[A/N] Once again I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I've been preoccupied with my new story 'Smoke and Fire', an avatar fanfic from the pov of a bounty hunter sent after Aang.

Go read it, or don't. It's up to you

I'm planning to update the two stories one after the other so we'll see if that works out.

Let's get into it!

Something snapped.

Pain flooded her head as the pressure in her skull finally released. Her vision bled crimson as tears of blood ran down her cheeks. An agonized wail escaped her throat and she flung the picture across the room to impact a painting of the Uchiha fan on the far wall, shattering it and sending the pieces of it clattering to the ground, glowing softly with seals.

Akari didn't notice the glow, preoccupied with clutching her head as agony pulsed throughout her skull. It felt like someone had planted a spike directly into her brain, white hot lightning flashing behind her eyes with every breath she took. She fell back onto her bed and lay there, sobbing in pain for what felt like hours before finally passing out into blissful unconsciousness.

Akari came back into consciousness with the setting sun casting its rays on her face, her head pulsed in pain and her mind was filled with confusion. She glanced around, noting that she was in her room, and slowly began to recall what had happened hours before. It only took a moment to recall, and her skull throbbed once again as she was reminded of her new circumstances.

Her clan was dead, the Uchiha were no more. Her parents and unborn sibling were gone, she was all that was left of her family. Her team had suffered similar fates, slaughtered to the last man until she was the only one left. Her hand came up to her eyes in an attempt to halt the tears she could feel emerging only to stop as she felt the already damp skin underneath her eyes. She brought the hand in front of her face in confusion.

"Blood?" She whispered to herself as she rubbed the crimson liquid between her fingers, "Why am I bleeding?" All she remembered before passing out was an intense pain behind her eyes and then blackness, maybe that was the culprit.

Her eyes scanned the room in search of a mirror only to stop as she saw the shattered remains of the painting on the floor against the wall. While a normal painting would be no cause for concern, simply a mess that needed to be cleaned up, this one was glowing bright blue with seals.

Akari numbly stood and made her way over to the remains of the painting, vaguely remembering throwing her team photo at it in fit of anguish. Her sandals crunched on the remains of the photo as she bent down to closely observe the seal. She froze as she caught her reflection in the bits of broken glass at her feet.

"What the hell?" she muttered in shock as she took in the reflection of her face, or more accurately, her eyes. Where before sat a pair of three tomoe Sharingan, now sat something else entirely.

Her new eyes were akin to a blooming flower, in the middle sat a dark pit which branched out into a small starlike shape. From the center of the dark pit bloomed five petals that fanned out along the edges of the iris. The crimson spaces in between the petals seemed to glow with barely restrained chakra, it was both beautiful and unnerving.

Now noticing the massive quantity of chakra that was being channeled toward her doujutsu, Akari slowly lowered the amount. She was both relieved and slightly disappointed as her eyes slowly reverted back to her original Sharingan, and eventually the black she had had been accustomed to her entire life. She shook her head, a bit lightheaded, and decided to worry about her eyes later, turning her attention back toward the seal.

It only took a moment of scrutiny for Akari to recognize the seal. It was a three tier family storage seal, extremely common for most clans as it was both simple to modify and hard to break without destroying the contents. Even Akari herself with her limited knowledge in sealing had been able to create one when she was younger, although she barely ever used the thing given how convoluted it was to open.

The seal was separated into three rings or tiers, hence the name. The first ring was the chakra tier, the opener would channel chakra into the seal to unock the first ring. If you couldn't channel chakra, you couldn't open the first ring. This was mostly to make sure no civilians messed with the seal and triggered the traps hidden in most of them. It was a simple matter for Akari to open.

The second tier was the blood tier, pretty self explanatory. Anyone without a blood relation to the creator couldn't open this tier. This was usually the tier that most clan's modified the seal. Akari knew that the Inuzuka required a ninkin's blood as well as their own to open this teir thanks to Haruka, and a momentary glance at the seal gave her all she needed to know about how this particular seal was modified. Along the edge of the blood teir was a secondary ring of seals.

The secondary ring surrounding the first indicated the need for an active Sharingan to open the blood teir. It was common practice for most Uchiha families with active shinobi, mostly to stop snooping children. And luckily for her, she had activated her weeks prior or else whe would have been stopped here. She reached up to the bloody skin under her eye and swiped the blood on the seal, receiving a soft red glow in response.

The final ring was simultaneously the most difficult to open and the most likely to be trapped. It was the elemental infusion tier, requiring one to channel the required element into the seal. This one required Earth, Water, and Fire, this also indicated that Akari's mother and father were the one's responsible for the seal's creation.

Her mother was the only Uchiha in the clan with earth as a main nature and her father's secondary nature was water, owing to the fact that his own father was from Kiri and had married into the clan via his mother. The fire was self explanatory, nearly every Konoha ninja had a fire nature, that wasn't even mentioning the family of pyromaniacs that was the Uchiha clan.

Now normally this wouldn't be an issue, except for the fact that Akari's main chakra natures were earth and fire. Earth chakra didn't like to be channled into anything but the earth because duh. Fire chakra on the other hand loved to be channled into things except it was difficult to control once it was, not an issue when it's steel but a ricepaper painting was a different matter all together. She didn't have a water nature at all, it having been diluted through the two generations prior, athough she could use it for basic things like filling a cantine.

Now she may have been able to channel these natures into the seal one at a time with some difficult but simultaneously? There wasn't a chance in hell.

Akari sat there in confusion, why would her parent's make a seal so clearly meant for her with the full knowledge that she coudn't open it. She activated her Sharingan to study the seal more closely, hopeful that she had simply missed something. Her eyes flicked over the seal, hoping to recognize anything that would assist her in opening it when she spied something that made her stop.

"Is that…?" Woven into the third ring of the seal so tightly it was almost invisible, was another set of seals, one's she thought recognized. Unsealing Rumi with a puff of smoke, Akari held it up to the seal to reveal what she had suspected. The seals woven into the third ring were an exact match for those on her weapon.

Taking a deep breath and hoping she wouldn't die in a fiery explosion, Akari channled chakra into the silvery chains of her weapon and directed the flow of chakra conductive liquid metal into the seal. There was a tense moment of silence before the seal lit up a bright white and unraveled completely, depositing it's contents onto the floor with a puff of smoke.

Akari let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, glad both she and her house were not on fire. She resealed Rumi and took a look at what the seal had produce. There on her floor sat a map, a note, a key, and a jar full of green liquid in which floated two round objects.

Bending down, Akari picked up the note and began to read, breath hitching as she recognized her father's handwriting.

Dear Akari,

It has been over a week since you left on your mission to the Land of Forest and I am beginning to fear the worst. If you are still alive however, I know you will find this note. The seals on the painting are attuned to mine and your mother's chakra so finding it should be easy with your skills in chakra sensing. I fear however, we will not be there should you return.

I am truly sorry things turned out this way, but some part of me knew this was inevitable. Since the Kyuubi attack, things between the Uchiha and the village proper have been heating up. It was only a matter of time before things came to a head. Although I am sure now that outside forces are at play.

The screams of our clansmen ring though the streets as they are cut down by an unknown assailant and even though the compound is abuzz with noise and fear, I know that no help will come. I know it in my heart that tonight is the Uchiha clan's last.

As I am writing this, your mother is battling the man who would seek to destroy all that we are. I am doubtful she will win, Hiyori is one of the most powerful ninja in the clan but the man she is facing seems more demon than man. Attacks slip right through him as if he is made of smoke and yet his attacks always seem to find their mark. Even with her massive chakra reserves, I fear that Hiyori will not last much longer.

Even worse, from the feel of the man's chakra, he is an Uchiha. Possibly a traitor to the clan or an outsider made from an illicit affair. It does not matter, what does matter is that he is proving more than a match for your mother.

Which is why I must hurry to write this letter so that I may support her in battle. There are several things I must tell you before my time comes.

First thing's first. Your mother and I are so very proud of you. Ever since you were young we could see that you were special, you had a spark in your eyes that could rival even the most intelligent of children. The day that you asked Hiyori to teach you is still one of the greatest memories she has. You took to your mother's techniques like a fish to water and still wanted more. And even when it seemed your mother's harsh training would overwhelm you, you simply gritted your teeth and bore with it. It made her so proud.

When we told you that learning to use a momentum based weapon like a meteor hammer would be extremely difficult for someone your age, you simply smiled and said you would practice until you got it right. And look at you now, your skill with that weapon surpasses that of ninja thrice your age.

The day you came home from the Chunin Exams is one of the fondest in my memory. Your mother hid her tears of pride as you came through the door in that vest, covered in cuts and scrapes yet still wearing a grin splitting your face. You are one of the youngest in the village to achieve chunin and you did it without a Sharingan. No one could deny that you deserved the rank.

Unfortunately, your skills seemed to have caught the eye of those who would wish you ill. The council is leery of any shinobi deemed too powerful, strong Uchiha even more so. With tensions rising in the clan, there were some who thought you should be taken away, inducted into a more secretive and strict shinobi force ran by one of the elders.

Akari, if you take nothing else away from this note then please take this. Danzo Shimura is a dangerous man. One with far too many fingers in far too many pies. For your own safety, please, leave the village as soon as possible. With your mother and I gone, their is nothing stopping him from taking you and shoving you into a box so far down you will never see the light of day again.

He has always been ambitious, ambitious enough to destroy an entire clan just to acquire their kekkei genkai I do not know. What I do know is as long as you remain in the village you are not safe. That man has an obsession with the Sharingan, or more accurately, what the Sharingan can become.

You see, while the our clan's doujutsu is extremely powerful, it has the ability to become even more so. Trauma is the key to activating the Uchiha kekkei genkai in all of it's stages, from a single tomoe all the way to three. Most Uchiha unlock their Sharingan in a life of death situation and continue to evolve it from there until they finally unlock the three tomoe stage. However, if the trauma is significant enough, it may unlock the ultimate form of our family's doujutsu.

The Mangekyo Sharingan.

According to Uchiha legend this evolution was first unlocked by the greatest of us Madara Uchiha, when he witnessed the death of someone close to him. He recalled a burning sensation in his eyes and pain so great he almost lost consciousness. When the pain subsided, his Sharingan had evolved from the standard three tomoe pattern to something else entirely.

With this transformation came unimaginable power. The ability to create a massive avatar of chakra, copy his opponent's movements, and even subdue bijuu and more where now at the tips of his fingers. Every ability come with a cost however and the Mangekyo is no different as Madara soon found out.

As he continued to utylise his newfound abilities his sight slowly deteriorated until finally he could see not ten feet in front of him. And thus, the drawback of the ultimate sharingan was revealed. Blindness, an Uchiha's worst nightmare.

Madara was a genius however and soon found a solution. By implanting a fully mature Sharingan into his own, he could further evolve his doujutsu and eliminate the drawback altogether. Taking the Sharingan from his brother's corpse, he implanted them in his own skull and became the most powerful shinobi to ever live.

If the stories are true, and the death of a beloved one is what it takes to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan, then I imagine that your eyes have undergone a similar evolution. And in the event that that is true, your mother and I have made the necessary preparations.

In the seal with this note are two Sharingan. One is your mother's, and one is mine. Take these, and when your sight begins failing you, you will have ours to fall back on. Do not hesitate to do what you must when the time comes.

Also inclosed in the seal are a map and a key. The map is a route to the Land of Iron. Go there, find a man named Ginjiro Sasaki, he is the man who smithed your weapon and would likely be more than happy to take you in.

The key is something we had been hoping to gift to you when you returned from your mission. In the master bedroom is a large chest, within this chest is a suit of traditional Uchiha battle armor. There are refitting seals inscribed on the armor so that it will never become too small for you. It is modeled after the armor your grandfather wore in the Second Shinobi War. it served him well and we hope it does the same for you.

I can feel your mother's chakra waning and I fear she does not have much longer left. I must go lend her my axe, hopefully we can at least take the bastard down with us.

Goodbye Akari, we love you.

Forever and always,

Ikojii and Hiyori Uchiha

Tears ran down Akari's face as she finished the note, her body shaking with barely restrained sobs as she took in her parent's last words to her. The note had answered several questions she had, the most crucial being what had happened to her eyes. She placed the note gently on the floor before looking toward the jar, already knowing what she would find.

Picking up the jar, Akari was met with the crimson gaze of two disembodied Sharingan. She gazed into the jar and what remained of her parents stared back at her. All that they were, all that they would ever be, reduced to a pair of eyes in a jar.

She stared into the eyes of the people who she had loved most for another moment, their eyes seemingly staring back before they disappeared in a puff of smoke as Akari put them into the seal on her wrist along with the map. She took a moment to control herself before gazing toward the key in her hand.

It was an unassuming little thing, made of iron and crudely fashioned, it was also the key to the last thing she would ever receive from her parents.

Akari took several deep breaths as she slowly calmed down. She stood, walking over to the picture of her team sitting in the shattered remains of the picture frame. She stared at it for several minutes, ingraining the happy image of them all together in her memory before picking it up and shoving it into her pocket, heedless of the tiny shards of glass now imbedded into her hand.

She turned and walked into the bathroom. Turning on the sink, she scrubbed her face clean of blood and tears before looking up and staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy and her hair was a mess but she couldn't bring herself to care. Not after what that note had just revealed. Madara, the Mangekyo Sharingan, Danzo. And most worrying of all?

The mysterious Uchiha that had killed her parents.

Since returning from her doomed mission, Akari had been stewing on Buri's last words. They rang in her head over and over as she tried to make sense of them.

"I don't know how things work in those clans of yours, but you really must have done something horrible for another Uchiha to want you dead so badly. Especially one as terrifying as him."

At the time, she had dismissed his words as nonsense. The Uchiha clan was a family, some of them they may not like each other, but that meant nothing in the face of adversity, they all had each other's backs at the end of the day.

Now, she was not so sure. According to her father, this random Uchiha was powerful enough to kill both him and her mother, two of the strongest members of the clan. She a good idea of what would happen if he found out his plan to kill her had failed.

She was no longer safe in the village, not while that man was still alive. But Akari knew she wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to go toe to toe with the man who had been more than a match for both her parents. No, her father was right, escape was the only option.

She activated her Sharingan, staring at the three tomoe for a moment before channeling even more chakra into her eyes. The tomoe converged in the center before exploding outward into blooming petals once more. Not that she was focusing on it, she could feel the barely restrained power held behind the red irises. She stared intently at her reflection..

She would escape and become powerful enough to destroy all who had a hand in the destruction of her team and clan. She swore it.

[A/N] That's all she wrote!

See you next time!