Disclaimer: * Insert snarky and original disclaimer statement*I don't own Naruto.

Warnings: Language, violence, child ninjas, brief mentions of torture etc.

Chapter 1-

Word Count- 5000

Calm before the Storm

Stormy Night, October 10th

The water tumbled downstream, crashing against the banks of the river, cascading down the boulders oppressing its persistent flow. The glittering half-moon peered through the canopy of trees, making the clear water sparkle, reflecting the stars of the midnight sky. Below the tall trees, beside the river banks, was the thick undergrowth of Konohagakure's forest. Layers of green barely visible in the dim moonlight covered the ground, vines of some climbing the trunks of the ancient trees.

The forest gave no sound as it swayed in a violent breeze. There was no hint of the forest's tenants, no rustle of a tail or call to a mate. There was a light musty smell, reminders of the raging storm approaching. It filled the heavy air as a warning to all. Beware.

It coiled through the trees and winding paths, following a single, intertwining direction. To the village. A village, where tonight, were celebrating the death of a demon.

Their chants of victory and demonic ideas echoed to the skies and the clouds that were forming, as if a beckoning to the storm, as if asking for a rampage of lightning and thunder.

Amidst the blanket of silence that steadily laid itself over the village in waiting, the storm struck. And as it struck, two twin streaks slammed into Konoha.

An awakening.

A young child ran from his angry pursuers, completely numb and exhausted from his travel through time. He had hoped to appear somewhere safe. At the edge of a drunken crowd was certainly not safe. Especially in his case. His first thought was to find Sasuke, but when the drunks caught sight of him... well, escaping these people was top priority. Unfortunately, he and Sasuke will mostly be immobile for the next month to recover, and it would be a long time before they were back near the strength they had before they travelled, at 19 years of age.

Naruto and Sasuke had no idea how or why they were sent back. The only inclination was an unknown figure that had summoned them to a different dimension, or limbo. It stated that the Shinobi world needed strong guides to lead and protect them, and that the reincarnations of Indra and Asura were perfect for the job. And then they were sent back without warning, memories still fresh with the Tenseigan confuzzle.

So here he was, running on adrenaline alone, trying to get to the Uchiha compound because that was his only chance at survival. Sasuke was probably trying to explain his nightmare and incinerated arm to his family. Their disfigurements had come back with them, and Naruto had lost his replacement arm. Everything was off-balance, and that made running all the harder. The civilians and Shinobi alike were closing in, speed fuelled by misplaced anger and grief.

The tiredness he'd pushed aside was rapidly filling in again. In the haze of his wariness he made a crucial mistake.

The screams of enraged villagers clouded his choice and he took a wrong turn, still imagining this to be the new Konoha, despite the obvious differences. Everything became a blur in his closed eyes and confused mind. Pain flashed through his head and down his neck. But even that cursed slash was barely there. While his left side burned in pain and right side registered nothing, Naruto called out one last time.

"SASUKE!"

No one came.

"NARUTO!"

Sasuke tried to escape the arms that restrained him. He clawed his hand over his brother's arms and screamed again. His father was yelling in annoyance, trying to stop his rampaging, injured son from escaping. The night had been loud with both the bustling village and dangerous storm. But when Sasuke first started shrieking in agonised pain, everything took a turn for the worst. Itachi came shortly before his parents; right as Sasuke slammed the door open, filled with terror. The horror on his face, and the blood dripping down from red and purple eyes pushed Itachi to make a move.

His older brother got behind him and wrapped his arms around his body. He could feel the chakra flowing to his eyes. Mangekyou and Rinnegan eyes. Itachi had seen them, the blood dripping down his face, and arm gone with no trace left behind. He cut off the chakra flow, deactivating both eyes. The tiredness rushed in again at the absence of chakra, what little adrenaline he had left leaving fast.

He was stressing out, panting and thrashing, scaring Itachi. He was out of his mind, trying to escape his brother's grasp and save his friend.

"NARUTO! Please let me go!" Sasuke tried, blood staining Itachi's arms with crimson. "I need to help him- I can't help him... he needs me but I'M NOT THERE!"

Itachi refused to let go as Fugaku failed to calm the screaming boy. He didn't want to use a sleeping jutsu on him, but at the rate his father's efforts were going, someone needed to do it.

So he mumbled a quick sorry and did it as best he could, holding his unconscious brother and slipping to the floor. Mikoto dropped beside him and examined Sasuke's eyes. From what Itachi could see, his parents hadn't caught a glance of Sasuke's unusual eyes. He must have deactivated them somehow. But the blood was still there, coating his face and splattered on his torso.

"His arm?" Fugaku inquired. Itachi just shook his head and continued to gaze at his brother. How could Sasuke know of Naruto? How had any of this happened? A nightmare? No, no nightmare could cause someone to both awaken and evolve the Sharingan. But if it wasn't that, how? How had his arm disappeared without a trace and no wound left behind?

Naruto lay motionless and starving, at the end of the abandoned alleyway. No one had come to help him. The only one who would bother was Sasuke, but he was also out of action. This month of recuperating the figure had mentioned had no end.

In addition to the temporary loss of mobility came taxing fevers and chills. So Naruto felt cold all over, shivering and sweating, and unable to look after himself.

The laceration that went from above his left eyebrow to collarbone had only stopped bleeding two nights ago. But even with his heightened healing, Naruto felt an infection coming on. It was the most serious injury. Apart from that were numerous small cuts and bruises lacing his arm. He hadn't eaten anything in at least a week. The Uzumaki stamina must be the only thing keeping him alive right now. Kurama was still asleep and regenerating, silenced by the source that sent them spiraling back through time.

For an entire week, Naruto could do nothing but starve and stare at an empty void.

Sasuke was in a similar predicament, except that he was not starving and most certainly not alone. Itachi stayed with him whenever he could, replacing the wet towel on his forehead with a new one and sitting with him during the cold nights. When it wasn't his brother, Mikoto spent her waking hours with him, and also working around the compound. She helped him bathe and eat, among other things too embarrassing to think about.

It was difficult to keep his emotions in check when someone was with him. After all, they were supposed to be dead.

He couldn't escape Itachi's observant eyes though. He noticed the strange mix of emotions, Sasuke's silent nightmares and just as silent calls for someone. But Sasuke was unable to speak well, thus couldn't answer his rarely pressed questions.

After the first week and a half, Sasuke managed to ask a well-needed favour.

"Can... you find s-someone for me?" he asked. Itachi brought his attention from a book to him, brow raised questioningly. He let out a hesitant chuckle and continued, "Naruto." Itachi sighed and nodded. How Sasuke knew of the container was beyond him, but he didn't doubt his instincts. This was something he needed to do.

As he began to leave, Sasuke stopped him with one last warning. "No one can see you."

Itachi looked back at him. "Hai, Otouto."

Any elite Shinobi should have noticed Itachi snooping around the village. But being the prodigy he was, no one could trace the Uchiha unless he let them. As it was, the only ones capable of that were the Sandaime and his captain, Kakashi.

Itachi spent many hours searching every possible alley for the Jinchuriki. He couldn't ask for help or information, as that would only bring unwanted attention and suspicion. Not that that would be any worse than after Shisui's death. He shook his head and turned into one more street before he retired for the night.

At first, it was just as silent as all the others he'd searched. Until he heard a slight grumble, like a stomach calling out in hunger. He activated his Sharingan and spotted a small bundle of red and white hidden behind crates and garbage. He crossed over to it, shuffling aside the crates to get a better view. His careful mask betrayed no emotion as he examined Naruto.

He crouched beside the boy and took account for all his wounds. His eyes flickered in concern at the largest gash and the empty eye socket. The villagers had done some damage, all right. He needed to treat the boy, and the best place to do so was in the forest or an abandoned training ground. End of Training Ground Seven it is. It was when Itachi shunshinned them to their destination that he saw the stump Naruto had for a right arm. No sign of a wound, just like Sasuke.

He lay him down at the base of a tree and checked for more clues. An unstable fever that any normal person would succumb to. He was wracking with a terrible chill and now that he looked closer, Itachi could see every rib and collarbone through his shirt. Itachi's eyes widened. If the incident was related with Sasuke's, then he must have been like this for two weeks, without food or water.

"How are you alive?" he muttered. Naruto opened his blue eye and looked at him in surprise. "Is it okay with you if I fetch my captain? We promise only to help you," he continued. Naruto nodded, and Itachi ruffled his unruly blond hair. "I'll be back soon." With that, he was gone.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably on the roots of the tree. He felt his wounds itch and winced in pain as they stretched. He calmed his laboured breathing and tried to stop from shivering so much. It was cold, intensely so, even though the night wasn't particularly freezing. He felt heavy, scarcely able to lift a finger. But someone was helping him. And he had no doubt who sent the Uchiha.

Naruto sunk with relief. Thank you, Sasuke.

Hatake Kakashi was interrupted from his reading by an unlikely visitor. Said visitor was a slightly distraught Uchiha Itachi, one of his subordinates. If even the normally emotionless prodigy was unnerved, then something bad was happening. He shut his book on ninjutsu and shoved it in his pocket. He waited for the twelve year old to explain himself, settling down cross-legged on the mat. The child's usually blank eyes exerted confusion and an urge to protect. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, wondering what, other than his otouto, Sasuke, could bring Itachi to defend someone.

Itachi hid the emotions in a blink, and sighed. "You should come see for yourself, Taichou. Provided, no one can know about this," he said. Kakashi nodded and stood to grasp Itachi's shoulder. Then the boy shunshinned them away.

Upon landing, Kakashi immediately caught sight of his sensei's son. He inhaled sharply as he took in the poor state. Naruto looked up at him with a tired, glassy eye and gave him a smile. The six year old managed a hello as Kakashi rushed to help him. His main concern was the infected wound and the food deprivation. Remembering Itachi's words of keeping this secret, he ordered him to fetch a bucket of water, a medical kit, and once that was done, cook up something light. Naruto would have to do without a medic.

The water was delivered within minutes, and Kakashi gently cleaned off the dried blood with a wet cloth. First was the arm. Only arm, he thought in anger. Dismissing that phenomenon, he scrubbed at the infected wound, comforting Naruto, who hissed in pain. It took a while to clean the eye, or where it used to be anyways. He went around it as close as possible. He scrambled through the medical kit and brought out gauze and bandages, making quick work of treating Naruto's arm. Closing and covering the infection was a difficult task. After treating the infection with one of the musty smelling poultices, he placed gauze and then white tape over it. He wrapped Naruto's head in bandages similar to how he slanted his hitai-ate.

As he leant back to inspect his treatment, Itachi arrived with a small bowl of mashed potato and some sort of soup. It was no easy feat to spoon feed the boy, and it took time to swallow. The slower, the better, though, because any faster would only result in a trip back the way it came. Itachi wringed a towel of cold water and laid it on Naruto's forehead. He covered the skinny body with a thick blanket and placed him on top of a small mat he had brought. The boy closed his eye and dozed off, leaving the two ANBU to chat.

"The villagers must have done it on his birthday," Kakashi sighed in frustration. He hated not being there for Minato's son once again. His luck always brought him out of the village on month long missions during October. It pained him with guilt that he knew would never leave, even though Naruto never placed the blame on him. Itachi remained silent and thought of Sasuke's condition.

"Something weird is happening, I can't place my finger on it," he muttered.

Kakashi hummed. "What do you mean by that?" he pressed.

"My brother is suffering from a similar sickness and has been for as long as Naruto, ever since October 10th. Fever, chills, missing an arm but no sign of a wound. He woke from a nightmare, crying blood. And his Sharingan had awakened," Itachi elaborated.

"Must have been some nightmare."

"Most troubling was his Sharingan. He had a Mangekyo," he paused to let Kakashi curse, "and a different one."

"A different one? What did it look like?"

"Purple, with many ripples and six tomoe in a triangle around the centre. I think it is the Rinnegan, but to have tomoe in it is unheard of." Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. His curiosity has peaked by this case. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, and Kakashi was determined to uncover the meaning of this. The nineteen year old dismissed Itachi after saying he would look after Naruto for the day.

After three weeks of doing absolutely nothing but recovering, Sasuke was talking and sitting up. His limbs were stiff and weak, as well as his back. He felt sore all over and got tired easily. Itachi devised some easy exercises to help him strengthen his body and move around. It wouldn't do to be a newborn foal when he was up and walking. So he spent most of his waking hours stretching and moving from where he sat on his mat and reading through the scrolls and books his brother brought him. It didn't stop him from worrying though.

When he asked Itachi about Naruto, his brother had answered truthfully. He was worried at how Naruto was coping with the loneliness and losing an eye. But Itachi had assured him that he and his captain, Inu, were keeping the boy much needed company. He knew who Inu was immediately, but Itachi didn't need to know that. If anything, Sasuke was very glad that Kakashi was taking care of his friend.

He wiped his forehead and pulled himself to the wall. His brother had come back from a mission just moments before and was now reporting to the Hokage. Figuring his brother could do with good news, Sasuke decided to make another step towards recovery. He steadied himself with a hand on the wall and gathered his legs under him. He slowly rose, keeping his knees bent and leaning heavily on the wall. He shook out his legs and took trembling steps around the room, keeping a hand to the wall. He sighed in relief at the improvement and pushed himself to the centre of the room, experimenting with a wider stride and moving faster. It seemed he was almost back in shape. For his age. It would certainly be a long time before he was back at his full strength.

Itachi chose that moment to enter the room. He stood for a full minute watching his brother walk around, though slightly wobbly, he amended. He smiled and sat beside Sasuke when he lay down in exhaustion.

"Good to see you on your feet, Otouto," he said. Sasuke nodded in return and threw his arms behind, pulling into a sitting position. He looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to his brother.

"When can I see Naruto?" he asked. He needed to see his best friend and catch up. They haven't seen each other in at least two years. He needed to see the boy with his own eyes, help him through his new handicap and just talk and talk and talk.

"I can take you tomorrow. I have a mission and it will take a day," he answered softly. Many questions were roving through his mind but he couldn't bring himself to outright launch into them. Instead he only voiced one. "How did you know Naruto needed help?"

Sasuke shuffled uncomfortably and looked away. "We both had the nightmare. It was too vivid for it to not be real."

"What exactly happened?" Itachi pressed.

"It was normal at first. We met each other in the dream, and became friends. It felt like a week condensed in one moment..." Sasuke began, spinning up a tale that was half-truth. "After that second, everything changed. It was like a war or something. There was blood covering the earth, the trees dissolved with it and flooded everything like a river of gore. People were screaming and I saw their shadows cut down and spray the world with their insides." Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. Itachi let him continue, keeping his face carefully blank.

"Naruto and I... we stayed together. I don't understand why, but something changed and it all went wrong. We fought tooth and claw, for hours on end. We were in a desolate valley, and no one was there to stop us. We didn't want to fight but we couldn't control ourselves. It was bloody and painful, too fast to trace and comprehend. When it seemed we were at the end of our abilities..." Sasuke trailed off with a whisper. He remembered all too well what happened next. He huddled his knees to his chest and stared at the wall blankly, trying to forget the memory that was too clear in his head.

Itachi encouraged him to finish. He didn't want to put his brother through this but it was absolutely necessary to piece together how the boys were left in such a state. Sasuke held back his tears.

"We sent a final attack at each other, and it was too... strong. We tore our arms off. And then I killed him. The attack had continued and I struck his chest. I- I killed him." Sasuke buried his head in his hands and fell asleep in the comfort of his brother's arms. Itachi was very worried at the information. To bring the injuries to the waking world, all healed but not reversible? No wonder Sasuke awakened his Mangekyou. The Rinnegan was still a mystery to be solved.

He had learned a lot of things from this. One thing was that Naruto had somehow tried to run from the villagers whilst suffering the aftermath of the nightmare. That was next to impossible with that bad an illness, not to mention the trauma. He covered his little brother with a blanket and set him on the mat. Kakashi was probably with Naruto right now. He sighed and shunshinned away. His captain needed to know the new information.

Kakashi took in the findings like a sponge and his worry increased immensely.

Naruto was moving around now as well. With the help of the ANBU captain, the boy had made a few laps around the small area before settling back down. His depth perception was off, as the Hatake predicted. But he would get over that soon with Kakashi to help him adapt. The transpiring events made him more determined to take care of Naruto. He planned to go to Sarutobi to make an adoption happen. No matter what, Kakashi would make sure the boy would be his little brother.

The nightmare had raised more questions than answered them. He understood far more than an hour ago but at the same time couldn't fathom the supernatural ideals brought about by the nightmare. Taking the injuries from dream to real world? That was hard to believe. Sasuke's eyes proved to be a mystery big enough to make aspiring detectives jealous and the smartest people in the nations baffled. Whatever the case, Kakashi made looking after Naruto top priority.

The area they sat around had become somewhat of a camp. The rain was heavy enough to create a thick layer of mud so he had made a well-hidden treehouse in the lower branches of one of the oldest trees. It was hidden by leaves and ferns. On top of the base was a tent in which the Jinchuuriki slept. One side of the tent was raised to allow space for the ANBU to sit. Kakashi sat with the boy for another hour before checking the area. Once all was clear he left to find the Hokage.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Sasuke had never slept so well for years. His worry had eased a little, knowing he would finally be able to see his best friend in the late afternoon. He went over their cover story, preparing to relay it to Naruto and make it as brief as possible. He thought back to their conditions. Sasuke would have to help Naruto learn one-handed seals. He sighed as his thoughts strayed to the Uchiha coup. The massacre was necessary to prevent a civil war breaking out in Konoha. But he doesn't want Itachi to leave. There must be some way to have Itachi stay in the village. He looked at the walls in disdain, scooping through ideas that could help. It was too early to think of such things.

He exited the room and ambled down stairs, running his hand along the wall to keep upright. Mikoto was throwing together some breakfast with practiced ease. She smiled at him and went back to cooking. He settled in a seat and rested his chin in his hand. It was hard to look around the house without seeing the blood and darkness. Everything stood as a reminder, and he knew that it would be just the same outside. His brows furrowed as a plan crossed his mind. Exploit Madara. If he managed that, then Itachi would be able to stay. Wouldn't it be best to kill Madara and be done with it? A lot of events can be prevented and the peace last longer. It was foolish of him to hope for such a thing, but right now it was his best bet.

His mother placed a plate in front of him. She held out chopsticks and he looked at her in surprise. Was she feeding him?

"Okaa-san, I'm fine, I can do it myself," he said, reaching out to take the chopsticks. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, glancing pointedly at his stump. Right, he wasn't supposed to be able to use his right arm. He reigned in his embarrassment and allowed her to continue. If Naruto found out he would never live it down.

Breakfast finished, Sasuke looked through the house. He searched around for scrolls to occupy him. The room that held them was stocked with shelves that rose to the ceiling. Books and scrolls stacked neatly and spares that couldn't fit were piled up with an arrogant precision. He gathered a few in his arm and trudged back out to the seating room. Time passed quickly as he read through them, taking in important bits and pieces he didn't know. He held onto a scroll on wind jutsu he was sure Naruto would love. The Jinchuuriki must be bored out of his mind with nothing to do except chat up a storm when Kakashi or Itachi were around.

As if the musings summoned him, Itachi strolled into the house. "Tadaima," he said, entering the room governed by his little brother. Sasuke looked up from his reading.

"Okaeri, nii-san." Itachi ruffled his hair, donning a small smile but keeping his eyes blank.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke nodded, keeping a tight grip on the scroll. Itachi softened at that and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We have to shunshin there," he warned. Sasuke didn't reply, so they disappeared in a swirl.

They landed at the base of the tree. Sasuke looked in the branches and made out a tree house. He smirked and called out softly, "Naruto!" A clatter sounded from within and a mop of messy blond hair appeared. Naruto stood on the edge of the camp, holding onto the branch above him. He grinned at seeing him and waved. Sasuke kept a straight face as his friend clambered down the trunk. Itachi barely reprimanded him with more than a look. Naruto chuckled as he dropped on his feet in front of them, keeping his movements silent.

Sasuke examined the long, pink scar on his face. A navy cloth was tied around his head and covering his eye, or lack thereof. He only saw the scar cut down his neck before it disappeared beneath his collar. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. His eye told Sasuke everything he needed to know. Kurama was asleep for the time being and unable to heal him properly; all thanks to the mysterious figure's so called good intentions in masking the chakra of the powerful beast.

An overwhelming urge shook Sasuke from his staring. He leapt forward and crushed his arm around Naruto, holding onto him as tightly as he could. Naruto responded just as desperately, pressing his face into the other's shoulder and crying his pain out. Sasuke sniffled and felt so many burdens lift off his shoulders, making him feel lighter than ever.

2 months after Time Jump

Naruto was far from happy. It would be a long time before he and Sasuke were back at full strength. All they could do was train in secret, slowly regaining and relearning their skills. It took far less time to learn things now, what with their knowledge and experience. He was yet to get a home and hadn't seen the Sandaime to fix that problem. More like he was avoiding him.

Life on the streets was as hard as he remembered. Every day was spent searching for food and then hanging with Sasuke and Itachi. At night, he stayed at the treehouse. He had seen neither hide nor hair of Kakashi, and suspected he wasn't the only one avoiding all contact with someone.

Kurama was still asleep. His mindscape remained quiet. With no one to annoy him and nothing to do, Naruto set to redesigning the sewer into a forest paradise. He even created a waterfall complete with a large monolith covered in grass that he knew Kurama would love. Not that the furball would ever admit it.

He was on his way to meet Sasuke at the playground. Itachi was off on a mission. He kept to alleyways and quiet streets, staying far from any civilians. The navy cloth Kakashi had gifted him was wrapped around his head and over his eye and ended around the back in two long tails. He ignored his rumbling stomach and the glares directed his way as he sprinted across a street. His depth perception was still off. He couldn't dodge the rotten apple that flew his way.

Sasuke was teaching him one-handed seals. It was by no means fun, but Naruto put up with it. It wasn't as hard as he thought it be. Getting accustomed to the loss of an eye and an arm, as well as his tiny size, was much harder.

Whispers followed him into the playground. He shut the slurs out and crossed over to Sasuke. Parents grabbed their children and escaped the field. It became deserted as he reached Sasuke under their tree. He wiped the hurt from his face and collapsed beside the Uchiha. Sasuke wasn't fooled by his friend's cheery appearance.

"Shall we get started then?" Naruto smiled.

The rest of the afternoon passed in silence. Naruto went through seals as Sasuke read through lightning scrolls. Itachi came across the two sitting back to back and near sleep. Naruto shifted at the presence and nudged Sasuke awake.

The sun had set, last flickers of orange and purple shuttering beneath the horizon. The playground stayed quit and still except for the calls of owls and crickets. Nothing was out of place, nothing to hurt them or disrupt the peace-filled village. It was the first night of calm and content. It rid them of their fears for future dangers.

Soon they would be strong again.

Naruto greeted the quiet Uchiha and looked back at Sasuke. They sported matching smiles. There was a glint of happiness in his friend's eyes for the first time in years. Soon.

Soon they would start. The world better be prepared.