Ugh. This was a sucky feeling: to know that the kid you've been teaching new high-level jutsu may or may not grow up to be a supervillain. It made too much sense, really, for Obito to be Tobi. He most definitely was. Everything aligned so well. Sasuke would have to be in denial to think Obito wasn't Tobi.
He rubbed his temples in a quiet frustration, wondering what to do now. He couldn't just kill Obito, because of pesky emotional attachments, even though that would be the most logical course of action. No, he just had to get close to one person, and of course that person would turn out to be a future megalomaniac. Apparently, sociopathy just runs in the family.
What would they do? What would Itachi do, what would Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu do? Sakura, Jugo and Karin would probably burst into tears, Kakashi would try to ignore the matter in its entirety, Suigetsu would create a bigger problem to outweigh the existing one, and Itachi would just kill Obito. But Naruto? Well, he'd probably play pacifist and try to prevent Obito's horrid fate. Maybe he should pull a Naruto.
Yes, that sounded good. Was it too optimistic? Sasuke will just try to be there for Obito, make sure he doesn't 'die', prevent the Mangekyou sprouting, and hopefully, it'll be okay. If it still isn't, Sasuke has a last resort for that: murder.
Deciding that that was that and he didn't have to deal with this anymore, Sasuke strolled out of his shitty apartment in search of the nearest bar. The sky began to darken, so unfortunately, whatever bar he could find would be crowded.
"Just whatever," he said to the bartender when he sat down into a lively bar.
"Yer a bit young, aintcha?" Despite how old he seemed, bartenders were the best at identifying a person's true age. Sasuke rolled his eyes. His glare could frighten steel.
"I kill people for a living. Old enough to hide a dead body, old enough for alcohol."
The bartender shrugged and started preparing whatever, setting it down in front of him with a clack. Sasuke chugged it down in seconds, demanding another. The bartender stared curiously at him, but complied.
"Jeez. Slow down, kid." A voice behind him. He turned around and his mood changed for the better.
"Kushina," she beamed at him.
"Sup. Fancy seeing you here." He mustered up a weak smile and went back to his drink. Kushina watched with fascination, then started guffawing as he went through another three drinks. Everyone in the bar ignored her, probably thinking she was wasted or something. Strange. Sasuke should've been wasted by now.
She wagged a finger at his glass, trying in vain to stifle her laughter.
"You know that's sparkling pomegranate juice, right?" Oh. No, he didn't know. Sasuke focused a glare on the bartender, who shrugged.
"Yer said whatever. Didn't have to be booze, ay?"
Sasuke stared at his glass in confusion.
"But I watched you pour it." Yeah, in case somebody tried to roofie him. The bartender brought out a fancy-looking bottle with the label 'pomegranate juice'. What sadistic arsehole would do such a thing? How was it that he could assassinate S-rank ninja, but fail to spot pomegranate juice?
Kushina lightly slapped his back in glee. At least she stopped laughing. She calmed down in an instant, her mood going pensive.
"So, what's wrong? Didn't peg you as a bar kinda guy."
"I can't really say," he admitted. Kushina didn't seem offended thankfully.
Honestly, he just had to get out for a while. It had been almost three months since his arrival into this weird time, and he was doing better than he was in the future (wait, is this the present now?). The future can go fuck itself if it meant Sasuke's clan would live. And of course, a certain elder had to die. Oh, but then there was Madara and - ugh, so many variables!
"I suppose I'm stressed. Is all." Kushina stared at his empty glass, clearly deep in thought.
"Something else, I bet. Not the war. It's something personal, right?" Hah. If only she knew. Kushina wore a mask of stupidity, but beneath it, she was insightful.
Suddenly, she clapped her hands together.
"Alright. Tomorrow, at dawn, we're going on a mission." Sasuke looked at her strangely.
"You can't decide that." She smiled wryly, almost knowingly. Did she have some secret rank within the village or something? It seemed likely. Neither of them knew the other's real strength, given that they only hung out once before.
"Okay," this time, he actually did smile, just a little bit.
Sasuke rubbed his groggy eyes, waiting at the village gates. He was not a morning person. Yet, sure enough, the night before, a mission scroll lay on his table in his shitty apartment.
Kushina came hurtling towards him, attacking him in a bear hug.
"Helloo!" She dragged the 'o', squinting her eyes and grinning. Somebody was overly enthusiastic for 6am. Kushina unraveled a giant map, studying it like a fazed tourist. Then, she joyfully pointed north-east.
"This way, seventy miles!"
"What's the mission?" Sasuke inquired. Kushina rolled up the map into a cylinder and lightly bopped him on the nose.
"The mission," she started, pausing dramatically, "is to have fun." She laughed, then stopped as she glimpsed Sasuke's serious expression. He did not think this was funny.
"We're going on a journey of self-discovery!" He became thoughtful.
"Why?" Yeah, he didn't think a journey could help him discover himself. Self-help books and journeys were stupid that way.
Kushina rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, huffing in mock frustration.
"Just trust me," she commented dismissively, then sped off into the treetops exactly north-east. Sasuke supposed he had no choice but to follow. He had to admit that she was almost terrifyingly fast, which was probably a sign she trusted him enough to keep up. If this was actually her true speed, that is.
"Where are we going?" Kushina didn't reply, just smirked and sped up even more. Sasuke enjoyed being able to go at his actual pace with somebody, it felt like he was stretching himself and improving. Because improvement was vital to his survival. At this rate, they'd get there in two hours, going at 45mph, an inhumane pace. Neither of them admitted that this was a race.
Finally, they reached the capital city of the Land of Fire. The smell of cooking seafood pervaded the air, to which Sasuke inhaled in hungrily. Kushina quickly purchased some kind of sushi and practically shoved it into Sasuke's mouth.
"It's good," he mumbled, grabbing some more when a thought hit him.
"How long is this self-discovery thing going to last?"
"Two weeks," she proudly proclaimed, to his utter dismay.
"I only packed enough for a few days. I didn't bring that much money either."
"Neither did I!" Why was she glad to have not brought sufficient resources? Honestly.
"You want us to parade around the continent with no money." Her expression soured.
"Well, we can just make some." Sasuke subtly rolled his eyes.
"If it was that easy, poverty wouldn't exist." Kushina hummed, glancing around until she spotted the sheathed Kusanagi. She slowly and deliberately pulled out her own sword.
Sasuke, confused, noticed the worried glances of the civilians around them. She met his eyes, blinking Morse code for 'trust me'. That was all the warning she gave before swinging at him with her sword, full force. Sasuke parried and thrusted, to which she obviously dodged. They were engaged in a sword fight. The civilians were startled at first, but soon started hooting and clapping. Right. They thought it was a tourist attraction.
He knew what she was trying to do, and it was insanely clever, he almost reprimanded himself for not thinking of it. This time, Sasuke tried to make the 'fight' flashy and slow enough for civilian eyes, summoning a trickle of lightning to coat Kusanagi. Luckily, Kusanagi looked unrecognisable and ordinary enough, so unless he willingly extended it, the news of Orochimaru's death hadn't reached every area.
After a few minutes upon feeling the interest beginning to wane, Sasuke and Kushina relinquished, pretending to be out of breath. Kushina brandished a hat from somewhere. Civilians brushed past him, bustling and chattering, to drop money in the hat. Judging by the lack of clinking, there were quite a few notes.
"Now," Kushina sighed, leaning her head back in contentment as she led him somewhere, "We chill for a few hours, then move to the next place I've got in mind. Okay?"
"So soon? You have a lot of places in mind." She stopped at a casino. The sun, by now, had fully risen and the day was fast approaching noon. Still, the noise was a bit too audible, suggesting that it was busy even for late morning.
"I hope you're good at Blackjack," she finger-gunned at him before sprinting inside. Sasuke followed reluctantly. Somehow, the inside replicated nighttime perfectly. Neon lights, the chatter of gambling men, the clinking of chips flooded his senses. Immediately, everyone's eyes were fixated on them.
"A teenager and a woman. What luck!" Sasuke smirked at the remark and sat down opposite the man who said it, budging for Kushina. They shared a large velvet chair. The game began - a three hour, not-so frugal game of Poker. It was a ninja's favourite gambling game, and no doubt ended in a staggering loss for their opponent. Sasuke surreptitiously high-fived Kushina. After their performance, no one was arrogant nor stupid enough to challenge them. Not the two of them, anyway.
A middle-aged man eyed Kushina with a mixture of pervertedness and fascination.
"Play me. Just you." Ah, sexism at it's finest. Sasuke detected a slight change in Kushina's chakra: annoyance and frustration. She narrowed her eyes non-threateningly, but doubtingly, and proceeded to signal the dealer to begin. Sasuke watched, intrigued, as Kushina kicked his sorry ass at Blackjack.
Time passed, until it was late evening, and the sun was beginning to set. Kushina happily made her way out of the casino. Helping her carry the bags of money was practically a workout. Sasuke stopped when he detected a minute warping, of the air. Minato's form flickered, until he stood in front of them, smiling, more specifically at Kushina.
"Hello, love!" Kushina's smile stretched even further as she tackled Minato to the ground in glee. They viciously made out in public for several seconds. Awkwardly, Sasuke tried to be polite by averting his eyes. He didn't really want to see a sneak peek of The Making of Naruto.
"So, why are you here?" Kushina managed to get out after they detached themselves from each other.
Minato's mood dropped a little bit, as did Kushina's.
"Hokage-sama has a mission, and an apology for you." Kushina huffed in annoyance.
"I thought I cleared up at least two weeks. What is it?" Minato sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's the thing. It's an infiltration S-rank to Iwa. For both of you." Sasuke would have face-palmed if he wasn't so stoic. Ugh. Iwagakure. Fucking Hiruzen. He'd better get paid extra for over-time.
"Well," Minato started, handing him a scroll, "I'll be off. Obito wants ramen." Sasuke stiffened imperceptibly at the mention of his name, just as Minato teleported away. Sasuke shook his thoughts away and unraveled the scroll, reading and bristling at the details.