"So, what's the plan here, Nue?" Karin asked as we were back in the Houjuu Clan. Megumi, Karin, and I were huddled in a circle as our knees were hugged to our chests. It's been a few days since Megumi joined forces with us.

I didn't exactly trust her yet, so I'm waiting for her to prove her worthy. "Nue?"

"Hmm?" I looked at Karin as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I spaced out for a bit." I apologized. "It's fine. So, what's the plan?" She repeated. "Well, first, we need to lie low for a while. We're also going to need some supplies and food." I said.

"But how are we supposed to get them? You're dead, remember? If you go out there and someone recognizes you, you're toast." Megumi reminded me. "You also made me disappear when you took me with you. So, if anyone sees me, I'm a goner, too." Karin chimed in.

"Hmm... Megumi," I looked at her. "Do you think you can go into a nearby town and get as many supplies as we need?" I asked her. "You can count of me." Megumi smirked with a nod while making a fist of confidence.

"Good. Once you've got the supplies, I want you to meet us back here." I said. "What should we do in the meantime, Nue?" Karin asked. "Do you know how to use a gun?" I asked her. "Um... Not really." She answered.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Megumi, go and get the supplies." I ordered. "Right." She nodded and headed off. "Make sure no one spots you!" I called. "Are you sure we can trust her?" Karin asked. "Honestly, I don't think we can. But her skills and technique are reliable, so she could be a good ally." I said.

"If you say so." She mumbled. "Come on. Shooting time." I said, grabbing her hand and taking her outside. Using my powers, I created a three practice targets and hung them on the Houjuu wall. "You've seriously never shot from a gun before?" I asked.

"No." Karin answered. "Don't worry, it's very easy." I assured her. "If you say so." She mumbled. "Here," I created a gun in my hand and handed it to her. "Practice time. You see this thing? This is the trigger. You pull that and it fires. Here, I'll show you." I offered.

I went behind Karin and helped her hold the gun between her hands. "It's like a camera. Just point, and shoot." I instructed. Karin gave a nod and closed one of her eyes before shooting the target I set up. The bullet missed it by a few inches. 

"Good job. But this time, keep both eyes open." I advised. "Right." She responded. "Also, take a deep breath before pulling the trigger. Make sure your breaths are slow and steady." I informed. "Right." Karin repeated.

Karin took a slow and calming breath before shooting again. She hit the target, but not the middle. "Better. Let's keep at it." I said. "You know what they say: Practice makes perfect. But are you sure it's a good idea to be training here? What if someone hears the shots?" Karin asked.

"Don't worry. Nobody knows that the Houjuu Clan exists. I'm glad the Houjuu Clan elder decided to keep it that way. If humans found out about this place... well, I don't really wanna go into detail of what they might do." I said.

"So... am I the only one human who knows about this place?" She asked. "Uh-huh. The one and only human." I confirmed. "I... I'm really sorry about what happened to this place. I know it was your home, and I know how much you loved your people." Karin said.

My eyes softened slightly as I rested my chin on her shoulder. "I really miss them." I whispered. "I'm sure they miss you, too. If only they lived long enough to see how strong you've become." She replied, trying to cheer me up.

I smiled at her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Thanks, Karin." I said. "I'm baaack~." Megumi sang as she made her way over to us. "That was quick. You got everything in just five minutes?" I asked. "I work fast." Megumi grinned.

"We'll pick this up later, Karin." I said to her. "Right. Okay." She agreed as she adjusted her glasses. I made the gun disappear from her hands and we went back inside the house we were recently in to look through the stuff Megumi got for us.

"Nice job, Megumi. You really did your job well." I praised. "Nue-kun praised me! Oh, what a wonderful feeling right now!" Megumi said as she began to fangirl. "But I still don't trust you." I said, bluntly. "Aww... Way to kill the mood, Nue-kun." Megumi pouted.

"Is there anything happening out there?" I asked her. "Kind of. I saw that Naruto kid getting on a boat with some jonin and the Eight-Tails. I think they're heading to an island to train." She explained. "And what about Sasuke and Madara?" I asked.

"Not sure. I'm not in contact with them anymore, remember?" She reminded me. "Mm-hm." I hummed while narrowing my eyes at her. I still didn't trust her. She hasn't proved that I could trust her yet. "Hey, Nue. How come humans can't find this place?" Karin asked.

"Because the elder used a jutsu that makes it difficult for humans to find this place. You can search and search for this place as much as you like and you still wouldn't be able to find it. Even if you look on a map, it still wouldn't make a difference. That's why this place is so hard to find. It's practically invisible. Not to mention, it's very far off from the village. I'm surprised this jutsu is still up and running. I thought after the elder died, it would've worn off. I guess his power is a lot stronger than I thought." I explained.

"That's pretty useful." Karin commented. I smiled at her and looked out the window. "It's still pretty early." I said, yawning a bit. "That's right. This is the time of day when you sleep. Go ahead and rest your pretty little head, Nue-kun. I'll take first watch." Megumi offered.

I narrowed my eyes at her as I didn't like the thought of Megumi taking first watch when Karin's here. "Megumi. If I wake up and find Karin dead, you're dead." I warned. "Yes, Nue-kun~." Megumi said as if looking like a dog in heat.

I rolled my eyes before lying on the floor. "You better not hurt her." I said to Megumi before closing my eyes, falling asleep.

Megumi's POV

"You're lucky, Karin. Very lucky." I said, frowning at her. "Lucky? What do you mean?" She asked. "You're lucky I'm in love with Nue-kun. Otherwise, I'd have already killed you by now." I explained. "So, then why don't you do it?" Karin asked, as if challenging me.

"Because I'm not stupid. You heard what Nue-kun said. If I hurt you in any way, she'll kill me." I reminded her. "But you're a Kuro. Isn't your clan able to heal any major or minor injuries? You're practically immortal." She stated while adjusting her glasses.

"Karin, Karin, Karin..." I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. "There's so many things you don't know about me, and it's going to stay that way. But I'm not letting you have Nue-kun all to yourself. She's mine!" I said.

"Look, I don't know what kind of relationship you think Nue and I have, but you're wrong. We're just really close friends. Sisters, actually." Karin confessed.

"Sisters? Yeah, right! Don't make me laugh, red hair! You're not a Houjuu, and you're about three years too young to be her sister! You don't even have the wings and tails on your back!" I objected.

"First of all, I'm the same age as Nue. Second of all, Nue's family took me when I was a child. I ended up living with them until this place was ambushed by Orochimaru." Karin explained, adjusting her glasses again.  

"If Nue hadn't found me when she did... I probably wouldn't be alive. But after that incident, my life changed forever." The way she said that was kind of sad. Now that I think about it. This is kind of my fault. I was with Orochimaru when he ambushed the clan. I even helped him.

"Nue-kun... really likes you. She'd do anything for you. You know that, right?" I said to Karin. "Yeah... I know." She replied as she looked at Nue while she slept.

Nue's POV

I opened my eyes after I was well rested. I looked back to see if Karin was okay. She was, but Megumi wasn't with her. I sat up and looked around the room to find Megumi, but she was nowhere to be found.

Did she go back to Madara?! That bitch! I knew she couldn't be trusted! She's probably telling him where I am right now! I quickly ran out of the house to catch Megumi, but she wasn't where I expected she would be.

Megumi was by the wall where I was teaching Karin how to use a gun. "Hey, Nue-kun. So, you're finally up." Megumi said as she played in the dirt. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Oh, you know... Thinking about how much of an idiot I've been." She said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, walking over to her. "Nue-kun, I want to apologize." Megumi started off.

"For what?"

"For killing your people. I knew how much they meant to you, but I was too selfish to realize that. I always cared about myself and was always so needy. I'm... sorry for everything, Nue-kun. And this... is the way to punish myself."

"Punish?" I repeated. I raised a brow as I was unsure with what she meant by that. But when I saw her cutting into her wrist with her kunai knife, I caught on quickly. "Are you an idiot?! Stop that!" I ran over to her and grabbed the kunai knife out of her hand, tossing it aside.

"Nue-kun...?" Megumi looked at me with shock and confusion until I hugged her. "Stop cutting. It's not worth it, and it won't change anything." I said. "But... don't you hate me?" She asked. "Of course I hate you. But it doesn't matter because my hatred won't get me anywhere." I told her.

"Nue-kun..." Megumi whispered.

"I'm not going to turn into Sasuke, and I'm not going to let you take your life away like this. You said, you were going to follow me. Now and forever. So, fight by my side. Not as my caretaker. Not as my loyal pet. But as my friend, my comrade, my partner. I... need you." I said, closing my eyes.

"You... need me?" She repeated. "Yes. I need you. You and Karin. So, don't do this to yourself. Please." I pleaded before breaking the hug as Megumi stared at me with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"After everything I've done to you, you're forgiving me?"  She asked. "Like I told you; my hatred won't get me anywhere." I reminded her.

Megumi closed her eyes with a smirk before falling on her side, laying down in the dirt. "You're way too forgiving, Nue-kun. Either that's a gift, or that's a curse." She said. "Maybe... it's both. But there's no way I can forgive the Leaf Village for what they did to my mother." I said.

"Did they kill her?"

"No, but they did torture her. When my mother escaped and returned to the clan, she could barely stand. Her wounds were so critical, she couldn't heal herself. The clan elder and some healers of the Houjuu Clan did everything they could to heal her. Finally, after three days of nonstop healing, my mother was saved. The clan elder and the healers went three whole days without eating, sleeping, or taking breaks. That shows that much we love each other. We look out for each other."

"Your mother must've been loved by everyone in the clan."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, that reminds me. Here,"

Megumi went into her pocket and handed me the doll I left behind. "You left it back at the hideout. I thought you'd like it back." She said, handing it to me. I took the doll and gazed down at it. "Get some sleep, Megumi. It's late." I said.

"Are you sure you don't want to get some more sleep?" Megumi asked. "I'm fine. Thanks." I said.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night."

Megumi went back inside the house as I stayed outside for a bit, staring down at the doll. Why does this look so familiar? I sighed to myself before standing up and heading back inside the house. As I walked inside the house, I found Karin and Megumi sleeping in their sleeping bags.

I smiled at the two of them, then walked over to them, sitting in between them. Karin's glasses rested next to her as she slept while Megumi was snuggled up in her sleeping bag. I gently ran my hands through their hair.

"Deidara..." I whispered. This reminds me of the time when I used to stay by his side as he slept to prevent him from getting nightmares. I remember how peaceful he looked as he slept as I ran my fingers through his soft, blonde hair.

Every time I think of him, it makes me wanna sing. But what's the point when he's not here. Well... I suppose I could sing one more song. A song for him.

What kind of life can I really hope to have?

Living all alone like the monster that I am

Humans go so quickly

They fall so deep asleep

Never show the shock

Never hear me weep

You fell in love with the monster that I am

Uniform it suited you, into war you ran

Can't we stay together forever and a day?

Living out our lives

Hand in hand we'll stay

Savor every sunrise and slow the second hand

Giving you a child though the monster that I am

You alone will grow and then fall so deep asleep

Never show the shock

But I start to weep

Calling on the snakes, I've the power in my hands

If they disappeared, I don't think that I'd be sad

A never ending world made for you and for me

Loving family then we will be

Waiting up for you

Door I closed behind

But you never came

Never wonder why

Counting out the clouds that had always floated by

Somehow even sunrise had made me want to cry

Then, it finally hit me and brought the final blow

You had ran and left me long ago

Living all alone? Well, I've had my share of that

Better just to leave say goodbye and turn my back

Don't think I'll forgive you, but that heart you broke in two

Even now, will always beat for you

"I can't let anything happen to you two. I must... keep you safe. I will protect you." I whispered to the sleeping girls. I went over to the window and gazed up at the moon. "The moon... it's so blue..." I whispered as I continued to gaze at it.