A/N: Needless to say, I'm high on creative juices right now. So, yu get a quick update. Hope you enjoy...
Sasuke loved the sound of Sakura's moan and with the children out of the house, she could be as loud as she wanted. Husband and wife laid in sweaty bliss and on messy, wet covers. Sakura rolled to her stomach, sighed softly and draped her right leg over Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke rubbed her leg, appreciating the muscle tone that years of strength and taijutsu training had given her. When he kissed her, Sakura snuggled closer to him.
"I missed you," Sakura whispered. Sasuke smirked.
"I was only gone for a few hours," Sasuke replied. Sakura shook her head.
"No, you. This. We haven't really been able to cut loose in a while. Between the missions, the hospital and the kids." Sasuke nodded. He was thankful that as his children grew older, they spent more and more time away from the house. This time alone was treasured. Sasuke loved his children deeply but inwardly, he was preparing for the day that they would be gone.
"You just missed digging your nails into my back," Sasuke said. Sakura giggled.
"Among other things." Sakura then raised her head and smiled. "Hikari has a surprise for you when she gets back home." Her tone hinted at something special and it piqued Sasuke's interest.
He bothered to ask, "What is it?" only for Sakura to shake her head and smile.
"Be patient. You'll see." She rubbed Sasuke's chest and the Uchiha let it go. There was a bit more silence before Sakura spoke again. "How did your team do during the Exams?"
"Quite well," Sasuke replied. He had expected as much. "They all passed to the tournament round. I'll be helping Shogo prepare for his match." Sakura drew a circle around Sasuke's nipple with her finger.
"That's sweet. Although, it'll be odd if he and Takuma end up fighting each other after training together under you."
"I'm not training Takuma for the tournament," Sasuke replied. Sakura's finger paused.
"Wait, what do you mean?" she asked. Sasuke sighed.
"Takuma's far more advanced than the genin in his class and he's experienced enough to be able to plan around his abilities for his opponent. Shogo doesn't the skill and that's what I'm training him for," Sasuke replied.
"Sasuke…who is Takuma fighting?" Sakura's green eyes met Sasuke's black.
"Hajime Hyūga," Sasuke replied. Sakura leaned up and stared down at him. The Uchiha recognized the look and he braced himself.
"Sasuke, has it occurred to you that this may be the biggest fight in Takuma's life? The entirety of Konoha will be in attendance for that match alone."
"I know," Sasuke replied. Sakura shook her head.
"Even you had Kakashi-sensei to train you for your match against Gaara…"
"Because he didn't want me relying on the Cursed Seal…"
"But you had someone." Sakura stared at Sasuke. "Sasuke, your son needs you," she said.
Sasuke got out of bed and walked around to the other side of it. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Sakura, I can't. Kakashi trained me not just because of the Cursed Seal but also because we had the same chakra nature and the Sharingan."
"Is that what this is about? You won't train Takuma because he doesn't have a Sharingan?" Sasuke opened his mouth but Sakura continued. "May I remind you that our son nearly lost both his sight and his life when those eyes activated. There is a chakra blockage in his brain that without proper surgical procedure will not go away. If he even tries to activate it again on his own, he will die. He cried in both of our arms because of that and you punish him for it by not training him?"
Sasuke frowned deeply. "This isn't a punishment. I'm saving him. Any advice I could possibly offer to him would relate entirely to using the Sharingan to counter the Byakugan. If I push Takuma and he activates his Sharingan then dies under my watch…" Sasuke paused. He shook his head and said, "I won't forgive myself."
"And if Takuma loses because he didn't get the advice he desperately needed from his father, he may not forgive you, either," Sakura replied. She got out of bed, grabbed her robe and headed to the bathroom. Sasuke stood in his bedroom, alone, and stared at the ceiling.
How could Sakura not understand? How could Takuma not understand? If he trained himself to make up for not having a Sharingan, then it would be far safer for Takuma to head into his match. Sasuke knew that Takuma was smart enough to realize that he wouldn't be able to simply fall back on the Sharingan and he'd plan accordingly. Sasuke was saving his son yet neither the boy nor his mother seemed to realize that.
Frustrated, the Uchiha went to his closet and took his training clothes and sword out. He needed to get away to think. Moreover, to let out the anger that was bubbling in his chest. Sasuke sheathed his sword and was on his way out of his bedroom when Sakura stood in the doorway and folded her arms.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke met her gaze and then gently brushed past her.
"The Spot," he replied. He could feel that Sakura was angry with him but he pushed it to the back of his mind. They had an understanding. Forcing Sasuke to talk would do nothing to mend the situation, especially when he felt conflicted over a particular issue. He needed to mull it over.
Sasuke felt Sakura's hand grip his arm tightly. When the Uchiha turned around, Sakura's eyes penetrated his soul. "Get your head straight. Your son needs you," she said. When she let him go, Sasuke made his way out of his home and headed deep into the forest.
Kichiro was disappointed to learn that his father wasn't home. He had hoped to see his expression when Hikari breathed fire but he settled on waiting until the next day. Takuma had been particularly quiet at the dinner table, even more so than he usually was, in their father's absence. When Kichiro attempted to speak with him, Takuma gave a quiet, one word answer and drifted off to his room. Their mother had attempted to talk to him as well, only to receive the same treatment.
The next morning, things weren't very different. Takuma moved with an entirely different energy as he gathered a few things and headed out of the door without a word.
"Dad's not training him," Sosei said in the kitchen as he and Kichiro ate breakfast. Kichiro swallowed his mouthful and raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?" he asked. Sosei shrugged.
"Maybe Dad thinks Takuma doesn't need it." Kichiro rubbed his head. Takuma was strong, that was for sure. But, the Chunin Exams were supposed to be a big event with visitors from other countries coming in to witness the festivities.
"Who is he fighting?" Kichiro asked. Sosei sipped his milk.
"Some kid named Hajime Hyuga. I've heard of him. He's supposed to be a prodigy of sorts," Sosei answered.
"But so is Takuma," Kichiro said with a smile. Sosei cut his eyes towards Kichiro.
"He doesn't think so." Sosei sighed and leaned back. "Ever since he learned he won't be able to activate the Sharingan, he's doubted himself. Now, he is in probably in the marquee match of this year's exams in a Uchiha versus Hyuga match that has never been seen and the only thing that he feels that makes him an Uchiha is his name." Kichiro lowered his head.
"Oh," he muttered. Suddenly, he looked up. "Did Takuma tell you that?" Sosei shook his head and Kichiro continued. "Then how do you know how he feels?"
"It's an educated guess," Sosei replied simply. "Considering what I know about our brother." Kichiro's older brother rose from the table and ruffled Kichiro's hair. "Come on. You need to get to school, kiddo." Kichiro frowned and sighed.
"Can't I stay home with you?" he whined. Sosei chuckled.
"I'm not going to be here, little brother." Kichiro's frown remained.
"Fine." Sosei tapped Kichiro's head with his index and middle finger.
"Maybe next time." Sosei's light smile made Kichiro grin.
Kichiro raised down the path from his house and took to the streets of Konoha. He bobbed and weaved around the civilians walking down the roads, imagining them as flaming obstacles in his way as he was on his way to complete a mission.
"Shitchiro!" a voice called from Kichiro's left. The young Uchiha's brow furrowed. It was Kataki. The boy ran up to Kichiro, keeping pace with him every step. His smirk was repugnant. "Bet you I can beat you to our class." Kichiro sighed.
"Leave me alone," he replied. Kataki leapt over a market stand and came back to Kichiro's side.
"If you win, I'll stop calling you 'Shitchiro'…" he said. Kichiro turned to him and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he believed Kataki at all but he decided to take him on his wager. Kichiro sucked in a deep breath and darted down the street. He felt Kataki on his heels so he tried to increase his speed and distance himself.
Kichiro leapt to the roof and crossed the gaps with blinding speed. He saw Kataki caught in the midst of the crowd, his face twisted in a snarl. Kichiro then looked ahead and saw the Academy in front of him. The young Uchiha somersaulted from the roof onto the street and burst through the front door to the Academy. He panted softly and looked back a few moments later when Kataki entered. He didn't look like he had even broken a sweat.
Instead, Kataki wore a smile that was without his ordinarily smugness. It seemed…genuine. Kichiro was wary as Kataki approached him and flinched when he touched him. Kataki seemed to ignore it.
"Look at that…you beat me," he said. Kichiro narrowed his eyes and moved from Kataki's reach.
"What kind of game are you playing?" he asked. Kataki looked confused, even hurt.
"I'm not," he replied. He then rubbed his head. "Look, I just…I was really mean to you for no reason. And I wanted to do better." Kichiro was speechless. He tried not to believe what he was hearing.
"W-why…?" Kataki placed his hand back on Kichiro's shoulder and smiled.
"I overheard my parents last night. They were…talking about what happened to you. With…" Kichiro moved away from Kataki and frowned. He shook his head.
"Don't." Kichiro wiped his face of any potential tears. "Don't ever talk about that." Kataki looked away and cursed under his breath.
He turned his full body away from Kichiro and entered the classroom, but not before he said, "I'm sorry."
Kichiro stood alone in the hallway, fighting back memories and tears. He had spent the last two months fighting desperately to get over what had happened to him with Hensou. He tried to erase the man's touch and his voice. Now, while trying to be kind, Kataki had brought those memories back to the surface. Kichiro shook his head and ran to the restroom. He threw cold water on his face and took in deep breaths.
After calming down, Kichiro walked into his classroom. In the front corner of the classroom, the popular crowd gathered around Kataki. For a brief moment, Kichiro stopped and watched him. Whatever story it was telling had everyone engaged. His movements and the way his eyes went large. Then he laughed and made everyone else laugh.
Kichiro recognized then what attracted everyone to Kataki.
Regardless, Kichiro ascended the stairs and made his way to Setsuka. The brown-haired girl flashed a shy smile before she hid the lower half of her face under her collar. Kichiro grinned back at her widely, making her blush.
Kichiro then looked to the front of the classroom and caught sight of Kataki looking back at he and Setsuka. Kichiro thought he saw the smallest sign of jealousy before their Academy instructor entered the room. Kichiro pondered on what he saw, before he cleared his head to focus on the day's lesson.
Two weeks to train. Two weeks to find a way to counter the Byakugan, somehow. That was the challenge that laid ahead of Takuma and he'd have no assistance from his father. That had been the hardest part of this entire situation for Takuma to swallow. His entire life, his father had been there to help better him in a fight. Takuma didn't have a jutsu in his arsenal that his father hadn't taught him. And now, when he needed him the most, his father wasn't there.
Takuma tried to see things from the other point of view. Perhaps, he had become spoiled in relying on his father. Maybe that was the curse of privilege. But that didn't deflect from the fact that his father had abandoned him, again.
How many other times had this happened? How many times had Takuma needed his father to be the emotional anchor of his life only for the man to disappear or only offer to spar. Takuma had learned to express himself through conflict which went against who he internally was. At his center, Takuma had always been passive. He had preferred to make friends and be nice to people while his father had always ruled by fear and intimidation. He had done that to Takuma.
The young boy wrestled to understand how he felt about his father in his moment of weakness. He could never deny that he loved him but he didn't want to be like him. He imagined every son wished to be like their father. He saw it in the way that Honami's baby brother behaved towards the Hokage. Kichiro still seemed to revere their father although the pedestal was beginning to break. And for Takuma, this abandonment may have caused that pedestal to fall apart completely.
But, still Takuma couldn't deny that he loved his father. What he could admit to himself, through teary eyes, was that he hated himself. He loathed his shortcomings and his failure to live up to what he believed his father expected of him. Sosei's arrival had exposed Takuma's flaws and he had struggled daily to reach his brother but the power gap continued to grow exponentially. While Takuma had struggled to awaken the Sharingan without defects, Sosei had mastered his and gained the Mangekyo along with their father's Amaterasu technique. While Takuma had been stuck as a genin, Sosei had become an elite ANBU operative under an elite leader. Sosei was the son that embodied all the Uchiha greatness and fire that Sasuke desired while Takuma could only feign a smile at his brother's accomplishments. He felt invisible beneath Sosei's shadow and that only fueled Takuma's self-doubt.
Takuma had given up training and sat underneath a tree with tears streaming down his face. He had tried to practice some shurikenjutsu but now, the ninja tools laid at his feet. Takuma buried his head in his hands and he sobbed.
"Oh, come on. Your training can't be going that badly."
Takuma looked up and wiped his eyes. Sosei stood in front of him with a smile. Takuma sniffled.
"Why are you here?" Takuma asked. Sosei chuckled.
"Why shouldn't I be?" Takuma didn't have an answer. He just shook his head. Sosei knelt down in front of him. "I know Dad is busy with someone else, but that doesn't mean you have to train alone," Sosei said. "Besides…I know how the Byakugan works." Takuma blinked. Then nodded. Sosei's former teammate had been a Hyūga.
"Can you teach me how to beat it?" Takuma asked. Sosei nodded and folded his arms.
"Sure. There's one specific weakness that you can exploit but you'll need to be extremely accurate with your weapons," he said. Takuma stood up and exhaled. His spirit was lifting.
"What do I have to do?" Takuma asked. Sosei handed him his shuriken from the ground.
"Just do what I say."
Takuma nodded and Sosei dipped his head. From then on, Takuma's older brother gave him a rundown on the Byakugan from what he had learned from Noboru and Takuma cross-referenced it with the information he had stored from his time teaming with Honami. The Byakugan had a near 360 degree range of sight and gave the user heightened reflexes to avoid attacks. With it, a Byakugan user also had penetrating x-ray vision that could see the chakra pathway in the body, allowing them to execute their famed taijutsu form, the Gentle Fist. Gentle Fist was mostly defensive, relying on counters and chakra shielding which Takuma had gathered from watching and sparring with Honami.
"Seeing your chakra network isn't the issue. It's what they do that should give you pause. Gentle Fist practitioners attack the 64 chakra points throughout your body. With precision, they can turn your chakra off or cause it to rush." Sosei shrugged. "On the other hand, they could just try to hurt you without turning your chakra off. I'd bet Hajime would pull that shit on you."
Takuma reluctantly nodded. If Hajime's psychotic smirk was any indication, Takuma knew he definitely intended to hurt him.
Takuma thought on all the information that Sosei had shared with him. The Byakugan and all its abilities were intimidating. It seemed like it was the perfect defense or so the Hyūga clan claimed.
"There are a few things you can do to get around it," Sosei said. "The main weakness is a single degree of blindness right above the first thoracic vertebrae." Takuma nodded taking all the information in.
"How do I hit it?" he asked. Sosei reached into his back pocket and pulled out three tools. A kunai, shuriken and a thin metal needle that Takuma had never seen before. He looked at it, bemused and Sosei spoke.
"A kunai would be a good choice, however, you risk the Byakugan user seeing it before it hits the weak spot." Sosei raised the shuriken. "You could also try this with enough accuracy but you run the same risk. But with a senbon…"
Takuma's eyes slowly widened and he nodded quickly. "It's thin enough that it can slip in undetected to the blind spot," he said. Sosei nodded.
"Good. And since you're already proficient with shinobi tools, all you need to do is have a plan of attack going in. Or, make it up as you go," he said. Takuma shook his head.
"I'd like to have a plan," he said.
"Figured you would." Sosei folded his arms. "What did you have in mind?"
With that question, Takuma drew a blank. He didn't want to simply spitball random ideas and sound foolish but he honestly didn't know what to say.
"I don't know. Maybe, I could…" Sosei's hand grabbed Takuma's shoulder. Takuma looked up.
"You don't have to have a fully detailed plan of attack now. Relax," Sosei said calmly. Takuma nodded and looked away.
"Okay," he replied.
"Hey." Takuma looked back at his brother. "Before we go any further, I want you to talk to me," Sosei said, his voice a whisper. Takuma blinked.
"About what?" he asked. Sosei sighed.
"Your feelings….about me." Sosei sat underneath the tree. "I know I'm probably the worst person to talk to about these things and we definitely haven't been that close since I got here but I just want to know what you're feeling right now." Takuma was frozen. He saw the opportunity to let loose what he felt about Sosei, their father and himself. He wanted to tell his brother everything.
But something held his tongue.
"I...I don't know," he said. Takuma sat next to Sosei and shook his head. "I just…" he sighed when the words refused to come. To his surprise, Sosei didn't press him.
"I get it. It's hard to express your emotions when you've been holding them in for so long. I understand," Sosei said. Takuma nodded.
"Okay," he replied. He looked at Sosei and his brother looked up at the sky.
"Whatever happens, Takuma, I want you to know that I'm proud of you and…" Takuma and his brother locked eyes. "I love you, little brother. You're not alone, okay?"
Takuma couldn't hold his tears back this time. He felt himself weep again and he felt Sosei rub his shoulder in a paradoxically gentle but gruff manner. When Takuma had finished shedding tears, he stood to his feet and Sosei stood across from him.
"Now…let's get your training started," Sosei said. Takuma wiped his face, nodded and smiled.
The two brothers fought until the moon pierced through the thick cover of the clouds and cool winter winds sent them running home. When Takuma entered the house with Sosei, he was greeted immediately by his mother and Hikari.
"Taku! Soso! You're here!" the little girl shouted excitedly. Takuma smiled and nodded.
"Yeah," he said. His mother looked over he and Sosei.
"You two look like you just got finished rolling through a thorn bush," she said. "Go wash up." Hikari made a sound of protest.
"But, Mama!" she cried. "I want to show everyone now."
"Show us what?" Takuma asked. Hikari grinned.
"Come outside!" she said before she ran to the backyard. Takuma looked to his mother for approval. Exasperated, Sakura waved for them to go out. Takuma followed his little sister out to the backyard. His father and Kichiro were already outside waiting. Kichiro looked nearly as excited as Hikari had been. His father looked resigned as always. He gave Takuma a look-over when he came outside and then cut his eyes toward Sosei. Sasuke said nothing but Takuma almost sense his surprise. Sakura came to Sasuke's side.
With everyone out on the lakefront, Hikari stepped forward proudly.
"Is everybody ready now?" she asked. Takuma looked around and everyone gave their approval. Hikari grinned. "Okay!" she said. She then turned her back to everyone and looked out over the lake. Takuma wondered what she was doing until he saw her arms move. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A fireball, about the size of Takuma, burned across the lake before fizzling out into smoke midway across the water. Takuma was shocked and felt himself clap his hands. He was followed by Sakura and Kichiro. Sosei smiled and Sasuke himself gave a small smirk. Hikari giggled with rosy, blushed cheeks and pink hair bouncing on her shoulders.
Takuma went to bed after his family had celebrated Hikari's performance of the rite of passage technique. His body ached but it was a good feeling, one of purpose and accomplishment. When he slept, Takuma dreamt of the battle to come. His subconscious flashed images of his victory and when he woke the next morning, he prayed to no one in particular that the dream would come. He met Sosei in the same forest clearing in the morning to train and run over tactics, then he came home to shower, eat and read.
He repeated the cycle for two weeks until he woke up one morning and saw the date circled on his calendar. Takuma's heart dropped like a sack of weights in Takuma's chest.
The young Uchiha dressed himself in a black high-collared shirt and white pants. He strapped up his black boots on and tied his forehead protector on. Takuma checked his pouches, assuring himself that he had all the weapons he had trained with.
Before he left his room, Takuma stared in the mirror. Today was the day. Today was the day where Takuma either proved to himself that he was a true Uchiha or destined to be a failure.
Takuma left the mirror, left his room, left his home and headed to the stadium.