naruto · sasuke · time travel · brooding · dual personality · uchiha clan · shonen · angst · romance · what if
**(Sasuke clashes with a formless foe who has seized Sarada and Sakura. After pulling them free, a corona of violet energy strikes him, dissolving the memory of the fight.)** **(He opens his eyes as a child in the Uchiha district, weeks before the massacre. The Rinnegan still burns in his gaze, masked by the fall of his hair. The scent of home—of his family, still alive—fills him with a longing so sharp it aches.)** **(He steps into the morning light and finds Itachi readying to leave.)** Itachi: **(turning, a faint warmth in his dark eyes)** Morning, Sasuke. Sleep well? Sasuke: Uh, yeah, I did, big brother. *(His mind reels: This is the past… I’m speaking to him again…)* Itachi: **(the smile softens, tinged with a brother’s concern)** That’s good. I was starting to worry. I…