The world warped around the group of four as they landed in the midst of a raging battle.

"Don't let go of my hands," Aina warned as she moved closer to the battle, dragging the three males with her, "Or you will be lost to the abyss."

They nodded in understanding, watching as the destruction around them escalated. Two men could be seen in the distance. One was taller, wearing a black and red cloak while the shorter one wore a black shirt and standard shinobi pants.

Black fire raged around them and bolts of lightning passed through them like they were nothing, "Faster, we have to hear what they're saying. I've never seen this before."

The four of them froze at the sight before them. And older Sasuke was running from the black flame, he had an odd growth on his back like a wing. 

"Shit Sasuke," Kiba rasped out, "What the hell is happening."

"He's fighting Itachi," Aina murmured, moving closer to the older Uchiha, "But the lengths he's gone to do so..."

They watched as Sasuke's wing-like growth caught fire and winced as he screamed in pain. He collapsed and the black flames spread outwards to the surrounding forest. Itachi walked forward and the group of four followed. They watched as he lent down, two fingers extended only to stop as Sasuke melted to nothing. 

"He went below," Kakashi murmured and sent a sharp look to Itachi who was now hunched over and coughing blood into his hand. "He's sick."

"Jump!" Aina cried as the ground below them started to split. Her teammates followed her orders and the landed on the side of the building, staring down at Sasuke who looked more like an experiment than anything.

"Oh god," Sasuke murmured, "What have I become?"

"That's a curse mark," Kakashi hissed, "That's the work of Orochimaru, Aina do you know when—"

"No," She murmured, "I don't look through Sasuke's future very often. I never thought it would be like this I—"

"Guys, it's a storm!" Kiba shouted, "He's using lightning from the storm to take him out! Damn this would be so cool if it wasn't scary as fuck!"

"We need to move!" Kakashi yelled, his free hand covering his face from the onslaught of rain that was somehow touching them, "Why are we becoming solid? Aina, what the hell is happening!"

"Just a few more seconds!" Aina snarled, "We just need to see the outcome! There is something important here! I know it!"

The lightning hit and the blast sent them careening away. They held onto each other through chakra alone and both Sasuke and Aina were on their feet in a matter of seconds. Both trying to see the outcome.

"Holy shit," Aina breathed, "He survived that. How the fuck is future you still alive if your brother fucking survived that!"

"He's holding back," Kakashi grunted, "I've seen him fight before and he's holding back and he's sick."

"But why." Aina stressed, "There is a method behind his madness but what is it!"

Sasuke's hand clenched around hers and they watched in horror as Itachi pulled out his trump card. The four of them took a step back as Itachi spoke about the Susano'o.

"He's out of chakra," Kakashi hissed, "But from the curse mark something is—"

The four of them watched in horror as a giant snake erupted from the curse mark on future!Sasuke's neck. Kiba hurled right then and there and Sasuke was no better, Aina stepped back in horror.

"Aina, we need to go. You said if we let go we get stuck in the abyss but what happens if we stay for too long?" Kakashi yelled over the winds.

"Fuck!" Aina yelled yanking them away from the battle, "Fuck you're right!"

The four of them took one last glimpse of the battle raging before them, understanding what was going on and then Aina jumped backwards off the rubble of the building and down towards the burning forest.

Sasuke and Kiba screamed as they fell while Kakashi tensed as their surrounding started to blur, but Aina merely closed her eyes and focused. 

—

They opened their eyes in the same position they had closed them and froze when they realized they were all dripping wet and their hair was out of place from the sheer power of the battle they had just witnessed.

"That was real," Kakashi murmured, he turned to look at Aina, "You see this every time you fall asleep."

Aina bowed her head, "Yes, though I've never seen that before. I've never tried to look at Sasuke's future when touching him. I knew that it would make the vision stronger but I didn't know... I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"It's fine," He murmured, "Itachi... he was holding back and I was a monster."

Aina winced, "I know you won't like this but I think he was holding back just so he could draw out that snake thing. I think," Aina hesitated and she squeezed Sasuke's hand. "I think he was trying to help you."

Sasuke's head whipped up to glare at her, "Help me? How was he helping me! We were fighting and even like that he didn't deem me worthy enough to—"

"Orochimaru is a sannin," Kakashi cut in, "He is known for experimenting on people and stealing people's bodies to try and become immortal. And, while it wasn't proven, it's suspected that he's a child predator as well."

Sasuke sneered, "So what, he was saving me from him?"

"We don't know Sasuke, I'd have to look more but I can't control what I see. We can look through it together if you want, we'll find out what's up with your brother because Sasuke, he was fighting you sick. You saw the blood he coughed into his hand and he could be sick right now!"

Sasuke hesitated before he closed his eyes, "We'll look together, then. I'll bring you to the Uchiha compound, you said you could see the past?"

"Yeah," She murmured, "I'll go with you and we can figure it out there."

"We'll all go," Kakashi interrupted, "Because you two are genin and this counts as an S-rank secret that we will nobody, not even the Hokage." 

"Good," Aina murmured, "Because the Hokage is corrupt."

Kakashi winced, "Go home, my cute little genin, we'll meet here tomorrow at eight, train and then go for a stroll in the Uchiha Clan grounds!"

"Fun," Kiba murmured as he drank some water and spit it out. "Gods Aina, why are you so complicated?"

"You love me anyway," Aina said.

"Too true," Kiba grinned as he picked up Akamaru and the picnic basket he had arrived with, "Okay, I'm going to go celebrate with my clan and pretend I didn't see any of that until tomorrow morning."

Aina waved goodbye to the Inuzuka boy and glanced at Sasuke as she stood up to leave, "Just, think about what I said about Itachi, okay? Think about what he did and why, just, try and see if it makes sense. Okay?"

She didn't wait for his response, fleeing the scene like a rabbit fleeing from a predator.

Gods, she just wanted to take a nap and not see anything crazy.

—

"Welcome home, Aina-Hime," Asuna, one of the branch members of the family, greeted her as she stepped into the main household.

"Hello Asuna, can you tell Otou-San I've arrived home? I'm just going to freshen up and change before dinner." 

"Of course, Aina-Hime," Asuna bowed, "Would you like us to draw the bath for you?"

"No," Aina waved off, "I can do it myself thank you."

"Of course." Aina watched as the older woman disappeared down the halls and worried her lip as she thought about the vision she had had of Sasuke. She had lied to Kakashi when she told him she had never had a vision of Sasuke's future but she had been five back then and it had been just after her mother had been taken to the mental hospital. 

Sometimes she wondered if she could've stopped the Uchiha Massacre by simply being friends with the clan heads children. Sasuke would've been easy to befriend as a child and Itachi would have tolerated her if she was his brother's friend.

She frowned to herself, wondering if she had made a mistake by showing her teammates just what she could do. 

She'd find out later, she supposed.

—

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets, glaring fiercely at the crows that inhabited the Uchiha Clan grounds. They were always watching him, it made him tense and untrusting. 

He had known of two people who had contracts with the crows. 

Shisui had been one of them but he was dead now and the other...

Itachi had once told him that if he were ever in trouble to talk to the crows. 

He took in a deep breath and went into his house, he scavenged the closets until he came upon what he was looking for; birdseed.

He exited the house and carefully took a handful and scattered it in front of him, watching as the crows slowly came closer to eat. Sasuke hesitated, feeling stupid and childish, and then he spoke, "I passed my genin exams today. My teammates are Inuzuka Kiba, his nin-dog Akamaru, and Usagi Aina. My teacher is Hatake Kakashi."

He paused, holding out birdseed with his hand and watching as the crows ate from his palm, "If this message actually gets to you then I hope you know I can't forgive you yet but I promised Aina I'd think on what you did and why. And I... I hope you're taking care of yourself, I want to beat you fairly."

Sasuke tossed the rest of the birdseed to the ground and brushed his hand on his shorts, "And Shisui would be disappointed if he knew you weren't taking care of yourself."

The crows cawed loudly and Sasuke hurried into his house. He took the stairs two at a time and ran into his room as fast as he could. He stared at his belongings, more like the belongings that had been salvageable after the massacre, and glared. There was a pair of goggles on his desk, they had belonged to Shisui's older brother before he had been killed in action. He grabbed them and thought about Aina and how her eyes had glazed over before she had closed them and sucked them into her visions. 

He clutched the goggles to his chest, he knew he would never wear them but that didn't mean they should sit around. Even if they were a god awful orange colour.

—

"Team seven passed my examination," Kakashi drawled, not looking at the Hokage as he pretended to read Icha Icha Paradise.

"Is there something wrong, Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked.

'Good, because the Hokage is corrupt.'

"They remind me of my team," Kakashi murmured, his grip tightening slightly, "Do you really think putting kids under my charge is a good idea, Hokage-Sama?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea Kakashi, you just need more faith in the Will of Fire."

"Of course," He demurred, "I'll remember that for the future."

Then he was gone. He had training plans to set up, especially if his team would one day face Orochimaru of the sannin. He sighed deeply, why was life always kicking him in the ass?