052308: This is a simple oneshot that I came up with after reading chapter 401 in Naruto, the most current chapter right now. This is takes place years after the series and somewhere in the middle of my Seasons series.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Also, the Yuuko quotes are not mine either; they are CLAMP's.
Warning: SPOILERS OF CHAPTERS 380-401, use of OC

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain
Story 13: Choosing Between You and Me

"You should know, first, that it is hard to kill a member of the Wakahisa clan, Sasuke-chan. Even if he had the intent to kill me and deceived everyone that he is a traitor, he should have known that I would have known the truth the moment he turned his blade at me. I would have gladly died for him by his blade… if the reason was reasonable."

"I still cannot accept these lies."

"That is your reality then."

"He said the same thing."

"He spent much time with my imoto. It would be appropriate that his view of the world is larger and is tainted with melancholy."

"Why did you not seek revenge? He…"

"…Betrayed me? I am not a narrow-minded as a 7-year-old who saw his entire clam massacred. That and I hated a lot of your family. Though my imoto hated him more."

"She did?"

"Well… It's more that she barred him from me, knowing our relationship. I remember her screaming one night when she was 3 years old. Probably a vision, but I had no knowledge of it, at the time. Later when she met Itachi, she set various traps intent to maim or kill him. Very lucky he is a tensai or he would have been dead. She probably divined your future that night too."

"I don't believe in such thing."

"As is your reality tells you. But mine says otherwise."

"…"

"I cannot kill a man who would accept the bloodstained hands of a cursed woman, especially one from the Wakahisa clan. No woman in our family can."

"How sentimental."

"That isn't the reason. The potential mates of the women of the Wakahisa clan tend to die violent, horriible deaths at a young age."

"…"

"This is a result we never desired. It is easier to let something pass while others should be prevented. Hopefully the Great Toad Sage's prediction comes to pass. That brat is still an idiot, but a good one who is at least has all his intentions show up front."

"Prediction…fate…destiny… this is your reality? How can you believe in something that is intangible?"

"I can believe it because… If you were about to die and someone tells you beforehand how it would go, would you believe it to be a guess, a coincidence, a co-conspirator, or something else?"

"Coincidence. Pure luck. Nothing can be predetermined."

"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence.' That is a lie created for the rightfully ignorant. You, who are at the doorstep of our world, have no right to say that. After all, you are a shinobi. A shinobi can do things normal humans cannot do. For them, that is false, fantasy, just an illusion made in their minds. Though shinobi are well known in this world, few can understand the complex nature of ninjutsu. Few cannot even consider the existence of demons. Reality is made from what we accept and what we don't. But that itself is dangerous."

"A shinobi's life is full of danger."

"Everything living has a life full of danger. Shinobi are just exposed to it more."

"…"

"In the end, you must accept what is told to you as a reality. What a person says is what they said, nothing more. This is beyond truth and lies."

"…"

"In the end, before love and honor, he chose family to be the most important. You, who deny the words said by that man and Itachi, only bring unfortunate happenings to yourself and to those you interact with. Especially to the 'Destined Child' that will bring fortune or misfortune to this world."

"…I am free from any shadow that plagues me."

"You are plague by your own shadow. Either way, no person is truly free. That is impossibility."

"Then… what is reality to you?"

"The man I loved made a choice that he does not regret, and I am happy for that. If he died with no regrets, then he knows that he'll see me again."

"Regrets…"

"You need to live a life with the fewest regrets. They determine your future. In the end, that is how it is determined."

"I…"

"Sometimes the translation of words gets lost with actions. Sometimes, you need to slow down to listen, to understand."

"…"

"If this is your path, then I will not deter you. As long as you don't have regrets, I won't hate you."

In the end, all of Sasuke's decision were made by his own hand. The dead only speak if they have regrets but I won't see him again. He didn't regret anything. I think in the end, he knew I knew and that is why he was able to go through it. As long as we let ourselves listen to others, I think the world will have fewer regrets in the future. Only that can be decided by our inevitability.

NOTE: There are a lot of things here not completely explained. They are explained in Book 3: Winter.