Another year passed like a moment. The life with Orochimaru and Kabuto continued at a steady pace. Mei continued studying new healing techniques with Kabuto, while Sasuke continued his training. His determination was gradually turning into an obsession, which worried Mei. There were times when Sasuke would be so absorbed in the thoughts of revenge, he would be unresponsive for days and every time that happened the grin on Orochimaru's face concerned Mei. The sly snake was plotting something, and it was a matter of time until he made his first move. Mei wished that Sasuke would see it just as clearly as she did.

Itachi never appeared during the year. Deep inside Mei knew that it was for the best, and yet she waited. After their fateful meeting, Itachi occupied majority of her thoughts. Sometimes she wondered what she would do or say if he suddenly appeared again. How would she react? And what if he trapped her in an illusion again? Mei realized that the illusions Itachi chose for her were harmless. A while ago Sasuke explained to her how the Sharingan works. If Itachi intended to harm her he could have used a more sophisticated torture. Mei knew that he could.

The day began as usual. Mei slowly walked to the kitchen rubbing the sleepiness off her face. She yawned and scratched her tummy. There was no one in the kitchen when she entered. She looked around sleepily thinking about coffee. Mei placed the filter paper in the drip coffee maker and added the ground coffee mixed with cinnamon. She poured in the hot water and set the kettle aside. She rested her head on her hands as she watched the coffee slowly drip into the see-through flask. The heavenly smell of fresh coffee filled the air making Mei's mouth water. She added extra hot water into the funnel when Sasuke walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Mei yawned.

"Good morning," Sasuke seemed quieter than usual. He sat at the table beside her glancing at the coffee. Mei caught his drift and poured him a cup. They sipped the hot drink in silence. "Today," Sasuke started, "I will be leaving for a couple of days." Sasuke finally broke the silence.

Mei raised her eyebrows surprised. "Where are going?"

"Kirigakure,"

"Why?"

"There is a scroll that we need to obtain from there." Sasuke shrugged.

"We? Am I going with you?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I am going with Orochimaru,"

Mei frowned in annoyance. The times that Sasuke took her with him on missions could be counted with the fingers of one hand. Yes, she was not a strong fighter, but she was an excellent healer, who enhanced her skills almost every day.

"You need to be more careful around him," she said trying to fight her annoyance. "I don't like him,"

"You've made that perfectly clear," Sasuke took another sip of the drink not wanting to discuss the topic.

Mei sighed. "Fine, be like that."

She picked up her cup ready to leave the kitchen. Sasuke's strong hand caught her wrist causing her to spill some of the coffee. "Don't be like that. You know why I am doing this." Sasuke said looking into her eyes. Mei freed her hand from his grip while returning his gaze.

"Yes, I know." Her heart clenched as her thoughts travelled to the older Uchiha. Mei turned away and walked out of the kitchen.

/

Mei was bored. The hideout was dead silent. Sasuke and Orochimaru left to execute their mission and Kabuto was missing for more than a week. The experiments she was overseeing were not distracting enough, which left the girl wandering around the hideout not knowing what to do. The day was still young when she decided to go to Yugakure. It was the nearest hidden village to the hideout and she often visited it with Sasuke and Kabuto. Mei grabbed a sedge hat and a kerchief to cover her face and rushed out of the hideout.

The streets were busier than usual, which surprised Mei. She slowly walked down the street looking around. She had never visited this village alone. She could almost hear Sasuke's voice in her head warning her that it was dangerous to go there alone. She waved her hand in front of her face trying to get rid of the image. She looked around the market, searching for something that would catch her eye. At the end of the shopping street she spotted a small tent that sold medical instruments. Mei hurried there. She beamed with excitement when she saw the selection. She turned from shelf to shelf admiring the quality of the items. After a good hour of studying the selection, she purchased several items and exited the tent with a wide grin on her face. The next place on her "to visit" list was a small ramen diner they came across with Kabuto on their last visit. Not wanting to walk across the village, she decided to take a shortcut via small streets behind the main diners and shops.

The backstreets were empty as she made her way to the destination. The weather was lovely, and she stopped for a moment to enjoy the sun. She lifted her hat and pulled down the kerchief exposing her face to the sun. Suddenly someone cleared his throat. Mei dropped the hat back on her head and quickly looked around. Behind her stood three bulky men. Their clothes clenched to their bodies like second skin, revealing the mountain of muscles. Mei swallowed as her heart started racing.

"What is such a beautiful girl doing alone in our village?" one of them asked. His deep voice oozed with mockery.

"Just minding my own business," Mei exhaled. "Now if you excuse me gentlemen," Mei smiled sweetly and quickly made her way away from the trio.

"Not so fast, babe," one of the men crossed her path while the other two circled her. Mei felt trapped. "Why don't we have some fun?" the smug look on his face told her exactly the kind of fun he was intending.

Mei looked for a way out, but she was surrounded. She clenched a scalpel in her pocket, realizing that she will have to fight. A large hand landed on her shoulder. The girl spun around and slashed his hand with a scalpel. The man pulled back his hand cussing in pain. His blood splattered on the ground. "Get this bitch,"

Two other men quickly pulled out their katanas. They raised their weapons intending to slash her. The girl backflipped escaping her death. One of the men quickly appeared behind her while the other popped in front of her face. Mei lunged forward quickly bringing chaotic attacks and avoiding the attacker behind her back. They danced in a union: two men bringing the attacks and a girl dodging them. Suddenly Mei felt something hit her legs and make lose balance. She panicked as she started falling backwards. The scalpels were knocked out of her hands and both hands were pinned to the ground by two men. The third one stood above her grinning madly.

"The little girl overplayed."

Mei glared him searching for an escape. Her eyes widened when he started unbuttoning his pants.

"Time to teach you a lesson,"

The man kneeled in front of her spreading her legs. Mei hissed like a snake and tried to kick him. Her leg was caught mid-air. The man laughed when her other leg connected with his face. He flew off the girl. One of the guys holding her raised his hand to hit her. Mei closed her eyes bracing herself, but the hit never came, instead the grip on her hands loosened. Her eyes shot open. Instead of the two men holding her, there only their hands clean cut from their body. Her eyes widened in shock as she hurried to throw them off her. Mei looked around anxiously. Two men laid nearby with their throats cut and limbs missing. The third man was on the floor gasping in horror with a tall stranger hovering over him. Mei could see the blood streaming out of the man's eyes as he kept on opening and closing his mouth. A swift move of the strange brought his misery to an end. Mei watched in daze as the man's head dropped on the ground and rolled away.

The stranger wiped his katana and looked around. Mei jumped to her feet reading to make an escape any second. The stranger raised his hat and looked at her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

"What the hell are you doing here, Mei?" Itachi rumbled angrily.

"Boy, am I glad to see you!"

/

They made their way up the stairs of a small inn. Itachi opened the door and let her walk ahead. Mei heard the door lock, but she felt no worry. Itachi took off his hat and black cloak. He threw them on the floor. His lean figure leaned on the wall as he crossed the arms on his chest. Mei dropped on the chair and looked at Itachi.

"You never answered my question, Mei. What the hell are you doing in this village?" Itachi asked.

"I don't see that to be your concern," she responded. She watched him carefully. Itachi was visibly thinner, but other than that, he did not change.

"It became my concern when I saved your ass from trouble," he responded coolly. Mei wanted to object, but she knew that he was right. If it wasn't for his help, the chances of her getting away would have been very slim. She huffed and looked away. His heavy gaze was weighting her down. "Little Sasuke is okay with you wondering in a village full of rogue ninjas?"

Mei's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She crossed the arms on her chest. Her lips curled into a bitter smile.

"What does Sasuke have to do with this? I don't need his permission to go where I want,"

Itachi chuckled. Mei did not like it.

She got up abruptly making the chair fall back. Mei walked to Itachi. She stopped in front of him and glared at him. Itachi was not fazed. Their eyes met in an unblinking battle.

"The question is…what the hell do you want from me, Itachi?" her emerald eyes sparked with anger and confusion.

Itachi pushed himself off the wall and took a step closer, never breaking the eye contact. Mei took a defensive pose. Itachi reached out and grabbed her by the neck, he leaned in and crashed his lips against hers.