10/15/15 - Same chapter just made a change...like the fact that Kakashi's Sharingan is his right eye...woops. I'll be doing slight minor edits that really bother me, no major edits yet and the next chapter is coming soon!

A/N: This story is rated M due to strong violence, language and suggestive themes. ****I'd like to point out that at the moment it's probably a T rating but as they get older the content will get more mature, though I appreciate your suggestion Evanson and hope you continue to enjoy :D***

Summary: The Ripple Effect dictates that one interaction can affect other interactions not directly related to the first. I found myself reborn after my death, and like a stone that is cast into the water, I altered everything. A semi self-insert (SI) OC story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form. I do own any original characters featured in this story, whether major or minor.

I no longer have an editor so sorry for any mistakes you see in the chapter, feel free to kindly point them out.

Trigger warnings: The aftermath of suicide.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance," - Alan Watts.

Arc I: Chapter 12

Mimi, Naruto, Sasuke – 13 years old; Night of the Uchiha Massacre

Since Shisui's death, I've clung to both Naruto and Sasuke. They have supported me the most in the last six months and I've been walking around, pale and almost zombie-like. Even Sasuke's fangirls have left me alone. People know that I have been touched by death somehow but no one realized just how close I was to Shisui until they noticed how his death has affected me.

Everyone thinks Shisui was just some big brother figure to me and the teachers don't care as long as I keep my class ranking where it is. The boys have been vital to my mental health and I spend more time at Naruto's than anywhere else. People have started talking, as I've reached the age where apparently mixed gender sleepovers are no longer appropriate but Inuzuka don't care much for propriety and I've needed this time with them. I can't step foot in the Uchiha clan compound because their treatment of Itachi since Shisui's death makes me sick. Even Sasuke barely spends time there.

When I'm not staying at Naruto's, I'm sleeping in Kiba's room, curled up with him, Akamaru and Shiromaru. I've had nightmares, pieced together from knowledge of an old timeline, of Shisui bleeding from his eye sockets and jumping to his death with a sad smile. Itachi and Kimimaro refuse to give me details, only reassuring me that he loved me and that if there was any other way he would be with me right now. I didn't doubt he loved me. I just wish he loved me enough to stay alive.

Itachi also obtained his Mangekyo Sharingan from the same event. Since then, we have continued my secret training and are learning its secrets together, whenever we have free time that is. He doesn't spend much time around the clan and spends more and more time meeting with the Hokage…or so he says. I know he also meets with Danzo but can't call him out on it. We've trained together but I don't share the same closeness with him as I do with others.

Kimimaro has been my shadow since that night that he presented me with my dad's tanto. He only leaves me alone when he has to go on missions and at night, when I'm curled up around those I hold dearest, though he occasionally has woken me from yet another nightmare and sooths me back to sleep. The ninja around Konoha don't find it so strange that he is so attached to me since I was also there when we found him. They find it natural that he would attach himself to me after Shisui's death and even are glad for it since it meant that he is still tied to the village.

I walked around with Shisui's tanto strapped to my back, even though I don't really know how to use it. I felt like I couldn't keep it anywhere but on me, and for more than it simply belonged to him. Shisui sealed both of his eyes into the hilt for me. That was the one thing Itachi was able to tell me. Apparently, his eye was snatched a few hours into a mission gone wrong (which was probably the meeting with Danzo) but he managed to get it back before escaping. Because of the pressure of the clan and the village, he apparently realized that it was best if he wasn't used to pacify the Uchiha clan into forced submission which is why he sealed away his eyes to pass on to me and then jumped to his death. There is obviously a lot Itachi is leaving out, since he doesn't know how much Shisui has told me but it just makes me so angry that Shisui didn't think that there was another way.

Itachi has been acting strangely the last few days and a part of me recognizes that it must mean that the massacre is around the corner. Without Shisui, though, I have no idea how to prevent it. I can't say anything to Itachi, because it might make me yet another victim and even then I'm not completely sure I'm safe since he knows that I'm an Uchiha…one with a Mangekyo at that. I can't use it properly but one day I will and that does make me dangerous.

Naruto, Sasuke and I were sprawled out on a blanket on the floor in front of the t.v. Shisui got for his apartment on his 10th birthday. Shiromaru rested across my legs, having fallen asleep during the last movie. It was yet another late night full of monster movies after an extremely hard day of training. I didn't react to any of the jump scares as I normally would and the boys themselves gave half-hearted reactions to things. Again, I was bringing down the mood with my wallowing. I hated myself for so many things but mostly for how I've brought my friends down a bit with my mood.

It must have been around 4 in the morning when suddenly, an ANBU with a falcon mask appeared in front of the t.v. where a civilian was getting eaten by the village boogie man, making Naruto and Sasuke jump about a foot in the air and I blinked up at him sleepily. Shiromaru stirred and growled at the intruder.

"Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Mimi, I am to escort you to the Hokage's office immediately. Uzumaki Naruto, you are to stay here by order of the Hokage. The dog is to stay behind, too."

Another ANBU appeared, this one had a panther mask and was presumably to babysit Naruto who was already protesting. ANBU Falcon grabbed Sasuke and I and tucked us into one arm each before flickering away, leaving behind my snarling ninken. We quickly appeared in the Hokage's office where the ANBU placed us and the grave look on his face confirmed the feeling I had when the ANBU first appeared in front of us.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I regret to inform you that at 0130 Uchiha Itachi eliminated every Uchiha in the clan compound and either scavenged or destroyed their eyes. As all Uchiha have been grounded by order of Uchiha Fugaku and none were outside the village, this makes you the last survivor of the Uchiha clan aside from Itachi, who disappeared after the attack."

Sasuke, pale and shaking, slumped to his knees on my right.

"Nii-san…why…?" he breathed as he sobbed. I dropped next to him and gathered him into a hug and he buried his face in my collarbone. We sat there for a while but the Hokage gave Sasuke time to gather himself and we stood up with Sasuke clinging to me.

"What now?" Sasuke asked, looking lost as we stood side by side.

"I want everyone to leave except for ANBU Wolf."

ANBU dropped from the ceiling and appeared from dark corners in a show of intimidation before leaving the Hokage's office with one lone Wolf-masked ANBU leaning against the wall. The Hokage activated the privacy seals in his office before turning to address us.

"Mimi-chan, I ask permission to reveal your parentage to Sasuke," the Hokage asked formally. Of course, he wasn't really asking because if Sasuke hadn't already known he would have wondered so he was forcing me to out myself.

"He already knows, Hokage-sama," I informed him curtly, not liking that he was trying to force my hand.

"Then you are aware that there are two survivors of this massacre," the Hokage addressed Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded and his grip around my waist tightened. The Hokage sighed, looking very old.

"Mimi, the council has already convened about Sasuke. They will not allow any other clan to take him under their wing as they fear that the clan will have too much influence over Sasuke. They wish for him to remain in the Uchiha compound alone, without a guardian."

"They can't do that! They can't force a 13 year old to take on so much responsibility alone!" I protested and Sasuke's arms tightened even more around my waist and I rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

"The other option he has is that a council elder has offered to take him under his wing but that would have Sasuke disappearing from the public eye. Others protested vehemently against this as they feel it prudent for the village to still have some small form of comfort from the presence of at least one Uchiha innocent of this mess."

"Why are you telling us this," Sasuke inquired, finally stepping away and clutching my right hand instead.

"There's another option. Sasuke, with Itachi gone you are the heir to the Uchiha clan but Mimi is older than you. If Mimi were to reveal herself as an Uchiha, it would put you under the protection of the Inuzuka clan and until you come of age, she will be responsible for handling the Uchiha estate and by extension her guardian."

I immediately realized where the Hokage was going with this. Alone, Sasuke would be vulnerable, everyone scrambling to gain favor with the only available Uchiha and there's no knowing what the isolation would do to him. I, on the other hand, am as much Inuzuka as Uchiha and they can't force me to cut all ties with my clan.

"Mimi-chan, there's a few other things I want you to consider. Right now, if anyone were to find out you were an Uchiha but it wasn't commonly known, you would be in grave danger. If you are publicly acknowledged, all eyes will be on you, so the threat of kidnapping would be a lot lower. You will also be able to use all of your abilities when you train and are placed in your genin team."

The ANBU against the wall, that had tensed when the Hokage revealed my affiliation with the Uchiha, finally seemed to gain control of himself and relaxed.

I looked at Sasuke who looked back at me hopefully. I can't just leave him to face everything alone.

"I agree, Hokage-sama."

"Now, Mimi-chan, this isn't something you have to agree to. You will be taking on the entire Uchiha estate until Sasuke becomes of age when he becomes a genin. This is a big decision and maybe we should bring in Tsume to hear her thoughts," the Sandaime seemingly tried to back track a bit. I knew what he was doing but I didn't care. Sasuke will not face this alone.

"It doesn't matter what she thinks. Sasuke is pack and I will stand with him as an Uchiha if it keeps him safe."

Sasuke looked at me gratefully and squeezed my hand which I squeezed back.

"Good. There will be another council meeting in 20 minutes and you will need that determination to stand against them. ANBU Wolf, please escort these two children to my antechamber for the council meeting. I leave them in your protection."

The ANBU stood at attention and bowed at the Hokage before motioning at us to follow him. Sasuke and I bowed at the waist to the Hokage and followed.

"Thank you, Mimi," Sasuke said, still holding hands as we trailed after the familiar ANBU charged with our care.

"You don't need to thank me Sasuke," I replied, boring holes into the back of the ANBU in front of us. He had that familiar buzz filled chakra and I know he was the same ANBU that ratted me out to the Hokage when I spilled what I knew about the Kyuubi and Naruto's parentage all those years ago. The only question that remains is, is he Hatake Kakashi?

Kakashi isn't the only lightening natured shinobi in Konoha, after all, and there is another ANBU named Dog whose chakra buzzes as well. They are different, of course, but having never met the Copy-Nin, I have no way of knowing which one of them is the last Hatake.

"I'll take care of you, like you and Naruto have been taking care of me for the last six months."

I stood nervously next to Sasuke, though I didn't allow it to show in my face or body language. Sasuke was also similarly blank faced but the way he was clutching at the bottom of my shirt as he stood slightly behind me gave his nerves away.

My eyes connected with Danzo who was sitting with the other elders across the room and I felt my chest burn in anger and had to inhale deeply to keep my Sharingan from activating and giving myself away so soon. I broke eye contact and looked around the room.

The Council Chamber, where the members of Konoha council convene, is a vast room with high ceilings built deep into the mountain. Seats are mounted against the wall where the council members sit with an almost throne-like seat for the Hokage sitting higher than the rest. There is a large platform right in front of the Hokage, almost bringing someone standing on it level with the other seats in the room and a deep pit where people would stand during open council meetings to listen the members above them.

The head of each clan, ninja and civilian alike, sat around the room with the seat to the right of the Hokage noticeably missing Uchiha Fugaku. Tsume sat four seats to the left of the Hokage, frowning as she eyed me questioningly.

"It is time now, to reconvene the emergency meeting about the Uchiha clan and its final heir," the Sandaime started as he settled in his seat.

Danzo, of course, was the first to speak.

"Hiruzen, what is an Inuzuka child doing standing with Uchiha Sasuke?"

He kept his eyes on me and I lifted my chin and stared back at him. I noted the lack of proper address to the Hokage.

"She stands before you as Inuzuka Mimi. However, her father, is an Uchiha."

"Lies!" Someone shouted and the council members around the room broke into chatter with the Hyuuga, Tsume, and the wide-eyed elders the only ones not saying anything.

"Quiet!" the Hokage barely raised his voice and immediately the room silenced.

"What is the meaning of this Hiruzen? In a few hours you manage to produce an Inuzuka and claim her to be an Uchiha? When the Inuzuka were the most vocal about obtaining Sasuke?"

"There is no obtaining; he's not an object you old fool!" Tsume snarled and Danzo turned his attention to her and glowered.

"Mimi, can you please show them your Sharingan?"

At that the room became still and all eyes were on me. I activated my eyes and there were gasps as people met the sight of a fully matured Sharingan.

"She must have stolen them!" spoke up Honda Aiko, the clan head of a civilian merchant clan.

"Watch yourself Aiko," Tsume glared at him and the man winced and sat back in his seat.

"This child would be dead if she had stolen two Sharingan. The strain would have killed her and at best she would not be able to stand before you now so strongly," the Sandaime said patronizingly.

"Who is her father? Clearly she was trained," again spoke the irritatingly gravelly voice of the man I pictured bleeding out in front of me.

"That will remain a secret for her protection."

There were protests at the announcement which the Hokage silenced with a look.

"It will do you no good to know now as he is clearly dead. Mimi is the oldest remaining Uchiha in the village and as a result, the estate falls to her hands until Uchiha Sasuke is a genin," he announced.

"This is madness. The Inuzuka clan will have great influence over them! I demand that she be removed from the Inuzuka clan!" shouted another civilian clan head. A few other civilian clan heads were agreeing with him while the ninja clan heads remained silent.

"I agree, Hiruzen, we were in agreement earlier that it would be unwise to have one clan have such significant influence over an Uchiha," stated Danzo, silencing the room.

"Mimi is not only pack but she is my niece, you will not take her away from us!" Tsume growled at Danzo.

"Be calm, Tsume, let us hear from Mimi-chan," the Hokage spoke calmly.

All eyes, again, turned towards me. I took a deep breath and spoke slowly and clearly. I will not repeat myself to them.

"I will voluntarily move into the Uchiha compound to live with Sasuke," I help up my hand to still the chattering that broke out and a few clan heads looked at me indignantly while Tsume looked on blankly.

"However, I will not defect from the Inuzuka Clan. I am as much an Inuzuka as an Uchiha and Tsume-basan is my Alpha," I made it a point to address her as my aunt rather than the honorific used when referring to a clan head.

"I have a companion, Shiromaru. I have trained in the Inuzuka Clan style and was raised next to the clan heirs. I can name each and every Inuzuka clan member and know them by chakra and scent. I will not be ripped from my family because of politics. I will be an Uchiha but Inuzuka is as much a part of me and always will be."

"We should not be letting a child decide-" Danzo started, only for the Sandaime to cut him off.

"Yet we expect the child to maintain an empty estate, become responsible for another child only a month younger than she is and groom him to become clan head and all before they have even graduated the academy? You cannot have it both ways Danzo. Tsume, are you in agreement with Mimi-chan's proposal?"

Tsume smiled at me before answering.

"Inuzuka Mimi will be her own Alpha. She is, and always will be, welcomed on the Inuzuka compound. I will not turn her or any of her pack away."

I looked at my aunt wide-eyed and in disbelief. She basically has let me go, absolved me of any duties to the Inuzuka. It wasn't what I wanted at all.

"But-" I started before Tsume jumped in.

"This isn't a bad thing Mimi. You have always been Alpha material. I will still train you, because no matter what you will always be Inuzuka, but it is time for you to answer to your other responsibilities."

Tsume was speaking as a clan head and not her normal brutish way of addressing things. She is playing the politics game, making the council think she is meeting them halfway when she isn't really losing much at all. After all, they can't force the Inuzuka to ignore a member of the village but they could attempt to enforce a no contact rule if it seemed that we were rebelling too much. She is also making sure that everyone is aware that I am still under Inuzuka protection and by extension, now that Sasuke is officially part of my pack (because he has been pack for a while), that he is protected, too.

"Then, Hokage-sama, I have one request," I addressed the Hokage after processing Tsume's brilliant chess move. I was a little put out at feeling like a sacrificial pawn but we will win the game in the end so I guess it's alright. Ugh, politics.

The Hokage looked at me, amused.

"Go ahead, what is it?"

"I would like to move in Uzumaki Naruto and Kaguya Kimimaro into the compound with us."

At this most members of the council broke out screaming in denial. They threw around words like "demon" and "kyuubi-brat" and I seriously had to wonder at the village's worst kept secret. I wonder why the Hokage hasn't issued the execution order.

"You all are treading very close to treason," the Sandaime stated clearly above the clamour. The ones who wore most vocal looked chagrined and fearful.

"That isn't a good idea at all, Hiruzen. The remaining Uchiha should be isolated from outside influence," Danzo had to of course, add his two cents in. I wish he would choke on them.

Suprisingly, Hyuuga Hiashi, looking extremely regal, elegantly defended my request.

"I see no reason as to why it should not be allowed. It is my understanding that Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Mimi are extremely close and already spend most of their time together. The Inuzuka child was also there when Uchiha Shisui discovered the last Kaguya and since his death, the Kaguya boy has attached himself to her. We cannot stop them from spending time with who they choose. If we do, how else will they keep their ties to the village and not push them to defect and join the traitor, Uchiha Itachi?"

While the Hyuuga are an uppity clan that look down their nose at most others in their "superiority," they do have many ties to the village. They have a finger in almost every pie which is likely why defecting from the village is something that would be unthinkable to them. They also could not be isolated, as the Uchiha were in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack.

"Well said, Hiashi, I thank you for your input. Does anyone have anything to say to contradict him?" The gag order on an S-Class secret prevented most council members from speaking out against Naruto. Danzo's hand clenched against his cane which was lying across his lap and did not say a word, knowing that the Hokage had made up his mind.

The Sandaime turned to look at me and addressed me and Sasuke.

"Then from now on you will be known as Uchiha Mimi. You will move into the Uchiha compound immediately and will act as clan head until such a time that Uchiha Sasuke is at least a genin and feels up to the task of taking on the responsibility. You are also welcome to open your doors to whoever you wish. You are both dismissed, the council has much left to discuss."

Sasuke and I bowed at the waist to the Hokage and with one last look at the proudly smiling Tsume, I turned to follow Sasuke out of the room.

We were sitting around Naruto's apartment again and Shiromaru remained glued to my side, where he had attached himself to me since we returned from the council meeting. The ANBU were no longer present and Naruto activated the privacy seal as soon as we were settled. It must have been around eight in the morning and we were all exhausted. Sasuke and I filled Naruto in on everything that occurred and he looked at us in disbelief.

"Why did Itachi-nii do this?" he asked.

Sasuke looked lost. Unlike in the original timeline, Sasuke was with us when the massacre occurred and so he never returned home to see his dead parents or to be mind-fucked by Itachi's Mangekyo.

"There are some things you guys should know. Stuff that Shisui told me and that I pieced together that could kind of explain things," I started. Both of them turned to me and Sasuke looked at me hopefurlly for an explanation.

"The Uchiha clan was planning a coup. Ever since the kyuubi attack, they have sort of been isolated from the rest of the village. There were rumors that an Uchiha was behind the attack and so there was a lot of mistrust towards them. This, in turn, caused the Uchiha to close themselves off and it has gotten worse in the last few years."

Sasuke nodded along as slight understanding for the behavior of our clan started to make a little bit more sense to him. Naruto nodded for me to continue.

"Tou-san told me that he might have to do something drastic for the village. Itachi and him were loyal to the village more than the clan and tried their best to convince Fugaku and the clan elders that a coup was not the way to go. Tou-san was supposed to be a last resort plan but his," at his my voice slightly broke and I took a shuddering breath," suicide threw that out the window. See, his Mangekyo can-" another sharp breath," could influence others to bend to his will, he could manipulate their minds to see what he wanted them to see or feel what he wanted them to feel. He was going to use it on a few key members of the clan and the hope was that the rest would follow."

"But what does that have to do with what Itachi did!? He eliminated our entire clan!" Sasuke burst out, not really understanding.

"Sasuke, Itachi's loyalty was to the village and we know he is a pacifist. Do you really think he decided on his own to kill off the entire clan?" Naruto said, understanding more and putting the pieces of the information I had given so far together.

"Are you telling me that the Hokage ordered him to massacre our clan!? If so, and if he's such a pacifist, why the hell did he agree to do it? And why didn't he kill me and Mimi, too?"

I was treading on dangerous ground here. I want Sasuke to seek understanding of Itachi's actions as opposed to dedicating himself to hunting him down but at the same time I could risk turning him against the village.

"I don't think the Hokage was the one who ordered the massacre. Shisui was answering to someone else, there's a sect in ANBU, even more secret than ANBU itself and they answer to someone other than the Hokage. Tou-san would not go into too much detail because he didn't want to risk putting me in danger but at the same time he wanted to keep me informed a bit about it so that I could keep myself safe. Knowing without knowing everything.

As for Itachi, if he wasn't the one to do it, and it really was something that was ordered, then someone else would have done it. I would survive either way, if someone else did it, they wouldn't know about my parentage but you would have been killed Sasuke. He can justify not killing me by playing ignorant but you? He loved you more than anything. With him responsible for killing off the clan, he could make sure that you would live and probably negotiated a few things to guarantee your continued survival. That's what I think anyway, nothing else makes sense."

"But what if he is crazy? What if he killed the clan for another reason? There were rumors around the clan that Itachi lied about Shisui's suicide and killed him, what if that's true?" Sasuke couldn't help but question and looked at me apologetically.

"Then he would have killed Mimi, too," Naruto concluded. "If Itachi was simply a traitor, then both you and Mimi would be dead. If he killed Shisui, his best friend, then why would he spare his daughter? Mimi is more dangerous than most Uchiha because she also has the Mangekyo. He also let you sneak out of the compound even though it was on lock down. You know he catches you sneaking out every time you do. Mimi and I thought it was weird that you managed to do it this time but we had waved it off as him being distracted with clan politics and you getting better at sneaking around."

"You still have a lot to learn, pup," Shiromaru grumbled.

"Then we have to become stronger so that we can confront Itachi. Then we can make him tell us the truth," Sasuke declared. This was a better reaction than I had hoped. Sasuke is thinking rationally and clearly instead of being full of rage.

"Then we will become stronger, believe it," Naruto confirmed.

"There's one more thing I haven't told you," I told Naruto.

"We got permission from the council to allow you and Kimimaro to move into the compound with us."

Naruto jumped up happily at the news. If he looked a little teary eyed, the rest of us pointedly ignored it.

Mimi, Sasuke, Naruto – 16 years old.

The years flew by and with it a lot changed. Naruto moved into the main house with me and Sasuke but Kimimaro opted to have his own house nearby. A few days after the massacre, I had asked about the bodies of the clan. The Hokage informed me that the majority of them had their eyes destroyed but Fugaku was missing his. I hope Itachi really was the one to take them.

We got Iruka as a teacher a year ago and had a near miss where Naruto rose up in the rankings. He fixed that by doing even worse in tests and using Iruka as the main target for his pranks. Iruka remained suspicious though and constantly berated Naruto for not trying hard enough in his class. The two ended up in some kind of brotherly friendship with frequent trips to Ichiraku paid for by Iruka. Naruto somehow managed to trick him into pay the bill every time and you think Iruka would have learned by now. Sasuke and I respect the hell out of him but we're not nearly as to him as Naruto.

The responsibility of the military police fell on my lap after the massacre. While upper management and the head of police were all Uchiha, there were a lot of non-clan members on the force. Sasuke and I spent days combing through service records to figure out who to promote and who to trust. The new head of military police ended up being Akimichi Chokichi. He gives me monthly reports and enacts any changes I feel necessary but pretty much runs the force himself. It took a year for the force to come even close to what it used to be but we managed.

With the years came a few more changes to our bodies. Sasuke and Naruto are actually around the same height at 5'11 and I'm pretty sure I'm capped out at 5'8. Naruto is a tad bit bulkier than Sasuke. Sasuke has a thin frame with sinewy muscles while Naruto is a bit more filled out, though not nearly to the extent of one Maito Gai. Sasuke does wear his hair to his shoulders, our endless teasing of the duck-butt look having gotten to him, while Naruto wears his short, like in the manga. Both boys were defined and I have a hard time looking at Naruto without a shirt, which I'm sure he's noticed as he goes around shirtless whenever he can. Their voices also finally stopped their hilarious cracking, Sasuke's ending up a soothing tenor while Naruto's took on a rich baritone.

My body is full figured. I'm pretty sure my breast size is done at DD (thank kami) because Tsume let me know that Pou's chest reached their peak at my age and they were nearly double what I have now. I have to wear a tight mesh-vest that keeps my breasts from bouncing all over the place but still shows enough décolletage to be distracting, as they are yet another tool for a kunoichi. My legs are thick and sturdy and thankfully my arms are slim rather than bulky. I still wear my hair in a braid but Naruto gave me a red sealed ribbon that replaced my old red one and gives a nasty surprise to anyone who attempts to reach for my hair. We all still wore the same outfits that Shisui picks out for us all those years ago and will likely continue to do so until we reach chuunin. We did, of course, have to replace things with larger sizes but we just wanted to keep the same look in his memory.

Thankfully, I am clearly slated as a front line fighter because my looks could probably land me in the seduction division of the kunoichi corps later on. My thighs are too thick and muscled for it and my status as the last female Uchiha also protects me from the division as they likely want to use me to breed more Uchiha at some point, as it has been hinted at by the council a few times since I turned sixteen. They even tried to pair me off with Sasuke since our relations are far enough apart, especially since marrying cousins is a common clan thing. Yeah, we both balked at the idea and they can kiss my ass.

Naruto, while extremely intelligent, still maintained his bright and engaging personality from before. His smile could light up a room and it was rare to see him in a bad mood. Sasuke, on the other hand, maintained an air of calm indifference. He wasn't a broody little shit but he wasn't nearly as excitable as Naruto.

Shiromaru reached his full height with his head is nearly chest level to me. Our partnership is as easy as breathing and we are hardly ever apart anymore. I can't ride him like Kiba can ride Akamaru but he is still extremely vicious and intimidating, most people give us a wide berth. He also insists on being called Shiro now since there is another Shiromaru running around the Inuzuka compound.

There was a brief period where, like cannon, Naruto grew a crush on Sakura. It bothered the hell out of me that he was being so shallow, since she was one of the bitchiest of Sasuke's fangirls (and no I wasn't jealous…I'm telling you, it wasn't jealousy!). To be fair, she is very pretty. Her side bangs hide her large forehead and she wears her pink hair loose and long. She does wear the same red outfit from the anime but she is very slender. Sakura made the mistake of trying her hand at bullying, however.

She joined up with Ami's gang of fangirls and Naruto caught them as they strolled out of the bathroom all smug-like after throwing my bag in the toilet (grabbing my bag from under the stall while I had my pants down was low and the only way they could catch me off-guard). When I walked out with a dripping bag and an infuriated look on my face, he put the pieces together and Sakura and the other girls became the object of his pranks as opposed to the object of his lust.

Surprisingly, I struck up a friendship with Ino after that. While she is still hung up on Sasuke, she hates bullying more than anything and we finally came to an understanding that I do not see Sasuke like that in any way, shape or form (and her dad probably told her of my vehement denials in council meetings to marrying Sasuke). She is stunningly modelesque and definitely the best at things in our kunoichi class. I am average in that class which has brought my ranking right below Sasuke, making him solidly Rookie of the Year.

My relationship with Kiba has sadly drifted. I still love him but after stepping up as an Uchiha he hadn't heard the full story and said very nasty things to me, hurt. When Tsume gave him a talking to, he felt terrible afterwards and apologized when he had the full story but the damage was done and now he hangs out exclusively with Shikamaru and Choji, as Naruto hasn't been able to forgive him for the things he said and they bump heads whenever they are near each other.

While I don't interact much with them, I've noticed that Hinata and Shino have taken to hanging out together. I have grouped together with them on projects before (whenever Iruka separates Naruto, Sasuke and me because we spend too much time together apparently) and they have a quiet sort of friendship. Hinata is very sweet and I personally think she is prettier than Sakura. Her bangs aren't long enough to cover her eyes but her large pupil-less eyes give her a sort of lost little girl look. Shino cracks me up even though I don't think that's what he's going for most of the time.

Kimimaro has become a jounin and is definitely ANBU. We don't see him as much as we used to, as he is almost always on missions, but he makes it a point to spend time with me whenever he is in the village. He is still very loyal to the ghost of Shisui. We spend hours just talking about him and it slightly eases the ache that his death has left behind.

I lay back on the grass, panting and sweating after training with Sasuke and Naruto in one of the Uchiha training grounds. Both boys lay on either side of me, fully clothed thank kami, catching their breaths as well.

"Sasuke, you're still leaving your left side open when you come in from the right. You really need to fix that," I commented once my heart settled down a bit. I sat up and then leaned back against Shiromaru, folding my hands on my stomach and ignoring the sweaty dog smell. None of us smell very pleasant at the moment, after all. The boys sat up leaning back on their hands.

"You have to smooth out that right drop kick. Your left foot is still to anchored to the ground," Naruto informed me.

"Your touch-based seals are faster but not fast enough. It took you too long to place that explosive seal which is how I managed to get the kick to your stomach," Sasuke said to Naruto.

We do this after every training session. Point out weaknesses in order to polish things up. It also keeps us humble and from getting over confident.

The boys looked at each other before turning to blink at me. Great, they are going to gang up on me about something, I recognize the signs.

"Mimi," started Naruto.

"We want to take the next graduation exam. We feel like there is nothing left for us to learn in school," Sasuke finished.

I stilled.

"We know you want to graduate with our class but we just can't do it anymore! School has become absolutely nowhere and we can't further ourselves until we get a proper jounin-sensei," Naruto jumped in.

Graduate early? If we do that, we are sure to pass and won't become genin with the rest of the "Rookie 9". Would Kakashi even become our jounin-sensei?

"The pups make sense, Mimi-chan. You are wasting your time at the academy," Shiromaru's voice grumbled from my back.

They make a good point. Staying another year at the academy would just be to keep the original graduating class together. Kakashi would have to be our jounin-sensei because he is the only person with the Sharing that can teach Sasuke and me. It's for that same reason that they wouldn't separate us, even if we didn't have the right Rookie/Kunoichi/Deadlast match up.

"Ok," I gave in and the boys cheered. My goal is to change things, so what's one more thing?

The three of us sat together in class 204, our Konoha headband displayed proudly. Naruto wore his the traditional way on his forehead. Sasuke had his wrapped around his left arm and I wore mine in a headband like Sakura wore it in the original timeline. This way they don't disturb my bangs. I also swapped out the standard blue fabric for white.

We each got the recommendation for taking the exam early from Iruka. The scores on the test don't affect our rankings all that much as they are just averaged in to what we already had and so Naruto shocked the instructors when he pulled off each jutsu perfectly and scored mid-range in the written portion of the exam.

7 people from our class graduated early so we will be placed in teams based off of our class rankings. If three people or less from a certain class graduate early, their rankings are absorbed into the current class rankings and team placement becomes based off of that. Most likely, one of us will be placed with two older genin.

I casually observed the others in the room. Of the 7 of us from next year's class, Ami was among them, surprisingly. I spotted a long haired boy with pupil-less eyes in the right corner and concluded that he could only be Hyuuga Neiji. A girl with her hair in two buns that could only be Tenten sat somewhere behind me to the left. A boy with long braided hair sat in the same row as us. His eyebrows are ridiculously thick and I pegged him as Rock Lee.

A familiar man walked through the door and got the class to settle down.

"Welcome, and congratulations on becoming Ninja of Konohagakure. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Mizuki-sensei and I teach the last year of the academy along with Iruka-sensei. I hope you all have completed your ninja registration requirements as you will not be allowed on any missions until you do so. I will be placing you in teams of three. Please do not move until I finish calling everyone's names. Your sensei are waiting for you in the hallway and will come to collect you after everyone is placed," Mizuki said cheerfully.

I instantly recognized his name and placed his face. This guy is the asshole that tricked Naruto in the original timeline into stealing the Forbidden Scroll. That definitely won't happen now and I briefly worry over what kind of effect it will have on this Naruto to lose his signature jutsu.

Can't lose what you've never had, I thought briefly. Besides, Naruto is way ahead of where he was in the manga. An elbow jabbed to my left side brought me out of my thoughts and I smiled sheepishly at Sasuke.

"Team Two will be Nakahara Ami, Sato Eiji and Takenaka Daisuke," Mizuki called out.

Mizuki continued to call out names and eventually he got to us.

"Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Mimi and Uzumaki Naruto," he read out and something flickered across his face before it turned back to the pleasant look of before.

"YES!" Naruto called out and Sasuke and I gave him high fives. Shiromaru barked from where he sat between me and Naruto. We all settled at the dark glare that Mizuki shot at us.

"Now that the interruption is over, I will continue."

He placed the last boy from my class, Watanabe Hitoshi, with a Shiburame kunoichi named Kaiya and Inuzka Kobe. I smiled at Kobe in congratulations, which he returned before turning back to scrutinize his new teammates. He was sitting in front of me and his ninken, Uenomaru, was conversing with Shiro.

"Team Ten will have Hyuuga Neiji, Rock Lee and Tenten." With that, I tuned the rest out since there was no one else I know is in the classroom.

"Thank you. Please remain here until your sensei comes to collect you. You may group up with your new teammates if you wish."

With the scraping of chairs being pushed back and shuffling of feet, the new genin around us moved to meet up with their teammates. The boys and I stayed where we were and smiled at each other excitedly.

The class was loud with chatter when everyone turned to look at the door that was thrown back and slammed against the wall.

"HELLO NEW GENIN! I AM THE HANDSOME AND YOUTHFUL BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA, MAITO GAI!" the green jumpsuit wearing jounin-sensei posed in the front of the classroom, arm out with a thumb up and the other arm bent at the waist, feet spread apart, huge teeth sparkling smile on his face. The new genin looked on in horror at the sunset appearing behind the taijutsu master, a few muttered "kai!" going around the room. Others slumped in their seats, hoping beyond hope that the man wasn't here for them. I tried not to laugh at the stunned look on Naruto's face or the pulsing vein on Sasuke's forehead.

"Come, Team Ten! Let us go and join together to feed the FLAMES OF YOUTH! YOSH!" Gai declared with a fist pump. Chairs reluctantly scraped back and the three members of Team Ten reluctantly made their way to the front. Tenten wore one of the many looks of horror on her face while Neiji couldn't hide the faint look of disgust from his. Lee looked a little wary but that's ok, he hasn't been corrupted by the Flames of Youth and I mentally say goodbye to the normal looking Rock Lee.

"Are all jounin-sensei going to be like that?" Sasuke asked after Gai marched his team out of the room. I shrugged and Naruto slumped in his seat.

The teams trickled out, one by one until we were the last ones left. The three of us pulled out the bento I had made for us this morning and ate as we waited.

"Our sensei is so late! The last team was picked up hours ago!" Naruto complained after he finished off the last bite and patted his muscled stomach happily.

"Mimi, have any idea who it could be?" Sasuke inquired after he polished off his own meal. I took a final bite and thought my words over carefully. I had felt a familiar buzzing chakra appear outside the classroom about half an hour ago. Looks like Kakashi was indeed ANBU Wolf.

"Well, there is one jounin who is notorious for being late. The Copy-Nin with the Sharingan, Hatake Kakashi."

Sasuke and Naruto nodded at the familiar name. I had gotten my hands on one of Kimimaro's bingo books and had shown them the entry on the only other known Sharingan user in the village.

"Makes sense. We need someone who can use the Sharingan to train Sharingan users," Sasuke commented.

"Well he's going to get what's coming to him since he's so late," Naruto declared and unfolded his tall frame from the chair. He walked to the slightly cracked open door and unscrewed the cap of the water bottle that he held in his hands. He placed the bottle on the edge of the top of the door after using a kunai to make the opening wider.

"An elite jounin isn't going to fall for that, dobe," Sasuke chastised.

"We'll have to see, won't we," he said with a grin and dropped back into his seat next to me, stirring Shiro who had fallen asleep an hour ago. Just as his stomach growled, the door to the room opened slowly and the bottle on top of the door overturned, soaking the grey-haired head that poked through and then bouncing off and clattering to the floor, spilling water everywhere. I couldn't help it. We burst out laughing, Shiro included and Naruto slammed his fist repeatedly on the desk, tears streaming down his face.

The new appearance took a deep breath and we settled.

"My first impression of you is that I hate you," the masked figure deadpanned.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

With one last grin at each other, we flickered after the figure who looked a little surprised when we appeared in front of him so quickly.

Kakashi was huge in real life, topping 6'3". While Gai was extremely bulky, built like a WWE wrestler, Kakashi was somewhere in the middle, like Naruto. His body seemed relaxed but you could tell that he was ready to spring into action at any moment. His headband does cover his left eye and he wears that triangular mask on his the lower half of his face.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi and I am your jounin-sensei. Introduce yourselves, likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.," he ordered simply and casually.

We looked at each other.

"We already know each other very well, we're roommates. Is there anything you in particular want to know? Can you give us an example?" Sasuke spoke slowly.

Kakashi sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the railing.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like a few things and dislike a lot of things. My hobbies include…well I don't feel like telling you."

The three of us deadpanned as we took in his response. Naruto was the first to speak.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," I almost jumped in with a "hi Naruto," like if we were at an AA meeting and barely restrained myself.

"I like my best friends, Sasuke and Mimi…Shiro, of course, pranks, Mimi's cooking and ramen. I dislike how it takes ramen 3 minutes to cook and ignorant people. My hobbies include training and fuinjutsu and my dream…I will become Hokage one day," Naruto finished firmly. Sasuke went next.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I, too, like my best friends. I dislike fangirls and the village council," at this, Kakashi snorted but quickly covered it up.

"My hobbies include training and learning new jutsu. My dream…is to find my brother and get some answers."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and then waved at me to go.

"I'm Uchiha Mimi, formerly Inuzuka Mimi and no, I didn't marry Sasuke, I'm half Uchiha. I like my pack and the Inuzuka pack. I dislike mean people and the ugly fish lady in the main market," she still treats Naruto like crap and we refuse to buy anything from her so we haven't had home cooked fish in years.

"My hobbies include training, reading the Icha Icha series, and cooking. My dream is to help Sasuke and Naruto realize their dreams."

The boys looked uncomfortable at my mention of the perverted series and Kakashi looked at me surprised and suspiciously, a brief shudder running through him. My mind flashed to an irate Shisui chasing after Kakashi for seemingly no reason and I suppressed a sad smile.

"I'm Shiromaru, but please, call me Shiro," piped up my ninken and the Hatake looked at him in surprise.

"I like Mimi-chan and the pups, too, I guess." The boys glared at my companion playfully.

"I dislike people who try to make Mimi do something she doesn't want to and manipulators and liars. My hobbies including running with the other ninken in the Inuzuka compound and training with Mimi. My dream is to protect Mimi."

I gave Shiro a fond scratch behind the ears and his tongue lolled out happily.

The former ANBU straightened and clapped his hands together.

"Well, that's interesting. You should go home and get some rest, your final genin exam is tomorrow."

"Final genin exam!? But we're already genin!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi chuckled.

"Well, yes you passed the exam that lets us weed out those who can't even come close to becoming ninja. Once you are placed in a team, your jounin-sensei is to give you one final test. Those who fail end up in the genin corps unless they are early graduates like you and go back to the academy for another try. Those who pass go on to do missions. My test has a 66% failure possibility. Now meet me in training ground 7 tomorrow morning at 0700. I wouldn't eat breakfast, you might lose it."

With that, our new sensei flickered off and the two boys looked at me in disbelief. I shrugged.

"We're eating breakfast, you can't fight on an empty stomach so we'll just have to get up earlier. I'll bring snacks, too, because chances are, he'll be late tomorrow as well," I told them frankly and they agreed.

"Let's go home," Naruto spoke up and we flickered off home.

A/N: Somewhere around 8,500 words! Phew what a doozy. It's only been a couple of days since the shocking conclusion of Chapter 11. I've posted this chapter so soon, partly because I'm on a roll and partly because I hope it's a small comfort.

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Special thanks to: MEleeSmasher, ImmermorialMemory, JBebe, Navi Zoldyck, Shayde F. Revelle, xbox432, shugokage, duchessliz, lovinurbuks, Demona Evernight, Mimosa Evans, DarkDust27, ShadowJinxed22, EverRose808, FleurSuoh and Evanson!