Ichiraku, it turned out, was the best ramen shop Sakana had ever been to. Although she was curious about what Emiko had wanted to talk to Kakashi about, she was glad to spend some time with her long lost brother. While waiting for their food they talked about all kinds of things. Sasuke was amused by all the pranks she had played with Sen and Ryuu. Sakana tried to ask about their parents but her brother gave scanty answers, obviously not wanting to talk about it. Sakana let it be, knowing that she would learn more as time went on.

Not long after they got their food Naruto showed up with an older woman that looked to be around Emiko's age. She was tallish, blond and had piercing sapphire eyes. Sasuke apparently knew her and she introduced herself as Namikaze Ameko. She had apparently been very close to her brother's family…especially Itachi…but the topic of conversation quickly changed to other things. Sakana also discovered that Sasuke and Naruto had a friend/foe relationship…mostly foe. They didn't get along well at all, but it didn't really surprise her; their personalities clashed worse than hers and Kankuro's! To avoid conflict they left soon after they finished eating.

Afterwards, they walked together back to her hotel. As they arrived, the two of them ran into Kakashi coming out.

"Oh, hello you two. Did you have a good time at Ichiraku?" he asked pleasantly.

"Yeah, it was great!" Sakana replied.

"I'm glad to hear it. I've talked with your sensei - everything's been arranged. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning around six. The sooner we get to the training site the sooner I'll be able to take a look at your full range of abilities. Both of you meet me at the main gates," he said before disappearing in a signature puff of smoke.

Sakana turned to Sasuke. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…" He looked like he was struggling with something, but then a small smile appeared and he continued, "Goodnight...Sakana nee-chan."

Sakana returned the smile and replied "Goodnight, Sasuke nii-san," before happily entering the hotel.

Waiting for her just inside the door was Baki. She bowed politely to him and said, "You've talked to Kakashi-san..."

He nodded. "Yes; I'm happy you found your family. Would I be correct in assuming you won't be returning to Suna with us after the exams are over?" he asked, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Sakana nodded slowly. She and Sasuke had already talked about her moving to Konoha so they could live together.

"Sakana-san...I, I knew you were an Uchiha," Baki suddenly said. Sakana looked up at him, shocked by his confession.

"What? Why...why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked, hurt that someone she trusted could keep something so important from her.

Baki looked down in shame, having trouble meeting her gaze. "I was forbidden to by the Kazekage. Both of us have known who you were before you ever arrived in Suna; it was the Mizukage who informed us. To be honest, I was opposed to you even coming to out village; I thought that you should be returned to Konoha immediately. No one should ever have to be kept from their family, whether they know them or not. However, I was overruled."

Sakana slowly nodded and replied "It's okay, I understand. All my life secrets have been kept from me so please don't feel guilty, Baki-sensei. Hopefully, now that I've discovered who I am, the others will be revealed soon, too."

Baki smiled at her and said, "I'm sad to be loosing you, Sakana-san. You are one of the best students I've ever had and I know Temari and Gaara will miss you." Then he winked at her, with a slight grin on his face. "I'm not so sure about Kankuro though..."

Both of them chuckled and Sakana said, "I'll miss you, as well, sensei. I'll never forget all you've taught me. I wonder...could you give the others a message…in case I don't see them before I leave?" Baki nodded and Sakana continued. "Tell Temari that I'll always miss her and that if she ever wants to contact me, she knows how; tell Kankuro to try to keep his temper in check; and tell Gaara....that I'll miss him the most and I'll never forget him."

Baki gave her an appraising look when she mentioned she'd miss Gaara the most. "You care for him, don't you, Sakana?"

A blush rose to her cheeks and she looked down, mumbling out a muffled "Yes". To her relief, Baki just nodded, not pursuing the matter any further.

Sakana headed for the stairs, her mind already churning with the possibilities that lay ahead of her, when Baki suddenly called out, "Some final words of wisdom before you go - Never forget who you are Sakana-san, and don't let anyone decide for you. You are you; don't ever lose yourself; if you do, your inner strength will disappear as well."

Sakana nodded and smiled, bowing once more to him before going to her room.
Once there she quickly began packing her belongings. When the exams were over, she'd have everything else sent over from her Suna apartment. As she was in the bathroom gathering her toiletries, Sakana heard a knock on her door.

Temari's voice called out, "Sakana, I bought some natto dumplings. Do you wanna share?"

"Sure! Come on in!" Sakana shouted in reply. She heard the door open and close again before walking out of the bathroom, her arms full of various bottles. She smiled at Temari and dumped the items onto the bed, so she could continue packing.

"What are you doing?" Temari asked, gesturing to Sakana's bag. "We aren't leaving for a week!"

"Actually," Sakana replied meekly, nervous about how her friend would take the news. I'm not going to be training with the rest of you."

"What? Who are you training with? Yourself?"

"Not exactly..." She knew Temari wouldn't drop the matter until her friend got an explanation. Sakana felt trapped; she would have to try to get Temari's mind off the subject.

"Then who? Wait...you don't have a secret mission or something do you?" Temari asked suspiciously.

"No, nothing like that...I-I can't tell you why…but I'm leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Sakana, why are you hiding things from me? Come on, I'm your best friend; what's this all about?" Temari placed a hand comfortingly on Sakana's shoulder.

"Well, I can't tell you why but…I guess I can tell you who...Do you remember that fight we got into the first day we were here?" Sakana asked.

"You mean when that hottie Uchiha challenged Gaara? Of course I remember!" Sakana giggled slightly at the 'hottie' comment. If only Temari knew...

"Well I'm going to be training with him - Sasuke and his teacher,"

".....YOU'RE WHAT?! But he's an opponent! You can't just go off and train with him! What if it's a trap and he's trying to get information on our team? What if he wants to take you...out of the picture?! You can't just go gallivanting off with him!"

Sakana understood her friend's viewpoint, but she immediately jumped in to defend her brother. "He wouldn't do that! I've met him! I've talked to him! He's a nice guy and he isn't the cheating type. Look, just trust me on this, Temari! I would tell you the reason why, but I can't!" Sakana said, trying to stay calm.

"What is it? Do you like him or something?! Sure, he's hot…but I thought you liked Gaara. Or maybe that's it…maybe your trying to get Gaara jealous." Temari said with a sly grin, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

That's when Sakana's calm demeanor broke; Temari had hit a button.
"I'm NOT trying to get Gaara jealous! Sasuke....he's...." Sakana started to say.

"He's what, Sakana? I'm waiting." Temari said, beginning to get angry herself.

"HE'S MY BROTHER, ALRIGHT!" Sakana yelled before immediately slapping a hand over her mouth. It was too late though. Temari's eyes widened and her jaw went slack.

"He's...your brother? As in your real flesh and blood brother?" Temari asked, astounded.

Sakana looked down and nodded slightly. "Yes...Uchiha Sasuke is my twin..."

"But that's...wonderful! Sakana, you've finally found you're family!" Temari exclaimed happily. She had often gone with Sakana when she traveled through Suna asking families there whether they'd lost or given up a daughter her age.

"Please don't tell anyone Temari," Sakana whispered. "This has to be kept a secret for now…it could put both Sasuke and I in serious danger."

"But why?" Temari asked, both curious and concerned.

"I think I've already told you too much…but you'll find the answer if you look in Baki-sensei's Bingo book under the name Uchiha Itachi. I can't say any more than that," Sakana finished, shaking her head.

Temari nodded in understanding and, perhaps as a peace offering, handed Sakana one of her previously offered dumplings. Sakana took it gratefully and bit in with relish, enjoying the sticky consistency of the snack.

"I really am happy for you Sakana," Temari spoke softly. "And you know…now that I think about it, you and Sasuke really do look a lot alike - sorry for getting so angry at you. Will you forgive me?"

Sakana grinned at her older friend and then hugged her gently. "Always, Temari. You don't even need to ask for forgiveness."

"So…does Baki know?" Temari asked with hesitation

"Yeah. Sasuke's teacher, the man who'll be training us, spoke to him just a little while ago," Sakana replied, taking another bite out of her dumpling.

"What exactly will he be training you in?" Temari asked.

Sakana shrugged. "I don't know all the details…but I guess we'll do some training with the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai."

"Really?! What kind? Does it have something to do with that strange mark on your neck?" Temari asked.

"No…but I did get some answers about that as well. The Kekkei Genkai is called Sharingan. It allows the user to literally copy any taijutsu or ninjutsu and to see through genjutsu." Sakana explained, happily wielding the information that Sasuke had explained to her earlier.

"And the mark?" Temari prompted anxiously.

Sakana grinned at her friend's impatience. "I was getting to that…it's actually not very good news. Sasuke has the real thing; this one is apparently just some sort of shadow. A missing-nin named Orochimaru did it, but no one seems to know why – although it does appear to give his powers a boost. All I really know is that mine hurts whenever Sasuke uses his…a lot."

"You've had a pretty busy day haven't you, Sakana?" Temari joked, but Sakana agreed completely. Not only had she found her family, but her Sharingan had activated for the first time, she'd uncovered the truth behind the strange mark on her neck, and been told that her teacher had known who she was all along.

"Yeah...you can say that again! In fact, I should probably get to bed. I have to meet Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei tomorrow morning at six sharp." Sakana replied, unable to hide a massive yawn.

Temari chuckled and stood. "Well…I'll let you get to sleep then. And since I probably won't see you in the morning - good luck with your training." Temari gave her friend a quick hug. "Goodnight, Sakana-chan."

"Goodnight!" Sakana replied as Temari exited the room. The young kunoichi quickly finished her packing, and then changed into her sleeping kimono. Although her mind was roiling with everything that had happened, exhaustion was taking its toll. Just seconds after laying down her eyelids drooped and she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning Sakana woke up early, around 5:30. She quickly changed into her training clothes and packed her kimono in with the rest of her things. After leaving her room key with the attendant, she exited the hotel, taking one last glance up at the roof as she did so. Sakana had hoped to see Gaara one more time before leaving…but he wasn't there. Sighing, she continued on through the still sleeping town, eventually making her way to the main gate. Sasuke was already there and he smiled at her when she came into view.

"Good morning, Sasuke-nii" she said pleasantly, sitting down next to him.

"Good morning to you too, Sakana-nee." Sasuke replied, a small smile on his lips. "Kakashi will probably be late; he usually is."

Sakana chuckled and nodded. However, Kakashi arrived only a short time after she did. He didn't say anything about where they were going, just told them to follow him – and together they left the village, plunging head-long into the forest.