PART II: SASUKE
ii.) i have come within range of hate
Team Seven arrives in the Land of Waves—and everything immediately goes to shit.
It actually starts before that, with the pair of high-level chuunin that attacks them just as they're reaching the border of Fire Country. Kakashi pretends to be violently killed, because he enjoys traumatizing his students, and Sasuke barely saves Naruto from being viciously ripped apart. Their simple C-Rank mission quickly becomes a B-Rank—possibly even an A-Rank.
Against better judgement, they decide to continue on instead of turning around.
Itachi isn't going to be happy about this, Sasuke thinks.
Once they reach the border, they take a boat to cross the water. It's a simple rowboat, no motors or engines, and they make sure to travel under the cover of the fog so no one sees them.
As it turns out, a powerful tycoon by the name of Gato has taken over the Land of Waves. On the surface, he's no more than the founder of a large shipping company, but secretly, he's the owner of a smuggling business trafficking in drugs and other illegal goods. He's targeting Tazuna, the bridge builder, because the completion of the bridge will join the isolated island nation to the land, and break the control he holds.
But the Land of Waves is a nation seeped in poverty. They don't have enough money to pay for a higher-ranked mission.
"Why hasn't Konoha tried to help Wave before now?" Sakura asks.
Sasuke scoffs, scorn in his voice. "Why the hell would they? It doesn't benefit them."
Kakashi shoots him a warning look.
Tazuna pulls the guilt-trip card to get the four of them to agree to continue on—weeping crocodile tears about his poor grandson and daughter. Sasuke isn't completely unmoved, but he still can't help but roll his eyes at the melodramatic display.
"Seriously?" Sasuke says, when he sees his friend is holding back tears.
Naruto sniffs, rubbing his eyes. "It's just so sad! Kakashi-sensei, we have to help them out!"
Kakashi sighs, his expression showing he's also weak to emotional manipulation. "Well, I guess we have no choice. We'll continue guarding you."
Beneath the rim of his hat, Tazuna's heartbroken expression disappears. The old man smirks as his scam is successful.
Sasuke rolls his eyes again. "Unbelievable. All of you are dumb."
"Sasuke," Naruto says, punching him on the shoulder. "Are you really saying we shouldn't help? What else are we supposed to do?"
"Sasuke-kun could be right," Sakura says. "We haven't been trained for a mission like this. It's too dangerous for us."
"Show me the danger! I'll kick its ass!"
Sasuke frowns, tapping his thumb against the metal hilt of his sword. Even if they are underqualified for this mission, he can't deny that he wants to continue on. Because it's the right thing to do, yes, but also for selfish reasons.
He wants to prove he can do it—that he's capable of taking on a mission like this. He wants to prove he's just as good as his brother.
He loves Itachi. He's the most important person in Sasuke's life, and he's been Sasuke's only lifeline through everything. But Itachi is also very suffocating. Stifling. And Sasuke understands why he is, understands he only wants to protect him, but Sasuke often feels that his brother's desire to keep him safe is holding him back.
More than that, he feels like Itachi doesn't have faith in him. That he still sees him as that traumatized seven-year-old that he had to hold together with his own arms.
When Itachi was Sasuke's age, he was a member of ANBU. Nearly every mission he received was A-Rank or S-Rank. And yet, when Team Seven were given their first C-Rank, he worried about whether Sasuke was ready, acting as if he were still an Academy student struggling to aim a kunai.
Itachi is always saying how great Sasuke's potential is—that he's going to surpass him someday. But at the same time, his overprotective nature continues to make it clear that he doubts Sasuke's ability to stand on his own.
It's a selfish motivation, when compared to his teammates' motivations of wanting to liberate this land from Gato's control. But it's the reason he agrees with the decision to go forward.
(Also, the idea that Konoha would leave these people to suffer just because they can't pay for proper assistance pisses him off.)
"Alright," Sasuke says. "I agree. We should help."
Naruto grins happily, swinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Sasuke glares at him. "If I die, I'm blaming you."
"That's fair."
"And you can explain to Itachi what happened."
"What? Shit, no! I change my mind, let's turn around—!"
Sakura laughs at the terrified expression on the blonde's face. "You're really that scared of Sasuke-kun's brother?"
"Yes!"
They take to land again, and are only walking for about ten minutes when trouble strikes them once more. This time, it takes the form of Zabuza Momochi—Demon of the Bloody Mist.
Sasuke knows he's a big deal immediately. Only someone who's a big deal would have a sword that badass-looking. It makes Sasuke's sword seem like a toothpick.
Which is exactly what Zabuza calls it, when Sasuke pulls it out and brandishes it at him.
Asshole.
Zabuza attacks the five of them—Kakashi first, to get what he percieves as the real threat out of the way before attempting to kill the bridge builder. Kakashi pulls up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan almost immediately, clueing Sasuke in to how serious this is.
Then he gets trapped in a Water Prison jutsu, and Naruto and Sasuke are forced to rescue him. At one point during the scuffle, Sasuke gets stomped on. Instinctively, he wants to use his Mangekyou—but he forces the urge back, allowing Naruto's clones to pull Zabuza off of him instead.
When did he learn that? Sasuke thinks, staring at the clones in wide-eyed shock. During the graduation exam, he couldn't make even a single clone!
In the end, it's a hunter-nin who takes Zabuza down. But there's something strange about the encounter.
"He took Zabuza's body with him," Sasuke says with a frown.
Kakashi turns his head to look at him. "Noticed that too, did you?"
Sasuke frowns. But his thoughts soon turn back to Naruto... to those dozens of clones he produced so easily. If he could do that, why couldn't he create just one while at the Academy?
"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asks, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It looked like he really hurt you when he stomped on you."
Sasuke winces at the pain he suddenly becomes aware of, how it hurts to inhale too deeply. There's blood in his mouth.
"I'm fine—"
"You're not," Kakashi interrupts. "There's blood on your lips, which means at least one of your ribs is splintered. Can you breathe?"
"It hurts slightly," he admits reluctantly, "but yes."
"Walk slowly. Once we reach Tazuna's house, I'll check you out. Let's get moving—using my Sharingan for so long has tired me out."
Sasuke scowls. "I'm telling Itachi I nearly died because of you."
Kakashi pales.
"You're just mad because that Zabuza guy insulted your sword," Naruto says.
Sasuke clenches his jaw. "He called it a toothpick."
"It is a toothpick."
"Hey! My brother bought me this sword!"
"What, when you were eight?"
"...Yes."
It's sometime later, when Team Seven has arrived at Tazuna's house, that they come to the conclusion that Zabuza isn't actually dead. They're sitting in a guest bedroom upstairs, and Sasuke has discarded his shirt so Kakashi can wrap his injured ribs.
"You should be fine to still fight," he says. "Only one of your ribs was splintered, and the rest are just bruised. But take it easy, okay?"
They're interrupted by a moody brat—the bridge builder's grandson. Naruto, the meddling dumbass, screams at the kid and then chases after him. Sasuke doesn't know what happens, but the blonde returns to the room looking unusually somber.
Zabuza is going to be coming after them again soon—maybe with that boy that's working with him. There isn't really anything they can do now, as Kakashi recovers his chakra.
Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, offers to cook them a meal. Sakura declines, remaining upstairs with their sensei.
Tsunami is nothing like her father. She's really nice—and she reminds Sasuke a lot of his own mother, almost painfully so. He catches himself staring at her a few times, imagining her skin a bit paler.
Naruto looks between the two of them. When she turns her back on the table, he grins, elbowing Sasuke conspiratorially in the side.
"Ow," Sasuke hisses, glaring at his friend for forgetting about his bruised ribs.
"Sasuke," Naruto whispers. "You have a crush on her, don't you?"
"What? I do not!"
"You don't have to lie. I saw you staring. I guess she's pretty cute, if you're into older women—"
"I don't have a crush, loser!"
"Yeah, sure—"
"I don't! It's not like that!"
Tsunami leaves the room to go check up on her son, telling the two of them to come to her if there's anything they need. Sasuke and Naruto are left alone, and Sasuke turns to his friend.
Naruto is scarffing down his meal like a starving man. Sasuke pulls a face at the sight. "You're disgusting. Have some manners, would you?"
"I'm starving!"
"I gathered that much. If you keep eating so fast, you're just gonna throw it up."
Naruto doesn't respond, but he appears to make an effort to slow down his eating.
"When did you learn to make shadow clones like that?" Sasuke asks.
Naruto looks over at him. "Huh?"
"Barely a month ago, you couldn't even make a single regular clone. Now you can make dozens of shadow clones perfectly?"
"What, are you saying I'm weak?"
Sasuke scowls. "You know that's not what I'm saying, moron. But I've never seen you use that technique before. And you usually can't wait to show off to me the moment you learn something new. So what gives?"
Naruto avoids his eyes. "It's just something I learned, okay?"
"Is it why Iruka-sensei ended up passing you?" Sasuke asks. Naruto doesn't respond, his expression shifty, and Sasuke glares at him. "Naruto. Since when do we keep secrets from each other?"
Guilt flickers through Naruto's eyes. He looks away.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sasuke. I'm not hiding anything."
He's a horrible liar. Sasuke's chest tightens with hurt, which he's sure is visible on his face. His best friend is keeping secrets from him. Sasuke's never kept anything from Naruto—he's even confessed to him his hatred of Konoha, something he doesn't even talk about to Itachi.
The only thing he hasn't told Naruto about is his Mangekyou Sharingan—but that's different, and not the same thing as what Naruto's doing now.
"You know how I feel about people lying to me," Sasuke says, his voice tight. "If there's a reason you can't tell me, you should've just said that. You don't have to lie to my face."
Naruto winces. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever."
Sasuke stands up. He washes his dish off under the faucet before setting it in the sink, then he turns around and leaves the kitchen.
He doesn't trust me, Sasuke thinks as he walks back up the stairs. The realization stings more than he expected it to.
When he enters the bedroom, he finds that Sakura is sleeping, curled up in the green sleeping bag Kakashi was previously occupying. Kakashi is leaning against the wall, his dumb book in his hand, and when he notices Sasuke entering, he raises a finger to his lips.
Sasuke glares at him. "Are you seriously reading that now?" he demands, keeping his voice low to not wake his teammate.
The jounin shrugs. "Sure. Why not?"
Sasuke doesn't understand how this man can possibly be friends with his brother. He doesn't think he's ever met two people who are more different.
"We're being hunted down by a dangerous assassin, and you're reading porn."
Kakashi makes a face of extreme offense. "Porn? This is fine literature! It has a compelling plot and characters, and to liken it to porn just because it has a few explicit passages—"
"I don't care. Shouldn't we be figuring out how to deal with Zabuza?"
Kakashi sighs, finally lowering the book. "What do you want us to do, Sasuke? We have no idea where the hunter-nin took him, and our priority is to guard Tazuna. We've been traveling all day, not to mention all of the fighting we did. We're all worn out and due for a rest."
Sasuke glances toward the window. To his surprise, he sees that the sky is already beginning to darken. He didn't realize it was already evening—they'd left Konoha early in the morning.
"Get some sleep, Sasuke," Kakashi says, gesturing toward the floor next to Sakura. "Our problems will still be here in the morning."
Sasuke hesitates—but he can't deny that he's beginning to feel a lack of energy. The events of the day are starting to catch up to him. And his bruised ribs are still dully throbbing.
"Fine," he says, pulling out his own sleeping bag. As much as he thinks sleeping is wasting valuable time, he also knows he's at his best when he's well-rested. "But you need to sleep too, idiot."
"Don't talk to your sensei like that."
"I always talk to you like that."
Kakashi's visible eye rolls. "Go to sleep, brat. I'll get mine once Naruto gets back up here."
Sasuke is quickly reminded of the conversation he just had downstairs when he hears the name. He attempts to swallow the hurt in his chest down.
He lays his sleeping bag next to Sakura and slips inside, but not before snatching the copy of Icha Icha Paradise from Kakashi's hand.
"Hey!"
Sasuke glares at him. "I'll give it back to you in the morning."
"You are aware that I'm the adult here, right?"
"And yet, you're the one behaving like a child."
Kakashi shakes his head, but he doesn't say anything else. Sasuke closes his eyes, attempting to get comfortable. He can hear Sakura's even breathing behind him.
He can't get over the fact that Naruto lied to him—straight to his face. Sure, they've told stupid fibs to each other before, but nothing like this. Something has clearly changed with his best friend, something serious, so why is he so determined to pretend like nothing's happened?
Does Naruto really not trust him? Sasuke's always trusted him, admitting to him things he hasn't even told his brother.
("I really hate this village. Sometimes, I think about leaving it behind. I would, if I didn't know Itachi would never come with me.")
"What is it? What's wrong?"
Sasuke opens his eyes, looking up from the floor at his sensei. His face must have given away his troubled thoughts.
"Nothing," he says. "I'm fine."
"You're shit at lying."
"I am not."
"Okay, no," Kakashi admits. "You're actually pretty decent. But your brother's far better, and if I can see though him, I can definitely see through you."
Sasuke scowls at the words. He's far too used to his brother being better at him than everything, no matter how much he excels. The exception being cooking, of course.
Sasuke pushes himself up on his elbow, his head against his hand. "Naruto's keeping something from me—and he's lying to me now."
Kakashi looks thoughtful at the words. Sasuke watches his face closely, but he can't tell whether he's surprised or not.
"He doesn't trust me," Sasuke says.
"I don't think that's the reason."
The genin narrows his eyes. "So you know what he's hiding from me?"
"Yes," Kakashi says. "At least, I suspect what it is."
"But you're not going to tell me?"
"No."
Sasuke huffs. With a feeling of frustration, he drops his head back down. "Well, thanks for not lying at least."
The next day, Tazuna goes early in the morning to continue his work on the bridge. Naruto is completely dead to the world, snoring loudly and drooling on his sleeping bag, so Kakashi sends Sasuke and Sakura to guard their cliient.
Sakura complains about beauty sleep and that it's not fair Naruto gets to sleep in. But when she hears that Sasuke is coming along with her, she squeals and immediately stops protesting.
Sasuke is actually fine with this, as annoying as his female teammate can be. He doesn't want to talk to Naruto right now.
They've been sitting on the dock for over an hour now, watching the proceedings. Sakura nodded off against his shoulder once, which Sasuke hadn't tolerated for more than five seconds. He's fairly certain she was pretending.
"Do you think that Zabuza guy is really going to come after us again?" Sakura asks.
"He'll come after Tazuna," Sasuke says. "If he's really working for Gato, he won't stop until the plans for this bridge are stopped. That's why we're still here—our original mission was just to escort Tazuna home."
A nervous look enters Sakura's green eyes. "This is way out of our league. You don't think we should have gone home?"
Sasuke shrugs slightly and doesn't respond. He thinks of the look of surprise and pride that will be on his brother's face when he tells him he helped bring down the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
"Do you remember what Zabuza said," says Sakura, "about the graduation exam for shinobi in Kirigakure? How the kids have to kill each other? Do you think that's actually true?"
"I don't know. Probably."
"That's horrible!"
Sasuke shrugs. He's so used to the harshness of shinobi life. He's an Uchiha, it was decided he would fight before he took his first breath. He forgets how awful it must seem to someone like Sakura, who comes from a completely civilian background.
"Konoha's not much better," he says. "My brother killed for the first time when he was four. Kakashi was six."
Sakura is aware that their sensei is his brother's friend, so it isn't a surprise to her that he knows something like that.
Sakura swallows. Sasuke thinks this might be the exact moment it sinks in for her—what choosing the life of a shinobi really means.
Sasuke thinks about it, and he feels a surge of bitterness rise in his chest. For Konoha, who people like to pretend is better and more evolved than other nations—but really, it isn't.
The only real difference between the Mist and the Leaf is that the Mist doesn't bother to hide how bloody it is.
The memory of blood-soaked streets fills his head. His mother screaming his name as a sword slices down on him. And his strong, immovable brother falling apart in his arms.
Itachi's sobs are a sound he'll never forget. The one and only time he witnessed his brother break.
Because of Konoha.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke flinches when Sakura touches his arm, snapped abruptly out of the memories. Sakura looks startled, drawing her hand back quickly.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun! I was just... Are you okay?"
Itachi's sobs and his clan's screams still echo in his ears. Sasuke grits his teeth, nails digging into his palms. He feels the anger sparking just beneath his skin—the anger he's been forced to disguise for years.
But he thinks of the Sandaime and the two elders—still alive and kicking, unlike Danzo. Watching him like fucking hawks for any sign that he's disloyal. Looking for any excuse to take him and Itachi out, just like the rest of their clan.
And for the thousandth time, he grits his teeth and bites the anger back.
"I'm fine," Sasuke says roughly, forcing the memories away.
"Sasuke-kun—"
"I'm fine."
They stay there for the rest of the afternoon, sitting next to each other on the bench and not speaking. Sakura makes a few tentative attempts to restart conversation, but stops when Sasuke makes it clear that he isn't in the mood.
The silence between them is heavy. Sakura's face is troubled when she looks at him. Sasuke's jaw is clenched, his hands curled into fists, as he festers with resentment toward Konoha.
This resentment only grows when Tazuna gets off work, taking the two of them with him into the main part of town. The streets are filled with poverty, and the people there make him feel sick to look at. Dirty and starving, their bones poking out of their skin.
Children, begging for scraps of food.
Sakura offers one of them a few candies from her bag. His guant face lights up in delight, as if she's offered him a feast.
Her green eyes fill up with tears. Before Sasuke can think to shove her away, she's burying her face in his chest.
"Sasuke-kun," she says, her voice shaking. "We have to help them."
Sasuke doesn't know what to do, as he struggles to bite down the instincts that yell at him to stop her from touching him. He raises his arm, attempting to imitate his brother.
Konoha should have been helping these people. Their island neighbors the Land of Fire, only a few acres of water between them.
"We will," Sasuke tells her. "I promise."
That evening, Sasuke helps Tazuna's daughter with the meal.
Sasuke is good at cooking. He likes doing it. Traditionally, it's considered to be a women's activity, but Sasuke thinks those old-fashioned beliefs are bullshit. He enjoys it because it's something his mother taught him, and it helps him to still feel close to her.
Cooking with Tsunami feels the same as cooking with his mom. More than just the physical resemblance, she has the same gentleness to her. The same warmth. When she speaks to him, directing him through the steps of the recipe, it's with a motherly affection.
It hurts—and yet, he finds himself gravitating toward that feeling.
He sits next to her when the meal is finished, everyone gathered around the table. Naruto seems to have spent the day bonding with Inari, because the young boy appears to have lost his bratty attitude. He smiles at Naruto across the table, with the same look of admiration held by the Sandaime's grandson.
Naruto doesn't look in Sasuke's direction during the entire meal. Sasuke doesn't look at him, either.
When everyone has cleaned their plates, Tsunami stands up and begins collecting the dishes.
"Thanks for the help with dinner, Sasuke-kun. I think this is the best meal I've made in a while."
To his mortification, he feels his pale skin heat up with a very visible blush. "No problem."
She smiles at him, turning away toward the sink.
Kakashi's eye curves up into a familiar expression. He leans across the table toward Sasuke, singsonging teasingly, "Someone has a cruuush~"
Sakura drops her fork in shock. "What?!"
"Shut up," Sasuke hisses, his blush darkening. "It's not fucking like that."
Kakashi flicks him hard on the forehead, reminiscent of his brother. "Watch your language."
Sasuke rubs the reddening spot, feeling strangely offended by the man appropriating the gesture.
That night, Sasuke dreams of Zabuza Momochi.
The Demon of the Mist is standing in the middle of Tazuna's house, his large sword hefted up and ready to swing. Tsunami is in front of him, shielding her son in her arms, and little Inari has tears rolling down his face. Both of their eyes are wide in fright.
"Please," Tsunami begs. "Not my son!"
The scene is frighteningly familiar.
And suddenly, Zabuza's face is replaced by a white mask, his clothes by an ANBU uniform, his large blade by a katana. Tsunami's skin lightens, and she becomes Sasuke's mother. Inari becomes Sasuke, seven years old and terrified—
"Please," Mikoto pleads. "Not my son!"
The sword comes down. Mikoto—Tsunami—lunges forward to protect her child—
He wakes up with his head in Kakashi's lap. His fingers are combing through Sasuke's hair, the soothing motion lulling him back to sleep.
He misses his brother.
Sasuke spends the rest of the night thinking about Itachi—where he is, how his mission is going, if he's back home yet. He misses him so desperately that he's almost brought to tears.
And he knows it's stupid. He's not a little kid anymore, waking up from a bad dream and curling up in his brother's empty bed—because he's away on an ANBU mission and it's the closest he can get to him.
It's only been a few days. They've been apart for longer periods of time. But in the apartment, at least Itachi still felt somewhat there, even when he was gone. This is Sasuke's first time out of Konoha, and he's never felt farther from his brother.
It's unhealthily dependent, but Sasuke doesn't care. He's homesick, not for a place but a person.
As if sensing his feelings, a crow shows up on the windowsill in the morning.
Sasuke recognizes her immediately, a smile forming on his lips. "Asuka," he calls, holding out his arm for the bird to land on. "Hey, girl."
"Friend of yours?" Sakura asks with a raised eyebrow.
"She's my brother's."
"And he named her Asuka? That's a bit on the nose, isn't it?"
Sasuke scowls, choosing not to say that he'd been the one who named her (he'd been five, okay?).
There's a message tied to her foot. Sasuke feels his heart lighten when he sees it, and he smiles when he unrolls it to find his brother's familiar handwriting.
Sasuke,
I just returned home from my mission this morning, and I was surprised to find that you weren't already here. I spoke to the Hokage, and he said your team should have been back from your mission over a day ago. He also said I shouldn't worry, and that you've probably just stopped for a couple days of rest before beginning the trip back, but I can't help it. Are you doing alright? Nothing went wrong, did it?
Go ahead, call me overprotective. I know you're probably rolling your eyes at me as you're reading this. But I have a bad feeling about this mission. The last few times I didn't listen to it, I was right and I nearly lost you.
If you're not on your way back now, please send a message back with Asuka telling me you're okay. I hope you'll be home soon.
Itachi
P.S. If you're not okay, then Kakashi should just stay in Wave.
Sasuke snorts slightly at the last line, rolling his eyes fondly.
"What?" Sakura asks.
He shakes his head. "Nothing."
He searches through his backpack for his own sheet of paper, so he can begin writing a response back. Asuka nudges his cheek with her cold beak; Sasuke strokes his finger over her black feathers.
"How is he doing? Okay?"
She makes a few soft clicking noises.
Sasuke begins the letter by mocking his brother for behaving like a mother hen—not letting on how much he misses him, or how comforted he actually was by the letter. He tells Itachi that "the worthless old man" is right for once, and that he shouldn't worry. The mission is going fine, and all four of them should be back in Konoha soon.
"You're not going to tell him?" Sakura asks, reading the letter over his shoulder as he writes.
"What for? He can't do anything from where he is. He'd just drive himself crazy with worry."
Sasuke rolls the message up, tying it to Asuka's leg. The crow takes off immediately, out the window and into the sky.
Kakashi and Sakura go with Tazuna that morning. Naruto and Sasuke stay at the house, in case Zabuza or other hired muscle show up there.
Sasuke's happier spending the day in Tsunami's company than in her father's. He isn't happy spending it in Naruto's, but he didn't get a choice.
"We need to be a united front if Zabuza shows up again before the bridge is completed," Kakashi said. "I understand you're mad at Naruto, but the two of you need to work it out."
Sasuke scowls, scrubbing the pan with the soapy sponge in his hand. He's helping Tsunami with the dirty dishes while Naruto hangs out with Inari upstairs.
Sasuke hopes he stays there.
"Are you and your friend having a fight?" Tsunami asks, taking the pan from Sasuke and drying it.
Sasuke grits his teeth, scrubbing the next dish he picks up with more force than necessary. "Kind of."
"I'm sorry. I hope the two of you can work it out. He's been so much help with Inari. He's made him smile again."
Despite his irritation, Sasuke feels a flicker of fondness in his chest. "Yeah. Naruto does that."
The sink has gotten clogged. Sasuke reaches into the rising water, then hisses as pain slices across his finger. He yanks his hand from the water. He's cut it on the edge of a knife.
"Oh dear," Tsunami says when she sees the blood. "Let me get you a bandage. Wash it off under the faucet—"
That's when the wall of the house is sliced through with a blade, collapsing to admit two men into the house. Tsunami screams in surprise, backing up against the counter.
Sasuke forgets about the cut instantly, drawing his sword and stepping forward. "Stay behind me."
The intruder with the gray hair and hat smirks. "How cute. The brat thinks he can protect you from us."
Sasuke frowns, his stance shifting slightly. So they're after Tsunami? Not Tazuna?
His eyes glance over the two of them. Their clothes and skin tone are similar to the people who hail from here, and they aren't wearing village headbands. Not shinobi, then—just thugs.
Sasuke can take them.
"You're not taking her," he says.
Tsunami frowns. "Sasuke—"
"We're to take the lady hostage," the other thug says—the one with the eyepatch. "Gato's orders. You don't scare us, kid."
"I should."
Eyepatch pulls out his sword. Their blades clash, metal against metal. This man has the advantage of height, but Sasuke's trained how to compensate for that. Two of the people he's sparred with have been taller than him.
The other thug tries to get to Tsunami while he's otherwised engaged. Sasuke pivots, his foot connecting with the man's midsection. He flies across the room, skidding across the table before hitting the floor. Dishes shatter loudly.
"Mom?"
Tsunami's eyes go wide. Hidden partially in the kitchen doorway is Inari, a terrified look on his face.
"No!" Tsunami yells. "Don't come out here! Run away!"
Damnit, Sasuke thinks. Where the hell is Naruto? Why isn't he down here?
The plan here is very clear. Kidnap the bridge builder's daughter, get the build builder to surrender in exchange for her life. Unfortunately, they have no need or want for a second hostage.
"Please don't hurt my son," Tsunami says, her face pale and her voice shaking. "I'm begging you! Don't hurt him!"
Sasuke feels chilled down to the bone. This is exactly how his dream went—and a direct reenactment of what happened on that night. His mother pushing him behind her, begging the ANBU agents not to hurt him—
("Sasuke!")
Like hell Sasuke's letting that happen again.
So, Sasuke tightens his grip on his sword and he fights them. He fights them the way he wishes he fought to protect his mother, instead of allowing her to die for him and then being hidden away.
The taller, more violent of the two thugs lunges for Inari. Sasuke twists his sword from his hand, bringing his own blade across the man's throat.
These guys are just thugs. They came here prepared to overpower a civilian woman and her child. They didn't plan for a trained shinobi—even one who's as young as Sasuke.
Sasuke doesn't kill the other one, just knocks him out. He'll tie him up, and then maybe Kakashi can get information out of him.
He wipes the blood from his blade. Inari rushes into his mother's open arms.
When Sasuke moves to tie the thug up, that's when loud footsteps pound down the stairs. Naruto appears, his expression completely frantic.
"Inari! Are you okay?! Sasuke, what happened?!"
Sasuke turns his head to glare at him. "About time you showed up. Where were you?"
"I fell asleep! I woke up when I heard fighting!"
"Idiot," Sasuke says, rolling his eyes. "Get out of here and go get Kakashi. Tell him what happened and to come back here."
Naruto glances at Inari still in his mother's arms, blue eyes scanning him worriedly.
"I'm okay, Naruto," the boy assures him, wiping at the tears on his face. "You should go find the rest of your team. Make sure my grandfather's okay!"
Naruto nods, running out the door.
Tsunami hugs her son to her tighly, kneeling on the floor. She looks up and meets Sasuke's eyes.
"Thank you."
Sasuke swallows. "You're safe now," he tells her.
Naruto doesn't come back. Sasuke waits at the house half an hour before deciding to go after him.
He arrives on the docks to a disaster.
At first, he can't make out anything through the thick mist. He has to activate his Sharingan to see through it. Kakashi is locked in battle, his left eye bared. Sakura is littered with cuts and slashes from senbon, struggling to stay standing and protect the bridge builder. And Naruto...
Feet away, there are multiple mirrors made from ice. Sasuke can see the chakra imbedded in them with his Sharingan, so they must be some type of Ice Release jutsu. And from within them, a violent, red chakra is rising up into the sky.
It's dark and malevolent. Sasuke's never felt anything so heavy. He lands next to Sakura and Tazuna.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yells. She nearly falls over from her injuries, and Sasuke catches her.
"What's going on?" he demands. "Is Naruto inside there?"
Sakura nods, a look of fear on her face. "That boy trapped him inside there with him. I don't know what happened!"
Suddenly, all of the mirrors shatter. Sakura shrieks, hiding her face in Sasuke's chest. Sasuke stares as he gets a look at his best friend.
He's surrounded by that strange chakra. His nails have become sharp, as well as his teeth. The whisker marks on his cheeks are more distinctive. Crouched and growling, like an animal.
"What's happening to him?!" Tazuna yells.
"The Nine-Tails!" Kakashi shouts, fear in his voice. He's a good distance away, surrounded by fog and locked in a stalemate with Zabuza. "The seal is breaking—get away from him now!"
Nine-Tails.
Sasuke's eyes widen, as the dozens of puzzle pieces come together in his mind.
Naruto is the Nine-Tails' jinchuuriki.
"Nine-Tails?!" Sakura repeats. "I don't understand! What is Sensei talking about?! What's happening to Naruto?!"
Sasuke ignores her, focusing on his best friend in the center of the red cloud of chakra. He shoves aside his shock, his confusion, and he focuses on what he has to do. He walks forward, toward Naruto.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouts. "What are you doing?!"
I don't know, Sasuke thinks.
He's never done this before. He's only read that it's possible. But the ancient stone tablet beneath their clan's shrine is hardly a how-to manual, and knowing the Mangekou Sharingan grants its user the ability to control a bijuu isn't a guarantee he'll be able to do it.
Sasuke focuses on Naruto. On the red eyes, a shade darker than the Sharingan, and so unnatural in his face.
Sasuke allows his Sharingan to change, the black bleeding into the iris and the red becoming a six-point star. He looks into Naruto's eyes and dives.
The mist-ridden landscape disappears. He's standing in shallow, knee-deep water. In front of him are the bars of a jail cell, endlessly reaching, and behind them—
"Holy fucking shit," Sasuke breathes. If Itachi were here, he would've smacked him for the language.
The Kyuubi is in front of him—half in darkness, its red eyes piercing. The violent demon that tore up Konoha, that the Fourth Hokage sealed away. Inside Naruto.
"Uchiha," the beast growls.
The bloodlust it's emitting, the killing intent—it's enough to make Sasuke want to turn his own sword on himself. It presses against his chest, threatening to paralyze him.
Sasuke forces himself to move, to meet the monster's eyes. Instinctively, his Mangekyou seems to know what to do, even when he doesn't. It's like he can feel the tendrils wrapping around the beast, constraining him and pulling him back. The bloodlust dulls, fading from the air—
Sasuke sways, exhaustion crashing over him like a tsunami—
He's back where he was before, surrounded by mist. Naruto looks up at him from the ground. His eyes are back to blue.
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke's world goes black.
The proceeding events, as Sasuke has them explained to him when he regains consciousness, happen like this:
The fake hunter-nin kills himself by jumping in front of Kakashi's Lightning Blade, saving Zabuza's life. Kakashi defeats Zabuza, and then Gato shows up on the bridge with his army of henchmen. The tycoon turns against Zabuza, claiming he isn't worth keeping around.
Zabuza shows a complete lack of care for Haku in death. Naruto gets quite riled up, screaming and yelling at Zabuza, and somehow, unbelievably, his words touch the rogue ninja's heart.
He rushes Gato, killing him violently, but he's fatally injured in the attempt. Kakashi places him next to Haku's body, so he can die next to him.
Apparently, the entire thing was quite sad, despite the fact that the two of them attempted to murder them several times. Sasuke supposes you had to be there.
When he wakes up, he's back in the guest bedroom of Tazuna's house. It was chakra exhaustion that caused him to faint. Also, apparently his eyes were bleeding—side-effect of the Mangekyou.
The Mangekyou that Itachi told him specifically not to use.
Thankfully, there isn't any damage done to his vision. This is the first time he's used his Mangekyou Sharingan in five years. But Kakashi has a lot of questions—questions Sasuke isn't sure he can answer.
Kakashi isn't a member of the Uchiha Clan, and the Mangekyou is a closely-guarded clan secret. Despite having a Sharingan, does he actually know about it? Itachi's his friend, sure—but Itachi's always been clear about keeping the existence of his Mangekyou from everyone.
Knowing what happened to Shisui, Sasuke understands that. He understands it even more now, knowing his best friend is the Nine-Tail's jinchuuriki.
(What would the elders say, if they knew Sasuke had the ability to control a bijuu? To set it on the village?)
Sasuke doesn't answer his sensei's questions about what happened with Naruto. He cites it as "clan business," and tells him to talk to Itachi.
After Kakashi leaves, Naruto comes into the room to talk with him. He tells him all about how he learned about the Nine-Tails—the stolen scroll, Mizuki-sensei trying to set him on the village, Iruka-sensei saving his life.
Sasuke is still a bit bitter about Naruto keeping this a secret. When he asks his best friend why, Naruto admits to being afraid. He didn't want Sasuke to hate him as much as the rest of the village does.
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," Sasuke tells him.
Naruto smiles weakly, but it's impossible not to see the relief in his eyes. "Yeah. I guess it was pretty stupid of me, huh?"
"Unbelievably stupid."
As if he would ever side with Konoha against Naruto—after everything that was done to his clan? He walks down the streets and is treated like a pariah. Those hated glares and whispers don't just follow Naruto, they follow him, too.
(Once, when he was nine, somebody attempted to throw a stone at the back of his head. Itachi had caught it in mid-air, his eyes going red, and had chucked it right back at them.
Nobody was ever stupid enough to try anything like that again.)
"So," Naruto says. "Are we good?"
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Yeah, we're good. You moron."
They bury Haku and Zabuza before they leave, marking the gravesite with the dead man's sword.
"Is that really the shinobi way?" Sakura asks, kneeling in the grass. "To use and be used as tools?"
Sasuke feels a choking bitterness rise up in his chest.
"All shinobi are tools to command," Kakashi says. "No point in wondering whether it's right or wrong. It just is. It's the same in the Hidden Leaf."
There's a roaring in his ears. Sasuke hears the screams of his clan, sees their bodies littering the streets. Men and women in white masks, blades glinting with blood in the moonlight.
He can feel his brother sobbing in his arms. Breaking.
"If that's what being a shinobi means, then I'm not sure I want to be one."
He can feel all of them look at him sharply—especially Kakashi. His brother is going to hear about this, he knows—but at this moment, he can't bring himself to care.
Because that's all they are to their village. All his parents were, all Itachi is, all he is.
Tools. Disposable. Easily replaced.
Naruto makes some impassioned speech about his own Ninjas Way. Sasuke isn't listening. His mind is years away, watching his mother's eyes go dull.
It's late when they reach Konoha, the sky darkening. Kakashi tells them they can wait until tomorrow to give the report to the Hokage, granting them permission to go home. When Sasuke turns in the direction of his street, he finds Kakashi has fallen into step beside him.
Sasuke scowls at him. "I can get home by myself.
"I know. But Itachi's going to be pissed at me, and I'd rather deal with it tonight than have to deal with it first thing in the morning tomorrow."
It's ridiculous, how relieved Sasuke is when the door to his apartment opens and his brother is standing there. He isn't that fragile seven-year-old, afraid to have Itachi leave his sight. He shouldn't be experiencing separation anxiety after less than a week.
Still, Itachi smiles when he sees him, something in his eyes lightening, and Sasuke knows he's relieved to see him too.
"Sasuke," he says, happy but surprised. "You're back. I got your letter yesterday. So the mission went well?"
Kakashi winces slightly, his hand settling on Sasuke's shoulder. "Right. Itachi, about the mission..."
Ten minutes later finds the three of them sitting in the living room. Itachi is sitting next to Sasuke on the couch, and he's no longer smiling.
"You lied to me," he says with a glare.
"I didn't, necessarily," Sasuke says. "I said the mission was fine. Depending on your definition of the word—"
"Zabuza Momochi, Sasuke! Do you have any idea—"
Kakashi raises his hand hesitantly. "Erm, if I may interject—"
Itachi shoots his friend a deadly glare. "Don't even get me started on you. You should've turned them around the moment the scope of the mission changed."
Kakashi wisely retreats from the conversation.
Sasuke scowls. "I don't understand why you're reacting like this. I'm fine."
"You could have died."
"But I didn't!"
Itachi sighs. In the face of Sasuke's anger, his expression softens.
"It just scares me," he admits. "The thought of losing you. You have no idea how much. You could have died, and I wouldn't have even known until..."
Sasuke feels his own anger fade at the rare display of openness. "I know. But I'm okay, Nii-san."
"Itachi," Kakashi says, leaning forward slightly. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to him. You know that."
The older Uchiha glares at him, though it isn't as fierce as before. "Don't think you're off the hook. I'll be having words with you."
Kakashi sighs. "Wonderful. Can't wait. I love it when my former kohais lecture me."
Eventually, Kakashi leaves. Sasuke doesn't tell Itachi about using the Mangekyou, not in front of Kakashi, but he can tell Itachi put the pieces together when it was explained to him what happened with Naruto.
"Are you mad?" Sasuke asks, once it's just the two of them.
Itachi sighs. He looks tired—but he always looks tired.
"I understand why you used it," he says. "It doesn't sound like you had much of a choice. But you cannot let it happen again. If anyone finds out—"
"I know."
Sasuke's already worked it out in his head. The elders have been looking for a reason to get rid of the remaining two Uchiha since the massacre. And Naruto is Sasuke's best friend. If they knew his eyes could control the Tailed Beast inside him, the same way Madara Uchiha once was able to...
"They'd never let you near Naruto," his brother says. "They'd lock you up and seal your chakra. Or worse, they'd—"
"—kill me?"
Itachi's jaw tightens, but he doesn't disagree.
Sasuke's hands clench beneath the table. Why do we stay here? he wants to ask. But he doesn't have the energy to start up that conversation.
He remembers Kakashi's words. Shinobi exist as tools.
Itachi reaches out, squeezing his arm. "I really am glad you're okay. But even if I do think Kakashi should have halted the mission… you did a good job."
Sasuke bites his tongue. "I'm tired. I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed."
Itachi blinks. "Oh. Okay. You're right, you should do that."
Sasuke stands up from the couch, keeping his eyes lowered. He's so fucking tired.
"Hey, Sasuke?"
Sasuke pauses in the doorway. He turns back. "Yeah?"
There's concern in Itachi's eyes as he looks at him. "...Are you okay?"
No, he thinks frantically. Help me. I'm drowning.
"Yeah," he says instead. "I'm fine."
Because how he's feeling is too much to explain, and his brother wouldn't understand anyway.
AN: Sasuke named Itachi's crow Asuka - the two kanji that make up the name mean "bird" and "to fly," which is why Sakura says the name is on the nose XD