Chapter 2
"Paranoia is a totally natural and healthy instinct for a ninja. Never take candy from a stranger, or you might end up on the ground with a hole melted into your throat. Also don't show off and monologue about your awesome moves, no matter how fun it might feel to gloat in your opponent's face. That's like an evil villain monologuing about their evil plan to the hero before killing them, it just gives them time to find the flaw and foil it AND escape the death trap."
One day shortly after their second year at the academy began, Sasuke invited Masaru and Akari over to his house after class. "Why the sudden invite?" Akari asked, taking point like usual. Sasuke huffed lightly and looked away, cheeks puffing out in a childish show of reluctance.
"Father wants me to work on my taijutsu by sparring more," he explained. "I don't really know anyone at school well enough to invite them over, and you guys are the only other Uchiha my age."
Sasuke's reasoning made sense. All three of the Uchiha children had distanced themselves from their classmates, though each for their own reasons. Sasuke focused more on training than making friends, Akari had a mutual grudge with most of the girls in their class due to her low opinion of their priorities, and Masaru... still could not interact well with people. Since they usually walked to school together, he felt marginally more comfortable around Sasuke than others, though still not enough to actually talk to him.
However, the prospect of going to Sasuke's house and meeting his family petrified him.
Uchiha Fugaku terrified him. Their brief interaction on the first day of school still gave him actual nightmares, visions of his cold stony gaze waking him on more than one occasion. Beyond that, everyone knew Sasuke's older brother Itachi was a prodigy. While Masaru had actually never met the Uchiha heir due to their family's isolated location, the stories he heard left him with images of a terrifying giant of a youth with spiky hair, bulging muscles and constantly active Sharingan. As for his mother...
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Akari said before Masaru could begin to speculate on Mikoto, thoroughly disproving all theories about twin telepathy in the process. Seeing the panicked look he shot her, she shrugged and said, "Come on Masa, you know you need a better partner!"
"I guess," he sighed, accepting his fate.
And thus the Uchiha twins found themselves visiting the main household for the first time.
"Mom, I'm home!" Sasuke called as they entered the house. "I brought Akari-san and Masaru-san, too!" As if summoned by magic words Uchiha Mikoto appeared in the hallway before them, offering the three children a pleasant smile. A single glance made it clear that Sasuke took strongly after her in looks, his basic facial structure overwhelmingly similar to hers and his hair clearly inheriting its blue-tinted onyx shade from her, though his was slightly darker.
"Hello Akari-chan, Masaru-kun," she greeted warmly. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Again?" Akari asked, brow furrowing as she and Masaru tried to recall their previous meeting, and Mikoto laughed softly.
"Oh, don't try to remember. Last time I saw you, you weren't even two. Ryoko-chan talks about you quite often." They perked up at the choice of honorific and the word "often". Evidently their mother must be relatively close to the Uchiha head's wife, though that only raised the question of why they had never met her. Waving them in, she said, "Come inside, I was just making a snack for Sasuke. I can get something for you too, if you want."
"I'm not sharing my tomatoes," Sasuke warned, shooting them a glare, but Akari dismissed him easily.
"I can settle for an apple or orange or something," she said, and Mikoto nodded.
"Alright. Lucky for you, I have a fresh bushel of apples, just delivered to the market today. And what about you, Masaru?" Her gaze then moved to Masaru, making him unintentionally flinch. Biting his lip, he hesitated before speaking.
"Um... Do you have any peaches?" he ventured, and she rewarded him with a kind smile as she nodded.
"We do. Come into the kitchen and I'll get it all out for you." Masaru breathed a quiet sigh of relief as her attention shifted away from him, trailing behind his sister and Sasuke into the kitchen. As they scooted into the chairs around the table Sasuke shot him a thoughtful glance.
"You're really timid, aren't you?" he asked, a hint of disdain in his voice. The brown-haired Uchiha boy blinked before abruptly straightened in his seat, all hesitance vanishing from his face as he stared levelly at Sasuke.
"I'm not timid," he replied flatly. "I'm shy. There's a difference." The bluntness of his words obviously caught Sasuke off-guard, the darker-haired boy blinking in surprise before frowning.
"There is? They seem like the same thing to me." Even as he spoke Masaru shook his head though.
"Being shy means you just can't talk to strangers well," Akari piped up. "But being timid would apply to everything you do. Masaru is not timid." Timidity would be a fatal flaw for a ninja, making them hesitate at crucial moments or overwhelm them with self-doubt. Masaru didn't have that. He might not be a people person, but he knew how to handle himself in a fight.
Beside them Mikoto made a thoughtful sound as she washed off three pieces of fruit, wiping them off with a towel before serving them to each child. "Akari-chan's right. While normally being shy is part of being timid, that doesn't necessarily mean a shy person has low confidence." Handing Masaru his peach, she smiled as she added, "There are plenty of ninja who are excellent on the battlefield, but don't know how to have a normal conversation about the weather. I think as long as Masaru-kun can fight, he'll be fine."
"Oh, he can fight," Akari muttered, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she chuckled. "He can fight." Her words had an ominous ring that made Sasuke frown, shooting Masaru a skeptical glance, but Masaru just shrugged and chomped into his peach, pointedly looking away from him.
When they moved to the backyard to begin training, Akari's meaning quickly became apparent. Sliding into the beginning stance, an utter calm washed over Masaru as his features smoothed into a blank mask, his posture loose and relaxed yet ready to pounce. While Akari had a natural aptitude for handling weapons, Masaru found his knack in sparring matches. Taijutsu and fighting in general came to him naturally, slipping into a strange trance-like state where his mind blanked out everything else.
Lunging at Sasuke, he had little trouble scoring the first win. His abrupt change in demeanor caught the other boy off-guard and allowed him to easily sweep his legs out from under him, Sasuke falling onto his back with a startled yelp. Now aware of Masaru's prowess, Sasuke approached the second match more seriously than the last, his gaze wary as he watched Masaru. When Masaru made the first move, this time he responded, blocking the punch. Punch, block, block, kick. Spin, jump, block, kick. The boys fell into a steady rhythm, endlessly exchanging blow after blow, until finally Masaru spun in a roundhouse kick before sharply jabbing his elbow into Sasuke's rib. The blow sent the dark-haired boy skidding back with a startled cry, gasping for breath as he clutched his stomach.
"H-how?" he sputtered when he got his breath back.
"Most kids at school are still doing punches and kicks," Masaru replied with a shrug, the words coming more easily than usual in his battle-induced calmness. "But your whole body's a weapon. You gotta remember that." Sasuke now stared at him with slight awe, while Akari just snorted in amusement.
"That is correct. In battle, it is important to be aware of every move you can make." A new voice spoke up behind them, making Masaru whirl around in a defensive stance and Akari straighten up. Sasuke, however, instantly lit up, his face bursting into a giant grin he never showed at school.
"Nii-san! You're home!" He launched past the twins to throw himself at the boy standing in the back door of the house, wrapping his arms around his waist. The older boy smiled fondly at the embrace, bending slightly to return it briefly before gently prying him off.
"I just returned a few minutes ago. Mother said you had some friends over." His eyes glided towards the twins as he spoke, making them stiffen. Remembering their presence, Sasuke quickly tore himself away from his brother, presumably to spare his pride.
"Uchiha Akari," Akari introduced, dropping her torso in a deep bow. "It is an honor to meet you, Itachi-sama." Blinking at her in shock, Masaru turned back and quickly mimicked the gesture, dropping into a bow.
"U-Uchiha Masaru." Not sure what else to say but figuring he should say something, he stammered a lame, "Hello, Itachi-san—sama!" He harshly corrected himself, his face turning red as he dipped his head further in shame. "S-sorry!"
"It's fine," Itachi chuckled, clearly amused. "I actually dislike having such formal honorifics attached to my name, so calling me Itachi-san is fine." Nodding, the twins straightened up to face him more fully, and Masaru found his earlier preconceptions of the clan's heir completely destroyed. Rather than a muscle-bound giant, Uchiha Itachi was actually a rather small boy, not even in his teens yet. His face even held a faint feminine quality which was only heightened by his smooth, smoky-black hair, which he pulled into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck.
Okay, this might explain why so many people rabidly claimed the Uchiha to be ridiculously beautiful.
"Your fighting style is quite impressive for your age," he commented to Masaru. "It's a bit rough around the edges though. Some of your attacks had too much motion involved. For example, you tended to throw your entire body into your punches."
"But... isn't that a good thing?" Masaru frowned, puzzled by the comment. "I mean, then it gets stronger, right?"
"Yes, to an extent," Itachi agreed easily. "But, what if your opponent doesn't try to block it?"
"...Huh?" Rather than respond right away Itachi stepped onto the grass, assuming the spot Sasuke had formerly occupied. The trio of Uchiha children watched him with rapt attention, Sasuke joining Akari on the sidelines.
"Try punching me, right now." Still confused but now a bit curious, Masaru complied without any further prodding. He didn't see a need to hesitate or question the order, especially since Itachi's reputation suggested he could more than take care of himself. Sure enough, before his fist could make contact Itachi swiftly swept to the side in a distinct gray blur of movement.
Eyes widening with surprise, Masaru yelped as the momentum of his punch carried him forward, flinging him to the ground face-first. Rolling onto his back, he sat up and rubbed his nose with a wince, gritting his teeth in pain. "Ow..."
"As you can see, all your opponent has to do is dodge," Itachi noted, extending a hand to him. Hesitating, Masaru took it and the older boy easily pulled him to his feet, explaining all the while, "Throwing all your weight into the attack will make it stronger, but that makes it harder to control yourself and stop. Beyond dodging, they could also simply be using a bunshin or genjutsu, which would make the attack ineffective and nothing more than a waste of energy."
"Right," Masaru said slowly, nodding in understanding. Folding his arms, he tipped his head back to look at the sky and mused thoughtfully, "And now that I think about it, I guess most people would try to dodge instead of blocking attacks."
"They would?" Akari and Sasuke perked up at the thought, and Masaru shrugged.
"Our clan has a giant fireball as part of our coming of age ceremony," he deadpanned. "How would you block it?"
The others' silence proved his point.
"You're correct about that, too," Itachi chuckled, his lips quirking in amusement at Masaru's wording. "In real battles, even with the Sharingan it's hard to know what your opponent's ninjutsu may do. Getting hit by an unknown technique of any sort can be lethal, and even if it's purely taijutsu your opponent's clothing or skin may be soaked in poison. Generally it's better to not get hit at all than blocking."
"But then why do our taijutsu classes at school only deal with blocks?" Sasuke muttered, frowning.
"Basic dodging can't be easily taught beyond throwing balls at you, and formal defensive maneuvers involving dodging can be fairly complex. You've only just begun your second year at the Academy, so your taijutsu classes will focus on the basics first. I expect you'll start to move on within the next month or so, so you can begin sparring. As it stands, I'd say you and Masaru-kun are likely already ahead of the curriculum. Although," he added, glancing at Akari, "I can't say the same for Akari-san since I haven't seen her sparring."
Akari perked up, and quickly moved to rectify that by challenging Sasuke. In the end, Itachi deemed her a close second to his brother in terms of skill, but declared Masaru to be the best.
When they told their mother about training at Sasuke's house she'd been initially surprised but quickly voiced her approval. "Well, Sasuke and Itachi are good boys, so it would be good for you all to be friends," she told them. Despite that and the continued training sessions, their relationship didn't seem to fall into friendship yet.
Sometimes at school Sasuke would join Masaru and Akari for lunch, but more often than not they didn't interact there. Akari couldn't have lunch with him without strengthening the loathing of their classmates, the girls convinced she also secretly pined after Sasuke despite her loud declarations to the contrary. Meanwhile, Masaru still floundered at any form of social interaction outside sparring, so their few attempts at conversation without his sister as a buffer always turned out awkwardly.
So usually they ate separately from Sasuke, and lately separate from each other as well. Surprisingly, Akari began spending more time with Hyuuga Hinata, the shy and definitely timid heiress to the Hyuuga clan. Given her stance on the rest of her female classmates' work ethic the burgeoning friendship surprised Masaru, but Akari defended her new friend easily.
"She's a clan heiress to a really stuck-up clan that's probably even stricter than ours," she pointed out. "You'd probably be the same way if you were her." Masaru thought on it briefly and then agreed she was probably right. So he spent an increasing number of lunches alone, while Akari worked on encouraging her friend to grow a stronger backbone.
Oddly enough, Masaru might be on the path to being friends with Naruto. Apparently he'd earned the blonde's approval or respect or something when he ate the laxative-drenched onigiri right in front of him. Don't ask Masaru how, he still didn't know how to view that whole interaction. Since then Naruto shot friendly smiles his way more often, though he never made any moves to approach beyond that. Masaru had no idea how to make any further progress from there though.
Did Masaru want to be friends with Naruto? Maybe. The blonde certainly had an amusing mischief streak, and beyond the pranks and immature boasting he seemed nice enough. Surprisingly, his loud nature didn't really bother Masaru as much as one might expect given his shy nature. In some ways it actually reminded him of his mother, Ryoko.
Hmm...
"So you think you might want to be friends with Naruto-kun?" she asked when Masaru approached her for advice. He hesitated before nodding, deciding that yes, he did want to be friends with Naruto. Maybe. He'd just like a friend, period, and Naruto probably wanted one too so why not him? Frowning, Ryoko tapped her chin with a thoughtful look before slowly saying, "I'll... need to think about it, okay?" She ruffled his hair which elicited an annoyed cry from him before she retreated to her private study, much to his disappointment.
"Why do all the adults act so wary of him?" Masaru asked his uncle's grave two days later. "All the other kids avoid him because their parents tell them to, but I don't know why. And even mom said 'I need to think about it' with this really serious look on her face. Is there really something so bad about Na—"
"Oh, there you are, Masaru." His mother's cheery voice abruptly cut off his musings, and he turned to see her standing behind him, holding a bouquet of flowers. "Cleaning your uncle's grave again?"
"Yeah," he replied, nodding. Ryoko's smile softened, her eyes warm as she studied him.
"You're such a nice boy," she murmured, kneeing in front of the grave to place the bouquet before the tombstone. "Akari-chan comes here too, you know, at least once a week. She asked me about lighting incense here, once." Incense? Masaru tilted his head, considering it. Burning incense was a traditional way to honor the dead, yet they'd never actually done it for their uncle. Maybe they should, but if they did it outdoors and it started raining it might put out the fire, which... might be bad luck? He wasn't sure, he didn't know much about burning incense since they never did it before.
"Maybe we could build a shrine in our house?" he muttered to himself. Ryoko paused, shooting him a surprised look before her face softened once more.
"You two," she breathed, her lips slowly lifting into a smile. "You two are so..." She trailed off, a misty look entering her eyes. Three seconds later, Masaru found himself trapped in another strangely tight and affectionate embrace far more intense than the usual hugs, leaving him frozen with no idea on what to do. Should he return it? Pat her back?
When she pulled away he resisted the urge to sigh in relief but then paused as she took his hand and pressed a few coins into it. "Buy some candy before school on Monday and give some to Naruto-kun," she instructed him, meeting his confused gaze with a fond smile. "He can't come over to our house, but I'm sure he'll be happy enough being your friend at school."
Masaru blinked at her in surprise, startled by the sudden approval. "O...kay?"
And so on Monday he found himself facing a rather suspicious blonde, one hand extended with an offering of a single, strawberry-flavored jelly. Naruto scrutinized the red-wrapped candy suspiciously, eventually turning wary blue eyes onto Masaru. "What's the catch?" he asked, and Masaru blinked.
"What?"
"You're giving me candy," Naruto pointed out. "No one just gives me candy for no reason." Crossing his arms, he squinted at him and asked, "Do you need help pranking someone or something?"
"What? N-no!" Masaru said quickly, shaking his head frantically as he stammered, "There's—no catch. None. It's just—candy." Naruto still glared at him suspiciously, and after a while he sighed.
"Okay, what'd you do to it?" Once again Masaru squawked an eloquent "what" and the whiskered boy continued, "You're giving me candy with nothing to gain, so obviously you did something to it. So, what is it? Covered it in salt and tossed it in the microwave so it'd melt onto it? Switched it out with some homemade candy made with chili powder?"
Masaru stared at him for approximately five seconds as he processed the sheer extent of Naruto's paranoia, which frankly no six-year-old should have. Then, he closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose before opening his mouth.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?"
That Saturday, Akari laughed her heart out as Masaru spent a majority of the visit to their uncle's grave ranting about the numerous injustices and unfair treatment Naruto had faced in his short life.
Despite all this, Masaru and Naruto still didn't become instant best friends and spend every day together. Discovering shy and quiet Uchiha Masaru did in fact have a backbone had changed Naruto's entire view of the boy, namely to "scary" and "pants-droppingly terrifying when he's mad" and "maybe has a split personality".
They did talk more though, and Masaru was pleased to note they managed to have a couple conversations without getting too awkward.
But, hey.
Progress.
