So I posted this a little while ago, but I realized it needed some editing. So I did that, then the plot changed in Naruto so I felt like it was a bad idea to put it up in the midst of an unstable plot. Now I decided to put it back up since it was sitting in my computer way too long. So my excuse is that it takes place while Sasuke was still in Konoha before everything else happened. XP Neener, neener.
Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, the Lord of Plot Twists.
To put it plainly, Sasuke Uchiha had recently had an obsession with going to shrines. He wasn't at all religious or anything like that. But he found some kind of solace in going to a place where so much spiritual energy was formed. He liked the structure of it all and how traditional it was. People prayed for so many things, hoping for some kind of answer. He liked watching them as well.
He always went once a week to a certain shrine. He would just stand by the torii and watch people go in and out. Once in awhile, they would greet him. All he ever really did was watch and listen. He noticed it was always quiet around shrines. People just held that kind of respect for it.
One particular day at the shrine, something odd happened. He sat under a tree to protect himself from the summer rain when he saw someone who looked like an old man with a peasant's straw hat on walk toward him. Sasuke blinked at this odd event. People usually kept their distance and paid no heed to him. That was just how he liked it. But the man walked up to him, keeping his hat lowered so his face was hidden. "Excuse me young man, but I wanted to know… I've seen you come by here a lot and wondered exactly what you do here? You sure aren't praying."
Sasuke only shrugged. "I just come here for the heck of it. It's quiet here and sometimes, that's just what I need."
The man smiled and let out a quiet laugh. "I agree with you there, boy. This is a nice place to really reflect on your thoughts. I noticed sometimes you look a bit burdened."
"Yeah, sometimes I am. It clears up when I'm here. At least, a little bit."
"Understandable. I come here to pay respect to my family. All of them died awhile ago. But I think I come here also for the same reason you do. We wear almost the same expression."
Sasuke stared up at the man. From what he could see of him, they were wearing close to the same expression. He nodded. The man adjusted himself a bit and looked to the actual shrine itself. "It looks like the rain is going to pick up pretty soon. You should get home before someone gets worried about you." There was a silence between them before Sasuke stood up.
"No one really cares."
The man laughed again. "There's always someone that cares about you. You may just not know who they are. They could be one of the most unlikely people and you would have never guessed they cared."
He took that information in and looked toward Konoha and the Hokage faces. He smiled gently. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks." He began walking back to the Uchiha Compound and the man smiled and walked toward the shrine.
At the shrine, the man walked behind one of the statues and took off his hat, revealing two sunken Sharingan eyes and raven black hair. He smiled and turned his head toward Konoha. He looked back down at his hat. "Yeah little brother, you would have never guessed."