Author's note: Thanks for the lovely reviews, I really appreciate it.

This is a little bit of an earlier update as I'll be quite busy over the next two days. I hope you understand. As always, about two weeks for a chapter. They are written already, but due to me having a bit of writer's block I haven't been able to properly write what I want next, and I also don't want to get too behind. I like having a few chapters in advance in case life decides to frick me up. I hope once things progress passed a more difficult chapter I'll be fine.


Paradox

05. Black Crow

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The two men stared at each-other, almost in disdain. Sasuke had a puzzled look on his face, as Itachi regarded him. While he had never seen Itachi, he had had a feeling, but did not want to give himself false hope. Still, Itachi would be a tough opponent, even with the rinnegan that swirled in his left eye. His eyes narrowed at the Leaf headband strapped to the elder Uchiha's forehead.

"Why do you continue to fight for them, Itachi? They made your life hell," he snapped.

"The Uchiha caused that onto themselves," Itachi said in response, "I never wanted things to come to this, for you."

Sasuke shook his head, "Why not join me? Become brothers again?" Desperation was evident in his tone.

"You know far-well I can't do that," Itachi said in response, his posture straightening, "Leave. Or I'll be forced to kill you."

The fallen Uchiha laughed at that, "You couldn't do it years ago, why would you now?"

His brother stepped forward, "You're not my brother. Not anymore. You haven't been my brother for a long time, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked pained at that, before shaking his head. "Well. I suppose… soon is the right time. In a week, I will return, and this village will be gone, with you in it," his eyes flicked onto Sarada, who seemed to be shocked at this point, "I'll return for you, and your mother. You are the only two who will not feel the sting of my revenge."

With that, he disappeared in a wisp of dark smoke.

Itachi turned to the four kids, who were – clearly – horrified. Particularly the younger Sasuke. Itachi sighed. He knew something like this would happen soon, but not now. He had hoped he would have time to rest since his last excursion, he was barely at half strength. He was grateful that Sasuke had not decided to kill him now, and be done with it. A week… that could mean a few things.

"Who are you?" Boruto asked, the first out of his stupor.

"It's Itachi," Sasuke spat.

"Itachi? As in my uncle?" Sarada asked.

Naruto just looked spooked.

Sasuke's eyes glanced over to Sarada, both sets of their eyes now crimson with the sharingan, "He's not your uncle. He murdered the rest of the clan! Why do you think you're the only Uchiha in Konoha?"

Sarada gave him a feral look, "You don't know everything."

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Sasuke could nearly pull his hair out in frustration, that and stick a kunai into the bastard's heart. Why is she also saying that? It was almost like hearing Sakura's words again, from this morning. And Itachi? How was he alive? His older-self had killed him, hadn't he? What the hell? It was like his world being thrown upside down, again.

"We need to talk," this time his attention was on Sasuke.

"Now, why would I listen to anything you have to say?"

"Because it might stop you from becoming like him."

Sasuke paused. He… supposed he could hear Itachi out. Maybe. His crimson eyes narrowed, still bright with the sharingan. He glanced at Sarada, who seemed both excited and pleased to see Itachi. It was weird. What had Sakura told Sarada about Itachi? Why was he now one of the people she seemed to like? It made him feel angry and disgusted at whatever lies were told to Sarada about Itachi. What reason would they have told her anything about this monster?

Itachi's gaze flowed onto the field behind him, where the present Sasuke had stood. Something seemed to bother him about it all. Sasuke had found it weird that Itachi had protected them from this man, but still… He could not help but shake off the fury that he was feeling over his older brother's sudden arrival. Itachi was a bad man, quite literally. He destroyed everything about the Uchiha clan, and had left his younger sibling alive in order to test his limits later on. What had Itachi seen in Sasuke? Sometimes, Sasuke wished that he was also taken out with the Uchiha clan when they were massacred that fateful night.

Still… a week… a week until the other Sasuke came back for Sarada and Sakura. It made his throat hurt. He could feel the man's power, and knew that no-one in the village could possibly stand up to him. Would he bring an army? Was it to all-out slaughter the village, and take what he believes is his? Sasuke could barely recognise himself in the other man. His chakra was colder and crueller, and his gaze was one of both tiredness and disinterest. Still, the way he had looked at Sarada made him feel uncomfortable. Sarada easily recognised him, but…

Sasuke felt a gentle pat on his shoulder, he glanced to his side, and Sarada was staring at him with sad eyes, "It's okay," she said, her voice soft and gentle – very different to the direct tones that he had heard in the girl's voice.

While she was a girl who he had also wronged, clearly, it seemed part of her gave a damn about him. Normally, he would shrug it off, but comfort was kind of something he needed at that moment.

His eyes shifted back to Itachi, who looked thoughtful for a moment, before he vanished away, in his usual crow feathers. Where had he gone? Wasn't he going to talk to Sasuke about something?

"We should head back," Naruto said quietly, his voice thick with emotion, "I think we need to talk to everyone…"

Before they could do anything, Sakura appeared in front of them. Her expression was both alarmed and frightened.

"Mama!" Sarada cried out, and practically leapt into her mother's arms.

Sasuke watched silently as a mother and her daughter hugged, her fingers pulling gently through the inky strands of his daughter's head. She was whispering something gentle to the girl, that even Sasuke could not pick up. Her eyes flickered onto Sasuke, "We need to get to the Hokage's office. Kakashi has asked for a meeting."

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When Naruto arrived, he did not know what to expect. With the other Sasuke's sudden re-emergence, it was clear that everyone was on high alert. Within the room were Kakashi, Itachi and Shikamaru. The kids and Sakura had arrived together. Itachi, who Naruto was still shocked to see breathing hovered in the corner, his arms over his chest. Shikamaru looked older, his hair a bit longer but still pulled into a pony-tail that jutted up the back. Normally, Naruto would be happy to see a familiar face, but decided to not say anything.

Shikamaru was looking over files on the desk, "Hey, Naruto," his greeted coolly, "Normally, I'd nearly give you a hug, but I'm not sure if now's the time. I've been looking into your case all through last night, when you boys arrived. I haven't got the kinks figured out, but…"

"Come out with it," Sasuke barked to the side, his tone annoyed – no doubt with having to deal with his brother being in the same room.

Naruto did not understand. How was Itachi alive? Shouldn't he be dead?

"I think I get how you guys got here, and how we can maybe send you back," he said, "Without getting too much into detail, you guys pretty much set off the axis of time. Time travel is possible, but it's never triggered on purpose. But… in order to get you both back, we need to send you back through where you guys came from. I'm… fairly… sure if you do the same thing again, you both will be able to go back to your own timeline."

Time travel? Still, Naruto guessed it was possible since they were, well, in the future. It just felt like a bad genjutsu, kind of, considering he met both Boruto and Hinata. Well, he met Hinata again, but… His eyes narrowed, "Are you guys still planning on making us forget?"

Kakashi cut in this time, "We need more time to figure that out, which is the shit part. We don't want to absolutely upset the balance of time by changing everything. Hell, we're unsure if when we send you guys back, it'll affect our timeline at all. There's two theories with it, and we're hoping that whatever you guys do in your time, it'll affect us."

Naruto could feel his brain hurt.

"You don't have the time, that other guy will be back in a week," Sasuke said, his voice gravelly.

Kakashi nodded, "That's why we're trying to figure out the best course of action now. We may need a few hours, but…" he shook his head and glanced at Shikamaru, "I need you to get me the exact formula before we even attempt to send them back."

Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag. Yeah, fine. I'll see if my family will come together for it, alright? We may need more than a few hours, since, well… no one has ever gone back or forward in time on purpose."

"Just do it as quick as you can. We need to send them back before Sasuke returns, he has already seen them both, so I can imagine he'll ensnare them into his plans. Whatever they are."

Sakura stepped forward, "I… should have known. He did mention to me then he would return for Sarada and I, once Sarada was older."

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It had happened during the start of the war. Sasuke had been dormant for around three years, hell, he was assumed to be dead considering how quiet he had been for that amount of time. Sakura needed to get out of the village, even for a little bit, and decided to take Sarada with her. There was a small spring with a waterfall nearby, where she and Sarada could wade for a little while in the hot weather.

("Is this good, Sarada-chan?" she asked softly, as she ran her wet fingers through the toddler's hair. In response, the girl cooed happily, slapping her hands into the water.

"Mama—Mama—Mama!" she giggled happily.

Sakura found herself smiling at the baby girl. She was such a blessing, even if she came from a dark place. She was so beautiful and pure, and Sakura adored her so much. She would be torn apart if she lost her daughter. She had been worried when she had found out that she was pregnant that she would be unable to bond with the little girl, but… well, she bonded with her straight away.

Sarada grabbed for her index finger and squeezed her chubby hands. Sakura smiled, sitting fully into the water, and pulling her baby into her lap. Sarada cackled playfully as she watched the waterfall above in awe.

Then, dread fell through her. Instantly, Sakura tore herself and her baby out of the water, or well tried to, to only be face to face with the man that haunted her very dreams.

She swallowed, and noticed that his eyes were very different. One was red with the sharingan, and the other had an odd purple look to it, with numerous rings and tomoe. A rinnegan? Sarada no longer was playful, and was sniffing, trying not to burst into tears.

"Ah, Sakura," he greeted coolly, keeping a hand on her arm.

Normally, she could easily overpower him in bare strength, but she did not want to risk Sarada. She eyed him fearfully, trying to swallow what little saliva she had left in her mouth. He looked dangerous, more dangerous than he did on that night. Something about him made him even more… well, terrifying. Maybe it was the mismatched eyes, or how much shaggier his hair had gotten.

"Who's this?" his eyes peered down to the little girl, who was now hiding into her mama's shirt, shivering slightly. Even Sarada knew that this man was dangerous, no doubt sensing his potent chakra.

Sakura stayed silent, now eyeing him defiantly.

"Hm? You know that I can go through your memories," he said, voice low, "I'm sure that'll be a lot more painful. Who is she, Sakura?"

"Mama," the little girl hiccupped, now in tears. "Mama, who scary man?"

Anger flickered beneath the surface, he was terrifying the little toddler.

"Sakura."

"Ts…" she glanced away, deciding it might be best to not anger him further. Who knew what he was capable of now. "I… Sarada. Her name's Sarada."

"And you're her mother?" his voice seemed stormy, "Odd. I'd never heard—"

"Leave us alone, Sasuke," Sakura said, voice strained, "I need to take her home. You're scaring her."

Almost as if burned, he backed off, eyeing her dangerously. "I'm not here to harm you."

Sakura did not believe him. Not at all. She stayed in the water, it felt colder now. She stayed very, very still. The toddler tried to move in her arms, but she gripped onto the little girl with an iron clad grip. She was scared that Sasuke would swipe her away from Sakura.

Sakura could make her escape now, that he had given them space, but…

He looked down at her, and she watched as his sharingan faded, but the rinnegan stayed in place. He knelt down, now further away. "She's mine?"

Sakura stayed silent.

"Of course she is," he laughed slightly to himself, "You wouldn't settle for any other."

That made her feel sick to her stomach.

"How old is she now? Two? Three years old?"

"Two and a half…" Sakura said softly, her voice holding back a shiver that was collecting in her throat.

He nodded, "She's fairly big."

Sarada cooed softly, "Mama – go home, please?"

"We will, sweetheart," she said softly, more of a whisper to the little girl, "We will, sweetheart."

Sasuke watched, seeming to be interested in their small talk. Sakura talked quietly to the little girl, trying to get her to calm down. It seemed to help her own nerves as well. Sakura just wanted to go home and cry. She did not want this to go awry, considering what he had done when they had been alone previously. It made her feel nauseous that that could happen again. Sasuke, however, kept his distance, studying the two. He did not seem to have any wants for that again.

His eyes narrowed before he stood up and glanced to the left and right. "She needs her mother," he said, his tone now clipped and irritated, "Even I can see that. I'll return for both of you, when she is older."

Sakura felt her breath hitch. No, she doesn't want to go with him –

"I'll see you around, Sakura."

Her eyes fell onto her daughter, noticing the tell-tale signs of the sharingan.)

"You saw Sasuke again?" she heard Shikamaru shout, "Why wouldn't you—"

"I told her not to say anything," Kakashi cut in, "We weren't sure what Sasuke had meant. Or how long until he would arrive."

Sakura looked guilty, her eyes flickering onto the ground. That moment had been terrifying. Luckily, Sarada did not seem to remember, but… now she knows. Her green eyes fell onto her daughter, who looked horrified, which was fair enough. She did not know how she came to be, but Sakura had drilled into her head to never go with Sasuke, no matter what. Knowing now, that Sasuke was after her? That should terrify her, and it clearly does.

Shikamaru sighed loudly, "That's pretty close to treason, isn't it?" his gaze was on Kakashi now.

This time, Naruto cut in, "It doesn't exactly seem like she sought him out? He found her! Not the other way around."

The Nara genius rolled his eyes, "She has a kid with the Uchiha. She's lucky she wasn't executed for it. It's common knowledge that Sarada has Uchiha blood."

"You don't understand the circumstances," Itachi cut in, having been silent the entire time, "Don't assume. Kakashi-sama has let it go, as did Tsunade-sama. There is no case here for treason, and now is not the time for an argument from thirteen years ago."

Kakashi nodded his head, "I allowed her to have amnesty for that, as did Tsunade when the elders first questioned it..."

Sakura gave a look to Shikamaru, "I was the first one to point out who Sarada was, and they let it go. You know that the elders wanted their hands on any Uchihas, that's why they didn't know about Itachi coming back."

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Sasuke felt a tingle of anger when Shikamaru had tried to accuse Sakura of treason. She had not told anyone other than Kakashi, clearly, and Itachi seemed like he may have an idea from what he said. Still, having Itachi in the same room just made him uncomfortable. He didn't like the fact that Itachi was in close range of both Sakura and Sarada, and he worried that he was setting something up for them both. Who knows, maybe Itachi was secretly working for his future self, but… part of Sasuke seemed to acknowledge that maybe that was not the case.

One thing for sure was that he needed to hear the truth from Itachi. He believed that this could change things, maybe.

Itachi cleared his throat, and the entire room focused on him, "I believe the best course of action would be to send both Sasuke and Naruto back with their memories, we are better off to take this chance to have things not work out the way they have."

Shikamaru responded, "But we don't know how that'll affect our timeline, and we don't even know if Sasuke will still turn."

The older Uchiha shrugged, "We won't know until we take that risk."

Kakashi spoke up this time, "I do need time to think of this, but I do understand both of your viewpoints on the matter. I may be able to do something that will help the two boys out."

What does he mean?

Sarada sighed heavily, "So my evil dad's after me and Mama, and we're possibly going to have to put everyone's fates up to these two?"

Her mother tapped her on the head lightly, "We'll have to see, sweetheart."

Kakashi nodded, seeming to look a bit thoughtful. "I'll come up with an answer in the next couple of days, I'd prefer to have all information in front of me. Shikamaru, please speak to your family and try and come up with a formula so that we can get this right on the first go. You're dismissed."

Shikamaru bowed respectfully, and made his exit. Leaving the room with a gentle tap of the door. Kakashi looked more tired than usual and sighed loudly.

"I'm glad you stayed back, Itachi," Kakashi said, softly, his eyes glancing over to Sasuke, "Take him with you, and tell him everything. If his reaction is… well, not what the current Sasuke had, we may have a chance to change the future."

Itachi nodded, and Sasuke frowned. He did not want to be alone with this man.

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Kakashi could see the irritation etched onto the younger Uchiha sibling's face, but he did not really care. If he reacted somewhat positively, then there may be a chance to change their future. Maybe. Still, if an older Sasuke reacted badly – then… well. Kakashi supposed it was Obito that was the one that told the current Sasuke, so maybe hearing everything from his brother's point of view may be better. Itachi had made it clear that he had wanted to die (due to his sickness), and that he wanted the truth to die along with him. Sasuke was apparently meant to come back a 'hero', but that clearly went awry. While Kakashi could put the blame solely on Itachi, he knew that the man had tried to do everything he could to protect his home – the village. Even if it meant sacrificing his life here, as well as destroying his relationship with his younger brother.

It was awful that Danzo had set it up that way, but Kakashi supposed that the man wanted the Uchihas out, so that he could take over control. Luckily, his stint as Hokage was small, considering Sasuke had killed him. Still. Kakashi did not know what to do, and he was torn on the two options he had. He could definitely let the boys go back with the knowledge of the future intact, but would it be in vain if Sasuke still turned out the same? Maybe Naruto would try to put him down as soon as he could. Who knows? He just hoped that things did work out well, but… his trust in Sasuke was lacking. The boy that stood in front of him becomes the very monster that haunts the world. He could not just let that go. And if he let them go without the knowledge of the future, things will just end up the exact same way. He hoped that Sasuke reacted well to what Itachi says, but he wasn't holding his breath.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair for a moment, "Boruto, you can go home too. Let Hinata-san know what's going on as well as you can, she'll understand. Tell her to let the Hyuuga clan know, as well."

Boruto nodded sharply, and headed out. Leaving behind the three Uchihas, and Sakura and Naruto. Sakura had her arms crossed.

"Sakura, when the time comes – when Sasuke comes—"

"No, Kakashi, I'm staying here."

"You will need to take Sarada and run. Itachi and I will hold him off as well as we can."

Sarada looked panicked once more, her gaze flickering up to her mother, "W… Will it have to come to that?"

Kakashi looked away, "I hope not, but we will never know for now. I'd prefer you both be out of the village. His main targets will be you two."

Sakura growled, "I am better off here!"

"And you need to protect Sarada! There's no one else that could possibly meet Sasuke's strength."

She stilled. Her eyes focused on her daughter, who was no doubt full of fear at this point. She nodded numbly, and bowed her head. "I… Sarada and I need to go home. Are we—"

"Go."

She reached for her daughter, linked their fingers and walked out of the office. Terror radiated off the both of them. Sasuke… well, he just. He did not know what to feel. He felt for the two, but there was – quite literally – nothing he could do right now. His eyes flickered onto Naruto. They would get back with their memories intact. They had to. He had to change things—he just. He had to. For both Sakura and Sarada.

"I think… that's everything. I will call another meeting when things start to fall into place," his eyes swept over the group, before landing on the older Uchiha brother, "Itachi."

Itachi nodded.

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Sakura knelt down in front of Sarada, who was sitting in the dining room. She placed both hands on her daughter's shoulders, and leaned her head forward, their foreheads touching.

"I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"… I'll do the same for you."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mama."

The two hurried along to packing some bags with whatever they would need, before sitting together in the lounge in silence.

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Sarada leaned back into her pillows, she felt like crying, but the tears would not come. Everything was so fucked up right now, and she did not know how to deal with the emotions she was feeling. She turned to her side, facing the window. It was nearly night time, the sun was just sitting up above the horizon. Cloud etched together along with the sunbeams made a beautiful sight. She quivered slightly, before a black figure appeared in the window.

"K—Kuro?"

She sat right up, and opened the window. The crow darted in and crowed. As always, the bird had its right eye closed, and its haunting white eye open. The bird cooed at the girl, and Sarada patted him on the head.

("A crow?" her mama had asked, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, he appears at my window sometimes. He's like, very tame… I can pat him, and he'll hang out with me for a few hours," Sarada said in response.

The bird was sitting in front of them, on top of a book and was preening its feathers. The two noticed that he seemed to be injured, Sakura reached for the bird and he responded by jumping onto her left hand. Her right hand hovered over the bird's closed eye, and instantly, confusion flittered onto her mother's face.

"What's wrong? He's missing an eye, isn't he?" Sarada said, her tone almost sad.

"N—No. Actually, he has it—" she said, her eyes narrowing on the bird, "And it seems to be functioning well. I'm not sure… why his eye is closed like this."

The young girl reached for the bird herself, it happily landing on her head this time. It crowed its pleasure and sunk into her hair, making itself comfortable. Sarada could not help but giggle.

"He seems to like you a lot."

"Yeah, he's been around for a while, I thought he was someone's pet," Sarada murmured, grinning, "But maybe not."

"Has he always had his eye closed like this? I'm not veterinarian, but I can usually still heal animals fine," she said, "I can also tell when their eyes are functioning, and his seem to be…"

Sarada nodded, patting the crow on the head, who once more let out a noise of happiness. The crow was always gentle, and it wasn't until her mother saw it that she realised he was real. He had been around from when she was a child, appearing randomly every few weeks or so. She thought it was weird that a random crow seemed to be quite attached to her. He even brought her various random stones, but they seemed to disappear by the next day when the bird was long gone. Maybe he just wanted to show her what he had found.

"Have you got a name for him?"

"Yeah… Kuro."

"For black?"

"Of course! It's a cool name, Mama."

"I'm not saying it isn't."

"It seemed like you were trying to say it isn't!"

"Sarada…"

The two then burst into laughter, and the crow let out another noise that sounded similar to a giggle. At least, as well as he could for a crow.)

Kuro, as always, settled into her arms. The bird would only stay for a few hours normally, and he often appeared at this time of night. Sarada smiled cheerily, but hoped the bird would flee when her father no doubt came for her. He was family to her, one thing that stayed constant and didn't give a damn about who's blood was running through her veins.

"Hey, Kuro."

Kuro chirped his response.

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Sasuke glared.

They had been quiet for a while, and Itachi seemed to be… well. Thinking over his words. Sasuke felt like he was in a dangerous situation, considering his older brother was definitely stronger than him.

'He is distracted, so maybe I could use a well-aimed Chidori against his throat…' He decided not to, considering his older brother was probably ready for that sort of thing. Why did his future-self want Itachi on his side? It was unexpected. Sasuke would have assumed that his other-self would have tried to cut him down where he stood. And the fact that Kakashi allowed him in the Hokage's office without being bound together by chakra strings? It just did not sit right with him. Had Itachi fooled them into believing that he was a good man, despite what he had done to the Uchiha clan? Surely not, they couldn't be that stupid.

"I was never planning on being the one to tell you my secrets, Sasuke," Itachi said, finally. "I thought I'd be well and truly dead, and that any secrets I had would be dead alongside me. It does make sense to some extent that the person who told you would have been the one who assisted me with…" he trailed off.

Sasuke knew straight away what he meant. He wasn't alone? Of course not. That made some sense. How did Itachi exterminate all of the Uchiha within one night on his own?

His older brother let out an exhale, "I don't really know where to start with it all, or to get you to understand why I did what I did that night. Do you remember your cousin, Shisui?"

Ah. Shisui. Those two had been like best friends, and Itachi had apparently murdered him to get the mangekyou sharingan. He frowned. Why would he mention Shisui?

"Yeah," he said in a clipped tone, "Get on with it."

"I never killed him to gain my mangekyou sharingan, that was… what was pushed by others. Shisui was ambushed by one of the elders: Danzo. He had one of his eyes stolen, and decided to end his life so my own eyes would awaken," he said, staring ahead, "That is another way to gain the mangekyou, by seeing someone you care about die. While it is true that killing your best-friend could allow you to attain it, it more commonly happened when and Uchiha's loved one dies in front of them. He gifted me his second eye, which is now transplanted within one of my crows for later use."

Sasuke was already shocked. He had been sure that Itachi had killed his friend; his own cousin. But no? That was not the case?

"Why would I believe anything you have to say, Itachi?" Sasuke said instead.

"Because what I say, may change your outlook on what you will do next, and how you can change our future," he said, his tone somewhat emotionless, "I understand if you need a little time to… go through what I have to say, but I do hope that you will come to the right conclusion."

"And what conclusion would that be?"

Itachi now gave him a look, his eyes bright with the mangekyou sharingan, the usual hurricane design had a kaleidoscope behind them, "The one where you do not make the same mistakes that your current self makes."

Before Sasuke could look away, he was locked within a genjutsu, and he saw the world wrap into one that was crimson and black.

Words: 5000