Sasuke.
Hmph. Turned out he was actually a lot stronger than he thought. Sure, he had acted like Mr. Confidence when Kabuto met him at the door, but…
I will not let myself lose it. I will not. I'm going to forget all about what happened, all of it. He never mattered and neither did she. I will get stronger and memories aren't going to get in the way. Memories… oh, shit…
Memories flashed: the entrance ceremony; being inducted into Team 7; meeting Sensei; trying to get the bells and giving Naruto his lunch; fighting Haku; Sakura crying over him; the Chunin exams; Gaara; chasing after Naruto because he knew what Itachi was after; that mission in the Land of Tea; fighting Naruto on the rooftop… God, he had been angry…; saying goodbye to Sakura; and then the fight…
No! He wasn't going to think about them anymore! He was done with them! Only one thing mattered to him now.
I just… I just hope he understands… I have to do this. I tried to forget revenge… but I can't forget. He has to understand! He would do the same thing.
Oh come on, a voice in his head hissed. You know damn well Naruto wouldn't do that to his comrades. To his best friend.
Well, what about her? She doesn't do much, but she was strong and spirited. I know she doesn't have near enough hate, but… she'll understand. She has to, if the things she told me were true…
Then she should hate you all the more.
Well, the first night was rough. Kabuto ran some painful tests, examined his Chakra, and gave him some food pills. It wasn't the greatest night.
And he kept thinking about how Naruto was dealing with all this… knowing Naruto, probably not well. And Sakura, who was practically hysterical the night he left. When she found out he wasn't coming back…
But he kept training and training. It was a lot easier than he though it would be, but he figured the food pills and all the extra strength he now had helped.
And really. If he made his friends go through all that, had put himself through all that… he was definitely going to get the benefit out of this. There was no way he was going to let himself fail. No freaking way.
Kabuto was terrified of him, mainly because he always mastered jutsus quickly and walked around like he owned the place. He back talked to Orochimaru, which disgusted Kabuto but frightened him at the same time; it amused and impressed Orochimaru. But really…
Every day was a horrible struggle. Jutsus were a cinch, but his emotions were fighting to get out. Every night he saw Naruto and Sakura as his bedroom ceiling. Sakura's green eyes were the stars and Naruto's laugh was always pounding in his ears. But every time he activated his Sharingan, it reminded him of what he was here for.
Yet sometimes… sometimes he would wake up, and just lay in bed, eyes closed, imagining what Naruto and Sakura and Kakashi were doing without him, and…
He could hardly bear it…