Laughter rang through the air. A snap of a twig behind Kai made her turn around. The shapes, much smaller than her, ran past. "I'll get you, Rain Ninja!" one of them cried. Small children. Kai recognized them.

Another twig snapped. Kai turned the other way. The scene shifted to a room. Two bodies laid on the floor in front of her, covered in blood. "No... " Kai shook her head, stepping back. "No no no." She looked up, the all to familiar eyes of the one she used to trust stared at her. Their red sharingan digging into her soul. "No… Father, Mother, no no no." Kai held her head, falling to her knees.

"You're weak." The eyes spoke to her. They came forward, engulfing her and turning everything red, then black.

Kai startled awake, gasping for air. Sweat covered her body. She hadn't changed, nor had she showered. Remembering Orochimaru wanted her in the lab, she looked at the time. It was already after eight.

"Shit." Kai mumbled, getting up and running into the bathroom. She didn't bother showering, just washed her hands, face, and arms. She wasn't sure what Orochimaru was going to do, but she wanted to make sure there was little chance of infection.

Running out the door and into the hall, she followed her instinct to where the Lab would be. A few doors down from Kabuto's room was where it usually was. She was correct, when she opened the door. Orochimaru was standing there, expectantly.

"I was beginning to believe you had left again." He said.

"S-sorry." Kai bowed slightly. Excuses were pointless at this point.

"Go sit." Orochimaru waved towards the table. Kai walked over and sat, her legs hanging off the edge. Her body still ached, but her mind was more focused after sleeping. Orochimaru fiddled with something on the desk before walking over. Kai turned away, biting her lip.

Orochimaru smirked. He had done her in, it seemed. He only needed some blood samples from her. A tray of four empty needles sat next to him. He took her wrist aggressively and began to draw blood from her arm. Kai, refusing to look, whimpered slightly. She had squeezed her eyes shut, knowing if she looked she'd panic.

Not dragging it out, Orochimaru filled the four needles quickly. He handed Kai a cotton ball to set on her arm to stop the bleeding and walked away. Kai felt sick, but she held the cotton ball over where Orochimaru had drawn blood.

"You can go." Orochimaru said, placing the precious vials into a fridge. Kai blinked.

"Ok…" She said quietly, getting down from the table. She walked towards the door. Stopping, she waited for him to say something else. When he didn't speak, she opened the door and left.

Her eyes were heavy again as she made her way back to her room. Stopping to care for Curse, she headed into bed. It was getting close to ten now. Kai managed to change before laying back down on her bed. Her eyes closed when her head hit the pillow, and she was out.

"Watch your feet, Kai."

Kai hissed as she stumbled back, pushing her sword against Orochimaru's. He insisted on one to one training. Saying Kai needed to 'catch up'.

Grunting, she pushed hard back on to Orochimaru, digging her feet into the ground. Once he was back far enough she leapt into the air and came down on his sword as he blocked her.

"If you're going to pull this move," he slid his sword away from Kai's, and swung it at her waist. "Have a block set up."

"Ah!" Kai yelled. Not thinking, she grabbed the sword with her bare hand. Landing, she managed to push to sword down to the ground. Her sword clambered next to her as she held Orochimaru's sword with both hands. Blood dripped down the blade.

"That's enough." Orochimaru said. Kai let go as he pulled the sword away. Her hands shook as she observed them for injury. "Wrap your hands and we'll start again later. Your brother will join us."

"Oh boy, the prodigy." Kai muttered. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"What was that, child?" He hissed.

"Nothing." Kai picked up her sword and walked out of the field.

It had been a week. Kai was avoiding Sasuke. After the two had argued, they had barely talked. Her heart ached. She wanted her brother back.

She held her hands above her heart as she walked. The blood flow slowed, but she still dropped some on her way to her room.

Using her elbow, she opened the door and walked straight to the bathroom. She ran warm water and began rinsing the blood from her hands. The wounds were deep, but not threatening. Sighing, she reached in the cupboard for antibacterial rinse. Wincing as she splashed it on each hand, she reached for a towel. Holding one hand, she used the better one to grab the wrap.

Wrapping it was a process, but she didn't mind. It was peace and quiet for her to focus on herself. What was Naruto doing right now? Was Kakashi mad at her? Would Tsunade ever forgive her?

Orochimaru had taken her summoning privileges away. He threatened to kill her if he found her sending Yori out again. At this point, Kai didn't find death unappealing.

A knock at her door broke her out of focus. She forgot it was open. Looking up she saw Kabuto standing there. "Hey." She whispered, scooting over on her bed. Kabuto came in and sat.

"Rough day of training?" He asked.

"As usual." Kai sighed. With her hands wrapped, she leaned her head on Kabuto. His presence calmed her.

"I know you're not going to want to hear this Kai, but you need to talk to your brother." Kabuto looked at her. Kai sat up, looking at him.

"Why? He doesn't care about anything but his stupid goal of killing our brother."

"He's beating himself up over this Kai." Kabuto looked towards the door, making sure no one was listening. "Every night I see him walking by your room. He always hesitates. He stands there for minutes, pondering if he should talk to you. He always walks away." Kai looked down, away from Kabuto. "He misses you Kai."

"Well he must not miss me that much." She grabbed her sword and stood, facing the door. "I need to get back."

"Kai-"

"Please, let me and him figure this out. Don't butt in." Kai said, walking out. Kabuto sighed. They were too stubborn for their own good.