Chapter Twelve-

"In order for you to understand, I need to tell you the entire story, which starts before I was born," she said softly, all emotion on her face gone.

For some reason Naruto couldn't help get the feeling that despite what her face looked like, Sasumi was not calm at all. It was something about the look in her eyes that made him feel like she less composed than she was letting on.

Shikamaru had disappeared, the doctor, whom he was sure was the same woman who had treated Sasumi when she was starving, had pulled up a chair, and Sasuke had come and sat on the foot of his bed.

"Almost two hundred years ago, before the founding of the Five Great Countries, a huge army of highly skilled shinobi set out to destroy all people of a certain clan."

Naruto was confused. That was not what he was expecting at all. Besides, what did she mean, 'her story starts before she was born'?

"In the end, the clan was all but wiped out. In fact, only one person survived. He managed to escape the onslaught and wandered into the land that is now ruled by the Rain. He changed his name and married into a low-level clan. No one realized that he used to be part of the most deadly clan on earth until a child with the infamous Kekkai Genkai of this seemingly wiped out clan was born."

"What do you mean," Sasuke said warily, "When you say 'the most deadly clan on earth?'"

"The clan was wiped out, for the sole reason that they were simply too dangerous."

Sasumi closed her eyes; she looked more tired than Naruto had ever seen her. It was strange seeing the most impassive person he had ever met look this way. Strange and uncomfortable, as if he knew something was wrong, but for the life of him, he could not figure out exactly what it was.

"Their Kekkai Genkai has three parts, just like the Uchiha Clan has two."

Naruto blinked and turned to Sasuke who looked startled, "How did you know that?" he whispered, looking shocked.

She ignored him, gracing him with only a glance before continuing. Sasuke swallowed and gripped the sheets of the bed reflexively.

"The first part is that a person that holds the ability is able to look into another person's memories."

The woman spoke for the first time, "You mean like mind reading?"

Naruto went rigid, "Mind reading?"

He suddenly felt very insecure.

"No, it's more complex than that. The user is able to 'search' through a person's memories, however, they are not able to 'see' what that person is thinking at the present time."

Naruto gulped, that was really scary. A person like that could just look at him and know what was inside him.

"The second part is immunity to genjutsu. The user is not able to be fooled by certain genjutsu or even see them at all."

Naruto was suddenly reminded of the time during the Chuunin exam when he and Sasuke though they were on the third floor when the really were on the second. Sasumi had been confused as to why they thought they were on the right floor. His eyes widened as he came to a realization. Wait… was Sasumi…!

Sasuke went rigid beside him and inhaled sharply.

"And the third and final part of that Kekkai Genkai is the ability to look into the eyes of an enemy and cause their brain to overload, thus killing them. This Kekkai Genkai has no fancy name like the Sharingan," she said her voice getting colder with each word she spoke. "Its name is plain and straightforward. The name of this bloodline limit is the Shi no Me, or Eyes of Death."

There was a long silence before Sasumi spoke again.

"This ability is characterized by the blackening of the entire eyeball."

"Sasumi," Naruto whispered, "What are you saying? Do you mean to tell us that…" He trailed off, not sure how to put it.

"Yes," she said almost inaudibly, "The clan that was nearly wiped out two hundred years ago was the Yamaki clan and I am the sole possessor of the Shi no Me."

Silence again. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but Sasumi wasn't done yet.

"Now you can imagine the Rain's surprise, when they found that a member of their village had this ability."

Naruto had a horrible suspicion of where this was going to lead.

Sasumi was panicking. There was no other word for it. It was different with Shikamaru. She didn't really know him that well and hadn't had much interaction with him before she told him. She didn't care the if Shikamaru hated her, as long as he didn't talk she would have been fine. She was terrified that they would hate her, just like all the others had. She had grown too attached to them and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do about it now. With Shikamaru she was able to close down all her emotions and she told her past in the same manner that she would read out of a textbook. But she couldn't do that when she was this scared.

"They wanted to test it, to use it for their own devices. They performed experiments on…and when they were unable to get any results they asked me the properties of my ability. When I was unable to answer they…used…more extreme measures."

By the looks on their faces, she knew they were remembering when she unwrapped one of the bandages on her arm. Sasumi felt sick, every nerve in her body was telling her run and get away. But she forced herself to stay.

"W-when I turned ten," she stuttered, horrified to find herself shaking, "I got sick of it. I got sick of them-" she cut herself off. No, they didn't need to know the details, though Hanada-san could probably guess.

"And I used the Shi no Me to escape. After wandering around for a few months, I came across Konoha and…" She realized she didn't have anything to say and then there was silence again.

"Well…" came Naruto's voice, "That…explains a lot."

She couldn't even look at them. It was taking all her will power to simply hold back her tears.

"Sasumi-san," Hanada-san said quietly, "Are you okay?"

"Fine!" she said quickly, a little too quickly.

For once she was glad that she had bangs to cover her eyes that were permanently glued to her lap. No one said anything and she knew what they were all thinking. They were all worrying about if she'd seen all their memories. It wasn't that unreasonable, after all, they had their fair share of dark secrets, Naruto especially.

She was shaking again and felt her face contort as she tried to fight back her tears. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she flinched.

"Sasumi?" came Naruto's voice, "Look, we-we understand, you know?…It's okay…rig…right, bastard?" There was a pause. "Sasuke?"

She heard Sasuke exhale heavily, "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, but he sounded more tired than angry.

"Sorry," Sasumi whispered, hating how weak she sounded, "I…I suppose I was afraid. Sorry." she repeated.

"Don't," he said stiffly, "Say that. It's fine."

"Really, Sasumi. It's…it's okay." Naruto said, and she could practically see him smiling.

Her eyes widened and a tear fell down her cheek. She reached up to wipe them away, a small smile gracing her face.

"Thank you…so…much…" her voice broke and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

She scrubbed the tear off her face vigorously, leaving no sign that it had ever been there in the first place.

"Sasumi…" Sasuke said, though he sounded less condescending than he did normally, "This Kekkai Genkai…do you mean to tell us that…that just by looking at us…you could see…everything…and kill us!?"

Sasumi bit her lip, pondering her answer. If she told the truth, then that meant that she would be putting a lot of trust into them. If she told them of her weakness they could use it against her. However, if she lied…no, what was she saying? These weren't Rain nin and this certainly wasn't three years ago.

"Yes and no," She said softly, raising her head slightly to look out the window so she wouldn't have to see their faces, "The truth is that while I may be able to look through you-anyone's memories, the third part of my Kekkai Genkai is invalid."

"Invalid…you mean, it doesn't work?" Said Naruto, obviously confused.

"I suppose you could say th-…yes, that is true. The truth is that my Kekkai Genkai had been partially eroded over the generations of being passed down. I used the…final part three years ago and have not been able to use it since. It appears that I have 'used up' that certain power," she turned to face them finally registering their surprised faces, "In reality, I only have a couple drops of Yamaki blood in me. It is a wonder that I retained any of the Kekkai Genkai at all."

They stared at her and she didn't dare delve into their minds.

"Sasumi…" said Naruto, surprisingly quiet voice, "Do you…" he paused, but she knew what he wanted to ask her. In the end, it all came down to jinchuuriki, didn't it?

"It's fine," she said firmly. He didn't look convinced, but she wasn't about to say anything more in front of Sasuke. It was Naruto's secret after all and she had no business in telling it. If Naruto had been about to say anything else he wouldn't have gotten a chance.

There were footsteps and she looked up to see Shikamaru enter the room again. He looked faintly surprised at the sight of her face, causing her to automatically look down again.

"Now will you tell me what happened?" he asked, though he sounded more gentle than he usually did.

Sasumi carefully contemplated her answer before speaking, "Two people came to Konoha for a certain item," she said slowly, registering Naruto's small flinch, "I deemed it… unadvisable that they gain this item and was forced to impede them from their operation. I also considered it necessary to use force in doing so."

He exhaled understandingly and nodded shortly, looking grim.

"The problem is, however," she continued, "Is that certain Jounin and members of the ANBU knew that these people were in the village before my encounter with them. They also knew that these people would not leave without that certain object unless a great amount of power was involved. Power they apparently did not have."

He sighed again and collapsed onto an empty chair next to Hanada-san, "I see. Uggh…how troublesome."

"Also, I was seen by several people in the aftermath of this event, which is how I suppose you knew I would be here," he groaned and Sasumi raised her eyebrows slightly. Well, it was only to be expected. It was a pretty hopeless situation after all. "Would there be any way that these people would have left without the object they desired?"

"Hmmm….Did the ANBU and Jounin know where the object was beforehand? Assuming it hadn't moved," he asked, leaning foreword in his chair.

She frowned slightly, "I'm not certain, though I doubt it."

He tapped his fingers on his seat thoughtfully. Minutes snailed by and just when Sasumi was sure that he would say it was impossible he spoke.

"Well…" he began, "The two guys could've had just wanted to secure the object, you know, make sure it was still here and intend on using it later."

Sasumi frowned slightly, it didn't seem to be a very good alibi, "Why would they want to just 'secure' it, instead of taking hi…it?"

"Maybe if the thing they wanted it for wasn't ready yet…or rather if this thing is a person, which I suspect it to be, it would have been rather troublesome to carry around, wouldn't it?"

Sasumi bit the inside of her lip once again. How did he know she was referring to a person? Did he know it was Naruto? She was tempted to check how much he knew, but decided not to. She tried to use her Kekkai Genkai only on untrustworthy people, not her friends. This made her think of other things as well. It was the second time today that she'd referred to Sasuke and Naruto and now even Shikamaru as her friends. Were they really? Would it be too presumptuous of her to think of them as not only teammates? She shook away those thoughts. Only time would tell.

"I suppose that could work," she said slowly, "Thank you, Nara-san."

He sighed and then grumbled, "I suppose you're not going to tell me what really happened?"

Her lips twitched upwardly as she shook her head.

"Sasumi," said Sasuke impatiently, "Why did It…that man wa-"

"Uchiha-san, I could tell you, however, it is not mine to tell," he looked confused, "There are certain things that I would rather not talk about to than to the people they involve directly. I'm sure you can empathize," It was a low blow, but it did the job. "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but there it is."

He inhaled suddenly and for a second Sasumi thought he was going to yell at her, but instead, he closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

There was an awkward silence. She could feel Shikamaru's confusion, Naruto's appreciation, and Sasuke's weariness. She caught Hanada-san's eyes, but immediately looked away. She wondered what she thought of her now. She was unable to build on this thought, because it was then that Hanada-san chose to speak.

"Alright, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, " she said in her usual businesslike tone, "The hospital opens for visitors at seven, you can come then."

With that she shuffled them out, though Sasumi suspected that it was only from the shock that they let her. It was only after she closed the door that Sasumi saw the tears in her eyes. A second later Sasumi found herself being almost squeezed to death in Hanada-san's embrace. Sasumi fought off the urge to push her away. Not because she disliked the woman, but more because human contact had rarely spelled out good for her. The woman backed up a little to Sasumi's relief, and sat on the edge of her bad, wiping her tears on the sleeves of her doctor's uniform.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sasumi-san! I-I…Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? Do you want some more-"

"I'm fine, Hanada-san," she said softly, unsure of why the woman was acting this way, "I'm just a little tired."

Hanada-san looked shocked, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll let you sleep then…" She moved to leave, and before Sasumi knew what she was doing she had reached out and touched her lightly on the arm.

"Don't…you don't have to leave…I mean, if you don't want to…"

For some reason Sasumi felt incredibly awkward to admit that she liked the woman's presence. In fact, she found it soothing. Almost like…

Hanada-san sat back down on the bed causing it to shake slightly as the result of her weight.

"Sasumi-san," said Hanada-san, "You know, I never felt about talking to anyone that incident, even my old friends. You probably already know, but would you mind…if I told you?"

Sasumi shook her head, unsure of any other way she should respond.

"It happened ten years ago," She started, staring out the window with a far away look in her eyes, "When I was younger, I was very wild. I would go out to parties almost every night and barely got my license to be a doctor. I believe I might have been addicted to sake at one point," she smiled humorlessly, "I'm not exactly sure when it happened, all I know was that suddenly I was pregnant. At first, I was terrified. I didn't know who the father was and I wasn't sure I wanted the baby, much less support it. I was on the verge of hysteria. I don't exactly know when, again, or why, but suddenly the prospect of having a child was exciting. I began to plan out what I would name her if she was a girl or if he was a boy. My friends were worried that I didn't know what I was getting into, but I knew," She closed her eyes and Sasumi strained to remember what had happened next. There were so many stories belonging to so many people and it was hard to keep track of, "But then the baby died. She was a baby girl." Her hands began to shake and a stray tear fell down her cheek. "Maybe it was because of all the alcohol and drugs I had consumed when I was younger, maybe not. They never told me. For a while, it seemed that I would never be able to get over her death. But eventually I forced it out of my mind and became what I am now. In fact, I never even named her," Hanada-san looked straight into Sasumi's eyes and Sasumi marveled at how bright they looked, the setting sun's light reflecting off them. "Would you mind, Sasumi-san, if I named her after you?"

Sasumi froze. She wanted to name her child after her?

"W-Why…" she started, but found that she wasn't sure exactly what she was going to say.

Hanada-san gave her a watery smile, "May I?"

Throat to tight to speak, Sasumi simply nodded. She didn't understand. Why, of all people, would Hanada-san want to name her child after her? Babies were usually named after great, famous, brave people who did good deeds; things that Sasumi knew she wasn't. She just didn't understand.

"Hanada Sasumi, huh?" Hanada-san said softly, "I like it. Thank you, Sasumi-san. I'll leave now so you can get some sleep." She wiped her eyes and closed the door as she left leaving Sasumi to her confused thoughts.

Sasuke growled angrily as a nurse continued to check him for injuries that were obviously not there anymore. After that doctor had thrown them out some young nurses had found them, saw the state of their clothes and practically kidnapped them. Shikamaru had escaped, that bastard, leaving both him and Naruto to the mercy of three young, blushing nurses. Well, mostly him, because they gave Naruto that same look that he'd seen some of the villagers give him, and then completely ignored him. Needless to say, Sasuke was going to kill one of them if they accidentally pinched his butt again.

It was strange. Sasuke thought that he'd feel sick, or angry, or something after the whole ideal. He was surprised to feel quite empty. It was a strangely refreshing feeling and he found that it was hard to put into words what he felt, at least inside his head. Everything seemed different and incredibly odd. He supposed that the shock of what Sasumi had been hiding distracted him. He furrowed his eyebrows and thought about the past events. It was hard to wrap his mind around. First, that man coming back, for Naruto of all people, and then Sasumi's Kekkai Genkai. His mood darkened at the thought of his brother and his parting words. God damn him. Sasuke was going to kill him! KILL HI-No, he shouldn't think about that. He took several deep breathes and dug his nails into his hands to gain some semblance of self control.

He glanced at Naruto, who was strangely quiet. Sasuke frowned. What was he hiding that Sasumi knew about? And why were his brother and that other man after him? Were the two things connected? Usually, he would have asked, but somehow he doubted that Naruto would tell him. He'd just have to figure it out himself. Finally, the nurses left, giggling after ordering that they were not to leave their beds. Sasuke cringed at this. Evil women. He and Naruto were left in silence and out of the corner of his eye Sasuke noticed that Naruto was playing with the bed sheet. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. Was Naruto, gods forbid, nervous? His curiosity piqued, Sasuke leant over to talk to him.

"Oi, moron, what-"

But he was cut off as a Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yo!"

Sasuke scowled, not only because his gray haired teacher had disrupted him, but also because Sasuke would have to 'explain' to Kakashi what Shikamaru had said was a good alibi. Kakashi surveyed them carefully.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're both okay," he said jovially, causing Sasuke to glower. Damn him, "What happened?" he said casually.

Sasuke growled angrily and focused on the story he was supposed to tell, "He came," he snarled, inwardly surprised how angry he sounded, "And said something about securing something, Sasumi mentioned ANBU and he left." Sasuke looked away his hands fisting the sheet, shaking in anger.

"What was he after?" Kakashi said softly, probably realizing that Sasuke was furious.

"Me," said Naruto before he could answer. Sasuke swallowed his anger for the time being, and listened very carefully to what Kakashi was going to say next. To his annoyance, Kakashi merely nodded. Suddenly, Sasuke realized that the last time he had seen Kakashi he had been injured and asleep. Had someone healed him? Before he could ask, Kakashi disappeared. Sasuke looked over to see Naruto curled into his sheets. He outwardly sighed and lay back against the headboard of the bed and fell into restless nightmares about that fateful night six years ago.

Author's Notes: So…yeah…Chapter Twelve. I think I'm about halfway done, but then again you can never tell! Some people were complaining about Sasumi's Kekkai Genkai being too strong. I realize that it is powerful, but then again Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan is basically invincible. Her Kekkai Genkai is not perfect, just be patient. Next chapter will probably be a little of a filler and then little of our favorite snake-loving, child-molester. In fact, all of the Sannin will appear. I'm sure you can hardly wait. Also, I'm not planning on making Sasuke and Naruto less important than Sasumi, I just needed the focus to be on her in the beginning because you don't know anything about her, but you know about them already. They won't be useless, I promise! So, yeah, next chapter: Of Scars and Hatred II!