The next chapter in my story, I still feel i am about a third of the way through the story but the more I think about it the more i want to add and change. Originally i thought 80k words and jobs a guddun'. But now i am wondering if i could hit the 200k mark.

Shoutout to NarHina and Min-Chan17 for those reviews, makes me feel i am doing a decent job. I am doing the best to make something that's my own (plot and writing style not the Naruto Universe, which i don't own) So naturally will feel different to other stories, from my experience anyway.

Please continue to support my writing with reviews, favourites and follows.

Oh another note, i mentioned this earlier "-Italics-" is another language and the majority of the characters can't understand it, apart from Sasuke, who's sharingan is able to read the lips and somehow understand perfectly what was said. (figured it would make sense for the sharingan to have this ability.)

Monica and Fukushi, seconds after their escape from Iwa, twenty-six days ago.

The town of Harugama, one of the many towns that dotted around the land of Fire. Although considered a town, the settlement only houses a couple thousand. The town sites on the valley side and overlooks a river which reveals itself briefly out of the forest before vanishing back into the dense foliage. Trouble seldom came past the wooden walls which were designed to keep the wilds of the woods out and the people within safe. Under the dynamo's laws the inhabitants were hard workers just inept at any sort of jutsu, any who were would inevitably end up at Konoha as there weren't any suitable facilities to train shinobi. Still the place was picturesque with winding roads and wooden houses, interwoven by small rice paddies and streams of water to supply them. On the flood plane were several fields supporting a greater variety of grains and fruits for the labourers to harvest. As autumn is fast approaching, some fields were already harvested and now lay bare for the next year to plant. Down one road, sheltered by a few trees and placed in front a small ring of houses was a small cobbled plaza with a well dead centre between the houses. Here was peaceful and still. No one was present save for one elderly man. Sitting and smoking a pipe to relax and enjoy the afternoon sun dancing in between the leaves which swayed in the gentle breeze and making the air comfortable to breath despite the heat. The smoke he breathed lazily wisped around his face before.

A loud roar came from nowhere and in a second a swirling mass of fire engulfed the plaza. The emerald blue flames rushed around as if a tornado made of fire suddenly landed right on top of that plaza. A snap. And the flames tore themselves apart and wisped into nothing. The very ground of the plaza had small fires of the same colour as the torrent a moment ago, but this time, more of a gentile flame. Consuming the small plants and debris that littered the plaza a moment ago. The man was thrown off his chair and shielded himself out of fear. The heat alone was enough to scorch his skin as if he got a nasty sun burn on his exposed skin. The silence hardly lasted a second and a woman could be heard restraining a scream and breathing heavily as if she was pushing herself to be brave.

Monica was in more pain than she ever felt before. Desperately trying to reach her back as if touching her wound would make it feel better. Had she been a second faster, the rogue shinobi would have escaped Naruto's attack unharmed but instead the blade of the shuriken-rasengan had cut her deeply. In her right hand, she was gripping her sword. Her knuckles were rubbed raw and were covered in grime and blood. He left hand had given up trying to comfort her back and instead she grabbed the dirt and squeezed. She breathed heavily, dust blowing away from her breath. Blood dripped from her lips too and splattered onto the ground. The world around her snapped in and out of focus as she concentrated on the pain. What felt like an hour but in reality, only minutes passed before she couldn't stand the pain any longer and screamed out her frustration. The scream sounded closer to a battle cry and half the town could hear it, they felt her pain and shrank in fear from it. Monica fell to the floor and sobbed deeply to herself, muttering about the pain but otherwise incomprehensible.

"M… Monica? What the hell happened? How did you get here… Kuu! Go and get a doctor here now!"

"Dear, what was all that… Monica? Right, I'm going!" An elderly woman who appeared from the house and was momentarily stunned by the two nearly unconscious people in front of their house. She recognised one as her Granddaughter, Monica.

"Mrs Uandi, I'll get him, I can run faster." A Man called from next door. He too had come to see what all the commotion was about. He quickly understood that two people were badly injured and one was already unconscious. He quickly jumped down from the raised porch and ran towards the road. "Get them inside and make them comfortable while I am gone."

The elderly couple did not need to be told twice and they approached the injured ninja. Monica slowly and painfully raised her heads. Her vision was blurred now but she could only just make out the shapes of her family. She tried to weakly smile but instead she choked on more blood. Her spasm dislodged her headband and it fell off her forehead again. With all her strength, she reached out to grab the headband. Slowly she grabbed it and turned so she could see the metal. The headband was dented and scratched over the symbol. She tried to remember when in the fight the headband was damaged in such a way. Before the thought was finished she too had passed out and slumped her head to the floor.

Monica was the first to wake. She took a deep breath as if she had been underwater. The girl sat up in her bed, it was much smaller than she remembered but nevertheless she curled up and stared blankly from her knees towards the window letting in the soft moonlight. All she felt was the dull throb of her entire body. The only other thing she could feel is the tight bandages that wrapped around most of her figure. After an hour of sitting and waiting for nothing but time to pass she got up from her bed. Aside from her bandages she was wearing a dressing gown that smelt strongly of her Grandmother. She blushed as she realised that the bed sheets were stained badly with her blood. Particularly where Naruto had struck her back. There was a towel placed under her but did nothing to prevent the blood from soaking through and ultimately ruining her old bed. Monica walked over to a chest of draws where a small doll and a photo of her family sat and waited for her to approach. She winced at the pain in one step and on the second step she nearly collapsed but instead she reached for the cabinet and used that as a support.

The orange haired shinobi sighed as she looked at her family photo, every member of her extended family was there and even she was smiling on the picture. Her ears perked up when she could hear footsteps outside. Calmly she put down the photo and turned to see who was going to enter. Her heart felt light as the thought of Fukushi coming in flashed through her mind. Instead a familiar woman appeared in the doorway and standing behind her was a taller man.

"Monica? Oh good you are up. You remember Doctor Greer dear?" The elderly woman was petite with tied back grey hair, a far cry to the vibrant orange hair that Monica had. She wore a pale green komono and in the moonlight, it appeared a more of a blue colour. Aside of the clothing she also used a walking stick. Expertly calved out by Monicas father as a gift one year. Monica smiled and hesitated for a moment.

"Oh yes, I remember him." She smiled and looked past her family member to see a tall man with a greying beard and longer greying hair, both of which still kept some of the original black colour. He had a stained apron on which would have usually unnerved her but she assumed it was her blood given the state of her. He spoke in a deep and wise voice through many years of training and expertise.

"It's surprising that you actually woke up first. The man you're with is still unconscious."

Monica had the look of shock and upset. "Where is he? Is he ok? When will he be alright?"

Greer raised his hand to quiet her down. She would have continued otherwise.

"The man you were with will be fine, he was just exhausted. although he has sustained a lot of damage though so I am not surprised he is in need of down time. You on the other hand, you have sustained a recent wound to your back. I assumed that's why you managed to get here, however you did it. It'll prove difficult to hearl and will certainly scar you. Although you seem to also have a lot of scars which seemed to have healed. If you like I could send a message off to Konoha to get a medical ninja to help. You'll both heal much faster."

"No!" Monica snapped. "No…" She whispered quietly. "I'd rather just leave our care with you and not, err, disturb the village with my request."

"What about your duties?" Her grandmother asked. Monica looked down in shame and didn't raise her eyes to meet their gaze.

"Things have changed… can we go downstairs… I'll, explain." They had to strain to hear Monicas words but she seldom spoke again and instead limped towards them, past them and down the stairs towards the living room.

"I think I should get going." The doctor said. "Call me if the other boy wakes up, he has many poisons in him and far more injuries which has weakened him to this point. That and I think she cares for him so make sure she is ok with seeing him the way he is." He patted the old lady on the shoulder "They both have quite a history for someone so young." The Doctor turned and walked down the stairs to see himself out of the front door in front. Moments later, Monica's grandmother followed.

Monica was visibly shaking while staring at Fukushi who was laying on a cleared sofa. He too was covered in bandages. Particularly half his face was covered and his left arm was wrapped like a mummy. He was still sweating but otherwise remained almost completely still. Evidence that he was still alive was the short slight movements in his chest as he breathed. Monica clasped her hands together as if she was praying.

"So, what is his name dear?"

"Fukushi." Monica didn't turn to face her family but instead stared at him. 'Please be ok' she mouthed then turned to face her grandmother. "Where's Grandpa, I have something I need to... admit…"

"I'm just in the other room." He called from the kitchen and he entered a moment later. He could tell that this was a delicate subject just by looking at her face. It was on the verge of tears. "You can tell us anything you know. We are family and we will never judge you." He walked up to his granddaughter who couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"I'm sorry." She fell into his arms. "I'm so so sorry."

"What's wrong dear?"

She was silent for a few minutes and tried to pluck up the courage to say something."I-I'm a r-r-rogue ninja." She sobbed her words out. She was the only one who made a noise because the two elderly people were trying to comprehend what they just heard. Her grandfather eventually spoke, cutting the silence although he spoke with a hushed tone.

"Why."

Monica hesitated before pushing her family away slightly and sat down by the table to one side of the room.

"He saved me, so I decided to repay him by saving his life. But… that meant… going against my own team."

"What do you mean he saved you?" Her grandmother spoke softly and trying to calm her grandchild down. Monica just shuddered at the thought and shook her hear. Her experience being too despicable to even mention. The elderly woman got the message though. "I see."

"If you want my opinion, they are going with shinobi laws. You may be the first ninja in our family. If what you say is true then you're better off repaying your debts than being a soldier in someone else's war."

"S-so you aren't going to turn me in?"

"We would never hurt a family member. You come first to us." Monica gave a weak smile, she couldn't help but feel their disappointment. She felt her grandmothers hand on her left shoulder. As Monica turned to face her, she felt as if the woman looked directly into her eyes as if she could see Monica's soul.

"Do you feel that you did the right thing?" Grey eye locked into grey eyes. Monica's had dulled considerably from the sweet young child she once knew. She could tell that the young woman was torn and tormented over this and they were the first people she could be open to. Silence once more crept in and the wind outside began to pick up, the moon still shining although the light dimmed momentarily from the windows. Over time Monica managed to select her words and picked out the ones that best matched up to her feelings.

"I owe him my life. I should have died back then but he gave me a second chance and the means to become better than I could have ever hoped for. I am hunted as a rogue ninja but at least now my life is on my own terms. I am sorry if it means I die before I make you proud of me, but at least I got to see my family before it all ends."

"You think you're condemned to die?"

She looked down at the floor in front of her feet. "I'm not strong enough, it's me and Fukushi against the great shinobi villages. The odds aren't in my favour."

"But you could…"

"Be realistic?" She looked at both of her grandparents. They both had faces of sorrow and mourning as if she was already in a grave and gone from the mortal world. "Fukushi and I were trying to fix a mistake he made but even he isn't expecting to resolve that before he dies." She cuddles herself. "I'm just a failure. I don't expect you to like what I've become."

"I'm not going to hate you dear for taking your own path. You are brave to put your humanity before duty. Some call it selfish others call it heroic. You only have to stay true to yourself and we will support you. Your family loves you, Monica. Don't forget that we are always here for you, our village has known you since you were born. They are here for you too." Kuu spoke and smiled warmly at her granddaughter. Monica hugged her and whispered her thanks. "Now get some sleep, you need to rest otherwise you won't heal."

"Urm is it ok if I stay by Fukushi?"

Her family smiled and started walking upstairs. Feeling it was best not to argue with her.

"He's really stolen your heart hasn't he dear?" Her grandmother spoke as she left. Monica blushed but nodded in agreement. Once she was alone in the room, now no longer lit, aside from the fleeting light of the moon as clouds began to cover it and the wind thrashed at the trees outside. She inched her way to the unconscious man and kneeled beside him. In the gloom, she gazed upon his face, once the moonlight returned she could see how peaceful he looked. Monica laid her head onto his chest and listened to his heart beat.

"Please wake up." She quietly spoke. A small part of her wished that he could hear it and wake up at this minute but instead he remained still and asleep.

Fukushi couldn't help but feel déjà vu. He thought he was in a dream, but dreams weren't usually this vivid. Almost life like. If it wasn't for the fact he felt like a spectator or a ghost he would have believed this was in fact the real world. He walked down a calved stone pathway down a particularly steep hillside. The houses were all made of calved white stone and the place shone. Intricate carvings and statues adored each building. Colourful curtains and clean dark wood stood out from the white stone while every roof was tiled with bright terracotta. Towers, multiple storied buildings and large bridges or walk ways dotted about. Stretching out from the hills that he was wondering down was a great plain full of hundreds of fields and many hamlets dotted here or there. The only trouble was. He had no idea how he got here, or where here even was. He knew enough of the great five nations that nowhere looked like this. Although his experience was limited to the mountains and deep valleys of in the Land of Earth. He looked far enough right to see a wide sweeping beech that spanned many miles and held a huge city right across the sea front. The area was impressive to say the least.

"-Fuku!-" He heard someone call his name and he snapped his attention to a very young blue haired girl in a pale purple dress which gave her the air of elegance for someone so young. She had bright purple eyes, the same colour as his own and even had a matching tattoo of black markings down her left arm. Although she quickly put her hands behind her back and peered up at Fukushi. "-Get your head out of the clouds. We need to go home before it gets dark.-"

Fukushi simply nodded and took her by the hand. He felt happy that he was able to see his father today. Wait, how did he remember that?

"-Did you see your dad today?-"

"-Yes although he seemed on edge, did not tell me what about though.-"

"-He works hard for our family, I am sure he'll work it out and be home before long.-"

"-It's been two weeks though.-"

"-Not the for first time.-" She corrected. Strange, he remembered the journey home took much longer than it did. The Sun was no longer high in the sky but not low enough to redden the sky. Shining brightly over the city by the coastal edge. The pair were still holding hands as they walked into the small hamlet. Across the bridge that linked the living space to the land as they had designed the irrigation to section off the settlement like a small island separated from the fields. The hamlet held three houses although they were large squares with a central courtyard. Each contained four families, one to each side and everyone acted autonomously, even a space for a small market where travelling merchants would enter the hamlet and sell their goods right there. Fukushi frowned as he thought he could name every family here but the words eluded him as he walked past. It did not matter right now. Their family crest watch etched onto the walls of each building and coloured in black with a mix of red and orange patterns radiating from the black sun. Yes, wasn't this his crest? The Solaris family? Does this mean. No. Shit, he had to warn every one of the attack which would happen later that night. He tried with all his might to say something. Instead he just walked happily towards his home.

Fukushi awoke with a start. He nearly threw himself out of the bed. First he took a deep breath but next his head felt like it was being split open. The one-eyed shinobi cradled his head for a minute until the pain was bearable. The next thing he realised was he was covered in several layers of bandages. Arms, head, one of his legs and his torso were all wrapped up tightly. Looking around the room was still a blur but over time he was able to work out that he was indoors, in a bed and a warm figure was lying next to him.

"Aya…" He spoke slowly and hushed, a whisper as if he struggled saying that one word. He flinched as a new wave of pain struck.

"-So you remembered my name?-" At that voice Fukushi snapped to full alert. His eye darted around the room but he found it was empty. The voice sounded like a woman, elegant and polite but certainly not in Japanese. He was split between choosing what was worse; the fact someone spoke and he can't see her or the fact it was in his native tongue.

"-Wait, 'my name?-'" He thought out loud.

"-How could you forget it so easily?-" A wave of guilt flooded his stomach. It felt heavy, like he needed to breathe desperately.

"-It can't be you, you're dead.-" Fukushi replied to no particular direction. Now sitting up on the side of the bed. His right hand rubbing his temple and trying to relieve some of the pain. There was a chilling silence. Then, as if the world took a deep breath then with the force of its lungs a scream shook around the house. Fukushi jumped out of the bed and his body drained of all heat. He needed to breath in the outside air. The room was now suffocating him, though his body fought against him moving. He felt that whatever was outside was far worse than suffocating inside. Inch by inch, Fukushi moved towards the door. His arm was shaking and he could feel cold sweat dripping from his back.

Once at the door he carefully opened it. At first, only ajar, but after he took a deep breath he pulled the door wide open. His right eye looking left, then right, and finally up. Nothing, but that scream felt so real. No more than real, supernatural maybe. Fukushi sighed and turned around only to be startled by something he would have never expected.

Before him were two ghostly figures of children. One was recognisable as is younger self, inch long wild brown hair, eyes closed but covered in blood and a large hold penetrated through his heart. The other figure was Aya, he was huddled over him and sobbing uncontrollably.

"-I can't... you can't die, please, Fuku… get up… I can't do this without you… please.-" In her sobs her words became a mix of gibberish, trying to reason with herself or trying to talk until the boy before her woke up. Fukushi knew what would happen, but he didn't want to see it. He backed out of the room. The last thing he saw in the corner of his eye was her holding her left arm above the wound and her right arm holding a sign in front of her face. Her tattoo would normally be jet black but instead glowed a fierce and bright yellow. Tears streamed down her cheeks and blood began to show on her dress. Like a blot of ink on paper, soaking through and spreading across her body. Fukushi was broken now, this was a memory he never wanted to experience again. he threw himself down the stairs, clearing it in three strides and thrusting open the front door to the porch. He gripped the rail with all his strength and tried to slow his heart. Taking deep breaths of the cold night air.

"-I don't regret it…-" Another unearthly chill shuddered down Fukushi's spine.

"-B… But why?-" His voice cracked as he spoke. Trying to reply in a language he hadn't used properly for half of his life.

"Wasn't it obvious? Given why we were bound together?-" Her voice so calm so inviting. Almost as if she had aged normally alongside Fukushi. She spoke without a hint of embarrassment or anger, just pure love.

"But how did you repay her gift to you?" A new voice to His left, He turned to see another figure. An elderly man with a twisted face out of disgust. "Look what you did to my gift to you?" Fukushi recognised the man as Tenushi. The noble who took him in and trained him, although his intentions took a dark turn as abuse and torture took over his teaching. He only smiled when he caused pain and suffering. To which he smiled at Fukushi knowing that his spirit would have the desired effect. "I would have made you rich and powerful, my successor even. All you had to do was give up that book. But no, you killed me for it. You killed everyone for it."

"-You lost the book, the jewel of my family!-"

"-I still have it, it's not lost.-" Fukushi turned to the third voice and took a step back. His father, A tall man and clad in full battle attire. A metal cuirass, metal greaves and gauntlets. Left arm soul bound to his partner and in the right, he held a spear; seven feet in length. The ghostly image frowned at his son.

"-Yet you are chasing it throughout unknown lands, What's more we did not teach you to kill. You were taught to use your abilities to further the family.-" Fukushi tried to explain himself but instead he hung his head in shame and bit his lip to try and focus his mind. "-Who are you? This isn't my Son.-" He waved his left arm dismissively, with a voice full of spite and grit. Turning away and fading to nothing.

"-Why did you fail us?-"

"Why did you kill us?"

"Was this worth it?" Several voices now sounded from the darkness and several figures appeared before the ninja. Each one had a new criticism and each one grew louder.

"Disgusting, so this is how you chose to deal with all your problems." A dark voice sounded. Fukushi recognised it immediately as it was a voice he had heard not so long ago. A cloaked figure stepped forward. Fukushi froze and expected an attack and yet the cloaked figure seemed off. 'Another figment?' He thought to himself. "You thought you could take on this task by yourself. Be invisible and no one would notice you were even there. You thought you were strong. That makes you the worst kind of human, one that rejects help from others. Arrogant that you thought you were better than others, better than the villages."

"Because this was my problem to begin with!" Fuushi snapped. His voice cut though the void and the world seemed quieter once he finished.

"And where did it take you? How far have you fallen and to be the last of your clan? What honour have you won?" The cloaked man teased before he looked up and his left eye was a crimson red, the colour of blood itself. Glowing brightly in the moonlight. In seconds the world around him redshifted into some unrecognisable field. Like a red desert with the red sky and bodies thrown across the landscape. Pain overwhelmed Fukushi again before he could see anything else, causing him to fall to the floor and clutch his head.

"Utchiha, what… have… you, done… to me?" The one eyed shinobi hissed. Fukushi had put two and two together. Why else would he hallucinate about Sasuke, unless he was the one who caused his mind to unhinge.

"I actually helped you, you had repressed memories and I repaired a part of your psyche."

"Bastard… took me yea- years to control myself." Fukushi flinched once more. The pain was so intense he felt bound to where he was kneeling. Any movement threatened to cause untold pain to shoot through his head.

"Ultimately this path you're walking will only lead to your hatred, what did you think will happen once you have achieved your goal? People would forget? Let you into their lives and allow you to live peacefully? Not as you are now, not with your arrogance and ignorance."

"You don't understand, I have to get those pages back no matter the cost!"

"And have you thought what that cost was? For pieces of aged paper in a language no one here can read."

Fukushi opened his mouth to answer but a blue haired woman walked up behind Sasuke. He was wearing a white dress with red flowers pattered around the rim. Her blue hair tied back into a neat tail which reached half way down her back.

"-Fuku? Was I worth so little that you pushed me to the furthest corners of your mind and forgot about me?-"

He looked away, then looked down. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"-No.-" He whispered, his throat catching but strangely the headache ebbed away once he allowed himself to cry. "-I missed you, so much.-" A few tears fell from his right eye while the left began to bleed as tears mixed in his wound. Trading the throbbing in his head for the stinging in his eye.

"Admitting defeat or that you were wrong is always painful to accept. You regret all the effort you had invested into the wrong path. It's something I have to deal with myself, just as you will now." On those words the world and illusions around him faded back into reality. Fukushi was still crouched on the floor but the pain he was experiencing was gone. His mind was fixated on Aya's face. Had she been alive in spirit, alone? What can i do? Is this still fixable? Fukushi bit his lip and clinched his fist and punched a wooden beam which supported the porch roof. The beam shock under his blow but did not give in or crack under his strength.

"-Fucking Utchiha.-"