A/N: I'm sorry I'm so late with my updates. I'm not going to bore you with my litany of excuses, but I am truly and deeply sorry.

On a happier note, there were TEN reviews on the last chapter. TEN! *insert fangirl squeal! You guys are so awesome! Thank you! My plot bunny is much plumper now and my muse is very happy :)

Chapter Six

Sakura skidded to a stop next to him. Sasuke took a deep breath before turning to face her. "What do you want?" Sasuke repeated.

"Um, well, I was thinking," she began slowly. Tell me this isn't going where I think it's going, Sasuke thought. He wished that the girl would take a hint or two (or three or four). She stood in front of him, eyes bright with foolish optimism and eager anticipation. She's going to ask again. "Do you want to go eat our lunches together? To celebrate our-"

"No," Sasuke said in stern, certain voice. Why do I have to always be right when it comes to her? She could surprise me once in a while.

"Oh." Defeated sigh. "Are you sure?" Sakura questioned with some small sliver of hope still evident in her deep green eyes. "It's just a little lunch, you know, and I-"

"Yes," Sasuke answered curtly. "I'm sure." He picked up his pace slightly, advancing down the path. He listened carefully for the soft patter of footsteps behind him. It was remarkably quiet. Sasuke decided to risk a chance look back.

Sakura was standing on the same spot, staring despondently at him. Sasuke turned away again quickly; he did not want to give her the wrong impression. Refusing her advances was acceptable and understandable; encouraging her and then ignoring her was just rude. He didn't hate her; precisely, anyway. She was an annoyance, but she didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

Even if I ignore her she'll keep coming at me. Sasuke had seen many emotions playing across her face; disappointment, anger, sadness, misery, dejection, and the rest of the usual bunch of overly dramatic expressions of rejection; but there was one only that he had paid even the slightest bit of attention too; the small but fierce determination ever-present on his teammate's face.

The sun was setting as Sasuke trekked back home. He pulled out a kunai, alternately spinning it on his finger and slashing at the trunks of trees. While he wasn't enthusiastic about his team, he was thankful to finally be on a team and out of the Academy. Thank Kami for small favors. He supposed in the grand scheme of things, his team wasn't too horrible; it could have been worse. Not much worse, he corrected himself. Naruto is the worst, really, and only Ino or another one of the girls would have been worse than Sakura. Kakashi is very powerful, though; he might make up for the other two.

He was tired. "There are no excuses"; he had trained just as hard that afternoon as he usually did, despite the grueling test of the morning. He was ready for rest; he wanted to be as focused as possible for tomorrow, when they officially began training.

Grasping its edge, Sasuke absentmindedly pushed the front door open, failing to notice that it was already ajar. The room was dim, lit only by the rapidly fading light of the outside, and shadows danced across the walls. Sasuke turned to shut the door behind him.

A heavy hand clamped over his mouth. His legs flew out under him as his body was thrown to the floor. Reacting a half beat too late, Sasuke swung his leg up, hoping to connect with something vulnerable. He was rewarded with a swift knee in his side.

Damn, that hurts! The person pinned him to the ground, his body on top of Sasuke's. Desperately trying to knock his attacker off, Sasuke somehow managed to free his arm. He slammed his fist upwards, hitting the person's face.

Shisui cursed loudly. Sasuke took advantage of his momentary distraction to free his other arm. Grabbing the leg of a nearby couch, Sasuke used it as leverage to rescue the lower half of his body.

Shisui wasn't about to let him get away. He latched on to Sasuke, exploiting his superior size and weight by forcing Sasuke onto the couch.

Sasuke decided to forgo powerful taijutsu techniques and resort to dirty tactics. He kneed Shisui as hard as he could in the groin. Shisui yelped loudly, and Sasuke rolled off the couch. Properly antagonized, Shisui launched himself after his younger cousin, catching him by the shoulders and attempting to wrestle him back onto the couch.

"You do realize how ridiculous you both look right now." Sasuke would have known that voice anywhere. He had heard it daily for a dozen years, after all. "Hiro-sama is correct; the future of the Uchiha clan is far from bright."

"Itachi, home on time," Shisui said, pausing the battle to greet his other cousin. "Will the wonders never cease?"

"Shisui, why are you choking my younger brother?" Itachi asked. He was brisk, matter of fact and entirely business-like. It wasn't surprising; Itachi never lost his composure, and it would have been disturbing if he had over such a simple incident.

"I'm not choking him." Sasuke's blue-tinged face begged to differ. "It's revenge, Itachi. Don't get involved." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Shisui's overly dramatic tone.

"Hn," Itachi replied intelligently, raising his eyebrow. Shisui was known to bring out Itachi's responsible side. "Get off Sasuke and try to act like a respectable person."

Shisui slowly stood. Sasuke resisted the urge to give Shisui a parting blow. Cheeks flushed from the exertion of the fight, he smoothed his rumbled clothes as Shisui teased his older brother. "Who ever said I was a respectable person?"

"For appearances' sake, let's pretend you are," Itachi answered dryly.

Shisui grinned in reply. "How was the mission? You're back early."

"Simple," Itachi said succinctly, "and far less involved than was assumed. Technicalities delayed our return for a few days."

In the ninja career, "technicalities" could mean anything from getting lost on the way home to being ambushed by a team of rogue ninja intent on destroying and/or torturing you and your teammates to death. Sasuke didn't ask for clarification for Itachi's most recent series of "technicalities; ignorance was often bliss when it came to Itachi's missions. "When did you get back?" was a much safer question.

"A few hours ago," Itachi said. "I met with Hiro-sama before I came here."

"You know everyone's ready for you to officially become clan head," Shisui interjected. "You can't really put it off much longer, even if Hiro wants you to."

"Shisui, I have not been putting it off, and Hiro has never worked against me."

Sasuke started to move away. The conversation was no longer pertinent to him. In Sasuke's mind, there was no question regarding Itachi's future: he would become clan head and head of the Konoha Police Force within the next few weeks, he would be an excellent and wise leader, and when the time came he would either find or be assigned a wife and procreate. Whether it took him one day or ten weeks to move down that path didn't really matter. If Sasuke had not felt as exhausted as he did, he might have mustered a bit more interest in the discussion, but then it was just a conversation he had heard numerous times before, a repetitive topic that always began and ended the same way.

"Sasuke," Itachi called. Sasuke turned towards his older brother in question. "How was graduation?"

"Fine," he said.

"Whose team were you placed on? Who are your teammates?" Outside of Mikoto, Itachi had always cared the most. His questions were never perfunctory; that was why Sasuke took the time to answer them.

"Hatake Kakashi," Sasuke started.

"No way! He actually passed you?" Shisui exclaimed loudly. Itachi was not as amazed as his cousin, but Sasuke liked to think he was a little surprised. "He's never passed a team!"

"Apparently," Sasuke said. It's a rather nice distinction; the first team to pass Hatake's bell test.

"Who else is on your team?" Itachi was even more curious now. Sasuke smirked, remembering his teammates.

"Haruno Sakura-"

"Who's that?" Sasuke glared at his cousin, punishing his interruption. "Oh, please, it's a valid question. What, you expect me to have all your bratty little friends' names memorized?"

I wouldn't really call her a friend. "She has pink hair." And green eyes, and pale skin, and rosy lips, and- Sasuke shut down his stream of thought. What was wrong with him? The pink hair was distinctive enough; there was no reason to dredge up anything else.

"Oh, that kid. I've seen her around. Who's the other one?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke said nonchalantly.

"Naruto?" Shisui blinked, his famous "what the hell" gesture. "He's on your team?"

Sasuke nodded. Shisui and Itachi exchanged a look. Why is it that you all hate him? Actually, Shisui had never seemed hateful, precisely; he was always supremely uncomfortable, which for Shisui was supremely abnormal. Sasuke had no idea what Itachi thought about Naruto; he didn't hate him like everyone else did, but he did not treat him like a normal child. Of course, Naruto is ANYTHING but normal.

Sasuke wanted to ask. He had before; no one had ever answered him. Oh, they had spoken, but the responses were always vague avoidances of the true issue. Naruto was persona non-grata when he was lucky, and the evil monster when he was not. No one ever offered an explanation or a reason; Naruto was hated, and he was to be avoided at all costs. It was an unchallenged and omnipresent rule; no one questioned it. It just was.

"This should be interesting," Shisui mused. "I wonder if Hiro knows yet."

"Obviously not," Itachi asserted. There was a rather uncomfortable pause in conversation, a lag. They wanted to talk. They couldn't with him around.

Sasuke ascended the stairs. Neither his brother nor his cousin made a move to stop him. Shisui was still pondering the logistics of Naruto. Whatever those logistics are, Sasuke thought. Itachi was moving back towards the kitchen, probably to prepare a meal of some sort. It was a well known secret that Itachi hated "mission" food, and he had a tendency to indulge in "real" food, as he dubbed it, whenever he was home.

Sasuke paused outside his door. He could hear the soft murmurs of Itachi and Shisui's conversation. Should I listen? No, he decided immediately. There was no need to look juvenile, especially since he probably wouldn't find out anything anyway. It's unnecessary. Besides, knowing Konoha, the reason behind their hatred is probably as stupid as the hatred itself.

(insert break)

The next morning was ugly. The sky was overcast and the air unbelievably humid. Sasuke dropped his pack at the edge of the training area and began stretching. His muscles had been feeling rather tight, and he wanted to ensure he was in top condition for training.

I hope he's not as late today as he was yesterday. Sasuke had gotten the impression that Kakashi's perpetual lateness was more of a personal flaw than a true desire to torture. Unfortunately, personal flaws could only be cured by the person, and not by that person's student.

Sasuke sat on the ground, ignoring the damp grass. He leaned over, grasping his right leg. I wonder what his training methods are. What will we focus on first?

"Hey, Sasuke," a far too chipper voice greeted him. His grimace was involuntary.

"Hn," he answered. He was glad his position granted him a reprieve from eye contact.

"Naruto's not here yet, is he?" Sasuke didn't like the tone of her voice. For the first time in his life, Sasuke wished Naruto was with him.

"Do you hear him?"

She laughed. Her laugh wasn't so bad; some people would have described it as rich. "Good point." She quieted suddenly. No. Not again. Once upon a time, Sasuke had believed that persistence was an admirable trait, one that every should individual needed. Sakura was rapidly changing his opinions. "Sasuke, I want to ask you something."

Sakura waited for him to answer her. He didn't say anything. Are you a masochist? Would silence discourage her? Sasuke was fairly sure it wouldn't, but no other brilliant plan came to mind.

"Sasuke," she said. Reluctantly Sasuke looked up. She took a deep breath. She wasn't this nervous yesterday. At least, I don't think she was. "Would you help me train?"

The sentence was rushed, the words blended so close together Sasuke could barely understand them. What? Sasuke watched her, completely confused. She stared back. I take it back; you are capable of surprising me. Sasuke was impressed and even flattered that she was seeking his help. "Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes. Why." She was stumped. It's not that hard of a question. You had some motivation. Do you want to improve certain skills? Do you want to beat someone? Or did someone put you up this?

"Well, I mean, uh," she stalled. "I need help, to get better and stuff." You have officially achieved the status of worst explainer ever. "Remember yesterday? I wasn't exactly, um, well I was kind of-"

Sasuke felt honor bound to improve her word choices. He borrowed Kakashi's description. "Pathetic."

"Yeah," she admitted. The comment had stung her, but she pushed forward regardless. "You could help me! And maybe I could help you train," she said suggestively.

With those last few words her motivation became crystal clear to Sasuke. She doesn't want help training. She just wants to hang around me. While Sasuke had to give her points for ingenuity, her audacity was galling. What the hell is wrong with her? She doesn't take being a shinobi seriously. She doesn't care. "No."

"What? But, but, but Sasuke-"

He briefly considered explaining it to her in a long vindictive rant full of superlative adjectives and hard-hitting truths. No. It's not worth my time or effort. She wouldn't listen even if I did. "I said no. I mean it. Don't bother me again." He stood and walked away, his body language clearly saying "don't come near me". For once she listened.

SLAM! Sasuke hit the ground for what seemed like the hundredth time. Slowly, painfully, he rose from his position. Entirely unfazed, Kakashi watched him expressionlessly as Sasuke resumed his position. Defiantly meeting Kakashi's eyes, Sasuke raised his fists, prepared to attack again.

They had been training all morning. Kakashi had launched into a brief review of the taijutsu moves and combinations that they should have had mastered by graduation. Sakura's blank stares and Naruto's slaw jack had convinced Kakashi that his assumptions were in error, so he had immediately sentenced the two to practice on trees while he fought with Sasuke. Sasuke had presumed that they would eventually switch; he would practice taijutsu on the hapless trees and/or on Naruto while Sakura faced Kakashi, and vice versa; however, Kakashi had been going at him for hours now without reprieve and without so much as a hint to when they would be stopping.

Sakura and Naruto had been instructed to first practice their taijutsu against inanimate objects and then, when they were comfortable in their mastery of the techniques, against each other. Sasuke had not been able to spare much time from his own fight to watch them, so he had no idea of how they had been progressing, but he was fairly certain that they were not going at each other as hard as they could have. Naruto would never willingly hurt Sakura, and Sakura didn't have the same drive in battle as the boys did.

Kakashi swung at him, and Sasuke just barely avoided a brutal hit to the head. Concentrate on this fight, not on theirs. Kakashi came at him again, the same cold, brutal, calculated matter about him. Sasuke almost wished he would show more passion and emotion; it would make him easier to read and less intimidating. Not that he's intimidating me; he would just be easier to read. Denial was easier than truth.

Sasuke stumbled backwards, out of Kakashi's reach for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, he was exhausted. Dehydration was starting to set in a bit; he needed water. His stomach insisted on food as well.

Sasuke had a small inkling that Kakashi was trying to break him, to make him ask for a break. That is not going to happen. Ever. Itachi would have called it "idiocy bred from pride". Shisui would have called him stupid. Hell, his body was calling him stupid. It doesn't matter. I'm not asking. Sasuke ignored the fact that his inner declarations sounded like a whiny two year old's tantrums. He charged at Kakashi again.

The battle waged for another twenty minutes before Kakashi finally gave in and stopped it. "Break time," he announced cheerfully. "We're supposed to meet Sasaki Aoki for your first D-ranked mission in twenty minutes, so you better eat fast."

"Alright!" Naruto yelled. "Our first mission! It's gonna be awesome! Believe it!"

"It's just a D-rank, Naruto," Sakura answered, annoyed. "It's going to suck." She was hot and sweaty, and not in an alluring way. Her cheeks were colored bright red, and her entire body was gasping for breath. Sasuke couldn't help but notice the chipped nails and disorganized hair. What did you expect? We're training to be ninja, not geisha. We're not here to look "pretty".

"It's a mission, Sakura-chan!"

"It's a D-rank, idiot!"

Sasuke watched the two of them bicker as he dug into his food. Sakura ended their argument by slamming her fist into Naruto's head. You definitely have a way with him, Sasuke thought. Violence is always the way to end an argument with a friend. You are right, though. It's not going to be exciting. Sasuke had been educated on the glories of D-rank missions by both Shisui and Itachi. Itachi had not stayed a genin long enough to properly bask in the horror of D-rank missions, but an inopportune injury had delayed Shisui long enough for him to develop a full disdain of them, a disdain that he had promptly passed on to his younger relative. To say that Sasuke did not have high expectations was putting it mildly.

He finished his lunch and fell in line behind his sensei. There was time for complaining later. Duty called, in the form of a grumpy old man who needed chores done at his shop.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story! Hopefully I'll be getting my next update up next Saturday; I will have it up before Christmas. OH, and Happy Hanukah!