This is a little oneshot about... well, guess you can discover as you read. Sorry if you don't like it, and I may change it later in another oneshot among other oneshots, but this is the one that got my inspiration the most. I will steadily write other characters and so, but for now this will do.

Summary: The cost of learning the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō wasn't only the loss of his spiritual power. Kurosaki Ichigo was never the same again; Tensa Zangetsu just smiled bitterly. "All power demands sacrifice." The Curse of the Uchiha lives in everyone, and no one but but knows about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

He hated the rain.

Out of the many things that he hated, rain was among his top 10 list.

Rain has both the symbolic and literal life-giving meaning. The rain is, in most cases, essential to humans, animals and plants. So in essence, it could be called the Water of Life, as in ages ago the rain was what had given humans and animals the liquid needed to live. Rain is sacred and a bringer of life.

Rain symbolise tears, sadness, frustration, darkness, depression, and misery. The rain is, what most people believe, a god or a deceased being weeping for the mortals living in this mortal planet. So in essence, it could be called the Heaven's Grief, for the heavens always cried when one of Life's creations passed away. Rain is cursed and the bringer of death.

He hated the rain, not because of the meaning nor because he hated life, but because it reminded him of his place. He was a tool, a weapon, an object that has a soul jailed inside those beings called "Shinigami". To others, he would have been an animated object with no soul or feelings, but they were morons for thinking that him and those of his "race" weren't alive.

He hated the rain because it reminded him that he was alone in a world consisting only of himself and the human that encased him. He hated the rain because he couldn't understand, couldn't ever understand how the water falling from the skies frightened him.

However, deep inside, he knew why.

To him, rain didn't mean life. He had seen how rain fell when a person's life was taken away, the rain had no right to be called the "Bringer of Life". It disgusted him that those pathetically naïve pests even had the balls to give the rain the title of "Water of Life". He had no meaning or purpose to live by, life was so painfully empty it hurt, and he could say that if he died in battle that he would have no regrets (so far), of course taken that he took down his enemies brutally with him.

To him, rain didn't mean death. He had seen too much death for mere water to be even in league with the touch of one; it had no right to be called the "Bringer of Death". It was pathetic; the rain that only cried for a person that it didn't even know, for something that it hadn't been forced to do. He didn't fear death, it was always a constant spectre when he was doing his past "jobs", and he could say that the threat or fear of death had dulled to a mere phantom whisper. Fear of death was pathetic and utterly insulting, it only stopped him from reaching his goals and killed him.

To him, rain symbolized the cause of his misery, despair, hatred, loss, anger and pain: Memories.

He hated the rain because not only did it increase the devastating loneliness in this world, but because it made him remember.

Remember the day he had realized that his nightmare was not a nightmare, that his family (precious, more so than any luxury or fame) had been massacred by the person he had trusted the most, his older brother. It had rained when the full loss of his family hit him.

Remember the day he had betrayed his only friend, how his hand had been drenched in blood of the bright sunshine that was his friend, remember how devastated his only friend had looked at his betrayal, how hurt his friend had looked when he had stomped on their bonds (precious as their life; their connection; understood each other; orphans; no parents; so lonely...). It had rained when he looked at the seemingly crying (or was it just rain? He didn't know but he had hoped it was) face of his unconscious friend.

Remember when he had killed that man, how he had been pressed against a wall as that man smiled at the one who killed him and poked his forehead, how his blood had felt upon his skin and the sound of a dead body as it hit the cold, hard and unforgiving ground. He had felt numb and empty, and then he had discovered the truth of his brother's (not "that man" anymore; not a stranger or killer anymore; just an older brother who looked out for his foolish little brother; last words from his older brother, he didn't want it to be their last time). It had rained the day he had taken his brother's life too.

Remember when he killed his best friend, how the claws of insanity lift for a few seconds to make him see what he had exactly done, and how that stupid Dobe had the galls to grin at seeing him, HIM of all people, return to his right mind. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how the Dobe would even be happy that he (not the insanity that controlled him; not the arrogant Uchiha; not the slayer that killed his own comrades; but HIMSELF), the one who had vowed to kill (didn't mean it, oh god, didn't mean it, didn'tmeanit, nonononono) his own best friend; but when he had done that, he found crushing despair and pain and anger and hate (at himself). It had rained when he realized there was no clan, no brother and no best friend anymore; and he had decided to hell with it as the claws of insanity and despair and hatred and anger grasped him again, this time harder and deeper than ever.

He faintly decided that, that day had been the time where he had fully died, and focused his hatred on the one he was sure his deceased best friend and older brother wouldn't disapprove him of killing.

To him, rain reminded him of the crushing loneliness he had once scoffed at, of the hatred that he had created, of the pain he had made his older brother and only friend go through. It reminded him of his past mistakes and regrets, of how he had been so foolish and ignorant of the love that the people he considered family felt towards him, the ungrateful and selfish man who had destroyed their happiness.

And as he felt the insides of this water-filled world, what remained of the rain that eventually flooded this world and submerged it, he wondered how he couldn't hate the human-shinigami that jailed him inside his inner world. He was mostly the one who had caused the rain, the very thing he hated, yet he couldn't feel hate towards the human-shinigami.

But after some time, he had realized why he couldn't hate the brat.

Many years ago, he had died taking his cursed ancestor with him to death, and now he couldn't help but wonder if this was some joke.

Kurosaki Ichigo was painfully similar to the friend and older brother he had killed, and he found himself feeling pang-like pains in his chest every time he looked at that smartass, idiotic, oblivious, and naïve attitude and the hidden power, strength and intellect buried deep inside the human-shinigami. Sometimes, it was so painful to look at Kurosaki Ichigo's face and see the same face of his only friend grinning at him, yelling about protecting every person the ball of sunshine met; so idiotically naïve yet so like his best friend... It hurt too, to see the face of his stoic older brother in the Kurosaki's rare moments of intelligence, along with the times the brat took great care of his little sisters; so caring but only showing it in his own way, his older brother was bizarre and unique like that.

That's why there were a lot of things he could and couldn't do concerning Kurosaki Ichigo.

Hating Kurosaki Ichigo was like hating his only deceased friend and older brother, and even if he had betrayed them (he considered not knowing of his brother's pain a betrayal, and he betrayed his best friend as the dobe's first friend), he hadn't ever gathered the will to hate the ball of sunshine nor could he do the same to his older brother after learning of his actions in protecting him, even when his deep hate towards Konohagakure had blinded his morals. Nothing could have made him hate his older brother or best friend as much as he hated Konohagakure and the world; but it was too late to think on that, they didn't hate him even when they had died by his hands and blade. That was exactly what gave him nightmares to end, their smiles as he ended their lives and the terrifying realization that came afterwards.

He hated the rain, but he couldn't bring himself to hate the one who created the rain of this world, the mirror image of the only (dumb, energetic, cheerful, stupid, naïve, but caring all the same) friend he once had and the (cold, detached, stoic, emotionless, socially inept, but caring all the same) older brother he once had, the two of them being killed by his own hands.

And if one thing was sure, it was that he was a selfish man, living in the past and scorning the present and future.

He didn't want to teach Kurosaki Ichigo the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, for the boy would completely lose all his powers afterwards, and that was something he didn't want. It was already bad enough to see that grinning face overlapping the visage of a teenager Human, or the stoic face overlapping the scowling face of a teenager Shinigami; the orange-haired teenager was a failed-yet-successful mirror of his best friend and older brother to him, and he didn't want to teach the boy the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, for it would be like seeing the weakened Kurosaki as a weakened Uzumaki and Uchiha.

His best friend was in no way weak, having endured hatred and scorn for years and continue with that stupid grin and still be so bright. He hated seeing the after image of his deceased friend as a weakened idiot (dumbass, totally naïve, rushes into things without thinking, too slow to catch hints, stupid with relationships; yep, an idiot, albeit he was sure both would try to kill him if they knew he thought that, indeed), no matter how true the last word was in both cases.

His older brother was in no way weak, having endured their family's pressure so that it wouldn't be transferred to himself, having sacrificed everything so that the little brother would live. He hated seeing the after image of his older brother as a weakened masochist (gets hurt for his sisters', sacrifices blood and soul to see to it, his pride and image destroyed, is practically like a shield to his sisters' lives; yep, a masochist, albeit one unknowing of it, indeed), no matter how true the last word was in some of both cases.

They had both died, by his blade and hands and he was sure he wouldn't be able to forget it no matter how hard he tried; if he even wanted to because every memory with them was precious. His clan, older brother and best friend, they had all been precious and they were all gone; his memories were all that remained and he wasn't sure if he wanted to forget even the painful ones, because they reminded him that all hadn't been a nightmare.

Reality was cruel, but living in a dream was even crueller.

This time, he would make sure he did everything right; he wouldn't fail this time. He won't let another person die on him, even if this person didn't really know him as much as his clan, brother or best friend. He knew that while not teaching the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō to him would probably ensure Ichigo's life if he also forced the teen to retreat, Ichigo may have been as good as dead when his family and friends died too; and he also couldn't bear to see the after-image of his older brother and best friend's crushed faces, since it was as if they had not been able to save their friend or little brother.

Teaching the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō to Kurosaki Ichigo was not in his top 10 list, but he would have to if he wanted the boy to live, for the brat would sure rush in battle despite not having the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō; all for his friends and family, huh? He supposed, that he was seeing it as protecting his older brother and best friend's wishes and lives.

He owed those two people so much, they had trusted him and loved him despite his foolishness, and he wasn't sure he could even repay them. They were people who were more pure than others and themselves believed; his older brother had suffered for his sake while the dobe went to great lengths to get him back to his senses, the betrayer and the cursed man, for it seemed that he was destined to either lose precious people or lead them to their doom.

Konohagakure was a rotten village, turning their back on the real heroes and hailing those blasted elders with disgusting reverence.

To this day, he hated Konohagakure for turning their back on his older brother and leaving him to his own misery. To this day, he hated Konohagakure for being so blind as to hate someone as bright as his Uzumaki friend and for abandoning the Uzumaki Clan in their war against three Great Villages and indirectly causing another clan massacre. Konohagakure was a disgusting piece of living waste, and he wasn't even sure why his deceased older brother and best friend cared so much for the thrice-dammned village; the rotten village had betrayed them and had done sins against them. It was not fair they got away with a clean state and happiness, whereas his older brother, his clan and his best friend had paid the price with tears and pain and blood and life.

Tensa Zangetsu's lips curled up into a bitter smile as he watched Kurosaki Ichigo accept the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō; the power that contained the elegant and deadly beauty of Tsukuyomi (the God of the moon and darkness of the spiritual world), the grieving and compressed fire of Amaterasu (the Goddess of sun and light of the material world), and the uncontrolled rage and sins of Susanoo (the God of storms and seas, uncontrolled by no one but himself).

Only he remembered the real depth of the sacrifices his deceased older brother and best friend did for that ungrateful village, only he remembered the depth of the sacrifices two of the most important people in his life (and death) did for him and their smiles as they breathed their last breaths, their blood staining his hands and haunting his nightmares.

And now that Kurosaki Ichigo accepted his blade; his essence, his resolve and memories...

Kurosaki Ichigo would, too, know about everything; his older brother, his clan, his best friend and how he should be more grateful that his sisters and friends were alive.

Deep inside him, he hoped that Kurosaki Ichigo did not make the same mistakes as him, and that he would not be blinded by everything Soul Society (reminded him too much of Konohagakure; pure and bright and good on the outside, dark and corrupt and rotten on the inside; utterly disgusting) said.

Uchiha Sasuke had done many things, his will was centered around many emotions, mostly revenge and hatred and pain and anger; so one surprising thing was his will to protect the smartass, idiotic, oblivious, naive, strong, protective, observant, caring and unofficial legacy of his deceased best friend and older brother.

Even if it killed him, even if it meant his own existence would be a mere nothing but a whisper of a name; he didn't care if he had the chance to save even one life (and probably the first life he would have saved). He had become a bit fond of Kurosaki Ichigo, and it was not on the bad and revengeful side; while his affections didn't came up close to his clan or older brother or best friend, it was more than hundreds could have hoped for and the first hatred-unrelated feelings he had since his clan, older brother and best friend died.

There would only be regret at not being able to see the legacy of the weasel or maelstrom grow any further; regret at all the wrongs he had done and the burden he had given at the brat, memories that should have been best left with him to die.

But then, everything faded until not even regret or dreams or hope remained.

It was not until his powers completely disappeared that the tap restraining the burden of memories disappeared, making Ichigo collapse as unwanted images washed over him.

Death and corpses and red moon and black hatred and bloodbloodbloodblood.

"Oh god..." whispered Ichigo, and hearing his friends running to him, he raised his head and hoped that the images were not true.

That was the thing he shouldn't have done: Look at his friends.

"Kurosaki-kun!" screamed Orihime, shocked as Ishida and Chad ran over him; they were all worried.

Instead of the unharmed and alive faces of his friends, he saw bloody faces replacing them, screams of terror and smiles of relief alike etched on their faces, broken bodies trying to move and bones sticking out and internal organs hanging on open flesh and gore and blood and wounds and dying.

"Kami..." His eyes widened, and he hysterically switched his attention to everywhere but them, and he saw that his hands were suddenly red with something sticky.

Blood

Blood was everywhere and anywhere; his hands and face and walls and ground and sky and friends and goat-face and , oh god, his sisters.

Darkness forcefully pulled him into its embrace, knocking him out as images came more smoothly, full of death and blood and hatred and pain and loss and haunting smiles.

Kurosaki Ichigo would never be the same again.

For that was the price he had to pay when he decided to use the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō.

Complete loss of his spiritual power.

Memories of a dark past, unwanted and forgotten by all but him.

And the sheer terror in which he realized that he did not have the power to protect his sisters and friends anymore, and the things that could happen to each of them.

The Curse of the Uchiha wasn't always hereditary, nor was it as unique as most people believed. No matter how the Nidaime Hokage detested the Uchiha for their curse, even he was a hypocrite to think that only hatred and want of power grew within the Uchiha Clan. The world was consumed in shades of gray, no one was ever completely light and there would always be hatred inside each person. Hatred and want of power was present in every mortal's being despite there being many different and conflicting reasons.

The so-called Curse of the Uchiha lives in everyone, for hatred and pain and anger and want for power was needed by humans (either willingly or not) as much as life and death was.

The Curse of the Uchiha didn't always mean to be consumed by hatred, it was to reach towards power and the consequences that followed, be it insanity or sacrifices or loneliness or losing precious people.

Sorry if I made Zangetsu go OOC, but in this oneshot Sasuke is Zangetsu reborn, and so far the events go the same as cannon, except the part where Sasuke did a 'double suicide' after our Naruto series protagonist's death. I think that CannonIchigo and CannonNaruto are slightly similar, except that the latter is more naïve since he was goaling towards world piece, which is somewhat impossible; but impossibility are Uzumakis' speciality lol. Well, I really tried to put Tensa Zangetsu and Sasuke as in character as I could, but not sure of that; guess Sasuke's personality is dominant here...

If some of you are confused at the 'his pride and image is literally destroyed', Itachi is obvious, as he sacrificed everything, including pride, to make sure Sasuke lived; being a betrayer and a spy is not exactly a clean job. As for Ichigo, lol, I can actually see Yuzu making him change into 'cute' outfits, how? Well, Yuzu bursting in tears is enough to bring him to his knees...

Sorry if this sucked or if it was... bad? Dunno, but strangely enough, I like the dark aspects of this if it really happened. And while I don't really like CannonSasuke, I like the AU in where he is stricken with terror and regret after killing Naruto and so.

Er... I know I may seem focused on Itachi and Naruto, but they were the main fact that drove Sasuke to insanity (in my fic, of course). Itachi intentionally (Tsukiyomi and family death?) and unintentionally (he died and the truth came out), while Naruto is just unintentionally (Sasuke killed him and is stricken in terror; in my fic).

Inspiration for this came from the chapters where Zangetsu says he hates the rain and where Tensa Zangetsu yells at Ichigo to look at his inner world and how the buildings represented him losing hope. Sorry if I made them seem selfish, but this is Sasuke reborn here. Also, connecting the zanpakuto's hate of rain and how it represented Ichigo losing hope, and since it rained in the chapters where Sasuke's most impacting moments happened (realized family is dead; betrayed Naruto; killed Itachi; and in my fic, killed Naruto too), this just came up and I couldn't really ignore it.

Extremely sorry if all this is a jumbled mess, but it serously made sense (a bit) in my brain.