Hey! I'm back. Grade ten was a tad weird at first, but I'm all adjusted. I got a job and I managed to FINALLY convince my parents to let me get a puppy! I am now a proud owner of an adorable twelve-week-old Yorkshire puppy. I had forgotten about Fan Fiction for some time, but ironically my sister had received a Naruto Shippuden video game for Christmas. I played it and it reminded me of how much I still love that anime and how I really needed to continue writing! Thanks for being so patient guys.

Story is rated T for Teen.

Ps. I might be a bit rusty, haha

xXxNaruSakuxXx

The Story of Kasumi Kimora

"I-I don't understand", Sakura sputtered. "Have you been alive this whole time?"

"Yes." Kasumi knelt down on the grass, so her face was at the same eye level as the trembling girl's. The two kunoichi's held each other's gazes for a while, before Sakura's jade eyes suddenly began to stream out tears.

"I'm sorry." Kasumi said quietly. She placed a comforting hand on Sakura's back. "You'll understand if you let me explain."

It took Sakura a few minutes to recollect herself. She hastily wiped away the tears that stained her pale face. "Please do. You were missing for so long…everyone thought you- "I Know." Kasumi interrupted abruptly. "I know and I apologize, but just listen to me. It will all make sense."

The pink haired female studied Kasumi carefully, as if trying to determine whether the girl before her was actually there. She remembered her face perfectly; a year had not caused any dramatic changes. She still had that pure porcelain skin and perfect complexion. Her figure had remained slender and her hair long. Yet those crimson eyes caused Sakura to shiver. They were just like his eyes. Kasumi noticed Sakura's uneasiness and in a blink her eyes returned to their normal light brown. She smiled slightly as Sakura flinched.

"I have the sharingan", Kasumi stated. "I'm sure you wonder how that's possible too."

Sakura nodded and then sighed. "It makes me unsure if I want to know the truth about you or not."

Kasumi crossed her legs. "I am going to tell you either way. To be honest, I have just recently learned about the truth of my past."

Sakura titled her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it started years ago. I will tell you how it all began." Kasumi gazed far off, over Sakura's shoulder. "There was once a clan called the Savaki clan that lived far away from the Hidden Leaf village. The clan was referred to as the "Underground Clan" since they had built their own underground village."

"An underground village?" Sakura burrowed her brow. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

"It sounds ridiculous, but it's true." Kasumi continued. "The underground village was located in the Country of Earth. The mysterious world of the tunnels was the Savaki way of life and everything was very peaceful among the clan. That was until one day, a monster came and destroyed the secret village. He took many lives and kidnapped a lot of the Savaki people."

"Who was this monster?" Sakura asked cautiously, noticing Kasumi's eyes begin to water.

"Orochimaru." Kasumi spat, as if disgusted by the feeling of his name coming out of her mouth. Sakura paused and bit her lip. "I shouldn't be surprised."

Kasumi exhaled loudly. "Whatever, he experimented on the ones he kidnapped. It was sick. The ones he killed right away were more fortunate." She paused. "Because of his demon like actions the Savaki clan was almost wiped out, yet one person survived. …That person was my mother."

Sakura's eyes widened. "W-What? That means you- "Let me continue!" Kasumi urged. Sakura didn't protest and became silent.

"My mother…", Kasumi said closing her eyes, "Was very distressed and wandered away from the death site. Her lover had been killed along with everyone else. She traveled in search of a home and desired to create her own family. So, she set off to find a village where she would be accepted into, but ended up empty handed. However, one day she stumbled upon a man who was on a mission. He was from the Hidden Leaf village. He had found my mother alone by the edge of a huge body of water; ready to commit suicide. He fell in love with her the moment they made eye contact and took care of her. She told him his story and he accepted her."

Sakura smiled. She could see a glint of happiness sparkling in Kasumi's eyes.

"She fell in love with him too," Kasumi said smiling. "My mother stuck by his side and he protected her as he completed his mission. Once he had accomplished his task, he took her back to the village with him. He told the guards and Hokage that she was a long lost relative; that she had Uchiha blood."

Sakura let out a soft gasp. "S-So, your mother fell in love with an Uchiha?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes. Luckily, he was a well-respected and trusted man in the clan so the Hokage believed his lies. My mother was granted permission into the Hidden Leaf and taken in by the Uchiha clan. Soon enough, she got pregnant and well…had me."

"That means you're half Uchiha and half Savaki…correct?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah, my blood is mixed. I'm a mutt", Kasumi said half smiling. "Kimora is not my real last name…it was given to me."

"I'm still kind of lost…" Sakura said quietly. "How does this have anything to do with you going missing and Sasuke? Did Sasuke know?"

"Well, I knew him as a child." Kasumi looked down at the grass. "I'm trying to remember…"

Kasumi's POV

"Kasumi!"

I turned around to see a raven-haired boy running towards me. My face lit up once I realized who it was. "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

He gave me a quick once over. My short light brown hair was tangled and my hands were shaking. I was also covered in dirt from head to toe, with my knuckles oozing blood. "How long have you been training for?"

"Who knows", I responded quietly. "My mother has been pushing me to work on my taijutsu."

Sasuke was the most skill boy my age in the clan. His brother was a real genius though, even my mother spoke about his talents.

Sasuke nodded. "That tree looks like it got a real beating." I followed his gaze to the tree I been practicing on. The bark was giving away and the chestnut colored trunk was slowly tilting to one side.

"Anyways, your mother is looking for you", Sasuke said turning around. "That's why I came." I felt a pang of disappointment. "Is that the only reason?" I asked shyly. He spun around, his eyes slightly widened. "What do you mean?"

I felt a light blush appear on my cheeks and directed my eyes toward the ground. "I don't know…I was thinking maybe you wanted to train with me or something?"

The Uchiha looked a bit taken back for a second, but then half smiled. "I hear you are pretty good, Kasumi…maybe we could."

"Come on!" I said grinning. "You could use a training partner! Plus we are both entering the Academy soon, so we might as well try to get ahead of the other kids."

"It may help me get ahead of my big brother!" Sasuke said happily. I giggled at his outburst.

A rustle in the trees caused us both to freeze. Sasuke's older brother suddenly jumped down from a branch, a look of amusement plastered on his face. "Get ahead of me?" He said chuckling at his younger brother. "You foolish child." He poked Sasuke's forehead lightly, causing him to frown. "It will take a while in order for you to come even close to surpassing me!" Itachi said. His long black hair was held in a loose ponytail that swayed back and forth as he shook his head. "Also, you need to go home as well. Training is done for today."

"Aw, but big brother!" Sasuke complained. His innocent face showed a hint of sadness as he looked at me. "I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow."

I nodded. "Okay, bye Sasuke!" I turned back to my tree, ready to continue my training.

"Kasumi! I recall hearing that your parents want you home as well." Itachi stated.

"You mean my mother…" I said softly. "My dad is always away on missions. Seems like I only have one parent."

Itachi placed a big hand on my shoulder. "Just because he left, it does not mean he still does not love you. And you should feel that same way. Imagine how badly he misses you. He still considers himself your father."

"I guess." I said defeated. Itachi smiled. "Come over to our place for dinner tonight. Invite your mom too." He looked over at Sasuke and winked. "I'm sure my little brother will enjoy your company as well."

"Huh?" Sasuke's face turned a little red. I smiled in return and followed them to their house.

Once we arrived, Itachi left to find my mother. Sasuke's mother greeted me kindly when I entered her home and offered me water. I noticed that his father was not around either.

When everyone was present for dinner, we all ate the big meal Sasuke's mom had prepared. It was delicious. I was stuffed once all the food had been eaten and excused myself. I opened the sliding door and sat outside. The stars were out and gleamed brightly in the night sky. For some reason they always fascinated me and I found myself staring at them.

I heard the sliding door open again and craned my neck to see who had just stepped out. It was Sasuke. He took a seat next to me, which caused me to let out a quiet gasp.

"Is it ok if I join you?" He asked. I nodded. We sat in silence and both looked up at the sky.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sasuke asked after a while. "I know my family can be a bit rude sometimes."

"Oh no!" I reassured him. "They're…they're wonderful." He cocked his head to the side. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean everyone else…it seems like they hate me." I felt my eyes begin to tear up. "I feel so different from everyone else and I hate it. I feel…like I don't belong." The tears poured down my face. "I used to think my father loved me, but I think he's becoming like the others. They all look down on me like I'm some mutt!"

Sasuke remained silent for a bit and I continued to cry. When he didn't say anything I started to get up. He grabbed my wrist instantly and I looked down at him shocked. "I don't think that way about you and neither does my family. I'm sure your dad feels the same."

"How can you be sure?" I shook off his grasp. "I hate that feeling of all the others looking down on me!"

Sasuke stood up and held my gaze. "I-I know how you feel. My dad also goes on about how my brother is such a genius and how he so much better than me." He clenched his teeth. "I hate it, but I push myself harder so that one day I will be the stronger one. "

He paused. "My brother is also so caring, I want to become more like that too. He does everything possible to help our village. I want to be just like him and protect Konoha too! But, I know that I will have to train plenty in order to surpass him. I'm willingly though."

I gave him an admiring look. "I envy you. You can get through things without the help of your parents."

"You can too!" Sasuke said loudly. "Just work hard to earn everyone's respect. I know you can do it. You already have mine."

My eyes widened as he smiled at me. I began to think. If I did do that then maybe I wouldn't be treated so badly by everyone. I would show them that being different did not make a difference; that I was an equal.

I smiled back at him. "Thank you, Sasuke." Impulsively I wrapped my arms around him. He flinched slightly, but returned the embrace.

"Kids!" Sasuke's mom called from inside. I let him go as the sliding door opened. "It's time for Kasumi to go home now. Say good- bye to your friend, Sasuke!"

Sasuke shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. "See you later, I guess." I nodded. "See you, Sasuke." He smiled. "Bye."

"You've known him since you were seven then?" Sakura said softly. "Wow, I can't believe that."

"I know", Kasumi responded. "He was so sweet back then. I had a huge thing for him too."

"I'm not surprised", Sakura said half laughing. "It seemed like every girl did."

"Mm." Kasumi's eyes look faded. "I wish things could have been different though. The night Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha's really changed everything."

"That's right!" Sakura snapped her fingers in remembrance. "I thought Sasuke was the only survivor?"

"No", Kasumi sighed. "That night, I was alone in the forest…staring up at the stars. I could sense a something was wrong , but I was too afraid to return back to the Uchiha clan. The screams of those being killed were faint in the background and scared me to death. So, I sat looking at the stars. They made me feel safe, you know?"

"Did Itachi not find you?" Sakura leaned in, intrigued by the story so far.

"Oh no, he did." Kasumi bit her lip. "But he did not kill me. I remember seeing him appear in an ANBU suit soaked in blood. For some reason, I ran towards him. I always trusted him as a child. I buried my face in his stomach and felt the cold blood stain my cheeks. I retaliated in fear, but looked up to see those crimson eyes of his glaring down at me. The sharingan overcame me and my consciousness faded. At that point my world went black and I torn away from the Uchiha clan for good. I woke up in a random home, with no memories at all."

"Did Itachi leave you with Mrs. Kimora then?" Sakura asked shocked.

"I assume. Either that or she found me- she doesn't even remember." Kasumi snorted. "The worst part was I grew up thinking she was my real mother. I had no idea of what had really happened to me. She held me back from the academy and trained my independently."

Sakura nodded. Mrs. Kimora was a friend of Tsunade and was a tough kunoichi in her day. The lady Hokage had told Sakura that she had completed many missions and one was of the strongest female ninjas when they were children.

"But Kasumi…how did you find out about your past?"

Kasumi smiled at Sakura brightly. "You. You, Naruto, Kakashi…and everyone in Konoha helped. I remembered little bits when you spoke about Sasuke, Itachi and the Uchiha clan. The names brought back parts of those memories that were concealed. But, I only truly remembered when I met Sasuke on that mission."

"Wait, you mean the last mission you just took? The one you left on after telling me you wanted to tell me a secret?"

"You're right Sakura, and this is my secret." Kasumi's eyes glinted with happiness. "I knew I had a secret past and I was desperate to discover what it was. I had dug through all the books in the Konoha library, searching for records and more information about my ancestry. Nothing useful came up so I resorted to tracking down Sasuke."

"Were you successful?"

"Very much so. It took forever and a lot of traveling, but after following a path of destruction I found him waiting at the end. I caught him at a time were he was unaccompanied by his comrades. I was lucky."

"What did he say?" Sakura paused. "Sorry for interrupting so much."

"It's fine. Well, he recognized me. At first he told me too leave, but I argued you with him. I told him how badly I needed to know and he was last hope. He caved after a lot of pleading. I think he still might have had a soft spot for me, who knows. He looked like a monster like that malicious snake, Orochimaru, but a part of him was still there. He told me what he remembered and slowly everything started to come back to me."

"Really?" Sakura whispered. "What happened then? You never returned remember."

"I do. That's because he told me to go back to the Country of Earth. He said there I would find happiness." Kasumi smiled. "He didn't lie. It turns out that there were more survivors of my clan! A lot of them had escaped from the hands of Orochimaru and returned home. Our tunnels were being rebuilt and I helped out quite a bit. I was thrilled to see the village coming together. The people there also told me more about my mother and what had happened earlier. Everything worked out in the end."

"That's wonderful, Kasumi!" Sakura exclaimed. "Are you happy there?"

"I am." Kasumi smiled, pointing to a crest tattooed on her forearm. "This purple symbol represents the Savaki clan. They have accepted me into their community since I'm half Savaki!"

"I'm happy for you." Sakura glanced at the beaming girl in front of her. "What are you doing here though?"

"Ugh, more explaining." Kasumi crossed her arms. "Well, when I heard Sasuke was fighting was Naruto I rushed to the scene. I was too late though…the only thing left was pools of blood and his katana. I didn't know what to do with it, so I returned to Konoha. I spoke with Tsunade and told her what I've told you. She believed me."

"She's soft…even though she doesn't look like it." Sakura thought.

"I then asked about you. I really missed you and wanted to know if I could see you." Kasumi said quietly. "She told me about your mission and allowed to set after you. I caught up with you guys pretty quick…it was odd but good sure enough!"

Sakura rolled her jade eyes. "That's Kakashi-sensei's fault! He kept making pit stops…many at bookstores."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Kasumi frowned. "I thought you just called him Kakashi? He isn't your sensei anymore, you know."

Sakura flushed. "Old habits die hard. I just can't seem to help it."

"Hm…I see." Kasumi laughed. "Anyways, I saw you guys enter the Inn, but I was afraid if I appeared you guys would freak out. So, I waited until late at night when I thought you guys were sleeping, but then Naruto woke up."

"That's why he had the katana!" Sakura said putting the pieces together.

"Mhm. I gave it to him and pulled him outside where I told him what happened. He promised not to tell you." Kasumi looked around. "I hung around the Inn till the next morning and overheard your conversation with the little girl. I decided to help out."

"Oh, so did you save Otto?" Sakura stroked the dog's head.

"Yes. I defeated the thugs too. They were tough though, I had to activate my sharingan!"

"I see. That's cool, having the sharingan is something you must have got from your dad. You saw me after you saved him, right?" "Uh huh! It was luck." Kasumi pet Otto as well.

Sakura stopped and watched as Kasumi's slender fingers rubbed the dog's head gently. She took in the girl's bright smile and kind eyes. Abruptly she hugged her, wrapping her arms tightly around Kasumi's back. "I missed you. I'm so glad to have my best friend back."

Kasumi returned the hug. "I missed you too, Sakura. But, you must know that I have to go back. My village needs me."

The pink kunoichi pulled away. "I understand. I'll come visit you though."

"I'd like that."

There was an awkward silence before Kasumi mustered up the courage to say what was on her mind.

"Do you still hate Sasuke?"

Sakura looked startled for a second. "W-What? He's dead."

"I know, but…" Kasumi said softly. "When I spoke with Naruto he talked about how you hated Sasuke and how you two had got into a fight- "He told you that?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, yeah." Kasumi said putting her hands up in defence. "I could tell something was really troubling him. I had no idea it was you."

Sakura paused. "What did he say about me?"

"Nothing really", Kasumi said shrugging. "He just really misses you and wishes you felt differently about Sasuke."

"But, how can I!" Sakura growled. "He was such a monster!"

"Was he really?" Kasumi placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "He didn't kill me, he helped me Sakura. He saved me from falling into a deep depression. I was so close to giving up because I had run out of options, he was my only one and he pulled through for me! Also, do you remember what he said to me? About his brother protecting Konoha?"

Sakura thought for a bit. "About his brother…um…?"

"My brother is also so caring, I want to become more like that too. He does everything possible to help our village. I want to be just like him and protect Konoha too! But, I know that I will have to train plenty in order to surpass him. I'm willingly though."

"Oh right!" She said remembering. "But I still don't see how- "He killed himself because he wanted Naruto to become Hokage! He decided not to destroy his village because in his heart he really just wanted the best for it!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "W-Wait? Did you just say he killed himself? For…Naruto?"

"Yes…?" Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear about what he said to Naruto before he stabbed himself with his katana?"

Sakura was in shock. Was that what really had happened? She had not heard someone ever really say Naruto had specially killed Sasuke, but she had assumed… Her heart rate began to speed up.

"You're the reason Sasuke's dead!"

Sakura got to her feet immediately. She looked around desperately. "Oh no, this is not good!"

"What?" Kasumi asked, also jumping to her feet.

"We need to find Naruto and the others." Sakura exclaimed. "Right now!"

This was just a background story on Kasumi, but more Naruto and Sakura drama is up ahead ;)! Review guys, I know it's been sooo long! Keep me motivated!

Thanks again for being so patient!

~SteelHeartXOXO~