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In This World of Make-Believe by antilogicgirl

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Chapter notes: Hm. I think maybe my Sasuke fixation is getting a little out of hand. I've been trying to get into his head to understand him. This, by the way is a scary thing to do. I dont' recommend it. Anyhow, here's the deal. This story is one of those "what if" situations. Think "It's a Wonderful Life," but on some really heavy drugs. This is really AU, OOC, etc., but the OOC is for a reason.

Legal Stuffiness: I dont' own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Kishimoto Masashi, sole proprietor
--Winter Solstice--

Sasuke took a sidelong glance at his companion. Kabuto adjusted his glasses as they waited. “How long did he say he would be?” He asked, kicking at the ground in the clearing. “And why do we have to wait for him?” Kabuto only made a soft grunt. He knew that the silver-haired nineteen-year-old didn’t take him seriously. No one here did. He was a tool, a vessel. Again, he kicked the ground, and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m going to go and sit down.” He walked a short distance to the edge of the clearing, and was about to sit on a tree root when he caught sight of something through the trees.

No more than three feet high, it was a small stone structure. Sasuke’s footsteps took him closer, and he noticed that it was an abandoned well. Blinking slowly, he leaned over to peer into it. There was still water in the bottom. About twenty feet below, he could see his reflection. It wasn’t really much more than a dark blob rippling over the water’s surface. Watching the water, he thought. How long had he been with Orochimaru? He was fifteen now, so that would be three years.

Taller, leanly muscular, with well-defined features and much more knowledge than anyone of his age should have, he knew that he was more powerful than he had been. But no one here cared. To them, he was just occupying his time. He was simply giving himself something to do until he could become Orochimaru’s vessel. That, by the way, was supposed to happen any day now, according to Kabuto. Sasuke’s fingers gripped the moss-covered stones of the well. He wanted things to be different. Where, exactly, had his life gone to absolute hell?

Thinking back, he remembered everything. Having the Sharingan did, at times, have its disadvantages. Copying jutsu was fine and dandy, but he seemed to have an abnormally clear memory now. Especially for the bad things. He remembered every bad feeling he had ever had. Every slight, every taunt. He remembered the pity. He remembered the anger, the hatred, and most of all, he remembered Itachi. Itachi. That’s right. He was the reason. He was the reason that Sasuke was here. He was the reason that Sasuke might become nothing more than a hollow shell of a human being in order to make room for someone else in his own head.

“Damn you, Itachi.” Sasuke said under his breath. He wanted to kill him, to make him suffer when he did. He wanted to watch his brother’s face twist in pain as he exercised every one of the tortures he had planned for him. But there was another part of him, small, very small…that wished it wasn’t necessary. That small part of him was simply tired of all of the hatred. It wanted the normality that others had. It wanted the happiness that Naruto had, and the peace of mind that Sakura did. That part of him wanted to be just another face in the crowd. It wanted the ability to enjoy simple pleasures the way that Kakashi did, and have the little problems that everyone fretted over.

He clenched his hands into fists in his pocket at these futile thoughts. Frowning, he pulled his left hand from his pocket, and found that he had a coin clutched between his fingers. A wistful thought occurred to him. With an almost derisive chuckle, he flipped the gold coin into the well. As it fell, he made a silent wish. Or, rather, that small, tired part of him did. It wished, with all its feeble might, that Itachi had not lusted after power. That was it. He was sure, as he walked back to the clearing, that it had been Itachi’s hunger to prove his own power to himself that had ruined his life.

“What were you doing over there?” Kabuto asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

“Making a wish.” The young Uchiha smiled, and rolled his eyes. His tone was sarcastic as Kabuto cocked his head to one side quizzically. “There’s a well over there.” Kabuto nodded dismissively, yet another proof that he thought of Sasuke only as a child, or less than that. Not long after Sasuke’s return to the clearing, Orochimaru arrived, and they hurried through the treetops to their next destination. Three hours later, they were in the confines of their latest hideout.

“Get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow, and we start early.” The Snake-Sannin left the room, and Kabuto followed, ever the obedient lap dog. Sasuke sighed. Kicking off his shoes, he let them fly into the corner. Then he settled down on the bed, waiting for sleep to take him. It was a long time coming.

--

One usually thinks of magical happenings being associated with darkness, with ghouls and goblins, and with little glittering fairies. There are times, though, when everything simply aligns perfectly for one person to witness something completely amazing, and it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. It can happen in the dead of night, when the moon is gone, or during a solar eclipse. But sometimes, very rarely, it can happen in broad daylight.

At high noon, on the day of the winter solstice, there was such an occurrence. The powers that be often find it entertaining to use such moments to let a little bit of magic slip through, and that’s exactly what happened when a small gold coin splashed into the water at the bottom of a well in the middle of nowhere. It sent ripples through the well, but also through space, and time, and even (if you want to really think deeply) the fabric of creation.

The person effected, one Uchiha Sasuke, would soon find himself in a world, quite literally, of his own making. This is no fairytale. There is no magic lamp to rub, no clicking ruby slippers together to reverse the effects of his actions.

On the day of the winter solstice, a gold coin, a fervent wish, and a tired and frustrated young man changed the course of history. What remains to be seen is if that change was for good, or if it would cause calamity worse than anything in his world of make-believe.

--

--Not Dreaming--

Knock, Knock

Groaning, he rolled over and pulled the covers back over his head. It was simply too early to be getting up. He didn’t care if Orochimaru summoned Manda. Sasuke was not getting up right now.

Knock, Knock

“Leave me alone.” He grunted.

He heard the doorknob turn, and then felt the blankets being yanked off of him. Sighing in resignation, he sat up, scrubbing his hands through his hair and not relishing that awful morning taste in his mouth. “Are you going to actually wake up any time soon?” Sasuke’s eyes flew open and he whirled around, chakra flaring, the Raikiri engulfing his hand. Itachi was standing there, in his bedroom, slack-jawed. Then, realization hit Sasuke like a ton of bricks. His…bedroom…in his house. His bedroom. In his house. In Konoha. His chakra drained away, the lightening-like effects of the Raikiri dissipating into the air around him. “Where did you…?” Itachi was still blinking at him in surprise.

Sasuke looked around the room. It looked much the way he remembered it, except there were more pictures on the walls and shelves, and there was a freshly laundered Chuunin uniform hanging on a stand next to his dresser. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had to be dreaming. There was no way this was actually happening. He edged sideways, keeping the bed between him and Itachi. “Why are you here?” His voice was filled with suspicion, and he didn’t want to allow the man to attack him when he wasn’t looking, or unprepared.

His brother sighed. “Are you high? I live here, moron.” Sasuke blinked. He did not remember his brother ever speaking like this. Where was the cool exterior? Where was the Itachi who used to put him off and poke him in the middle of the forehead? Itachi stepped on the bed, and then sprang off of it, landing in front of Sasuke. He grasped Sasuke’s chin, and peered into his eyes. “Nope. You’re not high. Okay. Spill it. What’s going on?” Sasuke was about to pass out. He knew he was. There was too much going on in his head. Itachi was…here. He was here as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and he was checking up on him, to see if he was getting up in the morning.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sasuke said honestly, since he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Itachi’s lips twisted in a familiarly sarcastic smile. “Fine. If you want to be that way, go ahead. Mother’s made breakfast, and yours will get cold if you don’t get dressed and into the kitchen soon. Oh, and Father says you’re supposed to meet your old genin team today for a training session?” Sasuke nodded slowly. He supposed it might be nice to see some normality. For once, he wouldn’t mind seeing the dobe and Sakura. In the back of his mind, that small part of himself said that he had been wanting to see them for a long time. Them, and Kakashi. “Well, have fun with those idiots. And you’d better go and talk to Kakashi-san. He’ll want to know when you stole his jutsu.” With that, Itachi left the room. Sasuke blinked, and leaned against the windowsill, holding his head in his hands.

“Gyaaaa!” He growled. “What is going on?” He had to be dreaming. Walking over to where the uniform hung, he pulled a kunai from the pouch hanging next to the vest. Checking to make sure that it was sharp, he stuck the point of it into the tip of his index finger. When he pulled it away, blood welled up from the small cut. There was pain, as well. Staring at the red liquid on his fingertip, he stopped breathing for a moment. “Not dreaming…” His eyes lost focus, and he felt the room tilt. The kunai fell from his hand, and he groped at the dresser for support. As he held fast to the solid wood, he took deep breaths, and soon found his vision clearing. Immediately, his eyes fixed on a photograph that sat atop the bulky piece of furniture he clung to.

It sat there, framed in dark wood, as real as the blood on his finger. The photograph was of a younger Sasuke, standing with two other young ninja, and an older shinobi that was obviously their sensei. But…

He grabbed the picture from the dresser, and peered at it again. “This can’t be right.” He was there, in the lower left, a slender hand on his head. That hand was not attached to a Kakashi, but to Yuuhi Kurenai. To the right, there stood…Hyuuga Hinata. She wasn’t looking at the camera. There in front of the two of them knelt Haruno Sakura. “Where’s Naruto?” And his brother had called Hinata an idiot? In his experience, she was shy, and reserved, but not an idiot. A bit depressed, too, but not stupid. “Okay. That’s it. I’m going to find out what the hell is going on here, if it kills me.”

Grabbing ‘his’ uniform, he ran down the hallway to the bathroom, showered quickly, and ran to the kitchen, skidding to a halt. His mother stood there in the doorway. Sasuke stared at her for a long moment, biting his lip. “Good morning, Sasuke-chan.” When he didn’t answer her, she started to turn away. He grabbed her arm, and yanked her forward, delivering a crushing hug. It took everything he had not to cry. She was alive! She was alive, and real…did that mean that his father, and everyone else was too?

“Good morning, Mother.” He let her go, and smiled sheepishly at the stunned look on her face. “I have to go now. I’ll find something to eat while I’m out.” He kissed her cheek, and turned to leave.

“Tell Hinata-chan hello for me, Sasuke-chan. And please ask when she’s coming over. I miss her since the two of you broke up.” He stopped dead in his tracks. Broke up? He dated Hinata? [Oh, there is something really wrong with this place.]

“Sure. I’ll do that.” His voice was tense. He knew that. He just hoped that she would chalk it up to her talking about his ‘ex-girlfriend’. Giving himself a tiny shake, he continued to the door. Taking up shoes that looked to be his size, he shoved his feet into them and headed out the door, his head still reeling. His first stop was not the training grounds where he was supposed to be going. Instead, he veered off to the east. Not more than ten minutes later, he was standing in a hallway, knocking on a door.

He heard a crash from within, and his eyes widened. A moment later, a very harassed-looking Naruto opened the door. The young man’s eyes widened. “I didn’t do it, okay, whatever it is, I didn’t do it.” Sasuke blinked. Naruto was dressed in his usual orange, but he had a large scar that ran from his left temple down to his collarbone. His eyes looked hunted. When Sasuke didn’t accuse him of anything, Naruto eyed him suspiciously. “What do you want?”

“Nice to see you too, Naruto.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I said, what do you want?” The blonde asked, his tone getting defensive. Sasuke’s brow furrowed. There was something wrong here. Well, there was something wrong with the entire world, it seemed, but for Naruto to not know him…

“I just wanted to talk.” Sasuke was starting to feel awkward.

“Why? You never felt the need to speak to me before, Uchiha. Not like a genin is worth your time, right?” Sasuke started at these words. They stung. He had wanted to see his friend. This was a person he didn’t know at all. Or, rather, this was Naruto before they became friends. Maybe he could start over?

“Look, I was thinking. I know I’ve probably been an ass but—“ Naruto didn’t let him finish.

“Probably? You acted like I didn’t exist! You and everyone else! It’s a wonder I even have Iruka-sensei to talk to.” His voice began to rise, and Sasuke watched in horror as chakra flared around him. “What do you want with me?” Naruto’s voice had lowered, and his eyes began to glint dully red. Sasuke didn’t think that was a good sign. So, he did what he had always done where Naruto was concerned. He used brute force. Sasuke shoved Naruto into his apartment, tackling him. “Get off of me!”

Using his position as leverage, Sasuke huffed, pinning Naruto to the floor. He kicked the door shut with his foot. “I said, you moron, that I just wanted to talk. Is that so hard? Are you going to calm down, or are you going to let that thing take over?” Naruto blinked up at him, the wildly flickering chakra subsiding, and his eyes returning to their usual shade of blue.

“How do you know about it?” He breathed, disbelief causing his voice to become no more than a whisper.

Sasuke let him go and stood up, holding out his hand to help Naruto up. After looking at his hand for a moment as if examining it for poisoned needles, the blonde took hold of it and Sasuke tugged, pulling him to his feet. The Uchiha frowned, and said, “It seems I know a lot of things I shouldn’t. Suffice it to say that I know, but I’m not going to spread it around.” The other boy sagged in relief. “That is what happened, just now, isn’t it? The Kyuubi was trying to take over, wasn’t it?”

Naruto’s lips compressed into a thin line, but he nodded. “So, what brings the little genius to my humble pig sty?” He kicked at a ball of crumpled newspaper on the floor. “I thought you would be hanging around with the rest of the best.” His lips twisted into a wry smile.

“I sometimes just want to be…normal.” He said honestly. Naruto eyed him for a moment. “My life is far from normal, especially today.”

“Why do you say that?” The shorter boy leaned against the back of his couch.

Sasuke laughed a little. “You would think I was totally nuts.”

That wry smile appeared on Naruto’s face again. “Hey, you know what it’s like having a demon fox whispering at you to do bad things all of the time? It’s like being schizophrenic. I don’t think that anything you say could make me think you’re insane.” Sasuke smirked. That sounded more like the Naruto he knew.

“Why don’t we go and get something to eat? It’s a very long story.” Sasuke watched Naruto for a moment. He was looking around nervously. Suddenly, Sasuke remembered the abysmal pay that genins get. “My treat?” That perked Naruto up quickly. “Come on. I’ll tell you why I’m nuts.”

--

--You Really Are Nuts--

“You expect people to believe that?” Naruto asked as they walked toward the training grounds. “I mean, most of that stuff is pretty believable. Orochimaru…the power-hungry brother, the attempted coup. Even the transfer-jutsu thing sounds plausible. But me, trained by Jiraiya-sama? You’re shitting me!” Sasuke shook his head. Naruto was so down on himself! What happened to ‘I’m going to be Hokage one day!’?

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re probably selling yourself short?” Sasuke asked, shredding a piece of grass. Naruto’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. “What? The Naruto I knew never gave up. The guy I knew was so persistent, he learned one of the jutsu that only the Yondaime and Jiraiya could do in two weeks.” He watched Naruto watching him. The look of disbelief did not leave his face.

“How do you expect me to…oh, shit.” Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, and looked like he was going to turn tail and run. Sasuke followed his line of vision, and saw Sakura and Hinata practicing their jutsu. From this distance, he couldn’t tell which of them had Naruto so upset.

“What’s the problem? It’s just Sakura and Hinata.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “Oh. I forgot. Okay. Let me break this down for you, really fast. Sakura hates me. She thinks I’m the most disgusting piece of crap on the planet.” Sasuke nodded. That was just like when they were in the Academy, so it wasn’t too new to him. “Hinata…” He sighed. “She’s great. But I can’t talk to her.” Sasuke had to try not to laugh. Things certainly seemed to be turned on their heads here. Naruto was afraid to talk to Hinata? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Well, that was easily fixed.

“Come on, dobe. I’ll introduce you.” The orange-clad genin started squirming under Sasuke’s hand, which was now clamped down on his arm. “Stop that. She’ll think you really are a moron.” Naruto stopped his struggling, and Sasuke let him go, and they walked on, eventually coming to the patch of grass where Sakura was practicing chakra control and Hinata was honing her Byakagun. “Ohayo, Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan.”

Sakura smiled and blushed slightly, and Hinata said, “Ohayo, Sasuke. Who is your friend?” It took Sasuke a moment to process this, though he knew she would say it.

“This is Uzumaki Naruto.” He turned to Sakura. “He’ll be practicing with me this morning.” Her eyes widened, and she looked away from him. Apparently, she had a real aversion to Naruto. He then looked to Hinata. “Mother asked about you.”

The corners of her mouth drew up in a smile. “She did?” Sasuke nodded, and repeated the message that his mother had given him. “Oh, Sasuke, I’m not sure. I have too much to do as it is. And then there’s that problem with the Branch House…” Sasuke’s eyebrow rose questioningly. “Oh. I forgot to tell you? Neji’s being a rabble-rouser again. He still hates me, and my father. I try, and I try, but nothing seems to work.”

Naruto piped up, “You could try kicking his ass.” Hinata hid a smile at that.

“Naruto-san, I don’t think I can. He’s a genius.” Hinata looked at the ground.

Sasuke pursed his lips. “Hinata-chan, you shouldn’t talk that way. Being a genius isn’t exactly the best thing in the world. If you notice, they all have some kind of problem. It’s usually emotional.” He looked over at Naruto, whose jaw was dangling open. “And, I can tell you from experience that hard work is sometimes more important than inborn talent. There are a couple of people I can name off the top of my head that are perfect examples of that.”

“Sasuke-kun, what are you talking about?” Sakura asked tartly, “If you’re trying to say anything good about him—“ she jabbed a finger at Naruto, “—then you should stop now. He’s good for absolutely nothing. He couldn’t even make a simple Bunshin.” She crossed her arms under her breasts and looked nastily at Naruto. Sasuke was suddenly very angry with her. The Sakura he knew would never have said those things.

“That’s enough.” He said, glaring at the girl. Naruto’s eyes widened. “I think that everyone has the potential to be great shinobi, even if they don’t look like it to you, Sakura. Whatever superiority you might feel to Naruto, I’m certain is not at all justified. He had at least twice as much chakra than you do. He has more than I do.” Her face went totally blank. “What? You can’t feel it? Don’t kid yourself, Sakura. If he practiced, he could probably surpass me. Hell, who knows. He might even become Hokage.” Sakura laughed. She looked directly into Sasuke’s eyes and laughed.

“You’re insane. I’ve never heard such a load of crap. I’m going to go to see Ino. At least she’s in her right mind.” With that, she disappeared into the trees.

Sasuke growled, “Yeah, and she’s probably just as much of a bitch.”

“Sasuke!” Hinata’s eyes were wide with horror. “I can’t believe you’d say that!”

“Sorry. I just can’t believe that Sakura would be so nasty to someone.” Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think that Naruto has potential. What do you think?” Hinata chewed her lip for a moment, and looked at Naruto. After a moment, she activated the Byakagun and looked at him again.

“Naruto-san…you have two chakra types!” The blonde’s eyes widened.

“Hinata-chan, I’m going to have to ask you to keep that to yourself.” Sasuke said quietly. She nodded, and continued examining Naruto’s chakra system.

“Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable. Naruto-san, you’re incredible. How are you not a jounin by now?” Naruto blushed to his ears, stammering. Sasuke answered for him.

“He lacks confidence. All he needs is a little healthy bullying.” Hinata frowned at the oxymoron. “Naruto, why don’t we train? You don’t mind, do you, Hinata?” The dark-haired girl shook her head, and said she would like to watch. So, Naruto stood nervously on the training grounds opposite Sasuke. “So, Sakura says you couldn’t even do a Bunshin. What can you do?”

“I know the basics. Henge no jutsu, Kawarimi no jutsu, and some others. I did get mixed up in a plot to steal a forbidden scroll a few years back, so I learned a jutsu from that, but Iruka-sensei says I shouldn’t use it because it’s forbidden.” Naruto said this with a defeated tone. His self-pity was driving Sasuke up the proverbial wall. He reached into his pouch and pulled out four shiruken and hurled them at Naruto. The boy dodged them all, and caught the last one, flinging it hard at Sasuke’s left foot. Sasuke lifted his foot casually and it missed. “What the hell was that for?”

“Self-pity is for sickly little brats. How old are you? Five?” Sasuke asked, his tone challenging.

“No!” Naruto bristled, and Sasuke held back a smile. “I’m fifteen!”

“Then act like it. For crying out loud…” Sasuke shook his head. “All right. What’s this skill?” He knew what it was, of course, but he really didn’t think it would help matters if he played the omnipotent ninja from a parallel universe at the moment.

Naruto held his hands up in front of him, two fingers from each hand extended, and held in the shape of a cross. “Kage Bunshin no jutsu!” Naruto said, and poured a large amount of chakra into it. At least seventy clones appeared, all grinning at Sasuke. They all said, “How’s that?”

“Not bad. But you need to work on your chakra control.” He gritted his teeth. “If Sakura weren’t acting so nasty, I would say she would be the best person to help. As it is, I guess I can help a little.”

--

--Those Who Can…Teach--

“Sasuke, this isn’t working!” Naruto said as he fell again. They were doing tree-walking. Naruto’s chakra control was horrible. Sasuke was about to try explaining again when Hinata put a hand on his arm.

“Mind if I try?” Her voice was calm, and had a slight hint of amusement to it.

“Be my guest.” He went to sit down for a few moments to rest.

“Naruto-san, here, watch.” She gathered a large amount of chakra, but only let tiny bits out of her hand at once. “Can you do that?” The boy mimicked her actions, almost perfectly. “That’s good. Now try a little more, but only a little.” He did, and she smiled. “Okay. Now, try that with your feet.” Sasuke leaned back against his tree. Hinata was good at teaching. He watched as Naruto gathered the appropriate amounts of chakra, and released them through his feet. “Now, walk up the tree, and try to concentrate. If you lose concentration, that’s when you fall.”

The genin nodded, his face screwed up in concentration. Naruto placed a foot on the tree’s trunk, and then another. He moved slowly up the tree, placing his feet gingerly. It took him ten feet before he realized he was actually doing it. Then he looked down at Hinata in surprise. Naruto suddenly released his chakra and flipped down to the ground gracefully, landing in front of Hinata and smiling broadly. “Thank you, Hinata-san!” In his bout of irrational exuberance, he reached out and pulled Hinata into a hug. Then, he seemed to realize what he was doing, and jumped back from her, stammering. “Sorry…”

“It’s all right, Naruto-san.” Hinata smiled good-naturedly. “You actually learned that very quickly. Maybe you just need someone to explain things to you in the right way?” Sasuke felt the jab, and looked at Hinata in disbelief. She looked at him with a falsely innocent expression in her white eyes. He got the feeling that this was a little competition between them. On his mental scoreboard, the current reading was Hinata-1, Sasuke-0. Well, he could get his own back later.

Just then, Naruto’s stomach made itself heard by producing a loud gurgling growl. Hinata’s eyes widened, and Naruto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um…yeah. Training always makes me hungry.” Sasuke thought that the blonde was making something of an understatement. He had even convinced him not to have ramen for breakfast earlier, but Sasuke had a feeling that having to sustain two charkas might give Naruto an advanced metabolism.

“I have an idea.” The other two looked over at Sasuke. “How about we quit training for the day and go over to my house? Mother’s been wanting to see you, Hinata-chan, and Naruto can try her onigiri. It’s really good.” At the thought of his mother’s cooking, Sasuke’s stomach made a noise somewhat similar to the one Naruto’s had, only with more urgency. Hinata laughed quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets irritably and started walking. A moment later, the other two caught up to him. When they got to the Uchiha compound, Naruto looked at the gates nervously.

“Ne, Sasuke?”

“Hm?” Sasuke looked up at Naruto. He had been watching the ground as he walked.

“Can I take a rain check?” The boy seemed nervous. Well, the police station was in the compound, so Sasuke thought he understood, but Naruto needed to stop being so timid. How could you be a prankster and be so painfully shy and awkward? He took Naruto by the scruff of his neck and hauled him through the gates, Hinata trailing behind them, looking alarmed.
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