EPISODE TWO: Teammates!
Another pointless D-class mission completed, Hyuuga Neji thought as he left the briefing room, pointedly ignoring Gai and Lee's boisterous exclamations of joy at their success. When the rest of the team turned right, he turned left and wandered down the hallway. By now, the others were used to this behavior, so none of them called after him. After missions—particularly after stupid grocery shopping missions that lasted until 8PM—Neji liked to relax. Being around Gai and Lee could not be anybody's idea of relaxation.
Neji's meandering halted immediately when he heard the sharp sound of unhurried footsteps echoing in the hall. It was too late for a visitor to be requesting a mission, and ninjas always moved silently... unless they wanted to be heard. A ninja who makes a lot of noise while walking slowly almost certainly intends to announce his arrival, Neji thought. That probably meant a leader of one of the great clans was approaching. Out of habit, Neji ducked into an open doorway and glanced down the hall just in time to see Uchiha Nori stepping into the briefing room.
Neji hated the main house of the Hyuuga above all other families in Konoha, but his distant relatives the Uchihas came in a close second. Their air of smug superiority, particularly when it came to their vaunted Sharingan—a mere parlor trick compared to the power of the Byakugan—constantly infuriated him. When the head of such a boastful clan stomped his way into a room, it could only mean he intended to demand something.
Though he doubted the knowledge could be of any use to him, Neji decided that he should not squander the opportunity Fate had provided. He silently sprinted down the hall and pressed himself against the wall a few feet from the door—close enough to hear, but out of sight.
"...worried you might have gone home already," the Uchiha was saying. "I trust your injuries are not serious, Umino-san."
"I'll be fine in a few days, Uchiha-sama," another voice replied—Neji recognized it as belonging to one of the men who served as Academy teachers and aides to the Hokage. Akira? Yuurika? Something like that. "Thank you for your concern."
"I apologize," the Uchiha clan leader said, "but my purpose in visiting is not entirely social. There is something I must discuss with you."
"Please continue."
"It concerns Uzumaki Naruto..."
Umino sighed, and interjected, "Uchiha-sama, with all due respect, there is nothing to discuss. I have been approached about this matter three times already today, and I will tell you what I told Inuzuka-san, Yamanaka-san, and Umimori-san: Naruto-kun must belong to a group for the final stage of the genin exam. I am aware of your concerns, but I will not consider your dislike for a certain boy when arranging the teams—only the abilities of the children are relevant."
"Please hear me out, Umino-san," the Uchiha said, "I am not here to demand that Uzumaki-kun be kept away from my son. Quite the opposite, in fact. I would like to request that he be placed on a team with Sasuke."
"Request... with your son..?" Umino murmured, then seemed to collect himself. "Forgive me, Uchiha-sama," he said, "I should not have assumed..."
"I am not offended," the clan leader interjected. "I can only imagine the trouble some of the less-enlightened families of the village have put you through."
What an ass, Neji thought, struggling to restrain a disgusted snort.
"When I learned of what happened last night," the Uchiha continued, "I realized that I had been among those who left the boy to fend for himself in the face of that kind of ignorance. I feel I have served the Yondaime's legacy poorly, and would like to make amends."
Neji recognized this as a lie, but Umino was apparently fooled. "So you want to keep an eye on Naruto-kun?" he asked.
"More than that, Umino-san," the Uchiha said, now laying it on very thick. "I hope to provide him with the support of the Uchiha clan. The adolescent years are very tumultuous, doubly so when a boy lacks the support of a family. If I can provide that for Uzumaki-kun, then perhaps I shall atone for my earlier oversight."
The room was silent for several moments, and then Umino said, "Well, I'll take this request into consideration, Uchiha-sama. The balancing of the teams must be my first priority, but in all honesty I was already thinking of placing Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun together. I think I will be able to fulfill your request."
"Thank you, Umino-san," the clan leader said, "for this, and for your excellent work instructing my son. You are a great asset to this village."
"Thank you, Uchiha-sama."
Sensing the meeting was at an end, Neji retreated into a doorway again, listening as the Uchiha's loud footsteps faded down the hallway. Uzumaki Naruto, Neji thought, I'm going to have to find out more about you. He permitted himself a tight grin. And you too, Uchiha Sasuke, he added.
"May I eat lunch with you, Sasuke-kun?" a bright soprano voice asked, and Sasuke turned to say no. Girls were constantly asking to have lunch with him, but if he said yes then they spent the whole time staring and blushing rather than eating or talking. That sort of behavior always made him nervous, and after a few tries, he'd adopted a policy of always refusing.
When Sasuke noticed that the speaker was Haruno Sakura, however, he changed his mind and said, "Very well." After all, it wouldn't be prudent to start off on the wrong foot with both of his teammates.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, blushing slightly as she sat next to Sasuke, then opened her lunch and began to eat. After a few bites she said, "I'm sorry about all that trouble with Naruto. He's such a jerk."
"Yes," Sasuke agreed, shuddering as he thought of the kissing incident during the team assignment meeting. He scooped up a clump of rice and swallowed it, wondering why the annoying blonde had done such a thing. He also wondered what he'd done to deserve having that idiot assigned to his team. "It is a great misfortune that we were assigned with him," he commented.
"I know," Sakura agreed. "That guy doesn't know how to behave at all. I suppose it's because he doesn't have any parents—if I did half the things he does, my mother would never let me hear the end of it."
"It would go similarly with my father," Sasuke said, after swallowing a mouthful. "Still, even though he's not entirely to blame, I can't excuse Naruto's behavior. Those that lack discipline don't deserve to become ninjas."
"And besides, he's so stupid," Sakura added. "I mean, do you remember what happened when he tried to transform into Sandaime-sama? God, what an idiot! And always going on about how he'll become Hokage someday. He'll be lucky to become a street sweeper!"
Despite his self-control, Sasuke snorted out a short laugh. "Well, let us hope we do not suffer for his stupidity," he said. Then he held up a warning hand as he saw a flash of motion on the academy roof. Sakura fell silent as the two of them watched Naruto clamber over the tiles and sit down on the edge.
"Do you think he can hear us?" Sakura asked.
"I very much doubt it," Sasuke replied, "Still, it would better serve us not to discuss this too much longer. He might see us and move closer suddenly."
"I wonder what he's up to..."
Sasuke shrugged and turned back to his bento. "Who can say why that person does anything?" he asked. "We should be grateful that he is only staring into space instead of causing more trouble."
"Do you think he's planning something?"
Sasuke shrugged, then turned to follow Naruto's gaze. He seemed to be staring at the balcony where Team 8 was eating lunch together. Sasuke supposed they could be targets, but when he glanced back at the blonde Sasuke saw that his expression held none of the poorly-disguised anticipation it usually did when he was about to cause trouble. Instead, he looked wistful, and maybe even... sad. Sasuke shook his head—that idiot's problems were no concern of his. "I do not believe he intends to do anything untoward," he said. "Not at the moment, at least."
To Sasuke's surprise, there was a moment where Sakura looked almost disappointed. Then she smiled and said, "Well, I think we should be close allies. With Naruto on our team, we'll have to work extra-hard just to keep up with everyone else." She stretched out her hand towards him.
Sasuke nodded, smirking as he wrapped his hand around her slender, uncallused fingers. "I agree," he said.
"So when do you get out of here, Hiroshi?" Itachi asked, stretching as he left the small, uncomfortable hospital chair.
"Three days," Hiroshi replied, "but I'm supposed to stay out of action for another month. These spinal injuries are a drag."
Itachi smirked—even with advanced healing jutsus, spinal fractures were difficult for the medic-nins to cure. Hiroshi, however, never let anything keep him down for long; the medics had said he'd be in the hospital for two years when they admitted him six months ago. "I'm sure you'll be killing missing-nin in two weeks at the outside," the Uchiha heir said. "Anyway, I'll take you out once you're released—we'll drink and remember old times."
"Ah, Itachi," Hiroshi said, "All my 'old times' happened before you were born!"
Itachi smirked and stepped out into the busy hallway, barely avoiding a collision with a running orderly. Dodging that accident caused another, however, as he bumped into one of the medic-nins and sent her sprawling.
"My deepest apologies," Itachi said, helping the medic to her feet. With a glance, he took in as much of her appearance as he could—short brown hair, tan skin, dark eyes—though much was obscured by the bulky and almost shapeless medic-nin garb. Still, what he saw was enough to identify her. "Akabara-san," he concluded without missing a beat.
The medic blushed. "I'm surprised you remember me, Uchiha-san," she said.
"Well, it's not every day that I see my little brother speaking with a gorgeous woman," Itachi replied, flirting effortlessly. "I tend to remember those."
"Oh, how is Sasuke-kun doing?" Akabara asked, her eyes revealing the sincerity of her interest.
"He's meeting his team for the first time today," Itachi replied. "He's very excited."
"I remember how it felt," Akabara said. She was quiet for a minute, then added, "I am going to miss him."
"I'm sure you'll have other students to dote on," Itachi said.
"Oh, no... my internship at the school has ended," the young lady explained. "I'm a full-fledged medic now, so I'll be working at the hospital unless I'm needed for field duty. Besides, I'm very fond of your brother... the way he smiles..."
"He smiles for you?" Itachi asked, his vague interest in the woman growing sharper. "Then you are a special lady. You must call me Itachi," he said, examining her more closely. The body was still obscured, but the thinness of her face, the very faint lines around her eyes, spoke of past sadness. Yet these marks had seemed to fade entirely when she mentioned Sasuke.
"Then call me Chikako... Itachi-san."
"Gladly," Itachi said. At that moment, a loud groan sounded from one of the rooms on the hall.
"Sorry," Chikako said, grabbing a sheaf of needles from a cart, "My duty calls."
"As does mine," Itachi said, remembering that he had an appointment with the Hokage in half an hour. "I hope we'll meet again, Chikako-san... perhaps in more relaxing circumstances?"
"I think I'd like that, Itachi-san." Then she was gone, dodging orderlies and staggering patients as she made her way towards a room with a flashing light over its door.
"He smiles for her," Itachi murmured as he watched her go. "Will wonders never cease."
"We should begin," Kakashi said, leaning against the rail, "with some introductions. Nothing too elaborate, just... your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies... whatever." Silently, he cursed himself for rambling. Kakashi hadn't expected Naruto's appearance to shake him so much, but there he was, looking (and acting! God, that eraser trick...) just like a miniature version of Yondaime-sensei. He'd need a stiff drink after this, that was for sure.
"Why don't you go first, sensei?" the girl asked sweetly. Kakashi frowned at her, but of course the mask prevented her from noticing. The school reports had indicated she was a bit of a teacher's pet, but he hadn't expected her to be so obvious about it.
"Well," he said, "my name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm not really interested in telling you what I like or don't like, though I will say I have many hobbies. My dreams... well, those are secret." The girl blinked, and Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Jounin 1, annoying brats 0, he thought, then said, "Now it's your turn."
"Oh! Oh! I'll go!" the blonde said, and Kakashi forced himself to merely shrug. Letting his interest in the boy show could only lead to problems later—in the unlikely event that there was any 'later' for this team. Judging from the aloof way the Uchiha boy and the girl looked at Naruto, it was unlikely they'd figure out his exam.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" the blonde said, tugging on his headband—obviously something he deeply treasured, poor kid. "I like ramen! Especially the Ichiraku ramen Iruka-sensei buys me sometimes! I hate the way... I hate waitin' three minutes for cup noodles to cook! And my dream is to become Hokage! To have all the villagers recognize me as a great ninja!"
What was it you meant to say that you hated? Kakashi wondered, though he knew enough to guess.
"Um... hobbies," Naruto continued, "Well, I suppose playin' pranks."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, and the kid had the decency to look embarrassed. "How interesting," the jounin said, then pointed at the girl and added, "Your turn."
"My name is Haruno Sakura," the girl said. "I like..." she trailed off, giggling, and glanced at the Uchiha, then blushed deeply. The boy blushed too, when he figured out what she was too embarrassed to say. "My dreams..." she glanced at the boy again, setting off another annoying round of mutual blushing.
"Is there anything you hate?" Kakashi prompted, noting to himself that the girl would almost certainly be a big problem for the team if it lasted beyond tomorrow. Assuming the Uchiha boy resisted her advances, there would be obvious strain, and if he returned her affection... Well, judging from the way Naruto looked at her, that would produce an even larger problem: romantic rivalry.
"Things I hate?" the girl asked. "Well, I hate that pig Ino... and Naruto."
The blonde looked desolate for a moment, but then his face settled back into an inquisitive grin. Kakashi wondered if Sakura's remark had really rolled off so easily, or if the blonde was simply skilled at hiding his emotions. Kakashi shrugged and signaled to the last member of the team.
"I am called Uchiha Sasuke," the pale, dark-haired boy said quietly. "I enjoy my brother's company, and hard training. I dream that one day I will become a strong ninja like my brother and fight at his side in the elite forces. In my spare time, I learn all the jutsus I can—I have no other hobbies. As for things I hate... well, I hate liars. And I guess... I hate Naruto, too."
For just an instant, so briefly that Kakashi wouldn't have caught it if his attention had actually been on the Uchiha, the blonde looked positively murderous. Then his former smile returned, though there was a feral glint in the eyes above that cheerful grin that made Kakashi nervous. I wonder if you made a mistake, sensei, Kakashi thought, staring at those eyes, I wonder if I will be the one to pay for it.
"Well then," he said, "now that we know each other, allow me to describe our mission for tomorrow..."
"Followed six missing-nins into Nation of Lightning. Killed them," the Sandaime read from the torn strip of paper on his desk. He looked up and frowned at the young man lounging on one of the room's cushions. "This hardly qualifies as a proper report, Itachi-kun," he admonished.
"Ask anyone on my team," Itachi replied, "You'll find that it's completely accurate."
"I am not concerned about the accuracy," the Sandaime said evenly. "I am, however, somewhat disturbed by the absence of detail. Your mission lasted five months..."
"And I included every relevant event in my report. Including 150 days worth of weather reports won't make that statement one bit more useful."
The Hokage frowned, though he knew it wouldn't have any effect on the Uchiha heir. Their indebtedness to each other made respect a difficult tool to use on the young man. The Sandaime sighed and asked, "Could I at least prevail upon you to use the appropriate form?" He waved the muddy strip of paper in the air for effect.
"Fine," Itachi drawled, "I suppose if it's absolutely necessary..."
"It is," the Sandaime said. "I can't afford to be showing you any favoritism right now; not with Hiashi trying to stir up trouble among the clans over that business with Naruto."
Itachi's relaxed demeanor vanished at the mention of the Hyuuga clan leader. "How much trouble?" he asked.
"Not a great deal," the Hokage explained, "Hiashi knows he can't make any promises to kill or banish Naruto, so he's only causing trouble to use it as leverage on other issues. He doesn't seem to know about your father's request, so he's acting as if the Uchiha are—or will soon be—on his side."
"I'll mention that to father. He'd relish the chance to cut the Hyuuga down to size—publicly, if possible."
"See what you can do," the Sandaime said. "Has the crone told you anything of importance?" he asked.
"I've had no chance to speak to her alone since I returned," Itachi replied. "I'm hoping for a visit tonight."
The Sandaime nodded—he owed Itachi a great debt of gratitude for defying his clan and secretly revealing the existence of the crone to him. He often wondered, though, whether the Uchiha heir had done so on the old woman's orders. Regardless, the Sandaime meant to repay the favor. "As you requested, I've placed you on defensive rotation," he told Itachi, "You won't have any required missions outside of the Fire Country for at least a year. Officially, you'll be on call in case of emergency. In peaceful times like these, however, you probably won't even need to leave the village."
Itachi smiled slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said, "I've missed my family greatly these past few months." He stood up, bowed to the old man, and began to leave, but paused at the door and turned back. "I have a request," he announced.
"Yes?"
"I think Sasuke will become a genin after tomorrow's secondary test, even if Kakashi is his instructor," Itachi explained. "If that happens, I would like you... I would like you to go slowly with his missions. He's not as strong as he thinks he is, and I don't want him to get hurt."
The Sandaime frowned. "I will take it into consideration," he replied, "but it is my duty to see to it that the village's ninjas are ready for battle. Sasuke will never improve if he isn't challenged. All ninjas take risks—remember that."
Itachi stiffened at the soft rebuke, but nodded again and left.
"Protective, isn't he?" the Hokage muttered. "That could be very useful indeed..."
Sasuke sat on a bench in the Uchiha clan gardens, aimlessly drawing designs in the walkway gravel with his toe. There was a rush of wind, and he felt an arm around his shoulder almost before he noticed his brother's arrival. "Show-off," he muttered as Itachi mussed his hair, and retaliated by poking his brother in the ribs.
"So... how do you like your new teammates?" Itachi asked.
"Ugh," Sasuke said, "Don't even get me started."
"That bad, huh?"
"Well, there's a girl, Sakura," Sasuke explained, "who's way behind in her physical skills. She knows plenty of jutsus, but she's too weak to do any of them all that well. And she..."
"Yes..?"
"I think she has a crush on me," Sasuke muttered, feeling his face heat up.
"Wow! My little brother has his first girlfriend!" Itachi said, folding his hands under his chin. "It's so romantic!"
"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, blushing even more. "She's not my girlfriend."
"Riiight," Itachi said, winking at Sasuke, "'Not my girlfriend'... I've heard that line before."
"She's not!" Sasuke protested.
"Fine. So what about your other teammate?"
"He's even worse!" Sasuke said. "Uzumaki Naruto—he was the worst student in the Academy, and he's loud, and I can't stand him! He's always pulling pranks and doing stupid things. I mean, this morning he climbed up on a desk and got right in my face, glaring at me like I should care who he is, and then he sort of fell towards me and..." Sasuke trailed off, not really interested in reliving that particular moment.
"And..?"
"Andhekissedme," Sasuke blurted, adding, "It was an accident!" when Itachi burst out laughing.
"Maybe I spoke too soon!" Itachi roared, "my brother has a boyfriend!"
"Gah! Shut up!" Sasuke shouted, "I didn't want it to happen! My first kiss got wasted on a loser... you think I wanted that?"
It took several minutes before Itachi calmed down. When he was finally settled again, he asked, "So he does things like that all the time?"
"Yeah, he's always causing trouble or playing stupid pranks. Sakura thinks it's because he doesn't have any parents... so he can do whatever he wants. I guess it's nice, not having a mom or dad always on your case."
Without quite remembering how he got there, Sasuke found himself sitting on the walkway, his ear throbbing with pain. Almost as soon as he realized that Itachi had cuffed him hard enough to knock him off the bench, Sasuke felt himself being moved, and ended up in his brother's lap. Itachi kissed his stung ear, and a bit of the ache ebbed away.
"I just hit you on the ear," Itachi noted, his arms wrapping themselves loosely around Sasuke's torso, "and then I pulled you into my lap, where I could hold you and kiss you."
"Yeah, I noticed," Sasuke said, leaning into his brother's body.
"When you're part of a family, Sasuke, you receive more than discipline... you receive love, too. Not having one means that Naruto hasn't had the other either."
"I... I'm not sure I understand."
"You missed me when I was gone, right?"
"Of course!" Sasuke said. He'd been absolutely miserable, especially since everyone else in the clan treated him—as usual—with nothing more than a grudging tolerance. He never wanted for food or shelter, but nobody ever hugged him or asked how his day went. Only Itachi ever bothered to do those sorts of things.
"Even though the rest of the clan was around, you were unhappy because I was gone?"
"Yeah..."
"So imagine if they hadn't been here... if there was no Uchiha clan. Just you. Mother, Father, me... pretend none of us existed. Imagine I'd gone away and was never coming back."
Sasuke tried to envision life without Itachi, without even the hope that he'd return. "I can't," he admitted after a few moments.
"And I can't imagine life without you," Itachi said, "but I'm pretty sure I'd be lonely, all the time. Naruto's life is like that. Nobody's there to cuff him on the ear when he does something wrong, but nobody's there to hug and kiss him when he hurts either. That kind of loneliness must be much more painful than any punishment a parent could administer."
Sasuke stared at the gravel, wondering if that was really true. "I still don't like him," he said after a moment.
"You don't have to like your teammates," Itachi said, "you just have to work with them. Give him a chance, Sasuke... who knows, this Naruto guy might become your best friend."
"You're my best friend," Sasuke protested.
"I thought I was your brother."
"You're both, Ta-chan," Sasuke said, hugging Itachi.
"Same goes for me, Sa-chan," Itachi said, returning the hug, and lightly kissing Sasuke's cheek.
Basking in the affection his brother gave him, Sasuke sighed happily and wondered, Could I really live without this?
"Where is your father, Itachi-kun?" the crone asked as the clan leader's elder son stepped into the tiny room that had been her home for decades.
"Nori has gone into the village," Itachi replied, pulling the small chair up next to the bed and taking the woman's hand. Her thin, arthritic fingers clamped onto him tightly, the poorly-trimmed nails almost digging into his skin. "Hyuuga Hiashi has organized an informal meeting to create public outrage about the Uzumaki boy; father intends to cut his feet out from under him."
"A wise choice," the crone said, "The black strand of the Hyuuga grows fainter—it is rotting from within."
"What does that mean for Konoha?" Itachi asked.
"A great change comes to Konoha... to all villages. The Weave is disrupted—many strands snap, as if a great knife has sliced through our world. Those that remain draw together, but beyond that I cannot see. Endless possibilities... many paths lead to the end of all things, great impenetrable darkness..."
After the old woman had been silent for several minutes, Itachi asked, "What can we do? What shall I tell the Sandaime?"
"We can do little now," the crone said, her sightless eyes fixed on the ceiling, "He who wields the knife has disguised himself, even from me. His power is... strange, unlike ninja techniques, but similar... I cannot see his black strand, and I cannot see him." Then her fingers dug into Itachi's hand and the old woman sat up, her sightless eyes staring eerily into his own. "The Uzumaki boy, he is the key," she hissed, "we must hold him close to our clan..."
"Ume told me," Itachi said, "She listened while you spoke to Father and sneaked away afterwards. You should know that he got Uzumaki onto Sasuke's genin team."
"I did not tell Nori everything," the crone said, falling back into the cushions again. "I could not tell him everything," she continued, "I spoke to him only of the white and black strands. But another... another binds Uzumaki to us."
"Which strand?"
"Red. It is the red strand, which is love."
"Love? But Sasuke hates him!"
"It may not be Sasuke that loves him."
"Well, I'm not going to fall for a 12-year-old boy... I'm straight, for one thing, and not into pre-pubescent kids either. Ume, though... she's not too much older..."
"It may not be romantic love that I see," the old woman said, "The Weave shimmers around Uzumaki; its shape is difficult to ascertain. I can only speak in generalities."
"So why didn't you tell this to father?"
"Because it might be romantic love... certainly Nori-kun would think of that at first, just as you did," the crone whispered. "If I told him of it, he might ignore his duty to the clan and get rid of Naruto."
"Why?"
The crone was silent for several minutes, and then said, "Because, decades ago, your father was with someone other than your mother. But the clan needed an heir, and at my urging, your father abandoned the man he loved and married a woman he did not... a woman I chose, who became your mother. So you understand, Itachi-kun, why my demands for him to facilitate love would infuriate him."
"I never knew you were such a manipulator," Itachi said.
"Then you have learned a valuable lesson, Itachi-kun," the old woman said, "When you command your ANBU team, you succeed by telling your soldiers what you want them to do. When you command a clan, or a village, you succeed by telling the people what you want them to know." She sighed and continued, "The chief difficulty in my predictions is that in many cases, those who become aware of the Weave change their destiny. So I must limit what I reveal if my sight is to have any use."
What have you kept from me? Itachi wondered, gazing at the wrinkled figure on the bed. Despite his questions, though, Itachi knew he had little time before his father would return, and there would be hell to pay if he was discovered here. "What should I tell the Sandaime?"
"None of what I have just told you. The disruption of the Weave, Uzumaki's part in this clan... they belong to a future in which he does not exist. So tell him this: I am dying. My time grows very short—as does his."
Itachi nodded and stood, disentangling his hand from the crone's. With a gentle pat to her shoulder, he turned to leave, but stopped when the old woman called to him.
"Itachi-kun, you must not tell your brother about my predictions for Naruto. Such a move could ruin everything, and destroy our family."
"I will obey you."
"Also, tell the Sandaime something else... Tell him... A monkey that fights a viper will surely die... but if the monkey is clever enough, the viper will also die."
Itachi blinked at the cryptic statement, but nodded his head and said, "I will inform him of your words."
"Goodbye, Itachi-kun," the old woman said as the Uchiha heir started up the stairs. "We will not meet again."
