AN: I don't own Naruto, all characters belong to Kishimoto-Oyaji.

Rating: M for later scenes&violences

Warning: Naruto and Itachi's gender-bending.

Prologue: Dreamed or Dreaming

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"He'll be fine. He'll wake up soon."

XXX

"Cursed kins."

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Sasuke felt someone hugging his head within her arms. He felt dazzled as he felt his face being buried against her chest.

"Sasuke..."

He heard a tearful whisper then.

XXX

"How pathetic you are."

XXX

A sound of strangled sob trampled his heart.

Who's that girl sobbing? Why do I feel her so familiar?

He heard a conversation over him then.

"It's okay. He'll be fine, don't worry. Now hurry, you have a mission."_ Baritone voice of a young male.

"Bu..but..."_ Tearful voice of a young female.

Who..?

"When you're back he'll be as alive as a piglet. I promise." The male's voice again.

What? a piglet?

XXX

"I told you... not to come."

XXX

With a gasp Sasuke lifted his eyelids.

XXX

"Your wish will never be fulfilled... Just like mine."

XXX

The first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling.

He tensed his muscles and, in a convulsive gesture, sprang from the bed. Someone gave a sharp, high cry of surprise.

"...And now I'm convinced that his brain is somewhat damaged, or else how can he be like that? I've been watching over him for whole night_ whole night, though I could just choose to spend my rare holiday night with my friends_ just for Itachi's request but then look at what I got from it, do you know what he said the moment he woke up? He glared at me as if I'm a wrong person roaming in a wrong place and then asked me why I'm alive! Can you even imagine how I'd have felt, huh? huh? Mikoto-san?"

"..Alright, alright Shisui-kun. I understand. And we're grateful for your deed-."

"He must thank God that he's a patient, or else I'd have his leg broken!"

Then shedding tears comically Uchiha Shisui stormed away from the Uchiha head house.

Pressing a smile Uchiha Mikoto slid the paper door of Sasuke's room. "Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke was perking on his bed, his wet blanket crumpled beside him and his eyes blankly staring at the empty space. He flinched little when Mikoto called him, and then, upon seeing her, his eyes suddenly grew so wide that Mikoto worried if his eyeballs would be popped out from their sockets.

"Kaa-san..?"

"Are you alright? Thanks to Kami, I was so worried..." Mikoto wasn't able to continue her sentence anymore when her youngest suddenly sprang up.

What the hell-.

Everything felt numb –His fists twitched, his brain trying in vain to process the sight-. His heart painfully thumped back to life, ramming against his chest and making his blood boil, until it was the only sound he could hear above the overwhelming rush of blood in his ears–

Unable to look away, unable to believe–

"Okaa-san, are you okay?" he barely managed to ask, staring at her with a suspicious look.

Was someone playing a genjutsu on him?

"Sasuke? What do you mea-."

Or was he dreaming?

Sasuke couldn't care anymore. He shook his head, rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Okaa-san," he whispered, his voice trembling. He didn't even notice as tears pooled into his eyes, blurring his sight. The feeling of her touch, the scent from her clothes... It all felt too real.

Mikoto tilted her head for a moment, soon to giggle. "What's this? Did you have a bad dream, sweetie?"

"A bad dream?" He blinked quizzically. "You.. You're dead.. You and tou-san and everyone..."

"It's okay." His mother patted his head gently. "It's okay, my big boy... You just had a bad dream."

A bad dream?

Mikoto sighed, before stroking his face softly with her hand. "Poor thing.. You've been terribly sick for those past days. You made me so worried... And I wasn't able to nurse you last night, we had a clan council..." Tears filled into her eyes then.

Sasuke gulped. Sick? Clan council?

Wait..then it wasn't his mother who'd been sobbing over him while ago? But then who'd been that girl?

"..Alright dear, if you think you can go Academy today change your clothes and come to downstair. Let's have a breakfast."

Academy?

"Ha..hai."

After his mother left the room, Sasuke remained alone, glaring all around.

Now Sasuke knew why this place seemed so familiar. This was his house. His house where he had lived with his kaa-san, tou-san and nii-san before nii-san killed them all.

"Wha.. What happened?"

The little sunlight that seeped in from the split of the shuttered window told him that it was morning. The minute he slid the window open, an aroma filled his nostrils.

He stared.

Couldn't take away his eyes from the sight he had in front of him.

Couldn't look away.

He rubbed his eyes roughly then stared again.

The view was still there.

The view of Grand Uchiha territory.

Sasuke's crimson eyes faltered and faded into deep black, the only apparent show of surprise as his control on his chakra faltered momentarily, causing the dispelling of his Sharingan.

With an almost stupid countenance on his face he lifted his hand to pinch his own face.

Ouch.

Blinking hard he then tried to remember what had happened before he'd lost his concious.

Naruto..

Tobi..

Itachi..

Kabuto..

He couldn't remember what had happened. He remembered a battle between his resurrected brother and Kabuto, but then...

What the...?

Sasuke slowly turned. His breath froze the moment he noticed a reflection of himself in a looking-glass placed at the corner of the room.

He was there. No.. His younger self was there.

The boy in the mirror looked merely 11 or 12.

Feeling his breath shaking, Sasuke slowly lifted his hand and shook it.

The boy in the mirror followed suit.

He blinked.

The boy blinked.

I'm dreaming. He thought.

Or everything must had been a dream.

This was too much. Even for Uchiha Sasuke… this was too much.

His knees suddenly felt weak. Stumbling, Sasuke wobbled his way down the lightly lit hallway, passing closed doors left and right, turned the corner to the stairs.

As he got nearer and nearer to his destination, the aroma intensified. He grasped the sliding door and opened it a little too swift and strong, tugging himself with it and almost falling over.

He flinched at the bright light of the dinning room but kept his gaze on two dark haired figures sitting opposite each other on the table.

Both heads turned slightly towards him.

"Come." Mikoto smiled at him.

Fugaku gave him an impassive, blunt nod. "So you're okay now."

Sasuke blinked again. He felt his eyeballs slowly burning hot.

Tou-san..

Kaa-san..

My.. Parents...

He had thought they would never come back. He had thought he had better control over himself.

And now…

Just then his parents noticed his tear-filled eyes.

Fugaku frowned at him."Sasuke? What's wrong?"

"..." Sasuke merely shook his head, gulping. He remembered how Fugaku had once been in his memories.. He hadn't been that affable all around, always being strict and blunt.

"Alright, breakfast!" Mikoto announced cheerfully clapping her hands together.

Sasuke slowly approached to the table and took a seat. His breath trembled again as he sat facing the table, his parents at each side, eating with him... Wait. He then realized. There's one missing.

"Where's aniki?" He asked.

He managed to notice his father's hand which was holding a spoon constricting with a tense then.

It was Mikoto who quickly answered for him. "Itachi's out for mission."

Sasuke blinked again. It seemed like there's a sudden tense fallen upon them-.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke perked up at his father's calling.

"Yes..?" He found himself bit difficult in voicing.

"After your genin exam tomorrow,"

Hey what? Genin exam? Did he say a genin exam?

"..we have something to discuss."

"Fugaku." Mikoto's voice sounded strangely bewildered, as her eyes seemed to be filled with.. a fear?

Fugaku scowled at her. "He's not a child anymore. Soon he'll be an offical shinobi, he has a right to know. Especially since..." He paused momentarily. "..Anyway, he needs to know."

It was a cool autumn morning. Konoha was beautiful, with multi-coloured leaves and relative tranquility hanging over the lives of its inhabitants. Chattering masses of people were streaming towards the workplaces, restaurants, the teahouse – anywhere and everywhere.

This was Konoha, of course. Then…?

There was a couple of old villagers walking towards a small restaurant in the corner of the street. Few children were playing in a small garden some feet away, looking like they were having fun.

Sat still on the rooftop of the building Sasuke gulped. He felt his chakra stable, dark and cold as it had used to be. Now he almost reached to a conclusion that he wasn't under a certain genjutsu. So..?

I'm having a dream, a dream that is too good and realistic. He thought.

Was it?

His family was alive. His clan was alive. Konoha was peaceful.

He must be dreaming. Or else how would it be like this? How had his wish been suddenly fulfilled?

"I can forgive you, nii-san... " In those flickering memories He had been shouting.. "But I can never forgive Konoha!"

Now his clan was living in this dream. His own family, and other relatives including goofy cheery Shisui.

He was rejoiced. How would he not be rejoiced?

Even if it might be merely a good dream or even a genjutsu, he found himself refusing to wake up.

Or..

Everything must had had been a realistic dream and this might be a 'real' reality.

But the dream was too realistic.. all those memories... too clear...

Sasuke looked down at his own hands. So smaller than they had been used to be_ the hands of a little boy.

Fugaku had mentioned about Genin exam. That meant Sasuke was about twelve here, so it seemed like in this dream there's no danger for his clan.. Yet.

Uchiha Sasuke jumped down from the rooftop and began to rush to the direction of Academy.

He got a lot things to check.

With a crash the door of the classroom crashed opened and two girls struggled to get inside. One had pale blond hair and blue eyes and the other had pink hair and green eyes.

"Goal!" The two cried out simultaneously as they finally managed to scramble inside.

"Looks like I win again." the blonde said arrogantly.

"Not so fast, my foot beats yours by one inch." The pinkette countered.

"Troublesome.." Sighing Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. Chouji nodded suit, then after cramming his dear potato chips into his mouth he stretched his arm to touch Uchiha Sasuke's shoulder in front of him.

"Hey Sasuke, can I copy your note?"

"You what?"

Chouji blinked, totally bewildered at Sasuke's tone. The Uchiha boy was glaring at him in a way like confronting a madman.

"Wha...wha... wha.." Was all Chouji could actually reply.

Sasuke turned away. He felt a few pairs of eyes on his back, and though his sometimes overly-cautious senses twitched, he ignored them as he surveyed the classroom. All of the Rookies were here—of course, where would they be otherwise?

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke nearly jumped up when so-familiar Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino sat each beside him.

"Sasuke-kun are you okay now? We were so worried while you were absent."

Blankly staring at the happy-looking girls, Uchiha Sasuke slowly opened his mouth, to spit his trademark comment(in his former dream or whatsoever). "Leave me alone."

The girls flinched at the blunt tone from their idol Uchiha Sasuke.

It didn't take long for the kids to fall into a chaos.

"What's wrong with him today?"

"Maybe he's in a foul mood."

"I've never seen him being like that..."

Damn, stop whispering, my head is already an inch before bursting! Letting out a long sigh Sasuke grabbed his own dark hair.

But it was okay. He could have a patience on these underlings... As long as his clan was still living in this dream.

Wait.. He then narrowed his eyes. Where is Naruto anyway? Late again?

Sasuke then turned again as he felt a fierce stare from a short distance. Now now, what's-.

Soon he spotted a red-haired girl sitting beside the window. At first he just passed her off_ for he was too used to the girls' stares_ however, once he realized that he couldn't remember who she was, he again turned and stared back at her.

The girl frowned then, let out a disdainful sigh before looking away.

Sasuke scowled up. Who's that girl? She was a total stranger. In his clear memory there hadn't been a such girl in his Academy class.

Never ever.

The strange thing was, that the girl still looked familiar to him. So when and where had he seen her?

He was too absorbed in his own thoughts that he almost didn't notice a Hyuuga girl passing beside him, approaching to the strange girl.

"Naruto-chan.."

So she isn't a stranger to the others here... Wait, what?

"Naruto-chan, are you ready for our genin exam tomorrow..?" Hyuuga Hinata's voice was so small but still audible enough to hear.

Sasuke stood from his seat so fast_ too abruptly, causing Chouji and Shikamaru sitting behind him to nearly spring up.

'Naruto' widened her big blue eyes when the Uchiha boy strode toward her with a dangerous gleaming in his eyes.

"What the..."

"Who are you?" Blurted the Uchiha.

'Naruto' frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Wow, Sasuke is talking with Naruto-hime..." A whisper from the other boys reached into Sasuke's ear.

What? Naruto-hime?

In his memories Naruto had been a loud boy with spiky golden hair and whisker marks. This girl had a long red hair with a prim countenance, she could never be Naruto, for Kami's sake, how could they call this girl as 'Naruto'?

"You are not Naruto." He blurted again.

'Naruto' frowned again, her cold blue eyes full of disdain. "There's only one Naruto in our village, and that's me, you jerk. Got your brain damaged?"

Just then Sasuke noticed whisker marks on her each cheeks.

...

For a while Sasuke was stunned into a dumbfounded silence, staring down at the girl with his mouth almost half- gaped.

"...You're not Naruto." He muttered again.

"Yes I am. Now would you please buzz off?"

Buzz off? Naruto would never, ever use such word to him. Naruto would never use such an arrogant accent.

Naruto would never have such cold-looking eyes.

Right?

Or was everyone playing a joke on him?

Sasuke gulped, trying to gather himself and scrutinizing the girl once again.

Her face looked familiar.. Yes, it was similar to the dobe's. She did resemble the dobe.

But-.

"Then tell me," Then without a second thought he spat. "why are you in a girl's form, dobe?"

A sudden flash passed across the cold blue eyes and before Sasuke could take any action, he felt a sharp pain on his face.

SLAP!

Sasuke saw stars.

He blinked few times, a reality felt too far away for him to gather himself. He heard the screams from the girls and the dumb-founded sighs from the boys.

Slowly, he lifted his hand up and touched his throbbing face.

He was slapped. Slapped. He was slapped. He was slapped by a girl.

Naruto and Suigetsu would die of laughter if they knew.

Wait, but Naruto was...