Written: March 2015

Author's Note: I'll just say that applying to graduate schools is an exhausting and distracting process.

The Great Uchiha Curse
-Ki Ai Sky-
From the Ashes

Sasuke wrote his full, birth-given name neatly with his crimson blood, the red soaking into the thin ancient parchment readily and easily. Once finished, Ki rolled the scroll back up and let it disappear in an audible puff of white smoke. Sasuke took a deep breath, silently praying that it would work.

He moved his hands quickly, performing the hand signs he had seen so many times over. Dog, bear, monkey, bird, sheep. He slammed the hand in which he had signed the contract onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he shouted.

A large cloud of smoke, thick and grey, exploded from the summoning. Sasuke waited patiently for the cloud to clear, trying to see the creature he'd attempted to summon. As it came into view, the Uchiha's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked incredulously, staring at the small pile of ashes sitting in front of him. What a letdown! The ashes weren't even smoldering, weren't even remotely warm. It was as though the Kami were mocking him. Again.

"I think that's supposed to happen… Maybe… Kind of." Ki cocked her head to one side, scratching it with one hand. "Phoenix are born in ashes, so maybe we just need to give it a minute to… ignite itself or something."

"Wait, you don't know how this works?" Sasuke frowned.

"No, no one has signed this contract in over a millennium. I'm not quite that old. The Kami had forbidden its use after a shinobi committed high treason against the original, the Mother."

"Then why am I trying?"

"You're the last Uchiha, the final descendant of a very old and very special bloodline."

"So what? It's forbidden, Ki."

"Okay, I stole it from the vault; I didn't ask. But I'm sure it's fine! You can do this," she said as she patted him on the arm, though the confidence she attempted to instill was lost on him. He raised an eyebrow when the pile of ashes disappeared with a pop.

"Try again, put some feeling into it. Some oomph!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her, annoyed. He hissed lightly as his mind raced. Why am I trying so hard for a battle I can't possibly win? He blinked, picturing the one thing he wanted most in the world. Instead of seeing his blonde beloved he saw himself; he was smiling, he looked alive and colorful. He didn't see male or female, just his eyes. They were bright.

I want to live. I want my chance to choose my path- to choose my happiness. He didn't want to be trapped as a woman, raped continuously and bred like a dog by the brother he once looked up to until the day he finally dropped dead. He was angry. He didn't want others making choices for him anymore. He didn't want to be controlled. His life was his to live! But he had no power, and that really fucking pissed him off.

They all thought he was some pawn, some game piece do with as they saw fit. Itachi, Tsunade, Danzo, even the Kami! It was his life. His! Sasuke angrily bit down on his thumb, drawing blood. He repeated the motions and threw his hands down.

Once the summoning smoke cleared, Sasuke could see another pile of ashes, but this one as red, He narrowed his eyes in irritation and a tick mark formed on his forehead. His breathing halted when he felt a noticeable heat coming from the soot in front of him. He watched in fascination as the ashes started to glow.

It was magical. It was like watching a fire die out in reverse. He grinned despite himself, excited for a change. The flames erupted in a flash of heat and bird the size of a cat emerged, spreading its fiery wings.

A phoenix… he thought in wonder.

Red and orange flames coated the mythical creature; heat rolled off of it in glorious waves. Its feathers were aflame and its wings licked the ground, singeing the grass and scorching the earth. It shook the ashes from its brilliant feathers, bright yellow eyes flickering between Sasuke and Ki, eventually settling on him.

"It's been a long time since I've laid eyes on a human," it's clearly feminine voice spoke as it circled him, observing him curiously. Sasuke remained still as she inspected him.

The bird's beautiful shimmering wings flapped as the phoenix hovered in the air, completely finished with its appraisal. Its attention turned towards Ki.

"It's about time our contract be allowed for use, young Kami."

It landed near her, giving her a stern look.

Ki smiled. "Some things are out of even my control. This is my charge, Uchiha Sasuke."

The phoenix waddled back towards him. It smelled him, taking in a good whiff of his hand.

"The Uchiha curse? How lovely."

"Speak for yourself," the dark haired boy-turned-girl snorted, finding the phoenix's comment comical. He rolled his eyes, knowing that only those who weren't in his shoes could find his particular situation 'lovely'.

"Well child, you have signed a summoning contract with me and my kind. My name is Ulme, the smoldering phoenix. I can imagine that the Kami have allowed for this contract under very dire circumstances seeing as you are the first in a thousand years to have such a privilege. I am assuming you are quite the unique individual."

"I am the last true Uchiha, and I need your help."

Sasuke explained his story, leaving out the extremely personal bits that included Naruto. The legendary avian figure listened closely, not uttering a word until he reached his current dilemma- Itachi.

"Your story is truly a sad one. I do not wish to see such an esteemed bloodline extinguished. How can I be of assistance?"

"Do not move or even flinch. Concentrate, Sasuke. If this goes very wrong, you'll be nothing but a pile of ashes."

Sasuke held his hands together, channeling his chakra. He could feel the energy flowing within him, and he could feel the warmth from the phoenix on his shoulder. With his eyes closed, he braced himself.

Searing pain began to flow through him, as though his veins were on fire. Stemming from Ulme, the nature chakra threatened to overwhelm him, engulf him. He could feel his features shifting due to the imbalance within him. His skin was crawling and he was sweating profusely. Sasuke bit his lip, trying to ignore it and fight through.

The stream of nature chakra grew larger, he thought he was going to burst or melt. It hurt, it was foreign.

Easy, Sasuke, relax. Let it flow through you, Ki's gentle voice whispered through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to listen.

He raised his chakra in response, trying to protect himself from the burning pain of the nature chakra.

"No!" the flamed creature cried out, leaping off of him.

Sasuke fell to his knees, breathing heavily. His shoulder was covered in burns, not from Ulme, but from the nature energy itself. He could feel the tears threatened to break loose, both from agony and from self-loathing. They had been working at this for several hours and had barely made any progress!

If he let the nature chakra consume him, he morphed into something resembling a bird-woman. The transformation to a bird felt agonizing, and he was grateful he was unconscious when he was turned into a woman. If he morphed too far, he would be trapped as a bird. Only Ki smacking him with her staff would reverse the transformation. Luckily Ulme was too cautious to allow that to happen. If he fought back, the nature chakra attacked him. There was a very delicate balance that he was unable to meet. He was frustrated and tired. Uchiha Sasuke was not known for his patience or his delicacy, and as of recent months, he was incredibly emotional.

Sasuke pounded his fist into the dirt, angry with himself. His sweat ran down his brow, dripping to the dirt. He wasn't sure if he was crying, but he bit his lip hard to try to control himself.

Ki's soft, healing hands came to his shoulder, glowing faintly green. She healed him silently, knowing how upset he was. There was nothing she could do to help him except to heal his injuries and push him to carry on.

"I can't do it, Ki. This is my best shot, and I'm failing…" He sulked as he sat back on his heels, pulling on his long raven hair.

"Get up and try again."

Again he tried, and again, and again.

"One more time." Sasuke nodded, holding out his arm. He activated his Sharingan, hoping it might help.

The red flame-covered bird flapped his wings and landed softly on his forearm. She didn't scorch him; he welcomed her warmth in the early evening coolness. She waddled up to his shoulder, digging her talons in lightly for balance.

Sasuke clasped his hands together and began to focus. He knew he was more aware of his surroundings after his training that day. He could feel the chakra of not only Ulme and Ki, but also the living things around them. He could feel the tiny birds in the trees; he could feel the ants in the dirt. Instead of bracing himself for the pain, he paid more attention to the flow of energy through the systems around him. When Ulme's nature chakra began to flow into him, this time it didn't hurt. It was mildly uncomfortable, like an itch he couldn't scratch, but he breathed through it and continued to feel the world. It coated his skin and poured through his veins. He could feel the world around him expanding. There was energy in the water, in the dirt, in the wind. From the tips of his hair to the edges of his toes, he could feel it.

After what felt like hours had passed, it stopped. He didn't feel uncomfortable.

"Perfect," Ulme breathed lightly in his ear.

Sasuke hesitantly opened his eyes. Though the sun had gone down, the area was bright with life and chakra. He was glowing red lightly. His nails were long and sharp, just like talons. His eyelids were rimmed with red marks that trailed down his face in jagged shapes, not unlike his curse mark had. His eyes were bright yellow with three red tomoe.

He'd finally done it, he'd performed Sage Mode. Though he had been assisted by Ulme, it was progress. He knew what he was aiming for; he knew what it felt like. His spirits soared.

Five minutes later, his chakra had been exhausted. He fell flat on his face with a sleepy smile.

Ulme floated to the ground next to Ki, pride apparent in the Kami's crimson eyes. The legendary bird nodded once before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

Ki knelt down to pick up her fatigued charge and threw him over her shoulder. She ran home in the blink of an eye and laid Sasuke down to rest.

Two days passed, and Sasuke found that he was gradually making progress. He no longer needed Ulme's presence to feel and channel nature chakra, but he could not stabilize his transformation to sage mode quite yet. Were it not for Ki's consistent healing, his head would have been covered in lumps from blows with her staff for reversing the physical shift.

The Uchiha was grateful when Ulme called for a recess in his training. It was midmorning and even though they hadn't been at work for long, he was exhausted. His hands shook as he scratched his head through his long, sweat-coated hair. He was panting heavily.

"The girl must rest," the red-flamed bird sighed, resting on the ground between them. Sasuke was barely aware that she had referred to him as female; he was too tired to care. "We cannot continue until this evening. Summon me at dusk and we will try another technique."

"Understood. Thank you, Ulme," Ki bowed low to the legendary creature.

Sasuke managed a brief wave before she vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"Why don't we get something to eat," the dark-haired Kami suggested, holding out a hand.

Sasuke nodded and took her hand, allowing her to help him up. They ventured back into the village and found themselves at Hanami's, a small dango shop, undoubtedly the one that the crazy snake woman Mitarashi Anko frequented.

Sasuke ordered sasa onna dango, dumpings filled with sweet red bean paste. He inwardly smiled at ordering such a girly dish, knowing that it would have been improper for him to do so before the curse. Ki ordered chadango, green tea flavored dumplings. They decided on sharing a large portion of chi chi dango.

"Perhaps we should discuss some things," the crimson-eyed immortal spoke softly after the waitress had delivered their items.

"What now?" Sasuke popped one of the sweet balls into his mouth, chewing contentedly. He met her ruby gaze defiantly. Her gaze was wary, and Sasuke knew it wouldn't be good news.

"I've been informed that Itachi has been spotted in Kawa no Kuni one week ago. He and Kisame slaughtered a family that ran a curry shop there, continuing a mission that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist failed."

Sasuke swallowed. He was not surprised to hear that his brother and partner were murdering innocents, but it was dark news. Sasuke had heard of the Kurosuki family, and he'd heard the story of how their curry had "saved" Rock Lee. The dark haired boy-turned-girl sighed, frowning. If only he was strong enough, if only he hadn't fallen to Kisame, then maybe that family would still be alive. He wasn't going to blame himself, but he felt his resolve strengthen. Itachi wasn't far away. The Land of Rivers was not that far away, bordering the Land of Fire to the southwest. Sasuke would kill him, avenge all of the people his treasonous brother had murdered.

"We will continue to monitor him and track his location as best we can, but he has evaded my eyes thus far. It is in our best interest to assume his destination is Konohagakure, and that his next target will be you." Sasuke stiffened, realizing that his brother could be here in a very short time. And he needed any time he could get to master the phoenix sage mode. Itachi could be in Konoha any day now.

"Of course, we can be wrong in assuming so. He may have other targets, but with the limited number of weeks remaining for your curse, I believe he will come for you soon," Ki continued.

Sasuke nodded his head slowly in understanding, dark eyes wide. Itachi would waste little time; if he were to lock Sasuke in his female body, he would need to make his move soon.

Sasuke set his chopsticks down, having lost his appetite due to anxiety and horror.

Ki set her hand on his, squeezing lightly in reassurance.

"We won't give up, Sasuke. Not now, not when you're so close to everything you've ever dreamed."

Sasuke attempted to return her confidence in a half smile, but he knew it was a failure. He returned to eating, forcing his mind to wander away from his impending troubles and towards lighter topics.

"So if Kakashi thinks you like girls, how are you going to keep up that pretense?" He mumbled, popping another dango in his mouth. "Are you even in to women?"

Ki coughed, choking on her food. She took a sip of her tea to cleat her throat.

"Funny you should mention that…" she started, pausing. "Yes, I find women attractive, but that's beside the point. My new friend and I have a very concrete relationship."

Sasuke frowned, thinking on the matter. Who was a lesbian in the Village? He had no idea, considering many of the people older than him kept their relationships quiet. Even Asuma and Kurenai had tried to keep their relationship to themselves.

"Mitarashi… Anko?" he asked hesitantly. He had no idea which way she swung, but it was worth a guess.

"No!" Ki snorted, almost as though she was offended that he would suggest she be seeing her. Ki leaned in close and kept her voice down low, as though she were trying to keep the rest of the shop from hearing. "I'm seeing Inuzuka Hana," she whispered with a sly smile.

"Kiba's sister?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes. "She likes women?"

Ki nodded, returning to her dumplings, almost blushing. Sasuke rolled his eyes, unbelieving of the whole situation.

"Raika Horai no Jutsu!" Sasuke spun hand signs, calling out his attack.

Lighting shot rapidly from his hand seal in blindingly bright ribbons, winding themselves around his target, immobilizing her. He spat a large fireball, which collided with his opponent and exploded in a massive exothermic reaction.

"Excellent!" Ulme exclaimed from his shoulder before jumping off. Sasuke felt the connection to the nature chakra sever as soon as their contact ceased, the markings on his skin fading immediately.

The smoke cleared and Ki was covered in soot and burns. She coughed several times, giving him a thumb up.

He had mastered a new technique and was feeling extremely proud of himself. The Coming of the Lightning Fire Phoenix Technique called both is fire and lightning affinities into power and dealt a large amount of damage quickly. Unfortunately, it required his opponent to be in close proximity, which was not easily accomplished with Itachi.

"Tomorrow we will work on a special genjutsu that just might work on your brother," the phoenix chirped happily. She seemed pleased with their work.

The three of them had been hard at work for nearly a week now, and though he was far from mastering sage mode, he was now able to enter it with Ulme's assistance without too much trouble. He had shown proficiency in three new jutsu in sage mode. He was feeling much better about his odds, even though he needed much more work.

There had been no sightings of Itachi near the village, but the raven-haired beauty knew that his time was running out.

"Have a pleasant evening," Ulme said before she vanished.

Ki smiled at her charge, brushing off some of the dirt and debris from her ruined clothing.

"I think you've earned a night off. It's been some time since you've seen Naruto, hasn't it? I think I'll see what Hana is up to tonight."

Sasuke smiled gratefully before turning and jogging off in the direction of the blonde's apartment.

The sun was setting in the distance behind the stone heads of the Hokage. The orange glow of the slowly sinking sun felt good on the bare skin of his belly and shoulder blades. He smiled lightly to himself, thinking that he desperately needed a shower. Hopefully Naruto would be interested in joining him.

He turned the corner as he'd done a thousand times before, but halted when he faced the dark black feathers of the bird. Its black eyes bore deeply into Sasuke's own, cawing menacingly. Its cry was sharp and piercing.

The large crow flapped its wings and flew over Sasuke's head, dropping a small rolled piece of paper before him. Sasuke caught it as it fell, frozen in his place.

That was one of Itachi's crows, Sasuke knew it. His hands shook as he unrolled the paper, and read it.

One week, little brother. Enjoy your fun while you can. Meet me where Kisame delivered his message at midday.

Sasuke could feel his world shatter; his legs shook and gave out. He crashed to his knees, trembling in horror.

He's coming.

Author's Note: I don't always make up jutsu; the Raika Horai no Jutsu is from the video games. I have a few that I have concocted in the next chapter. Fighting scenes aren't my forte…