Through Heavens\\Uchiha Sasuke\\and Hells\\one

I crouched on the village gate, the guards peacefully sleeping. A smirk played upon my face as Takai took in his surroundings. He nodded, signaling that it was ok to start my jutsu. I did the proper hand seals before whispering, "Sleep Sakini Jutsu." (sleep away jutsu) I waited a few moments, before listening closely.

The sound of bodies falling in heavy sleep echoed throughout the village. With my now mastered kekkai genkai, my genjutsus were too powerful for even a kage to dispel. Only I could end the sleeping jutsu, and wake up the sleeping village. "We need to work quickly before the Fifth gets suspicious." Takai nodded and followed me as I ran at high speeds through the town and to the new Hokage's office.

No one ever told me who took over the position, I figured that it was probably Jiraiya. If it was someone else, someone who detests me, then my plan will be shattered.

I opened the office door slowly, to find a sleeping Tsunade. "So she is the new Hokage?" I shrugged at his question. "If so, then the odds will be in my favor." He nodded as I woke her up. "Tsunade-sama, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open groggily. "Tsu-Tsukiko?" I nodded as she sat up, a smirk on her face. "It's been two years since anyone has seen you, I trust you are not in any...trouble." I shook my head before sitting down in a chair in front of her desk. Takai sat by my feet. She eyed my hitai-ate, which had more scratch marks, but no single line striking out the leaf emblem.

"I managed to escape from the Akatsuki. I came to Konoha in hopes of protection. I plan on using my memory jutsu, to show you that I am not in any way a traitor." Of course I have the ability to alter the memories shown to her, but she doesn't need to know that.

She nodded and I began to make several hand seals. "Memory Transfer Jutsu." She stared into my eyes and I gave her the memories of the past two years, the first one and a half years were mainly unaltered. But I changed the discussion with Itachi to me escaping and finding Takai along my way to Konoha; and I left out my vow of revenge I screamed after the first time Itachi raped me.

Once the jutsu ended I sat back. She stared at me sadly, "We figured that he would kill you off, we never thought that-" I shook my head, "I don't want to talk about it, things like that are best left unspoken. I ask for your forgiveness on performing my genjutsu on Konoha. I did it so I could speak with you first, before anyone raised alarm."

She smiled slightly, "I understand. Wake up the ANBU members." I nodded and dispelled the genjutsu placed on the officers that lie inside the room, and the ones by the door. She turned to one of the captains. "I want you to set up a village meeting for tomorrow. I have something to tell everyone. As for Tsukiko, she stays here, no one is to bother her. Understand?" He (or she, I really couldn't tell) nodded and motioned for the others in the room to follow their suit. "Arigato."

I dispelled the genjutsu on everyone else, so that the village was back to normal. "Tonight, sleep in the guest room of my home. No one will bother you there. I will explain everything to the villagers and shinobi tomorrow. That way you will have a fair understanding with everyone." I snorted, "Even if you are the Hokage, I doubt that they will act any different towards me." She sighed, "Hai, demo, get some rest. The room is upstairs, first door on the right." I nodded, "Arigato."

I laid down on the soft bed, Takai curling into a ball at the end. "How long do you expect this to take?" I stared up at the ceiling, my hands behind my head. "First I have to establish old ties, but gaining people's trust won't be difficult, just look at Tsunade."

He laughed lightly, "I'd thought that at least the Hokage would be suspicious, but we lucked out with her being one of your old senseis." I smiled, "It won't be hard with my story though. They'll take pity on me, after all. Plus, I have a guilt trip ready for that damned Sasuke Uchiha." The nindog lifted his head at the name, "I thought you had a deep tie with him." I frowned, my brow furrowed, "It's true, I did once love him...but things have changed."

*Noon, the Next Day*

Whispers could be heard throughout the crowd. Tsunade stood annoyed, waiting for the group to quiet down. A few ANBU captains, Shizune, Ton-ton, and the elderly advisors stood behind her. As I waited for the signal to make my appearance. Tsunade cleared her throat in order to silence them. "I know this is sudden, but it is important that you all are here." Her eyes wondered down to my old team, standing in the front of the crowd. "Three years ago, not long after Sandaime's death, Tsukiko Nekoraiku was kidnapped by Itachi Uchiha."

An odd tension filled the air, my name clearly made people uneasy. "We passed her off as dead, as she appeared to have no use to the Akatsuki, but we were wrong. She lives and breathes, and is here in Konoha." Gasps were heard, as I walked out of the building and stood beside Tsunade. "Despite rumors, she did help Sandaime in his fatal fight with Orochimaru. I assure you, she is not a traitor of this village, rather she is a protector that should be treated with respect. The demon that once lived inside her is now dead."

Sounds of disapproval and shock swept the crowd, but Tsunade held up her hand, "This is the will of your Hokage, you can choose to treat her badly for her past, that will be tolerated" I snorted at the thought, "However, if I hear of anyone spreading rumors about things that happened to her during the past two years then you will be punished." The murmuring stopped immediately.

So this is your plan, Tsunade? Threatening them into treating me well... I stared down indifferently at the crowd, catching a few untrusting comments. Takai looked up at me worriedly. "That is all for now." The people dispersed. "Come on, I arranged a meeting with your old team." I nodded and followed her back to her office, where the five stood. I stared at a different boy, I hadn't expected another person to be on my old team. Takai shifted uneasily beside me.

I examined each face, each new out fit. "It is quite obvious that Tsukiko will need protection from the Akatsuki," I couldn't keep my eyes off of the stranger, "you five will do a good job," could he be my replacement? No, that's ludicrous. I wouldn't need a replacement. Maybe he was Sasuke's. "Tsukiko-chan?" My train of thought was broken as I glared up at Tsunade. "did you hear anything I said?" Takai barked for reasons unknown to me. Have I been staring at him this whole time? He was now smirking, as Sasuke was glaring at him. "Iie."

My answer was blunt and emotionless, there was a clear change in my attitude. "You'll be staying with team seven until I feel that you are safe. This is Sai, he was assigned to team seven after Sasuke left." I nodded, "I didn't notice anything with you when you came to me last night, do you have anything." I stared at her for a few seconds, trying to recall past events. I shuddered at a bad memory, causing Tsunade to give me a sympathetic look.

I turned away quickly to avoid it. "Iie." She nodded, "Kakashi, take her to her compound. Someone will need to watch her at all times ok?" They all nodded, "Hai!" I looked down at Takai, as he studied my former team and Sai.

"You've certainly changed Suki-chan!" I ignored Naruto's comment, "Interesting new outfit." I stared at Sakura, "I could say the same about you." She smiled at my saying something relatively nice. "A little....revealing don't you think?" I laughed coldly at the bubbly blonde. "You have no idea Naruto."

Kakashi stared at me for a second, taking in my new appearance, "What about the tattoo on your back?" I stopped short, causing strange looks from the others. "W-what about it?" I had forgotten the mark on my back. "Well, where did it come from?" I started walking again, "Itachi gave it to me after...." I cut off, forgetting that I was talking to myself. I had done that a lot back at the hideout. I would have lengthy conversations with a clone or to my reflection. "after?"

I ignored Sasuke while opening the door to my compound. "Forget about it." I had to keep from smiling as I took in the familiar air. Just like I remember it. It had been Sai's first time inside my compound, as everyone else had searched through it after my disappearance. The blood was still on the walls, and it made my skin crawl with joy. Takai strolled off to do something I had asked him to do earlier. "What about the nindog?"

I stopped suddenly, my fists clenched, but I let the anger go. "Stop asking so many damn questions." I heard Kakashi sigh and mumble under his breath, "still has that god forsaken attitude." I opened the door to the main house and pointed towards the living room, where my parents was slaughtered. "Stay there while I get something." Sasuke shook his head, "You heard Tsunade someone has to be with you at all times." I turned away, ignoring him. "Iie."

Itachi....what do you want with me? Why do you want me to get my revenge on Konoha over with? Kuso Bastard! I punched the mirror, shattering it.

I heard several people coming up the stairs as I stared into my now broken reflection. The door opened, "What happened?" Bakamono, what am I to do without him here? Have I gotten so weak that I can't last without him by my side? "Tsukiko?" Why did I have to succumb to him? After everything he did? Why is it that I feel the need for his approval on every move I make?

"TSUKIKO?!" My head snapped towards the door. "Nani?" Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi stood there staring at me like I was the stupidest creature in all of Japan. "Gomen." Kakashi sighed, am I that much of an annoyance? "I will tell you want you want to know." I shocked them, "really? Doushite?" I shrugged, "I showed Tsunade-sama my memories so she knows everything...therefore she trusts me. However, you five do not. I will tell you what you wish to know, in order to regain the bonds we once had." I walked past them and back down the stairs. "Let's go to the KIA stone, I will explain there."

Takai was at the KIA stone, with the weapons pouch that held my kunai and shuriken. I opened it to make sure the ivory kunai given to me by my siblings was still there. "The tattoo on your back." We were sitting down now, in front of the monument. The five sat in front of me, in a semi circle. "I'm sure you can tell that it says 'it is broken'. Itachi gave it to me after he broke my spirit."

I looked up into the sky, hating the subject with a passion. "How did he break your spirit?" I closed my eyes for a few seconds, when I reopened them, they were soft with a pale sadness. "I'd rather not say." He snorted, "You said you'd tell us everything we wanted to know." I looked down into my lap, "Naruto-kun," my voice had been harsh and indifferent up until now. He was startled by my change in heart, "It's not something that is easy to talk about. I had a hard time in believing that it actually happened. I will tell you soon enough, yosh? (ok)"

I looked up at him, into his eyes. He nodded slowly, "Ok...the nindog." I smiled slightly at Sakura's question before patting Takai on the head. "This is Takai Bikou. I found him on my fleet to Konoha." I had taken off his Otogakure hitai-ate, so that they wouldn't get suspicious, however he still had on his jounin vest. "Turns out his previous owner had died recently, and I thought he could help me since he majors in genjutsu- which just happens to be my specialty."

Kakashi nodded, "Speaking of which, were you the one that cast the sleeping genjutsu last night?" I nodded, "I had to, in order to speak with Tsunade without raising alarm. Itachi taught me how to master my shinkirou kiraboushi, so now my genjutsus even surpass kage level. Even though I'm only a jounin." Needless to say, the were impressed, and it added a few points to my ego.

"Alright then, what happened to Neko-oni." My expression went back to emotionless, "A little over a year ago I extracted her from my body and summoned, Yuki, another cat demon, to kill her. She has being a pest and Itachi didn't much like her. Anything else?"

"What did Itachi do to you?" I blinked, staring absent-mindedly at Sasuke. "Didn't we already discuss this? I'm not telling you." A dull anger sparked. Old pains coming back. Thoughts that I had managed to suppress suddenly flared. And for once in a long time...it hurt. I stood up suddenly, causing Takai to do the same. My fists clenched, but the feelings pasted. I sighed, "I just remembered something that I had to do. It is pointless for everyone to follow me, I suggest you take shifts at least. I wouldn't want to be any more of a burden on anyone."

I smiled oddly, a mix between many emotions. Sasuke stood up, as well as Sakura. "Sasuke, you can watch her at night. Sakura take over for now ok?" I silently thanked Kakashi for taking over the situation. I stared at Sasuke, at his indifferent face. Itachi? No...no it's Sasuke, not Itachi. Get it through your head! I turned on my heal, towards town. Sakura quickly followed suit as I silently walked away.

"Sakura." She snapped out of her thoughts, "Nani?" I turned into the weapons store, "Can I ask you something girl to girl?" This was something new to both of us, as talking to Sakura wasn't exactly one of my daily activities. "Sure" I looked through the kunai, shuriken, and senbon needles. "Would it be wrong to have relations with someone who is using you?"

As if me actually asking her something was bad enough, but this just wasn't anything. I was asking her about relationships. And here she is, thinking that I didn't have a heart. "Well it depends what the person is using you for." Honestly I didn't know that it mattered. "Yoshi (alright), um, what if they're using you for...something bad."

She swallowed hard, "Well then, no. Because then you'd just be helping your enemy." I nodded, "I suppose that makes sense." I hated that it did. "Doushite? (why; for what reason)" I put my selected weapons on the check out counter.

Words didn't seem to come out, they were choked off. "I am not sure myself." It didn't make sense, nothing did anymore. "I mean...with Neko-oni gone I no longer pose as a risk to those I love...but I'm not sure of anything any more." I put my ivory kunai on the counter, "Can I get this sharpened too?" The clerk nodded while ringing up my other items. "Do you love someone?" I smiled sadly, "No." She stared at me, confused. "Demo-" I shook my head, "Iie, too many things have happened in these past two years."

I paid for everything, while the clerk took care of my special knife. I put the weapons in my pouch on my leg and waited patiently. "Do you know why Sasuke came back?" I looked back at her, as she was standing behind me. Her head was down in disappointment, I noted. "Iie. Nandi? (why)"

"He came back, looking for you." I blinked before turning away from her and taking the ivory kunai from the clerk's hands and walked out. What would she know of that? It angered me, no...it infuriated me. How dare he come for me after two long years? Two years of despair? Two years of torture! Bastard! I clenched my fists, trying to keep my nerve. Sakura was no longer following me, which was a smart move.

I laid on my bed, eyes wide open with fear. I could never sleep. I never let myself sleep. I sat up and shook my head, hating the feeling that festered in the pit of my stomach. I heard the door open, making the emotion jolt high into my throat. Footsteps echoed up the stairs. No, its not him. It's someone else. I'm not in the Akatsuki anymore, calm down. I put my face into my hands, trying to clam myself down.

The door to my room opened, causing my body to shake. My pelvis and the area surrounding it began to ache in memory. "Why aren't you with Sakura?" I lifted my head, instantly calming down at the site of his face. "She upset herself so I decided to leave her alone." I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out a pill. It looked similar to a soldier pill, but it was the complete opposite. "I take it your shift has begun." I examined the medicine, like I had never seen it before. "Yes."

I nodded and took the pill. Itachi started making me take it to make me sleep, since I was always too scared to go to sleep on my own. Even after all this time I still can't will myself to sleep, no matter how tired I was. I was asleep the first time he..."Why are you hiding things from us?" I laid back, my eyelids feeling heavier by the second. "Because I am ashamed."

He watched me sleep, wondering what I could have meant by such a thing.

"That demon is a nuisance, you will get rid of her." I blinked, unsure of him, "Get rid of her? But I-" He stared at me coldly with those horrid crimson eyes of his, "You will get rid of her, or else." My eyes widened. Or else always meant something worst then the usual torment. So the question of being nearly killed or killing my demon surely wasn't a matter of morality. "Hai, Itachi-sama. I'll get right to it."

My eyes opened slowly, the sun was rising. I turned over on my side and stared out the widow. Was it really that long ago? Have I been alone for a whole year now? Time had gone by faster then I had realized. Two long years suddenly seemed like only a few months. I wanted a savoir...and I got a killer.

In some aspect it was amusing, but that was only if you weren't looking at it from my point of view. But I suppose I should be used to that kind of thing, as things never go (or went for that matter) my way. The thought of myself being this way brought tears to my eyes. I didn't really understand it either. Sakura. She brought this on! For two years I believed that Sasuke wanted nothing to do with me, yet she said that he came back just for me...it didn't make any sense in my brain washed mind.

Before I even knew it, I began crying. I made no noise, just wept in silence.

Could this really be me?

"Why are you crying?" I had forgotten he was watching over me. "Sometimes people just need to cry." I wanted his care more then anything in the world. But I refused to let myself have it. He sat down in front of me as I sat up and wiped my tears away. "What can I do to make you tell me the truth?" I nearly blushed at the thoughts in my head, but pushed them away. "You can make everything right again."

It was the truth, which was odd, since I had been mostly spitting out lies this whole time. He leaned closer, "I want to..." My heart raced so fast that it began to hurt. "...kiss you." I looked away sadly. "herapedme." It came out so fast that I couldn't remember if I said it out loud or not. I felt obliged to tell him after he wanted to show me some affection. But, it made him stop short.

"What?" Unfortunately, I did say it out loud. "I didn't say anything." He seemed angry. "Yes you did! That bastard!" He stood up suddenly, and I grabbed his wrist. "Sasuke wait, I-uh-it came out wrong. I'm sure you're misinterpreting." He looked at me, "Then what did you say?" I looked down, the words escaping me. I regretted everything. Everything. "I thought so." I looked up at him sadly before kissing him.

And yes, I did mean kiss as in a kiss, a show of love.

Though I thought I didn't have any left in me.