Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Naruto.
His name was called first. First in his class at ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu; the only average scores he had were in teamwork, a section Sasuke found highly overrated. Iruka said his name with a hint of pride, and Sasuke could see the satisfaction in Iruka's eyes as he left his seat to accept his headband.
The newly placed headband's cloth rubbed against Sasuke's head in a slightly uncomfortable way, but it did not bother him; the itch was just a small (if persistent) reminder of his accomplishment. He returned to his place beside the pink-haired girl, who had remained blissfully quiet.
"Haruno Sakura," Iruka read, and the girl stepped forward. Sakura, Sasuke thought. That's her name. She had the highest written scores of the entire graduating class, something even Sasuke found moderately impressive. So she can do something beside whine and flirt.
Iruka called out the next name, and Yamanka Ino stood and proudly retrieved her headband. Despite her slightly abrasive personality and loudmouth tendencies, her teamwork scores were the highest. Shows you how horribly we all get along, Sasuke intoned truthfully, if sarcastically. Ino grinned all the way to Iruka and back.
More names were announced, and student after student stood to take his or her headband. As Sasuke silently scoped out the rest of the class, he wished once again that each genin team was not required to have at least one girl. They could just stick them all together two or three teams. That would undoubtedly deal with his problem, and Sasuke was certain it would improve team dynamics. They're probably afraid that they would kill each other. Sasuke decided that it was a valid concern. But still-
The last child tied his headband, and Iruka dismissed them. Sasuke left with the others, shutting out the chatter and excitement spreading around him. It appeared as though everyone had graduated; a normal result, as most years all students graduated from the Academy.
A orange jumpsuit blurred past him. The Uzumaki kid. He was obviously upset; had he failed? Sasuke knew that many of his skills were not up to par. He disappeared, and Sasuke turned his attention elsewhere.
Sasuke let himself be carried along the wave of students flowing outside. A crowd of parents were waiting expectantly, and the children branched off in many different directions. Congratulations rang out from all angles. Sasuke slowed his pace, searching for his mother, who he knew would surely be there.
She did not disappoint. "How did it go?" Mikoto asked as she hugged her son, the headband ample proof that he had passed.
"Fine," he said. There was no reason to mention the small scuffle earlier, or the chunin's attempt to stab him. "We come back in two days to hear our assigned teams."
Mikoto smiled. "I heard Hatake Kakashi is taking a genin squad."
Hatake…Now there was a living legend. Chunin at six, jonin at thirteen; he was undoubtedly one of the strongest ninja the village had, along with Itachi and Shisui. "Who else is up for one?"
Mikoto closed her eyes for a moment in concentration. "The Hokage's son, Asuma, is, and I believe that Yuuhi Kurenai is as well. I'm not sure about the others, although I know there are a few more." She grinned at her son. "I suppose we should be thankful Shisui is on a mission. He told me that he had nearly convinced the Hokage to allow him to have a genin squad."
Sasuke snorted. They both knew what would happen to any genin assigned to Shisui. "How much did he pay him?"
Mikoto laughed as they moved away from the Academy. "It must have been a lot; last time I checked it was illegal to torture underage genin."
Sasuke allowed himself a rare smile. Shisui was of the firm conviction that the Academy did little to nothing to prepare its students for life as actual ninja and often groaned about the "ineffectual little runts that place churns out". Any genin Shisui took on would be put through hell to "strengthen" them. One day with Shisui and they would run screaming back to the Academy. "When is he due back?"
"I have no idea," Mikoto said sadly. For some unfathomable reason she was attached to Shisui; Sasuke personally theorized that she saw Shisui as a link to her older, much more unreachable son. "Itachi is supposed to be back sometime this week," she finished, answering Sasuke's unspoken question.
Sasuke nodded and fell in line beside his mother.
Hiro was… unenthusiastic when Sasuke returned home. "So, you finally got it. Took you long enough," was the extent of his reaction, not that Sasuke had expected any less. If Hiro had been supportive and proud, Sasuke would have recommended him for a psych evaluation. Hiro's reaction did not disturb him in the slightest.
Mikoto, however, was a different story. She said nothing to Hiro, but Sasuke could read her well. The fine lines on her face, usually so faint and indiscernible, were pronounced, and there was irritation in her pitch black eyes. Hiro paid no heed to Mikoto's ire; he prattled about when Itachi would become clan head, how they should handle the shift, the proper rites and ceremonies, and many other related details without noticing her anger.
Sasuke put on the show of retreating to his room early. It was a ruse, of course; he was too keyed up to sleep. Training would further his abilities and cure his insomnia. In his eyes, it was truly a win-win situation, aided even more by the fact that he would avoid the inevitable quarrel between his mother and his uncle. He untied his headband and left it on his dresser. As he opened his window he could hear the disagreement starting.
The forest, or more specifically, the section of the forest that extended near his house, was unquestionably the best place to train. Perpetually damp, ridden with insects, snakes, and other small vermin, dark, and gloomy, it was a place few people desired to go, which was perfect for Sasuke.
The scene was darker than average. Heavy rainclouds hung in the sky, threatening to pour down on the village. Sasuke picked his favorite tree and launched into a combination. Punch, kick, block, punch. Ignoring the heat and the humidity of the air around him, Sasuke hit the bark again. He lost track of time as he pushed his body harder and harder. Breathing became difficult, but that was a good sign. When an Uchiha reached his limit, he pushed forward. Slowly his muscles began to weaken, and his body ached horribly. Joints, muscles, organs all screamed for him to stop. But he refused. He was stronger than that. Besides, he needed to be ready for whatever team he was placed on. The stronger he was, the less time he would have to waste as a genin before he could graduate to chunin.
It was threatening to rain at any moment. Stupid weather, Sasuke thought irritably. He punched the tree, trying to force away Hiro's past criticisms that he could still hear in his mind's ear. He was so wrapped up in attacking the hapless tree trunk in front of him that he didn't hear or feel the girl creeping up behind him.
"Hi," a voice squeaked, startling him. He whipped his body around, dropping into an attack stance. He loosened a bit when he saw who it was: Haruno, the pink haired girl who had sat beside him.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked curtly. She'd interrupted him. What the hell is a girl doing out here anyway? Sakura didn't seem phased by his angry response.
"I come here sometimes to train, practice, think," she answered, far too eagerly for his tastes. Somehow Sasuke doubted the veracity of her assertion. Her pink hair was pulled high in a bun, and her sea green eyes watched him intently. "Is that why you're here, Sasuke-kun?" She was more subdued than she often was.
"Hn," he said, looking away from her. He really didn't know Sakura that well; he kept his distance from her and all girls.
She fidgeted anxiously. The silence hung between them until she spoke again. "Do you mind if I stay, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke paused, considering. If he said yes, she would probably complain and pester him about why she couldn't stay and all that crap. "No," he replied briefly. "But don't bother me. I'm not here for conversation." He made his tone acerbic and stern. Hopefully she would move on in a few minutes; the weather was promising to be uncooperative, and since she was probably here to bother him she would leave the minute she realized he wouldn't go along with her plan.
Determined to be contrary, she didn't leave. He could feel her chakra signature, which meant she was fairly close; his senses put her just beyond a thicker grove a trees seven meters or so away. While her presence annoyed him, at least she wasn't harassing him. Sasuke commenced his moves, switching to several flat palm techniques.
The minutes stretched on. The blisters that had begun to form on his hands from his extreme training schedule over the past week were swelling painfully. The grips on his kunai had been loosening over the past few days, and this increased exercise had destroyed them entirely, making the blisters even worse. But that girl was still going, still working. I am not leaving before she does. It was a matter of pride.
Suddenly Sasuke felt a wet sensation on his hand. He opened his fist and looked down. The blisters had popped; his hands were covered in blood and pus.
"What happened?" The stupid girl was back.
"Nothing," he snarled at her, trying to keep his hands out of view. He did not need an amateur medic who thought bandages were the cure to all illnesses or, even worse, a girl who fainted at the first sight of blood. For both their sakes, he wanted to keep this to himself. Sakura saw his bloody hands anyway.
She gasped, shocked, but recovered. "You need to clean your hands and wrap them up," she told him, sounding more authoritative than he had ever heard her.
"I don't need you to tell me what I should do, and my hands are fine," he shot back, face contorted into a scowl half from resentment and half from pain. Her eyes widened, but she didn't back down.
"If you don't clean them, they'll get infected. Then you won't be able to kill the tree." She was almost angry with him. Stupid little know it all .She passes a few Academy tests and now she's the medic nin.
"Who made you an expert?"
"My dad was a medic," she answered, shrugging noncommittally. "I know about stuff like this."
Was? So he's not now? That hardly mattered. Sasuke glanced down at his hands again. The pain was terrible. As much as he hated to admit it, the girl was probably right, and if her father was a medic nin, she would probably knew more than he did.
Sakura bit her lip as she waited. "Fine," he sighed.
The girl's face brightened incredibly, and she smiled broadly at his answer. She grabbed his wrist, cautious to avoid his hands, and yanked him away.
A few minutes later he was kneeling by the girl's pack as she washed and bound his hands. The cleaning hurt, but the salve that felt like a thin glue that she plastered on his fingers and palm felt soothing and cool. It didn't take her long to finish. "There," she said, apparently satisfied. "It should heal within a few days. The blisters weren't as bad as they looked."
Sasuke nodded, pulling his hands away. The girl examined the darkening sky. "I'd better get home. See you later, Sasuke-kun!" She shouldered her pack and ran off. Sasuke watched her, absentmindedly rubbing his sore hands. Raindrops started to fall, so he followed her lead.
The house was quiet and dark, and Sasuke risked the back door. He dropped his wet shoes beside the door, hoping his mother was asleep already.
"Your mother's in her room, so you don't have to worry about her." Hiro. Sasuke nearly groaned. He had hoped Hiro would be gone. His uncle sat on one of their low couches, smoking a cigarette. The light was the only brightness in the dim room. Hiro had a perfect rhythm to smoking; inhale, beat one, two, three, exhale, beat one, two, three, four, inhale. "But don't wake her."
"Hai," Sasuke responded, dashing for the stairs.
"Wait." Sasuke obeyed; it was an automatic impulse. "You agree with your mother, don't you? You think I'm wrong about you."
What kind of a question is that? That inquiry was so horrifically loaded. Hiro constantly compared him to Itachi, and Sasuke did not have to hear his uncle's words to know how weak he was next to his brother. But how was he supposed to answer? Yes? No? Silence was safer, but Hiro wouldn't accept it. "My opinion doesn't matter," Sasuke finally said.
The pattern stopped with the cigarette half in and half out of Hiro's mouth. For the first time that night he looked directly at his nephew. "You're right. It doesn't."
A/N: A little bit of SasuSaku, but not too much. Thanks again to all of my marvelous reviewers! Virtual cookies to all of you I probably won't be able to update until next week; I've got exams and papers and junk.