Disclaimer: FANfiction
Just to mention real quickly. I've started to revise the first chapter, and I added a different intro to it. Just added some scenes in the very beginning;) That's the main change... I'm still working through correcting and adjusting the rest of it with Nackmu's help.
Chapter 8 Clash and Connect
This chapter is dedicated to Nackmu!
There was a beeping noise and hushed sounds, the smell of antiseptics and rustling of clothes. Sasuke groaned when he moved his arm a tiny bit. He felt rather sore, not that that was something new to him, it was merely unpleasant. But this could not be Sakura's house, her apartment didn't sound or smell like this… So where was he?
When he finally opened his eyes, there was artificial light blinding him and after that passed, he could see Naruto and Sakura sitting close by his bedside, leaning forward to get a better look at his waking self. Thank goodness they were quiet, he already felt a bit of a headache forming. Just what the hell had happened?
"Tatakai?" Sakura's voice sounded worried, great...
"Hn" he turned to look at her, fully intending to sit up and get out of bed. He halted when he saw her face though. Dust coated, sweaty and even a graze or two marred her face.
"Thanks Kami you're okay… Just what did you think you were doing? Pushing yourself to collapse! Do you have…" He drowned her out as the memories started to resurface. Right… now it came back to him. The fight,... and then the pain, the all consuming pain. He'd collapsed?
He made another attempt to sit up. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he held his head. Yeah it hurt, though it became bearable after a moment. His attention moved to lesser pains like the catheter in his hand.
"Sakura, stop pestering him." a monotone voice cut through the haze. Sasuke raised his head, searching for the source, and surely enough, Kakashi was leaning against the wall, orange book loosely in his hand and looking mildly bored.
"So you're back, mind telling us what all that was about?"
Sasuke glared and Naruto chose that time to speak up: "You gave us a good scare, that's for sure. Oh come on, don't give me that look, we were worried, 'kay?"
The glare only intensified.
"Alright, alright, someone is grumpy. Can't be that bad then." Naruto offhandedly commented.
"Naruto! Show some respect!" That was Sakura rebuking him.
Ignoring their quarrel, Sasuke stood up, leaning against the wall for support. That was when he noticed himself wearing a hospital gown. "Where are my clothes?"
The others looked up and Sakura set out to answer quickly. "They put them in the bag over there. I'll bring you new ones later."
"Now!"
"But you should stay here for observation. We still don't know what caused your collapse."
"It's over. I'm fine."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Not here" nor anywhere else… The truth was, he had no idea if and how. He didn't want her to have this kind of knowledge. Especially not after she had just gone and messed with the seal covertly. And he wasn't looking forward to sharing such knowledge with so many people around, either. It was a well guarded secret amongst slaves for a reason.
"Hmm, alright, I'll get you checked out, but I expect an explanation at home." She murmured the last part with a pointed look, then turned to the others. "Naruto, could you please fetch him some clothes in the meanwhile?"
Sakura removed the needle connecting Tatakai to the drip and left to complete his discharge papers, leaving Kakashi to watch over the slave alone. Right now the one in question had locked himself in the bathroom and if the noises were anything to go by, he had been drinking from the tap. Hopefully freshened up some, too. Though, when the other finally re-emerged, he still looked as grumpy as ever.
"How do you feel?" Kakashi casually asked, which only got him a grumble that might have meant 'Fine' in response. The teacher sighed. The boy was not making conversation easy.
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Sai thought back to the conversation he'd had with Danzo just moments before.
"Code-name Weasel, ANBU. If you as much as touch my brother, I will pass on classified Village intel to every enemy nation."
First disbelief, just barely visible, then carefully concealed rage. Danzo had started asking questions. The interrogation didn't leave him much wiser, though. Sai couldn't and wouldn't tell him much useful. The ANBU Weasel had been careful and Sai didn't feel like reporting the bathroom incident and the other's apparent health issues. He hadn't told him much more than Tsunade. Danzo should know about the things implied, anyway, he needn't point out that the other had spilled secrets to him already, nor why he'd done so. Danzo's questions about the little brother had been carefully answered, Sai knew he couldn't straight out hide that part, but he had realized that the other had set him up to reveal that information in a controlled manner, so Danzo would not be able to act.
The day had left him dead tired though. He briefly considered searching out Tatakai to pass the last message, but tiredness won out. It could wait until the next day, surely. At home, he only did the bare minimum of the bathroom routine before crashing in his bed.
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When they got home, Sakura quickly grabbed Tatakai's arm right before the front door snapped shut. She wouldn't let him run off.
"We're going to talk, now!"
"Let go of me!" He bit out. She followed up his request and he quickly stepped away, putting distance between them. She ushered all of them into the living room, telling them to sit down. Then, when everyone was settled, she turned to look at Tatakai expectantly. He simply returned her stare, saying nothing.
"Come on, we're alone now."
He pointedly threw a glance at the others clogging the couch. Sakura let out a huff.
"We're a team, Tatakai. A unit. Do you have any clue how much it scared us to see one of us collapsing within a simple training? We need to know what caused it. This would be lethal in a real mission!"
"I won't fight you in a real mission."
Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you… So, you're saying it was me?"
"Maybe" He didn't want to give out clues. He still had no idea how to approach the subject without giving her more power. Kakashi put a calming hand on Sakura's arm before speaking up.
"Tatakai, was it the slave seal?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Something activated the punishment function, didn't it?" Kakashi's voice was gentle, but still probing.
"And if it did? What does it matter? You won't release me from it. And why should I reveal anything to someone who messes with the seal behind my back?" He sent a pointed glance at Sakura, who quickly looked away. Her cheeks turned pink. Gotcha!
"I'm sorry that I can't free you. Tsunade won't let me." She meekly said.
"Wait," Naruto exclaimed staring at Sakura "Baa-chan ordered you to get a slave?"
"Yes essentially that's it."
"Man, I'd never have thought... I've been wondering how she was involved since you said she was, but dang…" Naruto frowned, then turned to Tatakai, who had his anger quietly concealed, not saying a word. "I feel sorry for you, it's never fun to be in one of Baa-chan's schemes." His voice was honest.
Though Sasuke didn't voice any of his thoughts, they ran haywire in his head. The Hokage had ordered Sakura to get a slave? It was so obvious she didn't need one. She didn't need him. What was he here for?...
"Back on subject" Her voice brought him back. "Look Tatakai, I'm not out on my way to harm you, but I can't change the circumstances right now. So I'd be really glad if you could tell me what set it off, so I can avoid it."
Sasuke just glared at her.
"If it was me, what did I do wrong? You were able to have a one on one fight with your Master the last time we sparred, so that can't be it..."
Lips twitching. A snorting sound.
"...Is this funny to you? Me trying to guess what it was because you won't tell me? Do you realize that I want to know this to keep you safe?"
"You have not earned my trust." Sasuke's voice cut through the air, coldly.
"I see… But what if we're sent on a real mission soon? What..."
"You piss me off!" He got up, about to leave the room. Enough was enough.
"We aren't done. Don't just leave!"
Annoyed, Sasuke turned around.
"And what will you do? Punish me?" He sneered. He'd use her cluelessness to his advantage, that was the purpose of keeping this whole matter a secret. She obviously was frustrated. Sasuke ignored the others' observing gazes until Naruto butted in.
"Hey Teme, that's not how Sakura is, and you know it!"
"Keep out of it." He glared at the blond and then returned his attention to Sakura, only to disengage himself from the door frame he'd been leaning on. His moves were slow and controlled as he came over.
"You don't want to have a slave, do you?" He stood in front of her, not exactly invading her personal space, but close to it. His stare was unnerving.
"You've assigned me some duties, little silly ones, but if I fail to complete them, you just go and do them by yourself. You don't question me about it, you don't punish me for it either. No, actually you try giving me a choice. You tried to give me some freedom. And then you went and messed with the seal. See my problem with you?"
"I…" She was obviously searching for words. But Sasuke wasn't done, he was sick of this, of how she acted.
"I was trying to figure out your motivations for having me around, but it didn't end up making any sense, no matter how I looked at it. You kept me at a distance, you didn't really need the help in the house. You only kept an eye on my recovery and progress, encouraging me to do my own thing.
"I think I figured it out now. You don't see the reason for this whole situation, either. As you said, you were ordered to go get a slave and you obeyed without even trying to find out why. Just like a little slave should. I think you just wanted to please everyone, me included."
Sakura looked more and more distraught as he went on.
"And now you figured out that you can't ignore the situation and the hierarchy the seal demands and expect me to trust you with its secrets. Let me tell you one thing: I won't let you push me around!"
He looked her straight in the eyes, but she looked away, trying to collect herself to form any kind of reply, shocked at his tauntingly direct approach.
"I… I guess you're right with some things…" She sighed. "I need to think about what you said…But I just want to let you know, I do trust Tsunade, and I know there is a reason she told me to get you, even though she probably didn't expect you to be a ninja and become my teammate… So..." She trailed off.
"You have no plan," Sasuke pointed out.
"Not yet, no. But I'll figure it out eventually. In the meantime we just got to put up with each other."
He didn't reply.
Kakashi finally broke the silence. Deciding that there was no resolving the issue as long as the emotions were still at their peak, he claimed that he had to chat with Shikamaru, and once Sai was back, with Sai too. "...and let's all go get some sleep tonight, ne? Meet at the bridge tomorrow as usual?"
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Sasuke had headed out quickly, needing some space despite being tired. Sakura hadn't looked pleased at his leaving, but she hadn't stopped him after he'd said where he'd go. So, currently, he was sitting leaned on a tree by the Hokage Monument and he wasn't really planning on going home to sleep. He just didn't feel like sleeping in an enclosed space if he had the choice. Much rather he'd sit in the cool breeze outside, taking in the view of the village by midnight.
Staring at the stars, he wondered if Itachi could see them too, right now. He felt alone. It had felt good to finally speak his mind, but it had left him feeling hollow. Sakura didn't know why she had him, she had no plan how to find out. And he didn't know what would happen now. It took a long time to fall asleep.
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In an attempt to find the younger brother, Sai had gone over to Sakura's first thing in the morning. She had appeared quite tired and had even admitted to not having slept a lot. When he asked why, she briefly told him of the happenings the day before and Sai patiently listened, before kindly asking where Tatakai went.
Soon, he was on his way to the Hokage Monument, greeting 'Tatakai' when he saw him in the morning light. The young Uchiha only nodded and continued shifting through his motions, making the deadly moves look like a dance. Sai stood and watched for a little while, taking note of the improvement in control and strength. The other finished up, glaring at him.
"Did she send you?"
"No. I needed to talk to you anyway."
Sceptical eyes followed his movements instead of a reply. Then Sai dropped the bomb:
"I met your brother,..."
Eyes widened, posture changed. The other too stunned to formulate any questions.
"...he told me to pass a message:… He said you should make it your mission to protect Naruto. Precisely to protect Naruto from him."
Sasuke, dumbfoundedly stared at the other for a while, trying to verify that he had heard right, his mouth half followed as he tried to piece together what he heard… "...you… niisan?… Naruto?"
Sai only nodded.
Sasuke swallowed, the implications of that statement, that order, slowly sinking in. Sai claimed that he had met Itachi, which would mean that Itachi was alive. Itachi was alive.
"... How... is he?"
Sai had expected that question. He sighed, not really wanting to tell him the truth, but not finding it in himself to keep it from him. "He was coughing pretty badly. That was at an inn I stopped by on the road, and he looked rather exhausted. That's where we met."
"But he's alive... how did you confirm it's him? How did he react?" The questions had come like an afterthought.
"You look a lot alike and I remember his face from my sketchbook the day I drew him for you. Plus, he was wearing that necklace from your drawing. I mentioned you and he got curious. He asked a lot of questions, about you, and about my intentions. He also told me you both were from here. He even told me of which clan and he proved his word with his eyes. You tell me if it's him or not."
Itachi had what? Just told him? Sai knew?!... He discreetly hadn't mentioned any terms, not the Sharingan, not Uchiha, but the brief words left little room to doubt. Sasuke stared at Sai in disbelief. Told him, just so? What had happened to staying undercover?
"It's him alright." He breathed out finally. He really wanted a proper talk with Itachi.
"He wasn't showing it very well, but I think he was glad to finally hear from you. And he mentioned not being sure if you wanted him back in your life."
Freezing inside, he took in these words. It was like shards painfully driving into his consciousness. No, this couldn't be. His brother knew him better than that, didn't he? But as the words sank in, slowly (still too fast), he saw reality behind them. Sasuke shook his head. It was sad, though, he supposed, it was a legitimate reaction if one considered just how many times Sasuke had claimed to hate Itachi; how many times he'd tried to kill him before they'd been separated.
"Now that you know about that... Sakura told me about yesterday."
And just like that, Sai pulled him back to the present.
"Yeah, so?"
"I understand your position. We're in the same boat after all." The short pause Sai made let the meaning of the words sink in. "I just told her I'd mention it to you."
They both fell back into silence, in which Sasuke's thoughts ran back to the conversation about his brother once more… He realized, it hadn't been mentioned:
"Is my brother still one of us?" Sai looked up, only mildly surprised.
"A slave? I can't confirm that nor can I deny it. I doubt it, though. Honestly. He seemed very independent."
Later, Sasuke once more went through their conversation, trying to judge whether this could be real and what that would mean for him.
If this was real, then his brother had implied that, if he would be around Naruto, they might meet. But it also implied that they'd be on opposing sides… it implied that Itachi wanted him to stay on opposing sides, on Naruto's side. Why? What was his brother doing?
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Itachi sighed tiredly. They were in a hide-out close to Konoha, which they would use as a base to observe their target. That was at least the official version. Itachi felt lucky to have his brother so close by. He could go observe his progress, his situation before making a move.
They were observing their target so they could formulate a plan, but the Uchiha had no hurry with that. He didn't know how much Kisame suspected, but Kisame had dropped a few hints indicating that he did. He didn't seem in a hurry with it, either.
They were sitting at a distance, having followed the target to a bridge. To avoid an easy detection they had traded the Akatsuki cloaks for plain ones as well as their hats.
Their target was undoubtedly early, and they witnessed how he seemed to do a balance exercise on the railing. The kid was quiet and focussed. But when a pink haired Kunoichi approached he got up to greet her:
"Good Morning Sakura-chan! Where is Tatakai? Isn't he participating, too, today?"
Sai had told him that Sakura was his brother's owner? The voice was faded by the distance, but they could still hear his words quite clearly. 'Sakura-chan', however, wasn't as loud and they had a harder time to make out the girl's answer.
From what they could gather, this 'Tatakai' had gone off to the Hokage Monument after a fight, and Sai (that Sai?) went to find and talk to him. Itachi thought about the probability that Sai, quite possibly, was setting his plan in motion right now, lips twitching slightly. He'd have his answer soon.
Itachi felt that his partner was itching for a fight, and he already had an idea on how to utilize that fact for when the time was right, now however their target was talking again:
"I hope they'll show up soon. Kakashi's surely going to take his sweet time. I need a distraction."
"Then use the time to practice."
"That's what I was doing before you came."
"Well don't bother me. I'm not your entertainment."
The conversation ceased and they both concentrated back on the target which indeed started up another exercise in front of the girl while she merely stared off into the waters of the creek, leaning against the railing. Then, after a while, Naruto looked up, anticipation in his posture. Surely enough a moment later, two new arrivals emerged from the field. They stopped at the bridge, backs towards Itachi and Kisame.
"The one on the right is the one we met at the inn." Kisame said quietly. Itachi barely nodded, still listening.
"Sai, you are back! How was the mission?"
"Obviously I'm back, Dickless…" Indeed, Itachi recognized the voice as the one from the inn. "and it was alright, I suppose. Thanks for asking. I gotta go, though, I need to go talk to Shikamaru, I might join you later."
Their target said goodbye, a bit put out, then turned to the second person opening the conversation with an insult.
"Teme!"
"Dobe." This voice was unfamiliar, could that by any chance be his brother? His brother's voice would have changed and one word wasn't enough to judge by intonation. He found himself hoping.
"Up for a spar?" The target asked. Instead of replying the other moved. The blade was evaded at the last second, the swishing sound of cutting air still sharp over the distance.
"He looks like you!" Kisame quietly mused. "Dark hair, bangs, all messy, though. Same black eyes and straight nose. Could really be your brother."
"Hn"
"He's grown taller…"
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Naruto had already noticed that something was different about this fight. It was more serious, even though the unspoken line of not using chakra wasn't being crossed just yet. This spar had a different dynamic than the one yesterday, there was an underlying danger, a challenge and Naruto liked it. They exchanged blows, blocked hits, kicks, evaded blades. Their dance was close to deadly.
Sasuke felt Naruto meet the level displayed mostly, almost animalistic in style and response sometimes. It was like he was reacting to instincts that made his movements fluent without a clearly recognizable signature. Of course there were the standard stances, too, and they were alright, though Sasuke could see room for improvement. It was as if his instincts overrode the standard stances sometimes, somehow. It made him unpredictable. He had noticed that before, but never to this extent. Sasuke pressed on.
"Hey Teme"Naruto panted, "what's the deal today?"
No answer. The glare could not be taken as one. Sasuke didn't care. This was a distraction, a way to figure out what to do... maybe.
He knew that both were as much a lie as a truth. This fight was, simply put, convenient.
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Sakura was observing the spar with divided feelings. Tatakai's fighting displayed his mood quite clearly today, but she didn't know what she should read into it. He was hard-pressing, like yesterday with her, but there was nothing desperate about the fight this time. He seemed to just want to push Naruto's toes, and in exchange be kept on his as well. He didn't seem calmer than yesterday, but more focussed, stronger, determined.
She felt uncomfortable. Maybe it was guilt, maybe general tiredness. His words had hit her harshly. So close to the truth. They had repeated every time she'd closed her eyes to sleep, like a splinter stuck under skin that would always bother, demand attention, hurt. So close to the truth. She had no clue why Tsunade had her go get a slave. Yes, of course she'd asked her Sempai, but when she hadn't gotten a decent answer, she had not tried to get one. She indeed had just gone to buy a slave as if it was a mission. She hadn't asked, hadn't tried to argue to get out. She'd counted on Tsunade revealing his purpose when they were back.
It hadn't happened. And what Tsunade had said still made no sense to her.
Tsunade had told her that she abused her work in the hospital as a distraction, that saving patients was not all there was. She was still as clueless as before, and Tatakai's overall attitude wasn't helping either. Though now that he'd finally spoken his mind, she could comprehend his irritation just a tiny bit better.
It wasn't a pleasant thought to admit that he'd been mostly right. She'd tried to stay distant, to give him some sort of freedom and she'd been happy with that. But he'd accused her of not taking responsibility, even though she'd thought she'd tried so hard. He'd spoken the truth. His truth. The way he'd laid it out, he was right. Of course, the spitefulness had added another spike into her ego. His words had been spoken without care for how she'd feel.
After sharing her home and caring for him, she couldn't help but care a tiny bit what he thought of her though. He'd taken her apart verbally and it was obvious now that he didn't think much of her at all. Furthermore, she didn't have any idea of how she could improve this situation, how she could improve in his eyes. Even less how to find out why Tsunade had wanted her to get him.
She could admit openly that she hadn't been the perfect Kunoichi, far from it. But she'd worked hard and with everything she could. Be it in the hospital, saving lifes, or on a mission, supporting teammates.
It was true, Sakura had treated him like a mission that was cancelling out her hospital work. Essentially, she'd just taken the situation as it was, like she did with most things nowadays. Conveniently forgetting that Tsunade in particular had made her do this… and Tsunade always had a scheme when she made a move like that. Every medical nin collapsed of chakra exhaustion 'now and then' and Sakura had half a mind to just take the easy way out of the problem and blame it on that, but she knew, it just couldn't be all of it… She knew Tsunade too well for that.
Really, what had gone wrong with her that she had no clue of? Hadn't it been okay the way it had been? It had been obvious that their team wouldn't be the same after their time apart. Plus with Sai as a new team member,... even though they hadn't hit it off very well in the beginning, it was alright now, wasn't it?... Still, she knew, Naruto was the glue in their little group, while everyone had their lapses, times of drifting off, he kept pulling them back. He'd made Sai a part of their group, and now was making a place for Tatakai as well. Just how was he supposed to fit into the picture? She didn't know how to place him to make this work… whatever this was supposed to be. She didn't have a clue.
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Kakashi had arrived late (as always) and unsurprisingly the boys were busy sparring. He stopped next to Sakura who seemed startled a bit when he pointed out the boys' eagerness to fight. Absent-mindedly, she agreed and Kakashi knew that conversation was futile rightnow.
"Alright Folks, we're going to go to training ground four and will do some real exercises there."
Neither Naruto or Tatakai looked too pleased by the disturbance, but they complied. Once there, Kakashi explained what he wanted them to do. He and Sakura did some warm ups while the others did a first round of stretching, then they split up into pairs to do some sparring, testing the other's efficiency and techniques and giving feedback. The goal was to switch every half an hour.
Sasuke ended up with Kakashi first and both found it an interesting challenge. Since the focus was not evaluation this time, but finding and correcting flaws in stances and blocks, they stopped every minute, or so, to go through the sequence of moves they had chosen again, trying out different approaches to react and occasionally also correcting something.
What Kakashi found was that Tatakai's style was nearly flawless and highly efficient. Occasionally, the movements scratched at the back of his mind. They kind of reminded him of that boy he'd worked with back in ANBU times. Though, seeing how similar they both looked, Kakashi was wondering if his mind just played tricks on him.
Tatakai's chakra control seemed on a decent level though not all his jutsu were as polished as they should have been. Tatakai wasn't sloppy by any means, it just seemed that he hadn't trained them enough to form an instinct for how much chakra to use and how to focus it. Kakashi ended up telling him just that. Tatakai acknowledged the critique, quietly nodding his head, then, surprisingly, offering some advice of his own, showing the moves and counter slowly. The youngster's advice had certainly come unexpected.
Tatakai had been right, though, with his suggestion. What he'd shown gave Kakashi another possibility. The other had pointed out a repetition in his style that made him predictable. One that Kakashi had been rather unaware of. Then, Tatakai had shown him a similar move of which he could easily shift into a different body position than the one he'd used multiple times. It might be beneficial at the right time.
He smiled: one never stopped learning. Still, something about Tatakai and the way he fought bugged him. Honestly, the way he did some Jutsu reminded him of himself. The weird thing was, that it reminded him of the techniques he had once picked up with the Sharingan, but never properly trained. It was those he hadn't taken the time to learn, just memorized.
When doing Jutsu from memory rather than trained instinct, the amount of chakra drawn was usually just a bit off. It wasn't as efficient. He, Kakashi, could copy a Jutsu perfectly the moment he saw it. Reproducing it later, while adjusting it to a new situation, was a bit more tricky.
And so he wondered if the discrepancy had anything to do with Tatakai's time as a slave without being able to use chakra.
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Sakura had had a good time training with Naruto. They'd trained together for years and it was a comfortable routine for them both. Sakura gave Naruto tips on chakra control. Naruto in turn taught her blocks and let her practice her techniques on him. Sometimes they laid their focus on how people might avoid them and practice different ways to react, sometimes they practiced the hits themselves.
Overall, even though she'd had a short night, she could enjoy training. Naruto provided a nice distraction to the things that had kept her mind busy and she dreaded the moment she'd have to face Tatakai again.
That moment came way too soon, as Kakashi paired them next. Tatakai looked less than pleased. In fact she once more found herself on the receiving end of his dark glare.
"Attack me!" He finally said and she suppressed a relieved sigh. She could work with that. Thinking a moment she decided on an approach she wanted to try on Kakashi later as well. She moved her left hand to strike his neck side, it was an obvious straightforward move and she had a series of possibilities depending on how he'd react. Her right arm was blocking her front, ready to move any time.
He evaded easily, jumping into the air, his feet were coming down fast so she had to move. The incoming blade that was closing in on her back quickly, cut off her escape. She twisted to grab the wrist holding it. Then the flat side of a Kunai pressed into her side as she was trying to force his arm out of the way.
After a moment of holding her still struggling body,... just as she prepared to substitute,... he let her go abruptly and stepped back. "Same attack!" he ordered her.
She did, ignoring his bossy attitude, just faintly wondering what he would do now. He'd had her with this...
He didn't move away. Instead he grabbed her hand, pulling it along, forcing her to stumble after him in a circle. She'd had no time nor balance to attack with her free hand as he expertly made her joints betray her to follow the given movement. His lead brought the ground near quickly and she had to substitute before she became incapacitated again.
He nodded, then motioned for her to repeat the exercise. They were at it for a while, and since no words were needed, she didn't expect any.
"Hold that hand like this. You will be more flexible to react." His voice was all business, calm, but demanding attention. They repeated and indeed she felt the difference.
They switched after that, her suggestion of course. She followed his example and let him do the same base attack while reacting differently. And at the end she believed they'd had a surprisingly 'alright' time together. But she knew, even though he was making an effort during training, his glare told her that he was still mad at her. So in the end she was glad for the time to be over.
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Now facing Naruto, Sasuke was wondering what made Naruto so special that Itachi would issue an order like that. Naruto attacked and Sasuke blocked, counterattacked, got blocked as well.
An order that suggested so many things.
"Again!" Sasuke said.
It made no sense. The blond was good, and his team seemed to work well together, but he was nothing special. No bloodline limits, no ties to important families… Nothing really. Except maybe his ambition to make friends and to become Hokage. Sasuke smirked as they repeated the exercise.
The order itself suggested that Itachi's true goal hadn't truly to do something with the blond… What interest could anyone have on a person that had the ambition to aim for the highest position in the village. Naruto would not easily be swayed to betray, a person with such a goal would be loyal to his village.
Naruto suggested a switch and so it was Sasuke's turn to attack. He ended up using a sword technique, combined with a low-level Genjutsu. This was not about him: He wanted to see if he could get Naruto to come out of his reserve, and making him pissed at him was a strategy bound to work.
Well, he learned one thing. Naruto wasn't called a prankster for nothing. While at first, Naruto had become annoyed and called him out that this was serious training so he shouldn't use petty tricks to distract, he then had started countering with his own silly antics, appearing to have one hell of a time.
To top it off, Naruto, in the end, used a Jutsu that resulted in Sasuke being embarrassed and Naruto laughing his ass off at the reaction. It made Sasuke wish he had been blind that very moment, as he turned away quite reminiscent of a tomato.
It was obvious that Naruto had won that round and that Sasuke's little plan had thoroughly backfired, at least in the piss-Naruto-off aspect.
"Teme, you should have seen your face!" Naruto was still teasing him.
"You," Sasuke accusingly pointed at the blond "are weak against Genjutsu!"
Naruto just laughed at that. "I still won! And your reaction was priceless."
Sasuke huffed, "It was an exercise, no match." he then said after a pause.
"Does it really matter?" Naruto replied without missing a beat.
Sasuke moved for a mild attack. He'd had enough of talking to this idiot. Naruto was still laughing, but easily blocked. They hadn't noticed the other two approach and nearly jumped at Kakashi's "Oi".
"So, 'Sexy no Jutsu' still working wonders I see. Sakura, look how effective it was, he finally gained some colour. Great job Naruto."
Sakura looked fuming, and as Naruto's pleased expression grew (he'd just been complimented after all), Sakura's expression darkened...
"So Teme…"
And there it was, the explosion:
"Naruto! How many times do I have to tell you not to practice that stupid Jutsu! It's inappropriate and unneeded. I don't want to see it in training!" She was raising her fist but Naruto was already running away, still laughing. She took after him, leaving Kakashi and Sasuke behind alone.
"Aah, good memories." Kakashi cryptically said.
00000
A while later, they sat at Ichiraku's. Naruto was sporting a black eye, but grinning happily despite. Sai joined up and asked 'Dickless' if he'd pissed off 'Ugly' again. For which he was promptly smacked, too.
"So what did you actually do, Naruto?" He asked quietly, later… Sasuke was listening as Naruto 'whispered' (Well, really it was a stage whisper, still quite audible)...
"Sexy no Jutsu… You know, the one that got the 'Icha Icha Paradise' banished from Sakura's home…" Naruto looked around, his eyes catching Sasuke's. "... oh you haven't heard that story yet! I'll fill you in!..."
00000
Sai had just left the Nara residence, so Shikamaru moved to the training field his team would meet at later. He needed time to think and cloud-watching was the perfect activity for that. Amidst the soft grass he'd been laying down in, he let his thoughts wander to what Sai had reported. And also what the other had said (and didn't say) about the slave seal's workings.
Shikamaru had lost his advantage and he knew it. The sudden reappearance of the second Uchiha had taken away the other's need to communicate with Shikamaru. However, this brother had played into their hands somewhat, though it remained to be seen if Tatakai would go for it.
Shikamaru also knew, if Tatakai decided to become Naruto's protector and guard, then the position as mission leader would have to somehow be transferred…
Sai was not ideal due to his own background and especially due to his position as slave. Kakashi hadn't figured out enough yet, and Shikamaru could not tell him unless they wanted to lose what little trust he'd gained from Tatakai.
Sai wouldn't spill it either: While he'd let shine through that he knew, he hadn't explicitly stated which clan he referred to. In this case, it might even be that Sai knew more than him, but he wouldn't truly be able to utilize the knowledge with the seal controlling him.
Which brought him to the issue with Tatakai's seal. Sai had told him that it wasn't the same one he had. Yes, it was similar, but there were some crucial differences. Furthermore there was an agreement under slaves not to spill the seals' secrets, it was a safety measure. Sai, as Tatakai's friend, would heed this.
However, the slave confirmed that there was a punishment function that would be activated under certain circumstances that he left unexplained. Actually he'd hinted that the seal's complex workings were designed to keep a person under subjugation but not to interfere too much with possible duties.
Another thing he'd specifically mentioned was that his own seal was a special spin off from the standard seal for slaves, which Tatakai probably had. In fact, Sai's seal was constructed to support ninja duties, it was just as restrictive, if not more, but in a very different way than Tatakai's seal most likely was (Sai didn't really know, he never had the standard seal).
The whole situation had shifted and what Shikamaru had wanted to create: a somewhat evened agreement to work together, was lost. Shikamaru still held the information of Tatakai's identity over him, for which the other might, or might not be willing to agree to something to keep it under wraps. However, he had wanted to avoid pressuring the other into doing something forcedly. What little bit of trust he might have gained was still fragile and threats would destroy far more than just that bit of tolerance on the surface.
Quite honestly, if the other really agreed to go protect Naruto, it would be the better solution than what Shikamaru had been trying to build. However, even though this brother was apparently setting Tatakai up against himself instead. It could also just be a safe way of telling him of a chance to reunite. They could never be sure the other wouldn't turn on them. Slave seal or not.
For all he knew it could be an attempt to get Sai to convey the message and to find a way for Tatakai to signal how to meet. Only the fact that they apparently were Konohanians, and that the message just as easily warned them, let him wonder differently.
00000
Team Seven had a mission in the afternoon. It had been thrown upon them due to the change of weather which made the conditions ideal. While the sun had still been out early in the morning, the sky had considerably darkened over the course of the day and now there was a steady drizzle of raindrops that would occasionally swell to a real shower.
"Weeding the poison garden, how can that be an upper C-Rank? I want some real missions, dattebayo!" Naruto was complaining again.
"Because some plants are toxic in close proximity and that can be very dangerous if one doesn't know how to handle it. I used to do it alone or sometimes with Shizune or Ino when you were away."
"But weeding is boring. Why do they suddenly assign it to us, you've been doing fine on your own befo...!"
"Let's just get it done!" Tatakai interrupted, hands in his pockets, waiting impassively.
As they entered the garden and Sakura explained how they had to work around the plants Sasuke found himself musing about the prospect of them even letting him come here. He hadn't had access to poison in years. Half-formed thoughts caused pain to spike slightly. A warning not to dwell on these thoughts, these feelings. He knew, and he wouldn't. He had more important things to think about and anyway, while her behavior was annoying, she was still better than most of his previous masters. Besides that, he'd given up on trying to free himself for the time being and to give it another try right now, was less than ideal with her and the whole situation. Medic nins were hard to kill. Especially if he had only very few moments before collapsing from the pain the mere intention caused him.
No, his worry rightnow was to determine if he should follow Itachi's words. Guard Naruto, protect him from his brother. Or rather keep as far away as possible.
"...Tatakai, are you listening?" He looked up, quickly hiding the startled look. "So you weren't… Oh well, I know the intro was boring, but please pay attention now. You need to know which plants you should leave alone!" The ease with which she had brushed off his distractedness left him to wonder, but before she could start again, Naruto interrupted.
"Oh, so you hit me when I space off, but he's getting a nice second chance?"
"Naruto, it's a constant thing with you…"
"Why would they assign us to the poison garden anyway? This is the first time I even heard we had one and I'm a trusted Konoha Shinobi. I'm sure there are teams better suited for this."
"Because… I, for one, am here to supervise as I know what needs to get done and how… Ino's group is busy currently… Secondly, you heal like ridiculously fast. Even if there would be an issue of poisoning because you spaced off, you'd still have more chance than a regular Shinobi. Tatakai needs to get…"
"Sakura... " Kakashi interrupted her calmly, silently amused. "He's just trying to get around the job, so save your breath." He turned to Naruto. "And you, Naruto, will just be quiet now and get the assignment done."
Naruto looked ready to whine some more, but surprisingly managed to keep quiet, finally allowing Sakura to go on with her lecture.
"So, as I was saying… This plant over there is 'Giant Hogweed', it's highly phototoxic, which is the main reason we're here when it rains only. Don't touch it at all if possible. If it still happens, wash yourself as soon as we're done and let me check the skin. Alright next one: This is 'Foxglove' and over there we have 'Monkshood'. Here we have 'Yew' and this is 'Daphne'. You should be fine as long as you don't get any part of the plant into your system, but still be careful…" She went on about different plants and pointed out the weed as well, then Sakura assigned Naruto around the Giant Hogweed, while the rest of them were free to pick places. They settled into a quiet atmosphere while they worked...
It was the perfect time for Sasuke to get back to consider what he should do. Should he follow Itachi's words? He knew first hand how powerful his brother was… Naruto would have no chance, or would he? They never had properly challenged each other, and Sasuke hadn't been willing to go all out, either. Maybe he should give it a try… or maybe he should confront Naruto about why his brother might be interested in meeting the blond. How could he get the others to take him on all their missions anyway? They'd never let him do this just because he asked. He was not one of their trusted members. He wasn't a member of this village at all.. he was just the slave ordered to stay here.
Maybe he should involve Shikamaru. He wouldn't be surprised if Sai had reported 'that order' to someone as it involved a somewhat threat towards Naruto, a personal friend of his. Therefore it would only be a matter of time until it reached Shikamaru's ears that his brother had resurfaced. It would make a nice dent into the other's plans. It would create another imbalance in their agreement, however.
It was weird to think of how safe Sasuke finally felt with the other knowing his identity as an Uchiha. The Nara had been so insistent to make a deal instead of just turning him in. It gave Sasuke room to argue and time to try to find loopholes. And now, Shikamaru's influence was waning, Sasuke had heard from his brother without any help from the Nara, and he was glad for it.
Maybe demanding a permanent position on Team Seven could further help him wind out of Shikamaru's grasp. He wouldn't mind that. It would bear the risk of being around Sharingan-Kakashi on an even more regular basis, though, which would also make it harder to hide.
But he wanted to see his brother, if nothing else. Yes, there were burning questions that demanded an answer, but even if he could just get a visual affirmation that niisan was still alive, it would be more than he'd dared to hope for a long time. Maybe he should try to get to know the Dobe…
00000
"So what are you going to do with the money?" Naruto was asking while bouncing alongside Sasuke. They had just gotten out of the mission office and again: Without having expected it, he had received a quarter of their earnings.
What would he do with the money? He hadn't really thought about that yet. The last earn was still safely stacked in his room, forgotten underneath his sketchbook.
"I haven't thought about it yet."
"You should. I mean you can use all of it for whatever you want pretty much! Unlike me, I still gotta pay rent and food, but anyway. I'm gonna go to the ninja-gear store, I need some things from there… Wanna come?"
After the initial surprise, he found that the idea actually sounded appealing. Even if he couldn't buy any weapons right now, he could at least look at the prices to know how much he'd need.
Sasuke hummed in agreement. Maybe he should pick up the rest of his money, just in case. They stopped by Sakura's apartment and then Naruto was happily babbling about random things on the whole way to the store. Sasuke tuned him out half the time, the other didn't really seem to mind.
Once in the store, Naruto went straight for the weapons and started to grab things while mumbling...
"... throwing stars, wires, this… no... senbon? not either…" Sasuke went over to a different shelf, close enough to still hear the blond, but not actively being distracted by the other's antics.
"Hey Teme, which weapons do you prefer?" He pointed to the wall that displayed swords, different kinds of shuriken and other arms.
Sasuke skimmed over them. He'd need to swing the swords a couple of times and check the material and smithery to really judge their quality, but the price suggested they were alright. He'd also expect that to be the case from a ninja gear store within a hidden village. Though, he preferred swords directly from the forger. It was nothing he could afford, he could still humor the other with an answer though, he supposed.
"Straight swords and shuriken, kunai are useful too."
"A chokuto? But you're using a katana right now..."
"Idiot, it's not like I was able to choose."
"Che, calm down, I was just wondering. Chokuto aren't very common…" Sasuke let his eyes roam over the display further, pausing on the fuuma shuriken there. The throwing star had a decimeter of at least two feet when unfolded. It took him back to times where the world had still seemed whole and his brother's watchful eyes still innocent as he supervised Sasuke's practice with the weapon in question. Itachi's had been smaller than this one, so small that he had been able to use it back then, back before his childhood had ended.
"...Tatakai?" Naruto had moved and was looking at him expectantly.
"Hn." Sasuke caught up, but it was obvious that Naruto had taken note of his spacing off.
"So are you going to buy anything?"
Right. Naruto was busying himself with looking through the shelves, so Sasuke continued to look through them as well.
He finally found the item of interest hidden in the clothing section in the form of wide inconspicuous wrist bands.
"What's that for?" Naruto joined him at the counter. Sasuke paid wordlessly and then instead of gracing the other with a reply, he left the store.
"Hey, wait!" Naruto caught up and then they were walking down the street.
"Dobe, eat with us. Let's spar afterwards!"
"You're inviting me?"
"Hn"
"Seriously?"
"Hn"
The idiot's steps were bouncy on the whole way back.
00000
Sakura had been surprised when Tatakai had actually brought Naruto home with him. She could have sworn that the blond annoyed him enough that he wouldn't want to be in his presence any longer than necessary. Well, maybe she had misjudged Tatakai's behavior… Naruto had this way to grow on people.
The blond had disappeared for a short moment before helping to prepare the food. Then, after they had eaten up, he placed a bag in front of Tatakai. It had the brand from the ninja gear store on it.
"I know you don't have the money and borrowing weapons just sucks. This is what a Genin usually starts out with. Consider it my welcome gift into our team."
Sakura could see Tatakai's eyes widen momentarily before he hid the surprise under a blank stare. He raised his gaze to Naruto who returned it expectantly.
"Come on, unpack!"
Finally the one in question slowly raised his hand to the bag, unfolding it carefully. Sakura witnessed how he pulled out a leg pocket with a set of kunai and the accompanying leg wrap. His lips twitched, but he said nothing as he dug into the bag again to reveal a set of standard shuriken, a roll of ninja wire, and exploding tags. He carefully set them to the side, ignoring both Naruto and Sakura, probably uncomfortable with them watching him. He seemed to have gotten to the bottom of the bag, attempting to dislodge something when he paused, shifting to look at Naruto.
"You seemed to like it in the store. I couldn't afford a chokuto, and I don't want to disregard Sai's present either, so I thought to give you this instead." Naruto smiled genuinely while Tatakai's eyebrows furrowed in scepticism.
"Why?"
"Because I understand how it is like… And that's why I want to be your friend! Now, you mentioned sparring, wanna try these out?"
"Hn"
So that was it? Tatakai hadn't even said thanks. But for Naruto, the matter seemed closed. Tatakai had returned everything into the bag and was steering to his room. Naruto followed him right away. Only after both boys had disappeared Sakura realized that she hadn't seen that last present in the bag.
00000
Naruto was currently waiting for the other to get ready. Tatakai had laid out all he had gotten on his bed and was strapping the kunai holster to his leg. A short moment later, he grabbed one of his suspicious wristbands, laying them out before him.
"So, what are they for?"
Tatakai shot him an annoyed look while he turned around to get his pen from the drawer. The blond now looked closely to see what the other would do, witnessing as the other started to draw patterns on the floor. The patterns circled the bands and the other even went as far as drawing on it. As he went on, it became clear that he was drawing a seal.
Finally the slave laid the pen down and moved his fingers into a series of seals, then slammed his hand flat onto the wristband. Simultaneously there was a whispered word and the patterns were being sucked into the wristband below his palm. Naruto stared at the perfectly centered seal that was revealed on the wristband.
"That was an advanced seal! What's it do?"
"Weapon storage."
"Ooh, that's so cool. I think Tenten uses those, too. It's like a combination of storage and summoning seals, isn't it?"
"I just know how to do it. Now let me do the other one." He grabbed the second bracelet and repeated the whole process. Naruto watched closely this time, curious.
"I was right!" he shouted as soon as the other had removed his hand from the new seal. The other sighed while putting on the first wristband. Following, Naruto witnessed the throwing stars disappearing into seemingly thin air. The fuuma shuriken disappeared there as well and then Tatakai finally declared himself ready with a curt nod.
They, or rather, Naruto only, wished Sakura a pleasant evening while they let themselves out.
00000
Naruto was a true chatterbox, as Sasuke newly discovered. The other had apparently read his sealing runes and not only figured out that it indeed was a combination of the sealing techniques he mentioned, but had also deduced that he would not need blood to activate them.
And while that was quite impressive, Sasuke simply didn't care. Itachi had shown him the technique once and he had copied it with the Sharingan, end of story.
Sasuke led them to the Uchiha complex, knowing they'd have peace there to do as they pleased. He was curious if he could get the other out of his reserves (though he wouldn't go full on out since he rather kept his most powerful techniques secret a little while longer).
Turned out he couldn't. It seemed like Naruto simply enjoyed meeting the level he provided and while they both felt this fight to be closer to the deadly sort than before, it really was still a spar.
The other had no trouble keeping up with the slave's speed. Sasuke of course wasn't using his Sharingan and did wonder how that would tip the odds. Despite the apparent idiocy the other displayed most of the time, Sasuke had to admit he was good.
But would it be enough against Itachi? Not even Sasuke's most powerful techniques had been enough to incapacitate his brother. And he must have gotten better as well in the meantime. Unlike him.
In other words, Sasuke wouldn't be able to protect Naruto. He might only postpone whatever Itachi would do. Naruto probably wouldn't have a chance, either, even if he was more powerful than he let on.
Their sensei seemed competent in his teaching methods, but fighting Itachi was a completely different level. And being a non-Uchiha with the Sharingan had to have its drawbacks.
They moved in a dance. Deadly to the outside eye but just alright for the both of them. Sasuke was pushing possible limits, but Naruto seemed to just get it and so the level increased steadily. It was almost addictive.
Itachi had done this, too, but fighting Naruto was different. He lacked Itachi's coldness and there were no associations of hatred driving him. Still, he was slowly unveiling Naruto's strengths and weaknesses. Naruto had a stamina like no other, but appeared to have trouble recognizing even (or maybe especially) simple illusions. He would notice them eventually, but too slow in Sasuke's opinion. It was quite the opposite from Sakura, which somehow amused him. It would not really matter at all against Itachi's Kekkei Genkai anyway. Not even he, Sasuke, had a chance as he was now.
It was nice though. Fighting Itachi had often felt like the other was just playing with him. Fighting Naruto wasn't, he was having fun. Yeah, he wasn't giving it his all either, just like Sasuke didn't. But the enthusiasm the other put into their fight, opposed to his Nii-san's cold calculations, was a nice change of routines.
They kept at it, slowly settling into a comfortably interesting level of challenge. Sharing insults and little provocations along the way. It was so exhilaratingly distracting that it took Sasuke a whole while to properly notice the presence that had settled near their clearing. When it fully sank in just whom he could feel standing there, a chilling sensation ran down his arms, he whipped around to face the threat.
"Kisame!" Sasuke spat. "What are you doing here?"
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A/N: Well, I apologize for my attitude last time, and thank you all for the support! A special thanks to:
Nackmu (who started proofreading my older chapters with me and it's working wonders)
Robin371(I took your words to heart and thought a lot about how my summary represents my story and finally found the courage to completely revise it. It took a lot of time and thinking to get it to the wording it is now, (hopefully more fitting) and I have to thank you for pointing it out! Also, I need to slow down with writing anyway, so yeah, I'm going to push myself a bit less, and hope that it will add to the quality, and keep the fun I have with writing it at the top!)
Fugitivus (For your continued support and reviews!)
Jena (your review that I would have loved to thank in a pm as well. so officially thank you! What you said means a lot to me and yes, the identity reveal, I don't know how it will happen yet, but it will come eventually and it will be a ton of fun to write.
Pfft (Your name made me smile! thank you for acknowledging my story)
and finally the three Guests who have reviewed. Thank you so much for that!
As to the real life happenings on the author side of life: I'll literally marry in two weeks! Believe it! My wedding dress is finished (sewn by myself with loooots of help from a friend) and I'm more or less ready. I'm so excited… but it also means honey moon, which means no writing time… Just as a warning, it might take me a little while longer to update, I won't push and hush with writing the next chapter, rather keep the quality up. I'm surprised I even got this out now(20 pages, it's crazy).
I also am putting a band together, hoping to start around August which means I'll dedicate more time to music again. don't worry though, I will keep writing, just maybe at a slightly slower pace.
Back to story matters: I'm very curious if anyone figured out how the slave seal works already... it's been fun to hint at it
Anyway, thank you all who are reading this story
Review please?