Chapter 9

Ekitai's barking and scratching woke me up the next morning. I groaned in protest, wanting more sleep. Maybe that'll get rid of all thoughts of Shikamaru being angry with me. She continued to whine and scratch after I almost got my wish while she paused. Next thing I knew, Kiba had opened the door, saying that breakfast was ready. Ekitai darted out of the room, and I looked over to Kiba, examining his face.

"You made breakfast?" I asked, surprised.

"Guys can cook too, you know." I smiled warmly, feeling the heat of the sun as it beat upon my blankets. I rolled out of bed as soon as Kiba closed the door, and put on my daily outfit, clean as of last night. Quickly combing my hair, I walked out of the door to find the delicious smell of blueberry pancakes and bacon. A glass of orange juice awaited me as I sat at the counter, watching Kiba move around, preparing our meal.

"...When'd you learn to make American food?" Kiba grinned at me slyly.

"Ever since I heard you like it," He replied honestly.

"Shocker," I teased, and squealed in delight as he placed my plate in front of me. I dug in, finishing it in a few minutes.

"This...is...delicious!" I said in between mouthfuls, a copy of Chouji. Kiba laughed, holding a spatula.

"I'm glad you like it, Tei. Can you cook?" I grinned innocently.

"...Maybe?" He chuckled.

"I take that as a no."

"Hey, not all women cook!" I said, defending myself.

"True, but the woman I marry will." ...Ouch.

"Meanie." He snickered.

"Anyone who told you I was nice was lying."

"Psh, Whatever," I said after draining my orange juice.

"...You got a message."

"Huh?" I looked at him strangely. A message?

"From Shikamaru.. he came to visit really early...reason why I woke up, actually. Said he couldn't sleep, and he wanted to talk to you. Er...meet him...at that..field? Where you guys were yesterday," He obviously didn't remember it immediately, but I was glad that he remembered at all.

"Thank you! Did he say when?" Kiba shook his head.

"...Can I have some more orange juice?"

"Hah! Get it yourself, big girl!" I frowned childishly, and lazily got out of my chair to go for the fridge to grab some orange juice. I found it, poured some into my glass, put it back, and finished the glass quickly. I love orange juice..

There was a knock on the door, and Kiba took long strides to reach it quicker. I could hear Shikamaru's voice at the door.

"Impatient, are we?" Kiba teased, and Shikamaru sighed.

"She up yet?" Kiba nodded, and pointed in the direction of the kitchen while I was sneakily getting some more orange juice. Kiba allowed him to come in, and Shikamaru found me drinking another glass of the addicting drink.

"Teima! Watch how much your drinking, we don't have much of that," Kiba complained. I placed the glass in the sink, and raised my arms in a surrendering fashion.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself.." Shikamaru watched my every move, and hung on my every word. I looked at him, butterflies fluttering their wings in my stomach.

"May I be of any assistance?" I asked, and Kiba sniggered.

"Take a picture, they last longer...is that drool?" He pointed to a spot on Shikamaru's chin where there was obviously no drool.

"Shut up, Kiba...Teima, come with me please?" I shrugged, and followed Shikamaru out of the house, waving goodbye to Kiba. Shikamaru led me to the hill, and stayed in the lead the entire time. He layed down on the grass, and I followed suit.

"So...what's up?" Shikamaru watched the clouds, his expression unreadable.

"...What the HELL did Kiba and you do in that closet last night?" He asked this without hesitation, and stared at me, waiting for an answer when he finished.

"..." He took my silence the wrong way, as any guy would do.

"..You made out." I snorted, yes, snorted, and looked at Shikamaru funny.

"Of course not!" He obviously didn't believe me.

"Tell me why he was so damn close to you, then, and why you were blushing so furiously."

"...I can tell you the first part." I bit my lip, thinking of how he'd react if I told him the reason why I did blush.

"..Go on. Rather have that than nothing." I nodded.

"He wanted to kiss me at first, but he had asked, and I said no. And afterwards he just didn't move away. That's why he was so close." I didn't even look at Shikamaru, I was staring at the sky.

"...Oh. Why didn't you let him..?" I sighed, irritated.

"I don't like him." Shikamaru was silent for a long while, most likely thinking.

"My turn," I reminded him. He nodded, not caring.

"What went on between you and Temari?"

"...Nothing bad." I rolled my eyes.

"Specifics, please."

"Well. She admitted her love for me, and I told her I don't feel the same." .. Really? YES! ... I mean... uh... Aww, poor Temari..

"Anything else?" He bit his lip in the exact fashion that I had bitten mine earlier, and my eyes widened.

"Not-... Not really, no.." I glared at him.

"Liar." I hoped it wasn't what I thought it was.

"You really wanna know?" He asked doubtfully.

"Yes!" I was clutching the grass, uprooting a lot of it, and making my own little pile.

"...Well, she stole my first kiss." I gasped. I knew it! I KNEW it! ...Uh, what the hell, Tei..

I'm such a weirdo.

"...Oh.." He was watching my reaction, and seemed pleased that I didn't like that thought at all.

"And you let her, I suppose?" I felt guilty about what happened a while ago with Kiba.

"..No, I didn't." He sighed.

"Oh?" I was curious.

"Yeah, the feel of it...was so ... wrong. You know?" He looked over, and I nodded, unsure if I knew or not. I don't remember feeling that when Kiba kissed me..

"Alright, now this is getting to the point where I'm going to be driven insane. WHY did you blush?!" I sighed, smiling, shaking my head.

"Why is that so goddamn important to you?" He shrugged.

"Like I just said, it's driving me crazy. Tell me, please?" I looked down sadly.

"I can't." He looked at me incredulously.

"What do you mean "you can't?!" Of course you can!" I shook my head, biting my lip.

"Kiba just said something that kind of embarassed me, that's all." Shikamaru sat up, interested.

"Which is?" I glared at him playfully.

"I just told you that I can't tell you!" He huffed, and stuck out that bottom lip of his. I got up, realizing that Ekitai was at my feet the entire time. I hovered my hand over her body, and felt the rush of the chakra leaving me as I gave it to her. The blue strings travelled into her head and through her body, and she grew as more entered. As soon as she was wolf-sized, I stopped the chakra flow and took out a doll that I bought her a while back. I threw it far, and sat down to wait for her to finish fetching. Shikamaru watched her run, eyebrows creased into his forehead. As soon as Ekitai came back, I handed the doll to Shikamaru.

"Hold that for a few minutes, will you?" He sighed, and did as he was told. After I counted five minutes, I took the doll from him, focusing my chakra into my nose like Kiba. It wasn't NEARLY as strong, but I at least have the ability. I recognized Shikamaru's scent, I had just wanted to make sure it was there. I threw the ragged and chewed up thing, and silently waited for Ekitai to fetch the doll, this time with Shikamaru's scent. This was practice for if I ever had to find him... Shikamaru watched me with a confused look on his face. I shrugged. He watched the wind blow the grass around with a grimace.

"What's up?" He shrugged, still watching the blades of green.

"...You wont leave me, will you?" I felt the corners of my lips push down into a frown, my eyebrows creasing into my forehead.

"It's never crossed my mi--" he cut me off, his voice furious.

"Yes it has!" I stared at him, nervously fiddling around with a single blade of grass.

"...When you dreamed about leaving with Sasuke to see your dad.." he mumbled. I gaped at him.

"How'd you know about that?"

"You tend to talk in your sleep." He smiled a little.

"Oh...really. Hm." He said nothing more, but lay down on the grass to watch his clouds fly over him. I could see their reflection in his eyes, it resembled his mood perfectly. Cloudy. Not sunny, bright, cheerful.. nor was it rainy, gloomy, and the clouds weren't threatening to drench us, but it sure looked like they might try soon.

"Shikamaru..." He didn't move an inch.

"Look... I don't want to leave you. It's just...that I might have to.." He still said nor did nothing, but I could see a little of the color leave his face.

"Don't do that," he whispered, barely audible.

"...Pardon?"

"Don't do that," He commanded more clearly.

"W...what?" I couldn't comprehend that he didn't understand just how badly I missed my dad.

"Don't leave me here in the fucking dust!" He hissed... He doesn't get it.

"Shikamaru, Sasuke wont let you come. You know that." Shikamaru looked at me, his eyes full of plea.

"Then stay! You can train and improve .. and then get your dad out when you're ready. Why can't you realize that that is actually an option? You're so thick-headed it's more than a drag, if that's even possible!" I just gazed at him.

"Am I really? I'm that ... stupid? To want my father home?" I rolled over onto my side so that he couldn't see my face, I was crying. Teardrop after teardrop hit the field, and they clung to the blades of grass for dear life.

"...Teima, that's not--" I cut him off, trying to hide the sob from my voice.

"Of course not, Shikamaru. You didn't intend to get that point across to me. I know." Guilty, he rolled over so he could wrap an arm around me.

"...Just...lay off.." I mumbled, and his arm twitched as rejection seeped into him.

"Fine. I'm sorry, Tei." He dragged his arm back to himself, and I silently cried at his "non-intentional" insult that hurt me so much for reasons unknown. He's called me that before..

I eventually stopped crying and rolled over to face him. He watched me, lifting a hand to wipe away the last of my tears from my cheek.

"I'm sorry," He murmured again, and I shook my head.

"I don't know why that even dug so deep," I informed him, then inched closer. Shikamaru took the hint, wrapping his arm around me to pull me a lot closer to his body. He then lay on his back, so that his chest was my pillow. I breathed deeply, and snuggled him as he stroked my hair.

I might as well tell him.

It's now... or never.

Because I do plan on leaving, and I might not see him again. I just want him to know..

"I love you, Shikamaru," I said quietly. He looked down at me.

"What was that?"

"...I love you.'' I repeated the truth, and looked up for his reaction. His eyes were widened in shock as his processed this information, his body froze. I knew this kind of thing would happen. Immediately I got up and ran as far away as possible. I had my eyes closed as I tried to prevent the tears that were coming, but I ran into something, and both of our bodies toppled over onto the ground.. I ran into the person with such force..

"Sorry!" I gave out a choked whisper and felt myself being turned over, accompanying a tight grip around my forearms that prevented me from leaving.

"Don't...don't go.." Shikamaru's own whisper tickled my ears. I opened my eyes. He was panting, looking down at me with such.. worry. I could see dread in there, too.

"Shikamaru..." He shook his head.

"You didn't let me react," He breathed, still trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry.." I mumbled, though not truthfully. I didn't WANT to see him rejecting me, most likely my own thoughts of that happening would be enough to put me in a lot of pain already. A lone tear slid down my cheek as I waited for the words.

"...Teima..Don't leave me yet. I still want to hang out with you today.. last day before a mission, and you probably know how serious I can get.." I regarded him doubtfully, examining his face for any hint of a lie.

"..Give me some time to think about what you've said, okay? My body's still...well... shocked, and it's difficult to process. I never imagined you felt that way," He explained, and the doubt left me.

He doesn't know.

There's still hope..

I clung to that hope like a leech, trusting it with my heart. If that hope is shattered... my heart probably wont look much better.

"Now I'm going to repeat this. Don't go to Sasuke." I didn't trust myself, and now would be a bad time to even think about lying. It could ruin everything. I didn't say a word, but just watched a bead of sweat roll down his face as he continued to hold me down, obviously thinking I would run away again. I might as well say something, and I'll try my best for it to not be a lie.

"If you let me go... I'll return someday with my father," I pointed out.

"...How long would you be?" I shrugged.

"I dunno.. maybe a few months, it could even be a year. This is Sasuke we're talking about." His face was easy to read this time... No way in hell is he going to let me go for a year.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not going to allow that, even if you try, I'll...I'll come up with something with Kiba, and we'll stop you. You can't leave me for a year, not even a month." I looked down miserably.

"Why..." I whined, not understanding. I turned my head and stared out into space, away from Shikamaru.

"Teima, look at me." I didn't obey, allowing my body to go limp as I closed my eyes. I want to sleep.

"Teima!" He shook my shoulders, and I didn't really respond, just mumbled something that couldn't be heard by anyone except myself. I sighed and looked at him unwillingly.

"..Thank you. Now. Do you know how BORING Konoha would be without you here?" I shrugged.

"Naruto can fill in for me. He's just as annoying as I am." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "What?!" I asked, "It's true."

"No it's not. You're not troublesome like he can be." I let out a deep breath.

"Can you get off of my arms now? They're kind of getting numb.." Two small blotches of scarlet rose up to his cheeks, and he let me go. "Thanks," I said, rubbing my arms, attempting to get the circulation back. He stood up and stretched, yawning, and I looked at the position of the sun. In a few hours it'll be going down.

"I'll pay; Let's get some ramen," I suggested as I walked in the direction of the shop. Shikamaru followed like a dog, and I just smiled, stopping to let him catch up. As he got even paced with me, I allowed my hand to attempt to intertwine its fingers with his. He clenched his hand into a fist so I couldn't do so.

"Don't tempt me," he muttered.

"...Tempt you?" He glanced at me, and I quickly learned that this was one of his "pains."

"To take advantage of how you currently feel about me. I musn't." I gave him a strange look, shrugged, and sprinted the rest of the way to the ramen shop, shouting "RAMMEEENNNN!" as I went. Reaching my stool sooner than expected, I nearly tripped over it, but luckily I caught myself. I glanced back to find Shikamaru not even trying to run, walking at his own slow pace. I ordered two bowls of pork ramen for us and waited for him to finally arrive.

Took him long enough. He got here just in time to eat his bowl while it was still warm.

"Finally," I complained before shoving noodles into my mouth. Shikamaru laughed lightly before eating his own ramen. We didn't take very long; Shikamaru wanted to go home early to get packed for the mission. I nodded, and gave him a hug before leaving, knowing that this could be the last time for a while...

We waved to each other and walked in opposite directions. I stuck my hands in my pockets, thumbs hanging out, and looked up to see my favorite planet. The moon.

"Goodnight, moon!" I yelled, then giggled afterwards. The moonlight led me home, there was plenty of it coming from the waxing gibbous. I entered the house without knocking, Ekitai sprinting inside first. I let her into the dog room to find Kiba's sister Hana treating one of them.

"...Who are you?!" She demanded, and looked at me frightfully. I shrugged.

"Teima Ryuka; Daughter of Miso Ryuka. A while ago I was told to live here after my father was kidnapped." Hana stared from me to my dog, then nodded.

"Cute pup." I smiled sweetly before shutting the door again, and moved one door down to my room. I packed for the next day...well, okay, fine, you caught the bluff. I packed everything, not knowing just how long I would be. Then my father's written words came to my mind: I don't know what they'll do to you, because you never know, it could be YOU that they're after!

Why would they be after me? I'm nothing special.

Finding the letter my father gave me, I stuck it within the new frame I found wrapped up randomly on my desk this morning. It held the picture I found, and I placed it in my bag as the last item to pack. Wanting a long sleep, I went to bed early. Tomorrow could be pretty tiring.

Kiba woke me up in time to get dressed and eat something. After I finished, he led me out of the house, explaining that we were to meet at the bridge. I shrugged, moving Ekitai's body the slightest as she clung to my shoulders. Akamaru was silently walking on Kiba's left, tail down and all. I glanced over to him worriedly before confronting Kiba.

"What's wrong with Little Red?" This was the first time in a long time that I've used the nickname I came up with for Akamaru...I came up with it when Kiba introduced himself and Akamaru to me when I entered the Academy.

"He doesn't like the looks of the weather," Kiba replied. I looked at the sky, all of the clouds had turned to one overnight, a huge gray storm cloud. I smiled; it would be great for me if it rained. As we neared the bridge, Ekitai barked happily when she spotted something. There was Shikamaru, waiting for us at one of the large posts with his arms crossed. I ran to him, still smiling about the weather.

"Where's Team Kakashi?" Shikamaru sighed impatiently.

"Late." As I was preparing myself to wait for a while, Yamato, Sakura, Sai, and Naruto showed up.

"Finally!" Shikamaru complained. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably as Yamato gave us all some information.

"I am the captain for this entire squad along with Team Kakashi's, but if we ever have to separate, Shikamaru shall be the captain of your team." I nodded, knowing that that was a smart move. Kiba just rolled his eyes and went along with it, Shikamaru only gave him the slightest response of acknowledgement. I glanced over to see Sakura and Naruto worked up over finding Sasuke, Sai was unable to read as usual.

"Teima." The response to my name was almost instant.

"Yes?"

"YOU ARE NOT TO GO WITH SASUKE-KUN," Sakura shouted furiously at me. I frowned slightly.

"It's not any of your business, jack-ass, so don't get involved," I replied, hating her guts. Sai smiled, it could have been mistaken for real though I knew it was fake. Naruto just looked from Sakura to me with a slight frown.

"Don't insult Sakura-chan, Teima!" He defended her...why the hell would anyone do that?

"Or what? You'll rely on your Kyuubi to have your revenge?" I sneered for once in my life, and Yamato put his hand over my mouth.

"Teima, what side of the bed did you wake up on this morning?" I shrugged, and he just narrowed his eyes. "This attitude isn't like you." I put on a fake apologetic face.

"I didn't get as much sleep as I desired last night," I lied, not wanting to get in trouble. He removed his hand. "Sorry, Sakura, Naruto...everyone." I was apologizing to everyone except Sakura. She didn't forgive my lie.

"Whatever, he probably wouldn't even notice someone who wont be doing anything the entire time." What a mistake...

Quickly I lifted my fist and slammed it into her face.

"You're right, because she'll be whining about her bloody nose." She clutched her nose, glaring at me icily. Yamato looked between us helplessly, Shikamaru was just staring at me with his eyes slightly widened.

"Teima, that's enough." Kiba dared to speak up. I turned around to give him a weak glare, but I couldn't hold it.

"If she says more, she deserves it." That was all I said before beginning our mission by crossing the bridge. Everyone followed, noticing my annoyed demeanor. As I reached the middle of the bridge, I paused in my steps to have a look at who was approaching. It was Shiinzy, sprinting at full speed, her team way behind.

"PIXIE STTTIIIIIIIIXXXX!" She shouted, almost flying past me. I shook my head. Shiinzy and her sugar highs...

Matsuri and this girl I don't know showed up moments later, mumbling under their breath. Matsuri stopped in her tracks when she saw my crimson eyes, the other girl didn't give a shit and kept yelling after Shiinzy.

"Hi Teima...Bye Teima.." Matsuri mumbled as she sprinted after her teammates. I didn't even bother to reply. Sakura put me in a bad mood.

It was when I walked about halfway through the forest when I realized I didn't know where I was going. I lifted Ekitai off of my shoulders to change her into a wolf, which was enough time for the noisy group to catch up with me. I pulled out an article of clothing Sasuke left at my house a loooooong time ago, and stuck it beneath Ekitai's nose. Everyone paused and watched as Ekitai barked and sprinted in a direction. I wasn't surprised, Sasuke WAS here only a few days ago. Kiba took some time to pick up on the scent too, and rushed after Ekitai on Akamaru's back. I quickly followed their example, Shikamaru sprinting at my side as I decided to jump from tree to tree to catch up with my dog. Team Kakashi was silent as we did our work.

It was a few hours before I actually managed to catch up with Kiba and Ekitai, who stopped for a break. Ekitai was panting, and walked towards me when she caught my scent. I landed next to her, Shikamaru next to me, and everyone else behind us.

"The scent is a few days old, but I think we'll find him," Kiba said encouragingly. I nodded, wondering if it was possible for Ekitai to get bigger so I could ride on her back. I grinned at the idea, and tried it out. Eventually I succeeded, but it took a bit of my chakra reserve. Hopefully we wont have to fight anyone. Everyone stared as I hopped on, Sakura especially amazed.

"There's room for one mo--" I didn't need to say anything more, Shikamaru had already jumped up so he was right behind me when I said 'room'. Naruto just gazed at our team.

"No fair! They get rides!" We all smirked, and I stuck out my tongue childishly.

"It's what you get for having animals as partners," Yamato reminded him.

"So...are we going to look for Sasuke-kun or what?" Sakura demanded, glaring at me with venom.

"Why don't you just call him your Sasuke Baby or something? It'd sound better than what you call him now." Venom increased, she was trying to poison me with eye contact. Shikamaru nudged me.

"Teima, snap out of it. You're turning into someone I don't know." I became silent at his words, and said nothing more to Sakura. We continued to follow Sasuke's trail for hours, when finally at sunset Yamato suggested that we "camp out" for the night. He did a few quick hand signs, and said something so quickly that I didn't understand. Right then a two story wooden house emerged from the ground. I stared at it.

"'Camping out'?! DAMN," I commented, impressed. Yamato just smiled, Naruto cheered, and Sakura just gazed at it. Sai's eyebrows shot up, indicating his surprise. Yamato led us all inside, and let us pick out our rooms. There wasn't enough for us all to have our own rooms.

"Why don't you and Sakura sha--" He soon regretted suggesting that because I interrupted him, asking where the sleeping bags were. He sighed.

"You can use a few blankets, they're in that closet there." He pointed to one, and I immediately went in that direction. Opening the closet, I found that there were 5 blankets. I took two, one for beneath me and one to cover me. I informed Yamato that I would be sleeping outside. Shikamaru was leaning over the balcony, his head resting on his head as he gazed at us in a bored manner.

"Teima, you're not sleeping outside," Shikamaru said. I looked up at him.

"Why not?" He sighed.

"It's rude. Yamato bothered to bring up this house from nowhere and you're rejecting it. Besides," he smiled innocently, "I wont let you sleep out there in the cold." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Yamato, I'll be sleeping downstairs then." I unfolded a blanket then spread it out onto the floor, throwing a pillow at the opposite end, then spread out the other blanket.

"Tada," I said sarcastically. "Happy?" Shikamaru just smirked.

I treated myself to a bit of the dinner Yamato provided before hitting the sack early. I didn't want to put up with Sakura anymore. While I was at the table, Yamato had explained that we were to find Sasuke tomorrow at all costs. I didn't understand why, but I agreed anyway.

Sakura's ugly face was the first I saw the next morning.

"AAAAGH MY EYES! THEY BUURRRRNNN." Sakura just spat on my face and stomped all girly-with-an-attitude-like towards the kitchen to eat her breakfast. I wiped away the saliva with disgust imprinted on my face. I rushed into the bathroom to put on a change of clothes, then walked calmly into the kitchen to see everyone eating in silence.

"Teima! Good morning!" Even Shikamaru was up before me, obviously thinking about things. Most likely strategies if we ever run into trouble.. I acknowledged Yamato's cheerful 'Good morning!' with a nod and squeezed in between Sai and Shikamaru to have my meal. Yamato warmed it up for me, then handed me my plate. I ate the meal in silence, following the trend, but I could feel someone watching me. I looked around the table to see everyone just staring at their food, and I could still feel eyes on me. I glanced at the window to see a sliver of a shadow on the grass. I frowned.

"Is someone out there?" I broke the silence abruptly, but everyone eyed the window.

"Dunno," Naruto said, pausing mid-bite to stare at the window. I felt Shikamaru tense next to me. Next thing I knew Yamato was shouting to get in battle positions. I whistled for Ekitai, who carried my pack with her in her mouth. If it was Sasuke, I guess I'd get to see dad earlier than expected. Quickly I gave Ekitai some chakra, and she immediately grew to the size she was accustomed to. I took my pack from her and put it 'round my shoulder. Her velvety lips curled upwards into a snarl, and her hackles raised. Same went for Akamaru as Kiba watched the window expectantly. A crash could be heard as The Snake attacked the house. Sasuke took me to the other end of the room, kunai digging into my throat. This reminds me of the last time..but this time he dug much deeper. I winced in pain, grabbing a kunai out of my pouch. I will NOT go with him if I'm forced. I was about to stab his arm when his grip around my side suddenly felt sharp. I looked at his arm to see a snake, biting my side. I gasped and stabbed that with the kunai instead, and it immediately retreated. Sasuke howled, turning on his Sharingan. Ekitai growled, ready for me to give her the word. I scanned the room quickly to find everyone fighting in pairs against the other three. Shikamaru with Kiba, Naruto with Yamato, and Sai with Sakura who were battling a woman that eyed Sasuke constantly.

"What are you here for?" I hissed, and Sasuke held his fighting position, tensed for me to attack.

"You," He said aloud, causing Shikamaru to turn his head back to face us.

"NO!" He shouted, then deserted Kiba, turning around to put me in his Shadow possession jutsu.

"WHAT THE HELL, SHIKAMARU?!" I yelled, and he didn't say a word. He held me still, and Sasuke grinned evilly.

"If she gets hurt, you do too...correct?" Shikamaru's eyes widened in fright.. I don't know if it was for me or him, but he immediately let go of his jutsu.

"Tei, get over here!" He yelled, and I looked back, my eyes filled with tears as I shook my head.

"Sasuke, take me to my dad," I said, looking back at him. Sasuke's grin widened to resemble the Cheshire Cat's. "Goodbye, Shikamaru," I whispered as Sasuke took me by my waist, pulling me up bridal style. I tried my best not to touch him, and Sasuke called for his team to grab my dog and to follow. Ekitai was about to attack a weird red-head lady when I loudly commanded for her to stop. She did as was told, ears folded back as the woman picked her up.

"Damn, Sasuke, this girl's dog's a load!" She complained. Two men followed as we travelled far away from the house. I smiled a little.

"No need to carry her, she can fly if you let her go. She'll go anywhere I do." Her eyebrows raised, and Sasuke's eyes revealed his amusement that his teammate had to carry something heavy when she didn't need to. The other two men looked slightly impressed. The woman let go of Ekitai, and she immediately took flight, flying directly above me for the time being.

"We ARE going to see my dad, right? Is he with Orochimaru and Kabuto?" Sasuke didn't reply for a while.

"Orochimaru's dead, I have no idea where Kabuto is.. nor do I care. But I will show you something, yes.." I gaped at him.

"How'd Orochimaru die?" Sasuke smirked arrogantly.

"I killed him, even though it was luck," I could sense the little bit of pride in his voice, but I knew it was the truth when he said luck. Not even Naruto with his four tails way back when could defeat him...

We neared a cold place that looked foreboding. Everything was dark as I tried to look around once Sasuke let me down.

"Okay, first of all, who are you three?" Sasuke lifted a hand and pointed at the red head.

"This is Karin.." He then moved his finger to point at a fairly large man with orange hair. "Jugo.." and he pointed to the other member who had white hair. "That is Suigetsu." I nodded as he said their names, implanting them into my memory.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to see the sky through the thick, tall trees. Karin huffed.

"You ask too many questions. This is the gravesite." I looked at her quizzically as Ekitai landed at my feet. Her hackles were still raised, and her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. She obviously didn't like the look of this place.

"This is where Miso Ryuka was buried, along with hundreds of others," Jugo explained.

"B-buried?" I whispered disbelievingly. Why did they bury him? He could die like that! Sasuke regarded me carefully before deciding to explain.

"Orochimaru used your father as an experiment the day he was captured. He's not alive, Teima. He didn't survive.. like the many here. There's barely any remains of him, though I don't know what exactly happened." I stared at the ground.

Dead.

Dad's...dead.

As it hit me, tears flowed down my cheeks in their own little streams. I felt my knees weaken, and someone's arms supported me. I looked over to my left to find Karin's face watching me with worry.

"You alright kid?" She asked delicately as she set me on the ground to lean on Ekitai as I cried. Ekitai somehow knew something was very very wrong, and she sadly rested her head on her paws, allowing me to cry on her fur. I couldn't respond, good and bad memories were attacking my mind like crazy as the words "Miso Ryuka is deceased" began to engrave themselves upon my brain. Sasuke looked down at me, and though I couldn't see it, there was a little sympathy in his eyes. He knew what it felt like to lose everyone in your family... my dad was the last of mine...Whoever did this, I'm going to kill them. Whoever's alive and was involved, I'll ring their neck and watch the last of the life they had leave their eyes.

"If you wish to extract revenge for your father, I do know that Kabuto had something to do with his death." He must have been reading my thoughts or something. I nodded, and gave him a cold look once I stopped crying. I felt like I had nothing in me anymore. A gaping hole tore my heart open, and it will probably never repair. Karin jumped back once she saw my crimson eyes, which resembled her own, and Suigetsu leaned on a tree watching me thoughtfully. Sasuke remained expressionless.

"You still do that?" He asked, interested.

"Not like I can stop it," I mumbled.

"True," he agreed. "Pay your last respects, we're leaving soon." There was little emotion in his voice.

Dad, if you can see me from heaven...I love you. I'll always remember you. You were the greatest...

Tears started flowing again as I tried to say what I wanted to in my head. Soon Jugo got impatient and declared that we're leaving.

"What about Teima?" Karin asked, still watching me sob. I shook my head and wiped away my tears as anger creeped up on me. My eyes now had a habit of flickering from red to blue. I weakly held out a hand to Ekitai, and pushed chakra through my fingertips. She continued to grow, and I stopped once she was as huge as last time. I silently crawled onto her back, and she got the message.

"Ekitai...f-follow them.." She understood, and despite the Snake's shocked faces, they led the way and she followed, flying. After a while I became more furious towards Kabuto as I realized that this was his fault, almost entirely.

He will die at my hands.

We reached a small cabin where they obviously lived for the time being, and I extracted my chakra from Ekitai to give myself a little more energy. Being small again, she hopped onto my shoulders as I blindly followed the team. Karin complained about being hungry along with Jugo, and Suigetsu just sneered.

"Make it, if you want it!" Karin glared at him, they obviously had some kind of rivalry. Sasuke was sitting in a corner, watching me mope in one of their chairs. Suddenly he was behind me, whispering into my ear.

"What are you going to do now?" His breath tickled my ear, and I turned around. We were inches from each other.

"Isn't it obvious?' I whispered back, my eyes set in a permanent glare as I examined the pretty-boy's face. I did have to admit, this guy IS handsome. He nodded slightly.

"But I know of your older plans... Now that they're ruined, I suppose you want to kill Kabuto and you think you'll be happy?" I sighed, irritated.

"Duh. What else is there to do.." In the next second Sasuke was in his corner again.

"Hey, kid," Karin called. My eyes narrowed.

"My name's Teima. What the hell do you want?" Suigetsu sniggered at my language, knowing that if Karin made me pissed she would regret it. He could just tell. Jugo just sat in another chair, staring blankly ahead of him.

"Okay, Teima, are you hungry?" I sighed and nodded, closing my eyes.

Grief and anger tried to fill that hole my dad used to fill, along with the hole of not being with Shikamaru and knowing I wont be for a long time. It didn't fit comfortably, but it somewhat worked. I was going to stand up to stretch when noticeable pain came from my neck and side. I didn't say anything, that wouldn't help, but just lifted my sweatshirt along with the fishnet beneath to have a look.

The snakebite was extremely swollen, red and puffy. Sasuke didn't look apologetic as I accused him, pissed.

"See what the fuck you did to me!? You fucking bastard!" I spat, and the other three looked at me in shock, Karin especially.

"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun that way!" I threw not daggers, but swords at her with my eyes.

"You disgust me, calling him that just like that Sakura bitch," I hissed. Suigetsu almost giggled, Jugo just grinned in amusement. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What? Who the hell is Sakura?"

"I take it you two don't get along, Teima?" Sasuke's voice was kind of hopeful.

"Not at all, hell, I punched her yesterday when she called me useless. That pig can just go die in a ditch too. You know they're still babbling about you almost every fucking day, Sasuke? You know how ANNOYING that is?!" Sasuke was smiling now.

"You punched her? Really? What'd she do, cry like the useless baby she is?" I snickered.

"Yes, really...Nah, she didn't cry, but she hates me now." I smiled as though this was a good thing, but it wasn't a real smile. I don't know if I'll even have any of those anymore. After having my little fun in making fun of that wimp, I turned on Sasuke again.

"What are you going to do about my injuries, punk?" I waited expectantly. Karin rolled her eyes.

"I know some medical jutsu, but I'd never use it on you." I turned onto her again.

"You're getting more like that brat every second," I muttered. "Karin, just go die somewhere okay? Don't forget to scream for Sasuke to help you," I added, attempting my own medical jutsu on the snake bite. Suigetsu was thoroughly amused now, trying to hold back his laughter. I didn't get what the hell was so funny, but I don't give a care now. When I looked down at my side again, my eyebrows raised slightly when I noticed that the swelling had gone down a LOT, and the bite marks were healing over already. Somehow I was getting pretty good at this.

When I finished with my side, which was completely fine now, I only had a little bit of chakra left.

"Karin, heal her neck." Sasuke commanded, and Karin smiled sweetly.

"Anything for you, Sasuke-kun! 3" I rolled my eyes as she skipped happily over to me, humming an annoying tune. It was done quickly, strangely enough, and she handed me a mirror to look at her work. I found my eyes not even crimson, but a blood red, and I guessed that it'd be like that for a while. I calmly took out a few twigs from my hair from the gravesite, and then checked out my neck. It seemed like I had taken no damage at all. I didn't say thank you, though. She only did it for Sasuke.