1: Loss

Eyes are viewed as such trivial things.

The ravenette boy's eyelids fluttered before opening to a world of blur. Colors were mixed as if he were looking at a small child's first attempt at watercolor. Greens and browns blurred into a blackish mess with hues of blue scattered here and there.

Eyes keep us grounded.

At first, he started to panic, how could the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan lose his eyesight? It was disorienting and confusing, but he showed no sign of his inward frenzy on the outside. Then his vision started to clear. Blurs became focused and the details in front of him became evident. His racing heart slowed little by little as he came to the conclusion that he wasn't, in fact, blind.

They show us harm so that we may protect ourselves.

He was lying on his back, staring at the high branches of the tall trees that surrounded him. Okay, so I'm in a forest, but how the hell did I get here? He thought as he sat up, his muscles protesting against such movement all the while, but he ignored them with a bit of effort. The last thing he remembered was some Hidden Cloud ninja attacking him. Their scratched out headbands proving that they were rogue shinobi. More than likely they thought they could build up their reputation by taking him, an S-Class ninja in the bingo book, out. Wait, I was winning that fight so how...

They let us see the light in even the darkest of places.

"N-Naruto!" The ninja stuttered as he recalled his knuckle-headed frenemy jumping into the fray. Strangely enough, from the ravens' point of view, it looked like the blonde had tried to jump in front of him as if to take a hit for his old rival. Sasuke's head hurt and he cringed against the sensation, letting out a pained sigh before pushing through the discomfort to try and think his situation through.

Eyes are precious things when you think about it.

He was too late. Sasuke shockingly recalled as he sat up and looked around, but he felt like he was looking through too strong lenses. Every time his gaze turned to something else his eyes unfocused and took a few seconds to correct themselves. It was awkward and strange and did nothing to help his headache.

But no one seems to want to think much about it.

He recalled a sharp pain, like daggers, shooting through his eyes.

"H-Hey, are you okay Sasuke?" An annoyingly familiar voice muttered painfully.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's body tensed for the impending fight as he turned his blurry vision to the direction of his rivals voice. Only to have his breath catch in his throat as his eyes focused on the horrid sight that lay before him. He expected a battle, but it became blatantly obvious that he wasn't going to get it.

They don't realize how lucky they are to have what is seen as such a simple and ordinary gift.

Naruto lay on his back, partially on the roots of the massive tree growing behind him, so as to put him in a reclined and slumped somewhat sitting position. His body was bloody but no worse than what Sasuke was used to seeing after the blonde fought. No, what horrified Sasuke wasn't the superficial cuts and abrasions covering his old ally. It was the two crimson coated, cavernous holes where his eyes used to be located.

Until they lose that priceless ability.