Disclaimer: I neither own Naruto nor Naruto Shippuden!

Summary: Having watched the whole truth from his brother's view, Sasuke found life had lost its meaning for him. Without his beloved big brother, he did not want to continue anymore. Thus, he decided to join Itachi, who had already departed from his Edo-Tensei body, in death. But what if something interfered? Was this a second chance? / Time-travel, Sasuke-centric

narrative – normal

"Sasuke speaking" - normal in quotation marks

Sasuke thinking – italics

"Hagoromo speaking" - italics in quotation marks

I've made up my mind, Nii-san.

Yes, Sasuke had made up his mind. The entirety of their battle against Kabuto had made it very clear to him.

Itachi might have thought he wasn't perfect, but to Sasuke, his Nii-san had always been just that. If someone deserved to live a good life, it should be Itachi.

Here Sasuke was, all alone and left with such profound regret that was born from his love. Sasuke wondered if his love was cursed. It had brought so much tragedy.

His feelings had blinded him. He had immediately jumped into the darkness of his hate. How shallow of him, how fast had he abandoned his love for Itachi, just to be able to escape the deep hurt he had felt because of it. Then, hate had driven him to sever his ties to Konoha, the village which Itachi still had held in high regards. Hate came between him and his best friend Naruto. Causing so much grief for his only true friend, who still chased someone so undeserving as Sasuke with his perseverance, all these years.

His hate had killed Itachi. And now, hate whispered revenge into his ear. Revenge for Itachi. He wanted to burn Konoha to the ground for what it had done to his brother. But that conflicted with Itachi's ideals. Itachi had clearly stated that he was still loyal to the Leaf. Why that was so still remained incomprehensible to Sasuke.

Sasuke was tired. He was just so very tired. He wished his brother was still here, beside him.

During the battle, everything had seemed so nostalgic. Easily bringing all the buried feelings of his childhood to the forefront of his mind again. Admiration, awe, love, child-like wonder, safety and pride in his brother. Had it not been in the middle of battle, Sasuke would have relished in all these feelings. Forgotten were the negative emotions, if only for a short while.

He already dearly missed that light-hearted feeling again.

He even missed the admonishing by his brother more than almost anything else about him. It had been a central part of his relationship with his brother, who had seemingly known just about everything. It made Itachi, his Nii-san, truly Itachi. Only now did Sasuke see that his Nii-san had always been the guiding light of his life. It had merely changed from the orange-red flames of a standard Uchiha fire-jutsu to the ominously burning dark flames of Amaterasu since the night of the "Uchiha massacre". In the end, under all the hurt and betrayal, Sasuke was still the small child that wanted – demanded – his big brother's attention. Outwardly, he had maintained a stoic facade, but in the inside he had desperately wanted time, vainly wishing for more time with his Nii-san.

Why did he think about all these things now?!

It was too late. Everything was too late. Sasuke hadn't had the chance to tell Itachi. Hadn't had the chance to make use of the knowledge that Itachi had shared with him. What was the point? It only made his heart shatter into more tiny pieces. What use were the new-found closeness and understanding to Sasuke when he was left with a severed bond, severed by death and irrevocably gone?

But he would see Itachi again. His Nii-san said he would always love Sasuke, no matter how he would decide. So taking this surprising path should be forgivable, too, shouldn't it?

Something wet slid down Sasuke's cheek. It was a single teardrop.

Surprised, he lightly touched the track it had left on one of his cheeks. He did not feel like crying, in fact, it was completely the opposite. He felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, because he would be reunited with his brother again very soon. So why would he…?

A sudden strong pulse went through his entire body, making him bend forward slightly.

What is this feeling? What is happening?

In the next moment, Sasuke knew no more.

When he awoke again, he found himself lying on his back.

Sitting up, he looked around. The ground was covered with water, the lighting was a dark and murky indigo. He did not know where this was, but it faintly reminded him of the sewer that was Naruto's mindscape. From the corner of his eyes, he thought he had seen a shadow of a figure. So turning around, he was surprised yet again to see someone's back turned to him. The strange looking old man – as he could see now, after the old man had turned towards him – regarded him with ringed violet eyes. He recognized them as Rinnegan.

Just as Sasuke was about to ask questions, the old man stated in a nearly unintelligible old-fashioned diction (of speech). "This is certainly an unexpected turn of events."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Where am I and who are you?" he asked.

"I hear that there is yet again a change in language. Some generations since the last of Indra's must have passed," the old man mused to himself. After a pause, he continued in a different pattern of speech, one that Sasuke had no difficulty in understanding. "My name is Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, though it might not tell you much. Otherwise I am known as the Sage of Six Paths."

"The legendary Sage who created Ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked, incredulity laced his tone.

"NO! I did not create Ninjutsu. I taught Ninshū." The old man – now revealed as Hagoromo – briefly explained the history behind chakra, his mother's misdoings, his own role and life afterwards.

After that, Sasuke had to ask. "You haven't answered my first question: where is this? How are you here and what does it have to do with me?"

"This is your mindscape. Currently, you are unconscious. It has everything to do with you, because you are the current reincarnation of Indra," Hagoromo answered.

"Your elder son?" Sasuke clarified, for good measure.

"Yes. Both of my son's chakra did not rest after their bodies had long since perished. They entered a transmigration circle, their chakra attaching themselves to their reincarnations," Hagoromo explained. "You do not look very surprised. Perhaps you have felt Indra inside yourself already, even before today. But it does not matter for now. Something has occurred, something that did not happen to the previous reincarnation. That is why I have appeared before you."

The raven-haired boy only looked inquiringly at the Sage.

"Have you not felt Indra, just before you fell unconscious?" The Sage did not wait for Sasuke to answer. "That was Indra. What I had given up to hope, what Uchiha Madara did not achieve: You have moved Indra."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. Hagoromo sighed in response and suddenly looked a lot older than he had from the beginning.

"I have already told you what my past decision had done to my elder son. The older he became, the colder and distant he grew. I was ignorant. Had I interfered, this might not have happened. Since then, Indra had been filled with hate." Here, Hagoromo gave Sasuke a tentative smile. "I do not know what had transpired. I am not all-knowing after all. But something of you must have reached Indra's very heart. I can feel how strongly he is attached to you. I have a feeling that part of the reason is your strong bond with your older brother. But I cannot be sure, since Madara had felt similarly for his younger brother as well."

Sasuke seemed to struggle with himself for a while, unsure about what he wanted to say. Just before falling unconscious, he had seen a flash. More accurately, it had been an image of two little boys laughing together. Had that been Indra and his little brother Ashura? In the end, Sasuke did not tell of his brief experience. It simply could have been a hallucination. "I see. But all this doesn't change my decision. You won't stop me."

The ancient Sage shook his head. "No, I am not here to stop you. In fact, I would like to offer you an alternative."

"An alternative?" Sasuke asked again.

"Yes. With Indra's cooperation, this might just be possible. How do you feel about reliving your life, but with the memories the present you has gathered so far?" the Sage inquired.

Sasuke's eyes widened. What was the Sage saying? That Sasuke was able to change his own past? He would be able to be there for Itachi, Sasuke mulled in his thoughts, he could prevent Itachi from his pain or at the very least, be there for his Nii-san, because Sasuke knew he would never fall for his Nii-san's lies again. He wouldn't be driven away again.

Sasuke had nothing to lose, he had already established that. Either way, in this offered second life or in death, Itachi would be there. For Itachi's happiness, he would choose to live. It would also have been what Itachi wanted for him, only it was probably a very different idea of living than what Itachi had envisioned. But that was okay with Sasuke. Looking into the Sage's eyes, Sasuke told him what he had decided on.

"Very well. I will try to explain the proceedings. You are familiar with Izanagi and Izanami, no? Both are techniques revolving around Fate and Destiny through the Visual Prowess of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Similarly, with my Rinnegan, I will sent you on such an alternative path from here that turns back, meeting a certain point in the past, thus creating a circle." The Sage created images across the water to support his explanation. "From there, it is up to you where your life's path will go. Your decisions and actions in the past will erase this reality's path. A rewritten reality, in which the you with all your memories lives, will take its place. The most crucial point in this is Indra's blessing."

"Why?" Sasuke curiously asked.

"Because this technique would have a risk otherwise. I could sent you thousand years into the past instead or only a few days from now. Indra will act as your anchor. His chakra is compatible with mine, being the one half of it, and he is attached to you – chakra and will – as you are his reincarnation. I will send you to the past, but it will be Indra's chakra guiding you to the entering point – your birth, the exact moment in which Indra's chakra solidly became a part of yours." the Sage elaborated for Sasuke, who nodded at that.

"Before you go," Hagoromo suddenly added,"I have to ask you: Your desire is to save your brother, no?"

Sasuke simply nodded again.

"Would you abandon everything else for it?" the Sage asked. At that, Sasuke tilted his head in a silent gesture for the Sage to further clarify himself. "I have passed away already, but I am still a father. Would you be willing to look out for the reincarnation of my younger son, Ashura? Do you know who it is?"

The raven-haired boy did not need to hesitate in his answer, he knew it as he knew the sun was bright. "Naruto." It was confirmed by the Sage, who nodded approvingly. "My only priority is Itachi," Sasuke admitted. "... But if it doesn't interfere with my priority, I don't mind."

He was rewarded by a grateful smile from Hagoromo. Thereafter, Sasuke only heard the final parting words of the Sage...

"I will bestow you with half of my chakra, Indra's reincarnation, you will need it in your endeavor to protect your brother. Until the right time arrives, it will lie dormant within you. Farewell, my son."

... before he knew no more, for the second time that day.

A/N:

I couldn't resist.

It's just so sad when Itachi died, got resurrected by Edo Tensei, and then he had to 'die' again in front of Sasuke.

Itachi's parting words killed me (twice). T^T