"Toshio." A stern voice snapped at me. "Correct your stance."
I barely managed not to shoot the speaker a sour look and simply said "Hai, Fugaku-sama." instead. Staring at the clan chief's younger son standing opposite me I moved my feet a little closer together to mirror his own stance.
In my peripheral vision I saw Fugaku nod slightly from where he stood at the edge of the training field.
"Begin."
Sasuke made the first move as usual, he closed the distance between us and aimed a punch straight at my face. He had natural skill at fighting physically but he had yet to grasp some of the finer points of tactics, namely unpredictability. I slipped sideways and deflected the blow with my forearm, with my free arm I went to sock him in the gut but he hopped backward out of reach.
Pressing forward I launched high a kick at his chest which he caught a little clumsily with one hand, wincing a little at the impact. Grabbing my ankle with both hands he hooked a leg around the one I still had on the ground and pulled it out from under me, as I lost my footing I could clearly see that blasted smirk on his face.
I grinned back fiercely, even though Fugaku would likely give me crap for losing composure.
Twisting as I fell I rebounded back upward off of one hand using the continuing turning motion to pull my leg free and regain my footing. Moving apart we circled around each other, Sasuke was still smiling a little while I wore an impassive mask as an expression once more.
We exchanged blows for several minutes back and forth, burning chakra when our stamina ran low. Annoying Sasuke managed to pin me once and I may have been petty enough to hit him a bit harder than I should have for a sparring match, still that's what you get for making me competitive and he toughed it out anyway.
Once we were both shaking on our feet Fugaku broke his stoic silence.
"Enough." We froze and snapped straight and faced him. He looked at us both with a stern expression that could easily be with disapproval, basically his default. "You both still lack focus, you are learning to fight and kill not play a child's game."
"Hai, Fugaku-sama." I chorused alongside Sasuke though he naturally substituted in "Otou-sama". I could play this game effortlessly, give the man half an ear, chirp the required replies at the right times and think about how much I missed sausages.
Our dear clan chief reeled off several other ways we'd messed up before dismissing the two of us, I say we but Sasuke got the lion's share of the criticism. Training had been ramping up in frequency and intensity for months for both of us but I was still an afterthought when compared to Sasuke, afterthought, vengeful punch bag and target to beat/stay ahead of.
The moment he was out of sight we both crumpled in the dirt panting. Keeping ahead of Sasuke academically was easy but in terms of physical training I didn't have any previous experience to draw on at all, I'd never done any martial arts or boxing or even seen a Bruce Lee movie last time around.
Putting my personal pride before pain I rolled over and stood up first.
"Well...Sasuke...are you…going to...lie there...all day?" I stood upright and grinned widely but panted noisily as I spoke.
Sasuke scowled and groaned while he hauled himself to his feet and stumbled a little before meeting my eyes with his own belligerent smile.
"I...wanted...to...make sure...that you...didn't...want...another...round."
I punched him lightly on the arm and led the way back to the compound proper while Sasuke chattered about our spar and his father's advice. It was only the third time Fugaku had supervised our training himself so when he did check in on us Sasuke tended to get hyped up over it and fight even harder than usual. Frankly it was a wonder that the man noticed my existence with how much he ignored his own son.
The clan chief was someone I hadn't managed to feel out yet, I couldn't tell if he was genuinely in favour of the coup or being carried along by the will of the clan. I say it that way but I had no idea how many people were going along with it
A lot of the people we passed in the street called out to us as we walked, the clan's isolation from the village proper naturally led to it being very close-knit. I'm not all that good with names, if I use them a few times I can remember them fairly well but otherwise they can drop out of my head in under a minute which let to the occasional awkward conversation when I got called by name by a faintly familiar face, fortunately I was still playing second fiddle to Sasuke and could let him handle the names, he didn't have several hundred Pokemon rattling around in his memory anyway.
We ended up perched on a wall sharing a bag of senbei when both of our brothers caught up with us. Naturally Shisui's less reserved voice got our attention first while Itachi simply followed quietly until they got close enough to not shout.
Itachi was a mess of mixed feelings for me, I hadn't actively freaked out whenever he was in the room after the first few times but I couldn't forget that unless I changed things he would be the one that would kill me and almost everyone I had come to care about here. No matter how much I wanted to save him too, how kind he was I still couldn't be at ease around him and I was sure both he and Shisui were more than sharp enough to notice my odd behaviour.
"Nii-san!" Sasuke called out brightly and waved enthusiastically. "Hi Shisui!" In contrast I simply smiled, gave a small wave and said "hey". Just being near my brother's closest friend could strip away the façade that I had built to shield myself from the constantly looming doom.
My disturbing thoughts were cut off when Shisui's hand dropped heavily on my head and ruffled my already messy hair leaving me clumsily trying to brush it out of my face with my fingers.
The wide grin and the weight of my brother's hand seemed like a throwaway sign of affection initially but there was a worry in his dark eyes that I had seen a few times before when I tried to gauge the mood of the clan under the guise of innocence, though I hadn't seen it focused purely on me before.
"Hey 'Shio." He said cheerfully. "You ok? How was training?" For a moment I thought he might have been thinking that it was Fugaku's less then tender teaching style could have gotten me down but I quickly decided that he definitely knew that that wasn't the real problem.
Brushing the last of my fringe out of my eyes I gave him a mock glare but couldn't keep from smiling up at him more genuinely. "I was doing just fine until you turned up nii-san, I've seen how you look in the mornings and it isn't pretty. I don't want to end up looking that way in public."
Shisui laughed and didn't press further for the moment presumably since Sasuke was still right next to me, nothing could make me subject that kid to the kind of stress I laboured under. Still he was worried about me now and he'd tell an army to take a bloody number before dropping it. I'd wish that people cared a little less but I saw that episode of Fairly Odd Parents and I don't need to see anyone swinging on their armpit hair.
While I was half-heartedly beating a mental image out of my head that was disturbingly funny as opposed to being merely disturbing something Itachi said seemed to have gotten Sasuke excited about something again. "Hey Toshio!" He waved a hand in front of my face until he was sure I was paying attention. "Itachi-nii said we can go with him next time he visits Neko-baa."
I took a moment to recall all that stuff with ninja cats and pawprints and how the hell Yugito got talked into providing Matatabi's.
While I was chafing to go somewhere the idea of being stuck with Itachi didn't sound like fun, I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up decking him on reflex at some point. Outwardly I simply pretended to mull it over before murmuring quietly. "I'll think about it."
"You always say that!" Sasuke said indignantly, apparently he noticed I was a non-committal loser, that is I always consider a problem carefully and never procrastinate until the last minute. "My dad says you have to decisive to be a ninja."
"Yeah I think I was around for that one." I grunted flippantly while wondering when he was going to grow out of quoting lectures by rote, I'd had a fair amount of freedom to choose what to think my first time round after I hit 15 but in this society we'd be in the thick of it long before that. Maybe that's the whole idea, get us bloodied up and used to it before we started asking questions. Either way I've got more immediate problems than this world's social junk.
Stopping in front of me Sasuke shoved his sour face into mine. "Come on just make a decision on the spot for a change! Are you coming or not? I'm going to count down and you say yes or no. Three. Two. One!"
"Well...I" I floundered.
"Now!"
"Yes!" Bugger. How could I possibly say no to that adorable face you up and coming force of destruction you little shite you.
Sasuke cheered loudly and walked on with a definite extra spring in his step leaving me feeling distinctly defeated, Shisui patted my head sympathetically but when I glanced at him both he and Itachi just looked amused at my getting steam-rolled.
In the middle of the night I sat in my room with a dim light on slowly packing a small travel bag to last a few days. My parents had agreed to letting me go without objection, naturally if both Itachi and Sasuke were going somewhere alone it had to be pretty much completely safe. The three of us would be leaving in the morning and my apprehension had only grown over the last few days, no matter how much the rational side of my mind kept reminding me that Itachi wasn't going to kill everyone just yet the rest of it always got hung up on the bloody death part.
I already knew that both he and Shisui could take a secret to the grave, getting sold out wasn't what I was worried about it was not being believed at all. Naturally no one had mentioned to me how far along the coup plan was if it had even started yet and I had no idea what actually went on during this period except for flashbacks that had been from Sasuke's perspective which was about as useful as evaluating the quality of education at a pre-school by asking one of the students.
The only thing I could reliably throw out was that I knew about Shisui's Mangekyo, no one was supposed to know about that but I wasn't sure if that would be enough to make him buy that I knew how this story went or that it was a story.
Would I believe me? "Hi I was a Brit in my early twenties then I died and became your-oh what's a Brit? Well..." My mind ran around in circles until I punched the floor in frustration. Too small! Too young! Too weak!
Feeling my cheeks burn at throwing a childish tantrum I rubbed away a furious itching in my eyes cursing at the idea that I might be tearing up. "Shit." I hissed. Lowering my hands I found them bone dry and my eyes were raw like I had rubbed them with sandpaper.
Behind me the door opened and closed, I hadn't heard any footsteps meaning it probably wasn't Shisui, he usually tried to let me know he was there somehow before coming in. "Toshio." A firm voice cut cleanly through my thoughts, it held an admonishing tone but it tried not to slip into harshness. "Why are you still up? I heard a noise."
Smiling ruefully I gave a lame wave. "Hey dad I was just having some trouble getting everything packed up." I gestured to the contents of the bag exploding outward across the floor. He was the only person I could tolerate seeing right now, mum would coddle me and I didn't trust myself not to spill my guts to Shisui if I saw him now.
Coming into the room proper he crouched next to me smoothly. "Here let me, you can do it yourself next time." It didn't even take him two minutes to empty out and repack everything with an easy efficiency. "One of the more mundane skills you'll learn but still a useful one." He looked at me searchingly. "So Toshio, what's the real problem?" At my surprised expression his turned a little mournful. "I'm no fool, I know that you're lying and I can tell that you're afraid of something."
Looking down at the floor I fidgeted, I can lie confidently but being surrounded by ninja rozzers with super perceptive special eyes ready to use was killing me. "I..I..it's just that I haven't gone anywhere yet...before. I don't know what to do." First truthful thing I've said in the conversation there. Piss. "Things are going to change and I need to do something-" But I don't know what. I was starting to tip my hand by now and a change of scenery was sounding like a much better idea.
"Enough." I clung to the firm tone and strong hand on my back like a lifeline. "The world will change no matter what and we can only try to be swept in the direction we choose."
Looking up at him I saw a possible opportunity. "What about forcing a change?" I probed, suddenly calm. "How far do you go to shape the outcome to what you want? How far would you go?"
"For the clan or for a mission, as far as it takes. There can be no compromise when it comes to your duty." He was getting off track from what I was fishing for. If this was my first time round these lovely pearls of wisdom would be informative and maybe even helpful but with over two decades of cynicism already under my belt it was just a rehash.
Nodding dutifully I tried to get things back on track. "The others don't like how things are now, does that mean there needs to be a change?" Looking down and inwardly gritting my teeth I pressed on. "Maybe someone is doing something about it right now?" After a moment I hazarded a glance at dad's face and was caught by his sharp gaze, he seemed truly shocked by the implication.
"What did you hear?" As best I could tell the question was a genuine one, if he wasn't in the business of hiding his facial expressions I think he would look outright bewildered. "Did one of the others say something?"
"N-no….no one said anything it's just that the general mood is giving me that impression you know?" I found I sounded more surprised at dad's response along with my sense of relief. "So everything is okay?" For now. If he didn't know anything then the plot had either not started yet or was still confined to a small hidden group, either way it meant I still had time before things came to a head.
Nodding calmly he patted my head and I didn't pout for a change. "Everything is fine Toshio, trust me." After a moment I smiled a little and nodded. "Good. Now-" He stood in a single fluid motion. "-to bed. I likely won't see you before you leave tomorrow so have a good journey and do what Itachi tells you, think of it as a mission where he is the team leader."
I crouched on one knee and fist in imitation of a particularly ninja pose I remembered and barked "yes sir" before obediently getting into bed.
Nodding approvingly dad simply flicked the light off. "I'll see you when you get back." He said as he left leaving me to settle down though once the door shut there was a pause before he walked off.
Curling inward I smiled to myself, I had some time in hand, had bonded a bit with my dad and was about to go on an adventure with lots of cats! Actual 'tiny ninjas in fur coats'! Somehow I managed not to actually squee at the idea and quietly tried to get to sleep.
Next morning I had managed to sleep at least a bit and was chomping at the bit to get going, dad was as he said already gone and Shisui had unexpectedly left early for a mission leaving mum the only person from my family left to see me off.
Sasuke meanwhile was barely staying on the ground in spite of looking like he barely slept at all. He chattered excitedly with me and Itachi while Mikoto looked on with her ever-present air of quiet dignity, Fugaku meanwhile was nowhere to be seen I understood that he was busy but it did seem like he acted aloof towards his sons on purpose sometimes.
While Sasuke bounced around my mum was making sure that I wasn't going on an adventure running late and leaping over fences without a handkerchief, she was going through my pack with a clinical efficiency. "….toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, spare underwear, spare socks…." She muttered aloud as she checked items off.
"Mum please, it's fine. Everything is in there." I whined and tried to get my hands in while morbidly wondering if Itachi would kill me early if I asked nicely. At least letting dad take a look last night meant I could be certain there wasn't that one thing I had forgotten for a change.
Once she finally stopped fussing mum hugged me a little longer than I thought was normal and kissed my cheek. "Have fun Toshio and stay safe….just let Itachi lead and come back safe." She hugged me again until I hugged her back.
The three of us finally set off not from the main village gates but from a much smaller one near the clan compound, after bowing respectfully to Mikoto I waved to mum catching the wistfulness in her smile and turned my attention to my two companions.
"Sure you've got everything?" Itachi teased lightly as I hefted my pack.
"Yes heichou!" I snapped back deadpan.
Author Notes: I'm still here, I didn't abandon this! Yeah this took a very long time, I hit a rut barely kept up with roleplaying junk off the site and unhelpfully got stuck into catching up with FFXIV before Stormblood arrives.
Writing about parenting is hard, really hard I mean damn I wanted to throw out half this chapter and start over, still it's here now and barring catastrophe it's here to stay.
God knows when I'll get another chapter up but if you're some sort of saint that cares about my little work amidst the sea of fics know I don't plan on abandoning this anytime soon, especially with all the cats I'm going to get to write for next time!
Now please fav, follow or review, every notification sends me over the moon, especially reviews I can take criticism of the constructive sort so critique me dammit! CRITIQUE MEEEEEE!
