Searching for Kioko

Kakashi stood at the exit to the village, in an instant he called forth his loyal companion Pakkun. The small pup appears and looks up at Kakashi. "What is it now Kakashi?"

"I need you to help me track down Kioko…" Kakashi pulls out one her her old hair ribbons and hands it to Pakkun. He takes a sniff and then takes a smell of the air around then and starts off in the direction she went off too.

Sakura turns to Kakashi, " Sensei, do you think you could tell us more about Kioko? I mean who is she and what did she do to make her leave our village…"

Kakashi looked straight ahead and began telling her tale. " Well, I might as well begin with her early history. Kioko, like most Uchiha had amazing skill, skills that I must say rivaled my own. As she grew up she quickly went up the ranks and was seen as the second genius to be born into the clan. However, even though she had great skill she was also feared, and became known as the Demon of the Uchiha. As the days past Kioko's attitude began to change and soon she disappeared, thought to be dead."

Sasuke had his head down the entire time as he listened to the story his Sensei told.

' Why sis, I don't understand.. Things were going so well for you, why did you leave us?'

"Many people speciaulated that Kioko had murdered her best friend Akako a few days before she disappeared. However that has yet to be proven. If there was a problem no one was informed of it so the cause of her disappearnce is unknown."

"It's just hard to believe that someone like that would leave. It doesn't make any sense." Sakura stated.

Kakashi nodded. "Events after her disapperence are just as strange. Soon after Kioko vanished, other ninja from our village began to leave as well, and the strange thing about it, they all had connections to her. To add onto the whole mystery is the timing of the events afterward, for instance the Uchiha Masscure."

Pakkun stopped abruptly and began sniffing the air again. " Kakashi, we have trouble." Kakashi walked over and looked down at his summoned partner. " Kioko's scent has been covered up by the smell of wolves." Kakashi looked around the area and he spotted some wolves taking off. He looked at Pakkun, " The wolves were only to throw us off… Kioko must not want to be seen…."

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Kioko was quite a distance away, sitting under a tree. The Uchiha girl was now around 16. Her appreance hadn't change too much over the years. Her hair was about medium length. Kioko's once peaceful black eyes were now consumed with hate. From her attire it was apparent that she had joined up with the Akastuki since her disapperence. She looked up and saw her pack running toward her. Kioko smiled, "Good boys… now they will have a harder time tracking me."

"Sasuke-kun is with them Kioko-sama." One of her wolves stated.

"It's been so long since I have seen him… I'm sure he will want some answers and I think at his age he is old enough to understand everything." She looked up trying to imagine the confusion she must have left him with. " The moment has come… Sasuke must learn the truth."

Kioko laid back against the tree and her mind wandered to those days when she was together with Sasuke.

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Kioko was walking down the street toward her house, trying to disregard the looks her fellow clans people were giving her. She had become acustumed for them to see her as a monster but that didn't matter. As she was returning home after a mission she heard someone calling her name. "KIOKO-SAN!!" She turned around slightly and saw her younger brother running toward her.

He had his shoulder bag on and he had a small paper in his hand. Sasuke smiled as he came up to her. " Guess what sis!?" Before she could even get a word in Sasuke continued to tell her his exciting news. " Look at this… I'm at the top of my class… do you think father would be proud of me."

Kioko smiled back at him and took the paper looking at it for a second. She ruffled his hair slightly, " Good job Sasuke.. I'm really proud of you." Sasuke blushes slightly and gave his sister a big hug. Kioko handed him back his paper and started walking home with him. " You know you're becoming a lot like Itachi every day. I'm sure one of these days you'll be even better then the two of us. You're becoming a splended ninja."

When they returned home Sasuke was looking forward to tell his father. Their father looked at it for a short moment and then looked at his younger son. He stood up, leaving the report on the floor, "Keep it up and some day you'll be a slended ninja like your brother." Sasuke looked down at the floor and sighed to himself, disappointed in what his father had told him.

Kioko was outside looking at the sky when Sasuke walked out. "Kioko?" She turned to see him and noticed how upset he looked. " Does father even notice how well I'm doing? He only compares me to Itachi, and never says how I'm his child…why sis?"

Kioko sighs and she turns to her brother. "That's just how father is Sasuke. He tends to focus on us because we are older. Father has to work with us all the time so that's why he does what he does. Don't let it bother you."

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Sasuke was having his breakfast one day. He heard someone at the door and when he saw who it was his eyes widened. Kioko had come home, with bruses and some cuts on her legs and arms. "Sis! What happened?"

Kioko smiled at Sasuke trying to keep from revealing anything was wrong. " Oh this, its no big deal… I just had some rough training today, I'll be fine Sasuke." She walked over to him and ruffled his hair before walking away. ' As long as he doesn't know the truth he will be fine…. I want him to leave a carefree life and not worry what happens to me.'

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When it was safe Kakashi and the others continued their search. The trail was difficult to follow with different scents tricking Pakkun. When they thought they were getting closer Kioko wouldn't be there. " She's clearly not here… are you sure you got her trail Pakkun?"

"You doubting me… I got it… wait a minute." He sniffed the air again and then turned back to Konoha. " She's headed toward the village."

An alert went off in Kakashi's head and he rushed off ahead of them. ' This is not good, don't tell me Kioko is going to destroy the village….i must stop her before its too late.'

Kioko was ridding on top of her second summoning partner Moro. She was a large wolf around the size of the everyday frog Jiraiya was found riding on. Moro and Kioko were over looking the village, ' I've returned Konoha…'

To be continued…

Trunks and goten