Another chapter for you fanfic lovers! Much love to you guys! And thanks to those who love my story cause seriously, you make me blush.

Chapter 14: A New Chapter With a Twist

Katsumi's POV:

I never thought that I would be such a hypocrite until last week. Damn, I was becoming less of an Uchiha than I already was. Actually no, I never cared about being an Uchiha in the first place because I was disrespected by the whole damned clan. Plus other stuff, but I really don't want to get into the details.

Excluding that fact, I never considered myself as a hypocritical person because I strongly believed I was a straight forward person. Ask anyone that knew me well. Even Sasuke knew I was because I saw no reason to give an unnecessary lie to anyone for any reason.

Anyway, the reason why I brought this up in the first place was because before last week, I made an oath to myself to push away from Kabuto and not get involved with him where it could be taken way out of proportion. But now look at me, dammit. I was a hypocrite for once in my life. I don't know what changed my mind, but after four eyes confessed his feelings for me, the realization of me possibly feeling the same way blossomed within my mind; this whole time I knew in my heart I felt something but my brain refused to accept it because I was in denial to begin with.

The funny thing was that he didn't try anything to achieve it. Kabuto frickin' Yakushi was just being an honest man and told me how he felt about me and of course me being a hypocritical, hormonal girl, I allowed him to sweep me off my feet like every single stupid fairy tale that ended with a happy ending. God, I hated those! And I hated myself for allowing the jerk to do this to me. He forced me to welcome another man in my life that I knew for a fact that it would end badly. I just knew it.

I couldn't understand why either. I mean, Kabuto wasn't drop-dead gorgeous but also all the guys I had grew up with weren't either. But he wasn't disgusting nor hideous, he just looked like a stereotypical bookworm that I somehow and someway "dug" him. Maybe it was because I was a bookworm myself and we were meant for each other, but everyone also claimed that Neji and I were meant for each other too and that we would make beautiful babies with our genes and whatever. The Yakushi boy was simply a regular guy that was well-built—in my opinion—, was very intelligent—which I also liked—, very focused, and confident in himself. There were other characteristics that explained him but it didn't matter because all of which were most of the things I liked in a guy.

So did I like Kabuto? Yes, I do. Was I attracted to him physically, mentally, and emotionally? As much as I wanted to deny it, yes. Do I have feelings for him? Yes and no for complicated reasons. Would I ever love him? No but I wouldn't go ahead and say never.

I really wanted to punch and kick myself for being such a weak girl who needed a man in her life to live—and I wasn't saying that I was—but I looked like it and it didn't sit well with me. I eventually stopped regretting in feeling something for the boy because I learned more about Kabuto than I did before we became as close as we were right now. And to be honest, I was happier than I was before. It was good to have someone by your corner when they were needed and were able to comfort and say the right things to make the scary and horrible stuff go away.

It was a good feeling that I would consider in cherishing.

Cut back to right now, where I was currently working in the examination room for the snake. For some odd reason, ever since we had upped our relationship the animosity between Orochimaru and I decreased. Don't ask me why because I had no answer to that myself. It wasn't because I saw him in a different light because the only light I saw on him was his pale white skin and nothing else. Lately, I had been doing errands and missions without any problem nor complaint. If anything, I was starting to obey that evil reptile. I was becoming a second Kabuto.

I was working on mixing medical herbs and other drugs to recreate physical and spiritual energy at the same time to maximum amount to regenerate chakra. But for some reason, they weren't reacting the way they were supposed to. I tried measuring and balancing the amount, the volume, and the concentration of the each, but the results kept blowing up in my face. Literally.

I spent so much time that I got super uncomfortable and I felt that my clothes were getting tighter every passing hour. I was fed up and just wanted to rip off all of my clothes and work naked. Of course, that was unethical. Kabuto stepped in and offered to borrow his shirt and after being a pushy gentlemen, I finally accepted his offer and I was glad that I did. He gave me one of his resting shirts that was dark navy blue that was so big, it reached down to my upper thighs. Literally, it looks like I was wearing no pants nor underwear, just a huge shirt. It was comfortable to say the least but it also made me have the urge to plop on something soft and turn in for the night even though it was about nine in the morning.

The fact that Kabuto and I were at the stage where we shared our items with each other made me feel awkward. I was never this close to anyone, excluding my brother. It wasn't like I didn't like it, it was just new to me. They always said "try something new", and now I completely understand what they meant.

As I kept my mind occupied from wanting to blow itself up from frustration, I heard the door opened then closed. I didn't bother checking who it was because it was so obvious who it was now present in the room with me. I waited until the suspected someone walked over towards me and stood right behind me to the point where I could physically feel the person's chest in which I slightly shivered. They didn't have their shirt on, dammit. I relaxed my nerves as I brought my attention back to my work. But of course, he didn't make that easy for me. He wrapped his strong, firm arms around me as he rested his head against the back of mine. One of his hands started caressing my stomach which made my body shiver even more like I was stuck in the snow and was lacking a jacket. He pressed his nose and lips against the far part of my jawline as he breathed his hot breath on my skin, warming me up.

This was what I meant. I was a hypocritical and hormonal girl and I wanted someone to kick me to the curb and yell at me to get a life. My mind knew that but my emotional organ—also known as the heart— didn't want to hear it from my brain nor anyone else.

There was no point in forcing myself to work on something that wasn't going well while jerk-face here was trying to seduce me so I huffed loudly and dropped my notebook on the table.

"I'm back…" He breathed beguilingly and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I sighed at his obvious statement. "Of course you are, Kabuto. I would still be working if you weren't…"

I felt Kabuto's lips pout on my skin as his hands moved downwards on my waist. "Are you implying that you're not happy to see me?" He asked accusingly, trying to make me feel guilty for "hurting" his "feelings".

I rolled my eyes as I lifted my hand over towards my shoulder and rubbed his cheek.

"That kind of hurts my feelings…" He added mockingly, pressing me closer to him.

"Puh-lease, since when your feelings have ever been hurt?" I scoffed with an unimpressed smile.

"…Since I started having feelings for you…" He whispered alluringly.

My face fell the second I heard him said that. It wasn't because I was disappointed by this fact since my goal was to prevent it from happening. The reason was because of his feelings for me, he was turning into a different person. He was more open, honest, loving, embracive, compassionate and empathetic especially towards me. At first I thought he was faking it, but I was wrong; he was actually being for real. In a way, it made me feel special because he was never like this until we started getting closer than friends and it was because of me that he was changing for the better. I couldn't help but feel good. The downside to this was that I wasn't changing at all. I wasn't changing in a way that he was: being all cute, fluffy, bleh stuff.

To put it simply, I wasn't really showing Kabuto how committed I was as much as he was.

Did that made me a bad person? I couldn't help it since I didn't love him as much as he loved me and I wasn't even certain if I loved him in the first place. I had never loved a guy in my life with the exception of Sasuke, Itachi, and Naruto but even there love was at a different sense. It was just too scary, such a handful, too much commitment and it was just something I didn't want to get myself into.

Overall, I honestly felt bad for not expressing so much of myself to Kabuto as he was doing to me. All the stuff he had done for me… I don't think I deserved any of it.

"Hey, Katsumi…"

Kabuto's call for my attention instantly worked as I hummed in response.

"Don't worry about me. I understand… you're unsure of your feelings for me…" He gently assured, slowly slipping his hand underneath his shirt which I was wearing. "The last thing I'd ever want is pressuring you and for you to push away from me for that…"

I could distinctly feel his hand touching and feelings my tummy. His hand was hungry for the firm and flat torso and continued to caress with love. Touches like Kabuto's made me feel anxious, excited, and enticed. I had never got this feeling with Neji, ever.

"… Plus, I know that you're at least attracted to me, and that's satisfying to know…" He added kindly as his grip on me tightened.

The one thing I also kind of adored about Kabuto was his comforting words. There weren't cheesy, nor a lie. He was being honest, and considering that it was from the likes of him, it made me feel even more special. I sighed calmly and gently tightened my grasp on his neck.

"I know I'm being complicated, but I just can't get my mind straight on this. I feel like such a bother because of this." I grumbled lowly, furrowing my eyebrows. "If I could feel the same way, then maybe we could—."

"It doesn't have to go that way, Katsumi…" Kabuto interjected hardly in a sweet matter. "I told this already… I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes. All I want is to be with you…"

Feeling loved by someone that wasn't related felt so much like heaven, it was crazy. I mean, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and everyone else loved me too, but not in a romantic way. Even Neji wasn't this intimate with me because he was a Hyuga and like the Uchiha, intimacy and relationships don't matter, only popping out gifted babies mattered. Sure, Neji actually cared about me a lot and actually tried to change himself for me—which I couldn't be more flattered—but it just wasn't the same with Kabuto. The Yakushi male didn't want a baby nor a strong heir/princess of a strong clan, he just wanted me. I couldn't hold back the blush becoming visible on my cheeks.

"That's comforting to hear… thank you…" I smiled softly, looking down at the table.

Kabuto puffed from his nose then he finally released his hold on me, which sort of left me standing there a bit empty. Lately, I had gotten used to being in his arms. I heard him walked over to my side and he heaved himself up to sit on the edge of the table. He watched me as I continued working. I prayed to God he wouldn't notice that I was having a bit of trouble with it and just get lost looking at me, but dammit that wasn't the case. I wasn't even half close.

"You forgot the convert the volume units in that equation there…" He critiqued blankly, pointing his index finger on a part of my written calculations.

I gritted my teeth for my mistake. I was an Uchiha; this was a problem for me.

"S**t! I knew it!" I exclaimed in frustration, immediately started scribbling at the mistake I did.

Kabuto smirked, finding my frown cute and attractive as he lightly pinched my cheek like how a father would do that sort of thing to his daughter. I winced when he gently squeezed his grip on my cheek, giggling at my reaction.

"Don't sweat it, my child." He cooed sweetly, giving me a rare happy smile.

However, I didn't smile back or did anything at all. The look on my face looked like I saw something I regretted ever seeing.

"The hell, Kabuto?" I commented in confusion as I sounded weirded out. "You know what you just called me was disturbing in many levels, right?"

Normally, when a guy liked me and said something that came off the wrong way, they would usually blush and do whatever the hell they could to redeem themselves even after countless of times of me telling them it was no big deal because it really wasn't a big deal. Apparently, Kabuto was different than the others because he simply shrugged at my analysis; he never really took my words to heart which made it somewhat easier for me.

"Well—on my defense—you are considered a minor, also referred to as a child." He pointed out matter-of-factly as he adjusted his eye glasses.

I cocked my head to the side. "Yeah, but still… it's kind of weird and appalling to call me—your partner—a child." I countered as I lifted an eyebrow, waiting for this information to sink in.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion when Kabuto gave me a devious, tempting, and dangerous smirk which was rare to see unless if he was really trying to scare someone. It wasn't scaring me, but it was creeping me out.

"Partner…" He repeated the one word I blankly mentioned in a low, mysterious tone.

I was getting curious now; what the hell was he up to?

"Yes… I like the sound of that…" He sighed blissfully, closing his eyes as if he were in heaven. "Katsumi Uchiha… not only my medic partner… but also my intimate partner…"

I exhaled loudly at him then went back to doing my original business. Even becoming his partner, he was still just as annoying as he was before.

"I swear, there's something in that head of yours that has to get out… whatever it is…" I commented underneath my breath, writing down more notes on the notebook.

"But seriously though… what's your take?" I heard Kabuto questioned in a tone which sounded that he was done trying to make a joke.

"My take on what?" I questioned back curiously as my focused remained on the paper in front of me.

"Your take on us being… partners." He clarified blankly, sounding a bit hesitant. "When you and I are… at different stages of our lives…"

My mind processed his words, trying to pinpoint what he meant exactly because it was sort of broad to me. When he said, "different stages of our lives", what did he mean by that?

More importantly, what answer was he expecting from me?

"If I may ask…" I spoke dully, keeping my eyes on my notes. "Are you referring to the age gap?"

That was really the only thing I could come up with in the last second. And it made sense now that I thought about it. It was true, Kabuto was older than me… a little older than I wished. The age difference wasn't as bad to me since we were both intelligent, and mature beyond our age so I don't see a huge difference in that sense. Regardless of that, he was still older than me by a lot to others and sometimes myself—which was another reason why I initially wanted to avoid my feelings for him, but I had gotten used to it and Kabuto didn't seemed to be bothered by this at all.

Said male nodded nervously at my assumption, to which I continued.

"It's true you're older than I am by a few years." I stated, writing down some notes. "I don't know what else there is to it."

"Six years isn't just a 'few years'." He amended in a sigh as he rested his chin on his hand. "Not to mention that you're still a minor and I'm an adult, which is kind of controversial for that reason. You're the youngest person I've ever fallen for, never mind the only person."

I stayed quiet as I written down more calculations. Kabuto saw this as me avoiding the topic to which he continued regardless.

"I know that age is just a number to you… but still…"

I cut him off by sighing loudly, signalling to stop telling me his worrisome antics. I dropped my notebook and pen and turned to face him.

"You're right, age is just a number to me, and it should be to you too." I straight-forwardly claimed. "Reason being is because I know how you feel about me and how I feel about you, despite those strengths. Your strong feelings for me tells me right away you don't care how old I am, and that you'll still treat me with respect, compassion, care… and love. So don't worry about it…"

Kabuto blinked incredulously at my words, especially when I mentioned that I even had feelings for him. They weren't as strong as his, but they were still feelings.

"As for me, it's the same…" I continued as I placed most of my weight on the table. "I couldn't care less if you're six years older than me. If anything, it's not as bad as you think it is. Sure, I'm considered a child and you're an adult who is technically having an intimate relationship with a child, but that's not important to me."

"But what about your village?" He then questioned curiously, wanting an answer immediately. "There's no doubt that the Leaf will do some—."

"Again, that shouldn't be bothering you, Kabuto…" I interrupted him again with a sigh. "I'm no longer a shinobi from the Leaf, so their regulations have nothing to do with me. As for you, they shouldn't be poking their nose in your business at all…"

Kabuto seemed to relax after I assured him with my debating skills. I loved the feelings of being right; it just felt too good. Never remembered the day I was wrong.

"However…" I spoke up, gaining the boy's attention. "The person you should be worried about is Orochimaru…"

Kabuto shrugged of this detail as he looked at the floor. "Believe it or not, I'm not really concerned of that. There's never been a situation where his henchmen or subordinates being punished for having an affair or a relationship with another of that kind. Besides, it's not like we're standing in his way from his ambitions, so I'm pretty sure he won't do anything drastic." He explained briefly.

I raised an eyebrow on his hypothesis. "Are you sure there isn't anything we should be worried about? Nothing at all?"

Kabuto glanced at me as he gave me a blank look, not wanting me to read his eyes because he knew how good I was at that sort of thing.

"The only thing I believe he won't be happy about is the fact that I told you about my true self and my past." He answered assumingly, however it sounded like he was certain about this statement.

I nodded. "True. I mean, I don't see a good reason why though." I agreed doubtfully, genuinely curious about it.

Kabuto shrugged. "Me neither. And honestly, some of the stuff he says makes no sense to me." He admitted with as he rested half of his weight on his arms behind him, giving me a good view of his perfect, manly physique.

"And do you say anything?" I asked amusedly, enjoying this humorous side of his.

Kabuto snorted at my question. "That's like asking you to tell Sasuke he reminds you of a duck's ass; his hair looks like a duck's behind… and he's simply an ass…"

I giggled at his joke; it was hilarious of how true it was.

"Yeah, you're right…" I agreed with a small smile. "I even tell him that myself…"

Kabuto's eyelids twitched at my words.

"Yeah, and he hates it because it's the truth." I added, supporting this fact. "He also hates the fact that he can't tell me off like he does to other people because it doesn't faze me."

Kabuto snickered then the look on his face fell into a serious, hard look.

"What do you think will happen…?" He spoke thoughtfully, grabbing my attention. "… If Sasuke figures out about us…?"

I thought about his question, trying to give him a decent answer. I too question about this: what would Sasuke do?

"He'll probably rip your arms, beat me with them. Then, to top it all off, he'll rip out your intestines and strangle me with them until I learned my lesson." I answered blankly, not fazed by my disturbing assumption.

Kabuto gave me a weird look after he heard the answer he got. I guessed he regretted ever asking me the question.

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

I shrugged at his comment. "He's also unpredictable. What's your point?" I muttered.

Kabuto remained silent after my question, raising my curiosity. I never meant to ask him a legitimate question but now that he was giving me a weird look, I was curious to know. I threw him a solid look, demanding him to speak to which he sighed.

"What I meant to say is…" He spoke in a low, dull tone. "… I strongly feel that you shouldn't care what your brother thinks or in this case… how he'll react. He has to at least be considerate about it"

If Kabuto was in my position, he would win the award for biggest hypocrite in the whole Ninja World as I came as runner-up.

"What I'm hearing from you sounds like you believing Sasuke is the most selfish, unreasonable, horrible, heartless person on the face of this planet." I analyzed hardly, narrowing my eyes at him. "I know who he truly is because I've seen his soft side numerous of times since he doesn't trust anyone like he trusts me…"

Kabuto blinked at my words and then he adjusted his glasses as they were sliding down his nose.

"Besides, he's my older brother; his job is to protect me—his little sister—from everything and everyone." I added blankly as my eyes softened. "And to be honest, I don't blame him for not immediately approving me dating a guy who he not only dislikes, but is years older than me."

I heard a 'tsk' from the medic-nin as he furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Yeah, sure. But, he also has to know that I truly care and have strong feelings for you too. He has to understand that I will protect you as much as he does from anything and anyone… despite his personal feelings towards me and the age difference."

I slouched tiredly and lifted myself up to sit on the edge of the table like Kabuto. Once I succeeded, I rotated my body so that I was physically facing him entirely as I crossed my legs to make myself comfortable on the solid surface below me. The medic-nin did the same by turning his body to face me as one leg was hanging off the table and the other was folded between him and myself. It was then I really noticed that Kabuto wasn't wearing his shirt which didn't really faze me because since we had become partners, he gained both the confidence and comfort in being topless when I was around. I don't know why he was self-conscience because he was… beautiful. Like I mentioned before, he had a manly physique but wasn't so buff. His torso had firm, manly breasts that weren't too big nor small. It had a set of abs that were showing his masculinity perfectly with a slim but broad waist. His arms carried muscles that were perfectly pulp and clearly showed his work while training. They weren't big and bulky nor they were small and bony, they were built just the way I liked it. On top of all that, his tanned skin toned was like the cherry on top of the delicious sundae.

It was then I knew I had a fetish for guys who were handsome but don't know it nor believe it; it made it all the more attractive.

Kabuto Yakushi was simply beautiful and hot, especially with his devious, unpredictable, seductive personality.

Just having these hot thoughts about my partner made me feel a warm, bugging sensation within the very core of me. Damn it all to hell. This was the first time I felt aroused. I never wanted to be that kind of girl who would think of hot, dirty, sexy stuff about their significant other because I wasn't interested in anything along those lines. But the fact that I was having these thoughts about Kabuto made me feel high in temptation as I felt my face feeling really hot. I tried my hardest to distract myself but dammit I ended up staring directly at the male's physique, which made me turned on in a second. The sight of this gorgeous human being made me start to sweat as I felt like my body was in fire. If I had a mirror right now, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked as red as an apple.

A moment later, I felt a hand cupping my cheek firmly as I winced at this sudden touch. I gazed up to see the same person I was fantasying about sending a kind, soft look behind his prescribed lenses. I blinked a couple of times while my mind tried to process as fast as it could to bring itself back to reality. Kabuto stretched his lips until they showed a sweet, soothing smile.

"I love it when your cheeks turn pink…" He complimented sweetly as his thumb lightly massaged my reddened cheek. "It makes you look even cuter and more beautiful…"

Kabuto's comment made me feel… it just made me feel lighter. He made me feel nervous yet prettier. His compliments were so genuine that I believed almost everything except I don't show it. I had had compliments about my looks and such, but they never really sounded truthful to me. But when the medic-nin complimented me, it made me feel good about myself. I usually get my self-confidence from myself and sometimes my brother; this time, this person was giving me self-confidence and it was Kabuto of all people.

I gave him a small, weak smile as I lowered my gaze. But I was forced to look up at him again by his grip on my cheek. The look he gave me was harder but his eyes shined by the light hanging on the ceiling.

"I mean that, Katsumi. You really are beautiful…" He repeated kindly; his tone sounded like he meant what he said.

I would've thought that he was messing with me, but I knew he was telling the truth. He really thought that I was the most beautiful thing that ever stepped on the face of the earth.

I removed his hand from my cheek and held his hand in both of my own. My eyes were glued onto my hands holding and playing with his, trying my hardest to distract myself. I knew I was still blushing and I chose not to look at Kabuto in the eye until the redness diminished. I never realized that my hands were baby-sized compared to his; it wasn't like his hands were huge, it was that my hands were smaller than average. When I clasped on his thumb, it reminded me of a baby holding onto its mother's finger. It kind of reminded me of the age difference between us.

"I can't help myself from blushing when you're always saying that 'I'm beautiful'." I pouted softly, keeping my eyes staring down at our hands.

Kabuto softly chortled at my words then he leaned over to kiss my forehead as I sat there frozen, unfazed by the kiss at all.

"So why did it take you so long to get here?" I asked him, completely changing the subject.

"Lord Orochimaru wanted to review the plan for the mission I'll be accompanying him later today. Once I was dismissed, I went to take a quick shower." He briefed simply as his eyes found the interest in watching my hands playing around with his own.

I kept my eyes on our linked hands as I curiously asked, "What's the mission, anyway?"

When I didn't get an immediate answer from Kabuto, I was confused. I finally gathered myself up and looked at him square in the face only to see the uncomfortableness on his face. It made me skeptical because I saw no reason to be so hesitant, meaning there was something that was a part of the mission he didn't want me to know. I glared at him in frustration, demanding him to start talking. The medic-nin knew he wasn't able to keep his mouth shut for long as he huffed loudly.

"Stopping a squad from the Hidden Leaf Village from bringing both you and Sasuke back." He answered flatly, staring at me expressionlessly.

I wasn't sure how to react so I just raised my eyebrow. I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing in my case since I was basically forced to work for Orochimaru. But lately, I had gotten used to living here and the people within each lair. And in all honesty, the snake wasn't as heartless as I originally thought; he was a heartless being, but he didn't exactly made my life a living hell. However, I did missed living in freedom in the Leaf and seeing all of my friends and mentors that I cared so much for. Especially of those from Squad 7; each member were like family to me.

But regardless of that, I had Kabuto who loved and cared for me in a way I had never loved and cared for. And as much as it pained and shocked me to say, it would honestly hurt me to leave him for my former home. I couldn't believe that I was struggling the decision between Kabuto and the Leaf.

I gulped down my thoughts as I placed a stern look on my face while I gripped his hand tightly.

"Is there anything else I should know before I figure it out myself?" I inquired, verbally pushing him to tell me more.

Kabuto used his free hand to adjust his glasses on his nose; this normally happened when he was giving an answer that could be shocking for most people.

"Well, the squad that's assigned to the mission…" He spoke lowly, looking directly at my forehead to make it look like he was looking at me when I knew he really wasn't.

"It's the modified team of Squad 7…"

I was too busy thinking how unlucky I was as a human being. It was kind of ironic that Team 7 was coming here to bring me and Sasuke home when the team itself was my home already. But I wouldn't say I was as happy as I thought I would be in the past. I don't know if it was because of losing hope in ever returning, or living in this environment was—somehow—growing on me. I guess it was because I would be more willing to go back than Sasuke since he had a "reason" to stay with Orochimaru. Or maybe it was the fact that he was the one thing that was holding me back from wanting to go. Whatever it was, I wasn't completely sure if I wanted to leave.

"What do you mean by 'modified'?" I suddenly questioned, forgetting about this detail added to his answer.

"Kakashi Hatake is out of action due to extensive injuries he endured during the Kazekage rescue mission, so a fellow jonin is taking his place in this mission. And there is also a ninja taking Sasuke's place… one of Danzo's Anbu I told you about a while back…" He briefly answered.

I remembered Danzo very well because I always heard his name almost everywhere I went since my childhood. I wasn't sure what kind of person he was since I had mixed reviews and rumours about him from a lot of people. But on a bias standpoint, I had the strange feeling that he was a corrupted, manipulative, conservative leader who cared about nothing but the Leaf after what Kabuto told me from personal experience. I was also aware of Kakashi being injured due to the overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan because Itachi briefly touched on that subject while he was training me.

Speaking of which, I was already informed that the Akatsuki taking action after three years since their last attempt by kidnapping and stealing the One-Tailed Beast from Gaara, the current Kazekage. It made me sick to my stomach when Kabuto told me the news because my eldest sibling and his partner—the one I couldn't stand to look at, Kisame Hoshigaki—attempted to kidnap Naruto to obtain the Nine-Tails from him. This news also reached to Sasuke and he went a bit mad as he attacked Itachi without really thinking straight which ended miserably for him since he didn't hit a single blow. Luckily, before he got himself killed I saved him and everyone in the hotel Naruto and Jiraiya were staying at the time. I wasn't able to stop Itachi by injuring him as I too surrendered to his damned genjutsu which knocked me out for a while. So the fact that they went ahead and did the same to Gaara and succeeded really bothered me; they literally had no shame nor remorse.

I wondered how Naruto felt about all of this.

Luckily Gaara was brought back to life by a Sand Elder who used a reanimation ninjutsu to save him with the cost of her own life. It was both a touching and sad ending but it was happy nonetheless.

"Did they assign someone to replace me?" I asked him curiously, wanting to know if the participate had a bit of the same potential as my own.

Kabuto slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I highly doubt it though. If I remembered correctly, you weren't really a member of Squad 7 like Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura; you were more like an assistant mentor for Kakashi." He answered doubtfully.

That was true. When we were assigned to our squads in the Academy, I was the only one left that wasn't put into the team. The Hokage requested a visit and he told me that my skills far surpassed all chunin and genin and half of the jonin in the village,—which was sort of true—and he offered me other positions rather than being assigned to a squad. I turned down the Anbu because I knew how much time, stress, and energy that had to be put into in that sort of position; I barely saw Itachi when he was in Anbu and it made me worried and curious as to what he was doing when he was out. Realizing that none of the offers interested me, he just told me to keep on being Head Medic of the Leaf Hospital while being Kakashi's assisting mentor to which I accepted. Since then, I enjoyed it very much and I continued to see myself doing it if I didn't flee the village.

Overall, the fact that they didn't replace me didn't bother me nor did it made any huge of a difference to me.

Kabuto knew I wasn't mentally here with him as he placed his free hand on my knee firmly while his thumb rubbed my skin on my knee. It was kind of him of not disturbing me from my deep thoughts and knowing that I needed time to process my feelings.

"You're not going to hurt them… will you?" I hesitantly asked in a soft tone, scared but prepared to hear the worst.

The medic-nin didn't answer me instantly, but it didn't take him a while to give me one either.

"If things get tough, I can't guarantee that and you know this as much as I do." He replied bluntly, grasping my knee tightly to show he meant it in a sensitive but honest sense.

I nodded weakly at his words; I understood completely. Especially since the wounds on Naruto and Sakura were still fresh by Sasuke and myself when we fled the village. Not only that, there was a good chance that the tailed-beast within the blonde could go out of control, resulting everyone in the area dead. So considering how both Kabuto and Orochimaru would use self-defence to protect themselves, I had no right to stop them. However what didn't sit too well with me was the thought of them pulling the first move to kill them; it made me feel even guiltier. My grey haired partner was aware of my guilt for leaving and that there was so much unnecessary weight on my shoulders; he was very careful and sensitive about this and tried whatever he could to ease it, which I appreciated a lot.

"For you… I will not attempt to kill them because I know how much you care about them and how bad you must feel for what you've put them through." He promised gently, removing a strand of hair from my face. "And I'll do my best to make sure Lord Orochimaru will do the same. But you have to promise me to stop feeling bad for something you had no control over of."

I gave him a small nod as my pupils stared directly at my hands clasping onto his right hand, admiring how soft but strong the limb was.

"Just don't do anything harsh and try not to provoke them. Other than that, you may do as you please." I told him in a slur.

"Of course…" He breathed.

Kabuto then got off of the table and immediately grabbed ahold of me and took me off of the table too. He still had me in his strong arms as he held me tightly around my slim figure once my feet touched the floor. I didn't mind this gesture as I rested my hands on his shoulders. One of them subconsciously started to fondle up and down his manly-built chest, meanwhile my eyes were gazing into the dark pools in his soft eyes that were gazing back. I gave his nose a soft peck, sneaking the fact that his hold on me was blissful.

"Does Sasuke know any of this?" I asked him meekly, looking up at him curiously.

"I don't think so." He answered lightly, placing a kiss on my forehead. "However, I'm pretty sure Lord Orochimaru will keep it a secret from him, just to be safe."

I huffed heavily as I plopped my forehead against his as our lips were positioned not even an inch away. His breath respired on my lips, causing me to both warm up and get the quivers.

"Knowing Sasuke, he'll probably won't even bat an eye about it; he simply doesn't care about anything except for power and revenge." I commented vaguely as my hand around his neck gently clawed the back of it.

The grey haired male smiled lightly at my comment then he leaned in to kiss my lips affectionately which I naturally responded to because his kisses were too difficult to turn down. It wasn't as heated as our previous kisses but it was still something that I savoured. The only thing that was heated about it was when Kabuto slipped his hands underneath the shirt I was wearing, feeling and caressing the back of my torso with desperation as he continued to slowly but deeply capture my lips with his. Since I was borrowing and currently wearing one of his shirts, it was twice my size so it made it easier for his hungry hands to feel almost every part of me under the piece of clothing.

"God, you're so hot…" He exhaled heatedly between our locked lips.

I pulled away, taking a breather as he did the same. He rested his forehead on mine as his hands were still under the shirt, clutching as they rubbed against my skin. The fact that Kabuto knew exactly what he was doing while touching me was still never clear to me because I was the first person he fell for, if I remembered correctly.

"I still don't get how you're so good at this sort of stuff… when this is your first time ever in a relationship…" I thought aloud in curiosity, staring into his eyes.

Kabuto smirked at me as he placed a soft kiss on my lips. He pulled back while still having that smirk he always seemed to put on to look more dominant in any situation.

"Well, it's not like I was clueless or anything." He replied slyly. "Let's just say… I was waiting for the right person…"

Hearing his reply made me anxious for variety of reasons. Mostly, it was because in my mind, he hinted that he wanted to touch me in an intimate way for a while before he actually did. The thought of that was both enticing and nerve-wracking.

"How long will you be out for?" I then asked, once again changing the subject.

"At least till later today. Tomorrow, the latest…" He briefly answered, to which I sighed.

"Well, you should be heading out now. The snake's probably waiting for you. So, I suggest you leave now." I suggested dully.

Kabuto frowned. "And I suggest you stop calling Lord Orochimaru a 'snake'; it's becoming a habit of yours."

I shrugged his suggestion. "Well, he literally is a snake, so I don't know what you want me to do, to be honest." I pointed out flatly.

The medic-nin giggled lowly at my words and placed a firm, passionate kiss on my lips one final time. I made sure to make the most of it before he released his grip on my and started heading towards the door.

"Make sure you behave well while we're gone. And be sure to not break anything." He prompted mockingly, looking over his shoulder at me with the light reflecting off his lenses; this resulted me unable to visibly see his eyes.

I scoffed at him. "Just shut up and leave already. I don't need you to nag like I'm a child…" I softly snapped, sharpening my stare.

Kabuto smirked at my defense one last time then he exited the room, leaving me in the examination room alone once again. I exhaled heavily and went back to quickly finish up whatever was left that needed to be done. As I did so, my mind went on its own and started piling itself with thoughts about the mission that Squad 7 was supposedly involved in. It raised a few questions about the whole thing when I looked at it, but that would result me having more questions than answers and that sort of thing really bugged me. I guess I had to wait and see.

'I wonder if I would be able to see them for myself…' I questioned myself in thought, really curious about how much they had all grown since the last time.

What I was also intrigued of was knowing if they had grown stronger and improved in their abilities as much as Sasuke and myself. Because in my opinion, that would determine if whether or not they had a chance of ever bringing us back home to the Leaf Village.

That wraps Chapter 14 guys. Hope you guys enjoyed it because the next few will be interesting.