A/N: Accept the update. ACCEPT IT!

No. Naruto is not mine. But I bet you wished it was! ;D

Chapter 22: The Enlightenment

It was the next day, and Squad Kinoto decided to meet together for the story of the Kiwachi clan gift. From both sides.

Suki let out a tired sigh in the tea shop as she waited for the rest of her friends. Aki was coming soon; she told her so via telepathy. Kito was with her and she didn't care less about Kinoto. Wait, oops. He's already here. She let out a tired yawn and lazily waved at him.

…

"Sup Kinoto?" His eyebrow twitched.

"Call me sensei." I chuckled at him.

"I don't respect my elders." I deadpanned; he chuckled at me and sat down.

"You will when you realize that I will most likely be your training partner after this." I gave him a cheesy smile.

"Only if you want to after you hear Aki's story!" I cheered loudly, waving my arms around. He smiled, shaking his head at my antics. I looked towards the entrance and smiled at Aki who just stepped in with Kito. I gave an evil smile and heaved in a big breath.

…Aki P.O.V….

"AKIIIIIII! WERE OVER HEEERRRREEEEEE!" Suki's shrill voice filled the peaceful tea shop, and most of the people who were there weren't pleased at her. Almost everyone was glaring at her evilly, including me and Kito. She just had a smug smile on her face as we stepped towards the table.

"Suki! What did I tell you about using your inside voice?" I scolded, moving my finger back and forth at her. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh. I'm sorry mom." She stated sarcastically, sipping some of her tea in boredom. "I want tomatoes." I looked towards my friend in shock.

"Why tomatoes?" She smirked.

"Cuz they're a fruit and a veggie!" I rolled my eyes at her, and she just smirked.

"Okay Aki! On with the story!" I rolled my eyes.

"I want tea first." She pouted, but nodded her head okay.

I sighed reluctantly when tea was placed in front of me. I sipped it. My favorite. That bitch. I looked up and glared at Suki, who was smiling at me innocently.

"Alright. I'll tell you guys the story of our clan. Which is also the Santo clan. Suki is too stubborn to call it the Sanwachi clan." Suki looked up at me.

"That's because it sounds like your saying sandwich. I will not be known at the one with the last name as sandwich." I giggled at her and looked down.

"Okay, okay, Suki." We smirked at each other and got ready for me to tell the story.

"Our power development begins when we were divided as a clan."

-Flashback-

"mom…" I shuddered at what happened to her. Beaten. By the own villagers too. They say she is senile, and that she doesn't know what she is saying. But I know she's telling the truth. She has always been like that.

My mom is not a liar.

I walked up to her, and caressed her cut cheek. She opened her red eyes, the ones that I have gotten, and smiled at me.

"Aki, what is it my baby?" I reluctantly returned her smile.

"What did you tell them now mom?" She frowned at me, her eyes serious as she looked at me with slight surprise.

"The truth of course baby." I smiled at her and held in my giggle when she gave me a whole hearted smile.

"Mom! You know what I mean! What story did you tell them?" She smiled at me.

"That we are a very powerful clan, and that the war between the Santo's and the Kiwachi's was proof." I cocked my head to the side.

"Mom, what war? I never heard this story before." She smiled reluctantly.

"I know. I was waiting until you were old enough." I scoffed at her.

"Mom. I'm 8. And I'm already a genin, about to be a chunin this coming month. I'm old enough." She gave me a smile and winked at me.

"Yes I know baby, you will always be a young women in my eyes. You know that. And that's why I'm going to tell you the story now, because you are ready." I smiled and nodded at her, plopping onto the floor in front of the couch she got herself on after the attack. She watched me until I finished fidgeting around, and she took in a breath of air so she could create words.

"Our clan, the Santo's, are descendants and relatives to the Kiwachi clan in the fire nation. They are believed to live in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And they happened to discover it, but they were not allowed the credit, and some of them couldn't stand a clan that beat them in war. So they decided to move to the snow. But, this was a long time ago, and the powers of this part of the clan changed, growing to adapt to the blizzards and the cold. We became a clan of telepathy. We are able to track people by their body heat, even if you can't see them with the naked eye. This is something you have inherited from me." She poked my forehead for emphasis, and all of my concentration on the story flew away. I let out a small giggle and looked at my mom again.

"You know when you told me when you looked into the mirror, your eyes were glowing?" I nodded to her, remembering what happened just a few months ago, 2 weeks after I became a genin.

"Yes, and you said that you would teach me how to control it." She nodded to me, proudly in fact.

"Yes, and I did, didn't I?" I smiled, and shook my head yes.

"Well the Kiwachi clan is not able to do that, but they are able to create weapons out of their own blood. And they used the power to become assassins, shedding the blood of the innocent, as long as they were getting paid well. This is what the Uchiha clan forced them to do; they were forbidden to be ninja in their own village. So they made them do the dirty work."

"This caused them to want more power, and to kill off their forgotten clan in the snow. So they came, all of them, to go into battle with us, the Santos. But, they were not in their elements, so many were slaughtered in the first few days. But then they started to come up with strategies. They became close to jutsus that were different, one even allowed them to shrink objects, or themselves. And they did so, but they were too small for our eyes to detect." I gasped, trying to add drama into my mom's story; she rolled her eyes at me and continued.

"They snuck in at night, since that was how they fought as assassins, and killed many of us in our sleep. My great, great grandpa was just a child then, and he remembered that day like it was his last. He said that some even tried to attack him, and he was trapped fighting something he was scared of. Great, great gramps was afraid of giant bugs because of the stories from his older cousins. He still had nightmares of giant centipedes and spiders when he was a man and not a child anymore." I stopped my giggle from escaping my lips, and looked at her with a serious face.

"He was only 8, the age you are now."

"Eventually, the kage's of our lands were tired of our bloodshed, and created a curse on both sides of the clan. It made them have most of their powers, but the rest the separated clans had to earn together. The hate in that time was too strong, and they refused to team together. I didn't know if the Kiwachi side of the clan died off or not, since they stopped showing up once in awhile in snow to see our side of the clan. We thought the Santo's were going to be doomed for life. But, when I was on a mission, I found this." My mom gotten up when she was talking, rummaging through drawers, until she found what she was looking for. She handed it to me.

"A piece of paper?" I deadpanned, holding it up in annoyance. She nodded at me, motioning for me to open it and read it. I unfolded it with ease.

Kiwachi clan murdered by single man!

It is official that two of the last three of the Kiwachi clan was attacked and killed in their home late in the night 2 weeks ago.

Their bodies were buried today, leaving their stunned daughter by herself.

We have also been told that the Hokage is moving her into an apartment, away from the compound her family used to live in. It is also fact that Suki does not wish to comment on what happened. "We ask the villagers of Konoha to give a blessing to the young Kiwachi; her parents were well respected in this village. I don't know anyone who would want to kill them." Commented a startled friend of the family.

The killer is said to be a wanted missing ninja from Konoha, going by the name of Orochimaru.

I looked at the picture of the alleged murderer, and mentally barfed.

If you have any information on the location of Orochimaru, Konoha asks for you help. There is a bounty on this man, so it will be worth your while.

I sighed and set down the paper, and looked up at my mom.

"When did you find this?"

"I picked it up 2 years ago, I don't remember exactly when." I nodded to her and looked down.

"I want you to go to Konoha, and meet Suki. Join together as partners on the field and enhance both of your powers. For the sake of the snow. I want you to leave as soon as possible, and in a few years, I will call for you."

It was a few days since my mom told me her wishes. I pulled my messenger bag onto my shoulder and looked at my mom.

"How will I know that it's you when you call for me?" She smiled at me, pulling me into a hug.

"Remember these words, a good autumn means a good spring in the future. That is what I will say, and when I do, come back to snow." I released her and nodded. I rested my hand on the door handle.

"Mom, I love you." She whispered 'I love you too.' And I was off.

-End Flashback-

"You story is almost just like Suki's!" I shrugged.

"Get over it Kito. That was the story my mom told me, and I thought it said our powers pretty well." I gave him a playful wink. "Read between the lines is what my mom always told me."

Its sorta short. But oh well. Still an update. So love me (: