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 58: A Proper Response

She parted ways with the Raikage as she had no longer any businesses with them. Furthermore, they weren't allowed into the area of the Kages Summit as to ensure the safety of the whole procedure. Each Kage was allowed two bodyguards. Any other people had to remain outside the perimeter set by the samurais. Team Samui also had to stay behind. They were actually instructed to return to the village by the Raikage. However, they remained there for a bit with Yuki. Although they seemed to have ended things on a bad note in the Leaf village, there were still things that needed to be said.

Yuki was never really close to Samui. They barely ever interacted. The only times they did were because of Omoi and Karui. She, however, was a great judge of atmosphere. She figured Karui and Omoi wanted to talk to Yuki without any restraint. She told them she would slowly head back to the village and told them to follow as soon as they would be done.

"Why did you lie to us?" Karui started.

"It wasn't entirely a lie. I truly had no home to go to when I first met you guys. Or at least, I thought so." Yuki replied. "I know I owe you guys a lot of explanation…"

"Really?" Omoi asked sarcastically. "Because, I feel like we already got all the answers we needed when we saw you in Konohagakure, calling that guy a friend."

"A lot of things have happened since I left Kumogakure. I'll admit that I handled my leave from your village in the worst possible way. I didn't give it enough thought. I just sort of left on an impulse."

"And so, for a whole year, you couldn't send us even one message to let us know how you were doing? Where you were?" Omoi said as his blood was boiling up once again. "You were that busy that you forgot all about us."

"I never forgot about you, but what was I supposed to say? Hey, Omoi. Sorry. I'm actually back in Konohagakure? Because that would have been much better."

"At least, it would have softened the blow I received when I saw you in that village." He replied dryly.

Yuki stayed silent. She had to give it to him. He managed to silence her. He wasn't wrong. Had she told him, he wouldn't be so angry now that they were face to face. She didn't blame him for being frustrated with her. She did do him wrong. She'll quickly admit to that. She kept telling him that. He didn't want to hear it nor accept it. Karui seemed like she was over it. It would be hard for her to call Yuki a friend at that point, but she wasn't angry anymore. She had let go. Omoi was still angry. It showed in his body language and tone.

"I think this is beyond what I thought is going on." Karui then said, noticing the strange behavior Omoi was demonstrating. "I'm joining up with Samui first."

She left leaving only Omoi and Yuki there in the middle of the snow field. A gust of wind blew to fill in the silence that was present between the two of them. Yuki's long white hair looked like it was part of the landscape as it was lifted by the wind. He then turned his back to her. She did too. The silence said it all. There was no words left to be heard. Before they could walk away from each other, Omoi swallowed his pride and said:

"There was a lot I wanted to say to you. Since you've left the village, every day I would head to that cliff where we trained together, where we watched the sunset together. I would think about the things I wanted to tell you and that I didn't get the chance to say to you. Yet, now, I can't seem to remember anything. It's funny, right?"

"I'm really sorry we've gotten to this point. I take full responsibilities…"

"Yuki, do you ever feel with your heart? Do ever see things in a mundane way rather than a diplomatic way? You always told me to think less and to just go with my guts, because thinking led me nowhere. Yet now, you are choosing your words so carefully rather than feel them."

"I…" Yuki started as she was once again baffled by what Omoi just said.

She really couldn't reply to that. It wasn't that she was not genuine when she said sorry. That word, perhaps, did not carry the meaning that Omoi was looking for. It was too simple for what he had felt about her. She bit her lip as she looked to the ground. She felt guilty for saying things that she thought he wanted to hear. It wasn't an apology that he was looking for, nor did he want to blame her for disappearing for all this time. He wanted something honest coming out of her mouth. He wanted her to tell him how she was doing, how her life had been, why she truly had to leave. He never blamed her for leaving. He was only angry that she did not trust him enough to tell him everything when he could share all his secrets with her.

"I probably said too much again. I tend to say too much, don't I?" He said as he started walking away.

"I'll think about what you said." Yuki then said before he would be too far away to hear her. "I'll come to see you when I have a proper answer to give you. For now, goodbye."

She could hear his footsteps stop as she bid him farewell. She was now the one walking away. She didn't want to turn around. She didn't have an answer for him. Her answer would be too long, it would be a betrayal to Itachi. It wouldn't make sense to Omoi. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer. She chose not to answer for now and to wait until everything was over before giving his a proper response. Goodbye was all she could say then and now. He started walking away again. He then was too far away from her for her to sense his presence or hear his footsteps in the snow. It wasn't the way she wanted to part with him again, but it was still better than the abrupt goodbye they had in Konohagakure. It didn't leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

Yuki was now making her way in the Land of Iron towards Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato. She was now in her sage mode as she wanted to locate them efficiently. She could've flashed herself there, but she wanted some time to herself to think about everything. So she walked slowly there. She also knew that Naruto needed time to recover, therefore there was no rush. As she was walking there, still in her sage mode, she then sensed a familiar chakra. It was cold, colder than the snow that was now blowing heavily on the Land of Iron. Sasuke. She stopped for a moment, gathering more nature energy, preparing herself for a fight. He wasn't alone. He was accompanied by three others. One of them had an insane amount of chakra. They were headed towards the Kages Summit. No, they were already there. She could sense a few sources of chakra disappearing. They had already attacked the Summit. She flashed herself there, knowing that one of the Kage had her seal on him.

She was now in the middle of the room where the Kages were having a discussion. A white creature was there. It looked both like a human and a plant. She couldn't tell what it resembled more. It was already dead however between the hands of the Raikage. She was standing next to Gaara. He didn't flinch at all at her appearance.

"Yuki. You are probably here because you felt Sasuke's presence, right?" The Raikage asked her. "He's here. He actually dared to attack the Kage Summit. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to keep my promise to you."

He rushed out as he made a hole in the wall next to him. Darui and C, his other bodyguard, followed. The rest of the Kages remained there. Yuki also remained there as she debated whether she should follow the Raikage or not. If he did, indeed, kill Sasuke, she didn't want to witness it. However, she also wanted to head over and try to stop him. She, then, feared that her intervention would lead to more death as she could sense that Sasuke was passed the point of redemption.

"Leaving the village without permission, trespassing the Kages Summit… Yuki, you've committed multiple offenses." Danzo told her.

"I can't help but feel like there is animosity towards you, Danzo-sama."

"He controlled our moderator into letting him lead the alliance between the five villages." Gaara explained to Yuki.

Yuki smirked at Danzo. She couldn't help but to find it funny that he would reprimand her for her actions when he was doing much worst. She couldn't stand the sight of Danzo any longer. She opted to head out to stop the Raikage from killing Sasuke. She, then heard, Danzo's bodyguards moving, trying to stop her. However, Gaara stopped them from going anywhere with his Sand as he exchanged looks with Yuki.

"Thanks, Gaara."

She headed downstairs through the holes that the Raikage had punched through the floors. It was indeed a quicker way to get to Sasuke. As she got down there, C was already on the floor, seemingly stuck in a genjutsu. Darui was fighting another guy with light blue hair who also carried a large sword that she recognized as being Zabuza's. Meanwhile, the Raikage was having a match against Sasuke.

"Don't you dare interrupt this fight, Yuki!" The Raikage yelled out to her. "He's out here to kill. If you don't intend on killing him, don't interfere."

As she was about to reply to him, another one rushed towards her. He didn't look human. If she wasn't mistaken, it was a state of a curse seal from Orochimaru. However, he seemed to have no side effects from it. He seemed crazy as he was madly yelling at her, saying that he would kill her. She skillfully dodged all of his attack before blasting him away with a large lightning jutsu. She then headed over to C to release the genjutsu set on him. At that moment, Sasuke unleashed both his mangekyo sharingan, creating a skeleton-like armor around him as he was being slammed onto the ground by the Raikage. It protected it him. Yuki wasn't sure if she felt relieved or worried that the attack didn't work against Sasuke. Meanwhile, Darui managed to stop his opponent's movement with his lightning technique.

"Sasuke! Is this your answer after knowing what had happened?" Yuki yelled out to him.

"Ah… so you knew all along, yet you did nothing about it." He answered her.

He then attacked the Raikage with Amaterasu, a black flame that could not be extinguished by anyone except for its caster. The Raikage dodged it. However, a samurai in the background got hit by it. At that moment, the Raikage quickly attacked Sasuke despite the black flame surrounding him. Yuki could tell that Sasuke would die from this attack if it couldn't be stopped. It did. Some sand wrapped itself around the Fourth Raikage's fist, pushing him back and away from Sasuke.

"Damn it, Kazekage. You better have a good explanation for this."

"I wish to speak to Sasuke." Gaara answered calmly.

"It's no use." Yuki told him as she walked over to Gaara. "He's completely consumed by revenge now. He's too deep into it now."

Sasuke laughed maniacally as Yuki glared at him. He was a disappointment in her eyes. Itachi sacrificed everything for him to have a decent life despite all that had happened and yet he chose to go down the path of revenge and darkness, believing it was the only way he could take. She looked away from him. She wanted to protect him for Naruto and Itachi's sake, but she could no longer justify her actions. Noticing her body language, the Fourth Raikage cut off his arm that was being consumed by the flames of the Amaterasu as C quickly rushed over to stop the bleeding. Yuki, then, unleashed her own mangekyo sharingan. Gaara quickly glanced over at her as he smirked. He never realized how much hidden power Yuki had in her.

"More than anyone, you should understand his pain, my pain, our clan's pain… yet you still defend that puny village that believes it is so righteous."

"Our clan?" Yuki asked. "I don't remember being part of any clan."

"Then you must have stolen those eyes." Sasuke said as he rushed towards her with a full Susanoo.

"Only an Uchiha should have the sharingan?" She replied as she used Kamui to take part of the Susanoo away from him.

As she succeeded doing so, the rest of them used their own jutsu to strike Sasuke. Before they could land the attack, Sasuke shot an arrow filled with the eternal flame, Amaterasu. Yuki dodged it, but the tip of her hair was touched by the fire. She quickly cut off her hair before it could cause any damage to her body. The attacks blasted Sasuke away from his original position. As they collided into each other, the ceiling started to crumble down towards all of them. Gaara quickly grabbed Yuki and pulled her towards him as his sand created a shield around them. Everybody else remained safe by using their own protective skills.

"He got away." Yuki told Gaara. "He's heading towards Danzo and the rest of them."

"Did you place a seal in that room before you left?" He asked her.

"Ugh… I didn't. I should have." She replied. "Let's get out of here first."

As the sand went back into Gaara's gourd, they could now see the extent of the damage that was done to the place around them. There was only stones and dust left. It was unrecognizable. Yuki quickly left the premises and headed upstairs where the other Kages were. As she arrived into that room, Danzo was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile the samurai known as Mifune, the Tsuchikage and his aides were covered in a white substance that resembled the white creature that was dead in the room. They kept growing like spores. Yuki could sense Sasuke's chakra behind the wall that was now covered in melted lava. Yuki quickly freed everyone using chakra strings like a puppeteer would to pull the white spores away from their bodies. She was well taught by Kankuro during her time in Sunagakure as it required almost no effort at all. As she did so, the Susanoo's hand broke through the wall as an acidic fume started spreading into the room. The fume was quickly stopped by the Mizukage. She was known for her ability to change the pH in the air to harm the enemy. Seemingly, Sasuke was not unaffected by it despite being protected by the Susanoo armor. Yuki pulled out her sword and brought it to Sasuke's neck as he crumbled onto the ground. He looked at her with hatred in his eyes. She couldn't bear to do it. She could have killed him right there if she wanted to, but she hesitated. It wasn't in her nature to do so, but Naruto's voice entered her mind. Her sword started pulling away.

"Why don't I do it for you instead?" The Tsuchikage said as he imprisoned Sasuke in a cube.

Before they knew it, Sasuke disappeared right in front of their eyes. There was only dust left as the Tsuchikage released his jutsu. The woman that was one of Sasuke's accomplice cried for him. Yuki put her sword away as she bit her lip. She then heard the Raikage's voice yelling for Sasuke as well.

"OI! Tsuchikage! He was mine to kill!" The Raikage said.

"Raikage, you'll get another chance eventually." A voice said as a man with a mask started appearing in the room with Sasuke on his shoulder.

He was still alive. The Raikage tried to attack him, but just went right through him. The masked man then used his eye to send him away. Kamui. It was just like what both Kakashi and Yuki could do. He then also sent the female accomplice in the same manner, telling her to revive Sasuke.

"Uchiha Madara…" Yuki then murmured.

"You are right?" He said as he turned towards her. "Sharingan, eh?"

She closed her eyes and her eyes turned back to the way they usually were. She didn't want him to notice anything about her eyes or to learn anything about her abilities. It was already enough that he knew she had the sharingan. It felt dangerous to her to let him know any more than that. He then looked away towards all the other Kages.

"I'm here to tell you about my plan, the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"The what?" The Raikage asked.

"The whole world united as one under a genjutsu, where all dreams become reality and I, Uchiha Madara, shall control all human lives." Madara explained.

"That sounds much more like a nightmare." Yuki said.

"War is a nightmare. With everybody existing in this world that I shall create, there will be no war, no more pain. It will a paradise for everyone."

"I don't know if a life without freedom is much of a paradise." She told him. "Everything will merely be an illusion. It isn't reality."

"What is reality now, though? The Kages should be able to answer that. The constant fighting between the villages, the constant fight for power, wealth… All of that will no longer exist under my watch. All I need are the two remaining Jinchuurikis, Naruto and Killer Bee. Give them to me and there shall be no war and only unity."

"Bee? You already…" The Raikage started.

"No. It was a failure. He actually escaped. We are tracking him down though." Madara told the Raikage. "Quite something, isn't he? The perfect jinchuuriki and ninja."

"I will never let you capture Naruto." Gaara then said.

"Nor will I let you take Bee." The Raikage added.

"If that's you answer, then war shall be my response." Madara said as he vanished in the same fashion as Sasuke and the other one did. "Please don't say I didn't warn you."

"War, eh?" The Mizukage said.

"I guess we will have to unite as one to fight this war." Gaara said. "None of us could possibly fight against Madara on our own."

"Is the Alliance official then between the five villages?" Mifune asked.

Everybody nodded.

"Yuki, as a shinobi from Konoha, will you relay the message to the rest of the village?" The Raikage asked her. "Danzo obviously deserted the place and is guilty of something. He is no longer worthy of being your Hokage nor part of this alliance."

"Of course." Yuki replied.

They then agreed on making the Raikage the leader of the Alliance as his village still had their Jinchuuriki. As for Naruto and Bee, they suggested to hide them from the frontline of the war as it would prevent the infinite tsukuyomi from happening regardless of defeat or victory, although victory truly was the only option for survival.

"Hide them?" Yuki asked. "Knowing Naruto and Bee-sama, they would never agree to it."

"Even more of a reason to hide everything from them. I know the perfect location to put them in order to prevent them from entering the war zone." The Raikage told her.

"We don't know how long the war will go on for! They are not idiots. They'll figure out something is wrong and will head to the battlefront eventually." Yuki argued.

"Then we would have lost by then and it would be no difference." He said. "Yuki, your job is simply to relay the message, not to discuss anything."

"I… Fine." Yuki replied dryly as she bit her lip.

She knew neither would sit still knowing everyone was risking their lives for them. They would want to defend themselves. They weren't the type to be idle in front of danger. Nonetheless, the Raikage was right. She was only a messenger, not a decider. She only had the right to listen, not to speak. Gaara could tell that she was unhappy about the current situation. However, he had to agree with the Raikage. It was their best option right now. They couldn't risk losing Bee or Naruto to Madara. War was truly going to happen now. The scale of this war was bigger than any other war they've known. It was for the sake of the whole world. It was time for the world to unite together to prevent its own downfall, to protect its future. None of them could believe that it was truly about to happen. As the hours passed, it felt realer than ever. Yuki's heart felt heavy as she knew lives were going to be lost through this war. The world she once knew would never be the same again.

End of Chapter 58

Thank you so much for reading this chapter.

I also wanted to thank everyone for getting me to 50 favorites on this story. It really means a lot to me.

Let me know how you are enjoying it so far.

xox

Krystal