Chapter Four: Training
A/N: before I start the story, I just want to remind everyone to review after reading. The criticism really keeps me going! Now on with the story!
The sun had risen and was now looming over the Leaf village, and Sasuke was still at his old training ground. He hadn't slept at all for the past few nights, and it was really starting to get to him. Although the countless nights of being forsaken by sleep couldn't be read on his face, it seemed to darken the stoic ravens aura even more. When he went into the village, the normally congested streets filled with buzzing citizens and energetic children, became a ghost town when Sasuke was around.
This also affected Sasuke's training regimen, it seemed to increase its intensity, the more sleep evaded him. As he attacked the old sparing post with dead precision, he seemed to resemble Rock Lee in concentration and intensity. Nothing was going to deter his focus,
"Oi, Sasuke! Hey teme, can ya hear me?"
Well, nothing except for Naruto that is. Sasuke tried to ignore the blondes high pitched and annoying voice, and it worked for a couple of seconds, that is until Naruto attempted to strike the Uchiha in the back of the head. Sasuke quickly spun around and decked Naruto in the face. The blonde was sent tumbling until he was stopped by the base of a tree.
"Dammit teme, what the hell was that for—I was just tryna get ya attention." Naruto grabbed onto a branch in order to stand, but the branch snapped and he is sent to the ground once more. Sasuke watches the scene unfold, with an expressionless face. After a semi-intense stare down, Sasuke turns and starts to walk away from Naruto.
"HEY, don't be an ass. What's wrong with you, ya seem more gloomy than the usual."
"…"
"I know whata make ya feel better… some RAMEN!"
"…I hate ramen, and I want to be left alone." Naruto comes to a dead halt, with an expression that was equivalent to that of someone who had just lost a loved one.
"Sasuke, listen to me," Naruto runs in front of the stoic Uchiha, placing his hands on both of his shoulders and looks him directly in the eyes. "You must never say that, Kami-sama forbid Ayame or Teuchi hear ya; they'd lose it and probably go back to dipping noodles!"
"Dobe, I really don't give a rats ass what that little ramen stand does, I've never cared. I only ate there because you promised you'd pay for it."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing, you sir, are an ass indeed- but it's alright, cuz ya are my rival/best friend. Ya supposed to say stuff ta get me all angry and what not." Naruto does that goofy ear-to-ear smile that says 'It doesn't matter what you say, I know that I'm right and your still a good person' and Sasuke really wants to pound his face in. Alas, the raven decides that it'd be better to say 'Hn, whatever' and continue to walk away from the training grounds. Naruto was going to follow him, but decided against it.
'I think if I were to bother him again, he'd probably try to decapitate me!' Looking towards the sky, Naruto notices some dark clouds rolling in.
'Looks like it's going to rain, I bet Sasuke's mood has the power to cause thunderstorms.'
Smirking at his thought, Naruto continues on towards the Ichiraku stand, singing an impromptu song about the wonders of ramen.
Hinata had been busy all day. She'd cleaned the entire Uchiha manor (with the exception of a few rooms), and was now in the backyard working on a new Jutsu. There wasn't a garden in the backyard, and this made her want to go visit Hanabi.
'I need to focus, this technique has to be perfect.'
After taking a moment to relax, Hinata takes up a strange pose and begins to emit chakra from her body. It then starts to gather at her feet and legs. Reaching into her weapons pouch, she reveals senbon needles. Quickly, Hinata launches herself into the air. She activates her byakugan mid-jump, then does a back flip before throwing the senbon needles with precision at a target dummies neck and chest.
Upon walking up to the dummy to retrieve her needles, Hinata notes that only two of the senbon hit their mark, the third needle was off by a mere 3 millimeters. Frustration and stress written on her face, Hinata begins nibbling on her bottom lip.
'I'll just have to keep trying until I get it right,' with that, heavy raindrops start to fall onto Hinata's forehead. Looking up she finally realizes the dark and thick thunderclouds looming in the sky.
'I guess this is a sign from Kami-sama to rest.'
The rain begins pouring down, soaking Hinata's hair and clothing. Grabbing her tools, the girl makes her way into the house. She takes off her wet shoes, placing them on a mat by the door. As she steps into the hallway, you can hear the thunder booming and the flashes of light in the sky.
"I hope Neji-Nii isn't outside training in this weather…or Sasuke."
Hinata walks into she and Sasuke's bedroom, grabbing a towel and heading towards the bathroom. There, she turns on the water while pouring in some bath oils. The girl quickly undressed and dips herself into the steaming water. It burns but after a while, her skin gets use to the temperature. Taking her bathing sponge, Hinata begins to bathe herself.
'I still have a lot to work on. This new fighting style pairs well with my Kaiten-they both require knowledge of the human body and it's pressure points. Now I just need to increase the speed and accuracy.'
Hinata finishes her bath and returns to her bedroom. With her towel wrapped around her body, she begins to look for something to wear. After a couple of minutes, her mind is settled on a simple lavender yukata. Before slipping it on, Hinata goes over to her vanity, and grabs one of her body oils. Taking off the cap, Hinata inhales it's fragrance; the scent of vanilla and lavender send her senses into an state of relaxation.
When she is finally dressed, instead of keeping her hair out, Hinata sweeps it all into an elegant bun. She places some pins in her hair to make sure no pieces fall out of place, and then she makes her way to the kitchen.
'I really wish Hokage-sama would assign me a mission. There's nothing wrong with being a housewife, but I really do miss the excitement of being an active ninja.'
Hinata brews herself some hot cocoa (making sure to add an extra pack of chocolate), and heads towards the living room. There was a television that was centered off along the wall, opposite from the sitting area. Hinata turns it on, and sits in the corner of the huge sofa. Pulling her legs up onto the cushion, she begins to look for something good to watch. She's barely into the middle of some show, when she decides that it's pointless to continue.
A deep sigh of boredom escapes Hinata's lips as she gets up from her seat and walks out onto the porch.
"I wonder when Sasuke is coming home…" Hinata sits down on the wooden floor and simply watches the rain. Her gaze seems empty and gives nothing away as to what she's thinking; she simply stares. After a minute or two, Hinata begins to hum a gentle tune. The song calms her mind and seems to put her in a trance. She forgets all about her worries, her problems and her title. Here, in this moment, she is only Hinata.
The rain started to pour harder, but Hinata doesn't seem to have noticed. The only thing that the girl can hear is the song that she hums; every thing else is just background noise. Her eyes have fluttered closed as the song nears its inevitable end. In the last few notes, Hinata is brought back to reality with the sound of the front door opening and closing.
She doesn't get up to greet him, nor does she make an attempt to move. His footsteps are heavier than usual as he makes his way to their bedroom.
Sasuke makes his way through the kitchen and out onto the porch, he doesn't even look in Hinata's direction, but she knows what he'll ask of her.
"Where's my lunch?"
"I put it in the microwave, it should still be warm."
Sasuke returns back into the kitchen without another word. Opening the microwave, Sasuke's nose is filled with a divine smell. He reaches inside and pulls out a boxed lunch filled with sticky rice, roasted tomatoes, egg rolls, grilled fish, and some cabbage. Soundlessly, the raven turns around and places his food on the counter and begins eating. The only noise that arises is the faint sound of chopsticks clicking against the plastic container every so often. The air is stagnant and thick, but neither of the pair speaks. Sasuke finishes his food, walks over to the sink to drops the dishes inside.
Finally, Hinata gets up and enters the kitchen; she walks to the sink and runs the water for a while. Sasuke walks over to where Hinata once was and out into the rain. There, the raven walks to the middle of the yard and creates a shadow clone. From the kitchen, Hinata can hear the sounds of punches, kicks, and kunai being thrown. The cacophony of sounds give off an ominous and deadly vibe, that send shivers down the placid girls spine.
As the match continues, chakra leaks out into the air. The wind begins to increase it's intensity causing the trees nearby to thrash wildly, and debris from rocks and broken branches to take flight and encircle both Sasuke's'. One of them kicks the other in the chest, sending the latter flying through the stonewalls adjacent to the house. The doppelgänger arises from the rubble, quickly teleporting behind Sasuke. As the doppelgänger prepares to strike, Sasuke vanishes from the field.
'It appears he has distributed his chakra evenly amongst the clone and himself.'
For a moment, there isn't any movement. Thunder booms throughout the sky as lightening flashes brightly. The doppelgänger scans the area looking for signs of his counterpart. The ground begins to shake violently, as the clone jumps into the air, a huge snake erupts from the ground. Quickly maneuvering his body, the clone barely dodges the snake. As this happens, the sound of birds chirping fills the yard. As the clone turns his head, a Chidori to the face from the original Sasuke greets him.
Sasuke's attack sends his clone diving towards the ground with a loud boom. As the dust clears the air, the shadow clone is seen lying in a huge crater before dispersing into a cloud of smoke.
"I win."
A/N: well, that's it for chapter four. I hoped you all liked it, sorry it took so long, I had a little bit of trouble writing this. Please don't for get to review and tell me what you think. I'd especially like to know what you thought of Hinata's weapon choice, and Sasuke's training regimen. It was my first battle scene and I hope I did okay. So yeah, don't forget to review! (^_^)