*Katzu POV*

"Danzo Sensei, I quit. The ninja life is all death." I sobbed as I carried my dead lover's body back into town. My team and I had been ambushed on our first mission outside city limits. Reina's blond hair was dyed red with blood and I had been forced to sew her eyes shut to hide the gapping holes that had taken their place. My hands were covered in dry blood from her wounds, and my kunai was tied around my neck with the ribbon she wore in her hair every day. Everyone was thinking the same thing, and the whole way through town all I could hear was their muttering…

"That's the oldest Uchiha twin…" One would hiss to his friend. The friend may respond by whispering back. "She could have at least tried to hide it."

I kept walking until we got to the ANBU headquarters where Reina's father worked beside my own twin brother. When he saw his daughter and I, he rushed to me. He ripped his daughter's body from my arms, and the back of his hand met the side of my face. With one word, he ripped the last of my heart to shreds. He hissed exactly the words everyone else was thinking, including myself. Those words were: "You are a MONSTER."

*Flashback*

I heard a muffled scream, and I knew exactly whom it came from. Panic rushed through my body as I rushed to where Reina was hiding. My actions would ruin what was left of the mission, but I had to protect her. When she came into view, Orochimaru had her by the throat. I growled as my eyes fell on the kunai in the back of her neck. It wasn't lethal, but she would never fight again. She would never walk again.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes" I whispered as I looked at Orochimaru with my sharingan. He tried t look away, but he was already trapped. He glared back at me as I walked right up next to the paralyzed rouge. Bloody tears rolled down my cheeks as I pried Reina out of is grip. I heard several fingers break. Then I took his ring and released him. "Use this to remember that I could have killed you today. Now leave before I change my mind."

I dropped next to Reina's side and started muttering comforting things to her. My back was turned to Orochimaru, but I didn't care that he could kill me. I would give my life a hundred times to save Reina. She was my first love. She hadn't loved me like that though. Reina had wanted to be an ANBU like Itachi. Her dream was to have my brother love her. I had given up on both her and Kakashi, my other love, several years ago. I gave up on them when I realized I wouldn't ever be an ANBU. I was too weak and scared for them.

"Kitten…take eyes…I don't want…" Reina was fading in and out of consciousness. She had been using her sharingan as well, so her tears were as bloody as my own. "Kitten…I want…die…take eyes."

"Don't say that you want to die, Reina. This can't be so bad. Maybe you can be healed." I sobbed as I held her limp hand. I knew better than to think that, but I needed Reina to be okay.

"Please Kitten…take my eyes…put…out of my misery." She begged as the blood formed a puddle around her pale body. Call me shallow, but I caved in and gave her what she wanted…my happiness.

*Present time*

I was walking home alone after returning Reina's body to her father. The streets were dark, but with my new mangeku I could see fine. Reina's sacrifice had done more than save her pain. Thanks to Reina I would never go blind. Despite being only a child, I had been almost blind before the transfer. Reina's soft blue eyes were in great contrast to my raven-feather black hair; unlike they had been with her pale blondness. Reina and I had been such opposites; it's a wonder we got along. Reina had been short and bubbly. I on the other hand am tall and sulky. Gods, I miss her already. I didn't plan on saying goodbye to anyone, not even my brothers, before I ran away from here and this horrid life. I kept walking with my eyes on the ground until I ran into someone and fell to the ground.

"Oh, Gods! I'm so sorry. I was caught up in my thoughts and wasn't paying attention!" I whimpered. I looked up at the young ANBU I had walked into. My hand twitched away from him as I recognized him as Hakate Kakashi, my childhood crush. Kakashi and I had been long time friends, until he was old enough to leave town for missions. As young kids, Kakashi, Itachi, and I were inseparable. We used to play games and train together every day, until Kakashi and Itachi grew up without me. They both left me behind like the untalented 'younger sibling' that I was. "Oh…. Hi Scarecrow."

"Get up, Kat." Kakashi sighed rubbing the back of his neck in that weird way I used to think was cute. "You really should pay attention to where you're going when you play your little games."

I glared up at him. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Kakashi! Stop treating me like I am." I huffed and pushed him out of my way as pain threatened to take over. "What ever, I'm busy."

I quickly retreated to the safety of the Uchiha compound where Kakashi would never come. I leaned against the wall of my house. What was I going to do now? I couldn't go inside. My father had been leaving about the same time as I, so he was probably already here, and I KNOW he had heard of my newest failure.

"KATZU UCHIHA! I can hear your panic attack from in here. You might as well get you homicidal ass in here." My father's voice boomed from the other side of the open window beside me. "NOW!"

I sighed at walked into the house. Itachi was still at work, and Sasuke was at school. In the living room sat my parents. Father was blind with anger and mother was obviously still in shock.

"You are a monster, Katzu Uchiha! I thought your mother and I had taught you better, but those damned blue eyes of yours prove otherwise." My father growled. He had never been a loving man, especially to me, but this was different. He seemed like he had finally snapped. "You either need to leave this house TONIGHT or I'm going to hand you to the hokage with a big shiny bow. I mean seriously, Kat. You turned on and killed your best friend! What did she do to deserve that? Did she tell you that she slept with your crush? Did she threaten the village? Did she hurt one of your brothers? Did she deserve to die?"

I stayed silent though my father's insane rant. He was right. There was no need to mention Reina had asked for the mercy killing. I was just a monster. I was a monster who abandoned her post and killed her best friend. Reina's blood was on my hands, on my weapon, on my soul. I would never go blind, but I would also never be normal again. I had killed someone. Orochimaru would pay with his like for this.

"Earth to Kat! Did. Reina. Deserve. To. Be. Killed?" My father stared me down.

"No." I admitted softly.

"So it was a spur of the moment thing?"

"Yes"

"You actually fucking killed her?"

"Yes."

"Christ, Kat, you killed your best friend. How in the hell are we supposed to trust you not to kill us? Not to kill Sasuke?" Dad yelled seeming at his last nerve.

I turned to my mother. She had always been here for me, even when she had bigger problems on her mind. She taught me how to be strong. She taught me the meaning of family. Now she looked at me as if she had never seen me before in her life. It was to her that I spoke, repeating the words she had drilled into our heads from the time we could talk. "Blood is thinker than water, Momma."

"Blood is only so thick." My mother responded in the voice of a stranger. She got up to walk out of the room. She couldn't even look at me. First, I'd lost my twin and Kakashi to age. Then, Reina had been stolen by Orochimaru. I would not—could not—lose my mother too. I simply couldn't handle it.

Before I even made a decision I was holding my mother in my arms as her blood drained all over me. Dad roared and lunged at me. I simply dropped the dying woman and threw my kunai at my father's chest. My rampage didn't stop with the deaths of my cruel parents. By the time I snapped out of my reverie the entire compound was dead. I blinked in confusion, staring at the kunai in my hand. The metal was stained with the blood of almost every Uchiha in Kahona.

Itachi burst into the living room bloody tears streaming down his face. He was almost as covered in blood as I was. He must have fallen or checked for vital signs or something. After a single glance around the room Itachi quickly rushed over to pull me into his arms. "Kat, thank the gods you're alive. What happened here? Was it Danzo? Were you hurt? How in the nine hells did you survive?"

I looked at my crying twin and felt only pity. I should have cleaned up before he got here. I reached up to wipe the bloody tears from his cheeks, only succeeding in spearing more in its place. I quietly confessed my crimes. "Danzo Sensei wasn't here. I-I did this. They turned their backs on me Nii-san. They were going to send me far away and not let me see you or Sasuke."

"Hush hush, Kitten. Nii-san will fix everything." He whispered kissing my forehead. "I just need you to run. Run far away and pretend you're someone else for awhile. When you come back, tell the hokage you were running from me. It'll just be you and Sasuke—Christ! Sasuke is okay, right?"

"He is at school. Dad told him to stay late so he could talk to me…" I shivered. "I don't want him to be alone. The three of us are the only Uchihas left. We have to protect him." I said, the shock seeming to fade a bit. What had I been thinking? I hadn't helped Sasuke at all.

"Kakashi will watch over him until you get back. Kakashi will do that for you." Itachi's voice was hurried. I could tell that he was worried about someone seeing me. He wanted to protect me, despite all of this. "Run, Kat. You need to get out of Kahona." Itachi shoved me towards an open window and I scrambled out and ran like the demons of hell were chasing me, and maybe they were.

I ran as fast as I could, fast enough even a normal ninja would have trouble keeping up, until I tripped and found myself of the forest floor. I rolled onto my back. At least I could never have a worse day.

"Kat, lick the blood off your blade. Lick the blood and I'll fix everything. I'll give you a new family, infinite riches, immortality. I'll give you whatever you want, and your past won't matter anymore. Come to me, Katzu. Lick the blood." A husky, hypnotic voice drifted from the trees above me. The request and even offers were strange, but the voice was oddly compelling. It was the kind of velvet voice you heard in your head if you thought really, really hard about someone who cares.

I pulled the ribbon from around my neck and stared at the bloodstained blade. The blood didn't seem to stick to Reina's ribbon, but the blade was still slick with the blood of the Uchiha clan. I lifted the blade to my lips without thinking and licked the blade clean. The blood had the coppery taste of blood mixed with a strong sweet taste of raw power.

"Tastes like sucking on a coin, doesn't it, Kitten?" The same voice chuckled, but this time I could see the voice's owner. He was a handsome man; tall and muscular. His hair was a shoulder length writhing mass of color that seemed to change every time he moved. His face was mostly hidden behind those multi-colored locks, but his eyes flashed in the night. They were a violent shade of purple and seemed to scream power. I fell into those eyes, losing myself for a few moments. "You're so passionate, Katzu Uchiha. Every emotion you have is like fire, powerful and unpredictable. You love and hate. You are protective and fierce. You can burn someone with your joy as easily as with your wrath."

"Who are you?" I tried to ask, but it came out as a gasp that was quickly followed by a nervous giggle. I stared up at the skyscraper of a man who was suddenly towering over me. He was a powerful man; a blind woman would be able to see it.

"I am Lord Jashin, God of the strong. I can offer you things you've never dreamed of. I can offer you eternal life. You want to live forever, don't you my little kitten?" Jashin whispered, leaning close enough I could smell the sweetness of blood coating his breath.

I swooned, struggling to keep what little sanity I had left. Adrenaline and desire were pulsing through my veins, and I could barely for coherent thoughts. "Why? Why would you choose me, my Lord? I have nothing to give back…"

"All in good time, Little Kitten. I'll explain everything when you wake." Jashin grinned at my obvious agreement to his proposal. He gently pried the kunai from my hand and drew a symbol on it in his own blood. The symbol appeared to be an upside-down triangle inside a circle. "I've never met a woman such as you, my dear. For my last test, how much do you trust me?"

"With my life, my Lord." I said, carefully taking the kunai back. Enthralled as I was by the strange man, I simply could not lose my kunai.

"Prove it."

Without a second thought, I drove the blade into my stomach, twisted the blade, and ripped it across my waist and out my side. My vision blurred with the unbearable pain.

It was a horrible irony. The same blade that I'd soaked in the blood of my lover and family just earlier today was now cloaked in my own. I was dying, not that it mattered. My life had ended when I had killed Reina. I could see things clearly now. It hadn't just been my downfall. I'd brought my brothers tumbling with me. Sasuke and Itachi would hate each other now, and they would resent me. They love each other so much…I ruined their lives…