The Missing Uchiha {PART 1} [complete]

[R0KI]

It took me forever to write but I'm finally reaching the end of my story. I'm currently on chapter 29 and I'm thinking thiwell be 30/31 chapters long. I've even started writing PART 2.

Chaper 28: Choice

Up in her room, Solari lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Tsunade-sama is here now, so what do I do? How is Konohamaru going to take this? What about Sasuke? Now that Tsunade-sama is here he’s going to want me to move in with him again. Am I really going to do that. It seems like the right thing to do, but still. Solari allowed herself to sink into her thoughts and wallow in despair for the time being.

A little bit later, Solari heard the unmistakable voices of Naruto, Moegi, and Udon. From what she managed to hear, something was wrong with Konohamaru.

She stepped out of her room and followed them to the Hokage’s office. The door was evidentially locked and Konohamaru was inside, refusing to come out.

“Konohamaru! You get out of there right now, or I’ll break the door down!” Naruto was yelling.

“You can try!” was Konohamaru’s only response.

Solari walked slowly up to Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. “Give me a minute to talk to him.”

Naruto looked shocked, then nodded and stepped out of the way.

Solari approached the door. She held her right hand up to the door and leaned closer to it. “Konohamaru, what’s wrong?” She asked. Her voice sounded like a mix of sadness and kindness.

“Nee-chan?”

“Yeah, it’s me. What’s the matter Konohamaru? Is it about Hokage-sama?”

“No, it’s about Grandpa.”

Solari sighed, of course it would be about Sandaime. “What is it about Grandpa?”

“He’s gone and that fake woman is taking over his job. No one will remember him as anything but a face up on the cliff. And what is going to happen to us now that that woman is here?”

Solari didn’t want to answer the last question. She knew what she was going to do, but not Konohamaru. “People are going to remember him as more than a face on a rock Konohamaru. He saved this village from complete destruction and took over after Yondaime died. He did so much for this village that is would be hard for people to forget him.”

“So, it will happen eventually. After a while people will forget him.”

“Iie, they won’t. Even if they don’t remember him, everything he has done will stay behind. And them there’s you, you can make sure that no one forgets him as long as you don’t forget.”

“I suppose you want to forget him don’t you nee-chan?”

The true answer was yes. Orochimaru killed Sandaime and by thinking about her grandfather she thought of Orochimaru. She hated the connection. “I never want to forget him,” Solari lied.

“But you’re going to live your real brother right? That’s as good as forgetting him.”

“Going to live with Sasuke is not forgetting Grandpa, it’s merely moving on. You have to do that too Konohamaru. You don’t have to forget him but you do need to move on, it’s what he would’ve wanted.”

“When did you get so smart?” Naruto asked.

Before Solari had the chance to answer him, the door clicked open behind her. Konohamaru was wiping tears from his eyes, standing in the doorway.

“Fine,” he said. “She can be the Hokage but I won’t like it.”

Solari forced a smile. “That’s all you need to do.”

Konohamaru eyed her suspiciously before walking away. Moegi and Udon ran after him. When they turned the corner Solari heard Moegi shout, “Arigato Solari-neechan!”

Solari rolled her eyes. “Moegi and Udon follow him around like little chicks follow a mother duck, I swear.”

“They’re his friends!” Naruto said, shocked at the fact that Solari would say something like that.

“Yeah, but you don’t see other friends tailing each other like that!”

“So! He’s the leader!” Before either of them had noticed, it had escalated into a fight.

“They’re only 8!”

“Yeah, and what were you doing when you were 8?”

Solari opened and shut her mouth, lost for words. “Screw you,” she finally blurted out. She turned on her heel and stamped away.

“Where are you going?” Naruto shouted after her, supremely unaware of what had just happened.

“To check on Sasuke!” She shouted before slamming the door shut behind her.

Solari looked around outside, people were walking, shopping and minding their own business but Solari felt separate. She felt the same way she had when she first came back to Konohagakure from the Sound Village: distant, scared, and out of place. She didn’t know why she felt scared, it was probably just the memories. She slowly started down the street, in the direction of the hospital.

“Solari-chan, I thought you went home,” Senshi said with a smile when Solari walked in.

“I did, but I wanted to go visit Sasuke.”

“Oh okay, go right ahead. You know what room he’s in.”

Solari headed down the hall leading to Sasuke’s room. She wasn’t sure why she was visiting him, she just felt like it was the right thing to do. When she reached his door, Solari heard Sakura’s unmistakable voice coming from the inside.

Oh great, she’s here. Solari thought miserably. Why does it have to be when I’m already angry?

“Oh Sasuke-kun, don’t be so modest,” Sakura said with a giggle that drove Solari insane.

“I’m not being modest. It really was Naruto who saved you from that Sabuku no Gaara guy,” Sasuke replied, completely unfazed by Sakura’s flirting. I can’t even compete with Naruto the way he was that day. I’m a failure.

It was at this point that Solari choose to barge in. “Konnichiwa Sasuke, Sakura.”

Sakura turned to face Solari. “I checked. Visiting hours aren’t over.”

“I never said they were,” Solari snapped back. “I can visit my brother on my day off, can’t I?”

Sakura had no response. Solari took her silence as an unneeded consent to pull up a chair next to the bed.

After several awkward minutes filled with small talk and generic ‘how are you feeling’ questions, Naruto burst into the room

“Solari-chan!” he shouted, slamming the door shut behind him. “About what happened back there–”

“It’s no big deal Naruto,” she lied.

Sasuke stepped out of his bed, staring at Naruto the entire time. His legs shook and he grabbed the back of Sakura’s chair for support. “Naruto, I want to fight you.”

“Nani?” Sakura and Solari gasped, staring at Sasuke.

“Sasuke, you can’t even stand!” Solari said shocked, grabbing his arm.

Sasuke shook her off, a determined look on his face. “I’m fine. So Naruto, you scared or something?”

“No way!” Naruto shouted. “Let’s do this!” At Naruto’s response, a smirk crossed Sasuke’s face.

“Right now, follow me.” Sasuke pulled the door open and left the room. Naruto followed him at a jog. Solari and Sakura spent a fraction of a second staring at the door, then at each other before running out of the room after them.

* * *

Solari slammed the door to the roof open with Sakura close behind her. Naruto and Sasuke were squaring off and Solari could see no way of sopping them from doing this.

“Stop it!” Sakura shouted. Solari knew it was pointless. Those two boys were too stubborn for their own good.

All of a sudden Naruto’s fist was flying towards Sasuke. Sasuke was mirroring him. They both blocked the punches successfully and threw each other backwards. They were evenly matched and Solari saw Sasuke getting more and more frustrated as the fight went on.

After a few minutes of fighting that seemed like forever, Naruto flew backwards and Sasuke did likewise. They were both panting and Solari knew that they were both about to do something other than taijutsu. Naruto created a kage bunshin which began making odd motions around his outstretched hand. The chakra in his palm was spinning dangerously fast in a sphere shape. Sasuke activated the Chidori.

“No!” Solari yelled. She ran between them without thinking as they ran at each other. She wanted a way to stop them. She felt the same chakra that she felt when she used the chidori flow through her body. She held out two hands in a useless attempt to stop them and was pushed forward out of the way.

Solari turned just in time to see Kakashi grab both boys by the arms and throw them into the water towers at the edge of the roof. Solari noticed his hands. There were small burn marks as if he had just touched something high voltage.

Did that come from me? She thought, confused.

Sasuke and Naruto pulled their hands from the water towers and turned to face Kakashi. Naruto looked shocked but Sasuke only scowled and hopped over the fence onto the ledge below.

“Sasuke!” Solari shouted, but Sasuke continued away without looking back. Solari chased after him, but not before giving Kakashi an angry look.

Solari finally found Sasuke sitting on a tree near the edge of the village. She jumped from the roof to the branch and sat down in front of him.

“Sasuke, I don’t want to sound like the annoying sister but you seriously have to start thinking things out more before you act. It could get you in a lot of trouble.”

“I did think it out. Naruto is strong than me. But Itachi can beat Naruto. So if I can’t beat Naruto, there is now way in hell I can kill Itachi.”

Solari sighed. She knew that it would be something like that. She understood him completely. “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Before Sasuke could respond, four people came out and surrounded them.

“Who the hell are you?” Sasuke asked jumping to his feet.

Solari stayed put on the tree branch. She knew who they were. She had dealt with them when she was 7 and saw them again the day the Hokage was killed by Orochimaru. The kunoichi with the red hair was Tayuya. The one with two head was Sakon and his brother Ukon. The fat one was Jiroubou and the one with six arms was Kidomaru.

“We are the Sound Four, the elite shinobi of Otogakure and personal bodyguards of Orochimaru-sama.” Sakon said. “I am Sakon, Seimon. (Western Gate.)”

“I am Tayuya, Hokumon. (Northern Gate.)”

“Kidomaru of Tomon. (Eastern Gate.)”

“And I am Jiroubou, Nanmon. (Southern Gate.)” Jiroubou concluded.

“Well, that’s all very nice, but we need to go,” Solari said, grabbing Sasuke arm. “Come on Sasuke.”

Kidomaru stepped in front of them. “Not so fast. We have an offer from Orochimaru-sama.”

“Whatever it is, we don’t want to hear it,” Solari said headed in the other direction.

This time Tayuya blocked her path. “Well we think you do. So sit your a** down listen up you piece of s**t.” She pushed Solari down onto the branch making Sasuke fall too.

“Tayuya, a girl like you shouldn’t use that kind of language,” Jiroubou said in an annoyed tone.

“Shut up fat-a**.”

Sakon stepped forward. “All that aside, Orochimaru-sama want’s to extent a hand of friendship towards the two of you. He says that he wishes to teach you everything he knows in exchange for your service to him.”

Solari saw Sasuke’s eyes gleam with the prospect of more power. She remembered how Sasuke had said that he would do anything it takes to kill Itachi and this was his best opportunity yet.

“We will never work for Orochimaru-teme,” Solari said, and she spat at the ground at Sakon’s feet.

Tayuya picked Solari up by the collar of her shirt and pushed her against the tree. “Don’t talk about Orochimaru-sama like that.”

“Why not?!” Solari shouted at her. “He doesn’t deserve the title ‘sama’ anyway, even if he was a Sanin!”

Tayuya smirked. “I know why you looked so familiar. You’re that b***h that ran away from the village so long ago. The one with the Level 2 curse mark right?” She let Solari slid down the tree.

“My name is Uchiha Solari. Don’t call me a b***h,” Solari said, rubbing her neck.

“What’s so special about these s**t heads anyway? Why does he want them.”

“Orochimaru-sama has his reasons. We should trust him,” Sakon said, trying to calm Tayuya down.

“You aren’t the leader here Sakon,” Kidomaru said angrily.

They’re fighting, we should get out of here, Solari said to Sasuke.

Good idea. The two of them started inching towards the edge of the branch and were almost there when the fighting stopped. Sakon grabbed Sasuke by the ankle and Jiroubou grabbed Solari by the wrist. The two of them were thrown off the tree and slammed into the wall of the nearest building.

“You cowards,” Kidomaru said with a laugh. “I think I may even agree with Tayuya on this. These two are worthless.”

“Orochimaru-sama has his reasons like I said. Anyway, it’s not like we have a choice,” Sakon replied. “So you two, you have the choice. You can come with us and get greater power then you ever could have imagined, or you can stay here and get dragged down by these people that call themselves shinobi. You have two days to decide.” With that, the four of them disappeared into the night.

After a few moments of silence, Solari turned to Sasuke. “You aren’t seriously considering going with them are you.”

Sasuke had no response, he simply jumped down from the ledge they were on and walked into the house below them.

Solari jumped down after him, confused, and looked around. They had been just above the Uchiha area of Konoha and she hadn’t noticed. Once she got over that shock, Solari ran into the house.

“Sasuke! Where are you?” she shouted as she went through the large house. She finally found Sasuke in a large empty room. “What are you doing in here?” Solari asked, entering the room.

“I’m thinking about what those people said.” Sasuke said.

“What is there to think about? You aren’t going to listen to them are you?” Solari asked, shocked.

“I am an avenger Solari. It’s something I don’t expect you to understand.” He turned to face her, a very serious look on his face. “I’m going. It’s the only way for me to fulfill my only purpose in life.”

Solari looked him in the eye. She felt that at this point, she understood Sasuke more than she ever would again. She knew exactly what needed to be done. “Then I guess I’m coming with you,” she said with a sigh, unable to believe the words coming out of her mouth.

“No, I’m going myself.” Sasuke walked to the door Solari was standing in front of and tried to get out but Solari stopped him.

“They gave the offer to both of us. It’s not your choice if I go or not. I have my own revenge and my own reasons to want to go as well.”

Sasuke grabbed Solari’s wrist and dragged her out of the room. He kept a firm hold on her until they reached a large bedroom. Sasuke let her go and wordlessly began to search through a closet. After a few moments he turned around holding a small jacket. The jacket was navy blue and had the Uchiha symbol on the back.

“This was my mother’s. I mean, our mother’s. I think you should have it. You’re more of an Uchiha then I have ever known. You are everything our clan stands for. You deserve it.” He held out the jacket and Solari put it on.

“Thank you Sasuke.” Her tone changed from sweet to all business. “Now, I think that you should leave with the Sound Four. I’ll follow later. They are going to have to do some things to you that I have already done and would really not like to see again. You have two days before they leave, but I say the sooner the better.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Sasuke asked.

Solari waved him out the door. “I can handle myself, just go.”

Sasuke headed to his room and Solari walked in the opposite direction. No doubt someone would discover Sasuke was gone and that would be her cue to leave.  

[Maeve Avari]

oh me gawd. If you don't speak my language that means...It was really intense and an awesome chapter!  

[R0KI]

I have had the last sentance of this chapter in my head for God knows how long. I love it! And just to add a little bit of my English homewrok into this, I'd say that the climax of PART 1 is the last sentance. But don't skip ahead and read it. It needs to get built up to.

Chapter 29: Choice - part 2

Solari spent the night at in the main Uchiha building. The next morning she heard Sakura right outside the walls of the Uchiha residence telling two other shinobi about how Sasuke was leaving to join Orochimaru. Solari went to the gate and saw the three of them running to tell Tsunade.

Sasuke, I hope you’re okay. Solari thought to herself as she watched them run. She followed Sakura, but at a walk. When she reached the entrance to the headquarters that was previously her home, Shikamaru came up behind her.

“Shikamaru, what are you doing here?” Solari asked as her fell into step with her.

“Apparently I’m getting my first mission as a chunin from Tsunade-sama today. It’s a drag really,” he sighed, “but I suppose I have no choice.”

“I needed to talk to Tsunade too, why don’t we go together?” Solari offered.

Shikamaru shrugged. “Whatever.”

They walked up to Tsunade’s office and Solari knocked 3 times.

“Come in,” Tsunade said from behind the door.

The two of them walked inside to find Tsunade sitting at a desk with Shizune and Tonton behind her. “Solari? What are you doing here?” Tsunade asked, confused.

“I needed to talk to you about Sasuke.”

“Did you know he was going to leave the village?” Tsunade asked, eyeing Solari suspiciously.

“Iie,” Solari lied. “I just found out this morning.”

Tsunade shook her head as though she knew Solari was lying and turned her attention to Shikamaru. “As you already know, today you are getting your first mission as a team leader. It is a short notice mission and you must leave within the hour. I want you to gather the best team of genin as possible and go retrieve Sasuke.”

“One hour? That is almost impossible,” Shikamaru said, shocked.

“Well, you are going to do it. This is an incredibly important A-rank mission so choose your squad carefully. I do recommend bringing Naruto though. He has a lot of determination. You two can go now.”

As soon as the door shut behind them, Solari confronted Shikamaru. “Who are you going to bring?”

Shikamaru thought for a moment before responding. “Naruto, Kiba, Neji, and Choji.”

“What about me? He is my brother after all,” Solari said, folding her arms.

Shikamaru eyed her. “I don’t trust you. Not just because you’re a girl either.”

Solari turned away. “Fine, then I guess my ability to hear out people from miles away and to know the landscape of an area just by listening to sounds won’t come in handy at all. Plus, it’s not like I always know where Sasuke is because of a connection we might have.”

Shikamaru sighed, “Okay, you can come. Get Naruto and Neji and meet me by the Northern gate. According to Sakura that was the gate Sasuke was leaving from.”

“Hai,” Solari said, and ran off towards Naruto’s apartment.

A few minutes later, Solari was to be found banging on Naruto’s door. “Oi baka! Open up!”

The door creaked open and a bleary eyed Naruto appeared. “What? It’s too early to be awake.”

“It’s almost 10 AM Naruto. But I suppose if you want to sleep that’s fine.” Naruto began to shut the door, but Solari put her foot in it. “I guess you don’t want to come on the A-ranked mission to save Sasuke, that’s okay. I’ll just go get Kiba instead.”

Naruto’s eyes widened and he slammed the door shut. Solari heard shouts and bangs from the inside of his apartment as he ran around attempting to get ready as fast as possible. Less than a minute later Naruto flung the door open. His forehead protector was hanging over one shoulder and he had a breakfast bar in his mouth.

Solari smiled. “We have to go get Neji and them we’re meeting up with everyone else at the Northern Gate.”

Naruto nodded, unable to make a sound due to the large amount of food in his mouth.

After convincing Neji to come with them to retrieve Sasuke, Solari, Naruto, and Neji headed to the Northern Gate. Upon seeing Kiba with Shikamaru and Choji, Naruto promptly chocked on the last bit of this breakfast.

“What is he doing here?” Naruto asked, after spitting out the food. “I thought you weren’t going to get Kiba.”

Solari looked at him with a mock innocent look on her face. “Well I didn’t get Kiba.”

Naruto mumbled something no one could understand before Shikamaru began his plan for the mission.

“We are going travel in a straight line. No one is to stray from the line or leave your position unless the situation calls for it. Kiba, you are going to be first. We need you sense of smell to follow Sasuke and detect if anyone is coming in our direction.”

I could do that, Solari thought reproachfully.

“I will follow behind you and give orders. Solari, you will be behind me. I will tell you if we need you to do anything. Behind Solari will be Naruto. You may need to use your kage bunshin in this and the middle is the best place to defend both the front and back of the line. Choji, you’re next. You are also defense. And finally, Neji. You can use your Byakugan to watch in every direction that no one else can see, such as behind us. Everyone understand?” Everyone nodded. “Right, let’s get going.”

Everyone took off in the line. Solari wasn’t paying much attention and keep bumping into Shikamaru. After about an hour of searching, Kiba picked up a trail. I could’ve done it faster than Kiba, Solari thought, shaking her head.

“They stopped moving,” he said, slightly confused.

“It’ could be a trap,” Solari said. “Chances are they’ve noticed us.”

“Solari’s right, we should be very careful from here on out,” Shikamaru said with a small nod.

They continued to move forward, this time at a slower, quieter pace. As soon as Kiba knew exactly where they were, Shikamaru stopped to make a plan. Once it was set up, they each went to their respective spots. Solari went with Neji off to the side. Their purpose was to locate and take Sasuke. They reached the edge of the clearing to find the Sound Four, all sitting around a crate which had Sasuke in it. Solari felt sick from the memories of what that crate was meant for but suppressed it.

“I can’t see inside that crate, even with my Byakugan,” Neji whispered.

Solari sighed, “Well of course you can’t. Orochimaru created this jutsu himself so it’s bound to be something incredibly powerful that was created to block your Byakugan.”

Just as Neji was about to respond, Sakon tuned and threw a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it into the area where Shikamaru and Naruto were supposed to be. It exploded and when the smoke cleared, Naruto and Shikamaru were in the center of the clearing.

“What a shitty rescue party,” Tayuya said, examining the two of them.

“We’re not alone!” Naruto said. “Give Sasuke back now!”

Oh right, that’s gonna work. Let’s just go in and ask for him back, Solari thought sarcastically as she pulled out a kunai.

“Really? I don’t see anyone else,” Kidomaru leered.

Solari motioned to Neji. He nodded and they both jumped out of the bush they were hiding in. They each landed on different sides of Naruto and Shikamaru, kunais out and ready to fight.

Every member of the Sound Four smiled. “We though you wouldn’t be joining us Solari-sama.”

Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru stared at her. “Solari-sama?” Shikamaru asked.

“Well, we decided that is Sasuke-sama is Sasuke-sama the Solari-sama would be Solari-sama,” Jiroubou said.

“Hey Solari-chan, how do you know these guys?” Naruto asked, pushing himself to his feet.

“That is none of your business,” Solari responded through gritted teeth.

Shikamaru stood up also, bushing himself off. “We are willing to negotiate the return to Sasuke to our village. Would you agree to that?”

Tayuya laughed. “Hell no you f**.”

At Tayuya’s words, Choji jumped out from the bushes and landed on top of Jiroubou. The rest of the Sound Four took that as their cue to leave. Kidomaru grabbed the crate and followed Sakon and Tayuya off into the trees.

Solari lead Naruto, Kiba and Neji after the other members of the Sound four. Shikamaru followed after giving Choji some quick instructions.

“Damn it!” Naruto shouted.

“Be quiet Naruto, they may know we’re following them but we don’t need to give out our exact position,” Neji said annoyed.

Kiba shook his head. “What are we supposed to do now?”

Solari stopped dead in her tracks, forcing the others to stop behind her. “What are we going to do now?” She repeated indignantly. “We are going to keep fighting them. If they pick us off one by one, we are still going to continue on. In case you didn’t notice, there are four of them and six of us. So even if we drop off like flies, in the end we’ll have more people and we can beat them.”

The three boys stared at her back, shocked.

Solari turned to face them, a hard and serious look on her face. “This isn’t a game and it’s nothing like what any of us have done before. This is us saving a fellow shinobi from an enemy much stronger than us.” She remembered a vague memory of Kimimaru. “And we don’t know if they have back up or not. But we sure as hell don’t.”

Shikamaru had caught up with them. “She right, we need to keep going.”

Solari nodded and resumed following the remaining members of the Sound Four.

What am I saying? She thought to herself. Wasn’t I going to go with Sasuke? Now I’m giving pep talks about getting him back. He is going to hate me for this. But then again, I make my own decisions, Sasuke doesn’t pick for me. What do I want to do? She thought about it as she continued to chase after the Sound Shinobi. She smiled to herself. Of course, it makes perfect sense. Just as she thought this, she was caught face first by a large sticky web.

“Damn-it Kidomaru!” She shouted, attempting to free herself from the web.

“First they call you Solari-sama and now you are identifying the different abilities of each of them. I think you know these people too well Solari.” Solari looked around to see who was speaking, it was Shikamaru. He, like Solari and the rest of them, was caught in a web.

They heard a laugh from above them. They all looked up to see Kidomaru on a tree branch, an evil smile on his face. “Jiroubou didn’t turn back up so I’m pretty sure he’d dead. I’m just gonna keep you here and play with you to buy the others time.”

Solari was working out a plan to get out of the web when she felt it break away. She turned to see Neji cutting through the web as if it wasn’t even there.

“How do you do that?” Naruto asked as Neji released him.

“Simple,” Neji replied. “I can see the chakra running through the web and have the power to stop that flow. The flow of chakra is the only thing that makes these so strong. I’m the only person who could possibly fight this guy.”

Solari nodded and headed on punching Kidomaru’s shoulder as she passed him.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba caught up with her shortly after. “What is up with you?” Naruto asked. “You just move on without caring what happens to the person you leave behind.”

“He offered to stay behind,” Solari said. “Anyway, our goal is to get Sasuke back, isn’t it?”

Naruto sighed. “Yeah, but still–”

“No ‘buts’ Naruto,” Solari interjected. “We can’t worry about the others, we can only hope for the best. We need to focus on what’s ahead of us. If they continues to pick us off one-by-one like this then we should have a plan.”

“I would agree with you Solari, but we don’t know their abilities,” Shikamaru pointed out.

“I do. Don’t ask why,” Solari said. “Sakon is actually two people. His brother, Ukon, is inside him. They can fight together or separate into two different people. Kiba, you would be the best person to fight him because you have Akamaru.”

“Hai,” Kiba said with a small nod.

“Who put you in charge?” Naruto asked angrily.

“She knows the most out of all of us Naruto,” Shikamaru said. “Plus it’s less work for me and saves us vital time.”

Solari nodded, hardly listening. “Shikamaru, you have good logic skills and can use your resources wisely. You’re the best person here to fight Tayuya. I don’t know too much about her but I do know that she can summon and control three demons. But you should be able to handle it.”

After that they didn’t go much farther until they found Sakon and Tayuya with the crate, waiting for them.

“You are getting on our nerves,” Sakon said with a sneer.

“Thanks to you s**t heads we’re late for Orochimaru-sama. He may not be able to use Sasuke-sama just yet.”

Solari sighed, she had more time, it was all going to work.

“So, in the mean time.” Sakon leapt from his branch, heading for them with a kunai.

“Kiba now!” Solari shouted as she jumped out of the way.

Akamaru tackled Sakon and knocked him out of the air. They landed out of sight near the river and Kiba followed.

Solari, Shikamaru, and Naruto advanced on Tayuya. She threw some shurikens at them and Shikamaru and Naruto retreated back one branch.

“Solari-chan, get back here!” Naruto yelled.

“Hm, those fags are dragging you down Solari-sama,” Tayuya said so only Solari could hear her. “Sasuke-sama has chosen to come with us. Don’t you want to be with him?”

Naruto heard this last part. “Solari-chan, she’s lying! Sasuke wouldn’t do that.”

Solari slid down the tree trunk holding her head. It had all seemed so simple when she thought about it, but when she actually had to make the choice…They accepted me in Konoha. I felt safe there. They are my family. But a second voice in the back of her head contradicted her.

But Sasuke is your real family. What’s more important? And you told him that you would go with him.

But he didn’t even want me to go.

Think about the plan. The pro-Orochimaru voice said.

Solari reached up and took off her Konoha forehead protector. She looked at her reflection in it. She didn’t know who was looking back at her. The last time she had really looked at herself had been so long ago. When did she actually think about what she wanted in the future?

Then she remembered: “My name is Solari. I’m the honorable granddaughter and I hate it. I really love being a ninja. I love mastering a new jutsu. I don’t really have any hobbies. In the future I want to influence people and be a powerful ninja.” She had said that on her first day as a genin. She had still been the Honorable granddaughter then. But now she was an Uchiha. She was a different person now, as much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself.

She pulled out a kunai knife and spun it in her fingers. Holding the kunai still, she stared into it’s depths when she next spoke. “Naruto, Shikamaru, I’m sorry.”  

[Maeve Avari]

meh......but-but BUT! It's a cliffhanger.!.

NUUUUUUUU~! I NEED to know what happens, I'm dieing here!  

[R0KI]

Oh, I'm so sad...it's so conclusiony. I don't want to finish the story (don't worry I still will). It's the first story out of the 10 I've started writing that will come to an end crying  

[Maeve Avari]

it's over!

OMG! It's over, that means you can start part two! Haha! So I assume it will have a neutral ending, leaning toward happy? hm?  

[R0KI]

no, it's not over. but it practically is....It's going to be 30 chapters long crying  

[R0KI]

I am actually crying right now as I'm writing this story. I'm not sure if it's really sad but it's the end ya know. I cry really easily. I cried for 3 hours when I finished the 7th Harry Potter book, just because it was over, not because it was sad. I also cry during this Naruto opening: http://youtube.com/watch?v=S1WrPSpM-tY

You have to read the subtitles for it to be sad. Also, it applies to Solari so much. If you pay attention to the images in this opening it actally has a meaning. When Sasuke's hand is holding the Konoha forehead protector, he is thinking about Sakura and Naruto (that's why they're in the back). But then he drops it when he thinks or Orochimaru and Itachi. Then the little flasbacks at the end are so sad!!

oh, and watch this one too: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dO_PFxfkX20 read the subtitles yet again. Both of these apply to Solari and it kinda describes her completely at this point in the story. (he he, I cried during this one too...)  

[R0KI]

Chapter 30: The Beginning of The End

She threw the kunai at Naruto as she leapt into the air. She landed next to Tayuya, a defiant look on her face.

“What the!” Naruto shouted after getting over the shock of what had just happened.

“I knew I hated girls for a reason,” Shikamaru said. “You can’t trust them. Naruto, stick to the plan that she came up with. I’ll take this one here, you get Sasuke.”

Naruto nodded and lunged at the crate. Solari was too quick for him. She grabbed the crate and ran off. Naruto shouted and chased after her.

Solari hated herself more and more with every step she took away from Konoha. She still wasn’t 100% sure why she had chosen this path.

She jumped out of the tress and landed in the middle of a field full of tall grass. As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, the crate began to smoke. The smell made Solari feel sick. It was like it held something evil and rotting.

Solari began to cough. The smell made her feel weak and she sank to her knees. A searing pain from her curse mark caused her to scream. As the pain spread, Solari realized what was happening.

“Solari!” Naruto shouted, landing in the field near her. He walked slowly to her and raised his hand to the top of her head.

Solari slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me!” she shouted.

Naruto stared at her, amazed and scared of what he was seeing. Her curse mark was spreading across her entire body. The black marks grew until all of her skin had been covered by it and was now a dark shade of purple that was almost black. Her hair grew longer and turned a silver color. Odd folded flaps grew out of her arms and ankles.

“What’s happening to you?” Naruto asked, scared.

Just at that moment, the crate holding Sasuke dissolved. Sasuke stood with his back to them. His skin had turned gray and his hair was longer than normal and purple. Within moments of coming out of the crate, the odd features began to fade away. Without glancing back at them, Sasuke took off.

Solari stood up and ran in the opposite direction of Sasuke, hoping Naruto would follow her. He only stared at her. When Solari reached the tree line she extended her arms and jumped into the air. The flaps on her arms and ankles extended to reveal wings.

Naruto watched her for a fraction of a second, and then chased after Sasuke. That was his mission after all.

Solari was furious at herself, not only had she lost control of her curse mark, she also lost Sasuke.

She flew past fight after fight. Tayuya was dead. Sakon was dead. Ukon was dead. Kidomaru was dead. Jiroubou was dead. Shikamaru and Naruto knew what she had done, there was no going back now. Wiping tears from her eyes, Solari turned around towards the Valley of The End.

Every step she took was tearing at her on the inside. She questioned every step she took. There were ways to go back, but would it be right? Solari thought, again, of her home in Konoha. Everyone there was so nice to be when I came back from Otogakure.

The second voice nagged at her again. That’s only because they didn’t know what you really were.

But I’m not a bad person.

But you just betrayed your fellow shinobi.

Solari grabbed her head in frustration. She convinced herself to keep going by three words playing over and over again in her head. Remember the plan. Remember the plan. Remember the plan.

She reached the Valley of The End to find Sasuke standing next to an unconscious Naruto. She looked down on the two boys from the ledge she was standing on. Sasuke looked up to her and their eyes locked. The hand-like wings on his back receded as did his hair. The wind blew around Solari and she returned to normal. In the brief moment before she was back to normal, Solari heard dogs calling a man.

“Kakashi,” she said.

“What?” Sasuke asked, now back to normal, save for two holes in the back of his shirt.

“Kakashi’s on his way here!” She shouted down to him. “We have to go! Now!”

Just like back in the hospital, Sasuke didn’t need telling twice. He jumped up the side of the cliff to meet up with her. As soon as he touched the ground they looked at each other.

“You decided to come.”

Solari nodded.

They took off just as it began to rain. As Solari heard the dogs get closer she was grateful the rain started when it had.

Epilouge

Naruto woke up to find himself in a hospital bed. A young woman with green hair was pulling the blinds open.

“How did I get here?” he asked blearily.

The woman turned around to face him. “Kakashi-san brought you here. You’ve been unconscious for a while now.”

Naruto tried to sit up. He winced as he felt a burning pain on his chest. He looked down to see it covered in bandages. Small parts of what looked like a burn were scattered around it.

“Sasuke-kun barely missed your heart. You were very lucky,” the woman said. “I’m Takanata Senshi by the way. I was a friend of Solari-chan.”

“You are a friend of Solari-chan,” he corrected her. “She’s not dead.”

Senshi looked shocked. “I know, but I doubt I’ll ever see her again any way.”

Tsunade walked in before Naruto could respond. Turning to Senshi she said, “I need to speak with Naruto in private please.”

Senshi nodded. “Hai, Tsunade-sama.” Just before Senshi left, Naruto thought he saw her wipe a tear out of her eye.

Tsunade sat down in a chair next to Naruto’s bed. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened while you were out their.”

Naruto obliged. He told every part of the story from leaving Choji behind to Solari betraying them. He struggled remembering what happened after that. Naruto finally managed to sum it up by saying he has fought Sasuke but in the end, both of them left.

“Thank you Naruto,” Tsunade said, standing up. “Get better soon.”

When Tsunade left the room, she found Shikamaru waiting for her.

“Why aren’t you helping Choji?” he asked, sounding frightened to the point of tears.

“I have given him the antidote,” she said calmingly. “The effects of the pills have been neutralized, all we can do now is wait.”

Shikamaru looked like he was about to say something. Before he got the chance, his father called him and Shikamaru left Tsunade alone.

Tsunade had to admit to herself that she too was scared. It wasn’t that often you send 6 people out to retrieve another person and only 5 come back, 4 of them on the verge of death. What had happened out there?

Tsunade was confident that Kiba and Naruto would be fine. Now that she had done her best with Choji, she could include him in that group as well. She was most worried about Neji. He was closest to death out of all of them, and for a good reason. He had been found pinned to a tree through his left shoulder by an arrow. His chakra was so depleted that it interfered with his organ functions, even his heart was suffering.

When she stepped into the operation room where Neji was, the first thing she heard was Shizune’s voice. “Good work everyone. He’s going to live. Go rest.”

The other medic-nins walked out of the room, but Shizune stayed behind. “It took us over 12 hours to do that,” she told Tsunade.

Tsunade smiled. “I know, thank you.”

Shizune nodded at Tsunade and left the room. She walked down the hall, completely lost in her own thoughts. Tonton waddled up to her and oinked.

Shizune smiled. “Oh Tonton, you’re so lucky you don’t have to deal with all this.”

Tonton oinked again and jerked his head towards the window. Shizune looked out to see Kakashi sitting on the roof tiles reading a book.

“Kakashi-san, what are you doing here?” she asked, opening the window.

Kakashi looked up, shutting his book. “I was waiting for Jiraiya-sama, I need to talk to him about Naruto.”

“Oh, well if I see him I’ll let him know.” Shizune left, leaving the window open.

Kakashi stood up and looked around. He really did need to talk to Jiraiya soon and didn’t understand what was taking the Toad Sage so long.

He stepped onto a tree branch and climbed up the tree. When he reached the roof, he found Jiraiya there, as if he were waiting for him.

“Kakashi, it’s about time,” he said with a smirk. “I guess it’s true, you are always late.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes but proceeded to talk with Jiraiya about Naruto. “I understand you want to go train him for some time Jiraiya-sama.”

“Yes, I see a great deal of power in him and feel like he needs to learn how to use it.”

Kakashi eyed him. “But there’s another reason, I can tell.”

Jiraiya sighed. “Yes there is another reason. The Akatsuki are moving into the open again. This time their goal is to collect all nine jinchuuriki, that means - ”

“Naruto,” Kakashi finished.

“Right,” Jiraiya said. “It would be better if he was with me until the last possible minute. I’ve talked to Tsunade and we agreed on about 2½ years.”

Kakashi nodded. “That sounds good. Does Naruto know yet?”

“No, I’m going to tell him now. But he can’t know about the Akatsuki yet.” Jiraiya walked to the door. “Well Kakashi, I’ll see you when Naruto is 15.”

“Same to you,” Kakashi said with a quick wave.

Jiraiya stepped into Naruto’s room to find him sitting there, alone. “Hey Naruto,” he said, cheerfully.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “Ero-sennin, what are you doing here?”

Jiraiya ignored the ‘ero-sennin.’ “I came here to offer you personal training for the next 2½ years.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious! Oh man that’s so cool!” He jumped out of bed in his excitement.

“Cool it buddy, you can’t leave until Tsunade says you can.”

“I’m fine, look!” Naruto unwrapped his bandages to show perfectly healed skin where the burn had been.

“Are you sure?” Jiraiya asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I need to train. It’s the only way to get Sasuke and Solari back. Especially Solari, it didn’t seem like she really wanted to go.”

“Naruto, she still went. She wanted to go on some level. Something about either Orochimaru or Sasuke had a stronger pull on her heart than Konoha did.”

“I don’t care!” Naruto shouted. “She didn’t want to go!” His voice lowered considerably. “I know she didn’t want to go,” he said as if he was trying to convince himself it was true. His hands tightened around the covers and he attempted to hide his tears.

Jiraiya sighed. “I’ll go find Tsunade. If she says you can go then you need to pack a bag with essentials. We’re leaving as soon as possible and won’t be back until you are 15.”

Naruto was allowed to leave the hospital. He and Sakura made a promise to both be stronger the next time they met. Sakura was going to train with Tsunade. At sun rise the next day, Jiraiya and his new apprentice left Konoha to train. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel sad as he watched his first team of genin set out on their own adventures. As he watched Naruto leave the village and Sakura head out for her first training with Tsunade he couldn’t help but wonder what Sasuke and Solari were doing. He hoped beyond hope that they were doing okay.

* * *

After a day of travel, the Uchiha twins reached Orochimaru’s northern headquarters in the actual Otogakure. Solari felt a shiver run down her spine as Orochimaru and Kabuto came out to greet them.

A twisted smile was on Orochimaru’s face. “You both came, I’m glad. But I don’t need the two of you. Only one of you will train with me.” He looked back and forth between the two of them. “Sasuke-kun, you will come with me now. Solari-chan, you go with Kabuto.”

Solari felt a pang of emotion that seemed like a combination of hatred and shock. Separating the two of them was not part of her plan. She stood, planted to the ground, as Orochimaru left with Sasuke until Kabuto broke her trance.

“Well, are you coming or not Solari-chan?” Kabuto asked, pushing up his glasses.

Solari followed him, doing her best not to betray her emotions. Kabuto lead her to a large room full of medical equipment and book shelves covered in books needed for a medic-nin.

There were four doors leading out of the room, besides the one she had just come through. Kabuto pointed out each one to her.

“The one on the far right is your room. Next to it is my room. The one to the left of my room leads to the prison, don’t go in there without me. And the one on the far left leaded to the main hall, you can never use that door for entering that room, only for coming back in here. You can never go in the main hall without being called in, unless you are with me. Do you understand?”

Solari rolled her eyes as a response.

“When I ask you a question, you will answer it,” he said coldly, without looking at her.

“Fine. Yeah, I get it.”

“The right thing to say would’ve been ‘Hai, Kabuto-sensei’.”

Solari laughed. “You’re kidding right? I’ve only ever called two people ‘sensei’ and that’s because they practically beat me into it.”

Solari caught a gleam of light on Kabuto’s glasses before he turned around and threw here against the wall, effortlessly with one hand. “Then I will beat you into it.” He pushed his glasses up. “So let’s try this again: Do you understand the rules?”

“Hai, Kabuto-sensei,” Solari said reproachfully, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth.

“That’s better,” Kabuto said with a smirk. “Now go to your room for now, I need to figure some things out and it would be better to know where you are.”

Solari gladly went to the far right room. She shut the door behind her and noticed an outfit laid out on the bed. They knew that she would come. This frustrated her even more.

Now that she was actually here, Solari’s whole plan seemed childish. It never would’ve worked. But she had to stick to it for now, it was the only idea she had. She changed into the clothes that had been laid out, leaving the Oto forehead protector on the bed. She wouldn’t sink that low. The outfit given to her included black leggings, a purple skirt, a black and white shirt, and an Otogakure chunin vest. There were also two katanas. Kabuto must have remembered that she used a katana in hr fight against Shino in the chunin exam.

Solari placed her old clothes in a trunk at the end of her bed, along with the oto forehead protector. She was fastening the katanas to her back just as an idea dawned on her. She reached up and unclipped the necklace. It felt odd not wearing it. She hadn’t taken it off sense they had first met Gaara and Sasuke introduced them as Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Solari. But she knew it was for the best, she didn’t want to lose it.

Just as she closed the lid of the trunk, there was a knock on her door.

“Solari-chan, Orochimaru wishes to speak with you.”

Solari took a deep breath and opened the door. Kabuto smiled when he was what she was wearing. “What about the forehead protector?” he asked her.

Solari smirked. “No thanks, I’m fine.”

Kabuto shook his head and showed her the entrance of the main hall. “You’re on your own from here.”

Solari stepped in and Kabuto shut the door behind her. Now she truly felt trapped. Solari walked to the end of the hall. She found Orochimaru sitting in a large chair, almost king-like, with Sasuke standing behind him. Sasuke was also wearing new clothes. Solari thought they suited him better and made him seem older. He also had a sword, but it was slightly thicker than her own katanas and had a different sort of handle.

How are you? Sasuke asked her.

I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.

Well don’t, I’ve got this under control.

What do you mean?

Before Sasuke could respond, Orochimaru began to speak. “Well Solari-chan, I must say I didn’t expect you to come.”

Liar. Solari thought to herself. You’ve had this planned sense the beginning.

“But I am pleased,” he continued. “As you know now, you are going to be taught by Kabuto. He will be teaching you things drastically different than what Sasuke will be learning. After all, the two of you play two very separate roles in my organization. I just wanted to let you know, you may go now.” With a curt nod, he dismissed Solari who headed to the door that lead directly into the medical center.

As she reached the door, she noticed a table. On the table was an odd assortment of snake parts as well as a severed hand. On the hand was a ring which Solari took without Orochimaru noticing.

Solari began her training as a medic-nin with Kabuto that night. She allowed herself to submit to it, the complexity of the diagrams and information distracted her from everything else around her. It was the best escape. The only times she ever spoke with Sasuke after that was late at night. If both of them were free, they would meet and practice variations of the chidori as well as sword training. Solari spent every training-free moment of her time trying to revise her plan, but to no avail. She eventually gave up on it but knew that if it was meant to happen, the opportunity would present its self.

The End
(To be continued in PART 2…)

 

[Maeve Avari]

YEAH! I finally finished! hmmmm.....I don't know If I will read part 2 just yet, cause I don't know what actually happens sweatdrop soooo...yeah. that was a interesting ending, hm?  

[Riley Miles]

your story intreges me in different ways, you have a great plot in it so far and seem to know what it is the h@#| you're doing. keep up the good work!!!