Game of Shadow

Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Chapter 47

[Sasuke Uchiha]

"To test the limits of my abilities," The memory whispered in his ear as his fist hit the wood of the training dummy. Stinging pain shot through his hand, but he ignored it as his Sharingan glared at the unmoving, unliving target.

How long had it been since he had actually thought about that day besides the occasional nightmare? It had once seemed impossible to get rid of it. The voice. The red eyes. The words. The message.

However, time continued moving and so did Sasuke. He found new people to care for, reluctantly as it had been at the start. He found friends that stood by him, that walked next to him, despite the path he had set for himself. He even found a new… family in Eiji and the rest of the group. Yes, even the annoying blonde he called a teammate. But the Satou… had done something that the Uchiha hadn't thought possible, filling a hole that he thought he would carry within him forever.

And Sasuke could finally put the past behind him. He would never forget, he knew that. However, he felt like he could finally live with it, at the very least. That is, until that happened. And that was said.

"You'll prove my strength," The words were so terrifyingly similar. They had set Sasuke on edge for a good while during the preliminaries, making him break in cold sweat.

Still, even through the traumatic memory, Sasuke could still look at Eiji and say that the two brother figures of his life weren't the same. Both seemingly obsessed with power, yes, but fundamentally different in the end. In the method.

One tested his abilities by killing his whole clan and mentally torturing his own brother.

The other proved his strength by fighting a strong and likely unstable foreign ninja. Without killing them at that.

His other hand hit the wood this time, much harder, and he knew that his knuckle was now bleeding on the training dummy that he had Naruto reinforce with seals. His fist, however, stayed against the bark as his shoulders sagged.

Taking a shuddering breath in, he leaned his forehead against the wood. His hand moved down the dummy slowly. Red eyes with black tomoe appeared in his mind, glaring at him.

"It would be worthless to kill someone as pathetic as you," The voice of his nightmares said harshly.

Then the tomoe disappeared.

"Take deep breaths," A softer voice whispered in his ear and Sasuke did as it said. His chest rising as the air filled his lungs and moving down as he let it out.

"Foolish little brother, if you want to kill me, curse me, hate me!" The first voice shouted. He almost flinched at it.

"Concentrate on my voice, ok? Deep, slow breaths…" The second voice continued, unperturbed. A smile appeared underneath the red eyes in his mind.

'Inhale,' He told himself, a grimace he hadn't noticed easing into a peaceful expression. 'Exhale.'

"And live a long, unsightly life, run away..." The cold voice mocked with an air of indifference. "Run away, and cling to your pathetic life."

"Stand straight and relax your shoulders," The warmer voice continued instructing, advicing more like. And Sasuke stood, shrugging his shoulders a bit and letting out a sigh. The face grew more detailed in his mind, with his pale skin and messy black hair.

"And someday, when you have the same eyes as me, come before me."

"I will," Sasuke muttered in a whisper. "And when I do, I won't be alone, brother," He continued, his voice growing stronger as the words came out. The last word spat out like a curse. "Because..."