Reversing Fate 6

"Izumi, that bow is so pretty! Can you take it down and let me play with it?" Sasuke pleaded again.

Izumi Uchiha had no choice but to stand on tiptoe and carefully take down the Longbow for him.

Sasuke took the Longbow. It felt heavy and cold in his hands. Recalling how it might be used in the future, he pulled hard on the string, trying to summon a Chakra arrow or any sign of something unusual.

Nothing happened.

The bow in his hands remained a lifeless old bow meant for decoration.

At last, he gave up and handed the Longbow back.

Now even his last hope seemed to have been dashed.

At the Shrine entrance, just as they were about to part, Sasuke stopped with his back to Izumi. The dusk stretched his shadow long across the ground.

He took a deep breath and used all his strength to keep his voice from trembling.

"Izumi! I'm sure you've felt how things stand between Konoha and the Uchiha now."

He paused, his voice dropping. "On this day next year, you'd better take a long-term mission and leave the village. Then never come back."

Izumi Uchiha froze. She looked at Sasuke's unusually slight yet ramrod-straight back, her eyes filled with confusion and a trace of heartache.

She stepped forward and gently stroked his head.

"Little Sasuke, why have you been saying such strange things today? The Uchiha are my family. The elders who care about me are here, and so is your brother."

"If something terrible really happens to the clan, I'll stay here and share its fate. I won't go anywhere."

Sasuke shuddered violently.

Unable to contain the emotions surging through him any longer, he flung Izumi's hand away and sprinted toward home without looking back. In an instant, he