Okay, so I'm hoping this chapter won't be too long like the last one. Normally I wouldn't mind, but since I'm not even halfway through my fanfic, it gets worrying because the last thing I want is to stop or even take a break when it's getting good! Don't worry guys, I'm pulling through this, and I will get this done no matter what.

Okay, review responses! Animetortoise is back at it with the amazing review, expected nothing less. Reading your thoughts on the previous chapter was both surprising and flattering. Flattering because of your kind words—and fangirling moment, of course—really upped my spirits. And, surprising because you actually thought that the chapter brought a laugh out of you, let alone a series of laughs. My sense of humor in real life is nothing like my humor in real life, and I was just writing how I interpreted Deidara and Tobi's relationship in the series. I don't know if that means I did a good job on incorporating their character in my fanfic or not, but either way, I'm glad my writing almost busted out a lung. And of course, thanks for your undying support for my fanfic, it doesn't go unnoticed in each chapter.

Speaking of chapters, here's Chapter 32!

Chapter 31: Stuck in the Dark (Part 6)

Kabuto's POV:

"You're certain they passed through this town, right?" I analyzed as I scanned our new surroundings.

Said town we were currently standing in was as causal as it could possibly be. Civilians moving down the main streets or bouncing from vendor to vendor, kids running past the adults for their ball or playing tag, and street acts showing off their talent to make quick bucks. On top of that, none of us sensed any sources of chakra settled in this town which was good news for us; we wouldn't have to worry about getting ambushed. I strolled silently through the loose crowd while Hana sat comfortably on my shoulder. Meanwhile, Sasuke trailed close behind me in silence, following my lead without any complaint. In fact, he'd been like this since our conversation about his relationship with Katsumi—rather what was left of it. Of course, out of sympathy, I couldn't blame him because this was his sister. The same sister who was kidnapped by somebody he loathed the most but didn't know.

To make matters worse, she was dealing with the Akatsuki all alone. I couldn't even entertain the thought of how torturous it could be for her.

"Yes. Most of the birds I talked to say that they saw two men walking out of the forest and into this town with the girl on one of their shoulders." Hana's voice snapped my out of my thoughts, assuring my concern. "They were definitely here..."

"But how could that be the case when no one caught a glimpse of a young girl being taken against her will?" I inquired coldly, annoyed by the thought of these people being a part of the bystander effect.

"They probably didn't know that someone was kidnapped in front of their eyes." Sasuke propounded stoically.

I glanced over my shoulder at Sasuke who was briefly scanning our surroundings.

"From what I can tell so far by these guys, they're definitely not stupid enough to carry my sister out in the open while she was knocked out." He theorized, observing the area.

"So, what are you saying?" I asked curiously, wary by the boy's theory.

My main concern was Sasuke connecting the dots and pointing the finger at Itachi. His priorities would drastically change in order the moment he realized the truth. The last thing we needed was a revengeful Uchiha sniffing out for his brother's blood; it took years for the boy to agree in helping us.

Sasuke's eyebrow raised slightly by my sudden tone of suspicion, but nevertheless brushed it off dismissively.

"What I'm implying is that they casted a genjutsu or even some form of illusion to mask themselves." He presumed dryly.

Just hearing the boy's assumption was enough to make both my blood boil and a pit to form in my stomach. I was livid by the fact that their oldest brother was intentionally beating the youngest of the three while she was down and out, disregarding any thought of her pain. He continued to chip off the ravenette's spirit until she was nothing but a shell of a once bold, strong, courageous woman. I wondered if this was what Sasuke felt when he recalled all the things Itachi had done to him and Katsumi.

'Just the fact that he intended to make her life a living hell is making me itch to slaughter him until there's nothing but flesh and blood.' I thought darkly, glaring hardly at the ground then glancing at Sasuke. 'Now, I can see why Sasuke wants nothing more than to get his revenge on him.'

"Kabuto?" Hana called for my attention softly.

I side-glanced at the kind dove sitting on my shoulder, eyeing me with concern.

"I-I know the odds are against us, and saying this may not be appropriate at this time…" She cooed hesitantly, avoiding eye contact for a brief second then looked back at me. "But please… don't worry so much. The stress isn't good for you, and it's not going to help us find Lady Katsumi any quicker…"

Hana was right, but that didn't help bring my mood up or even snap me out of my depressing state. Regardless, I forced a grateful smile on my face while giving the friendly dove an appreciated look.

"I understand, Hana. I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, Kabuto." Hana assured sweetly, holding out her delicate wing and laid it gently on my cheek. "It's hard when your loved one is in danger and you can't do anything but feel helpless."

"It's especiallyhard when it's your only loved one." I remarked depressingly. "I miss her…"

"I know you do. I miss her too." Hana sighed understandingly. "And I know Sasuke misses her also…"

Mentioning the raven made me steal a glimpse of his current mood—which had been the same since childhood—then huffed out a laugh at Hana.

"He sure as hell trying not to look like he misses her."

"He's one of those who can't express his feelings. He keeps them bottled up inside." She justified sympathetically. "He feels the same way you do, Kabuto. That's the one thing you two have in common, remember?"

"Yet, we don't see eye-to-eye…" I interjected doubtfully. "Yet, I can sort of understand why he wants to take down Itachi. He took everyone that he loved away from him… like how he took Katsumi away from me…"

"Yes…" Hana agreed sadly, lowering her head disappointedly. "The hunger for revenge can be destructive and remove any other goals and priorities, but it gives a sense of accomplishment. The person would hunt down and avenge what they've lost rather than facing their emotions and learning to accept the unfortunate circumstances."

"Very insightful, Hana." I applauded in acknowledgement.

"That's what Lady Katsumi taught me a while back…" Hana flustered thankfully. "I admired her critical way of seeing the world at such a young age. In different ways, she reminds me of Itachi."

"Think what you want." I scoffed playfully, adjusting my glasses. "That doesn't change the fact that I will make him wish he didn't complete his mission."

The dove cooed in laughter at my switch in demeanor.

"Where are we supposed to go in this town?" Sasuke abruptly questioned, growing a bit impatient.

"From what I've gathered, the rogue pair checked into an inn somewhere in this town." Hana answered briefly.

"So, the first thing we should do is locate this inn." I purposed encouragingly.

"But, how do you know which one they went to?" Sasuke questioned skeptically, not impressed with the plan.

"I think we should split up." Hana suggested softly, flying off of my shoulders and positioned herself in front of us. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Alright, then." I nodded confidently. "We'll meet at sunset. And don't make it obvious that we're shinobi."

I then turned my attention towards Sasuke with a serious look on my face. "Does that sound good to you?" I asked him rhetorically.

"Hmph." He simply grunted.

I took it that he was in on the idea. With that, I nodded Hana to go ahead and start the search to which she respectfully complied and soared above the crowd at such speed.

"Meanwhile, I'll cover the north side of the town while you take the south." I informed him professionally.

Sasuke grunted once more in response and before we knew it, we went on our respectful ways. The search had finally begun; we were so close to Katsumi, I could feel her warm, tinging presence.

Katsumi's POV:

"Woah, we're so high up in the air!" I chirped excitedly, taking in the breath-taking view below us. "I'm capable of flying, but not this high!"

"Yep, this is how I usually travel on my missions." Deidara sighed peacefully, looking ahead as his blonde locks flew with the wind behind him. "It avoids a lot of conflict with enemies and ambushes. Plus, I'm not much of a walker, hm."

I slowly lowered myself to my knees and carefully leaned over the bird's shoulder, getting a closer look at the ground below while holding onto the wing and neck.

"Well, I can't blame you. I would never walk again if I had this access to this form of transportation." I commented jokingly, then glanced at the blonde. "This jutsu of yours is so different... but really cool."

"Why thank you, Katsumi." He beamed gratefully, smiling widely. "At least someone understands my art, hm."

"Your... art?" I repeated in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "Would you mind in telling me what kind of art you're talking about?"

Hearing this made the blonde very hyped, made evident by how much his smile stretched wider and more wicked than before. I turned to Tobi—who surprisingly was quiet this whole time—and all I got from him was a face palm on his mask. I assumed from this reaction that I shouldn't have asked that question. Well, it was already too late because the next thing I knew, I stood there frozen as the blonde's words of artistic wisdom flew into my ear without choice. I could tell Tobi wasn't interested to his partner's beliefs by his long groan and the desperate need to cover his ears as tightly as possible. Considering that something about art bothered someone like Tobi of all people, it made me wonder if I should just jump off of the bird and run back to the hideout.

I watched as Deidara continued rambling on about how art was a fleeting moment and that after one explosion, the artwork would diminish in the air until the next extravagant masterpiece was made. Believe me, I was trying so hard to understand what the blonde was telling me. I mean, I could hear the words, I listened to his perspective, but I just didn't grasp it. Not necessarily the part where "art is an explosion" part, but his entire view in art. I wasn't trying to be ignorant or anything, but how could he come up with a theory like that? Obviously, I wasn't saying he was wrong. In fact, art wasn't about facts; it was all about a person's interpretation of the piece. They were literally no rights or wrongs when it came to art; it was all about what a person saw. If art didn't have that, then it wouldn't be considered art in the first place. It would be an image corresponding to the facts discovered by researchers or whatever.

Occasionally, people would have different opinions on a piece of artwork and a select few of people would come up with the same perception. That or someone would express what they saw or what they felt when they saw the work of art, and everyone around them would expect an opinion that were along the same lines as theirs. But Deidara… his perception of art—or at least his art—was something that no one would expect to hear. In fact, it was something that wouldn't be considered as an interpretation but more like a sadistic bomb terrorist tempted to blow up the entire museum.

It wasn't a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I liked that he perceived art as an explosion that lasted only seconds. To be blunt, I liked s**t blowing up as much as the next guy—only when I wasn't the one being blown up—but that was besides that. I had the tendency in appreciating those who had completely different views in life—either the smallest things or the biggest things merely because in my mind, a different opinion equaled to an interesting human. Plus, I liked different things and I liked different people from what I was used to.

A perfect example was Kabuto. Even though we felt the same agony, we were mentally and emotionally different. That was mainly the reason why we tend to butt heads on different topics. Despite this, we got along very well.

In conclusion, I strongly believed that opposites attract. Deidara was another "different" person, so getting to know him would be interesting to say the least. I mean, his way of art was out of the ordinary and his personality complimented well with mine—as being polar opposites, of course. Maybe accepting his friend request wouldn't be such a bad thing, after all.

The only thing I couldn't understand was this quote of his: "Pop is dead, but my art is SUPERFLAT!"

'What the f**k does that even mean?' I thought in confusion as I furrowed my brows unintentionally.

Apparently, he caught sight of my pondering face and took some offense to it.

"Never mind, hmph." The blonde suddenly huffed bitterly, turning away from me.

I blinked curiously at him, wondering what his problem was. Just a moment ago, he was boasting about his art then he instantly stopped and turned away, shunning me. I moved myself towards him until I was standing in front of him opposite from where I previously stood. His blonde eyebrows furrowed deeply, and his tanned lips pouted displeasingly at me.

"What's your problem, blondie?" I questioned firmly as I folded my arms.

"You didn't seem interested in hearing what I have to say, so why should I waste my time, hm?" He responded accusingly.

People who had the tendency in getting too defensive and petty irked me. But despite the blonde acting this way right now—which usually irritated me—the look he was making made up for his salty attitude. With the sun reflecting off of his beautiful blue eye and his pouted tanned lips, he reminded so much of that knucklehead, Naruto, as a child. Having a b***h face suited him because he looked hilariously adorable despite him being years older than me.

An amused snort slipped out which grabbed Deidara's full attention in a second. I noticed that he was about to make defensive remarks, so I held up a hand in front of him to keep him quiet for a bit.

"Stop assuming I'm an a**hole like Itachi." I demanded firmly with a light grin, earning expressionless blinks from the blonde.

"Then what, then?" He questioned hardly.

I huffed at his defensive face. "Nothing much, really. It's just that... you're so much different than anyone I have ever met in my life." I answered nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders.

"And... that's not a bad thing?" He asked slowly.

I rolled my eyes as I breathed out a smile.

"Oh, Deidara. Of course, that's not a bad thing and it never was." I assured him friendly then took his hand and held it. "My moral is to never judge a person's appearance; only the content of their character and personality matters to me."

Deidara stood there frozen with his glossy blue eye. He broke eye contact with me to gaze at his hand being held by my own.

"Sure, believing that art is an explosion is something else, but that's not a bad thing. It's the content that you carry around with you... it's who you are. I really respect and appreciate you for being true to who you are to yourself and me—someone you barely know." I told him insightfully, putting on a genuine smile. "And the fact that you're not afraid to express your opinions to others makes it all the better. It gives a bit of a push to accept your friend request you offered back there."

After hearing my speech, the blonde gave me one of the biggest, brightest smiles I had ever seen in a long time. Just the sight of it was hard to resist and I eventually allowed myself to smile back at him; it was just so damn infectious.

He was so raw and real with his feelings. It was something I sort of struggled with because I hated opening up to someone. To me, it was considered weak since that was the belief I was raised in. But not to Deidara; he couldn't give a f**k about what others thought of him.

"That's good to hear, hm." He smirked gratefully.

"And if you really want my opinion..." I sighed playfully with a grin. "I think your perspective on art is interesting... and artistic..."

"Thank you, hm." He bantered appreciatively, staring at me lightly.

I gave him another friendly smile and then I looked ahead, taking in the view of the blue sky in front of me as I freed his hand from my grip.

"What's your take?" He suddenly asked after a brief moment of silence. "What's art, hm?"

I glanced at him confusedly as he stood there, waiting for my answer. After briefly gazing at the—admittedly—dazzling male, I turned back to look out at the flawless view presented in front of my onyx eyes.

"I don't know, to be honest with you." I remarked idly as my eyes were glued to the blue sky. "It really depends on the person: how they feel, how they see, how they perceive, how they interpret. I guess it's all about their reaction to what the art piece is telling them..."

I watched Deidara positioning himself beside me, watching the view too as his creation continued soaring through the air. The breeze blew gently at us as our hair danced along with the wind while standing there in complete silence.

"You know, you're wrong about claiming that you're nothing like Itachi." The blonde blurted lowly, lowering his head.

I flinched in shock by his words, shooting him a baffled look as his one exposed eye refused to look at me.

"Not in a sense where it's bad, hm. Even though he's nothing more than a good-for-nothing bastard, I'll admit he does carry some impressive traits... traits that you seem to have yourself." He clarified thoughtfully then glanced at me. "As much as you want to deny it, you apparently have inherited some things from him mainly because you two used to be so close."

My face fell then my head hung low gloomily. It was true: my outlook and morals I carried with me were embedded by Itachi. Yes, I learned a lot of other stuff on my own, but the reason for my mentality was because of my oldest brother. As much as I hated to admit it, if it weren't for him and his teachings, I would've been much more ignorant and narrow-minded towards a lot of things. Despite it now being ironic, I still kept all the things my brother taught me within me because his teachings and ideology were like no other. As a child, you wanted nothing more than to idolize a certain someone mainly because you want to be like that person someday and as you grow up, you cherished those moments. I don't know why, but my heart cherished the moments where I admired and idolized Itachi.

"I've met and seen a lot of people... but none were like you, hm." He added genuinely. "You're special... cherish that..."

I slowly glanced at the blonde who gave me such a radiant smirk.

"Thank you..." I mumbled lightly with glossy eyes. "That means a lot coming from—*gasp*"

I was abruptly cut off by strong turbulence due to sudden strong wings, causing the bird to shake harshly. I was having difficulty in keeping my balance since I was unable to use my chakra to root my feet on the bird thanks to this cursed collar. This led to me trying my damn hardest not to fall off, but sadly my attempts failed and the next thing I knew, I was falling forward. My eyes widened in fear by the sight of the ground, my soon-to-be "cushion". I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the hard impact once I hit the ground.

Until I felt my body stall in midair.

I slowly opened my eyes, and I took a brief look below me, causing my anxiety to spike again. It was then when I finally processed that I wasn't falling—not anymore. I also realized that a clamp of some sort grasped my wrist tightly as I subconsciously did the same out of instincts. I glanced up and was in awe to see Deidara looking over the bird's shoulder with his hand stretched down as his strong hand held me from falling. The look he gave me was a mixture of relief, anxiety, and tense; he too was scared that I was close from falling to my death.

"Don't worry, I got you, hmph!" He exclaimed reassuringly, then started pulling me up onto the bird.

As he used his strength to lift me up, I used my other hand and reached for the bird's neck to assist him. Once we both pulled myself to the point where it reached my chin, the blonde let go of my hand and quickly wrapped his arms around my torso. He used this grip on me to pull me until my feet were once again touching the bird's back. I used this moment of silence to control my anxious breathing while my hero loosened his hold on me but kept his hands on my waist, staring at me with concern.

"You're okay?" He asked me huskily, his blue eye begging me for an answer.

I slowly nodded. "Thanks to you. I honestly thought that was it for me. My life flashed before my eyes before you came to my rescue..."

Deidara grinned. "Don't worry about a thing, hm. I won't let anything happen to you. Besides, I'm currently responsible in taking care of you, meaning my life and yours are riding on this." He mused playfully.

I chuckled gently at his comment then brought my attention to my feet, looking at them begrudgingly.

"Because of this stupid collar, I can't funnel chakra to my feet to root myself on anything that's against gravity. There's a good chance something like that will happen again sooner or later..." I explained concernedly, looking back up at the blonde.

Deidara took in this information and thought deeply to himself as I waited puzzlingly. He then let out a scoff then hastily grabbed my hand, taking me back my surprise. I gawked up at him as he responded with an amused grin, pulling me towards him and snaking his arm around my shoulders.

"There. As long as I hold onto you, you won't fall, hmph." He remarked proudly, his right hand cupping my right shoulder.

"But... what if something happens to you?" I questioned slowly, wondering if his mentality was alright.

"Then, I guess I just have to go down with you." He answered nonchalantly.

My brows quirked incredulously as I felt my cheeks turn light pink. I gazed at him with awe as he grinned widely, showing off his bright whites. What was wrong with me? Why was my mind so drawn to this loud, brash, and overtly expressive blonde who was probably only a few years older than me? Like when I was with Kabuto?

Vaguely referring to my lover brought a flashback of said bookworm, giving me an identical grin in my vision. I knew I would eventually feel overwhelmingly homesick, but damn it was hard getting used to not seeing him every single day. Hearing him knock at the door, giving me surprise hugs from behind, comforting me when I needed it most, chatting about books and experiments to personal things and jokes. Moments like those made me really miss the Yakushi male considering how perfectly our relationship had progressed since it started. Before we weren't in sync—one was taking a step to fast or too slow. But now, we were moving forward together in unison.

It felt so right, which was why I had to come up with a plan to escape the Akatsuki hideout as soon as possible. As impossible it might sound, I thought that with little chance I had, I could somehow do it.

Until then, I just had to enjoy my spare time with Deidara. That wouldn't be hard; the blonde proven himself to be bearable enough to be acquainted with. In fact, he made my entire situation—being kidnapped by a dark, dangerous, formidable organization that could kill me at any moment as they pleased—easier to swallow.

"Are you catching feelings now, Deidara?" A curious voice asked unexpectedly, grabbing my attention.

I looked over my shoulder that the man-child who sat down, cross-legged like a kindergartener.

'My god, I completely forgot that Tobi's here too...' I commented awkwardly in thought, my eyes glued onto said Akatsuki member.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one whose attention was on the boy—not the good kind of attention. Before I knew it, the blonde speared poor Tobi to the ground, giving him a piece of his mind for making assumptions. I don't know why that made Deidara tick—it only just made it easier to see that what his partner said was the truth, whether or not if that was the case. Hearing both of the two shouting at each other was amusing at most merely because this reminded me of how Sasuke and Naruto interact with each other—minus the chokehold.

After a while, it kind of got boring watching the two rolling around to gain dominance. So, I rotated and enjoyed the vast view of earth below my feet in my own. My eyes caught onto a decent-sized town from the right corner. As if the bird sensed my curiosity, it moved closer towards the town, giving me a closer look without anyone below noticing anything. I watched as civilians living in this calm town carried out their usual errands. The second I was about to let myself zone out, I gasped astonishingly from what I briefly saw in the corner of my eye.

'No way...' I thought to myself bafflingly, trying to convince myself otherwise. 'It can't be...'

I side-glanced at the two children still going at it until one obtained victory, reassuring that they didn't see anything nor notice my reaction. With that, I activated my Sharingan and used my visual prowess to zoom in on whatever view was presented in front of me. Luckily for me, my Sharingan doesn't require almost no chakra like Sasuke's, Itachi's, or any other Uchiha in our clan. This was because I was born with it, meaning I could use it with the smallest amount of chakra possible since it was a mutation of my own rather than a simple inheritance from my family.

I used my Sharingan to take a better look at a certain someone casually walking down the streets, passing through a loose crowd. I couldn't help but stare daggers at a blob of grey floating through the streets, wandering around aimlessly.

'Kabuto...!' I exclaimed in thought, my jaw dropped by the confirmation. 'What the hell is he doing there?'

Of course, this was a rhetorical question; it was obvious he was looking for me. My heart clenched by the sight of him, wanting to land just so I could feel his strong, protective embrace. Damn, I really wished Deidara was a big enough a**hole to let me fall so eventually I could bump into the bookworm. My face fell as I held back tears from falling while my crimson eyes were directed towards the grey-haired male.

'What should I do? Obviously, this is a sign that's telling me to escape while the opportunity is present in front of me. Plus, he must be worried sick, and I wanted nothing more to go back to the hideout with him.' I thought dejectedly to myself, having a mental battle with myself.

I then glanced at the two who seemed to calm down but still bickering with one another, still keeping themselves busy without figuring out my discovery.

'But still... if I were to attempt an escape, there's no way I could handle both of them at the same time at my current state. On top of that, Kabuto will get involved and they'll have no problem killing him off. I can't jeopardize his wellbeing. I can't let my emotions throw me under the bus, I have to play smart... wait until the right moment to make my move...' I contemplated deeply, trying to put my emotions into remission.

'Just please Kabuto...' I begged to myself, eyeing down at him heartbreakingly. 'I know you can't hear me, but please be careful... and don't come close...'

"Hey, Katsumi!" An flippant voice called out to me.

I responded by turning myself shockingly and curiously gazing at the blonde. Said artist narrowed his one blue eye at me, sensing something off about me. It seemed that he was finally over with scolding his partner—who sat back down, cross-legged. I blinked at him obliviously, urging him to say whatever he wanted to say to me. He exhaled sharply at my reaction, hopefully not catching on to anything.

"I see that you see a little town up ahead, hm." He remarked simply, walking up beside me. "I'm assuming you want to go down there and check it out."

"U-Um, well... I-I..."

I couldn't help but stutter at the boy. I couldn't help it, I didn't know what to do. It wasn't his fault that he thought that I wanted to "see the town"; I was the one who was drooling over it. But dammit, how long was I staring at that town for him to notice this much?

I couldn't decline right away or else he would get suspicious. From what I'd gathered so far, the blonde wasn't the sharpest in the Akatsuki but overall, he was much smarter than the average shinobi—or ten times smarter than that d**khead, Hidan—so eventually he would catch on to my strange behaviour. But if I accepted his offer, then it would only be a matter of time until we bumped into the bookworm and it would just create an unnecessary bloodbath.

'What am I going to do?' I asked myself anxiously, wriggling my fingers underneath the robe's big sleeve. 'What should I do?'

"Yeah! Let's check out the town, it'll be so much FUN!" Tobi cheered excitedly, jumping from where he was sitting.

Great, just what I needed: a kid wanting something that would bite me in the ass in the near future. At this point—by how the situation was playing out—I was literally f**ked.

'Thanks a lot, Tobi...' I grumbled in thought, resisting to glare at said boy. 'Not only you're a man-child, you're also an unintentional douche.'

"Majority wins, hmph." Deidara announced cockily. "Let's check the town out!"

I forced a smile on my face while cursing within.

'New mission: avoid Kabuto by all means necessary until we get the f**k out of this town.' I instructed myself determinedly as I felt the bird lowering itself to the ground.

Kabuto's POV:

Why was this mission so complicate than it needed to be? Sure, we were expected to locate one female anywhere in the Ninja World; that was reasonably difficult. But without any clues as to where her approximate location was, this might as well become an A-rank mission. Especially since the Akatsuki was a part of it, making it all the more difficult and dangerous.

My intuition was telling me that Katsumi was still alive. The Akatsuki had no reason to kill the girl—if anything they might've encountered her because she came too close to their headquarters or hideout. The most they would do was torture just to get information on Lord Orochimaru from her—which wouldn't so terrible since she doesn't know the extent of his goals. Additionally, she was an excellent medic and with Lord Sasori dead, they were probably utilizing her medical services, like how Lord Orochimaru theorized. Nevertheless, just the thought of her breathing the same air as the infamous organization made my stomach turn.

If anything, I was mostly concerned of my lover emotional state: with her brother, being kidnapped, living in thick darkness, bounded and bested... these thoughts running through my mind hurt too much for my heart to handle.

And it wasn't like we had unlimited time. Lord Orochimaru gave us three days to search for the ravenette. Once the deadline was reached, we were ordered to head back to the lair and brainstorm a different approach to this situation. For the first time ever, I was reluctant to accept my Lord's wishes because leaving empty-handed didn't sit well with him. I didn't want to give up on the girl even if I had zero chakra; I made an oath to protect her and I failed.

Finding and saving her was the least thing I could do for her right now.

"Kabuto!" I heard a soft, familiar voice calling for me from above.

I halted my footsteps and glanced up only to see Katsumi's loyal summoning soaring down in my direction. I offered her my arm to land on to which she graciously accepted and made herself comfortably.

"Did you find anything?" I asked eagerly, wanting to get a break in this chilling case.

"Yes." Hana nodded confidently. "It seems that the rogue duo signed into a small inn located east from here."

I couldn't help but scrunch my face skeptically. Hana took notice to this as she adjusted her positioned on my fore arm.

"What's the matter?"

"Why would Itachi and Kisame rent an inn if they weren't staying for the night... the same night she was kidnapped?" I questioned thoughtfully, trying to make up possible predictions.

"Like I said earlier, most of the birds I've talked were certain that they stay for a bit in this very town. Despite the fact that there are no ninja residing here, someone would eventually notice at least one of them because of the infectious rumours about their heartless crimes." The kind dove justified thoroughly. "Who knows? They probably didn't want anyone to notice them. That and they were drained from taking down Katsumi."

My facial expression fell dramatically by hearing the girl's name. My gazed dropped to the ground as the thunderous rain cloud poured gloominess and depression on me.

"They held her helpless body like a sack of potatoes. No one noticed that she was in the hands of blood-thirsty murderers..." I grumbled lividly, feeling my chakra flowing rapidly by pure adrenaline.

"I know it's hard for that to digest, but you can't necessarily blame these people for not seeing what was happening in front of them." Hana hesitantly testified, sounding both honest and sensitive as possible. "Like Sasuke mentioned, they might've used genjutsu to conceal her kidnapping."

"I understand that, Hana." I breathed heavily, trying to tame my adrenaline.

'But that doesn't mean I'm okay with it.' I thought stubbornly, furrowing my eyebrows.

"I hope Sasuke makes Itachi suffer until he gasps his last breath." I muttered to myself threateningly.

"I thought we agreed that we would keep the identities classified." Hana remarked, overhearing my words.

"Sasuke's not here at the moment." I defended reassuringly. "However, it'll only be a matter of time until he figures out exactly what's going on."

"I know. I still think it's not fair—not telling him the full truth. It's his sister; he deserves to know..." Hana moped in guilt.

"It'll just complicate things, Hana." I told her firmly as I briefly looked over my shoulder as a precaution. "If he learns that Itachi is involved, he'll go ballistic and lose his order of priorities."

"I know Kabuto, but still—"

"The fact that we convinced him to help us is a miracle alone." I interrupted her hastily, snapping my gaze at the dove. "As long as he's in the same page as we are, searching for Katsumi will move a lot smoother."

Hana cooed in defeat. "Alright then. But we will tell him after we've found her, correct."

"We'll let Katsumi do the honours since her chances in surviving his tantrums is a lot better than mine." I scoffed, pushing up my glasses.

Hana nodded as she cooed in agreement.

"Kabuto." A stoic, monotonous voice spoke behind me.

I casually rotated my body to look at the Uchiha boy standing a meter away as still as a statue. The sunlight reflected from his bright crimson eyes as they gazed past my prescribed lenses.

"Did you find anything, Sasuke?" I asked him lowly.

"Nothing that strikes me as a clue." Said raven answered dully.

"Well, Hana just found out that the rogue ninja signed into a small inn near the border of this town." I informed nonchalantly then I glanced at said dove. "We should head over there and investigate."

"Hmph." Sasuke grunted, deactivating his Sharingan.

"Mind if you lead the way once again, Hana?" I requested mannerly with a genuine smile.

"Of course!" She chirped then instantly flying high in the air. "I won't go too fast so you two won't have to chase me—people will notice."

"Good idea." I agreed as I walked over to where she was positioned in the air while Sasuke stood there looking at the dove vaguely.

With that, Hana started flying above numerous heads towards our next destination.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and I walked quickly after her. As Sasuke walked ahead of me, I couldn't help but stare deeply at his back, particularly the tiny Uchiha crest on his sheet-like shirt near the neck area.

This made me question the meaning of a family: a group of individuals that share the same DNA and through this, they loved each other. I never knew my biological parents or family, but I didn't feel like I never had a family. Mother and all of my foster siblings were like a family to me. Regardless, I thought that blood-related families loved each other to death—for who they were or what they would become—more so than a group of people that you were close with that you considered them as "family". But after getting to know Katsumi, it made me rethink my theory.

Unlike me, Katsumi had a family who she shared the same flesh and blood. But that didn't seem to matter to her clansmen because they didn't see her as one of their own. They treated her as the black sheep in a farm full of white sheep. They literally bullied her ever since she was a toddler to the point where she felt like she didn't see them as her loved ones. Even her own father shunned her out of his life which I found the most upsetting; a father-daughter relationship was something very crucial in a female's life though this had been overlooked by doubters.

After everything that happened in her life, Sasuke was the only family she had left. But now, I felt as though she was starting to lose him too. Despite how I personally feel about Sasuke, I knew that he was the only person who fully understood the ravenette and not just because they were siblings. They both lost the same thing that meant so much to them and because of that, their bond grew to the point where it was indestructible. The one thing the Uchiha boy had that I respected him for was loyalty; he was very loyal to his loved ones. I knew that deep down inside, he loved his sister more than anything—he adored her so much.

I don't want his ambitions erase his feelings for his sister. As much as I loved her, it was close to impossible for me to be her emotional ground and backbone like her brother. And—foreshadowing not included—there was a good chance that I wouldn't be there for her forever whereas no matter what, Sasuke would always be a part of her life and vice versa. But lately, things had been rocky but that was just a bump in the road. Siblings always fought—it was natural, and it was what brought them closer. However, this was more serious mainly because Itachi was put in between the two. The last thing that should happen was that murderer ruining their bond or even break it.

Even if we found the girl, things would still be left unsaid between the two siblings. The gap between them would increase unless if they sat down and talk about the situation and how they should fix it. Sasuke had said and done things that were unacceptable but that doesn't make Katsumi innocent; they were things she said that she shouldn't say herself. This was crucial for them because this could either improve their bond or break it. They were taking their relationship for granted; they needed each other more than they needed anyone else.

I love Katsumi so much, and I want to be there for her. But admittedly, there were some things only her brother could handle. My love for the girl was vast and because of this, I don't want her to lose her loved ones because of me; I don't want to be the reason why people were walking out of her life.

Someday, I would be a part of her family but that wouldn't be until the near future. Right now, she should be appreciating the family she already had.

'You don't seem realize it, Katsumi. Despite how your and his branches are growing in different directions, your roots remain as one...' I thought deeply, gazing at the Uchiha crest softly. 'Cherish the plant you and Sasuke planted and grew ever since you were mere children... because you two will be as strong as a sturdy tree...'

And this concludes another chapter! To be honest, this chapter was kind of lackluster—almost fillerish to me. The only perk I could think of was the fact that it didn't take me too long to write it out and edit. But the pacing, yeah not much of a fan. I hope you guys still enjoyed it regardless of how slow it is. I'm already halfway done the next chapter so expect an upload soon. Not too soon, cuz we all know that soon means a couple of months. Anyways, thanks as always and see you in the next chapter.