The first thing she felt was added weight on her forehead. The second thing she felt was the weight leave her body and returning energy—however partial. The third feeling that came over her was the energy draining away. She had not felt this exhausted since after the first time she had been forced into the new training regime. And then she felt the bone-crushing, headache inducing, and back breaking embrace. Also, her ears rang because someone was yelling. All in all, it was a pretty painful experience.

"Let go of her, you retard!" She knew that voice. The voice belonged to her teammate, Inuzuka Kiba. It felt as though the person who was putting her through that embrace was snatched away from her. "Are you okay, Hinata?"

Grunting softly, the Hyuga kunoichi sat up. It took quite a bit of effort, but she managed to open her eyes. However, her sight blurred. She could barely recognize her teammate. "What…?" The kunoichi closed and rubbed at her eyes. "What happened?" she questioned. Kiba breathed a sigh of relief. After blinking rapidly to clear the blurriness, Hinata focused solely on him. "Wh-Where am I?" She suddenly coughed out. It felt as though she had not spoken in weeks. Water was quickly given to her. She swallowed the minty water without hesitation. It felt so refreshing.

After finishing the water, her gaze settled on a blond woman with a large bosom. Her brown eyes stared down at her. Hinata recognized her right away. She was one of the Legendary Three. The female of the three Sannin, Tsunade. However, she had left the village a long time ago. It was a surprise to see her. "Naruto brought me here to heal you," she stated. "Somehow, this idiot knew you had been hit with the same genjutsu as Hatake. He wanted you healed next."

"Na-Na-Naruto-kun?!" Hinata nearly squeaked. A groan reached her ears, causing her to turn her head to the right. Blond spiky hair suddenly popped into her vision. The blond ninja rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Kiba.

"Did you have to throw me that hard?!" he shouted, pointing his finger. "I was just glad she's okay!" His blue eyes turned to her. Then his handsome grin formed. "I'm really glad you're okay, Hinata." His grin, plus his kind words, only caused the Hyuga to collapse on the bed. "Eh?! Hinata?!" His voice sounded frantic, but she had not fainted. Hinata was merely overheated at the moment. She did not have the strength to remain upright in the presence of Uzumaki Naruto. She could only imagine what red fruit her face resembled.

"Quiet down, Naruto," Tsunade ordered. "She's physically and mentally exhausted. She needs rest—not some idiot ranting and raving." The blond woman shook her head, and then followed an anxiously waiting Maito Gai out of the room. "You guys leave soon so that Hyuga-sama can get some natural sleep."

"Whatever, obaa-chan!" Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out. Then he focused on Hinata again, not seeing the glare directed at him as Tsundade left. "Seriously, you're fine, right? Mayu suddenly disappeared, and then-"

"Mayu?" Kiba interrupted. Naruto's shoulders hunched as if he had been caught stealing. He winced, too. Hinata turned her head slightly, body feeling too weak to attempt to sit up again.

"It's… It's alright, Na-Naruto-kun. I told them about Mayu-san," she murmured. At his questioning gaze, she continued. "They are my teammates. I trust them with my life, so I will trust them with my secret. I told them shortly after we parted ways when you left the village." Naruto frowned for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded. "Now, please tell me what happened."

"Um… I don't really know the details, but I think when you're separated from Mayu, and she takes damage, you end up receiving the same thing when she returns to you," he said. "She was put under a strong genjutsu, which caused physical strain according to Sasuke. So, when she came back here, you took on that strain and fell unconscious just like Kakashi-sensei."

"I… I see," Hinata whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Mayu-san…" She tried to forge communication with her alter ego. However, there was no response. Trying again, she called out to her again. Once again, there was no answer. "This means…" she thought. Her pale eyes opened. A feeling of alarm set in. "Mayu-san is-!"

The door slammed opened, cutting off Hinata's words. All heads snapped in the direction of the door. Standing there, in the doorway, was a panting shinobi. Sweat visible on his skin, his dark eyes focused on the kunoichi. His lips parted, allowing his rapid breaths to escape. Obviously, he had run here. Many furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. Shino and Kiba were not expecting to see him. Did he even have anything to do with their teammate? A look of realization dawned on Naruto's face. Of course he would be worried. "Sasuke, we-" The Uchiha ignored his teammate and moved into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to Hinata's bedside. The girl slowly sat up.

"Sasuke-san…" she murmured. "I…" The Hyuga shifted her eyes to her lap. Sasuke stopped moving, eyes expanding. "I… I cannot reach Mayu-san."

"You… You mean she's gone?" Sasuke asked. The girl closed her eyes. Her fingers curled into her palm. Hesitantly, she nodded her head. The Uchiha's shoulders drooped. "Well…" He ran his hand through his hair. "It… wasn't like I was expecting her to-" Hinata, suddenly yelling, clutched her head. Alarmed, the shinobi in the room looked her way frantically, trying to figure out why the kunoichi had unleashed such an ungodly scream.

"M-Ma-Mayu-san… ple-please sto-stop," Hinata whimpered, voice hoarse.

"Mayu is-?"

Again, Sasuke was interrupted. This time, it was from two nurses coming into the room. He was roughly pushed aside. One of the nurses held down the girl's arms by the other inserted a needle. The screaming intensified. "Hyuga-sama, calm yourself!" The nurse shifted her attention to the shinobi. "Get out, all of you!"

"But we-"

"OUT!" the other nurse shouted before Naruto could protest further.

The four young ninja hurriedly did as told. On the outside of the room, they listened to Hinata's screams. After a moment or two, her voice gradually began to fade until they could no longer hear her at all. "What was… that all about?" Kiba questioned. "Hinata didn't say anything about this Mayu chick hurting her."

"She doesn't!" Naruto stated. "Hinata just said that Mayu was gone and that she couldn't reach her. But maybe she was just sleeping, and only now is waking up. And she started yelling like that because Mayu had a nightmare or something."

"A genjutsu induced nightmare," Sasuke thought, narrowing his eyes. "All we can do now is wait. Hinata was given a sedative, so more than likely she'll be asleep for most of her recovery," he said aloud. Naruto crossed his arms and lowered his eyes to the floor. Finally, he nodded his head in agreement. "Tomorrow—we'll come back tomorrow. Then all our questions will be answered."

"Hm…" Kiba reluctantly agreed by nodding his head. Shino said nothing. He followed the Inuzuka down the hallway.

"I'm going back to training," Sasuke told his own teammate.

"I'll come with-"

"No!" At his startled look, Sasuke racked his brain for an explanation. "I mean… Uh… Sakura is looking for you…" It was a lie. The kunoichi would not willingly look for her blond teammate unless she really needed something from him. And that, itself, was a rarity. "You should probably meet up with her and see what she wants. Besides, you've been out of the village for a while. So, I'm sure you have lots to talk about."

"Oh… Okay. We'll see each other tomorrow then," Naruto grinned. "I'm glad they're both okay." He then took off down the hall, waving. Sasuke inaudibly released a sigh of relief. His dark eyes shifted back to the door to Hinata's room. He did not have time to wait. Whether or not Mayu was still here—he had to confirm it now. It had been weeks since he had last come to the hospital. Even though he trained himself during this period and tried everything to pass the time, his mind eventually drifted to her. He lowered his eyes. To know if she remained with Hinata or had left again, it did not matter. Either or he would finally reach some peace.

The door to the room began to open. Sasuke quickly used the transformation jutsu. He now appeared to be a regular patient. The nurses did not spare him a second glance. Once the two disappeared down the hall, Sasuke opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. He narrowed his eyes, returning to his original body. It was times like this where he was grateful his teammate was an idiot. He had forgotten that Mayu and Hinata were stronger together. He had thought about that ability for quite some time. If the two girls' abilities were combined, then that also meant their immune systems were, too, which means they would be more resistance to things, including sedatives.

Sasuke stepped beside the bed. As he thought, Hinata was not asleep. One dosage alone would not be enough to knock her out in a few minutes like it would have if she were alone. Her eyes were half covered, though, so he did not have much time before she would succumb to the effects of the narcotic medicine. He shook her arm. "Hinata," he called out to her. "Wake up." Her movements were sluggish, but she did turn to him. "Is Mayu in there or not?" To his surprise, the kunoichi gave a sloppy grin.

"Don't be an idiot, bird brain!" Her slurred and slow voice caused his heartbeat to quicken. "Why wouldn't I be here?" Her hand reached up and covered her mouth. "That was definitely not cool of weasel dude to show me such horrible things. Total dick, he is." This was Mayu speaking. She had remained. Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed.

"Why do I feel more at ease than I should…?" he thought. Still, he had gotten the peace he wanted. Now, he could stop concerning himself about the girl's health. She was fine. "Ah, anyway, I'm leaving, so-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was yanked forward. Fingers had curled around his shirt and brought him down. His eyes shot open. Fortunately, his hands launched downward to keep himself from completely falling onto the girl. However, his efforts only landed him in a compromising position. A small gasp escaped his throat. His cheeks flushed… at the thought of being caught like this. If anyone walked in right now, they might assume the worst.

"Oi…!" Mayu glared half menacingly at him. Half because she was under the influence of the sedative. She looked pretty silly trying to glare at him, especially with Hinata's face. "I don't like your brother. So, if you turn into him, I'll kick your ass!" The threat was even sillier, and because of it, Sasuke scoffed. Mayu did not like this response because she pulled him forward again. The Uchiha clenched his teeth, trying to rear his head back as far as it could go. Their noses touched. "I'm serious! If you start acting like him, I'll… I'll…" Her grip on his shirt loosened. Her eyelids fluttered close. "I'll… get… you…"

Sasuke waited a few seconds, frozen, until he deemed it safe enough to move again. He pulled away, prying the girl's fingers from his shirt. "What the hell, Mayu?" The young shinobi swallowed hard as he backed away from the bedside. Now, the girl slept because of the sedative. He was glad he had made it in time. For the confirmation. Sasuke suddenly sank down to the floor, squatting. His hands grabbed his head. "Why does… Why does it feel like I've exhausted my chakra?" he thought, closing his eyes. As soon as she had grabbed him, his body felt drained. And now, away from her, he could seriously hear his own heartbeat. Should it be this loud? The young ninja swallowed again before he stood up. With one last glance at the sleeping Hyuga, Sasuke turned to leave. "This doesn't mean anything," he thought. "I'm just glad she's still here, that's all."

After all, Mayu was one of the first who looked at him and did not see his name. She did not see his title—the last of the Uchiha. She did not see his clan. She did not even see his looks. Probably did not care. The girl treated him like an individual. The only reason she began to respect him is when he stopped treating her like a complete bother. A person like her… was hard to come by. Admittedly, Sasuke did not want to lose a person like that. She brought him back to reality—she always had. If she were to leave again—or if she had not come back at all—where could he be right now? Spiraling down a path of destruction, coming to despise everything, only thinking about his brother and revenge. It seemed likely, based on his previous encounter with the older Uchiha. Mayu was looking for revenge, too, but she did not let it consume her.

As he exited the room, Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment. He would never admit this out loud, but Mayu was beginning to become a bit of a role model for him. The young Uchiha slid his tongue over his teeth. No one knew about it, but he would do this action subconsciously whenever he was discomfited. As observant as she was not even Mayu realized. Or maybe she did and had never commented on it. Then again, she could just be waiting for a chance to use it to her advantage somehow. Whatever. He would see her again as soon as she recovered completely.

For now, back to training.

0-0

Days later, Hyuga Hinata had been discharged from the hospital. However, it had been twice as long since he had seen Mayu. Between simple missions and training, he had not heard from her at all. Of course, Hinata and her team had their own set of missions, so he understood the lack of contact. They had nearly separate schedules, so Uchiha Sasuke was a bit surprised to see Ishikari Mayu walking towards him in the form of Hinata's clone. There was no sign of the real Hinata. Sasuke blinked as she approached. He stood up, having just begun his break in training. She probably had been looking for him. Mayu was the only one who knew about his training spot. The girl walked at a leisure pace, staring down at the grass. Her eyelids were lowered, partially covering her blue Hyuga eyes.

"Ma-" She walked right by, not acknowledging him at all. Eyebrows furrowing, Sasuke sharply turned to glare at her departing form. "What the hell, Mayu?!" She did not look back. Not once. "Mayu!" he called her name louder and reached to grab her arm. He forcibly made her turn to face him. "What's your problem?!"

"Sasuke…?" Mayu tilted her head to the side. Then she looked around as though only now noticing her environment. "Huh. I really need to stop getting lost in thought."

"What?" His hand slipped from her arm. "What's wrong with you?" Mayu released a heavy sigh as if she had been holding it in for quite some time. She plopped down on her bottom and sighed again. Sasuke watched her, eyebrow raised. He had known her for a while now, but this was only the second time he had seen her like this. Before, as Sakura, she had lamented her vulnerability. Rather, it was her lack of action. The first and only time she had shown her tears. This time, however, it seemed to be cross between confusion and contemplation, sprinkled with gloom. Brooding was something Ishikari Mayu did not do often.

"A lot has been on my mind," she admitted. She closed her eyes. "That genjutsu your brother put me under…" The girl scratched her cheek. "He showed me some horrible stuff." Sasuke frowned but kept quiet. They had not had a chance to talk about what had happened. He lowered himself to the ground, sitting opposite of her. Mayu took it as cue to continue. "The things I saw in the genjutsu should not have affected me. I don't think. My reaction was extreme, but even now I feel like those images were personal. Thinking about it, I feel like crying."

"What… What did he show you?"

"He showed me… himself killing these people," Mayu stated. She lifted her knees and wrapped her arms around them. "With a katana… he killed them without mercy. He slaughtered them." She bit her lower lip. "I have this unexplainable connection to those people. I know I do. Underneath the torture, isn't that strange? To feel kinship towards people I've never met."

"Isn't it just… compassion?" Sasuke wondered. "I mean, you are the type. It could have been anyone."

"How would Itachi know I'm the type, though?" Mayu shook her head. "No, it was something more. I know it." She sighed heavily again. "On top of all this, I realize that damage I take can affect Hinata as well. So far away and yet my actions ended up hurting her."

"… Is it any damage? Physical, too?" Sasuke asked.

"I… Well, now that I think about it, no I don't think it's physical," Mayu replied. "There have been plenty of times, I've gotten bruises. It's not like bruises appear on her."

"Well, that's good right? It's all mental. It's rare you'll be caught in genjutsu, especially one so strong," Sasuke assured her. Mayu slowly nodded her head. "Still, now that we're talking about it, could this relate to those dreams you had of Itachi? Those repressed memories?" Mayu flinched, and then blinked rapidly. "Itachi, he… he recognized your traits—dark hair and blue eyes. I think he's come across someone like you before. He also mentioned a clan."

"I… Truthfully, I was thinking about that, too," Mayu confessed. "It's the reason I had a little espionage mission." She reached inside her jacket and pulled out a folder. Sasuke's eyes expanded in surprise. For the first time since they began talking, the girl smirked in quite the haughty manner. "Surprised…? You shouldn't be." She waved the file in his face. "I was a ninja, too, you know." Sasuke shook off the stupor and snatched the folder from her hand. "Hey…! So rude!" Despite her protest, she did not make a move to retrieve it again. Instead, she watched expectedly as he opened the file. "I haven't looked at it myself. I was too weirded out that Ishikari appeared in the first place."

"How did you sneak pass security?" Sasuke asked, eyes already scanning through the contents.

"I suppose everyone's so worried about the new Hokage," Mayu replied with a shrug. "They're completely ignoring their duties." That sounded odd, but for now, Sasuke focused on the pilfered file. "Well, what's it say?"

Sasuke did not answer right away. He was also surprised to find that a clan known as Ishikari existed within Konoha. In this file, there were names listed. Each had the same surname. However, he did not seem Mayu's name. There were variations of it, though. Mayuka. Mayuri. Mayuki. Sasuke sifted through the other papers. There was a very brief description about the clan. The file called them mind modifiers. Like the Yamanaka clan…? Something like that, why would their clan not be known like Yamanaka? Whatever their abilities, mind modification sounded like a useful asset to the village. However, Sasuke had never heard the surname before. Not until Mayu told him.

Maybe Konoha had found out about this clan and had been interested in integrating them into the village. I would explain why he had never heard of them before and why this file came from within the village. The question was how had they discovered the clan? Wait… Mayu had told him that she did not hail from a clan. In fact, she only mentioned uncles, her parents, and grandparents. In order to be recognized, they needed a special ability, numbers, and those willing to be ninja. Mayu said the remote village she came from, that sort of thing did not exist. Again, the question of discovery popped in his head as Sasuke turned another page. Both eyebrows raised in shock.

There was a location. A location in Konoha. Not only that, he recognized the coordinates. The residency lied west of the Uchiha District. But that could not be. The district was pretty much isolated from the rest of the village. There was nothing west of his home. To his knowledge. If this limited file was accurate, it meant that Konoha had not discovered them recently. They had been in the village all along. In secret…? Why wouldn't he know about them if they were living so close? Could it be that Itachi found out about them? This file—or maybe actually meeting them—had been the reason he had been familiar with Mayu. Or familiar with her distinct characteristics. What could this all mean? And how did it relate to Mayu, who did not seem to have knowledge of this clan at all. Even though they shared her name.

"Sasuke…!" Mayu snapped him out of his musings. He shut the file and shifted his eyes to her. "What's it say? Don't keep me in suspense! Are there pictures?"

"No, no pictures," Sasuke said. "But it confirms there is a clan known as Ishikari—right here in Konoha."

"That's… That's really bizarre," Mayu remarked. She scratched her cheek. "But it might explain how your brother knew the surname and believed me to be a part of the clan. I'm sure with how skilled he is, Itachi knew all sorts of things pertaining to the village."

"Yeah, I had the same thought," Sasuke admitted. "Do you… Do you want to find out more? There's a location."

"Okay. Yeah, let's go."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Of course." She grinned at him, and Sasuke found himself tensing. He did not know why. "If I get in trouble for this, I would like to shift the blame to my partner in crime." Sasuke glowered, and Mayu laughed.

"Am I a joke to you?"

"Yup, a big joke."

She zipped away before he could hit her.

0-0

"Hey, Sasuke…?" They had been walking in silence for quite some time now. The location was just up ahead. Sasuke kept his eyes ahead, already searching for any type of housing. So far, nothing. He wondered if their residency was cloaked somehow. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the girl beside him. Mayu had been uncharacteristically quiet for, at least, half the walk. Her hands were tucked into the sleeves of her jacket—well, Hinata's jacket—and her blue eyes looked straight ahead as well. "I never apologized."

"For what…?"

"For beating the shit outta you," Mayu replied. Sasuke turned to her, expression flat. Had she needed to say it so matter of fact? "I held back, but I did not go easy on you either. It would have been enough to get you over to Jiraiya-sama. I probably could have done that with just a few hits."

"Tch…" Sasuke looked away. He had been… trying not to think about that situation. She had exclaimed her embarrassment of him already. The heat rose to his cheeks much to his chagrin. He could admit, to himself, that his actions had been unsightly. But it had probably been his words to Mayu that had caused the beatdown. He had not meant to imply their friendship… He had not meant to discard her. "Don't worry about it," Sasuke told her.

"I still feel bad," Mayu admitted.

"I'm going to get you back," Sasuke retorted. "So, just stop talking about it."

"The hell you are!" Mayu said. "I'm not going to deserve a vicious beatdown like you. Not now or ever."

"I can think of a few instances you deserved one. I'm sure it won't be the last time either."

"Hahaha—que funny!" Mayu laughed, sarcastically. She nudged his arm with her elbow. "I… I won't do that to you again, though. Promise."

"I'll hold you to it." Sasuke nudged her back, harder than necessary. Mayu simply chuckled before shoving him. He shoved her back. Then an easy silence fell between them. After a moment, or two, Sasuke cleared his throat. His attention focused solely on the nonexistent path in front of them. Again, he felt heat rise to his cheeks. "For the record… you… are my friend." There was not an immediate response to the statement. The heat rose higher. Sasuke slid his tongue over his upper teeth. Why wasn't she saying anything? He turned his head to find that Mayu stared at him, eyes wide and lips parted. Scowling, Sasuke stopped walking. She stopped as well. "What?" he asked annoyed.

"… Your confession brings a single tear to my eye," Mayu said, pressing a palm to her chest. Both eyes were dry. Sasuke groused loudly and rolled his eyes. He began walking again, quicker than before. She, of course, followed, wearing a grin. "No, seriously, that makes me like all kinds of happy. I'm going to start singing Kumbaya here in a minute."

"The hell is Kubaya?"

"Kumbaya," Mayu corrected. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Must be a foreign thing."

Eventually, the two came across a dead end. Well, more like an obstacle. Sasuke lifted his gaze and squinted. He could see the top, but it was pretty far from the ground. Climbing it would take more than a few minutes. Sasuke had not ventured this way before, so it stood to reason why he did not know about this. This was where the coordinates indicated though. Perhaps what they were looking for lied at the top. The young Uchiha looked towards Mayu. The girl appeared to be scrutinizing the formation of rock and wood. Veins bulged around her eyes. Huh. Why was she looking through Hyuga eyes?

"What do you see?" Sasuke asked.

"Chakra residue," Mayu answered, eyes narrowing. "Almost as if this thing-" She placed her hand against formation. "-was purposely made using chakra a long time ago."

"A long time ago…?" Sasuke repeated.

"Not only that, but I'm getting faint traces of… something all around us," Mayu continued. The skin around her eyes smoothed as she turned to look at him. "It's a strange feeling, but I get the sense that there used to be more here."

"… I don't feel anything, though," Sasuke admitted.

"To be honest, this isn't the first time I have had this feeling," Mayu told him. "My grandparents own a plot of land that is used for burying those of the Ishikari family. Once, I visited that place and had this same feeling. I can't explain it exactly…"

"Is it bad?"

"… Not sure," Mayu shrugged. "But now, I'm even more interested." She lowered her hand from the structure. "Race you to the top?"

"We don't know what we're going to find up there. We need to be cautious," Sasuke said. She pouted, causing Sasuke to force himself not to roll her eyes. "No using chakra. Let's go."

"Fine…" Mayu agreed in a long drawl, looking less than pleased. "But I'm going to complain the whole time." This time, Sasuke did not hold back the eye roll.

Despite the threat, she did not complain as they began their way up the rock structure. It gave Sasuke time to ponder this strange occurrence. "Did Itachi know about this place…?" he thought. That seemed more and more likely. He recognized Mayu's surname and associated her characteristics with it. Ishikari clan of Konoha… True, he had not paid too much attention to other clans in recent years. However, the knowledge of prominent clans had been drilled into his head at a young age. His father—mostly his mother, honestly—made sure he knew. Neither had told him anything about Ishikari. Maybe they were not as influential…? The list indicated a low number as well. "But then why would Itachi care? And why is there chakra residue in a place like this?" This entire situation was shrouded in mystery. There were so many questions and limited answers so far. Upon reaching the top, maybe they could find more.

With the occasional humming from Mayu, the two eventually made it to the edge. Sasuke slowly peeked, eyes darting around for any sign of life. Instead, he got an eyeful of a sign. The opposite of life. 'Here lies the burial site of Ishikari,' it read. Beyond the sign, graves had been dug. A graveyard…? It looked about a few years old. The clan had all died. The file had not indicated their demise. Based on the number of graves, Sasuke inferred that all of the clan's members had been buried. "At the same time…?" he wondered. Mayu's words immediately came back to him. Itachi, himself, had shown her images of a slaughter. Had his brother gone through this clan as well? Had Mayu's family fled to a remote part of the world because of it? No, that did not make sense based on Mayu's age. She would have remembered something like a massacre, wouldn't she? Gritting his teeth, Sasuke lifted himself over the edge.

"This is…" Mayu whispered. Sasuke turned towards her. The girl stood up straight, eyes on the unmarked graves. With a frown on her face, she appeared serious. As he said earlier, she was a compassionate person. He understood that she mostly relied on logic, but she could become emotional as well. Seeing a gravesite, she might start tearing up. Sasuke hoped not. He would not know what to do in that instance. "Disappointing," Mayu finished, unknowingly causing Sasuke to slightly lose his balance. "I don't see anyone alive in there." Again, she had activated the Byakugan. She focused on the large house and crossed her arms. "I really hope we find something valuable." Without another word, she walked forward.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head before following. The house was traditional and quite large—larger than his own home. Had all its member lived in the same place? It appeared they had come up in the back, though. The two had to walk a bit before finding an entrance. Once inside, both he and Mayu began examining their immediate surroundings. "The place is too big to search together," Sasuke mentioned. "We'll split up for the time being. I'll go this way-" He pointed to the right. "-and you go the other way." He pointed again but in the opposite direction. "Meet up in ten?"

"Or you find something interesting," Mayu said. Sasuke nodded. "Sounds good to me."

She walked off, leaving him standing there. Sighing a bit, Sasuke began his part of the search. There was not a lot of things here. The place had been cleared out mostly. There was not any furniture in any of the rooms. The only thing left behind had been bookcases. The books themselves were nothing of value. Works of fiction. Apparently, this clan loved reading—mostly action thrillers. Maybe they were a violent group? It might explain the secrecy. Despite the recent clash with Suna and Oto, the world mostly experienced peaceful times. Still, there was nothing indicating a connection to Mayu or Itachi here.

Frowning, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets. The time limit drew near, and he still had not found anything worthwhile. Mildly disappointed, the young Uchiha began his trek back to where he and Mayu had started. However, the girl was not waiting for him. He looked around for a moment, concentrating on any noise nearby that indicated her approach. There was nothing. Furrowing his brow, he called out her name. She should have been close, but there was no response. His dark eyes shifted down the hallway where she had disappeared. Did she get lost? Maybe. This place might not have a second level, but it was still large enough.

Sighing lightly, the young Uchiha walked the same path as Mayu, further into the house. He looked in each of the rooms, but he could not find any sign of Mayu's presence. No matter how large this place was, shouldn't she have heard him calling by now? His slight confusion shifted to concern the longer he searched for the girl. His pace had increased as well. Eventually, he did find her. He clenched his teeth, realizing she remained unharmed. Mayu sat on her knees in the middle of an unchecked room, seemingly engrossed in whatever she had gotten a hold of.

"You know," Sasuke began, glowering at her back. "It's considered common courtesy to answer when I call you."

Mayu still did not reply. Admittedly, he had been expecting a smartass remark from her. However, she had not made even the slightest sound. She gave no indication that she had heard him speak. She continued to sit in her kneeling position, completely silent. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke stepped into the room. Apparently, his approaching footsteps gained her attention. She finally moved. Her head bowed. "Finally…" she whispered. Sasuke immediately stopped. "The blood of Uchiha is within my grasp." She sighed out, shuddering. "All these years of waiting… The time is now upon us!"

"What-?"

"Are you not Uchiha?!" Mayu screeched as she sharply turned to face him. She pointed a finger and glared. "Kill the Uchiha! Kill the Uchiha!"

"Eh…!?" Sasuke could not help the squeak of surprise. The graves. The eerie feeling Mayu had felt earlier… Could this be possession? Did his stupid girl go and get herself possessed by the ghosts that lived here? "Wh-What?!"

"… heh." The stupid girl broke character. She covered her mouth and averted her gaze. "You're so gullible, Sasuke." The Uchiha sent her a withering look. "You should have seen the look on your face. You were terrified. Don't tell me you're-" Sasuke did not allow her to continue her question. He brought his hand down on her head in a slicing motion. "OW! Why!?"

"Because idiots should be seen and not heard!" Sasuke sharply turned away from her, discreetly pressing a hand against his chest. His heart beat wildly beneath. Like hell, he would admit it. "Why'd you even do that, you stupid cocoon?"

"I'm getting real sick of your comments about my name!" Mayu retorted. "It's written to mean full superiority, so there!"

"I said what I said."

"That's it! I'm gonna-!" Mayu halted mid attack, and then sighed heavily. "You're going to pay for your insolence later-" Sasuke rolled his eyes, not in the least bothered by her threat. "But for now, I want you to see something." Curious, the Uchiha turned back around. Mayu beckoned him over with a finger. "Come here." Only slightly suspicious, Sasuke obliged the demand. "The reason I did all that is because of what I found here." She lifted the item in her other hand, showing the book. Sasuke blinked, moving even closer. He eyed the book, noting that it appeared similar to the other books found in this place. However, it was not a hardback book. "I found this under the floorboards," Mayu told him.

"You pulled up the floorboards?"

"I wasn't finding anything interesting, so-"

"People used to live here, Mayu. I thought you were more respectful," Sasuke chastised.

"Eff you, bird boy!" she heatedly retorted. Sasuke only smirked. Rolling her eyes, Mayu clicked her tongue. She then focused on the book. "Would you just look at this?" she huffed. "This seems to be a diary, belonging to Ishikari Mayuka. From what I can gather, she is—was a clan head." Sasuke looked at the words, only to discover that he could not understand them. He had never seen the characters before. "Ah, it's written in a different language—Español." That was definitely another foreign word. Sounded like nonsense. "I'm really surprised to see this, too. What's this language doing here?"

"What else does it say?"

"It mentions the Uchiha clan," Mayu causally dropped a bomb. "More specifically, Uchiha Fugaku and some type of deal they had." Sasuke violently flinched and Mayu noticed. "What?"

"Fugaku…? That's what it says?!" he questioned.

"Yeah, so…?"

"That's my father's name."

"… You're kidding me."

"No," Sasuke replied with a shake of his head. "What does it say about him?"

Mayu's eyes went back to the pages, scrutinizing the words. "Not much… The woman did not like talking to him, that's for sure. She called him all sorts of names, but took a liking to his wife." Sasuke made a face, finding that oddly familiar for some reason. "Let me see if I can find out about this deal…" She read silently, eyes darting across the page. "Oh… Here, it says that the two of them—Uchiha Fugaku and Ishikari Mayuka—arranged a marriage between their children. It doesn't say why. Her daughter and his oldest."

"Itachi…" Sasuke supplied.

"It doesn't say his name…" Mayu weakly pointed out.

"We're the only children of Uchiha Fugaku."

"Oh… So your brother is connected to this clan, after all," Mayu surmised. "I'm guessing the arrangement fell apart somehow." She flipped a few pages. "Here's the last entry… 'The fall of Ishikari is happening right now. My family members die all around me and the only thing I can do is write and prepare the transfer. But despite your actions, despite what you have made me witness, Itachi-kun, I know that you are a good boy and none of this is your fault. So please when my daughter returns, do as necessary for her sake. For your sake. Do not cross paths with my brother. Please.' That's it." Mayu blinked rapidly. "There's blood on this page. I doubt it was a dying message. She wouldn't have written so much and hid this. Did Itachi kill this clan…?"

"Th-That's what it sounds like," Sasuke murmured, still in a state of shock.

"She mentioned a daughter returning and a brother. I can only assume that those two were not Itachi's victims. There might still be surviving members of this clan," Mayu said. She shut the book, shutting her eyes for a moment. Apparently, the news had rattled her a bit, too. "This just raises more questions, and I… find myself wanting the answers. Why would this woman think Itachi is 'good' even though she was his victim?"

"There's nothing good about him," Sasuke glowered, thoughts darkening.

"… Yup, that's right," Mayu said. "Except his dashing good looks, of course."

"Except his dashing good-" Sasuke halted, realizing what he had almost agreed with. "Mayu, this isn't funny!"

"Hehe…!" She grinned, obviously thinking otherwise. "Calm down, Sasuke. It's a diary. This woman's opinion of your brother is solely her opinion." Sasuke did not soften his glare. Mayu rolled her eyes, and then reached up to lightly pinch and pull at his right cheek. "Besides, you're cuter. No need to be jealous." She released him and turned on her heel, completely missing the dumbfounded expression Sasuke sported. His entire face heated, and so did his chest. "Anyway, we learned something," Mayu continued, placing the diary on the bookshelf among the other books. She also removed the Ishikari file from her jacket and slipped it between the books and the back of the shelf so that it was not visible. "This clan was wiped out by Itachi and he seemed to have a close relation with the clan head. She address the last entry of her diary to him, but it's in a different language. Itachi must know Español. That is a shocker."

"I've never heard him speak it," Sasuke admitted. "But he was quiet most of the time, anyway." Mayu hummed lightly. "Could there be a reason he left two members alive?"

"The entry mentioned a transfer. Maybe that has something to do with it," Mayu muttered, appearing thoughtful. "The only way, I think, to find out would be to look for the surviving members—not a priority, but if we happen to come across them-"

"We don't have anything to do with this," Sasuke said. He felt his face harden again. "You don't need to get involved." Mayu turned to face him, eyebrow raised. "I mean…" He slid his tongue over his front teeth. "What does it matter to you?"

"For starters, this clan had my surname… and my language," she stated. "There's too many similarities between this clan and myself for this to be a coincidence anymore. And nothing to do with us? Your brother is involved. Deeply. Ishikari and Uchiha clashed before, and now both clans only have two members remaining. Like you said, it's something to think about."

Sasuke clenched his fists. He did not know the reason he felt the way he did. Seeing Mayu stressing over this caused him to frown. In addition, the thought of Itachi having anything to do with her made him want to hit something. She had already fallen prey to his brother's genjutsu. All because she shared similarities with this clan. Admittedly, he felt uncomfortable about Mayu willingly crossing paths with Itachi again. What if he decided to finish what he had started one day? Taking out those other two. Could Mayu be caught in the crosshairs simply because she wanted to investigate them? No, Sasuke could not let that happen. This was another reason to kill Itachi. His brother could not set his sights on Mayu.

"Anyway, we should leave now. I'm hungry." The girl passed him again, heading towards the room's entrance. "I'm in the mood for some yakitori. Come on, Sasuke. I know it's your favorite," she baited in a crooning voice.

"Wait…" Sasuke called out to her, causing her to halt. Her eyes met his dark ones. "We… We shouldn't tell anyone about this."

"I know."

"No, Mayu—I'm serious. This is our secret. No one else can know," Sasuke stressed. "You can't just spill the beans when you get annoyed with questions." Mayu gave him a sour look. He returned it. "You've done it before when you didn't even have to."

"Fine, fine—I'll keep my mouth shut. Jeez…" she muttered with a roll of her eyes. Sasuke refrained from doing the same as he walked towards her. "So can we eat now?"

"Whatever…"

"You know what? We should get pictures! To have physical evidence of our secret! A reminder for me to keep my mouth closed."

"Do you think I'm made of money, cocoon girl?"

"That's it—clench your teeth, bird boy!"

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