Summary: When both Mikoto and Kushina have twins, the world is drastically altered. Sasuke is not the only one consumed with revenge when the Massacre comes and Naruto knows the love of a sibling. Just how will this change things on top of the fact the Sharingan isn't the only Kekkei Genkai the Uchiha have?

…

A/N I would like to apologize for the small mistake I've made ever since Kushina's mother came into the story. In the first chapter, I'd named Mei after Kushina's OC mother, but I'd forgotten this and went along with creating another name. Well, names aside, I'm glad this didn't affect the plot very much.
On with the chapter!

Chapter 9: Dark Skies at Dawn

The clanging of the gates opening still rang in the Genin's ears. Now, it was nearly nightfall and Team 7 had encountered no fellow Konoha shinobi. It wasn't as if the Konoha shinobi were going to go easy on them, but at least a matching hitai-ate would be nice.

Naruto and Mei were out collecting firewood while Sasuke and Noriko worked on getting fish from the stream. Once Naruto and Mei returned, Sasuke lit the fire with a weak fire release technique and Noriko skewered the fish onto sticks.

The fish's skin began to darken as it began to cook and silence fell over the Genin. The Uchiha kept quiet; the annoyances and complaints their teammates had with this forest, aptly named the 'Forest of Death', were able to drown out the fear the Uchiha were feeling.

Of course, the Uzumaki were scared but felt excited to fight. Noriko and Sasuke were looking forward to testing to see how powerful they were as well.

Earlier in the day, they hadn't really encountered much except the wildlife. The wildlife, though, seemed rather eager to kill them and their huge bodies made it hard to dodge sharp claws, slicing tails, and falling trees, felled to pen in the Genin.

What made it surreal wasn't necessarily fighting the animals, but the fact that blood and a number of hitai-ate decorated the animals, particularly the huge bears. Naruto and Mei were enraged to see this, going at the animal recklessly.

Now, sitting in front of the fire, Naruto couldn't help but wonder just how Sasuke and Noriko kept their cool in front of such an unusual creature. Mei was probably wondering the same thing, although she was preoccupied with catching her own fish (she'd wanted more and no one wanted to catch any more) in the dead of night, her hands and legs freezing from standing in the water.

Sasuke had said that it was one fish per person, but Mei was hungry. Mei had gone on a diet and hadn't eaten breakfast that day, at the recommendation of Ino. Throughout the day, she'd been irritable and unable to dodge sharp claws quickly enough, forcing Noriko to push her out of the way and block a claw, easily half her height, with just a kunai.

Mei turned back to the group and shook her head. Naruto pouted; he was hungry as well, but that was simply because his daily intake of food was usually twice what an adult would eat in a day.

"Naruto-nii, what should I do?" Mei plopped down next to the blonde boy. Naruto was sucking every sliver of flesh from each bone from his fish as he looked at her, thinking of a response. He stopped for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," Naruto said. Then his eyes widened. "Mei, did you go on that diet? Is that why you're so desperate?"

Mei's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She nodded silently.

A snort was heard in the group and Mei's shame dissipated into anger as she turned to the person who had laughed.

"What's so funny?" Mei glared at Noriko. Noriko's laugh disappeared as quickly as it had come and donned a look of seriousness.

"Why would you go on a diet? You knew the Chuunin Exams were coming, and when Kakashi-sensei said 'Forest of Death', you should've known that you couldn't possibly spare a single morsel of food before you entered," Noriko said, her black eyes glinting with annoyance. "However…"

Noriko pulled out a scroll from her back holster. Sasuke watched as his sister unsealed a cup ramen. She threw it at Mei, who caught it and ripped it open and ate the contents, not caring that she didn't have any hot water.

Mei had devoured every crumb hungrily and once she saw that it was empty, she felt even more ashamed. She looked down at the ground, not wanting to thank Noriko for the sudden kindness. Why did she give me this?

"Because you're my fr—," Noriko coughed suddenly to cover up what she was about to say. "I mean, teammate. If you drop from being hungry, I'll have to cover you and then I might just die before I reach my goal."

"Y-yeah," Mei said. She almost really, really wanted to hear what Noriko was about to say right before she coughed, but if Noriko wasn't going to say something, then it probably wasn't important.

For the rest of the night, Mei couldn't sleep; she wanted to know. Why do I want to know what that stuck-up teammate of mine said? It's probably something stupid.

"Hey. Go to sleep," Noriko said, loud enough to hear but soft enough not to wake up their male teammates. Mei sat up and jumped up to the tree where Noriko was taking first watch. She studied the black-haired girl for a few moments before scowling and looking away, having been noticed by said girl.

"What're you staring at me for?" Noriko asked.

Mei didn't answer right away. "Who is this person that you and Sasuke-kun want to kill anyway?"

Noriko's eyes flashed dangerously. Then she sighed. "An eye for an eye. A secret for a secret. I know you have one."

Mei unconsciously put a hand over her stomach. "Yeah."

"Well then, let's hear it. I don't sense anyone nearby," Noriko said, her face softening for once. Mei noticed how much prettier she looked if she didn't look so angry and dark.

"Naruto-nii and I both have the Kyuubi sealed into us," Mei said, a twinge of sadness edged to her voice. Then she looked up to Noriko, who was staring at her, surprised.

"Go on, say it," Mei growled.

"Say what?" Noriko asked.

"That I'm a monster," Mei said. "That I'm the one who killed the Yondaime Hokage and all those ninjas and destroyed the village!"

"Be quiet. Do you want the whole world to hear you?" Noriko hissed. "And, like I care that you have the Kyuubi in you. It explains your stamina and healing powers and how you eat so much ramen with Naruto."

Mei gaped at Noriko. She hadn't expected her to say something like that. She'd expected Noriko to be like the rest of the village; despising her for something she had no control over.

"Well? What's your secret then?" Mei asked, regaining her composure.

Noriko bit her lip, images of the caring older brother she thought she knew and the bodies of her parents dripping with blood.

"You know how everyone in the Uchiha clan was murdered, right?" Noriko asked. Mei nodded. "Well, that person's name was Uchiha Itachi." Noriko's mouth tasted bitter after speaking his name for once in years.

Mei was confused. Just what happened? Who is this guy? Mei must've said her thoughts aloud because Noriko clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"He was my brother," Noriko said. Mei's grey eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Noriko looked at her brother's sleeping form on the ground below and sighed.

"There's something more," Mei said. Noriko tilted her head in confusion. "What happened that night?"

Noriko clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I'm not going to tell you anything else. You've told me your secret and I've told you mine. You're just going to get nightmares if I told you. And then enemies lurking all around here are going to flock here because you're loud."

"I'm loud?!" Mei screamed in annoyance. Sasuke opened a single eye and narrowed it. He got up and jumped up to the tree branch where his two female teammates were. He looked at his sister and then the sky and glared at her.

"You should've woken me up hours ago," Sasuke chastised. "How're you going to fight if you've gotten so little sleep?"

Noriko closed her eyes and relaxed against the tree. "Mei wanted to talk."

"Sasuke-kun…" Mei started. "Your brother—"

Noriko slammed a hand over Mei's mouth and pushed her off the branch to the ground, where the blonde girl just managed to land properly. She was about to jump back up but stopped when Sasuke and Noriko jumped down. The sunrise was about to come, a few red streaks on the sky. Sasuke and Noriko quickly destroyed all evidence they were in the area, along with the firewood and skewers and fish bones. Mei woke up her brother and Team 7 set out towards the tower, hoping to encounter a team with a scroll that they needed.

Two Days Later

The sun was high up in the sky a few hours later. Noriko's steps were staggering thanks to her lack of sleep. Sasuke couldn't yell at Mei yet; he was on sensing duty. Naruto and Mei were keeping their jutsu hidden until they found a team with another scroll.

Noriko gritted her teeth and forced herself to go just one more step, but her body wouldn't allow that. She fell face forward onto the ground and set off a light bomb. The bomb was also tucked away in conjunction with an exploding kunai, so not only was Team 7 blinded, but was also separated due to the blast.

Naruto was blown back several hundred feet, having been near another exploding kunai that was set as well. Mei and Sasuke would've slammed into a tree if Sasuke hadn't caught himself and Mei. Before Mei could ask questions, Sasuke made the ram hand seal and his brows furrowed in concentration.

Meanwhile, Noriko was just getting her bearings, having made impact with a couple thorny bushes. Her arms hurt as blood dripped out of the punctures from the thorns. She began to take out some large thorns and waited for the enemy to come.

"Noriko? Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked. The bushes rustled a bit to reveal Sasuke. Noriko's hands itched for a kunai but relaxed as she saw her brother's form.

"Yeah. Where are the others?" Noriko asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"I tried to find them, but I can't. It seems like those two teammates of ours seem preoccupied with fighting," Sasuke said. He noticed her arms. "I have some salve if you want."

Noriko nodded. Sasuke walked over and reached for the salve in his back pocket and handed her the small container. He turned around and cupped his ears to listen for Naruto and Mei, but heard nothing. He smirked widely as his tongue licked his lips.

Kunai raced towards Sasuke's back. Sasuke whipped around and dodged them easily. Confusion was written all over his face as he looked at his sister. Noriko saw this and was enraged to even have to explain herself.

"Sasuke was blown south; I was blown east. You came from the north. Also, Sasuke doesn't refer to our teammates that politely; he refers to them as idiots when we're alone. Lastly, Sasuke doesn't carry salve or this muscle-relaxant cream!" Noriko's hands blurred as she weaved hand seals and fire erupted from her mouth.

Fire Release: Fireball Technique!

Sasuke grinned as the flames came towards him. He dodged and as the flames dissipated, his body was concealed by a puff of smoke, revealing his identity to be a Kusa nin. Noriko paled and contemplated either fleeing or staying and fighting. If I run, I might find Sasuke or Naruto or Mei. But this shinobi, he's something else. There's something strange about him. If I stay here, I might get the scroll…but there's plenty of other teams right? No, I can't be scared. I have to fight. I don't have the strength to run anyway.

Noriko gripped kunai and fell into a defensive stance, fatigue trying to sink its claws into her.

"I finally found you guys!" Naruto grinned. He blinked, sensing the atmosphere for once. Mei looked concerned for Sasuke, as he was muttering curses and shaking in rage. Naruto frowned. What's happened here? I wasn't gone for too long was I?

Then he noticed. Where was Noriko. "Where's Noriko-chan?"

"Naruto-nii!" Mei said sharply. "Sasuke-kun…" Mei turned back to her crush, trying to think of a way to ease his pain and anger.

"I'm going to find her. She was blown east of me, meaning she's now northeast of us. Keep your guards up; whoever separated us probably did this on purpose because they haven't moved to attack the three of us yet," Sasuke said.

His Sharingan blazed into existence. Noriko won't die. He dashed into the tree branches, going at top speed towards where Noriko would probably be. Noriko can't die! His right hand gripped a kunai until his knuckles turned white. We're going to kill Itachi together! How am I supposed to defeat him without you?! The echoes of his teammates to wait up fell upon deaf ears; Sasuke's heartbeat was in his ears and his heart in his throat. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and live in an unsightly way. One day, when you possess the same eyes as me, the two of you are to come before me! What Noriko had told him years ago, quoting their brother was altered just a bit unconsciously in his mind as the words echoed one more. He gritted his teeth and his chakra spiked drastically. Adrenaline and fear raced through his veins as another tomoe appeared in his Sharingan, making two tomoe.

"—ke-kun!"

Sasuke turned finally. Mei gave him an annoyed look, as if he hadn't answered a first time. He didn't care.

"What?" Sasuke asked sharply, his Sharingan fading to black.

"Why don't you just have her transform into a sword? Doesn't she just appear when you call her name out?" Mei asked.

"We have to be in sync. I can sense we're not and from our training before the Exams started, there was a certain distance we had to be within for that to happen," Sasuke explained.

"Sync seems subjective," Mei noted. "What do you mean?"

"In this situation, I mean that we need to be facing the same enemy. Also, our chakra levels, mental, and physical states have to be roughly the same. The last two parts are just guesses though. As for chakra levels, we'd also experimented with that notion and found that chakra levels do also have to be roughly the same, not taking into account for differences in chakra coil capacity," Sasuke explained. "Get it?"

"Yeah, I totally get it," Naruto said, nodding his head.

Sasuke knew he was lying but didn't want to explain again, fear clutching his heart again. If the mental and physical part is true, then I doubt the Kyouzou is going to work. Mei kept her up last night talking about something stupid and her body is weak judging from how she collapsed earlier. Don't die, Noriko! I can't live without you! Don't break our promise!

Sasuke and the two blondes arrived at a clearing where flames were burning some parts of trees and blood and vomit were at the base of a tree. The tree trunk's bark was splintered a little and Sasuke had but one guess as to what caused it. He made the ram seal again with both hands: putting two palms together but curling the ring and pinky fingers under the right hand's ring and pinky fingers, and focused his chakra as hard as he could once more.

There!

A burst of chakra came again. Sasuke looked up and felt that it was Noriko's chakra. Neither of them knew more than ten fire release jutsu, but Sasuke could tell that she could've put more chakra into the jutsu. If she could, Sasuke thought.

Sasuke raced over to see his sister, trying to burn her opponent. She was moving faster than he'd ever seen her despite the fact he didn't see her blue weights on the ground. Then, she was blown back and slammed into Sasuke, who dug his heels into the ground as he held her body tightly to keep standing and not to drop her.

A huge snake summon appeared and one glance from it made Naruto and Mei freeze. Images of their deaths, horribly painful, played out and they collapsed. Sasuke could tell they'd only fainted, but that left the Uchiha alone to take their enemy on. Sasuke glanced at his sister as he let her stand on her own and saw she seemed to be out of it.

She must be remembering that night… Sasuke narrowed his eyes and turned to the enemy that was racing towards them. He made eye contact with the woman on the snake and his legs froze. Noriko pushed her brother out of the way, allowing the Kusa woman to sink a kunai into her side. She cried out in pain and yanked it out, throwing it back at the woman.

Noriko turned to her brother and picked him up, slapping his face hard. Sasuke blinked and saw his sister looking at him with an annoyed look, her single tomoe Sharingan chaning right before his eyes to be a double tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke breathed in an out, noting that the Kusa woman was staring at Noriko, who remained oblivious to the Kusa woman's rather unnerving stare. Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and sensed her chakra levels were running low. He cursed under his breath; they wouldn't be able to use Kyouzou.

Sasuke's Sharingan blazed into existence as well, revealing two tomoe.

"Noriko, I have a plan," Sasuke said. "Follow my lead."

Noriko nodded and the two charged towards the Kusa woman. Sasuke released a fiery jutsu that effectively distracted the woman. She couldn't see any angle around herself long enough to see that Noriko was weaving wire intricately around the woman.

The fire died down and Noriko pulled the wire as much as she could. The Kusa woman was tightly bound onto the tree and Sasuke used up the last of his chakra to perform another jutsu to run fire down the wire.

The woman began to scream in pain and Noriko noticed that the fire wasn't going to kill her; her body was emitting a layer of chakra to protect herself. Noriko raced forward, much to Sasuke's dismay. He couldn't stop her though; he didn't have the chakra to push off the ground and make it in time. Noriko managed to land a few solid kicks on the woman before she was punched on her face and sent to a lower branch, blood dripping down the corners of her mouth.

Suddenly, flames rushed out of Noriko's mouth towards the Kusa woman, who believed Noriko to be out of chakra. She was engulfed in the excruciating flames as Noriko fell to her hands and knees, panting once she released all the flames.

Noriko's Sharingan faded to black and she dragged herself up to her feet, gripping a branch for support. Naruto and Mei began to stir, but they were too late.

"You two are truly Itachi's siblings, true members of the Uchiha clan," the woman said, her face beginning to peel. "And, it's just as I thought; I do want you!"

"Noriko!" Mei cried out as the Kusa woman's neck raced towards Noriko, who looked up to see her teammates running desperately towards her. Confusion was written on her face before Noriko gave a bloodcurdling scream. Sasuke had a kunai out in seconds, looking murderous, even more so than when Lee kissed Noriko or any other time.

"What did you do to her?!" Sasuke demanded as Mei and Naruto tried to ease her pain, despite the only answer Noriko gave to their questions was a continuing scream. Sasuke hated to hear her in pain, the only one he could open up to, the only one he truly trusted in this world.

"I simply gave her a parting gift," the woman said, grinning. Sasuke rushed forward, knowing he didn't have any chakra left to spare, but referred to taijutsu, his last resort. His movements were sloppy from fatigue and he was kicked away easily, leaving the Uzumaki twins to rush at the Kusa woman.

When Naruto saw his crush in so much pain and Sasuke, someone he might consider both a rival and friend, kicked back so easily, his eyes turned a blood red color and took on the woman and her snake summon easily, kicking it and punching it with moves enhanced by an unknown source as his sister watched in shock and horror. Mei rushed forward as well, a kunai in hand. She sunk multiple shuriken in the snake's scales and allowed the exploding kunai to do their work. Then, her brother was lifted high and struck on his stomach, eliciting a scream. He was tossed like garbage towards her. She caught her brother, unconscious in her arms, and watched as the Kusa woman began to disappear into the ground.

"What did you do to him?!" Mei yelled.

"I simply did him a favor," she replied and sunk into the tree, disappearing.

Sasuke managed to stand and looked at his sister, still screaming. Her screams began to die down rapidly as Sasuke held her tight against his chest. She gripped his hand so hard he thought she would break it until she fell unconscious as well. He lifted her up and walked over to Mei, who was looking at her brother with concern.

"Mei, we need to find shelter. We've got two days until the Exam is over. When we find shelter, you go get water," Sasuke said, his Sharingan fading to black. Mei nodded uncertainly and the two set off with their siblings in their arms for a place to rest.

"Her fever is still high," Mei muttered.

Sasuke leaned against the wall of the small cave, in his own thoughts. He'd been conscious but unresponsive unless it was a simple and direct question. Sasuke simply hummed at that, knowing that was the case.

Noriko's fever hadn't gone down ever since she'd gotten the strange three-comma mark on her neck a couple hours ago. Naruto was also unconscious still but all his wounds had healed. Mei didn't know what to make of that.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, when do you think Naruto-nii and Noriko will wake up?" Mei asked.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed again, not wanting to think about it. Her chakra levels were restoring themselves at perhaps ten times slower than they used to. Sasuke blamed it on the mark, along with her injuries that also weren't healing properly.

Anger boiled up inside of him. Who the hell was that woman? She clearly wasn't a Genin. If she comes back, I don't know what I'll do. None of us could take her, not even when we worked together. She specifically picked Noriko out of all the Genin here. But why?

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when you want to switch."

Mei nodded silently, praying to whatever god would listen. Kami, please don't take Naruto-nii or even Noriko away. What'll I have left? What'll Sasuke-kun have left? Please, we can't live without them. I need my brother.