Naruto's death was very close to his birthday, actually – something Sasuke noted very close to the Kyuubi Festival.

Funny how the Kyuubi Festival was on his birthday – he must got a lot of teasing for that one.

This year, the festival seemed so damn loud and annoying. The villagers yelled happily, drinking and stuffing their faces in while the music was loud as hell, even from the far off lands in the abandoned Uchiha compound. Even the yells of the lost souls emptying out in the Uchiha Compound wasn't as loud as the festival's lively sounds.

He remembered the last time he went to the festival: he was 7 and mom had dragged him to it. He proclaimed he was too old for that, while his mom shoved him in a kimono and pushed his ass to the town's heart. He hated that timed.

He missed that time.

For it was the last time he truly smiled about anything. Contrary to what most believe about him, Sasuke Uchiha wasn't a hellspawn from birth. He wasn't an avenger made for war because of the Uchiha's arrogant ways. He was simply Sasuke Uchiha, once 7 years old, once happy, living in a bustling little community known as the Uchiha Estate.

These past few weeks got him thinking again about the tragedy.

A black, white and sepia sky world that the Sharingan's Tsukiyomi brought. There were nights that he dreamt he was still in that hellish world, seeing the deaths of his parents over and over again. Their lives ended with a sword.

And Sasuke could not wash the blood away off his fingers. Not that he wanted to anyway. It helped him remember why he got up every morning and trained his ass off in the backyard of his old home.

Now, he had even more blood on his white fingers, and it really much more troublesome.

Itachi had forced death in his eyes. Naruto's death was forced in his eyes again and when he could have done away his selfish desires to live long enough to kill someone he once loved and jumped to save Naruto that day, he could not. He sat there, helplessly, as Naruto took the shot, the needles brandished in his arms, legs and chest. They protruded proudly out of his limbs and parts. And Haku's choice to not kill Sasuke too when he had the chance was just mocking.

Sasuke stared in the mirror, and looked at his onyx eyes and sighed.

They had not been the burning ellipses of the Mangekyō Sharingan that he had not any control of. He had power then. He could see Haku's movements so damn easily. The once fast Haku was now as slow as he had been in his eyes. Sasuke could not follow suit though, for his eyes were already faster than his body, but he could par Haku's moves and counterattack. He actually became a scrapper like Naruto had been. Brutally, without the use of jutsu and all that flashy bullshit he once wished he had, Sasuke beat down Haku to unconsciousness. Then, he had collapsed himself one knee as the Mangekyō Sharingan had faded. It only blurred back to life when he remembered who had he lost.

He had found out power comes with a price. Unlike Itachi's words that he had heard that only power was what made a good ninja good, Sasuke learned that that wasn't the case. This power not a gift.

But a curse, a reminder of what's to come, what's not promised and what has happened that day.

Kakashi was in a nice predicament here.

A dead student. Nice, Kakashi. You had failed yet another. How many were that now? Five in counting? He was never one to dwell on bad situations too damn long but this is one of the darker sides of being a ninja. For all he saw died and was worthy of anything, they were forever in Kakashi Hatake's thoughts. Obito Uchiha, Rin Naka, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze was on the Memorial Stone – "Killed In Action" it had said. He had visited the stone every day. Naruto Uzumaki was the newer addition.

A mortally depressed girl who decided to suddenly call it quits was something Kakashi wasn't hoping he could put more on his track history. Sakura had been a wreck. For days she had cried, even when she had come back from Wave Country. It was even messier at Naruto's funeral too.

Naruto's funeral was small, only limited to teammates, several friends and people that Naruto had tightly knitted to him. Inari and his family had came out on a free-sponsored trip to pay their last respects for the boy. Naruto's school teacher and two other unrecqonizable people – a man and his young daughter – also were there, who looked just as beaten down was Naruto's Iruka Umino. Sasuke and Sakura were there as well, of course, with Sakura crying and Sasuke comforting her. There had been a small question of the rest of the Rookie 9 seeing this and some even debating to letting such young kids see this death, but ultimately, Sarutobi thought they should. Maybe it was better to just let them see the tragedies of a shinobi's life.

Either way it was gonna go down, Kakashi wanted to be far away from it. Newer faces came out, some that Kakashi hasn't really seen too much. Asuma's team came first, donned in black like the rest of them. The Akimichi and the Nara looked onto the casket and sighed remorsefully and Inochi's only girl stared down, almost going to cry out of sheer sympathy. Naruto was an irritation to many, but no one wanted the dumb brat dead. And to see this... it was coming, they thought, just too damn fast.

Kurenai's team came next and last. The Aburame didn't have much of a reaction but he did nod his head in a respectful manner. The Hyuuga girl had looked so damn shocked, and hurt. Her world was shattered. Kakashi figured she had some sort of affection towards the boy, maybe a little unrequited since Naruto never made mention of any girl he was interested in, besides the rosette of his team, Sakura. She damn near wanted to crawl up and die. Poor girl

The Inuzuka's reaction was curious. Not a good curious. He looked at Naruto's face dead on, and although his face was placid, sad and not accusing, he said, almost scolding, "Well, we knew this was coming – don't make anyone who's not able to be a ninja a ninja."

Now, Kakashi knew the boy was young and stupid, but stupidity could only run its course so much. When Kiba turned back, many glares pushed his way, even from his own teammates. Shino narrowed his eyes at Kiba's foolishness and Hinata, although being Kiba's good friend, wanted to punch the boy in the face, with her eyes bulging with anger of her own, further telling Kakashi that Hinata had affection for Naruto.

Asuma's underlings Shikamaru, Ino and Choji further understood what Kiba was said, but still narrowed their eyes on why he said so damn loud, blatant and easy-going.

Kakashi's own student Sakura wanted to strangle the dog-controlling ninja here and there – let him get a taste of how she felt about what he said.

Each three of the Jounin teachers, including himself, shook their heads at Kiba. Kakashi knew for different reasons.

Sasuke, with the most curious, shocking, and angriest reactions, thought it was best to act on his feelings. So he socked the jaw of one later dumbfounded and then outraged Kiba Inuzuka. Nice hook, a darker side of him congratulated. It took some self-control of himself, much to his own embarrassment, to not let Sasuke beat Kiba a little more. Sasuke screamed out phrases like "He save me, you fucking stinking mutt!" and "You weren't fucking there, so don't say any fucking thing!"; he could feel Sakura tug his sleeve in a way to let go of the Uchiha boy and just let him wail at Kiba but Kakashi didn't need anymore blood on his fingers.

He calmed the boy down, giving him the greatest low blow in the game, "Stop it, Sasuke. What would Naruto think?" It was the worse thing to say at the time, but yet, it was the best.

Sasuke's eyes still blazed angry at the Kiba, undoubtedly the eyes of the Sharingan, which spooked the three Jounin teachers.

Something in Kiba's words that stirred the once raging female of Sakura to dumb down and think about: "Well, we knew this was coming – don't make anyone who's not able to be a ninja a ninja."

To Sakura, it couldn't have anymore applied to her like it did there and then. She was not ready to be a ninja, not ready at all. She didn't fit the role, according to her logic. She was a spoiled girl, with parents who treated her, kept her, fed her while she kicked anyone who didn't have parents like her or a family to go to. She would rather tend to her hair than to get grit on her outfit. She rather talk things out instead of fight and get blood on her shoes. She was more fit to be a civilian, to her. She proclaimed further that not once did she help Sasuke or the late Naruto once in battle – not because she refused, but she lacked the will and build to do so.

And that scared her out of being a ninja. When Kakashi saw her go, his face said, "Stay for Naruto's memory and just be a better ninja, if you let me be a better teacher", but his arms, legs and heart told her, "Go and get out of this life; you're always been the smarter one." It took about four hours to dismiss her from Team 7. Sasuke and him was the only ones left.

Sasuke...

Kakashi knew he would be the biggest problem. Sasuke already shown mental scarring beyond help. At 7, he had seen his ideal kill his parents with such cold blood and they had told him to detest, repress and destroy all limitations and people who get in your way, and Sasuke believed him, shaping him to the angst-ridden, tired-looking child who should be robust and pouring out with youth. This was a newer scar. How did he know this was a newer scar?

There were no mistaken those eyes.

The Mangekyō Sharingan's red maddening eyes stared back at him with hatred, anger and depression in those eyes of his. And Kakashi knew a newer burden was placed on the shoulders of Sasuke.

But was it just Sasuke?

Sarutobi smoked his pipe, silent and serious like he was when Kakashi strolled in his office with a neutral face. After rolling smoke in his mouth and releasing it out his nose, the tired Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke out, "You have permission now to personally train Sasuke Uchiha."

End