The Uchiha Clan Survivors

Jess: Thank you Kyoharu-chan...-teary- One...one review...Where did everyone go?

Reb: Calm down Jess, It's alright.

Chapter 17 - Family Worries

Sasuke tried enjoying his party. A lot of the time he found it hard to focus on the party, it's color, it's music, and his friends. He kept seeing dead faces and a letter, Itachi and blood, he kept hearing Itachi laugh. But every time he saw Satsuki, wearing the Uchiha symbol, everything seemed alright.

Sasuke smiled at Satsuki, then took a drink from his cup. This was his best ever birthday. Sakura had hugged him a few times, and he didn't really care. Naruto had been louder than ever, but it seemed to make things even better. The only real 'problem' was that Kakashi was reading porn and kept trying to trick Satsuki into looking at it. Luckily, Iruka was there and warned her, so she had her plans.

Each time he came over, he didn't have to ask. Satsuki took the book and squinted her eyes, so it looked like she was really taking it in, but she couldn't see a thing. But after the 5th time, she chucked it. Kakashi's eyes widened, but he smirked at her, then retrieved his precious book and bothered her no more.

The cake had soon mostly disappeared, Naruto ate most of it. Kakashi ate nearly as much as Naruto, but not as much. Iruka, Sakura, and Satsuki all had normal sized amounts of 1 or 2 slices. Sasuke had 1 and ½ slices of cake. The snacks were half finished and 1 slice of cake remained. As they were laughing, who knows why, the doors opened and in walked...

"Hokage..." Sakura mumbled. Kakashi smiled, as did Iruka, but he looked slightly nervous.

"What? Did the party end as soon as I opened the doors?" he asked with a smile. They all smiled back, Sasuke even managed a slight grin. Then they began to have fun again. They played a few of Hokage's favorite party games, Sasuke agreed to most of them.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage." Satsuki greeted after the last game. She hadn't said anything to him so far. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Quite a lot, actually. But I think you've really accomplished something here." he smiled. Satsuki stared questioningly at him. He directed a finger towards Sasuke. "See how he's smiling? That in itself is a great feat. But he is enjoying himself, is surrounded by his friends...and family. Today is a wonderful day and I am glad...that you came up with the idea." he smiled and walked off to talk to Kakashi.

Satsuki blinked, and turned to smile in Sasuke's direction, which also happened to be most everybody's direction, but stopped half smile. She thought she saw Sasuke avert his eyes just now...was he staring at her? Why? Satsuki excused herself and entered the bathroom.

"Was Sasuke staring at me?" she asked her reflection. It moved, strangely...

"No you fool. He wasn't staring at you." It said in a slightly mocking manner.

"Then what was he staring at?" she asked.

"Think. Sasuke is what kind of guy?" her reflection asked.

"Sasuke? He's..." she thought. "Wonderful...Sasuke is a loner for the most part, he likes to keep to himself. But he cares for everyone else so much that he would risk his life for them. I know that he came to my rescue because we're related, but he would risk his life for Naruto or Sakura too. Sasuke is tormented and misunderstood. Everyone sees him as a pretty boy and a snob, but get to know him and you'll see he's actually a nice guy that just needs to be accepted."

"But, isn't Sasuke accepted by all the girls?" the reflection asked in a joking way. Satsuki shook her head.

"They think he's the cutest boy they've ever seen. It's like he's jewelry to them. But Sasuke is a living, breathing human; with human emotions. He feels pain, probably more than anyone, though Naruto comes close. The point is...that Sasuke...needs, more than anything else...he needs...someone who truly understands him."

"Understanding..." the reflection said in a slightly airy voice.

"He needs someone who knows his pain, a person who can see into his soul and heal the wounds he's been given. Sasuke needs a person who can truly accept him, who can love him for him. A person that, had they been able to, would have taken him in when he was a child. Because, in truth, Sasuke is just a child...alone...in the dark...crying...Deep inside, I believe, that everyone is bleeding silently about something. Sometimes it's just a cut, for a bad deed. But..."

"But what?" the reflection asked, interested.

"For others." she touched the glass so soft it was as if she were touching silk and didn't want to wrinkle it. "They've been blown a terrible blow. Sasuke lost his entire family, except me and that bastard Itachi...he never knew about me, so he felt alone. Sasuke was probably reaching out for help at some point, and I should've been there...I should've been...I..." Satsuki began crying slightly.

The reflection on the other hand, was on the floor crying it's eyes out. A reflection of what she was feeling inside. Satsuki sank to the floor and closed her eyes, hugging her knees.

-

Why didn't I notice it before?

A young girl, age 6, was packing her things. Her mother called her and she left. Looking around, she saw bare walls and nothing but a moth eaten couch in the corner. Where had their furniture gone? Away, like they were. She closed her eyes and walked out of the house.

Was I to young? Too stupid?

She walked through town with her mother, her headband barely staying on. She glanced around, had someone been following them? No. She turned around and continued with her mother.

No, youth had nothing to do with it, and no stupid person could pass that test. I was just...I didn't know!

As they neared the edge of the village, the girl turned around. Her black hair falling over her shoulders and her dark eyes skimming the area. Nothing weird...what was this feeling? Was she leaving something more important than a house behind? She turned around reluctantly and kept walking.

Sasuke, I'm sorry. I felt it. I knew something was wrong. I should've stayed. Mother always said she was connected to the others in a strange way. Though she never told me who 'the others' were. I should've been there to help you...when she got sick...

At the edge of the village, she and her mother's hands separated and Satsuki turned around once more. Her eye's met Sasuke's and they stopped. Nothing seemed to be moving, though people were still working and moving in the village. Sasuke saw sadness and a distance in her eyes. Satsuki saw a carefree, fun-loving child who would've made a great friend. But, Satsuki thought she saw something in his eyes, a 'prophecy' maybe?

I saw the warning! I felt it! Why didn't I see it earlier? Realized it?

She thought she saw death in his eyes. As if he'd witnessed, but had not been involved in, many wars. But the darkness hidden behind the surface of his eyes...with a single spotlight. It was as if showing her the boy in years to come. She saw him, kneeling on the ground, sitting in a pool of water, like it had just rained. She looked deeper and saw he was crying...crying so hard that the pool was made out of his tears...not rain.

Sasuke...Why didn't I see it before?

Satsuki thought she saw a strip of golden light. Sasuke saw it in Satsuki's eyes too. But it wasn't in their eyes. The light stretched from each of them and connected in the center, a string made of their chakra. It would ensure they met again. Her hand was grasped by her mother's and she blinked, the connected disappeared but was not gone.

It was all my fault...When mother died...I should've come back immediately. Not traveled, not avoided the past. I see it now Sasuke...

She and her mother walked through the forest and it got darker before it got lighter. Sasuke blinked and followed, but she was gone. When the light had disappeared, the memory of it had gone as well. He stood there for a few minutes, then walked defeatedly back into the village. Satsuki looked back and saw nothing but trees. So she frowned and kept following her mom.

I should've come home. To comfort you. To be with you all those years. Neither of us would've had to have been alone, without family.

Her mother died, Satsuki knew something had happened. When her mother said that she had family, that she should find them... "Mother, were you speaking of both boys, or just Sasuke?" She avoided the village, traveled anywhere but there. Satsuki felt she had no reason yet to return, but the nagging got stronger and she couldn't ignore it. At night she saw a boy in a dark room, crying. In the morning she forgot it and kept walking.

Everything's ok now, right? It's okay now? I wear the symbol, I have the headband, you say you accepted me as your sister. But I'm just your half sister...does that matter?

Finally, Satsuki decided to come home. But, where was 'home'? She always defined home as where she was at the time. But, that's not a home. Home is where you will always return to. Satsuki paused in her walking and began her journey to Konoha (Konohagakure).

Have I waited to long to come home? No, I think I was later, but not too late. You and I had given up getting close to anyone, but now...now we've learned to trust again. To hold things dear...we've taught each other to believe in a better future than just that of 'fight-to-survive.'

-

"-ki" a voice came flowing in. "Satsuki...Come on Satsuki, it's not good to sleep on the bathroom floor."

"Wha?" Satsuki yawned. She blinked and looked up to see Sakura looking down at her. "Oh! Did I really fall asleep?" she jumped up.

"Yep." Sakura nodded.

"We should get back." she began to walk out, but Sakura pulled her back. "What?"

"Your hair is a mess. They'll know you fell asleep. Don't worry, it was only a few minutes. But Sasuke is getting worried." Sakura began to brush Satsuki's hair and was amazed at just how soft it was.

"Sorry...I won't make any more mistakes, Sasuke's birthday is really important...Important to me." she said, looking at the floor. "Sakura?"

"Huh?"

"Did I...make a mistake...by leaving?" she asked. Sakura stopped brushing her hair.

"Satsuki...don't worry about stuff like that!" she said, smiling. "Though I must impress upon you how much Sasuke was hurting while you were gone, he's okay now! Sasuke is different when you're around. He's not moody or secretive. He's...happy."

"Happy?" Satsuki asked. She was still facing with her back to Sakura.

"Yea. It's strange. I noticed a definite change from when you were gone to now." she smiled again.

"I'm really that important? Do I really make such a difference?" Satsuki asked, turning to look at Sakura.

"Oh yea." Sakura put a hand on Satsuki's shoulder. Satsuki smiled, started to cry, and lunged at Sakura. She hugged said girl.

"Thank You Sakura!" Sakura wondered if Satsuki was okay. "I've been so afraid...that I was just a burden to everybody. I thought that maybe...Sasuke only pretended to accept me..." Sakura laughed. "What?"

"You have nothing to worry about, at all! He knitted for you, he accepts you." she pat Satsuki on the back before heading out. "Let's go."

-

Sasuke sat at his table as everyone continued having fun. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura and Satsuki walk out of the girls' bathroom but pretended not to have seen them. Satsuki walked over to Naruto, who had his head stuck in the punch bowl, and Sakura walked over to Sasuke.

"She was worried." Sakura said with a simple smile, sitting down across from Sasuke. He blinked.

"Worried? About what?" he put his right elbow on the table and rested his right cheek in his hand, looking at the colorful balloons and seeming uninterested.

"That you were pretending to accept her." Sakura said as if it were everyday news. Sasuke's head popped up. "That she was just a burden." he looked over at his sister. "But...mostly...I think she was afraid that she'd made a mistake, a lot of mistakes."

Sasuke looked over at Sakura. Her voice had saddened slightly. It regained it's 'whatever' quality as she continued. "She asked me if she'd made a mistake by leaving." Sasuke looked at his cup of juice. "You know what?"

"What?" he asked in his 'before-Satsuki-came' usual voice. Sakura gave him a slight glare before smiling and continuing.

"She fell asleep." he gave her a confused look. "In the bathroom. I walked in to find her asleep against the bathroom wall." Sasuke was taken aback and his hand stopped supporting the weight of his head.

"Ow." he muttered as his head hit the table. Sakura nearly laughed.

"She talks in her sleep."

"What'd she say?" he asked. She smiled slightly.

"It was kinda fuzzy. Stuff like 'it's all my fault' and 'I should've come home when mom died'...that was a shock for me. Also she was asking if everything was ok. Like...'I spilt the paint bucket, but I cleaned the carpet. Is it alright now?'" she thought her example was poor, but liked the effect it left. Sasuke was fighting so hard not to let his jaw drop.

"Riiiight..." he said slowly. "So..." he couldn't think of anything to say, so he decided to refer to the 'Solitude Of Sasuke Handbook!' and sat in a brooding position.

"So. How long's her mother been dead?" she asked in a slightly sad voice. Sasuke saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Sakura was staring avidly at the table. On his other side, Satsuki was laughing with everyone else. Hokage seemed to be the one who was funny. So Sakura and Sasuke were alone to talk. He didn't look at Sakura, but spoke to her. He shrugged.

"Don't know. Probably since the Uchiha Clan Massacre." he said, still looking at the floor. Sakura's head popped up.

"That long? B-but that's...4 years alone!" she said loudly. Everyone paused and looked at the two. "Heh heh...never mind that. Sorry...heh heh..." she sweat dropped, then noticed that she had stood up. Sakura sat back down.

"You over-react. I've been alone that long too." Sasuke said monotonously, sitting to face her.

"Yeah, but...you were in this village. Everyone was nice to you. She was traveling." Sasuke gave her a look. "She talks in her sleep, I told you that. And if she traveled that means she was in the forest, always in a new town, she was ab-so-lut-ly a-lo-ne." Sasuke didn't seem to care. His eyes seemed void of all emotion. Sakura would've slapped him right about now, but she liked him, so she held back.

"You over-react." came his reply a minute later. "Satsuki can take care of herself, remember?" he still didn't look up, his eyes and half his face was hidden from view.

"Yea...but to be alone in the forest at age 9...it's despicable." Sakura had a hurt look in her eyes. Sasuke glanced up and then back down.

"She's been alone since 6." he said softly.

"Huh?" she looked up. "What? How? Wasn't she with her family before then?" she then remembered something. "Oh! She's your sister! So...you and your mother were...I mean...um...who was she with?"

"Huh? Oh...she was with...her mom."

"That's it?"

"Yep. Her mom took her from the village when she was 6. I've come to the conclusion that even though she was with her mom, and though her mom was really nice to her, that Satsuki was alone after she left the village. I have no idea where they went after they left. But I was the last person from Konoha to see them."

"Oh. So you knew she existed? Then why didn't you tell everyone you weren't the only Uchiha?" Sakura asked. For a moment she thought that maybe Sasuke wanted to be known as 'the avenger' and 'the last Uchiha' but Sasuke's next statement erased that.

"Because I forgot. I forgot she left. I forgot she existed until she arrived here 6 years later." he knew what it meant now. 'Don't forget the past' "So I went on living, when she remembered it all."

"Oh Sasuke." Sakura put a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you both blaming yourselves for things you can't control?" she asked. Neither of them had noticed that someone had walked up next to them. They were being very quiet. "You can't help that other things pushed memories out of the way. And she can't help that she was afraid to come back. So just forget it already and live your lives to the fullest."

'I'm touching Sasuke and he isn't glaring or trying to pull away!' Inner Sakura was jumping for joy. Outer Sakura smiled. A hand was placed on Sakura's, it was Sasuke's. He looked up, a small smile...very small, on his face. They stared into each other's eyes until laughing was heard.

"Ha ha...Ha ha ha...hahahahahahahahahahah!" they turned and saw Satsuki try, fail, and give up trying to hold back her laughter. They quickly pulled away and blushed. Everyone looked over.

Satsuki had walked over to ask if they wanted a new drink, but had stopped to listen to the conversation. She was standing to the left of the table, to Sasuke's left and Sakura's right. Sasuke was sitting with his back to Satsuki, blushing slightly and trying to hide it. Sakura wasn't facing anyone and was blushing madly, so she covered her ears so no one who wasn't in front of or next to her would see. Satsuki was laughing madly and was bent half over.

"What's so funny Satsuki?" Iruka asked. Satsuki tried answering, but couldn't stop laughing.

"I think she took some laughing gas." Kakashi joked. Iruka glared at him.

"That would be no laughing matter Kakashi." he said sternly. Kakashi shut up immediately.

"It's just...ha...they...blushing...oh...nevermind!" she covered her mouth and finished her laughing silently. Everyone except Sasuke and Sakura was lost.

Preview : "That was...odd." she said with a slight smile as she stood up and 'dusted' herself off. "It was also kinda funny." she was blushing, but had disregarded that for the, she thought, hilarious moment.

"Um...s-sorry." he looked to the side and blushed a bit...a lot. He found himself staring almost directly at Satsuki's jacket. "Mom." he muttered almost in audible.

Next chapter is the LAST CHAPTER! Please come back my lovely reviewers! Please!!