Broken Reflections

Author's Notes:  Here's the next chapter.
In the following chapters, the pace will pick up and things will start to happen -- I promise! :)

I fixed the part about the age and the sharingan. I had forgotten that Sasuke actually developed his sharingan at 13, not just suddenly learned how to use it.


Warnings:  Very Minor Spoilage (c295+)


Chapter Status:  COMPLETE


--------


The room had fallen silent, all eyes were on the sleeping form of
Naruto. In the distance, faint sounds of thunder rolling across the
gray sky drifted lazily to the group’s ears. Tsunade spared a
meaningful glance in Kakashi’s direction and the two quietly left the
room, leaving only the two Sasukes and Sakura behind. “The doctor said
he was fine, just exhausted. Perhaps we should leave him alone too.”
Sakura’s voice was a mere whisper, afraid of stirring up the two men’s
emotions again. One stood on either side of Naruto’s cot, the Japanese
Sasuke glaring at the other. They had been like that since the doctor
had left the room.

The wheels in Sakura’s mind began to churn wildly in the hopes of
breaking the tension between the two men, but nothing came to her. Her
narrow shoulders slumped slightly as she realized that there was a
distinct possibility that the two Sasukes wanted to fight one another
over Naruto. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the door opened
slightly and a messy bit of silver hair appeared, it was Kakashi.
“Sakura, can you come out here for a minute please?”

Glancing between her old teacher and the faces of her old friends,
she tried to determine whether it was safe for her to leave the room or
not. Konoha Sasuke’s deep voice quietly put an end to her inner
struggle. “Go, Sakura. I’m not going to kill him -- yet.” The corner’s
of Sasuke’s mouth quickly pulled taught as he glowered even harder at
the smiling face of Konoha Sasuke.


“You may say that, but --”

“Go.” His voice was stern, and told her that he would be more than
happy to force her out of the room. She nodded wearily as she backed
slowly out the door.

The silence that filled the room was palpable, both boys’ stood
trying to reign in their burgeoning tempers. After a stretch of time,
the Konoha Sasuke broke the tension. “He’s mine.”


“I never claimed him. Besides, you can’t declare
ownership of another human.” Japanese Sasuke peered at the other
through hooded lids. He wasn’t surprised that his other self was
arrogant, but he was appalled by just how haughty he really was. “I’m
sure Naruto wouldn’t be very happy if he heard you proclaim that.”


“Look, I don’t like you. Nor do I trust you, but he is
mine. Just as I am his. It works both ways ... he -- he saved my life
and I’ve yet to truly thank him for that. Truthfully, I don’t think I
can ever thank him enough for what he did for me.” He turned his head
away from the Japanese Sasuke in an act of embarrassment. He hadn’t
intended to voice any of that, but for some reason what the other man
had said had made him feel that it was necessary. If he had the use of
his eyes, he would have caught the concerned look which briefly flashed
across the other’s face. It was a look which would have told him that
the other felt sorry for him.

“I’m not planning to steal him from you -- if that’s what you’re
afraid of. But I will tell you that I don’t think he sees you as
anything more than a friend.” The aura around the Konoha Sasuke changed
immediately. His desire to fight had faded, and in its place grew a
strong sadness. Not knowing exactly what to do, the Japanese Sasuke
decided to leave the room. There wasn’t much more he could say that
could make the other feel any better, for the only one who could fix
him was asleep in the hospital bed.

Outside in the corridor, the Japanese Sasuke met up with Tsunade,
Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Sakura. They had been talking about something,
but had stopped as soon as the door had opened. Looking apologetic,
Sasuke closed the door quietly and began to walk away from the group.
“Um, Sasuke-kun ... could I see you for a moment?” He turned slowly at
the sound of Tsunade's voice, and retraced his steps back to stand
before her. “There are some tests I’d like to have run on you. Just to,
well learn about you.”

“Tests?” He couldn’t keep the slight quiver out of his voice. He
hated doctors, and he wasn’t sure if they had the same type of
equipment in this world of ninjas as his own world. Images of horrible
looking drills and needles flashed briefly through his mind, and he
would have turned and run away if Jiraiya hadn’t placed a large hand on
his shoulder stopping his retreat.

“It won’t hurt.” Tsunade stated with a quiet snort. She was
laughing at him, which of course gave him more courage than anything
else she could have done. He was going to show her that he wasn’t
afraid.


“Fine. Just be quick.” His bolster of courage died in the face of Tsunade's smirk. Great, this was going to hurt.

“Sit.” Sasuke sat in a large arm chair which had straps attached
to it. He didn’t feel comfortable at all, in fact the urge to flee was
rearing its head again. Tsunade had disappeared behind him, and he
could hear clanks from bits of metal objects hitting one another. The
quiet that followed worried him; he began to imagine the various
horrible tools that she could be bringing out for use. Then she moved
over beside him with a blood sampling tube and a bit of rubber tubing.
She was only going to take a bit of blood. “This’ll be over in a few
seconds.”


“Why do you want my blood?” He asked quietly as she straightened and capped the small tube.

Tsunade let out a quiet sigh before her brown eyes turned to
Sasuke. “Our Sasuke is a member of a family with something that’s
called a bloodline limit. Basically a special ability that’s passed
through the genes. I want to see if you happen to have true Uchiha
blood in you.” She studied his face, hoping to read his reaction, but
his face was a perfect blank -- just like his counterpart. With
everything said, she turned and began to walk out of the room.


“Are we done?”

“Yes.” Relief flooded Sasuke’s body as the door closed behind the
retreating form of Tsunade. He had escaped the horrifying torture which
had been playing over and over in his mind. All she had wanted was a
bit of his blood, but what if he did have the same blood as the other
Sasuke? Wouldn’t that mean that since the two of them were in the same
world together that they were somehow defying the order of the
universe? Tired and hungry, he decided to find somewhere to stay.


-----


“Tsunade-sama, I know you don’t really like it when I say things like this ... but --”

“Just spit it out, Shizune.” Tsunade was bent over a microscope
looking at the blood sample which the Japanese Sasuke had given to her.
So far, it had reacted the way it should for someone who carries a
bloodline limit; however, there were some subtle differences, which
meant more tests. Her temper was beginning to run thin and Shizune’s
buzzing around her was not helping much.


“I don’t think he should be here. I think it’s messing up the order of everything.”

“I understand that. And I agree ... but we won’t know if they’re
really the same until I have the results of these tests. So, please --
sit still!” Shizune quickly dropped into the nearest chair, and allowed
Ton-Ton to jump into her lamp. She and the piglet managed to sit
quietly until a loud ‘what’ caused them to both make a startled noise.

“What is it Tsunade-sama!?” Shizune waited with baited breath for
the answer, but Tsunade sat motionless with her back to her friend.
“Tsunade-sama?”

“Fetch Jiraiya and Kakashi. I need to speak with both of them --
immediately.” Tsunade stared down at the vial of blood which rested in
a test tube rack. What she had seen confused her, and worried her that
just maybe Shizune was right.


-----

Sasuke slowly felt around the far wall of the hospital room, trying
to locate the chair that he knew should be there. After a moment’s
search, he found it and dragged it carefully and silently over to the
bed. By the sounds of deep even breathing, Sasuke had thankfully
managed to not wake Naruto.

Sasuke’s hand groped for Naruto’s in a need to feel him. It had
been almost three years since they had fought one another. Naruto
attempting to make Sasuke see the error of his ways, and Sasuke wanting
only one thing: revenge. However, all that was over now, and Naruto had
miraculously forgiven him; although, it was still unclear to Sasuke as
to why or how he had forgiven him so simply and easily. If it had been
reversed, he knew for certain that he would have had a difficult time
forgiving his best friend for trying to kill him, not just once -- but
twice. In truth, he probably wouldn’t have ever forgiven Naruto for
something like that. Their friendship would have died the day he had
left Konoha.

Tears began to form threateningly on his sealed lids. Did he
really deserve to be forgiven? He had been so cold, so brutal toward
Naruto, and for what? So that he could fight his brother. The desire to
kill had left him after he had finally faced Itachi, and learned the
full truth. Then his brother had given his life to protect him in the
end. It all made his lust for revenge pointless, and it made him feel
like a horrible person. “I don’t deserve you,” Sasuke whispered to the
sleeping form. Naruto stirred slightly, and rolled closer to Sasuke.
His free hand reached out and rested lightly over his and Sasuke’s
joined hands.

Sasuke stiffened for a brief moment, then relaxed when he realized
that Naruto was still sleeping. He needed to talk to him, but he was
far from ready. The feelings within him were still jumbled and raw, but
even still, he knew without a doubt that he loved Naruto. That had been
why he couldn’t kill him, and that was most likely why he felt such an
enormous amount of guilt when he thought about building a life with
him. As his mind began to think of all the reasons why he failed to
deserve Naruto, a quick, white hot pain shot through his unseeing eyes,
causing him to feel a bit lightheaded. His breathing quickened and he
carefully laid his head down on the edge of Naruto’s cot.

When the aftereffects of the pain subsided, Sasuke tried to open
his eyes. The skin of his lids slowly peeled away from his cheeks,
sending yet more excruciating pain throughout his head. Sasuke held in
a cry of anguish as his eyes gingerly opened. He blinked a few times,
allowing the moisture which was flowing freely to wash over the tender
lids. Then, carefully, he pulled off the silk wrap. There was only
blackness. He was still blind.

Sasuke threw the scarf away with an angry jerk of his hand. Why
was he still blind!? It didn’t make any sense to him, unless -- that
girl in the woods. What had it been that she had said to him? “I decided that it would be better this way, since you need to realize your folly.”
Did she mean that he needed to atone for his sins? “Am I being punished
for what I did? For the pain I brought to you?” Fear gripped his heart
as those thoughts began to seep deeper inside him. If that was true,
then what was it that he was supposed to realize? He had already
admitted that he had been wrong to do what he did, but apparently that
wasn’t the only thing he needed to apologize for. Sasuke grunted softly
out of frustration. If only that girl hadn’t died, then maybe, just
maybe he could have found out what she had meant. The sound of the door
opening caused Sasuke to swivel around.


“Sasuke -- your eyes!” It was Kakashi.


“They opened just a few moments ago. And no, I can’t see anything.”

“Then you’d best put the scarf back around your eyes, otherwise
you’ll fry your retinas. The reason I came in here, is to tell you that
Tsunade wishes to see you in her office.”

Sasuke turned back to face Naruto. He longed to be able to look at
him, even if it was just for a moment. He wanted to see that bright
smile lighting up his face, but the odds of that happening were most
likely slim. “Sasuke?”


“Tell her I’ll be there in a moment.” Kakashi grunted softly and after a brief hesitation, he left.

Sasuke bent over the hand he held and brushed a feather-light kiss
upon its rough knuckles. “I’ll come back later ... I promise.” With
that, he fumbled around trying to locate where he had thrown his scarf,
and then left with angry jerks of his hands as he tied it back in
place.


-----

Sasuke felt haphazardly around for the handle to Tsunade’s office.
His delay in finding it surely didn’t have anything to do with his
preoccupation with Naruto, or at least that’s what he was telling
himself. After groping aimlessly for a few minutes, his fingertips
finally hit the cold brass of the door knob. He began to wrap his thick
fingers around the knob, but before he could do so, it swung open and
away from his hand. “Sasuke! Excellent! Come in, there’s something I
need from you.” He slowly entered the room, wondering why Tsunade
sounded so falsely happy.

“What’s wrong?” Tsunade winced at the bland tone of Sasuke’s
voice; she knew that he could tell that she was hiding her concern.

Tsunade decided that it would be best to stop pretending with
Sasuke, so she dropped the happy act and replaced it with her usually
brusque tone. “I need a sample of your blood.”


“Why?”

“We took a sample from the other Sasuke, and I -- I need something
to compare it to. It’s very important,” she added almost as an
afterthought.


“Fine.” Tsunade’s strong hand grabbed his arm and led him to a seat, and pressed him down onto its hard surface.

“This’ll only take a moment, but I would like you to stay -- until
I finish running the tests.” Sasuke merely nodded his assent and sat
quietly as he listened to Tsunade’s movements around the room. He sat
there so long that he had begun to fall asleep when she finally
announced that she was finished.


“Was my blood helpful?” Tsunade decided to ignore the snide tone in his voice and carried on with a bit of cheerfulness.


“Yes very.”

“Tsunade-sama -- what is it that you’re trying to do?” He heard
her sigh heavily and then sensed her presence near him. A knot was
beginning to form in the pit of his stomach, and he couldn’t understand
why. Was he nervous about what she was about to say to him? Or was it
something else?

When she finally spoke, there was no trace of joy in her voice.
Tsunade lowered herself into a chair next to Sasuke and spoke in an
even and serious tone. “The other Sasuke and you have the exact same
genetic make-up. You are essentially the same person.”


“And ...?”

“Well, I’m not sure what it means. It’s basically an impossibility
to have two people with the exact same genetic make-up in the same
place, unless one is a clone. Which that could be what’s happened here,
but it doesn’t explain where Naruto went -- or why he has those
memories of that other world.” Sasuke grunted impatiently. Tsunade
ignored him, and continued on despite the disbelieving look Sasuke was
now sporting. “Look, I know that you probably think that all this
postulating is pointless unless we already have an explanation. I’m
sorry that we don’t, but I thought it would be good to tell you that
the other Sasuke has the sharingan as well. Obviously he has no idea
how to use it --”

Sasuke quickly straightened up in his seat and gazed in the
direction of Tsunade’s voice. “Do you mean he has the gene which is
passed onto his offspring? Because unless it developed before he was
sixteen -- he won’t ever be able to use it.”

“I realize that, Sasuke-kun. But there is a difference between the
dormant state of the gene which transfers the bloodline limit and the
active state. His is in the active state, just like yours. That’s why
all this is so confusing. And as much as I hate to admit it, but it
reeks of --”

“Orochimaru,” Sasuke finished quietly. It was everyone’s fear that
somehow, someway the ninja who had caused so much grief would come back
once more. He had cheated death more than once, and although it was
highly improbable that he could have survived the last attack on him,
there was still that possibility.


“Yes. That’s why we must find out why and where that
other Sasuke came from. I don’t feel that he nor Naruto were ever in
that other world -- especially if Orochimaru is behind all this. But
then, I may be wrong and we need to be prepared for that. I’ve asked
Kakashi to allow the other Sasuke to stay with him. He’s to keep his
eye on him at all times, and if there is any odd behavior he’ll report
it to me.

Now, I want you to go with a small team I’m sending to one of
Orochimaru’s old research centers. The reason I’m asking you is because
you’ve been there before -- and you’ll be of great help to the team.”

“The last time I was there, I could see. How am I supposed to help
now?” His temper was flaring slowly once more. If he went and was to
help them, what if he gave them poor advice? It was likely that someone
would die, and he didn’t want that on him. Not when he had a chance to
prevent it.


“Didn’t Kakashi teach you how to overcome your handicap?” Tsunade asked a bit irritated with his attitude.


“Yes,” Sasuke mumbled miserably.

“Then, you’ll go. Calm down, you won’t be the leader,” she added
when he made to protest again. “Jiraiya will be leading -- so I want
you to concentrate on remembering that place inside and out. As of
right now, we’re not certain what we’re looking for -- so I just want
an eyes-only investigation.” Sasuke tried to not let her
thoughtlessness sting him and forced himself to nod in agreement.
“Good. Jiraiya will pick you up at your apartment at first light
tomorrow.”


“Understood.”


-----

“Is it almost time?” Her soft feminine voice echoed off the stone
walls and floated gently into his ears. A cold smile crept slowly
across his pale face as he gazed at her.

“Yes -- they should have discovered the eerie similarities by now,
thanks to Tsunade’s sharp mind. Yes, it won’t be long before the second
phase of my plan is placed in motion.” His cackle filled up the empty
lab’s space. The young girl smiled sweetly at the sound of her
‘father’s’ laughter. It was good to know that she had done her job
well, and that her sister’s sacrifice had not been for nothing.


-------------

* I think Kishimoto-sensei mentioned somewhere how old a member of
the Uchiha clan was when the sharingan no longer had a chance to
appear. Or I may have dreamt it, but since I couldn't find/or remember
it, I came up with 10 years old. It sounded good to me. :) If someone
can remember, then I'll go and change it.


Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, TV-Tokyo, & Shounen Jump