Just gonna cut to the chase. Here's Chapter 16!

Chapter 16: The Unexpected Update (Part 1)

I used the spare key to the prison room located deep in the lair to let myself into the cells where the prisoners/experiments were held captive. I wasn't supposed to have a key to this room to begin with because Orochimaru "forbid" me. But despite this, Kabuto gave me a spare key just in case. Once I unlocked the huge titanium door, I entered the room with the cart that carried all of the food and baked goods I made for the prisoners.

Since there was no denying their end was near, they at least deserved something so they wouldn't feel as miserable.

I halted my footsteps in front of one of the cells that contained about twenty prisoners looking either dead or hopeless. They didn't even bother looking at me since they were stuck for God knows how long; probably even before I settled in. One of the prisoners eventually took notice at my presence and threw me an ugly, hateful glare. Couldn't blame him; I too would hate every single bloody person who walked past me if I was jailed in with a bunch of other people.

"What the hell are you doing here, SKANK!?" He spat lividly with the urge to kill me if he could.

His use of tone caused many other prisoners to move their attention towards me. Half of them were taken back by my presence while the other half couldn't give any sort of damn since it was empty during their captivity. However that didn't bother me. What did bothered be was being called a skank; it wasn't who I was nor I liked the name to begin with.

I threw him an intimidating glare. "You watch your mouth, bastard… or else I'm going to punish you with imaginable pain and hell, it'll make this place like heaven." I threatened venomously as I activated my Sharingan to show just how serious I was being.

Once he saw my inherited crimson eyes, his face fell into a regretful and frightened look. Meanwhile everyone else in the cell looked just as intimated and scared as the idiot who decided it was smart to insult me. I huffed out my anger and pulled out a key ring that contained all of the cell keys in the room. The prisoners watch in shock as I unlocked the cell and opened the cell door. I saw the look of disbelief and hope on their faces, thinking that they were finally able to leave the darkness and be free from any boundaries. Sadly for them, they were getting their hopes up too high to my liking.

"Sorry suckers, but it's not what it looks like; I'm not letting you go." I announced straight-forwardly, instantly seeing the despair on their faces. "Even if I did, you know Orochimaru won't let you get away. Plus, I would have to face harsh consequences for defying him."

"Then why are you here in the first place? To mock us?" Another prisoner seethed at me, showing his aggression in his eyes.

I blinked at his question and blanked replied, "Believe me, doing that is tempting by the sounds of it. But unlike the people working for the snake and himself, I have some heart and compassion."

The rest of the prisoners who weren't paying attention to me glanced at me with confusion. All of them waited for me to give them a more specific answer. To this, I slipped out of the cell and returned with the food cart. All of the prisoners studied the cart in my grasp curiously, getting even more confused than before as the urge to know my motives grew. I sighed at the curious looks they were throwing at me, making me both uncomfortable and annoyed.

"I made you some grub and desserts because it's obvious to me that all of you barely eat, never mind something good. Plus I had spare time, so I thought I might as well make you all something good for you to enjoy at least a little bit." I told them simply as I regarded my eyes towards the well-organized plates on the cart.

After hearing my explanation, they were in shock once again; they were surprised by the fact that there was actually someone in the lair that was remotely nice, let alone generous. Again, I couldn't blame them since I would think the same way.

"So, you're telling us that you prepared us a full course meal out of kindness?" One of the prisoners questioned skeptically.

I nodded. "Yes. You guys have already been through enough and doing this is the least I can do."

Most of the prisoners sighed happily and in relief while the others smiled brightly though they still had a dull look on their faces from misery. But there were a select few that were doubtful about my kind gesture as they examined hardly at me and at the food cart by my side.

"You idiots are so easily absorbed by this, are you? It just shows how desperate you are." One of the skeptics hissed in irritation as all heads were turned to him.

"What you even talking about?" One of the prisoners who were relieved questioned hardly, annoyed that he was ruining the joy.

"It's common sense, fool." He snapped angrily, then glared over towards me. "How do we know exactly if she really is being nice and generous? If anything, she could've been sent here by Orochimaru to poison us or something."

Hearing his analysis made everyone who was excited for the food nervous or traumatized. Then, all of their heads turned my way as they showed the look of betrayal, disgust, or hurt in their eyes. I honestly felt bad for these men; their spirit and pride had been crushed and extinguished long ago to the point where they were living, empty shells. They would either believe in everything or doubt anything; it was literally sad considering what they had went through.

"That is unlikely because both Orochimaru and Kabuto left on a high-rank mission earlier today; it would've been close to impossible for him to make me poison you guys, especially if there was no good reason behind it." I opposed thoughtfully, deactivating my Sharingan. "Besides, I refuse to follow any of the snake's orders that involve around hurting innocent people."

I was very good at reasoning with others and this was no exception as almost every single prisoner sighed once again in relief, feeling secured that nothing bad would happen to them. Meanwhile, the doubters still remained silent as their eyes studied me, still not completely convinced of my actions.

I slumped my shoulders. "Listen, I'm not forcing you to eat; that is completely up to you. All I'm trying to do is to be generous and not hurt you in any way. It's your choice to starve yourselves to death while the others enjoyed the food."

I left it at that as I started handing each dish to each hungry prisoner who gracious took it out of my hands. Those who already received their food devoured their plates as I continued to give out the dishes. The skeptics watched as the others went ham on their food, raising their temptation. Knowing they were going to cave in, I handed them their plates and hesitantly took it and ate slowly. Once the taste settled in their mouths, they too started munching hungrily at the food. I watched as their chomping and chewing echoed within the room. Good thing I made extra food for them since I knew they were starving. I turned towards the cart and picked up two large containers and placed it on the ground, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.

"These containers contain baked goods I made for you all after your meal." I explained. "They are meant to last for at least a week."

All of their faces beamed with joy when they heard there was also dessert. I had a fetish of making people feel good and better in a bad situation because I had empathy for them in those areas. I wished that I had someone who knew what I went through so I could feel that I truly belong. These prisoners had no one but themselves and they went through the same thing together; I just wished they got along to make their circumstances easier.

I went ahead and placed two more containers and two big pots on the ground which raised some eyebrows as half of them had their faces filled with food.

"Inside these are extras. I'm pretty sure they will last for about a week too if your proportions are wise. If you run out, I'll make more for you if I have the chance since Orochimaru doesn't know I'm doing this nor I'm certain if I'm even allowed to." I briefly explained to them, rolling my shoulders.

They all gasped or breathed incredulous as if Orochimaru was standing right behind me. I raised an eyebrow at their odd reaction; why were they acting so weird all of a sudden?

"So, you're doing this behind Lord Orochimaru's back?" One prisoner inquired in shock, lowering his plate. "Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"

"He's right." Another prisoner pitched in. "There's no doubt that he'll make you suffer until your death the second he figures out what you're doing to help us."

"I honestly don't see what the big—."

"You're giving us hope." A third prisoner cut me off. "The reason why Orochimaru tortured us mentally, physically, emotionally, and psychologically because he wanted us to lose the dream of ever living a normal life. That way, we'll willing do what he says because we're that broken within. You being kind to us and doing this gesture will give us some humanity back which he despised because we would end up 'defying' him."

I thought about the male's words as I saw some truth behind it. It made sense in a way, but at the same time, it was stupid to worry such a thing since the damage was already done and literally nothing could fix it.

"Plus, you'll get yourself killed too." A fourth prisoner pointed out lowly, sounding a bit worried.

I let out a smug chuckle which caught everyone in the cell off guard.

"Remember, I'm the vessel's younger sister." I smirked proudly, earning gaped looks from everyone. "Meaning, unless he wants the vessel for himself, Orochimaru is not allowed to harm me. Plus, I can defend myself so there shouldn't be a huge problem."

They all blinked at me blankly, not knowing how to react.

"So I'll be fine. As far as you guys go, he'll never know unless you say anything." I assured in bore.

The second each prisoner relaxed, they went back to eating whatever was on their plate. I was curious if what I made for them tasted good in their point of view; I wasn't doubting my cooking, I was curious if they knew what it tasted like since they hadn't eaten for so long. It was probably the fact that they hadn't eaten was the reason why they devoured the food. Nonetheless, I was satisfied that they enjoyed their meal.

"My job here is done, so I should probably get out of here before someone notices." I exhaled loudly then turned towards the cell door.

As I locked the cell, all of the prisoners faced me and bowed their heads. This was awkward because no one had ever bowed nor showed any formal respect until now, so I wasn't sure how I should react or what to say.

"Bless your soul, young one. May only good things happen to you for your kindness…" One prisoner exclaimed in worship.

I stood outside of the cell, blinking in shock at every single person trapped in there. Regardless, I was honored that I gained their respect and became something that gave them a bit of their humanity back.

"Just keep this secret between us, and the food will keep on coming…" I scolded lightly, placing my hands on my hips.

"Yes, of course~!" They agreed in unison, giving me sad but grateful smiles.

I returned a small smile back and quickly removed myself along with the food cart from the cell room. I went back to the kitchen and washed all of the dirty pots, pans, trays, and other stuff I used to cook and bake so I wouldn't get in trouble for making a mess. Once the kitchen was spotless by my doing, I quickly made my way back to my bedroom. Since getting close to Kabuto, he helped and assisted me in knowing my way around the long hallways of the lair. Thanks to him, I knew how to get around quicker and easier with barely any difficulties.

Once I shut my bedroom door, I stepped in front of my full-view mirror and examined my identical copy that looked directly at me. I still wore Kabuto's shirt that he let me borrowed earlier which was now covered in food stains and flour from all the kitchen work. Speaking of which, how come Sasuke didn't questioned or even noticed that I was wearing a male's shirt? He probably thought that I was borrowing one of his shirts and didn't really cared if I did so since I had always done that since we were children. Still, the fact that he wasn't suspicious or curious the slightest made me question his intelligence and senses a bit.

Huh, more powerful, my ass.

I took a quick shower and then I went ahead to hand-wash Kabuto's shirt then hung it on the shower curtain rod to let it dry. I put on my regular ninja outfit I always wore and then I removed the towel that was wrapped firmly around my head. I gently combed my hair with a wide-tooth comb to remove any tangles that I missed as I applied the leave-in conditioner/hair removal on my hair while it was still damp. It was the same hair product that Kabuto used when my brush got really tangled in my hair to prevent any damage whatsoever.

The things the boy does for me doesn't cease to amaze me.

Once I was done refreshing myself, I sensed existences of other in the lair. Two of which was familiar to me, but there were three I sensed which raised my eyebrow. One I could immediately tell was Kabuto, meaning the second presence I sensed was most likely Orochimaru. But who was the third? More importantly, why were they here in the first place? Was it another experiment that the snake luckily picked out from his forbidden jutsu garden? Or was it a new henchmen of his? Normally, I wouldn't give two shits about who this person was but the fact that they were here without any warning nor notification from Orochimaru himself meant this stranger tagged along in the last second.

This was strange, but interesting at the same time. I was curious to know the details.

With that in thought, I hurried out of my room and followed the unknown presence in particular as it got stronger when I came closer to it. Before I knew it, I saw three dark figures down the hall standing there, not moving at all. They looked like they were having a discussing so I marched over towards them without scaring them. But before I physically encountered them, one instantly noticed me coming and gave me a memorable smirk like always.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Katsumi Uchiha…" He announced slyly as his smirk stretched. "Anything new lately…?"

I scoffed at his question. "You tell me, four eyes…" I sassed, folding my arms.

Since our intimate partnership started, we made it clear that we had to keep it a secret from everyone and anyone because it would make things way too complicated and ugly. With that deal in mind, we acted the way we did before we started our relationship so no one—not even Orochimaru—would suspect a thing. Good thing both Kabuto and I were really good at lying and acting because it made the plan go a lot smoother; there was no denying that we were a good team.

Anyway, as I was keeping my guard up on that thought, I couldn't help but study at the unknown character who stood in between Kabuto and Orochimaru. I knew it was rude to stare, but in the good name of Sage, he looked exactly like Sasuke. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating but he physically reminded me of my older brother. His face structure, his dark eyes, and his stoic, dull look he had on his face, and the way he held himself together as a whole; they all reminded me of Sasuke. The only differences I could see right off the bat was his paper-white skin that the snake also had, his outfit of choice—don't know why he chose this—, and his hair which was a lot shorter and clean-cut compared to my brother. Despite this, he could've been Sasuke's long lost twin.

Now that I was thinking about Sasuke, it made me feel a bit down since the last time we had spoken, we left on not good terms. I knew I shouldn't feel bad, but I still felt guilt in some way.

"Who's the new guy?" I asked nonchalantly, cocking my head to the side a bit.

"His name is Sai…" Orochimaru answered cooingly with a devious smile. "We recruited him while we were out, and now he'll be working along you and Kabuto…"

As the snake explained, my eyes were literally glued to "Sai's" headband that resembled the Leaf Village. He came from the Leaf like Sasuke and I, but I had never seen his face nor heard of his name ever. Why exactly? I mean, he didn't look like any other chunin—I presumed he was a chunin— because he looked special and had some special ninja art according to his chakra. He looked as if he hung with the Leaf genin squad that I used to be a part of. What I couldn't shake off of me was the fact that he was now working under Orochimaru all of a sudden. Again, why?

Speaking of "all of a sudden", the Sai character threw me a really kind smile that almost made me blush until I noticed that it looked forced. It sort of looked like he was physically and psychologically abused and that he had no emotions whatsoever anymore; he had no clue what to feel anymore. It was sad, especially coming from the Leaf because no one could ever be this broken living in a peaceful, free place like the Leaf.

"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Katsumi…" He smiled kindly as he stood there frozen, smiling daggers at me.

I don't know if he was being serious or not, but his smile was making me feel awkward and weird. Was I supposed to smile back? Was I supposed to dismiss it? Should I say something? Should I just tell him to stop being fake? I had no clue what to say.

"No formalities, please. I'm not about all that…" I simply commented; it was basically the only thing I could say that wouldn't make it even more uncomfortable.

"If that's what you wish… Katsumi…" He kindly replied, still throwing me the same smile.

I glanced over at Kabuto and glared coldly at him, blaming him for all of this through my eyes. His reaction was an amused grin as he playfully pushed up his glasses.

"He's something else, isn't he?" He smirked conceitedly.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that four eyes wasn't taking this matter as serious as I was. Correction, I was actually more curious rather than serious about it because this was all linked to my birth village which I was—for some reason—drawn to. My onyx eyes laid their gaze on Orochimaru who smiled deceitfully at me, aware that I was curious about something that had to do with their new recruit.

"I can tell from his headband… that he's a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village…" I thought aloud, staring hardly at the snake.

Orochimaru licked his lips in glee. "Yes, indeed he is. In fact, he's from your former genin team… Sasuke's replacement…"

"That makes no sense…" I cut in, furrowing my eyebrows. "How is it possible to get him when he's a part of Squad 7? And why is he joining your side all of a sudden?"

Orochimaru let out a dark chuckle, which made my body winced a bit.

"Oh, my young one… you are very curious today, are you?" He purred darkly as his golden eyes stared firmly at me. "To put it simply, the Nine-Tails Jinjuriki and Tsunade's protégé were sent on a mission to investigate my current motives while trying to bring both you and your brother back to the Leaf. After battling the jinjuriki, Sai secretly came to me and offered an alliance which I accepted…"

I was already aware of this mission because Kabuto told me about it before he left; I wanted to make sure if what he said was true. However, I knew for a fact that the snake was keeping significant details out of his answer, which made me even more curious than before. Plus, he knew I was curious to know what happened and he used this to play with me out of mere fun.

"That still doesn't explain why he came up to you undercover during his mission and offered an alliance with you. And how did you know they were coming after you and when exactly did you figure out? And why were you fighting only Naruto?" I questioned continuously, demanding an answer from the snake.

Orochimaru sighed heavily as he rotated his body and walked down the hallways. Sai and Kabuto followed suit as I stood there as my mind went blank. I shook my head and slid my feet quickly to catch up to them. Once I finally caught up to them, I waited for the snake to notice that I was following him and that he would eventually tell me what I wanted to know. When he didn't, my patience for him wore thin and I gritted my teeth to contain my frustration.

"Orochimaru…!" I grumbled lowly, watching my tone so I wouldn't get myself killed.

"Just because you ask a question doesn't mean you'll get an answer. I thought you know this, my dear…" He hummed in fake disappointment. "Besides, this has nothing to do with you; the details are classified information…"

I exhaled in frustration, discouraged that I wouldn't get any answers from the snake. At least I had Kabuto; interrogating him for answers was my backup plan.

"Is there something that I don't know I should know of…?" I inquired suspiciously, mostly regarding this question to Kabuto.

Said medic-nin knew I was referring to him and he adjusted his glasses as he gave me a smug look. "You'll know at some point," was all he said and left it at that.

I sighed impatiently but dropped bringing it up all together. Kabuto was right, I would know at some point because he was going to tell me the details himself. But this was the first time something unexpected and new happened in any of the snake's underground lairs, so I wanted to know exactly what was going on.

The hallway we were currently on ended with an entrance to a vast, spacious room that displayed a big statue of a snake. I scanned the room and saw nothing new about it; it looked like any other room in the lair along with candles casting away most of the darkness, the dull colour of the room, and the gigantic space it took for no significant reason. I saw no reason as to why we were here in the first place. When Orochimaru wanted to go through some things with a "newbie", he would take him to his small, private office-like room and converse in there; that was what he did for me when I first arrived. But no, we were standing outside this big room, apparently waiting for something. And once I figured out what that something—or in this case, someone—it made me feel more uncomfortable and unsteady.

There, sitting right in front of the snake statue on top of a case of stairs, was none other than Sasuke Uchiha who was staring stoically at us.

I wasn't sure if I should give him a specific look because the last time we had spoken, I left it on bad terms. That part was my doing, but the damn raven thought it was a smart move to say that my motives were "pointless". If he truly wanted to go into the topic of pointless, I would immediately start throwing everything he had done that was pointless; if we had to discuss about it, I would simply bring up the fact that fleeing the village for power and vengeance while backstabbing those close to him for selfish reasons was in fact… POINTLESS. Unfortunately I couldn't do that because A) Sasuke and I were currently not on speaking terms, and B) saying such things was probably the only thing he wouldn't let me get away with to begin with. I wouldn't say that I regretted nor missed my brother because in all honesty, I barely spoke to him regardless; I just felt uneasy that he held something against me and looking at him made me feel a bit like crap. Hopefully, I could avoid conversing with him for now and I guessed I came out lucky on that one because the raven's interest wasn't on me, it was at Sai.

"Is he actually the reason you held off my training, Orochimaru?" He questioned expressionlessly, though I could tell he was really displeased by this fact.

Sai too was thoroughly examining my brother as if he was some sort of art piece as I watched in anticipation, waiting for something to happen. The way the new guy was staring at the raven wasn't far off from Sasuke doing the same almost made me do a double-take. They looked so alike physically and possibly mentally, which was weird to say the least because this guy flashed smiles out of nowhere. Clearly, there was something unique and different about this Sai character because he even caught the attention of Sasuke less than a minute. Plus, Orochimaru himself agreed to take him under his wing instantly which made the guy even more interesting. I would definitely keep my eyes on him so I could figure out this dude before I could determine my personal thoughts of him. Said character unexpectedly flashed out his forced smile to Sasuke like he did to me, which immediately snapped me out of my own thoughts and paid my attention towards the two.

"My name is Sai…" He politely introduced with that smile still plastered on his face. "… and you must be Sasuke Uchiha… I heard a lot you and—."

"Get lost." Sasuke instantly interjected coldly, causing my body to wince at his sudden verbal attack on Sai.

There were times that I completely forgot that the Uchiha male could be vicious and cold; it was either the fact that I was used to it or because I perceived it differently than others do. In this scenario, Sai didn't seem fazed nor even faltered by my brother's demand; his smile and facial expression stayed firmly and strong against the raven.

"I guess people still detest me, even with a smile…" He sighed disappointedly with that smile which was starting to creep me out a bit. "I'm still confident that I'll get along better with you than I did with Naruto."

Sai mentioning the blonde's name out of nowhere was more surprising than his sad excuse of a smile. It also begged the question of the relationship between him and Naruto. That fact that they didn't get along in the beginning wasn't too surprising to hear because the knucklehead was sort of a hothead with anyone who ticked him off the wrong way. Also, this stranger was supposedly Sasuke's replacement which the jinjuriki obviously didn't accept and disliked the man because of it. The thing that was surprising—in my opinion—was that he claimed that he thought he would get along better with Sasuke than Naruto.

Firstly,—and this was from a bias viewpoint—why would he ever think that he and the raven could work well together when he was talking about one of the most stoic, arrogant, monotonous, distant, stubborn, narrow-minded, and the most impossible person to possibly ever work with—and I was allowed to say this because I had been with him for my whole life so I knew exactly what I was talking about. Secondly, the poor boy had his hopes up too high for the Uchiha that he would end up "crushed" in the end; normally I would feel bad but those who were hopeless cases shouldn't receive any hope from others—hypothetically speaking, I gave hope to those that weren't supposed to get it earlier, but it that wasn't important right now. And thirdly—and I was putting this out there as a theory—this guy was obviously trying to provoke Sasuke by mentioning his rival/former best friend just to get some sort of reaction, probably to analyze if whether or not the blonde still meant something to raven. Don't know how he could benefit with this logic but he was basically asking for a death wish.

And he got it by a visual genjutsu casted by Sasuke's Sharingan, which made Sai fall down to his bottom from mere shock and trauma.

"Sasuke!" I heard Kabuto shout his name demandingly at him as said person remained still in the shadows.

I was skeptical if Sasuke actually did something that screwed up with Sai's mentality because for one, he wasn't as precise and heartless with genjutsu and visual prowess as Itachi was. So our new fellow was likely just stunned, is all; he wasn't expecting something like this so quickly. Like I said, you couldn't just say that you would get along with someone better only because it didn't work out previously.

Despite Kabuto's disliking of him attacking the guest, Sasuke merely stood up and started walking out of the room in the opposite direction. I got the feeling he wanted to do more training and expected Orochimaru to follow him outside. But before he travelled far enough that he couldn't hear us, Sai spoke up while he was still on the ground.

"Naruto… he…" He remarked shakenly, still feeling the effects from the genjutsu. "He mentioned about the bond he shares with you…"

I secretly gaped on Sai's statement, feeling overwhelmed by this information. Naruto was still driven to bring Sasuke back and that he still carried the bond deep within his heart this whole time; he still hadn't given up on us. It made me adore the boy that much more; I really did miss him throughout the years and wished to see him all grown up and mature—although we were talking about Naruto Uzumaki, so I was curious if he really did mature.

This, however, didn't concern Sasuke at all; if anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he had forgotten who Naruto was. He glared over his shoulder at Sai with his Sharingan blazing strongly in the darkness.

"The only bond that I have is the bond of hatred with my older brother…" He claimed venomously, glaring deadly at his poor victim.

All of a sudden, Sasuke turned his crimson eyes over towards me and glared at me which made me feel a bit intimidating. However, his glare was softer than it was for Sai; his eyes told me that he felt more hurt and offended than angry with me for what happened earlier. I stared back at him without thinking; something about his eyes told me to look deeply at them, to see Sasuke's true feelings about what I had said to him. Usually, I would feel guilty, be the bigger person, and apologize to my older brother but right now I felt that I had no right to do so; I did nothing wrong nor was it my fault. So it was up to him if he wanted to settle this with me or not, because I was done being the bigger person. Said raven broke our staring streak by turning his back on all of us and continued walking out of the room.

"I'll be waiting outside, Orochimaru…" He stated firmly, telling him that the snake had no choice but to do so.

Orochimaru knew of this too because it was hard to say no to the Uchiha snob, even for him.

"I guess the boy wants to train some more…" The snake sighed tiredly, then he turned to Kabuto and handed him something. "Help Sai settle in, will you, Kabuto?"

"Of course, my lord." Kabuto accepted politely, bowing his head.

Four eyes then glanced over to me and smirked cockily at me to which I furrowed my eyebrows. "Wanna tag along, princess?" He asked slyly.

I huffed at his existence. "Later." I simply answered.

Kabuto nodded, respecting my decision and with that, he and Sai walked down on the same hallway we came from. Once they left the scene, it was just Orochimaru and myself standing there, examining each other. I was never comfortable of the snake staring at me like he wanted me for his twisted schemes. If that wasn't weird enough, his pale white lips stretched into a wicked smile and then he gently caressed my cheek. This gesture made my body froze to the very core, unable to move or defend myself in any way.

"Behave well, my little one…" He purred deviously then walked off, leaving me all alone confused and appalled.

I blinked in shock then I shook my head to shake off anything in mind that was horrifying about that moment. I quickly made my way back to the kitchen and rapidly prepared a dish for our new lair mate. For some reason, I was being extra nice today which was so unlike me. I placed the plate of food and a cup of water on a small tray then I carefully but surely left the kitchen towards the possible room Sai was assigned to. When I stood in front of the door of said room, I was able to turn the knob and opened the door—shocked that the door was left unlocked in the first place. The first thing that my eyes laid on was the man's unwilling smile which startled me to the point in spilling everything that was in my hands.

"Hello." He greeted politely. "Can I help you?"

I sighed irritably at his question then plopped the tray of food on the small desk. "No, but I would appreciate it if you stop putting that fake smile. It almost made me drop all of this." I answered tiredly as my hand gestured over to the tray.

Sai continued to do the opposite of what I asked of him and smiled "kindly" at me.

"My apologies, Miss Katsumi…" He chirped calmly.

"I already told you before: Katsumi is just fine…" I stressed, already getting impatient with the male and it hadn't been a day yet.

My patience for Kabuto was longer than my patience with Sai, and he wasn't even trying to irritate me. That least that was what I was assuming.

"My apologies, again… Katsumi…" He smiled.

I rolled my eyes, giving up on having a conversation him—if you called this a conversation.

"What brings you here, Katsumi?" He suddenly asked me.

I noticed that he was eyeing me with his lips still curved upward but hardly.

"I simply thought that you were hungry from whatever has happened when you were with Squad 7." I answered, feeling a sense of relief that he was actually talking like a human being. "You can say it's my way of welcoming you to Orochimaru's lair because it will be your last taste of freedom once you've settled in."

Of course, Sai threw his smile and I tried to resist the urge of slapping him.

"Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you…" He grinned.

"I hope so. It was a hassle to make this without getting busted by the snake." I snorted, cupping my hands on my hips.

Sai nodded as his smile was glued to his face. I exhaled as I rested my arm on a shelf while placing my weight against it.

"You're Sasuke's younger sister, correct?" He presumed conversationally.

I simply blinked at his words. "Yes, I am…"

Sai's smile stretched. "I figured. You and your older brother are different but simultaneously quite alike…"

I slowly nodded, feeling a bit awkward about his choice in topic since it was about Sasuke who I wasn't in good talking terms at the moment. Plus, why the hell does he give a damn about my brother and me to begin with?

"Where's Kabuto? Wasn't he with you?" I asked him causally, wanting to change the topic.

"He said he was going out to look for you since you said that you'll be here later." He answered respectfully. "Since you didn't disclose that you were going to get me food, he probably wasn't sure exactly about your whereabouts when we left you."

I pursed my lips in comprehension. "Makes sense, I suppose."

"He seems drawn to you."

I flinched at Sai's quick comment, trying to maintain the look on my face. Surely—by the looks of it—he wasn't stupid.

"Excuse me?"

"It looks to me that you have something that he holds close to him. When he said he was going to look for you, he slightly let his guard down; just your presence somehow impacted his behaviour and personality." He clarified briefly, eyeing me blankly like a piece of paper.

I lowered my gaze, processing Sai's observation in my mind. I knew that Kabuto cared deeply about me already, but when others took notice of this, it made me wonder how strong his feelings for me were and how much it grew.

"Kabuto is—no doubt—a powerful ninja and is really good at disguising his emotions, but it slightly falters when it comes to you."

"So, what are you implying exactly, Sai?" I inquired sternly, narrowing my eyes at him.

Said person placed the fake smile mask on as defense. "I'm not implying anything. Just expressing my viewpoint, is all."

"Then why are you telling me this?" I questioned in confusion, not understanding the male's motive.

"I heard quite a lot about you from Sakura." He answered with his fake smile. "She told me about how you were like a sister to her and especially Naruto. You were always there through their troubles and how you motivated them to become excellent shinobi. She also said you always put others first and you were very pure, kind, and honest with others."

The fact that Sakura said those things and still considered me as a sister made me overwhelmed with love and admiration. Yes, I cherished my sisterhood with the pinkette even to this day, and I also heard she wanted to become a medic ninja like myself. Hearing this made me proud of her because she was focused on something that would benefit her rather than chasing Sasuke. I would've understood if she was heartbroken and even angry for betraying her, but she held nothing against me which made me feel even worse. I deserved the hate and loss of respect from my former friends, mentors and the Hokage.

"However, this siblinghood was strongly expressed from Naruto. He was aggressive and defensive when I spoke ill of you and Sasuke for leaving the village; it's obvious that you're still a part of his life since he was very protective of your good name and reputation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you were one of the few people who made him the person and shinobi he is today." Sai added.

I gazed aside as he told me all of this about my former teammates. I already expressed that I still cared for them and felt a large amount of guilt for what I had done in my part. I wanted Naruto and Sakura to move on and forget about me and Sasuke because we were considered hopeless cases. Plus, they shouldn't have to feel pain and suffer when it could easily be avoided if they gave up on us. But those two wouldn't; they were determined to bring us back to the Leaf no matter what. I don't deserve their love and friendship, I don't deserve to go back to the Leaf, I don't deserve Kabuto's heart, I don't deserve Sasuke's acceptance, I don't deserve to be an Uchiha, I don't deserve to be a ninja; everything I had I had no right to it because I deserved nothing.

"I have heard about how bold and powerful you are as a kunoichi and a medical ninja. But you know just as much as I do that you're much more than that…" Sai analyzed thoughtfully as I refused to look at him. "You as a person is stronger than you as a ninja because you impacted many people and have the ability to change them in a way to make them better."

"I still don't understand how this has anything to do with you. Plus, why mention all this in the first place?" I gritted hardly, still avoiding eye contact with him as my eyes gained a sudden interest at the wall beside me.

I didn't even have to look to know that Sai was giving me yet another fake smile; I could just feel his smile on me.

"I guess I'm curious if you can impact others, I wonder if you can impact me in a way…" He answered mannerly.

That answer of his doesn't explain a whole lot. Actually, it made me even more confused and weirded out. Plus, I was kind of flattered, but I don't know what he was expecting from me to make an "impact". The thing was, I was only being myself; I wasn't aware nor intended to change others for the better.

I wanted to say something, but I was so engulfed with emotions from what I heard from my former teammates and Sai's analysis, I would be on the verge of crying. My best bet was to stay silent and try to pry my thoughts about this from my feelings because that too could end up in me with tears. I was at an emotional impasse and I don't know how I was getting myself out of this internal mess within me.

Luckily, I was saved by the likes of Kabuto when he urgently opened the room door.

"Oh, there you are, Katsumi." He chirped arrogantly as he walked over to my side as I still gazed at the opposite direction.

I stood my ground to remain silent, hoping that Kabuto could understand what might have happened. Thanks to his high IQ, he knew what happened because his hand rested on my shoulder and squeezed in comfort. As much as I appreciated it, I didn't want him to do anything to prove Sai's theory about Kabuto and myself. If he suspected anything between us, there was no doubt that he would tell Naruto, Sakura, and everyone else; I couldn't imagine the result after that and I wanted to keep it that way by preventing it. Since my eyes were glued stubbornly on the wall, I wasn't aware that the medic-nin on my side was glaring at Sai as he still held my shoulder.

"Did something happened in here when I was gone?" He demanded in a question, sounding quite aggravated than usually. "Better tell me now before someone gets punished."

I knew he was referring the threat on Sai, but I wasn't sure of his newly-found aggression. It wasn't like he was hurting me in that sense; Sai was being honest when he spoke and I could handle the honesty. So why was Kabuto so protective all of a sudden? I knew he cherished me greatly and there were times when he was a bit protective, but not aggressive with others for my safety. Or maybe I was looking at it in a bias perspective; maybe Kabuto was worried that Sai exposed some details about the mission that weren't supposed to be said by anyone. Made sense to some extent, but not fully.

"Nothing happened, Kabuto." I told him weakly, then I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder. "Just something's on my mind, that's all."

I was surprised yet proud of myself for composing myself when I answered my partner, because I thought I would lose it once I opened my mouth. But the composure wouldn't last as long as I hoped and I wanted to get away from everyone; I wanted to get away from reality and hide in the darkness. With that in mind, I brushed past Kabuto and hurried myself out of the room before anyone could physically stop me.

"Where are you going?" I heard Kabuto's question echoed down the hallway and wafted into my ears.

I ignored his question as I marched swiftly in the direction that led to my own bedroom. I hated having feelings, and I hated feeling any more guilt than I already had as I carried it with me on my shoulders, wearing me down. I wished I could either disappear and never existed or wished I had no emotions of anything. Everything was happening at a fast rate and things were ending up in unfortunate cases… and it was all because of me. If I hadn't been weak and let Sasuke force me out of the Leaf, if I hadn't stood back and watched Naruto and Sasuke fight to the death, if I hadn't let Kabuto fall for me while I felt something for him… if I had just opened my eyes when things were getting unstable, none of this mess would've happened. If I wasn't naïve, stupid, and oblivious to everything, I could've done something to at least change the outcome. The guilt I carried within me was too much to hold in; I was the definition of guilt and I wanted to erase it from me. I wished I could go back in time and changed it the moment this all started.

It didn't matter that I was an Uchiha, nor that I had the Sharingan because it felt like I had my eyes closed and in the darkness until it was too late.

I bet you guys already know what's going to happen, right? I'm not going to spoil regardless, you'll have to wait and see how this is all going to play out in the next chapter. Till then!