Gosh, sorry for the long wait folks!

Special thanks to Uchiha.S, my beta, who has to put up with my idiot spelling mistakes. Thanks thanks thanks so much to all my wonderful readers and reviewers; I think I treasure reviews to this story more than any other *sobs loudly*

Thanks also to my anonymous reviewer serenade for her seriously sweet review:) Since I can't PM you, I'll thank you here. You really made my day!

You guys remember Akemi, from "Ain't Nobody Who Can Sing Like Me," right? Well, she's back and she's got a story to tell. Be sure to pay special attention to the end of the first part; there are some important plot-twists-no-jutsu that happen, whahaha!

So thanks guys. Here's the next installment, enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Uchiha Underground

Singing prayers to the dead,

All cold and dumb in their graves;

War is the trumpeting of idiots,

Her soldiers ignorant slaves.

~Verse XII of the First Book of Akash

Yuki blearily regarded her reflection in the mirror, her eyes rimmed with red and swollen from crying all night. She held a container of foundation in her hand, but was unsure of how to wield it. Cosmetics, unlike weapons, were a tool with which she was unfamiliar. Thankfully, despite her ineptitude, after a few swipes with the facial brush she had pilfered from her mother's bathroom, her face began to look less zombie-like.

After finishing her ministrations, Yuki crept down the stairs to the kitchen. She had before her yet another painful day of missions with her so-called 'team'; to say that she was not looking forward to it would be a gross understatement. The day had barely begun, and already she loathed it. After the last creaking stair had been safely and silently navigated, she entered the kitchen and grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit before making her way to the door—

"Troll, wait."

Yuki barely stifled her groan at the sound of her mother's voice; she had been hoping to avoid Sakura and the rest of her family that morning. Annoyed, Yuki turned around and muttered, "What do you want, okaasan?"

Sakura ignored Yuki's displeasure and replied brightly, "We're visiting Akemi-baachan today, remember? She needs help weeding her garden."

Yuki blinked. There was nothing more in the world that Yuki would rather do than see baachan—in fact, Yuki had a nagging suspicion that it was dreadfully important to see Akemi, for some reason—but work always came before pleasure. "Okaasan, I was going to meet with my team—"

"On a Saturday?" Sakura replied skeptically.

"Oh." Yuki scratched her head; apparently it was the weekend. She felt a bit sheepish, but she brightened at the prospect of seeing her beloved grandmother instead of suffering her team's company. And if I'm lucky, it will be just mom and I who will go to baachan's house—I don't feel like dealing with anyone else today. "Okasaan?"

"Hmm?" Sakura asked, pulling on her coat.

Yuki tried to keep her tone even as she asked, "By we, do you mean...?"

"Just you and me," Sakura replied with a grin as she tossed Yuki her own overcoat. Yuki grimaced at having to wear an extra layer, but she put it on all the same.

"What about otousan?"

"Otousan is going to be...resting today, and Hinata-sama is going to be looking after your siblings. It's just me and you, Yuki. Baachan said she wanted to spend some one-on-one time with you today."

Yuki visibly brightened and Sakura nodded to herself. Yuki hadn't gone to see baachan in quite some time, and Sakura was certain the visit would be a balm for Yuki's frayed nerves. Of course, what Sakura had glossed over was the fact that Sasuke was actually going to be training with Naruto while Hinata took the kids to a movie, but Sakura didn't really want to get into the fact that Sasuke had developed a quasi-rinnegan overnight.

The precocious preteen had enough on her plate at the moment, and Yuki could find out all about it once the adults actually figured out what was going on themselves. Sakura felt a pang at that thought, but forced herself to maintain her smile.

"Okay," Yuki replied with a shrug. "I'm ready to go when you are."

Sakura was somewhat surprised that Yuki wasn't going to argue with her, as was her habit, but then Yuki had always been fond of Akemi-baachan. Sakura grinned widely as she remembered bringing Yuki over to Akemi's house after Yuki had just been born, how Yuki had cooed in her arms like a little bird as Akemi bounced her gently.

Truly, Akemi was of no real relation to their family; she was just a little old lady who owned an antiques store in the business district. The first time Sakura had met Akemi, she had been jewelery shopping with Hinata and Ino, both of whom had become recently engaged while she herself was single. (Sakura had been pining after Sasuke, but at that particular moment in time, she hadn't admitted to that fact, even to herself.)

Akemi had revealed that she had been an Uchiha by birth, albeit a lowly craftsperson with no ninjutsu to speak of, who had escaped the infamous massacre by having the good luck of being out of town at the time. When Akemi had returned, she had married a man from the Haruno clan and changed her last name, with no one the wiser.

However, Akemi had retained her sizable collection of Uchiha antiques, and had given a ring that had once belonged to Uchiha Fugaku to Sakura with the request that she give it to Sasuke. Sakura had been avoiding Sasuke at the time, and had hardly wanted to see him, but it was impossible to say no to the kindly old woman.

Finally, through a fortunate confluence of events—that Sakura later found out were the result of Naruto's schemes to get her and Sasuke together— Sakura had given Sasuke the ring, which just so happened to be Fugaku's wedding ring. Sasuke, in turn, had given Sakura Mikoto's ring which he had squirreled away all those years, and the two had become engaged.

Though Akemi was of no real relation to Sakura or Sasuke, they had adopted the old woman as their honorary grandmother. Since Sasuke's parents had passed long ago, and Sakura's own family had all perished in the last war, it seemed especially nice to have found a long-lost grandmother figure. At this point, the elderly woman was nearing her one-hundred-and-fifth birthday, and Sakura's family stopped by her house often to help out with errands.

"Hello? Mom? You zoned out there..." Yuki sighed up at her mother.

"Oh! Sorry," Sakura replied, sheepish. "Yes, why don't we head over now?"

They made their way through the village in thoughtful silence, Sakura chewing over her old memories, and Yuki munching on her apple. However, about halfway through the walk, Sakura eyed her eldest daughter and noticed that Yuki's footfalls were slower than usual. Also, Yuki had a somewhat pained expression on her face; her lips were puckered as if she was in pain.

"Oi, Yuki-chan, is everything alright?" Sakura winced even as she said it. She knew that Yuki's loss of her summons had been a hard blow, and it seemed puerile to have asked her that.

Yuki paused mid-stride and sighed. "Actually, I have a bit of a headache. Would you mind, okaasan?"

"Of course not, Yuki-chan." Sakura almost laughed; as she said "chan," Yuki flinched but did not say anything. Sakura smiled as she placed her hands on Yuki's temples. Some days, Sakura was the only person who could get away with using the informal honorific with her daughter—but only times when they were not being observed, like now.

As she gathered the green glowing chakra into her palms and funneled it into Yuki's head, Sakura's smile faded somewhat. Her chakra composition is different, somehow... But Sakura shook off her anxiety. After all, perhaps this was the normal constellation of ocular nerves at this stage of the sharingan's development. She would have to ask Sasuke about it, later.

Sakura sighed. Well, even if the composition has changed, I don't see anything that's dangerous. Yuki-chan is probably just exhausted and has a tension headache. Just like her father, this one! "There sweetheart, how does that feel?"

"Mom!"

"Tch. I can't call my own daughter sweetheart? Fine, I take it back. How does it feel, troll?"

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Much better," Yuki replied, both to the question and to Sakura's phrasing of it. "Thank you, okaasan."

They began walking again, and this time Yuki had more of a spring to her step. In no time at all, they reached the ancient looking wooden building and knocked on the rounded door.

"Akemi-baachan! It's Sakura and Yuki!" Sakura made sure to shout extra loud so that the old woman could hear her; next to her, Yuki winced and held her hands over her ears.

They could hear a soft rustling inside, and after a long pause, the door creaked open. Akemi was smiling brightly with an apron fastened around her waist. For someone approaching her one-hundred-and-fifth birthday, Akemi looked well; though she hobbled as she walked to greet them, she seemed free of pain. Her long gray hair was drawn up into a bun, and though her face was heavily wrinkled, Yuki thought Akemi looked as wonderful as she always had.

"Well hello, my dears! Sakura-chan, you look as beautiful as ever. Oh my, my, Yuki-san, I do believe you've grown even taller. My word! Come in, come in!"

Yuki blushed. "Baachan, it's alright. You can call me Yuki-chan, if you want..."

Akemi paused mid-hobble to shake her head vigorously. "Of course not, dear. I know you don't like that honorific!"

Sakura laughed as she entered the small shop, Yuki following close behind her. Not much had changed in the past decade: the small wooden room was neat and tidy as always with not a speck of dust, the rafters shown as if they had been newly polished, and myriad trays were artfully arranged on the glass countertops, displaying her antique wares.

"Can I bring you ladies any tea?" Akemi asked.

"Oh no, that's all right baachan! We've come to help you with your garden!" Sakura replied, laughing easily.

"What? You two come to visit me and I just make you work all day? Of course not! What kind of tea would you like, dears?"

After Akemi made tea, they sat for a while, exchanging pleasantries, when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Let me get the door for you, baachan!" Sakura called, bolting upright and racing for the door. Yuki rolled her eyes; just as she suspected, it was someone calling Sakura to the hospital for an emergency. Sakura raced back to the main room, gave Akemi a hug, and was off before the old woman could even say goodbye.

Akemi chuckled as the door slammed shut behind Sakura. "Well, looks like Sakura-chan is as busy as ever!" The old woman took a long sip of her tea before continuing, "So, Yuki-san, please, tell me how you've been."

Yuki sighed. Where do I start? My best friend died; my dad is an ocular jutsu wielding freak; and my summons are apparently staging a coup d'etat. Gah. "Um."

Akemi sighed and nodded knowingly. "I've heard about poor Ryuu-kun. I was sorry I couldn't make it to the funeral. He was a lively boy, he was. Though from what I remember, you two didn't get along very well?"

Yuki smiled wistfully. "That's true. Though we became better friends, later..." Yuki trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Akemi placed her tea cup down slowly and hobbled over to Yuki's chair before placing a leathery hand on her shoulder. "It must have been hard for you."

Yuki blinked back tears. "Yes, bachaan," she whispered.

"Well now, I don't want to bring up any bad memories!" Akemi stroked Yuki's short hair for a moment before continuing, "Would you like to come help me in the garden?"

Yuki leaned into Akemi's gentle hands combing through her hair before nodding.

The bright sunshine felt good on Yuki's face as she regarded the small garden. Rows of tomatoes were climbing up their circular cages, beans were curled around lattices of string, and best of all, the herb garden—complete with tall peppermint topped with purple flowers, creeping thyme, and other beautiful flowers she could not name— smelled absolutely divine.

Akemi, catching her adopted great-granddaughter's gaze, smiled. "Would you like to work in the herb garden today? It certainly is glorious."

Yuki smiled shyly and nodded. Akemi took a seat on a padded folding chair by the herb garden, while Yuki knelt down on the cool earth looking for weeds.

"Ah yes, Yuki-san, the peppermint has many weeds underneath it that need to be picked. Did you know that peppermint tea is the best cure for a high fever? It's also said to bring joy and happiness to whomever enjoys it." At this, Akemi took a long sniff of the flowering peppermint, then offered the blossom to Yuki who in turn inhaled deeply. The fragrance instantly uplifted her spirits, just as Akemi had said it would.

And so, a few pleasant hours passed. Yuki finished weeding and began watering the plants, while Akemi identified the herbs and told Yuki of their uses.

"Akemi-baachan, what is this tall plant here? Is it a very large carrot?" Yuki stopped beside a plant with umbrella shaped flowers that stood almost as tall as she.

"Very close. That plant is in the carrot family, but it's called Angelica, or Dong Quai. It's also called Lady Of The Mountain by the peoples living in the high country, by the southwest border..." Akemi's eyes seemed to mist over, but in a moment, she smiled.

"Oh." Yuki stopped and sniffed the plant, which had a distinct licorice smell to it. "May I taste some?"

"Of course, dear!"

Yuki cautiously broke off a small branch and chewed slowly. It was almost spicy, but sweet at the same time. "Mmmm. Tastes good!"

Akemi nodded and motioned for the girl to sit beside her. Yuki placed her empty watering can down on a stepping stone and sat on the stone garden bench, relaxed for the first time in ages.

"I can tell that you will be very good with healing herbs one day, just like your mother," Akemi offered with a smile.

Yuki blushed and nodded, silently. While Yuki had been taught the basics of the healing arts, it wasn't one of her main interests. Still, Yuki enjoyed the praise, especially because there seemed to be a dire lack of it in her life at the moment.

They sat a while in pleasant silence. Yuki had a feeling that she had something important to tell her grandmother—something that she had been meaning to say for a long time—but she couldn't quite remember what it was.

Finally, Akemi cleared her throat. "Yuki-san... I'm about to tell you something quite disconcerting. But—I need you to trust me. Can you trust me, Yuki dearest?"

Yuki blinked owlishly at her. "Of course I trust you, baachan. Whatever it is, you can tell me." After all, Yuki had known Akemi-baachan her whole life: baachan never failed to give her the perfect birthday present, and she always had just the right words for when Yuki was feeling down. When Saki had been born, Sakura had fallen ill, and Yuki was taken to Akemi-baachan's house for a week. Though Yuki had been only about three years old at the time, she could remember the week clearly.

"Akemi-baachan?" Yuki asked timidly.

"Yes, Yuki-chan?" Akemi called gently as she stirred a pot of soup on the stove.

"Do you think...will okaasan be alright?"

Akemi frowned and stopped stirring before slowly sitting down on a low stool so that she was eye-level with the three-year-old. "Okaasan will be alright. She just needs to rest."

Yuki stuck a finger in her mouth and looked up at the kindly old woman. "Promise, baachan?"

Akemi smiled. "Of course! I know it right here!" Akemi patted her heart before ruffling Yuki's unruly hair. "Sometimes, the heart knows better than the mind. What does your heart say?"

Yuki blinked, and mirroring her grandmother placed her small hand over her heart. "Um...it says, 'I love you grandma!'"

Akemi laughed heartily at that and gathered the little one into her lap. "I love you too, Yuki-chan."

Yuki shook her head at the little memory; in that moment she had realized that oftentimes, Akemi was able to give Yuki many of the things that her own parents could not, like patience, time, and gentleness. It was probably why Yuki was so meek and quiet when she spent time with her grandmother: she had nothing to prove and nothing to hide. She never had any need to hide anything from bachaan, because she knew Akemi would love her no matter what. While her own parents had high expectations and idiosyncratic rules, Akemi had open arms and a non-judgmental smile. And best of all, she always had time for Yuki; whereas Sakura was always busy with the hospital, and her father spent most of his time with her younger siblings.

There was a moment of silence—Yuki finally broke it by reiterating, "Baachan, I think you are one of the only people that I really trust..."

Akemi sighed. "You are too kind, granddaughter." And with that, Akemi made a few hand signs that Yuki didn't recognize before a silvery substance arched up over the garden and formed a dome.

"Baachan—I thought you couldn't do ninjutsu?" Yuki asked, her brows scrunched in confusion.

Akemi sighed again. "It's time I told you the truth, Yuki-san. But you must swear to me that you will tell no one. Swear to me, Yuki-san, on your very life."

Akemi had never spoken like this to her before, and Yuki felt lost. "I—I swear, baachan."

"You see, I have been hiding my true identity from you and your family for a long time now. I am...a true Uchiha." And with that, the old woman closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Yuki gasped.

Akemi's eyes were red with three commas spinning like a pinwheel.

"Who—who are you really?" Yuki whispered, transfixed by her elder's eyes.

Akemi closed her eyes again, and when they opened, her sharingan was gone. She clutched the arms of her chair for support. "Oh my, I hadn't done that in a long, long time. Takes more out of me than it used to." She shook her head and continued, "It's not safe for me to tell you the entire story here, but I'll tell what I can. You know Aya, don't you?"

"You mean—the kunoichi with the sharingan? The one who rescued me?" Yuki squeaked.

Akemi nodded. "She is my granddaughter by blood. I am originally descended from the branch house of the Uchiha, the one that deflected and now roams the Akash foothills."

Yuki's was gaping like a landed fish. Akemi smiled ruefully and continued, "Let me start from the beginning."

"Naruto, I don't know. Maybe this isn't the rinnegan after all." Sasuke sat down on the ground with a huff. They had been training all morning, and so far, they had not figured out Sasuke's new doujutsu. Plus, Sasuke was exhausted, and his eyes were starting to burn.

Naruto shook his head and sat down beside his compatriot. "Well, maybe we should end for the day. Sakura said to not overdo it..." He sighed before continuing, "I just don't understand it. We've tried activating all Six Paths—"

"And nothing works," Sasuke finished for him.

Naruto blinked in confusion and stared at Sasuke's eyes. "It still looks like the rinnegan to me. Only instead of six rings, you've only got two..."

Sasuke held his head in his hands and massaged his closed eyes. "Maybe it's some weird hybrid...?"

"Have you tried using it like a regular sharingan, just to see what happens?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. I mean—I don't know, I've been funneling chakra into it—but—" He exhaled sharply. "Well, I guess it's worth a try."

Thus far, Sasuke had only been pushing chakra in a non-directed way into his eyes. It hadn't occurred to him to try using it like a normal sharingan because honestly, he hadn't thought that it would work. But when you hit the bottom, the only place left to go is up, right? Sasuke smiled wryly as he caught himself replaying one of Naruto's many truisms in his head. Making a few familiar hand-signs, he pretended as if he had ordinary Uchiha eyes in his head—

Suddenly, the world lurched, and just as abruptly, it stopped. Sasuke opened a travel mirror from his pocket and blanched. There were three black commas swirling inside of two concentric, purple circles.

"Well, that's new!" Naruto chimed in excitement.

Trying to hide his shaking hands, Sasuke put the mirror in his pocket and faced his teammate. "Hn. Let's see how it works. Hit me."

Naruto grinned toothily and began attacking. Sasuke could tell Naruto was holding back, but it was just as well, since Sasuke was pretty tired himself. Despite his low chakra reserves, Sasuke was amazed; everything seemed to move in slow motion, and Sasuke dodged Naruto's attacks with ease.

"Try using the repulse-pull attack from one of the Six Paths. Let's see if it will work now!"

Sasuke made the hand-signs that Naruto swore were the correct ones, then held out his hand. A moment later, Naruto zoomed towards him, as if pulled by a magnet.

"Oh man, this is so cool!" the blond beamed. "Okay, now try the summoning jutsu!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes; it seemed like this was a freak show and he was the freak. But instead of voicing his complaint, Sasuke merely formed the hand-signs and slammed his bloody hand on the ground. Nothing happened.

"That path is ruled out, then," Naruto said. "I'm going to come at you with a rasengan—this time, you try to absorb it!"

Sasuke bared his teeth; it was no picnic to be hit with a rasengan. Sasuke nodded and Naruto came at him slowly. Sasuke held out his hand to the whirling ball of chakra—

And pulled back as the tips of his fingers were singed.

"Okay, guess you don't have that path either."

"Idiot, you just burned my fingers!"

"Come on, you're a shinobi. Suck it up. Let's try a few more paths and then we'll get Hinata-chan to patch you up!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I wonder how you could activate a bunch of projectiles from your body...hmmm. I don't think the Asura Path made any hand-signs; he was just kind of a weird robot thingie. Well, that can't be right. When I fought Pein as a zombie, he was able to just activate that path. Hmmmm." Naruto scrunched up his face, lost in though, before becoming animated once more. "I think I remember! Yes, these are definitely the hand-signs—"

"Naruto, this does not inspire confidence—"

"Oi, come on asshole, what's the worst that can happen?"

Now, that was a loaded question. Sasuke clenched his teeth as he thought of all the possible, horrific things that could happen. I could hurt Naruto—or one of the kids, if they happen to pass by—or—

But Sasuke had no more time to think, as Naruto showed him the proper hand-signs to form, but nothing happened when Sasuke tried to activate the jutsu.

They didn't bother trying to activate the Human Path—the one that sucked souls straight out of their bodies. Sasuke would have refused to use that jutsu, even had he been capable of it. Instead they decided to figure out the remaining jutsu by process of elimination. Naruto said that since Sasuke had two rings in his eyes, that must correlate to two Paths. Sasuke wasn't really sure, but he figured that Naruto was as close as they were going to get to a rinnegan expert. Plus, Sasuke really didn't want to try ripping out anyone's soul today...

Naruto ventured, "Let's see if you can do the Naraka Path!"

Sasuke winced, not sure how Naruto could be so cavalier about the whole situation. After all, the Naraka Path was the ability to summon a freaky demon-esque head from the ground that could restore and reincarnate people (or torture them to tell the truth, but Sasuke didn't want to think about that part at the moment). But Naruto insisted on trying the summoning, and so Sasuke made a few hand-signs and closed his eyes—

And suddenly, said freaky deamon-esque head rose up from the ground in all of its glory. There was a moment of silence while the companions regarded the smiling fixture, Sasuke with unease, and Naruto with awe.

"Oi, teme, stick your hand in!"

"Do what now?"

"Stick your hand in. He should be able to rejuvenate it."

Sasuke wiggled his burnt fingers and winced from pain; the giant head opened its gaping mouth, as if it was issuing an invitation. Well, either my hand is going to feel better, or I'm going to be out a limb, Sasuke thought with a twinge of anxiety. He closed his eyes and stuck his arm inside. Automatically, the freaky mouth closed and began to make chewing noises. Sasuke flinched, but he didn't feel any pain. And when the head opened its mouth again—

"You're all better!" Naruto called gleefully, bouncing up and down on his heals. Sasuke sighed and dispelled the jutsu, and the head sank back down into the earth. He regarded his fingers which were as good as new.

"I have no idea why you're so pleased, Naruto. Not only do I have a sharingan, but I can summon two of the Six Paths of Pein." Sasuke balled his newly mended hand into a fist.

Naruto stopped his bouncing and eyed Sasuke askance. "What? Aren't those all good things?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm sorry—I'm just low on chakra..." In reality, that wasn't it at all. Sasuke was shaking, but it wasn't from exhaustion. This power—why on earth would anyone trust me with this power?

"You must really be exhausted, you're even shaking," Naruto ventured in a soft voice. "Sasuke...?"
"What?" Sasuke snapped. He was sitting on the ground, cradling his head in his hands; he wasn't sure when he came to rest in this position.

"Listen," Naruto said slowly, coming to crouch by Sasuke, "I'm just happy because you get, like, a second chance. To use this power for good, you know?"

"Using power for good is not exactly my forte," Sasuke snapped.

"Asshole! Come on, I'm being serious."

"So am I."

Naruto shook his head and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You know, this comes right on time. If Madara is back, then this is just the jutsu to help us defeat him." Naruto smiled. "Just think, it was my son's greatest gift, giving us the means to protect Konoha in its hour of need..."

Sasuke inhaled slowly. Maybe the idiot was right; maybe Sasuke could finally pay the world back for all the pain and suffering he had caused. And maybe with this newfound power, Ryuu's death could have some meaning. If he could protect Ryuu's beloved family and friends with his eyes, well then, that couldn't be bad—could it?

Sasuke closed his eyes, but all he could see in the darkness was Itachi's as he lay dying, a cold smile on his still face. At that, Sasuke's resolve crumpled.

Sasuke had to remember that he could not trust himself. His heart was full of dark brine, ringed with a twisted sense of truth that ran around the perimeter like barbed wire. Who was he, truly, but a misguided madman—his illness and insanity tamped down only by forces outside of himself. If left to his own devices, who could say what Sasuke would choose?

What if there came a time when Naruto and Sakura would not be able to decide matters for Sasuke anymore—if he was left alone to marinate in the black salt sea that swelled in the hidden folds of his heart? He wished then that Naruto would place him in the deepest, darkest dungeon in Konoha.

"Teme?" Naruto ventured, breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"Yeah…"

"It's going to be okay." His blue eyes looked deeply into his. "I trust you—you should trust yourself, too."

Sasuke smiled; Naruto thought that he had gotten through to his friend, when in reality Sasuke's smile was born of bitterness. Everyone trusts me All the more reason for me to be on guard against myself. I can never betray this trust. Never. Sasuke felt a weight settle on his shoulders, and he steeled his stomach to remain calm. He could do this. He had to.

Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know via your kind review;)