Modified: Dec. 30, 2009

Hey guys. I know you guys all really liked this story, but I think it's a piece of shit. So I'm going to be re-writing it. I know I've constantly broken promises about re-writing and shit, but this time it's for real. I have no right to tell you to be patient, because I know you guys have been extremely patient (and perhaps overly so), and most likely a good number of you have forgotten about this story. I'll be seeing you later. All the chapters I am re-writing (save chapter one) will be deleted and replaced. Have a nice day and happy reading.

Summary: When calamity befalls Konoha, Tsunade sends Team Seven out to find Uchiha Higurashi Kagome, Itachi's missing twin sister, and Konoha's only salvation. The problem is locating her first.

Note: For the sake of this story, Sasuke did not leave to Orochimaru and Inuyasha never fell in love with Kikyo. I know that "Sesshomaru" is supposed to be spelled "Sesshoumaru" but it's easier to skip the doubling.

Warning: Language

Wanton Faith

Ch. 1

The Beginning

The golden sun blazed high against the sharp blue of the sky, glaring down upon what appeared to be a battlefield. Illuminating rays cast dark shadows on the slain bodies littering the streets of the village of Konoha, sticky red blood pooling around them, splattered on broken walls, smeared across abandoned weapons, flying through the air and landing on human faces.

Destruction ravaged through the streets as Konoha shinobi clashed viciously with Oto shinobi. Harsh, screeching noises resonated through the structures, shattering houses and shops as well as eardrums. Shinobi were torn to pieces by fast moving drills consisting of man and dog, or devoured by chakra-eating insects wielded by the mysterious Aburame clan. Jutsu after jutsu were unleashed, smashing into frail bodies and tossing them effortlessly into piles of rubble. Yet, one building remained untouched amidst it all, standing proudly in the back of the village near the mountain of faces.

Within the building, inside a circular office, was a small group of people. A worn-looking woman with dull blonde hair pulled back into low twin pig-tails, sat at an ornate brown desk, her hands clasped together for her chin to rest on. Facing her was a trio of children with an adult man standing near them.

The blonde woman, aptly named Senju Tsunade as the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, addressed each of the people with complete seriousness, "Naruto –" the short, blonde, orange-clad figure grinned his trademark smile "– Sakura –" the pink-haired kunoichi gave Tsunade her full attention, but snuck glances at the dark-haired boy next to her "– Sasuke –" the dark-haired shinobi inclined his head to show he was listening "– and Kakashi –" the silver-haired man gazed at her out of his visible right eye "– you have a new mission. This is very important, and it will help us in the long run if you succeed." She thumbed through the folder on her desk, opening it up to show the picture of a very exotic looking six-year old.

"Hey, Sasuke, that girl looks like you," Naruto commented loudly, squinting curiously at the picture.

Sasuke's brow furrowed in surprise. "An Uchiha?" he murmured. "She does have all the necessary qualities, but her eyes are too blue to be an Uchiha . . ."

Tsunade held up the picture. "Precisely. She is an Uchiha that wasn't present during that incident. All information on her is hidden to everyone but the Hokage. She was a taboo subject to speak about years ago," she explained.

"But why?" Sakura interjected.

Tsunade stared fiercely at them. "What I am about to say must be kept a carefully guarded secret," she said. "Do you understand?"

"Hai!"

"This photo was taken twelve years ago by Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother. The child in the photo is her daughter, Uchiha Higurashi Kagome; also known as Uchiha Itachi's twin sister and Sasuke's older sibling."

The resulting reactions differed quite a bit. Naruto's eyes bugged out in shock and his jaw seemed to fall to the ground. Sakura screamed, "Sasuke has a SISTER!" Sasuke himself jerked in surprise and stared at the photo, old memories resurfacing to the forefront of his mind as he slowly began to recognize the girl in the photo. Kakashi's one visible eye just swiveled to the photo, understanding showing through.

Tsunade waited patiently until everyone sufficiently recovered from the shock to continue, "Information regarding Uchiha Kagome was hidden because the Uchiha clan felt the need to cover up a bad memory. Kagome was an Uchiha prodigy through and through, but she vanished the day Sasuke was born. Another unusual fact about her was that when a doctor examined her, he mentioned that she would be unable to use the Sharingan due to an extremely rare hand-down of purification powers."

"What does this have to do with our mission, though?" Sakura asked.

"Because Kagome inherited purification powers, she will be able to thoroughly dispose of Orochimaru. I don't just mean kill him either. The powers she received can purify the darkest souls, if used properly. Her ancestor, Uchiha Midoriko, married into the Uchiha clan via marriage contract and her powers were passed down to Uchiha Kikyo, Sasuke's great-great-great-great grandmother, and then down to Kagome.

"Now, your new mission is to find Kagome and bring her back. It will be very difficult and Uchiha Itachi may intercept you along the way to kill you. Be on your guard," Tsunade warned.

"You bet! I'll show those Akatsuki freaks who they're dealing with!" Naruto said.

Team Seven exited the office. Tsunade swiveled around in her chair, staring grimly outside at the bloody battlefield with only one thought on her mind:

Hurry.

Perched high above a peaceful green valley, one foot on the metal railing while the other balanced on the stone floor, was an eighteen-year-old female. Long, thin tresses of ebony were bundled together in a high ponytail on her head, tied back by a simple white band. Narrow, exotic, ocean-blue eyes gazed down to the valley, a thin smile tugging on lush pink lips. Her arms were parallel as they lay across her raised knee, a sword clasped underneath her arm so that the hilt rested on her left elbow.

This was Uchiha Higurashi Kagome, prodigy extraordinaire and student of the prestigious Sesshomaru.

Soft approaching footsteps alerted her to the presence of her teacher. A tall young man with long silver hair and striking golden eyes came out onto the balcony. "You have finished your training under me. Now what will you do?" he asked.

Kagome pondered. She only had one real goal in mind at the moment, "I wish to seek out my brother and bring him back here to live peacefully."

"Very well. You should be able to defend yourself against him now that you've finished training," Sesshomaru said, growling as he mentioned "him". Kagome's eyes darkened.

"I know. Thank you for saving me that time," she said. "I am in your debt."

Their conversation was cut short as a white-haired youth ran into through the room to the balcony, shouting, "Kagome, Sango and Miroku are in trouble!"

Sesshomaru raised a slim eyebrow. "You couldn't have taken care of them yourself, Inuyasha?"

The youth flushed angrily and retorted, "Fuck you, bastard! Of course I couldn't do anything if they were being held at kunai point!"

Kagome sighed irritably," Fine. I'll just take care of those stupid intruders. They have no right to cross into our territory anyhow." With a graceful leap, Kagome pushed off the railing and fell feet first towards the valley below. To this day Inuyasha wonders how she does it without getting hurt, seeing as the balcony was rather high up.

At the border of a thick grove of trees were four figures. A man in a black robe and a purple vest was pinned against a tree with his hands tied behind him. A beefy ninja with a rugged face held the edge of a sharp black kunai against his throat, smoldering onyx eyes glaring fiercely at the bound man. However, the man was not intimidated, whatsoever.

The rogue ninja's partner was hungrily scanning the lovely, curvy figure of a woman in a skin tight black shirt and pants. She wore a knee-length red coat that had multiple hidden compartments fitted snugly on the inside, used for holding various weapons on a person. The rogue ninja licked his cracked, dry lips, leering at the woman with lust. She turned her face away in utter disgust.

The first ninja growled at the bound man again, "I'll say it one more time and if you don't answer, I'll turn you into mincemeat, you got that?"

The bound man was nervous, but nonetheless, replied snidely, "I didn't know rogue ninjas such as yourself were capable of understanding the fine art of cutting people into mincemeat. You should order a book and learn."

The ninja snarled and the kunai pressed against the soft flesh, a thin trickle of blood escaping the small cut and flowing down the tanned, graceful neck. "You think you're so smart, raven head? I'll show you smart –"

"Otera no Hi!"

A writhing mass of flame burst into existence, rushing with astonishing speed towards the startled rogue ninjas. "What the hell –" the first ninja cursed as he turned to face the oncoming flames.

"Ya no Mizu!"

A single beam shot through the flames and crashed through the trees holding the two captives bound, freeing them just in time for them to dodge. The rogue ninjas were engulfed in the blazing inferno, shrieks of agony quickly dying away.

"Suiton: Nami no Jutsu."

A roar of water extinguished the advancing flames before they could burn down the forest that served as a barrier wall for the valley. The two former captives smiled at their rescuers. "Thanks, Kagome-chan," the woman smiled at her best friend gratefully.

"No problem, Sango. Those losers deserved it anyway," Kagome said, flicking her ponytail off her shoulder. "Did they catch you two by surprise?"

"Unfortunately," the man cut in. "We were reinforcing the barrier seals, but apparently they were coming down the road when we took the old seals off."

"Everything turned out okay though," Sango said. "Miroku and I will get back to the sealing now."

"Ah, well, I have to say something about that," Kagome said, twirling a lock of fine black hair around one of her fingers. "I'm going out."

The two started. "What? Where?" Sango asked.

"I'm going to find my brother," Kagome replied. "Of course, he is outside the valley, so . . ."

Sango sighed, patting Kagome on the shoulder. "Stay safe, okay, Kagome-chan?" she whispered.

"You bet. No amateur can take me down," Kagome said, grinning.

Once reaching the seal area, the entrance to the valley, Kagome departed on a journey to find her brother, waving absently to her two friends as she left.

I'll be with you soon, Itachi. Just you wait. I'm coming for you.

Well, this is it. It was just an at-the-moment idea that I started falling into. This is the re-written version and more will come soon. I do have a real life out there though, so keep in mind that I will not always have time to update. I am still slowly working on The Shikon's Mistake, Vampire Queen, Alchemy-nology and the sequel to The Memories We Share, but progress is painfully slow, suffice to say.

There is also the possibility that I might combine two short chapters into one.

Translations

hai - yes

Otera no Hi - Temple of Fire

Suiton: Nami no Jutsu - Water Style: Wave Technique

Ya no Mizu - Arrow of Water

See you later,

MangaFreak15