Chapter 20: Recap- part 4!
The group coming back from the Hidden Sand Village walked over the hill and found their home spread out before them, looking as if they had never left it. As they walked into the Village, Sasuke continued his tale. Flashback:
After meeting up at the gate, Sasuke left with Jiriya. Looking behind them, the Toad Sage gave an imperceptible nod at Kakashi, or Dog. Turning back ahead, the man fond Sasuke looking at him with a strange expression on his face. The man frowned, "what's wrong, kiddo?" he asked. The black-haired boy blinked, "uh, nothing, sorry" he said, readjusting his pack and hurrying to catch up with the white haired lecturer. Jiriya shrugged, and looked forward again. A few minutes later Sasuke began to ask questions, "so, uh, what exactly is Tsunade-Sama like?" he asked.
Jiriya looked back at the small boy behind him, only just noticing the large black sword tied around his hip. Registering the question, the older man thought for a moment, "well, she's mean, grouchy, vain, selfish and completely addicted to gambling" he said, smiling as he remembered his old teammate, "but she's also one of the kindest people I've ever known, at least she is once someone's grown on her," he paused for a moment, then grinned and turned to face Sasuke, "and, she is the best medical ninja in the world, she'll be able to heal Naruto" he said warmly.
Sasuke smiled, "that's good" he said happily. Jiriya grinned, "by the way, Kiddo, I've been meaning to ask, what's with the large-ass sword attached to your hip?" he asked. Sasuke placed a hand on the hilt of his older brother's present, "Itachi gave it to me before I left, he said he'd had it specially made for me for when I became a Genin, but thought I might need it now" he explained, smiling. The Toad Sage grinned, "I see, and you know how to use that thing without cutting your own arm off?" Sasuke blushed, "well, no, not yet, I mean, I only just got it, I don't know how to use it yet, but Nii-San said he'd teach me when we got back" he said. Jiriya nodded, "fair enough".
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They walked through the country-side for a few hours, before coming to a large town. "This is Tanzaku Town, it's got the most gambling halls out of anywhere, so I thought that this might be a good place to start looking" he explained. Sasuke nodded. While his guardian went off to flirt with girls, find information and rent them a hotel room, the boy wondered around the streets, looking at all the non-cassino shops that were clustered here and there. Passing a clothes shop, the boy paused. Then he entered. As he looked around at the selections of clothes, some particular ones caught his eye.
There was a Light grey long-sleeved shirt with black shorts and a dark grey sash tied around the waist to serve as a belt. One side of the sash was longer than the other and was tied at the left hand side of the outfit. The boy decided to buy this, and entered the dressing room to try it on- it fit perfectly. Walking out into the main shop wearing his new outfit, the boy payed for the clothes, and attached his sword to the longer end of the sash. He had to say it looked good on him. When he got home, Sasuke would ask his mother to sew the Clan crest onto the back of his shirt. Exiting the shop, Sasuke found that he was starving. So he went off in search of a place to eat.
Shortly finding a small Tea Shop, the boy ordered five rice balls and sat eating. He was concerned about Naruto, and could not help hating Madara for putting him into a state of eternal torture. Even so, Sasuke knew that was no match for someone like him. After finishing his meal, the boy payed for the food and left to find their hotel.
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Sitting in the shadows of the roofs, Kakashi watched the young Uchiha walk through the streets, as he looked for any sign of his caretaker. He was impressed by his choice of clothes too. For being only four years old, the boy had the fashion sense of an adult. Sasuke was walking through the village, taking in all the sights while keeping a sharp eye out for the Toad Sage. Following as the boy decided to give up for the moment, he watched as Sasuke walked into a hotel near the edge of the Village.
After entering the hotel room that he shared with Jiriya, the boy placed his bag onto one of the beds, and left again with his sword, this time heading into the forest. The Dog-masked ANBU followed him as he went far enough into the trees that he wouldn't be interrupted, but close enough to the town that he wouldn't get lost. After finding a place that he deemed to be good enough, the boy drew his sword slowly from its sheath. Grasping the blade in numerous positions, Sasuke attempted to find the most comfortable way of holding the long blade for himself.
While Itachi hadn't said that he didn't want Sasuke actively practicing with his sword without his supervision, which Sasuke assumed he wouldn't want anyway, he also hadn't said anything about learning to hold the blade on his own. After a few attempts at trying to position the heavy blade so that he wouldn't topple over while holding it, Sasuke sheathed his sword, and started looking around the forest floor. This confused Kakashi, though he would never admit it out loud. What was the boy doing? After finding a long, but thin stick, Sasuke hurried back to the hotel, leaving a highly confused Dog-masked ANBU behind.
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Jiriya was having a great time. He had found some beautiful ladies at a bar, and they had all had drinks, and were feeling ready to- "hey!" The white-haired Sage looked up. There, standing in front of him, and looking very pissed off, was Sasuke. The boy was looking ready to kill, what with his red- blood shot eyes that had nothing to do with the Sharingan, and a furious expression on his face. "Ah- Sasu-Kun, I can explain-" he started, his mind and speech blurred due to alcohol. If possible, the kid became even angrier, "I don't want to hear any of your perverted excuses! We're supposed to be looking for Tsunade so she can heal Naruto! I thought you were going to go look for information on where she was, but instead I find you here, drunk as a log, hanging out with women, and doing nothing!" he screamed.
Sasuke continued to shout and scream, while Jiriya just looked on. The women who were previously sitting with him having moved away, to give them some space. As the Toad Sage watched, the black-haired boy began to cry, then sob, and finally, his cries were swallowed by screams of pain and anguish. Sasuke collapsed to the floor, sobbing. He felt so helpless. He wanted to help Naruto, his first friend, his best friend- but he couldn't without the help of Jiriya. And it seemed the pervert had no intention to actually help the blond. When he was finally done, the Toad Sage moved over to the boy, who was now beginning to calm down. Placing a hand on Sasuke's back, he soothed: "hey, I'm sorry, kiddo, okay? I promise, we will help that blond Gaki, even if we have to scour the globe for Tsunade, alright?" he asked softly.
Sasuke nodded, wiping his tears. When he looked back at the older man, Jiriya grinned, "alright then, let's get back to the Hotel, get some food, and go to bed, we have a big day tomorrow after all" The boy smiled slightly and nodded, cheering up a little. The white-haired Sanin was right, they had a big day tomorrow.
To Be Continued