Ceiro said no more after that. It was almost like he could sense the lie in my words. I needed time to process all that he had said. In all the time that he's been away from me it really didn't matter. Uchiha Itachi still knew exactly how to push me. But if he knew how to push me, that also meant that I knew how to push him back.

We had just exited the village gates. No one could stop this mission now, not even the Uchiha. Ceiro cleared his throat beside me. I turned to look at him.

"This is going to sound like a slightly strange question, but did you… lose something in your last fight with Itachi?" he asked.

I had to think for a second but no more than that because I could feel the missing weight on my hip. "Yes," I admitted. "He took my katana."

Ceiro suddenly pulled a blade, my blade, from a sheath at his side.

"Where did you get that?" I asked. I grabbed for the blade immediately. The familiarity I felt with it when my hand connected with the hilt was surreal. This blade was meant for me, I have known that since the day I picked it up.

"This is what woke me up," he said. "I found it forced into my front door… along with a note."

"A note?" I asked. I tried not to show how much that upset me. How long had Itachi been watching me?

"Yes," Ceiro said. "He knows that I'm your partner. He told me to return it to you."

I thought for a minute. "I can't believe this. I tell the council that I don't want to hunt him anymore and he pulls this crap! Do you have the note?" I asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment with a tear at the top where my katana would have been. "You gave up?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm tired of hunting him, it's pointless," I explained. I reached for the note and read it.

Kiyomi,

Your weapon is too light for me to use. I thank you for returning mine, and have repaid you by returning yours as well, through a source that you consider reliable, your new partner. He looks weak. He could never be as synchronized with you as I was. You can feel that. Do you remember how powerful we were? Nothing could defeat us.

You are still very powerful. I can sense that you're holding back, why? Are you afraid you'll hurt me? You always were watching my back, it was very sweet. It proves how much you loved me, how much you still feel for me.

If you came back with me we could still be partners. My leader has refused to let me kill you; he would like to meet you. I told him that you were worthless, but he still seems convinced. This is my first and only painless offer. It will escalade from here. You will come with me.

Itachi

I glared at the paper, wishing that one of my elements was fire. I ripped the paper up into as many tiny pieces that physics would allow. "I'd rather die," I muttered.

Ceiro chuckled beside me. "If you could rip that paper any more it'd be dust," he observed.

"That's the goal," I replied angrily.

"What did he say?" Ceiro asked.

"He said that you are weak in comparison to him," I replied.

"Well, in comparison to him most anyone looks weak," he said.

"I told you, that's his legend, not him. He's not as strong as everyone has led you to believe. He's human, I promise."

Ceiro laughed at that. "You're sure he's human?" he asked jokingly.

"Entirely," I replied. "He can die like any other human, and he has weaknesses like any other human."

"I wonder what his greatest weakness is," Ceiro said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. I could catch the double meaning in his glance.

"He's trying to kill me; do you really believe that he'd try to kill his greatest weakness?"

"It's plausible," he replied. "If you were about to join an evil organization what would you first have to get rid of?"

"I might have been his weakness in the past, but that was a long time ago," I said.

"Then why is he back for you?" Ceiro asked quietly. His voice seemed to get lower as he spoke the treacherous words that I had been avoiding since his return to the village.

"He's back because I know too much," I said determinedly. "I'm a loose end."

"Then why hasn't he killed you yet?"

"Because he can't."

"Has he used Mangekyō on you yet?"

"Why are we even talking about this?" I asked. "Why do you care why he's around? Is that your problem?"

"Are you my partner?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. I knew what he was getting at.

"It is my problem because he is after my partner, the person that I am supposed to protect," he said.

"Well, I'm glad you are so determined to protect me, but I really don't want to talk about this, not yet." I was kind of getting tired of him talking about Itachi. If I didn't know any better I'd think that he was in love with my former partner himself.

"Alright," he said. "But I think you need a fresh pair of eyes on this subject. We will need to talk about it some day."

The silence after that was far less bearable. My mind was now filled with thoughts of my worst enemy, treacherous thoughts. We had a code so he couldn't use his Sharingan, but why did we have this code? It wasn't there to protect him. We didn't normally give out codes to abide by when we were being hunted. All he had to do was use Mangekyō on me and I would have been out long enough for him to get me back, wounded or not. Granted, I could counter it some. I have never fought it before, but I'm sure that I would still stand a pretty good chance with my Kekkai Genkai.

Why did he make these rules up for me though? He was trying to capture me. It makes no sense!