Chapter 18

A/N: For the chronologically-challenged: this is in the present again! :) Also, I must stress this point: this is my take on how Uchiha Sasuke (and any other Naruto character) behaves. Please do not think I based her heavily on cannon. I didn't. Yes, I have thoroughly abused my poetic license. I have no regrets.

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Hari inwardly groaned. How was she going to fix this? She had been careful to wear her enchanted hood all the time outside of the cave; it was woven with charms that made her face easy to forget, and it was deep enough that even if people caught a glimpse of her face it would be too dark inside it to see clearly. But now here she was, pale face and bright green eyes exposed. Sasuke would not be dumb enough to miss the fact that she wore the face of the woman he had seen inside his head.

Ah, maybe I should Obliviate him? But I don't know what a Memory Charm could do to a shinobi and their chakra. What if the chakra reacts violently to the spell?

Sasuke's eyes had turned red a moment ago, a dark symbol spinning in them that made Hari's own eyes water just to try and make sense of. His face was set in an angry scowl, turning more fierce with each deflection she made.

"How are you here?"

"I told you we'd see each other again, didn't I?"

"Impossible. You're just a figment of my imagination."

"Not this again. I thought we already got past this." Exasperation colored Hari's voice.

"What do you want from me?" Sasuke's voice was very nearly a growl at this point.

"I already told you: souls that need their regrets resolved are my responsibility."

Red eyes flashed. "You're lying."

Hari rolled her eyes. "Why would I lie to you?" she asked back.

Well. She hadn't intended to lie; Hari made it a matter of principle not to lie (the scars on her left hand itched, and she had to stop herself from scratching them). But telling the truth could bring more complications than she could handle. Death, after all, advised her not to meddle in the mortal affairs of this world as much as possible.

But…

She glanced at Sasuke. In response, Sasuke coiled in on himself, taut and ready to attack. "I told you," she said calmly. "I told you that I was something of a shinigami."

"Prove it." His eyes narrowed.

Hari blinked. "Well...alright," she said slowly, not liking where this was bound to end up. Distaste made her lips twist into a grimace. "But it would be a hassle."

Sasuke's expression remained unchanged. Hari groaned, hair swishing as she shook her head.

"Very well." She straightened her shoulders. "I'm coming over there."

And without preamble she twisted in place, Apparating to the other side of the river with a small pop. Sasuke stepped back near instantly, sword now drawn and pointed a few inches above the skin on Hari's throat.

"Charming," Hari commented dryly. "So what do you know about Shinigami?" She tilted her head. "I bet you think they look something like this?" She waved her hand, and above her appeared a Shinigami, blue-skinned and white-fanged, a dagger in its mouth, dark eyes boring into Sasuke.

Sasuke stepped back and threw a kunai straight to its face. The blade went through without any resistance and lodged itself into the ground several feet away. "What-"

This could not possibly be an illusion; the Sharingan should have dispelled it the instant Sasuke saw the image. So how?

"This is a real Shinigami," Hari said cheerfully. She looked up. "You can go now."

The shinigami bowed its head and disappeared, but not before giving Hari a reproachful look that Sasuke did not see. Hari groaned internally; Death would be giving her a lecture about this, she was sure of it.

"How are you doing that?" Sasuke demanded.

"It's not unlike a Summons Contract. You get the idea." She pointedly looked at the sword still held aloft in front of her. "Care to put that away, please?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't trust you." How could he? Was Hari just a fake identity, and this person...spirit...actually meant to deceive him all along? What for?

"Obviously. But have I done anything to provoke such a...violent response?" Hari raised an eyebrow.

The only answer was a glare, the sword never wavering against her throat. Hari sighed.

"Very well, you leave me no choice." Hari slowly raised her left hand. Sasuke's eyes were immediately drawn to the ring on her left hand. It seemed to suck in the surrounding light, and contrasted greatly against Hari's pale complexion.

Hari sighed again. She did not like using the Resurrection Stone; she had resolved to use it only as a last resort. The idea of disturbing souls that deserved their Eternal Rest was something that warred against her conscience. Although Death assured her that souls were never forced to answer her call and could deny her request if they wanted to, Hari could never bring herself to use the Stone whenever she felt like it. It felt like a great offense to her, to disturb the rest of the dead.

"Uchiha Mikoto," she spoke aloud, twisting the Stone on her finger as she did so.

Pearly gray mist began to bubble up from the ground with barely a sound beside her. Sasuke took a step back, alarm flashing on his face before grim focus replaced it. To his credit, the sword remained steady at Hari's throat, even as the mist grew into a humanoid figure that stood with neck bowed in Hari's direction.

The witch gave her an apologetic smile. "I am really sorry to disturb your rest, but your son was...insistent."

The mist coalesced, solidifying into Uchiha Mikoto, who raised her head with a light shake of her head. "There is nothing to apologize for, my lady." She turned, the smile on her face widening. "Hello, Sasuke. I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon."

Sasuke stepped back again, the scowl on his face hardening. "You're not real," he growled.

The smile on Mikoto's face dropped. Hari had an odd feeling that she should step back for a bit and, not one to ignore her gut feeling, decided to take five steps back for good measure.

The deceased Uchiha cleared her throat and bowed her head slightly in Hari's direction. "I apologize in advance, my lady," she murmured.

Hari gestured with her hand, telling her to continue, and was surprised at what happened next.

Something about Uchiha Mikoto that Hari had not considered: she had been a Chuunin-rank shinobi before agreeing to marry Fugaku. She was a talented Uchiha in her own right. She was also close friends with a red-haired Seals Mistress, with whom she bonded with over training, gossip about boys, and more training. The fact that she was dead did not change this.

Sasuke's violently spinning Sharingan did not even faze her. She shunshin-ed in the blink of an eye, appeared beside Sasuke, and in one lightning-fast movement, slapped the back of his head so hard that Sasuke dropped Kusanagi. He stepped back, one hand already cradling his sore head, face a look of absolute shock.

Hari looked away, biting her lip. Laughing out loud would be the height of rudeness.

"I did not raise you to be a hooligan, Uchiha Sasuke. For shame!" Mikoto's nostrils flared as she harrumphed, crossing her arms. "And don't think for a second that I have nothing to say to you or 'Tachi-kun either."

"You–"

Mikoto's eyebrow rose to her hairline. "Is that how you address your own mother Sasuke?"

It was her tone of voice triggering something from Sasuke's long-buried childhood, and the hidden promise of more than just a slap on the head, that had Sasuke's spine snapping straight as he shook his head, standing at attention. "No ma'am."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him, nodding. "Good. Ask me something only I would know, Sasuke. Something that would prove, without an iota of doubt, that I am who I say I am. Go on."

Sasuke paused. He looked at her, doubt marring his face.

Mikoto snorted. "So like Fugaku. Honestly." She smiled ruefully. "Whatever it is you are going to ask, I doubt that Hari-sama would know about it." Sasuke kept silent. Mikoto shook her head. "Well, if I was a clone or a genjutsu, then I wouldn't know the right answer, would I?"

Hari frowned thoughtfully. "Can you read his mind, Mikoto?"

"Oh, of course not, Hari-sama," Mikoto giggled. "But I can read his face as easily as I could read my husband's, they're just so alike. It's an Uchiha thing," she added in a mock conspiratorial tone, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. "It takes a while to get used to."

"I…see," Hari replied, not really seeing it, but wisely choosing to go along.

"The night of the massacre…what was the last thing you told me that day?"

Mikoto and Hari both looked at Sasuke. Hari glanced at Mikoto, whose expression softened into something warm and nostalgic tinged with regret.

"I remember. It promised to be a hot day that morning. Before you left for the Academy, I told you not to forget your homework: you left it behind in your room." Mikoto chuckled at the memory. "And before you left out the door I…I told you to take care on your way home, and make up with Itachi when you get back. You were in a snit because he was not able to keep his promise to teach you about handling shuriken." She let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry darling."

Sasuke turned away from them, fists clenched at his sides. "It wasn't your fault…Kaa-san."

Sasuke's voice caught in his throat, but Hari and Mikoto did not comment on it.#