Chapter 29

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS Kazuma and Haru will be based on friends from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

PPPS I'll try to keep Tobi's dialogue structure as close to the original as possible. And I'm not going to put any suffixes after Deidara's either; it's really not that noticeable in the anime, and it takes a lot of time.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

It had been a little over a year since my little fainting spell- I would be seventeen in about a month. Kazuma said that he had told my father, but he hadn't come to check on me until the next morning- luckily Haru had already left. We were sitting outside enjoying the fresh summer air, trying to decide when to go shopping for clothes for the summer festival that would be held in a small nearby village, two weeks from now.

"Honestly, I don't see why we can't just wear something nice and cheap; Kakuzu would beat our asses if he found out we'd spent too much." Kazuma complained.

"Nah, I can get Leader-sama to take care of that for us." I replied, saying Leader instead of Pein, meaning I would ask my father to have Pein handle the problem.

"How could you do that?" Haru asked, confused. "I mean, it's not like he'd care what Kakuzu said or did to us."

"Oh, believe me, I have my ways. Besides if it comes down to him disagreeing with me, then I could invite Konan; he'd never argue with her. She'd even make him go to the festival." We all laughed at the idea of Pein without his piercings, in nice formal attire.

As we sat there, joking about Pein being dressed up, 'Tobi' came running toward us, screaming his head off.

"Maiko-chan! Leader-sama wants to talk to you and your friends." He said overly cheerful. I would never get over the fact that Kazuma's dad, Obito, had to put up this charade every day. Although the two of us occasionally joked about it, the screaming still annoyed us to no end.

"Sure." I said, nodding my head just slightly enough for him to see. The three of us stood, and followed the masked man back into the hideout.

Once we got to Pein's office, 'Tobi' went to stand in the back, right corner.

"Have a seat you three." Pein said calmly. "First, Haru. I understand that you were told that Maiko is really Kimiko Uchiha a while ago, correct." Haru nodded in agreement. "Well, it is time that you should know that Kazuma is of the Uchiha blood-line as well. He, when he first arrived here, was told never to reveal this unless given permission." Again, Haru nodded, not seeming to mind the sudden news.

"Sorry." Kazuma mumbled. "Kimiko knew, but she was told by Leader-sama." He and I shared a small smile with each other, then with Haru, who returned the favor.

"It's OK. I understand."

"Well, that's that. You two might want to stay to hear what I have to tell Kimiko; she may need the two of you later." They nodded; all three of us were confused.

"Last Monday, we received intel. that Gaara, the Kazekage, and jinchuriki of Suna was killed." He stated simply. My heart sank; he had been the first person to see me as me.

"How exactly does this affect her?" Haru asked.

"Kimi was raised in Suna until Kakashi Hatake brought her to Konoha." Kazuma answered. "We weren't allowed to tell that either." He added, Haru looking to Pein, who nodded in agreement. "Gaara was the one who was charged with keeping her out of trouble and raising her. She accidentally activated her Sharingan one day when an older teen attacked her. Until then they hadn't allowed her to train as a ninja. That's when she left; she was only six, according to the records, and info we have." Kazuma finished.

I had barely been listening. I couldn't believe that he was dead. I could feel anger building up inside me, and as I had not sparred recently, I knew there was a lot of energy behind it. "Who did it?" I asked looking Pein directly in the eyes.

I had already activated my third level Sharingan, prepared to go in search of this murderer, so when I looked up I saw him shift his eyes to avoid direct contact. "That's something we haven't figured out yet." He replied, his voice quieter.

I stood and, calm as ever, walked out of the room. I knew that my two friends were following me, but made no move to stop them; I could also sense that Haru was a little on edge, probably because he was near two very powerful Uchihas, both with third level Sharingan activated.

I continued out of the hideout and back into the small clearing we'd been in earlier. As I entered it, I tried to calm myself down, starting with deactivating my Sharingan, and taking deep breathes. When I had succeeded in that and in lowering my heart-rate, I just continued to stand there. I could sense Haru start toward me, but noticed that Kazuma stopped him. Finally, Kazuma approached me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Kimi." He said, soberly.

That did it. I fell to the ground crying. I'd never lost anyone close to me, and I knew that I had too much energy built up. I sent out some chakra to mentally push Kazuma and Haru away. As they exited the clearing, I let out the scream that had been building up. "WHY!" I screamed to the forest in front of me.

I released all of the energy that had been building up, into the surrounding area; sending out the feelings of sadness. I noticed that some of the grass in the area began to shrivel and die from so much chakra being sent through it. Up until then I had kept my eyes shut as I'd cried, but when I saw the grass, I also noticed something else; I had reactivated my Sharingan, but this time it was different. My father had told me about how the Mangekyou worked, and how it felt different from the others, and also how each user's was unique in look and strength. I also knew one other fact; it could only be gained by the loss of someone dear to you.

When I realized this, I broke into a fresh wave of sobs. As I began to get more control over my chakra, I noticed that my two friends were still standing nearby. I could sense that Kazuma felt understanding for my situation, but that Haru was filled with sadness for me, and anger for whoever did this to me. I sent out a feeling of apology to them, and noticed that they both began to make their way back across the meadow, to me. Kazuma stopped a few steps away, but Haru sat down next to me and pulled me into his body, allowing me to cry into his shirt.

When he realized that it was going to be a while before I calmed down completely, he stood, picking me up as well, and the three of us returned to the hideout again. Haru stayed with me in my room, until Deidara said he needed to talk to him. When he left, Kazuma remained and soon after, my father came in to comfort me. There were very few things going on in my mind at the time, but, next to my sadness, was the feeling of extreme appreciation for having a family like this; one that loved and cared for me, no matter what.

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