The Awakening

PROLOGUE

Thanks to my Beta (so glad I have one) Rain Makes Me Cry

UZUMAKI KEMEI woke up in a typical hospital room that was, as hospital rooms are prone to be, way too white for her taste. The room was a small private one, almost painfully bright (though that might be because of the open window to her right) and not unlike all the other rooms she had found herself through the years. There was a medium-sized window on the wall with blinds that were pulled up, letting the sun's beams shine right through to her eyes. The small white nightstand was to her left as well as an unoccupied chair. The room was empty save for her.

Very slowly, mindful of her aching muscles, she pulled up until she was sitting on the bed rather than lying on it. A wave of nausea washed over her as soon as she did, and Kemei had to cover her mouth with her right (white, bandages free) hand and squeeze her eyes shut until it passed. When she reopened her eyes, Kemei realized she had doubled over and her breathing had become rapid and uneven. She blinked slowly several times and waited for her vision to clear from the blurry spots she was seeing. Running fingers through her long hair (and it is wrong, wrong, wrong; her hair is much shorter), she brushed it off her face and looked around.

Something was off; something was terribly, horribly off. The girl quickly made the ram hand-seal (and her chakra is off, but why, why, why) but the room stayed as it was and the unpleasant feeling that something wasn't right did not subside. It was no genjutsu then. Slowly, she switched positions, so her feet were on the floor, touching the cold floor and sending a sight shiver throughout her body, before she stood up. For the briefest moment her vision was all black before it cleared again. Cold sweat ran down her temple and her breathing quickened again. Only her iron grip on the metal head board kept her standing. Once Kemei regained whatever little strength she had at the moment, with impossibly tiny steps, she made her way to the open window and looked out.

"What?" she rasped out, her voice rough from prolonged lack of use. Her bright blue eyes were wide open as she took in the state of the village. There were broken roofs and still smoking ruins in the distance. People were running up and down the streets, some carrying building supplies; others– food and most of the shinobi were covered with bandages and casts. Another check for a genjutsu did not change the picture in front of her. It was indisputable – Konoha had been under attack. And judging by the villagers' general demeanor, the attack was a fairly recent one.

(The final stage of the Chuunin exams is today and she is competing against that bastard Neji of the Hyuuga Ichizoku and she is going to kick his ass because she is Uzumaki Kemei, believe it!)

(It's hard, so hard to stand up. Her chakra is all gone, thanks to Neji's freaky technique, but she won't give up. Never give up! This is her nindou!)

(She won, she won, she won! She showed them all! Uzumaki Kemei is not a looser and now everyone knows it!)

(What's happening? Feathers? She's so sleepy… maybe she should lie down for a moment and rest her eyes…)

(Invasion! Konoha, she must protect Konoha. Kakashi-sensei said to go after Sasuke and help him fight off that creep Gaara (but Gaara is not a creep, he is like her, just like her, and she does not want to hurt him like so many others must have done before.))

(NO! Sakura! She must save Sakura! She must protect her friends! She must save Sakura and protect her and Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei – her precious people. Her family...)

(Gaara, what is happening to him, what is he? Is the same thing going to happen to her? Is she going to transform into the Kyuubi one day? Is she going to lose control and hurt her precious people?)

(Sand. The sand is everywhere and is going to crush her unless… unless… Please, please work! Kuchiyouse no Jutsu!)

(Wake Gaara. All she has to do is wake Gaara up. No big deal. Of course she can do it. She is Uzumaki Kemei after all, she can do everything. On the count to three: one… two… three… JUMP!)

(It worked! It worked! Everyone is safe. They… are… all… safe.)

Kemei opened her eyes (and when did she close them again?) and brushed away the tear stains on her cheeks. Her lower lip throbbed, and when she licked it, she recognized the distinctive coppery taste of blood. In her effort not to scream from the pain (the white unfathomable pain) she had to have bit as hard as she could. But that wasn't important. The dull, constant ache in her muscles and bones wasn't important.

What were important were those strange visions, visions that felt like memories. Not the recent kind of memory, but rather the old ones, the one that had happened so long ago that you didn't quite remember everything, only bits and pieces that stand out. What was happening to her?

In the corner of her eyes Kemei caught a glimpse of someone and her head whirled towards the direction. It was her pale and screwed reflection in the window. But that was impossible. Surely she was imagining things. She ought to have hit her head, though she couldn't remember when, and was hallucinating.

With tiny steps (and at much too slow a pace for her liking) Kemei managed to get to the adjoined bathroom. The room was even smaller and whiter than the one she woke up in. But she was not interested in the décor; or not the entirety of it, only a small part– the mirror. The mirror, which was either broken, somehow, or she truly was hallucinating, for what she was seeing made even less sense than the possibility that someone would dare to attack Konoha.

From the rectangular object, the face that was staring at her, with a mouth slightly ajar and cerulean eyes wide open, was only vaguely familiar (it's not, it's not, it's not; wrong, wrong, wrong!). The girl in the mirror was around twelve, (thirteen?) years old with long blond hair that fell lifelessly around her ashen, wound-covered face. On each of her cheeks she had three horizontal lines, almost like whiskers, and her eyes were the same blue color as Kemei's. And yet, this could not be her reflection. She was not thirteen. She was... not? (She is, of course she is; thirteen is the graduating age at the Academy, of course she's thirteen.)

"Kemei?" a strangely familiar voice called from outside the door. The man, for the familiar voice was decidedly male, sounded only the slightest bit concerned. He (and who was he? The name was on the tip of her tongue but that gave her a headache) probably knew she was in the bathroom, but was unsure whether she had passed out in there or not.

"In the bathroom," she answered anyway. "Give me a sec," she called back.

"We can wait," the man assured her and the girl heard his steps walk away from the door.

"We?" she whispered to the reflection. "Who's we?"

Predictably, the older reflection did not answer her inquiry. The look on its face was of utter puzzlement and a fair dose of fear. Probably the same expression she was wearing at present.

Taking several deep breaths, Kemei tried to calm herself down, even if for the slightest bit, so she could concentrate on her senses. It was harder than it should have been, her chakra was all twisted and raging, and much more than it she remembered (but her memories were hardly particularly trustworthy at the moment, were they?). She did manage to get the feel of two more chakra signatures, gennin most likely judging by their size and hostility, and the distinct chakra signature of Hatake Kakashi, the Reiketsu no Kakashi.

"Are you coming out, Kemei?" an exasperated female voice ripped her from her thoughts. The blond girl felt a twinge of annoyance towards the other girl, but quickly shook it off. Whatever was happening, she could not afford any more weaknesses, not when her own body was betraying her. She did not need her emotions compromising her as well.

Instead of answering, Kemei opened the door and stepped into the white room. As she had sensed, there were two gennins around the age of thirteen and Kakashi-sens-, no, Hatake-san.

The lone jounin was leaning against the wall, right next to the window, and had what looked like a almost bored with his hand in his pockets and slouched posture. Kemei had no doubts that he was capable of leaping into action and killing everyone and anyone in his vicinity he perceived as a threat at any given moment. His reputation preceded him. Even in her best condition, she would not be able to defeat him in a battle, evade him, maybe, but definitely not win in a fight.

The girl was sitting on the chair and looked as if she wanted to be anywhere but here. She looked weak, at least physically, and her pitiful chakra reserves did not make her look as much of a threat. The red dress (obviously new, because it was spotless and lacked even a single patch) and short pink hair only enhanced that impression. Kemei was not going to write her off as a nonthreatening, though, not without additional information. Her teacher had taught her that much.

The third person was Uchiha Sasuke. Dark hair, pale skin and a startling resemblance to his distant cousin Uchiha Shinji, he might as well be wearing a sign stating his name. The Uchiha was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room and was looking at her with a mix of curiosity and disdain.

He was also thirteen years old. He was thirteen years old and was supposed to be only a couple of months older than her.

Feeling the beginning of the same blinding pain from earlier, Kemei leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the vision-memories wash over her.

(Sasuke, that annoying bastard, thinking he's better than everyone! It's not fair the teachers favored him all the time! And he doesn't even care!)

(Sakura is so smart and graceful and pretty. She wishes she was like her. If only she could be like her, or better yet, if only they could be friends. Then Sakura will help her look pretty and with her homework. It would be so nice to have friends!)

(The graduation test is tomorrow. What is she going to do? How is she going to pass if she can't do the Bushin no Jutsu? She's been training nonstop the past couple of months and yet the clones always look half-dead. Why can't she do it? How is she going to pass?)

(She failed. All her dreams, her future... She is the only one who didn't pass. Why? How could she fail? She trained so hard?)

(Mizuki! He lied to her! He tricked her! And now he hurt Iruka-sense! That bastard is going to pay– Taju Kage Bushin noJutsu!)

(Gennin! She is officially a gennin now! One step closer to her dream!)

(Sakura, she is in the same team as Sakura! Isn't that amazing? But she is also on the same team as Sasuke-teme! Why him, of all people?)

(Team Seven. They are officially Team seven now. Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke and her, they are a team.)

("I will never let my comrades die!")

(The Chunnin Exams - another step closer to her dream, another step to becoming a Hogake and protecting her precious people.)

(How did this went so wrong? How?)

(No! She is not going to give up and lose to Inuzuka Kiba. She cannot give up! She will not give up!)

(Hyuuga Neji. She will obliterate him, believe it!)

"-mei! Kemei!" a worried voice calling her name and two large, rough hands on her shoulders gently shaking her woke her up from her trance.

"What?" she asked, slightly breathless, her mind still on the vision-memories. Was it true? If it was... then how? How could this be true? What had happened to her?

"Are you alright?" Kakashi-sensei (no!) Kakashi-s-s-san (better) asked concerned. His only visible eye was on her and beneath the mask Kemei could see the outlines of a frown.

"Yes," she managed to say and step away from the older man, who was way into her personal space. The older man didn't fail to notice how uncomfortable she was at his touch.

"Then why did you just blacked out? What happened Kemei?"

"You know, that's what I want to know as well. What happened to me?" Kemei questioned in a firm voice that demanded an answer. She needed to know. Why was everything so wrong?

"After the fight with Gaara you fainted and we brought you here. The medics said it was chakra exhaustion," Sasuke-te... Sasuke-san explained from his position on the other side of the room. "Don't you remember?" he finished, eyes showing annoyance that she could forget so soon.

"Not really," she answered truthfully (and a little distractedly) without spearing a single glace at him. The danger here was Kakashi-san and her eyes did not leave his figure. "But that's not what I was asking. What happened to me, several years ago?"

The silence that followed her question lasted for far too long, before Sakura decided to join the conversation, apparently unaware of the way Kakashi's entire body had tensed up.

"What are you talking about, Kemei? Stop playing around! It's just been a couple of hours. You shouldn't be awake or standing right now, either," her voice was high-pitched and annoyed, but underneath Kemei could detect more than a hint of worry. (Because they are teammates, of course she would worry.)

"Sakura, Sasuke, I want you to leave the room and go make yourselves useful in some way. Do not try to eavesdrop. Understood?" Despite the fact that he did not raise his voice once or even look at them, the two gennin nodded briskly and left the room without arguing. Once their chakra signatures indicated that they were several floors down, he spoke again. "You should better sit down. This is going to be a long conversation."

"I'd rather stand," so I can run off easier, unspoken words they both heard hanging in the air.

"You're swaying on your feet," he pointed out reasonably.

Her eyes glanced at her legs for a second. Yes, she looked like she would collapse to the ground any second. "Even so," Kemei insisted.

"I am not going to hurt you. You can trust me." How can she trust him? He could kill her and she wouldn't know it.

"I don't know you." Not in person, anyway; at least not the real her, not the gennin her that couldn't make a single bushin. Kakashi's reputation preceded him and despite their connection through her father (that trice-cursed bastard) he was an unknown quantity and possibly a threat.

"I give you my word."

"We are not in the business of honor and keeping one's word, Kakashi-se-an. We might be from the same village, but I have no reason to trust your word." Kemei retorted.

"Because we are not in the business of trust, either," he agreed. "But you don't truly believe that I'd harm you."

"No. But I still don't know you well enough," (she does though and that's the problem– knowing someone she's just met).

The jounin looked at her sadly. "You can trust me, Kemei," he said with feeling. Something deep down was telling her that he (contrary to what most senior shinobi did) was telling the truth. Even so, instead of agreeing with him, Kemei answered with:

"I can't," she said. I shouldn't, she thought. Another wave of dizziness washed over her and she swayed for a moment. "And yet, I don't really have a choice in the matter, do I?" Kemei said it to herself more than to him, leaning back against the wall slightly. "Start talking then."

"You really should sit down," Kakashi said instead, taking in her pale face with worry. The concern was real, the girl realized, startled. Knowing that felt... nice; she didn't move an inch. The older man managed to suppress a disappointed sigh. "What is the last thing you remember from... before?" he asked.

"What?" Why was he evading the question?

"You heard me," he crossed his arms in front of his chest. She had and yet...

... and yet what was the last thing she remembered? There was the fight with Gaara (Suna's Jinchuriki, enemy not a friend, not Gaara). But that didn't feel like her own memory, at least not one from merely days ago, months, years even, but not days. And before that... before that the last memory that was hers, that was clear-

"Blood, so much blood everywhere," Kemei said to no one in particular, staring at something only she could see. "I'm lying on the ground and its so cold and I'm so afraid and there is so much blood everywhere-"

(-and it hurts, hurts, hurts. Everything hurts until-)

(-blessed numbness. Finally everything is numb and doesn't hurt anymore.)

(Am I dying? Everything is so dark and numb. Shouldn't I feel something? I suppose I am dying. Or am I dead? Shouldn't I feel something if I am alive? I don't know. So tired, I'm just so tired. I am going to close my eyes for a moment, just for a moment and then I'll get up. I have to... have to... do something. It can wait a moment. My eyes are so tired, I am so tired...)

(Darkness)

"You were on a mission," Kakashi's gentle voice brought her back to the present. "Do you remember that?"

(A mission? What mission?)

"I-I'm not sure, I-"

"Take a breath. It will come back," again with that soothing, gentle voice. She hated it; it made her feel like a young helpless sick child.

"We, we were on a mission in the northern part of Hi no Kuni. I... I... ah... I had to-" to do what? What was her mission? More importantly, how could she not remember it? Forgetting the parameters of one's mission was inexcusable and had never happened to her.

"Deep breaths, Kemei, in, out, in, out."

Had her body been working properly, she could have beat that condescending tone of his out of him. But he was right (reluctant as she was to admit it) and she had to calm down. She was a professional despite her age and she would not let her emotions get the better of her (regardless how traumatizing a memory was).

"The mission was... it was a B-rank with high pay and low risk," the girl said after several long minutes of silence. "I had to recharge some barriers of a low ranked noblemen's house. The rest were there only as an escort," and to say that a ten-year-old girl was, in fact, capable of fulfilling the task at hand. The only reason she was sent to that mission was that an Uzumaki would have an easier time recharging a ward set up by a blood relative than any of the other experts in the village. Sarutobi Daiki - the Hokage's eldest grandchild – chunin, Aburame Hideki - chunin and Mujini Kimiko– freshly made jounin and the leader of Team Kimiko. What had happened to them? Kemei daren't think.

(A severed arm falling down. A pained scream.)

(The glint of a blood-covered sword being thrust in a chest. Laughter.)

(Raspy breaths and dull steps. He doesn't have the strength to scream as he is crushed by a rock.)

(An explosion, debris flying everywhere.)

"The mission went off without a hitch and we were on our way back when we were attacked," deep breaths, Kemei, deep breaths. "They were waiting for us in ambush. There were six, I think. At least I saw six. They weren't wearing head protectors or anything distinguishing. It, I-I don't know what happened. It happened so fast I... I," she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Tears were running down her cheeks but the girl couldn't bother to wipe them off. "The rest, they're, they're-"

"Gone," Kakashi said without emotion. "I am sorry for your loss," he continued in the same feeling-less voice. At least he didn't bother to say the customary 'they died like heroes, protecting Konohakagure.' If someone could understand the emptiness of those words, though, it would be Hatake Kakashi.

Kemei didn't answer. She did let him steer her towards the bed (and when had he come so near her?) and sat down when he nudged her. She had expected the answer and yet it still hurt to hear it. It hurt to know that she had spent two (or three) years unaware even of their existence, let alone the sacrifice they'd made. It wasn't fair! It wasn't! How come she get to live (if that was a live) and they not? Why?

"That's the last thing I remember," she said quietly after her tears had dried. The jounin, thankfully, did not comment on her behaviour. He was, once again, in her direct line of sight and was watching her sadly. "Next thing I know I am waking up in an apartment that I think is mine and am excited about going to the Academy, because I am in the final year. Kakashi-san, what happened to me?"

For several seconds he stood there, leaning against the white wall, not speaking a word. He closed his only uncovered eye and sighed.

"We don't know. After your team did not return in time, the Hokage dispatched an ANBU squad to look for you, as I am sure you understand why," because the Kyuubi was too valuable an asset to be lost. "I was specifically requested to take part in it. We found your teammates," or whatever was left of their bodies remained unsaid, "along with the bodies of three other shinobi. We've never been able to identify them. There were signs of battle all over the ravine, but you weren't there. We followed the trail to a cave, which was half-collapsed, near the border with Ta no Kuni. Most of those who had been inside were dead, crushed by the rocks, but we did find one, who was interrogated. He didn't know much, but what little he did manage to tell us before he died," or was killed judging by the tonee Kakashi was using, "and the sealing equipment around it would appear that someone wanted to turn you into a weapon against us.

"We don't know for sure, but there was a seal at the back of your neck," Kemei's hand instantly moved to check only to find smooth skin. "It disappeared after your fight with Suna's Jinchuriki. We don't know what caused it to just vanish."

"It must have been connected to my chakra, somehow," she said out loud. While by no means a master at her Fuinjutsu, Kemei knew enough and was curious enough to be able to understand most seals. "If it was on the back of my neck, chances are it was connected to my chakra. And in the past month my chakra has been disturbed too many times and with complete exhaustion on top of it, it must have put too much strain on the seal and broke it."

The silver-haired jounin considered her words for a moment before nodding. "It is possible. I'm not overly familiar with seals, so I really can't say. Jiraiya-sama said that the seal was incomplete and removing it would do more harm than good. The official theory is that your abductors had tried to remove a faulty seal and had triggered the Kyuubi's chakra which had led to the collapse of the cave and rendered you unconscious.

"Once we brought you back to the village, a Yamanaka examined your mind and said that most of your personal memories after Jiraiya-sama started to train you were wiped out. You were aware of the basics and the trivia about the village that most children your age knew and that was all. It was decided that the best course of action would be for someone to create new memories based on the ones you still had and for you to go back to the Academy so your mental status could be examined. All in all, it appeared that mentally you were your physical age, but without the knowledge gained in the past four years your character resembled a slightly more mature version of your six-year-old self," Kemei did not wince at that. It was expected, she thought, remembering her memories of after the incident. "Your learning abilities were lower than those you had shown in previous years, though," the dry reading-from-the-report voice he was using did not make her feel any better. "Your attention span was worst as well, but all was ruled out as more side-effects of the seal.

"While you will have to go through several evaluations, it does seem you are back to your normal self," Kakashi said and somehow managed to convey a grin using only his visible eye.

"That doesn't help me much," the girl muttered. Suddenly she remembered something else, which was more important than her identity and memory issues.

"Kakashi-san, what happened during the attack on the village?"

Translations:

Daiki – great tree (it can be interpreted in several other ways)

Fuinjutsu – Art of Sealing

Hi no Kuni – Land of Fire

Ichizoku – clan (in this case, the Hyuuga Clan)

Konohakagure – Village Hidden in the Leaves

Reiketsu no Kakashi – Cold-blooded Kakashi

Ta no Kuni – Land of Rice