May 13, 13 AK
Sasuke didn't meant to yell at his Jounin-sensei. It was automatic. Everything during the team introduction was automatic, his brain too distracted to actively participate. He couldn't remember where, exactly, but once he had read about something called an 'outside context problem', a challenge which had simply never been contemplated.
There were all sorts of hurdles and obstacles he had considered, even if only in a dim way, like having to flee the village due to civil war or… something. Ridiculous things. But there would always be problems you didn't consider, because it was simply incomprehensible. The Pure World suddenly reversing the flow of souls so the dead started to rise from the grave. Things so unlikely, so unlooked for, that there really was no way to prepare.
He didn't start to come back to himself until he was finally home, staring down at a bowl of rice prepared for dinner. How could another Uchiha be alive? How could he not have known? Why… why didn't Hiroki ever say anything?
"What would I have said?"
His fingers spasmed around the chopsticks in his hand as he snarled, spinning around to face the intruding Jounin.
"Get out! This is my house and you have no right to be here!"
The older Uc- ninja simply continued to stare at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes as he leaned against the wall, fingers twitching lazily.
"Actually, this is the house of the clan head. Which means it's my house."
Sasuke froze for a second.
"I became a legal adult when I was 10, after my promotion to Chunin. That was 6 years ago now, while you just became an adult yesterday. So when… the number of Uchiha dropped, I was the oldest eligible member of the clan. The position isn't technically hereditary, you know. That's just tradition."
The Jounin hummed thoughtfully and tilted his head, late afternoon sun casting odd shadows across his mottled jacket.
"Although, it is admittedly a bit of a grey area, since I've died several times. The law doesn't quite cover resurrection. You'd have a decent case if you wanted to try and take headship from me, though I wasn't ever officially declared dead so…"
Hiroki's head dropped to meet Sasuke's wide, glaring eyes.
"You didn't answer my question."
He blinked, unsure of what the… other Uchiha was asking. The hooded ninja raised his eyebrows.
"What would I have said? What would you have had me do, Sasuke? I was 11, and delusional from trauma. Being a Chunin didn't make me suitable to work as a parent, or even a brother."
There was a tiny flicker and Hiroki was seating himself across the table, head pillowed on a raised fist face still blankly placid beneath the mask.
"And I was very scared."
Sasuke stared down at the bowl of rice for another second before pushing it away, appetite gone. His voice was little better than a croak as he asked the most important question.
"How?"
Bandaged fingers were tracing the fine grains in the varnished wood of the table as the older boy sighed.
"You were spared. I was ignored. I begged, and… he let me go. I think. I must admit that night is rather fuzzy. Maybe it was a genjutsu. I know I died at least once."
Hiroki wasn't looking at the table anymore, but rather at something infinitely further away.
"Do you know what it's like, being certain of your death? It might be liberating to some, foreknowledge, but for me it was… terror. I knew your brother would be my death when I was three; glimpse of the future if you like. Precognition is the death of hope. That stretching moment as the ledge crumbles under your feet, as the rope snaps, as the ice shatters just as you shift your weight forward, drawn out for almost a decade. I wouldn't have touched you with a ten meter pole for love or money."
Black eyes met as they stared at each other over the table.
"But I still kept an eye out for you. For family." A flicker of smile twitched at the mask. "Don't be strong, Sasuke."
A slight breeze ruffled his hair, and the Jounin was gone, leaving Sasuke with even more questions than before.
. . .
Sasuke decided, after the first three days, that the fact of Hiroki's existence was a topic that could for the moment be, if not ignored, then safely put aside in favor of simply appreciating finally having a teacher willing and able to push his training far beyond the limits of what his body should logically be capable of while still being subject to the normal laws of physics.
"Come on everyone! One more lap of the village and then we can relax a bit with some stretches before we get breakfast."
The younger Uchiha was somewhat impressed with his team, because Sakura clearly wanted to voice some sort of complaint, but was, for once, blessedly silent. He thought he caught her shooting him an odd look as she stifled the comment and pressed her head further down to keep running, but… it was probably his imagination.
Regrettably, it appeared that despite any newfound determination Sakura may (or may not) have found, she still wasn't particularly fit.
A carelessly placed foot not two minutes later leads to her leg sliding out at an awkward angle. He sighed as the pinkette hit the ground; wasn't it enough that she would hold the team back in general without literally holding the team back?
"Don't stop. Sakura, on my back."
...or maybe not. The Jounin's hand glowed a pale green around the girl's ankle as the boys kept running. They had only completed another mile before Sakura was back with them, still breathing heavily, but seeming to have recovered slightly from the moment of rest and whatever jutsu had fixed her ankle.
Sasuke grunted softly in approval. No more accidents slowing training, just constant pushing. This team might end up decent after all.
They burst into the training ground twenty minutes later, every member of Team 7 heaving for breath as they finally stopped running.
"Backs straight, chest out, breathe through your stomach. Don't stop moving just yet, keep walking for another minute or two. Here." -Sasuke caught the tossed bottle of water easily and cracked it open- "Drink in small sips. We'll start stretching in a moment here and I'll check you all for damage."
The water tasted odd, and Sasuke spat out the small mouthful and looked back at his teacher ascance. The Jounin rolled his eyes.
"Just sugar, salt, caffeine, and a bit of flavoring. You need to stay hydrated and you lose salt when you sweat. The caffeine and sugar will keep you going despite the time, though I'll give you something a bit stronger later. Flavoring because it tastes gross otherwise. Still doesn't taste great. Drink."
Sasuke hesitated for a moment still. Hiroki dropped to the ground and started stretching.
"I told you I'd warn you before poisoning you. I don't like lying. You'll be starting on some basic poisons after you finish the water, now drink."
His pink teammate sat down next to him and began doing a few stretches as well, frowning slightly.
"Sensei, you aren't really going to be feeding us poisons are you?"
The man grunted as he bent forward till his chin reached his feet.
"A few. Building an immunity to a poison is rather hit and miss. Taking a small dose allows your body to build defenses against the toxin, however not all toxins are easy for your body to recognize and some can actually accumulate inside your organs over time and kill you that way. However there are perhaps two dozen fairly common poisons which you can build an immunity to, so it is worthwhile. Though your stomach may not agree."
The orange moron practically screeched his outrage.
"Poison's so lame though! It's like 'boom you're dead'; it's so boring!"
Sakura shook her head awkwardly while pulling down on the elbow cocked behind her shoulder.
"Not all poisons are lethal, and not every potentially lethal poison is lethal to everyone. Even something like an anesthetic can be useful. Imagine if you couldn't feel how hurt you were, so you just kept fighting till you bled to death."
Sasuke could imagine it all too clearly. What felt like a few shallow cuts actually being deep wounds; maybe add on some anticoagulant so they kept bleeding freely… He glanced up at his Sensei.
"Will you be teaching us about poisons?"
Over-wide eyes met his own, black on black.
"If you're interested; we'll start specializing once you've built a stronger foundation. I wouldn't be averse to it. I caution you though, it is a tricky art, and more than one aspiring poison master has met an early end at the hand of his own tools."- he arched his back into a curve till his head was pointing back towards them- "I have a decent acquaintance with the topic, and even I am wary. But a few of the milder ones… certainly. There's actually an interesting one based off of Hemlock which induces painful cramping and impairs breathing. The effects only last about an hour or two but…"
Sasuke listened quietly to the lecture, and his mind whirled with possibilities.
The stretching and concomitant introduction to basic poison jutsu took about half an hour, and left several of his joints aching for the brief moment before bandaged fingers wrapped around them and abruptly relieved the pain. He had been mildly surprised by several of Sakura's more insightful questions. He wouldn't ever compliment her (he loathed his fangirls with a fiery passion and positive reinforcement of any kind was absolutely anathema) but it was at least nice to know that even if her general skills were lacking she at least had a decent brain under that stupid hair.
"Ne, Sensei, you mentioned we'd be working on the basics a lot, but why? Didn't we get that down in the academy?"
The simple meal of rice and eggs Sensei had prepared was practically destroyed by Naruto's repulsive manners, but they all had more than enough to get them back to just under full. The hooded ninja cocked his head at the pink haired girl.
"I have higher standards than the academy." The Jounin paused for a second before continuing, expression thoughtful and distant in that way he sometimes had.
"I have personally found, for instance, that having better chakra control doesn't merely mean you can use more jutsu, or larger jutsu, but improves just about everything to a surprising degree. Your body will heal and your stamina return faster, blows will hit harder and hurt less, your thoughts and limbs will be quicker to heed your call… Not by too much, perhaps, but those are the side benefits. A solid foundation can be used to build anything. So the basics, which will make up that foundation, are very important. A jutsu which can shatter mountains will do you no good if to use it once would kill you."
Sasuke paused with the next bite halfway to his mouth and glanced at his instructor for a moment. Perhaps it was an artifact of their… shared heritage, but it seemed like Hiroki knew what he meant without having to voice anything for his cousin nodded agreeably in his direction.
"You will learn such things in time, but you need to grow before then, and thought it may be slower than you'd like to begin with, you will get there in the end."
. . .
A/N: It was hard writing Sasuke's reaction. Finding out about Hiroki's existence would come so far out of left field it should almost crack his brain. Ugh.
This was actually a game I played as a kid; I'd ask people the most random questions I could think of 'what would you do if a leech the size of a small dog fell out of a tree in front of you while you were walking home?' But the problem is that because we don't have a pre-existing template for how to respond we are really bad at guessing our own behavior.
Anyway; the Han v Hiroki fight scene has been modified from its original version to fit reality better.
Thematic music for Sasuke's arc: I'm a member of the Midnight Crew