Shattered Heavens

A turbulent wind had picked up outside as the dark, big, grey clouds moved ominously together threatening to block out the fading sun whose rays of light had not still passed away.   With every passing second, the fierce wind was picking more and more intensity dispelling leaves, flowers, insects, and other objects into the air.  The animals of every species could sense it; in the distance, there was a dreadful storm picking up and every small creature fled into their respective homes for shelter.  However, despite the storm’s presence becoming more apparent, a lone person with an unsheathed sword was sitting atop one of a pair of heavily-armored statues both of whom were forming the Traditional Seal of Confrontation with opposite arms. The statues each had their other hand placed on the hilt of their swords ready to draw in the next few seconds yet were motionless as if both were waiting for each to draw.  Their faces possessed an air of seriousness yet deadly calm as both locked gazes with each other.   In-between the tall statues, a massive waterfall was flowing with water, however, the flow of the waterfall was marked with periodic bursts of fury as the wind encouraged these eruptions.  

On the head of the left statue which bore a striking resemblance to Madara Uchiha, a powerful ninja of the Uchiha Clan of old who had been reincarnated recently, sat a young man with spiky, black hair with onyx eyes dressed in a white, long-sleeved shirt open at the torso and dark-blue pants with a blue-cloth hanging from half-way up to his stomach from his knees.  Judging from the red-fan symbol at his back, he was from the Uchiha Clan, and was an extremely rare sight to see considering how most of the clan was wiped out many years ago.  Younger brother of Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, had been through a lot of traumatic experiences transforming from a kind yet serious child to a darkened and twisted version of himself full of revenge and hatred for Konoha and his former friends especially Naruto.  However, things had changed for him in the past few days, as he had met up with the revived member of the Sannin called Orochimaru as well as his team-mates who once and still do compose Taka.  From there, the legendary four Hokage from the past had been resurrected, and their stories containing messages and themes were slowly changing how Sasuke thought bit-by-bit.

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“I have long since closed my eyes, my goal lies only in the darkness…”
“Just shut up for once! What the hell do you know about it?!! It’s not like you ever had a family in the first place! You were on your own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?!! Huh?! I’m suffering now because I had those ties!”
“Bring them back! Bring them all back! My brother, my father, my mother, all of them! Bring them all back! Until then, I’ll never stop killing!”
“They’re laughing… They’re all laughing at Itachi’s sacrifice! I’ll turn those laughs into screams of anguish as I kill you all! I’ll kill everyone in Konoha including you!”
“You have two choices, Naruto! Either kill me and be the hero that saved Konoha or remain the loser while I kill you and everyone else!”

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Memories of the past few months came soaring back into Sasuke’s mind as he replayed every memory over and over again from facing the Kage at the Summit to meeting Naruto with the rest of Team 7 before disappearing.  His mind zoomed to Itachi; their experiences in life, their battles up until now, and his promise loving him forever no matter what he did.  A raindrop fell from the darkened heavens striking Sasuke on the head as he looked up. More and more kept falling until at last like a bursting dam all the water in the world released itself to the dry terrains below.   No matter how much it rained, Sasuke still did not move from the spot he was in, and instead peered at his own reflection in the carved stone beneath him.  Much to his surprise, he saw Naurto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake staring back at him waving and smiling.  Grunting in disgust Sasuke’s sword was about to strike the surface of the water when a pink cherry blossom landed abruptly on the surface of the small pond.  Carefully setting his sword aside for the moment, he picked up the flower in his pale hands, and cradled it shielding it from the rain. A faint memory of a young Sakura crying frantically not for him to leave the village came back to him before his quest for Orochimaru’s power with the Sound Four making him stare at the flower.    

A faint hand touched him on the shoulder making Sasuke spin around in the rain with his sword at the ready.  In front of him, an apparition of Sakura Haruno stood in her teenage form with her green eyes piercing his very soul. The look on her face was not one of grief or sorrow like before but of pity and wanting to comfort her lost friend for falling too far away.   As her eyes bore into his, somehow Sasuke’s torso were enveloped by her pale arms as she gave him a warm hug, and to him it felt as if she was there… Slowly the grip on the sword loosened as Sasuke returned the hug in a strange manner.  His heart which had been seized by darkness and revenge for a long time had a crack and leaking through was a feeling of serenity. We and I are always here for you… Please come back to us, I miss you so much Sasuke Uchiha, a voice whispered in his mind.  For a long time, the two in the rain were crouched hugging in the rain, and even the horrendous weather had lightened up as the sun’s rays of a new day touched them. Elsewhere a long distance away, Sakura Haruno, amidst the battlefield fighting for her life along with countless others could have sworn she felt a heavy presence around her shoulders along with a familiar voice replying, “I miss you too… Wait for me, I’m coming back.”