A/N: Welcome back! This is the second installment in my Vision of Truth series following the Naruto anime. This story will pick up where the last one left off and include everything up until Shippuden. There will be a two year time skip (about six months before the start of Shippuden) about a fourth of the way through, and that is where things will get really exciting. I hope you look forward to it.

"It's a slow fade
When you give yourself away
It's a slow fade
When black and white
Have turned to grey
And thoughts invade
Choices are made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day"

- "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns

Chapter 1: Rising Storm

My arm blocked the oncoming fist. I twisted around, punching. I jumped back to get away from my foe, my arms still raised, my body tense and ready. My heart hammered in my chest from the exercise. This reminded me of the countless hours I spent training with my father. This time, however, I fought to improve myself so I could protect others, not because I was forced to fight. This was my choice.

"Enough," Sasuke said, lowering his own arms to his sides. "You said one of your ninja cats wants to improve her fire jutsu? Let's take a look."

I nodded. "Summoning jutsu!"

Sasuke and I had been training together at the end of the day for the nearly two weeks since he had been let out of the hospital. It was back in his hospital room where he first proposed the idea. I had been wondering why he wanted to talk to me when Sakura came to fetch me.

I had entered the room slowly, taking in the scene. Sasuke sat on the bed with his head resting against the wall. His expression was as unreadable as ever, but somehow I sensed he welcomed my presence. "Hi," I said. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," he replied.

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected." A moment of silence passed. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"No." Sasuke paused. "Yes." His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. "Come closer." Perplexed, I moved until I stood next to the bed. He looked me over, and I swore I saw relief in his eyes. "You're not hurt?"

"No, that battle wore me out more than anything." I stopped myself, remember he had been out of it since Itachi attacked him. "But you don't know anything about that yet, do you? Sakura couldn't have told you; even she doesn't know yet."

"You can tell me about that later. That's not what I'm talking about. Itachi didn't do anything to you?"

My eyes widened in understanding. Of course, that was the last thing he remembered, so that was what he was worried about. I had to think back to remember the encounter and formulate an articulate response. I hid a wince when the memories hit me. "Well... he didn't hurt me physically."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What did he do?"

I wrung my hands together and gave him a nervous smile. "He may have locked me in a genjutsu to show me the Uchiha massacre..."

"What? I told you not to look into his eyes!"

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "I know, but it was the only way to get him to show me his real eyes."

Sasuke stared at me in shock. "His real eyes? Why would you-" He groaned. "What is wrong with you?"

I frowned. "Hey, I was only doing it for your sake. I may be curious about him, but I'm not stupid."

Sasuke gave me a tired look. "Why did you want to see his eyes?"

"I wanted to see what I could read in them. You know, like Gaara. I want to find the truth."

"Don't. It's none of your business."

A wave of irritation rolled over me. This again? "Hey, I think you are my business, and I-"

"No, I didn't mean that." His sudden sincerity mixed with frustration cut me short. He sighed and looked away. "You're not helping me if you get yourself hurt. Itachi is dangerous, and I don't want you near him. Don't run off and do something reckless for my benefit. Just stay with me."

My eyes widened. His condition must have really affected him if he was being this open with me, not that I was complaining. "Yeah, okay. I'll stay."

Sasuke looked back at me and frowned. "And stop towering over me like that. I don't like it."

A smile twitched on my lips. "Then scoot over." When he did so, I sat on the bed next to him, just far enough so we were not touching. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I will be... once I become stronger."

Uneasiness filled my chest. "For your revenge?"

"That and... I need to be the one to protect you and Sakura next time. Not Naruto."

I relaxed at this admission and could not help but smile. "Yeah, I hear you. I was just thinking the same thing, actually." He looked at me in question. "We just had a nasty run in with Orochimaru and Kabuto - who is a traitor, by the way - and Naruto almost died. I wasn't strong enough to protect him. Not for long."

Sasuke was silent for a long minute. Then he looked at me with resolve. "Katsumi, train with me."

"W-What? We already get plenty of training."

"I know, but it's not enough. Train with me after we're done with our duties every day. We can help each other become stronger so we can protect our friends."

How could I say no to that? "Okay, let's do it." I placed my hand over his on top of the bed, and he surprisingly did not pull away.

And yet, despite Sasuke's reasoning and assurances when I asked him about it, I could not help the deep seeded feeling of foreboding. Something changed in him after our run in with Itachi. He denied it and dismissed all my questions, but there was something different about him. Something that scared me. I trained with him as much to keep an eye on him as anything else. I wanted to be there for him and let him know I cared about him. Maybe then the impending crisis could be averted. Fate was not inevitable.

Perhaps the worst part was that no one else shared my concerns. They all thought I was overreacting. Maybe I was, but they should have at least cared enough to investigate the issue. Naruto was the first one I talked to about it. He found me after one of my training sessions with Sasuke and insisted he walk me home.

"I don't know why you're secretly training with that guy," he had muttered as we walked.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not a secret. And I'm doing it because we both want to get extra training in and our styles mix well together."

"Yeah, well, I don't like it. He's just going to get even further ahead of me."

I considered this silently for a minute. "You know, maybe he's training so hard because he thinks you are the one who is going to get ahead of him."

Naruto dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "I don't think so. He wouldn't worry about stuff like that."

I frowned. "Haven't you noticed he's been going through something lately? I think you should be nicer to him. He could use your support."

Naruto shook his head. "He doesn't need me. He'll be fine. I'm the one you should be focused on."

Sakura was not much better. I pulled her aside while we all waited for Kakashi one morning. She questioned my training sessions as well and was not any happier about my response. "Forget about that," I said, biting back my frustration. "Sasuke needs us right now."

Sakura crossed her arms and frowned. "He seems to need you right now."

"I'm serious! Something's wrong."

"The only thing that's wrong is that you're trying to get too close to him. How are the rest of us supposed to have a chance?"

I held back a groan. "Yes, I'm trying to get close to him because he's my friend. Maybe you should try being one too." Needless to say, that did not go over very well with her.

My last hope was Kakashi. I stopped him in between a team training session and meeting with Sasuke. Fortunately, he was happy to talk to him. He leaned against a tree and looked at me expectantly. "What is it, Katsumi?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm worried about Sasuke."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, recently he's been obsessed with training and getting stronger."

"Not so different from you."

"But it is different! I don't know how to explain it, but his eyes..." I let out a heavy sigh. "It's like his mind is slipping further away from us. I don't like this revenge plan of his. It can't end well."

Kakashi gave me a kind look. "I agree, but you do not need to worry, Katsumi. Sasuke will not lose himself. Have some faith in him."

I bit my lip and looked down. "Maybe you're right." But it did not quell my anxiety. Clearly, I was on my own.

Kiku's sudden presence allowed me to banish such thoughts to the recesses of my mind. Right now Sasuke was helping my summons for no reason other than to help me. That had to mean something. I took the opportunity to relax under a tree and pull out my sketchbook. I had not had the opportunity to draw much lately, and I found the activity quite calming.

"I did it! I did it! Katsumi, look!"

I lowered my sketchbook to look at the excited cat. She took a deep breath and blew out a hug flamethrower. She looked back at me with a grin. "Great job, Kiku!" I said. Wow, I had a Litten. "Thanks for helping her, Sasuke."

"Yeah, thanks, Sasuke," Kiku said. "You're the best!"

"It was nothing," Sasuke said. "It is something that will help the team."

"It's almost dinnertime. I'm going to go now. See you two later!" And then Kiku was gone in a puff of smoke.

I expected Sasuke to take off as well, but he wandered over to me and peered down at my sketchbook. "What are you drawing?"

"See for yourself." I lowered the paper to show him the sketch of a cat and lion cub sparring.

"Not bad." Sasuke sat perpendicular to me, leaning against the same tree. "It's still a cub though."

I smiled. "Yeah, and you're so cute." He gave me a look. "As a cub, I mean."

"Cute doesn't win battles."

"But it's more fun to draw." Sasuke's eyes flickered to the wooden fox around my neck, then to my drawing, and finally to my face. Still, he said nothing. "If you've got something to say, just say it."

Another pause. And then, "Listen-"

"Hey, guys!" Naruto's loud voice destroyed any possibility of conversation. "What are you doing?"

"Just drawing," I said. I let him glance at the picture before I packed it up.

"What do you want, loser?" Sasuke said, sounding annoyed.

Naruto ignored him and smiled at me. "I want to know if Katsumi would like to get some ramen with me!"

I had to smile at that. "Of course, Naruto." I glanced at Sasuke. "You should join us."

"Thanks, but I don't think so," Sasuke said. He stood up and slipped his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

My eyes trailed him as he left. "Yeah, tomorrow."

"Come on!" Naruto said loudly, pulling me to my feet. "Forget about him, and let's go!"

Part of me wanted to just forget about him. I did not wanted to get emotionally invested in problems I could not solve. It was too late for that, though, and I did not know how to make Naruto understand. Still, acting gloomy around him was not going to improve anything. So, I put on a smile and allowed him to lead the way to the ramen shop.

Upon arriving, Naruto ordered four times as much food as me and promptly began eating. I watched him as I ate at a much slower pace, wondering where he put it all. "Naruto, Katsumi, nice to see you here," said a friendly voice behind us.

"Hi, Iruka sensei!" Naruto said brightly. "Want to join us?"

Iruka smiled. "If you don't mind." His eyes flickered to me in question.

"Not at all," I said, wondering why he had to ask. Then it hit me. "This isn't a date or anything."

Iruka laughed. "Just checking."

"No need," I grumbled. "I'm never getting involved with romance."

"Well, that is what you said about friendship."

"He's got a point," Naruto said with a mouth full of food.

I shot him a look. "You're not helping!"

"She'd probably be more interested in Sasuke anyway."

Iruka frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"She's been hanging out with him all the time."

I sighed. "We're just training. We're teammates and friends. And he could certainly use friends right now. I - I'm worried about him."

Naruto stared at his bowl while he moved around the last of the noodles with his chopsticks. "Tell her she doesn't need to worry, Iruka sensei. Tell her Sasuke is strong enough to not need our help."

Iruka appeared uneasy as he looked from Naruto to me. "I don't think I can say that, Naruto. Everyone needs help sometimes. I think Katsumi's concern for Sasuke shows how kind and caring she is. That is the kind of friend you want, isn't it?"

Naruto frowned, tilting his bowl back and forth. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Katsumi. Do whatever you have to do. I just don't know how to help Sasuke."

I shook my head. "And you think I do?" But his sudden change of heart and Iruka's description of me did put me at ease. "Just a desire to help... I think that's enough for now. He just needs people to care about him... not unlike Gaara."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I get it. I'll do my best."

I smiled. "Good."

The remainder of the meal passed by uneventfully. At its closure, Naruto and I bid Iruka farewell and started for my house. "What are you up to now?" Naruto asked. "You can train with me if you want." He gave me a hopeful look.

I shook my head with a smile. "Sorry, maybe another time. I need to make sure I get some rest so I can wake up early tomorrow."

"Oh, right. You're going to stalk Kakashi sensei."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to stalk him. I'm just going to find out where he goes every morning." I had proposed the idea to my teammates that very morning, but none of them shared my curiosity. "He's our teacher and doesn't arrive at the time set. He owes us a real explanation."

"He's probably just sleeping."

"No, that can't be it. He doesn't seem like the type. He's up to something."

"Well, this will probably end the same way it did when we tried to find out what's behind his mask."

The event he referred to had been quite entertaining, actually, even if it ended in failure. I shrugged. "Maybe. My chakra sensing skills do give me an advantage though. He can't his from me!"

Naruto gave me an amused look. "If you say so, Katsumi." We finally arrived at my house, and he stopped. "I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure you tell me how it goes."

"Will do." I waved before heading into the house. I had much to mentally prepare!