(A/N: yeah. mega short chapter, I know. Don't worry, the next one is long and fun. And, you may not believe it, but I'm a Neji fan too. I'm sure y'all aren't too wild about wut I've done w/ him… but don't worry… it'll be okay. Hope y'all enjoy it an please RnR!)
Yukie lived in the Hidden Sound Village for about a month. She could finally deal with her own life. She didn't worry about anything outside of her village; why should he? Finally, after those past weeks of confusion and stress, Yukie was happy.
She trained daily with Leon, cooked for Sasuke and Leon, and visited Orochimaru often. Aside from Talah's death, everything was back to normal. Until two weeks after Yukie's arrival, Sasuke left without a word to his comrades. When Yukie asked Orochimaru, he merely smiled, "Upon Sasuke's arrival to the village, he told me he was only here for power. His one desire was to kill his brother, who had ruined his life. And, after waiting for so long, his brother, Itachi, came to this village with the Akatsuki and killed Talah. I told Sasuke to wait for the right moment to attack his brother. Doing it at the village would start a war between the Sound and the Akatsuki. Now is the right moment. Sasuke and Itachi will fight to the death. If Sasuke wins and returns, he will be welcome in my village. If he loses and survives, I will kill him personally."
Yukie accepted Orochimaru's explanation and went on for the rest of the month with Leon by her side. The two fought and trained together, but for some reason, Yukie could not unlock her full power. She didn't understand, but Orochimaru comforted her and told her that when it truly counted, she would be able to fight with all of her strength. Her style of fighting was just instinct; she couldn't call on it with a simple whim.
Once the month began to come to a close, Orochimaru called Yukie to him. He stood on elevated ground and Yukie kneeled in front of him, head lowered, left knee and right fist touching the ground. Orochimaru addressed her and she stood, but her eyes remained directed to the floor at his feet.
"My Pet," Orochimaru said calmly, "it is time for my plan to continue. I am glad you were able to stay in my village for so long, but it is time for you to return to Konoha. You must relay this story to Sakura. But be sure Tsunade is not near you… Your arrival will trigger the attack. Understand?"
"Yes, Orochi-Kun," Yukie replied in a desolate voice.
"Good. You must tell her this:" and he continued to tell Yukie his plan. Once everything was clean, Yukie transported herself through the shadows to the Hidden Leaf Village.
Yukie ran the few steps to the front gate and banged on it, shouting, "Open up! Please! Hurry!" Her voice was strained and tears speckled her cheeks.
Chouji opened the gate and stared at her, "Aren't you the girl who vanished?"
"Yes. I have to speak to Sakura." Yukie said, out of breath.
Chouji stared at her for another moment before leaving to get Sakura.
Yukie waited at the gate. She held her breath and tried to force out more tears. She saw Sakura coming and let out her breath. She gasped for a moment and more tears fell from her eyes. Her face contorted to extreme worry and she ran towards Sakura as she called out, "Sakura! Oh my gosh! Sakura!"
"Yukie?" Sakura said in a whisper, "how did you get back?"
Yukie slowed and stopped before her. Her voice was no longer a shout, but a whine. It was taught and shaky, "it was horrible! I didn't know what was happening. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, I was in a dark room. They fed us every once in a while, gave us water to drink and bathe in, but that was about all. It was so scary."
"What about Neji?" Sakura asked.
Yukie sniffed, "He was in the room with me, but he wouldn't cooperate, so they took him away… the men said he was killed…"
The two fell silent. Sakura thought hard; Yukie took on a tortured expression and whimpered every once in a while. Sakura's eyes focused back on Yukie and she forced herself to smile.
"I'm glad you're back," Sakura said in an unconvincing voice, "You can stay with me… but first we need to see Tsunade."
Panic washed over Yukie's face, but vanished in a second. "Sakura, wait!" she called. Sakura stopped and turned to face Yukie. There was an explosion and a giant snake emerged form the Hokage's office. "I'm sorry," Yukie said as all sadness faded from her face, "But you can't be getting in the way." She kicked high and Sakura's head jerked back. Yukie planted her foot back on the ground, spun on her heel, and the other foot flew into the air. It made contact with Sakura's temple and she flew sideways.
Her land was rough and Yukie was on her before she could gather her surroundings. Her feet lay on Sakura's arms and she was lightly perched on her stomach. "Well, that was easy," Yukie commented with a smile. Sakura stared up in shock, apparently unable to grasp the fact that Yukie was against her.
