-One Week Later-

It should have been raining. It had been a week, and most of the village had expected the weather to match the mood at least once; instead, it was sunny and fair. The village mood, meanwhile, was melancholy, uncertain, and confused.

Assassination.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konoha, had been killed during what should have been a routine medical examination. The culprit had been a freakishly capable young medic-nin named Yakushi Kabuto. Former connections to Root under Danzou had disqualified him from service in the Hokage's private retinue, but that had not stopped him from cutting down and replacing one of them in secret.

The ruins of the medical office suggested that the assassin had used poison needles, gas, explosive tags, and other assorted traps, but by the time the Hokage had noticed the first injected poison it was already too late. After rushing to the scene, his security detail found the assassin impaled against the wall, a metal bedpost through his heart, the Hokage collapsed at his feet.

Most of the village had never known a time without Sarutobi as their Hokage. The Fourth, Minato Namikaze, had lasted barely a year before his sudden death fighting the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, and it hadn't been enough time to get used to the change. Now, the edifice of their village had been destroyed, and confusion was running rampant.

The intelligence corps suspected Danzou's involvement based on the Root connection. The chakra specialists noted a barely detectable chakra signature in Kabuto's brain that resembled certain techniques found in the Sand. Despite this, many of the village's citizens still suspected the Uchiha remnants. They had all heard rumors of what the Sharingan could make a person do. In short, everyone was angry, but nobody knew what was going on.

Team Seven had been off the normal mission structure for the past year. It had been a time for training, for learning from masters, and for turning skills hastily thrown together in the heat of the moment into practiced technique. Now, all available shinobi were being recalled to Konoha and placed on stand by. The activation of a sleeper agent, if that is truly what this was, was usually the opening gambit in a greater scheme, not an end unto itself.

Sasuke had returned immediately to his apartment. He had been training with Kakashi and his hounds close to the village.

Naruto's master, Jiraiya, had reached his charge immediately on Mount Myoboku, performing a reverse summoning to return them to the exact spot where Naruto had left the village one year previously.

Sakura was quite some distance away, working with an acquaintance of the Toad Sage. Sasuke didn't know the details, but their last contact with her suggested it was rough-going. Still, in their time together Sakura had gained a fearsome drive and a sort of stubbornness that was quite hard to ignore. He trusted that she was doing well, though she might not yet have even received the message to return, much less be able to make it in time.

Sasuke looked around his dark apartment. Tidy and well-organized, it was also a bit dusty. Even though he had been nearby, it hadn't seen much use in the last year. He had no particular attachment to the place.

In truth, Sasuke was also hurt by the loss of the Hokage. Maturity had allowed him to recognize that the old man had helped him a great deal through his life, though it hadn't always been obvious at the time. Unfortunately, Sasuke now had a larger problem.

Go far away. Erase your presence. When Lord Hokage dies, so too will your protection. The village will be glad to seal away the final memories of the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke looked to the north wall, seeing the scroll hanging there for the thousandth time. It was a veiled reminder of the first mission he had ever received.

Enter The Academy

Train Hard

Learn Well

Grow in Strength

Exercise Loyalty

Follow Orders

Acquire Skills

Erase Your Presence

It had never quite left his thoughts, but he had still let himself believe that the day he would have to leave the village would somehow not come.

Still, he had imagined it many times. The Hokage would die, the successor would take a less friendly stance toward the remainder of his clan, and this would embolden those among the populace that mistrusted them already. Before long, some enemy nation would reach the conclusion that capturing one of the Uchiha for their treasured eyes would no longer mean immediate retaliation. Once that happened, his lifespan would be measured in months, at best.

That was if he wasn't dealt with by sources inside the village first.

It wasn't that he was unsure of what he should do. He knew he would be leaving, and leaving shortly. He'd already figured out some places to lay low for a while, even if he needed to dodge tracking hounds. The problem was much simpler. He didn't want to leave his friends. His home for a long time had been with Naruto and Sakura. Even this training period away from them all had been rough, though he'd been closest to the village out of all of them.

Admittedly, the results of his training had been spectacular. He turned to the mirror hanging at eye-level. Naruto had laughed at his vanity, but the reality was that an Uchiha's eyes were a weapon and needed as much maintenance and attention as the straight-bladed sword he carried with him.

With a surge of chakra, he could see the fruits of his labor. The Sharingan could only be grown and evolved through pain and loss, but it could be developed through sufficient training. Now, in both of his eyes the triple tomoe pattern of fully developed Sharingan bloomed. Through sheer effort and persistence, his right eye now finally matched his left. The two were nearly indistinguishable, though he could tell the difference between his eye and his brother's. At that thought he felt a twinge in his left eye, which wasn't terribly uncommon.

But something was odd this time. He tried to blink away the discomfort, only to find that his left eye, his brother's eye, wouldn't close. He couldn't look away. Suddenly, an unexpected surge of chakra threatened to send him to his knees, though when he stumbled it seemed to be in slow-motion. He didn't even have time to cry out.

In the mirror, the tomoe in his left eye swirled about, transforming into a different configuration.

Time stopped.

...

-?-

When Sasuke regained awareness, he was standing on the surface of a lake, nearly as reflective as a mirror. At the edges of the clear water, dragonflies played in the reeds and rushes. The sky was bright, and the cool wind's breeze brought the scents of spring.

He spun in place, reaching for his weapons, though it was only on his second pass that he saw a figure standing before him, dressed in dark colors.

The familiar face smirked back at him and Sasuke stopped breathing, frozen in place.

"Wow, you really grew up, didn't you? Not quite as tall as me, but you're doing something right, huh. It's good to see you, little brother."

Sasuke's jaw dropped open.

-Seven Years Earlier-

-Uchiha Compound-

"No, little brother." Suddenly, Itachi moved as if he were uninjured, sitting up quickly and grabbing Sasuke firmly with one hand. "I'm so sorry. I love you. Please, find something else worth living for."

With two fingers extended, blood dripping down his hand, Itachi tapped his little brother right between the eyes.

Then everything went black for the young Uchiha.

With that, Itachi slumped backward, exhausted by the sudden exertion. He had a choice to make, now. At the least, he would give Sasuke an eye to replace the one he had lost. Itachi had three in his possession. Two of his own, and one from his best friend.

Amaterasu, with the power to create unending black flames.

Kotoamatsukami, with the ability to perfectly manipulate any opponent.

Tsukuyomi, with the strength to take a single second of illusion and stretch it into three days time.

Normally, when a close blood relative received a donated Mangekyou, there was a chance that the eye might evolve further, losing several of its limitations in the process, which would normally make Obito's Kotoamatsukami a poor choice over Itachi's own eyes. However… it was unlikely that an untrained child like Sasuke had the chakra required to complete the transformation into an Eternal Mangekyou… Still, Kotoamatsukami could only be used once every ten years, and Sasuke would need more protection than that. Furthermore, Amaterasu didn't seem to suit his kind-hearted brother.

The choice was clear.

But first, Itachi had a problem. He was bleeding out rapidly, with only minutes to live, at best. Before even that, he would become dulled by blood loss, which he could hardly afford. What a true tragedy. His brother would need so much help to survive what might be arrayed against him in the future, and Itachi could only spare him just a couple of minutes.

Well, he supposed he had just the answer for that.

In the combat-capable lifetime of an Uchiha ninja, it was likely that he or she would learn hundreds of various techniques simply by watching them being cast. The hand signs, the subtle motions, the flow of chakra… to the Sharingan they were all as easy to read as a children's book. But a person couldn't sustain the infinite variety required to use each of those techniques regularly, and as a result, most Uchiha tended to assemble a repertoire of favorites and simply let others fall into disuse, forgetting them as time went on.

Itachi had never gotten the hang of forgetting a good trick.

For this, he needed a source of water. Ah, the pool of his own blood would do. Once again, he pulled himself upright, bringing himself nearer. With a puff of his own humid, chakra-infused breath, the pool of thick blood turned perfectly reflective, like a smooth, red mirror. A ninja from Mist had once tried to get the upper hand on him by hiding beneath the surface of a lake and bombarding him with long-range water techniques, hoping to force him to come down to the water-breather's element.

Unfortunately for the now-deceased older man, the Sharingan could see through many tricks when he wanted it to.

For now, Itachi brought himself over to the mirror. His face looked haggard and gruesome in the red reflection. Right now, his worst enemy was the steady march of Time, with his few remaining minutes bleeding quickly away from him. Itachi made a point of never letting his enemies keep the upper hand. When your enemy has you on the ropes, you either take the initiative or die immediately.

If time itself was his enemy, then he would just have to launch a surprise attack.

With a pulse of chakra, his Mangekyou Sharingan activated, swirling into place.

[TSUKUYOMI]

In that moment, one second stretched out into three days, reflected endlessly in Itachi's own mind. In those three days, he planned his next moves very carefully. The newest genius of the Uchiha Clan put more effort into this plan than he had ever put into any mission before.

When the illusion finally ended, he moved swiftly and surely. Though he would face his death in the next few minutes, he smiled. It all seemed so simple with enough time to think.

-?-

-THE MIND'S EYE-

"How- How are you here?" Sasuke asked. The question was miniscule compared to the confusion it was meant to resolve. Maybe it was just unchecked hope, but he couldn't dismiss this as a mere meaningless illusion.

His elder brother smiled. "Chakra is a wondrous thing. The energy of mind and body united in harmony. I can't say for sure whether I'm really 'here' or not, but it certainly feels real." He chuckled, flexing his hand, and the scenery shifted around him. "Well, real enough. I had the eye I gave you set to trigger when it looked upon your fully realized Sharingan. I knew that you would then be certain to have the chakra needed to use it. This genjutsu will give us three days together. I think you and I have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah," said Sasuke, face softening. "Yeah, we do."

Then, there was a time of no time.

Sasuke caught himself mid-stumble as the illusion ended and time crawled back to its normal pace. The drain on his chakra had been shocking, but not severe, and he recovered quickly. He raised one hand to his eye, examining it in the mirror, finding that a few drops of blood had escaped from the eye's socket. The Mangekyou Sharingan was a powerful tool, but each use stole ever so slightly from the light of the Uchiha's flame. The difference between his previously perfect eyesight and his current condition was almost imperceptible, but it was there.

The eye was truly his now, though, and he could control its power as his own.

The smear of blood on his hand was a sobering reminder of its cost.