Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Prologue: Reflections

Four years. She had known him for four years, and for four years, she had grieved for him because he couldn't do it for himself. But he had been there longer than that. Nine, he had said. He had been eight when he had been caught and taken from Konoha. More than once, he had mentioned how he had been careless. She wondered if he blamed himself.

She didn't want to pry because it made him sad. She could tell from the way his lips would pull downwards slightly in thought. It was hardly noticeable, but over the years, she had learned to read his every move and gesture as if it were her own.

Since then, she had never tried to pry into his old life again. Of course, there were times she would ask things – stupid things – out of curiosity, and he would answer if he felt moved to do so. However, she never asked a question more than once. If a question was left unanswered, then it meant that he had no desire to talk about it, and the subject was dropped.

But, at night, when there was nothing to do but to think, she couldn't help but wonder what his life had been like in those five years before they had met. How had he dealt with those early years, the days when the pain had been the worst?

Their first meeting had taken place in the underground prison beneath Iwagakure. She could remember everything – the dark, dank prison cells that had lined the walls; the screaming, begging prisoners that had filled them; and the lone boy who had sat in the shadows, huddled in a corner, silent and unmoving. He had stared at her without actually seeing her. And, drawn by curiosity, she had veered off course to take a closer look.

Even at a distance, she had been able to tell that the boy was thin and malnourished, as if he hadn't had a proper meal in ages. Her heart had ached for the boy because it had reminded her of her own brother, who had died two years previous, stolen from her side by the famine. Maybe it had been curiosity, maybe it had been pity, but she had felt herself drawn towards him from the very beginning.

And then he had turned his head, allowing half of his face to emerge from the shadows. He had stared at her. Without eyes, he shouldn't have been able to see, but somehow, he had known that someone was there, watching him. And she had scrambled backwards, shocked and repulsed. She had been unable to stop the gasp that escaped, and even now, she couldn't help but wonder if that was what had damned them both.

Her gasp had attracted her guardian's attention, and almost immediately, her guardian had found the boy to her liking. Their mission was complete. The boy had been chosen and given the dubious honor of being the test subject for her guardian's less-than-legal experiments. At the time, she had felt nothing but relief to be able to leave the prison as quickly as possible. Concern for the boy had been the last thing on her mind.

Days later, they had met again. But this time, it was at her guardian's lab, where she spent most of the days running errands for the scientists who worked there. In the light, he had looked even more pitiful than before. He had been slightly taller than she expected, but had been twice as thin as she had initially assumed. Most of all, however, she was relieved to note that a white strip of cloth had been wrapped around his eyes, protecting her from what lay beneath.

When he was assigned to her care, it had been almost expected. She had taken care of the lab's previous subjects too. But, this was the first time she had been given a human charge, and it was obvious that his needs wouldn't be as simple as food and water, or the occasional bath. After all, he wasn't a pet – no matter what the other scientists seemed to think.

It wasn't until her guardian had ordered her to take the boy and give him a bath (as if he was some common animal, she silently bristled) that she had noticed the cuffs binding his hands and legs. She had probably stared for a moment too long because she had agitated her guardian, who had misinterpreted her hesitation for fear.

"Silly girl," she had reprimanded. "The Uchiha is harmless. Without his clan's prized eyes, he's not much different from a declawed cat. And the bindings will more than ensure your safety. Now, go. I do not have time for your foolish fears."

She hadn't dared to linger again…

Somehow, over the course of the years, he had become more than just a test subject. He had become the most important person in her life, and she was determined to show him that there was more to life than the endless experiments; that there was a better world beyond the white walls of the lab.

Time was running out though. Time had been against them from the moment he had stepped into the laboratory four years ago. It was a miracle she had managed to protect him for as long as she had by persuading her guardian that he was too valuable to lose. But that wouldn't last forever, and it was only a matter of time before they decided to administer one of their more lethal experiments.

She couldn't let that happened. She wouldn't.

Eyes snapping open, she sat up and moved to the single, open window in her room. Arms leaning against the windowsill, she looked out into the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of the homeland that Itachi had often described.

Nothing but darkness greeted her sight. In some ways, she was as much a prisoner as Itachi in this excruciatingly white prison, cut off from the light of the outside world. But she vowed she would take them away from this dark, dank world. She would take him home. No matter where or how far it was, she would take him back to the only place he remembered with fondness.

She would bring him back to Konoha.

TBC