I had previously loaded this on Quizilla! before I entered High school. In that version, however, the main character is paired up with Itachi, is forced to join the Akatsuki, and she becomes pregnant with Itachi's kid. I really was naive about the author's craft back then, wasn't I?

Anyway, this is a "rehash", a better rewrite, a more carefully panned out story. Hope you enjoy! :3

As I walked that path to the waterfall garden, I had that feeling that I was being followed. I have been feeling that for days. And it hasn't stopped. Whatever it was, I shook it off as I approached the meadowy spot of heaven by the river. I saw the water fall. It looked so beautiful in the moonlight, covering in droplets of water the surrounding plants. It made the place shine; so amazing, so breathless, so hauntingly beautiful, it felt almost eerie.
I saw Sasuke on the rock that overlooks the river. Uchiha Sasuke was at that point in life where one blossoms into beautiful youthfulness and elegance, but Sasuke was more focused on training than any other boy his age. Sasuke felt my presence, since I made myself known to him. His chakra was concentrated, heavy with energy. He had been meditating.

"Sashuku-chan. What brings you here?", he said, without looking at me. With -chan at the end of my last name. I granted yobisute to him, but apparently he felt that he didn't have it anymore. Either that or he took yobisute away from me.
"Well, Uchiha-kun, I was hoping you could attend the get-together for our one-year anniversary since our graduation. Everyone is going to go..." I used -kun at the end of his last name so I wouldn't push it with him. His chakra turned into a sour energy. Pain or sorrow. I wondered if it was because he had a bad memory about our graduation.
"Sorry, but I'm busy. I can't go," he answered in a rude way. I could feel his chakra grow tense. My own system went haywire. It went from being calm to hectic, poignant to pained. It was everywhere. He rejected a personal invitation. Ouch.

"Fine, I'll tell everyone else that you couldn't go because you are busy when the party goes on. You know, next time you reject an invitation, wait 'til they tell you the time."

I ran away from there as fast as my legs could get me. I wiped my reddening eyes, and focused on keeping my breath steady while running, so I wouldn't burst into tears right then and there. He used to smile at me and be friendly to me, but that was almost a year ago. Before the incident. Before we were assigned our teams. I missed his company. I was a good deal away from where I left Sasuke before I stopped and pulled back my hair away from my face. I was going to grow it out a bit, then even it out once a few months passed by. I was a chinese bob, and I hated it now that I was a full-fledged ninja. It got in my face when I needed to see, I couldn't do much with it, and it was a bother to get up in the morning and brush it back to its natural shape.

I let the tears flow, seeing that Sasuke was still going to be an asshole about it. Fine, I didn't need him. He could talk to himself or rocks. I could talk to others instead of him. Unlike me, Sasuke was a loner, and I don't think Sasuke wanted to tell Naruto he was having the typical puberty problems that parents tell you about. And I'm willing to bet my money that Sakura would be the last person Sasuke would tell. He told me because he knew that what I told him was what came from the book, because I was a person who ached like him, who breathed like him, who saw the world like him. Because he trusted me.

He trusted me. Past tense.
"Why don't you trust me anymore, Sasuke?" I practically sobbed out the words. He wasn't the person I called my friend. What happened to our friendship?

"Fine, then. I don't need you anymore."

I cried. I took out my sadness on my eyes, I took out my anger on my self, I took out my panic on the trees. Soon after, it didn't have bark on my side. But I kept going. Because the panic I had was from fear. My fear came from losing Sasuke as a well-loved friend, and from the growing, nagging feeling the someone was watching me again.

"Impressive, Hitochi-san. I didn't think you could do that much damage to a tree..." I froze up. The voice seemed hauntingly familiar, the chilly air sending eerie tingles down my sides. It cut the night air like kunai does flesh, and I didn't like what I felt about the presence.
A hand grabbed my shoulder. The fingers dug into my skin, like iron claws. Red eyes bore into mine as I was spun around, and the world started to spin. I could only grip the arm tightly, my finger digging into flesh but not necessarily breaking open the skin. The black cloak with red clouds became the background, with the exception of the man with blue skin and a sword with bandages wrapped around it. His hitai-ite had a deep scratch across the surface; the man was from the Hidden Mist village.

"What are you doing here?"
"We were allowed to have apprentices in case our work was not done within our lifetime," said the man in blue. My gaze was locked on red eyes; I was going in circles in my mind, the images never-ending. The blue man had answered someone else's question; I was incapable of thinking or moving any part of my body, much less ask a simple question. I instantly recognized the voice, though, as that of that of the person I thought least to come help me.

"Little brother, had you been more stronger, I would have offered you this opportunity. Yet you cut out all ties with Hitochi-san and destroyed any chance of being her friend again. I chose her instead because at least she put effort into your relationship, because she could have depended on you like you did her. That's why she'll be my apprentice; she has the will to survive this dead friendship and that what she'll need to survive my training."

"Don't you dare hurt her. I swear that I'll tear you to pieces if you lay a single finger o-!"
"No, I won't because I just proclaimed her my new apprentice. Were you not listening?"

My captor then released me in all the ways he had me bound; my mind was free to think; my body was free to move, and my eyes were able to see past the red clouds that had become the background. It was until I was finally able to see, which took me a while, that I realized I was tied. I couldn't move properly.

I frantically looked for the person who was trying to help me; past the figure in front of me, I saw him. Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Go and tell everyone else! I'm not the only target! They're going after others! Go before they're taken captive!" The other genin who had complained to the Hokage about being followed, thinking they were being put on probation; I was one of them. Our confusion grew when the Hokage said that they didn't do that after being granted your hitai-ite. Sasuke looked at me with a desperate face; I just nodded at him, and he took my message.

But he wasn't going to back down so easily. He threw a fireball at Kisame and immediately took off. He went for the man in front of him, and was thrown back several feet away after the man dodged his attack. Sasuke then got up but before taking any steps forward, the man got to him first. With one look from my captor, Sasuke screamed. He then fell unconscious and was left for dead by my two captors.

"Deidara is going to keel over in jealousy when he sees your apprentice, Itachi," said the man in blue. My skin crawled. I was not cute or pretty, but I could be pretty strong when it came to fighting. My specialty was genjutsu and ninjutsu; I was a sad excuse for a ninja when it came to taijutsu. I wasn't a doll to show off to others. But then something clicked in my mind, like a little person playing replay in my brain.

Deidara is going to keel over in jealousy when he sees your apprentice, Itachi...

Itachi Uchiha had just paid a visit to his home village. Itachi Uchiha. The infamous traitor who killed his own family except his younger brother. He spared my best friend. Back then and now. I just stared at Sasuke's limp body laying at the tree's base unconscious.

Sasuke stirred and my hopes lifted again. But the sensation of being pulled from my stomach stopped me from advancing towards him. I found myself on top of the wall that surrounded my home, the Leaf village, and Sasuke gone. Itachi held me by my collar and was joined by others, with the same monotone red clouds and black cloaks. Many of them didn't have anyone else with them, but a few did. Itachi included, three missing-nin had a person my age with them.

"What happened to yours, Pein-sama? Didn't bring them along?"

"No, because he was sent out on a mission. You might know him Itachi, he's in the same genin team as your brother Sasuke."

He, same genin team, and Sasuke brought only one person to my mind: Naruto Uzumaki, the only other male on Sasuke's team. One of the genin was blindfolded, the blindfold was covered in a seal and writing. They struggled harshly, with a burst of chakra that engulfed them everytime they spun around. Apparently, it took 16 minutes to bring down this genin. Impressive, but not enough. I looked down and just kept quiet. With Naruto Uzumaki, it might only take a minute at most. They would never know what hit them.

"Who else is missing?"

"It's Deidara, Pein-sama. He's taking his sweet time."

"Tobi wonders about Itachi's little apprentice."

"Hey, don't be messing with this girl. She's probably the best apprentice anyone here has."

"Kisame, Tobi wasn't asking you. He was asking Itachi. It'd be nice if you would butt out for once!"

"Look, Hidan, I wasn't asking for personal opinions, you-!"

At this point, Itachi covered my ears, and said something before he uncovered them again. I was then blindfolded, and moved around a little before I was being carried by the waist. Itachi was carrying me, but he was putting alot of effort into it. Then I remembered what Sasuke said about him: a 13-year-old ANBU Captain, caring brother, and gifted ninja. A 13-year-old almost three years ago. He was probably no older than my own sister, who was 16-years-old at the present. A two maybe three year difference between us.

"You know, I can walk. You don't have to carry me." I was then thrown over his shoulder like a bag, and my request forgotten. His hand found my back and stayed there, probably to make sure that I didn't fall. I was being carried for a reason. But what was that reason?

The blindfold was removed and we found ourselves on top of the Hokage Mountain facing the village. The faces were donning "make-up" courtesy of Naruto Uzumaki; the faces were also hiding the giant rooms where the civilians hid while ninjas fought massive assaults or helped protect the village during a thunderstorm. Or the like.

How ironic that the only way for someone to find help was to depend on the Hokage. Their faces carved on the mountain provided protection for those who needed it; but they weren't there when we truly needed them. Right now. Tears rolled down my eyes; out of sadness. Because we were just a handful of ninja who couldn't follow procedure and stay close by a superior at night; genin were supposed to do that only when they weren't with their team. Many didn't follow the simple rules like those, becuase we didn't think or imagine something like this would happen to us.

Well, that's why I'm here right now. Because my stupidity and inability to follow procedures was my doom.

"Sasori, why do you have two young ones?"

"One is my apprentice and the other is my hostage. I'll need her to keep my apprentice in check."

"Is Sasori not strong enough to impose his will on a genin?"

"Kisame, I like using methods that please me. I was not me that nearly drowned their apprentice in trying to capture them."

"Look you puppet freak, I miscalculated. Besides, it knocked him out for me. Less hassle."

"Kisame, please try and not say any bad language around my apprentice. If she is going to train under my supervision, then she is to be a lady; well-mannered and proper. I will not have you tarnish that image by having her use words she picks up from you."

"Well, I'm not going to stop. I like my colorful french. Besides, I think she wouldn't dare say any kind of bad words around Itachi-sensei if you're going to act that way about it."

All the older people there turned around to face the dirt path behind us on our left right at that moment. It wasn't until we heard the footsteps coming up that we realized that they were waiting for the last member, Deidara, to show up. Following him was a young boy I had seen many times in my mother's shopping catalogue. She had a new one every time she went shopping for new clothes for my sis and me. He had attended the Academy with me.

He was the only one who wasn't tied or blindfolded. He wasn't even tagged with the ninja explosives. Which either meant he was trusted to stay with Deidara or was in some sort of genjutsu. He didn't seem to be caught in a genjutsu.

"Unlike some people here, un, I didn't have to struggle with my new apprentice, yeah. He came willingly because he thinks I'm a great ninja, un." The feminine person glanced at Itachi, and laughed. He then stood still and waited for instructions. My hands were still working on the bonds they were tied with but I finally felt them give way and let loose.

"I don't think so."

And the image before my eyes went dark. The setting now was the forest outside, and this time, it was me and nine other genin with a few red clouds visible here and there.

Itachi was behind me, now tying my hands together and then pulling it to my neck, where he tied a nice ribbon bow. With it, intertwined with the knot, was an explosive. Pulling at the bow would trigger the explosive if the ribbon was let loose. My hands and neck started to hurt, but I stayed still. I had apparently been under a genjutsu the whole time.

"If you take the ribbon off, it'll activate the explosive and blow up everyone within 5 meters of you. Understand?" I stayed silent and nodded instead. He patted my head and left in a wisp of smoke. I looked around.

The area had been cleared, that was obvious from the broken branches and tree stumps. We were all tied to the giant wooden post in the middle of the woody clearing. There was some genin, however, that were not.

One was in a giant bubble of sorts, a bubble of water; another was not only blindfolded but also had a pair of gauntlets on both hands. The same genin who spun around emitting chakra from before. The gauntlets had chains, which led to the nearest tree, and had small length to it. The one with gauntlets was accompanied by a younger, daintier girl, who also donned the blindfold and gauntlets but was completely tied up in rope from arms, waist, and down to her hips. Her mouth was stuffed with a cloth and she was sitting straight up in front the first genin, out of their reach.

"Sasori, why do you have two genin?"

"One is my apprentice and the other is my hostage. I'll need her to keep my apprentice in check."

I now recognized the first genin. What other genin could spin in a circular motion and emit chakra to repel attacks? What other genin was the sole protector of the the heiress of a prestigious clan? One who would do anything to keep her from harm? Who was being forced to submit himself to whatever they told him to do, just to keep that same heiress out of harm's way?

"Hinata-hime, answer me! Where are you? Hinata-hime!" He struggled a bit, but then stopped when the girl next to him rubbed her foot on his leg. He relaxed a bit, tried to lean towards the younger, but was not able to due to the chains that reached to the tree.

Neji Hyuuga was in a teasing, sadistic, horrible game where Hinata Hyuuga was his prize, but would never be able to win. Whoever chose Neji for an apprentice was clever in taking Hinata and using her against him.

"Hey, stop yelling she's right next to you. Some of us are trying to get some rest."

The girl who answered Neji Hyuuga had red hair, like the salmon fillets that my mother would use for sushi. Her eyes were a light red, pink almost, when compared to her rosy cheeks and soft complexion. She was trying to lay down, resting herself against another genin. Her hitai-ite was nowhere to be found; I couldn't tell where she came from.

Some of the red clouds moved, and they finally reached Hinata. She continued to whimper as she was carried off, leaving Neji to struggle and pull at his chains. Their blindfolds grew dark circles and tears flowed down their cheeks. It was a really depressing sight.

"Sorry, Neji-kohai, but I've given you more than enough time with Hinata-hime. If you're a good genin and do what I tell you to do, then maybe I'll let you sit next to her next time. For now, I thought that Hinata-hime needed better conditions than these to spend the night." Neji just slumped back, and we all looked down as the one named Sasori carried off Hinata in his arms, towards the camp where that rest of the Akatsuki stayed. One would only hope that nothing bad happened to her.

"I pray nothing bad happens to her." A young boy whose physical attributes were hidden to me in the dark said those words. We all hoped and prayed; not just for Hinata, but for the rest of us.

I can only say thank you if you read my story this far. My thanks go out to my reviewers, whom I shall name with full responses in the next chapter. Rate and please critique! My work can use some help. :D