I'm back! I know, this hasn't been updated in a while, but between keeping my grades afloat and my Kakasaku plot bunny maulings, I've only just come up to breathe. Before my semester break ends, I'd like to get one chapter of a hiatus fic out before it shrinks back into obscurity. If you still have faith in me, leave a review. If you don't, I'll understand.

Ch.4: A Reversal of Things

Small dots of yellow dotted the dark night sky as a breeze blew through raven locks; a sigh was heard on the wind.

It was a Tuesday and Sasuke stared out over the night scenery as he pondered the events of the last few days. It had been at least two weeks since the mortal named Sakura had taken him in and helped him recuperate. In those two weeks, his physical wounds had all healed, but he was weak now from having used his energy to force his injuries to heal quicker. Normally, those types of injuries—though severe—would give him little trouble, but when he got hit by that she-devil, her angel powers had taken more out of him than he had originally thought. He knew that while injured, he was a sitting duck, but if he expended his energy to heal his wounds, he wouldn't have enough chakra to defend himself. Still, if he healed his wounds, he could at least appear like he was capable of defending attacks from the angel (though he doubted she would attack him seeing how she seemed to trust him so completely; though the same couldn't be said of him).

Hoping she wouldn't call him on his bluff, he channeled his chakra to his injuries. While it wasn't enough to heal the wounds completely, it was enough to repair the missing bone fragments and grow back the muscle that had been lost in his shoulder. The rest of his injuries would have to heal with time. And so here he was, trapped in the mortal realm until his strength returned and his mission objective was complete. His mouth drew into a grim line.

'This is ridiculous. All I have to do is get a damn book and just when I get the perfect opportunity to take it, she comes in and meddles with my affairs. Stupid wench, why must she carry that book with her all the time? It's not like she knows what it can do. Honestly, even I don't know what that book is for, but that's why he trusted me with the job. He knows I don't question him; not when I owe him so much.'

He sighed, feeling the cold air rush to meet his face. A faint smile graced his lips as his mind wandered back to the question the girl raised just yesterday.

Flashback

"What's hell like?"

"What?" Sasuke asked, looking up from the copy of The Tale of Genji resting in his hands. She set her tea tray on the study and rested her hand on the wooden surface.

"What's hell like? Is it really what people say it is? Fire? Brimstone? Small little demons poking and prodding you as you roast—that sort of stuff?"

Sasuke smirked to himself at how excited she was, but at something else as well. "Well, you humans aren't too far off," he said shelving the book back into its proper place, "it absolutely has fire and demons, but we aren't small and we don't prod souls along with pitchforks."

"Then what is hell like then?"

And Sasuke suddenly smiled to himself. "Hell isn't as bad people think. All the land formations are made from rocks. We have trees down there, but they aren't like the ones here. They're black, have no leaves, and the wood is gnarled, but it's sturdy and strong enough to build shelters with since it doesn't catch on fire easily. What we don't make from wood, we make with metal. Many of the demons in Hell are metal workers and the souls that are sent to Hell go into a transformation and eventually become low-ranked metal working demons as well.

"Our rankings are determined by class and our power. There are a possible ten rankings. The iron-workers are 3 to 4, the minions are 1 to 2, the grunt workers—demons in charge of the transformation process and other menial tasks—are given to the ranks 4 and below with level 5 demons in charge of them. The infantry are levels 5 and 6 with levels 7 through 8 as their watchers. In order to keep their power, they are given a curse mark and must swear their loyalty to our ruler. Any form of insubordination will cause the curse mark to activate and will instantly be killed without mercy." His fingers rose to the shirt Sakura gave him and tugged away the collar to reveal a small black mark. A circle with three tomoe inscribed in Kanji could be seen; Sasuke placed his fingers over it. "This is my curse mark as a rank-8 demon. Even if this mark is to ensure loyalty to our sire, I wouldn't have needed it placed on me. My king is the only person I will ever serve and ever obey."

"Your king is the Devil, right? Shouldn't the mark be redundant if he's the only one in power?" Sakura asked.

"We're ruled much like the British monarchy," he answered as he leaned against the wall by the bookshelf, "We have a king and a council of demons. The demons are the highest levels in Hell, more powerful than me, and they rule Hell together. The council is made of the five oldest demons in Hell: three rank-9 demons and two rank-10 demons, along with the leaders of the three demon clans that inhabit our realm. Supposedly, our ruler is to occupy the rank-10, but the two council members are centuries older than all of us and have risen through the ranks with their ages and wisdom. It's also rumored that our current king is more powerful than a rank 10. Many don't believe that, but I've seen what he's done—what he's capable of doing…

"Together, they try to determine what the most effective policies to enact are and which regions need more workers. Our form of government is a form of checks-and-balances. The council reminds the king of what laws even he cannot break and the king can dismiss certain propositions from the council as he works to keep our home running smoothly. Unfortunately, it's harder than most people expect."

"How?"

Sasuke sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, many of our race get embroiled into civil wars to show dominance among the different types of demons, thus leaving many casualties and not enough workers. Our metal workers get killed in accidents quite frequently and our infantry gets restless with no one to fight but themselves. Many wish to venture into this world and claim what they can, but only three levels have that power and only with a certain pass. Even the council members have to receive the pass from the king in order to cross the worlds. The council members just watch you mortals interact while the king is allowed to cross whenever he pleases, but there are some occasions where lower levels are allowed. In order for that to happen, you must be of the king's personal army and to belong there, you endure things far worse than what you humans believe to happen in Hell."

"Like what?" he heard her ask tentatively and smirked at the quaver in her voice before shedding his grey long-sleeved shirt to reveal the pale scars criss-crossing his skin.

"You are tortured for two months straight. You do not eat, drink, or sleep. You survive on sheer will alone. Then, your loyalty is tested by means of probing. A needle is inserted into a soft tissue area at random intervals—your tear ducts, for example. The test runs for only an hour, but it feels longer than that. They only stop when the testing is finished or you're dead," he said shrugging on the shirt once more, pulling the opening over his head. "I was one of the youngest entrants to ever get into the personal army."

"Sounds painful," she uttered softly and he smirked to himself before straightening the sleeves. "I've had worse," he said with a hint of pride and remorse. Sakura bit her lip before asking her next question.

"Were you…always a demon?" And she watched his shoulders tense and his posture improve as his spine locked tight beneath his skin. She could tell his jaw was tense by the way he spoke. He sighed agitatedly.

"No…, but I'd rather not talk about it."

End flashback

And the conversation had ended. What he had told her wasn't a lie, but it wasn't all the truth. What Hell was and how it worked could not be covered in one afternoon's conversation. So many things factored into how you got your rank and what form you would take. Many of the iron workers were humans that had once been honorable, but were mixed in with the wrong crowd. The minions were petty thieves and prostitutes, and almost all of their infantry had belonged in an army in a past life. Their forms were predetermined by the person's personality and lifestyle, but those were the standard ranks. Those of ranks 7 and higher were a different story…

Sasuke was a rank-8 demon. Upon entering Hell, he had been a mortal, the shinobi son of the leader of the Uchiha clan and his wife. Their clan had been famous throughout the land for their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. The Hyuuga clan also had a kekkei genkai, but the one that belonged to the Uchiha clan had the ability to copy the techniques of their opponent, but required much of the user's energy to fuel it. Needless to say, his clan was full of strong men and women, but out of all of them, there was one recognized as the most powerful of them all: Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's brother and the murderer of the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke could still remember the night it happened. He had been roughly eight or nine at the time and was coming home late after training at the Ninja Academy in their village. When he got to the Uchiha compound, he noticed an eerie quiet hung around the buildings and the wind carried the scent of blood. A window shutter banged repeatedly on a house front and he shook his head and ran into the quiet compound, telling himself that everyone had just gone to sleep early that night and had convinced himself of that until he saw the body of his uncle and aunt.

After that, things became blurred. He raced through the compound to his parent's house for safety, but once he got there, he recognized the same heavy silence and the smell of spilled blood. He went to his parent's bedroom, but as soon as he walked in, he saw the fallen bodies of his mother and father and the gleam of a sword in the night. It was Itachi.

Flashback

"Hello Sasuke."

"Itachi…Itachi, what have you done?!" Sasuke shouted as his fingers trembled on the hardwood floors of his parents' bedroom.

"I've killed them," his brother answered calmly as he sheathed his sword, as if the act of killing one's parents was a normal day occurrence. The sharp sound of the metal sliding back into the sheath made Sasuke wince and an involuntary whimper left his mouth. He backed away from his brother.

"Why...why…how could you do this, Itachi?! They were our parents! What did they ever do to you?!"

"Don't take it personally, Sasuke. I was merely testing myself. Nothing more, nothing less."

"But you were already the strongest one in our clan! Everyone said so already! You were supposed to be the next clan leader! How could you do this?!" And suddenly, Itachi chuckled and the sound caught Sasuke off-guard. How could he laugh at a time like this?

"Foolish little brother, you have no idea what real strength is. You probably never will. All you will know is fear and weakness. I almost pity you."

Footsteps echoed in the room and Sasuke felt his heart leap into his throat with every step his brother took towards him. His feet tried to push him away from the approaching figure, but his sock-covered feet slipped on the floor, unable to hold the ground as Itachi advanced towards him. "P-p-please! Please, don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Itachi shook his head with a smile. "I'm not going to kill you. You're not even worth the time it would take to do so," he said before an amused smile took over his face. "Look at you, so frightened—like a baby animal. You haven't even begun to realize what the real world is like. Mother always did coddle you. Let me show you what I've been doing…"

And he stared into orbs of red and black until his world faded into darkness. Memories assailed his mind, images of women and children attempting to flee as their family's police forces tried to protect everyone, of fallen bodies as metal cut deeply into their skin. All their faces were frozen in silent screams, but in his mind, he could hear them, hear their terrified screams and desperate pleads for life as he struck down husbands before wives, mothers before children. Only the taste of vomit brought him back to his senses as he spilled his stomach contents.

Sasuke looked up, the taste of stomach acid fresh on his lips as his brother watched him and suddenly he was on auto-pilot, running away from their house as he ran through the streets screaming for help. In the streets void of life, he realized how desolate it was in the compound. Buildings that had seemed tame before now frightened him beyond all reason. A breeze caused him to pause.

"Foolish little brother." And the limb of a corpse caught his leg. Sasuke sailed into the dirt, the sharp sensations of gravel against his raw skin overshadowed by the voice in his brain telling him to run, but he wouldn't—couldn't when he was staring at his brother as he looked over the bodies he had slaughtered before his eyes focused on him. He was suddenly in the Mangekyou again, but through the repeating images, he managed to hear his brother's words.

"Foolish brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."

End flashback

And it would be twelve years before he saw his brother again. He had done just as his brother had told him, hating him, detesting him with his entire being, separating ties with his home at the age of twelve to study under the snake sannin, Orochimaru. He learned to gain power, learned hate without remorse, schooled himself to feel nothing but loathing for his ultimate goal…but it wasn't enough. Itachi had mortally wounded him only five minutes into the battle, a gash across his spine. He only managed the blow to his brother's windpipe through sheer will and stupid luck. The two of them both died that night, ending the Uchiha clan with just them.

It was while he was waiting for his assignment in Hell that he realized his life was a waste. He had spent his whole life focused on killing his brother and reviving their clan, only to find out he sold his soul for nothing. He was no closer to the satisfied feeling he thought he would've had avenging the clan than he was to being alive.

He was only three feet away from the front of the assignment line when he began crying, mourning for himself and cursing under his breath at his foolishness. When he finally got to the front, he knew he was destined to be one of the lower ranks a man explained to him in line, only proving how truly weak he was when he was suddenly pulled aside by a light-haired man with a mask over the lower portion of his face.

Flashback

"You. Out of the line."

"Me?" Sasuke asked hoarsely as he wiped the tears from his eyes to look at the man standing by the assignment desk. He couldn't be more than thirty. The desk clerk was looking at him as well.

"Yes, you. Now get out of the line," the man ordered, watching as Sasuke left his place in the ever-growing line. The man plucked Sasuke's folder from the desk clerk's hand. "I'll be taking this as well. You won't mind, right?"

"No, sir," the clerk said hastily and the man smiled before walking over to Sasuke and past him. He stopped on the crest of a barren hill and Sasuke took it as a sign to follow. He ran after him.

"Hey!"

Soon, they were walking side by side. Sasuke fidgeted awkwardly by the man, unsure whether to trust him or not as he strolled carelessly across the empty fields. Letting his gaze stray to the side, he looked at the stranger. He was tall, about six feet in height with pale skin and a suit of black armor with gold detailing. A red and black cape, its hem frayed and tattered, hung around his neck and a sword hung at his hip, completely different from the plain black pants and white dress shirt he saw earlier. An eye-patch could be seen through his strands of silver and idly, Sasuke wondered if he was blind in that eye.

"Who—"

"Uchiha Sasuke, male, 20, turning 21 in three days, no next of kin and brother of Uchiha Itachi, right?"

"Yes," he answered hurriedly as the man snapped the manila folder shut in his hand. They were suddenly moving once more and he could feel the faint brushing of dry grass around his ankles. He struggled to keep up. "Who are you?"

The man smiled. "This seems like a good place to stop," he replied, not even bothering to pretend like he was paying attention to the question. Sasuke scowled and folded his arms over his chest before looking around at the landscape. It was much different from the other parts of Hell he saw before. Unlike the dry patch of dirt he landed in when he first arrived or the vast plains of red earth where the assignment line was, the area where he now stood had gently swaying desert grass. A gnarled tree stood in the area, close to the edge of what he believed to be a cliff and around them were fallen stone blocks similar to Druid ruins. The stranger sat down on one and let out a sigh.

"Nice, isn't it?"

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked tersely as he stood with his hands in his pockets. He watched as the stranger's droopy gaze turned to lock with his and in the distance, the iron mills belched fire and smoke into the blood-red sky.

"Hatake Kakashi, and I…am the Devil," the man finished with a slight flourish of his hand and a small bow. Sasuke scoffed in disgust. "You're not the devil."

"Were you expecting horns and a cheesy goatee?" he asked.

"No," he replied hastily before lowering his bangs to cover his blush. Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Regardless of what you may think, I actually rule this place. Do you have any idea why I pulled you from that line?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"You…are going to get a second chance."

Sasuke looked up hopefully. "I get to return to Earth?"

"No. You are going to be a rank-8 demon. Granted, it's not going to be easy and you might go insane from the process, but at least you'll be stronger and isn't that all you really care about?"

"How did you—"

"You're incredibly shallow when it comes to motive," he replied shifting his legs, but his armor made no sound. If it did, it was probably lost on the zephyr that passed over the hilltop. Sasuke trembled where he stood.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked softly. Kakashi looked up in thought.

"Don't know, really. It may be because you have potential, or maybe it's because you remind me a little of myself."

"I'll do it."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'll do it," he repeated louder now. When he looked up, Kakashi was turned towards him with no trace of the lazy man he had come to associate him with.

"You do realize that it will be difficult. You were originally slated to become a rank-4 or 5—a rank-6 at best. By accepting this offer, you will be put through arduous training. You might even die from it."

"But you said I get a second chance, right?"

"…Yes. You will become a full-fledged demon. Your record will be wiped clean, your old life as a mortal and the desires attributed to being mortal will cease to exist, but the memories you carry will remain."

"And my brother?"

"You will still remember him and what he has done to you as well, but this offer will not be extended to him. He shall remain as a human soul, sentenced to be tortured until the end of time."

"And what will I do as a rank-8 demon?"

"You will be a general in Hell's army. You will watch over the infantry and destroy anything and anyone when I give the signal. As a rank-8 demon, you are to swear loyalty to me and are given a curse mark. If you defy my orders, it will instantly kill you, but don't expect it to be painless. You'll feel everything before I let you die. Any other questions?"

"If I don't want to be a general, what are my other choices?"

"You may go into the torture department, work with people like your brother and spend an eternity torturing them, or you can be in my personal army. Your job is to protect me and do the missions I assign to you. If you do choose to be in my personal army, I won't make it easy on you. The entrance test is designed to pick the best of the best. It will push you to your limits and further, but if you do choose it and succeed, I will make it worth your while."

"How?"

"On the off-chance you do succeed, you'll become my right-hand man…but that's only if you do succeed. If you don't pass the test, chances are that you're dead or have gone insane." Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "Still up for it?"

Silence stretched across the field and Sasuke closed his eyes as a breeze blew across his face. The breeze was unusually cold, even though Hell's temperatures were actually quite moderate, and it carried the sweet smell of burning flesh. When he opened his eyes, he realized the smell was from a crematorium in the valley below the cliff. Sasuke turned to Kakashi.

"Yes."

And to his surprise, Kakashi did not question his answer. Instead he placed a hand on his shoulder and a fatherly smile crossed his masked lips. "Good." And that was the last word Sasuke heard before he was pushed into the dirt. Soil rose from the ground and Sasuke spat out the offending taste before turning over onto his back only to see Kakashi unsheathe his sword and plunge it into his heart.

Blue light spidered across his skin, the brightness forcing him to close his eyes as he felt it crawl across his body. Suddenly, the light changed temperature and a searing pain forced his eyes open to see the light had dyed red. His blood boiled within his veins and his lungs constricted at the sheer agony. Breathing became torture and his eyes rolled back in head as his body began to seize against the sword. Distantly, he heard the faint mutterings of words, as if an incantation was being performed.

Suddenly, he was thrown into a blinding white light and when the light finally let him go, he opened his eyes to see pale pink clouds against the red sky. In the air, there was the sound of heavy breathing and over the howl of the wind; he heard a sword being pulled from the ground. Idly, he realized that the sword wasn't in him and raised his hand over the clammy skin of his chest, feeling around for a scar that wasn't there. Another breeze and he realized from the chill that he was naked. Something fluttered in the breeze before draping over his skin.

"That's going to have to do until I get you back to the castle and get you some clothes," he said with a half-smile before helping the boy up. Sasuke noticed he was wearing the white shirt again.

"I'm…still human," he panted out, knees shaking as he struggled to keep himself up. They buckled under his weight. Arms caught him before he touched the ground.

"Despite what you might think, you're a full-fledged demon. Think of this form as a default-mode."

"Default mode?" he rasped out as he gripped the opening of the cape. Kakashi nodded.

"Demons over rank-7 can change forms. Their default mode is their mortal form. When they choose to activate their powers, they go into their demon forms, but you've just recently been transformed. You'll need at least three days of fluids and rest before you can even think of doing anything. Try anything now and you'll be throwing up your intestines. It's a wonder you can still talk," he chuckled.

And that was the last thing he heard Kakashi say before he passed out.

End flashback

After that, he was moved into the castle. He spent three days recovering from the transformation, anxiously awaiting training. When the day came, Kakashi led him to a dojo in the middle of the castle. There, Sasuke trained for three years with no mercy from his new guardian, honing his skills before taking a short career in the infantry. After that, he began doing work all throughout the realm for Kakashi and at the young age of 180, he became a member of the personal army and true to his word, Kakashi's right-hand man.

Because of Kakashi, he received a new chance at life. Before, he wondered why Kakashi had not allowed for him to forget his past life completely, but now he understood. Those memories would serve as a constant reminder of who he was and what not to become. They would be the reason he was a rank-8 demon and a member of the personal army, because they helped him keep his humanity.

In order to qualify as a rank-7 or higher, they had to have the potential to be great or else they would be placed in one of the lower ranks. They also had to have a conscience to what they did and would do. Because of this, the higher ranks were smaller than the lower ones and the personal army was even smaller. When he last counted, the inner circle contained ten people while the outer circle amounted to roughly twenty to thirty. A sigh was let loose in the air. Now that he thought about it, he was beginning to miss his home. Despite what the mortals thought, Hell wasn't that bad of a place. The temperatures were moderate, no one starved because no one ate, their leader actually cared for his people, and many of the foolish faults of humanity were not to be seen. There was no good or evil in Hell because they were all the same, but…it wasn't beautiful.

Sasuke sighed once more to himself as he felt the cool caress of the night air. It was nice to feel something other than lukewarm breezes and the hot press of warm stones against his back. On Earth, there was more to the scenery than deep chasms and an eternally red sky. There was green grass, blue skies, the smell of salt air from the oceans, and there were stars! Billions and billions of stars of different colors dotting a sky that stretched as far as the imagination allowed. When he received missions that allowed him to venture into the mortal realm, he would always sleep outside beneath the stars. He remembered doing it as a child with his brother, a time when Itachi was not a murderer and Sasuke was merely a human boy with a loving family. It was one of the reasons he loved star-gazing so much. Besides seeing the infinite possibilities of the heavens, it was a reminder of better days. Footsteps sounded on the rooftop.

"Here you are," Sakura stated as she climbed onto the rooftop in pink pajamas. He looked at her slippered feet out of the corner of his eye as she spoke. "I made dinner."

"Hn. Not hungry."

"You have to eat something. Your strength won't return if you don't."

"My strength will return, regardless. Besides, how do I know that you didn't poison it, angel?"

"Fine, but if you do become hungry, I put it in the refrigerator. All you have to do is microwave it," she said tucking her hair behind her ear as the messy tendrils spilling from her bun wafted in the breeze. He grunted in reply.

They sat in silence for a minute or two with Sasuke admiring the sight of the building lights shimmering in the distance. Sakura smiled. "It's nice, isn't it?"

And though a part of Sasuke wanted to spit out a venomous remark or punch her for interrupting his plan for a quiet evening alone, he smiled and nodded quietly before shifting to lie on his side and his elbow and watching the stars and buildings quietly with his new guest.