Hi again! I was definitely happy to be able to update this week and I hope this chapter lives up to your standards. Hopefully that cliff hanger at the end wasn't too long of a wait for you guys to see what would happen next! Please continue to review because they definitely help me know what you guys think of the story and how I can improve. Thanks again!

Chapter 23: The Long Awaited Return (part 3)

Feeling the pain surge through her, the Uchiha heiress laid on the ground, waiting for the hit to make its mark. As she looked back at her killer into his intense orange orbs, her navy eyes portrayed regret as she saw her own memories.

Flashback:

The sky was a nice, clear, and blue as two Uchihas sat outside of the Royal Uchiha Family's Manor. It was a quiet day like any other and as the sun shone down on the two beings, they both enjoyed each other's company in the silence.

"Katara." Said Lord Uchiha as he called his daughter to sit down beside him. The Uchiha heiress quickly sat down beside her father, and as they both looked out toward the training grounds, Katara waited for her father to continue.

"You've acted differently." He stated as if it were a fact. As his obsidian orbs turned and met her navy ones, he continued with, "Is there a reason why?"

"Otousan…I just feel like everyone in the village acts differently towards me. Is there something wrong with me?" asked the heiress as she looked at her father with her innocent, blue orbs.

Petting her softly on her head, Lord Uchiha replied with, "Katara, there's nothing wrong with you; you're a bit different than most others, but that doesn't mean you should feel you're worthless."

As Katara heard her father say these words, she couldn't help but remember how all the kids were somewhat scared of her, and ignored her. But that wasn't the worst of it; most of the adults in the village looked at her with disgust and would have treated her like dirt if it were not for her position in the Uchiha clan.

Reflecting on those horrible memories, the Uchiha heiress replied with, "Then why does everyone look at me like I'm a monster? Like I'm a nuisance that shouldn't even be alive?" Katara had asked as tears started pouring from her eyes.

As she tried to desperately wipe them away, her father stopped her as he softly grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. As his eyes softened and showed concern, he responded with, "I guess it's time that I tell you what's going on, Katara. I thought I'd have more time to talk to you about this, but you need to know this."

Abruptly stopping her own flow of tears, Katara was quick to say, "Wh-what is it otousan?"

Letting out a huge sigh before answering, and touching his daughter's cheek, Lord Uchiha replied with, "Katara, you have a demon sealed inside of you named Hikari from the moment you were born. Your own great-grandfather gave up his life to seal the demon inside of you just a few days after the nine-tailed kyuubi attack. In order to save our clan, your great-grandfather sacrificed his life in return, hoping that you'd be treated like a hero."

"Th-then why is everyone scared of me? I'd never hurt anyone." Stated Katara as she looked back up at her father.

"It's complicated, Katara. People fear things they don't fully understand, but I know you'll use your power to protect those close to you, just as I do. As the clan leader, I always am willing to protect the whole clan, especially you, Haku, and your mother." Replied her father.

Katara remained silent as she listened to her father's words and as Lord Uchiha waited for her response, after a few more seconds, he decided to interrupt. "Katara, you were given a special gift and I know you have a bright future ahead. You have that strong will, just like your own mother and my strength. Don't let those people break you down because I know that one day, you will earn their full trust and will be treated as a hero." Lord Uchiha had said as he smiled at his daughter.

"Arigatou, otousan. I'm glad that you'll always be there to believe in me and protect me." Katara said as she too gave him a smile and hugged him.

End flashback.

'I'm sorry, father. You were wrong; those people won't get the chance to see me help them and prove them wrong. I won't ever be able to gain their trust. But I don't regret it; I've been able to change some people's outlooks, and I guess that's good enough for me.' Thought Katara as she gave a small smile.

Watching the sword slowly head towards her chest, the Uchiha heiress was ready to admit defeat. But as she was about to close her eyes from blood loss, a huge light source suddenly occurred before her eyes. As Katara squinted her navy orbs to protect them from the intense light, she saw her own sensei standing with his back towards her as she saw how he managed to land a hit on Kenta with his chidori.

"Katara!" exclaimed Keiko as both she and Koji were both beside her.

"We need to get you to the hospital." Said Koji as he quickly put the Uchiha on his back. "Come on, Keiko."

"I don't think so." Threatened Kenta as he quickly threw some shuriken and kunai at the three chuunin. As the projectiles were about to hit their target, Kakashi quickly deflected them all and once again, stood before the monstrous being.

"I'm your opponent now, Kenta. All of your shinobi numbers are slowly dwindling." Stated the Jounin as he took out his own kunai.

"Hn…I don't think so, Kakashi." He replied as he quickly smashed his sword into the ground. As the ground began to shake, all four leaf nin tried to stabilize themselves. As they all were able to remain on their feet, they saw the effects of Kenta's actions. Looking around the whole area, all four shinobi saw the living dead standing before them.

"I think you are outnumbered, Hatake." Kenta replied as he smirked at the Copy-cat nin. As the white-haired Cloud shinobi waved his hand, all of his new shinobi quickly moved throughout the village; some stood beside Kenta and as he saw that the Takahashi was about to take the Uchiha away, he ordered his shinobi to attack.

"Koji, Keiko, get Katara out of here, now!" exclaimed the Jounin as he charged at his new opponents.

As all three chuunin were about to leave the area, they felt a dangerous aura near them. Seeing Kenta approach them from behind, he quickly kicked her two teammates out of the way. Quickly forming seals, he quickly created a strong, thunder binding, three-sided wall barrier around the Uchiha's form.

"Katara!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she got onto her feet and tried to touch the barrier. As Katara felt herself trapped inside, she tried to destroy the barrier from the inside, but she quickly felt a strong shock of electricity pass through her body. Backing away from the walls, Katara continued to clutch her side as she saw Kenta tower over her again; as he looked at her with his demeaning orange orbs, he smirked at her and whispered, "I'll take care of these three first, and then I'll be back for you."

With that, he quickly backed away from the barrier and turned his attention toward her two teammates. Watching his fast speed outpace her teammates' speeds, Katara watched in horror as she watched them get hurt. Turning to the side, she saw her sensei busy with the other shinobi, and as Katara continued to watch, tears began to pour from her eyes as she felt helpless a second time in her life.

As she dropped to her knees in defeat, the Uchiha turned her navy orbs away from the scene as it became unbearable to watch.

'I'm worthless. They're both going to die, and I can't do a thing to help them.' Katara thought as she clutched onto her necklace as her tears continued to hit the ground.

'You still have a choice, Katara. I can help you.' Answered Hikari as she smirked at her container.

'And risk you taking over again? I don't think so.'

'I can lend you some of my chakra. If you don't accept, your friends will surely die. Do you really want that to happen?' asked her demon dragon.

Wiping her tears, the Uchiha looked at her demon and replied with, 'Fine, if this is the only way, let's do this.' She had said as the demon's chakra began to envelop her.

The Uchiha felt the effects of the dragon demon's red chakra as it enveloped her entire being. Feeling her teeth turn slightly into canines and her nails sharpen into claws, Katara's eyes also activated the Sharingan. As a burst of chakra escaped from her body, the strong attack destroyed the barrier the Uchiha was held in.

Moving her fingers, Katara felt the power surge through her as the chakra healed every injury on her body; and as she turned her focus towards Kenta, her anger increased. Before even allowing him to lay another hit on her friends, Katara quickly stood in front of them as she easily caught his fist, and threw him to the ground. Creating a huge crater in the earth, the Uchiha slowly approached him as he got up on his own two feet.

"You're getting on my nerves, little Uchiha. But if you want to die that badly, so be it." Kenta said as he came at her with his lightning sword.

Making several swipes at her, Katara was able to keep up with his fast pace. Carefully watching his movements with her Sharingan, Katara caught the hilt of his sword and managed to get it away from his grip as she kicked him harshly in the gut. Doing a back flip with the sword in hand, the heiress landed on her feet and quickly snapped the sword in half with her knee.

Seeing that angry look on her opponent's face, Katara knew that there were more attacks coming from him. As she watched him form different hand signs, the Uchiha followed suit as she copied his movements.

Both shinobi finished their seals instantaneously, and as both released their jutsus, two huge lightning-manipulated hounds charged at each other. As they both made contact, Katara shielded her eyes as both attacks caused a bright light to appear.

As both attacks ended, both shinobi stood before the other, still unfazed. Kenta quickly disappeared from the area, but as soon as he reappeared the Uchiha was able to block each of his attacks, and she managed to counter with her own. With powerful chakra filled punches and kicks, Katara continued a barrage of her own attacks on her opponent. She quickly managed to hit him into the air, and as the Uchiha quickly flickered her body to where his body was, she swiftly delivered a powerful axe kick to his gut as she sent his body to the ground. Before his body completely made impact, Katara made quick hand signs before releasing a wave of water from the moisture in the air; 'Water Style: Water Shockwave!' as she unleashed her attack, and a huge amount of water combined with electricity crashed onto her opponent, making Kenta impact the ground much harder.

Once finishing her attack, the Uchiha was back on the ground and the chakra that had surrounded her had slowly disappeared. Hoping that her opponent was out, Katara took a couple deep breaths as she stood up straight and ready to take on Kenta if he chose to get up.

Seeing him move one of his arms, Katara was on alert as she watched him with her bloodline. As crimson red clashed with orange, Kenta was quick to get onto his feet as he clutched onto his gut. Noticing that she managed to severely injure her opponent, Katara found new determination within herself as she realized that she may have a shot at beating him.

Getting into a defensive position with her legs spread apart and hands held before her, Katara waved one of her hands to signal her opponent to come at her. As Kenta took her signal, he smirked at her and quickly charged towards her with a kunai in hand. As her opponent was about to attack her, Katara quickly took out a kunai and charged at him as well. Both shinobi remained at a standstill as each one tried to gain the advantage. As both shinobi were still unwilling to give up, they both stood face to face, with only two kunai knives separating them.

"Give it up, Uchiha. You can't win. You're chakra reserves are running out." Stated Kenta as he looked at her.

Giving him a smirk of his own, Katara formed several hand signs with her free hand and was quick to retort with, "I don't think so." And with that she quickly unleashed her attack (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet) as a dragon-like head appeared from the ground and shot several concentrated mud-balls at her opponent. As Katara watched his form get pushed back, the heiress kept up her attack as it bought her some time. Turning her gaze towards her comrades, her eyes softened as she saw them watch her with awe on their faces.

As Katara turned away and replaced her softened expression, she focused on concentrating a huge amount of chakra in her right palm. 'Alright, this is for you, Keiko, Koji, Kakashi-sensei, and for the Hidden leaf Village.' Thought the Uchiha as a red glowing orb of chakra emerged on her palm. Looking at the technique that was now held in the palm of her hand, the Uchiha saw that her own fire nature element was combined with the rasengan. Looking at her opponent, she saw that Kenta had moved out of the way from her earth-styled attack. He stood just a few feet in front of her and held his palm towards the sky. As Katara watched him gather the lightning from the storm, she quickly realized that he was creating a powerful bolt of electricity. Without any hesitation, both shinobi rushed at each other and within seconds, both shinobi, Leaf and Cloud, clashed.

Both attacks hit the other with full force and as Katara aimed for his chest, she slightly flinched as she felt his attack surge through her body.

Both collisions caused both of them to be pushed away. And as Katara felt her body hit the back of a tree, she looked up in time to see that her opponent was also down for the count as well. Katara was relieved to see that her opponent was now done; she was glad that Morio was able to attach that charm onto Kenta's arm because the Uchiha heiress knew that she was nearing her limit.

Looking around, Keiko and Koji both realized that Kenta's own shinobi suddenly disappeared and as they both got up onto their feet, they quickly rushed to the Uchiha's aid.

As they knelt before her, they both put their hands forward as they tried to get Katara on her own two feet. Ignoring the help, Katara clutched onto her side, and stood on her feet on her own. As both teammates slowly followed beside her, just in case she fell, Katara approached Kenta's weakened form and saw that he was still breathing. His orange eyes still penetrated her crimson orbs, and as she knelt down with a kunai knife to deliver the final blow, her sensei quickly appeared by her side.

Touching her shoulder, Kakashi gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Katara, you can stop now. It's over. I'll take care of the rest." And with that the Uchiha slowly fell down as she felt both her teammates catch her before she hit the ground.

As both Keiko and Koji now sat beside her, they both praised her for her skill and courage.

"That was amazing, Katara!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she wiped some hair away from her friend's face.

"Very impressive!" exclaimed Koji as he held the Uchiha's hand as Katara looked up at the sky and gave them both a sincere smile.

"I-it was all because of you guys." Softly replied Katara as she looked at them with her normal navy orbs.

"Arigatou, Katara-chan." Said both teammates as they smiled down on her.

Seeing both of them safe, the Uchiha looked at them both and took both their hands as she continued to lay on the wet ground.

"Hey Koji, the rain stopped." The Hyuuga stated as she looked around and saw that the dark clouds were slowly disappearing. And as one stream of light broke through the darkness, it shone down on the Uchiha heiress's body as she slowly let the exhaustion take over as she closed her navy orbs.

"Katara! Wake up!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she was worried that the Uchiha was slowly slipping away from them.

"Calm down, Keiko." Said the silver-haired Jounin as he approached the three. "She's just tired. Here, we'll all take her to the hospital." Their sensei had said as he carried her in his arms. Koji and Keiko followed beside their sensei and as the darkened storm clouds slowly disappeared, Team 7 was making their way towards the Konoha Hospital.

Please remember to review! :)

-Katara

After that ending, the story's actually just starting believe it or not. I definitely know what direction I'm going to take this story and hopefully it all works out. Well I guess that's the end of the mission; hopefully it was a good ending? Tell me what you thought of it :) The next chapter will show the aftermath of everything and I hope you guys were able to get some foreshadowing from this chapter, especially from the flashback. But I don't want to give too much away, so until next time, I hope to hear from you guys soon!