My not so Distant Memory

I can finally see your face

Once Sasuke reached his destination, he leaned over to hurriedly catch his breath. He had set off in a hurry without taking into account how far he would be walking, and it took a gaping toll on his lungs.

He stood off to the side, as the clamor of investigators and machines worked to transport the kunai onto a different table, with the other items (they had to take extra precautions since it was such a special item). As the blade caught in the sun, a glare flashed and hit his eye. And in the bright light, Sasuke fell back into his dreams one last time.

~

Sasuke looked ahead of him in exasperation, as he watched a literal nightmare unfurl in front of his very own eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me? We just wasted a huge chunk of energy and stamina fighting Madara, only for him to turn into the goddess of chakra herself. Jesus Christ, I am not getting paid enough for this. Scratch that, I'm not getting paid at all! Fucking crackheads and their political shit. I'm so done with this."

If it weren't for the fact that the threat in front of them would do it anyways, Sasuke would have stabbed himself from the level of insanity he was reaching.

Knowing that there would be no way out of this unless they defeated the enemy in front of them, he turned to the (literally) glowing boy next to him.

"You ready for this, usuratonkachi?"

His companion looked onward with a set of determination sparkling in his eyes.

"Yes!"

And with a flash of light, they were off to save the world.

~

"This is fucking bullshit. Even though they are perfectly aware of everything you've done, they still think it's necessary to chain you to a wall like a slave. We did pretty much the exact same things, so why am I considered the world's greatest hero while you're shunned as a threat and locked away?"

Sasuke looked to the stone cold ground with a small snort. He would have laughed his usual dry chuckle, but he was too weak from malnourishment. His overgrown bangs tickled his face and neck, hiding his features completely from view.

"You make it seem so simple usuratonkachi. Don't forget, I had completely abandoned the village just for my own selfish desires. All it did for me in the end was show me how I had been lied to virtually my entire life. I was so mad I wanted to destroy the entire village. I allied with an evil organization and even fought against the five kages. That doesn't sound like much of a hero, now does it?"

The blonde boy stared at the floor as he kicked the prison bars in frustration, causing a high pitched vibration to echo throughout the basement.

"Well yeah, I know that, obviously. But you're also ignoring the fact that you had never really caused any direct harm to the village. All you did was kill Danzo, but he was being a dick, to begin with, so he kind of deserved it. And you helped to defeat Ka-"

"It doesn't matter what I've done in the war. The elders, clan leaders, and Kages consider me a threat because I had left and opposed a great threat to the village. They clearly don't care about anything else, and it's proven from the way you so insistently fought for my innocence all those times. If they don't listen to the renowned war hero, they certainly won't listen to anyone else, especially me. According to them, my nickname perfectly represents me as much as yours does to you."

"But you're not a threat! And if the Kages won't tolerate you, and the fact that you deserve the basic human freedoms in return for everything you've done, then they don't deserve me either. Stand up. I'm getting you out of here and you can't change my mind. Let's go."