Disclaimer: I do not own naruto, or any of the other sources i'll be drawing upon, all I own is my wonderful OC's, Enjoy! possess

The walk back was a silent one, for both Seven and I had much on our mind. We had made a quick stop by Councillors office beforehand, were I informed him that the problem had been dealt with. I knew that it hadn't, not really. It was my own apprentice that had been doing it after all, and yet… I just knew that the disappearances would stop. I couldn't say how, I just new they would, and considering all that had happened, a gut feeling like this was all I really needed.

But as we walked through the forest I called home, and to the base I called sanctuary, my mind was still at the basement of that orphanage, still looking into that mirror. I remember the words of mirror me, I always would after all. He told me that they were the creation of our fears and doubts, the things we wished to hide from the world given life. And yet for the life of me I could not figure out what my reflection represented. The only defining trait was his emotionless, something my apprentice has down, yet I feel that there's more to this than I realize. As for my apprentice, I believe I held this off for long enough. Stopping in my tracks, I called out to my apprentice who continued as if in a daze.

"Seven". I spoke out, my voice taking on my reflections in emotionless.

"Hm? What is it-" But when she turned to face me, she seemed surprised to find one of my revolvers nigh an inch from her head. She did not move. She barely breathed.

"You will answer everything I ask with truth and nothing more, no underplays or over exaggerations. Just cold, hard truth". She gave a slight, yet steady nod in agreement, as if she knew this was coming and had been preparing for this very moment. Good, makes this much easier for myself at least.

"Now then, tell me girl… why do you refuse emotion during combat?" It seemed that my comment wasn't what she prepared for however.

"What do you-". But she stopped when my trigger finger squeezed a little harder.

"...". She said nothing, a least at first. I could see the gears turning, her mind trying to explain a concept she's never had to address before. But that was all right. I had all day.

Eventually it seemed she reached an answer, but when she spoke it was of defeat.

"I dont know". She seemed scared, as if she believed I would kill her for her response. But I wouldn't. At least not yet.

"You weren't supposed to". I revealed to her, shocking her.

"But then-" Another squeeze of my trigger silenced her instantly. She was breathing heavier now.

"The question you see, was a trick. The reason you could not answer it was because the questions itself was false. The real question, is why do you show nothing when you kill". And it was here that I got my desired effect. Her spine went rigid, her eye's shrunk, and her breathing accelerated.

I had noticed this a while ago. When she first put on her mask of expressionless, I simply chalked it up to her way of coping with fighting. And yet when we trained together, or fought with the intention of NOT killing our target, she would take her metaphorical mask off. Again, I didn't really care. She seemed to be doing well mentally, and physically it seemed to be helping her, so I said nothing. But recent events now say other wise, and I need to understand the situation as best as I can. Oh I have my suspicions, but now is the time for answers.

"Well?" I asked after several minutes of silence, seemingly startling her.

"I-Im not s-sure-"

"You enjoy it, dont you?" It was almost funny how fast a stuttering mess could becoming a corpse. skin pale, eyes wide with fear, and not a breath to be heard. That was what my apprentice resembled at my revelation.

"Killing". I continued mercilessly.

"Please…" She whispered while taking a step back.

"Or at least…" I said while taking a step forward.

"...stop". She pleaded, but to no avail.

"A part of you does". I finished as she continued to take step back after back, until she was up against a nearby tree, stuck between a rock and a hard place as they say.

And there we were, seven against a tree and me, pointing my revolver against my own apprentice. It was almost poetic… like it was being written by shakespeare himself.

"Tell me Seven… when did this begin?" I asked already knowing the answer, but I was curious if she did.

"It… it was the mercenaries". She responded, sounding like she was about cry at any moment now.

"I remember… feeling so helpless when they first attacked our village". She continued, seemingly resolved to spill everything.

"And then you came... like an angel of death you came, and killed everyone. All the monsters, and all the demons, you came and slew them all. Then you offered me your hand, and a chance at revenge. But not on those that attacked us, you already killed them. No, you offered revenge against a world that would let us suffer and die without a chance to even leave a mark on it. And so I accepted. I knew it would be hard, but I thought it would be worth it. And then you sent me to kill those bandits. And it was so… easily". And to think my apprentice had kept this hidden from me. It seems I know even less about my own possessions than I myself realize.

"How annoying". I thought, but I continued to listen all the same.

"And when I reached the Bandits leader, having killed all his followers, when killed him with his own weapons, watching the light fade from his eyes, I felt… Good". The statement was punctuated with a small smile, like it's mere thought simply brought her joy. But the smile didn't last, not even a second.

"But then I began my way back, and I saw everything that I did. I was scared". And the tears finally begin to flow.

"I- I didn't know what to do-"

"So you did nothing, instead you hid your true thoughts under a mask and in doing so have caused us a mountains worth of trouble, and potentially forced us into a cult of some kind". I finished for her.

"Im sorry… im so sorry sensei". She said while bracing herself for death.

I closed my eyes, and after some deep thought I opened them, and I knew what had to be done.

*BANG*

The sudden shot blew out a section of the tree, sending wooden splinters everywhere while the noise scattered any birds nearby to the horizon.

And Seven? She… opened her eyes in confusion, noticing the smoking barrel had in fact, not killed her. And after looking slightly to her right, found a hole barley an inch to the right of her face.

"But… why?" She asked in a small voice, one that quivered at its own insignificance. But I did not respond with words, I responded as everyone should respond to a child in distress. I embraced her, enveloping her in my arms and held her. She began choking, not on a lack of oxygen, but from the tears that streamed down her face.

"Im so sorry". I told her sincerely.

"Im so sorry for what i've forced you through, and for what we will face in the future. No child should have to suffer, and so i'm sorry I asked you to". I told her sincerely as she bawled her eyes out in my cloak.

"I won't ask for forgiveness, for i've long since accepted that I will never receive it. Instead I ask that you continue suffer with me, until the very end". And through the tears that stained her, blinding her in liquid sorrow, she nodded in agreement.

Long did we sit their, one of us finding comfort in the machine, the other embracing their tool, and through it all the moon was high and full. And the night, still young in its old age, awaited what came next. There was still much to be had under this moon, after all.

A loud and sudden creek echoed as I opened the metal vault like door to my guest's chamber, drawing the man in questions attention, his now long black hair wiping around to see who entered.

"Oh! Hey Sev-" But he stopped in his tracks when he saw that it was me with his food, and not Seven.

"Oh, um, hi…" He began but quickly trailed off, not really sure what to say. I simply grunted at the action, finding it amusing.

"Sevens had a rough night, so i'll be your entertainer for the evening". I said in a joking manner while walking over to the table he had been strapped to for only God knows how long at this point.

"Ah, I see..". Once more he trailed off, but I couldn't exactly blame him. For a very long time now Seven had taken on the roll as housekeeper considering my friend here, this would be the first time in a very long time since i've even seen him, lead alone brought him food. A click later and the restraints on the upper portion of his bodie undid themselves, allowing the uchiha to sit up and stretch.

"Ahhh…" he breathed out as he began popping and stretching every bone and muscle in his body.

"Hear". I told him while holding out a plate of meat, vegetables, and rice while pulling up a chair next to the table. It Something Seven had prepared yesterday apparently, so I simply heated it up and brought it over.

"Oh, uh thanks". He said while ever so cautiously taking the outstretched plate from me. The meal honestly pretty big, enough for two people at least. It was practically gone in five minutes. I guess when you could potentially go hungry for days on end, you ate what was given to you.

"I see Sevens building you a new home". I said while eyeing the partially constructed cell at the end of the room.

"Hm, ya. When I first asked about something other than table to live on, it was honestly joking". He said while licking the plate clean, and yet I could tell he was on edge. He was carefully choosing his words, perhaps in fear that i'd punish him otherwise I suppose.

"So I was surprised when she agreed to look into it". He finished, still looking as nervous as ever.

"Well, I specifically don't remember her asking for permission to do such a thing". Horace suddenly went very still.

"-But I don't see why not, as long as you behave yourself that is". I finished casually, listening to the man's sigh of relief with some amusement.

"Perhaps one truly can't appreciate what they have until they have nothing". I debated inwardly.

"You seem to be healing well". I told the Uchiha while eyeing the man's body, and while he was still very thin, his scars, like the knife/gun shot to the chest, were healing nicely.

"Yeah… I guess they are huh?" He answered before going very quit. I guess trying to talk to the man who murdered your friends, stabbed you, shot you, then proceeded to experiment on you would be hard to talk to.

"Hey? Could i… ask you a question?" He hesitantly asked.

"Go ahead" I said in response.

"Why am I alive?" He said getting straight to the point. And I could tell from his eyes, this was a question he had been asking himself for a long time.

"What, you don't want to be?" I said while flashing my revolver.

"I… dont know". He said with a voice filled with defeat.

"You said that, or at least Seven said that you had no more use for me… that you got all you wanted… and yet here I am, still alive". He sounded broken, like whatever purpose he had was fulfilled, and now he was left with nothing.

"Truthfully? I don't know myself". I honestly told him, which seemed to shock him more than anything.

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yup. In all honestly I should kill. You serve no purpose as you are now, and are simply eating up resources as a result… and yet I have a feeling that you need to live. I don't know why, and I can't say how, it just simply is…"

"Huh… I see" He said while handing the now spotless plate back to me. I took the plate before standing up and fastening the guest back to his home.

"You can't say your time here was that bad though, can you?" I asked as the final restraint was locked in. He just raised an eyebrow in response.

"Well, it's not like you've ever been tortured, and I would say you've been well feed for your position". Which was true, almost all my experiments on the boy were done while he was heavily sedated, and the ones were he wasn't were minor ones, nothing to so much as whimper over, unless you're afraid of needles that is.

"Well, I guess with that outlook ya, its been… ok". He didn't sound very sure of his response.

"Hmm, sleep tight Horace". I told him as I made my way out of the room.

"Ya". He said to himself mostly.

"Sleep tight".

It had been a long night, and I was more than happy when it came time for me to hit the hay.

*Knock knock*

I stopped in the middle of putting on a shirt for the night, confused at what I just heard.

There's only two people in this whole complex, and one of them is currently tied up, which means either were being invaded and the enemy is choosing to knock politely before they kill me, or…

I walked over to the door and quickly opened it up, and beheld a very tired looking Seven, wearing nothing but a white t-shirt from what I could tell.

"Sensei" She greeted, sounding VERY tired.

"Seven? Why are you hear at this time of night?"

"Im afraid to sleep". She told me, hanging her head low in apparent shame.

"Aw, I see. Very well, come on in". I told her while opening the door for her.

"Wait, really?" She asked in disbelief.

"Girl, i'd be more worried if you could sleep soundly after a night like this. Besides, we have work to do tomorrow, so I need you in tip top shape". I explained, which drew a small Seven from my tiny companion.

"Yes Sensei". She said before practically flying into my bed, which was thankfully big enough for us both. I soon crawled in after her, while also putting some distance between us. No need to make things awkward.

Seven passed out after that, a slight snore overtaking her normal breathing. I had closed my eyes long before that, yet still I couldn't find sleeps nice embrace. There was to much that had happened to quickly, not enough time to sort everything out, not until now apparently. And so instead of resting like I needed to, I simply lied there and thought, sorting out my mind, sifting through memory after memory in an attempt to understand what was going on.

That Mirror was never part of the Naruto Universe, at least to my knowledge of the universe, which in all honestly could be described as mediocre at best. Oh I watched the series, and while its knowledge would be invaluable when the time came, it was the in between moments that could honestly be called the most important, the unknowns. And I had encountered one of these unknowns. The real question though was-.

My eyes suddenly shot open. Something was wrong. Something about the the room had changed. And after straining my ears for some sign, I realized the problem. Seven… was no longer snoring. I quickly looked over, and was barely able to contain the heart attack that followed. Their was seven, laying on her back, barely an inch away from my face. She wore a large yet soft smile on her face, her eye's wide and almost crazy in their look.

"~Took you long enough~". She said in a sing song voice. After getting my heartbeat under control, I managed to weeze out my response.

"Mirror Seven". This seemed to please her… and at the same time she looked disappointed.

"Close". She said, before proceeding to roll right on top of me, her face now MUCH closer than before.

"Your mind seems heavy with thoughts, so let me clear some up for you?" She asked while lacing her fingers under her chin, her expression the same as before.

"Can you get off me?" I asked in the best possible irritated voice I could muster,

"Nope".

"Fine, lets get this over with". I said, resigning myself to my fate in the exchange for possible answers.

"First off, who are you?" I asked, trying this one again.

"Im Seven. But im guessing thats not what you meant". She said, her voice talking on a playful tone.

"You see, I AM seven, just a different side of her. I was here when she was born, I was here when you saved me, and I was here when you trained me". She explained.

"Like to side of the same coin". I said, fully aware that one of her hands was now slowly walking its way up my stomach.

"Nope. saying that were two sides of the same coin would be saying we're too different personalities, when in reality it's more like a painting with to pictures on the same tapestry. We are the exact same being, just different." She finished.

"That… makes no sense".

"I know right?" She said in a chipper tune, her hand now playing with my hair.

"Wait ,wait, wait… what?" I asked confused. She didn't know either?

"Just because I, that being Seven I mean, was born from the Wyrm, doesn't mean I understand everything that goes on with it.

"Wait, what Wyrm? Like a dragon Wyrm?" This was getting out of hand quicker than I thought.

"I don't know. All I know is that for the first time since creation itself we were reborn for the first time… again, all by the love of the Wyrm".

"Us?" I asked once again, ignoring the obvious paradox.

"Yes". She said while slowly stroking my cheek with her fingers.

"Us".

"Then where is he?" I asked the girls, while at the same time trying to hide my discomfort as best as I could.

"Who?" She asked back.

"The other me". This seemed to amuse her greatly.

"Oh? And how do you know he's not already here?"

"Because I'M here". I answered back, ignoring the knot forming in my stomach.

"Oh really? Can I ask you something?" She suddenly said while surprising me.

"What?" I asked, trying REALLY hard to ignore where her hand was moving to now. Her head suddenly lowered, till it was right above my ear.

"Who are you?" That… was not what expected.

"Im Carmine-" But she interrupted me with a swift finger on my mouth.

"And who is Carmine Fuhai?" She asked, now rubbing circles on my stomach with her finger tips.

"What do-"

"Shhhhhh, now tell me Carmine… who ARE you?" She asked, but this time the question was greeted with a memory, the one of the mirror, and my reflection. They told me that they were what we feared, the things we despised, the secrets we wished to keep… and yet my reflection was so very similar to me… so similar… in almost every regard.

"Sleep tight" She told me before resting her head on my chest, swiftly falling back to snoring as she dreamed. But I? I did no such things.

"Who am I?" I wondered out loud to no one and nothing. And nothing answered back. At least… not yet...

Hello People of the Interwebs! I hope you liked this installment, and hope that it answered some questions, and left you with even more. For those of you that prefer action fear not, that will be next chapters stchick. Otherwise i'm just continuing the paradoxical nature this story will continue to shovel your way, so i'd recommend a little tin hat before you begin reading for now on :D In all seriousness though, i'm going to be honest, a beta reader would be nice about now, in fact even if you're not officially one, but you feel like helping out with grammar and just making sure that the story flows well, as well as getting on my ass if i'm taking to long to update this story… basically a babysitter would be nice ;D. PM or review if your interested… or just want to make fun of grammar, I don't really care. I also did some grammar change for last chapter, so that should help things out as well. Let's see here… Other then that I think that's all folks! If you have a question, please either PM me, or review and I will get back to you as fast I can! Peace.