After Konan had offered this small piece of her story, an admission of her pain, they left the infirmary. Kyoko knew better than to ask any follow-up questions. Every time she had seen Konan, her face was indifferent or irritated. Never soft, never sympathetic. So, she knew the look Konan had given the leader of the Akatsuki, was not something she was meant to see. Kyoko had always been a curious person, so it wasn't an easy task to keep herself in check. She had always liked to understand how people thought, how someone could be one way and then change so drastically they were nearly unrecognizable.

Despite her intense curiosity, she kept silent, Kyoko wasn't sure she wanted to discover whatever tragic backstory haunted the other woman. The less she knew about any of these people, the less likely she was to feel any sympathy. Konan had healed her hands, but she worked alongside the people who had broken them in the first place. She did, however, need to know more about the kind of world she was in.

Unfortunately, Konan wasn't open to answering those questions either.

After several of her questions went unanswered, she contented herself with the silence and trailed behind Konan as they walked the familiar hall from the infirmary to the room, she had been kept in. The halls were poorly with the same off-white walls and aged wood flooring. She wondered how much longer they would keep her cooped up in that room. As they reached the last turn, Konan detoured suddenly, taking a left turn instead of following the hall to the end.

She wanted to ask where they were going but kept silent, it wasn't as if Konan was going to answer her anyways. They weren't far down the hall when Konan came to a sudden stop and started knocking on a door. Within a moment, Itachi stood in the open-door frame looking at Konan passively.

Konan didn't whisper in his ear as she had with the leader, but she spoke quickly and quietly. Itachi flicked his eyes towards Kyoko quickly before looking at Konan and nodding. Did anyone have a normal conversation here? Or was it all just whispering and silent communication?

"She's your problem, now," Konan walked swiftly back from where they had come and turned out of sight. Konan definitely didn't like her.

Wordlessly, Itachi shut the door behind him and walked in the opposite direction Konan had gone. He didn't ask her to follow up or even check to see if she was. If these people didn't kill her, then the silence would.

"So," she said, "if I ask you questions are you going to answer them? Or just ignore me like Konan does?"

He probably thought his silence was a good enough answer. It wasn't. She hadn't had a real conversation since she got here. The only things they had talked about were if she could be useful or if they should kill her. She tried asking the same questions that Konan hadn't answered.

"What is Akatsuki?"

No answer.

"What's the leader's name? I have a hard time believing it's Leader."

No answer.

"What's a jinchuriki?"

This was going to be a long six months.

Wherever he was leading her, it was much farther than her room to the infirmary, but it was mostly the same. The walls were blank with only the occasional door or window breaking up the monotonous off-white. There was the occasional crack in the wall or a water stain on the ceiling but all in all, it was the same. Even if they had left her alone long enough for her to attempt an escape, she wasn't sure she could even get back to her room now let alone make a run for it.

Just as the hallway began to seem never-ending, it finally opened into an open kitchen area. There were a few counters along the left side of the room, with a stove and fridge jammed on either side of the counters. A few small tables with mismatched chairs occupied the right side of the room. It was mostly the same as the rest that she had seen so far, barren off-white walls with nothing that wasn't absolutely needed. There was only one real difference.

Instead of one small window, there were three large windows directly across from her. They spanned the distance between the walls on either side, with hardly a space between them. As Itachi busied himself pulling things out of the cupboards, Kyoko went so close to the windows her nose nearly touched the glass.

They had used words like village, but this was a city, and it was so different from anything she had ever seen. It was still early morning, and though it was still raining the cloud cover was relatively light. There were large gaps between that let the sunshine down on the city. From this vantage point, she was able to see so much more than she could from her small window.

The city wasn't sprawling, she could see a lake in the distance that seemed to curve around the edge, but it was a city with tall skyscrapers. They were unlike any skyscrapers she had ever seen before. They were so… industrial looking with thick pipes creeping up the side of almost every building and rickety catwalks and bridges that connected most of the buildings. It looked like something out of a steampunk novel. She had to admit, it was beautiful in a dark sort of way.

"They finally let you out, yeah." She pulled herself away to look at him as he came toward her, "It must have gone well." Kyoko nodded in answer and turned back to continue her inspection, "What are you looking at?"

"Just… this place. I can't think of anything I've ever seen that looks like this," her eyes darted around to take it all in. "We have buildings taller than this in Tokyo, but it doesn't look like this."

"Huh, I never really paid it much attention," he shrugged and sat at the table closest to the window.

Kyoko continued to marvel at the small city, if she was stuck here, she may as well appreciate it. She only stopped when she smelled eggs and realized she never asked Itachi what they were doing in there. The question seemed redundant as she watched him move about in the kitchen. He had hung his cloak on a hook, unsurprisingly the outfit he had underneath was a simple all-black outfit. She didn't know him at all, but somehow that fit her impression of him. However, she was surprised to see that he had long hair he kept pulled back in a low ponytail. He was just… cooking eggs. It was… an odd sight. It seemed a bit too domestic. Made him feel like too much of a real person and not someone that had violated her mind.

Remembering vividly how he had so easily flipped through her memories, it occurred to her finally to ask something that had been nagging at her. "Itachi, when you saw my memories, could you read my mind too or just my memories?" She sighed as she sat across from Deidara, she should have expected the answering silence. "Are you ever going to answer me? Or are you going to ignore me for half a year?"

Deidara shook his head, "Uchiha thinks we're all too beneath him to bother with, yeah."

"Only you, Deidara," Itachi spoke smoothly without ever looking up.

The blonde pulled a kunai from inside his cloak and threw it aggressively, it glinted in the light as it shot straight at Itachi. Without even turning to look, as if he simply knew it was coming toward him, smoothly stepped to the side. The kunai embedded itself in the wall where Itachi had just been, and he started putting the eggs into bowls as if a deadly projectile hadn't been sent his way. Deidara made an irritated noise in the back of his throat and saw back down in his chair, grumbling under his breath as he did, "Fucking bastard."

Kyoko didn't think she'd get used to how quickly they became violent. It looked as easy as breathing to them. Did they do this often? Itachi hadn't even been ruffled; he had just continued with his task, "The Sharingan has many abilities. Reading minds is not one of them." Well, at least he answered her, even if it was a little late.

"What does that mean exactly? Is that the name of your… ah, jutsu?"

Itachi set one of the bowls he had prepared in front of her and then sat with his bowl at the next table over. Deidara scowled at him in response and abandoned his seat in favor of slamming the cupboards in the kitchen, muttering about 'pretentious Uchihas'.

He had set a simple bowl of rice topped with a fried egg and a pair of chopsticks in front of her. Itachi had made her breakfast. "Oh, thank you," it was prepared the same as the food that had been brought to her since she came. She had assumed it was Konan all this time, but maybe it had been Itachi.

"The Sharingan is a dōjutsu that runs in the Uchiha bloodline," he answered.

"So, your eyes then, that's the Sharingan? Is that normal here, the coloring?"

Itachi nodded and then began eating and she had a feeling he wouldn't answer more questions until he was done. Deidara was still making a racket in the kitchen, opening, and closing things repetitively. She wasn't sure if he was being loud just to be loud or if he was looking for something. She ate as she watched him pull things out and then put them right back. Her eyes lit up when she saw him set orange juice on the counter.

She couldn't remember the last time she had orange juice, even before she had come here. Kyoko hurried through eating, trying not to burn her tongue on the rice. She stood as soon as she took the last bite and deposited her dishes in the sink. She hovered next to Deidara, unsure how to ask, did she need to ask? She wasn't sure how being held as a somewhat willing captive worked exactly.

"What are you staring at, yeah?" Deidara snapped at her.

She held her hands up defensively, "Nothing, I just, uh, I'm thirsty and I'm kind of sick of water."

He blinked at her dumbly, "Oh. Well, then, get some. I'm not going to stop you. Just stop staring at me, yeah." He poured himself a glass before handing her the carton.

The whole interaction was so… awkward. She wished there were clear-cut rules for this situation, she was still a captive here, but she reached a mutually beneficial agreement with their leader. It was more like he pitied her and knew she wouldn't live past fulfilling her part of the deal but still. She wasn't sure how she should behave or how much freedom she had. At least orange juice didn't seem off-limits.

She stopped in her tracks when she noticed the best-by-date on the juice. "Is this… is this the date?"

Deidara peeked at the printed numbers, "It's a couple of weeks from now, yeah."

"Huh…" she pointed at one of the numbers, "is this the year?"

He rolled his single blue eye at her, "Yeah, you don't write it like that where you're from?"

"No, no we write it the same way. It's just… it's weird is all," she set the carton down, no longer in the mood for it. She took a step back to the sink and started washing dishes. Itachi had cooked so it seemed like the fair thing to do, she needed a distraction and maybe he'd be more inclined to answer questions.

"I don't get what's so weird about it."

Kyoko shrugged; she wasn't sure how to explain the feeling it gave her. "I don't know, it's just… It's the same year," She shook her head,it wasn't that big a deal. If anything, it should give her hope that the years lined up. It should be a relief that she wasn't going to have to deal with getting back to her own world and then also figuring out time travel. Instead, it just… unsettled her. "I just wasn't expecting that is all."

"I guess that is weird, yeah. What day was it when you left?"

Left seemed like an odd word choice considering it wasn't exactly voluntary. It didn't feel like she had left, it felt like she had been taken. She wasn't going to play semantics with the only person who seemed to want to have a conversation. Especially not when he was prone to violence. "I can't be sure, I don't remember how I got here," she frowned as she finished washing the last of the dishes. "It was the 20th."

"January?"

She only nodded in response and walked towards the window. The rain was getting heavier now and the sky had returned to its usual darkness, shrouding the city once again. As the sky darkened, she saw the neon lights flashing all over the place, advertising various businesses. Now that reminded her of Tokyo, she hadn't grown up there but that is where her university was.

Thinking of university made her realize, quite suddenly, that even if she was able to get back, she probably wouldn't be returning to the moment she had left. If their timelines matched up, that probably meant however many days passed here would also pass there. "What day is it?" she asked suddenly.

"The 31st, why, you have plans?" Deidara grinned, clearly amused with himself.

Eleven days. She'd been gone for eleven days. It had been hard to keep track in that room. Her sleep schedule had been all over the place, and with the constant downpour, it was hard to tell what time of day it was. She still had six months before she could even start to try to get home. How long would it be before her mother gave up hope?

Itachi had finished eating while she was talking to Deidara. He washed his dishes, put his cloak back on, and exited the kitchen without a word. She offered a polite goodbye to Deidara before she rushed after Itachi. Deidara and she had reached some sort of unstated agreement. She didn't know what Deidara had been through, but he knew the feeling of being trapped and seemed to sympathize as much as he was capable of. It was better than nothing.

His pace was faster this time and Kyoko had to jog to catch up to him. For someone that was supposed to be teaching her, he had a way of ignoring the fact that she existed. At least Konan would turn to check if she was behind her. At least at this pace, the hallway didn't seem nearly as long as it had before. In moments they were standing in front of the elevator. She hesitated and started rubbing her hands together anxiously, it had been less than two weeks and the memory of the pain was still fresh in her mind.

"We are going to the training level. It is a few levels above us," Itachi entered the elevator, he waited expectantly but did not rush her. He seemed to understand her hesitation and allowed her to work through it for herself. It was a kindness she hadn't expected.

She knew if he wanted to hurt her, he did not need to lure her into an enclosed space to it. He would either hurt her or he wouldn't. So, trying not to think too hard about it, she got on the elevator. She let out a deep breath when she realized it didn't feel as cramped as last time, she wondered if it was because Sasori was not there or if she simply felt more at ease.

It was a much shorter ride, and as soon as the doors opened, she could feel herself gaping in awe. If the view from the kitchen had been beautiful, then this was nothing short of spectacular. The doors opened into a large open room, and instead of the monotonous walls that ran through the rest of the place, there were floor-to-ceiling windows. The ceiling was so much higher than it had been anywhere else, giving the feeling of open air. The room was so massive she was sure it took up the entire floor.

As she stepped out, she saw the room had only the glass windows on three sides and the elevator itself was set into the only wall not covered by windows. Even with the massive windows, the sky was still so dark with the cloud cover, so the room was still lit by the horrid fluorescents. She walked to the edge of the room, staring out at the city. She had been right, the lake curve around the city leaving the impression it was an island. From here, she could see farther into the distance to rocky cliffs and dense forest.

Kyoko was still walking along the edge of the room, trying to take in everything when she came to a sudden stop. Itachi was standing in her path, holding out a small black bundle. She took the small bundle from him; it was a change of clothes she realized. "Konan did not leave a change of clothes for you. This should be sufficient," he gestured towards the left side of the elevator. "There is a bathroom you can change in."

There was a door on either side of the elevator, and she hurried towards the one he had gestured at. She locked the door behind her, glad to not have Konan hovering just outside as she usually did. Locking the door was probably unnecessary, she didn't think he was going to come in here and she didn't think if he wanted to that a locked door would stop him, but the illusion of privacy was still privacy.

She looked down at herself, she wasn't sure where Konan had been getting these clothes from, but she hated them. The pants weren't so bad, they were a bit short closer to capris, but they were comfortable, but the shirts. They were all either fitted tank tops with mesh cutouts or those awful too-tight turtlenecks with no sleeves. She would have taken scissors to them if she had any.

The tight shirts might not have been so bad if she had a bra. Konan had given her chest bindings to use, but she didn't know how, and she wasn't about to ask her. She held up the clothes Itachi had given her, of course, there was still no bra, and the pants were pretty much the same but the shirt was actually a shirt. It still had a bit of mesh but only at the collar where it dipped into a 'v'. She stripped to her underwear and threw the new clothes on; they were a tad too big but they were comfortable and they wouldn't be in the way too much.

She glanced in the mirror, trying not to flinch away from the reflection. Up until now she mostly managed to avoid it, the mirror in the bathroom Konan always took her to was much smaller and so it was easy to stay away from. It was hard to look at herself, harder than she could have imagined it would be. The girl had a pretty face and while there were several scars on her body the girl's face had remained unblemished. It just wasn't Kyoko's face. She had the same face for 19 years, and suddenly it was completely different, jarringly so.

Her eyes were the only thing that had remained the same in all this time. How could that be? Did this girl's eyes always look like this? Or was this a side effect of whatever power put her in this body?

They were questions she couldn't answer and didn't like agonizing over. She still would of course, but that was beside the point. Itachi was waiting on her, and while he seemed a patient man, she did not want to test his limits. When she left the bathroom, he was standing right where she left him by the windows. She muttered a thank you, he nodded in acknowledgment and then they got to work.

Kyoko had not underestimated his patience. He walked her through various stretches and exercises and took the time to explain in detail why they were doing this stretch or that. He corrected her posture and her form, and he did so without touching her. No matter what he had her do, he never invaded her space or touched her unnecessarily. It was odd because if she let herself forget the circumstances, this was almost normal. It was like she was getting a sweet deal on a personal trainer. Except for the fact that she'd been tortured… and held against her will… and was living in a dead girl's body in another world. Besides those minor details, it was all completely normal, and everything was fine. At least, that was the mantra she had started to repeat to herself.

"You may take a break."

She fell to her knees, god she was tired. Her muscles were strained, and this girl had muscles in place Kyoko didn't know people could have them. A disgusted sound escaped her as she tried to figure out a way to get her hair off the nape of her neck. She was sweaty and disgusting, and her hair was sticking to her. A pale hand shoved something in front of her face, and she pulled back, her eyes trying to put the sudden intrusion into focus.

It was a hair tie.

When she looked up at him, he was looking at her indifferently with a hair tie held out to her. His hair was still pulled back so it must have been extra, but she was pretty sure already that the clothes she was wearing were his. She shook her head, "It's fine, I don't need – "

"Yes. You do, we are not done. It will distract you," his tone left no room for argument.

Her hair did keep falling in the way and it was distracting. She muttered a quick thank you as she pulled her hair back, it felt like had thanked him too many times today. Was this what Stockholm syndrome felt like? It was probably too early for that, and aside from that he had been… kind was the only word she could think. Only it didn't quite fit him. No, it wasn't kindness. It couldn't be. It was less kindness and more… solution-oriented responses. He saw a problem and he solved it. Simple, clear cut. That matched her impression of him a bit more.

"We are almost done," he spoke as soon as she had finished tying her hair up, "Run laps along the perimeter."

"How many?"

"Until I say stop or you collapse."

She wanted to laugh but she knew he was serious because of course he was. Why couldn't he just say a number? Why did he have to say it in the most unironically dramatic way possible? If she thought arguing with him would work, she might have tried it. Instead, she settled for glaring at him. Running had always been her least favorite physical activity. It wasn't helping her ego that she was already sweaty and uncomfortable while Itachi looked as if he had taken a morning stroll.

"You want to go home, don't you?"

"Of course, I do," she bit out, there was no question.

She half expected him to be irritated with her, but his face was as blank as it always was. If he was irritated, she was never going to know about it. "Then you must come back alive. The hardest part of the mission will not be infiltrating Konoha. It is a matter of getting out. If you cannot evade them, if you cannot outrun their elite, you will die. Your life will hang on your ability to outrun them."

That was why they thought six months was enough. They were never expecting her to be able to fight or defend herself, just that she would be fast enough. "So slow equals dead?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she nodded, "I get it," and she started running.

Kyoko fell into a wheezing sweaty heap. She rolled over onto her back and tried to take deep gasping breaths. Running was awful.

"That is sufficient for today."

Well, it was going to have to be, because her lungs burned, and her legs felt like jelly. She wanted to tell him that, but she was still trying to breathe. Did people really enjoy this? She found it hard to believe. Her ego was thoroughly bruised as she looked up at Itachi. He had followed behind her the entire time she ran; she had felt like a rabbit being chased by a fox, which was probably the point. He barely broke a sweat, and he was definitely not struggling to breathe like she was. She was starting to understand why Deidara hated him.

She was only just starting to catch her breath when Itachi walked to the elevator. If she'd had the extra breath she would have sighed. She quickly retrieved the clothes she had left in the bathroom and then followed him into the elevator.

"I did everything you asked, with very little complaint, and I really wanted to complain. Could you answer just, one question?"

"That is a question."

She rolled her eyes at him, was he always so literal? "Could you please tell me tell what the leader's name is? You all just call him Leader but that can't be his actual name."

"It is not," he admitted, "you can call him Pain."

"… That's not his actual name, is it?"

"It is the name you can call him," as he spoke, she realized that all day Itachi had seemed to choose his words carefully when he spoke to her. Pain still wasn't their leader's name, maybe it was a pseudonym. It wasn't as if she needed to know his real name. She wondered if this was why he hadn't answered her questions before. She worded her questions in a way he wouldn't, or couldn't, answer her.

They stepped off the elevator into the familiar monotonous hallways and trailed behind Itachi as she had the rest of the day. When they stopped in front of a door, she realized it was his bedroom from before. She was not going in there. He'd have to drag her. It was something she shouldn't have worried about, as quickly as he entered, he came back out, another bundle of clothes in his arms. "Are you able to find the bathroom from here?"

It was a simple question, but she hesitated. Did she know? She was pretty sure she could find that if nothing else. His room was just off the hallway between her room and the infirmary, and the bathroom was not far from it. "I think so?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, it was the only kind of facial expression he made all day. Itachi didn't question her though, he handed her the clothes and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "There are some things I need to get. You can change into these clothes and wait for me when you are done," it was clear there was still more he had planned for the day, but she was exhausted. She wasn't sure how she would make it through.

Without waiting for an answer, he shut his door and headed the way they had gone this morning. She sighed and headed for the bathroom.

Luckily, she made it there without much incident, she only made one wrong turn. She showered quickly and changed into the clothes he'd given her. The clothes were the same, just in a lighter gray color. His clothes were comfortable, but she was sick of wearing other people's clothes. It was extremely vain considering the situation. What did it matter what clothes she wore? What mattered was staying alive, what mattered was going home.

All of that was true, but it was six months before they would even start looking for a way to get her back. That was if she came back alive. And then what? If she went through all of this and then it still took her years to get home? Was she just supposed to keep living in Itachi's clothes and whatever Konan brought her? She also didn't see a way to solve it other than asking, but it just seemed so frivolous. What was she supposed to say? 'I know I'm here semi-against my will, but would you please take me shopping?' She rambled and made herself look stupid enough without willfully saying things like that.

She had been leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for Itachi to show up for a good minute before he showed up. It didn't look like he had showered or changed, although, he hadn't been dripping in sweat like she had. He didn't stop and continued walking past her, were they heading to her room? Sure enough, after they turned a corner, he stood in front of the door she was pretty sure was to her room. All the doors looked the same, but she swore she recognized the crack in the wall next to this one.

"There are a few books I placed in your room. Read the first chapter out of each of them, we will discuss them tomorrow. Leader gave us six months to prepare you, we will be training and going over the information you need until then. Do you have any questions?"

She shook her head, there was nothing she felt prepared to ask. Already, she didn't know how she was going to make it through whatever these books were. How many could he have left? A few to her was probably not the same as a few to him.

"We will start again in the morning," he turned on his heel and left.

Kyoko rolled her eyes, how she thought he was kind for even a fraction of a second was beyond her. The next six months were going to be hard enough just being in such a strange place away from her home, and this man was not going to make it any easier on her. How could she have thought for a second he might be kind? He was only concerned with moving from task to task.

As she opened the door, she noticed with a start that the room had been changed ever so slightly. There was a small desk and chair under the window. The few books he mentioned were placed neatly on the desk. She shut the door behind her and came closer, there was a small black book with a few pencils set next to it, a journal for taking notes she guessed. At least when she got back home, her notetaking skills wouldn't be rusty. She was too exhausted to go through any of this now, maybe after a rest, she would start. When she turned to the bed, she almost laughed, a few hair ties were set next to the bed.

Maybe the next six months wouldn't be pleasant, but maybe they would be tolerable.

A/N: I don't love this chapter. It needed to happen, but it's like a maintenance chapter I guess? It's the chapter you write to build out until you can get what you want to write. It's mostly just observations and figuring out how her new life is going to operate. It's sort of, I gotta do what I gotta do to get home. Maybe I'm just tired and overly critical. It's hard to tell. Please share your opinions if you have any, I would greatly appreciate it!

Also, I am stupidly crazy when it comes to timelines. So, I tried not to get too caught up, because every time I do, I just stop writing. But I definitely did some googling. Naruto is canon early 2000's, there's just an argument about it. Shippuden aired in 2007 and that's what's relevant to this story, so Kyoko is from 2007 Japan. In the story I'm writing no one is going to say oh it's 2007, so it doesn't really matter. I just wanted someone to know because it's sitting in my head taking up space. I'm way overthinking it, but that's what I'm working with in case anyone is curious.

So, just an FYI for the few people following this story. I work and go to school full-time. The general idea is to update a chapter every two days or so, give or take. It depends on how well it flows. Luckily, I have a long drive and my job is mind-numbing, so I spend all day trying to figure out openings and logistics for the next chapter. I do not know what really comes in the next chapter until I finish the chapter I'm currently writing. If I'm doing this the way I should, this should be posted Thursday night, Friday at the latest.