"State your name and purpose."
"My name is Miyune and I am here to find residence."
"What is your identification?" The girl handed him a small card.
"Oh, I see. Welcome home, Miyune-san."

The girl called Miyune walked through Konoha, searching for the vacant apartment she would be calling home.
"Sasuke, did you get lost? Your house is in the other direction!" a young boy about her age called to her. She turned around and looked at the boy who had called her "Sasuke".
"My name is not, "Sasuke", whoever you are." she stated coldly to the orange-clad boy.
"My name's not "whoever you are"! It's Uzumaki Naruto!" he fired back.
"Fine then, Naruto," she fairly spat, "can you tell me where this apartment is?" She handed him the piece of paper with the address of the apartment on it.
"Yeah. You live next door to me." he muttered. 'Great, now I have a bitch for a neighbor.' he thought bitterly.
"Since we're going to be neighbors, what's your name?" he asked, casting her a suspicious glance. 'Damn, she looks like Sasuke-teme!'
"My name is Miyune." she muttered softly.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that." he said.
"Miyune." she replied louder, glowering at him.
"Alright. You live in this building, next to me." he said, pointing at the building she stood in front of. "You must be new around here. Let me show you around." Naruto offered. After contemplating this, she decided to take him up on his offer.

"So, this is what Konoha looks like?" she asked after a while.
"Yep. It's not much." Naruto replied. "Wait, you've heard of this place?"
"Well, um, I was born here, but I was taken to another nearby village when I was very young. I was told that this was my home..." she trailed off into a long silence. They arrived at the training grounds, where Sakura and Sasuke were doing an exercise with their Jounin leader, Kakashi.
"Yo!" Kakashi called, greeting his student. "Who's this?"
"This is Miyune-san. She was born here, and she's returning to the village to stay." Naruto called meeting up with his teammates.
"Miyune-san, huh? Nice to meet you," Kakashi said cheerfully. "I am Hatake Kakashi, or Kakashi-sensei to you, and these are my pupils."
"Haruno Sakura." the pink-haired girl said softly.
"Uchiha Sasuke." a boy with dark hair and eyes said dully.
"Uzumaki Naruto." the boy in orange said, flashing a grin.
"U-chi-ha?" she questioned softly, the name sending an alarm through her system.
"Hn." he grunted, acknowledging her question. She tilted her head to the side, gazing into his eerily dark eyes.
"You seem familiar, somehow." she said quietly, dropping her gaze to the ground.
"Well, since the introductions are done, I have a feeling the Hokage would like to see you." Kakashi said softly. "Grab a hold of me, all of you." She looked at him quizzically, then took his arm, seeing the others do the same. In a flash, all five of them were standing in the Hokage's office.

"Ahh, Miyune-san. I've been expecting you." the Godaime said quietly. She bowed her head out of respect.
"Thank you for seeing me, Hokage-sama." she said in an equally soft tone.
"Kakashi, would you please escort your students outside? I would like to see you too." the Hokage said.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi nodded and herded his students outside, closing the door.
"You have returned, Miyune-san. It has been nearly 14 years since you were last here."
"Yes, I know. I returned to stay here, where I was born." She handed him the small card she used to enter Konoha.
"Ahh, I see. Miyune, since you are just at Genin rank, I think it would be best for you to be trained along with the rest of Kakashi's students. They are also Genin. Kakashi, do you have any objections?"
"None, whatsoever, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said, smiling through his mask.
"It's settled then. You will begin your training as a shinobi tomorrow with Kakashi and his students." the Hokage said cheerfully.
"Arigatou, Hokage-sama." she replied, bowing again and taking her card from the Hokage. Kakashi did the same and led her outside to meet with the rest of his students.
"Miyune-san will be part of our squad until we can find her an appropriate teacher. Since the new squads were just selected a few days ago, she will be with us for about a year, until the next Genin graduation." Kakashi said cheerfully. "How about you three get to know your new teammate better?"
"O.K.!" Naruto said cheerfully, as Sakura nodded and Sasuke "hn"-ed in reply.

"So, Miyune-san, where are you from?" Sakura asked the newcomer.
"I was born here, but taken to another village when I was pretty young. I don't know the name of that village." She replied. 'How does she not know the name of the village she grew up in? And why does she look so much like Sasuke-kun?' Sakura thought, feeling rather confused. Sakura looked at the other girl. She was about Sasuke's height, with those dark eyes and bluish-black hair almost as long as her own. She was beautiful, but she wouldn't say it to her face.
"If you haven't been here since you were born, how can you know me?" Sasuke asked, staring at her suspiciously.
"I said you seemed familiar, not that I knew you." she replied coldly. 'For not knowing each other, they're sure alike!' Naruto thought as he ate a bowl of ramen.
"Regardless, why did you say my name like that?" he pressed.
"I don't know. You seemed familiar to me, that's all." she replied. Naruto and Sakura remained silent, feeling the tension between the two.
"How can you not know? You know yourself, don't you?" he said, a faint smirk forming on his face.
"I told you, I don't know! I came back here to find out who killed my family! I don't really even know who I am!" she burst out, immediately clamping a hand over her mouth, but the damage was done.
"Do you have a family name, Miyune-san?" Sasuke asked quietly. She shook her head sadly.
"All I know is that there's someone from this village who knows me. Who can help me destroy the monster who destroyed my family." she stared at the ground, and Naruto audibly gulped. 'Shit! She's talking about the Kyuubi! I'm dead!' he thought frantically.
"And who is this monster?" Sasuke asked, but Miyune stayed silent for the longest time before smirking at the boy with dark hair.
"Well, wouldn't you like to know?" she said softly.

Naruto's jaw dropped.
"What do you mean, 'Wouldn't you like to know?'" he shouted angrily.
"Shut up, baka!" Sakura cried before slamming her fist into his head. Naruto quickly quieted down to nurse his throbbing head.
"Feh. It's not like I care anyway." Sasuke said coldly. Miyune and Sasuke had a staring contest for several seconds before Naruto cried out,
"Oww, Sakura-chan, you didn't need to hit me so hard." Miyune looked at the blonde who cradled his head in his hands.
"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he muttered, sending a glare to Sakura.
"If you're fine, then will you take me home?" she asked. Sakura's eyes widened.
"Are you two..together?" she asked nervously.
"We're next door neighbors now. What made you think he and I were dating? I have no intention of dating a usuratonkachi like him." she said, smirking.
'That's my pet name for him!' an inner Sasuke pouted, but the voice was quickly squashed.
"Oh. Just don't think of going after my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, brandishing a fist.
"I don't want to go after Sasuke-kun. You can have him." she replied coolly. "Let's go, Naruto." Naruto stood up and staggered forward before collapsing and slamming his head on the door frame.
"Oh, shit." Sakura muttered. "Now he's out cold." Before Sakura could blink, Sasuke had Naruto on his back and was talking to Miyune.
"Hey, where are you two going?" she asked.
"I'm taking her home, and putting the usuratonkachi to bed." Sasuke smirked and headed out with Miyune at his heels. Sakura stood there for several minutes before leaving for her own house, since there was nothing else to do.

"So you remember nothing of your past?" Sasuke asked after walking in silence.
"Very little, at least. What I do remember is fuzzy." she replied, casting her gaze back to the floor.
"Well, if it's any consolation, my family is dead because my brother destroyed my clan and left me to avenge his death." Sasuke said as casually as someone discussing the weather. Miyune looked up at him.
"You have a brother?"
"His name is Itachi, and I'm going to kill him."
"Itachi.." she said thoughtfully, staring off into space. "Nice name." she trailed off into silence.

"Itachi! Please, NO!!

She snapped out of her stupor, still quite far from her destination.
"Did you hear something?" she asked the Uchiha.
"No, why?" he asked, casting her a suspicious glance.
"I thought I heard someone screaming.." she trailed off into silence once again.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the complex Naruto had pointed out earlier. They went up a couple flights of stairs and arrived at Naruto's apartment.
"How are you going to get in?" she asked the dark haired boy.
"He never locks it." he replied, opening the door to Naruto's filthy apartment.

She was shocked at the massive amount of empty ramen cups there were everywhere. A vein pulsed in her forehead as she surveyed the place.
Sasuke left her to put the blonde to bed, and he rejoined her a minute later.
"Well, let's go to your place." he said quietly. She closed the door quietly but firmly and went to her own apartment.
"I haven't even unpacked what I have. Would you help me?" she asked the boy.
"Err, sure." he replied. They began in her bedroom, where the bed was made, curtains were put up, a dresser was filled and furnished, and a closet was organized. They moved to the living room, where several photographs caught Sasuke's eye. He picked the top one up and dusted it off. It was a picture of a little girl of about 5, Miyune, and her parents. There was something odd about the photo, though. 'She looks nothing like either of her parents.' he thought, mystefied. He set it on a table and picked up the next one, which was a picture of an infant, but it was ripped in half. It was clearly Miyune, but there was a corner of a blue blanket in the corner, when she was wrapped in a purple one.
"I don't know why it's ripped either, Sasuke-kun." she said, looking over his shoulder. He whipped around, startled.
"May I borrow this picture for the night? I want to look at something about it." he asked.
"Sure, I guess. As long as I get it back tomorrow." she said, giving him a curious glance. They finished unpacking her stuff and Sasuke left with the picture and some troubling thoughts. 'I know I've seen this before, but where?' he thought as he entered his home and ran upstairs with the photo. He placed it on his bed and began poking around his closet for a secret door which led to the attic. He found it and went up, turning on a light. He found what he was looking for right away: a simple cardboard box labeled "Sasuke". He grabbed it and hauled it out of the attic, raising dust kitties everywhere. He nearly tripped over a box labeled "Itachi", kicking it out of the way.
He got back into his room and opened the dusty box, viewing its contents for the first time in many years. There were some small child's toys, a tiny kunai, a blanket, and some photographs.
"I hope this isn't what I think it is." he muttered to the silent room.

He gasped when he saw the photograph. It was the other half of Miyune's photo. He put the two pictures together and they fit perfectly. He picked up the baby blanket and lo and behold, it matched the one in the picture.
"Oh Kami. I have a twin. A twin sister." he said aloud, shocked at the words. The tiniest of smiles formed across his face.
'He didn't flush out the entire clan.' he smirked and kept the other half of the photo out, packing everything back into the box and putting it back in the attic. Finishing this, he flopped down on his bed, feeling tired and slightly confused. 'I have a sister. Her name is Miyune. Is she older than me, or am I older than her? Why didn't Itachi kill her too?' kept running through his head as he drifted off to sleep, clutching the photo in his hand.

The next morning, Miyune awoke to the sounds of a particularly noisy blonde taking a shower and singing.
"I was sleeping so nicely too, Naruto-baka!" she grumbled, quite sure the blonde didn't hear her. She gazed around her new room for a moment before getting out of bed and taking a quick shower and making herself some breakfast. She hummed a little tune that she remembered from a long time ago while packing her bento. After her breakfast was eaten and her lunch was made, she went back into her room and got dressed, adding her new hitae-ate and weapons pouch to her simple wardrobe of a black t-shirt with a slightly opened neck and tight black shorts, and her sandals. Feeling slightly incomplete, she looked at herself in the mirror to find what she was missing. There! She picked up her necklace and clasped it around her neck, feeling ready to start her first day of training in Konoha.

She arrived at the bridge at quarter to eight to find Naruto and Sasuke standing on opposite sides of the bridge. Sakura hadn't arrived yet, and she had been warned by Naruto last night that Kakashi-sensei was always late. Naruto waved at her, but she was more focused on the boy who began walking toward her.
"Miyune, I need to talk to you privately." Sasuke said in a low voice.
"O.K., Sasuke. Thanks again for helping me last night. Oh, do you have my picture?" she said, feeling quite cheerful this morning.
"Yes, and something else you need to see." he replied, pulling out her half of the photo. He drew his own half of the photo from another pocket.
"I found this in my box last night. I thought I recognized it." Sasuke said gravely, pushing the two halves of the photo together. Miyune was speechless, staring at the photo of the two infants together.
"We're..siblings?" she gasped.
"Apparently." he replied.

"Hey, hey! Sasuke-teme! Miyune-chan! What's wrong with you two?" Naruto shouted.
"Shut up usuratonkachi!" they shouted in stereo. Naruto flinched. 'What's..wrong...with...them..?'
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun, Miyune-chan!"
"Good morning, Sakura-chan." Miyune said quietly.
"Hn." Sasuke replied.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, smiling.
*THUD*
"Owww..!" Naruto cried after Sakura's fist left an egg on his head.
"Good morning everyone." Kakashi said cheerfully.
"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura and Miyune replied, Naruto pointing and jabbering about his lateness, and Sasuke saying nothing.
"Well, since I don't know anything about Miyune-san, I think I should test her and see what she knows, ne?" Kakashi said.
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei." she muttered softly, switching into her battle-ready stance and drawing a kunai from her holster. The rest of Team 7 took several giant steps back, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a battle. Miyune bowed her head momentarily, awakening her chakra before charging at Kakashi.
"You know that won't work, Miyune-san." Kakashi called from up above as she ran into a log. 'Replacement jutsu, eh?' she thought, watching her sensei. 'He's fast, so I have to be faster.' She leapt onto a nearby tree limb, watching her sensei as he took out a book. 'I have a pervert for a teacher. Wonderful.' she thought grimly as she tossed a shuriken at the bright orange book. Kakashi moved out of the way, amuzed at her simple attacks. 'O.K. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to kill him or to end up dead myself. This is a test of what I know.' she thought, charging at him again. He caught her easily, book still in hand, but he failed to notice the explosive note she tacked to his book. She kicked him firmly in the chest, propelling herself away from him, sending him toppling.
"Heh." she muttered as the book exploded near Kakashi--log? 'Shit! Now what am I going to do?' She performed a quick jutsu, but to no avail. Kakashi countered her attacks easily. She fell to her knees in defeat.
"I guess you do need training." he said quietly. 'She hardly knows anything. A basic Bunshin was all she could come up with. Wherever she came from, she didn't have much formal education in the way of a shinobi. Her aim is amazing, however, and her use of explosive notes is pretty impressive.'
"So, I guess I shouldn't be here, huh, Kakashi-sensei." Miyune said sadly, turning to leave.
"No, I'm just saying that you could use a little more training. You have potential, that's for sure, but you don't know much otherwise. I'm going to ask one of the other teachers to give you some scrolls to look over, and I insist you study them and practice them. Since my team already knows quite a bit, we'll all be training with you." Kakashi replied with a smile.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, what's our mission for today?" Naruto implored.
"To help Miyune-san!" Kakashi replied cheerfully. Naruto would've fallen if pushed with a broom straw.
"Thank you, everyone." she said gratefully. Nods came as her reply.
"So!" Kakashi clapped his hands. "Let's get to it!"

After spending the day teaching Miyune, everyone was spent. Naruto headed to Ichiraku's for a bowl of ramen, and Sakura headed home, leaving Kakashi and Sasuke with Miyune.
"I'm going home. You two can go too." Kakashi said, heading for his apartment.
"O.K. Kakashi-sensei." Miyune said quietly. She turned for her apartment when Sasuke stopped her.
"Miyune, I think you should come with me. Maybe we can figure out all these unanswered questions." Sasuke said, tugging her along.
"It sounds like a good plan." she said, following her "brother".

They arrived at the Uchiha heir's mansion after a very silent walk.
"Come with me." Sasuke said urgently.
"O.K.?" Miyune said, casting him a nervous glance.
"Focus your chakra in your eyes. I want to check something." Sasuke said, sitting her on the couch. She gave him another look before focusing the chakra to her eyes.
"I feel really stupid doing this..Whoa! What's that?" She saw Sasuke faintly outlined in deep blue chakra.
"You are an Uchiha, Miyune-chan." Sasuke said with the barest of smiles on his face. "Look over there." He pointed at a mirror, and to her utter shock, she saw her dark eyes replaced with red ones with two tomoe in each eye.
"It seems you've activated your Sharingan before. Normally, when it first appears, one tomoe is in one eye and two tomoe are in the other." Sasuke said, activating his own Sharingan. 'Hmm, that's odd.' he thought, looking at her.
"Wow. We look a lot alike." she remarked still amazed at her own eyes. She smiled and released her chakra, letting her eyes turn back to normal.
"Yeah. Apparently, you're my twin sister. I don't know who's older, but I think I know how we can find out." he said, his own Sharingan fading. Sasuke stood up and gestured for the girl to follow him.
"We're going to see our family." he muttered, pushing open a little-used door.

Out of respect, Miyune bowed her head when they entered the room at the end of the cold corridor. Sasuke lit a stick of incense and set it in the holder near the shrine to his ancestors.
"Let's see." he said, tapping the massive stone which he sat in front of.
"Here we go." Sasuke said, pointing at a name, which read 'Uchiha Sasuke'. There was an area which had been chipped out of the stone that was slightly below and next to Sasuke's name.
"Is that me?" Miyune asked.
"I think so, and since it's slightly below mine, I'm guessing that you're my younger sister, but not by much." She stared at the empty space for several moments before asking,
"Why was I disowned?" She stared at the stone again, feeling hot tears well up in her eyes.
"I don't know. I think that we'd have to ask our parents that, but it's pretty obvious that we can't: they're dead." Sasuke replied dully.
"Nii-san, do you think that it's because I'm a girl?" Miyune asked again, tears now flowing freely down her face.
"Okaa-san always wanted a girl, I think." he said, wiping a tear away.
"We're the only ones left, Sasuke." she whimpered.
"Not exactly. There's still our Nii-san, Itachi, who destroyed our clan. The only thing I don't understand is why he didn't find you and kill you too. I don't think he even knew about you." Sasuke muttered.

"Sa-chan, let's go play! Come on, Sa-chan!"
"O.K. Yune-chan!"

"Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
"I just remembered something! You used to call me 'Yune-chan' when we were really little, and I called you 'Sa-chan'!" she said, smiling a little. Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to remember this.
"I wonder if Itachi does know about you, but he left both of us to avenge the clan."
"Maybe. Or it could be that he didn't know because I had this." she said, tugging the necklace out from under her shirt.
"Let me see that." Sasuke said, grabbing the pendant away. It was the Uchiha crest, and it gave off a familiar chakra.
"Okaa-san?" he muttered.
"Hmm?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Nothing. This is a chakra cloaking pendant. If my suspicions are correct, our mother had some insight into what would happen to the clan and made an ace, so to speak. That ace is you." Sasuke said. Miyune's eyes widened as they sat in silence. Sasuke came to a sudden realization.
'Obaa-san. It has to be!' he thought as his eyes widened.

"Are you O.K., Sasuke?" Miyune asked softly, slightly creeped out by the expression on his face. He shook his head.
"There are so many unanswered questions, and we aren't going to find the answers in this lifetime." Sasuke sighed miserably.
"We will find answers, Sasuke! There are still some untapped memories up here. I'm sure of it." Miyune smiled and tapped her head.
"And how do you suppose we find them, huh?" Sasuke snarled, instantly regretting his anger. Miyune's eyes began welling with tears.
"We will find a way. I had an idea of something to trigger memories, but you probably won't like it."
"Just tell me." Sasuke replied, wiping away a stray tear.
"To move in here. Maybe being here will help trigger memories." She said, staring at a particularly interesting pebble on the floor.
"That's a good idea. It makes perfect sense, Yune-chan." She looked up at her brother.
"Well, we aren't going to find anything out by sitting in here. Let's go get your stuff, and put that picture where it belongs. Somewhere special." Sasuke smiled a rare smile, and Miyune returned it. 'Maybe he's not so cold and heartless after all.' she thought, grinning happily.

After a few hours of repacking and moving, Sasuke and Miyune sat in the living room, fairly exausted.
"So what room are we going to put you in?" he asked, looking at her and mentally ticking off the rooms. 'There's mom and dad's room, my room, Itachi's room, and an old room that we used for linens.'
"I was thinking maybe I could stay in Tachi-kun's room, ne?" she replied with a small smile.
"Sure, but why? And why did you call him 'Tachi-kun'?" Sasuke said, puzzled.
"Well, there's already a bed and places for me to put my stuff, and if you really want, we can store his stuff somewhere. I called him 'Tachi-kun' because it just seemed to fit, ne?" she replied, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling.

Sasuke and Miyune began lugging her boxes up the stairs to Itachi's old room, which hadn't been touched in many years.
"It's dusty in here. Mind if I clean and air it out?" she asked, waving a cloud of dust away.
"Sure. You can get rid of his stuff to, if you'd like." he muttered. 'I kept his room this way, hoping he'd come back, but it's probably a good thing that it's getting cleaned and aired out.' he thought.
'I really hope that he doesn't find out that I'm a compulsive neat-freak!' Miyune thought frantically, ready to pounce on the dust-kitties everywhere. Sasuke turned to leave.
"I'll be downstairs making some dinner. Just give a holler if you need me." he said as he left. She began tackling the massive task of cleaning Itachi's room.

"Tachi-kun, will you teach me to throw kunai?"
"Sure, little brother." he said, taking the smaller boy's hand and leading him out to the training field behind the house.
"Now, hold it like this, and toss it, like so." he demonstrated proper throwing technique and body stance. Several fairly accurate throws later, one landed in the target spot.
"I did it, Nii-san!"
"You're such a good boy, Sa-chan." he said, smiling and patting the boy's messy bluish hair.
"You have to keep practicing, though, or it'll never get any better. I won't be around for a couple of weeks, so I want you to practice for me, ne?"
"O.K., Tachi-kun!" he said with a trace of sadness.
He always missed his brother on missions. 'Whenever Nii-san goes on missions, I get to see Yune-chan!' he chirped cheerfully inside his head.
"Let's go back inside, ne?" Itachi took his brother's hand and brought him back inside.
"I love you, Tachi-kun!"
"I love you too, Sa-chan."

Sasuke was stirring the food when he was jolted from his memory by a loud crash. He quickly dashed upstairs to see if Miyune was alright.
"Yune-chan, are you O.K.?" Sasuke said worriedly.
"I'm fine, Sa-chan! Don't worry! I just dropped this." She pointed at a large box that had been on a high shelf. "It just made a loud noise. You can go back to cooking now." she smiled sweetly and shooed him out, closing the door. She resumed her cleaning, finding that it wasn't as hard as it had seemed in the beginning. In fact, she was almost done cleaning and ready to start clearing things out.

"This is-" she stammered, picking up a black leather bound book. "-Tachi-kun's diary." She began leafing through it, glancing at a paragraph or two, until one caught her attention.

July 27
Today is Sa-chan's birthday. I gave him a small kunai to practice with while I'm on missions. It's so cute to see him try to throw mine, but he does adequately, since they are so much larger than his tiny hands. For some reason, I have a feeling Kaa-san's hiding something. Maybe it's a suprise for Sa-chan's birthday, but I'm not too sure. I probably shouldn't worry about it. I have a mission tomorrow. I'm so glad that it wasn't scheduled during Sa-chan's birthday. It would've crushed him and I can't stand to see him cry. Well, I have to get up early, so rest peacefully, diary.

"Do you think it was me?" Miyune muttered to the empty room.

"Miyune, dinner's ready!" Sasuke called up the stairs. Moments later, he heard the soft padding of her feet on the stairs.
"I'm hungry!" She sniffed the air. "Mmm, whatever you cooked smells wonderful!' she cheerfully bounced over to the table. 'Geez, she's acting like Naruto with a bowl of ramen.' he mentally chastised himself for thinking that about his sister.
"Itadakimasu!" she said, digging in. Sasuke smiled inwardly. 'At least I know she likes my cooking.'
"So, anything interesting happen while you were cleaning?" he asked.
"I found out that Tachi-kun kept a diary. One of the last entries I saw was on our birthday." she said, putting emphasis on 'our'. Sasuke frowned.
"You were reading his diary?" he said suspiciously.
"Well, not as much reading. More like skimming through it. On that day, he sensed Kaa-san was hiding something, but he wasn't too sure, and he decided not to concern himself with it because he had a mission the next day." she said, picking up a piece of meat and putting it into her mouth.
"I remember that day! He gave me a kunai for a birthday present!" he said excitedly. "Could you bring down the diary after dinner? I'd like to look through it."
"Sure, Sa-chan." she smiled.
"When we're out in public, at least for the time being, could you just call me 'Sasuke'?" he said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"All you had to do was ask. Sure thing, Sasuke." she replied, smiling again.
"You're an excellent cook, Sasuke!" she grinned, clearing her plate. "I'll be right back!" She dashed upstairs and grabbed the diary and brought it to Sasuke. "I'm going to finish unpacking my stuff, ne?" He nodded and she left.

'So this is Itachi's diary, hmm?' Sasuke thought, skimming through it. He found the entry Miyune had read and read it to himself. 'I think I get it now!' he thought, jumping up.

Miyune came down the stairs and was immediately assaulted by Sasuke with his Sharingan on.
"Umm, hi, Sasuke? What are you doing?" she asked nervously.
"Checking something." he replied dully, looking for the pendant. He removed it from her neck and saw a bright flare of chakra in a deep purple. He deactivated his Sharingan.
"That's why you were so exausted after that battle. This not only cloaks your chakra, but it also makes it difficult to access. I think it's amazing you were able to do that sucessful Bunshin jutsu." he said, eyes wide.
"That's why I've been struggling with chakra for so long! I don't need to wear it now, do I?" she said, cocking her head to the side.
"No, you don't. Keep it, though." he said, handing the pendant to her.
"O.K., Sasuke." she walked toward the older boy and hugged him. "Thank you, Nii-san." Sasuke smiled.

After spending some time getting to know each other, the siblings went to sleep, hoping that tomorrow they would both be able to reveal their secret to Team 7.

*The Next Morning*

"Good morning, Miyune-san, Sasuke." Kakashi said cheerfully. Naruto and Sakura weren't at the bridge at the time.
"You're early, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke muttered.
"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "I didn't feel like getting yelled at by Naruto this morning."
"Kakashi-sensei, we have something important to tell you, and probably the Godaime." Sasuke said darkly.
"We have some time. Grab my arms you two." Kakashi replied, feeling the gravity of his words. Moments later, they were standing in Tsunade's office.
"Ohayo, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said brightly, waking the sleeping Tsunade from her desk.
"O-ohayo, Kakashi-sensei. What brings you here?" she said blearily 'It'd better be good.' she thought darkly.
"Sasuke has something important to tell us." he replied, turning to the Uchiha.
"Well, we, meaning Miyune and I, discovered something very important last night after training." Tsunade leaned over, eager to hear what the young Uchiha had to say.
"And?" she asked, anxious to hear the news.
"Miyune is my younger sister. We're twins." he said softly. Both adults were quite shocked.
"But, I thought your brother Itachi killed your entire clan except for you?" Tsunade said, looking puzzled.
"I was spared by Itachi only because he didn't know of my existence." she said softly, watching as three eyes widened. "I am Sasuke's younger twin, but Itachi knew nothing of me. I was kept hidden, only allowed to see Sasuke when Itachi was on a mission, and I had to wear a chakra cloaking device--my necklace--all the time. I was sent to live with another family, and my traces were erased from the house, save a photograph of us together as infants that was torn in two and my half sent with me. Sasuke had the other half, and the name Uchiha was one I recognized when I came here." she said, watching the adults absorb the information.
"How do we know you're really an Uchiha? I mean, she could be fooling us all." Kakashi pointed out.
"My Bloodline Limit will prove this." she said calmly, activating her Sharingan as Sasuke had told her to do the day before. She looked each adult in the eye before closing her eyes and diffusing the chakra.
"She really is an Uchiha." Tsunade breathed.
"Thank you for listening, Hokage-sama." Miyune said softly. Kakashi was speechless. When he found his tongue, he said, "Let's go back to the bridge. Naruto and Sakura are probably waiting." They teleported back to the bridge, leaving the Godaime stunned.

"Hey, hey! You three are all late!" Naruto said, pointing a finger at his Jounin teacher and the two Uchihas.
"We had some business to take care of." Kakashi said quietly. 'I came here early to avoid this, and what do I get?' Kakashi sighed. Naruto continued babbling on about their tardiness when both Uchihas grumbled in stereo, "Shut up, usuratonkachi."
'Huh?' was the thought on both Sakura and Naruto's mind.
"What's up with you two today? Are you two dating?" Naruto bluntly asked, causing Sakura to give Miyune a death glare.
"Why would I date my sister?" Sasuke said, shrugging. Sakura's eyebrows went up.
"You two are related?" she asked, feeling confused.
"Yeah." she replied, "I told you that you could have Sasuke."
"I knew you guys looked too alike to not be related!" Naruto cheered.
"Be quiet, Naruto-kun." Miyune snarled.
"Hey, you guys, calm down. We have a mission to do today." Kakashi said, Naruto's interest piqued at these words.
"A mission? What is it?" he said eagerly.
"We're cleaning trash from the river!" Kakashi said, grinning.
"Aww, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto groaned.

"Quit complaining, Naruto-kun. It'll get done faster when you stop whining." Miyune smirked, into their second hour of cleaning the trash out of the river. Truth be told, it was miserable work, and Naruto had every right to complain, but it got SO ANNOYING after the first hour or so. She cracked a deadly sweet smile toward the blonde, who was still complaining. Kakashi was nowhere in sight.
"Naruto," she hissed, "shut up." Naruto was too busy complaining to notice her death glare and super-sweet smile. Placing her hand on the back of his neck, she focused chakra to her hand and pressed down, sending a slight shock to his system, and a rather painful one at that.
"Oww, Miyune-chan! Why'd you do that?!" Naruto whined, rubbing the spot on the back of his neck. 'Now maybe he'll be quiet.' she thought, smirking. Sakura looked at her in awe, and Sasuke 'hn'-ed in reply.
"Miyune-chan, you have to teach me how to do that!" Sakura called.
"It's pretty easy. Just focus the chakra in your hand, and press down wherever you want it to go, and force it out. It's a similar thing to what med-nins do, but painful rather than helpful." she said matter-of-factly.
"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke asked quietly. "It's not a technique or anything I've heard of."
"My foster mom was a med-nin, and she was going to train me in the art of being a med-nin, but she didn't get very far. I wanted to be a kunoichi." she said softly.
"Wait, hold on, you had foster parents?" Sakura said loudly. Naruto looked up, interested.
"Yeah. I only found out I had a brother here yesterday, and another who's, ermm, away." she said uncomfortably, but her white lie seemed to fly. Sasuke looked at her with relief written on his face. 'I guess they didn't know about Itachi. They've probably heard of him, but didn't know he's the one who destroyed the Uchiha clan.'
"Oh, so that's why you said there's someone in this village who could help you. It was Sasuke." Sakura replied, connecting the dots.
"Yeah, I'm here to help him rebuild the Uchiha clan." Sakura looked at her strangely. Naruto goggled at the Uchiha female. It took her a moment to realize what she had said.
"Oh, I don't mean like that! He's my brother for Kami's sake!" They still looked at her strangely, but they just turned back to their work, Naruto quiet for a change.
"Hey, it's quiet out here. Whoa, wha'd I miss?" Kakashi called, strolling to the riverbank.
"Don't ask." Both Uchihas muttered quietly.

After finishing the mission, Team Seven returned to the main village to go their separate ways. Kakashi pulled Sasuke to the side for a moment, gesturing that the other three shinobi go up ahead a little bit.
"Sasuke, I know you're glad to have found your sister, but how can you be sure she won't betray us? Can you be sure that Itachi isn't putting you under some genjutsu?" Kakashi asked the blue-haired boy who winced at the name.
"Kakashi-sensei, you would make an excellent father." Sasuke replied.
"That's not the point. All I'm asking is for you to keep an eye on her. You may trust her already, but I'm not so sure yet." Kakashi said grimly. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"I understand, Kakashi-sensei. I will keep an eye on her." he replied. He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"We should get going, Yune-chan." he murmured.
"OK, Sasuke." she replied softly, turning to leave. "Wait." she said, turning toward Naruto. She removed something from her pocket and pressed it into Naruto's palm, then she turned and left with Sasuke.


"What did she give you, Naruto?" Sakura asked in an unusually kind tone. He held out his palm like a child would, revealing a hand-carved fox. It wasn't just any fox; it was Kyuubi.
"It's really pretty, Naruto! I'll see you next week." she exclaimed. He toyed with the figurine in his hand, looking on the bottom for any inscription.
"U.M.; Uchiha Miyune." he mumbled, turning to leave for his apartment.


"Sa-chan," Miyune implored as they arrived at the Uchiha compound, "will you teach me a new jutsu?"
"Now? Yune-chan, it's late. I still have to make some dinner, and I'm a bit tired." he replied softly. Whenever it was just the two of them, he revealed a much softer side than usual.
"OK, Sa-chan. I probably should call you Sa-kun, now that you're older, but it just doesn't fit as well, ne?" Sasuke sighed, pushing open the door to the main house in the complex. "I really don't mind either way, Yune-chan."
"OK then. I'm going to go upstairs and finish up some cleaning in the closet."
"Aright." he replied, heading into the kitchen and preparing dinner. He sighed, Kakashi's words still haunting him. 'What if Yune-chan is lying to me? What if she's secretly in alliance with Itachi?' his mind raced frantically. He heard her dragging boxes around the room and shifting things overhead. 'I need to calm down. Miyune is not lying to me.' he chanted mentally. He continued preparing dinner as the long shadows faded into twilight.


"Damn, it's dusty in here!" she cried, moving several boxes out of the closet. She emptied the contents of the closet onto her floor and bed, then began wiping down all the dust with a damp rag. As she worked her way farther back, she found a small ring embedded in a tatami mat. She pulled up on it and discovered a small crawl space the size of a single tatami mat with two boxes and a couple of bundles inside. She set those aside from the rest of the boxes and continued to clean and dust. When the closet was clean to her liking, she went through all the boxes she had pulled out of the closet. Most of them were filled with stacks of scrolls, but two of them held some small childhood relics. She put the boxes of Itachi's relics near the sliding door, and the scroll boxes near the window. She then began going through the things from the crawl space. The boxes were filled with more scrolls, but she set them near the other boxes that she would go through in detail at another time. One of the bundles was filled with some of Itachi's clothing.
'ANBU?' she thought to herself, finding a porcelain mask that an ANBU member would wear. She set those clothes near the door, but kept the mask. She began untying the ropes around the second bundle, but she heard a cry of,
"Miyune, it's dinner time!" from Sasuke. She picked up the boxes and bundle and carried them downstairs, setting them near the door before going into the kitchen to eat.
"Itadakimasu!" she cried cheerfully.


After dinner was eaten and the dishes were cleaned, Sasuke headed off to bed.
"I'm going to go finish cleaning, OK Sa-chan?" she asked.
"Sure. I'll be going to sleep soon." he said as he trudged up the stairs and turned to his room. He quickly changed into some pajama clothes and began reviewing some old scrolls. The house was silent for a while, until he heard a suprised cry from Miyune. He padded down the hall, poking his head into her room.
"Yune-chan, are you--?" He stopped speaking and his eyes flashed red. "If you touched her, you will die!" he growled, forming Chidori.
"Sa-Sasuke, you-you're scaring me!" she cried, tearing off the hat.
"Yune-chan, you're alright?" he said stupidly, releasing Chidori and allowing his eyes to fade to black.
"I'm fine, Sa-chan. I just found this stuff and I tried it on. The cloak fits me well, ne?"
"Miyune, that's an Akatsuki cloak. If you wear that around, you'll be arrested, or at the worst, killed. I didn't mean to scare you. You just look so much like him, that's all." he said quietly.
"I look like Itachi? Please! I look more like you than anything! Don't I?" her confidence faltered from his gaze.
"If you hadn't said anything, I would've killed you right here. That's how much you look like him. He's taller, though." he said softly. She went to her brother and hugged him tightly.
"I'll get rid of it if you'd like." she murmured.
"You don't have to. Just, don't wear it anywhere but in this house." he said quietly
"OK, Sa-chan. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Yune-chan." he replied, leaving. She took off the cloak and spread it over her bed.
"I'll wash it tomorrow with the rest of my clothes." she muttered, walking over to the door. She slid it closed and locked it before going back to her bed and curling up in the cloak.
"Itachi..why?" she mumbled into the fabric before drifting off to sleep.

Sasuke sighed as he heard the lock click. 'Yune-chan, what are you doing now?' he wondered as he padded silently down the hallway and back into his own bedroom. 'I think I should train tomorrow, and maybe help out Yune-chan.' he thought somewhat cheerfully as he fell asleep.

*The Next Morning*

Miyune stretched her limbs as sunlight poured into her room. She then surveyed her room again, faintly noting that it was almost eleven that morning.
"Mmmm, that was a good night's sleep!" she exclaimed, changing into a light green tee shirt and a pair of Itachi's black pants. They hung loosely around her waist, leaving just a little skin to be reckoned with. Humming, she gathered up her laundry, the pile of Itachi's laundry that needed washing, and the Akatsuki cloak and waddled into the washroom. She sorted out her lights and darks, and dumped the pile of lights in the washer. She then poured some soap in and turned it on. Miyune still hummed while making breakfast for herself, pausing only to read the note Sasuke left her.

"Miyune,

I will be training today in the forest or by the pond. You may join me if you wish. Otherwise, I'll be back for supper later tonight.

Love, Sasuke."

She set the note aside and finished making breakfast.
"Maybe I should make him some supper tonight." she muttered inquisitively to the silent kitchen. While she ate, she planned supper for the both of them. She was interrupted by a knock at the door. She strode over to the door and opened it, revealing Naruto.
"H-hi, Miyune-chan." he stammered, smiling.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. What brings you here?" she asked, fixing him with a curious glance.
"Well, I was wondering about that little figurine you gave me. I really like it! Did you make it yourself?" he said quickly. Miyune laughed.
"Come inside, Naruto. I'm just finishing breakfast." At the mention of food, Naruto's stomach growled. She laughed again as Naruto blushed.
"Seems like you're hungry too. I'll make you something quickly. I'm sure Sa-chan won't mind." she said, grabbing his wrist as he tugged off his shoes.
"Sa-chan?"
"Nevermind, Naruto." she muttered. He gazed around the Uchiha kitchen as she made him a quick meal.
"This sure looks good!" he exclaimed, digging in. 'Mmm, she can cook!' he cried in his head. As he gulped his food down, Miyune finished the rest of hers slowly.
"So, you're here because of the Kyuubi figurine?" she asked after his plate was empty.
"Did you make it?" he asked earnestly.
"Yes. When I was younger, I used to take one of my foster dad's kunai and make small wood carvings with it." she replied, to Naruto's amazement.
"When did you have time to carve it?" he kept pushing.
"It only takes me a couple of hours. I did it last weekend." she replied, smiling.
"Thank you, Miyune-chan, but how did you know about Kyuubi? Hardly anyone knows about Kyuubi."
"Well, I.." she stammered.
"What is he doing here?" Sasuke said, leaning against the doorframe.
"He came to ask me about something, Nii-san." she replied, bowing her head.
"Sasuke-teme, why are you so mean to your sister?" Naruto yelled.
"It's none of your business. Get out. Now" he growled.
"Gomenasai, Nii-san." she said softly, bowing her head to him.
"Yune-chan.." he softened slightly as the door slammed, marking Naruto's departure.
"Thanks for ruining one of the only friendships I've made here in Konoha, Sasuke!" she shouted, running to the washroom and locking the door.
"Miyune, I'm sorry!" Sasuke pleaded, muffled slightly by the door.
"Why do you hate Naruto so much? He's not a bad person!" she cried, angrily shoving her lights into the dryer and her darks into the washer.
"He was always the dead-last at school, the class clown. He's still the same annoying kid he was in school." he replied coldly. She was silent for a moment before unlocking the door.
"Yune-chan?" he spoke softly, pushing the door open. She sat on the floor, her head in her hands.
"What was he like, Sasuke?" she whispered.
"Who--oh, Itachi?" he asked as she nodded. "He used to poke my forehead a lot, and he was always busy, too busy to spend much time with me. Father always praised him and hoped that I would be a prodigy like him, but look where that got him." he spat venomously.
"Was he cold to you? Did he treat you like you treat me?" she asked, looking up at him with tearstained, Sharingan eyes.
"You look so much like him, it's almost scary, Yune-chan." he said softly. "Yes, at times, he was cold to me. Other times, he seemed to care about me, but now I know he was completely emotionally detached from our family and the world."
"I'm sorry Sasuke. I wish I could've known him." she said apologetically.
"No, you wouldn't, Yune-chan. He would make you dead inside, then impale you on his katana without a second thought."
"Really?"
"Yes."

Miyune sighed as she pored over a scroll in the middle of her floor. She had already tried the jutsu four times, with her Sharingan to aid her memory, but it wouldn't help when she didn't have the chakra to focus. Sighing miserably again, she rolled up the scroll and set it aside just as a knock resounded on her doorframe.
"Miyune, can I come in?" he asked.
"Whatever." she said nonchalantly.
"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" he asked.
"Wow, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out." she said sarcastically, fixing him with one of his trademark glares.
"Yune, I'm sorry! I don't know how to say it any other way!" he cried angrily. Softening his tone, he said, "What can I do to make it up to you?"
"Well, you can start by apologizing to Naruto and getting out of my room." she grumbled.
"Fine. I guess I'll see you in the morning." he muttered, leaving and padding down the hall.

Hearing his retreating footsteps, she sighed again and shouted, "Damnit!" She raged around her room, not caring that her door was wide open for anyone to peek through. She began tearing through her room, searching aimlessly for things, tossing others aside. She was tearing around through the closet when she stumbled upon a small yellowed piece of paper in the middle of the floor. She stopped her raging and looked curiously at the piece of paper that hadn't been there last night.
"Hmm, what's this?" she muttered, turning the fragile paper over in her hands. She opened it and began reading it.

To the finder of the cloak,

Congratulations on finding my Akatsuki cloak. Sadly, your celebration will be short-lived, seeing that you activated my chakra tag and alerted me to the discovery of my cloak and history. You may know me as the Prodigy turned Killer. Nobody ever thought that it would be me to destroy the clan. I could have destroyed the whole village at that time, and I still can, starting with you.

~Uchiha Itachi

She dropped the note as if it was aflame and picked up the cloak, which had been tossed onto her bed.
"It seems I have a pest to irradicate now." a figure outside her window spoke as it climbed inside her room through the window. She took several cautious steps backward toward the door, tripping over her scattered scrolls as she went.
"So is my little brother taking on a border? Decided to wipe the last traces of me from the house?" he asked thoughtfully, grabbing her wrists.
"Please, aniki, let me go." she begged softly.
"Aniki? You are not my brother." he replied, tightening his grasp on her wrists.
"Please, Itachi-sama, I am your sister, Uchiha Miyune." she begged, tears welling in her eyes.
"If you are really my sister, then prove it to me." he said after a pause, letting his grasp loosen slightly. She bowed her head and activated her Sharingan, and much to her suprise, he had his own activated and his hat was off.
"So you must be that little prescence I felt but ignored, Miyune-san."
"H-hai, aniki." she mumbled, diffusing the chakra from her eyes. She gazed into his eyes and noted three tomoe in each.
"This may prove interesting after all." he said monotonously, bending down and kissing her.
"We will meet again, little sister." he said softly before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Miyune stood awestruck in the middle of her room, clutching the cloak tightly. She heard a slight cough from outside her open door and she whipped around.
"Who were you talking to, Yune-chan?" he asked coolly.
"Myself, Nii-san." she replied normally to keep him from becoming suspicious.
"Really? I could've sworn you were talking to someone else." he replied in that maddeningly calm voice.
"If you want to know who, it was...Naruto." she replied softly, pulling up a blush.
"Oh. Well, goodnight, Miyune." he said, defeated.
"Goodnight, Sasuke." she replied simply, shutting and locking her door.

'She was lying and you know it. She was probably talking to Itachi.' a cruel voice taunted in his mind.
'She doesn't even know what he looks like, and I don't even know where he is!' his own rational thought retorted.
'Right, of course not! But remember what Kakashi-sensei asked? "Keep an eye on her"? She could be plotting to destroy Konoha at this very moment!'
'She wouldn't do that. She's my sister.' he shot back weakly.
'You know I'm right, Sasuke.' the dark voice chided. Sasuke sighed, staring at his ceiling.
"No, it can't be. Miyune wouldn't betray me. She wouldn't betray Konoha. Would she?"

'What was that all about? Itachi comes strolling in here, after threatening to kill me in that note, then lets me live! Sasuke said he'd kill me, but I'm still here! And he kissed me?! What was that for? Family bonding? Incest? Oh gods, I hope not! I can't tell him I was talking to Itachi, let alone having him in my, his room. Gee, I wonder how that conversation would go:
"Oh, Sasuke, last night, I was talking to our homicidal brother who left me unscathed other than a kiss!" Yeah, that would go well.' her mind rambled as she curled up in the cloak and stared at the ceiling as she fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Miyune woke up from an uneasy sleep to find the sky was barely tinged with dawn. Shivering slightly in the cool morning air, she wrapped the Akatsuki cloak around her and padded downstairs to make herself breakfast. The cooking helped calm her restless mind and warmed up the cold kitchen. She sat at the table and curled her feet into the hem of the cloak and ate in silence. By the time Sasuke had risen, she had already rinsed off her dishes and was dashing up the stairs in a flash of black and red.
"Miyune, is that you?" he mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah," she called from her room, "I'm getting dressed now."
"Hn." he replied. She hunted through her drawers for a pair of pants. She also looked on the floor and noted that she would have to clean it up later that evening. She yanked on a pair of black pants that weren't hers and pulled a black fishnet top and dark red t-shirt over her head. After combing her hair back and tying it in a loose ponytail, she trudged back downstairs and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded, eyeing her clothing.
"To Naruto's. Do you have a problem with that?" she asked coldly.
"No. I'll be in the forest today if anything comes up." he said simply, turning to the adjacent room.

She left the house with a backpack slung over her shoulder and made her way across the village to Naruto's apartment complex. As she passed the shops lining the main street, she wondered at how Konoha could still be considered a village when it was a city in the making. Finally, she reached his apartment and found that he was still asleep. 'He never locks his door and leaves his apartment a mess!' she cried mentally, her neat-freak side kicking into hyperdrive. She couldn't stand it anymore, and began cleaning Naruto's small, filthy apartment silently.
"Naruto..Naruto!" she called, poking him into awareness. He jumped out of bed, blushing slightly.
"Miyune-chan, what are you doing here?! And why is my apartment sparkling?!" he cried.
"I cleaned it for you, dobe, and I'm here because I wanted to finish explaining to you about the kitsune and I really needed to talk to you." she replied softly.
"Alright, but let me get dressed, OK?" he said, shooing her out of the room. She sat on the couch in the living room area and waited for Naruto to come out. Moments later, he reappeared.
"So, what's up with you, Miyune?" he asked.
"I've got a huge problem, and I'm really unsure of what to do." she said.
"Go on," he said, smiling warmly.
"Well, when Sasuke threw you out yesterday, I exploded on him about it and locked myself in the laundry room for a little while. He was apologizing to me and stuff, and I let him in. I was feeling a bit down because he kicked out the one person around here I considered a friend, and I asked him about Itachi." she said, pausing for a minute or two before continuing, "He told me a little about what he was like and that he would kill me if he saw me and wouldn't care. He seemed really touchy about it, so I left him alone for a while. Then later on, I was going over a jutsu scroll when he came in and asked me again what he could do for me so I would accept his apology, and I told him to apologize to you and get out of my room."
"That's it?" he asked quietly.
"That's not the worst part, either. After he left, I started making a mess out of my room, looking for nothing and something at the same time when I found a piece of paper in my closet that hadn't been there before. It was a note from my brother, Itachi, an old one about the cloak."
"Cloak?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, the Akatsuki cloak." she replied as she drew the cloak out of her backpack. Naruto's eyes widened.
"The note basically said that he was going to kill me because I discovered the cloak, and moments later, he showed up at my windowsill, ready to kill me. I begged him to spare me, and he did, but asked me to prove that I was an Uchiha, which I did. He then let me go, but he kissed me before vanishing. And guess who shows up right after he leaves? Sasuke. I lied to him because if I tell him about what happened, he'd probably try to kill me rather than listen to me." she finished finally with some tears leaking down her face. Naruto hugged her brotherly and muttered calming words to her.
"I know Sasuke pretty well by now, and he's a cold hearted bastard, regardless of who he's talking to, and I think it's because he still feels betrayed by Itachi and he wants him to come back and apologize. He says he hates his brother, but I severely doubt that." he said thoughtfully.
"I guess he doesn't want to have to feel betrayed again, by me." she said sadly. "I can't tell him about Itachi, never! If I did, he would kill me. I'm sure of it. He'd slam Chidori into my stomach and leave me to die with his Sharingan blazing."
"I'll keep your secret, Miyune. You called me a friend, and I'll keep your secret." he said quietly, smiling at the girl.
"Thank you, Naruto." she said, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Umm, will you explain the Kyuubi figurine to me now? It's been puzzling me." he said after a while.
"Oh yes, the kitsune? Well, when I came to Konoha, I remembered the story my foster mother told me about a demon fox who attacked the village many years ago. I also heard some of the villagers mentioning a certain blonde being a 'monster', and when I saw you, I figured you had to be the Kyuubi's vessel." she said quietly. "I carved it while I was in the apartment next door, before I moved in with Sasuke."
"Thank you, Miyune-chan." he said, smiling.
"Wow, look at the time! It's nearly eleven, and I've been sitting on my butt all morning!" she said abruptly, glancing at the clock.
"That's right! I was going to train today!" he said cheerfully.
"I'm going to see Kakashi-sensei later to see if he can help me with my jutsus." she said, "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun!"
"Bye!" he called, watching her leave. "I hope that everything will turn out alright." he muttered to the quiet apartment.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you there?" she called as she knocked on his apartment door.
"Miyune-san, I was expecting you." he said quietly, ushering her inside his apartment.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I got tied up at Naruto's." she replied, bowing her head slightly.
"No, no, it's fine." he replied, smiling under the mask.
"I came here to see if you could help me with my chakra." she said, and Kakashi merely nodded.
"I'll do what I can to help, but it doesn't guarantee that I can fix it. Chakra takes years to master." he replied.
"Make yourself comfortable." he gestured to the couch, and she sat down cross-legged. "Alright, now close your eyes and imagine river flowing from inside you; all around you from within. Now, try to channel that river to your hand." She focused the chakra in her hand with some slight difficulty, but managed to do it.
"Hmm, it seems to me that you aren't having problems controlling your chakra. What's on your mind, Miyune-san?" he asked as her eyes snapped open.
"What do my thoughts have to do with my chakra?" she asked suspiciously.
"If you aren't completely focused on the task at hand, it makes it extremely difficult to perform it, ne? If you are focusing on a problem inside your mind while trying to control chakra, it's very difficult to do. You have to push everything else away; concentration is key." he replied.
"I understand that, and I do have some issues that I don't really want to delve into at this moment." she replied simply.
"As your teacher, I'd like to know what's going on to see if I can amend the situation, but since you don't want to talk about it, I won't press the issue."
Miyune sat there for a few moments before replying, "If you swear that you won't tell the Hokage or anyone else what I'm telling you, I'll tell you what's been going on."
"I agree to that."
"Well, I've been having problems with Sasuke lately. He's been really touchy lately, and whenever I ask him about his brother, he seems to get angry."
"I think you should just talk to him and try to amend your problems. Nothing's going to change unless you make it happen."
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." she said with a smile.
"Anytime, Miyune-san. If you ever need to consult someone, just pop over and I'll see what I can do." he smiled in return. "Now, go make amends."
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" she replied with a grin, dashing from his apartment.

"Sasuke? Where the hell are you?" she cried, jumping from limb to limb.
"Looking for me?" he said, appearing next to her.
"Damn, Sasuke, you scared me!" she said, nearly falling from the branch.
"So, why are you here?"
"Can't a sister want to talk to her brother?"
"Yes, but every time we talk, it seems to lead to Itachi."
"This time it's not about him; it's about you. Lately, you've been really touchy and it's making me nervous, as if I'm going to kill you or something or that the whole world is going to betray you."
"It's because I'm a ninja. I don't trust anyone fully. Not anymore."
"Because of what Itachi did?"
"He betrayed my trust and killed the entire clan, save you and me."
"That doesn't mean you can't trust me! I came here looking for you because I wanted to find out what really happened in my past."
"I barely know you, Miyune. I can't automatically trust everyone I meet. I'll grow to trust you, in time, but only if you earn it."
"I'll try my best, Sasuke." she replied softly and hugged her brother.

After several months of living with the cold Uchiha, Miyune finally began to soften his icy barrier and earn his trust. After completing a C-rank mission one afternoon, Sasuke and Miyune decided to go into the forest just outside of Konoha for some sparring.
"Come on, Sasuke, it'll be fun!" she cried cheerfully, yanking his wrist.
"Oh, alright, Miyune!" he said exasperatedly. They entered the clearing and sparred with one another for about an hour. It was getting dark by that time, and neither Uchiha could see much in front of them by that time. They walked back to the compound together and prepared dinner, ate it, and went their separate ways for the night.
"Hey, Yune-chan, I'm going to bed." he called from down the hall.
"Alright. I'll be up for a little bit longer, then I'll go to bed." she replied, closing her door. She continued to study some upper-level Chuunin jutsus that she had found, and wrapped herself in the Akatsuki cloak. 'It's almost winter. I should really get myself a winter jacket so I'm not cold all the time.' she thought as she shivered beneath the cloak. All of a sudden, a knock resounded on her window.
"Who's there?" she called a bit uneasily. No reply came but another knock. She slowly ventured to the window and peeked outside. At first she didn't see anything except some lazy snowflakes drifting down, but then she saw who had been knocking.
"Naruto! What are you doing here!?" she hissed through the glass as he pointed at the window, gesturing for her to open it. She immediately opened the window and let the boy in.
"Why are you here?" she demanded in a low voice.
"I'm being chased, Miyune, by Akatsuki." he said nervously.
"I don't know how to help you, Naruto. Sasuke told me he had heard rumors of Akatsuki being nearby, but nothing more." she replied softly. The window, which had been closed, began opening as two figures came into the room.
"Aniki." she said simply.
"We are here for the boy. You will be killed by Kisame if you try to save him." Itachi replied tonelessly as he gestured to the very tall blue man with the large sword. "I see you've kept the cloak. Why?" he asked after a pause.
"I don't know, Itachi. I just did." she replied, gazing up at her brother. Kisame came over and grabbed Naruto, who had been trying to escape.
"Why are you taking him?!" she cried.
"He is the vessel and the Leader wants him." he replied. 'If I try to save Naruto, I'll be killed. If I wake Sasuke, I'll probably be killed.' Kisame climbed out the window with Naruto first, and Itachi was about to when she grabbed the hem of his cloak.
"If you're going to take him, you have to take me too." she said in a dead voice.
"You are of no use to us or Akatsuki."
"If you want Sasuke to hate you even more, kidnap me and he will seek you out. He will want to kill you." she said.
"No." he replied simply, dislodging her grasp and following Kisame into the night.
"Brother.." she whispered to the window.
"What about him, Miyune?" Sasuke said, leaning on the doorframe. Miyune jumped and whirled around.
"How long have you been seeing him?" he demanded, eyes brilliant with Sharingan.
"Sasuke, I.." she began.
"Don't think that I won't kill you." he said sharply.
"We haven't been 'seeing' each other. This is the second time I've seen him, and I hope it's the last." she admitted.
"You betrayed me." he said tonelessly.
"What makes you so different from him?!" she exploded, "Is it because you've killed people you didn't know? You've both killed, and you are both Uchiha! What makes you so--" she was cut off by his hard slap across her face. Tears stung in her eyes.
"Get out." he snarled.
"No. Get the hell out of my room and cool off." she said defiantly.
"I'll kill you, Miyune. I'm not joking." he said warningly.
"Then go ahead and do it." she replied. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"My life is not that valuable. I learned that lesson from you and as a shinobi, I am in essence, a tool of my village, meaning my life carries little value when there are other shinobi to take my place."
Sasuke was silent for several moments before saying,
"I never said that life wasn't valuable."
"When you train day and night for your cause, not caring what you have to do to complete your goal, you life becomes worthless," she shot back, "and when I'm around you, I feel like you regard me as nothing more than a hindrance to your goal."
Sasuke sighed heavily, "You aren't a hindrance, as you so bluntly put it, but now that I know you've been with Itachi, I can never trust you again, and that's a hindrance."
"I was never with Itachi! He came to me because I opened a note that had a chakra tag on it, and he found me. The only reason he was here this time was because he had been tracking Naruto. Now they have him and we've been wasting time arguing when we should be saving Naruto!" she shouted.
"How can I trust you now? How can I be absolutely sure that you aren't just leading me into a trap to get killed?"
"I don't know, Sasuke, I don't." she said after a pause.
"Then get out. Take your things and get out. I'll worry about Naruto if he's in danger."
"Fine." she said with a blank expression. 'So much like him,' he thought sadly. She began packing her important things into her backpack, threw on the Akatsuki cloak, and left the house.

Miyune ran out of the compound and kept running blindly, putting her training to good use. She came to rest beneath the tree in front of the Ninja Academy and sat on the swing. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to ward off the cold. She saw a light in one of the upper windows of the school, but didn't care. She got off the swing and found some twigs partially buried in snow. She set those in a pile and lit a fire, using a small Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu to ignite it. She tucked her knees into the cloak and warmed herself. 'I guess I'm sleeping out here tonight.' she thought dismally. She turned to the door to see a man standing at it, light flooding out.
"May I help you?" he said quietly. She brushed the snow off her shoulders and spoke.
"Yes, please. My name is Uchiha Miyune, and my brother Sasuke kicked me out. I need a place to stay for the night."
"You are--" he said.
"No, I'm not. This belonged to my elder brother Itachi. I am not a part of the Akatsuki organization." she said coolly.
"I think we should take this to the Hokage." he said. She immediately grabbed his wrist and held on for the teleportation.

"Hokage-sama, Umino Iruka and Uchiha Miyune are here to see you." a messenger said.
"Huh? Send them in." she said tiredly.
"Hokage-sama, I found her beneath the tree at the Academy." Iruka said softly.
"Why were you there? And why are you wearing that? If you are a member of Akatsuki--" she said, instantly awake.
She bowed her head. "Hokage-sama, I was there because Sasuke kicked me out. I'm wearing this because it's rather cold outside and it's the warmest thing I own. I meant to take it off as I left, but it was so cold I decided to leave it on."
"How did this get into your possession?"
"It belonged to my elder brother Itachi. I found it in his room beneath a tatami mat when I first moved in with Sasuke. He knows I have it, but he allowed me to keep it." she replied, "I am not attempting to betray Konoha."
"Please remove it, then." the Godaime ordered. She complied, revealing a still-red mark across her cheek.
"Did he hit you?" she asked tenderly.
"Yes. He accused me of betraying him because I was supposedly 'seeing' Itachi. I've seen him twice, once when I opened the note that fell out of the cloak and it had a chakra tag embedded in it, and earlier tonight, when he and his partner were following Naruto, who came to my window. They have Naruto, and Sasuke doesn't believe me, and I have nowhere to stay tonight." she said, bursting into tears of hate, sadness, and exaustion.
"It's inexcusable that you have been speaking with a murderer, regardless if he is your brother, Miyune. I believe you know the laws."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. I'm willing to take whatever punishment I must." she replied softly.
"As for the situation with your brother, I will have to find somewhere for you. You aren't allowed back, are you?"
"I don't believe so. Maybe if I try to talk to him tomorrow or later in the week, he'll let me back."
"I'm not so sure, Miyune," Iruka interjected, "as an Academy student of mine, I knew exactly what was going on in every life of each student. When his family was killed, he refused to make friends with anyone. Until you came along and opened his heart again. I believe you are the only friend he has had since that day, and now he feels that you betrayed him."
"Either way, I have to talk to him. There's a couple of things I need to get out of there. I have the most important things, but there is the issue of my clothing."
"That will be attended to in the morning." Tsunade said, yawning slightly. "I think that you should stay with your sensei tonight. We will also begin looking for Naruto in the morning. If he was really kidnapped, we have to find him before he is killed."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. And my punishment?" she started.
"Come back here in the morning. Go to Kakashi-sensei's apartment now." Tsunade said. "Iruka-sensei, please escort her." Miyune put the cloak back on and grabbed Iruka's wrist again as they teleported to Kakashi's apartment.
"Oi, what am I going to do now?" she grumbled miserably, glaring at the massive pile of papers on her desk.

"What is it?" Kakashi mumbled sleepily as he answered the door.
"Miyune-san was kicked out by Sasuke-kun. The Hokage ordered that she stay here for the night." Iruka replied. Kakashi's sleepiness wore off instantly.
"She's an Akatsuki member?" he asked. Miyune sighed. "No I'm not. It's cold out and I don't have a winter coat. I'll explain once I get inside."
"Fine. We'll discuss this inside. Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
"You're welcome, Kakashi-sensei. I'll see you later." he said, teleporting home. Kakashi led her inside and sat her on the couch.
"Explain. Now." he said sternly.
"I've seen Itachi twice. Neither time did I ask for him to come. He came on his own accord when I opened the note with a chakra tag embedded in it. He was going to kill me, but he spared me for a reason only known to him, and the second time was earlier this evening. He was chasing after Naruto with his partner, umm, Kisame. They took him and he left me alive. I asked him to take me if he was taking Naruto because I didn't want to abandon him. After he rejected me, Sasuke shows up, apparently standing there for a while and accused me of betraying him. Then he kicked me out." They were silent for a few moments before Kakashi asked, "Why do you even have the cloak in the first place?"
"I found it under a tatami mat in Itachi's room. Sasuke let me keep it." she replied.
"That means--" Kakashi said nervously.
"What?" she asked.
"Itachi must have been a part of Akatsuki before he killed his family. While he was ANBU." he replied, stunned at this evidence.
"Itachi was a prodigy in every sense of the word. He was a Jounin at a very young age, even in ANBU. I guess that he was trying to prove himself." he said quietly.
"Aniki?" she said.
"Yes. Why do you refer to him as your brother? Sasuke disowned the fact that he was related to Itachi a long time ago."
"It feels right. I knew of his existance before I was sent away, but I never knew him to be unusually cruel or harsh. I wasn't hurt by him in the same way Sasuke was."
"That's understandable, although I'm not quite sure if I would continue wearing this cloak out in public." he said.
"I meant to get a coat for winter tomorrow, but since Sasuke kicked me out, I grabbed what I could and got out of there before he actually killed me."
"He threatened your life?"
"Yes he did. He also slapped me when I made a point that they were no different from each other in the sense that they have both killed and they both have Uchiha blood in them."
"I can't believe Sasuke would do such a thing." he remarked quietly. "It's late. You should probably go to sleep."
"I agree. Thanks for listening and putting up with me, Kakashi-sensei."
"Anytime, Miyune-san." She then curled up on the couch and fell asleep as Kakashi draped a blanket over her frame. 'I hope that this will blow over. Sasuke needs Miyune.'

Sasuke awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep and completed his morning routine of a shower and breakfast without skipping a beat. It was the first time he was able to complete it in many months in the exact order he did.
'Without Miyune here, it sure is quiet. Like when I came back here to live again after the bodies were taken out. The only thing they couldn't get out was the blood.' his mind betrayed him, flashing images from when he was under Tsukuyomi.
'Yeah, you remember that day. You knew something was wrong, deep inside.' his mind continued, 'Even if you had come home earlier, you wouldn't have been able to save them. Not even now could you kill him.'
"Shut up!" he screamed to the silent kitchen. The cruel voice in his mind changed pitch and tone drastically.
'You know I didn't betray you, Sa-chan. You jumped to conclusions and you refuse to swallow your pride and apologize. Some kind of brother you are. Maybe I should track him down, just to piss you off!' the voice of Miyune rang through his head. Sasuke clapped his hands against the sides of his head and bellowed inhumanly at his breakfast. He mentally locked the voices away and continued on with his routine before heading to the designated meeting place for that day's mission.

"Do I have to go see him?" she asked miserably.
"Yes, Miyune." Kakashi ordered, nearly dragging the Uchiha out of his apartment.
"The only way you two will ever be able to function is if you talk to each other and get over this."
"Yeah, like he'll be willing to take me back after I 'betrayed' him." she replied sarcastically.
"Just come with me." he sighed exasperatedly, grabbing her arm and teleporting to the meeting place.
"Ohayo, Kakashi-sensei! Hey, where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"We don't know. He was kidnapped last night." he replied. Sasuke shot him a glare.
"So she told her story too? Filling you with her little sob story?" he asked scathingly.
"What the hell are you on this morning, Sasuke? One second you're grumpy like your usual self and now you're accusing me of lying?" she snapped.
"You don't remember what happened last night?" he shot back.
"How could I forget?! You kicked me out into the cold and nearly got me arrested!" she cried.
"It's your own fault for keeping that damn thing. Did he ask you to keep it?"
"Of course not! I kept it on my own free will, Sasuke! You know that." she replied.
"Do I? Or have you been lying to me this whole time?" he asked darkly.
"If I was lying to you, I wouldn't have put my trust in you." she shot back. "I know now where my loyalties lie." she continued coldly.
"With him?" he shot her an inquisitive glance.
"Why should I tell you? You accused me of lying to you, and you said it yourself; how can you be sure I'm not lying to you now?" she hardened her outer emotional shell, a trait of the Uchiha.
"Why do you have to do this to me?!" he yelled, falling to his knees, clutching his head.
"Do what? Give you a migraine?" she asked coolly, rubbing her own throbbing temple. By this time, Kakashi and Sakura had backed off and were silent, lest they face the wrath of an angry Uchiha.
"You don't know the hell he put me through. You weren't there. You don't know how much I want to tear him to shreds." he muttered.
"That's obvious. I was in Bukaru for most of my life." she replied.
"You said you didn't remember the name of that village." he said with a suspicious tone.
"Well, maybe now I do. Living with you has put a lot of things back into my head."
"Damn it, Miyune! Why do you have to be so much like him?! Playing all these mind games?"
"I don't even know him, Sasuke. You need to stop listening to the past and face what's going on now." she said quietly. "You've confused us as one, when I am my own person. I'm not your brother. I'm Miyune."
"I-I need some time to think." he stammered, still clutching his head.
"Then I'll give it to you. All I want is my stuff back and for us to be cool, ne?" she said quietly, trying to win her brother back against her will.
"OK, Miyune. Maybe later we can talk a little." he said, calming down.
"The mission today is cancelled." Kakashi said weakly, taken aback by the words thrown around.
"OK, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, slowly backing away from the mercurial Uchiha siblings. Sasuke left for the compound and Kakashi pulled Miyune to the side.
"Miyune, do you know what Itachi did to Sasuke? He forced Sasuke to relive the clan's death for an entire day. It only passed as a second in our world, but it must have been eternity to him as a young boy. He's psychologically scarred from that, and the only way you can know is if Itachi puts you under the influence of Tsukuyomi." he whispered.
"That's no excuse, but I'm willing to accept it, granted I can find Itachi." she muttered.
"Are you insane? Tsukuyomi is not to be taken lightly. I was under it for three days in that world, and it was hell."
"..."
"Miyune, you don't want to experience it if you don't have to." he said softly.
"OK, Kakashi-sensei. I won't purposely try to fall under Tsukuyomi." she replied with a slightly patronizing tone. If Kakashi heard it, he didn't show that he noticed.
"Good girl. Go to Sasuke later and try to talk to him."
"I will, Kakashi-sensei." she replied with a slight smile.

After Kakashi's lecture, Miyune wandered around the village and the forest nearby for the rest of the day, even pausing to watch the clouds as Shikamaru is famous for. As the sun began its descent from the sky, a voice called from below her tree.
"Hey, Miyune, is that you?"
"What's it to you?" she replied coldly.
"It's Sakura!" she called from below cheerfully.
"Oh, come on up." she said, putting false cheeriness in her voice.
"I just wanted to know what's been going on between you and Sasuke. I mean, one day you guys are fine, and then today you have a shouting match in the training fields! I just want to know." she said earnestly.
"Well, get comfortable. It's a long story." she said softly as she began telling her story. When she finished, the sun was barely peeking above the horizon and all the shadows were stretched to grotesque porportions.
"Wow. That's a lot of information. Thanks for telling me, Miyune." she said solemnly.
"You're welcome. Now I've got to go patch up things with Sasuke." she replied, jumping from the tree and running to the Uchiha compound.

"Sasuke, are you here?" she called, slipping off her shoes.
"Upstairs," he called tonelessly. She padded up the stairs and went into his room.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry--" she began.
"Save it. I know you don't mean it," he cut in.
"Sasuke, all I want is for us to be cool again and to get my stuff back!" she said irritatedly. Blatantly ignoring her, he continued.
"Remember I said that I wouldn't hesitate to kill you?" he asked with a maniac glint in his eye as they changed into Sharingan.
"Please, don't hurt me." she begged, backing into the wall. He held a kunai to her throat.
"I intend to." he said, pressing it into her skin.
"So it seems that my little brother finally has the courage to kill someone, and our sister, no less." Itachi said, stepping into the room, followed by Kisame.
"This isn't your business. Get out of here." he growled at his brother.
"I came here to make a deal with the person you're about to kill, but it seems you're busy." he said, looking at his brother.
"What is it?" she choked out in a strained voice.
"Your little friend Naruto won't cooperate with us. I thought that if we got you to help, he would agree to our terms." he said tonelessly.
"Let me think about it." she said softly as Sasuke backed away from her.
"You-you've all been conspiring against me! I knew it!" he cried.
"He isn't being quiet." Kisame said, picking up the boy and slamming him into the wall.
"Well?" he urged.
"What are your terms?" she demanded.
"You either come with us, or Sasuke gets reduced to a quivering pile of bone and flesh." Kisame growled, grinning. "Your choice." She thought for several minutes before replying.
"I'll come with you. Just let me get my things. Please, Nii-san." she said softly.
"Good. I knew this would be interesting." he replied. "You have fifteen minutes before we get you."
"Thank you, Nii-san." she said, bowing and dashing around her room. She packed several days' worth of clothing, most of it Itachi's, the Akatsuki cloak, which thankfully for her hadn't been confiscated by Tsunade or Kakashi, and her sundries. She approached them wearing the cloak and hat.
"I'm ready."

Itachi, Kisame, and Miyune fled Konoha under the cover of night and headed to the Akatsuki base. The journey was silent until they arrived and Itachi warned, "Wear your cloak all the time, or your punishment may be paid with your life." Miyune merely nodded, frightened quite badly by the situation she was in. 'This really isn't good. I'm now a missing-nin for going off with Akatsuki to try and save Naruto.' she thought dismally as she was steered down numerous hallways. She tried to keep track of all the turns she made, but after the sixteenth turn, she lost track of them all. Finally, they arrived at a small cell door in the underground base.
"Play nicely you two." Kisame chuckled as he shoved her inside and locked the door. As her eyes adjusted, she saw a flash of orange in the darkness.
"Naruto?" she whispered inquisitively.
"Miyune-chan, is that you?" he replied, shocked.
"Yes, it's me." she said, hugging him tightly. "Are you hurt?" He shook his head slowly.
"That teme Kisame used me as a punching bag after I told them I wouldn't give in easily. I've been locked in here ever since. I'm alright, though." he mumbled, looking at her closely.
"You really look like Itachi."
"I know. Sasuke kept telling me." she sighed miserably. "We're stuck in here."
"Why are you still wearing that cloak?" he said, ignoring her misery.
"Huh? Oh, this? Well, Itachi said that if I didn't wear it, I could be killed. More along the lines of killed." she replied. "Why?"
"I think I can get us out of here." he replied, smirking devilishly.

"Tell me, Naruto!" she hissed excitedly.
"Well, since you have that cloak and stuff, and you have a higher status than I do in this place, so maybe somehow you could sneak me out?" he finished uncertainly.
"And how the hell do you forsee me getting past Kisame and Itachi?" she grumbled.
"Hey, I tried, Yune-chan!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!" she shouted miserably. Naruto bowed his head at her voice.
"I'm sorry. I kinda forgot." he replied meekly. Miyune began sobbing.
"How did I manage to get myself in this mess?! I mean, all I tried to do was be kind to Sasuke, and that bites me in the ass when he sees me trying to save you from Akatsuki! Then, he tries to kill me, and Tachi-kun saves me, but now Konoha's going to think I'm a missing-nin!" she choked out between sobs.
"I'll vouch for you, Miyune. Whatever he says against me, I'll vouch for you, saying you had no other choice. If he kicks you out again, you can live with me." Naruto said softly.
"Huh?" she sniffled.
"I'll take care of you, Miyune." he said with a warm smile. She returned it just as the lock rattled.
"Come on, kids. We have some business to take care of." Kisame said, barely hiding a smirk. She put the cloak back on and followed Kisame down the hall with Naruto at her heels. They arrived at a large room with a high ceiling and a row of wooden benches across one wall. There were other members of Akatsuki sitting along this wall, with the Leader sitting in a box high up on the wall. Itachi was sitting at the far end of the bench and was beckoning for Kisame to come sit.
"Deidara, bring in the other one." the Leader barked. A man, "or is that a woman?" Miyune thought, went out through another door and dragged in another boy.
"Sasuke?" she whispered.
"You all must be wondering why I called this meeting." the Leader barked and the room instantly fell silent.
"It seems," he continued, "we have a problem with the containment of the Kyuubi. We have brought his two closest friends together in order to convince him to give us the Kyuubi."
"There's no way you're taking Kyuubi!" Naruto shouted and Miyune elbowed him in the stomach.
"Silence! If their presence can't convince you, this might." he continued with a sadistic tone.
"Uchiha Miyune and Uchiha Sasuke, step into the center of the room." They both stood in the middle, glaring Sharingan daggers at one another.
"Your friends will fight to the death, and if by then, you choose to willingly give up the Kyuubi, we will stop the fight. If one of them dies in the process, the remaining Uchiha will fight Uchiha Itachi to the death, most likely his or her own."
"No.." Naruto whispered. 'I can't give them Kyuubi. I'll die, but they'll both die if don't give him up.' He began to lock himself into his mind, going down the hallway which led to the Kyuubi's cell in his mind.
'What do you want, brat?'
'Please, I don't want them to die, nor can I give you up willingly.'
'If it gets me out of here, I don't care what happens,' the Kyuubi replied coldly. He then released himself from his mind just in time to watch the battle of the Uchiha begin.

"Sasuke." she spat.
"Miyune." he said with equal loathing. They both unleashed their Sharingan, coming at each other at full force. They started slowly with some taijutsu, flying at each other in a cutthroat manner. Miyune then bounded backward and performed some swift hand seals, entrapping Sasuke in a genjutsu.
"She's learned from you, it seems, Itachi-sama." Kisame said.
"So it seems," he replied tonelessly, watching the fight.
'This shouldn't be too difficult, since Miyune isn't very strong.' He saw through the genjutsu easily and began pushing it back.
'Damn,' she cursed, doing a shadow replication of herself and transforming into a barrage of kunai. Most of them missed him, since he deflected them, but several of them slashed at his arms and one across his abdomen. Sasuke countered this with some more ruthless taijutsu and a bit of ninjutsu. They sparred for several more minutes before Miyune trapped Sasuke in another genjutsu and unleashed her secret move on him.
"I will kill you, Sasuke, and I won't hesitate." she said coldly, delivering the fatal blow. Naruto almost screamed as he watched his comrade die.
'She killed him unflinchingly?!' his mind screamed as he watched her turn around and face Itachi, blinking twice before revealing..
"The Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi said tonelessly.
"Since Uchiha Sasuke is dead, and Naruto still has not allowed us to take the Kyuubi, we will proceed to the next match. If he does not give up the Kyuubi by then, we will forcibly take it from him." the Leader barked again. "For now, in fairness to Uchiha Miyune, we will allow her one day to rest." he said quietly. "This also extends Naruto's deadline for one more day and match. We will meet back here tomorrow." The Leader finished and the rest of the Akatsuki members filed out of the large room. Kisame grabbed Naruto and Itachi grabbed Miyune's wrist.
"You will come with me, Miyune-san."
"Yes, Tachi-kun." she replied, following her remaining sibling. The Leader was last to leave, taking Sasuke's body and destroying it.

"Eat. It isn't poisoned." he ordered, forcing a plate of food in front of her. She began eating hungrily, feeling Itachi's eyes boring into her head.
"You will stay with me tonight. I don't want you running off and taking Naruto with you." he said as more of an order than a request. She finished eating and glared at her opponent.
"Why did you kill the clan? Why did you leave Sasuke alive? I think I should know, since this secret will probably die with me tomorrow anyway." she replied, staring him down.
"Fine. I will tell you, since you appear to deserve it. You are the only other one to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan other than myself, another clan member, and Hatake Kakashi. The reason I killed the clan? I simply wanted to prove that I am stronger than any of my weak and foolish ancestors. Why I saved Sasuke? So he could destroy himself and me, so that no one would be left of the once-mighty Uchiha clan. Since you are here, and Sasuke is now dead, it is your turn to bear the weight of the Uchiha clan's death. He stared her down and his eyes changed.
"Tsukuyomi" he uttered simply, plunging her into the nightmare world of the Tsukuyomi.

All she could remember was screaming.
Even though only a second passed in the real world, she screamed and screamed as she watched the horror that Sasuke had seen at a young age. Distorted images in black and white under a blood-red moon haunted her even after she was released and she passed out cold.

"Miyune. You must wake up now. You have a match to fight today." she heard Itachi say vaguely.
"Go away Tachi-kun. 5 more minutes." she mumbled sleepily until she realized what she said and sat bolt upright, instantly awake.
"When's the match? How long have I been out? I'm hungry!" she said rapidly. Itachi handed her a glass of water and a bowl of some soup.
"I didn't poison it, if that's what you're wondering." he said in that same toneless voice that aggravated her. She ate quickly and waited for him to answer the rest of her questions.
"The match is in another couple of hours, and you have been out for nearly twenty hours." She stood up and glared at him.
"Where's the bathroom?"
"I will show you."
"You will give me privacy and not come in!" she seethed.
"I will wait outside and come in after five minutes if you have not exited." he said sternly, leaving the room. She quickly put the cloak on and followed him. She did her business and took a look at herself in the mirror. She looked the same as she did when she first came to Konoha, but she felt as if fifty years had passed in the time she had spent there. 'I have to get out of here. Time to try something.' she thought, performing one hand seal and teleporting away. She left a bunshin in her place to do her bidding while she found Naruto.

She wandered through the maze of hallways, recognizing some symbols on the walls as she went. She found Naruto's cell and teleported inside.
"Who's there?" he called from the darkness.
"It's Miyune," she said softly. She knelt beside him.
"I have a plan to get us out of here, but we only have about a two minute window to get out of here. Grab my hand and trust me. He nodded and they teleported back into the bathroom.
"Now," she whispered, "put this on and transform into a simple kunai." She handed him the charm that had cloaked her chakra and watched his chakra signature disappear completely. He then transformed into a kunai and dropped to the floor. She picked him up and placed her in the inner pocket of her cloak. Seconds later, Itachi burst into the room.
"Time to go." he said. She meekly followed him and he locked her back in his room. She mumbled to Naruto the kunai.
"OK, Naruto, now we don't have much time. The match is going to begin soon, and I'm hoping that I have enough chakra left to teleport back to Konoha." If kunais could nod, Naruto was. She quickly performed the teleportation jutsu and they were gone in a flash of red petals. When Kisame stormed into the room to collect the fighter, he came up with a handful of rose petals.
"Leader, we have a problem." he grumbled.

The two Genin arrived back in the Godaime's office, as planned by Miyune. Tsunade jumped, as expected.
"You! Why are you here? And where is Naruto?" she demanded.
"Hokage-sama, I bring you Naruto, and the news of the death of my brother, Uchiha Sasuke." she replied, bowing.
"Well, where is he?" she demanded as she drew a kunai from her pocket.
"OK Naruto, you can stop the jutsu." she said as the blonde appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Thank Kami you're safe, Naruto. And as for you, Miyune, I would like an explaination of where you were and why Sasuke is dead." she ordered, staring her down.
"May I say one thing before I begin?" Tsunade nodded. "Please do not expel me from Konoha as a missing-nin." Tsunade's eyes widened.
"Your explaination better be a good one."

The explaination went on for several minutes and Naruto added various truths with nods and grunts of approval.
"Now that I'm getting a picture of what's going on, you are not allowed out of the village for the next six months, and you will stay with Naruto until further notice." Tsunade said, rubbing her temples. 'I've got a headache from all this conspiracy.'
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." she said, bowing.

*LATER THAT NIGHT*

Miyune snuck out of Naruto's apartment and headed to the Uchiha complex. She quickly surveyed the area and found that Sasuke had put up a fight. As she climbed upstairs, she found a hastily written note on her door adressed to her.

Miyune,
When I find you again, I will kill you, without a doubt. You betrayed me and now I'm being chased by my brother's organization because of you. I hope Itachi kills you when he finds you.
~Uchiha Sasuke

She angrily tore the note up and went into her room and grabbed all the scrolls, clothing, and personal items she could, stuffing them in a bag and heading into Sasuke's room. She picked up a photograph of her mother, father, and two brothers, and the other half of Sasuke's photograph and stuffed them in the bag, plus whatever scrolls she could find and Itachi's ANBU mask, which had been lying on the floor in Sasuke's room. 'Where did he find it?' she pondered as she shouldered the bag and looked through Sasuke's closet for anything that remotely resembled a winter coat. She found a large dark overcoat and threw it over the Akatsuki cloak as she left the Uchiha compound. She walked slowly through the freshly fallen snow, thinking about all the events which had occurred in the last day. She then returned to Naruto's apartment and fell asleep on the couch, still wrapped in both the overcoat.

Miyune awoke to see the smiling face of Naruto looming over her head.
"Hey, wake up..." he grinned, handing her a cup of instant ramen. She just glared at it for a moment before eating it.
"Hey, Yune-chan.." he began.
"DON'T CALL ME 'YUNE-CHAN!'" she shouted. "The moment I let you call me 'Yune-chan', I'll know I'm dreaming." she muttered into her ramen, thoroughly scaring Naruto.
"Well, what do you want to do, since you can't leave the village?"
"I think I'm just going to wander around Konoha for a while." she muttered, going into the bathroom with her clothes and changing. She glanced in the mirror and tidied her hair a bit before tossing on the overcoat and leaving the apartment.

A few hours of meaningless wandering later, she was walking along the river and thinking. She sat near the edge and dangled her feet through the bars.
"Hmm."
"Yune-chan, you ran from me." a cold voice said from behind her.
"T-Tachi-kun!" she stammered, frightened. He drew his katana and held it, ready to strike.
"Goodbye sister." Her world faded to black.

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"Yune-chan! Are you going to wake up today or not?"
"Ack!" she screamed, nearly tumbling off the bed. "Sasuke, what are you doing here? You're dead! And where's Itachi? I'm supposed to be dead." she moaned miserably.
"Whoa, calm down, Miyune! You must have been dreaming. I think all your cleaning made you overtired. I came in and found you out cold on the floor, so I tucked you in last night." he said quietly, smiling to his sister.
"So, it was all a dream? You being dead after I killed you, and Tachi-kun coming after me and killing me and the whole cloak and injured trust thing was all a dream?" she said in disbelief.
"U..huh..." he replied slowly, nodding curiously. 'She must have a really vivid imagination then.' She sat up and padded downstairs behind Sasuke.
"So what are our plans for today, Sa-chan?"
"Well, I was thinking we could track him down, or at least try to figure out where he's been." he said.
"Together?"
"Together, Yune-chan."