Chapter 44 - Sasuke's Apology

Sasuke looked up and seen that it wasn't just Kakashi who was with him anymore, but his brother and sister. The same sister who he had shouted at for having failed to realise that during their training he had been a clone nearly the entire time. He felt bad about that, and wasn't even able to look her in the eye.

"Sasuke." Itachi said, looking at him. "You know that even if you have the Sharingan, and know things about what it can do, you don't necessarily know everything about it."

"I know..." Sasuke muttered, not making eye contact. He was ashamed of having shouted at their sister, who was now his student.

"Sasuke, is there something you wish to say?" Kakashi questioned, untying him from the tree, knowing that he should apologise, or risk having her hate him.

"I'm sorry Lilly." Sasuke said, getting up. "I shouldn't have shouted."

"It's okay big bro." Lilly smiled softly, before giving him a hug. She couldn't hate him for something, even something she, herself, felt that she should've realised.

Kakashi was watching from the side, listening in to what they were saying, and smiled from behind his mask, when Sasuke apologised, before leaving, he had other things to do as well. Sasuke felt bad for what he had done, and had suggested that he buys ramen for the two of them, as further apology. Lilly and Itachi weren't going to turn down ramen, even though they had already accepted Sasuke's apology.

"Ichiraku's ramen?" Sasuke questioned.

"Sure." Lilly giggled.

"Why not?" Itachi chuckled a little, before heading off towards Ichiraku's. However, before they even got going, they were stopped by a few sound ninja's - ninja that belonged to a village Orochimaru had created.

"Not so fast." One of the sound ninja's smirked.

"What do you want?" Sasuke growled, getting in front of both his brother and sister. Did he know them from somewhere?

"Ah, Sasuke. It's been a while." The second of the sound ninja's chuckled. "I'm surprised you managed to escape the clutches of Lord Orochimaru."

"He was weak, and my brother was stronger than him." Sasuke growled, activating his Sharingan.

"We just came here for a little chat." The first sound ninja said, sounding like they were just here to negotiate.

"Who are you?" Itachi growled, getting rather annoyed with the two sound ninja's.

"Kidomaru, Sakon." The first one introduced both of them.

"And Ukon." The sound ninja called Sakon said.

"Of course." Kidomaru chuckled. "Anyway, Lord Kabuto wishes to see the young Uchiha girl." He said, looking over towards Lilly.

"NO WAY!" Sasuke growled. Having had experience dealing with Orochimaru and Kabuto by himself, when he had left the village a while back, before having 'killed' Itachi, he knew they couldn't be trusted. He knew he had been stupid to follow the teachings of them, even though they had made him stronger, and enough of a match for his older brother.

"That's not going to happen." Itachi said, in a calming voice, gently pushing his sister behind him. This was going to be interesting.

"Big bro..." Lilly said, in such a quiet voice, that neither of them heard her. She wouldn't speak in such a quiet voice, unless she knew herself that whatever was going on wasn't good, and that someone was going to get hurt. Not to mention, whenever she spoke in such a quiet voice, it was also because she was slightly scared.

The five of them stood there in silence. Was a fight going to break out, or where the two sound ninja's going to peacefully leave? Not likely.

"We'll take her with force if we have to!" The sound ninja called Kidomaru growled.

"That won't happen." Itachi said, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, trapping the two of sound ninja's in a powerful genjutsu. "Tsukuyomi." Sasuke and Lilly both looked at their older brother. "Get out of here. Both of you." He said, in his usual calming voice.

"Right." Both of them said, before heading off back home.

As soon as his brother and sister were gone, he stopped the genjutsu and vanished, going to catch up with them. They had both successfully managed to get back home, and not to their own home. No. They had went to the first home Lilly had been in after the incident. Naruto's home.

"What happened?" Naruto questioned, knowing that something bad must've happened for the three of them to come to his home, instead of their own.

"Sound ninja's." Itachi told the nine-tails jinchuuriki.

"Again?" Naruto blinked. "Last time they were after Sasuke. Who they after now?" He questioned, and both Sasuke and Itachi just looked at their sister, who was sitting down on the couch, shaking slightly. She was clearly scared, and this wasn't like her.

"Lilly..." Itachi said, answering Naruto's question, as well as having a questioning tone towards her.

"Yes?" She said, looking up towards the three of them, just as Cecilia walked in.

"We won't let anyone get you. Especially not Orochimaru. Not Kabuto." Itachi said, going over and hugging her softly, with Sasuke leaning against the wall watching. What was he thinking? Did he still believe what Orochimaru had done was a good thing for him? Was he considering going to Kabuto and killing him, to bring back Orochimaru? Would he betray his family? Surely he wouldn't.

The evening seemed to come in slowly this day. Lilly had stopped feeling scared and had asked Cecilia to let her spar with her. Cecilia wasn't really wanting too, but at the same time she was. She was wanting to see how much the young Uchiha kunoichi had gotten stronger.

"You've greatly improved Lilly." Cecilia smiled, after having beaten Lilly, but it didn't surprise Cecilia, or anyone, that Lilly was beaten. She still had a lot to learn, even though she was already a Genin ninja.

"Thanks." Lilly smiled, as her eyes faded back to her normal colour, as she stopped her Sharingan.

"That Sharingan is coming along well." Itachi said, walking over to the both of them, with Sasuke following behind, rubbing his own neck.

"Maybe I was wrong..." Sasuke muttered. "Even though you didn't figure out that I was a clone, you still know how to use the Sharingan well sis." He said, smiling a little. "Tomorrow I think I'll get the three of you to have a battle and see which one of the three of you are stronger. It's just going to be a friendly battle, then how about the next time we start going on missions?" He chuckled, as Itachi ruffled his hair, knowing that what his little brother had just said, was a good thing for the team, as well as their sister.

"Alright." Lilly giggled, as Sasuke's hair looked funny, thanks to Itachi having messed it up. Sasuke complained slightly at Itachi under his breath, as he fixed his hair back into place. Just as he finished, some of the ninja that were in his year walked over, and looked at him.

"What do you want?" He questioned them.

"Nothing." The girls who had come over said, as the boys just looked down.

"Then leave." Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Alright..." Ino said, walking off with the rest of them following her, the only one who stayed behind was Sakura.

"What do you want?" Sasuke groaned in annoyance and looked at her.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said quietly, hiding a blush that was clearly wanting to show. Out of all the girls - besides Hinata - Sakura was the one who had the biggest crush on Sasuke.

"What?" He sighed, getting rather annoyed and even his big brother and little sister knew that.

"Well umm..." Sakura looked down going quiet.

"If you've nothing to say we'll leave." Sasuke said, putting his hands into his pockets, walking off.

"Try again next time." Itachi said to Sakura, before heading off.

"Yeah." Lilly smiled, following after her older brothers, leaving Sakura on her own.

As the next morning arose, Lilly, Sasuke and Itachi headed back to their own home, after having spent the night at Naruto's just to ensure that nobody would come after them. They weren't wanting those two sound ninja's to find them, and take Lilly from them, taking her to Kabuto and possibly giving her the cursed mark.

"You okay Lilly?" Itachi questioned, noticing the quietness of their sister.

"I'm fine." Quietly, she replied to him.

"Is something bothering you?" Sasuke questioned, knowing that something must be, seeing as she wouldn't get this quiet.

"No."

"Sis, don't lie." Sasuke sighed, knowing that she had a habit of hiding her true feelings, as well as what she was thinking, and that now was one of those times.

"It's nothing."

"Sis."

"Fine." Lilly sighed, finally giving up arguing with him, knowing that she wasn't going to get help from her big brother Itachi, to stop him pestering her about it.

"What's wrong?" Itachi questioned, as they walked inside their home.

"Why does Kabuto want me? What would he gain from me?" She sighed, as she sat down on the couch in the living room.

"We don't know for sure, but whatever it is, he won't get it." Itachi reassured her, patting her head. Sasuke was being strangely quiet, as he had a great idea why Kabuto wanted Lilly and what he wanted her for. However, he wasn't wanting to scare her anymore than she already had been. He would just wait until they came for her, but first, he needed to know the entire truth behind his brother's actions, and from people who were dead. He needed to find the truth from the people who had created the Village of Konoha and had run the village until their deaths. He needed to talk, and bring back, the former Hokage's.

Chapter 45 - The Four Hokage's Alive?

As a few days passed, Sasuke had suddenly disappeared from the village without a trace. Itachi had a feeling he knew what his younger brother was planning, but wasn't going to say anything, not wanting his brother to get into bother like he had the previous time. Sasuke had been classed as a 'missing-nin' and an 'international criminal', whereas Itachi had just been classed as a 'S-rank missing-nin'. Itachi had convinced - after the Hokage had seen how useful he had been to the village - the Hokage to agree to have those titles removed from Sasuke, as he had nothing to do with Orochimaru or the Akatsuki anymore. He knew Sasuke had changed his mind, with those sound ninja's coming after Lilly and was planning something, although, he wasn't entirely sure what it was.

"Where's big bro Sasuke?" Lilly questioned, getting worried about where he was, and what was going on one day.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure he'll be fine." Itachi lied, patting her softly on the head. "Don't worry."

"I can't help it." She sighed, looking down. "I don't want to lose him."

"Sis..." Itachi said, kneeling down to her height. "I want to show you something, although, I don't know what you'll think. Or them." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" He had ended up confusing her slightly, as she had been left in the dark from being able to talk to her parents who had been brought back not that long ago.

"It's better if I show you sis." Itachi smiled softly. "But first, I need to check something." And as he finished that, he left. Lilly was alone now, but she had gotten used to it.

She headed into the woods and was surprised when she seen her brother Sasuke. She didn't even take a minute to let him see her, before running up to him, giving him a hug. She wasn't alone now. He seemed a little different now. He didn't seem like himself and she could feel this from his chakra. It felt dark and scary. She didn't like it one bit, and slowly let go, backing away. To her surprise, he grabbed her by the arm, smirking.

"Hello sis." He said, in a scary voice. What had happened to Sasuke?

"B-Big bro..." She managed to utter out, as she had gotten scared. She was scared of her own brother. Luckily for her, someone else had noticed the dark and scary chakra emitting from Sasuke and appeared beside them within a flash, knocking Sasuke to the ground suddenly, picking Lilly up and vanishing with her. It had been Josh, and Neji.

"Josh!" Lilly exclaimed, as he held her in his arms.

"Hello Lilly." Josh smiled softly.

"What the hell has gotten into Uchiha?" Neji said, sounding rather annoyed.

"I-I... I don't know Neji." Lilly said, shaking. Josh gently stroked her cheek, trying to calm her down. His hand was warm and gentle, and made her feel safe. He made her feel safe.

"Where's Itachi?" Josh questioned, knowing that he should've been nearby, and should've noticed the dark and scary chakra coming from his younger brother.

"He left. He wanted to check on something." It wasn't as if she was lying, that was what Itachi had said to her he was going to do.

"Let's get you home for now Lilly." Josh suggested and Neji nodded in agreement.

"Alright." Lilly said, as Josh and Neji headed home, towards the Uchiha compound, or what was left of it.

After the three of them had left Sasuke alone in the forest, he used some jutsu to bring Orochimaru back from the dead. Why was he doing this? As soon as the snake got back into the living world, he seemed as creepy as ever and smirked at seeing his former student before his eyes.

"Sasuke." Orochimaru said, in his creepy, snake-like voice.

"Orochimaru." Sasuke said. "I need your help. I want to know the truth behind what they forced my brother to do, and why Kabuto is after my sister."

"And you think I will help you?" Orochimaru smirked.

"I brought you back, so yes." Sasuke simply stated. "I need to talk with the former Hokage's. All of them."

"Very well." Orochimaru said. "However, to be able to get the required sacrifices for the jutsu, I need to go the Uchiha hideout."

"Fine." Sasuke stated, before heading off. He was heading in the direction of the Uchiha hideout. One place Lilly hadn't been.

The both of them walked to the Uchiha compound, avoiding any places where Lilly was most likely to be, before reaching the Uchiha hideout. Sasuke opened it, and headed inside with Orochimaru behind him. He didn't seem even the slightest bit suspicious of what the snake was going to do.

As Lilly fell asleep in her bed, in her own room, Itachi walked in, with two people behind him. Fugaku and Mikoto. He walked towards his sister's room and opened the door just enough to look in and seen that she was sound asleep. He smiled and opened the door more, without waking her, walking in and sitting gently on the edge of her bed, stroking her long straight hair softly. She muttered something so quietly, that neither of the three of them were able to make it out, but it didn't matter. Just seeing Lilly made Mikoto and Fugaku smile.

"She's grown up." Mikoto whispered, not wanting to wake her.

"Very much so." Fugaku agreed.

"She has grown up. Even though she hasn't truly said anything to me or Sasuke, both of us know that there is a boy within the village who she has fallen for. But the good thing is, we both know that same boy, likes her back." Itachi whispered. He knew this, because when Josh had helped Lilly before, she had blushed faintly, but still noticeable, and when Lilly kissed Josh's cheek in 'thanks' one day, he had faintly blushed as well, but it was more noticeable than what hers had been.

"Well that's good to hear." Fugaku chuckled softly and quietly. However, it wasn't quiet enough and Lilly woke slightly, rubbing her eyes. She didn't get to see them, as they had left quickly, except Itachi. He had stayed sitting on her bed, stroking her hair softly.

"Hello sleepy-head." He smiled, as she looked up at him, smiling tiredly.

"H-Hi." She said, as she yawned. She was still tired, and who could blame her. It was 2.30am in the morning.

"Go back to sleep sis." He said, kissing her forehead softly, smiling.

As Lilly fell back to sleep, Itachi stayed by her side, and looked over to the door, when their parents walked in again. They smiled softly at the sight of their oldest and youngest together.

"She will find out soon son, but not now." Mikoto smiled, ruffling up his long black hair, before gently kissing Lilly on the head, which made her turn a little, but also smile.

"Keep looking after them. And you will need to keep a closer eye on Sasuke now, more than ever." Fugaku said, in an instructing tone. It was an order to Itachi to keep an eye on what his younger brother was up too.

"I will." Itachi said, as he yawned slightly. He too was getting tired, and his parents knew it, so they said their final farewell, and left the two alone in the room to sleep.

In the Uchiha hideout, Orochimaru had started to perform the jutsu, bringing back the First, Second, Third and Fourth Hokage's. They had been allowed to have their own personalities, so when the Third was back, he recognised straight away who was behind this.

"Sasuke." The Third Hokage said, in an astounded voice. "What are you doing?"

"I want to know the truth." Sasuke said, and what he didn't realise, was that as he started his conversation with the four Hokage's, Orochimaru had left.

"About what?" The Second Hokage groaned, rather annoyed.

"What my older brother was ordered to do, and why." Sasuke stated. Somehow, none of this seemed to have anything to do with the Fourth Hokage at the moment, but it was more than likely that Sasuke would find something to ask him. What, only Sasuke would find the answer to that.

Orochimaru headed back towards his old hideout, and found Kabuto dead. He seemed rather pleased about that. Maybe he had only thought of Kabuto as someone to heal his wounds and injuries whenever they got into trouble with other ninja.

Peace and quiet went throughout the village, even the Uchiha compound. Some people thought it was strangely quiet and that something was more than likely going to go wrong, but for now everyone within the village seemed to just enjoy the peace and relax.

Chapter 46 - Team Sasuke's Assignment

After a few days peace, Sasuke returned to the village and had ordered his team members to meet him in the Uchiha compound. That wasn't going to be hard for Lilly, considering she was mostly there all the time, whereas Michael and Jynx hardly every went near there, let alone knew where it was, so Lilly had to make sure they got there, and in time. Sasuke wasn't like Kakashi and occasionally, Itachi, he was always on time, or sometimes early.

By the time the three met up with him, he wasn't alone. Sasuke had Itachi and Kakashi with them, it seemed like something was wrong, or maybe they were in trouble.

"What's going on sensei?" Michael questioned, just as worried as the two kunoichi beside him.

"The Chunnin exams are near, and I'm considering entering the three of you in it." Sasuke told his team. Kakashi smiled under his mask, knowing fine well that this was what he had done last time the Chunnin exams came around with Team 7.

"Really?" Jynx questioned, knowing well that no team should attempt the Chunnin exam the first time it comes, after becoming a Genin.

"Yes." Sasuke plainly said, placing his hands into his pockets.

"Awesome!" Michael and Jynx both exclaimed, as Lilly remained calm, and just looked at the sky, thinking. Was she worried that Kabuto would come after her, like Orochimaru had Sasuke?

"You've a week until they begin, so all I'll say is this. Train, rest, and do your best." And with that said, Sasuke left the team alone, but not completely. Itachi had also stayed, while Kakashi had left at the same time as Sasuke.

"Good luck you two." Itachi said, mostly to Michael and Jynx, as he wouldn't see them everyday, like he would Lilly, before heading off, with Lilly following behind.

"Thanks." Both of them grinned, before deciding that they would already start with their training for the Chunnin exams, and fight each other.

As the three Uchiha's headed back into their home, there was a disturbing presence coming from outside the village, and all three of them could feel it. Lilly started to wonder who it was and what they were wanting, so she decided to go and find out exactly what was going on. By the time she got there, there was nobody around, and she seemed a little frightened by it. Was it Kabuto?

As she headed back into the village, heading towards the back, where the big gates and walls that surrounded the Uchiha compound where situated. Itachi and Sasuke had been asked what they were going to do with the Uchiha compound, seeing as it technically belonged to them, seeing as they were the last remaining Uchiha. Lilly had no idea that they had been asked about it, and that they were allowed to determine what happened to the compound, and what they had decided was plain and simple. Keep the walls and gates that surrounded the compound, and rebuild the houses that had been destroyed within the area, leaving some of the main buildings - their home - with the Uchiha clan symbols on them, removing any Uchiha clan symbols from anywhere else within the compound. They would allow foreigners to use these as their homes for a short time, until they left, or got a new place within the village.

"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned his older brother.

"We're going to start rebuilding the houses. We'll get some of the teams that aren't participating within the Chunnin exams, or haven't gotten very far, to come and help us. Tsunade-sama has already allowed us to do so, and that will make us in charge of it." Itachi explained to his younger brother, just as their little sister walked into the house, into the room.

"What are you both talking about?" She questioned them, placing her bag down. She felt like she needed to pass these exams to prove herself to them even more.

"Nothing important." They both smiled.

"Alright." She sighed, as she headed into the kitchen to pour herself something to drink.

"We can't tell her." Itachi whispered to his sibling, before heading into the kitchen. "Shall I make dinner for us all?" He questioned, as he started to get out the ingredients he needed to cook something they all would like.

"Sure." Both of the young replied.

"Do you need any help?" Lilly questioned, putting her glass down on the table, as Sasuke walked in, before leaning against the wall.

As the three sat down to a peaceful meal, there was a knocking at the door, and Lilly hearing it, got up and went to the door, opening it. It was Naruto. She smiled at the sight of the blonde, before gesturing inside, letting him know that he was more than welcome to come in. As soon as he walked in, he looked around, before calling out for Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, in his usually loud voice. Sasuke groaned from the kitchen, before heading out to see what the other wanted.

"What is it Naruto?" Sasuke sighed, wishing that for once Naruto wouldn't be so loud, and act like a normal person.

"Granny Tsunade wants to see us. Including Lilly." The blonde said, before grinning his usual cheeky grin.

"Why now?" Lilly questioned, as one of Itachi's crows came out and sat upon her shoulder. Clearly the older sibling wanted to know what was going on, before interrupting the conversation.

"Something to do with the tailed beasts." Naruto shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure, and the expression on his face revealed that.

"Go on." Itachi said, now standing in the doorway. "I'll be there shortly." He smiled a little, before heading back into the kitchen. Itachi seemed to be smiling a lot more than usual now. That was a good thing, but whatever was making him smile more, he was keeping it a secret, and wasn't telling either of them, which made them even more curious to know why he was so happy lately. It wasn't if they didn't like seeing him smiling, they did, they just wanted to know why.

When the three jinchuuriki reached the Hokage's office, they weren't surprised to find Shizune there as well. Shizune was like Tsunade, but not as powerful, and not a 'Legendary Sannin'. Shizune was a medical ninja, and had learned a lot from Tsunade, and was always by her side, ready to help whenever they needed her, or especially if Tsunade needed her.

"Hello you three." Shizune said, with a smile, letting the three into the office. Tsunade was sitting behind a large desk, looking at some papers. She didn't seem as happy as she was, so it worried the three greatly.

"What's going on Granny?" Naruto questioned, and winced as Sasuke slapped him hard across the head. Naruto did respect Tsunade, but had always had a habit of calling her 'granny' just because, even though she looked young, she was old.

"All of the tailed beasts have been captured by the Akatsuki," Tsunade simply stated, "and there is only four remaining." This worried Lilly greatly, she knew that the three in the room were three of the tailed beast hosts, and that there were another four besides them, so if three had been captured, that meant that there was only them and one other jinchuuriki still around. Who was the other surviving jinchuuriki?

"Who's the other one?" Sasuke questioned, clearly wondering the same thing as his sister.

"Killer Bee." Naruto smirked, answering the question for Tsunade. "He's the eight-tails host."

"Correct, we need to..." Before Tsunade could continue, she trailed off, as she received news from Shikaku - Shikamaru's father. She went strangely silent, after hearing the news. "The Akatsuki has gotten Killer Bee and the eight tails. You three are the only ones remaining."

The three of them remained silent, before Naruto shook his head. Clearly he couldn't believe that the Akatsuki had succeeded in capturing the eight tails. He seemed like he was crying, and that wouldn't have surprised any of them. Everyone knew that Naruto felt closely linked with all the previous jinchuuriki, especially Gaara and Killer Bee. They had known how Naruto had felt all those years, and had helped him grow strong.

"That can't be!" He shouted, before running out of the office. However, he didn't get very far, before Jirayia grabbed him.

"Calm down Naruto." Jirayia said, in a calm voice. "If you let your emotions take over, and anger consume you, then you will lose yourself and allow the nine-tails to take over." Naruto sniffed, before finally calming down. Out of all the tailed beasts, the one that was more than likely to destroy a village when being freed, was the Kyuubi.

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled, just as Sasuke, Lilly and Tsunade appeared beside them both.

"It's alright." Lilly smiled, giving him a soft hug.

As soon as Naruto had calmed down, Lilly had suggested that they head to Ichiraku's and that she buys ramen for them all. She didn't mind paying, especially seeing Naruto's face light up into a great big smile at the sound of getting ramen. She would do anything to make her friends, and family happy. Even if it cost her life, which she hoped it would never come too. For now, she had to focus on the up-coming Chunnin exam, before anything else. She had to try forget about the Akatsuki, the tailed beasts, and Kabuto - even though he was already dead, but she didn't know that.