Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Soul ❯ Flickering Flames ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me, but I do claim the Yominokunis, Yakubyougami and the Tekigougan for myself!

 

A Note from Katana Haibane: With exams and essays over I hope to be writing a lot more than I have been. I'll have the time anyway. I would have written even more over the Christmas holidays, but family and life interfered. Also, I noticed that I've had a habit of putting this off at times…if I do that PM me and remind me to get working on it! That, and the reviews you guys leave do encourage me to update faster.

 

Also, this chapter will definitely make the 17+ rating during one scene. You have been warned.

 

For all you Naruto fans (me among them) HE'S FINALLY COMING BACK! What new things will be in store for Mikomi you ask? Well, read on to find out!

 

Chapter 17: Flickering Flames

 

Hokage Tower- One Weekafter the Chuunin Exams

 

“So we are in agreement then?” Tsunade demanded as she glared at the impassive faces of the Elder Council of Konoha, “Based on the merit displayed during the Chuunin exams, the candidates that I have listed are all to be promoted to Chuunin of Konoha. I have listed more than enough examples of their exemplary qualities in the first two sections of the exam beyond what was displayed in the third and final section of the exam. I trust that there will be NO future dissent from anyone present on my decision?”

 

Mitokado and Utatane looked at each other with resigned looks of disgust on their faces before turning back to Tsunade. Mitokado spoke for the council, “You're…suggestions…for those qualified to be promoted to Chuunin have been noted. The Inuzuka and Aburame boys have both shown great promise and without a doubt should be Chuunin after their performances, especially against that Tegatai monster. But that…filth from the Sound…a traitor like that is about as useful as that demon brat-”

 

“ENOUGH ABOUT NARUTO!” Tsunade bellowed, cutting Mitokado off. Taking a deep breath, Tsunade tried to calm herself down, “If a single one of you had bothered to read the reports that I have given the council about Mikomi then you would know that she was an unwilling captive of the Sound. A brutalized tool if you will. She would never willingly return to the Sound and if we didn't accept her into Konoha, another village would snatch her up. Winning the tournament and surviving a direct attack from a chakra fang has given her a surprising reputation in the other villages. If for no other reason than that, you should give her the promotion to ensure that she remains in our village rather than be turned against us.”

 

“Fine,” Utatane snapped, “But she will be your sole responsibility. If she turns on us we will seriously consider having your title of Hokage revoked. You've already disobeyed us severely with the…Demon Brat…by letting him leave the village in the first place. Don't push your luck.”

 

Tsunade just shook her head, not entirely successful at keeping her revulsion towards the council hidden, “Then go ahead and stick an incompetent in the chair of the Hokage. That's if you can get the requisite twenty-five percent of Konoha's population to sign a petition to have me removed from office, of course. I know what I'm doing.”

 

As Tsunade turned and stalked out of the room, Mitokado muttered, “For all of our sakes, I hope with all my heart that you know what you are doing Tsunade. You haven't made too many friends with the council since you took office.”

 

 

Entering the soundproofed Genjutsu treatment centre of Konoha hospital, Tsunade was greeted with the sight of three exhausted looking people. Kurenai was slumped down on the bench that lined the hallway, her eyes half closed. Kiba was curled up, fast asleep with Akamaru. Even Shino seemed to be slouching a little bit. When the door opened to Mikomi's treatment room and her moans wafted out into the hallway Tsunade instantly understood.

 

“I take it that you haven't been able to undo whatever Genjutsu it was that Tegatai placed Mikomi under?” Tsunade inquired as she set down the bag she was carrying before snatching Mikomi's file from the nurse who had just left Mikomi's room.

 

Blinking rapidly, Kurenai struggled to pull herself from her stupor. “Ye-aaaaahhh,” Kurenai yawned, stretching to ease the ache in her back, “The Genjutsu that Mikomi's been placed under doesn't even begin to make sense. It isn't any one particular Genjutsu, or even a coherent layering of Genjutsu that is normally necessary when putting anything under multiple Genjutsu. It's just a mishmash of dozens of Genjutsu all forced to act as a singular cage to Mikomi's mind. All that I've been able to do is relieve a bit of the pressure on Mikomi's mind that was being generated from the Genjutsu. I forced the different sections of the mish-mash to trigger one at a time. I'll need to rest before I can do anything else though.”

 

Tsunade couldn't help but frown for a moment. Kurenai was a certifiable Genjutsu genius, with few people alive even on the same level of skill that she possessed. If she couldn't figure out how to undo the Genjutsu that was on Mikomi - especially since it wasn't an external illusion - not even someone with a Sharingan would have much of a chance at unraveling it.

 

Making a quick note on the chart, Tsunade glanced down at Kiba. She gave him a nudge with her foot to wake him up, “Inuzuka, Shino, I need your attention.”

 

An amused smile broke through Tsunade's gloom as both Shino and Kiba gave a start.

 

Kiba leapt to his feet unsteadily, “I'm up, I'm up Sis…err…Tsunade-sama. How's Mikomi doing?”

 

Shaking her head slightly, Kiba looked a little downcast before Tsunade spoke once again, “Normally I'd do this under more official circumstances but I get the feeling that the two of you want to stick around Mikomi until she's feeling better. Just so the two of you know both Hinata and Sakura are doing research right now to try and find some way of breaking that Genjutsu Mikomi's under.” Tsunade got a sly look in her eyes, “Oh and by the way, Shino, Kiba, the both of you are no longer Gennin. You aren't deserving of that rank anymore.”

 

“WHAT?” Kiba exploded in horror, immediately assuming the worst, “WHY THE HELL CAN'T WE BE NINJA ANYMORE? YOU AREN'T SENDING US BACK TO THE ACADEMY ARE YOU? WHA-”

During Kiba's outburst Tsunade had turned around and picked up the bag that she had brought with her. Tsunade pulled the top flack jacket from the bag before whipping it into Kiba's face to shut him up, “No you idiot. You've been promoted to Chuunin.” Tsunade tossed an identical flack jacket to Shino, “Same with you, Shino. Actually, your entire team was promoted including Mikomi. You really impressed everybody. I just wish that Mikomi was awake to hear this from me.”

 

Kiba let loose a loud whoop while Shino actually cracked a grin at the news. Jumping and dancing around, Kiba was causing a racket that would have been seen as sacrilege in any other section of the hospital besides this one. Soundproofing does wonders to keep the noise to a minimum.

 

“Congratulations you two,” Tsunade said with a smile, “Now get the hell outta here before you get in anybody's way.”

 

Bursting through the doors, Kiba and Akamaru took off as if they had been struck by lighting, eager to show off his promotion to his family.

 

Shino took a more sedate pace, bowing to Tsunade, before speaking for the first time, “Good luck with Mikomi-chan. I hope to see her well soon.”

 

“Alright Kurenai, I'm gonna need a full rundown on the Genjutsu Mikomi is under,” Tsunade said, becoming serious once again, “I need to know possibilities; whether extreme measures need to be taken such as a chakra linked dive into Mikomi's mind. Grab a bite to eat and meet me at the work station down the hallway in one hour. This might turn out to be a long day for the both of us.”

 

 

Several Kilometers away from Konoha

 

A tall, blonde figure dressed in orange and black stood in the middle of the roadway tapping his foot impatiently as a white haired older many dressed in red and white wheezed his way towards the blonde boy.

 

“Hey, Ero-Sennin, what's the hold up? You said that we would be moving quickly back to Konoha and now you decide that you can't keep up? Jeez, you're starting to act your age at a pretty stupid time.”

 

“Shut it Brat!” Jiraiya grumbled as he pulled a canteen from the pack he had strapped to his back, “But you were the one who decided to try and run all the way back to Konoha in one stretch from the mountains in Lighting Country. We're two months ahead of schedule you idiot. Besides, I thought you'd have stopped from exhaustion at least three days ago. And by the way, where did that new batch of soldier pills get to that I bought in the last town?”

 

With a flick of his wrist Naruto threw a plastic bag filled with little brown pellets at Jiraiya's face, “Oh, I decided to borrow them. They really aren't as potent as everybody claimed they were. I mean, if you take a bunch you're supposed to feel some pretty brutal side effects. I didn't even get so much as the squats from them.”

 

Mouth agape, Jiraiya clutched the half empty plastic bag in front of his eyes before he fell to his knees and screamed to the heavens, “HOW THE HELL COULD YOU EAT A FULL MONTH'S SALARY OF SOLDIER PILLS IN ONE TRIP!” Anger flared in Jiraiya's eyes as Naruto recognized a familiar glint that promised a world of pain, “YOU BETTER HOPE THAT YOU MAKE IT TO THE GATES BEFORE I CATCH YOU NARUTO! THINK OF THIS AS A NEW EXERCISE IN PRACTICAL EVASION SKILLS!”

 

The second that Jiraiya start sealing Naruto blanched, “Aw shit, you can't be serious Ero-Sennin!”

 

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT BRAT! DOTON: SWAMP OF THE UNDERWORLD JUTSU!”

 

Taking to the trees, Naruto scrambled frantically to escape his enraged sensei. With the trees still collapsing beneath his feet Naruto barely had time to twist out of the way as Jiraiya suddenly appeared in front of him with flying kick. Spinning in mid-air Naruto launched a technique of his own into the back of his sensei.

 

“Futon: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!”

 

Naruto didn't even bother to pause as Jiraiya exploded into thousands of globs of mud. With a quick Kage Bunshin, Naruto began a headlong sprint back to his hometown, wondering where the hell his exhausted - and enraged - sensei had managed to get so much energy all of a sudden.

 

 

When the Hyuuga that was currently on gate duty did his usual scan of the surrounding area with his Byakugan, he was anything but prepared for the oddity that he spotted. Ten entirely identical people - shortly to be nine - were running as fast as they could away from someone that the Hyuuga instantly recognized: the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya. He was about leap into action and assist Jiraiya in capturing the fleeing Ninja, but stopped short when their shout's reached his ears.

 

“…GATE, THE GATE ERO-SENNIN! I MADE IT, I MADE IT!”

 

“NOT YET YOU HAVEN'T!”

 

The three ninja on gate duty watched in astonishment as Jiraiya and nine Naruto proceeded to burst from the trees only to engage in a battle royal just outside the Konoha gates. When there was only three Narutos left, two of them leapt to attack Jiraiya as the real Naruto made a break for the gates. With a quick twist, and a pair of well placed punches, Jiraiya burst through the two shadow clones and was in hot pursuit of the fleeing Naruto. In a last ditch effort to make it through the gate before Jiraiya caught up with him, Naruto took off in a flying leap.

 

“Oh no you don't!” Jiraiya cried as he dove after Naruto, his arm wrapping around his waist.

 

As the pair fell heavily to the ground, Naruto's body just barely crossing the line where the gate door closed a night, a familiar voice joined the mayhem, “And he's safe!”

 

The crack that sounded from Naruto's neck was audible as he jerked his head upwards to see the smiling face of one of his precious people.

 

“IRUKA-SENSEI!”

 

Bowing deeply, Iruka tried to calm the irate Jiraiya, “Jiraiya-sama, please don't be too hard on Naruto. Surely whatever prank he pulled on you doesn't merit you chasing him for god knows how long with the number of Kage Bunshins he can create. Would you mind letting go of him?”

 

Muttering under his breath, Jiraiya stood up, pulling Naruto up by the foot with him. Dangling the writhing blonde in the air for a few seconds Jiraiya heaved him a few meters down the roadway. Naruto spun to land on his feet, only to have them slide out from under him on a loose patch of gravel.

 

“His pranks I can handle,” Jiraiya grumbled, `I had to put up with them long enough,' “But he somehow managed to eat a full months pay worth of soldier pills on the trek back here. What's worse is that it didn't even seem to affect him at all. I did that once and fell asleep for a week afterwards. Then I woke up to find myself in the ICU with Tsunade-chan giving me the evil eye.”

 

Iruka could only sweatdrop as he turned to stare at Naruto. `He really is something else. Heck, so is Jiraiya. I get the feeling that things are going to get a little stranger around Konoha once again.'

 

“Hey, Ero-sennin, I'm gonna go take a look around the village `kay? Catcha later!” Naruto turned and sped away from the bemused Hyuuga on gate duty after showing his passport with Jiraiya hot on his heels.

 

“You can't just run of like that brat!” Jiraiya bellowed, “We need to go report to Tsunade…I mean the Hokage! Get back here!”

 

The Hyuuga on gate duty gave Iruka a sidelong glance, “I don't know whether to be impressed with you, or just plain sorry for you Umino-san. How you keep from going insane around that kid is something that I'll never understand. His pranks were bad enough. If I recall, he once dyed your skin an interesting shade of the colour purple once.”

 

Shuddering at the memory of that particular prank, Iruka nodded with a crooked smile on his face, “I don't know myself. Odd thing is I think that I prefer things that way.”

 

 

Konoha Hospital - Genjutsu ICU

 

The careful writing and script that Tsunade and Kurenai were performing to create the seals necessary for a mental intrusion were only interrupted by the moans that came from the heavily restrained Mikomi. Tsunade had been forced to bend into place several steel girders to keep Mikomi perfectly still since she had subconsciously begun to use her prodigious strength to try and free herself from whatever nightmarish images plagued her mind. Taking a quick brake to wipe the sweat from her forehead and loosen the kinks from her back, Kurenai gazed sadly down on the heavily restrained girl.

 

`She's been locked away and restrained for the last three or four years of her life,' Kurenai thought as a wave of sadness passed over her for a moment, `yet, she's turned out to be such an incredible child to work with. She doesn't deserve to have been locked away and used the way she has been, let alone trapped within her own mind for a second time.'

 

“We'll have time for contemplation later Kurenai,” Tsunade said softly as she finished inscribing her half of the circular seal, “you and I both have work that we need to do. She'll pull through, she's strong.” Tsunade frowned as one of the steal girders gave a groan of its own as Mikomi made a particularly vicious escape attempt, “Very strong. Remember, you have half an hour before I cut off the chakra flow, pulling you out of Mikomi's mind.”

 

Kurenai nodded. She had a job to do and she'd be damned if she was going to let one of her students suffer under a Genjutsu as twisted as the one that Mikomi was under. “Let's do this.”

 

Kurenai kneeled down on the ground in a circle of seals right above Mikomi's head. Tsunade positioned at the base of the circle, directly below Mikomi's feet. Snapping her fingers to create a steady rhythm, Tsunade and Kurenai began sealing at identical speeds. Both preformed different sets of seals for the different jobs required of them. Kurenai's were to create the mental link that would allow her to attempt interaction with Mikomi's mind and hopefully guide the girl out of the Genjutsu. Tsunade's role was to act as the power source, supplying a low and steady stream of chakra to keep Kurenai connected to Mikomi's mind. After one minute of performing hand seals, Tsunade placed her hands on a pair of markings on the written seal and began to slowly leak chakra throughout the seal at the same pace that she had been making hand seals. Kurenai continued to calmly seal as the written seal began to slowly light up with a bluish glow that emanated from where Tsunade knelt. At the exact moment that the written seal at last finished filling up with Tsunade's chakra Kurenai finished her own sealing and placed her hands on Mikomi's temples.

 

With a quick pulse of chakra from her hands, Kurenai felt the world around her begin to quickly fade, slowly being replaced with flickering images of Mikomi's mind. Slowly, the images began to come into focus, as if someone was adjusting a set of old `bunny ears' for a television set. When the world around Kurenai finally came into sharp relief she couldn't help but gasp in shock.

 

 

Mikomi sprinted across surprisingly flat, black ground.

 

In her befuddled mind the variance and the cyclic nature of the Genjutsu were paid no heed. Only the terror and the confusion that grew with each passing minute were noticed by Mikomi.

 

This time, Mikomi had discovered a horde of corpses, all struggling to get their hands on her and reduce her body to the same state that she had rendered them. Hundreds upon hundreds of dead bodies chased her. Some were charred to a crisp from fire or lightning while others had mangled bodies, a testament to her Tsunadean strength. Others seemed to be little more than shadows composed of milky white ash. Hundreds upon hundreds of bodies slowly changed from a trampling army into a rising tidal-wave of death and decay.

 

Running and running, that's all that Mikomi's mind could comprehend. Every person she had ever killed, ever tried to kill came rushing towards her.

 

“Murderer…murderer…MURDERER!” cried the shades of her very first kills, the medicine peddlers on the path to Konoha.

 

“I should have ordered you Sound Ninja's exterminated from the moment that snake created the village, gladly starting with you, you whorish piece of shit!” Cried Kokoro Tadashii as his severed head materialized in the center of the tidal wave, kunai protruding from it.

 

Mikomi vaguely noticed a faint, shimmering figure dressed in white start to appear a ways off in the distance. As the figure became clearer and clearer, Mikomi could feel something warm emanating from the white woman. She wasn't something to fear. She wouldn't hurt her. `Maybe she'll protect me!' Mikomi's exhausted mind cried out in desperation.

 

Muteki Bara's body broke away from the tidal wave, leading the dead souls like a general into battle, “I'll take your heart to replace the one that you and that Sharingan bastard stole from me! You're soul belongs to us wench!”

 

Hundreds of other face began to appear within the wave of corpses descending upon Mikomi. Cloud Nins, Mist Nins, Grass Nins, and many other nameless souls began a resounding cry, “You're life…your life is what we want! You're life…your life is what we want! You're warmth…your warmth is what we want! YOU'RE SOUL IS WHAT WE WANT!” Again and again this was repeated as the wave of death slowly caught up to the fleeing Mikomi.

 

A scream of terror tore from Mikomi's aching throat once again, wishing with all her heart that this wasn't real. She wanted to be with her friends. The Arrogant Mutt. The Insect King. Lady Genjutsu. White-eyed Princess. Cherry Blossom. Guardian Brother. Mother Matriarch.

 

But to Mikomi, it was all so very, very real.

 

Mikomi's scream galvanized the shocked Kurenai into action. She threw up the most powerful mental barriers that she could erect to try and counteract the affects of the Genjutsu that Mikomi was under. Try as she might, Kurenai couldn't disable the Genjutsu: it was too firmly imbedded into Mikomi's own psyche for her to tear the images apart.

 

Kurenai had to try and get Mikomi to calm down and think rationally enough for her to free her from the Genjutsu.

 

With a start, Kurenai suddenly realized that the wave of corpses was almost upon Mikomi, their bony hands clutching the air just centimeters short of her flowing hair. Kurenai ran across the Genjutsu-scape towards Mikomi. Kurenai ran, trying with all of her might to rescue her student from the prison that her mind had become. As terrifying and desperate as the situation was, Kurenai still couldn't help but feel a bit of grudging respect for the power that Tegatai Kinniku's sword held over Genjutsu.

 

Then the wave of corpses began to arc, starting its crashing decent to engulf Mikomi with every ounce of malice that it contained.

 

Hands of flesh, bone and ash caught hold of Mikomi's hair, her clothing and finally her limbs. They pulled the petrified girl from her feet and tried to pull her within the descending wave to consume her.

 

Kurenai didn't hesitate as she dove straight towards Mikomi, her strong arms wrapping around the girl even as the corpses tried to tear Mikomi away from her. This time, Kurenai tried to manifest a physical mental barrier, one that she infused with chakra and projected around her entire body. This new mental barrier accomplished what her previous one could not: it affect the Genjutsu that Mikomi was under. Instantly, the dead hands that clutched at Mikomi were forced away. The malice, hatred and revenge that oozed off of the desecrated wave of death parted around Kurenai's shield, like a boulder parting the swell of a river. Kurenai had become a rock of comfort in a world of pain.

 

Mikomi clung to Kurenai with all of her might, tears pouring down her cheeks as she buried her face into Kurenai's chest. Sobs wracked her entire body as the foreign feeling of love and comfort washed over her, causing her to suddenly become sleepy. At last Mikomi looked up into the face of her saviour.

 

“Lady Genjutsu, you saved me!” Mikomi cried. Her crying intensified as the rock of comfort that she had clung to began to fade, “KURENAI-SENSEI!”

 

“MIKOMI NO!” Kurenai cried as she watched in horror as Mikomi began to fade from existence even as she tried to hold onto her, “YOU HAVE TO FIGHT THIS GENJUTSU! LET ME HELP YOU!”

 

The fading Mikomi suddenly stared at Kurenai with eyes that held more clarity than they had held since being pulled into the Genjutsu, “A Genjutsu? I'm…in a…Genjutsu…” Mikomi suddenly released her fading hands from Kurenai and formed the tiger seal, “KAI! KAIKAIKAIKAIKAI!”

 

Kurenai felt more then saw the effects the waves of chakra had on the Genjutsu. The world around her seemed to begin to crack, slowly splitting to reveal light beyond the blackness around them. A sudden shock rumbled through the Genjutsu world and Kurenai attempted to ride the wave back to the focal point of the illusion. Just as she thought that she would make it to the focal point of the Genjutsu Kurenai felt the wave falter and then stop. The layer of the Genjutsu that Mikomi had been under slowly began to unravel, twisting and collapsing other sections of the Genjutsu with it. Kurenai could hardly believe it, but rather than being dispelled completely the Genjutsu was mutating into a different one entirely.

 

The ground beneath Kurenai broke apart as Mikomi finally faded from sight entirely and she felt herself get thrown onto hard, damp stone.

 

 

When Mikomi finally was able to get her eyes to focus on what was around her most of the terror and shock had worn away to numbness. The cell she was sitting was very familiar.

 

`It should be!' Mikomi thought as fear started to penetrate her mind even in her numbed state, `This cell…my cell…I don't want to be here. I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE! OH GOD NO!' Surging forward Mikomi felt her body jerk backwards harshly, her head crashing back against the wall. Distantly she registered the feel of the heavy iron shackles and chains attached to her wrists and ankles that she hadn't noticed before.

 

Then at last another change registered in Mikomi's mind: she look like she did when she was only 12 years old.

 

Frantically Mikomi looked around the cell, hoping with all of her heart she wouldn't find what she was looking for. Heart sinking and her throat closing up in fear, Mikomi's eyes at last came to rest on the handle of a rusted kunai poking out of a pile of rushes just beyond her reach.

 

Mikomi screamed, “NOOOOOOO! HELP ME! GOD SOMEBODY HELP ME! DON'T LET THAT FUCKING PEDOFILE NEAR ME! DON'T MAKE ME REMEMBER THIS! OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH-”

 

With a crash the door to Mikomi's cell burst open and a slightly drunk Sadisuto swaggered into the cell before closing the door once again. Mikomi froze up in panic as Sadisuto eyed her as if he was appraising a piece of meat.

 

“Hehehe, oh do you look delicious today bitch,” Sadisuto growled as he rubbed his crotch, his erection becoming slightly noticeable through his black hakama, “Trussed up like a good little slave. Look, you've even been kind enough to remove your clothes in front of your master.”

 

Stepping forward Sadisuto grabbed the front of Mikomi's ratty, graying shirt and tore it from her body. Mikomi croaked in fright as she threw herself into the wall, curling up into the fetal position in an attempt to protect herself. Sadisuto just laughed as he stepped on Mikomi's left shoulder and forced her chest to the ground, exposing her ass to Sadisuto's hungry eyes. Sadisuto's hands reached out, cupping Mikomi's ass cheeks before tearing the clothing off of Mikomi's now writhing body. With a quick hop Sadisuto let himself fall onto Mikomi's back, forcing the wind out of her and allowing his hand further access to her nether regions.

 

With a moan or horrified resignation, Mikomi began to shudder and cry as Sadisuto roughly manhandled the soft petals of her previously untouched sex. Moving in time with his vicious probing, Sadisuto dry humped Mikomi's back through his hakama.

 

Bile rose in the back of her throat as pain shot from her vagina and up her back. She wanted to scream. She wanted to puke. She wanted to string Sadisuto up buy his scrotum and slowly peel the flesh from his body.

 

Once again Sadisuto went to flip Mikomi into a new position when the chains tangled around her naked body. Cursing, Sadisuto pulled the key from the ring on his belt and snapped the four manacles off of Mikomi's body. Giving her a stunning blow to the chin, Sadisuto shucked his pants to reveal a four inch erection in all its glory.

 

To Mikomi horrified mind Sadisuto's phallus looked a hundred inches too big.

 

Jumping on Mikomi once again, Sadisuto caused the two of them to shift near the pile of rushes. He slowly began to like the side of Mikomi's face, fondling her small breasts roughly even as Mikomi tried to force him away.

 

“That's it girl,” Sadisuto purred as he felt Mikomi struggling underneath of him, “fight me. It's so much better when girls scream as I rip their virginity from them. That's it little slut, take the pain, revel in it. Soon you'll never be able to forget this night.”

 

Sadisuto's perverted laugh rumbled from his throat as his features began to change before Mikomi's shocked face. Slowly Sadisuto's face began to smooth out, pockmarked face becoming a truly bishonen smooth. His brown hair grew out from a short crew cut into longer, styled black hair cut. The sleeveless vest began to morph into a black t-shirt with a faint outline appearing on the back of it. He began to shrink in height from almost six feet tall down to five and a half feet tall while his endowment grew two inches in length and thickened out. Sadisuto's boyish looking face closed its eyes for a moment. The instant the figure snapped its eyes open shocked recognition blew through Mikomi.

 

She was staring straight up in to the red tomoed eyes of Uchiha Sasuke.

 

“Sasuke…” Mikomi croaked as tears began to well in her eyes as the name suddenly sprang into her mind, “Oh Sasuke I thought you we-”

 

A squeak escape Mikomi's mouth as Sasuke's left hand closed around her throat, “Hello my little red-eye vixen. It's been a while since I last laid eyes on you.” Taking over from where Sadisuto left off, Sasuke began to lasciviously grind himself over Mikomi's legs and sex. “Uhhhhnnnn, I've wanted to do this to you for a long time.”

 

As Sasuke's image drove his penis inside of her, tearing through her virginity, Mikomi's mind at last broke through the final barriers guarding the memories of the shadow figure in her mind. She remembered everything about Uchiha Sasuke: who he was. What he was like. How he treated her. Every single mission, kill and action that he had ever done in the past screamed into her consciousness and drove the feelings coming from the Sasuke on top of her away. Mikomi could feel the faint stirrings that she had harboured in her heart towards the shadow figure of her memories explode. She didn't know what the feeling was, but it ached for Uchiha Sasuke with everything she had; knew him with everything she was.

 

The feeling even dragged the most painful image of all to the surface of her mind.

 

Panic shot through Mikomi as she felt a warm, wet mass land on top of her just as she pulled the wooden stake from her left shoulder. She grabbed it and tossed it to the side and froze when she saw what it was.

 

It was Sasuke, and he had the entire right half of his torso torn away from his body. Mikomi vomited beside him as he gasped out his final words, “Mikomi-chan…I-I'm glad I…m-met you. Y-you…began t-to mean s-s-so much to me. D-d-d-don't d-d-d…”

 

With a rattling shudder, Uchiha Sasuke died…

 

At last, Mikomi saw everything as it was with a clear and open mind. Sasuke…was dead. This wasn't real, none of it. If it wasn't real then it was a Genjutsu. If it was a Genjutsu then she could break free of it.

 

In a burst of rage and chakra Mikomi overwhelmed the Genjutsu enough to revert her body back to her proper age and strength, glaring into the false Sasuke's eyes. Mikomi began to feel a now familiar rush of genetic data storm into her mind as chakra surged into her eyes, inverting the pupil and iris and activating her bloodline limit. In her rage Mikomi didn't shove the information away but pulled every scrap of data that she could into her mind, the phallus inside of her constant reminder to the situation she was in.

 

So all encompassing was Mikomi's single minded focus that she failed to notice the door to her cell burst open or the horrified gasp that followed the intrusion.

 

A genetic code suddenly entered Mikomi's consciousness that her bloodline limit `highlighted' as being extremely important. Without another thought, Mikomi allowed her bloodline to do its work, altering her DNA and granting her a full fledged Sharingan spinning in her eyes. Just as suddenly Mikomi could suddenly make sense of the Genjutsu, finding the focal point of the accursed illusion to be directly on top of her.

 

Without a second thought, Mikomi's hand flashed out and closed around the kunai that lay on the floor near her head, now within reach. Mikomi screamed as she plunged the kunai in to the Uchiha shade on top of her, “YOU'RE NOT MY SASUKE YOU FUCKING GENJUTSU PIECE OF SHIT! KAI!”

 

Mikomi let loose an enormous explosion of chakra, tearing the Genjutsu apart. The world around Mikomi was a burst of white light as she found her feet resting on tiled flooring. Exhaustion at last caught up with Mikomi: the faint shadows that had began to come through the white light of the room spinning as everything faded to black once again. This time, the blackness was the blissful darkness of unconsciousness.

 

 

The initial burst of chakra that had exploded from Mikomi nearly blew the unprepared Tsunade away from her connection to the seal on the ground. Barely locking herself onto the ground in time, Tsunade eyes widened as she saw the damage that chakra burst had done. Every place that she had connected the steel girders to the ground had been shorn away, leaving Mikomi free to move once again.

 

What happened next would be burned into Tsunade's mind for a long time.

 

Mikomi's hands suddenly flashed upwards as if she was stabbing someone, screaming, “YOU'RE NOT MY SASUKE!” A quick twist and heave had Mikomi flipping onto her feet and hurling the steel girders towards Tsunade.

 

Tsunade was forced to break her connection to the seal as she knocked the girder away from herself. After the last one was thrown to the side she gazed at last on Mikomi. Tsunade's eyes seemed to grow to the size of dinner plates as she took in the shocking change in Mikomi's appearance: two, fully mature Sharingan were spinning in Mikomi's eyes.

 

As the burst of chakra at last faded to nothingness, Mikomi's eyes changed from the swirling Sharingan, to black irises and red pupils, and finally to her normal red eyes. Purple hair streaming behind her, Mikomi collapsed onto the ground in front of her shocked sensei and a stunned Hokage.

 

 

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear as he headed up the stairs towards Tsunade's office at last.

 

He'd visited Ichiraku's and visited the old man and Ayame, not to mention catching Team Ten eating there. He'd enjoyed the appreciative looks that Ino had given him - although he had no idea why - and enjoyed the ramen eating contest he'd gotten into with Choji. Naruto had even enjoyed hearing Shikamaru's `troublesome' catchphrase as he watched the eating contest. Running into a strangely dressed figure that turned out to be Shino had been a pleasure as he hadn't seen the bug specialist in a very long time. The dog boy Kiba had been an interesting encounter, since he seemed happy and annoyed at the same time with Naruto's return. When Naruto had asked why Kiba looked annoyed all Naruto had gotten was an insult about how clueless he was. Naruto had been in the middle of looking for Team Gai when Jiraiya had finally caught up with him and hauled him off to the Hokage tower.

 

Now, at last, Naruto was going to be able to see Tsunade-ba-chan once again. Of course, he did want to get a chance to see Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan again.

 

Naruto walked up to Tsunade's door and vaguely noted that there wasn't a guard on duty at the moment before he reached out and knocked enthusiastically on the door. A moment after Naruto knocked, a sudden flurry of activity occurred on the other side of the door. First there was a loud gasp, audible even through the thick doors, followed by a loud `thunk' sound. A yowl of pain sounded on the other side of the door before a familiar voice shouted out, “Sakura-chan, come here quickly! You'll never guess who's here!”

 

The door to the Hokage's office and another door down the corridor burst open at the exact same time and both of Tsunade's apprentices laid eyes on Naruto for the first time since he had left on his training mission.

 

The smile that was splitting Naruto's face was mirrored on Hinata's flushed face as she looked up into Naruto's brilliant blue eyes. For a brief moment Hinata's old timid nature resurfaced as she stood frozen in place as she took in the sight of her crush for the first time in two and a half years. It was an incredible shock to discover that the `midget' known as Naruto had grown up to rival the beanstalk that Rock Lee had become. His blond hair had become, if possible, even more wild than it had been before he had left. Gone was most of Naruto's baby fat - along with his orange jumpsuit - and was replaced with definition and tone that was slightly visible through the long sleeves and pants he wore. His jacket was mainly black, although had an orange stripe running down both sleeves along with and orange emblem on each shoulder. On his back there was the familiar red spiral that had been on Naruto's previous jumpsuit. Naruto's pants were also black with orange stripes running down the side. All in all, physically at least, Naruto's appearance had merely caused Hinata's crush to double in intensity - especially after not seeing him for so long.

 

Having not bothered deactivating her Byakugan, Sakura's movement towards them snapped her out of her stupor. The smile never leaving her face, Hinata grabbed one of Naruto's hands in her own, “Welcome home Naruto-k-kun.” Hinata quickly waved the shocked Sakura over before grabbing Jiraiya and hauled both him and Naruto into Tsunade's office with Sakura close behind.

 

A startled Naruto and Jiraiya suddenly found themselves seated in the two chairs reserved for important guests as Hinata and Sakura leaned against the desk in front of them smiling. Sakura couldn't help but grin back at the shocked expression on Naruto's face, “Glad to see that the prankster is back, Naruto. Konoha hasn't had a day of enjoyable chaos since you've left.”

 

Naruto, on the other hand, could on stare and grin at the two girl - no, women - who were standing in front of him. Shy little Hinata stood with an aura of easy competence seeming to glow off of her while Sakura looked every part the warrior that a kunoichi should be.

 

Where once Hinata had hidden behind a baggy and concealing coat, she had at last discarded the garment and allowed herself to open up to the world. While her clothing was still fairly plain, Hinata's clothing clung to her blossoming body in all the right places. Her sky blue t-shirt was tight to her body, cut just shorter than conservative in the neck area, and embroidered with the Hyuuga clan symbol over her heart - in orange instead of white to Naruto's delight. Navy blue shorts adorned her with fishnet stockings clinging to Hinata's legs beneath them along with black sandals adorning her feet and her hip pack strapped around her right thigh. Also, black bands covered her wrists and ankles - her training weights. Tone had come to Hinata's previously thin figure, the defined muscle accentuating and outlining her soft beauty. While Hinata's hair had remained short it no longer was swept forward as if to hide her face. Instead, the two locks that frame her face only served to accentuate her features rather than look as if they were trying to hide her features in shadow. Her whole attitude seemed to have changed.

 

Sakura, too, had bloomed into the brilliant flower that Naruto had always imagined her as while he had crushed on her. No longer was she the fragile peony that had clung to Sasuke like a lifeline, but had become a rose: gorgeous on the outside, but was strong enough to hurt you if you didn't look closely enough. Sakura's body had been shaped similarly to Tsunade's - minus the massive mammories - due to her brutal strength training. She no longer wore the childish pink dress all the time, but wore a black t-shirt and shorts, covered with a dark pink, almost red, skirt. The white circle that had adorned the old dress now was on either hip of the skirt. Black boots that covered half of her calves and her old hip pack completed the picture.

 

You could say that Jiraiya was in heaven.

 

“NICE!” Jiraiya cried as he gave the girls thumbs-up and flipped his little note taking book out of his pocket and started to scribble down a description of the two girls in front of him.

 

Both girls faces turned red at Jiraiya's comment, however, it was for different reasons. Hinata was just plain embarrassed while the vein throbbing on Sakura's forehead was a clear indication of the direction her flush had taken her. Sakura just pulled a pair of black, padded gloves out from her hip pack and pulled them on before motioning to Hinata to open up the middle window.

 

“I'm pretty sure that you came here to meet with Tsunade-sensei,” Sakura began in a sickly sweet voice that had danger bells ringing through Naruto's mind, “however, I think you might be delayed a little bit.” Jiraiya still didn't look up from his note taking until Sakura's hand closed around his wrist and squeezed, “HERE'S THE DETOUR FOR PERVERTS JIRAIYA-SAMA!” With a deft twist, Sakura hauled Jiraiya off his feet with her Tsunadean strength and punched him straight in the stomach, sending him flying towards the western wall.

 

“NICE FOOOOORRRRRMMMMM!” Was the wailing cry that escaped from the airborne Jiraiya as he sped away on his forced flight.

 

An impressed whistle escaped from Naruto as he shot to the window to watch his Sensei fly across the entire village, “What a punch Sakura!” As usual, it took a moment for part of what Sakura had said to register in his mind, “WHAT? TSUNADE-BA-CHAN IS YOUR SENSEI? TOO COOL!” Naruto paled slightly when he realized what this also meant, “So you also got taught her strength to? Ehehehehe…”

 

Clapping her hand over her bicep Sakura gave a quick flex for Naruto, “Your damn right. She's been teaching me loads about medical jutsu. She said that I'm more than qualified to hold almost any position available to Medic Nins at Konoha hospital. Actually,” Sakura said with a sidelong glance at Hinata, “There's somebody in this room who happens to be a little better than me in medical jutsu.”

 

Glancing around the room, Naruto's eyes only found one other person in the room: A still grinning Hinata.

 

“Tsunade-sensei agreed to train me as well Naruto-kun.” Hinata suddenly froze for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something important. “Oh no!”

 

In a frantic flurry of activity Hinata burst through the side door that led to Tsunade's personal study only to emerge seconds later in the middle of rolling up a scroll. With a spare piece of twine Hinata quickly sealed the scroll tightly before holding it before Naruto and giving him a quick bow, “I really have to thank you for giving me this scroll Naruto-kun. It's…well, It's been my little project ever since you went away to learn the technique that you gave me the day you left Konoha.”

 

By this point Hinata was blushing furiously, Naruto was looking a little confused, and realization was suddenly dawning on Sakura.

 

“So this was why you kept on disappearing when you didn't have any work to do,” Sakura said, feeling further realization descend on her, “So, you mean that, Naruto…wow. I never saw that coming.”

 

Naruto just scratched his head, looking confused and embarrassed, “Uh, Hinata-chan, what technique scroll did I give you? I don't remember ever having any besides the ones that Ero-sennin gave me.

 

Hinata just giggle a little bit, `I'm glad that you haven't changed too much Naruto-kun. I l-l-l-like you just the way you are.' Hinata tossed the scroll over to Naruto before she casually held her right hand palm up and formed the Rasengan almost instantaneously. “I'm sure you recognize one of your best techniques Naruto-kun. When you gave me that scroll that you wrote the day you left…well, it helped me out a lot. Not just with learning a new technique, but with my confidence. That you trusted me with learning something so special.”

 

“AWESOME HINATA-CHAN!” Naruto cried as he finally read and recognized his title and handwriting, “I'D TOTALLY FORGOTTEN THAT I'D EVEN WROTE THIS! THAT'S SO COOL!” Naruto was nearly ready to start dancing around the room, amazed that he had been able to indirectly teach a friend of his such a cool technique when he suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place, “Ehehe, uh, were is Tsunade-ba-chan at anyway.”

 

To Naruto's shock, both Hinata and Sakura started to look a little glum. This sent Naruto into a panic, wondering what had happened to the woman who had become like a mother to him, “What's going on? Is Tsunade-ba-chan alright? Is she hurt? Lost? Turned into a giant slug? Tell me!”

 

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the image of Tsunade being turned into a giant slug like her summons, “No Naruto, Tsunade is just fine. It's just, both her and Kurenai-san are trying to lift an extremely powerful Genjutsu that a good friend of ours was trapped in after she won the last Chuunin Exams. It's only been a week, but her body's chakra levels had dropped dangerously low from the Genjutsu. So low, in fact, that Kurenai-san may have to perform a mental dive to break the Genjutsu from the inside.”

 

“Oh,” Naruto said, feeling a little guilty for stirring up such fears, “So is Ino okay? Or is it Tenten who's caught in the Genjutsu? I'm sure that Tsunade-ba-chan and Kurenai-san will be able to lift the Genjutsu.”

 

Hinata suddenly had a huge grin over her face as pride crept into her voice, “Neither. It's a different friend, one who just came to Konoha fairly recently. She's really, well, sweet I suppose. Besides, Ino and Tenten made Chuunin a long time ago. As a matter of fact, all of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai are Chuunin now. I was even able to become a Chuunin during the same exam that Neji made the rank.”

 

“All of you are Chuunin now?” Naruto asked crestfallen, “Why am I the only one who's still a Gennin?”

 

As Naruto was asking his last question the door to the Hokage's office swung open and an exhausted Tsunade stumbled into the room. She recognized Naruto immediately and broke out into a smile, “Because you still haven't taken the Chuunin Exam brat.”

 

 

After an hour spend debriefing on the results of Naruto's training mission, and another half hour once Jiraiya had at last returned to tell his side of the tale, Naruto left Tsunade's office with Hinata at his side and a satisfied grin on his face. Everything just felt so right now that he was back in Konoha. Back home.

 

However, returning to Konoha also meant that he could once again being his search for Sasuke.

 

For Hinata, Naruto's return meant that she would have another chance to be with Naruto. Another chance for her to act on all of the feelings that she held for the blonde enigma, feelings she'd had since their days in the Konoha Academy. It was a chance that she was not going to delay a moment longer.

 

Fighting the old urge to start pressing her index fingers together in nervousness, Hinata caught hold the sleeve of Naruto's jacket and gave a nervous swallow, “A-ano, Naruto-kun…would…” Naruto just stopped and gave Hinata a puzzled look as she took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her nerves, “Naruto, would you like to come eat at Ichiraku's with me? My treat?”

 

A giddy feeling spread throughout Hinata when Naruto's face split into yet another heart-stopping smile, “Ichiraku ramen? I'd love to go with you Hinata-chan!” Naruto scratched the back of his neck for a moment before a faint blush spread over his face, “Neh, Hinata-chan, are you sure that you'll be able to afford paying for both of us? You know how much I eat.”

 

For the first time in front of Naruto, Hinata burst out laughing. All of the nervous tension and worry for rejection that Hinata had felt since seeing Naruto just left her body. “With how little I usually eat, at least one of us needs to make up the difference. It's a date!” With that Hinata grab hold of a shocked Naruto's left arm and started pulling him towards Ichiraku Ramen. It wasn't until Hinata went to leap up to the rooftops to speed up the journey that she realized that Naruto wasn't exactly being the most cooperative in following her. All of the nervousness that Hinata had thought she had just let go of came rushing back when she saw the dazed look that was painted on Naruto's face.

 

“Naruto-kun?” Hinata questioned as she suddenly realized what she had said, `Oh no! I said that we were going on a date! What if he doesn't want to do that? What if…'

 

Naruto just flicked his hands into a familiar cross-shaped seal and a Kage Bunshin appeared beside him and he turned to it and presented his cheek to it, “Hey, lay a good one on me right here. I've got to be dreaming or hallucinating. No way would a girl ask me on a date!”

 

As the clone reared back to punch Naruto Hinata finally realized that he was serious, “No Naruto-kun, It's for-” With a dull thud, Naruto's clone punched him hard enough to knock him off his feet and sending him flying down a nearby alley where he proceeded to flip and roll before crashing into couple of trash cans. Frightened meows from a couple of alley cats and a cry from Hinata followed Naruto's spectacular wipeout.

 

Hinata rushed into the alleyway to check if Naruto was alright only to find him sitting up with an ecstatic look on his face, “I'M NOT DREAMING!” Jumping to his feet Naruto caught Hinata by the arm and half dragged her towards Ichiraku Ramen. Hinata finally was able to get her balance back just a second before Naruto blurred underneath the hanging banner that proclaimed the little stall as being Ichiraku's.

 

“Naruto, your back!” bellowed Teuchi upon spotting Naruto suddenly appearing on the middle stool, “And with such a pretty girl,” he said giving Hinata a wink, “Who might she be?”

 

Before Naruto had a chance to recover from his sudden, spontaneous `fever' Ayame gave her father a playful whack on the back of the head, “How can you forget all of women who are regulars here? Do you just like to chat them up? Jeez! Welcome back Hinata. What can I get you? You too Naruto, what would you like to order?”

 

Hinata also seemed to have caught Naruto's spontaneous `fever' which just caused Teuchi to grin even wider. Both Ninja struggled to get their voices back so that they could order.

 

In strangled voices Naruto and Hinata started to answer at the same time, “I'd like a miso ramen with…” Both trailed off and glanced at each other in shock.

 

At last it became too much for Teuchi and he burst out in uproarious laughter, “Hahahaha! Oh you two are too much. Extra vegetables for you Hinata and extra tofu for you Naruto, right?” Teuchi and Ayame headed over to the fryers to cook up the Ramen given Naruto and Hinata a chance to recover from their embarrassment.

 

Naruto looked a little sheepish when he at last spoke to Hinata again, “Sorry `bout nearly ripping your arm off getting here. I was a little excited.”

 

“It's no problem Naruto-kun,” Hinata said softer than normal, “I thought you didn't want to come with me for a second when you decided to stop so suddenly.” Furtively looking around to make sure that nobody was close enough to hear what she was going to say next Hinata leaned in close to Naruto and whispered in his ear, “Ano Naruto, would you please g-g-gooutwithme.” At last Hinata got it out in a rush of words.

 

Hinata felt her heart drop when she saw the look of confusion on Naruto's face, “Um, Hinata, what do you mean `please gopher meat'? Is that some sort of special code?”

 

Once again Hinata felt like rocking backwards and falling off her stool. Naruto was seriously taking her on an emotional rollercoaster even if it was unintentional. “No Naruto-kun,” Hinata said before whispering clearer in Naruto's ear, “W-would you go out with me? Be my b-b-boyfriend?”

 

Naruto felt completely taken aback by Hinata's request. “Me? Why would you want to go out with me Hinata? Surely there's got to be somebody better than me. I mean, nobody's even asked me before. What would you father say?”

 

A very uncharacteristic snort of contempt came from Hinata when Naruto mentioned Hiashi, “Tou-san'll just have to deal with it. I don't care what he thinks anymore. Ever since you gave me that scroll that taught me how to learn the Rasengan I've only wanted to prove that I was worthy to myself…and to you Naruto.” Naruto felt as if he had been struck by lighting due to Hinata's electrifying revelation, “Maybe…maybe I'm not worthy yet, but will you? Go out with me?”

 

A smile of true happiness lit up Naruto's face like the sunrise causing Hinata's heart to skip a beat, “Hinata, if anything, I'm the unworthy one. You know what? I think I'd really like that.”

 

 

Mikomi stood in Tsunade's office having a hard time remaining on her feet. Her eyes looked like somebody had dunked them in red paint they were so swollen from crying. Around her eyes it looked like somebody had gone to town with a case of eye shadow the black bags were so big. The scar that ran from her left eye and down past her neck gleamed a bright white due to the sheen of sweat that was coating her face. Mikomi's normally nearly silk-like hair was matted and knotted slightly, the sheen and luster having disappeared while she was under Tegatai's Genjutsu. Shoulders were slumped, poster was sagging; Mikomi looked as if she was disappearing within herself.

 

Behind the desk sat Tsunade, Shizune and Shiro, their collective gaze focusing on the despondent girl trying to remain standing in front of them. For three days they had allowed Mikomi to have time to herself, leaving her to her apparent grief in the Genjutsu treatment wing.

 

It was far more time than they should have given to anyone they suspected as being a traitor.

 

Tsunade took a deep breath to try and get her emotions back under control. Pinching the bridge of her nose as if warding off a headache, Tsunade tried to speak reasonably to the exhausted girl, “Mikomi…do you know why we've brought you up here so soon after you've begun recovery?”

 

A vice closed around Mikomi's throat, preventing her from speaking for a few moments as she tried to swallow her fear. “I…I don't…I don't know H-hokage-sama.” Mikomi bowed as deep as she could before continuing, “B-b-but, maybe it has something to with Sasuke-kun. You didn't seem to care that I was from the sound until…until…” Choking sounds came from Mikomi as she tried to hold back the sobs that were wracking her body, causing her to shake like a leaf in the wind.

 

“That's correct,” Hyuuga Shiro snapped at the shaking girl, “and all of us would like to know why you would be trying to get into Konoha considering your past relation to a traitor from our village.” When Mikomi was unable to answer the Anbu commander he very nearly lost his temper, “SPEAK GIRL! Why. Did. You. Come. Here.” Biting off each of his final words Shiro glared at Mikomi in the way only a Hyuuga can, “And you seem to have use of a mature Sharingan.”

 

“I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN USE SASUKE'S SHARINGAN!” Mikomi yelled in a rage at Shiro, “I don't even know how to activate it! I thought that I'd finally proven that I could be trusted in this village and I didn't even remember Sasuke until…UNTIL THAT FUCKING GENJUTSU OKAY!” Mikomi started clenching her fists she was so angry at Shiro, “I hate the Sound! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them! Sasuke, he…he made my captivity bearable. Taught me to fight. Taught me Tsunade-sama's strength. He's the only reason I didn't just kill myself.”

 

For a moment, nobody spoke. Blood started to seep out of Mikomi's hands as her nails at last broke through her own skin. Mikomi just stared at the ground between her feet, “I already told you that my first…instructor…in the Sound tried to rape me. I had to relive that fucker's touch, something that I had forgotten for a long while. Sasuke at least cared for me! He didn't leave me to rot in a fucking dungeon cell! He's the only reason I didn't try and escape, he was worth not leaving that hell hole!”

 

Mikomi's head snapped up as she tried to burn a hole through Shiro's head with her glare, “HE'S DEAD OKAY! HIS BROTHER THREW HIS DYING BODY ON TOP OF ME! SASUKE'S ENTIRE RIGHT HALF WAS TORN AWAY BY HIS OWN TECHNIQUE AND I HAD TO WITNESS IT! SASUKE EVEN RELEASED THE COLLAR FROM MY NECK OR ELSE I'D HAVE BEEN FORCED BACK TO THE SOUND ALREADY!” At last Mikomi's strength of will gave out and she collapsed onto the ground sobbing.

 

Shizune immediately rushed around the desk to try and comfort Mikomi while Tsunade and Shiro were too shocked to move. Shiro felt as if Mikomi had just slapped some sense into him as he realized what a mistake he had made. Tsunade felt aghast: she had basically called the very girl she had been trying to convince the Council of allow to live in Konoha a traitor. To top things off, Mikomi had also witnesses the death of the very traitorous shinobi that she had been keeping her eyes and ears open for and that self same death had shocked her to her very core.

 

Sighing, Tsunade got up from behind her desk and crouched before Mikomi who was clinging Shizune like a lifeline. “I'm sorry Mikomi…for forcing you in here like this. I shouldn't have doubted you. You've gone through enough in the Sound that just because you knew Uchiha Sasuke I shouldn't have doubted your loyalty to Konoha. However, I do have one piece of good news for you.”

 

Mikomi gave Tsunade a teary-eyed, questioning look as Tsunade circled around behind her desk to retrieve something. Brining it into Mikomi's view, Mikomi suddenly realized that it was flack jacket.

 

“Mikomi, I would like to officially congratulate you for achieving the rank of Chuunin of Konoha. Your performance during the Chuunin exams merits this promotion. I'd like to congratulate you, and your entire team for ascending to the rank of Chuunin. Congratulations.”

 

Tsunade handed the jacket over to Mikomi, the news stemming the flow of tears for a moment before they began again, “Thank-you Tsunade-sama. I'm sorry about not being able to tell you about Uchiha Sasuke earlier, but I couldn't remember him.” In a softer voice Mikomi nearly whispered, “Thank-you for not forcing me to leave Konoha. I've been happier here than I've been anywhere else for a long time.”

 

A half smile spread across Tsunade's face as she ushered Mikomi to the door, “Perhaps it was a good thing that you couldn't remember Sasuke for so long. I'm not sure you would even have been given a chance to stay here as anything other than a prisoner if you had. We'll deal with that…issue later. You should join Hinata at home and get some rest.”

 

With that said Mikomi left the Hokage's office and started to make her way home.

 

Tsunade, Shizune and Shiro had just turned to head into Tsunade's study to discuss what was to be done next when an audible thump was heard near the door to the office and a familiar voice cried out, “WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SASUKE?”