The wind rustled overhead, running through the trees and making the leaves dance. The sky was painted with a watercolour of pinks, oranges and blues as the day grew late, and the cool night temperature hung in the air.
Beads of sweat ran down Sasuke's face and neck, the sparring dummies in front of him battered and torn. He'd been training under Orochimaru for only a few months, yet his abilities had progressed so far in such a short amount of time.
It wasn't enough.
Sasuke had been out there for hours by himself, training. He'd done this every day since he'd arrived at the Hidden Sound hideout with Orochimaru. It was obvious he wasn't going to become stronger in such little time, but Sasuke was impatient.
The boy wiped his bare forehead with the back of his arm, ignoring the uncomfortable damp smear of a trail the action left behind. His arm spasmed tiredly from the dozens of chidori he'd forced himself to practise. There was no denying that he needed rest, but rest seemed like a waste when he could have been spending his time becoming stronger instead.
Sasuke paused, looking up at the sky. He'd have to call it for the day, albeit reluctantly. As he made his way back to the underground hideout, he paused, sensing something - or someone - watching him.
The bushes behind him rustled and Sasuke turned, quickly drawing a kunai and crouching into a defensive position against whoever was about to lunge at him.
"Oof!"
The sound was unexpected, but not as much as the sight before him. A little girl, perhaps a year or so younger than Sasuke, had fallen face-first into the grass in front of him, her cherry red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail and fastened with a light purple and white bow.
Sasuke gripped his weapon tighter, eyeing the girl as she looked up at him with unnaturally pale blue eyes which widened at the sight of him.
The girl grunted again as she tried to push herself up, the fabric of her yukata constricting her legs and only making her struggle seem more pathetic.
Sasuke slipped his kunai back into the pouch on his leg and stepped forward, gripping the girl by her upper arms and hoisting her back onto her feet. She yelped as though she were in pain, and Sasuke quickly let her go, staring as tears ran down her cheeks and she lightly touched where he'd grabbed her, sobbing as she crouched into a ball.
"You found her." The familiar voice made Sasuke jump as he took a few steps to the side, turning to look up at Orochimaru's assistant, who smirked down at him. "You're going to need to be on your guard all the time if you want to be stronger."
The boy scowled and watched as Kabuto crouched in front of the little girl. "Fuyuko," he said gently, though there was a stern tone of strictness in his voice. "You've done your exploring, it's time to go back now."
The little girl looked horrified as she shuffled back quickly, more tears springing to her eyes as she stood and turned to flee. Kabuto simply caught her by the ankle, tripping her and making her fall to the ground yet again with a loud yelp of pain.
"Come on, now, you promised, remember?" Fuyuko shook her head. "Yes you did. You said you'd let me look at you if you could play outside."
The girl paused and looked at Sasuke, letting Kabuto lift her up. "What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, watching as Kabuto began heading back to the base.
Kabuto didn't look back at him as they walked. "There's nothing wrong with her, per se," he said slowly as Fuyuko attempted to wriggle out of his grip. "She's merely one of the many people who sought out power in the same way you did."
Sasuke paused, only now noticing the odd shape of a curse mark on the girl's neck. "Then why is she..?"
"Power affects people in different ways, Sasuke," Kabuto said. "Fuyuko here never had any chakra to begin with. So, rather than only activating when she uses ninjutsu, the seal's power is permanently attached to her brain." He glanced back at Sasuke, a small smile sliding onto his face. "Needless to say, it's taken its toll."
Fuyuko looked over Kabuto's shoulder, staring directly into Sasuke's eyes. "Sa...ki..?" she murmured, making him frown.
"Yes, that's right," Kabuto said encouragingly. "That's Sasuke."
"Saki!" Fuyuko said again, grinning at the boy's unimpressed expression as she tried to scramble towards him. Kabuto's grip tightened around her and she winced, her bottom lip trembling as she settled down again.
"If she can't use chakra," Sasuke said. "Then what exactly does the mark do?"
Kabuto adjusted his grip on the girl and she winced in what Sasuke assumed was pain. "Well she can't exactly tell us," he smiled. "But from what we've gathered so far, her senses have evolved to animal-like sharpness, and we're pretty sure she can see an extra spectrum of colour."
Sasuke watched as Fuyuko stared down at him over Kabuto's shoulder, growing even more uncomfortable under her piercing gaze.
He couldn't see what she could.
To Fuyuko, Sasuke's black eyes held a world of colour - colours that no one had told her the names of and colours even she could hardly understand. Everyone's eyes were different, but she thought the swirling colours in Sasuke's were undoubtedly the prettiest. 'Hot' and 'cold' colours swirled together to create an odd mixture of what Fuyuko had deemed 'contempt'; and she couldn't stop staring at it.
She reached out to touch him, her finger ever so slightly brushing his cheek; but Sasuke couldn't feel it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end, and he stopped walking, giving himself distance as he rubbed his cheek.
Kabuto kept walking, leaving Sasuke behind, and Fuyuko reached out even further; the struggle throwing her balance off and she tipped over Kabuto's shoulder, now only being held by the back of her knees. The doctor sighed but didn't bother to adjust her position, and Sasuke watched on, still confused.
She'd had to have been here longer than he had, but why hadn't Sasuke seen the odd girl around before? Kabuto had made it seem like she ran around by herself all the time, but maybe that wasn't the case.
Fuyuko's head suddenly snapped up and she stared past Sasuke and into the forest of dense trees. Sasuke paused and looked behind him, as did Kabuto.
"It's most likely something a long way away," he said, and continued walking. "People on a the road or even a wild animal."
The girl's eyes narrowed as she squirmed in Kabuto's arms again, eventually wriggling free and bolting off into the woods.
The older man sighed and pulled off his glasses, wiping them with the bottom of his shirt and looking over at Sasuke. "Go get her for me, would you?" he asked, smiling sweetly as he slipped his glasses back on.
Sasuke huffed but nodded before taking off into the forest in the same direction that Fuyuko had gone, running as fast as he could through the trees. He stopped suddenly and looked around. She couldn't have gone that far - especially in that constricting yukata. Sasuke turned, noticing the top of Fuyuko's bow peeking out from a bush, and sighed before pushing the greenery out of the way.
The girl was already looking up at him, a small wild rabbit held loosely in her arms. She gripped it a little tighter and held it up "Saki!" she cried, her voice concerned. Sasuke managed to draw his eyes away from her face and looked down at the rabbit, only now noticing the blood dripping from its lower back.
The creature's breath grew rapid as Sasuke squatted down beside her. "It's getting dark," he said, clearly irritated with Fuyuko's behaviour. "We need to go back."
Fuyuko frowned and shook her head, holding the rabbit closer to her chest. It was clear the small animal wouldn't survive on its own for much longer, and Sasuke debated whether or not to put it out of its misery right there; but something was stopping him.
"We can take it back to the hideout with us," Sasuke offered, slowly and gently taking the rabbit out of Fuyuko's hands before helping her to her feet. The girl kept her head down but nodded anyway, holding onto Sasuke's sleeve as they began to walk.
The two were quiet as they made their way back to the base, pausing every few minutes when Fuyuko heard something in the distance, and Sasuke was becoming irritated.
"My name's not Saki," he muttered as they reached the secret entrance, making Fuyuko look up at him. "It's Sasuke. Sa-su-ke."
The girl pursed her lips and looked ahead, not saying anything.
"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Kabuto's voice sounded from behind them as he stepped out from behind the large tree that marked the entrance. "She can't exactly communicate with more than two syllables at a time. You're lucky you got 'Saki'." He smirked as he turned his attention to Fuyuko, reaching forward and taking her by the wrist.
Fuyuko flinched but let Kabuto pick her up again and take her down to the hideout, leaving Sasuke to stand by himself.
He'd almost forgotten about the injured rabbit he was holding until it squealed in pain, making him narrow his eyes. Even though he'd promised Fuyuko she could keep it, there was no way it would survive. Sasuke swallowed heavily and wrapped his hand around its neck, ready to break it.
But something stopped him.
There was something about the creatures face that reminded him of the way Fuyuko had stared at him, and Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to kill it. He set the rabbit on the ground, watching as it sprinted off into the bushes, and curled his hands into fists. Clearly he was still weak. If he couldn't kill a small, injured animal, how could he hope to avenge his family?