Hey, guys! Sorry for the super long wait for this chapter! At least I'm back and I have something to cheer you up.

But before I get to the chapter, I just wanna thank a certain reviewer, mykaelamatsukaze. I was with my friend when I got the notification and after reading your review, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Literally, I felt so much love from you through that mere review and how genuine it was. I just wanna take this time to thank you so much and I'm dedicating this chapter to you!

With that out of the way, on with Chapter 18!

Chapter 18: An Unexpected Update (Part 3)

The staring contest continued between the Uchiha siblings and the reboot of Squad 7 of the Leaf Village. Though I finally came to terms that I had to fight the people that meant the most to me, I was hesitant to make any move to do so unless I was provoked by possibly my brother. As I was thinking this, my shiny onyx eyes were in contact with the blonde's own ocean blue ones and nothing had been done to break this eye contact. His eyes were wide in disbelief and pain as mine were monotonous and dull, but my visual orbs don't mirror my inner feelings at all.

"Hitomi…" He breathed incredulously as his full attention was on me. "I can't believe it's really you…"

I was given the name 'Hitomi' a long time ago by my brother, Itachi; he was the first person who referred to me this name rather than 'Katsumi' because he claimed that it was a much suitable name. In a foreign language, it was translated to 'pupil of the eye' and it theoretically meant that a person saw and was enlightened to everything based on their beliefs of the world and society. I remembered the story Itachi told me when I was little about a girl—who was miraculously named 'Hitomi'—hundreds of years ago who was born without full vision due to an incurable disease and because of this, she was told that she could never become a ninja because of her lack of vision. Because of her being stubborn and headstrong, she went ahead and trained her damn hardest to become a skilled kunoichi. Her hard work paid off and she proved every doubter wrong that said she couldn't do it. She strongly believed that a person doesn't need eye sight to succeed in life, but it was the hard work, dedication, and perseverance that helped them successful in achieving their goals. She also believed that just because a person sees doesn't mean they knew all and that vision doesn't reflect the person as a whole. Nonetheless, she proved her theory by hard training and a mind that was both opened but critical.

I asked Itachi why he gave me this nickname, and his response was that because it was both legitimate and metaphoric when it came to me. My Sharingan activated when I came out of the womb and doctors couldn't explain why and how this happened. Some claimed that in my case, the visual prowess was one of the rarest beneficial mutations while others claimed that my chakra pathways were stronger near my eyes which possibly led to me activating it as an infant. However, there wasn't any definite answers that linked to this but I assured myself this was a good thing. At least until this "mutation" made me a "freak" and an "abnormal" human by the eyes of my own family and shunned me or verbally attack me. On the metaphorical side however, Itachi knew since I was very little that I had a mind that far exceeded those who were chunin not only because of my knowledge, but because of how critical and open-minded I was to society. He also told me that I created thoughts and theories as a child because I was both curious and skeptical of the life we lived as ninja and as humans. For an example, one time I told him that "we were no longer humans because we kill for a living", and, "it was funny that there were so many intelligent and talented shinobi, yet we had no f**kin' common sense". See what I meant? I was a prodigy. To sum it all up, what I had just said was basically the reason why he referred to me as 'Hitomi'; getting the Sharingan as an infant and how intellectual and extensive my mind was.

When I first met Naruto, assured him that I didn't hate him, and genuinely wanted to be his friend, he asked me my name. I told him my name was 'Katsumi' but as an eight-year-old, he had a little trouble saying my name with the pronunciation. I then offered him to simply call me 'Kat', like how Sasuke did at the time because he was a sucker for them. Apparently, the little blondie refused, claiming that he didn't like cats and he liked me; it didn't make sense to him to call a friend something he hated. Finally, I told him he could call me 'Hitomi' and he was confused about the weird name. I told him the backstory of it because he and I felt the same resentment from others and I felt a strong, emotional connection with him as did he. When I finished telling him the significance behind the name, he immediately was a fan of it. Since then and apparently to this day, he still called me 'Hitomi' rather than 'Katsumi'. Then I met Sakura during a kunoichi class at the Academy when I stood up for her when the other girls were bullying her. She already knew who I was because of the reputation I had along with Sasuke, but thanks to Naruto, she too referred to me as 'Hitomi'. Followed by Kakashi after he helped me through a depression relapse which I suffered after the emotional, physical, and psychological trauma I went through after that bastard of an older brother casted his Tsukuyomi on me and beat me with ruthless aggression with no emotion on his face. Others include the rest of the genin group along with my mentors, and that made me feel like they were my home.

Hearing it from the blonde now—factoring in the betrayal, pain and stressed I caused him—, it made me feel like the kunai that pierced my heart earlier was twisting itself deeper, making me feel more pain.

"You've grown up, Naruto." I complimented expressionlessly, hiding the bittersweet feeling in my chest. "I hope your abilities and jutsu came along with that growth…"

It was true that both Naruto and Sakura grew since the last time. Naruto's appearance had changed quite a bit with the new fitted sweater and pants that was now an equal amount of orange and black. What really caught my attention was his newly-tall height; there was no doubt that he had a growth spurt as the years passed. Sakura was—for the most part—looked significantly the same from when she was twelve/thirteen with her short, pink hair, her red outfit—however it was worn as a top and not a dress, and she had her emerald green eyes that showed disbelief too currently, but a newly-founded fierceness behind the shock that reflected her power and abilities as a kunoichi. What was basically different was her change in outfit, which was sort of typical—no offense given.

With all of these thoughts relating to our former comrades, I was curious to know if Sasuke thought close to at least one of them.

"Why are you all here?" I heard said brother questioning the Leaf shinobi with a tedious and boring tone. However, I could hear the irritation as well but was very disguised by his dull tone.

"W-We're here to bring you and Hitomi back to the Leaf!" Naruto answered passionately, sounding desperate to get the job done. I took note that Naruto's voice had matured as well since it sounded lower than it was back then, but it still sounded like the Naruto I had known and loved.

"Is that so?" The raven sarcastically intrigued; it was hilarious to hear how bored he was because this use of tone barely occurred.

"That's right." The unidentified jonin of their mission spoke up sternly, throwing us a determined look. "By orders of the Hokage, we're here to bring the both of you back even by force."

I side-glanced at Sasuke to observe his reaction. Of course, he gave no reaction as he remained blank as a sheet of paper refusing to have any emotion drawn on him. Normally, I was good at reading his thoughts because he usually dropped his guard when around me and though he mostly didn't tell me his thoughts, he allowed his face to do the talking which was enough for me to understand. But that we were distant and his new façade was harder to read, his thoughts and emotions were difficult to read because the variation was identical.

"Kakashi's not here…" He simply commented, observing what was in front of him with his emotions not connecting to it at all. "That must mean you're taking his place for this mission."

I refused the urge to blink dumbly at my older brother; was that the only thing he gave any sort of damn about.

"That must mean that guy's my replacement…" He analyzed, connecting one of the easiest dots ever.

I moved my pupils over to the guy he was referring to, which was Sai. My feelings of him betraying us were mixed; I hadn't known him for too long nor I had a clue if I liked him or not, but him betraying us was so quick it made no sense as to why in the hell did he joined Orochimaru if he was going to pull this stunt. I hoped that both Kabuto and the snake felt so stupid for this, especially Kabuto because he knew that Sai couldn't be trusted yet he went along with what was going on.

"That's right." Sai acknowledged his theory, then he pulled out his—in my opinion but likely true—his sad excuse of a sword and holding it out at our direction.

Both Sasuke and I weren't really fazed by his sudden act of bravery. However, I was aware that Naruto and Sakura were surprised by this for some reason. Curiously, I focused my hearing so that I could overhear what they were saying.

"Sai, but you—!?"

"It's true that my true mission was to kill both Sasuke and Katsumi…" He confessed firmly as he kept his strong stare on said couple with his sword still held in front of him. "But, I'm done following orders. From now on, I follow my own path."

I was taken aback by what he said before announcing that he wouldn't take crap for anyone from this point on. His true mission was to kill us? But… why? It made no sense to me. First of all, why the hell the Hidden Leaf would ordered them to take us back to the village when Sai's "real mission" was to straight-up kill us? They were basically contradicting their goals. Secondly, why the hell would they want us dead in the first place? Yes, we were considered rogue to the Leaf and went as far as betraying them to go to Orochimaru, but it wasn't like we were carrying huge bounties over our heads nor we committed any sort of crime that deserved the death penalty. Hearing all of this made me both confused and slightly pissed off; Kabuto was going have a lot of explaining to do later.

"Sasuke…!"

The voice that called said person's name made the raven and I give out attention to Sai.

"Obviously, this bond you and your sister share with Naruto and Sakura still means a lot to them or they wouldn't have travelled all the way here with obstacles just to get you back." He briefly explained to us in a bold, loud tone; this was the realest Sai had ever been in the short amount of time of knowing him.

"You have to understand that this bond is what pushes them to bring you both back home." He added hardly, gripping his sword tightly.

I already knew this from the beginning, yet I had to have some stranger—who had no clue what happened between all of us—tell me that they were still trying to bring us home because of the special bond. My chest tightened up just thinking about it.

"Katsumi!" I heard Sai call my name to which I gave him my ears. "The conversation we had earlier… I knew at that moment this bond still means something to you. Unlike your brother, you'd come to terms with that…"

I clenched my fist as I secretly gritted my teeth at his words; yes, I already admitted this to myself but it doesn't mean I wanted my stubborn brother knowing.

"Why are you holding back on this opportunity if you know that's what you want?" He then questioned, demanding an answer.

Why in the good name of Kami was he talking like he was a hero when he was the same jackass who was supposed to murder Sasuke and I?

"First of all, don't talk as if you know anything about how I 'feel'." I grimed dully. "Secondly, I'm not holding back anything. I'm simply being realistic in this situation…"

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned incredulously, shocked that something like that came out of my mouth.

"Why would I want to come back to Leaf if said village secretly wanted me dead? And I'm not speaking on behalf of Sasuke; this is merely my perception of it all." I slightly frowned unpleasingly. "Even if I were to willingly come back, there's no doubt that I'll have to face the consequences for leaving the village. I've already lost everyone's trust by then…"

"NO, that's not true at all!" Naruto exclaimed in disagreement. "All of your comrades already know that you never wanted to leave and that it was Sasuke who convinced you into doing so. I swear you won't face any punishment if you just come back to us. We all missed you…!"

"And how does that make me feel better if there's a better chance in Sasuke getting all the blame!?" I asked grimly, narrowing my eyes at the blonde as I hid my inner thoughts and feelings.

"None of you are in the wrong!" Sakura cried out. "All we want is have our old team back! We know that you want that more than Sasuke, so just convince him to come back, Hitomi!"

"Like I just said, returning is not the smartest decision for both myself and you guys." I told her stubbornly. "As far as Sasuke goes, I have no right to influence his decisions; he does whatever he wants to do and I have to respect and support him as his sister."

This was the truth, but not the full truth. As his sibling, I had to respect him because it was an Uchiha and family code. However, I don't follow his orders and demands because I wasn't his lapdog nor he was allowed to influence me in a way that I disliked. No matter how irritated I was with Sasuke, I still loved him and I would always stay by his side when it came to situations like this.

"Katsumi…" A familiar voice called my name, to which I turned only to see Sasuke's blank but rare soft look he was giving me.

"Don't be that grateful, bro. Besides it's kind of obvious since there's a code that we both have to follow… unconditional love…" I verbally waved him off, keeping my eyes busy by looking down at the Leaf ninja.

I could still feel his stare on me, processing what I had just said as he tried to read my inner feelings.

"Of course…" He agreed expressionlessly.

Although I knew that Sasuke had unconditional love for me, it was good to hear him admitting it out loud to me. It still showed a bit of the old Sasuke that I had once known very well.

"By the way, that conversation we had earlier…" I remarked firmly refusing to look at him. "Despite the unconditional love… I still stand by my words because as my brother… you have to understand my feelings in all this… because I'm just as important to you as anything else…"

Sasuke remained silent after hearing this which was no surprise since he either be stubborn and/or stoic, or he wouldn't say anything at all. So when he parted his lips to speak, it was a slight surprise for me.

"Yeah…" He murmured so quietly, it was as if his voice was next to mute.

The tone he used in his response slightly sounded like he felt a bit guilty; he felt bad for ever doubting that I wasn't that important to him. I wasn't asking Sasuke to hold me like I was something holy or whatever; I wanted him to know that he should be there for his sister like I was always there for him. The fact that his volume was next to zero made me to believe that he didn't want Naruto and Sakura to see the side of him that was loved by them because it was a sign of weakness.

What happened next, I wasn't certain of exactly because the conversation turned to Sasuke who was basically the mastermind in this mess. Naruto questioned if their brotherly bond wasn't important to him, then how come he didn't finish the blonde off when he had the chance at the Final Valley. Sasuke simply said that he just spared his life just because and breaking this bond of theirs couldn't be broken by death. However, Sasuke went off to claim that they meant nothing to him and he was planning on killing all of them this time. That was when I snapped myself back into reality and throwing Sasuke a bit of an appalled look from behind which he didn't seemed to see. Suddenly, the raven hopped from the edge of the hole and landed gracefully in front of Naruto with his left hand on the blonde's shoulder. They were rather close to each other so much so that my brother's chin was hovering above his former friend's shoulder as the blonde stood there frozen with his eyes dead opened. I couldn't make out exactly what he mumbled in Naruto's ear, but what I took from it was if the blonde used his time wisely rather than on us he could've become Hokage. Then, my face twitched when he added that something told him to "finish what he started", and then he pulled out his sword. I knew immediately he was trying to kill the Uzumaki boy and my instincts told me to stop him. But before I took one step, Sai came in instead to save Naruto from his death.

Sasuke blocked this attempted attack with his sword as the two of the men's blades clashed. At the corner of my eye, I noticed that Sakura was focusing her chakra to her right fist then charged directly at Sasuke who was being kept busy by Naruto and Sai. I was informed by Kabuto that the pinkette was trained under the Leaf's Hokage, Tsunade, and I knew of her capabilities as a medical ninja and a kunoichi. To sum it all up, there was no telling just how strong she was now, but I definitely knew her strength was something that shouldn't be messed with if she was trained by someone like Tsunade.

Out of compulsion, I dived into the hole into battle towards Sakura. It wasn't until the last second when she took notice that I was gliding rapidly to her, but to her luck she dodged my attack which resulted in me landing hard on my feet causing the floor beneath me to crack. I glanced at the pinkette who now stood near the edge of the hole. I straightened by back as I lifted myself off of my feet, not taking my eyes off of my former friend.

"Your opponent is me, not Sasuke…" I insisted solidly as my hand reached behind me. "It's more appropriate, don't you think?"

Sakura watched me warily as I pulled out two identical objects from my weapon pouch. I could feel her squinting her eyes at me while I was slipping silver hand gear on both my wrists. I lifted my gaze from my hands to the pinkette who seemed kind of confused as to what I had on which made me smile a bit.

"To be honest with you, I'm curious to know how strong you've gotten after training with Tsunade." I grinned coyly as I adjusted the shiny new battle gear I just put on.

Shakenly, the pinkette took out a kunai knife. "I'm not the same person you knew years ago." She insisted confidently, throwing me a determined look.

I let out a cocky laugh as I positioned my forearms to make an X-formation in front of my chest, as I showed off to Sakura exactly what I had placed.

"Then, prove it to me… sister…" I mused playfully as my hand gear subconsciously activated its combat form.

The hand gear consisted of three, long, sharp, piercing blade claws that extended out over the knuckles with a cool set up of the silver base starting from the lower forearm up to my knuckles; just looking at it already felt like you were being cut by it. The claw blades were about half a meter long and were secretly carrying Orochimaru's deadliest poison which meant that one cut could kill a person if not treated properly. I could see the slight intimidation in the pinkette's bright green eyes. Though fighting my closest friends was the last thing I wanted, I was curious to see the girl's new power she obtained by facing her.

I dashed straight at her as I held my geared hand back. Once I was in front of the pinkette, I threw my long, bladed, toxic claws at my opponent to which she skillfully blocked my attack with her kunai. Our weapons scratched against each other due to the force the both of us were applying to gain the upper-hand. We were eyeing each other solidly, conversing with our eye contact rather than speech. I wondered if Sakura got the memo; I never wanted to face her in these terms. It was simply to get her away from Sasuke because he already had his hands full with Sai and Naruto.

Out of nowhere, Sakura pulled the next move by throwing a punch infused with chakra at me. I dodged easily, mentally commenting that her attacks shouldn't be messed with. I used my hand gear and threw swift attacks of my own at her, but to my surprise, she gracefully dodged my claws from touching her. We continued throwing, dodging and blocking attacks until our weapons clanged loudly against each other once again. So far, we were almost neck-in-neck and I was impressed of the pinkette's progress. However, I was going easy on her because I didn't want to hurt injure her greatly, so the depths of her abilities were still kind of unknown to me.

In other words, I had to hit her at her weakest just to keep her down without causing extreme damage. That was when I noticed a big bruise taped on her upper arm above one of her two elbow wrists. It kind of made me curious because the only possibility of her receiving this injury was that battle against Orochimaru and Naruto. But it was never disclosed that Sakura had any part in the match, so how could she get such an injury if she wasn't a part of the battle. It then raised the question of the intensity of the fight between the two. Back to the point, this bruise on her arm was a jackpot for me; one strike there was sure to do the trick.

Without hesitation, I used my flexibility to lift my leg and strike hardly at the dark bruise. I then heard Sakura cry in pain as she gritted her teeth to hold back on showing any weakness, although she wasn't doing a good job at it. The pinkette jumped a few feet away from me as a precaution to regain herself as I allowed her to take her time. For some reason, she lowered herself to the ground in a crouching position as she eyed me hardly which raised an eyebrow. She was waiting for something, but what exactly?

Suddenly, I felt a familiar yet unidentified chakra erupting right behind me; it felt like someone just activated a jutsu at me. I gasped in realization when it hit me right away: I totally forgot about the jonin who was leading in their mission. Not only that, their plan all along was to distract me so that they could physically capture me since it crossed their minds that I wouldn't budge.

I swiftly turned to see what headed towards me, and I was baffled to see large lengths of wood branching out and reaching right to me. The second I was about to make my escape, the wood rapidly wrapped itself around my whole body until I could move a muscle. I looked down at myself to see the situation I was stuck in, and all I saw was wooden branches that enveloped my body, restricting my movements. Smart plan, I had to admit. I lifted my stare towards Sakura who now had a cocky look in her eyes as she lifted herself off of the ground, holding her bruise that I inflicted more pain on it.

"Very sneaky of you, Sakura…" I complimented with a small smirk. "Your combat skills improved as well…"

Sakura said nothing and instead looked at me with a hard, serious look. I then turned my attention to my captor who was responsible in binding my movements. I glanced over my shoulder at the Leaf jonin who activated this jutsu who still made the jutsu's hand sign as he continued to pump his chakra to strengthen the wood around me.

"I thought Lord First was the only wielder of the Wood Style, but I guess I was wrong…" I stated monotonously, then placed a microscopic smirk on my lips. "Not bad… for a runner-up…"

"This jutsu will keep you from moving even the slightest…" The jonin gloated, narrowing his eyes at me. "It's over for you, Katsumi. You're coming back with us to the Leaf."

"Oh, that's real cute…" I sarcastically commented, staring at him coyly. "You think that I'm actually done for."

Both Sakura and the jonin raised an eyebrow suspiciously at my words. With a cocky smile, I turned on my Sharingan and focused my chakra to the long claws of my hand gear. Both ninja gaped at my new demeanor and my bright crimson eyes as they were frantic to figure out a way to stop me. Unfortunately for them, it was too late. I used my chakra to finely sharpen my claws and gracefully freed myself from the wood jutsu by spinning out of its grasp.

"Impossible! I made sure her movements are bounded…!" The jonin gaped in awe, watching me as I continued to soar in the air.

I used my wind jutsu to lift me off of the ground, away from danger. I watched their appalled looks from above with entertainment as my bladed claws were cloaked in chakra. I also grabbed the attention of Naruto, Sai, and even Sasuke to which I gave all of them a proud grin. I flew out of the large crater and landed on the edge of it as my brother followed suit and hopped free. Once we were at a safe distance away from our opponents, Sasuke made a quick series of hand signs. Since I still had my Sharingan activated, I read all of the hand seals and was surprised that we was going to use his strongest jutsu; he was planning on killing all of them.

"Sasuke, that jutsu—!"

"I'm putting an end to all of this." He concluded sternly as I felt him funneling his chakra. "It's over!"

He was actually serious!

"No, Sasuke! Don't do it!" I demanded, trying to give him second thoughts.

But since Sasuke was being Sasuke, he didn't listen to reason and did what he planned on doing. The Leaf ninja watched in horror while I anxiously watched my brother raising his hand in the air, calling forth his jutsu.

But before his jutsu was fully activated, a familiar man arrived in the nick of time and grabbed Sasuke wrist tightly, preventing him from doing any big jutsu. Irritated, the raven shot a glare aside to the snake, not at all pleased that he stopped him from showing all of us his new power. Orochimaru returned his glare with a calm but serious look on his face; despite all means, the snake wanted to remind the Uchiha boy that he was in charge no matter the circumstances.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you… Sasuke…" The Sanin grinned deviously.

"Let go…" The Uchiha male gritted angrily, not liking the snake touching him never mind grabbing.

"Hey…!" Another familiar voice spoke up out of nowhere as I tried to find the person responsible for speaking in that tone.

Like Orochimaru, his grey haired subordinate magically appeared beside me. By the looks of it, Kabuto wasn't too pleased by Sasuke's current attitude.

"I told you to watch your tone when speaking to Lord Orochimaru." He remarked coldly, sharpening his glare at the raven.

"Why are you guys here?" I blurted out the question, still stunned that these two came out of nowhere.

"We were watching you two fighting against them." Kabuto answered simply, indicating our former comrades then eyeing the raven. "We noticed that things were getting out of control when your brother over there decided to take matters into his own hands and kill everyone."

"Hmph…" Sasuke grunted in response, looking away and laid his eyes on the ninja down below.

"As tempting as it is to get rid of them, it's better if you let them to live…" Orochimaru advised lowly then smirking down at the Leaf team. "They're doing an exceptional job in stopping the Akatsuki and killing them off as well. We share a common enemy, so we should let them continue stopping them to make it easier for us to achieve our goals…"

"As surprising as it sounds… he has a point, Sasuke…" I agreed gently, keeping my face hard as said person eyed me firmly. "If we let them kill the Akatsuki one by one, they won't be as strong and would weaken their chances. Meaning… it could also weaken Itachi…"

Though no one could see it, I saw my brother's eyebrow twitch by hearing our oldest sibling's name. I knew right there that what had been said was enough to stop him from killing his own kin. With that, Orochimaru freed his wrist from his grasp and resorted in staring daggers at the Leaf ninja who were now eyeing us as if they saw a demon.

"Now that's settled, there's no point in staying any longer…" Orochimaru stated with a smile, glaring at his enemies. "Let's head on out to the next lair…"

Without hesitation, both the snake and Orochimaru vanished in a second while leaving Kabuto and myself behind. Once the coast was clear of those two, he moved closer to and—for whatever stupid reason—placed a kiss on my cheek. I prevented the urge to jump like a startled child, but I wasn't able to hide the slight blush on my cheeks. Lucky for me, none of the Leaf shinobi noticed my flustered face, but they did saw that act of affection that just happen a moment ago.

Of course, the first critic of this was the blonde knucklehead.

"HEY! Stay AWAY from her, you BASTARD!" He barked in rage, clearly showing his loathe for the bookworm.

"Why should I?" He smirked mockingly, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me even closer to him. "There's nothing wrong showing my significant other some affection, right?"

Not only four eyes was making Naruto mad, but he too was pissing me off for a different reason. We both agreed to keep our partnership a secret from anyone, and that included those from the Leaf. But instead, dumbass went ahead and showed his affection for me in front of my former teammates which included a jinjuriki that could lash out its beast's power at any moment. Either Kabuto didn't know how to keep a promise or he was simply being an ass because he unfortunately had the freedom.

"Significant other?" I heard Sakura repeating Kabuto, then her bright green eyes widened in horror when she realized what he meant. "No, don't tell me that—!"

"You're right, Sakura." Kabuto acknowledge with a wicked smirk. "Your precious Katsumi is with me."

"You psychopathic pedophile!" Naruto spat lividly, almost on the verge in letting his anger get the best of him. "Katsumi, why the hell would you ever even consider him as—!?"

"Why would I not? I'm allowed to do anything I please." I interjected simply, slightly letting myself get defensive.

"But…" I heard the pinkette wanting to speak her mind in this topic and I gave her my ears. "But, what about Neji?"

"What about Neji?" I inquired hardly, raising an eyebrow at her for mentioning his name.

Hearing my tone made her falter a bit, however she seemed to be able to continue this conversation.

"Well, according to him, you said that you guys aren't over with and that you're just taking a break from one another so—."

"I don't know if you know this, but things change…" I told her simply. "Yes, we were separated but I didn't necessarily said that I would come back to him; I said that I would see him in the future. I made that clear to him, and he understands the situation."

"I understand, but still…"

"Besides, I never expected him to wait for me nor I wait for him. The reason why I broke things off with him solely because I wanted him to find someone who's better for him" I cut her off again, not wanting to hear anything.

"But, Katsumi! Neji still cares about you and is still waiting for your return!" Naruto then exclaimed angrily. "I swore to him that I'll bring you back to him so that you guys can be together!"

"Well, don't bother yourself anymore." I told him firmly. "I've moved on with my life, and so should he…"

That response wasn't the type of response they were expecting from me. But it was what it was, and they had to accept it just like I had.

"End of discussion." I announced hardly and turned my heel, facing my back to them. "Let's go, Kabuto."

"Right." He nodded and we both vanished before anything else could be said from my friends.

As Kabuto and I soared through the trees towards the new lair, my mind went back to what I said about moving on from my relationship from Neji. I thought that my feelings for him faded months after I settled in but when his name was mentioned, it brought back old feelings and memories I had of him. He was very polite, mannerly, gentle, considerate, and such a gentleman for his age but he had his days where he was more loose and comfortable. Despite being a religious person, he showed his affection and care for me in his own unique way and I missed that, to be honest.

I glanced at Kabuto, who was leading the both of us to the other lair since I had no clue of its location. When it came to four eyes, I always felt comfortable to be myself when I was around him and he always seemed to not mind my attitude nor personality. I knew that I could be a hard person to be around and from past experiences, it made me too strong to the point where I kept others at arms' length and not let the wall I built up crumble. Kabuto knew of this yet he still continued to be by my side and accept me for who I was. He was just so loyal to me and I always had been thankful of having deep inside; he showed that he was willing to wait for me and supported me in anything.

However, that doesn't change the fact that I was angry at him for blowing our secret partnership to the Leaf ninja; it doesn't help that half of the team were my close friends, especially. Now that they knew that I was with Kabuto, either they would report the news to Lady Hokage and hunt him down for "dating a ninja who was rogue to the Leaf", or they would me in the bingo books. Apparently, that doesn't really matter to me at the moment because I was mostly curious of how Neji himself was going to react. True, I told him that I might see him again and would continue what we had, but time had passed and things changed. Besides I was twelve at the time and I had no clue how to deal with it properly to begin with. Back to the point, the Hyuga male wouldn't be upset with me not wanting to get back together as much he was of me being with Kabuto. I knew it was sort of low of me for dating one of the most heartless, coldest villains out there, but I didn't care; he and no one knew him as much as I did so they should mind their own business.

And what about Sasuke? What would happen if this news reached his ears? What would I do then? He and I hadn't discussed about that disagreement we had earlier so his feelings were still pretty raw from it. It wouldn't help at all if he heard from someone else that his little sister was dating Orochimaru's subordinate who was years older than her. That was another thing that I had on my mind and couldn't shake off.

That damn jerk had one thing to do: don't tell anyone about us. Either he was straight up stupid and hollow or he simply was a psychopath who simply couldn't give any sort of f**k about anyone. It was his fault for not keeping his mouth shut and because of him, I would take the fall for it and be hunted down by every single one of my friends. If push comes to shove, there was no doubt that I would use four eyes as my shield.

Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the lack of detail, but I figured you guys already know what goes down in this fight so I focused on the details that had to do with Katsumi herself. I'll see you next time!