Part 1: The Pieces

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd been told a bedtime story. He thought it might have been when he was four, because Itachi was promoted to ANBU right after his fifth birthday and he distinctly remembered declaring that he "didn't want to do any of that baby stuff anymore" after Itachi was sent out on his first black ops mission. Sasuke didn't know the details of the operation (his brother refused to tell him no matter how many times he asked, his parents said it was classified, and Shisui pretended he didn't know before changing the subject), but he imagined it was something fantastic, because everything Itachi did was fantastic to Sasuke at that age. He'd lie awake in bed imagining how his brother was probably single handedly defeating rogue ninja who were trying to infiltrate the Leaf and assassinate the Hokage, or maybe he was rescuing an important diplomat who had been kidnapped by hostile shinobi, or maybe he was sent out to retrieve a stolen scroll with a dangerous forbidden jutsu inside that could destroy the world. Sasuke's imagination had no bounds when it came to the feats his brother was capable of achieving, and it was his dream to one day stand beside him as an equal so that they could safeguard their home together.

Unfortunately, according to five year old Sasuke, bedtime stories and tuck-ins were not conducive to reaching that goal. He could still recall the way his mother's face fell when he'd told her. Back then, he didn't understand why she looked so sad all of a sudden; he thought she'd be proud of the fact that he wanted to stop being babied so he could be strong just like his brother. But the reality was that her eldest was away on an extremely dangerous mission and her youngest had just refused to give her the comfort of knowing she still had one child who hadn't grown up yet.

He rarely found himself missing the stories, though. His mother had never been particularly good at them, always having to pause the narrative because she forgot to mention some important piece of information at the beginning, and his father's stories all involved blood and gore and would sometimes give Sasuke nightmares. But his uncle — his uncle told the best stories.

Uncle Teyaki was a strong, gentle man who smiled more often than he didn't (or at least that's how Sasuke remembered him). He had owned the Uchiha compound's senbei shop with his wife Uruchi, a shop which also happened to be one of his mother's favorite detours to make during an errand run. Sasuke was usually an unwilling participant during these trips (his mother would try and persuade him by saying that it would help him prepare for life after the Academy when he might get assigned important missions he didn't necessarily want to do. It was training, she reasoned. However, she had a hard time convincing him that going out to get eggs qualified as "important"), but he wouldn't lie: he always enjoyed getting to see his aunt and uncle. "We'll only go in for a few minutes," his mother would say. They never failed to end up staying for at least an hour.

His fondest memories of his aunt and uncle were when he went over their house to stay the night. It didn't happen often, but sometimes his parents would be called on to make an appearance at some important gathering and Itachi and Shisui would be too busy to babysit him, so he would get handed off to them for the evening. His aunt always made sure there were fresh baked cookies for him when he arrived and his uncle always made sure there were plenty of games around to keep him entertained.

The best part of the visit, oddly enough, was when he had to go to bed. He'd put up a bit of a fight as a formality, claiming that he wasn't tired and wanted to stay up just a bit later, but eventually his uncle would coax him into the guest room with the promise of a few bedtime stories. (Now that he thought about it, maybe he'd been a bit older the last time he was told a bedtime story. He couldn't recall ever telling his uncle about the ban he'd put on bedtime stories in his own household, and his uncle never failed to tell him at least two when he put him to bed. Maybe he thought he could safely get away with indulging in them there.)

His uncle usually came up with new stories to tell him each time ("you'll get bored if I keep telling you the same ones over and over again!"), but there was one that Sasuke would beg him to retell regardless.

The story went something like this:

"It happened on a night just like this one, actually (Sasuke had protested once that his uncle began the story like that regardless of the actual weather). You were too young to remember it, but on that night, a giant beast known as the Nine Tails was unleashed on the village. Its teeth were as big as you are, and it could crush an entire building with just one of its hands! No one knew where it came from or why it had suddenly appeared in our village. The Hokage didn't even know what was going on, so that tells you right there how much of a a shock this all was! You can't blame them, though. I mean, imagine: one second you're eating dinner, and the next, a giant monster fox is tearing off your roof! Who would be prepared for that? (Sasuke always laughed at that part). Many brave shinobi fought against the Nine Tails that night, and many brave shinobi fell against it. The Fourth Hokage ended up being the one who finally sealed the beast away, but he didn't do it alone. No, he had the help of another shinobi, one who has almost been completely forgotten. Do you know who that shinobi was? ("Who?" Sasuke would politely ask, even though he knew the answer). His name was Madara Uchiha. Yes, the Madara Uchiha! You must be wondering, how the fuck — sorry son, excuse my language, let's maybe not tell your mother about that little slip up, okay? — could Madara Uchiha have helped the Fourth Hokage defeat the Nine Tailed Fox? He founded Konoha for crying out loud, so he must be, what, a bajillion years old? That's impossible! Except it wasn't; he was there, I saw him myself! And he came to save us all, because he alone knew that the secret to defeating the Nine Tails was the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. See, our eyes are special. Most people think the Sharingan is only good for casting illusions and copying jutsu, but it can do much more than that. It can summon fire out of thin air, mold chakra into armor, manipulate time itself. And it can also tame beasts. Madara knew that, and so he decided to risk his life and face the Nine Tails head on, trusting in the power of his Sharingan to subdue it. He arrived at the village just as the monster was forming its final chakra bomb. The bomb was huge, so huge that it blocked out the entire night sky! It would have destroyed the entire village had it been released. But Madara wouldn't let that happen. No, he refused to stand aside and let the village he built get destroyed, not when he knew exactly how to stop it. He just needed to force the beast to look into his Sharingan. Madara sprinted to the center of the village, charging his legs with as much chakra as he physically could. He moved at the speed of light, jumping from roof to roof until he got close enough to launch himself at the demon's face. He flung himself at the Nine Tails and released his most powerful jutsu at it. Which jutsu, you ask? Why, it was only the Uchiha's very own Fireball Jutsu! The biggest blast of fire I've ever seen hit the monster right in the face, but it barely even singed its fur! You'd think Madara went up and poked it for all the good the jutsu did! But Madara knew that his jutsu wouldn't hurt the Tailed Beast; that wasn't his goal. He just needed to get its attention. And that's exactly what happened! The Nine Tails turned its large, red eye towards Madara. Their eyes met and then...the demon froze. He was completely immobilized by the powers of Madara's Sharingan. The Fourth Hokage saw what Madara had done and knew that it might be his only chance to seal away the beast. And at the cost of his own life, he did. But right before the deed was done, Madara vanished back into the night. He didn't want to be hailed a hero like the Fourth; it was enough for him to know that his village was safe and that it was the power of the Sharingan that saved it.

So, do you know why I told you that story Sasuke? (He always shook his head no, because he loved hearing the answer). Because I want you to know that you come from greatness, boy. The Sharingan is our clan's birthright, and while I know you don't have it just yet, one day you will. And when that day comes, you will tame beasts."

Sasuke knew that the entire story probably wasn't true. His uncle had a remarkably creative imagination, so his tales were always littered with falsehoods. But Sasuke couldn't care less now whether Madara Uchiha was actually alive or whether he came and saved the Leaf Village from the Nine Tails. No, the part of the story that stuck with him now was the way his uncle talked about the Sharingan. Because sitting alone in that white, sterile room, the door tightly locked and his cheeks wet with tears, he knew he needed to find a way to stay strong. So he told himself a bedtime story.

He was Sasuke Uchiha. He had the Sharingan. And with it, he would tame beasts.

• • •

At this point, Sasuke knew that 'I don't know' wasn't the right answer, but he couldn't help but keep saying it.

"Where are you?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know."

"What happened to your family?"

"I don't know."

The routine was mind numbing. Every day (or at least Sasuke thought it was every day; there were no windows or clocks where they were keeping him and they fed him irregularly, so he wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed) a doctor with soft brown eyes and a kind smile would come in (Sasuke had tried to run past her and out the door the first few times) and ask him a series of questions, none of which he felt he could definitively answer. So, he told her that he didn't know, because his mother had always told him it was important to be honest. And at the beginning, that had seemed fine.

But one day, the routine changed. A large man entered the room before the doctor, sweat leaking through his shirt as he carried a huge chair into the room, plopped it down right in front of Sasuke, and took a heavy seat. The man gave Sasuke a hesitant smile and asked if he had any questions about where he was and what had happened. This was the first time someone had offered Sasuke any information since he woke up there, and even though he didn't particularly want to speak to the man (it's like training, he reminded himself) he jumped on the chance to find out what was going on.

But then the man lied to him.

He started by placing a sweaty hand on Sasuke's shoulder and telling him that this wasn't an easy thing to say. He told Sasuke that this room was a safe space for him, that it was okay to get emotional, and that everyone here would do their best to help him cope. He offered to get Sasuke a box of tissues and a glass of water, but Sasuke merely continued staring at the man, hoping that he would get to the point faster because nothing he was saying made any sense and he desperately wanted to know why he was here and what had happened and where his family was so that he could go home.

Once the man realized that Sasuke had no intention of answering, he cleared his throat and said in a deep, gravely voice that he was in Konohagakure, he was safe, and that Itachi had killed his entire clan.

Sasuke promptly told him he was a big fat liar.

The man let out a nervous laugh, perhaps not quite expecting that reaction from the boy. "Listen," he said, "I know this is difficult to understand and process, but I need you to believe me, Sasuke. The Hokage brought you here to keep you safe from your brother. He's still out there somewhere, and we're afraid he may come back for you. It's imperative that you believe me, okay? It's for your own safety."

Sasuke then called the man a very bad word that his mother would've been ashamed to hear him use.

The man stared at him for a short while, then asked Sasuke if he had any more questions. Sasuke said he didn't, because clearly the man wasn't going to truthfully answer any of them. The man then asked if Sasuke wanted to talk about what had happened, and Sasuke said he didn't, because he still didn't know what happened. All he knew was that the man in front of him was an enemy. Who else would try and convince him that his family had been killed by his own brother?

The man nodded once, then twice, and slowly made his way to his feet. "If you change your mind, let me know, okay?" Sasuke had petulantly turned away from the man by then and didn't deign him with a response, instead choosing to re-evaluate possible escape routes.

The doctor stepped into the room a few moments later. She asked him the same questions she always did, and Sasuke answered the same way he always did, because it was the truth. But this time, at the very end of their session, she asked him a new question.

"Do you want to change any of your answers?" Sasuke at least knew how to respond to that.

"No."

And then she left.

This continued for some time. The man would come into the room with his chair, try and explain to him what 'happened,' ask if Sasuke wanted to talk about it, and then leave once Sasuke threw a barrage of insults at him and demanded to be returned to his family. The doctor would then follow and ask him her standard questions, to which he replied the same way he always did.

It took a few sessions for him to realize the frustration building up in both the man and the doctor. The man started dropping his chair just a bit harder, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder just a bit tighter, and leaving just a bit sooner. The doctor's annoyance was harder to spot, but after awhile he noticed how her lips would gradually tighten and how a sharp lilt would sneak into her voice once she realized he was still giving her the same answers. Sasuke couldn't understand why they were getting angry with him, though; he was telling the truth.

But apparently that's not what they wanted to hear.

• • •

He woke up one morning crying and screaming, his Sharingan burning bright in his eyes.

That day, the doctor was his only visitor. She waited for him to tire himself out before she started asking her questions.

"Where are you?"

"Konohagakure."

"Why are you here?"

"Because Itachi wants me dead."

"What happened to your family?"

"Itachi killed them."

"Do you want to change any of your answers?"

"No."

Because he knew it was the truth; he remembered everything now.

• • •

A few days later, he woke up in a different room. This time, there were windows.