Chapter 38

Sasuke watched as Sakura and Naruto were saying their goodbyes to Haku. Team 7, Tsunade, Shizune, and Haku stood at the open gates of the village. Haku had a backpack on his back as he stood next to a girl with snow white hair and the Kirigakure hitai-ate tied around her forehead. Sasuke frowned at obvious distress and melancholy of the event.

Several weeks have passed since Sasuke sent Katy home and the Retrieval mission. The mission was an overall success since Sasuke was brought back to the village, yet it didn't feel as a time for celebration. Many of the retrieval team was injured, including Sasuke himself. While he fought Kimimaro alongside Naruto, Lee, and Gaara (none of them could take down the guy on their own. There was a reason why Orochimaru wanted him as a host), Sasuke sustained several fractures to his ribs, leg, and his right arm. His right arm got the most damage when Kimimaro riddled the bone with holes from that bullet attack of his. It was to their luck Kimimaro died in the middle of his final attack that could have been the killing blow to all four. Lucky for Sasuke, Chouji, and Neji, Tsunade and Shizune managed to heal them so they could continue their service as shinobi without any permanent repercussions. In the midst of all this no one realized Katy was gone until they were all fully out of the hospital.

Naruto and Haku were shocked when they realized Katy was gone. Sakura was the one to tell them Katy wasn't seen since they left. After their shock, Naruto wanted to go look for her because she was their friend. Everyone had grown close to the girl in their own way. But, Sasuke was the one to tell them to not look for her and leave it. Everyone was astonished he would say that and questioned why. They all knew how close he and Katy were. Sasuke never answered. He was still suffering from being separated for her and saying goodbye. Since he never answered, Naruto got angry at him for not caring enough for his friend. If it weren't for Haku telling him to stop it, Sasuke and Naruto would have fought and in his condition Sasuke wouldn't win. Even now, Naruto held a grudge against him for not caring.

Then, several weeks after they realized Katy had disappeared, Team 7 was called in to Tsunade's office after a mission. Tsunade told Haku the message the new Mizukage sent to her stating she knew Haku was alive. This scared Haku since he thought he would be killed for aiding Zabuza in his assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage. Tsunade calmed him down by explaining that the Mizukage was requesting if he could come back and be a shinobi of Kiri instead. The Fifth Mizukage didn't care about Haku's past crimes nor his kekkei genkai. She understood he did all of that for Zabuza for the well-being of the village.

This shocked the genin, especially Haku. He did not know what to do and asked his team for their opinion. Kakashi and Sakura told him he could go if he wanted. Naruto said no because Haku was already a shinobi of Konoha. Sasuke simply replied, "You were born and raised in the Land of Water. You risked your life to help Zabuza achieve his dream of restoring the way of life there. If it means that much to you, it's your choice." That helped Haku decide to go back home to the village he and Zabuza fought to help out from under the former Mizukage. The letter that Tsunade received from the Fifth Mizukage said that following the letter a shinobi from Kiri would come to get Haku's answer.

Not a day later, the Kiri shinobi came. It turned out to be a girl about their age with snow white hair and dark eyes. She introduced herself as Yue Izushi and she was a chunin of Kiri assigned to receive Haku's answer. The four were surprised to see a girl their age could already be a chunin for some time. Sasuke could tell Yue possibly liked Haku because the moment he walked through the door, her pale features turned red. She hid it well, though, and asked for Haku's answer. He said yes. She smiled and said they could leave in three days since she had to retrieve all of Haku's transfer papers. She quickly retrieved those papers in three days' time and it was finally time to go.

Sakura hugged Haku tightly. "We're really going to miss you, Haku. It feels like you haven't been here for awhile."

"I know, Sakura. I'll miss you guys, too," said Haku.

She let go of him and smiled. "Make sure to visit us whenever you get a mission near Konoha."

"Yeah! You better visit," Naruto chirped excitedly. "It feels like you just got here."

Haku nodded. "I'll make sure to visit whenever I can." He turned to Tsunade and bowed. "Thank you for everything, Lady Tsunade."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "It was nothing, kid. Just take care of yourself, got it?"

"I will." Then, Haku turned to Sasuke and bowed to him with much respect. "Thank you for everything, Sasuke. You've done so much for me. I don't know how to repay you."

Sasuke barely blinked and shook his head. "Don't thank me. Thank Katy. She's the one who offered you a home in the first place."

Haku's smile slipped at the name. Sasuke cursed himself for mentioning her. Ever since they discovered Katy disappeared, Haku couldn't hear her name without feeling depressed. He confessed to Sasuke about confessing his feelings for Katy and he felt it was his fault she left. If he hadn't told her he loved her, she wouldn't have left to get away from him. Sasuke pitied him and said Katy didn't leave because of that. She left because of something else. Haku didn't feel as better as he should have.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his neck with his good hand. "Hey, Haku. I'm sorry about what happened between you and Katy. She just didn't know and didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"No, it's fine, Sasuke," he replied, shaking his head. "I didn't know that she didn't see it either. I'm glad to have met her in the first place. Were it not for her I could have died that day on the bridge and given up on my life."

Isn't that the truth? Sasuke thought. If Katy had never met Haku before the bridge, he would have been dead. And without Haku, Sasuke would have received the curse mark and and Kiba and Akamaru would have been badly hurt during their fight with Sakon and Ukon.

Haku said his final goodbyes to the group. He started to walk beside Yue as they walked away from the village. Sakura and Naruto waved farewell from afar until the two were far out of sight.

"I hope Haku will be okay," said Sakura, worried.

"Don't worry. He will be fine," Sasuke reassured her.

Sakura didn't know if he was right, but nodded.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Now that that's over, it's time to start your training, Sakura."

She nodded fiercely, a determined fire burning in her eyes.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

Sasuke stared between Sakura's enthusiastic expression and Tsunade. Just two weeks ago Sakura asked Tsunade to train her to become a media nin. Sakura told him she wanted to be more useful and after seeing Katy suffer under Sepsis she didn't want to see any of her friends look that way again. The only way to do that was to go into the medical field. Naruto, Sasuke, and Haku encouraged her decision. If she was dedicated, she would become a great medic nin, which Sasuke already knew she would.

Tsunade and Shizune began to leave to go back to their duties. Sakura quickly waved goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Bye, Naruto, Sasuke! I'll see you guys for dinner at your place!"

"Bye, Sakura! Have fun!" Naruto said with a grin. "We're having ramen tonight!"

"Hell no. We're having fried fish and dumplings for dinner," Sasuke shot back.

"What's wrong with ramen?"

"Ramen is unhealthy and I'll be damned if we have ramen for dinner for more than two nights a week."

"You're such a prude, jerk."

"I'm a healthy prude, moron."

Sakura rolled her eyes at their interactions. "I don't know how Katy would have managed to live with you two. You'd probably fight every single night."

Sasuke and Naruto shot a glance at one another with a slight glare. They started living with one another a week before. When Sasuke realized he would be living home alone soon he asked Naruto to come live with him. Everyone was bewildered at Sasuke's offer. Sasuke didn't care about what anyone else thought because he didn't want to live alone. After years of living with at least someone, the thought of living alone terrified him. Underneath his tough exterior, he was a thirteen year old child. He was ready for some independence, but he wanted someone to rely on to take care of him. Katy used to be that person. Now, Sasuke wouldn't have minded to have Naruto around to take care of him. Or rather, he would be the one to take care of Naruto.

Naruto, after some shock, suspicion, and consideration, took his offer and moved into the Uchiha home. Of course, things were more hectic in the home with more arguments and some fights, but their rivalry toned down to one of fierce loyalty to one another. They didn't hate one another as much as before.

After bidding goodbye, Sakura ran off to catch up with her new teacher and fellow student. That left Naruto and Sasuke alone. They decided to head towards their usual training ground to go spar.

"I can't believe Haku left. I had fun being able to live with you and him," Naruto said with a sigh.

"We're going to see him again. If he didn't like us, he would have left months ago," Sasuke commented with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, but it feels like everyone's leaving. Katy's gone, Haku went back to his village, and as soon as Ero Sennin comes back I'm leaving for training. We're going to be leaving you alone."

Sasuke didn't answer. He knew he would soon be alone. Everyone seemed to be leaving his house and leaving him there with his memories of them. To say the least it was depressing.

"I wouldn't mind getting you out of the house. You're terrible at cleaning," he said instead.

"Hey! It's not my fault you're so pissy about keeping everything clean! It's going to get messed up anyway so why bother cleaning?"

"Katy thought the same way, but she still did it."

"Because you probably threatened her!" Naruto huffed, but suddenly frowned. "Do you ever miss Katy?"

Sasuke really didn't want to answer that question. He didn't want Naruto to know he missed Katy more than anything. She was the closest thing he had to a sister. It hurt him to send her away but he had to. It was for the best. He sighed. "I sort of miss her. But, I know she's fine wherever she is. She might not be happy, but at least I know she's safe."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

Sasuke gave a smirk that held many different meanings.

"I just do."

Though, I wonder what she's doing right now? She's probably playing video games or something At least she'll be happy with that for a while.

Whatever Katy was doing Sasuke would know she would be happy to be home where she belonged. He was.

xxx

"Katy...Katy...Kaitlyn Rivera, are you paying attention?!"

"Hm?" Katy lifted her head up from where she was staring at the dull brown desk in front of her to the front of the classroom. A forty year old woman with graying hair stood in front of a white board. She blinked slowly, which made the woman scowl. "Sorry, Ms. Morgan. What was your question?"

"I said if a clothing store had a shirt that cost twenty dollars and they had it on sale for seventeen dollars, what is the percent that was decreased from the sale?"

"Fifteen percent. Is that it?" she impatiently asked.

Ms. Morgan shot her a look that would have made any kid sweat or be uncomfortable. "That would be it for now, Kaitlyn. Now, pay attention!"

She turned back to the board and began to explain how Katy got that answer. Katy tuned her out and started doodling on the notebook on her desk. Despite her not looking, the kids around her began to whisper about her.

"Can you believe her attitude?'

"I know. Rude, much?"

"Just because she got herself kidnapped doesn't mean she can be so bitchy."

"Totally."

"What a loser."

"I bet the kidnapper offered her a bunch of those comic books she's always reading and she went with him."

They laughed and giggled before they were shushed by a stern look from their teacher.

This is complete torture! How can I compare myself to those girls? Katy grumbled in her head. She gripped her normal, mechanical pencil so hard it almost snapped. Her vision almost turned red. First summer's taken away from me and now this? This sucks! More than that stupid Sepsis!

Several weeks have passed since she came home from what she dubbed the Shinobi reality. She awakened in a hospital with her mother beside her with tears in her eyes. Her mother broke into tears of joy. Apparently, she found Katy lying on the doorstep as pale as a ghost and barely breathing. Calling an ambulance, she was taken to the hospital where she was put into Intensive care for her newly diagnosed Sepsis. After awakening, her mother demanded where she went. Katy was in no mood to lie after everything that happened, so she told her everything. From the shinobi to Sasuke to her experimentation, she told it all. Of course, her mother was distraught with the experimentation but told her no matter what happened to her she was always her daughter. This caused Katy to break into her own tears. Her mother believed every single word and still loved her no matter how ridiculous it sounded. That, and it didn't hurt with Sasuke's own evidence.

While Katy was still knocked out, Mari, Sasuke's mother, went through the manga she found they had with them to find a letter addressed to her. Katy read the letter herself and remembered every single word to this moment.

Dear Mom, it read,

It's been nearly a year since I've disappeared from Sacramento. I'm sorry for suddenly disappearing like that with Katy. It was unexpected. I hope we didn't worry you and Aunt Rosaline too much. I wish I could see you but I can't. Don't worry. I'm okay. I haven't been kidnapped or anything. I'm back home. My birth home.

Mom, I know this is unbelieveable, but you know that manga series I read all the time? Naruto? And you know that character who looked like me? Well, it turns out I'm actually that character. I found out here that my real name is Sasuke Uchiha and I have a family. Well, had. All of them are dead now except for my older brother, Itachi. Anyway, it turns that I came from a ninja clan and I trained how to be one as well. My life is better now. I've made new friends now that I know where I came from. But, I've never forgotten you. Never. I wish every time that I could see you again but I can't. Only Katy can.

I decided to send her home because this place is too dangerous. She's been put in more danger than the people on crime shows. She won't last any longer here. If she stays here, she'll die. Mom, if Katy explains where I am and where she's been (I have a feeling she will), please believe her. She's been through so much as I have. I can handle it. She can't.

I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you all of this myself, but I have to stay here. I just want to thank you for everything. For taking care of me, loving me, and treating me like I was your own. I know you love me and you'll be grieving for me but don't. I want you to be happy. Go get married and have the family you've always wanted. All I ask from you is to not forget me.

Thank you for being my mother.

Love,

Sasuke Hailton-Uchiha

Mari believed every single word because Sasuke asked her to. Because of that, she believed where she's been. That made Katy all the more grateful for Sasuke.

Katy's severe sepsis kept her in the hospital for several weeks, which was complete torture. A week after she was checked in, a police officer arrived to ask Katy about what happened about her disappearance. Her mother had to file a missing person's report when discovering she was missing. Rosaline, Mari and Katy knew they couldn't tell the truth (that would put Katy in an asylum), so Katy had to lie she was kidnapped by a man in a black coat after they played hooky from school. Katy was carried down a street where Sasuke went after them to try and rescue Katy, but he ended up getting taken as well. The man kept them in a white van and drove them somewhere. When they arrived at the place the man knocked them both out so they couldn't see where they were. He threw them in a basement of some sort where they stayed for nearly a year. She grew teary eyes and said the man tortured her and Sasuke for a long time.

After nearly a year, Sasuke had enough. When the man came down to torture them again Sasuke used a metal rod he found to knock the man out in the head. Then, they escaped from the basement to see they were in an abandoned office building. Sasuke told Katy to get back home while he would lead the man off her trail should he wake up. She was hesitant to agree but she did. The two parted ways and Katy ran back to her home where she passed out from her contracted Sepsis. She also told the officer she did not know who the man was, where the office building was located, or where Sasuke went. The officer asked her if she could remember anything significant. She sobbed a no for good measure and he backed off after that.

Weeks later, Katy was released from the hospital after being deemed healthy enough only to find out her story was in the local newspaper. She had no idea how people found out and neither did her mother, but the damage was done. Everyone in their neighborhood knew and gave her pity gifts of all kinds. They did the same thing with Mari, whose son was still missing.

Speaking of Mari, she learned something interesting had happened while Katy and Sasuke were gone. She had a filipino boyfriend by the name of Juan dela Cruz. Apparently, a month after she and Sasuke were reported missing, her mother Mari along to one of her co-worker's party since Mari was sad and lonely. At the party they met with a close co-worker of her mother's. He and Mari instantly hit it off. Juan supported Mari through her struggles of depression and comforted her to the best of her ability. Katy actually met Juan when she was ten and was shocked to find out he was dating Mari. She couldn't believe it. She soon accepted it when she saw how happy Mari was and how Juan didn't grope Mari like most guys normally would. She knew Sasuke would approve of this guy if he saw that.

Then, the horrible news arrive. After getting released, her mother told her should would be taking summer school. Summer school! Because Katy missed almost the whole school year, she either had to repeat seventh grade again or take summer school and private tutoring to get to eighth grade. There was no way she was repeating a grade. So, she was stuck in a classroom for the whole summer.

Which sucked.

Katy stopped doodling and stared out the window beside her. It was a beautiful day with marshmallow skies and cool weather. She scowled. She should be out there playing, not stuck in a room with a bunch of kids who didn't care about their education. This was so unfair. She didn't want to be here. She would rather be in Konoha again. There was no way she could do that. She could never go back unless she wanted to die.

I'd rather take death by Sepsis than death by insanity.

She was seriously considering committing suicide because of all the hatred from everyone towards her. These kids didn't exactly like her for her sob story and thought she made it up to make herself popular. She sighed heavily. I wish I could have said goodbye. But, I guess it was for the best.

Katy was already missing everyone in Konoha. They were her true friends, not the people here. Her friends understood her; yet, these people did not. She wished she could see them again someday. Until then, she had her memories.

I'll never forget them, Katy thought with a smile. All the good times she had in Konoha would never fade away. She would always remember them. No matter what, I won't forget them. Never.

Her memories of Konoha was kept in a special place in her heart. Unlike Sasuke, she would always remember. Time could never take away her precious memories. Now that she was back home it was time to create more.

And, that's all folks!

Thank God! I'm finally done with this story! I felt like updating this two days after since I had this chapter sitting in my notebook. I feel so much better I finished this story four years after I started it in high school. This story got me through what I was dealing with at the time and I felt better when I wrote it. So, thank you for all of the readers who read this and reviewed. And, I decided to do a sequel. So, stay tuned for a new story!

Thank you and please continue reviewing!