Sasuke

Sasuke jolted awake in a cold sweat. His dream had been vivid, more so than any dream he'd ever experienced. Nightmares were no stranger to him, but this was different. During nightmares he always dreamed of Itachi. However, this dream had been bizarre and off-putting.

He tried to rub away the sleep from his face, but when he brought his hands away, he noticed that they were covered in blood. Vaulting to his feet, Sasuke staggered into the bathroom. He flipped the light on to get a good look at himself in the mirror. From both his eyes, he bled; the blood caked thickly under his eyes.

Fear gripped him. This was certainly not normal. Perhaps his eyes had some disease? He wasn't well versed in medical afflictions, but he remembered that his mother had once told him that some Uchiha were more predisposed to disease and sickness than others. Usually, one in five Uchiha died before the age of twenty.

That fact had always made him paranoid. His mother had often worried about Itachi. Despite being a child genius, Itachi had been sickly as a boy and physically weaker than his Uchiha peers. He knew his mother feared she would lose him young, just like she'd lost her two brothers.

Sasuke had once feared that as well. He only hoped Itachi lived long enough that he would be able to take his life himself. Someone like his brother didn't deserve to die of illness. He deserved a painful death.

He hated thinking of his brother. It conjured up fear that he would never admit to. It was a fear that gripped his soul. It would be something that he always carried and it made him who he was, in more ways than one.

However, his greatest fear wasn't Itachi and it wasn't reliving the massacre. He'd already experienced the helplessness and primal terror of that night. What he feared most now was dying before he could achieve his life's goal. That's why the blood scared him so much. It was unexplained and abnormal.

He wondered if it could be connected to the Sharingan in any way. His curiosity was senseless, though. There were no Uchiha left to ask. Kakashi had a Sharingan, but he wasn't a natural Uchiha. Kakashi's Sharingan reacted differently to his body. It would be fruitless to ask him, but it was really the only option left to him. Sasuke knew he couldn't let his potential disease fester. That would be the death of him.

His only option was to seek Kakashi's guidance. Although, he'd promised Kakashi that he would never speak to him again only three days ago. The rage he'd felt upon the news of Naruto's death and the disbandment of team seven had left him in a numb state for the rest of the day.

Sasuke didn't want to seek his former sensei's advice. His pride wouldn't let him relent first. The only way this could be salvaged is if Kakashi came to him first, though if he knew anything about his sensei, the man would wallow in his guilt until he died. Sasuke didn't want to see him ever again, but his health was a more serious matter. Swallowing his pride would be difficult, but if it meant living, then he would have to do it.

Washing his face of the blood, he dressed quickly and left his home. The morning air was crisp and cool, but Sasuke liked it that way. He liked to be out in the mornings anyway. There were generally less people. It was quieter and nobody bothered him. He couldn't ask for anything better.

Sasuke knew that Kakashi would be up by now. Despite the man's lazy persona, Kakashi was an early riser. Sasuke knew the man often spent hours in the mornings at the memorial by training field seven. Sasuke had yet to ask whom exactly his sensei mourned for. He admitted that he was curious, but he never pried into people's lives. He wouldn't want anyone to pry into his life, so he wouldn't do the same to others.

Sakura, however, was a different story. He'd always thought that her naivety and thoughtless approach to any situation would result in the eventual questioning of Kakashi's past.

Though, perhaps, Sakura didn't know that Kakashi was plagued by his past. He didn't put that past her. Not after she'd so tactlessly commented that children without parents were unruly and uncivilized. She really didn't think before she spoke. She was smart, but she didn't use her mind. That's what Sasuke found so irritating about her.

He knew that Sakura so desperately wanted to know why he rejected her advances. It wasn't because she was unattractive. There was no doubt that she was cute and would grow into a lovely woman. It wasn't because she was mean. She was nice and meant well too.

He disliked her because she was stupid and tactless. They came from two completely different worlds. She could sympathize with his past, but she would never understand. She could grow out of her tactless nature, but she would never shake her privileged upbringing. That alone would always be an invisible separator between them.

However, that being said, he was glad that she was in his life. Despite all her faults, she was his friend, his only friend. Everyone he'd ever known had left him, except Sakura. His family was taken from him and his brother deserted him. Kakashi left him and Naruto died. Sakura was the only one who remained.

When he thought of her that way, Sakura was a nice companion. Perhaps, when she grew older, she would realize that he wasn't what she wanted in a relationship and they would be friends.

It pained him to think that Sakura resented Naruto's obvious crush on her. He'd always thought that when they all grew older, Sakura would realize that Naruto was the one she wanted. Naruto would treat her right, Sasuke knew that much.

Thinking of Naruto made him sick to his stomach. Why had he ever been so cruel to his blond haired friend? Naruto was more like him than anyone he would ever meet. He should have realized that before it was too late.

Instead, he'd called him an idiot to his face. Naruto had the same problem as Sakura. He was clever and prudent when he put his mind to things, but he was reckless and unknowledgeable, which was the reason for many of his terrible decisions. Before he received the news of Naruto's death, Sasuke had pledged that he would help Naruto grow out of his ignorance and use his mind.

Naruto had proved himself on the wave mission. He'd been surprisingly adroit when coming up with strategies. Sasuke realized that if Naruto ever used his mind, he would be the most dangerous Shinobi in fire country. He had the raw power, but he needed to use his intelligence to control it. Naruto was worthy of being his rival and was someone that would become an influential friend, had he lived.

He arrived at the memorial stone to find, not Kakashi, but the Lord Hokage. He knelt. "Lord Hokage, may I join you?" He knew his courtesies.

The Hokage turned from the memorial stone and smiled genially. "Sasuke, just the person I was looking for. No doubt you came here to find Kakashi."

Sasuke was visibly surprised. "How did you know?"

"Where else but the memorial stone does one find Hatake Kakashi?" The Hokage chuckled amicably, though Sasuke found the statement to be somewhat morbid.

"If I may ask, why isn't he here?" Sasuke inquired.

"Stand with me and speak freely, Sasuke." The Hokage motioned for Sasuke to join him. Sasuke stood by the Hokage. It was only at this close distant that he saw Naruto's name beside the other fallen shinobi on the memorial stone. "Kakashi left this morning for an extended mission. Perhaps I could council you in his stead?"

Sasuke marveled at the Hokage's deduction abilities. It was as if he knew what he was going to say before he said it. Though, thinking logically, he could see how the Hokage came to such a conclusion. Why else would he seek Kakashi here if not for council?

Sasuke doubted that the Hokage would be able to help. "I wanted to ask Kakashi about my Sharingan."

The Hokage stroked his goatee in thought. "Yes, I thought that you would have questions. Kakashi would have been quite adept at helping you."

"Then why did you command the break up of team seven? He may have been the only one who was able to help me." Sasuke averted his eyes, looking morose.

"It may seem like a poor decision now, but there are many factors that you aren't aware of. Kakashi understood that he needed to be removed from the jonin sensei program for political reasons, despite how pertinent he was for your particular situation."

"Political reasons?" Was it because Naruto died? Is that the fate of teachers whose students die? Sasuke wondered.

"Yes, the tragedy that occurred in Wave was unprecedented. Naruto may not have meant what he did or acted on his own volition in his assault on the Land of Waves, but that doesn't mean that we still aren't responsible to a degree, right?"

Sasuke thought back to the moment that Kakashi had decided to continue the mission. "By continuing the mission, Kakashi broke protocol. If he had made the responsible choice, the Land of Waves would have been largely unharmed." Though, Gato would likely have impoverished the country even further.

"A very astute observation, Sasuke." The Hokage nodded. "Additionally, if I had impeded Naruto's ascent to genin, the entire tragedy could have been avoided."

Sasuke pondered on the thought for a moment before coming to one conclusion. There were too many unknown factors to solely put the blame on Konoha's shoulders. "But, Konoha can't deny that Naruto needed to become a shinobi. To waste such power and still condemn him to his life would be insane. You can't tell me that other villages would bar Naruto from becoming a shinobi. They can't blame Konoha for that. They can't blame Konoha for the unknown factors on the Wave mission; there was no way to know that something like that was waiting for us. It was supposed to be a simple escort mission." Sasuke argued.

The Hokage smiled. "You are correct, but you still seem to be missing the most important factor here."

Sasuke didn't know what he was missing, so the Hokage filled him in. "Running a hidden village is a political game. Other villages may have made the same decisions as we did, but they too would still pay the same consequences. The Land of Waves is one of the biggest trading hubs in the world. If we were to ignore this tragedy, the Land of Waves and other countries would take steps to insure that an embargo was instated. We would lose important alliances and trading opportunities that keep this village afloat."

It was the first time in Sasuke's life that he realized how politically driven his world was. Every decision that the Hokage and small council made was driven by the politics of this world. Even his own standing as an important genin was to show the world the promise of Konoha. He hated it.

"So, Naruto's imprisonment and the disbandment of team seven, this was to please our enemies?" He felt his rage building.

"Yes, but even that isn't enough. I'll surely have to step down as Hokage. Moreover, we're telling the public that Naruto was executed to placate our friends in the other villages. I know that Kakashi has told you the truth, but I'll have to have you swear that you won't speak of Naruto's true demise. I trust Jiraiya has told you the punishment for the disclosure of secrets."

"Yes." Sasuke nodded briskly. The Hokage had done everything to keep the village from collapsing. Sasuke had scene the outrage from the public.

The Hokage chuckled light heartedly. "I have a feeling you'll grow into a great shinobi given time, but enough with this depressing talk of tragedy, what was on your mind?"

Sasuke could still feel the tingle behind his eyes. "When I woke this morning, my eyes… they bled while I was sleeping." He was worried, but he didn't want to admit that to the Hokage.

The Hokage's face didn't so much as twitch when he received the information. He was the same as Itachi, Sasuke realized. He was able to hide his emotions completely. Most people wouldn't notice, but Sasuke could see it. His face did nothing, there was no recognition that he'd processed the information, but that is what gave it away.

"That's quite peculiar… I've only heard of a few cases of such a thing happening."

"So, this isn't normal." Sasuke was tense in anticipation.

"No, certainly not. The last Uchiha whose eyes bled was your brother. It happened perhaps a month before his tragic defection."

Sasuke clenched his fists in anger. Even the mention of his brother caused an adverse reaction in him. However, he calmed himself in the presence of the Hokage. "Will I be alright?" He found himself asking.

The Hokage ignored his question. "Tell me, Sasuke, has anything strange happened to you recently? Have you noticed anything abnormal?"

Immediately, Sasuke's mind wandered to the strange dream he dreamt that night. "My dream…"

"Your dream, you say? Can you elaborate?"

"I dreamed… I dreamed of a white snake. It slithered through the trees killing young shinobi without discrimination of affiliation, age, or skill level. Finally, it reached me, but instead of lashing out, like it did at the others, it coiled up my body. It slithered around my neck, but when it bit me, I awoke."

"That's quite the fascinating dream you had." The Hokage stroked his goatee in thought.

"Does it mean anything?"

"Perhaps… If my suspicion is correct, your dream is closely related to your eyes."

"My eyes?" He asked trying to keep his emotions in check. Inside, he was paranoid.

"Yes, definitely your eyes. I've been troubled about where to put you since the disbandment of team seven, but I think I've come to my decision. You will report directly to me as a member of ANBU."

"I want you to report to this address at six in the morning tomorrow." The Hokage wrote the information on a slip of paper and handed it to Sasuke.

The boy nodded numbly.

The Hokage looked to the sky. "It's almost time for me to be back. It was a pleasure talking to you, child." The old man turned to leave.

"Wait, Lord Hokage. What about Sakura? If I go to ANBU, where will Sakura go?"

"Your teammate, yes, I'd almost forgotten about her. As it happens, young Sakura turned in her retirement forms the other day."

"Why would Sakura do that?" She'd promised him that she would become stronger. It made no sense. All her ambitions lied with him. If she quit, Sakura would most likely never see him again, and she would never achieve the things she'd promised.

"Most likely, the trauma that she experienced in the Land of Waves was too much. It isn't overly surprising, in fact, Kakashi and I suspected that she would step away from the shinobi field upon her return." The Hokage spoke like it meant nothing.

Sasuke didn't believe this could be true. He would have to seek her out. As the Hokage walked toward the village, Sasuke stood in shock. He had to seek out Sakura. He needed answers.

However, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find her. She wasn't in her home. She wasn't at any of the usual restaurants she frequented. She wasn't in any of the training fields that she was allowed to be at, but then Sasuke remembered that she didn't have access to these anymore.

Finally, he found her in a civilian park on the west side of town.

"Sakura!" He called out to her. Sakura was sitting alone on a bench. Sweat stained her training garb, which surprised Sasuke. Sakura wasn't one to ever exert herself, especially since she had retired.

"Sasuke." Her voice dripped with exhaustion. "How did you find me?"

"I've been looking for you all day. The Lord Hokage said that you retired."

She nodded solemnly. "Sasuke… I didn't have a choice…" She tried to explain, but Sasuke was tired of people explaining why they left him.

"You had a choice and you decided to retire!" 'You betrayed me!' He wanted to scream at her.

"You don't understand. If I didn't retire I would have lost my family!" She retorted angrily.

"I wouldn't understand about losing my family, would I?" His voice was laced with venom. "I'm glad you retired, you weren't a good shinobi anyway."

"Sasuke… I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that! I don't really want to retire, but my parents are forcing me to! I intend to get back into the shinobi forces eventually."

Sasuke remained silent as he eyed Sakura grimly. He believed her, but it still hurt. He suddenly wished he could take back what he'd said about Sakura being a terrible shinobi. She didn't deserve that. He hated how quick to anger he was. "As long as you don't give up, then I think I'll be okay. Naruto would never have let you retire."

"I know." She nodded in shame. "I would have given up if it hadn't been for Naruto. I want to honor his memory by becoming strong."

Sasuke nodded weakly. Just thinking about Naruto brought a sick feeling to his stomach. The two parted ways and Sasuke found himself back inside his apartment.

Even after Sakura had explained herself, he still felt betrayed. He was sick of being abandoned. What was the point in trusting people, if everyone eventually betrayed you?

That night he dreamed of a dank cell. It was dark, but he could make out the figure. The figure was skinny with blond hair and three whisker marks on each cheek. The cell door creaked open and the figure stepped from the darkness.

However, when he stepped into the light, he changed. His blond hair changed to red and his deep blue eyes changed to a striking violet hue. The person that stepped from the cell was different, yet the same. When he passed Sasuke, the stench of death clung close to the figure.

The red haired boy's face was gaunt, his whisker marks even lighter than they were in the darkness of the cell. The boy's violet eyes stared straight forward, never glancing at Sasuke as he passed him.

The boy's steps were light despite his haggard condition. He stumbled slowly down the hall. The further he got, the more difficult it was to see him. The shadows were swallowing the red haired boy. Eventually, the red haired boy was gone, but the stench of death still hung in the hall.

Sasuke blinked awake in the darkness. He reached to his face and again, found the blood on his fingers. Stumbling to the bathroom, he flipped the light on. When he looked at the mirrior, he almost shouted. His right eye bled heavily, but was most surprising was the slowly spinning right Sharingan.

Sasuke knew immediately what this was. He had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Soolal

Preview: Kisame is a pretty mean guy.