the only survivor

Uchiha Sasuke - the only survivor of the high and mighty Uchiha clan with the greatly feared Sharingan eyes, known as their bloodline limit. One of the most beloved characters in the series, but at the same time the one who has to endure most of the fandom bashing. Without question, you haven't got many polls when it comes to Sasuke. Either you love him or you hate him - there is no in between. What makes the Uchiha boy so special that the entire fandom is split?

We get to know Sasuke as the perfect child - at least this is what it seems like. He has got the looks and the best grades in the academy - moreover he's quiet, collected and simply loved by everyone. However, in truth he doesn't care at all for the attention he gets.

Without him doing anything all the girls fall for him in rows and all the guys just want to be like him. Quite an image, huh?
What we didn't know at the very beginning, or what people tend to ignore and forget, is that behind the seemingly cool mask hides the soul of a lost and broken child, who had suffered a lot from being left alone. After Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, had killed their parents as well as the entire clan right in front of Sasuke's eyes, he withdrew himself from society and chose to be alone. The only thought which kept him alive, as he stated himself, was craving to be the one to avenge the clan - to take revenge on his own blood.

Before that Sasuke was an ordinary child and he loved being together with his family. Especially with his mother, Mikoto, whom he had a good relationship with, but he also treasured his father a lot. Sadly though, even at this young age, Sasuke's relationship with his brother was already a bit twisted. Sasuke admired him in any way, but in fact he never had it easy with not only being the child of the famous Uchiha clan, but also the younger brother of the guy who was considered the most talented ninja in the village. Therefore one expected a lot from Sasuke from the very beginning on- and that is also why Sasuke had always been desperately trying to keep up with his older brother, while also always constantly being pushed by his father, who wanted him to be at least equal to Itachi's former self.

Actually, it seemed as if his father only saw the younger version of Itachi within him, and not Sasuke himself. Each step Sasuke took was compared with Itachi's earlier way, which must have weighted very hard on Sasuke's shoulders.

The high pressure of trying to be just as successful as his brother must have crushed Sasuke at some point in time, since it only seemed to get worse from year to year. Additionally even at a very young age Sasuke had already been a very ambitious and self-critical child; his only thoughts were focusing on how to catch up with the footsteps of his older brother; but those said footsteps only increased the distance between the two brothers, and not closed them. Unfortunately Sasuke's attempts were completely in vain and he continued to live in his brother's shadow.

However, as time went on, Sasuke forcefully had to learn what was behind the facade of his older brother, to whom he had, despite their brotherly rivalry, immensely looked up to.

As mentioned above, Itachi had plans to kill the entire clan, which he accomplished a little while later - right in front of Sasuke. Sasuke returned from school, only to find the corpses of all the people dear to him, and not to forget Itachi standing next to the dead bodies of his parents.

From that moment on, Sasuke's direction in life changed drastically - he grew up with only one ambition - he didn't even dare to call it a dream - to kill his own brother and restore the pride of his clan. Even after his encounter with Team Seven, or well, Naruto and Sakura, he didn't get rid of this thought and considered himself an avenger.

"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way, run, run and cling to life."

Those were the words Sasuke unconsciously carried with him, and just as Itachi said, he detested and hated him to death and saw, and still sees his only purpose in life in defeating his brother. He avoided all kind of social contacts and only concentrated on getting stronger in order to make those words true. Unlike Naruto, who desperately longed for care and relationships, Sasuke chose to become a loner by himself and was almost dutifully trying to not let anyone else in. Now most peole who only take a look at the surface of Sasuke's personality, simply like to spread nonsense things like Sasuke has always been evil; or otherwise why didn't he try to make friends, to ease the pain while getting to know new people who would help him forget or at least, bear his past ?

The answer is simple, and if you ask me, fully understandable. Because he was afraid.

He once already lost everything, and probably without realising it, he tried to protect himself from experiencing this kind of pain again.
It's only predictable if you think like this. If he hadn't got any bonds anymore, which could make him vulnerable again - he wouldn't have to feel this kind of pain and fears again. That is why he tried to insulate himself from everything around him as well as possible and only centered on the events in his past - after all, for him, the past is the only thing which mattered to him anymore.

"My dream doesn't lie in the future.. nor in the present. It's in the past."

So as one can see, in truth Sasuke separating himself hasn't got anything to do with being evil, but he knew no other way as a child other than this in order to prevent history from repeating. He tried to forget about things like love, friendship or care - and so, the only thing which had grown within his heart was the hatred for his brother.

..all this should change though, when he got assigned as Team Seven together with Naruto and Sakura. To put it simple, this choice was the best one made for Sasuke - as I strongly believe Team Seven as a whole- meaning, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto, are those who can save Sasuke from his own path of darkness.

It is proven by then, that deep down there was still a spark of light, of hope and of care, which could have led him in the right direction once again, far away from his broken mind; since Sasuke is someone who does care a lot for his friends, despite what people may say.

One just has to take the numerous actions of self-sacrifice he had made into account. Moreover once he had decided to leave the village, he had to let go of something- and of someone, which is why, without doubt it was not an easy choice for him. He just couldn't accept a path of happiness, and I'm pretty sure this also must have been because of the guilt he had always felt for not having been able to do anything at that fateful day as a child.

Also through Orochimaru, Sasuke's old self flared up again, and this time he had been more determined than ever to follow his initial plan of becoming stronger. After Itachi also succeeded once more in bringing his hatred to extreme points, Sasuke was convinced of the idea Team Seven or well, Konoha in general, only mislead him in losing sight of his real aspiritations. Therefore he had left Konoha, Sakura and Naruto behind and followed his own path of darkness once again.

..which does not mean he can't be redeemed for a 2nd time. Team Seven already managed once to retrieve Sasuke from his personal hell and learnt him to trust and form bonds again- and thus, I'm sure, together they can save him, no matter how dark Sasuke's past might seem. The future is one of light, I'm sure.