Heres another chapter lovelies

Warning: Slight cursing, maybe non-canonical timeline stuff, but whatev's it's an au.

"You must fall in order to grow, hurt in order to love, lose in order to gain, because life's greatest lessons are learned through pain." - Pain

Age 6

Itachi knocked on the door to Sasuke's room, upon hearing a muffled 'come in', he opened the door. The sight that greeted him made him want to turn around and pretend that everything is right with the world. His Otouto had a bound and gagged Shikamaru, and propped him up against the side of his bed. Sasuke had a couple of decks of playing cards scattered about, paper and pencils, and stacks of books and scrolls piled up on his bed. "Sasuke... what are you doing?"

That was the real question, wasn't it? Itachi avoided looking into the Nara's pleading eyes, instead opting to deadpan stare at his little brother. Sasuke turned to him with a playful, innocent smile, sitting cross-legged a few feet in front of his friend. "I'm having a playdate with my friend." was his flippant remark. Itachi pondered where Sasuke obtained the rope, but then shrugged it off since he probably didn't want to know. Sighing, he went over and crouched beside his brother, poking his forehead. "You can't kidnap your friends." He chastised half-heartedly. Sasuke shrugged, "Ok."

He untied the poor boy and removed the gag from his mouth. Shikamaru remained silent for a moment, rubbing his chaffed arms. Looking between the two brothers he spoke up, "Does he do this often?" Itachi shook his head, "No, Sasuke usually doesn't break moral codes and laws unless he's bored or someone refuses to listen to him." Shikamaru shot a look at his self imposed other best friend, then sighed heavily. "I'm gonna go get a drink, Itachi, can you watch him to make sure he doesn't escape?" His Otouto asked, standing up and making his way to the door. When Itachi nodded he beamed, a glint of mischief in his eyes.

Now that they were alone, Itachi raised a brow at the Nara, rising and crossing his arms. "Why did Sasuke kidnap you?" Shikamaru looked to the side, "I kept making excuses to keep sleeping instead of hanging out." He drawled, picking up one of the papers and grimacing. "He sure does have an active imagination." He muttered, then shot a questioning look at Itachi. "Do you actually plan on making sure I can't leave?" Itachi let an almost wicked smile slip onto his features. "Well, I am his older brother."

6 and ½

I held Itachi's hand as he led me through the park, where a meeting place for all the clan kids were set to meet each other. I was pretty excited, I mean, the rest of the rookie 9 will be there. I can corrupt them early- I mean, befriend them, of course. When we made it to the main playground, in a large clearing, my positive mood halted in its tracks, screeching and crashing, destroying everything in its path. Some groups of kids were scattered about the field, talking, whatever. Others were playing on the swings or slides. I saw a flash of yellow that disappeared into the trees, while a group of three kids started laughing.

Now, I'm not an idiot. I can make calculated guesses on minimal information, and most of the time I'm right. What makes it even more damning is there's only one person in Konoha that has hair that bright of a yellow(not including dead people.) I gestured to Itachi what I meant to convey, that a kid was probably bullied and needed comfort. I think he got me when he sighed, he's been doing that a lot lately. I followed in the direction of the blur, Itachi trailing behind quietly, ready to disappear before the kid saw him. Of course, he'd still be in the area, brother complexes and all that. Wait, do I have a brother complex?

I squashed that thought when I saw a chibi Naruto with his knees drawn to his chest against a tree. I think my soft heart broke into a million pieces, then exploded in a fiery rage. I pushed away thoughts of carefully planned murder, and quietly approached the teary-eyed boy. His head shot up when I was a few steps away from him, looking at me with suspicion. "Are you ok?" I asked stupidly, crouching down so we were eye level. Of course, he's not ok, he's crying you absolute fool-

"Y-yeah," Naruto mumbled, wiping at his eyes with his arm. "I came to the park to make friends today-" I smiled, "So, wanna be friends then?" Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at me like I was his knight in shining armor- SasuNaru fans are shaking in their boots right now. "Yes…" He suddenly shot up and jabbing a finger in my face. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo." He shot me a hesitant smile, "Don't forget it."

I nodded, "Only if you don't forget mine. Uchiha Sasuke."

His smile turned into a huge grin, "Alright Sasuke-chan!" I felt my cheeks flush a bit, "We've only just met.." I mumbled, then felt a wave of what felt like guilt. Is he always this trusting to someone he just met? I shook my head and grabbed his hand, and started dragging him behind me. "Oi! Where are you-" I cut him off with a huge smirk-grin, "To the park, obviously." He hesitated again, but any reply was cut off with the appearance of my brother.

"Otouto." He acknowledged and looked behind me at Naruto with a questioning look. "So my dearest brother of mine, where's the group we're supposed to meet?" He threw a pointed look over his shoulder, and I looked around him. The chibi 9 were sitting under a tree on the other side of the clearing. "Are you staying?" I asked him, tilting my head. "No, Okaa-san insisted you spent time on your own." I gave a one-shoulder shrug as if saying 'what can you do?'. "Well, I hope they don't mind if a bring one extra." Itachi rolled his eyes. The Uchiha Itachi rolled his eyes at me.

He knows that I'd impose my dominance and try to physically harm anyone who denied me anyway, which caused me to snort, trying to disguise the fit of giggles that came following that thought. I waved him goodbye and began running full sprint towards my future friends, stopping abruptly in front of Hinata, letting go of Naruto's hand. "HEY HINATA-CHAN!" She squeaked, about having a heart attack. "S-Sasuke-san." She managed to get out when I slung an arm around her shoulder in a hug.

Shikamaru groaned and Choji said a soft greeting. I looked at the rest of the rookie 9 with a predatory gaze. Ino and Sakura visibly shivered, from apprehension or something else, I had no clue. "So you're the Uchiha?" Kiba asked, stuffing some beef jerky into his mouth. I smirk-grinned at him, "Uchiha Sasuke." He nodded, "Inuzuka Kiba." This prompted the rest to introduce themselves. "Yamanaka Ino and this is my friend, Sakura." She flipped her hair and smiled confidently. Sakura timidly waved at me, "Haruno Sakura." She supplied quietly, making me want to openly coo at her. "Aburame Shino, you are not what we expected. Why? You don't act like the typical Uchiha." I winked at him, "It'd be boring if I did." He hummed in contemplation, "True."

"So, Hinata-san, Shika-kun, and Choji-chan already know you? Awe man, they never mentioned you to me." Ino whined while I smirked in response. Shikamaru shot a look to Ino, "Trying to explain the mentality of Sasuke-sa-" My eye twitched and Shikamaru began to sweat. "Sasuke-chan, would be too troublesome." I beamed at him, then pushed a surprisingly quiet Naruto in front of me. "This here's Naruto-chan, I hope none of you mind if he joins us." He seemed to radiate with energy at my statement, then turned to the group.

I felt something akin to pride bloom in my chest, I just changed the main story a little more and set Naruto on the path to making some loyal friends early on. Hell, he was already worming his way into my heart. I sighed and took a seat next to Shikamaru, watching Naruto chatter away with Kiba.

Hmm, life's not so bad.

Age 7

I sat under the tree, furrowing my brow in concentration. Sticking my tongue out, I started to shade the self-portrait. Call me vain, but drawing yourself is good practice, and a nice distraction of the incoming disaster that is about to be the highlight of my childhood in a year- or less.

Oh, joy.

The struggle not to be emo is real. Well, besides all that angsty stuff, I found myself hanging out with Shikamaru again. Well, the whole Ino-Shika-Cho 2.0 really. Choji was casually eating some chips next to me, Shikamaru was asleep, and Ino was watching me draw in silence. All in all, it was pretty peaceful, though Ino's staring is starting to creep me out. I thought she'd be… less mellow? Well, she is pretty hyperactive at times, but for the most part, when she's hanging out with people she doesn't know, she becomes confident, almost sarcastic, and tends more towards silence.

I guess it's just because she's younger than when she first appeared at the start of the series.

I slowly looked up and met her eyes. Her brow furrowed while I took a sip of my water, purposely slurping to disturb the silence. How Choji can eat so quietly is beyond me, it must be an Akimichi thing. "Hey Ino-chan," I started, she snapped her attention to me with a wide grin on her face, "Yeah Sasuke-kun?"

"Can you stop.. Staring?"

She blinked slowly, then her face flushed. "S-sorry Sasuke."

I chuckled, smirk-grinning at her, shaking my head. Returning my attention to my artwork, I almost missed a torn look sent my way. Everything was silent for a few minutes, then she parted her lips, snapping them shut a second later. Sighing, I put my pencil down and shot her an amused look, "You're thinking too loud." She giggled, some of the tension I hadn't noticed draining from her shoulders.

"Can I borrow some paper and a pencil?"

Tilting my head in surprise, I opened my bag and handed her the requested items. She shot me a grateful grin, "Thanks Sasuke-kun." I gave a lazy smile and shrugged, "No problem Ino-chan."

She laid the paper against her legs, starting to sketch a figure. Staring for a few more seconds at her quizzically, I returned to my own drawing, adding finishing touches. I smirked back at the mirror image of me, satisfied with the final piece. I closed my sketchbook and slipped it back into my bag, leaning into the tree and closing my eyes. I felt a light breeze ruffle my hair spikes, letting out a content sigh.

I decided to just let my hair grow out, though it was getting harder to care for. Trying to smooth the spikes down was a fruitless effort, and I refused to tie it back like Itachi. I actually didn't really mind it and had told Shisui when we were sparing to try to grab it if he could. It's all practice for the field, cause my hair was fabulous, and I won't cut it anytime soon.

I started humming a song from my old life that was stuck in my head. Idly running my hands through my bangs, I peeled open my eyes to see Ino's progress. She crossed out the messy sketch of the beginnings of a person and was drawing a cat. It was stylized, and there were some problems with the anatomy, but otherwise, it looked pretty good. My gaze flickered over to my other two friends, noting Choji was peeking at Ino's drawing as well. I felt my lips twitch into a small smile.

No matter what was coming our way over the years, none of us had to struggle alone.

"Sasuke, why are you painting the wall?" Itachi asked me, looking at the pretty pink clouds I was working on. I let out a huff, blowing my bangs that got stuck to my cheek from some of the paint. Currently, I was working on the wall adjacent to the door, working my way around another door that led to a porch outside my room. "Because my room needed-" I turned towards him from where I was standing on the stool, gesturing with my hands. "Color? Oomph?"

I shrugged, "Cause' I wanted to."

He eyed the landscape I was painting skeptically, "You didn't ask for permission, did you?" I gave him a cheeky smile, "Nope!" I chirped, wiping my hands on my shorts. He sighed, his lips twisting up into an exasperated smile. "Shisui got me the paint." I supplied. His eyes narrowed, "He's been helping you cause trouble." He stated, though it sounded more like he confirmed something. "He helped me with the exploding onigiri too."

Itachi massaged his temples, "Why must my best friend and little brother be chaos incarnate?" He muttered.

With that, I went back to painting, cackling evilly when I heard a loud yelp echo through the compound. I wonder if that elder would bring up offing me and my partner in crime during the next shrine meeting?

Shisui sneezed a couple of times, rubbing his nose on his sleeve. He sniffed, adopting a sly grin, "It's probably a pretty girl cooing over my awesomeness." He said to himself, expression falling when he felt a spike of killer intent from the direction of a particular rude elder's house.

Age 7 and ½

I climbed the walls like spiderman, singing the lyrics off-key. "Spiderman, spiderman, do whatever a spider can, on the walls- I don't remember the lyrics~"

Wall-walking, tree-walking, whatever, it is pretty fun. I settled down in a meditative position on the ceiling, directly above Itachi's bed. It was one of those rare times recently that Itachi has a day off, a day not to worry about his duties and the coup, though there's a meeting tonight I think. He was lounging on his bed, reading a book. Though he kept half an eye on me, to make sure to catch me if I fall.

The weariness in Itachi and Shisui was getting worse by the day, making me panic internally.

I'd join the academy in a few months, and resolved to corner Shisui and tell him I can see the future and shit. Not everything of course, and I'd be vague, but hopefully clear enough for him to live. I really didn't want Danzo to take his eye, and at this point, Shisui is one of my precious people, one I'd trust with my life.

Yeah, I'm going to be completely bullshiting so my knowledge isn't questioned, and if a Yamanaka or something mind-fucks me I'm screwed, but other than all that mess, today is a fine day.

I buried my concerns and coherent thoughts deep down, focusing on the chakra in my body and my breathing. I grasped that energy, scowling when it tried to slip through my hands almost like water. I directed it though the pathways, making it cycle faster along its natural route. It felt slightly uncomfortable, so I let it go, resuming its normal speed. I remember from some post or fanfiction back in my old life about building up chakra to the point it's painful then cycling it through the pathways. Since chakra enhancing humans in this world, it would make me stronger, and be an advanced chakra control exercise.

I didn't know if it would actually work, and I wouldn't end up accidentally killing myself, but it was worth a shot.

I'd basically practiced senbon throwing and chakra control since I got here, and have become proficient enough at both. I could walk up walls and make an opponent an immobile human porcupine, as well as make a weird layer of chakra on my skin, which could save my life I guess. It's almost the same as a henge, though I'm not changing my appearance, just building up enough layers to protect my skin and internal organs for a while. I still kinda sucked at water-walking, though I supposed it didn't really matter much at this point in time.

Getting my ass handed to me by Shisui every other day or so really made me drastically improve on my taijutsu since that fight with Neji. As I am now, I could easily become top of the class in the academy, along with future knowledge, these other kiddies stood no chance.

I wouldn't let them catch up. Always having something up my sleeves, a new ace in the hole, always changing, challenging myself.

I grinned, my eyes snapping open, and letting myself fall on top of Itachi. He caught me with his free hand easily, setting me down safely. I rolled my eyes and clung to his side, looking over his reading choice. He breathed out deeply and looped his free arm around my torso, pulling me closer. My expression became contemplative when I looked into his weary eyes for a moment. Letting out my own sigh, I closed my eyes once more and let myself drift into a dreamless sleep.

"Sure, people who don't follow the rules in the shinobi world are scum, but those who don't care about their comrades are worse than scum." - Obito Uchiha

"When a man learns to love, he must bear the risk of hatred." - Madara Uchiha

The next chapter will be the academy, maybe the massacre, it depends really.

Fun fact; Sasuke's rocking those fab locks.

His hair doesn't reach his mid-back yet, only his upper-back.