissed venomously, earning faces of awe from the other members.

Instantly after saying my snarky reply, the whole kitchen turned dead silent out of shock. Everyone was astounded by my ability to say such a thing yet again after what happened earlier. Not to mention my age and the matter of me being an Uchiha. Hidan wasn't only surprised, but also offended. That shock slowly turned into anger and by the colour of red displayed on his face, I probably crossed the line.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!?" Hidan barked fumingly. "I DON'T GIVE TWO F**KS IF YOU'RE ITACHI'S SISTER, YOU'LL BE A SACRIFICE TO LORD JASHIN!"

But of course, little ol' me doesn't care one bit. In fact, it was more amusing.

"I'm pretty sure 'Lord Jashin' will be more pleased if you rot in hell because I highly doubt he gives a damn about you and what you do for him." I responded savagely, folding my arms smugly.

Everyone in the kitchen deadpanned at my insult, not because it was just bold, it was literally the breaking point for Hidan. Instead of throwing more words, he pulled out his Triple-Bladed Scythe and was about to pounce at me to which I was ready to defend myself. But before he had made any further movements, the raven sitting beside me broke his silence.

"Enough, Hidan." He demanded monotonously, eyeing him warningly with crimson eyes activated. "Lord Pain made it clear that he banned any attack or harm on Katsumi… unless you have a death wish."

Hidan growled at the stoic raven, transferring his anger onto him. Before he attempted another attack, his partner finally took his attention off of his money.

"Itachi's right, fool." Kakuzu agreed in a gruff. "Don't let the girl get to you. It makes you look denser than you already are."

Taking offense to this, Hidan munched on the last remnants of his food, plopped them in the sink, and stormed off.

"F**k this, I'm going to bed!" He grumbled exasperated, slamming the kitchen door shut.

Once we all couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, Itachi laid his Sharingan eyes on me.

"You're abusing your immunity." He scolded evenly. "I suggest you show some respect to your seniors."

"And I suggest you stop scolding me!" I snapped in response. "You're put as my escort slash watchdog, not my babysitter."

"Regardless, you will behave under my supervision." He hardened stressfully, sharpening his look at me.

"Hmph." I glanced away stubbornly, though secretly I accepted.

"I can't wait to learn the hand signs for that collar she's wearing, hm." Deidara mumbled in anticipation.

"Hate to break it to you, blondie, but that's not gonna happen." Kisame snorted cockily. "Only Itachi is allowed to take advantage of it."

"How come!?" The blonde questioned in disapproval.

"Realistically, Itachi is the only one who doesn't have the impulse to kill, out of all of us." Kakuzu analyzed briefly. "On top of that, it's unlikely he would kill his closest family."

"He didn't have no problem murdering his parents and the rest of the clan, hmph!" Deidara snapped sourly.

It didn't even cross my mind that rage and adrenaline flowed throughout my body until I decided to educate the narrow-minded blonde a bit. To emphasize my annoyance, I slammed my hand loudly on the table, causing everyone to snap their gazes towards me.

"What gives you the right to talk with that narrow, obnoxious mind of yours!? Especially when you know nothing about me, Itachi, and our clan to begin with!" I hissed coldly, then I pointed a finger at him as I stood from my seat.

Deidara shot up from his seat to, probably to prevent others from thinking he was intimidated by a "little girl".

"So you're actually defending this heartless bastard!? After hurting so many people!?" He hissed venomously. "You're just as cold as he is!"

"I'm NOT defending anyone! And if anything, the Uchiha clan is NOT a family to me; they met their fate, plain and simple!" I barked fumingly, only seeing red at this point. "But that still doesn't stop the suffering this bastard caused, and because of that he deserves to rot in hell!"

"Well, maybe you deserve—!"

"Deidara!" Kisame snapped abruptly, instantly cutting him off. "Just shut up already! You're in no position to question the girl's judgement."

Though the swordsman put a stop to the argument, it did little good for my indignation slowing within me. I was so angry, tears were daring themselves to flow out of my eyes but I used my strength to hold them back. I resorted to clenching my fist to contain that anger. But, alas, my attempt to cover my distress failed when the hesitant tears were glued onto my lower eyelids.

To make matters worse, the first person who saw my angry tears was Tobi.

"Look what you've DONE, partner!" Said male exclaimed worriedly as he pointed at me. "You made Katsumi cry!"

Everyone then took notice to this.

"That was hypocritical of you to say that, Deidara." Zetsu commented lightly. "He does have a point, though."

I gritted my teeth tightly, wanting to break the table in half. But I couldn't because something told me Kakuzu wouldn't be too thrilled about it. My best bet was to get out of here and go to a room where I could cool down a bit.

"Take me back to your room, Itachi." I mumbled coldly, although I knew he heard my request.

Itachi closed his eyes slowly and got up from his seat in response to my favor. He walked over to the kitchen door while I immediately followed him as I avoided having eye contact with anyone in the room.

We walked back to my brother's room without the smallest desire to bring up a conversation.

Once we had made it to his room, I made myself at home and plopped on his bed. I laid there frozen with my head deep in the pillow to avoid looking at anything and anyone. As I gloomed, I heard the movement and removal of clothing, leading to my assumption that Itachi was taking advantage of my averted vision to change into comfortable wear. I lazily looked up from the pillow to see the clock sitting on the nightstand that read 10:10 pm. I'm not surprised in the slightest; he usually slept around that time.

In that aspect, he was still the old Itachi I knew when I was little.

"You're free to shower." He offered dryly as I felt his weight on the mattress.

"But I don't have a change of clothes." I remarked with a shrug.

On cue, we heard a knock at the door. I glanced at Itachi expectedly but seeing that his mind was on a book he held, he had no intention to answer. Groaning at his figure, I got up from the bed and slid my feet to the door. I opened the door and was shocked to see the blue-haired kunoichi standing there, holding something that I assumed was for me.

"Uh, Konan right?" I guessed unsurely, using my judgement.

"Correct." She nodded softly with her amber eyes.

"How can I help you?" I asked slowly.

I didn't want to come off as a disrespectful, spoiled, little brat—even though it looked like it in other occasions—because frankly, Konan was probably the least annoying to me. She wasn't cold nor rude, but she also wasn't nice and caring; she was distant, quiet, and emotionless most of the time. Plus, I had a feeling that she was more than an ordinary subordinate to Pain; messing with her would indirectly mess with the leader

"I figured you wanted to shower and get into something comfortable…" Konan answered blankly as she moved the object in her hand closer towards me. "So I'm giving you a change of my clothes."

I was sort of taken back by the woman's words. I subconsciously took the pile of clothes off of her hands and we stood there eyeing each other respectfully. I wondered if the reason for her considerate gesture was because of the fact that she was the only female in the entire organization, and she was relieved that there was another female now. That or maybe she thought that I felt kind of awkward about living with a bunch of grown, tall men and she wanted to show that I had a fellow sister.

Either way, I wouldn't mind getting to know her and maybe even form a mutual friendship with her.

"Thank you, Konan." I nodded gratefully. "Not only for the clothes… but, also for healing my injuries…"

The quiet bluenette accepted my thanks with a short nod.

"Let me know if you need anything." She reassured quietly, turning to leave.

With that, she walked down the hallway as I watched from a distance. For sure, I was going to take advantage of that offer. I closed the bedroom door and headed towards Itachi's personal bathroom, dismissing his presence.

After locking the door behind me, I stripped the clothing and bandages off of my body. I turned on the shower and proceeded to wait until my desired temperature was reached. I stepped into the shower and immediately started lathering my hair with shampoo. After two rounds of shampooing, I moved onto conditioner. As I let my hair absorb the conditioner, I moved on to bathing my whole body until I felt no dirt and sweat on my delicate skin anymore. I turned my attention back to my hair and combed my dark, lustrous hair, removing any incoming knots. I then rinsed off all of the conditioner and remnants of soap until I was left satisfied with my overall cleanness. I shut the shower off and used a thick towel I found hanging there readily to dry my now clean body. I then used that towel to dry my hair, squeezing out any excess of water. I went back to the mirror to examine my new appearance.

Thank God, Konan gave me regular-sized clothes because the one I received when I was unconscious was bland, big, dark, and looked like something an inmate would wear. I mean this outfit—a fitted grey T-shirt with black sweatpants that had a small red cloud near the hip area—seemed to hug me comfortably without anything slipping. Taking a comb and a towel, I exited out of the bathroom and walked over to the bed where Itachi still sat there, reading the same book. I accompanied him on the bed, combing my hair.

"So what's the sleeping arrangement?" I asked casually, currently struggling with one knot.

Because I was brought here by my brother, forced to be their medic, and have the man sitting next to me as my watchdog, it was evident that Pain expected me to room with him. I couldn't complain because A) whatever I had to say would fall on deaf ears anyway, and B) out of everyone in this hideout, I was the most comfortable sleeping in the same room as Itachi. I wasn't too concerned of the raven slitting my throat in my sleep because I was a light sleeper like he was and just like what Kakuzu said earlier, he wouldn't kill anyone unless he had a damn good reason or if he was ordered to.

But if that were true, then…

"I don't mind where you desire to sleep." He answered simply as his eyes were glued to his book.

"Well, this bed is more than big enough for two people…" I implied dully, drying my hair with the towel. "I don't mind if we sleep in it together unless that bothers you."

It was then Itachi laid his black orbs at me, showing a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Question is: are you comfortable with that?" He countered huskily.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I frowned displeasingly, then sighed tiredly at the male's face. "Whatever, I'm too tired to talk about something pointless so I'm going to bed."

Once I was done with my hair, I held out my hand expectedly. "Do you have a spare hair tie?"

Itachi turned and reach over for said hair tie and handed it to me. I gladly took it off his hands and tied my damp hair into a high bun. I then quickly got off of the bed and removed the covers just enough so I could slide myself in there while the raven followed suit. Once we were comfortably under the covers, Itachi switched the lamp off and we both laid there facing away from each other.

Once I was settled in, thoughts filled with today's events leading up to now. Orochimaru assigned me to a solo mission, Kabuto and I's relationship was revealed to Sasuke, Kabuto got the punishment I should've endured, I reunited with this man sleeping next to me, I was kidnapped by the deadly and mysterious group, I was recruited as their medic for an unknown amount of time, and to top it all off, I was forced to spend most of my time with my "beloved" brother.

As surprising as this sounds, I don't have hatred for my oldest brother in a way I wanted him dead by my own hand. In fact, I wasn't enraged nor angry, I was heartbroken. My hate for him came from hurt, pain, and betrayal. Feeling those things in my heart all at once made my heart feel as though it weighed as much as me. There were times I couldn't breathe because my anxiety pushed more air out than in. There were times where my head would pound from my thoughts overflowing. There were times where I wanted to isolate myself from the world and escape from reality. All because of this man sleeping soundly next to me. It was because of him, I felt alone once again. I had already admitted to Kabuto that I had a fear of being left alone after letting someone into my life. That was why I made an oath to never leave his side because he showed a side of me that was yet to be exposed to the world.

Speaking of the male, I wondered if my partner discovered that I was missing. Hell, I was curious to know if Orochimaru was concerned in the slightest, considering he was once affiliated with them.

Then there was Sasuke. His reaction to my disappearance varied; he would either be determined to find me or he would give a dismissive 'hmph' to it and continue with his training. More importantly, his reaction if he learned that the kidnapper was the same person who he desired to kill. Now that I thought about these people, I couldn't help but actually missed them and it hadn't been a full day yet. I wondered if I was ever coming back to see the people I had grown fond with.

Was it possible that this was the last day I saw them? After the terms we'd left off?

That mere thought brought a tear to my eye, especially the thought of never seeing Kabuto again. How ironic that I hated him from the moment we encountered each other when we resulted in having a deep, intimate relationship. I didn't even say goodbye to him because I left him battered, bruised, and bandaged because of my recklessness. And I didn't get the chance to make it up to him; I didn't get to show how much I appreciated him and cared about him.

'Kabuto…' I sulked mentally as I hugged myself tightly, missing the feeling of being in his strong arms before I slept. 'I hope that moment with Sasuke… isn't our last time together…'

That was the last message I sent to him before I closed my watery eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

This broke the record for longest chapter I've made. I'm pretty proud of myself. Hope you guys like it because I did!

And please be sure to take care of yourselves and others in these difficult times.