Hello! How you doing? I know that I have deviated from the original theme of this fanfic (family moments) but I needed to create this chapters and throw a little danger in this. I hope you understand.
Besides, I love family moments, I wouldn't give them up. Please be patient!
Like I said before… action writing, not my forte. Here it goes! Enjoy!
Sasuke vs. Riku
サスケVSリク (Sasuke VS Riku)
Konohagakure
"And here is the mission's report, Hokage-sama" Shikamaru said, placing a couple of sheets of paper on the desk, next to the others. "Everything went smoothly."
Tsunade picked up the report before staring at the Nara genius. "Good work, Shikamaru. You can go rest now. You deserve it."
"Thanks" he said, turning his back and walking towards the door. Suddenly, he stopped. His hand just inches from the door knob. "Actually…"
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
Shikamaru listened attentively but he couldn't hear of feel anyone's presence on the corridors or anywhere near. So, he stared at his Hokage once more.
"I wanted to ask you if there's any news from Naruto yet?" he asked.
"News?" Tsunade repeated, blinking in confusion. "We all visited him yesterday and there was nothing wrong. Why should he write a letter so soon?"
Shikamaru rubbed his head. The truth was that he had felt uneasy ever since he left the Unmei Islands after his talk with Naruto about Sasuke's jealously of his past self. He had the feeling something very serious was going to happen, though he couldn't tell why.
"Before we left, I talked to Naruto about Sasuke." Shikamaru confessed. "He looked very upset and I tried to call Naruto's attention about it. I don't know how everything turned out, that's why I'm asking."
"Well… Sasuke got upset plenty of times, believe me" Tsunade said with a sigh. "The kid is sweet but he can be pretty selfish and insensible when he throws a tantrum. However, I'm sure Naruto can handle him."
Shikamaru nodded. Sure, Naruto didn't believe him when he told him of his suspicions, but the blond was Sasuke's parent (though it was still very weird to think that!) and the Hokage was probably right. He could handle the kid.
"Don't worry, Shikamaru" the Godaime said undisturbed, reading his mission's report. "Naruto is supposed to write me in two weeks. If you want, you can send a letter to him along with mine."
"Okay, maybe I will. There isn't another way to get in contact with him except through the toads?"
"You can always write to Unmei directly and let the samurai give him the letter, though I think it's quite unnecessary at this point."
"Understood. I'll be going now. Good-night, Hokage-sama" Shikamaru said, receiving a nod from Tsunade.
Shikamaru left the Hokage's Mansion and headed home at a slow pace, lost in thoughts. He was a logic person and he knew everything Tsunade had said was right, so he shouldn't be worrying about Naruto and Sasuke anymore. Yet, he still was.
He couldn't help it. There was something in Sasuke's resentful eyes and Naruto's obliviousness that deeply disturbed him. Shikamaru felt that something bad was about to happen, but he couldn't just act because he had a bad feeling.
"Oi, Shikamaru" a known voice said right above him.
On top of a tree, Hatake Kakashi was sitting leisurely on a branch, with his Icha-Icha book on his hand.
"Kakashi-sensei…" Shikamaru said. "What are you doing there?"
"Just reading" the white haired Jōnin said, closing his book and staring at the younger ninja with both his normal and Sharingan eyes. "I was about to go home since the sun has set. So… You've delivered your report to the Hokage, huh?"
Shikamaru blinked as he realized that Kakashi's position allowed him a perfect view of the Hokage's Office. Not only that, he had unveiled his Sharingan, most likely to be able to read their lips and know what they were talking about.
"Tell me something, Shikamaru" Kakashi said calmly, his eyes fixed on Shikamaru's face. "Have you talked about Naruto with the Hokage lately?"
Shikamaru knew it was not only useless but also stupid to lie. Kakashi already knew they were talking about Naruto and… Sasuke. Fortunately, Kakashi's view had been limited and he had only been able to see him and Tsunade's back, not her face or lips.
"Which means that he doesn't know were those two are yet" the Nara shinobi thought. "It's funny that you asked that, Kakashi-sensei. We were just talking about him, apparently he's doing great."
"I see. I'm glad Naruto's alright" Kakashi nodded, still staring at Shikamaru with his Sharingan eye. "By the way… how's Sasuke?"
Shikamaru paled and gulped, but he quickly brought himself together. "Sasuke?"
"Naruto's son" the older ninja added, no hint of emotion in his features. "Iruka told me his name is… Sasuke."
"Oh? Right… I didn't know you already knew his name" Shikamaru said. If Kakashi knew about the boy's name, Shikamaru could easily use it to his advantage. There was no way he could link Uchiha Sasuke to Naruto's son yet. Not without tangible proof. "Sasuke is fine. He was upset the last time I heard of him, so I was asking Tsunade-sama if she knew they had made up."
"Upset? Did something happen?"
"Nothing serious, just a kid's tantrum. He is Naruto's son, we shouldn't expect any less" Shikamaru answered. He had to leave before Kakashi found anything more. "If you'll excuse me sensei, I have to go home now."
"Sure" Kakashi said, finally covering his Sharingan with his headband. "Next time there's any news, would you tell me? After all… you know I worry about Naruto and Sasuke."
Shikamaru had to try really hard not to let his expression betray him. Kakashi was trying to make him reveal more than he wanted. Fortunately, he was better trained than that.
"There's no need to worry, Kakashi-sensei. Good-night" he said, turning his back and leaving.
Shikamaru could feel his own heart beating on his chest. After telling everyone that Naruto had a son, Operation Fox Hunt was over. They all seemed to accept that Naruto's secret reason for not going back to the village was the child's existence (which was half the truth). Even Sakura had stopped trying to get Naruto to come back or find him.
However, Kakashi had not been entirely convinced by their story.
Shikamaru could be totally wrong about this, but all his instincts told him that Kakashi already suspected that Uchiha Sasuke didn't die seven years ago. Even worse, that he already suspected that Sasuke had been with Naruto all this time.
Sasuke's Sharingan watched, carefully, all of Riku's movements. The silver haired boy was walking around him and Shigeru, with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"The bastard is totally convinced that he can beat me" Sasuke thought, grasping Kizuna harder. Behind him, he could hear Shigeru's heavy breathing. He had also seen the wound on his chest, it wasn't life threatening but the samurai should be in a lot of pain.
"Sasuke…" Shigeru said, trying and failing to stand up. "What happened in the islands? Is Naruto-dono okay?"
Sasuke's eyes widened before he lowered his head, guilt written all over his face.
"Hmph! You broke free, but it's too late now" Riku revealed with a satisfied grin. "Don't you agree, Sasuke?"
The raven man glared at Riku with his fists closed around his sword. Meanwhile, Shigeru looked confused.
"What are you talking about?" the samurai asked.
"Tell me, Sasuke… How did it feel like?" Riku went on. "How did it feel to drain your own father's chakra and life force out of his body?"
"Shut up" Sasuke hissed, though he felt his hands trembling in both anger and desolation.
"You brought his present, I see" Riku continued as Sasuke's eyes got wide.
"What?"
"He looked so happy last week. You should have seen him. Always checking if your sword was going to be ready on time for your birthday… saying that he couldn't wait to see your face when you got it. So tell me, Sasuke… How did he look like when you fought him? Was he shocked? Did he try to stop you? Did he tell you that he loved you?"
"I don't want you to tell me that you love me, because I know that's a fucking lie. I will never measure up to your rival. You'd choose him over me in a heartbeat… No, you already have. I'm just the second choice!"
"There is no choice! You got it all wrong, son…"
"I'M NOT YOUR SON! I was never your son! We were never a family. This whole thing was just a sham."
"Don't… don't say that…"
"Why not? It's the truth! We're two people connected by a kinjutsu and that's it! Everything else was a charade."
"No, it wasn't. You can't believe that! Not after everything we went through."
"I do believe it. You should be happy; I'm freeing you from your burden. You won't have to look after me ever again. And you know what? I don't want to be your "son". You're a lousy father anyway."
"St-Stop it…" Sasuke replied, almost pleading. He didn't want to remember it. He didn't want to go through it all over again!
Riku knew he was distressing his adversary. The more upset Sasuke got, the more emotional, the easier it would be to kill him.
"Did you even listen to what Naruto was saying or did you just ignore him?" Riku said mercilessly. "Was he crying? Did you break his heart into pieces before you finished him off?"
"It's always like this. Isn't it, Sasuke? No matter how many times I try… you never understand me…"
"I'm warning you! Shut up!" the raven yelled.
"How did you feel when you overpowered him?" Riku went on. "How did you feel when you killed him?"
"I wanted things to be different this time… I… I knew I couldn't do it… I knew I'd screw up. But I had to try, because… you were always my best friend. I… love you… why didn't you understand?"
"How happy were you when you killed him?"
"SHUT UP!" Sasuke cried out, his heart beating painfully against his chest as flashes of his battle against Naruto ran in front of his eyes. "I didn't kill him! I didn't! I stopped!"
"But you were going to" the silver haired man added. "You wanted him to die, and while he was injured, weak and suffering, you felt great."
"That wasn't me!" Sasuke angrily replied, though his own heart was shaken. "Nobunaga used me. He used every one of us like his own little puppets, just like he's using you now."
Riku laughed dryly. "No one is using me, believe me" he glared once more at Shigeru. "I've been waiting to do this for a long time. Nobunaga just gave the power and the opportunity. And now…" Riku drew his crystal sword. "… you're in my way!"
Sasuke clashed against his school rival and pushed him away from Shigeru. Their swords continued to clash all around the temple, using their chakra to cling on to the walls and pillars.
Nobunaga was looking at them, waiting for Riku to get rid of Sasuke so he could proceed with his plan. As for Shigeru, he could barely move let alone be of any help.
"You still don't got it" Riku said, using the crystal's power to create several kunai and throw them at Sasuke who, in turn, used his chokutō to deflect them. "Give it up already!"
"You're should know me better than that because no matter how many times I fall, I'll always rise again!" the raven answered, clashing with his classmate again.
Sasuke seriously doubted he could change Riku's mind. When Naruto had tried to reason with him, Sasuke had simply brushed him off, both blinded and deaf by anger and hate. Only the shocking realization that he had never been his father's second choice made him stop and break free from the ghost's lies.
Nobunaga didn't make up their negative feelings, they were already there. All he had to do was to take the darkness that each of them had in their hearts and increase it a hundredfold. It would take an extremely powerful emotion to turn them back.
"If he's not controlling you, then why are you siding with him?" Sasuke asked, avoiding one of Riku's kicks. "You know what he wants! He's going to take over your body!"
Shigeru's face lost all its remaining color, his horrified eyes looking right at his son. So that was how Nobunaga was going to revive himself? Using Riku as a vessel?
"Is that… true?" the samurai asked feebly, although no one heard him.
"I don't care" Riku said with a serious expression on his face. "He can have my body. It doesn't matter."
"What?" Sasuke asked. "Are you even aware of what you're saying? He's going to possess you! You'll lose your own body and your soul will be either trapped forever or destroyed!"
Riku closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he reopened them, his face was blank, devoid of any emotion.
"Like I said, I don't care" the silver haired man said calmly. "I know exactly what the consequences are. I know that I'll lose both my body and soul, but if that means Shigeru will die, then I'll accept my fate."
Shigeru gaped in complete shock while Sasuke could only frown.
"You're out of your mind!" the raven yelled. "Why do want to kill your father that much? How can you hate him to the point of throwing your own life away? You can't be serious!"
"Shut up!" Riku screamed, suddenly disappearing from Sasuke's view and then reappearing right behind him. Before the raven could react, Riku kicked him in the back and the raven fell against a wall, crashing it. "What do you know about me? About my pain or my sorrow?"
Sasuke felt an unbearable pain on his back and he could feel blood rising from his throat to his mouth. Kizuna had fallen a few meters away and out of his grasp.
"Shit…" the raven gasped, trying to move. Suddenly, Riku reappeared in front of him and pulled him back against the wall with his right feet.
"How dare you come in here and tell me to stop?" Riku said, his face still blank though his blue eyes were fiery with hatred. "You know nothing… NOTHING about pain and loneliness! Do you think your feeble little darkness can even compare to mine? My whole existence is just a mistake that should have never happened!"
Shigeru winced in pain but he was finally able to stand. His eyes were focused on Riku… the boy he had deliberately ignored and closed his heart.
"My father had a wife and a son and he lost them" Riku said between his teeth. "They died and yet he made my mother believe that he loved her. He got her pregnant and then told her that it had all been a mistake because he still loved his first wife and son and told her that he didn't want to betray them. My mother died after I was born and he got stuck with me, always wishing I hadn't been born. If it meant bringing his first son back, he would gladly kill me! He's the one who should have been here! Not me!"
Sasuke coughed blood when Riku's foot pushed him harder against the crushed wall. It had never crossed his mind that Riku could be so miserable. He had always seemed so confident… His life seemed so perfect.
"So you see, Sasuke… that's why I don't care about what happens to me" the silver haired man continued, his sorrow masked under his coldness. "Shigeru is going to pay for what he did to me and my mother. Then, I will gladly disappear from this world. I never belonged here anyway" Riku looked deep into Sasuke's red eyes. "It's a shame, but you're nothing but a nuisance now. Farewell!"
Riku summoned his crystal sword again and aimed it at Sasuke's head. Fortunately, he wasn't aware of the Sharingan's abilities.
Sasuke took a kunai out of his punch so quickly that Riku didn't even see it. Then, the raven man kicked his opponent in the gut, sending him meters away which gave him the opportunity the grab Kizuna.
Riku frowned in both frustration and anger but quickly recovered from Sasuke's attack and the two former children clashed once again in the deadliest battle of their young lives. Riku was stronger, not only because of Nobunaga's enhancements but also because of his natural talent. However, Sasuke was faster, he blocked Riku's every move due to his Sharingan and his stamina and chakra reserves were amazingly high due to the Uzumaki blood running through his veins.
The raven wasn't even tired, but Riku was. That was his chance!
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
The fireball flew in Riku's direction and he tried to block it with his sword. When it him, a blast of smoke and debris exploded.
"Riku!" Shigeru screamed, the shock of what was happening giving him the strength to finally walk a few steps.
Sasuke's Sharingan saw Riku's chakra and he realized that the silver haired man had been able to effectively protect himself, though he was injured and tired. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, the raven Uzumaki jumped and, using the smoke as cover.
"Take this!" Sasuke yelled, disarming Riku's sword for the first time.
Still perplexed, Riku was too slow to stop Sasuke who punched him in the face and swiftly immobilized him on the floor, with Kizuna pointed to his chest.
"I… lost…?" Riku thought, feeling his blood on his mouth and pain all over his body. "How could… Sasuke defeat me? Why? Why… now? It's ruined. Everything is ruined…"
"It's over, Riku" Sasuke said, his red eyes fixed on Riku's angry face. "You lost."
Riku just frowned. He seemed angry but not scared at all. In his ice blue eyes, all Sasuke could see was… resignation.
"Do it, Sasuke" Riku said, blood falling from his mouth. "Kill me."
"Don't!" a desperate voice cried out.
Both boys looked at Shigeru's injured shadow in the remaining smoke as he walked closer to them. The Sanada leader's face was pale and twisted, not only from the pain of his injuries but also from something much deeper.
Panic and despair.
"Don't kill him, Sasuke!" Shigeru yelled again. "Please don't kill him."
Sasuke removed his sword but he kept Riku immobilized. The latter, in turn, glared furiously at his injured father.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Riku yelled. "I didn't ask you to save me! You have no right! Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Your father!" Shigeru yelled back, his eyes as fiery as his son's. "No matter how many times you deny it, I'm always going to be your father, Riku!"
The silver haired boy gaped for a moment. It was the first time Shigeru had actually said that he was his father without any hesitancy or regret in his voice, but loud and clear. "It's too late for that… I've told you! You never acted as my father before, why the hell are you starting now?"
"Because I felt guilty" Shigeru said, continuing walking. "The moment I first held you in my arms, I loved you. Just like that! You were my baby boy. Then I thought about Hatori and what he would feel if he was there… I wondered if he would be sad and think that I was replacing him. Also, I wanted to keep my memories of him alive forever. But now… I realize that you and I don't have any memories to keep. We basically have no bond at all."
Riku continued glaring, but Sasuke noted something different in his chakra. It looked like doubt and… hope?
"I… It's not my fault…" Riku said, cursing himself for his breaking voice. "I never asked to be born. I never wanted to replace Hatori, but you blamed me."
"I know… I pushed you away deliberately" Shigeru continued. "I know you won't forgive me and you're right. I know we may never have the bond between father and son, maybe it's too late for that… But I want to try, I want to know you. That's why I won't let you die. I already lost one son, I won't lose another."
Sasuke realized that Riku's muscles had completely relaxed. His chakra was in turmoil due to his confusing emotions, but the silver haired man seemed to be in shock. Following his instinct, the raven released him and stepped back.
"I tried to make you love me but you just… ignored me" Riku said slowly, tears brimming in his eyes. "I didn't understand why you loved Hatori so much and not me. What is wrong with me? What did he have that I didn't?"
"Nothing" Shigeru said, now close enough to touch his youngest son if he tried. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with you, Riku. You're so special in your own way and I'm an idiot for not seeing that sooner. I always heard how everyone praised you and I heard all about what you did at school… but from now on, I don't want to hear it from someone else anymore. I want to see you with my own eyes. Even if you push me away now, even if you can't forgive me, I'm going to be there and see my son grow up into the powerful warrior I see now. Because I love you."
Shigeru stretched his hand towards Riku, a gentle smile on his lips, just like in the photos he had taken with Hatori. The young man was scared that it had all been an act, an illusion or a dream. What if what he had just heard were lies?
But, Shige… Tou-san was smiling. He was actually smiling at him. What if he was telling him the truth?
The moment a single tear ran down Riku's cheek, he felt his head a lot lighter, like something that had been clouding his mind suddenly lifted. So slowly, and filled with hope, Riku stretched his hand back.
"That's enough!" a furious voice screamed and a dark purple chakra fell upon Riku, punching both Sasuke and Shigeru while trapping Riku inside a barrier.
Shigeru was dragged along the ground until he hit a rock. Sasuke was thrown into the air, colliding with the ceiling, his Sharingan eyes widening from the pain before becoming black again, and then he fell to the ground.
The raven's head was spinning and his vision blurred, though he still could see Riku restrained by glowing seals while Nobunaga loomed over him with a smirk.
And I ended with a cliffy… again. Please don't kill me!
As for a tiny preview, next chapter Sasuke is going to create an original jutsu whose idea came from KizaruBoss1, who I'm thanking in advance!
Last chapter I didn't get much reviews, so I suppose you guys didn't like it very much, huh? T^T
Well… I hope this one is better. Thank for reading!
See ya!
