On one side of the world, a blonde child with bright blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks wondered what his role in life was as he stared at his peers playing in the orphanage backyard.
To him, life seemed like nothing more than a loop. Get up. Eat. Play. Sleep. Repeat.
He grew tired of it and his mind wandered the finite land of imagination for something new to tinker and mess with. Little did he know, the protector and ruler of the village had plans in mind for him.
On the other side of the world, a small girl helped another inured soldier. Not because she wanted to. Because she had to. She didn't want to suffer the same fate as her mother. All she could wish for was that everyone would just die.
Would it be a miracle if her wish came true and the strongest Sannin raided the camp the next day?
Would it be "Fate" if these two children from two different parts in the world would one day turn the other's life upside down?
Or would it be just the consequence of many choices made through the years?
It doesn't really matter what you call it. Facts stay as facts. That's reality. How you cope is what determines the next step of "Fate".
Twelve Years Later
It was another dark, desolate and dreary morning for Karin. She wouldn't have it any other way.
The mornings would always be Dark and void of light when you live underground. She did however resurface twice a day for her body to feel the sunshine.
Her mentor on the other hand did not share her enthusiasm for "The light playing on the skin" as she liked to put it.
Today would be a big day for Karin. It would be the day she would make the greatest experiment of her life and probably history. Maybe that's stretching it too far but that's what it felt like to her.
She cheerfully ate her breakfast before she put on her white lab coat and headed for the laboratory.
Kabuto's death was pitiful…to some. To her, it was just a big promotion. You'd think she'd miss her science teacher but all she managed was a sigh at the news.
On her way, she saw "Him". Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Morning Sasuke-kun."
"Mornin"
She skipped the rest of her walk to the lab. He actually enunciated a single word to her at seven in the morning and that was a new record for her.
'This day can't get any better' she thought as she examined Kimimaru's body and the teapot in the glass container.
Behind the resilient lab glasses, she could see Orochimaru and Sasuke observing her as she started putting in the inputs for the transfer.
"Alright. Beginning the experiment. Subject. Kimimaru Kaguya. Experiment. The Ichibi's transfer and its effects on his decaying body."
Orochimaru was more than pleased. At this rate, not only would he have the Sharingan, he would have a Jinchuriki of his own.
Clearly, the day could not get any better.
?
"You know how it goes. You two go for Orochimaru. Leave Uchiha to me."
"That's a cold way of addressing your ex-teammate."
"Whatever. Game time. Odama…"
Lab
'Shit…did I jynx it?' she thought as she looked at Orochimaru. He shared the same confused look on his face. Sasuke already had his sword out.
She approached the thick glass and started asking with sign language.
'What's happening?'
Orochimaru shook his head as he looked at the monitors. Sasuke was already gone and Orochimaru grew frustrated at how the once perfect day was turning into perfect chaos.
She tried knocking on the glass. She needed him to open the door from the other side if she wanted to get out and be of any use.
No use.
He was too lost in his own thoughts. Perhaps he was still thinking about how he was exposed.
After another few minutes of hard knocking, Orochimaru finally noticed and let her out.
Orochi Hall
Was she too late? It was very hard to tell. One thing she knew was that her beloved Sasuke was outnumbered. She was hoping he wouldn't be outmatched. The blonde who stood in front of him was unnerving her. Sasuke was blazing his Sharingan and he wasn't even breaking a sweat.
"Well you're a sight for sore eyes."
"I could say the same, Dobe."
The blonde turned to his teammate, who wore a leaf headband on his forehead.
"You think he got my joke about sore eyes and his Sharingan?"
Fate really is funny. It should be. It is the consequence of human actions. If fate is funny, it's because humans once made stupid decisions that were so stupid, they were funny. If it's awesome, which it rarely is, then some awesome guy made an equally awesome choice. It's all in the desire really.
Sasuke's rash lunge was also another "Fateful move" that changed the course of history.
He was so focused on Naruto's turned and vulnerable throat that he missed the shadow's move in the corner of his eyes. Before he knew it, a heel kick to the head had knocked him out.
The blonde scratched his right cheek in confusion.
"Plan A worked?...oh well. Nice going Lee. And who do we have here?" he asked as he looked directly at her.
These people looked younger than her if not as young as her but when a group like this wipes out an entire base and knocks out the last remaining Uchiha…you'd be making "Fate" if you made a "Fateful" choice.
A certain Sannin's entrance allowed her to let out the breath she was holding.
"Come now Sasuke-kun…you can't be that weak, can you?"
Like a voice-controlled doll, Sasuke gripped his sword once more as the curse-mark spread over his body.
"Everyone, do with Orochimaru as planned. Leave her alone. She looks useful."
His five comrades surrounded the pale snake. Said snake was beyond amused.
"Hahaha. You cannot be serious. A group of brats are going to kill me? Oh how the times have-"
*Crack*
Karin could literally hear the man's skull crack as the person named Lee kneed Orochimaru square in the forehead.
The man was apparently not about to take a break. Two Hyuugas began to bombard him with gentle palm strikes. Just when she thought he was finished, a girl who had her hair tied in two buns summoned a giant mace from a scroll and crushed the man. She was about to rush to her master's aid but she couldn't move.
"you were careless."
She would scream but she was paralyzed at the moment. A hooded man wearing sunglasses was standing behind her. He was clearly not someone you'd want to take your eyes off of. She felt no cuts so how did he poison him?
On the other side, the Rampaging Uchiha was being driven back by his enemy…who seemed to have Froggy eyes now. His chakra was different too. It had changed from wind to nature? She was nonplussed.
'what's happening?...why did this have to happen on the single greatest day of my life? And I had just-"
Her thought was interrupted when the blonde's foot found Sasuke's face. He was rocketed into the snake monument.
"Back!" he barked and not a moment too late, his teammates each dodged a giant snake. They would have been swallowed whole if not for his command.
'how did he…is he a sensor too?'
"Alright. Second formation."
It was as if she was watching a carefully practiced dance. The team began walking towards the monument where Sasuke was standing as if they were walking through a street.
No tension in their steps. No stress or worry evident in their eyes. It was as if they knew they would succeed.
"Orochimaru…do you really want me to break the ground just to drag you out? We're both men of finer taste."
a moment later, Orochimaru showed himself where the mace had crushed him.
"Hah. Men of finer taste. How old are you anyway?"
"Eighteen. But does it really matter? I've already won."
"Wh-"
Another knee strike. Any human would die from a bash to the back of the head. How he survived the crazy-fast lee's strike was beyond her at this moment and she could only chalk it down to the power of a Sannin. she was reminded of just who her mentor and savior is.
Orochimaru was flying towards Naruto and since he was not one to waste chances, he and his clones had already started their technique.
"Well done, Lee."
"Sasuke!" she cried but he was currently under a barrage of gentle fists.
"Chou Odama Rasen Tarengan!"
?
"Wow…that brat doesn't take chances does he?"
"No he doesn't. now get ready. You need to finish what your pupil started."
Ruins
"Haha!…yeah!…I mean…crap. I suck at following through." The blonde grumbled as he made his way over the disfigured cadaver to the beaten remains of one Sasuke Uchiha. He had sensed the snake slipping away. He had also sensed another Nature Chakra follow him…or it. Orochimaru wasn't considered human to him anymore.
"Though you know what I DON'T suck at?" he almost whispered, as if the person he was stepping on was all that lived in the world with him.
"Keeping my promises." He said through clenched teeth as he picked the sword up.
It would have been all so simple. If only one unaccounted factor was absent, he would have finished him off and went home with a smile.
But no.
As fate would have it, he wasn't able to stab the Uchiha because of one certain Redhead whom he had no idea about.
Why was she here? Who was he to her? It couldn't be that Sasuke had left to be with her, right?
Impossible.
She was the one with the feelings.
And that was all his mind could process before she kicked him in the groin.
Elsewhere
"Congratulations Jiraya. You can finally have your revenge."
"This isn't revenge, Orochimaru. This is…I hate to quote him but…this is fate."
Snake's Den
"Hey! You okay?"
He gasped for precious air as he jolted up like a flash.
"What Happened!?"
"You…got kicked in a sensitive spot."
"And?"
"You've been in a coma for seven years."
"Dammit Shino I can't tell if you're joking or not!"
*Thwack*
A fist to the head knocked him back to his senses.
"Get yourself together, Uzumaki. Though I'll give you credit because Shino's unreadable."
"Thanks, Ten. Okay back to business. Where are they?"
Wrecked Hall
"You managed to fight off the strongest Sannin and yet were done in by a kick?...you're still a Dobe."
"I did not fight him off. I simply managed my resources. The credits mostly go to Lee and his first gate. Well played, Lee."
His smiling face was quite unnerving as he knelt down and looked at Karin closely. If she wasn't tied up, she would probably be far far away in Raigakure, away from him. how could such a goofball...she didn't even want to imagine the rest of it.
His silence seemed to stretch into hours as he looked at each part of her face closely.
In the end, he got up with a defeated sigh.
"Dammit I still can't hit a girl"
"*Cough*Bullshit."
"Ha ha. Thanks TenTen. Just…take her."
He turned to the last Uchiha with a cruel smile etched on his face.
"I'm Not Going Anywhere!" she screamed as she tried to pull herself closer to sasuke with all hopes of shielding him in any way possible.
"Stay out of this. He has to pay for what he's done."
"I don't care what he's done, Take me instead!"
For a moment, Naruto had a confused look on his face. He looked at Her. Then at sasuke. He looked at them both a few times before he burst in laughter.
"Are you fucking kidding me? What kind of a fate is this?"
"Wh…what's so funny?!"
"You love him? Why Don't You Tell Her What Happened To Your Last Lover?!"
Sasuke looked away in what she recognized as…shame?
"Sasuke?" she almost whispered.
"What? Snake got your tongue? Why don't you explain how you killed her? NO! allow me to correct myself. How you freaking Burned Her To Death!"
For some reason, she just remembered what a perfect day she was having until this blonde freak ruined it all with his so called sense of justice. Was it justice that she'd suffer? For what?
"You were weak to temptation. That's why you wanted to leave. Because of your weakness, she had to pay the price."
"Hah…you sound very high and mighty for a dobe. Are you forgetting about your own weakness? Or should I remind you Why she had to burn?"
*Thwack*
*Pound*
*Crack*
His bloody hand covered his face as he inhaled deeply. The Uchiha's Jaw was broken and his face was dripping blood. Some of which was now covering The blonde's face.
"Leave us." He ordered in a cold tone, void of the sense of humor he would use to address his teammates.
"No!" she yelled as she refused to be dragged away. But it was all in vain. She watched helplessly as the blue spinning sphere in his open palm glowed brighter and spun faster.
He waited patiently until he was all alone with his nemesis.
"You're right. I was weak. But I've rid myself of that weakness as you can see. But not you. You deserve to die for your weakness"
In the eyes of the person he once considered family, he saw a strange look. It wasn't peace. Or fear. Or anger. Or sadness. It was something new. It bothered him. Not that he didn't know what it meant. It bothered him because on a core level, he knew the look meant something…as inevitable as fate itself.
he took his time. He walked slowly as he made his way out of the bloodied chambers. He thought clearly as he stepped over the corpses. he was understanding the cycle he was stuck in now.
Outside
"release her." He commanded with a sepulchral stare and an unimpeachable tone.
No one dared to disobey him. His attire wasn't helping either.
She stared at him in awe and horror but didn't choose to believe it.
"Yes my dear redhead. I'm covered in his blood."
It had all made sense to him. He had prepared himself for the endgame as he had made his way up.
He knew what was coming because he was a believer in fate.
He believed that a person's actions dictate the most probable course of his future. There are times when another more significant choice can change the course of
history but…the look in Sasuke's eyes had given him the sign.
He had sealed his fate by killing the man she loved and he doubted that anything could change that fact and save him from her wrath.
Killing her wasn't an option either. She had done nothing wrong to deserve death and in fact, killing her after killing her love would be…monstrous. He really hated that word.
Time slowed down for him as she jumped towards him with her fist held back, ready to crush his face as the knuckles had turned white.
He could read it in her eyes. They were saying "I will kill you."
Those eyes reminded him of what Sasuke's eyes said.
"You do too."