Kind of short, but here it is! Please enjoy!
The next few weeks were rough. Sasuke had to be under constant surveillance to make sure Orochimaru didn't return for him, which irritated him. I understood that he felt a little trapped, but it was for his own good. To top things off, one of our own had been murdered. Hayate's body had been found, but no one knew who had done it yet. He had apparently been spying on Kabuto.
This forced me to take Aurora everywhere with me to keep her safe, including Sasuke's training. She loved coming with me, but I didn't have time between the two to train with her the whole time. I knew she was bored, but she was good at finding ways to keep herself busy. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of personal spaces yet and did nearly get hit by sparks off of Sasuke's chidori. There was now a line in the dirt on how close she could get to him, but she never strayed far from my side since then.
Every so often I would see her mimic some moves, occasionally pulling some off, but mostly she twirled in a circle, got dizzy and fell onto the dirt. I swore to start training with just her soon.
While I was teaching Sasuke how to control his chakrai, both of us were startled when she screamed. I whirled around to see her holding my water bottle, which was covered in frost. I was hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me.
"Fader, look it!" She said as I knelt down and took the ice cold bottle. I took the top off and tipped it to see if water would come out, but none did. "It froze!" She cried cheerfully. I was dumbfounded that she could do this at such a young age.
"I see…" I said, still amazed.
"Kakashi, what's going on?" Sasuke asked as he came up from behind. "Why was she able to do that?" So he didn't know. I wondered how far the information leak spread...
"Ma...this cannot be repeated, understand?" I looked at the young Uchiha, making sure he nodded in agreement and swore never to tell a soul. "You know she's adopted." Sasuke just glared. Of course he did, he wasn't stupid. "I found her in the forest outside of the village about three years ago."
"Where were her parents?" Sasuke interrupted. "Weren't they around?"
"No." I covered Aurora's ears and proceeded to tell him how their bodies were found, mutilated and torn to shreds. "Her mother had obviously hid her before she too was cut down." I finished and let Aurora go. "If I had not found Aurora that night...I fear she too would have faced the same fate." Sasuke looked toward the ground, upset about the story. "Ma, but now she has a loving home and family." I gave him an eye smile.
"So, who were her parents?" Sasuke looked towards the little red head. "Did they...were they part of the same clan that boy, Haku, was from?" I knew he would make that connection.
"Yes. Well, her mother was any way. She was from the Yuki clan. Her father was from the Hozuki clan." Sasuke raised his eyebrow in question. "They are also a powerful clan from the Mist. They're powers involve being able to turn their bodies into a water type form. So far, only the Yuki part of her bloodlines have activated." At least it seemed that way. I waited to see it either had questions. Aurora seemed to actually understand what I was saying.
"What's the Yuki clan then?" Aurora asked.
"They have ice abilities." I said, sitting down on the ground and allowing her to crawl into my lap. Sasuke joined us on the ground as well, sitting across for us and listening intently. "They can use any water source and use it to make ice. Some I've even heard can take water from the air and use it as well."
"Can I do that?" She asked excitedly.
"Maybe someday. But for now, why don't you practice freezing and unfreezing the water in the bottle." I handed her the frosted bottle and watched her focus on it.
Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried. Sasuke and I watched for a few minutes, until she gave up.
"I can't..." She said sadly. She wanted so much to prove herself, but she was just figuring this all out. She would get it eventually.
"Keep trying. I know you can do it. Remember how I told you to focus your chakra?" She nodded and tried again. This time, the frost on the outside turned to water but the water inside stayed frozen. "Very good." I praised, but she still didn't stop. By the time I felt her chakra flare, it was too late. The bottle cracked under the pressure, spraying ice cold water all over the three of us. What in the world?
"Oops..." Aurora blushed. "Sowy!"
The rest of the day went that way. Aurora practiced freezing and unfreezing water, in a small cup this time, while Sasuke and I practice. He was a quick learner, thanks to his sharingan, and got it down within a few hours. He was able to use two in one day, so far. I had previously warned him not to overdo it, saying if he tried to use any more, the curse mark would take over, but today I wwanted him to push for one more.
"Sasuke, one more time…" I felt someone grab my leg. I turned, looked down and saw Aurora, clutching my pant leg in fear. So she felt him too.
"What happened?" Sasuke noticed how scared she was.
"It's obvious that you're there. I can feel your thirst for blood." I called. "Why don't you come out?"
His aura felt dark, heavy with his thirst for blood. Aurora so sensitive to emotions, it scared her enough to run to me.
The boy from the sand village, Gaara, stepped out from behind a rock.
"It's you…"
"Daddy…?" Aurora looked up at me in fear. The only time she ever said daddy to me was when she was scared. I put my hand on the top of her head to calm her, hoping he didn't turn on her. His eyes never moved away from Sasuke's direction. Gaara didn't seem to even notice me or Aurora, he was too focused on Sasuke. He turned after a few tense moments and started to walk away.
"Wait!" Sasuke yelled. "Why are you so fixated on me?" I was surprised at Sasuke's boldness. Gaara turned back and stared Sasuke down.
"Those eyes that know true loneliness…And eyes that know that it is the world's greatest suffering…I think I told you, that you have the same eyes as me." Gaara spoke in an emotionless voice. "Eyes that lust for power, overflowing with hatred and murderous intent…the same as me…Eyes that burn to kill those that wronged you."
That seemed to shake something deep in Sasuke's core. I watched quietly, wanting to see what his real intent was. The moment I saw that they were about to attack each other, I quickly tried to ease the tension to get him to back off.
"Okay, just a minute. So, you're Gaara." I felt Aurora cling tighter to me and his murderous aura swept over us. I tried to stay calm as I talked to him "…Don't perceive to know everything about Sasuke. What is it you want to say before the final round?"
"A battle is where…one's existence is put to the line. And each tries to kill the other!" Gaara growled. Aurora whimpered behind me. "Only the winner can feel the value of his existence."
"In other words you want a killing bout and not a match." Sasuke answered.
"Uchiha…You should be wanting it too…in the depths of your soul you want to prove your existence. Am I really that powerful?" The more Gaara spoke, the more irritated and scared Sasuke was getting. I looked back to Sasuke to see what he would do.
Neither said anything more and Gaara turned once more and walked away. Sasuke and I watched until he disappeared completely. There was something very off about this. Something about him did not sit right with me and I hoped Sasuke would be ok in his match against him.
Please R&R!