Chapter 10

Sasuke awoke early, stretching slightly as he slowly got up from his makeshift bed. He was used to the stone beds of Orochimaru's hideouts, so it wasn't too bad sleeping on the ground.

But what really confused the young Uchiha was the fact that the pink haired girl was sleeping in the same spot Sasuke was sleeping in. The pink haired brat was currently asleep on his little makeshift bed. Why hadn't she slept on the bed?

It wasn't the fact that she was there, it was the fact that he had not sensed her next to him.

Interesting...

Sasuke shook his head. He would worry about it later. The Uchiha turned to look at the room, making sure not to displace any dust. As he opened the door to leave the grimy room he had been sleeping in, he thought about his next actions.

He really didn't want to make a clone, since it was obvious that his clones could not be trusted.

However, on the other hand, he really didn't want to wash any more dishes.

The Uchiha thought about it for a little while, before he decided to just make a clone. Sasuke shut the door behind him, allowing the pink haired girl to rest some more, before making one hand sign.

An identical Uchiha popped up next to him, and Sasuke hissed menacingly, "Just do your job, and dispel." The clone nodded fervently in fear of the original, causing Sasuke to nod in satisfaction.

Hopefully things wouldn't go too bad.

But just in case, Sasuke would train inside the tavern, so if anything did go wrong, then he would be able to deal with the situation quickly. He wouldn't be able to do any intense training, but he was just going to be controlling his change in chakra form, so it shouldn't be too damaging.

"I'll be upstairs. Dispel if you need me."

Clone nodded happily as he went downstairs to do his job. The original was pretty angry last time because of Clone's reckless actions, but all Clone wanted to do was defend the original's honor!

This time though, Clone would definitely make his original happy.

Clone walked into the kitchen, greeting Jessica with a nod. So far, he hadn't done anything to make himself look less cool. Jessica handed Clone a plate, and Clone started to wash it absentmindedly.

The Uchiha Clone wanted to stay alive as long as possible, so the original wouldn't have to waste any chakra making new clones. Clone had proven that it could withstand hits, but it took an enormous amount of chakra to do so. An enormous amount of his relatively small reserves.

So all he had to do was avoid hits.

"You seem like you rested well last night," Jessica commented.

Clone nodded, doing his best to make his voice monotone, "I did."

A door slammed open, and Clone turned his head to see...a messy Louise groggily come down the stairs. Her hair was a completely out of order, and her uniform looked terrible on her.

"You ok?" Jessica asked, a hint of mocking in her voice.

Louise looked at the girl, before looking at Clone, causing him to gulp silently. "Why didn't you wake me up!" She yelled, causing the Uchiha Clone to wince.

He shook his head quickly, trying to signal to the girl that she was going to blow their cover. Why couldn't she ever think for herself! She would definitely make the mission fail if she continued her actions.

Clone was sure if they did that, the original would not be happy.

Louise didn't seem to notice it though, proceeding to rant angrily until a hand was placed on her shoulder. Clone gulped once again, but this one was actually audible.

While the original might have respected that man, Clone sure didn't like him.

Scarron smiled sweetly, telling Louise to go fix her dress in order to get ready for their first shift. The pink haired girl hurriedly replied, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she went to go do that.

Clone sighed in relief as Louise ran back upstairs.

Thankfully, not too much information about their mission had been leaked by the blabbermouth girl.

"So what's the deal between you and Louise?" Jessica asked nonchalantly, a tone of curiosity in her voice. Clone's eyes narrowed very slightly.

The girl was smarter than she looked.

"Nothing," Clone replied stoically, trying not to show off his alarm. If the girl figured it out, the original would probably be furious and never make another clone again.

So Clone would have to act exactly like the original in order to avoid gaining suspicion.

Jessica wiggled her eyebrows, pressing herself against Clone. The Uchiha Clone tried his best not to react at all, continuing to do his job. "You two definitely don't act like siblings, and you don't look like you're dating."

Clone did not respond, but his body tensed ever so slightly.

"Louise is a noble, isn't she," Jessica whispered, searching Clone's body for any reaction.

Clone made no extraneous movements, cursing to himself as their cover was blown. The Uchiha Clone thought about calling for help from the original, but it would be weird if he just disappeared in smoke. So he would have to deal with the problem himself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clone responded evenly.

"Come on," Jessica said, her voice somewhat pleading. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"I don't have anything to tell you."

Jessica frowned, "Don't be like that!" She then started to lean closer to Clone, as he started to focus chakra unconsciously in case he was hit by something.

"What are you doing there!" Louise's voice yelled, as Clone jumped in alarm. The pink haired girl walked down the stairs, looking angrily at the two.

Clone took that opportunity to move behind Louise, who looked angrily at Jessica. This would probably be the best time to call for help from the original.

There was no way Clone was going to deal with an angry pink haired girl.

"My fairies!" Scarron's voice yelled, as Clone let out a breath in relief. The two girls seemed to be pretty close to fighting. Scarron's voice continued, "Let's open up the Charming Fairy Tavern!"

A chorus of voices yelled out happy affirmatives, and once again, Clone started to wash dishes.

Everything was ok, for now.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly in irritation as he meditated in the unsanitary room. He waited for the pink haired girl to leave the room before starting to train.

His left hand was currently emitting lightning chakra, and a blade of about a foot was protruding from his hand. Sasuke furrowed his brow in concentration as he tried to make the blade even longer.

The Uchiha scowled as his concentration broke and the blade of lightning fizzled out.

There were some bats who were trying to annoy him. The bats were flying around his head, probably trying to get a reaction out of the Uchiha. He didn't know for certain, but he was sure those bats had a death wish.

"Try again, partner!" Derflinger yelled.

Sasuke complied as he once again tried to change the chakra nature of his chidori. If he could fully master his change in chakra form, he could never need to carry a weapon on him again!

A dull thud broke the Uchiha out of his thoughts.

He was only staying in the tavern so he could watch over his dumb clone. But that didn't help the fact that the people in the tavern had to be so noisy!

"Again!" Derflinger yelled, causing Sasuke to scowl again in frustration.

But nevertheless, the Uchiha persevered on.

All he wanted to know was...if he was at his strongest. Was there any possible way he could get any stronger by using any other type of training method? If there was, he would gladly commit to that training method.

Sasuke wanted to honor the Uchiha name by showing that he was deserving of being one of the last remaining Uchiha. He had to gain more strength, more power...

In order to complete his goals.

The Uchiha growled in anger, as his chidori blade fizzled out once again. He gritted his teeth before focusing more chakra into his hand. He would become a master of lightning natured chakra, and he would become stronger.

Ever since he had come to enter Halkeginia, he had been granted a once in a lifetime opportunity.

And the Uchiha would use that chance to gain as much power as he possibly could.

Then he heard an explosion.

Clone sighed once again. Today was no different than yesterday. Louise was forced to stand and watch in a corner, as she kept attacking customers.

The Uchiha Clone took a glance at the girl beside him. Jessica hadn't asked anymore about the whole nobility thing since morning, but Clone had a bad feeling.

Clone winced as a customer started screaming in pain. Apparently, Louise had punched him somehow, even though she was isolated in a corner.

Jessica shook her head in annoyance, before turning to Clone. "She really doesn't have any common sense, does she?"

Clone didn't respond. Anything he said or did could be turned against him. If only the original was here...But Clone didn't want to disappoint the original Uchiha.

A door slammed open, and Clone looked towards the dining area to see a large man enter the building. He held an atmosphere of extreme arrogance, and he was backed up by about four guards.

Clone narrowed his eyes.

This guy was definitely trouble.

Jessica scowled, looking extremely worried as she looked at the man. She turned to Clone, "That's one of the Queen's tax collectors. He fondles us all he wants, and never leaves any tips. If anyone tries to do anything against him, taxes get ridiculous."

Clone didn't like this guy one bit.

Scarron approached the man fearlessly. But then again, it was sort of hard to fear the guy given his outward appearance. What really scared all the people in the tavern was the fact that he was in a high position of power.

"Hello sir," Scarron said happily. But it was a far cry from his usual cheer. It seemed that even Scarron was scared of the man in some way.

"This place is looking rather busy today," The nobleman said, causing Scarron to put his hands up in innocence.

Scarron said hurriedly, "This is the one exception," The muscular man looked around at the other customers. "Usually we are so empty you can hear crickets chirp!"

The nobleman clapped, his face overflowing with confidence. His guards then put up their weapons, forcing all the customers to leave the tavern. "I see, it is so empty you can hear crickets!"

Scarron laughed along with the man, trying to avoid invoking his rage.

The nobleman then asked out to the waitresses. "Well? Is there anyone who would like to be honored to serve me?" Clone sniffed in amusement as all the girls mysteriously disappeared. What a fool.

He noticed a blob of pink hair approaching the man, and his eyes widened.

Clone cursed, waiting a bit before dispelling himself. This problem he definitely couldn't handle by himself. He would need the original to help him out.

Jessica turned to look at Clone, but she found nothing but air.

Louise approached the man with no hesitation. He was definitely a noble, and by the stories that the other girls had told her, he fit the abusing noble picture perfectly.

So if she was able to get some proof, then she could arrest the man and make the princess happy!

The pink haired girl came up to the man, and scowled in irritation as he started trying to grope her. So she did the only logical thing. Namely, kicking him in the face.

The chair under the fat nobleman broke, causing the man to fall backwards. The nobleman quickly scrambled to his feet, before he yelled, "How dare you kick the Queen's tax collector!"

Louise stood up on a table, ignoring the looks of shock from the other girls and Scarron. Strangely, her familiar was absent. But that didn't matter!

She could do this herself!

"Why don't you just shut up!" Louise yelled, as she took out her wand and tried to levitate the nobleman. As expected, an explosion formed, and smoke billowed everywhere.

The nobleman stood up, his face an unnatural red as he looked towards his guards. "You're a fallen noble!" The tax collector accused, before motioning towards his guards.

Louise didn't show it, but she was actually a bit nervous. She could only make explosions, but in close combat, all her magic would be useless.

Her worries amplified as a bolt of lightning pierced the ceiling of the tavern. Screams came from most of the occupants of the tavern, as the nobleman's guards surrounded the fat man to protect him.

The spot where the lightning bolt pierced collapsed, creating a cloud of smoke. As the smoke cleared, to Louise's relief and shock, Sasuke was standing in the debris, dusting off his left hand. She had learned by now her familiar could somehow pull of miracles, but it still surprised her every time he did something like that.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the guards, before looking at the man that was cowardly hiding behind them. The Uchiha turned his gaze to Louise, who was shaking slightly.

"I see that you need my help," Sasuke said, as he smirked in amusement. He didn't really care that he broke through the roof of a tavern that had been kind enough to offer him a room.

Besides, after this whole thing was over, they would probably be thankful to him. The sooner he got away from this place, the better. He had gotten all that he needed from his Clone's memories.

Louise puffed up her cheeks in anger, "I didn't need your help!"

The Uchiha scoffed in annoyance, as he turned to the guards, who all had their weapons out. Sasuke frowned slightly, before disappearing in a blur.

And he promplty reappeared, holding all of the guard's weapons.

The guards looked at their hands in confusion, before they started to cower behind themselves. The fat nobleman quivered in fear, before he yelled, "You're both fallen nobles! The Queen will hear about this!"

Sasuke smirked, before his face took on a dark look. "The Queen won't hear anything if you're dead.," The Uchiha stated menacingly, enjoying the look of utter horror on the fat man's face. Once in a while, it was amusing to watch a worm squirm.

Louise shook her head at her familiar, before rolling out a parchment.

The nobleman's eyes widened as he started to bow down low. "An official letter from the palace! Please forgive me!" His guards started to bow down with the man piteously. "I'll give you this!" The nobleman yelled, as he pulled out a sack, probably filled with money.

"Get out of here now and forget everything you've heard!" Louise ordered, watching as the men scrambled out of the tavern. Sasuke didn't like how the pink haired girl let them escape, but then again, they completed the mission. The Uchiha gave the girl a brisk look, causing her to turn away in embarrassment.

He probably didn't even need to help, the girl could have handled it just fine. That was all just a waste of time.

The other waitresses started to surround Louise, praising her excessively, causing the pink haired girl to flush. Sasuke scoffed in annoyance, before turning around to leave.

"Where are you going?" Jessica's voice interrupted, as she pointed towards the debris on their floor.

Sasuke shrugged, "I've gotten rid of a corrupt tax collector for you. Deal with it yourselves." The Uchiha then proceeded to walk upstairs to rest in the same room in which he had made a gaping crater.

Jessica sighed, but she put on a smile, turning around to the pink haired girl. Scarron was currently explaining to Louise how her secret was safe with the Charming Fairy Tavern.

"You win, Louise," Jessica said, as she pushed the bags of money into the confused girl's hands. "You won the tip competition, so you get the right to wear that our precious family heirloom!"

Louise was stunned.

Sasuke sat down, meditating silently as he tried once again to control his lightning natured chakra. Louise was in the room with him but it didn't seem like she was in the mood to be noisy for once.

She was doing something behind a dresser. And by the small sounds of crashes and bumps, it was obvious that she was having trouble with whatever she was doing.

The Uchiha furrowed his brow in irritation. Even when the girl wasn't talking, she found a way to be noisy. "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice monotone.

Louise yelled back, "Don't come near! I'm doing something!"

The Uchiha sighed.

After a short moment, the pink haired girl asked a question in a small voice. "I never asked this before, but Sasuke..." She trailed off, before her voice picked up. "Are you a mage, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha made a disgruntled noise, and Louise quickly explained, "Because those abilities you used...were they magic? So does that mean that you are a noble?"

Sasuke replied briskly, "Don't bunch me in with the likes of you." His eyes then narrowed in his meditative position. "I'll never be anything like you 'nobles'."

Louise growled at the disrespect, but she didn't respond, focusing on her task. It was obvious to her that the Uchiha would not give up any information to her.

As Sasuke meditated, he thought about what he could do.

He couldn't train with her in the room, and it was too late to go out to the forests to train. Either way, he wasn't making much success with his training.

But on the topic of success...

His clone actually managed to do its job correctly for once. It dispelled when trouble came, and it didn't make a big commotion like the last one did.

Maybe that clone in particular was defective.

The Uchiha might actually use shadow clones more often if they were as disciplined as the one he had made earlier that day. A shuffling noise brought Sasuke out of his thoughts, and he looked at Louise...who was wearing a black uniform.

She was blushing heavily by the looks of it, and she stammered out, "W-well, does it look good on me?"

Sasuke took a glance at the girl, who seemed to tremble at his gaze. He then shrugged before laying down on his makeshift bed. He didn't really care how it looked. Why should it matter to him in the first place?

"Well!" Louise asked with anger. "I took the effort to put this on...just because I didn't want it to go to waste! But you could at least tell me how it looks!"

The Uchiha's eyes closed, but he said one thing.

"Hmph."

Louise started to scream in exasperation, but the Uchiha had already started ignoring her, much to her frustration.

"Summer vacation?" Sasuke asked, his interest piqued. If it was an academy for teaching magic, why should there be any breaks? If a student wanted to learn, they should be willing to spend as much time as necessary.

"Yes, summer vacation!" Louise yelled. "Most of the students have already gone home by now, or they're just traveling." The two of them were currently walking into the magic academy.

Sasuke had left the tavern early to go train, and they had both met up with each other at the entrance of the academy.

Louise stopped suddenly, letting a noise in confusion.

"Oh Louise," Kirche's voice questioned. "I haven't seen you around today, so naturally I thought you had gone home already."

Louise blinked, "I had just gone out today to run a few errands." She then asked, "You guys are going away?"

Kirche was about to answer, when she saw the Uchiha. Sasuke...was not pleased. The Uchiha jumped away, avoiding the red haired girl as she tried to glomp him.

The red haired mage frowned, before her eyes went all starry. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, my darling! Please forgive me for not coming to see you sooner!"

Sasuke and Louse twitched at the same time, the former's being much less noticeable.

"Well I'm off to go visit Tabitha's home for vacation," Kirche stated as she walked into a carriage. "Have a great vacation, my darling." Sasuke just shook his head in annoyance.

But Louise clenching her fists did not escape his attention.

He had spent enough time with the pink haired girl to know when she was angry. And now was definitely one of those times. The Uchiha didn't want to have a headache early in the morning, so he left the area immediately.

Sasuke landed in a small courtyard next to the house where he got his food from. A large metal container caught his interest as he came closer to the place.

He was in need of food after all.

It turned out to be a large pot of some sort.

The Uchiha shrugged, before entering the place to go get eat some lunch. After that, he would probably try and go train in the forests. His change in chakra form still needed to be worked on after all.

Sasuke sighed in discontent, as he once again failed to create a longer blade using chidori. It was still around a foot long, but it seemed he was not making any progress.

The Uchiha was currently meditating in an open clearing not too far from the academy.

A shadow clone was sitting next to him, meditating as well. Since he had the chakra, it was a waste not to use the shadow clone training method.

"Any progress?" Sasuke asked lazily towards his clone.

Clone looked pretty angry. His whole body was shaking, and he was growling to himself. Clone responded negatively, "This jutsu just won't work! Are you sure it's possible!"

"Of course it's possible," Sasuke responded. "If it wasn't, why would I be doing it?"

Clone growled before hanging his head in defeat.

Sasuke sighed. Even though they were clones of him, they seemed to have completely different personalities. The Uchiha relaxed his body, calming his chakra.

It wouldn't do well to get angry before trying to perfect a jutsu.

Sasuke activated his chidori, watching as a blade started to protrude from his left hand. The blade got longer and longer until it stopped abruptly.

"Try keeping that lightning magic active for as long as you can, partner," Derflinger ordered. The Uchiha nodded. The sword had become his impromptu mentor in a fashion.

Clone looked at the original, who was now closing his eyes in concentration. "Well I'm going to get a drink, catch ya later boss." The Uchiha Clone then ran off back to the academy.

All of that training made him thirsty!

Sasuke tried to stop his clone, but if he talked, his concentration would surely break, leading to his chidori failing. And he didn't want to waste any extra chakra.

So the Uchiha let his clone go. Besides, his Clone didn't have enough chakra to last for very long. Surely, nothing bad could happen from it.

Clone jumped from tree to tree, hurrying his way back to the academy. His stomach rumbled, and he shook his head in annoyance. Now he would have to get a drink, and get food!

The Uchiha Clone jumped over the castle walls, landing in a graceful position. Then he dashed off, trying to find a fountain or something to drink from.

"Oh, Montmorency!" An arrogant voice cried, as Clone stopped in his tracks. He looked over to see Guiche sitting at a table with a blonde haired girl.

Clone stopped, contemplating his options.

The original didn't care about making the arrogant boy suffer, but Clone sure did. Clone didn't like the way that kid spoke. And there was just something about him that angered the Uchiha Clone.

Clone behind a bush, watching the exchange between Guiche and his apparent date. Clone would ruin their meeting at the best moment.

He couldn't wait to see the expression on that boy's face.

Clone knew that the original probably wouldn't approve, but Clone knew that deep inside, the original wanted to do the same thing towards the arrogant boy.

The Uchiha Clone narrowed his eyes, as the two started to raise their glasses to drink.

There!

Clone burst forward from his hiding spot, landing in front of the surprised couple.

"What do you want, commoner!" Guiche shouted, but Clone could clearly see the blonde boy cowering slightly. It was pathetic! The boy was literally shaking!

"Hmph," Clone said, completing his act to look cool. He flicked his head to the side, grabbing the drink out of Guiche's hand. "Mind if I have this?" Clone asked nonchalantly.

He was thirsty, after all.

"Sure, whatever you want!" Guiche said, hiding behind his date. The girl's face seemed to be in a hilarious mixture of shock and fear. Clone actually felt sort of bad for the girl.

The Uchiha Clone shrugged before taking a few sips out of the drink. Clone grimaced, what kind of drinks did the people around here have!

It tasted terrible!

Clone shook his head in disgust, throwing the glass back towards the shaking boy. With that Clone sauntered off to go look for some food and some real drink.

With that, he left behind a cowering Guiche, and one freaked out Montmorency.