Chapter Nineteen

The small parts of sky that peaked through the spaces between the tree's leaves is now completely dark. Mechryu no longer stood beside me; she was nearby, staring silently in Kakashi-sensei's direction, her eyes glazed in a way and her face thoughtful. Sasuke was in the same spot that he'd been in since we got here, staring off into the forest.

For the past couple hours, I've been acting like I'm asleep, keeping my eyes closed and remaining almost completely still. My ears listen carefully to the surroundings, and I hear as Mechryu begins to move. Sliding one eye open, I see that she is walking away, her back turned to me. My chance.

Silently, I slip off, running as quickly as I could while making as little sound as possible. The forest rushes past me and I listen intently for any footsteps or motions signaling that she was following behind me. Hearing nothing I decide that she didn't know that I had left, I let a small smile slip onto my face. I'll be able to see him soon; all I have to do is find him. My feet hit the path we had just traveled on- my best bet is to start where Sasori had kept me.

"So- where are you going?" I hear in my ear, I stumble, landing on the hard ground beneath me. Looking up slowly, I see Rasachi, her Anbu mask on. I try not to look as surprised as I was- knowing that she would tease me for it. Rasachi stands by my side as I slowly get up; she takes off her mask, revealing her smirking face.

"So, why?" she repeats herself, placing her hands on her waist, the sneer still on her face. I rub my knee in pain and look to her, embarrassed. What am I supposed to tell her? I'm in love with a maniac who killed all of his family except for his brother and is now in an evil organization? That's stupid.

"I- I left something important to me back there," I say. It's not a lie- Itachi is important to me in a way. She tilts her head a bit then smiles again.

"So, Sasori is a 'something' then?" she asks, having a knowing look on her face.

"What?" I ask, confused; I don't like Sasori, why would she say that I like him? The only feelings of mine towards him are anger and spite right now. I mean, he tried to kill me, use me, and separate me from Itachi. Everything he said to me was probably a lie anyways. I try to convince Rasachi, "No, I could never- I honestly left something behind that is important to me!"

"Here, tell me what it is, and I will get it for you," she says, her smirk still there.

"No- I – I have to go alone!" I say, shaking my head at her suggestion. She can't find out about the truth- no one can- not until I'm sure.

"So then, if it's so important to you, you won't mind telling me what it is before I let you retrieve it- will you?" she asks, obviously not letting me leave until she was informed of what it is that I want. "Mechryu let you leave, but I'm not that nice," she crosses her arms, standing her ground and waiting for my reply. Mechryu let me leave? Why would she do that?

"Why would she do something like that?" I ask, my mind getting off of what we were just talking about.

"Because she knows what it's like to want something. Come back to where we were and you'll figure out what," she says, motioning to the direction we had just come from. What did Mechryu want? What was back there? I try to think it through. And suddenly I realize- Kakashi-sensei. She was watching him earlier, and she also was with him when they first arrived where I was being held. My mind puzzles over this and I begin to get up to go with Rasachi when I realize- she's doing this to distract me on purpose. I can't go back with them.

"I'm sorry, but I must go," I say, quickly starting to run- I have to escape from them- I have to find Itachi. I never thought I would be running from ninja of Konoha. The grounds slips away under me and I fall forward, my face plowing into the ground painfully. Rasachi comes beside me, crouching down.

"You won't leave until you tell me what it is that you want so badly," she says, helping me onto my feet.

"I can't tell you!" I say, panic in my voice- if she doesn't let me go, Itachi might be anywhere- I could loose him. I struggle against the grip she had on my arm, my eyes fill with tears of anger- what's with this ninja? Why won't she let me go? She stares into my eyes, a confused look on her face. She continues to look at me, still waiting for a reply. My desperateness finally reaches its peak.

"Yes, it's Sasori," I lie, closing my eyes. "I have to go back to see him," I say, she backs a step away from me. And lets go of my arms. I slide my eyes back open surprised- then realizing she was letting me go, I quickly begin on the path that I was traveling.

"You aren't coming back- are you?" Rasachi asked, just before I left hearing range. I don't reply, and continue going. I don't think I'll be able to return after this. Especially since I said it was Sasori- but if I had said Itachi- then when she told Kakashi- Sasuke would find out and come for vengeance on both of us.