A/N: Hi guys! I don't want to be THAT author, so I'll only ask once (maybe twice) for feedback on this fic. I can't read your minds, ya know? So please review constructively =]
Rebirth
Part Two: Growing Up
Chapter 6: Journeying
"Sasuke-kun, you can't! The chuunin exams are in less than two weeks, there's no way you'll be healed enough to fight, much less use your arm for normal tasks!"
"You can't stop me, Sakura."
I walked into Sasuke's room to find him on his feet, arguing with Sakura. Even though he was quite a bit taller than she was, she was staring him down. He was still in his hospital gown.
"Look at you!" she half-whispered. "How can you take the chuunin exams the way you are now? You don't even have a place to stay!"
At this, Sasuke turned to look at me.
"I'm staying at your place."
"You can't just impose on Akako-chan, she has duties, too!"
"It's okay, Sakura-sensei," I said, nonplussed. "Sasuke-nii can stay with me. I can oversee his physical therapy more easily this way."
Sakura looked like she was going to argue further, but instead she stormed out.
"You should apologize to Sakura-sensei later, Sasuke-nii," I said. "She was really worried about you."
Sasuke grunted as I led him back to the bed.
"Are you really planning on taking the chuunin exams?"
"Aa," he replied. "I've already told Kakashi."
"But—"
"I could pass with one arm tied behind my back," he snapped, "and I will."
I decided not to argue with him and instead began to mentally reorganize my apartment to accommodate him.
Abruptly, he said, "I need clothes."
"I could go buy you some, Sasuke-nii," I said.
"No," he said, "go place an order at the clothing shop."
He listed his measurements, which I wrote down on a slip of paper.
"Order some things for yourself, also."
"But Sasuke—"
"You're an Uchiha," he snapped. "You need to look like one."
-paragraph break-
I took Sasuke home the next day, during my lunch break. He was dressed in a dark shirt and pants that Naruto had lent him. The shirt was too small, and the girls and kunoichi we passed voiced their appreciation none too quietly.
It occurred to me that Sasuke was very good-looking, and seeing us go home together, the villagers might think something more was going on between us despite our age difference. I mentally shook my head at this line of reasoning.
"You can take my bed, Sasuke-san," I said, when we reached my small apartment.
He grunted before dropping his small bundle of things by my couch.
"No, Sasuke-nii," I said, pushing his uninjured shoulder. "You've just had major surgery."
He shrugged my hand off and sat down. Huffing, I set about making a cup of tea for him.
"Naruto-san is coming over to—"
"Akako-chan, it's time to go—TEME!" Naruto shouted, as he barged through the door. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm staying here," Sasuke said stonily.
"Then be nice to Akako-chan!" Naruto said, recovering quickly. "She's Sakura-chan's apprentice now, so you better watch out!"
"Shut up, usurakontachi," Sasuke replied, taking a sip of his tea.
"Come eat lunch with us, Sasuke-nii," I said, after the pair had spent a few more moments bickering.
"I'd rather not."
"You'll miss our eating contest, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.
"I'd really rather not," he deadpanned.
-paragraph break-
A few days after Sasuke left the hospital, he showed up to my training session with Kakashi. He was dressed in loose pants and one of his new shirts. My shirt was new, too. It had the Uchiha crest on both sleeves.
"Go back to your office, Kakashi."
"Sasuke-kun, what's this?"
"I'll oversee her training now."
"Well then, I guess it's for the best," the Hokage said, scratching the back of his head. "It seems I have a free afternoon now."
No wonder he'd acquiesced so quickly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kakashi pull out his orange book and saunter away.
I waited politely for Sasuke to warm up. Even though he'd been bed-ridden for almost a week, he moved just fine; his physical therapy was going well. He must have been adjusting his movements to avoid jostling his left arm, but I could tell that he was much, much faster and more powerful than I was. I could hardly believe I was related to him.
"Spar with me," he commanded, settling into a battle-ready stance. His Sharingan activated the same time mine did.
Sasuke thrashed me, as was expected. The most I could do was go on the defensive and try to avoid the worst of his blows. From there, he made me demonstrate all but the most powerful of my techniques. He then tested my reflexes and endurance with a series of grueling exercises.
After two hours, he had hardly broken a sweat. I couldn't get enough air. The training field was wrecked. It looked like a giant badger had torn through it.
"I will teach you the Goukakyuu no Jutsu tomorrow."
"Yes, Sasuke-nii," I gasped. Rolling onto my hands and knees, I formed a few hand seals and rearranged the field as best I could. I noticed that Sasuke's Sharingan was still activated, and I knew he was memorizing my technique.
We walked back to my apartment. I frowned the whole way because the villagers weren't being discreet about their Uchiha-related gossip. I wondered why Sasuke wanted to walk instead of flash-stepping, but when I glanced at him, his expression was unreadable.
When we got back, I let Sasuke have the shower, first. I sat on the floor and chugged a glass of water before using the little chakra I had left to sooth my muscles and do a few more stretches.
He came out a few minutes after I'd finished and took my glass off the floor. As I left to go shower myself, I heard him fill it.
-paragraph break-
The next morning, I was just about to leave for training when Sasuke stopped me.
"Take that thing off your head," he growled, plucking my headpiece from my hair.
"Itai, Sasuke-nii! What was that for?"
"You are an Uchiha," he said, poking me in the forehead. "People should see your eyes and fear you."
"Easy for you to say," I responded. I'm only twelve, after all. I don't look very threatening.
His lips twitched, but he didn't smile. His bangs parted, and I saw that his Rinnegan wasn't covered. At least he wasn't being a hypocrite.
As I made my way to Cell Eight's training ground, I felt uncomfortably exposed. I spent two years wearing that headpiece. Not only did it keep people from seeing my doujutsu, it also covered the bruises under my eyes. It's silly of me to have been so vain, but I'm self-concious all the same.
"Woah, Akako-chan, your eyes are even smaller than I thought they were!" Hanemaru laughed.
"Are you getting enough sleep?" Sango asked.
"I'm fine, Sango-kun," I said.
"Panda eyes!"
"I can still hear, Hanemaru-kun," I snapped.
"Why'd you take off your headpiece, Akako-chan?" Sango asked, ignoring Hanemaru's antics.
"Sasuke-nii told me to," I responded.
"Akako-chan," Sango said, hesitating, "do you think you could introduce us to your cousin one day?"
"I've always wanted to meet the Uchiha Sasuke!"
"You'll meet him at the chuunin exams," I told my teammates firmly.
"He's taking the chuunin exams?" Hanemaru exclaimed. "He'll cream us!"
I shook my head, exasperated, as Ouja arrived.
Training today seemed less intense than usual, but maybe it was because I had gotten stronger. Thanks to my preventative efforts yesterday, I was only a little bit sore. Several onlookers came to watch the three of us spar, which had never happened before. I was almost certain it was because I didn't have my headpiece on. Everyone could see my Sharingan.
When Sasuke showed up at the end of practice, I heard several screams from both the males and females in the vicinity. He ignored them.
"Sasuke-san," Ouja said. "It is an honor to meet you."
Hanemaru and Sango were so awestruck, they didn't move when Sasuke looked at them. He snorted before saying to me, "Let's go."
We roof-hopped to a lake on the edge of Konohagakure. The remains of a housing complex surrounded it. The faded Uchiha crest on its crumbling walls confirmed that it was indeed Sasuke's old home.
"Here is where my father taught me the Goukakyuu no Jutsu," he said, stopping by the water's edge. He gestured for me to follow him onto the lake surface before schooling me in the basics of the technique.
"Kakashi-sensei told me this is the Uchiha clan's signature technique."
"Aa."
He spent the next twenty minutes explaining the significance behind the jutsu and teaching me the hand seals before indicating I should give it my first try. Even though the jutsu was just at my skill level, my natural affinity is for doton.
I produced a lot of hot air.
"Again."
It took several moments for my cough to subside, but I did as I was told. My second attempt resulted in a lot of smoke.
"Again," he said, activating his Sharingan.
My third attempt produced some embers.
"Again."
Finally, I felt the pieces click together. I took a deep breath, wiped my watery eyes, and focused on aiming properly.
"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
The fireball I made was much smaller than the one Sasuke had used to demonstrate, but I'd done it, and I hadn't burned myself too badly in the process.
"Yatta!" I exclaimed, my glowing hands on my cheeks. "Thank you, Sasuke-sensei!"
I turned to find him looking into the distance. There was a wistful look in his eyes, and I knew he was replaying the memory of his first fireball in his mind.
-paragraph break-
The chuunin exams were both easier and harder than I expected. I passed the written portion easily using my Sharingan, I just kept my hood up so the proctors couldn't see my eyes. Hanemaru cast a genjutsu on himself before entering the room so they wouldn't see him copying others' papers, and Sango copied his answers from my paper—he was sitting next to me.
In the Forest of Death, no one was able to sneak up on us because I kept watch the entire time, since I was too nervous to sleep. We were able to wrestle our Heaven scroll from another group easily. I picked up their chakra signatures, and Hanemaru cast a genjutsu on them while Sango and I searched their pockets.
We got to the tower in two days. Sasuke was already there. Apparently, he'd gotten bored and was terrorizing other groups in his spare time.
"Don't be mean, Sasuke-nii!" I said.
"I'm doing the judges a favor."
Hanemaru and Sango, initially too awed to speak to him, started pestering Sasuke after a few hours. By the next day, a couple more teams had arrived. I could tell Sasuke was becoming more and more disgusted by the attention. I got some, too, but he took the limelight.
"Let's go," he growled, brushing past me.
"I'll see you in a little bit, Hanemaru-kun, Sango-kun," I said over my shoulder. I trotted behind my cousin as he led us deeper into the forest.
He took to the trees, and I struggled to keep up. After a little more than half an hour of travelling, Sasuke came to a stop, dropping into a small clearing. I landed next to him and straightened up, curious as to why he'd brought us here.
"Do you know the curse of our clan?"
"No, Sasuke-nii," I said.
With a snap, he activated his Sharingan.
"Look at me."
I watched as his Sharingan, with its three tomoe, morphed into something alien and strange—the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. The sight of his terrible eye held my gaze. I couldn't look away, even if I wanted to.
"This is where I began my descent to darkness," he said. Looking away from me after a pause, he gazed around the clearing, reliving his memories. It was a while before he spoke again.
"Don't become like me. Vengeance will only leave you feeling empty inside."
"Y-yes, Sasuke-nii," I stuttered.
-paragraph-
To this day, I believe the chuunin finale was rigged. Sasuke was my opponent. The moment both our names showed up on the board, the entire arena burst into conversation.
"Ganbare, Akako-chan!" Hanemaru shouted. Sango's battle had put him in the hospital.
"Gambatte, Sasuke-san!"
Grimly, I settled into a battle-ready stance.
"Begin!"
I am not powerful enough to be good at taijutsu, though my form is flawless. My training with Sakura has helped, though. I could probably level a building with my fist on a good day, but with my doton, I could crumble a mountain.
My ninjutsu is nearly perfect, but I don't have the chakra stores to use more than three or four high-skill techniques in a row. My genjutsu has improved since I started training with Sasuke, but I know it will be years before I can even begin to catch up to him.
I disappeared, masking my chakra as I burrowed into the ground. I needed to think fast if I wanted to make it out of this battle with something to show. Sasuke destroyed my bunshin easily and flushed me out with a Chidori directed to the spot right above my head.
I erupted out of the ground right behind him, shouting, "Doton! Ganban Kyuu!"
At the same time, I summoned two more bunshin, which darted into the fray and restrained Sasuke just as the slabs of earth I'd summoned slammed shut. I growled when I realized Sasuke had made a bunshin, too.
I looked up at saw him coming down on me with Kusanagi drawn.
"Hurry up and fight already!" I heard a voice shout, and I flinched, my concentration momentarily wavering.
"Never let such trash distract you," Sasuke muttered.
We dispelled our genjutsu battle at the same time, and this time, he used Kusanagi for real. I barely drew my tantou in time, flooding my body with a thin, even distribution of chakra to put more speed and weight behind my blows.
Shigure taught me to use the tantou shortly before the War. He wanted me to have a fighting style that was my own.
"I wouldn't normally recommend a tantou for someone with a short reach," he said, reference my stature, "but you're fast and resilient, Akako-chan. I believe you can master this weapon, not the other way around."
I was proud of the improvement I'd made in my fighting style during the mere week I'd spent training with Sasuke. He'd forced and stretched my growth in a way previous tutors had not. Even though we were unevenly matched, I could tell by his eyebrows that he was impressed by my resolve.
Knowing I had only minutes left to impress the judges, I disengaged with Sasuke and leapt back, furiously making the hand seals for one of my signature moves.
"Doton shigure!"
Sasuke dodged most of my attack, but I saw him flinch just before he reached me as a bullet hit the back of his shoulder, which saved me from a sword through my leg. Instead, he whipped it up towards my face, seeking to immobilize me.
I suppose that's when everyone thought I'd surrender—I had a sword to my neck, after all. However, Naruto had taught me a thing or two from his previous fights with Sasuke, and I knew what to do.
I twisted around and head-butted him. The crowd cheered and hissed as Sasuke stumbled back, swearing. Quickly, I stopped the bleeding from the cut on my neck.
"I should have known you'd get tips from him," he growled, before sheathing Kusanagi.
I knew that to anyone without Sharingan, Sasuke's hand looked like a blur as he completed the one-handed variation of the Goukakyuu no Jutsu that he'd taught himself. With a burst of speed, I managed to complete my jutsu the same time he did.
"Katon. Goukakyuu no Jutsu."
"Katon! Goukakyuu Shigure!"
His fireball came at me with frightening velocity, but I managed to avoid the worst of it. My attack, a modification of the Uchiha technique, singed Sasuke in multiple places, burning holes through his clothes.
I heard several girls shrieking.
The attack left my throat burning, and in the split second I took to catch my breath, Sasuke caught me.
"You did well," he said, just time ran out and the match concluded.
I was not upset that I'd lost to Sasuke, who had been a ninja for years longer than I had. I was proud to have fought him.
We both got our flak jackets, which is what mattered.
-end of chapter-
A/N: And that concludes the chuunin exams! I'm no good at fight scenes, so hopefully it turned out okay. Next, Akako searches for answers to her questions, but will she like the answers?