Redemption

By: iBroken

Anime: Naruto

Pairing: ItaSasu

Rating: M

Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: ItaSasu;; Reincarnation is often an abnormal process one could never consider happening to themselves. But when his car breaks down and he's stranded in a small village that believes a ninja village was nearby, Uchiha Sasuke's life changes entirely.

Author Note: This is a Two-Shot. I purposely created this to satisfy my urges for this kind of plot, without taking time away from my other ItaSasu story.

(break)

Champagne bottles were the first thing to fill the air; popping open as the family celebrated the grandeur occasion of their youngest son, Sasuke, being engaged to a woman of the parents choosing. It was a rare opportunity for Mikoto and Fugaku to indulge in celebration, while their son continued to sit beside that terrible woman in complete silence. It was the picture of a happy family; Mikoto holding Fugaku's arm and smiling, Fugaku clutching his own bottle of champagne and laughing cheerily at the way the fuzzed liquid spurted from the bottle. While Sasuke remained silent with a female gripping his arm tightly at grinning at him.

She was actually fairly pretty, with long pink hair, and daunting green eyes. Her body was vulptous, but nowhere near done growing, because this engagement was for at least six to seven years into the future. No ordinary person would marry at the age of sixteen. Sasuke was also very handsome, at least, in every persons eyes. He had the same black eyes his father had, black hair that was just as well taken care of, save for the abnormality of his hair being spiked towards the back in a modern-like fashion. He was everything an Uchiha child should be; gifted in every aspect from intelligence to physicality. He didn't lack anything outside of the initiative to do something for the family. This engagement had been quite a push for Sasuke to indulge in. He hadn't liked the idea at first, being almost too unhappy with the idea of being tied down to one of the women who obsessed over him, but Mikoto had eventually pushed him into it with her kind, parental behaviour.

With a glass of cherry crush in one hand, and the female's insistent fingers curled about his other, Sasuke only continued to stare forward without any real emotion plaguing his features. No, he was too busy thinking of something or another to placate his mind. Some sort of escape from this 'engagement' to Sakura. His only immediate thought was why there was a lacking of a certain longer, black haired man. Looking at his father immediately, he frowned and waited for Fugaku to catch onto what he was trying to silently communicate. When Fugaku threw him a confused glance, Sasuke sighed out. He didn't like speaking, especially not around the public, but if it meant getting an answer, he supposed he would, anyway.

"Where's Aniki-san?" he asked, finally. Fugaku's look gave him the answer he knew he would hear. Like always, Itachi had skipped out on this occasion, possibly for his own purposes, leaving Sasuke alone with this entire affair. Itachi was never at any of the family occasions. He enjoyed being alone. Sasuke loved Itachi's presence, it was one of the many things that made the younger Uchiha calm and happy, but he rarely got the attention. Itachi had the family company to run, and he always used that as an excuse to avoid speaking to anyone in the household on certain occasions. It was depressing, for Sasuke, at least, since he didn't particularly feel like going through with this engagement without someone he was happier around there.

Grunting, he sucked it up in time to see Sakura fawning over how he sounded. It was too annoying, yet he kept his eyes on her and only shook his head whenever he realized he was marrying a woman who wasn't even worth his time. He had never fallen in love, or felt anything for anyone, really. Arranged marriages might be the best for him given who he is. He never would pick out a woman, or even a man, of his own, and as always, he'd remain single like his older brother. This was probably the best method.

Fugaku finally stood up, and pointed towards Sasuke and Sakura with his champagne bottle. "A toast to my son, Uchiha Sasuke, and his to-be-wife, Haruno Sakura!"

The gathering erupted in echoes of cheer, but Sasuke merely kept his mind on his brother. Why was Itachi so neglectful of him?

(break)

As the driver continued to make the car go up this specific region of Japan, he didn't think anything of the unusual markings on the trees, or the possibly strange flow of sand that occasionally drifted past the car window. The dirt road here was terrible, but this was the only way to get to Sakura's place of residency with her parents. He didn't want to go, but his father said it would be good for him to spend his break with Sakura and the Haruno family. He continued to listen to the simple music of the Beatles playing in the car, the song Yesterday drifting into his ears and out as each moment passed by.

He wasn't a fan of music, but he knew the driver, Iruka, was. Iruka and his son, Naruto, often came to parties and the liking. Sasuke often picked on Naruto, and they got into violent fights when he was younger, but it all ended recently since Naruto felt he had some sort of more than friendly feelings for Sakura, Sasuke's now fiancée. It wasn't as if Sasuke liked her, but his parents had made him get engaged. Naruto had, in turn, found another woman who appeared to be as dark and gloomy as Sasuke and began dating her. It didn't disturb Sasuke that he and Naruto no longer spoke, but made him wonder why their fickle friendship had ended on account of one female. It wasn't as if he had decided to purposely go with Sakura the moment Naruto decided he loved her. He had forced himself to go through with all of that. He would never enjoy it, because in his heart, he knew he had never been capable of falling in love.

The car jerked to a sudden halt, and Sasuke had to refrain from hitting the back of the seat. "What happened, Iruka?" he asked. The driver immediately shrugged and opened the door of the car, going towards the front to check the engine and the liking. Sasuke stayed perfectly seated, not knowing what else he could do to help. He had never taken up fixing car engines in his entire life. All he really knew was that the car never should have stopped in the first place. The first thing he noticed was steam from the front of the car, and then the front was slammed shut. Iruka beckoned him to come outside, and he followed, opening the door and stepping out. "Well?" he asked once he was near Iruka.

"The engine broke down. I can't even get it to start up," Iruka said. It was odd that the engine had broken down, conveniently, just in the middle of nowhere. Sasuke had expected to be at Sakura's place sometime this morning, but he apparently couldn't just end up there. He had to go through the struggle of this entire engine breakdown as well. With a grunt of annoyance, he stared at the blown engine. Something inside of him just felt foul; like he wasn't completely safe. Like this was meant to happen in some sick, twisted way. He had never felt this apprehensive before. Especially since usually, he had his older brother around him on trips like this. It was convenient that Itachi chose to skip out the one time he was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Finally, Iruka turned to him and shook his head. "I'm sure there's a village around here. Stay the night there, and I'll send a taxi over in the morning," he finally answered. "I have to push this car all the way to the next town or something." Sasuke hadn't liked the idea from the start; why did she have to live in the next town? He didn't even like her, and yet he was going through with this so his family would be happy. "It's fine. I'll push with you—" he began, but Iruka cut him off by raising his hand. "I'm sorry, Sir. But I have to kindly decline," he answered. "I can push myself. You should go rest." There was a tone that said he should listen. Sometimes, Iruka treated Sasuke like his own son. It was habitual since he had been taking care of Sasuke for a large portion of Sasuke's life. He was one of few people who knew Sasuke and his brother were once close, and one of few people who knew that Sasuke and Itachi rarely spoke now.

With a nod of his head, he turned and began walking down a dirty path he had spotted. It was probably leading to an agricultural village. This area was sparce of occupancy. He had studied this entire area not long ago, learning that it was previously undiscovered. It was an entire bit of land separated from Japan. Recently, a coastal bridge had been built. This land connected Japan to South Korea, where Sakura's family lived. It was an incredible discovery for the world, but the residents already there seemed to dislike colonization. In the end, it remained a bridge to Korea, and nothing more. Sasuke had been this way a few times with Itachi, once with his father, but he had never thought that he'd be stuck here. Would the natives here mind his presence?

He had money on him, of course. Maybe if he paid them off, they would take his appearance more lightly. As he continued to walk. He couldn't help but take in the smell of leaves. It was familiar, but the trees around here were sickly and dead. His senses felt oddly alert, but he had no idea why. His head was buzzing with questions about why everything he saw right now felt strangely… familiar. His pace continued, almost steadily, until he could spot some sort of village up ahead. It seemed small, with homes that were nothing like the towering buildings he had become accommodated to. There was peace surrounding the village, but there seemed to be something lacking. He almost couldn't put a finger on it. His black eyes narrowed when he noticed a few village children glancing his way, frightened looks on their features. Although he had no idea why it annoyed him, it always did when people looked at him and pointed out who he was. The great Uchiha Sasuke, son to Uchiha Fugaku, brother of Uchiha Itachi; no one saw Sasuke in specific. He was full of his lineage. His brother had been the only person who saw Sasuke first, and although that childish waste had ended, he'd soon have more than that to look after. Sakura would have Uchiha on her name, too. He hated the idea, but she seemed to like it, to want it.

With another sigh he soon stood only three or four feet from the children, expecting them to chorus about his parents or his brother. Instead, one of the children shrieked. There were at least three of children seemed thoroughly scared of him, and it astonished him. Maybe it's just that I'm dressed oddly compared to them… they might never have seen a collared shirt and dress pants. But no, they stared at his eyes, his face, in shock. He was what scared them; he himself. "Okaa-san! It's the traitor! Run before he kills us!" the girl of the three screamed. There were tears streaming down her face, and she seemed extremely frightened. The two boys were nearly in similar state with fear of Sasuke's current appearance. What had he done to scare them this much? Sasuke frowned and took a step forward, holding out his hand. "I'm not a traitor. My name is Sa—" he began. One of the other boys let out a shriek. "H-he's trying to use the eyes on us!" he shouted. Without further notice, the little girl's hand was grabbed, and all three of them scurried into a house, away from his sight.

Sasuke stood still, staring where they had been, with absolutely no idea what was going on. He hadn't done anything yet, especially nothing to make them afraid of him. That hadn't ever happened to him before, since usually, he was a fairly normal person. A few girls here and there might scream for other more stupid reasons whenever he might be somewhere, but his reception was never this frightening. He lowered his hand to his side and took a few more steps forward. It seemed fairly empty, aside of the smell of more leaves. The buildings were badly damaged here. There was nothing special, about this village, except that it looked like it barely survived. There was no government around these parents, and the people who did reside her seemed more intent on living life their own way anyway. The homes were all old-fashioned Japanese ones, probably lacking electricity as well. He doubted there was anything special about this place at all. How would he get living quarters in a place like this? He frowned, his eyes narrowing, and looked around for a villager. Those kids had to have parents or something… right?

"Bad karma, or maybe we're just that fortunate for a bad memory to return."

He turned himself around to face whoever was behind him, in a flash. He had no idea who it was, but the old woman seemed rather upset. Her eyes were a startling shade of green, but her hair was lanky and white. With a cane in one hand, and her hair tied in two pigtails towards her shoulders, she seemed rather, decent in appearance. Her stance was slouched, but something about her radiated that she wasn't ordinary. She could do something that even Sasuke would never predict, and possibly be able to stand against. "My car broke down, just outside of this village's boundaries and I need—" he was began. The woman only let out a shrill laugh, the noise filling his ears. The sound resembled some sort of cackle, reminding him of the witches he saw in movies as a child. He hated witches, along with women. He didn't honestly like many people. "Admit it, you came to finish what you started, snake heir," she accused.

Thorough confusion was all Sasuke could manage. He wasn't a snake heir. In fact, none of it made sense. He'd never been here before. Fingers tightening into a fist, he continued to stare the woman down with a lack of emotion, not trying to care that he was being accused of being a snake heir. "I'm not a snake heir. I'm inheriting a large company, I'm sure you know it," he tried to reason. But the woman only seemed more upset by his words. It was as if she was mistaking him for someone else entirely. He concluded, at least in his mind, that these people had never heard of the Uchiha Company. That they lived in an invisible world where there was no need for outside interferences. It sounded reasonable, and he could guess she was probably insane, thinking him to be someone else. The lady continued staring at him, the tension almost edible. He only looked back, rebellious and undignified as always.

"You do have the same hate.. the same rage as before. But you have no memories," the woman finally concluded. As before? How could I? I've never even met you. "You are not yet him. But you will be, soon." Another few moments passed by, in which Sasuke tried to figure out the meaning behind those words. Hate? He did, he hated his family. For making him become some sort of unneeded compartment to his older brother, who had all of the attention. He had rage against everything they did. But how could this woman know? To her, his family was perfect as always. There was nothing wrong with it. She didn't even know her family. He didn't understand why she was thinking he was someone else. He never would be. It made no sense. "I told you, I'm not him," he said again. "I don't understand what you're going on about. I just need a place to stay for one night." He would have continued, but the woman reached out and clamped her body hand around his wrist, pulling him towards one of the houses. "Fine then, come along. I will show you," she concluded.

(break)

The hut he was lead inside was extremely quiet. The sound of the wind blowing outside was well defined. It held only one other person, who stood by the door and moved aside for the old woman. But Sasuke received a curt glare, along with a step back that was defined of fear. He didn't understand a word of it, since he knew he wasn't even close to being part of anything going on here. He only followed the old woman to the front of the room. Where some sort of book was placed. It looked incredibly old, but it had an oddly normal looking cover. Black, with pages inside. It must have been dated from many years back. Although he stayed quiet, the old woman reached out and took hold of the book in her hands, her eyes staring down at it with something close to fondness.

"My ancestor, left this book behind, from her time," the old woman answered, at last. "It is from when there was a civilization in this land. When there was a future for these people." He listened quietly, thinking maybe she really was just insane. Maybe if he followed along, she would let him go home and sleep. Maybe this was all just a horrible nightmare, and he had fallen asleep sometime during the car drive. He just hoped it would end soon, he was wasting too much time here. He had to get to Sakura, if only because it was part of his duty. "In this book… we have the history of the ninja civilization, of Hinotochi. The last great civilization," the woman continued. Her words became more and more ridiculous. The woman finally turned back around and cautiously looked up at him. Everyone seemed almost afraid of meeting his eyes. They didn't want to look up at him. "Shizumu, take the book, and drop him off at that place. Nearby it," the woman finally answered. "If he reads the book, so be it. If he chooses to go inside first, so be it. But either way, he must be left there. If he truly does find it, he will find a way back here."

He didn't agree to this. Turning to the man who was approaching him, Sasuke glared. He wouldn't do this. He wasn't going to be dropped off, god knows where, by some man who barely knew him. But he didn't seem to have a choice, as the mans fist collided with his stomach, and everything went dark.

"Should you find your way, snake heir, perhaps you will be saved from the same fate."

(break)

"Nnh…"

He opened his eyes and looked up. At first, all he could see were dead, burned trees looking down at him. There were many trees, all surrounding him and making him feel sort of insignificant. But that wasn't what concerned him, really. It was the fact that there was no one else here, and that he had no idea where he was. His stomach felt light, almost painful, really. His left hand clutched some sort of object, the other held another object. He had no idea what had happened, aside of the fact that he had been ditched, god knows where, by some old woman. That village had been some sort of terrible idea. He would have been better off staying near Iruka. Dammit… What do I do now?

He sat up, looking at his hands carefully. The book was in one hand, wrapped there tightly. He didn't care to read it, not when he was lost and had no idea where they had sent him off to. The other held some sort of weapon. It was somewhat heavy, and looked metallic. He remembered these in his books as a child; kunai, he remembered them being called. With a sigh, he put both into his pockets and stood up. Wherever he was, it was surrounded by more trees than he had seen in his entire life. It seemed like he was in a forest of sorts; but one that had been wreakaged long long ago. He moved forward, wanting to get to some other village where, hopefully, he could find a phone and just get out of here. He hated relying on others, especially since that last incident had proved he shouldn't have been around that woman to begin with.

As he walked, some part of his stomach began to sink. Like he was going somewhere he shouldn't be. He couldn't explain it, especially since his mind was reeling. All he could think of was just how horribly wrong all of this felt. Like he should turn around right now and go the opposite way. It hadn't happened to him before, this feeling of nausea. The more he walked, the heavier his load became. His feet felt almost tied down, to keep him from walking forward. His hands seemed to fist, as he struggled to continue walking. Not only that, but his eyes hurt. His eyes felt as if they were bleeding from some sort of invisible strain he was encompassing. He lifted his hand, pressing his palm to his right eye in vain, to possibly stop the pain. But he felt like it wouldn't. It just hurt.

He wasn't sure where he was going, or even why. All he knew was that he was walking forward, aimlessly, permanently. He couldn't keep this up, because when he could see a huge pair of wooden gate doors, broken down, he himself collapsed, his head striking the ground at once and knocking him unconscious. Like he had never been capable of standing up in the first place.

(break)

He opened his eyes again, however, this time, he didn't see any sort of sky. He saw the roof of a ceiling. It was a white room, with a strange, primitive Japanese top. Lips in a frown, he looked ahead only to see an unfamiliar man. He seemed to be writing on a chalkboard. Was he in class? Was this a substitute teacher? It made no sense. There were other students there, but when he examined closely, he noticed they were just children. All little boys and girls, writing notes about something or another that the instructor was talking about. He could only see that he was either in the wrong classroom, or something horrible strange had happened.

The chalkboard displayed writing in Japanese, but what it said was astounding. It had pictures of ninja tools such as kunai on it. It had things like genjutsu, or ninjutsu written there as well. None of it made sense, since he had never seen this being taught in a normal school. They were learning how to be Ninja, it seemed. He couldn't believe it, especially since this was abnormal. Children shouldn't be learning to run around throwing ninja stars at people; they should be working to a mature, adult-like future. He lifted his hand to have that usual reaction of calling for an instructors attention, to signify that he was in the wrong class, the wrong grade level. Maybe he was in a horrible dream. But the moment he raised his hand, he noticed how much smaller his hand was in general. He had bigger hands; he was a teenager after all. But no, his palm was too small. He continued to look down at his hand and immediately noticed it then.

He was in a younger body.

Standing up, he stared over at the teacher, who at once had his attention. "What's wrong, Sasuke?" the man asked. He continued to glare at the teacher, not wanting to be here at all. "What is this? What's… what's happened to me?" he questioned. Like he expected, his voice was a lot younger, too. He was, clearly, not in his body. But the teacher somehow knew him. The entire class turned around to look at him, expecting an explanation for his unusual actions. But there was no explanation. He had just spoken up out of shock, to realize that he was a child, in a class of ninja students. What sort of reality is this? "Class is finished now, children. Please head home safely, and practice your kunai throwing with your family members if you can," the teacher finished. When he put the chalk down, all of the children rushed out, leaving Sasuke to stand deadly still, staring at the teacher in surprise.

This was, unbelievable. The teacher, however, pointed out the door with a smile, as if ushering him to go. "Go on home. I'm sure Fugaku and Mikoto are worried," the man assured him. At the mention of his parents' names, Sasuke was utterly relieved. Two people he recognized were here. Maybe they'd know what's going on; or at least be in the same situation as him, relatively similar. He began running out, finding the bag clinging to his body to be somewhat annoying. Inside of it, he could hear metal, the oddly familiar sound making him weary. What was going on anyway? Where was he going? How did he know he was going somewhere that was correct for him. His feet padded along the ground as he rushed somewhere. He looked up while running, of course. He was in some sort of a village. It had buildings. Old fashioned ones, but they looked magnificent. The moonlight shining down on them was brilliant, magnifying everything. In the distance, he could see some sort of mountain with heads carved into it. Everything here seemed larger than life, but he didn't care.

He had to go 'home'. Feet carrying him faster, he eventually saw in the distance a path of trees leading away from this village main setting and more towards some sort of decimated compound. He didn't know why he was going this way, either. Just that he had to; he wanted to. He could hear, faintly, a female voice or two calling out, but he ignored it. Maybe his mother and father would know what to do to get back to himself. Wherever he was right now, he wasn't in the right place. As if he felt like he was getting closer, he sped up, as much as this small body would let him. But the closer he approached, the more he noticed it. That things were becoming darker, gloomier. He could see the beginning of a few buildings, but what really caught him off guard was the stench of death. The smell of blood and dead corpses.

Dead… dead people?

It was undeniable that he could smell it. It was just overwhelming the amount of dead people that were smelt in the air. While running now, his foot collided with something. Looking down, he couldn't help the shocked look he gave off, or the stilling of his body. His foot had touched a hand… a hand that had been cut off from it's body. Now that he looked around, there were several dead corpses here and there, all of them bearing one similar symbol on their body.

My… My family's symbol. The Uchiha Symbol…

He felt his knees shake, especially when he noticed that it was the ending. That… there were dead people, probably 'his' relatives, laying around. It made him scared, suddenly. What if his mother and father were there? What if this had happened to them? He suddenly felt younger, felt extremely uncertain of what was going on. Like he was just a child again. He began running again, moving away from whatever dead bodies he could find touching him. All he knew was that he was afraid, that he was scared senseless of what would happen to his mother and his father. He stopped when he noticed some large house, the main house of his compound, he assumed. It was closed, since the shed-like covering was shut. He stopped before it, pressing one hand to it in case he was afraid of opening it. Did… he want to? Did he want to find out what was behind this mass murder? The smell of death was making him nauseous. He wanted to go away. But at the same time, what if someone like his family had been killed? His immediate family meant the world to him.

He opened the door then, and took a step in, expecting something of Fugaku and Mikoto to pop up at him. He wasn't used to this, not in his normal life. A marriage had been the most critical, uncertain step he had ever taken. But the moment he stepped in, his eyes widened, and his hands shook. His parents were there… but they were…

All he could see was Mikoto's head, laying a few feet from her body, her arm severed. Fugaku was beside her, his eyes wide, and his limbs each shuffled into subsided, differed shapes. They had been massacred, each and every one of his relatives had been killed, all in one night. His family was… was dead!

The sound of sudden was footsteps. Each resounding and slowly making way towards him. It was too dark to tell who it was, the lack of lighting was easy to depict that, but Sasuke knew the presence. Hell, he knew he knew it; the smell was familiar, and every part of him screamed that it was someone he treasured beyond his mother and father, beyond himself. He just felt it was familiar, in every pore of his body. And it made him want to back away, because he felt deadly intent. He took one step back, bringing his hands up to his chest. The person stepped out of the shadow, and he could finally recognize them. The long black hair, that had been tied back in a ponytail. The familiar lines on the front of the persons face, showing slight birth marks and the addition of stress. The way the person was always taller, always better, always more capable than Sasuke himself. It was all familiar, every single bit of it, especially the black, tired eyes looking down at him.

"I-Itachi-aniki?"

Itachi continued to look at him, his features always expressionless. There was nothing there. No indication that he even cared for Sasuke's presence. It was like normal, except Sasuke was afraid this time. He didn't know if he could control his own reactions, and Itachi's own. They continued to stare at one another in silence, until Itachi closed his eyes. Sasuke knew now he had to run before it was too late. Itachi had lost his mind. However, those eyes opened, and he saw red. Pure, gleaming red, staring back at him. The eyes that spoke of terror, made him want to turn away, but he was frozen, and in less than a minute, he was sucked into an endless, internal repetition of whatever had happened here.

Of each moment his clan had been killed.

All he could see was blood, death, people dying here and there. His uncle and aunt had been decapitated before his very eyes, falling to the ground like lifeless dummies. His own mother and father were murdered, and he could see all of it because of whatever Itachi had done. Itachi had done all of it! It was his fault! His heartbeat continued to speed up, and he reached up, grabbing at his head and screaming. "Aniki! Stop it! Stop showing me this!" he screamed out, into nothing. But alas, he could still hear the sounds, still see the massacre in his mind. It all eventually stopped, and he could only fall to his knees, still clutching his head in bare, fearful agony. Itachi had killed his family… his entire clan. His own brother, his flesh and blood, had killed all that remained of his life!

He sobbed quietly, feeling every bit of himself drain out, into the ground and away from his sight. He had lost everything to the one person he had considered his older brother; his closest family member. The one person he always looked up to and adored. He kept his head down, until finally the strength to stand returned to him. Pushing his body to stand slowly, he began walking out of the door, leaving his dead parents bodies as is, because he had to get out, had to find someone who could get Itachi. This was his fault! His limbs ached, and he could only continue to open the strange door and walk outside, dragging his body along almost dead-like. He felt dead. He had lost everything, in one moment. He no longer had a brother… no longer had a mother, a father. It was all Itachi's doing, for something he selfishly wanted.

However, he froze at seeing Itachi standing there, all calm. He stopped, and looked up at him, expecting some form of an answer as to why he did it. What he could possibly gain from doing something as horrendous as killing his family. But when no answer came, he let out a growl and slammed his fist into the wall. Why was this happening? Itachi, however, kept looking at him. Monotonous. Not even caring what he had one had possibly left the biggest scar on Sasuke's life that was humanly possible. "Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life, and when you have the same eyes as mine, come to me," his brother spoke, almost sounding robotic with his statement. Hate him? Hate the person I've wanted to be since I was little? You… You murdered our family! Of course I hate you!

Itachi turned away, and he was about to go after him, to kill him with whatever power he could muster, but the moment Itachi looked back, and he made mistake of looking into Itachi's eyes, his world went black. He slowly felt his body drop to the ground, and everything, went away.

(break)

He reopened his eyes to find himself laying face down in the brown dirt he had been in within that burned up forest. Pushing himself to stand, he found his limbs re-enlarged, like they should be. He was wearing his usual clothing again, and he wasn't a tiny child. There was no blood stains anywhere. In fact, he was safest, right now. He looked down at the ground, at his feet, his hands… whatever he could, and though to himself, how he could be here when that had felt so real. When seeing his brother murder his family, had seemed so real. He had thought it was actually happening, even felt like it was true. Like it had happened now. Like it was historical.

He still felt weary, especially since Itachi had been in it. His older brother, who had been ignoring him as of recent, had been in a dream where Itachi had killed their family. Why? Why did he see something so horrible? He kept his head ducked down, trying to keep from crying or something of the sort, but he could only look ahead at the broken doors of the place before him. Maybe if he, went inside, someone could be in there. From the smell of the air, and from the lack of sound, the large place he could see up ahead was long abandoned. No one would be inside. He knew already how ridiculous this was, going into a completely foreign bit of territory, and for what? To find a way home? He never should have agreed to go along with this idea to visit Sakura. He should have just stayed home, or maybe gone to visit Itachi, to make sure this insane vision he had of Itachi being a murderer in a ninja village was false. It couldn't happen in the modern world… right?

But there was more to how he felt. Inside his chest, he felt a guilt he couldn't repress. Like somehow, something was his fault. Like everything he saw before him had been contaminated by his own faults. He couldn't put a finger on it, and he didn't particularly want to. Stopping at the gates, one tumbled down so he'd have to climb over it, he gripped the side and slowly climbed onto the gate, beginning to walk up to look inside of whatever this massive village was. Black eyes caste onward, he had to freeze when he looked ahead, at what he could see.

It was the village from that vision. In the distance, he could see similar buildings. He could see that mountain that had those heads carved onto it. He could see things that he felt were familiar to him, inside.

But they were destroyed. It looked like war had scotched them all.

What… is going on with me?