I kept trying to get my body to move, but the damn drug was preventing me to do so. It's too late, anyway. We're already at the hideout. Orochimaru opened the entrance to his hideout and I cursed under my breath as we entered.

Kabuto continued to carry me until we reached a room. It was huge and it looked like a training room. Is it a training room? I saw something within the shadows. Is it a statue? Nope, it was a person. I glanced at Kabuto as he gently placed me down on the floor.

"Nue, I have a little present for you," Orochimaru said he kneeled down by my head.

I grunted slightly, trying to say something. "Look. Over there. Do you see anything that interests you? Anything you'd like to kill," Orochimaru sat on his knees and gently placed my head on his lap. "Do you see anyone you'd like to kill, Nue?" He asked with a smirk.

He lifted my head slightly so I could get a better view of the room. I averted my gaze to the person hidden in the shadows. "You're late, Orochimaru." The figure spoke. I frowned, recognizing the voice immediately; Sasuke Uchiha.

"My apologies, Sasuke. I had to pick up a little errand." Orochimaru said. Fuck you, Orochimaru. He laid my head back on the ground and stood up. I started to get a little feeling back in my right arm. I moved my eyes to the side and saw that Kabuto had placed my katana only a few centimeters away.

Totally a bad move, Kabuto. Probably the worst mistake of your life. I slowly began to reach for it. "You brought that "thing" here? Why? What do you need her for?" Sasuke demanded. Did he really just refer to me as a 'thing'? Oh, now he's really gonna get it.

Once I had the katana in my hand, I shakily tried to close my fingers around the handle. I'm surprised these idiots haven't noticed my movements. "Nue is more than just a thing, Sasuke. She holds more power than all the tailed beasts combined." Kabuto corrected him.

I blinked when I felt something inside me vanish. The effects wore off! Activating my kekkei genkai, I found my strength and got off the ground, charging at Sasuke with my katana. "Sasuke!!" I shouted, angrily as I ran at him.

I jumped up in the air and prepared to bring my katana down on his head until Sasuke vanished out of the way. I felt a kick get delivered to my back, sending me towards a wall, crashing into it. Using the wall for support, I shakily lifted myself off the ground and glared at him.

"You're gonna pay for that." I growled as I gripped the handle of the katana in my hand. I'll admit, he's strong and his speed is excellent. But I doubt he's strong enough to keep up with me. "Now, now. Don't fight now, Nue. You'll have to save your strength." Orochimaru said.

I gasped when Sasuke was quickly in front of me and he grabbed my throat. My hands immediately went to his wrist as he began to choke me. "Don't kill her, Sasuke." Kabuto said. I choked out as he squeezed my throat tighter.

Finally, he let go of me, letting me drop to the ground. I coughed as I held my throat. "You bastard." I coughed as I glared up at him. Sasuke frowned and kicked me in the face, making me fall on my side. I quickly made my Raging Fang and grabbed Sasuke's ankle, electrocuting him.

He flew back from the force and hit a wall, making a small crater. I smirked when he hit the wall. "That's enough of that," Kabuto was quickly in front of me as he grabbed my wrist and yanked me up from the ground before sticking the needle of a syringe in my neck.

I gritted my teeth when I felt the unknown liquid go into my veins. When the syringe was empty, Kabuto took the needle out of my neck. I tried to kick Kabuto away as I was a couple inches off the ground. Plus, he was taller than me.

"Just get some sleep, Nue." He said as my vision was already beginning to blur. "Nue, return to base now." Pein said through the holographic communication. "Leader-sama... I think I might be... a little... delayed getting there..." I said, groggily.

"Nue, are you all right? What's the matter, kitten? Where are you?" Deidara asked. "Orochimaru's... hideout." I managed to whisper before closing my eyes as I fell asleep.

Kabuto's POV

"It appears Nue is weak against syringes. How fortunate. For us, anyway." Lord Orochimaru said with a chuckle. "Train me now, Orochimaru. I don't want to waste any more time." Sasuke said. He began to walk away,  then disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Kabuto, take Nue to the infirmary and heal any injuries she may have. I want her good as new when she wakes up." Lord Orochimaru ordered. I nodded, then looked at Nue as I continued to hold her by her wrist. "Sir, just what exactly do you plan to do with Nue Houjuu?" I asked.

He stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke. "The girl who survived the massacre of the Houjuu Clan... The girl who shows nothing but hatred towards humans... The girl who can't die easily..." I glanced at him as he trailed off. 

"Nue Houjuu is someone who shouldn't be underestimated. When you're finished healing her, restrain her tightly. I don't want her getting any bright ideas." Lord Orochimaru said. "Hai." I responded. He disappeared to train Sasuke.

I looked at Nue as she was still knocked out. I sighed and carried her to the infirmary. "Sasori..." Nue mumbled before grabbing the front of my shirt with her hand. No doubt, she's thinking about Akatsuki. I placed her down on the infirmary bed, but her hand stayed attached to my shirt.

I unclasped her hand and placed it by her side until I noticed a bruise around her neck. That must've been from when Sasuke was choking her. I didn't think Nue could bruise so easily. "I'll... kill you. You won't... get away with this..." Nue mumbled in her sleep.

I rolled my eyes and healed her neck. I checked to make sure she didn't have any other injuries. It looked like she didn't have any more. She can heal herself, after all. I also read that she can live up to be 800 years old and still look young.

You could say she's immortal. I took a look at Nue's wings and tails. Now I understand why she wore her cloak when she was a genin. I restrained her hands to the sides of the bed so she wouldn't get away when she wakes up.

Once I had her restrained, I left the room and headed to my lab. It concerned me what Lord Orochimaru really wants with Nue Houjuu.

Nue's POV

Damn Uchiha. I swear, I'll kill him. I opened my eyes and looked around. Son of a bitch. Where the hell am I? I think I'm in an infirmary because everything around me looked almost medical-like. I attempted to sit up, but something was holding me down.

I deadpanned when I found out what it was. Really, Orochimaru? Ropes? You need to be better than this. Like, way better than this. I used my wings to cut off the ropes, then sat up. 'Okay, way too easy' I thought. I jumped off the bed and walked into the hallway.

Whoa, wait a second. Is it already dark? Are you kidding me? Again? This really needs to stop. Wait, why am I complaining? I sleep during the day, anyway. It's a natural thing for me.

Oh, wait. That's not why I'm unhappy. I'm unhappy because I allowed that snake and his pet to get the upper hand! I sighed to myself before letting my guard down and continued to walk down the hallway. Where's my katana?

I held out both of my hands and summoned my katana. Not a second later, the katana appeared in my hands with black smoke surrounding it. "There you are." I said before attaching it to my back.

I have to find Orochimaru and kill him. It's now or never. It's nightfall, so I should be able to kill him while he's sleeping. I stopped in front a door and quietly opened it. Empty."Nue? Come on, where are you, kid? Can you hear me?" Kisame said with the holographic communication.

"I'm here, Kisame." I said, quietly. "What happened to you, kitten? We lost you back there, un." Deidara said. "I thought I told you not to call me kitten, Deidara." I said as I walked around. "Did you say that you were at Orochimaru's hideout?" Itachi asked.

"Yes." I answered. "Why are you whispering?" Kisame asked. "Because I'm in Orochimaru's hideout. I'm trying to find him right now. I think I mentioned this before I fell asleep." I said, calmly. I stopped walking when I felt someone behind me.

I quickly spun around and shot at the figure with my gun. I gasped, realizing I almost hit a snake. "Oh, no!" I quickly went over to it and kneeled down. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to shoot at you, my adorable little reptile." I said, apologetically and dramatically.

"That's something you don't hear everyday." Kisame said, amused. "What? I love snakes. Who can blame me? I'm not human, after all." I pointed out as I let the snake slither up my arm, letting it wrapping itself around my neck.

"Focus, Nue. You said, you were at Orochimaru's hideout, right?" Pein said.

"Yes."

"Good. Because there's an assignment I need you to take care of."

"What kind of assignment?"

"I need you to find Orochimaru's lab and get a scroll. Understand?"

"Yes, sir. Signing off." I replied before jogging forward to find the lab. I found his lab after looking through a few more doors and began to look through the shelves. I found a scroll labeled, "Akatsuki" on it. "This must be it." I whispered as I took it off the shelf.

I gasped and nearly screamed when a hand covered my mouth from behind. "Shh! Don't scream, Nue. It's just us." I spun around and smiled as it was Zetsu. I hugged him. "Don't scare me like that, Zetsu. You could've given me a heart attack." I said with a slight frown.

He chuckled at my attitude, then wrapped an arm around me, hugging me back. I smiled before pulling away. "Is that a snake around your neck?" White Zetsu asked. "Yes." I answered. "I don't think I wanna know why." Black Zetsu said. 

"Rude. Anyway, I've got the scroll." I informed. "Good. Now, let's get out of here before that snake finds you." Black Zetsu said. I nodded in agreement and held onto Zetsu as we began to go into the ground.

When we came out of the ground, we were in the Akatsuki hideout. "Everyone's asleep right now except for Leader-sama. The members went to bed after they signed off." Black Zetsu explained. "That explains why it's so quiet." I said.

"I suggest you give the scroll to Leader-sama before he falls asleep, too." White Zetsu said. I nodded in agreement. "Anyway, you should get some sleep too, Zetsu. I don't want to keep you up." I said, politely.

He smiled and gently ruffled my head. I smiled back and said goodnight to him before heading to Pein's room. "Leader-sama? Are you still awake?" I asked as I quietly opened his door. I saw him standing by a shelf with a bunch of other scrolls. "Here's the scroll." I said, tossing it to him.

Pein caught it with one hand before turning around to face me. "Nice work, Nue." He praised. "Thank you, sir." I replied. "Leader-sama! Is Nue-chan back?!" I heard a loud and childish voice say from behind me. I didn't get to turn around in time because I was bear hugged from behind.

I gasped when I was lifted off my feet. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Let go!" I said, angrily. "Tobi, put her down now." Pein ordered. Tobi set me on my feet and let go of me. I thought Zetsu said everyone in the hideout was asleep?

This guy must've eaten a lot of sugary stuff or something because he's hyper. "I take it this is the new member?" I assumed, looking at Pein. "Yes. This is Tobi. Sasori's replacement." Pein introduced. "Hi, Nue-chan!" Tobi squealed. I smiled gently and petted his head.

He may seem childish, but I'm sure when I get to know him better, we'll be good friends. Maybe. Depends on if this guy pushes my buttons. Now that I have a good look at him, he could be my little brother. But not biologically. "I'll let you two get acquainted." Pein said.

I bowed before leaving his office and towards my room. Tobi, for some reason, followed behind me. I opened the door to my room and went inside, setting my katana down. Too bad it wasn't my katana. This was the blade that Julia got me.

The katana I fought with the night my clan was massacred is missing and I have a pretty good feeling Orochimaru is hiding it somewhere in his hideout. If not there, then it's definitely somewhere else, and I think I know where.

"Is there something you need, Tobi?" I asked, noticing Tobi was still with me. "Tobi thinks Nue-chan is pretty!" He commented. "That's sweet, Tobi. But I think you should get some sleep. It's getting pretty late." I suggested as the snake around my slithered onto my dresser. "Will Nue-chan walk with Tobi?" He requested. "Okay." I replied. I walked down the hall with Tobi, taking him to his room.

"Tobi."

"Hmm?"

"How did you join Akatsuki? I'm asking because I'm a little curious." I admitted.

"That's a secret."

"How so?"

I looked at Tobi as he stayed quiet. I guess he doesn't want to talk about it. When we got to Tobi's room, I said goodnight to him. "Thanks for the walk, Nue-chan! See you in the morning!" Tobi said. I smiled and he closed his door.

I walked to the living room, spotting Deidara sitting on the couch. His eyes were closed, so I think he was sleeping. I decided to wake him up so he could go to his room and sleep. "Deidara," I shook his shoulder and he opened his eyes slightly.

"What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in your room?" I asked him. "I decided to wait for you, un." Deidara answered with a yawn. "Oh, you didn't have to do that, Deidara." I said, feeling a bit bad that I had to make him wait.

I went over to him and sat next to him. "So, how was the mission, un?" He asked. "A little bit tough. I wanted to kill Sasuke, but I couldn't." I explained.

"Why not?"

"He was too fast. He's gotten stronger over the past three years, I'll give him that."

"Don't give that guy credit. Of course, he's gotten stronger. That snake, Orochimaru, has been training him, un."

"Go figure, I'd sympathize with it."

I sighed before leaning my head on his shoulder. "Get some sleep, Deidara. You need your strength." I said. "Yeah, about that..." I looked at him with a little bit of worry. "I don't think I'll be able to go to sleep tonight, yeah." Deidara said.

"Why is that?"

"I've been having nightmares recently."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

He shook his head, no. "I just can't go back to sleep, un." Deidara said. I gave him a worried look. I didn't want Deidara to suffer from insomnia. He'll be weakened from lack of sleep, or he might get injured badly, or die on the battlefield.

"Come with me." I said, getting up from the couch. "Hmm? Why? Where are we going?" Deidara asked. I didn't answer as I went into the hallway. "Hey, wait up!" He called as he quickly followed after me. "Nue, just where are we going?" Deidara asked.

"Your room." I answered, calmly. "Why?" He asked. I didn't answer his question as we got to his room. I opened the door to his room and sat down on his bed. I motioned him to walk towards me. He did and sat down beside me.

"Lie down." I ordered. Deidara raised a brow before lying down on the bed. I lied down next to him and rested my head on his chest. I looked up at him to see a blush had formed on his face. "Uh..." He stared at me, unsure what to say.  

"I've been noticing some things about you while you sleep. Last time when you were sleeping, you were sweating a bit and you were twitching." I said. "You watched me sleep?" Deidara asked.

"Only once. I was bored and... well, you know. I don't sleep at night. Anyway, when I noticed when I climbed in the bed with you one time, you stopped twitching and relaxed a bit as I stayed by your side. I came to the conclusion that you seem to relax when someone's in bed with you,"

Deidara stared at me, thinking about it. "Deidara, let's make a deal." I said. "Deal?" He repeated. "Yes. Whenever you're having trouble sleeping, I'll give you some company." I said, smiling at him. "You would do this... for me?" Deidara asked.

"Of course, I would. You're my best friend." I said to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him. "I want to be able to protect you. You and Akatsuki. I don't want any of you to end up like Sasori. That's why... That's why I want to become strong." I said softly as I closed my eyes.

Deidara's POV

"Nue..." I said softly. "Please sleep, Deidara. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Nue said, her eyes still closed. I smiled gently at her and wrapped my arm around her. "Thanks, Nue, un." I said. She smiled and said, "You're welcome."

I want to express my feelings towards her, but I didn't know how. What if she doesn't accept my feelings? I want to tell her that I care about her. I want to tell that I never want to leave her side. I want to tell her that I love her.