Chapter 25:

Story Time

Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, and Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

"Talking"

"Thoughts"

"Demon/deity speech"

Line Break

Sasuke woke up when the sun's rays filtered through his window onto his face. With a groan, tired eyes turned to his alarm clock…2:26 p.m. Sasuke looked at the clock in mild shock, he had slept more than 13 hours! Although, compared to the last time his brother used Tsukuyomi, thirteen hours is a very good thing. Slowly, he lifted himself off of the bed, and lazily gazed out the window. He was under house arrest, so he wouldn't have to meet his team for a while, Naruto especially.

Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke looked down at his left hand, the hand that almost killed his (admittedly) closest friend, whom he had not seen since that day on the hospital roof. Sasuke remembered that Itachi had done the same thing, killed his best friend. Was he becoming his brother?

Sasuke shook his head with a growl. No! He is nothing like his brother. He is…He is… Sasuke wasn't sure.

He thought himself an avenger, meant to slay his brother in an effort to right what went wrong years ago. But then he talked to Peter. Maybe it was the fact that a boy only a few years older than him and had so much power. Maybe it was the confidence and conviction in his voice when he spoke about revenge. Whatever it was, something about Peter made him second-guess himself, if only a little.

Sasuke sighed, unsure what to do. A low groan from his stomach informed reminded him that he had so far missed two meals. He decided to eat.

Line Break

"Sorry!" Peter yelled out as he dodged a rock sent his way. He dodged another, "Won't happen again!" He weaved through a dozen more, "Dammit!"

Enma let out a suffering sigh. He had offered to teach Peter the basic skills he lacked, starting with substitution. The first few hours of the lesson went well enough. Peter had the technique down, able to change places with an object up to 50 feet away. Then came the practical use of the jutsu. It was failing miserably. Enma looked down at the now small pile of rocks next to him, a thought forming in his mind, "Peter," the boy turned his head, "We're going about this the wrong way. These next rocks are going to be a lot slower, that should give you some time to actually use the technique instead of dodge out of reflex". Peter nodded- the idea had some merit. Enma lobbed the next rock into the air

Peter easily sensed the rock heading his way, and since it was not barreling towards him, he was able to stay put and go through the five signs needed for substitution. What happened next was a little strange, to him anyway. Enma had told him that part of the reason the substitution jutsu worked as well as it did was because what chakra was not used to swap places with a desired object was used to enhance one's perception, to properly find an object.

Peter's senses were already enhanced beyond that of the average person's, so this extra enhancement made it seem like the world was moving at a snail's place. Peter supposed that it would be some form of help, but at the moment, it was annoying. Still, he found a log some 20 feet away, and swapped places with it. With a puff of smoke, the log fell to the ground where Peter once stood, the rock falling on it after a few seconds.

Enma hummed in thought, "Good…but you're early. It's best if you wait until whatever is coming at you to be a second away, if it's a jutsu especially. That way, your opponent won't have time to cancel their attack and start looking for you".

Peter nodded, walking towards the summon, "Yeah, extra seconds are crucial in any fight,

Enma grunted, "Let's finish up with this pile". Enma started to lob more rocks, and Peter did his best to wait until the last possible second to switch.

Now however, instead of those doubly enhanced senses being merely annoying, they were excruciating. Peter found himself forced to wait as the rocks slowly inched their way towards his body; what was only a few seconds in real time felt like agonizing minutes in his head. As he swapped with a log for the last time, he grimaced, "Magical ninja swapping is useful, but I better work on it so it becomes second nature, otherwise I might die of boredom waiting for something to try and hit me".

Enma rolled his shoulders as Peter walked over, "Now onto a subject I am intimately familiar with, Transformation".

Peter slowly nodded his head, "Right, using ninja magic to just break physics".

Enma felt a vein pulse, "For the last time-"

Peter held up his hand, preempting Enma's correction, "No, just listen. I can deal with all this other ninja magic stuff because I can make some minor leaps in logic to explain why stuff happens".

Enma's irritation left him, curiosity filling its place, "How so?"

Peter started to pace, "Well, for one thing the people of this world are born with an extra body system that creates and expels magic ninja juice," Peter rolled his eyes as Enma cleared his throat, "fine; that creates and expels 'chakra' which people can then harness. The greater the feat you want to do, such as make a giant forest out of nowhere, the greater pool of chakra you need, that's more or less logical. Your illusions work by using chakra to mess with a person's head, that's all right, I've dealt with crazier". Peter took a deep breath, "But transformation jutsu's really irk me, because of their TOTAL disregard for the conservation of matter!" Enma blinked as Peter started to shout, "Especially when you start to transform into smaller people, or objects like Naruto did against Peaches. I mean come on, where does it all go!" Peter started to huff, trying to calm down.

Enma started to tap his foot, "…Are you done?"

Peter let out a great sigh, "Yeah…just needed to get that off of my chest".

Enma shook his head, "Anyway, the transformation jutsu is incredibly versatile, provided you know how to properly use it, observe," Enma made the three necessary handsigns, and in a puff of smoke, transformed into a rock, then a squirrel, and finally, a perfect copy of Peter.

The actual Peter frowned as he walked up to the copy, "Interesting…how good is it?"

"Personally, mine is excellent," Peter's eyes widened in shock at Enma, the voice sounded exactly like his own, "But your average shinobi will more than likely have some imperfection or another in their transformations," Enma made the sign again, transforming into Asuma this time, or rather, it should have been Asuma, but the nose was too large, and his eyes were a lighter shade of black, "Most of the imperfections when transforming into a person will be around the face, and the voice can be particularly tricky to master. But, the better you know whomever or whatever you're trying to copy, the better the transformation".

Peter hummed, filing away that bit of knowledge, "And how long does it last?"

Smoke surrounded Enma, and he was his normal form once more, "As long as you can pump chakra into the transformation. It can be very taxing if you try and use it for a long time, especially if you transform into something that moves".

Peter nodded, "So, where do we start?"

Enma brought a hand to his chin, "Let's start you off with a rock and work from there".

Peter dis as instructed, and was transformed into a rock after a puff of smoke. "Okay," he thought, "This is easily one of my top ten weirdest sensations".

"Good," Enma's voice brought him back to the situation at hand, "a bit larger than your average stone, but that sort of refinement will come with time. Now, stop pushing chakra into your jutsu".

Peter did that, and shook his head clear as he transformed from a rock back to normal, "That was…a bit freaky".

Enma snorted, "Just wait till I have you transform into people, all those little details can ruin your day".

Line Break

Haku winced as he reached for the teakettle on the top shelf, Tora was particularly aggressive today, and Haku was rewarded for his efforts by several surprisingly deep scratches on his arms. He didn't feel they necessitated a trip to the hospital (he had just gotten released), so he bandaged them up and called it a day.

He had just grasped onto the handle when someone knocked on the apartment door. Haku sighed in annoyance, placing the kettle on the table. He wondered who was at the door. He wasn't expecting guests, and Peter said he would be busy until late evening (and regardless of that, Peter has a key). Opening the door, Haku blinked in surprise at the sight of Sasuke standing outside.

"Hello, Haku" Sasuke said, "is Peter here?"

Haku wondered why Sasuke would want to meet with Peter, "Uh, no, Peter said he would be gone for most of the day, is it urgent?"

Sasuke frowned, "No, not really…Goodbye".

Haku frowned when Sasuke quickly turned on his heels to leave. He remembered that Sasuke had caused quite a stir with his stunt on top of the hospital, and it didn't seem right (or safe) to just let him wander on his own. "Sasuke," the boy stopped, "I was just about to make some tea, want some?"

"No," Sasuke replied, moving forward once more.

Haku frowned, and flicked his wrist. A moment later, Sasuke bumped into a wall of ice. The Uchiha turned to Haku with an irritated look.

Haku sent him an innocent smile, "Do you have a preferred tea flavor?"

Sasuke ground his teeth, but calmed down when he realized that waiting for Peter at his home would be less of a time waster than searching for him. "…Do you have any jasmine?"

Haku's smile widened, and he stepped aside to let Sasuke inside.

Line Break

Peter arched his back, moaning at the small pops his spine made, "Man," he rubbed back, "That was tiring".

Enma eyed Peter, "Well, you are starting from nothing…But you should be more exhausted than this".

Peter shrugged, "I've got pretty good stamina".

Enma smirked, "Good, that means that our training can go longer than I thought". Peter hung his head.

Enma chuckled, "We can save that for tomorrow though," he turned towards the sun, just starting to descend "three hours is good enough for today".

Peter rolled his shoulders, "Great…so what, meet up around noon, then stop around sunset, barring any jobs and all that?"

Enma nodded, "Sure, but remember, keep up your training, even in your off hours".

Peter waved him off, "Yeah, yeah, sub out instead of walking, transform after meals, make clones at random intervals, blah, blah".

Enma felt his twitch return, "Are you always going to give me lip?"

Peter brought his finger to his chin, "…Yeah".

They stared at each other for a moment. Then Enma rolled his eyes and formed a sign, "See you tomorrow".

Peter saluted in return, shooting off a web line, "See ya", he swung away as Enma vanished in smoke.

Line Break

Sasuke eyed the clock as it ticked on. He supposed things could have been worse. Haku didn't try and initiate any conversation, which was a godsend, compared to his other peers (except for perhaps Shino and Shikamaru) who felt the need to fill in any sort of silence whenever it occurred.

A thud on the wall to his left caught his attention, and he quickly turned to see Peter enter the room from a window.

Haku didn't even look up, "We have doors for a reason," he drawled.

Peter rolled his eyes, and would have responded, when he saw Sasuke in their living room, "Oh, uh, hey Sasuke, need anything?"

Sasuke stood up with a nod, "Yes, I'd like to continue our…discussion".

Peter hummed in response; "Don't suppose you mind doing it here".

Sasuke's gaze quickly shifted to Haku, who looked at the two curiously, "No, I'd rather not".

Peter sighed, "Figures…tell you what, meet me over at the sixth training field, know where that is?" Sasuke nodded, "Great, so, meet me there in like, fifteen minutes".

Sasuke grunted in affirmation, "See you there," and then leapt out the open window.

Haku followed Sasuke as he walked down the street. When he turned a corner, Haku turned to Peter, "So…what was all that about?"

Peter frowned, pouring some tea for himself "He didn't tell you?"

Haku shrugged, "Honestly, I expected to try and leave after ten minutes, didn't want to push it by asking questions".

Peter shrugged at his answer, gulping down the tea, "You know how Sasuke wants to kill his brother?"

"Obviously".

"Well, I plan on helping him".

Haku's eyes almost popped out of his skull "Hel-excuse me! You want to fight an S-rank missing-nin?"

Peter tilted his head, "Well, maybe not fight him personally, but I plan on preparing Sasuke for the confrontation".

Haku held up his hands in front of himself, "Hold on a moment, 'prepare him'?"

Peter snorted, "Well yeah. The way he's going about it right now, he'll be dead within five minutes".

Haku let out a breathy laugh, "Don't you think it would be smarter to-oh, I don't know-try and keep him seeking his own death in the first place?"

Peter set his cup on the table, a deep frown on his face, "…Haku, you've killed people right?" Haku nodded slowly, "Have any of those kills been out of revenge?"

Haku paused to think on the question. The only incident that came to mind was when he killed his father and those other villagers. But, thinking back on it, that was more of a desperate reaction than calculated murder. "…No, I can't say I have".

Peter scoffed, "Well I have, done things for revenge anyway, multiple times," Haku's brow furrowed, "and it burns at your soul Haku, especially when it's in response to something as horrible as what Itachi did," he shook his head, "Honestly, I can empathize with Sasuke, and if I were him, I'd do the same thing. But he's been getting some very mixed messages on how to achieve his goal. Right now, I just want to make sure he doesn't lose his mind".

Peter walked over to the window. He leaned out, then turned back to look at Haku, "Hey, don't suppose you could keep this between us?"

Haku looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. After a moment, he sighed, "Don't worry…I won't tell anyone".

Peter sent him a small smile, "Thanks buddy".

Line Break

Peter swung down to Sasuke, who was standing next to a tree, tapping his foot impatiently, "So," Peter began, "What you need?"

Sasuke stopped tapping his foot, looking at Peter, "…Could you better elaborate the difference between 'good' and 'bad' revenge?"

Peter brought a hand to his chin, a simple request, with multiple possible answers. Peter decided to consult Cassandra, "Any suggestions?"

Cassandra tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, "Well…virtually anything Eddie Brock had done as Venom could certainly count as 'bad' revenge".

Peter titled his head from side-to-side, "Maybe. Although, I could give Sasuke an abridged version of Kraven's resurrection, specifically my sparing him, as a 'good' example, and everything the Kravinoff's did as a 'bad' example".

Cassandra frowned, "Would that resonate well with Sasuke?"

Peter shrugged, "I'm focusing on the moral aspects of revenge right now". He then turned to Sasuke, "Let's see, back when I first started wearing the red and blue onesie, I repeatedly crossed paths with a guy called Kraven, well, Sergei Kravinoff was his real name, but he liked to be called Kraven".

Sasuke (ignoring the odd names) frowned, "Why?"

"Well, I assume he thought it sounded cooler".

Sasuke bit back a groan, "I mean why did you fight so often?"

Peter sighed, "He was, in so many words, a wackjob in need of professional help. Obsessed with hunting, and was convinced I would the 'ultimate game'". Sasuke grimaced. "Trust me, I'm making it sound worse than it actually was. He wasn't all that tough-'till he managed to get the drop on me and bury me alive anyway" Peter bitterly thought.

"Anyway," he continued, "After a lot of back and forth, Kraven died, killed himself after one last bout".

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

"God I wish," Peter slumped against a tree. "A few years later, his family- well, his wife Sasha really, but their kids were willing to go along- gets the idea that, by killing me in a ritual sacrifice, they could bring Kraven back to life. They were under the impression that I actually had a hand in Kraven's suicide".

"What?"

Peter chuckled at Sasuke's incredulous stare, "Heh, yeah, no matter where you go, there are crazy people just waiting in the woodworks. Of course, they couldn't just up and attack me right off the bat, no, they have to go and attack my brother first".

Sasuke perked up, "You have a brother?"

Peter nodded, a small smile on his face, "Yup, Kaine. We had a bit of a rocky start, but I trust him with my life".

Sasuke could hear the affection in Peter's voice, and was reminded of his own brother, and of the utter hatred he held towards him.

Peter took note of Sasuke's dark mood, "Hey," he snapped his fingers, bringing Sasuke's attention back to the present, "Focus. Anyway, my brother comes to me gravely injured, and then I find out the Kraven's family is attacking other spider-people such as myself".

"So, they started a war with your clan?"

Peter shook his head with a frown, and Cassandra felt anxious as old memories started to surface, "No, not really. It was more like a five-on-five fight. Uh…they killed two of us, Mattie and Cassandra-sort of anyway…poor Mattie," Cassandra's lip twitched downward, "And they, uh, mistook my brother for me, captured him, and completed the ritual using him in my place".

Sasuke held his hands out in front of him, "Hold on, you mean the ritual actually worked?"

Peter sucked in a breath, "Crap! I forgot people coming back to life isn't common here-…Sort of…It didn't work completely because it needed my blood, but Kaine was a close enough substitute to at least work halfway".

"So…there are ways to resurrect the dead?" Sasuke's mind raced at the possibilities.

Peter frowned deeply, "Derail that train of thought," Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly, "Bringing people back from the dead is something you shouldn't mess with".

"But it's possible?" Sasuke's eyes held a mad glimmer of hope.

Peter sighed, "Look, when someone tries to bring people back from the dead, bad things happen. If, and I do mean if, someone is going to come back from the dead, and it doesn't end in disaster, it's going to be due to some crazy quantum event, or the workings of a deity". Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, "We're veering off topic," he looked over at Sasuke, "Can we leave the whole 'resurrection' thing for another day?"

Sasuke didn't want to drop the subject, but he could admit to wanting to hear the end of Peter's anecdote, so he decided to leave it alone for now.

Peter nodded, "Good. Moving on, I found out what they did to my brother, and that was the last straw. Then Kraven actually had the gall to ask me to end his life". Peter looked down at his hands, "I was…livid, that these people had the audacity to try and mess with my life, and the lives' of others, over something that I didn't even do. I," his voice gained a harsh edge, "I was merciless. I broke bones, broke spirits, repeatedly and without prejudice. I mutilated Sasha's face so that she could come close to feeling the pain she dealt to my brother". He clenched his fists, "And then, it was me and Kraven, just like all our fights before. Only this time, I didn't give him an inch, I didn't want to play around or take my time. I wanted him to pay. I wanted to beat him, his wife and kids, until they were nothing more than bloody stains on the pavement," Peter stopped, forcing himself to take a calming breath.

Sasuke was enraptured by the dark tale, "And …you did right?"

Peter let out a mirthless chuckle, "…No, I let him and his family go".

Sasuke openly gawked, "What! Are you insane? Why would you do that? He murdered members of your clan! His family brutalized yours! You had every right to end his life!"

Peter sent Sasuke a soft frown, "…I couldn't just abandon my principles," Sasuke grew silent.

Peter pursed his lips, "Here's the thing Sasuke, I don't like killing people. I really don't. I'd rather that they get punished by living the rest of their lives trapped in a cell, thinking about what they did to deserve it". He shook his head, "There are a lot of people who think I'm naïve and stupid, and more than a few of them have told me that I'll change my mind sooner of later, but until that day comes, I have to stand by what I believe in. And what I believe in is stopping the bad guys without killing them".

"But," Sasuke was immensely puzzled by Peter's words, "Didn't they deserve it?"

"Oh they did, believe me," Peter cast his eyes downward, "They most certainly did". He sighed once more, "But you can't stoop down to their level. You have to persevere," He looked over to Sasuke, "be better than them".

Sasuke didn't meet his gaze, "…I don't think I can do that," he softly replied.

Peter nodded, "Sure, I can see that. When you meet your brother, it may very well end with his death by your hand. All I'm saying is that you should stay true to yourself. Don't try some stupid ritual, rely on some horrible power," Sasuke unconsciously traced his curse mark, "to get even. Just…don't betray the things you stand for".

As Sasuke contemplated Peter's words, the impromptu storyteller arced his back with a yawn, "Maaaaannn, that was a lot more tiring than I thought it would be. You, you don't want to continue this discussion tomorrow night, do you?" Peter scratched his cheek, "'Cause I don't think it's healthy for me to drudge up these old feelings night after night".

Sasuke slowly shook his head, "No…I-I'll come to you when I want to talk again".

Peter nodded, "Seems fair. Oh! Did you look into any old clan members that moved away?"

Sasuke blinked; that had completely slipped his mind, "Umm…

Peter clicked his tongue, "Of course you didn't". He ran a hand down his face, "Tell you what, pick a date, and you and I will spend that entire 24 hours looking for any long lost family members. Okay?"

Sasuke nodded, "This weekend".

Peter clapped his hands together, "Great, at least three days to recover emotionally from my painful memories". He turned on his heel, "This was a nice talk by the way".

"Peter!" Peter turned to Sasuke, "Your brother, did he-" Sasuke paused, "…is he…?"

Peter smiled softly, "Kaine…recovered…and he's doing just fine, wherever he is". Peter shot off a webline, "Take it easy Sasuke. Oh. And try and talk to Naruto, smooth things over, you know".

Sasuke looked down at his left hand as Peter swung away. Some things were easier said than done.

A/N: Not much to say this chapter, I think it's all neatly laid out. As always, be sure to leave a review. Later.