"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." Rose Kennedy

Chapter 2 : Time flows

Black.

Red.

There's a black katana in my side. My breath is short and gurgling.

I focus chakra in my eyes, making the tomoe spin. Everything here is a chakra construction. Everything is in my head. So I should be able to...

My hands went through the blade. My mind was screaming this was the real thing, sharp, hurting, killing. Under my fingers I felt the chakra tingling.

My mind, my dream, my body. So I had to take the control back. I was missing something. Sharingan was enough to tell what was real and what wasn't, but not enough to free me from all this bloody night.

I pulled and pulled and pulled.

There was pain. In my mind. In my eyes.

Red

Black.

I whimpered in the dark. I stood on my bed. Wet tears rolled on my face. A migraine was killing me. Why couldn't I stop this Genjutsu ? How could it still be active inside my brain ? It had been three years, it isn't possible to keep a Jutsu running for that long !

I walked to the bathroom to wash my sweaty face. I turned on the light and looks at my face in the mirror. It wasn't tears. It was blood. I let out a worrying sigh. What the heck ? My Sharingan was turned on and there was this pounding pain before my eyes. I had to see a doctor right now !

I jumped outside the window. Still in my pajamas and my hair sticking in every direction, I started running. Everything around me got blurry as I run from roof to roof. My head was aching bad, and I had some troubles to see. I jumped down the roof, rolling on the floor right before the medical establishment. The door refused to open. I put more strength in my push, but it wouldn't budge. This was highly unusual. I saw the nurse facing the door. I made signs to her, but she didn't saw me.

There had to be another way.

I looked behind and found myself in front of me. Or at least a remnant image of myself. It looked faded. What was that ! I followed the different images of myself still in jumping and running, stopped in midair. Then I noticed something wrong.

I thought it was dark because of the night, but it was wrong. Everything around me was of a grayish tone. I had seen nobody yet apart from the nurse. I checked back. The images of myself didn't appear in the partial reflection. The nurse was reading a newspaper. Next to her, the clock was running slow. Thanks to my eyes I could see the handle of the seconds ticking. Was it me or it was slightly slower than I expected ?

The pain was becoming less intense by the minute. I could feel the chakra pull. I hope I would have enough left for the graduation test.

"Hey !" I called loudly but heard nothing.

I couldn't even hear the sound of my own voice ! I banged on the glass but it wasn't even vibrating. There had to be a logical explanation to all of this. I started pacing. Strangely enough my clones had no substance, quite like the Bunshin we had learned in school. I should try to find someone, like anyone.

It was still very early, and the chakra started costing more and more. I don't know how long I spend looking for someone who could see me. It seemed impossible. Everyone was moving a bit slow and not paying any attention to me. I couldn't lift anything from the outside. This was funny, because I obviously wore clothes, and they moved with me. I was tempted to see whether if I left something on the floor and walked from it, it would get stuck like everything else, or if I could take it back. Unfortunately I had other priorities than undressing to see if my experiment would work.

My reserves of chakra were getting seriously low and the sun was definitively rising. I couldn't find anyone to help me. And I had no mean of action on the outside world. My head was spinning. I felt myself falling... I leaned on a bench. I should sit and wait a bit before...

I blinked.

"I see you've regained consciousness." a voice said near me.

I sat up immediately. Where was I ? Definitely not in my room or in the streets. Plus the colors were normal, and the person next to me was clearly a medic. My head was still spinning. My eyes had stopped hurting though.

"How did I get here ? Who brought me in ?" I asked. "More importantly what time is it ?"

"Calm down young lady, you've just woke up from a severe chakra exhaustion." the doctor said. "More importantly, I'd like to see your eyes. It seems you've overused your dôjutsu."

I nodded ad went still, letting the man check my health with his tools and a bit of chakra. I focused on my chakra levels. They were depleted but not critically low. As instructed, I flashed my Sharingan on and off.

"It doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Just to be sure, please take an appointment with an optometrist. I recommend Hyuuga Hiroshi."

Immediately after he said the name I tensed. Of course it would have been a Hyuuga optometrist. There weren't any Uchiha left. The doctor chuckled.

"You should go to school soon. I think you have your exams today, right ?"

"Thanks for taking care about me." I bowed.

"Don't forget the appointment." he answered

It was almost eight and I had done no training this morning ! I almost ran to the reception desk. The nurse was the same I had seen in my vision a few hours ago. She greeted me before checking the availability for an appointment. I observed her face carefully. She didn't seem to recognize me. There was the same newspaper she was reading in the trash. Which meant that : A it hadn't been a dream, B she clearly hadn't seen me.

First my Sharingan does weird things, and then nobody notices me. There was something to dig here. Maybe Sasuke-Chan knew something about it. I heard there was a ninja from outside our clan who had a Sharingan, but I would have to look at our clan archives. These documents were placed under seals, and the procedures were long. I didn't want to fill administrative papers because of a headache and my own inability to disrupt a dream induced Genjutsu.

Especially when I could avoid dreaming about it.

I ran home to take a shower. Sasuke was already taking his breakfast.

"You're training in your pajamas, now ?" he asked, surprised by my clothes.

I heavily blushed at his teasing. At least he was on a relatively good mood this morning.

"Shut up." I answered. "At least I'm training."

"Are you all right ? Your eyes looks kind of puffy." He noted.

"Oh, that's nothing." I answered. " I just overused my Sharingan. Never happened to you ?"

"I don't remember such a thing. You train too much."

"You're just slacking that's all."

I turned back at him before getting fully clothed. He was always getting so stiff whenever I told him he wasn't training enough. He was still thinking working by himself was enough. I knew about the scrolls he had taken from the compound before they burned it to the ground. Taking a peek at me in the bathroom I saw how right he was. The white of my eyes was a bit redder than usual. So I put a bit of make-up and a little illusion to cover that. I didn't have much of these civilian products, but it was always useful from time to time to cover training bruises. Plus as the last Uchiha, I had to look the best I could, which was an impossible task with the acne and the hormones kicking in.

I wish I still had the women of the clan teaching me about these girl's stuff. It was hard enough being with stupid preteen boys. Now I had to deal with these hormones peaks. Basically I alternatively felt like trashing everything, or kissing every boy I met. This feeling was pretty disturbing, especially when living with my little cousin. I had to be very careful around him. No need to expose him to my bloody underwear.

I quickly took one onigiri he had made for me. What a sweet boy ! It looked like... It doesn't look like anything I knew, but it seemed edible. He had forgotten to make a bento, though. I looked at the clock.

Tick. Tock. Goes the clock.

I turned my Sharingan on.

Time flow was normal. Colors weren't turning grey.

So what had happened this morning.

I took a look at the coffee table. My camera was still lying on it, like the last time I had used it. I liked taking pictures, it was kind of a hobby. The Yamanaka psychologist that was counseling me (only me since Sasuke-Chan pretended he wasn't mad and didn't want anyone inside his head) had advised me to have some artistic hobby. For a long time, even after they send me back to the Academy, I couldn't tell what was reality and what was not. So I took pictures to immortalize the truth. I took many pictures of what I wanted to be certain of, like my scars, Sasuke, the ruins of the compound, and more importantly the moon.

I picked it up, checking there still was some battery in before focusing the lenses on the clock. Tick. Tock. I pressed the button. The camera buzzed a bit, printing a neat Polaroid. I put the camera in my bag, along with maintenance tools. I shook the photo in the air, old habit because it was already dry. 8 : 23 A.M. I was late.

I flew through the window and ran to school.

I was panting hard when I entered the class. The bell rang as I went inside.

"Well, it's unusual to see you at this hour, Yanagi-San." Mizuki-Sensei greeted me.

Every one's eyes was on me. I looked for a seat. Tenten-Chan was with her civilian friends, I couldn't go near her. Someone had trapped a bench last week and it hadn't been replaced yet. The only place left was right between the Hyuuga icecube and Rock Lee. I was the one getting trapped between Scylla and Charybdis this morning. Wherever the Hyuuga was the other followed, always challenging, never acknowledged. I stiffly walked to the front row.

"Is it me or Yanagi-San is wearing make-up this morning ?" a girl muttered.

"Does she want to look pretty for Neji-Kun ? That idiot." another retorted.

"She'll never have a boyfriend, that giant bookish girl." their third friend retorted.

I ignored them. That trio had always been nagging me, especially because of my closeness with Sasuke-Chan. They always criticized my pale skin, my height (I was taller than some boys), my curls. They weren't important. I wasn't sure they would pass their exams : they lacked in everything that made a good ninja.

The Hyuuga ice cube and I were two dôjutsu wielder, the teachers always wanted us o pair up. I had always found the way to avoid this outcome. Not that the boy was mean or anything, but I found him creepy and unnerving. The rare times I couldn't avoid him, he flatly told me that the death of my clan was fated, and so had been my survival. I couldn't stand him. He was a genius, beating everyone in the class in practically everything. He reminded me of Sasuke-Chan, the way he thought he couldn't be beaten because he was from a great clan.

"Excuse-me, Hyuuga-San." I told him as I found myself near him.

"Go ahead." he answered, standing so I could pass.

Nobody wanted to seat in between the Hyuuga and Rock Lee except for very courageous boys who didn't fear losing their hearing. Girls weren't brave enough to bear with Rock Lee long enough to try and cling to Hyuuga-San. I was sure the boy did it on purpose.

My body brushed against his as I squeezed myself on the last place I would have ever want to find myself. I stiffened, repressing the hormones flow. The books I had read told me I would get used to it, and it would lessen in years. Still that weird feeling in my body and the flutter of my heart whenever a boy touched me was unnerving. It was hard keeping my temper.

"Really good morning to you, Yanagi-San !" Rock Lee saluted me.

"To you as well", I politely answered.

"You look great this morning !" he almost yelled.

My smile was crisped. Farewell my eardrums and inner ear.

"As you are aware of it, your final Academy Exam are this morning." Mizuki-Sensei said as I sat down. "You will be tested on your basics, since everything else can be found in your files. You won't have any problem if you have worked well this year. If you pass this test, you will officially be a Genin. Good luck to you all."

People were muttering all around us. I felt my neighbor burning with challenge. I felt almost sorry for Lee-San : he was doing fine in school, but he couldn't mold his chakra properly. A ninja that can only use Taijutsu couldn't be considered as a ninja.

Sensei started calling us by our names. We had to go to a room, getting tested and go in the schoolyard. I wanted to know what they were testing. I was sure I would pass, but it didn't stop me from being stressed. Moreover, I was quite sure the wait before taking the actual exam was a test as well. I felt my hands getting sweaty and resisted the urge to sweep them on my shirt.

I was Uchiha Yanagi, the last Uchiha female alive. I had to do well in these exams. I couldn't show any weakness.

I noticed I hadn't any book with me, since I had packed so fast this morning. In order to focus on something else, I started cleaning my camera. Methodically I put my tools on my left and my camera in front of me. Whenever I unscrewed a part, I put the components in boxes above. I felt the curious look of people around me. I tried not to be swayed by the impressed shouts of Lee-San. Hyuuga-San remained silent, but his eyes were watching me. I had finished the cleaning part, time to reassemble the camera.

"That is so impressive Yanagi-San !" he suddenly yelled.

My shoulders stiffened at the aggressive noise. I forced myself to relax, controlling my breathing. One, two three, four the air entered my nose. I blocked my respiration and counted regularly : one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I exhaled at the same rhythm. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Breathing in to four. Blocking to seven. Breathing out to eight. My eyes stayed focused. I calmed myself after four times of this respiration. I was entirely focused.

Barajou Mai, one of the mocking girls was called by Sensei. She walked near us. I didn't pay any attention to the way she swayed her hips near the Hyuuga. Had I been in a less entertaining task, I would have huffed. I just ignored her, and so did the object of her affection. He was looking at me working. It had never happened before. I could hear the frustration in the way the girl moved. I should focus more of my task, my surroundings were getting annoying. I was almost done.

My sharingan flashed on, noticing every details of the mechanical pieces. I

"Who do you think you're impressing with that old thing." she said and my eyes briefly flickered to her.

I saw every detail of her. She was slow. The muscles of her right shoulder twitched. She was about to put everything on the floor, and probably break it. I wasn't sure I would be able to find all the screws if she did so. The lenses would get dusty and probably crack because of the shock. I didn't like people touching my things. I prepared myself, shifting the way I was holding my tools. The eyes if the Hyuuga felt heavy on me. I felt like I was being dissected. A shiver went through my back. I saw Mai-San's hand moving. Mine did as well. It would look like an accident.

The pointy screwdriver jabbed the skin inside her wrist. She jumped away.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mai-San." I said blandly, seeing all the details of the red drop forming on her skin. "I was so focused I didn't see you here."

She furiously stared at me, and I stared back. How impudent of her, looking right into my Sharingan. It didn't take me look to put her under an illusion. Not a serious one of course, I didn't want to waste my chakra for nothing. My reserves were still low because of this morning.

Genjutsu could be used on an zone or a precise subject. The aim was either to fool the senses or to instill a particular emotion. Depending on the aim of the illusion you had to fool more than one sense. It was a common mistake to believe that the human body only have five senses (smell, hearing, sight, touch and taste). I had other senses to focus on like balance, heat, pain, and to some extend time, kinesthetic sense or hunger. The more complex the illusion was, the more I had to fool. In short, I had to use my chakra to send other signals inside the person's brain. The type of signals, the precision of it, and the way their own brain would fill the gaps had to be taken into account.

It was commonly acquired that freeing oneself from a Genjutsu needed a pain stimuli (or any other stimuli that could overrule the Genjutsu user's signal), stopping the chakra flux inside the body before swaying the energy residue with a chakra wave, or someone else's flooding your chakra system with his (in a non-aggressive manner).

The trick to believable illusions was to fool several senses, while keeping real senses giving accurate data to the brain. Of course the aim could be only to impair your enemy, which was currently what I had decided to do on the girl. I had no need to fool her senses (I would have opted for an area Genjutsu in that case). She would understand the gap between us. She would feel fear.

She tensed and blanched. In a swift move I positioned the camera in front of my eye and pressed the button. The polaroid went out, neatly showing her frightened face. I snapped my fingers, my eyes going black again. She tumbled on her feet.

"You..." she breathed out.

"Such a nice face you made, Mai-San." I sweetly said. "Did you know you were that photogenic ?"

She was still trembling. I was actually impressed she could stand on her heels. I stared at her.

"I hope you do well on your exam." I told her handing her the picture. "Keep it, you might use it on your ID card later."

She nervously gulped and went away. I felt very satisfied with myself.

"That was quite mean of you." the Hyuuga said near me.

"What are you saying Neji-Kun ? Yanagi-San apologized for the wound Mai-San carelessly caused herself. She should have been more observant."

"Not everyone has talent." I noted.

Both agreed to my sentence, though not for the same reasons. Sensei was watching us intently. I saw him marking something in a notebook. I looked at the clock. There was still a long way to go. I took a picture of it, just to be sure...

I let my eyes wander around the class. I had learned a lot by observing people. It was very useful. I mostly used these things to understand human nature. On the one hand I had hope that understanding these people made me more outgoing and trusting. On the other hand I started understanding schemes that regularly came back, especially with ninjas. Entering someone's mind and intimacy may be uncomfortable, but it help me settling Genjutsu.

What was real and what wasn't ? Why were things working this way ? These were the two questions I was always asking myself. Because if things were real and broken, how could I fix them ? I wanted to fix the black and red in my head. I wanted to fix the black in red in Sasuke. I wanted to understand what black and red motivated Shisui-Nii and Itachi-Sama so much. I wanted to see what black and red lied ahead of me.

"Uchiha Yanagi" Mizuki-Sensei called and I came back to reality.

Lots of time had passed. I noticed I had scribbled some stuff in papers, ideas of pictures mostly. I sadly noted how impossible these were, half dreams of a reunited family. I should pay my respect to the clan today, I had forgotten this morning.

I walked to the teacher's desk, taking an empty file and went to the room I was supposed to be evaluated. Sitting on the only chair in the corridor, I patiently waited by filling the form.

Surname : Uchiha

First Name : Yanagi

Age : 13 (Born a November 13)

Born in : Konoha / Fire Country (Uchiha compound, they didn't want Mother to go to the hospital, too bad)

Height : 159 centimeters (I was almost as tall as Neji)

Weight : 49 kg (rather on the thin side)

Number of family member in the Academy : 1

Name(s) and age(s): Uchiha Sasuke (11)

Family status : Dead (I added the answer by hand before skipping a few questions)

Are you perceiving any financial help ? Yes

Precise if you've answered yes to the last question : Konoha Council, Fire Country Orphan Fund

Have you followed another formation during the Academy (clan training, medical training, part-time job, other) ? Clan Training

Have you obtained a certification in this area ? No

Do you have any clan/self specificity ? Sharingan and Katon Justu

Do you have any particular health condition ? No

Are you under medication ? No

Are you following a therapy ? Yes (psychological)

Do you train outside the Academy ? Yes

Do you train alone or in group (Precise the people) ? Mostly alone. Clan Training with Uchiha Sasuke. Basic and Taijutsu training with Tenten.

In which areas ? Basic training, Clan Jutsu, Genjutsu, general culture (library)

How regularly do you train ? From 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Explain in a few words your personal or professional project : I want to become at least Jounin. I want to understand why the clan (I didn't want them to know about my doubts about Itachi-Sama's situation)

How would you see yourself in 5 years ? Alive.

Quote two situations where you have felt :

Comfortable : Majoring my class subjects / learning to become independent

Uncomfortable : nearly dying / learning all the people I have known have died

What are your main qualities ? Analytical, controlling, quiet

What are your main defaults ? Suspiscious, self-doubting, lack of sociability

What are your other hobbies ? Photography, reading

I started twirling the pen between my fingers. After a moment the door opened. I stood and bowed before Iruka-Sensei (probably a clone or Sasuke-Chan was having another teacher today). I handed him the file and the pen and followed him inside. There was another teacher with him. I think it was Aoi-Sensei, but I couldn't tell.

"Uchiha Yanagi, I'm here to pass my test." I said.

"To pass ? Already ?" Aoi-Sensei joked. "All right Yanagi, show us the Bunshin technique."

"Understood."

I made the seal with my fingers and called the chakra. I was used to it so it didn't take much chakra (though I was lacking a bit in chakra control so I needed a bit more energy than it should). I felt the illusionary me popping into existence. I had two on my left side and one on my right side. The two teachers were smiling. I released the jutsu and bowed a second time.

"Congratulations. You can have your headband." Iruka-Sensei said to me.

"You're now officially a Genin of Konoha." Aoi-Sensei added.

"Thank you very much." I answered.

The metal plate glinted inside my hands. It had taken me time, but I had made it. Now I had to become a Chuunin. Then a Jounin. Then I'll try fining Itachi-Sama before Sasuke-San. And I'll learn the truth. There were lots if steps and I would take one step at a time.

Time will flow.


Thanks for reading until there. I hope you enjoyed it.

Don't hesitate asking questions or leaving a review. Review motivates the author. It's the only way we have to know our story is good or not.

You can also contact me on my Deviantart accounrt Ryoushi-nin (not that I know how to draw...)

Have a good night (it's night in France actually).

Narsha