When she opened her eyes, she was alone by the lake. Mei sat up and rubbed her temples. The sun was already down and only the fireflies were lighting the surroundings. She stood up feeling shaky. Mei needed to get back to the hideout. Sasuke must have been worried. She froze in her tracks wondering what she was going to tell Sasuke. Mei bit her thumb the way she always did when she was thinking hard. She continued walking to the hideout feeling more and more nervous. As she entered the hideout, she heard loud voices arguing. She rushed to the source noise. Sasuke and Kabuto were yelling at each other, each one trying to bring a point across. Sasuke was demanding for Kabuto to reveal a certain jutsu, while Kabuto was refusing passionately. Sasuke grabbed Kabuto by the collar ready to fight.

"What's going on?" Mei asked looking at the two men in confusion. Sasuke slowly released Kabuto, who hurried to exit the room. Sasuke's gaze was heavy and Mei felt like it was weighting her done. He was piercing her with his gaze making her feel like he knew exactly what happened. Sasuke lowered his katana. It dropped on the floor with a loud thud. Mei shivered.

"Sasuke…" she started. Sasuke slowly walked towards her. He stopped in front of her, their bodies almost touching. "Sasuke I…" Mei made another attempt to speak, but Sasuke stopped her. His arms wrapped around her tightly. He brought her closer, completely burying her in his bear hug. The girl blinked and a small smiled crossed her face. She wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug. She could feel his heartbeat through the thin material of his shirt. Sasuke pressed his lips to her temple, kissing it gently and Mei did not mind.

They stayed in each other's arms for a while longer. The tension in Sasuke's body was finally fading and Mei softly slipped out of his arms, leaving him with the feeling of emptiness.

"What happened? Where have you been?"

He watched her body tense. "I was by the lake," She started carefully. "Where we parted. Everything was fine and then suddenly my mind went blank. I blacked out." She looked into Sasuke's eyes making the most innocent face she could manage. "When I opened my eyes again, it was already dark and I was alone…I do not know what happened, I… I can't remember," Mei fiddled with her earlobe. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. That simple move gave her away. Mei always fiddled with her earlobes when she was trying to be sneaky. Sasuke was deep in thought when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.

"Sasuke…the pendant you gave me…I… it's gone," the guilty look on her face was sincere. "I'm so sorry," she whispered her apology while holding onto his hand. Sasuke sighed. He pinched her nose and allowed himself a small smile. He took her hand and dropped something in it. Mei stared in disbelief.

"You have it!" she smiled widely. "Thank God! How did you get it?"

"I found it by the lake when I went looking for you. The chain was cut."

Mei gulped. She could not understand why Itachi would go as far as cutting her necklace. "Wa…was it?" she stuttered. "I'm so glad you found it though. Thank you." Mei tried to change the subject.

"Mei," Sasuke cupped her cheek and made her look at him.

"I…I'm going to bed now," Mei smiled nervously and tilted her head accidentally brushing her lips over Sasuke's hand. She stumbled back awkwardly. "I'm a bit tired. Goodnight." Mei hurried out of the room leaving Sasuke alone.

/

Sasuke

She was lying. It was so obvious, it made me sick. The way she tried to hide her gaze and fiddled with her ear; Mei could not have been more predictable. What happened at the lake that made her lie? She never lied to me before. Could it be…no! If it was him, she met, she would have told me. Wouldn't she? Would she not? The suspicions are driving me crazy, but what can I do?

Somehow, I found myself in front of her room. I could see the light peeking through the crack of the door. She was still awake. I could have knocked on the door, I could have confronted her, but I did not. As I stood there like a fool, I could her sigh and mutter under her breath. Talking to herself was a habit of hers since she was young. I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning my forehead on the door. Not today.

Suddenly her door swung open and Mei appeared in the doorway. I took a step back instinctively. She gasped and dropped the towel which was wrapped around her body and then it was my turn to gasp. The light from her room lit up her frame, allowing me to see every curve of her body. I could even see the goosebumps on her skin. My eyes travelled down to her breasts. Her perky nipples hardened from the chill in the air. As my eyes travelled lower, I felt my throat dry. Mei seemed to recover from her initial shock. She squeaked trying to cover herself with her hands. The panic on face was too obvious.

I leaned down and picked up her towel. I opened it and wrapped it around her. Her body was so close to mine. I could feel her heat. Mei blushed.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she held onto the towel as if her life depended on it. "Did you want something?"

My mind travelled elsewhere. Yes, I did want something. But not what I came for. Before I could say or do something that I would regret, I shook my head.

"It is not important. I am sorry for startling you. I will see tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She responded and I hurried to walk away. As soon as I entered my room, I locked the door. The last thing I wanted was for Mei to walk in on what I was about to do.

/

Mei slammed the door to the shower room and slid down. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. She hid her face in her hands trying to calm down. The idea of a hot shower was immediately replaced with reality of a cold one. She racked her brain not understanding what was going on and why it was happening. "Sasuke saw me naked!" she said out loud wondering if she would ever be able to get over the shame. There was a lot on her mind and adding awkwardness with her best friend was not an option. Mei sighed heavily and got into the tub.

Cool water felt pleasant as she let it run down her body for the next ten minutes. There was a lot to think about. Her thoughts trailed to the scenes Itachi showed her when he trapped her in the illusion. Their past together and her grandmother's passing were accurate; Itachi showed her exactly what happened. She thought about the Uchiha massacre. A shiver ran down her spine. The details he showed were also as she remembered them except when Itachi killed his parents. Mei recalled the look on his face. The tears that escaped his eyes as he raised his katana. The way his parents waited in that room, as if they knew what was going to happen and they accepted it. She was confused. Unsure of what to believe her thoughts drifted to the vision of Sasuke's death. The water suddenly got colder. Mei shivered and got out.

She wrapped the towel around her body and sat down on a small wooden stool. Suddenly Itachi's bloodied face appeared in her mind. Mei clenched her hands together. A disease was eating at his lungs and from what she managed to gather, it was fatal. Her hands trembled as she hid her face in them. She did not want to care, but she did. "Why did this have to happen?" she whispered. Mei knew that one day Sasuke would be fighting Itachi. She knew that there was a great chance that he would kill him, and she learned to live with that thought, but when she saw the older Uchiha again, she felt suffocated. Itachi was sick. He was dying. A waterfall of tears escaped her eyes. Mei closed her eyes and cried in silence. Why was everything so complicated?

Mei's heart ached as she recalled the look in Itachi's eyes, the deep lines on his face, his thin body; she recalled his long hair and a long sleeve tight shirt with fishnet sleeves. The embrace he locked her in, the warmth of his body and strength of his arms. The way his hot breath tickled her ear when he spoke. Being so close to him…it felt good. It was the only time she could admit it. Mei would never dare say it out loud. Mei wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She sighed heavily and extended her legs. "I am so tired," she whispered. "And so confused." Mei looked blankly at the wall.

"Say it again," his deep voice rang in her mind. "Say my name, Mei,"

His voice always sent shivers down her spine. She remembered how much she loved his voice; how much she loved when he called her name. Mei was at loss. Itachi stirred the feelings she had hidden in a box and buried on the day he left the village and Mei did not know what to do with them. She did not know what to do with herself. A part of her longed to see him again, but the self-preservation part protested getting attached, because she knew she would. Mei tied her hair up and made her way back to the room. The hideout was quiet.

She closed the door and dropped on the bed, not bothered getting dressed. There was the weight of the world on her shoulders and she just wanted to sleep it off.

/

To her surprise, the following morning was not awkward. Sasuke acted like nothing had happened and she was thankful to him. The thoughts of Itachi still occupied her mind and she could not come up with a satisfactory conclusion of the situation. Searching for him would bring too much unwanted attention and so Mei decided to wait.

She waited, but Itachi never came.