One of the first things a ninja was educated in was the elements. This action was praised, and such knowledge considered essential, as they were the basis of the majority of ninja techniques. Naruto whispered these words to himself silently, the monotony soothing him. They were familiar, friendly, and required little conscious thought to summon. However... An unforgiving fist collided with his jaw, and he felt certain his nerves were being crushed. ...Most importantly... Blood caused him to choke as it rose in his throat, lungs constricting painfully. ...They helped him fight the tears. Another weakness Naruto couldn't afford - no, couldn't bear to show now. How much more pathetic could he look?
Each element had an equal and opposite counter-part. This caused a sense of balance, and created situations for absolutes. His face was aching, sensors struggling to shut down, but he still felt the damp trails inch down his face. He shook his head with the same sort of stubborness he would show in any fight.
"Water, lightning, earth, fi-" This time it was a kick planted harshly in his chest. He wasn't holding back. But still... Naruto held onto hope. No! He was doing it again. Not hope; it was truth. It just had to be. Sasuke couldn't know what he was doing. He wouldn't... He wanted power, but he had changed. Naruto had seen him change. He had helped him change. Orochimaru didn't have anything over them. He wasn't important, wasn't worth anything. Sasuke knew that too. He had to.
Water...water was free, but enclosed; unrestrained, but trapped. Without limits, it had no structure. Lightning...lightning was quick, effective, and silencing with its following of forceful sound. It penetrated, pierced, and left behind scars of all kinds. Earth...earth was layered, complex, and so smoothly rough. It was itself in essence, but not raw. It didn't lie, but it deceived. Fire...
Fire was Sasuke. Fire was the Kyuubi. Fire was intensity. Fire was the most pure substance of all, unable to be tainted by any force. It couldn't be. It forced anything capable of doing so away with its sheer power; its undying consumption.
...So why was it that Sasuke seemed so easily shaken? He had tried to prove to everyone how much he didn't care. He had tried to be indifferent, to leave no doubt in their minds as to his intentions. He was going to have his revenge. That was all. And yet it wasn't. Sasuke was always watched, always observed by some discerning figure for proof of ulterior motives. They wanted to expose his confusion. They wanted to find what he was hiding from even himself, for no motivation - especially from one of such maturity, yet youth; such intelligence, yet foolishness; from this creature of complete contradiction - could be of such purity. The more he tried to explain himself, the more they tried to uncover him.
The more they tried to dissect him. Naruto suddenly felt a strong wave of nausea pass over him.
But that was all that they really saw, wasn't it? A grand puzzle. A supernatural being they were sent to pity and comfort. Naruto wondered how long it was before Sasuke felt bound to this; obligated to live up to these standards. These expectations. Most people couldn't understand. They couldn't understand how someone could feel forced sorrow, something that had been there, but forgotten. A whisp of a memory and a now dull pang of regret stood as their only reminders. Now that feeling was present. That same obligation was the underlying cause of that same indignation. That anger...he took his brother's life to be an insult to his family's name. Or at least that's what he was telling himself. That's what he had convinced himself. That's what was expected of him.
Naruto wondered if Sasuke had even noticed.