Everything hurt.

The crimson color was everywhere. She could feel the blood coating her frame, although how much of it was hers she wasn't certain. She'd taken down enough of them with her that it wouldn't have been all that surprising if more than half of it belonged to them. It was the only thing left she could be proud of. If they were going to betray her- betray her people- then she could at least take pride in this.

Reiki was no easy kill. She made for an even more difficult capture.

Together, it resulted in someone who would never share information even under the threat of torture. A dry laugh erupted from her chest. How silly it seemed to be so proud of something so simple at a time like this. Or, perhaps it was smart. She needed something to cling to- to remind her to still be human. To still be her, despite how far from her Reiki seemed to be.

Her head spun, her throat stung as a cough ripped it's way through her thin frame. Her stomach churned, demanding something, anything more than the emptiness it held now. At the same time, she was all too aware that if she was allowed to consume something she would most likely lose it later. This amount of pain made it difficult to keep food down. They knew that- it was just another aspect of the situation she'd found herself in. Starved and injured, most would give in. Anyone with as little to lose as her and a bit less stubborn would have. Reiki- however- was infamous for her stubborn streak.

She would rather die than give in to a village that had turned it's back on her.

All she had left was herself.

All she could claim to own was her pride.

She wouldn't give in.

Her head spun, threatening to send her into unconsciousness yet again. Perhaps accepting that would be for the best- a little sleep couldn't hurt. Going without rest would only drive her insane and she wasn't willing to give them that pleasure. They'd betrayed her, attacked her, she'd never forget it. Traitors were scum.

Another, harsh laugh tore free as she thrust her head back, pain spiking through her already aching mind as her skull slammed against the wall behind her. Coughs tore from her then- blood bubbling to her lips, no doubt staining them crimson.

Traitors were scum.

What did that make her?

The stray thought that the action had made the fuzzy blackness threatening her vision grow stronger caused a strange whim to grow and with little actual thought put into the matter, she drew her head forward again, before slamming it back against the wall. The loud noise echoed through the room, her head swimming.

The noise echoed through the room again,this time seemingly without a source. Then again.

Torn from her dream, Reiki shot up, her entire frame going tense as she attempted to make sense of her clouded mind and the banging noise that had woke her. A second later it clicked as a trio of knocking noises swept through her room once again. Wordlessly, she slipped from beneath the heavy blanket she'd been curled beneath and shuffled over to the closed door between her and the hall. Just as yet another trio of knocks echoed through her room, she drew it open, giving the culprit a questioning expression.

Sheepishly, he dropped his hand which had been caught mid-knock in the air when she'd opened the door. With his other hand, Kakashi rubbed the side of his head, quickly studying her as if to pick up on any details that might have changed- or perhaps if he was willing to admit it to himself- just double checking to make sure his eyes weren't betraying him. Standing in front of him was Reiki.

It'd been years since he'd seen a scene like this.

"I... breakfast," he announced.

She blinked, then slowly cocked her head as this detail sunk in. He had breakfast? Hadn't he said the night before that he was sorely lacking in food- to the point where the milk had been questionable? With a second of her expression appearing, he furrowed his brow, then dropped his hand as the most likely cause of her cautious look occurred to him.

"I bought breakfast," Kakashi explained.

Assured that she wouldn't be eating ramen for breakfast, she nodded, then pursed her lips slightly. Leaving the door open, she turned around and made her way to where she'd left the notebook sitting on her desk the evening before. After retrieving them, she quickly jotted down her response and held it up for him to see. Faintly, the stray thought that she wished the meeting with the team to work on her curse mark was in the morning crossed her mind. Writing was getting rather tiresome.

'I'll be there soon.'

After his gaze had shifted over the note, Kakashi nodded, moving to shut the door for her.

"Alright."

The moment she was alone, Reiki slowly turned and proceeded to- with painstakingly precise motions- shift the heavy blanket laying over the bed back into place. As her hands swept over the surface, raking out any wrinkles that might have managed to remain, her mind shifted to the already fading dream. The details and thoughts  were quickly slipping from her mind, but the feeling of it remained. The pain- it wasn't as bad as her first memory, but some part of her decided that perhaps in real-life it would have been somewhat similar.

The emotions on the other hand... they were twisted. There'd been fear, but the fear was faint. More prominent was anger and something fading, something she couldn't place. Regret, perhaps? Finally, there was just the simple... off feeling about it. If she had to use a word- it would have been mad. The details were missing, but that much she could be certain of, whatever had been going on in the dream... her thoughts had been so hazy, so erratic, it felt as if she was going insane. It was just a dream, though, she reminded herself.

Reiki shuddered.

Dream... or memory?

Breakfast was simple and within a short amount of time, the two of them had finished and set to work on their plans for the morning, acquiring clothing that actually fit her.

It didn't take long for her to learn something new about herself- she didn't mind shopping. There was something relaxing to be found in thumbing through similar fabrics, searching for just the right size and style to don. It was surprising, and not to just her, that she found herself actually having something similar to fun. Whenever she'd pause and glance at Kakashi, his almost bored expression remained for the most part unchanged. When she'd gone as far as to retrieve her paper-pad from him and question him on the matter, however, his response had been simple, yet confusing.

"You hated shopping- you always said it was a waste of time."

The statement had brought about yet another round of questions in her mind, but she'd simply nodded and moved on. The clothing brought about a debate in her mind over which was better- practical or pretty. Eventually, however, she settled on both. Picking out several tank-top and form-fitting pants combinations, as well as traditional kimonos and a few stylish dresses, skirts, and blouses. There was no sense in not picking out plenty- Kakashi had said she had plenty of money left behind by her family.

Reiki had wanted to question him on the matter, but once again decided to wait until she could speak.

It wasn't until they'd finished and were lugging her purchases back to his apartment that Reiki realized they were being watched by more than the current ANBU escort she'd spotted shortly after they'd left to shop in the first place. Trailing not far behind them in the crowd, his movements careful but still to a certain degree childish, was a small boy. His hair was raven-toned, his eyes narrowed and thoughtful. As Reiki paused to examine a hand mirror at one of the stalls they passed by, she titled it just enough to study him curiously in the reflection.

When they'd paused, he'd paused, concealing himself slightly behind one of the larger pillars holding up the awning for a shop. Kakashi, seeming to realize almost instantly what she was doing, tensed just a bit.

"I'll be right back. Don't move."

Then, without waiting for an answer, he turned around and disappeared into the slight crowd traveling down the street. When she turned and attempted to pick him out, she realized he'd made his way over to where the dark-haired boy stood. For a moment the two of them talked, the boy seeming to get steadily more irritated whereas Kakashi seemed as calm as ever. At some point in the conversation the boy crossed his arms over his chest and locked his jaw, stubbornly turning his head away from where Kakashi stood. Whatever he said must have worked, however, because a second after that action the boy turned tail and stalked in the opposite direction that they'd been walking in.

The moment she saw his back, Reiki stiffened, her eyes going wide. The symbol that had been haunting her thoughts ever since she'd seen it stretched across her blanket...

It was on the boy's shirt.

When Kakashi returned, she instantly retrieved her paper-pad from one of the many bags and jotted down a message for him to see. Strangely enough, he shook his head when she began to hold it up for him to read and simply shoved his hands deeply into his pockets.

"It was no-one."

Unconvinced, she continued to hold the pad up for a moment longer, hoping he'd understand that she wasn't about to drop the subject now that it'd been broached. Clenching his jaw behind his mask, Kakashi debated the idea for a moment, then simply shook his head, gesturing towards the hand mirror she still held.

"Are you going to get that?"

A faint scowl flickered across her lips as she stubbornly refused to back down for yet another minute before slowly shaking her head and putting the mirror back in place. Within a moment she'd also tucked the paper-pad away and retrieved her share of the bags from where she'd settled them at her feet.

What was it about that symbol that demanded attention from her?

Who was that boy? Why had Kakashi refused to answer the question? Why did it seem that her curiosity only seemed to put him further away from answering?

"Come on, we need to drop these off so that we can meet the sealing squad."

_____________________________________

"You assigned someone to follow her."

"Of course."

The first man studied the second, his face only revealing seriousness- all other emotion carefully concealed from view. The second only returned the expression, his lips twisted into a permanent frown.

"She isn't a danger."

"You have no way of knowing that," the second retorted. "You have no way of knowing anything about her. For all we know, she remembers everything. You haven't even had Inoichi search her mind."

"There was no need. Kakashi is convinced she's telling the truth."

"He's biased."

"He's a shinobi of the Leaf, I trust him."

"You trusted her, too," the second insisted, his tone grim. "You know as well as I do what came of that."

The first pursed his lips, slowly lacing his fingers together above the surface of the desk in front of him.

"That's only speculation. Nothing was ever confirmed about that matter."

His companion snorted.

"Why else would she still be alive when everyone else assigned to her mission died?"

"I'm choosing to trust her."

"You're a fool."

"Perhaps."

A/N: It's been awhile since an update, so I thought I'd give you what I had. Hope you enjoyed~! Oh, and I'd love to know what you guys think is going on!