Ok, here's the rest of "From Scratch". Note this is heavy. A word or two some people won't like, so be warned. Oh yeah, I don't own this stuff.
It didn't take them long to find another team to fight. Actually the other team found them.
Team Seven had barely dropped to the ground in a small clearing when three familiar figures materialized across the open ground from them.
Sakura identified them quickly. "Team Sound."
Indeed it was the three sound nin that had caused trouble before the first exam. Both teams instantly knew this would be a vicious battle as there was already bad blood between them. Neither side would likely give ground.
Sasuke gave a slight start. 'Sound! Orochimaru revealed himself as sound during our fight.' Sasuke had seen the change occur on the man's head protector near the end of their battle. 'If he's sound then why are these three after us? We don't have a scroll anymore for them to take. Unless they don't know yet.'
Sasuke risked a glance at Sakura and saw that she had come to the same conclusion. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't look like he was thinking very deeply at the moment. Now that he had an opponent to face he had forgotten all about his squabble with Sasuke. His anger, which had turned inward once they had gotten moving again, was now focused on the opponents in front of him, specifically the heavily bandaged middle one.
"Well we finally found you," the bandaged nin said. "We want to fight Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke wasn't in the mood for his normal dark humor or comments that he usually voiced before a fight. He simply wanted to hurt something and leave it at that. His reply therefore was a simple stance change telling his opponents that he was ready for them. Naruto, on the other hand, had something totally different in mind.
He pointed a finger at the bandaged sound nin. "You'll fight me and no one else bandage boy!"
The afore mentioned sound nin cocked his head to one side and replied in a sing song tone of voice. "Oh? We were going to wait to kill you until after we dealt with Sasuke-kun but if you're in such a hurry to die then I think we can indulge you."
Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. Naruto was acting brash again. While she agreed with his idea of splitting up the fighting so it wasn't three on one she didn't like the fact that he had gone and announced the fact that he wanted to fight. If he hadn't he and Sakura could have jumped into the fight at the right time and swung it in their favor.
Sasuke was thinking along the same lines as Sakura but was a bit more vocal in his protests of Naruto's actions. "Damn you Naruto. Stay out of my fight."
Naruto turned his head and locked eyes with his teammate. Sasuke saw the hatred and the desire in the boy's eyes and flinched because he knew it was directed at him. But something else came across in that instant of connection that made him lower his guard. Sasuke suddenly 'knew' that Naruto was trying to vent his anger in some way that did not involve hurting his teammate.
The blond's voice was almost level when he spoke again. "Fuck off Sasuke. You've already done enough damage."
The simple emotionless statement ripped a hole in the raven haired Uchiha's heart. For a boy who had always been popular, whether he cared or not, such a cold and obviously hate filled statement was like a blow to the head. Sasuke never made situations worse, did he?! Sasuke tried to find words to answer back and rebuff the statement but nothing came. For the warrior in Sasuke it was a blow below the belt. His friend and fellow warrior no longer thought he was worthy of fighting their enemies for the team...
...that he wasn't worth the effort...
Naruto's simple statement had unwittingly found the huge echoing cavern in Sasuke's heart that his brother's actions had created years ago.
Sasuke lowered his eyes in disgrace. Sakura, who had been about ready to jump to Sasuke's defense, stopped in horror as she saw Sasuke's proud visage fall away before her. The whole image that was Sasuke, the proud, cold, heartless bad ass, seemed to just slide off the boy leaving a paler, more emotionally frail person in it's place. No one had seen this side of Sasuke for years and even then it had only been his close family. The armor he had built up after his family's death had hid it well and he had worked hard to make sure no one ever found the chink in that armor. His bloodline assured him a spot among the high and powerful. He had never lost a fight against someone his own age and had even held his own against a number of older ninja including Kakashi. He was a genius ninja, he was flawless.
Sakura's eyes showed her astonishment. "Naruto, what have you done to Sasuke-kun?" she whispered under her breath.
Even Naruto in his rage noticed Sasuke's transformation. His mask of hatred slipped slightly and he looked questioningly at his teammate. "Uh Sasuke? You can take one if you want to. Just don't screw up."
Sakura, being the only one of Team Seven still looking in the general direction of the sound nin, was the only one to see them go on the offensive. The bandaged sound nin charged, pulling up his shirt sleeve as he went revealing the strange sound device he had used against Kabuto. She reacted quickly, yelling out a warning to the boys and tackling Sasuke to get him out of the way of the enemies attack. Sakura felt the wind of the enemies attack swish past her head as she and Sasuke went to the ground.
They both hit the ground and rolled. At the same time the feeling of nausea hit Sakura. Her roll became a flop and she skidded to a stop holding her stomach. Sasuke, thanks to Sakura's quick save, was spared the nausea. The jarring tackle and the subsequent roll on the ground jogged Sasuke's mind back into working order.
He turned his fall into a nice roll the brought him back up to his feet. He quickly assessed the situation. Naruto had locked weapons with the bandaged sound nin, the girl sound nin was preparing something behind her back, and the other male sound was lining up for something directly at Sasuke and Sakura's position.
Sasuke acted out of pure reflex, grabbing Sakura around the waist and jumping as hard as he could. A yell of "Zankuha!" echoed behind him and a blast of air wiped the area he had just been in free of rocks and loose objects.
He landed and placed Sakura back on her feet. She swayed a bit but managed to stay standing. She didn't look to good.
The second male sound nin was his problem now. Naruto was taking care of the first. "Sakura, you need to take care of that girl. Can you do it?" Sakura stumbled a bit but nodded and drew her kunai.
Sasuke, sure the Sakura could handle herself, now turned his attention back to his opponent. A plan formed in his mind quickly and set it in motion without hesitation. Hands flew as he performed the necessary seals.
"Katon, Housenka!" Several small fireballs shot out from Sasuke towards his opponent. The black haired sound brought his hands up in front of him. "Don't get so cocky! I'll erase it!" Two bursts of air shot out of his hands and smothered Sasuke's fireballs, but didn't stop the shuriken inside them.
The little weapons sliced past the startled ninja. He brought his arms up to protect his face giving Sasuke the chance to continue his attack. With incredible speed Sasuke charged and planted a foot on the other boy's chin, launching him into the sky.
Stunned, the sound ninja flew upwards in a beautiful arch lying out his body for a textbook attack. Sasuke smiled as he drew his remaining shuriken and kunai and launched them at the boy. The weapon strikes brought a sickening scream from the now falling boy.
At the same moment only several yards away Naruto's elbow managed to embed itself deeply into the bandaged boy's belly after a quick tustle. With a woof of air his body went limp and Naruto let him fall to the ground. He quickly picked his opponent's pouch, robbing him of his scroll of earth.
Sakura and the girl sound nin had yet to engage each other but the sight of her teammates going down so easily took the heart out of her. She stance weakened and she called for stop to the fight. "You are strong, we cannot defeat you. You have our scroll, let us leave in peace." Sasuke and Naruto looked at Sakura who nodded. "Leave our weapons behind and go."
The girl managed to get both of her teammates onto her shoulders some how and walked off at a slow shuffle. Once she was gone Team Seven began breathing again.
Sakura fell to her knees and retched. She had been holding down the impulse for too long already. Sasuke dropped to the ground next to a tree and closed his eyes, not wanting to let his teammates see his vulnerability again.
Naruto grasped the scroll of earth firmly in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. They had effectively gotten their scroll back now but they couldn't let that keep them from pushing on. But something was bothering Naruto. The blond boy turned and stared at Sasuke as the black haired boy evened his breathing.
Naruto had seen something in Sasuke that he had never seen before. He had always thought Sasuke was just a natural bad ass but the weakness the boy had shown just a few minutes ago told Naruto that Sasuke was more like himself then he had originally thought.
Naruto was a good natured boy at heart but had developed his hard attitude because of his life on the road with Jiriaya. Finding out he carried a hated demon inside him had only reinforced this attitude. He didn't always like it and didn't always use it either. He didn't want to have to wear the deception forever, only until he could figure out a way to deal with the fox.
But in Sasuke he had seen someone who carried deeper scars, maybe even some he didn't have to be carrying at all, and hid it all under a mask much like his own. But there was something different about Sasuke's mask. His was supposed to be permanent. Naruto didn't know where the insight came from but for some reason it actually made him smile.
The anger he had harbored towards Sasuke earlier melted away and was replaced by a feeling of comradeship unlike any he had ever felt before. It felt so good that he laughed out loud.
The laugh was not something Sasuke or Sakura had been expecting. Sasuke's eyes snapped open, a look of hurt managing to slip out of his cracked mask. He thought the laugh was intended to jibe him further but the pureness of the laugh and the lack of hatred or dislike in the blond's eyes instantly put those thoughts to rest.
Naruto threw the scroll to a startled Sasuke who managed to catch it before it hit him in the head. He looked at it dumbly and then gave Naruto a questioning glance.
Naruto laughed again. "I'll give you another chance with it Sasuke. Just as long as you promise it was only a one time thing."
Sasuke had no idea how to take that so he just nodded.
Sakura caught his attention. "Are you ok Sasuke-kun? What happened back there?"
The Uchiha boy gave Sakura a quick glance that quite simply said 'Please don't ask me now.'
'They've seen it,' Sasuke thought, 'They've seen me weak. They've seen the mask slip. They'll want to know. No, not now. I can't let it out now. I need to focus now.'
A second smaller voice spoke up in the back of his head. 'But if not now then when? When you've gotten yourself under control again and don't want to admit you showed it?'
Sasuke forced the thoughts away. He needed some time to think. For now he would keep it secret. For now he would wear the mask.
Hope that made sense. I don't have any real idea of how the mind works, this is all just conjecture, so if it didn't really make sense or you don't think it would work like that please let me know. I'm trying to portray the softer side of Sasuke, the weaker side if you will. You'll see more of it later since he doesn't have the curse(yet?). Some have asked if this is going to be a Sasu/Naru fic. No it's not. people seem to think that if Sasuke's perfect dark man routine cracks once around Naruto that the story will instantly dive into the realm of yaoi. Well this one won't. Come on, can't they get along and not be gay? Lets try it shall we?
Many Thanks to all my fans and reviewers. You're making this better then i could have ever imagined. I try to listen to all of you so don't be scared of voicing your opinion. I'll take it like man. : )
It didn't take them long to find another team to fight. Actually the other team found them.
Team Seven had barely dropped to the ground in a small clearing when three familiar figures materialized across the open ground from them.
Sakura identified them quickly. "Team Sound."
Indeed it was the three sound nin that had caused trouble before the first exam. Both teams instantly knew this would be a vicious battle as there was already bad blood between them. Neither side would likely give ground.
Sasuke gave a slight start. 'Sound! Orochimaru revealed himself as sound during our fight.' Sasuke had seen the change occur on the man's head protector near the end of their battle. 'If he's sound then why are these three after us? We don't have a scroll anymore for them to take. Unless they don't know yet.'
Sasuke risked a glance at Sakura and saw that she had come to the same conclusion. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't look like he was thinking very deeply at the moment. Now that he had an opponent to face he had forgotten all about his squabble with Sasuke. His anger, which had turned inward once they had gotten moving again, was now focused on the opponents in front of him, specifically the heavily bandaged middle one.
"Well we finally found you," the bandaged nin said. "We want to fight Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke wasn't in the mood for his normal dark humor or comments that he usually voiced before a fight. He simply wanted to hurt something and leave it at that. His reply therefore was a simple stance change telling his opponents that he was ready for them. Naruto, on the other hand, had something totally different in mind.
He pointed a finger at the bandaged sound nin. "You'll fight me and no one else bandage boy!"
The afore mentioned sound nin cocked his head to one side and replied in a sing song tone of voice. "Oh? We were going to wait to kill you until after we dealt with Sasuke-kun but if you're in such a hurry to die then I think we can indulge you."
Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. Naruto was acting brash again. While she agreed with his idea of splitting up the fighting so it wasn't three on one she didn't like the fact that he had gone and announced the fact that he wanted to fight. If he hadn't he and Sakura could have jumped into the fight at the right time and swung it in their favor.
Sasuke was thinking along the same lines as Sakura but was a bit more vocal in his protests of Naruto's actions. "Damn you Naruto. Stay out of my fight."
Naruto turned his head and locked eyes with his teammate. Sasuke saw the hatred and the desire in the boy's eyes and flinched because he knew it was directed at him. But something else came across in that instant of connection that made him lower his guard. Sasuke suddenly 'knew' that Naruto was trying to vent his anger in some way that did not involve hurting his teammate.
The blond's voice was almost level when he spoke again. "Fuck off Sasuke. You've already done enough damage."
The simple emotionless statement ripped a hole in the raven haired Uchiha's heart. For a boy who had always been popular, whether he cared or not, such a cold and obviously hate filled statement was like a blow to the head. Sasuke never made situations worse, did he?! Sasuke tried to find words to answer back and rebuff the statement but nothing came. For the warrior in Sasuke it was a blow below the belt. His friend and fellow warrior no longer thought he was worthy of fighting their enemies for the team...
...that he wasn't worth the effort...
Naruto's simple statement had unwittingly found the huge echoing cavern in Sasuke's heart that his brother's actions had created years ago.
Sasuke lowered his eyes in disgrace. Sakura, who had been about ready to jump to Sasuke's defense, stopped in horror as she saw Sasuke's proud visage fall away before her. The whole image that was Sasuke, the proud, cold, heartless bad ass, seemed to just slide off the boy leaving a paler, more emotionally frail person in it's place. No one had seen this side of Sasuke for years and even then it had only been his close family. The armor he had built up after his family's death had hid it well and he had worked hard to make sure no one ever found the chink in that armor. His bloodline assured him a spot among the high and powerful. He had never lost a fight against someone his own age and had even held his own against a number of older ninja including Kakashi. He was a genius ninja, he was flawless.
Sakura's eyes showed her astonishment. "Naruto, what have you done to Sasuke-kun?" she whispered under her breath.
Even Naruto in his rage noticed Sasuke's transformation. His mask of hatred slipped slightly and he looked questioningly at his teammate. "Uh Sasuke? You can take one if you want to. Just don't screw up."
Sakura, being the only one of Team Seven still looking in the general direction of the sound nin, was the only one to see them go on the offensive. The bandaged sound nin charged, pulling up his shirt sleeve as he went revealing the strange sound device he had used against Kabuto. She reacted quickly, yelling out a warning to the boys and tackling Sasuke to get him out of the way of the enemies attack. Sakura felt the wind of the enemies attack swish past her head as she and Sasuke went to the ground.
They both hit the ground and rolled. At the same time the feeling of nausea hit Sakura. Her roll became a flop and she skidded to a stop holding her stomach. Sasuke, thanks to Sakura's quick save, was spared the nausea. The jarring tackle and the subsequent roll on the ground jogged Sasuke's mind back into working order.
He turned his fall into a nice roll the brought him back up to his feet. He quickly assessed the situation. Naruto had locked weapons with the bandaged sound nin, the girl sound nin was preparing something behind her back, and the other male sound was lining up for something directly at Sasuke and Sakura's position.
Sasuke acted out of pure reflex, grabbing Sakura around the waist and jumping as hard as he could. A yell of "Zankuha!" echoed behind him and a blast of air wiped the area he had just been in free of rocks and loose objects.
He landed and placed Sakura back on her feet. She swayed a bit but managed to stay standing. She didn't look to good.
The second male sound nin was his problem now. Naruto was taking care of the first. "Sakura, you need to take care of that girl. Can you do it?" Sakura stumbled a bit but nodded and drew her kunai.
Sasuke, sure the Sakura could handle herself, now turned his attention back to his opponent. A plan formed in his mind quickly and set it in motion without hesitation. Hands flew as he performed the necessary seals.
"Katon, Housenka!" Several small fireballs shot out from Sasuke towards his opponent. The black haired sound brought his hands up in front of him. "Don't get so cocky! I'll erase it!" Two bursts of air shot out of his hands and smothered Sasuke's fireballs, but didn't stop the shuriken inside them.
The little weapons sliced past the startled ninja. He brought his arms up to protect his face giving Sasuke the chance to continue his attack. With incredible speed Sasuke charged and planted a foot on the other boy's chin, launching him into the sky.
Stunned, the sound ninja flew upwards in a beautiful arch lying out his body for a textbook attack. Sasuke smiled as he drew his remaining shuriken and kunai and launched them at the boy. The weapon strikes brought a sickening scream from the now falling boy.
At the same moment only several yards away Naruto's elbow managed to embed itself deeply into the bandaged boy's belly after a quick tustle. With a woof of air his body went limp and Naruto let him fall to the ground. He quickly picked his opponent's pouch, robbing him of his scroll of earth.
Sakura and the girl sound nin had yet to engage each other but the sight of her teammates going down so easily took the heart out of her. She stance weakened and she called for stop to the fight. "You are strong, we cannot defeat you. You have our scroll, let us leave in peace." Sasuke and Naruto looked at Sakura who nodded. "Leave our weapons behind and go."
The girl managed to get both of her teammates onto her shoulders some how and walked off at a slow shuffle. Once she was gone Team Seven began breathing again.
Sakura fell to her knees and retched. She had been holding down the impulse for too long already. Sasuke dropped to the ground next to a tree and closed his eyes, not wanting to let his teammates see his vulnerability again.
Naruto grasped the scroll of earth firmly in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. They had effectively gotten their scroll back now but they couldn't let that keep them from pushing on. But something was bothering Naruto. The blond boy turned and stared at Sasuke as the black haired boy evened his breathing.
Naruto had seen something in Sasuke that he had never seen before. He had always thought Sasuke was just a natural bad ass but the weakness the boy had shown just a few minutes ago told Naruto that Sasuke was more like himself then he had originally thought.
Naruto was a good natured boy at heart but had developed his hard attitude because of his life on the road with Jiriaya. Finding out he carried a hated demon inside him had only reinforced this attitude. He didn't always like it and didn't always use it either. He didn't want to have to wear the deception forever, only until he could figure out a way to deal with the fox.
But in Sasuke he had seen someone who carried deeper scars, maybe even some he didn't have to be carrying at all, and hid it all under a mask much like his own. But there was something different about Sasuke's mask. His was supposed to be permanent. Naruto didn't know where the insight came from but for some reason it actually made him smile.
The anger he had harbored towards Sasuke earlier melted away and was replaced by a feeling of comradeship unlike any he had ever felt before. It felt so good that he laughed out loud.
The laugh was not something Sasuke or Sakura had been expecting. Sasuke's eyes snapped open, a look of hurt managing to slip out of his cracked mask. He thought the laugh was intended to jibe him further but the pureness of the laugh and the lack of hatred or dislike in the blond's eyes instantly put those thoughts to rest.
Naruto threw the scroll to a startled Sasuke who managed to catch it before it hit him in the head. He looked at it dumbly and then gave Naruto a questioning glance.
Naruto laughed again. "I'll give you another chance with it Sasuke. Just as long as you promise it was only a one time thing."
Sasuke had no idea how to take that so he just nodded.
Sakura caught his attention. "Are you ok Sasuke-kun? What happened back there?"
The Uchiha boy gave Sakura a quick glance that quite simply said 'Please don't ask me now.'
'They've seen it,' Sasuke thought, 'They've seen me weak. They've seen the mask slip. They'll want to know. No, not now. I can't let it out now. I need to focus now.'
A second smaller voice spoke up in the back of his head. 'But if not now then when? When you've gotten yourself under control again and don't want to admit you showed it?'
Sasuke forced the thoughts away. He needed some time to think. For now he would keep it secret. For now he would wear the mask.
Hope that made sense. I don't have any real idea of how the mind works, this is all just conjecture, so if it didn't really make sense or you don't think it would work like that please let me know. I'm trying to portray the softer side of Sasuke, the weaker side if you will. You'll see more of it later since he doesn't have the curse(yet?). Some have asked if this is going to be a Sasu/Naru fic. No it's not. people seem to think that if Sasuke's perfect dark man routine cracks once around Naruto that the story will instantly dive into the realm of yaoi. Well this one won't. Come on, can't they get along and not be gay? Lets try it shall we?
Many Thanks to all my fans and reviewers. You're making this better then i could have ever imagined. I try to listen to all of you so don't be scared of voicing your opinion. I'll take it like man. : )