Re-edited and Re-released chapter.
Hearts Full of Holes and Swings Around Poles
Chapter 1: Konoha 2015
'What a horrid day to come home,' Sasuke thought.
'So this is how Konoha greets me'.
The rain droplets that were coming from very uncomforting heavy clouds were hitting his face like bullets. His speed made the wind hit him like a individual stones and he bit into the pain.
'This is what I deserve'.
As the town came into view through the fog, he recalled the past missions that had returned him to these very same gates.
But his memories of them were different. He had felt no comfort when he returned after those missions. Konoha had held no open arms to him, so why should he have felt as if Konoha was his…his…home! But now, everything had changed.
All he could remember was his happy days in Konoha. He returned to his home with a happy heart that ached for his old friends.
He had realized the error of his ways! Hadn't he?
They would all still be there waiting for him now that his brother and Orochimaru were dead. He vowed to himself that he wouldn't let anybody into his heart until he had his hands around the neck of his brother's cold and lifeless body.
His plan for revenge had worked, however he had lost much of his childhood in the process. Everybody else had accepted him with so much kindness and he had just pushed them all away. How selfish and blinded he had been. As soon as the burning coals of revenge were put out, he was left barren. He didn't decide to come back immediately. It was a month after that he realized his childhood memories were no longer clouded by his anger. Instead, only fond memories of his friends remained. He had a lot of catching up to do with his old friends.
Maybe they were still just like he imagined! Naruto, with a smiling face, Kakashi, with the patience and kindness towards him of a brother or father, and… Sakura.
He hadn't thought about her in a long time, but he remembered her being so dependent on him! What had she done with herself over all of these years? He imagined all of the possible outcomes:
1. She used the hurt inside herself and turned it into a way to help other people by becoming a medic. She always showed such promise with healing people.
2. She had fallen in love with Naruto or someone else who deserved her and now had 3 kids (He found himself particularly dreading that option)
3. She internally collapsed without him.
He mulled over this last option.
It would have been as if he yanked away a wheelchair from somebody that couldn't walk. He had left her stranded. A tight knot in his chest developed after he thought of that last outcome. As he headed into the all-too-familiar gates, his mind was in the past but quickly caught up to his current surroundings.
First, the smell. A mix of smoke, dirt, and sewage made it's way up from the ground as he approached the gates.
Konoha had changed. It was no longer the little quiet yet powerful city he remembered. Abandoned buildings surrounded him as he cautiously crept through the gates.
Why had there not been any guards at this gate? No, don't think about the guards. He pushed his automatic reaction from years of training out of his head as he examined the buildings.
Everything looked bare. Only black skeletons remained of the buildings he saw around him. They were all charred with, charcoal? Some buildings were completely annihilated with only the chimneystacks remaining tall and strong in contrast to the rubble and dust that lay around them.
'What are those?'
As he examined off into the horizon he saw huge silver towers with wires and lights coming from them. The fog and rain from the clouds must have blocked them from his view.
His footsteps quickened, he possessed a new urge to find out what those strange tall buildings were and why they were there.
He had left for a while, but not that long. A quant little village couldn't turn into a bustling capital in five years… could it? And if it had, why was this place so, burnt and deserted?
People started to appear on the streets as he was walking towards the large buildings that never left the skyline. He noticed that the closer he got to the tall buildings, the more people were on the streets. When he finally made it to the tall figure he could hardly walk through the streets without some one bumping into him and rudely exclaiming,
"Watch out punk!".
What had happen to Konoha?
There were so many signs all around! All of them had strange pictures on them with symmetrical alien faces promoting their product.
NEVER feel UGLY again! Call the number for more details!
Tried of the SAME OLD THING? Spice it up with CUNCHO SPICE!
BUY THIS AND YOU WILL ADD TEN YEARS ONTO YOUR LIFE!
He didn't recognize any of the faces that were smiling at him from the giant squares. But, one caught his eye. He was going to turn away from the spectacle when he saw the name UZUMAKI on one of the biggest boards in the square.
'Uzumaki? As in Naruto Uzumaki? Could that be Naruto?'
He searched the sign for some way to know for sure if it was Naruto. The sign had a white background with a red circle in the middle with a swirl in it above the name of his old friend.
Sasuke's mind started to race.
'It can't be….That's Naruto's clan symbol.'
The board said:
WHY SETTLE FOR REGULAR TUNES… WHEN YOU CAN HAVE I-TUNES!
Sasuke didn't get it…
'What's an iTunes?'
He didn't understand the advertisement but looked around for the symbol. The clouds had parted ahead making the looming skyline crystal clear in front of him. The Uzumaki clan symbol was right in the middle of the tallest building Sasuke had ever seen in his life.
Fin.
Working on bringing this story back. I do not own any of these characters, but they still hold a very dear place in my heart. I am going to enjoy bringing these stories back. Please comment and favorite. I need some feedback!