By the way, full title of this story is a completed rhyme. Along with the other things I'm hiding about chapters in the quotes and titles. Thanks for reviewing you all! This chapter has no fight scenes, and I'm pretty much montaging the training, but it's slice of life. Enjoy! And holy crap you guys, a the follows are about hit a thousand! 1000! I never imagined a day where any fanfic of mine would ever even exceed more than five hundred. And let me know if you want to witness other character's fight scenes too, even though that's troublesome for me to write. :P
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Chapter 11: Clock Strikes
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"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do." ~Bruce Lee
Stealth exercises were added to the routine after Kakashi heard my outburst about Itachi. Although he didn't comment on it, by his actions he had was clearly thinking ahead.
It included chakra suppression and sensing, chakra enhancement for the ears and nose and how to move about without leaving traces of myself. He regarded me with a suspicious gaze when it came to manoeuvres without use of chakra, but my parkour was something I was proud of. It had the sense of freedom I desired, but learning it was unrelated to being a shinobi, back in my world.
Except for hiding my scent from his dogs, I was able to avoid the ex-ANBU for half an hour at most, taking pages from Naruto's book and slightly tweaking and misdirecting common procedures ingrained into all ninja. My request to learn some ANBU sign language wasn't acknowledged.
We sat grilling fish over a fire one night two days later, when Kakashi approached a topic I had been waiting for a long time. Pakkun lay several feet away, on guard while the rest of the pack patrolled randomly.
"For a long time I thought you brothers were worlds apart in terms of skill," I listened raptly, drawing myself up a bit. "But now I'm beginning to think the gap isn't as large as I thought. That boy was genius among us geniuses, ANBU captain at the age you are now."
He turned over his meal and inspected it, before moving away from the light cast by the fire and taking a bite. "The Itachi I knew was efficient, wise, and had a sweet tooth so unlike the grown-up he was trying to be. When I heard of the massacre, I thought he had simply snapped due to the burden of expectations on him. The Uchiha genius, the rising star of ANBU, the next legend of the Leaf, or so they all said." A soft sigh, his eye lost in memories I couldn't see.
"Those who turn their hands against their comrades are sure to die a terrible death," I quoted. "Those are his words."
Kakashi snapped his head to me, before nodding slowly. "He was the thinker-type. My observations, will you listen to them? You've displayed a better mentality than your academy records, but I still feel like I should ask."
I nodded silently. "Please, sensei. By now you should know much of my persona is pretence."
"If we assume he was not unstable, that he was still the person his comrades thought who he was, then what he did must have been necessary in his own view. How well do you remember your life before that event happened?"
Memories came to me, playing and fighting with cousins and clan children, fighting for clan children against bullies, getting told off for the scuffles and not behaving like the ideal son of a Clan ahead, obeying to gain Father's respect and attention. Flashes of the Itachi and Shisui, mostly Itachi- niisan. Not much memories of venturing outside the clan to play with or mingle among strangers or civilian who my clan policed for the large part.
And of course, the Massacre itself. But that was a reality I had accepted over countless nightmares. I barely woke up with a scream or terror bubbling within me anymore.
"I can recall it, but not much or specifically. Nothing you have to dance around."
The jounin nodded, shadows cast by fire shifting around us. "The Uchiha clan wasn't well liked. They were more feared than respected, and the police force was a large part of it. When the village was made, laws were drafted and they were meant to be followed. People needed time to settle to this huge leap in society, when looting amongst each other was prosecuted, seeking revenge for past wrongs due to events past in the Warring Clans era illegal, a system put into place to elevate the rights of all who called themselves the citizens of the Hidden Leaf,"
His lazy drawl was gone, replaced with slightly charismatic, soothing narration. Lost in his tale, I burnt one side of my fish. "Lots of Clan customs were subjected to foreign inspection, many stamped out by the respective clans themselves by much internal struggle. If it weren't for Hashirama-sama's ruling and Tobirama-sama's sharp mind, this evolution would have been impossible. In fact, Nidaime-sama still regretted the existence of the Branch House of Hyuga, being the seal-master that he was, but there was also a constant state of war the Hidden Leaf was in,
"But that is another topic. Point is, the Uchiha clan was best suited to handling both miscreant shinobi and civilians, something that was bureaucratically efficient, time was of critical essence and so the police force was created with them in mind as single institution of justice for both types of status inhabitants of the Village had, by Nidaime-sama. Do you know that less than half the officers were from your clan at the time of inception?"
I quickly nodded in negative to the question, hungry for more. "Maa, it's true. Uchiha, Aburame, Inuzuka and Hyuga made great field agents, patrollers and criminal trackers, but Yamanaka were also a part of the questioning procedure because the T&I is for shinobi only, Nara worked as investigators and forensic, but I'm stereotyping, departments were not meant to be Clan specific, or even shinobi-only in some cases. Uchiha were still majority though."
"I didn't know that. All I recall is Uchiha upon Uchiha in the police force. Even our symbol was on the uniforms and the building." But that just made so much more sense than the stupidity of allowing one family to run a state institution, vital Bloodline limit be damned. People's thoughts did matter on such opinions.
"So, your ancestors gained a reputation during the war and at end of Nidaime-sama's rule, those changes were made. Somewhere along of the line of Sandaime-sama's, almost the police was comprised of Uchiha upon Uchiha as you say, cute little minion. As our population grew, so did our opinions and the differences between them. Other clans had businesses which required a good reputation, and people here love to gossip; the rumours can have stupid and dangerous consequences."
Rumours, huh? A face came to mind, a bright smile that completely distracted the viewer from the shadows that lurked in blue eyes. Naruto.
"...Yes, they can."
"So how it went from the Hidden Leaf Police Force to the Uchiha Police Force was gradual, with people not liking being forced adopt new living ways and those who enforced them in general, even if it was for the sake of a safer place to live in. Factor in that much of Uchiha tradition remained same throughout, other Clans slowly distanced themselves-"
"But what about Nara? They could see what was going on and its importance, right?"
"All fine and dandy until some 'medicinal' herbs they grew were found in quite a raid. They used the following sobriety and intellect to cover up quite a bit."
I choked on my fish. I couldn't deny that given the opportunity, Shikamaru would like some marijuana. Cloud watching would be even more fun and relaxing.
"And I won't insult your clan so much, but they took much pride in themselves and their duty, such was the rewards for their efforts; scorn, people changing streets whenever they saw the emblem, distrust and much more. And an Uchiha can hold quite a grudge, so I'm guessing some retribution had to be happening. End of story."
I jerked abruptly. "What? No idea on what was happening?"
"Maa, it's a bad influence for a jounin sensei to rationalize the actions of a traitor to his student."
Oh. Even with Pakkun on watch, his other pack somewhere on the prowl, Kakashi refused to justify what Itachi actually did. Catching on quickly, I nodded, before asking a question of my own.
"Maa, it would be very bad indeed sensei. But we still don't have a police force, so who took charge and was relegated to their duties?" Who gained the most from the removal of the Uchiha?
Kakashi gazed at me approvingly. "ANBU were visible for days doing damage control, and normal chunin were spread out to cover the more volatile areas of the village. Any other things the police force used to do that the citizens realized later on were turned into missions."
The Hokage, his authority increased the most. The Kage system seemed like a dictatorship, but it involved a council of the clans which acted much like the parliament. There was even 'voting involved and stuff!' to quote Naruto, who was trying to remember one of Jiji's lessons.
"I see." And behind that Massacre was a man who lusted after the hat. A shiver ran down my spine. Just what level of the game was Danzo playing? Looking at my teacher, I asked one last question for the night, "When will you sneak up on me and warn me not to poke my nose where it doesn't belong?"
The answer was a gloved hand landing on my head to ruffle my hair from behind. "Maa, you ruined my fun." He replied much too cheerfully. Crap.
A week later, Kakashi asked me what clothes I would like, since mine were falling apart. I had been much too concerned about when Gaara would show up, calling for my blood, to have noticed. Could the different match-ups have influenced who he staked out?
"I'll be using your money, so don't hold back on the expenses." Kakashi crinkled his eye.
"Don't you mean, 'I'll be using my own jounin salary that dwarfs yours, my little minion' instead?" I retorted, sitting on the ground in the lotus position. After passing over Chidori and learning Raikiri, it's more refined version instead; my teacher was having me work on suppressing my chakra for stealth.
"Nope!" The man's voice was too cheery for someone whose original technique had been learned over the course of 48 hours, and then altered. He could flatten the cloud of sparking electricity all right, but couldn't quite make a small lance of lightning chakra.
Granted his version was what I could do at best and with hand seals, but the seemingly phlegmatic scarecrow couldn't sharpen his Lightning Blade like I did, even I was using my left hand to do it. I called it Raiyari, or Lightning Lance.
Littered on the rocks around us were the results of two variations when used by me; Raikiri making random but powerful craters in vaguely hexagon shapes, Raiyari making neat circles with cracks spiralling clockwise. The memory of Kakashi's face- er, slackened eye, still made me giddy.
The latter took too much time to create, and was more aesthetic in terms of purpose, but I couldn't wait to see if I could complete the Rasengan with it. That would help in coming over my deficiency in the second step, which required the chakra to be dense, moulded several times over to pop the goddamn rubber ball, something I still couldn't do easily.
On the other hand, since I couldn't use the technique in combat, I had very less chance of compromising my cover. And I could use the Lightning Blade three times per day, instead of Sasuke's two.
The thought made me giggle.
"Hm, what kind of outfit are you thinking about?" Kakashi muttered, whacking me with his book.
"Sensei!" I protested, gingerly touching my head. "I had a bruise there!"
"Oh. Didn't know. Sorry?"
My fluctuation in my mood made my chakra flare, ruining my efforts to keep it hide it. Kakashi tsk'ed, as if to say 'you can't even manage this much distraction?' and I exhaled slowly, restarting my flow.
I began to describe to him the outfit I would like, and he shut his book, summoning his pack. I managed to climb to my feet without grumbling. Kakashi must have noticed, because he swapped my weights for heavier ones before leaving.
Much heavier ones. I gulped, looking at the pack eyeing my like a very juicy piece of steak. The last race had gone without me getting bitten by each dog more than once. I think it was Bisuke who missed the experience the most, considering how he was sizing me up.
The Last Uchiha, scared of a dog that didn't even reach his knee. What a cute sight.
My new look was a customized, standard blue shirt with matching trousers. The sleeves reached down to cover my wrists and hand, taped fingers peeking out from the edge. The round collar was higher, reaching up to my nose. On the back was the uchiwa, on the bicep the Uzumaki spiral. The trousers tapered to black sandals yet to be broken in.
Beneath it all I wore a new, protective mesh and had hidden kunai holsters inside both sleeves.
"There's another set at your home." Kakashi informed me casually when I was done changing, sitting at the bank of the small river we were at. It was the only body of water around for miles, where I bathed whenever I could.
"Right," My voice was curt. All the material seemed high quality, and was paid for from my wallet.
"Let's get you used to the new clothes. For starters, break in the footwear. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
At least the weights weren't renewed. It was miracle that in all this insanity I hadn't turned around and tried to bite the dogs for change. Unfortunately, as an Uchiha, I had a greater chance of falling victim to the Cycle of Hatred, and could allow myself such ease.
Sigh.
On the twenty ninth day, the weights came off.
"This time, we get to race together, my cute little pup. If you win, this is your prize!" Kakashi-sensei held out a handkerchief with the henohenomoheji.
I stretched my legs, feeling light as a feather. I believed I could fly. "Hn. One hour race as usual?"
At the signal of a small pebble falling, we took off, with me thinking the words 'beep beep!'
I was confident I could easily overtake a sports car at this point in time, but Kakashi was still ahead of me. I threw caution to the wind, pumped my legs with chakra to close the distance between us but it only shrank by a few meters.
In the one hour we ran, I covered four times as much distance as previous attempts.
"Your speed is acceptable, almost equal to Gai's little clone. Maa, I might have gone a bit overboard with your training."
I balked. "Equal to Lee-senpai?"
Kakashi blinked. "Senpai?"
"He's a year older." I explained. And completely kickass, enough to foil whatever Shikamaru planned for him.
"Ah, yes. Naruto is your Eternal Rival." Kakashi said wisely.
"Did you say something sensei?" I blinked back.
"..."
"..."
A fist to the noggin that earned me.
"Don't steal my lines. Very uncool minion." He gave a half-hearted glare. "Also, don't use your new taijutsu in action just yet."
"Hn." I agreed. I had much physical conditioning to do before I could mix lightning chakra with my forms. Did I mention it looked badass? For effects, I could even make sparks of blue electricity flicker up and down across my body, stealing the idea from the second level of a certain warrior race native to Planet Vegeta.
And the taijutsu itself was inspired from the moves of Jin Kazama from Tekken. Come to think of it, Sasuke and Jin looked sort of similar. And they had ancestors bent on world domination. Came from prestigious yet infamous families. Incorporated lightning into their attacks. All I was missing was the Devil Gene...hell, the Curse Mark fit even that bill to a T.
I shuddered. Must not get infected by the power of the emo.
The last days ended with Kakashi leading me on an approximately forty hour streak across the village, that ended with me crying out of frustration, breaking my knuckles from punching against a rock in quite a moody act of self harm, before escaping towards the village with my all.
It was night, so the image of a grimy, bloody and singed genin limping was not drawing as much attention as it would have until I checked myself into the hospital. The distracted medic, probably just checking into his shift, stared at me for a few seconds, trying to articulate something as he flapped his lips and wrung his hands.
I saved him the hassle and simply fainted.
A deviated nose from a punch that wasn't blocked, small cracks on my sternum, the hardest bone in my body, eye strain from constantly using the Sharingan, blisters on my feet, low blood levels, minute soldier pill poisoning, around six kilos lost in weight, trapped muscles probably from the time I took the fight to the river and Kakashi held my adrenaline fuelled, heated body underwater and much more if I cared to read about it.
A 'little' overboard, hehehe...
"But will it hinder me in the long term? I have an exam tomorrow." I groaned, and the medic on duty, a bespectacled young lady shook her head in exasperation.
"Unfortunately, nothing is damaged beyond hours of chakra therapy and rest." Guess Kakashi wasn't a genius for nothing. I was sedated and when I came to, it felt like I was in someone else's body. Pains I wasn't aware of had subsided.
It was dawn, and instead of exiting through the window I walked out of my room.
"I'm going home." I informed a bleary eyed receptionist. "Room 508, Uchiha Sasuke. Bye!" I gave little wink as I teleported away just as the poor guy sat up with a jolt and scrambled for a pen. I knew it wasn't his job, but the Last Uchiha status had a perk that even it wasn't he'd find the person whose it was and tell them.
Instead of my apartment, my feet found their way to the Third Training Ground, where we became Team Seven without a single fight. The nostalgia hadn't even set in when small pulses of chakra that I sent out with frequency, to detect Kakashi's surprise attacks around the clock, picked up two signatures, one refined and small, like a flower swaying in the zephyr, and the other bright, warm, like a picnic on a sunny day.
Definitely Naruto. Who was he here with? Suppressing my own chakra to my best, which meant at a level where my jounin sensei used other senses to track me, I began to move through the tress noiselessly. Enhancing my hearing with chakra, sure enough, I could hear a hyperactive voice.
"-and well, he only acts like a bastard! Deep down, I know he's an alright person. There's no need to worry about Sasuke, Hinata-chan!"
Heh. Dobe.
Ah. I stifled a giggle. I made sure he was aware Hinata liked him, and he was finally alone with her.
"A-ano, okay Naruto-kun." Hinata's timid voice easily reached my ears. "Good luck for the finals."
Slinking away in order to avoid eaves dropping, I travelled to yet unopened Ichiraku Ramen to pick up a bowl of miso and pork by pulling the 'Naruto's friend' card, then to a sweets shop for some anmitsu. Climbing to the roof of a three storey building, I let my senses spread out, homing in on Naruto's signature. Letting other interesting information aside, because if I'd be there all morning if indulged my curiosity.
Finding him enroute to Sakura's place, I smiled to myself and followed. Closing in, I let a swirl of leaves announce my entry as I teleported right beside him. "Hn."
"Ack!" Naruto and Sakura, both of them present, jumped. I let myself smirk, my high collar concealing everything beneath my nose. "Yo, dobe."
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted, and then her eyes fell to my hands. And I noticed her carrying three bentos with a thermosand a paper bag containing apples.
"Eh, you too?!" Naruto cried, he himself holding a box of dango topped with red bean paste, as well as some small apples.
The warmth in chest slowly spread to my whole being, giving me an indescribable feeling at our synchronicity, each showing up with the other two's favourite eatable . Nonchalantly, I raised the two bowls of ramen and anmitsu with each hand and droned, "Breakfast?"
As we walked to a small, empty park I noticed bandages and scrapes covering Sakura's arms and legs. She walked with more confidently too, no doubt training hard herself.
Sitting on a wooden bench, we untied our meal boxes, turning out to be a serving of omelette rice, the egg cooked in our special way, sausages and green tea. We ate heartily, chattering all the while.
"So, what's with the new outfit? Kinda looks familiar. I hope it's not just your clothes that's changed, cause I'm gonna win the whole thing, believe it!" He pointed to me with is chopsticks, only for Sakura to slap away the rude gesture.
"As if Naruto! You've improved, but not enough to beat Sasuke-kun."
"Hn. Don't know about that." He'd put up a good fight at least.
"By the way, I'm training a lot too. Kakashi-sensei would drop by in the evening to give me some pointers, saying that the Hokage had given him the month off." Sakura poured green tea into three cups, holding one out for me.
"He'd leave me alone in the afternoon though." I pointed out.
"That's the time he gave me to be at the training ground." Sakura sighed.
"When I'm Hokage, he'll get everywhere on time, believe it! Even if Jiji just laughs at the idea," Naruto crossed his arms, put off about the Sandaime. Well, if the god of shinobi couldn't, what chance did Naruto have?
"Hn."
"Anyway, it won't be long before I become chunin as well! Just wait for me Sasuke-kun, I'll totally ace the next exams!" Sakura still had traces of her fangirlism, but thankfully I didn't have to see Naruto trying to hide his hurt from the corner of my eye anymore. That had been quite the contributing factor to making him aware of Hinata.
"Hn. If you do I might even call you Sakura-chan."
Pin drop silence. My teammates looked at me with such surprise that I felt flustered behind my stoic Uchiha mask. "What?" I deadpanned, seeing a mysterious glint in Sakura's eyes.
"I WON'T LET YOU DOWN SASUKE-KUN!" Then, as if snapping to her senses, the pink haired girl jumped and slapped her hands to her mouth, looking around to see some if anyone else was present. Blushing furiously, she sat back down. Naruto tried to laugh, but she cut him off with a glare, so he opted to pout.
I shook my head, hiding a wry smile behind my collar. Idiots, but my idiots. Thanking her for the meal, Naruto and I went our own ways to change into clothes that did not look like they belonged to a crash test dummy.
I checked my wallet and vault, only to find them empty. On the dresser was a handkerchief with the henohenomoheji, neatly folded. Eye-twitching, I decided that this apartment needed some traps and security. Perhaps Naruto could lend a hand.
Taking a long, hot shower, I changed into another set of the clothes, leisurely strapping on my equipment and being grateful for healing chakra, making a note to learn medical ninjutsu someday.
With just enough time to reach the stadium, I walked out of my apartment, taking in the sights of the village. Halfway through, I walked by a grumbling old man, clutching his back with a wheel barrow of bricks upturned in front of him.
"You boy, help me with this!" He pointed a wrinkled finger at me, wiping the sweat of his bald forehead.
"Me?"I asked, making sure.
"Yeah you! Hmph, kids these days. If someone older than me had asked for help, I'd have jumped up, saying 'yes sir!' What do they teach you nowadays? My back is giving out, otherwise I'd never ask for your help, you whippersnapper!"
Instinctually I raised my hands in placation, trying not to interrupt his rant. But my gaze soon began to linger on my callused hands, that been honed for fighting. Fighting to build a better place in this world in the future, but here I was, hesitating help an old man because I had an exam in which I use my strength in a circus of blood and steel, to attract money and profits.
What good is that kind of strength? But,
Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Help to make earth happy
Like the Heaven above.
I smiled as I recalled the poem I had once learned in nursery. Something I had long forgotten about. "Sorry jiisan. Where do you need to go?"
"Oi bastard you're late! We were waiting for you, yours is the first match!" Naruto shouted as I ran into the stadium, where all the final round participants were already standing in front of Shiranui Genma. I hid the wince which guiltily reminded me of Gekko Hayate. The proctor in question gave me a questioning glance.
"You're well over fifteen minutes late, Uchiha." His senbon twitched, demanding an answer.
"Sorry, there was this old labourer whose back gave out and I had to help him shift pallets of bricks." I replied truthfully. Genma's senbon nearly slid out of his teeth, before he clenched it again.
Naruto gaped at me, unable to voice even one protest. Rock Lee, standing next to him, could not stop his youthful tears from flowing. "Now I truly see! I am your senpai in things besides the simple notions age and experience, Sasuke-kohai!"
I simply winked with my right eye. I wasn't trying to be Kakashi, not exactly his biggest fan after what he put me through, but it was alright. One step towards shedding the mask I was forced to wear. And if anyone thought otherwise, oh well.
Up in the stands, Asuma's cigarette fell out from his mouth. "What did Kakashi do to that kid?"
"Is this another one his and Gai's 'eternal rival' things?" Kurenai, definitely not on a date with Asuma, hazarded. Except for the vest and longer sleeves, the Uchiha wore the same outfit as his sensei. Even his collar was raised, mimicking a mask. She'd bet that if he took off his headband his hair would cover one of his eyes too.
Elsewhere, the surprise showed the faces of remainder of the Rookie Nine.
"Okay, like, not that I'm complaining, what happened to Sasuke-kun, besides that sexy new haircut? You know anything Sakura?" Ino voiced.
Sakura felt like saying that it was her who cut Sasuke-kun's hair, but stopped herself. It felt wrong, to use that memory in what would no doubt start a petty fight. Besides, she had already decided it was high time to stop this, and be worthy of wearing the Leaf symbol. "No idea. But now that I think about it, his behaviour is starting to look an awful lot like our sensei. He's changed a lot since graduation." Not that there was anything wrong with that, Sasuke-kun was still the same cool, handsome guy in her mind, but he was also a lot nicer, if still antisocial.
Still, she prayed he didn't start walking around reading a certain trashy book though.
