1st Year part 3

-Sasuke-

Sasuke believed in simplicity. It was a concept his mother had held close to her heart and had instilled in him from a young age. His apartment was small and sparsely decorated, kept spotless, partly due to him not being much in it, but also because he enjoyed being tidy. Why make a mess when he would be the one to clean it, anyway? His clothes were equally simple, functional. Shinobi did not need flashy outfits. What Sasuke also found out he enjoyed was quiet. He hadn't been much of a talker before, too shy to speak up, and now… well, there wasn't much he wanted to talk about.

So why in the name of all Gods out there did he keep Naruto around?

He was loud, messy and talked all the time. He had nothing to write with, always smelled like ramen and stuck to him like a burr. Sasuke wondered for the millionth time why he didn't knock the annoying little maniac out and drop him where no one will find him as he got dressed for the day. He pulled his shirt on, avoiding the single mirror in his bathroom, and scowled. Maybe it was because no one would bother to look for him.

Naruto was annoying, sure, but Sasuke could not figure out why everyone both hated and feared him like some infectious plague. In the few months since that first time they trained together, Sasuke noticed things. Shopkeepers refused to let him in their shops, people on the street avoided him and a disturbing number of shinobi grabbed onto their weapon pouches as he walked by. What could a snot-nosed brat with poor aim have done to instill such fear in seasoned shinobi? It was a puzzle that kept poking him in the side, pulling his thoughts away from other, more sinister ruminations.

He moved to pack his bag, carefully placing his finished homework inside, then the pencil he would use for the day, then stopped. Better get another one, Naruto was sure to have forgotten his, if he even owned one.

Sasuke's new place was close to the academy, and he was one of the first people to arrive. It gave him a few minutes to plan his training for the day and pretend to be busy when the other students walked in.

Being the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan had made him a tragic star overnight. He loathed the attention, despised those simpering girls that only saw him for… what did they see, anyway? Why weren't they more worried about their grades, their training or… anything else, really? He didn't mind that they were weak, not really. Hinata was weak, but she left him alone so he had no problem with her. What Sasuke did mind was the fact that their attention, they focused their full and unfiltered attention on his person. He felt like a specimen under a magnifying glass and they the mad scientists that followed his every move. It was suffocating.

The first of his fangirls stepped into the room. She squealed, "Good morning Sasuke-kun!" making him bow his head further. Maybe if he ignored them, they will eventually go away. Not that it had been working so far, but, hopefully.

It took ages until Naruto came in, late as usual, and by that time his two most persistent followers, Ino and Sakura, were clawing their eyes out to get a seat next to him. Naruto predictably greeting Sakura with a starry gaze, which was returned by the girl's disgusted response, thus ending the morning charade. The girls retreated, Naruto slid in dejectedly next to him, and Sasuke could finally lift his head and breathe for a bit.

"Ne, why does Sakura-chan like you so much, when you don't even look at her, or talk to her?"

Then again, peace next to Naruto was never an option.

"Why do you even like that girl? She always treats you like shit, is loud, and everything she does is pointless. Plus, aren't you too young to want a girlfriend?" There was a simple pleasure in pushing Naruto's buttons with the three-month difference between them.

"Sakura is so pretty, and she's smart and…"

"Whatever." Why did he ask? Why did he care? He didn't, shouldn't. This had nothing to do with his training, or jutsu, or getting stronger. It was just trivial.

"She's popular now ever since she made friends with Ino, but before she was just as shunned as I was."

Sasuke's head almost banged on the desk before him. "You are truly stupid. You decide to like a girl that seems to literally hate you, just because she was bullied as a kid? Maybe you should start looking at people who really want to talk to you," he said, and jerked his head to the last row where Hinata's pearly eyes were glued to Naruto's head.

"Hinata? Nah… wait really?"

"I have eyes, idiot, so yes. Now shut up, I had enough talking for today."

Sasuke's remark about the Hyuuga heiress was enough to keep Naruto stunned and silent. He congratulated himself for that as he passed the blond a pencil and enjoyed the rest of the class in blissful silence.

-Yahizui-

Dai had gotten punished. Again. He laid on his cot, wheezing in pain as each breath likely abused his pierced lung. Hi took in his rapidly fluctuating chakra, her hands pausing. She placed the kunai she'd been sharpening down and approached. From up-close she could see the sweat beading on his forehead. The platoon leader did not hold back this time.

"I can heal you," she said. Having an injured squad member would drag them all down. They were supposed to be efficient. A feverish, wheezing member was hardly but.

Dai cracked open an ember eye, the fever making them seem almost golden. Hi looked at him, looked at those eyes and felt something stir inside her head. It gently scratched at the back of her mind. She ignored it.

"And why would you do that, eh, Red?"

He rarely called her by her name. Had Hi always been her name, or was it assigned to her, like they assigned it to the others? She blinked, leaving the thought behind.

"Your state of injury will slow the squad down."

"Ah, ever the practical one. Then please, return me to my previous efficiency."

Hi nodded, focusing chakra in her fingers and tracing a pattern on Dai's chest. She didn't know where she had learned that seal. It was yet another thing that her mind kept at ready whenever she needed it. Like sensing chakra, wind jutsus and projectile accuracy, although she never remembered learning them. The seal glowed, and Dai's pained expression eased. She was no medic, but it would suffice, and with enough chakra she might be able to adequately mend him.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked.

"I do not know."

"There's a lot you don't seem to know, Red. Ever wondered why?"

"No."

"Maybe you should. Maybe you were this whole other person before this, had a family, friends. Wouldn't you want to know?"

"I never thought about it."

Silence settled between them after that, with the soft glow of Hi's blue chakra being transformed into healing chakra by the seal lighting their faces. She looked at him, careful not to seem obvious. He reminded her of someone, yet she knew not of whom.

"Why do you keep fighting them?" she asked, then quickly shut her mouth at Dai's raised eyebrow.

"It's a matter of pride, I guess. They try their best to tear me down, break apart the person I am and make me…" he paused, amber gaze roaming her face.

"Like me," said Hi blankly.

"Sorry."

"There is no need for you to apologize, I am not offended."

"Anyway, I don't wanna let them. So I fight it in ways small enough that won't get me killed."

"Yet large enough that it would get you beat."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Her chakra faded, the luminous seal disappearing with it. Evening had fallen over the camp, leaving their faces shrouded in darkness. Hi thought of Dai and his pride. It did him no good, on the contrary. So why keep it?

"Why not pretend?" she asked. It would be the smart course of action. Yet how would she know that, it wasn't as if she ever lied before. Or maybe... maybe she did.

"You're not as emotionless or as brainwashed as they make you out to be Red. I could even say that there's a rebel seed somewhere inside of you."

She shrugged. Maybe there had been. She must have done something in her life before she woke up here.

-Itachi-

Lacking a partner gave Itachi little to do in the Akatsuki. The concept relied on them working in pairs, both for support and to keep each other in check, and Pein was keen on keeping his model pure. No alliterations were allowed, leaving Itachi with too much free time.

"Fancy seeing you here!"

Itachi tensed at the falsely pitched voice. "Tobi-san, good day to you."

"Join me outside. The weather here is rarely favorable, so we should enjoy it while it lasts."

Amegakure, the central headquarters of Akatsuki, was a small village, but the technical advancements made here were a sight to behold. Itachi wondered if they were because of the people's ingenuity or Akatsuki's influence. In the seven months since he'd come here, buildings have been sprouting like mushrooms after rain, getting taller by the week. Space was a luxury here, and their own HQ towered over them, all with almost fourteen floors. Still, their building had the prestige of a sizable backyard, which the members used for training and spars.

Itachi looked around, wondering what his odd ancestor wanted of him. He said nothing, waiting for the older man to proceed.

"How does your Mangekyo feel?"

"I have not used it since."

"And I would suggest you use it as sparingly as possible."

"The risks behind this power do not scare me."

Madara walked through the yard, measuring it with its steps, his head bowed in thoughtful contemplation. "So why not use it more? Maybe if you had used it, you could have kept your partner alive, ne?"

Maybe. But using his newly gained power in a fit of emotional turmoil was one thing. Using it on command, that took practice. Itachi refused to accept his ineptitude.

"Don't be ashamed of it, Itachi-kun, we all started somewhere. Lucky for you, I am here and willing to guide you on the path of the Sharingan."

He really didn't want that. "Please refrain from calling me 'kun'."

"Touchy, touchy! Fine, as you wish. Still, I can help you discover what your Mangekyo can do. Every Sharingan is unique, every Mangekyo tailored to their owner and their needs when the Mangekyo awoke. Your unbreakable genjutsu and that terribly beautiful fire which can never be extinguished were abilities forged in the wake of your past and your situation. You must study these techniques, improve them. If you ever wish to control them."

Madara was right. Itachi hated it, but he was right. What use was a fatally dangerous fire if he could not control where it burned? He then remembered the Tablet he read with Shisui, in a time where everything seemed so complicated, yet was so peaceful. "What of the Susanoo?"

"You like the name?"

"Did you name it?" It might be exactly the pompous thing this man would do.

"No, I cannot take that honor," said Madara with a chuckle. He was easygoing, something Itachi wouldn't have guessed from reputation alone. "Our clan had seen enough bloodshed before I was even born. Back then having a Mangekyo was more common than you'd think, and people were more focused on the Gods than they are now. Thus, all the... divinely inspired names."

Itachi nodded. It made sense, given the clan's inclination toward the dramatic. He realized with amusement that it spared neither him nor Shisui. Between Shisui's Koto Amatsukami, and his Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, one might think they were quite religious themselves. And perhaps that was the problem. "Giving divine names to techniques makes one's hubris grow exponentially."

"Are you a proud man?"

"I would not dare call myself such."

Itachi could imagine the man before him smirking. He was sure his lips were twitching beneath the garish orange mask. "Then you will be fine. Keep your limits in mind, work around them and the world will bow."

He didn't want the world to bow. He wanted... there was nothing he really wanted these days. But Itachi knew he did not want to become this man's pawn. "Sounds like a lecture," he said.

"Maybe it is. You have a powerful weapon on your hands, and no one to teach you how to use it. I can help you."

"And the price?"

"Itachi, your loyalty to Akatsuki is payment enough."

He did not believe it, but the itch to know what his new eyes could truly do was growing.

"Very well."

-Yahizui-

"Today you will train Scenario Five. Hi will be your opponent, your target. Your task is to find the target and neutralize it. No killing blows, the rest as usual." The platoon leader's voice droned on, giving the chasing team further instructions. Hi tuned it out, her task clear.

She usually got to be the target, and when the roles were reversed, it was she alone assigned to give chase. Out of the ten-initial recruits, six were left. Two had died in the first three months. One had been transferred to another unit, her curvaceous body and pretty face assuring her of a position in the seduction and assassination unit. The fourth one had later shown to be a shinobi himself posing as an unassuming orphan. His execution was swift and public. Dai, Su, and Mo, the three rebels of the group were still alive, despite Dai's grim predictions that they will probably die off in a few months. Hi sometimes wondered if the tips she had given them contributed to their survival, or they were just fast learners. She wanted to think she had a role to play. Maybe today would even be the day they caught her.

Fuu, their platoon leader, gave the signal and Hi flickered away, making two clones as she went. She took cover in a nearby tree, focusing on their chakra signatures, when a burst of energy came from her left. Hi dodged, catching Su's grin, the other girl's punch missing her by a hair's breadth, only to flash away from Mo's incoming strike.

Her Wind Gale was expertly parried by Dai's fire jutsu, out of which the amber-eyed teen burst to engage her in close combat. He was good, his larger frame hiding both strength and speed, his hits unpredictable, a deadly mix of learned katas and a wild brawl. Hi blocked him, her arms taking the burn of his hit. Dai smiled, and his next strike connected with the side of her head, forcing her to retreat. They were getting better, much better.

The ringing in her head continued until the chase was over, distracting her and making it easy for the team to catch her. She brushed the loss away, the buzzing in her head troubling her as they retreated to the barracks, drowning out the strangely animated chatter of the evening.

She closed her eyes, hoping sleep would help her heal, but for the first time since she became aware of herself, Hi dreamed. She dreamed of a vast desert, of a small village and smiling people. A family, a mother, a father. A girl with red hair and green eyes so like her own bounced around her mother, rode on her father's shoulders and smiled so brightly it made the sun's rays pale in comparison. She woke up and cradled the memory of that dream close to her chest, adding it as a first piece to the puzzle inside her mind.