Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto, and by no means do I claim ownership over it.

The Sand Sharingan

:Prelude:

All of my troubles… They'd begun several years ago now, back during such a peaceful age in Konohagakure. We'd been living in peace, or as peacefully as ninjas could live for that matter. Back then, we were Konoha's pride and joy, the possessors of something others would die to obtain. It was us whom they'd counted on in times of trouble, and us who they relied on to keep the peace. I had friends back then, friends closer than any other I will ever come to have. However, all of that ended with one night. It was on that night that the heavens seemed to ignore us; where even the celestial bodies of light in the night sky did not show. It was on that night that I saw Uchiha Sasuke for the last time.

The day had begun like any normal day. Sasuke was my neighbor from about two houses down. Often I'd walk with him, who'd always insist on bringing his older brother, Itachi, to the academy in Konoha for training. However that day, Sasuke came out of his house without Itachi. It was odd seeing Sasuke by himself. I had never considered the possibility that Itachi might one day not walk out the door with him. He and Sasuke were not only brothers, but best friends.

I looked at Sasuke strangely as we started walking. "Where's Itachi-san?" I asked him curiously.

He was quiet for a moment, but then spoke in a half confused, half tired voice. "Itachi-nichan has been acting strange lately, and it's bothering me." I looked at him with question. He apparently saw my look, for he answered. "Some of the Konoha Corps were over a few days ago. I think they said something about Itachi-nichan killing someone. I'm not really sure…"

I let out a grunt. "It's probably nothing. Itachi-san is part of the ANBU squad now, after all. He wouldn't do something like that."

Sasuke was quiet for a few seconds, but then responded with a relieved tone. "You're probably right, Ryu-san." But afterwards, he started walking while looking at the ground, as if worried.

The rest of the walk went without speech. We arrived at the Academy a few minutes early, noticing Iruka-sensei just walking in, followed by a mob of other classmates trailing him through the door. As we entered the class room, there were quite a number of students there already. I'd decided to let Sasuke be for a while, and walked over to Aburame, Shino, who sat next to Inuzuka, Kiba. As we spoke, I couldn't help but notice Sasuke's lack-of-talkativeness. Yamanaka, Ino and Haruno, Sakura walked in a few minutes afterwards, followed shortly by Hyuuga, Hinata, escorted happily by her older cousin, Neiji.

I envied Neiji. He was in the upper class at the academy, a year older then us. But what intrigued me more was the fact that he was recognized as a genius. The only other one I knew was Itachi, but he was no where near my age. Neiji's gift has left me in awe countless times.

I shrugged, turning to Shino. "Sasuke-san says that Itachi-san has been acting strangely."

Shino didn't appear to hear, but I could never tell because of his glasses and constant straight expression. After a few moments, he spoke. "It probably isn't my place to say, but Sasuke-san's own matters should be left with him. Don't barge in on his life if he doesn't want the help." Afterwards, he was silent.

I sighed. Shino was probably right. It wasn't my place to dictate Sasuke's life unless he asked for me to do so… But nevertheless, I couldn't help but worry. I noticed Sasuke finally settled in, Sakura and Ino both sitting next to him. He didn't appear to notice them, no matter how much they tried to get his attention…

I shook my head. Sasuke could have a lot of people dancing in his palm if only he wished it. I always wished I was graced with the same type of passive influence that Sasuke gave off…

Iruka-sensei walked in then, and class began as usual. Nothing was particularly different about that day, and I simply sat and half-listened to Iruka-sensei's lectures. The clock ticked by slowly, and I grew restless after a few hours. Recess managed to calm me down a little bit, but Sasuke still appeared worried, and I couldn't help but share his emotion as well.

After school, I walked over to Sasuke. "I'm going to practice in the schoolyard," I said, referring to kunai practice. "You want to come?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I should get home quickly today… It's just been a gut feeling…" He was quiet, and I was worried.

I tilted my jaw to the side. "If you insist..." I folded my arms, watching him pick up his backpack and hurry outside and down the road, back towards our homes. After he was out of sight, I proceeded to the schoolyard where there was a large wooden board already set up.

Iruka-sensei had come out to supervise the practice, but I hardly noticed him, or my excellently placed throws for that matter. I couldn't help but get the feeling that something was going wrong, even when Iruka-sensei praised my throwing skills. I practiced for about an hour, before leaving the board to retrieve my backpack. The only ones left after me were Uzumaki, Naruto and Kiba.

I hurried myself down the road back to the village. I was worrying about Sasuke the entire way… I don't really know why. For Sasuke to call Itachi "strange" must mean that he really was acting strange. And the fact that he was quiet all day must mean that it was serious. I sped myself up after those thoughts, taking a short cut through the woods. The woods led me right up to the street that mine and Sasuke's houses sat on, and I broke out of the woods in a hurry, only to end up in shock.

Bodies littered the streets, and blood stained each of the walls. My eyes grew very wide, and my hand began to tremble at the sight of some of the people I'd grown to know lay on the street, dead. Kunai and shuriken protruded from each of their backs and necks, and I grew more then scared. I rushed down the street, throwing down my backpack towards my house. Before I could get there, Itachi walked slowly out of his own house.

"Itachi-san!" I shouted as a plea for help. "What happened?"

Itachi was silent. His eyes were red with the power of the Sharingan. He looked at me in a harsh way, as if he were about to kill me.

"Ita… Itachi-san… Wh…" I staggered to say, trying as hard as I could to deny what I knew must have been true.

"I guess I forgot about you," He said coldly. "You, Sasuke, and I are the only ones left."

I tried to think up excuses for myself… A murderer came by and killed everyone in the city, only to be stopped by Itachi. Yes, that had to have been it. "Y-you stopped the killer?" I asked hopefully.

Itachi's face remained stone cold. "I will not kill you here, as you are now Sasuke's only way to true power." The tomoe in his eyes began to move, as they melted into a single black pupil that had three spiked edges protruding from it to the edge of his iris. "You are the only way for him to attain these eyes, only if he kills you." He paused, smirking slightly. "Or perhaps vice versa."

"N-no… No!" I shouted. Rage overtook me and I rushed at him, with every intention to inflict as much pain as I possibly could. My eyes suddenly went wide as a fist slammed into my gut.

"You and Sasuke are truly similar…" Itachi said, raising his left leg up. He kicked me in the chest as I flew backwards, spitting up a few drops of blood. I rolled on the ground a few times before I managed to stand back up. "Since you are so, I will leave you with the same farewell…" He paused. "If you wish to hate me, detest me, and live in an unsightly way… then survive."

With that, his eyes shot wide, and the world began to spin around me. The sky became an unnatural color, and I felt as if I were in another dimension. I looked around. I was still on my street, and everyone was still alive. I was almost happy, and almost broke out into laughter, when suddenly a kunai flew out of no where and stabbed one of them in the back. I watched him fall to the ground, dead.

I heard Itachi's voice in my head. "For the next 24 hours, you will repeatedly experience this day." Itachi's voice ceased, and I watched in horror as dozens more came out of their houses, only to be cut down by shuriken or kunai. I rushed into my own house as the second "day" began, only to find my parents bodies lying on the ground. I hurried out of the house, tears in my eyes, as I ran down the street and into the woods. After not even five seconds of running, I came to the edge of the forest, only to be brought back to the village. Itachi's voice rang out once more. "23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to go."

My jaw trembled as I struggled to break free from the illusion, but to no avail. It seems like I would be stuck within Itachi's twisted realm for an eternity…

After many, many, what seemed like, days of crying, I finally was released. I found myself at the spot where I'd been standing when Itachi had placed me in that world, still staring at Itachi with horror.

"B-But how?" I shouted.

"Such is the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan." Itachi said as he started to turn around.

"M-Mangekyou?" I asked, still totally scared. I clenched my fist, remembering the images shown to me through those eyes. I could feel my chakra flow intensify, as the flow directed itself into my own eyes. This must be what it felt like… The Sharingan… I knew it had to be…

As if reading my thoughts, Itachi turned around. He was silent for a second. "…With that display, you may just be more interesting than Sasuke…" He said before turning around again.

"Shut up!" I shouted as I rushed at him again. I felt the fist to my gut once more, and braced myself for the kick, when suddenly a hand slammed into my neck, knocking me out.

My eyes edged themselves open. Things were blurry at first, but as they refocused, I could see some people fussing around me. I put a hand to my forehead as I sat up. I noticed the symbol at the foot of my bead and almost cried out. There must have been some mistake… How could I have gotten all the way there? Why had I gotten there in the first place? What the hell was going on?

I looked over at one of the… Nins at the far wall. He spoke into a device. "He's awake, Kazekage-sama."

To be continued