A/N: Loosely based on the Road to Ninja Universe. Somewhat. I'm making up stuff. The Sasuke in this is the "fake" Sasuke (as in the Sasuke in the illusion world). Sasuke-centric for the most part.
Sasuke knew something was wrong the moment Sakura didn't hit him when he flirted with her. He tensed for a split second, searching for her chakra signature. She didn't feel fake. In fact, she seemed real, even though she was acting strange. He felt at ease with her beside him. But somewhere in the abyss of his soul, he knew that she wasn't the Sakura that he knew. It bothered him that when he looked into her shocked green eyes, he was almost fooled into believing that it was her. So he did the only thing he could think of, smile and pretend that nothing was wrong. At least until he figured out was going on.
"Sakura!" He noted the way she flinched when her name was spoken.
"S-s-sasuke." Her eyes were filled with hope and terror. It was like she was expecting him to disappear in a blink of an eye.
"A beautiful girl like you shouldn't have that look on her face."
"R-right."
"Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and ignored the way her arm tensed up.
Sasuke frowned as he pondered about the girl that kept invading his mind. She was hiding something. The real Sakura - he scoffs then - would hit him and flirt back. She would have that glint of cruelty and mockery in her eyes. Not like this Sakura, whose eyes were filled with hurt and sadness. This wasn't his Sakura. This person was an imitation of her, but at the same time she wasn't. It was like this was another version of her.
Those pools of emeralds seemed to look accusingly at him. His chest tightened and he felt sick. Real or not, Sakura's face wasn't supposed to look like that. She wasn't supposed to look at him like he was a ghost; like he was dead. She was not allowed to have that bittersweet smile on her face and those distant eyes that were lost in thought.
"Sakura?"
She had stopped near a stone bench and when she turned around, his heart stopped for a moment. He took a couple of steps towards her.
"What's wrong?"
"This...this can't be real...what kind of sick dream is this? You can't be nice to me. You're supposed to be COLD AND RUTHLESS. You tried to kill us. And...this bench? You left me here...that night. JUST GO AWAY...my heart can't take it...you're not real...please leave me...alone. Please."
Sasuke felt something shatter inside him. He reached an arm towards her. She flinched back as his hand touched the back of her neck. He embraced her and her tears soaked the front of his shirt.
"Shhh, it's alright. You must have had a nightmare. What happened on that mission last night? This isn't a dream. I would never kill you or leave you...Stop crying...It's alright now Sakura."
"Naruto...can't...breathe..."
Sasuke didn't miss the way Naruto's blue eyes gazed at him, just like Sakura had done. Why was Naruto staring so sadly at him? Why was Naruto clinging on to him like he was a lifeline?
"Oh crap! Sorry teme."
"Did you have to give me a bear hug? It'll give the girls the wrong impression."
Naruto was acting a little bit weird. He was still loud, but he was more playful. Usually Naruto was more colder towards other people. Sasuke had never seen Naruto display his emotions out in the open like that. Naruto's eyes were always masked in public, with a false sense of happiness in them. Something was wrong for him to have that look of raw pain in his eyes. He should know since Naruto was his best friend. What the hell was going on? Everyone else wasn't acting crazy. Could it have something to do with their mission last night? Sasuke could only conclude that whatever Sakura was hiding, Naruto was too. He would have to keep an eye on both of them. Although, he had to admit, it was amusing to see Naruto's reaction when Hinata tried to rub up on him. He had burst into laughter and Naruto froze and stared at him wide-eyed.
"I just really missed you, teme. Funny huh?"
"Stop saying weird things."
Sasuke didn't understand. His teammates treated him like he was a sheet of glass. One wrong move and he'd shatter. They were always whispering behind his back, while glancing at him. He was sick of those sad, forlorn eyes creeping into his dreams. Just last night, he had dreamed of leaving Sakura on a bench and Naruto's blood on his hands. He had glimpsed a pair of red eyes. But before he could see who it was, a maniacal laughter shook him from his slumber. He could still hear that chilling vibration in his head and feel the cold sweat running down his back.
"THAT'S IT! I've had enough," Sasuke yelled, slamming his hands on the table. Naruto and Sakura froze.
"What the hell is going on? STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! Just what are you hiding!"
"Teme..."
"Tell me. Naruto. Sakura. What did I do? Why are you guys looking at me like that? Like I'm not real? Like you just saw a ghost? What happened?"
"...We're in a -"
"Naruto! DON'T! He'll never believe us."
"Don't what, Sakura?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her in frustration, "You need to tell me so I can fix whatever the hell the problem is! I can't stand to look at you guys with those sad faces. You're making me feel like shit. And quit fucking looking at me with those eyes. Don't you trust me? "
"Sakura, we have to tell him. He'll believe us, I'm sure of it. He's Sasuke after all. We need to find a way out of here."
"Do you remember what he did? What he PUT US THROUGH?"
"Where's your faith, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura took a deep breathe and in a shaky voice asked, "Do you trust us, Sasuke?"
Sasuke searched her eyes that were brimming with uncertainty. He looked at Naruto and huffed.
"Please. Is that question really necessary? I'd trust you guys with my life."
Naruto whispered something in her ear and Sakura nodded.
"Sasuke. This world is fake. It's all a jutsu."
"What," Sasuke started just as Sakura finished the ram hand sign. Sasuke found himself immersed into a genjutsu, Sharingan spinning. He dropped to the floor.
Sasuke groaned as he sat up, his head spinning. A movement to his left caused him to leap up and he found himself squeezing Sakura's throat. The fearful look in her eyes brought back the memories of what he had just seen. He moved away from her.
"Are you serious? Are you saying that I'm not... I'm not real?"
"Do you still believe us?"
"What kind of stupid question is that Naruto? Of course, I do. I-I-I just need some time to think."
"Told you he would Sakura-chan!"
"Shut up," Sakura swatted Naruto's head and Sasuke almost grinned at the familiar action. Moments later, darkness consumed him.
Sasuke stared intently at his bedroom ceiling. He didn't know what to think. It was so much to take in. Was this world fake? Everything that he had ever known was fake? He couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't real. Was he real? Could he trust Naruto and Sakura? He could always report them to the Hokage. But he couldn't do that. He could never betray their trust like that. But he did. He did betray them in the other world. That genjutsu had been so real...
Sasuke bit his lip. If this world was fake, then he'd have to be be fake, but he could remember his childhood. What jutsu would be powerful enough to recreate a whole village with memories and everything. His head ached from all of this.
"Sasuke-kun. I love you with all my heart."
"I'll help you get revenge. Take me with you."
"If you leave, I'll scream and..."
"Thank you. Sakura."
Sasuke grimaced at the memory that he had seen. He recalled the words Sakura said to him four days ago, "And...this bench? You left me here...that night".
He felt a sickening sensation at the bottom of his stomach. She loved him and his other self...
Sakura hesitated, posed with a kunai pointed at his back. He turned around, finally sensing her, and grabbed the kunai just as he slammed her into the wall.
"Sakura."
"S-s-sasuke..." She choked out as the chidori formed in his right hand. He brought it down...
Sasuke snapped out of his reverie - nightmare - and shuddered. His other self had almost killed her. How could he raise a hand to Sakura?
"Foolish little brother...Cling on to hatred..."
Sasuke buried his face into his pillow. Half his clan was still alive for the most part. The other Sasuke...he lost everything. Sasuke could see how the path of revenge could corrupt him. He tried to imagine it and what scared him the most was that he could sympathize with the other him. He thought back to his own life and if things had happened differently...
They were on a rooftop, charging at each other. He was angry- oh so angry - at Naruto.
"STOP!"
What would have happened had Kakashi not interfered? Sasuke didn't even want to think of the possibility of Sakura with two gaping holes in her, bleeding and bleeding...
"SASUKE! Come back! You can't go to that Snake bastard."
"What do you understand about me? You never had a family. I LOST EVERYONE THAT I EVER CARED ABOUT! YOU WERE ALONE FROM THE START!"
"You're right. I was alone from the start. But now I do have those bonds that you're talking about. You're like my brother."
"What do you know? Dead last."
"I'll break your legs if I have to!"
"CHIDORI!"
"RASENGAN!"
Naruto feel to the ground and Sasuke walked towards the darkness.
x
He drew his sword. The blade made an arc-ing motion and it was coming down. Closer and closer to an orange jacket.
x
"Forgive me...Sasuke..." Itachi hit the floor with a bittersweet smile on his face.
x
"Itachi risked his life for you. He was used by the village. He slaughtered the Uchiha clan because he wanted to protect you. He LOVED YOU."
x
"From now on, Hebi will be known as Taka. We have one goal and one goal only. Destroy Konoha."
Sasuke had a grim expression on his face. The other him had slowly turned insane. He was blinded by hatred and anger. He could have turned out like that. He could have betrayed Konoha, Naruto, Sakura...
Sasuke didn't like that one bit. This other Sasuke was an idiot. He didn't know what he was missing. From what he could see, the other Sasuke was lucky. He had seen the determination of Naruto and Sakura in the genjutsu. They didn't give up on him. The other Sasuke was too blinded by rage that he couldn't see what was in front of him. He had people that cared about him, that gave him complete trust again and again after what he had done to them. They still had faith in him when everyone else had given up. Yet, he still had the nerve to try to kill them. Sasuke felt disgusted at himself. The other Sasuke was still Sasuke, in the eyes of Naruto and Sakura.
He sighed in frustration. He'd decided on what he was going to do. He couldn't stand to see those sad expressions on his teammates anymore. He'd trust them, like they trusted the other Sasuke. Hell, they trusted him too, albeit hesitantly. If he couldn't believe them, then who would? He didn't want them to lose faith in the other Sasuke. He could show them that they could trust him. And it wasn't like he was going to lose anything by helping them. Well, he could cease to exist...
Sasuke shook his head. He couldn't think like that. He jumped out of bed and began to work.
"Sasuke?"
Naruto and Sakura eyed him as he barged in holding scrolls.
"I've been doing some research about genjustsus. And I've concluded that a jutsu this complex, that mimics an entire village down to the memories of its inhabitants, can only be one jutsu: a version of the tsukuyomi of the Uchiha clan."
"...and how would you know this?"
"Well, you did show me that Madara was still alive. So I figured that he was behind it. And I was right and I found it."
"What does that even mean?"
"I dunno. Ask the guy that put you in here. Besides, he probably thought no one would believe you guys and help you. Haha he thought wrong. This must be one hell of a jutsu, if it allows for individual freedom of the illusions...although, I'd like to think that I was real...but enough of that."
"..."
"Oh yeah, read this!"
Sakura looked at Sasuke, "What is this supposed to..."
"According to this scroll, in order for the jutsu to work, the user has to take chakra and life energy from the people that are involved in the jutsu. That also means that the people in this world are linked to their originals in your world. What I'm trying to say is that this world and your world are interconnected with each other."
"Why are you telling us this Sasuke?"
"After thinking about what you showed me, I decided to put my trust in you guys. The Sasuke in your world, he sickened me...I didn't want to believe that he could do such horrible things. But I felt empathetic towards him. I almost became a monster myself. I too wanted revenge since half my clan was killed, along with my parents, by Iwa. But you guys...you guys stopped me. I don't want you to lose trust in him...in me."
Naruto suddenly laughed, "This is the most I've heard you talk."
Sakura turned towards Sasuke, "What are you trying to say? That we should trust our Sasuke again, after he tried to kill us? After he trampled on our feelings and tried to murder us and broke his bonds with us?"
"...but you still relentlessly chase after him..."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! The point is that everything in this world is the opposite of our world. Everyone's different HERE! It just shows that the Sasuke we knew no longer exists! You. Right now! You're nice and caring. You're not cold or insane. Hell, you shout to the world that Naruto's your best friend. You even...love me! You flirt with other girls and you're able to live normally. It just shows that you have everything the other Sasuke doesn't have. HE HAS NO FAITH IN US! HE DOESN'T...HE DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT US! And...and it hurts to see you in front of us that I just want to stay here and never go back."
"Didn't I just say to not lose trust in me? Who said everything was the opposite of your world? This just an alternative universe. Have you been listening to me? I said that your Sasuke is in me in this world. I have part of his chakra and life energy."
"What does that even mean teme?"
"Sasuke, somewhere deep down, still cares about you, otherwise I wouldn't believe in you and trust you even though you guys don't feel right. I knew the moment I saw you that you weren't my teammates! But I felt at ease with you guys and I didn't know why. Now I know why."
"But you're not real! How can you say that Sasuke cares about us?"
"Trust me. Why do you think he tries so hard to get rid of you? You're a distraction to his revenge. And he knows he doesn't deserve you guys anyways with all that chasing-him-around thing."
'Bonds make you weak.'
"Teme...you're making me cry."
"Fine. Let's say I trust you. How the hell do we get out of here?"
"...I'm still working on that..."
Sakura walked Sasuke to the door and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday"
"It's fine, Sakura-chan." Sakura had to suppress the blush that was rushing to her face.
Sasuke walked out of the doorway and before he could walk off, he felt a tug on his jacket.
"Sakura?"
She yanked him towards her and she buried her head into the crook of his neck. He could hear her sniffling.
"Don't cry. Please don't cry."
"...you..."
"What was that?"
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
She let go of him and stepped back, rubbing away her tear tracks. Sasuke blushed and watched as she slowly closed the door.
"Wait!" His foot stopped the door from closing completely. Sakura's eyes widened a bit, but she reopened the door.
"Yeah?"
"Here," Sasuke thrust his hand out towards her, "for you." Where did he get the rose from?
Sakura reached her hand out and grasped the flower. Before she could say anything, she felt a warm pressure on her cheek. She looked at Sasuke, only to find him gone. She raced to the balcony and caught sight of him walking towards the marketplace.
"SASUKE!"
He smiled and waved at her, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, trust me. I'll protect you guys, always."
Sakura could only stare at his retreating back, one hand holding a red rose, the other held against her cheek.
"WHY TEME? WHY? YOU CAN'T KISS SAKURA-CHAN'S CHEEK LIKE THAT!" Naruto's cries were met with a fist to the head.
Real World
"Anything you'd like to tell me Sasuke?"
He glared at Madara, "Hn."
FIN~
So there you have it. I'm hoping it was okay. I slightly rushed the ending though.
Please review and let me know what you think!