Threads of Fate

Chapter 2

Threads of Fate

 ​Chapter 2

Open your eyes, little one.

Open them, wide, and look around.

What do you see?

Are you happy?

…

You are afraid, you've always been.

Because your heart is too broken to accept their love.

"What the hell do you want from me?! You have no idea what it's like; you don't have parents or siblings to begin with! Don't you dare talk as if you'd understand me, because you don't! You just don't! Why can't you let go already?! Just leave me be! Leave me the fuck alone!"

"I won't."

"Why!? Why not just forget about me?! Forget me, just like everyone else did! I don't want your help!"

"Because I'm your friend, Sasuke. Because of that I won't abandon you no matter what you say to me now. Not when you need me. You might not want it, but–"

"What does that even mean to you?! You just keep blabbering about this crap! What the heck do you want to say?!"

"You've always been my friend, my goal, … my brother. I know what it feels like to lose one. I know how you feel."

"Are you even serious? Do you actually want me to believe that?! Don't give me this bullshit! You aren't my brother! You are not him! You–"

"Just listen to yourself. You are afraid. Afraid to lose those dear to you. You don't want the past to repeat itself. Because of that you don't want these connections. Because you are afraid of the pain you would feel after loosing them once again. Your heart isn't as cold as you make it out to be. Be honest to yourself, just this once."

"You–"

"No, Sasuke. You. It's always been you."
 

The next time he regained consciousness, Sasuke felt terrible. His head was throbbing painfully and there was a foul taste on his tongue. He tried to gulp it down but couldn't. His mouth was dry, his body hurt all over and worst of all, he felt incredibly weak. This was a situation not to his liking, and so he decided to do something about it. The first step was to open his eyes but he had to realize that even that seemed too much of a task. Just after a few fruitless attempts he finally succeeded in forcing them open.

It was dark, he noticed. Bright shimmering dots still blurred his sight.

Still in a haze, he couldn't make out his surroundings, some dream fragments blurring his mind. He saw nothing, really, but felt as if his eyes would analyze their color so he could understand their meaning. What was the dream even about? Blue, he thought. It was blue, like waves crushing at the shore, like a cloudless sky on a day full of sunshine. Was he sure it wasn't black? It must have been a bad one, after all. Slowly coming to, he rubbed his eyes, trying to chase the sleep away. Everything was so slow, so blurred. What happened? Had he had a fight? He couldn't remember.

Suddenly, he heard some sort of scooping and was awake at once. Almost automatically his sharingan activated, searching the room for whatever caused the noise, before fixating on the sleeping form of his mother, kneeling beside his bed.

After a moment of shock, it all came back to him.

As he saw her, her head rested on her arms, sunken in deep slumber, he remembered the blackout and what had happened before. He saw it over and over again inside of his mind. How he had woken up, how he had realized where he was and, most importantly, how she had stepped in with this saddened but relieved look on her face, her reddened eyes, the tears that dared to overflow, how she had held him and he had felt so small and secure. Wait a minute.

Sasuke froze, his mouth once again opened in disbelieve. How come he still felt so small, so … different from how he normally felt? Something about his body just wasn't right, he realized. He looked at his hands, at how tiny they seemed and felt cold shivers up and down his spine. This wasn't just a hunch anymore. He knew it, saw it, with his own eyes! "What the–" Even his voice sounded higher.

His body was that of a kid again.

It was just too much at once. He didn't know what shocked him more; what was more disturbing. His mother sitting right there, or his own body, completely strapped of what it had been, of what made him a ninja. Was he dreaming, still? Was it the drugs? He couldn't wrap his head around all this. It hurt, so much. Before he knew it, his hands were covering his eyes, and despair dared to get the better of him. He wasn't really going to cry now, was he? He couldn't quite believe it himself. He felt hotness behind his lids but managed to keep it from spilling. Just what was wrong with him? He didn't show emotions like that. He screamed, yes, he cursed, … but he didn't cry.

Suddenly there was this rage again. It bubbled up inside his stomach, fast and strong, like a volcano that was about to erupt.

What else? What else would be thrown at him, what obstacle, what lie, what kind of disgrace? He had taken so much already. Wasn't it finally enough?! His breathing quickened drastically and he started to feel dizzy again. What the heck was up with this body? Couldn't it take a thing as simple as that? Just how weak was he going to get? How much more, no, how much less was he able to take, now? He bit his lip in order to avoid screaming. What a joke. His fingers grabbed his hair, tight, and after a while the pain was able to calm him down a bit.

He was having mood swings. The reason why was beyond him, but he sure as hell wasn't fond of it. Closing his eyes, he started to count. He had to clear his head in order to think. Emotions distracted him from what he really wanted: Finding out what was going on, both inside and outside. He took a deep breath and felt his mind getting silent again. It had taken him about five minutes, which was far longer than it used to. After one last inhale he opened his eyes again, ready to analyze the problems at hand.

The first thing he was willing to consider was the possibility of Genjustu, it was the first thing that came to mind, obviously. He wasn't convinced, though. Why was easy to understand. He was an Uchiha, and it was by no means a simple task to trick one of his kind with something they considered themselves to be unbeaten in. Genjutsu might not be his personal forte, but he was no rookie in that regard either. Also, he had the eyes of his brother now, so it showed more than unlikely for him to be tricked like that. He still decided to momentarily stop his flow of chakra, just to make sure. Forming the seal, he concentrated on the energy in his veins, before abruptly halting its way. As expected, nothing seemed to change.

What else? After a bit of thinking he fathomed the thought of Madara having something to do with this. He had been the last one he had spoken to and he also remained the last other Uchiha, who could have forced a jutsu of this magnitude upon him. Had the former clanleader really intended to cage him inside an illusion, he would be unable to escape. For a matter of minutes, that was. Sighing he folded his arms together. No, that didn't make sense. They were "allies" in the others eyes, or at least he knew that Sasuke wouldn't meddle into the elders affairs. His ties with Konoha had been severed years ago and even though his former teammates still insisted on him turning his back to revenge, he wouldn't go out of his way in order to silence them. One day, he would kill them, alongside the other Konoha citizens and explosions of red and screams of despair. But for now, he had no intentions of taking action against either of them. There was just no reason for Madara to keep him away from the going of things. He wasn't able to get to this mysteries center just jet. He needed information. But where to go? This had to be a jutsu, that much was clear, but Sasuke had no idea of who could have cast it.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his mother moving in her sleep; Her cheek rubbing against the fabric of the mattress, her fingers moving slightly as she was dreaming. He just couldn't avert his gaze. It was now that he became fully aware of her presence. Did he even want to wake up? It seemed silly, but what if this proofed to be reality? What if she wasn't an imposter, but the real thing? He quickly shook his head. No, this simply wasn't real. There was no point in hoping just to be disappointed once again. Hadn't he lived through this already, after the massacre? He didn't know how long he had believed to be dreaming. It was so painful to accept the truth. Too painful to ever experience that again.

He needed to get out. The urge was sudden but strong. He needed to go, away from her. Away from the memories.

He was just about to stand up as a certain chakra signature entered his space of awareness. It was approaching this room and was soon standing in front of its door. Sasuke found himself puzzled once again by the fact that he knew this person. His eyes located themselves on his mother again and widened just a second afterwards. This was–

Before he could even finish his thought, the door opened soundlessly and the figure of none other than his father appeared in its frame. Sasuke's fingers tightly clutched the blanket he was covered with, but this time he at least managed to keep his face straight. He should have expected this. It wasn't too far stretched to assume that his mother was not the only person who should make a reappearance. Still he found himself surprised at not only his father standing in front of him again, after all this years, but at his expression and the deep shadows under his eyes.

For a moment, they just looked at each other before a sigh forced past his father's lips and he stepped into the room completely, closing the door after himself. "Just … try to relax, okay?" His voice still sounded like the rustling of leaves, like a deep forest at night. It was cold but gave him a feeling of safety. He felt goosebumps all over his skin, but nodded shortly, never averting his gaze from the darkness that were his fathers eyes. He moved, he talked, and he lived. It was just too much to handle. Then he noticed the blanket in his fathers hands. Said man stepped beside his sleeping wife and carefully covered her with it, so she wouldn't wake up. He was so close. Sasuke just needed to stretch his hand out for him, and he would be able to touch him, to see if he was real. There even was his smell in the air, the scent he had always had, that had always been his. Sasuke was a ninja now, so he noticed these kind of things. He saw how young his father had been, how long he could have lived if it hadn't been for Konoha. His mother as well. He wished, they could have lived happily together.

After finishing his task his father headed towards the door again. "Really. Try to relax." It was not until he stepped out of the room that he added: "Your eyes should become black again, after that."

And just like that, he was gone.

It took Sasuke a few seconds to regain his composure. He bit his lips while deactivating his sharingan, and scolded himself for being so oblivious. He hadn't even noticed that they were still activated. A mirthless laugh filled the silence as Sasuke once again covered his face. How stupid was he? This wasn't real; it just wasn't. Again he could feel the burning sensation. He needed to get a grip on himself. They were imposters. They looked like his parents, yes, they talked and acted like them; But they weren't them. He was almost shocked at how easily they had torn down his inner walls, how easily they had gotten under his skin. He would make a formidable opponent, as weak and confused as he was, now. Gulping down the tightness in his throat, he looked down at his hands again. Had they really been this tiny, once? Who should he fight with them? Who should he kill? He touched his face. How soft his skin was, how delicate his features. Had this really been him at some point? He couldn't believe it. It seemed so far away.

It had been more than ten years since all this had been taken from him. Seeing it all, as if their blood had never strained the floor of their home, as if Itachi had never been forced to shoulder its weight on his shoulders... It was so … weird and also frightening, in a way. He'd never admit it of course, but it had been long since he had felt fear of such magnitude. A voice inside his head suggested to run away from it, run from this lie, but this time he strictly refused his legs to follow its advise. He would not chicken out. Not him. He would stay and face it. He would understand. He would act. He would solve this mystery and punish whoever was behind this. He would find him. And he would kill him for reminding him of what once was and of what could have been, had things played out differently.

Konoha would pay, now more than ever. It's houses would burn along with its people. He would hear them scream and beg him for mercy. Their faces would be fed off by the flames he himself would force upon them, so their skin would melt from their bones. They all would die by his hand.

Just perhaps it would be enough. And he would finally be free.