A/N Okay so just a little note before you start to read… I'm sure you all know but in the anime Sasuke is late for his exam with Gaara and they never really say why… yeah he was training but that is where this moment takes place I don't know exactly how much time passed from the exams to when Sasuke left to join forces with Orochimaru so I put two years if it is longer well I apologize. This is a kind of 'what if' moment that could have happened, altering history. I warned you. It fit with the story that I'm trying to create so just go with it. Hope you enjoy!

Fallen Sparrow

Chapter Three Part Two: Becoming One

Two Years Ago…

With a sigh he looked up, the blazing sun's rays penetrating the land beneath. His movement slight, creating an echo as his sandal crunched the rocks of the terrain. Hours… days… weeks, they had been training. Unforgiving in his drive; unrelenting in his pursuit to be better, stronger, greater than before. Today was the day when he either proved himself or failed. There was no median. There was no going back. His breathing heavy he stared down at his bandaged palms. He had claimed to be an "Avenger" now he would have to prove it.

"Am I ready?" His voice was soft but heard nonetheless. It was an uncharacteristic question to ask… coming from his lips it sounded foreign to the both of them. Looking up his red pupils stared at Kakashi. "My training… is it complete?" For the last month he had been training for the Chuuin Exams. Waking up in that hospital that first morning… he hadn't hesitated as he got dressed and went in search of his Sensei. He had his own mission… and getting through the exam was only a minor stepping stone that would set him on a path unavoidable since that dreadful day.

The silver haired man hesitated. The gleam in his student's eyes… was it… but then it was gone. Perhaps he had been in the sun too long. Hours… days… weeks… he had been training him. Little water and continuous pushing of the human form had brought them to this point. He had to make a choice… he had to decide if this boy… no this ninja… could be trusted. What he would suggest could either lead to Sasuke's destruction or his salvation. The choice was in his hands… it all came down to trust. Did he trust him? "Almost… there is one more step… should you decide to take it." There was interest in Sasuke's eyes. He waited. "Your blood limit is great…there is no question of that… no one can attest to your strength and what you are capable of. You are young but you already carry the title Genius. You are special… but you are not the only one."

"I know that. Naruto…" He began but Kakashi shook his head.

"This is not about him. He is of a different tale. He is no less special but you two are not the same. His path is different from yours… his strength stems from another place… Everything that Naruto has is within him and him alone… but you… yours lies within not only your blood… but the blood of the clan that created you." He remarked watching the recognition light in his eyes.

"Nani… Hyuuga?" He asked.

Kakashi nodded. "There is a way… a way to be stronger… faster… in time for the exam but you have to be disciplined… willing to make the sacrifice." He remarked. "You already know that you have to put your life on the line... this… with this sacrifice you have to risk more then ever… you have to be willing not only to take… but to give… you have to give something of yourself… to someone else."

"To a Hyuuga…"

If Kakashi heard the scorn in his voice he didn't acknowledge it. "Mixing your blood… your chakra, binding yourself with the Hyuuga, you permit your body to go beyond its own blood limit."

Byakugan… Sharingan… mixed together… willingly. He stared down at his hands again, the veins running down his arms, into his wrist, through his palms, ending at his fingertips…no, not ending at his fingertips. He could go beyond that… beyond his own boundaries. He could be more then he ever thought. He could be the Avenger; but at what cost?

"What sacrifice?" He asked.

"Like I said, you bind yourself with the Hyuuga… forever. Souls eternally intertwined. Whatever you take you give. You must leave as much of yourself as you are willing to receive. Your lives will always be connected. Your fates wrapped together. Your strength will be her strength…her pain will become your pain. Even if the bond becomes faint… lessened by your need to be the Avenger… lying dormant as you both move through life separately… it will never break. You will always return. She will always be there."

Listening intently he was weighing his options. For as long as he could remember his only purpose was to be stronger to kill Itachi. That was his reason for being alive. Everything that he was belonged to the one task of avenging his clan… avenging his parents. To give even a small part of himself over to someone else… someone he knew was inferior to him was a sacrifice indeed. Yes it did make him stronger… but it would also weigh him down. Her emotions… he knew they were great. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Her constant blush, her stutter… she was weak in his eyes. But she was the only choice. She was the heir.

"She is weak." He remarked staring at the ground hearing Kakashi move around the terrain. Picking up the kunai off the ground and placing them back in the pockets of his pants he sighed.

"She is not trained completely. Furthermore, even if the body is weak, her blood is strong. Neji is a genius… and their blood is the same." Standing erect he looked to the sun and then back to the boy before him and exhaled a tired sigh. "The exams have begun… make a decision. We are almost out of time." He stated lazily. His tone mocked the importance of this moment. But then again it wasn't in Kakashi's nature to be excited… not ever.

Sasuke swallowed hard staring down at his hands… the same hands that seemed so void of strength when compared to his older brother. His older brother who had massacred his own people simply to measure his own power and he realized that as much as he trained… it would never be enough. He had to be stronger… stronger and better. There really wasn't a choice.

"So if I do this… I will be stronger?" He asked.

Kakashi raised a brow seeing the young ninja beginning to put his own plan together. "The ability will be there. Accessing it will take concentration… training… dedication. But yes, you can be stronger than even 'Him' in time." He remarked voicing what Sasuke wouldn't. That was all that really mattered and they both knew it.

He nodded. What choice did he have? Looking up into Kakashi's eyes he stared at the older man feeling as if there was something that he wasn't telling him, but it didn't matter. There was no sacrifice that was too great if it meant doing what he knew that he had to do. "I will become stronger…"

That was all the answer that Kakashi needed. There was a twinge of guilt that passed through his body from all that he held back He was about to change lives… a lot of lives some unknowingly maybe even unforgivably. But sometimes secrets needed to be kept in order to save those that mattered most. Ninjas were tools of sacrifice… even her! "Let us go."

An hour later…

It was a nearby Anbu that had stabilized the young heiress that told Kakashi that she had been taken to the hospital after fainting from over exertion. The older man ignored the sound of disgust from his student's lips as he led him to the hospital. Once they were in front of her room he turned to Sasuke, "So how will you ask her?"

The younger boy shrugged as if just realizing what he was about to do. 'What was he going to say?' How did one ask something so personal of the other? Hell, he wasn't sure that she wouldn't faint from sheer acknowledgment. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He would think of something… he was a genius after all.

The older man scratched the back of his head looking down the corridors. "Maybe flowers would have been a good idea." He stated tiredly.

Sasuke shrugged off his suggestion pushing on the door. "Wait here. It won't take long." He threw over his shoulder before disappearing into the room.

"Baka… he's not that cool." He muttered before leaning against the wall grabbing the novel from his back pocket.

Inside…

The room was bright… so bright that it almost hurt his eyes and he realized that perhaps it was the girl. Her skin was pale and flawless. Creamy skin lacking of color and yet somehow more serene than he could ever imagine, he swallowed hard. He had never really looked at her… never really looked at any girl. He didn't have the time. Her dark hair sprawled out over the pillow he could see that it wasn't black but more like a midnight blue.

Coming to stand over her, he simply stared at her. She was small, engulfed in that stupid tan jacket she always wore. If she ever bothered to get rid of it she might improve her speed. She would never be quick but at least she wouldn't be a sitting target. He had seen her in training… he looked away at the memory suddenly not so sure about this. Could she really help him? How? She was slow, full of emotion, and too timid to be anything but a nuisance! She was not a ninja!

Clenching his hands into fists at his sides he felt himself swell with something… loathing. He loathed her… she was weak and therefore not even worthy of existing. She would always need to be saved. She was… she was…

A growl of frustration escaped him not able to deny what he knew to be true. Her blood was strong! Therefore she was strong… she could be anyway and that meant he needed her. The very idea brought something to the surface that he couldn't explain. The black markings appearing on his skin burning his flesh slightly and before he knew it he was holding a ball of chakra in his hands ready to strike her and end her life. The urge didn't feel like his own and somehow it was scaring him but he couldn't stop it from building within him. Before he could make a decision as to what he was doing the force of her chakra hit him in the chest throwing him off his feet into a cart at the end of the room.

The wind left his lungs in a rush as his back hit hard against the metal. Gauze and ointments tumbled off the medical cart onto the tiled floor. His eyes wide, his breathing heavy the tattoo on his body began to recede. Looking up he stared. It had been her… her body creating a shield around itself in self protection. He could see the blue waves of power radiating over her. She was still unconscious as far as he could tell her body completely undisturbed. Looking down he stared at the burn marks on his shirt and felt a small smirk come to his lips as he tasted the metallic flavor of blood on his lips. 'Perhaps she wasn't so weak!'

Standing with effort he approached her again. Watching her face for any sign of life, he could see her breathing was slightly erratic. Swallowing a lump that wouldn't go away he felt his hand reach out to touch her expecting some kind of retaliation but it never came. It was as if her body knew that he was no longer a threat. Her skin was smooth… soft… soft like Cherry Blossom petals. He felt himself twitch as her fingers tightened around his hand. Her scent… a mixture of tea and lavender was like a smell of home. He watched her face grimace from some unknown pain. Perhaps she was dreaming. She drew in her bottom lip and bit down as though fighting some internal beast. He watched the small bead of blood emerge on her lower lip. It was a dark ruby against a snowy landscape. Without hesitation he leaned in looking over her face once more briefly before pressing his lips to hers. The blood that was in his mouth mixed with her lips swirling together as his body's chakra pulsed from his hand through hers… mixing… swirling… warmth penetrating the ice, light forever blending with dark…and in that moment they became one.

Present day…

The memory was sudden and he felt his weight give out beneath him and dropped to his knees. His palms were sweaty and his breathing was heavy. A chill ran through his entire body followed by a flame that seemed to become one with his blood stream. He felt himself fall, his cheek pressed against the tile floor as his body seemed to spasm uncontrollably. He felt a hand brush his forehead and opened his eyes just barely. "Kakashi… nani… what is happening… to me? What… what is this… feeling?" He muttered feeling himself becoming lost within his own darkness.

The older man sighed looking from the unmoving body of Hinata and then back to the shivering mess that was Sasuke. "It's your humanity." He sighed and then watched as his former pupil lost consciousness.