"Itachi! Wait for me!" I cried out as I followed him into the forest. Moonlight trickled through the dense forest cover illuminating only patches of the ground. With half of everything invisible in the darkening night, it's amazing I could see him at all. He would occasionally wait for me to catch up, but then kept moving forward. This was so unusual. Why was he being so cold? The wind whipped against my face, still slightly cool despite the early summer. I stopped right then, realizing with horror what else was wrong. I was so distracted by what I saw that I was ignoring what was right under my nose. This wasn't his scent. This had to be a genjutsu of some kind, and I only knew one person who would do this.

I quickly turned on my heel and raced away. It was hard to be fast when I was so large, but I pushed myself. I had to get back before he noticed I wasn't following anymore. But just as I had reached the forest's edge with those welcoming gates just up ahead, I was grabbed from behind and slammed backward into the ground. Danzo's henchmen held me down, expressionless just like before. I squirmed in vain, but they were too strong.

Soft footsteps approached and I saw the fake Itachi make his way towards me. "So you figured it out after all. Impressive, even if it was too late."

"You dare take his form?" I growled. "You coward."

He looked down at his Akatsuki robe. "Disagreeable as it was, I knew it was the only thing that would lower your guard." He let the illusion fade away to reveal the truth. He rested on his cane, looking me over. "Now I think we've let this gone on far enough, don't you?"

He pulled out a shot filled with a strange red liquid. I swallowed nervously. "What is that?"

He slowly approached. "Like I said before, I will eliminate the problem before it becomes one. Hold her still," he cautioned his men. "This is really going to hurt."

My eyes widened as the needle lowered, aimed straight for my stomach. He was going to kill the baby, and possibly me as well. I couldn't allow that! I wouldn't let him! His very calmness enraged me. Did he truly think so little of life? But as angry as I was, I also felt shame that I had been so easily tricked. I should have known from the beginning that it wasn't really Itachi. Now because of my foolishness, our child would die. I glared at him defiantly. Not while I was still alive! Anger bubbled up inside my chest and I could feel its heat overwhelm me. My fingers elongated into claws and my vision went red.

Then suddenly I woke up with a killer headache and felt emotionally drained and physically disoriented. Danzo pinned me in place his livid expression loomed over me. I blinked in confusion. Where was that needle? Why was he so angry all of a sudden?

"Don't you realize what I went through to get that eye? Now you've ruined it!" He hissed. "Not to worry though, I'll just replace it with your child's instead." A cruel smile touched his lips. "And if its sharingan is half as powerful as its father's, it will be more powerful than the rest."

I felt my heart beat faster. I was completely scared out of my mind. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't insult my intelligence!" He snapped. "No one else knows the secret of my arm and I won't have you spilling it." His hand squeezed my chin so tightly that I cried out in pain. My arms and legs trembled in defiance, but for some reason I was too weak to move them. He pressed his index finger on my tongue and I gagged as it painfully swelled up for a few seconds. Even when it returned to normal size, it still tingled.

Just then a smoke bomb exploded nearby and I felt myself wrenched away and held close as we skidded away from the scene. When the smoke cleared I looked up to see a familiar face. "Kakashi-san!" I cried out in surprise.

"You have some explaining to do Danzo-san," Lady Tsunade said acidly from behind him.

"She attacked me and I acted only in self defense," He said simply, calm once again as he slipped his bandaged right arm under his robe. "She is a fox demon, too dangerous and unstable to remain in the village."

"I'm in no mood for your lies," she glowered. "I know for a fact that you've had your eye on her destruction for some time. It was only a matter of time before you made your move."

"I would never make such a claim without proof," he said as he pulled a small black device from his left sleeve and held it out in the palm of his hand. An image appeared above it, large enough for all of us to see. At first all I could see was a strange red haze in the shape of a humanoid fox with elongated ears, claws, and tail. It threw back its head and laughed manically. "I'll see that what's left of your soul burns in Hell!"

I gasped aloud as I recognized the voice. Despite how deep and throaty it was, it was unmistakably mine.

The image replayed, zooming in closer to show that it wasn't some red shadow. There was someone inside, controlling and fueling it. I felt short of breath, my eyes locked on its cruel twisted face. It was me. But how? When? It had to be a trick of his. It just had to be.

"She is a danger to Konoha and as Root's Leader; I will not hesitate to strike her down to protect everyone else." He said evenly. "That is my duty as a shinobi."

"Your duty is to obey my word as Hokage," she reminded him firmly, though her resolve was shaken and her tone greatly subdued. "I will look into the matter further and make my decision concerning you two then. In the meantime, you will keep your distance."

He bowed his head respectfully and turned to walk away. She sighed as he disappeared into the distance. "Miko-san, please tell me that projection was fake."

"I…I don't…" I muttered uselessly and then hung my head. "I don't know."

"She needs medical attention first," Kakashi insisted as he gathered me in his arms. "Then we'll get answers."

I rested my head against his chest as the three of us entered the city. The image of that cursed form burned in my mind. Its terribly fury frightened me so much that I trembled from head to toe. That couldn't be me. It couldn't be. The look in its eye thirsted for his blood. I'm not that kind of person. Just then I noticed how bloody I was and how weak I felt. Just what had happened back there? I rested a feeble hand on my stomach. Is the baby alright? Did he get hurt too? I felt a reassuring kick and I smiled to myself. Of course he was. He was strong like his father.

I lost consciousness once we arrived at the hospital. When I came to, I was alone in a hospital bed. Sighing, I rubbed my tired eyes. What a night. What happened back there? The memory of that projection made me shudder. Could that really have been me? I had to find out. Moving carefully, I slipped out of bed and stepped out into the hallway. Picking up on Kakashi's scent, I followed it down the hall. I heard the voices before I saw him.

"This is incredible," Kakashi murmured. "So he was telling the truth."

"Only in part," Lady Tsunade said. "It was more out of desperation to save her child than some innate evil. I doubt it would ever happen again."

I drew closer to the room and peered through the corner of the window. They were seated around a video screen, talking in whispers.

"Play that security tape from the beginning," she said as she folded her arms thoughtfully. "There's just something that isn't quite right about it."

As the tape played, I was shocked to realize that it was my encounter with Danzo. It started with his approach with the needle and me thrashing around on the ground to break free. My eyes widened as I watched on as a strange red glow spread from my chest to cover my entire body. Fingers became claws and my eyes into narrow slits.

I looked truly demonic. I couldn't believe it was me. It was like she was a whole new person.

The two henchmen let go in surprise and she kicked Danzo backward. He flew up into the tree, but grabbed a branch to stop himself. Using his momentum, he swung around and landed lightly on the ground once again. He looked mildly surprised. "Well, well, what have we here? Another fox demon? Though not nearly as strong the Kyuubi. I should have nothing to fear."

"You will if you dare touch me again!" She snarled as she crouched down. The look in her eye revealed how badly she wanted to rip him to shreds.

Danzo's eye narrowed at her. "I don't have time to waste, so I trust you'll forgive me for ending this quickly."

He brought his hands up to make a hand sign as she charged forward. Suddenly her body was frozen and strange black symbols started to appear on her body. Is that some sort of binding technique, a Juinjutsu?

"There, that was simple enough," he said gruffly. "Now back to business."

Activating the blue flame technique, it soon spread all over her body. He was surprised to see that she effectively burned off the seal. She laughed manically. "You can't touch me now! I'll see that what's left of your soul burns in Hell!"

He frowned deeply, as if he didn't really understand. As she started her next charge, he sucked in a deep breath while rapidly doing another hand sign. When he opened his mouth strong chakra-enforced wind shot out, cutting her from all angles. Blood spurted out from each cut. It didn't hold her back at all or even slow her down. She struck at him over and over. His wind attacks barely kept her back, making it hard to land a killing blow. When the henchmen tried to intervene, she easily knocked them unconscious. Danzo apparently was the superior opponent.

Watching this felt so unreal. She was me and yet she wasn't. So Danzo was not lying after all. That venomous and malevolent thing was me after all. I have never seen anything like this before. The others watched this methodically but I felt a panic attack coming on. But how did I become her? Why don't I remember anything about it? What did this mean? Could it happen again? Was I something to be feared now? The very last thing I remember was feeling so angry. How dare he try to kill my child? What had he ever done to him? He had just as much right to live as everyone else did.

"Watch closely where she grabs him," Tsunade's voice broke through my reverie.

My attention returned to screen. Right at the moment, she had managed to grab a hold of some cast on his right arm, exposed through his severed sleeve. I winced as I watched her smash her forehead against his. They stared at each other as blood trickled down between their eyes.

It was incredible. She really looked like she was about to rip his head off.

"Beg for mercy!" She snarled in that deep demonic voice.

"You think you've won?" He asked dryly. "I haven't even had to use my best techniques. I wouldn't waste them on scum like you. No, I will not die here," he said simply. "But in striking me, you have sealed your fate as a traitor as well. To die in disgrace just like your lover."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not before I rip your heart out first!"

Her grip tightened and the flames burned through his cast, exposing what lie beneath it. Or rather it should have. Instead she was suddenly shown flying backward into a tree, cracking her head on it. I winced again and rubbed the back of my head. Well it's no wonder that I didn't remember anything. I'm lucky I didn't break my neck and die on impact. Just like that, she returned to my normal self and he had me pinned just seconds before the rescue.

I frowned. Wait a minute. Something was wrong here. He spoke during that time. Some threat against the baby's future Sharingan and a secret about his arm. And how could I ever forget when he put some sort of seal on my tongue? But none of that was on the video.

"There! Did you notice that? It happens twice," Tsunade said. "It's just a flicker, but it's obvious that this recording has been edited. Something else happened that didn't get recorded."

Kakashi nodded. "Even with the action slowed down with my Sharingan I couldn't see anything. And those henchmen weren't anywhere in sight when we arrived on the scene. Perhaps they are responsible for the edit?"

"But if they aware of the camera the entire time, then why didn't they confiscate it from the beginning or at least block it?" Tsunade puzzled aloud.

"Perhaps that was the point," Kakashi said slowly. "To leave behind evidence of Miko-san's supposed treachery."

"I don't like this," she said with a frown. "I don't like being left in the dark about something this important."

"But at least we have proof that he initiated the attack," Kakashi said in an effort to console her.

She nodded firmly. "That will be enough to disband Root permanently. I'll see to it at once."

As she stepped out of the room, I grabbed her by the arm. She wasn't even surprised as she turned to look me in the eye. "You saw the video…didn't you." She said. There was question in her tone.

"When were you all going to tell me what happened?" I demanded.

"We weren't," she said simply. "Because it isn't likely to ever happen again."

"But how did it?" I asked, trying to keep my temper in check. The nerve of them, trying to keep this secret from me! Did they really think I was a child they needed to protect? Or did they think I was too naïve to understand?

She gently shook off my tight grip. "It's very similar to the fox cloak that Naruto has shown in the past, only triggered by the most desperate of situations. I would guess that you were in a similar one, drawing on both your own divine ability as well as the chakra of the baby. So judging by that theory, it shouldn't happen again. Not if you stay out of trouble and keep your head down. You could have avoided all of this if you had done that in the first place."

"That is too harsh!" Kakashi protested. "She's been through so much-"

"And it's likely to get worse before it gets better," She said, narrowing her eyes at me seriously. "That's the reality you face. You need to focus on what it'll take to protect this child. Danzo-san nearly succeeded, and he isn't your only enemy. You can't afford to fail again."

Despite the severity of her words, I sensed her concern. She was not talking down to me like a child, but treating me like an adult. And she was right to reprimand me; I had been stupid falling for what was obviously a trick.

I nodded solemnly. "I won't fail again."