Author's Note: I have nothing to say, once more...

Chapter 10 (sorry last chap was chap 9, typo...)

"Am I… Dead?" stammered Akahi.

"Well, you would have been, but I used your Izanagi," Kurokaze explained, smiling. "Right now, you are in the realm within your Sharingan."

"When did you give me this Sharingan?" Akahi asked curiously, sitting down.

"20 years ago," replied Kurokaze, "On your birthday. It was a birthday present. Of course, you argued that it was my birthday, too."

"So the day I… Time-traveled?"

"Yes. I died that day."

"I'm sorry," said Akahi, shaking her head. "Granny Mito sealed my memories from that day and the time before, so I really have no idea who you are, why you gave me your Sharingan, or anything else."

"Well then, I'll show you. Release!" And like a movie screen, a memory unfolded right in front of her eyes.

Akahi and Kurokaze sat on the floor in a prison cell. It was no ordinary prison; it was Kumogakure's own famous Blood Prison. Their chakra was being sucked dry by the moment. In anguish, Akahi punched the wall like she had seen her cousin Tsunade do, and it shattered into pieces. She dragged Kurokaze, who was unconscious, out of the cell. Kurokaze regained consciousness, and the two girls ran for the exit. They were stopped by a voice, shrill and menacing. A Kumo ninja stood in front of them, blocking the way.

"The Uchiha brat can go. I only need the Hyuga," she said, advancing.

"I'm not going to ditch my sister," replied Kurokaze. "Mangekyo Sharingan!"

"She's not even your real sister," retorted the ninja. "You were adopted."

"WE DON'T CARE!" screamed the two sisters, simultaneously striking the ninja and sending her crashing into the wall. They fell silent and stared each other down. Then, they giggled a bit, and then just burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" gurgled a voice. The ninja threw a kunai at Akahi, but the clan crest that it imbedded itself in was not the Hyuga's.

It was the Uchiha's.

The ninja cackled evilly, and let out her last breath. She was dead.

Kurokaze sank to the floor.

Akahi…" she whispered. "Take both my Sharingan. Implant them into your left eye. This is my present to you…" Since Akahi obviously refused, Kurokaze used a milder version of the Sharingan to gently convince her to do so. After she performed the transfer, Akahi went back to normal.

"Happy birthday to you too, sis…" sniffled Akahi. "I forgot to get you something."

"Want to hear a secret? I'm actually a year older than you…" The light faded from her eyes.

The memory disappeared.

"You're my sister…" murmured Akahi happily, standing up. Kurokaze stood up as well. The two hugged for a while. Then they heard footsteps.

"Oh yes," explained Kurokaze," There's someone else here, too…" She stepped off to the side. In front of Akahi now stood a boy who looked about 12. He had spiky brown hair.

"Nawaki!" exclaimed Akahi. He was Tsunade's younger brother. A year before Kurokaze had died, he had died as well. "Wait, this world is within my Sharingan, right? So why-"

"Nawaki died protecting me in the war. The grief of this caused me to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan. So I sent him to this dimension." Nawaki looked off to somewhere.

"I think they need you back there, so we're sending you back," he said. Akahi started fading.

"One more thing!" she added hurriedly. "Who were our parents, Kurokaze?"

"When the time comes… You'll know. Oh yeah, the next time you see us… Well, I hope next time I see you, you're Hokage."

Akahi was wandering through a place, thinking to herself. She looked around at the war-ravaged city. As she moved along, she found a small cave where the newly dubbed "Legendary Sannin" were handing out bread to a group of orphans. One was a boy with brown eyes and spiky orange hair. He appeared to be the leader of the orphan group. There was also a girl with amber eyes and lavender hair. With them was Nagato, Kushina's younger brother. Apparently, they were all orphaned due to the war. Akahi sadly recalled that this was the reason Kushina had been orphaned. She went and sat down next to Tsunade. Exhausted, they leaned against each other.

"So," started Tsunade," What happened while I was gone?"

"Well…" answered Akahi uneasily. "Kushina found her family here in Amegakure. You see that boy over there... Nagato? He's her little brother."

"Ah… Now I see the family resemblance!" quoted Tsunade. Akahi chuckled, remembering Kushina's words.

"We stayed with them for a while, but when it was time to leave…" she looked away, shaking her head.

"Don't tell me…" Tsunade murmured.

"Yeah. Konoha shinobi killed her parents."

"And that's when she… went crazy?" she asked delicately.

"Yes. But dying was a great experience for me… because I was saved by the forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha Clan."

"Izanagi?! Does that mean your Mangekyo Sharingan is blind now?"

"No. I didn't use it. Kurokaze did."

"Your sister…" she frowned. "The one that hung out with Nawaki?"

"I saw him, too. They're both sealed into my Sharingan."

"Wow…"

Later on, the lavender haired girl came up to talk to Akahi.

"Hey," she greeted. "You're from Konohagakure, aren't you?"

"Yeah," replied Akahi, smiling. "I'm on a mission. Our sensei and her teammates had to get rid of Hanzo… They didn't, but at least they're alive."

"Oh wait… How rude of me. My name is Konan."

"I'm Akahi. Nice to meet you! I think we'll be in Amegakure for a little while more, and then it's on to Kirigakure."

"Wow, you're busy, huh?" Konan paused. "Won't you miss your family back in Konoha?"

"I'm an orphan as well. My only family is my cousin, Tsunade, the blonde-haired woman you saw earlier. And I guess the village is kind of like family to me. But they hate me…"

"AKAHI! COME ON!"

"KONAN! LET'S GO!"

Exchanging amused glances, they ran to join the rest of the group. They stopped and turned to face each other.

"I guess this is goodbye… Konan, hold out your hand." Looking confused, Konan did as Akahi said. Akahi created a small ball of chakra and pressed it into her palm. It disappeared. "That's so we can send our thoughts or feelings to each other… I do this with all my friends. Try it now. It works both ways."

Konan put her other hand to her palm and closed her eyes. Akahi heard a voice in her head.

Jiraiya-sensei is a perv, complained Konan. He's going to be hard to get used to… Akahi laughed aloud, receiving blank stares from everyone but Konan, who was also giggling. Akahi used her chakra to write a name under Konan's on her hand. She drew a line connecting the two.

I'll introduce you to another student of his who has a similar opinion of him.

Kurenai, back at the village, was waiting for her teammates. She stared at her hand. Akahi's and Konan's names had appeared on it.

"Oh… Akahi… Eh? Who's Konan?"

She's my new friend in Amegakure.

Hi… You're Kurenai, right? I'm Konan. Jiraiya-sama's gonna be my sensei… so…

What do I think of him? He's a major perv…

I realized that…

Never EVER go to the onsen with him…

Oh gosh…

And if you have other guys on your team…

Ok, this is a bit creepy…

Seriously guys, I'm turning on the visual link. A faded image of Konan and Akahi appeared in front of Kurenai.\

Much better.

Oh… Anything else?

Avoid the guys on your team as much as possible.

Goodness!

Ok, time to leave.

They cut the link.

"Nice to meet you," whispered Konan, leaving. She looked at her hand. On it was a small ring with the kanji for 'white' written on it.

Everyone parted ways. Akahi, Tsunade, Kushina, Shizune, and Orochimaru went back to Konoha. Jiraiya stayed behind with Konan, Nagato, and their leader, Yahiko.

*onsen = hot springs

A heartfelt thank you to T-Time YOSH... for, well, everything! Please read her fanfic as well!