Chapter 11: Father and son

Gelid hands clasped the metal between their fingers as the eyes of molten cobalt met with those of gold.

Orochimaru clapped in a dramatic manner when two men entered his field of vision.

"It is nice to see you, Sasuke. Asuma."he hissed through what seemed to be a smile. "Father and son reunited, together, finally."

"It is none of your business, Orochimaru."Sasuke stated, his tone the coldest Asuma ever heard coming from him. "Why are you invading the village? What is it you truly want except another vessel?"

Serpent seemed amused by the direction the conversation was heading to.

"Vengeance,Sasuke. The one thing I have been seeking from the beginning. Only this time it turned out I could use my quest for the host as a reason or...justification, of my...deeds."

Sasuke's brow furrowed; the man seemed frustrated by his own inability to decipher the truth behind the spoken words.

"You ruled us out the village...it makes no sense."Sasuke said.

"Many thing have never made sense to you, Sasuke. Seems you are still your old, silly self. Although, I am interested, how come you're here?"

"None of your business, Orochimaru."Sasuke cut him off, before he got any other chance to speak. "Let's get this over with."

Serpent chuckled.

"As Sasuke-sama wishes."he uttered, before vanishing.

Uchiha men gasped.

"Dammit - clone."Sasuke muttered to himself. "Asu-"

His call was silenced by the hissing of the horde of snakes that crawled into their vision, coming from Sasuke's left.

"Snakes..."Asuma stated, as the creatures crawled one upon the other, creating the wall.

"Serpents, like him."Sasuke corrected his son, unsheathing his sword. "Stand back, Asuma."

A demonic creature, a purple ghost to Asuma's eyes, surrounded the figure of his father - its eyes glowing yellow. Asuma stared at the gigantic armored creature of ghastly appearance, fighting to remain calm.

Blade formed in its right hand and with a simple movement, he set the slithering creatures ablaze.

"Seems like you aren't even able to put up a good defense anymore, Orochimaru."Sasuke spoke, observing the fire which spread. "I told you once - the power of an Uchiha is greater than yours. I have defeated you once, I will do it again."

Laughter came from underneath their feet, and Asuma was thrown aside by the single punch of the serpent's fist.

"Sasuke!"boy yelled, but even without the warning, Sasuke's Susanoo caught the slithering serpent before it was even able to raise its hand. Orochimaru seemed astonished.

"You won't obtain his body."Sasuke warned him as Susanoo's grip around Orochimaru tightened, threatening to reduce him to nothingness. "I won't ever allow you."

Look of helplessness vanished from the pale man's face. "You never change, Sasuke."

Another swarm of giant snakes appeared in an instant, threatening to attack Sasuke. Uchiha didn't even flinch as the left hand of his Susanoo moved, crushing the snakes. It served well to the serpent, as a distraction for his opponent, whilst he reduced to mud.

"Remaining hidden - is that so, Orochimaru?"Sasuke spat. "You fear me. You fear the wrath you may taste from two Uchihas? What a pitiful existence you've beco-"

Mud crept beneath him, halting his movements, binding him in one place. His purple creation vanished and Uchiha was left vulnerable in Orochimaru's command. Serpent's laughter reached his ears; Uchiha found him, securely standing on the roof.

"Indeed, you are as foolish as you were when you were still a boy."man commented, holding a double-edged jian.

Kusanagi! Sasuke thought. But how...how did he obtain it? Wasn't it sealed?

Snake's grip around the sword tightened as he smiled to the trapped fool. "Well, I guess this will be it, Sasuke. You are strained and your son knocked out on the field. Victory is-"

He stood as if stoned for a single moment - and mud released it's grip on Sasuke. Edo Tensei's eyes landed on Asuma who was kneeling behind the tree, lost in Orochimaru's mind.

"It's okay, son!"Sasuke screamed for him to hear. Second after, Asuma woke, panting as if awaken from nightmare. Uchiha's eyes did not linger on him for any second longer, instead, he concentrated on the snake.

As always, Orochimaru wore his smile.

"Interesting, very interesting."he teased. "Young Yamanaka is able to last inside my mind - I must say I'm quite impressed. Your foolish mother taught you well."

"Do not utter her name."Uchiha warned him.

"Why not? She is a pitiful existence, like you."

Asuma smiled. "Pitiful? Then...how come you never noticed something that pitiful woman had taught me?"

Orochimaru arched an eyebrow at the kid.

"What is it I should've noticed? I don't see how can a jutsu of the Yamanaka clan hurt someone like me. Your mother is purely useless."Orochimaru laughed - and Asuma laughed with him, much to the serpent's dismay.

"You truly are"Asuma spoke through chuckles, as he raised his hands to perform the seals. "pitiful existence, Orochimaru."

"Mind control"sky-blue slowly turned white and Orochimaru remained motionless, subdued to the silver gaze.

"Kill."Yamanaka whispered.

Serpent's pupils dilated whilst he watched his own hands moving, grasping the sword.

Suddenly, from Asuma's right, flew a snake.

"Shintenshin!"he yelled, rapidly changing the seals and the direction of his attack. Serpent was stopped in mid-air, floating above the ground.

Sasuke emerged from behind his son. "Asuma, get out!"

His Sword of Kusanagi cut through the wet skin - and Asuma was already on his feet, charging an attack at Orochimaru. Kunai clashed with the sword.

"Seems you're not all that useless, after all."serpent complimented him. Asuma gritted his teeth.

"I wouldn't have the honor of being chosen as your next host if I was useless."he responded, easily landing on the wooden roof.

"Power is not the reason that I chose you, young Uchiha."Orochimaru corrected. "But the weakness of your mind."

Sky-blue filled with rage. "What?!"

"You have a weak mind - easy to control, one that would surely subdue to my command. Unlike the mind of Mizukage, yours is just an...empty field. Which thoroughly surprises me. Mind of your mother was said to be a wonderful battlefield; darkness of the reality she had seen versus the light of love which cleanses her soul."he licked his lips, maddening the boy. "However, I have never considered her to be powerful outside the mind. Title of Mind Wanderer suits her, but power certainly isn't something she possesses."

"You are wrong. Yamanaka Ino is way more powerful than you."

"Hmmm, one day you might realize how wrong you are."

With a swift movement of his hand, Orochimaru threw his precious sword at his opponent. Asuma gasped, raising hands to protect his face and chest - nevertheless, Kusanagi pierced his shoulder. Youngster suppressed a scream.

"No battle was this entertaining."serpent stated as the sword glowed blue, retrieving back to its master.

"Asuma!"Sasuke called.

"I'm fine!"Yamanaka screamed in rage. "I'm fine."

"Oh? But can you stand?"Orochimaru interfered.

Yamanaka slowly raised to his feet.

Sword might have been poisoned. Sasuke hissed.

"Asuma, get down!"he yelled.

"I said I'm fine..."Uchiha's boy whispered - and lost his step.

His eyes widened as he felt himself slipping. "W-what...?"

"ASUMA!"

...And he fell, sound of bones cracking filled the air, along with a scream...scream too light to belong to him.

"A-Asuma..."Sasuke gasped.

Yamanaka Ino rose to her feet, tightly holding her arm. Her son laid on the ground, untouched.

"T-thank you."boy uttered, grabbing his shoulder. "Thank you...mother."

"It's alright."Ino managed to say through blinding pain. Shikamaru rushed to her side. "I'm fine."she uttered to him.

Sasuke's eyes studied the man with emotions he couldn't understand - emotions only an Edo Tensei body could feel, emotions on a different, unhumanly level.

"Allow me a moment to heal myself, and I'll be fine."Asuma spoke to him, averting his attention.

Sasuke nodded. "You have fifteen minutes."

Shadow entered his field of vision and, forced to protect his son by any means, Uchiha placed himself between the boy and Orochimaru's sword. Serpent smiled.

He landed back on the roof, observing the two men and people who came to their aid. "Like a happy family."

"Why?"Sasuke spoke. "Why do you want to kill him?"

"Kill him?"Orochimaru barely refrained himself from laughing. "Dear Sasuke, you honestly don't seem to see."

"Stop with those games, Orochimaru. We have no time for them."

"You can't see how I'm using this pitiful boy - your son - to simply toy with you. See those expressions of yours and the moments you turn into the embodiment of suffer with revenge shining in those lifeless eyes...Sasuke, you are truly clueless how amusing it is to watch."

Uchiha was petrified in his bewilderment.

He knows...it seems he had known all this time. Dammit, Tsunade...you really couldn't keep it to yourself. But what else do I have left, than to give him what he requests? Dammit...Tsunade.

Sasuke hissed.

His eyes did not follow when serpent vanished from the sight, making him swear under breath.

Dammit, he fooled me yet again.

Asuma rose to his feet from the ground, barely able to stand.

"Sasuke..."he panted like an injured hound. "Remain there. I will...finish this."

"Asuma-"

His words were cut off by the powerful gust of wind sent his way - magnificent energy which spread through his body as if the hit was the one of the physical body, fist inside his abdomen. He felt nothing when his backs slammed against the tree, nothing at all, yet he hissed at his own weakness and lack of precaution.

Coal-colored eyes observed the two silhouettes clashing in mid-air - fast, faster...until all he could witness was the fire, earth and wind, and reverberating cacophony of metals clashing. Here and there, Sasuke could notice, Asuma's speed decreasing and it was then that Orochimaru's serpent-like movements were the deadliest; however, Asuma stood it all, alive...though exhausted and injured.

Truthfully, he was a painful sight - another Itachi to his eyes.

Uchiha Sasuke raised the dead hand of his to take a look at it - something that wasn't even his, but hand of a human sacrificed for his sake. Single proof of the depth of her devotion to asinine words she once swore upon; as a mere child in its cradle. Living...only to lay down her life.

Yet, however nonsensical it appeared to him, currently her sacrifice was the only thing he counted on - relieved when her presence emerged from the tree.

"Rukia"Sasuke whispered her name like a silent prayer of a sinister on the verge of his death. Girl-child offered him a reluctant smile as she laid her hands onto his shoulders.

"Kakashi might not understand"she spoke as both observed the battle before their eyes. "But Konoha...My mother...she gave me this life to save Konoha. You...Asuma-kun and Hokage-sama. So I...Sasuke-san, I have no other choice."

He laced their fingers together and raised a lifeless hand to caress her small face. How much resemblance did she share with that woman - one he owed so much to. One he owed his whole life to - Ino's love and his beautiful son. Woman he...hated once, but came to understand as time went. It turned out they were quite similar, Itachi and she; alone, misunderstood, yet willing to protect those they cherished above their lives. That damned village...they loved it above everything else, even when it took away everything from them, made them martyrs of their own kind. Two heroes...but only one of them is loved.

"Rukia, I am sure Tsunade would've been proud of you."

She nodded, motionless, her eyes hid a myriad of silent regrets and deepest mysteries no one ever had the chance to look at. However, their color slowly faded, to unravel the veil of pain.

Suddenly, he started at the ripple-like pattern, spreading over the dark lavender eyeballs; iris and sclera.

The Rinnegan.

Her nails buried themselves into the flesh of his shoulders. "SAMSARA OF HEAVENLY LIFE!" high-pitched voice cried out.

Cerulean light beamed from somewhere beneath him - light he had never seen before, perhaps the ultimate, true, power of Rinnegan, one that blinded everyone, merging with the sky.

Clash of Uchiha and Orochimaru ended the moment both sides faced the heavenly light, covering their eyes.

"Sasuke!"Asuma cried for him even though his voice could not be heard.

"I see"Orochimaru hissed to one of his snakes. "It was true. Tsunade indeed took both of Madara's eyes - and this child was the experiment. Her daughter..." Smug smile graced his lips as he stared at the light. "Samsara of Heavenly life. Ah, wise as always, Tsunade, you keep on impressing me. However, it is not enough."

Uchiha Sasuke gasped when, suddenly, the light which kept creeping into his body, was gone. Rukia's grip on him was no longer present; he moved, only to see her laying on the ground behind him, a mere white ghost.

Nevertheless, sensation of life which circulated through his veins was both dreamy and sorrowful - in a moment he perceived himself as embodiment of immense power, then, in the other, he was nothing but a mere rag doll, a sole soulless existence caught up in the web of fate. Cruel fate. Cruel fate for the cruel world. Tsunade was such a mastermind, he had to admit, and he was the last piece left on the move.

He swore he could see her as he moved, hidden among the trees, the same stoic Tsunade who recited her orders to them seventeen years ago. He could feel her gaze - the urgency emitting from her eyes, plead for him to finish this.

I promised. Ino...I promised.

"Well, apparently, both cannot live."Orochimaru smiled, swiftly averting his attention on Asuma that stood, wide-eyed.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Ku no Tachi"serpent muttered.

Blade which rested by Asuma's side glowed blue, raising from the ground on the command of Orochimaru's slim pale finger. Serpent chuckled when the blade reached boy's chest level.

"Say goodbye - Uchiha Asuma."

Violent movement of his finger was enough to make the sword move, piercing through the air.

"ASUMA!"screams of voices reached the young one - his pupils dilated as he met with the blade, but, a sudden force tied around his hand pushed him down, down until he fell on the ground.

Warm liquor spurted him, caused him to ignore the dull pain in the back of his head. Shadows clouded his vision, however, he saw...them he saw so crystal clear - covered in blood.

"FATHER! MOTHER!"Asuma outcried Orochimaru's laughter, and Shikamaru's shriek of agony.

"SASUKE!"Asuma cried as he crawled towards the two bodies that held one another in a tight embrace. "Mother, mother, mother..."he chanted in fear upon realizing her face was buried in his father's chest.

"Mum...Mamma..."

"I-I am fine..."Ino whispered in response. "I am fine, Asuma."

Uchiha Sasuke smiled, falling to the side.

To Asuma...world had finally fallen apart.

"SASUKE!"bloodstained blonde woman held tightly onto the wounded man. Her hands sank into the red liquor beneath her legs; Yamanaka Ino cried without knowing.

"You...bastard!"she hissed. "This was not...This was not what Tsunade had said!"

Trace of a red smile appeared on the man's lips. "She...never...told...you...didn't...she...?"

"Shut up!"Ino yelled. "Just shut up! Your son cannot lose you again, you bastard! Sakura...Sakura..."

"I know..."he cut her off by laying a trembling hand onto her cheek, to slowly caress it with his thumb. "I've...always...known..."

Empty gaze searched for the eyes of his son, blue that equaled Ino's. Asuma knelt beside him, fixated on the fist-seized wound in his father's chest.

"A-Asuma..."Uchiha breathed, capturing the boy's attention. Father's gaze softened as he noticed silver lines sliding down Asuma's cheek; Sasuke wished he could wipe them away.

"I...know...I've...said it...however...I...will...always...love-you-"

"I don't want that!"Asuma screeched, bringing pain to Sasuke's heart. "I don't want that...I want...I want my father!"

"A-Asuma!"

"I want you here! I want you here with me, understand! I-I need you...dad...I love you-I always have..."

Sasuke cried. He'll never know how much I've waited to hear it. That simple yet meaningful word...

Father...

Asuma grasped his hand.

You have grown, Asuma - I guess it took me time to realize...what a great child you've become.

"De-fea...t-"

A wonderful human.

Uchiha closed his eyes.

However, to become even greater, you do not need me. My work is done here, Tsunade. Ino. I have managed to save him...I finally did.

Goodbye, my son, my time is over.

...My beloved son.

"Sasuke..."Ino called to him, but no response was given. "Sasuke!"

Dead...

That thought sank into Asuma's mind, another stone on his soul. Rukia...his father. Everyone he loved died for this simple purpose.

...To save him. To create an opening for him...to defeat Orochimaru.

So...it had to be done. Asuma finally came to understand; it was all a made up plan, something he yet had to understand, right now, there was something waiting to be done.

But...how can he...how can he when...

"FATHEEEEER!"he cried, head raised to stare into the sky as tears slid down his face in rapid waterfalls. Tears of a broken heart...

"I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE..."boy pleaded, tightly holding onto the body. "I told you...dad...I love you...I want you- you, alive!"

"Asuma"Ino tried to reach him, yet he refused her touch.

"He-he took him away from me. Again."he said to her, shaking his head. "Unforgivable. It is...unforgivable. I-I won't forgive that!"

"Asuma, please, calm-"

"NO!"he screamed at her, blinded by pain and rage fused into one. "I am an Uchiha...And this is unforgivable. Death...I will seek his death."

Young shinobi wiped away his tears and took his father's sword from his side, glancing back at his mother for the one last time.

"I will shed his blood, no matter if it costs me my life. Father..."he said to himself, as he marched forward to where Shikamaru battled Orochimaru. "I don't care - as long as my beloved people are safe."

"Shikamaru-san"Asuma called to the exhausted man, kneeling on the ground. Shikamaru looked over his shoulder, surprised by the sight. "Stand back."young one ordered. "I'll be taking it from here."

Orochimaru looked amused, arching a thin eyebrow.

"You have finally achieved it, kid."

Red eyes pierced through him - three centrifugally placed curves spiraling around the pupil, with each curve flexing downwards on it's top, forming a triangular shape in the middle of the eyeball.

"Mangekyo Sharingan!"Orochimaru yelled.


It was cerulean he saw when her whispers woke him up from his light slumber, only to see her tears, shining droplets framing her pale face.

"Sakura..."he heard himself whisper in a voice he didn't recognize, something between a cry of relief and sob of hopelessness. Something between the man who he was and the one he thought he had been.

"Sasuke."she breathed, her words a lullaby to his ears. "Sasuke!" Gentle hands wrapped themselves around him in a tight embrace; his eyes widened, but soon he drank in the soft scent of strawberries in her hair. Memories invaded him - Naruto's laughter, Sakura...Sakura at her happiest, Kakashi-sensei in his laziness...and himself. Young Uchiha Sasuke surrounded by those who were the closest to family he ever had. Perhaps never before did he notice the placidity in the gaze of that child...whenever he watched their eyes.

Firm hand placed itself on his raven hair, ruffling it with its soft fingers. Raven eyes widened as he shot up his head, shedding tears.

Uchiha Itachi was smiling at him. "Welcome home, little brother."

He untangled himself from the woman's arms - home, Sasuke craved for home. He stumbled, almost to fall, but Itachi's arms caught him as they always did.

Sasuke trembled under his gaze, his heart beat deafened the voice of his reason, world did not exist whilst he stared at those crimson eyes.

"I-Itachi..."he sobbed like an injured child. "Itachi..." Itachi softly laughed, bringing him closer, to a hug. Sasuke gasped.

"It's alright."Itachi murmured whilst stroking his velvety hair. "You are safe, Sasuke."

Smaller hands wrapped themselves around Itachi and Sasuke buried his head into his brother's chest.

"I'm sorry!"he cried. "I'm so sorry...Itachi..."

"It is fine. I have always loved you. And I will always love you...

...Sasuke."


AN: My deepest apologize to everyone! I know this took so long, but, well, I had like thousand of versions of this chapter and it took me long to decide which one to post and then I just blended them into this one. :S Hope you'll enjoy :)

Review responses:

GustaveMoliere- Thank you so much for your support, I really cherish it, you can't even imagine how much :) And I think you are right about what you said for the poll, so I decided to delete it - it's better that way :) Well, yes, I am going to surprise you even more in the next chapter because the next chapter will also be the last, every hidden mystery and everything else will finally come to an end and the final truth will be out :) Thank you so much GustaveMoliere, thank you, honestly :)

Thank you everyone!

PS: Merry Christmas, with delay :)

Again, I forgot what I really wanted to say xD I wanted to let you know that I am looking for a beta reader so, if anyone is interested in beta reading my work, especially the next Naruto project I have in my mind, pretty please PM me :) Thank you!