Okay, here we go, Day 2. It's been a bit of a rough day, so I apologize if this isn't very good quality. I also understand that Sasuke's thoughts are most likely AU, and if that is the case, then count this as an AU one-shot. So, here we go, hope you enjoy Day 2!
Day 2: Cause/Effect: Sasuke:
There was always a cause, and in return, came an effect.
Sasuke had thought long and hard about leaving the village. He had debated it, tossed and turned in his sleep, his dreams punctuated by visions of his team. But they were overshadowed by the nightmares of his clan's slaughter, the red eyes of his older brother, and the cackling glee of Orochimaru.
He hated that man.
But, he was needed.
Kakashi's training wasn't helping. He wasn't growing any stronger under his tutelage. The Chidori, his strongest technique, did nothing in the battle against Gaara. They were weak. Naruto, was weak, blinded by childish notions of friendship. Sakura, was weak, her fangirlish tendencies disrupting any true path to becoming a ninja. And Kakashi, with all his talk of 'abandoning friends', did nothing to truly help him on his path for revenge.
But Orochimaru did.
The man was sadistic and utterly pathetic, stalking his eyes like a predator stalks a young girl or boy. He was a revolting piece of shit. But, he had his uses.
Without him, Itachi wouldn't have died.
They had trained day in and day out, until he could not move, could barely form any chakra. He was beaten, battered and bruised to the point where he could not stand for days on end.
But he got stronger.
He was strong enough to kill his 'sensei'. He had killed him without a second though. That old man was a vile snake, and needed to be put down. And put him down he had.
Then came the formation of his team. Nothing more than useless bags of meat that had followed his commands without any thought. Fodder, is what they were. Nothing more, nothing less.
He had slaughtered that Akatsuki member, Deidara, with ease. He was nothing more than a man focused so much on his art, that he was blinded to the true power of an Uchiha.
And then had come Itachi.
There battle had been brutal and hard, but it was needed. All the training, all the friendships he had broken and all the ties he had cut, were for this one moment. The moment he would avenge his clan and be the killer of the mass murderer, Itachi Uchiha.
And he had succeeded.
For a short, short while, he was pleased, ecstatic even. He had defeated his brother, slain him, and stood tall as the victor. His clan had been avenged, his parents souls could now rest knowing he had defended their honour and killed someone not worth calling a man. Let alone an Uchiha.
Sasuke stood tall, in the pouring rain, injured and broken on that night.
Until the Masked Man came.
'Tobi' as he called himself at that time, whispered sweet nothings in his ear, and yet, also told the truth. Itachi had died for Konoha, protecting him in the process.
And just when he thought he could head back to Konoha, his home.
No, it wasn't his home anymore.
His brother was so desperate to protect Konoha, that he sacrificed the life of his family for the good of the village. Itachi was always selfless. But the village never deserved it. They sent good men to war, sent good men to die, and made good men do bad things to the people they loved. They made his brother slaughter his entire clan in cold blood, and leave him unawares of anything. He had hated his brother for the longest time.
His ire had been misdirected.
Konoha would fall.
After some pathetic retrieval for Tobi, he set his sights on the real target. The Elders.
Danzo would be the first to fall. The man that ordered his brother to kill his family would be dead soon enough.
He had fought through Kage's and samurai, and came out victorious. And Danzo had lay dead at his feet, broken and battered, bloodied and bruised. The man had dared steal Sharingan, Uchiha eyes. The nerve!
And then they came.
Sakura was the first, she was always the first. She had made a feeble attempt to try and kill him.
And yet, as he almost killed her, and as Kakashi defended her, and as Naruto made his appearance, deep down he realized something.
He had been wrong.
As he looked into the horrified eyes of his sensei, the broken eyes of his former teammate, and the resolve in his brothers eyes, he realized that he shouldn't have left. He needn't have left.
But he had.
He didn't deserve to head back to Konoha.
He rejected Naruto once more, the same as he had when they had met not long ago. But this time, he had no goal, nor a purpose. He was just a wanderer.
There was no grandeur of birthing children, of becoming clan leader. He didn't want that anymore. He didn't deserve it anymore.
And that had been his mindset for the longest time.
Until he saw his brother again.
They had fought together, and talked, if only briefly. And he had said he was proud of him.
And the feelings of rage coiled in his gut once more.
His older brother should've been with him. Should've always been with him. His clan should've been still alive, his family waiting at home for him to welcome him back with open arms. His father to pat him on the head to tell him he had done well, his mother to give him a big hug and tell him she was proud. And his big brother to smile softly, and say, "Well done little brother."
But that was never going to happen.
Because of Konoha.
And now, there was no stopping him.
And he hadn't been stopped. It seemed like the 'Curse of Hatred' as the Hokage put it truly ran through his veins.
But it had come to fruition after the defeat of Madara and Obito. They weren't true Uchiha. They were naive. That was the reason he had to put them down.
But then, of course, they trusted him. Only for a moment.
But that was all that he needed.
Just like that, with a roar, he had plunged the Chidori straight through Naruto's face. Brain matter and blood scattered all around, the blonde's once cerulean blue eyes were utterly destroyed, sunny blonde hair now caked with blood.
And yet, once again, he had felt regret.
Regret that he had not felt for a while.
Regret towards the death of his adopted brother, and regret to every bad thing he had ever done. On the outside, he fought. But on the inside, he died.
Everything he had ever caused, always had an effect. And this effect was the death of the Hero of The Shinobi Nations.
But that was not the only effect.
He found it ironic, terribly so, that it was the weak kunoichi that had stalked him. He found it amusing almost, that she was the one to strike the killing blow.
Sakura Haruno had left him, broken legs, shattered ribs, a broken back. His internal organs were failing, blood was pooling into his lungs, and his skull was smashed.
But he remained conscious. Just long enough for him to realize that there was something he was worthy of. A painful death.
Before he slipped permanently into the blackness, he begged for forgiveness, from Itachi to Naruto, to everybody he had ever hurt. It as a silent prayer.
The cause of Sasuke's defection was a quest for power to slay his brother. The effect was the death of the Greatest Hero of the Shinobi World, Naruto Uzumaki. And, in turn, the death of the vilest traitor to ever walk the earth. And his name, was Sasuke Uchiha.
