Futile Tradition

Warnings: Wangsty-ness, slight ooc's, lack of editing, mild language and what not.

Disclaimer: I often forget to do this, but I own squat! Naruto and whatever isn't mine, and if it were it would be uploaded on Fictionpress not Fanfiction!

What is birth but a slowly unwinding clock to your inevitable death? Birthdays are a stark, constant reminder that you're one year closer to the days when you won't be capable of wiping your own saggy ass. Birthdays just reminded Sasuke that he had outlived his family; that a year has past since he vowed to kill his brother and failed to keep it.

To Uchiha Sasuke birthdays were the most irritating holidays ever.

He hadn't even enjoyed his birthday as a child when he still had his family, when he had his older brother. Birthdays always sucked, maybe even more so as a child in hindsight. The earliest Sasuke could remember of the horrid tradition he was four years old. Uchiha Mikoto had dressed Sasuke in a pale-red, translation pink, yukata with robust flowers, mother's translation: masculine flora.

Uchiha Itachi would forever tease his little brother for wearing a girl's 'kimono'; however unwilling it had been. Worse Sasuke's father did not once ever question it or do anything about that incident or try and rectify the situation. Not only had Sasuke been forced to wear a girl's yukata the boy had been taken out into public for a family dinner at a fancy restaurant.

The humiliation knew no ends on that day and after.

Every birthday since had also been gummed up by horrid presents, mortifying attention, and miserable parties. Especially after the Uchiha Massacre, fortuitouslyfor Sasuke his birthday became a day of mass pity. Girls brought sappy presents, wrote epic poems of apologies, made stomach churning dinners, cooed sympathetically, sighed like morons, and various other means of self-degradation.

Sasuke had no time for birthdays or love or above all love-sick fan-girls.

Regardless of his desires and needs all three were there. The love-sick fan-girls weren't actually in love and as previously explained birthdays were atrocious. The love came undoubtedly and unasked for by Uzumaki Naruto, in a non-romantic way. The blond never said he loved Sasuke, but it was understood by both through actions.

Who the hell forgives someone for nearly killing them? That Sasuke was sure he'd never understand. He didn't even try. Naruto had, however, given Sasuke practical, unwrapped gifts on his birthday. Those weren't too bad, not that he'd ever tell the blond.

It terrified Sasuke to the point of exhaustion his relationship to Naruto.

Sasuke made it a side mission to get the blond to stop loving him at all costs because if he couldn't, then it was going to cost Sasuke more than he could handle; and it did.

Years later as Sasuke looked at his team, team Snake, it had cost so much not forcing the love from the blond. It was still costing Sasuke too because the blond wouldn't give up on him. The blond wouldn't give Sasuke up for Konoha because without Sasuke Konoha would have long since killed the blond. For the worse Sasuke had saved the heart and soul of Naruto from Konoha.

Ironic how now Sasuke was out to kill Konoha for what it did to his family. What is did to his brother, another person Sasuke couldn't understand either. Why did he do what he did, lie to Sasuke and tell him to kill him? It was confusing.

Then again the universe had a twisted sense of humor.

On July 23rd team Snake had apparently figured out it was Sasuke's birthday. Karin had forced her teammates into throwing Sasuke a surprise party. They had set up mild, cheap decorations around their camp, made a crap ass cake, got Sasuke up at three in the morning, and sang 'Happy Birthday to You' in a very off-beat rendition. Karin shrieked while the others growled through gritted teeth.

In all of his sixteen years, well seventeen now, Sasuke had only one birthday worth a damn; just one out of seventeen. It was his thirteenth birthday and it was the middle of the chunin exams so everyone was too busy to take notice of Sasuke; or so he thought.

That alone had been the best birthday present ever.

When Sasuke arrived home after training, self-training not team-training with his teammates, there was a present on the foyer shelf. The present was a custom kunai with a small card beside it in a neutral block print. The card read: "I know you'll pass the exams. Happy birthday Sasuke-san"

Not that Sasuke ever truly knew who sent the card, but he had his suspicion. By elimination of suspects: number one it wasn't any of his obsessive fan-girls who forever screamed his name with the ending –kun; number two it wasn't Naruto the idiot who forever shrieked 'bastard' like it was his name who was in the hospital; number three it wasn't likely from Kakashi as they were never close; number four there was never presents from anyone else. Not even Iruka-sensei

So long as you discounted the presents Sasuke received from his elder brother as child and family. Though why Sasuke would receive one from the forsaken Uchiha after five years would forever remain a mystery. After all, the man was dead now. Aside from Madara Sasuke was now truly the last of his clan.

Thinking of his older brother Sasuke left his the Snake's to argue amongst themselves and gorge on the crappy cake. Swiftly on quick feet Sasuke arrived to the makeshift plaque in the general area where He had died in. When so much was revealed and where so many question were left to be asked.

The plaque wasn't fancy, a wooden cross hammered into the soil was all and would degrade before long. In slight remorse, translation: a lot of guilt, Sasuke fingered the ring in his pocket as he bowed his head and knelt. The other hand reched out and tentatively traced the name:

Uchiha Itachi.

"Hey Aniki, I'm sorry I haven't visited. I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I'm just…sorry."

Yea, Sasuke decided, birthdays sucked dick big time.

End

AN: Yea, this is a fic for Sasuke's birthday. I hope you enjoyed and didn't find it too confusing. I didn't do to great a job editing either. If you haven't figured it out: It kind of starts with Shippuden, went back to the beginning of the series, then to Sasuke's childhood briefly, back to Shippuden, touched on Naruto, and ends with Itachi! Ha ha!

Critique me and let me know how I should improve please!