━━ path of vengeance ━━
by dakuanjeru

It is the end of the Chunin Exams.

The whole village has been destroyed by one of the three Sanin, Orochimaru. Sasuke has gone missing, Naruto and a group of former academy Genin are going after him, and everything is at the mercy chaos.

Sakura, the teammate to Sasuke, is an emotional wreck since he left the village on his own for his search of power to defeat the man who laid waste to our entire Clan in one night.

Our older brother, Itachi, must die by the hands of his kin. By Sasuke, who yearns for the power to defeat him, is being granted the opportunity to accomplish his one dream by Orochimaru.

An ugly mark was bestowed upon him, a curse that he willingly accepts in his blind pursuit of power. Sasuke is willing to to leave everything behind in his crusade, and I must gaze upon the trail of blood he'll left behind in his wake.

My eyes, dark as hallowed waters during winter, look up to the stars above- up to the faraway heavens, wondering what I should do now.

I don't want to kill Itachi as Sasuke does.

What I want to do is simply protect him and live a life of peace as a Hidden Leaf ninja. But, that is not going to happen in the slightest for me, for I have a brother who wants to kill the other. So to protect him, I have to sacrifice what I want to keep them both alive.

To keep my family alive.

The one night changed everything, however, is today. When Sasuke left the village for power.

My eyes cast down to my palms in front of me, and I'm given a choice. 'Stay in the village for all the dreams you hold dear'. My fingernails dig into my palms. 'Or continue to protect the only family you have left'.

This choice is what'll predict my fate.

If I am to live a long life or die a short one.

I care for both of my brothers.

But, I also value my home. And sometimes, having both is considered selfish by fate.

"Eginara," a voice interrupts my thoughts behind me.

I turn to find Kakashi-sensei standing there with a more solemn look about him. His one eye was trained on me, as if observing me, trying to figure me out.

I toss Kakashi-sensei a nod of acknowledgement, trying to appear unaffected by the news of my brother, Sasuke.

"If you decide to go after your brother, then you need to reconsider," he told me frankly.

I narrowed my eyes into a glare from ire, yet I was also curious as to why I should not.

"He's my brother," I respond

"Why shouldn't I?" I then question, almost aggressively.

"Because he's out for power. He won't care if you love him or not. He is corrupted by hate, unlike you now, and he doesn't hesitate to kill anyone- even you- if they stood in his way," he explains bluntly.

It is silent between us for a moment.

A tense silence which can be sliced open.

That is until I responded, "Fine."

Kakashi-Sensei looks baffled for a split moment before his face returns to its usual sober state.

"You mean-?" he trails off in shock.

"Let me kill him then," I snap at him, causing his eyes to lose whatever hope gleamed in them, so I continued: "He's my brother. He is the only family I have left. If what takes to bring him back is to stain my hands with filial blood, then so be it."

Kakashi-Sensei sighs, however, he still stands his ground. "You can't just throw away your life like that for him just because he's you-"

"Thank you for your advise, Sensei," I cut in curtly, with a scowl making its way to my lips.

I then concluded, saying, "But I think I've made up my mind." Kakashi-Sensei watches as I leap off the roof, soaring through the cold night air without letting the hood of my coat slip by.

The crisp, cold air usually acts as my distraction from the world, but it does nothing to ease the pressure squeezing my insides at the moment.

Jumping roof to roof silently to reach the house I shared with my brother for years, I enter through the glass door into our room before collapsing onto the soft linen sheets. A voice in the back of my mind urges me to stop wasting time and chase after Sasuke.

To go after him.

Kakashi-Sensei's warning still plagues me.

'Because he's out for power. He won't care if you love him or not. He will kill anyone - even you - if they stood in his way.'

I know that already.

I am conflicted with myself, between running faster than the wind until I crash into my twin, fist clutching his shirt as if he would evaporate into smoke and just simply closing my eyes, let slumber consume me now and wake up the next morning as always, ready to prepare breakfast for a brother who was waiting in the dining room with two cups of steaming hot green tea.

And another shall walk through their waiting door as if a limbo is at its end.

It was a pointless dream to have. Those days of warmth were gone, replaced by the flame that haunts our memory.

Memories of a blade stained crimson with brethren blood fuel the sorrow and hate that consumes the survivors' soul, leading the twins to this.

Standing up from my bed, I took a longing glance at the picture on my nightstand. It was of Team Seven, smiling and hopeful, and I can faintly hear the laughter from that day in my memory.

I felt discouraged. Scared.

Scared of the truth that we can't go back to those days anymore, not the same as we were.

My hand shook, skin cold and clammy with sweat when I think about what I must do. I've always hated this feeling, the one where it sat in my stomach and weighing down heavier by seconds.

Once more, I shall be the judge and punish the sinner. But this time, it's my own brother.

'Your hesitation will be your demise, Eginara.'

... so be it.

I will not hesitate this time, then.

The landmarks seem like a flash as I pass by the beaten Genins, with brief moments of stopping and giving them the treatment they needed before help comes.

The familiar scenes, the oddly nostalgic chilling air hitting my face as I leap from the branches.

I knew what I had to do.

What the dire cost of failing my objective is.

Shikamaru-san understood, so did Lee-san, Neji-san, and all of them. They understood, so much that their eyes of sympathy and pity made me sick, the nausea multiplies as I press on until I reach my destination.

'Anii. You've done it now.' I thought in ire.

I grit my teeth as I land in front of a cliff where Sasuke is. He's leaning over an orange figure who is passed out on the water.

I immediately recognize that orange jumpsuit.

'Naruto-san', the thought slipped past me, as worry and fury consumed me and I leaped like a hawk behind him.

My feet land onto the water gently like a leaf falling from its home, rippling the surface without a sound.

I didn't say a word, as I stand in front of Sasuke.

There is a thick tension between Sasuke and I when he suddenly begins to strut away from me and I lock an arm around his neck and place a blade to his neck.

"Where do you think you're going, Anii?"

I snap sharply, more so than I intended.

His dark, cold gaze glance at me.

"Away from you," he replies icily.

This shoots like an arrow into my chest.

I take the nape of his neck and pull him back where our gazes were locked- both holding enough anger to melt each other's eyes.

"Who do you think you are to say that?"

Sasuke smirks as his eyes gradually turn into his Sharingan, three black imprints swirl inside his now crimson eyes.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke," he replies cockily while shoving me away.

I slide across the water and glare at him.

He throws his arms up at either side with a determined smirk. "I'm going to get enough power to kill our brother!" He proclaims.

My breathing quickens as a scowl stays on my face.

"No," I snap at him, "You're no Uchiha. An Uchiha lives by honor and doesn't need some vile, disgraced Sanin's power to be powerful enough, Anii. You're weak if you have to rely on this snake's power!"

With each word, my grip turns ice cold with the flowing cascade. The air was stagnant with the freezing wrath of my chakra.

He does not reply. A malicious crimson was now his soul, and without hesitation, Sasuke's hands move in lightning speed in a pattern so familiar and merciless.

Chidori.

The jutsu Kakashi-sensei taught him before the Chunin Exams. Now, I know exactly his intentions.

To kill me, just as he plans to do to our older brother, Itachi.

The evil power has gone into his head.

I've lost my brother.

I lost my older twin brother— Sasuke.

But, I still can't allow him to reach out to the likes of Orochimaru.

Even if I must die trying...

Who do you think you are?

Trying to dictate when this body may perish?

I remain silent, unable to respond to the voice deep within my consciousness. But I know that those words are true, they are always true.

For I am not the master of my fate.

"Anii, please forgive this sister."

Shifting my form into a position of defense, focusing my sight onto his every movement and taking deep breaths into my lungs.

I ready myself for my duty.

To be the judge and punish the sinner.

Without saying a word, Sasuke moves his hands in quick succession.

Another blast of Chidori forms in his palm, as my brother rushes at me with incredible speed and aim his strike at my abdomen.

However, it was a futile attempt, since I am always faster than him, and with a flash of hand signs, I release my own jutsu onto the water below.

The sound of electricity crackles above my head as I get down to one knee, both hands with the index fingers tucked away tapping onto the water surface before a pillar rises from the pool and collided painfully with Sasuke's torso, knocking the air out of his chest and pushes him a great distance away from Naruto and I.

Water Style: Water Shield Technique.

Sasuke spun his body in mid-air and land onto his feet, skidding back before stabilizing himself.

I take this opportunity to apply the same technique to Naruto's unconscious form, the blast of water pushes him towards my open arms when I saw Sasuke perform another sequence of signs before putting his hand to his lips.

There is barely anytime for me to conjure up another shield after setting Naruto behind me before the crimson fire nearly breaks the defense.

I can feel the once cold water boil and evaporate under our family's technique; gritting my teeth as I focus on maintaining the shield's structure.

Once the flames cease, we both get back into fighting stances. Sasuke takes out his kunais, throwing them with near perfect precision towards me before rushing in himself.

Catching them all by hand, I turn the weapons against Sasuke's strike, who was armed with two more blades, lighting a spark between the collide of our weapons.

"Get out of my way, Eginara. I will have power, no matter the cost," Sasuke snarls at me.

I press my blades closer in return, eyes narrow as I kick him away. Hooking the kunais to my weapon belt, I once again enter a hand sign sequence, and Sasuke follows suit with his own.

Taking in our breaths in unison, we both brought our hands to our puckered lips and breathe out. Blasts of fire and water clashes against each other violently, creating a veil of steam as they destroy each other.

I want to laugh at the cruel symbolism before me.

Letting go of the technique, I immediately conjure up another. Once my hands again touches the water below, a dome rises from the basin and cover Naruto-san in an aquatic cocoon.

Water Style: Fortress Basin Technique.

Focusing my Chakra into the stream, the dome stabilize itself around the sleeping boy, and I am left on the outside against my blood.

"Protecting others like you always do, sister," Sasuke hisses, the honorific being spat out like venom.

"Guess the guard dog of Konoha won't ever bite the hand that feeds. Even when power is right before their eyes," Sasuke sneers.

I clench my teeth at his words, but remained silent as I retrieve my kunais. The guard dog of Konoha. To hear that from him hurts more than anyone else had called me so.

Without a retort, I charged at him as a flurry of blades, striking at his openings and weaker defenses while Sasuke parry them with his own. Any attempt at becoming the offense was squandered, as I increased the pace of the assault. Yet, despite being on the losing side of the conflict, Sasuke's dark determination did not fade as he scan for openings with his Sharingan.

'Stop. Please.' Came a plea inside my psyche. 'Don't fight back anymore. Just surrender and come back.'

What a foolish desire. Yet it was all I could ask for in this moment. I wanted a single wish of eternal happiness to come true. I wanted to live as someone who can look back and won't regret my choices.

I want to be happy.

There was a numbing sensation at my abdomen. I could practically feel every nerves in my body jolt for barely a second before shutting off completely.

There was something warm pooling inside my mouth, overflowing from my lips and falling onto the basin.

"A...nii...?" I choke out, looking down to where his fist collided with my stomach, an opening charred black by an incredible energy causes his arm and the water below to be dyed a deep red.

In the distance behind me, I hear the water dome around Naruto-san burst and collapse.

Ah. I conclude in my fading mind. I was careless. A Chidori. Must be why the air smelt strange.

"A...nii..." I fell onto my knees, the crimson water splashes from the impact as the hood of my jacket fell from my head, and my hair followed suit, pooling on top of the surface like rivers from a waterfall.

The rivers of pure white met the blood sea, staining each strand with the same hue.

There's a ringing in my ears as I cough up blood, vision blurring as I try to scan around for anything. I could see Sasuke's blurred silhouette took a step back, remaining still while my upper body fell forward, landing with a wet splash at his feet.

The water was soothing. It always was. And my body is becoming colder by the moment. I tried to move, to go get Naruto-san and Anii and go home. There are people waiting for us to return. But I couldn't move for a single centimeter.

"Haha..." The sound of laughter felt like it was being sent through a tunnel grew more and more erratic.

"I did it! I finally did it!" Sasuke shouts in triumph.

Uchiha Sasuke had received the power he wanted to kill Uchiha Itachi.

Mangekyo Sharingan.

Sasuke continues to laugh even more. The sound of his victory echoes throughout the waterfall, piercing into the night as well as into my mind. But why?

'Why does it sound like you're screaming, Anii?'

Everything becomes dark and cold. I can no longer see from my eyes, and breathing is getting harder to perform. The cold hands of Death loom over me as the sound of footstep fades away from us, leaving Naruto-san and I in the sanguine basin.

"Please. Get here in time. Get Naruto-san home.'

I plead to no one in particular.

Indeed, I am not the master of my fate.

The desires of leading a normal life, the dreams of picking up the fragments of the past to mend them together, the hopes for a future with everyone, gone with the wind into oblivion.

There is nothing left for me but to accept my destined outcome, so I close my eyes and slowly drift away, embraced by the water I love.

'I told you, Eginara. You don't get to decide if this body shall fall. Especially not now.'

I am Uchiha Eginara. What I will tell you is my story, and how everything led up to this battle.

End of Chapter 1