if you're curious as to how Sasuke is imagined in this chapter, check out my profile, I left a link for how he looks in the previous chapter as well as this one

Five days continued

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

Congratulations you reached the end of the Author's Note.


"Who are you?"

No doubt the one pressing question Sasuke held in the back of his mind since his uneasy glance at the peculiar looking man staring back at him with a glint in his eye that the reflection of the setting moon only made worse.

His feeling of vulnerability had been uneasy since the announcement of the news made strictly from his parents yesterday. Sasuke has been feeling nerves and emotions that were previously unknown to him, feelings of compassion he never felt before, save for his family and for his team. The fact that this person, whoever he was, Sasuke thought, knew to be here when he wanted answers, raised the suspicion he had even more.

"Talk." He demanded with a bold tone.

Orochimaru curled his lips ever so lightly, he seemed amused with his eyes bulging out at the levels of excitement he was witnessing.

With time seemingly irrelevant to him, he ignored his demand. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself to me? or maybe ask why I'm here or how I got here?" he questioned, followed by a feverish snicker.

"Hm," Sasuke began, while turning and facing back towards the direction of his village "if you're going to waste my time then I'm leaving." Beginning to gather chakra in his feet, he started to make his way back.

"Sasuke-kun," sliding the name out of his mouth ever so smoothly followed by a tongue swish, Sasuke stopped.

"That is not your home."

The silence following that statement would have been uncomfortable if Sasuke were surprised, instead he was already provoked.

Orochimaru felt so much pleasure at the sight of the Uchiha heir turning on his heel so quick, untrained eyes wouldn't be able to fathom the speed at which he moved.

Clad in his civilian black pant with the white cloth and kunai pack nearly cutting off the circulation just above his left knee, and with his standard open toed sandals, Sasuke turned the grass below him into dirt. His demeanor would have fooled the common idiot, but with his hands resting in his pockets and the kunai visibly missing from his pouch in one quick scoop, anyone would have seen his setting up to strike Orochimaru and his nonsense down.

Sasuke didn't quite know what he was expecting to hear from coming to the outskirts of his village and meeting with some stranger he knows he's never met before, but it wasn't that.

Orochimaru smirked in delight and basked in the glory of bringing out the offensive of the Uchiha heir just by those five simple words. His loyalty was unwavering to say the least.

He spoke slowly, "You're confused about something missing in your life... you're trying to make sense of new emotions that have flooded your consciousness, Sasuke-kun," he continued in his raspy voice, speaking lies that Sasuke didn't know to be true or false. Sasuke stood there pressing his thumb against the blade of his weapon in his pocket.

"You're wondering how, and more importantly, when everything came to be in your life so abruptly."

Orochimaru paused for a second to examine any change in his demeanor, anything that proved that there was any truth to what he was saying. He slightly saw the lost look Sasuke had in his eyes, and the smell of a faint cut. He knew he felt a connection to every truth that was coming out of this stranger's mouth.

Orochimaru snickered under his breath once again before tilting his head and asking "But isn't that right?"

He was met with silence and an unmoving Uchiha.

"But you're doing it all wrong Sasuke-kun," he licked his lips with that never ending grin he had plastered on his face, "one cannot remember something that was simply never there."

The sanin took extra caution about wording his next revelance to the boy, if he weren't careful he might have Sasuke destroy the entire village.

He giggled sinisterly at the thought.

"Your memories of the last eight years have been erased."

-0-

Sasuke stood still in his own tracks, not out of surprise but out of realization. Realization that what this stranger was saying was absolutely accurate. Up until the last part, Sasuke didn't know what to think. Despite the fact that this man seemed to know more about his problem than he did, Sasuke couldn't help but tense at this situation.

Still, the Uchiha looked down at his dirt stained sandals, grimacing at the very thought of any of this being true. While he tried to remember any genuine facts about his adolescent years, he saw in his peripheral vision the snake grinning and staring at Sasuke with unblinking eyes, looking at him as if he were dinner.

"Well, Sasuke-kun?"

His voice made Sasuke feel even more unsteady of who he was or even where he called home, was. If this man, Orochimaru, was correct, what kind of village - no, what kind of home - would erase their own people's memories? This couldn't have just been the Uchiha heir, there must be some kind of obstruction of power going on up in the ranks that caused this, perhaps a rebellion in the village.

Sasuke wasn't the only one.

Right?

Orochimaru, laughing in delight at the confused Uchiha's expression, soon noticed the rising of the sun, which soon prompted his departure.

"To be fair Sasuke-kun, they didn't completely erase your memories, they replaced them with generic memories," Orochimaru said, pausing to look at Sasuke, who seemingly looked like he was trying to process the information, "you know, memories of what a prized Uchiha heir should have had instead of running away from home with the enemy." He said with a menacing glint in his eye and a smirk on his lips.

Sasuke tensed his teeth and gripped the kunai in his pockets with such strength that the blade pierced his skin, drawing more blood from the small cut, staining his Konaha pant pockets.

With the early sun's rays now beginning to penetrate the horizon of the fire country, Orochimaru decided to take his leave.

Leaving Sasuke stranded with his own thoughts.

-0-

It was maybe ten minutes before the Uchiha felt any movement in his feet. It was probably twenty before he turned around and glanced up at the orange rays of the early rising sun over his home village. He removed his hand from the kunai in his pocket and slightly winced at the gash it left in his palm. The cut wasn't the thing that hurt Sasuke the most.

It was the betrayal.

No. He thought, This can't just be me.

Sasuke took out his Konaha insignia headband from his back pocket and ran his bloody thumb over it. He couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it was just him. But why? Why would they replace his memories with fake ones? Has he been living a lie this whole time, since he became an adult, for three years?

Sasuke shook his head, grimacing, he didn't know what to think, or rather who to trust. Why would he want to run away from the village in the first place? Who did he run away with? What did he run away from?

Who? He thought, while remembering the... sensual feelings he's felt for the past few days.

He sighed and gripped onto his now bloody headband; Sasuke let his eyes refocus on the ground once again as he rested his arm to his side.

If that stranger was telling the truth, then not only has he been decieved to, but his "best friend", his team mates, his family, have also been lying to him, for three straight years.

He sighed once again and put his headband back in his pocket. Sasuke jumped onto the nearest branch and made his way back to Konaha.

Jump.

Confusion and disbelief overwhelmed him. As uncharacteristic as it was, Sasuke Uchiha...

Run.

The heir to the Uchiha clan...

Jump.

A squad leader of ANBU...

Stop.

Couldn't believe how many people betrayed him and his trust.

And as he strained his eyes to look up at the piercing sun behind the faces of the previous Kages, he soon realized that if it was war they wanted...

Run.

It was war they'll get.

-0-

"No seriously! So I was getting ready to release my rasenshuriken on that old dude that looked like he had ramen coming out of his mouth," Naruto said while slurping in-between mouth fulls of his food, "and ghuesh what?!" Continuing with a big gulp, "When I released it, the vampire dude like stepped in the way and got pulverized!"

He said while exaggerating the entire word.

Kiba scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right Naruto. Then explain how Shikamaru buried him alive in a forest?" He said while seemingly devouring his own bowl of ramen.

"Well you didn't let me fini-"

Naruto saw his best friend just then walking in the streets of Konaha, going in the direction of the Uchiha compound. "We can continue this later Kiba," The blond haired ninja said before paying for his ramen and leaving abruptly.

Sasuke walked with his hands in his pockets, he figured he'd at least wrap up his self-inflicted wound before ruling out anything.

"Oi! Teme!"

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and cursed at his mistake of passing Ichiraku, no matter what time of day it was. Sasuke seriously wanted to keep quiet, observe his surroundings, and stay vigilant. The time couldn't be worse as Naruto called attention to him so early in the morning around all the civilians. The last thing he needed was more reasons to be looked at.

His patience ran thin, but Sasuke knew he needed information before acting on his instincts.

He slowed down his pace so Naruto could catch up with him. Sasuke looked to his side and nodded, "Dobe. What?"

Naruto gave him a cheeky grin, like only he could and patted his back, "So I know it's only been a couple hours since we talked, but have you decided who the lucky girl'll be?"

Sasuke continued walking while silently noting the side glances he was recieving from the shop goers, merchants and the like. The stares were so common that Sasuke completely got used to them, he figured it was because of his high influence as the heir in one of the most prestigious clans in Konaha, maybe even the whole country.

But maybe it was something else.

Naruto sighed heavily to get his point across and grimaced at his best friend. "Oi, Sasuke you didn't hear me again?"

Sasuke slightly turned his head to look at the blond fool running his mouth like he always did. He couldn't wrap his head around everything that was said to him, everything that's happening. How... Sasuke thought, How can someone so oblivious as that fool be able to keep such a secret from him? He refocused his eyes back in front of him. But how could I be enough of a fool to have my memories severed in the first place?

Maybe Naruto doesn't know... Sasuke wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, glancing back at him as Naruto continued talking about his marriage soon, Sasuke didn't know what to think or who to trust.

He needed to figure out what his next move will be, who he could trust to help him uncover the truth about the supposed lie he's been living for the past three years.

"-Teme! Do you have a short attention span? You should probably have that checked out."

"I heard your question, Naruto."

"So who is it then?" He asked in an agitated voice while wavering about his hands.

"I don't know, you dobe. My mother will most likely have to choose." Sasuke said in a fast, but hushed tone while wincing at the open wound he was currently hiding in his left hand pocket.

Naruto noticed this and narrowed his eyes in his you're hiding something aren't you Sasuke? face with a smirk plastered on his features. The Uchiha noticed this and raised his brow. "You did it last night with her didn't ya, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't usually get surprised at what his idiot friend said most of the time, but he couldn't help but remember the sensual feelings he's been having lately. He looked the other way when he felt blood gathering in a certain spot between his legs.

What the hell was going on?

"Hn." Was all he said before leaving Naruto with his own mischevious thoughts.

-0-

Footsteps coming to and from the Uchiha 'interrogation' chambers were so bland yet familiar to her. She could tell the different members of the clan by their rythmic walking. Although there were few of them that came, or perhaps even knew, about this rather illegal torturous underground operation - she could recognize her main captor's footsteps.

The only Uchiha that truly scared her in ways that the others couldn't. When she saw him, she knew he was capable of anything. Learning about him slowly, or at least what annoys him communication wise, she has been able to get out of the vulnerable stage in this interrogation process and leave him with more questions than answers day by day.

Aside from the mental torture, the prisoner has sat in the same position for days, weeks, maybe months in the unkept and disgusting cell that she solely owned.

Scoffing, she almost took pride in the fact that she was one of their biggest threats... but then again, she was reminded of her status to these people, she was never to be accepted by them, only shunned and to remain a prisoner until the day her capital punishment arrived.

Or rather, her unlawful death by the Uchiha Police Department.

Why she was down there? Her only transgression was-

Interrupting her thoughts, she could hear her captor's footsteps. Since she was bound, her hearing got especially better. He was in front of her cell.

"Get up."

The prisoner looked up at where she heard his voice, as if she could see him. She made no move to stand up, instead going back to her previous position, which involved staring at whatever was in front of her.

He sharply inhaled, obviously annoyed with her disobedience.

The Uchiha unlocked the cell door and got down to her level in a squatting position. He removed her blindfold, revealing her wide blue eyes. She was shocked enough to look straight into his eyes, which became her downfall.

-0-

Sasuke laid on his bed, with his bandaged wound under his head, and his other hand twirling the kunai that he threatened Orochimaru with. The man he just met, or so he thought.

Sasuke grimaced. That 'meeting' truly left him with more questions than answers... but one thing that's still fresh in his mind would be when Sasuke got that note all those months ago.

Flashback to a few months ago

He was fighting Gaara. Not a spar but an actual life or death fight.

He was caught up in his sand and looked below to the Sand's Kazekage and his two siblings behind him. The sand was so tight and cold, it felt like he was being suffocated from the inside out.

Sasuke saw the look in Gaara's eyes, it was a look of remorse, something that Sasuke wasn't use to seeing in anyone's eyes. His parents never gave him empathy, his friends all detached from him. Except Naruto.

Everything was so vivid yet so vague, it was as if Sasuke could feel the suffocating grip his sand had on his body, but couldn't hear or smell anything else. It was like his five senses were all out of whack.

The Uchiha refocused his attention back to the matter at hand but couldn't seem to form any words from his mouth. He felt isolated, all he could do was stare.

"Sasuke. You're a lot like me." A thunderous voice said, ringing through his head. "You've been walking through this world's darkness. That's why a tiny ray of light ought to reach your eyes. Whether in the past or now..."

His head hit the headboard on his bed.

Sasuke woke up with a jerk in a cold sweat, heart racing and with shallow breaths. He shot up from his position and massaged his head. Uncharacteristically of him, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He's not one to get all worked up over a dream.

But was it a lucid dream? It was as if he could feel what happened in there, as if - maybe it happened before?

Sighing, he realized that it was the same dream in a series of odd ones that have been coming in ripples lately. Though, they haven't been as clear as that one just now.

The Uchiha heir decided to just ignore it for now and continue his rest. He had a meeting with Shisui later on in the day.

Then his ears perked as he heard a thump outside his window. Sasuke rolled his eyes and slowly got up to investigate.

"Dobe... stop coming to the compound in the middle of the night," He whispered to himself while walking to the other side of his room.

He didn't sense anyone or anything. Sasuke peeked outside and only saw some mist that was illuminated from the moon's midnight light. He looked down and saw a paper attached to a kunai pinned onto the wall outside.

Sasuke raised a brow.

Dear Uchiha Heir,

When you start to realize the gaps or... the discrepancies in your otherwise apparent "perfect" life, when you start to lose hope and run out of options, look for me using a Fire Country map with these coordinates...

Lon. 134.608786

Lat. 34.172562

End Flashback

Sasuke laid in bed and threw the kunai he was twirling between his fingers up at the ceiling. He sighed and stared at it.

He didn't know what to do or who to trust.

-0-

"Sasuke!"

Mikoto yelled, calling his name from the living room, where she sat cross legged, waiting for her son to join her. She couldn't contain her excitement, she was visibly happy about something.

Sasuke swiftly joined her and nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Yes, Oka-san?"

She bit her lip to contain herself from laughing with joy. "We know this whole marriage thing has come to you as a surprise," she paused, waiting for a reaction from him.

When none came she continued. "and we know it is moving awfully fast, but I have some good news!"

Sasuke gulped mentally and looked at her with some sweat upon his brow. He stared at her to continue.

"We've- well mostly I- found your fiancée!"

The heir contained his excitement - or lack thereof - rather easily, with a mere nod of the head and - a little twitch of the eye.

After a few seconds of silence, Sasuke nodded once again for her to continue. Mikoto clapped her hands and smiled foolishly.

"Her name is Avaya and she's from Kumogakure!"

-0-

A/N: yes it was short, it's a prequel for the next chapter!