Full Circle
oOo
Chapter 003: Uchiha Sasuke Is Back
By the age of four, children were already herded to war.
Sasuki was immensely surprised, she'd assumed that they'd be training from earlier. Even Hyuuga Hinata had started her training when she was merely three. Itachi, even earlier and Sasuki started around three as well. But, unlike in her time, the training was gruesome, meant to tire out even adult shinobis.
She grimaced, kicking her legs leisurely from where she was watching the boys trained.
Her lips curled in distaste.
Motherfucking sexism. It was times like these, Sasuki actually respected Senju Tobirama who had voted to let women join the army of shinobis. Sasuki could name a few chicks who could easily trounce her Uchiha kin into oblivion (naturally, she was one of them).
She wanted to join and start training her body.
Sasuki's Sharingan (she always turned it on now, meant to flaunt it out and tease those boys who had yet to attain it) spun and easily picked out her brothers.
Norio was tending to Tsubasa's scrapped knee, the latter looked ready to cry. Madara was further away, demonstrating something to younger kids. Izuna and Kizuna were within the kids, listening with rapt attention. Sasuki wished she could hear what they were thinking.
She had too much time on her hands.
Being disabled in their eyes meant she couldn't do anything competently, she was irked but all the same, glad she didn't have to play housewife. She wouldn't be caught dead learning to weave shit. Naruto would've died laughing.
She was bored too. Now that they were older, her brothers had really started pouring their everything, time into training and barely spent time with her. They tried of course they did, but even when they return early enough, they were drop dead tired and she wouldn't bug them.
She bugged Madara. Only him. The rest of her brothers can sleep while her "favorite" brother had to entertain her with bleary eyes. She giggled, waiting patiently for the day to come where he'd be caught sleep-walking and getting yelled at by his instructors.
Despite how much she bothered her oldest brother, he didn't snap back but even if he did, she'd simply complain to Norio and her father. The latter who was, surprisingly, okay. He's started to teach her reading and writing, even though he thought it was futile, she knew he did it to keep her from danger, which was nice of him. Though she doubted he'd be as nice if he knew she was in the training grounds, copying jutsus and moves randomly.
Sasuki twirled a piece of long hair and grimaced, her body and mind itched to join their training but surely they would notice a girl in their midst.
Sasuki frowned and schemed, maybe she could use a genjutsu? Her long hair could be braided and though she'd look girlish (which wasn't uncommon among Uchiha boys), she could pass as a boy, with a little tweaking with genjutsu. The kids wouldn't be able to tell, and if she stayed low, out of the instructors' radar, it might be successful.
No matter how half-assed it was, it was all she had.
Sasuki cast one last glance before slid off the boulder and darted back into the house. First things first: steal clothes.
She did not see the boy staring at her back, and sliding off his own boulder to follow her.
-full circle-
Uchiha Aoi hated waiting and kids, and less-than-punctual brats were dead when they faced him. The Uchiha glared down at the four-year-old boy who didn't so much at flinch. A blank, languid expression on the brat's face irked him, he reminded him of the clan head's daughter. But this boy could speak, which made a world of difference.
"I will ask you one more time, and I hate repeating brat, why are you late?" He narrowed his eyes. "All the new kids were supposed to be registered yesterday."
He blinked languidly. "My cousins played a prank on me. I missed the notice."
"And didn't anyone notify you?"
"No... Uchiha women don't deal with our training schedule. And all the men were out training." The boy's voice was young, quiet and had a feminine tinge to it—which wasn't that uncommon, boys had yet to hit puberty.
"Did it not occur to you that the children around your age were gone?"
"No..." His onyx eyes darted about, like he was searching for an answer. Aoi scowled, this boy was lying. "I'm quite the pariah among them. I don't mix with them much, and I avoid them as much as possible."
Aoi was sure it had something to do with bullying but he wouldn't be the one to stop them. Shinobi don't coddle their kids and this brat needed to grow up himself, learn to stand on his own two feet and fight back. He sighed, reaching for a brush, dipping it in ink and stared at the boy expectantly.
"Name?"
A smirk curled on the boy's lips and Aoi's suspicion deepened: this boy was not normal. Even though he implied being bullied, he showed no signs of being bullied. He was too cocky and self-assured, but it was not mindless boast like some of the boys. This boy knew what he was doing, knew his limits and was ready to strain it.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Sasuke-kun... huh?" Aoi handed the boy a pouch of kunai and many other pointy goodies. "I will be watching you."
Sasuke grimaced. "Oh, great," he mumbled as he shuffled off. Or tried to anyway. Aoi placed a hand on his shoulder and drag him another direction. "Uh, but kids my age are over there..."
Aoi scowled.
"You're late a day, brat, I will train you personally," he practically purred which made Sasuke cringed. He blinked, realizing that he sounded like a complete pedophile.
"Creep," the boy mumbled.
Aoi dragged him to the outskirts of the mountain path. Through gritted teeth, he pointed at the vast rocky plains. "You. Ten rounds. Now."
"I'll die..."
"Shinobi die everyday on the battlefield brat! You'll survive this," he snorted, giving him a rough shove. "Join the older brats." And he left.
-full circle-
Tsubasa wheezed, falling back to catch his breath. He rubbed the sweat beading down his cheek and glared at the sun. Ugh, why can't it be cloudy? The bright weather was killing him and the other kids. It didn't help that he was the smallest of the bunch—no wait, he wasn't.
Someone fell back, jogging by his side.
The six-year-old squinted at the smaller boy. "You're not supposed to be here," he said plainly.
He got an annoyed glance in return. "Aoi sent me here," he said, panting and annoyed. "I'm meant to be here. If I can catch up with you guys..." he clenched his little fist, determination in his eyes. "I won't be stuck with those losers!"
Tsubasa inhaled and exhaled gustily, pushing himself to catch up with the younger boy.
"You're new here!" he noted. "One of the new batches right?" he offered a sweet smile. "I'm Tsubasa. What's your name?"
The smaller boy hesitated, a languid expression on his face which reminded Tsubasa of his baby sister.
"Sasuke."
He raised a brow. "What?" the smaller boy demanded.
"Nah," he shook his head, smile still faintly in place. "Just that... your name's real similar to my sister."
He didn't notice the younger boy paling rapidly. "Ah... I see."
It took longer for Tsubasa and Sasuke to finish their laps. The former because he wasn't even giving it his all and he had terrible stamina. Sasuke was too young, unable to catch up with the older kids and was falling back even further than Tsubasa. Taking pity on the little Uchiha, Tsubasa had waited for him.
He felt bad for the kid. Tsubasa had learned that Sasuke was an orphan (parents died on the battlefield), no siblings either. He shuddered, he couldn't imagine a life without his older brothers and baby sister.
He pouted a little at the thought of his sister. She was, by far, his favorite sibling. She didn't tease him like the twins did, wasn't as loud or as brash as the other older two. But she seemed to like Madara-nii more, she always followed him around and asking for him.
(Naturally, he did not notice that Madara often suffered and was annoyed.)
Tsubasa panted harshly, resting on his back and gazing up at the sky. He smiled dreamily when he saw an eagle take flight. He was envy of the bird, so free of wars and deaths and this.
"This may sound crazy, Sasuke," Frowning, the boy turned to face him. "but someday, I wish I can fly."
-full circle-
Sasuke—she had started pounding into her head that she was Sasuke, no longer Sasuki, to get herself used to the new name lest she ignored anyone calling her by her alias—frowned, gazing at her partner.
Uchiha Takumi looked unreliable; he didn't look much bigger than her even though he was older by three years, he was even thinner and paler, if it was possible with the amount of time they spent out in the sun.
She wondered if he'd survive their first mission out of their clan territory.
She had been training for half a year now, and while her brothers and even Tsubasa had already been sent out on missions, she had yet to be deployed.
Somehow, it had gotten into Uchiha Aoi's head that she was trouble.
She was held back most of the time, and because of that, she was teased and looked down on.
It was a good thing even though she felt punching those boys into oblivion. Sasuke had feared that people would start questioning her boy persona's existence, but because she was often singled out as the smallest, weakest and Aoi's favorite troublemaker, people tended to pretend she didn't exist.
Well, Uchiha Sasuke never existed until Uchiha Sasuki chose to bring him into this world.
She had many loopholes and loose ends to tie though.
Her father would be hard to fool, sometimes, he would check up on her—she didn't know he cared—and it was nothing but a bother to her.
Fortunately, she had learned the Kage Bunshin in her past life and she used it easily; killing two birds with one stone though she passed out the first time she made a Bunshin.
It was pathetic, she reflected.
She hated being so weak, her body was the epitome of that now.
No longer was she Uchiha Sasuki, the Avenger, the Last Uchiha, just runt of the litter Uchiha Sasuke now.
She scoffed at the thought; well, she wouldn't be the runt forever, she'd be who she was once in her past life.
Her Sharingan flitted across the training fields, easily, her eyes zeroed in on Madara's fluctuating chakra and then she could sense Izuna and Kizuna, the twins were probably sparring together as their chakra thrummed in sync.
Her fists clenched; she had yet to make a move, she hadn't even be able to raise a kunai to slit his throat. It wasn't because of sentimentality, she told herself, it was because it was too soon, he'd realize if she had any ill intentions, he'd kill her before she could do him in.
No way in hell was she feeling something for her older brother.
It just wasn't possible; Uchiha Sasuki—sorry, Sasuke—wasn't someone who hung onto sentiments, she was a cold-hearted, cold-blooded killer; pity and empathy was not in her dictionary—
But, but she couldn't help herself; she could imagine how painful it was for him to lose everyone, especially the person he loved the most.
Sasuke had been through the same.
She'd lost her only brother, she killed him herself, not knowing that he had loved her to the end until it was too late for them to make amends. She had nearly lost everything, lost herself to darkness, to the Curse of Hatred the Uchiha associated themselves with like Senju Tobirama always preached about.
But Naruto was there.
Had she been a normal girl missing her lover, she would've sighed wistfully; but as she was Uchiha Sasuke, she merely scowled at the thought of Naruto.
The Senju had been there for her when she was lost in herself.
And he'd saved her, pulled her out of darkness and promised her no loneliness. Just... she wished he was here and was her faithful partner instead of this weakling Taku-something.
She frowned at the Uchiha.
"What's your name again?" It was not her fault she couldn't remember the names of losers and weaklings.
"U-Uchiha Takumi," he mumbled.
Sasuke frowned even harder as she adjusted her backpack. She glanced at Aoi who was, as usual, wearing his permanent frown as he faced the kids.
"Are you sure he's a ninja?"
Aoi punched her upside the head. "As much as it pains me to say this," he said dryly. "you're the leader, Sasuke."
"I can see why." Takumi flinched again, which made her mood worsen. This boy was reminding her of Hinata with every passing second until she was sure she was seeing that bloody, thrice-damned, white-eyed bitch of a Hyuuga who dared to touch her man—
"Let's just get this done with," Sasuke said, snatching the scroll out of her mentor's hand and storming off, not even waiting for Takumi to catch up with her.
Unlike the rest of the kids, no one was there to send them off.
Sasuke was expecting that no one would be there for her since she was supposed to be an orphan, but Takumi had no one there to visit him either.
She eyed him warily, unsure whether or not she should speak up. She didn't want to strike him as the chatty-type or friendly sort, she disliked socializing with anyone and anything.
Takumi swallowed, gazing wistfully at the empty spots before the gates.
Curiosity be damned, Sasuke thought as she stepped through the threshold of the gates without so much as glancing back. She leaped onto the nearest branches, steadying herself easily and continued on; she heard a pair of clumsier feet following her wake.
She knew he tried to keep up, tried to remain as silent as possible, but he still failed.
Sasuke moved soundlessly, no leaves rustle, no branches shook when she bypassed them. She was a pro, totally Kage-level, but the loser behind her? Not so much.
By the third hour, she heard him stumble and his footsteps stop all together.
Frowning, she turned back.
"Sorry," Takumi wheezed, sitting up and resting his back against the tree he'd stopped on, prompting an impatient noise from Sasuke as she made her way back. Takumi winced when he saw the glare. "Sorry," he murmured. "I'm not the fittest among us."
"How did you even survive the harsh training?"
"I don't know," Takumi answered honestly, shrugging his thin shoulders. "just the thought of my ill sister back home motivates me I guess."
"What sort of illness?" Sasuke asked; finding the boy's situation to be eerily similar to her brothers who still didn't know that she was merely lying and was waiting for an opportunity to kill one of them.
"Paralysis, incurable."
Sasuke nodded slightly, whatever notions of asking Naruto for help gone; even in the future, back in her time, curing someone born paralyzed was impossible even though researches had been ongoing for years.
"Parents?" she asked in a clipped tone.
"Dead," he answered mournfully.
"I understand," she said in turn, truly understanding. But unlike him, her parents died at the hands of her real brother, not in battle. He wouldn't understand her no matter how much she explained and she had no wish to tell him anything.
"Um..." Sasuke glanced at Takumi, silent acquiescence for him to speak. "I, uh, ano..."
"Spit it out."
"Err... I- I just- um, maybe not—"
"Spit it out, Takumu."
"It's Takumi and— Are you a girl?" he blurted out, blushing heavily.
"Are you insulting my manliness?" Sasuke snapped back, though inwardly, she was seething and considering her options. Kill the boy? That was easily done, she could just report back that enemies attacked and she was the only one who survived; it wouldn't be serious losses since Takumi didn't even have the Sharingan—and she doubted he would ever have. "Where on earth did you get such a ludicrous idea?"
"I- I saw you," he spluttered. "when you're, um, changing."
"How would you know where I was changing? Are you a stalker?"
"No!" Takumi protested, unintentionally raising his voice. "I was just tailing the clan head's daughter—"
"Aha, you are a stalker then!"
"No! I just- ugh- I—"
Sasuke's eyes widened, instincts kicking in and before she knew it, she had kicked into action, pushing her Uchiha kin out of the way as she jumped onto a higher branch, gazing down at the new threats.
She recognized the white tunics instantly, and how noticeably pupiless those eyes were.
Sasuke's lips pulled upwards.
Not only was this a perfect distraction, she got to kill some Hyuuga too. She tested their chakra; pursing her lips, she estimated them to be about chunin level.
No biggie, she could easily overpower them if she surprised them.
Her eyes spun, studying them critically, there were four of them; she recalled Naruto bragging about finding the weakness of the Byakugan before and it was a fortunate thing, she remembered what he said.
Her red Sharingan met Takumi's wide equally red eyes. She smirked; so even the brat got the Sharingan. Unfortunately for him, Sharingan or not, he would not be as powerful as she was.
Because she was just that awesome.
...Byakugan's weakpoint is at the back of the user's head, yes?
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" All the Hyuuga dodged it, but one of them had smoke in his eyes. He looked young, probably nine or eight—she didn't care. She saw Takumi inching closer, still hesitating. "Slit his throat!" she yelled, unleashing a hail of kunai on the rest of the Hyuuga to keep them at bay. There was a defiant yell, a muffled scream then the sound of a body hitting the ground.
Judging from the rage in the Hyuuga men's eyes, she knew that Takumi had did as told. She was dimly aware of the older boy rushing to her side, breathing harshly even though she only asked him to kill someone—who couldn't put up much of a fight. "Taku, do you know the fire style collaboration technique?" Takumi nodded.
"Katon: Uchiha Daiendan!"
The Hyuuga leaped away in surprise. Obviously, they had expected to ambush inexperienced Uchiha kids. Not, skilled kids who knew better than to cower and hesitate in killing.
"Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!" The oldest-looking Hyuuga spat out a column of water. The two Uchiha yelped, scattering when it took the form of a watery snake with gaping jaws. It twisted, starting to follow Takumi. A gurgled yell told Sasuke that the older Uchiha was already caught.
She cussed loudly as she formed rapid handseals.
"Katon: Haisekishō!"
She spat a steam of chakra infused with gunpowder. Being made entirely out of ash, the cloud of smoke surrounded the Hyuuga with no intent on lifting anytime soon. She threw a tag in the direction of the smoke, darting after where she last saw the water snake took Takumi.
Not a moment too soon, the Hyuuga behind her were blasted sky high. At least, she hoped so. The ash and smoke should've hurt their lungs enough to stop them from running. Whichever, she wasn't staying to find out. She'd used up most of her chakra reserves and she was famished, tired out as if she hadn't eaten one whole day.
"Taku!" she called, eyes—she was too tired to maintain her Sharingan—scanning the area wildly for her ally. She didn't want him to die yet even though it'd save her the trouble of her secret getting exposed. It'd cause her too much reports, questions and doubts if he died and she'd ruin her perfect record. Last but not least, he was carrying the scroll they were supposed to deliver. Vital information for the trading company in the closest harbor.
Her eyes fell onto a particularly waterlogged area.
The mud was sloshed and wet. Sasuke left marks as followed the path, she didn't want to get lost. Bad enough that they were behind schedule, she didn't want to go back empty-handed.
Someone gave a weak cough and splutter.
"Takumi!" Sasuke pushed the low branches away, jumping over the bushes to where he was. The snake had carried him to the closest river to drown him. She eyed his torn shirt, still sizzling. "Don't tell me you use a fireball jutsu to get out."
Takumi grinned sheepishly. "Hehe... it worked, didn't it?" His grin dimmed slightly when he noticed her bedraggled appearance. "What about the rest of them?"
"Gone," said Sasuke. "hopefully. Do you still have the scroll?"
He nodded, pulling the scroll out. Miraculously, the scroll was intact, water dripping off the waterproof surface. "We must've lost goods falling into rivers or something before," remarked Takumi, impressed at how well-prepared their predecessors were. "I didn't even realize this material was different from what we normally use."
Sasuke frowned, she didn't care, just as long as the scroll was still readable. "Or, maybe the guy requested for it. At any rate, we're going downstream."
Takumi blinked. "Why?"
"Because, you dummy, we're lost," she snapped. "Those Hyuuga guys threw us off our trail. And didn't Aoi teach us in survival class to follow wherever the river flows if we're lost?"
"Uh, why again?"
"Because, there's bound to be people living in that area. The river is their source of water, you nincompoop! Now, come on!"
-full circle-
"Oi, Aoi!"
The Uchiha trainer grunted in acknowledgement to his friends's calls. Uninvited, his annoying friend plopped down before him, purposefully blocking his view of the brats. "Move it," snapped Aoi grumpily. "I can't scream at the kids for their mistakes if you're in my way."
"I just wanted to know, ya sent someone out today, didn'tcha?"
"Two kids," he said. "on an easy C-rank to the port. Why?"
His friend uncrossed his legs, leaning forward, his face tight with concern. "Look, I don't want to freak you out but I heard the Hyuuga were in that area. Our scouts—"
Aoi sprang to his feet, alarmed. "The fuck? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I can't be sure they were your kids. I thought some skilled Uchiha were sent out instead of some green brats. Whaddya want to do now?"
Aoi threw his friend a filthy glare. "I—"
"Ya can't go," his friend cut in. "Your job it to train those brats. Just send one of the more experienced brat to them. Retrieve the corpses and send an apologetic letter to the client that we failed."
"You don't know how it's like to lose a student."
Uchiha Isao met his eyes. "And you don't know what it's like to lose a son. Don't worry," he said, looking away. "it might just be rumors. I'll send the clan head's twins if I were you. I heard that they're rather stealthy and efficient."
Aoi's eyes softened a degree. "Fine."
-full circle-
"Wow, Aoi-sensei is right. He's smart."
Sasuke shot Takumi an irritated glare. "Look, Dense Boy, he's not smart. It's called experience. Aoi will be sued if he didn't teach us how to survive." She huffed. "It's a good thing I'm in charge. Else, we'll be dead long ago."
"Ouch." Takumi yawned. "Can we find a place to rest before we go back? I'm too tired to make the same a day and a half trip back. It's too dark and dangerous for us kids and we have curfew—"
"For crying out loud," snapped Sasuke, stomping off. "Keep your eyes peeled. We're finding a decent place to sleep in."
The villagers must'be been used to kids wandering around with a chaperon, because no one gave them another glance. The streets weren't crowded, a few peasant wandered about the harbor, carefully avoiding eye contact with the kids and anyone else. Sasuke suspected that they were up to something fishy. She wasn't one to talk because she was definitely up to something. Like, very bad stuff.
"This is a barn." Takumi frowned, eyeing the rundown building.
"It's a shack," corrected Sasuke who couldn't believe Takumi was that ignorant of the outside world. "The fishermen keep their boats here. See? Anyway, take cover, we're sleeping here for tonight."
"Why can't we deliver the scroll now?"
Sasuke could've given him a lot of reasons, like, reason number one: I'll kill you if you don't do as I say. But she chose reason number two which was not such a mouthful. "'Coz I'm the mission leader."
He fell silent, rolling onto his side, his back facing her. After a few moments, Sasuke heard his breathing evening so she supposed he was asleep.
It took her awhile, but she fell asleep too. Unconsciously, her lips twitched upward at the thought of a boy with a golden halo of hair and eyes bluer than the sky.
-full circle-
"Who's Naruto?"
"Why can't you keep your mouth shut and stop asking questions?" Sasuke shot back, irritated. All the while, as she spoke, she did not falter as her nimble fingers flew across the strings of the pouch, securing their money to her belt. She didn't trust Takumi to carry it, he had proven himself incompetent so far. All he had done was just make her worry and her high blood pressure skyrocket with his uselessness.
Takumi fell silent and she assumed he had gotten her message but when Sasuke turned, he looked hurt.
She turned away, irritated. She had no time for this. She wanted to—
"Urk." Sasuke staggered, clutching her stomach as phantom pain overtook her.
Takumi rushed over to her. "Sasuke! What's wrong?" He sounded too concerned for her liking.
"I..." Memories of her Bunshin washed over to her. Unfamiliar faces, women screaming—the Uchiha Compound had been invaded! "We have to get back!" she yelled, pumping chakra into her legs and taking off.
Her Bunshin was useless when it came to fighting; not only did it drain Sasuke, it also could not withstand more than one hit. Obviously, someone had tried to take her by punching her in the gut. Haha, sorry asshole, the clan head's daughter is not so easily caught.
No matter how much Sasuke tried to distract herself; ugly scenarios kept popping up in her mind. Mainly, of her brothers (sans Madara) dying and if Tajima died too...
She hesitated; Tajima reminded her a lot of Fugaku but he had tried his best whereas her real father had not. At best, Fugaku was awkward around his children. Tajima had tried to be understanding.
She cared, to a certain degree, she cared.
And as for Madara...
Damn it. That asshole could only die by her hands. She wasn't going to let anyone else take him!
-full circle-
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait but I sort of lost inspiration for this. Will try to update sooner but no promises lol
Review!
oOo
