AN: Trying a new style of songfic writing. It's a little bit out of my comfort zone, as you all know that I love to write romance and humor. But this struck me after listening to this song for the millionth time. It's gotta be one of my favorites.
Dedicated: To Haru, my brother, my friend. This is not only because we both love this song, but because of what this oneshot stands for. I don't ever want us to end up like Itachi and Sasuke. Never.
Disclaimer: Own nothing. Did you expect any different?
It had been all over Konoha. The news of the Uchiha massacre spread like wildfire throughout the hidden village, and it wasn't long before it reached outside the Land of Fire and into uncharted territory as well as the other hidden villages. Konoha not only felt the shame of one of it's leading families to almost die off in such a dishonorable way, but to leave such a young boy, a child in every which way, alone. Alone in family. Sure, all was willing to take him in, but it would never be the same. Alone in companionship. He had no true friends. It's hard to have one when you are so revered for you surname, your looks, and your abilities.
All seemed perfect in his life, but all was not. Sasuke grew up as a leading ninja academy graduate...as was expected as the sole survivor of the great Uchiha massacre. The mental scars he had overcome to be such an accomplished ninja at such a young age were astounding to all inhabitants of the village. But everyone knew the scars of witnessing the death of those he held close and dear, while being able to do nothing, absolutely nothing, still haunted his dreams, every night, every day, every moment of his life. They knew of the drive the boy had, the evil glint in his obsidian eyes as he recalled what had happened yet again, and how his revenge would happen. Every miniscule part of the death of his brother, his only live family, Itachi. He wasn't a genius for nothing. Although one Nara Shikamaru exceeded him in I.Q. and tactical mind, Uchiha Sasuke was a genius at something that Shikamaru could never be one in: revenge. His lust for power and righteousness in that sick form overpowered the 200+ I.Q. of a fellow genius. A rare, dark power that not even the cold-hearted Hyuuga Neji, with all his family issues, could conjure up.
The fact was when Sasuke betrayed the village years later, no one was too surprised about it. They faked utter shock, but with the pure torture the boy, the child in so many ways, had suffered in such a short expanse of time, it was no shock at all. It was expected. Thus was the life of an Uchiha: revered for the great Sharingan eye, the dark and handsome looks belonging only to the ones of this clan, the natural talent, and the drive for power. The reason was in a twisted way understandable, but for those who had never had a loved one murdered, it was hard to understand, yet still understandable in a weird way. Yet, even though the village externally showed no empathy for the lost boy, inside they held a small piece of it. It was not respect for his decision, far from it, but understanding.
Although many looked over or disregarded the fact completely, Uchiha Sasuke had a choice. He was given the perfect opportunity to not forgive and forget, but to slightly move on in life. Before he had abandoned the village that had showed him nothing but comfort and empathy, he was given the chance of friends. Of a family. Team 7, the legend it was. Consisting of a good-hearted boy containing the Kyuubi, and smart and when driven very abled girl who had a knack for genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, the famous Copy Ninja with one Sharingan eye and a love for porn, and the Uchiha boy with a twisted past and extreme talent. They formed a bond, far different from that of any other team. It was not based on trust, of friendship, of any frivolous feeling such as those. It was based on requirement and need. They were required to and needed each other to be good ninja, to move onto higher ranks. They couldn't just quit. They had to learn team work to become successful, or it wouldn't work at all. It was so possible for this team based on need and requirement to become a team based on trust and friendship. Naruto and Sakura were very willing to be friends with Sasuke, and Kakashi made a large effort to take the boy under his wing and teach him what he knew, so as to hopefully prevent the pre-destined outcome for the Uchiha. But Sasuke disregarded it completely, basking in his own problems and focusing on his revenge. He could worry about friends later. Maybe a small part of him didn't want them to get hurt, but that small part of him also knew that they would get hurt anyway.
The news of Sasuke leaving Orochimaru and starting his own group yet again spread like wildfire throughout the lands. It was, again, not a surprise, yet everyone still faked utter shock. The thought of his power now had all cowering in fear, even the strongest ninja that had known his best. Putting on a mask of determination and strength, they attempted to find him but failed, for it was his desire to leave that part of his past behind and to only live in one part of his past—the death of all in his clan by one in his clan. Revenge all he could think of now, power that was essential and now obtained, Uchiha Sasuke avoided all he knew except his little group necessary to help him defeat people he would face prior to his brother so as to save some power. Sasuke was ready for the long overdue time for revenge.
The much-awaited time had come, and Uchiha Sasuke was finally meeting up against Uchiha Itachi. It was not coincidental, both had sought the other out to try and defeat the only one holding them back from the final power of last Uchiha. It wasn't an amazing heart-felt battle where two brothers finally realized that they needed each other and forgave each other for everything that had been done. It wasn't a one-sided battle where Sasuke completely dominated Itachi, killed him, and went back to Konoha with a smile on his face and to finally have friends and rebuild the Uchiha clan. Yet it wasn't a battle where Itachi totally blew away his younger brother, finally content on being the sole Uchiha on this earth. It was a battle of two well-matched men fighting for supremacy. A battle of revenge and angst and violence that is incomparable to other fights between family members. A battle where a quote Sasuke had seen somewhere in one of Karin's books became so meaningful that those were his last words as the two brothers fell to the ground together, both dying.
"You take the breath right out of me
You left a hole where my heart should be
You've gotta fight just to make it through
Because I will be the death of you."
Uchiha Sasuke never had his happily ever after. He died far too soon for everyone's standards. He had completed his life-long mission of defeating his brother. And now there was no more pure Uchiha bloodline. Yes, the Sharingan still lived in Kakashi, but it would never be able to be passed down because it was not genetically his. It was possible the bloodline could be saved through some intense medical research, but a very slim chance. Yet the Uchiha name had still died. As everyone had expected. As everyone, deep in their hearts, from right after the knowledge spread of the massacre, knew that this would happen.
So Konoha's famous Uchiha family died. A family famous for its Sharingan eye, its dark and handsome looks, and its drive for power. Sasuke's final words were never spoken of again. The witnesses of the battle whom were with both Sasuke and Itachi refused to speak them any more after they had been taken into custody and had told their interrogators once. They respected the meaning behind those deep words, and never uttered them. No one in the Village Hidden in the Leaves spoke them, understanding the meaning behind the words of a great ninja, but a twisted one as well.
Konoha may have never learned to respect Uchiha Sasuke after what he had done, but they had a sense of understanding as to why he had done it.
AN: Wow, that's very angsty, lacking action, and very drabble-ish, but I felt like I needed to do something for one of the most twisted and complicated characters in Naruto. I hope you enjoyed my take on the life of Sasuke, and I know I skipped around a lot of parts, but I did it for a reason. I would really like to know what you thought of this, and if maybe I should do some similar ones for different characters. No promises, but I would like to know if you think I would. So please review! And thanks so much for reading!