Chapter 9: Confusion vs Anger

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

dotwiper

StellaMarris

TheGirlWhoIsInLoveWithJapan

Claudette14

dorkykorean

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You guys got it right! I'm pretty surprised that I made the difficulty level in the middle and that a lot of you guessed Sai. I forgot that Naruto calls him "Loser" so I can understand the confusion (lol, almost spoiled it).

If you don't care about my life, just ignore this bit below and skip ahead to the story.

So brief update on my life. I finished my AP English homework YAY! It's a Shakespeare essay and I did Twelfth Night, which I realized was the basis for She's the Man. I finished stats as well but not AP Gov, since that's just writing about the news every week, which can't be helped. Therefore, I decided to sneak some time in for this yay! It's been quite a while, hasn't it! Thanks for all the encouragement for helping me finish my homework; it helped ALOT!

I'll be starting school in a week so I'll try to fit in at least one more chapter before. But when school starts, don't expect updates to be as quick as usual. I mean, I'm going to have to deal with SATs, senior year, AP classes, Key Club, tennis AND basketball (conditioning is the same time as tennis which is STUPID), and homecoming. Oh yeah, I made homecoming court which was weird because I thought they did voting after school stars. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about that, but I'm not going to like the time commitment to that. I'm probably going to drop from homecoming court because it's too time-consuming and as much as I would love to have the chance to be homecoming queen, I have better things to do with that time, like FINISH MY HOMEWORK. The only good part is that I'm paired with one of my bestest friends and he's such a goofball and fun guy that our homecoming campaign would be a blast to do haha. I know we sound like drama queens, but we hate the rest of court LOL. What do you guys think? Should I stay for homecoming or not?

Now enjoy!

"Give yourself up to Sound...or else your dear friend isn't the only one that's going to end up punished for it."

The words echoed throughout Sousuke's head. It was a threat. Never had he been through this situation. Never had he felt so weak, so responsible for his village. His eyes darted to the floor, wanting to concentrate on anything but those words.

"You have potential that Konoha will never allow you to unlock..." The voice slithered. "Why would you waste your time...in a pathetic village...your powers could be for a greater causssse...to rebuild Sssssound...the village Konoha destroyed..."

"Konoha? Destroyed S-Sound?" Sousuke breathed in disbelief.

"Yessssss...when your father murdered Orochimaru, your village was quick to take advantage...and destroy all the citizens...can you live with that, Sousukeeee-kun? Can you bring the redemption your father can never undertake? You could ssssave lives...many lives..."

And then, Sousuke saw the bottom of the man's cloak spread across the room, drifting slightly above ground. He looked up, meeting with the familiar, white snake mask. What was this man hiding behind that mask, Sousuke had wondered. The enemy bent down to his knees, examing Sousuke closely.

"You could gain unlimited power...a power that only Ssssound can grant you...accept it, Sssousuke-kun...and no one in Konoha will ever have to suffer..."

Sousuke closed his eyes, wanting this room to just disappear so he could wake up and pronounce it as a nightmare. But he couldn't. Not anymore. He was seventeen now, not a child. He clutched his fist tightly, almost to the point of bleeding his palm. Then, he growled.

"Never."

And suddenly, a burst of lightning shot from his palms, electifying the whole room. The snake-mask man darted backwards, gasping in shock. And suddenly, the chains that had only held Uchiha Sousuke down laid burnt on the cold floor.

"I-I-Impossible! How did you..." The enemy could no longer hold his surprise.

Sousuke breathed heavily. He leaned against the wall with a fist against it, barely able to stand. He smirked. "Charkra chains..huff...can only...huff...handle so much...huff...charkra per second...huff...before they explode themselves...huff..." Damn, that took a lot of charkra.

Sousuke heard a curse from the enemy.

"To concentrate so much charkra in both fists...to still be standing...you are no ordinary Uchiha..."

Sousuke scoffed as his hands found the hilt of his sword, his eyes suddenly a bright red. "So I've been told."

Before he knew it, the enemy felt the young Uchiha whisk behind him. At the instant he felt the tip prickle his skin, the snake-mask man dodged again to the corner, feeling tiny drops of blood trickle down his neck. But it didn't matter. Sousuke pointed his sword straight at the enemy again, this time blue lightning jolting from the tip, as if extending his sword into an endless blade of thunder. The stream did not stop until it ran directly into the enemy's right shoulder, immobilizing him.

Unfortunately, the figure disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A clone. Sousuke turned around, only to be blown against the wall by a kick to the stomach. He coughed up blood, but wiped it away from his mouth. The snake-masked man stood only a few feet away from Sousuke.

"You remain strong with such little charkra..." the snake-masked man breathed, taking a few steps closer to the boy. Then, Sousuke smirked.

Abruptly, bars of fire shot up to the ceiling, surrounding the man like a cage. A trap he had set just moments ago. Sousuke yanked a few shurikens from his pouch, throwing them directly at his enemy. But, his enemy was cunning. a white snake shot out from his sleeves, eating up the shurikens before they could meet the enemy. Then, a whole array of snakes were shot at Sousuke, at least a dozen aiming for him. Hoping to avoid their venomous fangs, Sousuke dodged each and every one of them, slashing each of their heads with his sword.

One of the snakes, however, opened its mouth, its tongue hissing. Just as Sousuke was about to slash it off, his eyes widened at the slight of a skinny blade stretching from the snake's mouth. Caught off guard, Sousuke couldn't avoid the the hit to his left side, a wide gash of blood dripping. He cringed slightly, a hand covering his wound carefully. Green charkra emitted from his palm, but Sousuke knew it would only heal so much. He was incredibly low on charkra.

He heard a chuckle from above. "Fufu...so you've been spending quality with your mother...but it won't help you long..."

Sousuke glanced up, realizing the snake-masked man was now above him, a dagger in his hand. Sousuke dashed to another corner, but not quick enough for the dagger to pierce his shoulder. He breathed heavily, yanking the weapon out, drawing out even more blood.

D-Damn, my movements are too slow...and I don't have enough charkra to heal myself...Sousuke mentally assessed himself. He was nearly out of breath. If only, if only he could have more charkra. His red eyes scanned the room, looking for the enemy. Up, down, left, right, below. Where?

"Behind you," A sly voice chuckled.

Sousuke nearly screamed as he felt a blade slash his back, ripping his shirt. He struggled to stand on his feet, haunted by the sudden cold air that met with his back skin. He stuck the tip of his sword into the ground, using it to keep him standing. He coughed up even more blood, a tiny puddle forming underneath him.

"You would do so much better...if you allow Sound to help you..." the man cackled. "...come to us...and we'll help you find the powers...powers that have been unlocked within you..."

Then, Sousuke looked up, his red eyes glaring at the man.

"Frankly, I don't give up a fuck."

Sousuke twisted his sword even deeper into the ground as streams of lightning burst from the tip. The streams ran through the ground rapidly like snakes, reaching for the enemy. The snake-masked man, gasping in horror, jumped to the ceiling before he could be electrocuted. But as he reached the top, he met again with those dark, red eyes. The black tomoes swirled within those blood pools as Sousuke readied his sword, running across the ceiling directly at the enemy.

But the enemy was cunning. Once more, he snakes shot out from his sleeves, forward at Sousuke. This time, each snake wielded a blade within their mouths. Sousuke, going too fast, had no time to expect the worse as each blade instantly pierced through him. Sousuke was suddenly thrown against the wall, impaled by the various blades. His eyes widened in blood-shot and suddenly, his mouth stopped breathing. Blood trickled down from his mouth, the only thing that did come out. No voice. His body was still and cold, motionless.

The snake-masked man jumped down from the ceiling. He landed smoothly on the floor, staring at the body before him. He sighed.

"Such a ssshhameee..." He breathed, his fingers trailing over Sousuke's forehead "You could have been a great asset to Ssssooouuunnnddd..."

Then, his fingers paused at his eyes, suddenly startled. Sousuke's eyes. Still possessed the sharingan.

Then, as if he was in madness, he saw the tomoes swirl rapidly again. The enemy froze at the horrible realization.

"No..."

Within a second, the snake-masked man fell the ground, wounds all over his body. A blood bath quickly formed underneath.

And his snake mask cracked in half.

"Oneechan, when is okaachan coming home?" Kenji asked curiously as his older sister unlocked the front door. They walked inside, entering a room of darkness. Kimiko turned the light switch on, illuminating the living room.

Kimiko smiled at Kenji nervously. "O-Okaasan's really busy at the hospital, Kenji."

"Eh? She's always there," Kenji moaned, plopping himself on the couch. "How about otouchan?"

"Erm, a mission," Kimiko answered quickly. "Come on, let's get you dressed for bed."

"I don't want to!" Kenji pouted, his cheeks puffing. "Oniichan always wrestles me before I go to bed!"

Kimiko glared at him. This kid likes to make it hard, huh? But then, recalling the dangerous situation Sousuke was in, she bit her lips. "Um, a mission too."

"Why? Oniichan didn't said he was coming back though. It's almost bedtime."

"Um, maybe he's just running late. Niisan's a jonin; things always happen," Kimiko made up an excuse. She patted him gently on the shoulder. "Come on, Kenji, bedtime. Now." Her father's orders echoed in her mind, making her shudder at the memory.

Kenji pouted as he ran up the stairs and up to his room. Kimiko sighed, kicking off her boots to the side. She walked inside the living, pulling off her hi-ate and ponytail so that her hair flowed freely, framing her face delicately. Her fingers combed through her hair as she plopped on the couch, face first. She laid there, almost as still as a rock, staring at the floor. She wanted to sleep so bad, but knew she shouldn't. Somebody had to watch Kenji, even if it was just her. There was just too much risk, even if they were still inside the village.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Who would kidnap niisan? He's too strong to be a hostage. The enemy must really be something..."

Suddenly, she heard a high-pitch scream from upstairs. It startled her greatly. Her eyes went bloodshot, wide open.

Kenji! She jumped off the couch immediately, dashing upstairs like lightning. She could sense a second charkra. Damnit! Did they find us?

"KENJI!" Kimiko screamed as she burst the door open to Kenji's bedroom. "IF YOU DARE-eh?"

"AHHH IT'S SO COOL!" Kenji squealed, crouching down in front of a large, blue slug. He poked it several times, the slug not even flinching. With each poke, Kenji giggled even louder.

Kimiko, however, was left dumbfounded. She had a sweat drop. "What the hell..."

"Ah oneechan! Look at the bug! It's so slimy and squishy!" Kenji giggled innocently, now taking one of Pochi's paws into the slug. Kimiko blinked at the slug curiously.

Slug? That means-

"Oh, I didn't hear you guys come in," spoke a familiar voice.

Kimiko turned around, facing a blond woman that appeared around her forties. She had blue eyes and a curvaceous body. In her manicured hand was a new bottle of sake, the other leaning against the door frame.

"I hope you guys don't mind me raiding your parents' basement," Tsunade continued, pulling the cork out of the bottle easily. "God, your father has excellent taste."

Kenji grinned widely before dashing to her, hugging her legs. "TSUNADE-OBACHAN! What are you doing here?"

"Because I hate being an Elder, especially to Naruto! And is it wrong to see how my favorite student's children are doing? My you've grown, Kenji!" Tsunade chuckled, ruffling with his hair. "And you, Kimiko, beautiful as always, though you look like you gained weight. How much are you training lately?"

Kimiko blushed. "T-T-Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's all muscle. Boys like a curvy girl."

"Doesn't explain why nobody's ever asked me out," Kimiko sighed.

"That's because men here are all pussies. They're all too scared of your father and Sousuke. It's good that you wait for a man with some guts to date an Uchiha."

Kimiko laughed. She couldn't help but agree.

"Anyway, you should clean up, Kimiko. I can take care of Kenji from here," Tsunade added, winking at her.

Kimiko was left confused, but then she realized the situation she was in. A grimaced look spread across her face as she bit her lips nervously. She nodded.

"T-Thanks, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade placed a comforting hand on Kimiko's shoulder. "He'll be alright, Kimiko. Sousuke's a strong boy. Have faith in him."

Kimiko smiled softly. Slowly, she exited Kenji's room, walking towards the bathroom. She closed the door gently behind her as the shower turned on.

Then, Tsunade turned her attention to the young Kenji, who continued to poke her poor slug mercifully.

"Ne, Pochi, why is it so squishy? It bounces like this! See?" Kenji mumbled to his bunny.

Tsunade smiled at the scene. There was something strange about seeing a mini-version of Uchiha Sasuke, playing with a slug so innocently. It was a sign of happiness that Tsunade wondered if the young Sasuke ever had in his lifetime. Hard to imagine, but enough to wonder.

She took a seat next to Kenji, patting him playfully. "Oi, Kenji, you're going to hurt her. Don't poke her a million times."

"Hai," Kenji obeyed immediately. Such a cute child. And a sweet boy too. If only Sasuke was that easy to control. Tsunade sighed.

"Now, Kenji, isn't it time for bed?" Tsunade asked, picking him up with her arm as she brought him to his bed. The moment Kenji landed on his bed, he glared at her.

"No! I need to wrestle with oniichan first! And Okaachan has to tell me a bedtime story!" Kenji pouted, gripping his bunny toy tightly.

"True, but they won't be home for a while. Why don't I tell you a story?" Tsunade suggested. "I know a very good one concerning your parents."

"Really?" Kenji's eyes lit up. 'Like for their annivercakeries? Neji-jichan and Lee-sensei told one too, so it has to be about love! Oh, and start with 'once upon a time!'"

Tsunade laughed. "As you wish."

Once upon a time, young Kenji...

Your mother was really mad.

You know your mother well. When she gets mad, she gets mad. But she doesn't just explode at the moment. No, your mother's like a volcano: she bottles it all up until all a sudden, she lashes it out at the nearest person next to her. And when she's pissed, well...she's a ticking bomb. You don't know when you'll be on the receiving end.

And your father knew this well. Very well.

See, his natural male-mind immediately assumed that she was mad at him for something when in reality, she was just pissed off at this annoying new intern at the hospital who kept messing everything up. Of course, being your mother, she keeps it all in and says that it's not a big deal to your father.

But your father took it the wrong way. He thought she was angry at him, that he had screwed something up somehow, and he needed to do something about it before he lost the chance of every rebuilding his clan, let alone her love.

Now why is this story important, Kenji? Well, let's just say, things started to take a turn when one day, I was minding my own business taking care of Hokage duties when your father showed up in my office, sucking up any pride he had left, and tried to sound as calm and normal as possible as these words were uttered from his mouth:

"What the hell is going on with Sakura?"

I nearly choked on my sake when I realized how desperate your father was. I mean, his face looked cold and irritated as usual. But when you looked deep in his eyes, there was a sense of...fear. And it amused me greatly why:

Uchiha Sasuke was scared of his own girlfriend's temper.

The fact that he had resorted to going to third parties like me just to figure out why Sakura was so mad, immediately assuming that he's at fault...well, I just had to take advantage of the situation. I mean, I might as well enjoy it. You rarely see the Uchiha Sasuke begging for help like a dog.

So I decided to test out how far he would go just to figure out how to make your mother happy. So I stated my first test:

"Buy me a crate of the finest sake in Fire Country or else I ain't telling you nothing."

At first, I thought it didn't work. Your father practically gave me the glare of glares after I said that. He looked like he wanted to punch me, even though he was fully aware I could crack his face with a flick of my finger. He stormed out of the room without a word, slamming the door behind him. I thought I failed and my fun was already over.

Until he dumped a crate of sake on my desk three days later, all sweaty, tired, and exhausted from running around the country looking for sake.

I would have laughed like a maniac at his foolishness, but I kept my cool.

So, I kept my end of the bargain. Except, well, I toyed around with the idea. I wanted to put him into another test and see how far he'll go this time. So I made up that your mother was angry at your father because he was doing very poorly in their, well...bedroom fun (someday, you'll learn what it is, Kenji). I told him that Sakura had confided in me how horrible he was at it, always leaving her unsatisfied. His performance was simply dreadful to her. She had expected more from an Uchiha. Shameful, he was.

Okay, I honestly thought that he would be suspicious with me because he looked at me funny. I was worried that their" bedroom fun" didn't exist yet since they were still teenagers. But then his face went red and he was fuming like a train because I swore I saw smoke coming out of his ears. He just looked damn embarrassed. While super-glaring at me. Again, he storms out of my office. Without ever saying a word.

Next morning, I see Sakura in the hospital with her hair all messed up, hickies everywhere that skin showed, tired eyes, and awkwardly fidgeting whenever somebody said she looked like she just had bedroom fun.

It was very interesting.

To my enjoyment, Sakura's anger had yet to cool down. That annoying intern of hers had managed to somehow shred over ten years of patient records that threw your mother nearly off the edge. As a result, I see your father come in my office a few days later, asking me what she was angry at this time and what he did to make her like this.

So I did what any sane person would do in this situation that concerned Uchiha Sasuke: Force him to babysit Tonton the whole day and in return, tell him that she's angry because he never picks up the groceries. Never washes the dishes. Never does the laundry. Never cleans the house. Or even do chores.

And it's the same routine: He glares at me just hoping I die from it. Stomps out of my office like he's a dinosaur or something. And does what I tell him to do. And I then hear from Sakura about how wonderful he was yesterday by cleaning up their apartment without a single dustball in sight.

And the stupid intern does it again (thank the lords). During the surgery, the idiot forgot to disinfect the surgerical tools, giving the poor patient some random bacteria, and forcing your mother to stay overtime to do another surgery. I have no idea how that fool didn't get fired, but I could tell your mother was extremely pissed off because the next morning, your father came in my office with a bruise on his cheek. A really, really large bruise.

Yeah, I started to see how he immediately jumped to the conclusion that his girlfriend's anger was his fault. But I still didn't want to tell him the truth. Even if he paid for it. It was just too amusing seeing an Uchiha whipped for life.

This time, I made him get me the famous sand dumplings from Sunagakure. What did I say next when he came back to my office dying from exhaustion? He forgot yesterday was the Moon Lover's Day and did absolutely nothing for it. Now this wasn't even a real holiday and your father already believed me. And I know he did it. Cause he does the same thing as he did the last time.

Now that I've realized it worked three times, I just had to keep enjoying it. I mean, as long as that stupid intern kept pissing your mother off; I was having the time of my life teasing your poor father. It was strange how he never actually asked your mother what was wrong with her, but at first, I thought it was because he was too scared to know the horrible truth. Not that it actually matter to me; I had him clean my whole office, babysit Tonton, run all the way to Sunagakure, and actually do some of my paperwork thanks to his stupidity.

I have no idea how many holidays or events or excuses I made up as the answers to Sasuke's problem. All I knew was that each time, I got a good kick of out them. And damn was your father stupid. And cowardly. He should have just asked your mother instead of avoid it.

So I started to think over this situation more deeply. I was trying to come up with reasons for why your father never actually just asked your mother about the source of her problems. And why he always assumes he's at fault. But since that annoying intern finally got fired for simply being an idiot, my thoughts disappeared. I didn't wonder about the question for a long time. Probably because I was too busy noticing how deadly Sasuke's glares got when he finally discovered the true source of your mother's anger possibly because she celebrated it very loudly throughout the village.

Usually, I wouldn't remember this kind of thing. These kinds of events are unimportant; just musings to pass the time. But then, something else came up much later. And well, it made your father very distraught.

What could do such a thing to your father, who was a man that rarely showed his emotions?

Actually, you're still young Kenji. I won't tell you the full details. You won't understand until you're at the right age. I think you're old enough to know what I'm talking about.

Let's just say I finally found the answer to my question the moment your father thought he lost your mother forever.

It's true. There was a time when your mother's life was in danger, and he thought that he would lose her. That it was all his fault. And to blame himself so quickly like that...it made me think back to when I convinced him how it was his fault for her anger. And how guilty I felt for putting him through it, for manipulating him for something as stupid as amusement. It made me think back to my moment of torturing him, why Sasuke acted so cold, and why he treated Sakura to way he did.

The reason he always assumed Sakura was only angry at him was because he could never forgive himself. He had hurt her so many times in the past and he's scared he would do it over and over again. He assumes it to the point that he had convinced himself so easily that he was the only reason for her anger. If she cried, he thought it was because of him. If she was mad, he thought it was because he couldn't make her happy. If she was ever hurt, he would immediately assume he was too weak to protect her. He had lost so many loved ones in his life that if anything should ever happen to her, he would immediately blame himself. And no one else.

His mentality at the time was that he constantly failed her. He failed to live up to the expectations of what a man does for love. He truly believed that. This mentality consumed him to the point that he was ready to accept any notion that he was the reason for her unhappiness. It was this belief that held back your parents' relationship from going something beyond just a boy and a girl in love. It is this belief that separates a child that's in love from an adult that understands love. Without recognizing it, marriage would be an impossible task.

But he forgot that for every moment he had made sad, he gave her ten more moments of happiness. He was so worried about your mother's happiness that he sometimes forgot all the other times he made her smile. And their relationship wouldn't last to this point if he didn't realize that. The only reason your father was able to marry your mother was because he had finally forgiven himself. That was the only way for them to be married. Otherwise, there would be no future for them.

Sure, there are times when your mother is truly angry at your father because men are pigs in the end (not you, Kenji, you're a sweet little boy). And yes, there are times when your parents aren't on the best of terms. But that's what comes with love. You're always angriest with the people you love most. At the same time, you are happiest with the people you love most as well. That's why she'll always be happy with him. And he'll always be happy with her. And that's why their marriage is a success.

"So, Kenji, I hope you'll learn from your father's mistake and be a good gentleman like your big brother," Tsunade finished, her head turning to the boy.

Beside her, Kenji had already fallen asleep, lying on his soft bed. He gripped his bunny toy tightly, hoping to never let it go. He snored quietly, making the former Hokage chuckle. She stood up, lifted Kenji slightly, and placed the blanket around his tiny body. She fixed his pillow and moved his head on it. She brushed away some of his bangs, giving her a closer look of his sleepy face.

He looks so happy and peaceful...Tsunade thought. Such a child can only come from a happy marriage.

"Eh, looks like Uchiha's been a good boy to my student," Tsunade whispered to herself. She kissed Kenji's forehead softly and left the room, turning off the lights.

The whole house was in complete darkness, nearly matching the night sky. Before she went downstairs, however, Tsunade turned around, heading to another room. She opened the doorknob slowly, frowning at the sight before her.

"Kimiko, you need to sleep," Tsunade advised.

The teenage girl turned around, facing Tsunade. She was sitting upright on her bed, still in her ninja outfit, and a kunai in her hand. Kimiko's eyes widened slightly, before she looked down.

"Sorry," Kimiko apologized, lowering down the kunai. "I just don't want anything happening now."

Tsunade approached her, taking the kunai out of her hands. "Nothing's going to happen to Kenji, and you, while you're in this village. Why do you think I'm here?"

Kimiko smiled. "I thought Naruto-jiisan told you to come here so I didn't sneak out."

"That too, but I'm just here to watch over you two. Now go to sleep. You're going to need it."

Kimiko nodded. She bit her lips nervously, an action that did not go unnoticed by the former Hokage. Tsunade smiled reassuringly at her.

"Kimiko, Sousuke's one of the strongest ninja we have in this village. He could be Hokage give or take a few years," Tsunade said calmly. "So have faith in him. He's too stubborn to die."

Kimiko smiled sincerely, her dark eyes turning to the glittery, starry sky before her window.

"That's true..."

"Ano, Uchiha-san?"

"Hai?" Sakura looked up as she disinfected the tools in the sink, a medical mask covering the bottom half of her face. She and one of the nurses she worked with were currently washing tools. They were working on a patient for their heart surgery. The nurse, timid, glanced at the floor.

"Um, well, I just noticed that you're really calm about this," the nurse noted.

Sakura's eyes twinkled slightly, allowing the nurse to tell that she was smiling underneath her mask. "It's something that comes with practice, especially after 20 years on the job. It's scary at first, but overtime, you realize you need to be calm in order to help the patients."

"Iie, I meant..." the nurse trailed off, nervous to add on. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "about your son."

"Ah, Sousuke," Sakura cleared up, nodding her head. "Yes, well..."

The nurse's eyes widened as she started wavering her hands around frantically. "Ah, sorry! I-I didn't mean to make it worse, Uchiha-san! Please forgive me!"

"It's okay," Sakura gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure my son will be okay after this ordeal."

"Erm, just out of curiosity, why didn't the Hokage send a medic-nin on t-the team? W-What if something happened to him?" The nursed pressed on.

Sakura chuckled. "Training isn't just father-son quality time; I've taught Sousuke some medical ninjutsu. I would teach him more, but his charkra control isn't perfect, so he only knows enough to keep him alive."

The nurse nodded in awe. There was something too perfect about Uchiha Sousuke.

"B-But, you seem so confident about it. You always look so concentrated on the surgery; nobody would ever guessed something happened to your son."

"I do worry about Sousuke, very," Sakura confessed, proceeding to wash her hands. "But I feel much better when I know that my husband is on his rescue mission. If he wasn't, I would be panicking right now. Also..."

The nurse looked up, surprised that Sakura had pulled down her mask, revealing a bright smile.

"I believe in my son's strength."

Sousuke landed on the ground lightly, returning his sword to its sheath smoothly. His heavy breaths echoed throughout the room as his sharingan slowly returned to its familiar, black orbs.

"Thought you would...huff...be able to...huff...figure it out...huff...through our eye contact huh...huff..."

The enemy choked out blood, coughing.

"I-I-Impossible...h-how did I not detect your genjutsu..." he croaked, a hand covering his face. "...Just like Uchiha Shisui..." The enemy tried to stand up, but he fell back to the ground with a thud. He groaned painfully.

"Don't move if you want...huff...to live..." Sousuke breathed. "Your bones are beyond...huff...repair...huff...your shinobi days are over...huff..."

Sousuke examined himself, wincing at how damaged his body was. Though he had few wounds, he considered them pretty deep and could turn life-threatening if he didn't treat them soon. His charkra was extremely low, making it almost impossible to heal himself unless he waited. He wiped the last of the blood drenching on his lips, spitting the rest out immediately. Then, he heard a audible cackle escape from his enemy. God, this guy's stubborn.

"Fufufu...the ninjutsu style of Uchiha Sasuke...combined with the medical knowledge of Haruno Sakura...you make a worthy candidate for Hokage, Sousuke-kkuuunnn..."

Sousuke remained silent, only staring at the pitiful man, watching as he twiddled with his fingers.

"However, you are too soft."

As if on instinct, Sousuke found his sharingan activate on its own. And suddenly, he found himself screaming, yet felt nothing coming out of his mouth. It was all in his head. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head tightly. His nails dug into his scalp, hoping to burn the pain away. It was too gruesome, this pain. The screams echoed and rang back and forth. He could barely breath. His eyes were blood-shot, his sharingan refusing to back down.

Was it turning against him? He didn't understand. This man must have done something to him. It felt like a thousand daggers stabbing into his brain, continuously and eternally. And yet, it refused to die. Go away. He wanted it to disappear so bad, he wouldn't mind ending his life.

But he couldn't. Not when there was a village at home waiting for him. A family waiting for him. Friends waiting for him. Everybody.

I see for what you are...Sousuke-kun...

Great, now he was in his head. What could go worse? Get out. Now. He told his enemy. Or he thought so. He gritted his teeth, hoping another scream wouldn't erupt from his lips.

You may be the successor to the Uchiha Clan...Your strength rivaled by few...

His mind flashed scenes now.

A child. A dark-haired child threw a dozen kunais at the various targets up in the air. It was him, barely in the Academy. He landed softly on the ground, turning to his father. He wasn't impressed. Do it again, he remembered his father saying. Sousuke obeyed, scowling and glaring. He threw the kunais again, this time aiming straight for his father. Sasuke didn't move an inch. Instead, he watched as his son's kunai flick his Kusunagi right out of his sheath. He remembered. The day he proved his father that he was no ordinary boy. Let alone an Uchiha.

Memories. The man was replaying memories of him.

His eleventh birthday. At the training grounds. Weaponless. Until his father threw a sword into his hands. It was heavy. His father told him he would get use to it. His first sword. For graduating from the Academy. Next thing he knew, His father had taken out his Kusunagi and aimed for him. Sousuke dodged it swiftly, earning an impressed smirk from his father. His father struck again, forcing Sousuke to withdraw the sword. He barely blocked the attack. The dominant hand on the bottom; the other, on top, Sousuke remembered his father advising. The day he first he learned how to use a sword.

He emerged victorious at the Chuunin Exams, the only person, let alone rookie, to pass that year. Unbelievably strong for a youth. Such a polite, fair child. Capable of leading his own team one day. Wouldn't be surprised if he ended up as the Hokage. As expected of the Uchiha clan. He remembered ambassadors from nearly every ninja village telling him these things. Without a sharingan, nonetheless. He glanced over his father, noticing how he fidgeted at the mention of "sharingan" tied with "Sousuke." Sousuke wasn't sure why, but he never asked. The day he made a name of himself in the whole world of shinobi.

And just hours later, it would also be the day he learned how to use the chidori.

But inside your little good boy cover up..your nice boy ideals...you harbor a darkness within you...a darkness that no Uchiha can escape...

Only a child, waking up in the middle of the night, but not from a nightmare. No. Sousuke got out his bed as his eyes crept through the small opening to the door of his parents' bedroom. They were talking. Angrily. And loudly. His father looked annoyed, pissed at least. His mother was just beyond disappointed. He couldn't make out what they were talking, no, arguing about. All that he could think of was how his father had suddenly stormed out of the room, out of the house, leaving behind his mother to cry silently. The first day he saw his mother cry. As well as the first day he witnessed his parents fight.

His first C-ranked mission as a genin. They were only supposed to protect an important artist from robbers and bandits. Unfortunately, the worse always came. Ninjas from enemy villages were after the artists, and Sousuke, along with his teacher Tenten and the rest of his genin team, had no choice but to fight them. They had separated the genin from Tenten-sensei. While his teammates were worn out with broken bones, a whole force of ninjas surrounded them, leaving Sousuke the only one to protect them both. He fought through them well, enough to knock them out. The first day he truly felt like someone's protector.

But one of them, the leader, was much too stubborn. No matter how many times Sousuke wounded him, the leader refused to give up. Sousuke could have easily aimed for the heart, and yet, he remembered how shaky and sweaty his hands became as he gripped his sword. He remained frozen, defending his teammates, heart pounding at the uneasiness. His life would have ended if Tenten-sensei hadn't arrived on time, striking several weapons at their enemy. She didn't say anything about it to Sousuke, only asking the whole team if they were okay. Sousuke, however, couldn't speak, his whole body shaking. He never knew how much this could affect him. It also became first day he saw someone killed before his eyes.

More screams. This time it was a higher-pitch. A child's scream. It was so painful. Sousuke didn't remember this, yet it felt so familiar. He felt the pang in his heart pounding over and over again. With each scream he heard, he felt something hit him all over his body. A whip lash. A chain. A kunai. Anything made to cause pain. When he looked up, he saw a little boy. A little boy with dark hair and pale skin. All beaten-up. Laying motionless on the ground. When the little boy's head looked up, Sousuke went frantic.

It was him. Him as a child, no older than four. With the blood red eyes of the sharingan.

No, this can't be it, he thought. This genjutsu. I don't remember this. I didn't get my sharingan until I was 13. So why does this feel so real...

But it didn't make any sense. Nothing ever did.

Before his mind went blank, he felt the concrete wall explode, followed by various voices.

Funny...Sousuke thought he heard his father scream out his name.

YAY ANOTHER CHAPTER DONE!

COMMENTARY TIME!

Since Kenji's the listener here, I wanted to keep the story relatively light and slightly humorous. I've always had this idea that Sasuke always assumes Sakura's angry at him when really, she's not. So I decided for a comedic approach to it. I actually based this story on an event that happened to my boyfriend where he kept asking my friends what was wrong with me and they made up crazy stories up haha. Of course, my real-life counterpart moment never went as extreme as here (obviously). I also wanted to include the notion of Sasuke and forgiveness and how they tie. That motif will come up as important in future chapters, so keep an eye out for that. Otherwise, I don't have much to say about the past story.

So in this chapter, we get to see Sousuke's powers and how he is as a ninja. I made him pretty tough, ne? And maybe a bit too perfect, almost like a male-version of Mary Sue. I hope I can still retain his imperfections throughout the story like I can with Sasuke. I will explain later as the story goes on why I decided to make Sousuke the nice guy in the story compared to being exactly like his father. I'm very entertained with all the theories you guys have on Sousuke's past and one of you is close to it, but not exactly on spot. I wrote out a huge hint of what happened in Sousuke's childhood that hopefully, you guys can figure out on your own before I reveal it. I made the fight only last the whole chapter because I feel like it's not as important to the story as what's to come. Besides, I don't like reading such a descriptive yet single fight that last for more than five chapters. That's just overkill, people. Until then, thanks for reading! Again, I'll try my best to fit in another chapter before school starts.

Now for the hint! I debated whether to include a SasuSaku story in the next chapter because it wouldn't be able to properly fit the tone, but I'm going to take the risk!

Here's the hint:

Highness