Her brothers were out of reach. One was in jail and the other was dead. It didn't matter, anyway. They didn't even know she existed. Yet. Akane's mother was terrified when she found out she was pregnant with a third child. At least, that's what Akane hoped. It was easier to justify what she did next that way.

Uchiha Mikoto was involved in one of the greatest scandals of all time topped only by her own son and one of her ancestors. Her husband was the head of the clan and was planning a coup that would destroy the village they were supposedly loyal to and, hopefully, put the Uchiha clan back on top of the world. Her son, Itachi, was the key player in this mutiny, but he defected when he massacred the entire clan leaving only his little brother as the sole survivor. Or so he thought.

When Itachi was almost six and Sasuke not even one, yet, Mikoto realized that she was pregnant. Her husband was too busy with running the police corps as well as training his genius son and overthrowing the village to notice her change. When she was four months pregnant she accepted a six month mission, despite her being retired, to an ally country as a delegate for the Leaf Village. At this point Sasuke had turned one year old.

The mission was a simple office and meeting mission, perfect for a woman in her condition. The country was small and basically insignificant in the eyes of the world. She was to help with their economy and act as a liaison between it and her home village. She gave birth just four months later to a healthy baby girl and immediately gave her away. She came home early from her mission claiming that the small country had established a stable trade system to help along with their poverty.

Uchiha Akane was the product of the mission, the true mission of Uchiha Mikoto. The girl grew up in an orphanage for a few short years before turning onto the streets with a group of other orphaned children. They lived well enough. Some of the older children passed down what knowledge they had about jutsus and such to the younger generation, aiding in their survival.

"Hurry up Daisuke! Its rush hour and we can't miss it again. Ai will kill us if we do!" A flicker of a shadow swept passed the wooden buildings. Seagulls were spiraling around a town center as swarms of people pulsed through the streets. A small boy stumbled as he tried to catch up with the dark haired girl.

"Akane! You have longer legs than I do. Slow down! Akane!" The girl barked out laughter as she pivoted on her foot, not losing any speed, and gave the ten year old a mischievous grin.

"Aww, is poor little Daisuke a shrimpy-wimpy?" The boy's face scrunched up as he launched himself forward, attempting to tackle the sixteen-year-old to the ground. He missed and fell flat on his face. The girl skid to a stop as she doubled over laughing. The boy huffed as he dusted himself off and brushed past the girl.

"C'mon, let's get going." He grumbled. Akane sighed and threw an arm over his shoulders.

"Tsk, Tsk, Daisuke. You need to loosen up a little." She grinned at him as he shook his head in exasperation.

They reached the swarm of people and Akane quickly got into position as Daisuke melted in the background. A flash of red peered from under her shaggy bangs as she moved her body into graceful patterns. A crowd of people gathered around her, trapped in a trance as the teenager worked her magic. The fluid movements of her arms, hands, and hips drew them in. The spark in her eyes, was that real fire in them?, ensnared the innocent people. A flash of light blue darted in between the tourists lightly relieving them of their valuables.

"Man, Akane, look at all of this loot! Ai will have nothing to complain about now!" The blue haired boy laughed light-heartedly. Akane gave a soft smile as she ruffled his hair.

"Come on, let's go home."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." The pair froze at the strange voice. Black eyes darted quickly down at their young charge before taking in the busty woman in front of them.

"Daisuke, go get Ai." Akane quickly whispered not looking away from the blonde-haired woman. The boy scrambled off while casting fearful glances behind him.

"Uchiha Akane… I've been looking for you for a long time." The young girl's body tensed as she turned slightly towards an alleyway off to her side. The woman's brown eyes flickered at this.

"Don't make this difficult, I have more important things to be doing than play hide-n-seek with a child." Akane smirked.

"There won't be much seeking if we play that game. What do you want?" Her eyes flashed read for a moment in warning. "Don't bother lying to me, either."

The woman sighed, "I am Tsunade, fifth Hokage of Konohagakure. Where your mother is from…" Akane's fists shook slightly at the knowledge the woman seemed to possess.

"How do you know about me? The caretaker at the orphanage said that even my own father didn't know I was conceived." She sneered. The woman's eyes hardened.

"I know a lot of things. It doesn't matter how I know, just that I do and how I use such knowledge. Akane, do you really think this is the life that your mother pictured for you? Using your kekkai genkai as a hat trick to steal from the innocent? Come with me and become a shinobi." The patter of running feet reached Akane's ears. She tentatively opened her chakra channels and reached her senses out to the woman in front of her. Her eyes widened at what she found.

The footsteps were getting closer. She could now distinguish a set of lighter footsteps trailing behind the heavy ones. A chill like cold water swept through her veins. She focused on the woman before her. Her eyes were hard but only in stubbornness and determination, not in anger or hatred. Akane had heard of Tsunade. She knew of her monstrous strength that could level a mountain. She also knew of her generosity and leniency to her brother, even after everything he had done.

Panting emerged from the alleyway she had been facing as a tall woman with a scarred face raced down it. Akane saw a flash of blue hair hiding behind Ai and sighed. She faced Tsunade squarely and nodded, her jaw and fists clenched tightly. Tsunade turned away from her with a small smile and walked out of the small town. Akane followed her.

"Akane!" She didn't look back at the woman that had helped her survive, nor at the little boy that looked up to her.