We were running... again! I don't see how Sasuke has this much energy! But I do know why he's so pumped up. "Itachi is somewhere in this town," I thought, glancing at Sasuke's back. He's probably glaring at anyone who would dare look at him right now. "It's gonna be hell when we actually find him." But nonetheless I still follow Sasuke. I wonder why... I'm not usually this reckless. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm almost as reckless as Naruto! I guess it's because I can combine my skills with Hinata's. "Great, now I'm turning into Sasuke!" Now, it's time to remember what episode is! Since Kakashi was already hurt and we're looking for Naruto now... that means—oh! This is the episode where they first showed Sasuke as a little boy! I had to suppress my laughter at the thought. "He was soooo cute! Even I wanted to pinch his wittle cheeks!" I could no longer hold in my giggles. Suddenly, Sasuke stopped running causing me to slide to a stop... much like a baseball player would slide into home!

I hate it when Sasuke does that! I stood up and dusted the... dust from my capris and got ready to yell at him, I even had a glare in my arsenal. "What the-" I began but Sasuke interrupted me. Another thing I hate!

"What the hell are you laughing at now?" he yelled. My glare instantly shrunk into a nervous/scared look. I bet I looked like a lost kitten.

"Um... nice weather we're having, huh?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Yeah... didn't work out so well. Sasuke gave me this look that said 'I'll give you a slow and painful death!' But hey, that just could be me thinking too much into things.

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Sasuke

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I was snapped out of thoughts of my past by her quiet laughing. I stopped and felt for his presence. "Damn it, if it wasn't for Mayu, I would ran right pass!" I thought. That still doesn't excuse that she's always laughing in a serious situation like this. Mayu seems to always laugh in the face of danger!

"What the-" Mayu began to yell, but I interrupted her. She probably hates that.

"What the hell are you laughing at now?" I asked, turning to face her. It probably came out a little too harsh. Mayu almost looked like a lost kitten, which she is not! I hate it when she makes those guilty faces. It makes my anger evaporate into nothing.

"Um... nice weather we're having, huh?" she asked. Never mind, the anger is back. I can't believe she just said that!

"If she wasn't my friend... I would give her a slow and painful death!" I thought. I sighed and then turned to face the building that he was in. "That guy...!"

"So... is this the place?" I heard Mayu ask. I nodded to answer her question. I heard her scoff. "I sure hope so because last time was sho' nuff not the place!" I didn't understand what she had said, but I knew what she was saying.

I hate it when Mayu gives me those smart ass remarks! It's like she doesn't believe in me at all! But nonetheless, it could be dangerous if a fight breaks out. "Mayu..." I began but she cut me off.

"No." I turned to face her. Her weird eyes shifted in my direction. "No," she said again.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," I muttered.

"You don't want me to follow you in there," she stated. Oh, so she did know. Sometimes, Mayu seems like she's reading my mind. "Do you honestly think I don't know you by now?" I shifted my weight and looked away. She did have a point... "See... We've been through a lot together and... I don't want to lose you." She then did something that surprised my so much that all I could do was stand there. She hugged me! Ishikari Mayu never hugs me! I think I did it to her once, but that's it! And it didn't mean anything, might I add. The point is, she has never hugged me back. Why am I so worked up over this anyway...? "Please don't throw your life away, Sasuke," Mayu continued as she released me. She gave me a smile and just stared. Her Hyuga eyes—they were so weird.

"I want to see her real eyes," I found myself thinking. I don't understand... Suddenly, I felt as if my face was on fire and mild shivers were going all throughout my body, though I tried not to show it. Was she using some kind of jutsu on me? My eyes widened because the arm she touched seemed warmer than the other. What the heck was happening to my body? "M-Mayu-"

BAM!

Out of nowhere she punches my face in! No, I'm serious. She literally punched me in the face. Isn't she the sweetest? I seriously need a new friend. Anyway, the stand she had knocked me into was selling alcohol. Great, now I'm going to smell like this all day. I stood up, ignoring what the owner had to say, and glared at Mayu. "What the hell was that for?" I yelled, holding my face. Screw trying to be quiet! Mayu snickered and then flat out just laughed while pointing!

"You thought I was gonna give you a little goodbye kiss?" she laughed. "As if I'd do something like that!"

"Why you little brat!" I thought, resisting the urge to strangled her on the spot.

I hate it when she switches moods like that! "Ten minutes..." Mayu said, getting my attention; her laughter seemed to have vanished. "If you're not back by then... I'll come after you... like you stole my cookie." Ten minutes... what does she- My eyes widened in realization. I can't believe I forgot about Naruto! "Good luck!" Mayu said cheerfully while pushing me towards the entrance to the inn. "I'll put some ice on that later."

I looked back at her one more time before going in. "Ten minutes, huh?" I thought, going up the stairs. "That should be enough time, right?" I know Mayu isn't a very patient person. Ten minutes is ten minutes to an average person, but with Mayu, it's only about seven. "I hope that's enough time," I thought frowning. Please don't let her patience run thin.

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Mayu

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"I think my patience is running thin," I thought, sitting on a bench near the staircase that Sasuke went up. "I am seriously bored out of my mind!" Should I have really said ten minutes? I mean, that is a long time! I noticed that one of the workers at this inn glancing at me every so often. "Sheesh! I haven't even done anything yet!" I thought glowering. Leave it to a grown up assume the worst.

The man finally came over to me, but I pretended not to notice by looking to the entrance. The man cleared his throat, but I refused to turn away from the entrance. "Excuse me, little girl," he finally said making me turn to face him. The man looked around my dad's age. His greenish black eyes held amusement for some reason. Now, I don't really know how a person could have that color for their eyes... on second thought, this is anime.

"Great, this guy thinks I'm funny-looking!" I thought.

"Are you-" he began but I cut him off.

"Actually, I'm thirteen, sir, that means I am no longer a little girl," I said. I saw the man's eye twitch; he scratched his short black hair. If I were a bit older, I probably would have considered him handsome. But my dad's better looking. He could have been an idol back in his prime.

"I'm very sorry for my rude mistake," he said while his eyebrow twitched. I smiled at his clearly irritated expression. "Yes, yes... Are you waiting for someone, a parent, maybe?" he asked. I shook my head and said no. "Then why are you here?"

"... My father sent me here to... wait... on... my older sister," I lied. "My sister can be a real pain! She takes forever to get ready!"

"Oh, well... I'll leave you to your waiting, then!" he said and then sorta scampered off. I blinked in confusion.

"Okay... that is definitely going on my weird list!" I thought, looking away towards the staircase. "Sasuke... how long has it been?" Bored, I looked towards where that man had disappeared to and I could have sworn I saw a foot kick a boy out from around the corner. "The hell...?" The boy stood up with his hand on his forehead. Now that I got a good look at him, I could tell that he was my age.

"Damn that stupid father of mine," I heard him grumble as he ran his fingers through his short jet black hair. I laughed. That interaction I just saw was similar to how my mother got me to go to school. "Hey! You think that was funny!" the boy yelled. That's when we made eye contact, the boy's face became red... probably from anger. "Dad was right..." I heard him whisper, looking away.

"Huh...?" I asked.

"N-Nothing..." he said.

"Well anyway, I wasn't laughing at you," I said. He stared at me and smiled. He looked similar to who I think was his father, even his eyes. He was kinda cute. The boy sat next to me and stared at me.

"Hey, what's your name?" he suddenly asked me. I gave him a look that said 'Excuse me!' He chuckled slightly. "Sorry, that was pretty rude of me," he said. Darn straight it was! "My name is Sawatari Nakatsu."

"Ishikari Mayu," I said in reply.

"Wow... that's a nice name," Nakatsu said. "Mayu..." I could feel my face grown hot at the compliment. What's with this guy? "You know you're probably the most... beautiful girl I've ever met." HUH...?

"I think you mean strange…"

"No, I know what I said." Ah, a playboy, huh? No male had ever spoken to me this way before.

"Uh… yeah… I've gotta go now!" I stood up. Waving, I walked up the stairs. I shook my head and tried to focus. I had more important things to worry about other than some random boy flirting with me. How much time had passed? "I hope Sasuke's alright!" I thought frowning.

0-0

Sasuke

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I am not alright! Right now, Itachi is standing over me. I tried to use my Chidori but he just push me aside like I was nothing. "He's still stronger than me!" I thought angry. "I can't beat him?!"

"Little brother..." Itachi said making me look up at him. "Don't you know you're..." I already knew what he was going to say 'too weak'. In the end, I'm still weak. "You're a little too young to be drinking."

Huh...? What the hell...? Then realization dawned on me. "Mayu, you brat!" I thought. "S-Shut the hell up!" I yelled out loud, it didn't really come out as loud as I wanted it to. Itachi just chuckled at my retort. Bastard...! Plus, Naruto was just there gawking at the situation!

"Or what...?" Itachi said. "You'll kill me? You can't kill me. You see, you lack something important. You lack-"

"Well… Now he's staring at me like as if he was staring in a mirror…!" a voice interrupted what Itachi was going to say. That voice sounded like a female. That voice also sounded as if it were singing. "She yells 'Honey, let me explain!' He says 'You don't have to go no further! I can clearly see what's going on behind my back, in my bed, in my home! Then I said wait a minute; now hold on!" Damn... there's only one person I know who would do something as idiotic as this.

"It's you!" Naruto shouted, confirming my fears. "Hinata better not be around. This is dangerous!"

"Shutty! I don't like being interrupted, Naruto!" Mayu shouted.

Why? Why am I so unlucky? Ever since I met this person, my life has become pleasantly worse! Has it really been seven minutes? Damn it, Mayu! "Now as I was saying…" She had the nerve to clear her throat. "He walks back to the room! Right now I'm sweating like hell! Checks under the bed~! Then opens the dresser! He looks at the closet! I pull out my Beretta! He walks up to the closet! Getting closer to the closet! Now he's at the closet! Damn, he's opening the closet! Closet… Closet… Closet…" She echoed herself. I really hate her guts. This is the not the time to be singing!

My eyes grew wide. What am I doing? Sure, it was unconventional, but it was definitely a leeway—a distraction. Hastily, I grabbed his ankle with my left and pushed down on his leg with my right. This movement caused him to fall backwards, allowing me use his momentum to stand. Looking back, I could have used this chance to attack him again. However, my body had seemed to move on its own. I had run over to Mayu instead. "Are you an idiot?" I asked her. "Do you want me to kill you myself?" She didn't spare me a glance. "Hey, you hear me, don't-" She silenced me by pressing her index finger to my lips. I blinked in surprised. Still, she had kept her eyes on the enemy. I suppose I should do the same.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame..." Her eyes narrowed at them. Finally, he stood up. He only blinked, not affected that I had actually managed to take him down. "You two… You have turned your backs against the heavenly truth by sullying your hands with evil!" I'm pretty sure I fell out of place when she said that. I don't understand how she can go from serious to silly in less than a second. "Watch as your instruments of destruction break before my Justice!" Unabashed, Mayu raised both her fists at the two enemies. Uh... Break before her Justice? I think Mayu has read one too many comics or has fell on her head way too many times. It seemed as if she had been dreaming of this moment her entire life.

"Great, another brat," that weird blue guy said. "Who knew we'd be this popular? What's your name, girlie!"

"Hmph! I'm glad you asked!" Mayu grinned. I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. I looked towards her and frowned. There she stood defiant, not once faltering in her fearless dignity. "Ishikari Mayu is the name, kickin' the bad guy's beep is my game! Ready to have my hammer of Justice smash your faces in?"

Did she say 'beep' instead of ass? Mayu is really weird... Nearly growling, I grabbed her shoulder, causing her to turn to me. "I'm going to make sure die in front of me!" She pouted, furrowing her eyebrows.

"But I came here for you!" She wiggled in place, causing me to twitch in slight revulsion. She seemed to catch the reaction because she, thankfully, went back to herself. "Did you like my performance? I think I was born for theatre!"

"Yeah, in a place where talent's not needed!"

"Ah! How could you say that? My voice is beautiful!" She cleared her throat. "Now I'm dashing home, doing 85! Swerving lane to lane, with fire in my eyes. I've got a million thoughts going through my mind! I'm thinking about what I'm-" BAM—I hit her in the head before she could finish. "Oooowwww! So mean to someone who's older than you!"

"You're lying," Itachi voice intercepted the retort I was about to make. Both of us turned to him in unison. As impassive as he usually was, I could tell that he was angry. Unconsciously, I took a half a step back. I had only seen that expression once, and it gave me a nightmare or two. "Although your skin is dark and your eyes are blue, dominant characters of the Ishikari clan, you are not Ishikari. Telling such an obvious lie… Are you looking to die?" My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Clan…? There is a clan with Mayu's surname?

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuse the hell outta me, weasel man!" Mayu shouted before I had a chance to ponder Itachi's strange words. "Why would I lie? I am very proud of my name, so you can just shove that accusation right up your-" I covered her mouth before she could complete whatever insult she was about to say. She had already called him 'weasel,' so apparently she did want a death wish.

"Im… Impossible..." I heard Itachi mutter. "But... that nickname..."

"What's he talking about?" I thought.

"What the hell's he talking about?" Mayu's muffled voice asked. I only shrugged, not knowing either.

0-0

Mayu

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I glanced at Sasuke. He seemed to be equally confused by Itachi's strange behavior. I thought he would be indifferent to my antics. Well, I guess he is Sasuke's older brother. The younger Uchiha couldn't resist my astounding charisma either. Okay, I really need to stop. It wasn't the time to be joking. I looked back at Itachi, pushing Sasuke's hand away from my mouth. The older Uchiha's face had returned to being neutral by this time. "Oi…!" I called out to him. His Sharingan eyes shifted to me again. "You should have stayed away," I told him. "You being here… only causes unnecessary problems." I actually glared at him. Yeah… Let's just say that Itachi isn't my favorite character. In fact, he's pretty much down there with Yashamaru. "People like you piss me off."

"Mayu, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked me. "Can't you see this is dangerous!"

"Didn't I tell you to have a big bowl of shutty?" I asked. Yes, I know I am very rude, but who's gonna stop me? I directed my attention back to Itachi... only he wasn't there! "Okay... maybe he's gonna stop me!" I thought. I heard Sasuke curse under his breath, but before either of us could do anything, he was kicked away, down the hall, rolling. And me…? Itachi wrapped an arm around my neck from behind. Yup… This is a sucky situation. "Damn you, Naruto!" What? I had to blame someone that wasn't me!

"Are you... really Ishikari Mayu?" Itachi whispered in my ear. I tensed. Sure, he wasn't choking me, but he could at any moment. Also, my body… It was scared to defend against Itachi. I may hate him, but the fact still remains that he is a super strong ninja—a teen titan. But let me assure my wonderful audience that if it was a normal person, I would totally get out of this hold and kick the crap out of the offender! "Careful... your answer could be the last thing you say."

"Is this really as it ends for me?" I thought, swallowing spit. "Oh man… Oh..." I said out loud, I could hear my voice tremble. "Here we are, five of us, in total shock, me and him. I close my mouth and swallow spit," I nervously sang out. "As I'm thinking to myself this some deep shit!" He chuckled. Seriously, Uchiha Itachi chuckled. At this point, I don't know if that's good or bad.

"You're the only person I know who would look danger in the face... and joke, Mayu-chan," he said. Yeah, I usually do that when I'm nervous. I mean come on! My life is on the line here! "I've... always liked that about you."

My eyes expanded in pure confusion. "Eh??" I thought. It sounds as if he knows me! And knows me well at that! That can't be... Itachi and I have never met before today. So why...? Suddenly, I noticed that the big blue guy was about to attack Naruto with his giant sword. "Naruto, move!" I shouted as the giant sword was about to slice the blond in half. However, a cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. When it disappeared, a giant frog was holding off the sword.

The frog was orange and had blue markings on its body; it also had armor on. "You two don't know me very well," a voice said. A very familiar voice, but I couldn't place it right then. Suddenly, Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto! He had a woman over his shoulder. "Jiraiya the man that is better at winning a girl..." he continued; I found myself rolling my eyes. "... then to be seduced by one. I wouldn't let a woman seduce me with her beauty. When you become as great like me, women will go crazy over your own beauty!"

"Yeah right!" I thought with my eyes narrowed. "Quite it with the theatrics, already!"

"Yeah right! You were excited over a simple wink from that woman!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at the man behind him. "I don't think you should be showing off like that right now, Pervy Sage!"

"Come on, now. Don't call me that in front of people," Jiraiya said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey! Kinda in danger over here!" I snapped.

Suddenly, the big blue guy started laughing. So here he was talking and everyone else was talking. "Sometimes I really hate when people have pointless conversations," I thought, sighing. Suddenly, the giant frog disappeared, forcing me to pay attention. I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep, then again, there's a kunai at my neck.

"I'm not handing over the boy," Jiraiya said.

"We'll see about that," Itachi said. He still had not released me!

"Um... since you're going to fight... could you let me go!" I asked with the nicest voice I could muster.

"Mayu-chan, you foolish girl..." Itachi murmured, squeezing my shoulder. "I'm taking you with me." Huh. That doesn't seem fair. Why would he want me? I'm not special like Naruto! I'm not even suppose to be here! And why does he keep speaking to me so informally?

Speaking of Naruto "What...?" he shouted before I had a chance to ask. "What could you possibly want with her?" I felt my eyebrow twitch.

"I hope that wasn't an insult!" I thought glaring at the blond. "He's right, though!" I said out loud turning my head slightly to see Itachi's face. "How could I be important to you?"

I saw Itachi smirk, which wasn't exactly a good sign in my book. "You'll find out when we leave this place," he said. Does that mean I'm going to die? Yep, I'm probably going to die for my insolence.

"N-No, I won't let you," a voice snarled. It was Sasuke. Oh, so he finally got up from being bitch slapped by his brother. Man, took him awhile, didn't it? I looked back as far as Itachi would let me to see Sasuke standing. "I'll kill you and no one will interfere!"

"Sasuke... I nearly forgot about him," I thought. "I am such a retard! But anyway... he doesn't really think he's able to kill Itachi now... does he? He doesn't stand a chance right now... he's only 12 for crying out loud!" Sasuke... might die... "Stop being so stupid!" I exclaimed to him. "You know what your brother is capable of! What's one little Uchiha going to do against someone who killed an entire clan of elite ninja, huh? You're not strong enough to defeat him yet! For once in your life... think of how your friends will feel if you die." Sasuke closed his onyx colored eyes and he frowned. "Sasuke... are you-" He interrupted my next sentence.

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke shouted, snapping his eyes open. I reared back, blinking. He had triggered his Sharingan. "You know nothing of my power! So shut up and get out of my way. People like you are only a distraction." It kinda took me awhile to process what he had just said and when I did... I wasn't too happy about it.

"What...?" I asked, glaring at the youngest of the Uchiha family. "Is that... how you feel? After all I've done for you, that's what you think I am? You bastard...!" My fists clenched at my sides. "You're just the rest of them… Arrogant prick of a ninja! You're worst than your brother! I hate people like you!" I know I might have been a little harsh, but that was a very mean thing to say to me! I glared at him. I was so angry. All this time, I had been thinking he was my friend…

"Do you want to hurt him, Mayu-chan?" Itachi asked me, turning me around. As he said this, his eyes seemed to glow. "Do you want to make him feel the pain you feel?"

"Girl, don't look him in the eyes!" I heard Jiraiya call to me, but I couldn't look away for some reason. My eyes started getting heavy.

"But... I'm not tired..." I thought just before everything went black... except Itachi's red eyes. All I could see was his glowing red eyes. "Now I'm in the closet… Now I'm in the closet, too~!"

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