Notes: Man, isn't this long overdue? I haven't worked on this in months, and then out of nowhere I got the urge to write for it. *shrugs* Just a reminder: there are no pairings, and this ignores the canon ending.

I'm also kind of worried that I wasn't able to capture the tone of the first chapter. It has been a long time, so let me know if that's a problem. Thanks in advance!

Lyrics: "Angel With A Shotgun" by The Cab


"They say before you start a war,

you better know what you're fighting for."


"What are you planning?" He demands with his usual bluntness.

He'd been uncharacteristically hesitant in his actions after having his world view so thoroughly shaken, but Sasuke is nothing if not adaptable. (becausehehastobe) He'd adapted to bigger revelations before (deadthey'realldead), had become independent and stronger than all of his classmates, and had, up until two days ago, been ready to adapt to a life outside of the village and within the hands of an enemy. His hatred had been his guide, his driving force, when all things failed him - his family, the authorities, his team - for so long that it's almost too easy to shift its intensity onto a new target - the Leaf Village.

But then he'd looked to his older self and noticed the scuffed up Konoha headband tied loosely around his neck and what he now recognizes to be an ANBU uniform, so he'd taken a moment to reconsider, go over the information he'd been given. The older Uchiha had been rather vague during his recounting, perhaps knowing that Sasuke would have been too emotional to realize at the time; there had been no mention of names beyond that of his father and Naruto, not even a hint as to where his loyalties lie. Clearly, he and Naruto were still on speaking terms, but what of the rest of their team, of the village itself?

It's suspicious, and he thinks, almost resentfully, as his older self's unsurprised expression greets his outburst, that the man must have been waiting for him to collect himself enough to ask.

"Call me 'Kei-san'," He says nonsensically, turning back around to sort his supplies and apparently ignoring Sasuke's command. He glares daggers at the man's back. As if sensing his ire, his older self retorts blithely, "I'm letting you keep our name. Be grateful, brat."

Oh. He supposes that makes sense. It had already become confusing enough addressing the man in his head that he'd resorted to 'older me' rather than his name, and an alias would definitely make it easier for Sasuke to simply treat the man as a different person, rather than his future self. Still, though, "'Kei-san'?" No matter its spelling, it's an utterly pompous nickname, and it's not particularly creative, either.

'Kei-san' sends him an amused glance from over his shoulder - which Sasuke is quickly becoming annoyed by; it's almost like being around Kakashi-sensei full time - and explains, "It's a name I'm used to, ridiculous as it is. It'd be unfortunate if someone addressed me and I didn't immediately answer; even a genin would pick up on it, much less the shinobi we're going to be dealing with." He finishes sorting, closes his bag, and throws it over his shoulder as he stands from his crouch.

"And those shinobi won't be made aware of your true identity," Sasuke surmises, mulling over the implications. He looks up at the man and wonders about the - quite obvious - resemblance between them, but he refrains from mentioning it. There are more important matters at hand. "I'll ask again: What are you planning?"

The almost playful air about his counterpart is replaced with utter seriousness. "I'm going to train you," He eventually answers, gesturing at Sasuke's neck. "That curse mark will kill you unless I teach you how to use it; I'm sure you'll remember the Sound Four said as much between threats." The boy nods, eyes narrowing, and Kei-san goes on, "My own mark was removed, so I can't actually show you. However, I remember the training well enough, so we'll start on that as soon as we reach my base."

Sasuke frowns. "How long have you been... in the past?" Long enough to set up a base, apparently.

"About two months," The man estimates, shrugging. "I had to check on a few things before coming to get you, and besides, I had to wait until you'd left of your own accord. This way, everyone in Konoha will simply assume you're with Orochimaru, and we can move about freely. If I'd just kidnapped you from within the village, the Hokage would have undoubtedly sent pursuers after us, as well as put a bounty on my head." He shifts his balance to his other foot. "Anonymity will be our ally here."

The younger Uchiha tries not to be too irritated with his counterpart, considering he had given a legitimate reason for not (stoppinghimfromhurtingthem) arriving sooner, but he finds it a bit difficult. He's always been hardest on himself - for not being strong enough, smart enough, fast enough, or simply enough - so his feelings toward Kei (He's decided to drop the suffix out of spite) are mixed, at best.

His tone reflects this as he inquires, "And Orochimaru?"

"With luck, he'll presume you were either convinced or dragged back to the village. In that case, he wouldn't risk sending anymore men right away because the village would be ready for him. You were only able to get away this time because no expected you to." Sasuke scoffs, and Kei does the lip quirk thing. "If we're unlucky, then one of his men inside the village will notify him - or unlike in my time, the Hokage will label you as a missing-nin - and we'll have him to worry about."

Sasuke focuses on the important part of that explanation. Eyebrows furrowed, he says, "You weren't labeled a missing-nin?"

Kei moves his gaze to the surrounding forest, leaning back against a tree as he clarifies, voice loaded with a myriad of emotions, "Well, not originally. I didn't find out until much later, but apparently, Naruto managed to convince Tsunade to let him go after me and bring me back himself. A few years later, he eventually did."

Sasuke's eyes widen, and his chest feels strangely warm. That idiot had- what? Spent years chasing after him? Why? It's no wonder Kei doesn't want to face him directly. This is a level of embarrassment - and happiness? confusion? - that is entirely new to him (ormaybejustforeignnow), and he's not sure what kind of expression he's making.

He can admit - in passing and only to himself - that he considers that dope to be his best friend, and Sakura, his sister. Her professions of love and naivete and Naruto's cheerfulness had eventually become things he'd looked upon with no small amount of exasperation and fondness, and he kind of misses them already (nowthathecanfinallybreatheagain). But for the knucklehead to go to that extent?

The man clears his throat and rather awkwardly suggests, "You, uh- You probably had more questions, right? Let's move on."

Sasuke nods jerkily, setting aside that particular musing for another time. He'll never understand that kid. "Who orchestrated the massacre?" He'd never speak so cavalierly of such an unforgivable tragedy usually, but he has a feeling his attempts at subtlety would be met with careful diversions. And this is something he will not back down on.

Kei sighs, as if Sasuke is being unreasonable - which is absurd - but he answers nonetheless, "Technically, it was by a man named Danzo. He was on the Third's genin team, and he's something of an an adviser to him. He's a dangerous man, but I managed to kill him when I was fifteen. Now, it should be a breeze, but you know what they say: never underestimate your opponents and all that. I am not going to let him play puppeteer from the sidelines and wait for an opportunity to take over Konoha, so yes, Sasuke, he's one of our targets." The man rolls his eyes as he finishes, and Sasuke scowls at him.

"One of our targets?" He asks, instead of allowing himself to become riled up.

The man snorts sardonically. "Believe me, there are quite a few. However, the major ones are Danzo, Orochimaru, and Madara and Zetsu - who are kind of a packaged deal. And don't even ask me about those last two; we're not dealing with them until you're trained and we've gathered the members of Team Taka."

Sasuke glares. "Who are the members, then?" He's always despised information being withheld from him. The fact that 'Kei' knows that and is doing it anyway is doubly annoying and very frustrating.

"You'll find out when we go get them." The man replies airily.

Uchihas do not pout - but Sasuke might be sulking, just a bit.


"I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe."


The base turned out to be within the borders of Fire Country and was supposedly one of Orochimaru's that Kei had cleared out at some point during his two months in the past. The man had explained that it was one that the snake hadn't actively used in his time because of its lack of a proper lab and its proximity to Konoha; it was only a backup. Evidently, Orochimaru has dozens of them.

Kei had also surrounded the place with complicated seals of his own making in order to keep out its former master and any other intruders. His future self is apparently quite adept at fuinjutsu. Sasuke doesn't let on that he's excited to learn it as well, and he doggedly ignores the other man's knowing looks whenever he brings it up.

They've been training for the past few months, and the younger Uchiha is, surprisingly enough, satisfied with his progress. Before, when all he'd had for comparison was Naruto, he'd gotten frustrated at what had seemed to be a large gap growing between them. He'd felt as if he were at a standstill, and the other boy, who had been the dead-last, had surpassed him so easily. That and the reminder of his ambition (andthefactthathewasn'tstrongenoughtoprotecthem) had been enough to drive him to drastic measures.

However, unlike the Dobe or anyone else, Sasuke is able to look upon his future self and know for certain that he can become so much stronger. It's reassuring, and he feels his lingering insecurities and doubts and anger dissipate bit by bit. He can almost understand, now, why Kei seems happy and relaxed - he's comfortable in his own skin and confident in his abilities in a way that Sasuke has never been, not even when he'd been a mostly unburdened child. Regardless, the man is utterly aggravating on a good day and impossible on a bad one.

(And there are bad days. His counterpart is clearly suffering from loss and possibly a form of PTSD, but it's hard to tell if it's simply from being a shinobi or events in the future Sasuke doesn't like to contemplate.

There had to be a reason he came to the past, after all.)

Kei is less annoying during training and manages to maintain some level of professionalism, which Sasuke is admittedly grateful for. If Sasuke can be said to take himself too seriously, then it seems, at times, that Kei doesn't take anything seriously enough. But as long as he masters all of the techniques thrown at him, it doesn't matter who teaches him or the manner in which they do it.

He's going to get his brother back. He's going to (hopefully) reconcile with Team 7 - or at least make sure they're okay.

And he might have a hand in saving the world while he's at it.


"Don't you know you're everything I have?"


End Notes: I really hope this is what you guys were expecting. *nervous laughter* Anyway, I was planning on this only being five chapters, and if I can still swing it, I will. However, I might have to extend it to, say, ten?

Older!Sasuke's name:

- KEI (1-恵, 2-佳, 3-敬, 4-圭, 5-慧): Japanese name meaning 1) "blessed, lucky," 2) "excellent," 3) "respect," 4) "square jewel," or 5) "wise."

- "Sa-su-KEI"


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