Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto and various companies. No money is being made from this story, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Back to poor, confused Sasuke. And some speculation on the mechanics of chakra and ninjutsu, because I am constitutionally incapable of writing stories in which people use "magic" without trying to work out a rational system to explain the effects. (Also, I just like oceans.)
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Contracts
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Wave Country is very different from Sasuke's memories. The mainland port is bursting with life, as people move food, spices, cloth, pots, furniture, stone, wood, art, rugs, and hundreds of other likely and unlikely trade items back and forth over the Great Naruto Bridge.
"One bridge really made this much difference?" Sakura murmurs as they perch on a slanted rooftop, hidden behind elaborate ridgepole sculptures and painted grillwork on top of a row of dormer windows. She's leaning against something that resembles a lightning rod crossed with a giant squid, resting an arm on one curved bar of blue and scarlet iron; her other hand hovers near her pocket. Sasuke tries not to watch her hands too obviously.
"Old man Tazuna says it's because the bay is too shallow for the big trade ships, but with a bridge it's easy to move stuff out to the deep-water ports on the far side of the islands," Naruto says, scratching behind his ear. "But mostly I think it's just that we got rid of Gato, and they feel really proud of helping. They go around telling everyone how great Wave Country is, and it's kinda hard not to start believing them and wanting to pitch in. And the beaches are really nice, so they get a lot of tourists and stuff too."
"Beaches? Suddenly Jiraiya-san's travel itinerary makes much more sense," Sakura says dryly.
Naruto rocks back on his heels, arms spread wide to keep his balance on the steeply pitched roof. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe how hard it was to make that old pervert stick his eyes back in his head and actually teach me new jutsu."
"Trust me," Sakura says, "I believe you."
Sasuke digs through his memory. Jiraiya, one of Orochimaru's old teammates... that loud, white-haired man with the absurd headdress who argued with Kakashi after Naruto destroyed a hospital water tower with Rasengan. Jiraiya taught that jutsu to the moron. And apparently he's been traveling with Naruto since Sasuke left Konoha.
Sasuke huffs thoughtfully to himself. If Naruto's really more controlled now -- and he's certainly been quieter on this journey -- then maybe he won't get in the way when Itachi comes. Because Itachi will come; Sakura was right about that. That man and his shadowy companions are hunting demons. Sooner or later Naruto will slip up, someone will notice him, gossip will travel... and Itachi will come.
What Sasuke resented most during his time in Hidden Sound was Orochimaru's refusal to let him take real missions outside the village. The self-proclaimed Otokage didn't want his new body damaged, which was understandable, Sasuke supposes, but still frustrating. He needs to take missions, needs to be seen, needs to build a reputation so that man will come looking for him.
It wasn't as though he'd be in any danger, not with the curse seal and Orochimaru's lessons, but Orochimaru is a peculiar mix of reckless bravado and ridiculously excessive caution. He tends -- no, tended -- to lean toward caution when dealing with Sasuke, probably afraid he'd leave the Sound the same way he left the Leaf. Orochimaru didn't want to lose the Sharingan before he had a chance to use it.
Naruto and Sakura aren't paranoid around Sasuke. Careful, yes -- but not because they're afraid of him, or even because they're afraid he'll leave. He's still not certain what their reasons are -- it makes no sense to try forgiving him just because they happened to be a team three years ago -- but if anything, they seem to be afraid for him, as if he's wounded or hacking up his lungs with some wasting disease.
"Hey, hey, bastard! You awake? We have a bridge to cross."
Sasuke frowns reflexively at Naruto, but follows the moron across the twilit roofs, slipping from shadow to shadow until they have only one large, open square between them and the bridge.
"On top or underneath?" Sakura asks.
Naruto shrugs. "Whatever. It's not like people are going to be surprised seeing shinobi around here."
"Underneath," Sasuke says, before he really thinks about it. Their heads snap around, and now he can read them easily: Sasuke volunteered an opinion? Without being asked? Without insulting us or acting superior?
He suppresses a smirk; they've changed so much, but they haven't changed at all.
"Or we could try water-walking," he adds, watching Naruto.
"What! Are you crazy, you stupid bastard? You can't walk on the ocean! It's too big! It moves too much! The chakra won't balance for more than a second!" Naruto waves his arms from his perch on a narrow chimney, slapping a startled pigeon and nearly overbalancing.
Sasuke folds his arms; this time he lets the smirk cross his face. "Sounds like a challenge to me."
Naruto's eyes narrow. "Oh, no, you're not gonna get me this time. I don't care how many jutsu you copy -- there's no way to walk on the ocean, and you're not gonna make me get wet."
"Loser."
"Oh yeah? Let's see you try it!" Naruto lunges forward, drags Sasuke in a controlled slide down the house walls, and starts tugging him around the cobblestone square before a delicate hand slaps down where Naruto holds Sasuke's fingers prisoner.
"Both of you, stop."
Naruto starts whining, trying to soften Sakura's frown, but Sasuke isn't listening. He stares at that small, narrow-fingered hand and tries not to move. Her skin is rough from gardening, from gripping weapons, from breaking stone. Her fingertips are a mass of callus and scars from seals and summonings. The last three times she touched him, she warded his curse seal, slammed his head against a metal gurney, and knocked him unconscious with medical ninjutsu. He doesn't dare move.
Naruto isn't moving his hand either, but that's probably because he's not paying attention, or because he likes having Sakura touch him. The moron always was kind of stupid around her.
Sasuke frowns. Naruto did love Sakura. And Sakura loved Sasuke. But neither of them is acting the same way they did three years ago, like wide-eyed puppies just begging to be kicked. So why are they falling into other familiar patterns? Naruto still whines and pushes at Sakura, and she still hits him. Naruto still insults and challenges him, and Sakura still watches him with a faraway expression. And Sasuke's... still trying to ignore them both.
But he isn't ignoring them. He wants to ignore them, to observe and catalog weaknesses and slip away to keep them out of his business. Maybe he'd be playing Itachi's game, trying to do everything by himself, but his vengeance is a family affair. It's best to keep it in the family.
Instead, he's been cataloging strengths as well as weaknesses, and he's passed up two chances to escape. He keeps talking himself out of leaving, keeps staying another day to figure out what their motives can possibly be. He finds himself pushing back at Naruto and off-balance around Sakura. He's acting the same way he used to act.
Unacceptable.
"You can water-walk on the ocean," Sasuke says, tearing his hand free and sliding three quick steps away.
"See? See?" Naruto says to Sakura. "Come on, Sakura-chan..."
Sakura sighs and leads the way through the jumble of crates and barrels to the plaza's low wall. They drop down to the shore, which is lined with stones and sandbags to keep the bridge's footing from wearing away. Naruto gestures at the blue-gray waves, their peaks blurred by the shadow of the bridge, and grins. "Go on, bastard. Prove it."
Sasuke smiles, and leaps out over the breaking waves, landing on the springy ocean surface where the whitecaps haven't yet dragged against the sand. He tests his footing and strides off toward the first piling that holds up Tazuna's massive bridge.
The trick to walking on the ocean doesn't have anything to do with special equipment or fancy ways to channel chakra. What most ninja forget -- foolishly, in Sasuke's opinion -- is that the world has its own chakra streams and reservoirs, and sometimes it's better to ask than to command. All true Uchiha learned that, once upon a time. You don't command fire jutsu; you summon and guide the flames, with a light hand. And you keep an eternal fire in your family shrine to honor the element that answers your call.
To walk on the ocean, you let the salt in your blood dance with the salt in the water, let your heartbeat synchronize with the rhythm of the waves -- or so Orochimaru said, when describing the esoteric skill he'd picked up in a tiny village in the far northwest. In more practical terms, you bleed into the water and hope the ocean likes you.
It's very convenient, Sasuke thinks to himself, that his blood dripped into the water from this very bridge. He veers to the side, heading away from the bridge and along the shoreline. The ocean is vast, and it takes a long time for blood to travel from one part to another. He probably couldn't walk on waves twenty miles from this port... but Naruto and Sakura don't know that.
He slows, mind racing. This is the perfect chance to escape. If he walks out to sea, beyond sight of land, those two will have no way to track him. He can come to shore, disguise himself, and start hunting that man seriously. He can get away from the two people who keep confusing his purpose and forcing him into patterns he thought he'd escaped. He can...
He can get punched in the face by Naruto as he rides a wave back to the beach, that's what.
Splintered flashes of light dance in the corners of his eyes; Sasuke glares them away and touches his nose. Not broken. Good -- to heal fast he needs to activate the curse seal, and right now he still wants Orochimaru to think he's dead.
"What was that for?" he asks. His voice is calm; it's never a good idea to show your anger or confusion. When did he turn back to shore? He was planning to leave, wasn't he?
"That was for staying out so long," Naruto growls, "and for leaving the bridge's shadow. We're trying not to be noticed, genius."
"Naruto..." Sakura says, and he shoves his hands into his pockets. She frowns at Sasuke. "Next time, watch us so we can signal you if there's trouble."
Sasuke blinks. He can't help it. Next time? She's not accusing him of trying to escape, not pleading with him to stay close, not threatening him with seals. Even Naruto only seems worried that he might have been noticed, not that he might have left. They're treating him like a teammate, not a traitor.
They have to be insane.
"I'll teach you," he hears himself say. "It might be useful, and any decent shinobi can learn it in a week -- probably a month for the moron."
Naruto and Sakura exchange a long look -- something passes between them, but Sasuke can't for the life of him read it. Satisfaction? Relief? Amusement?
"When we reach Zabuza's hideout," Sakura says. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thanks," Naruto adds. "Now come on, let's cross the bridge. I want to reach old man Tazuna's place before dinner's over."
They're insane. That's the only answer, Sasuke thinks as he follows Naruto up the underside of the bridge, clinging with chakra-soaked feet. They're completely, hopelessly insane.
And they're infecting him.
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AN: Thanks for reading, and please review! I'm particularly interested in knowing what parts of the story worked for you, what parts didn't, and why.