A/N: A quick update... It's not gonna always be this fast, please keep that in mind:(

So this chapter is actually the right beginning of this story. The first stage of checking the ground. How will they like it?

Enjoy:)

Whichever gods make him come back, he gets there again some hours later. He stands up slowly from the kitchen floor and listens.

He hears him.

He stops in front of the open door to his room and slowly absorbs the sight of his father. His every move, every sound he makes… it brings so much memories. He remembers wanting desperately to see him one more time when he was little. Now, after all those years, it happens.

But he is not a child anymore. His childish longing for his dead father ended years ago. He barely ever think about the man. So now, at this very moment, he does not know what to do about it. Not anymore. His old enthusiasm is not here and he almost takes one step back…

But his father's moves are strange. Like… he is watching something, and before Sasuke has a chance to react, his mouth moves on its own.

"What are you doing?"

Uchiha Fugaku turns around quickly, startled by somebody's presence. He stays silent, and Sasuke can see that he is being devoured by his father's eyes.

"Are you… Sasuke?" he asks quietly. "You are, aren't you?"

Sasuke knows he should confirm or at least nod, but he doesn't. It's just… an idea that this man is not sure who stands in front of him… it hurts. He should know. Ignoring uneasiness that overwhelms him now, he looks away and leans against the doorframe, trying to notice something in the room.

"How old are you?" Fugaku asks again, evenly.

"Seventeen" he mumbles. "What were you doing here?"

"I was looking at your things."

"…" he raises his eyebrow in a rather disrespectful way. "My things" he repeats.

"Yes."

"…there's nothing here."

"There… is" the older man takes one more look around. "It's the only room in this house that isn't empty."

"Well, the only things I can see belong to you" Sasuke informs.

"Is that so?"

He ignores the question and gets inside. He furrows his brows and tries to activate his sharingan, but nothing happens. Chakra does not work in this strange world of dreams and he is not that surprised by it.

"Did you die?"

He feels it. His long dead father is here, just behind him, speaking and moving. And he fails to find any comfort in that thought. He tries to name emotions whirling within him. Shock is not the right word to describe what he feels now. No, it's… something much worse. He is scared.

"No, I didn't" he lets out. After a moment he adds: "Yet." He watches the space once more and finally forces himself to look at his father. His heart accelerates immediately. He is stressed. He doesn't want to talk to him anymore. It will not do anybody any good. "What is this place?"

"I would like to know. How come you are here if you never died?"

"I'm dreaming."

"…"

"I didn't say I get what's going on. I'm just answering your question."

"You're… seventeen" Fugaku says slowly. "Are you a shinobi?"

Sasuke nods, but he would rather not. Maybe because he knows what to expect next.

"What rank are you?"

He stays still for a while. Then, with no regrets, he lets the worst smile crawl onto his lips. A smile of disdain and pity.

"You died when I was eight, before I managed to see you for the last time. You wasn't sure if it's me or not when you first saw me here. You see me now, grown up and alive after nine years of my life and the thing you're most interested in is my shinobi rank?" Fugaku narrows his eyes clearly not pleased with his words and his tone, but doesn't say anything. "I guess the next question will concern Itachi. You'll want to know how he is doing and if he already became the Hokage."

"The thing I was most interested in was whether you are Sasuke, then how old you are and if you are still among the living. You, on the other hand, were more interested in what I was actually doing in your room. So don't you try to make some idiot out of me here" Fugaku is now standing just in front of him, his face close to Sasuke's, looking at him a bit from above.

"I'm genin."

Defense by attack. It's surprisingly easy to throw his father off balance. Seeing him confused brings a naughty feeling of satisfaction. But Sasuke is too scared to enjoy it. How come the last two times he was taken from here when he didn't want to, and now he is forced to stay even if he NEEDS to get back…?

"All…right."

"And Itachi is dead."

"…is it funny for you?"

"A bit."

"Sasuke!"

"I have no idea what I've expected since the moment I saw you last time" Sasuke says hoarsely.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect my son to become an insolent brat, regardless of the circumstances."

"You have your firstborn to thank for it. Not to mention yourself."

"All right, if our conversation is going to turn into an argument, then I have no intention to keep it going any longer. Get somewhere else where you can come back to your right senses and then we can talk" with that, Fugaku turns around and gets out of the room with heavy steps, leaving his son behind.

I had the very first argument with my father in my life Sasuke realizes.

He wakes up from a nap with his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

He does not want to go there again. Not after he was… basically sent away to his room. How annoying.

He was scared.

He remembers having loved his father. He can recall some rare occasions when the man hugged him or ruffed his hair and smiled at him, but they were all drown into the moments when he was ignored. It hurt him when he was little, it angered him later when he grew up a bit. But he must have never fully realized it until he saw his father again.

What he does realize is that, ever since he remembered, he was a bit afraid of his father. Apparently, he didn't grow out of it.

After four days he gets transported there again. He moves from the kitchen to the porch and sits there, leaning against the wooden column. Irritation disappeared and the only thing left is fear. It doesn't take long for him to hear steps approaching him from behind. Fugaku sits next to him and is quiet for a long while.

"What would you say… if I suggested we try once again?"

Sasuke doesn't move. He… isn't sure.

"Sasuke."

"What for" he whispers. "You're dead for years now. For me it's just a dream. You can be a product of my imagination."

"You don't really believe I am, do you?"

No. No, he really… believes that he met Uchiha Fugaku here. He can see his father moving to sit with his body facing him.

"I don't have much to talk about, child" Fugaku says quietly. "I could ask you questions, but seeing how you have no problem with ignoring them, I doubt it's a good idea."

"Ask me questions" Sasuke mutters, wiping his eyes with his fingers. "I have no idea what I should ask you about, so… if you want to know something… just ask. Whatever it is."

He wonders if his father already noticed how tensed he is. What would he think about it?

"All right, then. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Sasuke chokes abruptly, certain that he will fall from the porch.

"What the hell" he snorts. "Of all the questions you choose…" he stops because he sees one of the rare half-smiles on his father's lips.

"Would you rather explain to me why you are still genin at the age of seventeen?"

"It's… a long story I'm not ready to tell. Are you mocking me?"

"I'm merely trying to lighten up your mood. And I was curious. Women don't pass by such features indifferently."

Sasuke looks at him incredulously. Hearing such a careless statement from his ever serious father… is a surprise.

"I… don't have a girlfriend" he says uncertainly.

"You don't look very sure of that. Do you have someone in mind?"

"…stop it" Sasuke can't hide a tiny smile of embarrassment that appears on his face.

"Do you?" he presses.

"…there is one girl that is interested in me. But… it's not a good idea. She doesn't think clearly at the moment…" he furrows his brows. "How come I'm even telling you this" he hides his face in his palm, not sure of what is happening. Normally he would never tell anybody about it.

"I can ask you something more if you want."

"…fine."

"Did you awaken your sharingan?"

"I did."

"When?"

"After I graduated from the Academy. But when I think of it now… it had two tomoe already. I must have awakened it earlier, probably on the day of the massacre."

A silence falls over them at the memory of the bloody night they both remember. Sasuke notices his father shifts uncomfortably.

"I guess you would like to know what this was all about" he murmurs gloomily.

"I know about the coup."

"You do, don't you."

"I know Konoha ordered Itachi to kill the Uchiha. That or he would die with us."

"Was it Itachi who revealed the truth to you?"

"Itachi" Sasuke mumbles. "Damn it. It's… unbelievable. You can't know anything. You were already dead" he finishes with a whisper, biting his lower lips to hold his emotions from exploding.

And he tells him. He tells him how he was late from school on that memorable day. He tells him how he saw their dead bodies and what Itachi made him believe. His lies and their purpose. He doesn't stop there and moves on to tell him he lived alone, and all he could do was train. He tells him about the graduation and his team, how they grew closer and he felt at ease.

And then he stops. He is not ready to reveal his mistakes. Not to his father.

"Just before I died, I gave your brother one last order" Fugaku says after a long silence. "I told him to take care of you. And he said he would."

Sasuke is not sure what his father means. Does he blame Itachi for what happened to him? For a very short moment he feels an urge to defend his brother. He is used to defending him. But it passes… and all that remains is regret.

And I feels amazing.

He falls. His eyes are slightly wet when he wakes up, but he does not admit it.

He blinks. He sits at the kitchen table, just in front of his father who eyes him carefully.

"You appear and disappear just like that. Or maybe I should tell you emerge from the air and fade away" the older man murmurs.

"I wake up."

"I see."

"And you?" Sasuke leans against the wall with his arm lying on the low table, just like his father. "You're here all the time?"

"Yes" he nods slowly. "I guess this is what the afterlife is like."

"You have been here ever since you died?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I was somewhere else, but the time here is not the same as the one that I knew when I was alive" Fugaku moves his hand through his hair and looks at his son. "How long has it been to you?"

"Six days this time. Sometimes I get back faster" he taps the table with his fingers. "Am I the first person you met?"

"I think I saw someone already. In fact, I think I may have seen Itachi, but I don't remember clearly. Maybe we even had a conversation."

"You know…" Sasuke shifts uncomfortably. "I know when I first talked about Itachi I was…"

"Sarcastic and disrespectful."

"…fine, whatever. But if you want to know something about him, I do know some details."

"Even though he left the village?"

Sasuke bites his lip. He did wonder how to tell his father about his wasted life, or IF tell him about it at all. He is not ready to be judged once again. Not by him.

"I… killed him" he lets out abruptly.

"…Sasuke."

"I mean… it's not like I stabbed him with a kunai from behind. We had a final fight and… Itachi died. It was before I got to know about the coup and all this… What I told you last time, the things Itachi told me, his lies. I believed him. He wanted me to kill him and I… played along. I hated him."

"So what exactly did you do if stabbing him with a kunai was not what happened?" Sasuke hears a clear note of disapproval, irritation and anger in this low voice and he almost shivers.

"We had a fight and… we exhausted each other. Itachi had the mangekyo and at that moment he was already almost blind. I did my best to keep up to him. He started coughing out blood. Later I found out he was sick. When our chakra was too low to continue, he basically collapsed. He died" he finishes all tensed, not sure what to expect.

"So…" Fugaku finally opens his mouth. "Itachi wanted you to kill him, he lied to you, you believed him and you did exactly what he wanted you to do."

"Just say that I'm a damn idiot and spare me the talk about my stupidity" he mumbles.

"Language, and I would like you to watch your tone. I'm not attacking you, I'm trying to understand what happened."

"You don't need to speak your mind openly for me to understand how disappointed you are. Give me some credit."

"What happened later?" his statement is ignored.

"I collapsed as well. When I woke up, I was in a hideout that belonged to this missing-nin organization Itachi belonged to. One of their members told me the truth about the massacre."

"How did he know it? You mentioned that no one but the Elders knew."

"This man helped Itachi during the massacre. He killed half of the clan and made him join the Akatsuki later" he stops for a moment. "He started the Fourth Great Shinobi War."

"There was another war?" Fugaku raises his eyebrows wearily. "Always wars, no matter what era."

"The First Hokage said something like that too…"

"How on Earth do you know what the First Hokage said?"

"…well. That man from the Akatsuki fought with the Shinobi forces using Edo Tensei. He revived dead people, called them back from the afterlife or something and manipulated them to fight the shinobi."

"Edo Tensei? So someone used it to make a war? Smart."

"Are you actually impressed?" Sasuke snorts.

"I don't approve of wars in general, but I can see a mastership in this strategy."

"Don't you?" he mumbles, narrowing his eyes. "So why did you plan a coup d'état to take over the village?"

"Because our clan was full of foolish people who wanted me to act. Konoha didn't respect us and I do agree that it was going too far. Meetings with the Elders didn't bring any solution. When the village started to actually act hostile towards us, many members of the Police Force started to plot. I didn't approve for months, and believe me when I say it. But the time came when I broke. It was when two of our officers were assigned a mission by the Hokage. They didn't come back. Killed in action. That's what they told us. But Itachi came to me and revealed that they have been assassinated on Elders' order. I lost my patience towards them on that day. Slowly I was finding out that it wasn't a lone case. Ever since the Kyuubi attack eleven Uchiha have been assassinated behind our back. And behind the Hokage's back as well, as I understood later. Sarutobi was susceptible to manipulation, he got dumbed by his closest people. Any meetings or conversations with him became pointless, he was nothing more than a pawn in someone's hands."

"And… you agreed to the coup."

"Yes, I did."

"You wanted to kill the Hokage and take his place."

"I did not want to kill anyone, even Sarutobi. And I didn't even dream about becoming the next Hokage. I wanted my clan to be treated with decency. The coup was hardly a suitable mean to achieve my goal, but we had nothing left."

"Kill Danzo?" Sasuke suggests gloomily.

"I think Danzo was indeed somebody that I did want to kill, especially after I found out what he was doing to the Uchiha for all those years. But it was not possible to kill him. He had his ROOT and Sarutobi's support. Stupid old man. He should have got rid of him for good just after Danzo sent his pawns to assassinate him" Fugaku sighs heavily. "What do you know about Danzo anyway?"

Sasuke keeps quiet for too long and he knows every passing second only reassures his father that there is something more he will not be proud of.

"What did you do?"

"I messed up."

"How much?"

"…a lot."

"You're hardly a fine person to talk to, Sasuke."

"I'm sorry I don't match your standards, but you are not that great yourself, either."

He is surprised because Fugaku lets out a short laugh and a smile stays for a moment on his lips.

"You certainly take after me in that matter, so I guess I can't complain too much, can I?" he notices Sasuke's uncertain eyes. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just… I don't remember ever seeing you so much at ease. You never laughed at anything I said. You hardly ever talked to me or spared any time to listen to me."

Fugaku is looking at him for a long moment before he shakes his head lightly. He taps the table with his fingers, visibly trying to plan what to say next.

"It wasn't to hurt you, you know" he almost whispers. "Your mother mentioned to me that you felt disregarded. I didn't really believe her until you learned the Fireball in less than a week."

"It was the first time you actually gave me some attention. Of course I learned it as quickly as I could. I didn't want you to be disappointed on me."

"I wasn't."

"You made clear that you were when I failed on my first try."

"Did I?"

It's too late to answer him. A new day comes and is waiting for Sasuke to atone for his sins.

"I did not expect you to succeed on your first try" is the first sentence that he hears the next night when he leaves the kitchen.

"I figured" he shrugs, but passes his father by, not even sparing him a glance.

"What happened?"

"Huh…?"

"You are frustrated" Fugaku penetrates him with his eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing much."

I killed a man, tou-san. He tried to assassinate me and I startled him on the roof. When I avoided his knife, he fell down and I let him die.

"About that Fireball…"

"Leave the Fireball be, I don't care."

He feels a hand that catches his left shoulder and forces him to turn around. His father looks at him with slight irritation and weariness, but it all fades away when he takes a closer look at him.

"Sasuke… your arm is missing" he says and raises his son's short coat. He sees a loose sleeve hanging at his left side.

"Yeah."

"How did this happen?" the black eyes pierce him with an intense look. "Was it during the war?"

"I guess… you could say it was still the time of war."

"Leave this sarcasm for somebody else" he watches carefully his arm that ends with his elbow. "When did it happen?"

"Around half a year ago."

"Is this why you never made it further than genin?"

"No, it has nothing to do with it" he takes one step back to release himself. "It doesn't bother me that much. I got used to it already."

"You can fight?"

"I lost an arm, tou-san, not my legs. I can still move" he answers, opening the screens to sit on the porch.

"Your left hand was dominant, it must have been a change" Fugaku sits just next to him, his eyes not leaving his son's left side. "Can you write?"

"I could write with both hands even before you died."

"I… see. What about the seals?"

"It was more of a bother, but I learned one-handed seals. Now they usually work. I wonder why I never considered learning them before. And besides, I don't use ninjutsu too much. I prefer taijutsu."

"What weapon do you use?"

"Shuriken and sword."

"You've learned to use a sword?" a shade of smile appears on Fugaku's lips when he says those words after a short pause.

"What about it?"

"A long sword was my significant weapon" the smile widens a bit and it gives Sasuke an impression that his father feels some nostalgia. "You may not know it, but during the Third War I was famous among our opponents due to my skills."

"…what?"

"I tried to infect your brother with swordsmanship when he became chuunin, but of all fighting styles this was the one that didn't suit him. He didn't progress much for a year and I could see it only irritated him. Itachi preferred ninjutsu and I figured he would be fine without a sword. He learned the basics though" Fugaku's thoughts float far away from Sasuke. "Shisui achieved much higher level, but he was always in love with genjutsu, so the time came when our training sessions stopped."

"You taught Shisui?"

"Yes, I did."

"…when?"

"At the same time I trained your brother. Shisui became his sparring partner, so if he wasn't away for a mission he often came along. About the sword, he was around thirteen. But we did not train that regularly."

Sasuke feels a small sting in his heart. But he doesn't say anything. There is no use.

"I always thought that I would teach you when you're big enough. I never expected to die so early."

Oh.

"It's possible you may not have seen my sword. I kept it hidden deep in the shed. I didn't need it in the village, and I hardly ever got assigned any missions away from Konoha. During trainings with your brother I used only wooden training gears."

"Can I see it?"

"How do you want to…"

"I can see your things here. If it stayed hidden in the shed, then maybe I can find it there" Sasuke stands up, hoping that his father will not notice how enthusiastic he is about something so trivial.

"Go ahead. Though it may take some time" Fugaku follows him to the small wooden building in the corner.

Sasuke opens the door and is met with a strange sight: he remembered shelves full of useless things. Now there are many holes between things that belonged to his father.

"It's funny" he comments before he can stop himself.

"What is?"

"The holes between your things here" he looks around. "Do you remember where you put it?"

"On the highest shelf there, in the corner. Behind the boxes."

"You can see the boxes too?

"Yes, but not the content, I guess. But I would like to know how you are going to look for it if there is no ladder here."

Sasuke freezes immediately. Then he eyes the older man unfavorably.

"You had to put it up there, didn't you."

"Imagine that I did not plan to get to a place that looks like my house, where I can only see things that belongs to you. And after my death, mind you" at that, Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Maybe if I've known how interested you would be, I would have considered putting it in a more accessible place."

"I'm not that interested."

"You've just pouted."

"No, I haven't." He crosses his arms (or tries to, even though one is missing). A second later he realizes he must look like a whining child. "Besides, what kind of shinobi puts his favorite weapon on the highest shelf in a messy shed."

"I told you. I did not use it inside the village."

"Hn."

"…did you just… Sasuke you will fall down" Fugaku enters the shed, ready to pull him back from the shelf he is standing on now.

"If I do, I'll just wake up" he ignores his father and quickly climbs up to the highest shelf.

He moves the boxes, one heavy and another very light. The third one is empty, so he puts it on the side with ease. And just then, he sees it. A long weapon hidden in a sheath is lying there in the corner. He takes it from its place and jumps down from the shelves.

He watches it carefully. There is nothing special about the sword, really. It's a simple tool with no useless ornaments. It basically looks like his own. Sasuke can feel its weight like in the real world. He takes off the sheath and touches the cold metal. The edges are sharp, which means the weapon is ready to use. He wonders… has he really never seen it before? There is something familiar in the reflexes…

"Sasuke?"

He looks up and sees his father's furrowed brows.

"Yes?"

"What is the color of the sheath of your own sword?" he asks carefully.

"It's black… but why do you want to know?"

"And this one?"

"…brown?" Fugaku approaches him and takes the sword in his hands. "You can see it?"

"Yes, but it looks… different. Newer. And it has a black sheath" he is silent for a moment. "Shinobi hardly ever own swords. How did you became an owner of yours?"

He opens his eyes. He blinks. He stretches his hand and picks up his sword hidden in a black sheath from the grass.

Holy shit. He doesn't want to see his father again. What will he tell him…?

A/N: ...because Fugaku can bear only this much.

Next chapter is gonna be messy. Well, not messy in a sense of warnings or ratings, but emotionally messy.

Please, tell me what you think so far:)