The time traveller had lost count how many times he had woken up in the hospital, having passed out from chakra loss since coming back to the past. The scent of antiseptic had gotten all too familiar and he hated every second of breathing in it. He opened his dark eyes and the first thing he saw was Tsunade. 'Guess the dobe succeeded in bringing her back after all,' he thought. Before he could think any further, he found himself in a bear hug with a cry of "Sasuke-kun!" from Sakura. He didn't show any reaction. He was so tired. He remembered Itachi's genjutsu, the Tsukuyomi where he had been seeing his clan slaughtered and killing Sakura over and over again for 72 hours before living in its aftereffects for God knows how long.

He had thrown his usual tantrum upon seeing his brother but this one was for different reasons. He was mad at Itachi for killing his clan because Danzo ordered him to do so. He was mad that he had chosen to obey the war veteran and the Sandaime for not doing anything about. He was mad at his brother for throwing away his life for the sake of a village which would forever remember him as a clan killer. And importantly, he was mad at him for denying Sasuke his older brother. Yes, he was mad alright.

"You okay Uchiha?" the busty blonde asked, her features scrunched with concern as she scrutinized him. For some odd reason, something was off about him. Ever since laying her eyes on him in this exact same room, she felt as though she was looking at an entirely different person, far from the little boy she had been looking at. As her chakra diagnosed him, his chakra felt much too, too… She couldn't put a word to it. Maybe old but it didn't make sense. Whatever it was, she was going to find out later one way or another.

"Hn," he replied in the monosyllable she had been accustomed to since the Uchiha clan was still a clan. "Any after effects of the genjtsu?" she asked again. "Apart from feeling like I ran back to the past and forth, I'm fine," he grumbled, the whole time travelling thing slightly angering him. "That's good. You'll be discharged within a few days so you can get back to your daily routine in no time," she said. He nodded in reply. He noticed that Naruto had already left the room which was quite unusual as the blonde would be the first one to want to talk to him, about Itachi and all. 'Hn,' he told himself.


It was during midnight when the Sound Four made their way into his room. He still found it annoying that the security of the Leaf wasn't enough to stop a genin from coming into or out of it. They had come earlier than expected. They were supposed to come after his fight with Naruto on the rooftop which was tomorrow. "Uchiha Sasuke," Tatsuya, the self-proclaimed leader of the group stepped forward. "I'm not one for pleasantries like Orochimaru-sama so I'll get straight to the point. Orochimaru-sama is offering you a chance to train under him, to have the power to defeat your brother. He knows that it's what you live for," she explained.

"He's also offering to help you use your Curse Mark. It's the first of its kind, different from all the rest," she added. A beat of silence passed. "Okay, let me put this in easier terms. Either you go with us or we force you-" "I'll come with you." "-because I'm not in the mood for negoti-. Wait, what? You agree?" she asked with a raised eyebrow at his easy acceptance. "Didn't I just say so?" he said with a heated stare. "Geez chill out, I heard you," she said with a tinge of annoyance.

"In three days, we'll be going back to Sound. We expect you at the Valley of the End by then," the girl said. Without waiting for a reply or saying goodbye, the four ninjas flickered away. Sasuke laid back on his bed with a sigh. This was all too tiring, he was still tired but he knew he couldn't rest until his mission was completed. He stood up with another sigh. It was time he paid the Hokage a visit.


"You want a spar?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Are you deaf or what?" Sasuke replied with a glare. Sakura looked between the two boys worriedly. The tension in the room was suffocating and the killing intent from the Uchiha was even worse. A plate of sliced apples were scattered and forgotten on the floor. Team 7 was currently in Sasuke's hospital room and it was no friendly get-together.

"Um, you guys," the pinkette started but Sasuke beat her to it. "Stay out of this! It doesn't concern you," the Sharingan-wielder snapped. She recoiled as though she had been slapped but Naruto rose to her defence. "Show her some respect teme. She cares for you, for us. Stop treating her like some damn useless doll!" the blonde shouted. This seemed to surprise Sasuke and he stared guiltily at her for a brief second but soon, his eyes regained their hard edge.

"You want a spar to see who's strongest? Fine, I'll show you who's strongest. I'll wipe the floor with you face," the blonde growled.

Sakura found herself on the rooftops, staring at her two teammates as they bickered back and forth. Their argument was growing too serious and personal for it to be just a spar. They were yelling at each. "What's your problem Sasuke?! This isn't you!" the jinchuriki shouted. "Since when have you ever known me?!" the said boy shouted back, feeling angrier by the moment. The Curse Mark burned at his neck but he ignored it. He needed to test Naruto's abilities since he arrived back to the past, to see any changes in the current timeline but his emotions were getting the best of him. His long time rivalry with the blonde was spiralling out of control.

Naruto created a clone and began forming the Rasengan. Sasuke formed the Chidori without going through any hand signs. 'They're going to kill each other!' Sakura thought frantically. "You guys! Stop it! You're going to hurt it each other!" but her plea went on deaf ears. The two boys charged at each other. Sakura ran between them.


I'm done with chapter 16!!! Six good months without an update, wow, just wow. Hope you like it.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire