Book One: Rage
Rage- n. Violent, explosive anger
I had at once thought that I was nothing. My life was almost non-existent, for I had had everything I ever held dear stripped away from me. I was lost, and thus the hole in my heart consumed me…
You probably assume I'm Uchiha Sasuke, don't you? It's all right; everyone makes that mistake once in awhile. No, I'm not him. I'm his son, Uchiha Isamashii. You know, I used to be so infuriated when people accused me of being just like him. "His spitting image" they would say. Well, we were all furious back then. It was only until a few years ago that it all changed…
"ISAMASHII! ANDO! QUIT YOUR FIGHTING THIS INSTANT!" Fox-sensei screamed at the top of her lungs. Al though the shrill sound of her scream did make me slightly uneasy, that didn't stop my fist from slamming into Ando's jaw. Unfortunately, he had done the same to me, so we were both thrown back. Sliding across the gravel burned my back and skinned my arms since the rocks had torn open my sleeves.
Destry stood in the middle of us, as always, determining which boy she should run to. She glanced over at her "best friend," then at me, her stupid "crush," then back at Ando. She made her final decision and ran over to Ando (for once), who was already picking himself up and rubbing blood from his chin. I had to admit, for the whiny sissy he was; he never gave up in a fight against me. That took some pluck.
"So…Ponytail…" I managed between breaths, "When…you gonna…admit that…I'm better than you?"
Ando glared, "I will…when it's…true!"
Just then Fox-sensei leaped in between us. I swear the ground shook when her feet touched it. Her hair glowed an even brighter red, almost as if it was on fire, and her eyes burned even more than her fire hair. I'd seen that look before…too many times.
"What is your PROBLEM? Have you no self-control? The two of you fight over NOTHING! And Destry, what were you doing just standing there, again?"
"I-…I don't know Sensei…" The girl murmured.
"I've told you more than once, don't become a part of the background! You don't even try to stop them, do you?"
Destry bit her lip and lowered her head. It was moments like these where I almost felt bad for her. Ando and I were the ones who always fought. She just stood there, begging us to stop. But she was also a stuck up little brat who had everything I never had. She deserved no compassion, no empathy. She had her own conflicts she needed to resolve.
"So," Sensei turned her attention towards us boys again, "which one of you started it this time, huh?"
I glanced towards Ando. Despite the fact that I "technically" started it, he kept his mouth shut. Destry didn't say anything either. Why would they do that? No matter. Ando should be blamed for this anyway. He had it coming.
"No answer, eh? Well, it's not like it'd make a difference anyway. You ALL are being punished!"
"But Destry didn't do anything!" Ando shouted in defense.
"EXACTLY!" Fox-sensei snapped, making Ando flinch. "From now on, I'm quadrupling your training. You'll be working from sunrise to sunset. No, you'll be here before sunrise! And you can forget about me giving you a break on weekends. Your weekend training will now be even HARDER than your weekday training! And if I hear even a peep of complaint out of any of you, I assure you, you will regret it."
"Heh," I scoffed.
Fox whipped around to face me.
"Did you say something, Mr. I-Think-I'm-Better-Than-Everybody-Else? Do you have a problem with something I just said?"
I spit some blood into the dirt and grinned, my teeth stained with crimson, "Why would I complain? It's not like I have anything else better to do. Besides, what could be more fun than training all day long? That sounds just like a picnic to me!"
Ando and Destry stiffened, a look of fear on their face. This wouldn't be the first time my mouth caused us to do more than we had to.
Fox smiled slyly, "Good. We wouldn't want to upset the Omnipotent Isamashii!" She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I can't deal with anymore of this today. Go home. Relish it. You won't be seeing it much for the next couple of weeks."
She made a hand sign and disappeared, leaving only a wave of vaporous smoke and us genin.
"C'mon, Des. I'll walk you home," Ando suggested. She nodded in reply, and the two began to walk towards their homes.
"Is Princess gonna go cry to Daddy?" I mocked.
They both stopped.
"I bet you're gonna go cry and sob, 'Oh Daddy! Oh Daddy! You'll never believe what that meany Isamashii did!'"
I could see Destry's shoulders jerk. Good. That was a good sign. It meant it was working.
"And then you know what Daddy'll do? We all know what Daddy'll do!" I lashed at her. "He'll skin my hide and tear me apart! And everyone will act like it never happened, because he's our precious Hokage. Our Lord. Our KING! WELL WHAT ARE WE? His slaves? Oh no, but not you! You're not his slave! You're the princess, after all, getting whatever you want, WHEN YOU WANT IT! Oh I bet you'd like to see that happen, wouldn't you? See me get in trouble! I know that's exactly what you want!"
Ando quickly turned around again, shouting, "WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP, YOU SON OF A-"
Destry forced her hand into his chest, stopping him from coming closer to me. Her watery eyes looked up at him for understanding, and then turned to me, glaring.
"I don't know what causes you to act this way, or to treat everyone around you so poorly, but I pity you. I pity the fact that you believe the lie that everyone has such a perfect life, including my own. But mostly, I pity that you shun yourself from those of us who care about you most. Friends aren't supposed to shut each other out. We're supposed to stick together, be there for each other! That's what comrades do. That's what friends do!"
She turned, pulling Ando along with her.
"Friends? Comrades?" I held my hand to my ear and began shouting in singsong, "Did I hear you correctly? Why, fair Princess, what are these words you speak of? Surely you aren't referring to me! I HAVE NO FRIENDS!"
My taunting did not faze her, and I watched them walk into the distance. I snorted and turned. That was the last day Destry had a crush on me.
Fox Sensei shouldn't have had such a cow about my little "retort." It's not like I was lying. I didn't have anything better to do. It was Princess and Ponytail who were having the problems, not me. They had a warm home to go to, with hot food, a welcoming family. They were just being babies, fussing because they weren't gonna have that comfort for a few weeks. Well, boo-hoo. Maybe now they'd get a taste of what I had to go through every day of my life.
I was just a few yards from my house when…I heard IT. It was like those little bells you hang above a doorway to signal that someone is entering. It's like they know I'm coming home, so it just starts up again.
"There you go, again! What's-a-matter with you? Are you completely useless?!"
"Useless? USELESS?! Mind your place, Woman! Do you have ANY IDEA who you're talking to?!"
"Of course I do! You're the Almighty Sasuke Uchiha! The top-grade, prestigious, LOUSY bum of a husband that I have EVER laid eyes on!"
"If I'm so 'great,' then WHY did you marry me?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! Maybe it was your 'oh-so-charming' smile, or your ability to COMPLETELY UNDERMINE OTHERS!"
With that, I heard the sound of glass smashing (presumably a plate), a slam of a door, then silence. Judging by the words that were used and the "weapon-of-choice," I could tell their fight was somewhere along the lines of…Mother asking him to do the dishes, and him deciding that that wasn't going to happen. It's sad that I can guess what they were fighting about. It's even sadder when I'm right.
I stopped before opening the door. One of them was is their room, which meant the other was still in the living room. I really didn't want to get involved. That's what us New-Bred Uchihas do. We make trouble and don't get involved in anyone else's. It makes you really think about life, huh?
Well, my decision was decided for me as the door slammed open. It was my father. He was stomping out the door, his head down, murmuring to himself. That's another thing us New-Bred Uchihas do well; pout. He nearly threw himself right into me. His eyes widened for a split second, as I apparently startled him. I held my breath, just as I always did when he walked near me. It wasn't very often we were standing this close. It was even more rare to have him looking directly into my eyes. No worries, because that didn't last long.
He looked to his left, embarrassed, and grunted. I still said nothing. Don't breathe, don't speak, don't say a word. The awkward silence was killing me. It was like a 20 billion ton weight was thrown onto my chest. Don't breathe, don't speak, don't say a word.
He raised his foot and I twitched. What an idiot I must've looked like. Here, the son of the bold, prominent Sasuke Uchiha, twitching like a spazz because he stepped forward. I only prayed that he didn't see as he walked around me. After he was a few steps away I let out my breath. The cold air stung my nose as I inhaled deeply. Turning to look behind me, I couldn't help but feel a slight stab at my heart. Here was the man I had looked up to, thought so highly of, was so proud to call my dad, and I'd hardly ever said more than 2 words to him since I was four-years-old.
I stood there until the dark night swallowed him completely. Then I walked into our broken home and went straight to my room. I was lucky to have run into my father. He never said a word to me. It was my mother who'd have a mouthful with me.