Chapter 9

Ketricken entered the cottage and nodded to Ryu, who was washing the dishes in the small kitchen.

"Where's Yuuko?"

"She's in the living room, watching some horror flick." The purple-haired woman stopped smiling as soon as she noticed the grave look on her friend's face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll explain later. First I need to talk to Yuuko."

"Okay. Oh, there's some dinner left for you in the fridge."

Ketricken smiled at the twenty-year-old and thanked her before heading for the living room. Already she could hear screaming, manical laughter and the sound of a chainsaw. She chuckled softly before entering the room. Yuuko was sitting on the couch, gripping a pillow tightly as she watched the chainsaw killer murder a person in an overly bloody and grotesque way.

"Why do you watch those, if you know you're going to have nightmares?"

"Because it's exhilarating. Now shut up."

The red-head sighed and sat next to the girl. She knew the real reason of course, and she understood perfectly. It was much easier to live with nightmares about psychopathic killers with faces you don't know trying to kill you instead of your own father coming after you.

"Listen, Yuuko-"

"Wait, here's the best spot!"

She watched as the girl's eyes widened in horror and wonder as the young man's head was sliced off and blood flew everywhere. Then the scene changed and Yuuko put it on pause before turning and giving her a questioning glance.

"I received some news about Orochimaru... and Konoha." She now had her full attention. "Your father is back in Sound."

Yuuko frowned, "But that's good right? I mean, that means that Konoha is not destroyed, right? Everyone's okay, right?" Her voice was frantic and she looked as if she wanted to shake the answers out of Ketricken. Since her fingers started to twitch ominously, the red-head decided, she better tell it bluntly.

"Yes and no." The sixteen-year-old quirked an eyebrow at her and she took a great gulp of air, "Konoha is a little damaged, but the rebuilding has already started."

Yuuko relaxed, "Oh. Then everything is alright." When Ketricken remained silent and didn't meet her eyes, she tensed up again, "Ketricken?" The red-head avoided her searching gaze and Yuuko finally put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "What are you not telling me?"

"Yuuko..." Ketricken blinked slowly, "He killed Sarutobi." The hand on her shoulder grew limp and fell on the couch. She looked up and met the girl's shocked eyes.

"No..."

The red-head put her arms around the smaller form and drew her close, embracing her as she felt the body shake with quiet sobs. "I'm so sorry, Yuuko."

"No!" Yuuko grabbed Ketricken and held on tight, as cries of denial and anguish escaped her.

Neither girl noticed when Ryu left the cottage.

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1 year later.

Yuuko walked around the market, gathering the vegetables and the fruits Ketricken had asked for. If someone were to look at her, they would see a pink haired girl with green eyes instead of Yuuko. She had based her henge on Sakura, one of the fan-girls back in Konoha. Sometimes she would go as Ino as well, but normally she preferred Sakura, since the blond was far too attractive and caught the attention of too many pedophiles.

She payed for her food and headed back to the cottage, feeling cheerful enough to whistle... but she didn't. Because in fact she didn't know how to whistle. So she just hummed.

Her tune came to a sudden stop when she reached the cottage, a small house some ways from Sound. It was supposed to look woodsy and cheerful, like a place from fairy tales. At least that's how she described it to her friend when she had first seen it. It was supposed to look like that, not like this.

She whimpered as she stared at the ruins of the cottage. The roof had exploded, the walls had fell against each other, the door had been blown off. This seemed like the work of Ketricken's chakra.

Someone had attacked.

Dropping the bags of food on the ground she hurried inside, throwing pieces of wood here and there, lifting broken logs and squeezing herself further in, until she was finally in what once was the living room. She looked around, desperately searching for Ketricken. Yuuko was about to sigh, relieved, thinking that Ketricken must have been out and this wasn't the work of her chakra, when she saw the familiar red hair peeking out beneath a cluster of logs.

"Please be okay," her broken whisper didn't went unheard though as she saw a familiar cloak move in the shadows of the hall. "Who's there?" No one answered and she searched around her, desperate to see who had dared to hurt her friend, "Itachi?" She looked around one more time before rushing to her friend, lifting the logs until the broken and beaten body of Ketricken came to view. She choked back a sob as she dragged the girl away from the pile of rubbish and knelt down, clutching the bloody form.

She checked the girl's pulse and whimpered again when she felt none. Yuuko held the dead body in her arms and rocked back and forth, trying to wake up from this nightmare. She heard someone coming from the kitchen and turned around to see none other than Ryu, her hazel orbs glinting with humor and her mouth formed into a sweet smile.

"Oh dear. That's quite a pity."

"Y-you! A-aren't you K-Ketricken's friend?"

"Well, I pretended to be."

Yuuko growled, clutching the body tighter against her.

"Wow, you actually look quite scary with your eyes all red and puffy, baring your teeth like an animal. Wicked."

"W-why?"

"Oh well, I got quite a lot of money from the Akatsuki. You see, I've been spying for them quite some time now. If you think that I killed her, than I thank you for thinking so highly of me, but no. I didn't do it."

Yuuko moaned in anguish, still crying, but now angry as hell because she knew exactly who had killed her best friend.

"What the hell do you want, Itachi?"

"...I want you to hold your end of the deal." Just as she expected, the voice came from the hallway.

She sniffed, letting go of Ketricken. The girl's body fell limply to the floor and Yuuko took one last glance at her friend, before standing up and meeting Itachi's sharingan.

"Did you plan this from the start?" That cold, calculating glare sent chills down her spine. "You planned everything? Me going to Konoha, us living with Ryu - it was all part of some master-plan of yours?"

"...And what if it was?"

"You sick bastard!" Yuuko wiped away the tears from her cheeks and sent her best glare at him, "You had no reason to kill Ketricken, I would have done what you ordered anyway! The scroll said, I had to wait for three years!"

"...She was in the way."

"In the way? IN THE WAY? Is that why you killed your parents as well?! Were they in the way too?!" The next thing she knew, she had been thrown to the ground, the breath knocked out of her and a foot pushing down on her neck, choking her.

"...I changed some of my plans. You will wait with me at the Akatsuki compound. I want to keep my own eye on you."

He removed the foot and Yuuko remained lying there as he stared at her with his sharingan, the dots beginning to move in fast circles. She knew what was happening and sobbed once, twice before taking a deep breath and focusing on his eyes.

"Sleep."

And she slept.

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Fuzzy:

I decided to put this one up as well. Considering how short the other one was. And how short this is. So together they make quite a fine installment for the day don't cha think ;D.

Next Chapter Teaser:

Yuuko spends 1,5 years with the Akatsuki, waiting for a certain event, Itachi said would happen. When it would, she was to finish her part of the deal. During her stay there, she has to deal with Kisame the pervert, Deidara the man-slut XD and lets see if she can handle psycho-analyzing Itachi ;D

Lets hope this fantastic filler-chapter will be here... on Sunday X)

Ja ne ;P

R&R