Snake Manipulation, Hawk Deception

Pre-timeskip; "I must survive in order to be able to kill my brother. That is what I believed. But I was the one who was afraid."
Post-timeskip; "Though the snake dreams of soaring through the sky he is forever doomed to crawl on his belly.
You'll have your chance to fly, snake... in the talons of a hawk." - Uchiha Sasuke

dedicated to *kivi1230().

Special thanks to Ewart Cameron for his help on this.

Show him the flames that hold the candles...
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Baited for my eyes, as I always am,
Three as one we went, Friends without a clue.
The Forest of Death around, The Chuunin Exam in mind,
His own exam was ready, His own disguise refined.
Hopeless from the start, Our wounds began to mount,
Powerless before His strength, He began to taunt.
The target was me, And in teaming up, my friends,
Careful as I was, He was a powerful fiend.
My friends fought without choice, And in doing so they fell,
But not before I was reminded, Of what I meant to them.
Motivated by Mockery, I took my battle stance,
While his was that of Cockery, That left defence to chance.


Mightiest of the Legendary three,
By his own ruthless sprees.
Targeted a feared bloodline,
Because he'd found a fledgling.
With Snake manipulation begun,
And Hawk Deception ended.
When I scarred his mask,
With a jutsu of flames,
How could he have known,
At that point in time,
That a Snake will only fly,
In the talons of a hawk?


Baited for my chakra, As I've always been,
I sat there while musing, At a full moon on a tree.
My mind had been tuned, To the purpose of His seal,
Heart and memories in tatters, At my brother's will.
I struggled with a choice, At my master's wish.
Stay and wait for kin, To return as said and finish?
Vengeance versus Suicide? Friendship versus Duty?
They came at me as one, In a cowardly group of four,
Out of the darkness they struck, Intent to leave me sore.
Advertising their might, announcing my weakness,
They proposed that I join, The ranks of my tormentor.


Mightiest of the Legendary three,
By his own ruthless sprees.
Targeted a feared bloodline,
Because he'd found a fledgling.
With Snake manipulation begun,
And Hawk Deception ended.
When I joined his goons,
And focused on his lair,
Of course he didn't know,
At that point in time,
How a Snake will only fly,
In the talons of a hawk.


Baited for my blood, as it purely flows,
On my cot I lay, near a divided mind.
It proved I would be dead, had I stayed in the Leaf,
Our chat was that of strangers, meaningless as it was brief.
I defended myself, And stood on a crater's lip,
Eyes of friends agog, up from the circles's dip.
They spoke of my return, As though I had no goal,
Ignoring the bleakness, of their current pose.
Three years careful planning, Would not simply revive,
Consenting was death, And I wanted to survive.
Deception was the answer, A true Ninja's mark,
And so I replied them, with Chidori's spark.
With a restraining hand, He ordered me to stop,
Then I looked at Him, and asked His arm to drop.
He acted the leader, and let His stooge explain,
I held my glare and silence, but went along with the flames.


Mightiest of the Legendary three,
By his own ruthless sprees.
Targeted a feared bloodline,
Because he'd found a fledgling.
With Snake manipulation begun,
And Hawk Deception ended.
When He gave me an order,
And I told Him to scram,
I think he should have asked,
At that point in time,
If a Snake will only fly,
In the talons of a hawk.



Baited for my youth, as it's power grew,
I would wait no more, I headed for His room.
When He saw my blade, and my light-blue spear,
His own thoughts became uncertain, His underestimation clear.
He wanted to know his place, So to Him I explained,
The differences that existed, alive in our food chain.
"Take care what you wish, For a crawling snakes dreams,"
I said to him at last, "Is destroyed beneath hawk wings"
I relented once more, as He was a bloody foe,
And then I saw myself, in a strange new home.
In a dark and separate realm, of his own creation,
Where he had perfected, all his prey's destruction.
The darkness was great, He was in His element,
His confidence returned, with triumphant vehemence.
He looked at me and said, "you are now my tool."
I looked at him and thought, "It is time for food."



Mightiest of the Legendary three,
By his own ruthless sprees.
Targeted a feared bloodline,
Because he'd found a fledgling.
With Snake manipulation begun,
And Hawk Deception ended.
When I ate His dimension,
Without a moment's pause,
Too late for Him He knew,
At that point in time,
A Snake will only fly,
In the talons of a hawk.



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...and he will show you the will that eats dimensions.

This poem is based on pre-480 reasoning. If you'd like to understand the reasoning behind the poem, read Sasuke: an in-depth analysis by ~bluestar28 and Sasuke, An Amused Tribute by yours truly.

All characters � of Masashi Kishimoto. Special thanks to Stormlore.
Poem and painting is the intellectual property of the Lightsyde from Litmus. All rights reserved. 24th