AN: Alright, so this took a lot longer than I expected. Partially due to writer's block, and I wanted the chapter to be not bad, and also because I've been busy. Maybe taking 5 AP courses at the same time isn't the best idea in the world, lol, on top of trying to have an average of 2 hours of practice per day.

I won't get less busy, so updates will become more sporadic, but as long as I have even a modicum of free time, rest assured this story will not die.

Enjoy, and please comment!

As of posting this on March 13, 2024, this story has 109 favorites, 3465 views, 15 reviews, and 147 followers. And it appears my prediction of the view count was grossly wrong, as my view count literally increased tenfold x10 hours after uploading, and continues to accumulate them at a slow rate. If not for the glitch, I might be at nearly or over double my current viewcount.

Also, update progress is available in my profile.

Allegretto I


Be2 Be6

Qe3 Rac8


It is said that pressure makes diamonds.

Harsh environments forge tougher things; this is a facet of natural logic that has been observed since ancient times.

But all of that is under the assumption that whatever undergoes the trials survives. Natural selection is essentially survival of the fittest, after all.

Under the threat of war, those who survive live to become the war heroes revered by their peers and allies.

Those who die? They become naught but words and memories, words etched into stone and paper, and memories instilled within their friends and family.


Konohagakure no Sato


A jarring ringing sound echoes throughout the empty apartment room. A tuft of blond hair peeks out from underneath the crumpled sheets, and a hand reaches out to silence the annoyance.

Uzumaki Naruto yawns, raising a hand to run through his hair. It wasn't too bad, so there was no need to use shampoo. He steps into the shower for a quick wash and exits far more refreshed and awake.

Putting on his proper shinobi outfit, Naruto parts the curtains in his dinky yet cozy apartment. The sun has yet to rise, and he breathes a sigh of relief. He knows that he's not the best at waking up and arriving on time, so he is relieved to see that on this important day, he was finally able to be early.

He checks his bags; they were packed with changes of clothes and standard survival gear that the old man had given him. Granted, the Hokage had offered to buy new equipment, but Naruto had vehemently refused and stuck to the old gear his grandfather figure had gifted. It was enough, after all, and Naruto would rather save up for some new weapons and chakric ink and paper rather than shinier versions of things he already own.

Fūinjutsu supplies? Check.

Shuriken and kunai for three? Check. He could always use a jutsu to replicate his own if needed.

Basic cooking supplies? Check.

Personal clothing? Check.

Emergency rations? Though he despises ration bars with a burning passion, they were the most efficient fuel of nourishment. Check.

He quickly heats a cup of instant ramen for himself; hunger is the most daunting enemy of all, and he wasn't about to miss his daily intake of these delicious carbs.

Quickly disposing of the trash, Naruto wipes his mouth clean. Food was in his stomach; everything was ready to go.

Naruto grins, and firmly ties his forehead protector. It is an exciting day; after all, it is going to be his first trip outside the confining borders of Konoha!

Despite how much he loves the village and the people (only some of them, not all) in it, it is beginning to become a bit stale and whatnot. Staying in the same place, same streets, talking to the same people and avoiding the same crowds for over a decade is becoming a bit dull, and this trip will be a welcome change in his life.

Also, Naruto remembers something grimly. Jiji mentioned something to me, about experiencing what war and peace truly were? Oh well, I'll figure it out when we get there.

He sighs, brushes that thought aside, and steps out into the chilly morning air. The sun has yet to rise, but the boy can see the moon begin to fade along with the countless stars in the night sky. He makes haste, and for a few minutes, the empty streets of Konoha were filled with noisy silence.

Naruto slows to a halt as he approaches the western gate of Konoha. The guards are in the middle of a transition between shifts, and one tired shinobi walks out as a shinobi chewing on senbon walks in. He glances over at Naruto and gives him a tired smile; it's Shiranui Genma, a tokubetsu jōnin.

"Toothpick guy!"

Genma scowls; the nickname had come about with the senbon he constantly held chewing in his mouth, and Naruto as a child could not differentiate the dangerous needle from a polished wooden splinter made for picking at food bits between teeth.

"Brat. What're you doing here?"

Naruto grins at him, "It's for my first out-of-village mission!"

Genma nods in comprehension as he takes this in. Then, his head swivels up and snaps toward Naruto in surprise.

"What? Already? You're all basically fresh academy grads!"

Naruto shrugs. "I dunno, but I'm excited!"

Genma groans. "That sensei of yours. Ever since I met him, I've never understood him. Well, be careful. There a war going on out there, and although you may not yet understand the full scale of the conflict, take it seriously, alright?"

Naruto nods distractly, and Genma quietly shakes his head.

A silence lulls over them, and Naruto finally sits down on a dusty step, waiting patiently for his teammates and sensei to arrive.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a quiet pitter-pattering of footsteps finally sounds. Naruto perks up and using the scarce few rays of light peeking through the blanket of night, he makes out two figures. A hair of pink and a hair of black.

He cheers and stands up to call. "Sasuke! Sakura!"

The boy scowls at the noise, but grudgingly nods in the other boy's direction. Meanwhile, the girl cheerfully waves from behind him. One could be seen hauling two packed up tents, while the other seems to be carrying some sort of medical bag, provisions, and a roll of what seems to be cloaks and other articles of clothing.

"Is Kakashi-sensei here yet?" asks Sakura.

Naruto shakes his head. "Nope, I don't think so. I haven't seen him, though it's possible he's just hiding."

A rustling of leaves sounded above the trio, and they simultaneously look up to see their sensei dropping from the sky.

Gloved hands ruffled their hair, and between their disgruntled looks and cries of indignation, Kakashi smiles, his eye curving like the crescent moon hanging in the heavens. "Are you all ready?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's go. We'll be travelling on foot for the whole way, so keep at a speed you can sustain."

Without single extra word, Kakashi turns and runs, leaving the three kids scrambling to follow.

Obscured from their vision, the sensei smiles. Better to throw them to the deep end early, and not have to go through a rude awakening call like his team did. He quietly hums a jaunty tune as his ears locates the duo of bandits he had scouted earlier. They should be good first trials.


Sasuke narrows his eyes in thought. It seemed unreasonable for their sensei, even as cruel of a teacher as he can be, to leave them behind in a forest while running at fast speeds. It didn't quite add up, but honestly, he could not afford to think too much about other things rather than questioning his teaching methods.

He hisses as he narrowly avoids getting smacked by a tree branch. The forests of Konoha were lush yet unkempt, and as such he must focus on navigating the maze of vegetation before anything else.

The silent and concerned gazes he seemed to have received from his teammates only serve to frustrate him, and once they looked away from Sasuke's deathly glare, he quietly forces a breath, reasserting his control over his lungs.

Calm down. Calm yourself. Rein in your anger.

These phrases have almost become a mantra for Sasuke. Each time the impulsive nexus of anger within his chest urges to lash out, he remembers Kakashi's scolding and Sakura's grudging acceptance. These words may not take away his festering frustrations and annoyance, but they did well to suppress them.

Sasuke regains his composure and continues to run through the forest. Then, suddenly, he hears a noise.

A very human, very loud, and very un-Kakashi noise.

Both Naruto and Sakura halt as well, the three unanimously freeze and turn to gaze at each other in confusion and apprehension.

From the thick grove, two unfamiliar faces pop up. Two men, wearing lazy and annoyed expressions on their scarred faces, stand there. One is tall and lanky; the other, short and stocky. They both carried spiked cudgels stud with what appears to be innumerable animal teeth.

The taller of the two grunts in confusion. "What're these kids doing out here?"

In the front, Naruto quickly whips out a kunai, and Sasuke follows suit. Sakura slowly backs up, and fumbles for her weapons pouch.

The other man smirks, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "Well, no matter, let's teach them a lesson on not going too far out from home!"

His companion frowns slightly. "They look like genin, don't they? Wouldn't there be a jōnin nearby, then?"

A snort. "Yeah, right. Like any competent sensei would leave their fresh newbies alone during a time of war, even if it is in home territory. Chances are they got lost somehow. Let's get'em before others come, yeah?"

Their knuckles crack, and the three genin, frightened, slowly back up.

Sasuke's mind spins. What should we do? What should I do? How are we going to get out of this?

He grits his teeth, and edges over to group with Naruto and Sakura. He quietly hisses in their ears, "Do any of you have a plan?"

Naruto responds with an ever so slight shake of his head, which resembles a tremble more than anything. Sakura nods, but it is shaky and uncertain.

Sasuke makes up his mind in that moment. Swallowing his pride, he asks quietly, "Sakura, are they shinobi?"

She shakes her head deftly. "Lack of any sort of hitai-ate, and no sign of chakra usage."

"Naruto, think you can handle one of them on your own?"

Naruto, having heard the reassuring fact that their opponents lack chakra, calms down and nods. "Yeah, I should be fine."

"Good. You'll run off, not too far, to lead at least one of them away and take him down yourself. Sakura and I can handle the other one."

Naruto's eyes widen just a bit, but he visibly bites back a response and simply nods. Sasuke mutters, "Now!"

The blond boy takes off, yelling. "Kakashi-sensei! Come here!"

The taller of the men grimaces. "Shit! He's calling for the jōnin! Get them!" Concluding his dialogue hurriedly, he dashes off in pursuit of the blond genin.

The remaining man turns to Sasuke and Sakura, and sighs. "Well, seems like you're just unlucky. Wish for better luck next life, I suppose." With that, he raises his spiked cudgel and charges.

Sasuke dashes to the side and feels the wind from the weapon flutter the cloth on his back. Backing himself up to a tree, he readies his kunai. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he let loose the sleek metal blade.

The projectile soared through the air, and closely shaved the hair on the back of the man's head, leaving naught but a thin trail of blood behind.

Sasuke looks up to meet the confused gaze of Sakura, and he silently curses. He forgot to explain, she's going to have some words to say about that later. "Just fight!"

The shout only seems to startle Sakura, and in that moment of distraction, she is not able to dodge fully, and the cudgel leaves a patch of blood and broken skin on her otherwise smooth white skin. The weapon thuds into the ground, and the man approaches with even more confidence.

Sasuke's panic soars, and he finds his fingers dropping the shuriken he had readied previously. His hands find each other in an instant, intertwining in a deft and precise pattern.

His lungs burn with heat and chakra, and wisps of smoke exit his nostrils. He shouts, releasing his most powerful jutsu that he knows. One that took countless hours of practice and pain to perfect. "Katon: Gōkakyū (Fire Release: Great Fireball)!"

From the confines of his chest, Uchiha Sasuke exhales fire - a beautiful and deadly bullet of flame. The air around them heats up. Leaves crackle on the trees, and birds from dozens of meters away fly off, disturbed by the incoming conflagration.

The fire envelopes the man. His clothes light aflame, hair turns to ash, his skin black and charred. And soon, after the violent thrashing and screaming subsided, Sasuke could do nothing but pant and look at the remains of the very first life he had taken.

An effluvium of smoke and cinder surrounds them. Sakura stands there trembling, cradling her injured arm, while Sasuke looks on in silence.

A quiet thump sounds behind him, and Sasuke stands motionless as he felt Kakashi's hand land on his shoulder. He begins to shake, though even he himself is unsure what it is from. Residual fear from the encounter? Rage at their teacher for being there the whole time and not intervening? Guilt from taking a life?

"Sasuke, are you alright?"

You have no right to ask that. You're the one who forced this upon me. Stop.

Those words are ones Sasuke yearns to release, but instead, all he can do is tremble quietly. His hands are shaking, and the tension that was holding him is now released under Kakashi's warm grasp.

Why am I so weak right now? Sasuke wonders, as his knees buckle, and he ends up sitting on the sweet earth. Now that all is over, and he could see Naruto enter the burnt and smoldering clearing that he had inadvertently created, Sasuke feels a relief wash over him.

"Sasuke! What happened?"

Sasuke responds with the raising of his arm. He points towards the charred corpse, and Naruto turns pale. He turns toward Sakura, whose only answer is a shaky nod.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, where were you? Why did you let this all happen? Was this a test?"

Naruto shakes in anger, but not only for Sasuke. "Why?" It is at this moment, the moment when Sasuke hears the desperate confusion in Naruto's tone does he look up.

His body is covered in splatters of red. Blood that evidently is not his, since his posture and face show no signs of injury.

Ah. So, he did as well.

Kakashi's voice somehow comes through as calm and collected, albeit laced with hints of worry and sympathy. "Well, would you rather your first interaction with death be in the middle of a serious battle? Where a moment's hesitation is enough to spell your death?"

Naruto grits his teeth, but no words come out. All the scathing remarks that boil within Sasuke subside as well. Sakura's apprehensive face slowly morphs into one of grudging acceptance.

As much as they all hate to admit it, Kakashi is right.

"W-we're not that immature though." Sasuke tries weakly to protest, but Kakashi's skeptic eyebrow speaks for itself. Sasuke's head remains down, as it has been since Kakashi re-appeared, with a gruesome shadow cast over his eyes and face.

"You seem to misunderstand," Kakashi amends. "Immaturity is not a bad thing, you know? You are all kids, and you should be. Do you think it's normal for children such as yourself to be well-acquainted with death?"

The three shake their heads, and realization dawns on them. Kakashi smiles at their understanding.

"So don't worry. It's my job as your teacher to introduce those things to you. Now, Sakura, come here."

The girl walks over, and Kakashi took out some rubbing alcohol and clean wipes. Sakura winces as the sharp sting of alcohol creates a wave of pain, but she bites her lips and refrains from making any sound. Kakashi gently cleans the wound, applies some chakric healing balm that he brought along, and seals the wound in a tight wrap of bandages.

"Now, then," he says, clapping his hands. "What did you do wrong? I made sure the enemies were at a level you could handle, so what caused Sakura to get injured?"

Sakura levels a gaze of annoyance at Sasuke, who shrinks and bows his head. "Because that idiot over there," she seethes. "Forgot to clue me in on the plan, and then mindlessly shouted at me when I was trying to dodge!"

Sasuke blushes and bows his head further in shame. "... Sorry," he mutters, quiet enough that only Sakura gave a visible reaction. She huffs but decides not to berate him further.

"Sasuke, can you tell me where you went wrong?"

The boy tilts his head quizzically. "What do you mean? Isn't it because I didn't think to include Sakura in our plan?"

Kakashi's eye glints. "Exactly. And why is that? After all, your team only has three people, so how could you forget one?"

Sasuke opens his mouth, then closes it. He did not know.

"Reflect and tell me once you understand. You can't expect to have answers handed to you all the time; you know?" Kakashi adds once he sees a frown forming on Sasuke's face.

"Now, Naruto. I watched your fight as well. Why did so much blood get on you?"

"I-I don't know."

Sasuke looks at his fellow genin; Naruto still looks shaken by the whole ordeal, as evidenced by his shaky speech. Sasuke looks at Kakashi and realizes that his odd timing choice to lecture them now was not trivial; it was intentional distraction for the both of them.

"Well, let me tell you. You got careless. You had him pinned with that first wind jutsu, didn't you? Why did you leap at him with your kunai instead of using longer-distance weapons to finish him?"

Naruto jolts a bit but ponders and thinks. "I wanted to end it quickly, since I heard a scream from over here. I rushed to f-finish him off, but instead got tangled into another close quarters battle."

Kakashi hums. "Exactly. If you have an advantage, there's no need to rush in. Even if there's stakes and a time constraint; panic does nothing. Naruto, can you tell me where that panic led you?"

Naruto nervously rubs at the back of his neck, and it is only now that Sasuke notices the bruise forming there. It is not very noticeable, but there was a faint swelling along with a spread of light green and magenta beneath the surface of the skin.

"Exactly. So, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, tell me how this could've gone, if you had followed what I just said."

"Sasuke would have communicated the plan to all of us clearly," Sakura narrates slowly, running through the scenario in her head. "Naruto would've led one of the astray and dealt with him as needed, without sustaining injuries. I would've been able to coordinate with Sasuke better, maybe to the point where we could've finished our opponent before Naruto and helped him."

Kakashi nods. "Indeed. Sasuke, be more mindful of your environment. I understand that the jutsu was a last resort spurred on by panic, but we're in a forest, you know? You're lucky the fire dissipated so fast that nothing was able to catch on fire, and that I was nearby to snuff any embers."

Sasuke nods, and forces his gaze away from the distruction he caused. Kakashi seems to take note, because he clears his throat and catches their attention. "Alright. So, I'm sure you've noticed that you were all lagging behind. I wasn't going at nearly full speed, and yet I still far outpaced you. Why?"

Sakura's hand raises. "You were using Shunshin (Body Flicker). You weren't shifting your legs and body to properly jump, but rather you were boosting yourself at high speeds using controlled bursts of chakra."

Kakashi claps, and affectionately pats her head. "Good observation! It seems like you were paying attention. Now, watch."

The three genin gather around, and Kakashi begins his lecture.

"As Sakura had already explained, Shunshin is not true teleportation. It is a clever use of chakra enhancement, channeling it to mostly the lower body in an instantaneous yet strong boost of speed."

Kakashi holds up his hands. He claps them together, entwining his pinkies and ring fingers and thumbs while allowing his index and middle pairs to stand tall and proud. A tora sign, a handseal that they were all familiar with.

"This is the sole seal needed for Shunshin. Hold your hands in the tora seal and channel chakra to your legs. Once the chakra is settled and stable, push off like you would when you jump. Go on, try it."

Sasuke frowns a bit. Was it really that easy?

Sakura is the first to try. She focuses her chakra, weaves the correct hand symbol... and nothing happens. There is a light poof, but that is it. "Too little chakra, Sakura," Kakashi calls out.

"My turn!"

Naruto excitedly gets up, and shapes his hands. Sasuke closely watches, and his eyes burn with concentration. The chakra wells up from his core, and Sasuke observes as it speeds through the pathways, bursting past tenkestu rapidly towards the boy's legs. He frowns; there was far too much. It surprises him how much Naruto had; the amount he put in seems like over half of Sasuke's entire reserve at the moment.

And it seems he was correct. His own Shunshin was far too weak, but Naruto's first attempt hit the exact opposite end of the spectrum. The blond boy blasts a chunk of earth away, and his body collides at high speeds with the solid trunk of a large tree. Naruto falls to the ground as well, groaning in pain. The chakra had been let out in an explosive and uncontrolled manner, akin to a firecracker. There was no chance of it succeeding.

Peals of laughter ring out again. Naruto scowls, pouts, and pulls himself upright. "Too much chakra, I'm assuming."

Sasuke nods. "Way too much. So much that it came out completely uncontrolled, so it just created an explosive force."

"Wait really? How'd you know?" Naruto turns and looks at him. He freezes. "Sasuke... what happened to your eyes?" The tone is hushed and curious, yet Sakura and Kakashi turn to him with much more serious gazes.

"Hmm?" Sasuke feels a wave of fatigue and lassitude crash into him. "What about my eyes?"

As soon as he finishes the sentence, Sasuke stumbles. He crumples to the ground in a disorderly heap, and the world fades to black.


Naruto and Sakura grunt in unison as they simultaneously exert their strength to lift their fellow genin. Sasuke, who had fallen unconscious, is now their top priority rather than travelling. Kakashi had left to foray the forest for some wild game and left the camp-building and Sasuke-caring to the two of them.

Sakura huffs and Sasuke finally rests on a bed of cloth. Naruto looks at her curiously, and finally breaks in and asks. "Any idea why he fainted?"

"Activating a dōjutsu like the Sharingan takes a toll on the body. I'm assuming that since he kept his head down, somehow none of us noticed it. Chances are he activated it during the fight and has been subconsciously feeding his emotions and chakra as fuel to maintain an active state."

Naruto frowns. "Well, what should we do then? Wait for him to wake up?"

Sakura shrugs helplessly. "We'll just have to wait for Kakashi-sensei. If anyone can deal with it, it would be him."

"Why?" Naruto asks, curiousity permeating through his expression.

Sakura rolls her eyes in response. "Weren't you ever paying attention in class when they talked about bounties and the ranked shinobi? Due to his implanted Sharingan, mastery of supposedly a thousand techniques, and incredible strategic mind, Kakashi the Copycat Ninja is a feared shinobi."

Naruto sucks in a breath in awe. "Really? Wow. I certainly couldn't tell with that gray hair of his."

"I was born with it."

Kakashi jumps out from the forest, landing right in front of them. "It's genetic, alright? I'm only twenty-seven, you know."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Their teacher drops three dead wild fowl in the short grass and walks towards the unconscious Uchiha.

"Hmm. His mild chakra depletion is fine now, it's just exhaustion from the unconscious use of first stage Sharingan. I'll have to teach him how to cut off chakra flow later."

Sakura tilts her head, emanating confusion. "But sensei, aren't non-genetically inherited dōjutsu impossible to control like that?"

Kakashi curves his exposed eye in a pleasant smile. "Well, that is true, and I have to constantly minimize my chakra flow to my implant, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to. After all, I've had it for well over ten years now."

He lifts his hitai-ate, exposing the blood red eye with a swirling triad of raven tomoe. Naruto and Sakura watch closely as the eye seemed to glow with chakra before dimming down, and Kakashi covers it once more. "His chakra flow is slightly disturbed, but it should settle down with some rest. Just let him sleep, and we'll continue on whenever he wakes."

They nod, and Kakashi takes a kunai to clean the birds into meat. As he works, Sasuke stirs. The two awake genin flock to his side and watch as the boy groans and opens his eyes. His eyes of coal flit about, until they finally settle on his teammates, squeezing close.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura huffs. "Ungrateful, aren't you? We carried you all the over here; you'd fainted after unlocking the Sharingan, not noticing, and subsequently exhausting your chakra."

Sasuke's eyes widen. "R-really?" His face flushes at the excited crack in his voice, but pushes the embarrassment aside. "I unlocked my clan's kekkei genkai?"

They nod, and he closes his eyes in ecstasy. Finally. Finally, he could be of use in-!

His inner excitement is cut short with Kakashi's intervention. "And you'll be stopping right there, Sasuke. Learning to control those eyes of yours will come later. I'll teach you more about them on the road, but for now, let your chakra rest. You may have mostly rested, but if you're not careful, you'll faint again."

Sasuke nods, before he reels back. "How will you teach me about that?"

Kakashi appears to be taken aback momentarily by this fact but settles in the mere blink of an eye. "Well," he lifts his hitai-ate, and Sasuke gawks. "This is why."

"Fear not," he quickly adds as Sasuke's expression quickly morphs into one of anger. "I did not rob it off a corpse, as your clan seems to believe. My former friend and teammate gave it to me on the same mission he died."

Sasuke ceases his fury, and instead levels a curious yet apprehensive gaze at Kakashi.

You're going to tell me later, right?

His sensei seems to receive the message being sent, blinks a few times, and nods lightly.

Yes.

Sasuke exhales, and the tension leaves the air. He suddenly realizes how true Kakashi's words are, as his body starts to ache with fatigue again, and he slowly sits himself back down.

Kakashi takes a branch and burns off all the excess bark and leaves with a quick fire jutsu. Sharpening it into a skewer, he pierces it into the prepared and cleaned bird meat and leaves their meal to roast on an open flame.

Naruto nudges Sasuke, who scowls. "What did having the Sharingan feel like?"

Sasuke ponders this. "It felt like I could see way better. Not only that, I think I could see chakra flow to some extent; that's how I could tell yours was off."

Naruto blinks excitedly. "Really? What else?"

Sasuke sends him a weak side-eye. "How should I know? I didn't even realize I had it on; besides, it's probably not a high level one. Did my eyes have any black tomoe spinning in them?"

The blond boy nods. "Yep. They had one each. It looked really cool, actually."

Sasuke turns away a bit at the offhand compliment. "Exactly. That's the stage one Sharingan, a fully matured pair should have three tomoe each."

Naruto attempts to keep the conversation going, but Sasuke largely ignores him. The loud voice fades into a quieter one, then a nigh-silent whisper, and finally goes away. Sasuke closes his eyes in peace.

He brushes off the nagging feeling in his chest and turns his attention to the food. Kakashi portions the roasted bird meat out, and the three genin gracefully accept their food.

Despite the blandness of the unseasoned meat, none of them complain. Sasuke is lost in his own thoughts, pondering the consequences of the awakening of his eyes. He'd have to train it a lot before it becomes usable in combat, but even just having a trump card like this is amazing.

A belch from Naruto interrupts his thoughts, and Sasuke glances at his teammates. The aforementioned blond boy is done with wolfing down the food and is slumping into a distorted pile in contentment. Sakura is carefully nibbling on her fowl meat, while being mindful of the bandaged arm she sports. She grimaces at the blandness of the meat but forces down each bite anyways.

Seeing the caution behind each and every move of hers, a trace of guilt flashes through Sasuke, but he pushes it aside. It was her fault for not being strong anyways, even despite his poor instructions.

(But was it really?)

He finally remembers that they had moved, and looks around the clearing they are in.

A forest of what appeared to be elm trees surrounded them. The forest is very sparse, with large chunks of empty space between all the trees, making it a pleasant campground to stay the night in.

No tents are set up. He supposes that's a task for him, Naruto, and their sensei after they all finish eating. Sakura's arm keeps getting in the way of everything, it seems.

"Sasuke," his teacher notes that he has finished eating. "Get started on making your tent. You'll be each making your own tents; I'll make Sakura's."

Sasuke nods, and though he may try but a tiny, nearly imperceptible scoff leaves his mouth when Sakura is mentioned.

He stands and reaches for his tightly bound tent. Unpacking the folds of canvas and poles, Sasuke gets to work on assembling his tent. Or, at least, he tries. His hands fumble through the pack, and after an irritating few minutes manage to finally organize everything and begin construction.

Sasuke cranks together sets of flexible poles and carefully slips them through the sewn hoops on the main canopy body of the tent. A sleek whoosh accompanies this action, and Sasuke soon has a half-rigged tent on the ground. He leaves it there and grabs the tarp which wrapped all the tent parts together. Spreading it on the ground, the chakric ink that spells out a seal to prevent deterioration of material and disallows water to enter gleams under the sunlight. It caught Sasuke's eye, and he silently notes to do some rudimentary research on seals once they return. The Uchiha library is vast after all, there must be something he can find in there.

Once the tarp was solidly and securely placed, Sasuke adds the actual tent on top of it. Dusting his hands after adjusting its position one final time, his tent sits proudly in the clearing, in a comfortably large space between two trees.

There didn't seem to be any rain, so Sasuke didn't bother with putting on the rainfly. He sighs contentedly and sits down in his tent, giving his admittedly sore legs much needed rest.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees Naruto finish his tent as well. The other boy is excited ruffling through his own tent, sorting through his pack of supplies. The blond peeks back out with a bundle of something in his arms, accompanied by a sheepish grin on his face that can only portend a mistake.

"Well, hehe, I may have forgot to hand out all the weapons I brought along..."

Sasuke smacks his face lightly in exasperation. A hand reaches over with a pouch of shuriken and a holster for kunai. He accepts, and carefully places his own kunai into the carrying device. His eyes scour the tent for a moment, and deftly decide on a tight corner to store the armaments in.

He hears a loud and clear "Oh!" and turns his head. Naruto is handing Sakura the weaponry, who wears a mask of shock on her face.

Sasuke leans forward a bit to hear the dialogue between them.

"... It's nothing. I was just spaced out, is all."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke can hear the doubt in Naruto's voice.

"Yeah. I think I'm just still a little shook from the fight, is all."

Sasuke watches as Naruto finally takes the hint and walks away. The sun is now foundering beneath the horizon, and Naruto's shadow somehow seems forlorn in this evening light. Sasuke shakes his head; why should he care?

Kakashi returns and carries Sakura to her tent while calling it a night. "Alright, normally we wouldn't sleep early, but seeing as today was special, I'll let you sleep early. We'll start working on shifts later but rest easy tonight. I'll have a clone take care of it."

Sasuke slips inside quietly and zips up his tent. The rest of the world is of no concern to him now, he needs rest.

Darkness approaches, and Sasuke's eyelids flutter just a few more times before stumbling into the accursed and dreadful night.