Not a sword that cuts through flesh, bone, or the living.

Chapter 3: Dream of Lies

"Hey, has Sasuke-kun looked... different lately?"

Naruto Uzumaki's eye twitched as he lounged in class, feet up on the table and arms folded behind his head.

It was another day in Konoha's Ninja Academy, and as usual, the only thing any of the other kids could talk about, the girls especially, was Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Blegh.

'Honestly, if they knew I saved him from drowning last week, they'd be praising me instead! Or teasing him.' He grumbled to himself in his mind, glancing to his fellow deskmates. He couldn't even talk to his friends, they were busy being... well, themselves. Shikamaru was fast asleep, face planted in the table's surface, while Choji was.. doing what Choji did best. Scarf down chips.

"Yeah, he's been quieter lately. He looks like he hasn't been sleeping well!"

"He's still so dreamy, even sleep deprived..."

"That's a little weird even for me-"

"Shh, here he comes!"

'So Prince Jerk arrives at last.' Naruto groused, noticing the Uchiha clan's secondborn walk into class tiredly. He really did look like he hadn't been sleeping well. Slight bags under his eyes, a slouch in his shoulders.. he looked like a handsomer Shikamaru right now. Not something he thought he'd ever think. Ugh.

Naruto shut his eyes, knowing it was only a matter of time before the chattering started up, or class would begin. So he opted to ignore all that as best he could right now and just think of his next prank. He hadn't used paint on the Hokage tower in a while. Maybe he could paint the inside of the Old Man's office pink?

'Nah, did that last week. Maybe pick on the Anbu this time... mix some green paint with something that smells bad.. like vomit... can they block out smells with those masks-'

"Oi."

The room went rather quiet, and Naruto cracked open an eye to find Sasuke standing next to his desk grumpily.

"'sup, barbecued ducky?" Naruto grinned toothily.

"Barbecue!?" Choji suddenly sat upright, the sudden exclamation somehow not waking up Shikamaru beside him. "Oh, no barbecue.."

The nickname got the reaction the blonde was looking for though, Sasuke's brow furrowing and expression twisting into an annoyed sneer, matched only by the hushed whispers and jeers of the fangirls at their seats.

"I already regret making this for you." Sasuke grumbled, shaking his head tiredly.

"Huh?"

Without another word, Sasuke thrust something out to the blonde, who leaned back a little in surprise before he looked down at what was being offered to him. It was..

"A... a knife?"

Sheathed in bright orange leather was a knife. Its handle was wrapped tightly in the same black leathery wrappings that some kunai had. Gingerly taking the sheathed weapon from Sasuke, he pulled the knife out to see the gleaming blade. It was... different from a kunai, that's for sure. Flatter, single edged, more like a kitchen knife really, if it weren't for the odd wavy shape the darker, harder part of the knife had along its length.

"You... made this? For me?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke, whose face was faintly tinted pink before the Uchiha looked away with a huff.

"Now I don't owe you anything." Sasuke groused out, before he marched off to his own desk, hands in his pockets. The chattering of the fangirls resumed, this time with gossip and wondering about what Sasuke was talking about.

All while Naruto just blinked and stared after him, before looking back down at his gift. His.. weapon. He had a weapon. That was.. pretty cool actually.

"Its a pretty good looking knife."

"Gah, how long've you been awake!?" Naruto yelped, turning in his seat to find Shikamaru sitting up lazily.

"Since the chatter stopped. After a while all the talking just kinda turns into a lullaby."

"Weirdo." Naruto snorted.

The pineapple haired boy shrugged, looking down at the unsheathed knife. "Still... didn't know he knew how to make knives. But he never talks about himself in class so.. maybe he's been hiding this talent. Either way, better put that away before Iruka-sensei comes in or he might have a heart attack."

Turning paler, Naruto sheathed the blade and stuffed it under his desk, just in time for Iruka to walk in with his usual cheerful but commanding disposition. As class settled down and began to start, Naruto discreetly glanced over his shoulder, towards a tired but attentive Sasuke.

'Shikamaru's right.. he never talks about himself.. I wonder if its another family secret thing, like that ash cloud he threw up? Weird...'

Either way... Naruto felt rather pleased. Sure, nobody knew he rescued Sasuke from drowning, and he didn't get to learn that cool looking Jutsu... but he got a knife! His own knife, and it looked way sharper than the training kunai he has! A weapon worthy for a future Hokage!

Just for that, he'll cancel the pranks he had in mind for Sasuke.

Maybe the ducky wasn't so bad after all.

"Not bad. Could still use a bit of work, but a knife's a knife."

Sasuke grumbled a little at the blacksmith's words. The boy was drenched in dream sweat, his clothes marred with dream soot, and he smelled of dream metal. His back ached, his eyes stung from the heat of the forge, and his arms were so, so very sore.

And he had no doubt that when he woke up, he'd still feel just as sore.

For the past week or so, Sasuke had been learning under the guidance of the redheaded blacksmith in his dreams. Fully accepting this wasn't a conventional dream and that this blacksmith, somehow hailing from the age of the warring clans before the formation of the Hidden Villages, was indeed not just a mere fantasy... he dutifully took his place as an apprentice.

It wasn't as glamorous as he expected. He wasn't sure what he expected honestly. More Chakra being involved perhaps? More pomp and circumstance. In reality though... it was very, very mundane and also very, very tiring.

"A hawk's gotta learn to fly before it can learn to hunt, ya' know? You need to know to forge the old fashioned way before I teach you the good stuff."

Melting metal. Folding it and hammering it. Tanning leather. Making leather wraps. Dyeing said leather. Spending ages at a grindstone or anvil to sharpen or work on a blade. Folding metal. Shoveling fuel for the forge. Chopping wood. Not to mention all the times he burned himself at the forge. A lot more work went into making weapons than he thought.

It didn't help that the redheaded geezer was a bit of a slave driver. He was meticulous in his work, and made sure Sasuke would be just as careful.

"I want you to reach a level where you can forge blades without even blinking."

He wasn't even sure whether or not that was supposed to be metaphorical or literal.

Their training happened every two nights. Ensuring that Sasuke got at least one night of proper rest. But even then, after these sessions, he always woke up sore and tired. One night it was smithing, the other night it was kendo. It was all superficial exhaustion however. Even though he woke up feeling sore and winded, his body was perfectly fine. Even if his muscles burned and his back ached, it was all in his head. His real body didn't seem to suffer any detriments. Even if he got burns and blisters from gripping hammers and scalding himself with hot metal, he never woke up with any injuries, just phantom pains. His eyes gained some slight bags under them for reasons he couldn't decipher. But he was fine, really.

It was getting to the point that other academy students and his own parents were starting to notice his obvious exhaustion.

But... as exhausting as it was... Sasuke couldn't deny he was enjoying it. With his training in the real world, it felt like he wasn't improving much. Or rather, what progress he made in the waking world felt trivial. Probably because no matter what he did, there was always the massive mountain of progress and talent known as Itachi Uchiha that he needed to measure up to. Even if he was top of his class at the academy, it didn't change that compared to his brother, he still had a ways to go. It made his training with his father, and even the very rare times he got to train with Itachi, enlightening but ultimately... unrewarding, in some fashion.

His blacksmith training however? He had nobody to compare himself to, besides his mentor. This was something Itachi wasn't trained in. Sure, Itachi had a sword, but that was a tanto, and as far as he knew, that was Itachi's only weapon. Sasuke was being trained to wield katanas. He was going to be trained to make katanas. He didn't feel like he had to measure up to someone. Besides said mentor perhaps, but that felt different. His mentor was... different. Here, with this training... he felt like he was actually improving.

And he was indeed improving. Before, when they first started their training, he was holding his shinai wrong and clumsily losing his grip on his tools.

Now however...

"It'll do, I think." Sasuke said, holding up the knife he'd forged. His first real weapon. It was a small knife, barely the same length as a kunai. Similar in shape to a kitchen knife, but pointed at the end. A single edged blade. Strips of black leather wrapped around the handle, and an orange sheath to match Naruto's disgustingly bright choice in clothes. The sheath even had straps that could be attached to a belt or even a limb.

It was to be his... gift. To Naruto. For saving him. Honestly, it was the only thing he could think of giving the blonde. Teaching him Jutsu was a no-go. Giving him stuff like food or store bought tools sounded... very cheap, considering he owed the blonde his life. He could have actually drowned in that lake.

Making a weapon for him was the best choice. What kid wouldn't want their own personal weapon? Obviously he couldn't make him a proper sword. When he asked his mentor when he'd be learning to make katanas or the like, the man just laughed and said 'eventually'. A knife was the best he could do.

Making the wavy pattern along the blade during the hardening process was probably the most.. intricate part of it all. Especially since he had to make sure it was that wavy. Apparently it was his mentor's signature with his blades. And the man was very, very, very adamant that if nothing else, he got the hamon perfectly.

"Well, s'long as you're sure. Not all blacksmiths are proud of what they make, but if they work, they work." The redhead shrugged, adjusting the haori hanging off his shoulder.

"Now I just need to figure out how to make this in real life without looking suspicious..." Sasuke huffed to himself.

"You don't need to worry 'bout that. Just take it with you."

"Wha-" The ravenette looked at his mentor in confusion. "Take it with me? But this is a dream! This isn't a real weapon made with real steel!"

"Careful what you say about my steel, brat." The auburn haired man's eyes narrowed lightly, before they rolled a little. "But anyway, this ain't an ordinary dream, remember? And this-" He jabbed a thumb towards the forge. "-ain't no ordinary forge."

"But that.. that still doesn't make sense-" Sasuke said, only for his mentor to plant a hand atop his head and ruffle his hair, drawing out a protesting huff from the boy. The older male just grinned, shaking his head.

"It doesn't need to. This forge, its your soul. Its our soul. As long as you will it... what you make here will always be with you out there. 'course, at some point you gotta get yourself your own forge out in the real world. Can't have ya' mooching off me all the time. A hawk's gotta leave the nest eventually, right? But for now..." The redhead took his hand off of Sasuke's head, only to poke him in the forehead with two fingers like Itachi would. The simple gesture quickly made Sasuke's eyes begin to droop, his vision growing darker.

"Just believe."

True enough... when Sasuke awoke, it was to find himself still holding that knife in one hand, the sheath on his lap.

Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't cut himself with it. Or that his mother hadn't walked in. Did the knife appear only just then? Or had it been there for a while?

Either way... the possibilities only made Sasuke's mind spin. If the things he made in his dream could be brought into this world...

...it only raised more questions. How could he do this? Why could he do this? Was sort of powers did his mentor have? Was this some sort of secret Kekkei Genkai for the Uchiha clan? His mother had dreamed of his mentor before, and he was starting to suspect his father had too, despite saying the contrary. Were those dreams... some sort of test? Did Sasuke pass somehow?

If so... how many had passed before? Or had everyone before him failed? If his mentor had lived in the age of Madara Uchiha, then surely countless other Uchiha had experienced these dreams too, right? Why was he the, supposedly, only one who had them more than once? Should he tell his parents? His brother?

It hurt his head to think about. He wasn't awake enough to worry about this. He could think about it later.

For now... he had to get to school. And get this knife to Naruto.

Hopefully the dobe didn't do something stupid with it. Like stab himself accidentally. Or worse, stab someone else.

"Fugaku?"

"Hn?" The Uchiha patriarch replied to his wife noncommittally from his spot at the breakfast table, sipping from his cup of tea as he read the newspaper.

"Have you seen what Sasuke's been reading lately?"

That simple question from Mikoto made his blood run cold. Oh no.

"No, I have not. Why?" He asked slowly, setting his cup down.

"They're very interesting books, but they're quite odd for him to read... books on ironworking and Shinobi tool crafting." Mikoto said as she washed the dishes in the kitchen. That answer prompted a subtle sigh of relief from her husband as his shoulders relaxed, a reaction she failed to both hear and see.

Only for his eyebrows to pinch together as he processed what she said. "Tool crafting... and ironworking?"

"Mhm. He seems to be pretty interested in them. The books are from the library, but when I checked in with the teachers at the academy, their homework and current study is just history!" Mikoto said, humming as she set a cleaned plate on the drying rack. "So.. I suppose what he's reading is for a hobby. Maybe he's interested in how tools are made?"

"...perhaps..." Fugaku muttered, staring down at his cup of tea. He thought back to Sasuke's question about the dreams of a redheaded blacksmith. And now...

'Did those dreams influence this odd interest? Or... have those dreams continued?' He thought to himself. 'It cannot be-'

"Also... apparently there's been some gossip with the children in his class."

"Hm?" The clan leader turned to look at his wife, who was now finished with her work as she dried her hands off. "What sort of gossip? And how do you even know this?"

"Oh you know us mothers, we gossip all the time about what our children say and do. We practically have our own spy network!" She giggled. "But apparently... Sasuke gifted a knife to the Jinchuuriki."

That made Fugaku's eyebrows raise up. Sasuke gave a gift... to the village's pariah? Let alone a weapon?

"The most interesting part? According to the ones closest to hearing the discussion... Sasuke claimed to have made it himself." Mikoto said as she walked out of the kitchen, her expression rather pensive as she sat down opposite her husband.

Fugaku's expression was stony now, thoughts running through his mind as he crossed his arms. "...our house does not have a forge."

"Nor have any of our clan members who do have their own forges recall ever seeing Sasuke around their property when I had a chat with them. Their forges haven't even been lit in months." The raven haired woman continued, head lilting towards her husband. "Meaning Sasuke must have made this weapon outside the clan's grounds. He could have had it custom made from a shop but... He isn't the type to lie about that sort of thing. From what I hear, the knife looked custom made for sure. But even so..."

"...he's been returning the same time he always does every day. His schedule has not changed... but... he has been more visibly tired lately. But he has not been leaving the house at night..." Fugaku nodded, rubbing his chin.

"...Fugaku... do you think those dreams he mentioned-"

"Its a myth." Her husband cut her off immediately. "A coincidence perhaps."

"A very odd coincidence. Still.. maybe its a good thing?" Mikoto smiled a little. "Its.. very strange.. and we probably should talk to him about it at some point. But.. an interest in smithing wouldn't hurt him, right?"

"...perhaps not." The dour man sighed, shaking his head. "We can talk to him about it another time. Perhaps... after everything is done. If we manage to dissuade the Elders and the clan... or worse, after the dust settles. There is too much work to be done right now. Too much at stake to worry about Sasuke."

"Perhaps you're right..."

As the two sat in silence, a crow perched on the kitchen's windowsill blinked briefly before it took off into the air and away from the house, before disappearing with a flutter of black feathers.

Itachi Uchiha was an observant teen.

Even for an Uchiha, he had a keen, sharp eye. Eyes that spotted potential dangers easily. Eyes that scanned over his foes and deduced their threat levels. Eyes that bled into red orbs with spinning tomoe to understand and copy his foes techniques. Eyes that saw the world was a cruel, sad place full of suffering. Eyes that sought peace.

Whatever happened in his home, he would always notice sooner or later. With everything going on... he had to be this observant. He was ready for the slightest sign of a threat. The slightest change in the wind.

He'd somehow failed to notice his brother crafting an entire knife.

His brow furrowed as he darted through the clan grounds while wearing his Anbu gear, sans the mask, heading for where he knew his younger brother would be. At the training grounds he always frequented. The place where Sasuke always sought to ambush him and demand they train together. It was where they trained their Shurikenjutsu.

Somehow, not only did he fail to notice that his brother had managed to make a weapon for Naruto Uzumaki, but both of his parents had as well. Something was off. Sasuke had never, ever shown an interest in weapon smithing before. He'd never mentioned any dreams of a redheaded blacksmith to him.

Itachi only just learned of said dreams then, from eavesdropping on his parents.

Sasuke never shared these dreams with him, during the few times they get to spend time together. Concerning. But, ultimately, not too worrying. After all, children were entitled to keep their dreams a secret. But still...

'I need to check on Naruto Uzumaki at some point. Examine this gifted weapon. Perhaps he lied and had simply bought it from a shop or had it commissioned.' He mused to himself. Unlikely however. As his mother said, Sasuke wasn't the sort to just lie about that. Perhaps he did indeed forge it himself... somehow.

Either way, it also raised the question... why gift someone a weapon? That wasn't something you normally gifted unless the weapon was ceremonial or an heirloom. Or, it was an era of war. Back during the times of the Shinobi Wars, some clans would gift each other with weapons as a sign of an alliance.

It made no sense for Sasuke to gift such a thing, not in this age. Let alone to the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. Gifting something to the village's most hated resident... if this was a political move, which was unlikely considering how young the two were, then it was a poorly thought out one.

Perhaps it was just... a gift. Sasuke had an interest in making weapons, so he figured gifting a weapon to someone was the best thing he could do. Even then, it still begged the question of why the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki-

'Thinking about this will get me nowhere. For all I know, there is little complexity about it and the truth is far simpler. Just a child giving a present to his classmate for completely innocent reasons. Regardless, the best way to get answers...' Itachi hummed, before he landed in the training grounds, immediately spotting Sasuke. '...is to ask questions-'

His mind ground to a halt when he processed what his little brother was doing. For once, he popped in to the training grounds to find his brother doing something other than practicing Shurikenjutsu.

Instead... he'd found Sasuke practicing Kenjutsu.

Quite well too.

'He's never shown an aptitude for Kenjutsu before either.' Itachi's eyes narrowed, remaining silent. Sasuke hadn't noticed his arrival yet and was busy going through the movements. Holding up a wooden katana that was sized to his own body with both hands in the Chudan stance. Slashing at the air, before resetting his stance. His expression was... oddly serene. As if this training was... meditative for him.

'He needs some work.' Itachi surmised, watching quietly as Sasuke continued this private training. 'But.. there is promise. A lot of promise. He has the basics down already. These moves are well practiced. And yet I have never seen him do this before. These moves show he has been training for several days at least... and yet.. he appears well instructed. When and where did he learn this? And from whom?'

Just like with the knife... something was off. Something was very suspicious. Who was teaching these things to his younger brother? Neither of his parents ever mentioned Sasuke taking up any Kenjutsu training. Were they just.. neglectful to the young boy? Had Sasuke gotten so sick of spending so little time training with him or their father that he took matters into his own hands?

'If this is what happens when he takes training into his own hands out of frustration, I wonder how fast he would improve with a proper Kenjutsu mentor.' Itachi mused, watching as Sasuke's pace began to slow.

"Phew..." Sasuke stopped after a few minutes, lowering the wooden katana. "I'm tired..."

"I imagine you would be."

"Wha-" The younger boy yelped, turning around to find Itachi standing there with a look of mild amusement. Immediately, Sasuke's expression shifted to one of joy as he ran over to his brother. "Nii-san!"

"That is I, yes." Itachi chuckled, letting Sasuke latch onto him in a tight embrace, before the boy looked up at him excitedly.

"Are we going to train together?"

"Unfortunately, I will be heading off on a mission soon. Hence why I am in my uniform." Itachi said softly, already anticipating the pout that Sasuke was going to put on-ah, there it was. How cute. "Besides, it appears you have your own training in hand. When did you begin learn Kenjutsu?"

"Oh, uh.. you know. I thought it would be... cool to use a sword. You use one so.. I started picking it up?"

The way Sasuke hesitated and fidgeted told Itachi all he needed. He was trying to keep this a secret. Why?

"Is that so? It has nothing to do with your sudden interest in making weapons?" The older boy tilted his head curiously, watching the blood drain from his brother's face. "Or the fact that you apparently crafted a knife for.. Naruto Uzumaki, was it?"

"...h-how?"

"Gossip, and glancing at some of the books sticking out of your schoolbag." Itachi lied easily, patting his brother on the head. "You aren't in trouble, Sasuke. Rather, I'm just curious. What brought about this sudden interest?"

"Well..." Sasuke's lips pressed together in a thin line, his expression conflicted. Clearly he was either debating whether or not to tell the truth, or how much of the truth he should say. "I've... just.. been having dreams."

"That's natural for a boy your age."

"Not those dreams!" He squawked, face reddening. "Just.. a few dreams of a redheaded blacksmith. Dad says they're just dreams but.. the way the blacksmith worked.. it just looked.. mesmerizing."

Itachi hummed, nodding as he slowly sat down with his back against one of the wooden target dummies in the training grounds, watching his brother sit beside him.

"And one day Dad told me about some Uchiha history... and about how Madara Uchiha had a Gunbai that could deflect Ninjutsu. And.. I just thought to myself... what if I could make something like that one day?"

The older boy's brow quirked. It didn't sound like Sasuke was lying. His brother's tone was... odd, but he wasn't lying. "You want to become a blacksmith?"

"I think being a Shinobi Blacksmith could be cool. You don't just make weapons, you have to know how they work, you have to be able to use what you craft. You're creating weapons for people to protect themselves with, to do missions with, weapons that can help Shinobi survive..." Sasuke trailed off, remembering one of the adages his mentor taught him.

"As a Shinobi Blacksmith... you're creating tools that can either help a man take a life... or help him save one."

Itachi was silent as he heard this, staring down at Sasuke with an oddly contemplative look. 'Sasuke... you've changed a little bit since I last saw you... could a dream really cause such a drastic shift?' It didn't appear to be a change for the worse however. Whether or not Sasuke was receiving outside instruction from someone.. the results seemed to draw out some sort of maturity from his little brother.

"That is an interesting way to look at it. It is true, as a blacksmith you would be creating weapons of war. Tools of murder. But then again, that is not much different from a Shinobi. Shinobi are living weapons who fight and kill for their villages. But at the same time, what we do is for the betterment of others. The betterment of our village, and for our clients." Itachi said softly, his tired gaze dragging itself away from Sasuke and looking out towards the trees surrounding them. Normally he wouldn't talk about the nitty gritty parts of being a Shinobi... but right now... Sasuke felt oddly mature to him.

"I guess so..." Sasuke nodded, brow furrowing before his expression brightened. "Plus.. if I become a blacksmith, I can make you all sorts of weapons! Maybe I could make something on par with Madara Uchiha's fan!"

'Ah, there it is.' Itachi chuckled, reaching down to pat his brother's head, eliciting a slight preen from him. "If you put your mind to it, I am sure you will manage that one day. Perhaps you will wield some of these weapons you will one day craft in your own hands. That is why you were practicing Kenjutsu, yes?"

"Y-yeah! I want to try and make katanas one day, so I thought I'd try and master wielding one as well."

'That wasn't a lie either.' Itachi noted, though the slight stutter in Sasuke's voice tipped him off that there may have been a deeper reason. Still... he shouldn't interrogate his brother too much. But one more question couldn't hurt.

"Speaking of making blades... why did you gift a knife to Uzumaki?" Itachi asked curiously. "I was not aware you were friends."

Interestingly, Sasuke's expression shifted into one of annoyance. "...I owed him something so I made him a knife to shut him up."

"Oh?" The Anbu operative raised a brow, smiling a little. "Did you get into a spat and lose?"

"Wha-no! I'd never lose against that... that dobe!" Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms petulantly. "I just... tripped and fell into the lake one day and he helped me out. That's all."

"...the same lake you practiced Fire Jutsu without supervision?"

"D-Dad told you?"

"He did, though he did not mention that you had fallen into said lake. That was very irresponsible of you Sasuke, but he said you appeared to have learned your lesson. He also told me that he taught you about Madara Uchiha a little." Itachi said knowingly, nodding. The bit about Sasuke talking of Madara Uchiha's Gunbai was something he knew that the younger boy had learned from their father then.

"...yeah, the same lake. I tripped into the lake because the smoke and ashes were burning my eyes, and Uzumaki saved me from almost drowning..." Sasuke mumbled guiltily, his gaze downcast.

That part his father had not told him about either. Meaning Sasuke kept the fact that he almost drowned a secret. Itachi's brow furrowed, mouth opening to say something before he sighed, just patting his brother on the head gently. "As long as you learned your lesson... so the knife was a gift to pay him back for saving you?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke nodded, perking up just a little. "I couldn't think of anything else to give him so I thought I'd make him something useful."

"I see. That was nice of you." Itachi hummed. But as he prepared to ask his brother where he made the knife, a flutter of wings sounded out and a crow landed on his shoulder. Itachi's eyes narrowed. If one of his summons had arrived like this then it meant he was going to be late for his mission.

"Well then, I suppose I should be heading off." The older boy sighed, slowly standing up, smiling down at Sasuke as his crow... crowed, and then took to the air again. "I will see you after I return."

"Alright..." Sasuke grumbled, standing up as well and pouting up at Itachi. "Will we get to train together when you get back?"

A pair of fingers poked his forehead in response, his older brother chuckling. "We will see. Another time, Sasuke."

With a blur of movement, Itachi vanished from the training grounds, speeding away with a Shunshin. Even then, he knew his brother was probably grumbling from the forehead poke.

Still... he was able to glean some answers for what was going on with Sasuke. But not enough to form a full picture. There were still more questions that had to be asked. And yet so little time to do so.

"Dreams of a redheaded blacksmith..." Itachi mumbled to himself, his brow furrowed.

A young Itachi stumbled through a hazy dream, wandering into a smithy. The scent of wrought iron and molten metal filled his nose. How? It was a dream, he shouldn't be able to smell this. A Genjutsu? No, he was definitely asleep.

He walked in further, finding a man with scarlet hair hammering away at a sword resting on an anvil.

"Hello?" Itachi asked quietly.

The man stopped and turned his head, eyes like molten gold staring into dark colored ones. His eyebrows shot up, before his expression twisted to something pained. Setting his tools down, the man got up and walked over, before crouching down before Itachi. Gently, the redhead took one of Itachi's hands and lifted it up, turning it around so the palm faced upwards.

The man frowned softly.

"These hands aren't meant to wield a blade to kill... let alone craft a weapon that will do so." He said, his voice clear despite the hazy air in the dream. "You're a gentle kid, aren't ya'?"

Itachi offered no response, only staring in confusion, yet he felt.. a sense of comfort at the sheer understanding this man showed him. He could feel himself growing more and more tired, his eyelids starting to droop.

"Go to sleep kid. Take up gardening or something. Hopefully, you'll never have to stain these kind hands with blood."

"A coincidence... but perhaps not..." Itachi murmured to himself, before shaking the old, foggy memory from his head as his gaze sharpened.

Those thoughts could wait. He had to meet up with Shisui.

They had work to do.

Deep within the recesses of Sasuke's mind, a crack formed on one of the blacksmith's tea cups as he took a sip from it. Frowning, he lowered the cup to examine the fracture in the clay, brow furrowed.

"...an ill wind blows." He muttered to himself, setting the cup down. "I got a bad feelin' about this."

Shit hits the fan in the next chapter. That's right, its familial genocide time.

Also I'm.. always astounded by whatever positive feedback I get from my writings. Chalk it up to minimal self-esteem I guess. I'm glad to see people actually liking this. I appreciate you all. Especially the reviewers who I recognize from my other stories, it feels like seeing old acquaintances for the first time in years. Feels good to get back into writing, for however long that lasts. The future is uncertain, and so is the present. But all I can do is keep trudging along, right?

Feels weird actually playing at having a schedule. I'll post the next chapter on either Sunday or Monday. Depends which one I can be arsed to remember on cuz I've barely been sleeping so my memory's a little ruddy.