Nue's POV

I continued to sleep as I dreamed of Deidara until I felt someone reaching for my necklace. I quickly took out my gun and aimed it under the person's chin with my eyes still closed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pull the trigger." I said, coldly, before opening my eyes to see Sasuke kneeling beside me.

"What do you want, Uchiha?" I demanded as I stood up, the gun still aimed at him. "Tell me where Itachi is." He commanded. "How about "no" and dream on?" I said before punching him in the stomach. I jumped back and placed my finger on the trigger.

"I should kill you where you stand. But because of him... I won't." I said before putting my gun away. I turned around and took off into the sky. I tucked the locket necklace inside my shirt as I flew through the sky.

When I was far away from Sasuke, I stopped near the woods and landed on my feet. "Holy smokes! Nue, is that you?" I turned around and spotted Kakashi's ninja hound, Guruko.

I remember when I became chunin, I had Guruko and I became partners. On every tough mission we were assigned, we always had each other's back and fought side by side. I really enjoyed our partnership.  "Hey, old pal." I greeted with a small smile.

"I thought you were dead. Man, you have no idea how much I want lick your face right now." Guruko said, making me chuckle. "I wouldn't mind if you did." I said. I kneeled down as he ran over to me. I hugged him softly as I closed my eyes with a smile.

"I've missed you so much, old friend." I said, softly. I let go of him and he looked at me. "How are you even alive? Why didn't you come back to the village?" Guruko asked. "I'm sorry, but I can't go back there. Not after what I've done." I said.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can come back. You're a comrade."

"You don't understand, Guruko. I can never go back there. I'm with Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki?!"

"It's a long story. Wait a second, what are you doing out here by yourself, anyway?"

"I'm not by myself. I'm with Akino and Shino."

"What?!"

I was too slow to react as bugs quickly surrounded me. "Shit." I murmured. "Do you remember me, Nue?" Shino asked as he stepped out from behind a couple of bushes.  "What kind of question is that? Of course I remember you. You're only person I know who could control bugs." I said.

"It's nice to feel remembered by someone." He replied. "Sulking again, huh? You haven't changed a bit, Shino." I said with a deadpan expression. "Man, you smell like grass." Akino said. "And you smell like a dog." I shot back.

"Man, you sound a lot like Shino." Guruko sweat dropped. I did fall asleep on the ground earlier, so of course I smell like grass. "Are you going to kill me, or are you going to take me back to the village?" I demanded.

"Well, seeing how I have you here, I guess I could take you back." Shino said. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that." I said. I threw a fireball at him, in which he and Akino dodged it. Once the bugs flew away from me, I escaped through the trees.

Sasuke's POV

"Got any bright ideas, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked, sarcastically, as we surrounded by rogue ninjas. I don't have time for this. I need to find Nue so she can tell me where Itachi is. As I was about to take out my sword, a rogue ninja suddenly cried out in pain while gripping his shoulder.

"Heh. Way to go, Sasuke." Suigetsu praised. "That wasn't me." I said. "Sasuke, look!" Karin said, pointing to a tree. We all looked at a tree as Nue stood on a branch with her back resting against the trunk, her eyes closed.

"Such a troublesome group of people you are." Nue mentioned with a calm smile. "You bitch! Kill her!" One of the ninjas yelled.  Nue opened her eyes and jumped down from the tree, landing in a kneeling position as she took out another gun so she had two guns in her hands.

She stood up and began shooting at the ninjas, not missing one of them until they were all dead. "That seemed to go a lot better than I expected." Nue said, making her guns disappear.  "Man, you're one badass killer!" Suigetsu said.

"Thank you." Nue replied, calmly. "Why did you save us?" I demanded. "I didn't save you. I saved her." She answered, pointing at Karin. "Me?" Karin repeated.

"That's right. Don't you remember what I told you back then? I'm your guardian, protector, and shield; I'm your personal bodyguard." Nue reminded her, closing my eyes with a calm smile. "Maybe you could be my personal bodyguard." Suigetsu said as he wrapped his arm around her neck, trying to flirt with her.

Nue glanced at him before pointing a gun towards his stomach. When did she even summon her gun? She must be faster than I thought.

"I should have you know that I've already charged the bullets with my Lightning Style. So, unless you wish to experience great pain, I suggest you take your arm off me." Nue said, looking at him seriously. "Note taken." Suigetsu said, quickly, before removing his arm from around her neck.

 At that time, Nue made her gun disappear. "You're not safe here. Let's go." Nue said, leading the way. Can I trust her? Not really. Should we follow her? Actually, do I really have a choice? We're gonna have to go with her in order to get the information about Itachi out of her.

We began to follow Nue as she lead the way. "How did you know where we were?" Jugo asked her. "I sensed Karin's chakra." She answered. "How old are you, anyway?" Karin asked her. "Hmm... I'm... seventeen." Nue said.

Why did she sound hesitant when she answered that question? "That's a pretty young age to be a killer." Suigetsu commented. "We all have that killer instinct inside us. It's just natural." Nue replied. 

"You've changed, Nue. You're not the innocent, soft, little girl you used to be." I stated. "You're right. I have changed. That's because the girl you met three years ago wasn't me." She said. "What do you mean?" I asked.

She stopped walking, telling me I must've triggered her somehow. "I don't think I wanna talk about it right now." Nue said before walking again. We walked a bit further until we came to a stop. "Here we are." Nue announced.

The spot we were at looked pretty peaceful. In fact, it looked like the spot where Suigetsu and I ran into Nue when she had the Executioner's Blade. Suigetsu let out a relaxed sigh as he fell back on the grass.

"I can see why you chose this place. The grass here is comfy." Suigetsu said, making himself comfortable. "That's not grass you're lying on. That's a snake." Nue informed. Suigetsu panicked and jumped to his feet. Sure enough, Nue was right.

He really was lying on a snake. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't choose this place so you guys could get attacked by snakes," Nue quickly grabbed the snake by its neck and it immediately began to struggle.

"I chose this place because it's the least place where someone would look to find you. Don't worry, the snakes here are harmless. However, if you refuse to be kind and show care towards the creatures, you could end up becoming their next meal." She informed, calmly.

She gently tapped the snake's nose, in which the snake hissed and snapped its jaw at her and she quickly pulled her hand away. "These things won't eat us in our sleep, will they?" Karin asked.

"Of course not. Although, I wonder why they don't show themselves during the night? It makes me feel... pretty lonely..." Nue trailed off as she closed her eyes and collapsed on the ground. "What happened to her?" Suigetsu asked, a little panicked.

Karin got down on her knees and checked Nue's pulse. "Is she okay?" Jugo asked. "She's fine. She's just sleeping. I think she's just tired. Now that I think about it, it's said someone like Nue is nocturnal." Karin mentioned. "And that means what exactly?" Suigetsu asked.

"It means she's only active at night and tired during the day." She answered. "Okay, so when will she wake up?" Suigetsu asked. "Probably after the sun has set." I mentioned before looking towards the sun. "The sun's going down. We'll camp here." I said.

Nue's POV

I slowly opened my eyes before yawning. "Uh-oh. Did I fall asleep?" I asked, sitting up. Looks like I did because it was already nightfall. I looked behind me as they were a small campfire lit while Sasuke's team was asleep. All except for Karin.

"You're still awake?" I asked as I faced her. "I was waiting for you to wake up." She answered, looking at me. "Well, I'm awake." I said, smiling a calm smile. "From the looks of it, I'd say you're pretty distant." Suigetsu commented as he suddenly woke up.

"I thought you were asleep?" I said. "I was only in a light sleep," He sat up and sat cross-legged. "So, tell me. Why do you like Karin so much? Are you a lesbian by any chance?" Suigetsu joked. I didn't think it was very funny as I stared at him with an unamused look.

I don't think Karin didn't find it funny either as she punched Suigetsu in the face, his head turning into water. "Have you heard one word she's said all day?" She asked, angrily. "I'm Karin's guardian angel, so I will protector, no matter what the cause is." I explained.

I stood to my feet and glanced at the moon. "You all should get some sleep. I'll take first watch." I volunteered.

A while later, Suigetsu went back to sleep as Karin did the same. I stared at the flames as they danced in the air. "Deidara..." I whispered as tears swelled up in my eyes. I looked over at Karin before walking over to her.

I took off my jacket and placed it over her to keep her warm, leaving me in my black tank top. "I'm going to protect you. No matter what." I said as I gazed down at her. At the same time, a crow landed on my left shoulder.

"Judging by your eyes, you were sent by Itachi." I stated as the crow had the Sharingan in his eyes. Meet me near the stone stairs." The crow said, then flew off. I closed my eyes before standing to my feet.

I levitated a few feet off the ground, then flew off, heading towards the stone stairs. There, I met Itachi. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" I asked. "I'm fine. I just needed to talk to you." Itachi said. "About...?" I asked.

"Nue, the time is coming. You know what tomorrow is." He said. He's not saying what I think he's saying, is he? Itachi started to cough a little as he pressed his hand over his mouth. I took a step forward, asking if he needed help.

He stopped me and gave me a soft smile. "You always acted like a sister towards me." He mentioned, softly. "Because I worry about you. Tomorrow is when it's going to happen... isn't it?" I said, sadly. Itachi stared at me before giving me a nod.

"No..." I whispered, lowering my head a little. I began to cry as I feared for the worst. "Nue, look at me." Itachi said as he lifted my chin. I immediately hugged him as I started crying into his chest. "Don't go. Please..." I begged. Itachi hugged me back as he felt my pain.

"I'm so sorry to leave you like this." Itachi apologized. I hugged him tighter until he pulled away and the took off the necklace he always wore, putting it over my neck. "Just a little something that will remind you that you'll never be alone." Itachi said with a gentle smile.

"But with you gone, I will be alone!" I said, hugging him again as I started crying again. "Nue, stop crying. I don't want to see tears before I go. I want to see you smile." He said, hugging me back. My hands clenched the front of his cloak.

"How am I supposed to smile... at a time like this? How can I smile when your own flesh and blood is going to kill you for something you didn't want to do?" I asked, sniffling. I looked at him as Itachi gently took the sides of my face and kissed my forehead.

"The sun will be rising soon. You should head back." He suggested. I slowly nodded my head and took a step back. "This is... really goodbye... isn't it?" I asked, sadly. "I'm afraid it is," Itachi hugged me once more before smiling a sad smile at me.

"Thank you... for everything, Itachi." I said, forcing a smile. "Farewell, Nue." He said, wiping a stray tear with his thumb. "Goodbye... My brother." I said back before flying away.

Even though Itachi wasn't my brother by blood, I still thought him as one, as family. Along with the rest of Akatsuki. When I returned to Sasuke's team, I landed near Karin as the sun was rising. Sasuke was the first to wake, followed by Karin, then Jugo.

"Ohayo, min'na." I greeted. "Morning." Jugo said. We all looked at Sigetsu as he snored like a wild bear. "Somebody wake him up." Karin said. I walked over to him and kicked his head, making it turn into water.

"Hey!" Suigetsu quickly sat up as his head was back to normal. "What the hell was that for?!" He snapped. "You snore too loud." I mentioned, bluntly. I faced Karin as she realized my jacket was around her. "Why do I have your jacket?" She asked.

"I placed it over you over night to keep you warm." I answered. "That was sweet of you." Jugo said. I smiled at him and Karin me my jacket back. "Let's move." Sasuke said as he started to walk ahead. I put on my jacket and Karin stopped Jugo.

"I need you to collect as many birds as you can." She said to him. "Birds?" I repeated. "What for?" Jugo asked. "You see, this is one of Sasuke's old outfits. It's covered in his sweat and-"

I had to stop her there. "You kept an old outfit that Sasuke threw away?" I asked. "Why would you keep a sweaty old outfit that Sasuke threw away?" Jugo asked. Karin blushed. "Th-That's not important! Just mind your own business, you jerk!" She snapped. 

"Huh? What are you up to, Karin?" I asked. "I hate to do this." She took out a kunai and began to tear Sasuke's outfit into bits. "The Leaf Village is tracking us down using ninja hounds, right? Then we'll just have to give them something to search for." Karin said.

I think I know where she was going with this. After scattering Sasuke's shredded outfit, we ran off it. "There's a huge amount of chakra up ahead." Karin informed after running for what felt like an hour. Up ahead, I spotted Kisame. 

"Kisame!" I cheered. I ran faster and hugged his neck. "There you are, kid. I thought you were dead." Kisame said, hugging me back as he grinned his usual grin. "No," I shook my head, Deidara saved me." I answered, looking at him.

"Not surprising, seeing how he had feelings for you." He mentioned. I stood next to him as he faced Sasuke's team. "Sasuke is free to move ahead. The rest of you stay here." He instructed. "Can I go, too?" I asked him.

"I already know what you're up to, Nue, and it's not going to work." Kisame said. I frowned and childishly stuck my tongue out at him before sitting down next to him, sulking.

Kisame chuckled and ruffled my head while Sasuke ran off after telling his team to stay here. I shot him a glare as he ran off. I pulled my knees to my chest and sighed, resting my chin on my knees. "Looks like all we can do now is wait, right?" I said. I closed my eyes, falling asleep.

Kisame's POV

"Asleep already, huh?" I said as I glanced down at Nue. I suppose it's not surprising, seeing how she's nocturnal and all. "Suigetsu, what do you think you're doing?!" The red-haired girl as the boy approached Nue.

"If you're planning on waking her up, I suggest you don't do that. You see, when Nue's woken up from a good nap, she tends to get a little angry. You wouldnt want to happen to the last person who woke her up." I said, recalling the last mission Itachi, Nue, and I were assigned.

And just so you know, it wasn't Itachi or I who went and woke her up. Needless to say, it was the enemy. "What happened to the last person that woke her up?" The orange-haired man said. "You don't wanna know." I said. 

When Nue was woken up by the enemy, her eyes turned purple and she killed him the "Nue" way, if you know what I mean. "Just out of curiosity, how mad will this girl get if I wake her up?" Suigetsu asked, as if asking for trouble.

I chuckled at his stupidity. "Wake her up and you just might find out yourself. No one is safe once the kids snaps. Not even her own colleagues." I informed.