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(teamwork) first two scenes of chapter 5 (Sasuke POV)
I'm not sure I like everything in the first section. The second section might need to be fluffed up -- mood, actions -- or it might not, but I'm a bit more secure about the in-character-ness and enjoyment factor. It might be because I don't like long POV pieces and had to read the first bit way too often, but Sasuke sounds whiny and emo instead of reasonably worried and, well, brooding.
Also, I'm a tiny bit scared that it sounds too much like everything's about Sakura. Sure, one of the main plot points puts emphasis on what she's going through, but I really don't want to have all other characters fall into her orbit. (again, I'm much less worried about the second part than the first.)
If you have ideas on how to tweak that -- editing a few sentences? any other suggestions? -- please tell me. If you don't see what the hell I'm talking about and think I'm paranoid, also please tell me. I really don't know if it's all in my head or what.
Monday. Start of the new week. Return to normal life, waiting for Kakashi at the bridge. Hopefully, a mission, to hone his skills even further...
Hah. Right. After that mess with Naruto's tenant, they should be glad if they got anything but D-class for the next year.
Sasuke stared at the water running merrily under the red bridge, the same cheerful, unconcerned way it always did, and briefly, irrationally resented it for staying the same when his whole life was fucked with once again.
Oh, sure, it wasn't really a bad change in itself, and ninjas adapted easily to new circumstances, it was in the job description.
It wasn't a bad change in the way his entire clan getting murdered was. But it fucked with his plans all the same.
He glanced at Naruto; the blond was goofing off on the handrail, trying to spot fish in the shadows of the bridge. He didn't seem the worse for wear, for someone who had spent his night roaming the building -- and incidentally mildly freaking Sasuke out.
When Sasuke had been told about Naruto's sleepwalking problem, during their brief escape from the village, he'd assumed that it meant that Kyuubi was somehow in control -- but he should have known better. If Kyuubi really had been able to take total control while Naruto was unaware, they'd have locked him up ages ago. Jiraiya, for all his liking the blond pest, would have never covered that up.
But even though the eyes were indeed red, the nails way too long, and the behavior not quite human -- Naruto never sniffed things that openly, or hunted bats and cats and rats and other animals who had the misfortune of coming out at night... Well, Sasuke kind of doubted that Kyuubi no Youko would ever lower himself to actually look twice at that sort of prey. It seemed so far beneath him. Besides, there was no real recognition in his -- their? -- eyes. Sasuke had been acknowledged as being there, sometimes he'd been sniffed too, or nudged and bumped into semi-affectionately, but they didn't talk to him and didn't answer beyond a twitch or a vague frown when he talked to them. He'd only met Kyuubi face to face once, but it was enough to remember the demon-fox's expressions. They were wildly different from Naruto's, but there was no denying that they were there. They were not the expression --or lack thereof -- that he'd showed last night.
Sasuke didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do about the incident, or even if he was supposed to do anything. He didn't know how much Naruto was aware of, how dangerous the sleepwalking was to the seal, if Sasuke was supposed to report it, or hide it, or if it really wasn't important at all.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!" Sakura's voice was a bit subdued, though he could hear a smile in her voice anyway. It annoyed him, that one of his new duties was to notice, and try to find a way to fix that.
He shouldn't have minded caring. But he cared. And he minded a hell of a lot. Caring was only a burden for an avenger.
He'd allowed that burden to slow him down a little when it had been clear that his teammates wouldn't let him leave them behind -- and also when Itachi had more or less disappeared. He'd allowed them to slow his quest for power down, because they wouldn't let him go and he had been made aware that he needed more time to catch up to his brother. He had despised himself for the need for them, for missing an opportunity -- but the opportunity was gone with Orochimaru's death and they -- his teammates, his teacher, the Hokage and the Council and fucking everyone -- had been careful not to allow him to glimpse any other occasion to get stronger that didn't come from the Leaf. And after a few years, he'd grudgingly admitted that maybe the Leaf didn't stifle his growth the way he'd thought at thirteen.
But there was a difference between having teammates dogging his heels on his path to power and settling down to raise a family.
He didn't want to share his thoughts with the two of them, though; even despite how well they knew him, they would still try to make it better by insisting on the good sides of the situation. He was aware of the good sides. It didn't dull his first goal in life any, and it didn't make him feel any less hampered by the shitload of new responsibilities he'd acquired.
Naruto could laugh and be carefree, he thought with some resentment as he watched Sakura hesitate a second before giving him a peck on the cheek, and Naruto beam and launch into a retelling of his grand adventures with the contents of Sasuke's cupboards. The blond was getting almost everything he'd ever wanted, and there was no good reason why it would prevent him from reaching for Hokage later on. Sakura at least was more sensible; she wasn't walking on Cloud Nine all the time.
Sasuke didn't want to make it worse for everyone by being an ass, so when Sakura went to him and paused, unsure, he leaned toward her a little, a neutral expression firmly affixed to his face. She pecked his offered cheek quickly, and then beamed. It made him twitch inwardly. If only he could be stopped from obsessing over his own problems so easily -- argh. And now he was feeling sorry for himself.
"Still at the Yamanakas?" he asked, just to stop thinking.
Sakura looked relieved by his starting the conversation. "Yes. They're so nice... But my father promised he'd talk to Mom, so maybe I'll be back home soon," she added, making a decent try at a hopeful grin.
"That's great, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he bounced toward them.
"Yeah -- um, listen, both of you," she added quickly. "I have to tell you a few things before Kakashi-sensei arrives." There was an odd quality to her voice, as if she was forcing herself to stay detached. Sasuke braced himself for news he probably didn't want to hear.
"What's that? You want to hide things from your favorite teacher?"
Sasuke twitched. Naruto and Sakura whirled around.
One of these days, he would make Kakashi tell him how the hell he managed to totally cover up the gathering of chakra that signaled an incoming. He was also pretty sure that the swirl of leaves now littering the bridge was there as courtesy -- or laziness.
Kakashi smiled genially at his students, crouching on his pillar. "Sorry, sorry! I was waylaid by our most beloved Hokage..."
"Liar!!" exclaimed Naruto predictably. "Why would old hag Tsunade -- wait a sec, you're not even late!"
Kakashi blinked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"... He's not?" Sakura asked, quickly checking the position of the sun.
Naruto boggled. "Well, maybe ten minutes. But that's NOTHING! Sensei, are you sick?!"
Now Kakashi looked faintly embarrassed. "... As a matter of fact, no. Hokage-sama insisted that I transmit this to you, Sakura."
She took the rolled up sheets of paper and undid the knot, glancing at it, and then she bit her lip. Sasuke arched an eyebrow at her, and Naruto tried unsubtly to look over her shoulder. Sakura moved as if to hide it from him, and then sighed and just let him read on.
"What's that? A timetable? Pushups, jogging..."
"This is my new training regimen," she replied casually, at odds with her previous attitude. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"What do you need a new training regimen for?" he asked.
"Well, Hokage-sama has decided that I'll be safer if I make sure to be in excellent health. You know that babies draw on the mother's chakra reserves..."
As a matter of fact, he knew, and he knew that she knew. Why the hell would she try to misdirect him by pretending to share info? Even Naruto was aware of that fact, even if his mildly surprised expression proved that it slipped his mind sometimes. Besides, there were a lot of sheets for one training regimen, unless the Hokage was detailing new and complicated exercises.
"Ah -- Kakashi-sensei, thank you, for bringing this," she continued, turning away from the boys, a smile firmly affixed to her face.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a suspicious look. Kakashi was still watching them all, expressionless and silent.
Naruto scratched his head and glanced at the papers again. "Uh, Sakura-chan... That's really all your training routine? There's a lot of papers... It's spread on one week, right? 'cause that would be brutal."
Sakura quickly checked the sheets of paper. "... um, no, it's daily, but there are other things too -- it's not just the training."
"What's the rest?" Sasuke asked, frowning.
"Nutrients I have to get per day, recommended foods and vitamin supplements, things like that..."
"Why d'you have to get all that?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.
Sasuke snorted. "Every woman does when she's pregnant, dumbass. People sort of LIKE having both mother and baby healthy and surviving it."
Had Sakura just flinched?
"Oh, so it's normal then?" Naruto asked with some relief; Sasuke wasn't listening anymore because she'd flinched again. "But not every woman trains harder when they're pregnant, what about the civilians -- guys?"
Sakura winced and looked away from Sasuke, and glanced at Kakashi imploringly. Their teacher shook his head.
"Sakura, you have to tell them," Kakashi commented.
"Tell us what?" Naruto demanded, bewildered and worried.
Sakura twitched and continued as if she hadn't heard the blond. "But -- I mean... How do you know anyway? Did Hokage-sama tell you?" she added, a note of outrage in her voice. "Did she?"
Kakashi gave her a long, bland and faintly disapproving look. "I'm going to be training you personally, Sakura," he replied softly. "She didn't tell me much, but she did tell me what I needed to know. It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks."
Sakura visibly wilted. Sasuke was starting to really dislike that.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, touching her shoulder hesitantly.
She winced, hesitated.
"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke demanded, pushing away from the guardrail.
"Ah -- it's just... the pregnancy is siphoning off more chakra than it should. I mean..." She took a deep breath, "a lot more."
It wasn't so much the words as the tone, the way she didn't look up at either of them. The way Kakashi gazed at their little group, careful not to get involved.
"How much danger are you in, exactly?"
She didn't answer right away. Behind her, Naruto had gone still.
"... A lot. I should have told you two yesterday," Sakura added, giving him a miserable look. "But, um... Ididn'twanttobreakthemood," she muttered, looking down at her feet with rapt attention.
Sasuke scowled. Usually Sakura was relatively easy to see through. Not as obvious as Naruto, but it was easy enough to see when her smile was false. Yesterday, though, he hadn't noticed that she was hiding something in particular.
"And you didn't think that it was a little more important than 'the mood'?"
Naruto hissed between his teeth and glowered at him. "Don't be a dick, Sasuke, she told us today." The moron dared to look disappointed in him. What the hell.
Sasuke sneered at him. "Because Kakashi made her."
"I was going to!" she protested, missing Naruto's aborted gesture to -- touch her, hold her.
And now she sounded hurt, and Naruto was still looking disappointed, in him and a little in her, and he was the bad guy again.
"Enough." Kakashi dropped from his perch, hands in his pockets. "I don't care to know what you do during downtime. You have three D-rank missions for today. Sasuke, Naruto, you'll share the tasks between the two of you. Sakura, with me. We'll get you started on that training regimen."
He paused, stared at the three of them.
"From the moment you arrive here, to the moment I send you home, you are my soldiers. Leave your personal life at home. Our team doesn't need the baggage."
Sasuke stared at the planks under his feet and pretended that he didn't feel chastised. Kakashi was right, of course. This was not the time to whine and bitch; it was the time to train, and possibly earn some money. D-ranks felt very much beneath him -- them -- but he could be professional.
Probably better than Naruto, too.
+
Over the next two weeks, his resolve to behave like a professional was sorely tested.
Along with the usual weeding and gardening ("... Splash me with mud again and DIE."), delivering messages, food and heavy items all over Konoha ("betcha I'll be done first!"), carrying old women's purchases ("Such a handsome and well-behaved young man. Tell me, do you know my granddaughter Emi? She's about your age and..."), they also had the good luck of collecting kunai lost by academy students during a field trip ("How the HELL did that land there?"), assisting the teacher of the five-year-old kids ("It's like herding cats..." "I'd rather BE herding cats!" "... Sasuke... tell me ours will take after Shika and just stay put all day..."), and babysitting/bodyguarding the nephew of some noble or other during a trip to an amusement park ("Naruto, damn it, you don't spank your customer!" "Spoiled brat deserved worse! He was only pretending to cry anyway." "Yeah, but his parents aren't pretending to dock our pay, you retard.").
Then Hokage-sama needed her library sorted out and the subjects of her scrolls noted down ("Oh wow, that's really gross. Look, Sasuke!" "... Get that scroll out of my face if you don't want it stuffed up your ass." "Less flirting, more lifting, brats -- you still have these crates to do."), and then it was laundry at the hospital ("oh, OWW, they've put electric fences around the water tower!" "...I wonder why, moron." "... Oh, right. Uh... Sasuke..." "Less whispering, more sheets hanging, boys! And I better not see you using these laundry baskets for anything untoward, alright?" "What?! We weren't --" "Oh, you weren't inappropriate, but them foxes, they're all perverts, you can't trust 'em. Guard your rear, child." "...You want your rear guarded, Saaaasuke-kun?" "Oh, shut up -- and don't even think about it."), and then it was filling in for sick orderlies at the senile old ninjas ward ("well at least there's not a lot of them --" ZING "--but who the HELL thought they should get to keep shuriken?!" "You don't want to deal with the paranoia they work themselves into when we try to take their weapons, kid. You don't. They haven't lived so long because they're -- watch out!" "... Shower. Where." "... Uh. At least the bedpan was changed a few hours ago?" "SHOWER. WHERE.")
Sasuke did his very best to stay professional, though he sorely missed Sakura at times. Competing with Naruto could make the most tedious physical tasks entertaining, and Naruto never got hurt when Sasuke felt like not talking and tuned him out, but there were moments he wondered how they could do anything without her to play the diplomat between the two of them. They play-fought, even knowing that there were moments when it wasn't appropriate, about as often as they fought seriously, with cutting words and fists to the face -- and they were both too stubborn to apologize afterwards.
And she was the only one who actually knew anything about the hospital and its residents -- or, hell, the only one who had any nurturing instincts at all, not to mention actual patience -- and she was too busy kicking the shit out of things to keep the crazy old coots at bay. Did he look like a goddamn nurse to the sadist who gave these missions out?
When the missions didn't take all day, Naruto and Sasuke usually went to train with the rest of their team. Afterwards, they walked Sakura home -- they'd used to hang out from time to time, but that was before Sakura had been trying to convince her mother that she wasn't busy being a slut every minute she wasn't training -- not that there was a lot left of these minutes anymore. Besides he saw Naruto all evening, there really was no surprise if half the time he skipped away to go play with Konohamaru or whatever it was that they did together. Or maybe he went and bothered Iruka, whatever. And the few times Kakashi let them go early, and Naruto and Sakura could stay, he was the one who needed to go to the bank to talk about his accounts, or had to write letters right and left to see about getting as many of his clan's old rights and privileges and status back. The political and legal ramifications were giving him a headache.
Needless to say, he wasn't in a very receptive mood when Sakura interrupted the relative quiet of their lunch break -- which he was using to train a little more; his taijutsu was getting rusty -- and announced, "My father wants to invite you two to dinner."
Naruto was visibly as startled as him. "... uh. Okay," the blond stuttered out.
Sakura looked very uncomfortable. "As my... um. Boyfriends, I guess. I told him a little while ago, and. Well. He knows."
Sasuke cringed inwardly. Meeting Sakura's parents? That was going to be excruciating. He had enough on his plate already with all the legal responsibilities, he was going to have to answer to enough people as it was; the idea of justifying, defending himself and their relationship again in front of someone who had no real authority over him or his was grating on his nerves.
"And he really wants to meet us?" Naruto seemed to be worried about getting dragged in the basement and clobbered.
"Well... Yes. He, um, he's not perfectly okay with it, I don't think -- it was a shock, and I think he's still doing his best to wrap his mind around it, but... He'll try to keep an open mind. That's good, isn't it?"
Sasuke nodded absently while Naruto beamed at her. He supposed it was, for her; but he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have parents to answer to, people who had an emotional investment and responsibility in your life.
"And your mother?"
Sakura avoided their eyes. "She... Well, she knows you're coming."
Sasuke's eye twitched, but somehow he managed not to retort anything. "When?"
"Next Friday evening. Seven PM."
He narrowed his eyes, nodded and went back to his kata. There wasn't much to add, really.
She kept watching him as he trained, with reproachful, disappointed eyes, and only stopped when Kakashi came back and guided her through more exercises. Naruto scowled at him, and then went his own way.
The last time Naruto had followed the patterns with Sakura, she had ended up screaming at him for getting it on the third try when she was going through her tenth and still having trouble with it. Usually, Sasuke discreetly followed with the Sharingan, in case Kakashi showed her something that he could use later, but today, he turned away.
It was still early, for sure. But he wasn't stupid; he could read her dissatisfaction with herself, and the way Kakashi frowned sometimes, and her body language when they'd seen her leaving the Hokage's office at the hospital. She was progressing some, but at her current rate of progress... She was working too hard, tiring herself out, and it wasn't enough. Maybe it was just that she hadn't found her rhythm yet, that her body was still trying to adapt, and she just needed more time. Maybe.
And then there was the way she would sick up at the most random smells, and the constant fatigue -- though that was probably mostly due to the training -- and the way she would wince and rub at her chest sometimes -- it had been surprising and... interesting, the first time he'd caught her at that, but by now it was clear that she wasn't comfortable.
But Kakashi was training her, and as for the lack of comfort -- well, he wasn't a medic-nin either.
Later in the afternoon, Kakashi paired them up for some sparring, while he drilled Naruto on genjutsu.
As the hours crawled by, he could see her tiring out, losing her coordination. She tried too hard to compensate, more and more erratic and reckless. Sasuke forbid himself to comment on her efforts in anything but an utterly neutral tone. He tried to silence the growing certainty, but he couldn't; he saw it in her eyes too.
At her current rate of progress, she wasn't going to make it.
He called for a halt, finally. She was making mistake after mistake. If she had been Naruto, he would have been mocking her; he didn't comment, turning away to get something to drink. Sakura's taijutsu had always been inferior to his -- he couldn't really expect a challenge -- and they were trying to get her body to develop its chakra pathways, to get used to handle bigger quantities, first and foremost ; teaching her more hand to hand was secondary. That she got exhausted so quickly, though -- that was frustrating, but it was useless to point it out to her; she was doubtlessly aware of the fact.
She was pale and her jaws clenched, eyes a little too wide and a little too wet; he would have hated to be seen like that. He avoided looking at her as he picked up her canteen and passed it to her.
It was slapped out of his hand, catching him by surprise, and went sailing into a tree.
It was just her frustration, he told himself as he looked at her, forbidding himself from feeling any.
"You -- you..."
"... Yes?" he prompted her. She looked about to blow up, or to break down; he didn't know which. Maybe there was a part of pregnancy hormones in that, he considered absently.
"Asshole!" she screeched, fists clenched, trembling.
He was vaguely aware that Kakashi and Naruto couldn't have missed that. Most of his attention was on her, though.
"What did I do now?"
"You -- you're looking at me and not saying anything and you don't even fucking CARE, do you?! You don't care, you just despise me because I'm not up to your standards--"
"Sakura," he interrupted her, frowning. "I'm not saying anything because you're already aware of the problems; I don't see what it would add for me to --"
"Maybe a feeling that you give a damn about me? Not the baby, me!"
For a second, she looked horrified at blurting that out, and then, as he could only stare, shocked, her anger came roaring back.
"God, Sasuke, would it kill you to just -- just hold me or something -- or even look fucking sorry -- or angry, even, then I'd know that you give a damn!"
What? She didn't seriously think -- what did she want, an engraved poem about his feelings all over the Hokage monument? "How am I supposed to know when you want me to hold you?" he snapped back, clenching his teeth.
She didn't listen, continuing her diatribe. "We've been together for three weeks now and you only kiss me when Naruto kisses me first! You never touch me when you don't have to and -- and..."
He unclenched his fists forcefully, reached for her shoulder. That was what she wanted, right? She dodged his hand, bending to pick up her bag with jerky movements.
"Sakura--"
"I'm going home."
Naruto burst through the bushes, looking alarmed. "Sakura-chan! What's going on?"
"Nothing," she snapped, her back on them. "I'm done. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kakashi's hand fell on Naruto's shoulder as he opened his mouth to call her back. The blond stared up at his teacher, then at Sakura as she left the field, and finally at Sasuke, who was still rooted in the same spot.
"What did you DO to her?" Naruto exclaimed.
"How the hell should I know?!" Sasuke hissed back.
Naruto shrugged off Kakashi's hand, getting in Sasuke's face. "She was crying!"
Sasuke somehow refrained from decking him. But how he wanted to. "I don't KNOW, alright?"
"Well, what did you say to her?"
"Nothing, damn it! What was I supposed to say? 'Wow, you really suck today'?"
Two heavy, gloved hands landed on their shoulders, separating them. "Sasuke. Naruto." Kakashi sounded annoyed for once.
"Yeah, don't mix up your personal life and ninja stuff, we know," Naruto muttered, looking away.
"You've both done that today. You and Sakura. Remember, next time. As for you, Sasuke," he added wryly, "you didn't mix it up enough."
Sasuke looked up, incredulous. "I should have -- what, kissed her out here?"
"If I see any of you kissing during training, that will be twenty laps around the Forest of Death. Inside the fence." He let that sink in before continuing. "You don't have to kiss her to express your respect of her abilities as your teammate, though. No one likes feeling like dead weight."
"But she knew that she was doing badly," Sasuke opposed, scowling.
Kakashi sighed. "She doesn't have the same natural advantages as you or Naruto do. Her best isn't going to be anything like yours. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't encourage her to reach it and go past it."
"That wasn't her best," he muttered. Naruto was glaring at him as if Sasuke was being disloyal for admitting it. "It wasn't," he insisted. "She kept getting frustrated and wanting to go too fast."
"Then point that out," Kakashi drawled in a long-suffering tone. "So long as you point out what she does right, too."
Sasuke was starting to get really, really tired of feeling chastened.
"Yeah, she can't read your mind," Naruto intervened, lower lip jutting out in a stubborn pout. "Girls like it when you actually tell them stuff."
"You don't need me to tell you when you mess up."
"That's because I don't need your lessons!" Naruto growled, bristling. "...Besides when I mess up I get a fist in the face; 's not as if I don't notice where I went wrong."
"Should I start punching her in the face, then?"
"What? No!"
"Maybe, yes," Kakashi commented, tone bored. Sasuke and Naruto stared at him.
"Not yet, obviously. But if you want to take the Chuunin exam sometime this year, she needs to be aware of the holes in her guard."
Sasuke gave him an incredulous look. "What, I should break her bones too? Naruto heals so fast it doesn't matter, but her--"
"She's training as a medic-nin," Kakashi reminded them. "If you want her to be of any use on the field, she needs to start using these abilities in combat situations. Knowing the theory is fine, but if she can't use it outside of a calm, controlled environment, it's useless."
Pulling his book out of his pocket, he started looking for his page. Sasuke looked away. No more berating, finally.
"You two will keep on sparring with her whenever possible. Give her two more weeks, and then, start taking the openings she leaves."
Naruto looked uncomfortable. "But, Kakashi-sensei..."
"... None of the teams you will encounter in the exam will have a problem punching her in the stomach, you know."
Sasuke tensed up; Naruto jerked.
"Seeing how hard the child is clinging to her, I doubt she'll lose it from a normal hit. But you don't know what kind of adversaries you will encounter, and even if she isn't showing by then, her scent will be different. People will notice, and will try to take advantage of it."
Sasuke sighed and rubbed at his face. Great, one more worry to add to his pile.
Kakashi turned the page, and started to walk away. "Tomorrow morning, same hour."
Naruto grumbled a goodbye, as they picked up their stuff. Then they more or less fell into step, both sour and discontented.
When they reached the top of the stairs, and Sasuke unlocked his door, they still hadn't said a word to each other. Sasuke pretended that he was glad for the quiet, except that Naruto's thoughts were so loud he could almost hear them and he hated that even more than a good yelling session.
Sasuke would have liked to sit heavily on his couch and glare at the far wall, but Naruto's sleeping bag was still spread on it. He would have liked to take a shower, but Naruto was already getting undressed. He paced in his bedroom, then stomped to the kitchen.
No fresh groceries. Well, of course; he hadn't bothered to shop in a week, and Naruto only ever bought meat and fruit, as if he'd keel over if he touched vegetables. As for the cupboards... There was no way to find anything that didn't involve pulling the boxes out to see what was behind. None of it was that stable, either. He picked up one fallen package, two fallen packages, and kicked the third one across the kitchen when it waited for him to straighten up to fall.
"Damn it, Naruto, will you stop stuffing your instant ramen packages in every nook and cranny?"
"Ramen what?" Naruto emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist. Sasuke glared at him. Moron was dripping everywhere.
"Do you even know how to dry yourself properly?"
"It's tiles, it will dry. What's that about ramen?"
"Stop stocking up as if they're going to stop selling it tomorrow, and stop invading my cupboards with it," Sasuke snapped back, turning away to stuff things back in. He still hadn't found anything to eat.
"What am I supposed to do with them, build a fort around the couch?"
"That would be an idea."
A wet towel sailed from the living room past the kitchen, landing on the tiles at the bottom of the bathroom door.
"Hey, it's not like you can't eat some when you feel like it, you know. I don't mind sharing my ramen with you."
A ramen packet sailed from the kitchen to the back of Naruto's head.
"Maybe I don't want it."
"Ow!"
The packet sailed right back; Sasuke caught it before it could break open on a wall and threw it in the wastebasket.
"Maybe you're an asshole. Seriously, what's up with you today? First you make Sakura yell at you and now you get all bent out of shape about ramen of all things. What's your -- oof."
Naruto hit the floor with a satisfying thud. Sasuke assured his grip on the back of his neck and forbid himself to think anything about the position, the bare back, or the way the damp hair was sticking to his hand.
"Sasuke!" He'd been trying to sound angry, but angry wheezing wasn't that threatening.
"No. More. Ramen. In. My. Cupboards." Naruto bucked and twisted under him; Sasuke caught his wrists before he could try a jutsu. "Oh no you fucking don't, not inside."
"Then don't fucking ATTACK me inside!!"
Sasuke slapped the back of his head; Naruto snarled in outrage. "If it was an attack, you'd be dead, cretin!"
"Well fucking forgive me for thinking I'm safe inside your fucking walls!!" Naruto bucked again, jerking his hand closer to his head; trying to control him, Sasuke didn't think to let go of his wrist until Naruto's teeth clamped down on his forearm.
"What the hell was that for, fucker?!" Sasuke hissed, rolling off Naruto and kicking him in the side. He landed into a crouch, a knee on the floor, and spared a quick glance at his arm; Naruto hadn't broken the skin, but he was going to have a hell of a bruise.
"YOU are calling me fucker? You're the one who tackled me from behind with no warning, you crazy son of a bitch!" Naruto was in a matching crouch at the other end of the room, teeth bared.
Maybe he would have pounced, if the neighbor hadn't knocked on the wall hard, making them both start guiltily. Naruto took a deep breath, and then straightened up slowly, giving Sasuke a dirty look. "No, seriously, what the hell's wrong with you today? And fuck, today, what am I saying -- all of last week! I'm used to you being a bastard, but -- fuck."
The blond stomped to the couch and started to pile up his clothed, folding them haphazardly. Sasuke hissed between his clenched teeth and got back up on his feet, picking up a sock and lobbing it, not at Naruto's head like he wanted to, but at the couch. By his head. Naruto didn't react; Sasuke sighed.
"So now it's my fault Sakura yelled at me for her failure?"
Naruto whirled around, teeth bared, taking Sasuke aback. He had fangs now, and slits for pupils. "You better not have told her to her face that she was a failure."
"I didn't say anything," he replied frostily, pretending not to care about the feral growl lining Naruto's words. "She's the one who got all bent out of shape because I'm supposed to divine when she wants me to hold her or kiss her or whatever."
Naruto stared at him, then snorted and turned away again. "God, even I am retarded with all that social stuff, but you take the cake. She's a nice girl and she's in love with you; you should want to do that whenever you can, because she does!"
Sasuke took in a deep breath, then released it slowly. "I am never going to be physically affectionate, and if she expects it of me, she better be ready to be disappointed."
Naruto twitched. "We know you're a frozen ice-bitch, you dick. It still wouldn't kill you to force yourself when she really needs you to."
"And how am I supposed to know exactly?"
Naruto turned around again, fists clenched. "Dunno, when she looks like she's about to cry, maybe?" Naruto stared at him a few seconds longer, then snorted dismissively and turned away again. "You really are a jackass, Sasuke."
"... Fuck you."
"You wish, bottom boy."
Sasuke's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "What did you call me -- where the fuck are you going?"
Naruto had picked up a shirt and was making his way toward the door as he pulled it over his head.
"To see Iruka-sensei."
"What for?" Sasuke asked, annoyed. "You saw him yesterday."
"Just to talk to someone who's not such a fucking asshole, alright? At least with him I always feel welcome!"
The door slammed, leaving Sasuke staring at it.
... Bastard. Sasuke snarled wordlessly, kicking one of Naruto's scrolls out of his way, and stomped back to his bedroom. He slammed the door too, but it was a lot less satisfying when there was no one to hear it.
When the neighbor protested a second time, he slammed it again, and regretted not owning a radio.
Also, I'm a tiny bit scared that it sounds too much like everything's about Sakura. Sure, one of the main plot points puts emphasis on what she's going through, but I really don't want to have all other characters fall into her orbit. (again, I'm much less worried about the second part than the first.)
If you have ideas on how to tweak that -- editing a few sentences? any other suggestions? -- please tell me. If you don't see what the hell I'm talking about and think I'm paranoid, also please tell me. I really don't know if it's all in my head or what.
Monday. Start of the new week. Return to normal life, waiting for Kakashi at the bridge. Hopefully, a mission, to hone his skills even further...
Hah. Right. After that mess with Naruto's tenant, they should be glad if they got anything but D-class for the next year.
Sasuke stared at the water running merrily under the red bridge, the same cheerful, unconcerned way it always did, and briefly, irrationally resented it for staying the same when his whole life was fucked with once again.
Oh, sure, it wasn't really a bad change in itself, and ninjas adapted easily to new circumstances, it was in the job description.
It wasn't a bad change in the way his entire clan getting murdered was. But it fucked with his plans all the same.
He glanced at Naruto; the blond was goofing off on the handrail, trying to spot fish in the shadows of the bridge. He didn't seem the worse for wear, for someone who had spent his night roaming the building -- and incidentally mildly freaking Sasuke out.
When Sasuke had been told about Naruto's sleepwalking problem, during their brief escape from the village, he'd assumed that it meant that Kyuubi was somehow in control -- but he should have known better. If Kyuubi really had been able to take total control while Naruto was unaware, they'd have locked him up ages ago. Jiraiya, for all his liking the blond pest, would have never covered that up.
But even though the eyes were indeed red, the nails way too long, and the behavior not quite human -- Naruto never sniffed things that openly, or hunted bats and cats and rats and other animals who had the misfortune of coming out at night... Well, Sasuke kind of doubted that Kyuubi no Youko would ever lower himself to actually look twice at that sort of prey. It seemed so far beneath him. Besides, there was no real recognition in his -- their? -- eyes. Sasuke had been acknowledged as being there, sometimes he'd been sniffed too, or nudged and bumped into semi-affectionately, but they didn't talk to him and didn't answer beyond a twitch or a vague frown when he talked to them. He'd only met Kyuubi face to face once, but it was enough to remember the demon-fox's expressions. They were wildly different from Naruto's, but there was no denying that they were there. They were not the expression --or lack thereof -- that he'd showed last night.
Sasuke didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do about the incident, or even if he was supposed to do anything. He didn't know how much Naruto was aware of, how dangerous the sleepwalking was to the seal, if Sasuke was supposed to report it, or hide it, or if it really wasn't important at all.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!" Sakura's voice was a bit subdued, though he could hear a smile in her voice anyway. It annoyed him, that one of his new duties was to notice, and try to find a way to fix that.
He shouldn't have minded caring. But he cared. And he minded a hell of a lot. Caring was only a burden for an avenger.
He'd allowed that burden to slow him down a little when it had been clear that his teammates wouldn't let him leave them behind -- and also when Itachi had more or less disappeared. He'd allowed them to slow his quest for power down, because they wouldn't let him go and he had been made aware that he needed more time to catch up to his brother. He had despised himself for the need for them, for missing an opportunity -- but the opportunity was gone with Orochimaru's death and they -- his teammates, his teacher, the Hokage and the Council and fucking everyone -- had been careful not to allow him to glimpse any other occasion to get stronger that didn't come from the Leaf. And after a few years, he'd grudgingly admitted that maybe the Leaf didn't stifle his growth the way he'd thought at thirteen.
But there was a difference between having teammates dogging his heels on his path to power and settling down to raise a family.
He didn't want to share his thoughts with the two of them, though; even despite how well they knew him, they would still try to make it better by insisting on the good sides of the situation. He was aware of the good sides. It didn't dull his first goal in life any, and it didn't make him feel any less hampered by the shitload of new responsibilities he'd acquired.
Naruto could laugh and be carefree, he thought with some resentment as he watched Sakura hesitate a second before giving him a peck on the cheek, and Naruto beam and launch into a retelling of his grand adventures with the contents of Sasuke's cupboards. The blond was getting almost everything he'd ever wanted, and there was no good reason why it would prevent him from reaching for Hokage later on. Sakura at least was more sensible; she wasn't walking on Cloud Nine all the time.
Sasuke didn't want to make it worse for everyone by being an ass, so when Sakura went to him and paused, unsure, he leaned toward her a little, a neutral expression firmly affixed to his face. She pecked his offered cheek quickly, and then beamed. It made him twitch inwardly. If only he could be stopped from obsessing over his own problems so easily -- argh. And now he was feeling sorry for himself.
"Still at the Yamanakas?" he asked, just to stop thinking.
Sakura looked relieved by his starting the conversation. "Yes. They're so nice... But my father promised he'd talk to Mom, so maybe I'll be back home soon," she added, making a decent try at a hopeful grin.
"That's great, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he bounced toward them.
"Yeah -- um, listen, both of you," she added quickly. "I have to tell you a few things before Kakashi-sensei arrives." There was an odd quality to her voice, as if she was forcing herself to stay detached. Sasuke braced himself for news he probably didn't want to hear.
"What's that? You want to hide things from your favorite teacher?"
Sasuke twitched. Naruto and Sakura whirled around.
One of these days, he would make Kakashi tell him how the hell he managed to totally cover up the gathering of chakra that signaled an incoming. He was also pretty sure that the swirl of leaves now littering the bridge was there as courtesy -- or laziness.
Kakashi smiled genially at his students, crouching on his pillar. "Sorry, sorry! I was waylaid by our most beloved Hokage..."
"Liar!!" exclaimed Naruto predictably. "Why would old hag Tsunade -- wait a sec, you're not even late!"
Kakashi blinked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"... He's not?" Sakura asked, quickly checking the position of the sun.
Naruto boggled. "Well, maybe ten minutes. But that's NOTHING! Sensei, are you sick?!"
Now Kakashi looked faintly embarrassed. "... As a matter of fact, no. Hokage-sama insisted that I transmit this to you, Sakura."
She took the rolled up sheets of paper and undid the knot, glancing at it, and then she bit her lip. Sasuke arched an eyebrow at her, and Naruto tried unsubtly to look over her shoulder. Sakura moved as if to hide it from him, and then sighed and just let him read on.
"What's that? A timetable? Pushups, jogging..."
"This is my new training regimen," she replied casually, at odds with her previous attitude. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"What do you need a new training regimen for?" he asked.
"Well, Hokage-sama has decided that I'll be safer if I make sure to be in excellent health. You know that babies draw on the mother's chakra reserves..."
As a matter of fact, he knew, and he knew that she knew. Why the hell would she try to misdirect him by pretending to share info? Even Naruto was aware of that fact, even if his mildly surprised expression proved that it slipped his mind sometimes. Besides, there were a lot of sheets for one training regimen, unless the Hokage was detailing new and complicated exercises.
"Ah -- Kakashi-sensei, thank you, for bringing this," she continued, turning away from the boys, a smile firmly affixed to her face.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a suspicious look. Kakashi was still watching them all, expressionless and silent.
Naruto scratched his head and glanced at the papers again. "Uh, Sakura-chan... That's really all your training routine? There's a lot of papers... It's spread on one week, right? 'cause that would be brutal."
Sakura quickly checked the sheets of paper. "... um, no, it's daily, but there are other things too -- it's not just the training."
"What's the rest?" Sasuke asked, frowning.
"Nutrients I have to get per day, recommended foods and vitamin supplements, things like that..."
"Why d'you have to get all that?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.
Sasuke snorted. "Every woman does when she's pregnant, dumbass. People sort of LIKE having both mother and baby healthy and surviving it."
Had Sakura just flinched?
"Oh, so it's normal then?" Naruto asked with some relief; Sasuke wasn't listening anymore because she'd flinched again. "But not every woman trains harder when they're pregnant, what about the civilians -- guys?"
Sakura winced and looked away from Sasuke, and glanced at Kakashi imploringly. Their teacher shook his head.
"Sakura, you have to tell them," Kakashi commented.
"Tell us what?" Naruto demanded, bewildered and worried.
Sakura twitched and continued as if she hadn't heard the blond. "But -- I mean... How do you know anyway? Did Hokage-sama tell you?" she added, a note of outrage in her voice. "Did she?"
Kakashi gave her a long, bland and faintly disapproving look. "I'm going to be training you personally, Sakura," he replied softly. "She didn't tell me much, but she did tell me what I needed to know. It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks."
Sakura visibly wilted. Sasuke was starting to really dislike that.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, touching her shoulder hesitantly.
She winced, hesitated.
"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke demanded, pushing away from the guardrail.
"Ah -- it's just... the pregnancy is siphoning off more chakra than it should. I mean..." She took a deep breath, "a lot more."
It wasn't so much the words as the tone, the way she didn't look up at either of them. The way Kakashi gazed at their little group, careful not to get involved.
"How much danger are you in, exactly?"
She didn't answer right away. Behind her, Naruto had gone still.
"... A lot. I should have told you two yesterday," Sakura added, giving him a miserable look. "But, um... Ididn'twanttobreakthemood," she muttered, looking down at her feet with rapt attention.
Sasuke scowled. Usually Sakura was relatively easy to see through. Not as obvious as Naruto, but it was easy enough to see when her smile was false. Yesterday, though, he hadn't noticed that she was hiding something in particular.
"And you didn't think that it was a little more important than 'the mood'?"
Naruto hissed between his teeth and glowered at him. "Don't be a dick, Sasuke, she told us today." The moron dared to look disappointed in him. What the hell.
Sasuke sneered at him. "Because Kakashi made her."
"I was going to!" she protested, missing Naruto's aborted gesture to -- touch her, hold her.
And now she sounded hurt, and Naruto was still looking disappointed, in him and a little in her, and he was the bad guy again.
"Enough." Kakashi dropped from his perch, hands in his pockets. "I don't care to know what you do during downtime. You have three D-rank missions for today. Sasuke, Naruto, you'll share the tasks between the two of you. Sakura, with me. We'll get you started on that training regimen."
He paused, stared at the three of them.
"From the moment you arrive here, to the moment I send you home, you are my soldiers. Leave your personal life at home. Our team doesn't need the baggage."
Sasuke stared at the planks under his feet and pretended that he didn't feel chastised. Kakashi was right, of course. This was not the time to whine and bitch; it was the time to train, and possibly earn some money. D-ranks felt very much beneath him -- them -- but he could be professional.
Probably better than Naruto, too.
+
Over the next two weeks, his resolve to behave like a professional was sorely tested.
Along with the usual weeding and gardening ("... Splash me with mud again and DIE."), delivering messages, food and heavy items all over Konoha ("betcha I'll be done first!"), carrying old women's purchases ("Such a handsome and well-behaved young man. Tell me, do you know my granddaughter Emi? She's about your age and..."), they also had the good luck of collecting kunai lost by academy students during a field trip ("How the HELL did that land there?"), assisting the teacher of the five-year-old kids ("It's like herding cats..." "I'd rather BE herding cats!" "... Sasuke... tell me ours will take after Shika and just stay put all day..."), and babysitting/bodyguarding the nephew of some noble or other during a trip to an amusement park ("Naruto, damn it, you don't spank your customer!" "Spoiled brat deserved worse! He was only pretending to cry anyway." "Yeah, but his parents aren't pretending to dock our pay, you retard.").
Then Hokage-sama needed her library sorted out and the subjects of her scrolls noted down ("Oh wow, that's really gross. Look, Sasuke!" "... Get that scroll out of my face if you don't want it stuffed up your ass." "Less flirting, more lifting, brats -- you still have these crates to do."), and then it was laundry at the hospital ("oh, OWW, they've put electric fences around the water tower!" "...I wonder why, moron." "... Oh, right. Uh... Sasuke..." "Less whispering, more sheets hanging, boys! And I better not see you using these laundry baskets for anything untoward, alright?" "What?! We weren't --" "Oh, you weren't inappropriate, but them foxes, they're all perverts, you can't trust 'em. Guard your rear, child." "...You want your rear guarded, Saaaasuke-kun?" "Oh, shut up -- and don't even think about it."), and then it was filling in for sick orderlies at the senile old ninjas ward ("well at least there's not a lot of them --" ZING "--but who the HELL thought they should get to keep shuriken?!" "You don't want to deal with the paranoia they work themselves into when we try to take their weapons, kid. You don't. They haven't lived so long because they're -- watch out!" "... Shower. Where." "... Uh. At least the bedpan was changed a few hours ago?" "SHOWER. WHERE.")
Sasuke did his very best to stay professional, though he sorely missed Sakura at times. Competing with Naruto could make the most tedious physical tasks entertaining, and Naruto never got hurt when Sasuke felt like not talking and tuned him out, but there were moments he wondered how they could do anything without her to play the diplomat between the two of them. They play-fought, even knowing that there were moments when it wasn't appropriate, about as often as they fought seriously, with cutting words and fists to the face -- and they were both too stubborn to apologize afterwards.
And she was the only one who actually knew anything about the hospital and its residents -- or, hell, the only one who had any nurturing instincts at all, not to mention actual patience -- and she was too busy kicking the shit out of things to keep the crazy old coots at bay. Did he look like a goddamn nurse to the sadist who gave these missions out?
When the missions didn't take all day, Naruto and Sasuke usually went to train with the rest of their team. Afterwards, they walked Sakura home -- they'd used to hang out from time to time, but that was before Sakura had been trying to convince her mother that she wasn't busy being a slut every minute she wasn't training -- not that there was a lot left of these minutes anymore. Besides he saw Naruto all evening, there really was no surprise if half the time he skipped away to go play with Konohamaru or whatever it was that they did together. Or maybe he went and bothered Iruka, whatever. And the few times Kakashi let them go early, and Naruto and Sakura could stay, he was the one who needed to go to the bank to talk about his accounts, or had to write letters right and left to see about getting as many of his clan's old rights and privileges and status back. The political and legal ramifications were giving him a headache.
Needless to say, he wasn't in a very receptive mood when Sakura interrupted the relative quiet of their lunch break -- which he was using to train a little more; his taijutsu was getting rusty -- and announced, "My father wants to invite you two to dinner."
Naruto was visibly as startled as him. "... uh. Okay," the blond stuttered out.
Sakura looked very uncomfortable. "As my... um. Boyfriends, I guess. I told him a little while ago, and. Well. He knows."
Sasuke cringed inwardly. Meeting Sakura's parents? That was going to be excruciating. He had enough on his plate already with all the legal responsibilities, he was going to have to answer to enough people as it was; the idea of justifying, defending himself and their relationship again in front of someone who had no real authority over him or his was grating on his nerves.
"And he really wants to meet us?" Naruto seemed to be worried about getting dragged in the basement and clobbered.
"Well... Yes. He, um, he's not perfectly okay with it, I don't think -- it was a shock, and I think he's still doing his best to wrap his mind around it, but... He'll try to keep an open mind. That's good, isn't it?"
Sasuke nodded absently while Naruto beamed at her. He supposed it was, for her; but he'd almost forgotten what it was like to have parents to answer to, people who had an emotional investment and responsibility in your life.
"And your mother?"
Sakura avoided their eyes. "She... Well, she knows you're coming."
Sasuke's eye twitched, but somehow he managed not to retort anything. "When?"
"Next Friday evening. Seven PM."
He narrowed his eyes, nodded and went back to his kata. There wasn't much to add, really.
She kept watching him as he trained, with reproachful, disappointed eyes, and only stopped when Kakashi came back and guided her through more exercises. Naruto scowled at him, and then went his own way.
The last time Naruto had followed the patterns with Sakura, she had ended up screaming at him for getting it on the third try when she was going through her tenth and still having trouble with it. Usually, Sasuke discreetly followed with the Sharingan, in case Kakashi showed her something that he could use later, but today, he turned away.
It was still early, for sure. But he wasn't stupid; he could read her dissatisfaction with herself, and the way Kakashi frowned sometimes, and her body language when they'd seen her leaving the Hokage's office at the hospital. She was progressing some, but at her current rate of progress... She was working too hard, tiring herself out, and it wasn't enough. Maybe it was just that she hadn't found her rhythm yet, that her body was still trying to adapt, and she just needed more time. Maybe.
And then there was the way she would sick up at the most random smells, and the constant fatigue -- though that was probably mostly due to the training -- and the way she would wince and rub at her chest sometimes -- it had been surprising and... interesting, the first time he'd caught her at that, but by now it was clear that she wasn't comfortable.
But Kakashi was training her, and as for the lack of comfort -- well, he wasn't a medic-nin either.
Later in the afternoon, Kakashi paired them up for some sparring, while he drilled Naruto on genjutsu.
As the hours crawled by, he could see her tiring out, losing her coordination. She tried too hard to compensate, more and more erratic and reckless. Sasuke forbid himself to comment on her efforts in anything but an utterly neutral tone. He tried to silence the growing certainty, but he couldn't; he saw it in her eyes too.
At her current rate of progress, she wasn't going to make it.
He called for a halt, finally. She was making mistake after mistake. If she had been Naruto, he would have been mocking her; he didn't comment, turning away to get something to drink. Sakura's taijutsu had always been inferior to his -- he couldn't really expect a challenge -- and they were trying to get her body to develop its chakra pathways, to get used to handle bigger quantities, first and foremost ; teaching her more hand to hand was secondary. That she got exhausted so quickly, though -- that was frustrating, but it was useless to point it out to her; she was doubtlessly aware of the fact.
She was pale and her jaws clenched, eyes a little too wide and a little too wet; he would have hated to be seen like that. He avoided looking at her as he picked up her canteen and passed it to her.
It was slapped out of his hand, catching him by surprise, and went sailing into a tree.
It was just her frustration, he told himself as he looked at her, forbidding himself from feeling any.
"You -- you..."
"... Yes?" he prompted her. She looked about to blow up, or to break down; he didn't know which. Maybe there was a part of pregnancy hormones in that, he considered absently.
"Asshole!" she screeched, fists clenched, trembling.
He was vaguely aware that Kakashi and Naruto couldn't have missed that. Most of his attention was on her, though.
"What did I do now?"
"You -- you're looking at me and not saying anything and you don't even fucking CARE, do you?! You don't care, you just despise me because I'm not up to your standards--"
"Sakura," he interrupted her, frowning. "I'm not saying anything because you're already aware of the problems; I don't see what it would add for me to --"
"Maybe a feeling that you give a damn about me? Not the baby, me!"
For a second, she looked horrified at blurting that out, and then, as he could only stare, shocked, her anger came roaring back.
"God, Sasuke, would it kill you to just -- just hold me or something -- or even look fucking sorry -- or angry, even, then I'd know that you give a damn!"
What? She didn't seriously think -- what did she want, an engraved poem about his feelings all over the Hokage monument? "How am I supposed to know when you want me to hold you?" he snapped back, clenching his teeth.
She didn't listen, continuing her diatribe. "We've been together for three weeks now and you only kiss me when Naruto kisses me first! You never touch me when you don't have to and -- and..."
He unclenched his fists forcefully, reached for her shoulder. That was what she wanted, right? She dodged his hand, bending to pick up her bag with jerky movements.
"Sakura--"
"I'm going home."
Naruto burst through the bushes, looking alarmed. "Sakura-chan! What's going on?"
"Nothing," she snapped, her back on them. "I'm done. I'll see you tomorrow."
Kakashi's hand fell on Naruto's shoulder as he opened his mouth to call her back. The blond stared up at his teacher, then at Sakura as she left the field, and finally at Sasuke, who was still rooted in the same spot.
"What did you DO to her?" Naruto exclaimed.
"How the hell should I know?!" Sasuke hissed back.
Naruto shrugged off Kakashi's hand, getting in Sasuke's face. "She was crying!"
Sasuke somehow refrained from decking him. But how he wanted to. "I don't KNOW, alright?"
"Well, what did you say to her?"
"Nothing, damn it! What was I supposed to say? 'Wow, you really suck today'?"
Two heavy, gloved hands landed on their shoulders, separating them. "Sasuke. Naruto." Kakashi sounded annoyed for once.
"Yeah, don't mix up your personal life and ninja stuff, we know," Naruto muttered, looking away.
"You've both done that today. You and Sakura. Remember, next time. As for you, Sasuke," he added wryly, "you didn't mix it up enough."
Sasuke looked up, incredulous. "I should have -- what, kissed her out here?"
"If I see any of you kissing during training, that will be twenty laps around the Forest of Death. Inside the fence." He let that sink in before continuing. "You don't have to kiss her to express your respect of her abilities as your teammate, though. No one likes feeling like dead weight."
"But she knew that she was doing badly," Sasuke opposed, scowling.
Kakashi sighed. "She doesn't have the same natural advantages as you or Naruto do. Her best isn't going to be anything like yours. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't encourage her to reach it and go past it."
"That wasn't her best," he muttered. Naruto was glaring at him as if Sasuke was being disloyal for admitting it. "It wasn't," he insisted. "She kept getting frustrated and wanting to go too fast."
"Then point that out," Kakashi drawled in a long-suffering tone. "So long as you point out what she does right, too."
Sasuke was starting to get really, really tired of feeling chastened.
"Yeah, she can't read your mind," Naruto intervened, lower lip jutting out in a stubborn pout. "Girls like it when you actually tell them stuff."
"You don't need me to tell you when you mess up."
"That's because I don't need your lessons!" Naruto growled, bristling. "...Besides when I mess up I get a fist in the face; 's not as if I don't notice where I went wrong."
"Should I start punching her in the face, then?"
"What? No!"
"Maybe, yes," Kakashi commented, tone bored. Sasuke and Naruto stared at him.
"Not yet, obviously. But if you want to take the Chuunin exam sometime this year, she needs to be aware of the holes in her guard."
Sasuke gave him an incredulous look. "What, I should break her bones too? Naruto heals so fast it doesn't matter, but her--"
"She's training as a medic-nin," Kakashi reminded them. "If you want her to be of any use on the field, she needs to start using these abilities in combat situations. Knowing the theory is fine, but if she can't use it outside of a calm, controlled environment, it's useless."
Pulling his book out of his pocket, he started looking for his page. Sasuke looked away. No more berating, finally.
"You two will keep on sparring with her whenever possible. Give her two more weeks, and then, start taking the openings she leaves."
Naruto looked uncomfortable. "But, Kakashi-sensei..."
"... None of the teams you will encounter in the exam will have a problem punching her in the stomach, you know."
Sasuke tensed up; Naruto jerked.
"Seeing how hard the child is clinging to her, I doubt she'll lose it from a normal hit. But you don't know what kind of adversaries you will encounter, and even if she isn't showing by then, her scent will be different. People will notice, and will try to take advantage of it."
Sasuke sighed and rubbed at his face. Great, one more worry to add to his pile.
Kakashi turned the page, and started to walk away. "Tomorrow morning, same hour."
Naruto grumbled a goodbye, as they picked up their stuff. Then they more or less fell into step, both sour and discontented.
When they reached the top of the stairs, and Sasuke unlocked his door, they still hadn't said a word to each other. Sasuke pretended that he was glad for the quiet, except that Naruto's thoughts were so loud he could almost hear them and he hated that even more than a good yelling session.
Sasuke would have liked to sit heavily on his couch and glare at the far wall, but Naruto's sleeping bag was still spread on it. He would have liked to take a shower, but Naruto was already getting undressed. He paced in his bedroom, then stomped to the kitchen.
No fresh groceries. Well, of course; he hadn't bothered to shop in a week, and Naruto only ever bought meat and fruit, as if he'd keel over if he touched vegetables. As for the cupboards... There was no way to find anything that didn't involve pulling the boxes out to see what was behind. None of it was that stable, either. He picked up one fallen package, two fallen packages, and kicked the third one across the kitchen when it waited for him to straighten up to fall.
"Damn it, Naruto, will you stop stuffing your instant ramen packages in every nook and cranny?"
"Ramen what?" Naruto emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist. Sasuke glared at him. Moron was dripping everywhere.
"Do you even know how to dry yourself properly?"
"It's tiles, it will dry. What's that about ramen?"
"Stop stocking up as if they're going to stop selling it tomorrow, and stop invading my cupboards with it," Sasuke snapped back, turning away to stuff things back in. He still hadn't found anything to eat.
"What am I supposed to do with them, build a fort around the couch?"
"That would be an idea."
A wet towel sailed from the living room past the kitchen, landing on the tiles at the bottom of the bathroom door.
"Hey, it's not like you can't eat some when you feel like it, you know. I don't mind sharing my ramen with you."
A ramen packet sailed from the kitchen to the back of Naruto's head.
"Maybe I don't want it."
"Ow!"
The packet sailed right back; Sasuke caught it before it could break open on a wall and threw it in the wastebasket.
"Maybe you're an asshole. Seriously, what's up with you today? First you make Sakura yell at you and now you get all bent out of shape about ramen of all things. What's your -- oof."
Naruto hit the floor with a satisfying thud. Sasuke assured his grip on the back of his neck and forbid himself to think anything about the position, the bare back, or the way the damp hair was sticking to his hand.
"Sasuke!" He'd been trying to sound angry, but angry wheezing wasn't that threatening.
"No. More. Ramen. In. My. Cupboards." Naruto bucked and twisted under him; Sasuke caught his wrists before he could try a jutsu. "Oh no you fucking don't, not inside."
"Then don't fucking ATTACK me inside!!"
Sasuke slapped the back of his head; Naruto snarled in outrage. "If it was an attack, you'd be dead, cretin!"
"Well fucking forgive me for thinking I'm safe inside your fucking walls!!" Naruto bucked again, jerking his hand closer to his head; trying to control him, Sasuke didn't think to let go of his wrist until Naruto's teeth clamped down on his forearm.
"What the hell was that for, fucker?!" Sasuke hissed, rolling off Naruto and kicking him in the side. He landed into a crouch, a knee on the floor, and spared a quick glance at his arm; Naruto hadn't broken the skin, but he was going to have a hell of a bruise.
"YOU are calling me fucker? You're the one who tackled me from behind with no warning, you crazy son of a bitch!" Naruto was in a matching crouch at the other end of the room, teeth bared.
Maybe he would have pounced, if the neighbor hadn't knocked on the wall hard, making them both start guiltily. Naruto took a deep breath, and then straightened up slowly, giving Sasuke a dirty look. "No, seriously, what the hell's wrong with you today? And fuck, today, what am I saying -- all of last week! I'm used to you being a bastard, but -- fuck."
The blond stomped to the couch and started to pile up his clothed, folding them haphazardly. Sasuke hissed between his clenched teeth and got back up on his feet, picking up a sock and lobbing it, not at Naruto's head like he wanted to, but at the couch. By his head. Naruto didn't react; Sasuke sighed.
"So now it's my fault Sakura yelled at me for her failure?"
Naruto whirled around, teeth bared, taking Sasuke aback. He had fangs now, and slits for pupils. "You better not have told her to her face that she was a failure."
"I didn't say anything," he replied frostily, pretending not to care about the feral growl lining Naruto's words. "She's the one who got all bent out of shape because I'm supposed to divine when she wants me to hold her or kiss her or whatever."
Naruto stared at him, then snorted and turned away again. "God, even I am retarded with all that social stuff, but you take the cake. She's a nice girl and she's in love with you; you should want to do that whenever you can, because she does!"
Sasuke took in a deep breath, then released it slowly. "I am never going to be physically affectionate, and if she expects it of me, she better be ready to be disappointed."
Naruto twitched. "We know you're a frozen ice-bitch, you dick. It still wouldn't kill you to force yourself when she really needs you to."
"And how am I supposed to know exactly?"
Naruto turned around again, fists clenched. "Dunno, when she looks like she's about to cry, maybe?" Naruto stared at him a few seconds longer, then snorted dismissively and turned away again. "You really are a jackass, Sasuke."
"... Fuck you."
"You wish, bottom boy."
Sasuke's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "What did you call me -- where the fuck are you going?"
Naruto had picked up a shirt and was making his way toward the door as he pulled it over his head.
"To see Iruka-sensei."
"What for?" Sasuke asked, annoyed. "You saw him yesterday."
"Just to talk to someone who's not such a fucking asshole, alright? At least with him I always feel welcome!"
The door slammed, leaving Sasuke staring at it.
... Bastard. Sasuke snarled wordlessly, kicking one of Naruto's scrolls out of his way, and stomped back to his bedroom. He slammed the door too, but it was a lot less satisfying when there was no one to hear it.
When the neighbor protested a second time, he slammed it again, and regretted not owning a radio.
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but seriously, yeah. coming from Sasuke's POV, it is tough to figure why Sakura's upset, since he's king of the oblivious. Sakura finally blowing up is probably good for her, and from here it'll be easy to see some sparring scenes.
It IS a little Sakura centered, but considering it's her who's pregnant, it's reeeally hard to avoid that. the last bit at Sasuke's helped it to weeble off the Sakura trail.i would suggest maybe a scene just outside Iruka's? or maybe in iruka's, if he talks to you. a nice Monologue from naruto's POV would help get him out.
*cuddlesmish*
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Anyway, Sasuke always sounds Emo - severe emotional trauma plus lack of perspective (neither are his fault, just products of his life and age) will do that. It feels a little 'off' to me that he'd be that oblivious - even with the combat-focus we tend to see in Naruto, there's still a distinct element of espionage in being a ninja, and that takes the ability to read what people aren't saying on top of what they are. OTOH, the man who's supposed to be teaching them how to do that is Kakashi, who thinks that only telling one outright lie during a mission briefing is being obvious and upright, so I can see how that kind of failure would be justified.
Overall, I think that Sasuke's problems with expressing himself and dealing with others have much less to do with his missing things, per se, as with the fact that he's been heavily conditioned for pretty much all his life to deny them - he sees things, and understands them, and the only thing stopping his acting on them is his conviction that Avengers Do Not Feel Such Things. Or that they're Beneath An Uchiha, or whatever.
When he actually decides he's going to unbend a little and say something - at the Valley of the End, or chewing out Sakura for what she was saying about Naruto in Chapter 3 of the manga - I think he does fairly well.
*shrug* You can argue it either way, though.
Ja, -n
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^^; tiiiny tiny problems with that: 1) I don't like writing Iruka and 2) the whole chapter has to be from Sasuke's POV. He won't bother talking with Iruka without a reason. Right now he's angry at the man for daring to lure naruto out -- even though he doesn't want naruto around anyway. XD
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x_x *trying* uh. maybe....uh. *brain splodey*
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Especially if both of the others can read him as easily as he does them.
Ja, -n
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This reads well, and it's the nature of the plot that the characters are going to revolve around Sakura at this point. The scene with Naruto and Sasuke does balance it somewhat. Sasuke doesn't come off EMO - he comes off frustrated.
My one criticism is that Naruto seems to be having no difficulties. Not that I want to have him goes through OMGTEHANGST, but there has to be some insecurity in him, somewhere, that Sasuke and Sakura will cut him out.
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Naruto does have some angst, but 1) he doesn't like to think about it and act on it, 2) sasuke wouldn't notice unless naruto was open with it and 3) at the moment sasuke's worrying more about sakura anyway. But. I do think you're right -- the first half cruelly lacks in Naruto-presence. he's there's to say stuff and do stuff, but does he feel more than the mandatory worry-for-sakura? not a clue. *sigh*
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Also: "... Fuck you."
"You wish, bottom boy."
Sasuke's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "What did you call me -- where the fuck are you going?"
You totally win.
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Sakura is the one that has to deal the most with the fallout both physical, socially, and emotionally. The boys don't have any family to disapoint and the child is not endangering their lives.
Sasuke is not complete clueless but he doesn't /want/ to deal with Sakura emotionally since that would require emotional vulenablity in his part. His brother pretty much burned him on that. He is going to have to deal with this one way or the other. Or Naruto will kill him.
(reminds why the hell I would only go after Chouji and Kiba-- the pretty ones are too much trouble.)
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Would you in all honest want to deal with the emotional mess that is Sasuke and Neji? Not to mention the in-laws?
Kiba and Chouji top my list with being cute, sweet, attentive, smart, willingness to do household chores, and the best families of the bunch. Heck, if Shikamaru moved in with Chouji and me I could get away with only doing the wash-- the boys could handle the cooking and finances.
Naruto and Lee fall into second place with having all the right personality traits but with a trade off in family (Gai) and personal hygenie (Naruto is an utter slob).
The girls of Naruto are silly little geese to prefer silent and pretty to sweet and cute. Can't build a life on champange and chocolates.
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Iruka is also prime family material IMHO. <3
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Handsome, loving, good career, adores kids, and a chuunin (so not to shabby skills) what is not to love?
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Only the sheer devotion of his teammates can scale the his considerable walls-- most any other would not even try.
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Anyways... I found a little typo for you.
"The blond stomped to the couch and started to pile up his clothed, folding them haphazardly. Sasuke hissed between his clenched teeth and got back up on his feet, picking up a sock and lobbing it, not at Naruto's head like he wanted to, but at the couch. By his head. Naruto didn't react; Sasuke sighed."
*clothed* should be *clothes*
It's a shame though that Sasuke couldn't just tell Naruto that he really wanted him to stay instead of going to meet with Iruka. I hope Naruto forgives him. Maybe his intuition would influence him to bring back something for poor Sasuke to eat. *Don't let him starve!!*
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*edits typo* thanks! ♥
Ehh, he wanted Naruto to stay just as much as he wanted his space, so he would have been angry regardless. He doesn't like people to walk out on him.
(hee, that would be cute! ... except Naruto's probably going to eat ramen, and after all the fuss, i'm not sure he'd think Sasuke wants any XD)
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My favourite part of this whole thing is hands down seeing Naruto whip around and glare at Sasuke all Kyuubi-like. ^^
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Oh, and here: and started to pile up his clothed
I think it should be 'clothes'.
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*edits typo*
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(Anonymous) 2006-01-04 05:36 am (UTC)(link)Umm, I just thought you should know, as background info. It is really embarrassing and shameful in Japan to have a sleep disorder, especially sleep walking. So much so that people who have it will pretend it doesn't exist and deny it to no end then go to seek help. It is so hard for them to do any type of research or study, because no one is willing to help.
So if Naruto did sleep walk, no one would want to say anything about it in the first place. Then add the Kyuubi...
Um, I hope this doesn't sound like the guy with the whole 'Q's a berber! Get it right!' Thing. Just thought you might like to know, weather you use it or not.
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*ponders* I could choose to ignore it, seeing as Kohona isn't quite Japan, but it's still interesting to know. ^__^ Besides they all hate Naruto so much, if they knew he sleepwalked they would
gossiptalk about it, because it's obviously a sign of how unbalanced and abnormal he is. For that very reason Sasuke would put even more weight on it; it could mean that Naruto is being possessed, and that's not something he can just ignore.Will have to think on it a bit. Thanks! ^__^
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Naruto est peut-être pas trèèèès présent dans la première scène mais il se rattrape bien après, il a droit à toute une convers a lui tout seul ! :p Et pis Sasuke, bah c'est Sasuke. On t'as déjà dit que ton Sasuke était parfait...:3 et je vois pas trop de Sakura. De toutes façons il faut parler d'elle, elle est enceinte la pauvre (et elle fait ses crises de femme enceinte aussi X3)
Donc, oui, t'es parano ^^
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XP
Cluelessness comes in many colors...
(Anonymous) 2006-01-04 01:11 pm (UTC)(link)*shakes her head and sighs* Sakura, you've been crushing on the strong, silent type for YEARS, and haven't figured out that ignoring you when you're struggling and frustrated is his form of being kind? Think about it - if Sasuke were frustrated to the point of breakdown, would he want anyone looking at him? And if he would rather not be looked at, then he's not going to stare at people when they're in the same straits.
Just unfortunate for him that his form of kindness comes through as assholery. :-P
Regarding the first section... If only he could be stopped from obsessing over his own problems so easily -- argh. And now he was feeling sorry for himself. ...I'm sorry, no matter how odd the section gets, that line makes it all worth it. :-P
Actually, the section reads just fine to me. This is the ultra-rocky part of their relationship, after all. If the section reads a little roughly, that's all right - and besides, when taken as part of a whole with the second section, it actually works very well. At least, IMHO...
...Right, you wanted a signature, didn't you? *smiles sheepishly* Almost forgot...
~Professionally Anonymous~
Since there's no better place to put this...
(Anonymous) 2006-01-04 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)Meaning that if physically, sakura is the center of the relationship for now, emotionally it's Naruto who keeps them together. (This is from August 22.)
What I wanted to ask was, if Sakura is the physical center and Naruto is the emotional center, what is Sasuke? As far as I've seen with the story thus far, he's the social center - the side needed to give them a place to stay, give them a modicum of respectability, keeping an eye on their finances, and giving some assurance to the elders that the situation is under control.
Which could translate to being a necessity, more than an integral part. Given Sasuke's talent for brooding, the thought might occur to him, so I thought I'd bring it up.
*lips quirk in a not-exactly-happy smile* At least he DOES think about their finances. Naruto is so used to not having money that he wouldn't have the first idea of how to manage and save, and Sakura still lives with her parents (or she did), which allows her to be financially irresponsible, because she has a safety net. So Sasuke really is the one who has to keep an eye on the dry, thankless bankchecks.
~PA
Re: Since there's no better place to put this...
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...he might throw it all out, yeah. XD so pissy.
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However, I did pick out a spot that felt a bit awkward to me:
//"God, even I am retarded with all that social stuff, but you take the cake.//
Maybe it should be more like:
..."God, I may be retarded with all that...
A very slight change, but the sentence would flow better. ^_^
Otherwise, whee! Sakura blows up on Sasuke! Too bad he's such a emotionally stunted asshole. XP