Author's Notes: I'm sorry about the delay. I had a lot of problems with my internet connection and then, with my laptop. This is a chapter I've been waiting for a lot, and when it came the moment it was very hard to write. I pulled through, though. I really hope you like it, and I vow not to break my promises again : Enjoy.

"What did you do?!"

Tsubasa
by Ailu-Chan

"I couldn't lose you again!"

.Part Fourteen.

"The rain has washed away the scents," Kakashi said. "We were too late."

Naruto slammed both of his hands on a big piece of rubble, one of the less damaged remains of the Uchiha hideout; in which his best friend and his brother fought to death. Clenching his teeth and staring at the Uchiha fan printed on the debris, he shook his head.

"Damn it, Sasuke…" The rain poured all around him. He could feel the pitied looks from his teammates on his back. "I'm always one step behind…"

Hinata came forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto-kun…"

"I'm always behind," he repeated quietly.

"It's not like you to give up," she said softly. "We'll have another chance."

A heavy cough bubbled up his throat, and he almost choked. He put a hand over his mouth, and wasn't surprised to see blood a moment later – he knew his internal wounds had to be still fresh. His breathing was heavy, and his sight blurry.

"He was always a shinobi of the Leaf, and he always wanted to protect you."

This man, who had introduced himself as Madara Uchiha; had told him that his brother Itachi had been trying to protect him. At first, the idea was completely preposterous, but as Madara kept on explaining (despite Sasuke's not so polite requests for silence); memories had started to resurface.

Those memories shook Sasuke's beliefs to their very core. Once the first one came out – Itachi telling him 'I'm sorry Sasuke, maybe next time' – it was impossible to stop the flood of pictures of his past. In all of them, he was a loving, caring older brother. The time when he sprained his ankle, when he helped him with his shuriken, when they talked about the police force.

"That's bullshit! He killed my family! He tried to kill me, several times! He tortured me!" he cried, panting.

At that point, hyperventilated more and it was impossible for him to speak. Madara came forward and put a hand on his chin, and told him firmly, "Calm down. Breathe deeply and slowly."

His touch disgusted him, and the response came quickly. "Don't touch me!" he yelled, slapping his hand away.

"Even if you hate me, that's what older brothers are for."

Madara's sharingan was concealed with his mask, lest he caught on the Amaterasu again, but Sasuke could feel his condescending stare on him. He wouldn't touch him again, so instead he said, "It's the truth."

She was supposed to be studying, but instead, she kept glancing out the window.

It'd been raining non-stop for three days. Lee had cancelled their training sessions due to the rain, and she'd been skeptical – surely there was something they could do even in bad weather – but then Neji and Ino cancelled as well. She wouldn't argue with Neji, but had discussed it with Ino over the phone.

"So, nobody does anything if it rains?"

"It's not that, Forehead, it's just that it never rains here."

Sakura's eye twitched at the nickname Ino had come up with for her. "You're a pig," and hung up.

Sakura sighed. She had no other choice but to study at home with a few of the books Shizune had so nicely lent her, but she wasn't very disciplined when at home. She kept staring out the window, or making tea, or cleaning something. She was fidgeting with a page of her book – 'Principles of Internal Medicine', it read at the top – but she wasn't really reading. She kept looking at the page number, then at how many pages she had left to finish that chapter, and then she'd look at the index again and see if she could find anything particularly interesting.

It would be much more interesting to learn all of this at the hospital, she thought. Reading books was fine and she could do it, but learning with experts and with real patients was what she liked best.

A knock came to her door, and Sakura jumped on her chair guiltily. For a second she thought Tsunade or Shizune might be at her doorstep to reprimand her for letting her mind wander. Then she realized they wouldn't bother coming to her house to check up on her that way, and even if they did, they had no way to know she'd been distracted.

Then, she was brought back to her house, to the times when Sasuke's team had finally gotten used to knocking rather than just entering through the windows. Sasuke had never knocked, though, he just opened the door and came in. He only knocked when he entered her room, that time she was sick. Her chest warmed up painfully, and she sighed and shook her head. Those times were definitely over.

Sakura wondered who it might be as she stood up and put on her slippers. It was pouring rain outside, and in a town where rain wasn't common and paralyzed people's lives, visiting people was certainly not something someone would do.

"Sakura-chan? Are you there?"

She couldn't help but smile at Naruto's voice. He pounded on the door one more time, and when she opened it; he was about to pound again – he almost hit her on the head, but she caught his fist on her hand first. "You're back!" she chirped. "What's up?"

Naruto looked around. "Can I come in?" he said, but he wasn't smiling like always.

Sakura bit her lip. "Of course, make yourself at home." She had almost forgotten about the rain. He was drenched and probably freezing. "Do you need a towel or something?"

"Don't worry." She threw a towel at him nevertheless, as he made his way in and sat on one of her stools. "Oh. Thanks."

"What's the matter?" She said, truly worried now. Naruto wasn't making any jokes, he wasn't laughing around or complaining about the rain. She didn't know if he liked the rain or not, but she suspected he didn't – it'd be only reasonable.

Then, she remembered what his mission had been about. She looked up at him, and the sad look in his eyes confirmed her suspicions. She would have whispered Sasuke's name, but then she remembered who she was with. "Your friend…"

"I was late again," Naruto spat, and Sakura saw how saying it lifted a weight off his shoulders. She knew she wasn't the first person he had to tell this to – he had probably reported to the Hokage already – but she suspected that it didn't get any easier. She wondered why he thought it was his responsibility to bring him back. She thought about Sasuke for a moment: why had he evaded his friend again? Why couldn't he just come home?

It occurred to her that maybe Sasuke didn't consider Konoha his home anymore, and she felt a mild ache in her chest. There's nothing wrong with that, she told herself. She hadn't considered the village she'd been born in as her home in years.

Naruto sighed then, and she reprimanded herself. She should focus on him: he was in front of her, listening and speaking and being there. It was the first time she'd seen Naruto like this – dispirited and hollow. Sakura placed a cup of hot tea in front of him, and put an arm over his shoulder. He looked at her, and they were side to side for a moment. She gave her a reassuring smile, and said, "It's not your fault. I know it's not."

"You don't know that," he shook his head.

"I know you. You're the type of person who always does his best." She released his shoulders and walked back to the counter, and poured some tea for herself. "If it'd been up to you, your friend – Sasuke, right? – would have come back with you. I know that too."

"I try to do my best, but it's never enough!" he cried. Sakura wasn't startled by his loud voice. She placed her own cup of tea and sat across him calmly, letting him rage. "Why am I always one step behind? Why is he always one step ahead? He's done, he's fucking done, he killed his brother already! Why can't he just come home!?"

Sakura almost choked. She couldn't help but think about Sasuke this time. "He killed his brother?" She asked, and Naruto looked up at her, his eyes guilty.

"Shit. That's classified. Please don't say anything?"

"No, no, of course not but – why?" She tried to cover it up.

"Long story. Also classified. Sorry." Naruto scratched his head, looking down at his tea. He hadn't drunk any of it yet. Sakura wondered if it was too hot.

"But how do you know it really happened, if you were… late?"

"Hinata-chan saw it."

"Ah." She already knew about the Hyuuga's byakugan. "I see." Sakura had personally wished Sasuke hadn't taken revenge for his dead relatives – they were already dead, after all – but she silently longed for being with him during these difficult times. She was sure it couldn't be easy to kill one's own brother, whatever the reason. She hated Sasuke for making Naruto go through such a hard time, but at the same time; she knew he was probably going through hell as well. She couldn't reconcile those mixed feelings.

"I can't stop thinking about it. Maybe if we had picked up the pace the day before, if I had woken up earlier that day-"

"Naruto, stop. Look at me." She put a hand over his fist, and saw how his own hand relaxed a bit. "You don't deserve this. Believe me, it's not your fault. This isn't your last chance." His face didn't relax at all. He furrowed his brows some more. "There's something else." He kept silent. "It's alright. You can tell me."

"My sensei… He was killed in action."

Sakura gasped. He was horribly still, just staring at their hands and at the table. The only hint of emotion was his frown. "Oh my god, Naruto, I'm so sorry."

"I don't know how to deal with this."

"Nobody knows that," she said, and she stood up to hug him. She embraced him from the side.

"How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

Naruto leaned away from her and looked at her in the eye. She froze. She'd never seen such depth in his blue eyes. They seemed to scan her soul. "I never met my parents. I've never lost anybody. You have. How do you deal with it?"

Sakura understood his pain, but it felt like a punch in the stomach. She was awfully reminded of all her losses, and how she had to deal with them on her own. Her eyes stung, and she straightened up. "Uhm,"

"God, I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan, I didn't mean it that way,"

"It's fine," she forced a smile. "There's something very important that you have. Your friends. Trust them. When they tell you everything's going to be fine, believe them."

Naruto smiled. "Thank you."

When he opened his eyes again, his head ached so bad he thought he might pass out again.

He exhaled a curse – Sakura would be here any minute worrying all over him. He shouldn't have overslept – he had to train and continue seeking Itachi.

Itachi.

His lifeless eyes stared back at him in his mind and he almost jumped. Sakura wasn't going to be there at all, he realized, and he felt disappointed for a second. He wasn't at her house – he wasn't sure where he was, for that matter – and she was… dead. The disappointment turned into a much more uncomfortable feeling that he couldn't quite place. He straightened his back, not really surprised when his sore muscles complained, and looked around violently. Where was he? Was Itachi really dead? Where was Hebi?

"Awake at last?"

Madara's voice brought him back to his senses, and his gaze focused on him. He'd scanned the room so wildly he hadn't seen him at first, standing a few feet away from him. The memories of what this man had told him came rushing back to him, and he sucked in a sharp breath, speechless. He coughed because of it, and when he was about to bring his hand to cover his mouth, he realized his arms and hands had been tied up behind his back. Sasuke glared at Madara, and he would have activated his Sharingan if he had enough chakra to do so.

"I'm sorry, I had to tie you up. I'm afraid you wouldn't have listened to me otherwise."

Yeah, and that's not suspicious at all, Sasuke snorted, and wished him to burn alive. He wondered if he could activate the Amaterasu again. He'd have to practice that later.

"I killed Itachi, because he slaughtered my clan. He murdered my parents." He refused to say 'our parents'. "He was a missing-nin since he was thirteen, and a member of Akatsuki. Despicable. The world's better off without him."

"All of that is true, but there's much more to Itachi than you ever knew, Sasuke."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Well, that's why I had to tie you up." Madara sighed. "Let me give you an example. What I told you earlier – Itachi did care about you, and he was trying to protect you when he implanted Amaterasu on you. That's also true."

Sasuke had admitted that much before fainting. He clenched his teeth and glared at Madara even harder. Protect him from this guy? Sounded feasible. He didn't look like somebody Sasuke would trust, anyway. But Itachi still killed his family, and if anything, he needed to be protected from him.

"I have another truth for you. The Uchiha massacre was a mission Konoha assigned Itachi." Sasuke's glare relaxed, and his brows went up. "I have no reasons to lie to you, Sasuke-"

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying. This is the beginning of Itachi's truth: he killed his family on the cruelest mission ever assigned to a Leaf ninja."

He sounded so convinced, and he'd said it twice, so Sasuke stupidly gaped a little. "Mission?" He could see his Sharingan through the only whole his mask had. Amaterasu didn't activate again, sadly.

"To understand what Itachi had to go through, I'll need to tell you more about Konoha's history – stuff that's probably not in the history books you were given at the Academy. Ever since Konoha was founded, there has been a prolonged conflict, a conflict that influenced Itachi's life. He became a sacrifice. It's a long story, but I assure you, all of it is true."

"I won't believe a word you say," Sasuke said, stubbornly. "I have no reason to trust you."

"You don't have to believe me," Madara agreed, "but you will listen."

There was an edge in his voice, as if he were getting tired of trying to convince him. Sasuke sighed. He was tied up and chakra depleted. This man was quite keen on telling him his grandpa story, but he wouldn't be able to keep him locked up forever. Sasuke just needed to be patient.

"Fine," he dragged on. "Speak."

Madara started telling Sasuke about the shinobi world before the Hidden Village system, about eighty years ago. Sasuke knew a little about this, and it always struck him how the world could change so much in a relatively short time. Clans used to work separately for different daimyos or landlords who were willing to hire them for their battles. Madara mentioned two clans that stood out: the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan of the Forest.

"I had a particularly powerful chakra, even for an Uchiha. Strength and victory meant everything to me, so I killed my best friend and my younger brother to become stronger."

Sasuke widened his eyes. "Bastard." He decided he would not be so stupid to believe anything a psychopath like this told him. He was just standing in front of him telling him he murdered his brother and friend! And he was saying it to Sasuke, of all people, who had a rather complicated history of both.

It had served him well, though, as he became the head of the Uchiha Clan when he obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. From what Sasuke understood, there was some kind of rivalry between the Uchihas and the Senjus – as they kept fighting each other for years.

Eventually, as he suspected, the Senjus got tired first and sent an offer for a truce. Actually, both clans were exhausted of relentless war and death, so the Uchiha Clan was bound to accept as well.

"I was the only one who opposed the truce," Madara said. Sasuke glared at him once more. "Despite the Senju's promises, I couldn't help but to think they would betray us somehow. They couldn't be trusted – all that hatred there was between our Clans couldn't have disappeared. And even more, why had I taken my brother's eyes, if not to terminate the Senju Clan? It would have all been pointless."

The picture of Madara taking his little brother's eyes struck Sasuke like a slap in the face – it was the same thing Itachi had attempted on him. That was how the Uchihas obtained the eternal Mangekyo. It seemed utterly revulsive and it made it even clearer to Sasuke that he couldn't trust this man.

Madara was making a dramatic pause, which left Sasuke thinking. He surely wasn't making an effort to introduce himself as a nice guy, telling him at the very start how he'd killed his friend and brother; and now explaining how he had opposed a peace truce. Nobody opposed peace offers – shinobi were trained for and loved fighting in general, but the slaughter and bloodshed that came with wars didn't appeal to anybody. Least of all to Sasuke, after the two massacres he witnessed – at eight, when his parents died (and he suspected this man had something to do with it); and at sixteen, when Sakura's village was targeted.

Sasuke was still trying to decide whether to believe this man or not, and was more inclined not to – but now something else started to bubble up in the back of his mind: Why was he telling him all this? What did he want from him? The thought left him feeling a bit uneasy in the stomach. It couldn't be good.

He then started talking again, and explained how he had to agree nevertheless because of the pressure of the rest of his clansmen. This didn't surprise Sasuke – he doubted anybody else would have wanted to keep fighting. The alliance between the Uchiha and the Senju was so powerful that the Fire Country also wanted to make an agreement, and that's how Konoha was founded. It was also how the Hidden Village system started off. Other countries also had their own Hidden Villages, and thus the mindless fighting started to relent.

When Senju Hashirama was elected Hokage by the village and the Fire Country, Madara stirred again; and decided to confront him, claiming that the Uchihas were being disregarded once more. However, his Clan didn't comply once more. This was the second time his clansmen disagreed with him while he was Clan Leader, so feeling betrayed and full of hatred, he left the village and raided Konoha with the help of a Sharingan-controlled Kyuubi.

Hashirama faced him in battle and defeated him. Everyone had thought he was dead.

"I was left aside by everybody, even history," he said. "If anything, isn't it strange that you, the last Uchiha standing, don't know anything about one of the most relevant leaders of his own clan?"

He gave Sasuke a pointed look. It was true, though. He hadn't heard of Madara before, up until his own brother admitted he'd helped him in the massacre.

This man, Sasuke remembered all of a sudden, had helped Itachi murder his family.

He suppressed his rage and decided to kill him when he had the chance, and let Madara go on.

He told the story of the Konoha Military Police Force; and how, according to him, it was a strategic move of the Second Hokage to keep the Uchihas at bay. Sasuke just raised a brow at this. He was starting to sound a bit paranoid, like he'd told the same story to himself again and again and had started to believe it. To him, if he was indeed telling him the real story, it appeared as if the Hokage was trying to show his trust by giving them such an important task.

There was no doubt that, knowing Madara had attempted to destroy the village, there had to be some sharp edges in the relationship between the Uchihas and the Hokage.

Then, the Kyuubi reappeared, and everything pointed to the Uchihas again.

Only the Sharingan could control tailed beasts, and the Village Elders suspected the Uchiha Clan had something to do with it. Madara then assured Sasuke it was only a natural disaster that had nothing to do with them.

Sasuke didn't believe him.

The Uchiha Clan was put under quarantine, and had to move into the Uchiha quarters in a secluded area in the village. The ANBU watched them at all times. The third Hokage protested, but to no avail, the Elders will had been too strong. Discrimination had started, and the Uchihas had begun to feel it.

He didn't remember any of this. When his family had been alive, he remembered the Uchiha Clan proud and happy to be in their own quarters, left alone to deal with their own business. At the Academy, students and parents of his classmates had respected him for being from such a significant family. Maybe it was because he was just a child, but this discrimination Madara was talking about had no meaning to him.

Maybe it had been so for his parents, and the adults of the Uchiha Clan, but not for Sasuke.

His suspicions were confirmed when Madara told him the leaders of the Uchiha Clan – and that meant his father, Fugaku – had started planning a coup d'état, and in order to get intel from the Hokage himself, they infiltrated a spy into ANBU: his brother Itachi.

Sasuke gasped.

"Are you going to get into the Police as well, nii-chan?"

"…we'll see."

"However, it was the other way around – the Hokage and elders were using him to spy on the Uchiha Clan. He became a double agent."

"What are you talking about? Why would Itachi betray the Uchihas!?"

A second after he asked, he realized how stupid that question sounded. He'd killed all of the Uchihas – betraying them seemed a much milder offense, in hindsight. But still, Sasuke couldn't understand.

"He was a pacifist."

"He murdered my family!" He screeched.

"Itachi grew up along with the Third Great Ninja War. He witnessed a lot of people die. You've never experienced war, you'd never understand it, but Itachi did. And he didn't want you, or anybody else, to grow up with slaughter and tragedy all around you."

Sasuke had to laugh. "So he slaughtered my family instead."

"He loved the village and the peace it brought along, and disregarded the pride of his clansmen that would have ended up in war." This effectively shut Sasuke up. "Think about it. What would have happened if the coup d'état was successful? The village would have weakened, and other nations might have wanted to take advantage of an unsteady situation in one of the most powerful Hidden Villages. Another war was in its wake, just because of the Uchihas pride and resentment. Itachi wouldn't have that, and the elders used him in their own benefit. They handed him a secret mission: to annihilate the Uchiha Clan."

He'd been expecting to hear just that, but the anticipation didn't make it any easier. His face was twisted in a pained expression and his head just hung from his shoulders, looking down. Madara continued talking about how he carried on the massacre not out of hatred, but because he had no other choice. He couldn't allow a Fourth Ninja War to spark to life. He'd decided to carry all the burden on his shoulders, wiping clean the Uchiha name, and leaving one survivor: Sasuke.

The third Hokage tried to resume dialogue with the Clan, but to no avail. The plans for the coup were becoming too definite and time ran out.

"Itachi seeked my help, realizing I was still alive and looking forward to take revenge on the Uchiha Clan; but set a condition very clearly: I wouldn't lay a finger on the village. He fulfilled his mission, became a missing-nin and burdened himself with dishonor successfully, except for one thing: he couldn't kill his little brother."

For the first time in many years, Sasuke felt tears start to fill up his eyes. He wouldn't cry in front of this stranger, not at all, but he was left speechless and utterly stunned.

He had always thought he had escaped the massacre somehow – but now he realized, that would have been impossible. Itachi could have killed him right there if he had wanted to, in the blink of an eye. The idea of Itachi purposefully sparing his life struck him like a physical blow, right above the stomach. He felt his brows furrow and stared blankly at his hands, his mind racing.

"Itachi pleaded the third Hokage to protect you from ANBU and the Elders, and he threatened Danzo before leaving the village. He couldn't tell you all of this, of course. Instead, he gave you the goal of revenge to make you strong, so that one day, you could protect yourself."

"If you wish to kill me, then hate me, detest me, and live a long, unsightly life. Run, and keep running; cling to your pitiful life."

"But if you still don't believe me – what happened when the third Hokage died?" Sasuke looked up for a second. "That's right. He made an appearance, as if telling Danzo 'I'm still here, my threat still stands.' He wanted you to believe the Uchiha Clan was a proud clan of Konoha, and he planned everything so that you'd never find out the truth. He even planned to die at your hand, and thus give you a new power that would also help to make you stronger. This is the truth."

"Lies. It's all lies, everything that has come out of your lying mouth. Do you know how many times he tried to kill me?"

"You'll have to do better than that. You're alive, after all."

"He used the Mangekyo Sharingan on me!"

"He had to drive you into the corner. You must have realized why, now. Apart from everything he'd already done for you," he wanted to slap him. Itachi hadn't done anything for him, but lie, and lie, and lie. "He also freed you from the Cursed Seal. You're beginning to understand now, aren't you?"

"You're lying." He paused. "You were the one behind the Kyuubi attack sixteen years ago. Itachi said you were. Natural disaster my ass! You and Itachi played games with the Clan! It's your fault too! And by the way, what kind of sick bastard takes his brother's eyes!?"

"He lied to you, so that you'd never find out the truth. That's why he also implanted the Amaterasu."

"Bullshit!" He was panting now. "He was a criminal! He killed everybody and was corrupted by Akatsuki!"

"He took the blame for the Uchiha Clan, and joined Akatsuki to keep an eye on it on behalf of Konoha. It was the village safety, your safety, what he kept always on his mind."

"Stop it! Stop telling lies! You're ly-"

"I shall repeat myself. You're still alive." Sasuke winced. It was true. He was alive. Madara continued, "He killed everybody: his friends, his family, his lover, his mother and his father; but he couldn't kill you. You were far more important to him." He came closer, took a kunai and cut the ropes that held him. Sasuke's arms fell limp to his sides.

"What do you want from me?" he dragged, tired, but still glaring.

"I want what you want – to destroy Konoha."

The notion struck Sasuke once more, and his eyes widened. "Why would I want to destroy Konoha?"

Madara tilted his head, curious. "Because of what they did to your brother, to you, to your family; of course."

He felt anger bubble up inside him, but at the same time he felt it wasn't that simple. "You took part in the massacre, I could start by killing you, instead. You should be as dead as Itachi."

The masked man stood up, unmoved by the threat. "All of the village has lived on almost ten years of fake peace because of what your clan and your brother had to go through. Peace cannot be faked. You paid the price and they enjoyed it."

It was true. All of the villagers, shinobi or not, had lived on peacefully thanks to Itachi – and it wasn't fair, but it was what Itachi had wanted.

To take that back, he'd have to kill everybody, and it would be no different than what happened at Sakura's village. Everybody dead. Innocent people, dead.

The idea disgusted him, and he shook his head. He had made a vow, weeks ago, after dreaming about Sakura; that he wouldn't be responsible for innocent people's deaths. Not anymore, at least. It made him no different than Itachi, no different than the village elders who had ordered him to do it.

Sasuke realized that, if it hadn't been for Sakura, he might have agreed with Madara and tried to take revenge on the entire village. The idea scared him a bit, as if he didn't recognize himself or what he had become. He was surprised to notice, for the first time, that she had changed him. The guilt of her death made him different. She had made him different. For a moment, he wished she were alive to tell her about it. She would have been happy to know that.

A mild tug in his chest reminded him that she was dead, because of somebody who shared Madara's views in revenge and making things 'right'.

Sasuke felt it wasn't very wise to argue with this man, but he couldn't help it. He was furious, and shocked, and hurt. He felt like a puppet. Everybody had played games with him, with his family and with his beliefs since forever. His teeth clenched and his resolve grew stronger.

"It seems to me you actually had a lot more to do with it than just helping out Itachi kill everybody. You were the one who opposed the truce eighty years ago. You were the one who attacked Hashirama on behalf of the Uchiha Clan, and later on, you were the one behind the Kyuubi attack sixteen years ago."

"That's not true," he spat out.

"It might be the only truth Itachi ever told me," Sasuke replied bitterly.

"So you're just going to let it go?"

"No. I'd very much like to kill the Elders."

"I can help you with that."

"You want to destroy Konoha."

"Aa."

"Well, thanks, but no thanks." He looked away.

The edge on Madara's voice was back. "It's not you asking me, it's me asking you," he uttered.

"Then sorry, but no." He spat, angered even more by his blatant arrogance.

Madara squatted, took Sasuke by the neck and made him stand up. "Actually, I'm not really asking. You're going to help me."

"Or what? You can kill me for all I care. I'd like to see the elders dead, yes, but not enough to kill all those people. I have nothing left. No family, no friends. There's nothing you can take from me, so go ahead and kill me!" He choked at the end, as Madara put more and more pressure on his throat.

It occurred to him that Itachi wouldn't be happy that, after all he had done, he'd just go and ask the first person he saw to kill him. But he had already said it, so he closed his eyes and waited for the blow. Madara would surely not let this provocation go.

"Oh no, I won't kill you." He threw him towards one of the cave's walls. His back hit it hard, and his wounds didn't take it well. He panted and fell to the ground. "Just in case you reconsider."

The first thing he noticed when he came to his senses was the buzz characteristic of a town. He had to be in the outskirts of a village, because he could hear the droning sound of a market on a weekend – perhaps it was Sunday already. That meant he'd been unconscious for at least one or two days.

Then, he felt the pain. It was numbing, a bit dull – not unbearable, but definitely annoying. It covered both of his arms, as if he'd fallen asleep on both of them and couldn't move them now. He realized he was lying on one side, so he moved his legs and managed to look up. As he opened his eyes, he heard steps beside him and saw Madara and his mask stare down at him.

He willed his Sharingan to activate, but it wouldn't.

"What did you do to me?"

Madara chuckled. "Oh, it's a little trick I've been practicing for a while."

Sasuke moved to stand up, but his arms wouldn't respond either. He glared harder, if it was even possible, trying not to panic. "What," he spat, "did you do to me!?"

He sat down next to him, crossing his legs. "Are you going to help me?"

"No!"

"Okay. Well, this is what happens when people say no to me."

"You cripple them?"

Another chuckle. "I persuade them."

"What's wrong with my arms?"

"I blocked the chakra network at your shoulder. You won't be able to use them anymore, unless I reverse it. I also sealed your chakra within you, you only have about ten percent available. It's not enough to get your Sharingan to work."

"Fucking bastard, I swear I'll make you-"

"What? Like this? You'll be lucky if you survive. And I don't mean survive fighting me, I mean survive in general."

"I'm an Uchiha. You can't coerce me like this."

"Fine."

"I'll never help you."

"Then, what are you going to do? Go back to Konoha like a crybaby, without your arms and your Sharingan?" he put a hand on his face. "Wander about like an exile? Sounds like a plan."

"Fuck you."

Madara stood up. "So be it." He turned around and walked a few feet. Then, he turned back. "If you don't need me, you'll need Itachi's eyes."

"Not in a million years."

He could feel him smirk behind his mask. "I'm a very patient man."

His mind raced as Madara walked away. He wondered where Hebi was. Madara had probably lied to them too, and had sealed his chakra so that Karin wouldn't be able to find him from far away. He wondered what he'd told them, and if they'd look for him.

He hoped not. He wouldn't like to be seen this way.

About two hours after Madara left, Sasuke cried.

It wasn't the uncontrollable sobbing he'd seen Sakura cry when he left her, it was more like a continuous stream of silent tears that he couldn't stop. He would have put an arm over his eyes, but they were useless now. He just stared at the sky, at the trees above him; and breathed heavily as the tears continued pouring out of his eyes.

He cried for Itachi, for his tumultuous life; because nobody would ever know what a faithful and loyal shinobi he had been. He had dutifully carried on all of Konoha's dirty work and nobody was ever going to acknowledge him.

He cried out of rage, because he would never be able to take out the village elders like this. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid – he should have had to outwit Madara, he should have gone along with it and then tell Naruto what was going on.

He cried because there was no way he'd return to Konoha crippled like this.

And he cried because Sakura was dead.

Five years passed by.

A/N: So, I'm taking this quite far from cannon, from now. I really hope you like this. Next chapter should come up faster, because I've been reaaaally itching to write this since... I started writing this story, more or less haha.

I've got a deadline, but this time I'll keep it to myself. I'll do my best, I swear.

Thanks everybody. Feedback is precious. You guys are the best.