Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Nonlinear Association
When a constant change in the independent variable does not cause a constant change in the dependent variable… There really isn't much to it. Sometimes things cannot be influenced. Sometimes they refuse.
Ax2 + By2 = C
What Jiraiya intended for us to learn from this was unknown. Honestly, it didn't feel thought out in the slightest. We were ninja. Had been for almost a full calendar year. And lockpicking and escape jutsu had been child's play since our fourth year at the academy.
Equally stubborn and independent, Sasuke and I came to an unspoken agreement moments after being presented with the handcuffs. This wasn't something we were going to waste our time on. As soon as we reached the outskirts of the village for training, they were off. Thanks to Sasuke picking the lock with one of my senbon.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Naruto declared; water balloon in hand as he pointed an accusing finger at us. Paired with the softness of the early morning sun, his volume felt grating.
"Can it, dope", Sasuke ordered as he held the handcuffs and I flexed my left wrist. We hadn't worn them long. But just the walk here was enough for me to feel like a dog who wasn't leash-trained. Sasuke insisted on walking faster than me and tugging me along whenever I fell behind. If he hadn't been attached to me, I would've tripped him.
"But what about training?" Naruto asked; pouting a bit with disappointment. He had probably looked forward to watching us fumble around like idiots. "You can't just ditch".
Rolling my shoulders, I tried not to do the same with my eyes. That was rich coming from him. Back in the academy, he ditched more than anyone else. "Naruto", I complained; turning my eyes on him and leveling him with a stare. "It's just busy work. Jiraiya doesn't mean to teach us anything". Sasuke gave a short nod of agreement. I mean, we weren't on the same team. Why did Sasuke need to know how to listen to me when we'd part ways once this mission was over? Why did I need to know how to lead? My career path was T&I oriented and that meant working on cases independently and taking orders from Ibiki.
"Besides", Sasuke offered his two cents; staring disinterestedly at the tree line. "It's not like a pair of civilian-grade handcuffs could hold us. They're too flimsy. We could have broken them instead of picking the lock".
Disgust caused my left eyebrow to twitch. "That's because those handcuffs were made for… play rather than restraint".
Naruto gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"
Sasuke eyed the handcuffs; twisting and turning them so the cheap metal glinted in the morning light. "It's a toy?" He sounded offended.
I nodded; trying to not think or feel too much about it. "For adults".
Catching on quicker than Naruto, Sasuke dropped the handcuffs; leaving them on the ground for us to retrieve later. He wiped his hand anxiously against his shorts. "Wait?" Naruto asked; watching with narrowed eyes as he scratched the side of his face. "They make toys for grown-ups?"
Staring into Sasuke's black eyes, we reached the same conclusion at the same time. "I'm going to find something to do", I said before turning and heading towards a nearby pond.
"I'm going to warm up" Sasuke announced; turning and heading in the opposite direction. Naruto was left with his water balloons to wallow in confusion.
Water walking. It felt risky that I didn't know it yet. But with the chunin exams, preparing for the invasion, and then the actual invasion; there hadn't been time to pick up new skills. Standing on the bank of the pond, ignoring the sounds of Naruto's frustrated exclamations whenever a water balloon didn't work out, I thought about buoyancy, flexibility, and balance. How different would water walking be to tree walking? Tree bark, while sometimes uneven, was steady. Water filled its container no matter the shape. It adapted to whatever it came in contact with; flowing or engulfing. So, how would chakra keep it solid under my feet?
Making the correct hand sign with my good hand, I built my chakra; focusing it on the soles of my feet. Only one way to find out. I exhaled through my mouth when ready and took a step off the bank. The water rippled under my sandal. But despite putting weight on it, my toes remained dry. A good sign. Moving forward, I had similar success. It felt like a bit like walking on ice. Like I couldn't be confident in my footing but the sense of falling wasn't there.
"Ah! Come on!" Naruto yelled in the background as my balance wavered for the first time. A little bit of water soaked through the soles of my sandals. Frowning, I kept my focus on my feet. Did it matter how deep the water was? Because the further I was from the bank the more, it felt like something was moving under me.
But this was turning out to be easier than I imagined. I could see why tree walking was taught first. It was like mastering bike riding and then switching to a kick scooter. The skills needed were mostly already learned.
Balance recovered, I decided to test a few things. First, I ran a few feet. Bits of water splashed around my ankles and calves. But otherwise, it felt just as steady as before. Then I stood still. Just waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, I started jumping. First a small hop. The water rippled as if a pebble had breached the surface. Then I jumped as high as I could. Taking delight in the ripples that followed. Like a visual representation of vibrations from a drum. Not that I'd ever admit it.
How many things could chakra walking be applied to? I wondered as I started sprinting and skipping for the other side of the pond. Testing my ability to build chakra before I sank. Sand. Snow. Hell, if I could figure out how to walk on air, I could sell the knowledge and retire rich. Skidding to a stop, sending water splattering around me, I snorted. Something told me that no matter the accomplishment, retirement wouldn't be permitted anytime soon. In the shinobi world, there are only three ways a ninja could retire; permanent injury (like a missing leg), old age, or death. Some kunoichi were allowed to be placed in the reserves when they became mothers. But I'd rather face death than childbearing.
Arching my back, I bent into a one-handed backhand spring to see if I was at the point of being able to use any part of my body. Skin against the water, it felt like brushing against a gel pack as my feet flew over my head and landed on top of the water. Perfect. That didn't take nearly as much time as I thought.
"What are you doing?"
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Sasuke standing on the bank. One of my kunai held in his dominant hand. "What does it look like I'm doing?" The only response I got was a glower as Naruto continued to swirl water around inside a balloon. "Have you learned how to do this yet?"
Sasuke grunted in response. Neither confirming nor denying. And I don't know what he meant. Apparently speaking Aburame wasn't the same as speaking Uchiha. Maybe Naruto could translate… No, I don't care enough to go through the effort.
For a moment, Sasuke and I started at each other. I got the impression he was waiting for me to do… something. But what exactly evaded me. So, I turned my back to him; intending to run through some katas. Let's see if I could make water walking as automatic as tree walking had become.
I made it through two stances before Sasuke reluctantly called out, "Do you want to spar?"
Straightening out of my stance, I turned fully to face him; blinking in curiosity as Sasuke refused to acknowledge my surprise. Wow. He must be very bored. In response, I raised my splinted wrist and pointed to it. While ninja could fight with a broken wrist, it still wasn't advisable. Things need time to heal after all.
Sasuke scoffed as if being offered a weak excuse. "I'll go easy on you". My forehead wrinkled. What an asshole.
Jumping back to avoid a roundhouse kick, my balance wobbled. Water droplets freed themselves from the pond under my feet and splashed against my sandals. Exhaling, I lunged forward; keeping my center of balance low and aiming for a frontal assault.
Sasuke blocked my fist with a forearm guard; skiing a few inches from the force. Water sprayed around our ankles in the process.
Springing away from each other, Sasuke and I landed on opposite ends of the pond. "Better", he grunted; standing straight as the water rippled under his feet.
Wiping a sheen of moisture from my brow, I nodded. With Naruto occupied by his water balloons, Sasuke and I spent most of the morning trading blows and dodging attacks. Keeping to the pond allowed us an extra challenge as we willed time to pass.
True to his word, the jerk, Sasuke pulled punches that targeted my right side and allowed me to favor my injured wrist. Still, some moves caused more of an ache than others. How long would this take to heal? I asked myself; watching as Sasuke stretched out his shoulders. It had been annoying since day one. But now it was becoming maddening. What if we ran into Orochimaru before it was fully healed? A sannin was too much for me to take on a good day. Add in a mostly useless limb and I might as well just dig my own grave.
"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto yelled in greeting. Causing Sasuke to violently flinch as Jiraiya approached Naruto.
"How's it going?" Jiraiya asked; mouth stretched wide in a yawn. Sasuke's eyes darted to the handcuffs lying in the dirt as he ran to my side. As if trying to decide if we could retrieve them before Jiraiya noticed.
"I almost got it!" Naruto declared. Despite that being further from the truth.
"Oh, yeah?" Jiraiya challenged; disbelief clear in his voice.
"Relax", I told Sasuke; watching as he flexed and unflexed his fingers. "What does it matter if Jiraiya sees us uncuffed? What can he do?" Still, we leisurely started to leave the pond. Sasuke hmphed in response. Since admitting to being nervous about a sannin's disappointment was beneath him. However, we walked shoulder-to-shoulder as soon as our feet hit the bank of the pond.
I raised an eyebrow; not understanding why Sasuke's neuroticism was coming out now. To be fair, he had only encountered two sannin. There was still Tsunade to meet. But I felt it should be obvious that Jiraiya was the less concerning out of all three. "It's not like he's Orochimaru", I pointed out.
Sasuke didn't reward me with a response. Instead, he kept his eyes on Jiraiya. At worst, we'd get yelled at. Maybe Jiraiya would feel forced to produce a pair of restraints we couldn't easily slip. Both scenarios weren't anything to get worked up about. It was as if Sasuke had never disappointed an adult before…
"Not even close", Jiraiya goaded Naruto after watching a failed attempt with a water balloon.
"What? No!" Naruto completely disagreed.
… Has Sasuke disappointed an adult before? Kakashi maybe. When teamwork was involved. But then Sakura and Naruto would have shared the blame…
"It is a jutsu one has to figure out by themselves", Jiraiya went on to say as Sasuke and I inched closer. The discarded handcuffs were now directly in front of us. "It would be too much to ask the likes of you to master the first step in one day".
"I can do it!" Naruto declared. "Maybe if you showed it to me one more time".
As if he had been waiting for this moment (which may have been the case) Jiraiya's eyes swung in our direction. "And you two", he started; voice coming out in gruff consternation. Sasuke froze. All except for a twinging muscle in his jaw.
… He's a type A personality, isn't he? Suddenly, I felt like a lot of my Sasuke knowledge was making more sense. Iruka-Sensei always sang his praises. Especially after the Uchiha massacre. And despite being an asshole and a ninja with kills under his belt, the civilians tended to treat him with kid gloves. Like they would visiting royalty. Sasuke, the stupid perfectionist, was used to being disappointed. He did not have much experience feeling that same emotion from others… at least, not since he was eight.
"Did you really think I wouldn't notice the two of you slacking on your training?" Jiraiya angled his body towards us; his hands on his hips. Naruto looked on with a mixture of anticipation and mild worry. I couldn't blame him. After a whole childhood of getting yelled at, it was probably a novel experience to see others under fire.
When Sasuke offered no response, I sunk into a lazy posture as I tried to emulate Shikamaru. "No", I answered. "Even you aren't that dumb". Jiraiya's nostrils flared as he sent me an unimpressed stare. "But we came to the conclusion that what you think doesn't matter".
Running two fingers under his nose, Jiraiya took a menacing step forward. Trying to gain the upper hand. Sasuke was like a tree trunk at my side. "And what do you think your dad will say when I tell him you've been disrespecting your elders?"
Naruto was gawking in the background as Sasuke slowly regained himself. It seemed having the heat directed at me was doing him wonders. I snorted at the reference to Shibi. Clearly, Jiraiya didn't have a good understanding of my relationship with my parental figure. Bending at the knees, I picked up the handcuffs with my uninjured hand and held them out for Jiraiya to see. "Before or after I tell him you gave Sasuke and me a sex toy to play-" I waited for an absolutely horrified expression to litter Jiraiya's face before changing course. "Excuse me, train with?"
"What?" Naruto asked as Jiraiya turned red in the face with a hint of green to suggest nausea. "Is that what makes a toy a grown-up toy?" Slowly, Sasuke took a side step away from me; his motions rigid and uncomfortable.
Clearing his throat, Jiraiya furiously shook his head. As if freeing himself from frightful consequences. Now, he painstakingly kept his eyes away from me. "And you, Sasuke?" He asked; ignoring Naruto who was still scratching his head. "I didn't take you as the type who would quit when training was too hard".
Scowling as if Jiraiya had personally insulted his mother, Sasuke scuffed the ground with the toe of his sandal; his hands hanging tightly at his sides. "It's not difficult. It's pointless". I nodded in agreement. Not that anyone was paying me any attention at this point. They probably wouldn't until the memory of my threat escaped them. Strange how I never realized people were afraid of Shibi. I could really use that to my advantage. "Rion and I can learn more training separately".
For a brief moment, Jiraiya wore a pained and exasperated expression. Like someone who had things to do and just couldn't be bothered by the inconveniences of their commitments. But in a blink, it was gone. And in its place was a cockily raised eyebrow paired with an all-knowing smirk. I narrowed my eyes. What was his play?
"I see", Jiraiya said; stretching his arms up and resting them behind his head. "I guess I overestimated you and the Uchiha clan". Sasuke's hands balled into fists as he gritted his teeth together.
"Wait, Pervy-Sage?" Naruto asked as I scoffed. There's no way Jiraiya's attempt would work. Sasuke was more aware than that… Probably. "What are you talking about? Sasuke's not-"
But Jiraiya wouldn't let Naruto finish. "If the only survivor can't even manage to one little girl…" Jiraiya let his words and implications hang heavy in the air as he shrugged; eyes skyward; pretending not to notice Sasuke's growing agitation. "Then I guess training you isn't worth my time".
Come on, Sasuke. I pleaded in my mind. Take a breath and think this through. You're being played. Except, Sasuke's eyes promised murder as he glared at the great toad sage. How dare he suggest that the Uchiha were anything less than superior.
"I mean", Jiraiya continued. "You couldn't even last the morning. What? Did you two pick the lock as soon as you left the hotel?" Visibly bristling, Sasuke didn't see me fervently shaking my head at him. Come on, Sasuke. You were supposed to be the top genin of our year. If Shikamaru and Shino wouldn't fall for this ploy, you shouldn't be this easy to manipulate. "Good luck getting stronger if you're not even willing to put with a little discomfort".
With that last barb, it was my turn to interject. I opened my mouth; ready to call out Jiraiya's manipulation for the game it was. However; Sasuke, the idiot, didn't give me the chance. "I'll do it", he announced through gritted teeth. His voice coming out like someone trying to swallow a handful of gravel.
Stepping closer to me, he snatched the handcuffs from my hand. "You said we'd be doing this until we left this village", Sasuke confirmed; looking at Jiraiya as he cuffed his right wrist. "I'll prove to you that I can handle Rion. No training will get the best of me".
"Wait a moment", I said; stepping back as Sasuke held open the other cuff for me. In the background, Naruto swapped his confusion for amusement; snickering like a schoolboy. When did this become about handling me? Last night, Jiraiya said I needed to learn how to lead and Sasuke needed to learn how to listen!
"It's just training", Sasuke told me as he followed; failing to notice the triumph emoting from Jiraiya. "Let's show him".
Some training. I thought, dodging when Sasuke tried to grab me. We've already failed. Why? Because Sasuke wasn't wearing his listening ears in the slightest. "I didn't agree to this", I complained; ducking under Sasuke's arm and feinting right.
Jiraiya's arm caught me around the middle. Forcing some wind out of my lungs. He lifted me a few inches off the ground. "Here, Sasuke", he offered as I kicked out with my feet.
I tried building chakra to push Jiraiya away from me with one of my shields. But it was slow coming. Why did I use so much during sparring and water walking?! Before I managed to push him away, Sasuke had the opposing cuff around my uninjured wrist (since it couldn't fit around the splint). Pushing chakra from my body, Jiraiya was shoved away from me. With nothing holding me up, I dropped to my feet and stumbled into Sasuke, turning us both into a tangled mess on the ground.
Grumbling insulting things and promises of pain under my breath, I tried to get my feet under me. But Sasuke was attempting the same thing; resulting in us getting in each other's way. Naruto was full-out laughing at this point as he stood hunched over; slapping his hand against the side of his leg. "This is great!" He echoed himself from last night. "Sasuke, you better be careful. Rion's not going to forgive you for this".
Snorting in amusement and agreement, Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest as he turned away; showing us his back. "Come on, kids" He called. "It's time for lunch. You can't train on empty stomachs".
Giving up on standing for now, I held myself in a sitting position. Face screwed up in utter frustration, I called after him, "Just so you know, I'm going to tell Shibi you forced a boy on me against my will, and after I said 'no'".
Jiraiya tripped as his hair stood on end. It made me feel marginally better. Even if it was now impossible to ignore the dead weight stuck to me.
Naruto figured out how to make the water balloon pop by the next morning. Something about a cat and different directions. I don't know. I wasn't paying attention. Though he had fun waking Jiraiya up by popping a balloon over his head and dousing him with water. It was all Naruto could talk about during breakfast. His good mood kept Naruto from complaining about the obvious pain in his hand. He couldn't keep a good grip on chopsticks. Every few bites, his hand would spasm and they'd clatter against the tabletop.
Sasuke and I weren't fairing much better. Since the cuff couldn't fit around my splint, I was chained to Sasuke with my non-dominant hand. Essentially meaning that I was useless and stuck to the foods I could pick up with my fingers.
My non-dominant hand was my left. Meaning Sasuke's right hand, his dominant one, was the one to be cuffed. So, he too had to struggle through with one hand. Though I suppose it's good practice for his future.
The only one who seemed to be unencumbered this morning was Jiraiya. He yawned and slumped in his chair. Using one hand to hold his cup of tea and the other his chopsticks. Lucky bastard. "Alright, Naruto", Jiraiya said; cracking his spine as he rose to his feet. "It's time for the second step. I'll show it to you once we get to the place you were training yesterday". Naruto jumped to his feet before Jiraiya finished speaking. Focusing on Sasuke and I, a stupid confident little smirk gracing his lips, he held out a slip of paper for Sasuke to take. "I need you two to run some errands for me today". Jiraiya waited until Sasuke clutched the paper in his unburdened hand. "Sorry to ask this of you when you're so tied up". With a chuckle and a wink, Jiraiya left; Naruto following at his heels.
"That was a good one, Pervy-Sage!" The blond cackled.
Sasuke looked like he was contemplating homicide as he read the piece of paper. His eyebrows turned inward and eyes narrowed in detestation. "And to think, if you had stood your ground yesterday, we could've avoided this whole mess", I said; picking at some loose grains of rice with numb fingers.
The glare Sasuke gave me in response spoke volumes. But that has never worked on me and I doubt it ever will.
The days that followed passed in a similar way. Jiraiya checked in with us every morning. Still smelling of booze from last night's exploits. Naruto ran off to train. Now working with a rubber ball instead of water balloons. He wasn't having much success this time around. Often complaining about having to figure it out for himself. Though, to his credit, Naruto didn't say one word about his chakra-burned hands.
Some days, Jiraiya had chores for Sasuke and me to accomplish. Sometimes it was picking up supplies. Other times, he sent us to eavesdrop on unsuspecting civilians. One time, Jiraiya had us hunt do a courier ninja to entrust one of his manuscripts to. But a theme was clear. All tasks we were given were ten times more annoying than one would initially suspect. Why? Because we only had one free uninjured hand between the two of us.
"How long does it take for a broken wrist to heal?" Sasuke complained as we maneuvered through the streets. In his good hand was a bag of shopping Jiraiya told us to get. Mostly paper and ink. On my shoulder that wasn't next to his, I lugged my own bag that was loaded down with basic medical supplies. Jiraiya wanted a fresh stock before we finally hit the road again.
It had taken a couple of days, but Sasuke finally stopped dragging me behind like some misbehaving puppy. A compromise had to be made. He needed to slow down and I needed to speed up. Cheeks puffing up with air, I shook our combined hands until the chain jingled. "Do you really think that's our biggest problem?"
Naturally, it had occurred to me to pick the lock myself. That plan came to me seconds after the cuff was reattached to my wrist. But that cycled back to the issue of being stupidly useless. With the cuff on my good wrist, I couldn't bend and get the right angle needed to pick a lock. And my splinted wrist currently lacked the fine motor strength required. Of course, that wouldn't stop me. I did try freeing myself by using a senbon clenched between my teeth. But Sasuke blocked every attempt. It was easy. All he had to do was use his free hand to push against my forehead; making it impossible for me to get the senbon into the keyhole.
Scoffing, irritation leaked out of Sasuke as he exhaled. He turned right. Leading the way into the hotel so we could drop today's purchases off in the room before getting on with our day. "Come on", I hedged. Just because I refused to be the only miserable person in this situation. "I can't be the worst person to be chained to. What if I was Rock Lee?" I mean, I had given Sasuke an out and he ruined it because he couldn't stand someone claiming him as incompetent. "He's more injured than me right now. If I was in his shoes, you'd have to carry me as I waxed poetically about youth".
Sasuke shook his head; lips pressed together as if the mere suggestion of it was making him sick. Maybe it was enough to make him need the restroom. There were some reprieves in this arrangement. Anything bathroom or hygiene-related; Sasuke happily set me free. And Naruto and Jiraiya never complained out of fear I'd stab them in the eye the first opportunity I was presented with.
Quite a few times, when Sasuke needed the facilities, I disappeared. The last one ended with myself having a nice walk around the village; enjoying the personal space before being accosted by an Uchiha demanding to know why I couldn't stay put. "You're as bad as Naruto", he growled at one point. It was giving him flashbacks to our academy days if the constipated look on his face was anything to go by.
When our time wasn't eaten up by errands and kindergarten spying, Sasuke and I joined Naruto on the outskirts of the village. With Naruto completely focused on making a rubber ball explode, Sasuke and I had to get creative when it came to training. Joined together as we were, we couldn't spar… Or we could. It would just be called wrestling. Which would have been too undignified for Sasuke and probably would have ended painfully for us both. Probably in someone (Sasuke) purposely being strangled.
No. First, we practiced running across the water in sync. And when we were equally bored, we practiced running up tree trunks in sync. Why? Because we didn't have a clue what to do with ourselves. Sasuke got some target practice in. Which was more mind-numbing than writing post-mission reports because all I could do was stand there.
We killed some time by meditating. Sitting with our backs together, our inhales and exhales started to match. Even though we didn't intend to do so. But it some something we could both do. And mutually beneficial as it was a good practice for chakra health. And after that… we remained sitting with our backs to each other; our cuffed arms hanging awkwardly at our sides. "If you would just pick the lock", I tried.
"Shut up", Sasuke grumbled; eyes boring into Naruto as another rubber ball deflated in his hands.
Sighing, I started pushing my chakra away from me. During the invasion, I managed to stretch it. Covering Chouji and me as we fled. How? Closing my eyes, I imagined a dome forming over Sasuke and me. Starting an inch above our heads, I envisioned stretching down in front of us and burying into the ground inches from our feet. Breathing out, I felt my chakra tingle as I maintained it. Spatial awareness would be crucial with this new… upgrade to my shields. What if I didn't envision the shield properly and left a body part uncovered? Could I cut someone's foot off with a misjudged shield?
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked; Naruto making loud exclamations in the background.
Cracking open one eye, I turned my ear towards him. "You can sense it?"
Sasuke had his head tilted back. Copying him, I soon saw what he did. A leaf sat on top of my shield. Since my chakra wasn't visible, it looked like it was frozen in the air. So, it did work. Good to know. It didn't take long for Sasuke to connect some dots. "It's the same thing you did in the Land of Waves".
"Yeah", I agreed; closing my eyes again when I felt my chakra start to quiver and my pulse starting to speed up. It was a strain to maintain a shield this long. Especially when I was covering more than myself. "I've been practicing". My chakra flickered like a flame running out of fuel before it subsided. The leaf continued its descent; landing on Sasuke's lap. I took one labored breath through my mouth as I felt a twinge in my core. Some of my chakra came back to me. Most didn't. Looks like five minutes was my limit. Wonder what my range is. How much could I cover with a chakra shield?
Flicking the leaf from his lap, I felt Sasuke lean against me a bit. It was the most show of trust I'd ever received from him. "Is that why Orochimaru is after you?"
Bracing some of my weight against him too, I shrugged. "I don't know if it is Orochimaru", I reminded him. "But no. I don't think so". My thoughts started to wander as I vaguely listened to the sounds of Naruto hard at work. Number forty-eight. What did that mean? I hadn't allowed myself to ponder it until now. There was just too much going on. And then there was a possibility Danzo was working with Orochimaru…
"Hey, Sasuke?"
He grunted in response.
I wanted to tell him about the things yet to come. To warn him about Orochimaru wanting his body for himself. About Danzo's ill intentions for the village and how the Uchiha were implicated. Maybe even mention how Danzo and Orochimaru might be connected. But I was struggling to find the words… the will… the security to do so. Sasuke wasn't a psychopath… currently. But he could very well become one once completely consumed by revenge and hidden truths. And I didn't want to paint myself a target.
"Never mind".