Letting out a sigh, the red-eyed Akatsuki member continued to poke at the fire by his feet. He glanced up at the night sky, admiring the beauty of the starts within the clearing. Rin would have loved this place. He shifts his weight a bit before turning his attention back to his partner, hungrily waiting for him to continue. "So, after that, I woke up in the hospital alone. About a week later I was promoted to captain for the ANBU divisions." He watches his partner's movements for any sort of response.

Kisame leans back a bit, resting on the elbow of his left arm, "So that's it? What the Hell does that have to do with us and this girl that you seem to be so infatuated with?" The animalistic man watches him carefully; a look in his eyes says it all to Itachi, If I find out that this is all about some girl… Itachi raises a hand towards him as if asking him to pause. He takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts.

"I have no relations with the girl, rest assured; however, this mission started Orochimaru's infatuation with her." Kisame raises an eyebrow as Itachi continues, "Before you and I joined the brotherhood, I was approached by the one called Tobi. He was my… accomplice for the massacre." He lets out a painful cough before his red eyes drift back to the sky. His face seems emotional as he continues, "As I was leaving Konoha, after I gave my final words to my brother, she appeared before me." His eyes seem distant, almost lost; "She asked why, begging me to stop, to turn myself in. I gave her no response, I lifted my blade and cut her down before me." My love… He fights back a tear from his face, shifting his thoughts to fight back the memories.

Kisame sighs a bit out of annoyance, "While this is all touching, I still don't see why we need to give a fuck about all this again." He grumbles a bit, reaching towards his sword.

That was the mood change he needed; Itachi turns his head back to the jonin, "We care, because she's still alive; because with her alive, we no longer need to hunt the Kyuubi's jinchuriki." He clenches his fist, eyes narrowing at the fire. Kisame spins back around towards him, a mix of anger, resentment and curiosity on his face.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Uchiha…"

"The Uzumaki child isn't the only one," he states rather blatantly. "That's why we need to find her."

-o-

After gathering all the equipment needed from his tiny apartment, Kakashi took one last glance around the living room/kitchenette. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts and cooling his emotions. I never react so out of character, he grumbles to himself, But why now Itachi, why come back for her information. Our information. Wasn't taking her from me enough? Biting his lip in frustration, he slams a tight fist into the wall as he locks the front door and exits through the living room's balcony.

Stepping out into the cool night's air, he feels his anger and frustrations beginning to fade. Just need to pay them a visit before I head out. His feet automatically turn towards their new destination. Having spent many hours of his time at the stone, he could get there with his eyes closed. He closes them anyways, forming a few plans of action now that his sanity has seemed to reappear.

Coming up on the training field next to the stone, he lets out a sigh, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. Somehow this place always made him briefly forget the worries of the world and why he was about to embark on such a dangerous mission. Ok, perhaps it wasn't a mission. But I'll be damned if I'm about to let anyone stop me from going. He walks over to his usual spot and lowers his pack to the ground beside him.

"I'll be heading out soon, Orbito; to try and keep even a fraction of that promise to you. I'll stop him this time, I'll get her revenge." A soft breeze picks up as if answering his words. Kakashi tilts his head up towards the sky, letting the breeze surround him. He opens his eye towards nothing in particular till a small flicker of light catches his eye from the top of the memorial. That's odd…

He stretches his arm up, gathering the object in his right hand. He brings it back down towards his chest, his eye widening before he even opens his palm to reveal the item. Why the Hell is this here; he opens his hand, revealing a silver locket. He rubs his thumb over the necklace, wiping away some of the dust, dirt and grime. He rests his thumb over the clasp, hesitating to open it. Biting his lip, he decides against it, tightening his grip around the piece.

Bringing his left thumb to his lips, he cleanly bites a sliver of skin, drawing a small amount of blood. The jonin slams his palm into the ground before a puff of smoke appears. The smoke clears just as quick as it came, his familiar summon and best friend sitting there with a rather irritated expression on his face. "I swear, if this is about those damned books again, pup."

Kakashi looks down at his summon, a mix of emotions in his eye. "No, mate. This is something far more important." The pug raises an eyebrow, taking in the jonin's body language.

"Well, what's got you all worked up then?" The jonin kneels down to the dog's level, reaching his hand out rather protectively towards the pug. Pakkun's eyes widen with realization, "What's this about 'Kashi," he says, using a nickname he hadn't used since she was around. "Where did you get this and furthermore, why does it have his scent." Kakashi sighs at his summon, pocketing the locket.

"I think it's a calling. He wants to meet with me after all these years." His fists clench against his wishes to remain calm and collected. Pakkun let's out a sigh of his own, bringing a paw up to Kakashi's forearm.

"Pup, are you sure you're ready for this? I mean, it's been a few years and let's face it, you're not as collected as you should be right now." The shinobi pulls his arm back as if burned, narrowing his eyes at the pug.

"This is Rin, we're talking about Pakkun. Nothing is going to stop me from pursuing this, not after this long." His eyes shift away from him towards the stone, full of anger, confusion and a hint of betrayal; this was his best friend after all. "I can't fail them again."

Pakkun snorts distastefully at his master, "Really now 'Kashi; I expected a more commanding demand if you're going to summon me at this time of night. I already know what you want me to do, just say it already. While I might not exactly like it, you know I'm not about to let you do this alone." The pug shifts his gaze past him, towards the village, "and neither are they." He smirks a bit, waiting for the jonin to snap back to reality.

Kakashi furrows his brows as he feels the familiar chakra of his friends approach. Damn, I really am going to need some help if I didn't even feel them approach. He sighs to himself, a smile creeping up along his face. He grabs the pack beside him as he rises to his feet, swinging it over his shoulder. "I know why they're coming and I can't let them interfere; at least not yet."

Pakkun lets out a sigh, waving his paw in a very dismissive manner. "I know the drill. The scent leads northwest towards the Country of Rain." The copy-ninja places the other strap of his pack over his shoulder as Pakkun finishes, "And 'Kashi, do be somewhat alive this time around." The jonin gives him his trademark-smiling eye before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Pakkun then turns towards the group approaching, "You owe me, pup."

-o-

A faint knocking is heard on the glass surround her prison. She opens an eye, glancing around at the other forsaken experiments surrounding her before settling her gaze on the man before her. White hair and glasses is all she can make out through her watery cage. She hears an almost mute sound come from his mouth as he speaks to her; she reads his lips slowly. Kyuubi?

Kabuto flashes her a grin, knowing full well she can't hear inside of the enforced barrier. He walks up to the table sitting beside the prison, a few vials and elixirs glimmering in the soft light of the dungeon. He gathers a purple hued vial in his hand and walks back over to the tank. Lifting a tube resting towards the bottom, he twists a cap from the tip and pours the vial's contents into the opening. He looks back up to the girl with another grin. "Rest well, your services will be needed soon enough."

The girl narrows her eyes at the man and the liquid beginning to take over the mass of the tank. She struggles against its hold before her body begins to numb from the elixirs touch. Giving one final look of death to her captor, she lashes out at towards the man before darkness consumes her once more. I swear to the gods I'll kill you. Whoever you are, I will kill you. Her thoughts also fade to unconsciousness before the darkness settles in.

That wasn't my voice, was it?

-o-

Kisame rubs a few fingers around the bridge of his nose before glancing back at his partner rather infuriated. "Let me get this straight," he says, barely containing his anger. "Orochimaru took your lover's body back to the Akatsuki with the idea of bringing her back to life and implanting some of the Kyuubi's remaining chakra within the girl?"

The jonin nods once in response, "Yes. Pain used his reanimation rebirth jutsu and brought her back to the living. With Pain drained of his chakra, Orochimaru then took her somewhere unknown; possibly one of his many hideouts." He lets out a sigh, eyes fixated on the dying fire before him.

"He came back to the Akatsuki, wanting to negotiate with Pain; his secrets of immortality for his lab created jinchuriki. Pain refused, stating that his experiment would only be a false spirit and would only destroy the Akatsuki's plans. Orochimaru then came after me, trying to use my former relations with her as a form of leverage against Pain. He then tried to attack me once I refused, claiming that he'd take my eyes and make Pain see for himself that his creation was as good as the original. He lost that match and I severed his left hand for doing so. He left soon after with no trace of where he might be hiding." Itachi moves his gaze over towards his partner, "The experiment wasn't a failure, he did indeed create a second jinchuriki."

Kisame sighs to himself, trying to take it all in; "So, if he succeeded, why are we hunting down the others and not creating copies?"

The Uchiha remains silent for a few moments as if trying to calculate how to best approach the situation. "Because how the Kyuubi was sealed within the third jinchuriki was unique in itself. It's only because half of the beast's chakra wasn't sealed that made the experiment even possible to begin with. Another reason is we'll need the entire spirit to proceed with out plan. Once we catch one and make her presence known, the other will come running. " Watching his partner carefully, Kisame leans back up around the fire.

"So, how do we go about finding a hidden jinchuriki; one whose chakra is being suppressed by a former Akatsuki no less?"

Itachi reaches for the mission log in his pouch as he answers calmly, "With his help."

Kisame raises an eyebrow, "And why the hell would we want the enemy to know our next move?"

"Because he loves her, and he'll stop at nothing to get her back." He glances back over towards his partner, "When it's a mission to save a loved one, people will change beyond their set limitations. Including alliances."

He tosses the log into the fire as it briefly sparks a new life to the dying flames. The flames illuminate the clearing for a few moments before dying down once more to embers with nothing left to burn. "Once that happens, he'll have burned his alliances; alienating him from those he's trying to protect. He'll have nothing, except us."

Kisame gives a wicked grin as the embers slowly loose their glow, "I like the way you think, Uchiha." His grin fades from animalistic to demonic as the glow dies down.