Close to heart.. far from arms...| Sasusaku

Prologue

One could have found forests around as fas as sight went. Light chilly wind brushed the dusty lanes of Konoha, over which stood the faces of the four mighty Hokage. The surroundings were as festive as they would be on any occasion. Vendors hauled carts laid with supplies, ladies gossiped amongst themselves. A few Shinobis strolled around free of care. Children ran around playing ninja, not being a real one yet. The oddly cheerful atmosphere was as surreally satisfactory as one would expect during a festival.

The Ninja academy was filled with children carrying 'the will of fire', aspiring to serve their village. They were fruits of the teachings in this academy and looked forward to ripe even further.

The sound of cheers and applauds followed the one of shuriken slashing through the wooden target. The raven haired boy pierced the center with three shurikens, which went flying, slicing the air with a whoosh. The crowd that gathered around the training grounds shouted and cheered his name.

"Sasuke, you are amazing."
"Uchiha is so cool."
"Sasuke is a genius."

The voices rang around, but the boy slipped his hands in his pockets with a 'hmph'. From within the crowd, a pink-haired girl whose hair was parted and tied with a red ribbon, blushed when she saw him.

"Sasuke is so amazing," her jade eyes shone when she looked at his back.

But the raven haired boy was the least bit bothered by any of them. He was in the academy to be strong, like his brother, so he could hear the same words from his father's mouth that his brother Itachi used to listen every day, "That's my boy!"

The Uchiha clan was one of the most powerful clan in the hidden leaf village. Their visual prowess, the Sharingan, was feared as a threat by the entire shinobi world. It's an eye that can be deceived by none, an eye that can see through anything and one of the three most powerful Dôjutsu, other two being the Rinnegan and the Byakugan. The Rinnegan was supposed to be a myth, but another clan in Konoha, the Hyuga clan possessed the Byakugan.

Anyway, being an Uchiha was a pride in its own. And on top of it, when one's brother was a known genius, it gave one all the more pressure to become stronger. However, even after being this strong, Sasuke was regarded as nothing compared to his brother Itachi. He had to live as Itachi's shadow. His father seemed to only care about his elder son, which made Sasuke feel distant. He wanted to be loved and respected as much as his older brother. However, that didn't overshadow his profound love for his older brother. The only thing Sasuke looked forward to was going to train with Itachi. He waited long for his brother to complete a mission and return home. Itachi was a member of the Anbu, an organisation which worked from behind the shadows to protect the hidden leaf. Itachi was the youngest to be enrolled in the Anbu, that is at 11. At 13, he was already a squad captain. Being busy with missions, he couldn't find time to train with Sasuke. And recently, he rarely came back home.

Sasuke waited for him to come back. When he did, the small raven-haired boy asked him to train with him, but Itachi would smile and call Sasuke near him, as he would do so, expecting a positive response but all Itachi would do was poke him in the head and say, "Sorry Sasuke, some other time, okay?"

Itachi did the same thing almost every time and played it off, saying it was a mission, but even Sasuke understood that something was not right. But all he did in return was pouting and waiting again.
He used to see other children his age playing Ninja. Deep within his heart, even he wanted to play with them, laugh, smile and rejoice together, but it didn't matter what he felt. His duty was to become strong like his brother. That was back when Itachi was still in the village.

Shortly after, the Uchiha clan massacre occurred. It was found out that Itachi Uchiha of the leaf killed his own clan, leaving only his younger brother Sasuke Uchiha alive, and betrayed the leaf. He went rogue and joined a terrorist group called the Akatsuki.
That night, Sasuke was late from the academy. The sight petrified him and made his body tremble in fear. The corpses of his clan members lied grovelling on the ground. Nothing made sense. Colour drained from his face as his fear took over him when he remembered his parents. He ran over to his house and opened the door, calling for his parents, but there was no reply. He searched in the house, still frightened by what he saw. A creaking noise drew his attention, and he ran in the direction. He stood before the door but couldn't move an inch. His body trembled but paralysed with fear. Terror took the best of him until he finally gathered the courage to open the door. The room was filled with darkness except for the area lit by the moonlight, the area on which lied his parents' corpses, covered in blood. Sasuke took some steps forward when a shadow emerged from within the darkness.