Chapter 1: Spite

Sasuke stared at the same lake he had stared at for the last 4 years. He himself didn't know what he was looking for. Was he looking at his reflection, looking for answers to the universe? He wasn't sure anymore.

The truth of the massacre had left him confused to his core. After the initial bouts of maddening rage and hatred had faded, all that was left was emptiness, pain and confusion.

Itachi's own thoughts believed that he loved him but what was love? Did you psychologically and emotionally torture someone you loved and engineered their entire lives without their consent?

Even now when he asked himself 'would he have agreed to die with his clan?' he always answered yes. The pain of living without them was far worse than a quick death ever could be in this cruel world.

As far as he was concerned, Itachi only loved the village. He gave up everything for the village's convenience. Even the life of his 'beloved' brother.

And his clan? He wasn't sure if he hated them for their stupidity and naivete. Perhaps it was due to his trauma that he never made an attachment to the place and thus couldn't understand why his clan didn't abandon the place and join any other village. Any village would have happily accepted them.

But no they stayed like fools and when the reaper came, they bared their necks like lamps to the slaughter without ever fighting back. The fire element they were so proud of didn't so much as create embers of fighting back, of defiance.

Did love truly make one mad? What else could he use to describe his clan's decision and fate?

Did it even matter anymore? The drive of vengeance that kept him alive till now was simply snuffed out after learning the truth.

In this large cruel world, he didn't matter. What was the point of living on?

But his curse was also that he couldn't simply take a blade to his throat and end it.

He had to live, even if living was meaningless now.

If nothing else he wasn't going to give Itachi or the village the satisfaction of what they want.

Let them stew in their evil and sins. He wanted no part of it.

As his eyes consumed his chakra like a sponge and worked to whisk him to another world, he felt the chakra of another boy who felt lost in this gathering of monsters, a boy like him who always wore a mask.

"What do you think you're doing teme?" Naruto asked as he stared at his rival. The raven haired boy never once having looked so lost.

Naruto and Sasuke, both boys had always felt an unknown kinship with each other, through time their shared pain and loss would make the boys feel even more closer to each other.

Naruto hid his anger and pain behind the mask of a fool.

Sasuke hid his anger and pain behind the mask of apathy.

But both boys would never voice their inner most thoughts out loud.

That was until today.

Sasuke stared at the blond haired boy. In a few moments he would be free of this accursed world, he felt he owed the boy something since they will never meet again after this.

"I'm leaving this world; these eyes can see far more than the byakugan can. I've already found a world. One where I can be at peace" The words seemed to not only enlighten Naruto but seemed to make him feel freer than he had ever felt before. As if the chains of vengeance and responsibility that had bound him for so long were finally shattered by the weight of the words.

Naruto's eyes widened into saucers. Even the intelligence he hid behind his smile worked double time to process the information.

"How is that possible?" Naruto's mask would have demanded to him to stop, but the real Naruto was curious like a cat before he was emotional like a bull.

"I could always teleport anywhere so long as I could see it or had seen it. This new ability came to me as I was staring into the lake. The sharingan has always been a mysterious power. Mutating to meet the need of user when the need was the most true… words of one of my ancestors"

Naruto couldn't hide the amazement in his eyes or his tone "Can you really actually do it?! And can you really stay there?!"

Sasuke nodded as he took in the tone and posture of his rival. The boy seemed less like he was about to stop him and more like he was about to join him…

Naruto grinned, a true smile born of glee "I'm coming with"

Sasuke raised a confused brow, he always knew Naruto held little love for the people of the village at least but he assumed there might have been room for change considering the boy was aiming at becoming Hokage.

The look of conviction in his blue eyes however said otherwise.

"Once we leave, there is no coming back. I will never open a gate to this world ever again" Sasuke warned and Naruto's grinned turned challenging.

"So what are you waiting for? A formal written acceptance letter?!"

Sasuke held back a sigh and nodded. Standing up he funneled more power into the small vortex and expanded it to accommodate the two boys.

There above the lake and in front of the boys was the gate to their freedom.

Freedom from the world that gave him nothing and took everything… Sasuke thought.

Freedom from the world that threatened to make him into something he would hate… Naruto thought.

With conviction the two boys took the steps side by side.

And with it, the two boys who would have saved the world simply walked way.

Unknowingly dooming the world…

But in the process the boys would go on to a world where they would discover who they really are, what they want and find happiness.

A tale of magic and adventure waited them.

END

AN: A few clarifications:

1. This fic has some AU, Sasuke got his MS at the night of the massacre but kept it a secret. More will be revealed in time.

2. This is during the tanzuku town arc, post chunin exams. Thus both boys are 12.

3. Both Sasuke and Naruto that I'm using are a much closer analysis of their characters especially Naruto who I'm taking a lot from the original Naruto one-shot. The Naruto who is clever, sadistic, fierce and overall, more villain-like.

4. The previous point 2 I'm using mostly because since it was a Shonen, the main cast weren't really allowed to do or think certain things. That changes here.

Naruto and Sasuke will be far more darker, broody and selfish. Which teens tend to be.

Pairings suggestions are open, though I've already thought over how to do Sasuke x Hermoine. And Naruto x Pansy.

And I mean genuine pairings and not that lazy shonen romance most of us are subjected to.