Chapter 10

Sasuke's Worst Day! The Land of Sweets Incident!

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(one month before the Wave mission)

"Team Seven has a new mission. This is a high D-rank, borderline C-rank. Are you sure they're ready for this, Kakashi?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. They are."

"I'll trust your judgment, then. You'll be heading to the Land of Sweets, to assist the owner of a chocolate factory in his work. I assume it'll take about two weeks to complete…this will be their first time out of the village, no?"

"Hai."

"Well…wish them luck. And Kakashi?"

"Hai?"

"Don't tell them it's a borderline C, alright? I need to test them, to see if they're ready for more advanced missions. We're getting quite a few C-ranks, and the Chuunin are getting a little overworked."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Is all you can say 'hai'?"

"…Hai."

"…Heh. At least use the door this time, Kaka—"

Poof.

"—shi. Damn him!"

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"NANI~?! WE HAVE A MISSION OUTSIDE OF KONOHA?!"

I am so not in the mood to put up with his shit.

Gaki…I agree whole-heartedly.

Seriously, I should still be in bed.

It wasn't exactly a very well-known fact that Sasuke was, by no means, a morning person. Hell, on his off days he could sleep until about ten or eleven before getting up to train the living daylights out of himself before collapsing into bed and repeating the next day.

…Or that's what he would do, if he wasn't plagued by nightmares that made it impossible to get more than seven hours of rest at a time…

Sasuke shook his head slightly to rid himself of the rather dark, pitiful thoughts that had made themselves comfortable in his head. God, how he hated his inner emo. Seriously.

"Yes, Naruto, we have a mission outside of Konoha. We'll be travelling to the Land of Sweets to help out a rather eccentric chocolate maker for a couple of days."

Shit. Why me? WHY?!

Another not-so-commonly-known fact: Sasuke abhorred sweets of any kind. Sweet fruit, like mango, strawberries, and cherries were his limit. Chocolate, cookies, candies…no. Just no. Due to the influx of fangirls thanks to his little 'attitude change' after the massacre—from puppy dog to bad boy in a matter of days—the mere scent of chocolate had become enough to send him into dry heaves. Especially during February, and that day of pure hell known by civilians as "Valentine's Day" and shinobi as "Free Chocolate Day."

"Ano…Sasuke…you're looking a little green…"

"I'm fine."

The remark came out a little harsher than he'd intended, and Sakura pulled back her hand with an almost wounded expression. Something inside his chest twinged, but Sasuke ignored it. He'd need to add 'snapping at female teammate' to his daily shit list. It'd been a long day, anyways. His week had been abysmal so far, but today was by far the worst.

In summary, he'd:

-Been chased all the way to their meeting place by a hoard of rabid fangirls (they were foaming at the mouth! FOAMING AT THE MOUTH!)

-Broken two shuriken when Naruto was an idiot and sliced them in half with his kunai instead of Kakashi's shadow clone

-Dealt with Naruto's more-annoying-than-usual ramblings about ramen, Sakura, Sakura with ramen, Sakura in ramen…dear Kami that boy was obsessed…

-Sustained burns around his mouth and in his throat with an errant Katon (in his own defense, Naruto had shoved him at the last second, causing him to lose control of the jutsu. Really, it was a miracle he wasn't more seriously injured.)

And, last but not least…

-Been really awkward around his female teammate. Like, really awkward. Well, he sucked at social interaction anyway, so how was he supposed to know she'd take offense to 'I didn't know you could cook…'?

…Yeah, today so far had sucked. And now he had a mission that would most likely cause his last meals to make a rather messy reappearance. Joy. Well…all he could do now was pack up from tomorrow (Kakashi would be meeting them by the gates at 7 AM sharp) and hope to Kami he didn't throw up.

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Shuriken.

Twenty-four, nice and sharp. Check.

Kunai.

Also twenty-four, along with four melee. Check.

Exploding tags.

Even set of twelve. Check.

Smoke bombs.

Six. Check.

Runes all seem in working order to you?

Meh, I can't detect any power overloads or vacuums, so I'd say you're good.

I'm probably gonna have to feed during the mission…know anything about the Land of Sweets, o mighty demonic overlord?

Only what you know…we're done packing, so you have a little time to research, gaki. If worse comes to worse and there's no forest, we can pack some of our supplies here.

Ugh…separated blood. Nothing more disgusting.

Believe me, I know. Now hurry up and stuff your shit in the pouches, 'cause we have work to do.

Hai, hai…

Sasuke rolled his right shoulder (which was temperamental most of the time, and stuck a lot from the time when Itachi twisted it into (literally) a fleshy pretzel with bloody shards of bone as salt crystals), listening to the bone creak and readjust in its socket before moving to the door. Time for a late-night visit to the library and a little research. Perhaps over a large bowl full of that tomato onigiri from the stand by Ichiraku's…mmh, he could almost taste it right then! He could sense Zian rolling his eyes, but chose not to comment; after all, there were tomato onigiri in the very near future, so he could deal with the silver-haired man's annoyance.

Because seriously, who couldn't love tomato onigiri?!

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So this Land of Sweets is about a five-day travel to the south of Konoha, hmm? Since Baka-kashi said the mission is two weeks, or fourteen days, that leaves us with four days of actual work in the factory. You sure you can manage?

I don't know. I'll take some blood now, and shouldn't have a problem catching a rabbit or something while we're on the way back.

I'd take it today and the last day of travelling there. That way, you're not trying to get through the mission halfway blood-starved. It wouldn't look good on your records if you attacked and drained the client.

Point there. I don't have a good feeling about this.

Tch, why would you? First time outta the village and it's a ten-day round-trip to a place you know you'll hate. You're, in a word, completely screwed.

…That was two words, idiot.

No counter-argument, eh? I win. Again.

…Shut up.

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"SUUUUGOOOOOII~!"

"Oh my…it's so beautiful!"

Sasuke listened to his teammates' exclamations without really listening to them. He was rather thankful that he'd had to feed the night before his first trip out the village; it made the experience all the more memorable.

The trees glowed with sunlight, their wide green leaves shining jade and emerald. The patterns of light and shadow dappled the ground as the sun shone through the closely placed branches and trunks of aforementioned trees. The sky was an incredibly clear shade of brilliant blue, so blue it almost looked fake. Wispy white clouds swirled around above, like the brushstrokes of a master painter. The mountains loomed in the distance, stone monoliths rising high above the top of the seemingly-endless forest. Wildflowers grew along the path, adding splashes of ruby, amber, gold, silver, pearl, aquamarine, sapphire, rose quartz, and amethyst to the landscape. It looked…it looked…

Perfect.

For the first time since the massacre, Sasuke simply stopped and stared at his surroundings, trying to burn it all into his memory, in utter awe of nature's true beauty. The birds chirping, the wind blowing, the leaves rustling…everything. He wanted to remember it all, so that he could walk this path again in his dreams.

"Sasuke. You'll be left behind."

Kakashi's voice startled him out of his trance. Shaking his head, Sasuke moved forward to take his position at Sakura's right (she had been appointed point) even as Naruto settled at her left.

As one, they knelt and leapt up into the trees.

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Tree-running, or tree-hopping (as some called it), was pure exhilaration.

Sure, they'd practiced it before in Konoha, and they'd passed Kakashi's little test with flying colors, but it just didn't compare.

Sasuke was glad Kakashi had suddenly given him an earpiece and told him to scout ahead. The man must've known somehow of his craving for speed.

Another little-known fact about Sasuke Uchiha: he loved, loved, loved going fast. Running, jumping, fighting…anything, as long as it was high octane, would set his soul alight. Once he got going, he just…didn't stop.

Sasuke took the radio gratefully, strapping on the throat mic and sliding in the earpiece as he made his way from one branch to the next. Then, on Kakashi's signal, he slid into the point position, only semi-conscious of Naruto and Sakura's looks. The silver-haired Jounin swept his hand down, and the Uchiha leapt.

He pushed even more chakra into his feet, allowing it to synthesize in an aura the same color as the sky. His legs moved faster and faster, covering more and more ground as he pulled ahead of his team. He started using his arms, too, to help manage the stray branches that seemed oh-so-fond of hitting him in the face. Soon, he was streaking through the branches, itching to release his limiters.

Should I?

They're far enough away that they shouldn't sense it. Go for it. I wanna go faster too, dammit!

Sasuke smirked. Even Zian could be childish sometimes. Then he deactivated his runes, and power coursed through him, propelling him forward like a kunai from an ANBU's hand.

The last of the Uchiha clan closed his eyes and let his training take over, moving his body instinctually, letting the wind rush through his hair and lungs.

He felt the weight of his sorrow, of his regrets, of his worries lift from his shoulders. He felt…free.

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"Holy…shit…"

Naruto's rather choked exclamation came as he stared at when Sasuke had once been, before he'd literally sped off like a bolt of black lightning. Sakura shared his feelings. There was no way…no possible way…a Genin could move that fast. Especially fresh out of the Academy as they were…there was something strange going on in the team. Something…suspicious. And the one common factor in all the suspicious happenings was none other than Sasuke.

Dear Kami he's just one enigma after another, ne, Inner?

Damn straight. And he's also super hot. You should jump his bones!

HELL. NO.

Whatever…party pooper.

Sakura's Inner never ceased to surprise her, albeit in rather disturbing ways.

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Five days into their travels, absolutely nothing interesting had happened. At least, not to Sasuke. He was about an hour or so ahead of his teammates, and it was nearing dusk. Sure, they'd be arriving at their place of four-day-work soon, but the Uchiha had one last errand to run.

Using his vampiric sense of smell, Sasuke scanned the area for potential prey. A rabbit in the bushes…too scrawny. A family of field mice under that log…barely bite-sized. An owl in that knothole…too much work. Feathers were a pain in the ass to get out of his teeth, anyways. Wait! What about…yes, that would work…now to catch it…

The fawn was separated from the herd before her mother could react.

With a flash of ivory, fangs sunk into soft, sweet flesh. The animal struggled, long legs beating feebly against his body, but he paid it no mind. This fawn would be just enough to sustain him…he'd have to drain her dry or attempt to catch another meal.

I'm sorry.

Sasuke practically inhaled the blood. Fresh was always the best…he couldn't get it too often, though, or he'd risk the Nara clan's suspicion. They already knew something was hunting their deer, but Sasuke had always been particularly brutal with those, so they'd assumed a wolf was in the area. He'd need to do the same with the fawn, or risk Kakashi's suspicion. Not that the man didn't already suspect he was up to something, but the longer he could prolong the imminent conversation the better off he'd be.

Sasuke never liked disguising his work. It made him feel absolutely disgusting, but it had to be done. By this point the baby deer was long dead, and he was lapping the last of her blood from the twin fang marks in her jugular.

Nothing like the present, then.

Sasuke reared back, claws extended, and sliced down, carving up the carcass like rice paper. Slashing wildly, he managed to make it look like a severe mauling had taken place, even chewing gingerly on some of the more exposed parts of the throat. Shaking up the blood he'd brought along with him, he dumped it over the fawn's mutilated body. It was (now) five-day-old deer blood from the Nara household, courtesy of the Hokage himself, so hopefully Kakashi's nose wouldn't be able to detect the difference. He knew his scent would be all over the carcass, but…well, there weren't exactly any wolves or bears around, were there? Hopefully the man would assume he'd examined the corpse before leaving.

Either way it was a dangerous gamble. One he had to take, but still.

He'd have preferred it if it wasn't even there in the first place.

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Their four days as chocolate factory attendants were sheer HELL. The client, a rather eccentric man by the name of Wonokane Warui, took one look at them and assigned Sakura to nut testing, Naruto to chocolate pond maintenance, Kakashi to taste testing (thank KAMI it wasn't him!), and Sasuke to cream whipping.

Well, at least he'd gotten one of the more fun jobs. The man in charge had given him a kyuubi whip, known by some as a cat o' nine tails, and told him to literally whip the cream. He'd had fun, that was for sure. Sasuke just had a feeling he'd been labeled as psychologically unstable by the way he was (unconsciously!) cackling as he snapped the nine-tailed whip about like a deranged cattle herder.

Sakura had an easy job; just put a nut (still in shell) atop a special scale, keep the good ones, discard the bad ones, and so on. Naruto had the most strenuous work. Sasuke had seen the huge ladles the men on chocolate duty had, at least five feet tall and made of solid silver ("to ensure top-quality chocolate-mixing!"), which was damn heavy, but then again, as they'd all seen during team dynamics, Naruto had CRAZY stamina.

Kakashi they'd all laughed at. He was shut up in a tiny room for four days, forced to eat various types of candy that did all sorts of things to him. The staff had brought him out in a glass jar (because apparently the Deflating Dum-Dums worked a little too well and left their sensei six inches tall), with vibrant pink hair (the Skittle Stains seemed too potent) and green-and-orange-striped skin (Pattern PEZ were a doozy!). They'd promised he'd be back to normal by nightfall, but the three of them managed to snap a couple pictures as blackmail. Thank Kami he'd thought to bring a camera.

Seriously, opportunities like these don't exactly come often.

And the best part of the mission?

Why, of course, it had to be that he didn't throw up due to the ambient scent of chocolate in the air, thus embarrassing himself, his team, and all of Konoha's ninja in the process!

Now all he had to do was get home without Kakashi having time to question him…

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Hatake Kakashi was acting normally, but a swirl of questions whirred through his mind.

He'd found the fawn left behind by Sasuke (not that he knew it was the Uchiha's work, of course) as they worked their way to their destination the last day.

Kakashi had sent a Kage Bunshin ahead of the three of them to keep an eye on Sasuke; far enough away that it wouldn't be detected by the Uchiha, but close enough to help if he got into any trouble. It had smelled the blood almost immediately, and rushed to the scene to find a mutilated fawn, recently dead but made to look as if it were days old. Hell, the bloodscent didn't even match with the actual flesh! It smelled older, as if it had been fermenting in the hot sun for a long while. Utterly disgusting.

Kakashi would have written it off if not for his student's scent coating the fawn. He couldn't detect any other scent but deer, blood, and Sasuke. Considering that it had been recently killed, and there wasn't any other scent…was it possible that Sasuke had done it? It was clear that the animal had died in excruciating pain; but why would the Uchiha do it? What were his motives?

He couldn't help it. He glanced to his right, at the raven-haired boy beside him. A monster. A wolf in sheep's clothing. He could still smell the bloodscent on Sasuke; the boy was drenched in it, as he was wearing the clothes he'd probably worn while killing the fawn. Kakashi was almost ashamed, but…that carcass had changed everything. He didn't—no, couldn't—trust Sasuke anymore. Not after seeing that, and knowing it was his student's fault.

But what to do about it?

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, closing his tired gray eye for a moment. He would wait it out; either catch Sasuke in the act or confront him about it, preferably somewhere private.

Either way, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answers the boy provided him.

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Sasuke flinched, just barely, as he heard Kakashi's heart rate speed up, and saw the man cast a sideways glance at him.

Act normal, gaki. Your behavior will determine his course of action.

Mm.

He knew Kakashi had found the fawn's body. He'd also probably made the wrong assumption; that Sasuke had killed the animal out of sport rather than necessity, and that it had died a horribly painful death.

It couldn't be farther from the truth; he should know, as he's experienced it before. A vampire's saliva contained chemicals that cause a sort of "high" upon entering the body. Thus, any being, human or animal, that dies via vampiric means dies in bliss. Of course, he'd hidden the fang marks with his gnawing of the neck.

So now Kakashi thought he was some form of barely contained sociopath? Wonderful. Now he would play the waiting game; either Kakashi would catch him hunting…or the silver-haired man would confront him directly. Neither option was one Sasuke was prepared for.

Even as they streaked through the trees at speeds that would rival a galloping horse, all Sasuke could think was,

He knows. He's coming for me.

And somehow…the fact that Kakashi was his sensei made it all the more terrifying.

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~Tsuzuku~

A/N: Well…that was intense. Kami, gimme some credit. I wrote most of this today. XD Anyway, today is very special. You know why?

…

It's Sasuke's birthday~! YAAAAY~! Without you this fic wouldn't exist, because you're the main character!

Sasuke: Gee, thanks…

KBA: SHUT UP! It's not time for us to be here yet!

*random super-long wooden cane appears and pulls them both out of sight*

So…yeah. One of you guys said you wanted Sasuke to eat a rabbit last chapter, so I thought,

"Hey…why not do that this chapter? :3"

But anyway, FAQ TIME!

Q: Why does Kakashi act normally in the other chapters when he's suspicious of Sasuke here?

A: Two reasons: this wasn't a planned development and he's a former ANBU skilled at hiding things. Faking emotions is no problem for him.

Q: Why does Zian seem childish here?
A: It's the same as before: Sasuke's more outspoken and hot-tempered than canon because of Zian's influence. Sasuke is changing Zian too; he's more childish than he was in the past because he's basically embodying that side of Sasuke, if that makes sense.

Oh, and also: it's pretty obvious (at least to me…), but whoever guesses this chapter's reference first gets a shout-out next time as well as a cameo as next chapter's intro-guy (or girl). So leave your guesses in the reviews! :3

KBA-chan's Omake Theater!

This Week: Sasuke and the Chocolate Factory

WARNING: TOTAL CRACK

Once upon a time there lived a little emo boy named Sasuke. Everyone hated him because he hated chocolate.

Then, one day, he was chosen out of all the town's children to become the heir to a local entrepreneur's chocolate empire. Sasuke was happy because the job gave him money, but strived to make chocolate to suit his own tastes. So, with his crack team of designers, he created the world's first chocolate-covered tomato. It sold like wildfire (mostly because he was hot and his fangirls thought thathe would date them if they bought them), and Sasuke became extremely rich. Then he fell in love with a girl named Sakura who also hated chocolate.

They blew up the factory, destroyed all the world's chocolate, and caused a systemic economic collapse before living happily ever after in the Swiss Alps.

Sasuke: What…the…hell…

KBA: I told you it was cracktastic!

Sasuke: This is my birthday present?

KBA: Nope. This is!

*huge cake made of tomatoes and tomato onigiri rolls in*

Sasuke: *le gasp* This…this is…

Itachi and TDCT: *poke their heads out from around the cake* Surprise!

*top of cake bursts open*

Sakura: Happy Birthday, Sasuke!

*kisses Sasuke on the cheek; Sasuke turns Hinata-red*

Sasuke: I…I…*incoherent stuttering*

Sakura: *blushing and smiling* I hope you like the cake.

Sasuke: I…I do, thanks…Sakura.

Sakura: Don't mention it.

Itachi, TDCT, and KBA: AWWW~!

Itachi: Sasuke's finally growing up! *wipes tear from eye*

KBA: Yeah…I'm proud of him! He's not as much of a bastard as he could've been!

TDCT: *grins* Still a bastard, though. Didn't fully dodge that bullet, did we?

*door opens*

KBA: Ah, and here's our guest! I though she'd be fitting to intro this next chapter, as it's a major event and all.

Mikoto: *waves, then hugs Sasuke (who's in shock)* Hello, everyone! I'm back!
KBA: Here to stay?

Mikoto: Possibly. *smiles* Well, let's get going then!

TDCT: Hai~!

Itachi: *hugs Mikoto* We missed you.

Mikoto: *hugs him back* I know. There'll be time to catch up later, though. For now…Sasuke, I give you my blessing

Sasuke: *looks up from where he's talking to Sakura* Eh?

Mikoto: *laughs* It's nothing. Anyways…*Announcer-Voice-no-Jutsu!* Our young hero fights for his life, but he's also facing conflict from within. Can Sasuke withstand the pressure, or will he crack? Tune in next time to find out, in: A Two-Front War! Sasuke vs. Haku!

This chapter's page break is to, or sugar.

Thank you all for getting me this far. Ten chapters (officially now), 110 pages, and 50000 words. I love you all!