The Path A Ninja Walks...
Chapter Nineteen
A Big Brother Is And Will Always Be:
Stalker-No-Jutsu!
A/N: WARNING-The character known as Sage Amesawa uses a lot of profanity and colorful language as part of his "colorful" personality. Be prepared if you are sensitive to that. Please note it is not because I condone such manner of speech, and also the character does not mean to use it as a way to be harmful, it is just his personality.
Sasuke made it home later in the day to splash water on his face while replaying the earlier events. The hearing of the Chunin Exams caught his intrigue, and more so when Kakashi Sensei recommended his own team to take part. Other things stood out to him too...
That genin from the Hidden Sand, the one who carried the goard on his back. The look in his eye caught his attention.
"Heh..."
He gave a small chuckle.
Things really are about to get interesting after all...
He thought to himself. It was just recently that he was wishing he had some greater opponents to go up against, and the one called Gaara seemed he would make for a good fight. He clenched his fists, revenge getting that much closer to his grasp, but then, as he began to think of vengeance once again, yet another thing about that boy held and locked his attention.
Saseme...
As the images of his sister played across his memories, it was here that he felt the emotions twist within his stomach.
What were these feelings?
Anger?
Guilt?
He couldn't pinpoint one specific feeling, they all seemed to blend together, especially watching her talk to those Sand genin with such familiarity...as though they, and not he, were her family. He walked around an empty house, residual memories playing of moments of play when they were young twins, inseperable and happy. And the light of her big brinning smile that soon cracked and faded away from his memory.
She was here this entire time...
He thought to himself.
And she never thought to come home...? Where has she been staying then...?
He looked into an empty room, where a folded up futon sat collecting dust.
Saseme...
Do you still hate me after all?
"I've nothing to say to you..."
That line, hurt more than a kunai's damage could have done. The rift between them ever growing, as he wondered where she stayed if not at home?
Where are you now, Saseme?
He thought to himself.
And that guy...
He blinked, as Gaara's image came to mind once again, and his sister's back walking away from him, and following Gaara... by command.
Just what is he to her!?
Their familiarity bothered about it seemed way off and made him feel very uneasy... More so what bothered him was how she obediently followed that guy without a word of rebelion...
As though he held some sort of...power over her...
Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed and he could feel the anger within him boil as he replayed the conversation of dogs and masters, as though Saseme were somehow this guy's property to own-
Something doesn't seem right by this...
And i'm gonna get to the bottom of it!
He slammed open the door and took off, in search of his sister.
XXXXX
"...Saseme...Your food is getting cold." Gaara spoke in a low huff as he cut his meat into smaller bites. Temari and Kankuro sat on either side of him, welling in their nervous tension.
"...Oh...Sorry." Saseme blinked back into their reality after having been zoned out in a weird type of static connection that happened to her on occasion.
Sasuke...
She blinked.
There was so much I wanted to say to you...but...
Her dark eyes glanced up slightly to the desert dwelling brunette partaking in the meal before him as he sat directly across from her. Before he could catch her glance, she quickly retreated back down to the small spread of food infront of her, each portion barely touched.
I wonder, Sasuke...
Were you thinking of me too?
"You're quiet." Gaara muttered as he placed another piece of meat between his lips from his sticks before placing them down and folding his hands. She swallowed hard and tried to put rice in her mouth to keep from her having to speak."You were thinking of him...weren't you?" he blinked,"...That boy..."The one who looks like you...he is your brother." he stated, and she twitched, caught in her own guilt.
"...Of course not." she spoke in a quick denial,"My brother and I haven't spoken for a long time...he's hardly on my mind at all-"
"Is that so?" Gaara snipped as he shot a sharp gaze up at her,"...Then, I suppose it wouldn't matter to you then...if I killed him?"
She froze up, an internal gasp stopped in her throat and a chill rode through her body. Her heart beat heavily with a loud thump against her chest, and her eyes began to tremble.
"H-hey uh...Gaara...come on man..." Kankuro nudged to him slight,"...That's...a bit of a cruel joke, don't you think? I mean...that's the girl's brother...Ha Ha..."
Without a word the boy directed a glare at his older brother that brought chills to him as well, leading him to quickly swallow his words.
"Funny." said Gaara as he leaned back,"He never seemed like much of a brother to me...watching his supposed precious twin sister get taken away so easily..." he hummed,"So willingly no less..."
Saseme twitched. The memories of that day still haunted her. All she could hear and remember were her screams and desprate cries for Sasuke to save her...only... he never did.
He just watched as she got taken away...
"You're soft." Gaara hissed, shifting his gaze back to Saseme,"Perhaps I need to remind you of your place..."
XXXXX
"Sage..." Hana groand,"Remind me again of why we are bothering to creep around for Saseme of all people?"
"Uhh...because she's our team mate, Hana?" Sage sighed,"And I don't care what those guys say about being old friends or whatever..." Sage blinked,"Something...just doesn't seem right about it...Huh?" Sage blinked as he caught glimpse of a familiar silhouette. trying to bring his eyes into focus.
"Wait...Saseme?" he blinked.
"That's...definitely not Saseme." said Hana as she looked closer, "That's her hot brother~"
"Oh yeah...that's right..." Sage blinked,"Her twin brother right? His name was...SASUKE!"
The male Uchiha twitched a bit at the call of his name in an unfamiliar voice.
"Wait...I know you." he said as Sage waved him over,"You two... Friends of Saseme's, right?"
"Not me." Hana muttered and Sage rolled his eyes.
"We're her team mates." Sage said,"But we haven't seen her all day and we're gettin' kinda worried..."
"Not me." Hana repeated, leading Sage into a heavy sigh.
"...Regardless, she's our team mate all the same." Sage would mutter,"You're her brother...maybe, you would know where she could be?"
Sasuke blinked and looked away awkwardly.
"...Not really..." he said in a low tone,"As her team mates, you would probably know her better than I would..." Truthfully though, he was indeed tracking Saseme, just as they were. It seemed they all shared the same motive in finding her, and he had an idea on where she was...but he didn't want to share the information right away, in hopes of finding her himself first.
"Really?" Sage blinked,"But you're twins...I guess I figured you would know everything about each other."
Sasuke twitched and quickly averted his gaze.
There he goes again...
Sage blinked.
I wonder...just what happened between them...that made them this way?
"Well...we used to." Sasuke said softly, catching Sage and Hana off guard,"...But that was a long time ago." he sighed,"Anyway...No need to worry." he stated,"I managed to track her so...you can go."
"Say what!?" Sage twitched,"No way man! You're not getting rid of me THAT easy!" he huffed,"We're worried too!"
Sasuke twitched. He really didn't want anyone around while he talked things through with his sister...
If they could just talk- then maybe...
"This doesn't concern you!" Sasuke barked back,"Family matters are between me and Saseme." he stated,"I'll handle my sister...it has nothing to do with you!
But Sage showed no sign of budgeing, and Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh.
Man...this guy is as stubborn as Naruto...
He huffed.
I feel sorry for what Saseme must have to deal with...
He sighed once again in frustration as he tried to think of a way out of this.
Now that I think about it...
With her team mates around, maybe she will feel more inclined to listen to me...
He thought to himself.
"...Fine." he huffed finally caving in, "But don't you dare screw this up..."
"Hmph...I could tell you the same thing." Sage muttered,"So where did you find her?"
Without saying anything else Sasuke pointed at a restuarant not too far ahead. at the distance, it was hard to tell at first...but the basic shape of Saseme and the sand shinobi she left with could be made out through the door way.
"They're talking about something..." he stated softly,"But I can't quite make out the words..."
"Uhm...question." Hana said raising her hand to grab the boys's attention,"If you and Saseme are on bad terms right now...why are you bothering to try and chase her down while she's with a group of other ninja?" she blinked,"Don't you think maybe you'd be better off trying to track her down when she's alone instead? You know..." Hana blinked, "Since it's about family matters...or whatever."
Sasuke glared at her and basked in his silence for a long moment. He crossed his arms to his chest, guarded, and hung his head down, guilted.
"...Because." he said firmly,"Regardless if we are on bad terms or not..." he said slowly,"...No matter how mad she is at me...it doesn't change who I am or anything about our situation." he stated,"I'm her older brother..." he stated,"Twins or not...I'm older...! And I..." he sighed.
He blinked.
This sudden confirmation threw Sage and Hana, but they listened to him quietly.
"...They weren't wrong about me before..." he said firmly,"I should have protected her better..." he blinked and narrowed his eyes. His sister's desperate cries still echoed in his mind as he closed them.
"While it's true...I wasn't exactly the best brother..." he stated,"I should have protected her...But I'm still her brother..." he said,"... I love her...I'm worried...and..." his fingers curled into his arms so tightly it could almost be heard,"...And I don't trust them"he hissed with a low growl in his voice before flashing his sharp eyes up toward his sister's team, sending chills right through them. His glare was intense. Regardless of what may have happened in the past...They could see plain as the night that he was serious now.
"...So." he blinked,"...Is that reason enough for you?"
A long silence lingered between them before Sage cracked a small smile and broke it.
"Of course it is." he said,"Even if she hates you..." he shrugged and walked in closer to Sasuke to meet his gaze in the moon light,"Even if she's mad as hell...she's your little sister." he stated,"And you're her big brother." he blinked,"No matter how far she goes, or how strong she gets...you're always gonna worry, right?" he said,"Because...that's just what big brothers do." he grinned.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Those last words triggered a distant memory for him.
"That's what big brothers do..."
"...Heh." Sasuke smirked, and his guard loosened a bit."Yeah..." he said softly,"...Something like that."
"Hmmm..." Hana blinked and let out a gentle sigh, "Maybe we should get closer then." She suggested. She may not have had any concern on Saseme's where-abouts or why...but she loved eavesdropping and gossip.
"Yeah." said Sasuke,"I was about to do that...so follow my lead or we'll all be caught." he leapt away silently into the night, leaving behind a fumed Hana and Sage.
"Damn that guy..." Sage muttered,"What? Does he think he's better than us? What an ass..."
"Jeez, no denying that gene pool." Hana muttered,"He and Saseme are clearly related." they exchanged gazes and quickly followed suit in Sasuke's shadow, ducking down and hiding close to make out the reminants of the low spoken conversation between the Sand Shinobi, and Saseme Uchiha.
XXXXX
Gaara slowly pulled out a folded paper from his pack and slowly slid it across the table for Saseme to see.
"...You know what this is...don't you?"
Saseme gulped and held her head down, giving him a trembling nod.
"This contract states that I own you, Saseme..." He muttered,"I can do with you as I see fit..." he blinked,"... Even kill you, should I will it."
"...I know." she said softly.
"Come on, Gaara, knock it off!" Kankuro said,"It's true you technically have binding power over her with that, but she's more valuable to you alive..."
"Take it easy, Gaara..." said Temari.
What!?
Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. He and the rest of Saseme's team ducked in the shadows around the corner of the building, listening in.
WHAT contract...!?
He gritted his teeth in frustration, biting down on his lip until it bled to keep from him speaking up.
You mean my sister is contractually bound to that...FREAK!?
BUT WHY!?
He blinked.
Saseme...just what the hell have you gotten yourself into...?
Even Sage and Hana were shocked at what they were hearing.
"I couldn't care less about her value." said Gaara,"She'snothing more than a toy." he stated,"A play thing to me that I can treasure or destroy on a whim...and she needs to realize that."
That jerk...!
thought Sage.
I thought they were supposed to be friends!?
...
What a monster...
Hana thought.
I may not be fond of her...but even Saseme deserves better than that...
She gulped and clutched a fist over her chest. Trembling, with a genuine fear, not only for herself, but also for her team mate.
"I understand, Gaa-chan..." she said softly,"I need no reminders..."
"Good." he hissed,"So long as we're clear on that...there's to be no more shitting around from here on out."
"...Understood..." she gulped.
Sasuke had about had it. He rose to his feet, ready to charge in and start swinging but the sudden motion caused a loud snap, startling the group inside. Saseme's eyes reacted immediately and she threw a Kunai at the very spot from whence it came, startling 3 owls into flight toward the night sky with screetching cries.
"What is it!?" Kankuro snapped, and Temari readied her fan. Gaara however, showed no reaction, and simply sat with his arms crossed.
"...It's nothing..." said Saseme,"I saw some dark shadows in the corner there, so I thought someone was listening in on us... but I guess I was mistaken and wound up interrupting a few owls's meal."
"...Jeez..." Kankuro sighed,"Don't scare us like that."
"...You should get going." Saseme said,"It's getting late."
"She's right." said Temari,"We have a big day tomorrow."
"...Very well." said Gaara. He stood to rise and walked calmly out, Temari following after him leaving the brother and Saseme behind to sink into their temporary reprieve.
"...You should head home too, Saseme." said Kankuro,"...Be safe, okay?"
"As things are right now..." Saseme said softly,"I feel safer walking home alone in the night, than I do in Gaara's company at the current moment..."
"Yeah..." Kankuro sighed,"...I'm sorry." he said,"I'm doing my best to keep him in check but...you know how Gaara is." he sighed,"Kind of a spoiled brat..."
"It's fine, Kankuro." she said with a slow blink and a heavy sigh,"...Good night."
With a final nod of farewell, Kankuro too had left in the shadows. Saseme was now alone in the moonlight, looking toward the sky in direction that the three owls flew off from her weapon assault and she blinked.
That was a replacement technique...
She thought to herself.
There was indeed someone there...but whoever it was...
They're long gone now...
She sighed.
I'll have to be on my guard from here on in...
To Be Continued