Chapter 34: Recruitment

'Writing

'Inner thoughts'

°Telepathic Communication°

・

Yukino's POV

After a while of running, I stopped giving Kichi her cue to get off my back literally. "You know its not healthy keeping secrets." She lectured me once she touched the ground.

"I know…" I tried catching my breath after running without stop while trying to get Temari off my trail. "I'll explain everything when we return home so we can avoid future awkwardness."

"It's fine you don't have to do it. Do you think the others will find their way back home?" Kichi asked looking in the direction of the island even though we were no way near it.

"Ryota is with them and Nori knows the seal." I reminded her.

"That's good. Then I guess we can do this." She took my hand and led me to the town she went to earlier.

Reaching the town she continued walking and I pulled her back. "You can show me after I change." I tugged on my bloodstained clothing. Going behind a bush I changed into a civilian looking outfit I had. Smelling iron I sniffed my clothes only to realize that isn't where the blood scent was coming from. 'It was never easy to wipe out that smell…' Opening a small portal I peeked in on my hunt seeing the shinobi still passed out in the empty library. 'Good. Once I finish here I can bring them in. Soon… soon I will be free of Konoha just a couple of more shinobi in three years that should be more than enough.' Closing the portal I walked back to Kichi as she led me to the place she wanted to show me.

"Here it is." Looking around I saw the building by the edge of town and without waiting for me to ask Kichi walked in yelling. "I'm back!" Hearing excited screams she was surrounded by ten or so children in a matter of seconds.

Staring at the children running around Kichi while screaming happily I became increasingly more tired as my time was fast approaching. 'It will be nine in less than an hour.' I yawned.

"This here is my friend Yukino. Wake her up while I talk to your big sis." Kichi pointed in my direction.

Jolting awake at that I stared at her and she motioned to the woman that had been observing patiently this whole time. °Kichi… what are you doing?°

°I want to take all of them back to Uzushio.° Just as she said that the kids surrounded me and stared up at me unblinking. "Miss you're very pretty like a blum blossom." a little girl said making my heart squeeze.

"Your hairs like a daffodil!" Another said making me realize that Kichi told them to do it. But even so, they were so cute. °Curse you Kichi for making me weak! How could I say no to this? Go. Go and do whatever.° I waved her away.

°Yes!° Kichi ran to the kitchen dragging the woman along. "What's this?" A little kid asked pointing to the tantō I kept tied to my lower back.

"That's a tantō. It's very dangerous." I told the kid.

"Why do you have it then?" A kid around five asked me. "I was trained to wield it!" I exclaimed exaggeratedly to entertain them.

"Woah!" All of them said at once before one yelled, "Show us!"

Pressing my lips together I remembered that I didn't clean it properly and if I drew it out they would see blood still on it. "Haha! Sure!" I lied through my teeth.

"Good news kids were going to someplace else." The lady said saving me from having to display something so tainted to kids.

"Can we take everything?" A little boy asked.

"I'm sorry but you can only take important things with you so choose–"

"Take everything you want. Yukino nee-san will carry it all!" Kichi cut her off.

Turning their small little kid heads to me I smiled and nodded. "Yes! I will carry it all no problem!"

"Yay!" They yelled and scattered with surprising speed.

"I'm sorry for making you work like this." the caretaker sighed.

"No, no it's fine. You should go and collect your stuff as well." With Kichi agreeing she followed her and helped her with her stuff.

・・・

After gathering their stuff they all gathered near the entrance. "Were not leaving through there." I smiled, closing the door to their bedroom. With my eyes closed, I activated my eyes and opened a portal on the other side of the door. "We're leaving through here!"

Hearing gasps of amazement I kept my smile as they ran to the portal leading to my garden. "There are people here!" a kid screamed. Waiting for everyone to pass I stopped Kichi and the caretaker, "You guys go ahead. I need to cover our tracks here. Oh also." I opened my eyes and opened another portal leading to the city back in Uzushio. "Ryota must be tired so it will be easier for him to close."

"Thank you." the caretaker shook my hand before walking into the garden to keep the kids together.

"Be quick," Kichi said before running in looking for Nori. Creating water tendrils I quickly scooped everything in the pile and pushed it into my garden. Closing the portal I sighed seeing the almost vacant building they left behind. 'How am I going to explain the caretaker and children missing?' I hummed by myself as the image of Orochimaru popped into my head. 'I would like to pin the blame on him but I've never seen how he takes children.' Never in my life had I ever thought that something like that would cross my mind. Looking around the only choice was to make it look like they just got up and left. Tying my hair up I put on a bandana and began cleaning.

・・・

Yawn! 'Done finally!' Turning off the lights to the bedrooms I froze. Standing in the doorway two men stood wearing the same cloaks as Itachi did. Grabbing a broom I knew my only choice left. Fake it and live.

Hopefully.

"Did you come for the children?" I closed the door behind me and switched on the lights.

"No, we came for you." The one with white hair said pointing his scythe at me. 'Hidan…' I remembered him from the bingo book. Glancing over at his partner I recognized him as well. 'Kakuzu.'

"Do tell why do you want me?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"Don't know." He said taking a step forward. 'What does their organization do exactly? Do I even want to find out?'

"Hidan." His partner spoke in an indifferent tone. "Don't kill her that's the mission."

'Am I going to be experimented on again?' Throwing the broom at the window I ran to it and jumped out. Before I could even land I did the signs for the stunning barrier. Taking out kunai I placed the seals on each one and rolled on the glass shard covered grass. Standing up I looked up and saw Kakuzu walk out of the building without a worry. Throwing my kunai on the ground but two I threw them up in the air and they collided landing opposite of each other surrounding the man. Activating the barrier he froze unable to move. 'Great now escape will be possible.'

Turning to the forest I saw blood splatter on the ground around me and with it, a familiar warmth streamed from my chest. Looking down I froze as I saw my own blood coming out of my chest. 'When did?!' By the window, Hidan stood looking different than he did while holding a shard of bloodied glass.

"Too bad." He said before piercing himself on his side. On the same side, a wound opened up as more of my blood seeped out. Clutching my wounds I fell to my knees and hunched forward making sure to heal my wounds out of their sight. Seeing the amount of blood spilling out the memories of that moonlit night came back to taunt me. 'No, this time is different. I'm not dying as I did then.' Looking up I saw Hidan knock away some of the kunai using the scythe. 'I can't run away and leave a trail of blood.'

"One task and you couldn't do it."

"I didn't see you do anything!" He retorted. 'Yes… keep arguing my wounds will be closed by then. If they want me they will have to kill me first.' Realizing my words I stopped healing myself and took out my bloodied tantō aiming it at my neck but before it could even pierce my skin, my arms were pulled to the side along with the rest of my body. Crack! My body forcefully collided into a tree and the splinters of the shattering tree were the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

?

Opening my eyes I was greeted to a new sight. In front of my eyes, there was a wall of ice. 'No that's wrong. I'm the one encased in ice.' I realized as I tried moving my legs. Slowly turning the ice to water I broke free and pulled myself out. Clearly seeing my own breath I looked behind me seeing the huge ice shards protruding from the corner of the room along with the huge chunk of ice that I emerged from.

Remembering what happened before I passed out patted my sides seeing that my weapons were gone. Again. On a more important detail, I lifted my shirt up seeing some black string sewn to my skin to keep shut the injuries that were once there. 'How-' Looking at the ice I sensed my own chakra mixed into it. 'Did I heal myself while I was out?' Looking down at the black string I took off my own shirt put it to the side.

Focusing my chakra on my index finger I used it as a scalpel and began cutting the string. Pulling it out slowly and carefully I blinked away the pain as I repeated the process over and over until I took all of it out. Finishing I hunched over the ground wiping away the sweat. Inspecting my injury I looked internally glad to see that my organs weren't damaged from the wounds.

Putting the shirt back on I began to look around since I had no clue as to where I was. There were no windows and there was only one door. The only light source in the entire room came from a small light in the ceiling. 'Well, I'm leaving.' I told myself about to activate my Getsugan when I heard a click. Jumping away from the door. I saw the woman from the time I was passing by Amegakure with Ryota. Shrinking away from her to appear vulnerable I asked. "What do you guys want with me?"

Walking closer she stopped halfway and spoke in a soft tone. "We know you are a medic-nin. Since the last time we met, there have been rumors of a girl who heals anyone as if their injuries never existed. She matched your descriptions."

Going through my memories on anyone important who could've started the rumor I couldn't find anyone. 'All the people I've healed have just been injured, lonely travelers or children. I made sure they weren't that important before I healed them but it seemed that I was mistaken.' Holding in my sigh I looked up at her stoic face. "So you want me to heal someone you know or…" I asked wanting her to explain.

"The Akatsuki's goal is to build a brighter future. For that, we recruit powerful shinobi who go off into danger but we lack a healer to heal their wounds. Will you help by lending your healing abilities?"

'Seeing how most of the members I've seen were really high in the bingo book I knew she was lying but oh well what other choice did I have. "Really?! I didn't know. Yes! I will help in any way I can!" I put on my meek personality before her one I hadn't really seen in a while.

"Then follow me." She held out her hand.

Taking it a burst of wind enveloped us as the cell broke apart into millions of small paper pieces. Covering my eyes and waiting for it to stop I looked around and saw that I was in a training arena. 'I was never in a cell and I was about to use my eyes…' I stared at the flashlight on the ground. Realizing this my heart sank as I knew that I could've exposed my abilities so easily.

"We are here." I heard her say.

"Oh, really I zoned out." I turned my head to her and smiled. Looking at the room I kept the smile on as the horror set deep into my heart. In the lounge-like room stood and sat four very wanted shinobi from the bingo book along with a plant-like being. 'Hm… Itachi is here and this is perfect to get some answers from him but… my body is urgently telling me to get out of here.' I screamed internally as I knew now what I was getting into.

"Look she's trembling." The plant thing said laughing.

"There are so many guys," I whispered to cover myself unable to control the shaking in my voice. "I've never been around so many guys…"

"See she's alive." I heard a familiar voice say. "You bitch you gave me frostbite!" That same voice yelled making me jump.

Turning my head I saw the two that came for me at the orphanage. "You!" I pointed feeling the fear move to the side and leave as the anger started to crawl out. "You threw me against a tree!" I yelled making sure to point at the man with the mask covering his mouth. Touching the back of my head I felt the bump. "You did! You could've cracked my skull open!"

"I wouldn't have done that if you came with us." He walked past me and set up a briefcase on the table.

"That's Kakuzu…" the woman said pointing at him and then to his partner. One by one she introduced everyone and the plant thing called Zetsu. "My name is Konan. If you have any problems or complaints bring them to me." She gestured to herself.

"Oh, I'm…" I wondered what to say seeing that Itachi was in the room. "Call me Yuki it's a nickname but still, I like it better."

"Welcome Yuki, I will show you to the infirmary and your room." The woman walked away towards another part of this base.

That night the door froze shut and I cried myself to sleep dreading the situation I was now in. 'If I rejected the offer what would've have happened?' I kept asking myself. 'Well, there's no going back now.'

Timeskip brought to you by Yukino realizing that the shinobi she captured were still there. Sealing away their memories of her she sent them to Konohagakure with a note about her absence hoping that it would work.

Week 2 of being in this base. Life has become possible within these walls. A pattern has been set for me to work and soon that pattern will set in within their minds. I will be able to return to Konoha and Uzushio once it happens. Between 8 and 10 I sit in the infirmary with nothing to do. From 10:30 to 12 I return to my room and read. In the beginning, the plant thing would pop into my room to see what I was doing but now that week two has arrived the visits have decreased. From 12 to 5 I make food and return to the infirmary where I sit in silence. By 6 I sit on the lounge or return to the room and stay there. From time to time I may receive the job to heal someone. The most I've seen at the moment has been a severed leg from Hidan that Kakuzu didn't want to sew back but nothing more. At least I can practice surgery and my medical ninjutsu so that's a plus.

Finishing the mental update I also finished making myself eggs and white rice. Putting some poison on the food I placed the plate on the kitchen island and went to the fridge for some juice. 'Man… I can't believe its been three weeks since I was captured. I still need to talk to Ryota about that night. Ryota… I wonder what he's doing is he still training or did he stop? Maybe he doesn't want to anymore after he saw what I did. I could see what that must've looked like to him.'

Pushing the thought away I returned to my plate only to see that a huge chunk of it gone. "Did someone eat my food?" I asked the shinobi in the lounge which consisted of just Sasori and Deidara.

"..." Looking at each of their faces, I saw that the blond one had some rice on his shirt. 'Wow…'

"No one?" I asked once more with no response. Keeping the poison a secret I took the plate with me so they couldn't find the antidote. Soon the guilty one would have to come to me looking for help.

Ryota's POV

Having spent the last couple of days helping everyone that came into the island settle in I didn't notice the absence of a certain girl until one of the orphans brought her up. "You want to give her this?" I asked looking at the drawing of a flower as the little kid nodded with a toothy grin.

"I don't know where she is at the moment. You know what I'll go ask Kichi-san please hold onto it." I returned the drawing before running to the shrine.

・・・

Finding Kichi-san and Nori they wore smiles over their worry as they had the same thoughts I did. 'Where was she?' They both seemed to wonder.

"Maybe she isn't appearing because of what I did." I realized. "It's my fault."

"I doubt it. Maybe she ran into some trouble," Kichi-san said adding to the worries we already had. "That would explain why she hasn't sent a single message since that event."

"We should send her a message then, but what if we are just overreacting?" I asked them but the silence was enough to tell me that wasn't an option.

"If she really is in trouble, sending her a message could just worsen things for her," Nori said stabbing his blade into the ground. "That scroll is special and letting it fall into enemy hands could prove even deadlier. They could torture her for information." Shaking his head he sighed. "Now I'm sounding like her."

"Also Ryota we would go back if we could but we don't even know where she is." Kichi-san squeezed my shoulder. "All we can do is wait for her word."

'If she's fine then she must be furious with me…' Sighing I crossed my arms wondering what to do when an idea popped into my head. 'I can do that. Then she won't be so angry when I apologize.' I ran back to the city knowing what I was about to do would require a lot of planning to complete.

Yukino's POV

Taking a seat on the spinning chair in the infirmary I sighed sensing the familiar chakra behind one of the curtains covering one of the three beds. Rolling up to the bed I pulled the curtains open slightly. "May I help you?" I asked making sure to put on a smile.

"..." Seeing Itachi lying on the bed with his eyes closed I sighed knowing that he was pretending to sleep. With a shrug, I pulled the curtains to close it. Jumping at the feeling of his hand on my arm I heard him ask. "Who are you?" His eyes stared at me before momentarily glancing at my necklace.

Pulling my wrist away I held it up for him to see better. "Like it? I received it as a gift from two people very dear to me. Unfortunately one left and the other no longer remembers me." I sighed shaking my head. "They left me so suddenly maybe they hated me. Oh, I'm sorry. Is there something you need help with?" I asked putting on my smile hoping he would somehow remember. 'Don't be like Sasuke. Please realize it's me.' I kept thinking when I heard a thud by the doorway.

"I'm fine." He stood up from the bed and moved the curtains allowing me to see Deidara clutching his stomach by the doorway.

"Heal me." He said through a pained groan as he threw himself to the now-empty bed. Hearing another groan from Deidara I turned away unable to hide the smile creeping up. 'I'm going to enjoy this.' Grabbing a doctor's mask I put it on to hide the smile as I rolled to Deidara. "So what seems to be bothering you?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

"Just heal me!" He groaned.

"Sure tell me how much pain you are feeling on a scale of 1-10," I asked rolling to my desk where my food from earlier was. Taking out my vail I made sure he could see it before adding a couple of more drops than usual to my food.

"Six. What is that?" He asked staring at the vail in my hand.

"Oh, this?" I held it up. "It's poison? Why?" I asked innocently.

"Why the hell would you poison your own food?!" He yelled.

"Why I'm a healer and I need to be resistant to anything and everything. I can't be taken out by something that's on my food." I took a big bite out of it to show him. Putting the mask back I took out some gloves and put them on before rolling back to him. "Fun fact the poison I'm using currently is extremely strong. I may have some resistance but for those that don't, they will die within minutes. The first sign of death approaching is the sudden increase in the heart rate. The heart will continue to speed up until it goes so fast that it suddenly stops." I explained while checking his mouth and then his heart rate. "Oh, your heart seems to be going really fast that's odd." Scaring him enough from that one incident he never dared eat my food again. Which was perfect for me.

A couple of days later

Finding a small window where most of the Akatsuki members were out I made a portal to Uzushio.

Landing by the city entrance I looked around noticing that it was oddly quiet. Looking ahead I could see a crowd gathered around the center. Relieved it was nothing horrible I made my way there.

Reaching the center I stared in curiosity at the string, rocks, dirt and the many people walking around carrying plants. Entering the nearest abandoned building I climbed to a higher floor and looked down seeing what seemed to be a plan for a garden or plaza center. Square shaped with four gaps on each side and in the middle, there was a large circle of stones filled with dirt. Surprised with this I just stared for a moment before deciding to go down and help for the short amount of time I had.

Looking around for the organizer I felt someone tap my shoulder lightly. Turning my head I saw Ryota rubbing his neck. "Hey…" he waved.

"Ryota…" I forced a smile.

"You've gotten better with the fake smile." He laughed quietly.

"Well, I have no choice." I sighed. "But before that about last time–"

"There's no need to say it. I should've expected it. You are a shinobi after all. Death is something you face as part of your job and I'm sorry for not understanding that part when I followed you." he sighed. "I guess I will now have to apologize to Gaara…"

My vision became blurry hearing this. 'Dumb eye gunk.' I rubbed my eyes. "I should've warned you. You come from a place that isn't exposed to these kinds of things. I should've been more considerate to you." I blinked rapidly feeling the guilt and tears build up. "I understand if you don't want to participate in missions anymore.

"Nah, I should've known…" He waved his hand around. "Even with what I saw I still want to go on missions with you I just don't want to kill anyone."

"I promise but if it ever comes to it I will do it for you. Now please tell me what this is." I waved my hand at the center. Deciding to leave out the fact that the guards were probably still fine since I didn't aim anywhere vital.

"Oh, I wanted to redesign the plaza since it was so bare." He ran to the center circle and stood still pointing around. "I was thinking of setting up benches around here and plant trees and flowers in those smaller areas and in the center I was planning on planting that tree you kept in the library." He stopped. "If you wanted to of course."

"You're right it will look better here." I opened a portal and took out the sapling while Ryota grabbed a shovel.

Walking to the center I took out the sapling from its pot while Ryota dug the hole for it. Setting it down I activated my eyes and began to speed up the tree's growth so it would take root within the soil.

Watching as its branches slowly expanded and thickened I kept holding my ground as the tree grew and grew until it was taller than me. Suddenly my vision doubled and I stopped. "Woah…" I heard people say. Looking up the tree kept growing before it slowed down and stopped already big like the trees in the forest by the edge of town.

"Ryota. I won't be able to return here for a while." I told him as everyone stared at the huge tree.

"Wait what do you mean by that? Is this related to why you haven't sent a message?"

"Yes." Taking out the scroll from a seal on my arm I placed it on his hands. "I don't want them to find it so please hold on to it."

"Who's they?"

"Akatsuki. That's what they call themselves. Remember the woman with the black cloak and red clouds?" With a nod, I continued. "They've been keeping a close eye on me and I don't want them to know of this place so its better if I don't return here. Please tell Kichi and Nori this." I held his hands my dirt-covered ones.

"Wait so you won't be coming back?"

"I will. Just not in a while. I will still leave study materials in the library I just won't be able to see your progress." I smiled letting go. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm just glad that you weren't coming because you hated me." He laughed. "When will you come back?"

"In six months let's meet up in that tea shop you liked by then I'm sure I will have more freedom." Hugging him we held our grip for a minute before letting go.

"Don't worry, I will make sure to keep up my training. Don't slack off." He laughed while I opened and entered my portal. "Please be careful." I heard him say as I was closing it.

・・・

Returning back to the base I took in a deep breath to calm down before pretending as if I was here the whole time. 'Six months.' I told myself as I headed to the infirmary to wash my hands.

Washing and drying them I did a quick supply check. 'The herbs for the ointment are low.' I hummed. Grabbing a post-it I wrote Gone to restock. Be back soon!

Sticking it on the door I walked to my room and took out a cloak and bag to put my herbs in. Ready and prepared I left the base through one of the exits that I knew.

Passing through the maze with little difficulty I reached the exit. Looking around I saw the building that the maze exit led me to and I made my way to the doors as I heard the sound of heavy rain becoming louder. Sighing I pulled up the hood and stepped outside into the metal city.

・・・

Buying everything I needed I walked around as if lost and found a playground. Walking to it I lifted the rain and created a bubble around the playground. Sitting on the top of the now dry slide I placed the bag down and just laid down looking at the rain falling becoming part of the water bubble.

"Yuki let the water down." Bolting up I turned my head seeing Konan standing within the playground. Surprised I let go of the water without thinking.

Realizing what I did time seemed to slow down as I watched in horror as the water came crashing down. Being pushed down by that same water I banged my head against the playset waiting for it to all comedown.

Shivering to the bone I stood up feeling exposed as my hair stuck to my face and the clothes clung to my body heavily. "Konan-san… I'm going back." My teeth chattered as I said it. Picking the bag up I waddled back to the base.

Next Day

Feeling my eyes all heavy I pulled myself out of bed knowing what I caught from yesterday's splash. Making my way to the infirmary I wrote Sick. To avoid infecting anyone I will not be in here until it's gone on a post-it note and stuck it to the door before going back to my room. With a sigh, I curled up under the covers and closed my eyes feeling sleep overtake me.

"Yukino, wake up," A soft voice told me. That same person brushed the hair from my face as I caught the faintest scent of pine trees.

"Mmm… I'll get the book later. Too tired, sick… My garden… need flowers," I yawned turning away. Feeling the weight shift on my bed I was pulled up and leaned against something warm. Cuddling against it for warmth I yawned once again as my stomach grumbled loudly. A light tap on my lips and I opened my mouth allowing food to enter. Chewing happily I slowly began to sob with each spoonful of soup as it reminded me of the same soup otou-san made for me the last time I was sick. "Belladonna soup…"

Authors note: Belladonna is poisonous don't even try it.

Bolting awake I stared ahead feeling something missing, placing my hand on my chest I realized that my necklace was gone. Jumping out of bed I shook the blankets and threw them on the floor before doing the same to the pillows. Lifting the mattress I looked under to no avail. My necklace was gone. Placing everything back in place I sat down on the bed and noticed a white slip of paper that wasn't there before I fell asleep.

Turning around the blank paper I looked at it in confusion. But what if. Doing the fireball jutsu signs I held the paper away before letting out the small fireball. Cough! Cough! Stopping I rubbed my throat feeling as if the inside of my throat had been peeled off. Looking at the note I saw the message on it. I saw you die that night.

'So he didn't forget about me.' Smiling I ripped the paper into pieces and ate it so no one would find it. 'He remembered…' Was the last thing I remember thinking before I fell asleep again.

Gasp! Opening my eyes I looked around seeing nothing different. 'Was that a dream?' Touching my neck I felt that the small stone was gone. Getting off the bed I put on my normal clothes and left the room for the lounge only to see that my door had tape across it.

Removing the tape I bunched it into a ball and threw it allowing me to exit. Walking to the lounge I could hear the sound of something on the television. Peeking in I only saw Deidara sitting on the couch eating popcorn. Thinking him harmless enough I walked in and sat on the couch. "How long was I out?" I asked him.

Shifting a bit to the side he cleared his throat and said: "Couple of days, hm."

"Oh, ok. Do you know where everybody is?"

"Missions." He responded simply making sure to keep his eyes on the television.

"Thanks." Crossing my legs I closed my eyes focusing on my chakra reserves. 'Now that I have time I can work on it…' Focusing on my second reserve where I was gathering my chakra for healing I expanded it to be greater than the ones I had. 'After today I won't touch it. Only in dire situations.' I opened my eyes wiping the sweat from my forehead. 'Done with that.'

Looking up at the television I saw the end credits of the movie that had been on tv. 'How long did I take?!' Surprised I uncrossed my legs feeling a small prickling feeling in my legs. 'They fell a sleep.' I sighed poking them to get some feeling back. "Hey, Deidara?" I tried initiating conversation in the meantime.

"Hm?" He said while switching through channels.

"While I was sick did I do anything weird?" I asked making him drop the remote.

Clearing his throat his face began to redden as he picked up the remote. "What do you mean by weird?"

"Say weird things do weird things, you know?" My heart began to speed up knowing that I did by the way he was acting.

"You don't remember?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not." I shook my head fearing what happened.

His face increased by several shades of red. "You… might have jumped everyone."

"That doesn't sound too bad." I hoped he would end it at that but as my luck would have it there was more.

"You basically straddled Hidan and me saying we were warm. When Konan pulled you away you clung on to her as she carried you back to your room. On another occasion, you closed yourself in the infirmary turning it into an icy fortress. You also began yelling that you wanted your father here. Itachi entered the infirmary and dragged you out after that." He began to laugh as he remembered it. "Oh and I'm here to watch over you."

'He must be lying. But then again otou-san told me that I acted delirious when I was sick and I did embarrassing stuff.' Covering my face I curled up on the sofa wanting to melt away in shame. "Who saw this?" I asked afraid of the answer.

"Everyone even Pein. Hm."

"Pein?" I asked unaware of someone named like that.

"The boss."

Ohing I sat up and looked up at the ceiling. "Deidara. I may not have known you for long and I know it's your task to watch over me but please ignore me for just five minutes. I'm sure I can find something in Sasori-san's room."

"Look who's back." He said looking at one of the hallways clearly entertained.

Sitting up I looked where he was looking seeing Itachi and Kisame together. The former looked up and noticed me nudging Itachi. "Look, what do you think she's going to do this time?"

Hearing him clearly I wanted to curl up and hide underneath something to be out of sight but that would just entertain them. Standing up I pushed the embarrassment to the side deciding to leave. "Hey, where are you going, hm," Deidara said.

"I'm just going to check the infirmary," I waved goodbye as I left the lounge.

In order to confirm their story of me freezing the infirmary, I would have to see it myself. Touching the doorknob I flinched feeling the metal cold. 'It shouldn't be this cold.' Using my sleeve I turned the knob and stepped into the infirmary. Staring in awe at the sight before me I saw the ice-covered floor and curtains frozen mid flutter. The only area that seemed clear of any ice and frost was the back of the infirmary and the surgery room.

Sliding through the room happily I stopped. 'The herbs!' Sliding immediately to the herb storage I opened the drawers seeing the wilted and burnt herbs. 'Poor things. I'm sorry you went to waste…' Sighing I began unmelting the ice and throwing the water into the sink.

Finishing melting everything I walked back to the storage and began throwing away the herbs that were no longer useful. 'So many gone and wilted…' I sighed closing my eyes and drooping my head over the open drawer.

With a shadow looming over me I turned my head only to see Itachi. Standing above me he glared as he looked down. His eyes became red suddenly and without thinking I activated my eyes to defend myself in case he used genjutsu.

"Did you come to kill me?" He asked kneeling down.

"What made you think that?" I asked him making sure to smile. 'Is he trying to scare me away?' I asked myself excitedly. 'Bring it on.'

"You must know what I did and yet you are here… Yukino."

Blinking in surprise I genuinely smiled. "You are one of the few that actually remember me. That makes me happy." I placed my hand on my chest. °Itachi please return my necklace.° Standing up I kicked the drawer shut.

°Why are you here?° he still looked down even though I was standing. 'I'm am I just this short?!'

°I was forcefully brought here.° I sighed extending my hand to help him up. °Itachi tell me why you did it? Why kill them? I want to hear it from you.° I slowly inched around him.

°I grew tired of them so I killed them all.°

Shaking my head I walked away slipping on the floor. Feeling myself fall my body twisted as I was pulled by my arm and held up. °Itachi, don't lie to me. I was killed that night by someone else and I SAW what happened so tell me when you're ready.° Standing up I removed his hand from my arm and stopped for a moment staring at it. Shaking my head I walked to the door and turned my head slightly. °Also, I made sure to leave no water on the floor. So what did I trip on?° Cutting off the mind link I laughed and left the room.

Still laughing I turned the corner and bumped into someone causing me to stumble back and fall on the floor.

"Oh, you want another hug I see," Hidan said pulling me up. "Heal me first and I'll show you another way to warm up." He whispered.

'So Deidara was telling the truth?!' Slapping him. I backed away surprised.

"Not bad. I didn't know you wanted to play hard to get." He rubbed his cheek looking up with clouded eyes. "Kakuzu-san. What did Hidan break this time!" I yelled inching slowly away from Hidan.

"His arms and the front of his head." I heard his gruff voice from somewhere. 'That's why he's acting so odd…'

"Restrain him please I'll even pay you!" I ran away from Hidan not wanting to hear any more weird stuff coming out from his mouth.

・

Dear reader, please keep in mind that at this point Itachi was already losing his sight.

P.s I took the masochism from how Hidan is in Rock Lee SD.