That night Sasuke's dream started in the forest.
Except for its death inducing dangers, humid climate, overabundance of bugs, and annoying tendency to cause death or lifelong impairment, the Forest of Death was not that horrible. Sasuke's subconscious had managed to remove most of its unsavory characteristics, and the forest looked shockingly and deceptively normal. Tall trees with brightly colored leaves were loosely grouped around him, providing cover from the sunlight, which was as bright as usual. The ground was slightly moist, but with water, not blood, and there were no telltale battle scars on the trunks of the trees around him or in the soil below him. In fact, to anyone else, this forest would have been indistinguishable from any other forest in the Land of Fire.
But Sasuke knew what it was. Truthfully, it was more of a feeling than an observation, more of an anxiety creeping into the back of his mind and poisoning him than some blatant discrepancy. Sasuke could feel the fear, the apprehension, the panic that colored the Forest. He could feel the danger around him.
I have to get out of here, he decided immediately. Right now, before hell rains down on me. Sasuke started to run, slowly at first, but then picking up speed until he was fairly sprinting. He ran in a straight line, jumping over obstacles and navigating his way around trees to stay on his path. I'll run into something eventually; the edge of the forest, or the rendezvous building. Something! I just need to stay straight.
The forest was deathly quiet and deathly still. There was no wind to rustle the leaves of the trees, no bugs scurrying on the ground, no distant sounds of battle. It was completely silent.
Exhausted, Sasuke finally had to stop. Panting, he bent over, resting his hand on the tree beside him. This is just a dream. I'll get out, and I'll wake up. It was ridiculous to worry. Ridiculous.
Sasuke straightened. He frowned as he observed the scene around him. It looked familiar…very familiar. It was almost identical to the place he'd started.
I did not just run in a circle. Sasuke slammed his fist into a nearby tree. Damn!
Alright, new plan. He felt in his pockets and pouches, searching for a kunai or shuriken. Nothing. He was weaponless.
Desperate, he picked up a stray rock and slashed at the tree, leaving a deep groove in the tree's strong trunk. I'll know now if I run in a circle. Sasuke took off in the opposite direction, running at a break neck speed in his haste to escape.
Ten minutes later he collapsed to the ground. He was panting again, and he could feel his heart racing wildly. I have to get up. I have to keep running.
Sasuke rose shakily, grabbing onto a nearby tree for support. His hand explored its rough surface as he gulped in a little extra air.
His hand stopped abruptly. No freaking way. He traced his hand over it again. Shaking from fear, he looked at the trunk. There was a deep gouge marring its bark.
Damn! Sasuke's equanimity slipped hastily. Freaking perfect!
"Sasuke," a voice called. "Sasuke."
Orochimaru. The scene around him vanished. The sunlight disappeared, and Sasuke was surrounded by darkness.
Calm down. He had to be pragmatic. This was just a dream; it would be asinine to panic. He just had to wait it out. He would wake up eventually.
His shoes were conspicuously absent, and Sasuke suddenly realized that his feet felt wet. Sasuke wondered why he had not noticed that before. They felt slimy, too,like they were covered in something grimy.
Sasuke crouched. The floor was squishy and wet, and it felt like it was almost moving. What the hell is going-
Light flooded the area around him. Sasuke shut his eyes against the sudden brightness; it was so bright, like he was staring directly into the sun; and fell backwards. He buried his face in the crook of his arm, trying to block out the damaging rays.
Without warning it dimmed. Hesitantly, Sasuke un-tucked his head and opened his eyes.
He screamed at what he saw.
Sasuke's pale arm was dripping in blood.
Sasuke looked down. His heart stopped as he realized exactly why the "floor" had seemed so squishy.
The ground wasn't soil anymore; it had turned into an interwoven network of organs and tissue covered by a thick layer of coagulating blood, and Sasuke was lying on top of it.
Frantically Sasuke scrambled to his knees, trying to rise to a standing position. Once he made it to his knees, however, his body froze. He couldn't move, much less stand. He was stuck on all fours, helpless as an infant.
Sasuke yelled again. Move! Move! Move! He was paralyzed, wholly and completely. Blood trickled down his sweaty face and dripped onto his hands below him.
Orochimaru's face swam before his eyes, cackling. Sasuke jerked his head up, looking desperately for the Sanin.
"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded angrily. "What do you want?"
Orochimaru cackled louder. "You know the answer to that, Sasuke."
Sasuke lurched forward as his world started to shake. His arms unfroze, and he managed to brace himself against the floor.
The quaking stopped, and Sasuke cautiously started to rise again. Before he could stand, the world shook again, throwing him down. His face ground into a massive hunk of still beating bloody tissue, and his body began to sink into the carpet of gore.
Sasuke jolted like a fish out of water, wrenching his body uselessly in an attempt to escape the trap. Blood seeped into his mouth, and he could taste its metallic taint, poisoning his tongue.
Sasuke sunk farther. He was buried under piles of raw organs and tissue, bathing in a pool thicker than mud, thicker than anything he had ever felt. He couldn't breath, and the weight of the masses around him was crushing him. He was drowning and suffocating at the same horrific time.
He opened his mouth to yell, but the blood invaded, choking him. He hacked to force it out, but the blood stubbornly choked him, cutting off his air. His lungs were burning. His body weakened as his small supply of oxygen dwindled.
"So sad," Orochimaru's voice whispered. "So sad."
Sasuke screamed silently, closing his eyes against the impending terror.
The suffocating pressure suddenly disappeared. Shocked, Sasuke inhaled – and got a fresh breath of air. He slowly moved one leg, and then the other. The paralysis was gone.
Cautiously, Sasuke opened his eyes. He was on his bed, in his room. It was dark; probably the middle of the night, if he had to guess.
It's over. Sasuke sighed happily, resting his head against his pillow. It's over. Kami, it's finally over.
Sasuke's cheeks felt wet, and his eyes seemed to be tearing. Had he been crying? Kami, it's a good thing Shisui didn't come in. He would never have lived it down.
Sasuke wiped at his face, drying the moisture with his sleeve, but his eyes kept tearing; he could feel the liquid dripping down his cheeks again. His eyes were burning slightly.
What the hell? Sasuke looked carefully at his sleeve. That's weird. His tears looked dark, not clear. Fumbling, Sasuke reached for the light. He needed the comfort the soft glow of the light bulb would bring.
The light illuminated the room, and Sasuke caught his reflection in his mirror.
His face was streaked with blood. The white of his eyes were dark red, and he was crying blood.
"No!" Sasuke screamed. A chalky white face with long black hair appeared beside Sasuke in the mirror.
"You see, now, don't you?" Orochimaru asked, smiling. "You see."
Sasuke wildly clawed at his eyes, fingers digging into his eyeballs, the blood flowing down his cheeks rapidly. Orochimaru was laughing sadistically, but Sasuke was too far gone to attack him. His vision clouded as he scrapped at his eyes, and the pain grew from uncomfortable to debilitating. His eyes collapsed underneath the pressure of his fingers, exploding in a jelly.
"This is so sad, Sasuke." Sasuke looked up. Orochimaru was holding his eyes. "It would have been so much easier if you had just given in."
Sasuke caught his reflection in the mirror. Empty eye sockets greeted him, their dark caverns revealing the ugly truth.
"NO!" Sasuke felt his voice crack as pure horror overwhelmed him. "NO!"
Sasuke blinked. He was back on his bed, lying down under the thin blanket, body comfortably positioned.
He sat up gingerly, refusing to touch his face. The room was nearly pitch black, but even his lackluster night vision could differentiate the familiar shapes of his room: his mirror, his dresser, his weapons, his training clothes that he had forgotten to put in the hamper; all present and in their correct positions.
Just like in his last dream.
Am I really awake?
That was the scariest question of all.
Noiselessly he climbed out of bed and tiptoed towards the door. The house seemed in order. He stubbed his toe as he stood, and he bit back a curse. If he was dreaming, this was an unusual turn of events. Cautiously, he turned on a dim light bulb and peeked in his mirror.
Both his eyes were in their proper place. There was no blood staining his cheeks, and the mirror showed only his reflection, not that of Orochimaru's. He was alone.
I'm awake. It was just a dream. Sasuke closed his eyes, repeating the mantra silently in his head. I'm awake. It was just a dream. I. Am. Awake.
It had been just a dream, although it had been one of the most disturbing dreams Sasuke had ever had the horror of experiencing.
Sasuke stepped out of his bedroom. Sleep beckoned, but he did not feel like answering the call.
He heard voices downstairs. Is there someone here? Sasuke frowned. He crept towards the stairs, hoping to improve his hearing. He couldn't hear the voices downstairs well enough to distinguish any words.
He knelt near the top of the stairs. One of the voices rose in volume. Itachi! A softer, but just as imposing, tone answered back.
Inoichi? He hadn't been expecting him. What the heck is he doing here? A new thought struck him. Did they find Orochimaru? Is he back? Eagerly, Sasuke strained to hear the conversation.
Damn, I'm still not close enough. He slid down a few stairs, pausing at every step. Finally, he could listen in.
"I have been informed that ANBU is doing everything they can to locate Orochimaru," Inoichi was saying. "But it's doubtful that they'll find him. He's disappeared down whatever hole he came from."
As much as Sasuke hated hearing the awful truth, he found Inoichi's candor refreshing.
"Naturally," Itachi answered coolly.
"Itachi-san," Inoichi started. It sounded like a warning-
Idiot! Sasuke realized suddenly that he had forgotten to mask his chakra. Inoichi had sensed him. Idiot! I'm turning into Naruto!
Itachi's chakra signature suddenly increased. What is he doing?
Sasuke had his second "Naruto" moment of the night. Itachi is covering my chakra signature. He was allowing Sasuke to overhear the conversation.
Sasuke smirked. Remind me to thank you later.
"You found traces of Orochimaru in his mind?" Itachi questioned, continuing the conversation with no hint of recognizing his brother's presence.
Inoichi sighed, clearly choosing to ignore the abnormality in favor of addressing the problem at hand. "It's more complicated than that. Orochimaru didn't leave any part of his consciousness that would be capable of controlling Sasuke. We don't need to worry about him turning into a version of the Sanin and losing his mind."
Well, that's reassuring, Sasuke thought sarcastically, although the prospect was downright chilling. Sasuke hadn't been aware that was a possibility.
"You said there was a presence." There was a cold menace in Itachi's tone; not an outright threat or anger, but an underlying darkness. Itachi did not want speculation or reassurances; he wanted the truth.
"Yes." Sasuke took a risk and leaned over the railing. He saw Inoichi met Itachi's stare. "I've determined that our hypothesis was correct; Orochimaru was trying to seize Sasuke's body. He failed, but he left a foothold in Sasuke's mind that will leave him forever susceptible to being taken over by Orochimaru."
Sasuke's blood chilled. He could try again, and it would be easier for him to do it. That was terrifying. I can't let that happen. Ever.
"That will be addressed by our clan," Itachi responded, more for Sasuke's benefit than Inoichi's.
"There's something else as well," Inoichi continued.
"What?" He's in rare form tonight. Sasuke had rarely, if ever, seen his brother so intense and so scary, at least not when facing someone who belonged to their village.
"He also left an imprint."
"An imprint," Itachi repeated. His tone was a marriage of scorn and impatience.
Inoichi could easily read Itachi's worsening mood. "It's almost an imprint of Orochimaru's being, of his mind and soul. Sasuke managed to expel all of the chakra Orochimaru forced into his body, but he cannot get rid of the imprint. Honestly, though, it's the least of our worries."
Itachi nodded. He dropped his voice, and Sasuke took that as his cue to return to his room. There was little more to say, and his questions for Itachi could wait until Inoichi left.
Sasuke started back towards his room, but abruptly decided to retire to a more comforting atmosphere. He walked into his mother's room.
It had been his haunt as a child, when Itachi was in the midst of Hiro's brutal training regimen and his mother had still be taking official missions from the village. For whatever reason, perhaps fear of retaliation, his babysitters had never disturbed his mother's bedroom, and Hiro rarely had reason to frequent. It was the perfect escape. Besides, it had a window that overlooked their yard, and he had liked to watched Itachi train through it.
It smelled like her; clean, with a hint of vanilla. The way she liked it, and, therefore, the way he liked it.
Sasuke heard the door slid shut downstairs. He stepped out of the room and into the hallway. He wasn't particularly looking forward to facing Itachi, especially at the advanced hour, but it was as inevitable as death or taxes. Itachi knew he was awake, and he'd permitted him to hear the conversation.
Itachi was standing beside their kitchen counter. He stood perfectly erect, eyes focused on his younger brother questioningly.
"You're late," Sasuke said, pausing in the entrance to the kitchen, arms crossed in front of his chest as cockily as he dared.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"
"Very."
"And therefore," Itachi paced, stepping towards Sasuke with each word, "Orochimaru nearly destroyed you."
"Not nearly," Sasuke lied as arrogantly as he could muster. "I had situation under control. Mitrashi-san's presence was entirely unnecessary."
Itachi looked like he was about to laugh. A stranger wouldn't have noticed the signs: the raising of the eyebrows, the slight slackening of the mouth, the brightness in the eyes; but Sasuke could see it. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Foolish otouto," Itachi said, shaking his head, a smile playing on his lips.
Sasuke scoffed, unable to suppress a smile to mirror his brother's. He darted for the refrigerator, taking the opportunity to steal the last of Etsuko's rice balls. It wasn't like he would be sleeping anytime soon.
Itachi watched him, amused. "Shisui was saving those."
"Exactly." Sasuke chewed for a moment before speaking again. "Inoichi said there was a part of Orochimaru in my mind, that Orochimaru could possibly-" Sasuke didn't finish the sentence.
"Yes."
"Do you think he'll try again?"
"Yes." Itachi's eyes bored into his younger brother's. "He won't succeed."
That wasn't reassurance enough for Sasuke. "Inoichi said ANBU won't be able to find him."
"The ANBU are not the only ones protecting you, otouto," Itachi replied. He grabbed one of the rice balls from the plate. "You needn't worry."
"I'm not." Sasuke turned, heading for his room.
Itachi clamped a hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face him. Sasuke looked up at his brother, the elder's face ringed with concern and a frustrated brand of anger. "I will not let him near you again. What happened in the forest won't be repeated."
"I know." Sasuke hated how his voice cracked on the word "know". He wasn't worried. He was not worried. Much. "While you're keeping Orochimaru away from me, do you think you can keep Hiro away as well?"
Itachi chuckled. "You are facing the Hyuuga, Sasuke. I'm not a god; some things are impossible."
Itachi poked his younger brother in the forehead. "Go to sleep."
On cue, Hiro appeared at the table at breakfast the next day. Mikoto was absent, Shisui was on a mission, and Itachi was resolving some of the clan issues that had arisen during his mission, which left no barriers between Sasuke and his caustic uncle.
Oh, joy.
"Sasuke," Hiro greeted him humorlessly. "Time you woke up."
"Hiro-sama," Sasuke returned. He considered leaving, running out the door with a weak excuse. He did not fear his uncle, for Hiro was really merely an annoyance, but he was an annoyance that he did not want to have to deal with, particularly this early in the morning.
Ah, what the hell, he thought tiredly. He started preparing some miso soup, hoping that whatever Hiro wanted to tell him would be brief. He wasn't that hopeful, though; brevity had never been Hiro's strong point.
Hiro did not speak immediately, however. He watched in silence as Sasuke filled a bowl with soup and helped himself to some of the steamed rice that his mother had left.
Sasuke finally broke the quiet. "Do you want to say something?"
Hiro grunted. "The clan has been made aware of your exploits during the second stage." He scowled. "How you managed to spearhead such a debacle is a mystery to us all."
My exploits? Don't you mean Orochimaru's? Sasuke thought angrily. "And?"
"The clan's priority, as of now, is to prevent Orochimaru from achieving his goal. Security for you will be implemented, and you will be expected to improve your skills with your sharingan. We are not going to defend a helpless child." He sounded rather annoyed with having to defend Sasuke at all. It detracts from more important goals.
"Fine." Sasuke shoveled a large chunk of rice into his mouth. Food was a good tool to prevent possibly dangerous words. He was tempted to say "anything else?", but that would have been pushing Hiro. At six in the morning, peace was far better than war.
"You should know that we are not pleased with the situation," Hiro continued. "This is a liability to our operations, as well as those of the village."
Trust me. I am very aware. He chose wisely not to speak, instead counting the gray hairs that had began to spring up in Hiro's black hair. It was a time-consuming and mentally absorbing. From what his mother said, Hiro looked quite a bit like Fugaku, especially around the eyes, but Sasuke preferred to imagine his father as someone who had no resemblance to his irascible uncle.
"And we hope that this will not impair your performance in the chunin exams."
Sasuke glared furiously at his uncle. "It won't."
Hiro stood slowly. "Good. Make sure it doesn't. You cannot lose this fight, Sasuke. To allow a Hyuuga to win-"
"I would never allow anyone to beat me," Sasuke retorted quickly, "much less a Hyuuga." And much less Hyuuga Neji, he added mentally.
"You're distracted," Hiro admonished. "You wouldn't knowingly let him win, but if you are not fully prepared and not fully concentrated, it will be the same as lying down and letting him destroy you."
I am not distracted! "That won't happen."
"It better not happen." Hiro looked even older that morning. The lines and creases in his face that had been developing for years seemed even starker. The old scar that ran down the left side of his face was even more pronounced than usual, and even though he was irked, his dark eyes were dull. "The last thing the clan needs is a failure, especially in such a crucial event."
Sasuke bristled. "The clan won't be receiving one. I know how to fight. I can defeat him." I'm not a failure!
Hiro stared dubiously at his nephew. "Is that so?"
"Yes," Sasuke insisted. "It is."
Hiro turned away. "We'll see. You'd better leave; you'll be late for your training with Hatake."
As non humorous as the situation was, Sasuke had to bite back a laugh. It was the first and, Sasuke had a feeling, the last, time Hiro would ever encourage him to go meet with his 'lazy-ass sensei' and 'demon child and pink haired bastard' teammates.
"What are we doing?" Sasuke asked as he walked downstairs with his elder brother. He did not like suspense, and he did not like the look of Itachi's face. He was very sure that they were going to be doing something, something that he wasn't going to like. It had been a week and a half since his discussion with his uncle, and the tension had only increased with the passing days.
Itachi didn't look at him as he answered. "We're going to work on a new ability with your sharingan."
Sasuke nodded. That in and of itself was not intimidating; he had been working with Shisui, Itachi, and Kakashi rigorously to improve his abilities with his sharingan since the second stage; but there was something about his brother's face, about the set of the elder's jaw, the intensity in his body, the eerie wariness about him, that gave Sasuke pause.
"What new ability is this, anyway?" Sasuke asked.
"Dismantling genjutsu," Itachi answered calmly.
Sasuke halted at the entrance to his living room. Itachi serenely sat on the floor, waiting for his brother to join him.
A million protests rose to Sasuke's mind. 'Do we have to do this now', 'I have something else I need to do', and 'Kakashi-sensei is already instructing me in this matter' were all very popular in the genin's head.
He couldn't protest, though. Firstly, it was futile. He couldn't refuse Itachi; in a few weeks, the elder would be accepting title of clan head, and he was bound to obey him. If he outright refused, not only would there be consequences, he would probably end up trapped in some hellish genjutsu that he couldn't escape to emphasize the importance of the lesson.
Secondly, and more importantly, he refused to show his hesitation to his brother. Showing it would mean admitting just how shaken he had been by his run in with Orochimaru, and Sasuke could not do that.
"Alright," he said, more for his benefit than his brother's. He sat in front of Itachi, cross legged, facing his brother.
Itachi nodded and began to speak. "The first step in destroying any genjutsu is detecting its presence. You will have to use your sharingan to analyze your environment. You've used your sharingan to analyze enough natural environments to be able to discern the abnormalities that appear in any genjutsu that differentiate them from the real world.
"Once you are certain that you are trapped in a genjutsu, you must direct your attention on the weaknesses of the jutsu. Use your sharingan to inspect every aspect of the jutsu. Find its weak spot, and then concentrate your chakra enough to dispel it."
Sasuke hated Itachi's seemingly simple explanations. Etsuko had once jokingly said that the simpler Itachi's explanation sounded, the more difficult the task was. "What if I can't find its weakness?"
"You're stuck in the genjutsu, which is why I suggest you practice it often." Itachi gave Sasuke a minute to absorb the instructions. "Are you ready?"
Hell, no. "Yes," he answered, proud of his seemingly calm demeanor.
Like always, Sasuke didn't feel, see, or hear the transition from reality to Itachi's genjutsu. It was not like falling asleep or waking up; there was nothing gradual or transitional. It was a sudden cut to another world.
That particular day Itachi had chosen a fiery hell as the backdrop for the genjutsu. It was not Sasuke's favorite scenario, but it beat certain other alternatives.
Okay, analyze the environment. The smoke was choking him, but he was still focused enough to activate his sharingan.
Itachi was right; he could feel the abnormalities, the "cracks" in the jutsu that revealed that it was a fake world. They were plain to him with his sharingan activated.
I have to find the weak points. He focused, ignoring the heat and the flames and the smoke and the pain, concentrating only on the task at hand. There is a way out. I just have to find it-
There! He had it. Chuckling softly, he started concentrating his chakra, aiming for the weak seam in the genjutsu. He could feel the genjutsu dissipating.
"Good job, Sasuke," a soft voice coached. Orochimaru flickered in front of him, white face eerily pale, lips curled in a disgusting sneer. "Shall we try something harder?"
He was back in the genjutsu, back on the carpet of organs, back trapped in the rock structure, alone, helpless.
What the hell is Itachi doing? Sasuke frantically tried to focus his thoughts, tried to analyze the scene. He couldn't; his mind was too scattered, too panicked, to do anything but watch .
Sasuke went to his default reaction. He closed his eyes and screamed.
His eyes opened. He was back in his room, sitting in front of one very concerned brother.
Sasuke exhaled slowly, shutting his eyes again. His entire body was taunt, tension coming off him in waves perceptible to anyone.
"What was that?" He sounded gravelly, uneven, as though he'd just woken up and hadn't had time to clear his throat.
"You dispelled the first genjutsu. I was creating a second."
"So you created that?" His fear expressed itself as righteous anger. Normally, Sasuke would have never dreamed of challenging his brother so antagonistically.
Itachi looked at him incredulously. "No, Sasuke, I did not. The second jutsu calls on the subject's mind to create the environment. It preys on fears."
I created that? It actually made a sort of perverted sense. "I made a scenario I couldn't escape from."
Itachi sighed. "It's the general idea of the jutsu. I shouldn't have tried it yet." He watched his brother closely, taking in his tense body and obviously agitated mind. "Are you alright?"
Sasuke nodded. He couldn't muster a full verbal reply yet.
"Sasuke, are you alright?" Itachi repeated sternly, refusing to let his brother off the hook that easily.
Sasuke inhaled deeply. "Yes."
"You're ready to continue?"
No. "Yes."
Itachi cursorily surveyed his brother one more time, dark eyes missing nothing in their inventory. Finally he nodded and continued the lesson.
They practiced for the rest of the evening. By nightfall, Sasuke had satisfactorily dispelled several of Itachi's genjutsu, and Orochimaru had not made a reappearance.
It was cold comfort. Sasuke knew as surely as Itachi did that Inoichi was right. The genjutsu Sasuke wanted the most to block was the one he would be powerless against.
There was a rhythm to be found in every fight. Only civilians considered fighting barbaric, and that was because they did not comprehend it. At least, that had been Sasuke's personal normative viewpoint for years.
But as Kakashi knocked Sasuke down for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon, he had to admit that were some elements of fighting that could be considered barbaric.
Kakashi pulled back, allowing him to rise once again. "You're letting me get too close," the sensei warned his student, dark eyes unusually stern. "You have to keep me at a distance. I'm giving you the advantage of your jutsu. Use them."
What do you think I've been doing? Sasuke bit back a sarcastic reply, refusing to even acknowledge Kakashi's chastisement. He slid back into a ready stance, arms raised and ready to fight.
Kakashi shook his head. "We'll take a short break. There's no use killing you before the exams are over."
What, so there's use in killing me afterwards? Although Sasuke didn't tell his sensei, he was grateful for the break. Their training sessions had been increasing in length and intensity, preparation for the all important third stage.
Kakashi pulled out one of his Icha Icha books, seemingly ignoring his student as the latter gulped down water. Sasuke recognized the book as one of Kakashi's favorites; he couldn't count the number of times he'd seen that certain volume in his teacher's hands, the nin's masked face buried in between the covers of the book. We've obviously spent far too much time together.
"Finished?" Kakashi was back in the center of the training field, poised to continue the fight. Sasuke nodded and rose.
Generally, Sasuke's training sessions had consisted of Kakashi teaching him new skills he would need for the final stage; in fact, over the weeks, Kakashi had covered numerous techniques and jutsu in Sasuke's individual sessions, everything from elaborate substitution and elementary genjutsu to the use of steel cables in combat.
However, today was different. Today was sparring, but a rather perverted and uneven form of sparring.. Kakashi was fighting without the aid of higher level jutsu. Simple D and C rank techniques were still fair game, but aside from that, Kakashi was limited to taijutsu. Sasuke was allowed to use any of his jutsu to combat Kakashi, but the fight would be considered over if Kakashi landed a blow that would have been lethal or round ending if it had been Neji hitting Sasuke instead of Kakashi. At first glance, the fight had seemed almost unfair to Sasuke. It didn't seem so imbalanced to him now.
He opened with his Phoenix Flower Jutsu, which Kakashi easily evaded. Sasuke slapped his hands together, creating the signs to produce basic clones. They weren't as powerful as Naruto's clones; Sasuke's were incorporeal, while Naruto's were solid; but they were occasionally effective in stalling Kakashi.
This was one of the times when they weren't effective. Kakashi cut a swath through the additional Sasukes, charging with an undaunted energy towards his student.
Damn! Sasuke rapidly pulled back, releasing a Fireball jutsu in a desperate attempt to slow Kakashi.
Kakashi shifted to the right, barely avoiding the full force of the fireball. Sasuke leapt backwards and landed on a low lying branch of a nearby tree. Come on, come on, a little closer! Kakashi ran forward, kunai drawn.
"Dragon Flame Jutsu!" The flames shot forward, engulfing the ninja. The fire flickered around his strong form, burning brightly and painfully before slowly dissipating.
"That was a good trick, Sasuke." Sasuke whirled around, barely blocking a brutal kick from his sensei. "But you weren't paying close enough attention. You should have noticed my substitution."
Sasuke was on the defensive again. Valiantly he tried to put space between him and his foe, but Kakashi was too quick. Sasuke couldn't escape.
Sweat blurred Sasuke's vision as he blocked attack after attack. He only managed to land one hit on Kakashi; his other attacks were blocked effortlessly. Sasuke could feel his body slowing, lagging, as the fight continued, but he refused to give up. He didn't want to give Kakashi that satisfaction.
One sloppy move. That's all I need: one sloppy move. If he could nail Kakashi with another jutsu, he would have a chance to rest for a moment, to regain his strength, and to possibly handicap Kakashi. I could pull his own trick on him; if I got a chance to use a substitution, I could hit him from behind. It'd have to be quick, though; he's got to be expecting it.
Sasuke executed a five hit combination; three hand techniques followed by two side kicks. Surprisingly, his third technique, a straight front punch, nailed Kakashi in the chest, and the ninja stepped backward, letting his guard down. Sasuke swung his leg around, aiming for Kakashi's slightly bowed head.
An arm caught him in a headlock. "That was better, Sasuke."
I'm really starting to hate you. Sasuke wrestled his way out of the headlock, barely avoiding a vicious kick to his side. Wrestling matches with Shisui had taught him all he needed to know about escaping holds. He kicked frantically at Kakashi, somehow managing to clip him with his foot hard enough to make his body rise in the air.
I can use Lee's technique! "Lions Barrage Jutsu!" Sasuke screamed, latching on to Kakashi's body. He'd been waiting for this.
Kakashi's body hit the ground with a satisfactory thud. Sasuke slid off the body, ready to gloat, only to have his sensei morph into a large log.
Not again! Sasuke groaned. He scanned the training ground, searching for his sensei. Where the hell did he go?
He never saw the older nin move, but he certainly felt it when Kakashi's fist collided with his jaw. Before Sasuke could recover, Kakashi slammed his fist into the boy's stomach. A roundhouse kick to the head finished him, and Sasuke fell to the ground, defeated.
"Better," Kakashi said humorlessly. "But you're still letting me get too close. Neji would have defeated you."
That stung the most. "You don't know that," Sasuke growled. He spat out a glob of blood and spit that had accumulated in his mouth.
"Yes, I do, Sasuke. It is imperative that you keep him at a distance. You have the advantage at long range fighting. Your taijutsu is good, but it is not strong enough to defeat him. That Lions Barrage Jutsu worked on my substitute, but it might not have worked on Neji. He's trained with Lee. He knows his techniques."
Sasuke sighed and looked away. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew Kakashi was correct. It was so hard, though, not to be able to fight up close.
"Sasuke," Kakashi shook his head, grimacing. "If you fight him at his game, you're going to lose."
"I'm going to beat him," Sasuke answered angrily.
"Prove it to me. I know you can beat him." Sasuke didn't show it, but that open support shocked him. He stared at his sensei, waiting for the sarcasm.
Kakashi chuckled. "Don't look so surprised, or I'll think my faith is misplaced." The smile disappeared. "Besides, I know that he can beat you, especially if you can't keep your distance."
Kakashi glanced at the sky. "And with those inspiring words of wisdom, I'll dismiss you for the day. See you tomorrow, Sasuke."
Sasuke nodded noncommittally as his teacher disappeared. "He's gone, Sakura." He knew you were there anyway; I don't know why you bothered hiding.
"I know." The pink haired girl stepped forward, coming to a stop beside her teammate. "Don't feel bad, Sasuke-kun."
"I don't."
"Okay, but just in case you did, he told me the same thing."
Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Do they sell motivational speeches to give to your genin? He could imagine Kakashi buying a book of them.
"Well," Sakura admitted. "Not exactly the same thing, but close enough."
Sasuke wondered what her definition of "close enough" was. He decided not to press the issue. They walked to the road that led to the business district and Sakura's home. "Why are you here, anyway?"
She fiddled with her hands. "Um, well, you know, I was just kind of, around, and I just figured-"
"Shut up." Her mouth snapped shut. "Tell the truth."
Her face darkened to an almost unhealthy shade of red. "I wanted to watch you train?"
Now, was that so hard? "Hn." He smirked at her. "As interesting as you'd thought it'd be?"
She grinned, taking his unusual communicativeness as a cue to continue. "Yes." She looked at him for a moment, weighing her words. "Your entire family will be there, won't they?"
Sasuke snorted. "Of course."
Sakura nodded. "My mom will come, but only because there's no sense in having the shop open when no one's going to be shopping."
"She's one of those civilians," Sasuke stated. Those civilians were defined as civilians who disliked ninja. Very few were openly vocal about their distaste of shinobi culture, and none ventured to leave the village that embraced the culture they supposedly hated, but they had other ways of showing their displeasure.
"What? Oh, no, my mom likes ninja. I mean, she married one and all." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She just works a lot." Sakura bit her lip so hard a drop of blood appeared. "And…and she doesn't feel comfortable around other people."
"She runs a store." That requires interaction.
"Well, she doesn't mind that, but social stuff she doesn't really do. I mean, she didn't even show up at graduation." Sakura rushed onward, ignoring Sasuke's skeptical looks. "She's a good person. She just…doesn't fit well with shinobi or civilians."
Sasuke had been trying his hardest not to be curious. Asking a simple question, showing even the littlest bit of interest, would allow Sakura to embark on a possibly endless tangent into her personal history, a place Sasuke was not exactly eager to venture. But she looked so uncomfortable, and there were so many unknowns, and, sadly, he had become hopelessly intrigued. He gave up and offered the victory to Sakura with one word. "Why?"
"It's not important."
"I asked you." If I'm desperate enough to ask you something, you need to answer.
Sakura sighed. "She wasn't born here. In the village, I mean; she lived elsewhere in the Land of Fire."
Didn't see that one coming, Sasuke thought. "How'd she get here?"
"My dad," Sakura said softly. She wasn't looking at him anymore, too distracted by reminiscence to bother herself with Sasuke's reactions. "He met her on a mission, got her pregnant with me." Sakura absentmindedly ran a hand through her long pink hair. "My mom helped him. She was working – I mean, where she was working, she met a lot of people. Important people," she clarified immediately. "She funneled information, helped him and the guy working with him complete a mission."
"What kind of mission?"
"Assassination," Sakura answered nonchalantly. "My mother found out everything about him without making any waves."
What exactly did your mother do? Sasuke didn't ask, partially because he had a fairly good idea of what it was.
"After it was over, my father petitioned for her to be allowed to come back with him since she was pregnant with me and had helped them and all."
"Village wouldn't let her in just for that." It was a hard truth. People were rarely admitted to the village, even under circumstances like those Sakura had described. Leadership would have let her in; she was a baby, untainted, and had ninja blood, but I can't see them letting her mother in.
"My dad was persistent, and she impressed the Hokage." Sakura shrugged. "The Hokage liked my father, and my mother must have made a really good impression, 'cause he agreed. That old guy, Danzo or something, really threw a fit, but when the Hokage says something, it's kind of hard to go against it.
"Anyway, the civilians didn't like her because she wasn't from Konoha, and the ninja didn't really trust her, and I think both of them really thought she shouldn't be here, so she sort of isolated herself, especially after my father died."
And you were isolated as well. Sasuke didn't voice his deduction. "Hn."
Sakura glanced at him quickly, perturbed by his habitual reticent demeanor. "Say something."
"You talk too much." Sasuke smirked, adding just enough humor to keep the barb from being painful.
Daringly, she stuck her tongue out at him. She was smiling back at him.
They stopped in front of the store, Sasuke watching Sakura's back as she entered. He could hear her mother's brisk voice relaying chores and information, Sakura's soft voices intermittently interrupting to ask a question or add a detail.
There was more to her than he'd assumed. She had her faults; a lot of them, actually; but she wasn't half bad, and if she was persistent enough and stupid enough to want to idolize and hang around him, he wasn't going to stop her.
The trepidation that had been clouding Sasuke's mind for a month increased a thousand fold on the day of the third stage of the chunin exams.
He left his house before the sun rose. There was no chance of him sleeping any longer, and there was no sense in hanging around if he wasn't going to rest.
He paced the streets of Konoha. It was silent; no one, aside from the guards, who were inconsequential, was awake. It was the perfect time for him.
He ended up on the rooftop of one of the businesses that neighbored Sakura's mother's store. The roof of the store, a third rate "doctor's" office that specialized in what was congenially known to the people of Konoha as "witches' brew", dipped down far enough that if Sasuke stretched out flat on his back he was virtually invisible.
He watched the dark sky, many worries heavy on his mind.
He had to perform satisfactorily in his fights and be promoted to chunin status. There was no question about it. Far too much was riding on his promotion for him to lose.
Nearly as important as that, he had to win his fight. His promotion would matter little to the clan if he lost to Neji. The battle was to be epic. Sasuke could see them now: the Hyuuga clan, cold and stoic, not even bothering to converse with one another, on one side of the stage, and the Uchiha clan, similarly stoic, on the other. Both clans were depending on their genin to win, naturally.
But even that, as crucial as it was, was not the heaviest weight on his mind.
Sasuke closed his eyes, remembering the dream.
It had been in the forest, since now all of his dreams were. It had started with the dead bodies of the genin team, another event that had become standard fare in both his daydreams and nightmares. Once again, Orochimaru had made a guest appearance, playing the monster he was.
There had been a difference, though; a grave difference. This time, Orochimaru's message had been different.
"We'll be seeing each other again soon, won't we, Sasuke-kun? I know I'm excited. Are you? Don't worry; you will be. You will be."
Sasuke shuddered. I will never be, you sadistic bastard.
Sasuke had never put much weight in dreams. They were the production of an overactive mind that needed an outlet; nothing more, nothing less. There was nothing to be learned from dreams; over analysis would only lead to paranoia or insanity or both.
But this dream – this nightmare, he corrected himself – was wholly different. He had had Orochimaru in his mind, albeit briefly, and his mind had knowledge of Orochimaru's soul. He had seen it, felt it, and had pieces of it still bouncing around in his head.
He was over exaggerating slightly. He knew it, but it was cold comfort.
What if he does attack again? Sasuke was not scared of him, but he was smart enough to know that he stood no chance again the Sanin. I can't defeat it. Despite his cousin's and brother's tenable reassurances, he was nervous.
Probably because their reassurances aren't so tenable after all, he decided. If Orochimaru wanted him, he would come back, and he would find a way. This past month the entire clan had cosseted him in a sickening fashion; even clueless Naruto had noticed their overbearing protectiveness; but it wouldn't last forever. Some crisis would come; the memory of the threat of Orochimaru would dim. They were already loosening the noose and relaxing, already forgetting what had happened.
It had never escaped Sasuke's attention that he had been offered protection because he was Itachi's brother and Fugaku's son, not because of his own abilities, and this undeniable fact made him less important in the clan's eyes. If he was killed, the worry would concern Itachi's reaction, not his loss; if he was taken by Orochimaru, they would kill him first and save him later. As heartless as it sounded, it was the reality of the situation.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura was tiptoeing gingerly towards him. "It's really early. You shouldn't be up."
"Hn," he answered, staring at her pointedly.
She blushed. "I couldn't sleep." She sat down beside him, wrapping her arms around her legs. "You couldn't either?"
"Never said that."
"Right." She looked out over the town. The darkness was lifting, and sunrise was approaching. The village was starting to wake up. "You're meeting Kakashi-sensei before the fights start, right?"
"Yes," he answered succinctly.
She grinned at him. "Try not to be late. I don't think your family would survive if you missed your fight.
In spite of himself, Sasuke smirked. "I wouldn't survive."
Sakura laughed brightly. "Probably not," she giggled, grinning widely. Her green eyes sparkled merrily in the low light.
Her laughter stopped abruptly. "I'm scared."
"You would be," he answered sarcastically, apprehension tainting his words with venom.
She pretended not to be hurt. "Should I be?"
"Yes."
"Because I'm weak?"
"No. Because they all should be." He excluded him. Fear was weakness.
She touched his shoulder gently and let her hand trail down his arm to his hand, carefully tracing his fingers with hers. "Yeah, we should."
The contact was too much, and giddiness replaced her fear. "You'll win, though, Sasuke-kun. I know you will. You're stronger than Neji." She giggled. "You're the best genin, Sasuke-kun. You're amazing. You're-"
"You don't know anything about what our fight entails." Sasuke roughly pulled his hand out of hers and looked away. Jerk, his inner conscience yelled. He couldn't make himself care.
"No, I guess not." She stood, shoulders slightly stooped, her feelings written on her face. She started to walk away, but she paused the moment before stepping onto her roof. "Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn."
"I'm right, you know." He faced her and saw that the little fangirl had disappeared. "Even if I don't understand it all, I'm right."
He smiled, and slowly she let herself mimic him. "See you at the third stage."
She jumped over the edge and landed on her roof. She lifted her window and easily jumped inside.
"We'll be seeing each other again soon. I'm excited."
Sasuke growled and fought the urge to clamp his hands over his ears. Shut up! The message replayed in his mind, over and over and over again. I'm excited. Are you? I'm excited. Are you?
A child screaming broke his reverie. He jumped, startled at the sudden influx of noise. The sun was halfway in the sky already, and the village was buzzing.
It doesn't matter, does it? Sasuke stood gradually, observing the street before him. He's going to come back. And I'm going to beat him. I really don't have a choice. I'm going to have to kill him.
A/N: I AM SO SORRY I'M SO LATE UPDATING! My computer caught a horrible virus. I tried for two days to fix it, but finally I threw in the white flag and took it to IT services, who waited a week before informing me that I needed a new hard drive (growls). I finally got the computer back, and then my internet refused to work. Long story short, I was without a computer for nearly two weeks (Literately – my family only has one computer, and with that one gone, we were computerless - I couldn't even check my email). This is not going to happen again! Pinky promise!
Oh, and thanks again for all the reviews/fav's/story alerts! You're guys are totally awesome! Know that I appreciate each and every review/fav/story alert!