Family was both a familiar and foreign concept to Reina. Like everyone she had both parents up until a certain point. She was one of the lucky ones; although absent and frequently unavailable, she knew deep down her parents would give anything to be with her. Even if her mother would never admit it out loud.

Other children never had that. Other children didn't have parents let alone grandparents who would look after them. She did. And how she adored them. Reina accredited her grandparents for how she turned out in life. She was very rarely rebellious and said her please and thank yous - even if they weren't deserved at times.

To have her perfect little world shattered broke her heart, the heart she had kept open up until then. After that day. The day that shook her from first born heir to orphan cracked her heart into multiple pieces, the pieces fractured and seemingly beyond repair. That single beating organ only broke further when her grandfather passed away, his illness finally claiming its prize. She didn't think would heal. A part of her never did.

She had so many unanswered questions that would remain as such. Mere questions linked to hypothetical answers. She hated it. She hated the vagueness of it all. The not knowing. The unknown. Yes, she hated the unknown. And it was the unknown that currently presented itself at her feet, its vast arms spread wide in a somewhat pompous manner. After all the unknown knew what dwelled within its tantalising mysteries.

The unknown, although terrifying, enthralled Reina at the same time. Like so much of the world that was undiscovered she wanted to learn all she could whilst she still had the time. She knew it made no sense, it was a literal paradox. Whilst she craved to make the unknown, known to her, she also dreaded what lay ahead of her. And even though she knew her parents were waiting for her, she technically knew very little about them.

That unknown scared her more. The fact she didn't really know her own were more like strangers, passing ships in the night whose encounters were brief and tragically fleeting.

And their ships had momentarily docked at the same port.

"Are you ready to start the next part of the cycle?" Hidekazu questioned, his eyes glimmering like molten gold. Reina didn't answer immediately. Her mouth was suddenly dry, her lips parched despite licking them constantly.

"What if," Reina knitted her brows in question. "What if they don't like me? What if they don't like who I've become?" She resembled a child starting their first day at school.

"Then they would be the most idiotic people known to man." Hidekazu squeezed her shoulders, his lips twitching in reassurance. "But they won't, because they will love you. Just like I do. Just like that Uchiha boy loves you."

Heat prickled Reina's cheeks, her skin flushing a pale pink. Hidekazu grinned lopsidedly, he knew that look all too well. He may be old and dead, but he recognised the look of love when he saw it.

"I love you so much Ojii-san." Reina threw herself at her grandfather for the final time. She inhaled his scent, the comforting smell of a pine wood painting a picture in her mind. "Ok, I'm ready." She lied a perfect lie.

"Just remember my little rabbit, you are loved and you are more than what you think you are. Now go get them." Hidekazu placed a delicate kiss on her forehead, lingering before shoving her forward in encouragement. Reina stumbled, the water on the floor sloshing about; when she turned around to reprimand the elder Hitori - he was gone.

"Arigatou Ojii-san."

Amidst the darkness Reina kept her wits about her, her eyes subconsciously scanning the shadows as if nightmarish creations would come slithering out with malcontent glittering in their faces. But they didn't. Not this time at least. The only sound she could hear was the echoing ripples that lingered after her tread and the shallow breaths that escaped her lips.

In the distance she could hear a faint, indistinguishable sound. For some reason, habit perhaps, she narrowed her eyes as if her sight would improve her hearing. A voice. No. Two voices. It had to be them. She didn't dare take another step towards the voices. A part of her, the small, needy child, wanted to gallop to them, pure elation plastered on her face. The more rational, restrained adult part, decided against it, deeming it irrational and foolish. After all it could be a cruel ploy devised by the cycle to inflict more pain.

"Natsuko-chan please. My hair is fine, there's no need to cause such a fuss. I'm pretty sure Reina will have other things on her mind rather than my stray hairs." A voice cut through the shadows, it was smooth despite the agitation that currently laced it.

"Taimu, this will be the first time she sees us, do you want to look like a scruffy hobo?" Silence. Not a single objection. "No, I didn't think so, so stand still for goodness sake."

The other voice made her body stiffen at first, the tiny hairs on her arms standing to attention. Gradually they fell back into place, her muscles lax and nimble once more. It was definitely the voice of her mother, forever a busy body. Forever a live wire. Reina had clearly inherited her occasional bout of feistiness from her mother whilst she had been gifted placidness from her father. They were like chalk and cheese. But, for some reason, it worked between them two, it lasting longer than life, merely growing stronger in death.

Reina edged towards the voices of her would-be parents, her stance poised in the instance fate was not in most benevolent of moods. In the distance an effervescent glow cut through the gloom, the white dazzling her shadow accustomed sight. At first the light had no particular shape, the beams shooting off into the darkness like stars in the night sky. Then, the closer she snuck the more the light seemed to dim, not in brightness, but in the way it bounced in every possible direction. No, the glimmer was still as stunning, blinding in fact; it was when her eyes adjusted to the beams she realised the cause of the light.

Her parents.

The light of their white kimono dazzled against the backdrop of endless obsidian, the silk resembling glittering diamonds underwater. They were a beacon amidst a sea of nightmares, a possible refuge that welcomed her with open arms. Reina took in her parents appearances, they hadn't changed, not that she had expected them to - they were unaffected by time after all. Forever frozen in their prime.

Taimu, her father, was how she remembered. An impossibly kind face with eyes like chocolate. He didn't have many lines on his face, yet when he smiled or rolled his eyes the slightest creases appeared beside his lips, reinforcing his pleasant demeanour. Despite not being an Hitori, her father had a heart of gold. Instinctively Reina fiddled with the small garnet gem that had hung around her neck since the day it was gifted to her by her father.

It settled her nerves, for when she turned her attention to her mother her breath caught in her throat. It was like looking in a mirror. She had forgotten how much she had inherited from Natsuko. They could pass as sisters nevermind mother and daughter. The only thing that separated them were the angles of their faces. Natsuko, forever wild and curt, had sharp, distinctive cheekbones, whilst Reina possessed softer, more childlike features.

Natsuko was the embodiment of summer and sunshine with the occasional torrential storm thrown in for good measure. Her own hair, despite faffing over her partner, was wild. Curls of every dimension spiralled down her back, the cocoa locks contrasting against the white of her kimono. Even her actions were summer-like, they vivacious and expressive, so much like the season that she adored.

In retrospect Reina wasn't surprised Tsukuyomi was her grandfather. Her father was calm and inviting, just like the moon in the evening. She had always felt connected to the night, the darkness was alluring, putting her at immediate ease. She was a winter baby after all, a time when the moon was more dominant than the sun. Then she realised. If Tsukuyomi was her grandfather, that made Amaterasu, the sun goddess, her Great-Aunt, whilst Susanoo, the storm god, was her Great-Uncle.

The thought was mind-boggling. The Kami were her family as much as the Hitori or the Uchiha.

By the time Reina had edged closer to her parents, they mid-quarrel again. She didn't dare breathe louder than necessary; she wanted to savour this moment. To remember how they acted naturally. To just… remember them. However her moment of solitude was short-lived.

"Natsuko-chan please stop now." Taimu murmured, his eyes catching a glimpse of Reina.

"Just wait would you, I almost have it."

"Natsuko-chan…" Taimu cleared his throat, clasping his hands over his beloved's gently whilst motioning to Reina with the inclination of his head. Natsuko froze.

For what felt like an eternity Natsuko held Taimu's gaze, chocolate blending into chocolate. She was terrified. Her daughter, her flesh and blood - her baby girl. Her chested constricted, her throat feeling like it had swollen to twice its normal size. She had been so cruel. So very very cruel. Reina was a child, she hadn't deserved her unkindness. Did she hate her for how she had acted all those years ago? She was practically a child herself when she fell pregnant? Did Reina understand that?

There was only one way to find out.

Taimu released Natsuko's hands, they snaking around her waist both out of pride and reassurance. He could feel her nerves. She was an open book begging to be read, to have someone understand the hidden emotions buried beneath a mountain of bravado. Deep down Taimu knew Natsuko was a pile of mush, her wild mannerisms a defence mechanism. After all she had been through so much and now she could finally explain her actions to Reina.

"My Reina-chan, my how you've grown." Taimu gave Natsuko a final squeeze of encouragement before letting his arm unravel from around her waist. "Do you remember us at all?"

Reina didn't move an inch. She watched the pair of them like a deer deciding whether to bolt or not. Her muscles ached from posing on the edge of decision; she didn't know whether they were real or not yet. She avoided looking at her mother directly; the incident with the Ungaikyo mirror had shuddered her down to her very core. Natsuko's face had been the one face that had haunted her all these years; her expression permanently set in twisted disgust.

"Reina…" Natsuko began, her usually sharp features passive and careful. "We're here to help you. I promise we aren't part of some cruel trick. We are here for you." Natsuko tried to smile, her cheeks aching from the feeble attempt. She didn't blame Reina for not trusting them.

One step. Then two steps. Soon enough Reina was within arms length of her parents. It wasn't the emotional reunion like it had been with her grandfather; this was guarded, awkward if anything.

"Otou-san. Okaa-san." Reina bowed, her braid flopping over her shoulder. A part of her felt stupid for bowing but a hug felt too informal, too personal.

"Oh you silly, silly girl." Natsuko muttered, paying no attention to Reina's formalities as she pulled her into an iron vice like embrace. Initially Reina tensed, her body suddenly on hyper alert; when the scent of jasmine crept into her nostrils her body unwound at the familiar smell. It smelled like home. She smelled like home.

"Okaa-san…" Reina murmured, her tone more relaxed as if it had finally registered that it was her mother holding her. It was an innate action, as much as she wanted to hold her mother at arms length and take things slow - she couldn't. They were on borrowed time and she had a mission to complete.

"My little girl, my beautiful little girl. I'm so sorry for everything." Natsuko whispered into Reina's hair, her voice quivering on the precipice of heartache and joy.

"That's more like it, my two girls." Taimu grinned, his own eyes glossy with unspoken elation. Instinctively Reina reached for her father, all without letting go of her mother; Taimu obliged immediately, wrapping his arms around the pair of them. The trio were a sight for sore eyes. They were how families should look like entangled in one another's love. For Reina this was long overdue.

The trio didn't stay knotted for long enough in Reina's opinion; when they parted Reina could still smell the lingering scent of salt spray. Her father from Tsuki no Kuni after all; a small island community in the middle of the sea. She would visit one day and revel at the sand beneath her feet whilst Kohaku waddled in the tide that lapped around their ankles.

That thought brought her back to reality.

"I need your help."

"We know. We just had to wait until you were ready for the truth." Natsuko replied, a pained look fighting underneath her features. Natsuko and Taimu exchanged silent glances before Natsuko nodded.

"Then this is where I leave you I'm afraid." Taimu took Reina into his arms, holding her at arm's length like her Grandfather had. "I just want you to remember that whenever you're finished fighting against the tide, there is no harm in going with the flow. Remember that my Reina-chan."

Taimu drank in his daughter's appearance for what would be the last time. They would meet again one day, he just hoped it wasn't for a long time, as much as it pained him to let her go. He smiled, eyeing the garnet gem that still hung around her neck.

"Otou-san." Reina clung to her father for as long as she could. Taimu had to peel her from him; he pressed a kiss to her forehead, casting a final smile her way before he disappeared into the shadows. Reina swallowed hard to repress the tears that stung her eyes. None of this was fair. She was given everything she wanted on a plate to have it snatched away from her in the same breath.

"Reina-" Natsuko began, biting her lower lip. She knew what she wanted to say, what she needed to say, she just didn't know where to begin.

"Did I really disgust you so much?" Reina turned to face her mother; years of hurt brewing like a storm in her eyes. Natsuko gasped. It was like talking to an exact replica of herself bar her eyes. Reina's eyes reminded her so much of her father; the amount of arguments she had had whilst staring into those very same eyes.

"It's not what you think Reina-"

"Then what? Because I've sympathised with your situation since the very beginning but I'd just like to know if you ever loved me? Or was I just a thorn in your side whilst you went off and explored the world?" Reina had a fire in her eyes that had threatened to consume her so many times; all the other times she had managed to subdue the flames, to soothe the sparks. Now it was a red rag to a bull.

"I couldn't complete the cycle alright?!" Natsuko shouted, tears gathering in her eyes. Her knuckles were as white as her kimono. She was angry, upset; so many conflicting emotions ravaged her body. "I couldn't complete the cycle…"

Reina stared at her mother, the whites of her eyes wide. She was speechless. Had, had her mother gone through the same as she was going through? Natsuko looked up to stop the tears the falling. She hadn't told anyone that before, aside from Taimu. She had failed the cycle and in doing so had failed her daughter.

"Because of my failure you suffered. A horrible, awful fate. You were subjected to a life where your own mother couldn't bear to look at you. But it wasn't because I didn't love you, oh how I adored you. It was because whenever I held you, horrors of this godforsaken place crept back instantly."

"Why did you have to complete the cycle? Why couldn't you remember?" Reina questioned, tears falling freely down her porcelain cheeks. Natsuko's face hardened, her sharp features now a razor's edge.

"The same reason you can't. Tsukuyomi deemed it kinder, safer, I didn't know about your father's or your heritage. But like you I started seeing glimmers, cracks. And despite what I gained, which was very little, I lost you in the process."

Reina could tell her mother had walked the line of revenge and wanted retribution. Because she wanted the same thing. Amidst her fury Reina watched her mother approach, her steps were light, cautious. Natsuko offered a placid smile; she understood what Reina was going through, she knew the consequences and the rewards that lay at the finish line.

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I loved your father, every single piece of him, and that meant his godhood too. He was mine. As were you. I didn't willingly give up on you Reina, I hated that all I saw in your eyes was fear and the need to be loved. Will you ever forgive me?" Natsuko cupped her cheek, wiping away her tears with her thumb.

Reina's chest twisted with guilt and anger. She had never hated her mother, never. She didn't want to open up her heart and love her now to not have her when she awoke - it was too painful.

"I'll make this right Okaa-san. I promise." This time around it was Reina who initiated the embrace, the gesture not as stiff or wooden as it had been previously. She meant it. Every single word. She would made sure Tsukuyomi paid for ripping apart not one, but two families. "Do you know you're a grandmother?" Reina whispered, the words strange on her tongue.

Natsuko released her from the embrace, her cheeks stained with silvery trails. Reina knew she would love Kohaku; they were similar in the sense they had such a love of life and everything in it. They were kindred spirits.

"So I've heard. You and the Uchiha boy I believe." Natsuko murmured as she adjusted Reina's kimono and hair; it was like she was compensating for decades of lost motherhood and mithering.

"His name is Itachi. Not 'the Uchiha boy', Okaa-san. And he is a wonderful man, and a phenomenal father." Reina felt her cheeks flush with heat at the defence that flowed from her lips. Natsuko merely smiled and nodded.

"I know who he is. I've spoken with our extended family shall we say. Mikoto is ecstatic to be a grandmother and Fugaku, well he was secretly elated, even if he tried to hide it. What is it with Uchiha and their oh so special moody allure hm? Everyone seems to go nuts for it." Natsuko teased, gently tugging on the end of Reina's braid. They looked more like sisters discussing high-school crushes rather than mother and daughter discussing grandchildren.

"I need to save him Okaa-san. I won't let him be taken away again, even if I have to cross Yomi to get him back, I'll rip the world apart." Reina stared into her mother's eyes, she was met by understanding and encouragement, not pity or disdain.

"You done that once before, I have no doubt you can do it again. Just be sure to look after yourself, and Sasuke too," Reina tilted her head in question. "Sasuke went with you the first time. He fought alongside you and protected you. Despite his coldness he needs to be loved and protected too. Just keep that in mind."

The darkness around them began to fade, it shimmering like ripples on a lake face. The shadows eventually transformed into a dingy bedroom, a lonely futon visible on the floor. "You do realise you got your spunk from me? Your father, kami love him, is a daft hearted thing." Natsuko motioned to the scene behind them.

It was Reina, her face irate with rage. Sasuke, with his glowing red eyes glared back with equal fury. The lights cracked and flickered as Reina's tempered reached a newfound level. She had confronted him about Itachi, her body broken and ghostly.

"Remember my love, you are loved. Not only by your family, but by Sasuke too. He wouldn't have followed you to hell and back if he didn't believe in your cause. Or you for that matter. Be safe." Reina nodded and smiled weakly. "Oh, and give them hell."

And with that one simple sentence,Natsuko vanished. She was alone once more.

But she was Reina Hitori. She knew she was loved.

And she would not be afraid.