Condemned
Chapter 1
Summary: Some events in History can never be avoided. The Uchiha Massacre is one such event, scaring a young boy forever. However, that young boy was not alone, one other had survived with him. Watch as the story of the two survivors unfold in entirely different ways.
AN: Hello there everyone and thank you for joining me on my first story. Being that this is my first try mistakes are bound to happen. I shall do my best to ensure that they do not appear to often. I have run in to the issue of pairing and if I want to do one or not. I shall keep you posted on that subject but feel free to let me know how you feel. NOW, enough rambling, please enjoy.
Pant...Pant...Pant
The lungs of a little boy burned within his chest. His heart thumped madly as it struggled to keep up with the pace of the body. The muscles ached for a rest, a chance to catch up, but they were denied. He couldn't slow down now, not at a time like this. Not when everything around him was crumbling down around his ears. Not when everything he knew was being wiped from exsistence.
Pant...Pant...Pant
The young boy rounded the corner of the house, his black hair danced lightly as his head bobbled along with his body. His bright orange shirt clung to his lithe frame, the back of the shirt was damp with sweat from the strenuous activity. His coal colored eyes darted around blindly in the darkness, looking for any sign of his pursuer.
Pant...Pant...
The little boy stopped dead in his tracks halfway through the hallway. His eyes were wide with nothing but panic and fear. His knees trembled at the sight of the man before him. His head dared to lift itself slightly, eyes rising with it to meet the vision of the other man. Shaking even more so as the blood red eyes stared back at him, his foot managed to take a step back.
"There's no use in running."
The voice was cold, almost to the point where his words were ice and his breath was arctic wind. The very sound of this voice was enough to send chills straight to the bones of the young boy. Regardless of the warning, the child took another step backwards, fear now controlling his body and his will to survive screaming to run.
"W...Why?"
The young boy choked out. His throat had felt like it was closing in on him from the stress of this moment. Tears were building in his eyes quickly as the word was spoken. It took everything the young child had to even move, let alone to speak to the man. Blood red eyes peered down blankly as the child spoke, a mad glint to the hues.
"To test my strength and nothing more."
Words of insanity dripped from the lips of the Mad Man before the child. It was the voice of a man the child once knew but the tone behind those words were like nothing he had felt before in his life. Like each word was a knife slashing away at his heart with a perfected accuracy. The child gulped loudly before trembling words left his mouth.
"But...Mom...and...Dad...Everyone."
The young child stuttered out with the tears from eyes pouring out and soaking his cheeks with his sadness. He took another frightened step backwards and stared disbelievingly at the man before him. Said man closed his ruby eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more. A swirl of black came to his eyes.
"Everyone, yes. My strength had to be tested, Naruto."
Naruto took another step back at the sound of his name. Only this time, his back at hit a wall behind him. He casted a curious glance to the side to make sure it wasn't his mind playing a trick on him. Much to his dismay, the wall was as real as the horror and fear pumping through his veins at the moment.
"What would...my brother say...if he saw you...Itachi!?"
Naruto screamed out in panic at Itachi. For a fleeting moment, one would be able to see the shock on the face of the older Uchiha. But as fast as it had arrive, it had vanished and all that was left was the hollow look from before. Naruto could feel his stomach begin to churn as Itachi took one step forward, the light of the moon shining through to reveal his blood stained outfit.
"Shisui..."
Itachi spoke with a tone that could be considered sadness. His eyes had reflected how his soul had felt about the word before the pale lids of the Uchiha closed over those saddened eyes. Naruto watched in horror as a single tear of blood dripped from his left eye. In the next moment, his left eye lids snapped open and revealed the odd design of Itachi's eye.
"Tsukuyomi."
Naruto looked at that blood soaked eye, red cracks riddled the whites of his eye. The boy wondered what was happening as the world around him slowly began to wavier and fade away in to total blackness, the image of Itachi slowly melting away until he was one with the shadows. Naruto could feel his eyes slowly coming to a close as the darkness overwhelmed him.
"I am sorry, Naruto."
Small and thin streaks of golden light had burst through the window of the room in which the young boy slept in. His slightly tan face was buried in the pillows that his bed harbored for him, the blankets being pulled high over his head to block out the sunlight. A displeased grunt left his mouth when he heard someone enter his room.
"Oh little Naruto, time to wake up."
A groan came from under the blankets as the voice spoke out to him. Try as Naruto might, he knew that this visitor wouldn't leave him alone to sleep longer. So instead, he would have to go about stopping this terror in a different way, using the only method that he had available to his being at the moment. The element of surprise!
In one fluid motion, Naruto rolled on the bed and sprung off of it, intent on catching the person in the room off guard. His attempts to see, and hopefully catch, the culprit were in vain due to the blanket covering over his face and complicating his movements. He landed in a crumpled up heap of blanket and skin. All that could be heard was the snickering of an older voice.
"Nice try Naruto but I'm not known as Shisui of the Shunshin for nothing!" A muffled noise could be heard coming from the blankets itself as Naruto struggled to get himself free from the confines of the cloth. Eventually, the boy was freed from the entrapping and revealed his face to his older brother. Naruto had a wider face than that of his brother, probably the most noteworthy feature along with his slightly more tan skin, more akin to Shisui's own color.
"No fair! You said you were going to do that anymore!" Shisui merely laughed at his younger brother softly before walking over and extending a hand to Naruto, which the younger boy took with a grumble. Standing to his feet he heard Shisui speak again.
"In the Shinobi's arsenal, deception is one of his strongest weapons, hehe." Shisui spoke in a mock voice, sounding awfully like a teacher, with his pointer finger raised. The elder Uchiha was adorned in a black high collared shirt with gray pants that stopped about his ankles. Naruto couldn't help but to giggle at the way his brother sounded.
"They should call you 'Shisui of the speeches' instead." At that moment, Shisui visibly deflated and slumped over slightly. Naruto giggled and patted his back as best he could from his smaller framed body with its shorter reach.
"Its not that bad, big brother. You could be...old!" Naruto exclaimed, flailing his arms about as he did so. Shisui turned to the boy with a face like he had just seen a ghost of some sort. Naruto couldn't help but to giggle.
"H-Hey! I'm not that old yet!" Shisui spoke in a shocked tone, his eyes as wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropping down as low as it could go. Who would have thought that the man that could rival Itachi, the prodigy, would be scared to grow old. Naruto let off a boyish giggle before he opened his mouth to speak, only to get cut off by another sound, sweeter in nature.
"Boys, its time for breakfast." The softer toned voice called out to the two of them and drew their attention to the location from where the noise had come from. Slowly, a smile had crept on to the faces of both the boys. Both of them turned to each other and raised a fist.
"Race you there!" They exclaimed in unison, Naruto pushing past Shisui and forcing the elder Uchiha to land on his rear. Naruto stuck his tongue out at his brother before feeling his ankle become locked in the others grip, making him fall down on his chest and face.
In the next moment, Shisui was back to his feet and carefully leaped over Naruto and took off running down the hall way. Naruto hurried to his feet, accidentally slamming his shoulder against the wall, and ran after his brother as fast as his little legs could take him.
Shisui's eyes picked up the sight of the corner he was approaching and turned slightly so he could slide slightly, bumping against the opposite wall to slow himself down before preparing to run once more. Before he could take off running though, a small blur of an orange shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and navy blue pants smashed in to his hip.
Naruto giggled and took off running again, only to be grabbed by the back of the shirt and forced to land on the ground, laying on his back. Naruto growled lightly as his brother stepped over him and grabbed his ankle in return, making Shisui land on his face.
The two of them, noting that the kitchen was mere feet away from them both, began to crawl in a fierce race to see who could make it through the door way first. Both of them shooting playful glares towards one another, both had looks of determination on their faces.
Crawling past each other, both boys jumped up to their feet, smashing their foreheads together. "I won!" They both said in unison before growling at each other again. "I made it here first!" Tick marks began to grow on their heads before once hearing the sweet voice of another.
"Now is not the time to fight, come before the food gets cold." Shisui and Naruto stopped and craned their necks to see their mother sitting at the table with her eyes closed, long raven hair was tied back in to a loose ponytail. Her pale features were calm and lax, except for the small smile upon her face. The light from the window behind her made her seem almost angelic in appearance.
Both boys looked to each other then back at their Mother before reaching their left hands back to sheepishly rub their necks. "Sorry." They apologized before moved to take their seats on either side of the table, Naruto to the right with his back to the wall, Shisui to the left with his back to the kitchen. Before them was a meal which the boys had not seen before, a western style arrangement of scrambled eggs, bacon strips, sausage links, toast and ham slices.
"Hey Mother, what's this stuff?" Naruto asked with a tilt to his head, turning his vision over to his mother while pointing at the weird and odd looking style of food. Sure he had seen all this food before, just not in this way. Shisui nodded to his brother and casted a curious glance over to his mother as well. Their Mother merely smile and responded all the same.
"Western style of breakfast for today. Please," She waved a hand towards the food. "Enjoy." Naruto shrugged, he'd rather not look a gift horse in the mouth. Plus it smelled amazing to the young Uchiha so he figured that he should just enjoy it while he could.
So filling up his plate with the assortment of eggs and sausage links and toast, he began to eat away. Shisui looked up from his plate and chuckled softly. No matter how times their mother had told him, Naruto was simply a pig when came to eating when he was hungry.
"Slow down or you'll choke." His mother scolded him calmly, earning a snicker from the eldest brother. Naruto stopped eating to cast a glare to Shisui before swallowing slowly and reaching for a cup of some tea that had been poured before the Uchiha duo had arrived, drinking some of the fluid.
"So, do you boys have plans for the day?" Their mother asked, opening her eyes to reveal her own onyx eyes, looking at both Shisui and Naruto. The younger of the two was the first to answer with excitement filling his voice.
"Shisui said he would take me to the park to play! Maybe I'll make friends there!" It obvious to anyone in the room that he was overly excited at the prospect of playing with other kids his age and making friends with them. Mainly because the only friends he had at the moment would be Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke.
Most other Clan members had avoided Naruto's Mother ever since her Husband had died from an unnatural, and unexplained, cause. The Police force had of course investigated the incident but came up with nothing of note. However, to a select few people who dared to speak out, the death looked more like a murder than anything else. Something Naruto and Shisui's Mother strongly voiced her opinion on
"Is this true Shisui?" The elder Uchiha nodded with a small smile on his face at the question.
"Yup! I'm actually just waiting for Itachi and Sasuke to show up before we head out to the park." He explained calmly, unaware of the looming presence behind him. Naruto slapped a hand over his mouth and did his best not to laugh. Shisui lofted a brow at his brother before turning his head slightly to see Itachi.
"Ah!" In a moment of panic, he had activated the Shunshin to move behind Naruto, two kunai drawn and Sharingan activated, looking rather like a scared cat with its claws out. It was at that moment that Naruto burst out laughing, clutching his sides tightly as he laughed. Even Itachi had a small smile on his face at the sight.
"Itachi! How many times have I told you not to do that!?" He protested loudly, stomping his foot on the floor below them, Sharingan fading from his eyes. Itachi's smile had faded from his lips as he tilted his head, pushing the high collared fabric to the side. His pale arms hung loosely at the side of his dark blue shirt and pants.
"As a Shinobi of Konoha, shouldn't you be more alert?" He asked, earning another giggle from Naruto and a small noise from behind Itachi. Naruto leaned over slightly to see Sasuke hiding behind Itachi. Naruto waved wildly and patted the spot next to him. Sasuke smiled and moved over to sit next to Naruto. The little boy explained to Sasuke what the food was and put some on his plate for him.
"Yeah but..." Shisui couldn't really think of anything to counter and settled for crossing his arms over his chest and frowning slightly, pushing his bottom lip out in more of a pouting fashion. His Mother had sighed before looking to Itachi.
"Nice of you to join us, Itachi and Sasuke." She bowed her head lightly to the Clan Heir. Itachi bent at the waist and bowed in respect to the other. Sasuke looked to his brother before realizing what was being done. He clambered to his feet and bowed the same, showing his thanks.
"Its always a pleasure to visit, Myio." Shisui and Naruto both looked up at the sound of their Mother's name. Naruto simply smiled and went back to talking with Sasuke about the food and the things they were going to do for the day. Shisui unfolded his arms and moved to stand behind his mother, looking over to Itachi.
"We have quite the schedule today don't we Itachi?" The stoic Uchiha Heir merely nodded in agreement, casting a curious glance over to his brother before looking back to his best friend.
"Indeed we do. One that I fear we may not keep if the two younger guests of honor don't make time for their day." Itachi spoke with an amused tone to his voice, turning to Sasuke. Shisui snickered quietly before turning over to his brother with smile.
Sasuke and Naruto were currently deep in a conversation about the taste difference between Sausage links and Ham when they felt three pairs of eyes on them. Slowly the two children stopped talking to look around them. What their eyes showed them was that Myio, Itachi and Shisui were all listening intently in on their debate. Both boys blushed lightly and looked down at the ground, prompting the group to chuckle lightly at them.
"Well if you boys are done, go brush your teeth and go play for the day." Myio rang out softly, earning a groan from both of the young Uchiha members. Regardless of their displeasure, they both rose to their feet and slowly walked over to the bathroom, standing on little stools to get the brushes and toothpaste.
"Heh, I guess its a good thing we had Sasuke bring a spare tooth brush here huh? With how much he hangs out with Naruto and all that." Shisui chimed in as the boys went about their business. Itachi glanced back for a moment before looking forward once more.
"You remember what tonight is, correct Shisui?" Itachi asked in a deathly serious voice but quiet enough that the younger boys did not hear it, causing both Myio and Shisui's ears to perk up at attention. Myio looked to Itachi and tilted her head at him lightly.
"I assume you are referring to 'that'?" She asked, returning the seriousness of the voice. Shisui's face dropped out of its normally more up beat style and fell in to what could be considered, the standard Uchiha face. Blank and lax in its way with serious eyes and attentive posture.
"I am." Itachi replied with a nod, prompting Shisui to nod as well.
"We will be ready when you give the signal." He confirmed, crossing his arms back over his chest. Itachi closed his eye lids, a slightly saddened tone coming from his throat.
"I do not like to lie to them for the entirety of the day. Even if I have to." Shisui and Myio sighed in agreement with the Heir.
"Neither do I, however it is for the greater good. Even if we must suffer in the now. They will understand once it is all over." Myio explained with soft smile on her face. Itachi couldn't help but to agree with her logic.
"Yeah! Plus its not like they will find out about it bef-"
"We're back!" Naruto and Sasuke called out happily, smiling widely to show off their clean and white teeth. Shisui stopped his sentence and looked over to the two of them, slowly closing his mouth and allowing his lips to form in to a smile of sorts.
"Well its about time! Any longer and I thought Itachi and I would have to rescue you both from falling in the toilet." He snickered lightly and gave the boys a thumbs up. "But I'm happy you both are alright."
Sasuke and Naruto shared a look before they both shuddered. "Ew." They said in unison, enticing the group before them to chuckle at their childish behavior. Clearing his throat, Shisui opened his mouth to speak again.
"Are you two ready to go to the park yet or do you want to go brush your teeth again?" And just like, in a fit of giggles and childish rage, the two boys were out the door and taking off down to the gates of the compound itself. Itachi and Shisui both sighed heavily before using the Shunshin to vanish from the room. Myio took another sip of her tea, smiling as she did so.
She couldn't wait for tonight to begin.
[Streets of Konoha]
The four Uchiha walked down the street with an air of excitement about them. Shisui walked with Naruto to his left and Itachi to his right. Itachi walked with Sasuke to his left and Shisui to his right. Every now and then, Naruto or Sasuke would lean forward and make a face at each other before giggling and hiding behind their respective brothers.
Most of the people on the streets would watch the ordeal with small smiles on their face. The Uchiha Clan was greatly feared and respected in every corner of the world for their prowess in combat and the all powerful Sharingan, should it awaken in the given person. With their reputation for fearsome warriors being set, it was quite rare to see an Uchiha laughing and enjoying themselves.
Shisui and Itachi simply watched their brothers do their acts with looks of amusement on their faces. They remembered what it was like to be a child. No real worries in the world and still innocent enough to believe that the people of this planet were all decent and good. The innocence of a child is a rare thing and is very much missed when it is gone.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke one more time before turning his attention to the road ahead of them. By now, after several good minutes of walking, they were rather close to the park itself. That's when he noticed a group like his own, a taller woman with a little girl in tow. He tilted his head at them and tugged on his brothers sleeve.
"Hey Shisui, who are those two?" He asked in his curious tone of voice, invoking Shisui to look down at his brother, only to see his eyes staring back up at him. The duo of females looked almost exactly like each other, except the child was more like a smaller version of the adult. Both of them wearing Lavender robes, fit for the outdoors.
"Huh?" He asked, tearing his vision away and looking to where Naruto was pointing. His Sharingan sprung to life and analyzed the pair before him. His brain searched through its memory before finding a vague answer to his question, letting the Sharingan fade from view.
"Yeah! That's-
"Hyuga Hitomi and Heiress Hyuga Hinata." Itachi cut in, making Shisui deflate visibly for the second time this day. That was before he instantly shot back up and growled at Itachi, folding his arms over his chest and pouting as he did so.
"Always gotta steal my thunder don't you Itachi?" He grumbled, not really caring for an answer either way. Itachi on the other hand, was all the more willing to give him an answer. No matter how it made him sound in the long run.
"Next time, be faster and I will not have to 'steal your thunder' as you put it." Sasuke and Naruto shared a healthy giggle before Sasuke stopped and tugged on Itachi's sleeve.
"What's a Hyuga?" Sasuke asked with a tilt of his smaller head. Itachi looked down at Sasuke, thinking for a moment before coming up with an answer. Sasuke and Naruto, having spent most of their lives in the compound thus far were rather ignorant of the outside world as they had not gotten to the age of studying quite yet. Not that they would ever sit still for long enough.
"A proud and powerful Clan, just like ours. Hinata is about the same age as you and Naruto. I heard she is even going to the Academy with Naruto and you as well." Sasuke seemed excited by the fact to know another kid of his age that would be going to the Academy with him. The only thing that either of the young boys had even come close to doing was learning the Clan's most famous Jutsu: Katon: Goukakyuu.
And even then only Sasuke had managed to get that down pat. Naruto on the other hand struggled majorly with getting the ball to be the proper size. He had passed the Uchiha test but he could not get the fire ball to be any bigger than a few feet high and wide. Something that infuriated him and that Sasuke liked to gloat over him with.
The next few moments passed with a comfortable silence over the group. The boys were excited to go and play with other kids their age, since there weren't that many in the Uchiha family at the moment, and the elder brothers were happy to watch them play and have fun with their lives while they could.
Eventually the group had arrived at the park, both young Uchiha dashing off to the swingset where the other little Hyuga was. Naruto was the first to interact with her, smiling and sticking his hands behind his head, causing his orange shirt to ride up his back slightly.
"Hehe, hey there! My name is Uchiha Naruto and this is Sasuke. His brother told us your name is Hinata and your part of a really cool Clan too!" Hinata 'eep'ed almost instantly as Naruto spoke up to her. Instantly she began to look down at the ground before she felt her mother's hands upon her head. Sasuke grumbled and looked away from the two of them.
"I can talk on my own you know." Sasuke complained, more in a joking manner than anything else in that regard. Naruto giggled lightly at his best friend and really, his only friend at the moment. Hitomi, Hinata's mother, smiled down at the duo and her daughter.
"It's okay, why don't you say hello?" Hitomi's voice came out like a soothing wave of bliss, calming even the two Uchiha boys. Though what had calmed them, had seemed to give Hinata the strength to speak up to the two new arrivals.
"Hi..." She squeaked out, barely audible to anyone by here but that wouldn't stop Naruto from being friendly. Sasuke wanted to be nice to her too, but he just wasn't really a people person or friendly for that matter.
"So Hinata, you want to get on the swing? I'll push you." He offered to the lavender haired Heiress. She had a look of embarrassment before looking back down at her feet. After a few tense moments, and a nudge from her Mother, Hinata nodded to his offer and worked her way on to the swing. Sasuke scoffed and got on the free swing, kicking his legs back and forth while Naruto pushed.
While the children chatted about their favorite things, and their most hated things, Hitomi had made her way over to the two elder Uchiha with a small smile, turning to watch the kids play. Shisui turned his head to her and smiled kindly.
"Thank you for that. Sasuke and Naruto have no one to play with at home. I know they are having a blast right now." He expressed his gratitude towards the Hyuga female. Soon he was joined by Itachi.
"I agree Hitomi, thank you for that." Itachi bowed his head lightly to her. Hitomi waved her hand lightly at the boys.
"Please, it was the least I could. Hinata is a painfully shy child and could use some interaction with people other than her cousin." Shisui tilted his head to that.
"Why is she so shy?" He asked, curious as to what could make a child become so shy and timid at such a young age. Hitomi sighed before standing tall once more.
"I was just like that when I was a kid. She will grow out of it as I did in her own time." She lied with a skilled grace. How would it seem if she had told them that her Father is a cold and callous man to his own daughter? Itachi might be able to understand that but she did not want to risk it becoming public knowledge.
"Well if it friends you wish your daughter to have, she will have her chance." Itachi motioned with his eyes to the two newcomers to the park. Two women more engaged in their own conversation than anything to do with their children. One girl had bright blonde hair while the other had bright pink hair. A rather odd mix of colors.
"I'm telling you, Forehead. I won our challenge!" The blonde one addressed the other one with pink hair. Said girl growled and vehemently shook her head in disagreement.
"No way Ino-pig! I totally held my breath longer than you did." The pink haired child addressed her female friend. The blonde looked shocked, as if she had seen a ghost or heard something outrageous.
"Not a chance, Sakura! I won, you lost. Deal with it." The blonde huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I didn't lose, Ino! Your just mad I won and I can hold my breath longer." Sakura declared proudly with a smug smile on her face. Ino growled out before protesting angrily.
"Yeah, well...I bet you won't..." Ino desperately looked around for something to bet on, before spotting the group at the swing set. A fiendish smile crept on to her face before she declared her challenge. "I bet you won't go over to the swings and talk to those kids."
And Ino had pulled a card that was very much her weakness in that regard. Sakura got along with Ino well enough but new people were something of a struggling mystery for her to solve. It was almost too much for the poor girl to handle. However, her inner self refused to allow Ino to win and gloat.
'We got this Sakura! Cha!' Inner Sakura roared out with a vengeance to her voice, strength in her tone and stance. Meanwhile, the physical version of Sakura nervously glanced over to the group. Could she really over come her fear, even if only for a moment, to win the bet against Ino?
"Fine, your on. If I win you have to admit I beat you at holding breath." Ino mulled the idea and thought over in her head. Could she really take that risk that Sakura could pull this off? She didn't like the idea of admitting she was wrong, but she disliked losing even more so.
"Deal, and if I win, you have to say I beat you." Sakura nodded and turned on a heel, facing the group, and taking a few cautious steps towards them. As each second went by, he steps became smaller and smaller and her posture became more close in on itself. Her shoulders were hunched and her head hung lowly.
Sasuke was the first to notice the girl trying to come over where they were. He turned his head over to Naruto, only to see that he and Hinata were discussing their favorite foods. Something about Cinnamon buns came up but Sasuke didn't really understand the conversation itself. Instead he turned his head over to the other girl.
She looked as though she really wanted to come over to talk with them, but lacked the self confidence to do so on her own. Sasuke looked at her for a moment, raven hair dancing lightly from the wind and movements of the swing, before he hopped off suddenly and landed safely in the grass itself. Not that it was much of a jump, being that he was still just a kid.
Sakura looked started by the action, but otherwise remained entirely set in position on the ground, feet planted firmly in the grass. She did everything in her power to command her body to turn tail and run at the sight of the Uchiha boy, but her body refused to listen to her. Eventually Sasuke made it to where Sakura was standing, frowning slightly.
"Were you coming over because you wanted to play with us?" Sasuke asked in a slightly huffy tone, making Sakura feel all the more insecure about doing this. She couldn't stop herself from looking down, pink bangs covering over her face. It took Sasuke a moment to realize what was wrong but he didn't quite understand it. Was it something he said or how he said it?
"W...Well, k-kinda. But I don't want to be rude and interrupt. I'll go." Sakura spoke with a dejected horror to her voice. If anything, this had made her whole fear of people just that much higher in general. She had once more turned on a heel to scurry away from the Uchiha when she heard his voice, making her stop.
"I didn't mean I wanted you to leave. I was just asking. If you want...you can get on the swing and..." He paused for a moment, inhaling a deep breath before letting it out. He hopped his attempts to be friendly weren't shot down so easily. "I'll push you." Sasuke had the decency then to blush ever so lightly and turn his head away.
Sakura's head shot up with a wide smile on her face and a small gleam in her eyes. Happiness burned within her, causing her head to shake up and down with energy. "Sure!" She exclaimed. Finally, someone who didn't mock her forehead and didn't make fun of her. A chance at a new friend!
Sasuke grumbled and turned around, heading back over to the swings, only to notice that Naruto and Hinata had moved over to the sandbox and were playing there. Both of them seemed to be having fun if the smiles on their faces were anything to indicate happiness. The Uchiha boy turned around to see that Sakura was already on the swing, her back to him and her tiny feet swinging.
He wanted to just say forget it and leave this embarrassment of a situation, as being with people was not something he was skilled at in the slightest. But he simply couldn't bring himself to be that mean to a stranger who seemed all to happy to get pushed on the swings. Mentally sighing to himself, he stood behind her and began to push Sakura on the swings with all of his tiny might.
With each push he gave her, she released a tiny giggle of delight, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of the swing and the wind on her skin. The smile from before never left her face and only served to get bigger and bigger. Meanwhile, Sasuke stood and pushed her each time she came back to him. Despite himself he found that he was rather enjoying himself, even allowing the smallest of smiles to form on his face.
[With Naruto and Hinata]
Over with the two kids in the box of sand, a castle could be seen. It looked rather simply in its design with but one tower in the center of everything. Under the tower, what looked like a river could be seen flowing around the object. Both kids looked rather proud to see such a thing, their hard work having paid off for them.
"Good work, Hinata. It looks great!" Naruto exclaimed happily, giving her a thumbs up in the process. Hinata smiled and looked down at the sand castle she had helped build. It made her feel good knowing she built something and wasn't chastised for it. To be praised on something she did.
"Thank...you. You did great too." Hinata returned the kindness, voice barely above a small whisper. Regardless he heard the voice and smiled widely at her.
"Hehe, you know, it kinda looks like the big tower over there." Naruto turned his body and pointed towards the Hokage tower, biggest building in all of Konoha. He knew of the Hokage and knew that he was in that building at some point during the day. He just could not seem to find the words that would describe it.
"The Hokage Tower?" Hinata asked with a slight tilt of her head. Naruto nodded quickly and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, giving off a goofy smile.
"Yeah, that's the one! The Hokage Tower." Naruto said the last part in a semi-twist of awe and amazement. "I wonder what being the Hokage is like. Strongest Ninja in the village but all that pressure to be great and perfect all the time. I know don't want to be Hokage!" He declared with a shiver. One thing he hated was having to be perfect.
"Yes but the Hokage is a very respected position and I am grateful for who ever is in the position." Hinata nodded, causing Naruto to wave his hands back and forth excitedly.
"I respect the job too, I just don't want to do the job. Being stuck behind a bed all day is so...boring!" If there was one thing Naruto would avoid no matter what, it was boredom. He could not stand to be bored but he knew there were times where simply nothing happened. It was just they way things went sometimes.
Hinata couldn't help but to giggle at his awkward and excitable behavior. She had never met someone with a personality like his before. Being stuck with Hyuga Clan members didn't exactly leave her a whole lot of room to work with on that front. She stopped giggling when she heard two new voices coming from the walk way directly in front of them, bushes on either side of the path.
"All I'm saying -munch- is that barbeque chips -munch- are the best!" The bigger of the two male children proclaimed, while eating a bag of the said chips. A boy walked next to him, slack in his posture and movements, hands in his pockets.
"Chouji, those are the only type of chips you do eat. You can't say they are the best if you don't try anything else?" The other boy commented back, much less energy in his voice than that of Chouji.
Behind them, two adults walked, looking rather like two bigger versions of the little ones in front of them. It was easy to tell that these two were the parents of such children, missing only the mothers of the kids with them.
Both Adults seemed to be rather entertained by the banter of the kids before them, reminding them so much of themselves at one point time, before sake became their drink of choice and avoiding their wives was a daily habit they had mastered.
"They just are -munch- you're just jealous, Shikamaru." Chouji commented back to his friend with a smile on his face just before placing a few more chips in to his mouth and chewing them up. Shikamaru let out a tired sigh, letting his should slouch slightly in turn.
"Meh, its far to troublesome to eat that many chips a day. Too much effort if you ask me." He shrugged lightly before looking up and noting the two in the sandbox. Chouji followed the vision line of his friend and noticed them too. With a slight wave of the hand, the duo began to walk over to the Uchiha-Hyuga pair.
"Hey guys! My name is Chouji and this is Shikamaru." Chouji called out joyous to the other two, nudging Shikamaru in the side, prompting the Nara to simply wave at the two for a greeting. Naruto and Hinata looked up from their sand art to greet the other two.
"Hey there, my name is Naruto and this is Hinata. Do you guys want to play with us? Were building sand castles." Chouji nodded happily and plopped down in the sand with the other two, watching as they built. Shikamaru shrugged and moved to lay on the grass next to the sand.
"I'll pass. Too much work to build anything." Naruto would tilt his head at the Nara, looking back to the Akimichi, whom merely shrugged in response.
"He's always this lazy." Chouji explained with a shrug, earning nods from the other two children, whom then began to build on to their 'Hokage Tower'.
[With Sasuke and Sakura]
While Naruto and Hinata became acquainted with their new friends, Sakura and Sasuke had a new visitor of their own. Well, new to Sasuke, but not to Sakura. Not in the slightest. One Yamanaka Ino had made her way over to the duo when the Uchiha boy had begun to push Sakura. For one who was normally so full of life, Ino looked rather upset.
Sasuke would eye the new arrival but wouldn't say a thing to either of them about it. He merely stood by and pushed the Haruno more and more. It wasn't until Sakura had stopped giggling that Ino had looked up to greet her friend. Suddenly, Ino was not able to look her friend in the eyes.
"Hey um, could you help me slow down?" Sakura asked, feeling slightly embarrassed for not knowing Sasuke's name. The Uchiha nodded slowly and would move away from the swing.
"Oh, yeah." He said, moving in front of her as she slowed herself down by scraping her feet along the ground. After a few good passes, the pinkette had finally managed to come to a stop, sliding off of the swing and turning to Ino.
"So this means I win both bets!" Sakura declared proudly, folding her arms over her chest with a smile. Ino sighed loudly and nodded in defeat.
"Yeah, you do." She admitted with a frown, hanging her head lowly. Sakura normally would have felt bad for the girl but not when she made her face her greatest fear for a bet.
"Say it, Ino. Say I'm better." She couldn't wait to hear those words drip from her mouth. To finally hear defeat in the voice of her best friend.
"Sakura, you are be-" Ino paused as a thought came to her mind, a loophole that would surely grant her victory and save face in front of this stranger. He blonde haired head slowly lifted up and a smirk soon came to her face.
"Hey, you didn't win! I said for you to go to them but he came to you. Which means you didn't win the bet so I don't have to say it." Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura, which only served to make the Haruno even more angry than before.
"What?! You told me to come here and I did! You're just mad you lost, Ino-pig!" Ino took a step forward and raised her fist to the other girl.
"Its not my fault you can't follow simply directions! Did my words not make it to you because of your large forehead?" Now it was Sakura's turn to take a step forward and raise her fist, both girls now had their foreheads smashed together, both yelling at each other.
Sasuke on the other hand just slowly backed away from the situation before his leg caught on something and forced him to fall flat on his back. A displeased grunt was heard from just next to Sasuke as he fell. Turns out he had tripped over Shikamaru and landed next to him.
"Tch, let me guess, by their voices I'm guessing say it was Sakura and Ino right? Blonde and Pink hair?" Shikamaru asked, cracking open an eye and looking over to Sasuke. The Uchiha blinked once before nodding quickly.
"Yeah, talk about crazy. And I thought Shisui and my brother were bad." Sasuke said, turning his head and laying next to the Nara, merely gazing at clouds.
"All women are troublesome, no matter the age."
"Agreed."
[Hours Later]
It had taken them a bit but Sakura and Ino had eventually stopped fighting for five seconds to realize Sasuke was no longer there. They both looked embarrassed before heading over to greet the group. Ino already knew of Shikamaru and Chouji as they had met many times before. And Sakura had already met Sasuke.
Soon everyone was introduced to each other and decided to play in the sand together. At first it was just Naruto, Hinata and Chouji. The other girls claimed to not want to get sand on their person while the other boys just didn't care for it in any way.
At some point during the whole thing, Ino and Sakura joined in and helped build what they could. The group always had trouble building it up to a good enough height before it fell down on itself once more. It wasn't until Shikamaru and Sasuke joined in that they managed to made a decent sand castle, one that was as large as the box itself.
Sadly though, as all good things and fun have to do, people had to head home with the sight of the setting sun upon them. In pairs they come with, they had left in, even little Hinata had to part and say her goodbye's for the moment to the boys. Naruto and Sasuke had waved and returned to their brothers, whom had vanished then reappeared during the day.
"I trust that you both had fun?" Itachi asked, poking Sasuke in the head with his index and middle finger. The Uchiha had frowned at being poked and crossed his arms. Naruto snicked before his own brother came up and tripped him, their own sign of love.
"Ow!" Naruto spoke, before Shisui had picked him back up, adopting a face exactly like that of Sasuke's.
"Well then, it is getting late so let's get you guys back home." Naruto groaned out loudly while Sasuke simply sighed. They were having such a perfect day, only to have it ruined at the climax of it all. Such was life though.
Walking with the other Uchiha, Naruto couldn't help but to notice that Itachi was gone. He couldn't remember when he had last seen him but he had just vanished from the group. Shisui nor Sasuke looked as though they noticed this yet.
"Hey, Sasuke? Where did Itachi go?" Shisui over heard his little comment and looked down at him with a confused look on his face.
"Naruto, who are you talking to?" Naruto blinked at that moment and noticed that Sasuke was gone too! Just up and poof like he had never been walking there before. Shaking his head in disbelief, he looked up to Shisui with shock and confusion written on his face.
"Where did they go?!" Shisui shrugged to his question and pushed him along faster.
"Come on now, if were late Mother will kill us." Said Shisui as he rushed Naruto down the street quickly, a look of excitement on his features. Naruto could do nothing but get pushed along by his brother, down the street, through the Uchiha compound, and finally to his home."
The entire time Naruto was strictly at a loss for words. First it was Itachi that had entered his mind. The elder Uchiha brother had just up and vanished from everywhere and no one seemed to care or notice. Then the exact same thing happened to Sasuke. He too just vanished from plain sight and he couldn't see him anywhere.
Swallowed a small lump that had formed in his throat, he turned his head to see if Shisui was still behind him. Much to his horror, it seemed that even he was gone too. Though that was normal given his nickname but still. Shisui normally said something if he was going to use that jutsu to escape or to go somewhere.
Looking forward again, he slid the door to his house open and stepped inside, closing it behind him quietly. He looked down the hallways and saw no sign of anyone in the house. So he decided that he would go check out the leaving room for anything that might be there.
He gingerly stalked down the hall, his little feet barely making a noise on the wooden floors of his own home. With his right hand on the wall, he walked and noticed that it was really very dark since no candles were lit. He swallowed hard once more before rounding the corner to his living room, only for all the candles in the place to come to life at once.
"Surprise!" Naruto jumped when he heard the sounds of many voices and the blinding light from the dozens of candles coming 'on' at once. He rubbed his small eyes and blinked multiple times before getting his vision back to check the people in the room that had scared him half to death.
He blinked again when he noted that both Itachi and Sasuke were in the room, a big grin on Sasuke's face. His mother Myio and Mikoto, the mother of Sasuke and Itachi, was there to. And of course, standing behind their mother with a wide smile was his brother Shisui.
"H...How..?" Shisui chuckled and cleared his throat to speak up.
"Easy, you're just really dumb." This answer served only to make Naruto frown lightly, earning a hit in the side from his mother.
"What he meant to say, Naruto, was you were under a Genjutsu. That's why the house looked dark, and why Sasuke and I vanished from your view." Itachi informed Naruto while Shisui was rubbing his ribs where he got struck. No matter how it was put, Naruto wanted to burst out in tears for this. To have such good friends meant the world to him, truly.
Looking around, he noted nothing but the warm smiles of everyone in the room. Itachi wore a smaller smile than most but the feeling behind it was true. Sasuke himself had a slightly bigger smile than his brother but not by much. Shisui and Myio and Mikoto all held smiles of nothing but care and affection for the boy in front of them.
"Th...Thank you." He whispered out, afraid that if he were to raise his voice any higher it would be the cause to start some of his tears to flow freely from his face. And that was something that he simply would not give his brother or Sasuke the satisfaction of seeing.
He lowered his head so that his bangs would cover over his face and his right arm would come up to rub at his eyes, letting go of a few stray tears on to his arm and down his cheeks. Everything that had happened today would sum up his perfect day. Playing with new friends, a surprise party and a wonderful breakfast. Nothing would ever top this day, not by a long shot.
Sniffling slightly, he moved his arm over his face once more to clean up the last of the stray tears. Smiling to himself, his eyes were greeted by the sight of all of his favorite people in the world but not as they were before. They each had blindfolds on and their hands were tied together by some rope and a knot.
The only one that wasn't bound was Itachi himself, whom had suddenly donned his Anbu armor and tanto. Naruto watched out in horror as he cut his own brother down, a stab of the blade through his heart, the candle light catching on the metal, that had caused blood to pour from the wound and would pool on the floor itself.
"Itachi! What...are you doing!?" Naruto cried out in horror, helpless to do anything but to watch on, shocked at the scene before him. As Sasuke fell, it became known to Naruto that Itachi had on his mask, his red Sharingan eyes burned through the eye silts.
He trembled where he stood, onyx hues locked on to the man that had murdered his best friend and his own brother. Much to his disgust, Itachi's own mother was the next in line to be killed off. Naruto used what energy he had left to yell at him.
"Why?!" Was all he could yell out, fresh tears burned down his cheeks and on to the floor below. Itachi lifted his head to the visage of the young boy but he did not answer his question, opting instead to stab Mikoto through the heart, causing her to drop to the ground and add to the growing pool of blood at his feet.
"To show you the meaning of true pain..." He trailed off as he moved over towards Myio, standing directly behind her. The flood of tears had increased dramatically when he curved his blade upwards, intent on striking it in to her heart while her son was defenseless and useless to do anything to stop him.
The moment seemed to linger forever. Itachi merely stood there with the bloodied blade, ready to strike. His Mother stood ready to accept her fate and to receive the blade itself as if it were a gift. And then, in a flash of steel and blood, his Mother had dropped to the floor, some of her blood spraying on to his face.
"To force you to watch as the people you care about most, are killed in front of your eyes, knowing you cannot help them or stop me." His words were as cold as ice and cut deep in to his heart like a razor would to flesh itself. However, it was the suffering Itachi was forcing him to go through that hurt the most. Each person killed was a scar on his soul that he would bare forever on his being.
"To kill everything you care about." Itachi spoke as he moved to the front of Shisui and moved his blade to stab the final person in the room. Naruto did everything in his power to move but his body simply would not move. He had become paralyzed by fear and it gripped his heart tightly so. Raising the blade above his head, he brought it down in a fluid motion, killing his once best friend instantly.
His eyes could not peel themselves from Shisui as his body dropped to the floor, making a sickening thud on the wood when he had landed. The crimson from the wound slowly began to spill out of his body and went to join the others. What happened next was unlike anything he had ever seen before in his life.
No words were said and no hand signs were weaved. From the center of the pile of bodies came the blackest flame known to him at the time. The flame wildly consume the bodies in its black luster and hue. Within moments, the house and the bodies were burning high and the heat was immense to him. Itachi turned to him slowly and spoke with a tone of death.
"Run."
All at once, he felt his body free from the bond that had held it in before. His little legs instantly began to run back the way he had come, crashing through the door and landing face first in to the ground, kicking up some dirt and dust as he did. Coughing slightly to himself, he wobbled to stand up on his own two legs, only to come face to face with the monster Itachi had become.
"Seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes to go."
"W...What?"
And just like that, Naruto's world had gone dark again Though soon, one thing had aroused him from his slumber. It felt familiar but he knew not where it had come from.
"Oh little Naruto, time to wake up."
[Hospital]
And elderly man watched on in great sadness as two boys, roughly the same age, laid night to each other and writhed about in pain from their memories. The only two survivors of a Clan that was about to become far more famous in one night, from this one act itself. Next to the elderly man, stood a male with silver hair and a Jonin suit on.
"How long till they wake up?"
"No one knows. Its up to them when they want to awake."
"Do you think this will change them?"
"Would it change you?"
"I hope they don't become obsessed with him."
"I agree."
The duo looked on. In those two Hospital beds laid the future of the Uchiha Clan itself. Would they destroy the image or rebuild its reputation? Would they lead it through the light or drowned it in darkness? Only time would tell, something the boys had plenty of now.