The battlefield was void of the cries of carnage, which felt unfamiliar to Sasuke's ears. It unsettled him to no end, the silence. He made note of the battered body of his rival lay motionless somewhere in the midst of corpses, his blond hair caressed by the breeze and his dull, azure eyes gazing blankly into the dark night. The silence held its breath, making Sasuke clench and unclench his hands anxiously.
It was almost as if he were wading through the ocean, for he had lost mostly, if not all, perception of being and distance. His universe seemed to be just him, the withered moon, and the destruction that encompassed him.
His heart seemed to weigh him down as he stood up, surveying the scene; these people weren't supposed to hold any meaning to him, yet he felt like the whole world had suddenly shattered into a million pieces.
Grief was a wicked, traitorous thing.
Sasuke examined his surroundings as the crimson moon hung overhead, almost like it was mocking him. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a silver-haired ninja bathed in blood, mask almost torn off. He seemed to be dead, like the countless others that surrounded him. Suddenly, his body twitched a little, something that Sasuke would've missed if it weren't for his unnaturally sharp perception, honed through countless life-risking situations. Without hesitation, he rushed over to the ninja's side, crouching down and placing two fingers on the ninja's wrist. A faint beating of the pulse could be felt.
His mentor slowly opened one eye, attempting to open his mouth to say something, only to come out in the form of a pained gasp. Sasuke could see that the man was bleeding in multiple places on his body, many of which were certainly fatal wounds.
"Don't speak," Sasuke murmured, gazing into his sensei's sole iris. The silver-haired jounin lifted his lips slightly, forming a small smile. Sasuke gulped; time seemed to drag on, letting the pain of the reality sink in.
"Quite a sorry state for the son of the White Fang of Konoha," he remarked softly after a moment of silence, earning another feeble grin from the man.
"N-Naruto never d-did give u-up on y-you," Kakashi forced out, each word heavy with agony. He winced as more blood spilled out from a chest wound, flowing onto the ground. Sasuke widened his eyes, his breath cut off short.
"That idiot only went and got himself killed," he muttered, "Reckless, as always."
The silver-haired man beamed proudly, the light slowly dying from his eyes. "You're a good kid," he whispered. Sasuke scoffed, turning his head away from the dying man. He stayed silent as the faint sounds of Kakashi's breathing slowed, before ceasing completely.
A figure suddenly materialized by Sasuke's side, making him move away quickly by the unexpected proximity. Uchiha Madara stood next to Sasuke, gazing into the distance.
"You vengeance has brought you here, young Uchiha," Madara's eyes bore into Sasuke's. "Have you found what you sought for?"
Sasuke's eyes hardened as images of the fading smile of a dying man flashed before his eyes.
"I'll give you a chance to change everything," he continued on quietly, "But there will be a cost."
Sharingan gazed into sharingan, both holding their ground as they tried to read each other. Sasuke could not see a shred of dishonesty in Madara's, while Madara was pleased to see signs of curiosity escaping the barrier that the young Uchiha had built around himself.
"Why would you give me a chance?" Sasuke replied, his voice slightly raspy. He gritted his teeth, feeling displeasure growing in his chest. "Do you pity me?"
"It is hard not to appear pitiful, with you in this state; you're not wrong, you do look no different from a dead man right now. But now that I think about it, what is the meaning of power when there is nothing to control, no soldiers to command?" Madara lamented as he gazed over the vast sea of corpses.
Sasuke bit down on his cheek and clenched his bloody hands, "Then why-"
"I expected that Kyuubi boy to stop me. I guess I overestimated his abilities, and now he is dead, even before I could harness his powers," he laughed, "In all honesty, it is quite a shame."
Sasuke felt something akin to rage bubbling in his stomach. He forced it down, knowing that it would do him no good, since he wasn't capable of killing the man next to him. "So you're giving me another chance to kill you?" Sasuke asked, clenching his jaw.
"Something like that."
The young Uchiha narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the man's elusive reply. "What's the cost?"
Madara smiled slyly, "Well I can't tell you; you're just going to have to find out for yourself."
Right, of course, Sasuke sneered at his elder. There's no way Madara would tell him. "Then if I take it…" He stared at the remains of his allies and enemies. The bloody moon hung high as the breeze lifted the damaged souls through the darkened skies. The mountain of bodies stacked up tall, for all were killed at the same place by the same man.
Madara had become god, his goal was complete. Sasuke had arrived late to the battle, and the ancient Uchiha had already killed off all the shinobi that he once knew. And the longer that Sasuke thought about it, the more he realized that he no longer had a reason to live. The bodies that lay on the field were of the people that he had grown up with, and somehow Sasuke still cared for them.
"So, young Uchiha, what will it be?"
"I'll take the chance," Sasuke sighed. Maybe he could fix everything that he screwed up in this lifetime. Maybe he could make it so that no one would have to die. But Sasuke was sure, this time, fate was going to change. Even if it costed him his life.
"Then come here, young one."
Sasuke hesitated, but slowly started toward Madara. He motioned for Sasuke to sit before sitting down in front of him, beginning his jutsu. They both closed their eyes as the Uchiha made many swift hand signs, causing the air around them to thicken with energy. Madara suddenly stopped, opening one eye.
"This will be a little painful, my descendent," he said, before slamming his hands into Sasuke's chest. The young Uchiha felt himself gasp as excruciating pain permeated throughout his entire body, starting from the bottom of his spine before entering his head. The searing pain made it feel as though Sasuke's skull was being shattered as he screamed out in agony, clutching his head tightly. Blood tears rained from his eyes; he felt as if his limbs were getting ripped apart from his body, one at a time. He couldn't help but open his eyes in terror and wildly rake his fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to appease his suffering.
The last thing he saw was Madara grinning like a madman before darkness enveloped him completely.
For a split second, Sasuke couldn't feel anything - it was as if all his senses had been cut off. When he tried to breathe, there was nothing. Panic pulsed through his veins, making him feel vulnerable all over. Pain pounded in his head like a hammer. He tried to scream as his body became battered with agony, there was no sound that came out. He felt lost, which frightened him, as it meant that what his purpose of living was had slipped away from him.
And that could not be more scary to Sasuke than anything in the world. He wasn't one for recklessness, but when one had nothing left, they only had a choice of letting go or seeking something to change.
Sasuke was not one to give up; he knew of his stubbornness and let it become part of him, even though he would never admit it.
As soon as it had started, it was over. The pain suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but bliss to take its place. Relief coursed through him when he felt a heavy thump, his body making contact with a hard surface. He felt the air get knocked out of him, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Sasuke sat up groggily, his arms shaking slightly as he did so. His body felt sore and his head dizzy as he let his eyes adjust to the new brightness of the room. Slowly opening them, he was surprised to find that it was daytime, and possibly sometime during midday, considering the glaring sunlight that shone into the room. He looked around frantically, eyes widening and mind racing as the Uchiha analyzed his location.
The calm, milky walls, the bamboo sheet-covered floor, and the symbol of the Konoha military police force placed orderly around the room. He knew it all too well: Uchiha Sasuke was back home.
author notes:
Many thanks to aria de capo for being our beta. /sends you lots of love/
lovingthefantasy:
Hello~ I am working with withabluepen to write this fanfic. If you go on my fanfic account you're just going to see a really cheesy Percy Jackson fanfiction that I wrote in 2014. I hope you very much enjoy this Naruto fanfiction. Our updates are going to be very inconsistent…
Oh, and Happy New Year!
withabluepen:
I know we're writing the generic timetravel!au for naruto, but we plan on making it a little different/putting our little twist on it to make it unique. Thanks for reading and please review if you have any suggestions or questions! Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Merry Christmas/Kwanzaa/New Year/holidays that I don't know of!