For the first time in years, a genuine smile appeared on Sasuke's face. The younger Uchiha had been without family for a long time, he was just relieved that he'd be able to get one back. The siblings walked out to the lake together to gather some breakfast. Kioko's eyes glanced over the peaceful waters and saw the unsuspecting fish swimming about. With the confirmation of food, Kioko bent down and rolled up her pant leg before going into the water. Sasuke stood, poised to catch the fish as his sister threw them in the air. The female Uchiha skillfully lowered her arms into the water and caught five fish, one for each of them. The young man tied them all together and waited for his sister to return. "You do that so much better then Naruto."

Kioko let out a small laugh as she tried to picture Naruto attempting to get fish. It wasn't a pretty sight by any means. The two siblings started to walk back side by side as if they didn't have a care in the world. As they did, Kioko glanced over at her younger brother and smiled thinking how she'd like to have it like this all the time. While they were gone, Naruto and the others began to wake up. The blonde haired ninja sat up and rubbed his eyes and as his vision adjusted he let out a loud shout. Sakura jumped up to attention looking around for some kind of enemy. "What!"

Naruto had jumped to his feet and was pointing like a mad man at the place where Sasuke had gone to sleep. "Sasuke's been kidnapped!" Sakura had a doubtful expression written on her face. "You're jumping to conclusions again, Naruto." The knuckle head ninja continued to go on about how they had to go searching for Sasuke and then panicked when he realized Kioko was missing as well. He dashed over to his sensei. "Kakashi-sensei! We have to find them!" He shouted. Of course the Jounin didn't hear a thing he said, since he had ear plugs in his ears. The elder ninja learned that was the only way he'd get any sleep with Naruto around going on rampages at night.

Just then Sasuke appeared in the opening of the cave with a confused expression on his face. "Find who, idiot?" Naruto snapped his head in the direction of the sound and a relieved expression appeared on his face. "You're ok! Thank goodness, I thought that you were kidnapped or something." The Uchiha boy let out a small sigh before hitting Naruto over the head out of annoyance. "Usuratonkachi" Naruto wined about getting hit again and started another fight with Sasuke.

Kakashi let out a small sigh as he raised his arm and pulled out the ear plugs. "Naruto, if there were any problems, Kioko's wolves would have known about it. They are extremely protective of her…." Before he could finish his statement one of the wolves bit Naruto lightly on the leg. He let out a loud cry before hitting his head on the cave ceiling. "And it would appear they are protective of her siblings as well." Naruto muttered something about a stupid mutt before gathering his stuff. Meanwhile, while all this excitement was going on inside, Kioko had taken the time to start cooking the fish.

After a few moments everyone had packed up there things and were sitting around the fire having their fish. They all thanked Kioko and complemented her cooking ability yet again. When they were finished they put out the fire and thought about how they were going to find there way to the sound village. The rains had completely wiped away Kazuma's scent. As they discussed it Kioko began to walk ahead without a word. Sakura blinked a few times, "Kioko-san?" With that everyone grabbed their belongings and followed right after her. The female Uchiha was pretty sure that on the other side of the woods was a trail that leads to the Sound. "I'm pretty sure it's this way. This path seems rather familiar to me."

No one was going to argue with her and with that they continued toward the border between the Leaf and Sound. The group continued to dash through the woods hoping they weren't too late, for they knew from experience that Orochimaru was a hard one to track down. Hours had gone by and the group didn't run into anyone. That was the kind of situation they were hoping for, but Kakashi found it somewhat disturbing. When Naruto looked over at Kioko again he blinked a few times as he saw a somewhat saddened expression on her face. 'Wonder what's on her mind.'

As the afternoon progressed fatigue started to catch up with the five ninja. Kakashi then issued the order for them to take a small break. When they landed Kioko said that she'd be back shortly. She went off on her own and sat up in a tree simply staring at the necklace that Itachi had given her. It didn't take Naruto long before he start to get concerned for her safety. "I'll be right back." He stated before taking off in the direction of the female Uchiha. The blonde ninja looked around and then spotted her with that same expression on her face. "Oy, Kioko-chan!"

Kioko snapped out of her thoughts when she had heard Naruto's call and smiled, offering him a seat beside her. Naruto jumped on the branch and then looked over at her again. He knew there was a lot on her mind and he understood her thoughtful expression. She had been through a lot with the whole retrieval of her memories. "Is there something bothering you? You seemed all cheerful this morning and now…"

She turned too look at him and then looked down. "This whole thing has been crazy for me. It's as if I'm learning all about myself again. There is a great deal to take in but I'll be alright Naruto. If nothing else happens, I just want things to go back to the way things use to be. I don't care if I don't get all my memories back. All I really want is to be happy with my friends and siblings." Naruto understood completely, after all he had similar feelings. He just wanted to be able to protect his friends and be together with them. Every day he could see that same desire hiding in Sasuke's eyes and he was rather happy to see those needs being fulfilled. With that off her chest she broke a small smile and said, "We should be heading back. I'm sure everyone is getting worried about now."

While the two of them were away Kakashi and Sasuke had some time to chat. The Jounin looked over at his prized pupil as they began to talk about Kioko's progress. A thoughtful expression appeared on Kakashi's face as Sasuke told him that Kioko had gained her Sharingan back. "Kioko's recovery of the Sharingan marks the return of all her early abilities. From here on out, things will increasingly start to get dangerous. The memories after the Sharingan fueled the development of her more powerful jutsu."

Sasuke nodded as he thought back to the day of the massacre as well as the ones before it. He remembered seeing the strange Sharingan of his elder brother and he knew that his sister followed in his footsteps. That meant that she too would have the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sasuke remembered the powerful and painful jutsu that came from it. "Not only that Sasuke, eventually this path will lead us to Itachi. I know you still wish to get your revenge but, remember the most important person in Kioko's life is your elder brother. If anything were to happen to him, it could set off a spark and cause her to lose all control of her demon's power."

The young Uchiha nodded in understanding as his memory took him back to those simple days when the three of them would just sit outside and laugh together. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Naruto's voice. Sasuke saw the happy expression on his sister's face and with that he made his decision. 'Kioko, I will do everything I can do to protect that smile. I will assure that your happiness remains, no matter what, even if that means I must forgive Itachi.'

To be continued….