Prologue
[Somehow... I had gotten this idea during a chemistry test I was writing...
Shows how much of an attention span I have. Anyway... Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.]
Sasuke held his left arm as his fingers twitched in small tremors, his crimson Sharingan eyes flaring with anger. His black hair fell over his forehead protector as he bowed his head and reluctantly dropping onto his knees, the crackling blue and white chakra disappearing around his shaking left hand. The crimson shade in his eyes seemed to recede with the Chidori attack, fading back to the impenetrable black as the Uchiha heir glared at the two craters in the rock face. His limit was two. He could only use the intensified chakra technique twice in one day while the infamous Copy Ninja Kakashi could use the ability four times in twenty-four hours. Sasuke slowly brought his trembling hand up to his face, looking, as his fingers seemed to twitch on their own. He couldn't stop the small spasms as he shakily tried to a clench a fist with little success. A gust of wind blew around the Uchiha boy as he bit back a curse, dust whipping around him. He let out a strangled cry of frustration and punched the rocky terrain beneath him with his other hand. No matter what the Uchiha boy did, he was never satisfied with the level of power that he had obtained. It had been two years.
"Two years..." He said bitterly to himself as he looked at the ground. "I've tried to improve this technique for two years and it has done nothing..."
At the ripe age of fourteen, the Uchiha boy had seemingly grown colder. The Third Hokage was killed, his brother Uchiha Itachi was still waiting for him and Sasuke felt... almost powerless. He was sick of it. Sick of being called weak, sick of being centered out for being one of the last living members of the feared clan of Uchiha. He wanted-no... Needed to avenge the sickening slaughter of his family. His brother... HIS aniki betrayed him. The one he looked up to, the one that he wanted to be like for so many childhood years... and he couldn't even do anything to save his family. Again, the enraged teenager punched the ground, the tremors in his other hand starting to dissipate slightly.
He pulled himself up from the ground, resuming his hold on his other arm as he walked away from the mountainous training field, heading to the more concealed forest training zones. He scowled, ignoring the fading brightness of the sky as he continued to walk through the trees. Most of the Leaf Ninjas had probably left for dinner but Sasuke didn't feel like going back for a while. He wanted to be alone, away from the seemingly happy villagers, away from his team and away from everything. He found an old, tall tree and sat himself down, resting his back against the trunk of the tree as he glowered at the orange, and still darkening, sky. He sighed exasperatedly, getting irritated at the cool breeze that blew by, causing leaves to be strewn across the sky and be gently pulled by the air current.
Sasuke continued to sit there for what seemed for hours as the sun had sunk behind the horizon, bringing the stretching darkness of night across the sky. Even though the stars were shining more brightly than usual, the full moon that bathed the forest in an eerie light seemed ominous.
"Itachi..." Sasuke said under his breath, narrowing his eyes slightly at the moon as his mind played the image of his brother's face.
He had grown to hate the sound of the name as each year passed by, causing his hate and his intent to kill his older brother to grow more rapidly. A chilling shadow crept across the forest training area as a cloud gently drifted over the face of the moon. Sasuke could only scowl in hatred, lowering his eyes back to the grass in front of him. A few moments passed as the cloud drifted away, allowing the mysterious light of the moon to slowly stretch across the ground again and revealing something to Sasuke. The Uchiha teenager sat up slightly, looking at the clearing that was hidden by the shadows of the trees. A strong beam of moonlight seemed to make the clearing more noticeable as Sasuke slowly stood up, his eyes on the center of the field.
The moonlight revealed an ancient well built out of stone with blooming vines crawling up the sides. Sasuke cautiously walked towards the well, watching it intently as he neared it to see what it really looked like. Old cracked stone steps led up to the mouth of rather tall well with wooden supports above the structure that had hanging stripes of paper with strange letterings inked in black. Sasuke tensed unintentionally as he felt a chill run down his spine when he walked into the brightened area. He continued to take careful steps towards the well, somehow feeling drawn to it, as his breath seemed to catch in his throat from time to time. As soon as he placed his foot on the first step, the intensity of the moonlight was reduced to its normal shine. Sasuke, still curious on why he had not noticed the well before, walked up the remaining steps and kneeled down cautiously, looking at the still water.
He noticed that the water seemed to go down forever. Sasuke remembered hearing about very rare and mystical wells that could have granted wishes. He was told that as a child... his aniki told him once but Sasuke didn't really believe it now... entirely.
~
"Aniki!" A five-year-old Sasuke ran over to his brother, holding an old book in his arms.
The ten-year-old Uchiha Itachi turned slightly from lying on his bed, staying silent as he glanced back at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye. He watched Sasuke dump the book down on the bed and start turning the pages very carefully with both hands. Itachi moved his gaze back to the window, watching the full moon with a seemingly intense glare.
"Aniki!" Sasuke said again, causing Itachi to slowly sit up. "What does..." The young boy paused, trying to read the words. "A... w-wi... sh... wish..."
Itachi lowered his gaze to the page, seeing the small text that his younger brother was trying to read. He sighed slowly and spoke in a steady, almost non-interested tone as he corrected Sasuke. "Wishing..."
"Arigato! Wishing!" Sasuke pointed at the next word and continued. "What is a... w-wishing w-... well? A wishing well? What does it do?"
Itachi looked at the younger Uchiha's face with an unreadable look on his facial features. He often got questioned about everything from Sasuke and the younger boy seemed interested in every answer that the older one gave him.
"A wishing well..." Itachi started to explain in a steady tone once again. "It's exactly what it sounds like..." He turned the book so he could read the pages in the moonlight, noticing that Sasuke was kneeling beside his bed, his elbows propped up on the covers as he rested his head on his hands; completely interested. "This one in particular... This is a picture of the well called 'Ryuu no Hi'. As the tales of a lot of wishing wells say, they have the power to grant a desire to anyone who wishes upon them."
"I want to make a wish!" Sasuke said excitedly.
Itachi arched an eyebrow slightly, his face remaining solemn towards his younger brother.
"Want to know what it is, Aniki?" Sasuke asked, looking at his brother expectantly. "I wish that we could all stay together and happy forever! With Okasan and Otosan and me and you, Aniki!"
Itachi was slightly taken aback as his face looked, even just a little, shocked as Sasuke smiled at him. He reached a hand out and rested it on Sasuke's head, watching him seriously as the other laughed slightly, putting his hands on his head as well.
"What do you wish for, Aniki?" Sasuke tugged at his arm slightly.
Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he quickly thought of a way to avoid answering his younger brother's question. He had never thought of having a wish. Ever. He removed his hand from atop Sasuke's head and pressed a finger on the other's forehead. "It's past your bedtime and you know it..."
"Aww! But Aniki!" Sasuke protested, pouting slightly. "I want to stay up with you!"
"Get to bed..." Itachi answered, putting his arm back to his side. "If you do what I tell you, maybe I'll explain the clouds to you... You've been asking that for a week..."
Sasuke's eyes brightened slightly and nodded as he grabbed the heavy book. "Hai!"
~
Sasuke scowled as he looked away from his reflection in the water. The memory was a happy one but it only bothered him more.
"Wishing... Che..." Sasuke muttered. "If this was even possible... I wish that I didn't have to remember all those horrible times... I'm sick of it... Or maybe I could wish for more power... I can't let my clan's death be in vain... Itachi... has to die..."
Sasuke moved his gaze back to the water as his reflection seemed to shimmer slightly before disappearing. Sasuke opened his mouth slightly to even utter a sound of confusion but he could only flick his gaze around the water's surface, finding no reflection of anything. He hesitantly reached forward with one hand and placed his fingertips lightly on the faceless surface. Before Sasuke could react, the water seemed to swallow his hand, yanking the teenaged boy off of his knees and into the depths of the well.
[I'm going to be torturous and let you all suffer with a cliffhanger! I have too much of an overactive imagination... Maybe that's a good thing, I don't know. Anyway... Time to type away at the first chapter... If I could spell perfectly, the world would be a perfect place.]
[Somehow... I had gotten this idea during a chemistry test I was writing...
Shows how much of an attention span I have. Anyway... Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.]
Sasuke held his left arm as his fingers twitched in small tremors, his crimson Sharingan eyes flaring with anger. His black hair fell over his forehead protector as he bowed his head and reluctantly dropping onto his knees, the crackling blue and white chakra disappearing around his shaking left hand. The crimson shade in his eyes seemed to recede with the Chidori attack, fading back to the impenetrable black as the Uchiha heir glared at the two craters in the rock face. His limit was two. He could only use the intensified chakra technique twice in one day while the infamous Copy Ninja Kakashi could use the ability four times in twenty-four hours. Sasuke slowly brought his trembling hand up to his face, looking, as his fingers seemed to twitch on their own. He couldn't stop the small spasms as he shakily tried to a clench a fist with little success. A gust of wind blew around the Uchiha boy as he bit back a curse, dust whipping around him. He let out a strangled cry of frustration and punched the rocky terrain beneath him with his other hand. No matter what the Uchiha boy did, he was never satisfied with the level of power that he had obtained. It had been two years.
"Two years..." He said bitterly to himself as he looked at the ground. "I've tried to improve this technique for two years and it has done nothing..."
At the ripe age of fourteen, the Uchiha boy had seemingly grown colder. The Third Hokage was killed, his brother Uchiha Itachi was still waiting for him and Sasuke felt... almost powerless. He was sick of it. Sick of being called weak, sick of being centered out for being one of the last living members of the feared clan of Uchiha. He wanted-no... Needed to avenge the sickening slaughter of his family. His brother... HIS aniki betrayed him. The one he looked up to, the one that he wanted to be like for so many childhood years... and he couldn't even do anything to save his family. Again, the enraged teenager punched the ground, the tremors in his other hand starting to dissipate slightly.
He pulled himself up from the ground, resuming his hold on his other arm as he walked away from the mountainous training field, heading to the more concealed forest training zones. He scowled, ignoring the fading brightness of the sky as he continued to walk through the trees. Most of the Leaf Ninjas had probably left for dinner but Sasuke didn't feel like going back for a while. He wanted to be alone, away from the seemingly happy villagers, away from his team and away from everything. He found an old, tall tree and sat himself down, resting his back against the trunk of the tree as he glowered at the orange, and still darkening, sky. He sighed exasperatedly, getting irritated at the cool breeze that blew by, causing leaves to be strewn across the sky and be gently pulled by the air current.
Sasuke continued to sit there for what seemed for hours as the sun had sunk behind the horizon, bringing the stretching darkness of night across the sky. Even though the stars were shining more brightly than usual, the full moon that bathed the forest in an eerie light seemed ominous.
"Itachi..." Sasuke said under his breath, narrowing his eyes slightly at the moon as his mind played the image of his brother's face.
He had grown to hate the sound of the name as each year passed by, causing his hate and his intent to kill his older brother to grow more rapidly. A chilling shadow crept across the forest training area as a cloud gently drifted over the face of the moon. Sasuke could only scowl in hatred, lowering his eyes back to the grass in front of him. A few moments passed as the cloud drifted away, allowing the mysterious light of the moon to slowly stretch across the ground again and revealing something to Sasuke. The Uchiha teenager sat up slightly, looking at the clearing that was hidden by the shadows of the trees. A strong beam of moonlight seemed to make the clearing more noticeable as Sasuke slowly stood up, his eyes on the center of the field.
The moonlight revealed an ancient well built out of stone with blooming vines crawling up the sides. Sasuke cautiously walked towards the well, watching it intently as he neared it to see what it really looked like. Old cracked stone steps led up to the mouth of rather tall well with wooden supports above the structure that had hanging stripes of paper with strange letterings inked in black. Sasuke tensed unintentionally as he felt a chill run down his spine when he walked into the brightened area. He continued to take careful steps towards the well, somehow feeling drawn to it, as his breath seemed to catch in his throat from time to time. As soon as he placed his foot on the first step, the intensity of the moonlight was reduced to its normal shine. Sasuke, still curious on why he had not noticed the well before, walked up the remaining steps and kneeled down cautiously, looking at the still water.
He noticed that the water seemed to go down forever. Sasuke remembered hearing about very rare and mystical wells that could have granted wishes. He was told that as a child... his aniki told him once but Sasuke didn't really believe it now... entirely.
~
"Aniki!" A five-year-old Sasuke ran over to his brother, holding an old book in his arms.
The ten-year-old Uchiha Itachi turned slightly from lying on his bed, staying silent as he glanced back at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye. He watched Sasuke dump the book down on the bed and start turning the pages very carefully with both hands. Itachi moved his gaze back to the window, watching the full moon with a seemingly intense glare.
"Aniki!" Sasuke said again, causing Itachi to slowly sit up. "What does..." The young boy paused, trying to read the words. "A... w-wi... sh... wish..."
Itachi lowered his gaze to the page, seeing the small text that his younger brother was trying to read. He sighed slowly and spoke in a steady, almost non-interested tone as he corrected Sasuke. "Wishing..."
"Arigato! Wishing!" Sasuke pointed at the next word and continued. "What is a... w-wishing w-... well? A wishing well? What does it do?"
Itachi looked at the younger Uchiha's face with an unreadable look on his facial features. He often got questioned about everything from Sasuke and the younger boy seemed interested in every answer that the older one gave him.
"A wishing well..." Itachi started to explain in a steady tone once again. "It's exactly what it sounds like..." He turned the book so he could read the pages in the moonlight, noticing that Sasuke was kneeling beside his bed, his elbows propped up on the covers as he rested his head on his hands; completely interested. "This one in particular... This is a picture of the well called 'Ryuu no Hi'. As the tales of a lot of wishing wells say, they have the power to grant a desire to anyone who wishes upon them."
"I want to make a wish!" Sasuke said excitedly.
Itachi arched an eyebrow slightly, his face remaining solemn towards his younger brother.
"Want to know what it is, Aniki?" Sasuke asked, looking at his brother expectantly. "I wish that we could all stay together and happy forever! With Okasan and Otosan and me and you, Aniki!"
Itachi was slightly taken aback as his face looked, even just a little, shocked as Sasuke smiled at him. He reached a hand out and rested it on Sasuke's head, watching him seriously as the other laughed slightly, putting his hands on his head as well.
"What do you wish for, Aniki?" Sasuke tugged at his arm slightly.
Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he quickly thought of a way to avoid answering his younger brother's question. He had never thought of having a wish. Ever. He removed his hand from atop Sasuke's head and pressed a finger on the other's forehead. "It's past your bedtime and you know it..."
"Aww! But Aniki!" Sasuke protested, pouting slightly. "I want to stay up with you!"
"Get to bed..." Itachi answered, putting his arm back to his side. "If you do what I tell you, maybe I'll explain the clouds to you... You've been asking that for a week..."
Sasuke's eyes brightened slightly and nodded as he grabbed the heavy book. "Hai!"
~
Sasuke scowled as he looked away from his reflection in the water. The memory was a happy one but it only bothered him more.
"Wishing... Che..." Sasuke muttered. "If this was even possible... I wish that I didn't have to remember all those horrible times... I'm sick of it... Or maybe I could wish for more power... I can't let my clan's death be in vain... Itachi... has to die..."
Sasuke moved his gaze back to the water as his reflection seemed to shimmer slightly before disappearing. Sasuke opened his mouth slightly to even utter a sound of confusion but he could only flick his gaze around the water's surface, finding no reflection of anything. He hesitantly reached forward with one hand and placed his fingertips lightly on the faceless surface. Before Sasuke could react, the water seemed to swallow his hand, yanking the teenaged boy off of his knees and into the depths of the well.
[I'm going to be torturous and let you all suffer with a cliffhanger! I have too much of an overactive imagination... Maybe that's a good thing, I don't know. Anyway... Time to type away at the first chapter... If I could spell perfectly, the world would be a perfect place.]
