Was it some sort of prank? It was definitely a blatant abuse of power on his brother's part. But why? And why drag their father into this? Itachi and Fugaku weren't on the best terms right now, but surely his brother wouldn't abuse his power to punish their father with a low level, escort mission. Once again, Sasuke was left with more questions than answers when it came to Itachi.

"Sasuke-kun, you're more than welcome to travel in the carriage with me. Walking must get tiring after a while," Naho offered through the window of her carriage.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Pass," he dismissed.

Sasuke wasn't sure what was the worst part of this mission: Naho's unwanted, persistent affections or the awkward silence between him and his father. From the moment they had left the Hokage's Tower, Naho had been like an annoying bur at his side. At first, she just wanted to hold his hand (which he had glared at her for doing), but then she had taken that as permission to loop her arm through his and squeal in his ear about how cool he was. Sasuke was sure that he'd never understand girls.

If Naho couldn't stay away, his father was the complete opposite. Fugaku seemed tense and unhappy about something that he wasn't willing to share. Fugaku had never been a talkative man, but he seemed to retreat into his thoughts even more than usual. He kept his distance from Sasuke, only relaying information necessary for their mission and nothing else.

Sasuke wasn't sure what he expected from his father. He was still confused as to why Itachi had stuck him with their father, but he'd considered that Itachi had inadvertently done him a favor. Thanks to Itachi, he had to spend the next week with an annoying fangirl. But he also got to spend that week with his father. For a short moment, Sasuke had entertained the idea that this might not be a punishment at all. But when Fugaku had been even less willing to interact with him than usual, Sasuke had quickly abandoned any budding had wanted to be disappointed, but he quickly got over it. This was a mission after all. Even a low-level mission like this was no place for emotions.

"I don't know if you remember me, Sasuke-kun, but you saved my life a few years ago," Naho tried again. When Sasuke didn't respond, she said, "I'm glad to have you here with me now because I know that you'll protect me."

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh. This was going to be a long mission.

~:~

Sasuke had never seen a problem with how little his family tended to communicate. The silence had always been peaceful, never uncomfortable or awkward. But after two days on the road with only Naho for company, Sasuke was starting to wish that he'd been assigned a different partner for this mission (or that he wasn't assigned the mission in the first place).

It's not that he was ignoring his father. If anything, it felt like his father was purposefully ignoring him. Sasuke wasn't offended. Not really. His father was probably even more upset to be assigned protection detail. So, it was a bit unexpected when the first words his father chose to speak to him were, "You shouldn't treat the girl so rudely."

Sasuke had raised a brow in question. They had stopped for the night, Naho and her attendant retiring to her carriage while he and his father had sat silently beside a small fire. Ever the proud and disciplined man, his father sat up straight and looked down at him from his seat across the fire. Sasuke felt moderately self-conscious in his much laxer slump against a tree with a leg pulled to his chest. Subtly, he shifted positions before answering. "I'd hardly consider how I've treated her to be rude," Sasuke replied in a measured tone.

Fugaku frowned deeply and Sasuke immediately tensed. "She is a relative of the fire daimyo. Her words hold weight. Your poor behavior will be a reflection of not only Konoha but the Uchiha as well," Fugaku admonished, every word weighing down on Sasuke.

Normally, Sasuke would accept his father's judgment without objection. He couldn't say that he'd ever felt the flickers of annoyance that he was feeling now. "So, I should feed into her delusions for the sake of the village?" Sasuke fired back.

"Have you forgotten that you're on a mission? Everything you do is for the sake of the village."

"Our mission is to guard her, not play house," Sasuke argued back. Sasuke could swear that there was a small voice (that sounded an awful lot like Itachi) nagging at him to stop and let the argument die here. Let it die before he said something that he would later regret. "Since when have you cared about the village anyways?"

His words had caught his father off guard for about three seconds before they sunk in, and his father's disappointment grew into anger. "Sasuke, know your place," Fugaku chided in a voice that let Sasuke knew that he had crossed a line.

His father was right. What he'd said was out of line and completely disrespectful. But it's not like he was wrong. Instead of speaking any of the words he longed to say, Sasuke clenched his jaw, got up and walked towards the tree line.

"Where are you going?" Fugaku asked, his question sounding more like a warning.

"To take a piss," Sasuke spat over his shoulder, just because he knew the crude words would incense his father more. He could hear Fugaku sputter behind him, but before his father could say anything more, Sasuke shushined away.

After a few minutes of slow strolling, Sasuke came upon a babbling brook being illuminated by the moonlight. The peace and quiet was a good a place as any to unwind. Taking a seat at the riverbank, Sasuke silently watched a few small fish fight the current as they swam upstream.

It didn't take long for the regret to set in. He let his irritation with their mission take over and he'd lashed out at his father. Sasuke was surprised that his father had let him get away with such a display. Fugaku had always been quick to reprimand Sasuke for his disrespect when he was growing up. Stern tongue lashings or getting sent away to his room had been the go-to punishment, but a quick spank was also employed on occasion. But that was when he was a kid. It's not as though his father could send him to his room now.

'Know your place.'

His place? What place was that? As the second son? Sasuke scoffed.

His father was a hypocrite. As rude as it was, Sasuke had meant what he'd said. He'd sat in on the clan meetings. Sasuke had caught the whispers in the halls at night. His father was entertaining the clan elders and their dissatisfaction with the village despite reassuring their mother that there was no coup being planned.

Sasuke had considered bringing the knowledge up to Itachi, but he'd hesitated. If he informed Itachi, that was almost the same as informing the Hokage. While Sasuke was loyal to his village, he was also loyal to the clan. If this got out, there was no telling what would happen. The Hokage had already made it clear that traitors wouldn't be tolerated within the village. Would the whole clan be branded or just the few? Would Itachi stand back, or would he join the fight despite the rift between him and the clan? Although it hurt Sasuke to think it, he wasn't sure whether Itachi would side with the clan if he did fight.

Would he side with his clan? Sasuke wanted to answer a wholehearted "yes!" but hesitated. The more Sasuke examined the issue, the more he came to the conclusion that the clan was wrong. As far as he knew, the village had been treating them fairly. If anything, the Hokage was being very lenient with them. Could he fight with family for a cause he didn't truly believe in if it meant turning against the village? Sasuke elected to put the conflict to the back of his mind for now.

~:~

The next morning, his father was still displeased with him, but Sasuke could barely muster the effort to care. When had he become so disillusioned with his father? His father had always been the type to command respect. A total disciplinarian, his father's word had always been law. Was it just that he was old enough now to question those words?

Sasuke was pulled from his thoughts by a loud splash. Sasuke rolled his eyes before closing them and laying back on the grass, intent to ignore Naho's latest attempt to woo him. Naho had been not so subtly trying to get his attention for several minutes now. It was just bad luck that they had passed by such a scenic waterfall and lake. Naho had practically pounced on the chance to show off her expensive swimwear. Idly, Sasuke wondered what Naruko was doing at that moment.

"Sasuke-kun, it's so warm today. Wouldn't you like to take a dip?" Naho asked as she got out of the lake and stood over him.

Sasuke opened his eyes after he felt a drop of water land on his cheek. He watched Naho lean over him, her long hair loose and wet. Shooting Naho an annoyed look, he said, "Move. You're dripping on me."

"Sasuke."

Immediately tensing, Sasuke sat up to see his father staring at him from a few feet away. Sasuke mentally cursed Itachi for subjecting him to this week of hell. Before either of them could test his waning patience, Sasuke retreated to a tree branch on the other side of the lake and masked his presence. Maybe if he remained in the shadows and concealed his presence, he would escape this week with his sanity intact?

Once it became apparent to Naho that he wasn't going to leave his hiding place (and not even his father's subtle attempts to sniff him out worked), she loudly declared that she wanted to get back on the road. Sasuke waited a few more minutes for Naho's attendant to finish packing her things before he showed himself. Fortunately, Naho didn't get a chance to approach because Fugaku was faster. "You know that our mission is to guard Naho-san and yet you disappeared for almost an hour," Fugaku said with his arms folded over his chest.

Sasuke frowned and gestured over his shoulder to the tree he had been resting in. "I was here the whole time. Couldn't you tell?" Sasuke asked. If Fugaku was surprised, he did a good job of hiding it. Determining that his father had nothing more to say to him, Sasuke brushed past him to follow the retreating carriage.

~:~

By the fourth day, Sasuke was sure that his father's face would forever be stuck in a deep scowl. The man woke up, went about his day, and went to sleep all the while looking like he'd sucked on a lemon. At least Fugaku had gone back to ignoring him. Sasuke wasn't sure what it said about their relationship that he was relieved to be ignored by his own father. It wasn't as though it was anything too different from the norm.

With one problem more or less avoided, Sasuke could only hope that Naho would suddenly decide to leave him in peace. Unfortunately, she was still trying to hold his attention- this time with a story about something he hadn't bothered to pay attention to. "What about you Sasuke-kun? What's your favorite color?"

Was this really what girls cared about? Or was it just those of noble birth? Was her life really so easy and boring? "I don't have one," he answered when he saw that she was waiting for his answer.

She pouted and said, "Come on. You have to have a favorite. Mine is pink."

Sasuke looked up to the sky and prayed yet again for more patience. As he stared at a cloud float lazily by, the word, "Blue" escaped his lips unintentionally.

Naho blinked down at him for a few seconds before craning her neck to look up at the sky. "The sky is a pretty blue. I like that color, too."

The sky…or eyes…

Feeling eyes on him, Sasuke turned his eyes back onto their path while extending his senses. If there was someone following them, it would probably be some opportunistic thugs hoping to rob them or even take Naho hostage. But Sasuke couldn't detect any chakra signatures close by. Someone more skilled perhaps? Sasuke kept his eyes on the trees but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just as he was about to signal to his father, the sensation of being watched left him. For the person to vanish so quickly, they had to be a somewhat decent shinobi. Were they being scouted?

For the next half hour, Sasuke waited for any sign that they were being followed. He'd subtly alerted his father to a possible tail, but whoever it was had yet to appear. The tense air followed them into the next village on Naho's itinerary.

"Stay with Naho-san. I'll scout around," Fugaku said and slipped away.

"Where's he going?" Naho asked as she stepped out of her carriage with her attendant's aid.

"To speak to an inn keeper to reserve your room," Sasuke lied. The last thing he needed was to worry her and have her do something stupid that would make her an easier target.

"Finally. I thought he'd never leave," Naho said wrapped her hands around his upper arm. "Sasuke-kun, I want to buy some souvenirs."

Sasuke tried his best to remain alert to their surroundings while ignoring Naho's inane babbling. But on more than one occasion she giggled a bit too loud or tugged roughly on his arm and Sasuke had to refrain from simply knocking her unconscious and hiding her away (for her own safety of course).

"I thought you wanted to buy souvenirs," Sasuke pointed out and cut Naho off mid-sentence. She paused whatever story she was telling him and agreed with a grin. Sasuke kept his distance while Naho was busy looking over various pieces of jewelry.

Several minutes of Naho's indecisiveness later, Sasuke sensed his father approaching them with a deeper than usual frown. "I didn't pick up anything out of place in the surrounding area. Did you notice anything in the town?" Fugaku asked.

"No. Whoever I sensed before seems to have vanished without a trace."

"Are you sure that you sensed someone?" Fugaku questioned.

Sasuke frowned. "Not by their chakra. They hid it well but I could feel their gaze," Sasuke said, doing his best to ignore his father's doubt in him.

Fugaku folded his arms over his chest with a hum. "We'll have to be even more vigilant from now on."

"Naturally. I'll do a patrol of the area while you keep an eye on her," Sasuke said. Finally, his father's scowling mask cracked long enough to show a hint of dread. He hid it quickly, but too late. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes. Figures, his father would want to dump Naho on him in order to spare himself the headache. It was a remarkably Itachi thing to do. "I doubt she'll latch onto you and ask you to dinner," Sasuke dryly remarked.

Fugaku straightened with a surprised look. Seconds later, the look turned chastising. "Sasuke-" his father started, but Sasuke quickly turned and jumped onto the roof of the shopkeeper's stall. The clerk's astonished gasps and Naho's disappointed call were the last things he heard before he leapt from the roof.

~:~

Later that night, Sasuke had tracked his father's chakra to one of the rooms at one of the more extravagant inns in the town. He could sense Naho's and her attendant's chakras in the room next door, both unconscious. His father was wide awake, sitting up and waiting for him in the middle of their room. Immediately, Sasuke considered leaving through the window he had just entered from.

"Did you find anything?" Fugaku asked.

Sasuke paused for only a second, before shaking his head in the negative. Maybe his father wasn't going to bring up this afternoon? Perhaps he'd jumped to conclusions when he'd expected his father's criticisms?

"I'm not surprised. I hadn't found anything of note," Fugaku said and folded his arms. Why did it feel like he was being disregarded?

Sasuke wasn't in the mood to look too into it, however. This was probably one of the easiest missions of his life (excluding those annoying D ranks from his genin days), and yet Sasuke felt exhausted. Deciding to bathe in the morning, Sasuke removed his shoes, weapon pouch, and chokuto before slipping under the covers of his futon.

Naho was a mild annoyance at best and Sasuke had truly surprised himself with how much patience he could find to deal with the girl. But if he had to be truthful with himself, spending hours on end at Naho's side didn't leave him as emotionally drained as one interaction with his father.

It was frustrating how his father could say so little and yet so much at the same time. Every word, gesture, and look seemed to compound, weighing down on him until it felt like he would either fall to his knees or explode in irritation. This anger and frustration towards his father were still relatively new and surprisingly welcome. Anything was better than the feelings of contempt or inadequacy.

A long time ago, his mother had tried to soothe his worries that his father didn't actually care about him. She'd confided in him that his father did in fact love him and was proud of him, but Sasuke had yet to see proof of it. He'd tried several times to approach his father and ask for confirmation directly from the source, but he'd always faltered. What if he hadn't lost his nerve? What if he'd managed to speak the words instead of letting them get stuck in his throat? What if he'd asked and his father denied it?

Sasuke wasn't stupid. He was sure that his father didn't hate him. He doubted that Fugaku would have gone through the trouble of providing for and raising Sasuke if he'd hated him. Or, at least, he would have made his dislike a little more obvious. No, Sasuke was sure that his father didn't hate him. Fugaku just didn't love him as much as he did Itachi (despite his mother's claims).

"Sasuke," Fugaku said into the quiet of the room. Sasuke looked at his father from over his shoulder, but he sat up when he saw that Fugaku was waiting for his full attention. "I understand that this is not the type of mission that you would normally take, but you should still treat this mission with the same care that you would any other."

'This again?' "I am. Even with our client shrieking in my ears like a banshee," Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.

Fugaku released a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sasuke watched his father take a few deep breaths, mentally wishing for this conversation to be over with. "Sasuke, I am not upset with you," Fugaku said once he opened his black eyes and fixed his unwavering gaze on Sasuke.

Sasuke felt his breath catch in his chest. His father's words had come out of nowhere, completely contradicting his demeanor over the last few days. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, despite not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Fugaku held up a hand to silence him. He wasn't finished speaking apparently. "I know that you feel like your talents are being wasted on a mission of this caliber. I understand. Therefore, I am not upset with you for the way that you have been acting."

'What?' Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he spoke, "How I've been acting?"

Fugaku frowned for a second before clearing his throat and meeting Sasuke's gaze. "Yes. I can overlook your dismissal of Naho-san. I am not asking you to feed into her delusions as you put it."

"Then what are you asking of me, Otou-san?" Sasuke asked, his voice measured yet his tone tiptoed the line of disrespect.

Fugaku's jaw clenched once, twice before he said, "I am telling you to watch your tone. Mind who it is you're speaking to, son."

Sasuke maintained eye contact with his father for several more seconds before looking away and down at his lap. The anger was uncalled for. There was no need to lash out at his father for being right.

"Your mother has made it clear to me that this is normal behavior for teenagers. I hadn't expected it from you because you've always been an obedient boy and I never had this problem with Itachi," Fugaku said.

Sasuke tried not flinch at the words. As he stared down at his lap, he could feel his chakra pooling behind his eyes, threatening to activate his sharingan. He made the conscious effort to calm the storm brewing within him, however.

"But, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You and Itachi are nothing alike."

Sasuke did flinch that time. Abandoning his attempts at deep breaths, Sasuke clenched and unclenched his hands, suddenly needing to hit something or destroy something with his lightning release. Suddenly, Sasuke's shoulders shook with unbidden laughter. He supposed that it was funny in a way. No matter what he did or how hard he trained or what he accomplished, he would never be like Itachi in his father's eyes.

"Itachi… Itachi, Itachi, Itachi," Sasuke said, the volume of his voice rising with each utterance of his brother's name. "I'm sick of hearing about Itachi."

"Sasuke-" Fugaku started, but stopped when Sasuke turned his gaze back onto him. Fugaku had tensed slightly, but was making a conscious effort to relax. "Turn off your sharingan, Sasuke."

Sasuke barely felt the customary burn in his eyes from the sharingan. If anything, it felt like the rest of him was on fire, his heart pumping heated blood through his veins while his chakra rolled within him. "You're right. I'm nothing like Itachi and I don't care," Sasuke said and whipped the covers away from his legs. Maybe he would go punch something after all.

"Sasuke, I'm not finished speaking with you."

"But I'm finished listening to you," Sasuke said and he gathered his things. He'd rather sleep in a tree if it meant that he'd get away from his father.

"Don't turn your back on me, Sasuke," his father warned.

Sasuke could hear his father rising from his bed, but he didn't take any steps toward him. That was fine, Sasuke didn't want his father interfering with him. Just as he was sliding the window open once again, Sasuke heard his father speak again.

"Perhaps you are like your brother after all."

Sasuke hated himself for stopping. He didn't look back at his father, but he remained still with one foot planted on the window sill. He immediately regretted his decision not to leave when his father said, "You seem to have inherited his cowardly ways of running from responsibility and discipline."

If it was possible, Sasuke felt more incensed at the insult to Itachi than he did on his own behalf. "Maybe Itachi left because he couldn't stand to be around you," Sasuke hissed over his shoulder.

The words were meant to cut deep and judging by the way Fugaku faltered, they had done just that. But Fugaku was quick to recover. "How dare you? I've done my best for you both. I've raised you and made you into who you are and yet you would both disregard me so easily."

Sasuke laughed once, a mirthless chuckle as he lowered his foot to the ground. From over his shoulder, he taunted, "Sucks, doesn't it?" Immediately, the lemon face was back. "You're wrong. You didn't make me into who I am. I did that without you."

Surprisingly, Fugaku cursed loudly and threw his hands into the air. He watched his father pace the room with more angry curses, words he'd never heard his father say. Sasuke had never seen his father act so animated. "I knew that this was a mistake. I should have asked the Hokage to acknowledge my original request," Fugaku mumbled to himself and ran a hand through his hair.

Sasuke hoped that he wouldn't end up kicking himself for asking, "What request?"

"My mission request for Itachi and I," Fugaku said, seemingly without thinking. He waved Sasuke away and continued to pace for a few more seconds before he realized what he'd said.

Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond. His father had wanted to go on a mission with Itachi, had personally requested it. Yet, he'd been stuck with Sasuke. The entire time, Sasuke had assumed that his father had been pulled into one of Itachi's schemes. But perhaps he still was? Itachi would definitely have known about the mission request. Had Itachi dumped their father on Sasuke instead? Did no one care what Sasuke wanted? Or was he just some pawn in everyone else's plans?

"Sasuke, I wanted to make amends with your brother. This feud has been going on for too long. It's time for it to end and for him to come home. I just wanted to fix things," Fugaku explained, with more sincerity in his voice than Sasuke had ever heard from the man.

"But he outsmarted you. It shouldn't have been hard to see that coming," Sasuke scoffed.

Fugaku's lips pursed. "Yes," he begrudgingly admitted. "But I didn't mind taking the mission with you. I know that I have been a bit preoccupied with Itachi lately."

"Lately?" Sasuke couldn't help but scoff.

Fugaku frowned. "There's no need to be so dramatic, Sasuke."

Sasuke was at a loss for words. Just when he thought his father was been sincere and honest with him, the man manages to slip in another stricture. "Mother lied," Sasuke judged.

"What are you talking about?" Fugaku asked, at a loss.

"She lied or she was wrong. The only one you care about is Itachi. Itachi would rather not have anything to do with you or the clan and all you could think about is him," Sasuke explained.

"Your brother turned his back on the clan, but he's still my son."

"Then what am I!?" Sasuke shouted, his arms spread wide as his frustrations peeked.

Sasuke could feel his father's chakra starting to rise as he spoke, "You are both my sons."

"Then why don't you act like it? I may be your second-born, but that's not my fault."

Fugaku ran his hand through his hair again and released a deep sigh. Sasuke watched his father pace the room again as he collected his thoughts. Sasuke could feel the hope budding within him as he waited for his father to say something- anything that would assuage the years of neglect.

Finally, Fugaku stopped pacing and turned back to him. Sasuke subconsciously held his breath as he waited. "Sasuke, I do love you. I love you and your brother equally. I can see that in my attempts to prepare Itachi to lead the clan, you fell to the wayside. I am sorry."

Sasuke felt his body sag as he started to breathe again. He wanted to accept the words, take them and lock them away where they couldn't be taken back. He'd heard the words that he'd longed for his father to say. But he still wanted more from his father. Was he right to want more? Didn't he get what he wanted?

"Why couldn't you say that before?" Sasuke asked, his voice noticeably small.

Fugaku's mouth clamped shut with an audible click. He stared at Sasuke for a few seconds before looking away. "I… I didn't think that it was necessary. I assumed that you knew."

Sasuke stared at his father incredulously. How could he have known that? Was he supposed to infer that over the years? Was he supposed to take a hint from all the times his father had compared him to Itachi or expressed disappointment in him?

All at once, Sasuke felt the fight leave him. Deactivating his sharingan with a quiet sigh, Sasuke rubbed at his eyes. Despite no longer wanting to argue with his father, Sasuke couldn't deny the simmering anger and resentment within him. When he looked at his father again, the man was staring at him expectantly but Sasuke wasn't sure what to say. He could feel the forgiveness ready to jump out of his throat, but his implacability kept his mouth firmly closed.

Expressing love was not something his family did blatantly. His mother seemed to be the only one in the household that had no problems with saying the words, "I love you". Even Itachi rarely said the words out loud, preferring his own nonverbal methods of poking Sasuke's forehead instead. But at least they tried.

With a scoff, Sasuke turned and quietly left through the window.