Really short chapter; it's just something from Mouse's point of view. It takes place the same day as the previous one, but at a much later time.

Mouse looked down from her perch on the tree branch at the large gathering below.

It was the night of the Kyuubi.

Most people would either be at work or out causing trouble. However, there were still those who gathered here, around the statue of the Yondaime, lighting candles and incense for their dear idol. The ground was littered with flowers and small charms, delivered throughout the course of the day by the citizens in respect. It was a strange tradition in the eyes of outsiders, but to the people it was a tradition seriously taken, and Mouse was no exception.

She dropped from the tree like a shadow, gliding forward into the crowd, awaiting her turn to pay her respects. Mouse didn't worry about getting caught; she had left her defining mask and cloak behind. No one knew that Akatsuki's fearsome leader was present and slowly drifting through their ranks. She quietly stood before the statue for a few moments before kneeling slightly to place a single rose on the ground. It was a bit of a signature rose, one that wasn't humanly possible to grow or make. The rose itself was pitch black; petals, stem, and all.

Mouse stood quickly and turned back to the crowd. As much as she respected Minato, she had a more important place to be. Quietly she slipped away from the gathering of people and away from the park. After a while she turned into a nearby alley and scaled the wall as quickly as she could. From her vantage point above the streets, Mouse made her way deeper into the city, leaping from the rooftops without a second thought. She had to hurry before visiting hours were over.

As she neared Konoha's hospital, Mouse dropped back down into the alleys, coming back out to join the people on the sidewalks. She kept her head down, face an emotionless mask like so many of the citizens passing by. She paused briefly in front of the hospitals glass doors before she stepped inside the lobby and took a quiet look around.

The receptionist on duty glanced up from her work and smiled softly as she recognized the girl. Mouse didn't worry about the recognition. She was completely anonymous without her mask, and went freely throughout the city without it. It made things much easier when no one knew who you were when you hid behind a mask. Therefore she gave the receptionist a small smile and continued past, ignoring the pity that radiated from the woman as her feet took her along the familiar path to the elevator. She rode in silence to the familiar floor and stepped out into the glaringly white hallways that always smelled too clean to her. Mouse nodded at the doctors that she recognized, but other than that continued silently down the hallway.

She stopped outside of a room, its door opened partially and lights dim on the inside. She could see the form of another doctor standing beside a bed, looking at a monitor and scribbling something occasionally on a clip board. Mouse knocked softly on the door as she stepped in, giving a soft nod as the doctor looked up at her and gave a slight smile. She had to refrain from clawing the man's eyes out as he gave her that pitying look she had come to associate with the doctors at this hospital.

"There hasn't been any change I'm afraid." He said to her as she came to a stop beside the bed. She looked down at the pale form in front of her, trying to keep her face void of emotion. Her eyes focused solely on the pale angular face of the boy. He was only two years older than her, but his withered appearance made him look so much younger in her eyes. Bright, yellow-blonde hair spilled across the pillow, dull and tangled from the months of neglect. Mouse tried to ignore the various wires and tubes connecting the boy to monitors and IV drips. She wished he was awake, smiling brightly at her with those blue eyes of his.

Swallowing past the lump forming in her throat, Mouse subconsciously wrapped her small fingers around a too bony hand. She fought off the emotions that began scrabbling at the corners of her sanity as she kept staring at the boy. She could absently feel that annoying sense of pity and sadness that came off the doctor next to her, and although she tried not to, her voice came out cold.

"I know."

Mouse noted the doctor flinch slightly at her voice. It didn't sound natural for such a cold, emotionless voice to come from someone so young after all. The man quickly recovered however and looked back down at his clipboard.

"Well, I'll let you visit for a few minutes before visiting hours are over." He turned away to leave but paused a moment. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on Mouse's head, giving her a reassuring smile but still radiated that feeling of pity.

God, Mouse wanted to kill him.

"Don't worry," he said gently, moving his hand to pat her shoulder. "If there's any change, I promise you'll be the first to know." Mouse kept her eyes glued to the body in front of her, refusing to acknowledge the doctor's reassurances. After a few moments of awkward silence, the doctor removed his hand with a final pat and walked to the door. Mouse stopped him as he was about to step out into the bright hallway.

"Thank you, doctor." She said lightly, edging her voice with as much meekness as she could bring herself to fake. It was evidently enough, for Mouse heard telltale shifting of the doctor's head nodding before he left, closing the door behind him. Mouse remained standing for a few minutes afterwards, batting away the painful emotions raging up her throat, taking deep breathes through her nose trying to rid herself of the familiar tightness. She would not cry, not here, not ever, not when there was a camera in the corner watching her. So she did the only thing she could make herself do, just like in all the other visits.

She pulled the nearest chair up to the bed and sat down.

Mouse let out a loud sigh, allowing herself to show the signs of fatigue she hid. The past few weeks had been getting very difficult, and with the approaching date, they hadn't been any easier. Finally, today had come and Mouse had kept to herself as much as she could. Mouse leaned her elbows against her knees and rested her head in her hands. She didn't want to hear any words of sympathy from her organization; she didn't want to feel their pity. She was so tired of people pitying her like that. She was just too drained right now. Mouse had even considered not coming tonight, thinking it would be too much for her already tired mind to take. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Afterall, it had been a year to the day that that incident had happened.

The young teenager lifted her head back up again, staring through half-lidded eyes at the pale boy before her. Silently, she reached forward and brushed a few blonde strands of hair away from his eyes, wishing for the millionth time that those same eyelids would flutter open and those brilliant blue eyes would look up at her like they always did. She paused for a moment and her mind focused on an outlandish and childish thought that drifted through her mind.

Mouse scowled, chastising herself for even thinking of something so foolish. But in the end, her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. Ah what the hell, she'd give it a shot. The girl closed her eyes tightly, wishing that the blonde haired boy would wake up, wanting nothing more for that to happen, especially considering what day it was, after all. But as always, her wish went unheard. Mouse opened snorted in unladylike fashion, leaning back in her chair and letting her body slump down. Of course it didn't work, why should it? It didn't matter that today was special.

A bitter smile crossed Mouse's lips as she tilted her head back and stared up at the ceiling, blinking back the tiny pinpricks at the edge of her eyes. She let out a short, humorless chuckle before shaking her head and looking down at her hands folded neatly into her hoodie pocket. Mouse opened her mouth, letting the bitter feeling spread throughout her body, feeling her insides going numb slowly from lack of sleep and the emotional drain of everything that had been going on. Her voice came out soft and low, creeping along the traditional tune like some creepy children's lullaby, fading away at the end.

Happy birthday to me.

Happy birthday to me…

Oh, the irony.

Well, that's all you guys are getting out of this chapter. I wonder if any of you guys can guess who the new guy is. ;) I didn't want to make it very obvious who it was but I think you could figure it out. I'm going to refrain from giving a hint, because that would honestly give it away.

I think I really need to interact with my readers more, so if you want, leave a comment telling me who you think is who in Akatsuki (yes, I know most of them are extremely easy to figure out. But some of them aren't… ..) or just leave a comment about anything and I'll respond.

EDIT: I added a better ending to this chapter. I didn't realize until now that I had actually left out one of the major points to this chapter, so I had to go back and add it in… ^^'

~Cherry