Disclaimer: I only own my OC(s) and the twists and turns along the way.

Italics are memories

Home

.-.-.-.-.-.

On the streets of Konoha, I felt someone fall into step beside me. I had a destination, so I remained focused.

"Have you come to ask to join my squad?" The Hyuuga next to me shook his head.

"Naruto is...a friend of mine. I may not like you, but I believe you are looking out for him, in your own twisted, illogical way," Neji spoke as lavender met crimson.

"Flattery," I said with a quiet chuckle.

"Are you doing this for yourself or for him?" Neji stopped walking, so I had no choice but to stop along with him.

"He is going to die, Neji," I glared at him.

"You aren't as arrogant and selfish as you think," he smiled a faint smile.

As he walked away, I found his words repeating over and over again in my head. The courier-nin had left with the message for Gaara over three hours ago. The morning was still early, so I went to the only place that I really knew. I went to my old home.

.-.-.-.

I waved goodbye to my friends and ran along the path home. Past the tea shop and the house of the repair man, past the sweets store and local grocery shop, past Auntie and Uncle; my legs were burning from the hours of play I'd had.

"Where are you running to?" I stopped at the familiar voice and grinned.

"Onii-san!" I spun around and stared up at him with adoring eyes.

"You dropped something," he said as he kneeled down to my level and presented me with a box of my favorite candy.

"Did you get these on your mission? Are they all for me?" I stared hungrily at the chocolates and he chuckled.

"Yes, Sasuke, they're all for you." He rested his hand on my head, and I noticed the bandages covering his left arm.

"Does it hurt, Nii-san?" I was looking at his arm.

"Yes." I didn't know it then, but he wasn't talking about his injuries.

.-.-.-.

I continued along the old road, my mind clouded with memories of the past. Things never seemed to go as I planned, but things were only meant to get more chaotic—I had learned along my journey through life. I smirked as my eyes came upon my house. The tape was still blocking off the entrances. Blood still stained the shoji doors. No one had returned to the area because it belonged to me. I had hoped it would have rotted in my absence.

Bodies littered the streets. Blood formed puddles along the main road until the masses formed a shallow river. I was drowning in the current as I called for my parents and my brother. I was terrified. I was weak. I had failed to protect everyone from my brother. I had failed to protect my brother from himself.

I ripped the tape and stepped across the imaginary border around the house. One of the stairs remained broken from when I had stumbled down them in my escape. A trail of a dried, brown substance led from the kitchen out the back doors. Was I too late again?

"Don't die on me yet," I thought as I forced myself to confront my past.

.-.-.-.

I slid open the door to my brother's room. He was kneeling on the floor, his bloody katana resting across his legs. My eyes focused on the shiny metal.

"It's time for dinner, Nii-san!" I announced and went to his side. "Why is your katana all dirty?" I reached out to touch it, but he caught my hand in his.

"Don't touch it; it's not dirt, Sasuke. It is blood," he said as he took a cloth and wiped the blade clean.

I had never known my brother as a murderer, and his katana did not change that. I imagined him fighting off enemies for me, and it made me proud. My brother would never raise his sword on those he loved—it was okay that he killed the bad guys.

"You said it was time for dinner," Itachi smiled at me.

"Oh, yeah! Come on, there's fresh onigiri."

.-.-.-.

I barely noticed the flare of chakra beside me. My feet were where they had been when I saw my parents' corpses. My brother was a stranger then.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" I turned to glance over my shoulder at the courier-nin.

"..." He extended a scroll with the Kazekage's signature symbol upon it. "Thanks," I muttered as I watched him leave.

Itachi was dead. My parents were dead. My clan was gone. I was the last of the famed Uchiha line. I knew happiness though, and I wouldn't lose that feeling again.

.-.-.-.

I smirked as Naruto pointed a shaky finger at me. He was shouting, but no one was truly paying attention. My smirk deepened as I watched Sakura punch him on the head.

"Why didn't you hit him, Sakura?!" Naruto shouted.

"Because Sasuke wasn't the one yelling at the top of his lungs!" The pink-haired kunoichi snapped.

"He's the one who wandered off during the mission!" Naruto said as he glared daggers at me.

"I wandered off because you finished all the food, idiot," I said coolly.

"I told you I hadn't eaten before we left, but you didn't want to stop for food!" Naruto shouted as he peered into the bag I'd returned with. "There's nothing in here!"

I chuckled to myself as I patted my backpack. Eventually, he would figure me out. Until then, he would starve.

.-.-.-.

Naruto had figured me out, but it took him a while. As I unrolled the scroll, I allowed myself to picture a life with my clan. If Itachi hadn't killed them, would things have turned out differently? Would Naruto be safe now?

"...he's coming," I said and smiled a satisfied smile.

I let the scroll fall from my hand and pivoted on my heel. Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure was going to leave his post—not for me, but for Naruto.

"He seems to change people as he goes along," I thought as I crossed the threshold and strolled out onto the main road.

I couldn't resist a glance over my shoulder. Perhaps, if I invested enough money, I could restore the area to its former glory. Maybe Naruto and I would live peacefully...

.-.-.-.-.-.

Author Rant

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It seems that someone is conspiring against me. First, I lost the will to write. Now, I am very sick. I want everyone to be glad I posted this, because I am glad I did. I like Sasuke and Naruto. Oh, yes, onigiri are rice balls.

The next chapter will be in Naruto's POV. I have that much planned out.

Next Chapter: Captive

Naruto refuses to believe the truth. He finds himself in a dark place--both in reality and within himself. He must come to terms with his death.

Reviews are loverly!

Ja ne.