Sasuke walked through the forest, feeling burdened by the weight that Hidan's words carried. He knew there had to be a catch to the offer, but he just couldn't figure out what it would be. There was one thing that stood out in his mind, though. He could still hear Hidan's voice, silky yet unnerving, in his head.

"Your brother has been acquainted with us." Hidan had actually only heard of Itachi, but recognizing the last name, he used it to his advantage. Sasuke had no knowledge of this fact.

Sasuke debated back and forth; Did they really know Itachi? Would Itachi even support a group like them? Had he been lied to his entire life? Who was Itachi, truly? Sasuke only grew more and more frustrated as the answers continued to hide in the shadows.

He knew he would get in trouble for going out of the camp without someone accompanying him. If he went to ask Itachi, that would surely have been discovered. However, he couldn't bear not knowing what was really going on.

"We stand for a..." he could hear Hidan's voice trail off, almost teasingly, as if he knew he had already captivated Sasuke with this new vision, in his head. "A better tomorrow." The words echoed.

Sasuke shook his head forcefully. What does this mean? A better tomorrow? There was something about the way that he said it that felt... sinister. He shivered. He didn't know how he felt about it. They gave him a meeting location they would be at the next day to give them an answer, but he didn't feel like it was enough time to really decide.

Bitterly, he hurried towards camp. He knew Sakura was probably making everyone else worried about him by now and needed to get back before anyone important knew he was gone. He didn't really know why he felt the need to leave in the first place, he just felt something pulling him towards the woods. Maybe those two were pulling me in...? He didn't know he if wanted to know for sure or not. He quickened his pace, being careful not to be seen by anyone keeping post as he neared the campsite, and snuck back in.

INSIDE CAMP

"We looked everywhere and still can't find him..." Sakura nearly cried out.

Sai and Naruto both sighed.

"Should we tell Itachi?"

"Tell Itachi what?"

The three of them jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice. They spun around at the same time, seeing Sasuke standing in front of them.

"What the hell- Where did you go?!" Sakura nearly punched Sasuke in the face, she was so angry. "You had me worried sick!"

"I figured," Sasuke replied cooly, with a slight smile appearing in the corner of his lips.

Naruto, frowning now that Sakura was giving him all her attention, grunted and refused to greet Sasuke. Sai, on the other hand, smiled kindly and welcomed him back to the group.

"What we we all supposed to be doing?" Sasuke asked, trying to avoid any conversation about where he went.

"I don't think anything is scheduled for the rest of the night. You haven't missed anything," Sai informed him.

"Maybe we should go attend tonight's bonfire?" Sakura suggested, her mood immediately changing from angry to hopeful.

Sasuke looked at her and sighed. He didn't want to think about the conversation he had in the forest anymore.

"You're annoying," he scoffed, meaning to be playful, but coming off harsh. He saw Sakura's complex drop completely. He tried to recover with a half smile. "But sure, let's go to the bonfire."

Sakura started squealing, wrapped her hands around his arm and leaned in close, leading him down the main path and towards the court yard, where the bonfire was being held. Sai quickly followed after them, and Naruto reluctantly trailed behind the group, cursing under his breath. The sun took it's last breath before disappearing under the horizon and leaving the world to be lit by the moon.

OUTSIDE CAMP

Kakashi and Yamato were keeping watch, Yamato smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke out in circles into the cold night air, Kakashi leaning up against the bark of the tree looking out towards the leaves, forcing himself to focus straight ahead on the moonlit outline of the forest. He could feel the warmth from the smoke circling around him from behind the tree, only to turn cold by the night breeze. He didn't mind the smell so much, as long as it wasn't suffocating him. He heard Yamato drop the butt of his cigarette, and drag the cinders into the dirt with his shoe. Yamato came around to the front of the tree where Kakashi was sitting and sat down beside him.

"Don't you think it's a little strange," Yamato began, "that we get called, out of all the people, to post watch?"

Kakashi glanced at Yamato.

"Itachi said that a lot of the ANBU members were already busy."

"Is that so?"

"Well I can't say much for Danzo's faction," Kakashi attempted to acknowledge remembering Yamato with that statement, "but Itachi wouldn't lie about the Hokage's faction." The last part was meant to be a small tease.

Yamato thought about it for a moment.

"Well, Danzo didn't implement a lot of his policies until well after he took me in. In fact sometimes I feel like he used me to test out whether or not he'd create rules for the younger members."

"Did he force you to cut your hair, too?"

Yamato was slightly taken aback.

"You remember me after all?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi smiled softly. "I'm sorry I didn't before. I realize how much of an ass I must have seemed."

Yamato was quiet.

"When's your birthday?" Was the only thing Kakashi could think to ask.

"August tenth," Yamato replied.

"Ah, that's tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yeah... when's yours?"

"August fifteenth."

Yamato immediately laughed out upon hearing this. "Ha... two virgos... this ought to be interesting," he managed to get out between laughs. Kakashi had no interest in astrology, therefore had no idea what was wrong with two virgos being paired together. But, to be fair, he didn't really care to know. It was probably all bullshit anyways. He let Yamato have his laugh.

"So you'll be nineteen then?" Kakashi asked.

"Twenty."

"I see." Well, I wasn't far off at all, Kakashi thought to himself.

"And you?" Yamato had never really thought about age being important, but he was still curious to know.

"Twenty four."

"Well, happy early birthday," Yamato chuckled, "old man."

"Hey now, at least I don't look like a kid," Kakashi got defensive. Yamato elbowed him and laughed more.

"I'm just kidding."

"Yeah, whatever." Kakashi shifted, throwing Yamato's elbow off of his arm. He couldn't help the smile that was plastered onto his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"In all seriousness though, most people aren't high ranking at your age." Kakashi turned the tone back down.

"I just worked as hard as I could. I didn't really have anything else going for me." Yamato looked up at the stars through the tree leaves, a gust of wind somberly blowing through, cooling both of them. "I didn't really get to have much of a childhood... In fact, I don't remember a whole lot of it." He looked down at the ground, beginning to pick at his nails. Kakashi turned his head towards him, interested in hearing more.

"I remember bits and pieces... but most of it is fuzzy. I think I may have had an older sister, but I don't recall ever having parents. I was raised in The Foundation after being found by Danzo. We were hardly ever able to express our feelings. All we ever did was study and train. Those of us who found friends among each other, ended up having to fight each other to the death... it was easier not to have friends because of it... it took until I was old enough to be on my own to understand what any type of relationship was." He turned his head slightly towards Kakashi, neither sad nor happy, and he rested his hands on his lap. "I do remember dreaming about what I thought happiness was." He sighed, closing his eyes, trying to recall those dreams.

Kakashi's finger twitched, his hand resting on the damp ground, not too far away from Yamato's. He was still looking at Yamato, noticing the way his lips moved as he spoke, and the way he made his facial expressions. He felt a warm chill run down his spine.

"As I got older, those dreams slowly faded away. I didn't have anyone to talk to, I didn't have anything to feed my imagination. Being in ANBU began to take a toll on me, too. I remember hearing stories- awful ones. I guess I didn't realize how much they affected my hopes about life until it was too late." He opened his eyes again, gazing at the ground between him and Kakashi. Kakashi took a sharp inhale.

"I guess... there hasn't really been a whole lot to life that has made me really want to feel." A solemn tear dripped down Yamato's now emotionless face. "But, for some reason..." he trailed off, noticing Kakashi's hand slowly inching it's way towards his. "Lately I've been thinking..." he hesitated again, turning to look at Kakashi, slowly leaning in as he turned, not realizing Kakashi had already been doing the same as he moved his hand along the dirt. "Maybe... it would be nice..." He spoke softly as the tension between the two rose.

Yamato began moving his hand down towards Kakashi's, lightly tracing the tips of his fingers. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. Kakashi's eyes softened as his breathing became shorter. Their lips were so close they could feel each others' quivering breaths on their skin, their noses barely pressed to the side of each other.

"To begin to feel something again." Yamato whispered. He interlaced his fingers with Kakashi's, as Kakashi pressed his lips against Yamato's, sealing the space that was left between the two. They had only held the kiss for a moment, but it felt like years to them both. Kakashi then placed his free hand on Yamato's cheek, cupping his face before pulling away from his lips, and kissing his forehead adoringly. Yamato placed his hand over Kakashi's, enjoying the warmth that Kakashi gave him. He wanted to stay like that forever.