Two sooty blackbirds perched on the piece of wood rimming the tightly shut window, keeping a watchful gaze on what was inside. There, a young mother with beautiful black locks was holding a crying baby, its hands waving in the air, trying to feel the world it was born into. Mikoto, the mother, rocked the baby from side to side in an attempt to make her son calm and smile, cooing soft words of affection to him. As if he were on cue, the baby settled in the blue blanket enveloping his small, helpless form.

"There, there... you're a good boy."

Then, the door opened, revealing a handsome man in his mid-thirties, maybe even older. He shuffled into the room, his eyes settling on the plump form of his wife and the child in her arms. Hesitating slightly for a moment, he reached out his hands. Mikoto smiled and handed the child over, directing her husband on the proper way to cradle a baby—to wrap both of his arms comfortingly around the light form, gently but firmly to give it a sense of security.

"Mikoto, what should we name him?" he asked out of the blue, playing with one of the newborn's fingers. It laughed and kicked its legs inside of the wool blanket.

There was a plausible silence, until a smaller figure, ranging around five or six years old, piped up, "How about Sasuke?"

The two parents turned their attention to their first son, Itachi. He merely shrugged and hugged his stuffed animal tighter around his chest while observing his baby brother's movements. Ever since he was born, he was renowned for being observant, making him a prodigy in the prestigious Uchiha family tree.

Mikoto grinned, letting the name roll off her tongue. She liked the sound of it. "Fugaku, do you agree with the name?"

Fugaku grunted in response, shoving the newly dubbed Sasuke in his mother's arms for he began to cry again.

The blackbirds nodded to each other and flapped their wings, leaving the family in peace. However, they didn't depart unnoticed; Itachi had caught the good omens soaring into darkening night. Perhaps he, along with Sasuke, would be lucky or live a good life.

But what the prodigy failed to notice was a single crow with midnight-black feathers. It lighted down on the windowsill and squawked—a bad omen. Its single eye, the other permanently scratched out, held many dark emotions, ranging from hate to jealousy as it seemed to sneer at the two Uchiha brothers...

The Clairvoyant

"The unnatural things he was seeing were more of a curse than a useful ability."

1. Acquaintance

A harsh wind blew through the unstable home. Inside, the fireplace was burning with life, the red flame licking at the wood. Unfortunately, everything else appeared to be dead. Painted walls were chipped in many places and corners that gave the house a rigid shape had collected dust as well as cobwebs. The white door—the entrance—was barely intact, rocking on its cracking hinges. There was a hole in the middle, splinters of wood littering the ground like rays of sunshine. In addition, there was shattered glass and blood. The only thing that was in one piece was the clock that ticked quietly above the fireplace with a calendar.

Whoever wanted to get in the rickety home didn't even bother using the doorbell, but simply decided to use brute force. Someone had broken in.

Heavy footsteps could be heard, a stream of curses aiding in emphasizing the intruder's size and strength. His face could not be seen, for it was concealed beneath a cotton black mask. The intentions the man held were also a mystery. Was he going to rob the inhabitant of the bone-chilling home? Was he someone sent to get an unpaid loan? Or, was he going to murder someone, most likely an innocent? It was hard to tell, for all of them seemed possible.

"Come out, you little mouse!" he called out, as if he were trying to lure his prey out of its burrow.

A choked whimper rang out in response, followed by heavy breathing. The area around the antagonist's mouth moved as he smiled deviously. Just by making a subtle noise, he could probably predict where his target was hiding. Completely protected by leather boots, he kicked over a bookcase and proceeded with the couch.

"Oh, come on! Come out and you won't have to get hurt, shall we?"

He grinned once more, hearing a muffled scream and sniffling. With a careful aim, he flipped over a table next to the previously fallen couch, revealing a small girl with brilliant orange hair tied into pigtails that were stuck over her head like a statue.

The man's eyes held obvious disappointment and he stated, "Hm... just a kid. Whatever, this is better than nothing."

With that, he grabbed the screaming girl by her hair-

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, his breath coming out in unsteady gasps. The tomato he was holding in his hand was now pulp and juice, trickling down his arm. The vision he saw was so vivid and so clear, as if he were really involved in it. It was unnerving, let alone disturbing. Reaching for the orange juice set on the table, he uncapped the top and took long gulps out of it.

"Sasuke, that is unsanitary," Itachi commented, grabbing the large carton out of his little brother's hands and set down their plates of egg and toast onto the dining table. "Perhaps you had a vision."

Visions were what Sasuke usually saw involuntarily at any time, whether it would be at school or home—practically anywhere. It was a special ability that he had, yet he wasn't sure where it came from. When he was six and Itachi was eleven years old, they both awakened individual gifts. He was then racked with terrible visions of innocents being abused or losing their lives. The two's parents could not do a thing, but just look at each other with something hidden in their eyes.

Those things were all he ever saw... and he despised it. 'Why am I the one who has to see these things?' he often thought to himself selfishly. He wanted to be normal; to just go to school and worry only about getting good grades. Instead, he had to put up with his supernatural ability and help civilians anywhere in the Five Great Nations—Fire (which was where they resided), Water, Lightning, Earth, and Wind—as well as the other minor countries that bordered them.

It was Itachi's idea anyway. He had a ridiculous theory that if they saved as many as they could, then the number of visions that his brother saw would slowly grow more scarce, and ultimately stop them. Besides, Sasuke felt better when a life was snatched from the clutches of evil.

The only drawback was that he couldn't tell if it happened in the past, present, or maybe occurred in the future. There were times when the victim was dead in cold blood by the time they got to their aid.

"Was it in the past, present, or future?" Itachi questioned, piling his egg onto the toast and taking a bite out of the result of the cooking classes his mother gave him when he was ten. "Wasting unnecessary energy for something that occurred in the past isn't worth it. I'm exhausted from teleporting all the way to Stone City yesterday night."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the words that spilled out of his brother's mouth. At least he didn't wake up in the middle of a night seeing people getting beaten. All he had to do was teleport like a good boy to their location via the details Sasuke described to him. To top it off, they had to waste precious time for homework and other activities just to save some stranger—meaning that they often had no money for food since they missed their part-time jobs. They didn't have parents to support them anymore.

The details of his parents being murdered in the kitchen by an unrecognizable figure always remained in the brother's heads, Sasuke's being more vivid since it was his vision that kicked in (during Math Class, of all places). The only trait he could pick out was that the culprit had short hair. All he could do was watch; there was nothing he could do about it. Itachi was in a high school—on the other side of the city of Konoha.

Luckily, Itachi was eighteen so he was able to fend for his thirteen year-old relative. Giving up the luxurious home once belonging to Mikoto and Fugaku, they found an apartment in the hustle and bustle of Konoha. That was when they swore to help anyone in need—chances for finding their parent's murderers were better that way.

Today was no exception.

"I'm not sure..." Sasuke paused for a moment, mulling over Itachi's question. Pulling at his mind was an unknown force, trying to hand out a clue. The distant ticking of the clock sounded in his ears, whispering inaudible words. A few dismal seconds passed until something clicked into the Uchiha's head—of course! "There was a clock and a calendar... I believe the time was 7:32—in the morning on November 13, 2007..."

Itachi adjusted the watch on his wrist so he could see the proper time and read, "7:31 AM, 11/13/07. Your vision occurred one minute later—so it's the future. We'll use teleportation."

Sasuke nodded wearily and stood up from his seat to stand beside his brother who had his eyes shut. The bags under his eyes were prominent, but it was a price to pay to help his younger brother suppress his visions. It was safe to say that neither of them wanted their abilities—which were more of curses than of gifts.

"Describe the place," he commanded, concentrating as much as he could.

"Peeling white walls, a fireplace with a clock hanging on top of it, glass and blood on the wooden floors and an old white door sweeping on its hinges," Sasuke elaborated sufficiently.

Suddenly, the kitchen table in the cramped apartment slowly dissipated into a dark void. Sasuke felt his breakfast lurch in his stomach, despite the fact he had been through this many times. The cold sensation that ran down his back gave him the chills.

It lasted for a mere two seconds and the two psychic siblings were at their location. Without warning, Itachi grabbed his mini version and ran out the door. They were still a few seconds early for the event to occur. He ducked behind a shrub and observed the surroundings for the criminal. "Until he does exactly what is shown in your vision, don't attack."

As if on cue, the black-masked male made his way to the front steps. He grunted and rang the doorbell impatiently, waiting for the occupant to answer. He yelled with malice lacing his voice, "YOU OWE ME MONEY, MOUSE!"

When no one opened the tightly locked door, he bashed the door open with his foot, ignoring the blood that spattered on the ground as he did so. In hopes of trying to scare his victim out, he pulled out an ax from his person and smashed the window open. A sadistic laugh escaped from the confines of his throat and he proceeded to welcome himself in. This man was clearly an idiot, for he never bothered to clean the evidence up—not that it mattered in this situation anyway.

"Come out, you little mouse!" A shrill scream and a few thumps of the falling furniture were blatantly audible. Sasuke tensed, getting his muscles ready to run in and attack. He fingered the knife in his pocket, in case anything went wrong. The ax the man swung over his shoulder was sure to be a problem.

Behind him, Itachi felt his brother straighten up, a grim look on his trademark Uchiha face. The elder Uchiha smirked; the only time he could spend with his brother was when they were alleviating the poor News people of reporting unfortunate deaths. Other than that, they were so distant from each other, hardly ever catching a glimpse of each other during the school day.

Immediately, a scream, louder than before, burst through the air like an exploding balloon. Sasuke shot out from the cover of the greenery, Itachi at his heels. They dashed through the rickety door, the broken glass brunching under the soles of their shoes.

"Sasuke, make sure you don't kill him," the Weasel warned, "Leave the rest to the police. You don't want to take it too far."

"Aa," the reply was blunt.

Sasuke rushed towards his opponent, his axle kick to the legs meeting its mark. The man fell over along with his ax and the child. Tears were running down her face with fright at the sight of the feuding males. Itachi took her hand and led her away from them; she wasn't sure if he, along with the younger teen who arrived with him, were good or bad, so she kept fighting against the Uchiha's hold.

"We're not going to hurt you," Itachi soothed, watching as his smooth and silky voice won the little girl over. "What is your name?"

"Moegi..."

"Good. Moegi-san, head upstairs and hide. I'll tell you when it's safe."

She heeded his orders and ducked through the punches Sasuke delivered to Moegi's attacker to climb nimbly up the stairs. Moegi stumbled a couple or so steps, checking behind her to see if her saviors were okay. Then, she disappeared into her own room and hid in the closet among her toys.

Now that the child was safe, Itachi found catching the criminal off guard very interesting. A simple roundhouse kick to his side made him teeter to the side. Sasuke followed up with powerful punch to the stomach, more blood staining the exterior furnishings of the house. The intruder slid on the floor again.

If only had he given up right then and there, Itachi and Sasuke's lives would've been made easier. Too bad that life didn't always work as one wants it to; it was like a water snake which wriggles out of its captor's grasp time after time, out of control.

His white-gloved hand grasped the handle of the ax. He pulled his head back and laughed, "You two little boys think an elite like myself will lose from a couple of old-school karate moves? I know what people who dare to fight with no weapons are afraid of... things that cut. I, Yoshio, will cut you like wood, you hear?"

With that, he thrust the great weapon in front of him and beckoned for his challengers to make their moves first. Intimidation was the key here, so it seemed.

At this moment, the knife in Sasuke's pocket was the only option. It was measly compared to the size that of the shining ax, yet it was literally begging to be used. Giving into temptation (and the fact that it was the only option), he yanked his knife out of the pocket, flipping it open. The newly sharpened blade shone in the small slivers of sunlight.

And the two clashed.

Yoshio yelped when Sasuke launched his weapon down harshly into his shoulder. He doubled over in pain and allowed the mighty wood-slicing utensil to clatter onto the ground. A piercing pain rose in the raven-haired teen's hand, red liquid soaking his arm. By chance, the bastard managed to cut into his hand.

"Fuck," he muttered.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Itachi capture his adversary in a deadly headlock. His brother's obsidian eyes met his own as if to say, 'Finish him off. Careful, don't kill him.'

Sasuke was happy to oblige; he rammed his bloody fist into Yoshio's face.

Itachi was too drained to offer a teleportation ride for his little brother to school, so the equally exhausted Sasuke had to take the train. As a pair, they had successfully managed to KO a wanted criminal in the city of Stone. After hastily calling the police (school was going to start soon), Yoshio's unconscious body was shoved into the back of a police car.

When they were questioned about how they found out that Moegi, a twelve year-old girl who was home alone, was in trouble, Itachi conjured a corny excuse that 'they happened to pass by'. Apparently, she was all alone at home and Yoshio was searching for her mother, who reported him for stalking her, for revenge.

The two Uchihas chose an oak tree with an unusually large trunk and disappeared—keeping their abilities a secret was a must; being targets of someone who wanted their 'gifts' would be ugly in the long run. Utilizing teleportation consumed energy at a rapid rate—which explained why he barely made it home in one piece to find a roll of bandage for Sasuke to wrap on his injured hand. It was a deep gash at the back of his hand, but he held back the hurt he felt.

Scree...

Welcoming new passengers, the train screeched to a halt. The crowd that waited at the eastern Konoha station was fairly small, yet a couple of elderly people left their seats and made their way off the public transportation vehicle. Sasuke took over a lukewarm red seat which formerly held a pregnant woman wearing black in hopes of covering her figure.

Out of the people who boarded a train, there were a couple of teens. He recognized some of them as the students of the same school he attended: The Konohagakure High School for the Gifted. One of them actually was in his class—and she was heading towards him. Well, not exactly...

The female took the empty seat next to him, holding her bag in her lap. Sasuke knew her as a classmate and a past fangirl—but that obsession with him lasted a mere month. Maybe she realized that there was too much competition for the talented Uchiha.

Anyway, the pink hair and green eyes were a dead giveaway. It was Haruno Sakura, acclaimed to have a penchant for healing. He often saw her working at the Nurse's Office after school, helping Tsunade, the school nurse, heal a bushel of students who were wounded after a rowdy game of soccer.

"Oh, hello Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted when saw the familiar black hair and eyes occupying the seat next to her.

"Hn," his response was icy. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, having forgotten she left her fangirling ways behind years ago. Unconsciously, his right hand adjusted his blue jacket as a way to settle himself—he blamed Itachi for the habit; the man always did that whenever Sasuke asked an awkward question ("Hey, Ita-nii... where do babies come from?").

Sakura's eyes scrutinized the reddening bandage on her neighbor's hand. 'What accident did he have?' she thought to herself, scrambling to find bandages in her bag. 'I'm sure I packed some yesterday...'

A soft object came in contact with her fingers. She grinned and turned to Sasuke. "Here, let me change that bandage of yours... it doesn't look like it was well-wrapped."

Little did she know that Itachi—a prodigy—did the job and insulted him in the process. No matter how much Sasuke 'admired' his brother, he couldn't help but agree that it was a little loose. A prodigy can 'slip up' sometimes. Besides, it was getting soaked with blood already and he didn't want blood on his Calculus test which he hardly got to study for.

But when it was clear that she was the one who was to do the job, he tried snatched his hand away from her long fingers. Her iron grip tightened harder as she undid the bloody mass of white and rolled more a more sanitary bandage on his hand. "Sasuke-kun, you need stitches for this kind of wound! I would stitch it up here for you in the train, but I'm liable to screw up... so it's better if you stop by the Nurse when we get off."

"I don't need it."

"Then I'll drag you to Tsunade-sama. It may be embarrassing, but..."

To Sasuke, pride came over his pain. He unwillingly took the bait and stated, "I'm going by myself."

"Good."

In the crevices of her mind, Sakura slapped herself. She knew that meddling in Uchiha Sasuke's affairs was bad since he always seemed to be in a crabby mood. This time, her medical intuition called on her and it was only natural to worry for others. At least she convinced him to take his first trip to the Nurse. It was beyond her belief on how he could walk around with a wound that deep...

"Uchiha, you should be glad that I'm a certified medic," a sober Tsunade told him. "If not, you'd be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance; I'm not kidding."

Shaking his numb arm, Sasuke looked at the flawless stitches the Nurse made. The skin was nicely knit together and the flow of blood had stopped. Tsunade grabbed his arm and wrapped yet another roll of bandage over her handiwork, in case her patient decided to be stupid and reopen them.

Then, she faced her assistant, Sakura, and commanded her to write a slip as an excuse in case he was late for his class. She did as she was told and produced a piece of paper from inside Tsunade's desk, writing the details in fine lettering. Sasuke's acute hearing picked up the fast scratching of the pen pressing on the paper, meaning she was signing her name at the bottom.

"Here." She held the slip out to him. His finger brushed against her accidentally as he accepted it from her. He shrugged at the small blush she tried to hide by looking away and continued on his way to the homeroom, led by Hatake Kakashi. He was always late, his porn his sole companion.

Suddenly, pain overtook his battered mind, thrusting him into the bitter world of a vision.

There he was again—the man who murdered Uchiha Mikoto and Fugaku. His short hair was jet-black and his outfit consisted of the matching color. He seemed to be after someone, but the image was blurry. All that could be seen was the back of the murderer and nothing else. Everything was swirls of white and black, taunting. A silhouette of the supposed victim appeared like an apparition.

In a split second, the shadow exploded and red washed over everything in the vision: blood. It drowned the black and white as it slowly dripped down. Next, it covered a set of smooth hands, the right one stitched at the back; Sasuke's hands. A cackle erupted and a flurry of crows burst from the bloody bath, leaving black feathers behind. The man was now gone, and Sasuke was sitting there, crying with blood staining his fingertips and palm.

Heavy sweat covered Sasuke as he recovered from what he had seen. He had never seen a vision as gruesome and vile as the one he saw a few moments ago. For now, there was nothing that could be done; Itachi couldn't teleport to somewhere with blood enveloping the background. The psychic Uchiha was sure that it would return to haunt his dreams, unraveling the mystery slowly each time.

The unnatural things he was seeing were more of a curse than a useful ability.

Evading any incoming questions in the middle of the hallway, he walked calmly into the familiar classroom and took a seat in the corner. The other pupils were chatting happily and exchanging the answers to the Physics Homework given yesterday. A few daring ones threw paper airplanes and spitballs at each other. Kakashi hadn't arrived as expected, so he flipped the Calculus book open and began to study.

Throughout the study session, a voice in the clairvoyant's head continuously asked the same harrowing question: "Why was he in the vision?"

Sasuke had no answer.

Comic Relief (I know it's not much, but bear with me) :)

Sasuke: Itachi, where do babies come from?

Itachi: ...

Sasuke: Shisui-san said that they came from chickens!

Itachi: Shisui is an idiot.

Sasuke: Then where do babies come from?

Itachi: Babies come from HATRED.

A/N: Uh... I hope you enjoyed the story :) Sasuke being a psychic was the last thing on my mind until I had a wish that I could teleport XD Thus, this ridiculous story was born. I hope it wasn't too bad...

The question is, continue or discontinue?