Hahahaha. My updates are getting later and later. I should write more often :p

When Rena finally opened her eyes, she wasn't the only one doing so. Miles and miles away, someone else has opened his eyes. He had a small smile in his face, which wasn't very usual.

"I finally found her." The man calmly said.

The woman spun around. Even though he looked calm, she could tell that he was excited. She wondered what kind of person he had been looking for. What kind of person would get him this excited anyway?

"I'm heading out."

The woman didn't ask anything. Of course, you didn't. You never questioned him.

You never questioned Pein.

"Ugggghhh…." Rena slowly got up, resting her head in her hand. Her mind went through what had happened before she passed out. Then, streams of doubts and sadness came over her.

Had I been really wrong all these years?

She still couldn't find answer to that question. She didn't want to believe that she was wrong. Even though her belief made the break-up with the one she loved dearly, she couldn't just let go of the faith she had in people. But every time she had to go through something like this, she couldn't but doubt if she was indeed right. She hoped she was. Desperately.

Groggily, she entered the house. It was dark and gloomy. Just like her mood. And her house didn't exactly cheer her up. Sighing, she was about to turn the light on when…..

"Long time no see."

Rena froze. Many, many years had passed, but she could never forget the voice. Before she could react, a swift hand grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head. She tried to struggle, but she wasn't still recovered well enough to fight back. Growling, she eyed the man who pinned her to the wall.

"How did you find me?" she asked in rasping voice.

"I have to say," the man said eerily calmly. "You've been most elusive since we last met."

He twisted her head sideways to reveal her ear. There were three ear rings piercing through her ears.

"Hm, so that's how it was. You used a special jutsu to contain your chakra to normal level. Impressive, and clever indeed. Thanks to this, I could never detect an individual with virtually no limit in chakra….."

Rena was just silently glaring at him, hatred in her eyes.

"..Until about a week ago, I felt an incredible amount of chakra being summoned to one place. Or should I say one person?" He made a small laugh. "It was very brief, but once I felt it, I knew who it was. I came for you, milady."

Rena flinched at her long-forgotten title. Why… Why was he here again, bringing up this useless past? The past that she dearly missed, yet knew that it couldn't come back. She tried to look at his face, but she couldn't see well because of darkness.

"Why are you here? What do you want with me?"

"Why, you, of course. I came to ask of you the same favor I had many years ago."

"Then you should know the answer." She spat out. There was no way she was going to…

"I saw what they were about to do to you a week ago."

The man saw a stream of doubt clouding her eyes. Such beautiful amber eyes. As a being out of the stream of time, this eternal beauty would soon be in his hands.

"Why do you care about them so much? Why do you fight for them? No matter how much you want to believe, they will be just selfish, malicious creatures. The only thing that can rule them is fear not love."

"No! You're wrong! We shouldn't interfere anymore! I made a promise to myself and…"

"Did you forget what I wanted, milady?" His voice suddenly changed. Rena's eyes grew in fear and denial.

"You are not him. Don't you dare play tricks on me!"

"You and I were different ever since we were born. I was born from darkness while you were from love. A lover as a mother, a companion, a friend and…."

Suddenly, his soft lips met hers. Rena's eyes widened in surprise. They are different, she desperately thought. He may sound like him, but it's not him! A tear rolled down her cheek.

"They don't deserve the liberty of causing you so much pain, or your sympathy and mercy. Come to me, and we will give them what they truly deserve. We will let them know the new hierarchy of the world. The righteous one. Something that should have happened a long time ago. Together, we can do it." He slowly let her hands go. Rena just slid on the floor. Before long, he was gone.

As he was going back, Pein was confused by his emotional distress. After so many years…. The last time he saw her was about fourteen years ago. Seeing her with another man at that time somehow enraged him. He couldn't understand his own emotion. Did he love her? No, it was from someone else inside of him. It was the love of Sei's, not his.

But Pein couldn't forget how he was struck when he saw her again. Now he was confused if this was his own emotion or not, but he continued to believe it to be Sei's. He wanted her only as a weapon. A beautiful, yet deadly weapon.

She could hear that it started to rain. She didn't even bother to stand up to turn the light on. Only lights from lightening showed her crouched form. Rena's heart was in turmoil. She simply didn't know what to do. His appearance only made her more confused.

It could sound ridiculous, but she still wanted to believe in people. No matter how bad they might act, she believed that there was good in people's hearts. But little by little, her belief was getting weaker. Could he be right? Could fear be the only way?

He was right: Why did she fight for them? Why did she sacrifice so much for them when they didn't prove to her that they were worthy of it? No, there were more incidents when it was clear that they didn't deserve her sacrifice. Then…. Why was she fighting….?

Her reason was telling her that he was right, but she just couldn't make her heart believe in it. She just needed one reason…. One reason why she had to fight for Konoha, and humanity.

She found herself heading to Naruto's house. I guess I can't help it. She smiled sadly. She remembered that the resemblance of him and his father was undeniable. Well, she knew it would be, but seeing him grown up just shocked her once again. Seriously, she thought when she saw him after his return from training with Jiraiya. He should have gotten something from his mom, just for her sake.

"Eh?" Naruto looked outside. The rain was definitely getting heavier. He hurriedly closed the window, but not early enough to let in some rain.

"Damn!" He groaned, brushing off some water from his hair. When he turned to window to close the curtain, he couldn't help screaming. Rena was standing there, drenched…. And… Tears?

Naruto ran to the door and opened it. She merely turned around and stared at him. Even though she was drenched, it was clear that she was crying. Naruto stood there, not knowing what to do. Moments later, he figured that at least he should let her dry herself in his house. He took hesitant steps toward her when…

Dumbfounded, Naruto stood there, more surprised than ever. Rena just tightened her grip around him. He could hear her sob. He did hear about her being kidnapped, but he didn't know exactly what had happened. He was just reported that she had unfortunate incident.

"Uhhhh, Rena-chan." Naruto awkwardly grabbed her shoulders to push her away a bit. Then he heard some kind of name that she whispered.

"...to……"

"Eh? Did you call me? I couldn't hear you."

Rena just shook her head. Sighing, Naruto took her into the house.

"Here." Rena looked up, finding a mug of hot coco in Naruto's hand. "You must be freezing. This will warm you up." He bluntly said, looking sideway. When she saw what he was doing, she let out a small laugh. Both of them… were SO not good at showing their emotions.

"Thanks…." She whispered. Naruto just shrugged and turned around.

"Naruto." He stopped. She was staring at the hot coco. "Why do you fight?"

"Eh?"

"No matter how many times you fight, or how many people you bring to justice, there's always going to be someone bad. Then… What's the point of trying to get them anyway?"

Naruto stood there, speechless. Something really bad must have happened to make her say things like this. He just glared at her angrily.

"Why are you asking a stupid question like that?!"

"Eh?" Rena stared at him blankly, confused.

"I don't care about those craps about bringing people to justice. I'm fighting because I care about Konoha and people in here. Old man (3rd Hokage) did the same and so did 4th. I'm not going to let them die in vain."

Rena silently looked at him. Then, suddenly, she realized. He got the stubbornness, she thought. He got the ability to believe into something strongly no matter how bad the situation might be. She smiled a little. Well, she had no intention of changing her mind then. It's been way too long to change it and she was going to stick with it. No matter what.

Sure, there were people who were worthless, but she also knew that not everyone was. There were people who she had cared about, and still cared about. For them, she wouldn't even hesitate sacrificing her own life.

Once she set up her mind, she couldn't feel more relieved. Happily, she finished the hot coco and stood up.

"Thanks, Naruto. It made me feel a lot better."

"EH?! You're dried already?" He couldn't believe it. She was drenched! And after five minutes, she looked like she's never been in the rain in the first place. Rena just smiled and waved her hand.

"So… have you made your decision?" Rena turned around, finding Pein again in her house.

She was surprised to see his face. The last time she saw him… was… a long time ago. She was glad to find that he changed his appearance. If he still looked like Sei, then she didn't know if she had the heart to look at him.

"Sh….." A hand was pressed on her mouth. His dark eyes gazed upon her. "Call me Pein. As now you are Mizuho Rena, I'm a different…. person."

"Well, Pein. I'm here to tell you to back off."

"WHAT?!" Pein stood up. Anger and hatred in his eyes, he made a bold step toward her.

"Don't. Come. Near. Me." He stopped. She had few seals in her body, but he had to admit that if she wanted, she could destroy this entire world in seconds. She was the one who wasn't shackled to limitation.

"But why? How long would it take for you to change your mind?"

"Never." She calmly answered. As she did, she thought of Naruto. His pure belief in Konoha and the people even cleared her doubts and made her realize why she wanted to believe in this world.

"I always had to change a lot of my personality to hide my identity," Rena explained, "but I guess I can never change my stubbornness."

"You are willing to fight me to protect those vermin?" He spat out in disgust.

"Our age is over. It's time to hand over the world to them. And I will always be watching. Just like a mother would."

"Hah, like that is going to happen."

Rena's eyes narrowed. When she spoke again, he couldn't help thinking how a fourteen year old girl could have that kind of tone and authority. Well, if she was a normal fourteen year old girl.

"If you lay a hand on Konoha or anyone from this village, I will do everything in my power to stop and destroy you. Consider this as a warning."

Pein made a small smile. Yes, she was strong. Much stronger than him. But he had a special present that would surprise her. He was relieved that he didn't wear his normal cloak. If he did, it would have given away his true ambition and that was something that Pein couldn't afford.

"Very well. I was hoping that things wouldn't go this way, milady." He slowly turned. "But consider this as a warning as well. I won't be just sitting around and waiting for you to destroy me. I have a goal of my own, and I won't stop at anything."

Rena just looked at him and didn't answer. Slowly, he disappeared into the thin air.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Pein."