Chapter 26:
Good Talks
Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, and Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
"Talking"
"Thoughts"
"Demon/deity speech"
Line Break
Deep underground, in the heart of Konoha's officially disbanded ROOT base, Danzo carefully leafed through the reports his agents filed for the day. When his uncovered eye read through a report on Sasuke Uchiha, he frowned deeply. It would appear that, at Peter Parker's insistence, Sasuke was digging into his clan's past, specifically that of exiled members. Sasuke finding one of the exiled members was of no true concern, although the thought of wasting ones time to search for a shred of nostalgia put a foul taste in Danzo's mouth.
No, the problematic part would come if one of these forgotten clansmen or women decided to share their experiences and thoughts of the days leading up to the massacre of the Uchiha. Sasuke himself would more than likely not dwell on those thoughts, but that boy Peter might. Danzo would be a fool to discount the powerful youth's intelligence and cunning. His skills as a sensor were by far some of the best he had ever seen, able to easily see past ROOT's own personalized and top-grade genjutsu. Not to mention the fact that Peter almost literally stumbled on Orochimaru's plans to destroy Konoha. No, Danzo could not safely dismiss the possibility that Peter would not find anything interesting about details surrounding that unfortunate but necessary day.
Danzo tapped his fingers on his desk. Sasuke was the key. Peter himself might try and seek out the truth on his own, but the Uchiha-exiled or otherwise-would never open up to an outsider. He would have to deal with Sasuke, but how. He couldn't have the boy killed; that would raise far too many questions. And Sasuke was still under house arrest; so sending him out on a long-term mission was out as well.
As Danzo played through multiple possible scenarios in his head, the Curse Mark that Orochimaru placed on Sasuke repeatedly come into focus. At first, he banished such thoughts from his mind. It was too risky, the odds of losing the Uchiha too great. But then, he began to think further on Orochimaru, what the disgruntled man wanted. While Orochimaru's complete hatred towards Konoha put him off, Danzo could spin it in his favor. He pulled out a scroll ad brush from his desk. "Hyo!" He called to the darkness, and not a second later a masked figure emerged from the shadows, settling into a deep bow. Danzo spoke while he wrote, "Begin preparations for a mission. I have a letter to be delivered to Orochimaru".
"Shall I infiltrate one of his bases to deliver the message?" Hyo inquired tonelessly.
Danzo shook his head, though he felt a bit of pride that his agent was so willing to enter hostile territory. Still, no point in potentially killing a perfectly good asset, "No, you shall make way for Sora-ku and meet with one of our contacts. If they are unable to send the scroll to Otogakure from there, then you shall sneak into Otogakure and drop off the scroll".
Hyo stood up with a nod, "As you command".
Line Break
Sasuke gazed almost reverently at the small pile of paper in front of him. Shakily, he picked up the sheets of paper, the list of names of exiles from the Uchiha clan. It had taken a long, arduous week of checking through files and old papers, the occasional personal document from previous clan heads, even his father's (which proved to be a different type of struggle). Still, they had done it. Sasuke gulped audibly, the full weight of what he was about to do, those he could find, finally hit him.
Peter cleared his throat, "You doing okay man? Need to sit down?"
Sasuke shook his head, "No," he took a shuddering breath, "I'm fine". He turned to Peter, bowing deeply, "…Thank you for your help," he sincerely said.
Peter smiled, pulling Sasuke upright and patting him on the back, "Hey, what are friends for?" Peter turned towards the market district, "Now come on, we're burning daylight".
Sasuke furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"
Peter turned back around, confusion clear on his face, "Well…might as well start finding these people right?"
Sasuke frowned, "Peter, I'm…grateful…for what you did, but I'm doing this by myself".
Peter opened his mouth, but said nothing. He looked down in thought, and after a moment nodded his head with a sigh, "Yeah, sure, this is one of those personal things," he smiled at Sasuke "I get it". He shot out a webline, swinging away, "Just know that I'm here if you need me!" Peter called back.
Sasuke stayed in place for a few moments, steeling his nerves. With a calming breath, he scanned the paper for the first name, and then rushed off.
Line Break
Akira Ise popped his back with a groan. It had been a long day at the shop. He scratched his cheek, chuckling wryly. He had thought having a full-grown son meant that he wouldn't have to man the shop as often anymore. He smiled as he grabbed his cane, oh well; it wasn't like the work was particularly backbreaking.
He rounded the corner home, stopping just short of running into a young teen with dark hair. "Uh, sorry," he said. When the boy looked up, his eye's twitched slightly.
Akira saw the slight movement, but smiled at the youth nonetheless, "It's not bother son. Just be sure to watch where you're going". He kept walking forward, leaving the young boy behind.
"Wait!" the boy called out. Akira paused, a few feet away. "Are you," he hesitated, "Are you Akira Uchiha?" he spoke in a harsh whisper.
Akira stood frozen in place. He closed his eyes with a sigh, "…I suppose it was only a matter of time". He turned to Sasuke, glaring lightly, "Follow me".
Sasuke gulped, "So, you rea-"
"We'll speak of this in the comfort of my own home!" Akira stated walking forward, Sasuke following close behind.
Line Break
Sasuke eyed the small house as Akira opened its door. It's obviously well kept, and he could hear high-pitched laughter coming from inside. A perfectly happy home…Sasuke had to resist the urge to scowl. He would get his answers soon enough.
"I'm home!" Akira announced to the house.
"Grandpa!" A pair of voices announced. Two small children-both of them boys-bounded from further inside, leaping onto Akira who stumbled slightly as he caught the two.
He grunted, "Now, now, Daichi, Hibiki, your grandpa isn't as young as he used to be".
"Oh please," a feminine voice called. An older woman with dark hair stepped out from what Sasuke assumed to be the kitchen, "You've been saying that since you were thirty".
Akira smiled broadly, "Doesn't mean it's not true!"
Daichi giggled, then caught sight of Sasuke. The boy smiled, "Hi! Who are you?"
"I'm, uh, Sasuke Uchiha". Sasuke noted that the woman's (who he assumed was Akira's wife) eyes widened as he said that. She looked sharply at Akira, who nodded solemnly.
His wife clapped her hands, "Come on you two," she called to her grandchildren, "Its time you went home".
Daichi and Hibiki groaned lightly, but stepped away from their grandfather. "Goodbye grandpa," Daichi said.
"Love you," Hibiki added, as both kissed him on the cheek.
Akira smirked lovingly as he ruffled their hair, "Love you too". He stood up, walking over to his wife. He gave her a small, chaste kiss "Stay safe".
She shifted her gaze between Sasuke and Akira, "…You too". She opened the front door, taking her grandchildren out.
Akira frowned as the door closed, and turned to Sasuke. He gestured to one of the chairs, "Take a seat". Sasuke did as told. Akira sat down across from him. He tapped his cane against the floor, ""So…am I the first one you've sought?"
Sasuke nodded, "Yes, well, the first live one anyway".
Akira nodded, "Right…before we start, I'm curious, how did you find me?"
Sasuke cleared his throat, "Well, we started with-"
"Hold on," Akira interrupted, "'we'?"
Sasuke tapped his foot, "My…peer, Peter Parker, helped me compile the list". Akira hummed, but gestured for Sasuke to continue. So Sasuke told Akira the basic steps he and Peter took to find the exiled members of the Uchiha.
"Huh," Akira strummed his fingers on the table, "That's certainly a lot of work". Sasuke nodded wearily. Akira straightened up, "Right, well ask away".
Sasuke clenched his fists. "Wh-" he paused, "…What happened to force you out of the clan?"
Akira let out a low breath; "It was a little after I turned sixteen". He closed his eyes; "I'm…I'm not going to bore you with all the politics. Just know that I wanted to leave". He smirked, "Thankfully, I never activated the Sharingan".
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Though the Uchiha never went to the extremes the Hyuuga go to in order to keep their doujutsu in house, they were still protective". His voice gained a bitter edge, "I was considered largely unimportant. The only caveat was that I renounce all ties with the clan". Akira let out a wry chuckle, "After the hell I had to go through when I announced my desire to leave, that was just fine with me".
After a tense silence, Sasuke leaned forward, "And…? Is that it?"
Akira shrugged, "Pretty much".
"So," Sasuke gave a breathy chuckle, "They just let you leave, just like that?"
Akira snorted, "Sorry if you expected something more dramatic".
"No! Sorry, its just-"
"I'm sure the others can tell you more varied stories, some of them anyway," Akira added as an afterthought.
Sasuke frowned, "What do you mean?"
Akira sighed, "Not every parting was amicable".
Sasuke shook his head, "Regardless, if we all get together we can-"
"Let me stop you right there, Sasuke," Sasuke gave him a questioning grunt, "Give up that line of thought, it won't end well for you".
Sasuke stood up, sending the chair crashing to the ground, "What do you mean!"
Akira cocked a brow, "…You should really sit down". Sasuke stared hard at him. Akira scoffed, "Boy, I've been a father for 30 years, trust me, you are going to lose this game". Sasuke kept his gaze up for another moment, before cursing under his breath, picking the chair up and sitting down once more.
Akira sighed, "For one thing, we all left the clan for a reason, and as I've said, some of those wounds run deep. Not to mention that we all have families of our own now". Akira sucked in a breath, "Plus, there is…your brother".
Sasuke growled, "He won't be a problem soon enough".
"Regardless," Akira frowned, "We-that is to say, all us exiled folk—slipped under his radar. I think I speak for everyone when I say no one wants to remind or inform him of our existence".
Sasuke was indignant, "But if we stand together-"
"Then all us merchants, carpenters, teachers, cooks, etcetera," Akira waved a hand, "will die like dogs".
Sasuke growled, "You'd rather hide like cowards".
Akira smirked mirthlessly, "It's why I never became a shinobi in the first place".
Sasuke's face darkened. Akira clicked his tongue, "Before you go and blow up in my home, why don't you go and talk with the rest of us, hmm? Spend some time getting your facts straight before you judge us so harshly".
Sasuke grit his teeth, "…Fine…I do have one last question," Akira gestured for him to continue, "Do…do your children or grandchildren have the Sharingan?"
Akira frowned, "No, and I doubt my grandchildren will be able to achieve it, much less their children".
"Why?"
"As far as I know, if two generations of Uchiha go without activating the doujutsu, the third generation is all but guaranteed to have lost the gene".
Sasuke's eyes widened, "I didn't know that".
Akira shrugged, "It's nothing concrete, but then again, only the Byakugan guarantees it's user gain the eyes automatically. It's a matter of 'luck' for us Uchiha".
Sasuke looked down, "So…me and Itachi…"
Akira nodded solemnly, "You are probably the only two living wielders of the Sharingan left alive". He stood up, "Now, it's getting late, and I'm sure you want some sleep after all the work you've done".
Sasuke numbly nodded, and walked out the front door. Akira gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, "Listen son, if you ever need to talk, stop by".
Sasuke sent Akira a grateful smile, and continued on his way.
Line Break
Orochimaru smirked as he read over the letter sent to him by Danzo. "So, Sasuke is becoming unruly, eh?" He chuckled, "My, what an interesting development". He then scowled, glaring down at his mangled arms, "But I can't do anything with these useless arms!"
After bemoaning his fate once more, he sighed, "There's no way around it…I have to change bodies ahead of schedule". He snapped his head up, "Kabuto!" he called out.
The young man stepped into Orochimaru's office, "What is it?"
Orochimaru stood up, "Prepare a new body for me, now!"
Kabuto's eyes widened slightly, "Now? But what about the Uchiha?"
Orochimaru gestured to the letter, "The boy can wait. There is a more lucrative matter that needs attending". Kabuto walked over to the desk, picking up the letter. After reading through it, he sent Orochimaru a questioning look, "Is this really a good venture, Kumo's not exactly the most-wait a moment," he read through the letter again, recognizing one of ROOT's old codes. "…Is Danzo serious?"
Orochimaru grunted, "He wouldn't have sent the letter if he wasn't". He glowered, walking out of his office "Is Kidomaru still recovering?"
Kabuto shrugged, "He should be good for missions in a day".
"And Kimimaro?"
Kabuto blinked, following close behind "Uh, he just went through another round of therapy, a week at most".
Orochimaru nodded, "And what of Jugo?"
Kabuto froze in place, "Uh, pardon? Are considering bringing Jugo into active duty?"
"The idea has crossed my mind".
Kabuto rushed forward to catch up, "He could go mad, attack anything in sight".
Orochimaru smirked, "Well, he'd make a good distraction at the very least".
A/N: God, it feels good to write for this story again (even if it is shorter than I would like). I admit I could have gone into more detail as to how Sasuke and Peter made the list, but I didn't want to waste time on that. Be sure to leave a review. Later.