I was speechless. I had left for a mission two days ago and had just returned, hoping to come home to a nice hot shower, clean clothes, and comfortable bed for a good nights rest.

But no.

Kakuzu refuses to pay the water bill therefore we have no water, Hidan had slacked off on the chores again so all my clothes that were dirty two days ago were still dirty now, and my bed had become the sculpting desk for multiple clay figures that had apparently exploded. I could see the burn marks. In other words...I was not in the mood and they were going to die.

I let out a long sigh, rolled up my torn sleeves, went behind my door and grabbed the long wooden stick I kept for emergencies. I marched my way down the hallways where Hidan, Kakuzu, and Deidara all sat watching a movie.

I made myself known by letting out a large cough. "I guess you know why I am here."

They all looked at each other and had the nerve to be surprised. I took that wooden stick and held it like a samurai warrior. I also made the announcement that the beatings would begin by saying, "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"

Yeah, they got the message then. They scrambled and I chased like a crazed drunk.

"I get home from a two day long mission and all I want is clean clothes, and a hot shower! But is that too much to ask for? Apparently so cause I can't even get that! I swear when I catch you people I'll skin you all alive!" I screamed out.

I jumped over the couch and had tackled Hidan to the floor. We rolled a few time before I raised the stick up, ready to strike, but wasn't able to. I was quickly picked up by the collar and slung over someone's shoulder.

I flailed around, accidentally dropping the stick, as I tried to hit the person who dared to lift me up. Finally my neck had turned in the right direction and I noticed the familiar auburn hair and multitude of piercings glinting in the light.

"Come one Leader! What gives! He can't die anyway so what's it going to hurt!"

He kicked open his office door with his foot and dropped me on the dusty black couch. I sat up and let out a stream of coughs for the dust about killed me.

"You know it's a little thing called cleaning. You should try it sometime." I said between coughs.

He went over to his desk and sat down behind it in his custom made oak chair. Courtesy of yours truly. I worked hard on that stupid thing. Actually I made it because I had accidentally dumped a bowl of hot oatmeal on him after losing a bet. I had to deliver him breakfast in bed and well, it just didn't work. So that was my plan B. I called it operation-get-leader-on-my-good-side-again.

"You have a new mission, Lena." He said, his voice holding nothing but the tone of utter seriousness.

Upon realizing this I sat down in the available chair on the opposite side of his desk.

His eyes bore into mine as he briefed me on the current situation.

"Orochimaru has been moving an awful lot lately and I need to find out why. Normally I would send Itachi on a mission such as this but seeing you have had more experience with Orochimaru you seemed fit for the job. Not to mention your last encounter with him also involved a certain Uchiha that you are very familiar with."

He smirked at my devastated expression, and took great amusement in watching my face heat up like a Christmas light.

"Just tell me when I leave." I asked annoyed.

Ha put the papers concerning my mission away into a drawer and replied, "Go take a shower and then leave. It starts today. We need this done as soon as possible."

I nodded my head and left. I passed Itachi in the hallway and gave him a quick smile before going back into my room. I rummaged through my drawers finally finding something clean, even though they were crammed all the way in the bottom.

Then it clicked...no water.

I threw my clothes on my bed and stomped to my bathroom. I grabbed the shampoo, conditioner, wash cloth, and all the other essentials before cramming them into a small bag.

I also got the clean clothes and slung them over my shoulder, ready to take a shower no matter what it takes. I was dirty and I hated it.

As I passed Itachi I asked him to tell Leader that I took off in case he was looking for me. He patted me on the head, ruffling my long black hair, before turning and going into his room. That was about as fun as the Uchiha got. But I'm not complaining.

I went into the living room, passed the trio of scardy cats, and went out the door.

"Stupid Kakuzu, no water. Stupid Deidara, brand new blanket. Stupid Hidan, no clean clothes. STUPID." I mumbled while looking for a halfway clean pond or some body of water. Thankfully a little luck was on my side because I soon came upon crystal clear water and a beautiful waterfall.

I did a little happy dance and quickly made my over to a giant rock near the waterfall. I quickly undressed, after making sure no one was around of course, and jumped in, using the waterfall as a shower.

I showered for about fifteen of twenty minutes before getting out, drying off, and putting my clothes back on. Now, I could complete this mission. I left my bag full of shampoo and other stuff underneath a rock because I just didn't want to carry it, I was lazy. So, that was as good as it was going to get.

"Alright. Find Orochimaru. Question him, try to resist the urge to kill him, avoid the Uchiha and four eyes, and get back."

I took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Yea, easier said then done. But complaining isn't going to get me anywhere."

With somewhat positive thinking I set off to find the current lair of Orochimaru. Great, he has like a million of them! I should know! Every time the akatsuki has something to do with him I'm the one who gets sent to see what's up. The last time I went I had a little run in with Sasuke, and well, let's just say it ended on an awkward note. For me at least.

One Week Later

I trudged through the never ending forest until I quickly did a back flip as I avoided a barrage of kunai.

I landed on the branch of a large tree and put my black hair in a ponytail. "Hmm, I must be close considering there aren't any villages near by. The last one I stayed at is probably at least thirty to forty miles from here."

I descended and took out my own kunai. Knowing Orochimaru, there would be dozens more of these little welcoming gifts.

I began to walk forward slowly, noticing every leaf that rustled and every bug that flew by my current line of sight. I did another back flip when Senbon came rushing from the left. I poured chakra into my feet and stuck to the side of a large oak tree where I had accidentally set off another trap.

I heard the whizzing of more kunai coming at me so I ducked, dodging them. My eyes widened when I saw the rustling of paper bombs. I jumped back a few dozen feet, luckily not getting to hurt. I did get a couple of scratches along my cheek though, and a few on my arm.

This routine went on for a good 15 minutes. I swear, did this man not run out of idea for killing people of something? I have been cut, pumbled with rocks, attempted to be blown up, stabbed and or torn apart in many different ways. Now I was sitting on the branch of a tree, taking a breather. I was pretty sure I had gotten them all conquered so after regaining my breath.

I leaped down once again and landed gracefully on my feet. I began to walk forward when a net that was covered very well captured me. So here I am. Hanging in a net, my weapons pouch on the ground beneath me.

"Well, I have one kunai now. This is just great." I mumbled aggravated.

I tried to cut the rope with my kunai but the stupid net wouldn't break. It was like it had a steel wire inside it or the worst thing happened. Being the klutz that I am, I dropped it.

"Well this is just wonderful!" I screamed to no one.

Hours had passed as I tried various attempts at getting out. I tried fire jutsus; I ended up getting a little burned. Ice jutsus, I swear my toes got frost bite. I even tried an earth jutsu, but a rock jutted up from the ground and hit me on the behind.

So you know what I did after these failed attempts. I did...nothing! I sat and waited for someone to see me. And you know what? They did, oh happy day!

I saw something glint a little ways away from me. I rolled my eyes, knowing who it was. The person began to walk over to me, a large smirk plastered upon his face.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here."

"Shut it four eyes. Just get me out of here." I said while I began to struggle once again against the 'rope' net.

"Now, should I do that after you called me such a nasty name?" He said while pumping chakra out the end of his finger tips, affectively cutting the rope and letting me drop to the cold, hard ground.

"Oww!" I cried out while rubbing my now sore bottom. He had hoisted me up by the collar of my shirt and tied my hands together with a special rope made of chakra.

He then proceeded to drag me by my collar to the lair. And ironically enough, it's where I wanted to be in the first place. So hey! This just makes my job easier.

We went inside the hideout and Kabuto threw me onto this couch, and let me say something. Spring cleaning. They have never heard of it. Even Leader would be appalled at this thing.

I let out a stream of coughs as Orochimaru joined us in this tiny room.

"Well, little Lena. It's been awhile since I've seen you. Look, you're all grown up." He said.

I glared at him, my eyes filled with pure hatred. I would never forgive this man for what he did to me. For what he did to my clan.

But before I could give him a piece of my mind he interrupted me. "Kabuto. Bring in Sasuke. Tell him I have a present for him."

He nodded his head, disappearing into the maze of hallways.

Meanwhile, I was sitting there; think of a way I could get out of this little predicament. Maybe I could cut the rope with my own chakra. I watched Orochimaru carefully trying to make sure he didn't know what I was doing.

"So my dear Lena. What brings you to my humble lair?" He asked smoothly.

I began to let the chakra flow through my fingertips. I turned them in an upward position, successfully cutting the rope into and setting me free. But I didn't move. Wouldn't want to give away my freedom until his guard was down.

"Oh please. I didn't come here willingly. If you weren't so paranoid maybe I would have gotten trapped in your net."

"Maybe if you were a better ninja you would have been able to avoid my little trap." He shot back.

That's it. I jolted up from the dusty couch, my hand curled up into a fist. I was about to make contact with that rather ugly face of his when someone shot out of nowhere snatching my wrist and pulling it behind my back along with my other arm.

I felt my back being pressed against something hard and warm. I saw Orochimaru smirking at me, so I craned my neck up to see just who it was that had got me.

I saw red eyes stare down at me and the first thing I could say was, "Oh great. It's the weasel's younger brother."

"Here you are Sasuke. You're present from me. You may do what you want with her."

Orochimaru left the room, to find Kabuto while Sasuke hoisted me over his shoulder and began to walk somewhere.

"Hey! Excuse me but I am no one's present so you better put me down!" I yelled while kicking my legs and pounding my arms against his back.

I saw him kick open a door and he threw me down onto a bed. He didn't say a word, and I refused to show him the clear blush upon my tinted cheeks.

He locked the door and went to a dresser, pulling out a pair of his pants, a shirt, and some bandages. He tossed them all to me.

"You are dirty, I'm sure you want a bath." He told me not looking me in the eye.

"Y-yes I would actually." I replied rather sheepishly.

I saw him point to a door. So I went through assuming it was his bathroom, and my assumption was right.

I closed and locked the wooden door, quickly discarded my clothing, and got into a nice hot shower.

Once finished I put on the clothes he had provided for me. I wrapped the bandages around my torso, put on his shirt, which might I add was huge. And pants that were also big. At least the rope belt thingy helped them stay up.

I unlocked the door and stepped outside, my black hair sticking to my cheek. I saw Sasuke lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, like he was in a daze. I went over and sat down on the foot of the bed, making it dip in slightly.

Once I had sat down, he got up and went over to his desk. He started to rummage through the drawers looking for something. My curiosity got the best of me so I got up and went to see what he was looking for. I peered over his shoulder and saw him pull out some ointment and a small band aid. He turned around quickly. I had no time to move back so his chest was just barely touching my own. This of course made me blush.

I had always had a small crush on the younger Uchiha, and that crush intensified at our last meeting. It was very odd actually. I was chasing him because he had something that belongs to the Akatsuki. Then he stopped suddenly and turned while I was still running making me crash into him and making us fall onto the ground, our lips touching for a moment.

But that was in the past. I felt him take me gently by the shoulders and lead me to his bed where he made me sit down on the soft cushiony mattress.

He sat down beside me, placed his hand underneath my chin, and turned my head so I was facing him.

"You have a scratch." He almost whispered.

I felt my face over for a scratch and felt a small thin line running across my left cheek. He put some of the ointment on his finger and rubbed it over the small scratch. He then put the band aid across it. But instead of pulling his hand away, he let it linger, gently running his index finger from the scratch to my chin.

I felt my face heat up, and he more than likely noticed. But even if he did he didn't say anything. He stared into my green orbs and I could only stare back into his own pools of dark blackness. At the moment his sharingan wasn't activated, which I liked.

Shyly I grabbed his hand and pulled it away from my chin, but when I tried to let go, he grabbed my own hand in return.

"Someone with a face as beautiful as yours should never have a scratch." He stated.

I let a shocked expression become etched on my face when he spoke these words. I had only imagined him being so nice and so thoughtful in my dreams, but here in reality, it was almost too much for me to believe.

I lowered my head, embarrassed from this compliment. I never received compliments so I didn't really know how to react.

"Tell me, why are you being so nice to me? Aren't you supposed to be the cold one that only thinks about power?" I asked.

He let out a sigh while putting his arm around me, pulling me to him in a hug. "Do I really need a reason?"

I allowed my eyes to close while I savored this rare moment. I could hear his heartbeat and it was faster than it should be, like mine was.

"I guess the reason I'm being so nice is because, I like you...a lot. Ever since we had a ran into each other in the forest I haven't been able to get you out of my mind."

Despite this cute moment a small giggle escaped my lips. He craned his neck to where he was looking at me.

"Is that funny?"

I stopped my giggling and looked up at him. Once I did we were so close our noses touched. I pulled away slightly and replied, "No. It's just coincedintel. I haven't been able to get you off my mind either."

For the first time, I saw him smile. A true genuine smile. He kissed my forehead, making me blush AGAIN, and asked me the question that I thought I would never hear.

"Lena, will you stay with me. Will you be mine?" He asked.

I smiled up at him and nodded my head in a yes fashion. He grabbed my chin and swiftly pressed his soft lips to mine. It wasn't a needing kiss but more of a kiss that released all the emotion he had harbored since out meeting in the woods.

I pulled away after a few moments and rested my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head before he leaned down to my ear and whispered," Lena...I love you."

My heart skipped a beat, and my breath caught in my throat as he spoke those three magical words. Although a smile did grace my lips and said, "I love you too, Sasuke."

I leaned forward, surprising him with another kiss which he happily returned.