Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters or places. I only own the characters from Earth/our world. Even then, they are based on actual friends of mine.

Author's Note: Yay! I finished this chapter on time! Early even. I'm posting it today since I don't know what sort of free time I'll have tomorrow. I need to work on the next chapter, though I've written the one after it. Did that during my English "exam" that wasn't really an exam. Two and a half hours of listening to presentations . . . not my idea of fun. But I got Ashley's first chapter written, so it's all good. I just need to get Sam's second done . . . yeah. Anyway, I'm back home and happy (no migrane this time yay!), and hopefully I'll have time to work on this and get a bit more ahead so I don't have to struggle again when the next semester starts in January. Oh, and I'm going back and editing a few typos I've found in earlier chapters as well as changing Deidara's "un"s to "yeah"s, since I'm starting to like that better . . . but anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 37: Daughter of a Snake

SAM

Motion. Wind. I crack my eyes open groggily, meeting a blur of green that certainly does not sit well with my stomach. My eyes slip back closed as I let out a soft groan, turning my head into the shoulder it's leaning on. I do not need to get motion sick right now, even though I doubt anything will come of it. I can tell that my stomach is absolutely empty.

"Looks like she's coming to," an unfamiliar male voice says from nearby -- somewhere behind me from the sound of it.

"Hn." I can feel the grunt vibrate through my chest from the person carrying me as the motion and wind slows to a stop.

I risk cracking my eyes open again, lifting my head to look around when I see that the green -- the trees -- are standing still. The person carrying me glances back. "Can you stand on your own?" Sasuke asks flatly.

I nod numbly and he sets me down on my feet. When I open my mouth to thank him, something in my mind clicks. Sasuke. This is Sasuke. My eyes narrow to slits and leap at him, hands ready to wrap around his throat and strangle the life out of him. He's too fast, however, and in the blink of an eye, I'm pinned to the ground with my hands held behind my back in his vice-like grip.

Snarling, I kick my legs uselessly against the grass. "Let me go, you stupid emo bastard!" I shriek. "You killed him! I'll never forgive you! Now get your hands off of me so I can return the favor!"

I hear the second voice chuckle from in front of me now. "What's up with her? Who did you kill?"

Growling still, I twist my head up to look at the speaker. I have to blink several times before I quite register the pointy teeth, silver hair, and watery-colored eyes. Suigetsu. A slow dawning look comes over his face and he laughs.

"Orochimaru? Wow, was she that attached to him?" He gives me a skeptical look, as if I'm insane to be angry over the death of the snake-man.

"His daughter," Sasuke grunts. With a jolt, I remember. Oh, yeah. That's the story at the moment -- why Orochimaru kept me around even though I had absolutely no training as a shinobi. Though I'm sure Sasuke knows better, he's still keeping up that charade. Huh.

Suigetsu stumbles back, eyes wide. "What? Really?"

I've stopped struggling at this point, resigning myself to glaring at Suigetsu's feet. Sasuke releases me, stands up, and steps back. "Yeah."

Scowling, I push myself to my feet and snap my hands down the front of my clothes to brush off any dirt and grass. I glower at Sasuke but keep my mouth clamped shut. I'm not going to tell them the real reason I'm mad. Yeah, I'm upset over Orochimaru, but that's just a small spark of anger compared to the Itachi blaze that's flaming in my chest.

I have to remind myself that it hasn't happened yet -- that those visions of his death that played through my head as I slept were only dreams. Not only his death but the death of my friends as well. My jaw tightens and I turn to fully face him.

"If you touch any of them, I swear. I'll kill you," I snarl. He just blinks. "Hell, I'm going to kill you anyway, but let's just get one thing straight. I hate you. If you touch them -- any of them -- I'll make you wish you'd never been born." I know it's cliché, but I just woke up. I'm not exactly in my most clever state right now.

Sasuke and I stare each other down. Suigetsu looks between us. "Who's she talking about?" When neither of us answers, he rolls his eyes and turns to press on through the woods. "Come on. Let's go get my sword."

We continue our stare down – my furious glower to Sasuke's blank gaze. Something shifts painfully in my shoulder and I twitch, hissing in pain and lifting a hand to clutch the spot. Sasuke blinks, watching me.

"You should keep your emotions under better control," he states blandly.

I grit my teeth. "Shut up." The pain throbs again, bringing me to my knees. I bend forward, giving a soft whimper. What is this? My heart freezes as a sense of déjà-vu washes over me. I've seen this before. I can almost feel Orochimaru's fangs sink in to me again as the memory resurfaces. I draw a sharp breath. The curse seal!

It's hard to breathe now that I realize what's wrong. Sasuke just stands there and looks down at me. Suigetsu calls back to us, "What's with you two? Come on!"

Sasuke shifts his weight, and a small bag drops to the ground in front of me. I stare at it as he states, "Here. You'll want that if you're going to be helping me."

"I'm not helping you," I growl through my tight jaw.

"Hn." He turns and starts toward Suigetsu. "We'll see."

The pain in my shoulder is fading, so I just glare after Sasuke before my curiosity gets the best of me and I snatch up the bag and jerk it open. There are a couple kunai and shuriken pouches in the bag, which seriously confuse me. Why would he be giving me weapons if he knows I'm just going to end up using them against him? After hooking these to my belt, I dig deeper.

Strange. I pull out a Sound Ninja headband and turn it over in my hands. This doesn't make any sense. If I can remember correctly, none of the people Sasuke gathers in his squad wear headbands, so why give me one? Is it supposed to be some sort of reminder of "who" I am? After glancing over at where Sasuke and Suigetsu stand waiting -- impatiently on Suigetsu's part -- I tie the protector around my neck.

"Are you coming or what?" Suigetsu demands.

I frown, glance briefly in the now-empty bag, and stand. After taking two steps, I stop and open the bag again, staring into it. Something silver had caught my eye. I reach down and pluck out the tiny object from the bottom of the bag, staring at it incredulously when it's out in the light. My head then snaps around to stare at Sasuke, who's watching me carefully with an odd expression on his face.

Finally, when I'm able to move my feet, I walk over to him. "Why?" I ask softly, holding the item in the palm of my hand.

His eyes study mine for several moments before he deadpans, "Do I need a reason?"

I frown. What's that supposed to mean? Sasuke turns and starts walking again. "Come. We don't need to be wasting any time."

I stare after him as Suigetsu follows. My hand tightens around the small object, anger flaring slightly. "This doesn't change anything you know!" I call at Sasuke. "I still hate you!"

"Hn."

Suigetsu looks back at me. "Are you coming or what?" He glances at Sasuke. "I'll drag you along if I have to."

I scowl at the pointy-toothed man before stomping after them. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." As I walk, I slip Orochimaru's old Akatsuki ring into a hidden pocket on the inside of the forehead protector.