Sasuke sat outside, in the backyard of their house to be exact. He sat in the grass, watching Neji and Hinata practice their taijutsu in the nearby training area. It was fairly interesting, actually. Watching as they moved across the field with such swift and precise movements. It was almost like a dance, the way they moved.
The teen had his Sharingan activated, watching it all his high detail. He could see the way their chakra's moved in perfect balance with the energies around them despite not being used. It was amazing, truely. A rainbow of colors illuminated off the area, Sasuke resting calmly on his back as he watched them from a safe distance. He found that he was able to predict their movements even before they happened since their chakras would pulse at the part of their body they were preparing to move.
Neji didn't seem to mind it, glad to show off his taijutsu skills in front of his younger rival. He didn't pay Sasuke much mind, the Uchiha having already asked them permission to watch beforehand. Neji wasn't sure what he hoped to gain by watching them train, but he wouldn't stop Sasuke. They might be rivals, but that was meant to help them push each other forward. Not to sabotage their skills and shove each other for the top spot. They were rivals, not enemies. Because of this, he had no issue with helping Sasuke with his skills.
Hinata, on the other hand, found it much harder to fight with someone watching them. She would feel a rush of embarrassment every time she misstepped or was counter-attacked, and a wave of stress each time she moved in for a heavy move. She knew Sasuke wasn't judging her, as well as that she was younger than Neji, yet she still felt nervous each time her skills proved insignificant. She never had been the best at fighting, even with her vast improvement since she joined the Akatsuki family. It simply wasn't something she enjoyed. None the less, it was a necessary precaution for her to know how to fight. Spirit forbid she be attacked and unable to defend herself.
Their training came to a stop as Neji send a particularly harsh kick to her knee, the girl's leg giving out and her body crashing into the grass below. Neji held up his hand as if to give the finishing blow, stopping directly in front of her face. The fight was over and done with. He held out a hand, helping his sister up. "You're improving, Hinata. You've just got to learn to focus and not hold back." Neji noted, wiping a bit of sweat from his cheek.
A voice sounding off from behind them drew both the Hyuuga's attention. Sasuke asked with interest, "I'd understand if you were against the idea since it's your clan's style, but I was curious. Since I can see chakra and general energy now, do you think you could show me how to block off chakra points?" eyeing the two idly from the grass.
Neji and Hinata both looked surprised at this since it was typically unheard of for clans to share their fighting styles, but it quickly eased away after a moment. Really, what harm was there in sharing their skills? The only thing that would happen would be that Sasuke would have a new fighting style to look to if his normal one was unusable. By showing him, all they'd be doing is helping him become stronger. There was no harm in helping an ally.
The elder of the two Hyuuga nodded, "I think that's a great idea. In turn, you can show us some of your clan's shuriken moves. Or your ninjutsu" he suggested. After all, the Uchiha were well known for their expert use of ninja tools, specifically the shuriken. Plus Neji and Hinata weren't anywhere near as good at ninjutsu as Sasuke. They were better in the taijutsu field, but it never hurt to expand.
Sasuke nodded, "Sounds like a good deal to me." he agreed, sitting up from his spot on the ground. He rolled his neck briefly before moving to his feet, dusting the grass off his pants.
His attention was drawn as he felt Neji walk past him, the elder teen noting, "We can train you today, then you can show us some shuriken tricks tomorrow. It's almost noon, so we shouldn't start more than one thing." he noted. "We can do it inside. You'll need to learn the chakra points and how it flows first of all. It's easier to learn while your sitting than in real-time training."
Sasuke nodded, following, Neji and Hinata leading him inside. Hinata nodded in agreement, "We can explain it in Neji and my room. It's the probably got the most space." as in, it was the neatest along with Sasuke's. Plus it would be more comfortable for them to teach him in their own rooms.
The three-headed into Neji and Hinata's bedroom, the eldest shutting the door behind him while Hinata worked to scoot the beds over a bit to either side of the room. This way, they'd have the entire center open and ready for use. The girl sat in the center of the room, onto the soft carpet, patting the spot beside her with a smile. Sasuke did as she asked, sitting down beside her. Neji soon headed over, sitting beside them. "Alright, first of all, let's do a vision test to see if you can see all the details of the chakra. Or if it's a general thing."
Sasuke watched as Neji handed his wrist over, instructing him, "Focus in on my chakra. Can you see which way it's flowing?" the elder watching as Sasuke flashed his Sharingan on, his mangekyo design pulsing a bit as he watched Neji's arm.
Giving a nod in confirmation, Sasuke lightly traced along where he could see it flowing for a small moment. "It's going that way, I believe." though he was unsure due to the excessive amounts of chakra Neji had pulsing through him. It was hard to separate the different flowing lines, but he could definitely see it. It was like a network of rivers, all connecting at one point or another. Just like they'd learned back in the academy. To see it was something else entirely, though. "The lines are merging a bit closely to me, though. So I'm not sure." rubbing lightly at his Sharingan as he watched the flowing chakra. He felt a headache coming on.
Hinata tilted her head a bit, asking, "Do any of the spots look different to you? Like, different colors, brighter, darker?" she listed off, watching him with curiosity. She wasn't sure what the differences would be in their vision, or if there would be any at all.
"Kind of." he nodded, pointing gently to a spot on Neji's wrist. "There's a little aura of green-blueish right there." he squinted a bit. "It's hard to see, though." his eyes flinching shut as he spoke. He had been using them all afternoon, plus he hadn't really built up a tolerance for them yet. So he supposed that must be the reason he felt so tired.
Neji tilted his head a bit in interest, looking the younger teen over. "If I had to guess, you're having the same issue most young Hyuuga have. It happens to most byakugan users when they first start testing out their abilities. Your eyes will need some time to get used to seeing all the chakra. I assume the energy is a lot for them too." he suggested. He smirked lightly, reaching out to mockingly pull on Sasuke's cheek, "You're like a Hyuuga toddler, finally learning to use his Byakugan. Big brother is so proud." only to get his hand swatted away by a grumpy looking Sasuke.
"Oh, save it, egomaniac." Sasuke huffed, deactivating his Sharingan. Hinata gave a muffled laugh at her brothers, Sasuke giving her a salty glare. "Don't laugh at me." though it held no malice. He crossed his arms, flopping on his back as he heard Neji begin speaking once more.
"Well, you should probably just focus on separating the chakra veins for now. No way you can push chakra points without being able to see them clearly. You could push the wrong pressure point and kill them on accident. Just focus on that for a while, then we'll teach you which ones to push and how hard." he promised.
Sasuke huffed a bit at that, but the use of the Sharingan was making his head hurt a bit, so he settled on a light nod. "Fine, fine. We shouldn't get too into training tonight anyway. The meeting is coming up soon anyway." he agreed.
Hinata tilted her head a bit, "Dad told you about the meeting too?" having not been sure who which of her siblings would be going. After all, he had only invited her and told her that at a maximum four of her siblings would be going too. She hadn't known who they would be, though she had her suspicions.
Sasuke nodded, glancing at the two Hyuuga from his spot slumped idly on the floor. "Gaara, me, and you are the only people I've heard about going." glancing over at Neji. "Did dad invite you too?" not able to see him inviting Naruto or Karin. Sasuke loved his siblings, but they were a bit much when it came to a disagreement. They weren't exactly 'diplomatic' so to speak.
A firm nod came from the elder teen, Neji looking down at the younger as he spoke, "Yes, he did." glancing at the two. "If I had to guess, I'd say we're the only of our siblings he invited besides Gaara."
"Why only us?" Hinata asked with a slight tilt of her head. She understood that Sasuke and Gaara were pretty important to the meeting, but what purpose did she and Neji serve?
Neji lightly ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke, listing off the reasons. "Gaara will have to come because they're his siblings. Sasuke because he's the one they'll need forgiveness from. You'll most likely be going because you're the most likely to be open to peace. You do normally tend to be the one to think of peaceful solutions. Then I presume I'll be going because I'm the most realistic out of us all. I'll probably be helping mainly with negotiations." he suggested.
"The fact that you're 80 percent of our emotional control helps too." a quiet voice came from behind them. Neji glanced over his shoulder to see Gaara standing in the now open doorway, leaning on the door frame. The red-head was leaning on his hands, which were resting behind his back. "Kakuzu saids its lunchtime," he explained, not wanting to seem like he'd been eavesdropping on them. He just happened to overhear some of their conversations.
As Hinata and the boys moved to stand up, they heard Gaara's unsure request, "Can you not call them my siblings, please?" he asked the others, having heard how Neji referred to them moments earlier. He just didn't feel comfortable with calling them something so intimate. After all this time, he really didn't know who those people were. They were just a pair who shared his blood and claimed to care about him. It was true that their affection for him was likely true, but that didn't change the one simple face-- Gaara didn't know them besides the brief moments they'd stared him down with fear when he was little. They weren't his siblings, not like Hinata or Naruto, for instance.
Sasuke and the others seemed to understand this, the raven-haired boy nodding in understanding. "Okay. I won't." he agreed easily, moving to join Gaara, and idly wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Let's hurry downstairs before Kakuzu yells at us," he suggested, Neji and Hinata nodding in agreement. Soon enough, the trio made their way downstairs.
Oh, joy, redesigned leftovers from last night. Neji gave a small mental 'tch' of annoyance. What a surprise.
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The teens ate lunch, each of them downing their pork sandwiches made with the leftovers from the night prior's dinner. Well, besides Sasuke, who settled for quietly sipping his pumpkin soup. It was also reused from the night prior's roasted pumpkin. They all seemed to be enjoying the food well enough, though they didn't exactly have a choice on whether they ate it or not. Kakuzu wasn't exactly planning on letting them waste the food. He never did. They sat at the table together, Kakuzu talking to Hidan about a mission off in the distance, though the elder would occasionally send them looks of warning if they stopped eating for too long.
All the other members were out on missions, so it was up to the teens to entertain themselves and hopefully behave for the zombie duo. The pair was definitely the grumpiest couple in the Akatsuki, so the kids didn't plan on pissing them off any time soon. They'd rather avoid an hour-long scolding. It wasn't like the immortals cared to spend their time doing it.
Karin was the first to speak as they sat down, the girl giving Naruto a pointed look. "What are you pouting about now?" she sighed in annoyance. A sulky and quiet Naruto was almost as annoying as loud and obnoxious Naruto. It was unnatural. "Stop your sulking and eat before Kakuzu gets onto us." she rolled her eyes as she took a bite of her sandwich. Honestly, her siblings could be such a hand full at times.
Naruto seemed uninterested in her advice, behaving as immaturely as always. He put his hands on his hips, "What are you pouting about now?" he mocked her voice, earning him a swat over the head from Sasuke. "Ow! Bastard." he barked out, giving Sasuke a look of pure annoyance. Why was the Uchiha always so damn pushy? Naruto silently asked himself, ignoring how hypocritical it was.
"Shut up if you aren't going to answer her question." Sasuke scoffed, sipping from his bowl without sparing Naruto even a glance. He barely seemed to put much thought into his words, that or he didn't care to listen for the blonde's response. Naruto sent him a steamed look, but before he could answer, Sasuke shot him down. "So, go ahead and tell us, since I know you're too loudmouthed to choose shutting up."
The blonde gave Sasuke an unimpressed look, "Oh, look at me, I'm Sasuke, too cool to look at people when they're talking." he scoffed, a scolding tone catching him off guard from across the table. Ah, shit.
"Naruto, you shouldn't mock people when they're asking what's wrong. They're just trying to help." Hinata's soft chiding came in between bites. Sasuke felt a wave of smugness, but it quickly melted as she continued, "Sasuke, you shouldn't hit people either. You know you're just adding fuel to the fire." she scolded, Sasuke now joining Naruto in his sulking. If Hinata chooses to scold you, you're surely at fault at least a bit.
Sasuke and Naruto rang out in a duet of apologies, the teens a bit grumbly as they did so. Hinata smiled in response at them, quickly easing their moods. Ah, well. At least she didn't stay long for mad. That would be a real disaster to deal with. "Now, anyway, what's wrong?" the girl tilting her head a bit at Naruto as she spoke. She didn't know for sure, but she had her suspicions. After all, Naruto wasn't the most difficult to read. Especially considering she had lived with him for about half her life. It didn't make it hard to guess.
The blonde sank down in his chair, taking a bitter bite out of his sandwich. "Dad told me about the meeting. It's a shitty idea," he muttered, looking displeased. Hinata sighed a bit. She figured this was why he was in such a foul mood. "We shouldn't be making deals with them. They're the only ones who should be apologizing! Not us." he spoke, brows furrowing in aggravation.
Neji had a tired look, the eldest of the siblings knowing he was about to get a lot of shit for what he thought. "Naruto." he breathed out, taking a bite from his food. "I know you're upset about what they did, but it makes sense if you think about it from their perspective. If we want to gain a little, we'll have to give a little. It may not be the most enjoyable option, but-" his words being cut off by a hand slamming on the table.
Karin looked beyond upset, the girl glaring kunai at Neji as he spoke with outrage. "Makes sense? Makes sense? Makes sense! What do you mean, it makes sense!" she growled out. "They beat and sliced him nearly to death! How could us apologizing to them make sense in any way?" she argued, drawing the attention of first Kakuzu then Hidan. The zombie duo didn't move to stop the argument, only observing as they heard the girl's outburst. Well, that was strange. It was extremely rare for them to fight, but when they did, it was normally just typical sibling arguing. They rarely became so heated over a serious conflict in perspective.
It seemed like the overall opinion was against Neji since Gaara was looking down at his lap in refusal to speak up while Hinata was watching them both with wide-eyed stares. The two seemed either determined or unable to voice their opinions. Luckily for Neji, at least one person was willing to take his side. Even if it was an unlikely ally.
"They were scared and confused. We don't have to like it, but we can at least try to understand why they acted that way. Their dad is dead and they think their sibling has been brainwashed. From their eyes, it's our fault. It was technically the Akatsuki who killed the Kazekage and disappeared with Gaara. It sucks, but it's understandable that they'd want an apology. It's not going to kill us to exchange apologies." Sasuke spoke, much to Naruto's frustration.
The blonde argued, "It's not your fault! It's Temari and Kankuro's fault. They're in the wrong. Not you, not us. So we shouldn't have to apologize for anything. You didn't even fight them, but they still attacked you!" he fought back, crossing his arms. Didn't this bastard see that he was trying to help him? Why was he arguing against the ones on his side!?
A long sigh came from Neji as he spoke, "I'm not saying it's Sasuke's fault, nor that I think they're in the right. I know that they're bastards. I know what they did was messed up. I am fully aware that they took it out on the wrong person. That doesn't change the fact if we look from their perspective, we can see why they're angry and what the best way to pacify this is. We can avoid any of us getting hurt like that too if we make them allies." he tried to explain, though Naruto seemed to be having none of it.
"They should be sorry. Not us. The Akatsuki wouldn't have had to kill the Kazekage or take Gaara if they weren't such shitty people." he shot back, crossing his arms. "We shouldn't have to apologize after what they did to Sasuke just to make sure none of us get hurt. The Akatsuki could take anyone on, and so could we if we wanted to." Naruto spoke with absolute confidence. Neji mentally sighed. Naruto truely was set on not listening.
Gaara gave Naruto a look, the teen seeming disappointed in Naruto's words. He knew it was most likely a simple 'heat of the moment' thought on Naruto's end, but it was still wrong none the less. Gaara of all people would know how Naruto was feeling. He'd felt it many times before, after all. "Naruto, just because we can hurt someone doesn't mean we should." the redhead corrected lightly, looking conflicted.
Naruto gave him a look of disappointment, "So you're on the bastards' side?" seeming annoyed by the thought. Seeing Gaara quickly shake his head, Naruto brightened up. "So you're on my side, then," he spoke smugly. Neji and Sasuke were giving Gaara pleading looks, which quickly warped to confusion as the teen shook his head once more. If he wasn't on their side, but he wasn't on Naruto's side, what other option was there? Did he agree that they should give the sand siblings a chance or not?
Gaara looked overwhelmed, the redhead standing up, and looking over at Kakuzu. "Can we be excused, please?" knowing the man didn't like it when they wasted food but not wanting to sit in the middle of this argument. He didn't want to sit here eating while they argued like cats and dogs. Not to mention the fact that it was even more conflicting, considering he was related by blood to the others in question. Whether he saw them as siblings or not, that much was a fact that couldn't be changed. Of course the teen would feel awkward sitting in the middle of such an argument.
Kakuzu must have decided to take pity on the boy since he gave a firm nod. "Fine, but take your food with you. Finish it. If you take it to one of the other rooms, don't make a mess with it." he warned, not wanting them to accidentally spill the food on the floor or something. It would be a nightmare to get rib sauce out of the carpets. He'd not normally let them take food from the table, but he could see the pleading look in Gaara's eyes. He supposed he could let it slip, just this once.
Kakuzu mentally groaned as Hidan smirked at him. Damn, those kids made him soft. What a pain in the ass.
A guilty look flashed over Neji's face as he saw Gaara stand up from his seat. He hadn't meant to start an argument, he just wanted the others to understand that apologizing was necessary if they wanted a peaceful agreement. Karin watched Gaara stand with his plate, the girl looking at him with disbelief. "Gaara, where are you going?" she asked, watching as Gaara lightly tugged Hinata's sleeve, the girl nodding and moving to stand up. "Hinata? What's wrong?"
The girl looked frustrated as she picked up her plate, tailing behind Gaara. "We have no interest in squabbling." she gave a sour look at the remaining four siblings. "We're family. We should be able to talk it out without raising voices or calling each other names," she spoke with a look of disapproval as she turned to leave. "We also don't pick sides on things like this. We're all on the same side, we aren't enemies."
The remaining siblings were left in bitter silence, knowing she had a point, but disagreeing strongly with each other. Naruto was too thick-skulled to listen to the other's points, Karin and Neji were too sure that their point was correct, then finally, Sasuke was damn sure he knew whether he wanted to give them a chance at peace. It was his fucking body. It was up to him whether he'd give and accept and apology for what had happened.