Mari Makinami
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Author's Note: I appreciate all of your reviews—I've read all of them and applied some of your feedback which I found quite helpful!
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The tall blond boy let out a lingering yawn, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, lazily studying the rack in front of him that was full of various books and scrolls dedicated to the history of shinobi. Most, if not all of these treatises were written by civilians who weren't allowed to know countless secrets of the ninja life, so the texts were rather controversial. The contents of one book often contradicted those of the others, making it pretty much impossible to figure out what of it was true and what not. Not that he was particularly interested in this scrap paper, of course. He loved reading useful stuff, he definitely did but, he was also very picky when it came to this matter.
Why was he there, then? To be completely honest, there was simply nothing better for the boy to do this dull morning. From what it looked like, the day was doomed to be a complete waste no matter how much he tried to look at it in a positive way. His father was currently very busy at the Gokage summit held in Konoha, doing the incredibly important job as the Hokage and not having a split second to pay to his family which, unfortunately, had become a usual situation lately. On the other hand, his mother had decided to go and chat with the old hag Tsunade while she was still in Konoha, so staying at home was not an option unless he wanted to die to boredom. Two of the teen's best friends were currently unavailable, for Neji was apparently busy licking his clan's elders' feet, or whatever else he was forced to do as the branch house member. And Sasuke… sadly, he still hadn't awakened.
Training was also a dubious idea right now, because the clouds in the sky outside had only been getting heavier since early morning, and he wasn't desperate enough yet to workout under rain. In other words, he had absolutely nothing to do… and the lack of activity was slowly killing him.
His diffused gaze suddenly stopped on one of the books dedicated to the Uchiha clan. It was just another piece of garbage, of course, he could say so without even opening it. Considering that his sensei was an Uchiha himself, just like one of his teammates who also happened to be one of his best friends, and also like his father's favorite student who often happened to be a guest in their house, Naruto had learned that this clan was especially secretive when it came to their history, their domestic issues and, most importantly, their powers. Therefore anything the jinchūriki would manage to find in this public bookstore about this topic would definitely turn to be a waste of his time, without a doubt, just like pretty much any other book here. Now that he thought about it, it was rather dumb of him to come here to begin with. But then again, what other choice had he had? He still needed to find a way to kill some boredom, after all...
"Ah, Naruto-kun! I knew I would find you here, you lazy bum!" he heard the familiar soft voice to his left, sighing and turning his head towards his other teammate.
"Yo, Hinata. What's up?"
The kunoichi smiled at him brightly as she came close, locking her hands in front of herself, holding a few bags within her grasp.
"Not much, just another boring day off. I was going to pay a visit to Sasuke's place. Would you maybe like to tag along?"
"Nah, I'll pass," he drawled immediately, picking another book and pretending to be genuinely interested in its contents.
The dark haired girl's brow cocked at him skeptically as she snatched the tome out of her friend's hand, making him flinch and look at her in surprise as she glanced at the cover and hemmed.
"Uh-huh… One Hundred Reasons Why Kunoichi Are Better Than Shinobi. Seriously, Naruto-kun? I never imagined you being interested in cheap tabloid crap like this one," she grinned at the boy who blushed, looking slightly ashamed.
"Busted," he sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. Hinata was sure a shrewd person… fooling her was never as easy as it was with Sasuke who usually didn't care enough to pry anyway.
"Now, tell me, why don't you want to come with me? Afraid of the Uchiha, are you?" she smiled teasingly, making him wince at her slightly mocking assumption.
"Afraid? Hardly. Still, one would be a fool not to be aware of them."
She laughed, and then nodded.
"Fair enough. You are right. And yet… I'm curious. Why are you avoiding Sasuke's home so much lately?" she persisted, peering at the ninja searchingly as he lowered his eyes sadly.
"Well... in truth, It kinda sucks to see Sasuke like this. I feel responsible and guilty… After all, I was the one who couldn't save him."
Hinata rolled her eyes and sighed, putting the book back to the shelf and giving the boy a long patient look.
"I thought we've already been though this, weren't we? Listen, Naruto-kun. None of us is at fault here. It was Sasuke's own decision to try to save us by sacrificing himself. And it was also very noble of him, don't you think so?" taken a little aback by his suspicious, skeptical gaze she blushed, looking away. "What? I'm simply stating the obvious. And as much as I, well...," she frowned, biting her lip, choosing her words very carefully, "As much as I'm not fond of his usual attitude and behavior, even I have to admit that it was very brave. I'd never thought he had it in him."
"Meh. On the contrary, I always knew that he was stupid," murmured Naruto, to which she nodded neutrally.
"Yes, it was also foolish but, from my point of view, it showed that deep inside, he's not just some foolish party boy he'd always seemed to be. He has some courage and resolve, after all, just like sensei kept telling us. And I didn't believe him." She smiled reassuringly as Naruto frowned. "Besides, considering how he miraculously came back from the realm of death… Don't you think it would be at the very least quite ungrateful of us, as his teammates and friends, not to thank him for what he did?"
"Yeah, I guess you have a point," he shrugged, still avoiding her gaze. "However, there is one big flaw in your plan. He's still not awake, and we don't know when he'll be back, if ever. Sensei is also not there at the moment, so I honestly don't see a point in coming there. What are you going to do with him anyway? Sing him a lullaby?"
Hinata giggled nervously, lowering her eyes to the bags she was holding.
"No. I wrote down everything Tsunade-same said, and I decided to cook something for him. Mother taught me a lot of good recipes, so… maybe the smell of my food will wake him up?" she sighed timidly, but then quickly realizing that it probably didn't sound very convincing she added swiftly, "A-And if it doesn't, well, it can just wait for him there. Right?"
But, to her relief, Naruto apparently decided not to push anyway despite her unusually awkward attitude, probably being uninterested.
"Yeah, whatever. Good luck explaining yourself to his parents. Fugaku-san can be a toughie, especially if he's not in his best mood. Though...," he looked in the direction of the Hokage's residence, "he's probably there at the summit as well so it should be more less safe."
"O-oh… Aren't we scared, after all?" she giggled at him again, patting Naruto's cheek which made him grimace first, but then he smirked, finally looking directly into the pearl white eyes.
"No. It's just that I don't like wasting my time aimlessly, that's all. If you got nothing better to do, feel free to go there. Don't have high expectations, though. You'll probably end up in a pretty embarrassing situation."
She smiled warmly, stepping backwards.
"What a douche… See you later, then." She waved at him, to which he nodded before turning back to the books and frowning.
In spite of her always being very nice to him, Naruto didn't trust Hinata as much as he trusted his best mates, Neji and Sasuke. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, his father Minato wasn't very fond of the girl's clan, usually preferring to deal with Uchiha instead. And although Naruto disagreed with the Hokage in many aspects, one thing the boy could say for sure — his old man never did anything for no reason. And with Naruto knowing that Hinata'd grown directly under the clan's head's guidance unlike her cousin, something always made the jinchūriki a little bit cautious in her presence, he just couldn't help it. That's why he didn't want her to know the true reason why he disliked to visit the place where Sasuke and Itachi lived. Quite in fact, he wouldn't even mind coming there himself. His tenant, however…
The shinobi touched his abdomen reflectively. Kurama didn't like them to be surrounded by a lot of Uchiha clan's members at the same time. And the uneasiness the fox felt whenever it happened affected Naruto's own mind as well. Although he maybe wouldn't mind coming to see his unconscious friend, especially now that he was struggling to find something interesting to do... Knowing that it would most likely end up being a futile and sad event exactly as it had been before, Naruto didn't want to annoy the tailed beast when it was completely unnecessary. In other words, he was willingly cutting himself from the only way to give this morning some meaning. However…
He smirked. There was at least one good thing in the current situation. Behind her overly defensive and sometimes a little aggressive facade, Hinata was a very soft and kind hearted girl. Well, at least as much as it was possible for someone of her high position, being her clan's heir and all that. She was especially nice to her teammates... well, the two of them. The kunoichi usually found Sasuke annoying enough to get angry at him every now and then, barely able to stand him outside missions. But now, she was clearly inspired by his friend's heroic deed. Her natural kindness made her want to give the lovelace bastard another chance… Perhaps Sasuke's sacrifice would ultimately strengthen the bonds between the members of their team. Something they had definitely lacked so far...
Sasuke opened his eyes, blinking a few times at the familiar ceiling of some dimly lit room. Feeling confused for a moment, he tried to analyze his feelings and memories. This time, he didn't feel any pain, which was already relieving enough. However…
His eyes widened as he came to his senses. The hospital… the encounter with his mother and Itachi. Was that just a dream, after all? Or…
He raised his head up from the soft pillow, looking around himself and feeling quite baffled as he realized what exactly was the place surrounding him. As a matter of fact, he was inside his own room… the very room he'd been living in since his childhood and up to the day he'd left Konoha. But, if everything he remembered about the recent events wasn't real, why on earth would he be here? No, it would make absolutely no sense...
The boy raised his left hand up and almost gasped. His limb was still there, looking and feeling perfectly intact despite being fully bandaged from his forearm to the very fingertips… just like his right arm, which could only mean that he'd never lost it. So, logically... this was a different world.
He threw the blanket off himself, sitting on the bed and then slowly attempting to stand up, gripping the nightstand the next second as his legs began to shake under his weight. He was still pretty weakened, after all… Disgustingly so. But, his physical condition wasn't any of his concern at the moment. Sasuke slowly limped close to the mirror on the wall, rubbing his eyes as everything around was still a bit blurry, and trying to focus.
He then flinched, meeting the gaze of two identically looking obsidian orbs staring at him in fear and awe from the opposite side. His Rinnegan… it was gone! And his height… The teen glanced at the scale to the left from the mirror's edge. He seemed to be a couple inches shorter than he could remember himself. Fifteen years old, huh...? That now seemed plausible. And he was also far too skinny… this was really bad. He almost looked feminine this way...
Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, leaning his hands on the small table in front of him and trying to calm himself. He didn't need any more proof of the fact that everything he could recall about what'd happened in the hospital was real. However, it didn't make anything easier for his mind to accept and proceed. He was completely alone, locked in an alien world where he didn't really know anybody. Even his family members had no idea who he actually was, what kind of person now resided in the body of their beloved Uchiha Sasuke. The body that was ridiculously weak and hadn't experienced anything he had. Speaking of which...
He met his reflection's anxious gaze again, quickly activating the Sharingan.
Just like he had expected, it felt disturbing. No, he didn't have the weak version with just two tomoe, luckily. However, this body definitely had more than poor chakra reserves comparing to his former one. Normally, Sasuke could walk around with his dōjutsu activated for days, if not weeks, without even feeling any impact whatsoever. Now, he could already sense the drawback that made him want to deactivate the Sharingan as soon as possible. The countdown of the energy consumed by his eyes… At this rate, he wouldn't even risk activating Mangekyō, for it would likely make him faint again. Or...
He licked his dry lips nervously. Was there anything to lose, really? Not like he was in a dangerous place or something like that anyway… and the attempt itself wouldn't kill him, would it? The worst what could happen to him would be a few more days spent in bed...
Having convinced himself, Sasuke made more of his chakra stream into his eyes, expecting the familiar six-pointed pattern to replace the three tomoe, but…
Nothing happened. His Sharingan didn't react to his command at all as though not understanding what he wanted.
His eyes then widened at the belated realization. Itachi was still alive here, and so was everyone he'd ever cared about. This version of Uchiha Sasuke had never awakened Mangekyō Sharingan to begin with…! And what made it even worse, he knew that awakening this dōjutsu required receiving a mental trauma of incredible magnitude. Considering that he'd already experienced one in the past, Sasuke wasn't sure if he'd be able to ever feel something strong enough to awaken this power for the second time. Especially in a very questionable reality like this one…
The boy clenched his fists, deactivating the Sharingan and looking across the room. No wonder that they considered him a weakling here. With an untrained body like this and without his eyes' true power, behaving like a careless jerk, he was bound to be mediocre at best regardless of his genes. It had to be fixed soon… No. As soon as possible!
But first…
First of all, he needed to ensure his safety in the new reality. He couldn't allow anybody to get suspicious of him, because the consequences of their reactions were completely unpredictable. Therefore the best possible option right now would be to somehow make everyone stop paying attention to him at all. A lot of people seemed to be expecting for the boy to wake up, especially his fellow clansmen. He needed to settle everything between himself and the others, at least temporarily so that they would give him some time to adapt to these new conditions peacefully and measuredly. And in order to make it possible, before trying anything else he needed to study the past of his alternative self from this world to be able to play this role, at least for a while.
He straightened his back, looking around. To his relief, the room itself didn't look that much different from what he remembered as his own, if only being a bit more messy all in all. And although he didn't expect to see anything downright shocking, Sasuke was still searching for unusual details… some small hints which would help him understand what kind of person everyone here expected him to be.
The first thing that drew his attention was the picture on the bookshelf. The young Uchiha came closer, taking it in his hands carefully and studying the faces of four people printed on the glossy paper. He instantly noticed himself, of course. His approximately twelve years old version was wearing a short sleeved unbuttoned blue shirt with a black T-shirt under it, and his hair was exactly the same as it had been at this age back in his world. There was also a forehead protector with the Leaf's symbol on. Basically, there was nothing interesting or informative… aside from his expression. On the picture, he was standing in the middle, hugging the other two kids' shoulders, grinning happily and winking at the person in front of them…
The shinobi frowned. Of course, he would expect himself to be much more expressive and cheerful should he have grown without experiencing the massacre, but it was still very weird to see himself with a careless and joyful face like this. It didn't suit him at all but, at the same time, it perfectly did...
His eyes then moved to the image of the boy to the left of himself.
Naruto... his expression here was a lot more calm and neutral than usual. He was still smiling warmly as well, but there was no crazy face or a funny grimace… He looked normal, even pleasant to a degree. His hair was also a bit longer, too, kind of reminding that of his father's. And the clothes… This boy was wearing a black jacket with orange cuff strips, and it looked far better than that terrible jumpsuit Naruto'd had at this age in Sasuke's world. Although his taste in colors didn't seem to be much different...
Finally, the Uchiha's attention turned to the girl with short dark blue hair. Her expression was very serious and, perhaps, slightly displeased. She was wearing a half-unzipped beige jacket with a dark-gray T-shirt visible under it. And her white irises… a Hyūga, huh?
Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her image. He was now sure that he remembered this face. Probably from the academy years… And according to his mother and Itachi, her name was Hinata, apparently. Well, he couldn't complain about this little change. Anyone would be better than Sakura, especially at that age when the pink haired girl was especially annoying and overly persistent.
His gaze then slid to Itachi's face. His brother was also smiling softly, towering over the three of them from behind. He hadn't changed at all, looking almost the same as he had back in the hospital, if only a little bit younger. He had to be around eighteen years old there...
And then something suddenly clicked in Sasuke's mind, leaving him completely astonished. Itachi. Why was he even there with them? And where the hell was Kakashi...?
He quickly looked at the back side of the picture and gasped. According to the signature this was, without a doubt, the full lineup of Konoha's Team Seven. Which could only mean that…That his brother was their sensei in this reality! But why? How? Wasn't he too young for this job? Then again...
At the age of seven, his wisdom was already on par with that of a Hokage, Sasuke suddenly remembered the revived Third telling him this about his brother during the war. Now that he thought about it this way, such turn of events made some sense, and yet...
Quickly putting the picture back on the bookshelf, he stepped back, breathing heavily. His heart began to pound faster as the growing feeling of panic was increasing every second. If even such small details were so much different here in this reality… what else was he supposed to expect to find out later? What was the state of Akatsuki here? Of Madara and his Moon's Eye plan? What about Orochimaru…?
Sasuke closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. Analysis required one's mind to be at peace, so he needed to get a hold of himself and to focus. Whatever surprises might expect him there, he needed to get as much information as possible very soon before making any decisions. Wasting any more time was not an option.
The ninja strode back to his bed, and then his nervous gaze stopped on the nightstand while he winced in disgust.
It was full of various postcards, toys, flowers and other trash. All of it looked so sickeningly girlish that he was about to vomit, instantly forgetting about his intention to remain calm. Seriously, though… what the hell is this abomination…?
Sasuke took one of the postcards in his trembling hands, genuinely afraid of whatever he was to find there as he read the calligraphic letters with whimsical curls:
He tossed the colorful piece of paper aside as though it was about to start burning in his hands, taking another one only to сrumple and throw it into the wall the next moment. It turned out that all these "gifts" were from his fan girls all across Konoha… What a shame. Why had his mother even let these pieces of trash end up inside his room? Unless…
His face blanched as another postcard fell out of his fingers at the frightening realization.
Unless he… no, this Sasuke generally didn't mind such things! Had this version of himself really enjoyed the attention of all these dumb fan girls…? How could he...!
Sasuke rubbed his temples, sitting down on his bed and groaning desperately in frustration.
No way… there was no ****ing way that he was such a weak and careless moron no matter the universe. It was no wonder now that his mother had talked to him like… like…
Like to some retarded dead last.
He gritted his teeth as his face twisted in rage. There was absolutely no chance that he would agree to play along with this. Screw his duty, screw the world, screw everything, he wasn't going to pretend to be an utter moron with no sense of pride whatsoever. This was just too much. He needed to find a way to convince them all that the upcoming change in his personality would be logical. No matter how he was supposed to do it, this was his highest priority now!
And, luckily, it matched another task of utmost importance he was currently having at hand. He couldn't allow his new body to remain so ludicrously weak. He needed to start training soon... No, right now!
His thought got interrupted by his stomach as it growled loudly, making the teen sigh.
Well… Perhaps, after a hot shower and a quick meal.
Surprisingly enough, there turned to be nobody else aside from Sasuke inside the house. Likely because they hadn't expected him to suddenly awaken, there was no food prepared for him at the kitchen either. Not that it made the boy feel any uncomfortable — after all, he had learned to use this very kitchen to cook for himself, he'd done it for years. And although it was a bit sad that he couldn't talk to his parents or his brother right away but, at the moment, it was probably for the better. This way, he would be able to slip out of the Uchiha district, and to find himself some empty training ground to test his current capabilities… and to meditate, thinking on his next move.
That's why as soon as he finished the omelette with bacon and tomatoes, Sasuke rushed back to his room, wanting to leave the surreal place as soon as possible. He quickly opened the wardrobe and picked a short sleeved gray shirt with his clan's crest on its back, which looked pretty similar to the one he'd worn during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Having zipped it, he put a pair of dark blue pants on before glancing at his reflection in the mirror. He then ruffled his hair so that it would take a more familiar form with a few spiky bangs covering his forehead now. Finally more less satisfied with his appearance, the ninja searched through the room in hopes of finding a sword but, as he'd expected, there was none. This Sasuke probably hadn't learned kenjustu, too…
Feeling even more annoyed and frustrated now, he tried to look for a kind of loose overall so that he would be able to hide his identity from those who could recognize him out there in the village. It took him about ten minutes to find a decent cloth in Itachi's room, and only then did the boy finally storm out of the house, quickly walking towards the gates. Chilly air filled his lungs, and the powerful gust of wind made the boy close his eyes for a moment to appreciate the refreshing, almost dizzy feeling, once again reassuring him. The sensation was just too real for everything around to be a mere dream.
There was barely anybody around as the drops of rain were beginning to fall from the dark gray sky, so he decided not to put his hood on for a while, admiring the place as he was walking down the wide lane. The Uchiha clan's territory had sure grown more beautiful and grand since the supposed time of the massacre. He could see many new buildings here and there; beautiful flower beds were placed across almost the entire main street, and the road under his feet was very clean… so much unlike what it had been when he was the only resident of the dead version of this place back in his world...
As he remembered the creepy picture, the sudden flash of pain that pierced his head made Sasuke wince as he reflectively covered his left eye with his hand. Feeling afraid for a moment he stopped, but then the pain started decreasing rapidly. Everything around became blurry again but, other than that, he felt rather satisfactory. Still, the young ninja decided to keep going, hoping that this was merely an echo of the trauma he had suffered. Too absorbed by his thought and reflections and partly blinded by the nagging pain, the young ninja didn't pay any attention to the dark haired girl who was walking towards him from the gates. Apparently, she didn't appreciate the fact that he hadn't even looked at her as they passed by each other. That's why he flinched when someone gripped his forearm tightly from behind, making the teen turn around abruptly and narrow his eyes crossly at the angry face.
Albeit he couldn't see her face clearly at the moment, she was pretty nice looking, he could admit. Make no mistake, he wasn't particularly interested in her feminine side and neither was he currently caring about any girl for that matter. However, he could say that she was definitely a ninja just by how well toned her open abdomen was. Civilians never cared about their shape so much, especially girls who mostly preferred to simply be as skinny as possible thanks to countless diets. A couple inches shorter than him, she was wearing a light gray top; an unzipped lavender jacket with long white sleeves as well as denim shorts alongside standard ninja sandals. Her straight, dark blue hair was long enough to reach her middle, and her white eyes weren't promising anything good as he met her clearly irritated gaze.
"Sasuke. What's wrong with you? For how long have you been awake? And why on earth did you just ignore me, huh?"
He gritted his teeth, breaking out of her grip and stepping backwards, narrowing his eyes at her. These damned fan girls… he should've known that they wouldn't leave him alone as soon as he would leave his house.
"I don't have any time for you. Leave me alone and don't ever come close to me again," he snapped, turning away a moment later. The shinobi then put his cowl on and continued to walk towards the main gate of the district.
A few more seconds passed as he kept striding down the street. He'd already almost managed to forget about the cocky nuisance when he heard a scowling growl coming from behind. And then something heavy landed loudly on the ground just behind his back, making the boy stop and glance over his shoulder at the item that'd just made so much noise. There were two bags, and he could see that a few bowls rolled out, some of them shattered, with something that looked like stew slowly spilling on the road.
"You—you are the worst person I've ever met, Sasuke! I swear! Damn you, brainless moron!"
He didn't bother looking back at her, resuming to his way the next moment. This girl definitely had a point. In this world, Uchiha Sasuke was an utter moron. But, times change. And he'd just started solving that problem.
As he was walking through the streets and lanes of the village, his vision slowly restored again which allowed him to examine the environment. The Uchiha noticed that everything around was quite different from what he remembered. A lot of new big and small buildings had appeared around, and the interior of the Konoha as well as its infrastructure all on all looked somewhat more expensive and developed, which could only mean that the economy of the country and the hidden village in particular was in a good state. Which meant that the Fourth was probably a decent leader, then… Although, to be fair, anything would look better than the ruins left by the Fifth's reign back in his reality. And he hadn't seen his Konoha for years before his final visit to said ruins with Orochimaru and Team Taka, so he couldn't really compare.
Fortunately, the location of the training grounds hadn't changed. Sasuke managed to reach the place in no time and, to his amusement, there was nobody around to disturb him. The rain intensified, but he didn't really care. Instead he took the black shapeless cloth off his shoulders, tossing it on the grass roughly and starting to form hand seals right away. A second later, the familiar chirping sound echoed over the place, making him smirk as he felt truly emboldened for the first time in ages. At least his signature technique was working… although considering how much energy it had taken for him to use it just a single time, Sasuke wasn't sure if he could perform it more than four more times in a row without resting. Yes, he was truly pitiful… but there was nothing he couldn't eventually fix.
He then bit his finger and slammed his palm into the wet dirt under his feet, using a good half of his remaining chakra in an attempt to perform the summoning jutsu but of course, it didn't work, which could only mean that he hadn't signed a contract yet.
The ninja sighed heavily, closing his eyes. This was bad… He had no Mangekyō, no Kusanagi sword, no affinity with snakes, no chakra reserves, no strength… Nothing. He only had his base Sharingan… and the unbreakable resolve.
Having already started to feel depressed, he suddenly grinned, slowly beginning to laugh.
No, he actually had something far more valuable than any of the things mentioned above. He had knowledge. As it'd just been proven with Chidori, his brain remembered everything he had learned back in his world. He knew how to awaken Mangekyō Sharingan, even if it seemed impossible to do at the moment. He knew how to train himself to get to a decent level in no time. He knew where to find Ryūchi cave to sign a contract with snakes. And finally, he knew his clan's darkest secrets... That alone was priceless in a world where the name of the Uchiha hadn't ceased to exist.
He'd been testing his limits for about an hour until he heard someone yelling from the distance:
"Hey, Sasuke-kun! Glad to see you awake!"
He snapped his head towards the voice, narrowing his eyes at the teen of his age who was quickly approaching him with a broad smile on his face. He was wearing a simple set of traditional white training uniform as well as dark-hazel kilt; his hair was long, straight and brown, and his eyes…
Another Hyūga...
Already about to tell him to get the hell out of there, Sasuke suddenly stopped at the last moment, frowning. He couldn't be sure of what kind of relationship the two of them shared. What if this person was his friend? Breaking the existing ties would be very unwise considering his quite shaky position so, unfortunately, he had no other option but to try to be nice… as best as he could. At least this one wasn't a stupid fan girl...
"Yeah…," he said quietly as the other ninja came close to him, activating his Byakugan and eyeing him up and down.
"What the hell are you doing here when it's raining so hard, man? Are you alright in the head?" the genuinely concerned expression made Sasuke feel slightly uneasy, but he didn't show any sign of his emotion as he replied calmly,
"Training. My body has suffered significant damage during the latest mission. I need to recover as soon as possible. And also…," he looked away, trying to sound a little dramatic, "I've realized that I need to be much stronger if I don't want something like that to happen again."
"Ah… well, that's understandable," the Hyūga nodded seriously, scratching his chin. "Good news here. Your chakra flow is almost fine, although you seem to have wasted quite a lot of energy recently… other than that, you look alright."
"I'm fine, thanks," said Sasuke, trying to sound neutral only to avoid making the impression of being aggressive. "Why did you come here yourself?"
The boy smirked, looking amused as he said:
"Oh, it's because of Hinata-sama. You see, she came home wet and furious as hell. She called you a lot of names, you know. I have no idea what happened between the two of you, but it definitely made her lose her temper which doesn't happen often to say the least. That's how I learned that you are awake, mate. Then I used my eyes' power to find you. Anyway… what the hell did you say to her?" he asked curiously as the Uchiha frowned and paled a bit.
The girl he met in the Uchiha district... It was Hyūga Hinata. She was his teammate, not just some fan girl. And the food she'd carried… she'd probably been heading to his house, having noticed him being awake via her Byakugan's enhanced vision. Evidently, the girl'd merely wanted to give him some food… and he'd acted like a total jerk.
This was bad. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn. But, one of his intentions in his new life was to form bonds with his teammates. And he'd just done the opposite thing…
"I told her that I don't have time for her and that I wanted to be left alone," he said sincerely, making the other ninja whistle.
"Damn… That's harsh. I know she's not on the best terms with you, but Hinata-sama has spent the entire morning cooking for you. I think you should apologize, Sasuke-kun. You know that I'd take your side normally, but this..." He spread his hands.
Sasuke nodded slowly and uttered, "Yeah… I probably should."
"Anyway, it's so unlike you to be rude with a girl, let alone that rude. Are you really feeling that bad? Or, perhaps, something else happened to spoil your mood that much?"
Sasuke shrugged indefinitely, unsure what to say. He didn't even know this person's name… why was he supposed to excuse himself now?
"A lot of things have happened. I'd rather not talk about it right now, it's mostly about my family and I don't want to discuss it."
"Oh… I see," to the Uchiha's surprise, the other teen didn't try to push, which was a good thing. At least he could mind his own business…, "Training it is, then. To bad Naruto-kun is not here, he could help us quite a lot with his versatile ninjutsu arsenal but, oh well—"
"Naruto?" Sasuke glanced at him with interest. "Do you know where he is?"
"Eh…," the guy raised his head up, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the territory of the village with his dōjutsu, "He's currently heading home. Do you want to catch up with him? Would be cool to hang out again as usual. It's been a while since the three of us last went to chill together." He smirked joyfully, wiping the drops of rain off his forehead protector.
As usual? So they were friends, after all...
"I still need to finish the training," replied Sasuke impassively, activating his Sharingan. "Assist me, will you? I need to test a couple new techniques."
"Of course," replied the brown haired teen and grinned cheerfully, raising his thumb up. "Hyūga Neji, always at your service!"
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Chapter 2. Hyūga
The tall blond boy let out a lingering yawn, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, lazily studying the rack in front of him that was full of various books and scrolls dedicated to the history of shinobi. Most, if not all of these treatises were written by civilians who weren't allowed to know countless secrets of the ninja life, so the texts were rather controversial. The contents of one book often contradicted those of the others, making it pretty much impossible to figure out what of it was true and what not. Not that he was particularly interested in this scrap paper, of course. He loved reading useful stuff, he definitely did but, he was also very picky when it came to this matter.
Why was he there, then? To be completely honest, there was simply nothing better for the boy to do this dull morning. From what it looked like, the day was doomed to be a complete waste no matter how much he tried to look at it in a positive way. His father was currently very busy at the Gokage summit held in Konoha, doing the incredibly important job as the Hokage and not having a split second to pay to his family which, unfortunately, had become a usual situation lately. On the other hand, his mother had decided to go and chat with the old hag Tsunade while she was still in Konoha, so staying at home was not an option unless he wanted to die to boredom. Two of the teen's best friends were currently unavailable, for Neji was apparently busy licking his clan's elders' feet, or whatever else he was forced to do as the branch house member. And Sasuke… sadly, he still hadn't awakened.
Training was also a dubious idea right now, because the clouds in the sky outside had only been getting heavier since early morning, and he wasn't desperate enough yet to workout under rain. In other words, he had absolutely nothing to do… and the lack of activity was slowly killing him.
His diffused gaze suddenly stopped on one of the books dedicated to the Uchiha clan. It was just another piece of garbage, of course, he could say so without even opening it. Considering that his sensei was an Uchiha himself, just like one of his teammates who also happened to be one of his best friends, and also like his father's favorite student who often happened to be a guest in their house, Naruto had learned that this clan was especially secretive when it came to their history, their domestic issues and, most importantly, their powers. Therefore anything the jinchūriki would manage to find in this public bookstore about this topic would definitely turn to be a waste of his time, without a doubt, just like pretty much any other book here. Now that he thought about it, it was rather dumb of him to come here to begin with. But then again, what other choice had he had? He still needed to find a way to kill some boredom, after all...
"Ah, Naruto-kun! I knew I would find you here, you lazy bum!" he heard the familiar soft voice to his left, sighing and turning his head towards his other teammate.
"Yo, Hinata. What's up?"
The kunoichi smiled at him brightly as she came close, locking her hands in front of herself, holding a few bags within her grasp.
"Not much, just another boring day off. I was going to pay a visit to Sasuke's place. Would you maybe like to tag along?"
"Nah, I'll pass," he drawled immediately, picking another book and pretending to be genuinely interested in its contents.
The dark haired girl's brow cocked at him skeptically as she snatched the tome out of her friend's hand, making him flinch and look at her in surprise as she glanced at the cover and hemmed.
"Uh-huh… One Hundred Reasons Why Kunoichi Are Better Than Shinobi. Seriously, Naruto-kun? I never imagined you being interested in cheap tabloid crap like this one," she grinned at the boy who blushed, looking slightly ashamed.
"Busted," he sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. Hinata was sure a shrewd person… fooling her was never as easy as it was with Sasuke who usually didn't care enough to pry anyway.
"Now, tell me, why don't you want to come with me? Afraid of the Uchiha, are you?" she smiled teasingly, making him wince at her slightly mocking assumption.
"Afraid? Hardly. Still, one would be a fool not to be aware of them."
She laughed, and then nodded.
"Fair enough. You are right. And yet… I'm curious. Why are you avoiding Sasuke's home so much lately?" she persisted, peering at the ninja searchingly as he lowered his eyes sadly.
"Well... in truth, It kinda sucks to see Sasuke like this. I feel responsible and guilty… After all, I was the one who couldn't save him."
Hinata rolled her eyes and sighed, putting the book back to the shelf and giving the boy a long patient look.
"I thought we've already been though this, weren't we? Listen, Naruto-kun. None of us is at fault here. It was Sasuke's own decision to try to save us by sacrificing himself. And it was also very noble of him, don't you think so?" taken a little aback by his suspicious, skeptical gaze she blushed, looking away. "What? I'm simply stating the obvious. And as much as I, well...," she frowned, biting her lip, choosing her words very carefully, "As much as I'm not fond of his usual attitude and behavior, even I have to admit that it was very brave. I'd never thought he had it in him."
"Meh. On the contrary, I always knew that he was stupid," murmured Naruto, to which she nodded neutrally.
"Yes, it was also foolish but, from my point of view, it showed that deep inside, he's not just some foolish party boy he'd always seemed to be. He has some courage and resolve, after all, just like sensei kept telling us. And I didn't believe him." She smiled reassuringly as Naruto frowned. "Besides, considering how he miraculously came back from the realm of death… Don't you think it would be at the very least quite ungrateful of us, as his teammates and friends, not to thank him for what he did?"
"Yeah, I guess you have a point," he shrugged, still avoiding her gaze. "However, there is one big flaw in your plan. He's still not awake, and we don't know when he'll be back, if ever. Sensei is also not there at the moment, so I honestly don't see a point in coming there. What are you going to do with him anyway? Sing him a lullaby?"
Hinata giggled nervously, lowering her eyes to the bags she was holding.
"No. I wrote down everything Tsunade-same said, and I decided to cook something for him. Mother taught me a lot of good recipes, so… maybe the smell of my food will wake him up?" she sighed timidly, but then quickly realizing that it probably didn't sound very convincing she added swiftly, "A-And if it doesn't, well, it can just wait for him there. Right?"
But, to her relief, Naruto apparently decided not to push anyway despite her unusually awkward attitude, probably being uninterested.
"Yeah, whatever. Good luck explaining yourself to his parents. Fugaku-san can be a toughie, especially if he's not in his best mood. Though...," he looked in the direction of the Hokage's residence, "he's probably there at the summit as well so it should be more less safe."
"O-oh… Aren't we scared, after all?" she giggled at him again, patting Naruto's cheek which made him grimace first, but then he smirked, finally looking directly into the pearl white eyes.
"No. It's just that I don't like wasting my time aimlessly, that's all. If you got nothing better to do, feel free to go there. Don't have high expectations, though. You'll probably end up in a pretty embarrassing situation."
She smiled warmly, stepping backwards.
"What a douche… See you later, then." She waved at him, to which he nodded before turning back to the books and frowning.
In spite of her always being very nice to him, Naruto didn't trust Hinata as much as he trusted his best mates, Neji and Sasuke. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, his father Minato wasn't very fond of the girl's clan, usually preferring to deal with Uchiha instead. And although Naruto disagreed with the Hokage in many aspects, one thing the boy could say for sure — his old man never did anything for no reason. And with Naruto knowing that Hinata'd grown directly under the clan's head's guidance unlike her cousin, something always made the jinchūriki a little bit cautious in her presence, he just couldn't help it. That's why he didn't want her to know the true reason why he disliked to visit the place where Sasuke and Itachi lived. Quite in fact, he wouldn't even mind coming there himself. His tenant, however…
The shinobi touched his abdomen reflectively. Kurama didn't like them to be surrounded by a lot of Uchiha clan's members at the same time. And the uneasiness the fox felt whenever it happened affected Naruto's own mind as well. Although he maybe wouldn't mind coming to see his unconscious friend, especially now that he was struggling to find something interesting to do... Knowing that it would most likely end up being a futile and sad event exactly as it had been before, Naruto didn't want to annoy the tailed beast when it was completely unnecessary. In other words, he was willingly cutting himself from the only way to give this morning some meaning. However…
He smirked. There was at least one good thing in the current situation. Behind her overly defensive and sometimes a little aggressive facade, Hinata was a very soft and kind hearted girl. Well, at least as much as it was possible for someone of her high position, being her clan's heir and all that. She was especially nice to her teammates... well, the two of them. The kunoichi usually found Sasuke annoying enough to get angry at him every now and then, barely able to stand him outside missions. But now, she was clearly inspired by his friend's heroic deed. Her natural kindness made her want to give the lovelace bastard another chance… Perhaps Sasuke's sacrifice would ultimately strengthen the bonds between the members of their team. Something they had definitely lacked so far...
-~X~-
Sasuke opened his eyes, blinking a few times at the familiar ceiling of some dimly lit room. Feeling confused for a moment, he tried to analyze his feelings and memories. This time, he didn't feel any pain, which was already relieving enough. However…
His eyes widened as he came to his senses. The hospital… the encounter with his mother and Itachi. Was that just a dream, after all? Or…
He raised his head up from the soft pillow, looking around himself and feeling quite baffled as he realized what exactly was the place surrounding him. As a matter of fact, he was inside his own room… the very room he'd been living in since his childhood and up to the day he'd left Konoha. But, if everything he remembered about the recent events wasn't real, why on earth would he be here? No, it would make absolutely no sense...
The boy raised his left hand up and almost gasped. His limb was still there, looking and feeling perfectly intact despite being fully bandaged from his forearm to the very fingertips… just like his right arm, which could only mean that he'd never lost it. So, logically... this was a different world.
He threw the blanket off himself, sitting on the bed and then slowly attempting to stand up, gripping the nightstand the next second as his legs began to shake under his weight. He was still pretty weakened, after all… Disgustingly so. But, his physical condition wasn't any of his concern at the moment. Sasuke slowly limped close to the mirror on the wall, rubbing his eyes as everything around was still a bit blurry, and trying to focus.
He then flinched, meeting the gaze of two identically looking obsidian orbs staring at him in fear and awe from the opposite side. His Rinnegan… it was gone! And his height… The teen glanced at the scale to the left from the mirror's edge. He seemed to be a couple inches shorter than he could remember himself. Fifteen years old, huh...? That now seemed plausible. And he was also far too skinny… this was really bad. He almost looked feminine this way...
Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, leaning his hands on the small table in front of him and trying to calm himself. He didn't need any more proof of the fact that everything he could recall about what'd happened in the hospital was real. However, it didn't make anything easier for his mind to accept and proceed. He was completely alone, locked in an alien world where he didn't really know anybody. Even his family members had no idea who he actually was, what kind of person now resided in the body of their beloved Uchiha Sasuke. The body that was ridiculously weak and hadn't experienced anything he had. Speaking of which...
He met his reflection's anxious gaze again, quickly activating the Sharingan.
Just like he had expected, it felt disturbing. No, he didn't have the weak version with just two tomoe, luckily. However, this body definitely had more than poor chakra reserves comparing to his former one. Normally, Sasuke could walk around with his dōjutsu activated for days, if not weeks, without even feeling any impact whatsoever. Now, he could already sense the drawback that made him want to deactivate the Sharingan as soon as possible. The countdown of the energy consumed by his eyes… At this rate, he wouldn't even risk activating Mangekyō, for it would likely make him faint again. Or...
He licked his dry lips nervously. Was there anything to lose, really? Not like he was in a dangerous place or something like that anyway… and the attempt itself wouldn't kill him, would it? The worst what could happen to him would be a few more days spent in bed...
Having convinced himself, Sasuke made more of his chakra stream into his eyes, expecting the familiar six-pointed pattern to replace the three tomoe, but…
Nothing happened. His Sharingan didn't react to his command at all as though not understanding what he wanted.
His eyes then widened at the belated realization. Itachi was still alive here, and so was everyone he'd ever cared about. This version of Uchiha Sasuke had never awakened Mangekyō Sharingan to begin with…! And what made it even worse, he knew that awakening this dōjutsu required receiving a mental trauma of incredible magnitude. Considering that he'd already experienced one in the past, Sasuke wasn't sure if he'd be able to ever feel something strong enough to awaken this power for the second time. Especially in a very questionable reality like this one…
The boy clenched his fists, deactivating the Sharingan and looking across the room. No wonder that they considered him a weakling here. With an untrained body like this and without his eyes' true power, behaving like a careless jerk, he was bound to be mediocre at best regardless of his genes. It had to be fixed soon… No. As soon as possible!
But first…
First of all, he needed to ensure his safety in the new reality. He couldn't allow anybody to get suspicious of him, because the consequences of their reactions were completely unpredictable. Therefore the best possible option right now would be to somehow make everyone stop paying attention to him at all. A lot of people seemed to be expecting for the boy to wake up, especially his fellow clansmen. He needed to settle everything between himself and the others, at least temporarily so that they would give him some time to adapt to these new conditions peacefully and measuredly. And in order to make it possible, before trying anything else he needed to study the past of his alternative self from this world to be able to play this role, at least for a while.
He straightened his back, looking around. To his relief, the room itself didn't look that much different from what he remembered as his own, if only being a bit more messy all in all. And although he didn't expect to see anything downright shocking, Sasuke was still searching for unusual details… some small hints which would help him understand what kind of person everyone here expected him to be.
The first thing that drew his attention was the picture on the bookshelf. The young Uchiha came closer, taking it in his hands carefully and studying the faces of four people printed on the glossy paper. He instantly noticed himself, of course. His approximately twelve years old version was wearing a short sleeved unbuttoned blue shirt with a black T-shirt under it, and his hair was exactly the same as it had been at this age back in his world. There was also a forehead protector with the Leaf's symbol on. Basically, there was nothing interesting or informative… aside from his expression. On the picture, he was standing in the middle, hugging the other two kids' shoulders, grinning happily and winking at the person in front of them…
The shinobi frowned. Of course, he would expect himself to be much more expressive and cheerful should he have grown without experiencing the massacre, but it was still very weird to see himself with a careless and joyful face like this. It didn't suit him at all but, at the same time, it perfectly did...
His eyes then moved to the image of the boy to the left of himself.
Naruto... his expression here was a lot more calm and neutral than usual. He was still smiling warmly as well, but there was no crazy face or a funny grimace… He looked normal, even pleasant to a degree. His hair was also a bit longer, too, kind of reminding that of his father's. And the clothes… This boy was wearing a black jacket with orange cuff strips, and it looked far better than that terrible jumpsuit Naruto'd had at this age in Sasuke's world. Although his taste in colors didn't seem to be much different...
Finally, the Uchiha's attention turned to the girl with short dark blue hair. Her expression was very serious and, perhaps, slightly displeased. She was wearing a half-unzipped beige jacket with a dark-gray T-shirt visible under it. And her white irises… a Hyūga, huh?
Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her image. He was now sure that he remembered this face. Probably from the academy years… And according to his mother and Itachi, her name was Hinata, apparently. Well, he couldn't complain about this little change. Anyone would be better than Sakura, especially at that age when the pink haired girl was especially annoying and overly persistent.
His gaze then slid to Itachi's face. His brother was also smiling softly, towering over the three of them from behind. He hadn't changed at all, looking almost the same as he had back in the hospital, if only a little bit younger. He had to be around eighteen years old there...
And then something suddenly clicked in Sasuke's mind, leaving him completely astonished. Itachi. Why was he even there with them? And where the hell was Kakashi...?
He quickly looked at the back side of the picture and gasped. According to the signature this was, without a doubt, the full lineup of Konoha's Team Seven. Which could only mean that…That his brother was their sensei in this reality! But why? How? Wasn't he too young for this job? Then again...
At the age of seven, his wisdom was already on par with that of a Hokage, Sasuke suddenly remembered the revived Third telling him this about his brother during the war. Now that he thought about it this way, such turn of events made some sense, and yet...
Quickly putting the picture back on the bookshelf, he stepped back, breathing heavily. His heart began to pound faster as the growing feeling of panic was increasing every second. If even such small details were so much different here in this reality… what else was he supposed to expect to find out later? What was the state of Akatsuki here? Of Madara and his Moon's Eye plan? What about Orochimaru…?
Sasuke closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. Analysis required one's mind to be at peace, so he needed to get a hold of himself and to focus. Whatever surprises might expect him there, he needed to get as much information as possible very soon before making any decisions. Wasting any more time was not an option.
The ninja strode back to his bed, and then his nervous gaze stopped on the nightstand while he winced in disgust.
It was full of various postcards, toys, flowers and other trash. All of it looked so sickeningly girlish that he was about to vomit, instantly forgetting about his intention to remain calm. Seriously, though… what the hell is this abomination…?
Sasuke took one of the postcards in his trembling hands, genuinely afraid of whatever he was to find there as he read the calligraphic letters with whimsical curls:
Heeeey!
Please, get better soon, Sasuke-kun! We miss you so much!
Love, Tatsumi & Sagisu-chan.
Please, get better soon, Sasuke-kun! We miss you so much!
Love, Tatsumi & Sagisu-chan.
He tossed the colorful piece of paper aside as though it was about to start burning in his hands, taking another one only to сrumple and throw it into the wall the next moment. It turned out that all these "gifts" were from his fan girls all across Konoha… What a shame. Why had his mother even let these pieces of trash end up inside his room? Unless…
His face blanched as another postcard fell out of his fingers at the frightening realization.
Unless he… no, this Sasuke generally didn't mind such things! Had this version of himself really enjoyed the attention of all these dumb fan girls…? How could he...!
Sasuke rubbed his temples, sitting down on his bed and groaning desperately in frustration.
No way… there was no ****ing way that he was such a weak and careless moron no matter the universe. It was no wonder now that his mother had talked to him like… like…
Like to some retarded dead last.
He gritted his teeth as his face twisted in rage. There was absolutely no chance that he would agree to play along with this. Screw his duty, screw the world, screw everything, he wasn't going to pretend to be an utter moron with no sense of pride whatsoever. This was just too much. He needed to find a way to convince them all that the upcoming change in his personality would be logical. No matter how he was supposed to do it, this was his highest priority now!
And, luckily, it matched another task of utmost importance he was currently having at hand. He couldn't allow his new body to remain so ludicrously weak. He needed to start training soon... No, right now!
His thought got interrupted by his stomach as it growled loudly, making the teen sigh.
Well… Perhaps, after a hot shower and a quick meal.
-~X~-
Surprisingly enough, there turned to be nobody else aside from Sasuke inside the house. Likely because they hadn't expected him to suddenly awaken, there was no food prepared for him at the kitchen either. Not that it made the boy feel any uncomfortable — after all, he had learned to use this very kitchen to cook for himself, he'd done it for years. And although it was a bit sad that he couldn't talk to his parents or his brother right away but, at the moment, it was probably for the better. This way, he would be able to slip out of the Uchiha district, and to find himself some empty training ground to test his current capabilities… and to meditate, thinking on his next move.
That's why as soon as he finished the omelette with bacon and tomatoes, Sasuke rushed back to his room, wanting to leave the surreal place as soon as possible. He quickly opened the wardrobe and picked a short sleeved gray shirt with his clan's crest on its back, which looked pretty similar to the one he'd worn during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Having zipped it, he put a pair of dark blue pants on before glancing at his reflection in the mirror. He then ruffled his hair so that it would take a more familiar form with a few spiky bangs covering his forehead now. Finally more less satisfied with his appearance, the ninja searched through the room in hopes of finding a sword but, as he'd expected, there was none. This Sasuke probably hadn't learned kenjustu, too…
Feeling even more annoyed and frustrated now, he tried to look for a kind of loose overall so that he would be able to hide his identity from those who could recognize him out there in the village. It took him about ten minutes to find a decent cloth in Itachi's room, and only then did the boy finally storm out of the house, quickly walking towards the gates. Chilly air filled his lungs, and the powerful gust of wind made the boy close his eyes for a moment to appreciate the refreshing, almost dizzy feeling, once again reassuring him. The sensation was just too real for everything around to be a mere dream.
There was barely anybody around as the drops of rain were beginning to fall from the dark gray sky, so he decided not to put his hood on for a while, admiring the place as he was walking down the wide lane. The Uchiha clan's territory had sure grown more beautiful and grand since the supposed time of the massacre. He could see many new buildings here and there; beautiful flower beds were placed across almost the entire main street, and the road under his feet was very clean… so much unlike what it had been when he was the only resident of the dead version of this place back in his world...
As he remembered the creepy picture, the sudden flash of pain that pierced his head made Sasuke wince as he reflectively covered his left eye with his hand. Feeling afraid for a moment he stopped, but then the pain started decreasing rapidly. Everything around became blurry again but, other than that, he felt rather satisfactory. Still, the young ninja decided to keep going, hoping that this was merely an echo of the trauma he had suffered. Too absorbed by his thought and reflections and partly blinded by the nagging pain, the young ninja didn't pay any attention to the dark haired girl who was walking towards him from the gates. Apparently, she didn't appreciate the fact that he hadn't even looked at her as they passed by each other. That's why he flinched when someone gripped his forearm tightly from behind, making the teen turn around abruptly and narrow his eyes crossly at the angry face.
Albeit he couldn't see her face clearly at the moment, she was pretty nice looking, he could admit. Make no mistake, he wasn't particularly interested in her feminine side and neither was he currently caring about any girl for that matter. However, he could say that she was definitely a ninja just by how well toned her open abdomen was. Civilians never cared about their shape so much, especially girls who mostly preferred to simply be as skinny as possible thanks to countless diets. A couple inches shorter than him, she was wearing a light gray top; an unzipped lavender jacket with long white sleeves as well as denim shorts alongside standard ninja sandals. Her straight, dark blue hair was long enough to reach her middle, and her white eyes weren't promising anything good as he met her clearly irritated gaze.
"Sasuke. What's wrong with you? For how long have you been awake? And why on earth did you just ignore me, huh?"
He gritted his teeth, breaking out of her grip and stepping backwards, narrowing his eyes at her. These damned fan girls… he should've known that they wouldn't leave him alone as soon as he would leave his house.
"I don't have any time for you. Leave me alone and don't ever come close to me again," he snapped, turning away a moment later. The shinobi then put his cowl on and continued to walk towards the main gate of the district.
A few more seconds passed as he kept striding down the street. He'd already almost managed to forget about the cocky nuisance when he heard a scowling growl coming from behind. And then something heavy landed loudly on the ground just behind his back, making the boy stop and glance over his shoulder at the item that'd just made so much noise. There were two bags, and he could see that a few bowls rolled out, some of them shattered, with something that looked like stew slowly spilling on the road.
"You—you are the worst person I've ever met, Sasuke! I swear! Damn you, brainless moron!"
He didn't bother looking back at her, resuming to his way the next moment. This girl definitely had a point. In this world, Uchiha Sasuke was an utter moron. But, times change. And he'd just started solving that problem.
As he was walking through the streets and lanes of the village, his vision slowly restored again which allowed him to examine the environment. The Uchiha noticed that everything around was quite different from what he remembered. A lot of new big and small buildings had appeared around, and the interior of the Konoha as well as its infrastructure all on all looked somewhat more expensive and developed, which could only mean that the economy of the country and the hidden village in particular was in a good state. Which meant that the Fourth was probably a decent leader, then… Although, to be fair, anything would look better than the ruins left by the Fifth's reign back in his reality. And he hadn't seen his Konoha for years before his final visit to said ruins with Orochimaru and Team Taka, so he couldn't really compare.
Fortunately, the location of the training grounds hadn't changed. Sasuke managed to reach the place in no time and, to his amusement, there was nobody around to disturb him. The rain intensified, but he didn't really care. Instead he took the black shapeless cloth off his shoulders, tossing it on the grass roughly and starting to form hand seals right away. A second later, the familiar chirping sound echoed over the place, making him smirk as he felt truly emboldened for the first time in ages. At least his signature technique was working… although considering how much energy it had taken for him to use it just a single time, Sasuke wasn't sure if he could perform it more than four more times in a row without resting. Yes, he was truly pitiful… but there was nothing he couldn't eventually fix.
He then bit his finger and slammed his palm into the wet dirt under his feet, using a good half of his remaining chakra in an attempt to perform the summoning jutsu but of course, it didn't work, which could only mean that he hadn't signed a contract yet.
The ninja sighed heavily, closing his eyes. This was bad… He had no Mangekyō, no Kusanagi sword, no affinity with snakes, no chakra reserves, no strength… Nothing. He only had his base Sharingan… and the unbreakable resolve.
Having already started to feel depressed, he suddenly grinned, slowly beginning to laugh.
No, he actually had something far more valuable than any of the things mentioned above. He had knowledge. As it'd just been proven with Chidori, his brain remembered everything he had learned back in his world. He knew how to awaken Mangekyō Sharingan, even if it seemed impossible to do at the moment. He knew how to train himself to get to a decent level in no time. He knew where to find Ryūchi cave to sign a contract with snakes. And finally, he knew his clan's darkest secrets... That alone was priceless in a world where the name of the Uchiha hadn't ceased to exist.
He'd been testing his limits for about an hour until he heard someone yelling from the distance:
"Hey, Sasuke-kun! Glad to see you awake!"
He snapped his head towards the voice, narrowing his eyes at the teen of his age who was quickly approaching him with a broad smile on his face. He was wearing a simple set of traditional white training uniform as well as dark-hazel kilt; his hair was long, straight and brown, and his eyes…
Another Hyūga...
Already about to tell him to get the hell out of there, Sasuke suddenly stopped at the last moment, frowning. He couldn't be sure of what kind of relationship the two of them shared. What if this person was his friend? Breaking the existing ties would be very unwise considering his quite shaky position so, unfortunately, he had no other option but to try to be nice… as best as he could. At least this one wasn't a stupid fan girl...
"Yeah…," he said quietly as the other ninja came close to him, activating his Byakugan and eyeing him up and down.
"What the hell are you doing here when it's raining so hard, man? Are you alright in the head?" the genuinely concerned expression made Sasuke feel slightly uneasy, but he didn't show any sign of his emotion as he replied calmly,
"Training. My body has suffered significant damage during the latest mission. I need to recover as soon as possible. And also…," he looked away, trying to sound a little dramatic, "I've realized that I need to be much stronger if I don't want something like that to happen again."
"Ah… well, that's understandable," the Hyūga nodded seriously, scratching his chin. "Good news here. Your chakra flow is almost fine, although you seem to have wasted quite a lot of energy recently… other than that, you look alright."
"I'm fine, thanks," said Sasuke, trying to sound neutral only to avoid making the impression of being aggressive. "Why did you come here yourself?"
The boy smirked, looking amused as he said:
"Oh, it's because of Hinata-sama. You see, she came home wet and furious as hell. She called you a lot of names, you know. I have no idea what happened between the two of you, but it definitely made her lose her temper which doesn't happen often to say the least. That's how I learned that you are awake, mate. Then I used my eyes' power to find you. Anyway… what the hell did you say to her?" he asked curiously as the Uchiha frowned and paled a bit.
The girl he met in the Uchiha district... It was Hyūga Hinata. She was his teammate, not just some fan girl. And the food she'd carried… she'd probably been heading to his house, having noticed him being awake via her Byakugan's enhanced vision. Evidently, the girl'd merely wanted to give him some food… and he'd acted like a total jerk.
This was bad. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn. But, one of his intentions in his new life was to form bonds with his teammates. And he'd just done the opposite thing…
"I told her that I don't have time for her and that I wanted to be left alone," he said sincerely, making the other ninja whistle.
"Damn… That's harsh. I know she's not on the best terms with you, but Hinata-sama has spent the entire morning cooking for you. I think you should apologize, Sasuke-kun. You know that I'd take your side normally, but this..." He spread his hands.
Sasuke nodded slowly and uttered, "Yeah… I probably should."
"Anyway, it's so unlike you to be rude with a girl, let alone that rude. Are you really feeling that bad? Or, perhaps, something else happened to spoil your mood that much?"
Sasuke shrugged indefinitely, unsure what to say. He didn't even know this person's name… why was he supposed to excuse himself now?
"A lot of things have happened. I'd rather not talk about it right now, it's mostly about my family and I don't want to discuss it."
"Oh… I see," to the Uchiha's surprise, the other teen didn't try to push, which was a good thing. At least he could mind his own business…, "Training it is, then. To bad Naruto-kun is not here, he could help us quite a lot with his versatile ninjutsu arsenal but, oh well—"
"Naruto?" Sasuke glanced at him with interest. "Do you know where he is?"
"Eh…," the guy raised his head up, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the territory of the village with his dōjutsu, "He's currently heading home. Do you want to catch up with him? Would be cool to hang out again as usual. It's been a while since the three of us last went to chill together." He smirked joyfully, wiping the drops of rain off his forehead protector.
As usual? So they were friends, after all...
"I still need to finish the training," replied Sasuke impassively, activating his Sharingan. "Assist me, will you? I need to test a couple new techniques."
"Of course," replied the brown haired teen and grinned cheerfully, raising his thumb up. "Hyūga Neji, always at your service!"
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I'll be posting the next chapter in a few hours, don't miss it! ^^