Deepest apologies for skipping two days to post a chapter, I was busy since it was Christmas and all.

Thank you for the reviews though! I'm glad I can actually write a story good :)

Suigetsu: If a perverted sex story is your idea of good...

Sasuke: Shut up, baka

Suigetsu: Just saying! D: I mean, I can never find a good anime adventure story without a pairing being the center of it on this site!

Sasuke: That's what the actual anime is for

Suigetsu: Ok don't hate ;_;

Sasuke: -.- and I thought I was the emo one

XD I hope you enjoy the chapter! It has a little flashback concerning Suigetsu's childhood, so yeah!

DISCLAIMER: I hope we established already that Naruto does NOT belong to me! I'm just using the characters for non-profit nosebleed-gasms! :p

Sasuke's padded sandals made squishing noises as he sprinted through the forest, which was damp from the rain. He jumped up to a branch and began going from branch to branch as fast as he could. Suigetsu was still unconscious and over his shoulder. The silver-haired male's hand had reformed from water, leaving him completely unharmed.

Although he couldn't accept it, he knew that he had outran all of the shinobi who would've been sent out to chase him. He had gotten so far from the village in the first few minutes that the konoha ninja wouldn't be able to trace him. They might've found his footprints on the mud, but he had jumped at just the right place. His footprints had ended at a dirt path that cargo-filled carts go through. They would obviously suspect that he took a cart. Since he saw wheelprints when he jumped, he was sure of it.

"Nnngh." Suigetsu mumbled. Sasuke looked at the teen, who was shivering a bit. The Uchiha decided that it was time to stop and rest, so he landed at the nearest patch of flat underbrush and set Suigetsu down on his back. The mist-nin slowly open his eyes, which were now light and calm in comparison to when he had massacred the anbu.

"Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked quietly. "Are you ok?" Both remained silent for a while, the only sound being the scattered songs of birds mixing with the flowing of a river nearby. They both were looking into eachothers' eyes(which seems to happen so often). Suigetsu was attempting to recognize the teenager kneeling beside him. He felt a throbbing in the back of his head, as well as a bump. Every fallen branch and leaf beneath him seemed to be nudging him to help him remember. Finally, when he observed the Uchiha's black hair and onyx eyes for a full five minutes in silence, he spoke.

"...Sasuke?" The Uchiha chuckled.

"I'm glad you still remember me." the mist-nin sat up crosslegged and looked around. The thin rays of light were flickering through the tall branches of the trees around them. How had they gotten here?

"Are you wondering how we got here?" Suigetsu scratched his head and looked at Sasuke. How exactly did the Uchiha always know what he was thinking?

"Sure, why not?" the teen replied tiredly, shutting his eyes.

"You went crazy when we were fighting the anbu, so I knocked you out and got us away." Sasuke said calmly. Suigetsu opened his eyes wide.

"What?"

"You seem to have a passion for blood and death, do you not?" Suigetsu closed his eyes again and rested his head on the palm of his hand. Sasuke had no business knowing more than he already knew.

"Hnn."

Sasuke sighed and got up. "I'm going to go get some water for us. Luckily I brought some scrolls to store supplies in." He walked past the trees and out of sight, leaving Suigetsu to sit alone in the middle of the forest. The teen layed down again, trying to relax a bit. The sound of nature was a bit soothing, but it was the sound of life itself that made him uncomfortable.

When he was younger, he and his brother had been raised as complete killing machines. Powered on meth and the rare reward of food and water, they were forced into growing a lust for blood. The only person he showed any compassion for was his brother. Suigetsu couldn't remember many times that he was able to interact with anyone except Mangetsu and the person he was to kill. As he rolled onto his side, the teen recalled a moment in his childhood he'd never forget:

Mist covered the icey and treeless plain. A young, silver-haired child stood alone in the falling snow. Clothed in a gray and worn out robe and nothing else, he shivered in loneliness. His brother had departed to scavenge food before the jounin returned to put them into another arranged match to the death. His entire life, he'd been subject to death.

However, the boy noticed a faint silhoutte in the distance. It looked like the frame of his brother, only the person's hair was longer and better combed. The person was sprinting towards him at an alarming speed, and the child swiftly rose and took up the battered katana next to him to defend himself, even though the sword was double his small size.

As it approached, the boy realized it was a child like him. It was a male child, with pale skin and garbed in light purple rags, while his white hair was combed to the sides of his face. Two red dots were present on his forehead, and his green eyes were filled with determination. As he noticed the other boy, he stopped, and they both looked eachother over.

"...Why do you have a sword?" the green-eyed boy asked.

"My job needs a sword." the other child muttered.

"What is your job?"

"Killing."

"Mine is too." They both held a quiet and observant stare. They both had a sudden increase in curiosity.

"What's your name?" the shorter child asked the green-eyed male innocently.

"Kimimaro, of the Kaguya Clan. What's your's?"

"Suigetsu Hozuki, future Swordsman of the Hidden Mist!" Suigetsu said happily, holding up the katana proudly, keeping a firm grip on the handle.

"That sounds nice." Kimimaro looked as if he had no idea what a 'Swordsman of the Hidden Mist' meant. "Will being one make you satisfied?"

Suigetsu looked confused by the question. "Of course!" he grinned widely with his shark teeth. "Wouldn't you think the same if your dream got fufilled?" Kimimaro looked away, a saddened look on his face.

"I only have one dream..." Suigetsu listened intently. "My dream...is to know and carry out my reason for existing." They were both silent as their eyes locked again.

"Reason...for existing?" Suigetsu asked. Suddenly, screaming could be heard far off in the distance behind them. Kimimaro seemed to have been jolted back to reality, and then drew a sharp bone from his sleeve.

"I'm sorry, but I must go. My clan needs me right now. It was nice to meet you, Hozuki Suigetsu." the child sprinted past the boy in the direction he was originally going, disappearing from view in the mist. Suigetsu sighed and sat down, placing the sword on the ground next to him.

"It was nice meeting you too, Kimimaro." the child whispered, looking down at the icey grass, alone once again. The sound of flames and death sounded behind him, in the direction of the village. He wondered if Kimimaro was a cause for it. He wanted to know his reason for existing? How? Why? Suigetsu had never thought of it before. The only thing he'd ever known was fighting together with his brother, Mangetsu, so they could be one of the Seven Swordsmen.

"Suigetsu!" his brother returned, holding a small basket. It contained a few scrapings of fruit and half of a slice of bread. It was less than last time, but it was still better than nothing.

"Brother!" the child shouted anxiously, running up to him and embracing him. His sibling smiled and hugged him back. They had grown up in a blanket of blood, and yet they still retained the ability to care for eachother. It was strange, but good enough.

"Did anything happen when I was gone?" Mangetsu asked softly.

"I met a kid like me!" Suigetsu answered. "He had a bone sword and the same colour hair as me!" Mangetsu furrowed his eyebrows at his brother.

"Really? What was his name?"

"Kimimaro Kaguya." Mangetsu froze, looking puzzled and taking a glance behind him. There was a faint, red haze in the distance.

"Brother? What's wrong?" his brother then changed to look relaxed and smiled.

"Nothing Suigetsu, nothing." They sat down and ate the food just before their jounin arrived. He told them how the Kaguya clan had attempted a random massacre of the village, and that they were all wiped out. Suigetsu tried to imagine the one boy, Kimimaro. Had he died too? If he did, would he ever find his true purpose in life?

"Wake up, baka." Suigetsu rubbed his eyes wearily and sat up, seeing that Sasuke had returned with many bottles, filled with water. The mist-nin licked his lips and snatched one of the bottles, downing the liquid thirstily. He hadn't had anything moist since the yogurt from before. It gave him energy, and he drank every last drop in only a few seconds before gasping for air and making a sigh of satisfaction. Sasuke was looked at him, confused.

"You must be thirsty." Suigetsu grinned and chuckled.

"You would be too if you relied on moisture as much as I do!" The air was peaceful and quaint. Since they had apparently shaken the enemy off their tail, maybe they could relax for a little bit. However, this brought a question to Suigetsu's mind.

"Sasuke?" he asked.

"What?"

"Where are we going?" the Uchiha looked a bit annoyed.

"To find Itachi." Suigetsu laughed.

"Of course, I know that!" he had finished a fourth bottle of water. "I'm asking where we're going to find him?" Sasuke took out another scroll, which had a map on it.

"I've heard rumours that Akatsuki is going to attack Sunagakure. We're heading there to see if we can get answers." Suigetsu looked surprised.

"The desert? I'd fucking die there!" Sasuke smirked and held up a water bottle.

"Why do you think I brought so many of these?" Suigetsu looked at the half-empty water bottle in his hand, then at Sasuke. After a small moment of silence, he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Fine. I guess we're going to Suna then." he fell back into the underbrush and shut his eyes. This was going to be more of a hassle than he thought.

Kimimaro is one of my favorite characters because his past is so sad! :,( unlike Sasuke, who grew up with the facade purpose of getting revenge, or Gaara, who grew up being shunned by everyone and knowing that he was made as a tool, Kimimaro was blissfully ignorant and kept from the outside world. The only thing he ever knew was serving others, and he didn't even like violence, he just wanted to feel wanted. In essence, he was so pure that it almost makes me cry thinking about him and how he died too...

Suigetsu: *cough* isn't this story about me?

Me: DX don't you have a heart? *throws pokeball*

Sasuke: I wonder if you have to put a disclaimer for Pokemon too because of that?

Me: -.-"

To people that read and don't review(because I know you're out there!) I'd really like to know your opinion, even if it's just a 'nice story'. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D