AN:
Repeated declaration: beyond the usual emphasized words and expressions, italicized segments usually are 'the mysterious voice' (or Inner Sakura) speaking, while (bracketed) segments signify 'active thought', non-vocalized or 'private' speech, sometimes an emotional echo or associative thought.
And of course I don't own Naruto, Sasuke or anyone else native to the series, be it manga or anime.
I also don't own the Alan Parsons Project. I just snatched a few lines.
On that matter, a few small apologies to Third Fang, even if he most probably doesn't even know about this fic. If you catch it, you know why ^^
oOo
During the chuunin exam, in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru gives Sasuke the Cursed Seal. So far, so bad and a familiar story.
But when Sasuke wakes, why does he hear a voice that tries to undermine the sannin's influence? And knows things?
And now the changes are piling up... will things become better or worse in the long run?
oOo
Raven Chatter
The Raven keeps its own counsel. Once his shadow hangs above your door, no words will soothe him, no prayer remove him, and you will hear his voice forevermore.
Part Five: Four Weeks of Fun, Part One
oOo
Sasuke, still feeling rather scruffy and beat, but finally back in Konoha, had actually enjoyed a relaxed supper with his team and sensei – ramen, of course; you may try to deflect the nearly unstoppable force of culinary tunnel vision, but a wise man goes with the flow.
Not that ramen was that unpalatable, but 24-7-52? No thanks. Boiled tomatoes were worse than no tomatoes at all...
Now he was on the way to his home, alone. Kakashi had told them to get a good night's rest and to meet him the following morning for planning their training schedules. Finally, he would have a few hours without pressure...
"So. We'll have nearly four weeks for your training – and Naruto's too, let's not forget him and Sakura. Even if she won't compete, she can use the time too to maybe catch up to you two a bit. I hope Kakashi doesn't forget his promises. Also, there are a few more things I'll have to do to you, and we should keep your eyes and ears open so we don't miss an opportunity to throw a few more spanners in Orochimaru's plans," listed the voice in Sasuke's head.
He had almost become used to it already in the couple of days since he had gained his invisible advisor, but still...
Yeah, yeah, I know... Wait a moment – do to me?
"Yyyes," drawled the voice. "My dear Sasuke, as much as I like you – not that I have much of a choice, being bound in you and all – I have to deliver a few big whammies to your ego and preconceptions. I have dampened a few of your worst impulses, but soon we'll have to address these and I know you won't like what I have to tell you at all. No, not a bit."
That Sasuke was shocked was an understatement. He froze and began to shake in disappointed anger. Whammies? Ego? Dampened?
So you do manipulate me! And I had almost begun to trust you... Damn! How the hell do I get rid of you? Grrr...
"Calm down. I do mean well. I will tell you what this is all about, but I know you, boy, and thus I know convincing you of some important truths will be an uphill battle or a brutal fight. I have been soft on you because you were tired, stressed and just not ready. When you are rested, your chakra will be in better balance and you should be able to take it. Just consider this a fair warning."
The voice in his head started to thunder in an intimidating tone very similar to that of the scarred Morino Ibiki, the one who had proctored the first exam and the actual head of the IT department (Interrogation and Torture):
"The time wasn't right then, but now we can make time. You don't understand something, boy. This isn't a partnership. (Yet.) You will listen, and either you will learn or I will break you! There are things that will happen, things that may happen, and things that must happen, and you are right in the middle of most of it. And I will do my best to make sure you survive and avoid the worst mistakes you... could make."
Sasuke was close to a panic attack, short of breath, his heart racing. The voice in his head had turned from a chattering, slightly annoying but wise companion into a literal demon, and there was nothing he could do about it that wouldn't harm himself more than it.
And he couldn't even think of something because it could read every coherent thought, so whatever he might come up with it would know in advance and be able to counter it...
"Damn right! Good to see you begin to understand. And that probably is the least of the things I will have to make you deal with. Now calm down, go home, and get some rest," the voice ordered. "Here, I'll help you."
A soft, rhythmic pulse began to echo through his chakra, slowly but smoothly slowing his heart rate and evening out his breath rhythm.
"Listen, boy, if you can take what I have to tell you and if I can make you understand this can become a kind of partnership again. For tonight, rest. Forget for now, when you are rested you will remember."
Once again, what the voice had said became unimportant for now, fading into the background like an old dream. The shock faded with the memory, but Sasuke still felt very, very tired. Too tired, in fact, to do more than go home, freshen up a little, drop into his bed and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, undisturbed by forceful voices threatening with awful truths...
(Heh, nice. This chakra-massaging memory-dampening trick works even better than expected, and I used it only for the second time. Fortunately he doesn't know how easily he could resist it if he wanted to keep remembering, but that's why it works best with unwelcome memories. Well then, while he sleeps I can start cataloguing what other tricks I can scrape together...)
oOo
("Soo, his chakra stores are back to normal and all his cuts, scratches and other little pains are in negligible condition. The cursed seal of heaven is bound – I really wonder about Orochimaru at that name, but if the flash I had was real, he's just as loony as Obito-Madara's Tobi identity – and now it requires a conscious act of will to activate equal to what previously was needed to suppress it. I'll retract the chakra shrouds now and we'll see if I can't beat sense into his mind before he actually starts training.")
The voice took a metaphoric deep breath. "GOOD MORNING SASUKEEE!"
"GAH!" The boy shot awake, snapped a kunai at the door and rolled out of bed into a defensive posture, holding another kunai instantly in a parrying grip.
"Good rection time and reflexes. Still, I wonder what always prompts these reactions... Usually one should think someone shouting at you when you're asleep is not someone who wants to immediately harm you, to trigger these reflexes," the voice mused, picturing walking around the room, evaluating Sasuke's stance and nodding at the kunai in the door, like Kakashi might do in such a situation.
What – who – why – oh.
With a slight delay, Sasuke finished waking.
"Okay, now that we got your adrenaline running and blood flowing, clean up, eat a light breakfast and start on light calisthenics as morning training. Get to it," the voice commanded.
Sasuke obeyed unthinking, caught in one of Kakashi's sucessfully ingrained responses. Only as he started stretching he felt the doubt rise.
Hey, wait a moment, wasn't I supposed to meet Kakashi for the planning session?
"That's in two hours, four to five with his usual habits – which we will try to wean him off. For now, you belong to me, and that time should be enough for at least the first step in your other training," the voice bellowed, keeping him mentally off-balance.
Hey, what 'other' training – oh damn!
The memories rushed back with the accompanying emotions, all the verbal and emotional abuse the voice had thrust upon him coming back to mind clearly.
"NO!" he cried, holding his head. "You're lying – don't talk to me that way – take it back – GAAH!"
(Well, that's his crisis point, I think – let's hope I work him the right way.)
The voice let him deal a few moments with the shock before raising its voice again – which was a damn weird thought, when one thought about it. Maybe they would come up today with an acceptable designation...
"So, finished?"
"You just let me remember you insulting me, my motives and my clan and now you just ask whether I'm finished? Damn you, I'll find a way to shut you up and if it's the last thing I do!" Sasuke hissed.
The voice threw him another curveball: "Before or after you kill your brother?"
"Whu-," Sasukes mind, feverishly raging, ran into the first mental wall today.
"You! You made me forget my life goal! How dare-" the voice interrupted him.
"I made you ignore your blind hatred for a day, yes. And now, think about the results. THINK, BOY!" Sasuke froze at the tone.
"You accepted the need to set Sakura on a better path and – with my help – acted on it. You managed to have a respectful conversation with Kakashi and managed to earn his respect – for a while, at least. You actually accepted Naruto just a bit and he responded with taking you seriously also. And finally and most importantly I managed to let you see Orochimaru's offer as the insult and manipulative lure that it is. Is anything of this even remotely bad?"
"But – that man – I need to – power - ," Sasuke stammered angrily.
"So you just would have thrown that all away to do what he told you to? Continue to blindly believe his lies and take your revenge on him just because he told you so? You were thinking of killing a friend in the future because he said so? OPEN YOUR EYES, BOY!"
"But – "
"He slaughtered your clan, yes, yes, you have spent each day reminding yourself on that. On that LIE. Sasuke, you have been manipulated to believe a vast lie to cover up an even bigger one. You have been mindfncked the day it happened, and you need to deal."
"Lie? What lie?"
"First, the lie Itachi told you when you faced him that night. He lied to you about what really happened and why. Yes, he made you see it repeatedly for three days, but HELL, BOY, Tsukoyomi is an illusion! He made you see what he wanted, not necessarily what really happened. You have known him for years, he is your brother, and in your heart you know the Itachi you knew was not a mask, that he never would have done what he did for the reasons he claimed. That's why you hate him – he made you hate him – but you still believe everything he claimed you must do – because you still believe in him."
"No, that – no, how – no - THEN WHY?" Sasuke yelled.
"ARE YOU WILLING TO LISTEN TO ME NOW AND LET ME EXPLAIN IT?" the voice yelled, all intent of breaking through his instinctive rejection of everything that was going against his expectations.
oOo
It took a few more approaches, but after some time the voice had worn down Sasuke. Being unignorable was a slightly unfair advantage, as was insight into his mental and emotional makeup.
"Okay," Sasuke gasped, slumping against the wall and dropped his head on his arms braced on his knees. "I'll listen for now. But I don't promise anything."
"As long as you are willing to believe me far enough to think about it yourself, I can live with that. Now, the origins of it all go back decades, maybe centuries, but for now the important things are what happened to your family and why. You remember what I told you about your clan to get through your arrogance?"
"My arrogance? Why, you –" he faltered. "I think I know what time you mean," Sasuke admitted.
"Yes, the good points about your clan and that you need to live up to them, not assume you were born with that. Now I must admit I left out a few bad parts. Your whole clan had developed a tendency to think as you did, that they were superior and deserving of respect just because of what they were. That caused some tensions between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha. Especially since a certain someone formented discord from the shadows."
"A certain someone?"
"An old man, old beyond belief. A man full of hatred and jealousy. He once was the leader of your clan and one of the founders of Konohagakure, even if against his own desires. He fell to darkness, addicted to power and the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan, as well as succumbing to your clan's inner flaw. He felt forced to leave and blamed his own clan, your clan. Ever since he worked on taking vengeance on the village and his own clan. In spite of what the stories tell of the battle at the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara lives, and his machinations led to the almost complete destruction of the Uchiha."
"Uchiha Madara? But it was Itachi who-,"
"Not completely. Listen to what I can tell you. Madara opposed the founding, but was overruled by his peers. He believes the Uchiha would be suppressed, and in a way, he was right, but it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. You Uchiha have always been proud, to the point of arrogance, with few exceptions. I'll admit, in a lot of cases it was justified, but it became a general trend and that led to Madara easily manipulating you. Sorry, but I have to emphasize that: you Uchiha are frighteningly easy to manipulate in that direction."
"I resent that remark. I can't believe-"
"You are. If I had not interfered, you would have swallowed Orochimaru's offer hook, line and sinker. From anger and jealousy."
Jealousy?
"Later. For now, your clan history. Believe it, you as a clan have shared the triggers that allowed Madara to raise doubt in your clan's treatment by Konoha, anger on perceived slights and jealousy for the other clans' public renown. He made them believe they were being pushed into a position of servitude, and they reacted just as he planned - by pushing back. The tensions rose in secret first, and by the time the Hokage learned of the problem it was too late. He did what he could to find a diplomatic solution, but the Uchiha – yes, under leadership of your father – were finally planning an uprising, a civil war that would have ripped Konoha to shreds, just as Madara wished."
"I can't believe...," Sasuke mumbled.
"If you search your memories and look at them with a clear view you can. Remember when Fugaku, your father, had secret meetings he didn't talk about when he knew you were there? When he suddenly stopped praising Itachi soon after he entered ANBU and Itachi on several occasions put his missions before 'clan business'? When you managed the Great Fireball Technique, the Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu, do you remember what he said to you? 'Do not follow in Itachi's footsteps'. You remember your confusion. Your father already suspected Itachi was turning away from the clan and hoped you would replace him. You were seven when you first tried. He put you down comparing you to Itachi, but within barely a week of training you did it!
"You showed just as much promise as Itachi, but you never saw that because as a child you couldn't see, you didn't - couldn't know, that Itachi's career started during war times. You live in a time of peace. Had there been the pressure of war, you would have advanced just as fast as Itachi – and probably would have been just as severely traumatized.
"Itachi had learned to hate war and violence, and when he became ANBU your father expected him to use his position to keep the clan informed, spying for him. Itachi saw the discontent and weighted his loyalty to Konoha higher than to his clan and started to spy on them as a double agent.
"The Hokage tried, as I told you, to find a peaceful solution, but his advisors went behind his back, prodded by Shimura Danzou. They believed the Hokage's tries to be too little, too late and instead ordered Itachi to wipe out the clan, becoming the lone scapegoat so no one could doubt the reputation of Konoha. Still, he believed what he was told to do was right and for the best, so he accepted the order like any good, loyal soldier.
"Itachi had met Madara, who tricked him, I expect, into believing some of his crazed visions of the past and future and had his help that night. I don't know all what happened, what was done to the infirm and children, but I believe what Itachi didn't do, Madara did and whomever he secretly brought along. It wasn't until much later that Itachi learned the truth about Madara, but by then it was too late.
"But you were his beloved little brother. He never wanted to, could not kill you no matter what Madara or the Elders wanted. Instead that guilt-ridden idiot boy decided to make you the tool of his judgement.
"He did not try to 'test his capacity', he just told you that to set you on this path to revenge, so you would either hate him and kill him, or reject him and forge a new path and, in either case, unknowing of the clan's dark history, you would that way redeem the clan name and forge a new beginning. Now he roams the land, working still in Konoha's interest, under cover so deep he himself almost has forgotten, within an organisation that Madara created to be the agency of his hate and mad ambition, but meanwhile waiting for death and wishing for it to be by your hand so he can atone. And that is most of the truth of that night."
oOo
Several times Sasuke had tried to get a word in sidewise, or just formulate a thought, but the voice went on and on, drowning him in recollections and new interpretations of old presumptions. It all went too fast, was too much...
Now he broke down and shouted: "STOP IT!"
"How the hell do you know all this, how the hell do you know what happened to me? You weren't there, no one was there who is even still alive except Itachi, and hell, I don't even know about half the stuff you tell me," he snapped in desperation.
"I was where you were," the voice softly murmured. "I learned what you later learned. I have heard Madara himself rant and rave about his plans and once I even believed his version of the truth. I went to Orochimaru, gained power and killed him - for a while. I saw Itachi finally seal Orochimaru virtually forever, before I witnessed his last caress and his dead body."
The voice changed, becoming female in tone. Pale, washed-out pictures rose in his mind, short snippets, many of which he almost recognized.
"I saw you go and wept my eyes out. I tried to forgive you no matter what you did next to sink even deeper. I hated you. I loved you. I refused to give up on you. I finally tried to give up on you"
The voice wavered, echoed and shifted between male and female so quickly, so often, it became impossible to pin one or the other label on it. The pictures came faster, became weirder, hammering his heart, many strangely familiar.
"I wanted revenge so much I left all ties behind me and tried to shatter what I couldn't simply leave. I taught you my only original technique. I saw Konoha a smoking crater and Naruto, yes, my dear, stupid, ingenious, annoying, wise, hated, loved, ignored, undaunted, irrepressible Naruto fight the monster that did it with powers we never had expected. I died that day and came back to life because of what he managed to do. I decided we had to kill you when you went around the deep end. I always remembered the good times along with the bad. I followed Danzou to the Five Kage summit and tried to kill him. I saw Madara toy with you and set you up. I saw Danzou display what he had secretly gained from the Uchiha massacre. I saw the Fourth Great Ninja War begin. I saw the dead walk the earth again and fight for the end of all. My heart nearly broke as I learned what had happened to my best friend. I saw Madara, laughing on the edge of all destruction. I saw the blood moon blink.
The voice calmed down again, turning and staying male, but kept echoing through Sasuke's head and heart.
"I have seen all and nevermore shall it happen again that way. I have seen the future. I have been the future. You are my past, and I am you as you might have become. I am many. Of those who fought at the last battle. Of those who knew you, of some you knew once.
"I am a remnant, a chakra spirit formed of the will of those who despaired but dared to hope in spite of everything. I am what the power of all the Tailed Beasts together managed to collect and send back through space and time with a technique believed impossible. I am truth. I am lies. I know what we knew.
"One part of me is you."
"And that is something we both should forget most of for now."
Sasuke fell unconscious, overwhelmed by the voice's intensity and the truths it had poured on him.
"But now you knew once, so you will know in your heart. And I knew but I won't. I'll riddle along what I truly am until it is time again to know. Team Seven, in whatever form, is an important part of the future, just as the others are, and without all of them and Konoha itself, the future simply isn't worth it." With each sentence, the voice's echo dimmed, until it became what it had been before.
Sasuke would rest another few dozen minutes, then it would be time to start again bending events to the better. The voice hoped he would be coherent enough once he woke. But he would work on the Uchiha boy without cease, guide him and make him see the consequences of whatever he decided to do.
And, just maybe, he would finally get a name.
oOo
The nameless voice sighed. Some time had passed, and with his help, the Uchiha bo- Sasuke's chakra had calmed again, hopefully a sign he had digested the first shocks the voice had inflicted on him. Now it might be time for other things...
"Yo, boy, wake up."
Mmm...
"Wakey, wakey, Kakashi's a flakey."
Mmm-hehe-mmm...
"(Okay, I need stronger ammunition, but just yelling again... I got something.)"
The voice 'grinned' evilly and 'inhaled'.
"SAASUKE-KUUN!" he squealed in a high voice.
With a snap, the boy was awake and hanging from the ceiling, wildly searching for the source of the fright that had awakened him.
"Erhem. Time to meet up with Kakashi. You can finish waking up once you start waiting for him."
Whu-what-huh?
"Calm down, move your feet and walk to the meeting area."
"Hurm," Sasuke grumbled.
"Move it!" the voice commanded.
"Yeah, yeah...," Sasuke followed the advice and, once more checking his outfit and hygiene, moved out.
He walked slowly, thinking about what he had been told (and remembered). It was a weird feeling; part of him wanted to ignore all he had heard, another part embraced some things and rejected others, a third part wanted to just get on with his life, go out and kill Itachi and forget everything else, another wanted to go and find him and hug him and squeeze him and make him say sorry – bleargh!
How the heck am I to deal with this? He finally asked silently.
"Simple answer: However you want to. Serious answer: You think seriously about it and decide what you want to do with your life. It's called 'finding yourself again'. Taking away the core thought you have built all your life's motivation around leaves a big, gaping hole in your soul, I can understand that very well. It is your choice whether you fill that hole up with something new or fully break through and go out that open door into the infinite possibilities of the world around you."
Your allegories suck.
"Heh. That may be, but doesn't make the words less true. But I guess, the main question is: Do you still want to go kill Itachi?"
Yes! - No! - I-I don't know.
"Search your feelings, Sasuke."
He thought for a few dozen steps.
*Sigh* The urge is still there, but the justification is all messed up. If I believe what you said my reasons for hating him are completely messed up. If I don't believe you I have something in my head I can't trust. Whatever I try, I lose. Not to mention I've got the weird sensation of examining my own mind from the outside. Did you do something else to me again?
"Not really. I might be calming your chakra to keep you rational rather than emotional though, which is only a minor influence, since you have the ability to think things through logically, you just never applied that process to your real issues."
I feel insulted.
"Actually, that was praise with just a little poke at your former obsession."
That is it. The intensity is gone. You broke my obsession.
"Did you just try to make a joke? And that should be a good thing."
Hrn. I don't know where that came from, must be from this self-analyzing effect you gave me. I feel lost, though. Hating Itachi was my drive. Now I just trundle along confused.
"Um, did I overdo it with the calming?"
I don't know. Why don't you just let my chakra go and watch the results?
"Oh, good, your sarcasm coil is not damaged either."
"Hrn."
oOo
"Okay, if you haven't come to a conclusion yet, try to push it out of your mind for now, we're there. And at least Naruto and Sakura are here already."
Okay.
Perhaps to establish a familiar routine, Kakashi had chosen their usual meeting spot at the bridge. That was about all that was familiar that day, though.
Naruto and Sakura were quietly talking. Quietly. Talking. Naruto. And Sakura.
Sasuke felt a slight pang of unreality ("Jealousy?"), but after what had happened to him this morning already it barely counted.
Not to mention Sakura had changed her outfit. She had kept her red color scheme, but exchanged her cheongsam-like overdress for a practically-sleeved long tight tunic, just a bit thicker than her former sleeveless dress, but still allowing full mobility. The lower portion was a little shorter, but wider and of equal length all around instead of long in the front and back and high-cut or slit at the sides. She also had added light knee and shin protectors to her usual pants.
Naruto, of course, was still wearing his usual eyesore of a bright orange overall- jumpsuit- outfit-... thing. Heck, going by its condition it was still the same he had worn during the forest exam.
"... in that case, why not just go with a darker shade? There's red like this," she knocked on the brightly red painted wooden railing, "and red like that."
She indicated her sleeve. Yes, it seemed to be a more subdued shade than before... wait a moment, Sakura and Naruto talking about fashion?
Sasuke quickly looked around and opened his chakra senses wide. If Kakashi was punctual... Phew. No hint of their teacher. The world was still safe.
"Sasuke-kun, good morning," Sakura waved to him leisurely. Leisurely? She had really, really learned.
"Yo, Sasuke," Naruto greeted absently. He seemed to be thinking. That must have been the reason he skipped the habitual insult.
"Hr-morning," Sasuke answered, catching himself. Even if he had overacted a bit talking to Kakashi the day before, he had to admit the voice had been basically right regarding teams and teammates, now he just had to truly accept it.
"Giving fashion tips to Naruto? What's the world coming to?" he drily joked. Or said sarcastically. He actually wasn't sure anymore. Hrn, it would depend how they would take it.
Okay, Naruto pouted and probably would soon complain, yell and insult him back.
"Well, actually I just learned Naruto only has a few sets of clothing, almost all these ... things - sorry, Naruto, but it's true – and I was making a few suggestions. By the way, you still haven't told me why," she adressed Naruto, who was now pouting embarrassedly instead of building steam.
"Well, as I said, I do like orange, and it's not my fault these are the only things the shopkeeper sells me without making a fuss," he mumbled.
"Well then," Sakura said, "just look for another vendor. We have at least a dozen tailors and seamstresses in the village, some of them should have..." she broke off as Naruto shook his head.
"He's the only one in Konoha who sells me anything," he said matter-of-factly. "The others seem to have really weird business hours, they're always closing just as I come in and kick me out or demand extra for overtime, and I just can't pay that much. My usual tailor still is the cheapest."
"Ask him how much he pays." Why? "What do your shirts usually cost, for instance?" Um, about one hundred fifty ryou. "Just ask."
"What can one set of these cheap things cost, for that matter?" he chose to ask.
"I know they are not high fashion, bastard. Still, nine thousand ryou isn't something I can pay every day, plus the alterations," he indicated the spiral marks, "add another three... I need to eat too, you know."
Sasuke and Sakura were stunned. He paid for one of these stupid ... suits... over how many ryou? That was simply ridiculous... what the hell?
"Hey, slacker, just to compare, what do you usually pay for your food a month?"
"Umm, I usually buy mostly ramen and milk, everything else is so expensive... let me think... six packs of milk - 120 ryou a month, a box pack of cup ramen times thirty for a whole month... a few extra things for variety, the old man told me to do that..., fortunately Ichiraku's is really cheap...," he began to count on his fingers while Sakura and Sasuke listened unbelieving. "Yeah, about three-five per month. Plus all the other stuff I have to pay for... well, I ordinarily need all the mission pay I get just to replace the kunai and other stuff I use up. At least we're out of the academy now, so I don't have to pay for new books every other month anymore..."
Sasuke had big eyes now, and Sakura for some reason felt like crying.
"... Kami, Naruto, I knew a lot of people don't like you for some reason, but...," Sakura swallowed.
"... ripping you off like that," Sasuke continued, hardly knowing what to think.
Naruto seemed surprised. "Oh, that's what it is? I always thought being a ninja just doesn't pay well, even if it's the coolest ever. That's okay then. I just thought the uh- ecomony was really bad, but if it's just me it's not so bad."
His teammates couldn't believe their ears. Naruto was cheated out of his money and just dismissed the idea because it was 'only him'? What the hell was going on here?
"And what is that supposed to mean, you idiot? They are cheating you, making you pay triple or even ten times the normal prices and you say 'that's okay then'?" Sasuke was slightly pissed. Naruto being ripped off didn't mean that much to him, but the dichotomy had hit him. Everybody had tried to curry favor with himself, pushing favors and gifts onto him, while Naruto was continually rejected. And no one knew why or at least nobody admitted to knowing.
Naruto shrugged. "I'm used to being hated."
"Why the hell would people hate you so much?" Sakura demanded.
"Because people are stupid," the voice murmured somberly.
"Because people are idiots," Naruto shrugged, dismissing the problem.
"Heh. Close enough," the voice smugly confirmed.
You know what's going on?
"Yes, but I won't tell you. Don't ask. It's simply not my place to say. Just as it would not be my place to tell others about your clan."
Sasuke searched for reasons to get either the voice or Naruto himself to talk, but was interrupted by Kakashi's arrival.
oOo
"Good morning, my cute little students," Kakashi smiled, as he suddenly appeared behind Sakura, even if you only could tell by his single uncovered eye.
"YEEK- oh, it's you," Sakura recovered unexpectedly quick.
Hrm, Kakashi mused, this alternative is losing effect too fast, I need something else to keep my little students on their toes.
"You're less late than usual," she continued, smiling. "Do you have something interesting for us, sensei?"
Uh oh, Kakashi thought, producing a small sweatdrop.
"Um, well, I think so, Sakura," he hastily said, collecting all three in a little team hug around their necks. Better start with her, he thought.
"So, Sakura, even if you aren't going to be in the finals, I called in a few favors and found a substitute teacher to take care of you during the month. He'll test you on the basics and help you determine in what area you should get instruction, then work with you on that. Sakura-chan, meet Ebisu, special jounin and teaching specialist" he declared and indicated the black-clad man, who had sometime ago appeared just a few steps beside them, unnoticed by the genin.
"Ah! The closet pervert!" Naruto had broken free and now pointed rudely at the teacher, who pushed his sunglasses higher, anger vein on his forehead pulsing.
"Uzumaki-san, since I'm not here to get annoyed by you, would it hurt you to be at least a little bit polite?" he asked, actively trying to stay calm.
"Hmph. What could someone like you teach Sakura, anyway? You couldn't even deal with Konohamaru," Naruto challenged.
"Because you- No. no, that isn't it," Ebisu forced himself to calm down. Kami, the kyuubi brat – no, the Uzumaki boy - had a real talent to get on people's nerves...
"Since then, I have come to the conclusion Konohamaru is, or might have become, too similar to you, Uzumaki-san. You both simply need another approach to being taught than I was used to. I have by now adapted to better work on the honorable grandson of the Hokage when needed again I believe. (And I actually should thank you for that.) I simply ask you to let me peacefully try to teach your teammate, who I believe is better suited to my original type of teaching anyway."
Naruto harrumphed. "Very well, but If you mess that up I'll send you rocketing to dreamland again and again," he threatened.
Sakura, freeing herself from Kakashi's stranglehold, pounded Naruto. "Ow!"
"Naruto, shut up. I'm willing to let him try, so don't you threaten him! You'll have your own training to look after, you know," Sakura bellowed.
"Okay, okay, sheesh, blame me for caring," Naruto complained, rubbing his bruise.
"No, I blame you for overdoing it as always. Thanks for the thought, though," Sakura chirped.
"So, sensei, how do we start? What do you need from me?"
"Well, let's start by listing the techniques you know and what you see as your assets and deficiencies..."
They started planning as the two of them wandered off, Naruto looking after them sourly.
Sasuke glared from inside Kakashi's grip, as Kakashi used his other arm to regain his grip on Naruto's collar. "Hey!"
"Maa, maa, Naruto-kun, Sakura was completely correct. You too need training for the finals, and since I'll have to focus on Sasuke – sharingan to sharingan, you see – I have found someone else to take care of that for you. Besides, don't you remember Orochimaru knocked you out with some kind of seal? The man I found and deeply admire is not only a famous author, but also a seal expert and has been the teacher of my own former sensei," Kakashi raved happily.
"Wow, I hadn't expected him to admit all that."
Why not? Sasuke queried, still wrestling for freedom.
"Normally, Kakashi is a very private person, as you should have noticed already, and he very rarely talks about his own past. It hurts him too much, especially the period when he still had his teacher and team."
"Oh, he's some really old geezer then, huh?" Naruto, of course, showed his tendency to show disrespect to anyone who had not yet earned it in his eyes.
He was roughly interrupted with a hard blow that removed him from kakashi's grasp and made him embrace a thorny brush against his will.
"Don't be so cheeky, brat! When you get a personal visit by the great Jiraiya-sama you better learn to value it!" the stranger bellowed, secretly grinning.
The large, outrageously clad figure with wild, white hair posed dramatically, before pulling Naruto out of the bush by his belt and throwing him over his shoulder, swearing like a trooper.
WHAT? That is Jiraiya of the Sannin Sakura talked about? Oh great, they are all completely mad...
"Let me guess, if you hadn't just met the man you would be incredibly jealous if you heard he would teach Naruto, am I right?"
Sasuke thought about that a moment.
"Oh well, Kakashi, I'll take the brat off your hands for now then. Good luck with your own pupil. You get your autographs if the gaki actually learns something worthwile. Bye." The toad sennin just rattled off the farewell and vanished in a burst of leaves, Naruto's complaints leaving a short echo behind.
Sasuke blinked. Okay, if I hadn't seen that, I would have.
"There's a rumor going around among shinobi: with great power comes great... eccentricity. Most powerful ninja have their unique... idiosyncrasies and quirks. Take Kakashi himself, Orochimaru, Itachi – no matter what, he has snapped hard – Anko... or think of Gai." No thanks. "Heh."
"Soo, Sasuke-kun, now that we have passed Naruto and Sakura along we can take care of your own training. I think I know a certain technique I can teach you to manage Gaara..."
oOo
Swiftly leading the way to the training site he had picked out Kakashi began while on the move.
"So, Sasuke, you'll meet Gaara. What have you learned from seeing him fight?"
"Hrm... he is powerful, but there was something off about the whole fight. I heard how Gaara killed a whole group of Rain ninja in the forest," he fibbed a bit, he had heard it from the voice, but who cared? "But he at first didn't really look like he wanted to seriously fight Dosu. Bah, that's not what I actually wanted to say.
"He controls sand, literally. It floats freely and solidifies to work as an instant defense, and he can make it attack with deadly force, but his offense seems to be a bit slower than the defense. Against most physical and elemental attacks he probably is practically immune, but as Dosu had showed, indirect attacks can get through. He was effectively immobile, so he seems to rely on his sand technique so much his taijutsu is inexistent and he probably doesn't have many other other jutsu either. I remember he can use the tree-climbing technique, though. He also seems a bit... excitable."
"Good enough for now, nice analysis. How would you expect to beat him?"
Heh, the voice had suggested a few points he hadn't thought about at first.
"Two ways, weaken his offense and penetrate his defense, of course. Weakening his offense would probably work with an elemental technique like water, which would turn sand into mud. Since Suna is associated with the Air element, his techniques probably follow the typical theme, so his control is wind- rather than earth-based. So, mud would fall out of his control. This has the advantage of simultaneously hindering his defense, too.
"The other way would be a technique capable of simply breaching his defense, as the Sound's attack has done. My fire techniques probably still are too weak for that, though," he admitted. " A high-powered technique, though, might be hot enough to melt sand. Other effects might do it better, of course."
Kakashi mostly agreed with Sasuke's analysis, even if he had not expected some of his conclusions. Finally arriving at the area he had selected, he stopped on the desolate, rocky hilltop.
"Very well, Sasuke. We have four weeks to train you, so we have to be picky. I guess the time would be enough for several low-level techniques, but I doubt these would be able to make the difference. Your favored element as an Uchiha is fire, so teaching you water techniques would be difficult and less effective for you. So I would like to teach you a technique you, with your sharingan, would be perfect for. (I also have to admit to a little bit of vanity.) It was the first fully original technique I developed myself, an A-ranked lightning assassination technique. You know what I mean, don't you?"
"The Chidori," Sasuke confirmed.
"Yes. Lightning is strong against earth, so it should be able to break through Gaara's defenses, especially as the wind element you mentioned seems to be only involved in moving the sand, and won't be an issue. I'll teach you the basic technique, which per se will only require a single demonstration using your sharingan, but much more importantly, you'll need to develop your reserves and the physical ability to effectively use it. That includes increasing your speed to high levels, so you hopefully can contend with Gaara's sand in that area too. Are we clear so far?"
"Gee, persuasive and enthusiastic, isn't he?" the voice deadpanned. "Oh well, I knew the chidori would be the thing he wants to teach you, and I'm not certain I have better ideas. It is a powerful and dangerous technique, yes. It kills with one good hit and can't easily be pulled, so don't use it in fights where your life isn't on the line! Unfortunately, facing Gaara obviously qualifies."
Well, let's see what Kakashi has planned for actual training. If he is lazy again about that, with your help I'll know in time and can call him out on that.
"Yep. Okay, get crackling."
oOo
As planned, Kakashi demonstrated the Chidori, Sasuke copied it with his two-tomoe sharingan and demonstrated his success. Or rather, he tried to – he almost managed to charge the technique, but did not yet fully succeed in aspecting the chakra, and then he faltered due to chakra exhaustion before he could actually use it. While he recovered, Kakashi explained the chidori's strengths and limitations as well as the proper way to use it. The next hours were filled with a few demonstrations, preparatory training for increasing agility and speed, general practice in creating and channelling lightning chakra, advanced chakra-building and -controlling exercises and further explanations.
After a few questions regarding the training methods, the voice came up with the idea of combining several of the less focused techniques into combination exercises and helped Sasuke to persuade Kakashi, who had intended to focus on single exercises (probably so he had more time to just supervise) to try that method.
They spent the rest of the allocated time with working on the combination exercises and fine-tuning the mixes. Chakra control with taijutsu training, combining chakra building with further chakra control, combined taijutsu sparring and speed training and so on.
In the end they managed to develop a schedule that combined more than double the practices Kakashi had planned into the same number of hours without (probably) unduly taxing Sasuke beyond his endurance. Taijutsu practice while clinging to the walls, building chakra while standing on hands, high-speed taijutsu training on the move and so on. The epitome of intense training, at least for Kakashi's habits.
Kakashi grumbled a bit on the necessity to participate more than he has planned, but to Sasuke's and the voice's satisfaction (and secret amusement) had been successfully pressed to comply.
Finally, tired but content with their starting progress, they called it a day and returned to the village for the night.
oOo
"Feeling better?" the voice inquired.
Sasuke, walking tiredly towards Konoha proper, thought about it.
Depends. It was easy to lose myself in training, but I – I doubt myself.
"That can be a good thing. Resolving doubt is a good step to take."
I doubt, but I'm no way near resolving it.
"I see. In a way, I'm sorry. But it was necessary."
That's what you say. You say Itachi was innocent, basically, but I still remember that night, and I still remember how I felt until the other day.
He told me I'd need his eyes, to awaken the mangekyo sharingan, if I ever wanted to beat him...
"He was only speaking half the truth. The mangeyko sharingan is a trap."
But it is the greatest power the sharingan can grant!
"One, no, it isn't. Two, the easiest way to acquire it also usually is the most reprehensible act a human being can commit. Three, the drawbacks are at least in line with the power it grants, if not worse."
Drawbacks? There are other ways to gain it? There is a greater power? Don't tease me, explain!
"Just making sure you're going to listen. The drawbacks of the mangekyo are serious, especially for someone used to having a doujutsu. You have only a limited time to 'enjoy' the powers it grants you, because you slowly go blind. The more you use the powers the faster this progresses, but it doesn't stop whatever you do, and it is irreversible. And to master the powers, you have to practice... Also, everyone who gains the mangekyo acquires different major powers, which may bring their own specific disadvantages. In my opinion, killing your closest friend for that isn't worth it."
*Shudder* Going blind? I think I agree... But there's something greater?
"Yeah," the voice hesitated. "And its price is even greater, in a way, too. If you have gained the mangekyo sharingan, and a close blood relative has too, you can take his eyes to gain the so-called 'Eternal' mangekyo sharingan. This procedure restores your eyesight and there is no more deterioration. I'm not certain about the specifics, whether you somehow meld them or just transplant them. Actually, if you could just exchange them, the price would be no price, so I severely doubt it would be that easy. On the other hand, if each could be satisfied with a single working eye..."
Heh, sounds like what you continually try to teach me, taking the 'better' choice. Now, if what you said before is true and there is another way to awaken the mangekyo...
"You need to feel true guilt, shame and regret at least equal to actually performing the deed, so faking friendship doesn't work. Genjutsu is not enough either as far as I know, but there may be other options. I don't know which hormonal and neurochemical triggers are needed or whether there is an extra trigger involved, but there may be a chance to trigger it artificially."
Hrn. Complicated.
"Not to mention again that to kill your best friend just to gain the mangekyo sharingan is pretty much the definition of evil and thus a pretty disgusting idea. I think the powers of the regular sharingan are impressive enough. Overwhelming power can be acquired in other, less antisocial ways."
Tell me, then.
"Once the opportunity presents itself I'll remind you. For starters, though, you could look for a chance to sign a summoning contract."
Hrn. Snake, dog, toad and slug are the only ones I can think of, and none of these seem like they could be of much use to me.
"Don't underestimate the seemingly useless or ugly summons. They often have very useful secrets and abilities. On the other hand, there are many more possibilities for animal summons alone, not to mention unique summons of all types. The Hokage, for instance, holds a personal monkey summon, and King Enma is very impressive."
What would you recommend then?
"For some reason I feel quite partial to ravens, especially since your brother seems to have an affinity to crows. If you want to oppose Orochimaru, how about finding out if a mongoose contract exists? Otherwise you might have to research a bit."
Hmmm... Mongoose versus snake... The idea has something...
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura's voice broke his pondering. He looked up and found himself passing by Ichiraku's, where his tired teammates were enjoying a few bowls of ramen. Okay, apparently Sakura was on her second, while Naruto had emptied at least eight bowls already. No surprise there, the only surprise was Naruto waving too.
oOo
Ichiraku's, at least, seemed unchanged in spite of the turmoil still bubbling deep in Sasuke's heart. It was calming, even if it was just a ramen stand.
"So you're training the farthest away from us three, that explains why you're so late. I almost thought Kakashi's lateness was contagious," Sakura joked.
"Heh, at least I managed to wrangle a reasonable training schedule out of him," Sasuke boasted a bit, also partaking in a bowl of 'Naruto bait'.
"Heh, for Kakashi, that's actually impressive. Ebisu on the other hand is his complete opposite, very systematic. I'm going to practice one week on genjutsu, the next on medical jutsu, then we check for which I show the greater aptitude. Otherwise, still improving chakra control – apparently medical jutsu requires even better control than my so-called 'perfect' control, building up my stores *moan*, general taijutsu, tactics, stealth, more weapons training, especially with senbon and wires... systematic, competent, but a slave driver. I feel like back in the academy sometimes. Bleh. Still, Naruto seems to have had bad luck with his teacher. He apparently just had fixed whatever Orochimaru did to him and otherwise chakra control, chakra control, chakra control..." Sakura happily blathered on, fortunately no longer about irrelevant fangirlish stuff.
"Maan, I can't help it. This old pervert is sooo booring. Water walking, tree walking, more water walking... unless I get that right I get nothing else," Naruto complained, dropping his head on the counter and making the Ichirakus laugh.
"Oh? I admit that was not what I expected. After what Sakura could tell about your teacher earlier I expected you to be working on, how do you always say, 'one cool jutsu after the other'," Sasuke said, slightly confused.
"Huh? When did I say anything about his new sensei before, Naruto started only today," Sakura asked, surprised by Sasuke's claim. "He hasn't even told me his real name, he just calls him 'old pervert' or 'Ero-sennin' because he supposedly always tries to peep in the women's baths while he makes Naruto practice water walking."
Sasuke gri- smirked, remembering what the voice had said. "Well, you said he had left Konoha long ago, but Kakashi seems to know him personally. Apparently he has trained the man who trained him. He came after you had left with Ebisu, so you just missed him snatching up 'the brat', as he called the slacker, throwing him over the shoulder and making off with him," Sasuke told, fully aware what important information he had left out.
"Not my fault, the old guy is sooo annoying," Naruto sighed. "He just tells me my chakra control is all screwed up,"
"We could have told you that," Sakura added.
"Because he says I have too much chakra, so he made me practice the whole day. And nothing else yet."
"Naruutoo, you are becoming annoying again. Turn it down a notch," Sakura admonished, surprisingly without emphasizing her complaint with a slap or punch.
"All right, all right, it's just that I can barely think about anything else," the blond mumbled.
"Okay, what happened while I was out? Someone replaced you with clones? This morning you also were not as I was used to from you," Sasuke inquired. They were both civil to each other and keeping it up, mostly.
"Oh. Right, we never had the opportunity to tell you. Well, yesterday, during the intermission while you were away with Kakashi, I... just had a similar talk with Naruto as you had with me before. I recognized that Naruto just didn't know any better and – well, in short, I decided we needed to make a new start and we just – reintroduced ourselves and promised to try to be a bit more mature," Sakura explained, while Naruto nodded.
"Should we do that too? Hi Sasuke, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, your teammate," he started, once again surprising Sasuke with a shade of actual solemnity.
Sakura nodded and fell in. "And I am Haruno Sakura, your other teammate," she grinned and hold out her hand. "I still like you and want to date you," she continued, interrupted by Naruto's "I don't,", "but I promise to try to be no longer a pest about it." "Yeah, I promise to try, too," Naruto added.
"Still, we are teammates and will be together for quite a while, so would you like to be friends?" both asked, not in chorus, but added together that seemed to be the essence.
Sasuke was amazed. Then he got it. Again. Especially since the voice sent a few pointers his way.
"Ooh. Heh. Okay," he actually laughed, not his more familiar dark or mean laugh, but honestly pleased.
"Very well," he set on. "Hello you two. I am Uchiha Sasuke and your – other, other teammate (no way I'm saying 'third' or 'last'). I don't want to date anyone yet – especially not you, Naruto," "Pfff." "Heh. But right, we are teammates and yes, I agree we could at least try to be friends. And I promise to try to be less of a...," he fumbled there a bit.
"Arrogant asshole?"
"Bastard?"
"Hey! Okay, I try to be less of a... jerk, how about that?" He also reached out and offered his hands, and with a short, shared laughter the others took them.
Ayame and old Teuchi looked on smiling and almost moved to tears, respectively.
"Not bad... not bad at all," mused Sasuke as he basked a while in the feeling.
"Yeah... but okay, Sasuke, come on, spill it," Sakura demanded finally. "When and where am I suppoesed have spoken about Naruto's new sensei, if I don't even know his name? And I'm not sure I even want to know the name of some dirty old man."
Sasuke blinked, then smirked. "Wellll," he drawled playfully, "Let me repeat. Kakashi seems to be familiar with him, he claimed this man was his sensei's teacher and that he is a seal expert. He apparently is some kind of author since he promised Kakashi in leaving some autographs. He was large, overly dramatic, wore geta and a huge scroll on his back, and had long, wild white hair and red lines, like tear marks, under his eyes. I'd estimate his looks in the fourties, but the facts hint at an actual age of at least fifty. Oh, and his headband bears a kanji, it was 'oil', I think. Now, can you put the pieces together and guess his name?"
It was fun seeing Sakura frustrated and exasperated as she tried to solve the puzzle. "An author and a pervert, heh, that fits with that smut Kakashi's always reading, but I don't know who wrote this 'Icha Icha' stuff," she thought aloud.
Old man Teuchi opened his mouth, but was immediately silenced by his angry daughter Ayame and a 'don't interfere' look of Sasuke.
"I don't know who sensei's sensei was, unfortunately, so that's not much help either. All I can say is that you imply he must be in some way famous, and his age puts him at first full duty during the second shinobi... world... war... and you had me tell you about- oh hell...," she trailed of, eyes widening, as she came to the only possible correct conclusion.
"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT DIRTY OLD MAN NARUTO WAS TALKING ABOUT IS JIRAIYA OF THE SANNIN?" she screeched, pointing at Sasuke and Naruto in shock.
Teuchi grinned, Ayame pouted, Naruto nodded sadly and Sasuke gave her a shrug and a nod. "That was the name used," he just said. Sakura cried.
oOo
"There, there, Sakura-chan," Naruto tried to comfort the distraught Sakura who had her forehead plastered to the Ichiraku's counter. "It surely isn't that bad," he softly patted her shoulder.
"We are doomed," Sakura moaned. "I can see it already. Naruto gets taught by one of the sannin who is an open perv and Kakashi is his grand-pupil.. The other is a creep with a snake fetish and the third – History will repeat itself. We are doomed. Naruto will become a perv like his teacher too, I'll have to pound him again and again and Sasuke won't like me and I'll drive him away and then I'll have to run away too and end up alone and regretting everything and I'll probably start drinking..."
"Whoa! That's... surprisingly insightful, but what brought that on?"
Let me guess, if you hadn't made me see what a creep he is I would have gone to Orochimaru, right? And now Jiraiya teaches Naruto... I guess Sakura should learn from Tsunade then, huh? Just kidding.
"... you better help Naruto calm her." The voice wasn't amused.
Irritated, Sasuke did his best. "Sakura? Sakura. Calm down. Just breathe and calm down... What made you say that anyway?"
"Sakura-chan, please, calm down," Naruto pleaded with her, "I promise I won't become a pervert like Ero-sennin, and you won't have to pound me, and Sasuke won't run away. Sakura-chan, please."
Ayame came around the counter and held Sakura, concerned, while her father looked troubled.
Minutes later Sakura finally stopped trembling. "Haah – ahh – hhahh – Sorry, guys, I don't know what came over me. I just suddenly had this feeling... I could almost see it... Sasuke looking at me coldly and just going away... I just cried, and then Naruto went away too... and then I was all alone... for some reason I was so terribly afraid..."
Sasuke looked around sharply and focused all of his senses. Nothing. "Someone could have sent you a genjutsu, but if so he or she is already gone or too skilled to sense."
"Why should anyone do that? And who?" Naruto was also looking around hectically.
"N-no, at least it wasn't like Kakashi's on our first day," Sakura twitched still, but was calm enough again to think. "It was more like a daydream, or a bad memory flashback."
"Now that sounds suspicious..." the voice quietly hissed.
You don't think... someone like you has found her?
No answer.
"Maybe it's just too much training for the first day back," Sasuke suggested. "Or some delayed reaction. In any case I...," he hesitated, then he firmed up.
Okay, you moralizing, wiseguy voice. I guess I'll take what you said serious for now. Time to truly act on it. I expect you to help me stand by this.
"I see. I will."
"Naruto, if you take this as a joke I'll hurt you." Naruto nodded wide-eyed.
"Sakura, I promise I won't just go away unless it is for a reason you two can understand and at least partially agree with. Far enough that you two would be willing to come with me."
To Sasuke the thought alone had been so alien just s few short days ago, it still felt strange to hold on to it, but something inside of him felt... satisfied. "We just decided to start again, to try to be – friends – I don't want to give up before I even try," he whispered.
oOo
oOo
AN: Whoah, I think I went a bit overboard with the revelations. That's probably why I took the little copout of making Sasuke and the voice forget, or rather bury, the Big Reveal for a while. Kinda hard to have wacky fun while the future years are coming down on you like a brick factory... ^^
Okay, on wacky fun this chapter starts out rather light, too. Instead I just had to include loads and loads of jutsubabble (I claim that as the ninja term for technobabble) and character interaction.
Oh well, I just hope it wasn't too boring. (27. Aug. 2013 - Minor edits and a few added bits of canon revelations during the last two years... sooorry for the long time-out, I hope I get my stuff together again)
And Sasuke's Log will continue...
oOo
Next: Raven Chatter Part Six: Four Weeks of Fun, Part Two
The Raven is a cautious and perceptive bird. While powerful enough to need not fear most other birds in his area, he never takes that fact for granted.
"Look out, gossip queen at 12 o'clock," the voice alerted him to the blonde pony tail crossing his path, but too late.
oOo