A/N: First off, there's a sexy pic of Chouji and Tenten on my DA page.

Second, My beta hasn't gotten back to me with this chap. I don't know what's happened to her, but she isn't responding to emails either, so I think her net is down. I hope she's ok. However, I'm going to be submitting chaps on my own from now on. There will probably be typos that I miss. If she gets back to me with the chaps, I'll just resubmit them, but if not, well at least you can all stop PM-ing me and asking if I'm ok. So, expect faster updates.

Third, y'all have got to check out this fic called 'No doubling Back' by kanazerosukenaru. Would that I could write such a unique and detailed story. I personally love it and recommend it to you all. It's NaruSasu. Read and leave reviews.

Lastly, thank you so much for taking the time to review my work...it means a lot to me, especially when I've been taking so long to update. Thanks for bearing with me! Onward.


Chapter 28

Raiden thought as carefully as his throbbing head would allow. Tsunade's eyes bored holes into him and Wyatt both as Shizune took blood from a vein in his arm. He had to consciously stop his chakra from coming out to heal the tiny prick. When Shizune walked off with the tubes, Tsunade nodded at them to begin speaking.

Wyatt edged closer to Raiden.

Raiden made up his mind. He couldn't get away with lying here, yet he couldn't exactly tell the truth either. He'd be detained and in his present condition he wouldn't be able to fold or Boom himself out of trouble. And on the off chance that he could…Well, all he needed was for some Hyuuga to be summoned to close his Tenketsu. Wyatt.

-Yeah, Raiden?-

-Orb us out of here.-

-Orb…where?-

-Outside the village, away from people and this nosy hag. Do it now.-

-You sure, Raiden? Maybe we should…-

-NOW, WYATT!-

He knew Wyatt was one of those people who just naturally felt better with authority figures around, but they could not get tangled up here.

Tsunade gasped, eyes wide, when the standing boy dissolved in a shower of blue lights, taking Raiden with him. She saw the lights float up toward the ceiling and vanish.

The Hokage struggled with the wheels on her chair, turning for the doorway. "Shizune!"

***

Wyatt set them down in the middle of Fire Country, away from any living soul. Raiden lay weakly on a patch of grass dewy with condensation, the sun not yet risen to burn it away. Wyatt knelt beside him. "Raiden, are you okay?"

"Yeah." He coughed. "Gimme a minute, my head is spinning."

Wyatt watched as Raiden's color slowly improved. It wasn't great, but he wasn't gray anymore. He stood and looked around.

The trees were huge. They'd provide good cover. He knew ANBU might patrol this section of the forest at any time. Holding out his hand, he thought for a moment, devising a suitable spell.

Raiden was too weak to make a sound, but his eyes bulged as he saw the trees surrounding their little clearing pick up their roots and walk toward him. He couldn't even move. He saw Wyatt controlling their movement with his hands and relaxed somewhat.

The trees continued to walk, flinging dirt from their roots, until they surrounded the clearing neatly. There wasn't so much as a crack of space between them. Wyatt turned to Raiden as if this were nothing and said, "I also put a warding spell around the trees. Anyone who gets near here will see nothing out of the ordinary."

Then he said he was going to try and find some food. Raiden nodded feebly. Wyatt pulled up some grass and bunched it under Raiden's head for a pillow before orbing himself out of the enclosure of trees.

Raiden tried to rest. Thoughts of his sister, of where she could be that the Hokage knew but wasn't telling, kept him awake. The fact that he was helpless and might never be able to fold or Boom again had him scared. He wished his dads were nearby. He'd feel…better.

He did he always feel like he knew better than they did and then the second he was in real trouble he always wanted to crawl in their laps? He wasn't a baby anymore. He'd been so mad at them for taking his powers away. Now he just wished one of them was here. For what felt like the millionth time, he swore to himself to behave and not go against his parents, if only he got out of this mess. With Aimi. Just that, and he would never do anything he wasn't supposed to again.

Wyatt came back with a rabbit. He displayed his learning at Lee-sensei's hands to advantage by cleaning and cooking it reasonably well. Raiden ate what he could, washed down by water Wyatt conjured in a wooden mug, the mug itself fashioned with magic from the limb of one of the enclosing trees.

Faint green light filtered from the canopy above. "Lie down with me?" Raiden whispered.

Wyatt stretched out beside him. There, in his arms and feeling comfortable, Raiden was able to sleep at last. He slept deeply.


Sasuke came awake slowly to realize he was still tangled in his Demon's arms and legs. He stretched slightly, not bothering to open his eyes. The sun was up, he surmised; he was sweating profusely. Naruto's body heat added to his own and the hot climate so that they were both drenched.

A clawed hand scratched his scalp as it fisted in his hair. Naruto muscled him into a kneeling position, shoving his thighs apart. He entered his sweat-greased ass brutally, yanking his head back at a cruel angle by the fist in his hair.

Well, shit.

Growling behind him. Above him. Sharp, driving thrusts in his unprepared hole that both stretched and pleasured him unbearably, until he was growling too, lips skinned from his teeth in a grimace of pain. "Demon…"

Harder and faster, their sweat flying from their bodies at each harsh impact of Naruto's hips. The hand dug through his hair, gripping tighter as Naruto drew closer to his crisis, pulling on Sasuke's head until he thought his neck would snap. Sasuke finally cursed and twisted, swinging out at Naruto, only to have his fist knocked away.

His Demon was mostly demon as he shoved Sasuke to the floor with a thud that shook the room, burying his face in his neck as he entered him again, his claws digging into his hips. Sasuke bit his lip to keep from yelling, then yelled anyway when a pair of fangs sank deeply into his neck. He held onto the sweaty, powerful shoulders as Naruto used him roughly.

***

Naruto climbed off of him when he was done and crawled to a corner. He did something odd: he walked in a circle on all fours several times before settling into a position to sleep. The red eyes gazed at him briefly before closing. Naruto's tongue, long, came out and licked his chops of Sasuke's blood.

Sasuke watched with bated breath, but Naruto did not surface. He slept as if nothing had happened just now. And that wasn't Naruto. The way he was sleeping now, head on his arms, half twisted on his side…that was Kyuubi, Sasuke was sure of it. He felt the dripping puncture wounds on his neck. Most definitely Kyuubi. He spent a few moments wondering if he'd ever had sex with Naruto when his mind was away…or if Kyuubi had ever approached him like that. Years ago, when they'd first become physical, Naruto would go a little Kyuubi, but it had still been Naruto there. This felt different.

Wincing, he got up and saw that his clothes were in shreds. He located a pair of pants in his things, dragged them on with a hiss, and made his slow way out to the main room. He shut the door softly behind him.


Itachi entered the room, staring at this version of his brother that was so achingly young. Asami had said there was Mangekyo in the eye transplant, transferring power to Sasuke. Itachi had only ever heard of one instance where an Uchiha would receive an eye transplant, with transference of power. He knew of the practice. And it had been known to be done between brothers.

He thought it safe to assume that on whatever world this Sasuke came from, there was no Uchiha Itachi.

He closed the door behind himself and leaned against it, studying the wide eyes of the youth before him. His eyes, he had no doubt.

***

Sasuke got to his feet as if in a dream, the long length of the bandage falling from his lap unnoticed. His gaze traveled up and down the man before him. Not a Genjutsu. Not a Henge. It was real. He was real. Itachi was real. Older, yes, but standing before him and alive and real.

Sasuke ran and threw himself at his brother, hugging him fiercely around his neck. "Itachi!" he cried fervently, incoherently. "Itachi, you're alive!"

He cried openly, sobbing and speaking at the same time so that Itachi could barely understand a single word. Itachi awkwardly patted the shivering boy clinging to him so desperately.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke sobbed over and over. "I'm sorry, nii-san, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sor-"

The door opened and Sasuke poked his head in. Itachi looked at him as if for help, trying to pry the arms from around his neck. Sasuke came in and surveyed the scene.

He'd heard strange sounds coming from this room and had come to investigate. He looked at his younger self embracing Itachi as if he never meant to let go. "What's this?"

Younger Sasuke pulled away reluctantly, staring at his brother with shining eyes. He was still crying, now hiccupping periodically. He kept his hands on Itachi's shoulders, gazing into his brother's face as if seeing God.

Itachi cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yes…Sasuke…perhaps I should explain-"

Younger Sasuke bowed reverently, low, before straightening and resuming his previous adoring stare. "No explanation is necessary, Brother. I understand."

Sasuke stepped forward. "You do?" he asked dubiously.

Younger Sasuke looked at this older, broader version of himself with quick scrutiny, taking in the blood and bruises, before returning his gaze to Itachi. "Yes. I'm dead."

"Huh?" Sasuke and Itachi chorused. So shocked were they that this juvenile word left their lips without their knowledge, their mouths open in surprise.

Younger Sasuke closed his eyes blissfully and nodded in a devout manner. "Yes. Dead. Something must have gone wrong with the surgery, or else when the creature Aimi attacked Madara, I was slain without knowing. I'm in the afterlife, awaiting rebirth." Here he opened his eyes and looked at Sasuke. "And there I am from another life, probably also awaiting rebirth. Who are these people here, Brother?"

The way younger Sasuke said 'brother' got on Sasuke's nerves. He opened his mouth to set the idiot straight. Itachi stopped him, holding up a hand.

"They are, for the most part, my children. Do you want to meet them?"

Younger Sasuke's eyes brimmed over again. "You have reached Nirvana? You will not be reborn again? Clearly time passes differently here, if you were able to have all these children. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to meet them, Brother. They are my family. Have the gods granted you a heavenly wife then?"

Sasuke bit the insides of his cheeks to keep a straight face. This one was worse than Rasta-Sasuke, so help him.

"Actually," Itachi said as he moved to lead younger Sasuke out of the room, "The children have different mothers. Come."

Younger Sasuke preceded Itachi into the main room. Itachi hesitated in following, turning back to Sasuke. "Any news of them?"

Sasuke started guiltily. He'd momentarily forgotten about his children. "Raiden made contact shortly before dawn. He's hurt. He doesn't have Aimi and can't get to her, but there's reason to believe she's made contact with the local Naruto. Wyatt's with him. We're waiting to see what happens."

Itachi nodded.

"Itachi, why aren't you telling him the truth?" Sasuke asked after a moment.

The elder Uchiha watched through the doorway as younger Sasuke turned in a slow circle, inspecting the house as if he were in a palace. "I think he's dangerous. He was with Madara, who obviously performed surgery on him. I don't think he would have allowed that unless he knew exactly what it meant. Which begs the question, 'what could he have wanted the transplant for?' Have I ever told you of Eternal Mangekyo?"

"No." Nor was Sasuke's knowledge of Mangekyo as complete as he could wish. Itachi always demurred when asked about it, as if the knowledge would somehow taint Sasuke.

"I will tell you later. For now, I need to question and observe him. I…" Itachi lowered his voice. "I don't think he's very stable, Sasuke. He really believes he's passed Onward. I don't know what's happened to him on his world, but I intend to find out."

So saying, he went out to younger Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulder. The younger Uchiha beamed at the contact.


Tsunade was catching some much needed rest when Shizune came to wake her. "Tsunade-sama."

"Mmfff. What it is?" she yawned.

"My apologies for waking you, but you wanted the test results for the boys as soon as they were completed." Shizune held out the pages long report with a bow.

Tsunade took it, stifling another yawn. She was tired, but didn't want to sleep. Too much needed to be done. And she'd slept more than enough during her coma. She sat up and called groggily for sake. Shizune handed her tea instead, which did not improve her mood.

Shizune sat to one side and watched as Tsunade flipped through the report rapidly at first, then more slowly, until finally she reached the page Shizune had wanted her to see.

Tsunade dropped her tea. The tiny mug shattered.

"This…is impossible," Tsunade breathed. She looked up with wild eyes. "Shizune?!"

Her aide inclined her head. "We have run the tests several times, tripled checked everything. There is no mistake."

Tsunade scanned the blood report. The blondish one, Raiden, had unusually high levels of immunity, making him impervious to just about any disease, possibly even able to regenerate spontaneously. But this wasn't what had her shaking.

There, in bold print, was evidence of Naruto's DNA, Sasuke's DNA, qualities documented from Naruto known to belong to Kyuubi as well as elements of the cursed seal Sasuke bore. All united in a cohesive, seamless whole that painted a picture of an extremely powerful being.

Tsunade turned back to previous pages, reading carefully now. The boy's cells were those of Kyuubi and the cursed seal…mutated somehow. No. Not mutated. Evolved. Combined. The Fifth Hokage looked up from the report, staring into space and thinking. Thinking very hard.

That hair. The way it stood up, the color…those eyes.

"Who are you?" she'd asked them.

"Uz-Raiden."

Uz. Raiden. Tsunade would bet her new-found health that the boy had been about to say Uzumaki Raiden. If not for the report in her hand she'd say Naruto had a long-lost relative.

But no. Not with the curse seal and Sasuke's DNA swimming in his veins. There had been no mark of a seal on him, either from sealing a Bijuu or from Orochimaru's experiments. No. This boy was related to Sasuke and Naruto the way …

The way a child would be related to parents. Impossible as it was, it was the only way to explain the way the Kyuubi elements and the curse seal had evolved. Both characteristics were second generation, of that she was sure.

"Shizune," she said now. "Call that shop owner here again. Send a medic team there right away and have them scout around for any drop of that girl's blood. Go with them. Do not come back without a sample. Perform the same tests." She looked pointedly at her assistant. "I think you know what I'm looking for."

The dark-haired woman left immediately.

Tsunade leafed through the report again, even more carefully than before. Odd phrases jumped out at her. Multiple chakra types…prepubescent…enlarged canines…sign of recent trauma to chakra pathways near brain…

When she glanced up at a faint sound, she found the shop owner bowing before her, rubbing his hands nervously. "You summoned me, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade shut the report with a snap. "Tell me again what that girl said when she appeared. When she saw Naruto."

Teuchi bobbed another nervous bow. "She called him 'Daddy', Hokage-sama."

Tsunade's mouth tightened. "Daddy. You're sure of that?"

"Quite sure, Hokage-sama. Naruto-kun heard as well. He asked who she was referring to. Then they both disappeared."

Tsunade looked back at the report. DNA that suggested the boy was Sasuke and Naruto's child somehow. The boy had said the girl was his sister. It all added up…and yet didn't. "You may leave," she told the nervous man.

She needed to speak with Kakashi. She wanted to know if Naruto had been around any women and if so, who. And just how could Naruto and Sasuke share a child? Or two children? They were children themselves. If either of them had sired children, they would be babies, not these preteens.

What had gone on while she'd been in her coma???

She had to find that boy. Raiden. For now, Tsunade studied the data on the other boy, the one called Wyatt.


Itachi's children met with younger Sasuke with solemn expressions. He'd warned them beforehand not to say anything to contradict the boy's theory of having died and gone to some form of an afterlife. Upon meeting the triplets, younger Sasuke seemed to become more excited.

"Which of you came to retrieve my soul?"

Kei raised his hand shyly. Younger Sasuke came over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for the loss of Aimi. Was she your Kami pet, the one who aides you in retrieving Uchiha? I take it she fought with Madara because he would have prevented my soul from leaving."

At a loss for words, Kei could only stare. His dad came to his rescue. "Aimi has gone on…another mission."

Younger Sasuke nodded, looking around. "Who is the boy who said he could boom? He left, didn't he? To retrieve his fellow Kami?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side. "Raiden? He left, yes."

Younger Sasuke nodded. "Raiden. God of thunder and lightning. Yes, the sound was like thunder. I did not know that particular god had a sister." Sasuke looked around the plateau. "This is a remarkably earthy place. I thought the afterlife would be less tangible."

Just then Chibi-Gaara came running out of the cabin he shared with his group, a lightning bolt zinging after him. His sand sprang up to shield him even as he kept running, laughing insanely.

Younger Sasuke turned in time to see a strange incarnation of himself. This incarnation leaned out the doorway Gaara had exited and sucked in a breath to scream after the fleeing redhead.

"That's right you better run, you plushie-humping fuck! Let me catch your ass saying that shit again, I'll kill you! Hear me, you fucking midget? I'LL KILL YOU!!"

The door slammed shut. A moment later it opened again and a huge blonde kid stumbled out, a fireball briefly obscuring him as he hastened to distance himself from the cabin. A black man that younger Sasuke recognized also skipped out nimbly, a slew of curses following him.

His eyes were on the blonde.

This hulking incarnation of his former team mate brushed singe marks off his face, the minor burns healing even as younger Sasuke watched. He came over to the group and sat silently, staring morosely at the cabin.

Younger Sasuke assessed the blonde with Sharingan, noting that this incarnation of Naruto was vastly more powerful than the one he knew.

Itachi forestalled the questions he knew were bound to come by suggesting that they all sit and listen to younger Sasuke's tale. Elder Sasuke said Naruto was sleeping, to which younger Sasuke gave a quizzical look at the blonde sitting on the ground.


While Naruto was off with Ojiji-sama and Fukasaku, Shima sat by the girl and assessed her injuries.

There was much internal damage, as if the child had gone up against something larger and stronger than herself. Her chakra was depleted. The girl should be dead, Shima mused, but she seemed to be hanging on tenaciously. The elderly toad hopped to a side cabinet, where she stored her medicines. She returned to the unconscious girl and began setting broken bones, cleaning and bandaging as she went.

"Poor dear," Shima croaked sympathetically. "You rest now. Later, I'll feed you some of my delicious bug stew."


"Tsunade-sama, we have the data you requested," Shizune said as she entered the make-shift office.

"Let me see," the Hokage commanded. She skimmed the report, skipping to the page that would have the specific data she wanted.

There. Tsunade drew in a sharp breath. The girl, whoever she was, had the same DNA, slightly altered. She and the boy were definitely related. And both children were somehow tied to Sasuke and Naruto. She slammed the report down, wracking her brains for how this could be.

Even if Orochimaru had somehow obtained samples from both Sasuke and Naruto and mixed them in some way, the children would be no more than a few years old. These reports put the children between eight and fifteen years of age. Too old to be experiments, unless Orochimaru had obtained knowledge of how to speed their growth and development. She wouldn't put it past the bastard.

That girl Kakashi had brought, Karin. She would know of Orochimaru's experiments. Kakashi had already been by to tell her that to his knowledge, Naruto was still a virgin. And Sasuke had seemed too intent on his revenge to take a side trip to a brothel and indulge himself in sexual escapades. That concurred with what Tsunade knew. It had to be Orochimaru then, tampering with both boys' DNA.

Tsunade did not believe the boy was telling the truth when he'd said the girl had found Naruto by mistake. He and the girl both could be weapons forged by Orochimaru-

A column of data caught her eye. "Shizune, this can't be right…can it?"

"It is, Tsunade-sama. We matched it with records in our medical archive. His blood was present, leading to the conclusion that the reason the girl was hurt in the first place was because she'd gone up against him."

"Uchiha Madara," Tsunade said. Her voice was tight. She'd woken up to discover how big a part he was playing in everything and now this. The girl's blood and his, found at that ramen shop, the girl almost certainly fatally injured, and all evidence pointing to an altercation with Madara. "And Sasuke was last seen with him. Do you think the girl has had contact with him as well?"

Shizune shook her head, silently saying she didn't know.

"Well," the Hokage said stiffly. "I may not know where that boy has gone, but I'm almost certain the girl is at Myoubokuzan. I need to contact Fukasaku immediately."

"How?"

Tsunade glanced toward the doorway, as if afraid of being overheard. Shizune moved closer to her long-time friend.

"Jiraiya gave me a secret scroll, to be used only in the direst of emergencies. It allows me to alert the toads to my need of them."

"Will you use it now?"

Tsunade hesitated. She could only use it once. And if she was honest with herself, this wasn't quite as pressing as a few other things. "I don't know. Perhaps, if she is there, they will send her back. I'll wait a day and see."


Silence around the circle. Rasta-Sasuke had come out some time ago and taken up a position in the group, listening to the tale the new Sasuke was telling. Some hours passed during this telling. Water was passed around, fruit consumed. Near the end, Naruto came yawning out of the house, causing the new Sasuke to look back and forth between him and Blondie, before resuming his tale.

But now the story was over and there was ringing silence. The afternoon was markedly cooler than the morning had been. A breeze swept over the still people. Each person was more or less horrified to one degree or another.

Kenji voiced what everyone was thinking. "So…let me get this straight. You willingly went to Orochimaru, killed him, started up your own team, killed your brother, joined Akatsuki, tried to kill the Eight-Tails, then killed Danzo? And then you tried to kill your team mate, some chic who'd helped you? And now you're planning on destroying all of Konoha and Naruto? That about it?"

Younger Sasuke offered a small smile. "I was planning on doing those things. Before I'd died and been reunited with my brother."

The stunned looks on everyone's faces seemed not to perturb younger Sasuke in the slightest. Naruto said, "And you and the other me, the one that you know…you two have never been… in love?"

Younger Sasuke stared. The question appeared not to make sense to him. He did not answer, only waited respectfully for enlightenment.

Rasta-Sasuke stood up. "I've heard enough." He looked at the newest Sasuke. "You know what? We all got names here, and I've decided to pick your name for you here and now. Ready? You're Psycho-Sasuke."

The Sasuke in question opened his mouth, maybe to argue, but Itachi cut in. "Rasta-Sasuke, sit down. I told you he-"

"No, I'm not sitting down, and I'm not listening to anymore of this bullshit. This fuck actually went to Orochimaru voluntarily, plans on killing his only hope of salvation and for what? Because he's too simple to know what's good for his ass? Jesus, a snail could come along and say his brother had been killed by drowning and this senseless fuck would swear to destroy the ocean. Do you hear him?? First he wanted to kill his brother because he thought he'd killed the clan. Then he swears to kill the Elders 'cuz they caused his brother to be all sad and shit. Then he swears to kill all of Konoha for some stupid reason, and then he swears to kill Naruto just because he wants to save his stupid self. How in the name of all that glitters can you think this kid is sane?" He turned to the silent version of himself and leaned into his face, dreads swinging. "Look, idiot, you are not dead, okay? God, look around, do we look dead to you? Use your fancy new eyes, asshole. Are we walking around looking all holey and shit, or is that little retarded red-haired Sand jerk sitting there in clothes stinking of piss? If Killerbee is alive on your world then what's he doing here? Guess what, I killed my brother too, but you know what?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Itachi, who was staring in consternation. "That ain't my brother, and he ain't yours either. It's his brother." He pointed at where Sasuke stood tensely.

"I-" younger Sasuke said faintly, eyes widening by the second. "I don't understand."

Rasta-Sasuke spoke slowly, as if to someone mentally deficient. "Your name is now Psycho-Sasuke. Got it? Psy-cho-Sas-uke. Dumbass," he added as he turned away.

Chibi-Gaara tested the name. "I like it. It suits; he's sure crazier than I am."

There were general murmurs of agreement to this. Psycho-Sasuke turned to his brother. "Itachi?"

Itachi watched his children and their husbands all get up and attend to various tasks. The Shinigami were hunting today, Blondie going along with them. Chibi-Gaara floated off on his sand, and Rasta-Sasuke went back to his cabin, presumably to count his gold. Only Sasuke and Naruto remained. They stared at Psycho-Sasuke as Itachi went to him and sat down. He briefly considered furthering the lie, but no. Rasta-Sasuke (who would be dealt with) had said too much. He'd been right, this version of his little brother was dangerous. Very. Easily led by any who cared to feed him lies. Here, but for the grace of Naruto, could be his very own brother.

He began by explaining, as Kei had done, about different realities.


Naruto went back to Fukasaku and Shima's little dwelling. Fukasaku had opted to remain with Ojiji-sama and speak of something else.

His mind was on all that Ojiji-sama had said, on controlling Kyuubi's will and on finding the octopus. He'd completely forgotten about the girl, so when he saw her, he pulled up short.

She was clean, apparently sleeping. Naruto crept over to her and sat by her side. Shima spoke from the girl's other side. "She is resting. I cannot heal her completely. She needs a medic. We will send you and this girl back to Konoha. Who is she, Naruto-kun?"

His blue eyes ran over her face. There was something familiar about it, as if he'd seen it a thousand times. "I don't know."

"Where does she come from?"

"I don't know…she just appeared from nowhere, like a summons." He touched her small, pudgy hand. "I think she's looking for her parents."

Shima croaked feelingly. "So sad."

Naruto nodded. "I'm going to help her find her family."

Fukasaku came back, panting from having hopped so swiftly. "Quickly! Ojiji-sama wants to see the girl! He says we must bring her at once, awake or not!"

Naruto and Shima recovered from their surprise. Shima hopped onto the girl's stomach while Naruto scooped her up and ran with her back the way he'd come. Fukasaku rode on his shoulder.

***

In the fading light of the day, Ogama-Sennin looked down at the girl laid at the base of his throne. Her future shined bright enough around her to have his perpetually squinted eyes opened wide. He was as alert, as aware, as he'd never been in his life.

He was terrified.

Never had he seen so much centered around one being. Worlds clashing, gods fighting, realities enmeshed…

Power was the root of it all, and this girl was half of the greatest power the cosmos had ever seen. Power to destroy creation.

Fukasaku, Shima, and most of the toads in current residence, grouped behind Naruto, who knelt by the girl. They gazed up fearfully at Ojiji-sama, at how the girl was effecting him. This girl was Important. That much they could all see.

"I will…tell her future," Ogama-sennin said formally. His voice was strong, vibrating with whatever he saw in the girl.

Everyone waited. After a time, in the voice he used when foretelling:

"She is broken."

Ogama-sennin did not say more than this at first, and Naruto thought the ancient toad was referring to the fact that the girl was injured. But then he spoke again.

"Balance in all things. She is half of a great Power. What her other half lacks, she has and vice versa. Apart, they are safe. United…unstoppable. United, too dangerous; their power is coveted by Great Ones. They have started a war that will end in darkness. Darkness for all."

The Great Toad Sage fell silent, staring down at the girl. They waited.

Fukasau hopped deferentially forward. "Ojiji-sama…do you speak of the war Naruto-kun has mentioned-?"

"No," came the answer. "Their existence has started a war greater than what this world has ever seen." He raised his eyes to Naruto's serious face. "She has come for you. You are need here, but needed elsewhere even more. When the times comes, go with her."

Naruto swallowed. "But…what am I supposed to do? What about the octopus and Sasuke and everything here?"

Ogama-sennin was settling back into his throne, eyes drifting back to their customary squint. It seemed the telling of the girl's future was over. "All will be made manifest. You will see. Help her. Survive and she will bring you back…to this time." He was falling asleep.

"To this time?" Naruto asked. "What does that mean?"

The only thing the ancient sage toad said was a misty, "Go back to Konoha. And tell no one there of her destiny."

"What?" Naruto yelped. "But…wai-"

Poof!

***

Naruto looked around. He was outside Ichiraku Ramen, the old man hurrying toward him, the girl in front of him and still asleep, as she had been at the mountain. "Damnit!"


"Do you understand?" Itachi asked.

Psycho-Sasuke's face had lost much of its former peace and happiness. He stared at Itachi with dark eyes hooded with the new information he'd received. Though by no means rude, he'd become less verbal as well. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

To demonstrate, Sasuke repeated the salient points. "There are other realities, versions of the same world with the same key people in them. A girl named Aimi, your niece, has the ability to travel between these realities and pick version of myself and Naruto for the purpose of building an army of Bijuu. Akatsuki has been made Jinchuuriki by the goddess Izanami, for the purpose of bringing Raiden, Aimi's brother and your nephew, to her. I am here to assist in this upcoming battle."

Itachi nodded slowly, not liking the stoic expression behind those lifeless eyes. What was the kid thinking?

He soon found out.

"I don't care if you're not the brother I killed," Psycho-Sasuke said in a low, intense voice. "You're still my brother. I'm being given a second chance with you. I will help you, nii-san, but I won't be leaving afterward. I'm staying. I'm staying here with you and the clan, with my family."

And he got up and went into the house. Itachi watched with troubled eyes.

Sasuke and Naruto, sitting some distance away, had heard and now came to Itachi. "Well," Naruto said bracingly. "That doesn't sound as crazy as the earlier shit he said, right?"

Sasuke studied the teen's back as he entered the house. "No. It's worse." Itachi nodded, agreeing with his brother.

Naruto glanced at them, at their identical frowns. "How so?"

"I think," Sasuke said in a dangerously quiet voice, "that he means to eliminate any possibility of him going back to his world."

"Meaning…" the blonde drawled, making rolling gestures with his hands.

"Meaning Raiden and Aimi," Itachi hissed. "I think he means to make sure no one can send him away against his will."

Naruto stared at them. "Kill Raiden and Aimi? Now who's crazy? You can't think he'd want to kill two kids he's never met? In cold blood?" Naruto snorted.

Identical dark heads turned to the blonde, Sharingan blazing in two sets of eyes. "You didn't listen to what he said," Sasuke admonished.

"I heard what the creep said-"

"But you didn't listen," Sasuke insisted. "He is ruthless. Nothing, and I mean nothing, Naruto, drives that kid except his brother. Nothing ever has. Not ever. Not once. Before the massacre, he was driven to equal his brother. After, he was driven to avenge him. And once he had, he was driven to avenge him again. And now that he's here, in Itachi's presence? There is no force under the stars that will pull him away, Naruto. Nor will he stand by and allow someone to send him away, if such a force existed, which it does, in the form of our two kids. The second Raiden and Aimi get back here, I bet he plans on dealing with them."

Naruto closed his open mouth. "But…how do you know that?"

Sasuke turned away, staring at the closed door of the house with his arms folded. "I feel it. How he is, how dark. I've known that darkness a time or two. Rasta-Sasuke recognized it as well. I think any Sasuke would be able to. Any Uchiha."

Naruto shivered. He was used to Sasuke's darker side, but it rarely ever showed. Sure, he got moody, was a bit colder, but he was also warm and giving and loving with his family. "Well," he said when he could speak. "All Itachi has to do is tell him to stay away from our kids. He'll listen to Itachi, right? 'Cuz if not…well, I don't want to have to kill the little shit-"

"You can't kill him," Itachi said quietly. "He has Eternal Mangekyo and has perfected Susanoo. Even with Kyuubi released, I don't know that you could take him. Every one of my children, including myself, could throw our combined strength against him and perhaps one or two of us would survive. He is trained by Orochimaru, and possibly by Madara, to some extent. He has no moral compass or anything that stays his hand. He is ruled by hatred, nothing more."

"But he loves you," Naruto said, bewildered. "That has to mean something, doesn't it?"

"That love has been corrupted," Itachi said. "It can't stand against his hate."

"But his love for you is what's making him want to stay," Naruto persisted. "That has to mean there's some good in him, right? That he can be helped?"

The Uchiha brothers didn't answer.

***

Rasta-Sasuke sat in the shadow of his cabin. He'd heard everything Psycho-Sasuke said and been told. He heard the three men talking after the freak had entered the house.

Maybe y'all can't take him, he thought now. But let's see him go up against yours truly.

He sat for a long time after the three men had gone their separate ways, thinking of how he'd killed his brother.


Naruto was just drawing the hospital sheet up over the girl when Tsunade came barreling into the room in a wheelchair, Shizune running behind and pushing the thing. Naruto hollered, falling against the wall behind him.

Tsunade spared him a brief glance before rolling right up to the girl's bedside and leaning over her. She frowned. "Shizune. Help her, I don't have enough chakra yet."

Shizune complied, holding Mystical Palm over the poorly tended broken bones and injured organs. She could not heal her completely, only aid the process. The girl remained horribly weak, no chakra whatsoever. "Tsunade-sama, she is very badly hurt. She may need weeks, many, before she begins to recover."

Tsunade recalled the report she'd read. "Somehow I don't think so. We will wait here the night and observe her ourselves. Bring me food." Shizune left while Tsunade turned to where Naruto stood against the wall. "You were summoned to Myoubokuzan?"

He nodded numbly. "Can I just say how happy I am to see you've-"

"Tell me everything that happened there. Leave nothing out." The Hokage's voice brooked no argument, her eyes were alert for lies or any omission of truth.

But Naruto had been told specifically not to divulge the girl's destiny, as told by Ojiji-sama. He told about his future reading, about the seal, but he left out anything to do with the girl.

"Who is she?" Tsunade asked.

"I already told you, I've never seen her before."

He held her gaze without flinching. Tsunade was forced to believe that Naruto really didn't know this child. Fine. However..."While you were with Jiraiya…did you happen to meet any girls?"

"I said I never saw this girl-"

"A woman! Did you meet with a woman, did you sleep with someone and perhaps impregnate her? Come to think of it when, exactly, did you attain puberty?"

Naruto went blind with shock. His mouth hung open, twitching in an unsightly way. "H-h-huuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!?!?!"

Tsunade rolled herself around the end of the bed toward him. "I said have you-"

"NO! ARE YOU CRAZY, OLD LADY?!?! DID THAT COMA MAKE YOU SENILE???"

Tsunade rested her folded fingers on her mouth, watching the enraged blonde breathe deeply back to calmness. "Do you recall anyone taking blood from you while you were away from Konoha?"

A pause. A filthy glare. "No."

Tsunade sat back, thinking. The blood could have been obtained anywhere, at anytime the boy had been away from the village. It could have happened without his knowledge. Damn, she needed answers.

And it looked like she'd only be able to get them from the girl in the bed. She settled back to wait.


Raiden woke to find himself being kissed. He jerked back in surprise, scrambling to his knees. "What the hell??"

Wyatt sat up sleepily. "You look better," he smiled.

Raiden couldn't care less about how he felt. It seemed like years since he'd last kissed Wyatt. He couldn't even remember what those nights of cuddling and kissing had been like before Akatsuki had come. It seemed like part of another life. Then the punishment, the new world, the dangers, sleeping in one room with his parents and his sister…he'd all but forgotten what kissing even was.

Wyatt was rubbing sleep from his eyes when Raiden launched himself at him, rolling them over and kissing him hungrily. That feeling, the hot, lazy, sleepy, excited feeling he remembered from earlier kisses came now. Raiden sank into it happily, completely, willingly. His dick stiffened halfway at contact with Wyatt's ready length, at the way Wyatt ran eager hands all over him.

Raiden keened as a new feeling crept up on him; a descent from his conscious mind as something else started taking over. The biting feeling, but intensified…he wanted to do more than bite. He wanted…


Aimi woke with a hiss of indrawn breath, sitting up to stare around. "Daddy?" she quavered. It was the last thing she remembered.

"Indeed," a strong female voice said to her left.

Aimi turned and saw someone she'd only ever seen in school books. She glanced to her right and saw her Daddy, Naruto, sprawled in a chair, snoring with his mouth gaping open. She swallowed, meeting the stern, unblinking gaze of the woman in the wheelchair.

"Who is your Daddy?" Tsunade asked.

Aimi knew better than to answer. She remained silent, though she began trembling. This woman scared her.

Naruto woke, snorted, saw the girl was awake, and rushed to her side. "Haha! Hi!"

Aimi glanced at his squint-eyed grin, but remained focused on the Hokage.

Tsunade ran out of patience, something she'd never had in abundance to begin with. She wanted answers. This girl had them, she could see them in the dark blue eyes.

"You might as well tell me the truth," Tsunade said stonily. "I know you are part Uzumaki, part Uchiha." Naruto screeched behind a hand. Tsunade kept speaking, rolling herself closer to Aimi with each sentence. "I know you have some aspect of the Kyuubi and the curse seal." Aimi hung her head, the words seemingly eroding her ability to maintain the golden brown stare. "I know you fought Madara, possibly Sasuke as well. And," Tsunade said triumphantly, "I know you have a brother named Raiden who came here looking for-"

Aimi snapped her head up, pinning Tsunade with suddenly red eyes. "Raiden?" She turned from the Hokage, sending her mind out and finding the presence of her brother immediately. She was still weakened, but much stronger than she had been only hours before. She grabbed Naruto's hand and folded from there on the spot, Tsunade's scream fading as she did.


Wyatt had Raiden straddling him, one hand grasping his butt cheek, when Aimi appeared with a taller teen, right beside them. He yelled in fright, even as Raiden lithely turned to face the threat.

Aimi squealed, throwing herself at her brother. Raiden screamed in response, catching her as Naruto watched. "Aimi, oh my god, what happened? Are you all right?"

"I-" Aimi stopped, realizing she was still hurt. She took a few moments now to call up her chakra and heal herself completely. Her chakra wasn't a hundred percent, though, and she was still fatigued. "I killed Madara, but I was so messed up, Raiden. I folded myself to Daddy…and then I don't know what happened. He brought me to the hospital I think." She turned expectantly to Naruto, who'd been listening while turning in a circle, inspecting the enclosure of trees.

Naruto stared upward at the leafy treetops, but pointed a finger unerringly at where Aimi sat in Raiden's arms. "You're the reason the Fifth thinks I've been sleeping around. You keep going around saying I'm your daddy. I'm not, but Ojiji-sama told me to help you, so I'll help you find him."

Aimi sat up straighter. "No, you're not my daddy. I'm sorry. But you look like him. Who's Ojiji-sama?"

Naruto stopped looking around and came to her. He looked from her to the boy who held her loosely, to the other boy, who sat some distance away, watching everything happily. "First I want to know what the Old Lady meant when she said you were part Uzumaki. Are you…" Naruto's voice lowered hopefully. "Are you related to me? Family that I didn't know about?"

Aimi looked to Raiden to guide her. Raiden cleared his throat. "Uh…sort of."

"Yeah?!" Naruto yelled. "Really?"

Raiden and Aimi nodded. Naruto joined the hug, squeezing both of them, laughing.

***

Later, he told them what Ojiji-sama had said. Neither Raiden, Aimi nor Wyatt understood what being 'half of a great power' meant, but they explained about the war coming, Akatsuki, the Bijuu, and lastly the other worlds. When he heard about the other versions of himself and Sasuke, he held up a hand. "How many others like us?"

Aimi shrugged. "However many I can get."

"And…Sasuke? The one from here…he's there already, with your real parents?"

Aimi nodded. "I sent him, before I killed Madara."

Naruto stood, rubbing the back of his head. "Tsunade will kill me when she finds out I'm gone. Yosh! Show me those powers you have!"

Raiden, stronger than his sister in her current condition, called up his chakra cautiously. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. His head didn't hurt. He experimented and discovered he could fold.

Wyatt guided Naruto closer to Raiden and Aimi. Raiden concentrated, praying nothing went wrong and that he was really back to normal. Naruto eyed the black chakra curiously-

-And fell to his knees on some rocky place, retching horribly.

Aimi, Raiden and Wyatt watched passively. A shout had them looking up.

Four people were running towards them. The first was the newest Sasuke, eyes red. The second was Itachi, hot on his heels. The last two were Aimi and Raiden's own parents.

It was clear to those watching that Psycho-Sasuke was going to reach them first. The three startled children watched his advance, unaware of the danger they were in.


A/N: Sorry, for bugging yall after the story is over, but no, canon sasuke and naruto don't know the exact parentage of Raiden and Aimi yet. That's next chapter. The scene is already written... :)