Orochimaru and Kabuto had gone off on their own to obtain something for their research but thought better than to keep Tsuki in the loop. They left her and Sasuke at their new temporary shelter. It was an underground labyrinth surrounded by dozens of hidden poison wasp nests tucked within various dried mountains of mud and clay.

There was a knock at the door of the bedroom she and Orochimaru were sharing in the new base. "Tsuki?" Sasuke's voice sounded from the other side of the door bringing a small smile to her lips.

She left Yuki curled up atop the bed. He was sound asleep. Without Orochimaru, Tsuki still struggled to fall asleep on her own. What did Sasuke want at this late hour in the evening? "What's wrong Sasuke-kun?" Tsuki asked curiously as she opened the door.

He was dressed and armed, looking ready for battle. Wearing his usual dark pants, white top with the Uchiha crest on the back and the same kind of purple rope around his waist that Orochimaru usually wore. His sword was secured at his hip. Tsuki looked down and noticed he was even wearing shoes.

"Going somewhere?" She pondered.

"I want to train." Sasuke said simply.

Tsuki frowned at this. Orochimaru told her to stay in the base. He had seemed almost worried. Perhaps there were strong foes nearby. "Okay, but we have to stay inside."

"That seems counterproductive." Sasuke shot her a dark look, "I'll just train by myself." He turned to walk away but paused as Tsuki caught him by the back of the shirt.

"No. It's not safe. Orochimaru-sama said we should stay inside." Tsuki attempted to reason with the teen.

"Then stay inside." Sasuke shot before launching a fire-based attack into the air knowing it would hurt her eyes and she'd release her hold on him.

Tsuki lost her grip and gasped in pain as her retinas and her skin burned from the sudden blaze. "Sasuke-kun!" She called in a panic, he'd disappeared. She took off at a run heading toward the base's exit, not caring that she was barefoot or only wearing a simple pale periwinkle nightgown.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She had to find Sasuke! She made it above ground and scanned the dark drylands. They were in the middle of a rocky plain with a few scattered boulders and a field of dried out dying grass due to the lack of rain. Sasuke was nowhere in sight.

"SASUKE?!" She yelled his name in a panic.

Silence.

Tsuki felt her stomach churn uneasily, not that she had expected him to respond anyway as he seemed to be taking the role of rebellious moody teen way too seriously. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on his chakra to see if she could sense it. He'd gotten pretty far. Gathering as much wind chakra as she could behind her to push her onward faster than she'd ever gone before, she took off after the teen.

As she drew nearer to where she sensed his presence she felt a sense of panic as she picked up on the presence of two other beings, two strong beings. In the distance she heard Sasuke yelling something incoherent, he sounded angry and desperate.

"SASUKE!" Tsuki screamed as she dropped into a small patch of forest where she'd sensed his presence. She landed swiftly on a patch of soft plush grass next to the brooding teen.

Sasuke was breathless and gasping for air, blood dribbled from the corner of his lip; he had a deep wound on his side and several smaller ones on his arms and legs. His sword was missing. Tsuki jumped as she sensed someone approaching her from behind with a lethal attack. Rage bubbled up inside of her as she looked down at the teen who was supposed to be in her care, beaten broken and bruised. A strong gust of wind whipped past her as she turned to face her attacker. The wind shrieked in a deafening howl as it tore past her and picked up her would be attacker sending him flying. Her heart pounded unsteadily in her chest as she got a glimpse of his cloak before he'd been uprooted in her gust. A black cloak, with white outlined red clouds, The Akatsuki, one of Orochimaru's many terrifying enemies.

"T-Tsuki, get out of here." Sasuke coughed as he struggled to get to his feet. "This has nothing to do with you."

Tsuki turned to the remaining foe, wearing the same cloak, a boy maybe a year or two her junior, about twenty years old, with long slightly ashy black hair pulled into a loose ponytail. She avoided meeting his gaze as she'd already worked out who he was from how unsettled Sasuke had become, Itachi Uchiha. Her gaze fell to Sasuke's sword in Itachi's hand. Something felt off about their enemies, they were oddly quiet, like they weren't really, physically there, like they were mere projections. Strong projections.

"Your safety is my concern." Tsuki said softly, "We're leaving now."

"No!" Sasuke glowered at her, "I'm an avenger, I have to do-."

"You're going to get yourself killed, you're not strong enough, yet!" Tsuki snapped at him. "We're leaving! Now!" She sensed the man she'd sent flying a moment before was on his feet and heading in their direction.

"Just stay out of this!" Sasuke yelled at her before launching himself at his older brother.

"No!" Tsuki darted after him just as she noticed Itachi throw Sasuke's sword, it would kill him!

She caught the teen from behind and hurriedly spun him around to protect him from the blade. Sasuke's sword pierced her through the back, next to her heart the blade protruded from her chest, impaling her. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. She'd saved him.

"Tsuki!"

Blood dribbled from the corners of her lips as she pulled the teen against her before holding out her right arm activating the summoning seal Manda had gifted her. She and Sasuke disappeared from the forest and reappeared in what appeared to be a small village. The village looked as if it had been recently attacked. Buildings had been reduced to cinders and the smell of decay and burning flesh filled their nostrils the moment they reappeared.

Manda was nowhere in sight. What had happened? The snake like marking had appeared on her arm and they'd somehow been transported elsewhere, but why wasn't Manda here? She sensed Orochimaru's presence nearby. If she didn't get to him soon, they were both going to die.

"Tsuki!" Sasuke panicked, "What the hell were you thinking?!" His eyes grew wide as the pale young woman coughed up an alarming amount of blood.

"F-find...O-Orochimaru-s-sama..." Tsuki choked. "N-now."

Sasuke paled, he couldn't leave her. "Tsuki!" He cried as she slipped to her knees and nearly fell face first to the earth but managed to catch herself on her hands.

"Sasuke?" He turned as he heard a familiar voice and spotted Kabuto stepping from behind a collapsed building. His onyx eyes grew wide as he looked beyond the teen to the pale young woman on her hands and knees, struggling to cling to consciousness with a sword protruding from her back. "TSUKI!" Kabuto ran to the pale beauty as fear and panic gripped his heart. "LORD OROCHIMARU! HURRY!" He called over his shoulder. "What the hell happened?" Kabuto glared at Sasuke, his gaze fell on the sword and his eyes widened as he recognized it, "SASUKE-!" He lunged for the still shell-shocked teen.

"I-It w-wasn't S-Sasuke's f-fault..." Tsuki coughed, her heartbeat was beginning to slow. She chanced a glance upward as she felt his presence and she felt her heart stutter in her chest. He was paler than usual and looked to be in pain. His lethal golden green eyes widened as he spotted her.

"Tsuki!" She felt a sense of calm wash over her as he reached her and offered her support. Helping her to sit upright on her knees.

"I'm s-sorry." Tsuki breathed softly, his touch wasn't enough, the wound was too severe.

"Sh. It's alright, Tsuki." His voice sounded somewhat strained. "Kabuto, remove the blade." He ordered.

"Ah, Lord Orochimaru, it's too close to her heart, it could kill he-."

"NOW!" Orochimaru hissed causing Kabuto and the still shell-shocked Sasuke to jump.

Kabuto cringed and pulled the blade from the girl's back trying to keep the blade as steady as possible and praying he hadn't nicked her heart in the process. Tsuki let out a cry of pain as the blade was removed but it fell short as Orochimaru pulled her against him, willing her to heal as he cradled her in his arms.

Blood poured from her wound instantly soaking the front of his shirt, it wasn't healing fast enough, her life was in danger. He felt his heart drop at the thought of losing her, never getting to see her charming smile or hear her sweet laughter or watch her dance beneath the moonlight. "Tsuki." His voice cracked as he noticed her eyelids begin to flutter closed. "Don't you dare die on me, troublesome girl." He pressed his lips to hers, capturing her soft lips in a sweet tender caress.

Life flooded into the fading girl. Strength returned to her as her wound began to mend. Kabuto steered Sasuke away as he noticed the color returning to the pale girl and his face burned scarlet at what he'd witnessed.

Tsuki melted into the kiss, her arm instinctively hooking around the sannin's neck, deepening the kiss as she felt something stir within her. Strength and power pulsated through her. She felt stronger than ever, like she could move mountains. Realization dawned on her and she fell back with a squeak as her pale cheeks flushed crimson.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Orochimaru-sam-." She cut off with another squeak as his hand gripped her wrist tightly and she met his lethal gaze. Her heart hammered in her chest as she saw something she'd never before seen in his gaze. A warmth that hadn't been there before, a hunger that only seemed to be growing and something much deeper, love.

He recovered quickly and eased his grip on her wrist, "Are you alright?"

Tsuki managed a nod as he slowly got to his feet and offered her a hand up. She nervously accepted the hand he offered her as what felt like thousands of butterflies went spastic inside of her stomach. Once on her feet she swayed unsteadily and let out a soft gasp as his arms wound around her waist, keeping her upright. Her heart skipped a beat as she wound her arms around his neck to keep from toppling over as her world began to spin.

"Tsuki?" Orochimaru looked down at the starlight girl in concern.

"S-sorry." She gasped breathless at their sudden closeness, "I was just a little dizzy." Her heart felt like it was going to catapult right out of her chest it was beating so fast. Tsuki hesitantly lifted her head and met his breathtaking gaze. Before she knew what was happening she leaned forward in a daze. Another squeak escaped her as she realized what she'd been about to do and she hurriedly took a step back. "Th-thank you for saving me, Orochimaru-sama." Her pale moonbeam hair fell in front of her flushed face.

Video- "Alone" By Alan Walker