Almost the entire way Suigetsu complained that he was exhausted and couldn't walk far without needing several breaks. I understood his predicament for he had not exercised his muscles in a very long time, so as we came closer to the northern lair, I decided that it would be fruitful to simply carry Suigetsu the rest of the way to save us stopping for him. "Whoa! Easy there!" Suigetsu floundered a little when I had first picked him up, lifting him onto my back when he had come to a halt once more and continued walking with him like that. "Miyuki-san! You don't have to carry me, you shouldn't push yourself."

"I am going blind, that does not mean I am weak." Speaking firmly, I hooked my arms under Suigetsu's legs and continued forwards to where Karin and Sasuke stood, and once I was close enough I could read their perplexed expressions. "It is effective to continue in this manner."

"You sure are weird, Miyuki." Karin informed me as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. "You don't get normality, do you?" I blinked at her. "Guess not."

"Enough, let's keep going." Sasuke instructed, turning away to continue forwards, however I sensed him glance back over his shoulder towards me as I followed behind him. Suigetsu took a nap on my back, sleeping the rest of the way to the hideout until we came across a wounded warden on the ground. I jolted Suigetsu a little in order to wake him, letting him slide down off my back. The warden was badly injured and was barely able to give us a vague warning before he died, but the cause of his injuries very quickly made himself plain.

A monster of a man dropped down from above, crashing into the rocks and crushing them underneath his hammer like fists. A curse mark. Orochimaru has been very busy. I continued to walk forwards despite the appearance of a clearly crazed inmate, alarming both Karin and Suigetsu however I was not afraid, for the moment the overcome inmate lifted a fist to hammer it down upon me, Sasuke appeared and sliced his sword across his stomach, injuring him enough to knock him down. I continued forwards as if nothing were amiss, knowing full well that I was never in any danger.

"Are you crazy?! That thing could have killed you!" Karin screeched at me but I ignored her. Instead, I maintained my focus on the hoard of similarly conditioned prisoners we were yet to face. My Sharingan could see them in the distance, the red and black of my eyes swirling into the three pinwheel tomoe. I murmured a warning to Sasuke and he immediately placed his hand upon my arm, drawing me closer to him.

"Stay back and don't use your Mangekyo Sharingan. Leave this to me."

"Hm." Doing as he said, I stayed well back as he and Suigetsu handled the inmates whilst Karin went in search of the keys. They were easy for someone such as Sasuke and Suigetsu to handle, however when one or two of them escaped past them and charged directly towards me, Sasuke called out with worry.

"Yuki!" I moved in the blink of an eye, robes fluttering and my hair rising behind me like a white stream, a glint in the air as fine as spider silk flowing behind me before I pulled it taught and my golden wire immediately cut into the flesh of the two curse mark inflicted prisoners. I had purposefully avoided all of their vital spots, rather focusing on their limbs in order to incapacitate them. They howled as my wire drew blood. When they collapsed to the ground I retracted the wire, allowing it to whir back into a coil upon my glove.

I am not weak. I refuse to be. Picking my way through the defeated prisoners who all lay unconscious on the ground, I paused by Sasuke to touch my hand to his face, brushing away a speck of dust before going towards where I had heard Karin shout that she had found the keys. None of us had ever been to the northern hideout before so we relied entirely on Karin's directions to find Jugo. "Which way is it, Karin? Lead on." She scowled at Sasuke in reply.

"Quit bossing us around Sasuke!"

"Just chill out and get on with it, okay? This is why you're here right?" Suigetsu scolded her with a smirk, causing Karin's scowl to deepen. She directed Suigetsu and I down one corridor, before then turning down another with Sasuke. I frowned a little in confusion, wondering why she would want us to split up. Did she think we might find Jugo faster if we broke off into teams? Then why didn't she just say so? "You know, I didn't realise that the curse mark could transform one's body to such a gross degree. Does your curse mark change you like that too Sasuke?" Suigetsu questioned, continuing to walk forwards however when he heard no reply, he stopped and looked around. "Sasuke?"

Trying to be helpful, I pointed behind me to signal that he and Karin had gone off in another direction. "That wench…" Hissing angrily, Suigetsu clenched his fists then began to stride back the way we came, muttering under his breath how he was going to make Karin regret making a fool out of him. Confused, I followed after Suigetsu, frowning slightly until he suddenly stopped and faced me a little bashfully. "Sorry Miyuki-san, but I guess I don't know which way we're going, so we're lost."

"We are searching for Jugo." I murmured as I continued on forwards, passing Suigetsu as I concentrated my chakra and awoke my Sharingan. "Sasuke and Karin are that way. They are with…a strange chakra signature."

"Guess that'll be our monster. Ah, don't worry Miyuki-san, I'll be sure to protect you so don't worry about a thing. If you like, I can even hold your hand to lead the way." Suigetsu offered to me but I declined with silence. I was not yet so much of an invalid that I needed to be shepherded everywhere and coddled. I still had my pride. Suigetsu did not falter, keeping apace with me as we walked in the general direction where I had sensed Sasuke, and chatting away though mostly to complain about Karin.

For the most part I hardly heard him, save to hum at appropriate intervals. My mind was elsewhere, far away somewhere peaceful and quiet, thinking of nothing but wanting to simply rest in a comfortable chair under a warm sun within a garden of flowers. "You hear that?" Bringing myself back to my current reality, I listened as Suigetsu had asked to hear evidence of a fight not too far away. "Damn it!" The young swordsman ran off before I could suggest that we approach with caution, leaving me behind him as he drew his sword and fixed on its handle.

Sighing wearily, I followed at a much slower pace, listening to the combined shouts of Karin, Suigetsu, and a third which I assumed was Jugo, swearing to kill everybody he laid his hands on. I arrived just as Sasuke stepped in between Suigetsu and a rather tall young man fully shifted into his curse form, restrained by two snakes Sasuke had summoned to hold them apart from one another. "Do you want me to kill you both?" His intent to kill was very real, though I was not put off by it at all for I knew it was not directed at me. Instead I stopped a few feet away, observing.

Having been forced to realise danger Jugo awakened from his cursed state after Sasuke released him, his head snapping from left to right to notice his surroundings before he ran screaming back to his cell. "Hurry and lock the door!"

"No Jugo, I came to take you out of here. Come with me." Sasuke requested calmly, speaking to a closed door where Jugo had shut himself inside.

"I don't want to go outside, I don't want to kill people…just please leave me alone!" I sympathised with him for his plight, struggling with his own inner demons the way he was. By his sheer force of will to stop himself from doing terrible things to others, I could not help but think of Jugo having a pure heart at his core. "I don't know when the urge to kill will strike again, so please just hurry up and lock the door! Who are you people anyway? Why won't you leave me alone?" Taking a moment to think, Sasuke began to walk closer to the door, speaking directly to Jugo.

"Orochimaru is dead and this hideout's been destroyed too. You'll be done for if you stay here."

"Fine by me! I've got enough blood on my hands."

"Don't worry." Sasuke soothed, speaking in oddly soft and reassuring tones which was very unlike him. "I'll be your cage. I'll stop you." Jugo refused once more, informing us that the only way he would be able to go outside was if there was a person called Kimimaro was there with him. It was Karin who explained that Kimimaro was the only person able to stop Jugo when he was in a state of rage without harming him, meaning that both he and Jugo would be perfectly safe and still available for experimentation.

"Jugo, Kimimaro died for me. He's gone." A moment of silence passed until Jugo spoke again and this time, his voice sounded a little closer to the door.

"He died for you? Then that means you're Sasuke Uchiha." The sound of shuffling came from within then the heavy scrape of the door as it was pushed aside to reveal Jugo, a heavy shouldered person taller than most. He seemed nervous, as would be expected, but he allowed himself to step outside the boundary of his cell in order to face Sasuke. "Sasuke?"

"That's right. I'm here to take you away, Jugo, because I need your help. Follow me." Flicking his hand towards him, Sasuke lead all three members of his new team forwards, walking towards me. We did not make eye contact as he passed, however I did feel his hand brush against mine to turn me around and help guide me. I felt better for feeling his fingers wrapped around mine, more secure in the knowledge that he was within my reach to protect and shield as was necessary. I was glad also that Sasuke led us out of and away from the northern lair into the open air where it was easier to breathe and I did not feel so restricted, though the bright light intensified the discomfort I felt in my eyes, blinding me to sheer whiteness completely.

"Now that I've gathered everyone, here's my plan." Facing Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo, Sasuke addressed them with an authoritative tone, arms folded as he betrayed no emotion whatsoever. "My goal is to kill Akatsuki member Itachi Uchiha. I want your help to do this." Suigetsu hummed, muttering that he knew this to be the case. "But first, Karin, you said you had some business to take care of, what is it?"

"Huh? O-Oh right, well now that I think about it, it's not really that important…" Although she was stuttering, I was impressed that Karin was willing to put her own important business aside just to help Sasuke. She really was a very kind person. Meanwhile, Suigetsu had started to tease Karin about her feelings for Sasuke, suggesting that she was merely using excuses just to be close to him, to which she insisted these were merely rumours. A small disagreement broke out between them, threatening to boil over into a full blown fight but Sasuke swiftly had them settle down, warning them to cooperate.

"Alright fine, but I'm warning you Karin. I'm going to stick by Sasuke's side, at least until I get Samehada, one of the Seven Kirigakure Blades, the giant sword of Itachi Uchiha's companion, Kisame Hoshigaki." Ah, so Suigetsu intended to collect weapons. A fine goal for a swordsman such as him, and so long as it complies with Sasuke's intent to destroy his brother, there would be no issue between them. It took everything I had to not speak out about Sasuke's intentions, wishing that there was some way I could protect Itachi, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. For all my foresight and strength as an Uchiha, I was utterly useless in comparison to how bravely Itachi had silently been supporting the Leaf Village and protecting Sasuke all this time. "What about you Jugo? Not that you're out, are you in?"

"Kimimaro said that Sasuke was like his reincarnation, and sacrificed himself to protect him. I wan tto see what kind of shinobi you really are." Jugo informed us all, his decision made. Satisfied that he had everyone's support, Sasuke went closer to them. "From now on, we move as one, and our cell shall be known as Hebi. As I said before, the Hebi have only one goal. Itachi Uchiha." I looked away, wishing I did not have to listen to such words.

Itachi…must it end this way?