Naruto 1. Prologue: Black and White

****

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, they belong to Makashi Kishimoto.

**Warning:** **Even if there is none of these in this chapter, I want to say that this story contains yaoi. Pretty much yaoi. And sex (partly with underaged). And violence. And cursing. So if you don't like any of these things, please leave… wait a moment… now.**

**I haven't decided the main-pairing yet, but there will be NarutoxSasuke, KyuubixSasuke, perhaps some GaaraxSasuke and some ShugakuxSasuke (because I've never seen that one!) and more if you wish. Just say something.**

* * *

**Black Innocence:**

_**. . . **_

"_All things truly wicked start from innocence."_

-Ernest Hemingway

_**. . .**_

Black and White:

A mere child. A boy. Not tall, with a petit almost feminine form, clad in a grey t-shirt and white shorts. Black, spiky hair that built the perfect contrast to his creamy almost white skin. A smile that seemed like it could right every wrong in the world, on a face, gorgeous enough to make men and women alike adore him, with eyes, so black that his mother always said they're darker than the night. But despite their colour, were they full of that _something_ that everyone oddly associates with the colour white. A few people call said _something_ naivety, more pessimistic ones call it ignorance, but mostly it's just called innocence. It filled the child's eyes, letting them sparkle with purity. It was a miracle how an eight year old boy that lived in the world of ninja could hold his innocence so long. Especially a boy that was born in a famous, powerful clan that trains him since he can walk to make him a ninja as well. His father probably wasn't proud about the fact that his son was still so light-hearted and therefore probably not determined enough to become a great ninja, because he just didn't know the evil in the world.

But the father of the kid didn't know what _he_ knew. Only _he _could see the special aura that surrounded the young one. An aura that was the complete opposite of the boy's innocence-white eyes. It was under the one, human can feel. A human would have said that the aura, that showed the mood of the child, was happy and cheerful, which was right, but if they would have had the ability to see what's under it, they would have known that the second layer of the boy's aura, that showed the personality of him, was plain demonic. The kid was born with a natural evilness that was only not noticed, because his innocence literally locked it up. People would be afraid of him, an eight year old, if they knew about this little prank of Mother Nature. But they couldn't see the wicked, devilish core, the blackness in him, just like the boy himself couldn't.

_He _had known all of this, the moment the lad stepped into the forest. And _he_ could tell that the child will cause the decline of everyone, once _he _gets his hands on him. But who was _he_ anyway? Well, the answer was simple and difficult at the same time. Most children feared _him _and some adults did either. They thought there were monsters in him, things that scare and kill. But they all didn't know that there was a _he_. For them _he_ was an _it_. And _it_ was everywhere were the other _it_ wasn't. Well, the other _it_ wasn't actually an _it _either, because the other _it _was a _she_. And _he _hated _her_ with passion. For human both were normal things in their life, two things they met everyday. But they were oblivious about the fact that both weren't only things, but supernatural creatures, comparable to a demon and an angel. Created as brother and sister to make life possible. And since then they were enemies. But they fought a fight no one could win, because if one of them wins, the other looses and when the looser disappears, the other will too. Because they simply couldn't live without each other. They were black and white, opposites like the boy's aura and his eyes, but when one of them dies, the other dies too. But it was supposed to be like this. If only one exists, the whole universe would dissolve into nothing. S_he _was okay with the fact that they had to live in coexistence, unlike _him_. _He _wanted to rule the universe on his own. And _he_ will. _He_ will rule and the world will descend into chaos and disaster.

Because Darkness had found a way to win his fight against Light, the first time he had laid his eyes on Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

**Well, that was hard. And for all who didn't get it: _he_ is the darkness and _she_ is the light. And I had so many questions while writing this! Like: What is innocence? An emotion? A circumstance? A fact? I seriously don't know. And is white actually a colour? *sigh* Questions over questions…. **

**Anyway! When you liked it: review, please. And when you didn't like it … well, review too and give me some advices. **

**Until then, good bye, salut, ja ne, tschüss, adios, güle güle, ****Пока** **and adjö. **

**PS: I'll only continue with at least 5 reviews, okay?**


	2. Prologue: Wishful Thinking

**Sooooo. New chapter. I actually had to rewrite this chapter once I was finished, because of mayor crack (keyword peanut butter. I will upload that accident perhaps someday just for fun^^). **

**But before we start, I wanted to thank the reviewers: **

**You are awesome! I know partly from myself, that though you may like a story, you just don't bother to review all the time, so thanks that you did it anyway.**

**Disclaimer:** **The usual. Don't own any Naruto characters.**

**Warning:** **No warnings. Just happy Sasuke.**

_**. . .**_

"_The innocence that feels no risk and is taught no caution, is more vulnerable than guilt, and oftener assailed." _

-Nathaniel Parker Willis

_**. . . **_

Wishful Thinking:

The two fingers aimed for his fore head. They poked the same spot like every time and the usual words followed.

"Sorry, otouto. Maybe next time." A really small smile graced Itachi's lips, as got up from his kneeling position in front of the young boy and straightened his Anbu clothes. As goodbye he ruffled his little brother's raven hair, before he went after his team and disappeared out of sight, leaving a pouting Sasuke behind.

"Stupid Anbu. Should send someone else away, not always aniki." The young Uchiha muttered to himself disappointed. He had asked Itachi, if he could train with him, but the Anbu-captain had an important mission and therefore no time for his younger sibling. And now here Sasuke was, at seven in the morning on a Saturday with nothing to do anymore. What a pity that Sasuke wasn't a long sleeper so it would have been pointless to go back to bed either. After a moment of debating what to do with his newly won free time and finding a satisfying solution in the process, Sasuke turned around and headed to his room, determination quickly took over the boy's features again. His bare feed made hushed patting noises on the cold wood of the veranda as he walked back. He slid the door to his bedroom open and slipped in, all the time trying to be as quite as possible to not wake up his parents. He went straight to a wooden dresser and took the weapon pouch that was lying on the top, before he opened it to check if enough kunais were in it. After deeming that the number was alright, he attached it on the belt of his white shorts and gave a small sigh. If his aniki wasn't going to train him, he will have to do it himself. He also took a small pack of salty crackers from the top drawer and a grey shirt from the one under it. The raven-haired Uchiha put the crackers into his weapon pouch and took his long sleeved black shirt of, exchanging it for the grey t-shirt. Then he left his room as quietly as he entered it and tiptoed to the kitchen. There, he took a small sheet of paper and an already chewed on pencil from the counter and scribbled the words _I'm training, but I'll we back for lunch!_ on it. A rather sad attempt of a heart followed, before the piece of paper was put right in the middle of the table, unable to be overlooked. Sasuke knew that his mother probably won't appreciate it that he was training alone, but his father certainly won't mind. After he checked one last time if he forgot anything, Sasuke went to the front door (**a/n**: I don't know if Sasu's house has a front door in or not. If I'm wrong, please correct me ^^), where he put his sandals on and left.

It was a beautiful day outside and it seemed like he had it all to himself. No one except for him was on the streets; like the whole world was still asleep. Looking up, he saw no cloud on the sky. Only the sun, a few f birds and strangely the moon. It looked weird on a bright blue sky. Just… not like the moon. If Sasuke would have been a philosopher or a poet now he could have thought about the topic for hours, but being a child, he was totally satisfied with the fact that it didn't look normal and quickly forgot all thoughts about moons, as he walked to his usual training spot.

It didn't take him long to reach the small clearing in the rather big forest behind the Uchiha district and after making sure that every target was still there where he and Itachi left it the day before, one of the rare days were Itachi actually had time for him, Sasuke started to stretch a little bit, before he took a kunai out of his weapon pouch. Twirling it around his finger for a moment to get used to the weight, he threw it at the biggest target right on the front of the big tree without seriously trying. It hit the white and red disc, but just on the outmost ring. Not waiting long, the young boy immediately took out a second kunai and this time concentrated for a moment, before sending it f towards the same target again. This time he hit one of the inner rings, but still not the bull's eye.

Sasuke sighed a little bit desperately. Itachi always hit right in the middle without even looking. The small Uchiha already prepared himself for a third throw, when suddenly something black crossed his field of vision The moment was too short for Sasuke to identify what it was, but he assumed it was just a low f bird. He looked around to make sure there was really nothing though, before he aimed again. He concentrated only on the small red point in the middle of the target, fading out every noise from the forest, only thinking of how the kunai pierces right through that taunting black circle, before he raised his arm, took a calm breath and… let something warm and fury that suddenly stroked against his leg cause him to throw the knife about two meters past the target. Shocked, Sasuke immediately looked down to his feet, only to realise that there was nothing! Jerking his head to the left, he only found trees and bushes. Jerking it to the right he got a similar picture.

A noise that sounded like someone was eating noisily behind him, suddenly startled Sasuke and he swirled around. His eyes widened a little bit, before he knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Why hadn't he noticed? There on a stone sat a cat, hair as black as Sasuke's own, and licked it's from the sunlight shimmering fur, apparently not paying attention to the human a few meters away from it. It was sitting there, all innocent, as if it didn't just ruin a perfect throw completely on purpose. At least that's what the Sasuke thought. Even when he took a step forward and another, the animal didn't react.

The young Uchiha continued to walk towards the cat until he was right in front of the flat stone, where he kneeled down and moved his hand in the direction of the still licking cat to touch it, as if he wanted to see if it was real and not a joke, played by his own mind. But before he could close the small distance, the black cat stood up, jumped gracefully down from the stone and strode towards the trees. Slowly, but far from lazy, it moved without any noise away from the raven-haired boy, Sasuke's eyes never leaving the black body.

The cat has already put a paw on the root of one of the trees, when it finally honoured him with a watchful gaze through green eyes, before disappearing. Sasuke couldn't help but follow. His curiosity just always managed to get the upper hand within a very short time and for the most ridiculous reasons. He peeked around the tree and found the cat balancing on a half rotten branch that was lying on the ground. Again it stared at him, before moving to the next group of trees. For Sasuke it looked like it wanted to guide him somewhere. And of course the young Uchiha jogged after the cat, because really, which kid wouldn't follow an animal that wants to show you something, and every time he caught up with the cat, the black fur ball would continue its path.

It led him deep inside the forest without Sasuke noticing it, since he was too busy displaying the most imaginative stories about the magical things he thought were going to happen in his infantile head. He also didn't notice the scratches he got on his legs and arms, while they wandered deeper into dense undergrowth, one especially nasty thorn even slicing deep into his shirt, cutting through the soft fabric and the even softer skin under it. The cat didn't seem to struggle manoeuvring through the green, but the small Uchiha slowly got out of breath and he was now more stumbling than walking, which still didn't stop him from following though.

Time passed and his surroundings got darker, less and less light reached the ground through the thick cover of leaves above him. Only a few sunrays still made it to the mossy floor, creating small dots here and there like confetti. Due to the increasing high of the trees around Sasuke, it also became impossible to see the faces of the Hokage that were carved into the mountain of Konoha by now. Not that Sasuke noticed that. His black eyes were still fixed on the cat and his body was working on autopilot as it climbed over a big fallen tree.

The raven-haired boy was currently right on top of said tree, ready to roll down on the other side, when he suddenly stopped his action. Reason for the sudden stop was the cat of course. Sasuke only saw it through a few bushed, since the cat was at least 5 meter ahead of him, but he could say with a probability bordering on certainty that the animal had finally reached its destination. He could tell that, because the cat had sat down, something it hasn't done the whole time, and had picked up its earlier task to lick its fur.

After Sasuke managed to bring his feet safely back on the ground again, he hurried past the bushes, a smile plastered on his pale face that just _couldn't _entirely express the anticipation he was feeling. But his excitement came to a sudden end when he halted next to the cat. The only thing that was new to the already known picture of trees and bushes was a stone. A stone similar to the one the cat sat on earlier, just in big. It was probably four or five times higher than the young Uchiha and as wide as the house he lived in.

Sasuke looked down at the animal to his feed. It was currently licking a fore-paw, before it would stroke with it over its face, but it interrupted the cleaning, when it felt the eyes that were directed at him, together with a silent accusation. Green eyes slowly wandered upwards, meeting slightly disappointed black ones.

"That's what you wanted to show me? A stone?" The little boy asked, disbelieve evident in his voice. He was sad that it wasn't a magical cave that led to another world or a hidden sea with beautiful mermaids in it. He sighed. Everything he came up with in time of their little cross-country run turned out to be mindless, childish dreaming. Wishful thinking.

The cat stared at him. Then it looked up that rock. Then back to Sasuke and again back to the rock. Sasuke. Rock. A few more times and the boy finally got the hint.

"Up there?" He too looked up the stone and wondered what there could be, before swallowing hard. Without realising that he was following the imagined orders of a straying cat, Sasuke took a deep breath and gathered all the strength he had left, before stepping forward, directly in front of the stone. He raised his arms and let his small hands glide over the rough surface while gazing up and down the stone wall, analysing it. There were gaps and ledges all over the rock, so it probably won't be that hard to climb up. After finding an easy way and mentally climbing it up and down for a few times, he grabbed with each hand a small ledge, one higher than the other, and squeezed his toes into a small gap. So far so good. He made sure that every hold was secure, before he disengaged his other feet from the ground and set it on a small ledge as well.

And the first meters indeed were easy. Over and over again, Sasuke would reach higher with a hand until he found something to hold onto and then would use a leg and the other hand to push himself a little bit upwards, before searching with the foot of the other leg for a higher possibility to stand on. It went well with this method, but after half of the way, the movement became rather painful and Sasuke was so exhausted that he needed to make a break. Small drops of sweat ran down his forehead and right into his eyes, making them itch and a cool breeze let his damp body shiver. His quaking chest was pressed flat against the cold stone, the coldness invading his whole form, and his fingers and knees were sore. Actually all Sasuke's body wanted was to let go of the damn stone and just fall down to the ground and rest, but his mind had an entirely different plan. It had already retrieved all ideas about the upcoming events and even added a new one. This anticipation for what was coming, mixed with Sasuke's natural ambition, let the mind win over the body and he forced himself to continue.

The last few meters were one bitch of a fight. One knee and a few fingers started to bleed and he slipped off on a few occasions, because of his weakened state. But in the end he succeeded. When both of his hands grabbed the edge of the rock and he hauled himself up with his last energy until he had his upper body on the flat platform, followed first by one and a breath later by the other leg, the young Uchiha felt truly and utterly happy, despite his horribly hurting limbs.

He laid on his back for a long while, one arm hanging over the edge, chest rising and falling in a fast pace. When his breath finally slowed down and the pain had lessened at least a little bit, Sasuke finally sat up and his head turned downward. There on the ground the cat was still cleaning, now its tail. He wondered if it would wait for him until he comes down.

Sasuke then raised his head and looked around on the plateau for the first time. It was wide and plain and totally empty, much to his dismay. The disappointment returned to him. He got up from his sitting position and walked slowly to the centre, looking around, scanning the new surroundings. The plateau was complete in the shadows of the high trees around him and it was silent, only the natural sounds of the forest were audible. Even from up here, the small Uchiha couldn't make out Konoha, again only seeing green everywhere as he made a pirouette. And another one. And another. The tuning created a nice tickling feeling in his stomach and he continued.

Soon Sasuke began to giggle and noticed with astonishment that when he let his arms hang loose, they rise and fall on their own, depending on how fast he spun around. He will have to ask Itachi when he returns, why it's like that. If he gets the chance to do so. Because the raven-haired Uchiha unfortunately didn't notice that he wasn't turning on the spot anymore. No, he was moving slowly but surely towards the edge of the rock.

The light-headed felling in his head became stronger now, the giggling got louder and the edge came closer without his knowledge.

A turn and he was only one step away from it.

A second turn and a half step was all that was left.

A third turn and his left foot glided over the edge...

**Okay ^^. One last question, before you can go: Would it be okay if there will be no Uchiha massacre? It just doesn't fit in the plot. Or would it be too much of a change if I would cut it out? Please let me know ^^.**

**Until then, write some reviews please (my ego needs them!), be happy, brush your teeth, don't drink and drive and uhhh… do what you do ^^ **

**Good bye, au revoir (I said **_**salut**_** last time, which was wrong by the way ^^ thx **_**.**_ **for correcting me), ja ne, tschüss, adios, güle güle, ****Пока** **and adjö.**


	3. Prologue: Desire It

**Disclaimer:** **Don't own Naruto, just torture the characters.**

**Warning:** '**Slight' Shonen-ai (means two guys kissing) and one of them is a minor.**

**Pairings:** **DarknessXSasuke **

_**. . .**_

_We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have._

-Publilius Syrus

_**. . .**_

Desire It:

…_A turn and he was only one step away from it. _

_A second turn and a half step was all that was left. _

_A third turn and his left foot glided over the edge…_

When one of his feet only stepped onto thin air, realisation hit Sasuke like the big rock his foot was supposed to be standing on.

His eyes widened in pure fear, his breathing stopped.

His upper body moved backwards, his second foot slipped from the rock.

He fell.

Automatically, the young Uchiha shut his eyes firmly to avoid the sight of the removing sky, while every muscle in his body tensed up to a painful point. Not that Sasuke felt the pain, his mind had shut down completely, all thoughts and feelings blocked out. He was surrounded by a numbing blackness that prevented him from noticing anything. Like the fall itself or the wind that ruffled through his raven hair, the spots of light that ran over his pale face, the waiting green eyes of one special cat on his form or the two strong arms that caught him, before he could hit the ground.

Yep, caught. Sasuke was caught and saved. But he didn't notice. Because despite the ungentle catch that'll probably leave a few bruises on the poor Uchiha's back, the sudden jolt still wasn't enough to shake Sasuke out of his numb state. Only after a little bit more time passed and the need for oxygen became stronger and stronger, because he still wasn't breathing, the blankness that had been wrapped around the young boy's mind finally dissolved and Sasuke woke up with wide eyes, coughing and desperately gasping for air. Quickly the coughing fit forced his teary eyes shut again and one of his still bloody hands came up to his chest, pressing hard against his ribcage that his racing heart threatened to burst.

The simple longing to breathe freely again became so important for the moment that the Uchiha still didn't notice that he was being held bridal style by the mysterious someone who had stopped his fall. Sasuke's inattention continued as he was placed down carefully and a big hand traced soothing circles on his upper back. But when his breathing eventually reached a normal pace again and the coughing stopped, he became finally aware of the new person next to him, despite his eyes being closed. At first he didn't know what to make out of the newcomer. Where did that man come from all of sudden? At least he thought it was a man Sasuke didn't know exactly, he still hadn't opened his eyes after all.

And he wasn't going to. Nope. The young Uchiha was too afraid. What if he's imagining things and when he opens his eyes, he'll find himself lying on the forest ground in a pool of blood with every single bone broken, limps sticking out in weird ankles, his organs only mush... Sasuke's breathing started to speed up again. But when the hand that had been on his back all the while moved over his shoulder to his face and a thumb and an index finger took hold of his chin gently, before using the hold to turn his head upwards and to the side, Sasuke's little panic attack ended as abruptly as it started. These fingers just felt too real to be only imagined.

That realisation made Sasuke finally brave enough to open his eyes, but only hesitantly. At first he was a little bit blinded by the light and he could only see blurry outlines, but after Sasuke blinked a few times, the outlines became sharp and he was facing a handsome man in his twenties who was kneeling next to him. To Sasuke the man looked somewhat like an Uchiha. He had medium length, tousled black hair and eyes just as black as Sasuke's. His skin was well-tanned and his face was slender but angular with a fond smile on it that made the young Uchiha's heart melt.

"You're just perfect…." It was a whisper, but Sasuke heard the deep, soothing voice nonetheless and his heart skipped a beat or two. Never before had someone called him perfect. That word was reserved for Itachi only. It made the young Uchiha smile, before a blush crept across his cheeks and he felt like he's about to turn into a puddle of mush.

"Th-thanks... f-for catching me, I-I mean." Okay, that didn't come out perfect at all, but it only made the smile of the stranger become wider. He let go of Sasuke's chin and sat down in front of the smaller boy, all the while not taking his eyes off him. The man leaned down a little bit more, so that his face was only a few inches away from Sasuke's own, the warm breath tickling on his skin, making his heart beat faster. And then the older just stared right into his eyes with an intensity, like he could something interesting in them. The young Uchiha got that idea, because he _could _see something inside the man's eyes, now that he was so close.

He hadn't seen it when he looked in the stranger's eyes the first time, but now Sasuke could clearly see the movements inside of them. Movements that were made by grey… fog-like things. They looked like these clouds of sand that appear and wafting around for some time when you throw a handful of dirt into a pond. Just that these grey clouds were moving a lot faster. They scurrying through the black orbs fast and subtle, over and over again like shadows. Sasuke had never seen such eyes before. They were amazing. Totally stunning.

"What's your name, little one?" The man asked suddenly, ripping the boy out of his musings.

"Uhh… Sa-sasuke. U-uchiha Sasuke." He had no idea, why he was stuttering and it annoyed him to no end. Itachi never stuttered. But he was sure that his brother never had felt like that around someone.

"Okay, Sasuke: next time you stand on such a high point, you should be more careful. You could die when you don't pay enough attention and we both don't want that, right?" The smile didn't fade one bit, but the voice had lost a part of its earlier fondness and said clearly that the man was dead serious about what he said. It made Sasuke's face blush even more. He knew that his mother and Itachi cared about him and perhaps his father as well, but why should a person he just met for the first time in his life, worry about him getting hurt. He really couldn't be that important. In the end all the small Uchiha managed was a shy shake of his head.

"Good boy." The man chuckled and ruffled Sasuke's hair. Luckily for the young boy, he couldn't get even redder at the moment as he unconsciously leaned into the touch.

"M-may I ask who you are?" Well, it was about time that the young boy finally got enough courage to ask the question that had plagued his mind since he had laid his eyes on the stranger for the first time.

The older laughed a little bit at this, while his hand stayed tangled in the boy's black-blue hair. "Hmm… How can I explain it so that you understand?" The man tilted his head to the side, obviously thinking. "Well, I guess the only way is to show you who I am. Look." He turned Sasuke's head to the side. There, the cat was lying in the grass, dozing softly. It wasn't spectacular and the younger had no idea what he should look at, but then, suddenly, the faint shadow of the animal's body began to twitch, before a magically a butterfly escaped the darker part of the ground.

It looked like the shadow was liquid and the butterfly rose out of it like a bubble. The small insect flew towards Sasuke and he could see that it had no patterns like normal butterflies. It was pitch-black. The Uchiha slowly raised an arm, his hand reaching out for the butterfly and much to his surprise, the animal elegantly sat down on his fingertips without hesitation. Upon closer examination, Sasuke saw that it had no eyes or hairs or anything similar. Like it was made out of one black piece.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" The smaller whispered as if he was afraid that the butterfly could fly away again. He was truly amazed by what the other had just done and totally forgot that he actually only wanted to know the man's name.

"That is no jutsu. I don't need chakra or hand signs to do that. And that was a piece of cake compared to the other things I can do." The man chuckled and Sasuke could hear a hint of arrogance in his voice. But he could afford it in the boy's eyes.

"You mean that you can do that inherently? Just like that?" To emphasise his point, Sasuke snapped with the fingers of the hand that wasn't occupied by the butterfly. His eyes were wide in amazement and his voice was filled with astonishment. He was still staring at the insect, when the man next to him removed his hand from his hair and took his wrist instead. And suddenly the butterfly burst like the bubble it had resembled when it appeared.

"Ohh." The young Uchiha moaned disappointed. He really liked the little butterfly. But before he could keep on pouting, the other turned him around so that he could face him and placed both of his hands on the small boy's shoulders. After the man kneeled down as well to be on one height with him, Sasuke looked into those unique eyes again, not noticing that the other wasn't smiling anymore, and for a moment he thought that the shadows tried to get out of the black orbs and to him. And just that moment of comfortable silence later these grey things indeed got to him. Though they didn't come out of the other's eyes, they passed his lips slowly and crept through the air towards Sasuke, twisting and meandering on their way. The man breathed out and more dark clouds erupted from his mouth, sneaking in the Uchiha's direction, but the younger didn't even notice, being too busy watching the first few promenading shadows coming closer.

Sasuke raised his hand and held it in front of his own face just when the clouds were about to reach him, all the time being oddly calm. They headed for his own mouth now and avoided his pale fingers with graceful ease, before finishing their small journey as they touched the boy's pink lips. He felt a light pressure on his mouth and parted his lips slightly to see what the creatures, and that's what he now thought they were, living things, planned on doing. They slipped inside and Sasuke felt the mental urge to cough, just because it was a logical reaction, but there was no bodily impulse that could have provoked such an action.

At first the small Uchiha didn't feel the creatures at all and after a while in which the man still held his shoulders and breathed out more clouds that took the same way as their predecessors, he still didn't sense them themselves, but his head became really light and every muscle in his body suddenly relaxed. All thoughts vanished and didn't leave a black numbness behind like after his fall, but a content nothingness spread over his mind. It was like taking a hot bath after a very exhausting day where and all worries fall off from you. It was like eating ice cream on the warmest day of the year and everything narrows down to the frozen liquid that makes you feel like the happiest person on earth. Summed up: it was heavenly.

So heavenly that Sasuke sank deep enough in that trance-like state that even the lips of the older man on his own only brought a small part of his mind back to reality. That part registered how close the man was and that he pressed his mouth against his open one, but the part that was supposed to mind or at least care about this was still not available. So the young boy didn't react at all, not when more shadow creatures wandered from the other's mouth directly into his, not when the area between his shoulder blades started to tingle and not when said place was caressed by gentle but strong fingers. He _did _react when the man's lips started moving against his and the other's tongue slipped between them and into his mouth like the creatures, before moving over the back of his teeth, over his gums and occasionally prodding his own tongue as well. But the reaction was certainly not the one of an eight year old that is kissed in an awkward way by a stranger.

Because Sasuke didn't pull away and ran to his mother. Instead he moaned quietly, because that feeling that the shadow creatures gave was too good and he already started to desire it. He wanted more of it. But there was another reason, why he reacted the way he did. The other reason was that the man tasted like cherries. And Sasuke absolutely loved cherries. They were his favourite food right after tomatoes. The small boy even started to move his tongue against the other's more or less unconsciously, trying to get to taste a little bit more. A satisfied sigh would have passed his lips now, if they hadn't been still sealed by the man's.

Time was not relevant anymore, so Sasuke couldn't say how long they remained like this. Probably quite a while, because when the older pulled away finally and the shadow creatures no longer moved from one person to the other, the boy was panting like he just ran through the whole forest again. But even if his body showed signs of live, his mind was still in it's blissful but isolated state and the Uchiha did nothing more but stand and stare holes into the air with an empty expression.

But when two fingers poked his forehead, Sasuke magically woke up from his trance, shaking his head slightly and blinking. For a second the small Uchiha thought that Itachi must be standing in front of him, but when he looked into the stranger's face again and realised that he was the one who had done that familiar movement. And he found that he didn't mind. Normally, Sasuke hated it when someone besides his older brother poked him, because it was an Itachi-only thing. His nii-san did that only to him and it made him feel special and loved.

But when he looked at the stranger and especially into his eyes that seemed a little bit emptier now all of sudden, Sasuke surprisingly didn't have the feeling that he was looking at a stranger anymore. It was just… now that he looked at the man… there was suddenly something familiar about him as well. Black eyes stared into black eyes and he felt like he knew that man now. Without talking to him. He knew who he was, _what _he was, but how? How did he now that the man had been named Darkness millions and millions _and millions_ of years ago? That he wasn't human? That he was practically a god? Images he had never seen before flashed in his mind. Memories that were not his own.

Sasuke wondered if he gained this knowledge through the shadow creatures. They seemed to live inside of the man and to be a part of him, so when they slipped into his own body, perhaps a piece of the other became a part of Sasuke himself. But that wasn't what irritated the young boy. What irritated him was that he _wasn't_ _irritated_ about this at all. No, he was perfectly fine with it.

"You know, 'Darkness' is a weird name." And because he simply knew that man so well now, for reasons he didn't quite understand, Sasuke had no qualms about acting like a normal child and voice very irrational things out of the blue.

"Well, do you have any suggestions for improvement, Sasu-chan." Darkness asked with a wide smile on his face. The nickname rolled off his tongue as if he uses it all the time and again, it was totally okay for Sasuke, having the feeling that this is just a normal everyday-conversation with a close person.

"Uhm, how about 'Yami'(1)?" The young boy suggested after a moment. And though the name wasn't exactly creative, Darkness, or from now on Yami, nodded in agreement.

"Good Sasuke, I bet your parents are already worrying about you. You should go back now. And I guess, you won't go home alone." Yami said the last part with a light chuckle and his statement confused Sasuke slightly, but Yami enlightened him quickly when he pointed at the black cat that came strolling towards them. The animal stopped next to Yami at first and let him stroke its back, purring contently, before moving over to Sasuke where it started to rub its head against the boy's knee until he began to caress it as well. The fingers of the young Uchiha gently scratched over the area under the cat's chin and it craned its neck in delight. After it was satisfied, the animal stood up and went to the edge of the clearing. It sat down again and looked back at the two humans.

Sasuke, already knowing this game by now, got up too, but didn't follow the cat immediately. Instead he looked at Yami and bowed slightly.

"It was an honour to meet you, Yami-sama and I hope I'll see you again someday." Sasuke said politely, before he turned around to catch up with the cat.

He didn't make it far though, because Yami who also was standing now placed a hand on top of his head that kept him from going. The older leaned down so that his lips where right next to Sasuke's ear and he whispered lowly: "The honour was all mine. And don't worry, we'll meet again. Until then, train hard and take good care of Hitomi over there." Again, Yami pointed at the cat that was moving its tail impatiently.

"I will, I promise." Sasuke said with a light chuckle and he was released with a friendly push. The boy went over to Hitomi, but before they both could start walking, they were interrupted again.

"Oh, and Sasu-chan…" Yami began, waiting for Sasuke to look at him. When he did, the man didn't continue to speak, but placed his index finger over his lips, telling the boy without words, to keep this a secret.

Sasuke only smiled back and nodded enthusiastically. This will be his little secret and he won't even tell Itachi about this. Will be a premiere. The first time he doesn't tell something his older brother who actually knows every detail of his life, important and unimportant.

But many things were going to change, popped it into Sasuke's head as he and Hitomi made their way back to Konoha. The boy just had the feeling that it won't be normal from now on. It wasn't a bad feeling. The opposite was the case. He was looking forward to the changes. He was sure that they'll make his life only better…

Sasuke didn't know that he and Yami were the only ones who'll be this lucky.

**Okay, in case you think now 'Where is the explanation for this whole the-stranger-suddenly-isn't-so-strage-anymore-and-Sasuke-suddenly-knows-things-he-simply-can't-no-thingy than I can assure you. It will come, but in a later chapter. And until then, I hope you stick to my story (pleeeaaaase)… **

**Oh, and to explain (1): 'Yami' actually means 'Darkness' in Japanese. At least I think so ^^. **

**Sorry for all the mistakes (grammar and spelling) again XD.**

**Cheerio n_n**


	4. Prolouge: Blooming Knowledge

**Disclaimer****: Blablabla…. Do not own the characters. Makashi Kishimoto does. **

**I suck. I know it. But in my own defence: I had personal problems which I'm not willing to keep to myself ^^: I was in the loony bin (sounds worse than it was) because of depressions. However, I'm rehabilitated now to some part and high on medics, so I was let loose again. Now enjoy my "insanity".**

'_These are thoughts by the way.'_

* * *

_**. . .**_

"_Awareness is empowering."_

–Rita Wilson

_**. . .**_

Blooming Knowledge:

He took a last glance over his shoulder, but a glimpse was all the young boy could catch of the retreating figure of the man that he could call his friend now. Then the overgrown vegetation blocked the view of the clearing and Sasuke turned around to be led home by the black cat.

Again the Uchiha had to make his way through the complex area. But marching trough knee-high grass and climbing over fallen trees soon got to Sasuke and of course it didn't take long until he was utterly exhausted. It was odd though, because even when the child had followed Hitomi to the clearing and climbed on top of that rock as well, he hadn't been that spent.

Now, however, the raven haired boy couldn't even keep his eyes open, let alone coordinate his limbs properly anymore. So, when Sasuke tripped over a root and fell, his mind was so fogged by fatigue that he didn't even bother to stand up again. He simply rolled onto his side, drew his knees against his chest and put his hands together, palm against palm, before sliding them under his cheek and… falling asleep, oh wonder. Hitomi didn't seem to mind very much, since she simply strolled back to the now sleeping Uchiha and curled up against his stomach, starting to doze of as well.

* * *

A man walked into the forest to find a sunny place to read his beloved novel without expecting anything extraordinary. Having the day off, his mind was totally caught in the realms of _Icha Icha Paradise_ and nothing, absolutely nothing, would get him out of there today. It had already been far too long since the last time he had the time to read his book. Well, actually he had read it about twenty times so far, but that didn't count.

So when the great copy nin Hatake Kakashi got caught in something while his nose still stuck in that little orange book, his mind far, far away, he promptly toppled over, yet his shinobi skills prevented him from hitting the ground via automatically outstretched arms. In the end Kakashi's fall resulted in an awkward push up position, his novel lying in the dirt under his right hand.

Blinking a few times to recover from the slight shock, the masked man pushed himself up from the forest floor, before he lifted up the book and looked around to find the tripping hazard. It was no surprise that he was quite stunned when he turned his gaze downwards and what he saw was a lowly snoring kid with its cat miming the Sleeping Beauty. The lad lay sprawled out on the ground, turned onto his stomach and face hidden in the arms folded under his head. One leg was bent and the hollow of the knee served as a pillow for the black cat that snuggled tightly against the boy's tight. The reason for Kakashi's fall was the other leg that was sticking out in an odd angle.

Briefly the jounin wondered if he actually still was so close to the village that he should expect children to play out here, but came to the conclusion that he actually had wandered off too far for that. '_Perhaps the kid had run away.' _Immediately shot into his mind.

Kakashi turned the boy around gently, looked up and down the boy's body to check if he had any injuries and noticed in the process first the oddly peaceful expression on the boy's round face, then the bloody fingers and scratches on his legs, but dismissed both as unimportant. What he did find interesting was the red and white fan that was printed on the back of the grey shirt. '_An Uchiha, huh?'_ That realization made the decision of his further treatment of the boy easy. The man kneeled down next to the sleeping form and gently shook its shoulders, but the kid didn't even make the smallest movement.

The cat woke up at that though. It stared at Kakashi with bilious green eyes and its ears flattened so that they made a horizontal line, before it hissed lowly and threatening. The man didn't need to be an expert to see that the feline wasn't all too fond of his presence.

Still not removing his hand from the boy's shoulder, Kakashi started to talk to him while shaking a little bit harder this time, saying 'hey' and 'wake up' over and over again without taking his eyes from the black animal which had sat up by now. Unfortunately the Uchiha again didn't react.

Sighing, the jounin came to the conclusion that he most likely doesn't have that much of a choice. He would have to bring the kid back himself, since he didn't want to risk the Uchiha family starting a riot, because one of their possible heirs got lost. The clan can really be a pain when it's about their inheritance.

Standing up, Kakashi first pocked his book, before he put an arm around the boy's waist and hoisted him up onto his shoulder not too gently, since the kid could still wake up and walk alone. The cat was still hissing, but didn't do anything else and for a very short moment the copy nin contemplated if he should also carry the pet as well. He decided not to. Kakashi didn't like cats, he was a dog person, and as the fur ball started to threat him all thoughts of possible tolerance from his side had been thrown out of the window anyway.

He jumped from branch to branch and quickly reached the village. It was a miracle to him how the Uchiha boy could still sleep, after Kakashi jumped up and down rather roughly all the time, not that he was going to be softer for the rest of the way, the boy had ruined his day after all. The jounin could have found a decent place now and simply enjoy himself, if the brat wouldn't have shown up.

Soon Kakashi found his way to the Uchiha district where the gates were wide open, being only closed at night. The clan's symbol was displayed everywhere, on the walls, on the clothes of the people sitting under large parasols while drinking tea and even on the teacups.

As soon as the jounin put a foot on the holy ground of the Uchiha nearly all of them looked up, curiosity and mistrust crossing their faces. Kakashi had to admit that it indeed appeared somehow weird carrying a child on his shoulder around, but he really already experienced more embarrassing situations and the masked man was used to being stared at anyway.

He walked over to a small group of frowning older women, putting on a charming smile that was barely visible through the thin layer covering is face.

"Excuse me young ladies, but is there any chance that one of you is the mother of this child here?" At this Kakashi spun around slowly so that they at least could see the back of the boy once. Of course he knew that none of these women could ever be the kid's mother, but Uchiha were arrogant and far more cooperative when you butter them up at first.

And just how the shinobi had planned the women suddenly smiled, their wrinkled skin even seemed to turn red under the thick layer of make-up.

"No, my dear, he isn't one of our children." Giggling in the whole group. "The lad you have there is the youngest son of Fugaku-sama, Sasuke. Such a sweet little boy, but unfortunately not as talented as Itachi." The name of the protégé was spoken, like the woman was talking about saint, while the kid, Sasuke, seemed to be a disappointment to the whole clan. _It must be hard to be the son of the clan's head _and _the brother of the great Itachi_. Kakashi thought, already starting to be sympathetic to the boy and comprehending why he might ran away. But he perhaps could have been outside to train and fell asleep because of exhaustion.

After the masked man let them explain to him the way to the clan leader's house, he meted out some more compliments and then left to deliver the child and finally have his well-earned free time.

When he reached the biggest house of the whole area, Kakashi knocked on the front door, hoping that Fugaku's wife would be home, because he really wasn't interested in small talk with the man. It had been a hard time after Obito died and the jounin came back with his teammate's right eye as his own. The Uchiha clan protested, even demanded that the eye should be removed, but the hokage had better things to do after the war and told them to leave Kakashi in peace. However, some of the Uchiha and especially Fugaku still hold a grudge against him.

It didn't take long and the shinobi heard light steps coming closer to the door which was opened only seconds later by a beautiful woman who looked like an older female version of the kid he carried around. She wore a blue dress with a simple white apron over it and smiled fondly as she recognised Kakashi.

"Hatake-san, how nice to see you. Is there anything I can… Oh god, is that Sasuke?" Before Kakashi could say anything Mikoto Uchiha was already at his back, moving her son's head upwards and to the sides to muster him intensely.

Chuckling, the jounin took the boy from his shoulder and handed him over to his mother who looked very concerned. "No need to worry. He's just sleeping because of exhaustion and he has a few small scratches, but nothing serious. I found him lying in the grass on a clearing near the village." Kakashi opted for not telling her that the boy had been actually not anywhere near a populated area.

Mikoto sighed and simply shook her head, definitely not approving of her youngest' urge to catch up with his brother. "I wouldn't have let him go, but he was already away when my husband and I woke up. I would have told him not to train this hard, like I actually always do and Fugaku is the sa…." The wife of the clan's head defended herself and the father, but stopped when she noticed on her own that she was only ranting, before gathering herself again and speaking again, this time with that polite smile on her face again. "I thank you very much for helping my son, Hatake-san. If my family can do anything for _you _in return, please don't hesitate to ask for it. We owe you at least that."

The proposal of the Uchiha lady made Kakashi smile a bit behind his mask, since he expected from her to know about her husband's dislike towards him. But in order to finally get away, he didn't develop that thought any further and just quickly soughed the usual no-need-to-thanks and have-a-nice-day's, before he turned around and left the women to mother the little troublemaker who the jounin was happy to be rid of and hopefully would never see again.

* * *

Never in his whole life Sasuke had damned the light so freaking much, not that he actually had ever damned anything so far in his young live. The luminance burned through his closed eyelids, making him only see bright red. Why did he just have to wake up? Or rather: who had to wake him up, because whoever the person was who belonged on the other end of the fingers that kept touching his forehead, pressing cold metal against his chest or against his lips and into his mouth, he was going to hear something as soon as Sasuke could open his eyes again.

Unfortunately the young Uchiha was more or less relieved of this job as two of said diabolic fingers were place on his upper and lower eyelid and pulled them apart. At this, Sasuke lost it and slapped the hand away harshly, before rolling onto his stomach and hiding his face in the pillow. _Wait. A pillow?... A pillow. _Suddenly the raven haired head started to work on high speed. He remembered the training. And everything after that. _Oh god. _He and Hitomi had been on their way back to Konoha, but he was too tired. He fell asleep. In the middle of the forest. Great.

Immediately Sasuke rolled onto his back again, fear beginning to spread out, and bolted into an upright position, but by mischance hit the head of the person that was currently leaning over him. That made him fall back onto the mattress, whining and clutching the back of his head in pain while still listening closely to the cursing of the person above him. It definitely was a man, probably around his sixties and the voice appeared familiar to him.

After the pain and the cursing faded, Sasuke pushed himself up again, slowly this time, until he was sitting on his lower legs, and opened his eyes only to find his assumption affirmed. To his left sat to his relief his mother, smiling softly although her eyes showed her worry, and to his right the owner of the head and fingers that caused Sasuke's suffering, his very own family doctor, Saito-hakase.

The old grey haired man rubbed his sore forehead and looked as grumpy as always. The young Uchiha had never seen this man smile or just look neutral, which was why Sasuke didn't like the old geezer. Plus, always when the raven haired boy had been ill, the man would tell his mother that it wasn't that bad and her son was only exaggerating or even that he was just pretending.

"Oh Darling, you're finally awake! Are you alright? Do you feel ill?" Sasuke turned his head around again to look first into his mother's eyes, then through the whole room. It was his, clothes for the next day laid on the chair in front of his desk, his weapon pouch was on his dresser like always. Looking down, he also noticed that he was only wearing his pyjamas which made him wonder just how long exactly he had slept.

"Sasuke-chan?" Mikoto moved herself into her son's field of vision to get him to look at her and answer the question.

"I'm fine." That was the short simple answer of the boy which didn't satisfy the proven mother who already felt that something was wrong. Her youngest always told everything in detail whether it's about something important or just a frog he saw somewhere. Short answers were very rare.

"Haven't I told you not to train too hard? Hatake-san brought you here yesterday and said you had been sleeping in the forest. Your father and I were worried sick about you." Sasuke for the first time in his life simply didn't listen to his mother. The words went into one hear an out of the other again without anything remaining in the space between, because his mind was busy with something completely different: was all he experienced in the forest a dream?

"I see, you finally woke up too." While his mother's voice didn't come through to him, his father's did though. He stood in the middle of the doorway clad in a simply dark blue yukata and he looked very angry. Black eyes dulled by disappointment stared into Sasuke's and the young Uchiha waited. Waited for the pang he always felt when his father was angry with him. It failed to appear. They looked at each other and the younger just thought _Why care that he's dissapointed. _He had someone who appreciated him. And the knowledge that Yami was the opinion that Sasuke was perfect the way he was, he deemed enough.

That his father was the first to break the gaze only added to the satisfied feeling that his recent revelation brought with it. The man turned around with a low grunt, after throwing his wife a warning look that said 'do not pamper him!', and walked towards the kitchen.

The following silence hung in the air like a cloud, but was ended by the doctor who stood now at the door, bag already in his hand. "Well, I can assure you that the lad is in good health and if you don't need me anymore, I intend to leave now, Mikoto-sama."

"Of course Saito-hakase. I thank you very much for your coming though." The female Uchiha said as politely as always, before standing up to accompany the doctor outside.

After his mother left, Sasuke hoped off the bed and walked over to the window where he climbed onto the windowsill and pressed his nose against the cool glass. His breath immediately created ever so tiny water drops on the clear surface which blocked the young boy's view. He leaned backwards a little bit and waited for the big white dots to disappear, before leaning forward again, this time holding his breath. His gaze swept over the forest searching for any sign of Yami, but there was none.

He sighed and turned around to sit on the sill, legs drawn to his chest and his chin resting on his knees. It didn't take long before sadness arose. Perhaps it had been a dream. He had been found sleeping in the forest after all. Immediately the black orbs became glassy and tears formed in the corner of his eyes, a small sob already escaping his mouth. But as soon as he heard heavy steps on the veranda, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and wiped away the forming tears while breathing in and out deeply to get his heartbeat back under control.

The steps however went past his door and Sasuke felt relieved that his father wasn't coming in to lecture him about the earlier disrespectful behaviour, how Fugaku would probably call it. He sat in silence for a while, before it was disturbed by his rumbling stomach. The small Uchiha jumped off the window sill, walked to his dresser where he first looked on his alarm clock to see that it was already four o'clock in the afternoon which meant that he hadn't eaten for a whole day, before he took a pair of white socks from the bottom drawer. After putting them, he looked into the mirror and noticed that his eyes were already red and puffy. To his luck his father just left the kitchen and his mother was still talking to the doctor, so when he went to the kitchen no one saw him.

In the kitchen the boy opened the fridge quietly to not give away his whereabouts, but found nothing that excited him. Next the young Uchiha tiptoed to the table and pushed a chair silently in front of one of the kitchen counter. The point of this was to reach the wall closets which the boy couldn't open with out help. After climbing on the chair, he opened one door after another, roaming through the shelves and looking for something eatable. In the bottom shelf of the third closet he then finally found something that didn't need to be cooked first, but what he discovered were only Tsukemono, peanuts and sake. Nothing Sasuke was actually fond of. In the shelf above however he detected a jar of honey and although he was known for disliking every kind of sweet things, he wanted it.

Because at the moment Sasuke oddly craved for something sugary, so much that he could already taste the sweet flavour on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't say why he just did. The Uchiha stretched as far as he could, but his fingertips only barely touched the glass. Slightly frustrated, Sasuke made a grimaced, before trying again this time also staying on his toes. But again only his fingertips brushed the cool surface and this time to the boy's growing anger even pushed it backwards and completely out of his sight.

The dark eyes glared angrily at the place where the retreated glass once was, but the damn thing simply wouldn't show up again. For the first time in his life he actually wanted to eat something sweet really bad and he is too small to reach it! And on top of that: Sasuke was already starting to get tired again. Right on cue a yawn made its way out of his mouth and the weary boy sat down on the back of the chair, signing in despair. God, he wanted sweets. Don't ask why, he just did.

With another yawn Sasuke got off the chair and brought it grumpily back to its place. Then he left the kitchen, letting foot plump for foot to show the world his frustration. He continued his loud way back to his room, where he fell down onto his bed. He was still hungry, but he wanted sugar and nothing else. Why was his mother so hell-bent on nourishing her family healthily?

Slowly the young boy drifted back into the sleep he had just awakened from a quarter of an hour before.

His sleep was dreamless and only for a short while, because just as he was about to merge into deep sleep a weight was placed onto his chest and it became difficult for Sasuke to fill his lungs with air. Immediately he woke up and went into a sitting position, before looking downwards. The weight on his chest had rolled down and turned now into a weight on his lap.

There on his black pyjama pant laid nothing else, but a slender black cat staring up at him with lazy green eyes.

The smile that nearly split his face brook through without Sasuke noticing as he recognised Hitomi. And when Hitomi was here it meant that everything had been real! It had happened! On the inside the Uchiha was cutting capers while on the outside he simply stared at the feline's face.

Sasuke got totally engrossed in the feeling that there was someone who appreciated him for whom he was. He didn't fully comprehend it, not even half of it, couldn't place the event of the previous day nor his emotions. All he knew was that actually Itachi wasn't such a brilliant brother. He never had time for him or showed him any cool tricks. And on top of that he never said something nice to him. Unlike Yami. The man was also way better than his father.

So, while absently stroking Hitomi on his lap, Sasuke came to a fateful decision: neither his father nor his brother were worth the effort the youngest took upon himself to impress, let alone please them.

* * *

**Okay, I hope it didn't suck that much ^^ if it did let me know XP**

**And until then **

**Cheerio n_n**


	5. Prologue: The Past's Shadows

**Disclaimer: ** **Not mine, as always. **

_**Well, ain't I a horrible person… Took me almost half a year to get another freaking chapter done ^^ **_

_**But one does not simply stop procrastinating… give me a new website to check out (the past few days it had been '' which is just so true it's almost sad again) and it will keep me occupied for the next week. **_

_**Anyway, I promise that the chapter after this one will be the last part of the prologue (I will probably have to put what would have been two or three into one now ^^) and then I'll develop something like plot. Or try it at least.**_

* * *

_**. . .**_

"_Life, death and rebirth are inevitable."_

-Rig Veda

_**. . .**_

The Past's Shadows:

When Sasuke woke up, he had a déjà-vu. An unfortunate one at that. On his left sat his mother on the side of his bed, on his right stood his doctor Saito-hakase. Again. If this was becoming a habit, Sasuke would have to stop sleeping altogether.

"Good morning mother, good morning doctor." The Uchiha boy said politely albeit hesitantly, before sitting up and throwing a quick glance towards the clock on his nightstand. It read three o'clock in the afternoon which was the exact time when academy ended, today seemingly without him.

Never in his young life had Sasuke overslept, not even dropped out of school for an entire day despite being ill and consequently the boy felt equally bad, but also slightly angry, because apparently no one had bothered to wake him up.

He watched silently as the doctor packed his things into his old leathern back and exited the room with his mother close behind. She hadn't spoken to her son so far, only ran a slender hand through his uncombed hair, paired with a kiss on his cheek and a concerning glance.

Sasuke listened to their muffled voices outside, but he couldn't make out proper words. Soon his father joined the conversation, before the walked away from his room. Only a few seconds later however light footsteps came along and the head of his mother peeked through the half opened door. Worry laced her voice as she told him that he needed to get dressed and then they would leave for the hospital, because this morning she tried anything to wake him up and he didn't even twitched not even when she slipped an ice cube into the back of his shirt. She let the doctor come and again he said nothing was wrong with son, but since she was his mother she knew better, so now they were going to see a more competent medic.

Sasuke simply nodded and when the door closed again, Sasuke actually had to wonder just how long the doctor had already been here. Seemingly long enough to check him thoroughly. And yet he did indeed find nothing. Nothing however seemed to be a pretty good reason to go to the hospital for his mother.

Sasuke might be a little bit tired, the raven-haired boy wasn't denying that, but wandering through what felt like the whole forest surrounding the village, had been _really_ straining, so there was no wonder that he might have slept a little bit more and a little bit deeper, right? No reason to consult a doctor. _Twice_.

Quickly the young Uchiha started to think of ways to get around this hospital visit and while doing so, he unconsciously rolled around until only the lower part of his body was still on the bed. Slowly the young Uchiha slid forward, not really noticing what he was doing, and glided down, his head getting closer and closer to the wooden floor while he thought of a burning hospital and the collateral damage that would ensue.

Only when his curly hair was already touching the wooden floor, Sasuke became aware of what he actually had been doing, because then he suddenly saw Hitomi lying stretched out under the bed and immediately the raven haired boy felt guilty for totally forgetting about the cat.

The Uchiha brought his small hand to the cat's head and started to caress the spot behind its ear, making it purr in delight. After he deemed his apology accepted, he let go and pushed his legs of the bed, now standing in a handstand which he could only keep up for a mere second, before he flipped over and landed safely but with a loud thud on his feed, creating a bridge. Sasuke then let his feet glide forward and slowly lowered himself on the ground. Quite proud of his gymnastic exercise and a little bit tires, he lay on the floor and watched Hitomi crawl out from under the bed with the grace of a black angel, spine arching so far that its belly nearly streaked the parquet.

Her tail stroked his face gently, before the feline walked over to the dresser and jumped on it as if it was only a few inches high. To Sasuke it looked like she was advising him to get dressed, just like his mother had told him. Sasuke of course devotedly obeyed the cat, not his mother, and stood up to get changed. He roamed through the drawers and settled for a dark red high collared t-shirt. He just slipped into a pair of black pants when his mother opened the door to his room again and told him that they would go now, still sounding worried at the same time. The sadness written on her face however vanished rather quickly as she saw the cat on the dresser.

The woman shrieked and immediately went for the cat, hissing at it as if she was the animal of the two. Hitomi on the other hand kept her uninterested gaze and simply jumped from the dresser on top of the bookshelf next to it. Out of reach the black kitten now watched Mikoto who was already jumping up and down trying to shoo the cat away and Sasuke could have sworn Hitomi's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Mother, I don't think that you can chase it off like this." The boy interrupted solemnly his mother's rather funny attempts that had her now waving her son's pyjama pants in front of the shelf. "We should simply leave the window open so that it can leave on its own."

Mikoto stopped with arms still up in the air and looked bewildered at her youngest not knowing him as someone to be reasonable and calm. She would have expected that Sasuke would try to convince her of keeping the cat, no, would _beg _her of keeping it. The definite, pitch black eyes of her son however meet her own directly and held an aloofness that hadn't been there before the hypersomnia had started. She hoped that it was just because he was ill, because now he looked a little bit like Itachi and she didn't want him to become like his older brother.

But her youngest did have a point, so she sighed, put the pant onto the dresser, only after folding it neatly, and led Sasuke, who had opened the window in the meantime, with a gentle push and a not too earnest smile out of the room. That she threw the cat on the shelf an almost hateful glare, Sasuke didn't notice.

They walked to the hospital in silence. Just mother and son, because Fugaku hadn't been home anymore when Sasuke finally had eaten his breakfast which consisted of a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of sickly sweet cereals that were actually reserved for Shisui only. The choice of food irritated Mikoto even more, but she let it slip. Her son probably needed the energy that derived from the sugar.

When they entered through the big blue door of the hospital the previous quietness was distinguished by loud nurses and doctors, hurrying through the lounge, clattering with their almighty clipboards, calling for help, medicine or attention. It smelt aseptic and the reflecting sunlight of the notorious white furnishings was blinding for everyone who stepped inside.

Sasuke looked through the lounge, seeing shinobi and villagers alike. He could spot an inhabitant with a bloody hand wrapped in a towel, a pregnant woman who was screaming at her poor husband and even a chunin with a kunai plunged into his shoulder.

Mikoto took her son gently by the hand and pulled him to the reception desk, where they were met with a forced smile and a greeting that sounded like it has been from an audio tape. His mother described Sasuke's current state of health, the nurse chopped something into her keyboard and asked them to sit down and wait.

The elder Uchiha did as they were told, while the younger started to walk around and inspect other people's reasons for being in a hospital curiously until his mother had enough, summoned him to her side and pushed him down on the yellow plastic seat next to her while scolding him in a hushed voice for his insensitive behaviour.

Time passed and Mikoto read in different magazines out of foregone decades, whereas Sasuke sat on the edge of his chair, kicking his legs back and forth, and observed the people around them now more subtly. He tried to hide it, but he was already getting tired again and it became hard to suppress every yawn that was fighting its way out. When finally a red haired woman in a white lab coat approached them, the boy was ready to fall asleep right then and there.

It was a kunoichi, since it was normal that in the hospital shinobi were treated by medic nins while the villagers had doctors without any fighting education. After greeting them politely and introducing herself as Kado Shika, she led them into a small room on the second floor that only contained a makeshift bed, a table and two chairs. Sasuke immediately hopped onto the bed and made himself comfortable without waiting for instructions, but the woman only smiled and asked Mikoto to sit down on the seat next to the bed before she looked into the young boy's file.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, why are you here and not in academy on this lovely day?" She asked with the voice adults speak to children and already received the first demerit points from Sasuke.

"My mother thinks I sleep too much." The child answered dryly and his mother threw a stern glance towards him which the doctor noticed even though she was still reading in the file. Kado looked up and motioned for Mikoto to tell her version.

"It all started on Saturday. " The female Uchiha leaped at the chance to characterize the problem in an instant, taking a deep breath to explain everything in-depth. "On that day Sasuke went training in the early morning and just left a message on the kitchen table. Around noontime he was still not home and I and my husband were getting worried. We were about to look for him ourselves, when Hatake Kakashi-san suddenly arrived at our door with Sasuke in his arms. He told me that he found my boy in the forest, obviously sleeping but otherwise he was not injured. I tried to wake him up, but he didn't react at all, so I put him to bed, hoping that he would wake up in the evening. The next day we had a home visit by the doctor and only after he had checked on Sasuke, he finally woke up. I asked him if anything happened, but he didn't talk to me which he never had done before. And right after the doctor took his leave and I walked back to his room, he was sleeping again. He had only been awake for half an hour yesterday. Half an hour! And the today I walk into his room because he was already late for academy and _again_ he didn't wake up no matter what I did. I called for the doctor, but that… that amateur said that nothing was wrong with!" Mikoto was standing by now and gesticulated wildly, something Uchiha do absolutely not do, worried mothers however even more.

"Please, don't get upset Uchiha-sama." The doctor tried to sooth the fussing Mikoto and gently led her back to the stool she had been sitting on just seconds ago. "We will make a few tests with him, but I doubt that it is something serious."

Mikoto nodded vigorously, still very disgruntled, and shoot glances filled with mixed feelings towards Sasuke who rather focused on trying to keep his head from rolling forward.

...

The tests were longsome, at least to Sasuke. Auscultating, palpating, weighing and measuring, questions about what he did and ate, taking of a blood sample, even a freaking scan of his brain. All of this however didn't conclude into any kind of result. Kado couldn't find anything, jut like the proclaimed amateur.

"Uchiha-sama, I would like to do one more test with your son. A co-worker of mine will be here in a second and have a last look at him." The mother simply nodded, irritated and angry by the lack of progress. Fife minutes later a man with black hair held together in a high bun entered the room. His eyes were entirely white and had a lavender shade.

The newly arrived doctor introduced himself as Hyuga Kazuya, nodding towards his college, bowing to Mikoto and directing a short glance towards Sasuke who resumed his seat on the bed. The boy didn't even have the ability anymore to actually apprehend his surroundings. The only reasons he hadn't fallen asleep were the constant asking of question on the part of the doctor and the almost violent grip his mother had on his hand all the while.

Kado must have already explained the case to the male medic, because he fro a change didn't ask any questions. He also didn't seem to be on duty anyway, since he wore a very casual outfit, consisting of a dark blue sweater and in colour matching pants. But he apparently also wasn't on a short visit, because the bandage that was tied around his neck and kept his left arm in front of his chest clearly gave him away as a patient.

The man didn't bother with any words and just activated his byakugan, fine veins emerging next to his eyes as he turned his analysing stare towards Sasuke. The Hyuga's face was as expressive as a fish's while he scanned the young Uchiha's body and when he was finished he simply motioned for Kado to follow him outside.

They talked right in front of the room, but the door between muffled their voices enough so that neither of the Uchiha could understand them, not that Sasuke was actually trying. When only Kado returned a few minutes later, she looked very… interested and curious all of sudden.

"Sasuke, could you remove your t-shirt, please." The red head asked him while she overlooked the previous test results one last time. The young Uchiha hadn't realised that the woman had asked him for something, so it was up to Mikoto to pull the ruby coloured shirt over her son's head and down his arms and both females cast worried glances towards each other because of the lack of reaction on Sasuke's behalf.

The doctor just took one look on the boy's bare back and frown built up on her forehead, before she asked in an outmost careful tone: "Uchiha-sama, did you let your eight year old son get a tattoo?"

Mikoto, who was kneeling in front of her son and tried to keep him from falling asleep by talking to him about random things, suddenly jumped up and whirled around the bed to have a look on her own. What she saw made her gasp. The white skin on the base of Sasuke's neck was marked with a black sign, a high rectangle that was open to the bottom with two ellipses inside, the upper one empty, the bottom one with a dot in the middle (_a/n: Anyone recognising this?_).

"What the hell is this?" Mikoto screamed directly into the doctor's face, negating the doctor's question as well as pointing out that she was already so upset that she didn't bother with womanly tact anymore.

"I don't know, but it is absorbing your son's energy which is the reason for his fatigue." Kado answered calmly, having experienced agitated parents already often enough. "Would you please come outside with me for a moment, so that we can discuss Sasuke's further treatment?" Mikoto of course agreed, nodding forcefully, but you could see the insecurity building up inside of her. She dressed her unresponsive son again, gave him a kiss on his soft hair and told him to sleep, before following the doctor out of the room. Sasuke didn't say anything, hadn't even been listening for the past five minutes and as his mother came into his field of vision saying something to him that didn't manage to transcend the barrier weariness had created around his head, before leaving the room with the other woman, he simply flopped to the side, already asleep when his head hit the mattress, not knowing that it was exactly what his mother told him to do.

/\/\/\/\

_He ascended the grey lithic stairs in the middle of the blackest night without doing anything, his legs moved on their own and even when Sasuke willed them to stop, they kept on walking on and on. He hadn't counted, as he was still occupied with somehow usurping control over his limps again, but he knew that it were 312 uneven, cracked steps people of hundreds of generations prior to him had already walked on. When he finally left the last step behind, a large building of astonishing beauty came into sight. Surrounded by wide open spaces of sumptuous almost white marble stood a two story high, u-shaped temple complex made out of dark brown wood accompanied by grey tiled, slightly curved roofs on different levels. Small weeping willows lined the way towards the grand oak doors that was guarded by two black, dimly glowing lanterns._

_The possessed legs swiftly crossed the plateau, immune to Sasuke's silent commands that didn't even left his mouth, because not even his tongue submitted to his will, to the wooden gate and opened it with only a slight push, thereby emitting a telltale creak that echoed through the whole area as if there was nothing to stop the nerve-racking sound from blemishing the magical silence. Passing the doors, a seemingly never ending room with black state floor and high red walls adorned with golden arabesque came into sight, bathed in a warm, cosy light due to masses of candelabras along the sides._

_At the far end of the chamber about ten men clad in grey togas and black sashes were lined up in two rows, behind them yet another stair out of massive gold leading onto a podium. Sasuke let himself walk closer, not because he had given up, but because he would have walked closer himself as well. So far he was not spotted by any of the men who at a second look were all bald and looked all fairly similar with their stony faces, staring straight ahead without even blinking. The Uchiha's body kept going until he stood right between the first two each other facing men, but still they wouldn't acknowledge him. Behind them on the platform however sat a middle-aged woman on an ivory throne and peered down at him. She wore a black kimono with golden rims, combined with purple underclothing and a broad red belt that was bonded into a big bow on her back, her sleek ebony hair undulated down her sides and a delicate smile was forming on her glossy pink lips, before she motioned for Sasuke with a wink of her slender hand to come to her side. _

_His legs of course obeyed and steps were made through the alley the stiff men had created, up the stairs, only stopping when he reached his spot to her left, where he involuntarily bowed and greeted her without knowledge of who she was or whose words were passing his lips with a voice that was oddly familiar, as he stared into knowing, bilious green eyes._

"_Hitomi-sama."_

"_Gisei-kun. How lovely of you to join us. I personally assumed you would desert the second I apprised you of your upcoming task." She graced him with another genuine smile, before focusing her gaze on the grand door, seemingly waiting, while Sasuke's mind started racing, because the name of the woman was too familiar and yet she lacked all feline features and seemingly the knowledge of who he was too, calling him 'Gisei' as if Sasuke was not himself as well, just watching through somebody else' eyes and he looked down and onto his hands and they were tanned, sweaty, scarred, not his, never his and it was confusing and Sasuke was close to tears and he wondered if he actually _could _cry right now. _

_That ear-splitting creak ripped Sasuke out of his mental dispute suddenly as a man stepped through the still open door and closed it behind him. The tall man quickly strode through the big hall and only stopped when he reached the first step of the golden stair. After putting one foot on the first step, he bowed deeply, although he kept his sharp mahogany eyes fixed on the women next to Sasuke. _

_Regarding the man closely, the young Uchiha found that he vaguely reminded him of someone which added only more to his confusion. His long almost black hair stuck straight out of a high ponytail, defending physical forces such as gravity with ease, his face was angular and his dark brown eyes hold a stern look without appearing hostile, but his voice was slightly waving from impatience probably if Sasuke had to guess. _

"_Your highness. I thank for permitting me to seek you out again." He spoke, a bead of sweat slipping down his cheek. "I wish not to trouble you or ste…"_

"_I know, I know. You are thankful. Well, Nara Rikumaru, much to your luck, I did find a way to fulfil your request and aid your clan so as to you can aid your comrades in the ongoing war." Without further addition, Hitomi rose from her seat and for the first time the men standing in front of the throne actually moved. The one on the left standing closest to the podium hurried up the steps to reach out for her hand which she elegantly placed into his before gliding down the stair, while the other simply turned, ready to follow their mistress. Sasuke, still having no choice in that matter, followed closely behind, while his mind tried to make sense out of the man's affiliation with Nara-clan._

_Hitomi halted next to the newly arrived man and gladly accepted a jute bag that was most likely filled with lots and lots of money. After handing it over to the man who already led her down the stairs, they exited the room and passed a dim corridor. The walls here were of a royal blue decorated with pictures and tapestries, although it was too dark to actually make out what was pictured on them. _

_They were escorted down an even darker stair leading to what appeared like a dungeon. Every ten to fifteen meters a torch was lit, giving the whole scene an even scarier, even more arcane touch. Stepping through a heavy door with wrought-iron fittings, the entered a similar sparsely illuminated room with blank walls. The floor was covered with characters of a dark auburn arranged in a circle and although Sasuke couldn't identify a single one, the meaning of each and every sign penetrated his mind, because, whoever 'Gisei' was, he seemingly was capable of that ancient language the incantation was written in. _

_The men positioned themselves at the wall ahead and Hitomi led that Rikumaru character to the other side where she instructed him to sit down and concentrate his chakra in his chest until she addresses him again. She then moved over to Sasuke or Gisei or whomsoever this body belonged to and pushed him into the middle of the written circle, because, even though Sasuke long since gave up every kind of resistance, the foreign legs also hesitated to move now. _

_Reaching his destined spot in the middle of the room, she gently pressed him down and onto his knees, before crouching down in front of him, again smiling a genuine but sad smile that scared Sasuke, because in its sincerity, in its finality, it promised death. In her watering eyes mirrored the flames of the few torches in the room, although when she lowered her gaze the soft red glint in them turned silver as it reflected the dagger she pulled out from under her silken Kimono and forced it into clenched hands._

_His eyes wandered downwards onto the dagger and he beheld the blade that reflected the face Sasuke had worn all the time. Obsidian eyes stared bravely back at him through floppy black streaks of hair that framed a handsome, tanned face which Sasuke, much to his shock and pleasure, had only became acquainted to a few days back, although the name had been another one. _Yami.

_Looking Hitomi in the eyes once more she gave a last reassuring smile, before standing up and walking over to Rikumaru who had his eyes closed and was concentrating as he was told. She kneeled down next to him, shoulders barely touching, and shut her eyes as well, before beginning to speak._

"_Almighty Lord of the dark, master of the shadows and ruler of the enigma, I, your loyal subordinate, call for you and seek your presence." The characters on the floor slowly turned red and grey smoke rose from their outlines, captivating Sasuke completely. The swirling movements hypnotised him and soon he lost track of the spoken words. _

_From what Sasuke could catch however, it was about a war unlike every other and the smoke built up, waving higher and higher, its movements fierier. The beasts were divided and a hokage died while the ground disappeared under thick opaque mist and only the brilliant red glimmer shone through and the words slowly faded into a faint humming in the background, a low whisper in his head, as Sasuke's eyes connected with bilious green ones again. Hitomi's mouth was moving, but her glazed orbs spoke clearer than the hazy words falling from her lips._

_And then another time the body moved on its own, dagger clenched in one hand, the other clawing with bloody finger against the floor. Sasuke could here the racing heart as it tried to flee from its bane, from the rising blade that hovered now in front the chest, the beating becoming louder and louder until it reached the peak and suddenly dropped down the other side, falling into solemn numbness where seconds turned into minutes and the advancing edge moved like the uprising moon, slowly, steady, inexorably. _

_Sasuke didn't feel the pain as the blade pierced into the stomach with unhindered force, nor as the built up smoke entwined around him and pushed into ears, nose and mouth, replacing every drop of blood that gushed out around the metal in his wound with black smoulder. _

_Sasuke's eyes met Hitomi's in a faltering gaze. Her eyeballs had turned entirely black and a smirk played around her lips that couldn't possibly be hers. With a sharp wink of her hand the smoke suddenly stopped flooding the quivering body, but what was already inside, was flowing through the veins and gathered everything that labelled life. The Uchiha still stared at that smirk without noticing that his vision was getting blurry. _

_Another twist of Hitomi's hand and in an instant all the smoke went rigid inside of the body, before pouring out of it again, now not light as air, but black liquid that created small sikes on the floor and moved towards the Nara who had watched the whole scenario with shock. He was petrified and couldn't move as the fluid flew up his body and into his mouth. The man coughed and gagged, but the black material kept pushing until the last drop disappeared. _

_The Nara could hardly stay upright, but Gisei's body gave in and fell to the ground. Sasuke intently listened to the slowly fading heart beat and found something oddly comforting in the low sound that came in steadily increasing intervals. It became a metre to Hitomi's voice that echoed through the room._

"_From now on your family will be blessed with godly abilities, Nara. In return, you will bend to the darkness' will and obey him for all eternity."_

_It were the last words before everything turned black with a last weak thud of a heart…_

* * *

_**I'm tired. Its 00:30 and I want to sleep ^^**_

_**Cheerio n_n**_


End file.
