Ehhh...looks like I sorta couldn't keep my promise after all. (ANGST) I was actually planning to change a few things before posting it along with the "quadruple-update" thing, but real life got the better of me. Then I forgot. (sweatdrop) I feel like an old person. Ah well...

If it weren't for my sudden yearn for writing fanfiction over my three-day weekend (I LOVE LABOR DAY!!) I probably would've...posted this later? I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"This is…unbelievable…" Yousai breathed. He and Nami stood before the result of a tremendous slaughter, it seemed. Bodies lay everywhere, but upon further inspection, Yousai concluded that none of them were dead...at least, not yet. They were merely unconscious. What kind of person left every single person alive during a force entry? Apparently a fellow Nami knew…

"He's been here already," Nami said, ignoring the bodies sprawled on the ground. "Quick, show me where Juugo is kept."

Yousai stopped in mid-step. "You just love looking for danger, don't you? I'm starting to regret letting you do this…Do you realize what Juugo is?"

"Yeah, but he's also the guy my friend's looking for," Nami said. "And we have to hurry up if we want to get there before he does."

"Looks like you're running the show now, girl," Yousai sighed. "But I have to say that even I don't know where his cell is."

"Then we'll just have to look for it on our own. Come on."

Yousai sighed as he followed the headstrong girl. He wouldn't admit it, but right now he was just about ready to collapse. His fatigue was slowly taking over him, and the only thing that was keeping him going was the curiosity of what Nami was planning to do. It took most of his energy just trying to keep up with the girl, so it wasn't a surprise when he didn't notice Shishi wasn't with them anymore.

The cat was actually wandering around the quiet hideout, having become bored with master and his female companion, Shishi had gone off on his own long ago. He hadn't encountered anyone interesting yet, but a door piqued his senses. Ear's twitching, he padded up to the door curiously. Inside, he could hear someone's voice.

"Boy…no girl…no…"

Suddenly, Shishi turned his head. He heard footsteps. A second later, two figures appeared, but they weren't master and the girl. They were a boy and girl, seemingly the same age as master's servant girl. Shishi moved into a cautious position, ready to run if the two were a threat.

"What's a cat doing in here?" the girl wondered. "I've never seen it here before."

"It doesn't matter," the boy said. "Just unlock the door."

The cat watched curiously as the girl pulled out a ring of keys and began inserting them into slots in the door. Shishi's ears perked up and his nose twitched. A chill ran down his spine as the girl declared she was through.

"Hold on," the boy told her when she reached for the door, "I'll go in, Karin. Stand back."

The two humans were in danger, it seemed. Common sense would've told Shishi to run the other way, but an enormous sensation of curiosity welled up inside him. Then again, as the saying goes…

Shishi darted through the boy's legs, surprising him, and peered inside the crack of the open door, hearing, "No…a guy…If it's a guy, I'll kill him…"

Shishi was suddenly staring up at a lone figure sitting on the ground with strange, black markings immersing his body.

"A…cat…?" The person stared at Shishi for a moment, as if to decide where Shishi was male or female. But then, his gaze rose to the boy who had opened the door. Then a wicked grin crossed his face and he sprung up psychotically. "HA! THE CAT DOESN'T COUNT! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-

Yousai frowned as he felt an eruption beneath his feet. What on Earth is happening here?

Nami abruptly ran in the direction where the pulsation had come from, which startled Yousai.

"Hey!" he called, clumsily running after her.

"Hurry up, old man!" Nami ordered, not taking the time to look over her shoulder. "Damn it, which way is it?!" She turned a corner, disappearing from Yousai's view.

Damned kid has more energy than she needs! Yousai thought bitterly. I'm on old man! How the hell am I supposed to keep up?! Before anymore sour thoughts could run through his head, he stopped. "What—?" he began.

"Sasgay!" Nami shouted.

"Not you again," Sasuke grimaced. His body was turned as if he had been planning on walking the other way. By his sides were Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo.

"You know her, Sasuke?" Karin demanded.

"Hardly," Sasuke answered uninterestedly. "She's unimportant. I suppose you're here to blather on about coming back, again? I don't have time for this at all, so for the benefit of both of us—"

"Will you shut up for two seconds?" Nami growled. "You just love hearing yourself talk, don't you? Don't you ever think of anybody else other than yourself? Think about the damage you've caused, all because of your psycho obsession of killing someone who—" Nami bit her lip. "Damn it," she murmured.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Anyway," Nami said, fixing herself into a ready position. "If I can't talk you out of it, you're coming back by force. Maybe seeing your old ties to Konoha will wake you up."

"All those ties are severed," Sasuke replied. "I don't want to bother with you, but it looks like you're not giving me a choice."

"Figured that out all by yourself, did you?" Nami said. "And don't you dare run away."

Sasuke scoffed.

"You want me to take care of her, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked a bit too eagerly.

"No," Sasuke answered.

"What, you wanna spare this one's life, too?" Suigetsu frowned. "I'll be careful."

Sasuke didn't answer the sword-wielder. Instead, he said, "Karin."

"Huh—y-yes?" Karin straightened her posture.

"Take Suigetsu and Juugo and get out of here," Sasuke said. "I'll be there in five minutes. Seven, tops. And don't you mislead anyone."

"All right," Karin said, turning a bit red. "Come on."

"Hmph," Nami smirked, "That wasn't very smart, Sasgay. Didn't you want to say goodbye to them before I take you back?"

"What wasn't smart was sparing you last time," Sasuke said. "Are you really in this much of a hurry to die?"

Nami answered with a flaming arched fist, which missed Sasuke as he stepped backward. Taking the split-second opportunity, he started to draw his blade to slash her with a uppercut. However, Nami wasn't alone. Yousai quickly swiped Nami off the ground and several feet away from Sasuke in an instant.

"Use your head for once!" Yousai barked. "What's wrong with you?!" She's off for some reason… he thought as he watched her run off towards the Uchiha again.

"Stay out of this!" Nami shouted over her shoulder. I got so used to using my sword… Nami thought, clenching her teeth as she unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks against Sasuke. This feels so unnatural…! But I can't lose…Not against him! Nami put her hands in several hand seals then sent a rain of fire towards Sasuke.

"You should've chosen a different element," Sasuke sneered as he evaded the flames. "Like I don't know how to dodge those attacks."

Nami scowled. However, she had no time to speak, because Sasuke was speeding right at her, sword aiming for her heart. A kunai appeared in her hand, which she brought up to clash with the Kusanagi Blade. She winced at the painful strain on her wrists and couldn't help but to step several feet back.

Sasuke stared at her mockingly with his cold, black eyes. "Huh…You seem to be weaker than last time. Something the matter?"

Nami let out a frustrated scream as she lunged towards Sasuke for the umpteenth time. However, the Uchiha was ready for it. He ducked beneath her blow then slammed the hilt of his sword into her stomach. Nami choked; the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, staring up at Sasuke's cocky face. Her eyes instinctively squeezed shut as Sasuke forced his sword downward.

-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-

"Midori…" Kyoko said, peeking her head through Midori's doorway. "You've been at those books ever since we got home. That's like, three hours. Probably more! Take a break…"

"No way am I gonna be unprepared for the next exam," Midori said. "It'll be harder than the last one."

"But Midori-chan…" Kyoko whined.

"There are leftovers in the fridge! Or you can go cook yourself something! You know how to boil water!"

"There isn't anymore instant ramen…" Kyoko frowned, walking into the room. She leaned over Midori's shoulder and said, "What the heck are you reading anyway—?"

"STOP THAT!" Midori ordered, hunching over the book and covering it with her arms.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Midori…are you doodling?"

Midori's face turned bright red.

"Preparing for the next exam, eh?" Kyoko said, crossing her arms. A small smile slowly formed under her nose.

"I-I was! Honest, I was…before…I got bored…" Midori said in defeat.

"You're not as studious as you used to be," Kyoko remarked.

"W-Well, I retain information well if I look at it a couple of times…"

"Yeah, a couple hundred," Kyoko snickered.

"It's hard to focus when you don't know what to focus on…" Midori sighed. "You know how many topics there are on just the basic rules of a shinobi and the old strategies used by—"

"Geez, Midori. Enough with the excuses; it's getting kinda annoying. Anyway, Marieke said to rest easy! You can't rest easy if you're doing this. So let's take a load off, right now!"

"…And go to Ichiraku?"

"You read my mind! Let's go!"

-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-

Why am I not dead yet? Nami thought. I should be dead right now… But she wasn't. Nami dared to open one slit of an eye, then both widely. Sasuke had brought his blade down, but it seemed he had missed. The point lay imbedded in the ground, centimeters from her head. Parts of her hair were chopped off in the process.

"I've decided I don't want to dirty my blade with your worthless blood," Sasuke said without care. "I've wasted too much time with you. Listen to me, for once, and don't follow me. I swear, the next time you bother me with your nonsense, it will be the last time. Leave. Me. Alone." He roughly pulled the blade from the ground and sheathed his sword. Then without another word, he vanished.

Yousai, who had been in mid-run when Sasuke pushed the blade down, came over to Nami and kneeled down. "How are you doing, girl?"

"Not so hot," Nami managed to murmur.

"Can you get up?"

"Do I have to?"

Yousai sighed. Then, to Nami's bewilderment, he picked her up with both arm and started carrying her away. However, she didn't protest, and she and he started heading back to the lodge.

"Seems like your friend is adamant about doing things his own way," Yousai commented after a while.

Nami was silent.

"What's wrong with you?" Yousai questioned. "Lost your will to live, or something?"

Still no answer.

"That's too bad," Yousai said. "Because it seems to me that God doesn't want you in heaven…and Satan doesn't want you either. Just how many near-death experiences have you had anyway? I can just imagine…"

"What was wrong with me?" Nami muttered suddenly. She had a distant look in her half-open eyes. "Why couldn't I face him? Why was I so weak?"

"Well…" Yousai said thoughtfully. "One theory is…You don't know how to fight as well without your sword. Or it could be that he's simply gotten stronger. Perhaps you had comrades with you before? Then again…Maybe your spirit really wasn't into it. You didn't believe you could bring him back, and you were right. It's strange to me…You were in such high spirits before, and yet when it came to actually confronting him, you caved in."

"How direct…"

"Pish-pash. There's no use in worrying about it now. It's done and over with. Kaput. The only things you have to worry about now is how you're going to wash my laundry and cook in the little time you have left before the day ends. There's nothing else you can do."

"It seems that I hear that a lot," she answered quietly.

"Then maybe you should start listening," was the last thing Yousai said. The rest of the journey was traveled in silence.

By the time they reached the lodge, the sun was steadily setting under the horizon. Yousai set Nami gingerly onto the bed and said, "All right. I'll give you special treatment this one time. But it's adding another day to your sentence as my maid."

"Hmph," Nami grumbled, turning in the bed to face the wall.

"You'd better not keep up that attitude; it's not gonna get you anywhere," Yousai said roughly. Then he realized something. The old man turned left, then right then dropped to the ground to inspect underneath chairs, the bed, etc.

"That traitorous little bastard," Yousai sighed in annoyance.

-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-SCENE-

"Sasuke."

"…"

"Sasuke."

"…"

"Sasuke! I'm talking to you!" Karin raised her voice.

"What is it, Karin?" Sasuke demanded icily, shooting the red-head a deathly glare.

"…Um," Karin stuttered, adjusting her glasses, "That stupid cat is still following us."

"Like I said earlier," Sasuke said, "I don't care about some mangy cat." How dare she interrupt his train of thought with something as trivial as a cat? Specifically, a cat that seemed to walk oddly close to Juugo.

"You afraid of tiny furry things or something?" Suigetsu mocked.

"Of course not!"

"I can get rid of it, if it bothers you so much," Suigetsu offered, shooting a sly grin at Karin.

"Don't," Juugo protested.

Suigetsu and Karin turned their heads toward Juugo with similar looks on their faces.

"I-I mean," Juugo said, "It's not bothering anyone."

"Hmph. Whatever."

"You're so weird, Juugo," Karin remarked under her breath.

Juugo looked down at the four-legged creature padding along beside him and a small half-smile softened his expression.

Oh noes. Nami lost again. (Sorry, Nami!) As you can see, I'm not quite ready to bring Sasuke back yet. And obviously, this story'll stray from Kishimoto's storyline a bit when the time comes (but it's a good thing, right? I'm gonna be original for once!) Now, I can't make any promises about updates other than they WILL COME...mostly because my teachers decided to spare us and only give me a tiny amount of hell...I mean homework.

Hasta luego! (Yes, I'm taking Spanish XD)

-HM