Prologue

You don't usually see it, the beginning of the end. It can be said that one never truly knows the beginning from the end. Does life start at birth or does it start when death comes knocking at your door? Will we ever truly know? One thing's for sure, after the chaos comes rehabilitation until chaos comes rears it ugly head back and so on. It's a cycle, never-ending.

As of this moment, all she could see was chaos. Bodies littered the ground like leaves in autumn, painted red instead of the russet tones she'd loved seeing beneath her feet as she left her house every mid-October morning. And instead of a nice fall breeze, she felt the intense heat of destruction weave through the village she called home. Bodies began piling on top of each other, lumped together like they were just pieces of garbage to be discarded, as if they were of no value.

Was it true? Do Shinobi only ever bring destruction? She was raised on the principle that Shinobi protect those who cannot protect themselves. Then why did she feel so helpless?

Meteors continued to plummet in high speeds, diving from where they were high above down to her beloved village, as those still breathing scream for aid, anguish and terror evident in the air. Hot fire from explosions erupted all throughout the land, taking with it both the innocent and those with ill-intent. It seemed like no one would be spared.

She felt hands tighten around hers. She looked down, eyes meeting the two people she loved so dearly. "Mama… Papa…"

Tears roll down as her mother slowly reaches up to cup her right cheek, a rueful smile marred by the red stains scattered on her beautiful face. "Sarada," her mother's usual cheery voice was replaced by one filled with tension, her throat tight, as if she was fighting for the words to escape her lips. "Go."

She shook her head. Go? She couldn't leave them there. "No!"

She felt another hand cup her vacant cheek. "Sarada…" her father's voice rang in her ears, softer than usual. His hair didn't cover the left side of his face like she was used to, instead they fell to the sides, leaving his bloodied and wear face visible.

"No!" She insisted. "I don't want to go! I can't…" She sniffed, the tears still falling as her cheeks were being colored red by the blood on her parents' hands. Her injuries ignored, she sat on her knees between their lying bodies. "I refuse to leave you."

As the world around them falls to ruin, a child was between her parents' lain on the ground. Their eyes were somber, and hers continued to let the tears slip. Red between pink and black, as the world turned into a bleary mess of colors brought together in a clutter of life and death.

'This… This is it, huh?' The mother thought to herself melancholically as she allows herself to shift her sight from her crying daughter to the man she loved, lying beside her. He sensed this and looked back at her. They shared a lingering look, onyx and purple meeting a bright emerald green. Their eyes were all they needed to express what they were feeling. They nodded before turning back to the product of their devotion, of their love.

After all the hardships they both had faced in their lifetime, having her, their daughter, was the greatest gift life could ever give them.

Rocks continued to fall. Fires continued to burn. Lives continued to end. But that moment, they knew that nothing could be done. And so, they did what they could do before their end could reach them.

She sensed a small shift in the mood and looked at her parents as their hands slowly leave her teary and bloodstained cheeks. Her red eyes widened slightly as she tooks in the serene smile on both of their faces. They both reached up a finger and tapped the middle of her forehead.

"We love you."

A sharp intake of breath.

A sob.

Arms enveloping around their necks.

"Mama."

A tight hug.

"Papa."

No matter what…

"I love you, too."

…They will always be connected.

.

.

.

Silence.


As the silence rolled on, some lives ceased, others went on. Survivors, the few that existed, mourned the loss they had experienced. Life, hard to live and yet so easy to lose. It's a blessing that they were able to survive such a disaster. But was it true? Did Shinobi truly only bring in destruction? The destruction that caused their own demise?

Life went on, yet no one knew the answers to their ponderings. Eventually, the Shinobi that once stood, fought, loved, protected, and destroyed were forgotten by the masses, written off as legend, and now, thought of as an old folk's tale. The energy and power that had once blessed the lands, gone with those that used them, as well as the cause of the ruin. No one had the answers…

But soon they will.

The time is coming.

As the rubble turned to new civilizations, new ways of life, new religion, and new people, somewhere, the power that caused the End of Shinobi was slowly rising back up, feeding on the newfound hate and malice brewing within the earth's new people, waiting for its time to strike.

However, as one waits, the other's plans have gone into effect. It was thought that when life ends, their existence goes with them. But that was far from the truth. People don't cease to exist once they meet their ends. Somehow, they will always be remembered. By a few or by many, it didn't matter. And while death lies in waiting, creation had already begun, placing the pieces needed to counter the demise she was so intent to set. Spring will come and with it, flames fanned with the maelstrom of passion and love.

Life is existence, but existence is not life, and if one or the other were to come to a halt, what remains will always be the bonds forged and shared by humanity. The bonds that remain eternal.


Notes:

Hopefully, that was okay. Quite dramatic, I think, but seeing as the main focus of this story are the Uchihas and Naruto, I'd say it's fitting lmao

I haven't written anything but school essays in years, so I'm quite rusty. But recently, I got back into the SasuSaku fandom because of nostalgia and this behemoth of a story popped up in my head one night. I currently have the whole story outlined, and the prologue is the only thing I've written fully.

This story is going to be mainly SasuSaku, with hints of other pairings. Also, there will be a lot of Team 7 in this story because I love and miss them so much. Thinking about this fic got me very excited to write it all, and also kind of scared to weave through two completely different times cohesively into a story since this is, again, the first time I've written fanfic in a long time and also because this is the first time I've written anything so ambitious, in my opinion, but I look forward to bettering my writing skills.

Reviews are welcome!