If I'm correct, this is the last chapter for this mission. Anyway, here's Chapter 8!

Oh, and most importantly! I normally don't do shoutouts or anything but I really wanna give a HUGE shoutout to lizyeh2000! She's been such a BIG supporter of my fanfic and always takes her time to review every single chapter of mine. So thanks so much, girl! This one is especially for you, lizyeh2000!

Chapter 8: An Unwanted Mission (Part 5)

Kabuto's POV:

I never realized that I was knocked out so bad until my brain notified me to wake up. My eyes could only see darkness, which made me both a bit confused and anxious. It was by then I realized that my eyes were still shut; it was my brain that was now awake but not my sight. I slowly opened my eyes just a bit to see my surroundings above, which was just a dull colour of maroon. Out of curiosity, I fluttered my eyes wide open and allowed my eyes to examine the newly-found but quite familiar circumference. It was by then I recognized our tent Katsumi and I had been sleeping in quite a bit lately.

Then it hit me: Where was Katsumi? What happened when I was unconscious?

I attempted to sit up until I felt intense pain throughout my body took me by surprise, preventing me from moving any further. It was at that moment I noticed my abdomen wrapped up cleanly in bandages, which raised my question. I briefly examined my whole body only to see either my bare skin or white bandages. I knew right there that I was in bad condition before I was patched up, and that I was unconscious when this happened. But I couldn't put my finger as to what happened before I blacked out and during that period of time.

If I could recall, I slightly remembered the moments where Katsumi and I were encountered by Leaf shinobi who were after her, and the moment when I was surrounded by them. Thinking this made me remember that I was also attacked by them, which probably explained why I was knocked out pretty badly. They were after Katsumi, and their plan was to capture me and make a deal or something along those lines. However, I don't recall hearing her answer which meant that I wasn't sure if whether or not she surrendered to the Leaf. Knowing the girl, she probably didn't go down without a fight but I wasn't sure if she won. I doubt that she didn't because it wouldn't make sense since she was likely the one who treated my wounds. Also, I had a gut feeling that she wouldn't abandon her comrades and teammates, even the likes of me; she wasn't the type of person who would leave anyone behind, and I respect her for that.

So if she didn't give in to her former village, then where was she now? And where were those Leaf ninja?

Processing all of this information and trying to put the pieces together only caused me to get a throbbing headache; I must've received a head injury too when I was ambushed. I sighed deeply to myself as I laid back down in the sleeping mat I was currently on. I gazed at the tent ceiling deeply as I waited every second went by, then every minute, then every hour.

It was just three hours later when I heard someone unzipped the tent and walked into the soft shelter. I didn't bother seeing who this person was because I had a good feeling who was present. I had my eyes shut when she walked in, so she didn't take into consideration that I was awake, which was understandable since I was probably sustained a lot of injuries. I slightly peeked through one eye to hint what Katsumi was doing at the other side of the tent. I could see her rummaging through her bag, looking for something that was hidden in her bag. I scanned her current emotion despite her back facing directly towards me. She didn't seem happy nor sad; she simply had her semi-mood on, which meant nothing special happened, good nor bad.

The temptation of knowing what her thoughts were when she treated me—since I had a "clue" what her feelings towards me were— was hard to shake off: she simply hated my guts and wanted me to stay fifty feet away from her. But lately, her actions were saying the opposite and so had her attitude towards me. When the Leaf asked for her to willingly come back to the village, she refused to go and I was shocked; I knew she missed her home and wanted to see her friends and mentors and taste the feeling of freedom once again. But the fact that she said no hinted that she genuinely didn't want to leave my side regardless her grudge against me. After all the lies I had told her and the times I got under her skin, I couldn't blame her for hating me since I basically deserved it. But none of that seemed to matter because she still backed me up in that battle, and going so far to treat me to perfect health showed more than what she had expressed.

I kind of got the feeling that I was finally warming up to her, which decreased the amount of hate she had towards me.

It made me feel a sense of comfort in a way.

I didn't take said person looking over her shoulder at me into account since my sight was horrible at the moment. Plus by the fact that I could wrap my head around as to her reasons behind taking such good care of me.

"I see that you're awake." She simply stated as she viewed at me expressionlessly.

I winced at her words since I wasn't aware she noticed me conscious until now.

I grunted in response. "What happened to me?" I asked, despite already having an idea.

"You were ambushed by those Leaf ninja." She answered briefly. "Their motive was to capture you and trade my surrender to the Leaf for your life."

I blinked at her answer and then I gazed up at the tent ceiling. "I see, then."

Even though I had an idea what happened during my time living in the dark, there were slight details that were left unknown to me, and I was curious as to what those details were. I didn't learn my lesson to not think too hard, because I received another throbbing headache as punishment. I gritted my teeth in pain as I held my swelling head tightly, trying to relieve some of the pain. Unfortunately, this migraine was more intense than the first one. Apparently, Katsumi noticed this and I could feel her eyes on me.

"Don't push yourself, four eyes." She sighed in bore as she walked over towards me. "Meaning both physically and mentally."

She kneeled beside me as her eyes examined the pain I showed on my face. She then held out her hand and placed it gently on my forehead as strains of my grey bangs sat on her fingers. Regardless of my impaired vision, I knew she was tending to my migraine by the sound of medical ninjutsu being done and the colour her chakra gave off. This chakra of hers was very soothing and relaxing, it made me doze off for a minute; it was both calming yet rejuvenating. I was able to move my pupils towards my caregiver who only had a simply, tired look on her face.

Normally, reading people's emotion was what I enjoyed and what I do best. But Katsumi was different from the others; I could never tell with this girl, which was mainly the reason why I was always getting under her skin.

Right now, she was being sympatric towards me which was sort of new. In fact, she had been less aggressive and irritable with me. This was strange really because I was so used to her old attitude, and now that she was being a bit kinder than before, it made me feel both awkward and glad.

I couldn't give a reason why, but all I knew was that I was glad that she didn't genuinely hate me and grateful that she didn't abandoned me for her personal gain.

"Katsumi…" I called her name weakly, feeling more tired as she continued to ease the pain in my head.

Said ravenette heard me and turned her attention to me, giving me a soft, expressionless look. I responded to her gaze by giving her a gentle look back, to show what I was about to say was indeed legitimate.

"Thank you… I'm grateful that you treated me when I was in bad shape…" I breathed tiredly, looking up at her with a slightly glossy look.

I thought I had just saw her eyes widened in shock after hearing the words that came out of my mouth, then again I wasn't wearing my glasses so I wasn't too sure.

I knew she wasn't expecting a thanks from me of all people, and even if she did, it was probably because I was being fake again. But I truthfully wasn't; I really did appreciate her for her actions and took care of me when I was down despite me being part of the reason she no longer had freedom, losing everything and everyone she cared about, and the fact that she never wanted to go on this mission in the first place. There was simply no way to thank her more for her pure, kind, generous soul she had behind that thick, concrete wall she put up all the time.

"Don't mention it, Kabuto…" I heard her reply and she said it in a soft tone, as if she didn't want me to hear it.

Much to her dismay, she wasn't aware that my hearing was above average due to my lack of sight.

It wasn't until now that I noticed my eyelids were getting droopier and droopier by the second as my mind was ready to go into unconsciousness once again. I was confused because I don't sense anything that could've caused me to be fatigue except for one thing: Katsumi. It was then I recognized this type of medical ninjutsu she was using; she was using the type that both healed and make the patient fall asleep to ease the body as it recuperated. She was using this jutsu to put me to sleep which meant anything could happen once she had completely knocked me out.

"Katsumi… this jutsu… what are you—?"

"Don't get your ugly pants in a twist, four eyes. I'm not doing anything you think I'm trying to do or anything along those lines." She interjected gruffly. "I'm simply treating that migraine that's bothering you, nothing more nothing less."

I softened my stare on her defense. She had no intention harming me nor escaping to Leaf; she remained by my side.

"You don't deserve anymore physical pain than you already have." I thought I heard her state after, but I wasn't sure because that was the last thing she said when my lid closed shut, sending me back into unconsciousness.

Katsumi's POV:

I waited until Kabuto was finally in a peaceful coma, in which I deactivated my medical ninjutsu. I watched him as he slept peacefully and in no pain at all as his chest rose and dropped by his soft breathing. I couldn't help but give off a small smile at him because I truly believed under his smug, annoying demeanor, he was an honest and possibly a humble person who lived his life as I spy.

In a way, he reminded me of my elder sibling, Itachi. He was assigned as a spy for our clan and he had to do things for our father, regardless of his personal feelings.

Difference was that Itachi Uchiha was a cold-hearted, bloody murderer and Kabuto Yakushi wasn't. At least that was what I assumed.

But I wouldn't say I liked Kabuto, but I could say that I no longer hate him as much as I did before. And the fact that I was drooling over his admittedly, perfectly toned body had nothing to do with the fact that I liked him more than a friend. How was it even possible when I never even considered him as a friend? Besides, I was just a girl with her female hormones bouncing back and forth constantly.

I lifted myself off from the ground and took my travelling bag and headed out of the tent; there were still two more medicinal herbs left to locate and then it was mission accomplished.

It was sort of a coincidence that I returned to the tent right when Kabuto woke up which the reason was because that I needed to restock on some supplies that ran out. Now that I was prepared on round two of searching, I hoped that this was the last time because it wasn't the smartest move to leave Kabuto in the state he was in despite my genjutsu barrier I put up for safety.

Hopefully I would be done before the sun goes down.

For once, my time estimating skills had improved.

Like I hoped, I arrived at our tent before the sun had the chance to set. Not only that, I was able to locate and obtain all of the rare herbs Orochimaru requested, which meant we had officially completed our mission. I couldn't have been happier because this mission was both stressful and bothersome, but I still stuck to it until the end. Now that our job was done, we could head back to the lair which I was excited about surprisingly.

I happily walked into the tent and dropped my knapsack, not caring if I woke up Kabuto or not. As I spun around, I was close to falling on my butt by the surprise of seeing someone awake and staring right at me. I looked down at four eyes with my mouth slightly parted, who returned the look with an amused smile on his bandaged face.

"I've never seen anyone on a high-ranked mission this happy before." He stated jokingly.

I slightly pouted at his comment in disgust as I watched him lifting himself up in a sitting positon.

"First of all, this mission isn't that high-ranked." I scoffed smugly, placing m hands on my sides. "And secondly, the reason why I'm happy is because the mission is accomplished."

Kabuto's grey eyebrow lifted in question at my response. "What do you mean by 'mission is accomplished'?" He inquired curiously.

I rolled my eyes at his obliviousness. "I mean, this mission we're currently on is officially over." I huffed tiredly with a microscopic grin on my face.

The look four eyes gave me seemed to look like he wasn't really convinced.

"How is that even possible?" He questioned with narrowed eyes. "There's still a few more herbs left and—."

"I went out to find them on my own when you were here unconscious." I interrupted nonchalantly, not affected by his suspicion.

"The medicinal herbs listed are one of the rarest species of plant. There's simply no way you could've find all of them on your own in that span of time." He implied stubbornly, still not convinced with what I was saying.

"Well, I'm glad you have so much faith in my abilities." I replied sarcastically. "Just because you're more 'wiser' and 'older' than I am, doesn't mean you're better than me at every single thing."

"So you're telling me that you actually went out there all on your own to find herbs that are almost extinct while being a possible target for predators lurking around in the forest." He summarized dully as he sounded a bit unimpressed.

"Basically, yes…" I gave him a small nod.

Kabuto eyebrows furrowed at my confirmation. "You shouldn't have done that." He grumbled to himself in which I heard him loud and clear.

I frowned at his words. "And why is that?" I questioned in annoyance, not understanding why he was mad at me once again.

"This mission was meant for the both of us, meaning working together to find the medicinal herbs. And you literally did the exact opposite." He answered lowly, looking hardly at me.

My jaw dropped at his reasoning. "If I remembered correctly, this mission was to find these herbs for that snake… the same snake that forced me to go on this mission." I huffed exasperatedly, folding my arms across my chest.

Kabuto remained quiet at my comment as he continued to stare at me.

"And why does it even matter anyway? We got all of the herbs regardless, and now we could go back to the lair and do our own thing." I added in a bored tone, tired of explaining myself.

"It actually matters, if you didn't know." He muttered in frustration, lowering his head.

"I honestly don't see what your problem is." I shrugged, dismissing his irritation towards me.

"My 'problem' is that you went off on your own without me; you could've gotten yourself killed if you hadn't been lucky." He hissed at me for my carelessness.

"Again, stop underestimating me and my abilities." I snapped at him irritably. "Besides, what could've gone wrong if I wasn't 'lucky' anyway?"

"For starters, you're not familiar with this area as much as I am, meaning that leaves you vulnerable for enemies to come after you. Plus, both Orochimaru and I would have to feel the wrath of your brother the second he learns that we basically got you killed on a mission." He briefly explained as he kept his hard stare directly at me.

"On your defense, Sasuke did agree to the snake's conditions that require me to go on missions I'm assigned to so he's not really in position to hold you accountable." I pointed out as I dropped my shoulders.

"That doesn't matter when it comes to Sasuke Uchiha, he won't listen to reason." He hissed in annoyance. "Your actions would not only hurt you, but everyone else around you. So be more considerate the next time."

I sighed loudly in irritation. "There you go again, scolding me like I'm a little kid."

"I wouldn't be 'scolding' you if you stop taking so many risks that could end your life." He countered with a grumble.

"Oh, like the risk I took to save your goddamn life, right? The same risk where I went off to find the rest of those stupid plants Orochimaru wanted?" I taunted solidly, sharpening my glare.

I heard a tsk from his mouth as he immediately avoided eye contact. This was probably the first time Kabuto was genuinely irritated with me, and as much as I couldn't care less, this was off for me in my opinion.

"You didn't have to save me, for your information." He muttered in dissatisfaction as he continued to look away.

"Actually, I had to." I corrected firmly. "I knew that I had to save you because the reason for the Leaf wanting me had nothing to do with you; they were using you to lure me into their trap. The fact that they were using a person's life for their personal gain was heartless and low, especially this coming from the Leaf itself. It's disappointed they would resort to this."

I noticed Kabuto's tensed body relaxed by my words. He slowly glanced at me as he blankly looked up at me.

"But considering your hateful feelings towards me, how—?"

"I don't hate you, four eyes. I never did." I cut him off solidly, receiving a shock fascial expression from him. "I never hated you as a person, Kabuto. I hated the things you've done to my friends, mentors, and everyone close to me for that snake. The way how you willingly worked for Orochimaru and did all of his bidding work disgusted me."

"But hating the things a person does is the same as hating them as a whole." He pointed out with furrowed eyebrows. "And even if there is a difference, that doesn't explain why you saved me."

I lowered my head, trying to find the right words for an answer Kabuto desired to hear. I huffed out the stress within me then I spoke.

"You're my partner in this mission, and I learned the importance of teamwork from Kakashi." I explained deeply as my eyes were glued to the ground. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

Kabuto winced at my words as his eyes widened slightly; he looked as if he wasn't expecting something like that to come out of my mouth.

"I would never abandon anyone for the sake of a mission or my life; I would never leave anyone behind, even you, Kabuto." I added hardly with my fists clenched and a strong but compassionate look on my face.

It didn't matter to me that he wasn't convinced of my reason, it was telling the truth; I wasn't the type of person to leave people out there to suffer and die.

I then threw him a cold glare. "And if you still think what I did there was childish and stupid, then so be it. I won't lift a finger to help out the likes of you anymore, you ungrateful jerk. And so far as this mission goes, this is the last time I'll ever partner up on a mission with you for as long as I live never mind willingly completing it for you when you were unable to." I venomously grumbled, receiving nothing but a dull look on the jerk's face.

I didn't want this conversation to go on any further after the thank I received from him. Although he did thank me earlier for treating his wounds, he hadn't thank me for saving his life, which I found that disgraceful. With that thought in mind, I stomped out of the tent as I left Kabuto sitting there looking like a lost mummy.

It had been about three hours since I left four eyes be in the tent. He literally got on my last nerve as he walked past my boundaries. It was one thing to be obnoxious and annoying, but being ungrateful and straight-up rude was a different story. And just when I thought I was seeing him in a better aspect.

I gazed deeply at the golden orange flames burning in front of me as I playfully pushed its burnt wood with a thick, long stick. I knew I couldn't leave him in there for the rest of the night unsupervised as he was still in the healing process. As a medic-nin, it was against our policy. What was also against our policy was personal feelings of the patient getting in the way of treating their injuries in which I huffed loudly. Kabuto or any reason shouldn't get in the way of helping the injured. Besides, if it was the other way around, Kabuto would be aware of this too and make sure my health was at a hundred percent.

Groaning tiredly, I got up from my seat and treaded towards the tent with a plate of food I prepared for my patient. I took a breath in, and then I walked into the tent. I zipped up the entrance/exit of the tent and turned to see how my patient was doing. Said person was still sitting at the same position for hours, which surprised me a little. The only difference I noticed was his head hanging low as his eyes were having a new interest in examining his hands. The fact that he was in this position for probably about the amount of hours I left the tent meant he wasn't here in reality at the moment. I sighed at the situation and walked over to him and made myself comfortable on the ground across from him. I carefully placed the plate beside him whenever he was ready to eat.

I scanned his expression his body was giving out as the awkward silence grew more awkward by the second. I knew he was aware that I was no longer absent in the tent, but he still refused to give me any sort of eye contact. This made it even more uncomfortable than it should be, and someone really needed to break the silence or it would kill both of us.

"How are you feeling?" I hesitantly asked, looking aside. "You're not hurting, are you?"

Kabuto's head twitched by my question and he finally lifted his head until his eyes peeked through his bangs.

"No, I'm not hurting." He answered simply. "In fact, I feel better than before. You did a good job treating me."

His small compliment caused a warm feeling within my chest. "Thank you, I'm glad to hear that." I commented with small smile.

I breathed out the awkwardness in my being and I kept by gaze on my hands, playfully picking my nail out of boredom. If Kabuto wasn't in the mood to talk, then I saw no point in continuing this conversation.

But of course, I could never be sure when it came to four eyes here.

"I'm sorry…" He suddenly spoke, earning a gasp from me. "For earlier…"

I gazed at him with a lost and confused look; no words could explain how I felt.

"I'm not exactly sure what you're apologizing for." I replied softly as my hand played with the charms on my bracelet.

Kabuto glanced up at me, finally allowing to give full eye contact.

"I wasn't trying to sound ungrateful, and I'm not to begin with." He briefly justified. "I was simply concerned that you fought all of the Leaf ninja on your own, resulting the possibility of both of us being killed. Not only that, you went off all on your own to find the rare herbs which also could lead you to your death."

If I heard this correctly, Kabuto wasn't angry at me for doing things my own way at all, he was simply looking out for me. But him out of every single person living on this planet?

"I'm more shocked than offended." I commented expressionlessly. "I mean, it's not like you to apologize to me, or anyone for that matter."

"Because I appreciate you for saving me, pushing your opinions and judgement aside." He muttered lowly, avoiding eye contact once again.

Kabuto muttered something else after that, but I couldn't really make out the words he said. Clearly, he didn't want me specifically to hear probably because it was possibly huge for him to say… whatever he just said.

That raised my suspicion.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" I inquired, wanting him to repeat himself.

As his pupils were looking aside, he spoke. "I said I appreciate you for saving—."

"No, not that, four eyes!" I snapped in annoyance. "What did you say after that?"

Kabuto remained silent, not answering my question. This made me even more annoyed than ever, especially the fact that my patience level was literally zero.

"You know when you avoid my questions… it only makes me want to punch you in the face." I commented in an annoyed sigh, getting off topic.

I then heard a chuckle coming from the grey haired medic-nin's mouth. I glanced at him, only to see him eyeing me with amusement as he grinned. What was so funny all of a sudden?

"It's kind of ironic really…" He commented in amusement. "You still call me 'four eyes'… yet I'm not even wearing my glasses…"

I shrugged at his comment. "Probably because the nickname just sticks." I proposed simply.

Kabuto grinned at my comment as he gave me a rarely-seen friendly look. It was similar to the look he gave Squad 7 and I when we first met during the chunin exams. But this look looked more real and genuine than before.

"You should probably eat now, before the food gets cold." I suggested, moving my mind onto a different topic.

Receiving a nod in response, Kabuto picked up his plate and wasted no time consuming it. As he ate, I was busy organizing and packing up my necessities in my bag; since I completed the mission, we could head back to the lair and report it to Orochimaru.

"So, what are you going to do about Sasuke?" Kabuto suddenly asked curiously.

That question of his really caught me off guard, it actually made me jump a bit from the ground since it was so unexpected.

"What about Sasuke, specifically?" I returned the question despite having a clue what he meant.

"Are you going to talk to Sasuke about the stuff you told me?" He clarified sternly, narrowing his eyes at me.

I rolled my eyes at his question. "It's not as simple as you thing, and you know that." I replied.

"Why does it seem so hard anyway?" He asked again with a raised eyebrow.

I lifted myself a bit off of the ground and placed myself in a comfortable position as I still held my bag.

"Sasuke is a stubborn, egotistical, narcissistic rogue who only does what Sasuke only wants, regardless of other's personal feelings. I'm not necessarily afraid of his actions if I were to tell him, but I see no point to it seeing that it'll just be heard with deaf ears." I briefly explained broadly.

"But, he's your brother." Kabuto insisted calmly.

I slightly shook my head. "Just because he's my brother doesn't mean anything. I could tell you how I'm feeling since I know you'll listen. Sasuke was never really good at that, unfortunately."

"How about if I talk to him?" He offered blankly.

I held back from laughing; I thought at that moment he wasn't thinking straight.

"How sweet of you to offer…" I sarcastically smiled. "But you have a better chance getting your head ripped off than convincing him."

Kabuto snickered at my joke and took another bite of his food.

"By the way…" He then commented as he chewed. "What ever happened to that Leaf squad that was after you?"

I blinked at his curiosity. "Oh, them? They're deceased." I answered plainly.

Kabuto's eyebrows furrowed at my answered. "What do you mean by deceased?" He questioned solidly.

I rolled my eyes at his obliviousness; for a medic-nin, he could be really stupid at times.

"I mean they're no longer here with us; they're dead, gone, vanished." I answered thoroughly, getting impatient by his lack of understanding.

Kabuto threw me a cold stare in which I had no clue where this was coming from. Just a moment ago, he was laughing and now his mood literally switched.

"Would you say that you were the cause of their deaths?" He questioned once again with anger soaked in his words.

Not really paying attention to his negative tone in his voice, I frowned at his stupid question. It was as if I was asked if I took cookies from its jar as I was holding out a cookie and holding a plate of other cookies; why would anyone ask a question when the answer was literally right in front of them.

"Well who else could be the possible suspect?" I sarcastically asked, mocking his oblivious curiosity. "Obviously it was me who killed them."

The look Kabuto gave me after I admitted to killing the men from earlier was unpleasant to say the least. He threw me a cold, harsh, deadly glare, clearly hinting that he didn't like my answer.

"Why on earth did you kill them?" He questioned lividly, sharpening his glare at me.

Though his glare was a bit intimidating, it wasn't to the point where I was scared of him. To be honest, there would never be the day I was frightened of Kabuto.

"It's because if I didn't, four eyes… I would end up being the one who gets killed." I answered in a slow voice like I was talking down to a child.

Kabuto wasn't convinced due to the look on his face remained the same. I didn't know what else he wanted from me anyway; he was making a big deal out of nothing.

"Besides, it's their own damn fault for pulling the first move anyway. And I did warn them that they would regret anything they do to attack me. Plus, they had you as their hostage; I had to kill them to save the both of us or else they would cause trouble for us later." I justified defensively, folding my arms.

"I understand that, but that's not what I mean." He commented irritably, shaking his head. "I just don't like the fact you resorted in killing them, especially considering they're from your birth village."

I raised an eyebrow in question, not really comprehending what he was trying to say.

Seeing this made him sigh as he softly added, "You're not the type to intentionally kill, you know."

I slightly gaped at his comment, shocked that he wasn't comfortable with my newly-found killing intent.

"I would've never thought that this concerns you." I responded unsurely, looking aside.

Kabuto shrugged. "It's not really a concern, to be honest. It's just not like you to do something like that; you're a lot of things, but not a killer."

I could feel my cheeks turning a light shade of pink when he said that. It was actually one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, and meant it.

Kabuto then threw me his nasty glare once again out of nowhere, which instantly grabbed my attention.

"Swear on your life that you will never kill anyone ever again." He demanded deadly as his venomous glare grew more toxic.

His tone of voice sent shivers down my spine, but I made sure to keep that undercover because he knowing that I was intimidated by him was the last thing I ever wanted.

"Okay, okay…" I hushed him as I held my hands out in surrender. "I won't kill anyone ever again until the day I die."

Hearing this made his lips stretched into a grin. "Good girl." He chirped as he patted my head as if I was a child.

That was one of my pet peeves: people who treated me like a little kid. Sure, Kabuto was older than I was, but that gave him no reason for him to treat me like a little kid.

"Remove the hand, or lose the hand." I seethed threateningly, glaring at him.

This led Kabuto to retract his hand rapidly just in case for his hand's sake.

"Geez, calm down already." He huffed jokingly moving a strand of hair away from his face.

I rolled my eyes at his comment as I decided to change the topic that almost killed me with awkwardness.

"Mind if I examine you for a second?" I suddenly asked him. "I want to see if you're completely healed and remove the bandages."

Kabuto nodded without hesitation as he allowed me to scoot closer to him, resulting in me sitting between his legs. It took merely a minute of examining to indicate that his body was free from any damage whatsoever. Hearing this made him smile softly at me.

"I'll just remove the bandages off of you… now that you don't need them anymore." I notified as I already started unwrapping the bandages.

After a moment of unwrapping, Kabuto's body was free of any bandaging whatsoever. My eyes blindly scanned at his firm, perfectly tanned torso as my hand was still stuck on his muscular chest from unwrapping the bandages. I swore if I was looking at myself, I would probably look like I died at that very moment and my last living sight was Kabuto's exposed skin.

Apparently, Kabuto saw that I was captivated by his body and he frowned uncomfortably.

"Katsumi, what are you doing?" He questioned hardly as he reached out and grabbed my shoulder to snap me out of this trance.

But the next thing I knew, I was leaning over towards his face and my lips were pressed against his in which I earned a gasp from him.

Kabuto's POV:

I would've never thought that my own lips would ever touch Katsumi in a million years, never mind a girl as a whole. The fact that Katsumi Uchiha was kissing me blew my mind out of this planet. I didn't where it came from, nor I knew if this had anything to do with me to begin with. And it all started with her drooling over my body, which made me feel very weird since I was never used to that sort of stuff. I was also never used to kissing a girl or anyone for that matter because of other people's judgement of me.

But Katsumi's judgement was similar to others, so why was she kissing me?

I prayed that she didn't notice the wide, shocked eyes I was giving her because I was still stunned physically and mentally; my mind was still processing this new and scary situation. I could feel her arms slid up against my shoulders and around my neck, pulling me closer towards her as her lips moved against mine. My heart was palpitating because now I realized she was intentionally kissing me and she knew that she was. Sweat started streaming down my face as I felt her body right in front of mine to the point where her breasts were pressed against my chest; that thought made my cheeks turn pink.

After a moment— which felt like it had been years, my mind and body finally processed what was going on. Katsumi was kissing me, she was aware that she was kissing me, she knew wanted to kiss me, and she was possibly waited if I wanted to kiss her back. That thought never really crossed my mind since I first met her, but now that I thought about it… I was always curious what it felt like to kiss someone. I also wondered what it felt like to kiss someone I knew for a very long time… and if that made it more passionate.

If I ever wanted to find out, I had to experience it myself.

And in all honesty, it was comforting that Katsumi was my first kiss because out of everyone I knew, I would definitely kiss her as a first timer.

Now that the opportunity was there in front of me, I had to grab it as quickly as I could, because that was what I wanted.

With that thought, I lifted my arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist as I pulled her in closer to the kiss as my lips finally responded to hers. Our lips moved in sync as my hands were caressing her body as one of her hands ran down my chest and abdomen and up. At one point, my hand gripped her cheek to push her lips even harder against mine, which deepened the kiss. I licked her lower lip, asking for permission in which she accepted my request. The next thing I knew, my tongue was exploring in her mouth as it massaged itself with her own tongue, earning a moan from said female.

I still couldn't believe that I was kissing Katsumi, and she was kissing me with no problem. I never experienced something so passionate, so desperate before because I lived my life as a lonely spy. I always lied and betrayed people as an everyday job to the point where I didn't know who I was anymore. Who was I as a person? Where did I came from? It was something I always questioned about because knowing the answers could lead to my identity and my purpose in life other than a spy. Unfortunately, I was still nothing but someone's subordinate and I was afraid that that was what I would be known as on my tombstone: a spy with no identity. Lord Orochimaru promised that he would help me find the answers I desired, but despite his efforts, I never learned the type of person I was. At times, I even question if I was even human.

Then, Katsumi came into my life and my first thoughts of her were the typical thoughts of anyone who first laid eyes on her. She was one of the sole survivors of the Uchiha massacre however it had been said that she activated her Sharingan when she was born, making her the most unique Uchiha in her entire clan. Rumors also had it that she was one of the Uchiha's most exceptional, talented shinobi after Itachi and Shisui. But her personality and demeanor varied with other members of this clan. She viewed the world differently and was very headstrong; she was never swayed by others to think differently and act differently either. She was very blunt, stubborn, and sometimes a gloater but she held everyone close to her deeply in her heart and placed everyone before herself. Her beauty and attitude was a few of the things that made people drawn towards her, which was why people held so much respect for her, including myself.

But now that I knew Katsumi more personally now, I saw a bit of a different side of her. She could be vicious, selfish, and even murderous if she wanted to. She was also someone who held pain, sorrow, and stress within herself, afraid to show any emotion. She struggled with the issue of trusting others, which caused her problems and emotions to beat her up from the inside and out. When she told me the things she went through in her past a few days back, I discovered that she was living in the pits of darkness, depression, anxiety, and negativity. Her way of thinking, plus unfortunate things she had experienced as a child caused her to have a tumorous, unhealthy mind. She probably even harmed herself to numb the pain behind the curtains in her little room without anyone knowing.

Despite all this, it was because of these factors and personalities of Katsumi that made me want to get closer to her. I wanted to know if any of those various factors of her could hint me to my identity; I wanted to learn if any of the things she carried was also what I carried but never knew of it.

But I would've never thought I would get closer to her this way.

Her kissing me was the last thing that I thought would've even happened. But in a way, I was glad that it was happening because this was more heavenly than anything I had ever experienced in my life. The feeling of her lightly tanned lips were soft and delicate, but also perfectly firm, the taste of her mouth was sweet and minty at the same time, her body was firmly slim and toned in the most feminine way possible, and her skin was of sweet cherry scent that I drooled over for. My mind, body and lips devoured and enjoyed this blissful moment and hoped it would last for a very long time.

However, the moment my hands slid under her shirt, touching her soft, lustrous skin, she pulled her lips away from mine in shock. I winced at this because I was so deep into the kiss, I forgot I was still stuck in harsh reality. She sat there in between my legs as she gazed into my eyes with wide, stunned eyes while I gave her a similar look back. Our faces was so close, our noses was an inch away from each other. Though she pulled away from the kiss, her arms remained around my neck as my own arms were still firmly around her slender waist. Our chests thumped against each other by the fast beating of our hearts as we looked deeply into our eyes.

Then, she snapped out of fantasy and gasped in horror, realizing what had just happened as she pushed herself away from me with a gaped look on her face. I blinked the shock I held myself as I watched Katsumi pant from making out with me. I could understand that since I was panting myself from that as well.

I was having a hard time choosing the right words to speak since it had been a while since either of us actually spoken.

"K-Katsumi… what… what was—?"

"Just shut up, okay!?" She snapped angrily as she avoided eye contact with me.

I did what I was told and kept my mouth shut. Goodness, what was her problem? She had no right to be mad at me when she was the one who made the first move. In fact, I saw no reason for her to take her frustration out on me for her misfortune.

"Let's just pretend none of that happened, and go to sleep. We have to report our mission to Orochimaru before noon." She advised dully as her eyes still looked to the side.

I sighed at this scenario and laid myself down on my sleeping mat. I shifted to lay on my left as my back was facing towards Katsumi. With my eyes closed shut, I heard her swift movements behind me; it sounded like she was going into her sleeping area, possible at a farther distance from me than usual since she felt awkward about everything. As I laid there still and silent, my fingertips were touching my now reddened lips. The same lips that you-know-who was passionately kissing on. My mind went back to that moment where we kissed as if we desperately needed each other and we wanted our touches to be felt. I wondered by then if we would ever do something like this ever again in the near future.

It was actually a disgrace that I allowed someone like her to make me feel these feelings that I had never been exposed to before, and I probably shouldn't be exposed to it either. What would Lord Orochimaru think of me? Even worse, what about Sasuke? Why was Katsumi always forcing me on her rollercoaster of emotions in the first place?

'What are you doing to me…?' I thought to myself stressfully as I blacked out into complete slumber.

And that wraps up for Chapter 8! Hope that gets you hyped for the next chapter. But not too hype because that's a bad sign… from experience. Btw school's starting soon so that'll mess up my schedule meaning it'll take me even longer to post chapter so bear with me.

I also wanna thank lizyeh2000 again for being so awesome sauce and loyal to my fanfic. I feel the love, girl! (Btw, I hope I'm right that you're a girl cause that would be really awkward).