QUICK NOTE: The year in this story is 2015. Just so you don't get confused.

Better picture quality this time:)

Sakura's POV

She watched him go, feeling a twinge of sadness amidst her awe at seeing his wings in flight. He had been annoying, heartless, irritable, yet she felt something for him. And now, she'd never figure out what it was.

Sasuke's POV

He beat his wings hard, flying up fast. His wings, tense and sore from being hidden away for so long, now felt loose and free.

Soon, he appeared to be nothing but a black speck in the sky.

Sasuke flew west several miles, in the direction he knew the Void was in. It was connected to the Night Angels, and he was able to sense it anywhere. And now that he focused on it, he felt a sudden twinge of shock.

Something was wrong with the portal.

Great, he thought. What else is going to go wrong?

He flew hard and fast, anxiety building. Those cursed Mizuno. By killing his clan, he was almost sure they'd caused an imbalance. How had he not noticed it before? Summer was nearing its end, yet the days remained hot and long. It could just be a coincidence, but he had to exhaust every possibility first before excepting that.

He was getting close. Then it was there in front of him, visible to only his eyes, not to any mortals.

As he thought, something was happening. The Void, which was usually a black, gently swirling mass, was now twisting erratically, streaked with white.

Sweat ran down Sasuke's brow. This was not good.

Reaching out his hand, he placed it on the portal, and began letting his chakra drain into it. Slowly, as his chakra was fed to it, it began to settle, the jagged white lines disappearing.

He tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't. Startled, he realized the Void was sucking him dry. Deprived of chakra for so long, it was trying to get every bit it could. Sasuke panicked, yanking his hand away with all his might, relieved when it pulled free. The Void let out a shuddering sigh, and slowly opened, revealing his home.

He stumbled inside, dragging his wings to his sides, thoroughly spent from expending so much chakra. The first thing he noticed was the stench. It stunk of rotted flesh. He'd expected no less, he thought grimly, but it still was nauseating.

Sitting for a moment to catch his breath, he took in his surroundings.

What he saw left him shocked.

Gray. Gray everywhere. Ash covered every inch of every surface. His world was gray. Everything was burned.

His legs moved numbly, carrying him forward.

He wished he'd stayed where he was.

As Sasuke traveled through the village, he saw sights he wished he could erase from his memory.

Burnt, skeletal corpses lined the roads, mouths open in horror, terrified expressions on their melted, gruesome faces. Children, women, men, all were the same. None had been spared.

Houses were stumps of burned wood. Once familiar places were unrecognizable. He only knew where he was because he'd memorized the layout of his village.

Sasuke's eyes flickered back and forth, a sick feeling in his stomach. He couldn't take it. He needed to leave. He needed to leave. He needed to leave, he needed to leave, heneededtoleave--

Get a grip, Sasuke, he thought. Do what you came here to do!

He walked on, going in the direction of where his house had once been. Suddenly, he stumbled and fell. Getting up, he looked down to see what he had tripped on.

It was a corpse.

Sickened, he turned away, until a flash of something red caught his eye. Leaning down closer, he realized it was the Uchiha crest. An Uchiha crest necklace. And the only person he knew who wore one was--

"Aaaaagh!"

He fell back, panting, staring in horror at his mother's now deteriorated corpse. His father had seemingly been kicked off of her, and lay a few feet away.

"No, no, no, NO!!!"

He'd known it, but to see it again, oh god, oh god, oh god, he couldn't take it.

"No, Mother, Father, no, why, why are you gone, why did this happen, why, why--" he heaved, unable to keep the contents of his stomach down.

"Blrgh!" He vomited, everything that had been inside of him coming up. It didn't stop coming up until his stomach was empty.

Collapsing next to his mother's corpse, his composure completely slipping, driving him hysterical.

Was it just a couple hours ago that he'd been teasing Naruto?

The smell of rotten meat was getting to him again. He fought the urge to throw up again, knowing that nothing was in his stomach anyway. Dizziness overwhelmed him as he stared at his mother's destroyed face just inches away from his.

Please, he thought desperately, I don't want this, I don't want to see this anymore, don't make me--"

His ranting crossed the line into hysteria, driving him into terrible convulsing fits. When finally, the darkness came, he accepted its call, allowing it to drive him into a blissful, black sleep.

Sakura's POV

They stayed on the roof long after he left, gazing up at the cerulean sky.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Sakura asked quietly.

Kakashi shook his head. "I honestly don't know. He's unpredictable. I still can't read him, even after spending all this time with him."

"He'll come back," Naruto said confidently. "That teme is more predictable than you think. He's just gotta straighten out his life, and when he does, he'll be back. He's grown on us, even I can tell that."

"Where do you think he is now?" Sakura wondered aloud. She was worried about him.

"Wherever he is, he's probably doing fine," Naruto reassured her. "He's a tough guy."

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke awoke in the same position he'd knocked out in; curled in a tight ball by his mother's side.

Slowly, he began to raise his eyelids, but quickly snapped them shut again when he remembered what he would see.

Sasuke lay there for a couple more minutes, breathing deeply in and out, ignoring the stench and trying to calm down. Finally, he rose, keeping his eyes firmly fixed off the ground. But he couldn't just leave his parent's bodies lying on the floor.

A grave, he thought. They need to be buried.

He hurried back to his home, knowing a shovel should be around there somewhere. Eventually he found one, twisted and warped, but still usable.

Sasuke made his way to the Uchiha cemetery. Most of the headstones were still standing, though they were covered in a fine layer of ash. He looked around for an empty space. Finding one, he plunged his shovel into the gray earth, and began to dig.

He didn't know how long he'd dug, only stopping when he had gotten a good six feet under. Slowly making his way to his parents, he prepared himself for what he had to do next.

Kneeling down, he slid his arms beneath their shriveled forms, fighting the urge to bolt. Picking them up without looking, he carried them to the gravesite, and lay them both down beside each other. He didn't have time to dig two graves, but he was sure his parents would understand.

Now came the hardest part. He picked up the shovel, and began scooping the dirt back into the hole. The difficult labor kept him from feeling anything right away, but the moment he finished, the pain threatened to overwhelm him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. I should have been able to save you. I should have never left your side. I should have protected you...but I wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry..."

Tears coursed down his cheeks, and he wiped them away, ashamed of crying. Then he felt guilty. Why shouldn't he show grief at the loss of his family? Was he too proud to have emotion?

He sat there for an hour, numb, unmoving. But he knew he needed to go. Slowly rising, he regretted not having a headstone to put over the grave. He would always remember exactly where it was, but it would have still been nice.

Giving the fresh mound of earth one last mournful glance, he walked away. On to the next order of business.

He had to find Itachi.

Sakura's POV

"Well, I'm starving!" Naruto grinned. "Whadaya say we go out for ramen!"

"Sure," Sakura agreed distractedly, still staring up at the sky. "Why not?"

They walked over to Ichiraku's, sitting down on one of the benches. Sakura waited for Sasuke to sit on her right, between her and Naruto, the way he'd always done when they'd taken him out a few times in the past. Then she remembered...

"I've got to stop thinking about him!" Sakura blurted.

"Yeah, it's weird being here without teme. Even though we've only known him for a little while." Naruto smiled a bit sadly.

"He was a mean person," Sai commented, smiling. "He called me dumb, even though he was the dumb one. Why would he take a train when he said he was flying? What kind of person always contradicts themself?"

Sakura groaned. "You have a lot to learn, Sai. Rule number one: There's something called sarcasm. Go read your books and figure out what it means."

"Thank you, Sakura, I will go to the library and do that," Sai said sincerely. He got up without finishing his ramen, and walked away.

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi stared after him.

"...I miss teme." Naruto sighed.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't we all."

Sasuke's POV

Sasuke made his way back to his house. Something might be there that would give him a clue to Itachi's whereabouts. If he had escaped. There was no way he could identify any of the corpses, all burnt and destroyed like that, so he could only cling to the hope that Itachi was still alive since he hadn't actually seen him get killed.

He was lucky. Sasuke's home was one of the few that was still standing. He might find some undamaged evidence.

Sasuke stepped into the house, preparing to take off his shoes. His mother had always scolded him for leaving his sandals on in the house. Ignoring the grimy floor, he slid them off and moved towards Itachi's room.

Itachi never liked for Sasuke to go through his belongings, saying it was his own private space. Sasuke had respected that, even as a young boy. He wasn't sure what he would find as he riffled through the drawers.

Sasuke stopped when he came across a small, fat notebook. Picking it up, he peered inside.

Journal entries. He hadn't know that Itachi owned a journal. This could be a valuable source. Opening it to the first page, he began reading.

May 3rd, 2007

So Itachi had started the journal when he was eleven, and when Sasuke was six.

Today, Sasuke and I hunted a wild boar that was destroying our fields. We both carried crossbows. Sasuke said he knew how to use it, but I wasn't sure, so I was careful to keep an eye on him.

We found the boar about a mile from our house. Sasuke shot at its tail, but missed. I ended up bringing it down without killing it though.

I'm going to teach Sasuke how to use the crossbow better. He's a good kid. He'll probably pass me up eventually, so I've got to work hard to make sure that doesn't happen just yet!

Sasuke smiled, remembering that day with perfect clarity. Itachi had taken him out later on and practiced with him until he could hit the target perfectly each time.

He went on, reading through the journal, bringing back warm memories of he and Itachi as children.

August 7th, 2009

Sasuke learned how to activate his Sharingan. My father always says I'm the prodigy, but I'm not so sure!

December 23, 2010

I'm off on a dangerous mission tomorrow. According to the squad leader's calculations, it should take about two weeks. We'll be infiltrating one of the enemies hideouts, and chances of being caught are high...

On and on he read, recalling things he'd nearly forgotten, until he'd nearly finished the journal. Flipping to the next page, he began to read, only to stop short, his breath caught in his throat.

February 11th, 2014

I'm worried about Sasuke. He's 14, and has already awakened his mangekyou sharingan. I did too at that age, and I knew what it meant. That I might have "It". And that I might become a target.

So I was hoping that Sasuke wouldn't be like me. But now, he may become a target as well, if he has the potential to awaken "It". We need to make sure that fact stays within the confines of our clan. If any outsiders find out, Sasuke and I could be in danger.

Sasuke stared at the page for a long time. He wasn't exactly sure what Itachi meant, but he could guess. And he had a hunch that he was right. Shaking his head, he continued through the journal. There would be time to ponder over that possibility later. Right now, he had to continue searching for clues.

The last entry in the journal proved to be it.

August 15th, 2015

Sasuke, if you're reading this right now, it means that we've been attacked, and hopefully not that you decided to look through my things without permission.

Remember the day when it snowed, and we accidentally got sealed inside a cave? Think of what Mom said when she pulled us out.

Sasuke snapped the journal shut, stowing it away in his back. Standing up, he strode quickly out the door.

He had his first clue.

Dun-dun-duh!!!! What's gonna happen?

I had fun writing this chapter! I hope I captured Itachi's character well in his writing!

Please vote and comment!!!