A blistering sun shone down on the cracked ground of Kumogakure. Mid March, yet the sun was harsh as the fires of hell, radiating off the cracked, dusty earth which blew in the fierce wind across the land. Tumble weeds of dried, withered grass blew around, brittle and breaking as they were carried through the air.

It had been 11:13 a.m. on the dot that the Akatsuki team approached the Hidden Cloud. Their target wasn’t hard to find. Even if he hadn’t been standing at the top of the staircase before the entrance of the village, his chakra stuck out like a sore thumb from all the rest. The Haichibi; the eight tails jinchuuriki, Killer B.

A fight ensued at 11:16 a.m., consisting of a swordsman battle, which didn’t last long due to B’s expert handling of multiple weapons at a time. Back and forth, they threw attacks at one another, until the blades of Bee sunk into the skin of the Uchiha boy fighting him.

“What a strange team.”

Aside from the identifiable Sasuke Uchiha, there were three others; two young men, and a woman. The men themselves were outwardly different, one with the ability to shift into water, and the other able to extend his body with an unnatural color coating over his skin. The only worth that the young woman showed was the ability to sense the chakra around her, as she pointed out Killer B as he hid behind a few rocks.

Truth be told, B had always been barred from transforming into the haichibi. That was the point of being a jinchuuriki, you didn’t let anyone know you were one. However, when it came time for a battle which would prove to be fierce, sometimes, it was the only card left to play. Around 11:40, B transformed into the eight tailed coating. While he had aimed at Sasuke, he easily dodged his attack which was disconcerting. However, B disregarded this, and quickly went for the rest of the team.

“Are you okay?!” Sasuke’s voice was commanding. He actually sounded concerned for what was clearly his group. No shock that he was the leader.

“Let’s see if you can make it in time!” Killer B rushed forward at Sasuke, who had been making his way over to the others. Before Bee could reach him, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, attacking with a genjutsu. Unfortunately for him, it proved worthless as B struck at his neck, fracturing his wind pipe and collar bone as he tore apart his skin with chakra. Tumbling backward and over himself, Sasuke came to a stop by his team, who frantically surrounded him for a diagnosis.

“In order to break the illusion, I need a partner who can disturb my chakra and snap me out of it. My partner is the beast inside me. Illusions won’t work on a host who can control their beast.” B’s skin began to shed as his body expanded. “Disillusionment and destruction await. That will be your fate. When I transform into my true form, a beast you must meet, yeah. Cower before the power of the beast!”

The haichibi was out to play, and cower they did. Quickly a tentacle descended upon them with a crushing force, but was blocked by a large wave of water. The young boy on their team was now half aqua man, standing tall as he blocked the attack from the haichibi.

“Sacrificing himself for his team. Commendable.”

“You guys get out of here! I’ll hold him off!”

“I won’t let ya get away, ya stupid idiots!” Turning his neck back, the haichibi gathered all of his energy for the signature jinchuuriki attack; the giant ball of black, destroying anything within its path.

“Th-that’s.” A young Cloud trainee gasped at the sight of the large beast over the edge of the cliff.

“Killer B…why is he in beast form?! How many times has the Raikage told him not to transform?!” Jei, a young Chunin of the village looked down in awe. “We have to go tell the-“

“Don’t bother.”

Jei turned his head in a flash to look at the tall bonde woman, leaning against the rock to his left. “A-ah, Samui! How long have you been here?”

“A while…”Lazily, her ice blue eyes rolled over in his direction as she stared, her pale lips slightly parted. After a brief moment, her gaze returned to the battle. “They’re part of the Akatsuki, here to collect B in order to start a war.”

Aqua man’s sacrifice blocked the attack well enough in order to save Sasuke and the others. Stumbling around himself, Sasuke regained his stance, staring up at the large ox-opus that growled at him. His Sharingan eyes were fierce.

“Really? How would you come to know that?”

“…Clairvoyance.” Samui’s eyes watched with little to no interest as Sasuke collapsed to the ground, his team surrounding him. He was almost at his limit; even from afar, she could see the fatigue on his face. The young woman he had at his side seemed to be pleading with him.

“Should we help B? The Raikage would want to know about this, especially since the Akatsuki took-“

“I said don’t bother.” Right hand bent across her chest with her fingers spread, Samui glared. “I’ll report to him later, personally.”

Sasuke stumbled once more, quickly opening his eyes as they swirled and bled from the corners. “Amatera-“

Discharging the energy she gathered in her palm, within the split second of release, Sasuke dropped to the ground as he was hit. A small shock wave, numbing his nervous and muscular system was enough to make him pass out. Scaling the rocky wall, Samui descended upon the dried earth, dust pouring out from where she landed. She strut slowly over to the side of the eight tailed ox-opus, yards from where the Akatsuki stood.

“B, you should return to your normal form before those bumbling idiots run off and report to A.” In response, the ox grunted, steam pouring from its nostrils.

“Karin, I’ll handle this. Protect Sasuke and Suigetsu.” The taller man of the group instructed the red headed female. Samui raised an eyebrow as Karin lifted Sasuke’s heavy head, attempting to get his mouth open. She almost laughed.

“If you think lending out chakra is going to save him, you’re wrong. There’s nothing you can do for him.”

“Says you!” Karin snarled.

“Karin, stop.” The tall man scolded. “Leave with them, I’ll catch up.”

Samui pointed her chin down. “That won’t be necessary, seeing as you’ll all be leaving together.”

Again with the strut, Samui walked forward as she was charged by the ginger headed man. Holding her right hand over her left shoulder, she stopped in her tracks as her attacker was merely a step away. With a full forced fling of her arm, an exact 64mph wind swept its way from behind her, knocking the man back just as he was about to land a punch. Although she tried to withstand it, Karin was forced backward by the wind as well, traveling far, far away from where she had previously been standing. To Samui, she looked like a speck in the distance.

“Bitch! Get away from Sasuke!”

“What an annoying girl.” Samui muttered under her breath as she walked forward to the young Uchiha, who laid unmoved on the ground. He had numerous tears on his cloak, along with wounds to his body. Scrapes on his face left streaks of blood that traveled down his cheeks. His breathing was uneven. Not only had Samui’s electric wave numb his system, he had actually suffered damage to his internal organs. His chakra was depleting fast, along with his heart rate. Samui crouched to the ground.

“Hey! I said get away!” Karin’s voice was high pitched, shrill, and annoying…yet, somehow easy to ignore.

A single finger brushed away the bangs on Sasuke’s forehead, damp with perspiration. Brushing the back of her hand against his skin, Samui could feel his fever. Slowly, she ran her hand down his face, sliding it gently across his soft skin. Extending her index finger, she lined his slightly parted lips.

“If you don’t get away from Sasuke, so help me I will…” Karin continued her rant as she trampled on closer, which Samui hardly took notice of.

“You don’t have the chakra to sustain his injuries. He’ll die in your hands.” Karin stopped, asking Samui what she had said as if she didn’t hear her clear enough to the first time. “Are you naive enough to believe that you alone can balance the chakra flow of three men, two of which have kekkai genkai? Each time you offer yourself to any of them, your chakra grows weaker as you continue to do so. Similar to taking antibiotics for a cold, after time, the body will become familiar with it, rejecting it when it comes times for the medicine to do its job. You’re nearly dried up.”

Karin was nearly speechless. “Wha-who the hell are you, anyway? Why are you diagnosing Sasuke like this?”

“We have a particular attribute to our chakra that others lack. If we learn how to execute it properly, we can sever organs, or permanently damage someone’s internal workings… His organs have been hit with high voltage electrical waves from Bee’s chakra.”

“So, he was electrocuted from the inside out?”

Playfully running her fingers down his Adams apple, Samui continued until her hand rest above Sasuke’s heart. Turning her head, she looked upon the face of Killer Bee, and the lacking faces of Jei and the scout. “I can absorb the chakra that’s been diffused within his body. Once I’m finished you are to leave this village immediately.”

“What? Hey, what are you doing to him?!”

“You make a pretty shitty medical nin if you can’t even retain a diagnosis.” Samui glared as her chakra began to coat her body in electric sparks. The humming sound cracked as the sparks around her snapped, flowing from her arms down to the base of her palms. Adjusting her glasses, Karin studied her.

“Why should I trust you? You could be trying to kill him for all I know.”

“You are incredibly annoying.”

“We attack your village, yet you’re helping us. Out of everyone, you targeted Sasuke. I demand to know who you are!”

“It doesn’t matter who I am as long as his life is spared.” Samui looked up to the flickering eyelids of Sasuke. “He’s regaining conciousness. I’ll stabilize him, then you will leave.”

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this. Did you know Sasuke?” Samui took a breath. Her chakra flared as she lost her concentration for a brief moment. “Sasuke told me once…he knew a girl from this village-“

“I’m a little old to be a girl he once knew, aren’t I?” Samui smirked at Karin as she began to stand. “I’m simply returning a life for one that was given. A favor for a dear friend.”

“Friend?”

“Enough with the talking. Pick him up and get going.”

“Miraculous. His muscular and nervous systems have totally relaxed and repaired. Your chakra is an extraordinary heal-ant. It’s similar… to the hachibi’s…” Karin achieved a divine epiphany. “Are you a jinchuuriki?”

“Rather than pester me, you should be thanking me for sparing his life. When he wakes up, you can take credit for doing so.”

Karin startled. “What?

“Would you really bother to tell him his life was saved by someone on the opposing side?”

“If you’d give me your name, I’m sure-“

Samui reached forward, grabbing the collar of Karin’s cloak. From the stretched material, numerous bite marks could be seen on her skin. It made Samui’s stomach turn. “I will be clear. You are not to make mention of me to anyone. I have the sneaking suspicion we will cross paths again. You don’t want to make the mistake of dishonoring my wish after I did you a favor. Understood?”

“Hearing that just makes you more suspicious.” Karin smirked as Samui narrowed her eyes.

“The Captain has a hold on the Akatsuki girl!” A voice rose from behind.

“Take him and go.” Letting go of Karin, Samui crouched to aid her in picking up Sasuke. Reaching for his left arm, a glimmer of emerald caught her eye.

“What is it? Is there still something wrong with him?”

“Che.” Shaking her head, Samui wrapped her hand around the bracelet on his left wrist; it grew instantly warm. Pulling him up, she forcefully shoved Sasuke’s body into Karin’s.

“Wait.” With Sasuke slung over her arm, Karin bowed her head before Samui. “Thank you.”

“Leave.” Again, with the flick of her hand, Samui sent Karin flying backward through the air, further back than she had been before. After regaining their balance, she passed Sasuke onto the large man, while picking up the puddle that was Suigetsu. From behind, Samui heard the heavy footsteps of Killer B.

“Yo! Why you gotta step on my toes? I knew what I was doin’!”

“I did it to protect you.”

“That was my out! I would have been gone!” B watched Samui slump down on her knees as her hand pressed against the ground where Sasuke’s body had been. “That was the kid you used to know. The one you had the beef with when you left the Leaf.”

“…yeah.” Exhailing, a cumulous white cloud surrounded Samui’s body. A smaller one replaced her form as the cloud evaporated.”

“Bro isn’t gonna be happy ‘bout that little show.”

“I know.” Grey eyes stared out towards the horizon line as the black figures made their way across the land. A small smirk came across a pair of lips, curling the edge of a familiar black marking upward. “It looks like my purpose has returned.”

Passers by stared up at the highest window of the Raikage’s tower as deep yells boomed from above. Mothers covered the ears of their children as they scurried them along the streets, heading back home after picking them up from the Academy. Cloud Jounin and officers of the Raikage moved along, trying to listen in on the commotion. The only thing the villagers knew was that A’s yelling had begun when Rayne and Killer Bee entered the tower ten minutes ago. It was non stop from that moment on.

“What in the hell were you thinking letting them go like that?!” The veins in A’s forehead were protruding, a deep pink complexion surrounding the skin. “An Akatsuki group attacks my village, and they leave alive?! Unacceptable!”

Grabbing the desk, A flipped it over, barely using two fingers. Spinning in the air, it flew over Rayne, who had been sitting across from the Raikage, Bee to her right. Screams from subordinates filled the room as they scrambled to get away from the killer desk.

“And why in the hell were the two jinchuuriki of the village to ones to respond to the scene first?! Why in the hell did you take them on?! Clearly they came with the purpose of taking you with them; that’s the purpose of their organization!” A now stood over his younger brother, shouting in his face as though he were an ANBU captain, training his squadron. “The last measure would be to use your haichibi form, not the first!”

“I apologize, brother.” Bee bowed his head, offering his insincere apology. As he had previously started to Rayne, he did have the Akatsuki fooled. He had planned to fake captivity, all the while replacing himself with a clone, making his escape from them, along with his escape from Kumogakure. Just as Rayne had been repressed, Bee was growing tired of being restricted from the world around him. Harboring the eight tailed ox-opus, as Rayne had always called it, Bee had been tightly tucked away in the Cloud Village under A, his older brother.

“With neighboring lands aware of you, this isn’t a huge ordeal. However…” A’s eyes quickly shifted to Rayne, still sitting with her eyes straight ahead, arms folded across her chest. “For those who were known to be dead to the world, this poses a problem.”

“That was the point of altering my appearance. As far as she’s concerned, I’m a tall blond in my twenties.”

“It doesn’t matter if she knows what you look like; she knows how your chakra feels!” A’’s hands came down on Rayne’s knees harshly. Pushing down, he leaned forward in her face, eyes dilated in rage. “Your chakra sells you out almost immediately. Word will spread that there are two jinchuuriki residing in the Land of Lightning. Do you have any idea what harm this can bring to the village? It’s been hard enough concerning myself with Bee all of these years…”

Same shit, different day. Rayne had heard this speech before. In fact, she almost had it memorized. Protecting Bee. Protecting her. Protecting his villagers. Bringing up the way the two tails was captured by the Akatsuki years ago. Speaking of how they can invade again. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Looking away from him, Rayne felt A’s hand let go of her legs. She could feel her skin begin to rise up from his strength which had pushed it down onto her bones. She couldn’t care less how mad he was. From the moment she saw Sasuke on the horizon, she knew what her next move was.

“That was only a single group. There are more members of that damned organization. S-ranked criminals who could charge this village at any moment to get at the two of you.”

“Well then maybe one of us should leave.”

A caught his tongue before continuing his rant. “…Excuse me?”

Focusing her stare, Rayne’s eyes settled in his. “It’s time for me to go back to Konoha and carry out what was entrusted to me.”

Taking long, deep breaths, A stared at her for a few moments Waving his hand, he motioned everyone, aside from the three involved in the conversation, to leave the room. As the last officer closed the door, A walked over to his chair to sit. “Rayne, I understand the emotional attachment to that young man, but-“

“He’s joined the Akatsuki, which means Itachi is already dead.” Rayne rose to her feet to present her case.“Attacking Bee means that he’s been briefed on the plan to capture the tailed beasts and destroy Konoha. Being that you know all of this, it’d be dishonorable leadership if you were to allow this to take place. Although indirect, you’d be a helping hand in the destruction of the Leaf village.”

A twirled the edge of his mustache. “I wouldn’t sit by and watch the Leaf be destroyed. As one of the five kage, it is my duty to conference with Konoha’s hokage about the matter if I were to see the Akatsuki movement upon us as a wide scaled threat.”

“Would you stop thinking about Kumo for one moment! This is a wide scaled threat! The Akatsuki exists to destroy Konoha, and with scorned Uchiha leading their group, the chance of a fourth war taking place is high! Regardless of the action you take now, Kumo is sure to be dragged into the mix!”

“How the hell do you think pursuing that filthy boy will help the situation?!” A was to his feet, standing stomach to chest with Rayne.

“He’s their trump card. They’re manipulating him so he can divulge secrets about Konoha to bring forth its destruction.”

“You’re still just a little girl in puppy love! Why bother going after someone who tried to kill you the last time you did?!”

“Because I promised I’d save him!” Rayne voice cracked as she shouted, balling her fists as red poured into her eyes. Shaking, she wobbled back and forth slightly as the two lightning brothers looked upon her silently. “I’m going to protect Konoha and carry out the will that was entrusted to me. The first step in doing that is getting Sasuke back.”

A held a steady glare at her, shifting his eyes between both of hers. “And how do you plan to do this? Storm into the Akatsuki hide out and take him home? Are you foolish enough to believe it’d be that easy?”

“Regardless of what you say to me, I’m going.”

A groaned loudly as he smacked his palm against his forehead. “How could I let my little girl get involved with S-rank criminals? You’ve changed so much since you’ve come back. You have a one track mind and a stubborn heart.”

“I’ve inherited the will of fire.” Rayne smirked as she pictured the Third Hokage’s face. “I’m bound to Konoha, just as I’m bound here. I’ve made irreplaceable bonds that I’m not willing to let go of easily.”

A grunted. “I still call it puppy love.”

Stomping forward, Rayne grabbed hold of the Raikage’s shirt, pulling his face towards her as she grit her teeth. “Come on, I’m trying to be serious! I was given this mission for a reason; I’m the only one that can accomplish it! I’m the one with the knowledge of what’s been going on in the shadows of Konoha for the past two decades. I’m the one that can protect the people I love there. Along with Naruto, I know he and I can save Konoha before it’s destroyed!”

“I don’t like the idea of you pursuing that little shit after what he’s done to you! My little girl deserves better than that Uchiha! If I ever see him, I’ll pound him into the ground!”

“Not if I pound him first.” Rayne grunted. “I said I’m going after him because I made a promise, nothing more. I have no interest repairing what’s broken.”

“Is that fact?”

“It’s true! When she saw him, she was rude and crude! No interest in being his mistress! That time is passed, he can kiss her ass! Ya-hooo!” Bee jumped in, spitting his rhyme as Rayne grinned and mouthed ‘thank you.’

“This is really what you want?” A asked as he held onto her smaller hand. Rayne nodded. “You’re going to go no matter what I say, right?” Another nod. “Just promise me one thing.”

“What is it?” Rayne eyed him cautiously.

“Live.” Pulling her hand, A wrapped his arms around Rayne’s smaller body. She slid her arms between his Raikage cloak and his bare skin, holding him as tightly to her as she could.

“C’mon, don’t make me cry!” Bee stood up from the chair he had been confined to and joined in on the group hug, wrapping his own arms around his brother, squeezing Rayne in the middle. She laughed, even though the air in her lungs was being forced out between the two muscular male bodies.

“I love you guys. I was always hateful towards my parents for leaving me, but them doing so allowed me to be raised by the two of you. You’re the best father, and the best uncle a girl could ever ask for. Thank you, for everything.”

“Ohhhh!” Strengthening his hold on Bee, A picked the both of them up in an even tighter hug. “We’re going to hold a huge party for you tonight to honor you becoming a woman!”

Rayne groaned from his chest. “I thought I became a woman when I got my period.”

A dropped the two of them as Rayne breathed heavily inward and out. Bee rested his hands on her shoulders, steadying her wobbly form.

“I’ll save the sentimental speech for the party. I will make an announcement. Just go get ready.”

Walking out towards the door, Rayne stopped herself as she pulled on the golden handle. “One more thing.” The two conversing lightning brothers looked at the ominous smile across her face. “You’re being incredibly lenient with me leaving the village, A. You should consider letting Bee roam around on his own, too. He’s really itching to break away and explore.”

“WHAT?” A grit his teeth as he looked down at Bee, who suddenly broke out in sweat. Rayne slipped out of the door quickly, shutting it behind her before anything broke out. She had ruined Bee’s chance to escape earlier, but surely, it would be better to talk about it with his brother before actually leaving unannounced.

“Is everything alright?” The Raikage’s slender secretary, Mabui, slowly walked hunched over to Rayne.

“Yes, yes! Everything is fine!” Rayne quickly waved her hand in an easing fashion as loud crashes came from the inner side of the door. “They’re just talking! HAHAH! Excuse me.”

Slipping past Mabui and other guards of the Raikage’s tower, she refused to answer anyone’s questions about what had happened with anything but a smile. Walking down a spiral staircase, she journeyed to the sleeping quarters of the tower. It was like entering a completely different world. Beyond this door there was a sandstone hallway containing numerous bedrooms, bathrooms, and a large kitchen. The extra bedrooms were there for guards of the tower, or anyone that needed to take shelter under the Raikage’s direct protection. Straight down this hallway was the Raikage’s bedroom. On each side of his room was Killer Bee’s, and Rayne’s. Gripping the golden handle, Rayne pushed open the large wooden door, creaking as she entered.

Her bedroom was plain and elegant. A flesh tone color was painted on the walls, and large red curtains hung from the window she had, overlooking the village. Her bed was rather large, a wooden frame standing above it with a sheer white curtain falling on the sides, protecting her from bugs while she slept. Just like her curtains, the bed was sheeted with red.

Walking over to the left side of the room, Rayne opened the armoir that stored all of her clothing. Hanging in the middle was the kimono Naruto had given her three years ago for her birthday. Smiling, she held the cloth between her two fingers, pulling on the arm as the cool satin slid against her skin.

“Naruto…I really want to see you again.”

*And what are you going to say to him when you do? ‘Hey, it’s me. Y’know, back from the dead and all.* Rokobi chimed in, making Rayne laugh.

“I’m going to tell him exactly what happened. There’s no reason to lie… Konoha has been shrouded in lies for years. I’m going to be the messenger who speaks the truth.”

*While your intentions are good, have you thought about the possible negative outcome of acting out this way?*

“Not at all!” Rayne smiled to herself in the mirror as she pressed the lavender kimono against her body. It was going to be shorter, but it would still fit.

*Now you sound like Naruto.*

“I can’t worry myself thinking about what might happen. I just have to do it.”

*Sure…don’t say I didn’t warn you.*

Walking over to her bed, Rayne laid out her kimono, along with the waist band and traditional sandals she was going to wear. Opening her dresser drawer, she pulled out a few hair ties and a large, fake white lily with dangling beads for her hair.

It was just past one thirty. She’d shower, then continue getting ready until it was time for the party. The Raikage had thrown parties in the village before, and while they weren’t raging wild parties, they were long. Since she planned on leaving for Konoha at sunrise, she hoped that A would start the party as soon as possible.

Stripping down, Rayne walked into the marble bathroom. Even though it was hot outside, the warmth of the water coming from the shower head relaxed her. Rubbing shampoo between her palms, Rayne ran her fingers through her extremely long brown, golden high lighted hair. She had begun growing it out in honor of Kin after she passed, and it was now just past her behind. The golden streaks in her hair came from her new handle on Rokobi’s chakra.

*Rayne…do you really want to give everything you have here up? Is it worth it?*

Closing her eyes under the running water, Rayne held her breath as it washed down her face. ’Kumogakure will always be home, but Konoha is where I found my purpose… and I’m not just talking about Sasuke… It was in Konoha that I felt needed for the first time. Naruto needed me. Sakura, Sasuke, even Sarutobi needed me. It was brief, and I didn’t do much while I was there, but it felt like I was part of the Leaf family. I was a somebody instead of just being an orphaned jinchuuriki.’

*But you’re not anymore. You’ve grown so much over the past three years; you’re already at kage level, and you’re part of the special operative force of Kumogakure.*

‘I really don’t think I’m kage level-‘

*Shut up, I’m not finished-*

‘I’m just saying-‘

*Shut up, Rayne! …You’re appreciated here by the villagers as a protector. You’ve been adopted by the Raikage as his daughter…think of how this will affect the people who love you.*

‘I have thought about that, but…’ Grabbing the necklace she wore in memory, Rayne’s fingers grazed each of the three rings. ’I promised, and I never go back on my word. Because that is my nindo, my ninja way. I will never leave a friend behind, because those that abandon their comrades are worse than scum. I will save Sasuke, because that is my purpose. And I will defend everyone I love with my life, because that is my will of fire.’

Rokobi quieted down for a while, allowing Rayne’s own words to sink into her head. *…And what about Sasuke? How are you going to approach him?*

‘I don’t know…’ Rayne’s lowered to the deep pink scar beneath her breasts. ’I’ll know when I see him again.’

*If he’s unswayed…are you prepared to kill him?*

She paused, staring at her own grey eyes in the mirror. Bringing her hand up to her chest, Rayne’s fingers traced a small oval on the necklace that was given to her, above Sasuke’s mothers. ’I promised I’d save him, and I will. By any means necessary.’

Oddly enough, Kumogakure was located dangerously close to the border of Lightning and Bear Country. Since their village was protected by high altitude, Kumogakure had a natural camouflage from the clouds. Aside from this, their close proximity to the border of their land gave any traveler the advantage of getting a good start. If Rayne could cross half of the Country of Fire within a few hours, there was no doubt she could reach Konoha within a day.

It was 5:07 a.m. when she crossed the border of Lightning Country. A, Killer Bee, Mabui, Samui, and many others accompanied her as they saw her off, waving and cheering as they watched her silhouette disappear into the rising sun. Walking backwards, Rayne smiled along with them until she couldn’t see them anymore. Facing forward, she started out walking, then gradually began a forceful sprint through Iron Country, and into Bear. There was a major advantage to obtaining Rokobi’s full power; she could travel at his speed. Rayne’s feet barely touched the tree limbs as she soared through the air, wind blowing past her ears as it carried her long, silky golden brown hair behind her.

“What is that?! A demon! Demon!” Below her, several people speculated as Rayne’s form flew over them. Of course, to them she just appeared as a ball of light at this speed.

*Demon? Che…God is the correct term.* Rokobi snarled as he peered down through Rayne’s eyes.

’They wouldn’t know, since they didn’t have the privilege of having their land protected by you for centuries.’ Rayne smiled to herself. Rokobi wasn’t just a Thunder God, he was also the God of the skies of the Lightning Country. For years before he was sealed away, even after, he protected the country’s people. That was why Rayne’s departure was so detrimental to the village.

*Stop worrying.* Of course, he could hear what she was thinking. *Kumogakure is a village of strong shinobi. If anything is to happen to them, they’ll handle it. If there’s anyone you should be worrying about, it’s yourself. You can’t afford to dance with death again.*

Rayne’s thoughts were eradicated as she welcomed her first step over the Fire Country border. The grass was definitely greener on their side of the world. The smell of fresh budding leaves filled Rayne’s nostrils as her skin beaded with goose bumps from the change in temperature. It wasn’t terribly cold, but the spring climate was different than Kumo. Leaving the limbs she had been carried by, Rayne’s feet touched the grass with a loud crunch as she slowed her momentum down, taking in the familiar world around her. It was nice to revisit such beautiful, natural land.

If Rayne had been wearing a watch, she would have known it was 12:45 p.m. Being that she had such good fortune, it appeared that only one guard was standing. The other must have been on lunch break.

“Looks like I’ll just have to walk in there.” Rayne muttered as she peeked around the base of a tree.

*Might I remind you that you’re supposed to be dead?*

‘I didn’t want to make a scene with my arrival…I’ll just wing it.’ Stepping out from her sanctuary, Rayne casually walked up to the large, open gates of Konoha.

*Are you mad? You’re dead to them; you can’t just suddenly proclaim you’re alive!*

‘I’m tired of this village and its secrets! Masking the truth is no way to protect people. I’m not going to lie.’

As Rayne’s long black sandals came to a scuffing halt, a young, dark haired male wasted no time confronting her.

“Holy shit…Rayne?” Kotetsu’s eyes grew wide as he stared her in the face.

“Hey.” She gave a half hearted wave.

“No way in hell!” He suddenly shouted, reaching behind him. “Rayne died three years ago in the Valley of the End! Her body was retrieved, and there was nothing Tsunade could do to help her; she died on the operating table.”

Rayne took a step back, holding up an envelope with the raikage’s signature on the front. “Calm down! I’ll explain later, right now I have direct order from the raikage to-“

“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, but there’s no way you’re roaming around here freely.” Bringing his arm back around, Kotetsu unbound a pair of handcuffs.

Rayne turned her head slightly, to get a better look at the silver cuffs he was holding. “You’re going to arrest me?”

“You can do whatever it is you want after your interrogation-“

Sticking out her hands, Rayne held her wrists together. “Yeah, yeah, just arrest me or whatever.”

“W…what?”

*WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!** Rokobi roared within her.

“Let me get this straight…you’re willingly turning yourself in.” Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck as he eyed her strangely.

“Will you just put the damn cuffs on already!” Rayne groaned as she motioned her hands toward him. She couldn’t walk in freely? That was fine. Just as long as she got to speak with Tsunade, she didn’t care how she got to her.

“You wanting to be arrested is just as suspicious!” Kotetsu turned away from her, with Rayne continuing to reach over his shoulder for the handcuffs.

“Cuff me!”

“No!”

“I want to be arrested!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Rayne?”

Rayne froze. If it weren’t for her leaning against Kotetsu, she would have fallen over. She knew that voice. That deep, sexy male voice that still hit her spine perfectly, sending a chill up to her neck. Smirking slightly, Rayne shifted her grey eyes to a pair of surprised onyx orbs.

“No way…there’s absolutely no way.” Izumo brought his brows together as he walked up next to Kotetsu, who began reaching for his kunai pouch. Pushing away from Kotetsu’s chest, forcefully knocking him over, Rayne extended her hands to Izumo.

“Will you arrest me before I do it my own damn self?!” Rayne growled at him, earning an amused raised brown from Izumo. No words were spoken as Izumo gazed into Rayne’s grey eyes for a moment, a moment that felt like several minutes. Feeling her insides begin to tingle, Rayne did her best to suppress the blush she could feel rising in her cheeks as she looked upon Izumo’s face. It wouldn’t be as threatening to have a blushing teenager before you, demanding she be arrested. This was ridiculous enough as it was.

“Izumo, we should-“

“Kotetsu, stay guard here while I personally escort Rayne to the office.”

“What?” Both Rayne and Kotetsu spoke.

“The envelope she carries is an authentic signature; the ink is fresh. Kumogakure is our ally, and even if they were to turn against us, I think they’d come up with a better strategy than sending one person into the village. I also doubt that they’d use Rayne as an impersonation. She was a Cloud shinobi before she came here. Even though bonds were made with her here, it isn’t like they disowned her; she was still their family. They wouldn’t pour salt on an open wound if she had really lost her life.”

Rayne groaned. “Why couldn’t I just talk to you from the beginning?”

Izumo laughed, while Kotetsu cursed at her under his breath. “I just got back from my lunch break…maybe it was meant to be. I was the one who always escorted you.”

“Izumo, you’re honestly buying this?” Kotetsu was beside himself.

“I’ve spent enough time with Rayne to note her mannerisms when she was around me. She always had a way of piercing me with her pearly eyes.”

That did her in. Grumbling, Rayne did her best to suppress the heat in her cheeks. “I’m sorry, but I’m pressed for time. Can we please be on our way?”

“Of course. Kotetsu, I’ll see you soon.” Nodding, Izumo and Rayne both turned to make their way to Tsunade’s tower. Rayne didn’t hold it against Kotetsu for doubting her. Just as he said, she was supposed to be dead to them. Her body was retrieved in the Valley of the End, but did she die on the operating table? Of course not. That was what they had been told.

“It’s nice to see you again, Rayne.” Izumo’s eyes smiled as he looked to his side, not having to look too far down now that she was taller. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young lady. How old are you now?”

“How did you know it was me?” Rayne completely disregarded his question. His looks weren’t going to best her, oh no, no, no!

“Your eyes. I’ve always thought your eyes were beautiful pearls. Even if someone were to impersonate you, I would always be able to tell the difference.”

“You make it sound like I wasn’t the only one admiring good looks three years ago.” Rayne said jokingly as she turned her head, raising a brow at a passing group that had been staring at her. “I’m sixteen now; I’ll be seventeen in August.”

“Sixteen, huh?” Izumo’s elbow nudged her arm lightly as he smirked at her.

Rayne looked at him with a blank stare. Suddenly, it hit her. It was three years ago, on a day like today. Izumo had escorted her to Tsunade’s office… “I’m sure you’re going to be a knock out when you have a few more years on you. I’d be more flattered than I am now if you actually hit on me when you’re of age.”

A satellite could have seen Rayne’s red face from space. “Yeah, how about you? Thirty yet?”

“Thirty one, actually; in November.”

“So even though you knew you’d be in your thirties, you still told me to ask you out when I was sixteen. Pervert.”

“I said it then, and I’ll say it again; love isn’t all about age, it’s about the connection between people.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say…pervert.”

“I’m really happy you’re alive, Rayne. Truly, I am.” Izumo’s hand brushed hers. “If you were closer in age to me, I’d ask for your hand without hesitation.”

Smacking his hand away, Rayne waved her arms in a frenzy. “DONTSAYSTUFFLIKETHATYOUREMAKINGMEEMBARASSED!!!”

“I’ve hardly gotten to know you on a personal level, and yet when I heard what happened to you three years ago, I dropped everything and went to visit you in the hospital.”

“Really?” Raye’s eyes went wide.

“When I got there, the nurses told me that Tsunade had done everything she could for you, but that your organs were too mangled to repair. When I saw her later on, she stared me dead in the eye and said to me, ‘Arrange for a memorial service. Her casket will be carried out to Kumogakure within the week.’ …Tsunade wasn’t seen that entire week until the morning of your memorial service. Your casket was carried through the street by Kumogakure shinobi as we all watched, sending our prayers and regards…” Izumo shook, rubbing his forehead roughly while looking over at her shyly. “I cried for you. I couldn’t help myself. To think that someone as innocent and pure as you had been taken so early was more than I could bear.”

Izumo cried for her… Rayne didn’t know what to say. This gorgeous man whom she was infatuated with actually felt something for her, something strong enough to make him mourn her death. As they reached the steps of the hokage’s tower, Rayne wished they hadn’t gotten there just yet. She wanted to talk to him more, see how he had been, ask him why he cared. Their walk to Tsunade’s office was quiet now, since Rayne hadn’t responded to his confession. It wasn’t a confession of love, but it was enough to let her know that he cared about her existence. Why? That’s what she wanted to know.

“Looks like our time is up again…I’m not sure what it is you’re here to do, but I wish you the best of luck.” With a warm smile, Izumo grabbed the handle of Tsunade’s office door. “I’m happy I got to see you.”

“Do you want to get dinner tonight?” Rayne shot out. “Whenever your shift ends, that is.”

Izumo’s face was washed over in surprise. “I can’t believe you actually asked me out.”

Was she wrong for asking? Maybe, but quite frankly, Rayne didn’t care. She liked to think she was a stronger woman now, capable of confronting someone she was interested in honestly. “Well, do you want to eat together or not?”

Izumo smirked with his eyes sparkling. Oh. My. GOD HE WAS GORGEOUS. “I don’t normally spend time with women unless it’s on a date. I don’t want to be seen as a womanizer.”

Rayne wore a crooked grin. “It doesn’t have to be romantic, it can just be a social dinner between two friends.”

“I’m only joking. If you end up leaving after your talk with Tsunade, just come back around seven.” Izumo opened Tsunade’s door as he stepped back. “I’ll be seeing you.”

Rayne smiled in adoration as she walked ahead into Tsunade’s office. Behind her, Izumo closed the door, announcing her arrival. At the sound of the lock moving into place, a strange face looked up at her.

’Danzo.’ Rayne could feel her heart drop to her knees.

“Hello there, young lady. Who might you be?” Danzo’s left eye examined her.

“My name is Sayomi Rayne of the Hidden Cloud. Under direct order from the raikage, I’ve come to speak to Tsunade.”

“I see…there’s only one problem.”

Rayne’s brow twitched. “And what might that be?”

“Tsunade is no longer hokage.” Danzo looked Rayne right in the eye as he spoke. “She is in a comatose state, unable to lead to village. The elders appointed me in place of her for the time being.”

“How nice for you.” Rayne spat.

*Come on, don’t get testy.* Rokobi hummed in her ear.

“Seeing as you came to see Tsunade, why don’t you tell me what it’s about?”

“I’ve come to conference with the elders of the village.”

“The elders?” He seemed amused. “You cannot simply come into the village and expect to see them. They have issues that take precedent over whatever you might bring up.”

“Do they now?” Rayne smirked as she crossed her arms. “How unprofessional of you to say such a thing, to disregard a matter that someone brings forward to you. It’s a wonder you weren’t selected as hokage.”

That struck a chord. Of course, she had said that on purpose. “What matter do you bring into my village?”

“Konoha. The matter I bring into Konoha is one I have no interest in discussing with you. I’m here to see the elders and nothing more.”

“As hokage of this village I have the immediate right to know what business you’ve brought forward. If you are going to continue to withhold this information from me, I will have you escorted out of this village.”

“What’s wrong? Secrets aren’t fun if they aren’t shared with you? And you know all about secrets-“

“What are you implying?” Danzo picked up his cane, slamming the bottom on the hardwood floor. “I will have you arrested!”

“Sorry, but I’m a busy girl, and I don’t have time for that.” Rayne turned around, walking toward the door to the room. As she grabbed the handle, she looked back at Danzo, gimping over to her at a fast pace.

“Where could you possible be going?!”

“To the elders, of course.” Rayne narrowed her eyes. “Oh, and by the way, I have an endearing message from Uchiha Itachi.”

Danzo stopped instantly.

“Fuck you.”

Flinging the door open, Rayne escaped out of it, running past the guards that had been standing around. Making a sharp right turn, Rayne ran down a long staircase to a large hallway. The elders had their own office, which was actually more like a jail cell with a spotlight that shone down on the accused. Rayne had only been in there once three years ago after her fight with Sasuke, and hoped she could find it by memory.

*For someone that didn’t want to make a scene by coming here, you sure are raising hell.*

Rayne laughed at Rokobi’s annoyance. ’They’re the ones making this difficult. I can’t help but wonder if Tsunade attained her coma in battle, or if Danzo was behind it so he could get to the Kage summit.’

*Does it matter? He’ll be a dead man soon enough.* Rayne nodded. While she was informed on Danzo’s involvement in the Uchiha Massacre, it was still strange to think she knew the man was going to be killed, but wasn’t going to do anything about it. Here today, gone tomorrow. Much like herself.

After a few more twists and turns of this fun house that was called the hokage tower, Rayne found the large door of the elder office. Readjusting her clothing and running her fingers through her hair, Rayne wasted no time forcing the door open. It wasn’t much of an office at all; it was more like Rayne had fallen down a well, and there were holes carved out of the rocks for the two shriveled elders to glare at her. With a giant skylight illuminating her, Rayne stood, hands to her sides, staring up at the two old faces she didn’t care much for.

“Sayomi Rayne.” Elder Homura took a puff of his pipe as he blew smoke out of his nostrils. To his left, elder Koharu narrowed her wrinkly eyes in Rayne’s direction. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again any time soon.”

“What business do you have coming back into our village after we pulled so many strings to get you out?” Koharu demanded.

Before speaking, Rayne bowed respectfully, while biting her tongue. These old crows really pissed her off. “I do thank you for assisting me back to my home village, but I have an important matter to discuss with the two of you.”

“Did you not meet with Danzo before you barged in like an animal?”

Even for old crows, they were severely judgmental about jinchuuriki. “I’d rather not make him limp down all those stairs.”

“Very well.” Homura placed his pipe down. “Present your case.”

Rising to her feet, Rayne tilted her head so her bangs cleared her eyes. “I am here to clear the names of both Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha.”

“I beg your pardon?!” Koharu’s eyes opened wider than they must have in years.

“What is the meaning of this?” Homura’s fist hit the table. “What are you-“

“If you’d shut up, I’ll happily explain.” Rayne glared. “The two of you have sullied Itachi’s name enough to know exactly what I’m talking about. Does the Uchiha Massacre ring any bells?”

In an instant, the room went quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the accused.

“Before he died, Itachi passed down his will of fire to me.”

“Itachi is dead?” Koharu’s breath was taken from her. “By Sasuke’s hand?”

Rayne nodded. “And now he has joined the Akatsuki, with the intent to invade and destroy Konoha.”

“You know that, and yet you’re standing here asking us to allow him back and clear his name?!” Koharu’s blood pressure shot sky high, along with Homura’s.

“First, I want the name of Uchiha Itachi cleaned of all accusation of being the demon who murdered his own clan. The truth is to be revealed to the village, and I demand he be regarded as a hero among the Leaf, the village he sacrificed his existence for. Second, I want Sasuke reinstated as a Konoha shinobi once I bring him back to the village, and have all criminal charges dropped.”

“That is a ridiculous request!” Homura snarled.

“Considering the two of you are directly responsible for Sasuke’s animosity towards Konoha, and the ruin of his life, I don’t find it to be ridiculous at all.”

“Is Sasuke aware of the truth behind his clans demise?”

“Yes.”

“With that knowledge, why would you believe it easy to bring Sasuke back to this village?”

“At this point Sasuke wants to avenge his brothers death. He is completely disregarding Itachi’s will…but I can change that.”

“What makes you think so?” Both the elders seemed amused by this.

“Because Itachi asked me, and I promised I wouldn’t fail.”

“That’s a big responsibility for you…” Homura puffed his pipe once more. “And what if your demands aren’t met?”

“Then I will see to Konoha’s immediate destruction and make sure Kumogakure withdraws from the peace treaty, and opposes the Great Nations.” Rayne smirked in a sly fashion. “You see, the raikage isn’t too happy about the way his little girl was treated when she came here. You failed to protect me, and my blood stained your soil. He’d be more than happy to turn against you at this point; I’m the only thing stopping him.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.”

“The gaul that you have to step foot inside this room and demand we assist you in treason.” Koharu piped.

“An entire country against you, along with two full fledged jinchuuriki would prove to be disastrous. I have a hunch that Naruto and the others whom Sasuke befriended wouldn’t be happy about this, either.”

“They wouldn’t be happy learning the truth of the events, either. We may face a major coup d’etat.”

“Shadowing people in lies is no way to properly lead a village. As high authority figures, it is only right to apologize to the people you’ve done harm to.”

“There is no room for apology at this point. That matter was over long ago-“

“Considering the massacre was Itachi’s cross to bear, I don’t see why he would want it to be made public.” Homaru speculated as he eyes Rayne suspiciously. “He asked that he be known to the village as a criminal.”

“In order to take the fall for you, because you didn’t want to get your hands dirty. Itachi carried that cross because he had no choice. What kind of inhumane monsters are the two of you to not see how you ruined both Itachi’s, and Sasuke’s lives? Itachi was excommunicated from the village and lived a miserable existence in hopes that his brother would one day kill him. Sasuke was left alone as a child and was easy prey for Orochimaru when he invaded the village. Sasuke is a threat because of you, and he will not stop until his brothers actions are seen for what they were. Itachi was a hero, unlike you. If any blood is to be shed, it should be yours.”

“When weighing the life of one against many, the majority rules. You have to take these things into consideration when you are a leader. People die, that is a fact. Some righteously, some in vain. You are too naive to acknowledge this as fact.”

“The only one who is naive here is you!” Rayne finally snapped, beginning to scream at the top of her lungs, in hopes that someone outside the room would hear her. “My generation is the hope for the future, because we have to deal with the repercussions of your political fuck ups! A righteous leader would never exploit his people; he would bleed for them, die for them! A just leader would never sacrifice a single life for the “greater good”; he would sacrifice himself! All you are, are old dried up crows sitting on your high pedestals, while those who have fallen for you are ridiculed and disgraced! You are nothing but scum!

Do you have any idea why Itachi sacrificed himself for your sorry asses? Because he loved this village and his family greatly! He broke his heart and shattered his soul in order to carry out his duty as a shinobi, under your word! Do you know why he pleaded to be allowed to spare Sasuke’s life? He wanted to save him by becoming the nightmare that plagued Sasuke his entire life, in hopes that he would free his brother’s trapped soul on this earth. He also did it to preserve the future, with the hope that one day, Sasuke would be able to restore the Uchiha Clan and see to it that politics and power didn’t interfere. In my eyes, this village deserves to fall for all the pain and suffering it has caused its people. You deserve every misfortune that comes your way, because you brought it upon yourselves! Real good leadership; I hope you choke!”

Turning quickly, Rayne began a hard stomp towards the door, disregarding their pleas for her to return. If they weren’t going to meet her conditions, fine. She’d carry out Itachi’s will by saving Sasuke at least. He didn’t have to be brought back to Konoha. Reaching forward, Rayne’s hand touched the golden handle.

“We accept.” Rayne felt her blood freeze in her veins as Homura spoke. “We accept your conditions.”

Slowly turning her body, Rayne looked over at the elders, who were now standing, lunged forward over their desks.

“If you intend to hold true to your words, you give us no choice but to accept your conditions.” Homura sighed.

“You…agree to everything I said?” Rayne was flabbergasted. She honestly did not expect her argument to prevail.

“It is ironic that you’ve come here with the intent to clear Itachi’s name.” Koharu half heartedly chuckled. “When we briefed him on the assassination mission, he presented the same argument, telling us that we were gutless monsters who did not want to sully our hands with blood.”

“I hope you are ready to accept the possible negative outcome of this.” Homura looked down at her condescendingly. “I also hope that you are able to hold up your end of the agreement by returning Sasuke to Konoha. I do demand a conference immediately after his return.”

“Understandable. I don’t oppose that at all.” Rayne nodded.

“While we’re on the topic, I’d like to hear your plan of action on how you’re going to bring him back. Do you have any idea where he is?” Koharu questioned.

“I have a hunch…” Rayne trailed off.

“You’ll need more of a hunch to find him.”

“I’m certain that I will.” Rayne bowed. “I cannot express my gratitude.”

“Tsh, ridiculous. Why thank us when there was no other option?” Homura snarled again, earning a giggle from Rayne.

“You depart tomorrow at dawn.” Koharu designated. “We will see you when you return. If you return.”

“Thank you.” Rayne bowed. “There’s just one more request that I have of you.”

“And what might it be?” Homura raised his brow as he looked down at Rayne’s grinning face.

“I would like to know where I can find Uzumaki Naruto.”

When was she supposed to get out of bed? Rayne stared out the window, watching the puffy white clouds lazily float over Konoha. She wasn’t aware of what time it was, but the sun was up, along with someone else. The mouth watering scent of bacon and eggs made its way into her nose as she hungrily sniffed at the air, rolling over on the soft bed until she was looking at the opposing side of the room.

Izumo’s bedroom was small, but quaint. He had just enough space to fit the essentials; bed, closet, dresser, desk, filing cabinet, mirror, decorative potted plants to dress up the room a bit, and an end table next to his bed with a lamp and picture of himself and Kotetsu together.

After their dinner last night, which Rayne refused to call a date, Izumo invited her to stay over, seeing as she was leaving the following morning. While morally reluctant at first, because Rayne’s mind had been in the gutter, she accepted based on hormonal spontaneity…because her mind had been in the gutter. Burying her face into his pillow, Rayne took a deep breath of what she assumed was his body wash, then forced herself to get up. Throwing the covers off of her, she stood on the cold wooden floor, straightening the long sleeved shirt Izumo had given her to sleep in. Quick stepping over to the mirror, Rayne brushed her hair with her fingers, giving the loose hairs of her bangs a few finger licks until they stayed perfectly in place.

When she opened the bedroom door, the overwhelming smell of a well cooked breakfast nearly picked her up and carried her over to the apartments small kitchen, where she found Izumo frying up an omelet. The table had been set completely, utensils properly placed and fresh orange juice served in glasses.

“Good morning.” Izumo looked over his bare shoulder at her with his signature smile. Even with bed head he looked like he was cut out of a magazine and pasted into Rayne’s life.

“Morning.” She smiled back, purposely looking him up and down obnoxiously. Surely he was only wearing his pajama pants without anything else on purpose.

“Did you sleep well?” Picking the pan off of the stove, Izumo walked over to serve Rayne’s omelet as she sat down quietly.

“Well I didn’t hear the headboard banging against the wall, so I assume you two behaved yourselves.” Kotetsu appeared in the kitchen, but unlike Izumo he was fully clothed.

“We didn’t even share a bed.” Izumo’s face went flat as he slid Rayne’s omelet onto her plate. “She slept in my bed while I slept on the couch.”

“I’m only busting your balls.” Kotetsu yawned, patting his mouth as he looked down at Rayne who had been looking directly at him. “What, can’t take a joke?”

“I can; I didn’t grab the pan and throw it at your head, did I? I’m looking at you because I’ve never seen you without your bandaged schnoz.” Rayne glared at him over the steam of her eggs.

“Hey Izumo, your woman’s eying me up over here.”

“Shut up.” Izumo tossed Kotetsu’s omelet onto his plate in a sloppy fashion. “Be happy I even made you breakfast.”

Kotetsu stuck his tongue out. “But seriously, with the tape, I’ve always had problems with my nose. So much so it was discolored when I was a kid.”

“Well I barely notice.” Rayne said partaking of her breakfast. “I think you look better without it.”

“Thanks. I never really thought I’d receive any compliments from you.”

“You could shave that skid mark of a goatee though. It looks stupid.”

“Fuck you, kid.”

“The two of you are impossible around each other.” Izumo face palmed. “It’s ten in the morning and you’re already going at it.”

“It’s ten o’clock?!” The realization of time smacked Rayne in the face as if it were the first time she heard of the concept.

“Yeah…why?” Kotetsu raised his brow as Rayne began to scarf down her food like a starved dog.

“She’s leaving the village today.” Izumo explained as he took a swig of orange juice. “She came to talk to the elders about returning Uchiha Sasuke to the village.”

“The one that you fought at the Valley of the End?”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell would you want to bring him back for?!” Kotetsu shrieked. “The guy nearly killed you!”

“He’s her friend. Just like Naruto, she’d go to any lengths to get him back.”

“Sounds to me like she loves the guy. Didn’t you two have a little something going-“ Rayne’s chopstick successfully hit Kotetsu between the eyes, stopping him in mid sentence.

“I’m not doing this for him, I’m doing it because I made a promise to someone!” Rayne growled, huffing as she reclined in her chair. Looking at Izumo, who merely smiled at her, she blushed a deep red. “Sasuke’s a dick. He deserves to be miserable.”

That wasn’t true. She didn’t mean that. Sasuke didn’t deserve anything that happened to him over the past few years. He had no part of it; everything was decided for him. The lies that surrounded him turned him into what he was now; Rayne couldn’t blame him for that. But even so, he had hurt her physically and emotionally.

“Well hopefully you’ll save him from his misery. Now hurry up and finish eating so we can take you to the gate. I have to find my winter cloak for you, too. Where you’re headed, it’s going to be snowing.” Izumo changed the subject for her. Not as quickly as she had before, Rayne continued to eat her well made breakfast, continuously praising Izumo for his culinary skill. After finishing, she made her way to the bathroom to shower.

“You turn the knob, then pull it out to turn it on.” Kotetsu explained as he pulled a fluffy white towel out of the closet for her. “I don’t know if you have to use a specific shampoo, but I don’t care if you use mine or Izumo’s.”

“I’ll use yours. In order to maintain your hairstyle, your shampoo must be pretty strong.” Rayne’s remark earned her a towel to the face. After taking a long shower, which mostly consisted of Rayne staring at the bar of soap and lufa Izumo had inevitably used to cleanse his body, she huddled herself into the towel, shivering from the cold air. Rather than stand naked and be fully subjected to the frigid temperature, Rayne insisted on dressing herself underneath the towel. With the completion of that arduous task, she dried her hair, and was ready to set off.

“You know, for a sixteen year old kunoichi, that attire is less than appropriate.” Kotetsu mocked her sense of style, earning the wet towel Rayne had used to the face.

“The climate and style of Kumoagkure is significantly different. I need to wear less there because it’s hotter.”

“Sure, sure. I bet you do it for the male attention.”

“Why would she have to when I’m here in Konoha?” Izumo joked, which was immediately shut down by Kotetsu, who told him to shut up.

“Look Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb, can you just take me to the gates already so I can leave?”

Rayne hadn’t exactly been Miss Popular in Konoha during the few months she had been there, but apparently when someone passes away and comes back from the dead, no matter how unpopular you were, everything will know your name. The amount of stares Rayne received while walking between Izumo and Kotetsu were impossible to keep count of. There was no doubt her appearance was going to raise hell within the village.

As Rayne approached the large open gate, she stopped, along with the two behind her. Turning around, she bowed. “Thank you both for letting me stay at your apartment. I greatly appreciate your generosity.”

“Don’t mention it.” Kotetsu rose Rayne’s shoulders, forcing her to stand. Izumo stepped before her, unfolding a winter cloak he had been holding.

“This cloak is made from wool, so it will keep you warm while you approach the Land of Iron.” Wrapping it around her shoulders, Izumo buttoned the cloak all the way up, right to the collar. “It’s versatile as well; you’ll be able to defend easily.”

“Thank you.” Rayne smiled as Izumo placed a light kiss on her left cheek, right below the black lightning bold mark beneath her eye.

“You can always come by and say hello. Don’t forget about me.”

“That’s impossible.” Rayne stood on her toes, returning Izumo’s kiss with her own. “I’ll be seeing you too, Kotetsu.”

“What, no kiss for me?” Izumo punched him in the arm.

With one last wave, Rayne turned to face the gate, walking with a steady pace out of the village, with one direct route to iron country. The area in which she was headed deviated from the path she would take to get to Konoha from Kumogakure. This path was west, past iron country and into the even smaller Frost Country. Since they had been aware that A was ticked off from Sasuke’s attack on Killer Bee, Naruto apparently went to seek his forgiveness for Sasuke. Little did he know, Rayne had already defused that bomb for him.

There wasn’t an estimated time in which Rayne would reach the hut in which Naruto was staying, but she wanted to get there in a timely fashion. Danzo had departed even earlier this morning to get to the summit meeting, surely it would have begun by now. She was unsure of when Sasuke would attack Danzo, if he were even there yet. And who would know how long that fight would last? With the unclarity, Rayne wanted to reach Naruto as fast as possible.

Frost country wasn’t as snowy as she thought it would be. While it had been growing frigid as she approached, the snow hadn’t fallen in copious amounts, so making a snowman was out of the question. Being as light as it was, the snow still clouded the air enough to mask the forest, making it hard to navigate. The only thing that brought Rayne to the small hut in the middle of congested area were the faint sandal imprints left in the dusting of snow.

In an instant it became surreal. Beyond the store Rayne stood a mere few feet from was Naruto, whom she hadn’t seen in three years. The last time she saw his face, he was laying unconcious in the dirt lining the river of the Valley of the End. The last time she had talked to him in person was when she told him she’d catch up after fighting Kimimaro. No goodbye. No hug. No kiss. All that was left between them was silence and an unfulfilled promise.

So what was holding her back? Was her heart beating in excitement? Anticipation? Fear? She was anxious to see her friend…but how would he react?

*Why do you care about this now? You didn’t care how the others reacted.* Rokobi mentally nudged her.

’Don’t ruin my mental, one on one pondering!’ Rayne’s heavy exhale made the air steam. Trudging forward, she walked up the small step of the hut. Three knocks at the door stirred the person who was awake inside. After a few moments, Rayne could hear bare footsteps on a wooden floor approach her. With the click of the lock, the door swung open to a tall jounin.

“Who might you be?” He asked rightfully. Rayne hadn’t seen this man when she took residence in Konoha.

“Is Naruto in there?” Rayne whispered.

“Sorry, but I’m not obligated to allow anyone inside. Please be on your way.” And with that, the door was shut in her face. With her face losing all expression, Rayne stared blankly at the wooden door.

*That went well.*

‘WHAT A DICK! Fine. I’ll make my own way inside!’

Walking around the outside of the small building, Rayne pressed her ear against the wood. It was faint, but she could hear the footsteps of the person who had answered the door cease as they appeared to be sitting down. Circling, Rayne ran her hand against the outside wall, trying to get a sense as to where the man has sat down. Tapping lightly along the way, she reached a spot that sounded pressurized rather than echo from hollowness.

’So this is where you’re sitting. Bastard, no one closes a door in my face.’ Steadying the target with her left hand, Rayne drew her right arm back, concentrating her chakra around the wrist until she could see it materialize. With a deep breath and a forward motion, Rayne’s fist blew through the wooden siding of the house. Splinters and boards flew inward as the cold air rushed through the now gaping hole in the side. No one was seen in the room, so Rayne was left to guess she had literally blown the man away. Whatever, he was a dick.

In the middle of the room was a bed pad, covered with a thick striped blanket. The only part of Naruto that could be seen was his hair, the rest of the blanket was pulled over his face. Rayne knew him to be a heavy sleeper, but one would think an explosion right next to you would be stirring. Stepping over the rubble, Rayne took one step onto the bed pad before a blade came after her. Backing away, Rayne watched the bed covers fly off as Naruto lunged at her from beneath them, kunai in hand.

Making a jab at his forearm, Rayne side stepped, standing behind him. “Naruto, wait! It’s me!”

His kunai was a centimeter away from her forehead as Rayne bowed her back in order to dodge him. She felt it crack unsteadily as she wobbled her way around him once more in order to create a distance. Right behind her, Naruto lunged as he tackled her to the ground, rolling in a ball of yelling confusion until they hit the wall. With him on top of him, Rayne breathed heavily with Naruto’s hand pressed firmly on her chest. Rather than slit her throat, Naruto stared at her until the facial recognition hit him.

“Wait…wait a minute.” Rayne stayed quiet, letting Naruto justify the situation himself. Doubt flickered behind his ocean blue eyes as he adjusted his grip on his kunai. “How much did Rayne bet on me at the Chunin Exams?”

“16,000 yen.”

The metal of the kunai made a loud thud against the floor as Naruto dropped it, wrapping both his arms around Rayne’s neck as he buried his head into her chest. His upper body contracted as he sobbed, warm tears running down her shirt as they bypassed the cloak she wore. They stayed in the same position for however long until Naruto backed away, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.

“Where did you go?! Why-why did you le-leave without saying goodby-ye-ye…” Naruto’s voice cracked as he buried his head back into her chest, Rayne’s hand now going around the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry, Naruto. I wanted to say goodbye, but I couldn’t.” Playing with the ends of his blonde hair, Rayne smiled to herself as she felt their breathing sync. Naruto raised his head slightly, their noses touching as he looked into her eyes. Smiling, Rayne pulled his forehead down in order to plant a light kiss.

“Ahem.”

Covered in dust, the man who had previously greeted Rayne at the door stood shivering in the cold breeze that was now blowing through the room.

“Yamato sensei, what happened to you?”

“What happened to me?! THAT YOUNG GIRL BLEW A HOLE THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE HUT!”

“WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF YOU LET ME INSIDE!” Rayne yelled back.

“Who in their right mind would let a foreign ninja into their sanctuary when a potential war is about to break out?!”

“Foreign?” Naruto pulled himself off of Rayne slightly, but not completely. She wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose, but a particular area of his was still pressed against her.

“Well if you’d back your crotch off of mine, you’d see the headband around my waist.”

Lifting his butt up, Naruto peaked down between them for a second or two. “You went back to Kumogakure.”

“Yes I did. It’s a long story.”

“Forgive me for my ignorance, but might I ask who you are and why Naruto knows you?”

“Let me introduce you!” Naruto smiled. “Yamato sensei, this is my best friend, Sayomi Rayne. Rayne, this is my acting sensei, Yamato.”

Yamato’s face went white as Rayne smiled at him. “Y…you’re…you’re supposed to be…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Like I said, it’s a long story that I’ll gladly tell.”

“We have time.” Naruto muttered. In reality, they really didn’t have time, but Rayne let it go. Seeing him was more important right now. Backing away, Rayne sat on the bed pad, with Naruto sitting across from her, prepared to listen.

“Okay, so, after you fought Sasuke, you passed out. I’m sure you heard about our fight, so I don’t need to explain anything to you, right?” He nodded. “Right. So before I was hit with the chidori, I had a conversation with Rokobi. I had been trying to release him that way he wouldn’t die along with me, since I had no intention of blocking Sasuke’s attack, but he refused to let me go through with it. When I released Rokobi’s hold, without even mentioning it to me, what he did was pull all of his chakra from my flow, collecting it around my abdomen. When Sasuke’s chidori hit me and blew through my flesh, Rokobi’s chakra was there to catch it, and absorb the electric shock.”

“So basically, Rokobi took the attack and got hit with it himself.”

“Full force. I still lost a lot of blood, but the chidori never went through my entire body. So I passed out, and the next time I opened my eyes, I was in the trauma center of the hospital. The nurse that had been watching me must have been so surprised I pulled through, because she screamed and ran away to get Tsunade.”

“Wait, I thought Tsunade wasn’t able to do anything for you. She said you passed away on the operating table.”

“I’m getting there, Naruto… Tsunade comes in the room and gives me the diagnosis. Surprisingly I had only been out for days, pretty much as long as you had been. She told me that the only reason I survived was through Rokobi’s protection, and the first response medical team that Kakashi had brought with him to the Valley of the End. They had taken me directly to Tsunade, and she performed surgery to repair my internal damages.

While I was in my room, Tsunade came in with Konoha’s elders one day, Koharu and Homura. We conferenced about the issue of my admission into the hospital, and how I was subjected to danger throughout my entire experience in Konoha. The raikage heard about my confrontation with Sasuke and how I almost died, so he wanted me home immediately, threatening to invade and retrieve me if he had to. Personally, I didn’t want to be in Konoha that much myself, so we worked out a deal…

The deal was that I would be pronounced “dead,” and in my passing, my body would be escorted back to Kumogakure by Cloud shinobi. It was also decided that I would never return to Konoha again under any circumstance and disrupt the terms and conditions of our bargain.”

Naruto sat still with a stone face; it almost looked like he stopped breathing. “So…they lied to us.”

“It wasn’t just them lying, I lied as well. I wasn’t too emotionally balanced when I told them I didn’t want to be in Konoha anymore and wanted to go home.”

“I guess I understand that…and I get why you had to be “dead” to us in order for everything to work the way it did…but why did you come back after three years? Just to say hi?”

Rayne paused, making eyes with Yamato for a moment. “Naruto, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you aware of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre?”

“Yes.” He didn’t miss a beat.

“Well then, that makes everything a lot easier.” Smiling brightly, Rayne slammed her open palm down on Naruto’s shoulder. “I came back to clear Itachi’s name and bring Sasuke back to Konoha.”

“Really?” Naruto looked relieved as he smiled, the corners of his eyes forming tears. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

“Truly the only reason I’m doing this is because Itachi left his will to me. I still want to break Sasuke’s face.” Rayne’s grip on Naruto’s shoulder subconsciously tightened.

“You don’t care about Sasuke anymore?” His genuine surprise made Rayne cringe.

“I don’t know…I’ll think about it when I see him.”

*You’ve already seen him.* Rokobi added.

’Stop interrupting me!’

“I feel the same way.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“The next time I see Sasuke, I’ll know what I should do. The last time we crossed paths, he tried to kill me and Sakura.”

“Really?” That didn’t make this situation too promising. Rayne knew Sasuke wasn’t going to be easy to win over, but she didn’t expect he’d be so open to killing his former teammates.

“Yeah, and that was a few months ago already.”

“He was still with Orochimaru at the time?”

“Yeah. So, you know that he joined the Akatsuki, too?”


“Well he didn’t exactly join. He was more or less taken in and just went with it.” Rayne crossed her arms. “The Akatsuki is an organization that’s built off of the desire to not only destroy Konoha, but to destroy the world we know as well.”

“You sure know quite a lot about the Akatsuki organization.” Yamato picked up on her words.

“When you spend time with a spy, you get to learn a lot.” She replied.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I said I wanted to clear Itachi’s name, didn’t I? Who else would I mean?”

“You’ve spoken to Itachi too?” Naruto leaned closer to her. If he were in a chair, he’d be on the edge. “He approached me one day when I was training. I was ready to fight him, but he refused, and just talked to me. He also made me swallow a crow…at least I think he did. I was in a genjutsu at the time.”

“What did you two talk about?”

“About me wanting to save Sasuke and if I was prepared to go to any lengths to do it. What did you talk to him about?”

“The same.” Rayne said bluntly, deflating Naruto’s excitement over the conversation. “Well…first we talked about the massacre and the truth behind that, then we talked about Sasuke. I spent some time with him after that as well.”

“You were fraternizing with the enemy.” Yamato sure did like to accuse and point fingers.

“He wasn’t the enemy.” Rayne growled. “He was an honorable man that did a great deed for his country and wasn’t recognized for it in the slightest.”

“Heh, you sound like you got close to him.” The look in Naruto’s blue eyes was that of a perverse nature. “Is that why you’re over Sasuke?”

“Shut up!” That earned him a smack over the head. “Why don’t you get ready to go. The summit has already started, and that’s where Sasuke is going. You want to see him, right?”

“What? Sasuke’s going to the summit?” Naruto gave her a goofy stare as he rubbed his head.

“Yes, so you’d better hurry up.”

“I’m sorry that you came all the way out here, but I cannot allow Naruto to go with you.” Yamato took a stand, peering down at the two teens. “He is in no condition to fight, nor does he have a right to interfere with the meeting.”

Rayne frowned. “You seem nice and all, but do you honestly think I care? Naruto doesn’t need you permission to go anywhere.”

“I have an order from Kakashi Sensei to take Naruto back to the village. He is already pursuing the others who are after Sasuke.”

“Others?” Rayne stood up as well, making Yamato take a step back as precaution. “Who are the ‘others’?”

“Sakura, Sai, Kiba, and Lee.” Naruto ran off the names. Wait, who the hell was Sai? “Sakura intends to kill Sasuke by herself.”

Rayne face palmed. “What an idiot…alright, come on Naruto, we’re leaving.”

“I just told you that I cannot allow you to-“ Rayne made a quick chop at the right side of Yamato’s neck, right on the sensitive area between the shoulder blade and carotid artery. The electric shock that flowed from her chakra into Yamato’s nervous system made him drop to the ground immediately, his face landing into the bed pad right before Naruto.

“…Let’s go.”

Clutching his pillow, Naruto stared up at Rayne in fear. “You’re…you’re just as scary as Sakura is.”

For being in close vicinity to one another, Frost and Iron countries climates were drastically different from one another. While Rayne had been chattering her teeth five minutes ago, once she and Naruto stepped over the dividing line, the snow began to melt as they entered an 80 degree temperature climate. Stripping herself of Izumo’s cloak, Rayne neatly folded it, tucking it under her red satin belt as she tied it in a knot.

Naruto had been constantly looking over his shoulder at Rayne, shifting his gaze whenever she caught him. “Naruto, is there something you want to ask me? You keep looking at me.”

“Yeah, actually, there are a few things.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“For one, how did you get clearance to pursue Sasuke? You aren’t a Leaf shinobi anymore.” Naruto exaggerated his statement by pointing his finger at the Cloud headband around Rayne’s waist.

“Itachi told me I’d know the right time to go after Sasuke. When he attacked Killer Bee in the village, I knew it was time to set out. I didn’t ask A, I told A I was going out on my mission.”

“Really? It was that easy for you?” He blinked several times.

“I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I was meant to save Sasuke since the day I met him.”

“I kneeeew it! You still have feelings for him, I can hear it in your voice!”

“SHUT UP.” Rayne’s elbow came down on Naruto’s head, forcing him down a few feet to the ground below. “The only thing Itachi ever wanted was Sasuke’s safety, and that’s what I intend to do. I want to save him so Itachi can be at peace.”

“So you’re not doing it for Sasuke at all?” Naruto took back his position next to Rayne as they soared through the tree tops. “Like, at all?”

Closing her eyes, Rayne took a deep breath. Her pounding heart echoed in her ears. “I haven’t thought much past doing this for Itachi. I don’t know what I want when it comes to Sasuke. I won’t know what to do until I see him.”

Naruto laughed in amusement, making Rayne blush as she barked at him. “It’s just funny…haha, that you and I have no idea what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sasuke and I have never been able to communicate with words. Instead, we've always used our fists, that's how we were able to understand one another. The next time our fists meet, I'll know what I should do with Sasuke.” Naruto’s lip quivered slightly as he smiled. It took a moment, but Rayne found humor in this as well.

“No idea what to do, and yet here we are, running through the forest aimlessly.”

“We can do it, though. I know we can bring Sasuke back.” His blue eyes were reassuring.

“What makes you so optimistic?”

“Because we have you.”

Rayne scoffed, turning her head as she thought of anything else but Sasuke having any romantic affection for her. “I couldn’t keep him from leaving the first time. What could I possibly do that you couldn’t.”

That was more of a statement than a question. “I know he isn’t going to give you a flying hug or anything…but think about it like this. Sasuke lost his family and wasn’t close with anyone else until you came along. When he lost you, I’m sure it hurt him deeply. It was like repeating the past. Seeing you again will trigger something, I’m sure of it.”

’Sasuke lost everyone at a very young age. He distanced himself from others, not because he didn’t want to make friends, but because he didn’t want to make friends he would lose. When he developed feelings for you, he cared about someone deeply for the first time years. And when he lost you, it was devastating, because he lost everything for a second time. Sasuke may not smile when he sees you again, but beneath all that hatred, he’s still a hurt child.’

Naruto’s words were too similar to Itachi’s to keep her from thinking he hadn’t shared them. Bowing her head, her eyes slowly looked forward as she felt Sasuke’s presence. “We’re closer now.”

Naruto’s hand touched hers, taking it softly. “Are you going to be okay?”

Rayne ripped her hand from his grasp, smacking him in the forearm. “Of course I’ll be okay!”

They each stopped suddenly on a branch, yards away in the trees. In front of them they could see Kakashi and Sasuke on a broken bridge over water. It looked as though they were talking, at least for now.

"Where's Sakura? She was supposed to be here, too." Naruto said in a slightly frantic voice.

Looking around, Rayne spotted Sakura’s pink head out of the corner of her right eye. She was with a familiar red head as well. “She’s over there with a girl from Sasuke’s group.”

“Group? A girl? After you?”

“I didn’t say girlfriend.” Rayne snarled through a tight jaw. As Naruto stood up to jump over to Sakura, Rayne shoved the back of his knee, causing it to bow. Losing his balance, he fell to the ground before he made it to his teammate. “Not even an hour and he’s already driving me crazy…I missed him more than I thought.”

Turning back to where Sasuke and Kakashi had been standing, Rayne studied them as they began to yell and advance on one another. There was no doubt in Rayne's mind that Danzo had proven to be more troublesome than Sasuke had originally thought. He looked like hell, but Sasuke wasted no time making an advance on Kakashi as he summoned Susanoo. His estranged laughter boomed, striking Rayne in an unpleasant tone.

*And that's the young man you're risking everything for.* Rokobi said in disbelief.

'Yeah...that's uh...not really what I thought I'd find here.' Rayne's tone was equally flat.

*Judging by Susanoo, I’d say Sasuke took that from Itachi.*

‘Didn’t take his eyes though. Look at him’

Covering his face with his hands, Sasuke winced in pain as he shook his head, nearly falling to his knees. A pink orb floated above Sasuke’s head with a glimmer that caught Rayne’s eye. Unbenounced to her, Sakura had made her way underneath the bridge, dangling above Sasuke like a pinata, kunai in hand. Rayne commended her on taking the stand at attempting to stop Sasuke herself, but she wondered what stabbing him in the back could possibly do. Granted, it would hurt, but Sasuke could have easily turned around and back handed her. Which he was actually doing now as Rayne thought about it. Before she could move herself, Naruto jumped between Sasuke's strike, grabbing Sakura as he saved her from impending doom.

Since Naruto was now involved in the confrontation, this situation would definitely escalate quickly. Words were hardly spoken between them as Naruto summoned two clones. Sasuke charged his chidori, making an ominous waltz towards the three Naruto clones that were moving forward. One grabbed Kakashi from behind, restraining him from movement as Naruto himself formed his rasengan.

*Here they go…*

Rayne cringed while watching them, fists cocked back, ready to connect. Their fists were going to do the negotiation. Life, or certain death?

'Sasuke and I have never been able to communicate with words. Instead, we've always used our fists, that's how we were able to understand one another. The next time our fists meet, I'll know what I should do with Sasuke.'

As if a bomb had went off beneath the surface of the water, a giant mushroom cloud like wave erupted from the center of the lake. From the right side of the falling water, Naruto's body shot out like a rocket, sailing through the air until he was caught in Kakashi's arms. Sliding backward, Kakashi came to rest next to Sakura, looking at her as if she had an answer for what had just taken place. Looking at the stare of horror that washed over her face, Kakashi turned his own attention to the middle of the water. Standing there was a figure masked by long brown golden hair, with Sasuke kneeling before them. Their recognition was immediate.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke's heart beat incredibly hard against his chest, his skin feeling a burning sensation. The blood through his veins heated, rushing faster through his bloodstream. Wailing in pain, the bracelet around his wrist glowed a hot emerald, burning his skin; a sensation he hadn’t felt in years. His eyes were locked on the crimson clothed headband that was wrapped around the waist of his captor before him, a gleam of the Cloud Village's symbol reflected off his dark, tired eyes.

His senses were beginning to fade back in as he regained concious of the rough grip that was around his wrist. He attempted to find reasoning as to why just a single hand had stopped his Chidori, and not been ripped away from the wrist from the collision of the lightning. Sasuke's knees began to shake as his crouched form began to weaken his back. He could hear nothing around him, only the hard panting of his former teammates. Looking slightly forward, he could see that they were all staring at whoever had stopped him. It hadn't been any of them? Not only had it been none of them, but judging by the expressions on their familiar, yet changed faces, they were as confused as he.

Sasuke then made a move that he'd soon regret. His enraged eyes followed the length of the body upward, past the headband, resting upon a pair of breasts that were clothed by a black vest; it was quite obviously female. His eyes continued, but it was brief, for his eyes then stopped, along with his heart, as he gazed at a small, heart shaped piece of silver, suspended by a long chain necklace. A look of panic crossed his face as his mind flashed back three years in the past to a scene that would forever damage his mental capacity.

That was the last time he had seen the necklace, draped around the neck of a corpse. He felt his concentrated chakra at the sole's of his feet begin to waver, causing the water beneath him to ripple. Frightened onyx eyes continued upward, following the face that was blackened by the light cast by the sun behind her. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and as they did, they nearly went foggy once more.

Grey eyes connected with his, casting a glare downward that sent pain through his heart and a chill through his body. Sasuke felt his chakra control completely slip as he began to sink into the water he kneeled on, still staring up at the grey eyes as he slowly became submerged. The figure became taller with each second, and about halfway down at the knees, Sasuke could fully see her face. His mouth became dry, his tongue swelling as it dabbled around his gums in order to gather enough saliva to speak without coughing. Every word in the dictionary was flashing before his eyes, running through his mind, and yet he still had no idea what sentence he could possibly piece together that would be understandable. What would you say to a dead man walking?

Her lips curled upward. "You're such a buzzkill."

A force ripped Sasuke away from his position, drawing him away from the woman he had gone so long without. Landing across from her against a rock wall, he took the time to fully acknowledge how much she had changed physically. A trembling Naruto and Sakura stood behind her, still staring at her long brown hair that was now past her lower back. She stood shifted, her left hand on her hip, leaning on her side.

"Rayne?" Sakura was unsure.

"The last you knew, I was dead, correct?"

Sasuke looked on from further away, and upon hearing the word dead, he turned away. He himself had thought he killed her on the night they battled in the Valley of the End. He remembered that night perfectly clear, not forgetting any detail, especially the last words that he heard her speak. Sasuke was fearful of any words she would speak now.

"You sound so unsure, Sakura." Her form began to turn around to face her former allies, her friends. At the moment that she could see even the slightest bit of her face, Sakura felt her heart drop as warm tears graced her face.

"Well what do you know, a family reunion."

Rayne turned back to face Sasuke quickly, who looked away from her once more, bringing her eyes to fixate on the snow white form of half a man. "Zetsu. You look like shit."

His sharply pointed teeth peeked through his lips as he growled. "Bitch. I’ve heard all about your involvement with Itachi. If you think you’re going to get the upper hand on me, you’re wrong.”

“You aren’t worth the time, fly trap.”

"Rayne, don't antagonize the man. You don't know what you're up against," without a hello, Kakashi made his prescence known.

His plea merely caused Rayne to smirk. “Actually, I do.”

“I’ll take you out right now!” Before Zetsu could make the move he had intended, a cloaked arm hit his chest, holding him in position. Rolling her eyes to the left, Rayne met only one eye.

"Well done, well done. Itachi's little rat has made it's way through the maze and came all this way. It's a shame you're too late." Rayne glared at the single sharingan eye of Uchiha Obito that returned the stare. "Sasuke already knows the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, all about Itachi's role."

"I could kinda tell, considering he invaded the Kage Summit and murdered Danzo. But thanks for the update." Rayne smirked to herself as she could see Obito's eye narrow in annoyance.

"We're retreating." Obito declared.

"Ah, let me handle them. We've got to collect the nine tales sometime, right? We can take the raijuu down as well." Zetsu snarled, licking his lips continuously.

"No, Zetsu...I don't think you'll be able to capture Naruto, especially with Rayne here... We'll leave that hunt to Sasuke. It should be...entertaining." Sasuke looked up to Obito quickly, huffing as he narrowed his eyes in response to his expectation.

As footsteps closed in, Rayne looked to her left to see Naruto stand next to her, sternly looking her in the face. After a few moments of silence, he turned to look at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, do you remember what you told me back in the Valley of the End? About top class ninja?" He stayed quiet. "It's said when two top class ninja battle, they can instantly read each other's mind the moment their fists meet. When Rayne and I were coming here, I told her the same exact thing. You and I weren't ever able to communicate using words, instead, we've always used our fists. I was certain that when our fists clashed, I'd understand what my next move would be when it came to you. Only thing is...our fists didn't touch at all. Rayne came between us, and your fists touched hers."

"So what are you saying?" Sasuke's voice was weary, directed only at Naruto. He didn’t dare break eye contact with the blonde.

"All this time I've been unsure as to what action I should take to bring you back to Konoha, but Rayne coming in between us has only told me one thing." Grabbing Rayne's wrist, Naruto extended Rayne's open palm towards Sasuke. "Rayne is going to be the one to pull you out of the darkness with this hand, and I'll be behind her every step of the way. So keep your hatred, let it fester, and hit us with it full force. We'll bear the burden of your hatred, and we'll save you together."

Sasuke spoke no words, but his stare remained on Naruto as he began to fade away into the abyss of Obito’s transportation jutsu. It wasn’t until they appeared to be mere apparitions that Sasuke looked back over at Rayne for a brief moment before he disappeared. Looking on at the place Sasuke had just been, Rayne felt her heart beat subside. She also felt her arm being dragged downward.

Before Naruto could hit the water, Rayne wrapped her arms around his back, holding him up as she knelt on the surface. Foam was beginning to form at the edges of his mouth. Was he injected with some type of poison?

"What just happened?!" Sakura nervously squeaked as she wobbled over, followed by Kakashi.

"It's the cut on his cheek. Quick, get out the antidote, Sakura!" Kakashi diagnosed as Sakura rummaged through her pouch. "The kunai you had poisoned to use against Sasuke was the one he used to cut Naruto's cheek. The poison enterted his system."

Pulling out a small epi-pen, Sakura slipped in a vial of purple liquid, injecting it into the most pronounced vein in Naruto's arm. As she did this, his convulsions ceased, and he rest easily in Rayne's lap. Retracting her hand, Sakura wearily looked up at Rayne's face.

"Uh…hey.”

“I can’t believe it…you’re alive.”

“Yeah, it is hard to believe, eh heh…” Rayne swallowed the lump in her throat. She and Sakura hadn’t exactly ended on good terms. From Sakura walking in on Rayne and Sasuke’s almost kiss, to fighting on the roof, to seeing her for the last time in Tsunade’s office.

The first thought Rayne had when her hands hit the water was that Sakura’s speed had increased, because she didn’t even see her lunge toward her. Steadying herself, Rayne reclined backward as Sakura hugged her tightly around the neck, sobbing into the space between her neck and collar bone. “I’m so happy to see you again!”

Smiling, Rayne easily pat Sakura’s back with one hand, as the other wrapped around her. Hearing a chuckle, Rayne looked up to see Kakashi smiling away as he intently watched them.

“You don’t have to smile like that, pervert.”

“You’re mistaken! That isn’t what I meant at all!” Waving his hands comically, Kakashi shook his head in defense. Rayne didn’t buy it.

“Aw, man. Sakura, how much poison did you soak onto that kunai?” Naruto wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve as he composed himself.

“I wanted to make sure I’d have enough!”

Well, at least Sakura had poisoned it. Her trying to take out Sasuke made more sense now. What Rayne was most impressed by was the fact that Sakura had even attempted to take Sasuke out. Granted, she stopped, but hey, she did try.

“I’m guessing by your unenthused expressions that this wasn’t the first time you’ve seen Sasuke.” Rayne deduced.

“We infiltrated Orochimaru’s hide out and saw him there a few months ago.” Sakura answered. “This was only the second time I’ve seen him. I talked to him a bit earlier when it was just the three of- Oh my gosh! That girl!”

“No worries. Even though you healed her, I’m sure she’s still there.” Kakashi reassured. “Where does she have to go now that Sasuke is gone?”

And he was right. Still leaning against the bridge, Karin opened her eyes slowly as Rayne and the others looked upon her. “Sasuke…is he-“

“Gone. Left with O-oh-others.” Rayne fumbled her words, her eyes shifting to Kakashi. If he had known that to be Obito, he definitely would have taken action.

“I see…”

“So what happens now?” Sakura asked.

“Well, we’ll be taking this young lady back to Konoha for questioning.” Kakashi stated.

“What about Sasuke?”

Naruto turned his attention to Rayne, now staring intently at the stone wall the bridge. “Well…things aren’t as I expected them to be. I knew it’d be hard to convince him to return to Konoha, but that look in his eyes…”

“What look?” Sakura egged on. Sasuke just tried to murder her, and yet she was still concerning herself with him. But Rayne couldn’t judge, it’d be hypocritical.

“It just seems impossible.”

“Oh, don’t give me that!” Naruto shouted, grabbing Rayne by the wrist, forcing her to look at him. “You’re going to tell me you stood there, holding his fist, and you didn’t feel anything?! No emotion at all?”

Closing her eyes, Rayne’s heart beat out of sync. She didn’t want to care about him; she was doing this for Itachi. A favor for a dear friend.

“What about him? What did you see in his eyes?”

“Fear.”

“Nothing else?” He continued pleading.

“What about love?” Sakura’s sugesstion made Karin laugh like a witch.

“Love? Let me tell you about Sasuke and ‘love.’ The only person he loves is himself, and that girl he used to know.”

“What girl?” Naruto glared at Rayne. He wanted her to be quiet, though she really didn’t see how walking down memory lane would do any good.

“Rayne, wasn’t it? I thought you guys knew her.”

“Well, yeah, I just wanted to clarify who you were talking about…” Smooth, Naruto. Smooth. “He mentioned her to you?”

“Mention? The only time I ever had a long conversation with him was about her.” The way Karin hinted at Rayne’s name made her want to punch Karin in the face.

“I’m surprised. I thought Sasuke hated all of us.”

“Not her…Sasuke really loved her…” Hugging her knees, Karin folded them into her chest. Turning his head with a raised brow, Naruto grinned at Rayne, who merely glanced at him before resuming the conversation.

“Loved. That was three years ago. Sasuke was never one to linger on a friend.”

“Well she’s different!” Karin hissed like a small child denied a toy at the store. “I don’t think there was a day I didn’t catch him looking at that bracelet he wears around his wrist. That’s how I found out; stupid me, I asked about him about it.”

“And?” Karin looked at Naruto in annoyance as he pestered her with questions.

“Think of it as an interrogation.” Kakashi leaned down, smiling through his mask. “Sasuke’s given you information, a small window into the softer side that’s still attached to Konoha. We’re interested in what he’s said.”

After a deep breath, the fiery red head let out a disgruntled sigh. “I fell in love with Sasuke the day I saw him. (insert Rayne rolling her eyes and grunting here) I constantly threw myself at him, trying to get his attention. It bothered me a lot, so I usually got angry at him and wouldn’t speak to him for a while. One night we were sitting out in a field beneath the stars, just me and him, and I saw him playing with the bracelet. It started off with me asking about it out of curiosity, trying to build up a conversation so I could actually learn about him…

He was quiet for a while. I guess he was trying to think of what to say without flatly stating what the bracelet meant to him… He told me that he always attracted attention from girls in the village, and that he never really cared. Then he met Sayomi Rayne, a kunoichi from Kumogakure who was assigned to his team under protection. He wasn’t phased at first, but he did think she was pretty. She found him attractive too, but who wouldn’t?

He went over the Chunin Exams, first meeting Orochimaru, and all that fun, meaningless flirting. Then it was time to talk about his birthday.”

“What about his birthday?” Rayne took the words out of Naruto’s mouth.

Shaking her head, Karin started in a mocking voice. “She cooked him dinnerrr, and she gave him the braceletttt. Then he gave her his mothers necklaaace because he wanted her to know she meant something to himmm…I was getting so sick and tired of hearing him talk so lovingly about a girl who he voluntarily left, or so I thought, so I snapped. I accussed him of being hung up on his past love, and I called him pathetic… That’s when he told me he killed her.”

Hugging herself, Karin leaned forward, her forehead to her knees. “He had purposely avoided her before he left so he wouldn’t have to see her. He couldn’t bear to see her face one last time…but that stupid bitch went after him anyway…and he lost it… He told me that’s why he couldn’t sleep sometimes. He’d close his eyes and all he could see was her lifeless face. He asked me…if I had any idea losing everything in life twice, the second time being my own undoing. I said no, of course…”

“Was this before or after he learned the truth about his family’s massacre?” Rayne asked.

“It was before…he told me that after he killed Itachi, he wanted to die soon after because he, and I quote, had no interest living in a world where his purpose didn’t exist.’”

Sakura let out an involuntary “oh” as she covered her mouth with her hands while she cried. Kakashi kept silent, along with Rayne, whom Naruto had been staring at to see what reaction she’d give. So far, there was nothing. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth calmly, Rayne balanced her emotions as thoughts ran wildly through her head.

“Well…it sounds like Sasuke still has something holding him back.” Naruto nudged Rayne, who pushed his elbow away from her.

“I remind you that he said all of this before killing Itachi. I doubt he cares about any of that, now that he knows about Konoha’s involvement in this massacre. His only goal now is to avenge Itachi.”

“Dammit, Rayne, would you just stop being so negative!” Naruto grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her face to him as he shook her like a child.

“Rayne?” Karin’s head snapped up, her gaze returned. “You…bitch!”

Grabbing Karin’s forehead with her open palm, Rayne pushed her head back to the cement bridge she had lunged from. Crouching down, Rayne looked at her, eye to eye. “You think maybe it was your crazy that kept Sasuke from being interested in you?”

“I’ll never forgive you for what you did to him, scarring him like that.”

“Me? You said it yourself, it’s all Sasuke’s fault. He’s the one that drove his hand through my stomach!”

“Only because you continued to go after him when he intentionally, intentionally avoided you!”

“He couldn’t muster up the courage to say goodbye!”

“He didn’t want to hurt you!”

“Hurt me? You couldn’t imagine half of what he said to me that night!”

“Don’t you think he did it to push you away?! Because he was breaking his heart when he was fighting you!” Pushing Rayne’s hand away from her, Karin shoved her backward, knocking her off balance. “You’re such a stupid bitch! Sasuke’s been hung up on you for years! He loved you! He still does…”

“Yeah, sure.” Standing up, Rayne realigned her clothing as she hissed at Karin. Turning around quickly, she came chest to chest with Naruto.

“What are you going to do?”

“Why does everyone care about what I’m going to do? What about you? What are you going to do?!” Holding eye contact, Rayne shifted her eyes from each of his before she pulled him against her in a tight hug. Letting go, Rayne passed by him, beginning her walk across the bridge.

“Wait, where are you-“ Sakura called out before she was cut off, held back by Naruto’s arm.

“I’m going after that bastard; he owes me an explanation!” Looking over her shoulder, Rayne eyed her former team for a moment before disappearing in a rush of wind. ’Next time I see you guys, we’re going to be Team 7 again. The complete Team 7.’

Located in the north western region of Lightning Country, the Valley of Lightning and Clouds had been Rayne’s home for the past month. Kumogakure had been at a stand still regarding missions, and while Rayne had spent a great deal of time sparring with A and Killer Bee, they had noticed her reluctance in tapping into the Raijuu’s power. After brief discussion, Bee offered to help her train in order to bring out Rokobi’s full potential, which included transforming into full six tail mode.

The valley was a clearing just past the northern mountains, an area which hadn’t been colonized in full. A small village where Rayne had been staying was just a couple of miles away from the valley’s divide, also a short distance from the Thunder Shrine where Rokobi had been sealed within her. Rayne hadn’t just been away from the village to train, rather, she was away in order to spend time with Rokobi.

This day had been normal for the time of month March, humid with fog rolling in from sunset to evening. The moon was a full crescent when Rayne descended from the mountain top around 10:30 p.m., deciding she had spent enough time beating herself up. The more she trained with Rokobi, the more her stamina increased, making it easier as the days went on. She didn’t hope to live out here forever, so getting as much done during one day as possible was her main focus.

The Koaru spring resort was where she took shelter, having the key to a small room at the end of the main hall on the first floor. The bath house wasn’t large in size in comparison to the enormous spring baths. But no matter how small the bath house seemed, the bathing area was always jam packed with bodies until mid evening. Another pro to staying out late, the bath was all hers by the time she came back.

*How I would love to bathe in such rich waters.* Rokobi rolled around his cage within, stretching his paws out past the open doors. Sliding the rice paper door behind her, Rayne walked over to the bench, setting her sandals under them. She hated to walk on the same stones hundreds of other feet had touched.

“I’m certainly glad no one is here tonight. I can actually talk to you without having my concentration interrupted.” Rayne’s interactions with Rokobi had come to a unexpected end after her battle with Sasuke that almost got them killed. Rokobi had been so injured that it took him, a great god, months to recover before Rayne even heard a peep from him. That’s why she had been so reluctant to tap into his chakra whenever she was in battle; she had no idea how to work with him after such a blow to their partnership.

From the time Killer Bee had been working with her, the pair was able to pick up where they left off. Not only were they speaking on the battle field, they were also speaking day to day. Small talk, making fun of someone, emotional conversations, reassurance, their minds were, just as their bodies. They had progressed to the point where Rayne felt comfortable to tear off the seal on Rokobi’s cage.

“It’s nice to have quiet, especially after a day like today. I’m beat.” Rayne’s legs followed her slouched form as she walked over to the stone edge of the bath, unwrapping her towel and tossing it down next to her. Dipping in one leg first, Rayne’s body temperature adjusted to the hot water as she slid in, sinking underwater immediately.

*Even without being in the bath I can feel the warmth of the water… Mmm, I love this.* Laying comfortable, Rokobi’s tails were wrapped between his upper paws as he nuzzled them.

’It’s amazing how you can feel warmth when it’s hot out, but you don’t feel cold when the air is chilly. I think I got the short end of the stick in this deal.’ Popping her head out of the water, Rayne leaned back against the rocks as she moved her bangs out of her face. Looking up towards the sky, Rayne’s eyes rested at the peak of the mountain she traveled to each day.

“Tell me something…I know you used to spend most of your time in the shrine, and while the surroundings are similar, do you miss being there rather than being stuck in a cage?”

*Not as often as you’d think. Besides, I’m not prisoner within you. The seal is broken now, my door is open. I can move as I please.*

“Soon I’ll make sure you can wander on your own, detached from me.”

*That’s a large obstacle to overcome… I’m in no rush. The breath of air I get when released is a treat.*

“I promise. I promise I’ll find a way for us to live separately, as one being.” Closing her eyes in the darkness, Rayne turned around to look at Rokobi’s half opened eyes, his face held up by his paws as he rested. “I want to be just like Killer Bee and haichibi. I want us to fight together, side by side.”

*Before we can achieve that, your chakra has to develop.* The smile on Rayne’s face faded quickly. *My chakra has been the fuel to your fire for years; you barely have chakra on your own. If we were to separate like that, I’m not sure how you’d stand against the enemy. On that note, your attacks are taijutsu based, you hardly use ninjutsu at all aside from mine. You need to develop long range attacks. A weapon of some sort would also be beneficial, seeing as you’ve abandoned your kunai and shuriken holsters.*

“Yeah…I know I have a lot to work on…”

*Hey.* The rough hair of Rokobi’s tail brushed against Rayne’s chin as he lifted her face. *That was not meant to discourage you. I’m just trying to eliminate any possible weakness. I don’t want to worry about losing you again.*

Taking his tail in her hands, Rayne brushed her cheek against it. “And I don’t want you to ever feel compelled to sacrifice yourself for me.”

*A parent would do what they have to for their cub.*

Rayne’s eyes shot open, falling back into reality as she felt a presence. Either someone had stepped into the bath while she had her head submerged, or there was an intruder. Considering the person appeared to be ahead of her, back by the shrubs and grass, Rayne assumed it was the latter. Squinting through the steam, she waited for whoever it was to step forward.

“Look, since you seem to be taking your sweet ass time, let me just tell you I know that you’re there. There’s no point in hiding when I’m aware of your presence. I’ve had a long day, and having someone interrupt my bath isn’t going to put me in the best mood, so I suggest you-“

Her voice went quiet as words built up in her throat. A head could be seen with smooth hair, the body having one continuous, bulky form. Stepping out of the mist, Itachi’s figure was made clear as he stood on the opposite side of the oval pool. That was unsettling.

“Uchiha Itachi, pervert at large.” Rayne submerged her chin, blowing bubbles with her lips as she grumbled beneath the water. She hadn’t expected to be attacked out here, especially by an Akatsuki member, and most certainly not by Itachi.

“That isn’t the case.” Itachi answered after a brief moment of silence, standing solid.

“I wouldn’t have imagined you’d stoop so low as to attack me when I’m bathing. You’ve gone out of your way to get here, haven’t you?” Rayne’s first step in assessing her situation was trying to locate Kisame. Being a Mist ninja, sitting in water was extremely dangerous for her. For all she knew he could already be in the bath with her, or shadowed by the mist, waiting for her to attack Itachi. She was damned if she got out, and damned if she stayed in.

“The only reason I’ve chosen to approach you now is because you’re less likely to attack while sitting naked in a bath.” Rayne sat quietly as a blush creeped over her cheeks as Itachi lifted his head, his face now full in the moonlight. “I’ve come to speak with you.”

“Speak with me?” Rayne’s shoulders relaxed as she straightened her hunched form. It wasn’t like Itachi to lie in order to get his enemy’s attention; he took a straight forward approach. It had been nearly two years since she had last seen him, and while that seemed like a short time, Rayne’s control of Rokobi had grown exponentially. No matter how she saw it, Itachi taking advantage of this moment to attack her made sense.

Glancing over to her left, Rayne saw her towel. Without hesitation, she leaped out of the steamy water, lunging forward as she grabbed the cotton, wrapping it around her. Even if Itachi had seen her naked for a split second, she was certain she could kill him before he burned the sight into his memory. Rolling on the ground, Rayne stood to her feet in a fighting stance, only to be greeted by Itachi standing before her. Allowing a gasp to escape her lips, Rayne’s foot slipped as she reclined, her back hitting the hard wood of the spring hut that stored the bath’s cleaning supplies. Looming before her, Itachi stared down with his menacing…onyx eyes?

Rayne gulped as she looked up into the endless onyx orbs in front of her, peering down at her, straight through and to the core. Raising his hand, Itachi’s fingers unbuttoned his collar, granting her a clear view of his face.

“What…what are you trying to pull here?!” Rayne’s stammer reminded her of Sakura. The heat in her cheeks and the humidity from the hot spring forced her to sweat. As Itachi leaned forward, near nose to nose with her, she began to sweat more.

“I told you, I’ve only come to speak with you.”

“Yeah, I get it. Tell me what it’s about already!” Rayne hadn’t gotten the chance to stare into Itachi’s eyse for a prolonged amount of time. Even while onyx eyes had no pigment, she had always thought Itachi’s would be darker than black itself, full of murder, lust, hatred…but they weren’t. To be honest, she had to admit to herself that she saw more in Itachi’s eyes now than she had in Sasuke’s when he left Konoha. His eyes were serene, but while they were calm, they were also full of excitement. Or maybe that was just the excitement Rayne felt in her chest as she stared at him longer.

Hoping it wasn’t because he had been reading her thoughts, Itachi smirked. “I’ve come here to speak with you about the truth’s I hold, about Konoha, the Uchiha Clan, and myself. Just as I said I would.”

”In time I will seek you out. You must wait for me, do not come looking for me.”

That was right. Giving him a once over, Rayne’s eyes traveled his body. “Where’s Kisame hiding?”

“I’ve come alone.”

“Strange. Don’t you all have a best buddy you travel with?”

“They are unaware I’m here.”

One surprise after another. “Fine, I’ll bite, but I want you to take off your cloak. That way there’s no chance of you making a hand sign, or pulling out a kunai that I wouldn’t be able to see.”

“Sure.”

“I’m sitting down, too. I’m not letting this bath go to waste; it’s the first night I’ve been alone…well, almost.” Watching from the corner of her eye, Rayne stood straight as she watched Itachi unbutton his cloak, sliding it off. Giving it a shake, he tossed it over the bench above Rayne’s sandals, placing his own next to hers.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Rayne stood at the edge of the bath, hand held out as an invitation. From where he was standing, Itachi could see the shakiness of Rayne’s arm.

“Nervous?” Did he have to ask?

“I’m not particularly accustomed to a man interrupting my bath.” Carefully positioning herself to be sure her short towel didn’t sneak Itachi a peak, Rayne crouched at the edge of the spring water, dipping her feet in up to her knees. Quietly, and much more gracefully, Itachi sat next to her.

“So…where do we start?” This was definitely the most awkward position Rayne had been in to date. She was uncomfortable, nervous to be sitting here casually with the man who tormented not only her, but Sasuke all his life.

After spending extra time staring at the water, Itachi let out a low grunt. “What I am going to tell you is not easy to understand by any means, especially for someone who does not originate from Konoha. In order to fully explain things to you, I’ll need to delve into the past, back to the days of the founding of the village. If you hope to learn anything, you’ll have to keep an open mind as I speak.”

That was an abrupt mouthful. Open mind, huh? That was hard to do when her previous conceptions of the man ran through her head as they sat side by side. “Alright…I’m listening.”

“Before Konoha was founded, various clans lived among the Land of Fire; one of these clans being the Uchiha. Among the earliest of clan members was a man by the name of Madara. Madara was one of the earliest of members to awaken his Sharingan, along with his brother, Izuna. The pair were formidable foes, easily taking down anyone who opposed them, climbing to the top of the ninja ranks easily. They became so focused on their eyes, in fact, they killed the two people most precious to them, awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.

This advanced form of the Sharingan is great as it is deadly. You see, after using the Mangekyou over time, the user becomes blind, falling into eternal darkness…that is the fate that Madara met. His vision decayed, little by little until he was bed ridden. So distraught at his illness, he stole the eyes of his younger brother, implanting them in order to gain new light.”

Closing her eyes, Rayne turned her head away from him. While she didn’t know what Izuna looked like, she imagined Sasuke having his own eyes taken out forcefully, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“From combining the two forms of Mangekyou, Madara awakened yet another form, the Eternal Mangekyou. With this new light his vision would never fade, making him unbeatable with this new ocular prowess. Soon Madara was hailed as the strongest shinobi in the world, and along with the next powerful clan, the Senju clan, an alliance was formed that gave birth to a new organization, Konoha.

Hungry for power, Madara and the Senju leader, better known as the first hokage, began to quarrel over the policies of their new village. While they battled and he lost, Madara remains alive and well, as do his eyes and their power. He formed a new organization, “Akatsuki,” and hid himself in its shadow. Madara was behind Kyuubi’s attack on Konoha sixteen years ago, but was once again defeated, this time by the fourth hokage…

Madara is where my story begins. After he was excommunicated from the village, suspicion of the Uchiha rose, and trust in them slipped away. Being that Madara was the leader of the clan, his ideals were still set, and the remaining members were prepared to follow his will at any cost. That’s when the talk of the coup d'etat surfaced.”

“They wanted to rebel.” Rayne stated in order to let Itachi know she was following. Nodding, he continued.

“At a young age I became fascinated by my ancestors and the origin of the village. I was never bound by my clan; I was too busy concerning myself with the future of Konoha. It was at the time I was fifteen that the rumors of the coup d’etat were confirmed among the clan. I, along with my best friend Shisui, were the two members of the clan who opposed this revolution. Together we acted as spies within our own households, leaking information to the third hokage about the clan’s plan to revolt. We knew that it would only turn into war; the other countries would take advantage of Konoha’s inner-village conflict, so we devised a plan.

Shisui cared more for the village than anyone I had known. He attempted to stop the coup d’etat himself by attacking one of the village elders, Danzou, who was a spy himself inside the hokage’s meeting room. During this attack Danzou stole Shisui’s right eye, and sure that he’d come back for the other, Shisui handed his left eye over to me with the promise I’d protect the village…after that he committed suicide, drowning himself in the lake after writing a note about the clan not having a future. Suspicion of homicide came about, and being that I was abscent from that days clan meeting as well, I was accused of having murdered my best friend…

Shortly after I met with the hokage and the elders, which included Danzou. While they agreed they must take action in order to stop the revolution, the third was strongly against using force. Danzou confronted me afterward, telling me I had to choose between my clan and the village. I either stood with them, or I opposed them in order to save the village before our world fell into chaos…

I carried out the mission of dispatching the clan myself, but on one condition, which was sparing Sasuke’s innocent life. Once I confronted him, I fled the village, becoming known as the criminal who turned on his clan, slaughtering all of them. Afterward I tracked down Madara, joining the Akatsuki as a spy, furthering my protection of the village as I tracked Madara’s movements against it.”

Trailing off, Itachi looked over to Rayne’s face. Her eyes were wide as she listened, lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but unsure of what it was herself. Shakily, she spoke. “You…why…why did you leave…”

“Because I love him more than anything in this world.” A genuine smile crossed Itachi’s thin lips as his eyes settled on Rayne’s face. Bringing her brows together, Rayne squinted as her tears fell, hands raising to her face as she sobbed. All the pain that Itachi felt over the years was conveyed to her in a single glance, and it pierced her, straight through the heart. But her mind drew a blank; she didn’t know what to think.

“On two occasions I promised that I’d protect Sasuke as long as I lived. They were when I first held Sasuke in my arms after his birth, and when I murdered my parents…All I’ve striven for throughout my life was the protection of the village that was dear to me, and the little brother that I saw a future in. I have long hoped that Sasuke would be able to rewrite the cursed fate of the Uchiha and restore the clan to be pure.

The Uchiha clan has long been a clan possessed by evil. No other clan treasured love as much as we did, and that’s why members sealed it off themselves. When a member of Uchiha knows love, it as if the feelings they were blocking out arise. They awaken an uncontrollable love, and can often end up running wild. When an Uchiha that has known love loses it, it turns into an even stronger hate and changes that person.

When Uchiha suffer after experiencing the loss of a loved one or despair, special chakra sprouts inside their brains which affects the optic nerve and produces a change in their eyes. That is ‘the eye that reflects feelings,’ the Sharingan.

The Sharingan aligns with the person’s feelings and quickly makes the person stronger, together with the hatred in their heart. Almost all of the ones who experience strong feelings are captured by darkness and turn evil. The deeper their darkness becomes, the more powerful their eyes get, and it’s impossible to handle them…I want to save Sasuke from this grim fate.”

Taking some of the warm spring water in her hands, Rayne splashed it over her face to refresh herself. “That’s a little hard to do considering he won’t stop until you’re dead.”

“I was referring to the time after my death. I strongly suspect Madara and Obito will confront him, telling him the truth about me in order to use him against the village.”

“Wow…I can’t believe you’ve been the hero this entire time…” Rayne leaned forward, hoping to get Itachi to look toward her. He did.

“If the truth were to be revealed within the village, the Uchiha name would be soiled. The only ones who knew were the third, Danzou, and the elders. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Wouldn’t you want to be acknowledged as a hero, though? Especially to Sasuke…you saved his life.”

“No… I’d be content with dying by Sasuke’s hand without him knowing the truth. That’s how I planned my fate.”

Rayne digressed. “So what do you want with me? Or did you just come here to tell me that in confidence.”

“Before I tell you, I’d like to ask you a question about my brother.” Leaning back, Itachi supported himself with his hands as he got comfortable. “Would you still care to save him?”

Rayne had to stop her eye from twitching. She looked away, rubbing her lips together as she thought about her answer. “If someone blew a hole through your chest, would you be so devoted to saving them?”

“So if he were to be killed you wouldn’t waste your time thinking about it.”

“I didn’t say I wanted him dead, I said I didn’t care about interrupting him.”

“What’s the difference?” With a swift turn of the head, Rayne stared Itachi down. He didn’t falter. “Do you think of him?”

“Hardly.”

“You still wear the necklace of my mother.”

“It’s pretty.”

“He gave that to you out of affection.”

“What’s your point?!” Rayne snarled, slapping her hand down on the damp red rocks beneath her.

“Sasuke lost everyone at a very young age. He distanced himself from others, not because he didn’t want to make friends, but because he didn’t want to make friends he would lose. When he developed feelings for you, he cared about someone deeply for the first time in years. And when he lost you, it was devastating, because he lost everything for a second time. Sasuke may not smile when he sees you again, but beneath all that hatred, he’s still a hurt child. I believe that you have the power to change him. That’s why I came here to see you.”

Looking out the corner of her eye, Rayne looked up at the bright white light of the crescent moon, wondering if Sasuke could see it from where he was. “I told him how I felt the night he left…that didn’t change anything.”

“I didn’t tell you the history of the Sharingan without a reason. As I said, the Sharingan aligns with the person’s feelings and quickly makes them stronger, together with the hatred in their heart…Sasuke is going through a domino effect. His hatred begins around me, and his hatred strengthens him. Leaving the village in order to find me, and ‘killing’ you in the process brings more hatred against me, seeing as I were the motivation behind it.

If he were to find out the truth behind me, and that he ‘killed’ you senselessly, how do you think he’d react? If that time comes, I believe that the only way to save him is through you. After all, you’re the only person he allowed himself to love.”

“Yeah, well, what about Naruto? They’re best friends, and I guarantee you Naruto is more hell bent on saving Sasuke than he is on becoming hokage.”

“Since you mentioned Naruto, I’ve already considered him. In fact, I transferred Shisui’s eye to him.”

“You have an answer for everything, don’t you.”

“Just as strong as Sasuke’s hatred for me is his love for you.”

“Jerk.”

“Rayne.” Itachi’s moist hand rested atop of Rayne’s smaller one. “I have come here to ask you to carry out my will after I die. The first step in keeping Konoha safe is to save Sasuke from himself. I know that Madara and Obito will plan to take him in and use him against the village, and I have already prepared the idea that Sasuke will be unstoppable, which is also why I’ve come to you. I’m not too sure that Naruto would be able to kill Sasuke if needed.”

“…It sounds to me like the village is the priority.” Rayne could feel her fingers involuntarily twitch beneath Itachi’s hand.

“Sasuke will attempt to crush the village in order to take revenge for me. He will destroy what I’ve worked so hard to protect…the village comes first, always. The village does have its darkside and it’s inconsistencies, but I’m still the Leaf’s Uchiha Itachi. And while I may be an outsider now, just as you may have been there a short while, you are still the Leaf’s Sayomi Rayne.” Itachi’s thicker fingers laced between Rayne’s as he held the top of her hand in his palm. “Rayne, our fate’s were entwined the day I met you in the desert. I will not force you to collaborate with me. I simply came here to ask.”

Itachi’s eyes were confusing. They were calm, excited, anxious, sad, unsure; Rayne figured her eyes looked to be about the same right now. He was a mysterious man. He plagued her, frightened her, made her hate him for what he’d done in the past, and yet now they were sitting here, shoulder to shoulder, holding hands. While Rayne’s mind was having trouble turning the gears, her beating heart helped her speak.

“When I went to Konoha, I made the first set of friends I’d really ever had. I treasured my bond with Naruto, a fellow jinchuuriki. I was a true friend to Sakura, while others had turned their back on her. I developed a love for Sasuke, not for his looks, but for his mind. I saw in him the personality he used to have as a child, and I wanted to bring it out… I learned a lot about myself and I grew from my experiences. While some memories have a dark cloud surrounding them now, Konoha still brought me happiness during my brief time there. I even found my own will of fire…

I’ve tried to stop myself from thinking about them. I left the village on a whim without thinking about it, and I told myself that I wouldn’t regret it…I still care about the safety of my friends, and I still care about the village that is their home.”

Pausing, Rayne looked down at her hand in Itachi’s. Slipping it out from underneath his quickly, she placed her palm on top of his. “Opening up to me was really touching, and I appreciate it. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about Sasuke anymore, and I don’t think I’ll know until I see him again. However, I do know that when it comes to Naruto and Sakura, I want to protect them by doing whatever is necessary. So…I don’t really know what you plan to do after this concerning me, but, I accept your will of fire as my own.”

Itachi’s surprised expression was adorable, and the grin that followed was heart melting. Sitting next to her was a man that wasn’t able to express any thought or feeling for the past couple of years, and right now in front of her they poured out like water through a broken dam. Rayne felt his emotions hit her in waves as he opened up to her; it was almost impossible for her to want to help him.

“My little brother is lucky to have someone like you in his life.” My little brother. Hearing those words come out of Itachi’s mouth made Rayne smile, words that he had been unable to mutter for years. “I gave Naruto Shisui’s eye because I believed it was the only was I could indirectly help him. With you, though, I thought I’d take a different approach.”

“And what would that be?”

“I want to train you in order to fully combat the Sharingan. To let you in on its weakness, strengths, blind spots, abilities, everything. If you are going to fight Sasuke, you will need these techniques in order to survive.”

“Alright, Itachi sensei, that sounds fine.” Rayne joked, smirking at him, thinking he might crack a smile. He didn’t.

“Are you familiar with embedding chakra into another person?” Rayne blinked slowly, opening her eyes wider. “To transfer chakra to another body in order for them to utilize it as their own, or for other purposes.”

“I haven’t exactly seen it done before, so, no, not really.”

“Well, at the end of our training, I’d like to embed my chakra within you. This will make me weaker, but it will be something to fall back on when fighting Sasuke.” Itachi looked at her sternly. It looked like bonding time was over. Rayne had gotten just about all the emotion she could out of him.

That would make Itachi more susceptible to defeat when fighting Sasuke, but then again, that was what he wanted. “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

“Very well then.” Sliding backward, Itachi withdrew his feet from the hot bath, standing back up. “I assume that you’ll be here for quite some time until you master your team work with the six tails. I’ll pay you visits when I can.”

“Are you sure you won’t be caught, being gone so often?” Rayne looked up at him as she watched him walk towards his sandals and cloak. “I can travel somewhere if you’d like, closer to wherever the hideout is.”

“That would be reckless. The danger of you leaving this area and having one of your superiors finding out is too great a risk.” He had a point.

“Any idea when you’ll come next?”

“Tomorrow, mid afternoon. I will meet you back at the shrine where you’ve been training the past few days.”

Past few days? Drawing her feet from the water, Rayne stood straight as Itachi buttoned his cloak. “You mean to tell me you’ve been watching me these past couple of days?!”

“I had to wait for the perfect time to approach you. As I said, confronting you during a bath was strategy. If I faced you while you had been training, you would have attacked without letting me speak.” With the last button snapped, Rayne could no longer see Itachi’s face. “Tomorrow, then.”

With the turn of his heel, Itachi walked toward the wooden divide wall between the hot spring bath and the forest outside. Watching him walk away, a thought crossed Rayne’s mind. “Itachi, I have one other question for you!”

“What is it?”

“The day you met me in the desert when I was ten, you told me you’d help me because my eyes made it impossible to do anything but that. When I saw you in Konoha three years ago, you said something along the lines of still not being able to kill me. I understand that part, seeing as you just told me all about your plan, but I don’t get whose eyes I make you think of.”

Rayne leaned forward, almost as if she were on the edge of her seat while waiting for a response. She had been staring at his back for the second that passed like minutes as she waited for an answer. Abruptly, Itachi looked over his shoulder behind him.

“Your eyes have always reminded me of my mother’s.” And with those final words, he vanished.

The dark corridors of the Akatsuki hideout were quiet as Sasuke wearily passed through, leaning against the walls to support himself. It wasn’t until his meeting with his former friends that Sasuke thought about taking Itachi’s eyes. His later elder brother’s body had been in their possession since the night Sasuke killed him, the same night Obito took him in. While informed of the potential of taking Itachi’s eyes, Sasuke was unmotivated to spring for it. Nevertheless, Obito prepared Itachi’s surgery for the day he knew Sasuke would change his mind. And he did, tonight.

It didn’t feel very different, having another pair of eyes where his used to be. While the idea of losing his own eyes, the eyes that held emotion and memories from the past sixteen years of his life, he found that when he looked in the mirror, nothing had changed. It was disconcerting. He had hoped he wouldn’t be able to recognize his own eyes. Unable to recognize himself, Sasuke would have been able to finally turn his back on every projection that haunted him at night.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door of his room, Sasuke immediately immersed himself in his bed. Not every Akatsuki hideout was well furnished, but the particular location they were in now was their main branch. The room itself didn’t contain much other than the bed, and while it smelled musty, the bed was better than a concrete slab attached to the wall. Adjusting the sheath that had been stabbing him in his hip, Sasuke rolled over onto his back. Shadows from the flickering flames of the candles danced on the ceiling as they illuminated half the room. Even as he watched the dancing orange, the grey in Rayne’s eyes couldn’t slip his mind.

The bracelet around his wrist burned with such intensity, he would have sworn it left a scorch mark on his skin. This heat, the remains of her memory flashing before his eyes was something he wanted to forget.

He didn’t care about her. No, he didn’t.

Sasuke couldn’t remember the last night his sleep went uninterrupted. Somehow, she always crept her way into his dreams, and each dream ranged from the other. Sometimes he’d see her face, and nothing but. On some occasions he’d have a talk with her, but they were mute and he heard nothing. In recent times, there had been dreams where he’d slept with her, and the next morning he’d find her missing from his side.

The worst dream of all, the most frequent dream of all, was when he found himself back at the Valley of the End with his hand through Rayne’s chest. Her erratic heart beat pumping blood to her torn veins, forever staining his skin as the crimson red fell to the ground. He could always feel the rain. Oh, how he felt it, crashing down upon him with the weight of stones as he mourned her. The rain carried her blood out among the rocks, pooling it around him as he laid in her, all of her. Her body, her blood, her life.

…He didn’t care about her. No, he didn’t.

The bracelet burned again, and this time, Sasuke cried out. Her face, a ghoul that plagued him. And her eyes, those damn, empty grey eyes that looked as though they contained nothing, but contained everything. Everything that was him. And he saw it, he saw it again, and it scared him. To know that he was alive, not in a physical form, but within her.

He repeated his mantra; he still didn’t care.

Raising his left arm, Sasuke stared into the slow moving chakra contained in the vial of his bracelet. He still wore this damn thing, and she still wore his mothers damn necklace. Whenever he needed it, that bracelet served as a reminder that he was the walking dead. Cold, translucent, and empty inside…until now.

His mantra broke as the warm sensation tickling his wrist was over shadowed by a presence. Naturally, the darkest area of the room. Of course, Sasuke thought, he would be attacked now while his vision was hindered. No matter, they’d be dead within moment. In a split second Sasuke was lunging off the bed, drawing his sword as he made a forward stab into the wall. After hearing the blade dig into the cement, he wondered if he was being paranoid. While the shadow before him seemed significantly darker, it took his eyes seconds to adjust before he saw the orange flames behind him illuminate a pair of grey eyes.

“Hey.” The driving force from Rayne’s open palm went straight to Sasuke’s chest, projecting him backward as his grip on his uchiaganata loosened. Reaching forward, Rayne grabbed the sword, swinging it around as she lunged after Sasuke, whose knees had hit the edge of the bad. As he bounced on his cushion, Rayne drove the blade straight down to the right of his head, lowering herself in a swift motion as she hissed, “We need to talk.”

Sasuke was stone. Unmoving, he remained pinned down by Rayne’s right hand on his chest, her right knee holding down his left leg, as he opposite foot rested on his. Neither of them spoke. They remained in the same position, taking each other in as Sasuke’s breathing leveled with Rayne’s. It didn’t take him too long to note that her hand wasn’t just randomly pinned to his chest, her hand was over his heart.

Finally, Rayne rose up, but she didn’t move from him. “What, I don’t even get a hello? No, ‘Hey, how are you? You look great for someone who had a hole blown through their chest’?”

Sasuke continued to stare at her, lips parted as though he had something intelligent to say. He knew he didn’t. He hadn’t even wanted to believe she was alive, that maybe she was a projection of a genjutsu, or just his own insanity when he saw her at the bridge earlier today. But now that she was here, now that she was on top of him and he could feel her body, he knew she was real.

Pushing off his chest, Rayne withdrew his long sword from the mattress, cutting the air with it in order to remove the cotton fibers along the blade. Rolling off of him, Rayne sat at his side, her eyes rising to the tip of the blade as she watched his reflection. “I know you must be laying there shitting your pants, but we need to talk about a few things before I give you your sword back.”

How could she? She appeared before him so casually, so nonchalantly, and she just expected him to react lucidly? It wasn’t like he was shocked by her appearance or anything…but he didn’t care. No, he didn’t. Rising from, what he thought to be, a ridiculous position, Sasuke sat up straight on the bed. “How did you get in here?”

“And so he speaks! I snuck in, of course, but it was a bitch to get in here. Zetsu populates this place like an overgrown weed, so I had to take my time maneuvering through the building. I spent a long time trying to figure out which room was yours, too. I didn’t get here long before you did.”

“How did you get by me? How did you know I was here?” The twenty question game. Sasuke didn’t know why he was dodging the main question here. For Rayne, she didn’t care how many questions she had to answer. As long as she got through to Sasuke, he could ask her what she predicted the weather to be like for the next week for all she cared.

“I can feel my own chakra. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that bracelet turned out to be a handy dandy tracker. You should know how I got past you, mister post-optic surgery. Even so, I know that your eyes have already accepted Itachi’s, so you shouldn’t really be that thrown off. Thinking about anything upsetting that threw off your senses?”

“Are the others here as well?” Ignored.

“No. I came alone.”

Sasuke looked back and forth from her eyes, wondering why she’d be there without them. “Do you intend to bring me back yourself?”

The disbelief in Sasuke’s voice struck Rayne’s nerves like a guitar string. “Who said I wanted to bring you back?” Sasuke fluttered his eyes. “I don’t even live in the village, the hell do I care if you go back or not?”

“…Then why are you here?”

“Because it’s fun to scare the shit out of you.” Rayne’s not so sarcastic response brought a smirk to her face as she watched Sasuke quietly look away from her. “I told you, we have a lot to talk about. And since you just asked me a few questions, I think I’m entitled to the same.”

Silence filled the room as Rayne made an attempt to catch Sasuke’s eye, who was intent on avoiding any type of eye contact. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I’m alive?”

Again, Sasuke didn’t move a muscle. Staring at his side profile, Rayne griped as she began to speak, not breaking eye contact with his cheek.

“When you hit me, Rokobi concentrated his chakra to that point in order to absorb your attack. Even while absorbing it, he couldn’t protect my organs and circulatory system. I blacked out after that, you remember. Once you left Kakashi showed up with a medical team. They stabilized me where we were, then rushed me back to Konoha where Tsunade performed a successful surgery. The only thing I have to show for it is a scar on my stomach and back.

When I came to the Konoha elders were summoned to my room, along with Tsunade. They wanted to know everything that happened, so I told them what they wanted to know. I was extremely upset to the point where I began to hate being there. The memories of everything that happened sickened me, and I wanted to get away, go home to Kumo… And when I told them that, they didn’t seem phased. So, we made a deal. We’d stage my death on the operating table so I could return to Kumogakure where I’d be buried, no questions asked. The one condition was that I couldn’t return to Konoha, seeing as everyone would think I was dead. I didn’t give a damn about that since I wanted to get the hell out, so I agreed immediately.

I was transported back to Kumo in a coffin, which was incredibly uncomfortable and eerie to even say out loud. My first stop was the hospital, where I stayed for a while to recover. I was concerned mostly by Rokobi because I hadn’t been able to contact him, but since the seal on my stomach had appeared, the medical team assured me he was alive. I recovered, got out of the hospital, trained, and joined the Special Operatives team…So, there’s my story.”

Sasuke remained still after her voice faded. The light from the candle made his cheek glow orange, soon spreading to the bridge of his nose as he turned his head slowly. “Why’d you leave?”

Tilting her head to the side, Rayne craned her neck around to look at his face. While she smirked, his eyes returned to the corner of the room. “You moved on, made a life for yourself. Why did you leave?”

“Because I saw you again.” Finally, Rayne got Sasuke to look at her, face to face. She wasn’t exactly sure how she meant that, be it she saw him to act on Itachi’s behalf or on her own, and she wasn’t quite sure how Sasuke took it, but the shock in his widened onyx eyes spoke for him.

“When?”

“The day you came to Kumo in order to capture the eight tails. I was the one who had stopped you.”

“You were the woman Karin talked about…”

Rayne sighed, twisting her bangs between her fingers. “I knew she wouldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

“You healed my wounds.”

“Of course I did, you would have died if I hadn’t stepped in. That, and I didn’t feel like seeing any more teeth marks put on that girls body.” Rayne spoke slightly perturbed.

“You saw them.”

“I mean, really. How does someone transfer chakra that way? It was just an excuse to get you to touch her in an erotic way…putting your mouth on her body…” Rayne tried hard to suppress the urge to punch him. It wasn’t that she was jealous he had put his mouth on Karin, biting her body in various places. He probably didn’t care, but he had to know what she was doing. For him to go through such a thing was totally out of character.

“It was a way to replace lost chakra. Nothing more.” Sasuke’s statement was flat, leaving nothing for Rayne to discuss further. Time for another awkward silence. “Why did you save me?”

Rayne’s eyes popped, then her lids slowly closed over them. “We didn’t have much of a conversation yet. The answer to that question brings me to why I’m here.”

“Then answer it.” They had turned away from each other, staring straight ahead as they sat on the bed, Rayne tracing his shadow with her eyes.

“I’ll think about it. In the mean time, why don’t you answer a few questions of my own.”

“Three questions.” Rayne glared at him from the corner of her eye. “Three questions, then you tell me why you’re here.”

Three wouldn’t be nearly enough to gather information, or to persuade Sasuke to return to Konoha. Biting her tongue, Rayne took time to think of the proper questions to trigger emotion from Sasuke. Even while she remained silent for minutes, Sasuke patiently waited for her to begin speaking.

“Was leaving to be with Orochimaru worth it? I see he taught you how to use a long sword.”

“Yes. I learned a bit from him, but I’ve grown on my own since I left.”

“After you killed him.”

“So you’ve heard.”

“How does it feel to be a murderer, Sasuke?”

This got him to look at her once more. The solid line his lips formed didn’t crack as he stared over at her for a lengthy amount of time, orange flickering in his eyes. “I’ve killed those that needed to be brought to justice, avoiding unnecessary battles.”

“Do you think Itachi would be proud of you?”

The corner of Sasuke’s mouth turned upward as it twitched, his lips separating as he snarled, his eyes narrowing at her harshly. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m here on behalf of Itachi.”

“What?” She had barely gotten his name out before Sasuke sat up straight, staring at her with his mouth parted.

“About a year and a half ago Itachi sought me out. In talking he revealed to me the truth of the Uchiha Massacre, along with the role he played. By the end of our conversation he asked me if I would inherit his will and promise to take care of you after his passing. So, that’s what I’m doing here.”

“What exactly do you mean, ‘take care of’?”

“You should realize what that means. Itachi lived in order to protect Konoha; he even joined the Akatsuki in order to keep tabs on Obito and Madara. He sacrificed everything he had for the love of his village, and his little brother. The last thing he wants is you to forsake everything he worked for and turn against your homeland.”

“Ridiculous!” The mattress shook under Sasuke’s weight as he clenched his fists, grinding his teeth together as he stared at the floor maliciously. “The village turned against him. I refuse to live in a village that took my entire family away from me!”

Without any expression, Rayne watched him. His onyx eyes seemed ever so darker when he spoke of Konoha, filled with hate and desire to watch it crumble and fall by his hand. Massaging the back of her neck, Rayne returned her gaze to the wall.

“You think after being dead for three years you can return nonchalantly and tell me what to do?!”

“I didn’t expect you to hold my hand and walk out of here. So save your adrenaline rush for our fight.”

“Che, you intend to fight me?” There he went, plucking her nerve strings again. “You think what I did that night at the Valley of the End was bad? I could destroy you if I wanted to.”

“Then do it.” With a lifted brow, Rayne looked up at Sasuke through her bangs, smirking at his dumb expression. “Your stupid face hasn’t changed much.”

Silently, he calmed down as his eyes broke from hers. “Yours has…” It was strange how his image of Rayne’s face in his dreams was eerily similar to the way she looked in the present.

“I didn’t come here to negotiate with you.” Standing up, Rayne turned to face Sasuke as she returned his sword. “I came here to do a job. And if the time calls for it, I’m prepared to do the worst.”

Chin pointed down, Sasuke eyed Rayne as he returned his sword to it’s sheath. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t exactly care about what happened to you when I woke up. I thought about you, but I learned to repress it, that is, until Itachi came looking for me. When I agreed to do this for him, I agreed because a small part of me still lingered on you. Right now, in this moment, as I stand here before you…I’m not too sure what I want or how I feel. I won’t know until my fist hits yours. That’s how it was at the Valley, right? That was when I knew.”

’I love you, Sasuke. Haven’t you realized that yet?’ A proclamation of love that he never returned. That was when he knew, too… but that was part of the past. Afterall, he didn’t care about her.

“So…think your eyes are healed enough for battle? I’ve been stalling so you can come at me with all you’ve got.” Rayne barely glanced over her shoulder as Sasuke stood behind her.

“We’ll go to the lake at the bottom of the mountain. We should be uninterrupted there.”

“Good.”

Slipping out the door way, Sasuke quietly walked behind Rayne as they retraced her steps into the cavern. Three years ago their last meeting ended with a fight, and now they were meeting again under the same circumstance. This time though, it was different. This wasn’t Rayne chasing after him, pleading with him to come back to the village with her. This was Rayne seeking him out because she was asked to. She wasn’t acting on her own; she didn’t even know how she felt about him. It was just a job…

Did she still care about him? …It wasn’t really important…because he didn’t care.

That’s right, he didn’t.

He didn’t…

Right?

Water crashed into itself as it descended from atop the rocky waterfall. A soft wind blew through the trees, branches scratching together as weak twigs broke off and fell. The ground surrounding the lake was soft, mud compressing as Rayne stood on top of it. Opening her eyes, she looked ahead to see the red Uchiha symbol on the back of Sasuke’s shirt.

“It’s ironic, isn’t it? All this time has passed and here we are, repeating ourselves.” Sasuke’s raven bangs blew over his face as he turned to look at her, hair covering his mouth so Rayne was unable to read his expression. “A similar setting, a similar situation-“

“One would think you’d want to spare yourself after our last encounter.” Sasuke turned, peering across at Rayne who stood with her toes at the water bank. “You’re digging your own grave.”

She scoffed. “If you think you won that battle, you’re mistaken. I dropped my guard; that doesn’t count as a victory…though I appreciate the warning.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his face stiffening into an unreadable expression. His eyes didn’t move from hers, and Rayne felt herself spinning into those dark holes. Was that what he had given her? A warning? That’s how Sasuke used to work, masking any emotion through harsh words. But was that who he was anymore? Or was he this shell of a young man he made himself out to be by first glance?

He complied when Rayne invited him outside to fight her, but he hadn’t made a move. Did he not care to, or did he not find her intimidating? The thought of him not seeing her as a challenge pissed her off, and a spark of anger ignited the part of her brain that acted before rational thought could tell her to do otherwise. If that bastard was going to stand there like a statue, she’d make him move.

A smirk graced her lips. “I don’t know what you’re waiting for. There’s no formality needed between us. Or are you procrastinating so you can enjoy my company.”

Rayne didn’t want to stand here and look at him any longer as images of the past flashed through her memory. She wanted to understand why she had come in the first place.

A quick kick of the heel and Sasuke was running toward her, sword drawn from its sheath. Rayne watched with amusement in her eyes as Sasuke’s blade descended upon her shoulder blade. With a spark, it was stopped an inch before it made contact.

Sasuke’s dark eyes narrowed. “I clashed with the raikage at the summit. I’m already familiar with your ability to protect your body with chakra.”

“That’s nice to hear, but I’m far more advanced.” The clenched fist she threw was dodged as Sasuke slipped to her right. With his blade coated in his own chakra, he made another jab at her. Swiftly moving out of the way, Rayne made a quick turn around to see Sasuke’s blade descending upon her once more.

Sparks formed as Rayne punched the tip of the blade while Sasuke made attempts to attack her from every direction. Back and forth they went, fiery orange reflecting off their eyes as they watched one another, studying each other. From what Rayne analyzed, Sasuke was very formal with his sword style. He knew where fatal points were on the body, and he made every effort to hit them. But each attack was a similar motion, and Rayne had it memorized after the first few clashes of her fist against his sword.

He’d attack the mid section first, and would then swing his body around to attack her right side. Back to back, Rayne and Sasuke turned together before they broke apart, and he went for the lower section of her body. Stepping over his blade, Rayne went for a kick at his right, which was blocked by his arm. As his sword tore through the water, Rayne forced herself upward, spinning in the air before she did a series of back flips to make distance between them.

“Nimble.” A single word was all Sasuke uttered as he swiped the air with his sword, steadying it with both hands. A spark emitted from base to tip as the chirping sound of chidori pierced the air around them.

“You’ve learned how to project your chakra.” Regaining a fighting stance, Rayne prepared herself as Sasuke charged her. Aimed for her ribs, Sasuke thrust forward as his blade closed in on its mark. Before the tip sunk into Rayne’s flesh, it was caught with her gloved hand, his chakra immediately dispersing.

Without a word, Rayne tightened her grip on the sword, repelling the chakra she had just absorbed back through the blade, into his hands, and through his body. Thrown backward by the intensity of the shock, Sasuke skimmed the top of the water as the electric chakra zapped around him. Gritting his teeth, he peered over his body to watch the chakra barrier Rayne had cast around her body intensify.

“Lightning is my element now. You’ll have to be more creative than that to use it against me.” Rayne passed the abandoned sword from hand to hand before she tossed it back toward the grass behind them. “I can absord the attacks you throw at me and conduct your chakra as my own, throwing it back at you with stronger force.”

“Insignificant.” Standing tall, Sasuke widened his eyes for a moment as he activated his Mangekyou. “I shouldn’t have to rely on such a weak element as an Uchiha.”

“You pompous bastard!” Rayne spat as she rushed forward, cocking her fist back while strengthening the chakra around it. When she was close enough to Sasuke, who stood there inviting her attack, she swung her fist at his chest. Unexpectedly, she was stopped by what appeared to be an illuminated purple rib cage. “Susa-“

The purple chakra knocked her backward, flat on the waters surface as she slid to a halt several feet away from where she had previously been.

“My eyes are more powerful than you can imagine. Your simple taijutsu can’t affect me.” They were flashing their ego’s at one another.

“You mean the simple taijutsu that made you fall over?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her while she stepped closer. “I don’t need the Sharingan to see the lacking jutsu in your arsenal. There are only so many moves you can make, and I’m aware of each of them. If you’re expecting me to gawk at your shitty rendition of Itachi’s jutsu, you’re wrong!”

At the mention of the elder brothers name, Sasuke rushed forward at top speed, a foot swinging at the side of Rayne’s head. Catching his ankle within her hands, Rayne spun his body in mid air. Bending forward, Sasuke positioned his hands on top of the water as Rayne released his ankles. With a turn of his lower body, he made a swipe at her feet, which she dodged with a backward flip.

“Still talking as if you know everything!” Sasuke shouted at her, pure fury burning in his throat as she caught his punch.

“The only difference is this time, I do know!” He caught her fist.

“Stop acting like a saint! All you’re doing is carrying out an assignment for my brother, nothing more! You can stand here and pretend to care as much as you want, but I know damn well you don’t. Your effort is empty and meaningless!”

“So what? I’m putting my ass on the line to carry out the will of your brother, because you’re too selfish to do it yourself!” Their fists tightened around one another, the suede of Rayne’s gloves becoming taunt.

“Selfish? I’m doing him a favor! Taking revenge on the Leaf for setting him up and giving him no choice other than to do what he did!”

“You may have gotten your eyes replaced, but you’re still blind to the world around you! Tunnel vision!” Ripping away from each other, Sasuke formed chidori in his hand while Rayne occupied herself with distributing her chakra flow at a faster pace.

“You’re one to talk! Even after all this time, you’re still chasing after me!” The familiar ball of bluish white descended on her, but Rayne caught it in an instant, her palm igniting with electricity as chidori dissolved into her pores.

“I have never been selfish enough to chase after you for my own benefit! All this time, I’ve only been fulfilling the wishes of others!” Suddenly Sasuke’s right hand rose, another chidori formed and ready to come into contact with Rayne’s left shoulder, as that was the arm holding his in place. Awkwardly maneuvering her right arm beneath her left, she caught that attack as well.

“Wishes of the Leaf, is that it? Everyone living there is living because of Itachi’s sacrifrice!”

“Everyone is living because Itachi refused to allow his clan to commit treason! They have no idea of the sacrifice he made; that’s something I want to change!”

“So what if you do? That isn’t going to bring back my family!” While they had been yelling, their faces closed in on one another. At their small distance, Rayne could now see the darkness that had fully engulfed Sasuke’s eyes. It was darker than black itself. “You think just because you feel for my brother you can change my mind? You think that fact that you’re you has any remaining significance to me?”

The two chidori buried within Rayne’s palms intensified once more as the purple chakra of Sasuke’s forming Susanoo enveloped them.

“The fact that you’re alive means nothing to me. If you were buried within the soil, you’d only be one less person I’d have to kill now!”

Sasuke’s right fist broke free of Rayne’s grip as he drew his arm back. Holding her left arm still with his own, Sasuke landed a hard punch to her cheek bone, forcing her body to turn to the left as he pulled her arm behind her back, which he then kicked continuously. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he forced her down, driving her face underwater as he pressed his foot on her back.

*What did you call that move?!* Rokobi growled from inside her. The hatred Rayne felt from him made it seem like he was going to rip through her chest. *Let me out of here, Rayne! I’m going to rip that ignorant head off of his shoulders and suck the blood from his body!*

‘Rokobi, please.’

*Do not ‘please’ me! Have you heard enough, now? Itachi didn’t train you to make up with Sasuke. He trained you to kill him.*

Rayne watched the bubbles from her last escaping breaths pool around her mouth, floating upward as they clung to her cheeks. Submersing all senses within the lake, Rayne felt herself emerge in her inner cage, eyes staring at the dark plated ceiling as she lay in the golden water.

*Retreating in here while you’re being drowned isn’t very strategic.* Rayne moved onto her knees as she pushed herself up, narrowing her eyes to match Rokobi’s. *Let me out of this cage and I’ll take care of him in a matter of minutes.*

“No. Sasuke is my fight, I have to choose-“

*You’ve played this game long enough, Rayne! You’ve had three years to think about what you want to do concerning Sasuke after you left Konoha, which you did because you didn’t want to be reminded of him. Then you took on this favor for his brother as just that, a favor. I’m not going to play this teenage girl “I-love-him-I-love-him-not” game anymore!*

Rayne clenched her fists, pounding them into the water, her eyebrows like mountain peaks as she snarled. “Agh, you know what, Rokobi? Fuck the romance! I wouldn’t care less if Sasuke were boning that Karin chick! I don’t care about the way he feels! I’m saving him because I-“

She stopped herself, her body recoiling as her gaze shifted from Rokobi to the golden water beneath her. Looking back were a pair of grey eyes, her eyes, the eyes she had three years ago. That stoic determination pierced Rayne as she her younger self manifested in her relfection, staring back at her with the confidence she lacked.

*Young as you were, you were still stronger three years ago than you are today.* Rayne felt a pounding in her head as Rokobi’s tail wrapped itself around her, forcing her face closer to the water. *Your honesty made you strong. You were able to make a decision based on your feelings and back yourself every step of the way. What happened between then and now, Rayne?*

Her face was so close to the water, Rayne thought she’d inhale it through her nose. "…Standing there, it felt like I was suffocating. All of these thoughts and images of the past flashed before my eyes, unclear, yet uniform at the same time. As every thought passed in a motioned blur, the one thing that remained clear to me was Sasuke's face. All these memories, I saw them in his eyes. His eyes appear to be inhuman and disconnected, but I can still see the image of myself in them. I know I'm there; somewhere, I'm in his heart…”

Reaching behind her, Rayne dug her fingers into Rokobi’s tail, pushing the weight off of her to enable herself to look up at him. "I've said it time and time again, that I wouldn't know how I felt about Sasuke until I saw him again. He's been standing before me for the past twenty minutes, but standing nose to nose with him just now, I finally saw him. I saw the part of himself he left behind with me when he left Konoha, and I intend to make him see that, too.”

With a forceful push, Rayne tossed the tail off of her back, standing up immediately. “Now instead of telling me how ridiculous it is that I couldn’t decide what I wanted until now, how’s about you listen to me when I tell you that I’m not going to strike Sasuke down carelessly.”

Rayne had just caught her breath when she felt Rokobi’s paw against her stomach, forcing it out of her. Looking up, she could see his face closing in on her, his eyes gaining intensity as his gaze fell upon her. The less the light shone on the crimson orbs, the more dilated his diamond shaped pupils became.

*My stomach is jolting with the desires to dismember that boys body and eat his bones for what he's done to you. You say you've affirmed your feelings, but I am not so sure about mine.*

Rayne's gloved hand rested on the golden yellow paw that pressed against her. "I understand where you're coming from, and I don't intend to die here. 'By whatever means necessary' still stands, but I need you to trust in my decision. Itachi said that just as strong as Sasuke's hatred is his love for me. There's a fine line between love and hate, so let's see which side he's standing on."

*Very well.* Rokobi's paw withdrew, his fur beginning to stand on end as his electric chakra sparked around him. *But if I feel the need, his head will be within my teeth.*

Rayne's crimson eyes opened wide as she looked deep into the dark water.The free hand that had been pulling at Sasuke wrist fell into the water as Rayne felt the rush of chakra through her cells, concentrated into her palm. Holding her hand forward, she watched as a small, light spark soon turned into a flash of light as lighting spread throughout the water. A popping noise could be heard in Rayne’s ears as the electricity broke through the surface of the water, and the lack of pressure against her head told her Sasuke had let go. Rayne broke for air once more, inhaling it hungrily while coughing from her lack of oxygen. The zapping sound of the water particles mixing with her chakra danced in her ear drums as she turned to see that Sasuke had fled back to land. Smart guy.

Rayne shook her head like a damp dog, water flying off the ends as it returned to its normal, bouncy appearance. From afar, Sasuke’s snide smirk crossed his lips. “I was wondering if you were going to be that pathetically easy to knock off.”

“I was wondering if that was a weak attempt to kill me because you’re feeling the affects of your surgery.”

“Taking advantage of a situation.”

“As I said, there isn’t any formality between us. Kicking you when you’re down certainly gives me the upper hand in this situation.”

“My eyes in this state are enough to beat you.”

“You mean Itachi’s eyes.” Rising to her feet, Rayne turned around with a snarl to see Sasuke’s anticipating stance. Susanoo was active,wrapping around his body as his protective guardian peered down at Rayne’s ant like form in comparison. “They aren’t yours, so stop referring to them like they are!”

Charging her body with chakra energy, Rayne rushed forward, holding her right fist backward as air began to swell within her palm. Unmoving, Sasuke looked skeptically as he watched a ball of white, yellow light form in her hand. Chidori? No, it didn’t have the same sound. In fact, it didn’t have a sound at all. As Rayne came closer, the ribs of Susanoo wrapped around Sasuke tighter.

“Thunder Sabre!” As Rayne’s fist connected with the glowing purple ribcage, a bright light broke out around them, sparks flying around every which way it could. The pressure of Rayne’s fist matched the resistence of Susanoo, but the fight for dominance between the two forces ended as Rayne’s attack fizzled, and crackled away.

“Thunder Sabre, huh?” Sasuke smiled snidely. “What a pitiful excuse for Chidori.”

“Kiss my ass.”

Sasuke’s pupils dilated in surprise as the surge of Rayne’s attack manifested like a bullet. As if she had shot a gun, the shock wave of Rayne’s attack hit him, forcing him backward, crashing on the waters surface yards away until he tumbled backward into the rocky edge of the waterfall. He didn’t have long to compose himself as Rayne descended on him with her leg. Rolling out of the way, Sasuke dodged Rayne’s attack. Instead, her calf connected with the remains of the rock Sasuke had hit, blowing it apart in numerous chunks that came flying at him like daggers.

Actually, they were flying too fast. As the dust cleared, Sasuke could make out Rayne, who had been throwing broken parts of the large boulder at him. With one last chuck, she came running at him, her fist cocked back. “That was a Guillotine Drop! And this is-“

As Sasuke went to block Rayne’s punch, she stopped, ducking beneath his arm, striking his left kidney with a horizontal swipe. “Is called a Brutal Horizontal! Just letting you know if you want to fucking poke more fun at me!”

While Sasuke had stumbled to the side catching his breath, he gathered chakra in his hand to form Chidori. Pressing his foot firmly on the waters surface, he propelled himself back at her, his fist closing in on her face. Catching his attack, Rayne absorbed his chakra, lacing fingers with him instead. As she pulled him forward, one hand in his, one behind his neck, she hesitated as his face got closer to hers. It was as if time slowed down around them while their noses were inches apart, their eyes fixated on each other. Rayne took a moment to smirk; as close as they were, the desire to rip each other apart was clear in both their eyes.

Swiping his feet beneath hers, Sasuke knocked Rayne off balance, pushing her down onto the water with his free hand. Quickly forming Chidori in his finger tips once more, he pointed them like needles, making a stab at her chest. As he went to kneel atop of her, securing her down, Rayne reached out for the skirt he wore. Pulling herself up by it, she shoved her left shoulder into his abdomen, knocking the air out of him as she pinned him down. While she spared herself from a full frontal attack, Sasuke’s Chidori still managed to cut her upper left arm. Blood cascaded down her skin, dispersing into the water as it fell.

Huffing, Rayne stared down at him with crimson eyes. She could feel Rokobi inside her, telling her to learn forward at bite his jugular with her fangs. It felt as though someone was pushing her head down toward him, and she did her best to fight the mental urge to do so. Sasuke’s skin color was distorted from the cloud of dust he had been in when hitting the large boulder, accompanied by scratches and darker spots where shards of rock had hit him. Sasuke watched as Rayne’s eyes studied him, crimson red slowly taking in each curve of his face as her nails dug into his shoulders, keeping him securely in place.

“I have to say this is a lot less interesting than I thought it would be.” Rayne blurt out, looking down into his dim Sharingan. A sharp pain hit her core as she realized she had made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Her body overcome with a numb pain, Rayne watched as Sasuke’s clone disappeared from beneath her. Behind, she could hear the loud sparking of Chidori.

“I told you. My eyes in this state are enough to beat you.”

As Sasuke’s chidori descended upon Rayne’s back, she turned to face him, the dark, crimson pupils of her eyes dilating. Without warning, a long tail of chakra emerged from Rayne’s backside, wrapping itself around Sasuke as it forcefully pushed him back. Rising upward, Sasuke was propelled up the side of a cliff parallel to where they had been.

“Shit, Rokobi.” Rayne muttered under her breath as she turned her body, standing atop of the water as the tail of chakra retracted. From atop the cliff side, Rayne watched Sasuke slowly pick himself back up. A chill ran down her spine; this was all too familiar.

“Sasuke,” she started.

“No.” Sasuke’s nerves twitched. “Don’t speak.”

Rayne squint her eyes in an attempt to make out his expression. “Sasuke…if I really wanted to kill you, I would have done so by now.”

“You’re far too soft for the reputation you believe you have.”

“…A wise man, who I hold the utmost respect for, once told me that a shinobi’s strongest feelings could be their greatest strength. I-“

“Now you sound like that idiot, Naruto.”

Rayne paused. “…I still hold a strong-“

“Sakura.” He cut her off again. Rayne slammed her foot down hard on the waters surface.

“Dammit, Sasuke! Enough with the mockery!”

“I’ve already told you, I have no remaining feelings for you, or that village! I left them behind!”
“You did leave them behind; you left them behind with me! And now that I’m here-“

“Naruto…Sakura…” Sasuke cutting her off was eating away at Rayne’s nerves. “Would you be so forgiving of me if I killed them?”

“I wouldn’t allow it.” Rayne snapped back, getting her answer in before he started talking again.

“If I were to kill every single person you cared about, would you be so forgiving then, Rayne?! Would you be able to forgive the person who murdered every-“

“If you were to kill every single person I cared about!” Rayne shouted, pausing for a second to allow Sasuke to stop shouting, “…Then you’d have to kill yourself as well, Sasuke.”

Sasuke’s entire body shook from the rush of adrenaline accompanying his anger. His fists balled, eyes bleeding as his eternal Mangekyou shone through the onyx. “I don’t have those feelings anymore! I left them behind with the bond I broke with you and everyone else!”

“After all this time there has still been something to connect us, Sasuke!” Extending her arm, Rayne fiercly pointed in his direction. “That bracelet! If you were able to forget the past as easily as you say, then that bracelet wouldn’t be on your wrist! And that’s the one thing that’s held us together, along with this necklace! There’s still hope!”

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, dipping his head before hardening his expression. “Hope is a ridiculous theory. Nothing you say can change me now! You’re too late, Rayne!”

“Stubborn as ever.” Rayne mumbled as she watched Sasuke leap from side of the cliff, his chidori growing from a small spark to an intense ball of light as he fixated on her.

’A similar place, a similar situation.’ Rayne’s words echoed in her head. ’There’s nothing you can say to change me now.’ Her lips parted as she took a deep breath, her chest tightening as time seemed to slow around her.

“We’re set up to repeat the past, Sasuke! Actions speak louder than words!”

Rayne felt a draw on Rokobi’s chakra as he attempted to strengthen his hold on her. Ignoring his protests and desperate attempt to gain control of her body, Rayne thrust his chakra back to her inner cage. Opening her gray eyes to Sasuke, every hair standing on end told Rayne to move, but she refused. Arms wide open, and her legs grounded to the water, she stood still, welcoming the same chidori attack she had three years ago.

It only took one second out of the few remaining for Sasuke to see Rayne as he had three years ago while he descended upon her. His target had been the same, and he was lined up perfectly; her abdomen, right beneath her breasts. While his eyes locked onto his target, he looked up at her gray eyes one last time to take his final nostalgic trip to the past. He saw her tears, he smelt her blood, he felt her corpse, and he heard his screams. The screams that echoed throughout his conscience, blocking out the electric sounds of chidori as it made contact with force.

Water from the lake erupted around their bodies as if an explosion had been set off beneath their feet. One giant wave threw up thousands of water droplets into the air, descending shortly after as rain drops that felt like daggers against Sasuke’s skin. Staring down into the water, he saw his clenched fist, particles of electricity burning out around his skin.

“You’re a terrible liar, Sasuke.”

While his blackening eyes focused upward, a shock of panic and confusion struck him like the very lightning he had just dispersed. Sasuke stayed silent as he looked up into a pair of red Sharingan eyes. As he stepped back, his eyes only took in a world of crimson; a world where the sky bled and black clouds rolled.

While Sasuke told himself he couldn’t possibly be where he thought he was, his brain rationalized otherwise. A crimson sky blended with a fiery orange and black void. A clear plane where nothing stood, and no end could be seen. This couldn’t be death; he wasn’t dead. The last thing he saw was Rayne activate the Sharingan.

“What kind of sick illusion is this?” Sasuke fumed. As each second ticked away, he became more and more aggravated. Had Rayne mastered genjutsu to the point where she could fabricate the Sharingan? He never thought it possible, especially to have this sort of outcome. This all could have been an illusion, it would be impossible for him to be where he thought he was.

“I would have thought you were familiar enough with tsukiyomi to recognize it by now.” Itachi’s calm tone came from over Sasuke’s shoulder. Slowly, Sasuke’s chin rose over his left shoulder as he peered behind him. Surely enough, there he was.

“Itachi.” Sasuke felt his blood cascade down his cheeks while activating his mangekyo. “What a farce. Rayne, to think you would go so far to imitate my brother.”

Itachi’s head shook from where he sat on a blackened log that was nothing but hollow soot, appearing to have burned to its core. “It would seem as though you have my eyes, you are still blind to the world around you.”

“Do you think I am so fragile and naive that I would fall for childish illusions!? Itachi is dead, just like everyone else! I killed him with my own two hands, why would I ever be convinced that just for a minute he could be projected before me!” Sasuke reached behind him to grab his sword. As soon as his hand connected with the air where his sword used to be, he remembered Rayne throwing it out of range during their fight.

“Sasuke, while I am aware you are skeptical of your situation, I implore you sit down.This state of tsukiyomi is a fragile one, and will not last any longer than twenty minutes.” Itachi’s eyes looked out toward the vast horizon of red and orange, with no end to be seen. “In order to create a longer time frame, a significant amount of chakra is still needed. I placed enough in Rayne to project me before you for close to twenty minutes, but even that amount of time is pushing her limits.”

“You placed your chakra in her?”

“Did you ever stop to wonder why you never attained tsukiyomi the moment you took my eyes? Or why it was painfully obvious that I had been previously weakened during our final fight?” The corner of Itachi’s mouth turned upward into an out of character smirk. “I was weak because I had spent nearly the entire year training Rayne to combat the Sharingan. Before you sought me out, I transferred my chakra to her, along with tsukiyomi to be activated during her fight with you when her body reached a particular amount of stress.”

Sasuke took a moment to ponder Itachi’s words. “So even if she were near death, she could have activated tsukiyomi at the last moment.”

“Incorrect.” Sasuke sat down next to his brother, turning to his left to express his confusion. “Rayne had no control over tsukiyomi, she isn’t a Sharingan user. The Sharingan that appeared in her eyes was simply the remnants of my power given to her. You haven’t attained tsukiyomi, because I placed it within her.”

“It seems as though you’ve gone through a lot of trouble for this moment, and for what?”

“To guarentee a chance to speak to you after my death.”

Sasuke’s brows came together in confusion and upset, rather than anger. “What could you possibly have to say to me now that you wouldn’t say when you were alive?”

“The truth, Sasuke.” Itachi’s dark eyes pierced the bloody crimson of his younger brothers. “Have you taken a look around? Could you have any possible idea where we are?”

“We aren’t anywhere. This world is empty and vast.”

“You must look deeper, Sasuke. Nothing in this world is ever going to come to light for you without you looking for it first.”

Looking away, Sasuke combed the landscape before him. As he said, he saw nothing. The red-orange plane was mostly flat, with small black lumps around the ground that appeared in mass. As Sasuke’s body turned to follow his eye movements, the black mass he found closest was a pile of debris; charred wood and broken stone laid around him. Smoke at the top of each pile signified a fire.

“Are you aware that while you chased me down, the Leaf village was destroyed by the remaining Akatsuki?”

“I am.”

“Did you ever stop to think about our home?” The silence remained. “…It lies in complete ruin; there’s nothing to return to. Similar to the way our family faded away, so has the last remnants of their lives. Our history lies within the confines of broken stone and fire, waiting to be rebuilt as new.” An even longer silence followed. “Sasuke…to take extra precaution, I guaranteed this time with you so I could share with you the truth of our clans massacre. I have set enough chakra aside for that.”

Itachi’s fingers rose in the classic fashion they always did; his middle and pointer together in his forehead poke style. “I would like to confirm what has happened in the past, directly from me.”

And then it came. The history, the deceit, the death of his family, and the heartache and self destruct of his brother. Sasuke saw Danzo, and felt the satisfaction he did when he killed him once more. He saw his mother and father, their backs turned to Itachi as he held the katana he would slay them with, crying in a silent plea for forgiveness.

“Take care of Sasuke”…Out of everything that he saw and heard, the words from his father would be what Sasuke took away from this. “The way we think is different, but I am still proud of you. You really are gentle.”

Even while he faced him in death, their father was still proud of Itachi. And their father, the cold hearted man who favored of his oldest son thought of him in death. “Promise me you’ll take care of Sasuke.”

“Sasuke, I did not spare your life so you could grow to learn the truth, and undo all that I did to keep the village safe. I instilled my hopes of a better future in you; I truly believed you could be the change the world needed…but even so, I have needed to take precaution; for the villages sake, as well as yours, providing Rayne with the means to kill you if needed.”

“Why did you choose her?” Sasuke’s knew he sounded pathetic. His voice fell to a quiet squeak as he himself pondered the undertone of his question.

“Because out of everyone I could have thrown at you, Rayne was the one who would make the most impact.” Itachi reclined his neck, his eyes fixated on the black hellish heaven Tsukiyomi had to offer him. “If I put enough effort into it, I could have implanted a genjutsu within you when we fought to be triggered at a certain moment. I could have projected anyone before you to speak to you, be it myself, or mother…but even she wouldn’t be enough to attain your attention. The first person you cherished after suffering such turmoil and heartache; the beloved person that you killed in a moment of selfish anger…it was clear to me that Rayne would be the one to reach you. No matter how far in the dark you’ve wandered, you still can’t wash your hands of her blood, little brother…

“I never instructed her on how to enforce her position as my moderator…she chose her approach.” Itachi smiled silently to himself. “I’m not too sure she knew how to go about it herself, but she accepted my proposition with enough coaxing.”

Sasuke remained silent, his eyes fixated forward as his mind numbed.

“Not that it will be of any meaning to you, but I truly believe that Rayne bears an illusion of hatred that masks her true feelings, similar to yourself.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Sasuke’s tone of voice hinted at suspicion.

“Foolish little brother.” That irked Sasuke. Itachi sounded the same as he did three years ago when he confronted him after the Chunin Exam. “I’m guiding you by the hand enough as it is.”

“You threaten me by telling me you’ve provided Rayne with the means to kill me, and yet you talk to me as though you wish for me to live, and make everything the Uchiha stood for seem ‘right.’” Sasuke sighed as a smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. “To be honest, you’re speaking in riddles. You make no sense at all.”

“It isn’t my position to give you instructions.” Itachi replied quickly. “While it selfish of me to assume the role of the brother figure this late in life, I have only wished to speak with you so I can share my thoughts, and the measures I have taken to ensure the protection of both my village, and my little brother.”

“By killing me, is that it?” Sasuke snarled. “Gloating about knowing Rayne’s feelings, do you really think she’d have it in her to kill me?”

“Seeing as you had it in you to kill her, I don’t see why not.” That shut Sasuke up. He was quick to make a killing attack, and with animosity built up over the past three years, what would hold Rayne back from making the same move if that’s what it came down to? After all, she didn’t promise Itachi she’d spare his life, she only promised that she would save him.

“You said before that Rayne’s body wouldn’t be able to withstand the strain of your chakra…how could you be sure that she would have enough strength to continue fighting after your genjutsu is broken?”

“I’m not.” Itachi was as stoic as a marble sculpture while he spoke. “If she cannot fight after this genjutsu is released, it will simply mean she’s dead.” The lack of remorse in Itachi’s voice caught Sasuke off guard. What happened to the nonchalant character he was talking to ten seconds ago?

“You’re telling me you led her into this knowing full well that it could kill her.”

“Correct.”

Sasuke couldn’t form words. While carrying on this conversation, he had actually believed that he saw his brother the same way he did when he was eight years old. He believed he was speaking to the kind hearted, selfless Itachi that he looked up to, and strived to be like as a child…and then he went and spoke of the danger he put Rayne in, knowing full well of the possible outcome. And while several colorful words buzzed around in Sasuke’s head, he formed the most idiotic sentence he had during their entire conversation. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

Not even a second. Not even a full second had passed before Itachi shot out his response.

“I am?” Sasuke repeated under his breath. “I…am? …” Raising his clenched fist, Sasuke drove his knuckles straight under Itachi’s right cheek bone as hard as he could. As he watched Itachi’s body turn from the force, he only wished that he heard his neck snap as it did. Falling ungracefully, Itachi glanced over to Sasuke, who was now leaning over him.

“I. Am.FUCK YOU, “I AM!”” Sasuke grabbed Itachi by the collar, hoisting his face closer to his own while he screamed. “You went out of your way to lure Rayne into a death sentence because of your own selfish desires! Tell me how someone as focused on the “greater good” of-“

“You and I aren’t much different at all…we’ve each acted out of selfish desire, and we’ve dragged the same person into it with us.” Sasuke grew silent. “And while your hands are already stained with her blood, I have prepared myself to stain my own as well.”

After a few moments of stagnant eye contact, Sasuke released Itachi’s shirt, rising to his own feet, only to be stopped by his brothers words. “Why did you hit me?”

“What?” Sasuke wasn’t sure why he was in such disbelief.

Itachi crouched forward as he lifted himself from the ground. “You hit me on instinct when I told you the life or death position Rayne has walked into.”

“And?”

“Why did you do it?”

“You’re manipulating someone who would otherwise be living a new life right now…that’s why…” Sasuke had to look away from him. He couldn’t look Itachi in his eyes as see his reflecting in the dark black.

“Would you have preferred to never see her again?”

“Why is she suddenly so imperative to this conversation?” Sasuke reconstructed his tower of defense, or at least he tried.

Itachi’s eyes softened into an internal smile. “The two of you are strikingly similar. You’ve almost reacted the same way she did when I began asking her about her feelings for you.”

Feelings. Implying that they actively existing.

“Almost…?” Sasuke added.

“Rayne was closer to telling me to…” Itachi trailed off, searching for his words, which were out of character for him. He wasn't one to lose control of his words and curse. “There’s no honest way to describe it, other than her telling me to fuck off.”

Sasuke stifled a smirk under his sigh. “Sounds like her…”

Itachi looked upon his brother as his vision soon began to diminish. As Itachi looked at his hands, their transparency had begun, as tsukiyomi’s illusion began to slip. “It appears that Rayne has reached her limit.”

Sasuke’s head turned back to Itachi instantly as he watched his brother begin to dissipate. This was it, the last time he would see him. Itachi’s eyes met his. “Have you come to a conclusion?”
"Itachi…" Sasuke's eyes remained fixated. "While there are unforseen complications to my plan, know this…” He inhaled deep, holding his breath in his throat. “I will destroy Konoha one day. Nothing you could possibly say to me will make amends for them. And though you think forcing Rayne after me as a disposable dog of yours will change my thoughts, you are wrong."

Sasuke came off cold, convincing himself that he meant his words, meant every single letter. Slowly, Itachi nodded, bobbing his head forward as tsukiyomi started to clear like smoke carried by the wind. "I see...there is something that you must also know, brother." Sasuke was sure he spoke of their relation one more time on purpose, as if he’d forget. "If you continue to walk a blind path through the dark toward Konoha, Rayne will see to it that your head rolls."

“Sasuke.” Itachi’s hand firmly held Sasuke’s shoulder blade. “Thank Rayne for me. I truly hope you acknowledge the lengths this girl has gone to for someone who has caused her so much grief.”

Sasuke remained silent while bowing his head at his older brother. A guilt trip? That wasn’t going to work either.

“I always lied to you, and kept you far away. I didn’t want to involve you…but after thinking about it for all this time, for all these years, that maybe you could have been able to change our father, mother, and the Uchiha…to think that you still could.” Itachi’s hand rose from Sasuke’s shoulder, to the back of his head softly. “If I had faced you from the start, to try and see things from your point of view and talked with you about the truth, maybe it would have been different. But I failed, and now no matter what I say to you, it still won’t reach you. That’s why I’m finally going to say what I really think.” Pulling Sasuke forward to him, Itachi’s forehead touched Sasuke’s lightly. No more forehead pokes, no more teasing…”I cannot bring myself to believe that you could make such a rash decision at this moment, but no matter what you decide to do from now on…I will love you forever.”

For the last few seconds of tsukiyomi's materialization, Sasuke felt for the first time through their entire conversation that Itachi was not bluffing. Reality came back to Sasuke like a punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. For a moment, he forget where he was. Slowly, the sounds of nature, running water, and blowing branches came back to him as he blinked away his illusion. His heart ran rapid in his chest, while his head pounded at a matched momentum. Before him, Sasuke watched as Rayne's limp body collapsed, face first into the water, her face submerging beneath the surface as her last bit of chakra kept her body afloat.

Was she dead?

"...Rayne will see to it that your head rolls."

Would it matter if she was dead? If she were, Sasuke wouldn't have to go through killing her a second time...go through...implying that there would be suffrage. But, if she were to die now, to drown and have her lifeless body float through the river until the algae and nature ate away at her corpse...

Sasuke's dark eyes watched as Rayne's chakra gave way, and the last bonds she had to the living world broke as he body began to sink beneath the surface. He watched as her hair curled around her body as her weight factored into the time it took for her to sink. He watched as the silver necklace draped around her neck disappeared from sight, until she became a dark mass beneath him...and then the last reminder of who he used to be faded to black.

The intense drumming wouldn’t stop as the dark, static world spiraled. Gravity was a crushing force as the smallest sounds infiltrated her ears drums, intensifying ten fold. Push forward, pull backward. Forward, backward, forward, backward. Rocking back and forth on a virtual roller coaster, reality came crashing down.

Rayne gasped as her eyes flew open, her heart beating in her ears as she comprehended the intensity of her breathing. The beads of sweat on her body felt like weights as she stared upward at the dark brown texture above her. Was it a ceiling? A coffin? As her vision fixated, Rayne could make out several small rings circling the diameter. She was underneath a tree…okay.

It took her a few attempts to sit up, but she managed. As she sat at a right angle, Rayne felt a moist lump fall into her lap. A cloth? Someone had placed a cool cloth on her forehead to soothe her fever. That same someone must have dragged her beneath this tree, and lit the fire that was doing her already heated body injustice. Dragged her beneath the tree…dragged her, all the way from the lake.

‘Sasuke!’ That was right. She was fighting Sasuke at the lake before she blacked out. Had he hit her with an attack? On instinct, Rayne brought her hand to her stomach, where Sasuke had hit her with chidori in the past, but there was no pain. ‘Rokobi? Do you remember what happened? …Rokobi?’ No answer. Whatever happened must have taken a large chunk of chakra.

There wasn’t much to see in terms of her surroundings. The hollowed out trunk of the tree was dark, and the only light she could see was the dim glow of the moon coming through the entrance. Rolling herself to her right, Rayne positioned herself on her hands and knees, hoisting herself up slowly. Whoever had brought her here wasn’t here at the moment. Maybe they were outside keeping watch? Maybe they dragged her and dropped her here? She felt the cloth once more. Being that it was still reasonably cool in temperature, she figured that it hadn’t been placed on her too long ago. Was it Sasuke? Could he have dragged her here and left her?

Staring out towards the door, Rayne decided to make a break for it. She would run back to where they were fighting, and attempt to trace his tracks when she was able to pick up on his chakra. Really, where else would he have gone other than back to the Akatsuki hideout? With her rump up in the air, Rayne counted herself down to zero before making a mad dash for the doorway of the tree. It turned out to be smaller than she thought, and she had to duck down to get her body through. While doing so, she mis-stepped, onto her own sandals, and tripped. Her knees gave out, and her stomach fell flat onto the ground as she covered her face with her hands.

“Owwwwwww…” She dragged on and her eyes opened lazily, looking outward into the dark forest floor ahead.

Really, it could have been anyone who asked, but Rayne immediately recognized his voice. She did question herself for a moment, thinking that she was telling herself Sasuke was the one here, asking her what she was doing on the ground. To whoever it was, she must have looked mighty stupid stumbling out from under the tree in the rush. Actually, she hoped it wasn’t Sasuke.

Rayne’s eyes were the first to move to the direction of his voice, and her head followed. Sure enough, there Sasuke was, leaning against the side of the tree she had just ran out of. The heat rose to her face, and in the moment, she forget their current circumstance. Quickly regaining herself, Rayne sat on the backs of her legs, turning to face him. In her head, she had already asked him if he was the one who had brought her here, but when she looked at the moonlight dressing his eyes, her words failed her.

“Why am I alive?” Were the sudden words that forced their way through Rayne’s lips. “I don’t remember what happened. I’m assuming I collapsed, or that you attacked me, but I don’t feel any sort of pain, and I wasn’t bound. And here you are outside watching over my body…shirtless.”

Rayne hadn’t noticed it before, but Sasuke was, indeed, shirtless. That made this situation even stranger.

“You really don’t know?” Sasuke asked in masked disbelief. Itachi had told him she had no idea when tsukiyomi would active, or that she even possessed it. Nevertheless, it was something he wanted to be sure of.

“The only thing I know is that you were attacking me with chidori again, but you stopped this time.”

This time. Sasuke’s right eye twitched as a strand of hair blew into it. It was definitely a strand of hair, it wasn’t the fact that he was reminiscing on her dark blood cascading down his arm as he pulled his hand out of her chest. “If I recall, you had said you wanted to talk to me before we fought.”

“It wasn’t much of a conversation.” Rayne taunted while standing, brushing her torn stockings from the dirt that she had sullied them with. “And why are you shirtless?”

“Then why don’t we talk now.” As soon as Rayne’s eyes returned to him, Sasuke had his back to her as he ducked into the tree once more. He wanted to talk? Now? After everything he had said to her?

’What in the hell…whyareyoushirtless?!’ Stepping forward, Rayne made her way back under the tree, greeted by Sasuke who was sitting cross legged by the fire side. Rayne purposely walked over, sitting herself next to him, his katana on the ground being the only space between them. Rayne reclined, her hands wrapped around her knees as she stared into the fire. “How about we start with you telling me why I can’t remember anything past the point of you ceasing your attack?”

Sasuke made a soft sound, a silent exhale as he watched the fire dance before him.

“Alright, let’s recap this.” Rayne shot an angry look at the side of his face. “I enter the Akatsuki hideout, and you barely even let me talk to you. You follow me out to fight, you disregard everything I say, and you try to drown me. And yet here we are, sitting by the fire side, alone, under a dark ass tree, and you want to have a friendly fucking chat? What’s next? Are we going to roast some marshmallows and make s’mores?!”

Rayne had gotten increasingly loud as she spoke, and her voice echoed in the hollow trunk. Without even batting an eyelash, Sasuke looked over at her, staring down into her eyes. Sitting down, he was only a few inches taller than her, but it was enough to be intimidating, even without the Sharingan.

“Itachi implanted tsukiyomi within you, and when it activated, you blacked out.”

“What?” He couldn’t have made it more blunt than that, but it sure sounded strange. How could she have an ocular eye power, without having the eye itself?

“I was brought into tsukiyomi for twenty minutes to talk to him. He said he transferred tsukiyomi to you, along with his chakra, to active when your chakra was worn enough to host his.”

“And then what?”

“And then…” Sasuke paused for a moment, holding his breath. “We talked.”

“Okay.” Rayne nodded her head slowly, continuously. So then the point of Itachi transferring his chakra to her was so he had an opportunity to talk to Sasuke, not to give her an advantage while fighting as he had said. That weasel. Sasuke stayed quiet for a few seconds, and Rayne wondered if he was waiting for her to ask what they talked about. She knew enough about Sasuke to not pressure him into talking about personal matters, especially when they involved Itachi.

“So what happened when you came back to reality? Was I just passed out?”

“The way Itachi made it seem while we were talking, I thought you would be dead. He said your body would hardly be able to handle the stress of his chakra, and that there was a good chance you’d die once tsukiyomi faded away.”

’That bastard!’ Rayne’s anger erupted like a volcano. She did her best not to show it, but she herself knew her body was shaking. ’That ulterior motive, conniving, lying, sneaking shit head, bastard!’

Sasuke watched Rayne’s trembling mouth as she bit back the words she was undoubtedly wanting to scream. “When I came back to reality, you collapsed in front of me, face first into the water.”

That eliminated there being another person involved in Rayne’s rescue from the water.

“During our conversation, Itachi reassured me more than once that you had the ability to kill me, and the lack of remorse for my actions to do so. When I watched you collapse into the water, I thought about leaving you there to drown so I wouldn’t have to kill you a second time.”

“Well fuck you too.” Did she hate Sasuke, or Itachi more? Rayne couldn’t decide. If she had a coin, she’d flip it.

“I watched your body sink beneath the surface until you were a black mass, out of my sight.” Sasuke stopped, and Rayne pieced it together. She was drowning, and he was shirtless.

“You pulled me up.” Sasuke let go of his breath as if he had been holding it, anticipating a needle to sink into neck with a death penalty serum. The next question was why, why did he pull her out? He was right, Rayne was prepared to kill him if it needed to be done to fulfill Itachi’s request. She was a threat to him, a one way express ticket to deaths doorstep.

“You aren’t going to ask why?” Sasuke’s dark eyes were illuminated by the bright orange flames, and Rayne felt their intensity burning her skin as he looked at her.

“No, I wasn’t.” Sasuke looked away from her, and Rayne wondered if she was really feeling the affects of his gaze, or if he was feeling hers. “You can tell me why without me asking.”

“Isn’t that technically asking?” He teased, and again, Rayne forgot who they were for a moment. Eyes back in the fire, Sasuke’s mouth formed a flat line, and Rayne could hear him grind his teeth. “The one hundred percent truth is that I don’t really know why I saved you.”

A two ton anvil came crashing down onto Rayne’s head. ’You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’

“I watched you sinking that entire time, and didn’t think a thing of it. My mind was blank.”

’I’m going to kill you, Sasuke.’

“The only thought that crossed my mind was you would be out of the way, and the one sure threat to my cause would be eliminated.”

’I am going to grab you by the hair, and throw you face first into this fire.’

“When you were nothing but a black mass beneath me…”

’I am going beat the ever living shit out of you.’

“It was like I was back at the Valley of the End three years ago. Except, this time, you weren’t in my arms. I was watching your soul slip away into a dark hell. Watching.” The deranged look Sasuke had in his eyes as he watched the fire made Rayne wonder if he was going to jump in it himself. “I pictured your corpse floating down the river, bloated from the water, algae growing on you as fish began eating at your flesh-“

“Well that’s graphic.”

“And that’s when I just dove under. My swim to you is a blur. I remember breaking the surface, and bringing your body back to land. You weren’t breathing, you had inhaled water the second you collapsed. I wasn’t sure that CPR was going to work, but I tried…and I tried, and I tried…”

This was becoming far too real for Rayne to understand. Again, she told herself that this was Sasuke, a vengeful murderer who had tried to kill her, more than once, spilling his heart as to why he saved her. He didn’t understand it at all, at least, he told himself he didn’t. But Rayne understood, and rather than give her a warm feeling, it scared the shit out of her.

“All of a sudden, I heard you coughing up water, and I knew you were back. I waited until your breathing stabilized before I moved you. I retrieved my sword, then carried you on my shoulder until I found this tree. I started this fire, and then stood watch outside in case Obito or Zetsu came looking for me…” Sasuke turned to look at her, an expression that she hadn’t seen for years across his face. “Next thing I knew, you stumbled out of the tree onto your face.”

“Mhmm…” Rayne’s eyes bugged out of her head as she slowly turned her head away from him. Sasuke was out of his fucking mind. He tries to kill her, rejects her pleas to help him, refuses to come to terms with the way they left off three years ago, tries to drown her twice, and now he was sitting next to her, basically telling her that there was a part of him that still cared enough about her to keep her alive, regardless of everything he had said earlier in the day.

“Rayne.” Oh GOD. Rayne’s body betrayed her mind, as despite her instruction to not turn her head, she did. Was this really Sasuke? Were they really sixteen? Were they really under a random tree right now, or were they sitting out on the hill on the night of Naruto’s birthday, watching fireworks together?

“Yes…Sasuke?” Did she hate him as much as she said she did? Was she really prepared to kill him? Was he as horrible as he made himself out to be? Because right now, Sasuke wasn’t the one track minded, cold blooded, destructive killer he was earlier. Right now, looking into Rayne’s eyes, Sasuke was the thirteen year old boy she spent days pining after.

“Can you tell me what Itachi was like? He mentioned that you spent the past year together, nearly every night…so you got to know him.” Rayne wanted to cry. The tone of Sasuke’s voice was sharper than a blade itself.

“It’s ironic that you should ask that, because you were one of the first topics of conversation that came up between us.” Rayne smiled to herself. “I’ll start from the beginning, from when he first confronted me.”

With a nod from Sasuke, Rayne thought about how to begin her fairytale with Uchiha Itachi. “Once upon a time, a pervert at large named Uchiha Itachi came slithering into the hot spring I had been bathing in. At first I thought he was going to attack me, so I quickly got out, and was ready to kill him. To my surprise, he insisted that he wanted to talk, and after I assessed him, I agreed to conversation. He sat me down and explained to me the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre, and how it was brushed under the rug. I was touched by his story, and that’s when he told me why he came and sought me out; he wanted me to accept his will of fire.”

“His will of fire?”

“Yes…which was to protect you, Sasuke.” Rayne dared look him in the eye as she continued. “I really didn’t want to talk about you. I grew impatient and angry with him, especially when he brought up the way I felt about you, and why I continued to wear your mothers necklace. He did his best to persuade me into a state of mind where you still cared about me, telling me that stronger than your hate for him was your love for me and all this other…bullshit. In the end, it was him talking about the village being in danger that drove me to my decision. I thought about everyone there, Naruto, Sakura, Izumo…” Rayne looked to the side. Did she seriously just say his name? “I decided to accept so I could protect them from you, which would mean seeking you out. I also accepted because I wasn’t sure how I felt about you at all. To be honest, I didn’t know what to do concerning you and Itachi’s will until I caught your hand before you and Naruto clashed fists.

After I accepted, Itachi and I spent close to a year meeting in secrecy. He trained me to combat the Sharingan in ever way imaginable. He explained each eye mutation, their abilities, Susanoo, Madara, Obito, everything, as best he could to prepare me for you. He really was a gentle man.”

There was that word again; gentle. His father’s voice rang in his ears as Sasuke closed his eyes, suppressing the urge to yell.

“Itachi wanted to know everything about the man his little brother was growing up to be. He spoke of your childhood, and all the time you spent together. I talked about the time I spent with you, and how you grew as both a ninja, and person in that time. Itachi would continuously tell me how proud he was of you whenever I mentioned something worthwhile. He absolutely loved the story of my birthday, and how you took me to get flowers without me knowing.” Rayne chuckled at the memory. “Honestly, he loved it. He thought it was incredibly mature of you.”

“You two grew to be friends, huh…” Sasuke’s smile was a sad one, but a smile none the less.

“I loved your brother, Sasuke. Really, I did. I respected him as a man. I respected his physical, and mental strength. His personality was beautiful, and he had a kind heart. In the short amount of time I spent with him, I did grow to love him. Not romantically, I’m sure you know what I mean…he was really incredible, and the more I got to know him and what he did for everyone in the village, all that he sacrificed…I swore I would do anything and everything I could for him before he knowingly walked into death. I knew he was unhappy. No matter how much good he did for everyone, he still felt like he didn’t do enough, because of what he had put you through.” Rayne’s hand fell on Sasuke’s back as he turned to meet her gaze. “He whole heatedly regretted not telling you the truth, and he welcomed his death with open arms. We discussed Orochimaru and how you had left the village, and what I could do to appease the elders and clear your name so you could return…

I’ll never forget the last day I saw him. I tried my damn best to convince him to bring me with him to the compound where the two of you would meet and he would die. I really, really wanted to be there with the two of you, to comfort you in his death…but he refused. He actually hugged me before he left, hugged me for a while. I think it was because I was the only person he could truly bounce his emotions off of. That, and he always told me how much I reminded him of your mother. We talked once more of our first meeting. How he saved me from Orochimaru, and how he helped awaken Rokobi within me…Itachi insisted that my fate was tied to the Uchiha from that day forward…and just as quickly as he walked into my life, he was gone…I knew I’d never see him again, but still, a part of me waited during the night for him to come beat the shit out of me as we trained.”

Sasuke remained silent, and Rayne gave him time to process and repeat what she had said. Was that what he wanted to hear? She didn’t know, but it was the best way Rayne could describe Itachi.

“He’s right.”

His voice stirred her. “About what?”

“You really are a lot like our mom.”

“I am?” Rayne didn’t know what to think. Since they had each said it, it was hopefully a good thing. “The only thing Itachi ever said about me was that my eyes reminded him of your mothers. Other than that, he never expanded on the subject.”

“My mother was too good for my father, and he treated her like a house wife rather than the woman she was.” Sasuke held more against his father than he led on to believe, it seemed. It wasn’t Sasuke’s inferiority complex to Itachi as a child talking; Sasuke genuinely held animosity toward his father. “Whenever he talked down to either one of us, she was there to reassure us. When Itachi wouldn’t train with me, she would, even though I insisted she wasn’t good to train with. She made sure I always got my homework done, and that I did my chores. My mother held a strong opinion, but she still followed my father blindly, without saying a word against him, even when he made her upset. She went along with all his stupid ideas, even when she knew they were wrong. She loved him, even when he brushed her away as if she was nothing…”

Rayne silently said a prayer for his mothers soul as Sasuke spoke. Just by his tone of voice, it was apparent how dear she was to him. Not because she was his mother, but because Sasuke respected, and loved her.

“But there was something about her eyes. Whenever I’d look into her eyes, those dark, innocent eyes, I knew that everything was going to be okay. And even if it wasn’t okay, I knew that things would get better, because she was there to protect me.”

’I understand now.’ While Rayne was flattered she had reminded them of their mother, she couldn’t help but feel sad, and stupid at the same time. Did she too follow Sasuke blindly because of the way she felt about him? The tone of Sasuke’s voice was heart wrenching. If Itachi felt the exact same way, there was no question as to why there was a constant scowl on his face.

“Itachi must have seen it from the very beginning…but I can now make the connection clearly. Even after everything I did, here you are, chasing me down and doing your best to help me because you-“

“Shereallysoundedlikeastrongwomanlyfigure” Rayne blurt out in a tongue twist. She knew how he was going to finish that sentence. “Because you love me.” But she didn’t want to hear him say it. It was embarrassing, and it made her sound pathetic. He had basically described their relationship toward the end perfectly through his parents…treating her like shit, then accusing her of still loving him. Even if he was right, it made her sound stupid.

Even though he was right? No…no, he wasn’t right…was he? Rayne didn’t still…she couldn’t.

“…She was.” Again, the silence rolled in.

"Sasuke." Rayne paused, wondering if the question she was going to ask would ruin the integrity of this moment. "What is the point of our conversation?"

He waited to respond, making Rayne nervous. Should she have really asked? "I don't know. Maybe to pretend that everything is normal, and not as fucked up as it really is.”

“And what would be normal?” Sasuke stared at her, his mouth parted slightly as he asked himself the question. Really, what would be normal? Was their world normal to begin with?

“Normal…” Sasuke repeated, trailing off as he looked at the fire once more. Was it staying in Konoha? Even with his entire clan wiped out, was his life normal?

“Really, Sasuke, when was anything ever normal?” Rayne smirked to herself. “Things have always been fucked up.”

“It seemed a lot less fucked up when I was with you.” Rayne looked over at him, and the disbelief in her face matched his. “And…Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi…everyone.”

Rayne’s cheeks sizzled as her eyes narrowed at him. “Yeah, I see what you mean.” She wasn’t buying it, even if he was giving it away for free.

“This is the first time in a while where I haven’t been sure of what to do next. Come morning, I don’t know where to go from here.” He wasn’t going to go back to the Akatsuki? Not that Rayne would suggest that, but…what was he thinking of doing? She really as curious about what he and Itachi had spoken about, but she wouldn’t ask him.

“Yeah…well, I know where you’re coming from. I don’t really know where to go from here, either.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Honestly…” Sasuke made sure Rayne was looking at him before he continued. “Did you come here with the intention of killing me?”

Rayne knew her answer sooner than she thought she would. “Of course I didn’t.”

“Itachi made it seem that way.”

“That’s because I never told him about my own plan on approaching this situation.” Rayne rest her hand in her chin as she readjusted her sitting position. “I never told him what I decided to do, because I knew he would disagree with me.”

“What did you do?”

"I went to Konoha to speak to the elders, and asked them to clear both yours, and Itachi's name. I also asked that they share the truth as to what happened with the Uchiha Clan, and acknowledge Itachi for the hero of the people he is. They weren’t very happy with my requests, and I had to tell Danzo to fuck off before I had the chance to see them.” Rayne smiled at the fact of knowing Danzo was dead.

"How did it go?”

"They accepted."

"They…accepted." Sasuke reinstated, as though Rayne were lying the first time.

“They had to. I threatened them with war on behalf of Kumogakure if they didn’t.”

“You threatened an entire country with war if they didn’t agree with your terms?”

“Hell yeah I did!”

“For me and Itachi.”

“You bet.”

"Holy shit, Rayne." Sasuke cradled his forehead in his hand, earning a shove from her.

"Please. If you think I'm on par with you and all the shit you’ve done, you have to re-evaluate yourself, buddy."

“You and I are completely different!” Sasuke suddenly shouted, startling her. “You had a life after Konoha, I didn’t. My fate was sealed. It was sealed the night of the massacre. There was no reason you had to make yourself enemies for my sake.”

“Yes there was.” Rayne smiled to herself, backing her head away from him as Sasuke turned to face her. “I saw you again, I had to come after you. I promised Itachi I would…besides, I’m like your mother, remember? It’s only natural that I’d spring forth and pursue you like Sakura the moment I saw you.”

Sasuke peered at her from the corner of his eye, an unamused look painting his face. Rayne let out a breath of air, and shivered as the cool night air blew in through the tree. The fire whipped, nearly extinguishing itself. Rayne rubbed her arms with her hands while Sasuke formed a fire hand sign, relighting the fire with his flame jutsu. As the fire roared, Rayne felt her arm hair stand on end while her skin goosebumped. Before placing her hands on her arms again, they were replaced by Sasuke’s at her right, hands hovering over her arm as the remaining heat from his jutsu warmed her skin. Looking up, Rayne’s eyes met Sasuke’s in silent exhilaration.

“What are you going to do now?” Rayne blurt out. As much as she did want to pretend like they could live this moment forever, she had to get back to the point of why she came here to see him. “Concerning the Leaf village, I mean.”

She could tell Sasuke was annoyed by her question in the way he sighed, but he kept his hands above her arm. “My feelings won’t just suddenly go away, Rayne. I’d still like for them to suffer the way I and Itachi have suffered. I won’t rethink Konoha’s destruction easily.”

Rayne swallowed the lump in her throat. At least he didn’t yell at her like she prepared herself for. “Alright.”

The silence between them lasted as long as the heat from Sasuke’s hands. Without warning, his hand grasped her arm, squeezing Rayne’s skin with a firm grip so she’d look at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“There is one thing I would like to do.”

“What…is that?” Rayne cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at his hair, shadowing his face from her eyes.

“I would like to visit the Uchiha compound…there’s something there that I need to see.”

Rayne felt her heart drop in fear, rather than delight. “You mean-“

“I want to go to Konoha.” Sasuke’s head rose, and his dark obsidian eyes met her own clouded grey. “And I would like you to come with me.”

Rayne gave a long, drawn out sigh as she walked a few paces behind Sasuke, watching the sheath of his sword sway from side to side as he walked. Their walk together had been unbearably silent, as Sasuke made sure he was ahead of Rayne at all times.

Would it be safer to move in the day, or safer to move at night? They spent quite a while spitballing ideas back and forth, eventually coming to the conclusion that moving wasn't safe at all, regardless of what time it was. They had left the tree about half an hour ago, and it was clear by his speed that Sasuke was in no rush to get back to Konoha. While Rayne was sure they could make it there by morning if they hurried, Sasuke insisted on walking at a normal pace.

After he told her that he wanted to visit the Uchiha compound, Rayne asked no questions, and Sasuke didn't expand on the subject. They put out the fire, and left without another word spoken. In fact, they had been walking for half an hour in silence.

Rayne reviewed her evaluation of Sasuke’s mental state once more, searching for anything she might have missed to make sense of him. He ignores her, he talks to her, he tries to kill her, he saves her, he talks to her, and now he ignores her.

’I should be picking petals off a flower to decide if he’s insane or not.’ Rayne smiled to herself, her eyes breaking from Sasuke’s back as she looked around at their surroundings. Tonight was a new moon, granting them more shade to camouflage themselves. There were many words Rayne wanted to say, dancing on the tip of her tongue behind her closed lips, but she refrained. Sure, they had already spent some time talking together underneath the tree, but Rayne was still utterly confused by her situation. She chased him here, despite the promise she made to herself that she wouldn't. The way she saw it, she put in enough effort, it was time for Sasuke to put some in himself without her initiating it.

What could he possibly want to bring her along for? And, now that she thought about it, where were the members of Sasuke’s team that she had seen in Kumogakure? Karin was jailed in Konoha, but where were the other two?

“Hey, Sasuke, where are those two guys that are part of your team?” Rayne tilt her head to the side, awaiting his response, but got nothing. Rayne rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she studied his demeanor. Honestly, if he wasn't even going to bother talking to her, why bring her along in the first place? Was he going to use her like a decoy? Was he going to manipulate her feelings in order to help him infiltrate the village? What if he had ulterior motives?

Rayne pinched her eyes together, her brows tightening as she wondered. ’Great time to think about this, Rayne. For all you know, you could be walking a bomb into Konoha…that’s something you would say, isn't it, Rokobi?’ Despite how long she waited, Rayne got no answer from her partner. Not only was Sasuke giving her the silent treatment, but Rokobi was, too. Just great.

Sasuke’s pace had begun to slow down, and Rayne almost found herself stepping on his heels from not noticing. She wondered if he had sensed someone else’s presence, and instead of asking, she took it upon herself to check the surrounding area. Suddenly, Sasuke’s arm rose up, leading his body as he tripped over fallen and leaves and twigs. As his palm found the side of a tree, Sasuke leaned against it, hunched over while his free hand covered his eyes.

“What happened?” Rayne suppressed the alarm in her voice as she walked over to him. Resting her hand on his back, she felt his muscles tense.

“I can’t…” Sasuke started, breaking his sentence to groan at the pain Rayne was unaware of. “My eyes…I just need a minute.”

Rayne grumbled, rubbing his back as though that would ease his visual pain. With her head on a swivel, she looked around cautiously to make sure they were alone. Obito could be coming for him right now, putting Sasuke in a vulnerable state by manipulating his Sharingan.

“Let’s continue.” Without passing a glance, Sasuke walked ahead, wobbling like gelatin on a plate before his body began to descend once more. Leaping, Rayne buckled to her knees as Sasuke’s weight fell on her, catching him in her braced arms.

“What’s affecting you? Is there an enemy?” If this was the work of Obito, Rayne was sure it was genjutsu.

“No.” Sasuke hissed. “Itachi’s eyes, they’re burning.”

Itachi’s eyes. Rayne felt her pupils dilate; that was right, he had just had ocular surgery hours ago. Their fight must have caused strain on his unhealed transplant.

“Shit.” Rayne cursed under her breath. “Dammit, Sasuke! If your eyes were bothering you, why did you insist we leave the tree?!”

“Too close to the hideout.” The “duh” at the end of his answer was implied.

Dammit. Worming her way beneath him, Rayne rest Sasuke’s head on her left shoulder, craning her neck over his right side to take a look at his face. His eyes were bleeding, similar to the way the Mangekyo had before. The blood was a deep crimson, almost black.

“Can you open your eyes?” His eyes fluttered open, eye lashes soaked like paint brushes, coated in the blood that fell down his cheek bones as he blinked. Rayne’s fingers traced his face as she wiped away both his, and Itachi’s tears of blood. He was in no shape for traveling. Rayne looked back from the path they came from, trying to estimate how far away they had wandered from their previous sanctuary, not that it was much of a safe haven. Mulling over the surrounding area in her head, Rayne pictured the roads she passed over to get to the Akatsuki hideout. If she was placing herself correctly, there was a sizable town close to their current location.

“Sasuke, I think there’s a town close by. We can get you a bed there.”

“Unnecessary.”

If he weren't already bleeding, Rayne would have punched him to make sure he did. “This isn't a time for you to be modest, Sasuke. You’re injured; you need to recover from your surgery, and the woods, a small range away from the enemy, is not the place for that.”

“I don’t need to be taken care of!” Sasuke snapped, his eyes appearing angry for a moment, before the agonizing pain returned.

“You are bleeding from your FUCKING. EYES.”

“No shit.” Sasuke wasn't very convincing when he was yelling at her with his eyes shut, his voice cracking and dry from swallowing the pain built up in his throat to suppress his groaning.

“Get on my back.”

“No.”

“Sasuke.”

“This will be a waste of time.”

“For the love of Sarutobi, Sasuke, get on my back!”

“I don’t need your pity!”

“I’m not pitying you, I’m helping you!”

“I don’t need it!”

“Yes you do!”

“I haven’t needed help for years, and I don’t need it now!”

“You chose to be alone! You don’t have to do everything by yourself; I’m here for you!”

“I didn't ask you to come help me.”

“Well too fucking bad for you, because here I am, once again. Now get on my back before I wrap that stupid fucking bow you’re wearing around your neck and drag you there!” Rayne forcefully grabbed Sasuke’s wrists, yanking him forward so his body dangled above the ground like a rag doll.

Maliciously, Sasuke looked down, blood dripping from his nose to mix with the dirt beneath him. “I don’t need you to pity me. I am fine alone. I always have be-” Rayne released his wrist, dropping him face first into the ground, directly on his nose. As Sasuke raised his head, several colorful words poured from his mouth, and Rayne marveled at his extensive knowledge of swear words.

“You know what? Fuck you, Sasuke. You’ll bite the entirety of that red headed bitch’s body, but you won’t let me carry you when you can’t even see where you’re going. Crawl your ass to Konoha for all I care!” Rayne crossed her arms, glaring down at him as Sasuke struggled to return her gaze. “Better yet, how’s about I go get that bitch, and she can carry you back. Or maybe you can suck her tits and you’ll be one hundred percent healed!”

Rayne wasn't jealous of Karin, not by a long shot. The idea that Sasuke was well aware of what he was doing with her was what pissed her off. His willingness to allow Karin to help him in such a ridiculous way made her want to return to Konoha alone and ring Izumo’s doorbell.

“I tried to kill her with my chidori stream.”

“You tried to kill me twice, and almost let me die a third. That isn't a convincing excuse.” This was supposed to be about Sasuke hopping on Rayne’s back for a piggy back ride to the local village for medical attention, not Rayne incorporating her feelings in the matter. After all, she didn't want Sasuke to know she still cared that much for him; she didn't’t even want to acknowledge it herself. Suddenly, the anxiety of Sasuke figuring out where Rayne’s anger derived from caused her to sweat.

“Forget it, just…do me the favor of listening to me.” Rayne mumbled, almost to herself as she turned her back to him. “You aren't alone anymore, you haven’t been this entire time…so just shut up and let me help you…little bitch.”

Recalling breaking down Sasuke’s door three years ago on his birthday, Rayne insulted him the way she had then. Sasuke remained quiet at a distance, and Rayne wondered if it was his reluctance, or his vision finally giving up on him. After what felt like five minutes, Rayne finally heard the sound of cloth against the dirt, and a hand fall on her shoulder. As Sasuke awkwardly maneuvered himself blindly onto her back, Rayne hooked her arms beneath the legs that were dangling at her sides.

“Ready?” Sasuke merely grunted as Rayne secured him against her as she stood, giving him a small bounce to make sure he was above her hip line.

This wasn't the way she imagined this would go. Itachi was probably rolling around in his grave laughing at her. To think that just a few hours ago they were fighting to the death, and now here she was, giving him a piggy-back ride through the woods. All this time, Rayne told herself she grew to hate the near defenseless teen that was clinging to her shoulders for dear life, his body slumped on her back as his feet dangled to the sides. But now, being this close to Sasuke when he wasn't’t trying to kill her, it was like Rayne was seeing him as human for the first time in three years.

“Heavy?” Sasuke’s deep voice strummed Rayne’s spine like a guitar. While she stood still, she adjusted to his weight, catching her breath.

“Not too heavy…but I didn't expect you to put so much muscle on.” What the hell was she talking about; she just saw Sasuke shirtless earlier, she knew how muscular he had become. Arms supporting his thighs, Rayne began to walk forward on their path. She could feel his chest tensing at the back of her head while he inhaled deeply, stomaching the surges of pain passing through his head.

“You can relax, Sasuke.” He was sitting properly against her as though he was in an Academy class. “We’re going to be walking for a bit. There’s a small town on the border of Kusagakure (Village Hidden in the Grass) and Fire Country. Like I said, I’m not doing this out of pity. You’re incredibly strong, but the ability to ask for help when it’s needed would make you stronger.”

Without a response, Sasuke’s hands slid from Rayne’s shoulders, his arms hanging around her neck as he relaxed against her. The warm feeling of Sasuke’s cheek pressing against her skin made her smirk as she thought of how often they seem to repeat the past.

“Do you remember when I carried you back to the port in Tea Country?”

Sasuke was silent. How silly of Rayne to try to initiate a reminiscent conversation. Now Sasuke was probably going to disregard the memory, and think of nothing other than the fight he and Naruto had on the roof of the hospital, become angry, and add another thing to the pro’s side of the “Destroy Konoha” list she knew he kept in his head.

“I don’t remember being carried.” His voice came out soft, many audibles lower than she thought it would. “I remember waking up.”

“And then you yelled at me for carrying you, just like you did before when I tried.”

“You refused to put me down.”

“You needed medical attention.” The memory hit her like a tsunami wave. Wrestling with Sasuke in the small room in an attempt to take off his shirt so she could massage his muscles that had been affected by electric shock. Running her hand over his chest, watching his face flush as he looked at her from the corner of his eye, pleading with her not to stop.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rayne gave herself a mental flying kick to the skull as she felt her face ignite in embarrassment. Now, not only was she carrying the person who was supposed to be her enemy on her, but she was twisting her innocent memories, having lustful thoughts about him while doing so. Rayne hung her head in defeat. ’Itachi…this is all your fault, you bastard.’

“Are you alright?”

“Ye-yeah, why?” Rayne’s head shot up, her eyes widened as she felt her anxiety wash over her.

“Your face is warm, are you fatigued?”

“Look who suddenly cares.” She had to suppress the nervous laughter building up in her throat as Sasuke’s head returned to Rayne’s shoulder, the tip of his cold nose touching her neck. As he exhaled, air tickled Rayne’s skin, and she wondered if she still smelled nice to him. Probably not. She was sweating when they fought, and she was now sweating from her hormonal induced anxiety attack. She probably smelled awful, and Sasuke probably knew that. Damn it all.

It was strange how her mind was working. First she went from fighting and yelling at him, to having a conversation, to yelling again, and basically telling him she still cared deeply for him, all the while chastising him for his involvement with Karin. How does one go from wanting to kill someone, to wanting to talk to them and be close to them so easily? This made no sense. She was never like this before; even with Izumo she didn't feel like a nervous girl with an Academy crush.

Really, thinking of the past wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn't like Sasuke made his decision to come back to Konoha and be with her. Even if he did return to Konoha, what would she do? She wasn't a Konoha shinobi anymore, she had returned to Kumo. So…even if he did return to Konoha, could they manage a relationship, friendly, or otherwise?

Rayne grumbled in frustration, and Sasuke once more asked her what was wrong. “It’s just me being a realist, don’t worry about it.”

“Hn.”

Rayne’s eye twitched as Sasuke made his trademark sound. Turning to glare at him, Rayne stopped as she noticed how much blood had dried on his face. “Can you even open your eyes, or are they dried shut with blood?”

“I can’t.”

“I’m going to start running, hold onto me.”

“Yeah.”

Running through the forest of Grass Country was difficult. The trees were massive, and tangled around each other in various ways, making the roots uneven along the ground. Jumping higher through the tree limbs, Rayne did her best to get high enough to the branches that were hanging free. Balancing her chakra beneath her feet, she quickened her pace, dashing at high speed across the treetops.

“Your hair has gotten long.”

Rayne was surprised by Sasuke’s statement. He decides to say that now, even though they had already been together for a few hours? “I grew it out to honor Kin. Do you remember who she was? I don’t know if you knew her name.”

“I remember. Your friend from the Sound, with the long black hair.” Rayne nodded. “And Zaku.”

That was a name she hadn't heard in a while. Not because she had forgotten about him…she just hadn't let him cross her mind. “Yeah…”

“How could I forget.” Sasuke’s voice fell low as his head left Rayne’s shoulder. Judging by the way he moved against her, she could tell her wasn't't’t looking at her. Below them, Rayne could make out lights.

“Hey, we’re here. Why don’t you put your head back on my shoulder and pretend you’re asleep? Getting a room would be easier without the tenant seeing your bloody mess of a face.” Rayne made a small smile as she looked over at Sasuke’s head buried in her shoulder.

“Good evening.” Rayne greet the older woman behind the counter with a respectful head nod. She couldn't bow properly, lest Sasuke slide off her back and onto the floor. “I would like a single room, please.”

“Single rooms have single beds.” Narrowing her eyes, the older woman observed Rayne’s face quickly shift into an irritated expression.

“I am aware.”

“Are the two of you married?”

Rayne could hear Itachi’s laughter in her ears. Her face dropped; what a prude. “We’re star crossed lovers on honeymoon.”

“Honeymooning in Kusa? I find that hard to believe.”

“Did you just openly insult your country?”

"This isn't’t a place for youngsters such as yourselves to be playing house.”

“I’m budgeted.”

“Too poor to even cross over to the Land of Fire? And why are you carrying your quote un-quote, husband?”

“Forget it.”” Rayne grit her teeth as she turned on her heel and began her forceful march out the doorway.

“5,200 yen.” Rayne’s foot slamming stopped as the old woman spoke. “5,200 yen a night spent at my inn.”

“5,200 yen.” Rayne was back at the counter.

“5,200.”

Coins bounced off the counter as Rayne counted her money out for the tenant. “I’m not sure how long we will be staying here, so I’ll pay for a single night.”

“A honeymoon of one evening?” The tenant looked Sasuke’s body over. “He doesn't appear to be in any shape for celebrating your marriage.”

Rayne’s anger stirred once more. She really did not like the elderly. “We've already celebrated.”

“Really?” Eyebrows raised as the woman dangled a room key in Rayne’s face. “How many children are-“

“GOODNIGHT.” Taking it in a swiping gesture, Rayne eyed the number on the tag.

“Room 205 on the second floor.”

Of course the woman would make her climb stairs while she had Sasuke on her back. In her experience with the elderly, Rayne came to the conclusion that she wanted to die before she turned into a decrepit bitch. Hiking Sasuke’s body up, Rayne made her way up the stairs slowly. The last thing she wanted to do was amuse the tenant hag by falling down them.

“Easier without her seeing my mess of a face.” Sasuke mocked Rayne’s previous words.

“Shaddup.” Rayne popped her hip, swinging Sasuke’s left ankle into the wall as she climbed the staircase. “I can’t believe the gall of that hag to talk like that. I don’t think I've ever met someone so intrusive in my life.”

“You were the one who said it was a honeymoon.”

“She wouldn't have given us a single room if I hadn't said that. I am not paying a fortune to house your ass until you recover. Two to three nights, that’s fine. I only have so much money you know, and I’m sure you have absolutely nothing to your name, isn't that right?”

His silence was her answer. Reaching their room, Rayne spent the next several moments clumsily trying to open the door. Once successful, she closed the door behind them with her foot. The room was an intimate one, with a single tatami mat in the center of the room on a bedding platform. Nightstands were placed on either side, rice paper lamps on each one. In the corner there was a cherry wood door, probably the bathroom. Walking to the tatami, Rayne turned to sit Sasuke on the bedding.

“You can lay down now. I’m going to go out and get a medical kit so I can clean your wounds properly. Feel free to sleep, I’ll just wake you up when I get back.”

“Had you passed through this town when coming to the hideout?”

“Nope.” Grabbing the sheath of Sasuke’s sword, Rayne slid it out from under him, placing it next to the platform.

“Then how do you know where you’re going?”

“I’ll figure it out, there’s bound to be a small convenience store on a local street. This town is relatively small, I could probably walk the entire thing in a short amount of time.” Rayne undid the straps of Sasuke’s sandals, hoping that he wouldn't yell at her while doing so. Much to her relief, he didn't.

“Alright.”

Sauntering to the door, Rayne placed his sandals next to the frame. As she turned the handle, Sasuke called out to her as the lock clicked. “Hm?”

“The bed, you said there was one.”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you going to sleep if you’re only paying for a single room.”

Rayne was silent for a moment, a smirk Sasuke couldn't see crossing her lips. “What do you mean? I’m going to sleep in the tub.” Opening the door, a single foot stepped out before she stopped to turn to him once more. “Duh.”

While she was well aware the tub was made out of porcelain, Rayne hadn't imagined it would be as discomforting as it was when she added numerous pillows, and two blankets to it. Extending her arms as she yawned, Rayne smashed her wrist bone against the tubs side. Whimpering as she drew it in to her chest, she quieted down in attempts to hear if Sasuke was awake.

Standing up, Rayne instantly regret choosing to sleep in the tub rather than spending the extra money to get a separate bed. Really, she could have at least gotten a room with two tatami mats in them, but she wanted to refrain from spending an unnecessary amount of money. Sleeping on a porcelain incline didn’t do her back any justice, and her mid section ached from breathing unevenly on a sloped surface. Climbing out of the tub, Rayne bent over, her hair dropping to the ground as she ran her hands through it, scratching her scalp. Swinging her head back, she watched as her hair fell in a messy fashion to frame her face. To anyone, this would be a case of bed head, but for Rayne, her hair was as unruly as it would be any other day.

’I wonder if Sasuke got up to use the bathroom at any point during the night.’ Rayne pondered as she stared at the bowl. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t actually thought about the inconvenience of her sleeping in the only bathroom they had in the room. How inconsiderate.

Pulling open the bathroom door, Rayne curiously poked her head out before her body followed to see if Sasuke was awake or not. He was still in bed, not that he had anywhere to go, really. Rayne wasn’t sure what she was expecting to find him doing. Cartwheels? She didn’t know. The blinds of the room were pulled shut from last night, and as Rayne tried to stealthily slide them open, she heard a growl and a hiss from the lump in the bed.

“No…sun…eyes…hurt.”

“What are you, a caveman now?” As Rayne slid the blinds shut once more, Sasuke poked his head out from the cocoon of sheets he had wrapped himself in. It was rather cute, really, to see a murderous Uchiha pop their head out of thick blankets with a bad case of sleepy face and bed head.

“Sleep well?”

“Eh. My head isn’t pounding as much as it was.”

“At least you’re a little better.” Rayne walked over to the bed as Sasuke turned himself around beneath the covers. Grabbing the bottom corner, Rayne straightened out the thick kakefuton comforter, picking it up and fluffing it out for him. Her eyes trailed upward to his, and he quickly looked away from her, a hint of red tinting his cheeks.

“You don’t have to tuck me in like a child.”

“Enjoy the luxury. Are you hungry at all?”

“Not particularly.”

“Alright.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m going to go out and get something.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“I saw some soba noodle shop when I went out to get the medical kit last night. Speaking of…” Turning to her side, Rayne popped open the small white box that was on the nightstand. Taking out a small pad, she gently placed it against a small bottle of peroxide to get it wet. “You have some blood near your cheek bones, let me get it for you.”

Rayne took the liberty of sitting on the bed, uninvited, as she leaned towards Sasuke. He began to look off to the side as she approached, and Rayne took hold of his chin, forcing him to face her. “Don’t turn away from me, let me clean you up.”

“I said you don’t have to treat me like a child.”

“And I said to enjoy the luxury. If I were hurt, I wouldn’t mind you taking care of me like this.” Holding his chin still between her left thumb and pointer finger, Rayne wiped away the dried blood on his cheeks. “Close your eyes, let me wipe your eyelids.”

“Che.” Sasuke shut his eyes forcefully, wrinkles appearing on his eyelids as he made an annoyed expression with his eyebrows. Even on his chin Rayne could feel the heat from his embarrassment.

“I didn’t think , especially after seeing you at the hideout, that I would ever use the word ‘cute’ to describe you, but your embarrassment is adorable.” Rayne chuckled to herself, earning a smack on the wrist from Sasuke.

“Alright, enough, it’s cleaned off. Get off my bed.”

“Your bed? The bed I paid for?” A smirk quickly spread across her lips. “I’m the one that paid for it, I can sit on it, lay on, or in it, as much as I want to. Even if you’re in it, too.”

Rayne was in a good mood. She had an uncomfortable night of sleep, but from the moment she woke up and walked out of the bathroom to see Sasuke sleeping in the bed, she was happy. And it was as simple as that - she was happy, giddy, even. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, even though she was well aware she was smiling far too much.

“Hnnn..” There was that famous response, drawn out as Sasuke looked away from her again.

“Alright then!” Standing up, Rayne straightened out her shorts, brushing them off as she walked over to the chair with her discarded vest, and leather kilt. “I’ll bring back something for you.”

As she held the doorhandle, Rayne paused, turning to Sasuke once more. “Don’t even think about running away. I’ll find you, and-“

“I’m not leaving…don’t be gone too long, yourself.” The stare of his dark eyes was discomforting, and Rayne quickly slipped out the door, closing it behind her silently. Why was he tense all of a sudden? Did he think she was going to run away, or worse, go to Konoha and leak his location? The thought of him not trusting her pissed Rayne off, and she found herself stomping her way down the staircase. Behind the counter of the inn, the same old lady was there from the previous night.

’I don’t want to deal with her right now.’ Their eyes met as soon as Rayne made her first step off the staircase.

“Goodmorning.”

“Goodmorning.” Rayne bowed, making a quick dash for the exit.

“Were you intending to stay another night?” That was right, Rayne had only paid her for a single night.

“Oh, yes I am. 5,200, correct?” The old lady nodded as Rayne walked up to her, digging in her kilt for the money she had.

“Might I ask your name?”

“My name? Is Sayo-oh-ah, it’s Uchiha Rayne. Uchiha Rayne is my name, ma’am.”

“Uchiha!” The elder gasped. “You mean to tell me that husband of yours is an Uchiha boy?”

Rayne felt a wave of worry wash over her quickly. Sasuke was the only Uchiha alive that people were aware of, and he was also a missing nin, and a murderer. While Kusagakure was small, they were right at the tip of the Land of Fire, surely they were all well aware of Sasuke’s bounty.

No matter, Rayne had already divulged his name while stupidly trying to keep their honeymoon cover.

“He wouldn’t happen to be Uchiha Sasuke, would he?”

“The one and only.” She was an old woman. Rayne could easily knock her out, get Sasuke from the room, and run. Again, Itachi must have been rolling in his grave laughing. Not only was Rayne risking her free will in order to save Sasuke, now she was willing to beat the elderly and defenseless in the Uchiha name. She had taken a seriously wrong turn on her path of life somewhere.

“Now I can understand why you were in such a hurry to get a room!” Rayne looked at her in shock and the flowers of moe sprout from the inn keeps head. Cue Rayne’s anime fall. “A renegade and the woman that loves him fleeing their countries in order to be together. A true story of star crossed lovers, such tragedy!”

Rayne slowly clawed her way back up the wooden desk, shaking the money in the inn keeps face. “Please…take the money…I don’t know how much more of this I can take...”

“Don’t worry my darling, I will keep your little secret safe.” Talk about a case of two faced, bipolar disorder. Just last night this woman was giving Rayne hell, and now that she found out Sasuke’s last name, she was fantasizing about their love story. This was one of the many effects the Uchiha had on people…Rayne had no explanation.

’What the literal hell. This world is crazy.’ Rayne forced a smile. “Thank you, I really appreciate that! I have to go out for a while, but I’ll be back tonight.”

Rayne could vaguely make out the old woman’s well wishes as she walked out the inn door, trying her best not to slam it, and the rip it off the hinges. The village they had stopped at, whose name Rayne was ignorant to, was quiet. The surrounding area looked like a farm land, mulled over fields surrounded by long grass, and trees of the forest off in the distance.

’I wonder if this is a trade point with Konoha.’ Rayne bowed kindly to villagers that passed by as she walked along the rocky, tan colored road. There were treees as far as the eye could see, alluding to areas that may not be as populus as a common field. Rayne felt nostalgic as she appreciated the surrounding nature, as that was one thing Konoha had that Kumo didn’t.

The noodle shop Rayne had passed over last evening was down the hill, as well as smaller shops in that general location. In this area there was the towns center, then fields scattered around the perimeter for harvesting crops and vegetables. As she walked, Rayne noticed that there was a larger ratio of tomatoes more than any other vegetable.

’Hey, Rokobi, are you there?’ Rokobi hadn’t answered her calls last night, and Rayne had suspected he was ignoring her for sparing Sasuke’s life. ’I know that you’ve been able to rest and sustain your chakra after the fight… If you ignore me, I’m going to sing one of Bee’s raps. You don’t want to suffer through that, do you?’

Still no answer. Was he calling her bluff?

Rayne cleared her throat, looking around at the villagers she was passing. A strange looking girl from another village rapping to herself in the streets? She didn’t intend to stay in Kusagakure for too long, why not make a fool out of herself? Starting to shake her hips to the beat of Killer Bee’s music in her head, Rayne began to spit his rhymes.

“Yo! Say, ho! You did this to yourself, Rokobi!
Always with a grin, ‘cause I got the funky flow, yow!
Take you down to the ground with a punishing blow!
A Tailed Beast resides in my hide!
Step aside, and prepare to be petrified!
‘Cause it’s hard out there for a Jinchuuriki,
When you’re fightin’ and recitin’ and your rhymes are freaky!
My vanquished foes do the dance of defeat!
And we celebrate my win with these ice cold beats!
Me and Rokobi ain’t nothin’ gonna sever!
It’s win, win, win, till the-“

WHY WOULD YOU PUT MY NAME IN THAT AWFUL RHYME?!

Rayne’s eyes remained closed as she walked forward, avoiding the gaze of anyone passing her bye. ’Don’t ignore me then!’

*I didn’t have anything to say.*

‘You always have plenty to say.’ Rayne left her body on auto pilot as she submersed herself into her inner chamber. When she opened her eyes again, she saw him before her.
’You and I really need to talk about Sasuke.’

Rokobi was laying before her, front paws crossed over one another as he opened one eye to look at her. The lower half of his body was in his cage, while the rest of him was outside in the open.

’Don’t think I didn’t notice your lack of presence after Sasuke asked me to go to the Uchiha compound with him.’

*I refuse to align myself with that trash.*

Rayne’s expression was stern. ’I’m not doing anything like that, I’m still on my guard.’

*Guard? You’re treating him too fairly for someone that tried to kill you multiple times.*

‘He just saved my life. He saved your life.’

*After he almost drown you, as well as a second attempt to pierce you with chidori. He attempted to kill Sakura, and that girl he was with before your eyes. Taking care and sheltering him is not what Itachi prepared you for!* Rokobi’s voiced shook her as he roared.

’Itachi prepared me to kill him if I had no other choice!’

*And what choice do you have now?* Up on his front paws, Rokobi was leaning in towards Rayne as if he were a lion preying on antelope. *He never said he was going back to the village. This isn’t about playing Team Konoha, you don’t even belong to that village!*

‘Konoha is my home!’ Rayne shouted as she shut her eyes, fists clenching while three large, red gates came down around Rokobi’s neck, and front paws. As he went silent, Rayne opened her eyes and gasped at the restraints she saw around him. ’Oh my gosh. Rokobi, I am so so-‘

*You care this much about someone who betrayed you that you’re willing to restrain me like an animal?*

‘I didn’t mean to-‘

*If you didn’t mean to, this wouldn’t have happened!* Rokobi snarled as Rayne approached, stopping her. *All I mean for is your best interest, I want to keep you safe and happy. However, your body is my home, and if I must defend myself against your will, then that is what I’ll do.*

‘Are you threatening me?’ Rayne had a sudden flash of nostalgia. It felt as though they were at square one, as if they hadn’t made any progression as partners.

*Do not forget your place, you are my vessel. We have formed a bond, but that does not mean that I will not act on my own to protect both of us. I am the partner to the God of Thunder, and you are no God.*

Rokobi’s crimson eyes were dialated and narrowed, Rayne’s pained expression their focal point. ’I can’t believe you’d even snarl at me.’

*Do not betray me, Rayne, not for that worthless boy… You’ll regret it.*

In an instant, several more gates came down around Rokobi’s tails, and one around his mouth to act as a muzzle. He tried to snarl, but as he did, the gate pushed further into the ground. Rayne looked on at him with an empty stare. ”Stay out of my life for a while, weasel.*

In reality, Rayne had just arrived at the door of the soba noodle shop. Looking at her reflection in the door, she saw the tears built up in the corner of her eyes. Cursing under her breath, she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

When Rayne entered the room back at the inn, she was half surprised to see Sasuke still there. She had half expected him to be gone, or on the other side of the door with Kusanagi to run her through once she walked in.

“Surprised to see me?” Sasuke asked, sitting up in bed.

“Naturally.” Stepping in, Rayne set the shopping bag with their dinner on the end table next to the door, then proceeded to drag it to the center of the floor. “I wasn’t planning on feeding you, so I hope you can get out of bed to eat.”

“What happened to ‘enjoying the luxury’?” Sasuke threw Rayne’s words back at her as his feet touched the floor. If he was his snarky self, he must have been feeling much better.

“You have your choices.” Rayne started as she pulled two soup cups from the bag, setting them on the table. “Chicken, or pork. I don’t like seafood, so I didn’t get shrimp or crab.”

Sasuke sat across from her at the table, legs crossed. Once he was comfortable, he reached for the pork bowl. “This was hardly a choice.”

Rayne growled under her breath as she popped her bowl open. Ungrateful. “Well I don’t like seafood, and they were out of beef.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.” Rayne rose an eyebrow in question.

“Then what did you mean?”

Sasuke let out an annoyed noise. “I mean chicken is your favorite meat, you bought the pork for me.”

Rayne felt her eyes widen as Sasuke opened his bowl, steam rising in his face. Her voice shook in surprise as she asked Sasuke how he knew that.

“Don’t be stupid. The majority of the time we ate out, you ordered a chicken based course.”
“Always observant. Such a well trained ninja.”

“…And you made me a chicken dish on my birthday.”

Rayne sat across from him, his eyes dimly lit by the sunlight peeking through the blinds. Together they sat in silence. Along with her heart rate, Rayne couldn’t keep the stupid smile off of her face as her eyes darted to her soup before he caught her gaze. Thinking back to her conversation with Izumo, Rayne recalled what they had shared with each other. All the little things that hadn’t been spoken with Sasuke, favorite colors, seasons, entertainment, stores, and yet he had noticed her favorite meat on his own. Not only did he notice, but he remembered what she had cooked on his birthday.

“Remember when I called you a bitch and punched you in the face? Rayne had to supress her attraction. What better way than to recall him pissing her off?

“You tried kicking my door in.”

“I’m surprised you remember anything sentimental after I beat the shit out of you the night you left.”

“No amount of physical, or mental pain, could make me forget.” Sasuke snapped his response out, and silence fell on them once more. That remark led Rayne to infer that Sasuke had suffered due to his memories. So much for the stone cold Uchiha saying he broke his bonds and left everything behind. She wondered what plagued him most, all of his memories, or certain occurences? Did he remember everything he experienced with everyone, or was it a select few? Did he recall the night he left in perfect detail, just as she did? Could he still feeel the blood on his hands, her lifeless body in his arms?

All these questions Rayne wanted to ask as her eyes rose apprehensively, cautious to see if she’d catch Sasuke looking her way. His head was down, and Rayne could only see his long, dark eyelashes. Soup was stirred in his bowl before he quietly moved his spoon to his lips. She had stepped over a line, misjudging how comfortably they had been speaking. In fact, she was quite surprised he had even said that in response to her. Even so, she was glad to see Sasuke haunted by their past, but she wasn’t willing to let that interfere with her chance to talk to him. Him. No fighting, or ninja business included.

“Sasuke?” Silence. Well, that was what she anticipated. “Sasuke…can I ask you a question?”

Greeted by more silence, Rayne pressed forward. “What’s your favorite color?”

Sasuke’s bowl slammed onto the table, what little left of his soup spilling over the side. While he didn’t have his sharingan activated, Rayne could feel the heat of his blood stained glare. “Whay did you have to come and find me?!”

“What?” They had already been over this.

“Why couldn’t you just stay dead?!”

Rayne slammed her soup bowl as well, hearing a distinct crack in the styrofoam as she did. “Fucking excuse me?! What, is reality too much for you to handle?!”

“I would have been better off with you dead!”

“So you could live in your warped sense of reality?!”

“So I could live without this pain!” Sasuke shoved the table, pushing it into Rayne’s abdomen. “All day I’ve been reliving repressed memories, all of them involving you. Remembering this, this pain pisses me off!”

“Oh boo-fucking-hoo, you have to suffer a little!” Rayne shoved the table back toward him. “Your mental suffering is insignificant compared to what I’ve gone through because of you! I’ve suffered for threee and a half yea-“

“So have I!” Rayne fell backward, pinned under the table as Sasuke hovered above her. “You have no idea what I’ve felt like these past three years!”

“I can’t imagine it’d be much since you were willing to kill me!” Rayne brought her knees to her chest, pushing the table upward. “Can you get off?!”

Sasuke backed away quickly, taking the resistance away from the pressure of Rayne’s feet. The table flew in the air a few inches, then crashed back down as Rayne remained beneath it. The soup bowls flew their own respective ways across the floor, and Rayne crawled out as Sasuke backed away and leaned against the base of bed. Rising to her feet, Rayne glanced over to see Sasuke hunched over, an open hand covering his eyes. Her fists tightened.

“You know what? I’ve taken enough shit from Rokobi for your sake today, I’m not going to take any from you! You’re such a schizophrenic! You say you want one thing, and yet your actions show the exact opposite. Yesterday you told me you wanted me to go to the compound with me, now you’re telling me you wish I stayed dead to you.” Rayne turned toward the bathroom. “You appear to be able to take care of yourself, it isn’t like you need me to nurse you back to help. So make up your fuckin’ mind and I’ll be gone by morning.”

Rayne crossed the room, her eyes set on the bathroom door as her palm met the paint chipped handle. “And you’re fucking welcome for the room, asshole. And for cleaning up your stupid face. And for carrying your ass here!”

“…I haven’t slept in years.”

“Isn’t that a fuckin’ shame.” Rayne swung the bathroom door open, nearly throwing her shoulder out in the process.

“Whenever I closed my eyes after the night I left Konoha, all I could see was your face.” Sasuke continued.

“What makes you think I give a shit?” She didn’t.

“When I did manage to fall asleep, I’d have the same reoccuring nightmare, over and over. I haven’t had one night of peace because you’ve haunted me in my dreams.”

“Good, I’m glad you suffered.” Her brows were quivering, as well as the corner of her mouth. She was pissed off, and she was upset. Sasuke wasn’t able to have a peaceful night of rest, but neither was she. Rayne spent many a sleepless night thinking of him, or remembering the time they had spent together in Konoha. It was too soon to call that the past, especially when it still felt so fresh that it stung. Attempting to slam the door behind her, Rayne found that it was stuck. Looking over her right shoulder, she saw Sasuke looming behind her.
“Let go of the door.”

“I’d scream, I’d cry… I saw your eyes staring at me in a cold, dead gaze.”

“You’re going to have a dead gaze if you don’t back off.” If Rayne punched him between the eyes, she figured he’d pass out. He was ocularly sensitive right now, so any trauma he suffered would hurt ten times as much.

“When I had these nightmares, I couldn’t distinguish them from reality. Orochimaru developed an injection to help the nightmares subside, but I still had broken sleep.”

Rayne made an upward jab with her right elbow as she let go of the handle, causing it to make a loud rattle. Sasuke caught her upper arm, hoistering her slightly as he squeezed her skin with his left hand.

“When I saw Naruto and Sakura again, along with that Sai bastard, I was beyond angry.”

“You mean jealous that they replaced you?!” Rayne tried to kick, but Sasuke spun her around so she’d face him. Pushing the door closed, Rayne’s back hit the wood as Sasuke’s hands rest on either side of her head. She could feel her eyes shaking in her head from her nerves. “You really are a schizo!”

“I was angry to think that they replaced you with a nobody! After three years of finally getting peace of mind back, that was when I started thinking of you again… But this time I wasn’t having nightmares… I was having dreams.”

A dream implied happy thoughts, whereas a nightmare consisted of horrific thoughts. “Just what are you getting at?”

Sasuke’s eyes went soft, his tense face relaxing as he looked at her in silence for a moment. “I missed you, Rayne.”

“You had to pin me under a table and throw me against the wall to tell me that?!” Rayne could feel the heat rising to her cheeks in embarrassment.

“When you appeared and caught my chidori the other day, I completely broke down when I was brought back to the akatsuki hideout. In my heart I had known for three years that I killed you, but I was wrong.” Rayne was plunged into Sasuke’s dark eyes as he looked on at her. “I have always had a plan, ever since I was a child. I planned to become as strong as my brother in order to be recognized by my father. Then I planned to kill Itachi to avenge my family, and I had to leave and get stronger in order to make that happen. Once I fought Itachi, I planned to destroy Konoha to wipe the slate of hatred completely clean…but now you’re here, and I have no idea what to do.”

Rayne was speechless, but she managed to whisper his name as his eyes fell from her face, to his mothers necklace.

“I’m supposed to avenge my brother but now you’re telling me he’d rather me be killed than do that for him. All my life I’ve put my family first, I sacrificed my chance at happiness for them, and for what now? To learn that Itachi loved and protected me for years? For the only other person that I let into my life kill me?”

Sasuke had too much pride to cry, so much so that Rayne wondered if he cried after he learned the truth about Itachi. Sasuke’s eyes were watery and his face was red, but he refused to be pushed to cry. Rayne hadn’t noticed she’d been breathing from her mouth, trying to catch her breath as she watched Sasuke fall apart before her. His whole existance was fucked up, even when he was “happy,” he was still plagued by his mental thoughts. Just when he had a chance to think he was free after killing Itachi, it was ruined by learning the truth behind the Uchiha massacre.

“I know that everything seems hopeless, that it always has. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.” Rayne cupped Sasuke’s face in her hands. “But Naruto, Sakura, and I, we were never there to be a burden for you. All we wanted, all we want to do, is see you happy. The three of us have faced death just so we could stay by your side and fight your darkness with you.”

Sasuke turned his head away from her. “Chasing me only drags you into the dark, I didn’t want any of you to be part of it. But Naruto is such an idiot, he won’t stay away from me.” He looked back at her. “And you, you’re just as bad as he is. Willing to kill, or die with me.”

“I wouldn’t kill you, Sasuke.” Rayne gave him a half hearted smile. “I’m not willing to kill people I love so easily, unlike you bat shit crazy Uchiha.”

Sasuke backed away from her, annoyed by what she had said. Rayne wondered which part of her statement bothered him the most. That she called his family bat shit crazy? (They were). That she implied that she loved him? Or that she accused him of loving her?

“Neither am I.” Even though he tried to sound serious, Sasuke’s voice was shaky.

“Uh huh…” Rayne turned her attention to the turned over table, as well as the spilled soup bowls on the floor. “Anyway, we should clean this up. Then…” She noticed that Sasuke was holding his forehead. “Are you okay?”

“I aggravated my eyes. My head hurts.” Rayne was right, if she had punched him earlier, he definitely would have been out. Turning him by the shoulder, Rayne nudged him toward the bed.

“Just lay down, I’ll clean this up.” It wasn’t like cleaning was difficult. Rayne threw the cups away in the bag she had brought them in, then turned the table over, inspecting it to make sure it hadn’t suffered any damage. And that was that, the room was clean. Rayne wasn’t sure what to do next. The sun was still up, Sasuke was in bed, Rokobi was muzzled, and she was in a town she had no knowledge of. Did she go walking around outside? Where was there to go?

“Rayne?” She turned to face Sasuke. “Don’t sleep in the tub tonight.”

“You sayin’ you have the money to buy me another room?” Suddenly she remembered her thought from earlier this morning. “Wait, did you have to go to the bathroom last night and couldn’t because I was in there? I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about that!”

Sasuke’s hand slowly fell from his eyes, and he stared at her like he would have looked at Naruto three years ago. “…No. Sleep in the bed.”

“…You aren’t going to murder me in my sleep, are you?”

“As if I could.”

“Admitting you can’t kill me, then?” Sasuke gave her the same annoyed expression, and Rayne laughed at him. “What if I kick in my sleep?”

“I’ll kick back.”

Rayne walked out of the inn for fresh air, plucking a daisy from the garden to play a game of “he’s insane, he isn’t insane.”

People wore their most serene expressions while they were asleep, and Sasuke was no exception. Even a murdering, criminal schizophrenic looked like an innocent cherub as his raven bangs covered his eyes, with a few strands of hair stuck to his open, snoring lips.

This was Rayne’s first time waking up to Sasuke, and it was significantly different than waking up to Izumo. The last, and only, time that Rayne had slept with Sasuke, he was gone before she had woken up. She didn’t think of it much at the time, but now Rayne wondered if he had admired her in the same fashion she was admiring him. Only now that he was asleep could Rayne get close enough to his face to notice each and every curve and definition of his facial structure. How strong his jaw line was, and how it curved to meet his chin, right below his peachish, pink lips, the bottom lip fuller than the top. She noticed how much his nostrils flared when he let out a deep breath, quiet snoring emitting from him as he did. His eye lashes were long and dark, and his eyebrows were full, naturally shaped clean.

’You’re beautiful.’ Rayne was smiling to herself like an idiot. When Sasuke told her to stay in bed with him last night, she wasn’t sure why. In fact, when she came back to the room after calming down inside, Sasuke had already been tucked in waiting for her. After carefully positioning herself to make sure neither her elbows or feet touched him, Rayne faced the opposite direction, staring wide eyed at the wall in anticipation. Sasuke didn’t even say goodnight to her.

When she woke up, Rayne’s eyes focused directly on his face, as they were now turned into each other, their hands only slightly apart. Beneath the covers, Rayne could feel the hair on Sasuke’s legs prickling her skin, and heat consumed her body. They weren’t exactly cuddling, but they were intertwined, nonetheless. Rayne ran scenarios through her head, all of which would backfire and be regrettable decisions in this moment, but she continued to entertain her thoughts. Bringing her hand up slowly, Rayne lightly pinched the hairs that were stuck to Sasuke’s lips. With a swift movement, Sasuke’s open palm took hold of Rayne’s right wrist with a smack, and his dark eyes slowly opened to meet her half lidded glare.

“I was just going to move the hair you’re sucking on away from your mouth, sheesh.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, still holding her wrist for a moment until he let go, reaching instead to move the hairs away from his mouth. “Uneccessary.”

“I liked you better when you were asleep.” Typical Sasuke, making a snide remark immediately before so much as a ‘good morning.’ He glared at her again, his eyes adjusting to the light in the room, masked by the sheer curtains, but just barely. Outside it was a warm, bright and sunny day, contrasting the dark cloud that had just formed over them.

“I like you better when you’re asleep, too.”

“Yeah? And why’s that?”

“You don’t bother me in your sleep.”

Rayne scowled at him, quickly turning away from his face to lay on her back. “You’re cute when you’re sleeping… Then you wake up, run your mouth, and ruin everything.”

“I’d rather that than be cute.” Sasuke retorted after going out of his way to sound repulsed by her compliment. Even so, out of the corner of her eye, Rayne thought Sasuke’s cheeks were slightly pink. It may have been the sun, though.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough. I don’t have a headache. You?”

“The bed is definitely a lot better than a porcelain bathtub. The only problem is I had to share it with you.” Rayne teased him, and Sasuke scoffed again. “I didn’t kick you in my sleep, did I?”

“Did you feel me kick you at all during the night?”

“No.”

“Then no, you didn’t kick.”

“Fair enough.” Unlike Rayne, Sasuke had remained on his side, his face pointed in her direction. Why? Why hadn’t he rolled over yet? Her eyes traveled downward to look at him, and Rayne found that his eyes were set on her chest. It was highly unlikely that he was looking at her breasts, so Rayne settled on the idea that he was looking at his mothers necklace. And then he looked at her, his dark eyes accentuated by his long lashes. Rayne made a noise similar to a pot whistling when the water boils, and quickly turned over onto the opposite shoulder.

“What was that for?” Well, he sounded annoyed.

“Don’t look at me like that…” Rayne grumbled, hoping to be inaudible. And she was.

“Look at me when you talk to me, Rayne.” Sasuke’s hand snaked it’s way under the covers and to her wrist once more, tugging it backward toward him.

“All I said was don’t look at me like that!” She snapped, trying to pull her wrist away, only to be dragged backward more. Sasuke pulled her, and Rayne fell sideways, her back hitting the mattress as she landed beneath Sasuke, who was leaning upward on his elbow. He didn’t have a shirt on? “H-hey, you slept with me without a shirt on?”

“It was hot.” His reply was toneless. “Don’t turn away from me when I’m talking to you.” With his eyes cast down on her, Rayne felt like a child being scolded. She turned her gaze away from him, fixating on the entrance to the room.

“…Excuse me.” Apologizing was the easiest way out of this. Laying with Sasuke and spending the night with him was proving to be a mistake. Rayne had basically admitted that she loved him last night, only she beat around the bush and made it sound less forward. She accused him of loving her, and he didn’t agree, or disagree. Spending a night close together, waking up to him with the opportunity to admire how much he’s matured, and how sexy he had grown to be had really clouded her mind. Inside this room, she wasn’t a kunoichi, she was a teenage girl in love with no control over her emotions, because she never had these emotions before. And it wasn’t just because she had spent a night with him, it was because she really, truly…

“If you don’t back away, I’m going to kiss you.” Sasuke’s eyes widened for a moment. He had been hovering over Rayne, waiting for her attention to turn back to him. Rayne knew she sounded stupid, probably on the verge of desperate, but Sasuke wasn’t taking the hint. He was an asexual idiot who would rely on human instinct to reproduce, not because he had an active libido. Sharing a bed with Rayne meant nothing to him, but she couldn’t get herself to stop imagining doing what she did with Izumo, with Sasuke.

Finally, after a long, painful thirty seconds, Sasuke backed off. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”

Rayne’s back shot up straight as she slid away and off the bed. “Sasuke, listen. I know you’re sexually unaware, but you’ve grown up to be incredibly attractive. I’m a teenage girl with a sex drive, so things that don’t phase you are going to phase me.”

Sasuke chuckled behind her, and all of Rayne’s senses shut down. She honed in on the sound of his laughter, and it consumed her like a brushfire. That was a sound she never imagined she’d hear, only a chuckle, but at the same time, much more. “Really? You can’t even manage to stay in a bed with me?”

“That isn’t it, idiot.” Rayne looked over her shoulder. Her pouted lips and red cheeks made her look like a nine year old who got into their mothers make up bag and applied too much blush. “It’s…the way you looked at me…”

“All I did was look at you.”

“No, you didn’t… That was different, so… Try not to do it again, unless you want me to kiss you.”

“What a horrific thought.” Sasuke slid toward her, his stomach flat against the mattress as his fingers extended forward. As his hand came in reach of Rayne’s behind, she quickly turned around, shielding herself.
“Uchiha!”

“I was just going to pull your shorts down, sheesh.” Sasuke teased her, just as she had teased him when she woke him up. Rayne flushed a deeper pink, groping herself to discover that she indeed had a wedgie. Now she was red.

“Embarrassing.” Rayne sighed as she fumbled around to readjust her shorts. Again, Sasuke was chuckling as he looked up at her. “Don’t laugh at my expense! You could have just told me!”

“Your loss.”

“Of dignity? Yes.”

“That was your chance to have me touch you.” Sasuke teased her as he crawled forward, swinging his legs around and standing up before her.

“You think you’re fuckin’ cute? I’ll smother you in your sleep, asshole.”

He smirked, his eyes smoldering once again. Rayne glared at him, muttering a ‘whatever’ as she looked down at the ground, Sasuke turning to walk around the bed. “It looks like a nice day, I want to go out and test my eyesight.”

“Already? Sasuke you haven’t healed properly at all.”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Who’s the one who agreed to fight me?”

“Who’s the one who challenged me to a fight knowing I was at a disadvantage?”

“What? Noooo, I wouldn’t do that.” Rayne winked over her shoulder as she walked to the bathroom, grabbing her vest and skirt before she closed the door.

After washing up and testing Sasuke’s reaciton to the light using the window blinds, they made their way downstairs. Much to Rayne’s relief, the receptionest wasn’t at the front desk, sparing her from explaining her and Sasuke’s daily honeymoon activities. As they walked through the front door, they paused to allow Sasuke’s eyes to adjust before proceeding down the pathway to the fork in the road; left was downtown, right was the way they had come the day before last.

“I know you want to activate the Mangekyou today, but what did you have in mind attack wise?”

As Sasuke walked, he made sure to make eye contact with everyone who looked at him. Rayne assumed he was making sure no Konoha ninja were hanging around that would cause trouble. “We can go over basics, but I don’t really need to use my Sharingan for those. I’d like to practive Amaterasu and extinguishing the flames, that was one of the hardest things for me to master.”

“So you want to potentially ignite me with black flames without knowing if you can extinguish them. That’s endearing.”

“You said you’d help me practice.”

“Yeah, maybe on a tree or something.”

“It will be fortuitous to practice with a moving target.”

“I can throw logs at you.”

“Their movement wouldn’t be as fast.”

“You think I’m fast, hm?” Rayne nudged Sasuke in the shoulder lightly, his dull eyes meeting her wink.

“Not the fastest.” Rayne’s nudge turned into a punch. “However… My Sharingan was unable to track you before my eyes were replaced.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Sasuke rose a brow before making a turn toward a wooded area they had come from the other night. Rayne couldn’t see anything beyond the tree line.

“If you’re fishing for a compliment, you’re casting a line in the wrong place.”
“Ooooh, nice analogy. You’re so creative.” Rayne’s mocking tone earner her a glare the moment she rejoined Sasuke at his side.

“For someone who threatens to kill me and claims to have become a stronger shinobi, you still act like a child.”

Rayne’s left arm reached out, her palm wrapping around Sasuke’s neck as she kicked off the ground. With his back slamming against the tree that was several feet away from them, Rayne pressed her body against his as she looked down, bearing her teeth in a snarl. From behind, she could feel the cold steel of Sasuke’s blade against her exposed back.

“Just because I lower my wall to let you in, that doesn’t make me less capable of killing you.” She hoped she sounded as intimidating as she wanted to.

Sasuke pulled the sharp blade against Rayne’s skin, her back arching at the cold as Sasuke stood taller than her. “You’re sleeping with the enemy, you shouldn’t lower your wall so easily.”

Rayne’s ears twitched. “You still consider me your enemy?”

“I make sure my kusanagi is unsheathed beneath the bed each night.” Running the blade against her, Sasuke watched as Rayne’s clone disappeared in a white cloud. From above, Rayne swung around a tree branch, her foot aiming to connect with the side of Sasuke’s head. Distancing himself, Sasuke retracted a few yards before returning his sword to its sheath.

“Still consider me an enemy after I took care of you for two entire days. Asshole!”

“Are you so desperate for my approval to become upset over something trivial?”

“The only thing I’m desperate about is shoving my foot up your ass.”

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. I have no friends…you should be happy I’d keep you extra close for that reason.”

Rayne screamed, her fists clenching as her chakra poured out around her without control. Everything was coming down in an instant. Rokobi was right, and now he wasn’t even here for her to admit that to him. The past three days ran like a silent movie behind Rayne’s eyelids. Had Sasuke put up a fa�ade to humor her while plotting against her? ’You said you missed me. You said now that I was here, you didn’t know what to do. You made me believe you could rethink your decision on Konoha.’

“Seems you were too fixated on emotion and desire to keep yourself protected at your most vulnerable. Pathetic. And you think you’re worthy of my praise? So what if you’re fast, I’m faster. I’ve always been faster, I’ve always been a better ninja than you. You fight at close range, I can keep you at a distance. You’re at an utter disadvantage when fighting me. I will always win, Rayne, you will never succeed against me.” Sasuke watched with amusement as crimson bled into Rayne’s grey eyes.

“You haven’t changed at all…” And apparently, neither had she. Sasuke made her feel like a fool. Even though the past two days were hot and cold, Rayne truly believed in her heart that they were making progress on the road to recovery from the past. Evidently, she was wrong. Her hand held onto the chain of Sasuke’s mothers necklace, and suddenly the amusement in his eyes was gone. If he was going to hurt her, Rayne was going to hurt him, too. “I actually let my emotions sway me. I left my village to seek you out and save you before you marched out to die like your brother, but now I’m going to bury this fucking necklace with you!”

The sound of the chain breaking was louder than the sound of the cries Sasuke remembered when he found his parents dead at Itachi’s hands. He watched the last piece of his mother that he had fall to the ground as Rayne spitefully tossed it to the side. A rage boiled inside him, matching the intensity of her animosity. They had both crossed a line they couldn’t come back from.

Rayne charged at him, dodging the black flames of Amaterasu he threw at her. For a moment she thought about his Sharingan and how it responded to his attack, then proceeded to curse herself for having such a thought. As Sasuke retracted from her advances, Rayne gathered chakra in her fist, thrusting it forward into the ground. The current from her strike ran through the soil, cracking and exploding upward towards Sasuke’s free falling form. He cut away large rocks that were threatening, just barely catching Rayne as she descended on him. She straddled him mid air, her left fist gripping his shirt as she continuously punched him in the face while screaming profanities at him.

They fell to the ground together, skipping like a flat stone against water before skidding to a hault. At some point Sasuke had released his sword, as his hand was now in Rayne’s hair, pulling it violently. As her head bent back, she could see the dilation in his pupil, and knew an attack was coming. Forming handsigns at an excelled rate, Rayne lifted her hand toward the sky. Sasuke hastily released her, kicking her off of him as he scuttled backward. What would have been a strike of lightning where they sat was a mere spark in the wind.

Rayne’s hand ran through her hair, stroking her scalp to ease the pain from where Sasuke had pulled. “Pulling at my hair, fighting like the little bitch you are.”

“A cautious ninja wouldn’t keep their hair so long.” Itachi had told her the same thing, only less insulting.

A gust of wind stirred the grass around Sasuke’s feet as his chakra formed a shell around his body, a single red tear falling from his right eye. Susanoo was activated, the enourmous, purple flaming skeleton forming only halfway before it began to erode.

“Looks like someone is having trouble keeping it up!” Rayne was at her feet, her own chakra beginning to spark in the air. She felt the lack of Rokobi’s presence.

In an instant Susanoo was collapsing around Sasuke, now on his knees with his face in his hands. As this was her opportunity to strike, Rayne quickly made her way over to him, his painful groans becoming louder as she approached.

“You certainly like to hand over victories, big bad Uchiha avenger. Any last insightful word about how much better you are than me before I kill you?” With her foot at his shoulder, Rayne knocked Sasuke over like a stone. She could see the blood that had fallen from his face against the soil, a trail now leading to where he was laying. His blood was profuse, possibly falling at a faster rate than the night they came to this village.

Again Rayne pressed her foot against him, this time at his side to kick him over. His hands covered his face, however she could see the blood leaking from his nose. That was different than last time. And just like that, shamefully, Rayne was at his side.

“Sasuke, hey, sit up. If you lay down the blood will collect at the back of your throat and clot. Come on, get up.” Rayne pulled at his arms as he seemed incapable of releasing his face from his grip. Once vertical, the blood poured from Sasuke’s face like Rayne had just turned on a faucet. This was definitely worse than last time.

“Oh, holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit. Shit. Fuck.” Rayne unbuckled the chain that held her vest closed, quickly discarding it as she pulled her tank top off. Airing it out, she brought it up to Sasuke’s face, attempting to push his hands away with her own. “Move your hands so I can soak up the blood. I need to pinch the bridge of your nose to try and stop the bleeding.”

This was unreal. What if he was having a brain aneurysm from the optical trauma? Rayne wasn’t a medical nin, she didn’t know what to do. Was there even a hospital in this village? Pulling her shirt away from his face, it seemed as though the blood from Sasuke’s eyes was minimal, the majority coming from his nose.

“Not. Better.” Sasuke panted between breaths.

“You should have started small; rushing into Susanoo was a bad idea.”

Rayne’s shirt was unwearable by the time Sasuke’s nose decided to stop bleeding. She donned her vest, the bloody ball of cloth in her right hand as she extended her left to Sasuke. He stared at her.

She inhaled sharply to prevent shrieking. “Just take my fucking hand and lets go. Once I take a shower and get you settled back into the room, I’m gone, ya dig?”

Rayne mentally kicked herself for letting Bee’s slang influence her. That sounded incredibly stupid.

Sasuke stood, without her offered assistance, pushing her away with his shoulder as he walked past. Rayne glared at the back of his head, the warm tears she felt were making her angry all over again. How badly she wished she could withdraw the sword from Sasuke’s sheath and run him through from behind. But she was a lying dreamer, and that was yet another dream involving Sasuke that wouldn’t come true.

Sasuke paused, crouching down to retrieve the necklace Rayne had ripped off in a fury. He didn’t bother to turn around to see if she was following or not. And for the first time since the day she had woken up, Rayne truly wished she had died at the Valley of the End. Death sounded more promising than spending another day meddling with the Uchiha family.

Discolored water rushed down the drain as Rayne stepped beneath the shower head, the dirt and sweat washing off her body. Forcefully pushing her forehead against the cool tile of the wall, she pounded her fists against it as water poured down her bare neck. It was a weird sensation, being without the necklace that bound her to Sasuke. Rayne could even go so far as to say it acted like a collar. As long as she wore it, she carried him with her. Each and every day, throughout everything she had done. And now, she was unbound. She was free.

Metaphorically. Rayne felt hopeless, which made her feel pathetic. When had she become so dishonest with herself? Rokobi was right when he told her she was stronger three years ago than she was now, and he was no longer around for her to tell him that. She was a long way from home with no way to reach A or Bee. Rokobi was giving her the silent treatment. Sasuke admitted he had been leading her on through his scheming.

Why couldn’t Itachi be here? Rayne would give anything to meet him at his personal hideout and complain to him about how infuriating Sasuke was, and how badly she wanted to walk away from him. But she couldn’t do either, and at this point, she didn’t know what bothered her more.

Rayne loved Sasuke, and she knew that. As badly as she wanted to hate him for his actions, she understood that she couldn’t blame him entierly. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t have helped Itachi. Did she agree because she sympathized with him? Mostly, but she sympathized with Sasuke as well and wanted a chance to help him. Rayne respected Itachi more than anyone, but she didn’t think he was without flaw. His biggest flaw was walking away from Sasuke and handling the situation the way he did.

What did Rayne want? Deep down, what was her motivation? Did she just want Sasuke to return to Konoha? Did she want him to return to her? To love her, to pave a road for a future together? Or was it simply her desire to save him in any way possible, without having to kill him? She didn’t have an answer. She hit the wall again.

As angry as it had made her, Rayne didn’t believe what Sasuke said earlier, but she didn’t think at the time and acted with hostility. If he didn’t care about her, he would have let her drown the other day. He wouldn’t have gone on to tell her he missed her, or gotten frustrated about it. He certainly wouldn’t have accepted her to help or invited her to stay in a bed with him. Hell, he only ever gave her a hug all of like, what, two times?

And he most definitely wouldn’t have given her that necklace, that collar, what bound her to him. He wanted that, and Rayne destroyed that bond, the last thing that kept him attached to his past. Not only that, but she destroyed the last memory he had of his mother, something he entrusted her to take care of.

That’s what bothered her the most, she had effectively broken the only evidence of affection Sasuke had given her, and she chose to do it.

Rayne turned the faucet off with force that would have ripped it off the wall if it had been improperly installed. She stepped out of the tub, twisting her long hair in a towel and throwing it up on her head. Meeting her eyes in the mirror, Rayne gripped the sides of the sink, leaning forward to her reflection. It was time for a cheesy mirror pep talk.

’Alright you indecisive bitch, time to put the issue to bed right here, right now. Put on your big girl panties and handle this maturely. Go out there, confess to Sasuke, and ask him how he feels about you. Depending on how he answers, you’ll leave. Okay? Okay.’

Sasuke was sitting sideways on the bed, his eyes fixated on the wall before him. The dim sunlight from the closed blinds cast a shadow, making it hard for Rayne to makeout his expression. Not that she really needed to see it clearly, she already knew what it was. Walking around to the other side of the bed, she watched him cautiously. As she did, Sasuke sat up, Rayne watching his muscles stretch to follow the movement of his body. Even as she stretched, she could see that his arm muscles were jittery, as well as his walk. It seemed that over using his Sharingan affected his entire nervous system.

Once he was in the bathroom and she could hear the water running, she laid down.

The smell of dirty laundry made her scrunch her nose. Rayne thought about how she hadn’t washed her clothes in days, and at this point, she had run out of fresh pairs of underwear that she had packed with her in a transportation scroll. The air here was also less humid than Kumogakure, and she found herself too cold to walk around in shorts and a tank top. Maybe it was time for a change of attire. The day was young, so she had plenty of time to go shopping, regardless if she was leaving Sasuke or not.

Or not. Why was it that she couldn’t ever back up her threats towards Sasuke? How many times had she threatened to kill him in the past three years? How pitiful. And Itachi trusted her to kill him if she absolutely needed to. Poor Itachi, Rayne couldn’t imagine how many times he must have rolled around in his grave due to her inconcistency.

Shower water was no longer audible, and the bathroom door opened quicker than Rayne had hoped for. Sasuke looked at her from underneath a dry towel. The look of “why are you still here” across his face wasn’t subtle in the least.

This was it, the moment Rayne had psyched herself up for ten minutes ago. There was a chance he wouldn’t even talk to her, then she could just up and leave.

Sasuke, sit down. We need to talk.

“Sasuke, could you sit with me? I want to talk.” Her voice was much less commanding out loud than it was in her head. He continued to stare at her, his half lidded glazed over expression turning into a glare before he whipped the towel off his head, and backward into the bathroom. Slowly, Sasuke sat at the edge of the bed, his body bent forward as his elbows rested on his knees. Rayne slid up toward him, hanging her legs off the bed as well as she sat straight.

The silence buzzed in Rayne’s ears like wasps flying chaotically through their nest. ’Ready…3…2…’

"First, I’d like to apologize for breaking your mothers necklace. I know it’s irreplacable, and in a fit of anger I carelessly treated it as though it held no sentimentality. Even if you don’t accept my apology, I want you to know that I am sorry for that…so…I need you to hear me out. I know that this comes secondary compared to everything else that's going on, and that this isn't at the front of your mind, but we need to discuss this before moving forward." Rayne made sure she had his undivided attention before turning back to stare at her knees. This was too embarrassing to talk about while making eye contact. "Immediately preceding our first fight, you've been hot and cold with me. When we fought you said you abolished any lingering feeling you had for me, and yet you decided to save my life rather than letting me drown. After that, you proceeded to tell me that you felt guilt and remorse for what was known to be my death at the time, and that thoughts of me wouldn't let you sleep at night. You've implied that you still care for me, and at the same time, you can you look me in the eyes and say it's all a farce because I'm an enemy you need to keep close.

Upon your departure at the kage summit the other day, the rest of team 7 and I began questioning Karin, and my name was brought up. She mentioned that you had spoken of me lovingly and she hated me for it...I understand that I haven't been clear about my feelings, either. I came here saying I'd kill you, while my hidden intention was to save you and my actions speak otherwise. I had myself convinced that I hated you for three years. My life would be much easier right now if that were true, but it isn't. I want to end this questioning and make an honest confession to you."

After a sharp intake of breath, Rayne turned to face Sasuke, her nerves calming at once. "I'm in love with you, Sasuke, and I always have been. Nothing you've said or done up until now has changed that. I may have tried to convince myself I didn't, but I've always known that I love you. And it's because of this that right now, before I can even think to move forward another day with you here, I need you to be honest and tell me how you feel about me."

The room was uncomfortable, the silence too loud for Rayne as Sasuke stared back into her eyes, his face lacking all emotion. She wasn't going to take silence as an answer; Rayne would rather hear him tell her to go fuck herself than to walk away without him saying anything at all. If he said he didn't care about her, Rayne was going to leave. She'd pay for another seven nights in the room, and she'd make her way toward the budding war.

"Your silence isn't going to make me walk away, I will sit here until you give me an answer. Only once have I asked how you felt about me, and that was years ago. I'm not being unfair by asking again."

A low noise growled in Sasuke's throat as he broke eye contact with her, looking off into the darkest part of the room by the doorway. His arms were shaking, which made her wonder if he was having muscle spasims, or if he was royally pissed. Rayne hoped he was collecting his thoughts and not contemplating knocking her off the bed and out the window onto the street. The last time she had asked how he felt about her was the night of Naruto's birthday, and the answer she got was, "I'll tell you when I know." Granted, Sasuke wasn't familiar with romantic love. His whole concept of love was so warped, maybe he truly did not know how he felt. A sad thought, but Rayne found it to be most likely. How could Sasuke tell her how he felt, even if he wanted to, if he couldn't comprehend it?

“I’m not asking you to love me. I just want to know how you feel about me.”

"You are only going to hear this once." Rayne hardly got to finish her sentence.

“…Really? You don’t mind?”

“Of course I mind!” Rayne hadn't heard that tone in Sasuke's voice in three years. “But I’ll tell you because you have a right to know.”

That sounded promising, and that was frightening. "I'm listening."

"You..." He attempted that sentence three more times before his open palm slapped Rayne's right thigh, gripping her as his fingers made indents on her skin. Her leg shook along with his arm. "Naruto was a rival, but we still pushed each other to get better. Sakura was annoyingly infatuated with me, interferring with her chance to grow as a shinobi. And you, we were supposed to protect you like your life was at stake, and you made it seem like you were on a field trip. You became friends with Naruto and Sakura like you knew them for years, you and I respected each other. Then the Chunin Exams happened, everything changed after that. I hurt you, and I was frustrated because that hurt me, too. I didn't understand, I never understood until the night I left Konoha."

Letting go of his grip on Rayne's leg, Sasuke ran his fingers over the red nail marks he left behind.

"When I gave you my mothers necklace, I didn't give you any reason, I just said I wanted you to have it. I gave you her necklace because you were the only person I let in, the first person I shared anything with since my brother. My family, my mother, she meant everything to me, and at that time …” His voice was no longer a tone, but a whisper. Rayne hoped her anxiousness wasn’t obvious. She could feel her nerves shaking her.

“If I didn’t feel as strongly for you, it would be easier to put into words. When you dislike someone it’s simple, you can be verbal or physical about your feelings. But when you…care…for…someone as much…it’s challenging to find the words to describe it.”

Rayne stared at him, her cheeks burning. This was weird and out of character for Sasuke. As much as she wanted to hear an answer, after years of dwelling on the thought, his demeanor was making her uncomfortable. She’d rather hear him tell her to shut up than this, that was easier.

“W-we can stop. This is really embarrassing to say out loud.”

“Embarrassing?!” Sasuke’s pink cheeks were pouty as he scowled at her. It felt as though they had gone back in time by three years. “You can tell me you love me with confidence, but when I-“

“No! I can just see how uncomfortable this-“ The lightbulb clicked. Rayne stopped speaking, and it felt like her heart stopped pounding. He just…He just…What she said, what he was trying to say…

“Don’t stare at me like an idiot.” Sasuke scoffed, turning his attention to the wall, probably concentrating to disperse the color in his cheeks.

“Sasuke.”

“Don’t.”

“You just-“

“I know what I said. Don’t-“ His eyes met hers. “…Don’t finish for me. I still…I haven’t said it.”

It.

The only muscle in Rayne's body moving became her heart, beating so hard it was shaking the rest of her body. She couldn't keep her eyes from his, constantly switching from one un-moving black eye to the other. Eyes the darkest pigment of black possible, yet Rayne saw and felt so much in them. He was doing it again, undoing her with the way he watched her.

“Rayne.”

“Y-y-y-yeah?”

“I…also need to apologize.” He looked away again.

“Apologize? Forrrr…”

“What I said earlier today. I wanted to provoke you so you wouldn’t hold back. If you went easy on me, I wouldn’t have been able to discover the limit of my eyes as quickly as I did. I needed you angry with me… I’m sor-“

“Are you FUCKING kidding me?!” Rayne dug her fingers into his shoulders, shaking him violently to and fro, hoping that his neck might snap as she did. “You put me through all that mental anxiety because you wanted to test out your stupid eyesight! I broke your necklace because of you, you fuck! I broke the one symbol of affection you had for me because you had to shit out of your mouth in the form of words! You’re such an idiot!”

Her forehead hit his chest, hands sliding off his shoulders and to the sides of her face. “I should hate you by now, you know.”

“You should.” Sasuke’s right hand was in her hair, right around her neck. His fingers rubbed at her scalp.

“If there’s a jeweler in town, I’ll get the chain replaced. We can go look for one tonight.”

“You’re staying?” Rayne sat up, narrowing her eyes at him. “Stupid question.”

“Yeahuh.” Falling to the left, Rayne’s head just missed the pillow, bouncing off the mattress instead as her body sunk into the sheets. “I need a nap. My head and my heart need a rest. Maybe you should let your eyes rest.”

Sasuke “mhmm”d her, laying down at her side. Rayne could still see the movement of his body, his spasms now worsening as his body relaxed. Sasuke himself must have realized it, as he took hold of his wrist while making a groan of annoyance. He probably had a headache, too. Rayne didn’t know what she could do for headaches, but if his muscles were restless, she could calm them.

“Do you remember our last mission as a team? When we went to the tea country?”

“What about it?”

“Well, afterward I had given you a massage to un-knot your chakra from the strain you had put on your body. I’m noticing your muscle spasms, and, if you’d let me, I could massage them out for you.”

Sasuke looked backward over his shoulder. “Wasn’t that because I took a chakra concentrated shock to my chest?”

Rayne thought about it. He was right, back at that time, Sasuke was fighting that ninja with the lightning staff. When Sasuke got too close, he was shocked and paralyzed.

“Even so…” Rayne put the thought that Sasuke was correct, as usual, to rest. “If you’ve put a strain on your body by pulling too much chakra to use your sharingan, I can un-knot your pathways and disperse your chakra evenly.”

“Sounds like you’ve studied this.”

“I have, actually. Chakra therapy is a career I plan to pursue in the future, so I’ve studied it for the past two years while I’ve been in Kumogakure.” Rayne got satisfaction out of the idea she could help people through massage. But, moreso than the satisfaction, the work itself was interesting. Learning about chakra reflexology was fascinating. Who knew that pressure points on your feet had their own organ associated with them?

“Just lay on your back, I’m going to start with your feet.” Rayne inched her way down the bed, sitting on the floor as Sasuke rolled over to look at her.

“Feet?”

“Mhmm.” Rayne lightly pinched his middle toes. “It’s called reflexology. Here, tell me if you feel this behind your eye.”

When Rayne pinched harder, Sasuke closed his eye, twitching until she let go.

“Different muscles and organs respond with your feet. Your middle toes are your eyes, while the first two toes are your brain. The outer sides of your big toe are your nose, and your throat, closer to the foot itself. Your last two toes are your sinuses.”

With each explanation, Rayne touched each toe in accordance. Sasuke, who had first looked skeptical to what she was saying, now appeared to be surprised. Rayne smiled at his expression.

“People usually just consider a massage to be what a massage is, but reflexology is like an alternative medicine. If I were to stop at the heel of your foot, and massaged, just underneath your toes, you’d fall asleep.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Okay, uh…Think of your foot as a small skeleton. I know that sounds weird, but just imagine. The heel of your foot, that’s your pelvis. From the heel upward, just like from the pelvis upward, your organs follow in order as they are in your body. They go… let me think just a minute so I remember this correctly.”

Pausing, Rayne stared intently at the bottoms of Sasuke’s feet. He was now sitting up, leaning forward as he tried to get a look at what she was explaining. Feet were feet, they didn’t look like anything special to him. But to Rayne, she was looked at them as though they had their own map.

“So, uh… Here, this is your appendix. It’s only a tiny part, only on the right foot. The small intenstine is here in the middle. The gall bladder is here on the inside of the feet, and the colon is here on the outside. Those two basically go hand in hand. When you get to the upper part of the foot, the left foot has more response than the right foot. I don’t exactly know why, that’s just what I learned…” Rayne looked up at him, grinning. “And to be honest, I can’t exactly remember what is located where. I only started learning reflexology a few months ago, and it’s a lot to retain.”

Smiles didn’t make a noise when they appeared on someones face, nor did smirks, but Rayne swore she heard the noise of Sasuke’s. His eyes were relaxed as he looked down at her. There was that look again. She could feel her nerves begin to shake her as his expression pierced her like a sharp needle. He was so unfair. Even if the way Rayne looked at him could possibly affect his heart, there was no way Sasuke would show it. He had a wall up, and if you managed to break that wall down, you’d find the wall his emotions had. It was so unfair how he could make her feel this way, and be un-moved himself.

“You’re perverted.”

HUUUUHHH?! Rayne glared at him, her mouth slightly parted as red spread across her face like a brush fire.

“Foot fetish. You have one, don’t you? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Rayne wanted to twist his ankle and break it. Holding it tightly in her hands, she snarled at him.

“Y-y-y-y-you bast-a-ard.”

“Who wants to touch feet that much.”

“It’s a practice!”

“Pervert.”

“This is totally different!”

“Pervert.”

It was taking all of Rayne’s self control not to pounce and begin beating the ever loving hell out of that beautiful face…Wait…Pounce…Massage…Oh, two could play at this game. A grin crept across her lips.

“Don’t be upset that I’m starting with your feet. I was going to sit on top of you eventually.”

Sasuke’s whole body seemed to stutter.

“That was what you were thinking about, wasn’t it? When I talked about the massage I gave you in tea country? You thought about me in your lap, didn’t you?” Rayne stood up from the floor, her hands at Sasuke’s sides as she leaned in towards his face. “Per…VERT!”

“Che, as if.” Sasuke broke their eye contact. “It was different that time. It isn’t like massaging my chest would really help…”

Again, that was true. Damn, flawed once more. How annoying.
“Well, I’ll just go back to your feet then.” Rayne paused. Did she really sound like a pervert? IT WAS JUST REFLEXOLOGY, SHE SWORE IT WAS.

“Ah…” Ah? Sasuke sounded like a baby calling for something. Rayne waited until he looked back at her, shedding light on the pink tint to his cheeks. His eyebrow twitched, and he looked away from her again.

SO UNFAIR. Rayne balled up the sheets of the bed in her fist. She was the girl, she was supposed to be the cute one, not Sasuke. Their roles were backwards. Kawaii Sasuke and hentai Rayne? This situation was completely backwards!

“That time…” Rayne tilted her head toward Sasuke, her ear almost departing from her head as she concentrated on his mousy whispers. “It felt…really good.”

That time it felt really good? “You mean that massage?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, I remember. You don’t have to praise me for my massages, I know how good I am.” Rayne swatted her hand in the air, sticking her tongue out through a smile as she gloated. Sasuke was so red it looked like steam was going to come out of his ears.

“I’m saying it would be nice now, you loser!”

Was she blushing at the implication Sasuke enjoyed her touch? Was she blushing at the name he called her that she hadn’t heard from him in years? Was it the sense of nostalgia she felt while looking at him, knowing that his face was as red as hers?

“So, you want me to touch you.”

Sasuke slightly turned his face away from her, looking over her shoulder towards the wall. How nostalgic, thinking she could see this expression after so many years. But Sasuke liked her, Rayne reminded herself of that. And in liking her, that meant he was attracted to her. And now that they were older, attraction meant more than “I want to hold your hand and kiss you because you’re cute.”

Rayne thoughts stopped there, the cute smile she had been wearing now spread to a menacing grin. “Sasuke, you pervert.”

Rayne studied herself in the mirror as she pulled the collar of her new vest around her jaw line. After her inner monologue the previous week, as well as Izumo’s comment on her attire in the back of her mind, she had decided it was time for a wardrobe change. She was certainly covered up now, even wearing leggings underneath her shorts to shield her skin from the crisp air of winter. They were already well into fall.

Even though she had made a joke about not wanting to spend money housing Sasuke, Rayne had paid for another seven nights in their hotel room. He needed to recover, and recovery meant less use of his Sharingan, meaning less training, which meant more time spent with Rayne in his lonesome.

They went to sleep together, and after a few nights of getting comfortable, they woke up tangled in each others limbs (not to mention Rayne’s hair). Just this morning Rayne had woken up to her head against Sasuke’s chest, which was regrettable once she saw him smirking at her red face. They went out to eat together, to walk together, to shop… Well, Rayne really dragged him to do that.

Spinning around in the mirror, Rayne got a good look at herself. The off white vest that she had picked out had a large collar, similar to Sasuke’s, however it zipped up on the side. Three snaps covered the zipper, which she had dyed red to mimmick Kumogakure’s traditional attire. She thought the vest was beautiful, and waiting a week for the taylorship was worth it. Dropping a few extra yen in the seamstress’ tip jar, Rayne happily waved to her as she exited the shop.

Outside, Sasuke was leaning against the building. Rayne stopped before him, twisting her hair into a side ponytail. “Well, how does it look?”

“Like clothes.” She dropped her hair, narrowing her eyes at his wide smirk. Her eyes lowered to his waist, admiring the holster she had purchased him for his sword.

“If it bothers you so damn much, buy me one yourself.” Rayne’s constant pestering of the bow he wore was enough to make him snap, inviting her to replace it if it would get her to shut up, which was Rayne’s plan all along. Sasuke wasn’t one to accept things, but if you got on his nerves, he’d do whatever it took to shut you up.

When Rayne looked back up, Sasuke’s eyes were on her. While they were here, secluded from the rest of the ninja world, their reality was carefree. It felt natural. They didn’t get to run away together, but while they were there, Rayne was happy. Selfishly, she wished she’d be able to keep Sasuke there with her. But that was a dream, a dream that was coming to an end tonight. Around ten o’clock they’d be leaving for the Uchiha Compound, and come morning, they would be going to war.

Looking away from him, Rayne began walking towards the next shop on her list of what to do. Being their last day there, she wanted to make the most of it. Shop in the afternoon, have a nice meal together, and peruse the fall festival the town was holding at dusk, which Rayne had been looking forward once she saw the advertisement last week. Food vendors, games, a fireworks display…a grand finale to their week together. A grand finale to what may possibly be the last night they would spend together.

“It looks like the activities start taking place at six thirty, and the fire works are at nine. That gives us plenty of time before we have to leave!” Rayne shook the poster board of events that was hanging from the fence to garner Sasuke’s attention. He was unenthused, his mind likely clouded with thoughts of tomorrow. But Rayne didn’t want to think about that right now. All she wanted to do was concentrate on tonight, the last night they’d be carefree for a long time. And, more importantly, together.

“I know that the day dream ends once we leave here tonight, but could you just humor me until then?” Again, he did nothing but stare at her. The poster bounced off the fence as Rayne dropped it, turning to walk away.

“All I want to do is have one nice evening before I go out and die. If you’re not interested, just go cut up some trees and use squirrels for your amaterasu practice.”

A violent tug at her arm brougt Rayne back a few feet. With her back against Sasuke’s chest, she glared up toward him as he hovered over her left shoulder. “You aren’t going to die.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

The coming setting of the sun cast a deep orange across his cheeks, the dark of his eyes almost having a candle lit flicker to them. It reminded her of the night he took her to get flowers for her birthday. Sasuke was more kissable now than he had ever been. Time to swat away those thoughts.

“Let’s keep going. We have one more store to go to before we eat, right?” Rayne knew it was physically impossible for Sasuke to feel the steady rise in her heart beat, but it was pounding so hard she wondered if her nerves reached him.

Their last stop before the festival was the jewelers. Even though replacing a chain was a simple task, Rayne asked the man to hold onto it until today, just so no other misfortune befell it before their departure. Holding the door open behind her, Rayne looked over her shoulder, waiting for Sasuke to follow. “What are you waiting for?”

Prolonging his gaze for another moment, Sasuke finally began to move through the doorway. The flourescent lighting that made nearly every item in the display cases sparkle contrasted Sasuke’s dark hair in a strange way, making it appear a navy blue. Rayne pulled at her own hair, noticing the golden highlights were golder than they had ever been before. The effect of the lights made her eyes hurt, her vision unclear as though she were walking through fog.

The owner didn’t even have to ask what they were there for. When Rayne had dropped the locket off to him, she knew she had been over zealous on expressing its importance to someone who didn’t care. Maybe she just had to vent the guilt she still felt for breaking it in the first place. That’s what people in these fields were around for, right? To listen to your romantic woe’s that they couldn’t care less about while you discuss jewlery you can’t afford?

A small black box slid gracefully across the counter to Rayne’s fingertips. The shape and color were nearly identical to the box Sasuke had given her the locket in. She felt the curve of a grin as she reminisced.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything fancy, but the chain I added to it is a rope style. It’s really speaks for itself, but it dresses the necklace up. I also polished it up for you. You can use it as a mirror for the next two weeks I polished it so well.”

For a moment, Rayne’s breath escaped her. She had spent the past four years with this necklace, yet after being apart from it for four days, seeing it again felt like the first time. “Stunning.”

The man bowed his head, nodding a bit as though to say, “yeah, I know.” Sauske looked down at the necklace over Rayne’s shoulder, who brought the open box closer to him as she noticed his fixation.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Almost like the day my father brought it home.” Whenever he had reminisced of his mother, Sasuke’s face relaxed in a way it never had for anything else. Nothing made him more calm than his mother, whether it was in the past, or even now. Rayne would talk about her at a constant if she were always able to see Sasuke the way she did now.

“Here.”

Reaching the street from the staircase, Sasuke turned. In Rayne’s hand, she extended the small black box forward. “I was reckless with a piece of you that you entrusted to me. It wouldn’t be right for me to hold on to it after that. Thank you for allowing me to treasure it for four years, but I don’t think it’s suitable to me anymore.”

His eyes moved to each of hers, staring at Rayne before his gaze fell on the box. Two steps toward her, he snatched it out of her hand, quickly burying it in his own pocket. He seemed rather annoyed, but Rayne had already made up her mind to give it back to him. She had no right to keep it anymore, nor did it feel like the sentiment behind it remained.

“Dango.”

“What?”

“Dango. I want to eat, so let’s go.”

Now he wanted to go to the festival? Rayne half expected him to run off to the compound without her at this point.

“Okay.”

She wasn’t going to enjoy the rest of her day if he was forcing himself to spend time with her. Though he kind of already was… Well, she wouldn’t enjoy herself if he was in a bad mood. If he was in one. Was he?

Catching up to his side, Rayne took a quick look at him. He was already looking at her. “What?”

“Eh, ah…What kind of dango are you looking to have?”

A loud “pop” and slew of confetti out of her peripheral made Rayne jump back to the right, knocking into Sasuke. Sending a death glare to the young girl who was welcoming them to the festival, Rayne clutched her heart, Sasuke calling her a loser in the process.

“Three goma dango.”

“And two mitarashi dango!” Chiming in over Sasuke’s shoulder, Rayne gave the man working the tea stand a bright smile while Sasuke made a noise of disgust. He even made an extra effort to scrunch his nose when Rayne’s order came out. When they sat to eat, Rayne watched as Sasuke brought the dango to his mouth, taking a cautious bite out of the steaming rice. God, his lips were beautiful. Taking a bite of her own dango, Rayne began to walk forward towards the next booth she wanted to visit. There weren’t many desserts at the festival, and while she didn’t really care for yokan gelatin, she wanted to experience a little bit of everything.

“Should we get the one with red or white beans?”

“Neither. You know I hate sweets.”

“I don’t really like yokan, either.”

“Then why not just get mochi?”

“They have some?”

“It’s probably somewhere. They always have it at festivals because nobody likes yokan.”

The man running the stand glared at Sasuke, who carelessly glared back. Tugging at the loose strap on the side of his sword holster, Rayne pulled Sasuke along with her like a child with a leash backpack. Of course, he was right, and the mochi stands were toward the end of the food vendors. Scarfing down her dango, Rayne quickly secured a place on line.

“This is nuts! They have twenty one flavors between two stands!” The most Rayne had ever seen were five.

“Mochi is fairly popular in the Leaf. Didn’t you ever have any when you were living there?”

“Blueberry, chocolate coconut, espresso, chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter…”

Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes to the other side of the fair.

“Vanilla, pistacio, lychee, sakura… Sakura.”

’The next time I see you guys, we’re going to be Team 7 again.’ Rayne wasn’t making well on what she said. She and Sasuke were departing for the Uchiha compound tonight, and it wasn’t until tonight, or even tomorrow morning, that she would know of his intentions. Sadness, or what may have been disappointment, washed over her. Not to mention she hardly paid Sakura any time, and after the way they left things four years ago…

“Vanilla ice cream with cherry flavor. Is that what you like? Cherry?” Sasuke’s chin hovered over her left shoulder, their noses practically touching as Rayne turned her head toward him. She took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he watched her. Those eyelashes, so beautiful. They really complimented his dark eyes. Even his eyebrows were perfectly shaped.

Painfully beautiful. It was tragic, really. Rayne turned her attention back to the vendor, moving ahead with the rest of the line as the next person got their ice cream. She scoffed a bit, thinking how he hadn’t flinched as he read the name Sakura.

“It sounds good enough.”

And it was. The mochi was so delicious that Rayne went back to get a second helping, and then a third (they only came as a serving of three; who only eats three little balls of ice cream?) While walking the festival grounds, they moved from game vendor to vendor. Goldfish scooping, bean bag tossing; Rayne played any game they could play. Sasuke (forcibly) took part as well, giving the fish he had caught to a young girl after convincing Rayne there was no possible way to keep the fish herself. What had been a few hours felt like minutes as an announcement indicated that the firework display would begin in ten minutes.

Somewhere where they could be far away from the crowd. That’s what Rayne had told Sasuke as he led them through the sea of strangers, holding onto Rayne by her belt.

“What do these mean?” His thumb slid over the top of one of the six pendants on the cloth.

“You’ve seen this for days and never asked about it.”

“I didn’t realize it was etched, I thought it was just a design.” They stopped walking, Sasuke’s crouching down as his fingernail scratched at the raised design.

“They’re for good fortune. There are kanji on them.”

“Really.”

“It was Rokobi’s idea. They’re the shiji…shichi…I forget. Something with dieties. There are seven of them, but Rokobi has six tails. He’s been my good luck charm throughout my life, so I chose the six fortunes that mean most to me. The seventh pendant is around his neck.”

“Which is?”

“Protection.”

“And yours?”

“The order of what I hope for luck in.” Holding Sasuke’s fingers in hers, she ran them dwon the belt. “Long life. Happiness. Success. Wisdom. Beauty and fertility. And wealth.”

He smirked while looking up at her. “Vanity before greed?”

Rayne scoffed. “I chose it for fertility, idiot. Family before selfishness.”

Sasuke remained on his knees, making Rayne’s posture questionable to anyone that could approach from behind. He repeated what she said quietly, “family before selfishness.” Rayne wondered if he was questioning for which reason he stood against Konoha.

“Let’s keeo going. Just a bit higher.” It would have been easier to jump the steep hillside, but Sasuke was taking his time with Rayne trailing behind.

“How did you know about this spot? Did you walk this way the other day?”

“When you were trying to rationalize a way to keep that fish somewhere while we’re away, I looked up. It wasn’t hard to find; it’s a hill.”

Rayne punched him in the arm, glaring as she sat. Blades of grass ran over Rayne’s toes as she pat her feet on the ground. From where they were, the crowded streets of the festival were nothing more than a distant white noise, mixed with the wind blowing through the trees behind them. The hill they sat on was just tall enough to see over the small town, straight out towards the entanglement of tree tops leading up to Konoha.

“All of these people…” Sasuke sat with his elbows on his knees, arms hanging before him as he looked down upon the specs beneath them. “I’ll bet they don’t even know there’s a war going on. They don’t know that we’re leaving to join it.”

A small smile spread across Rayne’s face as she looked down at them, her fingers wrapping around the grass tickling her skin. “They won’t appreciate these fireworks the way we will. Or this day, or this night…or this week the way I will.” Sasuke’s eyes fell on hers. “Thank you for putting up with me. This night really meant a lot.”

“The night isn’t over.” That was sudden, and smoothe enough for Rayne to acknowledge that she leaned away from him.

Don’t blush. Don’t blush. Don’t do it. He’ll know. Control your breathing. Your heart needs to slow down. Don’t move away. Go back, go back. Play this off. You’re fine. It’s cool. Just breathe. Brush it off.

Brush it off.

Deny the opportunity…?

Regret…?

…
…
…

Regret.

“Sasuke.” His pupils were hardly illuminated by the light of the moon, in contrast to hers which almost appeared white. Rayne felt herself smirk again as she fought her urge to reach out and touch his cheek.

“It’s been hard for me to look into your eyes, knowing that they aren’t yours. Even though they’re naturally so dark, I still know the pupils I see are Itachi’s…It’s really difficult.”

His gaze disconnected from hers, choosing to focus on the patch of grass between them where Rayne’s hand was resting. It sounded like he wanted to say something other than “I know,” but the words weren’t coming out. Sasuke just repeated the same two words over three times.

Rayne took a deep breath, holding it. She watched him, the way the corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to find something more to say. Or, resist the urge to do a complete one-eighty and start yelling at her like he did the other night. That wouldn’t be a shock.

“I haven’t looked in a mirror since the surgery.”

The deep breath Rayne had been holding came out a lot less even than she had intended; so much for calming her mind. Here he was, scrambling it again.

“I see perfectly clear, better than I have in months - years, even. But when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was my brother, and I just…” Sasuke looked uneasy as his eyes, Itachi’s eyes, made contact with Rayne’s. “I’ve never hated myself more than when I looked in the mirror and saw my brother staring back at me. It’s a reminder to show me that I knew nothing when I thought I knew everything.”

Rayne nodded slowly, bobbing her head back to what was in front of her. “I understand what you’re saying, but…hm… I don’t want you to think that you lost yourself when you lost your eyes. Or that you lost your memories, or your connections.”

Sasuke’s expression was of pure confused frustration. “That’s basically what you just said.”

“I know that’s what it sounded like, but that isn’t what I meant. I said it’s been hard to look into your eyes. I know that the eyes I see are eyes that I’ve looked at when they belonged to another name, but eyes aren’t just physical, they have personality. And you didn’t lose yours when you gave up your eyes.

When I saw you at the hideout last week and we started talking…there were a few seconds of silence before I responded. The fire behind me emitted enough light where your eyes were visible in the dark…And I’ve been thinking about that feeling I had at that moment because it was the same feeling I always had when I looked at you. Even now when I’m looking at you my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.” Rayne laughed at her nerves, taking a piece of her bangs in her fingers, playing with it.

“Regardless of how our altercation could have turned out, I was happy I went after you. Even while we were fighting, I was happy. I got to feel that way about someone for the first time in three and a half years, and it was because of you…It’s always been you, Sasuke.”

The loud boom of fireworks was startling as Rayne turned her head in fear, having forgotten of her surroundings. Again, she laughed at her nerves. “I’m so jittery. You make me so nervous, see? I completely forget where I am when I look at you, I get tunnel vision.”

Rayne’s eyes were illuminated with the various colors of the fireworks display. She smiled humbly. “Kumogakure doesn’t have an autumn festival, only one at the beginning of the summer. We aren’t very active in activities like this…You know, the last time I saw fireworks was at this festival, the night of Naruto’s birthday. I was with you then, too. That’s why I really wanted to stay…”

Sasuke remained silent, bringing his right knee up as his arm hung across it. Rayne eyed him from the corner, a small smile across her lips as she recalled the birthdays they had spent together, mainly his. He looked at her, and Rayne was quick to turn her attention back to the fireworks, hoping for another red explosion to mask the blush on her cheeks. No luck, the firework was green.

He was closer to her now, and Rayne was highly sensitive to his shoulder touching hers. With his body positioned halfway toward her, Sasuke watched the colors in the sky light up Rayne’s face. Blue, gold, green, red, blue, red, red, red. Were those fireworks or just her complection?

“Here.” The back of Sasuke’s hand tapped Rayne’s arm, bringing her attention down to the small black box he was presenting her. Quickly, her eyes were back on his face, connected with those deep, dark eyes.

“Sasuke…”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” His eyes fell away from hers, down to the box as he popped it open. “I don’t really mind that you broke it.”

He paused to get a reaction from her, exactly the one he expected. That look of sheer confused shock.

“In a way, this necklace represented the past. It was a reminder of everything that happened, not just between you and I, but to the clan as well. Being that it was one of the last pieces of my mother I had, I cherished it for that reason. The heart was mine, and the chain was my mother, holding me back in the past. And I think it held you back, too.”

Rayne attempted to appear less confused than she actually was. This was a sudden analogy.

Sasuke pulled the necklace out, running his finger across the silver. “You’ve always been there to keep me in the present, trying to spare me from the past. You breaking the chain was just another way of doing that, detatching me and pulling me back to where I should be…The necklace has always been yours, but…now you’re the chain that holds me.”

Rayne’s face was burning hotter than the fuse of the firework that shot up out of the corner of her eye, catching her attention as it rocketed upward, a sharp whistle accompanying its launch. The night went silent for a moment, and Sasuke’s voice was in her ear. She wasn’t sure if the explosion she heard was the firework going off, or her heart combusting in her chest.

Even with all the noise around them, Rayne knew she hadn’t mistaken what she just heard. With wide eyes she stared at him, Sasuke feeling much larger compared to her shaking form.

“That stupid face is all you can pull off?” His eyes were lazy, as if he had no interest in what he had just said. But he smirked at her expression nonetheless.

Rayne continued to stare at his face, eyes focused on his jaw as she imagined its movement when he spoke. She wished she had seen that, the way his tongue curled and his lips puckered. But, being Sasuke, of course he did it in a shrouded fashion. He had probably hoped she wouldn’t even hear him.

Rayne didn’t have to say it. Actually, she couldn’t. Every letter to string together words she wanted to say flashed before her eyes, but her tongue failed to form them. This was unfathomable.

A loud explosion stirred her. Jumping at the sound, Rayne let out a small squeak as she turned her head to face her assailant, the fireworks. A snicker called her attention back to Sasuke, now holding his stomach as his left hand pat the grass.

“I’ve never seen you look so stupid.”

“Sh-shut up!” Rayne swatted at his shoulder, pushing him backward.

Sasuke was always in her way. Ever since she had met him, he opposed her, standing before her in each direction she stepped. Going into Konoha, she had to prove she could be trusted. On missions, he was intercepting her attempts to excel. During the Chunin Exams, he became someone she felt she needed to protect. And then, she was stuck. For nearly four years, Sasuke stood before her future. Whenever she thought of moving forward, he was there. No matter what she would decide to do, Sasuke would always be there as an obstacle she had to confront.

And now the future she couldn’t then imagine was sitting next to her, with scrunched brows and narrowed eyes. Rayne smiled, her fingers running across the soft grass, then onto Sasuke’s. They were long, with spaces wide enough for hers to curl between.