Author Note: This is a small omake chapter that is, while canon, more to satisfy a few readers who apparently are not happy I've been neglecting Sasuke and Sakura somewhat as we get through the opening sequences of the story. So, here is something so satiate you. Particularly, this chapter is for LightningRose. Hope you enjoy it!
Also, as a note, I have changed the characters from Sasuke and Sakura to Sasuke and Naruto in the summary, mostly to reflect that this is, at it's core, about them. However, as will become readily apparent, the real story is about how their relationships shape them, and how it shapes the greater world as a whole. Still, they are the main characters, and until otherwise stated, I think it fits more to have them.
Keep in mind, depending on things, I may swap it back or switch it to Naruto and Hinata, and honestly that would be to get attention to the fic, if at all. However, this is unlikely, as it is called Pack Light and does refer, at it's base, to an action Sasuke took, and is, at it's core, about him. But it's about Naruto too, and what effect Sasuke's choice had on him as well.
The title of the chapter and much of the purpose of this chapter ties into a song by Blue October, of the same name. You may see this theme in other omakes as well, as I have quite a few other omakes I plan to write that generally provide fluff or WAFF to various degrees, including a much later one involving Naruto and Hinata to the song The Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down, which I can leave it to you to imagine what it's refering to.
And, without further word, on to the chapter!
He was alone, as he so often chose to be, soft flicker of torch flame casting irregular shadows across the dark room. It was one of the many rooms he'd repurposed into a training dōjō. The scorched training dummies showed heavy abuse from his various technique experiments he'd performed, both under the instruction of his 'teacher,' Orochimaru, and then by applying the same principles he'd learned from the snake on his own. In many ways, this was his gift; he could take the principles of something and make it his own.
Kabuto had once, almost offhandedly, remarked that Sasuke was more imitative the innovative, a fact which had caused the Uchiha to bristle. He had said nothing, choking back the response he knew that the four-eyed sadist was trying to elicit from him. There was no need to dignify his prodding with a response. The words had, however, cut deeper then he expected. And so, without help from anyone, he had gone to work on his own technique, something he would rather perhaps enjoy using on Kabuto some day.
He had trained in solitude, grinding himself down for unknown hours. In these dark halls, time was an artificial construct, and he slept only when his body demanded it. But it had been so long since he had gone off like this that he had almost forgotten what it was like to try and sleep, alone, after the body had been worn down from hours of training.
Sasuke's mind was profoundly disquieted. He was disturbed by all the many problems and concerns that raced through his minds, all the constant plotting and planning he found himself doing. Always remaining one step ahead had become a way of life for him, and he was only subtly realizing that he was tearing his mind apart trying to do it. Orochimaru was overconfident it would seem, far too assured of his own hold over Sasuke and that had given the the youngest Uchiha a small bit of respite from his planning. Sadly, that had only allowed the strain of it all to catch up to him. His thoughts were always so loud, always so filled with plans and schemes.
He hadn't always been this way, he realized. Before, he had barely ever thought this way. No, instead he had brooded over his brother, and the pain he had been put through. He thought about how to get stronger, to which he had taken a very direct approach: train. Training had helped keep his mind clear before, clear of the images that haunted his sleep. It was burned into him, a monochrome nightmarish hell, and he would never bleach it away. But much like any other wound, one pain can help dull another, and training his body into the ground proved an effective method of dulling the pain in his head.
Eventually, he learned to train his mind to run through the same way his body would, to occupy it with thoughts of fights and techniques. He would study his books, even the ones he couldn't actually understand, if just to occupy his brain with something other then the images, something new. And then he'd drive it into the ground, going over it again and again. And when that failed, he simply blanked the past out, replacing it with the raw present. But it was so very hard to keep the pain away, to block out those thoughts some times.
Once, he had a way that was so easier that it had become second nature. When he was a part of a team; Kakashi and the idiot, and an annoying little girl. Friendship, and something... more. Something he'd lost so long ago. He'd gained connections again, more links and reasons to live outside of his brother and the vow he'd made. And, for a time, he had found it as easy as breathing to simply live that way, he found he could forget. He smiled and laughed and joked and lived. For awhile he truly felt alive again, and it could have gone on, maybe. But eventually it would end, and when he realized that it was back to that same old pain.
But he couldn't let go of it all. He couldn't toss away everything he'd had, or totally release that profound sense of peace he'd had. With all his strength, Sasuke clung on to a small bit of it. Pack light, he'd told her, seemingly on a whim. She was following him out of love, and he was using her for it, in a way. To feel that peace again, when she was with him. To feel the burning thoughts fly away when he wrapped his arms around her. It was not without good reason that he kept himself from doing that often, treating her like his life-saving drug; he didn't want to build up a resistance, but he already knew he was becoming hopelessly addicted.
There was something in having that unconditional love again, knowing that no matter what you became they would still be there at the end of the day. To have a mother who would be there to hold you when you scraped your knee, regardless of if you broke the vase earlier in the day. Sakura had become that to him, he knew. A link to keep away the thoughts and schemes, and the memories of darker things that haunted the periphery of his mind.
Sasuke had come to know that he was a moody, anti-social, and often temperamental person. Concepts like 'concern for others' and empathy tended to escape him more often then not. That the annoying girl had seen past that or, more likely in Sasuke's mind, simply ignored that meant something very important. He wondered sometimes if he should have left her behind sometimes, although it was never a regret to take her. There was a small joy to be found it once again shaking off the words of his brother.
He moved a hand to his shoulder as the seal began to throb. A fiery pain shot down his arm, as if molten lead was being poured through his veins. He lurched forward suddenly, hand gripping hard against the burning mark. Fight it, he thought, fight it. The Uchiha cursed himself for not spending as much time in managing the seal, not meditating enough to keep it from controlling him or affecting him so much. The mark seemed to have a mind of it's own sometimes, burning and stinging whenever it was most inconvenient for him. Whenever he was alone and exhausted or, worse, when he was attempting to concentrate on something. But at least in the latter situation he could center himself and push it out. Right now, he simply let the pain take him. The feeling of acid in his veins kept away the thoughts, at least.
The stream of man-sized crystal broke through floor, tearing up the rocky ground. They glowed in the low-light of the torchlit room, burning red as the soft light danced and refracted through the tinted spikes. They impacted the target with a thunderous smash, tearing it to shreds and causing splintered wood and smashed straw to fly.
Sakura smiled as she saw her handiwork, pumping an arm in air with celebratory glee. It had taken awhile, and even Guren-sensei hadn't thought she'd be able to pull it off, but she had shown them, hadn't she? Cha! At first, she could barely make the ruby red spikes appear at all, and then only near her body. But now, each time she used the technique the range was getting longer and the spikes were getting bigger. It was draining, but worth it for the results.
"Uma, saru, hitsuji. i." Sakura said to herself again, hands forming the short seal chain again. Horse to monkey to ram to boar, a simple combination which helped mold and shape her chakra, drawing on the power of her endowed kekkei genkai. She spun and slammed her palms into the ground again, spikes growing even larger this time as they raced towards the dummy. It was over in a second, and yet another pile of debris joined the rest. With a grin and a snap of her finger, the crystals burst into a thousand microscopic shards.
She watched the glittering particles, making sure to direct them away from her with her gift. Each one was a microscopic copy of the same razor-sharp blades she used in some of the other techniques. As she watched them dance in the flickering light, a sudden idea came to her. She brought her hands up, mentally running through the seals used with her gift, drawing upon the principles. She had to be quick, she knew, and for this to work one would need impeccable control. But that always had been her forte, she thought with a grin.
This would take a unique seal, she knew, as some of the other shouton jutsu did. Thinking fast, she put her index and ring fingers up, and folding the middle fingers and pinkies down. She molded it into a inu seal, before modifying that and flowing it into a modified tora. A simple chain, but it should do the trick. She brought one of her hands up, facing the palm away from her, and then with a spike of chakra running through her, closed her hand into a fist.
A few feet away the crystal dust suddenly gathered, slamming togeather into a geometrical shape that looked almost like a children's jack. The burst was instant, and the moment she released the grip the dust released, heavier then before, and fell to the ground like sand.
Sakura was beaming. She'd done it. She had invented a whole new technique. And then she collapsed, panting heavily. She was still grinning as she realized that she had burned too much chakra to be molding experimental seals, but even that was unable to dull her excitement. Sasuke would be so proud of her. Yes, so very proud.
She pushed herself up, dragging herself over to the wall, and slept. She dreamed of Sasuke, as was so often the case.
Sasuke sat in a small chair in the corner of their quarters, watching the annoying girl sleep. He found himself doing that some times. It was a suitable replacement for dreaming, he felt, particularly when his dreams were never of anything as beautiful as her. He could admit her beauty now, quite easily. She had proven that many times over, and it would seem that her foolishness had led to something quite fitting. Her new gift was strangely fitting for her, he thought. Deceptively fragile, but with a razor sharp edge.
She was honing herself for him, he knew. Training harder then she ever had in her life. She always had that potential to be great, to be something special, even if he didn't want to see it at first. But she was even greater then him in some ways, or had been before. Her control still could make him surprised sometimes. When she wasn't training with him, she was training on her own it seemed. One might have asked what else could she do, but it was always with an eager spirit that she did, or at the very least it was without complaint. It was him who caused them to take breaks far more then she did, a strange feeling.
He was worried about her. When he'd found her she was sleeping with a smile, but very near a deadly level of chakra exhaustion. Sasuke was no medical-nin, but he knew the body. He'd studied it extensively for the combat applications of it. Gently, he'd picked her up and carried her back to their shared room, setting her into bed and taking a seat to watch. He wasn't tired anymore, despite the training, and he'd almost totally forgotten about the throbbing pain he felt in his shoulder.
Nothing came to mind when he watched her, no more plans or schemes. Simply concern, a small bit of anger, and a hidden amount of pride. She was smiling when he had found her, which told him she had done something amazing. Sakura was not easy on herself, never was. For her to be happy, even as she was falling into unconsciousness? That meant something. He realized he trusted her in a very unique way; he hadn't trusted anyone that much since...
He let the thought slip away, not even bothering to think of how easy it was to do when he looked at her. His frown turned into a small smile. She gave him a quiet mind.
And he loved her.