Same Team

"Mio," his soft voice cooed as his cold hand grazed over her cheek and stroked a strand of hair away from her face. "Wake up."

Obediently, the woman fluttered her long black lashes before opening her lightning blue eyes. She looked lethargically at the masked man hovered over her.

Instinctually, she began shifting away from his touch, only to feel numb and fall back down onto the soft sheets beneath her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was much too course to mutter even the slightest sound through her cracked lips. Her mind was a blur, not knowing to focus on how hungry and weak she was or where she was now.

The man who took her had white hair. This one had black and is wearing a mask.

Was she still in Konoha? Or in the Sand? Or neither?

The room surrounding her was dark—not a trace of anything else but the two of them. It was lit by hanging candles in the corner of the spacious room, but her vision wasn't too accurate.

"Drink."

A bowl of water was brought to her lips. She didn't hesitate to obey once again. Three days without water didn't give her much option to suspect whether what was offered was poisoned or not.

She had to drink. She needed to hang on until they came for her. They would most definitely be looking for her. She had to wait until then.

"Don't cry Mio."

Mio confirmed that the familiar voice came from the masked man as he brushed away her tears with his thumb.

That can't be. It couldn't.

"Ob..Obi…to?"

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"Soul revival?"

Naruto turned to Sasuke for an explanation as they sprinted across the forest to their next destination. Itachi informed them of the latest Akatsuki hideout and that was all. Hit or miss. If they had moved, then Mother was a goner. If not, they still had a chance.

The brothers didn't hesitate to go. Mother had to be there. They weren't going to miss it, even if Itachi couldn't accompany them.

Sasuke nodded, deep in thought. He heard about it once before, but didn't really believe it. But if it's an Uchiha behind all this, then it better be believed.

"It's when you awaken someone's soul through the memories of someone who has known that person."

Naruto looked a bit confused. "Is that even possible?"

"Let's not wait to find out."

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[It's not possible. Obito is dead. So why am I hearing his voice?]

The masked man froze in shock for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Oh my my Mio," Obito said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Guess you remember me more than I accredited you for. That actually makes me really happy and hopeful."

With one hand, he reached for his mask and slowly moved it away from his face.

As Mio suspected, her childhood friend really was behind the disguise. He looked exactly like himself, just a bit older and less innocent. He didn't give off the same happy-go-lucky vibes as he did when he was younger, but that explained itself as he revealed the other half of his face.

"Did I frighten you?" Obito asked in response to Mio's tiny gasp.

She shook her head. It was more shock at the realization than fear.

Aside from Obito's reported death, Kakashi didn't mention much about the mission, leaving many wondering what really happened.

Mio couldn't help but feel saddened. Reuniting with a childhood friend like this wasn't something to be rejoicing over. Something in Obito's eyes was telling her that this wasn't Obito as she remembered either. He was different—very different.

"Well, I hope you remember Rin as well?"

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Sasuke halted.

Itachi was acting funny—spitting out blood and then taking a break after a minor fight with Danzo's little gang after helping them out without expecting anything in return. Mother being taken as the Soul Transfer Sacrifice didn't help the situation either.

As if he didn't have enough on his mind, now there's the problem with his brother. He looked over at Naruto who stopped as well.

Naruto is the nine-tails. Finding Obito with Naruto was basically bringing the nine-tails to the hunters. It was like screaming to be captured.

Maybe it would be best to just go alone and have Naruto call for backup. He needed Naruto to be safe. Heck, he even wanted Itachi to be safe. And he'd bring Mother to safety soon enough. But how was he going to convince Naruto to go back to the Leaf?

"Hey Sasuke."

When he turned, he felt a pound on his head as his strong-headed brother knocked his forehead against his own—headband against headband.

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[The sound of the waterfall played in the background as both of them laid amidst the water surface, panting heavily and lying in exhaustion.

They never fought this hard with each other before. Both of them were down to their last ounce of chakra, with only enough to stop from sinking down the water.

Valley of the End. That was where they were, lying hopelessly injured and angry.

But someone was much angrier.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" she shrieked as she took off her cross-body bag and sweater.

Mother didn't have any chakra to save her life, but she dived in the freezing water without a second thought as she swam over to her two stubborn sons and brought them both to land.

As soon as she dragged both their bodies out of the water, she began scolding them.

Most of the time, they weren't even listening. Mother didn't understand. Sometimes boys just need to fight it out.

To be honest, they couldn't recall what exactly caused the fight in the first place. Something to do with being the Hokage and becoming stronger. Or maybe not. They could care less. Mother was here and they should first worry about that.

"Do you know how long it took me to find you two?" Mother lectured. "Valley of the End to end things? What are you two even trying to end?"

She scolded as she rubbed blonde hair with one end of her sweater, and navy-blue with the other.

"Don't worry so much," little Sasuke said with crossed arms.

Baby Naruto flashed a smile. "As long as we have these headbands on, we're still on the same team!"

"You two weren't listening to anything I said were you?" Mother was terrible at pretending to be angry as she caught them both in a playful headlock.

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but grin. They always grinned the widest together with Mother. That's why, no matter what, they had to be together. No compromises.]

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In a matter of seconds, Sasuke's previous worries faded. Naruto was his comrade. He fought just as well. He was his best and only rival he'd acknowledge. But more importantly, he was his eternal brother. If anything, Sasuke trusted him more than he trusted himself.

Going into battle with him, he was always more ready than ever.

"Let's go get Mother."

Naruto recognized that his own determination was reflected in Sasuke's eyes. Now they were talking.

"Right on."