Disclaimer: Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu writing this thing? I'm almost positive I've already said I don't own Naruto.
A/N: This chapter is from Sasuke's point of view.
Chapter Four
For a moment I felt my heart clench inside of me. It had been a stupid request; for all I knew I could have absolutely no potential, and be completely unable to even attempt the techniques Itachi had described. But then again, to the opposite extreme, I could've already been trained in the shinobi ways, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
Itachi glanced at me, a sad look in his eyes. I don't know why, but for some reason I wanted to know what was making the man seem so sad- before I crushed the urge, stomped on it, and then spit on it before throwing it away into the deepest corner of my mind. I don't know why I would've felt any compassion for him, seeing as my impression of him so far hadn't so great, and I had barely had a conversation with the guy. Hell- I might've just been seeing things, anyways.
"Alright," Itachi said abruptly. I blinked at him; I had been all but sure he was going to flat out refuse (most likely coupled with an insult about how I was too weak, although where the idea came from I wasn't sure- he hadn't said anything particularly rude yet). Slowly, I nodded at him. "Arigato, Itachi-san," I said. Weirdly enough, I actually was grateful.
Itachi reached into a small pouch- the same one he had pulled the knife from earlier, and tossed me the kunai. I caught it easily enough, but nicked a finger a bit on the sharp blade. I tried not to wince noticeably, but Itachi's sharp eyes caught it. He expression remained the same, but I could tell he wasn't pleased as he said, "Be more careful, Sasuke-kun. Make sure to always catch the blade by the handle, from now on."
I nodded and bowed my head, trying to hide my burning cheeks from view. I didn't like screwing up in front of Itachi. His overall attitude screamed superiority, and it made me feel pathetic an insignificant. I didn't like the feeling, which was probably the main reason I found myself unable to let go of my initial dislike of him, despite the fact he was caring for me (sort of) with no reason (as far as I could tell).
He walked closer to where I stood, and took my hand in his. I tried not to turn redder than I already was, cursing mentally at my inability to properly rein my emotions. Maybe later I'd ask him how he always managed to seem so calm and collected. I supposed that would sound a bit stupid though, so I stuffed it in the back with my other unwanted urges. As he held my hand he adjusted my grip on the kunai, and then- standing directly in front of me- placed the tip against the left side of his chest.
"Try and hit me right here," he said, voice as dry as ever despite the fact he had basically just told me to try and kill him. I voiced my opinion. "Are you insane! You want me to try and stab you in the heart while you're three feet in front of me!"
He nodded passively. "Obviously," he said, raising an eyebrow. "If you're actually worried that you would injure me, you can put your mind at ease. It's near impossible that I wouldn't be able to block such a simple attack; beside, your aim in most likely so terrible you'd miss me even from this distance."
Growling angrily, I shouted, "Shut up, teme!" Before I even realized it, I had thrown the kunai as hard as I could. A fraction of a second later I heard the clank of metal on metal, and my kunai was on the ground a few feet from Itachi, firmly imbedded in the dirt.
Itachi frowned a bit, "A shinobi should never let his anger control his reactions, Sasuke-kun. Demo... it was a fairly accurate shot. It wouldn't have pierced my heart, but it would've been a fatal wound in most cases."
I wasn't sure if I should be angry at his insult of cheered by his almost-compliment. Caught be indecision, I simply folded my arms and grunted, looking away from him. He was a frustrating person, even if he wasn't trying to be, and the way I reacted was my own fault for being easily irritated.
Ignoring my reaction, Itachi pulled the kunai from the ground and tossed it back to me. This time I managed to catch it by the hilt, avoided further injury to my hand. I looked at Itachi, and then at the kunai. I tried to imagine it flying into his chest. Not exactly the most inspiring thought, but it was the best I could do.
I felt the weight of the kunai in my hand, unconsciously measuring out the proper amount of strength it would require to throw it accurately. Then, I simply threw it- not particularly hard, as I was aiming more for accuracy. Instead of blocking it like last time, Itachi caught it in his hands, holding it but a centimeter away from his chest.
"Better," he said. "The aim is good. Now try throwing it with the same accuracy, but apply more force. Even if the kunai was accurate, if I was more than twenty feet away, it probably wouldn't have even reached me."
He once again handed the kunai back to me. I threw it at him, doing as he said. This process continued for a good hour following, and slowly Itachi started distancing himself from me. He halted me once he was three meters away, and pointed out that my aim was beginning to be a bit off. I tried my hardest to correct this, and I almost thought I saw him smile when I got it right. I told myself I was seeing things.
It was dark when we finished, and I felt like my arm was going to fall off. I told myself that it was to be expected; training for seven hours could exhaust just about anyone. But, despite what I was telling myself, Itachi didn't look in the least bit tired. On the walk back I decided that glaring at his back would help relieve me of my frustration at being so inferior. Of course, the fact I had only been training for a day didn't dissuade me, but most likely fueled the flame. But I guess that would be flawed logic.
Whatever; not like I cared.
Until we were back in our cave (it still smelled like shit) and Itachi was setting up a fire and cooking the fish he had caught I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I supposed I hadn't eaten all day. Actually, I had no idea when the last time I had eaten was. But it must've been a quite a while ago because I was famished.
When Itachi offered me a fish, I instantly bit down into it, ignoring the burning of my tongue and throat as I downed the thing in what I guessed could've been record time. For the second time, I could've sworn I saw the corners of Itachi's mouth twitch upwards in an almost smile. I once again convinced myself I was delusional (not a pleasant thought really- add on hallucinations to amnesia and I'd got one screwed up psyche).
That night, I slept peacefully, with a nice feeling of someone who loved me watching over me.
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To be continued…
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A/N: Hey, sorry it took me so long to update, and the chapter isn't even that long. I've been kinda busy lately, though, I've been sick over the weekend (I stayed home from school today). So I hope that you can appreciate that I did try to get up this chapter as soon as I had it written. I didn't move the plot along too much, but I did a pretty good job of helping to establish the relationship between Sasuke and Itachi a bit more. And that comment at the end of the chapter threw in just a bit of implied ItaSasu.
Oh yeah, and about the age thing… you guys were damn close. I'm not in ninth grade- I'm in eighth. That's the main reason I'm not going to write a lemon in this… I'd embarrass myself to the point where I'd probably never be the same color again.
Please read and review! I'll try and update sooner next time!
