He's late again.
Of course he is, Sasuke thinks to himself as he stuffs his hands in his pockets against the morning cold. It's not like he expected any different from the man but Kakashi is someone so random, so unexpected that he didn't want today to be the day to come early and Sasuke's not there.
At least that's what he always tells himself. To be honest it's a matter of personal preference. A strong ninja is always punctual, always first. And Sasuke will be first. He knows Kakashi appears to be the exception to the rule (and how it irks him, the constant tardiness and he knows Hatake enjoys pissing him off) but most likely the man is just an outlier. Or trying to trick him and any watching ninja, make them underestimate. It could however be some obscure mark of greatness, that the side quirks and stupidity and leaving-students-out-in-the-cold-5:00am-mornings-tardiness come with time, fighting experience, and age.
Gods, Sasuke hopes not. He kicks a stray rock in his irritation and his self-flagellation for not having brought warmer clothing. He had thought they would've gone straight to training anyway: the usual blood-pumping warm-up before practicing the Sharingan. It made sense here at the great boulder, a little ways outside the village, the same place where they always practice clan techniques hidden from prying enemies. It's a secluded spot, hard to get to unless you know what you're looking for and rare for sunlight to shine into sensitive eyes. Sasuke's looking forward to learning how to better his taijutsu and maybe even extend his Sharingan longer than an hour…
The wind whips loudly, driving up dew-covered leaves and slamming them against his face. Sasuke spits out a leaf and shuts his eyes from any incoming dirt. A loud sneeze erupts. He shivers.
He mustnot get sick. Otherwise, he'll never escape the hospital.
Still, the Uchiha's sorely tempted to head back home to his comfortable, toasty-warm bed. It's not like any of his team have missions any more, not with the second part of the Chuunin exams coming up. Plus he'd rather conserve his strength, if he can't improve it. The fight with that man, that foreigner ninja (Sasuke itches to rub the mark off his neck but he's already tried) scared the living soul out of him and he hopes to never see that snake creep again. Despite his Sharingan's eidetic memory, he still doesn't remember exactly what happened. All that he knows is that Sakura's never looked at him the same since. She steps around him, wide and considerate - afraid, as if he were going to do something.
But what? Sasuke frowns, his face stiff in the frozen air, slow to move and make expressions. This time when he sneezes it hurts, it's dry and his nose is red at the tip. Sasuke wipes with the sleeve of his arm. Where is Hatake?
It takes him another ten minutes because even Kakashi is late to respond to his internal monologues, but the ninja appears before him in a shushin. A cloud of white and leaves buffer against his skin. Sasuke glares. "Would it kill you to come early?"
"Maa, there was a line of wild turkeys in the road and I had to wait for all of them to pass."
You shushinned here!
"Whatever." Sasuke fights to keep his thoughts to himself and his expression neutral. He can tell by the growing eye-crinkle that his struggle is apparent. "What are we practicing?"
"Ah, right," the great Copy-Cat ninja says as he bookmarks his Icha-Icha. "I forgot to tell you. We're not going to train."
What? Sasuke growls and his Sharingan activates. He can't believe he woke up early for this-!
"Calm down, calm down, you're not here for nothing." His eyes deactivate. Reluctantly. "Today I'm going to teach you the greatest move I know."
Despite himself, Sasuke's heart skips. He may not have seen the move Kakashi used against Zabuza but Naruto has talked about it. Raikiri. It was the move that took out Haku - the chakra-charged 'hand-lightning', he had said - a move that few who ever see it live to speak of. And that's all that Sasuke needs to know. Naruto told him that Kakashi had said it was something the man had taught himself, created himself, without copying with his Sharingan.
But Sasuke doesn't care about all that. It killed Haku as it would've killed Zabuza. That means it's strong. Incredibly powerful. Just the thing that could bring him ever closer to Itachi.
He nearly smiles.
"Now this a dangerous move to use and takes great skill to master. Even with your clan's doujutsu." His sensei stares at him, hard and considering. "And I know your goal is to kill your brother."
Sasuke growls. "He is not my brother."
"Excuse me, Uchiha Itachi, I meant to say. This move will help you achieve your goal." Sasuke visibly perks, at least what constitutes as showing interest for him. He focuses his gaze on the masked man before him, meeting a heavy-lidded eye directly. "But you mustn't forget your friends. This move must be used sparingly when in danger and you must always use it to protect those important to you."
"Yes, I understand." I get it already, would you finally get around teaching?
"Hm, I'm sure you do," Kakashi says with a knowing look until he turns his attention to his neck. "How's the seal?"
"Fine," Sasuke says curtly, refusing to admit that at nights it burns. He wakes up after his nightmares which were already painful to begin with only to suffer more for the fact that he's utilized a lot of chakra in his sleep. Chakra use always aggravates the curse seal.
Sharingan, and its perfect recall memory and single-mindedness to replay all the worst things when he's in bed. What a double-edged sword.
"Hm. Alright. If you are willing I will teach you the move now."
Kakashi stares at him and it's always been eerie with one eye. Sasuke activates his Sharingan. "No, don't. This is not a move you learn with your eyes," he says and Sasuke listens. He waits impatiently.
"Patience, Sasuke, and watch but don't copy."
Kakashi proceeds to move. Not so fast that his normal eyes can't track, the older ninja pulls out a large ninja scroll. He unlatches it open and it's long – long enough to wrap around the man several times. Kakashi keeps it from hitting the floor, he whips and twirls the paper beautifully and in perfect form to keep it from folding. He's however, distinctly not holding a hand with a heavy stance and collecting immense amounts of blue lightening chakra to aim at the nearest enemy.
Che.
Once Kakashi is done twirling (what stupid theatrics), he nicks a cut onto his thumb. He runs the bloodied digit along the length of the scroll and it poofs out of existence. "There's nothing here."
"Patience, Sasuke."
"That's a summoning scroll," he says aloud, lamely.
"Mm."
"You want me to learn how to summon." Kakashi nods.
"That's your 'greatest move'. The most 'dangerous'?"
"Ah! Here he is," Kakashi says and his body blocks his sight when he crouches to… scoop something off the ground?
"Maa, Sasuke-kun, here is what I wanted to teach you," he says right before offering him something in his hand. Whatever it is it's ridiculously small, smells awful-strong like wet hair, and furry. It twitches alive in gloved hands, tan and dirty. When Sasuke stares for too long, too shocked and angry and upset, the little ugly thing notices and faces him. It whines pitifully loud. He thinks it's… crying.
It's a puppy.
Out of all the things he could've been taught: tree-walking, water-dragon jutsu if not the famed raikiri, hell, even the academy katas! He's given a freaking wet and recently weaned, ugly-looking puppy.
Sasuke deadpans. "What is that."
Kakashi smiles under his mask. "It's a puppy."
"Why is that thing here."
"Sasuke," Kakashi starts, and right now the Uchiha itches to run away before his sentence can finish. He is definitely not going to like what comes out of the man's mouth. "This is good training for you."
He sees red.
"Is this a joke?" Inflamed, Sasuke glares and he refuses to look at it. "You expect this stuffed animal to help me fight against Gaara of the Sand in the exams? Against-" he swallows and attempts to keep down his growing panic. He will not show fear. "Orochimaru."
Kakashi nods. "Mm. And-"
"And Itachi. You actually believe that this useless thing will help me defeat him. You're insane." He looks at his sensei disbelieving and his brows furrow in disappointment. He's confused. He doesn't know what kind of connection the ninja has made between a dog and avenging his clan but he thought… he had thought this man was on his side, would help him, and even if Hatake never wanted him to get revenge he at least grasped why.
"I'm going home," Sasuke says, pissed at the turn of his morning. He stuffs clenched fists deeper into his pockets and keeps a hard line to his mouth. He refuses to talk about this anymore.
"No, you're not," Kakashi orders and even his serious tones drawl lazily.
"I don't want it."
He gets a raised eyebrow. "You would refuse a lesson from your sensei?"
"I don't want it."
The thing whines at him.
"Sasuke." Kakashi hugs the dog to the bridge between his neck and shoulder comforting it, and the puppy hiccups and nuzzles closer. He rubs its back idly. Sasuke's eyes narrow. "This isn't about wanting it or not. I'm offering you something very important to me, no one else has made a contract with any of my ninken and you are the first to do so."
Pointing at the cuddled bundle of fur, he says. "That's not one of yours."
"That is correct, Sasuke." Kakashi smiles.
He gestures angrily. "What am I supposed to do with it anyway, huh? It's a puppy."
"That is also an astute observation."
"Stop mocking me!" he barks and in response the little dog starts to cry. Despite himself, Sasuke deflates.
"One of my ninken has had young," Kakashi explains as he hugs the dog closer. He bounces the poor thing like a baby. "This pup is the only one with developed chakra coils: the rest were normal dogs. I raised my ninken myself even before I was your age. I'm giving this puppy to you so that you may do the same."
"How many times do I have to say I do not want it?" Sasuke glares as if he could force the man to stop whatever this is. He hates this dog already, he just wants to get more power and not be held back by an animal. A baby animal. "I don't have the time to train a ninken and even if I did, it would remain utterly useless in a fight."
"Aa, you need to get stronger in order to kill your brother," Kakashi drones boredly.
Sasuke growls. "Itachi. And we both know what happened to Lee…" He looks at his sensei now, studying intently as if he could find the logical reason and answer behind all this within a lazy eye. There was always something underneath the underneath, Kakashi never let him down before. He was always ahead of the game and the smartest, the most prized ninja of their village and yet...
The man wears more than one mask.
Sasuke's angry glare and pursed mouth loosens, twisting uncomfortably into confused hurt. His heart constricts, knots strained-tight in his chest. His brain is pounding. He doesn't know what Kakashi could be thinking. This is such a stupid, stupid move and Sasuke just… he doesn't understand. His sensei is a blank mask before him not telling of anything.
If the man doesn't teach him a better jutsu: Naruto, Sakura… "If I use this thing in the exams it'll die. We'll both die."
He hesitates to think this but his ninja mind makes connections against his will. Was this what you wanted?
"Maa, you're right."
Sasuke's stomach drops. His breath hitches in his throat cutting off his supply of cold-dry air, and despite himself, bitterly against himself, he feels betrayed.
Sasuke knows Gaara of the Sand. He's seen the kid – the genin who effortlessly sneaked past his perch on the tree. The same genin who defeated Lee in the preliminaries. Unfortunately, he's roomed with Rock in Konoha Hospital and saw what resulted… and what he saw wasn't pretty. This man however, knowingly chooses to send him to the same fate. "-as you are now, you will lose."
He tries to feel even a bit inflamed, to take the insult on behalf of the Uchiha. Pull a Naruto who'd never hesitate to defend himself and stand up for his "number-one rookie" abilities…
But he can't. Ever since the Forest of Death and that man, and the snakes and the stupidly painful bite, he can't feel too much of anything. He was terrified; he's still terrified. For once his nightmares star a different enemy than his brother and he would be grateful for the reprieve if it wasn't so horrifying. He's already lost and should that grass - no, sound ninja - come back… who's going to defend his teammates in addition to an inexperienced puppy ninken? How will he survive past this match?
He looks at the tiny creature, how it shivers delicately in the cold air and he sees death. "Then teach-me." He could beg.
Please.
Kakashi stares at him coldly. He pulls the dog away from his neck and the pup wriggles in his hands. Sasuke's eyes can't help but to track the motion and he watches as the masked man simply offers up the creature to him for the second time.
Struggling and scrambling, the little tan and white animal suddenly freezes. It stares up at him dolefully with full dark eyes and a twitching, wet black nose. It yawns cutely, revealing tiny incisor canine teeth that Sasuke knows won't grow in for another few months. Sasuke doesn't intend to be there when it does.
"Kakashi," he says because he's been the only one to refuse calling him 'sensei'. At least, out loud. "Why?"
"-you could say that I've been ordered to do so by the Hokage."
'In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.'
Sasuke swallows. He presses his mouth so close together to clamp the scream down, down, down! inside him. Silently, he accepts the animal. He coughs and keeps his thoughts to himself.
"...yes, sir."