Chapter 10: Enter: The Hero of Another Story
2 August, 2001 – 4 August, 2001
Sasuke landed outside the open door, hand resting casually on the hilt of his katana. He could hear conversation going on inside already, and stepped inside soundlessly, letting his spirit energy announce his presence.
"Sasuke!" Hinamori smiled up at him from where she sat on the floor, back to the wall of the assembly room. Sasuke nodded in greeting, eyes surveying the room around him. Other than Hinamori, it seemed all the lieutenants had arrived, with the exception of the Eleventh Division's Kusajishi.
He noted silently some of the looks he'd received upon entering before leaning against a wall to wait. They may have been part of the same organization, but it didn't mean they always trusted each other. (Or rather, trusted him.)
"So how long are we supposed to wait here?" Omaeda was as brusque as always, leaning against the wall with a bag of chips in hand. Vinegar-flavored crumbs spewed from his mouth when he spoke, and Ise wrinkled her nose.
"Until we're told we don't have to wait here any longer."
The large man snarled at Abarai's own discontented face, spewing more crumbs. "I know that! I'm asking how long it'll be until then!"
"Hey, this is not the time to fight amongst ourselves." Hisagi stepped between the two, looking back and forth between them sternly. "Everyone's on edge right now, but we need to keep our heads. What do you think would happen if the rest of your Divisions saw this?"
"Shuuhei's right," Hinamori and Matsumoto stepped forward, and then Kira joined in, and Sasuke watched as the other Vice-Captains became embroiled in argument. If what Kusajishi was yelling about was any indication, the argument(s) had gone far astray of their original topic.
Vice-Captain Ise stepped back to lean against the wall beside the Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth with a sigh. Sasuke watched her from the corner of his eye for a moment before turning back to the ruckus. "Not gonna stop them?"
She just sighed and shook her head in response.
He felt for her, but was distracted when Omaeda's voice raised above the din. He and Abarai were still arguing amongst the rest, who'd devolved into separate quarrels. The two that'd started the whole mess were by far the loudest, however.
"It's low-class idiots like you that have turned the Thirteen Court Guard Squads into a madhouse!" The man's face was red, his chip bag crumpled between his large fingers.
Abarai wasn't much better, one hand fisted in the other's shihakusho. "You're calling me an idiot? I bet you don't even know what that means! You call yourself a noble?"
"How exactly did that argument devolve into that?"
'Don't ask.'
"—if Uchiwa came from the dirt you must've come from the dust on his shoe!" Sasuke's brow twitched.
Abarai tugged on the dark cloth to bring his mug closer to the other Vice-Captain's. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?! You saying that smug bastard's better than me?"
Omaeda smirked, only for both men to stumble as a foot planted itself solidly in Omaeda's back. They both turned, ire to each other forgotten for a moment as Sasuke scowled at them. "Leave me out of your pointless arguments."
Growling at him, Abarai stepped around the bulk that was Omaeda Marechiyo in favor of getting in Sasuke's face. He opened his mouth to say something—Sasuke would bet his next paycheck on it being something insulting—when the jarring sound of the alarm sent everyone in the room on guard.
The Sixth Division Vice-Captain (thankfully) stepped back and out of Sasuke's personal space. His face turned dark—not the way it did with Sasuke, with hurt hidden by a thin façade of anger. No, it was a pensive, almost somber darkness that came with a silent resolve. If he hadn't been standing so close, Sasuke doubted he'd have even noticed it.
"The ryoka!" He wasn't quite sure who said it, but the next thing he knew everyone was racing towards the door. Orders were to stay in the conference room until given permission to leave. But it's not like Sasuke was ever much for following stupid orders.
"Sasuke! Where are you going?" He ignored the voice calling him back, leaping over the balcony and onto the tiled rooftop. His Captain would understand anyway. (Ukitake was like that, knew him better than the man often let on.)
Unfortunately, the intruders didn't land anywhere close to the conference room. So regardless of how fast he ran, someone else was likely to get there first. He just hoped he could get there fast enough before anyone got seriously hurt.
He glanced down, spotted some members of the Thirteenth running by, and dropped down from the roof before them. They startled for a moment, weapons raised to attack, before realizing who it was before them. They immediately snapped to attention. "Vice-Captain Uchiwa!"
Sasuke sighed; he must've forgotten he'd been hiding his spiritual pressure. It was something like second nature, hiding his presence; more often than not, he forgot he was doing it, unintentionally sneaking up on even his Captain.
"At ease." They dropped their stance, but only hesitantly and at an expectant look from him. "Any sign of the ryoka?"
"No, sir. But there have been reports of battles across Seireitei."
His eyes narrowed at the affirmation of his earlier suspicions. "And where are you headed?"
"To assist Third Seat Madarame Ikkaku, sir."
Shouting arose not far from them, in the opposite direction. At the same time, a spike in spiritual pressure—equivalent to that of a third seat, he noted—arose behind him. Sasuke sighed. "I'll go assist the third seat. Go help out whoever's shouting."
There was only a brief moment of hesitation amongst them before they bowed and turned around to assist the source of the shouting. Seeing that they were on their way, Sasuke turned and headed towards the spike in spiritual pressure.
He was a little too late, it seemed, and Sasuke watched with wide eyes as a tall head of brightly shaded hair slashed open Third Seat Madarame's chest, the man already bleeding profusely. Madarame collapsed before the ryoka, but Sasuke's eyes were fixed on that hair.
"Naruto…?" He turned with a start, but no, that face was too angular, too hard to be the dobe's obnoxious expression. And with the movement, the sunlight shifted, and the man's hair wasn't blond, but more orange.
The ryoka wasted no time in holding a defensive position, not running like Sasuke half-expected him to. He tried to ignore Kaien's eyes glaring at him like he was the enemy. (But he was. He was the enemy.)
Sasuke rested his hand on Kurayami no Mitsu, prepared to fight, but not quite able to bring himself to start it.
They stared each other down like that for ages, neither quite ready to attack, simply watching wearily. Another five minutes passed before Sasuke got sick of it, stepping out of his defensive stature with the ease of moving water, dropping to a seated position. The Kaien-lookalike stared back at him, seeming thoroughly shaken, and asked at the same time Kurayami spoke up,
"You're not going to fight me?"
"You're not going to fight him?"
The Vice-Captain's brow twitched, already irritated with himself for not doing exactly that. "No." He glared at the dumbstruck features. The guy might look like Kaien, but he decidedly had the brains of Naruto. (Maybe they were related in some way.) "Who are you?"
The ryoka blinked once, twice, and answered. "Kurosaki Ichigo." It took him another minute to ask, "Who are you?"
'This guy really is an idiot.' "Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division, Uchiwa Sasuke. If you don't know that much, you won't survive much longer."
The ryoka—Kurosaki, apparently—seemed to deem Sasuke as a non-threat for the moment, plopping down before him. Madarame was still bleeding out behind him, and seeming to realize that, Kurosaki grabbed Madarame's zanpakuto, uncapping a little compartment on the hilt. Sasuke watched with a mild interest as the man scooped up some kind of ointment from within and scrubbing it over the cut above his eye, and then the injuries on his arm. But then the man—he was really more a teenager—took more of that ointment, carefully rolling Madarame over and pushing aside the shredded remains of his shihakusho to rub that same ointment over the wounds.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke blurted before he could take control of the utter surprise. This ryoka who wore a shihakusho of his own, he should've been angry at Seireitei or the Captain-Commander or someone. That was why people usually invaded Seireitei, right? To get revenge or power or some other bullshit. But this guy was so completely, utterly unthreatening. If he hadn't watched the man cut down Madarame himself, he wouldn't have believed the guy had done it at all.
At his question, however, Kurosaki looked back at him with this absurd look, as if to ask, what does it look like I'm doing? Sasuke wanted to punch that face in. "Keeping him from dying, what else?"
If Sasuke were anyone else, he'd be outright gaping. As it was, however, he could picture a pineapple-head with that exact expression, and Sasuke really wanted to hit this guy. He watched Kurosaki continue to patch up Madarame, until the major wounds were covered and the ointment was just about gone. The ryoka finally sat back with a sigh, and Sasuke stood, walking towards him. He noted the sheer size of the blade—it hadn't returned to its sealed state, meaning the guy must've had some problems with controlling his spiritual pressure or the like—glancing towards the unconscious Madarame before delivering a firm kick to Kurosaki's side.
The man went over, gawking at Sasuke incredulously before that quickly morphed into a scowl. "What was that for?!"
"You remind me of an idiot I know." Sasuke turned to step through the gaping hole in the wall, hearing Kurosaki scrabbling up.
"Huh?"
Sasuke ignored the inquiry, smirking to himself as he walked away. "Guess I'll have to tell the others the ryoka got away." He mused aloud, hoping it was obvious enough for Kurosaki to get the picture. But if that was the kind of person the ryoka was, he doubted they really had much to worry about after all. In the meantime, maybe he could take a nap.
He tried to convince himself that that's all it was, and that it had nothing to do with the carefully hidden ache in his chest.
There was something wrong.
He brought his senses under control, breathing shallowly through his mouth as he started running, one step away from sprinting. The village was silent, eerily so, but as he got into the busier streets, he stumbled to a stop, legs losing strength from the shock.
There was blood everywhere. He gagged as his eyes caught sight of a limp arm hanging out of a doorway. From the size, its owner couldn't have been older than him.
That thought sent him running again, eyes flicking back and forth against his will at the sheer amount of death surrounding him. He didn't dwell on it, didn't focus on the limp body parts or the broken weapons stained red with blood. He raced past it, straight for his home, his family.
The street was quiet, and compared to the rest, bloodier, ANBU and civilians alike littering the road. He made a beeline for the house, its normally warm and inviting entrance now foreboding.
He burst through, eyes looking frantically around the entrance, before moving to the main room. It was empty. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or afraid as he entered the bedroom, only to find it empty as well. No one was home. It was possible, then, that they had escaped before everything had happened.
Or they were in the middle of it all, back on the main street, that evil little voice in the back of his head whispered, and Sasuke cursed at it. He wouldn't think like that.
His feet took him back to the main street nonetheless, eyes now looking at the corpses that littered the area, searching for a particular face. He recognized many of them. Auntie lay flat in the middle of the street, one of her arms missing from the rest of her body. Sasuke found it several feet away, hidden under a child's body.
Uncle sat slumped against the wall nearby, clutching an unrecognizable body in his arms. They used to greet him every morning. They used to give him treats.
There was a strangled scream, and Sasuke raced towards it before his mind had even caught up with the fact.
The source of the sound wasn't far off, and Sasuke traced it back to a nearby weapons shop. He felt the blood drain from his face. The shop was a mess—broken blades lay everywhere, stuck in walls or overturned tables. The curtain that separated the forgery from the main shop lay in tatters on the ground. Another scream, a more feminine one, came from within the forgery.
Sasuke took a deep breath, drawing a kunai and holding it in a white-knuckled grip. He crept quietly inside the shop, body tense as he drew closer to the forgery.
There was so much blood, and Sasuke didn't think he could see straight. Dad's body lay before him, labored breaths the only sound inside. Mom lay under a table, blank eyes staring at the doorway, at Sasuke. A person stood over dad, straight back and long dark hair. Dad's eyes turned in Sasuke's directions, fluttering. He was still alive.
Sasuke tried to be completely silent, raised his blade, and the perpetrator turned around to face him. Where the mask had been broken he could see an eye—a human eye that stared at him, assessing, sharingan within swirling. He opened his mouth, as if to speak.
Sasuke took a deep breath, and then another, blinking against the bright sun. Something had woken him up, and it wasn't the dream. (Although he made a mental note to talk to Unohana about sleeping remedies.) He reached carefully for a kunai, fingers finding the comforting ring and curling around it. But he was the only one on the rooftop.
"Oi, Ganju~!" Sasuke blinked at the screaming that followed the call of that familiar voice, and through the sleep-induced haze that had yet to lift, he turned, looking for Kaien. Kaien used to go with his wife to visit his younger brother and sister, once even dragging Sasuke along. It had been… fun. But when Sasuke looked below into the street, two semi-familiar figures were standing there, surrounded by other Shinigami. The haze lifted, and Sasuke watched, dumbfounded, at Kurosaki and Ganju of all people holding a blade to the neck of a Fourth Division member. They had conspiratorial grins on their faces, their hostage pale with fear, the surrounding Shinigami looking decidedly unimpressed.
Kurayami was rolling with laughter. "They think that's going to work? Look at those idiots' faces!"
"Why is Ganju even here?"
Someone must have heard him, because one of the Eleventh Division members looked up, face alighting in malicious glee upon sighting him. "Vice-Captain Uchiwa!" Everyone else turned, Kurosaki setting inquisitive eyes on him. Ganju's narrowed in what was probably recognition, and the Fourth Division member visibly slackened in relief.
"What a pain," he grumbled, dropping down to ground level. These fools were idiots if they thought Kurosaki's threat was actually serious. That stupid look on his face said it all.
"You're just saying that cause that's the look Naruto gets when he gets a dumb idea."
'That's the look you get when you get a dumb idea, too. In case you've forgotten who you look like.'
"Hey! I resemble that comment!"
He didn't bother dignifying that with an answer.
Unsheathing Kurayami no Mitsu, Sasuke suppressed a yawn, raising a brow at Kurosaki. He couldn't get out of this one, but it was that idiot's fault for attracting so much attention. Although…
"Release the hostage if you're done being a coward."
That stupid grin returned to the carrot-top's head. At least he wasn't stupid enough to not understand what Sasuke was trying to do. (Unlike Naruto, maybe this kid had some hope.)
"Only if you want him dead!" Ganju made only brief eye contact with Sasuke before throwing down what was apparently a smoke bomb. The Eleventh Division members scrambled to do something about it, but the two boys and their hostage had already high-tailed it away. If he tried, Sasuke was sure he could sense Kurosaki's distinct reiatsu, (there was something oddly familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place it) but the whole point was that he wasn't going to try.
When the smoke finally cleared, the Shinigami whirled around, looking for the ryoka. Sasuke made a show of glancing through the area before saying, "Damn, looks like they got away," making sure to speak loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Those bastards are slippery if they can escape even you, Vice-Captain." Sasuke grunted, dodging a friendly pat on the shoulder as he sheathed his zanpakuto.
He high-tailed it out of there himself before the other Shinigami could rope him into something stupid again. (Zaraki's crew was to be feared, but not for the reason one ought to think. Sasuke shuddered at the memory.)
When Abarai's spiritual pressure initially spiked, Sasuke thought little of it. It was obvious what had happened. But another spike of spiritual pressure followed, one that didn't belong to Abarai. Sasuke's head jerked up from where he'd been talking to some subordinates, swiveling in the direction of the battle.
"Isshin?"
Sasuke landed just outside the Sixth Division barracks. He wasn't a huge fan of the place, given that it wasn't very different from the rest of the barracks in appearance. But each Division had its own personality, so to speak, and the Sixth Division reminded him far too much of the Uchiha Compound for his tastes. The frown already present on his face turned down just a little further.
"What are your thoughts?"
Sasuke didn't need to turn around to know who was behind him. "Captain Hitsugaya." He inclined his head in greeting as the smaller man stepped up beside him, staring up at the number painted on the wall. "He's a lot like Captain Shiba."
The Tenth Division Captain stared at him critically with those carefully guarded teal eyes. "You fought with the ryoka?"
Sasuke didn't bother hiding his grimace this time. His silence proved enough of an answer, and Hitsugaya sighed. "If there weren't more pressing issues on hand, I'd have you arrested for that."
"For a moment, I thought he was Shiba Kaien."
"Do you think he's…?"
Sasuke sighed irritably, "I don't know." And he hated not knowing. "What are these more pressing issues?"
The young Captain crossed his arms, and suddenly it seemed like the weight on his shoulders was much, much heavier. "That's what I wanted to warn you about. You can take care of yourself, but watch out for the Third Division."
Captain Hitsugaya shunpoed away with that warning, and Sasuke filed the thought away for later conversation with Kurayami no Mitsu as he stepped into the building. He had no trouble getting to the barracks' prison—evidently, Captain Kuchiki wasn't present at the moment, thank the gods—and Sasuke found Abarai lying in bed, cuffed, but awake. Sasuke closed the door behind him, leaning against it to stare at his colleague in the cell.
"I don't think I've ever seen you look this pitiful before, Abarai." The man didn't answer, and whatever attempt at geniality Sasuke had attempted drained out of him. Abarai was sulking, and it pissed him off. He apparently hadn't matured since their Academy days. "I'm sick of that piss-poor attitude of yours. When will you stop sulking and actually get off your sorry ass to do something about it for a change?"
That didn't get the reaction he'd been hoping for, but at the very least, the redhead was finally looking at him. It was the look in his eyes, however, that startled Sasuke. This wasn't the man from the Academy, with the dejected appearance of an abandoned dog. This was a Shinigami who had just found their resolve to fight.
Sasuke sighed, and with the air, the anger drained out of him. He watched Abarai slowly, achingly sit up, wincing at the pain it caused to his still-healing wounds. "You've already decided what to do about it, haven't you?" Abarai's stare was enough of an answer. Outside of business, Sasuke couldn't remember the last time they'd spoken civilly to one another. Sometime before that sparring session. "I suppose I don't need to tell you that Kurosaki isn't a bad person."
Abarai snorted, mouth twisted in an attempt to hide the positive emotions. "No, really?"
There was quiet, not quite silence. And for the first time in over 49 years, Sasuke felt guilt gnawing at the nonexistent contents of his stomach. Still, it took Mitsu's nonverbal urging to get him to spit it out.
"…I'm sorry, Abarai. Back at the Academy, I went too far."
Sasuke didn't look at the other Vice-Captain for a good several moments, but when he did, dark eyes met brown. They were intense, searching, but they weren't angry.
"It's okay. You were right. I was drowning in self-pity rather than actually doing something. I won't do it again." There was such a resolve in those words, like tempered steel forming itself into a fine blade, and Sasuke inadvertently felt a well of something like affection rise up within him. Abarai had grown after all.
He smirked. "If you do, I'll be sure to kick your ass back into shape." Abarai barked out a laugh, and it was as if 49 years of anger had never existed, and it was a friendly rivalry pushing each other to run higher and higher up the tree.
Sasuke's eyes crinkled at the corners, just a little, as he buried the newly found memory away in its proper place. It took effort, sometimes—some memories, especially those of Naruto, (especially those of his brother) wouldn't leave for a long time after their initially return, taking up the entirety of his thoughts for hours on end and making it hard to focus on anything else.
Straightening up off the wall, Sasuke popped his knuckles as he opened up the door again. "I should return to my post. Special war orders now." He paused for a moment before adding, "From the looks of it, no one else is here right now either."
He would've left it at that, if not for Abarai's voice speaking up. "You sure you shouldn't take a break? You look kinda sick."
Sasuke was quick to reply, "Just some trouble sleeping. I'm fine." He left at a run just to prove he could.
"I'm surprised. You didn't get annoyed with him once during that entire conversation."
Sasuke was surprised too. Maybe they had both grown a little.
So I just want to say, before people get onto me about it, my reasoning for not having Sasuke fight Ichigo and even being civil with him is because he doesn't see Ichigo as a real threat yet. He's not exactly the biggest fan of the Court Guard Squads himself, and as of this moment, he doesn't believe Ichigo is a bad person. (Probably because he reminds him of people he respects. Though that may be stretching it with Naruto, haha.) Of course, I assure you things will change when you-know-what happens.
Also for those of you I know who are waiting very eagerly, we will be seeing Sasuke actually fighting as a shinigami very soon. :)
Below is my reasoning for that conversation last chapter. If you're one of those who asked me about that, this is my response.
I know a lot of people were complaining about my inaccuracies with the conversation Kurayami no Mitsu had with Sasuke about strength and mental fortitude last chapter. As I've explained to some, while there's definitely been change throughout the series, from what I've seen, throughout a large part of the series Naruto does have stronger mental fortitude. Granted, they both get much stronger mentally/physically/spiritually, but Naruto matures faster initially, whereas Sasuke is stuck in his clan's Curse of Hatred and all that. And yes, I don't believe Sasuke loses much at all (if ever) to Naruto, but particularly in the earlier half of Naruto, Sasuke leaves for Orochimaru because he feels like he's losing to Naruto, who's making leaps and bounds in terms of getting stronger. In comparison, Sasuke felt inferior and he hated it.
Also, keep in mind that the Sasuke I am writing has lost most of his memory, and the bits and pieces he does remember are not in any particular order. Like, he remembers Itachi murdering the Uchihas, but he doesn't remember his death. On the other hand, he may remember parts of the War but not the mission for Tazuna in the Land of the Waves. Memories make up a large part of our personality and who we are, and as of this moment in time, Sasuke remembers only a small part of his living life. He's about equivalent to his self in the first half of Naruto, as a lot of the stuff he does remember he doesn't have closure for (like the Uchiha Massacre). While later on in the series, such as in Naruto Shippuden, Kurayami's lecture doesn't necessarily apply anymore, I think it's fitting for where Sasuke is at now. He doesn't remember most of his fights with Naruto, but he remembers that feeling of inferiority, of being weak. And I believe he hates that feeling because as a child he felt inferior to his brother, shown in their father's favoritism, and then weak during the Massacre, unable to stop Itachi. Naruto I think has also felt inferior, given the village's discrimination, but due to the nature of his source of inferiority, once he was shown affection by friends, a team, and mentor figures, he improved fast enough to make up for the years stagnating.
Just thought I needed to explain my reasoning for that one conversation last chapter. Do keep in mind that I am not finished with the series so there may be inaccuracies there, but that is from what knowledge I do have.
(Also, another complaint I get is that adult!Sasuke would be better than teen!Sasuke in this particular story, but I never did explicitly say how old he was. And since his memories are missing… And you can't say by the arm, cause his body was what lost the arm, not his soul, which is what went to Soul Society.)