Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Waking the Dead

I should not be here. I had attended never to come back after the first time, when I fainted. But when Ryo brought it up a couple of days ago, it became a point of fixation in my head. Now, whenever there is a spare moment I find my mind going back to the ghost district; home of the Uchiha. A place that has not been touched since the invasion; a place not a part of this war. And so, completely on a whim, I found myself slipping out of the guest bed room window of Yoshino's house once Akio had fallen asleep and I had not heard any movement from our hostess in a while. A feat only possible due to the lack of shinobi. Though still, if I get caught outside after curfew, Yoshino will probably never let me see the light of day again. With a small jump off the second floor, I land softly on my feet without making a sound. Iruka-sensei would be so proud. Or perhaps not, seeing as I am currently breaking a village wide curfew. Meh, you lose some you win some. Stuffing my hands in the pockets of my shorts to keep them warm, I wander away from the Nara property and into the village. I think I still remember where the ghost district is. The only sounds at this time of night is the occasional chirp of a cricket or soft scuffing sound my sandals make with every step. The calm the night brings wraps around me in a blanket of false peace. It is hard to believe that somewhere else in the world a war is taking place. That there is somewhere out there where the ground is stained with blood, where lives are being taken, and families destroyed. I hope war is something I will never have to see in person; but once I become a shinobi I probably will.

It takes a couple wrong turns, and a few fortunate guesses before I manage to find a way to the ghost district. I know that I have reached the right place, because just like Ryo said, it is the only part of the village still reduced to rubble. Standing amongst it all, I close my eyes and breathe deeply through my nose, searching deep inside. Do I feel anything? Is this home? Somewhere to my right a cricket chirps. I do not think so. Home was with father, mother, and brother in the land of earth. Now home is with Naruto nii-san, and Akio. Do I belong in the ghost district? The wind blows and messes with my hair, making me shiver. I exhale slowly before drawing another breath. I do not think so. I am alive, so how could I belong to such an empty place. I mean I call it the ghost district. Slightly frustrated I open my eyes and sigh. I had hoped this place would hold some answers for me. Just like the first time I came here, back when I did not know that I was an Uchiha through blood, thinking that I could find answers. And I guess I did find answers the first time around, since I found the house that looked just like the house father had built in the land of earth. But know everything in the ghost district is destroyed, so I do not know what I was hoping to find. Pulling my hands out of my pockets I walked over to a particularly large slab of rubble, probably the remains of a wall, and climb up on it. I lie down on my back and fold my arms behind my head for some sort of cushion. I pick a star and stare at it; wondering if Naruto nii-san, Neji, Iruka-sensei, and even pineapple head can see the same star I am looking at. I will go back to Yoshino's house in a little bit. But just for a while, I will stay here and pretend that there is no war, that the ghost district belongs to me, just as much as it belonged to all the dead Uchiha I never got to meet or call family. One day, I will have to find out exactly why someone, a traitor as father put it, would destroy the Uchiha. One day I will have to find out if I even want to be an Uchiha. When I first came to Konoha, all I wanted was my family back. I wanted to know where I belong so I can be tied to the village like Akio, Naruto nii-san, and all of my classmates. But now, I do not think it matters. I am tied to the village because I love Naruto nii-san and the village is important to him. I belong to Konoha because Iruka-sensei choose to pass on the will of fire to all of his students. I have roots here because I have friends in Konoha whom I never want to leave. I turn away from the star and blink heavily. I do not think I am going to get any answers tonight. Tired, confused, and slightly annoyed I drag myself back to the Nara clan property. It was unlikely I would get anything out of this little excursion anyway.

But that does not stop me from coming back the next night and the night after that. No one seems to expect anything as Akio never asks me where I go every night, and Yoshino has not yelled or given me an obsessive number of chores for sneaking out. I am probably really pushing my luck. But I just cannot help it. The ghost district has become one of the few places where I can think without getting distracted by the world around me. It is the one place where I am sure no one else will go. The ghost district is too heavily entrenched with death. And in solitude I find brief moments of peace. It is not much, but it is a nice break. Tonight's moments of peace, however; will not last as long as previous nights. Laying on the same piece of wall from my first night of coming to the ghost district, I stare up at the sky, but not at the stars. The moon is full tonight; so full that all the surrounding stars look dim.

I am pulled out of my memories by the soft crunch of footsteps. Too many to just be one person. Stilling my breathing, I roll over on my stomach, peaking through the gaps in the rubble to get a look, all the while thankful for the cover that it is providing me. I hold my breath and let my right-hand twitch over a small jaded rock. Worst case scenario I can try to stab someone, and make a run for safety. I can make out four pairs of feet as I try to reason with myself that I am just being paranoid. After all I am still in the village. But a little voice reminds me in the back of my head that I am the only one who ever comes here. I have to fight the urge to make a run for it as four pair of feet slowly walk past my hiding place. Only when they do, do I allow myself to breathe. I withdraw my right hand away from the rock in favor of using it, along with my left, to prop myself up on my elbows to get a better view. Standing about seven to ten feet away are four men wearing identical black cloaks with their backs to me. They do not say one word amongst them. Their most distinctive features are their hair. One has whitish-grey hair that almost looks blue, one is a red head, one has really long black hair, and the last one has black hair that sticks up in the back. What are they doing here? I squint my eyes. I do not think I have seen them before in the village. They all seem to be focused on the man that has the black hair that sticks up in the back. This draws all my attention to him too, a mistake on my part. I watch out of curiosity as the man in question raises his arms until his elbows are point out. I can only assume that he is making hand signs. Should I make a run for it now? But then the ground starts to grumble and nearby rubble shakes as something is being moved, and my curiosity gets the better of me again. Slacked jawed and wide eyed I watched as a giant slab of stone with fancy black scribbles on it raises up, and floats off to the side before dropping down on some of the rubble. What was that?

I can hear one of the four saying "so that's how you move the entryway", right as a hand snakes around my middle and pulls me up from my hiding place. Instinctively I reach one hand try to grab the rock, as the other flails out to try and hit whoever is holding me, and a scream starts to build up in my throat. Someone from the village is sure to hear me. But nothing works as another hand wraps around my mouth, silencing me. My flailing arm does absolutely nothing, and I am pulled away from the ground before I can grab the rock. It is then that I realize that out of the four pairs of feet I originally saw, I now could only see three bodies. Stupid! I forgot to keep track of all four people!

"It seems we have picked up a stray" I hear a voice hiss roughly, close to my right ear. A shiver runs down my spine as the three standing before me turn around with unreadable expressions on their faces. The one with the black hair that sticks up in the back I immediately recognize as Sasuke the moment I see his face. My body tenses even more. Now I really need to run and warn somebody. I had not forgotten what Sasuke said the last time I saw him, about him wanting to destroy Konoha. I try to kick the person holding me by flailing my legs like I was running a marathon or something. But all my efforts get is a throaty chuckle in response. I should have stayed at the Nara house!

"Orochimaru", Sasuke drawls out. "Let her go". I almost did not understand him. Why would Sasuke let me go? Why would he give me the chance to run for help? But none the less, this Orochimaru person, drops me with a sigh. I land a little off balance which gives Sasuke just enough time to say. "Girl. Come here". I look up at him to see determined eyes and a hand gesturing for me to approach. The other two, standing next to him, have not moved once, and their stillness makes me want to get closer even less. With my knees shaking I take a step forward in Sasuke's direction before feinting left, planning on sprinting past the man that had grabbed me and then run straight for the center of the village. I am sure to find someone who can help there. But Orochimaru grabs me a second time, except instead of pinning me to him he hurls me away in the direction I do not want to go. How can a person just throw someone like that? My breath catches in my throat. Inhibiting any possible screams, I could come up with. I am not air born long before a new arm wraps around my middle and tugs me into a chest. I crane my neck up to pear into black eyes that now haunt me whenever I look in a mirror. Now I really need to yell for help. But before I can even open my mouth Sasuke's free hand covers it. Sasuke stares down at me a moment longer before becoming pacified that I had been properly detained from spoiling whatever he has planned. As Orochimaru rejoins the group, Sasuke inches us forward to until we are facing where the stone slab used to be. Only then do I see the staircase heading downward. How many secrets does the ghost district have?

"The Uchiha's Nakano shrine", mutters Orochimaru. Though everyone seems to ignore the statement as Sasuke starts to lead the way, taking me with him as we head underground. It only takes a couple of minutes before me reach the bottom but I know we are down deep because I cannot hear the wind any more. The first thing Sasuke does is remove the hand that was covering my mouth to execute a fire jutsu to light some torches. I guess we are so far down that no one from the village would be able to hear me scream even if I did. Next, he lets me go completely. With the order, "Suigestsu, Juugo, don't let her leave". I ball my hands up in fists. I just had to look at the stars tonight, did I not? Sometimes I cannot believe how unlucky I am. I take a big step away from my relative but try to maintain an equal distance away from the three other strangers. Sasuke might be my safest bet at safety right now. I mean we share a clan and this is the second time he has had a chance to kill me and he has not yet, so hopefully that means something. With my back to a wall, I watch with short breath as Sasuke and the older man remove their cloaks.

"Better stay back" Orochimaru orders as he steps closer to the torches that light up some written scroll hanging on the wall. I guess this really is a shrine because that looks awfully like an altar. Sasuke and the other two step back. Sasuke coming to stand in front of me, but otherwise he pays me no attention. He is way closer than I want him to be, but otherwise I cannot understand his actions. I wish Naruto was here. He could fix everything. Orochimaru places a mask on his face and chakra surges around his body. I flinch back do to the intensity of it but the other three in the room do not even twitch. He starts moving and groaning as a large, ghostly being forms, and looms over him. My heart starts pounding heavily. This really is the ghost district! Why do I have to be here? A large cut, as if it were caused by a sword appears in Orochimaru's stomach as blood comes gushing out. Impulsively and without conscious thought I step closer to Sasuke and grip the back of his shirt. If he leaves to escape whatever this is, I am going to make sure that he takes me too. He does not react. He does not even look away. Five ghostly balls of energy appear. One of them dissolves into long haired man while the other four hang in midair. Orochimaru removes the mask and the ghostly looming figure vanishes. "Get ready" he orders as he kneels down, one hand clutching his stomach. The red head steps forward as one of his arms start to transform in to one that one would picture on a monster. He steps closer to Sasuke and lightly touches him on the shoulder. Sasuke still does nothing. I am confused but only momentarily so as white, blob like bodies, like the one I saw when I was with Danzo appear, growing out of Sasuke's body. I leap back until I am flat against the wall, and this time I do scream. But no one reacts to it. The next disturbing thing is for snakes to come slithering out of the Orochimaru's pant leg and each one constricts around a white blob body. My mind wheels and my breathing becomes labored. I mean, come on! I am not even a genin yet and already I have to see stuff like this! All I seem able of doing is to wish for something that I could climb on to get away from the snakes. But in the end, all I can do is watch as Sasuke returns to normal. Four of the six white blob bodies are places closer to the shrine, face down as one of the others is destroyed by the redhead, and the whitish-greyed haired man pries the mouth of the last one wide open. Orochimaru turns to face the four reaming white blob bodies. He raises his hand high and yells, "reanimation jutsu!" and he slams his hand onto the floor. His chakra flares up so much that even I can feel it. The four ghostly energy balls drop down and each one goes into its own white blob body. As if being molded by some unknow form the white blob bodies twist and turn as they move upwards to form something entirely new. As this goes on a snake like being leaps out of the throat of Orochimaru and into the mouth of the last white blob body. What is going on? Finally, the four transforming shapes stop moving, and standing in their place are four men; dressed in interesting clothing that look generations out of date, and all of them have black surrounding their pupils instead of white. I stop breathing. I know these people. Iruka-sensei went over them in class, and he had given me catch up homework about them when I first moved to the village, because I did not know anything about Konoha's history. These four men have their faces carved into the side of the mountain. These four are Hokages. And one of them looks suspiciously like Naruto! Spastically I remember to breath as I tremble. This is impossible! The dead cannot come back! I refuse to believe it. Even if it is happening right before me.

"Don't tell me it's Orochimaru again" speaks the second Hokage. On the inside I am bawling. The dead can speak! Why did I ever think it was a good idea to sneak out after curfew?

The third hokage speaks up next, mentioning something about some jutsu that I have never heard of before. But it is the fourth Hokage who really catches my attention. "Impossible" he says to himself, and then to the eldest man in Sasuke's group. "how did you do that Orochimaru-san?" He asked way to politely in my opinion.

Orochimaru answers, in terms and subjects involving sealing that goes completely over my head. The only type of sealing we talk about in the academy are the basic sealing scrolls you can use to store weapons, and nothing on how they actually work. I am so out of my league. In turn, the fourth turns to the first and says, "it seems, first hokage, that we've been called back into the land of the living".

The first Hokage leans forward to peer around the second and third so he my look at the fourth. His face is confused as he blatantly asks, "who the hell are you?" For dead people, they are awfully expressive. Does this mean there is life after death? Are my mother, father and brother all together in some different world? There is so many things going on that I do not know what I should be thinking, doing, or what I should be paying attention to!

The fourth introduces himself by his title and instantly the first becomes more welcoming. The conversation quickly turns to the state of the village, and ends with the first asking the fourth who the fifth hokage is. But it is Orochimaru who answers, "your granddaughter, Tsunade-hime".

The look on the first's face becomes distraught in an almost comical manner for all who are watching. I guess the dead still have feelings as well. "Tsunade" he seems to say to himself. "Is the village alright?" He asked. Causing the fourth to ask why the first was concerned. "Well she was my first grandchild so I spoiled her and she picked up on my gambling habit" Then unpredictably the first throws back his head and laughs. As if being reckless with money is just a joke. How did he ever manger becoming hokage?

The second takes the first's laughter as a good time to reflect on why he was back on the dead. Which turned into another conversation about jutsu that I do not understand. Stupid dead, and old shinobi and their overly complicated jutsu. But somehow the jutsu explanation causes the second to accuse Orochimaru of attacking Konoha a second time. Which means he has hurt Konoha before? I look towards the exit. Maybe I should try to make a run for it again and find help. But I am surrounded by a bunch of hokage. Maybe they can help, even if they are dead. But Orochimaru placates that he is not trying to hurt Konoha this time. And the next person to speak is Sasuke. "I am Sasuke Uchiha and I have questions for the Hokage". In a complete state of discomfort do to my heart pounding in my chest I think that questions, and just questions, is good. Questions does not lead to bloodshed, as far as I know. The third took a step forward, amazed that the man he saw was Sasuke Uchiha. I guess he would have known Sasuke at a younger age.

But his recognition is not fully taken into account as the second breaks in with some comment about how the Uchiha are always with the wrong crowd. Are the Uchiha bad? But the question does not linger in my mind as Sasuke wastes no time. Ignoring all the other hokage he asked the third, "Why did you make Itachi do what he did?" Do what? And who is Itachi? Another relative I have never heard about?

But the third seems to know exactly what he is talking about. "So you've learned about that" he said forlornly.

Pained Sasuke elaborates. "I killed Itachi to revenge the Uchiha clan." Itachi killed the clan. Itachi is the traitor! I remember that name now! From all that time ago, the day my family was murdered. Itachi killed my family. Mixed feelings of acceptance, confusion, grief, and anger swim around inside of me. I should feel something with this new piece of information, but I do not know what. I look at Sasuke more closely. He killed my father's killer, my family's murderer. How should I be feeling about him? "Then I learned the truth from Danzo. And now I want to destroy the leaf village. But first I want to hear the truth from you about Itachi."

The third accepted this. He explained everything, from why he had this person, the scary man with the red eyes, kill his own family. How this Itachi was tasked to spy on an evil organization, the cloaks with the red clouds, by himself, and to be hated by everyone in the village. All because Itachi was smart, and not blinded by the Uchiha. Itachi did all of this under the condition that Sasuke would be protected in the village. For the first time Sasuke reacts. But who was Itachi to Sasuke? Why would Itachi want to protect Sasuke? I am so tired of not knowing things.

The second speaks, calling the Uchiha a cursed clan. I have to agree with him, if being an Uchiha means having your family killed. Maybe it would be better to just be Manami, Manami of Konoha, and nothing else. But then the second takes it a step further, saying "the Uchiha is a clan possessed by evil." But then was father evil? Am I evil? I do not think I like the second Hokage. Upon questioning the second goes into an explanation. Something about love and hate that I do not understand. Something about loving someone so much that when that person is lost the love turns to hate. But that does not make sense. Naruto nii-san lost his teacher, Jiraiya, and he did not become hateful. If anything, he became stronger. Why would it be different for the Uchiha?

The first interrupts. "Stop this brother. You are speaking to an innocent Uchiha child"

But Sasuke disagrees. "I am neither a child or innocent". He said opening his eyes, revealing a form of the sharigan. "But I ask you, first hokage, what does it mean to be a village? What does it mean to be a shinobi?" He sounds so angry. My knees knock against each other. I think there is a lot here I do not know about. Which brings the question of why I am even here? I should have stayed inside tonight. "I will hear your response and decide then whether or not to destroy the leaf for vengeance."

Something snaps inside of me. Everything is just too much. First the war with Naruto nii-san and Neji being gone. Then the academy being shut done because Iruka-sensei has to fight in the war too. Then this Orochimaru might have been attacking the village, and now he is not. But there is still the chance that Sasuke will. I cannot take it anymore. I forget that I am in the same room as talking dead people, or that everyone here is vastily more powerful than I am. I forget that I am just an academy student. And for the first time this night I speak up. "No, you cannot!" I yell at Sasuke, drawing everyone's attention to me. But I do not notice as my chest heaves, and I ball my hands into fists. Pure emotion has me taking a step away from the wall and closer to my only relative. "I-I will not let you" I stutter, ignoring the lunacy of that statement. "I will not let you hurt my friends, or Konoha. I will not let you destroy Naruto nii-san's home!" My voice seems to bounce off the walls. And in that moment, I come back to myself. I meant every word I said. But after saying all that, I know that no matter how hard I try I will not succeed. In fury, I close my eyes, surprised by the burning sensation I feel from them. Maybe if I use the katon jutsu I can burn everything; the shrine, everything in it, and send the dead back to their graves. Then Sasuke cannot get his answers, and he will not be able to attack the village. Maybe…

"Aw" a voice says, surprisingly happy despite all that has been said. I open my eyes, moist with contained tears, to see the blonde fourth Hokage squatting in front of me. "You know Naruto. How is he?" He asked smiling at me. Showing me that the dead can smile. I blink. How does he know Naruto? My confusion must show because the fourth elaborates. "I'm his father you see" he said sheepishly, rubbing his blonde spikey hair.

I stare at him. I guess that is why he looks so much like Naruto. "He is" I started to say. How do you tell someone who is dead that their son is fighting in a war and is probably in great danger? "He eats way too much ramen. And whenever I see him he is always smiling. Everyone likes him even if he is a little too loud, and not the sharpest kunai in the pouch." Speaking of my adoptive brother warms me, even if it is just a little. I look down. "We are neighbors. He goes on a lot of missions, but when he is home he watches out for me. He buys me ramen, even though I do not really want it, and he took care of me when I was sick once, or at least he tried too. That is why I call him my brother. He is the only family I have." I vaguely hope that statement does not hurt Sasuke, but it is the honest truth. "I try to watch out for him too, but he is a lot bigger than I am so there is not much I can do" One lone tear breaks free and runs down my right cheek. "And now he is fighting in the war, and I do- I do not know where he is" I said choking up, hiccuping on trapped sobs. I wonder how much I said was actually coherent.

But the sentiment seems to have been understood. A hand rubbing the top of my head causes me to look up into the dead face of the fourth hokage. I shiver a little; a dead person is touching me. "Thank you" he tells me, smiling gently. "thank you for caring so much about my son." He stops rubbing my head but does not remover his hand. "What is your name?" he asked.

My name? Does it really matter? "Manami" I said a little unsure, before finalizing. "Just Manami".

The fourth Hokage opens his mouth to say something else but Sasuke seems to have disagreed with my statement. "She's an Uchiha. The daughter of another survivor whom Itachi missed, and escaped to a different country. She's another life this village has ruined".

I shake my head, as the fourth withdraws his hand, though he remains close. Konoha did not ruin my life. Konoha helped me rebuild my life. Though it is the second Hokage's turn to talk now. Muttering something negative about the nature of the Uchiha clan, his chakra suddenly flares. The pressure in its sheer power is unbearable. Even though the other Hokage seem unaffected, the others get into a fighting stance, with Juugo the red head moving in front of Sasuke to protect him, and the other one cowers behind Orochimaru, looking like he is melting. While I collapse, falling to my knees. The fourth hokage's hand catches me, and keeps me from landing on my face by holding up my chest. I retch, losing what was in my stomach from dinner. This is true power. Compared to everyone else in this room, I might as well be an ant. My ears are ringing so I do not hear what happens next. I cannot hear anything at all, or even look up and away from my own vomit until the explosion of chakra ends, and the sound of laughter fills the room. "Sorry, Sorry" says the first hokage as the fourth helps me to sit up straight. I focus on breathing. And just like that everyone moves on; somehow.

The talk turns to time and about the war, and more things that I know nothing about. The fourth Hokage moves away from me with one final pat to my head, to join the rest of the hokage. After a brief struggle of wills, which to be honest, I am in no state to pay a lot of attention to, the first starts to answer Sasuke's questions. Which really just turns out to be story time. My head bobs. I just want this to be over. At the end of it, a story that I will never be able to find in any history book, Sasuke reflects on everything. From the Hokage's words, to his feelings, to what is at stake, and to what happened to this Itachi person. The hokage take turns making a few last points to made sure Sasuke had all the information they think he needs. And then Sasuke answered, "I'm going to join the battle. I am not going to let Itachi and everything he fought for writher to nothing".

At once the eight of them jump into action. The Hokage take the lead; racing out of the exit. Though the fourth pauses in front of me. "Have faith. I will do everything I can to help Naruto. Take care Manami Uchiha", and he was gone before I could even blink.

Orochimaru and the other two leave next. Leaving behind Sasuke, who also pauses before me. "Tell no one about what you saw tonight" he ordered, before thumping me on my neck. My eyes close, and I succumb to unconsciousness, praying that I will not wake up in my own vomit.