As always thank you so much for your kind reviews! This was one of my favourite chapters to write so far...
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto - because if I did the Hyūga would've been given their own arc with more clan politics backstory.
Chapter 4: All These Questions
"He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer." ― Elie Wiesel, Night
Uchiha Sasuke hid the discomfort of wearing a cold, hard metal clamp around his wrist better than the rest of Team 7. The chakra restraints were ordered to be put on by Kakashi as some participants had made a big deal about the unfair power advantage the trio would have in comparison to the rest.
The seals did little to satisfy Sasuke's qualms, he didn't like having these hindrances on his body at all. They reduced his power significantly and they were exhausting, especially to his chakra. It took him more effort to produce it due the restraint it had on his chakra network. Half of his energy force gone because a bunch of ninja were anxious of some thorny competition.
He considered them all to be quite sad. He hoped for Konoha's sake that most of them who complained didn't pass. They didn't seem like the type of people the village's political protection and strength should be given to.
"Sensei, I don't like wearing these cuffs…they're so uncomfortable!" Naruto whined as he testily twisted his wrist around in the bracelet, pouting. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto always chose to be immature at the worst times.
Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi reluctantly glanced up from his book towards the blond, a bored look crossing his features, "There's nothing I can do Naruto." He apathetically answered. "That's just the way it is."
Shaking her head, Sakura nudged the blond, a small frown creasing her forehead as she looked around at the other medic attendants warily. "Shut up, Naruto! You're embarrassing us." She motioned between herself and Sasuke.
Rather than point out how she, too, was just as embarrassing, Sasuke opted to say nothing and focused on his thoughts instead.
After the sealing was done, they would take the written exams, and then continue on with their teams to enter the Forest of Death. He was surprised that they hadn't permanently shut it down after what had happened beforehand. But Konoha was never one to admit their faults.
Even though half of his chakra reserves were sealed, he still wasn't going to lose to anybody. Out there in the forest, there were no rules. Everything was fair game. He could kill a man if he so pleased, not that he ever would.
They would definitely throw him right back in jail if he were to do that. So, he would do as Shikamaru advised them to. If he was correct, he did remember the man being quite intelligent during their academy days. That could work out in his favour.
But that Hyūga...how could she benefit him? He didn't really remember her from his academy days, and she didn't seem all that impressive. He only knew her through Naruto and even then that wasn't much to go off of as he never really hung out with the blond much whenever they were together.
Could someone so insignificant be of any use to him? Kakashi had told him that the teams were made based on compatibility, and she didn't particularly annoy him either, but what good would that do in the heat of battle?
Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he turned to meet the flower toned hair member of his trio.
"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" She asked as her emerald irises scrutinized his features. Whenever she did that it instantly got under his skin.
"I'm fine." He responded brusquely. In reality, he was far from fine, but he wouldn't let her know that. Not that it mattered anyway, Sakura could always read him, she just never acted on her findings and left him be, something which he greatly appreciated.
"Okay…" she smiled uncertainly, her gaze refusing to waver off of him. "Well you're done now, so you can leave if you want."
Nodding his head, he swiftly left. He wanted to arrive to the exam building quickly and clear his head. Now all of his hard years of training and searching for power would finally be tested. In truth, he knew that he was capable beyond ANBU rank, even Hokage rank, but he had to start somewhere if he ever wanted to earn the title.
Traditionally ANBU were scouted from young age by the Hokage, eventually being given the opportunity to join when they reached thirteen. But when he became Hokage, Kakashi changed that tradition, turning it into an exam similar to that of the genin and chunin exams, and allowing other jounin, along with the Hokage and the ANBU commander to nominate those they deemed worthy. Now anyone could join and so the bar for becoming one was raised.
Sasuke was certain he had surpassed that bar long ago, but in order to be sure he got in he needed to be at his best. Or at least the best he could be with the restraints on.
He had to get the villagers to trust him, and if becoming an ANBU to protect their precious Konoha was the only way, then he would do it.
Walking through the Academy building, he could feel the penetrating stares from villagers and fought the urge to curse unpleasant obscenities. He was never fond of attention. As he made his way outside, he was surprised to find his Hyūga teammate patiently waiting for him. Almost instinctively, he found himself making his way towards her until they were face to face.
"Are you ready to go Uchiha-kun?" she asked, her signature unsettling smile spread on her lips. He wondered why she always smiled when she never meant it.
There was a pregnant pause in their one-sided conversation.
"Why do you do that?" The words tumbled out of his mouth without his permission, filling him up with regret as he began brusquely walking away to save the remnants of his dignity.
He had only meant to think that question and not actually say it. But somehow, along the lines, he had just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. He shuddered, that was something Naruto would do, not him.
Hearing footsteps echoing loudly against the pavement, he turned around to find her frantically trying to keep up with him. Sighing, he slowed down his movements just enough for her to catch her breath. He wasn't completely heartless.
Putting a hand to her chest she looked up to him, flustered and smiled largely, "Thank you." She gratefully acknowledged.
He shrugged his shoulders as he looked away and muttered a small 'whatever'. Sparing a glance in her direction Sasuke noted that her content expression was once again fake. She was a lot like him in a sense, choosing to hide her true feelings behind a mask. He figured that it was the reason he didn't find her completely irritating.
A comfortable silence ensued for the rest of the walk. Sasuke was more than satisfied with the tranquility, it was a break from being constantly surrounded by noisy people, but this woman was different. She was calm a welcomed change in his surroundings.
He had almost forgotten that she was accompanying him until he heard her small voice straining to get through the daily noisy bustle.
"What?" He glanced in her direction. A sharp brow raised in question.
Promptly looking away from his concentrated attention, she began to look ahead at the village in front of her, a serene expression softening her gentle features.
"I was just asking if you were ready." Her honeyed voice mingled seamlessly with the wind, a euphonious concoction.
He scoffed at her, a slight scowl managing to find its way across his lips. "Of course I am. Was that supposed to be another conversation starter?"
Embarrassed, the woman snapped her gaze from the man beside her to her feet, clearly put off by his words. A rather awkward silence began to engulf the rest of the walk, and Sasuke was once again reminded of one of the reasons he avoided talking to others. He wasn't that good at it.
As the quiet continued, the Uchiha was left with nothing but his own thoughts and they were not gentle. Was he truly ready for this? There was a difference between being physically and mentally ready, and he was more than physically capable but mentally…
Knocked out of his reverie by a loud and quite obnoxious sigh, he turned and noticed the Nara's lazy gaze placed on him and glared. He had a feeling this would be a regular occurrence with the shinobi.
"Sasuke, Hinata, you two finally made it," The dark-haired man stood up slowly, eyes drifting between the two.
"Good afternoon, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata greeted him with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry we took so long. You predicted right, Uchiha-kun is wearing the chakra bracelet."
Nodding his head in understanding, a hand went up to his chin in contemplation, "I see… looks like we're going to use plan B."
"It seems that way…" Hinata's voice sounded uncertain, Sasuke, however, had no doubt that the Nara's plan would work. Although he thought the guy was an asshole, he had proven himself earlier with the restraint bracelet and if the Nara was anything other than lazy, he was smart.
"Don't look so worried, Hinata," Shikamaru smiled reassuringly at the young woman upon sensing her nervousness. "Everything will turn out fine. Have a little faith in me, alright?"
Averting her gaze immediately, a light blush dusted her cheeks a rosy color while Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes and walk away from his teammates.
In the distance, he could just make out the ANBU headquarters up ahead and slightly sped up his pace. The faster he got the test over with, the closer he was to getting the villagers to acknowledge him.
With each step, Sasuke realized he was literally one step closer to changing his life completely. No longer would his valued privacy exist. He had refused state mandated missions for so long after he had returned from his rogue journey and had only become a jonin a little over a month ago. Was he really ready for this?
In truth, he knew the only thing holding him back was the fact that this was ANBU. This was the same organization that ordered his clans untimely demise. His brother Itachi was used as nothing more than a mere tool by them. Cursed to live his life as a lie and pretending to be the heartless criminal he once thought him to be. They had taken his Uchiha name and soiled it with their lies and deception.
He was sure there were more faceless victims who had shared the same fate as him, and there was no solid guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. Was he able to blindly obey orders like his brother had before him?
Could he really be used as nothing more but a tool to get the mission done?
"Uchiha-kun?"
Turning towards his left Sasuke was met with the concerned look flickering in the depths of the Hyūga's pupiless eyes. He immediately felt the strong urge to look away, a feeling completely foreign to him. There was never a time the stubborn Uchiha backed down from the gaze of another. He thought himself much better than that. Even Orochimaru's eyes reminiscent of a snake, were not as overwhelming as the woman beside him.
Her eyes were unnerving. They reflected everything they took in like a mirror.
Everything she saw, he could also see and what he saw was himself, nervous, and uncertain. He wondered if that was how everyone else also perceived him. He felt nothing but disdain towards the thought.
If this was how they saw him, then they all looked him as broken and fragile. Someone they would have to take care of. He wouldn't let anyone look at him the way his teammate was looking at him now ever again. He would take the test to ensure that those looks stopped for the sake of the Uchiha name.
He wasn't going to be a burden to anyone.
"Uchiha-kun?" She hesitantly asked again. Coming to his senses, Sasuke noticed that his hand was gripping her shoulder without even realizing it, and immediately released her as if she had burnt him. Turning away from her confused form and towards the building in front of him, he left her blinking in wonder.
"I'm fine."
Once again he had lied, but this time he would make damn sure that even he would believe his dishonesty.
Entering the building, he expected there to be a test before they were actually permitted to take the written examination, at least that's what had happened when he had taken the chunnin exams with Team 7. Konoha must've decided to cut the unnecessary parts since they were pushed right into the test.
The chunnin exams had been the last true test Sasuke had taken, simply being granted the upgrade from genin to jonin after receiving exoneration for his international charges.
ANBU however was now run very differently from the rest of Konoha's shinobi ranks, to be considered a part of the division an examination was mandatory, with no exceptions to how strong a shinobi was – meaning Sasuke couldn't expect it to be simply handed to him. He, like everybody else, had to earn it.
Upon arrival, he could see the many faces of different shinobi, a few prominent, familiar ones standing out in his line of vision. There was Naruto with his teammates, talking passionately with a deep frown creased on his forehead as if they were plotting. While Sakura had an enthusiastic fist and a cheery smile on her face as she encouraged her team to do their best. She tilted her head slightly, noticing Sasuke and excitedly waved him over, much to his dismay.
Sighing, he reluctantly trudged over to his old teammates. Even if he didn't go to them, they would eventually come to him. It was then that he noticed they had also brought along Sai with them. How did that make any sense? Sai was already in ANBU, having been granted a position after ROOT went under.
Looking over, he noticed that his new teammates hadn't bothered to join him and were now conversing with their respective genin teams.
"Hello, Sasuke-san." Sai's unusual smile was aimed in his direction, his head in a slight bow. Scowling, Sasuke gave the man a pointed look. He had made it known that he was not a fan of the pale shinobi, and he was sure that Sai wasn't that stupid when it came to reading people's emotions.
Only offering a slight nod Sasuke turned his attention towards Naruto whose grin looked like it was about to break his entire face in half.
"I bet we'll do great on the test! Though I hope the questions aren't nearly as hard as last time." Naruto's voice boomed, laced with endless enthusiasm. He really wondered where the blond stored all that energy.
"Oh, Naruto…" Sakura shook her head at her teammate hopelessly, despite a small smile on her face, reminiscent of one a sister would give her brother.
Sasuke had remembered a time when the two had dated each other. It was sometime after Sasuke had returned to Konoha.
It hadn't been such an initial shock to him as it was for everyone else, he always knew that the otherwise reluctant kunoichi harboured some kind of feeling for the blond, she just wasn't sure what. In the end they had ended on peaceful terms and had decided to stay friends, something that Sasuke had also seen coming. Besides, they only went on six dates, it was writing on the wall.
He recalled the day that Naruto had told him they decided to be friends. Unfortunately, it was a boring breakup. Naruto wasn't even bawling or crying or sobbing, something like that would've at least amused Sasuke. Instead he took it extremely well, even joking about it at some point. After a short while both Naruto and Sakura moved on. Sakura had delved into another relationship (this time with a colleague from the hospital- though it didn't work out. She had an epiphany and admitted to her gossiper of a best friend Ino, that her heart would always lie with Sasuke). Naruto on the other hand had finally gotten a chance to begin quietly dating Hyūga Hinata.
Sasuke remembered that time well. When Naruto and Hinata started dating. She had begun to become a constant fixture whenever Team 7 hung out and everybody would stare as they passed by and just admire the two of them together. It was no secret that she bore a huge infatuation on Naruto. They were the sweethearts of Konoha. There was always talk of them getting married, having kids and growing old together.
So when they broke up so quietly it was almost impossible to tell, nearly the whole village was shocked.
Sasuke didn't know what went down in that relationship, Naruto never delved upon it despite the closeness of the duo. But whatever happened, it must have been ugly.
Because Hyūga Hinata avoided Uzumaki Naruto as if her life depended on it.
Thinking about his friends' love lives brought Sasuke's thoughts back to himself. He never really had the time to date to begin with anyway, so he had lived the last few years relatively alone. He didn't mind it though.
Loneliness was something he was accustomed to.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's high-pitched soprano rang out to him, he had spaced out yet again. Sakura watched him concernedly, her eyes almost matching the Hyūga's as they studied him carefully.
"I'm fine." He quipped. He preferred people did not look at him that way, it made him feel weak.
Sakura's pink tresses bounced as she nodded her head, no doubt not believing a word he said. She stared at him a while longer before changing the conversation.
"So where are your teammates?" She asked, a charming smile adorning her lips. With an indifferent expression, he motioned to the two behind him conversing with the other shinobi from their year.
"I think it would be friendly protocol to say hello." Sai suggested, already walking towards the two groups. Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura followed after him and not soon after, Sasuke was left with an uncertain looking Naruto.
"Maybe, I shouldn't go over there." Naruto chuckled nervously, his eyes quickly flitting from the ground to the Hyūga. Sasuke merely arched a brow.
"Who cares?"
Confused azure eyes flashed in his direction, diving right into a pair of onyx, "What?" Naruto asked not quite understanding the concept of the otherwise random statement.
"I said, who cares?" He emphasized the last part of the sentence, hoping for it to leave an impact.
Naruto merely gazed at him blankly. Sighing, Sasuke snapped his fingers to get the Uzumaki's attention. He always felt a sense of obligation towards Naruto and Sakura. Naruto especially. Without those two, he didn't know where he would've been, and even though he didn't act like it he greatly cared for them, they were practically the only family he had left. But, that was something that was best left unsaid.
"Who cares about what?" By now Naruto sounded desperate. Sasuke figured that the need to know was eating him inside.
"Avoiding it," Sasuke shrugged, "Why do you still care? It's in the past. Nothing you can do about it now." As if further emphasizing his point he glanced in the direction of the fair skinned kunoichi, knowing Naruto's eyes were following his line of vision.
A sense of realization flashed in Naruto's expression before he turned his face away, "Because… just because."
"Because of what?" Sasuke coaxed. If there was one thing he knew, it was that the past was a terrifying disease that ate at you until you were hollow and nothing more than a reminder of your old self.
"Because none of your business." Naruto frowned, pointedly glaring at the ebony haired man. A frown adorning his usually bright features. His face softened as he realized his harshness before sighing. "Listen, I appreciate what you're trying to do-"
"But?"
"But this isn't something you can just move on from. We were…" Naruto sighed as he shifted his attention from the woman of discussion back to Sasuke, a slight frown on his face. "Besides, you're one to talk aren't you?"
Sasuke eyed the man in front of him, his eyes reduced to angry slits. "No one ever lets me forget it," he retorted somewhat cynically, watching as the Uzumaki's eyes lit up in understanding.
"Sasuke, I-"
"Not everyone is going to like you." With that being said, Sasuke turned on his heel and walked away before the conversation got any further. He wasn't one to give advice, but when he did, he expected someone to at least be grateful for it.
Distancing himself from everybody, he awaited the beginning of the exams. Hopefully, they wouldn't take too long to begin because he was quite certain he couldn't take much more of the socialization.
As if answered by God himself, the doors to the examination opened and revealed Might Gai, a smile accompanying his face and his body fixed into that same stupid pose in all the grandeur his hideous sense of style could muster.
"Alright!" His voice boomed, the smile never leaving his lips, "Time to get this thing started, everyone get in and take your seats!"
Sasuke, slightly irked, closed his eyes as he felt an impending headache begin to loom over him. He hoped he didn't talk much longer. It would surely get annoying as time went on. With any luck, the questions would be simple and he could get out of there early.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked to his right and spotted a rather ecstatic Naruto, his signature wide grin right in place. "Good luck, Sasuke!"
Shrugging out of the blond's grip, he walked on ahead of him, calling over his shoulder. "Don't need it."
He smirked as he heard his friend groan behind him.
As he entered the room, he could see the nervousness of some of the participants. Spotting his team, he walked over and took the empty seat next to the Nara.
"Good luck." The Hyūga woman smiled on his other side, a look of encouragement overtaking her soft and gentle features. Nodding his head in her direction, he turned his attention to the front, awaiting the signal.
"The rules are simple." Might Gai's voice boomed throughout the room. "Answer the questions using your head only. No jutsu's allowed. Good luck, and may your youth shine bright within you!"
Rolling his eyes, Sasuke took this as the indication to commence and began.
The exam itself was quite simple, there were questions that asked what the trajectory of a thrown kunai would be with given measurements and others regarding sayings in the shinobi handbook. He was already halfway done when he had stumbled across a rather thought-provoking inquiry.
'Would you do anything to complete the mission and insure its completion?'
There it was again, that same question. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what he would do, he couldn't even answer the question when he was the one asking himself. He was sure that the others had put yes down, but he didn't particularly agree with the answer.
He was sure that they didn't realize ANBU missions were on a different scale than regular missions from the village. ANBU included missions like espionage, assassinations, murder, and of course, massacres. Sasuke felt his heart drop a little to his stomach.
ANBU wasn't a joke. It was the real thing.
So would he be able to just agree with something without a second thought? Would he be able to be just as submissive as Itachi was before him?
'Probably not.'
He looked down at his paper and the answer he had written. It most likely wasn't what they were looking for, but then again, he never was one to care what others thought. Screening his answers one last time, he nodded his head in approval and went forward to hand back the test. He was greeted by Shikamaru after he had been swiftly ushered out of the room. Shikamaru's lazy stare had shifted over from the loudmouth blonde he was talking with to him.
"Sasuke, I see you're finished. Looks like Hinata's the last one,"
"Hm."
He watched as the Nara leaned against the wall once more. The languid shinobi had been the very first one to finish the test not even ten minutes after they began, he was a sharp one indeed.
Taking the same initiative as his teammate Sasuke leaned against the wall and waited for his other teammate to finish as well.
After half an hour the flushed face of the Hyūga emerged from the door along with a couple of others.
"Sorry, it took me a while to finish, you must have waited long." She breathlessly said, a frown marring her usually peaceful features.
"It's okay, Hinata, I was able to catch a nap in the meanwhile." Shikamaru joked, a lopsided smile accompanying it.
Shaking her head, she let out a stifled giggle at the Nara, "Shikamaru-kun, don't be silly."
Letting out a quiet sigh, Sasuke blinked at his teammates. These two were going to annoy him constantly with their pointless banter.
"Oh, Uchiha-kun, how do you think you did?" Hinata suddenly asked. A genuine look of interest crossed her features. With that expression, she looked rather childish.
"Just fine." He answered.
After the small exchange, the trio waited for the others to be finished so they could move on to the next portion of the exams. Sasuke was sure Naruto was in there, fretting about everything, and allowed a small ghost of a smirk to claim his features. If there was one thing he held over the blond in terms of being a great leader, it was his intelligence. He knew he would be fully capable to handle all the paperwork the Hokage was expected to oversee.
This exam was going to be a defining moment for the both of them, he was sure. Naruto was like a brother to him, but Sasuke wasn't afraid to toss that aside for the sake of claiming the precious title of strongest in the village. Now the Uzumaki was his competition, the only person standing in the way of his final goal.
He was now a threat.
And the only way to deal with threats was to take them down. And that was what Sasuke planned to do.
The ANBU exams were graded on a point scale based on things such as stealth, intelligence, strength and so on. Sasuke's plan was simple, to be ranked as number one on that scale. There was only a few people that could interfere: Haruno Sakura; she was never to be underestimated and he was sure that this time around, she would be one of the strong contenders for number one. Nara Shikamaru was another, though that one didn't matter since they were on the same team and they were ranked by their squads and not individually, and last but not least, Uzumaki Naruto.
He was a tricky one. Even though he wasn't the sharpest kunai, Naruto made up for that with his rather clever and unusual schemes and his determination that could last forever. He was not to be underestimated in the slightest, those who did were proven wrong in due time. Sasuke himself was an example of the influence Naruto had. So, he needed to give it his all or nothing would come to fruition.
The doors to the examination room opened and out emerged the leftover shinobi and, not surprisingly, Naruto was among them.
"Alright, you youthful bunch have just passed the first part of your exams!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd as cries of relief were heard.
"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you."
Craning his neck to look around, Sasuke spotted the owner of the voice and frowned. There, in all his battle scar glory, stood Ibiki Morino, head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force. He was just as imposing as he had remembered him to be from his genin days, although there seemed to be a few more scars marring his face than before.
Sasuke looked around and saw that everyone else seemed to be stuck in a mixture of both terror and fascination.
"All of you check for your names on the chart behind me, get your card and get to your respective gates. From now on, there are no rules and every single one of you are enemies. Anyone who wishes not to participate can leave, just know that those in your squad will also be forced to give up as well." He paused in his speech, awaiting those who chose to leave. Much to Sasuke's surprise most of them stayed, determination written all over their faces.
"You have all just agreed to the terms of this exam, there will be no going back, in ANBU that doesn't exist. Send one teammate over to me to retrieve your gate number, go there and wait for the signal to enter the forest. Understand?"
Sasuke nodded his head, his mind already made up.
Ibiki nodded his head in approval. "Alright then, let's begin."
Sasuke was about to head over there until the Hyūga woman stopped him. She held a hand up to him, a small grin on her face. "It's okay Uchiha-kun, I'll go."
He nodded but kept his eyes on her as she scurried nimbly up to Ibiki and retrieved their assignment. Her already fair skin had paled upon looking down at the card, nervously flitting back to their group.
"Gate number thirty." She looked around nervously.
"Don't worry Hinata, I'm sure we'll pass." Shikamaru assured her, noticing her unease.
Sasuke looked between his teammates: these two would be all he had for three days, and hopefully they would exceed his expectations. "Let's get this out of the way."
"Yes." The petite woman agreed, the Nara nodding in approval. Walking to their assigned gate, Sasuke allowed a small smile to form on his face.
Now the real fun had begun.