In Darkness Shines A Light

Warnings: Spoilers for the current events in the manga up to Chapter 632

 

In Darkness Shines a Light

Part One

Lightning flashed a whip across the sky, creating a moment of sight before sending the world back into darkness once more. The rain began as a slight mist before the full fury of the hovering storm took to flight and began unleashing its fury on the entire village hidden safely at the base of a mountain; faces carved into the stone over the years created a monument to the heroes of the past, a visage of reverence for all to see. All young shinobi-in-training aspire to have their face one day grace the side of the mountain next to the large memorial of those who came before them.



To Sasuke Uchiha, it was less the need to be a hero and more of a desire to right the wrongs of a village that had stagnated in its own ruin and created monsters out of heros. So many had died for an ideal where there was only the corrupt need for power and control. Even he had allowed himself to be pulled in the undertow of the need for strength and power and control. His anger had festered and as such, ruled him to the point that it now partially defined who he was. There was no retrieving the wide-eyed boy that had been left alone in the aftermath of a massacre. That child was dead, killed along with his parents and clansmen. Like a dark phoenix, he rose from the ashes and became someone else. He might have made his peace with the past, but it still haunted him.



Every night he found sleep to be an elusive spirit sifting through his fingers no matter how furtively he reached to grasp it. Every night he stood on the rooftops of the house he had been assigned after Obito's defeat and his less than celebrated return to the village he had abandoned. Staring at the turbulent sky above him, he blinked rapidly against the harsh drops stinging his face. His hair was plastered against his face and his body was as motionless as a statue.



This place...this village...little had changed in the four years since the truth of Obito was brought to light and he ushered into being the Fourth Shinobi War. The scars on the land were just beginning to heal, but the scars on the people would remain long after the battle for the lives of all, civilian and shinobi alike. Sasuke was no different, though his scars ran deeper than most.



Eyes, dark abysses possessing a power few could even dream of, drifted down to stare at the sleeping village. Lights flickered through shuttered windows and the occasional dog barked in the distance as the storm raged, as if the storm could even hope to wash clean all that was. It would take more than a cleansing rain to wash clean the corruption that had gripped this village.



Lifting a hand to his chest, he stared impassively at the world that he had returned to, a world he had thought to leave behind. His claim to Hokage was more than a boast or a dream. He had spoken only the truth when he had stepped on the battlefield and offered up his promise to become Hokage. The village still reeked with darkness even blacker than that forever residing inside him. He would wash this village clean of the stench and make it into a place worthy of his brother's devotion. The village was not there yet, but he would make it so even if it took his entire life to do so.



And then there was Naruto.



His...friend? Was that what they were? It was so hard for him to understand these bonds that he seemed unable to throw away. He had shrugged off any connection to his former teammates and yet they kept coming at him, wearing him down until he could do nothing but bow beneath the onslaught of bonds he did not ask to receive.



Naruto had laid a claim to the position of Hokage as well. It was a claim he had boasted for as long as Sasuke could remember, even before the darkness was placed inside him. Every chance he got, that idiotic blond would screech out his promise of one day holding the highest position in the village and having the respect of the entire village. 



And he could probably do it. Naruto was honorable, a trait found in very few shinobi these days. He could take up that mantle and maybe even do something about the village and its stagnant ways. He was a good person with a pure and honest soul, but good people were not the ones needed in positions such as Hokage. Naruto was too nice. He saw the good in everyone, even those with a kunai placed against his throat. To Naruto, everyone could be saved.



Sasuke laughed—the first sign of life in his body since taking up his position on the roof. He threw his head back, sending droplets of water slinging, and roared out his insane laughter at the sheer incredulity that goodness could be found in everyone. Naruto could never make the choices that needed to be made. His heart was not black enough to order the assignation of someone or the several someones that posed a threat. Changing those people would be his first objective.



He supposed he should be more respectful and understanding of that way of thinking. Naruto had been certain that Sasuke could be saved even when all others lost their faith in him. But the truth was, he was no different now than he had been when he sought the destruction of his home in retribution for his brother's sacrifice. The only difference in him was that now he sought to fix what his brother had loved so much and sacrificed himself for. The village hidden in the leaves had been created with a pure ideal in mind, but had rotted away on the inside. To repair what the cancer inside was eating away, pieces of the whole would have to be cut away.



Naruto could never do what needed to be done. But Sasuke...Sasuke had thrown away his childhood innocence and guile in favor of the darkness of reality. He had grown hard and was prepared to do whatever it took to heal this village even if it went against the very ideal under which the village was founded.



Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and breathed in the scent of rain rising from all around. His face remained upturned and he wondered if he stood here long enough, would the rain would wash away every doubt and fear that haunted him—all those small touches of darkness that whispered in his mind for him to kill all who stood in his way. Orochimaru's curse might be gone, but it left an echo in him that would never disappear. 



His eyes fluttered open and he listened to the sounds around him. The patter of rain falling hard and fast on the stucco roofs around him. The sound of the world being cleansed and renewed. And in that moment, he felt the shadows creeping and shifting around him, but gave no sign of noticing. Silent steps were unheard as the presence behind him stepped close. 



An assassin would be foolish to make an attempt on his life. His skills were higher than the average jounin, surpassing even those of his former master. Anyone who attacked him was assured death in a most painful manner.



But the shadow did not attack. It remained just that, a shadow hidden in the darkness and obscured by the rain. In some strange way, he took comfort in the mysterious presence even as his hand prepared to draw a weapon and attack at the slightest provocation. Sasuke Uchiha was no fool. Even a moment of camaraderie would not prevent him from shoving a kunai deep into the heart of any who sought his premature death.



And there were many who longed for that pleasure.



The Great Shinobi war might be at its end, but that did not stop those who held grudges against him for his past deeds and sought his demise. The bonds created by the villages during the war were as thin as they were fragile. Allies might have been formed in the moment of desperation for a seemingly unbeatable foe, but old habits die hard and many of the villages had been enemies for too long to be anything but the barest of allies.



The war was finished, but the world spun on.



Sasuke reached out with his senses, trying to get a bead on the person hiding within the shadows. "I know you're there. Show yourself."



There was only silence, but such was not unexpected. He never really expected the person standing silently nearby to actually respond to his demand, particularly so if he sought his death. It was really just the need to affirm this connection between them, two strangers standing in the middle of a storm.



"They say the rain makes things clean, but that is just a lie. It isn't the rain that cleans but the people." Sasuke lowered his gaze from the sky and focused on the village before him. "If you're here to kill me, you're going to have to do better than this."



There was only silence and the rain—no shifting of body or catching of breath. If not for Sasuke's razor sharp instincts, he probably never would have known another shinobi stood several feet away, hidden by the dark and shadows.



"If you're not here to kill me, go stare at someone else." Sasuke began to grow annoyed at the continued silence from his unseen companion. Having had enough of the silence and mystery, his eyes flared to life, swirling crimson with his sharingan. He whirled where he stood; ready to attack the person who was causing his hair to stand on end. With deadly speed and precise skill, he launched three kunai from his hand in the direction of the mysterious person invading his solitude, only to have them plow deeply into the stucco siding of the chimney.



There was no one there. The person watching him had fled, leaving only the faintest rising of steam where the cool rain had once touched a warm body.



"Damn it."



Sasuke stood staring at where the kunai stuck from the building. There was that faint ozone smell that accompanied the use of jutsu, but it too quickly faded under the assault of the rain on the world and all traces of his silent watcher was washed away. The thought caused a laugh to spill from him and he threw his head back at the irony. The one thing he did not want washed away was gone almost before he could see the faint traces left behind while the things he despised about this village continued to run rampant.



Oh, the irony burned. He wanted to know who could possibly have the balls to sneak up on him and then the skill to evade his attack. He would find this person.

 

oOo

After a rain, the heat and humidity was almost unbearable. Even shinobi trained to withstand any environment appeared as limp as wilted grass beneath the onslaught of nature. A lifetime of living in Fire Country could barely prepare people for the heat and those coming from milder climates could barely withstand the heat.



Sasuke was just as miserable as everyone else, but he showed it less than most. The faint misting of sweat on his skin and the way his hair seemed to droop just the slightest bit were the telling signs that he was just as human as the others standing in the mission room. A poor genin had been sent to inform him of a mission. It had almost been amusing to watch the young boy stumble over the words when standing before the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. People still crossed the road when he walked down the street. 



They were afraid, and they should be. If they knew all the things he had done, they would have no problem stringing him up regardless that his participation in the previous war was the weight that had brought them victory and saved them from an existence of slavery under Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. Sasuke was a dangerous man and his skills were near legendary, but even he had been thrown into a tailspin after the unvarnished truth fell from his brother's lips in the last moments of his resurrection.



If not for his need to understand, he never would have sought to bring Orochimaru back from whatever hell he had resided in, able to only watch without a body to do anything. Without him, the first four Hokages would never have been brought back into existence. No matter how many shinobi threw themselves before that ten tailed monster, they were nothing but fodder for that creature even with the Kyūbi's seemingly endless chakra. It had taken more than bodies to bring down the beast and its keepers. In a lot of ways, his choices are what turned the tide in the war, because no matter Naruto's will of fire or the combined strength of all five kages, they all fought a losing battle against Obito, Madara, and the ten tailed beast they brought into being.



Sasuke remembered the events of that day well. It was burned into his mind like a brand so that he would never forget it. Orochimaru had split open death itself and ripped apart the veil, at Sasuke's instruction, to bring into being the four men that had witnessed the history of the village and the shinobi world. He had wanted to know, needed to know, what it was that made people want to keep protecting something that had only brought pain to them. He'd needed to know what was worth saving that his brother was willing to die a villain in order to protect it, sacrificing not only his life but that of his entire clan and the very sanity of his younger brother.



When those four men had stood before him and spoken of the history witnessed with their own eyes, he had felt something stir inside his heart. Perhaps it was an understanding, but he was unsure. His ancestors had died in a war that was as pointless as war always was and he was willingly walking that path long treaded for no reason other than the anger that burned never endingly in his stomach. If he wanted to be honest with himself, it was the First's eyes that had shoved him from his carefully thought out path and into the wilderness of the unknown. Hashirama Senju's eyes, sclera dark with the power of the jutsu that tugged him from the abyss of death, had awoken something in Sasuke—something unknown...something he was careful not to over-analyze for fear of what the answer would reveal to him.



"Sasuke!"



Sasuke's head jerked up just in time to see Naruto Uzumaki trot up to him with a broad grin on his face followed more sedately by their pink haired former teammate. "Where have you been hiding?"



"Nowhere."



Naruto snorted and slapped Sasuke on the back. "If you want to be Hokage, you better start winning over the people."



Sasuke rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "The position is not an elected one, moron."



"Well, that's not exactly true," said Sakura as she walked up. "The members of the village council are the ones who appoint the Hokage and they listen to both the current Hokage and the people when choosing who will be given the position."



"Really?" asked Naruto with a gleam in his eyes. "I'm a shoe in then. Granny Tsunade is going to nominate me for sure."



"Like I said...idiot. I think that woman would be more likely to nominate the person she trained herself rather than some happy go lucky moron that probably doesn't know the difference between his ass and a hole in the ground."



Naruto's face grew red. He turned on his heel and swung a punch at Sasuke, which he deftly avoided and only served to frustrate the blond idiot all the more. Taking a jump backward, he continued to avoid Naruto's swings, a small smile curving his lips as steam practically rose from his former teammates flushed cheeks. He knew from years of experience that the amused look he wore on his face only served to rile him up all the more.



"Hey, stop fighting in here, you two." Sakura stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Naruto's chest and caught his following punch in the palm of her hand. "I mean it. Naruto, go home and get cleaned up, your mission left you filthy. Sasuke, go to the Hokage's office. She wants to speak with you."



Sasuke sent a passing smirk in Naruto's direction, enjoying the angry flush that colored tan cheeks before he walked calmly down the hall to where twin ANBU guards stood watch over the double doors leading into the Hokage's office. The two masked shinobi glanced at each other before one knocked and upon hearing the answering call, pushed open the door before stepping back for Sasuke to enter.



His instincts kicked in and his eyes did a quick scan of the room, noting all possible items that could be used for weapons as well as all possible entrances and exits. He noted Lady Tsunade was seated behind the desk and a kimono wearing man with long, dark hair stood with his back to Sasuke as he looked out over the village that was visible from the window.



With narrowed eyes, he turned his gaze back to Tsunade and waited for her to begin the briefing, effectively dismissing the man from all but his most instinctual thoughts. He would react if attacked, but judging from the relaxed stance of the man and the faint thrum of calmly flowing chakra, he was a minimal threat at best and could be easily taken down if need be. Once his mission was given, then he would acknowledge the man who was likely the paying client.



Tsunade laced her fingers together and stared at Sasuke for several drawn out moments. Her intelligent gaze drifted from the top of his head where the hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead down over the black shirt and pants to his bandage wrapped calves and sandaled feet. From the outside, he looked the standard shinobi, but if one really knew who he was, they would know he was one of the three strongest in this village, and perhaps even the entire shinobi world.



She heaved a sigh and turned her attention to the man standing at the window. "You seriously want him now?"



There was a pause before the man nodded almost unperceivably. Now Sasuke was curious as to who this man was that Tsunade deferred to. It was not unusual for a client to request a particular shinobi, such as in the case of Kakashi Hatake. He was so well known that his services were in high demand even if he was no longer in his fighting prime. But to request Sasuke, he was the last person requested on his notoriety alone.



That knowledge had Sasuke narrowing his eyes at the man. He took in the build of his body and the way he held himself. Though he could not see his face, he knew the man was monitoring the entire room with the carefulness of a seasoned warrior. This man was no civilian and Sasuke almost slapped himself in the face for having dismissed him so readily. It was a weakness in his character to focus so completely on the task at hand, easily dismissing things that might seem irrelevant at the time. Sometimes he thought himself as bad as Naruto with his look before leaping mentality.



"It must be fair and now it's his turn to prove himself to me," said the man calmly.



The voice awoke a memory in him and if he was not of the caliber he was, might have started at the sound. As the man turned, he knew that face for it was burned into his memory just as clearly as the voice. His words were what turned him from one path and sent him careening down a completely different route.



Standing before him was none other than Hashirama Senju, founder of the Leaf village and one of its saviors. Little had changed in his visage since that day four years ago when he and Orochimaru had pulled him from the belly of the shinigami along with the other three Hokages. It was in some ways sort of amusing that all four Hokage had found their way into Death's stomach. 



Hashirama inclined his head and smiled in Sasuke's direction. The whites of his eyes retained their black stain, combining with the darks of his irises to create a disconcerting look. The skin on his face however, had lost that sandy cracked texture and was much like it would be in life, tanned darkly from a lifetime in the elements, likely due to some sort of healing from his granddaughter. Thin lips curved with a hint of a smile and Sasuke quickly moved his gaze elsewhere to take in the entire package.



"Hello again, Sasuke Uchiha."



Sasuke swallowed quickly to hide the sudden dryness of his throat and spoke. "Why are you still here, old man?"



The slight curve of his lips slid easily into a broad grin. "Why shouldn't I be here?"



"The others...they're gone."



Hashirama sighed dramatically and began strolling about the office, as if he had not a care in the world. "Death is final, and I can't leave until I know my legacy will live on."



"That's bullshit."



Both Hashirama and Tsunade lifted a brow at his outburst and he had to fight to keep a blush from staining his cheeks. He hated feeling as if he was being examined under a microscope. There were few people who could instill that feeling in him and two of them were present in the room.



"Why is it bullshit?" asked Hashirama calmly.



"It's bullshit because you're only allowed one life."



The First Hokage threw back his head and laughed long and hard. It caused Sasuke to shift nervously because he could not read the man. It was like staring into a black hole all the while knowing that something was staring back at him.



"What's so funny?" he asked, the jumping in his jaw and the drop in timbre of his voice the only signs at how uncomfortable he was in that moment.



"I find it amusing, Sasuke, because it was you who brought me back into existence...well you and your teacher."



"And you served your purpose, so you should be gone."



Hashirama leaned a hip against Tsunade's desk and folded his arms across his chest. "That's not how it works. A jutsu like this...there is no real way to control it. It's true that all the others have passed on, but I'm not ready to journey back to the abyss. They chose to return to their rest, but I'm not ready."



"Why not?"



"I don't know, maybe because I'm just not ready. You see the weakness in that resurrection jutsu of your master is that it's eternal. Once the soul is pulled back into this dimension and given a body, they are alive again and can choose when to return to life or death. Most choose death again because there is nothing left for them here or they long to give their loved ones peace. It's complicated as to why someone would choose to stay or return to death. It's an individual choice."



"Then what do you have that is keeping you here?"



"Everything. Consider me a guardian spirit of this village if it makes things easier for you to grasp."



Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What about your wife? Isn't she waiting for you on the other side."



Hashirama paused and a tender look ghosted across his face. "Ah, Mito. She was a good girl and gave me a child, but our marriage was arranged and at the time, there was nothing keeping me from following through with it even though neither of us loved one another. She was simply a renewed connection to the Uzumaki clan. I grew to care for her, but I never loved her and she knew it. We both had our own lives. She was always the mother of my son, but never more than that. Those of the Uzumaki clan were always an interesting lot."



The image of Naruto and his antics through their childhood flooded Sasuke's mind. "That's putting it mildly."



Tsunade cleared her throat, breaking into the conversation. "If you two are finished, we should get down to business."



"Ah, sweet Tsu, all business. I thought I taught you better."



A snort escaped Tsunade and she rolled her eyes. "You taught me to gamble and gave me my first drink. I don't know if I should thank you or beat you into the ground until you're nothing but a bloody smear."



Her gaze softened for a moment before returning to a look of business. "But you also taught me when to focus on the task at hand and when to play."



Hashirama smiled fondly at her and gestured for her to continue with a sweeping motion of his hand. Sasuke's eyes were easily drawn to the hands. They were lean and callused, ideal hands for a shinobi. It was well known of Hashirama Senju's skill with ninjutsu. He had witnessed it firsthand.



"Against my advice and obviously his better judgment, my grandfather has requested the opportunity to test you."



Sasuke blinked dumbly for a moment. "Pardon."



"You expressed a desire to become Hokage. Here's your chance. He's already had his time with Sakura and Naruto and as much as I tried to convince him otherwise, he insisted to have time with you as well." 



Tsunade stood and prowled to where Sasuke stood stiffly. Her hand shot forward and latched onto the high neck of Sasuke's shirt, forcing him forward until their noses almost touched. "Listen here, you worthless power hungry brat, if given the choice, I would rather have you in prison with your chakra sealed than as a contender for the position of Hokage, but my grandfather's will holds a lot more sway than mine. He says he wants the chance to measure your worth and no matter how much I argue with him, he is a lot like Naruto in that once he has made his decision, nothing can turn him from it. So, you'll have your chance to impress him and show him why you should be the next Hokage."



She released her grip on Sasuke and moved back to the desk, propping her hip and crossing her arms in a rather disturbingly similar mimic to Hashirama's pose. Sasuke remained a bit on edge, his impulse to attack still rising high in him after feeling the killing intent coming from the Hokage. A long honed nature forged in a time of war was hard to fight even in a time of peace.



Sasuke turned his dark peerless eyes to Hashirama, meeting his intense gaze. It was so strange how he could go from laughing fool to intense and deadly shinobi in the blink of an eye. It was almost unreal and he wondered which was his true personality and which was the mask.



"It's obvious that Lady Tsunade doesn't want me to have the position, why are you any different? I don't take kindly to jokes made at my expense."



Hashirama tilted his head and stared intently at Sasuke. "It's no joke, I assure you. If you're serious in your wish to hold this office, then prove it to me."



"Why?"



"Because I believe in giving everyone a fair chance and you're no different. The input of my granddaughter has been noted and yet here you stand." 



Hashirama unfolded his arms and approached Sasuke. All of his instincts fired to life and he fought will all his strength to keep from jumping back. The power in this man was unlike anything he had ever felt. His chakra stores alone were immense, possibly even dwarfing those possessed by Naruto. Compared to the average shinobi, Sasuke was an unbeatable power, but next to this man, he felt like nothing more than a child.



The dark orbs of Hashirama's eyes stared into him as he bent forward. "Are you ready to be tested, Sasuke Uchiha?"



To be continued...

AN: Written for Hibana on Y-gallery for making a lovely donation of $50 to Y-gal. Thank you so much. This is probably going to be a 3 shot story. This pairing is kinda...strange to me. It's sexy, but I had a little trouble since she wanted ninjaverse haha.