Sins of the Brother

As soon as Sasuke and Gaara returned to the arena where the matches were being held, Gaara assumed his mask of indifference. He was not ready to let the others see his newfound emotions. However, when he came to his place next to Temari, he took her hand in his quickly, briefly, and and squeezed it tight. He felt her shocked eyes boring holes into the side of his head, yet he did not turn towards her. Finally, he felt her squeeze his hand in return before releasing it to watch the first match. His eyes narrowed and he frowned as he saw the first match would be between Sasuke and that damn bastard Natsuri. He saw the anger that hardened Sasuke's face, and almost felt sorry for the Kiri ninja. Natsuri was smirking at Sasuke, and Gaara could hear him taunting the boy all the way from where he was watching.
"So your whore of a sister couldn't face up to Orochimaru huh? Serves her right, fucking that monster."
He threw a glare in Gaara's direction, and Gaara was clenching the railing in an effort to not go down and kill the insolent bastard for his insult of Naori. By the look on Sasuke's face though, he knew that Natsuri would pay.

"What, are jealous that she chose that 'monster' over you? Or that Orochimaru prefers her?"
Gaara watched as Natsuri snarled and launched himself at Sasuke. He placed his palm on Sasuke's forehead, and the boy seemed to just collapse. It was as if...
"I can absorb my opponent's chakra through the palm of my hand."
Gaara watched Sasuke struggle with wide, anxious eyes.
'The great Uchiha Sasuke,' he scoffed inwardly, not completely free of his sardonic attitude.
He smiled to himself though, as Sasuke managed to get away from the Kiri ninja's touch. He could still hear Natsuri as he snarled at the smirking Sasuke,
"Like I would ever be jealous of that disgusting abomination. I just don't understand how Orochimaru-sama still wants her after..."
Gaara grinned to himself as he met Sasuke's amused gaze.
"Oh I see, you're jealous of both of them. You want her don't you, my sister? Yet you don't dare touch her with Orochimaru lusting after her."
Gaara watched as Sasuke kicked Natsuri up into the air and sprang up behind the Mist ninja.

Sasuke grinned as he whispered into Natsuri's ear;
"You hate him because he wants her, but you want his power and hate that she is stronger."
Natsuri shook his head violently.
"You're wrong. She knew that I wanted her, and she still went to him," he spat, referring to Gaara, "I even tried to spare her Orochimaru's attention. I helped him take her years ago, so that he would lose interest. I gave him her friend, and I was going to give you to him as well, but now I'm just going to kill you!"
Sasuke snarled and felt his chakra rise up. He wanted to kill this bastard for what he had done to Naori.
"I don't think so, I'm not done," he growled as he prepared to lash out.
Suddenly, he felt his curse mark burning as it began to spread across his body. It was so strong, he could feel it slowly consuming him. He was losing, he couldn't fight it. He...
~~Please don't~~ he heard Sakura's voice plead with him.
Yes, Sakura had been crying as she'd tried to stop him from continuing with the exam. He couldn't let her down, he needed to show her and Naruto that he was strong. An image of Naori, bleeding and unconscious, flashed in his mind. He couldn't fail her either, his beloved onee-san. He would gain revenge for both of them.
"I won't let this thing beat me!" he cried out, and felt the curse mark begin to recede.
He smiled as he launched a kick at the startled Natsuri. The mist ninja blocked the blow, but Sasuke was far from finished. He rained down blows on the other ninja, driving him towards the ground.
"Lion's Barrage!" he yelled, as Natsuri was slammed into the ground by a final kick.
Sasuke felt completely drained as he landed a few feet away from the defeated Natsuri. It took him several moments before he could rise to his knees, and be declared the winner. He was so tired...before he could fall over, Kakashi-sensei was there, supporting him from behind.

Gaara watched in relief as the match ended. He had been almost...nervous that Sasuke would lose. Especially when the curse mark began to consume the boy's body. He was gripping the railing in front of him, trembling, as he watched Sasuke sag against Hatake. He looked so, so weak. He felt Kankurou and Temari staring at him, and he knew that they thought he was being taken over by blood lust. He ignored them however, in favor of the medic nin approaching him. She came to stand next to him, and looked down at Sasuke as the other medics carried Natsuri away.
"The little brat cut that one a little too close didn't he?"
Gaara turned, prepared to bite off the head of the bitch who would dare insult his newfound...friend? His words froze in his throat though as he looked into her eyes. Her eyes were smiling, full of emotion.
"Naori?"
She nodded and smiled at him.
"Kakashi told me to rest, but I had to come. Besides I already finished healing the rest of my injuries. I had to make sure that Sasuke would be alright, and you as well."
His eyes widened at her words.
"Me?"
"Hai. I was worried about you Gaara."
He felt an unfamiliar blush creeping across his face, and he lowered his gaze that had to come to rest on his own...which was still clenching the railing. Said fingers relaxed, and he felt the tension easing from his body. He should have been annoyed, but he actually enjoyed the fact that she could relax him so completely with a single touch, a single brush of her chakra. His head snapped back up as he realized that he couldn't feel her chakra at all.

Naori could read the question, and the concern in Gaara's beautiful jade eyes.
"I'm surpressing it, my chakra. I know I didn't kill Orochimaru, so I can't let him sense me since I'm supposed to be dead."
She saw his eyes widen as he looked down once again to their joined hands. Then, those green eyes narrowed as if in thought.
"Don't move Naori."
She heard the command in his voice and froze. Why would he...she felt her own eyes widen as she felt sand slowly begin to crawl up her legs.

He almost smiled at the expression of surprise and apprehension on Naori's borrowed face. He had suddenly been consumed by the need to touch her, to reassure himself that she was really alright. Yet he knew that if any of the sound ninjas saw him touch the medic next to him, they would realize that she was really Naori. He couldn't have that getting back to the bastard who had tried to kill her in the first place. He was studying their interlaced hands, trying to think of a solution when an idea struck.
"Don't move Naori," he commanded.
He almost laughed as he saw her freeze. She was so amusing. He sent particles of sand over her legs and up her body. He felt her hand tighten on his as he let the sand slowly cover her body as well as his own. The sand moved so slowly, so subtly, that it wasn't visible to any who might glance in their direction.
"Step back slowly Naori. I want to touch you."
He felt a shiver run through his onna at the husky tone of his voice, yet she complied. He stepped back as well, not disturbling the perfect sand clones of himself and Naori. They both sat down, backs against the wall. He sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder, out of sight of all...except Temari.

Temari loved both of her brothers. Honestly she did, but sometimes Kankurou made her want to strangle him, and Gaara...well Gaara scared the hell out of her. So, it was a shock to see her fierce baby brother cuddled up to one of the medic ninjas, practically purring in contenment as the girl stroked his hair. Temari met the girl's eyes and grinned. She'd know that insolent gaze anywhere. She already had Temari's respect, and as she watched the girl seemingly tame her "monster" of a brother, Uchiha Naori had her admiration as well.
'...as a result of injury.' Temari replayed the announcement in her mind.
'I wonder what happened. What was so bad that she needs to disguise herself?'
Temari's eyes narrowed as a wave of pretectiveness welled up inside of her for the younger girl. She wouldn't let anyone hurt the one person that did not fear her volatile, fragile, little brother. Not even Gaara himself.

Naori smiled as she saw the protectiveness surge into Temari's gaze. She liked the older girl, and felt priveleged to be considered under her protection, whether it was necassary or not. She smiled at the girl and nodded as Temari's gaze flickered toward Gaara. Yes, Naori would care for him and protect his vulnerable heart. She threaded her fingers through his, surprisingly, soft hair and grinned as he closed his eyes with a groan. She leaned in to whisper hotly in his ear:
"Mm, Gaara, do you like it when I touch you here? I bet you don't let others touch you like this."
"They would die if they tried," he moaned as she scraped her nails against his scalp.
She tugged his hair hard enough for him to open his eyes and glare at her.
"Hai they would," she growled as she stroked his thigh with her other hand.
He jumped slightly and his muscles bunched under her touch.
"Oh my kage-chan, I want you so much," she whispered, leaning close to kiss his neck.
"Naori, I want you too. Kami, koi I want more than anything," he growled fiercely, fisting his hand in her hair as he pulled her close to kiss her.
The kiss was possessive, branding, yet gentle and passionate. He could feel a peculiar warmth spreading through him as Naori seemed to melt into him. She made him feel so special...so, so damn good. It almost scared him, because he didn't think that he would be able to give her up. He knew that he would have to, eventually. No one stayed with him for very long, they were all afraid of him. Except for Naori, she...had moved her hand from his thigh to pull his own hand towards her stomach.
"Gaara," she groaned, sliding his hand even lower, "oh you make me feel so...Kami Gaara, I don't think I know how to descibe it."
He grit his teeth, desparately trying to hold back his moan at finding her wet through her pants.
"Naori," he gasped, taking his hand from her grasp and sliding it into her pants. He hissed as his fingers encountered her damp flesh at the same time her own fingers curled around his hard length. His hips flexed into her grasp as he plunged two fingers into her hot, slick center. He glanced down, mesmerized by the sight of her hand inside of his pants, stroking him, and his own hand that disappeared beneath her waistband.
She moaned and tightened hergrip around him. He grunted as he felt her tighten around his fingers as well. She was so close, her hips were jerking into his hand, and she was just so...god damn wet. He could feel his own flesh tightening and heat pooling in his stomach. Kami he was going to come. He kissed Naori, gently sucking her tongue into his mouth. He grinned with satisfaction as she came, panting his name as her juices covered his fingers. He lifted his hand, eyes never leaving hers, grunting as she never stopped stroking his eager flesh, and sucked her essence from his fingers. She jerked his length harder, and he saw white as he came, tossing his head back and growling out his pleasure. Gaara opened his eyes to see Naori staring at him in apparent shock. He leaned over until he was about an inch from her...and bit her gently on the nose. He laughed softly as she jumped, and covered her now blushing face with her hands.
"What is it koi? What has you looking at me like that?"
If possible, she blushed even more as she answered him.
"It's just that...well, I never...I mean, I've never felt anything like that before," she finished in a rush
Gaara felt his own eyes widen before he grinned in satisfaction. She had never felt like this with anyone else...only with him. He kissed her gently, putting all of his newfound emotion into the act. He felt her sigh, and completely relax into him. Her hands trailed gently over him; one combing his hair with her fingers as the other smoothed down his chest.
"Gaara," she whispered, causing his eyes to drift open and look into her gentle, obsidian orbs.
The look in her eyes made his breath catch. There was something in her gaze that he'd never seen directed towards him before. Her hand moved to cup his cheek as she smiled at him, and he felt his heart begin to race. She looked like she wanted to say something to him. There was this strange anticipation swelling up as he waited for her to speak.
"What i-is it Naori?" he asked, blushing as he stammered for the first time he could remember.
"Gaara, I..."
They were interrupted by the sound of Kankurou's name being called for the next match.
"Gaara, Kankurou is going to fight Naori's other teammate Matsuo."
Gaara almost cursed as he felt Naori tense in his arms.
"Come," he told her, gently pulling her to her feet.
He guided her back into the sand clone, and slowly withdrew the sand their bodies. As he watched her clench the railing in front of her and watch her team member with worried eyes. He already missed the physical contract he shared with her.
"Matsuo," she whispered, eyes full of regret.
"What is it Naori?"
She turned to look at him, hesitation inher eyes. She shook her head as she turned to look down at Matsuo.
"He's going provoke Kankurou. He wants to make your brother hurt him."
Gaara snorted,
"Why would he do that? Is he an idiot?"
"No. He's just trying to make it up to me."
He studied the man standing across from his brother, curious.
"Make what up to you?"
If possible, she looked even sadder.
"Not helping me with Natsuri. He feels bad that he couldn't do anything."
Gaara turned his gaze to Naori, noticing how much she actually cared for this particular teammate. As Kankurou walked past him, he grabbed his arm.
"Don't kill him."
Kankurou glanced down at him, shocked, but nodded before going down to meet his opponent.

Once he was down in the arena, Kankurou recognized his opponent as one of the girl Naori's teammates. He jerked his head up towards Gaara, taking in Temari's smile and the nervous medic next to his brother. Kankurou wasn't as dumb as his siblings believed, and realized two things at once. One, the girl Naori wasn't really dead. Second, that his violent little brother actually cared about her. He turned back to his opponent and smirked.
'Don't kill him huh?'

Naori watched the match begin with held breath. Her hands were sweating as she clenched the railing in front of her. She hadn't expected Matsuo to be so...ferocious. Her glance slid over to Gaara as she picked up Matsuo's taunts towards Kankurou. She expected Gaara to be furious, but he was calmly watching as his brother was wrapped in Matsuo's limbs. She heard Matsuo threaten to snap Kankurou's neck and cringed. Gaara caught her gaze, and smirked. Naori's eyes narrowed. Something was going on. She turned back to see a puppet twist around Matsuo's body. Kankurou glanced up at her gasp and smiled. Suddenly, Matsuo's body went limp. She almost cried out, afraid for her friend, but stopped at Gaara's hand on hers.
"Don't worry. He's not dead."
She smiled to herself, 'So he asked Kankurou not to kill him. Why?'
It was just as impossible for the sole Uchiha female to comprehend another person doing such a thing in order to please her, as it was for Gaara to understand why he would want to. She placed her hand on his arm, almost unaware of the Byakugan eyes that took in the gesture. She smiled at the Hyuuga heiress before turning to Gaara.
"Thank you Gaara."
He said nothing, and his expression didn't seem to change. Any who looked closely as his sister Temari did though, would notice a slight softening in his eyes. They looked almost...content. Naori gave his arm a final touch before descending to help the other medics carrying Matsuo to the infirmary. She couldn't leave the man, not after he had sacrificed himself just to apologize to her. She made sure that he was resting comfortably and that he was stable, planning on staying with him...until one of the medics mentioned that the next match would be between the two Hyuuga genin of Konoha. Naori raced back to the arena, but stayed hidden in the shadows as she watched her old friend Neji. She had known him before she left the village six years ago, before...she almost felt herself gasp at the sheer hatred in Neji's eyes. After all this time, he still hated Hinata for what happened to his father...and for his own fate as well. She sighed, and let her eyes drift closed. Neji was three years younger than she was, two years older than Sasuke. Yet she had been so much closer to the Hyuuga before the death of her clan. It wasn't any fault of Sasuke that caused her to be closer to Neji, but just the call of a kindred spirit. They both knew how it felt to be pushed aside because of the circumstances of their birth. His because his father was born two minutes after Hiashi, and her because she was born female. She had been closer to Neji than anyone, well anyone besides...
Her eyes snapped open at the sound of cracking bones. Neji had just broken several of Hinata's ribs, and yet she still fought.
'He's going to kill her,' she realized as she watched a hidden pain flare in Neji's eyes.
She hated to see him attack the gentle girl with such ferocity, yet couldn't feel anything crack the protective wall that she had been taught to keep up at all times. She wanted to show her worry for Hinata and Neji, her pride at her friend's accomplishments. She just didn't know how. It seemed that Gaara was the only one capable of breaching that wall. Her gaze snapped up to the red head. She knew that he had heard her call earlier, when she had fought Orochimaru. It looked like he could sense her emotions now as well, she thought to herself, watching the sand nin tremble and clench the railing in front of him. Suddenly, Neji charged Hinata, but was stopped by the all the Konoha senseis. He stepped back as the jounin helped up the younger girl, and placed her on a stretcher. Naori walked out with the medics, and moved to stand near the Hyuuga boy. She didn't say a word as the young Konoha boy that held the nine-tailed fox spirit challenged Neji. The way Neji responded, his cruel taunts, disappointed Naori. She had hoped that her friend would have been past the feelings of contempt and resentment.
-Oh Hyuuga-san, why can you not let it go?-
The boy froze at the brush of her mind against his, and he turned to walk away from the other Konoha ninja, Uzumaki Naruto. She wasn't fooled into thinking that he was walking away from a fight with the other boy, but gaining privacy for their official reunion. As soon as they were alone, Naori let the henge drop, and stood facing her childhood friend. They stood there, staring at one another, for several minutes. Then, Naori smirked.
"It's been a long time Hyuuga-san."
"Indeed it has Uchiha-san. Why are you here?"
Naori's eyes widened in feigned shock.
"Well I'm here to participate in the chuunin exams of course."
Neji snorted and crossed his arms.
"Do not lie to me. The last time you wrote to me, you were already a chuunin in Kirigakure. What's really going on?"
Naori sighed as she dropped all pretense.
"I'm on a mission." She held up a hand as he started to speak, "and I can't tell you about it."
He relented, and let his posture relax.
"You've been well?" he asked, moving to stand next to her
"Hai, I've been fine...and you my friend?"
He shrugged, and threw an arm around Naori's shoulders.
"I'd be better if my best friend wasn't lying to me."
"I'm not lying to you."
He turned to stare at her with his pale, Hyuuga eyes.
"Uchiha-san, I don't need my Byakugan to see that something is wrong."
It was Naori's turn to sigh as she realized that she couldn't hide anything from Neji. She had never been able to hide from him. He and Kakashi had been the only ones besides Itachi that had known about what Orochimaru had done to her...
"Orochimaru is here."
She saw the fury cloud his eyes at the mention of the former Konoha sannin's name. Before he did anything though, she continued:
"He's after Sasuke. He wants my brother, and there's nothing I can really do."
Neji frowned,
"What do you mean?"
"He will be consumed by the vengeance in his heart, and he will go to that bastard willingly."
"Have you 'seen' it?"
She nodded, Neji was also the only one who knew of her special ability. Naori had visions of her family. That's how she had known about Itachi and the destruction of their clan before the news had even reached Kirigakure.
"It's part of my mission. I'm supposed to investigate the situation, and to eliminate Orochimaru if the opportunity presents itself."
Neji's frown deepened,
"Kiri would assign such a high ranking mission to a chuunin?"
Naori hesitated before reaching for her sleeve.
"Not exactly. You see, I'm not actually a chuunin anymore."
She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo high on her arm. Neji's eyes widened in surprise.
"ANBU? When did you become ANBU?"
"About three years ago. I would have joined earlier, but they didn't want to let me because I was originally from Konoha."
Neji smirked
"And they call me a genius."
Naori frowned as she looked at Neji in confusion. He just smiled.
"Do you know how impossible becoming ANBU in another village is? I've never heard of it happening before Uchiha-san."
Naori snorted, amused
"Oh really? I guess I have one up on you now, ne?"
Neji frowned before smirking
"I guess you do."

Naori stayed with Neji, simply catching up with her friend, not really even paying attention to anything else. Which is why she didn't notice Gaara watching her with the Hyuuga. To Gaara, and if anyone else had seen the two together, it looked as if Naori and Neji were intimate with one another. The Suna ninja was surprised by the intense surge of jealousy that filled him as he watched the pair. He was so enraged as he stormed back to the fighting area, that he could feel that familiar blood lust creeping over him. He wanted to kill the Konoha ninja standing in front of him, even though the bushy browed fool had done nothing. As their match began, he only hoped that the boy would be strong enough to defend himself.

Naori could taste rage in the air. A murderous rage that was emanating from a now familiar source: Gaara. She replaced her medic henge as she and Neji made their way back to the arena. She had to stop and simply stare in shock as she took in the destruction that had occurred in such a short amount of time. One of the leaf ninja, Rock Lee, was being looked over by the medics, and she rushed over to help. She took in the sand scattered around the boy's body before examining him. Her eyes shot to Gaara as she realized that Lee's left arm and leg had been completely crushed. The dark look in Gaara's eyes was a little unsettling, because he didn't look like he regretter permanantly injuring the other ninja.
-What's wrong with you? How could you do this?-
Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing in anger as he turned away. Apparently he felt that no explanation was necessary. Naori felt her own anger flare at his attitude before clamping down hard. If she let herself grow too angry, her chakra would start to surge and she would be discovered. So, she reigned herself in, promising herself that she would talk to him later.

After helping stabalize Lee, Naori waited for the Hokage to make his final remarks about the finals of the exam. She needed to speak with him about her mission. As she was waiting, Gaara walked into the hallway where she was. When he saw her, he stopped. There was no emotion on his face at all, and for some reason that really pissed Naori off. She marched right up to him, for once letting her anger show on her face.
"What the fuck is your problem?" she demanded

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the anger in Naori's expression and words. Why the hell was she angry? He wasn't the one that had been getting entirely too close to that damn Hyuuga.
"I don't have a problem. Now move out of my way."
He purposefully ignored the shiver of pleasure that went through him at the barely contained violence that lurked beneath Naori's expression.
"You will stay until I tell you to go."
Gaara was actually speechless by the commanding tone and the absolute authority in her demeanor.
"What right do you have to order me?"
She shoved him against the wall, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt. He was once again taken by surprise at her sheer vehemence.
"I have every right. Do you know where you are? You are in the police district. The police district belongs to the Uchihas. I am Uchiha."
He hadn't known that the Uchiha clan had been so prominent. He'd heard that they were a large clan of protectors for Konoha, and that they were talented fighters. He'd heard of the Uchiha prodigy...and how he had decimated the clan except for one, well two. Regardless of her status in Konoha, she held nothing over him.
"I couldn't care less what family you are from, what your name is."
He saw that he actually startled her with his response. Why was she so surprised?
"Do you mean that?"
Confused, he nodded. He was even more confused by the sudden pressure of her mouth against his. Wasn't she with Hyuuga? Why was she kissing him? He pushed her away, holding her shoulders.
"What are you doing?"
Her face was almost glowing with happiness despite the lack of a smile.
"You really don't care?"
He frowned
"About what?"
Her grip on him softened, and her fingers slid up to thread through his hair.
"About my name. You really don't care that I'm an Uchiha?"
He understood now. Naori wanted to know that she was wanted for herself, not for her family, her reputation. He knew that need personally. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her against his chest.
"No. Not at all. Do you care that I'm Sabaku?"
She shook her head, and he kissed her softly. Of course she wouldn't care. She was the last person to pay attention to what family someone was from. Maybe that's why she was so close to the Hyuuga boy as well. He must know how it felt to be judged by who his family was. He felt his absurd jealousy flow out of him as he realized that Naori was only intimate with him. Hyuuga was a close friend, but nothing more.
"I was jealous," he told her quietly as he pulled back slightly.
"Hmm?" she murmured
"Of you and the Hyuuga boy. That's why I was so angry."
She laughed softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Really Gaara, you shouldn't be. Hyuuga-san and I were friends when we were children, the only friends that we had were each other. I haven't seen him in six years, so we wanted to spend time alone with each other without interference you know?"
He nodded. He did understand, and he felt foolish for being jealous of their friendship. Instead of saying anything, he kissed her again. He kissed her until he heard a throat clearing behind him. The Third Hokage stood behind him, watching them with a knowing smile.
"Gaara you should begin preparing for your match. I believe the Uchiha and I have something to discuss."

Naori was startled, but merely nodded. He had addressed her as "the" Uchiha, as in the eldest remaining member. Was there something the Hokage needed to tell her? She managed to convince Gaara to go to his siblings with a promise to meet with him later.
"Hokage-sama...why, you addressed me as the Uchiha?" she asked nervously.
The Hokage merely smiled, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I haven't heard anything Naori, do not worry. However, as far as everyone but you, me, and Sasuke are concerned...you are the Uchiha."
She frowned at his words, even though she knew them to be true. It bothered her, even after the six years she had been gone, that the village hated her brother-labeled him a traitor. No one knew the truth of why he had killed the entire Uchiha clan. Well, no one except for the Hokage, Naori...and UchihaItachi himself. She looked at the ground as she walked with Sarutobi, the Leaf Village's Third Hokage.
"I hate it. I wish the people of this village would stop calling aniki a monster."
"Well, they don't know any differently," he looked to her as they reached his office, "and unless you want to try and contradict generations of preconceptions about the Uchiha clan, they will not believe any dfferently either."
"Hokage-sama, why did you never stop it? Why did you never help us?"
He looked sad as he returned her gaze.
"I tried once, with Itachi. He told me that it wasn't necessary, that he was able to handle it. His only concern was for you, and he told me that he had already warned your father of the repercussions of touching you."
He sighed, and turned to look out his window
"He must not have believed that your brother would follow through."
Naori snorted, indeed her father had been an ignorant man and should have known better than to take Itachi's warning as a bluff. She joined the Hokage at the window, and looked out over the village.
"It's strange Hokage-sama. I thought that I would have missed the village more, but I find that besides Sasuke and Hyuuga-san...I really don't care."
It was his turn to snort in derision as he studied her.
"I understand Naori. This village hasn't really done much to gain your loyalty," his gaze softened as he smiled gently, " but I'm glad that you have a friend in Neji. That boy has been alone ever since his father's death. He doesn't even let his teammates get close."
Naori nodded,
"Hyuuga-san and I understand each other like no other. We both grew up in the shadow of another even though it wasn't deserved, and we both know how it is to be judged...by our family name."
She met the Hokage's gaze, her eyes intense
"I'm not returning to Konoha. I leave for Kirigakure after the finals and my mission are complete."
Sarutobi drew up straight at her words.
"About your mission...what have you found?"
"It is as I expected. Orochimaru wants Sasuke, and my brother...he will go to him willingly."
Her gaze turned pleading,
"Onegai Hokage-sama, don't let the darkness consume Sasuke. He needs help overcoming his hatred."
She turned away
"I'm not sure I am the one to give him that help. My memories of aniki are different...I won't be able to pull him out of the lonelliness he felt."
Sarutobi placed a comforting hand on the young Uchiha's shoulder.
"Don't worry...I believe he has just the person to do that for you."

A/N: Woo, third chapter up already. I'm getting closer to revealing what happened with Naori and Orochimaru as well as what happened with her and Itachi's parents. This is my own twist on the massacre, but it will still contain the main points such as the secret mission of Itachi's. So, in the next chapter more of Naori and Kakashi's relationship will be revealed as well as introducing some more characters.