My fist didn't make the contact I had hoped. Instead of crashing into his skull, he shifted his weight to one side, and dodged my attack like it was nothing. Just like that, and without a single hint of emotion on his blank face. How could he be so aloof?

With a sigh, he said, "I'm not going to fight you."

"Well I'm going to fight you!" I snapped, throwing another swing at him. This time, instead of dodging, he caught my hand, taking the impact lightly.

"How the hell do you think I can forgive you so easily? Just because you 'helped' me a few minutes ago? That doesn't mean anything Sasuke! I know what you're up to!" I snapped. "You're cold, and heartless, and don't give a damn about anything."

"That's not true." He hissed, his eyebrows pulling down on his face.

"Oh, really?!" I snapped, my voice thick with sarcasm. "Right! So that's why you left us behind! That's why you almost killed Naruto! Naruto, your best friend! We mean nothing to you! Do we?" I asked, glaring at him, straight in his coal eyes. "No, of course not. You killed your own brother. You're own flesh and blood. Why should your team mean anything."

"Itachi was a monster. He could not be left alive."

"He's your brother! Did you ever stop and ask yourself if maybe he had a reason for what he did? Raidon sure thinks so!" Just that slight mention of his cousin, set a spark. I could see it in his eyes. I'd gotten to him.

"What does she know?" He hissed, trying to cover it up.

"Enough to know Itachi did the right thing! The Uchiha's were going to destroy Konoha, apparently!" Wow, I was sticking up for a member of the Akatsuki I had never even met. Somebody I had hated from the very beginning, knowing how he had ruined Sasuke's life. Then when he came back to Konoha and hurt Kakashi, was when I was dead-set determined to hate Itachi. Yet, why was I standing up for him? Just because I knew Sasuke hated him? Or was it because I now knew why Itachi had done such a murderous act. Either way, it didn't matter to me.

"Oh, and I hear, that you plan to continue on with that mission." I snapped, my gaze flickering down for a brief second, taking in the black robe he was wearing. How things had changed. From the top-ranked rookie in Konoha, to an Akatsuki member. Could he really be the same little boy I had met almost two-years ago? The same little boy, I'd become so close to.

"How can you be so blind? Itachi was trying to prevent this. I think he was hoping you would continue to protect the people you cared about. That's why he encouraged you to get your revenge." I said, my voice going back in forth between anger, and hurt. Bad time for a different personality to be kicking in! "He disguised himself as being evil, because nobody would accept the fact that what he had done was right. You were supposed to defeat the Akatsuki and protect your new family," I turned away, biting my lower lip, trying to pull out all my anger again. Come back! Now wasn't the time to turn into the soft little girl!

"Not join them!" I finally yelled, finding all the rage and hurt I had sheltered for so long. So many years it had been growing inside, just waiting to explode. And now it found its way out.

With any angry cry, and still in his grip, I twisted my body slightly, to aim a kick straight in his face. Again, he just grabbed the attack, avoiding damage to his face.

He smirked, as he held me in the awkward position, my free foot barely touching the ground. It looked like I was stuck. It just, looked that way though. I still had a free arm and leg.

With a quick jump, I pulled my other leg up, tucked it close to my body, then thrust it upwards as hard as I could. It was an uncomfortable, and slightly painful position, but I had received the result I wanted. The sweet music of a breaking nose.

Immediately, my former teammate released his grip on me, and held his bleeding nose, cussing with all his breath. I fell backwards very ungracefully, but nobody was looking, so it didn't matter. Now my back was sore from the landing, my legs hurt from that very awkward position, and my head was throbbing and still bleeding from earlier. At least I didn't have a broken nose...

Leaning on my arm, I pulled my self up slightly to see how much damage I had done. Sasuke was doubled over, still holding his nose. It looked like he was trying to put it back into place, but without any luck. Of course, I could put it back in place, but it wasn't like I was going to.

Watching the blood drip through his fingers, I couldn't imagine how heartless someone had to be to kill their own brother. No matter what he had done, at least Sasuke had a brother. Someone who was your own flesh and blood. Surely there was a point in time where Sasuke and Itachi had gotten along. It had to be what Itachi had done, to ruin any kindness, any warmth they had ever felt for each other.

Trying to imagine a young, and happy Sasuke, an image flickered through my head. It was of a little boy, only three years old. He had short, spiky brown hair, and big blue eyes. And a little girl, of only six years.

"Ha! I got yah!" The girl said, grabbing the little boy around his waist, and swinging him around. They giggled together, until they both fell over, with the little boy cradled against the girl, his older sister. He immediately jumped up and backed away, still giggling, as his older sister caught her brother.

"No! I don't want to be it!" The little boy said, stomping his foot. "You're too easy to catch. You're it!" He yelled, running away again.

"Hey! That's no fair!" The girl cried, chasing after him. She chased him around for awhile, before scooping him up. "Ha!" She said.

"Hmph!" He grabbed her ponytail and yanked it while struggling against his sister's grip.

"Ouch! That hurt!"

"Then let me go!"

"No!" She snapped, holding him tightly. "I'll only let you go if you give me a kiss."

The little boy's face fell, embarrassed that he had hurt her, and angered her. He was only playing. Quickly he gave her a kiss, then pulled away from her, despite the fact that she let go. She took his hand and started walking off, pulling him along with her.

"Where we going?" He asked, staring up at her with his big eyes.

"Home. Mommy and Daddy are probably waiting for us."

"Okay." He accepted the answer easily, believing everything his big sis told him.

"You know..." Her voice came out in a teasing manner. "Being such a good kisser as you are, you're gonna have all the girls swarming all over you."

"No." He protested.

"Why not?" Looking down at her little brother, she giggled, knowing he didn't like being teased about having a girlfriend.

"'Cause I love you and mommy!" He said annoyed, as if it should be obvious.

A giggle escaped her lips as she swung her hand by her side, nice and wide while still holding his tiny hand in her palm. "That's different silly! I love you and daddy, but one day I want to get married."

"Yuck!" He said, sticking his tongue out. "'Sides, you're gonna marry Ka... Ka-ka-shi." He said, struggling to pronounce the name.

"It's not 'yuck'!" She said. "And maybe I will. Then he'll be your brother. But he's my best friend! You don't marry your best friend!"

"But he's a boy. And you're a girl." Confusion crossed his face. He was still too young to understand the concept of love beyond family, but then again, so was his sister.

"So. Shikamaru's a boy, and I'm a girl. But I'm not going to marry him."

"Aren't we cousins with him though?"

She chuckled again. "Yea, but I'm saying just because he's a boy, I don't have to marry him."

"Oh..." The confusion across his face had only been slightly dimmed. He was still lost, not understanding what she was trying to say.

For awhile, neither said a thing as they walked home, watching the sky turn purple, then red, then orange, then slowly get dark. He was still lost in thought though.

"Nikki?" He asked, looking up at his big sister.

"Hmm?"

"Mommy and daddy love each other, right?" He asked.

"Of course! That's why they got married!" She said, patting him on the head.

"Ohh..." He was silent again.

The young Nikki smiled at her little brother, thinking about what he had said. She imagined herself in a long white dress, walking down the aisle, anxiously, with a handsome man waiting for her. The thought of kissing was still gross to her, but like every little girl, she was fascinated at the thought of being married. It was inescapable.

Then she giggled, as she thought about her little brother getting married. She never wanted him to get older. She loved him being so young, so sweet and so innocent.

I was thrust back to the real weird, when a stomping sound carried itself into my ears. It was the sound of bodies running, feet crushing leaves beneath them. My gaze flickered back and forth, searching for the oncoming noise. I prayed that it wasn't someone waiting to attack us. We were at a bit of a disadvantage at the moment.

I can't say I was relieved when I saw that it was Naruto, but I could say I was happy it wasn't an enemy. All though, I was relieved to see Sakumo run over to me. His face was filled with concern, as he licked at the wound on my forehead.

"What happened?" He asked, so only I could hear him.

"Nothing, I'm alright." I said, scratching him behind the ears, trying to reassure him.

"You're lying." Damn it! He knew me only too well.

"WHAT is he doing here?!" Naruto yelled, interrupting our conversation. The dog and I both turned to stare at the former best friends. How things had changed.

"Bleeding." Sasuke hissed, pulling his hands away to examine his broken nose. By now, the bleeding had slowed, but it was definitely crooked. All I could do was smile. I did it! I broke Sasuke's nose! Man, wait until I tell Éclair!

Naruto took one look at Sasuke's nose, then looked over at me, and immediately got the picture. He busted up laughing. "Nice job!" He said, giving me a thumbs up. I just grinned back at him.

"Alright, you two happy now?" Sasuke hissed. In a way, we were, but in a way, we weren't. Confusing as it was, Naruto and I both seemed to understand, without having to mention it to the other.

"What's the real reason you're here?" Naruto demanded, his serious face set in again.

Sasuke hesitated, looking back and forth between Naruto and me. He finally stopped and stared me in the eyes for a long time. His coal black eyes seemed to be screaming something to me directly; sorry, maybe? There was an apologetic look across his face.

"Where's Kakashi?" He finally asked.

My heart dropped. "You did this?" I asked, grinding my teeth at him. "You did this!" I snapped, not knowing what else to say. "How could you do such a thing! You heartless ass-hole!" I yelled, running over to him.

"No! I didn't!" He said, trying to defend himself. Too late. I struck a blow to his cheek.

"Where is he?" I demanded, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him around. "Where the hell is he?!"

"Nikki! I didn't do it! I came looking for him myself." He said, grabbing my fist as I attempted to punch him again.

"How would you know he's missing?" Naruto snapped, taking the words right out of my mouth. Naruto was clearly pissed, but no where near as pissed off as I was. I would kill Sasuke with my own bear hands, if he hurt Kakashi in anyway!

"I heard that a group of Leaf ninjas were attacked, and I heard that Kakashi-sensei was one of them." Sasuke said.

"Liar!" I yelled. "The only reason you would ever pretend to care, is so you can kill us later! You don't really care about Kakashi, or any of us!" I said, ready to punch him again. I started to swing, aiming at his face again.

A low growl erupted behind me, and I felt a tug at the back of my shirt. Twisting at the waist, I turned my gaze to see Sakumo biting into my shirt, growling at me. What was going on?

"S-Sakumo?" I asked, suddenly terrified. It was deathly quite, except for his low growl.

He stared me down with his sky blue eyes, before letting go of my shirt. Still, he growled. Was he siding with the traitor? No, he was telling me something.

"C'mon boy, tell us what's wrong." Naruto coaxed, dumb-founded as well. Sasuke behind me hadn't made a noise. I was pretty sure he remembered my Husky, so I think this was a little shocking to him too. Sakumo had never growled at me before - not counting a playful growl. He was probably more protective of me then Kakashi was - and that was saying a lot.

"He's not lying." Sakumo finally said, letting the growl die.

"And how do you know that?" I snapped. "What does he care?" I asked, gesturing back at Sasuke with a wide sweeping motion of my arm. "Sakumo! He doesn't care! You know he abandoned us!"

He sighed, and bowed his head. He could only remember that too well. He was the only one who had ever seen the hurt, even long after, that I harbored about Sasuke leaving. Everyone else saw the anger. The first few days, everyone was hurt, and everyone showed it. I didn't. Not until I was alone in my bed, crying until my eyes were red and puffy. Sakumo would jump up onto my bed, and lay down beside me, letting me cry into his fur.

"I could hear it in his voice. He isn't lying." He finally said solemnly.

I tore my gaze away from my beloved pet, and stared up at Sasuke. I wanted to think he was lying. It only seemed logical to me. But... could he really be telling the truth? Could he really care about any of us? Maybe he did, just a little. Maybe there was something he was up to, that I didn't understand. Maybe he wasn't really heartless, and was only pulling an act like Itachi had.

I looked down to the floor, then looked up at Naruto. He seemed to trust Sakumo's opinion. He seemed ready to trust Sasuke too. But, was I ready? I had to be, if I wanted to save Kakashi. Even if I didn't like it this way.

"Alright..." I said, standing up. I held my hand out to him. "I'm sorry I attacked you like that. Could you forgive me, enough to help us?"

He stared at me for a minute, and I almost thought he would deny. But he took my hand, and nodded.