The Monster Within Us All

by NYC0123

Mito and Naruto Uzumaki are two children, both born in tragedy. Their birth leads into a story of suspense, and mystery. How do monsters come to be? Are they born, or are they created? Mito attempts to discover the answers to these questions. All the while trying to stop her psychopathic brother from leading the world into ruin. [Heavily based on Naoki Urasawa's Monster].

11. Chapter Eleven

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live (Norman Cousins).

The Monster Within Us All: Chapter Eleven

The 5th Hokage and her companions had returned to Konoha two days ago. There was a crowd of uproarious onlookers greeting them at the gates. However, Mito was more focused on getting her teammate to the hospital. Sasuke had suffered extreme injuries to his psyche after being tortured in a genjutsu by Itachi Uchiha. Mito had always known they were brothers and figured that he was the person Sasuke was always training to kill.

Since the two days had passed, Sasuke was still lying in a hospital bed. Tsunade had refused to allow him to leave, saying that he needed to recuperate. To Sasuke, it was an immense waste of his time. He realized now more than ever, that if he was going to gain the power needed to kill Itachi, sitting around was harmful. He had refused any visitors, as he was far too agitated. It didn't help that sleep was evading him more than ever.

He was staring at the white ceiling and was interrupted from his melancholy by a knocking on the door. He didn't turn to see who it was, considering he already knew. The tentative way in which the guest knocked made it obvious enough. He heard the person open the door and sit down next to his hospital bed, but the room remained engulfed in an awkward silence. At least when he was alone, Sasuke didn't need to suffer in this way.

"Do you need something?" he asked curtly. He needed to find a way to return to solitude. Hopefully, his typical method, which was being rude, would work.

"I just came to see how you were doing," Sakura answered with a downtrodden smile. Ever since Sasuke returned from retrieving the 5th Hokage, any progress he made in becoming a sociable person went down the toilet.

"Well, you saw me," Sasuke snapped before turning back towards the window.

Sakura flinched and looked towards the ground. It was kind of interesting, the way Sasuke was able to make her feel. On one had nobody was able to make her feel more happy and safe. However, on the other, nobody was more capable of intimidating her. He could be so standoffish at times, and there was also the issue of his inability to relax. The only person he ever let his guard down around was Mito. At first, Sakura resented the redhead for that fact; however, she couldn't bring herself to keep despising such an amazing person.

"I care for you, Sasuke-kun," she said in a hope to appease the agitated Uchiha. "I know the feeling may not be mutual, but you are my friend."

Sasuke stared at her intensely for what felt like an eternity. When he finally spoke, it wasn't what she'd expected, "You could never understand." he said. "The pain of losing everything that you ever loved," the glare he gave her was one of the most chilling things she'd ever seen. "And then the pain of confronting the one who took it all from you, and being utterly outclassed."

Sasuke finally looked away and started clenching the bed sheets. His eyes were tightly shut as if opening them would result in something terrible. All the fear Sakura had felt immediately faded away, and all she could feel was sadness. She was sad that the boy she loved had experienced such pain. And she was sad about how right he was about her. Not that she was upset that she had an easy life, however, she would never be able to relate to him. Not in the way that Mito could.

With great apprehension, she placed her hand over his. For a while, nothing happened, but soon he stopped squeezing the sheets so tightly. He still didn't open his eyes, but his face was no longer twisted in misery. However, the thing that stuck him the most was the barely noticeable tears flowing down his cheeks. She didn't dare say anything, or else she'd ruin the moment. But there was one thing that made her tear up as well; with tears of joy.

He didn't make any move to remove her hand from his own.

~Break~

This was beginning to get eerie. Every day, Shiro Akihiro checked the doorstep of his home, and the same creepy letter would be there every time. If he weren't so excited that his little girl had returned home, the issue would probably be number one on his priority list. However, seeing Mito's cheery face made it impossible to think about anything else. Besides, it was all probably the work of some kid playing a prank.

As her father placed the letter in his desk drawer as Mito made her presence known. She coughed loudly and laughed when her goofy father literally jumped. He turned and gave her a smile only a father seeing their child could hope to replicate. Their tenure as father and daughter may not have been that long; only three years. However, they were some of the best three years of both of their lives.

"Come on, my princess," Shiro bellowed dramatically. "Let's go get some lunch!"

Mito cheered with a level of enthusiasm that would be considered very cute. She enjoyed these easy times with her family, and in particular, her father. She loved action, she loved Team 7, and she loved missions, but it was only with her father that she was truly able to escape the pain of her past. He was quite the jolly giant, and he always knew just how to make her smile.

Long before the Akihiro's adopted Mito, they had lost the opportunity to raise a child of their own due to complications. During the birth of what would have been their first child, the infant came into this world as a corpse. And to had salt to the wound, the botched birth resulted in her mother Eto, being unable to conceive in the future. All they wanted to do was start a family of their own, and yet it was as though they were cursed never to achieve their goal.

In the wake of both their tragedies, Mito and the Akihiro couple were united and became a family. It was not a direct, seamless fit, however, gradually they began to love one another as a family. Mito loved both of her parents equally, but it was evident to anyone who knew them that she and her father shared a special bond.

They finally arrived at their destination, which was revealed to be a quaint little place not too far from their home. They took their seats and put in their orders. After the waitress had left, Shiro decided to speak, "So," he said in a happy tone. "My daughter helped recruit the 5th Hokage? Could there possibly be a more proud father in this world?"

Mito smiled and bashfully began rubbing the back of her head. There was only one person in the world whose praise was able to make her feel this way. It only demonstrated just how great of a man Shiro was since he was able to become so important to his daughter in such a short time. Mito's smile soon took a sad undertone, "I'm sure Naruto would have made you proud too, dad."

Shiro's expression became momentarily downcast at the quick change in mood. He had never met his daughter's brother, but from what he had heard, the boy was critical to her life. Every day he was grateful to the blonde boy that help Mito become who she was today. He had little doubt he would have been proud to be the boy's father.

The food arrived, and the negative atmosphere immediately vanished. Mito and Shiro were both black holes in the way that they consumed food. It was strange how two people could be so similar without sharing the same genetics. In fact, many people are surprised to discover that Mito and her father are not related. However, their bond was stronger than any blood ties.

Mito spent the duration of the meal narrating her adventures; however, she intentionally left out the parts in which she either almost died or witnessed death. It was complicated to do, considering just how violent some of her missions had become. However, even through it all, she had never allowed herself to be taken to that dark place. Thankfully, she could say with pride that she had yet to ever take a human life. To Mito, all human life was equal and that it shouldn't be taken unless one was saving an innocent life.

"Have you been having the dreams?" her father asked, with a bit of nervousness creeping into his tone. Mito's dreams were always a tricky subject. When he and Eto initially inquired about the subject, they were immediately shut down. However, over time their daughter became more and more comfortable around them, to the point that she would openly admit to when she had a nightmare. She still wouldn't go into too much detail about the contents of the dreams, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Nope!" the redhead chirped in between bites of food. "I haven't had one in a while. I think I'm finally beginning to come to terms with my past."

Shiro smiled at the good news, and the two finished their meal. Hokage-sama had warned them that if they were to adopt Mito, they would need to assist her through trauma. The young girl grew up with almost nothing, and then everything she had was taken from her in a single day. He would say that it wasn't fair, but that was often the case with the world they lived in. Complaining about it wouldn't solve anybody's problems, only pushing forward towards a better day would.

As they two finished their meals, they said goodbye and both went their separate ways. Apparently, his daughter and her friend Sakura would be meeting with the rest of their graduating class for dinner at a barbecue. He was glad that his daughter had made so many friends, in spite of all her suffering. Shiro didn't dislike Sasuke Uchiha, but he couldn't help but feel relieved that his daughter didn't end of like him; bitter at the world.

He approached his home, and on his doorstep, he saw another unmarked letter. At this point, he would have preferred a flaming bag of dog poop on his doorstep over this. Frankly, the letters were creepy, and the idea that the person who wrote them was constantly on their property was even more so. Despite his fears, he picked up the letter and made his way into the kitchen. He opened the envelope and read its contents. He was irritated to discover that it was, in fact, the same message as all the other times. He brought the letter to his office and opened a drawer in his desk, revealing it to be filled with the dozens of other letters he had received from the mysterious stranger. He added the new one to the collection and slammed the drawer shut. He and his wife decided not to throw the letters away since keeping them would be for the best if they ever decided to report the issue to the authorities.

As Shiro made his way towards the living room, he pondered the message he had regularly been receiving over the past week. It was the same bizarre sentence written in the same creepy hand writing. 'Look at me. Look at me. The monster inside of me has grown this large,' he recited in his mind.

What on earth could that mean?

~Break~

When Sasuke heard a tapping on his hospital window in the dead of night, he expected to see Mito's goofy face looking back at him. However, what he didn't expect was to see a ghost. Well, not in the literal sense, but it had been so long since Naruto Uzumaki had last been seen in the village that most assumed him to be dead. He may as well have been a ghost, considering how unnoticeable his presence was.

After politely knocking, the Uzumaki boy slid the window open and slinked into the room. Sasuke was in too much shock to formulate words. Naruto felt different than he did in the past; he couldn't quite describe it, but for a moment that this was some kind of sick nightmare. While the last loyal Uchiha realized that the events in Itachi's Tsukuyomi were completely fabricated, he couldn't ignore the tingling in his spine at seeing the subject of his previous fear standing before him.

"It has been a while since we last spoke, Sasuke-san," the blond Uzumaki greeted politely while taking a seat. Sasuke's well-tempered instincts were screaming at him that he was in danger. He still hadn't fully recovered from his brother's genjutsu, and his chakra was depleted. "Itachi-san is much stronger than you anticipated, am I correct?"

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded. "Shouldn't you be telling Mito that you're alright?" He was very irritated with Naruto. It seemed as though the blonde Uzumaki was completely safe and healthy, yet he hadn't visited his sister in years as if he didn't care for her feelings.

"Isn't your constant focus on my sister's well-being the reason you are currently indisposed?" Naruto asked, and while his voice sounded kind, Sasuke was confident that Uzumaki boy was attempting to grate on his nerves.

When Sasuke didn't respond Naruto continued, "I'm sure that you're curious about what your brother has been up to. I hate to tell you this, but I'm fairly sure you'll be disappointed. He has banded together with the world's most dangerous S-Rank criminals." Naruto paused for a few moments, and when Sasuke continued to remain silent, he proceeded to twist the proverbial knife, "Do you not feel guilty, sitting here, alive and well, while Itachi-san does who knows what to the innocent people of the world?"

"I'm starting to think that my more immediate problem is you," Sasuke growled, after finally having enough. Naruto's demeanor didn't change at all; however, he tilted his head into in curiosity.

"And why might that be?" Naruto asked serenely. To a person that didn't know what the blonde Uzumaki was capable of, they would wonder if he was an angel. However, Sasuke's thinking was more along the lines of whether or not Naruto was the devil.

"I know what you did in the tower of the Forest of Death," Sasuke stated accusingly. "Those Anbu guards were killed by you."

Naruto closed his eyes as if he were attempting to relax. It couldn't have been Kakashi who told the Uchiha survivor that he was the one responsible for the murders. Kakashi had been investigating and meddling with his affairs for years now, and if he had discovered his identity, he would have informed the Hokage. So who could it have been?

Naruto's eyes opened back up, and he smiled, "Itachi-san told you." he said, not sounding particularly surprised.

Sasuke ignored the statement in favor of laying into the blonde, "Clearly you're more dangerous than you let on. You think that you're going to continue getting away with this? I would kill you right now if I were able."

"But you aren't able," Naruto responded quickly. "You aren't able because your development has been hampered in this village. With your talent and bloodline, you should be leagues ahead of anyone in your age group. However, you were nearly killed by the Suna Jinchuuriki." Naruto continued before Sasuke could respond, "When Itachi-san was your age he was strong enough to become an Anbu, and only a year later he was able to annihilate your clan. Yet, here you are, still a genin."

Sasuke was enraged, but he couldn't quite dispute any of the blonde's claims. There were plenty of people in the history of the Shinobi World that were much stronger than he was when they were his age. In the past, he hadn't expected to be the strongest person in the world at this point, but he at least anticipated he'd be strong enough to give Itachi trouble. Which is why he was so disappointed to be so utterly defeated by his brother.

"Orochimaru-san wishes to use you for his benefit," Naruto said. "However, you should use it as an opportunity to use him. Go to him, and learn what you need to learn. Become strong enough to avenge your clan, and then kill Orochimaru-san when he has outlived his usefulness."

"Is that what you would do?" Sasuke snapped loudly.

"Yes," Naruto answered calmly and with a polite smile.

Sasuke sat in silence and contemplated Naruto's words. Before the conversation could go any further Naruto disappeared in the blink of an eye. Sasuke clenched his fists under his bed sheets. He hadn't even seen the blonde move, and yet, they were the same age. He wasn't a fool; it was clear as day that Naruto was the superior shinobi. Naruto left the village and then skyrocketed in power, so it seemed that the last Uchiha had a lot to think about.

~Break~

"So, what is Tsunade-sama like?" Tenten asked Mito excitedly, hoping to hear about her idol.

"She likes to gamble and drink," Mito answered with a cheeky smile. She was delighted to be in the presence of so many of her friends. Ino had arranged a get together with all the other Konoha genin that participated in the Chunin Exams, and Mito was happy to be invited. She looked around the table and noted that everyone was present except for Sasuke; hell, even Neji was in attendance.

"Does 'Lord' Uchiha think himself too good to show up?" Kiba asked, still holding a grudge against Sasuke for the beating during the Academy spar. Mito couldn't blame him for being resentful, especially since Sasuke never apologized. Apparently, it took several weeks for the Inuzuka heir to fully recover from his injuries.

Before he could continue, he received an elbow in the gut from Ino. "Not now Kiba," she said in an overly sweet voice that made the Inuzuka boy's spine tingle. There was nothing more terrifying than the fury of an angry woman, and Ino is especially nasty when irritated.

"Sasuke-kun is still in the hospital, but he is doing better," Sakura chimed in, hoping to alleviate any tension.

"You and Sasuke-san did an honorable thing, Mito," Neji complimented with a nod of the head, referring to their retrieval of the 5th Hokage. Ever since his defeat during the Chunin Exams, Neji had become much more pleasant to be around. Part of it was that he was humbled by his loss, but it was mostly because he wanted to better himself, to honor Hinata's legacy.

"It all sounds troublesome to me," Shikamaru complained, much to Ino's obvious annoyance. "Why is it that we have to deal with so much stuff already? I just wanted a simple Shinobi life."

The group talked for a few more minutes and then their meals finally arrived. Choji's order was by far the largest, but Mito's came in a close second. Ino and the other girls were extremely jealous of Mito's ability to eat seemingly anything and not gain any weight. However, it shouldn't be a surprise, since Mito was extraordinary in so many ways.

"So," Ino said, sparking conversation once more. "I heard a contingent of Sunagakure Shinobi came to speak to Tsunade-sama. Apparently, they want a peaceful resolution."

The entire group had mixed feelings about letting Suna off the hook so easily. The majority were happy that any further fighting had been averted. But unsurprisingly, one genin was fairly irritated. "That's bullshit," Kiba growled. "They ambushed us, their ally, and they're getting away scot-free? A couple of my clansmen were killed by those assholes during the invasion."

"We killed more of them than they did of us," Shino countered in his typical stoic voice. "So I believe that makes things even. That's because they suffered the deaths of many shinobi, including their Kazekage."

"I get not continuing to fight, nobody wants any more bloodshed," Kiba clarified. "But is there seriously going to be no punishment? Maybe they attacked us in the first place because they knew we would be such pushovers about it."

"I concur," Neji said. "It is always for the best to avoid war," as he said this he thought about how his father sacrificed his life to prevent war with Kumogakure. "But at the very least, there should have been some form of punishment."

"The Hokage is thinking about the big picture," Shikamaru drawled. "Suna was manipulated by the man who organized the invasion and killed the Third Hokage. Their Kazekage was murdered, and Orochimaru posed as him for who knows how long. Rather than fighting each other, we will ally with them to defeat our common enemy. In doing so, we will become stronger allies than ever before."

"That still doesn't change the fact that they invaded us!" Kiba said, getting irritated at what he believed to be a bad point.

"If the Hokage ordered us to invade a village, we all would have done it," Shikamaru said, shutting Kiba up immediately. "Suna Shinobi are required to follow any and all orders from their leader, just as we are."

This got the group of young genin thinking once more. What if the Hokage ordered them to do something so immoral, would they have to do it? Would it make them bad people for doing such a thing? Most of them had never attempted to view the situation from the perspective of the Suna shinobi. After doing so, even Kiba had to admit that he understood their decision, even if it was only begrudgingly.

"How do we know Hokage-sama won't order us to do such a thing in the future?" Choji asked with food hanging out of his mouth.

"We'll just have to put faith in the fact that the Hokage will never force us to do such a thing," Mito said with a smile, lifting everyone's spirits. "Our village is not absent of past sins, but it is more important to focus on the present and future. We can never change the past, so we should concentrate on building a better tomorrow."

"Hmm, perhaps you should be Hokage someday, Mito," Shikamaru commented with a lazy smirk. Truthfully, everyone assumed that one day Mito would have her visage carved on the Stone Faces. She had the talent, intellect, and charisma that were required to be an excellent leader.

"W-Well, I don't know, I've never really thought about it," Mito said, a little embarrassed at the praise. Perhaps she would make a good Hokage some day. Especially considering that a Hokage is one who is trusted and respected by their fellow shinobi, even before they take the position.

"Then we'd all be friends with a Hokage; we'll practically have carte blanche."

The entire group laughed at the joke and the evening turned out to be a rather pleasant experience. But you know what they say, there is always the calm before the storm.

~Break~

It seemed as though today was the day for strange visitors. First Naruto and then four of Orochimaru's goons that referred to themselves as the Sound Four; Sasuke was half expecting his brother to come through the window next. However, while Naruto and the Sound Four likely had varying motivations, their messages were the same; they both were encouraging him to seek more power outside of the village. Even so, the visits did well in showing him just how behind he was in the process of becoming strong enough to kill Itachi.

Those Sound Four ingrates were stronger than he was and were much better at using their curse marks, and he didn't even want to get started on Naruto. If those imbeciles were able to become so powerful under Orochimaru, imagine how powerful the heir to the Uchiha Clan would become under the snake Sannin's tutelage?

Sasuke had just finished changing out of his hospital clothes and into his shinobi garbs. It felt good to be out of bed and prepared for battle once more. As he approached the windowsill, he pondered the offer that was just laid before him. All he needed to do was meet the Sound Four at the border between Fire Country and Rice Country, and they would escort him to Orochimaru.

He closed his eyes and thought about all the things he would be leaving behind. Mito, Sakura, and Kakashi were undoubtedly the people that were most precious to him in this world. However, when thinking about those who used to be precious to him, and what his brother did to them, the decision became a no-brainer. He hoped that Mito would understand and respect his decision.

As he darted across the rooftops of the village and glanced at the moon in the night sky, he realized the reality of his choice. It would likely be some time before he was able to come back here again, and perhaps just as long before he saw a lot of the people he had grown accustomed to seeing every day.

Once he finally passed over the walls of the village, he knew that there was no turning back. He traveled for miles, and all he could see was the darkness above and the occasional branch swinging close to his face. However, before he could proceed, he felt a familiar presence gaining on him. He stopped in the middle of a clearing and waited for them to catch up. Unsurprisingly, Mito landed in behind him with a distraught look marring her usually cheerful face.

"What are you doing so far from the village, Sasuke?" she demanded, though, by the tone of her voice, it was pretty clear that she knew exactly what he was doing.

"I have to do this Mito, and only you can even come close to understanding why," Sasuke answered, knowing that beating around the bush would be pointless.

The wind blew which caused the grass below to shift about hypnotically. For Sasuke, it was becoming very difficult to look his teammate in the eye without being racked with guilt. He meant what he said earlier, she was the only person who could empathize with his situation, and by extension, he was able to empathize with hers as well. He couldn't have asked for a better best friend, and that fact that she ran all the way here after him was proof of that.

"Please Sasuke, don't leave," Mito pleaded to her friend. All the previous anger was gone from her voice, and it was stricken with nothing but sadness. "I have already lost so many people."

"So have I," he countered. "And that's why I have to do this; to avenge their deaths."

"At the cost of everything you hold dear?!" she shouted with tears in her eyes. Ironically, it soon began to rain, as if the heavens were weeping alongside her. It wouldn't surprise Sasuke if that were the case, even a god couldn't help but like Mito, she was special in that way.

"This is the end of our bond," Sasuke says in a deadly calm voice. "In truth, people like us were never meant to befriend anyone. We understand what it feels like to lose the ones we love, so in theory, we should avoid bonds in order to prevent any future losses. I am going to correct that mistake." He looks directly into Mito's cerulean eyes and hammers the last nail in the proverbial coffin, "I have been holding you back for long enough, just like you and everyone else in the village have been holding me back."

Mito froze in place, and Sasuke began to get unnerved as she stared unblinkingly into his eyes for what felt like an eternity. The rain shifted into a downpour, and he began to feel his clothing sticking to his skin and his hair becoming soaked. He thought that his redheaded friend would never move another inch, but then she slowly turned around in the other direction and began walking back towards the village. Her steps were slow and wobbly, and it almost looked as if she was sleep walking, but Sasuke knew the truth, that was what grief did to a person.

Once she returned under cover of the trees and was out of sight, Sasuke collapsed to his knees and stared at the muddy ground below him. The weight of what he had just done, and in particular, what he had just done to his best friend, had just collapsed on his shoulders. Like himself, Mito was probably very uncomfortable with opening up to people, and yet, she decided to put her faith in him, and he had just betrayed that faith.

He stood up after composing himself and looked back in the direction she had just gone. After the final glance, he leaped forward towards his intended destination without looking back. He made his decision, and now he would live with it.

~Break~

Her world had just shattered right before her eyes. As she made the slow trek back to the villages, her steps felt almost purposeless. When confronted with the fact that Sasuke could so easily sever their bond, she had lost any will to fight. If anyone were to ask the hypothetical question of what she would do if one of her friends tried to abandon the village, she'd probably say that she would knock some sense into them and drag them back. However, when confronted with the gut-wrenching reality of the situation, she found herself drained of all energy.

In truth, it was similar to how she felt when her brother went missing; much like she did with Naruto, Mito viewed Sasuke as a brother, with the only difference being that she and Sasuke didn't share the same blood. Once again something she cared about had been ripped from her grasp, and this time she had no idea what to do. In the past, the Third Hokage was always a shoulder to cry on and a voice of wisdom, but now he was dead. She was orphaned and had no clue regarding the identity of her birth parents, her first foster parents died, her brother went missing and is presumed dead, her childhood friend was murdered during the Chunin Exams, and now Sasuke was abandoning the village. It was almost as if she was destined to suffer.

She passed through the gate with ease, considering the two guards were fast asleep. Usually, she would have laughed at their goofy sleeping faces, but she was in no mood for humor of any kind. The streets were completely empty, much like the feeling in her chest. She looked up towards the Hokage Stone Faces and didn't feel any of the hope she typically felt while gazing upon them. Her eyes shifted to the revered Fourth Hokage, and she wondered what he would have done in her situation. He probably would have fought to bring his comrade back, rather than walking away like a coward.

Suddenly she was walking down the same street, and yet, the rain had completely stopped. She glanced around and noticed that everything seemed odd, and immediately felt an uncontrollable fear well up in her chest. She had been wandering the streets for what seemed like hours, and she needed to see her big bro immediately.

Mito looked down at her right arm and saw the nail marks that were left behind as if someone had attempted to grab her against her will. As she passed one of the shops, she saw her reflection in the window and noticed that her tiny five-year-old body was littered with small cuts, likely from running away through the woods. She gazed at the Hokage Stone Faces and felt herself calm down a little bit. Much like her brother, she always felt as though those stone carvings were looking out for her.

She continued walking for several minutes, and she finally made it towards the outskirts of the village, which was where her destination was located. As she walked through the trees, she felt spooked by all the shadows and hoped that there weren't any monsters lurking about.

Finally, she reached the orphanage and hoped that her brother hadn't left with the other children to play in the playground. However, she knew that he would wait for her forever if that were what it took. As she approached the door, she could almost feel the fear leaving her body. Her big bro would be here, and he'd take care of her. She opened the door and gave a greeting.

"I'm home," she said, hoping not to startle her brother in case he wasn't prepared for her arrival.

However, standing before her was not her brother, but a perfect copy of herself. "Welcome home," the figure said.

Mito snapped out of the strange reoccurring dream and found that she was standing on her stepparent's doorstep. That was all right with her, seeing as that was her original destination. Regardless, she was a bit unnerved about that fact that she had lost consciousness and walked this far, in the rain no less. It almost made her forget the pain of Sasuke's defection; almost.

"I'm home," she called out, and immediately felt deja vu, thinking it was ironic she was repeating the phrase she regularly heard her younger self say in her dreams. However, she was fairly unnerved at the lack of any response, which was unusual, especially for her boisterous father. He would stay up as late as he needed to to make sure that she got home safe, which she appreciated.

Mito walked into the living room and was shocked and appalled at what she saw. Lying on the rug were her step-parents, with their throats slit and wide dead eyes. She stared in utter shock for several moments before she sensed a presence in the other room, and it was the eeriest thing she had ever felt in her entire life. She walked like a person possessed until she was standing before the double doors of the dining room. One of the doors was slightly open, which led her to believe that the person responsible for the brutal murder in the other room was lurking inside.

She slowly pushed the door open and felt her spine tingle at the squeaking sound the hinges made as she did so. Her eyes were blood red and slitted due to the Kyuubi's chakra, brought forth by her rage. However, her eyes immediately shifted back to their normal color when she saw her brother standing in the center of the room. The dining room table was not set up, so the room was an entirely empty space, and he could be seen standing there due to the moonlight shining through the window. In his hand was a bloody kunai and she was smart enough to infer what that meant.

"N-Naruto?" she asked in a traumatized daze. "What have you done?"

He didn't respond, but her instincts allowed her to catch the kunai knife as he tossed it into her hands, clearly intending for her to wield it for whatever reason. When looking into his eyes, she felt a primal fear build up in her chest. His eyes were half lidded and yielded nothing. He slowly pointed towards his heart in a move that made little sense until he spoke with a polite smile and half lidded gaze.

"Kill me, Mito."

~End~