Chapter 10: Dusk and the Dawn

"Yuriko-chan!" My mother called out in greeting as she rushed up to give me a tight hug that I gladly returned to her with equal force, Sakaki-nii-san following shortly after her, smiling at me over our mother's shoulder. "Are you alright, were you injured on the mission, did everything go alright?"

I giggled in response to my mother's series of rapid fire questions, patting her on her back to assure her. "Yes I'm fine, mom," I told her warmly. "I wasn't injured and everything went as smoothly as it could have, I was even promoted."

"I heard about that!" My mother said cheerfully as she finally pulled away, smiling at me. "And I think you grew another couple of inches on me young lady."

I blushed in response as my brother came up and ruffled my hair. "Heya squirt, heard you pissed the Tsuchikage off something fierce at the meeting," he told me with a chuckle.

"He was throwing threats around and I told him that I would enjoy sending him the brassed balls of his assassins back to him," I replied with a grin. "I did also suggest he could start a collection of out of them!"

My brother started laughing as my mother gaped at me. "Yuriko Uchiha, who taught you how to talk like that?" she questioned fiercely.

"You did when we were attacked by that Iwa-nin!" I shot back, matching her glare.

My mom blinked before letting out an 'ah' sound. "Oh, that's alright then," she informed dismissively, making me and my brother start laughing again.

"Yuriko-chan!" A body impacted me from behind, making me stagger a bit under the weight of Chika-chan as she glomped me. "I've missed you so much! Are you okay! I heard you got promoted again! Did you really escort Hokage-sama to the ceasefire signing?"

"Don't think she can say anything with you continually questioning her there, Chika-chan," Aoi-kun said as he approached, looking less tense than when he was on the field in Kaze no Kuni, Hasai-sensei not far behind him.

"I missed you too, Chika-chan," I giggled, hugging my friend in return. "And yes, I did get promoted."

"Congratulations then, Yuriko," Hasai-sensei told me, giving me a proud smile. "You earned it after Kaze no Kuni."

"Thank you sensei," I replied brightly. "What about you two and your snazzy new vests!"

My two friends smiled brightly in response as they adjusted the Chunin vests in response to my question. "We got promoted just after you left," Aoi-kun explained. "Hopefully this means we can start going on higher ranked missions together again."

I wasn't able to hide my wince from the two of them. "I wish I could guys, but I'm not sure how often I will be able to," I admitted with an apologetic smile to them. "I was given a new posting to go with my new rank, sorry."

Aoi-kun and Chika-chan both had disappointed looks on their faces while Hasai-sensei gave me an understanding nod. "Well, I guess we'll just have to look forward to when we can go on missions together again!" Chika-chan said brightly, trying to break the somewhat sour mood that had descended upon us.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance eventually," nii-san told us as he stepped forward. "Now, how about we all go out and celebrate all of your promotions, it'll be on me."

"Well I hope your ready for us to eat you out of house and home then!" Aoi-kun shouted challengingly, causing the rest of us to laugh as we made our way towards one of the restaurant's owned by the Akamichi's, picking up more friends and comrades as we walked.

I could feel my chest swelling with pride as I stood at attention behind Minato-sama on top of the Hokage Tower, before the entire village, shinobi gathering on the rooftops while civilians milled in the streets below as Minato-sama recited his pledge to protect the village from all threat internal and external before Sandaime-sama became the first Hokage in history to actually retire and passed the symbolic hat onto Minato-sama who was now wearing his signature white cloak.

Then, myself, Raido-senpai, Genma-senpai and Iwashi-senpai stepped forward as one and knelt down to Minato-sama. "We swear, as loyal shinobi of Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni, we shall serve the Yondaime Hokage until death or our services are no longer required," we recited with practiced ease - Raido-senpai was very insistent on that - the Hokage's Guard oath. "We shall be your sword and shield, to be used as you see fit and guided by your hand alone."

With those words recited, the members of Sandaime-sama's Hokage guard stepped forward symbolically passing on a ninjato, the weapons themselves being only ceremonial and nature - not that they weren't functional weapons, signifying us as the guards of the new Hokage while they continued to protect the former.

The crowd roared in response as the ceremony concluded, cheering Minato-sama on as he stood over them, the wind blowing at just the right angle to catch his cloak, allowing it to billow around him as the wind carried leaves in front of him. I allowed myself a smile as I stood at attention behind him, feeling a sense of belonging as I knew I was where I should be.

My mother and brother had been invited to the Namikaze household to join in the festivities of celebrating Minato-sama's inauguration as the Yondaime Hokage, the two of them telling me how proud their were of me before my professional image had been completely ruined by Kushina-san, now showing signs of her pregnancy with Naruto, crashed into me, babbling excitedly about how adorable I looked up there between the adults.

My mother's jaw dropped as my brother fell over in laughter as I feebly protested for the hundredth time that I was a professional kunoichi, not adorable! But that just broke my mother out of her shock as she joined Kushina-san in thoroughly embarrassing me, much to the amusement of the other guests.

It was an enjoyable night and one that I would always look back on with a fond smile as I remembered laughing with my brother as my mom completely humiliated my senpais in arm wrestling. Struggling against my mother's and Kushina-san's gripe shouting at someone to save me as they dragged me away to play dress up, although I did managed to convince them to drag a stunned Kakashi into the mess, which is coincidentally my first meeting with the teen genius.

He looked adorable giving me a death glare in the pink dress Kushina-san and my mother forced him into.

It was towards the end of the night when I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, Jiraiya-sama drunkenly singing a lewd sailor's song of some kind to everyone's enjoyment.

Feeling a presence beside me I looked over to see my brother standing there with a fond smile on his face as he joined me. "You're really growing up fast there, squirt," he commented softly as he sat down next to me on the swinging bench set up on the porch in the backyard. "Becoming a member of the Hokage's Guard Platoon is a pretty big step, how you feeling about it?"

I smiled in response, leaning into him as he placed an arm around me. "I feel ready for it," I admitted, closing my eyes for a second as I enjoyed the warmth of my brother's presence. "It's hard to explain, but… I really want to protect Minato-sama," I could feel heat building on my cheeks a bit as I spoke. "I mean, I know he's incredibly strong and smart,, and I'm just a kid who's gotten lucky to have gotten a few things right for myself… but whenever he looks at me, it feels like he's looking at an equal… and… it makes me feel really happy inside and like my heart wants to break out of my chest and I don't know why and-"

My brother cut me off, placing a finger on my lips to quiet me. "Because, you love him," he said knowingly, making my eyes widen as I looked up at him in disbelief. "We Uchiha arena known for doing things by half measures, and that goes doubly true for our emotions, when we love we do it with our entire being, and when we hate we feel it down to our toes, it is the source of our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness."

I watched as he reached for the glass he had set on the wicker coffee table beside him, missing his first attempt to grab it even though he was looking right at it before grabbing it on his second try. "How bad is your eyesight?" I asked him in concern, rising myself up to my knees to place a glowing hand on either side of his head.

He grimaced in response. "About halfway gone almost," he admitted in response, allowing me to run my healing chakra through his system, even though he knew it wouldn't do anything for his sight. "I think the rate has been increased a bit since I learned how to completely manifest the Susano'o."

I frowned deeply in response as I desperately tried to find a way to heal his eyesight with my chakra. "There has to be a way to restore your eyesight," I said desperately as I cut off the flow of chakra. "I mean, we know Madara had the Mangekyou since he was only just a few years older than me and he never went blind…"

"There is only one way to restore the sight taken by the Mangekyou Sharingan," my brother grimly stated, my heart clenching as I knew the words that were going to come out of his mouth. "By transplanting the eyes of a direct blood relative who has unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan into your own."

"Then… we just need to trade eyes if I unlock mine then!" I told him, not caring if the others could hear me.

My brother shook his head. "That doesn't work, Yuriko-chan," he told me softly. "It just makes the rate of decay worse, the eyes must be directly implanted into the recipient's, one must sacrifice their sight forever for the other to regain theirs."

"That… there must be a way to avoid that… if I research it then maybe-"

"Yuriko-chan, thank you, but I have already come to terms with it," he cut me off, hugging me tightly. "And I decided, that if the day comes and you experience enough grief that you awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, I will give up my light so that your will continue on."

"O-onii-san," it was the only thing I could get out between my choked sobs as I tightly hugged him in response.

"I love you, little flower," he whispered into my ear, the nickname he used for me before I entered the academy caused more tears to well up in my eyes. "Even when you were just a child and had no idea what you had done… you shone a light into my life when it was the darkest, and that is why I am willing to sacrifice it for your light."

I don't know how long I had sobbed into his shoulder before I fell asleep in his arms, but, he stayed there the entire night, Kushina-san giving me a picture of the two of us sleeping on that swinging bench, with me lying on top of my brother's chest as we slept. But to this day, that picture remained on the nightstand beside me bed, frame and protected by the strongest seals I could create, so that whenever I woke up, I would see the love my brother had for me.

My personal duties as one of Minato-sama's guards was initially that of his assistant, every morning I would arrive a little before Minato-sama to organize his appointments for the day before helping him sort through the various non-critical mission reports that arrived overnight and placed on his desk by the ANBU on duty after ensuring nothing dangerous was planted within.

As the day would go on I would remind him of important meetings and shadow him to all but the absolute highest level of classified meetings, making notes for him on things he may have missed that I would go over with him later in private.

That changed four months after Minato-sama had become the Hokage, Kushina-san entered the fifth month of pregnancy, I was assigned to start guarding Kushina-san and ensure the health of her and the baby while Kakashi protected her from any possible physical threat looking to harm her. During this time, I had basically taken over the spare bedroom inside of their house as my own, Minato-sama wanting me on hand at all times in case something went wrong.

Kushina-san was equally annoyed and amused by his over protectiveness, but she did love the fact that it allowed her to host my tenth birthday party in her home, my mother helping her with all the preparations shooing me and Kakashi outside of the house.

The night of June 21st was a fairly noisy one as all of my friends and acquaintances gathered in the Namikaze home to celebrate the tenth year of my life. Gifts came in aplenty, ranging from a full set of formal kimonos from Saya-taicho to a set of Uzumaki sealing scrolls from Kushina-san who said her family would hate the fact that they would go to waste just sitting around gathering dust, and everything in between.

But, even with that, in the back of my mind and the pit of my stomach, I could feel the dreaded day on approach, the day the masked man would come and leave little Naruto-kun an orphan. I refused to allow such a thing to happen, so I threw myself into my training, sparring often and regularly against Kakashi who seemed to be needing the outlet himself and developing new seals to try and help me.

The most notable seal I created was the 'marker' seal that I had discussed with Jiraiya-sama and Minato-sama so long ago during our trip to Tetsu no Kuni. The seal allowed me to mark people with a seal much like Minato-sama did with his Hiraishin, and once marked, I was able to track their signature up to ten miles away in any direction and once I had practice with it I was even able to tell the person's physical well being so long as they were within that radius.

Using those markers I was able to guide Raido-senpai, Genma-senpai and Iwashi-senpai with a greater degree of accuracy when we were using the Flying Thunder Formation.

As the day approached, plans were made to move Kushina out of Konohagakure in secret so that if the worse case did happen and Minato-sama was not able to reinforce her seal properly, the at least the Kyuubi would be far enough away to give the villagers some warning.

I was present for the birth, assisting Sandaime-sama's wife with the process, while I admit this was the first time present for a birth of any kind, I was far more distracted by the fact that I was trying to sense the arrival of the masked man while making sure Naruto-kun was coming out of Kushina-san alright to feel in awe or disgust by the entire process.

I cut the umbilical cord for Biwako-san who then took the baby to be cleaned and wrapped in a towel. "He's perfectly healthy," I assured the two parents who sighed and sagged in relief, seconds before I felt a sharp pain in my kidney.

Looking down, following Minato-sama's and Kushina-san's shocked eyes I found the business end of a standard issue ninjato impaling me, second before I toppled to the side being roughly tossed away by Obito Uchiha who was now threatening little Naruto-kun's life.

'Nononono!' I mentally screamed as Minato-sama began his fight with the masked man, desperately trying to push the weapon out of my body, even as my vision began to blur for the intense pain.

I let out a strangled gasp as I finally managed it, my hands, glowing with healing chakra flew to my stomach as I tried to heal the wound as quickly as I could, if I was fast enough, then I could, still save them before the Kyuubi was released!

I felt a hand on my shoulder just as I was almost finished healing my wound before the now familiar sense of vertigo that was Minato-sama's Hiraishin overcame me and I was in the middle of the wood, Kushina-san laying on an altar covered in seals and looking extremely weak.

"Kushina-san!" I shouted as I ignored my not fully healed wound to rush to her side, placing my healing chakra upon her.

"N-Naruto… kun…" she gasped out desperately, looking at Minato-sama who smiled before teleporting the three of us to one of the safe houses where Naruto lay waiting.

"Oh… my baby…" Kushina-san cried out happily as Minato-as a placed him in her arms.

I barely noticed as Minato-sama vanished in flash of yellow as I focused as much of my energy on trying to keep her alive. 'No… I can't let this happen, I can't let Naruto-kun grow up alone!' I screamed at myself mentally, biting my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood as I desperately tried to heal the wound that was inflicted upon Kushina-san, and utterly beyond my abilities to heal.

I couldn't stop the tears from spilling from my eyes as the cold realization filled me.

I felt a warm and gentle hand on my cheek, turning my attention to Kushina-san who was smiling warmly at me. "Yuriko-chan, look after Naruto-kun for me, okay?" She requested, making my eyes widen as I tried to shake my head in denial of the situation,

"No… I can save you… I have to save you!" I cried out as I tried pumping more healing chakra into the incredibly warm and loving person before me. "Please… you… you can't die… Kushina-san! I… why… why am I not strong enough?"

Kushina-san smiled sadly as me. "Because sometimes… we just never are strong enough," she told me comfortingly before turning my face to little Naruto-kun. "Protect him for me," she begged. "Be there for him where I can't be."

I nodded weakly, closing my eyes, not trusting myself to speak before I let out a choked sob.

"I'm sorry, Yuriko-chan, you really are adorable," Kushina whispered apologetically, before I felt something being placed on the back of my neck and felt all control of my limbs leave me. "But… I can't have Naruto-kun's big sister dying because she decided to do something foolish."

"Ku… shina… san?" I questioned weakly, staring with a betrayed expression at the red haired women I had come to love, who smiled sadly, tears in her eyes being the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness.

I let out a gasp as I jerked awake, in full control of my limbs as I bolted to my feet, ignoring the pain on my stomach as my partially healed wound tore open a bit at the rushed motion.

"No… Kushina-san! Minato-sama!" I screamed out as I ran out of the small safe house, hearing the screams of a child.

Ignoring my burning wound I followed the screams to a devastated tract of land where I found Naruto-kun, crying before the still bodies of Kushina-san and Minato-sama.

My anguished cries joined the orphan's as Sandaime-sama arrived on the scene, a horrified look on his face as he beheld me weeping over the corpses of the Yondaime and his wife.

On that day, I knew failure and loss like I never had before.

I learned the price of my clan's power, the bitter feeling of helplessness.

I knew what it meant to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It seemed, that the Kami shared their grief with Konohagakure, thought one Shigure Uchiha as she listlessly busied herself in the kitchen. The devastation caused by the Kyuubi's rampage amplified by the death of the Yondaime and his wife, it's been five days since the Kyuubi had been unleashed upon Konoha, and the dark clouds and rain had not let up.

She had grown to like the red haired Uzumaki woman, and she could see why her daughter was enamoured with her and her husband, but… that knowledge did nothing to help her comfort her daughter.

She looked down the hallway where her daughter's room was. The distraught girl having holed herself up in the room as soon as she returned from the hospital yesterday, dropped off by her concerned squadmate Genma who told Shigure that if Yuriko needed anything then to get into contact with any of them.

It touched the mother's heart that her daughter had such reliable friends, and she knew that her daughter would need them, especially when the Sandaime stopped by and explained how he found her, weeping over their bodies, a barely healed and return wound in her gut.

And a five petaled flower in place of her Sharingan as she wept tears of blood.

The news shook Shigure to the core as she began to wonder why her children were cursed to bear the powerful evolution of their bloodline, when neither herself, nor their father had.

Letting out a sigh she turned away from the door that refused to open even when she left food in front of it, she let out a sigh as she looked in on her son's empty room. He had been leading a company in a counter attack on the Kyuubi and attempted to use his Koshintō to teleport the Kyuubi away in an attempt to buy more time for Konohagakure ninja and evacuation attempts.

He had succeeded in moving it back thirty feet and nearly died from chakra exhaustion from the effort.

He was still in the hospital, unconscious to the world and under constant supervision to ensure he didn't die from his efforts to protect the village. More Uchiha had followed his example, the Clan Head Fugaku-sama rallying the combat capable members of the clan into actions, even as some of the untrained members rushed into the village proper to usher civilians into the various shelters.

A knock on the door broke her from her musing as she moved to answer, blinking in surprise as a grim faced Jiraiya was at her door. "Jiraiya-sama," she greeted, bowing to the sannin respectfully. "Please, come in, may I get you some tea?"

"Sorry, Shigure-san, this isn't exactly a social call," he told her with a sad look. "How is she?"

Shigure winced as she looked back towards her daughter's room. "She… she hasn't been eating, hasn't said a word or even come out of her room," she answered, biting the inside of her cheek to contain her tears. "I tried to get in, but I think she sealed her room off."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding. "Unfortunately she needs to report to the Hokage on the… incident," he admitted with a deep frown. "A lot of questions are being asked… and she is the only survivor who can actually be questioned."

"My daughter would never harm the Yondaime or his wife!" Shigure snapped, all traces of her sadness vanishing as her motherly rage surfaced. "She loved them more than anyone else in this village, she would kill herself before bringing harm to them!"

"I know," Jiraiya said reassuringly, patting her shoulder gently, getting her to calm down. "As does sensei and many on the council, but as it stands, she is the only one who could have seen what may have happened."

Shigure let out a shuddering sigh as she sagged. "Please… Jiraiya-sama, keep her safe," she pleaded as she stepped back to allow the sannin entry into her home.

"You have my word," Jiraiya solemnly swore as he entered and followed the mother to the door to her daughter's room.

"Yeah, she's definitely put up a seal on this," Jiraiya said as he placed a hand on the door and sent a careful pulse of chakra through it. "An Uzumaki seal if I'm not mistaken."

He then knocked on the door loudly. "Yuriko, sensei needs you to report in," he announced loudly in a gentle, but professional tone. "And your posting isn't done."

The was some shuffling heard through the door before the door opened, Shigure forcing herself not to rush forward and hug her daughter.

Yuriko looked nothing like her usual cheerful self, her once carefully maintained hair was a tangled mess, her eyes, once filled with life and happiness were puffy with dark circles surrounding them as she stared listlessly at Jiraiya. "What mission?" she croaked out, her once vibrant voice was a hollow shell of it's former self. "I failed it… I couldn't save them… they're dead because I wasn't strong enough…"

Shigure could feel her heart clench as her daughter spoke, gritting her teeth as she tried to stop herself from rush forward again, this was the most anyone had gotten out of her since she had been dropped off by the Sandaime.

"So, you're just going to leave their killer running free without doing anything?" Jiraiya said, getting a twitch from her daughter. "And what about Naruto? The child you helped bring into this world that night? Are you just going to leave their child abandoned."

That got a reaction from Yuriko as her eyes flashed angrily. "And what about you?" she snapped back, her listless voice filling with anger. "You're his godfather, why not you!? Why not Kakashi? He's Minato-sama's student!"

Jiraiya weathered her anger with a calm patience. "If I could, I would in a heartbeat," he told her. "But you know how many enemies Minato had! They would instantly suspect any blond child with me as the Minato's! Kakashi wouldn't be much better, not to mention he's emotionally stunted and retreated into the ANBU corps as soon as the dust settled! If anyone were to be able to take in Minato and Kushina's son, it has to be you! To the other countries, you were just a pet project for him, a way to show unity in the village, they wouldn't think twice about a blond kid in your presence."

Yuriko reeled back as if struck by Jiraiya's words, but the sannin didn't give her a chance to recover before snapping out again. "You are also the only one who saw what happened that night! The only one who can point us to their murderer!" he shouted, his voice rising unintentionally. "Or are you not wanting to bring the one responsible to justice?"

Yuriko reeled again, folding up on herself a bit as tears dropped to the floor, Jiraiya held an arm in front of Shigure, preventing her from rushing to her daughter's side. "Jonin Yuriko Uchiha, are you shirking your duty to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki?" he questioned in a low voice, as if he were challenging her.

"Never!" Yuriko spat out with such vehemence that the two adults reeled back in surprise as the first Uchiha to be made a member of the Hokage's Guard Platoon stood up, her eyes burning with a determination that left any doubts in ruins.

"Good," Jiraiya announced with a firm nod and voice. "Make yourself presentable, sensei summoned you to make your report."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," Yuriko replied with a nod as she stepped back into her room, Shigure darting in after her as the white haired sannin let out a shuddering breath in the hallway.

"It has to be you, kid," he murmured to himself as he waited. "You're about the only one who can properly protect Naruto now."

It was hard, forcing myself to move after days of laying curled up in my bed, not even having the energy to cry. But I moved nonetheless, letting my mother help me get presentable, doing my best to try and take some of her strength in as my own as she straightened my neglected hair as I pulled on the standard jonin's uniform for the coming meeting.

"Sorry," I mumbled out to my mother as she finished combing my hair into it's usual straight manner. "For making you worry… for… not being there."

"It's okay…" my mother whispered into my ear, placing her hands on my shoulders as she rest her forehead on my scalp. "I understand, you loved the two of them so much, it's only natural for you to be depressed."

I nodded slowly, swallowing back my tears as I checked my appearance over once more. "I need to get going," I whispered to her, hugging her for a moment before breaking away. "I'll be back as soon as I can be."

My mother gave me the warmest smile she could muster as she nodded, wiping away a few tears of her own before kissing my forehead affectionately and letting me leave with Jiraiya-sama.

My body screamed at me as I exerted it, following Jiraiya-sama out onto the rooftops, but I ignored it as the sannin gave me an update on the status of the village, and about my brother who was in the hospital, almost barely clinging to life.

A stab of guilt tore through me, joining the ever growing pile, at that news the treacherous parts of my mind telling me that I should have been there to help him, that I should have prevented the need for it from the very beginning.

I shook my head free of those thoughts and focused ahead of myself as we arrived at the Hokage's Tower, the building having seen better days, but representing Konoha by being battered, but still standing. We weren't stopped as Jiraiya-sama led the way through the building, getting us to the council chamber in short order where the Hokage sat behind his desk with the entirety of the council in session, only a few members missing.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Yuriko-chan," Sandaime-sama said gently, once again wearing the Hokage's hat, another surge of guilt was suppressed at the sight of it as I stood at attention. "As the only survivor, you are the only one we can turn to that can answer what happened that night with the Yondaime and his wife."

I took in a careful breath before I responded. "Everything had been going according to plan," I reported in what I hoped was my professional voice, although I could hear it cracking. "But… as soon as the child was born, Biwako-san was killed and I was stabbed from behind," I swallowed tightly. "The man who attacked us had gotten ahold of the Yondaime's son, he was wearing a grey right-eyed mask with black markings on it, and… I caught a glimpse of a Mangekyou Sharingan."

"WHAT!?" Fugaku-sama shouted in shock as the other council members began to stir in an unsure member. "Can you describe it? Or recognize it if seen?"

I licked my lips a bit as I closed my eyes in thought. "I only saw one sharingan, but the one I saw was like a three pointed shuriken with lines connected the three blades," I reported as best as I could. "If I had some paper I could draw it."

Jiraiya quickly produced a sheaf of paper and a pen for me to start drawing it. "I must admit, I am… suspicious if he really is an Uchiha though, whether an active or bastard child," I continued as I drew the sharingan, the reason Obito was able to do so much damage was because no one knew he existed until it was too late. "He might have targeted a clan member who had only just awoken theirs and stole it."

I passed the paper onto Sandaime-sama who nodded and showed it to Fugaku-sama who frowned and studied it. "Her idea holds merit," he announced as he closed his eyes. "We keep a record on all who awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan along with making an image of the design it takes, that is not one that I recognize."

"Is it possible one of your clan members would hide such a thing?" Shikaku Nara questioned, looking downright exhausted.

"Possible, but extremely unlikely, as Sandaime-sama can attest, having seen the awakening of Yuriko-san's" Fugaku-sama reported, looking at Sandaime-sama who nodded grimly. "The user will be crying tears of blood for a period of time afterwards, and… it only awakens after a traumatic event that leaves the victim with overwhelming feelings of guilt. Most users end up committing suicide shortly after from their grief."

"Can you show us your own?" Inoichi Yamanaka questioned me gently, making me blink and look over to him. "I must admit to my own curiosity, but many of us have never seen it before."

Taking a breath, I nodded before activating my sharingan, concentrating I could feel a stabbing pain in my eyes as the world shifted for a lack of a better word. Everything was… clearer, more defined, I could see every minute movement the council was making as they moved, and beyond that, I could feel what they could do, the information filling my mind as the Mangekyou activated.

Kamiyonanayo (Seven Generations of the Age of Gods) inhabited my right eye, a localized Space/Time ninjutsu that warped time into replicating any ninjutsu I used up to seven times, in the exact same way it had been activated in the first place.

And in my left eye was Ama-no Ukihashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven), another Space/Time technique that would allow me to warp the trajectories of any ninjutsu within my eyesight.

I blinked, shutting down my sharingan completely, staggering a bit, causing Jiraiya-sama and, surprisingly, Fugaku-sama to leap to my side, steadying me as the rush of power I felt faded from my body, leaving me feel a bit sluggish.

"It'll get easier," Fugaku-sama assured me in a low voice as he waved for a chair to be brought over to me. "As you grow more adjusted to it, the deactivation won't leave you feeling weak."

I blinked up at him in surprise as he smiled tightly in response to my surprise, his own eyes flashing the Mangekyou Sharingan, a thinner, mirrored version of Itachi's with a dot between each 'blade', to show me before it faded.

He spoke up again, cutting off my attempt to question him on it. "While it grants an incredible amount of power, it comes at a terrible cost in addition to the activation event," Fugaku-sama announced as he moved back to his seat on the council. "The more we use the Mangekyou Sharingan, the more we lose our eyesight."

"Is it possible to repair the damage?" a man I didn't recognize questioned, a calculating look in his eye.

"Not with Iryojutsu," I admitted, looking down at my hands, my eyes throbbing a bit at the memory of activating my Mangekyou. "My brother, Sakaki-nii-san, has it, and his eyesight has been getting worse lately, I tried everything I could to fix the damage short of surgery, but… I couldn't even find any indication of damage to his eyes."

"What she says is true," Fugaku-sama admitted. "There is only one way we know of to repair the damage, and the only one to use it was Madara… and he had stolen his brother's eyes, leaving him for dead in order to restore his sight and evolve it to the ultimate form of the Sharingan." he swallowed tightly as he closed his eyes. "We have made attempts to find a way around it, volunteers stepping forward to trade their eyes, but… they don't work, the only way is to implant the eyes of a close blood relative into your own."

"Troublesome," Shikaku-san stated simply.

Sandaime-sama nodded in agreement. "Yuriko-chan, you heard what your brother did for Konoha, correct?" he questioned me, prompting a nod in response. "As the one who is the most familiar with how much of his sight was lost beforehand, how much do you think he lost from his attempt to defend Konoha?"

I swallowed tightly in response. "I think… he might wake up without his sight," I said finally after several moments of trying to speak. "And if he hasn't, then any more usage of it will render him blind."

Several of the council members lowered their heads in respect to this, Sandaime-sama nodding as he accepted the situation. "With your permission, Hokage-sama, I would like to move him into the Military Police instead of active duty," Fugaku-sama spoke up. "I think he's sacrificed enough already for the defense of Konoha."

"I will have the papers sent to you as soon as we're finished here," Sandaime-sama stated with a nod. "All in favour of rating this masked individual as an S-Ranked threat to be exterminated on sight?"

"Aye," every single council member spoke up in a grim tone.

"Very well, I shall have the bingo books updated as soon as possible," he confirmed. "You are all dismissed, Yuriko-chan, Jiraiya can you both please remain."

Nodded as the council members began trickling out of the council chambers one after the other, Fugaku-sama pausing briefly to pat my shoulder in a surprisingly encouragingly manner before leaving. "How may I serve, Hokage-sama?" I asked, stepping forward to him.

His eyes were sadden as he looked me over, no doubt he could clearly see the signs of my grief and guilt that have been wracking at me. "How are you feeling, Yuriko-chan?" he questioned me softly, gesturing for me to relax.

I sagged a bit as I let go of my hold over my emotions, Jiraiya-sama supporting me with his hands on my shoulders, tears tracking down my cheeks as I sobbed a bit. "Tired… I'm… just so tired, Hokage-sama," I admitted as I met his concerned gaze.

He nodded in understanding, standing up. "I think… before you go home and rest, there is someone you should meet," he told me, the two older shinobi guiding me to his office proper where a cat masked ANBU saluted him as we entered, a small crib set up in the room. "Yuriko-chan, please, meet Naruto Uzumaki-kun."

I blinked as I looked into the crib, biting back a choked sob as I saw the slumbering, whiskered, face of Minato-sama and Kushina-san's son. "Oh… Naruto-kun," I murmured, hesitantly reach in to gently touch his cheek, the child stirring a bit as his stunning blue eyes opened up and stared at me before gurgling happily at me and smiling.

I didn't realize, but the rain that had been falling on Konoha had broken that moment when little Naruto-kun smiled up at me, babbling as Sandaime-sama and Jiraiya-sama encouraged me to pick him up.

All I knew, was that at that moment, I fell in love all over again, sobbing quietly as I hugged the baby Jinchuuriki who had with just one action, filled my life with hope once again.

END CHAPTER!

Yuriko's Stats

Name: Yuriko

Level: 50

EXP: 1,262/24,500

Age: 10

Gender: Female

Title: Jonin (+50% to all Reputation gains)

STATS

HP - 2,600

CP - 8,600

STR - 50 (62)

INT - 100

DEX - 112 (140)

VIT - 50

WIS -84

LUK - 40

Ryo - 4,672,153

New Skills!

Mangekyo Sharingan (Active/Passive)[1 - 100(MAX)] - An advanced form of the Sharingan, said to awaken upon the killing of one's closest friend or lover. Its normal abilities are greatly enhanced, plus you can also use the special Jutsu Susanoo! However, this damages your normal eyesight, until the point you would need the normal Sharingan active just to be able to see. - 50 CP/second when used by non Uchiha, 10 CP/second when used by an Uchiha. +100-250% DEX when active, can learn opponent's jutsu by watching them form their hand seals, cannot learn elemental kekkei genkai or hiden jutsus. Allows use of Susano'o techniques and two unique abilities (May be active or passive), but causes 1% damage to eyesight for every 60 minutes of use.

[Kamiyonanayo (Seven Generations of the Age of Gods)] - Right Eye - A Time/Space technique that allows Yuriko to repeat a Jutsu that she has used within the last ten minutes up to seven times. They will be along the same path as the original jutsu.

[Ama-no Ukihashi (The Floating Bridge of Heaven)] - Left Eye - A Time/Space technique that allows Yuriko to alter the trajectory of any Ninjutsu within her eyesight, easier for own jutsus when compared to opponents.