Hello people! Please pardon the long wait but many things came up and even now I'm still a bit ill, but I won't bore you with the details. Still, I'll try to keep writing and chapters will come out regularly from now on. Anyways, thanks to Tateno Atsukino, Valinor's Twilight, unknown player, NyNyWorldWide, and Lyris88 for reading and reviewing and special thanks to ruler of dragons! To anyone who is still reading this story, please review and please pardon any mistakes as I have little time to write and therefore must do it in a hurry. Now on to the story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the lovely Rei, her lazy teacher Jin and any other original characters.


Chapter Sixty-Five

The cool breeze slipped trough the open window as Rei tried to get some rest. She had gone to bed before Sakura, saying that she was tired, which she truly was, but she just wasn't able to fall asleep. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she turned to lay on her back and stared at the ceiling. The night was quiet as she lay there with her teammate at her side, already fast asleep.

Sakura and her were sharing a room much like the boys and she was thankful that their relationship was considerably better from the last time they had seen each other. Even so, she avoided the subject of Sasuke knowing that her obvious disdain of the Uchiha would only serve to anger the other girl.

She groaned as she realized that she had once more been thinking of her old teammate. Of course it was almost impossible to stop thinking of him when she was traveling with someone who looked so much like him.

'Only he was actually nicer' she thought bitterly.

In all honesty she thought her new teammate was a complete jerk. He was rude, inconsiderate and far too nosy for his own good.

'Crap, he really is like him!'

The thought bothered her, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. Although, she knew that there was something strange about Sai. Something was bothering her about him. He was too curious for his own good, but it was more than that. Sai actually knew about her relationship with Orochimaru. Only the Hokage and her teammates along with Kakashi knew about that. She hadn't even told Jin.

When they had talked outside the hot springs she hadn't questioned him about this, but at the time she had been too scared of her anger getting the better of her and so she had left. That wouldn't happen again. As annoying and unappealing as the thought seemed she would have to keep an eye on him. If he was going to keep a close watch on her so would she. She just hoped her plan wouldn't backfire.

The morning light streamed in through the window, causing an annoyed groan to emanate from the blond girl who, only moments ago, had been sound asleep. With a sigh she sat up and looked around at her surroundings. Sakura was still asleep as it was early in the morning. Unfortunately, Rei knew she wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep. Even though she had just woken up her mind was already plagued with bothersome thoughts. It would be a while until her teammates woke up and so she decided to take a short walk to clear her head.

After getting dressed she stepped out of her room and headed outside. It was a bright and sunny morning and she knew that under normal circumstances she would have enjoyed the calming breeze that swept trough the trees. Instead she found herself closing her eyes with a deep breath in an attempt to get her mind back into focus.

"Good morning Rei-san" a deep voice said from somewhere behind her.

The girl suppressed a groan of irritation as she instantly recognized the person behind her. She had to curse her luck for what seemed like the hundredth time in only a couple of days. Reluctantly, she spun around to face her teammate. She tried to keep herself from frowning, but knew she didn't succeed.

"Morning" she said in a dull tone.

"I really didn't expect anyone else to be up at this time. I hope you were able to sleep well."

Once again, Rei couldn't help but be bothered by Sai's blatantly fake smile. She wondered if he knew how unconvincing it was. He probably didn't or else he wouldn't bother with it.

"I slept well enough" she responded in a detached tone.

Still, the boy's smile didn't waver.

"That's good to hear. I suppose we'll need our rest for the mission ahead."

Rei limited herself to a nod as a response. A thought crossed her mind then and she fixed Sai with a scrutinizing stare.

"So why are you up so early?"

"I've never been one to sleep for long. Is something bothering you?"

"You could say that, but there's something I meant to ask you last night" Rei said.

"And what would that be?"

"I was just wondering how you came to know of my involvement with Orochimaru? I never told you and it's not a very open subject, even among those close to me" she said as she watched the boy carefully.

"But I suppose you aren't so trusting anymore. Not after what happened with Sasuke" Sai retorted in a pleasant tone.

Rei clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes, disdain clear in her facial features that were usually fixed in a calm and friendly way. The mention of her old teammate sparked something inside her much like it had the previous night. Strangely, it was not the usual anger that she felt towards the Uchiha, but a strange wrath towards Sai for reminding her of him. It was almost like he knew that it hurt even more to be reminded of him by someone that resembled him so much. In a way it was almost like having him standing there, mocking her after having abandoned her and the others. Even so she pushed back her anger and spoke in an even, although somewhat forced, tone.

"That's right, I'm not so trusting, but I doubt I ever really was. Now answer my question, how did you know about my connection to the snake bastard?"

"I just thought I should do some research on my teammates. That way it would be easier to get along. I guess you're not happy at all with the fact that you were trained by him" he said calmly.

"Of course not. If anything I hate knowing that I was taught by someone like him" she said with distaste.

"Even so, I don't understand why you bother to hide your connection. If you no longer share a bond with Orochimaru then it doesn't matter, does it?"

"I don't think I've ever shared a bond with him. Besides, he's a part of my past so I don't see why everyone should know. But how did you get that information? Only the Hokage and a few other shinobi know."

Sai paused for a moment before answering.

"I'm afraid that's something I can't discuss with you."

"Then tell me why you're so interested in me" she said in a commanding tone as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I guess you didn't believe me when I said it was to know my teammates better."

"Of course not, its obvious that there's something else you're after..." she trailed off.

There was a strange look in the boy's eyes. It was strange to see even a shimmer of emotion from him. His smile did not waver as he spoke.

"Maybe you're right, but if that's the case I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later" he said.

There was something strange about the way he said that, but before Rei could say anything he was already gone. She felt her eye twitching in irritation. Unfortunately for the poor tree besides her the urge to punch someone was too great to resist. Of course she would have preferred to sink her fist into Sai's face. With a sigh, with which she hoped to calm herself, she turned and headed off for what she hoped wild be a calming walk.

End Chapter 65

Well, I hope you guys liked it and I must say that I am not overall satisfied with this chapter. I meant to write quite a bit more, but time issues at the last minute didn't allow that. Still, I will upload a new chapter soon, hopefully next week or even during the weekend. Again, I offer my deepest and sincerest apologies for taking so long to update and for making my not so glorious return to the world of fanfiction so short. Even so, I hope you will review and continue reading.