Could you people suggest a nice name for the baby girl? XD

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Chapter I: Bolt from the Blue

The sun was quite high on the perfectly blue and cloudless sky that overlooked the border between the countries of Fire and Wind. The landscape was a barren, sandy wasteland with bare craggy cliffs and canyons, as empty as it could get unless you could find the time to see the seven specks walking side by side each other in the middle of it all. The said specks were all quite young Jounins (the other one was an Anbu) bearing the mark of the Hidden Leaf. The young men were from a birthday party celebrated in the Hidden Sand, and there had been much merry-making and drinking in the past night, so they all woke up late that morning and thus were only on their way back to their country.

"My head still hurts..." says one particularly lazy-looking Shikamaru. "I didn't know their sake was that strong..."

"Speak for yourself," said Neji. His kitty mask was positioned in such a way that it shielded his face from the sun's rays completely while giving him a comfortable view of his surroundings, not that he'd have a problem what with his Byakugan. "Naruto here drank through 12 bottles each and he still did not fall asleep!" The Hyuuga turned to the blonde fox. "What are you, Naruto?"

The said fox-boy only bared his perfect teeth in a cheeky grin and patted his belly.

"I wish I'd have a birthday party like that." Akimichi Chouji commented. "With lots and lots of food...I would have the biggest chocolate cake in the world, too. Gaara's cake must have been...what, twenty feet tall?"

Sasuke kicked at the dirt. "Gaara did not have the cake baked that big because he wanted to eat it all. He asked for his cake to be so big he can make sure all of his people will have a share of his birthday feast."

"I will have to double my training hours to burn all those excess sugar," Rock Lee put in. "I can't afford to have even a little amount of fat on me."

"Aren't we conscious on our figure, eh, Lee?" Kiba teased while Akamaru barked in agreement beside him.

They walked on in silence until a figure materialized in the middle heat haze. Naruto's blue eyes immediately widened, and the fox immediately broke into a dash toward the said figure. Sasuke could only shake his head. It had been three months since Naruto let Orochimaru escape from Konoha. He could not understand; he had been so angry that first thing next morning after that disastrous night he went to Naruto's house and beat the crap out of him. Naruto did not fight back, and when Sasuke had turned him into a bloody and bruised heap, he started to explain everything. It was all hard for Sasuke to accept. He and Naruto did not speak to each other for an entire month, but then, Sasuke was the first to actually apologize. Naruto cheerfully accepted the apology and everything was back to normal. Or as normal as things could get, anyway.

The hazy figure approached, and soon they recognized it was Orochimaru. Naruto eagerly bounded forward and gave his...mentor...a rib-cracking bearhug. Orochimaru hugged Naruto back and asked some questions that Naruto answered by nodding eagerly. Sasuke, Kiba, Chouji, Lee and Shikamaru all watched in awed silence. It was bizarre to see Naruto and Orochimaru like that. Only Neji watched unperturbed, even with a smile on his lips, but then, the Anbu did stay with them for seven months. And then Naruto turned and waved at them in farewell. Only Lee waved back just as energetically. Orochimaru gave the Jounins a respectful nod of acknowledgement before he laid a bandaged hand on Naruto's shoulder and they both vanished in a puff of smoke.

"I never can understand how Naruto manages all this." Shikamaru said as they continued walking toward the general direction of Konoha. "How do they train?"

"I've heard from Gai-sensei that they usually meet along the neutral borders," Lee answered. "But where they go afterward is still a mystery. We can be sure that Orochimaru doesn't take Naruto to the Hidden Sound."

"I wonder what jutsus Naruto learns." Chouji voiced his thought aloud.

Neji gave a light chuckle. "You can all be sure that they aren't illegal. Last I had a chat with Naruto, he told me that Orochimaru was teaching him Kuchiyose Rashoumon and Kokuangyou no Jutsu."

Sasuke did not speak. After everything he still felt a pang of fear every time Naruto left to train under Orochimaru. For Sasuke nothing could change what the Serpent was in his eyes. Orochimaru was a traitor, a murderer and an evil man. No matter what Naruto said, Sasuke still held firmly to his beliefs. The Uchiha kept his opinions to himself to prevent hurting his friend. Also, it was as if he could do anything to stop Naruto from going.

"Godaime-sama is aware of Naruto's training, isn't she?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Yes, she is aware of it." Neji replied. "Albeit grudgingly, of course."

They did not talk anymore for the remainder of the journey until they reached Konoha's gates and parted ways. Sasuke, unsure of what to do, decided to drop by a pizza parlor first and take out a box of pepperoni for his dinner later. He also spared a moment to talk to his Genin team and told them to meet him early the next day in their usual training grounds. He was going to show them how to do Chidori. Konohamaru was very excited and Sasuke had a hard time getting rid of him. The Uchiha then decided to proceed to his house and continue his much-needed sleep. They had slept very late in the Sand country – Kiba and Naruto's clamoring in the guest room only permitted them to finally close their eyes come three in the morning. Temari roused them all with her fan at nine in the morning. Six hours of sleep was certainly lacking for Sasuke since he himself emptied three bottles of sake. He needed to have a completely clear head before he could start teaching Chidori to his kids.

The Uchiha compound was unnervingly huge and silent. For ten years it had been the subject of mothers' wilder tales to frighten their children to sleep. Sasuke was completely used to living by himself in the compound – sometimes he'd invite the gang for some sleep over or a barbecue party when things got too boring. He liked his silence, Sasuke. However, when he entered the compound that morning, he was sure something was wrong. Hands clenching into fists, Sasuke looked hard at his surroundings as he made his way toward his mansion. It was too silent. The kind of silence he'd only encountered that fateful night when Itachi...

Sasuke quickened his steps, and in no time at all he was before his door. It was open. There were muddy footprints on the tatami floor he worked so hard to keep clean. Who dares? Slowly, Sasuke went inside but immediately halted in his tracks. There was a trail of blood on his floor...no, wait...he looked back outside and cursed himself. How come I missed this trail? His black eyes made way for Sharingan red as he lifted his gaze to the shadowy recesses of the house's inner chambers.

They were going to the Wave that day, Orochimaru said. Naruto had been excited; it had been a very long time since he last saw the bridge that had been given his name. The fox asked about his mentor's hands, and Orochimaru said nothing had changed. It still hurt as badly as ever. Concern surfaced on the fox's face as he noticed that his mentor looked ill. When asked about it, Orochimaru only jokingly answered that he was tough and wouldn't be brought down by just a plain illness. It was only fatigue catching up on him. Naruto shouldn't worry about his health.

Kicking the ominous topic aside, Orochimaru asked if Naruto was practicing everyday. The blonde said yes immediately and started resuming the exercises for the Kokuangyou no Jutsu. The Serpent smiled. Naruto still had a lot to learn regarding making excuses for skipping his training.

Sasuke frowned at the trail of blood on his floor. Who in the name of Yondaime Hokage entered my house? Heart pounding, he followed it. There were the doors. The red trail spread around him, as if the intruder was swaying heavily on his feet as he moved around. Sasuke made himself a mental note that this was the last time in which he'd ever go out without sealing his house with precautionary jutsus. It could be anyone. It could be Itachi. So much better if it was his brother – Sasuke would kill him on the spot. For a few tense minutes Sasuke followed the blood, until he came to the final room in his house. The door also had blood on it. Swallowing, he slid it open, and the world seemed to tumble into chaos. His brother was there, leaning on the wall, a baby in his arms. Sasuke did not notice that the kunai on his hand dropped to the tatami floor. His mind instantly forgot all thoughts and plans of killing Itachi the moment his eyes registered the baby in his brother's arms.

What...what in the name of...why is he...is he dead...is he? Sasuke took a tentative step forward. His brother did not move. The baby in his arms started to cry, a high-pitched wail that made Sasuke reach up with his hands and cover his ears. Then the younger Uchiha noticed the dried pool of blood by his brother's side. He crouched low and slowly extended his right hand to touch it, when in a flash he was gasping for breath, red eyes wide as a kunai made a dent in his neck.

Itachi was looking at a spot several inches short of Sasuke's head. The baby cried and cried, and a drop of sweat fell from Sasuke's chin. Itachi blinked several times. "Get me some milk for the baby, Sasuke." Itachi whispered, his voice grating.

Sasuke's Sharingan faded. "W-Why should I do that?" Damn it, what's wrong with me? I can kill him NOW!

Itachi frowned and glared at the wall. Sasuke frowned in confusion. Why is he looking at the wall? "Because the baby is hungry, fool."

Sasuke couldn't move. The baby's cries got louder. And then it clicked inside his head.

His brother had become blind.

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