"Hello and welcome to the second chapter," I say as I'm waiting in a very long line. "In case anyone cares, my injuries from Mihoshi have healed. Right now we are at the mall to see Santa Clause."

"I can't wait," said Mihoshi as she jumped up and down. "What's taking him so long?"

"Am I some kind of all knowing being?"

"You seem to know everything," she replied. "Like what will be happening next in your stories."

"That's because I think ahead." Just then Santa sat in his chair. But something was different about him. HE WAS THIN! "What the?"

"You like it?" asked an evil voice from behind us. I turned around and saw my neighbor. "I threatened to sue the mall unless they changed the image of Santa. Within a few years, all Santa's will be thin!"

"You evil little worm," I said. "How dare you change Santa?!"

"He's not a very good role model for children. No fat person is."

"Are you saying that all thin people are good role models?"

"Yes." I stare at him.

"Hitler was thin." He stared back.

"Look, I'm trying to help kids become healthy. They can't see any positive fat people otherwise they will think it's ok to be fat."

"Just like it's ok to throw away someone else's manger set?"

"Exactly, you offensive ass."

"I think the story should begin now," I say as I roll up my sleeves. "Mihoshi, cue the disclaimer while I show this baka some holiday spirit."

"DarthValgaav doesn't own Naruto or A Christmas Carol," said Mihoshi. "Please cheer him on while he fights with his neighbor."

-x-

As Sasuke lay in bed, dressed in his best pajamas, he tried to find sleep. However, sleep proved to be as elusive as trying to grab an eel with your bare hand. The events of the day and what should be happening on Christmas filled his head. His old sensei and his fate frightened Sasuke in a way he could never admit to anyone.

Just then, the bell tolled one in the morning. Sasuke held his breath as he waited for something to happen. But nothing did. His room was just as empty as when he had gotten into bed. Not a thing moved. Only he breathed. Sasuke then laid back down, muttering that he must be losing his mind. But then the room filled with light!

Sasuke jumped to his feet, trying to find the enemy. But all around him was light. It was the whitest, purest light that any mortal could every lay their eyes on. Sasuke had to raise an arm after a moment to shield his eyes from its purity.

"Who's there?" demanded Sasuke.

"I am the ghost of Christmas Past," said a voice. It was light and defiantly female. It also seemed to be coming from all directions at once.

"Long past?" asked Sasuke.

"Your past," corrected the voice.

"Spirit, I cannot see you," said Sasuke as the light seemed to get brighter.

"The truth of our pasts is usually so bright that we cannot see them clearly," answered the voice. "Do you truly wish to extinguish the light which I am here to show you?"

"N-No," stammered Sasuke. "But I can't see anything like this." For a moment, nothing happened. Then the light began to fade until all that was left was a glowing girl no older than thirteen. Her brown hair and purple rectangle birthmarks on her cheeks looked familiar to Sasuke, but he couldn't place them. He also noticed that she was dressed in a white robe with no other decorations on them

"You may call me Rin," she said with a smile. Sasuke gave her a deadpanned look which she returned. "What?"

"You're my past?" he asked. "Why did it have to be an Inuzuka?" Before he could say anything, Rin appeared in front of him and punched him in the gut with enough force to send him flying into the air. Yet, he passed right through the walls like a specter. Sasuke continued to fly into the air and as he did he watched the sky change. It was night, then day, then night, and back to day. Over and over it went like someone had pushed fast forward in the sky.

When Sasuke finally landed, he found himself in the Uchiha district. The building looked fresher and newer than they were today. It was morning and many of his clan members were out and about, celebrating. Sasuke could only watch them in wonder as Rin appeared next to him. She grabbed him by his clothing and forced him to look at her.

"Let's get a couple of things straight here," she said. "First off, I'm only doing this because I owe a friend a favor. Not because I like Orochimaru or you. So keep that in mind before you give me any lip. Also, I AM NOT AN INUZUKA!" Sasuke only nodded which caused the ghost to smile and let him go. "So, do you know where we are?"

"This is the Uchiha district," said Sasuke. "Look over there; it's my aunt and uncle." Sure enough, Sasuke had spotted two people who were now only dust in their graves. In fact, as he looked around, all the people he saw were now dead. "Am I in the afterlife? Can they see us?"

"These are only shadows of the past," replied the ghost. "They can neither see nor hear us."

"I see," answered Sasuke.

Rin beckoned him to follow her and the two made their way down the streets. Sasuke was like a kid in a toy store as he kept moving away from Rin to look at people he made not seen since he was just a little boy. It was good to see them laughing and smiling again. Before Danzo and the advisers forced Itachi to choose between the clan and the village. At that thought, Sasuke wished he could communicate with these shadows. He could tell them everything they needed to know in order to take over the village like they had planned to. He could even tell Itachi not to sacrifice them for the village.

"Do you know this place," asked Rin as she stopped and pulled Sasuke out of his thoughts. Sasuke turned and saw a home he had not seen in many years. It was his own from when he was a boy.

"I was born here," said Sasuke with a gulp.

"And is he familiar as well?" asked the spirit. Sasuke's eyes fell upon a small boy sitting on the porch, all alone. It was a boy that Sasuke knew all too well. The style of his hair, the color of his eyes, his favorite food and favorite toy. He knew that boy as well as he knew himself.

"It's me as a boy," said Sasuke as he got a little teary eyed. From what he was seeing now, the younger Sasuke had been sitting outside for awhile, lost in thought. Snow seemed to be piling up on his head and shoulders, yet the younger Sasuke paid them no mind.

"You're all alone," said the ghost. "Why is that?"

"My brother was on missions all the time," answered Sasuke. "And my parents were always away doing clan functions that I wasn't old enough to go. So I was usually alone."

"Did you not have any friends?"

"Why would I need them?" asked Sasuke with a sniff. As he turned, he saw someone he had not expected to see. It was a younger Naruto. He was looking at Sasuke from behind a fence as if he was preparing to go over and talk to him. Perhaps it was because Naruto could sense someone as alone as he was that had brought him to this house. But before he could say or do anything, he was quickly cased away by some members of the Uchiha clan.

"Let us see another Christmas," said Rin. The world then began to stretch and stretch like someone was pulling taffy. And when it began to return to normal, they were no longer outside in the Uchiha district. Now they were at the academy. And there was an older Sasuke, still a boy but a few years older. He sat alone in the building. "You're still all alone I see."

"It was the same every year," said Sasuke as he turned away. Just then, the door slid open.

"Nii-san," cried little Sasuke. This caused the current, cold hearted, Sasuke's eyes to widen. Slowly, as if afraid that if he moved too quickly everything would vanish, he turned to see his older brother Itachi. This was an Itachi before he had killed his clan, a decision made by the Hokage's advisors and Danzo. He wasn't as tall as Sasuke had remembered him to be, but then again he had grown some. Itachi was dressed in his ANBU armor with a big grin on his face.

"Hey there Sasuke," said Itachi in a warm voice, a voice Sasuke had missed hearing. "I thought I'd pick you up." The younger Sasuke's face lit up like a match. But then he put on a questioning look.

"But I thought you had to go on a mission."

"I was," said Itachi as he ruffled Sasuke's hair. "But I talked to the Hokage about it and asked for the day off. His advisors began to yell all sorts of things about why I shouldn't, but he thought it was a good idea. After all, it is Christmas."

"Won't tou-san be angry?"

"I already talked to him. Let's just say that I convinced him that it might be a good idea to spend the holidays as a family." Itachi then gave Sasuke a forced smile. The older Sasuke remembered this day well. Shortly after it, Itachi began to change slowly. About two months after this, Itachi would be forced to kill his best friend and then shortly after that the rest of his clan. The wheels had already begun to spin and Itachi had done all he could so that Sasuke would have one last Christmas with his family.

"He was a good person," said Rin as they watched them leave. "He was a good brother and could have been a good father."

"He was," agreed Sasuke as he whipped away some tears.

"He died a man and left behind a single brother," said the spirit. "And a single son."

"He's too much like his father," said Sasuke as he went to the window. Itachi was carrying the younger Sasuke on his shoulders. "He's too nice and kind for his own good. I won't have him walk the same path that Itachi walked."

"You mean a path where he sacrifices everything so that the people important to him can find happiness?" asked the spirit. "A path where the village he loved wouldn't be consumed in a civil war that would eventually lead to another great war?"

"A path were he made those he cared about suffer," snapped Sasuke. He turned around only to find that they were no longer in the classroom. They were now in an apartment that Sasuke had moved into after his family was murdered. No, that wasn't right. They were sacrificed for the sake of peace.

Now, Sasuke beheld himself once again. This time it had only been a one year jump. He watched himself just sit there on his bed as he held a picture of his family. There was not a light in the room and it was night outside. Also, the heat was barely on. Sasuke remembered this all too well. He had begun his training. The younger Sasuke had begun to train himself by depriving himself of light and warmth. He had to become cold as ice, an uncaring killer with one target. He had to remember what had happen and never let it go. It was an itch that he would scratch and scratch until the wound bleed.

There was a knock at the door and the younger Sasuke slowly raised his head. Sasuke could see the dark circles around his eyes and his face looked a little thin. Sasuke remembered how hard it was at first to cook for himself and manage his own money. For the first few months, at least. Slowly, the younger Sasuke walked over to the door and checked the peek whole. A surprised look came upon the boys face and he opened the door to find that…no one was there. The only thing that was there was a container of leftovers. Fish, rice, some pie, and all a few other things all wrapped up for him. There was no card, just some writing in the snow that read, 'Merry Christmas'.

As the younger Sasuke picked it up and went back inside, Rin pulled on the older Sasuke's sleeve for him to follow her. Tighter they walked through a wall and jumped down to the ground. There, hiding behind a lamppost was Sakura. Her eyes were fixed on the door and there was a smile on her face. Sasuke had wondered for awhile who had sent him the food and then later decided it didn't matter. Now, he felt some shame for not looking harder to find the person who gave him his only gift that year. In some ways it had been an amazing gift for it showed that someone out there still cared for him.

She stayed for only a few minutes more until she left.

Sasuke turned to look at the spirit, but she was looking at something else. Sasuke followed her gaze and saw Naruto. He was dressed in clothing so full of holes that they could barely be called clothing. As he walked by, Sasuke noticed that he was barefoot as well. He walked up the stairs and went right to Sasuke's door. He looked like he was about to knock when all of a sudden he began to sniff the air. From where Sasuke stood, he could see a smile on the younger Naruto's face. And with that, he turned and began to leave.

"Why?" began Sasuke, but the words escaped him as the younger Naruto walked by him. Sasuke could smell a foul odor coming from Naruto and could hear the rumble in his stomach.

"I'm afraid I do not know," replied Rin as she shook her head. "I am the ghost of your past, not his. Perhaps he thought you had company or were doing well without him. Maybe I'll ask Obito when I see him next. Now, let us see another Christmas many years later."

"Ah, could you skip the ones I spent with Orochimaru?" asked Sasuke as he began to rub his butt. "I would rather not remember those ones."

"Agreed," said Rin with a shiver. "I'm not into yaoi. Sasuke, the Christmas we will see next involves you and that girl." Once again the scene changed, this time in a single flash of light. Sasuke found himself in his home, packing. Sasuke looked at himself and saw that there was hardly any distance between their ages at all. He looked outside to see that the snow was lazily falling from the sky, making it a perfect Christmas. Slowly, realization dawned on Sasuke about which Christmas this was.

"Please spirit," begged Sasuke as he turned to the figure beside him. "Not this one."

Rin said nothing but simply stared at the door. Soon it opened and in walked Sakura. Sasuke could only stare at the person he had loved. Yes, Sasuke loved her as more than a teammate or friend. She was strong, smart, and caring. After he had returned to the village, she did not rush to his side right away, which did hurt him. He could hardly blame her after all he had put her through. But after awhile, they did begin to reconnect and rebuild their relationship.

He looked at Sakura, who was biting her lip. She always did that when she went into a situation she didn't want to go into. But the look on her face said it all. She had been quiet long enough.

"Sasuke-kun, we need to talk."

"It can wait," said Sasuke in a harsher tone than he had meant. "There is a Kage meeting in a few days and Tsunade and I have to be there. The Raikage has heard about my future promotion and is trying to challenge it."

"That's sort-of what I need to talk to you about," said Sakura. "That and Naruto." Now Sasuke stopped packing and eyed her dangerously. She knew how he felt about him and didn't like hearing his name.

"What about the dobe?" demanded Sasuke.

"He's having a hard time right now," she replied, avoiding using him name. "Thanks to some of the new laws you have past, they can't get or afford any medical attention for their child. Sasuke-kun, isn't it time you at least let Naruto take the chunin exam again at the very least?"

"No!"

"Why not?" begged Sakura. Sasuke turned away from her and moved over to the window, saying nothing. "What has he ever done to you that makes you hate him so? Yes, he is still annoying at times, but that's just who he is. He has jumped into the fight to save our lives more times than I can count. You may not want to admit this, but without Naruto we wouldn't be here today."

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!" screamed Sasuke as he stopped him foot. He turned to face Sasuke, his face red with rage. "I know that all too well. I know what he has done for this village and for us. And that is why I can't forgive him. Why I won't forgive him. Every time he saved my life was an insult to me and my clan. Watching as he accomplished tasks and defeat opponents that I couldn't filled me with more shame than you could never imagine. I should have been the one to defeat Gaara, Haku, and Neji. I should have been the one Jiraiya picked as his apprentice. I should have been the one to finish the Rasengan! Every time I moved forward an inch, he seemed to move a mile. And then Madara…"

"Sasuke-kun, he lied to you," cried Sakura. "He had to have been the one that summoned Kyuubi. He used others as pawns to do all the dirty work by telling them what they wanted to hear and you were no different! And Naruto nearly died trying to stop that madman. Can't you see that?"

"No, I can't," said Sasuke. "I know that Madara was telling me the truth. And I know what I must do. And part of it is making sure that Naruto knows what real pain is like. I won't stop until I see him broken. Until his family leaves him or is dead. I want him to know what it's like to lose everything so that he will know what he took from me when he killed Madara." Sasuke then went over to the bed and grabbed his bag.

The real Sasuke, moved to grab his past self by the arm. However, his arm passed right through his former self as if he were made of fog.

"Don't!" cried the older Sasuke. "Stop and look at her. You're losing her! Please for the love of Kami just look at her!" But his past self didn't. He simply began to walk toward the door.

"We'll talk about his move when I get back."

"No we won't," said Sakura. But Sasuke either didn't hear or care for he marched out the door and slammed it.

"That was the last you spoke to her," said Rin. "You came back, victorious from the Kages meeting, only to find her things gone." Sasuke shook his head as tears were pouring down his face. "She refused to speak to you no matter what. And then, just last year, she married another. One who has made her happy and cares for her and not the sake of a never ending need for revenge."

"You," hissed Sasuke as he grabbed Rin. "This is your doing, isn't it? You're doing all of this just to torture me!"

"I told you," said Rin in an annoyed tone. "These are shadows of your past. You helped made them, setting them into the stones of time. Nothing you or I do can change them for better or worse. All we can do is learn from them which is what you have refused to do."

"Return me now or I will…"

"You'll do what?" laughed Rin. "Kill me? I've been dead for a long time now. But I guess you're right. It is time that we parted ways. Remember all that I have shown you this day." With that, Rin broke free of Sasuke's grip. She then punched in the nose so hard that he was thrown onto his bed. He closed his eyes in pain and when he opened them again, the room was dark. Not a sign of the ghost named Rin.

And only a minute till the hour struck.

-x-

"You did great boss," said Mihoshi. I sighed. I threw one punch at him and missed. Then he ran away screaming like a little girl who was about to wet her bed. Well, that part did make me feel better at least.

"Yeah, well because of him I lost a lot of time on this story. But, I have decided to do my Tenchi/Smallville crossover which I think everyone will love." Just then, some guy walks up to me.

"DarthValgaav?" he asks. I nod and I am then given an envelope.

"Sorry dude," he says and then walks away. I open it up and gasp.

"My neighbor is suing me!"

"What?" cried Mihoshi.

"He's suing me for everything I own, including my account on !"

"Don't worry, I also have my legal degree."

"You just went online and bought it for 50 yen!"

"But I do have a degree."

Good bye everyone.