Hi dears, welcome back! I really want to try to update this fic weekly, but life is really crazy. I'll try my best!

I'm experimenting with a more economical style of writing; I think I tend to get awfully wordy, so I've pared down my language a lot in this chapter. Please let me know how you like it!

:)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Uchiha vrs Uchiha

What is there to gain by firing

Hot forges and forming weapons?

To help the soldier kill for unknown gain,

Leaving the fields burned and barren.

~The First Book of Akash, Verse XV

Akemi formed hand-signs and a silver dome rose over the assembled ninja, just in time. An ANBU member strode by on his rounds, neatly missing the traumatic Uchiha reunion taking place under the archway.

Saki was about to scream, but Yuki threw her arms around her, restraining and silencing her at the same time. "Akemi baachan," Yuki whispered once the patrol had passed, "what do you want me to do?" Yuki already had scores of bite marks on her arms from Saki, who was trying to wiggle free of Yuki's hold.

Akemi sighed. "On the one hand, time is of the essence. On the other, it would be wrong not to give your sister an explanation." Akemi's gaze shifted lower to Saki. "Saki-chan, I'd like to discuss this with you...just not right here."

Tobias looked up at his mistress, concerned. "Baachan, you shouldn't hold this genjutsu for too long. Especially not right before a long journey!"

"I know Tobias-san. Saki-chan—come with us."

Saki nodded. Warily,Yuki released her.

They came to a lake about half a mile from the gates. Akemi placed her blue glowing palms on the water and the silver dome emerged again, this time larger than before. Akemi explained, "The water helps to echo the genjutsu."

"I don't care about that," Saki snapped. "I want to know what the hell is going on here!"

Akemi sighed. "Dearest, Yuki is being targeted, and I'm taking her to a place where she won't be found."

"But our parents don't know—and neither does Hokage-sama! And you are expressly forbidden from summoning cats!"

"I beg to differ," Tobias chimed in, offended. "I happen to be a nin cat. We are, in fact, a different breed from summons."

"Furthermore," Saki continued, ignoring him, "since when did you do jutsu, granny? Something is definitely wrong here." She planted her hands on her hips and glowered at her grandmother.

"Saki," Yuki growled, "obviously we can't tell you more or you would be in danger."

"I don't fucking believe you! Why on earth are you leaving?" Saki wailed.

"Because I have to."

"That's bullshit! You can't just leave! You can't leave me!"

"I can too," Yuki seethed. "Just—stop being so annoying already!"

Akemi shook her head. "I'm afraid this is getting us nowhere. Saki-chan, dearest, please believe me. Yuki is in danger and I'm taking her somewhere safe. That's all I can tell you right now. Now listen, I'm going to place you under a gentle genjutsu, and when you wake up—"

"Fuck that, baachan!" Saki wailed.

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Baachan, why did you think reasoning with her would work? Saki wouldn't know reason if it bit her on her ass."

"That's it, Yuki! I'm tired of this! High and mighty Yuki, the Uchiha prodigy, so much better than everyone else! Fuck that! Dad's always favoring you and this is how you repay him!" Akemi made a motion to intervene, but Saki continued, "No, no baachan! I don't know what's going on, but you'll have to leave this village over my dead body!"

Yuki exhaled sharply. She knew it would come to this; Saki didn't understand words, only fists. "Fine, Saki, let's fight. If you win, I stay. If I win, I leave."

"Fine! Let's do it!" Saki spat. And with that, she punched the ground into bits, forcing Yuki to stumble back.

Shit. Should have specified taijutsu only. At this rate, even with granny's genjutsu, we're going to be detected for sure. Forming hand-signs, Yuki reenforced Akemi's masking genjutsu. That should do it—

There was no more time to think—Saki was coming at her at top speed. Yuki dodged Saki's fist and lashed out at her sister, but Saki evaded Yuki easily, and matched every one of her blows.

Yuki threw shuriken, and while Saki was busy dodging them, Yuki formed a clone to take her place. Yuki moved into the shadows behind Saki's and prepared to strike, but Saki threw kunai in all directions, simultaneously banishing Yuki's clone while forcing Yuki to defend herself. That was all the opening Saki needed—she charged Yuki with a kunai.

Yuki barely had time to parry.

"You're not leaving!" Saki wailed as she threw a shower of senbone. Yuki punched the earth and used the displaced ground as a shield. This is ridiculous—I really, really need to end this! Yuki thought frantically. Quickly, Yuki formed an illusion that would slow down Saki's sense of time—

"Kai!" Saki shouted before breaking through Yuki's shield and smashing it into pieces. Yuki leapt back, her sharigan eyes whirling.

"You've improved, little sister."

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME!" Saki roared as she slammed her foot down, shattering the earth and forcing Yuki to leap backwards. From the corner of her eye, Yuki saw Akemi leaning heavily on Tobias as she struggled to maintain the genjutsu.

Seeing that served to strengthen Yuki's resolve. With commas whirring in her irises, Yuki looked up into Saki's eyes—

Only to find her sister's viridian eyes replaced by a three black commas whirling on a field of crimson, mirroring Yuki's own.

Damn.

After visiting Itachi's memorial, Sasuke made his way back to a silent house. He assumed everyone had gone to sleep, but when he opened the door to Yuki's room, she was still absent. He lingered at her door, as if he could simply will her to appear, before making his way to the roof.

He leaned against the chimney, staring at the remote stars, before closing his eyes. He fell into an uneasy sleep, where dark dreams slithered over him.

He found himself in a grassy clearing with no sun or moon, though there was light shining from all sides. In that half-darkness, Itachi, his black and red Akatsuki cloak billowing out behind him, beckoned for Sasuke to fight him. Without thinking, Sasuke flung himself at his older brother with killing intent.

Everything was hazy as Sasuke and Itachi threw shuriken and kunai at each other. From the midst of the weapons falling like sleet between them, a pair of sharingan eyes appeared and took up Sasuke's vision, crimson and cadmium boring into Sasuke like a drill aimed straight at his heart—

Sasuke work with a start, beads of sweat forming on his brow. It was morning. The rising sun colored everything a dusky mauve, and for a moment Sasuke swore it was blood. He shook his head.

"I wonder if Yuki has returned," Sasuke muttered. He could physically check her room, or he could reach out with his sensory chakra to check. He chose to do neither. Instead, he watched the dawn dyeing the sky red and saffron.

Usually his sight filled him with joy when he watched the sunrise, but not today. Instead, the colors of the sunrise only deepened his melancholy. Yuki's parting words repeated themselves in his head:

I hate you.

Sasuke couldn't blame his daughter for her sentiment. After all, he hated himself, too.

The last thing Yuki remembered was staring at her sister's sharingan before being sucked into a genjutsu.

"Where am I?" Saki muttered as she took in their surroundings, a forest clearing lit on all sides by an invisible sun.

Yuki shrugged, then came at Saki with a glowing kunai.

"I tried putting you under genjutsu—but then your sharingan activated."

Saki countered Yuki's blow before replying, "So. Whose genjutsu are we in?"

"Don't know," Yuki replied, leaping back. "I'm new at this. But if I were to guess, I'd say it's mine. My sharingan is more developed than yours." Yuki crouched low and launched herself at her sister once more.

With a growl, Saki pushed Yuki back and formed a series of hand-signs. "We'll see about that!" Saki snapped. The scenery changed, and Yuki was cast into darkness. Yuki shook her head and, irises whirling, she shot out a series of snakes from her wrists, their writhing forms dispelling the darkness and binding her sister instead.

With a smirk, Saki disappeared in a poof of smoke and a blinding light robbed Yuki of her sight. Yuki rolled out of the way as Saki delivered a debilitating blow to the earth, shattering the ground beneath them. Though they were battling inside of a genjutsu, any damage dealt in this realm would have very real effects on the body, and Yuki was careful to avoid any direct hits.

The harsh light cleared, and so did Yuki's vision. Before her, Saki was panting heavily.

"I'm sorry..." Yuki began, but trailed off lamely.

Saki braced her arms on her legs and glared at her sister, her crimson eyes glinting. "Sorry for what? Jackass."

Yuki took a deep breath. "The sharingan usually develops under traumatic circumstances." Yuki moved her head to the right in order to avoid a kunai, thrown courtesy of her younger sister, before continuing, "I think I'm beginning to understand...just how painful my leaving is to you." Yuki's eyes misted over, thinking about how her own ocular jutsu had activated in the wake of Ryuu's death. She sighed.

Saki barred her teeth and wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. "You're always tell me to piss off! That I'm annoying, or unskilled, or...! But I'm not, I'm a powerful kunoichi in my own right! Why won't you acknowledge me? Why...?" Saki's bitter tirade petered out.

The sisters regarded each other in silence.

"I'm sorry Saki-chan. Just please—trust me. When I come back, I promise—I'll be a better sister," Yuki ventured into the silence. At her words, Saki's gaze rose to meet Yuki's own, and Yuki cast her final genjutsu—

Reality came shimmering back into existence as the illusion dissolved. Yuki blinked, finding her prone sister at her feet. Tenderly, Yuki scooped up her sister in her arms. "Have sweet dreams, Saki-chan. The illusion should fade by midmorning." Yuki turned to meet Akemi and continued more loudly, "I'm going to return Saki to the village. I'll be right back."

Weary but relieved, Akemi nodded.

Yuki held Saki tightly as she ran back to the village. She waited a moment by the gate as a sentry passed before placing her sister on a stone bench. Yuki turned away as the chill night breeze ruffled her hair and made her shiver. Just as she was about to leave, she gazed back over her shoulder at Saki, who was trembling from the cold in her sleep. With a sigh, Yuki removed her jacket.

"Here. You'll need this more than me."

Saki mumbled in her slumber, "I'm graduating...from the academy tomorrow. You'd better be there, nee-san…you'll be proud of me..." Saki trailed off, her words becoming incoherent, as she curled up under the black coat. Yuki swore softly. She had forgotten that Saki's graduation was tomorrow, and she cursed her timing, but there was no help for it now.

Yuki smoothed Saki's brow, funneling a bit more chakra into the illusion to ensure pleasant dreams, before she flitted through the gates and out of the village. The wind sighed through the leaves of the trees as Saki snuggled under her warm blanket and fell into a deep, dream-filled sleep.

"Sasuke, have you seen Yuki? Or Saki?" Sakura called as she made coffee in the kitchen.

Sasuke bounced Takeo on his hip. "No—Saki's gone too?"

"Maybe they went to train early," Sakura muttered as she made her coffee.

"Maybe..." Sasuke agreed, though inwardly he was feeling uneasy. "I think I'll take Takeo-chan for an early morning walk, see where they've gotten off to."

"You're not a long range chakra sensor, and it's a long walk between here and the million places they might be—and, no offense, but you look a bit bleary eyed."

"I'm fine."

"Uh-huh..." Sakura gazed at Sasuke over the rim of her coffee cup. "You want me to make you some coffee before you go?"

At Sasuke's nod, Sakura chuckled and offered him her own cup while she made another for herself. "You know, Sasuke-kun… You shouldn't take what Yuki said so personally." Sasuke grimaced, but Sakura pressed on, "She is, for all intents and purposes, a teenager at this point. She's going to say nasty things."

Sasuke shook his head. "Everything she said was true..."

Sakura smiled and leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder. "No. Not everything." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I know for a fact that she doesn't hate you. She's just angry, and hurt, and probably confused."

Sasuke sighed, and some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. They stood there in silence for a while, Sakura's head on his shoulder, Takeo sleepily rubbing his face on Sasuke's shirt.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," he said at last, kissing the top of her head.

Sakura chuckled and pulled away. "Good. You want breakfast before you go?"

"No..."

"Come on, you can't go anywhere without breakfast. Hasn't your doctor ever told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

"You're my doctor."

"Yeah, I know!"

Sasuke snorted. "I'll just take some fruit, thanks. See you later."

"Love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke froze in the doorway and met her gaze. "Love...you too."

"Bye bye mama!" Takeo called cheerfully as he grabbed a banana from Sasuke's hands.

Sasuke roamed through the streets of Konoha. He checked all the typical places: the training grounds, main street, the academy, but there was no sign of either of them. Eventually, he found himself rapping on the Uzumaki's door. He heard the slow shuffle of footsteps, and finally, the large wooden door revealed Hoshiko. "Sasuke-san?"

"Hoshiko-chan, have you seen Saki-chan at all?"

The young girl blinked, then shook her head from side to side. "No, I'm sorry Sasuke-san, I haven't seen her since yesterday at school."

Sasuke frowned. "Is dad home?"

"Uh huh, he just had his morning coffee...I think he's looking over his speech for our graduation today!" she chimed, smiling widely. "Would you like to come in?"

Sasuke nodded and entered the Uzumaki abode, removing his shoes by the doorway. "I'll get otousan..." Hoshiko called before taking off down the hall. Sasuke followed her slowly, his vision still blurry from lack of sleep.

"Otousan! Sasuke-san is here!" Hoshiko called brightly as she heralded Sasuke's arrival.

"Oh, hey, good morning Sasuke! What's going down on this beautiful, sun-shining day?" Naruto greeted.

Sasuke winced. Really, the last thing the overly excitable Hokage needed was coffee in the morning; the stuff just made Naruto absolutely intolerable. "I seem to have...er...lost both of my daughters. Would you mind...?"

Naruto blinked. "You make it sound like you misplaced them or something..."

Sasuke took a deep breath before replying, "Can you just find them? Please?"

"Sheesh, who put sandpaper on your toilet seat this morning?" Naruto offered jokingly, trying and failing to lighten the mood. When Sasuke leveled him a harried look, Naruto mumbled, "Um...sorry. Anyway, it's no problem! Just leave it to me!"

Sasuke nodded silently.

Naruto sat on the rug closed his eyes. Soon, the flesh around his eyes turned orange, a tell-tale sign that Sage Mode had been activated. "Well, Saki is easy. She's by the front gate. Seems like she's sleeping—that's kind of weird. Hmmm. Now where is Yuki..."

As the minutes ticked by and Naruto remained silent, his features slowly working their way into a grimace, Sasuke felt his stomach knot. An ecstatic Sora-chan entered the room, but Sasuke hardly heard what the child said. He put Takeo down on the floor to meet his playmate, while his eyes remained fixed on Naruto.

Finally, able to stand the silence no longer, Sasuke ventured, "Naruto...?"

"Hold on," Naruto snapped.

Sasuke bit his lip and waited. The Uchiha had never been a patient man, but with his lack of sleep catching up with him, and the acidic bite of coffee churning his insides, Sasuke couldn't help but to continue biting his lip until he drew blood. Finally,Naruto's eyelids fluttered open.

"Shit Sasuke. I can't find her!"

"What the fuck do you mean? Naruto! NARUTO!"

"Damn it teme, calm the fuck down. I'm the Hokage, and I swear I'll—"

"I thought you gave her the hiraishin tattoo—are you telling me—"

Naruto shook his head. "Someone's blocking the signal. Let's go."

Sasuke didn't protest when Naruto grabbed his hands and hiraishined to his office. There was not a minute to waste.

a/n please review;) What did you like? What did you hate?