I was stunned. "Then, why…" my voice trailed off as I began to figure it out. "It strengthens every time it's transferred you said?" Itachi nodded. I understood now. He was keeping me alive to use as a catalyst. He had transferred his eyes into me to strengthen them and soon he would harvest them and take them back when they had increased in power. I was going to ask why he hadn't done this sooner with other victims when I caught myself. The Sharingan was his greatest weapon and he could not afford to be a blind sitting duck during the ripening stage of the transfer before he took them back. He needed eyes comparable in potential power to use while waiting for his own, so he had waited for mine.

"That's why you didn't kill me back then," I realized, "in the forest on my way back from Suna, you were waiting for me to improve. Waiting for my eyes to strengthen so it would be a safer substitute for your own while you were waiting for yours to ripen in a transplant."

He smiled, almost warmly but for the eerie hint that showed in his now white eyes. "Catching on quickly Konoha no Sayuri."

"How many times have you done this while I was asleep?" I asked.

"Twice," he answered.

Twice—that was terrifying. That would mean this would be the third transfer for this set of eyes, since they had originally belonged to the cousin he killed. No one needed that much power. If what he had when I fought him was just a basic Mangekyo I shuddered to think what this set of eyes could do once they were back in his head. Just what was he preparing for and how many more transfers would be planning? In the state my body was in I would need at least another two weeks of recovery time—time in which I would be helpless. I gritted my teeth.

"How long have I been asleep?" I was afraid of the answer.

"About three weeks, maybe a month—I haven't been up to see the sun."

That made sense, eyes were sensitive to light after any operation and definitely one of this scale. The complex we were in was probably underground based on what he had said, similar to a set up like Orochimaru's western base had been. Subterranean complexes were much harder to escape from in my experience. This would be difficult. I couldn't move for two weeks so I wouldn't be able to explore and look for a way out, and I wouldn't have my own eyes to help me. I could possibly sniff for the scent of water trickling in if it was raining, that would help me find an opening to the surface, but that would be ridiculously inefficient unless I was in Feral Wolf mode—and I definitely could not pull that off discretely or in my current state of depletion. Itachi really could just take his eyes back and slaughter me after he was done.

He would probably put my eyes in a jar on a shelf and save them for later in case he ever found a way for the transplants to work without a second person. Great, I had two weeks to live as an invalid in a cave, underground, with nothing but shadows and walls to stare at. I had eyes that I couldn't use to do anything but see normally since I didn't have the energy, chakra or knowledge to use a Sharingan. I rolled my eyes—his eyes—whatever!

He spoke, startling me. "Why did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"I asked dumbly before concluding the obvious.

"Kill your family," he said coldly.

I understood the undertone, I had read his file. He had been ordered to kill his family but he didn't want to, and on all accounts he had loved them. I sighed a little annoyed and replied without looking at him. "I am a Hyuuga, I've never had a family—only obligations to uphold to people I never liked or respected." No, that wasn't entirely true. "There was only one person I considered family, and they killed him—tortured him to death, so I killed them." It hurt to say those last words but I bitterly eked them out. I hated reminding myself Neji was dead. "You should understand," I continued spitefully, "he was, essentially, my older brother."

A short silence followed on his part as I turned away from him to lie on my left. "I'm sorry," he said. I heard him step forward and I felt a small plop as something dropped on to my bed. He left. I turned around to see Neji's headband lying beside me. I hadn't expected to get that back. "It seemed important to you," I heard him say from a little outside the door.