Latest Update:May 13, 2022
Summary: Sasuke wasn't the only Uchiha to survive the massacre. But when an innocent soul is subjected to so much blood and hate, can it still remain pure? A.N.: REWRITE OF NOT ALONE THIS TIME.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12760604/1/
Word count:397k
Chapters:160
Chapter 1
I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Things Expected
The morning was warm. There were birds drifting lazily through the air, the song of birds filled the air, joined by the chirping of insects, and the laughter of children as they played. Ryuu smiled as he watched the birds flying overhead. He didn't play like the others. He didn't want to. He preferred to just watch the birds.
He sat up as one flew down, landing on his right knee. It had a sapphire blue back, white on its stomach, black just above its beak, and a rusty brown just below the beak. It cocked its head, staring up at him and he grinned widely, reaching out and gently stroking its stomach for a moment, then its back. He felt something brush his neck on the left side and looked over, seeing a bird with a dark brown back and lighter brown stomach perched there, also staring at him. He smiled even wider, eyes scrunching almost shut as he whistled a couple notes. The bird on his shoulder cocked its head for a moment as it listened before mimicking the notes. Ryuu laughed happily as it did before whistling a few more notes. Again the mockingbird mimicked him before the other bird chirped out a song of its own, the mockingbird singing harmony. Ryuu laughed as they did, whistling his own tune along with theirs, copying some of the bird calls he had heard. Finally a shadow fell over Ryuu and the birds both took off, Ryuu looking up to see Sasuke, one of his friends, looking down at him. He smiled and Sasuke sat down beside him, watching the birds disappear into the trees.
"Why do they sit with you but run from me?"
"I dunno," Ryuu shrugged, watching as a mosquito flew down to land on his hand, biting him. "Hungry little guy?"
"Why don't you just kill it? You'll itch later if you let it bite you."
"He's not hurting anything," Ryuu shrugged. "He's just hungry. What if someone wanted to kill you for being hungry?"
"But...it's a bug," Sasuke said.
"All life is important," Ryuu said.
"But it's a bug," Sasuke repeated.
"And just what are the two of you discussing?" a voice asked as Ryuu's older brother walked toward them with Sasuke's older brother.
"Big Brother!" Ryuu cheered, jumping up and running to his brother, jumping at him and hugging him, nearly knocking him over.
"Careful, you're getting bigger, you might hurt me," his brother said.
"Nuh uh! You're invincible Big Brother!" Ryuu beamed up at him.
"Invincible huh?" his brother laughed. "I don't know about that."
"You heard him Shisui," Itachi laughed. "Invincible."
"No one can beat my Big Brother," Ryuu said. "Even you Big Brother Itachi."
Itachi laughed and Ryuu's eyes lit up as he remembered the birds.
"Big Brother, guess what!"
"What?" Shisui asked, smiling.
"A Barn Swallow and a Mockingbird sang to me!" Ryuu beamed.
"Oh really?" Shisui asked, smiling. "What'd they sing? Row row row your boat?"
"No!" Ryuu laughed.
"Mary had a little lamb?"
"No!"
"Jingle Bells?"
"No!" Ryuu laughed. "Birds can't talk! They just chirp!"
"Oh, of course, how silly of me," Shisui smiled before sighing. "Are you ready for training?"
Ryuu's smile fell but he sighed and nodded. "Bye Big Brother Itachi. Bye Sasuke."
Both said their goodbyes and Ryuu followed Shisui back to their home, the pair making their way into the sparring room inside. Shisui slid the door closed, walking to the the ring and turning, waiting for Ryuu.
"Let's see what you've learned in class, shall we?" Shisui asked.
"Big Brother, why do I have to become a ninja?" Ryuu asked.
"There are some things that are just expected of you," Shisui said. "In our clan, being a shinobi is one of them."
"But...I don't want to hurt anyone," Ryuu said.
"I know you don't," Shisui smiled sadly. "You're so innocent that animals that flee from most people are willingly drawn to you. I know you hate the idea of hurting anything. But being a shinobi is just something you have to do."
Ryuu sighed and nodded, stepping into the ring and bowing, as did Shisui, before taking a basic stance that Shisui himself had taught him. Then, Shisui darted forward, throwing a punch at him. Ryuu ducked under it, Shisui throwing a knee at him. Ryuu managed to block it with his forearms and Ryuu pulled the leg back before Ryuu could grab it, throwing an elbow down at him instead. Ryuu turned sideways, stepping out of the way, then catching the crook of Shisui's elbow, pulling downward and forcing Shisui to roll, ending up outside of the ring. Shisui stood, smiling proudly.
"Impressive," Shisui smiled. "Your reaction time and agility have improved. But in a real fight, you have to attack as well. You can't win if all you do is dodge and defend. Attack me, Ryuu. I'll only defend for now."
Ryuu hesitated before darting forward, jabbing. Shisui blocked it, frowning, but almost as soon as the punch landed, Ryuu's opposite foot snapped up in a kick. Shisui blocked that as well and Ryuu flipped, clasping his hands and bringing them down at Shisui's head. Shisui caught his hands and Ryuu flipped to the ground, switching his own hands to Shisui's wrists and spinning, hurling Shisui a couple feet where he landed in a roll, regaining his feet and turning toward Ryuu just as Ryuu landed a punch to his gut, except that Shisui didn't even flinch.
"You're fast," Shisui smiled, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. "That's good. You might actually have inherited Kagami's speed. But your strikes have no power. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, Ryuu. I know you don't want to hurt me. But you have to learn to fight properly. In case you have to defend someone you care about one day."
"I'm trying," Ryuu said. "Honest."
"I know," Shisui smiled. "Here, practice hitting the training dummy. That way you don't have to worry about hurting someone while you work on putting force into your strikes."
Ryuu nodded, walking over to the straw dummy off to the side, pulling on the padded gloves Shisui kept with it and beginning to practice. Shisui watched him train, activating his sharingan to gage how he was doing. His strikes still weren't truly as powerful as they should be, but they were stronger than what he had been throwing against Shisui. Finally Shisui stopped him, leading him to the kitchen where he made him a snack.
"After lunch we'll start in on your jutsu training," Shisui said. "What kind have you been learning about most recently?"
"We've been working on Sealing jutsus and Ninjutsu," Ryuu said.
"Alright, then I'll teach you about Genjutsu and the Body Flicker Technique. I think you'll pick them up quickly."
Ryuu smiled and nodded. He liked the idea of Genjutsu. Being able to fight without harming anyone was perfect for him. That was why he also enjoyed Sealing jutsus. Once finished, Shisui led him back to the training room, this time beginning on jutsu training. Once they were finished with that, Ryuu having demonstrated a few basic seals he had learned and having picked up a couple of basic Genjutsus, they called it a day and headed to the dining room for dinner just as their parents got home.
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12760604/1/