Without a doubt, Sasuke could say that he hated Ishikari Mayu's guts. This was all her fault. She had been the one to decide to reveal herself to people who did not need to know about it. She is the one who said she would explain it all to Naruto and Sakura. She is the one who allowed the enemy to escape. And yet… And yet… "I'm the one who suffers!" Uchiha Sasuke wanted to break something. His dark eyes glowered at the table. He wanted to hurt Mayu so bad right now. However, he was forced to wait until his ears began bleeding.

Explaining had been relatively easy. Things had been cleared up by the time the five of them returned from the clash with those Suna ninja. Even Naruto had understood what had gone on. However, Sakura had not deemed the matter as trivial. She did not want to move on so quickly. Sasuke could understand her frustration. She had been missing memories of the beginning of the squad formation. She must have felt disconnect. Suddenly knowing that a stranger had hijacked her body and had been using it like their own—of course, she felt frustration. More than likely, she did not like the fact that Sasuke had lied to her, and the others, about why she had lost her memories. A strike to the head had not only knocked her out, but it had also caused memory loss. Because of his lie, Sasuke believed that both Naruto and Kakashi understood the… personality change. They had all treated her differently because of it. There had definitely been a disconnection for her.

This frustration and disconnect probably led her to being so determined to tell someone else about Mayu. People of high authority should know about this, she had said. For her, maybe it had been angering as well. After all, Sakura had believed him without hesitance. But now that the truth had been revealed to her, she had been less willing to accept it. Of course, having someone of high authority find out about Mayu had not been a good idea. Sasuke, himself, did not like the idea of her being poked and prodded for information related to whatever jutsu allowed this situation to happen. Mayu had agreed, so in order to keep Sakura's mouth shut, she had come up with such a bribe. Killing two birds with one stone, she had told Sasuke. Then brazenly said something about him being related to birds. Moron. Still, she had laid out her plan, and Sasuke grudgingly agreed to it. He now regretted his decision.

Four days after the Hokage's funeral, Uchiha Sasuke found himself sitting across from Haruno Sakura… on a date. He was definitely going to get Mayu back for this. "So, what about you, Sasuke-kun?" Damn. She had just asked him a question, hadn't she? His eyes slowly returned to her form. Sakura blushed in response and looked down at her half-eaten meal. Mayu would have destroyed it as soon as it had been placed in front of her. Rolling his eyes, and deciding to plot that girl's demise later, he asked his teammate to repeat herself. "I-I said… I asked about your ho-hobbies." This was so annoying. She had been like this for about a half an hour. Acting all shy and blushing. This behavior was too unlike her. Annoying.

"I don't have any," Sasuke replied, flatly. Sakura's shoulders hunched over as she muttered an 'oh.' The Uchiha stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked to the side, out of the window. He was surprised to see a familiar glare being directed at him. Next to the person, whom he hated at the moment, was a blushing Hinata. Mayu had apparently dragged her out as well. The girl proceeded to perform some inane hand gestures that he could not begin to translate. Sasuke's lip twitched, trying to keep his snarl down. He remembered Mayu's words quite clearly. Don't brush her aside, she had said. This might be the love of your life! He highly doubted Sakura was the one. He could barely stand being on the same team as her. She and Naruto clashed a lot. Like a house on fire. Their interactions were annoying. He had accepted the change in dynamics of his team, but… still annoying. With an internal sigh, Sasuke spoke. "Sakura." Her head snapped up. "Why did you become a ninja?" There—something simple.

"Why did I become a ninja…?" she repeated. Sasuke blinked, waiting for her answer. "Well, I guess everyone else was doing it… so I followed suit."

"Really? That's it? What an idiotic reason." Sakura looked absolutely devastated by his comment. She squeezed her eyes shut, and then lowered her head again. Suddenly, he felt an impact at his temple. Nearly yelping in surprise, he grabbed his injured head, glaring out the window. Mayu was giving him a look, which seemed to scream vulgar insults. More hand gestures were given. The last being a hard fist to her palm. He understood that well enough. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke turned his attention back to Sakura. Her shoulders trembled. "I mean…" He forced himself not to speak through clenched teeth. "I mean, you shouldn't do things just because other people are doing it. I meant that you should follow your own path.

"Oh… Well, I guess you're right, Sasuke-kun." A relieved smile crossed her face. "But since I'm a ninja, I got the chance to be with you."

"Why do you even like me?"

"Eh?"

"Why… do you… like me?" Sasuke asked again. "I won't lie. I'm rude, Sakura. I purposely treat those around me like the annoyances they are. How people look at me, how people think of me—I've stopped caring. My one goal does not require positive relations with anyone. People are not required. There is no caring personality underneath it all. What you see is what you get. I'm not hiding anything." His eyes narrowed. "So, again, I ask… why do you like me?"

"…" Sakura seemed hesitant on answering. "Well… Because you're Uchiha Sasuke! You're-"

"So, you like my name then."

"No! That's not it!"

"Sakura." The clipped way he said her name cause his teammate to freeze, eyes wide. "You're one of the smartest people I know. Someone like you should see me and dislike me for the way I treat others. Why do you like me?"

"I…" She seemed at a loss for words. Once again, her eyes squeezed shut. Then she finally blurted out. "Why does love need an explanation?!" Stunned, Sasuke remained quiet. This was the first—no, second time Sakura had raised her voice towards him. The first time had been in the Forest of Death when he had just about given up. "Love is… It can't be explained. It's not about being smart! It's not about the background or the way the other person behaves! It's a feeling that won't go away. It's a feeling that is euphoric, a feeling that hurts, and it's a feeling that can make you crazy!" At last, her eyes snapped up to his. "Sasuke-kun… Don't undermine my feelings for you just because you don't think they make sense!"

For a moment, Sasuke only sat there, watching his teammate. She seemed way too passionate about the topic of love. He narrowed his eyes. She was foolish. Sakura did not know what she was talking about. Sasuke stood up, removing his hands from his pockets. "You're delusional," he told her. She gasped. "I know the real reason why you like me." He placed his hands on the table, leaning forward. "And it's the same reason why you decided to become a ninja." Her eyes grew wide as she stared at him with disbelief. "Everyone else was doing it, right?" Sakura didn't reply, but her lower lip trembled. Her gaze darted back down to the table. Sasuke stood up straight, and then walked away, intending to leave. However, he stopped. Sasuke did not look at her for his last comment. "Sakura, instead of focusing on something as fleeting as love, how about you focus on training and bettering yourself as a kunoichi? Otherwise, don't waste my time." After those words of wisdom, he left her sitting there.

"Sasuke-kun…!" He heard Sakura's chair scooting back, obviously standing. "You'll regret saying that! One day, you'll find yourself in love, too! And when you can't find any logical reason why, you'll regret what you just said!" She continued speaking, but he had stopped listening. He had better things to do than listen to raging girl. Speaking of which, Mayu met him outside. He mentally sighed, dodging the girl's leg.

"What the hell was that?!" she asked hotly once she returned to her stance. "What part of potential baby maker don't you understand?!"

"And what part of not thinking about that right now don't you understand?!" Sasuke retorted. "Besides, you also said love of my life, and Sakura—it ain't her!"

"You don't know that." Mayu frowned, and then crossed her arms.

"I do," Sasuke said. "Why do you even care?"

"Oh, I don't. I guess I just like torturing you like this."

Before Sasuke could unleash his fist upon the girl's head, Hinata stood beside her. "Mayu-san, it's getting late. Perhaps we should return home?" she suggested. She smiled, made Mayu bow her head, and then turned, guiding her guest away, all before she could protest. Sasuke watched them go until Mayu disappeared from Hinata's side. He released a heavy sigh.

He still hated her guts.

0-0

Mayu walked quietly on top of a building when her head bowed. Hinata had ultimately ditched her for Uzumaki Naruto today, so she had nothing better to do than to wander around. "I remember this place," she thought. "This is where Naruto, Sasuke, and I were first introduced to Kakashi-sensei." The girl looked up at the sky. "I wonder what would have happened if I didn't go back that day on the bridge. I probably would have gone through the Forest of Death and those snakes!" Her thoughts halted at the sound of metal hitting concrete.

"Damn it…" a voice made her look over by the edge.

"Sasuke…?" The Uchiha sat on the steps, unaware of her presence. He was by himself. Probably brooding. He tended to do that. Mayu was honestly surprised to find him up here. It had been two days since that whole fiasco with the SasuSaku date. The Uchiha hadn't spoken a word to her since. He had probably been avoiding her on purpose. Mentally scoffing, Mayu quietly made her way over to him. She grinned as she crouched down. Her intent was to pounce on the unsuspecting shinobi. "Ready… set…" However, before she could carry out her diabolical plan, his voice interrupted.

"If you do that, I will hurt you so bad that you won't be Hinata's unusual twin anymore!" Sasuke nearly growled, causing the girl stop. Mayu pouted and trudged over to him. She plopped down at his side.

"Gosh, you're no fun."

"And yet you keep coming back…"

"So," she said, ignoring that comment. "What are you doing up here and why are you throwing kunai?"

"Regressed memories," he muttered, gruffly.

"Regressed…? Sasuke, I'm pretty sure the word is repressed," Mayu noted. He only glared at her, and then rolled his eyes. "I'm worried for your intellectual health, bird boy."

"Shut up." Sasuke huffed a bit before crossing his arms. "Where's Hinata?"

"Oh, she's meeting Naruto at that Ramen place he loves so much," she answered. "And after that, they're going to train with each other. I think their relationship is coming along nicely! Ah, such development in the NaruHina plot!"

"I don't even want to know what the hell that is," Sasuke remarked.

"… Want to hear some of my repressed memories?" Mayu asked.

"Not really... but you're just going to tell me anyway, so sure," Sasuke sighed.

"You know me well!" Mayu exclaimed. The Uchiha shook his head. "Anyway, they're not really repressed memories... Actually, I don't think they're my memories at all." She took a deep breath before continuing. "After I left Sakura's body, and returned to my own, I started having these dreams—nightmares—and they're always the same." She frowned as she recalled the dream. She wrapped her arms around her raised knees. It had been bad. Once, she had even woken up screaming. Her father had been distraught. Her mother had allowed her to sleep in their bed.

"About Haku…? About him hurting you?" Sasuke wondered, turning his eyes to her.

"No, not about that day on the bridge," Mayu replied. She pressed her lips together for a moment. "By the way, I never asked… What happened afterwards? After I left."

"…" Sasuke opened his mouth. However, he seemed hesitant on speaking. He dropped his gaze to the ground. Finally, he sighed. "I thought you were dead." His voice had barely been above a whisper. Mayu merely watched him, noting the unease in his side profile. She blinked, wondering when she had become able to see through his stoic mask. "I went after Haku… I beat him."

"Y-You killed him?" Mayu asked.

"No," Sasuke murmured, shaking his head. "I wanted to. I was going to. If Sakura hadn't woken up, he would have been my first kill. In that moment, I wasn't able to think about anything other than avenging you."

"How did that feel?"

"I couldn't feel anything except rage, Mayu. You were gone. Naruto was… was dying" Sasuke said. He clenched his teeth. "I felt… powerful… like I needed to do it. Like nothing could stop me. But I felt so powerless, too. I felt… caught between them. Power and helplessness."

"You…" Mayu scratched her cheek, unsure how to feel with Sasuke's words. On one hand, by becoming so angry on her behalf, she realized that Sasuke cared for her back then. It had not been totally clear before. Perhaps she felt something akin to flattered. Still, there was also a part of her that wondered how much he liked feeling powerful. "You stopped…?"

"Yeah… Like I said, Sakura woke up," Sasuke repeated. He shrugged his shoulders. "Naruto, too. I walked away from Haku." He frowned then. "I guess you two being alive mattered more. Revenge shouldn't consume a person, right?"

"That's…" Mayu found herself smiling. "That's good to know, Sasuke." The Uchiha scoffed a bit, looking like he slid his tongue over his front teeth. "It sounds like Haku-san didn't stand a chance against you, though. I wonder if it's because of our combined efforts."

"I activated my Sharingan, too," Sasuke mentioned. "Already weakened and dealing with my advanced bloodline was too much for him."

"What happened after that?"

"Kakashi stopped fighting Zabuza to get to you and Naruto, too," Sasuke continued. "I realized what had happened when Sakura latched onto me and asked questions that you should have known. Like our location and who Kakashi was. I used that to come up with the memory loss excuse." Mayu hummed lightly. "Then Zabuza's employer showed up and betrayed him. He got killed. Then the villages showed up collectively and ran off the rest of the henchmen. We didn't have to fight anymore. Zabuza left Haku behind, so I think he ended up staying in the Land of Waves."

"W-Wait…! Haku-san and Zabuza lived?!" Mayu questioned, eyes wide. "Whoa!"

"Why is that exciting to you?" Sasuke asked, knitting his brow together. "There was no need for ninja versus ninja anymore since they weren't being paid. That was the only reason we were fighting them."

"I-I just…" Mayu trailed off, averting her gaze. Big news! Mega news! Those two died on that bridge on the show. However, Sasuke had told of their survival. That was insane! It meant… "I changed something… Not just something trivial either," she thought. Had this turn of events meant she could change things for real? Somehow, their survival would affect the story, right? Would that be okay? She supposed only time would tell. For now, though, a grin stretched on her face. She had not interacted with them all that much, but somehow, she had changed their fate. She was a bit proud of herself for that. "Ahh… Anyway, I didn't mean to change the subject so much," Mayu said aloud. "Back to what I was saying!"

"You're so weird," Sasuke remarked. "What were the nightmares about?"

"I don't recognize where I am," Mayu began. She shifted her gaze from Sasuke, narrowing her eyes in front of her. "It was hot, I think. Someone's holding me. A woman. She's crying. I wasn't in control. When I moved, it wasn't like I wanted to. Rather, it felt like I was watching things happen through someone else's eyes." She scratched her cheek and shut her eyes for a few seconds. "Someone comes into the room we're in. He attacks the woman that's holding me. I fall to the floor, feeling her blood on my face." Beside her, Sasuke straightened his form, visibly intrigued by the tale. "Abruptly, I can hear the surroundings. There's screaming outside of the room we're in. And the woman—she shouts at the person that came into the room, demanding to know why he killed someone named Haruka. I can feel myself gasping like I can't breathe…" She swallowed hard. "I wake up after a bright light consumes all my senses. I'm not sure what it means or why I've been having these dreams."

"It might not be a reason for it," Sasuke said, turning away, no longer interested. "It's not as though a person can control the dreams they have."

"I haven't gotten to the weird part," Mayu told him. She bit her lower lip. "The person who attacked was Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke tensed, almost violently, and snapped his head towards her. Eyes wide, he stared, clearly stunned by the information.

"H-How do you…?!"

"… You know how much I like gathering information. I saw a couple photos," Mayu said.

"I don't remember you ever reading anything on the Uchiha clan," Sasuke said, glaring now.

"Did you really pay attention to Sakura in the beginning?" Mayu retorted. The glare softened somewhat. "Look, I wanted to know my teammates, alright? It's not like what happened is a secret."

"I get it now," Sasuke scoffed. "That's why you didn't bother to ask who I'm after. You already knew." For a time, he did not speak again. Mayu stayed quiet, wondering if the Uchiha was angry with her. "So…" he finally spoke. "You dream of him, but you've never met him?" Slowly, the girl nodded her head. "The woman… What did she look like? Dark hair? Dark eyes? Like mine?"

"… No," Mayu answered. Of course, it was not a surprise he believed the woman to be his mother. Since Itachi had showed up, perhaps he thought other members of his family would as well. "She actually had my physical features. Blue eyes. Dark skin. But I'd never seen her before either. I don't know who she could be."

"Your features are pretty distinct, Mayu," Sasuke said. "… I looked you up, too, you know."

"What?"

"After the Land of Waves, I tried to find anything I could on Ishikari," Sasuke informed her. "I couldn't find anything. No jutsu. No family. No village. There are many with your skin tone in the Land of Lightning, but that is where the similarities end."

"We-Well, I already told you where I'm from," Mayu hastily replied.

"Yeah, a village so small that it doesn't appear on any map," he said. "A village without ninja." Mayu nervously scratched her cheek. However, Sasuke did not seem as though he was accusing her of anything. "The point is… You definitely performed a powerful jutsu—two actually. Switching bodies with Haku. Cutting through his ice jutsu with the opposing element. One of them was Ishikari Style. And then you said you couldn't remember doing it. I thought about it a lot, and now you're telling me that you've had dreams of Itachi…"

"What are you saying, Sasuke?"

"Your memories might be fractured," he said. "Without knowing, you might be missing pieces."

"That… That can't be true," Mayu insisted, though the protest sounded weak to her ears. "Maybe a past life is bleeding into my mind. That's all. Maybe I just have a hyperactive imagination. Maybe it's just a huge information overload. But my memory is fine."

"… It's something to think about, at least," Sasuke relented, shifting his gaze elsewhere. "I thought you might be intrigued like I was."

"I…" Mayu scratched her cheek again. Admittedly, the style of Ishikari—that was intriguing. There should not be any jutsu pertaining to Ishikari, but Sasuke had witnessed it. Swapping bodies. That was a mental thing, right? She found herself in a nearly identical situation with only months in between the incidents. "Maybe I should think about it more critically," she continued. "When I go home, I'll ask my parents about our family name. I still don't think anything's wrong with my memory, though."

"And Itachi…? You saw him through someone else's eyes," Sasuke pointed out. "Maybe Sakura wasn't the first time you swapped bodies."

"What? As like an infant?"

"Since you were so aware, I highly doubt that, moron."

"Well… Maybe if you meet up with him, I can come, too," Mayu said. "Make him answer some questions before you get to the whole Uchiha smackdown." The corner of Sasuke's lips twitched, but she could not tell what that meant. Anyway, he brought up valid points. One. Two. Three. One time, it was just an occurrence. Two times, it could be coincidence. Three times, though, indicated a conspiracy. It was something her mother would say while working on her cases. Most of the time, she got her justice. Maybe Mayu should be more pragmatic like her mother. Sasuke was right. It was something to think about, especially since it pertained to her current circumstance. Sighing lightly, her gaze looked upwards. Blinking, she caught sight of something. "Hey, look!" Sasuke followed her pointed finger. "It's your long-lost cousin!" She, of course, pointed a bird.

"I'm getting real sick of your jokes about my hair," Sasuke grumbled.

"Then perhaps you should look into a different style, duck-butt," Mayu quipped, cheekily.

"You-!" Before he could angrily give a rebuttal, his attention diverted. "Kakashi…?" He focused on the bird that Mayu had pointed out. "What does he want?" The shinobi stood up and furrowed his brow. Apparently, he had seen something odd about that bird. He huffed lightly before looking Mayu's way. "I have to meet with Kakashi."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you later," she said, standing as well.

"It's probably not too important," Sasuke mentioned. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Meet me later so we can spar."

"As long as you feed me, sure," Mayu said, grinning.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

0-0

Mayu hummed lightly, walking through a forest. Hands behind her back, she moved at a leisure pace. It had been about twenty minutes since she had parted from Sasuke. With everything that happened during the invasion, no one would be sent out on missions. Whatever task Kakashi had for Sasuke would be done soon. He set up a time and place to meet so that they could spar. Mayu did not mind. After all, Hinata was still busy. She and Naruto never got around to training together. Apparently, an older man had recruited the blond for a research excursion. At the time, she did not think too much of it, but could that older man be Jiraiya? Try as she might, she could not recall the purpose of the Sanin taking Naruto outside the village right after the invasion. Was this the start of the filler episodes?

Anyway, Hinata planned to meet up with her team, which left Mayu with nothing to do but wander the village. The damages to the village had been extensive. However, many had already began fixing the damaged buildings. With ninja and civilian alike working together, Mayu could guess that reconstruction would take no time at all. Maybe only a few weeks. It was nice. She almost wished she could participate in the rebuilding.

Abruptly, Mayu was pulled from her thoughts. If she had to guess, it sounded like she was about to walk into a battlefield. Gritting her teeth, the girl unclasped her hands and picked up her pace. It sounded very close to the clearing Sasuke had picked out earlier. Had someone else claimed a spot nearby? Against her better judgement, Mayu turned left and hurriedly followed the sound. Eventually, she came across Sasuke. The shinobi, on his knees, panted heavily. Hand pressed against a large boulder, which was riddled with holes, he did not seem to be aware of his surroundings. Examining the scene quickly, Mayu concluded that Sasuke was by himself. Apparently, he was in the middle of taking his frustrations—whatever they were—out on this defenseless large target.

Mayu watched him through narrowed eyes. "He seemed just fine when we parted ways…" she thought, placing a hand on a nearby tree. "What did Kakashi-sensei say to him?" Sasuke grumbled to himself, still unaware of his silent observer. However, Mayu could not understand actual words. Judging by the state of the boulder, Sasuke had used his powerful jutsu. That indicated fury. No way he would be practicing. Not to mention, the jutsu clearly drained him. There was a limit to how many times he could do it. It appeared that he had gone all out. Scowling a bit, Mayu walked forward. "Sasuke…!"

In response, the Uchiha flinched and sharply turned to face her. The Sharingan stared back at her, and Mayu had to force herself not to flinch. Sasuke appeared downright murderous. Upon realizing her identity, his expression slowly shifted to neutral and he deactivated his advanced bloodline. "You're late," he accused, standing up.

"Don't tell me that's the reason you're so angry," Mayu said. She crossed her arms. "Don't be such a drama queen." The brat had the nerve to scoff at her. "You think you can still spar when you're like this?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke said harshly. Without preamble, Mayu launched a fist straight at his gut. Sasuke doubled over, wheezing and clutching his abused stomach. The girl calmly waited for him to stop coughing. "The hell was that for?!" he managed a weak shout despite his predicament. Mayu stayed silent. Growling, the Uchiha attempted to retaliate. His fist came at her fast, but she merely took a step back. Sasuke did not let up. Clenching his teeth, he sent a barrage of strikes her way. Mayu deflected, blocked, and evaded his attempts. A minute passed before she launched her counter. She invaded his personal space, and Sasuke used his own evasive maneuvers against her. It was fine. She was not trying to hit him—not truly. This was a simple mock-spar. Then, of course, Sasuke had to go and slam his knuckles against her cheek.

They both ended up sparring angry.

Back and forth they went, using their limbs to tag each other. Attacking and defending to gain the upper hand. Eventually, their bout turned into wild grappling on the ground. Gasping and panting, Sasuke wrestled her. Mayu, though, had plenty of stamina. She towered over him, pinning his wrists to the ground and holding down his legs with her own body. Exhausted, he could only glare up at her. His chest heaved up and down. "Say it again," Mayu told him. Her already vice grip increased. Sasuke winced. "Say how fine you are after that." The Uchiha stubbornly said nothing. "I thought so." Sasuke sharply turned his head and averted his gaze. "Tch…!" Mayu released him, and then stood up. "You're no fun when you're all broody."

"I'm not your toy!" Sasuke snarled, sitting up.

"Look at you—getting angry again so quickly!" Mayu rounded on him, annoyed. "You know that's not what I meant! I wanted to spar—to just hang out with my friend—but you took it somewhere else!" She roughly dropped to her knees in front of him, moving her face close to his. Eyes widening, Sasuke stared back at her. "Are you going to tell me why you're really angry?"

"I…" His dark eyes looked elsewhere. "It's nothing."

"… Fine, don't tell me," Mayu said. She reared back, sitting back on her bottom. "But don't take it out on me either!" For a few moments, they only sat there on the ground. In total silence. Finally, Mayu huffed lightly, and that seemed to break the tense atmosphere. "Did you eat anything today?"

"… No," Sasuke admitted, slowly returning his gaze to her.

"Then let's head into town, eat, and try sparring again with clear heads and full stomachs," Mayu suggested. She stood up with a grunt, and then held her hand out to the Uchiha. Behind his lips, he slid his tongue across his upper teeth. Huh. That was probably a quirk of his. Sasuke reached for her hand, allowing her to pull him from the ground. He winced, grabbing at his stomach with his other hand.

"That was a cheap shot," he grumbled.

"Relax," Mayu told him, rolling her eyes. "You got me back, didn't you?" She lightly touched a hand to her cheek. "Eye for an eye."

"Tooth for a tooth," Sasuke said.

"Exactly. Now, let's go, bird boy," Mayu said, beckoning the Uchiha with her finger. She turned and walked away.

Sighing to himself, Sasuke followed. Quietly, he quickened his pace until he walked by her side. Truthfully, he had not known the reason for his frustrations, and more importantly, why he had made Mayu a target. His emotions, conflicting as they were, had gotten the better of him. Anger, that had nothing to do with Mayu, had been directed at her. On top of that, she was most likely pissed at him for not explaining himself. Hell, Sasuke did not believe he could explain himself to her. He could not grasp the explanation himself. Somehow, he wished he had never gone into that basement and read the words for Uchiha eyes only. Perhaps it would be best not to think about it for a while. After all, he could not imagine doing what the scroll indicated. Dark eyes shifted to the girl on his right. Already in her own little world, Mayu hummed to herself, seemingly quite happy. Probably at the thought of food. Sasuke frowned, also thinking about the idiot that he called teammate. No. Something like that was not for them. Still, he wondered why such a stipulation existed within the Uchiha clan. Had Itachi found out about it, and that had been why…?

Sasuke clenched his teeth, feeling the glower hardened. Each time he thought about his brother, he undoubtedly experienced rage to his very core. At the rate of his development, could he be catching up to Itachi in regard to strength? Would it be enough when he finally confronted his brother? Questions like those often plagued his mind. Now, he had to think about what would happen if he were not enough. Would he truly consider that stipulation to further his strength? It made him angry and uncomfortable just thinking about it. However, he could not deny the idea. It lingered in his mind even if he could not imagine himself doing it.

So deep in his thoughts, Sasuke did not hear Mayu attempting to get his attention. Not noticing her irritated scowl, he thought nothing of it when the girl placed a hand on his shoulder. He did look in her direction, though. Since his eyes were focused on her face, he did not notice her leg sticking in the way of his path. "Tripped you!" Her sudden shout, along with the leg, made Sasuke lose his balance and fall over. Flat on his face. Admittedly, it took more than a few seconds to process the turn of events. When it did process, a unique rage took over. He lifted his head, mouth opening to yell obscenities. However, Mayu already took off running, making sure he saw the blown raspberry.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Sasuke threatened, hurriedly hopping up from his place on the ground.

The girl merely cackled in glee. She increased her pace, forcing him to do the same. Why did she-? The realization came like her earlier fist to his gut. Oddly… pleasant, though. Had she noticed…? Mayu had a tendency of pulling him from his darkened thoughts. Then causing him to look at those thoughts with a different perspective. Had something on his face gave him away? Or could she truly see pass the obvious? A distracting tactic followed closely by a willingness to understand and give insight. Ishikari Mayu. Sasuke found himself, once again, thinking of wanting to tangle himself in her enigma. He still did not understand, but he knew he wanted to. Weird. Could this be what having a real friend meant? Still, he was not going to let her get away with tripping him. If anyone else had been around, it would have been mortifying.

Sasuke darted his gaze around, attempting to locate a path that would intercept hers. They were running by a river already. Perhaps, he could surprise her by using his chakra. The Uchiha returned his focus to the girl, eyebrows furrowing. This certain place seemed familiar to him, though, and it caused warning bells to go off. He wondered why. Near instant, it came to him. A waterfall was up ahead, and Mayu was heading straight for it. "Stop!" Sasuke called to her. She, of course, did not heed his warning. "Damn it, cocoon girl! There's giant waterfall! Stop!" Sasuke did not know if she could use her chakra for water yet. It… worried him that she may be in danger. Hadn't she told him that she drowned, resulting to her coming back here in the first place? Her near-death experience had been the reason she had left Sakura's body. He… He was not ready for her to be gone yet. "Stop, Mayu!"

Finally listening, the girl practically screeched to a halt, kicking up dirt behind her. The action caused a bit of a smokescreen. Lost in the momentum of his run, and still worried that the stupid girl might fall over the edge, Sasuke could only slow down a bit. He could not stop. "Sasuke, you better not!-" With a hard crack, their bodies collided. They both went over the edge. "Great going, bird brain!" Mayu shouted as they fell. Sasuke crossed his arms, sliding his tongue over his upper teeth. He was definitely blaming her for his blunder. If she had not fought with him, further draining his stamina, he would have been able to stop easily. "Sugahoneyicetea!" Mayu's gibberish sounded like squawks right before they hit the water.

Fortunately, the body of water was deep enough, so there would be no real damage. Kicking his legs, Sasuke swam up to the surface. He broke free, eyes immediately looking around for Mayu. He did not see her. A feeling of dread rose within him. Again, his mind flashed to when she had told him about drowning. "No…!" he thought, dunking himself back underwater. He swam downward, eyes opened in order to locate Mayu. It took only about a minute to locate her. Unmoving and at the bottom of the lake. Quickly, Sasuke made his way to her. He immediately wrapped her arm around his shoulders, and then pushed from the bottom. Using a bit of chakra, he propelled through the water until they both broke the surface.

Gasping for air, he swam towards land. Sasuke then pulled the unresponsive girl out and laid her flat on her back. "Wake up!" he ordered, slapping at her cheek. She remained unresponsive. "Damn it!" he thought. His pressed both hands to her chest—one on top of the other—and began pushing down repeatedly and rapidly. He learned the basic resuscitation technique at the Academy. The point was to get the lungs working, nudging the breathing process along. In order to do that… Sasuke glanced at the girl's lips as he continued pushing her chest. Mouth-to-mouth. Use his own air to get her to breathe. In theory, he understood. In practice… Sasuke grit his teeth, partly annoyed. "I hate your guts, Mayu!" he told her.

Determined, he leaned towards her face, preparing to continue the resuscitation. Before he could, water shot out of Mayu's mouth. Yup. Hated her guts. The girl coughed harshly, turning over to get the rest of the water out. Glowering, Sasuke wiped the water and spit from his face before smacking Mayu's back. A few moments later, she stopped coughing. Hand on her chest, she cleared her throat several times before settling down. She panted lightly, finally turning her blue Hyuga eyes his way. "I'm really out here trying to die," she remarked. "My mother's definitely gonna make me get a switch…"

"What?"

"Ah, nothing," Mayu said, standing. Then she smiled brightly at him, and Sasuke found himself tensing. "Thanks for saving me."

"… Don't mention it," he replied, shifting his gaze away. "Next time, don't do something stupid."

"That is not something I can promise," she said with a wink. Sasuke rolled his eyes, standing up as well. "Maybe I should really learn how to swim." She began wringing out her hair. Sasuke watched her for a moment, realizing that they would be here all day at this rate.

"Can't even do that right," he muttered. He walked behind her and placed and a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit. Mayu only gave a mild protest as she complied with the movement. Without another word, Sasuke began wringing out her hair. As he worked, he could not help but wonder the length of Mayu's real hair. Was it short like Hinata's? Or long like Sakura's used to be? Somewhere in between maybe? Longer? Then he grimaced, wondering why he was thinking of something as useless as the length of hair. "I'm finished," Sasuke announced, giving her head a bit of a shove.

"Gentle, bird boy!" Mayu hissed, reaching up to rub her head. She stood up and faced him. "Let me do you now."

"That is not-" Before he could deny her, Mayu took the chance to sharply turn him around and push him down to his knees. Giggling a bit, she slid her fingers through his hair. Sasuke had to stop himself from shuddering outwardly. Instead, he scoffed and crossed his arms, allowing the gentle tugs on his hair. Mayu hummed lightly as she worked, unnecessarily meticulous in wringing the water out. This whole thing was probably a waste of time. He could be training right now. Still, Sasuke could not bring himself to push her hands away. Truthfully, it reminded him of his mother. She used to do something like this when washing his hair. Of course, that was all before his enrollment in the Academy. And thinking about his mother often led to thoughts of his father, and then his brother.

"I've done my best," Mayu said, unknowingly breaking the cycle of vicious thoughts. She circled him, examining her simple work. "Your hair's surprisingly soft."

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke replied, standing to his full height. He lightly touched his hair. It was not dry, but it would do for now. With the sun so high in the sky, if they walked at a leisure pace, they would be dry by the time they reached town. "Let's go already."

"Sure thing," Mayu agreed. "For lunch, I'll take dumplings!"

"You'll take anything that's put in front of you," Sasuke said. The two began to walk. "Except mushrooms."

"Bleh! Just thinking about the texture makes me wanna die," Mayu said.

"Who's the drama queen again?" he muttered. Mayu only grinned.

"Still you."

"Anyway, after we eat, I want to drop by Kakashi's and ask him something."

"Fine with me."

0-0

"Kakashi…" Sasuke said, opening the door.

"You don't have to be rude, Sasuke!" Mayu said, following him into the room. "You could have at least-" She stopped speaking, noticing that Kakashi was not by himself. The silver-haired jounin laid in bed with three other jounin crowding around him. She recognized them as Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, and Maito Gai. Of course, the three jounin shifted their attention to the newcomers. Kakashi did not response at all. "Kakashi-sensei…?"

"Why's Kakashi asleep?" Sasuke questioned. "And why are jounin gathered here?" No one answered his questions. "What happened…?" He looked towards Gai for answers.

"Nothing much… happened," he answered weakly. Obviously, he was uncomfortable with the truth. Mayu swallowed hard, realizing what this could mean. This was not filler. This was the next step in the plot. Suddenly, another shinobi burst into the room, already shouting.

"Is it true that the Itachi came back?" he asked.

Mayu's eyes widened. "That plot point?!" Mayu thought. "No!" She turned to Sasuke, already knowing the reaction. It took a bit, but she saw the clear signs of anger in his eyes.

"And he's after Naruto?" he asked. Gai smacked his forehead and groaned. Sasuke looked back at the jounin, face contorting into a murderous glare. He turned and ran pass the ninja, out of the door and out of Kakashi's home.

"Just when I had calmed him down!" Mayu turned to follow, but Kurenai's voice halted her steps.

"Hinata, why are you with Sasuke?" she asked. The girl stood there, frozen in shock. "I believe you told me you would be training with the team today." Nervously, Mayu darted her gaze to the floor, trying to come up with something to say. "Also, this clone… You informed me that you would tell us about it soon. Are you attempting to discover the reason behind the flaw?" Mayu winced. It had been more than a few days since the invasion, and she remembered that Hinata had said something along those lines. It seemed that at this point, her identity was still secret. Jittery, Mayu she blurted out a response.

"Training?! What's that?! What's wrong with my jutsu?! What even is jutsu?! You're jutsu!"

Then she ran.

0-0

Mayu caught up to Sasuke. Jumping and hopping on buildings to keep up with him—it was tedious. If he would just slow down, she could explain to him what needed to be explained. She had called out to Sasuke a couple of times, but he simply ignored her. She knew he ignored her because her shouting could wake the dead. Finally, he reached Naruto's apartment and slowed his pace. He pulled the door opened, causing Sakura to stumble out. "Sa-Sasuke-kun…?" she mumbled, sounding surprised to see him. Without any sort of greeting, the Uchiha demanded to know where Naruto could be. "I-I just got here, too…" Sakura replied, perplexed.

"Hey, I know-" Before Mayu could finish, Sasuke took off again. The girl blinked once before nearly growling in frustration. "That stupid bird brain! When I get my hands on him…"

"What's happening…?" Sakura wondered, turning her focus to Mayu. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Why's Sasuke-kun looking for Naruto?"

"His vendetta has returned to his mind," Mayu said, frowning. "The start of his recklessness begins anew." Despite her efforts… Maybe she could not change anything in the end.

"Huh…?" Sakura blinked, clearly confused. "What are you saying?" Mayu pressed her lips together, and then reached up to scratch her cheek. "Have you been with Sasuke-kun all day?"

"I haven't," Mayu replied with a slight shrug. "But we just came from Kakashi-sensei's place. He didn't look so good. You should probably check on him."

"What happened to Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura asked in alarm.

"… I don't know," she lied. "But it's serious."

"I'll go right away!" Sakura exclaimed, and without a word of goodbye, ran in the direction opposite direction Sasuke had gone. It did not seem fair to keep Sakura completely in the dark, hence why Mayu had decided to throw the bone. At least with that, the kunoichi would have some clue. Frowning, Mayu raced to catch up to Sasuke again. She found him at the Ramen stand—Ichiraku. He was already interrogating the owner of Naruto's whereabouts.

"Jiraiya-sama came here around noon. They had some ramen together, and then they said they were going somewhere," the old man stated.

"Sasuke, would you hold on for a minute?" Mayu sighed out, glad she had managed to catch him. He looked her way, blinked, and then opened his mouth.

"You're still here?" he asked.

"Why am I friends with you?!" Mayu almost screeched. Sasuke opened his mouth again. "Listen to me already, drama queen! Naruto and Jiraiya-sama already left the village. They're going on a trip! Hinata told me about it."

"Ah yes, she's right! They went to a lodging town not far from here," the old man confirmed.

"Okay… but who's Jiraiya?" Sasuke questioned.

"Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Three—a Sanin!" the old man answered. "He just looks like a big, white-haired man, though."

"Big and white-haired…" Sasuke muttered, committing the description to memory. "Come on, Mayu!" he instructed, and then ran off without waiting for a response.

"Oh, I suppose I'm supposed to follow along like some loyal servant," she muttered. After a few seconds, she sighed heavily. "Fine, fine…" Soon, she caught up with the determined shinobi. It took a while, but they finally made it to the lodging town. They went to work, searching every hotel that they could, looking for Naruto and his mentor. Finally, they found a place that was promising.

"… and a big, white-haired man staying here?" Sasuke asked the innkeeper.

"White-haired…?" the woman said.

"Is he here?!" Sasuke asked, obviously becoming increasingly irritated.

"I may have seen one when I changed shifts," the woman said. Sasuke scowled at the slow manner this woman spoke. "Oh, a blond kid and a white-haired man!"

"Are they here? What room?" Sasuke asked.

"Let's see…" the woman looked in a book. Her actions were as slow as her words. "Second floor, end of the hall, room 1."

Sasuke dashed away before giving his thanks to the woman. Hastily, Mayu did it for him with a bow, and then followed. Instead of just waltzing in as he had done numerous times before, Sasuke actually knocked. Mayu shook her head, marveling at his random good manners. When the door finally opened, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and grimaced. "What's wrong…?" Mayu asked, coming to a stop beside him. She peered inside the room to see… a blond kid and a white-haired man. However, they were definitely not Naruto and Jiraiya. Hell, they appeared to be civilians. "How disappointing, ne?"

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed. "Why is this so damn hard?!"

"Maybe we just need a better description," Mayu suggested. "I mean, we know what they look like."

"You know what this Jiraiya looks like?" Sasuke asked, turning her way.

"I'm surprised you don't—he's one of the famous ninja originating out of Konoha," she retorted, turning to move down the hall. Sasuke moved briskly to match her pace. "He does have white hair and he's older, sure, but his appearance is pretty distinct. He has dark eyes and a mole. Also, there's red lines painted on his face. He wears traditional geta on his feet, too. With Naruto, all we have to do is mention his bright orange jumpsuit, and we're good to go."

"… Should we split up?" Sasuke wondered.

"We don't have a way to discreetly get each other's attention, but we would cover more ground that way," Mayu said. "Let's do it. If you find Naruto, tell him to make a clone so it can go out looking for me. I'll do the same on my end. Just to make sure he's safe."

"Right. If he's not safe, though…?"

"Then there's no need to be discreet, is there?"

0-0