A/N: Here I am with the next chapter! Look people, I really don't want to write these fights, we all know what happens. I'm just going to write the gyst of what happens here because it's still semi important for character development xD Enjoy this chapter!

"Are you sure they'll be okay?" Nagomi asks Sachiko.

"They'll be fine, plus, I thought you wanted to see that beast of yours." Nagomi glares at her adoptive sister.

"Don't you dare call him a beast!"

"Did I say anything that was wrong?" They walk into the arena, a few teams already there, and Sachiko sees Gaara's eyes lift slightly to look at them.

"I'll be going then." Nagomi says before walking over to the sand genin.

"This is mutiny!" Kouchi yells exasperated as his sister leaves. "This is why you can't have friends outside of the organization, it'll lead to problems!" Sachiko laughs, to which he grins.

"You're exaggerating."

"I am." Sachiko sits down and leans her head against the wall.

"You hungry?"

"Not really, just a bit tired." He lays his head back and Sachiko sighs.

"Bored.." Kouchi laughs at her reaction. "So bored.."

"This is what happens when you don't have friends." Sachiko glares at her brother.

"Make up your mind!" He grins.

"I'm okay with you being my only friend." He tells her. The young Uchiha smiles.

"You need some friends Kouchi. I'll introduce you to someone, just wait."

"God that took forever. I hate that I didn't fight that bastard." Kouchi says, refering to the fact that Kabuto withdrew when their fight came up. Sachiko rolls her eyes.

"Kabuto-kun isn't that bad." Kouchi rolls his eyes.

"Sure. Anyone associated with that snake is pretty bad." Sachiko glares at her brother.

"Thanks." She begins to make her way to the medical wing to check on Sasuke.

"Hey! You know I didn't mean you!" Sachiko rolls her eyes, walking through the doors, seeing Naruto screaming for Sasuke, and the receptionist replying that he wasn't receiving any visitors.

"Naruto. Be quiet in the hospital."

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei!" Sachiko and Kouchi walk up behind Naruto. "Hey, like I have a request!"

"No need to tell me, well. I already know what you're going to ask. I found someone who'll look after your training." The man dubbed as Kakashi answered.

"Why? I want you Kakashi-sensei!"

"I've got some business to take care of so.. I don't have the time to look after you."

"I know you're planning on training Sasuke!"

"Now, now, don't say that. I've found you a teacher who's much more reliable than me." Sachiko sighs, running her fingers through her hair, then walking up to the receptionist.

"I need to see Sasuke Uchiha." The receptionist shakes her head.

"I'm sorry but only family can see him." Sachiko narrows her eyes before quickly thinking.

"I'm his fiance. Where is he?" Kouchi raises his eyebrows at this.

"Fiance? I'm sorry, the Uchiha clan has long passed, that isn't possible." The young girl glares at the receptionist.

"I am an Uchiha, what do I have to do to prove it to you?" A hand lands upon her shoulder and she turns her glare to the culprit.

"What business do you have with my student?" His smile gave her the chills, there was an underlying meaning in his smile.

"I want to see how he's doing. I'm the one that guaranteed his survival in the forest."

"Are you now?"

"I'm also his betrothed." Kakashi's eye widens.

"Betrothed?" He smiles at the receptionist. "She's okay. I know who she is." The receptionist nods, and Kakashi leads them into the hallway. "And who is he?"

"He's my brother."

"Uzumaki, Kouchi. Nice to meet you."

"Uzumaki, hmm..?" He opens the door to Sasuke's room. "Last time I checked, Uchiha, Sachiko was killed in the Uchiha Clan Massacre."

"I suppose you didn't check thoroughly." She retorts. She looks up at the man, something about him was familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She walks up to Sasuke's bedside. "You sealed it.." She traces her finger over the containment seal. "This is a very complex seal, who trained you?"

"My late sensei was married to Uzumaki, Kushina." Sachiko hums.

"My onee-san was trained by Uzumaki, Kushina. She taught me everything I know." Kakashi gives a sad smile, appearing to be remembering something. "You remind me a lot of my onee-san for some reason." Kakashi looks up at the girl, who's looking down at Sasuke. She lets out a small laugh, remembering the times when she lived with the head family. "I remember when I first met Sasuke. He's always been a bit rude, hasn't he?" Kakashi chuckles.

"Maybe a bit too confident." Sachiko smiles at his response.

"Maybe. But he has a reason to be if he survived that attack." Kakashi analyzes the girl, feeling as if she knew more than she let on.

"I suppose you're right."

"I'll beat you one day, Sachiko-chan! I know it!" Sachiko helps Sasuke up after yet another spar.

"Maybe."

"Sachiko-chan..?" Sachiko looks down, her eyes meeting Sasuke's. "Was that you in the forest?"

"Of course it was, we spoke to each other." Sasuke closes his eyes and shakes his head.

"No, the one who took care of me in the cave, and told me they weren't letting me die." Sachiko nods.

"Yeah, that was me. Don't get all mushy on me." Sasuke chuckles, which turns into a cough.

"When I get out of here, we're sparring. Don't go easy on me like you used to." It was Sachiko's turn to laugh.

"No promises."

The Akatsuki Trio returned to the Uchiha compound as the sun set. From the corner of her eye, Sachiko sees Emiko exit the house in a white wolf mask with turquoise and silver detailing. Their eyes meet and they nod at each other before Emiko disappears.

"That was a good time." Kouchi says as he enters the guest house. Sachiko nods, unconsciously rubbing her arm.

"I need a bath." Kouchi and Nagomi's eyes meet.

"It's been a while right?" Nagomi says, giving her a small smile. Sachiko nods quickly. She had always been addicted to hot baths, though the siblings never knew why. She always seemed a bit absent when she didn't bathe. "Go bathe, I'll make us some dinner." Sachiko gives her a small thankful smile before leaving the room. Nagomi sighs, walking to the kitchen. "She seems so tense here.."

"It makes you wonder what happened when she came here." Kouchi answers, hearing the water starting to run. "Something that happened five years ago and can still effect her 'til this day." Nagomi frowns slightly, starting to boil water on the stove while Kouchi sits on the counter across from her. "I've never seen her look so depressed in my life, than the day we walked in this village."

"Except when she came home from here." Nagomi looks up at her brother. "She didn't speak for weeks." Kouchi frowns.

"What happened when she came to the Uchiha Clan?" They stay silent, their eyes wandering as they think.

"The clan massacre." Both siblings look up to see Emiko at the door, removing her shoes. "I'm sorry for walking in like that, I wanted to check on everyone." She gives the Uzumaki siblings a smile.

"The massacre.. The Uchiha clan was massacred by.. Uchiha, Itachi!" The sibling's eyes widen as they realize, but realizing they were being watched, Kouchi says. "That's who she said she was staying with."

"He's my brother." Emiko mumbles.

"I'm so sorry.." Nagomi says. Emiko nods.

"There's nothing I can do about it now." Kouchi scans over Emiko, she held herself confidently. She was dressed in traditional Konoha ANBU gear, with her mask clipped to her right hip. She seemed mature enough, yet bubblier than Sachiko; he noted that they seemed somewhat similar. "When she comes out of the bath, let Sachiko know that Sasuke is out of the hospital and looking for her." Nagomi nods.

"I'll let her know." Emiko nods, slipping her shoes back on and leaving.

Sachiko sighs, drawing a large seal on the counter before putting all the food she just made on top of it and pressing chakra into it. It was time to restock, so she had to cook everything again. It was most definitely her least favorite part of sealing things. She did, however, love that the food always stayed fresh. She yells into the house, before walking outside and summoning Akaichi.

"Good morning, Sachiko-chan." Sachiko mounts her wolf familiar.

"Good morning, Akaichi." Her hair was down today, it reached her lower waist. She was still begging her father to let her cut it. "Sasuke's asked me to train with him, we'll be training a bit outside of the village. Could you track him down?" The wolf chuckles.

"Of course I can." She smiles, running her fingers through his fur as he sniffs the air. Then, with a jolt, he runs out of the compound. She grins, spreading her arms wide as he jets through the village. "You seem to be in a better mood today."

"I'm finally out of that compound, I'm very happy." She puts her hands on his shoulders as he slows down to a trot.

"Well, think about it, you only have a month left."

"Maybe less." They approach a rocky clearing with a tall mountain. "What the hell is this?" Kakashi looks at her from the top of the mountain.

"Oh, you made it. Well, hurry up here." Sachiko glares lightly at the man.

"Do you want to do this on your own?" Akaichi knew Sachiko wouldn't be able to hold on as he walked up. She sighs.

"I suppose I have no choice." She dismounts her wolf familiar, applying chakra to her feet and starting to walk up the rocky mountain. Sasuke looks over at her.

"Hurry up, dobe." Sachiko sucks her teeth, running up the mountain quickly, standing inches away from her Uchiha counterpart, her curly hair wild around her head. He smirks down at her. "Glad you could make it." Kakashi clears his throat, trying to interrupt the massive staring contest that was brewing. Neither Uchiha looked away.

"Kami-sama help me."

"Sachiko-chan." Sachiko breaks the gaze to look at her wolf familiar. "If you keep staring at each other you aren't going to get anything done." Sachiko laughs softly, rubbing behind his ears.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." She looks over at Kakashi, who's staring at her wolf summon.

"You summon wolves." Sachiko nods, her forearm resting on Akaichi's snout.

"The Chi clan." Kakashi nods, seeming to be thinking about something again. "I've been summoning them since I was about five."

"Five years old? You have that much chakra control?" Sachiko looks up at Kakashi.

"Do you know about my heritage?" Kakashi's eye widens, and he nods.

"There you have it."

"Well, I think we should get to training, right?" Sasuke steps up, ruffling Sachiko's hair, who in turn glares at him and slaps his hand away.

"What's got you all friendly? Cut it out. I'm not used to it." Sasuke smirks.

"Hn."

As the night fell, the trio finally began to wind down, setting up sleeping bags. Sachiko lays on her back, staring at the sky. She looks to her right, seeing Akaichi pace around their campground, to her left was Sasuke, exhausted. She closes her eyes, feigning sleep as she hears Kakashi call to get her wolf companion.

"Hey, Akaichi." The large wolf peers over at the silver haired sensei. "What do you know of people who summon other clans?"

"We always know who has the wolves at their disposal." Kakashi chuckles.

"Figures, I still can't understand the wolves."Akaichi huffs, starting to walk away. "Your summoness is dangerous, isn't she?" Akaichi stops short, his gold eyes glancing at his companion before he looks back at Kakashi. "She's going to have a big target on her head one day. Make sure she doesn't get killed." Akaichi scoffs. "She reminds me of someone I used to know."

"Sachiko will not die at the hands of someone from your incompetent race." Akaichi growls out. Kakashi chuckles again.

"Right."

"Oi, get up lazy." Sachiko opens a single eye to see Sasuke standing over her. She sits up straight, stretching her arms above her head.

"You hungry?" She asks him. He shrugs lightly and she rolls her eyes, pressing a finger to her sleeve and summoning a breakfast bento. He eyes her suspiciously as she offers him the box. "Eat up." She summons one for herself, separating her chopsticks before mumbling "Itadakimasu." And beginning to eat.

"Seals. Kabuto was right." Sachiko nods.

"That he was."

"And evolving your Sharingan to the fullest..?"

"He was right about that too." She takes a bite of her food, knowing Sasuke was too prideful to ask for her help. She looks up, he seemed to be pondering something. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm not sure." Sasuke finally breaks his chopsticks apart and begins to eat.

"Why did you ask for me to be here?" Sasuke looks at his 'betrothed'.

"You're strong. Stronger than anyone I know. Other than Emiko." Sachiko chews her rice slowly, waiting for him to get to the point. "I needed someone to spar with." Sachiko hums.

"I could help you with your Sharingan. I was trained by the best." Sachiko grins. Sasuke sucks his teeth.

"I don't-"

"You do need my help."

"Fine."

"You should only heighten your level when you need to. Don't use two tomoe if you only need one. If you use more it's a strain. Even when it's easy only use one, using more is a waste of chakra. You developed fast too, due to the circumstances- so you might have trouble with chakra control."

Itachi and Sachiko were sitting with each other in a small room, only with a table and two chairs. It was usually used when preparing for missions, the pair would come in this room and go over mission parameters. None of the Akatsuki had missions except for the diamond in front of Itachi, but she had two days to prepare for it, and she hoped to master at least one tomoe before she had to go, helping her with the information searching part of her mission. There was no doubt in any of their minds that she could've done it, and she was determined to master at least one.

She pushes chakra to her eyes, automatically there's a pull and her eyes swivel until they reach mangekyo. She winces, the change giving her a massive headache before she pulls it back.

"No good. Try again. It's like water, give it little drops, but it will pull for more. I don't want you going blind." The young girl takes a deep breath, pushing a bit of chakra to her eyes and holding it, not giving any more. After a few seconds with her eyes closed, the pull stops and she opens her eyes to reveal one tomoe. "Don't try to push it harder, you're too young to go blind. You'll only use two tomoe or greater when I tell you to."

"Understood."

"You should only heighten your level when you need to.."

"Ahh, there's really nothing for me to teach you, Sachiko-chan." Sachiko sighs.

"What about whatever Sasuke is learning?" There was always something for Sachiko to learn back at home, some could say she missed learning something new.

"Ano.." Sachiko sighs.

"Fine, fine." Sachiko lays back, looking over at Sasuke who was meditating a few feet away.

"Ah!" A surge of chaka is felt and Sachiko reacts quickly, rushing to Sasuke and surging chakra into Kakashi's seal. Sasuke gasps for breath, his eyes flying open to meet Sachiko's calm ones.

"It's okay Sasuke. I've got it controlled." She stands up, and turns, stretching her arms high above her head. "Well if you can't teach me something, I know someone who will." She crouches down, summoning Akaichi.

"Sachiko-chan." She sits cross-legged in front of her partner.

"Teach me something." Akaichi lays in front of her, his head resting on his front paws.

"Something like?"

"A new jutsu! Something!" She flings herself back, looking up at the sky. He chuckles.

"There is a jutsu that you can do with any of us." She sits up again, looking at him inquisitively.

"And you haven't taught me yet?" She acts offended. "Akaichi, how dare you?"

"You weren't quite ready for it, and when you were, you never had the time."

"Well, what is it?" Her excitement is palpable, and Kakashi chuckles behind his book.

"It's a mind-linking jutsu. You need to have a very strong mind in order to keep it. Everything we see, you can see when you activate this jutsu. It needs to be activated by both the wolf and it's summoner, in turn we can also see what you do." He stands up and begins to pace around her. "It's rather easy to do. You just need to protect your mind. It's only the signature wolf hand sign, then you focus your chakra to your mind. It needs to be done at the same time to be done correctly."

"When can we try it?" She stands up, eager to try the new jutsu.

"Patience, child." She glares at him, a pout gracing her lips. "We can try it now, if you want to."

"Yes I want to!"

"The jutsu is called Setsuzoku. To see what the wolf does you need to specify, the same for us to see what you do." She forms a claw with her right hand, resting it on her left.

"Okami: Setsuzoku!" She concentrates chakra to her head, feeling it rush from her head to Akaichi's. There's a sharp pain in her head and she sways, holding her head in her hands.

"That only happens the first time, it'll fade." She opens her eyes, seeing herself.

"Your eyes are amazing.." He walks away from her, pacing around Sasuke, who is meditating once again.

"What are the weaknesses?"

"I can't guard myself. I can't see around myself I can only see what you see."

"What else?"

"I can't feel around you, but I feel around myself. It throws off my senses."

"And the strengths?"

"You have a wider range of vision, and it's much sharper."

"The range is infinite, until you cancel the jutsu." She sighs, pulling the chakra back from her head. "There are other versions. I'll teach them another time. Your head can only take so much pain."

After three weeks of training, the trio had become rather close. Kakashi and Sachiko were currently leaving the village market, they had left Sasuke to his own devices on the mountain. They approach training ground three and Kakashi stops for a second.

"I have to make a pit-stop." Sachiko nods, following after Kakashi as he walks into the training ground. He stops in front of three log posts. "You know Sachiko-chan..You remind me of someone who was close to me. Someone I took for granted." Sachiko looks up.

"Where did this come from, sensei?"

"Two people, actually." He wasn't looking at her, he was looking at the black stone in front of them. Every few names, his hand stops and he brushes over them. "You have an uncanny resemblance to an old teammate of mine. Though he's long gone, I can't help but think of him when I look at you." He looks up at Sachiko, and though he was trying to hide it, she could see the pain in his eyes. "He was an Uchiha too. A lousy ninja, really." He lets out a small chuckle.

"What was his name?"

"Obito." Sachiko's eyes widen slightly, but she hides it before he notices.

'Papa..?'

"Regardless of appearance, you remind me even more of someone else I lost." His hand pauses on a name. "My sister."

"Sensei..?"

"My sister died while on a mission. She was fourteen." He sighs. "She used seals, summoned wolves.. It's almost as if you're her spitting image, skills-wise."

"I don't understand.."

"Sometimes, people leave your life. People that you take for granted. Maybe people will lose you instead." Sachiko scoffs. "I want you to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Hai."

"Good. Now let's get back before Sasuke faints from exhaustion."

As the month passed, the trio had gotten closer than Sachiko imagined they would. She and Sasuke were on a joking basis- well, as joking as the latter could be. He enjoyed teasing her and trying her patience, as she had very little. Kakashi had taught her some more seals, which made her look up to the man. He was really deserving of his title, and after the month was up, she realized that. The month was more productive to Sasuke than Sachiko, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. They had but a few days to train, and they spent every part of it sparing. His chidori was a high enough level jutsu that she could go all out with him. He'd gotten faster, and it had become a bit harder to beat him as each spar went along. At the end of each night, she would bathe in a river nearby. It wasn't a hot bath, but it was enough to subdue her urge to scrub herself clean.

"Why do you do that?" Sasuke asked her when she came from her bath a few days before the tournament.

"Do what?" The girl makes a handsign and starts to twirl her finger around her hair.

"Your obsession with keeping clean." She looks up at him inquisitively.

"Obsession with keeping clean..? I'm not sure what you mean." She stops twirling her finger, her curly hair dried by wind.

"You know exactly what I mean. You scrub yourself clean every night like you have some sort of filth on you. And if you don't bathe you get all antsy." Kakashi looks up at Sasuke's comment.

"I.." Sachiko bites her lip, fighting off the feeling of nausea. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not filthy, I just like to keep clean."

"Hey, hey, that's enough Sasuke. She's a lady, they're much cleaner than us." Kakashi lets out a soft chuckle, resting a hand on Sachiko's head. She lets out a small sigh, looking up at Kakashi thankfully. He gives her a knowing look. "If you treat her terribly she won't give you your dinner." Sachiko lets out a small laugh.

"That's fine. I can cook for myself." Sasuke grumbles.

"Shouldn't we be getting back soon, Sensei?" Sachiko looks up at the silver-haired jonin.

"You can if you want to Sachiko-chan. Sasuke and I will stay here until the day of. You can stay around and train with your wolves if you'd like." Sachiko nods.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Sensei.. We're going to be late.." Kakashi looks down at Sachiko with a small smile.

"We'll be fine." Sasuke was sleeping in front of them. After training through the entire night to perfect his Chidori, Kakashi knocked him out to build up his chakra. "They won't let the fights between either Uchiha be cancelled." Sachiko sighs. She knew that when it was about time Kouchi would summon her, but their match was the last.

"I suppose so." She feels a pull and grins, coating herself in chakra. "Later sensei." She closes her eyes, opening them to see Kouchi in front of her. She smiles, but then her smile falters a bit at his serious expression.

"We're being watched." Her smile fades as she puts on an emotionless mask.

"I see, do you know who's watching us?"

"The sound." She laughs softly.

"Then that's nothing to worry about, they would never go against Orochimaru-sama."

"I think he's the one who ordered it.." Her small grin of confidence drops.

"Ordered it? Why would he do that?"

"He may trust you, but he does not trust the Akatsuki. You know that." She nods.

"Yeah, I know. Well there's nothing for them to watch." She sits down, summoning a wolf pup.

"Tokai-chan. I want you to watch the sound. If you find anything suspicious, show me." The pup nods before rushing away. Sachiko sighs, leaning over the railing to look at the floor of the arena. It was clear that a few fights had taken place.

"Naruto won. That shadow guy forfitted, so did that puppet dude." Sachiko rolls her eyes.

"How boring.. Where's Nagomi?"

"Where do you think?" Sachiko lifts her eyes to see Nagomi sternly speaking to Gaara. She laughs.

"Yelling at an unstable jinchuriki like that, our sister has balls." A swirl of leaves appears in the center of the room and everyone's attention is drawn to it.

"Sorry, we're late."

"Your name?" The proctor grins.

"Uchiha, Sasuke."

A/N: Chapter Ten! I'm so sorry for getting this out so late guys, my life has gotten super busy. I'll try to be as consistent as possible, I love the world of these stories I write and I want you all to see the effort I've put into them when I'm finished. Please leave reviews!