A/n: SEQUEL to Captivity. So, if you haven't read that yet. Go do it. Other than that, enjoy =) and of course review.

Disclosure

Chapter One

-Sighting-

A cloaked figure stood at the edge of the forest, examining the vast expanse of desert before him with a critical red gaze. It had been many years since Uchiha Akito had been here, almost fourteen to be exact. He smirked at the irony, since he was standing in the exact spot he had last seen Natsumi in. He wondered how much she had changed.

The reason for his presence now was because he had been sent to assassinate some official in Suna. He'd joined the Akatsuki shortly after leaving Orochimaru's base and letting Natsumi go. The goals of the organization were different now, and this way he could be his own man and do whatever he wanted outside of the mission he was assigned. He was paid a hefty sum per mission, and was basically left alone for the most part. It was the kind of life any man would want. Any man who wanted to stay alone anyways.

He thought of her often, even found he missed her occasionally. And so, when the opportunity for a mission in Suna had presented itself, he had jumped at the chance to be the one to get it. Shifting under his standard Akatsuki cloak, he sprang into action, travelling across the sandy depths quickly, thoughts of Natsumi filling his head.

When he reached the village later that night, he snuck over both of the walls easily. It was a bit more difficult to get into the village this time, but he managed to bypass the guards and traps successfully. He went to the Kazekage's house and checked it out, but found that she wasn't there. So he closed his eyes and stretched his chakra, trying to sense her chakra signature.

He wasn't going to disrupt her life in any way, he just needed to see her. He wanted to see if he had made the right decision by letting her go, if she was truly happy. All he would do by re-entering her life was ruin it. He knew he wasn't a good person, he wouldn't lie to himself about that, and any sort of affiliation with him couldn't be good for her. It was for her own good that he stayed away.

His eyes snapped open. There she was, not too far away. He leapt off the roof of the Kazekage's mansion, jumping from roof to roof until he reached another large house. Cloaking his chakra so that he wouldn't be detected, he looked around the outside until he found an uncovered window. He waited for a while, his blood boiling in anticipation as he waited for her to come into the room.

He felt his heart stop when she entered the living room of the house. She hadn't changed all that much since he had seen her last. Her hair was about the same length, if not a little shorter, and her face looked the same for the most part, only it had a more womanly look to it. His eyes trailed over her body, and he grew slightly puzzled. He knew that women's bodies changed as they aged, but Natsumi's seemed a bit more…curvy. Not in a bad way, she was still slender, but her curves seemed to have matured a bit, adding a bit more roundness to her hips and breasts. Akito thought it looked nice on her, even made her look more attractive.

Suddenly his entire body tensed when she was joined by a boy. He had short, black hair that hung from his head, and in the front his bangs were long on the sides, and short on the top. His eyes were those of Natsumi's, and his face was young, making him around twelve or so, by Akito's guess. He felt pure anger and hatred fill him.

That stupid bitch had moved on and found somebody else? She didn't even wait a while either, she just got right to it and found someone else to pleasure her. So much for loving him. He guessed it was all just a big lie. One of many that she had convinced him of.

Trying to reign in his rage, he left the bushes that he had been hiding in, heading towards the official's house to kill him. Once he was done with his mission, he was going to leave this desolate village, and never come back.

Natsumi turned her gaze from the boy in front of her and looked out the nearby window. She could have sworn that she felt something just a moment ago. A spike in chakra, almost seeming angry. She grimaced, but before she could walk over to the window she was jumbled out of her thoughts with a shake.

She blinked and looked down, seeing her son pulling on her arm. "Mom, are you ok?"

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the worry on his face. She tried to smile and placed her hand on his head, running her fingers through his windblown hair. "Yes Kanamé, I'm fine. I just thought I heard something is all."

He watched her face and frowned. He could feel her mood shift and knew she only got this way late at night, when she cried. He sighed and nodded, trying to reassure her in his belief. "Ok. Well, what's for dinner?"

"I made some sushi and Unagi. Why don't you go get it and bring it out here while I set the table." She said, finally smiling.

Kanamé nodded and headed into the kitchen as Natsumi walked towards the window and glanced outside, searching for any sign of movement. Well, at least she couldn't sense anything, and her alarm was slowly dying down. After drawing the curtains, she set the table for two and finished just as Kanamé had brought out both plates. They sat down and began to eat, a comfortable silence between them as there always was.

"So how was your day today sweetheart? Did you have fun with your cousin?" Natsumi asked, sticking a piece of unagi in her mouth.

The young boy just scoffed, looking annoyed, and Natsumi had to try not to react to the expression she had seen so many times on his father's face. "Boring. Ami is so annoying. I spent most my time training with Uncle Toshiro. But she was trying to learn how to control sand and threw a fit when she couldn't do it. I just told her that she didn't have good enough skills to inherit real power like I did."

Natsumi went wide eyed and looked at her son from across the table. "Kanamé that's mean, she's your cousin and you know that she gets upset because she didn't inherit sand control." She grabbed a sushi roll and popped it in her mouth. "I want you to go over there tomorrow and apologize. You can't be mean like that, you know better." She scolded, sounding motherly.

Kanamé just huffed. "She was asking for it, it's not my fault." The pink haired woman shook her head and sighed.

"Sometimes…you act just like your father. You have to take other people's feelings into consideration, not just your own."

Kanamé nodded, seeming sad. "I'm sorry…you're right…I'll apologize tomorrow. I don't know…I just got angry I guess."

Natsumi smiled at her son and reached across the table, patting his hand. "I know. She's definitely got a lot of Uzumaki in her, but we're family, and that's all we have left."

He smiled, looking just like his mother in that moment. "Yeah, cause it's just you and me. So don't worry mom, I'll make sure to become strong so that when you can no longer fight, I can protect you."

They both beamed and continued to eat, telling one another about their day and the plans for the week to come. Kakashi was going to be coming to visit for a while to teach him some more techniques with lightning and other ninjutsu. Once they finished eating, they cleaned up and washed the dishes together.

"Now you better head off to bed. Your grandfather wants to train with you tomorrow and make sure that you're excelling in all types of fields." Natsumi told him as they shut off the lights and headed upstairs to go to bed.

"Yes ma'am. I got it." He nodded and hugged her before heading off to his own room. "Night mom! Sleep well ok, you deserve it."

Natsumi smiled and nodded, flipping off the hall light as she went into her own bedroom and looked around. She left the light off and went to her closet, undressing and pulling on some shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. Once her evening routine and clean was finished, she climbed into her large bed and snuggled into the sheets. She reached beneath her pillow and took out a worn card and stared at the face of her child's father.

She held onto it tightly, examining Akito's features on the ninja info card she had managed to save from her stay in the compound with him. Other than the unknown gift he had given her, it was the only thing she had of him. She closed her eyes and sighed. Kanamé looked so much like him, and some of their traits were uncannily similar, it almost hurt to be around him. Of course, she would never allow her son to know that, she wanted him to feel loved. And she did love him, more than anything else in the world.

With a mournful sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Unaware of what awaited her the next day.