Timeless
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Well I think we have all learned a valuable lesson. Nothing gets people's attention faster than Itachi. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Past Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in italics.
Present Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in regular font.
Future Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in bold font.
Chapter Notation: Sasuke, Hinata, and Itachi have two sets of memories now. One from each timeline. The rest of the Leaf Village hasn't had their memories changed is because the Minis' new timeline hasn't caught up with the present day one yet. Once it does, the other Leaf Villagers will be impacted by the changes. I hope that makes sense. If not, well I hope that at least you are entertained.
Chapter 21
"Itachi?! How are you here? You're dead!" Sasuke says.
The elder Uchiha glances at Hinata and Sasuke. It was subtle, but Sasuke still saw it. For once, Itachi wasn't sure of himself. He was just as confused as they were. He just wouldn't admit it.
"It's the strangest thing. I have memories from what appears to be another life. One that ended in the way that I expected, but I also have memories of a newer life. In this one, I didn't die. More "memories" are playing out in my head." He replies.
"The Minis must have altered the timeline somehow." Hinata whispers.
Itachi raises an eyebrow. The Minis? What on Earth was his brother's lover talking about? Perhaps Sasuke had been a bit overenthusiastic in their loving making and she was slightly delirious.
"It's a long story. A very long story. It sounds like you have one of your own to tell though. Let's start with how long you've been here." Sasuke says.
"A few hours. I would have approached you sooner, but the two of you were otherwise engaged. It seemed rude to disturb you." Itachi states tactfully.
It was slight, but Sasuke noticed it. Yes, Itachi was smirking ever so subtly and weaving some rather masterful innuendos in his carefully crafted response. That was humiliating. His brother had overheard him when he was WITH Hinata.
"If you had, I would have killed you again." Sasuke mutters and sighs as Hinata blushes deeply.
He wraps his arms around her protectively. The youngest Uchiha smiles when she buries his face in his neck and rubs her back soothing. She was completely mortified, but seeking reassurance from him.
"I surmised as much. Have the two of you noticed anything odd about your memories?" He inquires.
Yes, it was amusing to tease Sasuke. Still Itachi wasn't an idiot. They needed to figure out what was going on and if the effects were permanent.
"We were a little distracted. Hinata, do you feel anything different?" Sasuke asks as he offers the blushing woman a reassuring smile.
Hinata frowns as she searches her memories. It was as though there were two timelines in her head. One that was from the life she had lived up until that point and the other was from a completely different life.
"I have two sets of memories." She whispers.
"What about yourself?" Itachi asks Sasuke gently.
Sasuke's brows furrow as he tries to remember. It was exactly as he remembered. His life was the same and yet there was an almost dreamlike series of memories underneath that one. In those memories, Itachi had never died.
"It's the same for me. Itachi, I think you should tell us everything that you remember. I think our younger selves might have altered the timeline. There was a mirror that summoned our past and future selves here. Recently, the younger set went back to their era." Sasuke says.
"Alright. Five years ago, you and Hinata found me. I used Tsukuyomi on you. Once you were released, you started babbling about time travel. At first, I thought that my jutsu had driven you to insanity. After that, I lost my sense of awareness for awhile. When I finally came to, I woke up here." Itachi explains as he recalls the incident.
"SASUKE!" Hinata cried out in horror as she cradles her best friend in her arms.
She didn't know what Itachi had just done to him, but she knew Genjutsu when she saw it. The Hyuga Heiress could only imagine what sort horrors the other man must have subjected his brother to. Sasuke was convulsing in her arms.
"Awe isn't that sweet, Itachi? Your kid brother found himself a girlfriend. Don't you feel like a jerk now? Scaring the pretty little thing like that and beating him up in front of her?" Kisame taunted.
"Kisame, silence." Itachi said simply.
"I kn-ow the truth, Itachi." Sasuke gasped out as he struggled to stay conscious after the psychological torture that the other Uchiha had put him through.
Itachi's eyes narrowed. He knew the truth? Did he really or was he just delirious? He had to find out which was the case.
"And what truth do you believe you know?" Itachi seethed at him.
"I know that you were ordered to do it. You d-idn't want to kill them. You pre-vented another Great Ninja War." He pants out as Hinata held him protectively.
Itachi's blood ran cold. Sasuke knew. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. Damn it! It wasn't supposed to go like this.
"How did you find that out?! Who told you?! Was it Danzo?!" He growled.
"No. We went to the future. We can ch-ange it." Sasuke told him as he finally lost his battle to remain conscious.
Hinata watched Itachi warily. It was at that moment that the Criminal Ninja knew the truth. If he tried to touch his brother, that girl would fight to the death to protect him. If nothing else, at least Sasuke had a loyal friend. A suicidal friend, but a friend nonetheless.
"I'm not going to attack him. I wanted him to kill me. I wouldn't kill him. I wanted to carry the darkest secrets of the Leaf Village with me to my grave. Sasuke would have been the hero and he could have started a new chapter in our Clan's history. A better one." He muttered.
Kisame watched all this in silence. He didn't know what to say to any of this. Was it really true? Had those two brats actually traveled to the future and back?
"Itachi! You're turning transparent!" Kisame shouted at his partner in a panicked voice.
That's when Itachi glanced down. The other Akatsuki member was correct. He was slowly turning transparent. Before he could react to this, he fell unconscious.
When he woke up, he was back in his family's home. He wasn't alone though. He could hear Sasuke's voice. It was older though. That was a very good thing because he was making some rather adult sounds.
"What on Earth sort of trouble has my foolish little brother gotten into us this time?" He muttered as he headed to the kitchen.
He decided that it would be best to wait it out. While he was waiting, he redoes his nails. Itachi had to do something to pass the time after all. Naturally, he did that after putting in some earplugs.
Itachi was very happy that his brother had found love or at least discovered the joys of female companionship. It sounded like Clan Restoration was going rather well really, but that didn't mean he wanted to HEAR said restoration as it was going on!
"It sounds plausible. I wonder if old timeline's memories will stay or if they are going to fade out." Sasuke asks.
"I have no idea. This is all uncharted territory." Itachi replies and Sasuke nods in agreement.
Hinata couldn't help but glance at the brothers. There were enough similarities that you could probably guess they were related at first glance, but they were far from identical.
If Sasuke was a volcano, Itachi was more like a tsunami. The younger Uchiha was all fiery passion. Whatever he did, it was explosive. You just didn't know exactly when he was going to erupt, but he would. Itachi was more like the calm surface of an ocean. You didn't realize what was going on underneath the depths of the surface until it was too late.
"Do you think that the new memories have filtered in for everyone or just us?" Itachi muses.
"I have no idea. Hinata, you should go speak with your father. I'll stay here with Itachi. I don't want him to try to do something stupid like running off. That and we can't risk him being seen until we know if the timeline was fully altered." Sasuke points out.
"Alright, but are you going to be okay?" Hinata asks in concern.
Sasuke smiles. He kisses her forehead and caresses her cheek. He knew exactly what he meant by that.
He didn't know really, but he would have to be. Itachi had been revived once before, but he had gone back to the afterlife. Now that the timeline had been altered, it appeared he had never died in the first place.
"As long as I have you, I'll be fine." Sasuke assures her and Hinata nods before darting off.
"I can see why you favor her. She is quite stunning and she must be infinitely patient to put up with your foolishness." Itachi says once she was gone and Sasuke twitches.
Meanwhile back at the Hyuga Estate, Hiashi frowns. He hadn't seen hide, nor hair of the Middle Sasuke and Hinata. That was causing him to grow rather concerned.
"Have either of you, seen them?" Hiashi asks the elder set.
"No. I imagine they went out to celebrate Hinata's victory at the tournament though. Don't worry. We're still here. Everything is going to be fine." Sasuke says as he bites into his breakfast and that's when he tensed up.
He was suddenly barraged by images that somehow he knew were memories, but not his memories. Well they were, but they weren't. The timeline must have been altered because the memories flashing across his mind's eyes weren't from any of his memories.
"Are you sure that we are doing the right thing, brother? There is a reason why such things stay in the shadows. I don't think that the Leaf's people are ready for the truth." Itachi told a now sixteen year old Sasuke.
"Whether or not they are ready for it, doesn't matter. The truth needs to be told." Sasuke said simply.
He wasn't going to allow it anymore. Itachi had a lot of blood on his hands, but he had saved far more people than he had killed. This was the Leaf's fault. Not his. Itachi didn't deserve to have his name dragged through the mud just so that the Leaf's leaders could have easier lives.
"If they react poorly, I know that my Clan will aid us. They can either accept the truth or we'll take over the village. It will be better for them in the long run anyway. If they can order the genocide of the Uchiha Clan, what's to stop them from doing the same to my Clan or any other Clan?" Hinata asks softly.
Sasuke smiled at his Lily. God, he loved her. He'd probably loved her since they were seven and traveled to the future together.
It had started off as a genuine friendship and overtime had morphed into more. Now he knew why the oldest set had shown up together. It seemed it didn't matter which timeline they existed in, they would always be together. That was the way he liked it.
"The Uchiha Clan was a special case. Though I suppose I can see your point. Can you really do this though? Could you raise your hand against your comrades? What about your former teammates?" Itachi inquired gently.
"For Sasuke, I could do anything." Hinata said and Sasuke kissed her cheek.
"I feel the same way, Hinata." He told her and smiled.
She was his Lily. In a few years, she'd be his wife. For now though, they had to take care of some unfinished business.
"Ain't that adorable, Itachi?" Kisame asked in amusement.
"Don't you start, fish face." Sasuke muttered in annoyance.
Somewhere along the way, they had convinced the Akatsuki to join them. That was probably their biggest trump card in Sasuke's mind. Anyone of them was lethal, but all of them combined were practically invincible.
Yes, they had even gotten Tobi to join them. Well perhaps Sasuke should say Madara. No wait. His real name was Obito. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes at the man's many aliases. Well whatever fucking name the other Uchiha had decided to call himself that week anyway.
"That's cute. Sasuke is all embarrassed. Romeo is blushing." Suigetsu taunted him.
"CHIDORI!" Sasuke cried out as he attacked the sword lover and the others watched in amusement.
Yes, Team Taka still existed in this timeline. After killing Orochimaru and convincing Itachi and Kisame to join t hem, Sasuke had decided that they still needed more firepower. Thus they had recruited Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu. Though some days, Sasuke regretted recruiting the violet eyed ninja. He could be really annoying.
"Sasuke, if you are done playing with Suigetsu, shall we get started?" Itachi asked.
"Yeah. I'm done. I'll just kick his ass later." Sasuke grumbled as he extinguished his Chidori and the group headed into the Leaf Village.
"Oh my God! Sasuke, your arm!" Hinata cries out in shock.
"What about it?" Sasuke asks in confusion as he looks down at his arm and blinks.
It was no longer a transplant. It was his ORIGINAL arm. It was in one piece again. It seemed that the timeline must have altered radically. His battle with Naruto where they each lost an arm, had never happened.
"I think it's safe to say that the timelines have been completely changed." Hiashi states.
"I guess that answers that question." Hinata mumbles as she walks over to the other ninjas.
"Hinata, what is going on?!" Hiashi demands.
Hinata sighs. She didn't even know where to begin. This was all so confusing. She knew that she had to at least attempt explaining things though.
Meanwhile a grand celebration was being organized. The Daimyos had forced the Kages to put one together. As they were under the influence of the chip, they didn't realize what was going on and soon did as they were instructed
"This is an amazing party!" Tenten says to Gaara.
"Thank you. It was short notice, but I suppose the Daimyos were correct. We really should celebrate the tournament and honor those who fell." The red head says.
Kakashi chuckles as he watches the Kazekage try to make small talk with the Weapon's Mistress. Adorable. Young love could be so amusing.
"What are you laughing about?" Kurenai asks as she saunters over to Kakashi.
The silver haired ninja tilts his head towards Tenten and Gaara. Kurenai's red eyes follow the movement and she blinks. Well she certainly hadn't seen that one coming.
"It seems that love is in the air." She notes with a giggle.
"THE POWER OF YOUTH AND LOVE WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!" Guy says happily.
"But you will. I believe that puts me to fifty. So I won the latest set of contests." The CopyCat Ninja says with a smile as he goes back to reading his book.
Guy face faults and Kurenai giggles. Some things would never change. The Genjutsu Mistress couldn't believe that they were still carrying on like they were still in the Academy.
"Something is wrong." The Fire Daimyo whispers to the others.
"What do you mean?" The Lightning Daimyo replies.
"I don't see Hinata or Sasuke. Where are they?" The Earth Daimyo chimes in.
Yes, the Hyuga Heiress and last Uchiha were both missing. Hmm. The Daimyos found that concerning, but after awhile they decide to overlook it. It was likely the young lovers were with each other. At the moment, they weren't a threat to their plans.
"Thank you all for coming here and to the Kages for organizing such wonderful celebration on such short notice." The Water Daimyo begins and cheers ring up from the crowds.
The Daimyos smirk. It was all going to according to plan. Soon enough, no one would be able to question their rule.
Back the Uchiha District, Sasuke eyes Itachi warily. He didn't know what to do or say really. He didn't even know if his brother was going to stay for good or if he would end up flickering back to the past.
"I know what you are thinking. I believe it would be best, if we just enjoyed this time together. Until we know what is going on with the rest of the village, we should stay here. We do need to pass the time somehow." Itachi says as he pours them some tea.
"I think that this calls for something stronger than tea. I mean you just came back from the dead in a way." Sasuke points out.
"Foolish little brother. Do you not know that there are three things that can bring down even the strongest ninja?" Itachi asks.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. He was almost afraid to ask, but he would anyway. Itachi was right. At the moment, they had some time to kill and they might as well take advantage of it.
"Uh huh and what are those three things?" The younger Uchiha asks in amusement.
"Alcohol, gambling, and women." His brother replies simply as if it was obvious.
Well that made sense. Sasuke wasn't sure what he was expecting, but that hadn't been it. He couldn't really argue with Itachi's logic when it came to the Big Three Downfalls.
"Eh. I don't drink much. I never gamble. Hinata is only one woman. So I think I should be good." Sasuke reasons.
Itachi chuckles. Yes, it did seem that Sasuke was a rather monogamous creature. That was good. He'd rather not have his brother running around with a bunch of loose women. Nothing would get a ninja in trouble faster than that.
"I suppose in that case, perhaps a bit of sake may be in order. You and the Hyuga Princess seem close in either timeline. How did that happen?" Itachi asks as he gets out a bottle of sake and pours them each a glass.
"In the old timeline? Well there was this mirror that ejected our past and future selves. Things just kinda happened. As for the new timeline, it looks like the Minis probably altered it when they returned to their era. So I'm still not entirely certain what happened there. There are so many new memories to sift though. It's making me a little lightheaded." The younger Uchiha confesses.
Itachi nods sympathetically. He was experiencing the same sensation himself. This was all so overwhelming. He didn't care for not knowing what was going to happen in the slightest. He was used to planning out all his moves at least ten steps ahead.
"That's understandable. I believe I have a theory for why we are aware of the schism in the timelines. The reason why I am still alive hasn't happened yet. The "Minis" as you call them, simply haven't reached the moment in time where I would have died. Clearly, that is what altered the timeline. Once they reach that, I believe our memories of the previous timeline will be swept away entirely and we will remember only the altered one." Itachi reasons.
Sasuke frowns as he considers that. It would make sense. That and he didn't have anything that was more plausible.
"Maybe you're right. I wouldn't mind though. It looks like I have Hinata and you either way. I see no reason to complain." Sasuke says with a shrug.
"While I understand your reasoning, that's rather shortsighted of you. You have no idea what other alterations might have taken place. Whether they are good or bad, we just don't know. I highly doubt our futures were the only ones that were changed." His brother points out.
"I guess that's true. We'll have to look into it. Speaking of women, you're alive now." Sasuke says.
"Well for the moment I am. Well spotted, brother. Was there a point buried somewhere in that observation?" Itachi asks in amusement.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. He loved Itachi deeply, but it looked like he was using sarcasm as a defense mechanism. Oh well. He supposed it was better than him attacking the village.
"Well since you are alive, it's not really fair if I'm the only one to help restore the Clan." He reasons.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. It might be best, if that was left up to you. I would feel incredibly guilty when the time came to explain why they didn't have any grandparents." The smoky eyed ninja replies.
The younger man bites his lower lip. Yes, that would certainly be awkward to say the least. Still now that he knew the truth about his brother, he wanted Itachi to be happy.
"They'll understand, one day. You shouldn't let the past keep you from having a better future." The other Leaf Ninja informs him.
"I find that rather ironic. For the majority of your life, you were focused almost exclusively on the past. Are you really in any position to lecture me without becoming a hypocrite?" Itachi asks and flicks Sasuke's forehead.
"Owe! You ALWAYS do that!" Sasuke grumbles.
Unbeknownst to any of them, Shino was at the party and had found Naruto. He had a bad feeling about all of this. The fact that Hinata and Sasuke weren't at the celebration only further added to his dread.
"Hey, Shino. What's up?" Naruto asks as he sips from his drink.
"Naruto, I don't think all of these festivities are purely benign in nature. I spoke to the Uchiha and Hinata about it earlier, during the tournament. We all believe that there is more going on than meets the eye." The insect lover says.
Naruto frowns as he considers this. Shino had a point. It all did seem a little strange. Why would the Daimyos go to all this trouble and expense just to encourage international cooperation? After the war, they had never been so united.
"You're right. I can't lie. I think it's a little weird too. The question is, what are we going to do about it?" The blonde asks.
"Well I was hoping that you would have a plan. Right now though, I must admit that I am most concerned about Hinata and Sasuke. They should be at this celebration, but they aren't. Do you think the Daimyos have done something to them?" He whispers.
Naruto's eyes widen in horror and he quickly scans the crowd. He looked and he looked, but he didn't see his favorite bastard or Hinata. Shino was right. They were missing.
"I don't know. But if they did, they are going to regret it. No one messes with our friends." He states determinedly and Shino nods his head in agreement.
"I'll send some of my bugs to spy on the Daimyos and see what they find." He offers.
"Yeah. Good idea. We'll get to the bottom of this. Believe it!" Naruto says cheerfully.