Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Soul ❯ Bitterness ( Chapter 21 )

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: It seems that I'm doing more this summer than I originally thought I would be. In other words, I have another excuse for my crappy update consistency. BUT, I am going to make an offer. I will write the next chapter at my usual speed (whenever I get the chance) UNLESS…I reach 100 reviews!!! Once the 100 review mark is reached on this story (this chapter) I will drop everything and finish the chapter within a week (Add 2 days on if it is the week of August 2nd I've got Jaw surgery)! Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm just bribing you guys, but I do like reviews. And the more I get, the less I'll be working on my other endeavours…

 

Also I've (almost) finally got the entire story planned out to the ending. I hope you all enjoy it.

 

On with the story!

 

Chapter 21: Bitterness

 

“Gods no…M-Mikomi-chan?” Kitoushi croaked out as he stared down the length of his great black blade and into the red eyes of his daughter. The lone person he had wanted to be with ever since he had discovered that she was alive.

 

The same girl he had just tried to kill.

 

Gai remained frozen in the half crouch he had landed in, unable to fully grasp the enormity of what was going on. Hinata's eyes had widened so greatly they seemed as if they were going to push their way out of her head as she stared into the face of the man that had been trying to kill her. She stared at the same man that might be Mikomi's father. Mikomi refused to move, her eyes boring into the red eyes that she had remembered her entire childhood.

 

First one minute, then two, and then five minutes passed without anybody moving a muscle. Then everybody else burst onto the scene.

 

Naruto nearly dropped Gaara when he started to surge towards the man known as Yakubyougami, but Gaara's arm around his shoulders barely held him back. Kakashi threw both of his arms in front of Neji and Tenten. Gai finally forced himself to move, tackling Lee to the ground as he tried to make a mad rush towards the frozen trio.

 

Slowly, Mikomi's chest began to heave as her vision blurred and water filled her eyes. The gentle healer, the loving father, the caring man she had loved her entire life had taken the mantle of a killer of unknown magnitude. He had kidnapped the leader and Jinchuriki of the Village Hidden in Sand. He had created a virus that had crippled the same village. He had become an enemy that threatened the lives of all of her friends.

 

Her own father had just tried to kill her.

 

The damn that had been holding the torrent of tears back finally gave way and a gut-wrenching sob tore from her throat. Kitoushi's black sword slid from his nerveless grasp to clatter to the ground beside Mikomi.

 

The falling sword brought almost everybody back to their senses. Gai released his grip on Lee, snatching up Kitoushi's sword while Lee hammered an elbow into the stunned man's throat before slipping into position beside Gai. Kakashi, Neji and Teneten formed up around the crumpled and sobbing Mikomi, keeping the deadly `Yakubyougami' away from their weeping teammate. Naruto just swore while he ran behind everybody else to keep Gaara out of harms way as it was all he could do just to keep the heavy Kazekage on his feet. Hinata could only look on, still a little dazed from her earlier fight.

 

Gai tossed Kitoushi's blade backwards into Tenten's waiting hands and dashed towards the breathless Kitoushi. Before Lee and Gai could continue their assault a hysterical voice pierced the air.

 

“STOP IT! JUST STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!” Mikomi screamed forcing herself to her feet and bodily throwing Neji and Tenten aside. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE MY TOU-SAN? ANSWER ME DAMMIT YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”

 

This time everybody but Gai, Hinata and Mikomi couldn't help but freeze up at this revelation.

 

The haunted look on Kitoushi's face grew even darker as tried to speak through the pain in his throat, “I-I…you…I a-am…your dad. Gods…p-please M-Mikomi…you have to…believe me.” Kitoushi tried to say something else, anything to convince or even comfort his daughter but the words only died in his swollen throat; the thought that he had just tried to kill the daughter he wanted to reclaim from Orochimaru ringing through his head.

 

“No,” Mikomi barely whispered as the tears began anew, “nonononono…you just can't be. Otou…he wasn't a killer. He wasn't you!” Mikomi felt as if somebody was trying to reach inside of her and claw what was left of her shattered heart out. She had died a little inside when she saw her mother killed before her eyes, more when she awoke in Orochimaru's care. She had felt ready to die when Sadisuto had raped her. She had lost Sasuke and even her memories for a while. And now she had lost her kind, loving father a second time to this monster.

 

Hinata finally pulled herself onto her knees and wrapped an arm around Mikomi to comfort her. When Mikomi cried out loudly once again and buried her face in Hinata's shoulder, Hinata nearly lost her temper once again. Pulling Mikomi into a tight embrace, for the first time ever, Hinata glared at another human being in anger and hatred. Her eyes bore into the ashen Kitoushi.

 

Kitoushi could barely keep his hands from shaking and his emotions under control under Hinata's stare. The reality of what had just happened struck him over and over again as if he was being physically pummeled by Kisame.

 

He really had tried to kill his last link to his wife, his life and maybe even his humanity when he had attacked his daughter. And now he refused to ever risk the chance of losing it again.

 

Everyone tensed when Kitoushi clenched his hands, but even Kakashi's Sharingan was unprepared for his sudden burst of speed with a Hyper Step, ripping his sword out of Tenten's hands and returning to where he had been standing.

 

“WAIT!” Kitoushi cried before anybody could react to attack him, “I'm leaving. I'm…I…sorry Mikomi-chan. This was the last thing I could have possibly wanted to happen. But it did.” Glancing up at everyone else around his daughter Kitoushi continued, “I won't apologize for a damn thing I've done to the rest of you though. I just wanted my daughter back and Akatsuki would have given me the power to do that. But…at the same time I don't want to hurt anybody close to my daughter.” Nodding towards Naruto and Gaara Kitoushi just sighed, “Which I suppose includes the two of you.”

 

Turn his back to the group from Konoha, Kitoushi started to walk away from them before calling over his shoulder, “I'll leave you be for now. Good-bye Mikomi-chan…I just hope that when I return later you might give me a second chance.”

 

Stealing the last of his resolve, Kitoushi quickly vanished from sight with the aid of his Hyper Step.

 

“What in the hell…” Kakashi trails off as the confusion of the situation sinks in along, “Gai, do you have any idea what exactly is going on?”

 

Gai glanced down at the still weeping Mikomi. For the second time during this mission he was serious “From what I could understand, it appears that the man we knew as Yakubyougami might be Mikomi's father. The first thing she said when she saw him clearly after we got blown out of that cave was `tou-san.' That man even pulled up short from decapitating Mikomi.” Gai scratched his head, “I don't know where this leaves us. We'll just have to ask Mikomi when she is able to speak. For now, let's just get back to Suna.”

 

“Looks like Suna's coming to us,” Neji said as his Byakugan picked up several Suna Shinobi entering his range of sight.

 

A moment later the area was flooded with Shinobi from Suna. Even as exhausted as he was, Gaara couldn't help but look around at all of the people who had come for him. He doubted if there were even enough active Shinobi left in Suna to adequately guard the walls so many had come. There were even a few who were clearly still recovering from the sickness in the village.

 

“You fools,” Gaara muttered under his breath even as he felt the edges of his mouth twitching, “Suna can't be left defenceless like this just to rescue somebody like me.”

 

“That's where you're wrong Kazekage-sama,” came Baki's familiar voice from behind all of them, “You fought to protect all of us from that Akatsuki member. You've never led us wrong before either. Suna owes this much to you, both for what you have done since becoming Kazekage, and for what we did to you before you became the Kazekage. It's time that we brought you home.”

 

When the two groups began to head towards Suna, Mikomi wasn't the only person crying. A lone tear of relief and happiness glistened on Gaara's face, unnoticed and shining until they disappeared under the heat of the sun.

 

 

After chugging another of the inexhaustible supply of restoration drinks, Sasuke relaxed and felt the heady sensation of his body and chakra instantly recharging, healing. It was a heady rush that he couldn't get enough of. If he was alive he would have had to wait a couple of weeks before seeing the results of the brutal training schedule he had given himself. The Shinigami's concoction offered instant results, instant gratification.

 

If it could have been called a drug, Sasuke would have been an addict.

 

Sasuke rolled his neck and began to stretch out again to limber up. He allowed his `magically' cooled down limbs to heat up under the weights that he had been wearing for the last little while. Sasuke could even feel his heart rate bump slightly above normal before he considered removing the weights.

 

It really was remarkable how the Shinigami allowed him, the spirit of a dead man, to move and feel as if he really was alive. Even the pain of all the fighting Sasuke had gone through was relished. If he failed he might never experience these sensations again.

 

Dropping the weights to the floor of his `bedroom,' Sasuke pulled the door to the dojo open and went inside with a skip in his stride. He felt energized and alive. He had one opponent left to defeat to grant him passage to the land of the living.

 

Sasuke wanted to remember what it truly meant to be alive.

 

With a pulse of chakra Sasuke signaled the Shinigami, “I'm ready to fight the last Shade in this trial. Send him in. I want to prove here and now that I'm just as strong as I was before my…Itachi…killed me. I want to be alive.”

 

Once again Sasuke heard the familiar rolling chuckle of the Shinigami before the far doors to the spiritual dojo opened up and the shadow the Shade appeared. As the Shade strode from shadow's the Shinigami spoke, “So you believe that you have become as strong as you were while alive. Strength, and know and being able to employ many techniques are two different things entirely. Prove you have the strength, the skill, the tenacity that I want you to have, that I need you to have if I am to return you to the land of the living.”

 

The Shade entered into the dojo and remained shrouded in darkness as the Shinigami appeared behind it. Reaching out its left arm, the Shinigami grasped hold of the shapeless darkness and with a pulse of its own energy forced it to take shape.

 

First, the body of a man close to Sasuke's height began to appear. Spiky white hair was the first distinctive feature to appear, closely followed by pale, almost grey looking arms and legs. No bulk truly appeared on the figure, but the power in its limbs became very clear by the sinewy muscles that grew taught across its frame. Non-descript black shorts and a loose t-shirt emerged, barely visible in the shadowy backdrop followed by the shadows across the face starting to clear.

 

Then, golden eyes with black-rimmed irises followed by a black cross mark across the nose caused Sasuke's eyes widened. His heart rate started to speed up as eerily familiar features began to sharpen on the Shade's face. When a pair of claw-like wings suddenly burst from the Shade's back, they merely confirmed the sinking feeling in Sasuke's heart.

 

Sasuke's final opponent was himself, as he was under the second level of cursed seal.

 

Shock. That was all Sasuke could feel at first. He was facing himself down as so many other people had seen him when his own power hadn't proven to be enough. Sasuke felt a chill as he experienced for himself what it felt to sense the chakra coming from somebody with a cursed seal. He finally understood what Kakashi, Naruto and everybody else had meant when they said it felt unnatural. The chakra coming off of his replica felt dead. It felt like everything he had been able to sense beyond the walls of the dojo when the doors were opened to allow the Shades in to fight.

 

The chakra was far from the only wake-up-call that Sasuke received from Shinigami's replication of his old self. Distain seemed to be the only thing etched across its features: distain for his opponent, distain for the fight. Distain for life in general. The eyes to Sasuke's Shade seemed to be an empty reflection, as if he felt nothing and cared about nothing. The `supposed' window to the soul was empty.

 

Sasuke couldn't help but feel that what he was facing was just plain wrong. He couldn't help but feel a little ill as he finally understood why the Shinigami detested the cursed seal so much.

 

`That…thing is me…or at least me as I was before I died,' Sasuke thought despite his attempts to clear his mind and get ready to fight, `How the hell did I let myself fall so far? My god…quick and easy power really was all that I cared about, no matter what the costs were to myself. I know that I wanted to kill Itachi, but what the hell was I really fighting for? Why the hell did I destroy myself so badly? That isn't what I wanted, not who I wanted to become.'

 

Sasuke stared down his duplicate as he slid into a fighting stance, `I'll start from scratch then. Find out what it is that I really want to be fighting for, who really had the answers to strength. Did Itachi? Did Konoha? To hell with them both, I'll find my own path, my own way, my own answers.'

 

“Starting now…” Sasuke finally said allowed.

 

Shinigami began to grin after Sasuke spoke aloud. It grinned as if he had `heard' all of Sasuke's innermost thought. “Perhaps it's time that I relinquish one final thing for your use Sasuke. A final gift.” Shinigami held out his right hand and a straight sword materialized in his hand. Like many other aspects of the Realm of the dead, the sword was completely black. “This is a fragment of the legendary Kusanagi blade that Orochimaru once gave you a part of. It found its way to my realm. Frankly, I've had no use for it at all. However, if you pass my challenges and I return you to life, I do want you to have every advantage you need to eliminate Orochimaru. After all, it knows the feeling of spiritual flesh. If Orochimaru does try to escape; say by transferring his soul into your body he won't be able to escape the blade's cut. If you can defeat yourself as you were before death, I will give you this blade as a reward.”

 

“Shit,” Sasuke muttered as one final thought passed through his mind before started the fight. `“Mikomi-chan…I-I'm glad I…m-met you. Y-you…began t-to mean s-s-so much to me…”' Sasuke growled slightly before taking a deep breath to calm himself, `I can't let anything distract me and I just had to remember that. Dammit…to distracting…the fight is her and now! That crap can come later!'

 

Shinigami's laughter rumbled through the dojo once again as Sasuke looked into his Shade with his usual stoic stare, “Move aside Shinigami-sama, I want to end this trial of yours. I take your offer for life with my own two hands.”

 

“That isn't going to be enough Sasuke-kun,” The Shinigami said as he faded out of the dojo, laughing all the while. `Your strength alone will never be enough for you to survive what you are going to face,' Shinigami thought, `You don't have the power to survive it alone.'

 

“Fight!”

 

The final words the Shinigami spoke echoed through the dojo as Sasuke dashed towards his shad, his Sharingan already spinning in his eyes. He grit his teeth as his copy continued to just stare down his nose at him until the last moment before it activated its own Sharingan and swayed backwards out of the way. Without pause Sasuke pressed his attack, launching a flurry of punches and kicks in an attempt to draw a reaction from the Shade and gage the strength it had. Time and again Sasuke thought he had connected with a blow only to have Shade continued his footwork until it was backed against the dojo wall.

 

“Hnn.”

 

Sasuke's eyes widened as the Shade spoke only to catch the oncoming attack in his sights a fraction of a second before it hit home. Continuing his forward momentum Sasuke ducked into a roll that blew under the Shade's arms and launched himself into a double kick from a handspring off the ground.

 

Right into the clawed wing of the Sasuke Shade. The Shade hurled the real Sasuke away from him before charging straight at him before he landed. Sasuke had barely gotten his feet underneath him before the Shade struck. Punch after kick rained down upon Sasuke's guard as he tried to recover from being sent reeling by the vicious attack.

 

`Dammit, what the hell is going on? He's me! I should know how he's going to attack better than anybody else that I've fought so why the hell is he overwhelming me?' A power right kick struck home against Sasuke's blocking arms knocking him out of the Shade's reach. `Don't think, just fight! Take him apart with your own hands! It's what you've been training for all this time!' Breathing hard, Sasuke recovered his focus before flying into the most familiar hand seals of all the jutsu he had ever used. The Shade never even moved.

 

“KATON: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!”

 

Sasuke's fireball blasted home on the unmoving Shade before he turned the heat up even more by trying to focus the blast into as tight a stream as possible. The huge ball of red flames tightened into a stream of white hot flames that streaked toward where the Shade had stood for a full thirty seconds before Sasuke finally let up, leaving smoke and ash billowing in the air.

 

`That imitation is finished!' Sasuke thought in triumph until the air started to clear. A dark shape still loomed where the Shade had stood, shocking Sasuke for the second time in less than a day.

 

The pair of claw-like wings had completely shielded the Shade from the blast. They were black and smoking, but intact.

 

Angry eyes tried to burn the Shade where flames had not, `What the hell? If I had that kind of power before why the fuck did the Shinigami take it from me…hells I fought tooth and nail for this strength and that thing still out does me!'

 

Sasuke began to charge the Shade once again when it opened its wings and froze Sasuke in his tracks. `That…that pressure, that killer intent…it's enormous! It feels like…' Sasuke's eyes widened as he suddenly made the connection to the Shade's strength. In his eyes he could have sworn that the ghostly image of Orochimaru was overlaid on the Shade, sending him the same cold stare that had frozen him in his tracks in the Forest of Death. `That thing…has Orochimaru's eyes…I had Orochimaru's eyes! It feels like I'm fighting two people at once! I…I can't even move…'

 

“Shit,” Sasuke cursed again before dropping his fighting stance and walking away from the unmoving Shade, “So that's what you wanted me to see, to find out about myself. I never really had any power other than what Orochimaru handed me is that it? And I couldn't even touch it with what I have now? I'll show you that I can grasp the power I need to clear this speed bump and take back my life Shinigami. I'll train and train and train until I can't even lift my body and then I'll do it some more. I'll finish this final test by ripping my old self apart with my bare hands!”

 

`You still haven't grasped the test within this test yet have you young Uchiha,' Shinigami thought as he grinned down at frustrated Uchiha, `Your strength alone will not every let you beat what I put in front of you. Even if it does, you still are missing the entire point that this challenge is leading up to, the final step that will convince me that you're worth granting a second chance at life.'

 

As Sasuke stalked towards the training area in this spiritual training hall, Shinigami's deep laughter rumbled through the walls for the final time that day.

 

 

Had anyone stayed inside they might have easily mistaken the incredible rumbling roar as a prelude to an earthquake. A ninja might have mistaken it for an advanced earth jutsu. After all, the Village Hidden in the Sand wasn't near any known major fault lines.

 

It was neither: the roaring cheer was a celebration. Suna's Kazekage had been returned to them.

 

Looking like a true leader Gaara entered his village with his Konoha friends acting as an honour guard. The Suna Ninja's brought up the rear, with the villagers turning the return home into a parade. Naruto was grinning like an idiot, barely able to keep himself from bouncing all over the place rather than simply waving like a mad-man. Hinata kept her bandaged left arm in a sling while a smile cracked on her blushing face. Kakashi remained oblivious as usual, his nose buried inside of a suspicious looking orange book. Gai and Lee were, for once, drowned out by the crowd as they shouted auspicious phrases about the power of youth. Tenten would have seemed as stoic as Neji about the situation if it wasn't for the barely concealed smile and the fact that she was absently juggling a pair of kunai with one hand. Only Mikomi seemed to withdraw from the crowd, a haunted look still on her face and her fear of people rising to the surface once again.

 

Shouts of “He's back!” and “Our Kazekage's returned!” rent the air. No jeer poured from the citizens of Suna, no hateful cries towards the man they once feared as a demon. The hate seemed to have evaporated. All it had taken Gaara was the sacrifice of his blood to `cure' their incurable plague, and the near sacrifice of his life to keep as many people as possible from being harmed when the Akatsuki attacked.

 

For the very first time he could remember in his entire life, Gaara smiled. He smiled a true smile, of happiness and joy that had never before appeared on his face. It had take going to hell and back for his village, but at last they had accepted Gaara.

 

And he wouldn't change a thing.

 

As he approached the Kazekage tower in the middle of his village, Gaara's eyes fell upon his siblings. Temari was as confident and sure of herself as ever, but Gaara could tell that even she had been worried about him. Kakuro, missing half of his left arm, clearly had given his all to try and protect his younger brother against opponents who outclassed him severely. Everybody had devoted so much of themselves to him, that Gaara knew that he would spend the rest of his life - long or short - giving everything he had back to them.

 

He had found his precious people: his family, his friends, the people of his home.

 

With a confidence and flourish Gaara had rarely displayed before he rose above the crowd that had followed him to the tower and signaled for silence, which they immediately gave them.

 

“I am honoured beyond my wildest imagination by being given a reception such as this.” Gaara spoke clearly; his voice carrying to the ears of everyone assembled there, “I would never have imagined this possible, even days before the Akatsuki attacked. However, as much as I thank-you all for this, you should be turning your thoughts to those who have died, honouring them all. They all fell victim to a pair of ruthless men beyond the scope of normal ninja. They gave their live to protect you all as much as I.”

 

Not a single person dared speak as they listened to the first public address their Kazekage had ever given. It was long overdue, the respect they gave to the once tortured soul or the Jinchuriki before them.

 

With a gesture, Gaara drew sand up from the ground and formed it into a massive replica of Juuboku's face. “We should never forget this man, Juuboku, a loyal advisor. He created the means to save us all from the plague that ripped through our population and was a hope to us all. He was one of the many who gave their lives on the western face of our village's defences. I would appreciate it all of you would be willing to join me for a memorial service one week from now.”

 

As shouted response rang out from the crowd and Gaara descended to meet his siblings, he relished two things. First was the roar of acknowledgement from the people who had shunned him for so long. The second was the silence within his mind. Even though the Akatsuki had tried to kill him by tearing Shukaku from his body, the way in which they had done so had ironically strengthened the seal that held Shukaku inside of him. He could finally sleep without the fear of Shukaku taking control of his body or even eroding his own psyche.

 

Stepping between his brother and sister, Gaara nodded to both of them, and together they went inside of the Kazekage tower.

 

 

Hinata was worried about Mikomi. Ever since they had had a brush with death at the hands of a man claiming to be her father Mikomi had withdrawn as far into herself as she had been when Hinata had first met her. It had trouble her then, and it troubled her now to see somebody clearly hurting as much as Mikomi was.

 

Even during the entire duration of the trip home so far Mikomi hadn't said a word. She was just going through the motions to ensure that she didn't fall too far behind everyone else. It hardly took a genius to see how much the girl was hurting inside. But Hinata could understand how everybody could miss it.

 

Mikomi was absurdly tough and powerful, especially for her age, and when people see that they tend to forget that she might get hurt on the inside. That she wasn't as emotionally tough as she was physically.

 

Falling into step with Mikomi, Hinata tried to think of something to say to help her friend. Anything to ease her pain.

 

“Mikomi-chan,” Hinata began softly, “I know how much it must be hurting you to find out that your own father tried to…harm you, but at least he's alive. You may have the chance to see him…again…” Hinata couldn't help but trail off when she saw the tears still coming down Mikomi's bowed head.

 

“It's like I've lost him all over again,” Mikomi choked out, not daring to look Hinata in the eyes. “My…my dad…the healer is dead all over again. Replaced by him.”

 

“Maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt,” Hinata replied, “Maybe he didn't do many bad things yet, or even create that virus that harmed Suna-”

 

“Enough!” Mikomi spat out, “I know that he did those things just as much as I know that he's my Otou. I'd never…forget…his face…” Shudders raced through Mikomi as she fought to hold back the damn that seemed near to bursting in her chest.

 

Her father may have been alive in body, but the man he used to be was long dead at the hands of Orochimaru. Yominokuni Kitoushi remained a casualty to hands of the Snake Sannin.

 

 

If there was one thing that the Godaime Hokage was truly adept at, it would be hiding her age. But when Naruto bounced in through the door to her office she couldn't completely hide her age. Only someone experienced with loss - such as Kakashi - would have noticed, but Tsunade's eyes betrayed her age. They shone with years of experience, seeing too many tragedies, too many you lives cut down before their time.

 

They shone with relief. Relief that it appeared the mission was a success. Relief that everybody survived intact. Relief that the boy, or perhaps man, that she had adopted like a brother had come home happy, but most of all alive.

 

`I swear, sometimes I think I really am getting to old for this shit…and then Jiraiya comes and gives me the proverbial slap-to-the-face-wake-up-call,' Tsunade thought as a tired smile finally crossed her face as all eight of her ninja walked in through the door.

 

Kakashi gave Tsunade a casual salute, “Teams Seven and…`Gai' reporting the mission as a success.”

 

“It's about time,” Tsunade muttered under her breath before clasping her hands on her desk and leaning forwards so that they were just in front of her mouth, “Good work. I'll need a complete mission report filed once your dismissed but I would like to hear what happened from all of you directly first.” Tsunade looked hard at everybody assembled, noting Mikomi's hard expression in passing, before she turned to Hinata, “Hinata, I want to hear from you what happened up until you met up with Gai-san's team.”

 

Hinata nodded to Tsunade, only once shifting her eyes to look away, “Well, Team Seven and I were able to make the trip to Suna in close to twenty-four hours with the aid of soldier pills. When we reached Suna the village was in terrible condition. According to Baki-san, the ranking ninja at the moment of crisis, one of the Akatsuki members who had attacked Gaara had unleashed a virus on the village that had crippled most of the shinobi population. Gaara-san's advisor, Juuboku-san, had developed an antibody agent that was curing the population only days before he was killed in the Akatsuki attack.” Hinata sighed as she shut her eyes as she remembered Kankuro's injury, “We… met with Kankuro-san to see his injuries and receive information directly from him. He had lost the forearm on his left arm by a strange attack from a senbon. We gleaned the information that the man who took Gaara-san went by the name of Yakubyougami and was very fast and strong. He could also fly according to Kankuro. After that we headed to Rain Country and met up with Gai-sensei after another day's travel.”

 

“Thank-you Hinata, perhaps Tenten could continue?” Tsunade suggested, remaining unmoving in her seat.

 

“We reached a cave-”

 

“Can't we just report this crap in a written report,” Mikomi snapped, a few lines of anger and shame starting to crease her face.

 

“Oh?” Tsunade asked, leaning back in her chair with her eyes alight, “Can someone explain this to me?”

 

“It…it has to do with her Otou…” Hinata said softly, “He's mixed up in all this.”

 

Tsunade frowned, “But I thought Mikomi said he was dead?”

 

“Yeah,” Mikomi snarled before clenching her fists as tight as she could, “well I was `dead' wrong about my Otou.”

 

Hinata couldn't help but stare at the ground, trying to avoid Mikomi's accusing glare, “Well, we fought Yakubyougami inside of this dim cave that the Akatsuki were holed up and he had beaten us rather badly until Gai helped us out. After knocking us outside…he…well…Mikomi recognized him…and he recognized her. Yakubyougami, well, he's Mikomi's father.”

 

Tsunade couldn't keep her eyes from going wide with surprise. She could have believed that it was marginally possible for the kind healer that she had remembered in the past to have survived the attack on them by Orochimaru. She could have even believed that they had run into each other sometime during their travels.

 

The possibility that Yominokuni Kitoushi was a part of the Akatsuki had never even crossed Tsunade's mind.

 

“Are you absolutely certain Mikomi,” Tsunade asked as gently as she could to the obviously distressed girl, “Was the man you fought, Yakubyougami really your father?”

 

Mikomi tried to take a deep breath to steady her nerves but only succeeded in swallowing hard. Beating back a sob that tried to tear its way out of her chest Mikomi felt the cold trickle of a tear rolling down her face. She unconsciously clenched and unclenched her fists rapidly over the next moment.

 

“…Yes Tsunade-sama…Yaku…Yakubyougami is my Otou…Kitoushi-sama.” Mikomi could feel herself losing control but she forced herself to speak, “I-I guess you won't w-want me in Konoha anymore…”

 

“No,” Tsunade immediately responded. The sudden denial of Mikomi's current fear caused her to stifle her emotions for a moment, “I won't be kicking you out of Konoha, not after everything I've gone through to keep you here.” Tsunade glared at everyone present, “I don't even want this to leave this room. From this point on our speculations on Yakubyougami is an S-class secret. You will not add it to your reports. The only person privy to this information will be myself.”

 

Leaning back into the cushions of her high-backed chair, Tsunade gave Mikomi a once over. “All of you are dismissed. However, please remain behind for now Mikomi.”

 

An awkward silence fell over the assembled ninja as the filed out past Mikomi. Her face remained pale and stricken as she stared at the floor, finding it impossible to look anybody else in the eye. Mikomi's unseeing eyes unconsciously traced the pattern the wood grain made on the floor until Tsunade's voice interrupted Mikomi's thoughts.

 

“Mikomi, I can understand how much of a shock these recent revelations must be to you and on an S-ranked mission no less.” Tsunade's eyes shone with understanding as she watched the slumping kunoichi in front of her, “I want you to have time to come to grips with this. You're stronger than you think you are Mikomi and I need you to be in top condition. I want you to take the next week off of active duty.” Mikomi's head shot up in surprise as she reflexively met Tsunade's gaze, “Now, that being said, there is one other item of business that I'd like to take care of. According to Hinata, you were able to successfully restore the spark of life in the second out of the three fishes that were provided for the test. As of this moment, I would like to officially recognize you as the fourth student of medicine that I have ever taken on.”

 

A sad smile slowly worked its way onto Mikomi's face. Bowing, she turned to leave Tsunade's office when Tsunade spoke again, “While you may be off duty for missions, I still expect you to come here for training. I'll be starting at eight o'clock sharp, so be sure to be here on time.”

 

 

Hinata's hand froze just a fraction before she knocked on Mikomi's door that evening. She had wanted to visit her friend, comfort her in her time of need, but the sobs that she heard through Mikomi's tightly shut door stayed her hand. Hinata tried to gather her courage again and to see this through only to have her hand fall away from the door in dismay.

 

She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

 

Hinata's own tears slid there way down her face as she silently listened to Mikomi's sobs through the thin door before she slid to the ground beside it. Without realizing it Hinata activated her Byakugan and watched Mikomi as she curled tightly around her pillow. Before either girl had noticed, nearly half an hour had passed. The sobs finally subsided.

 

“Why…” Mikomi whispered into the newly born darkness of her room, unaware of that Hinata was just outside of her room, “Otou…otou, otou, otou…why didn't you save me? W-why didn't you come and t-take me away from Orochimaru if you were so strong…” Mikomi just continued to clench onto her pillow even harder as she curled up into a ball as if protecting herself the odd sob still being drawn from her aching throat, “I thought you were gone otou. Dead. I-I m-missed you so much. Why'd you leave me alone otou…It…It hurts. It hurts so much otou. Everything hurts so much…” Mikomi unconsciously pushed her pillow further down between her legs, as if she was trying to use it as a shield against something.

 

Hinata's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what was going on. The only other time she'd seen somebody behaving the way that Mikomi was right now, was after a woman had been raped and put into the hospital. Hinata felt her stomach clench, barely holding back the urge to wretch while struggling to contain the cold fury that had swelled inside of her. One of her dearest friends had been raped!

 

“He…that cell…r-ra…why didn't you save me?”

 

After another hour of failed courage, and listening to Mikomi's sobbing whispers Mikomi pulled herself to her feet and stumbled away from the room. Hinata missed hearing Mikomi's next muffled cries.

 

“…why'd you leave me too Sasuke-kun…”

 

 

The next month left Konoha on edge as the ninja village became a massive swirl of energy and action. Teams came and went. Missions were assigned and completed along with the odd failure; mainly in regards to figuring out Orochimaru's next plan of action. The paperwork pilled up for the Hokage as she spent nearly all of her time in conferences with various Anbu and Jounin who had been tasked to spy on Orochimaru or else play a role in the village's defensive network. Even Chuunin and Genin alike were feeling a little frazzled with the mandatory increases in training and forest patrols added to their mission schedule. The many restaurants of Konoha were smiling at the sudden increase in customers unable to find the time to cook; short lived as it was amongst the scramble to try and keep up with the workload and the increased speed their larders were being devoured at.

 

If truth be told, the village still remained calm and peaceful despite the buzz of nervous activity. Very few ninja received an injury outside of training and there was a record zero shinobi deaths that month, a statistic not recorded in the last decade. The troubles of the times to come were always there, but never seemed to phase anybody.

 

The final days of the passed month heralded the return of Shizune, Sakura and Team Ten. Their return brought a great deal of relief to Tsunade and their report allowed her to ease back on her constant pressuring of Mizu and Kumo. After a great deal of hassle - not to mention outright refusal to cooperate with the investigation - Konoha's delegates had been able to temporarily end the violence that had erupted between the two Shinobi Nations.

 

With the continuous delays in the investigation of the site of the bomb blast in Kumo, along with the fact that the investigation was already nearly cold due to the conflict in the first place, it was a miracle that anything linking the Sound to the conflict was discovered at all. It had been dumb luck that Sakura had been able to pull a kunai fragment from one of the buildings that had only sustained superficial damage from the explosion. The fact that the alloy composition was one designed to amplify and direct sound waves to a maximum effect, along with Shikamaru's flawless logic surrounding the discovery had leant a great deal of credence to the belief that the Sound initiated the conflict. The uncovering of deals with the Sound made by both countries, and over the same explosive device had sealed the deal. Both villages had grudgingly agreed to stop fighting each other for the time being and try and sort out what had occurred to cause things to spiral out of control so badly.

 

Tsunade had deemed the mission a success, but Ino especially had been a little depressed when they received pay for only an extended B-class mission. Tsunade could hardly pay them for an A-class as they hadn't achieved a signed agreement of any kind, but she did pay them a decent bonus anyway.

 

Also, true to her word, Tsunade hadn't breathed a word about the connection between Yakubyougami and Mikomi to anyone, not even to Shizune and Sakura. Neither had anyone else who had been on that rescue mission; knowing they would be on the receiving end of Mikomi and Tsunade's wrath if they did reveal anything helped quite a bit. All of them had left well enough alone and tried to pull their daily lives back together.

 

Even Mikomi seemed to have pulled herself back together somewhat after her near breakdown after the confrontation with her otou. She had thrown herself headlong into the study of Medial Jutsu. Every waking moment that wasn't spent eating or training with her team was spent on self practice or tutelage under Tsunade.

 

At least, that's what everybody who had been on the mission to rescue Gaara had thought. While it was true that the last month had been spent in intensive practice to try and drive all thoughts of her father from her mind, another quandary had been distracting her: the activation of a mature Sharingan.

 

She had been told by Tsunade that she had activated a mature Sharingan to break free from the Genjutsu that Kinniku had placed her under. Thinking back Mikomi thought there might have been a few other instances of activation, except that she could never actually remember them. The fight with her otou had been the first and only time she had every consciously recognized the activation of the Sharingan.

 

Mikomi had been working as hard as she could, sometimes even during the lighter medical jutsu lessons, on figuring out just how she had been able to activate the Sharingan in the first place. She had tried simply pushing chakra into her eyes, but that didn't even seem to properly activate what Juuboku had called the `Tekigougan,' the bloodline limit she had been born with. She'd tried swirling her chakra in a countless number of different patterns all to no effect at all. Mikomi had even gone so far as to start bashing her head against the table she was working at while channeling her chakra, although that was more out of frustration than the belief that it would actually work.

 

Despite all the distraction the Sharingan was giving Mikomi, she had begun to make remarkable progress in the use and application of medical jutsu. She still lacked the fine control needed for the more localized techniques, Mikomi's natural healing chakra allowed her to progress faster than most. She didn't need to spend nearly as much time working through the theory of converting her chakra from the burning energy it normally was to the soothing nature of healing chakra. However, Mikomi was still a long ways away from learning how to manipulate and extract poison from the human body, let alone attempt to create a chakra scalpel.

 

Healing the body is what Mikomi had stayed focused on. She had been able to heal cuts and bruises since learning her first healing the day she was abducted, but Tsunade had been working with Mikomi to refine the technique. Lacerations were a trickier wound for Mikomi as arterial reconstruction was something she was abysmal at. Still, Mikomi had progressed to the point where she could seal the wound and even encourage the regrowth of the tissue in the area. Setting and repairing broken bones was an issue still, but Mikomi had finally grasped the basics around healing minor fractures and cracks with Hinata's, and later Sakura's help.

 

But unlike the rest of Konoha, Mikomi was unable to find any peace during this month of waiting. The tension that seemed to fill her just wouldn't leave. She was working too hard and too long trying to keep her mind occupied and unaware of the sadness that was attempting to consume her.

 

Mikomi's father, Yominokuni Kitoushi had been alive all those years that she had been trapped in the Sound and under Orochimaru's thumb. Yet, he had not once tried to rescue her. Kitoushi had cast of the mantle of healer and had become a powerful killer. He had changed so much from the kind healer that he once was. Kitoushi the healer had been left dead at the hands of Orochimaru and Yakubyougami of the Akatsuki had arisen in his place.

 

It had hurt to be reminded once again of how thoroughly Orochimaru had destroyed her life.

 

 

“DAMMIT!” Mikomi cursed as she tried as hard as she could to manipulate her chakra into the healing field required to reconnect a broken bone. The ninja that had been brought into the Konoha hospital had been unlucky enough to have come during the night when the minimal staff available was already tied up in other duties. So Mikomi had been `elected' to repair the fracture.

 

The Chuunin Mikomi was healing was trying to look on calmly while his femur was getting repaired by someone who obviously was still in training. Although the pain had been dulled significantly by Mikomi's healing attempts, a cold sheen of sweat had broken out across his brow due to the throbbing ache that emanated from his leg. He tried to sit still. He tried not to show apprehension. He tried as hard as he could not to show he was in pain.

 

He failed miserably.

 

A grunt of pain erupted from the Chuunin as Mikomi prodded the area of the break with a finger, trying to focus her chakra to eliminate the space between the break. The Chuunin decided he'd had enough, “Hey, girl, get the hell away from my leg if you don't know what the fuck you're doing! It's broken not bruised you dumb shit!”

 

When Mikomi ignored him and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally felt the healing field stabilize and align the two halves of the Chuunin's femur, the Chuunin decided to give her a whack on the head, “GET. OFF. ME. NOW!”

 

Her concentration slightly broken, Mikomi tried to desperately keep the healing field intact. After a few tense moments, Mikomi stabilized it and brought one hand up to the Chuunin's face. She gave him a flick to the forehead that slammed his head back into the wall, nearly knocking him out. “When a medic Nin is working, please don't disturb them.”

 

After working for another twenty minutes on the dazed Chuunin's leg, Mikomi felt a small measure of satisfaction - she had completely healed and reconnected her first broken bone ever!

 

Feeling slightly elated, Mikomi headed out of the examining room the Chuunin had been in and went looking for Sakura and Hinata. She had some energy that she wanted to burn with some sparring and she didn't want to spend any time dwelling on her thoughts.

 

It hurt too much to think about her past, or her father. Or Sasuke.

 

 

After a full month of grueling training, a full month without a minute spent asleep, a full month spent relying on the Shinigami's energy drinks to keep his energy up and body moving, Sasuke felt ready to fight again. He didn't feel tired at all. There was no built up fatigue that would have slowed him down or delayed this fight by having to sleep. He felt loose and limber from all of the stretching and exercising he had been doing. Sasuke couldn't exactly put into words how he felt; he just felt strong.

 

The last month of training hadn't been easy on Sasuke. He'd pushed himself as hard as he could for as long as he could the entire time. Every area of his fighting ability was addressed from physical strength to chakra capacity. Technique, application and refinement had been his game plan. He'd reviewed his own lengthy jutsu knowledge and had even gone through and grouped together techniques that started with similar hand seal groupings but ended as totally different jutsus.

 

Sasuke had even thought about why he was fighting to regain his life. Had he been fighting for his pride? Some twisted notion of a second chance to kill off his brother? Was he fighting for the chance to keep the Uchiha bloodline alive and possibly rebuild his clan?

 

For a little while the thought of just giving up and joining the rest of his family in death had tempted him. Sasuke found it depression just how much he still ached to be with his family. Giving up would have been so much easier…but Sasuke also wanted to live. This strange dichotomy within had left him grasping at why he wanted to live so badly.

 

He had no family left alive - and Sasuke would never consider Itachi family. He was a traitor to his home, to Konoha. He had been a puppet manipulated by Orochimaru and had probably made more enemies than he could ever count. But he still wanted to live.

 

Then his thoughts had drifted to the people he had known in Konoha. It was startling that he remembered Naruto with a kind of fondness, something had never expected! As Sasuke began to think about all of the people he had met in Konoha he realized that he actually felt a bit wistful, as if he wanted a chance to see them again. Kakashi, Sakura, and even a few other people…Sasuke actually missed them.

 

Finally, Sasuke thought back to Mikomi. The strange, tough, and withdrawn girl he had been given to train in the Village Hidden in Sound. He could remember everything. The day he met her. Guiding her down the first steps to become a kunoichi. Raiding Konoha. Everything. Slowly but surely Sasuke remembered everything he had ever done, ever felt while he was with Mikomi. Even his thoughts just before he died: `Don't die on me Mikomi-chan. You were someone I could have loved someday, enough to want to restart the Uchiha clan with you.'

 

Even with the cursed seal Sasuke could remember feeling emotions during the final moments of his life.

 

For the first time since he had witnessed the carnage left by his brother during the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke hadn't felt alone. All of these people had left their mark on him, even if he hadn't acknowledged it. They helped shape him, helped him finally become who he was today now that the cursed seal's influence wasn't invading his body.

 

They were his reason to fight. Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and everyone from Konoha who had believed in him, even as he fled the village in a misguided search for power; he fought to see them all once again. He fought for himself, to make sure that he didn't slip from the world simply being known as the vessel of Orochimaru.

 

And he fought for the girl who very presence had begun to weaken the hold the cursed seal had on him. The entire time that Sasuke had been under the cursed seal he had felt his emotions slowly being quashed by a force inside of him. While he hadn't cared at the time Sasuke could understand the significance behind Mikomi's presence. She had been nothing more than a charge under his care, but she had eventually become far more. Sasuke wanted to see her again.

 

He was fighting to come back to the only person who truly had begun to drag his tainted soul away from the cursed seal's corruption.

 

After briefly stretching out his muscles to keep the blood flowing through them Sasuke stepped into the dojo to face one last opponent, one last Shade. Striding across the dojo floor with confidence, Sasuke slid into a loose ready stance across from his doppelganger. Sasuke's doppelganger represented everything that Orochimaru had done to twist him into a terrifying being that lusted after power for only himself. A being that never should have existed.

 

And now Sasuke was going to rectify his own mistakes by destroying his old self and return to life reborn in body, mind and soul.

 

For a moment neither Sasuke moved. They just stood there, sizing up the other one. Neither moved an inch until an unnoticeable signal caused them both to charge.

 

Sasuke and the doppelganger met in a crash, both attacking all out from the start. A quick exchange of fists and feet and both leapt away from each other while hurling a kunai towards the other's head. The kunai clashed together in a shower of sparks as both mirrored the other in the follow-up jutsu.

 

“KATON: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!”

 

The twin balls of fire exploded against each other, blasting away a sizable chunk of the dojo floor and charring the wood just outside the blast radius. Once again the attacks were dropped simultaneously and another charge ensued. Sasuke leapt over a kunai thrown by the doppelganger and spun into an airborne roundhouse aiming for the doppelganger's head. There was a dull thud as Sasuke's foot connected with a clawed wing from the doppelganger's back, catching Sasuke off-guard enough for the doppelganger to lunge up into an uppercut that connected with Sasuke's jaw and sent him flying across the dojo.

 

Sasuke twisted his body in mid-flight and righted himself and saw his doppelganger charging in an eerily familiar way. Pulling another kunai from his pouch Sasuke knew exactly when to throw it to intercept another kunai thrown at him before he blocked a quick one-two kick to his midsection. Sasuke threw aside the second kick and drove his elbow into the Shade's sternum before three quick hand seals blasted a miniature fireball into the Shade's face.

 

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk slightly as he watched his Shade fall back with the Sharingan spinning even as he activated his own. `I should have realized it from the start,' Sasuke thought as he met the Shade for another clash that looked like a choreographed movie as they blocked and dodged attacks they knew like the back of their hands, `that Shade is a doppelganger of me. He fights the same way I used to, sticking to what I believed were the superior methods of fighting. Let's see what happens if I change things up a little bit.'

 

With another burst of speed Sasuke charged headlong into the Shade's oncoming jutsu, “Katon: Dragon Blast Jutsu.” At the last possible second Sasuke leapt up and over the fire dragon, his body parallel to the ground as he whipped out the wire from his hip pouch. With another twist and flick Sasuke had the wire strung between his hands and looped around the Shade's neck. Sasuke used his momentum to slam his feet into the Shade's back and press it into the wire as tight as possible while continuing the roll until the Shade was on its stomach.

 

Sasuke cursed as he saw that the wire had bitten into the Shade's hand more than its neck as both clawed wing swung up and attempted to crush him. Releasing one hand from the wire, Sasuke whipped it out from beneath the Shade and leapt back while making quick seals in an attempt to catch the Shade off guard before its Sharingan could help it react to the jutsu.

 

“MOKUTON: TREE REGENISIS JUTSU!”

 

A tree burst from the floor of the dojo floor and clasped hold of all but one of the Shade's arms before Sasuke stopped the jutsu and started another. A screeching sound filled the dojo hall as Sasuke formed a Raikiri and charged at his entangled shade. Sasuke carved a trench along the dojo floor and smirked as he glared into the stoic eyes of his doppelganger.

 

The second Sasuke committed to the strike and thrust his arm forward the tree exploded around the Shade in the Chidori Nagashi. Sasuke had to blink his eyes closed before he felt his hand blow through the tree he had just created. Tearing his hand free Sasuke glanced up in time to sway back slightly and reduce the power behind the kick the Shade threw at his head.

 

Split apart again, Sasuke and the shade mirrored each other's jutsu again.

 

“KATON: PHONIX FIRE JUTSU!” Every fireball and every kunai found within cancelled each other out while tearing further chunks of the dojo apart.

 

Sasuke didn't pause for a moment while charging his doppelganger, but snapped his hands up to perform a jutsu that he normally didn't use but had witnessed more than enough times with his Sharingan. “Kage Bunshin Jutsu!”

 

The Shade was lacking the time to mirror the jutsu and was forced to go on the defensive as five Sasuke proceeded to lay into him. Sasuke and his clones were able to land a few glancing blows on his doppelganger before its clawed wings snapped around, crashing through the clones. Sasuke jumped forward and dropped low, underneath the wings, slamming kick into the outside of the Shade's right knee. Collapsing downwards, the Shade had to try and block a rising kick as Sasuke launched himself toward his falling opponent. Only partially successful, Sasuke's kick struck the Shade's cross blocking arms up into his chin and knocked him flat on his back.

 

Spinning to his feet, Sasuke whipped a kunai from his hip pouch, focused his chakra through it and into an extended blade of chakra protruding directly from his kunai and slashed down through the shade, cutting it in half from head to crotch.

 

The split Shade exploded in smoke, revealing a busted piece of the dojo floor.

 

Reacting on instinct, Sasuke leapt up and stuck his feat on the ceiling of the dojo as the Shade seemed to melt up and out of the floor after trying to drag Sasuke under. Sasuke leapt from the roof to try and take advantage of the high ground while he could but only succeeded in gouging another hole in the dojo floor.

 

Again, Sasuke and Shade stared each other down, both waiting for the other to make the first move. `Dammit this is harder than I thought it could possibly be!' Sasuke thought as he noticed the Shade panting just as hard as he was, `I could have sworn that I've done some damage to that freaking doppelganger but it doesn't seem to be any worse off than I am!'

 

Sasuke stared harder at the Shade, trying to catch his breath and let it make the first move. His eyes widened imperceptibly as his Sharingan finally picked something up: the Shade was favouring his right leg slightly.

 

`He has been taking damage from my attacks,' Sasuke confirmed as he started smirking again, `So I'll just keep beating him down until that bastard stays down!'

 

When the Shade started sealing, Sasuke charged. He read the Shade's jutsus just as well as the clone could read his own - a Katon: Inferno Ring Jutsu was coming. Once Sasuke could see that the clone was fully committed to the technique he acted. Mid-stride Sasuke melded with the floor and when into the ground even as the ring of flames exploded outward from the Shade, leaving it standing on a pillar in a ten meter wide crater.

 

Seven earth Bunshins burst from the ground and clamped onto the Shade before he could recover, immobilizing him for a precious few seconds. As the Shade was blowing the earth Bunshins away with another Chidori Nagashi, Sasuke erupted from the ground with a Raikiri screaming in each hand. Sasuke cut through the arcs of electricity exploding out of the Shade and was able to slip inside its guard before it petered out. With the final Raikiri Sasuke snapped his body around as if to give the Shade an open palm blow to the heart.

 

The Shade evaded this second death blow by twisting out of the way, but not fast enough. Sasuke's Raikiri cut a shallow furrow through Shade's chest. Sasuke was already beginning to roll out of the way as the Shade landed a one-two shot to his back, first with a left fist then wing.

 

Again and again Sasuke and the Shade clashed all over the dojo. Neither of them ever had a clear advantage: first the Shade would get hurt and then he'd return the favour to Sasuke. Floorboards were chewed up by jutsu, walls were scorched or even burned away, the roof was ready to cave in due to the number of lightning bolts that struck it. They were fighting each other to a stand still.

 

The only difference was, Sasuke had something that was driving him beyond personal gain. Sasuke was fighting for somebody other than himself. He refused to fall, refused to be beaten. Finally, both Sasuke the Shade connected with a haymaker to each others heads at the same time, nearly knocking both of them out.

 

Sasuke was the only one of the pair to rise to his feet. He pulled every last drop of chakra that he had out of his body, pushing himself to limits that he didn't even realize he was achieving, all for the express purpose of destroying the Shade before him. Sasuke snatched two kunai from the ground and hurled them at the collapse Shade's head. Again, the left wing shot around in front of the doppelganger and took the two kunai in its flesh. This time, however, the Shade didn't respond with an attack of its own.

 

For the tenth time since he started fighting the Shade, Sasuke charged up another Raikiri. With a battle cry, Sasuke shot across the dojo and pounced on the Shade. The Shade's wings couldn't stop the Raikiri. Nothing the Shade tried from the ground did. Sasuke's Raikiri slammed home through the center of the Shade's chest, eliciting a gurgling cry before it faded away into nothingness.

 

Panting, Sasuke flopped down on the destroyed floor and relaxed in relief.

 

Then the Shinigami's laughter flooded through the dojo, “Well done young Uchiha, well done. You've done well to pass this challenge and what's more you passed the third test that I had not informed you of. You have fought your way to strength beyond what you had gained through borrowed power. What truly impressed me boy, was the way you finally looked beyond yourself for another reason, another goal to attain a second chance at life. You fought for your friends of the past, you fought for the chance to rebuild the Uchiha clan and you fought for Yominokuni Mikomi. You've passed.”

 

Relief and joy spread through Sasuke like a warm bath, soothing all the aches and pains he had gotten at the Shade's hands. He had made. He was going to return to the people he cared about.

 

And the Shinigami just started laughing again, “You may have passed those tasks Sasuke-kun, but you still have not earned your passage to the land of the living!”

 

Those words felt like a bucket of ice water was dumped on top of Sasuke. There was a sudden `thunk' beside Sasuke's head and he glanced over to see another one of the Shinigami's energy drinks.

 

“There is still one final test you must pass before I will grant you a chance at a second life,” Shinigami said, his voice suddenly growing louder in volume, “Prove to me that you have the spirit of fire burning within Uchiha Sasuke, prove it by lasting a full hour in a one on one battle against the guarding of life and death…” As Shinigami said this his tanto that was the size of Sasuke appeared and the Shinigami's ornamental robes changed into battle armour, “Last for a full hour against death itself!”