Sasuke was starting the academy and despite feeling happy, he was nervous. The last couple of days he had kept having these weird… moments. Moments where he felt like he'd seen all of this.
His introspection was broken when the teacher called out his name. "Uchiha Sasuke! Go in the ring. His sparring partner, Uzumaki Naruto!"
He walked into the ring his muscles tensed and took his stance like Itachi had shown him. He was focused, calm. He'd have to win, he couldn't let down his parents, his clan, his brother. All of those thoughts evaporated when he looked at his opponent.
Messy blond hair standing up, marks on his face, and blue eyes.
Their eyes met.
It was like everyone else disappeared to Sasuke. It felt so familiar to him. It was like waking up from a dream, knowing you dreamt, but being unable to remember it. The look on the boy's face told him that he was at least having a similar experience.
The blue eyed one met his eyes again and spoke. "I'll beat you, ya know!"
Sasuke's left eye started to twitch. Who did this guy think he was! There was no way that he'd lose to a guy like that. With a fire in his stomach fueled by his indignation, he shot forward.
The fight wasn't even something one could even call a fight. The black haired child had beaten the blond haired one. Badly.
Sasuke stared out at the river, the water when the sun was starting to set looked nice to him. The view was ruined, however.
Thoughts of that blond haired boy. Uzumaki Naruto his mind told him. He didn't know what it was about that guy. He didn't like his guts. But, something about him was familiar, like meeting someone after a long time. He was the worst student in the class. He shouldn't waste his time thinking about Uzumaki Naruto, After all his big brother would be home soon, and he promised to teach him how to throw shuriken.
With the promise in mind, he got up giving the water one last look before leaving.
"I'm home!" Sasuke made his way to his mother in the kitchen.
"Mom, is big brother back yet? He promised to teach me how to throw shuriken."
The laughter his mom made brought heat to his cheeks. It wasn't funny!
"Itachi is in his room. Tell him dinner is ready, and both of you eat dinner before leaving."
Nodding to his mother his made his way through the house to his older brother's room. He stopped outside of it and knocked. "Big brother! Mom says dinner is ready and to eat before we leave."
"Thank you, Sasuke. I'll be out after changing."
Smiling Sasuke made his way to the dinner table with thoughts of learning how to throw shuriken on his mind.
Dinner was awkward.
Sasuke didn't know what it was, maybe it was just him, but he felt like there was a tension in the air between his father and older brother. So when his brother offered to leave, to go to the training grounds he rushed to accept.
His older brother was so cool. He hit all the targets in one move! Even made the shuriken hit themselves and bounce off each other!
"Ok, Sasuke when throwing shuriken you have to hold it in a specific way."
To show his point, Itachi walked to Sasuke and slowly showed him he wrapped his hand around one shuriken.
"This is when you throw one. When throwing more than one, you hold it this way." Itachi demonstrated by slowly moving his hand into place and at a slow pace proceeded to throw the shuriken.
"Now you try, Sasuke."
With a grin on his face, he took the shuriken and held it like his brother showed him. The shuriken felt smooth and cold in his hands. It had weight to it. A weight that made the moment feel that much more real.
He copied the motion and watched it hit the red bull's eye. He turned to the elder brother and met his eyes. The giggles escaped involuntarily, but Sasuke couldn't make himself care.
Itachi let a small smile come to his face. His brother always knew how to lift his spirits, even if unintentionally. Anbu, despite the prestige of being able to serve the Leaf, was taking a toll on him, along with the clan. The rising tensions between the village and the Uchiha were something that also weighed heavily on him. But, being here with his brother was relaxing.
"Sasuke, keep doing it"
Sasuke put his sandals on the mat by their door and followed his brother into the house. It was silent, his mother and father had gone to bed early it seems. Itachi's voice cut through the silence. "Sasuke… good night."
This dream was one that Sasuke had before. He was standing with a man that looked familiar, in a ring sparring some boy. That boy oddly enough reminded him of Uzumaki now that he thought of it. Just like his fight with Uzumaki Naruto, he beat that boy as well.
Why was he having this dream? Why were those people so familiar to him?
The dream continued on. That never happened. The dream had always ended with him beating the boy.
He watched as the boy he was got stronger. When his strength increased, so did his anger, is hate. Sasuke could feel himself get angry. It threatened to overwhelm him. The anger sapped everything else away from him. He couldn't even move, his eyes burned.
"So, the wheel turns to you."
Those words cut through his fit and left him heaving. Having caught his breath he turned to the source of those words. Himself.
He saw himself. The same hair, the same clothes, and the same face. It made the differences stand out even more. His doppelganger's face was completely impassive. The eyes. The eyes were red, like the Sharingan, but the pattern was entirely unknown to him.
"You are the next it seems. Will I finally achieve enlightenment? Or will I continue to feel? What say you?"
Sasuke stared. This is weird.
"What enlightenment?"
The impassive look was washed away by a frown. "It seems that you are ignorant still, of yourself, of the undertaking that you have taken. I must relieve you of your ignorance."
The ring and the boy turned to mist.
In place of the ring was a pond. His copy walked to one side and sat down. Sasuke didn't know why but he followed and sat on the opposite side of the pond. Looking down onto the pond, he saw a small black koi fish.
It swam in a circle that soothed Sasuke. His confusion rose.
The voice of his copy got his attention. "I am the eldest son of Hagoromo, Indra. I seek to overcome Ashura. To overcome myself. To achieve enlightenment." His words rang through and Sasuke could feel himself vibrate at is words.
"Enlightenment? What do you mean by that?"
His copy frowned again. "I have been seeking enlightenment for what seems like an eternity. I seek to complete my chakra. To achieve that balance that only three have achieved. I seek to have peace. For myself and for others."
Sasuke was confused. "What does chakra have to do with any of this?"
His copy had a wistful look. "Chakra is all. All is chakra. Chakra has everything to do with enlightenment. Chakra to most is just the meeting of the body and the spirit, but we, we know better. Chakra is much more. When enlightenment is gained your chakra is balanced, that balance produces the truth. The truth of one's self. But to attain enlightenment the truth must be known. That is all I have learned. Perhaps you will contribute more to my understanding?"
The red eyed boy let out a sigh. "I am so close, on the cusp of attaining it. I can feel the minute changes to my chakra. I can also feel him. I never live without him. It is comforting, I suppose, to always have him with me."
"I am on the very cusp of the last step towards the light, and every moment leads to minute alterations in my chakra that bring me closer. I am… grateful, I suppose for his companionship in these times, although I must confess that him being a source of comfort is a relatively new development."
Sasuke was even more confused by the rambling. Why does my mind have to be so weird?
His twin laughed. "It seems I failed to dispel the ignorance. Forgive me."
An: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you guys in on some things about this story. There will be no harems, no bashing, etc. on the topic of perspective I plan to have mainly Sasuke be the lens we see the world with, however, there will be interludes where we're given different perspectives.