Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author Note: This story takes place in the Narutoverse, but is not confined to the contents of canon. Think of it as a alternate reality/parallel universe.

Please do not send me any death threats or insults just because you have a problem with the pairings that are or are not depicted in this story. I will go ahead and say that it is highly likely that there will not be any romantic Sasuke/Sakura interaction in this story. Any hateful or spam reviews and PMs will be deleted.

The Other Side of Forever

"You could never serve the court in the way that I could," Itachi gently smiled at him, his small twelve year old body deceitful of his power. The stench of rotten flesh and stale blood filled the air. The boy slowly walked closer. The tiny, dark room lacked windows, but Sasuke knew that it was night. This always happened at night. "Why, dear brother…" step. "Why are you running away from me?" He almost sounded as if he wanted to laugh. Itachis smile faltered for a fraction of a second as his black eyes transformed into a monstrous bloody red. "Sasuke, don't run." The small child reached for the blade on his hip, his mouth twisting into something resembling a smile, aiding his transformation into a beast. Step.

In what seemed to be a fraction of a second, Sasuke could feel the cool breath of the monster he once called a brother tickling his ear, "Please, don't run, Sasuke." The blade scraped the delicate skin on his throat. "Please, don't run, Sasuke."

Dark onyx eyes snapped opened. This wasn't the first time he had that dream. He tucked himself under the covers, closing his eyes and willing the imagery to disappear from his mind. Maybe he could get another ten minutes of sleep before he had to meet the dobe?

"Yo, bastard!" That destroyed his plans. Sasuke remained under his covers, not mentally or psychically ready to deal with his loud, blonde friend so soon after waking up. Sasuke sighed and pulled his head from under the covers. He felt as a late spring breeze came through a crack in the window. Sasuke glanced over to it suspiciously, swearing that he closed and locked it before he fell asleep last night.

"Yo, bastard! Wake up, will ya?" Sasuke listened as the door slammed open and watched as Naruto loudly barged in.

"Why are you here, idiot?" He couldn't help the annoyance that creeped into his voice. Sasuke groaned, pulling his pillow to cover his ears. He swore that if the dobe was any louder, he would surely get a headache. Naruto never knew when to quiet down.

"Obviously, I'm here to wake you up!" The blonde haired man smiled and nodded in satisfaction to himself. "You know Sasuke, you really should be thanking me right now." Naruto leaned back, a smug smile on his lips, stretching back onto the small black coffee table that sat in the middle of Sasuke's cramped room.

"And why is that?" Sasuke groaned once again as he sat up and spared at glance towards his loud friend. He couldn't decide what was more annoying- the fact that, for whatever reason, Naruto felt at liberty to break into his home or that he didn't feel the need to remove his shoes when he entered. Sasuke could already imagine the stains that Naruto's filthy sandals would leave on his cream carpet. With a deep sigh, the raven haired boy spoke once again, "You didn't take off your shoes."

Naruto, immune to the Uchihas glares, ignored the comment and happily replied, "You're going to be late. I came to make sure you were alright since you didn't come down to meet me like usual because you're never late, y'know?"

He glanced over to the clock that hung by the door. It clearly read 8:05. The dobe was right. He was late and Sasuke was never late. There was almost nothing that he valued more than his time. Sasuke stared at his blonde friend a few seconds before answering. Naruto held his gaze, a big grin that read 'told ya' spread over his mouth. Finally, in a defeated sigh, Sasuke replied, "Just take your shoes off."

Naruto laughed, knowing that was as close to thanks he would get from the dark haired male. "Why are you sleeping in late anyway?" Naruto sat down on the floor and began to remove his black sandals. "Did something happen? Perhaps, a girl came over last night?" His lips twisted into a coy smile and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Laughing, he continued, "As long as it wasn't Sakura, I won't hate you, bastard."

Sasuke could see the seriousness spread across the blonde's face even though he made the insinuation a joke. The three of them had such an odd dynamic. Naruto liked Sakura and Sakura liked Sasuke. It was an almost love triangle in which Sasuke had affections for no one. "Relax dobe. It wasn't a girl." Sasuke bought his hand to his forehead and averted his eyes from Naruto's questioning gaze. "Just…"

"Just what?" Naruto leaned closer.

"It's nothing." Sasuke picked himself up from the bed, almost tripping over Naruto in the process, and began to make his way to his dresser.

"What do you mean, teme? What is it?" Naruto stared up at his friend. He had been looking even paler than usual lately. It was as if death touched him. Dark bags were beginning to form under his eyes and his limbs looked a bit leaner. Yet, he seemed to be pushing himself harder than ever before when they trained together.

"It's nothing." The dark haired male repeated as he lifted a navy shirt from the drawer, the Uchiha insignia proudly embellished on it. As Naruto watched his friend dress, something clicked.

"More nightmares?"

"It's nothing I can't handle." It was the tone of finality that Sasuke used whenever he didn't want to be pushed anymore. Quickly changing the subject, Sasuke continued, "C'mon, let's go eat." Naruto remained sitting on the floor, studying the expression that graced the face of his black-haired friend. "Let's go. I'm late, remember?" Sasuke flashed his signature teasing smirk as he walked to the entranceway of the cramped apartment. "Hurry up, dobe."

Naruto watched as Sasuke exited the bedroom, making mental notes of his friend's unusual behavior. He stood, holding his sandals by the staps on the back. Maybe Sasuke really was having nightmares again? That could have been what was keeping him up. Naruto would never forget that piercing scream that woke him in the middle of the night while they were on a mission scouting near the border. His crystal eyes quickly scanned over the room, taking note of the slightly cracked open window and the faint smell of a musky perfume.

"Hurry up, dobe!"

The blonde smiled to himself as he followed Sasukes lead out of the apartment. Maybe he was over thinking things and it was just a girl after all.

"He seems suitable enough. Why didn't you tell me our choice was that Uchiha kid?"

Footsteps. Then a deep, dramatic laugh, followed by a man's voice, "I wanted to be completely sure of my choice before he was presented."

"He seems suitable enough." The third voice also belonged to a man. Deep, strong, and sturdy, his voice continued. "Was he lucky enough to have the eyes?"

The slightly dramatic voice sing-songed out, "I would think so. His brother inherited the trait and I would imagine the death of his family would have been enough to trigger it. If not, we could always give him a pair. I have plenty that I've engineered." The man paused to deliver a dramatic sigh. "Unluckily for me, it seems that they only take to Uchiha blood. Such a pity."

Sasuke stacked the final box in the back storage room before heading to the front of the store. "I'm done back here. Is there anything else for today?"

The dark haired shopkeeper spun around, obviously surprised by how quickly he finished his assigned task, "Ah, that was quick!" The brunette giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "I don't know what we'd do without you! And there's nothing else for today, feel free to leave early." She waved her hand in dismissal. "If I didn't have to man the shop today, I'd love to go training with you. We got in a new shipment of double sided kunai that I've been dying to try out."

"Is that so?" Sasuke glanced over the brunette woman as he removed his nametag and placed it his cubby under the front counter. His boss, Tenten, was a tall, lean woman with a penchant for weapons. Her looks certainly deceived her.

"Definitely! They're in one of those boxes back there that you were moving today. Mom says she doesn't want me to take any before we've started selling them, but hey, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"

Sasuke nodded and made his way to the door. Sparring with the woman would be good practice. She was essentially a weaponry master or, at least, very close. "Maybe another day. I'll be leaving now."

Tenten nodded. "I think we got some other small knives in too so it'll be fun!" She smiled as she waved him off. Sasuke had to admit, her obsession with weapons was a bit disconcerting. "See you tomorrow, Uchiha-san!"

The bell on the door jingled as he left.

The streets were as busy as ever. Tenten's family had lucked out with the location of their weapon shop. They were in the middle of the trading district of the city and the trading district of Konoha might as well have been the trading district of the largely post-ninja world. Konoha was a major trading port due to its central location in the region, attracting visitors from other regions near and far. Not only was Konoha famous for its trading district, it was a very lively city and boasted just about every luxury imaginable. The court of the fire nation ensured that Konoha was thriving. Konoha was one of the most successful and profitable cities in the court controlled world after all.

Sasuke trudged on to the training grounds, avoiding the running children and busy shoppers that littered the streets. He had to admit that today had been boring. However, Sasuke knew that he couldn't blame the city for his boredom. It was just that he preferred to keep things relatively simple. Work and training is what most of his days were composed of, but what was there more to do other than work and train? Work was necessary if he wanted to keep himself fed and training was necessary in ensuring that he would have revenge.

It had been eight years since he last saw his father, held his mother, and trusted his brother. It had been eight years that people spoke the Uchiha name without that strange tinge of sadness and pity. It had been eight years since he devoted himself to training, to becoming stronger so that one day, he would have revenge. He trained day in and day out, being careful not to be seen doing anything that might arouse too much suspicion. He had seen what was done to his family for the powers they possessed. He couldn't die for the same reasons they had. He had to stay alive and avenge them. That was his only purpose for waking up these days. If he could grow stronger in order to avenge his family, then another day was worth living.

Something about the sting of the hot water was calming as he lowered himself deeper into the wooden tub. After a long day of training, nothing was better than unwinding in the steamy shower room. He praised himself on his choice of a more traditionally styled apartment. There was no way he could settle for a western style bathroom after growing up with such a traditional luxury. Sasuke sighed, a deep, forceful sigh, as he felt the water settle over the bruise on his shoulder.

Tick. Tack. Tick.

Instantly, Sasuke perked up and focused his senses on his hearing. Light, delicate footsteps were coming from what sounded to be his room. He had a kunai in his pants hanging right outside the door. A petty thief would be easy enough to take out. He continued to listen as whoever it was shuffled though…paper? Yeah, that was certainly paper. Sasuke slowly eased himself from the tub, being extremely careful to not to make any noises that might alert the burglar that he knew of their presence. The shuffling of papers grew louder. He slowly approached the cracked door of the shower room, delicately eased it open, and slid the kunai from his shorts pocket. He quickly wrapped himself in a towel before moving to the tiny hallway of his apartment. The shuffling papers had stopped only to be replaced with what sounded like the opening and closing of drawers. What was this person looking for?

For a few moments, he stood still and carefully listened as the person moved through his room. This person couldn't be too big based only on how quickly they were moving through his room. Also, the only possible mode of entry would have been his window. The doors in this old apartment were creaky from age, especially the front door. He would have heard if they had entered that way.

In one swift movement, he opened the door, locked eyes with the intruder, and pinned her to the bed. "Who are you? What do you want?" He heard himself say the words before he realized he was the one who said them.

The woman's bright red eyes were dilated behind her thick, black framed glasses. As she breathed, the kunai gently scraped the flesh on the front of her neck. "I'm not here to harm you." Her unnaturally bright red hair perfectly matched her eyes and the blush that was beginning to grow on her cheeks.

"Talk." The kunai pressed closer. A thin line of blood bubbled to the surface of the woman's pale skin.

"Karin. My name is Karin. I'm here to retrieve you." With the right hand Sasuke pinned beside her face, she adjusted her glasses. The blush on her cheeks definitely matched her hair by this point. "I'm not here to harm you."

"And why should I believe that?" His voice was deathly cold.

The woman smiled. Sasuke didn't break eye contact. His brain was calculating her next move. He repeated his question. She wasn't replying quickly enough.

She had the audacity to smile once again as she opened her lips. Confidently, she purred out, "You want your family back, don't you?"

Sasuke didn't know why hadn't killed her on the spot.