Part 4.7: Broken Bonds
"Congratulations," said the receptionist in a very forced, sickly sweet voice, "you are now qualified for the second exam scheduled for early morning tomorrow. Bye now."
"Yeah, thanks," said Naruto half-heartedly. He took three small sheets of paper from the receptionist and returned to where TenTen and Lee were waiting. While the outside of the building had been very impressive, the inside was completely drab, with a monotonous bleach white color striking across the hard stone walls. Wooden doors broke the monotony every twenty feet, like everything had been measured out perfectly. There were no cracks on the walls, no blemishes on the polished floors, the area just seemed devoid of life of any kind. The usual sounds of the birds chirping, the wind rustling through the trees, and especially the laughter of children was completely void here. In fact, Naruto had yet to see a single person, save for the receptionist, since he entered here. It was far too quiet to be considered an academy.
"So did you get it," piped up TenTen, breaking Naruto from his train of thought. Naruto handed them each a small sliver of paper, keeping one for himself. Lee took the small piece of paper with both hands, staring at it wide-eyed, his hands shaking badly. Suddenly, he jumped straight up into the air, yelling triumphantly and performing a wild dance right in front of them. Naruto had to take a few steps back to miss getting his with a flailing limb of Lee.
"YAHOO," he yelled, "the first part of this most arduous and testing exam is complete, and we, Team Gai, have passed it with ease worthy of Gai-sensei, the amazing azure beast! Let us raise our hands in victory and-" drops of blood began falling from Lee's right hand staining the polished floor in dark, red splotches and knocking him quickly out of his catatonic state. He examined his hands as the wounds incurred there had reopened.
"If you have injuries as a result of the examinations please move to the medical facilities on the fourth floor," the receptionist said nonchalant, "and try not to dirty up the floor." Naruto scowled her but quickly turned back to Lee.
"We'd better get that checked out," Naruto said, with TenTen nodding in agreement. Lee seemed reluctant at first, but eventually he nodded as well. Naruto gave Lee a hard pat on the back and gave him one of his trademark fox grins. "Don't worry thickbrows," he said cheerily, "we'll have you up and running before we meet Gai-sensei. I promise." He then shot Lee the exact thumbs-up pose that Gai and Lee had trademarked and perfected over the years, though his smile wasn't nearly as shiny as theirs. Lee looked on, stunned at Naruto for a moment, before he returned the gesture, smiling so wide it looked like a star was shining from Lee's teeth.
"Don't just stand there grinning like idiots," scolded TenTen, "let's get Lee's hand fixed and get out of here. I've got a really bad feeling about this place."
"I know what you mean," said Lee, his voice to a serious tone very quickly, "ever since we stepped in this building, I've been getting just weird feelings, like there's something watching us."
"You're just being paranoid," said Naruto cheerily. "Now come on," he shouted, giving Lee a hard slap on the back, forcing a pained wince from Lee, "the sooner we get Lee fixed, the sooner Gai-sensei treats us to a feast!"
Naruto stared up at the drab, grey ceiling, trying to count the different spots and lines that dotted it so perfectly, each piece coming together to form an unnaturally perfect shape. He only got to ten each time before he lost count and had to start over again. His eyes began to grow heavy as he waited impatiently for Lee to come back from the infirmary. The bench he was sitting on was ridiculously uncomfortable, and gave no leeway at all to his weight as he shifted back and forth on it. TenTen sat across from him, her legs crossed as she looked at a clock on the opposite wall. "He's been in there an awful long time," TenTen said finally, "do you think he's alright?"
"Thickbrows is tough," said Naruto in a yawn, "he wouldn't let some little injury like that hold him down." The tense silence reemerged as Naruto found himself running out of things to look at. What the hell was taking Lee so long anyway? It's not like it was a life or death thing; he just had a small hand injury. Naruto' eyes darted from point to point, looking for something to keep his focus on the grey, beige wall, but his eyes kept drifting over to TenTen every time. 'I really don't know much about this girl,' thought Naruto, 'I mean, me and thickbrows were at least pretty good friends when I came on the team, but I never knew who this girl was. I know she's good with weapons, weird, bossy, and kind of bitchy.' He allowed his eyes to rest on TenTen who was spinning a kunai lazily on one finger, her eyes drooping slightly every few seconds. He squinted hard at her, like he was examining some kind of weird specimen. 'She reminds me of Sakura-chan, but she's really different too. I don't really know, but she's really different.' He watched as TenTen stopped the spinning of the kunai with one finger and spun it in the opposite direction, making a quiet, whistling sound with every pass.
"Why are you staring at me," said TenTen suddenly. Naruto awoke from his near catatonic state and started moving his head and eyes in all directions.
"I wasn't staring at you," he said quickly, "I was staring at…stuff…on the walls. So don't be stupid." He had just finished the sentence when the kunai TenTen had in her hand came whizzing by his head, missing his ear by inches and sticking in the stone behind him. Naruto's eyes went wide with fear as TenTen shot him a very dirty look before returning to watching the door. Naruto allowed himself to droop in his seat, the feeling of fear still rushing through him. 'And she's got some temper,' he thought to himself.
A loud creek filled the hall as Lee finally emerged from the room. TenTen and Naruto both looked quickly in his direction. He looked no worse for wear. The damage done to his right hand had been healed and rebandaged. "Try not to be so stupid next time," shouted a voice from behind Lee before the door slammed shut.
"Thanks," said Lee sarcastically as he flexed the fingers on his hand. He looked up at Naruto and shot him the traditional thumbs up with his healed right hand, which Naruto returned.
"What was that all about," asked TenTen.
Lee shrugged, "It's not like we should have expected a warm reception," he said, "these people hate us after all. One look at the Leaf symbol on my belt, and he almost refused to treat me. It took some coaxing, but I think I'm alright now."
"This country's filled with jerks," said Naruto loudly, "I can't take one step without some weirdo talking about how the Leaf is ruining everything. You're all nothing but ASSHOLES!" He was shouting as loud as possible now, his frustration with the country itself rising quickly to the surface as his voice carried across the corridors in a loud reverberation of his last word.
"Quiet down Naruto," said TenTen, shouting just as loudly, "it's not smart to piss off the country you're staying at stupid!"
"Well if the country I'm staying at doesn't know how to treat guests, then I'll piss them off all I want," roared Naruto right back. TenTen shouted something offensive, and Naruto shouted right back, and a gigantic argument ensued that lasted for a considerable amount of time, their voices so loud that the walls around them seemed to shake.
"Speaking of the Hidden Cloud," intervened Lee finally, "there's something I've been curious about Naruto."
"What," growled Naruto, his face inches from TenTen's own scowling expression.
"That red nin we encountered," continued Lee, "Set was his name I think, who is he exactly, and what does he want with you? You didn't really give me a straight answer before."
Lee's question caught Naruto off guard, and he accidentally stepped forward too far. His body carried his weight forward and he tripped, driving his face right into TenTen's chest. It took a few seconds before Naruto's mind snapped back into reality, and he realized where his head currently lay. He quickly pushed himself out as he felt the wind of TenTen's hand move just past his hair. He snapped his head up to see a furious looking TenTen staring straight at him, a fire burning in her eyes. Naruto pushed himself against the opposite side of the wall in fear of what TenTen was going to do.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" came an enraged voice from down the hall, overshadowing the rage the TenTen was getting ready to unleash upon Naruto. Naruto looked down the hall just as one of the doors on the hallway burst open. A tall, lanky, and enraged looking individual stormed out of the room. He wore the vest and head gear ensemble that signified him as at least Chuunin rank for the Hidden Cloud. Unlike the first cloud nin they had met at the mountain's top, this one seemed much grittier, with short cropped hair close to his head. A look of pure rage was contorted on his ugly face. As he quickly emerged from the room, he was dragging a small child by the collar with him. The kid looked only to be about eight or nine years old, and his expression was one of pure terror, his eyes opened wide, with a hint of tears slowly beginning to show around the edges of them. The Chuunin violently threw him against the far wall, the air rushing out of the child's lungs in a small gasp. The kid slumped to the ground, resting his back against the far wall as the tall Chuunin continued to berate him. "You make me sick," he roared, "You're the worst in your class at everything. Last in ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, you're absolutely worthless. You think you can serve the Hidden Cloud and the Eighth with such substandard abilities! You're nothing but dead weight for the rest of the class, fat that needs to be trimmed off! Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
The kid said nothing at first. He was shaking badly, and was trying very hard to hide the tears and sniffling in his voice. "I…I…I'm s-sorry," he said so softly it was almost a whisper. Naruto could hardly believe his eyes, but something was beginning to well in him. A familiar anger was rising back to the surface.
"Not as sorry as you're going to be," roared the nin back, "Now give me fifty right now you worthless sack of shit!" The child quickly collapsed to stomach and desperately began doing push-ups as fast as he possibly could, the fear and tears welling deep on his eyes. "You're worthless," screamed the instructor, "do you really think you'll be able to serve our clan and the Eighth properly with such stupidity? You're worst in the entire class, probably the school! Maybe even in the history of this village!" The child's sniveling was growing worse now, even though he seemed to be desperately trying to hide it, biting his lip to stop his shuddered breath. His skinny arms were shaking badly now as he forced himself up again. Small droplets were beginning to fall from his eyes and hit the granite floor, eliciting a look of disgust from the instructor.
"Crying again," he said maliciously. There was a heavy silence between them, the only sound being the sniffling sounds the child made in between the strained push-ups he was doing. His body was near collapse now, and his small arms were barely pushing his body up; he wasn't going to complete the task. Suddenly, the instructor slammed his foot against the back of the child, ramming him into the ground with a thud, knocking the wind out of the child in a small gasp. "Push harder idiot," roared the instructor, "with this kind of strength you're only going to be dead weight on the battlefield. Now try harder WORTHLESS!"
"Worthless! Get away from us! Go away and die! It's better if he's not a ninja. Just ignore him. Demon Child! Just disappear."
"Familiar words. Of course, you never did receive as much attention as that boy is did you?"
"Shut-up. I'm not going to let you manipulate me."
"I never do anything. It's you who does the action. I cannot control what you do, nor how you feel. Every action, every emotion, every piece of writhing anger and horrid rage within you is you. We are not different. We are the same, beings of pure anger and rage, wanting nothing more than to take our fury out on this world around us."
"Naruto!" came Lee's voice from behind him. Naruto felt his own legs moving beneath him, almost as if they had a will of their own. He was rushing towards the instructor, hurtling his own body forward at increasing speed. The speed of his attack created its own wind behind him as he dived through the air, a single fist outstretch, aimed straight at the instructors face. Naruto watched almost in slow motion as the man's expression contorted in an odd mix of surprise and alarm before Naruto buried his fist into the man's face, a satisfying crunch of bone striking bone following the tremendous blow. The force of the impact sent the teacher soaring through the air to land with a hard thud against the hard, granite floor. Naruto landed steadily back on his feet, inches away from where the child still lay. The instructor lay still for a moment before slowly pulling himself up with a loud groan. Blood was trickling out the corner of his mouth, and the entire left side of his face seemed swollen. Finally, he pushed himself up to his feet, steadying himself on two wobbly legs.
Naruto's entire body shook under the fury that had so suddenly risen up inside of him. He wasn't sure exactly why he had charged at the man; he didn't even realize he had made the decision. But something inside of him rose to the surface in an instant, and drove any rational thought from his mind, to be replaced only by pure instinct. The feeling still lingered within him, but he was beginning to regain his thoughts and realizing what a mistake he had just made.
"Who the hell do you think you are," slurred the teacher through swollen lips. Naruto looked back at Lee and TenTen, desperate for any support for his actions, but both of them were staring dumbfounded at Naruto's brashness. Naruto had not liked looking at the scene to begin with, but he had enough sense not to attack the instructor. He looked back at the instructor who was mere inches from him now, his mind racing for some rational to explain his actions.
"You…," he said quickly, "you…shouldn't have been doing that." Naruto reinforced his voice, making his tone firm. "You shouldn't treat your students like that!"
"What business is it of-" he cut himself off abruptly as he stared at the Leaf forehead protector that rested on Naruto's head. The instructor gave what sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cough before continuing. "Just like the Leaf to be so stupidly uncontrolled. No wonder your allies betrayed you and decimated your village."
Naruto snapped his head up so that he was eye to eye with the instructor. "I'm not stupid," he said maliciously, "and neither is my village!" he said with such force that the instructor took a few steps back, fear prevalent in his eyes. "You shouldn't treat people like that. It's not right. A teacher should help their students, not-"
"Stupid Leaf!" came a shuddered voice from beneath Naruto. Naruto turned around to see the child back on his feet, his breathing very labored, tears still streaming from his eyes. "It's all your fault. Things wouldn't be like this if you all just…I hate all of you!"
Naruto stared dumbfounded at the child, looking deep into teary eyes that burned with so much hate. 'Do they really hate us that much,' thought Naruto, disbelieving the sight before his eyes. 'How can they…we didn't do any…I…"
"Naruto, behind you," shouted Lee as he desperately ran towards him. Naruto whipped his head around to see the instructor tearing down on him, a kunai held firmly in his hand driving itself towards Naruto's chest. Naruto backpedaled quickly and drew a kunai of his own when suddenly, a hand shot out from behind the instructor, grabbing him firmly by the wrist and pulling him harshly back down to earth.
"Put down your weapon," came a very familiar voice from behind the instructor. Naruto moved back farther, stepping on Lee's foot in the process. Lee let out a quick 'ow', but Naruto continued to watch the scene in front of him. He didn't have a clear view of who was behind the instructor, but he was holding back the instructor's entire body with a weak lock around his wrist. The instructor struggled against his grip, pulling hard against his hand, but his arm seemed locked in place. "I won't ask again," came the chilling voice, "put down your weapon." Naruto felt his emotions begin to rise up within him again, his lips pulling back in a malicious scowl.
"Let go you bastard," yelled the instructor, thrashing furiously against the stranger's grip. Finally, the stranger relinquished his hold around the instructor's wrist, only for the man to turn around and attempt to drive the kunai into the man who held his wrist. Naruto's eyes went wide as he caught glimpse of Sasuke behind the instructor. The instructor roared with fury as he drove his kunai towards Sasuke's head.
Almost effortlessly, Sasuke flicked his arm forward, catching the man by the wrist again, and twisted down hard on it, lurching the instructor's body violently backwards. He then drove his free fist into the instructor's elbow joint, breaking it with a loud crack that echoed through the hall as bone burst forth from beneath the instructor's skin. The roar of fury heard earlier was now a wail of pain as the instructor collapsed to the floor clutching what was left of his arm. "I did warn you," said Sasuke coolly, "Chuunin should have more restraint." The instructor quickly got to his feet, his eyes filled with fear as he sprinted out of sight down towards the hall, a trail of blood leaving a lasting sign of his presence. Sasuke's eyes moved towards Naruto, a cold chilling stare meeting one that burned with fury and rage. A whimpering off to the side took Sasuke's attention off Naruto for a moment and onto the boy who was quivering against the far wall, staring shocked at the pool of blood that sat still at Sasuke's feet. "Get out of here," said Sasuke coolly before returning his attention back to Naruto. Naruto's eyes had never left, but stayed fixated at Sasuke's face, staring bullets into the former Leaf nin. There was a horrible silence between them, interrupted by the quick scampering of the child down the hall his instructor went. Finally, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by a low growl by Naruto.
"What the hell do you want you bastard," Naruto said through clenched teeth. Sasuke simply stared back at him, making no movement or sign that he had even heard him. He closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts before trying to speak again.
"I need to talk to you," he said without emotion. His eyes drifted behind Naruto to Lee and TenTen, "Alone". Naruto's eyes drifted to his sides to see both Lee and TenTen standing there, readying themselves for a fight. TenTen had drawn a few kunai, holding them between her fingers while Lee stood in his usual battle stance with his the back of his right hand facing Sasuke with the left behind his back.
Naruto's mind was racing again. 'He wants to talk,' thought Naruto in disbelief, 'I thought he said there was nothing more to say between us. And alone at that. Is he trying to trick me, to get me alone and then have those sound nins ambush me from behind? No, even if he is a traitor, that doesn't sound like something Sasuke would do. Why though?' Naruto allowed himself to take a single deep breath and exhaled it slowly, calming his emotions and getting a clearer grasp of the situation. 'Whatever he wants, I'll deal with it myself.'
"TenTen, Lee," said Naruto, "go back to where we're meeting Gai. I'll catch up." TenTen looked over at Naruto as if someone had just slapped her in the face.
"What," she said in disbelief, "you want us to leave you alone with him? There's no telling what he could be-"
"I'll be fine," replied Naruto calmly. He was trying very hard to keep his voice steady, pushing the fiery emotions inside of him deep down despite how desperately he wanted to let loose. "Just go, and I'll catch up."
TenTen's eyes darted from Naruto to Sasuke, her mouth seeming to want to find some kind of phrase or word that would make Naruto think otherwise, but her mind didn't seem to be able to put the words into a sentence. Naruto's eyes moved to his right back towards Lee. Lee's eyes were still on Sasuke, and he hadn't moved an inch since Naruto looked at him last. "Lee go," he said again, "I'll be fine."
"No," said Lee quickly, still keeping his eyes on Sasuke. Naruto snapped his head in Lee's direction. Naruto was taken aback at how quickly Lee had answered him. Yet still, Lee did not look at him, his dark eyes were affixed at Sasuke, his whole body tensing up.
"Please Lee," said Naruto with a bit more force in his voice, "this is my problem, and I'll deal with it."
"Don't be so selfish Naruto," replied Lee, still keeping his eyes on Sasuke's, "this is the entire village's problem. The Sound still have amnesty, and we're on the Hidden Cloud's ground. It wouldn't be wise to provoke any kind of fight."
"I'm not here to fight," said Sasuke coldly.
"I don't believe you," snapped Lee, his voice becoming very low and fierce, "how can I believe the words of a traitor." Sasuke stared at Lee for a moment before chuckling under his breath at his comment.
Naruto was starting to get irritated at Lee now, and his voice was rising steadily. "I can handle this Lee," said Naruto slowly through clenched teeth, "Go away. I'll meet with you later."
"Naruto we are comrades," said Lee heartily, "we share our problems and burdens and confront them together. This is a problem that concerns all of us, and there may be other Sound nins nearby. You could use our-"
"I'm not stupid Lee," growled Naruto, the anger rising in his voice now. He was beyond mere irritation with Lee. 'Does he think I'm weak?' thought Naruto, 'I can handle this. It's not like I haven't thought about the possibility of an ambush. I can think on my own. I don't need his help. I don't need anyone's help. Sasuke is mine to deal with. He's mine, not anyone else's. Why doesn't he see that? What's wrong with him? This is my fight…my…enemy…and no one else's!'
"I am not implying that you are Naruto," said Lee, keeping his voice steady, "I just think that-"
Naruto flung his arms out and grabbed Lee by the front of his jumpsuit. He immediately pulled down hard on Lee so that they were face to face with each other. Naruto glared furiously at Lee who returned a very surprised and distraught expression back to him. "I don't care what you think Lee," roared Naruto, "now get the hell OUT OF HERE!" Naruto felt a feeling of déjà vu come over him. He remembered the same scene in the alleys of Konoha; him berating Lee, and Lee staring almost sadly back at him. However, this time, Lee's expression did not last as long. Lee rose his own arms up quickly and brought them down between themselves, breaking Naruto's grip on his jumpsuit and leaving a very painful stinging on Naruto's forearms. Rather than solemn, Lee looked defiantly down at him, an angry almost hurt look staring down at Naruto. But Naruto returned his gaze, not blinking as a heavy silence hang between them.
"Such fragile bonds," chuckled Sasuke, "I remember why I am a traitor now." Lee shot a quick look over at Sasuke before returning Naruto's gaze once again. There was a very dark expression on his face that Naruto had not seen before. Lee had always been someone who was an eternal optimist, always looking on the bright side of things and never stopping no matter how hard things got. But now, Lee was looking at him with almost a look of resentment. Naruto felt somewhat guilty that he had been so short with his friends, but he wanted to speak to Sasuke alone as well. Finally, Lee looked over at TenTen and jerked his head down the hall where they came from. He turned on his heel and walked slowly down the hall as Naruto watched him go.
TenTen stared at Lee in disbelief. "You're just going to leave him alone?" she yelled down at Lee. Lee made no indication that he heard her but continued walking down the hall. "C'mon Lee you can't-"
"If he doesn't want my help, I can't force it on him," said Lee slowly, not stopping to even look behind him, "I trust him enough so that he won't be too brash. There's nothing else that needs to be said." Lee continued walking away from Naruto, not even looking behind him. TenTen looked back and forth between Lee and Naruto before giving a frustrated yell.
"Better not do anything stupid," she growled at Naruto before quickly following Lee down the hall. Naruto could feel pangs of guilt down in his stomach, but any feelings he had slowly washed away as he turned to face Sasuke once again. When he could no longer hear the footsteps of his comrades, Naruto spoke.
"Well we're alone," said Naruto, "what do you want? A fight? I'm not that stupid. I won't fight you here. But I will take you down when I can."
"Do you know what a distraction is Naruto," said Sasuke coolly. Naruto looked back at him surprised that Sasuke was asking such odd questions. "A distraction is an obstacle blocking your goal. It impedes your concentration and blocks your view of your dream. If something was blocking your dream of becoming Hokage, what would you do Naruto?" Sasuke waited for Naruto to answer, but at the moment Naruto was far too confused to answer him.
'What the hell is he talking about,' thought Naruto, 'distractions? Is this what he came to tell me?'
"You get rid of it," said Sasuke finally, "you eliminate its presence from this world and carry on. You kick it out of the way like a pebble on the side of the road and move forward. You are a distraction Naruto." As soon as Sasuke said this, Naruto tensed his body up, preparing for any attack that would come from his front. Sasuke laughed openly, watching Naruto prepare himself for a fight. "So predictable. Still, everything at Konoha, you, team 7, the bonds we shared, they were nothing more than distractions. On the day Itachi came to Konoha, I realized this." Sasuke smiled to himself at this comment, "I suppose I should thank my brother for bringing me back to my senses. I am an avenger, and I will eliminate all distractions that keep me from my goal!"
Sasuke reached down to his belt and quickly flicked a kunai in Naruto's direction. Naruto took a step back as the kunai stuck in the ground in front of him with a loud clang of metal hitting stone. Naruto scowled at Sasuke, but something attached to the kunai caught his eye. He bent down and plucked a small, folded piece of paper of the end of the kunai. "Open it," said Sasuke. Naruto's eyes kept on Sasuke as he slowly unfolded the small, white slip. There was something written on it:
Sector 7
By the third river in the first clearing at 12 noon on the second day
Or when the sun is highest in the sky
"What the hell does this mean," snapped Naruto back at Sasuke.
"You'll understand when the second exam starts," replied Sasuke, "this is where we end things Naruto, between you and me. This is where any bonds, any lingering feelings, everything ends. Only one of us will walk away from that place, and I've beaten you before Naruto, I can do it again."
Naruto said nothing at first. In reality, he didn't know how to respond. Sasuke had just called him out for a last fight. It's not like he hadn't expected this at some point. He knew they would fight again in these exams, but now that it was actually happening, it seemed almost surreal. 'This is real,' thought Naruto, 'this is where he plans to finish me off."
"You mustn't give up Naruto. The amazing bond formed between you two will come back full force as long as you don't give up on Sasuke. I'm sure he'll come back into the fold someday."
'No thickbrows. We're well past that. He doesn't want to come back and nothing I say is going to change that. The only way he looks at me anymore is as an obstacle. A…distraction. I don't want to feel alone, and I admit, I still want him to return, to be a brother to me…but…we're past that now. I can't feel anything for him anymore; if I do, he'll just end up leaving me alone again, or even killing me. This is it. This is where our bonds truly end.'
"Alright Sasuke," said Naruto, "if you really want to finish this…I'll come. But I won't lose. And I'll beat you." Never before had Naruto felt so hollow inside; it was as if the only bond he had ever made had just been pulled on violently, snapping whatever emotions were left. All he felt now to fill the void, was an immense rage and anger that had been brewing inside of his heart for too long.
Naruto looked up at Sasuke, wondering if he should try again, that maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would come to his senses. That everything would go back to the way it was before. Kakashi would reform team 7; they would go on missions and reform the bonds they had. 'But,' thought Naruto, 'that won't happen. That's not real. The only thing that's real here is me and Sasuke.
Naruto watched as Sasuke walked slowly away from him down towards the other end of the hall. He watched him move farther and farther away, not daring to blink for a moment as he watched Sasuke fade into the darkness of the hall.
"I can't believe you just left him there," yelled TenTen, "he could have really used our help, and you just left him with that bastard traitor?" Lee continued to walk down the hall without the slightest sign that he was even listening to her scolding. "And what was going on between you two? You looked like you were about to tear into each other. Lee? LEE?" But Lee continued to walk forward slowly, not even turning his head or slowing his pace any. Finally, out of frustration, TenTen grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him completely around. She stared defiantly up at his face, expecting Lee to be furious, or at least somewhat peeved. What she saw instead was an immense sadness on Lee's face. His dark eyes were half-closed, staring down at her solemnly while the rest of his face seemed only to amplify his expression. TenTen took a few steps back, shocked at how sad Lee looked. "Lee," said TenTen in disbelief, "what's wrong?"
Lee said nothing at first, though he looked like he was trying to find the right words to say. "TenTen," he finally said, "do you think I'm…weak?"
TenTen gave Lee and odd look for a moment before rolling her eyes at Lee. "Is that what this is all about Lee," said TenTen, "no Lee, I don't think you're weak. You're one of the strongest Genin to come out of Konoha."
"But not the strongest," replied Lee, still in a sullen mood.
"Oh come on Lee," said TenTen exasperated, "is this about the spar you two had a few days ago. Look, I was surprised too at how strong Naruto was, but that's no reason for you to be so down. I mean, it's not like you've never encountered strong opponents before?"
"This is different though," said Lee, "with every other opponent I've had, it was always some kind of bloodline or innate ability they had that made them superior. In that case, I could find some way to defeat them, like Gai-sensei taught me. Within every offense, every jutsu, there is always a weakness that can be exploited. But with Naruto, it just seems like he has this…power. I could feel it back there, some kind of inner power that just gives him an infinite amount of strength. With the others, they had some kind of skill or ability that I could find some way around. But with Naruto…I don't know. It just seems that no matter how strong I get, there are always people a step ahead of me."
"Well then you should probably just give up," said TenTen indignantly. Now it was Lee's turn to stare in disbelief. "I mean, if Naruto' stronger than you, you should probably just give up trying to beat him. In fact you should just give up all together; because with all the pouting you've been doing lately that's exactly what it looks like you should be doing. You think you're the only one ever to feel inferior? In the first Chuunin exam I didn't last one minute against Temari. How do you think I felt? Inferior? Weak even? Lee you work harder than anyone I've ever met, ever seen even. You even make Gai-sensei look like a slacker. So stop brooding over who's stronger than you and start working idiot!"
Lee looked at TenTen completely stunned, with a very stupid expression plastered on his face. Suddenly, he broke out in a roaring laughter ending with a very loud warcry. "You're absolutely right TenTen," yelled Lee excitedly, "I am the Great Azure Beast Rock Lee! I cannot let something so trivial get in the way of my goals. I will train doubly hard from now on. I will collapse every night from exhaustion only to rise again as the The Great Rock Lee!"
"Something like that," chuckled TenTen. She hated seeing Lee in a bad mood, even as rare as it was. Even when he was acting weird, he did always seem to brighten the room when he was like this. "Alright, we have to meet Gai later on and-" Suddenly, TenTen's mood completely changed. A familiar feeling was washing over her, yet it was different somehow. She looked over at Lee who was in the same state. She could hear something, and she strained her ears to pinpoint the sound. The loud, metallic thud of heavy boots was hitting the floor of the hall, growing louder and louder with every step. Lee stood very still, moving his eyes down the hallway, looking for a shape of some kind. TenTen put her hands to her belt, but did not draw a kunai. She waited, her back pressed against the wall as she felt the presence come closer.
A tall nin dressed completely in a long, white robe appeared at the end of the hall. Despite the fact that he had a familiar, threatening feeling about him, he did not give off any air of a threat. In fact, it looked like a strong wind would blow him over. His entire body save his neck and head was underneath a loose robe that wrapped around his body, giving way to a loose pair of pants that rippled with every step he took, ending in two white, metallic boots. His face was completely without blemish, and was a very white pale color. However, the most striking thing about him was the pale, almost white, green eyes that seemed to reflect the light itself. He showed no signs of war, but walked calmly and smoothly across the granite floor, looking straight ahead. Lee and TenTen watched as he passed in-between them without acknowledging either's existence, but just walking on towards the end of the hallway. TenTen watched him go until a curve in the hall took him out of sight. "Did you feel something…odd about him?" asked TenTen when she was sure the nin was gone.
"Yeah," replied Lee, "something I've felt before. Oh well, nothing to worry about I guess. We have more important matters to attend to. However, we should be patient, and wait for Naruto."
TenTen nodded in agreement, but couldn't shake the uneasy feeling inside of her. It was almost like a blaring warning, a chill that ran through her body. She had felt it before on the side of the mountain when meeting the nin in red. 'I don't like any of this,' she thought, 'there's too many unknowns going on in this exam. I don't like it at all.'
'Is this really what I want,' thought Sasuke as he walked back to Orochimaru's room. The granite hallway seemed so much darker now as night was slowly falling upon the Hidden Cloud Village, the lights began to flicker off, leaving Sasuke to walk alone in the darkness. 'Am I letting Orochimaru manipulate me again,' continued Sasuke, 'Is Naruto really the threat, the distraction he was made out to be? What if this isn't necessary? Am I making a huge mistake?' Sasuke felt the old feelings of regret begin to well up within him. Ever since he had met Naruto, old feelings were resurfacing, making him feel nostalgic. 'Was it all just…a distraction?'
Suddenly, Sasuke rammed his fist hard against the granite wall. "No," he said aloud, "I cannot start second guessing myself. I can't let my mind be thrown off by old feelings. I have to focus. Naruto is confounding my mind, and I can't let that happen anymore. I have to avenge my clan. I must kill my brother. I must-" Sasuke was cut off by the rush of footsteps in front of him. He looked far into the darkness to see three Cloud nins that looked to be of at least Chuunin rank. Each of them looked like some kind of military official, but whether that was true Sasuke could not tell. They were armed, though, as Sasuke could hear the clanking of kunai and other weaponry on their belts as they approached. They stopped suddenly as soon as they reached him. Sasuke took his hand off the wall and stared at them inquisitively. 'What now?' he thought irritated.
"That's him," yelled a familiar, shuddering voice. Sasuke peered farther into the darkness and caught a glimpse of the instructor he had met earlier peering from behind one of the guards. His body shook badly, his eyes wide with fear and hatred. The arm Sasuke had broken earlier was bandaged against his body. "There's that bastard who attacked me from behind like a coward!" Sasuke glared hard at the small man, making him duck back behind the three nins.
"Sound nin," said the largest of the three in a deep, monotone voice, "while your clan has been granted amnesty, that gives you no right to attack those associated with the Cloud. Under grounds of assault, I'm afraid I will have to take you into custody for an undisclosed period of time."
"How do you like that you brat," gloated the instructor, breaking into triumphant laughter. "Looks like you're going to miss your little exam now! That's what you get!"
"Please come with us," said one of the other nins as they began to approach Sasuke. Sasuke smiled to himself, crossing his arms over his body in an arrogant pose.
"I'm afraid I won't be coming quietly," he said with a threatening undertone, "I don't have time to mess with the local law enforcement. If you want me, you're going to have to take me by force." The three nins stopped dead in their tracks, each of them shocked at Sasuke's brash behavior. They looked quickly at each other for some plan of action. Sasuke grinned inwardly; 'These idiots aren't any threat,' he thought, 'but they might be good for some last minute exercise.'
"What are you waiting for," roared the instructor behind them. He had backed up considerably since the nins had come forward and was slinking in the shadows, watching the scene unfold. "He's only one brat. Just break a few bones, then he'll cooperate." The three nins in front nodded to each other before reaching for their weapons. Sasuke smiled as he readied himself for combat.
"Stop," echoed a cold and eerie voice across the hallway. The three nins acted like they had been stunned and froze in place as the sound of metallic steps echoed closer towards them. Sasuke chanced a quick look behind him to see a nin, completely clad in white, emerge quickly from the shadows behind them. He looked quite odd, and particularly weak. There was an odd aura about him that Sasuke remembered feeling before, but he could not place a face with it. The voice sounded familiar as well, but Sasuke's mind could not match a name with it. "Do not touch your weapons," commanded the voice again as the nin came closer. He was at least taller than Sasuke by a few inches, but did not seem of adult height. As he came closer Sasuke suddenly remembered him.
'I've met this man before,' he thought quickly, 'he talked to me before the first exam after my meeting with Naruto.' The nin came closer as Sasuke was beginning to get a cornered feeling with Cloud nins on either side of him with no visible place to run.
"Who are you," came the deep-voice nin again.
"Consider me an emissary of the Raikage," said the white-clad nin, 'Thus, consider my words the words of the Raikage. The boy you are about to apprehend so roughly is Uchiha Sasuke, whom I believe the Raikage ordered no nin to touch."
"He attacked me," yelled the instructor at the nin. The white-clad nin slowly turned his head down the hallway to where the instructor lay huddled against a wall.
"If you want to question the Raikage's judgment," said the white-nin, his voice seemingly frozen in tone, "I'm sure he would be more than willing to discuss his motives with you. That is, if you're willing to waste his time with such trivial nonsense. The Eighth's judgment should be unquestioned, despite which circumstances surround it. Live and serve the Hidden Cloud that is your life, and the Eighth is the Hidden Cloud. I have neither the rank nor the experience that you have, but I still know this. Should not persons of your sort know better?" Sasuke watched the scene unfold before him. On one side, the strange, white-clad nin seemed to be scolding nin of much higher rank than him. However, the nin's words seemed to have a profound impact on them as they stood completely still before him, barely daring to breath as they contemplated what he had just spoken. Slowly, the three nins turned on their heels and walked back to where they came, giving a fleeting glimpse to Sasuke as they left. The instructor stared at the nin in white dumbfounded completely by what had just happened. He moved his mouth as if to speak, but only a glutted gibberish came out. He followed suit shortly, running after the three nin. When Sasuke could no longer hear any of their footsteps, he quickly turned his back to the hallway and faced the nin in white.
"I've met you before," said Sasuke, "what the hell do you want this time. I don't have time for meaningless conversation." The white-nin stared lazily at Sasuke in a loose stance. He didn't seem to be here to fight, but that could easily change. "What's your name then?" asked Sasuke impatiently.
"Kusemono Julius," replied the nin slowly, letting every syllable of the name engrave itself into Sasuke's mind. "I am merely seeking to quiet the thousands of voices that cry out for your blood to be spilt upon the earth."
"What the hell are you talking about," said Sasuke impertinently. He had enough of these cryptic messages Julius had been spouting. "If you want to fight, you should have just said so. I can easily release you from your mortal coil." The nin did not move, or show any signs that he was even alive. Suddenly his eyes went very wide.
"To gauge your strength," Julius said coolly, "that was my mission. And this time, I will not allow you to leave so easily." Julius held out a single hand and beckoned him forward. Sasuke smiled mockingly at the nin in front of him.
'I could just run from this,' thought Sasuke, 'but this won't take long.' Sasuke stared at Julius for a moment before bending his knees low, allowing his body to come closer to the floor. He tensed the muscles in his legs as he watched for the slightest movement from his opponent. 'Using a jutsu would draw too much attention. And using the Sharingan shouldn't even be necessary. I'll just take this idiot down the old-fashioned way.'
Sasuke made his move, sprinting faster than the wind and quickly closing the gap between himself and Julius. The air whipped around him as he blurred across the hallway towards his target. Julius made no movement to counter, nor any movement at all. Sasuke pushed himself lower to the floor, feeling his feet barely touch the floor at such speeds. Finally, he pulled an arm back and thrust his entire body forward towards Julius, driving his fist deep into his opponent's stomach. The resounding impact echoed across the hall like a bolt of thunder, and the sheer force of the blow caused Julius' robe to shake as if in a fierce storm.
Sasuke gritted his teeth hard and his eyes went wide as his body responded to the tremendous, surging pain that had suddenly appeared in his fist. He felt like he had just hit a steel wall. He looked up. Julius had not even moved an inch from the blow, nor did he show any indication of pain, but he looked down at Sasuke coolly, emotionless, almost like he wasn't even alive. Sasuke quickly flipped backwards until he had cleared a short distance between them, landing steadily on his feet. His right hand was still shaking badly from the impact. 'What the hell,' thought Sasuke, 'armor of some sort? But I'm sure I hit flesh; I could feel it. Who in the hell?'
"I knew the Uchiha were powerful," said Julius, "but I had no idea they could hit so hard. That was a most impressive blow. However," Julius slowly raised his right arm and pulled the cloth away from it, revealing a heavily tattooed forearm. Different designs and seals seemed to litter it; none of which Sasuke had seen before. "…I have lived for this day. I was made for the purpose of revenge. And killing the last of the Uchihas will make my ordeal that much closer to completion!" Julius charged forward this time, closing the gap between himself and Sasuke nearly as fast as Sasuke had. Sasuke jumped backwards just as Julius reached him, watching Julius drive his own right hand forward and strike the ground where Sasuke had stood moments before. The entire hallway shook like a bomb had gone off right in front of him, and granite dust and debris rose into the air from the impact. Sasuke shielded his eyes as he retreated farther from the blast, pulling a kunai from out behind his belt as he searched for any sign of Julius in the dust.
"Uchihas are fast too," came a voice from behind Sasuke. Sasuke snapped his head around to see Julius standing inches from him. His arm was already coming across in a swift chopping motion towards Sasuke. Sasuke had no choice but to block it, raising his arms in front of his face to intercept Julius' hand. The blow connected with Sasuke's forearms and a gigantic surge of pain shot through him as the blow found its mark. Sasuke was thrown backwards towards the crater Julius had made earlier, desperately trying to find some form of footing in midair. He landed awkwardly on the stones that had been thrown out from Julius' initial strike at the ground.
'Damn he's fast,' thought Sasuke, 'well, if he wants to see the power of an Uchiha, I'll show him!' Sasuke concentrated chakra towards his eyes as his Sharingan came out full bloom, the black eye being replaced by a red, dotted iris. Sasuke looked upwards towards Julius, who was already moving quickly around, trying to get behind Sasuke again. 'I've got you!' Sasuke jumped forward towards the image of Julius, timing his motions perfectly. He clasped his right hand around his left and contorted his body to drive his left elbow in Julius' face. The blow landed perfectly, knocking Julius precisely on the chin as he ran straight into Sasuke's waiting attack. Sasuke felt the force from Julius' movements propel him backwards, and a hard pain shot through his elbow. Sasuke landed on his feet, skidding his sandals across the granite floor as he looked up at Julius. He had stopped completely, standing before Sasuke with a look of almost awe on his face. Slowly, a small sliver of blood appeared on the corner of his mouth to viscously dribble down to his chin, hitting the floor in small droplets.
"You've drawn first blood Uchiha," said Julius, "Congratulations. I think that is enough for today. I don't want to overexert you anymore." He bowed reverently to Sasuke and turned on his heel. He slowly began to stride towards the end of the hallway.
"Turning your back on an opponent isn't wise," said Sasuke mockingly. 'I don't care if I do draw attention; I'm taking this bastard down now!' Sasuke kept his eyes on the small of Julius' back, his intended target, and began to circulate chakra towards his left hand. Suddenly, his left hand exploded in a bright, cackling light that shot lightning across the room. He pulled his arm backwards, creating a large crevice in the wall next to him as he accelerated towards Julius. Sasuke brought his arm slowly forward, moving the Chidori to his front, intending to bury it in Julius' back. He drove forward, mere inches from his target now.
It all happened in an instant. Without even turning around, Julius allowed his legs to split apart so that they were parallel with the floor, leaving nothing but empty air for Sasuke to pierce. Sasuke's eyes went wide with fear as he flew straight over Julius. 'How the hell did I miss his movements,' thought Sasuke, 'the Sharingan-' But Sasuke did not have time to finish his thought as Julius threw a massive, open palmed hit straight into his stomach, forcing Sasuke upwards and into the granite ceiling. Sasuke felt his lungs collapse under the pressure in one gigantic exhale as every bit of air was knocked out of him. His impact cracked the ceiling above him as the surging pain had moved its way towards its ribs, signifying a few broken ones. However, Sasuke maintained his concentration and kept the Chidori active. He concentrated hard until he could see the image of Julius once again. He allowed himself to free fall downwards, flipping his body painfully forward in prediction of the image of Julius turning around. Even before he made the movement, Sasuke watched the image of Julius stand up from his current position and turn around.
'I've got you this time you son of a bitch,' thought Sasuke as he brought his still lighted hand forward. Julius had just stood straight up as the image had predicted and Sasuke was ready, driving his hand forward to strike Julius' back once again. Sasuke felt the fingers of the Chidori hit its mark, grazing through Julius' garments and into the flesh of his back. Sasuke dragged his hand downward as the Chidori burned into Julius' flesh. Julius arched his back in response but made no other indication that the strike had hit its mark.
The smell of scorched flesh filled the air as Sasuke landed on his feet to see five, long, bleeding streaks imprinted in Julius' back. Sasuke stared up at his work, noticing more of the black marks and seals that crisscrossed Julius' back only to be interrupted where the clothing began again. Sasuke jumped back quickly, full expecting another attack. The Chidori had since expired on his hand, and he was re-channeling the chakra to that area for another strike. However, Julius made no indication of an attack, but continued walking down the hallway. Sasuke watched in shock as the marks on Julius' back began to cauterize and steam, forming five deep scars on his back.
"Running away," yelled Sasuke, "why not finish this now?" Julius stopped suddenly as an eerie silence now hung between them amidst the debris and blood that scattered the hallway. Julius slowly turned his head until one of his pale-green eyes was looking towards Sasuke.
"Not now," said Julius stoically, "this is neither the time nor place. I will be the one to erase your foul existence from this earth, but until then…" Julius made his way further into the hallway until darkness slowly enshrouded him and took him from Sasuke's sight. Sasuke rested his body against the far wall. Despite the short amount of time the skirmish lasted, his body was aching all over. He could feel the bones of his ribs poking against his skin, showing most of them as cracked or broken. Every breath he took seemed labored and painful as the air whistled hard against his larynx. His right hand still stung, along with his left elbow, but other than that, nothing permanent. Sasuke looked up towards the ceiling at the imprint of his body left cracked there.
"He was so strong," Sasuke said aloud, "who the hell is he? In any case, I won't let that happen again. When I see him again, I'll kill him. I have more important matters to attend to now." Sasuke waited until he was sure Julius was out of sight before continuing on towards Orochimaru's lair.
Next chapter will be up tomorrow. March 20.