Silence.

The journey towards Orochimaru's hideout was rather quiet. I couldn't hear much other than the sound of my feet walking on a narrow dirt pavement and the leaves rustling through the cold night air. It was almost as if I was travelling here alone, but then again I wasn't.

My eyes wandered over my shoulder at the small pinkette that walked a few meters behind me as a distasteful look made its way on my face.

The girl, Sana was here with me.

She walked behind me in silence as her eyes wandered carefully around the moonlit area. I had expected her to be more on guard, as unlike me, she didn't know where Orochimaru's hideout was, but it seemed she didn't care all that much.

She was in her own world, enjoying the scenery as her eyes seemed to soak her surroundings in. Her hands were neatly folded as she walked and I felt a sense of....innocence in her that I didn't feel in other Akatsuki members.

Innocence? Perhaps even naiveness.

I frowned.

I didn't understand how someone like her had even managed to be a shinobi, let alone make their way into the Akatsuki. It made no sense. She didn't have to be here, so why was she here?

"Sana."

I stopped walking at once.

The cold wind air rustled through the scarce forest as I turned around to face her.

The girl stiffened at once. She had probably been snapped out of whatever fantasy world she had been imagining. Her body tensed up in sharp contrast to how she had been acting as she looked up at me with serious eyes.

"I've never heard of you...are you even a rogue shinobi?"

She blinked a few times at me, her blue eyes looking deep into mine. Her eyes looked rather warm and yet, perhaps it was my imagination, they began to get colder by the second.

"Rogue? Does it matter if I'm rogue?"

...

"How'd you manage to make it into the Akatsuki?"

Her eyes looked me up and down and she was about to say something when she instead shrugged.

"I fail to see how that's any of your business."

I tilted my head at her but to my surprise she began to walk forward towards me. I kept my eyes focused on her as I felt myself begin to be filled with excitement. Was she going to challenge me?

She walked closer and closer closing the gap between us with each passing moment and I grabbed Samehada ready for conflict, only for her to pass me by at the last second.

"Let's continue walking," she said, "I want to get this mission over with."

I stood there with a frown on my face as my hand left the Samehada.

"We're turning left," I said.

I watched her turn the wrong way and I frowned.

I wasn't going to share anything about myself either.

After walking for a few days Kisame had made the decision to stop at an inn to get some rest. I promptly agreed because I, in fact, was exhausted from our journey. I couldn't remember the last time I had walked so far.

On the other hand, I wasn't sure if Kisame even needed rest as he seemed to be wide awake.

In truth, my new partner kind of scared me.

He was tall, intimidating, with sharp teeth and a tendency to grin at the slightest thing. He was...like a monster.

It made me uneasy for the most part but I tried to ignore it as much as possible.

I was part of the Akatsuki now so I had to act like it. The Akatsuki...I wasn't even sure if it was the same organization it was long ago. I now realized I hadn't asked enough questions when I was face-to-face with Pein although our meeting had been rushed in the first place.

I was hoping to see Konan as well, but perhaps that would occur later.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I caught a glimpse of a village in the distance.

Was this the village Kisame had mentioned?

The small one not inhabited with shinobi.

I watched as Kisame walked straight towards it.

Following him slowly, my eyes wandered around and what I noticed was, even from afar it was a bit run down.

There were a lot of people but very little was among them. The homes looked old and worn out and I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

Rain.

The smell of rain was prevalent through the air and explosions could be heard in the far distance.

I could remember sitting in the rain looking up at the sky with my hand out, watching raindrops fall as a familiar metallic smell made its way through the air.

Our house back then was worn-down, old and barely suitable to live in. The pale-skinned man who I called "mister" managed to fix it up enough for us to live in it.

"Sana," he said.

"Yes?" the young me responded.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

I tilted my head at him not understanding what he meant.

I was so young at the time. I didn't understand how little we had.

"I'm happy. I'm really happy," I said laughing a smile growing on my face.

The man smiled upon my words and came closer to me patting my pink head lovingly.

::

Walking through this little village seemed to bring back memories as I smiled a bit.

The village was small but the people looked quite happy.

I walked by happily as I felt my mood lighten up and a smile spread wide on my face. Of course, the villagers couldn't see it as the white shrills from my large hat covered my face.

I liked this. I had forgotten the feelings that came with being in public.

Suddenly Kisame took a sharp left and so I followed and we finally made it to the inn.

Upon entering a round chubby lady with red rosy cheeks greeted us.

"In need of an inn?" she asked with a cute wink.

I blushed at the sight of her. A woman. I hadn't seen a woman in a long time, and on top of that, the first woman I saw was cute.

"Yes, that would be nice."

She smiled a bit looking at me and then back at a Kisame.

"Ohhhh, I see how it is."

I blinked a few times before tilting my head, "What?"

"Are you two on an adventure?"

...

I looked up at Kisame who was beginning to look annoyed. Perhaps she was doing a little too much talking for his liking.

"An adventure?" I said, "I guess you could say that."

She smiled, "You two are so cute. You're in luck couples get a discount."

I immediately choked as I looked back at Kisame who looked a bit confused.

"Separate rooms please. Separate."

She laughed a bit before nodding, "Very well."

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