Disclaimer: Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N this is the part where everything just explodes in your face. finally, some action! nope, not the SasuOC kind haha

Chapter: Waking Up

Tsunade was waiting for Naruto, his ramen ready and waiting for him just as he plopped down beside her. She looked up to see the handsome, chiseled face of the young man. She missed her little Naruto. It didn't matter so much earlier because he'd grown up acting the same as he did when he was a child... that was only a few years ago. She sighed. Time went by so quickly.

"Tsunada-baba! Why did you call me here?" he asked curiously. "Yuki-chan was helping me with the new jutsu."

"I missed you, you little squirt," she said.

"I'm not little!" he retorted with a pout. Tsunade just chuckled and told him to sit down.

"Naruto-kun, have you ever wondered who your parents were?" Naruto nearly choked into his ramen and turned to look at her closely. Tsunade refused to look at him.

"Of course I have. But what brought this about?" he asked.

"You've grown up so much, Naruto-kun," she murmured, finally looking at him. "How did you manage to get so tall?" Naruto puffed up proudly. He was no longer the short little guy he used to be. "Let's go for a walk, Naruto-kun." The suggestion was made after Naruto finished eating. Naruto nodded, looking at the serious look on her face. "I knew your parents"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Naruto gushed when he saw her choking on her words, blinking tears away. Tsunade looked at him with startled eyes.

"You're a man now, Naruto-kun. You need to know what the village has kept from you all these years."

"You mean asides from the Kyuubi inside me?" Naruto said lightly, trying to erase the serious atmosphere. It was getting him really uncomfortable.

"Naruto-kun, please. Let's just go to my office."

"Why all this suddenly?" Naruto asked when they reached her office. He was settling down on the chair.

"I'm old and weary," she said. "My generation at this village is coming to an end, but before it's over, you have to know the whole truth about your past."

"Jeez, Tsunade-baba! Don't talk like you're going to resign or something!" She gave him a little smile. She told him, after taking a deep breath, the story of what really happened the day the Kyuubi was sealed.

Who his father was. Who had made sure that the Kyuubi wouldn't escape. Everything she knew.

Naruto's eyes went as wide as saucers as he listened to her. He could barely believe it, but the female Hokage would never pull his leg. Not for something as serious as this. He mind was spinning from the sudden attack on information... and asides from the new-found knowledge of his father, another piece of information stuck out significantly in his mind.

"That's- t-hat's for real?" he gasped. "You mean Yuki-... Yuki-chan's been around longer than I-... did she really have that much power to reinforce the seal on me?"

"No, she didn't. But she grasped the ability of chakra control at such a young age that it's... though it's not like it hasn't happened before. Lucky for all of us that Yuki is one of those lucky few," Tsunade said softly. "She gave what little chakra she had then to patch up yours, and to give a little boost. She was your perfect support. If anyone could make sure you were safe and keep the Kyuubi safely sealed inside you without hurting you, it was her."

"So they used her? Did the Third really make her a kunoichi at that young an age? Did he force her to become an anbu?"

"His purpose, you must understand, Naruto-kun, was very logical at that time. Yuki had the potential. Yuki could protect you. Yuki can learn to protect herself. So he encouraged her. Gave her a little push, that was all. She became anbu with her own will. Sandaime would have been properly content with keeping her as jounin and slowly introducing her to you so both of you could become good friends, just like your father wished, but she became anbu at her own wishes."

"But why?"

"Because she wanted to protect you. She wanted the power to protect you."

"M-me?" he stammered, but his mind was on another subject. She wanted power. No, that just sounded so wrong. Yuki?

"She didn't know that the Third wanted her to protect you, but somehow, she found out. Or maybe she just took a liking to you," Tsunade said with a wink. "After all, your father took her in. You befriended her. Maybe her unconscious knew that. Even now, she doesn't realize it, but she wants to protect you."

"It wasn't because the Third told her to?" Was she told to be his friend? Was she only his friend because she was told to be so? Naruto had such a hurt expression on his face that Tsunade touched his chin and pushed his face slightly upwards so he could see her.

"Believe me, Naruto-kun, when I say that Yuki-chan was the last person on earth he could force into anything. That girl has a mind of her own." Tsunade apparently spoke from her own experience. "Kakashi is the only person she listens to."

"S-so... she really did want to be my friend," he thought. He felt a whole new batch of tears fighting to surface. "Sorry, Tsunada-baba. I gotta go." Tsunade watched him quietly as he made his way out of the office and then out to the street, still fighting off his tears. He's going to look for Yuki now.

An anbu appeared suddenly from the shadows. Tsunade wasn't alarmed at all. She had felt his presence when he entered. She beckoned for him to stand in front of her.

"There's a problem..."

"Uchiha?" Tsunade saw the anbu tilt his head forward and back in an unmistakable nod. "I thought so. Have you checked?"

"The barrier... is cracking." Tsunade lifted an eyebrow at that. Barriers were supposed to weaken. Not crack. "I've been keeping watch on him for a while and it doesn't seem to be such an alarming situation."

"How long before he wakes?"

"It is difficult to ascertain," the anbu replied with a slight shrug. Tsundane frowned. "A month or so is possible. But this... Uchiha... I would personally give a week."

"A week," Tsunade repeated with an even deeper frown. "Kurenai-san and Asuma-san will be able to help. Call them here while I check on him. Do not alarm anyone," she said threateningly. The anbu bowed before leaving. Tsunade growled deeply in her throat. It would have happened sooner or later. It was sooner for the younger Uchiha. Itachi... so you're finally going to wake?

"Does Yuki know?" Sasuke asked. It was five days since they had left Konoha and now they were on their way back.

"About what?" Kakashi asked. His head was deep into his Come Come Paradise book. Sasuke saw a corner of his cheek turn a little red and rolled his eyes upwards.

"Your lineage. Does she know?"

"No, she doesn't. No use bringing it up anyway. I'm Hatake Kakashi, not Uchiha." So he had given up his right to the Uchiha name.

"And Yuki?" There was room for Kakashi to misunderstand the question, but he didn't.

"She can be whom she chooses to be. She may listen to me, but I can't control her."

"You brought her up to be so independent."

"It's so unlike you to be so talkative," Kakashi said bluntly.

"It's unlike me to have any living relatives either," Sasuke came back with a hint of a smile. Sasuke was acting so different. "We still haven't got a clue to who her mother could be." Kakashi didn't reply to that. "Do you know, Kakashi-sensei?"

"If I knew anything, I'd've told her years ago."

"I see." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Kakashi's reply, he thought, was a little too curt.

"What are you planning, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked an hour later. Sasuke turned to look at him. "With Yuki."

"What am I planning to do with Yuki?" Kakashi nodded. "I haven't planned anything. Why should I be?"

"Well, once you've found someone you can get close to, you may not realize it, but you latch on to them quickly."

"What are you implying?"

"I'm implying nothing. But you tell me when you want to go out with her alright? It's enough of a strain on us that she has to divide her time between Sakura and Naruto too."

"You're jealous."

"Hm.. maybe..." Kakashi said, curving his eyes up to a smile. "What kind of brother doesn't want to spend time with his sister?" Of course, he had her all to himself for so many years... it'd be difficult to let go even a little.

"Kakashi-niichan will be here any minute! So you go march down to Sasuke-kun's house right now and wait for him!" Yuki was yelling at Naruto, who had evidently refused to go out and get Sasuke to join them at the Hatake household. Sakura was giggling as she cut up the vegetables.

"Why do I have to go call Sasuke?" Naruto said bitterly when Yuki finally convinced him to go - though she had to bribe him with making him special ramen for dinner to make him even consider doing it. In truth, Naruto didn't want to let Yuki out of his sight.

During the short span of days, she had become a very dear friend to him, and he respected her. He'd never known anyone go through so much difficulties in their lives for his sake. He both resented and was humbled by it. Of course, Yuki knew that he was aware of most of her past now and since he was so much a part of it anyway, it didn't bother her too much. Naruto had gone up to her after meeting with the Hokage and once again started crying in front of her. Naruto had really gone soft-hearted through the years. Or maybe Yuki just managed to hit that sensitive spot in him easier than anyone else.

Kakashi came home feeling delirious. The smell of mouth-watering food wafting out the windows and the happy chattering of two girls in the kitchen. "I'm home."

"Welcome back!" Yuki exclaimed as she walked out of the kitchen towards him to give him a welcome-home hug. "What a surprise, you're only a little late!"

"With this kind of food waiting for me?" Kakashi said brightly, trying to absorb the delectable essence of food in the air.

"I invited the rest of your squad over."

"I know. Sasuke told me about your promise to Naruto. Did he finish learning it?" Yuki winced visibly above her own mask.

"He burnt the field." Kakashi laughed humorously. "It's not funny! They've banned us from using that jutsu on the field. Once Naruto-kun got it right, he practiced using it with a magnified amount of chakra and burnt up nearly a fifth of the forest." Kakashi's eyes widened, a bead of sweat falling down his temple. Konoha's forests were... expansive.... "It took all the power I had to not let them ban us from using the field at all!"

"You used the land-reconstruction jutsu?" Yuki nodded.

"Kurenai-san had to help me with it."

"Well... burning up the forest does sound like something Naruto would do..." Yuki giggled and poked him on the stomach. "And Sakura?"

"She's handling the kaze no jutsu very well. At least she didn't rip up the trees like Naruto did..." Yuki said, thinking back when she and Naruto had journeyed back home.

"You're going to be a great instructor one day," he said as he gave her a cloth-covered kiss on the forehead. After receiving another hug, he made his way to his room to clean up.

Naruto and Sasuke entered the front door bickering about who was faster.

"Idiot. Do you think someone like you could beat me in a sprint?!"

"You asshole!!! I could damn well try! I'll kick your ass too!"

Sakura effectively told them to stop and led them to the dining table where Yuki and Kakashi were already seated. Yuki wasn't wearing her mask this time and the two men had blushed when they saw her. It was a while since they had last seen her without it, especially for Sasuke, and they had forgotten how gracefully pretty was.

"Oh yeah! You made me ramen!" Naruto exclaimed as he took his seat next to Yuki. Sasuke flushed another shade of red and sat down.

"A promise is a promise," Yuki said with a shrug, but was pleased at his eagerness. As they all settled down getting ready to eat, Kakashi's students settled themselves in such a way that they could peek at Kakashi, knocking was heard. All attention was diverted to the door outside which was clearly visible from where they were. Shimatta! When they looked back, Kakashi was already thanking for his meal.

"I'll get it," he said, smiling through his mask, standing up as his students started grumbling. Yuki looked over at this all in amusement.

"Are you still trying to catch a glimpse of his face?" she asked.

"Have you seen it, Yuki-chan?" Sakura asked. Suddenly their attention was diverted to her and she sweatdropped.

"Uh... yes I have..."

"Tell us how it looks like!" Naruto demanded.

Yuki opened her mouth and was about to say something when Kakashi returned to them with a frown on his face.

"The Hokage needs you." Whether it was what he said or how he said it or both, Yuki knew that something big was amiss. She disappeared from the table in the blink of an eye.

She had used all her speed to gather as many weapons as she could and then ran out the house, wearing a hood and her half-mask. The Hokage would never send for her. No. Never once in all her years with Tsunade did she ever send for her. Preferring to wait till Yuki visited in the mornings for whatever it was, if it really needed Yuki's individual attention. It's not like the other anbus couldn't handle it. And it wasn't just that which alarmed her. No, it was the fact that the Hokage hadn't asked for Kakashi's assistance as well. Also... there was the fact that Tsunade seemed weaker nowadays.

Yuki never bothered to ask, preferring to simply wait for Tsunade to tell her what was going on else she'd just leave it like that. No questions asked. Maybe it was... she'd been sensing something funny happening around the barrier of Tsunade's special operating room.

If she was going to deal with who she thought she would be dealing... but he was in a coma wasn't he?

It couldn't be that.

No, that was impossible. Or... wasn't it...?

She arrived at Tsunade's private room in exactly a minute.

"Yuki-chan!" she gasped. She and two other jounin and an anbu were busy trying to maintain the protective barrier-seal of the private room. Her sharingan flashed open. What she saw nearly made her gasp. Chakra was emanating from the comatose body. It was spurting out in big chunks and was trying its best to break free of the barrier. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Damn!" Yuki thought. It was too sudden. "Damn!" she thought again. Yuki immediately rushed forward, thrusting her hands out to the barrier like the other four were doing. It wasn't enough. Yuki gasped a she saw a large hole start ripping open a little above Tsunade's own position and jumped up, releasing her chakra and smeared it all over the hole to cover it up. The others followed suit when they saw that it was working effectively. Instead of concentrating on only one point, they moved to patch up the cracks in the chakra-made wall. But it still wasn't enough.

"Yuki-chan... the seal is breaking." No other information was needed.

Yuki sliced her palm with a knife, ignoring the sharp pain that threatened to consume her mind, and starting running all around the room, palm to the wall, letting the blood taint it.

"What are you doing in there, Hatake? You're going to get yourself killed!" cried out one of the jounin, but Yuki ignored it and planted herself next to the body. She took out a blank scroll and started muttering something. She ran her blood over the length of the scroll and put it on top of the man's body.

"Everybody jump away from the barrier when I tell you," Tsunade ordered when she saw what Yuki was about to do.

"But Hokage-sama!" one of the jounin protested.

"She knows what she'd doing. Just follow my orders," Tsunade said through gritted teeth. Her chakra was being drained faster than she liked it to be. Yuki had raised her bloody palm up, her other had in a seal and she was muttering something. Her hand twitched and she faced the palm down. She opened her eyes. "Jump now!"

Suddenly there was a big explosion and white light encompassed the room. Blinding white light.

And then there was darkness.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked as Kakashi sat back down. He'd just left for a moment to check if Yuki was really gone.

"They didn't tell me," Kakashi said with a shrug. The three looked at him in alarm.

"How could you not ask?" Naruto and Sakura bellowed. "You're her brother!!!"

"You didn't need to tell me that." But the three were still giving him dirty looks. "Well... aren't you going to eat? Sakura and Yuki worked so hard to make these you know." They took a bite and then continued glaring at him. Suddenly the table started shaking, slowly, and then the whole room. The four held on to the table until it stopped.

"What was that?" Sakura squeaked. Kakashi turned a concerned eye to the window. Did Yuki have something to do with it?

A/N Thank you Blue Savage, kai013 and ASCmesomething! -hUgZaLL- if you're at all confused... Itachi, who's been 'sleeping' in a secret room in the Hokage's office is starting to wake up... they know this because chunks of his chakra is escaping from his body eating up bits of the protective barrier Tsunade put so that only Itachi could not walk out/in.