Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I've already said it twice, so you should've figured it out by now.
A/N: This chapter is told from Itachi's POV.
Chapter Three
He was still glaring at me.
Although he wasn't verbally protesting to my presence, I could see that he didn't like the idea of depending on someone he didn't know. He obviously didn't trust me, although I hadn't given him a specific reason why to not; the same could be said for the opposite.
It was odd: for the first time in almost five years I was within spitting distance of my brother, and I had no idea what I was going to say to him. Inside my mind, I had come up with plenty of different things to say to him, depending on how strong he had become: either "not enough hatefulness", "you are week", or something of the sort. If by some miracle he had managed to become stronger than me in such a short amount of time- which I doubted- I had contemplated telling him the truth.
I hadn't come up with a plan in case of memory loss.
I led him through the forest at a pace I knew he could keep, heading towards a large cave I had seen near the edge of the forest. I would have liked to have some better accommodations, but the only village within a day's walking distance was Konoha, and I didn't have a death wish: I doubted I would have been able to fend off ANBU, jounin, and chuunin while keeping an eye on my brother at the same time. Even geniuses have their limits.
It was a good hour before we finally came to our destination. When Sasuke laid his eyes on the place we would be staying for the next two weeks, I saw him scowl in distaste. For a moment I wondered if he remembered living in the luxury being a member of the Uchiha clan provided, before harshly stomping the idea out; it was highly unlikely that he would remember such a small an insignificant piece of information. No, Sasuke simply wasn't excited about the prospect of camping out in a damp cave with bugs crawling all around the floor. The horrid smell obviously wasn't helping.
I couldn't say I blamed him.
Turning to him, I said, "We'll be staying here for a while, make yourself comfortable." He scoffed at this, and kicked his foot angrily before stalking into the cave. A smile crossed my lips. He always did what I asked of him.
"Hate me."
The smile faded, and I closed my eyes for a moment, willing the words to leave me. I didn't like to be reminded of what I had done to him. Although I felt little guilt for the action, the consequences were regrettable: I didn't ever expect Sasuke would be able to forgive me. I didn't think that I particularly deserved to be forgiven.
"Sasuke-kun," I called out gently, knowing that he was watching me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him flush lightly, and I bit back a smirk. "I'm going out to collect fire wood, and to find something to eat. You may come with me if you wish to."
I hadn't thought he would want to come. As a child, he would follow me anywhere, no matter how much trouble it would be for me; he no longer had that admiration of me to motivate him. So it was more than a bit surprising when he came back towards me, hands buried in his pockets, scowling at me. I simply stood there for a moment.
"Well, are we going to go or not?" He asked irritably. I didn't move. His scowled deepened. "What? I'm only going with you to see if anything jogs a memory; I don't think that sitting in a rank cave is going to help very much."
My eyes lingered on him for another minute, and inwardly I was grinning ridiculously. Despite his defense, or perhaps because of it, I was sure that there was another reason he was coming. I couldn't help but hope beyond hope that he really did just want to spend time with me.
I turned from him and started walking towards a stream I had seen nearby, and I heard his footsteps as he started after me; although I could still feel the heat of his glare upon the back of my head, I couldn't quell the feeling inside of me at the knowledge that his attention was focused on me.
After a few minutes' walk, I discovered that the stream had, in fact, led to a small pond, where the water was clear and the sun shone down on it a the oddest angle, making strange designs appear over the surface. It was a beautiful sight.
I slipped my cloak off of my shoulders and folded it up before laying it on the ground, then using it as a cushion to sit on near the edge of the pond. I slipped out a kunai from its holster and carefully attached a string of chakra to the handle. I threw the kunai out and then withdrew it in one swift motion, simply tugging on the chakra thread to draw it back. There was a fish pinned to the kunai.
I saw Sasuke's eyes widen fractionally. "How did you do that?" he asked me, voice full of awe. I frowned for a moment, realizing that in his state of memory loss he now must've known as little about the ways of the shinobi now as he had before he had started attending the academy; less, honestly, seeing as the Uchiha would never allow one of their own to be so completely ignorant in the subject.
"I simply attached a string of chakra to the kunai, and sensed the chakra source in the lake. Then I threw the kunai. And hence, we now have a fish," I stated calmly. (I suppose that monotone didn't fit very well with the sarcasm.) Although I knew he wouldn't understand anything about chakra, I enjoyed seeing the baffled look on his face. I also enjoyed when that look turned into a glare when he realized I was confusing him purposely.
"Explain."
"Explain what, Sasuke-kun?" I asked, still finding it amusing to give into my moment of childishness. I hadn't lived my childhood when I had the chance, so why not enjoy these moments while I could?
Sasuke's eyes narrowed further. "You know what I meant!" he snapped.
I sighed. My moment was over. "Chakra. It's the spiritual and physical energy that allows all beings to live. In some beings, there is a much larger supply of chakra, and they can then manipulate that chakra in different ways to achieve different ends."
"Nani? In what ways do they manipulate… chakra?" Sasuke asked, pausing for a moment to remember the name.
"Shinobi manipulate their chakra in order to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, and some advanced taijutsu."
"…Shinobi?"
"Ninja."
Sasuke paused for a moment, before meeting my eyes. "That would make you one of them, right?"
I nodded. "Yes."
We were both silent, and I assumed that was the end of the conversation. I was about to turn from my brother when he said abruptly, "Teach me." I looked at him questioningly. "Teach me," he repeated.
I was silent.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
To be continues…
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A/N: It's about the same length as the last chapter, and it's not very good. I'm sorry that Itachi wasn't very in character, but since he never really shows a truly distinct personality in the amount of the anime I've seen (113 episodes, now), I'm kind of manipulating his personality for my own gain. Sorry about that, I don't mean to upset anyone.
And to the people who're asking for some more EXTREME action… you perverts! You're as bad as Jiraiya and Kakashi! I can't write that! I can read it (I have absolutely no problem with the lemons, in fact, I love lemony goodness!), but I can't write it. I'm writing on a shared computer, for one, and I wouldn't want either my sister or my mother to find it. I would be banned from fanfiction forever.
Also, I just started the school year, and I'm already sick of it. I hate school. With a burning, fiery passion that matches that of Lee's towards his training, to the opposite extreme! Oh yeah, if anyone can guess what grade I'm in correctly, I'll post the chapter as soon as they do (or, when I read it and I have time to write the chapter)!
Please read and review!
