Warning: I'm not a native English speaker, and this story is mainly to help me practice my English. Be afraid. :P
My native languages are Greek and Spanish; i usually mix some of the grammar, so if you are a grammar nazi, you're not welcome. But constructive criticism is welcomed :)
This story is going to be long and is also Sasuke-centric.
Chapter 1
.
"Am I dead?"
"This sensation… it must be…"
"Probably…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Pitiful, isn't it?"
"Ah?"
"…our lives were pitiful…"
"…"
"You had the nine tails, I was an Uchiha. We were ostracized from the village and treated like outcasts. And we resented the village and its people. Right?"
"…Sasuke…"
"I won't let you say I am wrong, Naruto. You called me your brother… in that sense, perhaps we were…"
"You are totally wrong! Damn it. You don't understand, do you!?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Sorry grandma Tsunade, I promised… I wouldn't die… until I became the hokage…"
"…"
"…wait a minute…"
"…"
"Oh yeah! The infinite Tsukuyomi!"
"What about it?"
"This is bad! The release jutsu can't be activated without us being there, right?"
"We are death, Naruto… and you are worried about what happens to the world?"
"Of course! We can't leave our friends like that!"
"Sakura and Kakashi still remain. They will figure something out."
"…I hope so, Sasuke"
"…"
"…"
"Naruto"
"Ah?"
"…why did you do that?"
"Did what?"
"Why did you went this far?"
"…"
"Why do all that, just to get in my way?"
"…"
"Why give up to your dream of being hokage?"
"…"
"Why you had to die?"
"…"
"… Am I that important to you?"
"You already know, don't you?"
"…"
"Cuz you are my friend, Sasuke."
"…"
"…"
"Naruto"
"Ah?"
"Thank you."
"Don't worry teme, that's what the friends are for"
"…"
"…"
.
The first time he woke up, he realized something was wrong.
The fact that he woke up was exactly the problem.
Why? Well… that's because he died.
Or at least that's what he thought.
He did not really know where he was, he tried to stand up, slowly, but after several attempts he realized he couldn't move. He couldn't think clearly and everything was spinning.
Everything was dark.
As the minutes passed, he had regained consciousness, but he was unable to move, and his mind was still foggy.
He would be lying if he said that he wasn't used to this type of situations, after all, he used to be Orochimaru´s apprentice and the snake wasn't exactly a kind person.
"Sasuke!"
The problem with being knocked unconscious wasn't the impact or the blood loss, Sasuke thought. It was the aftermath. He'd taken all sorts of injuries over the years - cracked ribs, broken limbs, burnt skin - but nothing quite matched up to the disorientation he fell in this kind of situations, and this was the worst of all the times he could remember.
Really, though. Waking up sucked.
If he was asked by his full name at that very moment, he was not sure he could have answered well; the only thing he was really able to remember, was ... was ... his fight with Naruto in the valley of the end.
Naruto…
"Sasuke. Sasuke." A familiar voice cut into Sasuke's consciousness. He felt a gentle and warm hand on his shoulder, shaking him.
He felt…weird. Nothing hurt, but his skin felt oddly stiff, stretched tightly over the planes of his face. He tried to speak, but his mouth was bone dry.
"Sasuke, wake up." The gentle and familiar voice came again, and Sasuke jerked upright, ignoring the pain shooting through all his body.
This voice keep calling his name and a wave of unbearable nostalgia and loss inundated him as he listened.
And then, he remembered everything. He remembered defeating Madara, Naruto's face, the violent confrontation they had and the aftermath of the war. Feeling himself succumb to chakra exhaustion and the severe wounds from their combat. He remembered losing an arm and asking his friend to forgive him before losing consciousness.
Sasuke remember the way he knew he was dying.
The way he regretted about the mistakes of his life and a brilliant white light, being led to an eternal slumber and being promised freedom from this cursed world and his past sins. Or, maybe, he was supposed to be sent to hell to atone for his crimes, all the innocent people he had killed or had a hand in the deaths of.
So Sasuke felt that he had pretty good reason to assume that he should be dead.
No, it was a fact. He was dead.
Damn! He even remember talking with Naruto and Itachi in the afterlife!
But,
If he was dead, who was calling his name? Where was he?
Was this hell?
He tried to speak again, but he couldn't.
"Sasuke ... wake up ..." That voice had returned and he tried to stand, ignoring the numbness and pain that ran through him.
"W-here am I?" His voice felt so wrong.
"It's good to see you wake up." Sasuke definitely recognized that voice. He turned to his right and to his surprise, he found a young man that he had never met before. That greatly disconcerted him. He had short, unkempt, dark-colored hair and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, but the most curious feature of this mysterious man was the fact that he only had one eye and a black eye-patch covering where the other eye had been. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha jōnin uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector.
Sasuke only blinked repeatedly. It was strange. He couldn't remember having met this man before, but his salutation really sounded sincere and even reflected some… Happiness? Relief?
How odd…
He would have expected all the people of konoha to be furious with him for trying to kill the dobe and all the shit he had done, including working with akatsuki, the people that destroyed the village some time ago and threatened the entire shinobi world.
"Are you ok, Sasuke?" The man asked with warm voice.
But there was a part of Sasuke that keep telling him that he could trust this man with his life, that he was safe, and yet couldn't explain the feeling.
"You have always been a real sleepyhead, huh?"
Sasuke frowned internally; on the outside he showed no emotion, he was an Uchiha, after all.
Perhaps it was true that in the past they were both shinobi from the same village, but the last time he meet with konoha shinobis before the war, they had done their best to kill him. And yet, there he was questioning him about his condition as if they were comrades. He even showed concern on his face, concern that only a father could show to his kids. So Sasuke was naturally suspicious of his intentions. Was this mysterious shinobi trying to manipulate him to return konoha?
Maybe yes, maybe no.
If so, he was going about it from a somewhat bizarre and weird angle.
"Don't worry, I am here"
Still, Konoha's shinobi were known for being very strong and capable ninja. And this guy was a jōnin. Part of Konoha's elite.
So Sasuke figured he probably should cut this man´s bullshit.
"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke asked the one-eyed man, showing no emotions on his face.
The man smiled at the random question of the little genin. "Don't worry, Sasuke-Kun. Your friend is fine. He is probably training with his father." He explained casually, keeping the warm smile on his face. "Just try to give yourself some rest and let me worry about everything else. I found you unconscious on the training grounds. Asuma, Ino and Kiba were worried when you didn't attended to your mission so they sent me to find you." He added.
Sasuke was incredulous at what he had heard. That didn't make sense, at all.
"We are in konoha? Kiba, Ino and Asuma? What do you mean: Naruto is training with his father? Naruto is orphan."
The jōnin's facial expressions were difficult to read through the poker face he made, but Sasuke was able to read the rising concern on his shoulders and eyebrows.
Concern for Sasuke's well-being? Or the fact that Sasuke was worried about Naruto's well-being?
He decided he wasn't going to bother himself with that, he really couldn't care less about the lies of this man.
"I'm glad he is fine," was all he said. And this was the truth, deep inside he was really glad to hear the stupid blond was ok.
But then, he realized something. Something important.
"Wait a minute" Sasuke Said. "If you are here, that means that Kakashi and Sakura succeeded deactivating the Mugen Tsukuyomi?"
"Tsukuyomi?"
There was a slight pause, and then the sources of two other chakra signatures stepped forward.
This time, Sasuke's puzzled face became visible and his jaw opened slightly.
"Shisui-San, thank you for finding Sasuke."
When this name came to Sasuke's hears, it felt like a bucket of cold water.
He turned to his right and his eyes widened.
Oh my god…
"Kai!" He tried to do a release technique.
" ... "
"KAI" He repeated even louder and was at this moment that he realized something else was very wrong… he was wearing navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, white shorts, and the white arm warmers he used to wear when he was twelve. He was about thirty centimeters shorter than he remembered being, the last time he checked.
One of the hallucinations inclined his head, obviously worried.
"Are you all right, baby cousin?" Said the one-eyed man.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and tried again to disperse the obvious genjutsu.
"KAI!"
"What makes you think that this is a genjutsu Sasuke?" Calmly asked another of his hallucinations. A bearded man with a sash that had the kanji for "Fire" (火) marked on it around his waist
Sasuke surrendered on his attempting to dispel the obvious genjutsu, and for his part, he simply addressed the probable caster. "Kaguya Ōtsutsuki" He said with cold voice. The first thought that occurred to him was that all of it was a Genjutsu. But then he realized that only the Mugen Tsukuyomi could create a world so real, replicate the real world so perfectly. There was no way that a "normal" Genjutsu would have the ability to remain undetected by him, so that was the only logical explanation. But if that was the case, if Sasuke truly was in the Mugen Tsukuyomi…
That means that… they failed?
A feeling of sadness and despair began overwhelm him.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, huh" He repeated again. "I had hoped to be finally free of you," He said with cold and sad voice. Somehow, the mother from the sage of the six paths had found a way to escape from the seal, and somehow managed to activate the Mugen Tsukuyomi without the help of the nine tailed beasts and the gedo mazo. Sasuke thought.
But how? This was impossible!
The two other hallucinations that turned out to be suspiciously similar to Asuma Sarutobi and a twelve year old version of Ino Yamanaka, looked at him closely.
"Wait, do you mean the same Princess Kaguya from the "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter"?" Shisui asked incredulously, his eyebrows raised to the line of his hair.
The blonde girl approached Sasuke and tried to put a hand on his forehead, but the raven-haired boy slapped Ino's hand away.
"Fuck you!" There was no cheer in his voice, and his tone was one that implied that he was deadly serious. Asuma felt a feeling of discontent bubble forth. "There is nothing for me in this fake world. Nothing." A bitter grin stretched across his face and he glared up at sky, a motion that wasn't missed by any of the bystanders in the place. "You expect me to believe this shit, Kaguya!? You really think that you can trick me, Uchiha Sasuke," he gestured angrily around the place with his hand, "with this?"
"Sasuke, calm down… I think that maybe you hit in the head, right now we need to get you to the hospital."
"What is the point of this, Kaguya?" Sasuke demanded dully, ignoring those illusions.
"What is the point of what?" Asuma asked calmly. Trying to reason with his student.
"Trapping me in a genjutsu and showing me dead people. Who's next? Itachi? Neji?" Sasuke repeatedly shook his head, feeling warm tears stream down his cheeks, and then he began to laugh in a sick and darkly way, like a hyena. Maybe he owed Kaguya thanks after all. He didn't remember his cousin Shisui well, since Sasuke had only been 6 when he committed suicide. It was almost… nice to see the best friend of his brother after all this time, the funny and kind teen that used to play with him when his brother was in a mission. Sasuke noted distantly that Kaguya had taken the effort to include a lot of detail in this fake world. Shisui looked a lot older; he appeared to be in his twenties and only had one eye. Maybe this was the reason he didn't recognized his own cousin when he first woke up. He even had the logo of Konoha's Military Police Force on his jacket and the badge of commander that his father used to wear.
Sasuke supposed that attention to detail like that was something to expect from a crazy and evil goddess like the mother from the sage.
But he wasn't one hundred percent sure why Kaguya had changed the appearance of his cousin so much.
Genjutsus were supposed to be compatible with the memories of the victim. Not this.
"Do you remember what happened? Shisui sent a bunshin saying that he found you unconscious and needed help" Asuma said as he approached his student to take his pulse and measure his temperature.
"He is febrile and tachycardic."
"Show yourself, coward!" Sasuke demanded on the edge of having a panic attack.
"…Sasuke, I'm sorry we didn't come fast enough. What would I have to do to prove that we are real?" the Shisui hallucination asked with a concerned look.
Hallucinations trying to prove that they were real? Ha! Now Sasuke's day was complete. Well, maybe if he played along, Kaguya would tip his hand.
"What is Itachi's favorite game?" Sasuke asked, this was something that only his family could ever know.
"Sasuke, this is not funny. If this is another of your pranks, I promise…" Ino said.
Sasuke frowned when he realized that the illusions were avoiding to answer his question.
"Well… I hate to disappoint," he said as he turned to the other people around him, a sneer in place. "I'm not going to conform to your fucking illusion."
Shisui had an expression that Sasuke interpreted as, "If only this wasn't so serious I would be kicking your sorry ass back home." Sasuke was impressed with such a detailed reaction.
Later, Shisui sighed with resignation. "It's poker, but nobody plays with him anymore because Itachi always wins. The last time we played, the asshole took all of my money."
"And which is my favorite animal?"
"…the cats, and you know what else I can tell you, Mr. incredulous-kid? You have an unhealthy taste for tomatoes, you even have a tomato-shaped teddy that Itachi gave you when you were four years old. Content? Better get back before Itachi and Izumi worries, Sasuke"
Sasuke had been speechless to what Shisui had said, because it was completely true. There was no way to fake what his cousin was saying.
So this time, Sasuke panicked.
"…Either Kaguya´s genjutsu is incredibly better than I expected, or you really are Uchiha Shisui," Sasuke admitted. He paused. "But it is impossible."
"Why?" Shisui asked.
Sasuke shrugged. "Because the real Shisui has been dead since I was 6. He committed suicide. And akatsuki killed Asuma." He pointed the tall man.
Ino frowned. "Why would akatsuki kill our sensei?"
Shisui scoffed. "Yeah, like hell that would ever happen. Yahiko might be a bastard sometimes but he is a really nice person when you get to know him, and Nagato is a close friend of Hokage-Sama" He frowned. "And I would never commit suicide" he looked to the twelve years old boy and change to a deadly serious tone. "Who told you those things?"
Sasuke had begun to grow impatient. "From what I understand, you committed suicide in order to help Itachi activate the Mangekyō Sharingan and stop the coup; I never learned the rest of the story."
Shisui was speechless at what his little cousin was saying, because there was no possible way in the world that a little kid knew about the Mangekyō Sharingan or the failed coup. He tried to talk again but remained silent.
The two other carefully watched the twelve-year-old boy standing in front of them. What he was saying made no sense, at all, especially the last part, the one in which he mentioned the evil goddess from a kid's story who had trapped him in a genjutsu and was tormenting him.
That was just crazy.
After a pause, Ino intervened.
"Have you considered the possibility that this is not a genjutsu, but some hallucination caused by a drug or having hit your head?"
Sasuke thought for a moment. "I suppose you have a point." He allowed himself to yield a little to his argument. "Yet I do not understand the purpose of this. After all, the last thing I remember was dying, none of this makes sense." Suddenly he was hit by a wave of exhaustion. "No ... it doesn't makes sense ..." he mumbled to himself, as he felt his vision starting to tunnel.
"Sasuke... Sasuke! Sensei, catch him!" Ino shouted at the same time she began to see the way her teammate started to stagger and everything turned black to him.