Gaara-sama waited until I was seated and a cup of tea was handed to me. I'm sure he meant to calm me down but it was hard to not feel nervous. Kankuro was dismissed. He was clearly upset about it, but he never questioned Gaara-sama. He pulled up a chair beside me and wore a genuine smile. "I'm glad that you're both alright. I know you must be exhausted, but I need to ask you some questions first. Please answer as truthfully as you can."

I nodded.

"There is no doubt that Hoshigaki-san was after you. But why would he target you and you alone? Do you know him? I believe you both came from the same village?"

"He used to be my senpai," I confessed. "But I left the apprenticeship before he joined Akatsuki. I'm sorry I didn't mention it before; I wasn't trying to be dishonest. I just didn't see why I needed to tell you."

He nodded. "I understand how it would seem trivial, but now this information might be important. Has anything else happened that I should know about?"

I thought back to my encounter with Madara and nodded. "Only I can't talk about it."

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "And why not?"

"I would if I could," I admitted. "But every time I've tried…I'm prevented from doing so."

Gaara-sama gestured for someone over his shoulder. A tall and gruff looking shinobi stepped from the shadows. "This is Inoichi Yamanaka-san. He is one of the chief interrogators in Konoha."

He grasped my hand and gave it a firm shake. He had such a warm smile. "Ritsuko, it's a pleasure."

I could only nod in recognition. I was too nervous trying to figure out why he was here right now.

"There's no need to fear," he assured me. "The Kazakage felt that perhaps my services were needed to see if you may be some repressed memories. It won't hurt at all, may I?"

I wasn't sure I had much of a choice, so I nodded. He rested a hand on my forehead and closed his eyes. Everything went black. When I came to, I was laying down in a bed. Kankuro was sitting by my side. "How are you feeling?"

I sat up. "What happened? Did they find out anything?"

He looked uneasy, as if he wasn't sure what he could share. "Only a little. It turns out that two years of your memory were removed for some reason. Also he turned up a memory of Madara saying you used to be a member of Akatsuki. Is that true?"

"I don't know Kankuro. That was the first time I ever heard about it."

He nodded. "Gaara-sama agrees with Yamanaka-san that this requires further investigation into what happened in that two year span. He wants you to go to Konoha so he can use a special machine that specializes in erased memories. Even if he can't uncover the memory, he should at least be able to discover why they were erased in the first place. Are you willing to do that? You'll be discreetly escorted there and I'll be right by your side."

I nodded and hung my head, feeling tears well up in my eyes. He squeezed my hand. "What's wrong now?"

"You don't have to pretend like doesn't bother you," I said fiercely. "But you have to believe me; I have nothing to do with Akatsuki now!"

He moved to sit on the bed and hugged me close. "I know that you blockhead. You can't help something you can't remember. This doesn't change how Gaara and I feel about you. We know we can trust you. It's going to be alright."

I hugged him back in relief. I couldn't believe my luck; anyone else would have branded me a traitor and left me to whatever danger was out there. He gently pushed me back against the pillows, stood up and tucked the blankets up under my chin. "Just try to rest now ok? We'll head out tonight after nightfall."

The three of us disguised as ordinary Konoha shinobi and flanked by others moved out just as the sun fell. We didn't talk very much, trying to melt in the shadows as much as possible. I was a little nervous about what this machine would be like. Yamanaka-san seemed friendly enough, but I have heard about Konoha's interrogation methods. They were torture of the acutest kind. I hoped it wouldn't be too terrible. But with it now known that I had some kind of tie to Akatsuki, I shouldn't expect any mercy to be shown. I would be treated like an enemy.

Yamanaka-san glanced over his shoulder at me. "I won't worry too much Ritsuko. I know that you don't mean any harm. Gaara-sama was adamant in his praise of your loyalty to the Land of Sand."

I let out a breath I wasn't aware that I was holding. Perhaps things really would be ok after all. Once the sun was coming up, we withdrew into the underbrush to build some shelters so we could rest. Kankuro took the first watch, sitting right next to me and I rested my head on his lap. He tenderly played with my hair as I fell asleep.

The trip went uneventfully and soon we were only two days away from Konoha. As we were resting for the night, I found Kankuro by a large tree. He sat against the trunk and beckoned me closer. He pulled me close and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I won't leave you alone during the procedure, you know that right?"

I didn't and words couldn't express how grateful I felt.

"I just want you know that no matter what your memories turn out to be, I'll still love you. No matter what."

"That's a little foolish," I teased. "Why don't you wait and see what they are first before you start spouting romantic nonsense."

He didn't laugh. "If love isn't true, then it isn't true love, now is it?"

A chill breeze blew through the area. It was definitely autumn, soon to be winter. I wasn't used to such cold weather. It was always so warm in Sunagakure. Kankuro shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. "You don't have to do that," I protested.

"Just let me do something for you for once without complaint." He groaned.

I started to reply when he placed a finger on my lips. He looked about us with narrowed eyes. "Something is wrong here," he whispered. "It's too quiet."

He was right. The others had been building new shelters, they shouldn't be done by now. They would have called us for dinner if they had. I helped him up and we cautiously approached the camp. Just before we stepped through into the clearing I stifled a gasp and took a step back. Kankuro had a tight grip on my upper arm to keep me from moving again. The other guards were sprawled on the ground unconscious and Yamanaka-san was trapped in a water prison; Hoshigaki-senpai leering over him with a sadistic grin as he struggled to breathe.

I couldn't breathe I was so scared. I had never seen him this blood-thirsty. Sure he used to enjoy a good fight, but nothing this vindictive. I realized with a sinking heart that he was no longer the senpai I used to know.

"It's probably a water clone," Kankuro whispered. "He's got to be around here somewhere. We've got to get out of here before he finds us."

"What about the others? We can't just-"

He pulled me closer to hiss in my ear. "He is after you, don't forget that. Now let's move!"

We turned and raced back into the forest, picking up speed and barely touching the ground. We heard a growl of triumph above us as a large figure dropped down from the tree above us. Kankuro pushed me and jumped before he could land on us. I fell flat on my face and Kankuro skidded some distance from me. Hoshigaki-senpai was between us and he laughed as he turned towards me. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Suko."

I flinched as he used my old nickname. I scrambled backwards while he steadily approached me with open arms. "Now everything will be as it should be."

He halted for a moment and jerked his arms and legs. Kankuro had thrown chakra threads on them and attempted to pull him back. "Run Ritsuko! I'll hold him off!"

Hoshigaki-senpai deftly broke through the threads and rounded on him with a smirk. "You're going to need to do better than that."

Kankuro's hand went to his back for one of his puppet scrolls but something glistened in the darkness behind him. "Look out!" I cried.

Too late, a blue hand grabbed a hold of Kankuro and he was trapped by the water prison jutsu as well. Hoshigaki-senpai smirked and turned back towards me, leaving his clone to deal with Kankuro. Now it was my turn to fight back. I was just unlatching Chikara but he moved too quickly for me and I was soon pinned to the ground. I squirmed under his tight grip.

"Finally, after all these years," he purred. "We meet again."

"You just wanted to get together for sentimental reasons?" I threw back. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"

He threw back his head and laughed. "You haven't lost your spirit! This is going to be a lot of fun…"

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the worst. But he did the last thing in the world that I ever would have expected. He kissed me.