Summah taaaiiiiim
king & lionheart
If only things had been different.
(for Anon, Hearts grow, and hirokiri)
"No one can go back and make a new beginning, but we can start here and make our own end."
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.
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Sasuke hated being out of action. Hated it with a passion.
He felt so useless—he might as well have been a civilian. The kunai that had penetrated his stomach had really done a number on him and the head medic, Orochimaru, told him he had to stay on bed rest for at least three weeks.
'Like hell I'll listen to a creeper like him,' the young Uchiha thought with a scowl.
Orochimaru was an unfortunate-looking person with long black hair and sickly pale skin. He was a fairly good medic, though, but every time Sasuke had come across him, he felt something very similar to a fight-or-flight response with his heart leaning toward flight more often than not. Itachi seemed very wary of him as well.
"You should only ask for Orochimaru to help you only in the most dire situations," he had told his younger brother when Sasuke was still in the hospital. "Some of his methods are unconventional, and I don't want you getting hurt, Sasuke."
Sasuke, still feeling weak, tried unsuccessfully to sit up in his bed. It was the wrong move. His stomach still hurt like hell. "Niisan, what do you mean by unconventional?" he asked. He was slightly winded.
In a somewhat uncomfortable manner, Itachi shifted in the chair right next to Sasuke's bed. While doing so, there was a series of popping up his spine with a few neck cracks now and then. He'd spent the night in that chair.
"Sometimes, Sasuke, Orochimaru performs experimental operations on people that don't always go right."
And he left it at that.
Chuunin Exams had come around. Konoha suddenly became flooded with people from other villages—Cloud, Grass, Mist, Rock. Normally quiet streets and generally vacant businesses became full and bustling, bumping up the Leaf's economy and bringing even more vibrant life to the village.
"Look, Sasuke! Ichiraku has some seats available. Are you hungry?"
To the youngest Uchiha's disdain, Itachi had begun to show a much more caring—if not coddling—side of him. He followed him everywhere, always asked how he was feeling, nagged him to take his antibiotics, and most importantly told him to "be careful." It was annoying, to say the least.
Tch, careful. Sasuke was more careful than an ice man walking through Hell. Or maybe he was just as unlucky for having this mother hen of a brother nipping at his heels.
"I'm not hungry," mumbled Sasuke, slouching away from the ramen shop. "Can you... go?" He didn't know how else to word it without hurting his brother's feelings. "I told you I'm just going to meet my team before registering for the Exams."
"I know, but I have something to discuss with your teacher first," came Itachi's reply. It seemed as though he was going to say something else, but his attention was caught by a food stand. His eyes grazed the array of yummies on display behind a glass case, stopping once they came across a plate of hanami dango—a green ball, a pink ball, and a white ball skewered on a wooden stick. He asked for it eagerly (or, as eager as Itachi could get), the tiniest of smiles appearing on his face when they were placed in his hands.
If he wasn't already embarrassed, Sasuke sure was now. What a disgrace to witness such a thing—Uchihas did not get excited over sweets! Besides, sweets weren't even good, in Sasuke's opinion. Too sweet.
"C'mon, Sasuke. it's bad form to be late," said Itachi, wiping away a bit of bean paste at the corner of his mouth.
Sasuke pouted, and rolled his eyes at Itachi while following behind reluctantly. "Whatever." the younger brother huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
To Sasuke's surprise, Kakashi was already waiting alongside Naruto and Sakura when they arrived at the meeting point. He casually read his book as the other two bickered over something more than likely unimportant.
"Hello, Sasuke. What a surprise. I see you've brought your older brother. However, I should have you know that I'm not into show and tell." said Kakashi, shutting his copy of Icha-Icha. He had been sitting on the ground cross-legged and stood up to greet them properly. "What brings you here, Itachi?"
"If it's no trouble, Hatake-san, I need to discuss something with you. Sasuke, would you mind going over to your friends while we do so?" The raven motioned to where Sakura and Naruto were still bickering.
Once more rolling his eyes, Sasuke did as he was told. The second he approached, the other two members of Team Seven grew very quiet, however, instead of involving him in their conversation like usual.
"What?" Sasuke asked and furrowed his eyebrows. When they didn't reply, he added, "You two must've been gossipping like old women then, hm?"
Still no reply.
"Hn. Fine."
Sasuke walked away leaving them to their own devices. He sat by himself near a tree, choosing instead to try and listen to Itachi and Kakashi's conversation. He strained his ears to catch bits and pieces.
"I'm just worried about Sasuke's health for the Exams... Are you sure he's ready?"
"Don't worry, he will do well. Perhaps a little weak but we can help him take it easy."
"He is still in fragile condition. I would prefer he stay on the sidelines."
"Trust me, I have been doing this for a while. Besides Itachi, you're a highly capable ANBU, aren't you? You have taught him well."
"Thank you, Hatake-san, but my worry has yet to leave me."
"I will do everything in my power to make sure Sasuke is safe."
"... Thank you. I put my faith in your abilities, Hatake-san. I believe that is my cue to leave then."
The second he heard that, Sasuke did his best to act natural. He pretended to whistle at birds that weren't there as Itachi walked over to him.
"Hey."
Itachi let out a long sigh. "I will see you later, Sasuke. Do well on your Exams, eh? Until next time." he made a point of jabbing the center of Sasuke's forehead, just like he did when his brother was much younger.
"See you later, Niisan." The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted in a not-quite half smile.
"So." Kakashi gathered Team Seven together. "Chuunin Exams are here, and it is only appropriate that I give you the 411 on what will happen over the course of... a week? The number of applicants seems to grow every year, so the time frame varies. What will not vary, however, is the amount of effort you will be putting in. I expect 110 percent on the written portion, the field exam, and the tournament, all right?"
"Hai!"
The major part of the written Exam was almost unbearably easy.
All it did was ask simple questions about shinobi basics—things Academy students would've been learning at that time. Sasuke still took his time to finish, carefully assessing each page for any trick question that might've been lurking around, but he still continued with ease. It really seemed too easy.
That is, until the final question. That one was head and shoulders above what any Genin would know and maybe even some Chuunin too. Exactly how the hell was he supposed to answer something like that?
'Two ninja are standing perpendicular to an elm tree approximately fifteen feet away from a river rushing at a speed of sixty-four feet a minute. The enemy ninja is parallel to a tall pine some four feet away from the river yet sixteen feet away from the elm. Together the three create an eighty degree angle, which is bisected by one of the pine's branches. Another enemy ninja is standing on said branch. Please name and describe three formations the two ninja perpendicular to the elm can use to take down the two enemy ninja without either a). climbing the trees and b). using elemental chakra. On them, the ninja have six kunai, two senbon, a thin wire, some shuriken, and an explosive tag.' Sasuke read to himself. He was never good with word problems, and this one was a doozy. He didn't know there were specific formations, he just always thought your team lined up in whatever position they just happened to be in at the time.
Itachi sure never bothered to cover this.
However, when he saw some guy sitting across from him writing away with an expression of smug confidence, Sasuke took initiative. He was never going to figure this out by himself in the amount of time they had left, so he might as well cheat. After all, weren't ninja taught to be gatherers of information?
Sharingan activated, Sasuke took a nice long look at the man. He couldn't see what he was writing, but he could at least copy the movements of his hand and pencil to write down his answer.
'Using Tiger Formation, Ninja 1 can throw an exploding tag attached to a kunai at the enemy parallel to the pine, as the second one finishes him off. Ninja 2 them uses the thin wire to pull down Enemy 2 and then defeat him...'
Sasuke had barely started to copy the second scenario when the booming voice of the proctor interrupted him.
"You! Numbers Three, Four and Nine! You're cheating! Leave and, on your way out, hand me your tests! All of you are officially disqualified from the Chuunin Exams this year!"
Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto watched in horror as three older Genin stood up shamefully, handing their tests to the proctor as they left.
"I better not catch any of you cheating!"
Good thing Team Seven was never caught cheating.
But then again, if they had been, maybe they wouldn't be caught in this mess.
Sasuke's eyes were swollen shut, his Sharingan no longer spinning rapidly as it had once been. He now found himself in an all-too familiar position; on the ground, breathing shallowly with a deep wound across his abdomen. Out of the small sliver still left open in his eyes, the Uchiha could tell Naruto was splayed next to him, his body still and his collapse attributed to injuries Sasuke could not see.
Team Seven had entered the Forest of Death earlier that day, completely unaware of the dangers that lay ahead. Their mission was to gather a scroll, and they had done so, from a team of three people hailing from Sound. They had feigned their defeat, Sasuke realized, because, the second Team Seven dropped their guard, they were on the ground battered and bruised.
Naruto had put up a pretty good fight, though. He had summoned hundreds of clones—solid ones, to Sasuke's amazement, as opposed to the simple smoke ones used for diversions. Unfortunately for them, the Sound nin—consisting of a man covered with enough bandages to leave only his eye exposed, a ponytailed brunette, and a malicious-looking girl with long black hair almost reaching her knees—destroyed each and every one using frightening techniques that almost blew out their eardrums. Naruto had been struck hard enough to deal some substantial internal bleeding while Sasuke was stabbed once again.
Forcing his eyes to move foward, Sasuke could barely make out the form of Sakura in the clutches of the girl, her hair—'her beautiful pink hair,' he thought—wadded up in the Sound nin's hand. His vision focused in and out of the scene, only glimpsing Sakura's brave attempts to escape and fight.
throb.
'Remember those?' his subconcious told him. 'Those are for her.'
Pain suddenly wracked his body and, when Sasuke recovered, he only saw locks of pink littering the ground like groups of cherry blossoms in the spring. His ears were still good, and he could hear the tell-tale popping sound of a substitution, and soon after, the wet thunk of a kunai entering someone's body, most likely a limb.
'Sakura... she's fighting...' was Sasuke's last fleeting thought before his conciousness finally left him.
He woke up later, unsure of how much time had passed since the Forest of Death. When he breathed in, the stitches along his stomach pulled with a ghastly sensation. Gauze was patched all over his body, small bits of cotton stuffed into his ears.
Bright light shone through his eyelids. They no longer felt swollen and heavy, leading Sasuke to cautiously open them. At first, the lights of a hospital assaulted his vision, his eyes not yet used to such brightness. He tried again, this time much more comfortably. Sasuke looked at his surrounding, noting the bare and windowless walls painted an immaculate white.
He hated hospitals. He wasn't scared of needles or anything like that. It was just, to him, hospitals were mostly the places where people went to die. For some reason, he was always, always uneasy when inside of them even if he wasn't there for himself. When he was, however, that was much worse. He always imagined blood being spattered on those very walls, being painted over and over again to conceal the stains that couldn't be cleaned off. The door opened, jolting Sasuke free of his morbid thoughts. To his dismay, Orochimaru was the that had opened it. His yellow eyes gleamed upon his patient.
"Well hello Sasuke-kun. Are you feeling well? You went through such trauma—and for the second time in such a short period too!" the pale man sashayed to a nearby table, silver stud earrings glinting.
"I'm fine," Sasuke mumbled, clutching the bedsheets tighter.
Orochimaru held up a syringe already filled with medicine. He flicked it, causing the liquid to spurt from the hollow needle. Sasuke's stomach twisted itself into knots. He could feel his heart already accelerating. The familiar tickle at the corners of his eyes signified his Sharingan was itching to activate.
"Your body is very weak at this point, Sasuke-kun. I hope you aren't afraid of needles because you're going to need some pain medication." Orochimaru's drawl was sickly sweet, in a way that would unnerve even children.
The young Uchiha shook his head no, doing his best to keep from squirming away from the doctor's touch. He shut his eyes tight once the needle pierced the skin in his arm, injecting its contents into his body.
Orochimaru walked away, placing the needle carefully back on the table. "Now Sasuke, as I said earlier, your body is weak and your immune system must recover. In order to help it do so, I have developed a special treatment that will aide your health and make even better than before." There was a glint in his eye Sasuke didn't like. His mouth stretched into a sick smile and, to Sasuke's horror, a long snake-like tongue flicked out from between his lips.
"I musssssssst avisssssse you not to move, SSSSSSSSasssssuke-kun," he hissed as his hands moved rapidly to form signs. They entranced Sasuke, and he couldn't look away no matter how much he tried. Suddenly, Orochimaru's neck stretched to an ungodly length, his horrible mouth opened wide as it clamped onto Sasuke's neck.
He cried out in pain, a burning sensation spreading all over his body. It felt as though flames licked and nipped at every part of him, clawing through his skin in attempts to reach his heart. He wanted nothing more than to peel it off and rid himself of such awful pain, to be numb. An uneven palpitation in his chest suggested Sasuke was having heart arrythmia.
Very aware of the expression of pain on Sasuke's face, Orochimaru pulled away, grinning devilishly, that horrible snake tongue flicking in and out between his lips. "I will leave you to heal, SSSSSasssssuke-kun," he hissed again, opening the door and leaving Sasuke to his own pain.
"Sometimes, Sasuke, Orochimaru performs experimental operations on people that don't always go right."
Hello hello! Summer vacation is freaking here, ohmigawsh! I can promise you faster, more frequent updates now, seriously :)
I hope you enjoyed this (super-loooooong) chapter!
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