PURPOSE by Kiraya

Disclaimer: Dear Santa – For Christmas, I would be very much obliged if you could give me the rights to Naruto. I know you probably get lots of letters like this, but I really do have some good ideas for the series, honest! Love, Kiraya.

P.S. – If you can't get me the rights to Naruto, then Yuugiou, Hikaru no Go, and/or Fullmetal Alchemist would be acceptable substitutes. Thank you!

Warnings: Oodles of spoilerific fun for those who aren't up-to-date on the manga; slightly AU (hey, I can't predict what Kishimoto-sensei's going to do with 'em when they're all grown up). Some blink-and-you'll-miss-it SasuNaru here and there (take it platonically or not… it's up to you).

For this installment specifically (it being the only reason this drabbleseries is rated R instead of PG-13), goriness and several character deaths.

Author's Notes: This is what happens when I try to write term papers. Most of the time I'm creatively dead, but when it comes down to Big Assignments, my muse will do anything to stop me from getting real work done.

Enjoy.

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The lone ninja landed soundlessly on the forest floor, every sense alert for disturbances in the normal activity of the forest.

…Good. The ANBU squad that had been trailing him for the past six months, just after he'd ditched the several groups of vengeful Sound ninja who'd been chasing him, was stopped about a mile off. Hopefully, the distraction of the body he'd left there amidst the wreckage of the fight would allow his location to remain relatively unimportant until he finished here.

Unfortunately, he knew there was a Hyuuga with this group.

He'd best get this over with quickly, then.

The rogue ninja pulled the materials for the preservation jutsu from his belt pouch, putting down the gory trophies he held in his right hand almost reluctantly. He glared at them — but especially fiercely at the newer of the two, still warm.

The Mangekyou Sharingan stared back at him… or would have, if Itachi were still alive.

"Feh," said the humourlessly smiling Uchiha Sasuke, and continued his work.

He took great care in making the fire, keeping it very small, forming the genjutsu that would conceal the sight and unusual scent of the smoke with intricate slowness, releasing his chakra as gradually as possible. It wouldn't do to scream his exact location to his pursuers, now, would it?

He took just a little of the ash from the heart of the fire, drawing tiny seals on his brother's cooling forehead, and finished the jutsu. He'd first seen Ino use it on some flowers a few years back, when he'd last made one of his sporadic and surreptitious visits to Konohagakure. The jutsu had required some modification for use on flesh, as he'd learned with his first attempt, but was still so inconspicuous one had to really look for it to detect it.

Sasuke picked up his trophies, and as he prepared to put out the fire, considered his options. It would be terribly amusing if the heads of the two biggest S-class criminals in the Konoha bingo book were left on the Godaime's desk by the third. He smirked. His deeply scored hitai-ate, souvenir of his time with the Sound, would be a nice finishing touch, and then… he'd finally be free.

"Now that you've slain your demons, Uchiha Sasuke," came a voice from behind him, causing the dark-haired rogue to freeze, cursing his incompetence, "since you've no home to go back to, what's left?"

He turned to look at the speaker, the Sharingan activating by instinct. Perched in the tree branches was one Konoha ANBU, male, just a little shorter than him. Tch. Even that bastard Neji would've missed this guy, he comforted himself — the hunter-nin had cleverly positioned himself right in what would've been the Byakugan's blind angle.

So… one ANBU. Any territorial advantage he'd had was shot, because the idiot had announced his presence. In most situations, taking him down wouldn't be a problem at all, but Sasuke's chakra was dangerously low from his fight with Itachi…

…Screw it. He'd managed to kill that bastard Kabuto right after taking on Orochimaru; after Itachi, he could easily kill this punk. Especially since a single ANBU squad on your trail was nothing compared to an entire shinobi village.

He just needed to get the timing right again. Do it before reinforcements came, or he was fucked.

Sasuke licked the precious, rare Uchiha blood from his kunai, pocketed it, carefully laid his pair of severed heads on the mossy ground, and formed the seals for the Chidori.

He saw the ANBU's nails turn almost clawlike, and that jutsu he'd only see three times before, the deadly globe of chakra, whirled in a calloused palm.

Above the chirping lightning in his suddenly trembling fist, he heard the ANBU speak again in that deliciously familiar voice, dark and raspy:

"I've been waiting too long for this, Sasuke."

There was a feral grin on the last Uchiha's face. Though his revenge was gone, it seemed he had something left, after all…

He attacked.

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End Act I. 30 November 2004.