So yeah, 5 years later here I finally am with a chapter update. Am I done? Nah, not even close. Why'd it take so long? Well, I worked a lot, I moved overseas, worked some more, moved again, got married, left my job, got a new job, started school, and now I'm rediscovering old hobbies and projects. Life is a journey friends!

Also, because it took me so long to have this chapter completed, I had to go back to the source material and reread parts of the manga. Ya girl hasn't watched anime, let alone Naruto, in a hot minute so things are definitely probably gonna be a bit different? I'm trying my best here hahaha.

That night, Nayamae couldn't sleep. No matter how much she tossed and turned, she just couldn't find a comfortable position. She felt like a rock was sitting on her chest. The ache she had ignored all week was now most prominent in her thoughts. Frustrated and exhausted, she pushed her blankets off of her, got out of bed, and went down the hall to Kyrie's room. Without knocking, Nayamae opened her door and turned on the lamp beside her bed.

Kyrie immediately sat up in bed, blinking in the sudden light. "Naya, what's wrong?" she asked sleepily, reaching for her glasses. "What's going on?"

Nayamae sat on the bed by Kyrie's feet. "I need you to examine me," she said without apologizing for waking her.

Kyrie blinked again as her eyes continued to adjust. "Examine you? What time is it?"

"Just past 2 o'clock."

She straightened up, rubbing her eyes. "Why now?" she asked. "Can't this wait until morning?"

Nayamae shook her head. "You haven't examined me in two years. Now is as good a time as any."

"Oh, I see what you mean," she replied with a yawn. "Okay then, stand right there," she said, pointing to a spot on the floor. "I can do it from here." Nayamae moved while Kyrie removed her glasses. Kyrie's yellow eyes turned white as she concentrated, her face skewing with great concern. "Oh, Naya…"

"How long do I have?" Nayamae immediately asked.

Her eyes turned back to yellow as she put her glasses back on. "Naya, there's no easy way to put this… I honestly think it's a miracle you're even standing here-"

"Kyrie, please," she said. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall down her face. "Just… tell me… how much longer do I have to live?"

She looked down at her hands, clenching them in her blankets. "With what little kitsunebi you have left… I would say four months, maybe five."

Nayamae nodded solemnly, not bothering to hide the tears that began to waterfall down her cheeks. Kyrie stood and wrapped her arms tightly around her, letting her quietly sob into her chest.

Early the next morning, Kyrie closed her bedroom door gently, being careful to make as little noise as she could. Softly, she stepped her way to her small kitchen, finding Hiro already sitting at the table. He had an open book in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.

"Good morning," he greeted, bringing the mug to his mouth.

"Good morning," Kyrie replied. "I didn't think anyone else would be awake this early," she said, getting out a small pan to place on the stove.

"I like the quiet to myself in the morning," he said, putting his mug down. "Where's Nayamae?"

Kyrie sighed. "She had a rough night last night. She told me you knew about…?"

"Her kitsunebi? Yeah, long time ago. Is it that bad?"

Kyrie nodded, turning on the stove burner. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

Hiro shook his head. "No, just coffee."

"Eggs and bacon coming up!" she chipped, grateful to change the subject.

Hiro stood and walked to Lila's door and knocked. "Lila, you up?" There was no reply. "Hey, c'mon, up and at 'em," he said as he opened the door. Much to his surprise, the room was empty. "Lila?" Her bed was made, but she wasn't in the room.

"Did you see Lila?" he asked Kyrie, walking back into the kitchen. "She's not in her room."

Kyrie looked up from the stove. "No, I haven't. Could she have left last night without us noticing?"

Hiro breathed out a heavy sigh, "It's possible. C'mon, let's go look for her." He stalked out of the room, Kyrie following behind him.

"I unfortunately can't go with you to look," Kyrie told Hiro just as he got to the door to the stairs. "I have patients today and somebody needs to stay nearby for Naya-chan."

Hiro huffed. "She could be anywhere in this village, but I'll find her." With a loud slam of the door, Hiro was gone.

Lila waited until she heard all of the adults shut the doors to their rooms for the night before unlocking her window. It opened with a small squeak, making her wince and pause to listen for anybody stirring. When she didn't hear anything, she carefully climbed out of the window and onto the railing below her. With another squeak, the window shut behind her.

Am I really doing this? she thought to herself. She jumped to the ground with a quiet thud. Her stomach was tied in knots as she began to walk down the empty village streets.

It was almost a week ago when she had lied to Nayamae about what she overheard about Akito. It was true that he was in control of Gato, but she had left out other important details. It was Akito himself who had told her what to say. He told Lila that he was wanting to help Nayamae. He knew that she was sick and needed a treatment only he could provide, but he never clarified what that treatment was. He wanted to surprise Nayamae with his cure, and made sure Lila knew to keep it to herself.

Lila had never lied to Nayamae. Her hands trembled, but she clenched her fingers together to keep them from shaking. Lila had insisted she accompany Nayamae and Hiro to the Leaf village. She wanted to see what this "cure" was that Akito promised.

Based on vague instructions she could barely remember, Lila presumably found the street she was looking for. Though the street was empty and dimly lit, she felt eyes staring at her as she walked down the dirt road. She caught a glimpse of someone lurking in an alleyway, but they scurried away before she could get a good look.

Finally, she reached the bar at the end of the road. The lights were brighter than the ones in the street, illuminating where she needed to go. Lila stood on a crate and peeked inside the lowest window, seeing a lively barroom full of drunks.

In a far corner, she saw him sitting at a table, his foot crossed over his knee and a cigarette smoking in his mouth. Akito seemed to be busy watching the room full of people, a glazed look was in his golden eyes.

Lila jumped down from the crate and began to wonder how she was going to get inside the bar. Before she could think much more, she spotted a discarded scarf on the ground. Quickly snatching it up, she dusted it off the best she could and wrapped it loosely around her head and face. Even with her poor disguise, everyone was too preoccupied to notice a young girl enter the bar.

Akito noticed her as she approached him. "Ah, good to see you again, Lila!" he said with a sneaking smile. "I assume you didn't come here to Konoha alone?"

Lila shook her head. "No," she answered, avoiding his gaze.

"Good," he said, sounding pleased. "Come, sit here," he said, patting the seat beside him. Reluctantly, Lila sat next to him, the knots in her stomach growing tighter. He put his arm around her shoulders, leaning closely toward her ear. "I don't think I need to repeat myself about our discussion at the docks, do I?" She shook her head, her hands twisting on the hem of her shirt. His breath reeked of beer and the cigarette he was smoking. "Good," he repeated. "Now, all I need you to do is tell me where the kitsune is."

Akito sensed the girl's hesitation. He took a long drag from his cigarette and cleared his throat before speaking again. "Need I remind you, I'm only trying to help Nayamae. She's very sick. And without my help, she will die and it will be all. Your. Fault." He tapped the ashes from his cigarette onto the table.

Lila tried to squirm away from him, but he tightened his arm around her. Despite the doubt she had in his abilities to help Nayamae, Lila spoke. "We're staying with a woman named Kyrie. She owns a clinic not too far from here."

Akito took a long puff from his cigarette, growing the cloud of smoke around them. "Oh, yes, I know the exact one you're talking about." Lila tried to hold in a cough without success. "Tell you what, would you like to see the treatment I'll use for Nayamae? I can show you where it is!"

Her curiosity was piqued. "Where is it?" she asked.

"Oh, it's not far from here," he said, putting his cigarette out in the ashtray on the table. "Follow me," he said, rising from his chair and taking her hand to lead her out of the bar.

Hiro peered down another street, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lila's green headband. All he saw were more people milling about restaurants and vendors selling their wares. The village seemed endless. He had been searching for her for several hours now, and it was nearing lunch time. He couldn't fathom where she could have gone between last night and now. She was smart enough not to get into too much trouble, but it was certainly out of character for her to disappear for this long.

He continued to walk around the main square, asking people if they had seen a young girl wearing a green headband. Eventually Hiro resorted to searching other back alleys and streets, still asking anyone he passed by if they had seen Lila. Still, no one had spotted her.

Without any leads, Hiro decided it was best to return to Kyrie's clinic and hope that Lila had reappeared there while he was gone.

"Did you find her?" Kyrie called from behind the counter when she heard the bell of her clinic open.

"No," Hiro replied with a tired sigh. "I thought she might've turned back up here."

Kyrie shook her head. "Nope, no sign of her here."

"Damn, well I'm going to eat something really quickly and then go look for her again," Hiro said, turning to go upstairs but stopped when he saw Nayamae standing in the doorway. "Boss!"

"Look for who?" she asked, adjusting the blanket wrapped around her. She had been in bed since the night before and had come downstairs to see where everyone had gone. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, Naya, dear," Kyrie said, coming to the doorway. "Let's get you back upstairs and get you some tea."

"What's going on?" she asked, allowing Kyrie to lead her upstairs. Hiro followed behind them.

"Lila's missing," Hiro said once they were all settled at the table with a cup of tea and snacks. "As far as I can tell, she may have slipped out once we all went to bed last night. I've been searching for her all day."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Nayamae asked irritably. "I could have helped!"

"We thought it best to let you get some rest after last night," Kyrie said, putting a comforting hand on Nayamae's arm.

Nayamae huffed. "Let's hurry up and go," she said, downing her tea in a quick swig. "God knows where she is or what's happened to her. I need my sword." She threw off the blanket she was wearing and stood to leave.

"Naya, wait," Hiro said, also standing. "It might be a good idea for you to stay here and rest some more. Your kitsunebi-"

"Isn't going to get any better," Nayamae finished for him. "We need to find Lila. We came here to look for Akito and now she's missing. I'm not sure how, but he must have been using her this whole time and I missed it."

Hiro and Kyrie exchanged glances. "What makes you think that?" Kyrie asked.

"Just a feeling," she muttered, swiftly going to her room and returning with her sword tied around her waist. "Let's go before we lose any more daylight."

Before they could move from the kitchen, the loud sound of breaking glass and a solid thud came from downstairs in the clinic.

"What was that?" Kyrie asked, startled.

"Stay here!" Nayamae ordered, suddenly rushing down the stairs to inspect the noise. Hiro followed close behind her anyway.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, swords drawn, but no one was in the waiting room. A window overlooking the street had been broken, a sizable hole now in the middle. On the floor between some chairs, was a brick with a piece of paper tied to it. Cautiously, Nayamae picked up the brick and removed the note. After inspecting it herself for a moment, she silently handed it to Hiro for him to read.

Kyrie had joined them downstairs. "Oh my!" she exclaimed seeing the damage. "My window!"

"It's as we thought," Hiro said, looking up from the note. "Akito has Lila."

"We need to find her now! Kyrie, stay here and call for ANBU, but don't tell them where we've gone," Nayamae said, sheathing her sword. "Hiro, come with me."

"Do you even know where to go?" Kyrie asked.

"I have an idea," she replied, heading toward the door to leave. "The testing arena is usually open for the public around this time. It's a large place for Akito to put on a show. Whatever that may mean."

I hope you enjoyed this! It was fun getting back into writing again. It feels like I've had writer's block for 5 years, this last part would not come to me for anything. Once this next chapter is done, we're back to more cannon events!

Thanks for reading!