A/N. Hello, guys! First of all, a few warnings.
This is planned to be a long story, and a huge part of it is intended to be post-Shippuuden. Which means that contrary to canon, we won't be stuck in the war arc for all eternity (if the war happens at all.)
The main pairings are already kinda decided (SasuHina, NaruSaku, InoShika), but you guys may still affect our choices via reviews!
"Our" means that we are two different authors working together to create something good and enjoyable!
Sasuke won't be a cliche douchebag here; our version of him is inspired by Sasuke Shinden, the post-Shippuuden canon novel.
The first chapter is basically a prologue that will set up the necessary changes to the canon story, it's a starting point. Hope you guys enjoy it! Let us know what you think.
Jun & Whiskycat
Chapter 1. Truth
"Your eyes belong to me now."
This was it. He had lost. His ultimate jutsu Kirin – the lightning dragon – hadn't killed Itachi, and this bizarre ghostly thing, Susanoo, was still covering his brother's entire body. Even though the ninja's eyes had paled and were likely almost blind now; even though his Sharingan was now deactivated…
So was Sasuke's.
"I'll take them slowly… I want to savour this," said Itachi and panted.
Sasuke felt shivers going down his spine. Was this really going to end this way? But then…
"Gh…!" Itachi fell on his knees and covered his mouth in a fit of coughing. Blood was slowly flowing through his fingers, dripping on the ground. The phantom chakra construct surrounding him became more transparent, some of it partly disappearing completely.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and took out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, throwing it at his brother. A bright flash of explosion blinded him for a moment, shortly revealing the somewhat restored Susanoo holding its shield in front of staggering Itachi who was slowly standing up from the ground. He began to approach him again, one of his eyes was closed now.
"Damn you!" Sasuke yelled, unwrapping a scroll and sending a whole barrage of explosives in Itachi's direction this time. Another chain of loud blasts echoed across the place… and yet there was still no visible effect.
The younger brother backed off, grabbing the hilt of his sword with his shaking hand.
"My eyes… my…," murmured his nemesis, remorselessly closing in on him.
"DIE!" cried out Sasuke, jumping at him with the sword directed at his head. The chakra shield then repelled him, sending the ninja back on the ground like a ragdoll, making him fall hard on his back.
He then raised his head, ignoring the pain and gathering the last bits of energy he had. Itachi was now just a couple of feet away from him, his blood-stained hand reaching out towards him…
Sasuke quickly got up, taking another step back and, to his horror, feeling the cold concrete pressing against his back.
A wall...!
There was no way back! And the hand was already inches away from his face…!
And then it happened. Something so indescribably surreal, something he absolutely hadn't seen coming. Something absolutely impossible, unfathomable…
Itachi's fingers poked his forehead lightly, and then the world went completely dark.
Sasuke blinked, looking around himself in panic. Genjutsu…!
He was out of chakra. There was no way to counter it… It was over. He was about to die.
"Sasuke… You won't die, and this isn't over."
He flinched, looking at a perfectly healthy figure of his brother standing in front of him.
"What the fuck is this?!" growled the young ninja, feeling unable to move. "A final mockery? Just finish me off and be done with it, damn it!"
"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it many years ago when you were just as defenceless."
Sasuke frowned, feeling quite dumbfounded. Was that some kind of a game…? Itachi had a point, though. He could've killed him long ago...
"So? What of it?" he spat, feeling his hatred for this man intensifying.
"Things are… not going as planned…," Itachi panted again – apparently, he didn't have enough chakra to even be able to control his own illusion properly. Then why was he wasting his chakra on it? "We're being watched… By Madara's underlings. I am about to die… and then they will take you."
Madara's…?Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth.
"If you're about to die, then why the fuck do you care what's gonna happen next?!"
Itachi paused, eyeing him for a few seconds.
"I wasn't planning to do this, but… He will most likely try to manipulate you. I can't let it happen. I'll show you all the truth… By myself…"
For a brief moment, Sasuke forgot to breathe. The truth? His brother had just claimed that he was dying… If this was no bluff – and the man had no reason to bluff either way from what it looked like – could it be that he was about to reveal something… about that day? Or...
"I'll show you…"
The world around them changed, turning into the familiar place not too far away from the Uchiha compound.
This was… Itachi's memory?!
"Itachi… it's about time. Thank you for coming."
Sasuke flinched, turning around and staring at the ghost – no, a memory of the long-deceased man. Uchiha Shisui...!
–oWo–
"Itachi lost…?" White Zetsu said in disbelief meanwhile, staring at the two bodies lying on the ground. "He… passed away?"
"Can't you see?" barked his black half, although looking just as stunned as well.
"Sasuke won… I can't even believe it… It doesn't make any sense…"
"How so?"
"Itachi should've been much stronger than this. He wasn't moving or attacking normally, and you even said something was off about him, remember?"
"True… He was hit by the attacks he should've easily dodged. And kept coughing blood all throughout the fight. Maybe he'd already been badly wounded before Sasuke even arrived?"
"From overusing Sharingan, you mean?"
"No, not necessarily…"
They kept staring at the bodies for a while.
"He was so close to taking Sasuke's eyes too…"
"Something is wrong. Itachi isn't alive… But, I can still sense his chakra's presence."
"What do you mean?!"
"Nevermind that. We must inform him now. Let's go."
–oWo–
"I see… So you've aligned with the other side?" asked their father impassively, sitting on his knees right next to their mother, turned away from Itachi.
"Father, mother… I am–"
"We know, Itachi," replied Mikoto meekly.
"Itachi, just promise me this. My last wish." Sasuke watched his brother flinch, raising his head in attention. "Take care of Sasuke."
There was a moment of silence in which tears began to roll down Itachi's face.
"I will." His hands holding a sword began to tremble.
"Do not fear," said Fugaku. "This is the path you have chosen. Compared to yours, our pain will be over in an instant. Even if our philosophies differ, I am proud of you." Itachi's whole body began to shake as he sobbed silently, listening to the man's last words. "You are truly a kind child…"
Sasuke wanted to scream as he saw the quick swing of the blade ending the lives of his parents. He had seen this before, back when Itachi had tortured him with his Tsukuyomi, but this time… This time this was a thousand times more painful, having seen the entire premise of what was happening.
All these years of hatred… all these years of him looking for revenge… for the brother who had passed through hell in order to save his – Sasuke's – life?
"The remains of my chakra I put in your body… are fading…"
Sasuke couldn't even blink, still unable to overcome the shock caused by what he had just seen when everything disappeared again, leaving just the two of them standing in the darkness.
"I feel like I'm slowly losing consciousness… Before saying goodbye, I wanted to show you all the truth before someone else… Danzo, or Madara… would try to give you their versions… After all, there is no need to lie anymore. I'm already dead…"
Finally overcoming his numbness and shock, Sasuke slowly turned his head to face Itachi's half-transparent figure once more, looking completely lost and demolished by the dreadful realization.
"I always lied to you, telling you to forgive me. I always kept you far away, with my own hands… I didn't want… to involve you… But now I think that maybe you would have been able to change father, mother, and the whole clan… If I had faced you from the start, tried to see things from your point of view and talked with you without about the truth as it is… But I failed, and no matter what I say now it won't reach you. And yet I'm going to say what I really think…" He smiled, making Sasuke's heart pound so fast that he thought it would tear apart.
Was this all even real…? How could this be real...? How?
"Please, if you can… protect the village. Restore the Uchiha name. Beware of Madara and Danzo... And no matter what you do from now on…," the fading phantom smiled warmly, touching Sasuke's temple one final time and then hugging his nape. "I will love you forever."
Sasuke's eyelids slowly opened. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling of some dimly-lit room, seemingly underground… Where on earth was he?
"I gave you some first aid."
He flinched, turning to the left and staring into the darkness of the passage from where he could hear the unfamiliar voice.
"You won."
Had he, really…? His brother… was dead… he had killed him himself… but now, now that he knew the truth… Could he honestly call it a victory?
"It was very close, though. You're still badly wounded. You shouldn't be so reckless with your life."
The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows, revealing the masked figure with a short dark hair, its shade identical to his own.
"We've met once before… as enemies. Don't worry about what happened with Deidara. I'm no longer your foe."
Sasuke didn't say anything, pretending not to care but, in truth, studying the person attentively.
"I brought you here to tell you something important."
The Uchiha looked away.
"Not interested, huh? Maybe you'll pay more attention if I say it like this...? It's about Itachi Uchiha."
Sasuke closed his eyes and winced, glancing at the figure then.
"There we go… You know so much about your brother, and at the same time, you know nothing."
Sasuke's gaze paused on him as he reached to his mask, slowly removing it.
"Why don't I start by introducing myself… Like you, I'm a living, breathing Uchiha. And the man who knows the truth about Itachi."
His eye… It was a Sharingan!
Sasuke's own dojutsu activated, but nothing further happened. The man took his orange mask off, revealing a rather young face, although the right half of it was badly scarred.
"My name is Madara."
Madara? Was this the person Itachi had told him about… or rather, had warned him about? Who could've known their encounter would come so soon? Still, maybe it wasn't wise to reveal the fact that he already knew about him…
"Uchiha Madara…? Sure… You keep screwing with me and I'll kill you!" said Sasuke indifferently, his voice sounding disgustingly weak.
The person chuckled.
"I see talking to you will be difficult. I guess I understand. Some weirdo takes you in and starts telling all these shocking things… But I assure you, I speak the truth. You asked Itachi yourself about the person who helped him that night."
So it was him after all. How did he know about the details of his conversation with Itachi, though? Was Madara about to try to manipulate him? That seemed like exactly what Itachi was afraid of… But then again, could he really even trust Itachi…? This was all far too overwhelming to comprehend at once...
"I know everything there is to know about Itachi. Of course, he died without realizing just how much…"
"Stop it… I don't care. Leave me alone and never come back to me again!" Sasuke growled, almost pleading genuinely. He couldn't take any of it anymore. He needed time… He needed to think. Yes, a lot of time…
"No, I think you need – you have to question me. It's your mission… your duty!"
Sasuke gripped his blanket, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.
"You need to know about him… The man who risked everything to protect the shinobi world… Konoha… And most of all, his little brother."
The boy felt frozen then. Because that was the moment when he finally believed all he had just seen in the memories of his brother.
It was all true… It had to be.
He wasn't sure what time or even what day was that as he stood on the shore of the sea, staring at the horizon. His wounds were fully healed now, and he was wearing a new outfit – the clothes he had borrowed from Madara's hideout. A light-grey shirt with his clan's crest on its back, and a couple more things… But, none of it really mattered to him right now. He was still trying to accept all the horrible truth that had been revealed to him...
To protect peace in Konoha, and most importantly, Sasuke Uchiha, yourself… He traded his pride for disgrace… And your love for your hatred. And even still, Itachi died with a smile on his face. He left the name 'Uchiha' to you and deceived you all the way to the end…
No… Not to the end, he thought as if replying to Madara who, of course, couldn't read his thoughts.
Protect the village. Restore the Uchiha name. Beware of Madara…
These were his brother's final wishes. Could he trust everything Madara had told him? No… He still had to hear the other side of this story. He needed to get the full picture before he would make his decision…
Whether to protect the village or destroy it.
"I'm going to Konoha," he suddenly said, feeling something in his eyes changing. The pain he was feeling was immeasurable… But at the same time, his mind was surprisingly clear. He was supposed to be raging now, to be embracing his hatred… Yet there was nothing but pain and cold resolve in his heart.
"Konoha, huh?" muttered Madara sitting on the rock behind his back as the rest of his team stared at him worriedly.
"Yes. I'm planning to destroy it…," he paused, turning around and looking at his only living relative. The man was clearly amused by his words, it was notable even in spite of him wearing a mask… Was this what Madara wanted him to do? "But first, I need to retrieve some things."
"Fine. I can take you there at once…"
"No. I'm going alone. I need some time to think about everything…" Their eyes met for a while, but then Madara quickly yielded, smirking almost playfully behind his mask.
"Fine. That's understandable."
The younger Uchiha jumped off the rock, striding towards the hideout.
"I'll be back soon."
He wasn't lying. He was indeed planning to return… just as soon as he would talk to the Hokage who, as he now knew, happened to be the last descendant of those who had supposedly been the foes of his clan.
The one named Senju Tsunade.
A/N Please let us know what you think! We'll post chapter 2 shortly! :3