Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

Chapter 23: Lesson learnt

They expected answers from her. They didn't bombard her with questions. They didn't report her to the authority either. That would probably be unnecessary anyway. To their knowledge, their every move would be observed and noted by ANBU. However, they were not the ones to fear. It was the Root. After Yuki caused a scene at the Root headquarter during the attack upon Konoha, she was certain that she was being followed by the Root. On top of that event, she was close to the Third and she used to be an ANBU that somehow ended up participating in the Chuunin exam.

"I don't know what to tell you." murmured Yuki as Kakashi was being examined by the medics at the hospital.

"When did it first appear?" asked Kakashi in a tired voice.

"The night of the Uchiha massacre."

"Are you..."

"Related to the Uchiha? I must be, but I wouldn't know."

There was then a silent. They knew she was found years ago in the snow, abandoned and alone. She knew nothing of the ancestors. It was a dumb question. It was also a hurtful question as it reminded her that she was not actually part of a real family.

"Why did you not come forth about it?" asked Kurenai softly.

"I really hate the color of these eyes. Their existence is a nuisance and a burden. They are the source of destruction and fatality. I... I want nothing to do with any of that."

"Did anybody know about it?"

"The Third and Tsunade-sama. Oh, and most likely Jiraiya as well."

"Have you mastered it?" asked Kakashi.

"No. It usually appears as needed. For example, when I'm in danger, it will automatically appear as a defense mechanism. I... I usually try to suppress it rather than practice with it. It saves me, but it also exhausts me."

"So you fight against yourself..."

"...yes."

"No wonder it drains your energy." commented Asuma. "Ha, but that Itachi did not see that coming, now did he? He probably didn't expect another Uchiha to be alive."

"I'm not an Uchiha. I'm not part of such clan." coldly said Yuki.

"Itachi..." they all heard a young boy's voice say in the background.

They were all so distracted by their conversation, none of them heard him coming into the room. Sasuke was standing at the door, seemingly shaken. His eyes were filled with anger. His fists were clenched tightly and his jaw was rigid. He was breathing heavily. His heart was probably pumping more blood than he would ever need. Before anybody else could say something, Gai, still in corridor, unaware of the situation, said loudly:

"I sent a message to give Jiraiya and Naruto a heads up that Itachi was coming for them..."

He stopped as he saw Sasuke standing there in anger. Without saying anything else, he pushed Gai aside and started running out of the hospital. Yuki got on her feet to go after him:

"I'll stop him."

"Oi! You still need to be treated for your wounds!" Kurenai yelled.

"Later!" replied Yuki as she was already out the window. It was much faster this way.

Yuki didn't have to run too far nor too fast to catch up with Sasuke. He was in full speed, running without really knowing where he was headed. As she caught up with him, she tried to grab him to stop him from running like a mad horse. She finally held on to his wrist. He shrugged her off.

"Don't make me fight you." he threatened her.

"It wouldn't be much of a fight." said Yuki.

They had now reached the borders of the village. Sasuke stopped at those words. Yuki knew that he would never allow anyone to put him down. It was her only way and opportunity of stopping him.

"What do you think you are going to do if and when you do find Itachi? Challenge him?"

"I will avenge my clan." Sasuke replied confidently.

"Right... with what?"

"I'll show you."

He charged at her with a ball of lightning chakra in his hand. He was fast, but there were too many weak points Yuki could attack to turn the attack against him. He was also blind to his surrounding, only seeing the target. However, his target, Yuki, was agile and could too easily move to any area in his surroundings. She slid under his arm and lightly pushed his arm upward making him take a few steps back and losing focus and stopping the concentration of chakra in his hand. Frustrated, he threw out a few shurikens in her direction that she deflected with a single movement using her trusted katana.

"I still haven't seen anything." said Yuki to spite him.

He let out a cry and rushed towards her holding a kunai in his hand. He was fighting to kill. She was fighting to show him that he wasn't ready to go after his older just yet. Besides, she felt like Itachi would rather not see him at this early on. It would hurt Itachi to have to harm his defenseless beloved younger brother. Every time Sasuke would put his all in the fight, Yuki would be increasingly nonchalant in her movements.

"Who are you?" said Sasuke as he began to feel tired of this never-ending battle.

"We've met before. I'm Yuki."

"You know what I mean. Stop being an annoyance and tell me. I don't believe a Genin can have such skills."

"I am not a genin. You are right about that. I never even officially graduated from the Academy."

"Give me a straight answer!" he bellowed.

"I did. I'm Yuki."

He got annoyed at that and tried to strike again. Yuki finally decided that it was enough. She had toyed with him enough.

"Your lightning technique was interesting, but flawed. It's still impressive for a Genin though. Let me teach you how you really manipulate lightning."

It was one of the technique she rarely had to use. It was one that she would only use in the most dire situations. She just wanted to make him scared, impressed and come to the realization that he wasn't ready to take whatever action he wanted to take. He might be a prodigy among his pairs, but, to the outside world, he was still just a puny ninja with a prestigious family name that his brother fought so hard to preserve. She wanted to tell him that so much, but she knew that Itachi probably had different intentions. She did not know of them, but she believed the conflict was best left in the hands of those who initiated it and who had to deal with its consequences.

"When you can manipulate lightning into a definite shape and form, I will then believe that you have a chance against Itachi."

As she said it, two lightning chakra whips emerged from her hands. She clasped her fingers around the handles as if they existed and swung the whips around cutting every tree in the surrounding area. The cuts were clean as if the trees were soften butter and a knife just went right through them.

"I don't care if I have a chance against him now. I'm just grasping the chance of finding him."

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"He is right here under my nose and you want me to just stay here, pretend he didn't come by?"

"Yes."

"He's after my friend!"

"Naruto will be protected."

"What if he isn't!?"

Yuki chuckled: "You actually think I believe you care for Naruto right now? I've watched you Sasuke Uchiha. You wouldn't care if he died at Itachi's hand. It would just give you another excuse to go after him. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You think that Itachi is monster, but I think the real monster is in front of me right now."

Sasuke tried to charge head first at Yuki. The simple movement of her lifting her lightning whip us stopped him and made him back away.

"You can't even defeat a dropout like me, yet you want to fight Itachi?"

"You are not a dropout. I can tell." he said as he slowly regained his composure and senses. "I... I really think of Naruto as a friend."

"I don't doubt that. I just don't think you should use that as the main reason why you want to go after Itachi."

Yuki undid her jutsu as she saw Sasuke's anger dissipate.

"Go now." she then told him.

"What?"

"Find him. Just don't let the anger eat you up again."

"I don't..."

"Why do you think I came and not the other jounins?"

"You..."

"Go. Get your answers. Don't get hurt and come back to the village."

He nodded and left the village. His face was seemingly confused as he left. Yuki was indeed a weird character. However, she was wise. She knew that if he headed over with boiling blood, he would only end up injuring himself to a point of no return. She also wanted to see an humane side appear within Sasuke. She did. Calling Naruto a friend was a big step Sasuke. Although he did have ulterior motive, those words Naruto as a friend were genuine. He felt those words. Whether he said those words only to convince her or not, they were an automatic response, meaning that he truly felt that he had a friend in Naruto. That's all she needed to know, that's all she needed Sasuke to realize.

End of Chapter 23

Thank you for reading this chapter!

As always, remember to write up a review so that I can improve & make sure the story is progressing nicely.

xox

Krystal