After less struggling than normal, I give to you chapter seven! I hope you enjoy it! (Strangely, I had fun making some extra use of the semi colon in this chapter. I think I used more adverbs and other modifiers than usual, too, which could be bad.)
Chapter 7
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Kakashi strode up to the Konoha main gates. He checked in with the on-duty chuunin. They waved him on and Kakashi nodded; it was as close to a conversation as he generally had at the guard post. Then, as soon as he got far enough away, weaving his way through the crowds with expertise, he turned off the main street and leaned heavily on the closest wall. He felt underneath his vest. Even the lightest touch was painful. Kakashi sighed. He’d have to go to the hospital then and have whatever those guards had managed to score on him tended.
Ordinarily he wouldn’t have bothered. If the wounds had been really bad, he would have done some stopgap measures on the way back and then collapsed upon reaching the front gates. If the injuries were light, Kakashi would have let it get out that he was hurt, yes, but he would have milked his injuries to get some time off. He wouldn’t find himself heading for the hospital as he did now. Nope. But now there was Sasuke to think about. Kakashi frowned. It was thinking about Sasuke that had gotten him hurt in the first place. Best not to start again. He forced himself to a speed only marginally faster than his usual amble. His side protested every time he put one foot in front of the other. Kakashi needed to be at his peak to deal with Sasuke, that was all. Lazing around in bed while waiting to heal was not a smart idea. For one, he was sure Sasuke was not temperamentally inclined to being a nurse.
Kakashi checked in at the emergency room front desk. The nurses gave him a once-over. He tried to look unaffected and bored. The waiting room was empty, but he hoped that they would let him sit down in private somewhere. It was oddly embarrassing to be at the hospital when he wasn’t dying.
A nurse directed Kakashi to an empty examination room. He was instructed to take off his clothes and don a gown. He considered claiming some sort of modesty if she started to do it for him, but before he had a chance, a code came over the intercom and the nurse rushed out. The door slammed behind her. Kakashi shrugged and immediately wished he hadn’t. He had an insistent urge to rub his side where it hurt the most, to try to alleviate the pain. To distract himself, he removed his gloves and stripped off his pants as carefully as he could. He toed off his sandals with a minimum of wincing. Kakashi was able to get out of his vest, but he struggled with the tight-fitting shirt beneath it. He was glad no one else was in the room. He wondered if the doctor would make him take off his mask.
Disrobing left him a bit short of breath. He decided that, in the interest of being a model patient, he would deign to sit on the exam table for a minute. The doctor would be late. Doctors always ran late. He’d rest a minute and then, somehow, wriggle into the johnny. Tying it might be out of the question, though. Codes kept blaring out of the PA system. Kakashi ignored them. He considered throwing a kunai at the speaker. His body throbbed in warning. Kakashi speculated that the speaker was probably an expensive item and not easy to replace. He would spare it, this time.
He was still sitting on the table, waiting for a medic, when the door exploded in a hail of smoke and splinters.
Kakashi looked up from beneath the improvised shield of a tray that had held surgical instruments a moment before. Sasuke stood in the wreckage of the doorway. He looked paler than usual as he brushed ashes off his clothes. He hesitated a moment before crushing a still-glowing cinder on his sleeve, as if he were confused as to how it had gotten there. Sasuke’s eyes were moving constantly and the Sharingan flickered in them.
Kakashi felt the ANBU land on the ledge outside the window and he relaxed minutely. He didn’t take his eyes off Sasuke. It was nice to have backup today, even if it was costing him some dignity. Kakashi sighed. He wished, distantly, that he’d already put on the gown. At least his mask was still on. He tensed again as Sasuke stepped into the room.
“No flowers? I’m in the hospital after all.”
Inside, Kakashi was calculating how much time and space he’d need to subdue Sasuke, and whether Sasuke could kill him, or only hurt him on top of his still untended injuries. He knew the ANBU wouldn’t be able to intervene in time, though they could probably pull Sasuke off him after the fact. Kakashi took a deep breath, readying himself.
Sasuke turned his head sideways. He didn’t look like he was going to attack, which was good, but he seemed confused, at best. At worst, he appeared… Kakashi didn’t know. Sasuke had been a few letters short of a post box before Kakashi had left. Now he looked worse. Much worse. Kakashi hadn’t realized how much Sasuke had improved since his release until now, with this apparent relapse.
“I heard them saying you’d come back,” Sasuke said. “But you didn’t show up, and I’d waited and waited and now I’m here.”
Sasuke turned his red pin-wheeling eyes on Kakashi and then past him, to the ANBU in the window. He crossed the room and sat on the stool near the foot of the exam table. He was a yard away from Kakashi.
“They weren’t going to let me come. But I broke the seal.”
Sasuke glanced down briefly, and Kakashi saw a few smears of ink at the base of his throat and around his wrists. Kakashi snorted. Sasuke was lucky he hadn’t blown his extremities off from the backlash. Still, maybe it had something to do with Sasuke’s rattled, not-quite-right appearance.
“Are you feeling well Sasuke?” Kakashi said. “If not, you’re in the right place.”
Sasuke looked around the room. It seemed he only now realized he was in the hospital.
“I’m a bit tired,” he said.
Kakashi’s eyebrows shot upward before he could stop himself. If Sasuke admitted to weakness, it was undoubtedly much worse than it appeared. Sasuke would have gritted his teeth and passed off a severed leg as a scratch if anyone said anything about it. Kakashi tried to be casual.
“Oh?”
“You were gone,” said Sasuke. “I couldn’t sleep with them--” and here he gestured at the window-- “watching me. So I stayed awake.”
“Well, missing a night’s sleep isn’t abnormal,” said Kakashi.
His instincts screamed inside his head. Kakashi struggled to keep appearing calm. He knew the signs of a ninja on the edge of collapse. Sasuke needed to keep believing Kakashi was relaxed, that nothing important was going on, or he might get dangerous. Three feet away wasn’t enough.
“But you still haven’t told me why you’re here,” said Kakashi.
Kakashi had a sinking feeling. The longer Sasuke talked, the worse he sounded.
“I stayed awake the whole time,” Sasuke said. “When I got tired I went up on the roof and watched the stars. Except then it was raining but I couldn’t go inside.”
Sasuke shivered and drew in on himself. Kakashi made a quick sweep of the room for weapons.
“They were waiting for me to go inside so they could go back to staring at me through the windows .”
Kakashi decided that Sasuke was more than just tired. He looked sick. His cheeks had a light flush and all the skin Kakashi could see was shiny with sweat. Fine tremors rippled across Sasuke’s shoulders.
When Sasuke was distracted by a nervous orderly peering into the room, Kakashi hand-signaled the ANBU detail. Did Sasuke do anything that might have made him ill? Kakashi was disgusted with the answers. Not only had Sasuke stayed up every night and cat-napped in the day, but he had sat unprotected in the rain for the better part of two days. Why hadn’t the ANBU sent for a medic when Sasuke started getting sick? Not their job his ass. If Sasuke hadn’t been sick and, Kakashi suspected, somewhat delusional because of it, he wouldn’t have broken the seal and done who-knew how much damage to the hospital. Kakashi didn’t know what else Sasuke might have done en route. Sasuke might not have been here now at all, as close to raving as he’d ever been, if the ANBU had done their jobs properly. Kakashi silenced the thought that it was his fault, for taking the mission in the first place. It wasn’t his fault.
Eventually, a doctor came by and patched up Kakashi. She also gave Sasuke a look-over. Kakashi noticed the doctor’s hands trembling as she made a show of not noticing the incinerated door. She gave Kakashi medicine and instructions and sent the both of them home. The whole thing rubbed Kakashi wrong. Still, no use in making the other patients nervous--not to mention the doctors and nurses--and it would be better for Sasuke to go ballistic on apartment furnishings than expensive medical equipment.
Kakashi got Sasuke settled on the couch. He took his bags into his bedroom to unpack. As soon as he entered, he realized Sasuke had been in there. Things were slightly off; pictures just a hair to the side of their former positions; the covers on his bed at a different crooked angle; the door to his wardrobe not properly shut. And there, on the window, was a Sasuke-sized handprint. It had to have been deliberate, that lone print. Kakashi was furious, but it would be meaningless to take it up with Sasuke now. It was too late after the intrusion and Sasuke was sick. Kakashi had his doubts that Sasuke would realize his infringement even when he was well. He threw his dirty uniforms in a corner and polished kunai for a while.
When Kakashi had done enough work on his equipment to calm down, he saw it was time for Sasuke’s medicine. Kakashi deliberately made noise coming into the living room. Getting kunai thrown his way was annoying, but that was what a well Sasuke would have done. Who knew what sort of thing a sick Sasuke would do? Kakashi tried not to think about an out-of-control Mangekyou, provoked by fevered nightmares. Thoughts about that were fodder for bad dreams. Kakashi cleared his throat when he got within three feet of Sasuke’s head.
Sasuke sat up quickly for a sick, sleeping person. Kakashi was fascinated to see he was indeed asleep and not merely leaving his eyes closed. He didn’t want to startle him awake, so he tried to slip the tip of the medicine dispenser between Sasuke’s lips. He was surprised when it actually worked. He pressed the plunger down and the medicine hit Sasuke’s taste buds. Sasuke cracked his eyes open.
“Kabuto? What…”
He stopped and took a better look.
“Next time wake me, or I’ll spit it out in your eye.”
Sasuke closed his eyes and was asleep again in seconds. His body folded back onto the couch. Kakashi fought against draping a blanket over him. He didn’t want to know what Sasuke had thought he was doing with the medicine. His hands moved almost before his mind could catch up, pulling a blanket over Sasuke‘s torso. Kakashi dropped the corner of it as if it were hot. Sasuke didn’t need mothering. He stood for a moment. He studied his hands and, for once, they weren’t what he expected. They were strangely foreign, grafted onto his familiar arms. He forced them down at his sides where he couldn’t see them anymore. He went back to his bedroom.
Over the next few days, Kakashi did as Sasuke asked, waking him for medicine and water. He also roused him during nightmares. Sasuke’s eerie, half-strangled cries came right through the walls, penetrating Kakashi‘s sleep and dreams. Kakashi got used to Sasuke’s forehead dampening his shoulder during the short staggers to the bathroom so Sasuke could piss and swipe at his teeth with a toothbrush. Kakashi drew the line at sponge baths, though Sasuke smelled terrible after the first day. And, while he wasn’t a good nurse, he thought it said something that Sasuke didn’t die under his care.
Sasuke recovered slowly. Kakashi was glad that he left some of his paranoia and bad dreams behind. Already Kakashi had learned more than he needed or wanted to know about Sasuke’s time away from the village. He also now knew many of the more visceral details of Sasuke’s imprisonment, things that had been left unsaid in the dry facts of the reports he’d read. Sasuke would be completely humiliated to know what he’d said in his sleep. Kakashi burned with embarrassment for him. He was overwhelmed with the desire to forget what he’d discovered. Sasuke seemed to know he’d done something while he was sick. He went around as normally as he could. Kakashi kept his best poker face up. If Sasuke ever got the courage to ask him what he’d said, Kakashi had already decided to lie.
The next time the topic of a house came up, Sasuke said, as calmly as he could without seeming desperate--a noble but unsuccessful effort--that he’d like to try it. Either they would succeed or not. In the case of failure, it would give them more time before looking for a new place. Kakashi suspected that Sasuke’s imaginings of what the neighbors might have heard recently had influenced his decision. It probably wasn’t the most objective way to decide, but at least Sasuke had finally given him an answer. Kakashi didn’t know how this would affect the unacknowledged tensions between them. He sighed. Like it or not, caring for Sasuke was his duty. If moving to a house in the middle of the forest would be best him, then he was prepared to work hard to get them there. Besides…they were two S-rank ninja. How hard could it be?
--------
Random author's notes:
I debated the use of various synonyms for hospital gown in this part. (For one, I couldn't remember it was a hospital gown. I kept thinking smock was almost-but-not-quite the right word.) I consistently referred to it as a johnny. But then, when the spell-checker questioned it, I did a little research, and it is now mostly a gown in the story. I figured it would be a johnny from Kakashi's fairly informal perspective. I tossed "smock" out the window completely because I kept thinking of artists wearing smocks, which made me think of Kakashi in a smock and beret, doing a painting. It was a ridiculous image. (Of course, using gown makes me think of Kakashi in a red carpet event celebrity-woman's gown with sequins and a feather boa and stuff...but it's better than smock!)
Also, I still have come to no conclusion on the smart quotes issue. I didn't even bother looking for turned around apostrophes this time. Oh, how the mighty have crumbled!
I'm going to kick back and not even look at chapter eight until tomorrow. My brain is still buzzing from completing chapter seven.
Later!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
31 May 2009
Minor Updates
Chapter seven is coming along pretty swimmingly. I hope to have it up either this afternoon or a little later this evening, after dinnertime. I've successfully caught it up from chapter six's cliffhanger. I just have to edit it now. I'm finding myself liking chapter seven a lot, which is making me reluctant to make major changes. This could be good or bad. I can't tell if I happen to like this particular crappy writing, or if it is in fact good and I am subconsciously recognizing the awesomeness. I am so well-trained in self-effacement... I can't tell the difference between my best and worst writing.
I've also put up a nice new header image today, to help spiff up the place. Like the last one, it's a photo that I took. Well, technically it's only part of a photo, but what the hey. Using my own images feels like a narcissistic thing to do. I just really want to avoid rights-infringement troubles. (If I actually thought my photos were any good, then I'd know I was being egotistical, right?)
Anyway, off to work I go!
Later!
I've also put up a nice new header image today, to help spiff up the place. Like the last one, it's a photo that I took. Well, technically it's only part of a photo, but what the hey. Using my own images feels like a narcissistic thing to do. I just really want to avoid rights-infringement troubles. (If I actually thought my photos were any good, then I'd know I was being egotistical, right?)
Anyway, off to work I go!
Later!
29 May 2009
Is this any better?
As you might notice, I've been tweaking the layout to provide more space (read: width) for the place where the posts go.
How's it looking? I've checked it in Firefox and IE and it looks okay to me. (Granted, my computer runs Windows XP at that something-by-1024 pixels resolution.)
If you're reading this post via email digest, I'd suggest going to look at the actual blog. I am going on the assumption that the email version of the posts are somehow conveying the content and stripping the formatting right out. Or maybe it just is all "there's a snazzy post; click on this link and get redirected to the blog from whence it came!" I don't know.
Is it weird to want to put myself on my own blog-email-contact list just to see what everyone else is getting? ...I totally just did that. Let the magic commence!
Later!
p.s. Chapter seven should be coming in fairly short order. I looked it over, and, actually, I think it needs a lot less editing than most of the chapters I've done so far. (This of course translates to "I don't hate it and feel obligated to rewrite all of it! Yay!)
p.p.s. Yep. I knew it. The email digest strips the formatting. It's really a shame. It looks so pretty on the actual blog!
How's it looking? I've checked it in Firefox and IE and it looks okay to me. (Granted, my computer runs Windows XP at that something-by-1024 pixels resolution.)
If you're reading this post via email digest, I'd suggest going to look at the actual blog. I am going on the assumption that the email version of the posts are somehow conveying the content and stripping the formatting right out. Or maybe it just is all "there's a snazzy post; click on this link and get redirected to the blog from whence it came!" I don't know.
Is it weird to want to put myself on my own blog-email-contact list just to see what everyone else is getting? ...I totally just did that. Let the magic commence!
Later!
p.s. Chapter seven should be coming in fairly short order. I looked it over, and, actually, I think it needs a lot less editing than most of the chapters I've done so far. (This of course translates to "I don't hate it and feel obligated to rewrite all of it! Yay!)
p.p.s. Yep. I knew it. The email digest strips the formatting. It's really a shame. It looks so pretty on the actual blog!
Argh! I hate you, "smart" quotes!
I'm appalled at how many backward single quotation marks are getting by me when I look over pieces that I've written (both for here and not here.)
Let me explain. Apparently, my word processor has a "smart quotes" feature, meaning that quotation marks on the left of the words are supposed to face right, and the ones on the right face left, whether they're apostrophes [ ' ] or doubles. [ " ] This look pleases me aesthetically. It also makes it a bit easier to read.
However, these smart quotes seem to be malfunctioning at an alarming rate. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to fix it, aside from looking over every single apostrophe I use...and it looks like I use apostrophes a lot.
Should I turn the function off? Should I comb through everything? Or should I continue to ignore it as best as I can, wincing when they're on the page, staring at me in an accusatory manner?
In conclusion, smart quotes are, in fact stupid and arbitrary. They ought to be able to make that bit of programming more reliable, somehow...
Later!
Let me explain. Apparently, my word processor has a "smart quotes" feature, meaning that quotation marks on the left of the words are supposed to face right, and the ones on the right face left, whether they're apostrophes [ ' ] or doubles. [ " ] This look pleases me aesthetically. It also makes it a bit easier to read.
However, these smart quotes seem to be malfunctioning at an alarming rate. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to fix it, aside from looking over every single apostrophe I use...and it looks like I use apostrophes a lot.
Should I turn the function off? Should I comb through everything? Or should I continue to ignore it as best as I can, wincing when they're on the page, staring at me in an accusatory manner?
In conclusion, smart quotes are, in fact stupid and arbitrary. They ought to be able to make that bit of programming more reliable, somehow...
Later!
28 May 2009
Chapter Six is now done!
Whew! I'm tired now! I apologize for all the delays I've had lately. I also apologize in advance for the lame cliffhanger. (Man, I hope I didn't miss some craptacular error just because I wanted to put this thing up now, before bed, instead of tomorrow.)
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 6
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When the message came from the Hokage, Kakashi couldn’t believe it. He looked at the paper several times, just to be sure. It was a mission. A bona fide out-of-the-village mission. No other person or group of people could do it as he could. Despite his ongoing responsibility over Sasuke, he had to take it. He had a few days’ advance notice to figure out what--and how--to tell Sasuke. For a moment, Kakashi imagined not telling him. He tapped the paper against his leg. He looked around. His bedroom door was closed, but he shut the window, just in case.
Sasuke was more walled off than before he‘d left. He didn’t seem to trust anyone right now; didn’t trust Naruto to let him live, didn’t trust Kakashi not to hand him back to ANBU, and he certainly didn’t trust anyone he’d never had faith in beforehand. Kakashi snorted. If you could call it faith. He sat on his bed. He tried to figure out how to upset Sasuke the least. Keeping an eye on Sasuke had to be the most difficult job he’d ever done. He didn’t like babysitting, and that was exactly what his orders were. Keep Sasuke out of trouble. Try not to make him worse. Don’t kill him. Try not to let him kill you. (And really, it was unfair because Kakashi was good at killing, maybe even great at it.) Kakashi suspected that no one had planned for circumstances which would force him to abandon Sasuke for another mission. His grip on the notice tightened. The paper wrinkled up and he smoothed it out against his thigh. A darker part of him thought this mission was a test. It seemed a bit convenient.
Honestly, Kakashi didn’t know what good he could do for Sasuke, what good he might have already done. He didn’t know Sasuke well, and he fumbled just as often as he succeeded in handling him. Maybe this new mission was a better use of his skills. The village needed its strongest out there doing missions, not hovering over an ex missing-nin who might or might not improve enough to be trusted with ninja work again. Still, he felt a twinge when he rehearsed his explanation and tried to imagine how Sasuke would react. Kakashi sighed. No one seemed to have taken into account that Sasuke was a singularly difficult roommate and ward. Even now, Kakashi caught himself sweeping the room for signs that Sasuke was spying on him. This would be a very bad time for that, not that there was ever a good one. Kakashi had caught Sasuke at it occasionally, but he was certain there were more instances when he hadn’t.
A week after they’d broken from their apartment hunt, Kakashi prepared to leave on the new mission. He’d had a day to think about what to tell Sasuke. Sasuke wasn’t an idiot. He’d know what Kakashi was preparing for the minute the traveling packs came out. Kakashi decided this was one of those rare times that honesty really was the best policy. He didn’t know what it would take to keep Sasuke on an even keel, so to speak, but he was prepared to tell him everything he could and, perhaps, a few things he shouldn’t. Kakashi dragged his packs out into the living room. He dropped them on the floor, startling Sasuke out of the kitchen.
“I’ve got a mission tomorrow,” said Kakashi. “It’s not going to last too long. A few days at the most.”
Sasuke looked at the partly loaded bags. He didn’t seem very surprised, but there was something not quite right with his expression. There was a certain tightness in his eyes and the way he held his jaw. Kakashi tried to soften what he had to say.
“I can’t take you with me. You know that. But you’ll be able to stay here, and it‘s only the usual four-man ANBU squad.”
The knowledge that they would have to seal Sasuke’s chakra hung in the air between them. Kakashi suddenly found himself unable to look into Sasuke’s bright gaze. He cleared his throat and tried to pretend that, even now, the ANBU were not watching. He lowered his voice accordingly.
“I’ll tell you about the mission, if you want to know.”
It wasn’t much consolation, but it was all the reassurance he had to give.
Sasuke sat on the couch. Kakashi pulled up a chair in his line of sight, blocking the mission packs from view. He gave him a moment.
“Well? You want to hear about it?”
Sasuke nodded. Kakashi sighed inside. He hoped that, with this knowledge, Sasuke would be able to relax some. There was nothing either of them could do to prevent Kakashi leaving, and even if he could have, Kakashi didn’t think he would. He ignored a prickle of guilt. This was an important mission and he had to do it. Sasuke would be fine. He’d be fine.
Kakashi left for four days at the height of summer. He made his way through the waving veldt of Grass country and into Earth. He was doing surveillance and groundwork for a further, later mission, which meant he spent a lot of time hidden in trees and behind boulders, waiting to see what he needed to see. Kakashi made judicious use of his Sharingan and mapped particular places of interest, but mostly he endured the tedium of waiting. If you discounted the possibility of being found out, it was boring work. Hot, too. Kakashi felt sweat trickling down his neck. He didn’t wipe it away. There were too many people around now. It looked like the background information for this mission was accurate--they were building some sort of military installation. Even at night he was careful to limit his movements. During the day he held perfectly still for hours if need be. Kakashi was perched in an elm today, giving him a great vantage point. It was almost comfortable standing with one arm wrapped around the trunk.
Still, knowing he couldn’t move put an extra sting in every fly landing on him, every drop of sweat that rolled into his eye, and every piece of grit that worked its way through his clothes to chafe him. Each urge his body gave him was magnified. He had to distract himself. Fortunately, he had plenty of practice at passing the time. His Sharingan tracked the movements of the people and supplies and he was careful to keep a firm grip on the tree, but that left most of his mind free to think.
Kakashi thought about music for a little bit, as someone passed by, whistling. He thought about what a pleasure it would be to put him out of his tone deaf misery. Someone else did it for him, smacking the offender across the back of the head and into silence. Kakashi rolled his eye. No ninja worth his salt would allow someone to hit him like that. The whistler was probably a civilian.
Thinking about civilians made him think about the disastrous apartment hunt…which led him to Sasuke. Once he came to Sasuke, he couldn’t not think about him. Kakashi wondered how Sasuke was getting along without him. He imagined him doing all the sorts of things he normally did: housework, cooking, reading. How was Sasuke coping with a lack of people to glare at? Not that there weren’t people there, but the ANBU weren’t exactly a visible presence. Scowling would be a nice distraction from the hard truths of house arrest, though. Kakashi worried, just for a moment, that house arrest was too close to what Sasuke had endured in prison. He tried to think of other things because, in the end, Sasuke had endured, had survived.
The afternoon passed slowly, and Kakashi found himself in a strangely languorous state. He felt, distantly, that he should be more alert, but he couldn’t quite force himself into it. A slight breeze relieved the worst of the heat, and he’d long since grown accustomed to the bark pressed into his flesh. He had finished his Sharingan work at this location. Now he just needed to wait until dark, when he could slip away and make paper copies of his surveillance for the Hokage. After that, he’d be free to make his way home. This mission was turning out to be almost relaxing.
Kakashi started thinking about missions. Did Sasuke have a lot of mission experience? He had had a fairly average life as a genin, despite his skill and genius. There were a few standouts, but mostly it had been catching pets and pruning hedges. Who knew what Sasuke had done, what he had experienced after he’d left Konoha? It was obvious that he didn’t have enough of a foundation in general ninja work. That was the point of being a genin: to establish oneself in the working ninja world. Sasuke had gone haring off almost before he’d started, and he had come back with an aptitude for mayhem and little else. A ninja so one-sided couldn’t fit well into the current society. If there had been a war on then yes, Sasuke could have been a valuable tool, but these days...he was worse than useless. Kakashi felt himself getting angry. The whole situation should have been preventable. Sasuke shouldn’t have been allowed to leave. Kakashi should have kept better watch on him, should have sat on him harder, should have seen that their last confrontation wasn’t enough, that it wasn’t something that could keep Sasuke away from Orochimaru and his brother and all the other dark things he secreted away. Kakashi should have kept Sasuke safe, in Konoha.
Kakashi eased his grip on the tree. Shreds of bark flaked off and fell to the ground below. What a joke. Being a ninja was never safe. It was patently unsafe if you were any good at it, and Sasuke had been the best, the brightest, the most promising of his class. Anger welled up again. After all this time, Kakashi still couldn’t understand why Sasuke didn’t see that Konoha would have helped him. The village was a safety net until its young ninja grew experienced and strong enough to stand on their own. Sasuke had needed its stability desperately, but he was the only one who hadn’t seen that. Maybe he hadn’t been capable. Maybe he still wasn’t.
Kakashi continued to think dark thoughts as twilight fell. A small part of him still kept watch on his surroundings. When there was a minimum of people around, he started flexing the stiffness out of his muscles, group by group. He felt pretty good for having spent upwards of eight hours standing in a tree. It didn’t hurt to be thorough, though, considering he was old for an active ninja. He didn’t relish the thought of limping carefully all the way back to Fire country because he‘d torn a ligament or strained muscles, or done something that warming up could prevent.
Between stretching and thoughts Sasuke, Kakashi’s attention wandered more than it should have. When he leapt down from the branches of the elm, the nearest guard was closer than he’d been anticipating. Crap. Kakashi took off into the countryside, using what cover he could find while the guards gave chase. He’d have to lead them around for a while and then ditch them without engaging. Orders were orders, however inconvenient. He shook his head and wiped the sweat away from his eye. At least he could move around now. He was also thankful that his pursuers were mediocre chuunin at best. Even so, he would almost prefer fighting them to running. Kakashi sighed and kept moving.
----
Chapter seven should come out a little faster than this one...considering it's not plagued by boring narrative. Hooray for not having to flesh out two paragraphs' worth of summary into three pages of real story! (I'll need to do just a tiny bit of filling-in-the-blank, I think. You know, for the sake of not confusing the reader and all. ^_^ )
Later!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 6
----
When the message came from the Hokage, Kakashi couldn’t believe it. He looked at the paper several times, just to be sure. It was a mission. A bona fide out-of-the-village mission. No other person or group of people could do it as he could. Despite his ongoing responsibility over Sasuke, he had to take it. He had a few days’ advance notice to figure out what--and how--to tell Sasuke. For a moment, Kakashi imagined not telling him. He tapped the paper against his leg. He looked around. His bedroom door was closed, but he shut the window, just in case.
Sasuke was more walled off than before he‘d left. He didn’t seem to trust anyone right now; didn’t trust Naruto to let him live, didn’t trust Kakashi not to hand him back to ANBU, and he certainly didn’t trust anyone he’d never had faith in beforehand. Kakashi snorted. If you could call it faith. He sat on his bed. He tried to figure out how to upset Sasuke the least. Keeping an eye on Sasuke had to be the most difficult job he’d ever done. He didn’t like babysitting, and that was exactly what his orders were. Keep Sasuke out of trouble. Try not to make him worse. Don’t kill him. Try not to let him kill you. (And really, it was unfair because Kakashi was good at killing, maybe even great at it.) Kakashi suspected that no one had planned for circumstances which would force him to abandon Sasuke for another mission. His grip on the notice tightened. The paper wrinkled up and he smoothed it out against his thigh. A darker part of him thought this mission was a test. It seemed a bit convenient.
Honestly, Kakashi didn’t know what good he could do for Sasuke, what good he might have already done. He didn’t know Sasuke well, and he fumbled just as often as he succeeded in handling him. Maybe this new mission was a better use of his skills. The village needed its strongest out there doing missions, not hovering over an ex missing-nin who might or might not improve enough to be trusted with ninja work again. Still, he felt a twinge when he rehearsed his explanation and tried to imagine how Sasuke would react. Kakashi sighed. No one seemed to have taken into account that Sasuke was a singularly difficult roommate and ward. Even now, Kakashi caught himself sweeping the room for signs that Sasuke was spying on him. This would be a very bad time for that, not that there was ever a good one. Kakashi had caught Sasuke at it occasionally, but he was certain there were more instances when he hadn’t.
A week after they’d broken from their apartment hunt, Kakashi prepared to leave on the new mission. He’d had a day to think about what to tell Sasuke. Sasuke wasn’t an idiot. He’d know what Kakashi was preparing for the minute the traveling packs came out. Kakashi decided this was one of those rare times that honesty really was the best policy. He didn’t know what it would take to keep Sasuke on an even keel, so to speak, but he was prepared to tell him everything he could and, perhaps, a few things he shouldn’t. Kakashi dragged his packs out into the living room. He dropped them on the floor, startling Sasuke out of the kitchen.
“I’ve got a mission tomorrow,” said Kakashi. “It’s not going to last too long. A few days at the most.”
Sasuke looked at the partly loaded bags. He didn’t seem very surprised, but there was something not quite right with his expression. There was a certain tightness in his eyes and the way he held his jaw. Kakashi tried to soften what he had to say.
“I can’t take you with me. You know that. But you’ll be able to stay here, and it‘s only the usual four-man ANBU squad.”
The knowledge that they would have to seal Sasuke’s chakra hung in the air between them. Kakashi suddenly found himself unable to look into Sasuke’s bright gaze. He cleared his throat and tried to pretend that, even now, the ANBU were not watching. He lowered his voice accordingly.
“I’ll tell you about the mission, if you want to know.”
It wasn’t much consolation, but it was all the reassurance he had to give.
Sasuke sat on the couch. Kakashi pulled up a chair in his line of sight, blocking the mission packs from view. He gave him a moment.
“Well? You want to hear about it?”
Sasuke nodded. Kakashi sighed inside. He hoped that, with this knowledge, Sasuke would be able to relax some. There was nothing either of them could do to prevent Kakashi leaving, and even if he could have, Kakashi didn’t think he would. He ignored a prickle of guilt. This was an important mission and he had to do it. Sasuke would be fine. He’d be fine.
Kakashi left for four days at the height of summer. He made his way through the waving veldt of Grass country and into Earth. He was doing surveillance and groundwork for a further, later mission, which meant he spent a lot of time hidden in trees and behind boulders, waiting to see what he needed to see. Kakashi made judicious use of his Sharingan and mapped particular places of interest, but mostly he endured the tedium of waiting. If you discounted the possibility of being found out, it was boring work. Hot, too. Kakashi felt sweat trickling down his neck. He didn’t wipe it away. There were too many people around now. It looked like the background information for this mission was accurate--they were building some sort of military installation. Even at night he was careful to limit his movements. During the day he held perfectly still for hours if need be. Kakashi was perched in an elm today, giving him a great vantage point. It was almost comfortable standing with one arm wrapped around the trunk.
Still, knowing he couldn’t move put an extra sting in every fly landing on him, every drop of sweat that rolled into his eye, and every piece of grit that worked its way through his clothes to chafe him. Each urge his body gave him was magnified. He had to distract himself. Fortunately, he had plenty of practice at passing the time. His Sharingan tracked the movements of the people and supplies and he was careful to keep a firm grip on the tree, but that left most of his mind free to think.
Kakashi thought about music for a little bit, as someone passed by, whistling. He thought about what a pleasure it would be to put him out of his tone deaf misery. Someone else did it for him, smacking the offender across the back of the head and into silence. Kakashi rolled his eye. No ninja worth his salt would allow someone to hit him like that. The whistler was probably a civilian.
Thinking about civilians made him think about the disastrous apartment hunt…which led him to Sasuke. Once he came to Sasuke, he couldn’t not think about him. Kakashi wondered how Sasuke was getting along without him. He imagined him doing all the sorts of things he normally did: housework, cooking, reading. How was Sasuke coping with a lack of people to glare at? Not that there weren’t people there, but the ANBU weren’t exactly a visible presence. Scowling would be a nice distraction from the hard truths of house arrest, though. Kakashi worried, just for a moment, that house arrest was too close to what Sasuke had endured in prison. He tried to think of other things because, in the end, Sasuke had endured, had survived.
The afternoon passed slowly, and Kakashi found himself in a strangely languorous state. He felt, distantly, that he should be more alert, but he couldn’t quite force himself into it. A slight breeze relieved the worst of the heat, and he’d long since grown accustomed to the bark pressed into his flesh. He had finished his Sharingan work at this location. Now he just needed to wait until dark, when he could slip away and make paper copies of his surveillance for the Hokage. After that, he’d be free to make his way home. This mission was turning out to be almost relaxing.
Kakashi started thinking about missions. Did Sasuke have a lot of mission experience? He had had a fairly average life as a genin, despite his skill and genius. There were a few standouts, but mostly it had been catching pets and pruning hedges. Who knew what Sasuke had done, what he had experienced after he’d left Konoha? It was obvious that he didn’t have enough of a foundation in general ninja work. That was the point of being a genin: to establish oneself in the working ninja world. Sasuke had gone haring off almost before he’d started, and he had come back with an aptitude for mayhem and little else. A ninja so one-sided couldn’t fit well into the current society. If there had been a war on then yes, Sasuke could have been a valuable tool, but these days...he was worse than useless. Kakashi felt himself getting angry. The whole situation should have been preventable. Sasuke shouldn’t have been allowed to leave. Kakashi should have kept better watch on him, should have sat on him harder, should have seen that their last confrontation wasn’t enough, that it wasn’t something that could keep Sasuke away from Orochimaru and his brother and all the other dark things he secreted away. Kakashi should have kept Sasuke safe, in Konoha.
Kakashi eased his grip on the tree. Shreds of bark flaked off and fell to the ground below. What a joke. Being a ninja was never safe. It was patently unsafe if you were any good at it, and Sasuke had been the best, the brightest, the most promising of his class. Anger welled up again. After all this time, Kakashi still couldn’t understand why Sasuke didn’t see that Konoha would have helped him. The village was a safety net until its young ninja grew experienced and strong enough to stand on their own. Sasuke had needed its stability desperately, but he was the only one who hadn’t seen that. Maybe he hadn’t been capable. Maybe he still wasn’t.
Kakashi continued to think dark thoughts as twilight fell. A small part of him still kept watch on his surroundings. When there was a minimum of people around, he started flexing the stiffness out of his muscles, group by group. He felt pretty good for having spent upwards of eight hours standing in a tree. It didn’t hurt to be thorough, though, considering he was old for an active ninja. He didn’t relish the thought of limping carefully all the way back to Fire country because he‘d torn a ligament or strained muscles, or done something that warming up could prevent.
Between stretching and thoughts Sasuke, Kakashi’s attention wandered more than it should have. When he leapt down from the branches of the elm, the nearest guard was closer than he’d been anticipating. Crap. Kakashi took off into the countryside, using what cover he could find while the guards gave chase. He’d have to lead them around for a while and then ditch them without engaging. Orders were orders, however inconvenient. He shook his head and wiped the sweat away from his eye. At least he could move around now. He was also thankful that his pursuers were mediocre chuunin at best. Even so, he would almost prefer fighting them to running. Kakashi sighed and kept moving.
----
Chapter seven should come out a little faster than this one...considering it's not plagued by boring narrative. Hooray for not having to flesh out two paragraphs' worth of summary into three pages of real story! (I'll need to do just a tiny bit of filling-in-the-blank, I think. You know, for the sake of not confusing the reader and all. ^_^ )
Later!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
Chapter Six: coming soon!
Okay. Chapter six is kind of sort of out of control. To begin with, it was the umbrella for several smaller-but-necessary scenes that were made entirely of dry summary-type narrative. I've been fleshing out the boring parts and it's gotten long enough that I've had to split chapter six into two separate chapters now (which means I've had to re-number the tentative chapters I'd already numbered.)
The good news is that I'm coming to the end of the "new" chapter six. (And by coming to the end of, I mean I'm almost done writing the new parts of it. Chapter six is probably going to be between two and three pages single-spaced. Originally, this part of the story was a scant two paragraphs. -___- )
The bad news is that I'm going to have to edit it some more. Editing is a laborious process. I end up going over the same sentence six times in a row until I'm happy with it. This isn't to say I haven't been spot editing all along. I just haven't done a thorough all-over job of it.
But fear not! I have a goal! I'm wanting to post it by bedtime...which generally means before/around midnight. (If I can manage to not get distracted, I know I can do it. ^_^ )
Later!
The good news is that I'm coming to the end of the "new" chapter six. (And by coming to the end of, I mean I'm almost done writing the new parts of it. Chapter six is probably going to be between two and three pages single-spaced. Originally, this part of the story was a scant two paragraphs. -___- )
The bad news is that I'm going to have to edit it some more. Editing is a laborious process. I end up going over the same sentence six times in a row until I'm happy with it. This isn't to say I haven't been spot editing all along. I just haven't done a thorough all-over job of it.
But fear not! I have a goal! I'm wanting to post it by bedtime...which generally means before/around midnight. (If I can manage to not get distracted, I know I can do it. ^_^ )
Later!
24 May 2009
Alas!
...I accomplished squat over this "weekend" away. Apparently, one of my key editing processes is to read every line aloud a lot. This is just too weird to do with someone else around, even if that someone is my fairly deaf mom. (Maybe even especially then?) I was too weirded out to even really look at chapter six. I can't imagine the mortification I'd feel if I were hammering out a sex scene! (And, truthfully, I had a lot of really awesome writing ideas in the past few days--including some about ye olde boot-knocking--but I was too chicken to write them down anywhere.)
I have discovered that family is a huge intimidation factor when it comes to me and my writing. This is bad. Even though I've done my best to estrange myself from them, we are still a close-knit group. Just thinking about them reading/hearing my work, no matter what it is, puts me off from writing. I don't want them to have anything to do with it. No comments from the peanut gallery, so to speak.
I need to work on being a more outspoken, less inhibited person.
So, in short, no chapter six because I couldn't stand the thought that someone might overhear me working. I'm trying very hard to get rid of the feeling that I'm an idiot for reading aloud while revising. It'll be good to get back home where no one knows what I'm doing, save the cat.
Later!
p.s. I apologize for lack of coherency/repetition of ideas. I am feeling super-fatigued at the moment from both lack of sleep and an upswing in stress.
I have discovered that family is a huge intimidation factor when it comes to me and my writing. This is bad. Even though I've done my best to estrange myself from them, we are still a close-knit group. Just thinking about them reading/hearing my work, no matter what it is, puts me off from writing. I don't want them to have anything to do with it. No comments from the peanut gallery, so to speak.
I need to work on being a more outspoken, less inhibited person.
So, in short, no chapter six because I couldn't stand the thought that someone might overhear me working. I'm trying very hard to get rid of the feeling that I'm an idiot for reading aloud while revising. It'll be good to get back home where no one knows what I'm doing, save the cat.
Later!
p.s. I apologize for lack of coherency/repetition of ideas. I am feeling super-fatigued at the moment from both lack of sleep and an upswing in stress.
20 May 2009
Climbing ever onward!
I took a look at chapter six, and I'm dismayed at how much work it is going to need. What I had originally written in for it isn't going to mesh well with what I've rewritten for the story so far. Not only am I going to have to redo a bunch of stuff, but I'm probably going to end up cutting parts out entirely and putting new things in instead.
Also, I'm making the (kind of) tough choice to rework a necessary flashback so that it won't be a flashback any more. (It's really hard to fiddle with time-stuff in writing. Really hard.) But, I feel the reworked scene will have more impact, besides its helping to streamline the chronology of the story. I'm discovering that this story jumps around a lot, which was not what I'd intended. It's really, really hard to make sure I haven't doubled back to, doubled up on, or skipped over something.
This story is turning out different from what I'd expected, I think. Well. That's not strictly accurate. It both is and is not working out like I'd imagined. Somehow I've managed to broaden the scope and narrow the focus at the same time. (But I think it'll end up pretty awesome in the end...)
I'm going to try to get chapter six done by the end of the holiday weekend; I'm actually away from home, but I want to try to keep to my work schedule. It's supposed to be really hot the next couple of days. I expect to be singularly unproductive then. However, I can try and make up for it afterward...
Later!
Also, I'm making the (kind of) tough choice to rework a necessary flashback so that it won't be a flashback any more. (It's really hard to fiddle with time-stuff in writing. Really hard.) But, I feel the reworked scene will have more impact, besides its helping to streamline the chronology of the story. I'm discovering that this story jumps around a lot, which was not what I'd intended. It's really, really hard to make sure I haven't doubled back to, doubled up on, or skipped over something.
This story is turning out different from what I'd expected, I think. Well. That's not strictly accurate. It both is and is not working out like I'd imagined. Somehow I've managed to broaden the scope and narrow the focus at the same time. (But I think it'll end up pretty awesome in the end...)
I'm going to try to get chapter six done by the end of the holiday weekend; I'm actually away from home, but I want to try to keep to my work schedule. It's supposed to be really hot the next couple of days. I expect to be singularly unproductive then. However, I can try and make up for it afterward...
Later!
19 May 2009
Chapter Five
I'm really glad I waited until today to post this! I was so tired by the time I finished editing last night...if I'd posted then, this chapter would still have a lot of errors and rough spots. (Plus, it would have been really short and it would have had a nonsensical segue into chapter six.)
Happy reading!
Chapter 5
----
Both men looked horrible when they sat for breakfast. Sasuke stared into his cup of tea and refused to acknowledge Kakashi. Kakashi watched his rice go cold. He stole glances at Sasuke and wondered how to bring up the subject of housing. He stretched in his chair, settling into a purposely casual pose.
“Yesterday didn’t go so well,“ Kakashi said. “Those apartments were awful.”
He paused. He hoped Sasuke appreciated his forced nonchalance. He poked at his breakfast with one chopstick. Grains of rice clung to it, and he tried not to think about maggots invading his bowl.
“I thought today we’d--”
“I’m not looking at more apartments. It’s pointless.”
Sasuke still wasn’t looking at Kakashi, but at least he was talking. He turned his teacup around and around on the table. Kakashi stifled a sudden impulse to make Sasuke stop before he spilled his tea. He knew that wouldn't happen. Sasuke was too good a ninja to have teacup accidents like that.
“Did I say anything about apartments?” Kakashi said. “I want to talk about what we‘ll do today, not what hasn't been working for us all along.”
Kakashi slouched into a different position as he watched Sasuke think. Sasuke was starting to get a wrinkle in the middle of his forehead, and it deepened whenever he was thinking, or if he was frowning. Sasuke didn’t smile much these days. He had always thought too much.
“Or condos,” Sasuke said.
Now, Sasuke raised his head. His eyes flickered from black to red and back again.
“And don’t even think about asking to live in my parents’ house,” he said.
Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. He pushed back from the table. His tea sloshed over the rim of the cup. Kakashi eyed the puddle, daring it to spread. It lengthened, reached the edge of the table, and started dripping onto the floor. Kakashi sighed.
He might have been intimidated if it wasn’t all so silly and childish. Who would honestly expect Kakashi to live in that mausoleum, let alone Sasuke? Sasuke’s rights to the Uchiha property remained, but that didn't mean he had to live there. Kakashi wondered if he had always planned on returning there, living out whatever life he might have had.
The tea filled a small line of grout in the tiling. To his one eye, the spill started to look red. A metallic taste flooded Kakashi's mouth. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
“As I was saying, I had an idea. A stroke of brilliance, even,” Kakashi said.
Sasuke seemed unimpressed. Kakashi gave up trying to make it sound interesting.
“I thought we could build our own house. No landlords, no rent, no nosy neighbors, no shared bathrooms…”
He put on his best bored expression and waited for Sasuke to say--or do--something.
“Even the do---even a complete idiot wouldn’t come up with that plan!”
Kakashi could see Sasuke was confused. The pre-wrinkle was back again, digging into the smooth skin between Sasuke’s eyebrows. Kakashi let him mull it over some more. He was sure this plan would appeal to Sasuke. He’d just have to work him around...and figure out the details.
Kakashi gave up on the pretense of breakfast. He got up from the table and took his uneaten rice with him. He wrapped the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Maybe he’d feel like eating it later, when his head was firmly in the present. He got a rag and started mopping up the spilled tea while Sasuke’s eyes drilled into his back. It wasn’t very comfortable. It felt like Sasuke was trying to peel back his skin to see what made him tick. Kakashi ignored it as best as he could.
“Aside from everything else, we haven’t got anywhere to put a house,” said Sasuke.
Sasuke got up and took his teacup with him to the sink. Kakashi wiped the table down. He wrung the rag out and hung it to dry.
“The Forest of Death is a nice quiet neighborhood,” Kakashi said. He slid past Sasuke on his way out of the kitchen.
He couldn’t resist ruffling Sasuke’s feathers, even if that meant Sasuke got angry. Especially if he got angry, because that proved parts of Sasuke were still there, despite everything. This suggestion wasn’t entirely a joke, though. There was a lot of unused land near the forest. There were training grounds all around. It was private. It was set apart from just about everything that might set Sasuke off. (Except, of course, the spot where Sasuke had received his curse seal. Kakashi still wasn’t sure what Sasuke thought about that.)
“It would be like survival training, really,” Kakashi said. “Working hard, camping in the woods for a while, in easy reach of giant centipedes and tigers, sharpening our carpentry skills…”
For a moment Kakashi felt nostalgic, but he shook it off. No use trying to pretend the situation was any different that what it was. Sasuke wasn’t a little genin anymore, and he wasn’t an instructor or team leader or whatever he could call his former job. He was Sasuke’s shadow and constant companion. What that made Sasuke, he didn’t know.
Trying to read Sasuke’s face was both very difficult and very easy. Sasuke’s emotions were written across it, but Kakashi was never fully sure why Sasuke felt as he did. For the moment, Kakashi felt safe enough to get on with the day. Sasuke washed up the few breakfast dishes by himself, and he seemed intent on eradicating all germs and food specks from the kitchen. Sasuke hadn’t given him an answer about the house, but at least he hadn’t said no outright.
Kakashi weighed the benefits of a nap with the benefits of being awake this morning. He decided he needed the sleep. He hoped that, when Sasuke finally made up his mind, he would wait until Kakashi was awake to tell him. If there was one thing Kakashi had learned over the past weeks, it was that Sasuke had gotten much more dangerous. Kakashi was a light sleeper, but it wouldn’t give him much of an edge if Sasuke went irretrievably insane. All pretenses aside, knowing why Sasuke thought and felt the way he did made it easier for Kakashi to steer away from incipient arguments and attacks on his person.
Kakashi lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind. The very real possibility of his death at Sasuke's hands was never far away. Still, he was always prepared to defend himself. He just didn’t know if he could stop Sasuke without killing him. Not a very comforting thought. Kakashi pulled up a blanket and rolled onto his side. He waited for sleep to come.
----
As always, let me know what you think.
Later!
P.S. Anyone know how to make a dash on here? Sticking two hyphens together (--) just isn't cutting it for me, visually speaking. The program I use to write in doesn't do dashes either, but I was hoping there was some way to do it here, in the post.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
Happy reading!
Chapter 5
----
Both men looked horrible when they sat for breakfast. Sasuke stared into his cup of tea and refused to acknowledge Kakashi. Kakashi watched his rice go cold. He stole glances at Sasuke and wondered how to bring up the subject of housing. He stretched in his chair, settling into a purposely casual pose.
“Yesterday didn’t go so well,“ Kakashi said. “Those apartments were awful.”
He paused. He hoped Sasuke appreciated his forced nonchalance. He poked at his breakfast with one chopstick. Grains of rice clung to it, and he tried not to think about maggots invading his bowl.
“I thought today we’d--”
“I’m not looking at more apartments. It’s pointless.”
Sasuke still wasn’t looking at Kakashi, but at least he was talking. He turned his teacup around and around on the table. Kakashi stifled a sudden impulse to make Sasuke stop before he spilled his tea. He knew that wouldn't happen. Sasuke was too good a ninja to have teacup accidents like that.
“Did I say anything about apartments?” Kakashi said. “I want to talk about what we‘ll do today, not what hasn't been working for us all along.”
Kakashi slouched into a different position as he watched Sasuke think. Sasuke was starting to get a wrinkle in the middle of his forehead, and it deepened whenever he was thinking, or if he was frowning. Sasuke didn’t smile much these days. He had always thought too much.
“Or condos,” Sasuke said.
Now, Sasuke raised his head. His eyes flickered from black to red and back again.
“And don’t even think about asking to live in my parents’ house,” he said.
Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. He pushed back from the table. His tea sloshed over the rim of the cup. Kakashi eyed the puddle, daring it to spread. It lengthened, reached the edge of the table, and started dripping onto the floor. Kakashi sighed.
He might have been intimidated if it wasn’t all so silly and childish. Who would honestly expect Kakashi to live in that mausoleum, let alone Sasuke? Sasuke’s rights to the Uchiha property remained, but that didn't mean he had to live there. Kakashi wondered if he had always planned on returning there, living out whatever life he might have had.
The tea filled a small line of grout in the tiling. To his one eye, the spill started to look red. A metallic taste flooded Kakashi's mouth. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
“As I was saying, I had an idea. A stroke of brilliance, even,” Kakashi said.
Sasuke seemed unimpressed. Kakashi gave up trying to make it sound interesting.
“I thought we could build our own house. No landlords, no rent, no nosy neighbors, no shared bathrooms…”
He put on his best bored expression and waited for Sasuke to say--or do--something.
“Even the do---even a complete idiot wouldn’t come up with that plan!”
Kakashi could see Sasuke was confused. The pre-wrinkle was back again, digging into the smooth skin between Sasuke’s eyebrows. Kakashi let him mull it over some more. He was sure this plan would appeal to Sasuke. He’d just have to work him around...and figure out the details.
Kakashi gave up on the pretense of breakfast. He got up from the table and took his uneaten rice with him. He wrapped the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Maybe he’d feel like eating it later, when his head was firmly in the present. He got a rag and started mopping up the spilled tea while Sasuke’s eyes drilled into his back. It wasn’t very comfortable. It felt like Sasuke was trying to peel back his skin to see what made him tick. Kakashi ignored it as best as he could.
“Aside from everything else, we haven’t got anywhere to put a house,” said Sasuke.
Sasuke got up and took his teacup with him to the sink. Kakashi wiped the table down. He wrung the rag out and hung it to dry.
“The Forest of Death is a nice quiet neighborhood,” Kakashi said. He slid past Sasuke on his way out of the kitchen.
He couldn’t resist ruffling Sasuke’s feathers, even if that meant Sasuke got angry. Especially if he got angry, because that proved parts of Sasuke were still there, despite everything. This suggestion wasn’t entirely a joke, though. There was a lot of unused land near the forest. There were training grounds all around. It was private. It was set apart from just about everything that might set Sasuke off. (Except, of course, the spot where Sasuke had received his curse seal. Kakashi still wasn’t sure what Sasuke thought about that.)
“It would be like survival training, really,” Kakashi said. “Working hard, camping in the woods for a while, in easy reach of giant centipedes and tigers, sharpening our carpentry skills…”
For a moment Kakashi felt nostalgic, but he shook it off. No use trying to pretend the situation was any different that what it was. Sasuke wasn’t a little genin anymore, and he wasn’t an instructor or team leader or whatever he could call his former job. He was Sasuke’s shadow and constant companion. What that made Sasuke, he didn’t know.
Trying to read Sasuke’s face was both very difficult and very easy. Sasuke’s emotions were written across it, but Kakashi was never fully sure why Sasuke felt as he did. For the moment, Kakashi felt safe enough to get on with the day. Sasuke washed up the few breakfast dishes by himself, and he seemed intent on eradicating all germs and food specks from the kitchen. Sasuke hadn’t given him an answer about the house, but at least he hadn’t said no outright.
Kakashi weighed the benefits of a nap with the benefits of being awake this morning. He decided he needed the sleep. He hoped that, when Sasuke finally made up his mind, he would wait until Kakashi was awake to tell him. If there was one thing Kakashi had learned over the past weeks, it was that Sasuke had gotten much more dangerous. Kakashi was a light sleeper, but it wouldn’t give him much of an edge if Sasuke went irretrievably insane. All pretenses aside, knowing why Sasuke thought and felt the way he did made it easier for Kakashi to steer away from incipient arguments and attacks on his person.
Kakashi lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to quiet his mind. The very real possibility of his death at Sasuke's hands was never far away. Still, he was always prepared to defend himself. He just didn’t know if he could stop Sasuke without killing him. Not a very comforting thought. Kakashi pulled up a blanket and rolled onto his side. He waited for sleep to come.
----
As always, let me know what you think.
Later!
P.S. Anyone know how to make a dash on here? Sticking two hyphens together (--) just isn't cutting it for me, visually speaking. The program I use to write in doesn't do dashes either, but I was hoping there was some way to do it here, in the post.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
18 May 2009
Chapter Five Update
It is incredibly hard to concentrate on editing when some contractor guy is on the roof scraping and thwacking and hammering and stomping ALL DAY.
Nonetheless, it is my goal to have made a full edit of chapter five by bedtime. If it is a good edit and I am satisfied, I will post it. If not, expect it sometime tomorrow.
Later!
Nonetheless, it is my goal to have made a full edit of chapter five by bedtime. If it is a good edit and I am satisfied, I will post it. If not, expect it sometime tomorrow.
Later!
15 May 2009
I'm a big lying-face liar
So I was planning on doing chapter five today. It was too warm today. I wandered around feeling supremely sleepy all day, until I fell asleep halfway through the five o'clock news. I got up again at seven--sleeping in the living room was not relaxing; random noises kept waking me up. And then, instead of working on the chapter, I did the dishes and made excuses about not having any decent food...so I ate dinner at the cheap chinese place and read a mediocre fantasy novel at the same time.
By the time I got back, I was tired and hot again, despite the use of the industrial fan in my living room.
Alas, there is not likely to be an update tomorrow, either. I have a giant yard-sale to attend. (And, by giant, I mean better than ten miles long. All the people who want to have yard sales along this particular ten miles of road all do it on the same day...tomorrow.)
I am also sacrificing part of my Sunday morning for non-writing causes. They're going to come to my apartment at ten--TEN I SAY, boooo!!!!-- in the morning to patch and paint. I won't be free from meddling contractors until at least noontime.
So updating isn't looking likely for this weekend. Boo. (I'm secretly glad for the thinking time, though. Chapter five needs something and I don't yet know what that something is.)
Later!
By the time I got back, I was tired and hot again, despite the use of the industrial fan in my living room.
Alas, there is not likely to be an update tomorrow, either. I have a giant yard-sale to attend. (And, by giant, I mean better than ten miles long. All the people who want to have yard sales along this particular ten miles of road all do it on the same day...tomorrow.)
I am also sacrificing part of my Sunday morning for non-writing causes. They're going to come to my apartment at ten--TEN I SAY, boooo!!!!-- in the morning to patch and paint. I won't be free from meddling contractors until at least noontime.
So updating isn't looking likely for this weekend. Boo. (I'm secretly glad for the thinking time, though. Chapter five needs something and I don't yet know what that something is.)
Later!
14 May 2009
Chapter Five is Laughably Short
I must have been sleep-deprived or on crack or something when I made my chapter breaks. As of this moment, chapter five is a single page long. The question is: do I lengthen it? Do I re-break chapter six and tack its beginning onto chapter five's end? Should I leave it be and just edit?
Breaking up one huge long piece into smaller, more manageable chunks is hard. I'm having some trouble grouping scenes together. Maybe my writing is still too choppy? I'm much more reluctant to cut scenes--even short ones--out than I am to add more to one. I wonder if all writers are like that...
I'm so sleepy I can't decide about chapter five. I'll have to look at it tomorrow, but chances are I'll have it edited and up by tomorrow night regardless. (Aren't you a lucky audience, hahahaha.)
The epic will forge boldly ahead!
Later!
Breaking up one huge long piece into smaller, more manageable chunks is hard. I'm having some trouble grouping scenes together. Maybe my writing is still too choppy? I'm much more reluctant to cut scenes--even short ones--out than I am to add more to one. I wonder if all writers are like that...
I'm so sleepy I can't decide about chapter five. I'll have to look at it tomorrow, but chances are I'll have it edited and up by tomorrow night regardless. (Aren't you a lucky audience, hahahaha.)
The epic will forge boldly ahead!
Later!
13 May 2009
Chapter four
I've worked and reworked this chapter. (Like hours and hours of work...about eight, I think.) I'm still not completely happy with it, but it's got a lot of differences--and hopefully improvements!--from the first draft.
Enjoy!
Chapter 4
------
Kakashi was not surprised that Sasuke displayed the same lack of finesse he always had. Sasuke must have been more bothered than he’d estimated for him to charge like that, telegraphing his moves and not bothering with strategy. Kakashi dodged, still on the defensive. Sasuke swept past and skidded to a halt, kicking up dirt. Pebbles spattered to the ground. Sasuke never had been good with strategy. He had power and skill and natural talent, but he didn’t think far enough ahead. Like that, for instance. Sasuke came at him again and his knuckles grazed Kakashi’s forearm--it would have been a painful punch, had it not landed at a bad angle. Kakashi was now free to counter. He grabbed Sasuke’s outstretched arm and threw him over his hip. Sasuke was halfway across the clearing before he recovered. Kakashi watched Sasuke crash into the bushes and push himself up, out, and into another straightforward attack.
Really, Sasuke would have done better with a kunai. Sasuke had grown tall over the years, but Kakashi was still taller and heavier. Better to wound or disable from a distance before going head to head. Sasuke’s eyes slid into Sharingan. Kakashi removed his hitai-ate. His eye felt warm as he tracked Sasuke’s next move. He hoped Sasuke had enough sense not to really try to kill him. There was a difference between a friendly--angry--spar and attempted murder. Then again, at their respective levels, a sparring accident could kill. It wouldn’t be hard to mask less-than-friendly intentions under the guise of an accident. Kakashi shrugged, neatly avoiding a flurry of shuriken. At least he’d get a decent workout.
A couple hours later, Kakashi had Sasuke sunk into the ground and pinned under a large rock. Kakashi could feel a migraine nipping at him from Sharingan overuse, and he suspected the pinched look on Sasuke’s face had less to do with losing than strained optical nerves and overheated chakra pathways.
“You’ve improved, Sasuke.”
Kakashi sat on the boulder and was gratified to hear a small grunt in return. Really, he had gotten better. Kakashi could feel the tingle of Sasuke’s chakra even now, helping stay the stone’s weight from crushing him. He had to have been downright economical with his power to have that much left.
“You even surprised me once or twice. I didn’t think Orochimaru could create snakes from lightning.”
Sasuke didn’t reply.
Kakashi heard a hitch in Sasuke’s breathing. Hmm. Probably time to let him up, though Sasuke could simply have been nervous about revealing an original jutsu. Kakashi hopped down and pushed the rock off Sasuke. It had been carefully balanced, both on the physical ground and with chakra. If Sasuke had been able to shift the rock, he’d have crushed his torso at best. He might have even killed himself that way, although the ANBU lurking in the trees would have gotten him to the hospital fast enough that he wouldn’t die. Probably. Kakashi wasn’t sure who was on duty, but not all the ANBU took their orders seriously. Impartial guards didn‘t exist, not with the village still healing from Sasuke‘s attack.
As soon as the boulder was off, the ground around Sasuke cracked and crumbled. He pulled himself out of the hole and dusted himself off as best as he could. Kakashi wondered if a talk about wardrobe choice was in order. Wearing white was just a stupid move. Sasuke would never be able to get all the dirt out of his shirt now…or could he? Kakashi watched as Sasuke activated a strange, low-powered lightning jutsu. All the dirt fell out of his clothes.
Kakashi looked closely and smothered a smile. Fine hairs of static electricity had pushed all the dirt out from the fibers of the cloth. The energy dissipated in a huge crackle when Sasuke reached for a kunai jammed in the ground. Sasuke shook his hand and rubbed it. Kakashi could see he fought the urge to suck on the finger that had touched the metal. His hair was starting to float upward, still full of static. Obviously Sasuke hadn’t polished this jutsu enough. Kakashi filed the idea away for later-- maybe the energy could be encouraged to go up into a cloud, like real lightning?
No matter. Kakashi was impressed with Sasuke’s finely controlled technique. This was nothing like what was needed for a fireball, or even the Chidori. Sasuke had taken his normal brute force and split it infinitely to be able to remove grains of dirt without destroying his clothing. Kakashi wondered where he had learned it. He tried not to think about what practicing the jutsu involved. No need to think about Sasuke disintegrating his shirt by accident. Really.
“So,” said Kakashi. “Is that jutsu an Uchiha original as well? It must have taken a lot of practice.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully and tried not to act too interested.
Sasuke stiffened and started to gather more stray kunai from the ground. He made a careful circle around Kakashi, never exposing his back. He also never looked up.
Kakashi sighed. Picking up kunai was a fair enough excuse not to meet his gaze. Kakashi chose to let it rest. He started looking for shuriken, always mindful of Sasuke’s position and never leaving the inner circle of space Sasuke was avoiding. After a few tense minutes, Kakashi relaxed inside and allowed his back to face Sasuke. Hopefully, giving Sasuke the tactical advantage would help him to talk about whatever it was he was dancing around. Kakashi had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was.
They piled up the weapons and sorted through them. They were figuring out whose were which when Sasuke started talking. Kakashi silently approved. It was smart of him to wait for the ANBU watchers to disband. Kakashi had known, a short while before, when Sasuke had decided to talk. He had straightened up and slowly stopped circling Kakashi. Keeping casual until the ANBU left had been the hard part.
“You’ve seen the reports, I assume.”
Sasuke’s voice was subdued, the lack of inflection telling Kakashi that he was trying--and failing--to put distance between his words and himself.
“I’ve read all the reports. You mean the prison ones, yes?”
The air under the trees was heavy and green. Kakashi listened to Sasuke drawing it in deeply. Kakashi swiped a rag at the kunai in his hand.
“Yes. You know what they did to me.”
Sasuke stopped for a moment.
“What they felt they had to do. It wasn’t …directed at me personally, really.”
Kakashi could tell that Sasuke had been working this thought over for a long time, forcing logic onto it and fighting his instincts. He dropped the kunai into his pouch with a clank. He leafed over the reports in his head. Sasuke had been chained and sealed and drained of all but the smallest amounts of chakra. The administration had found him to be too difficult to handle otherwise.
Kakashi continued to wipe down kunai. He noticed Sasuke had stopped. Or had never started. At this very moment, he wasn’t sure if he should encourage him to talk, or, for that matter, if he even wanted Sasuke to continue. He knew for certain now what Sasuke was thinking. Kakashi half-wished that he hadn’t said anything in the first place.
A bird flapped noisily nearby and Sasuke startled, throwing a kunai in its direction. A vaguely guilty expression flitted across his face.
“Don’t worry,” said Kakashi. “You didn’t hit it.”
Sasuke frowned.
“I should have,” he said. “All that time…there. I fine-tuned my physical control too, not just my chakra.”
Sasuke hunkered down over the pile of weapons again.
Kakashi was quiet for a few more minutes. He watched the leaves in the canopy up above moving and showing off little bits of the sky now and again. Then his attention fixed on a beetle. It trundled along in the dirt, coming from one direction and going another, its hard shell shining even in the diffuse light on the forest floor.
“Time to go,” Kakashi said.
He stood and stretched. He shoved the rest of the weapons into a different bag.
“We’ll take care of these when we get back.”
Sasuke got up and fell in behind Kakashi. Kakashi didn’t like having Sasuke at his back, but Sasuke literally wouldn’t move if he was back to anyone.
Before Kakashi had taken a single step toward home, Sasuke cleared his throat. Kakashi didn’t turn around.
“When they came to take me out of my cell, at the end,” Sasuke’s voice faded a bit. He coughed.
“At the end, they actually looked inside and nobody, not one of them, could figure out how the walls had gotten scorched.”
The old Sasuke would have been smug about this, Kakashi knew. This Sasuke, though…this Sasuke was just tired. A little bitter and, though he would never admit it, sad. Kakashi knew he had suffered. He tried to put it out of his mind.
Both men were silent on the way back to Kakashi’s apartment.
Kakashi’s dreams resonated with Sasuke’s painfully concise footnote about his prison sentence. He dreamt of dark places, of past capture and interrogation. White Fang. He dreamed of his time in ANBU. A dizzying maze of corridors and shadows and silence. Flickering torches everywhere. The heavy footfalls of pursuing nin. Dripping water echoed. Or was it blood? Moldering stone passageways blocked by the dead. Obito. Konoha burned and burned. The ashes stung his eye as Sasuke left for Sound. He had to stay quiet! No one could know he was here. He ground his teeth every time a patrol approached. This time, this time the enemy nin would kill him. His fingernails broke on the stones and still he clawed. He had to get out of this place.
When Kakashi awakened, covered in sweat and biting back any noise he might have made, he had a thought, spurred on by the dangerous place the dreams had left him. He and Sasuke could build their own house. They would be safe there. He considered getting out of bed and waking Sasuke up, but he was still trembling from what he’d seen. He had to be rock steady with Sasuke, couldn’t show weakness. The house would keep. Sasuke, sleeping on the couch, could wait. Kakashi lay waiting for the predawn light to turn into day, counting each breath, making them as deep and steady as possible.
And, even as he heard Sasuke tossing and turning, gasping for air, waking and falling back asleep, Kakashi stayed as still and quiet as he could and made no move to comfort him. It wasn’t his place. Sasuke could deal with his own nightmares, and Kakashi would tend to his.
------
Tada! Chapter five is coming sometime in the future. I don't think I even want to look at this story any more today, hahaha. (My brain is spinning around from so much editing.)
Later!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
Enjoy!
Chapter 4
------
Kakashi was not surprised that Sasuke displayed the same lack of finesse he always had. Sasuke must have been more bothered than he’d estimated for him to charge like that, telegraphing his moves and not bothering with strategy. Kakashi dodged, still on the defensive. Sasuke swept past and skidded to a halt, kicking up dirt. Pebbles spattered to the ground. Sasuke never had been good with strategy. He had power and skill and natural talent, but he didn’t think far enough ahead. Like that, for instance. Sasuke came at him again and his knuckles grazed Kakashi’s forearm--it would have been a painful punch, had it not landed at a bad angle. Kakashi was now free to counter. He grabbed Sasuke’s outstretched arm and threw him over his hip. Sasuke was halfway across the clearing before he recovered. Kakashi watched Sasuke crash into the bushes and push himself up, out, and into another straightforward attack.
Really, Sasuke would have done better with a kunai. Sasuke had grown tall over the years, but Kakashi was still taller and heavier. Better to wound or disable from a distance before going head to head. Sasuke’s eyes slid into Sharingan. Kakashi removed his hitai-ate. His eye felt warm as he tracked Sasuke’s next move. He hoped Sasuke had enough sense not to really try to kill him. There was a difference between a friendly--angry--spar and attempted murder. Then again, at their respective levels, a sparring accident could kill. It wouldn’t be hard to mask less-than-friendly intentions under the guise of an accident. Kakashi shrugged, neatly avoiding a flurry of shuriken. At least he’d get a decent workout.
A couple hours later, Kakashi had Sasuke sunk into the ground and pinned under a large rock. Kakashi could feel a migraine nipping at him from Sharingan overuse, and he suspected the pinched look on Sasuke’s face had less to do with losing than strained optical nerves and overheated chakra pathways.
“You’ve improved, Sasuke.”
Kakashi sat on the boulder and was gratified to hear a small grunt in return. Really, he had gotten better. Kakashi could feel the tingle of Sasuke’s chakra even now, helping stay the stone’s weight from crushing him. He had to have been downright economical with his power to have that much left.
“You even surprised me once or twice. I didn’t think Orochimaru could create snakes from lightning.”
Sasuke didn’t reply.
Kakashi heard a hitch in Sasuke’s breathing. Hmm. Probably time to let him up, though Sasuke could simply have been nervous about revealing an original jutsu. Kakashi hopped down and pushed the rock off Sasuke. It had been carefully balanced, both on the physical ground and with chakra. If Sasuke had been able to shift the rock, he’d have crushed his torso at best. He might have even killed himself that way, although the ANBU lurking in the trees would have gotten him to the hospital fast enough that he wouldn’t die. Probably. Kakashi wasn’t sure who was on duty, but not all the ANBU took their orders seriously. Impartial guards didn‘t exist, not with the village still healing from Sasuke‘s attack.
As soon as the boulder was off, the ground around Sasuke cracked and crumbled. He pulled himself out of the hole and dusted himself off as best as he could. Kakashi wondered if a talk about wardrobe choice was in order. Wearing white was just a stupid move. Sasuke would never be able to get all the dirt out of his shirt now…or could he? Kakashi watched as Sasuke activated a strange, low-powered lightning jutsu. All the dirt fell out of his clothes.
Kakashi looked closely and smothered a smile. Fine hairs of static electricity had pushed all the dirt out from the fibers of the cloth. The energy dissipated in a huge crackle when Sasuke reached for a kunai jammed in the ground. Sasuke shook his hand and rubbed it. Kakashi could see he fought the urge to suck on the finger that had touched the metal. His hair was starting to float upward, still full of static. Obviously Sasuke hadn’t polished this jutsu enough. Kakashi filed the idea away for later-- maybe the energy could be encouraged to go up into a cloud, like real lightning?
No matter. Kakashi was impressed with Sasuke’s finely controlled technique. This was nothing like what was needed for a fireball, or even the Chidori. Sasuke had taken his normal brute force and split it infinitely to be able to remove grains of dirt without destroying his clothing. Kakashi wondered where he had learned it. He tried not to think about what practicing the jutsu involved. No need to think about Sasuke disintegrating his shirt by accident. Really.
“So,” said Kakashi. “Is that jutsu an Uchiha original as well? It must have taken a lot of practice.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully and tried not to act too interested.
Sasuke stiffened and started to gather more stray kunai from the ground. He made a careful circle around Kakashi, never exposing his back. He also never looked up.
Kakashi sighed. Picking up kunai was a fair enough excuse not to meet his gaze. Kakashi chose to let it rest. He started looking for shuriken, always mindful of Sasuke’s position and never leaving the inner circle of space Sasuke was avoiding. After a few tense minutes, Kakashi relaxed inside and allowed his back to face Sasuke. Hopefully, giving Sasuke the tactical advantage would help him to talk about whatever it was he was dancing around. Kakashi had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was.
They piled up the weapons and sorted through them. They were figuring out whose were which when Sasuke started talking. Kakashi silently approved. It was smart of him to wait for the ANBU watchers to disband. Kakashi had known, a short while before, when Sasuke had decided to talk. He had straightened up and slowly stopped circling Kakashi. Keeping casual until the ANBU left had been the hard part.
“You’ve seen the reports, I assume.”
Sasuke’s voice was subdued, the lack of inflection telling Kakashi that he was trying--and failing--to put distance between his words and himself.
“I’ve read all the reports. You mean the prison ones, yes?”
The air under the trees was heavy and green. Kakashi listened to Sasuke drawing it in deeply. Kakashi swiped a rag at the kunai in his hand.
“Yes. You know what they did to me.”
Sasuke stopped for a moment.
“What they felt they had to do. It wasn’t …directed at me personally, really.”
Kakashi could tell that Sasuke had been working this thought over for a long time, forcing logic onto it and fighting his instincts. He dropped the kunai into his pouch with a clank. He leafed over the reports in his head. Sasuke had been chained and sealed and drained of all but the smallest amounts of chakra. The administration had found him to be too difficult to handle otherwise.
Kakashi continued to wipe down kunai. He noticed Sasuke had stopped. Or had never started. At this very moment, he wasn’t sure if he should encourage him to talk, or, for that matter, if he even wanted Sasuke to continue. He knew for certain now what Sasuke was thinking. Kakashi half-wished that he hadn’t said anything in the first place.
A bird flapped noisily nearby and Sasuke startled, throwing a kunai in its direction. A vaguely guilty expression flitted across his face.
“Don’t worry,” said Kakashi. “You didn’t hit it.”
Sasuke frowned.
“I should have,” he said. “All that time…there. I fine-tuned my physical control too, not just my chakra.”
Sasuke hunkered down over the pile of weapons again.
Kakashi was quiet for a few more minutes. He watched the leaves in the canopy up above moving and showing off little bits of the sky now and again. Then his attention fixed on a beetle. It trundled along in the dirt, coming from one direction and going another, its hard shell shining even in the diffuse light on the forest floor.
“Time to go,” Kakashi said.
He stood and stretched. He shoved the rest of the weapons into a different bag.
“We’ll take care of these when we get back.”
Sasuke got up and fell in behind Kakashi. Kakashi didn’t like having Sasuke at his back, but Sasuke literally wouldn’t move if he was back to anyone.
Before Kakashi had taken a single step toward home, Sasuke cleared his throat. Kakashi didn’t turn around.
“When they came to take me out of my cell, at the end,” Sasuke’s voice faded a bit. He coughed.
“At the end, they actually looked inside and nobody, not one of them, could figure out how the walls had gotten scorched.”
The old Sasuke would have been smug about this, Kakashi knew. This Sasuke, though…this Sasuke was just tired. A little bitter and, though he would never admit it, sad. Kakashi knew he had suffered. He tried to put it out of his mind.
Both men were silent on the way back to Kakashi’s apartment.
Kakashi’s dreams resonated with Sasuke’s painfully concise footnote about his prison sentence. He dreamt of dark places, of past capture and interrogation. White Fang. He dreamed of his time in ANBU. A dizzying maze of corridors and shadows and silence. Flickering torches everywhere. The heavy footfalls of pursuing nin. Dripping water echoed. Or was it blood? Moldering stone passageways blocked by the dead. Obito. Konoha burned and burned. The ashes stung his eye as Sasuke left for Sound. He had to stay quiet! No one could know he was here. He ground his teeth every time a patrol approached. This time, this time the enemy nin would kill him. His fingernails broke on the stones and still he clawed. He had to get out of this place.
When Kakashi awakened, covered in sweat and biting back any noise he might have made, he had a thought, spurred on by the dangerous place the dreams had left him. He and Sasuke could build their own house. They would be safe there. He considered getting out of bed and waking Sasuke up, but he was still trembling from what he’d seen. He had to be rock steady with Sasuke, couldn’t show weakness. The house would keep. Sasuke, sleeping on the couch, could wait. Kakashi lay waiting for the predawn light to turn into day, counting each breath, making them as deep and steady as possible.
And, even as he heard Sasuke tossing and turning, gasping for air, waking and falling back asleep, Kakashi stayed as still and quiet as he could and made no move to comfort him. It wasn’t his place. Sasuke could deal with his own nightmares, and Kakashi would tend to his.
------
Tada! Chapter five is coming sometime in the future. I don't think I even want to look at this story any more today, hahaha. (My brain is spinning around from so much editing.)
Later!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
11 May 2009
....fight scenes are hard.
Crappity crap crap crap. Chapter four has the first little smidgen of ninja fighting action, and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to work with, even though I already have it written. (I mean seriously, it's a single paragraph before it cuts to after the fight.)
Action scenes are definitely not my strong point. And besides which, the focus of this story isn't mission-oriented. Well. Okay. It is, in the most technical of technicalities. The mission in question just isn't one that involves much physical fighting or ninja stealthiness or anything like that.
I'm not sure how to improve upon my action writing. Basically, I'm thinking of the fight as a movie in my head. I'm trying to be as clear as I possibly can be as to what each character is doing, translating the "movie" into written words...which is hard. Am I on the right track? Am I going to end up bogging down the reader with pointless details of body positions?
Augh. Maybe I should go check out some really well written action ficcage and pick it apart for my own edification. (It could take a while to get this chapter proofed...)
Later!
Action scenes are definitely not my strong point. And besides which, the focus of this story isn't mission-oriented. Well. Okay. It is, in the most technical of technicalities. The mission in question just isn't one that involves much physical fighting or ninja stealthiness or anything like that.
I'm not sure how to improve upon my action writing. Basically, I'm thinking of the fight as a movie in my head. I'm trying to be as clear as I possibly can be as to what each character is doing, translating the "movie" into written words...which is hard. Am I on the right track? Am I going to end up bogging down the reader with pointless details of body positions?
Augh. Maybe I should go check out some really well written action ficcage and pick it apart for my own edification. (It could take a while to get this chapter proofed...)
Later!
10 May 2009
Updates and General Blather
Well. After several days of weather-induced horrible swelling and whatnot, my hands are fit for typing again! (It was pathetic. I couldn't hold onto a glass of water, let alone a pencil/poke keys on the keyboard.) At least, I'm ready for a little typing. It's still raining and I can feel the pain creeping up again. I'll be brief.
Romance novel: is still in the works. I'm naming characters and coming up with witty possible titles.
Fanfic O'Doom: I'm going to edit chapter four very soon. Maybe tomorrow I'll have it done and posted?
And now, for your enjoyment, a rough draft of a poem. I'm going to not look at it for a few days and then come back and edit the crap out of it. ^_^
---
Naming the Dead
one by one
people I've not met
people I've never seen
I frame up the pictures.
A visitor points one out:
"Why do you have Teddy Grindel?"
and I have to look past the glass to know.
"This man is dead." Or so I'm told.
Walking down a snowy street
he looks backward, over his shoulder at
something I can't see.
A dark-haired girl walks beside him.
She's facing the wrong way; her hair cascades down her back.
his lips are parted
stopped
in the middle of a word he never gets to say.
His eyes are arresting.
I am waiting for him to speak.
---
Well? I definitely feel it's unfinished, but it has potential for goodness, I think.
Romance novel: is still in the works. I'm naming characters and coming up with witty possible titles.
Fanfic O'Doom: I'm going to edit chapter four very soon. Maybe tomorrow I'll have it done and posted?
And now, for your enjoyment, a rough draft of a poem. I'm going to not look at it for a few days and then come back and edit the crap out of it. ^_^
---
Naming the Dead
one by one
people I've not met
people I've never seen
I frame up the pictures.
A visitor points one out:
"Why do you have Teddy Grindel?"
and I have to look past the glass to know.
"This man is dead." Or so I'm told.
Walking down a snowy street
he looks backward, over his shoulder at
something I can't see.
A dark-haired girl walks beside him.
She's facing the wrong way; her hair cascades down her back.
his lips are parted
stopped
in the middle of a word he never gets to say.
His eyes are arresting.
I am waiting for him to speak.
---
Well? I definitely feel it's unfinished, but it has potential for goodness, I think.
06 May 2009
Chapter 3
...It takes me longer to edit the chapters than it did to write them in the first place. I worked through dinner; I'd better post this and get something to eat!
As always, enjoy.
Chapter 3
-----------
There were never any realtors in Konoha to begin with, and the classified ads in the paper were laughable. There are too many secrets in a secret village to promote a healthy, truth-based advertising service. Mostly, Kakashi and Sasuke discovered, you either wandered around looking for “for rent” signs, or you knew someone who had a friend who knew someone that had someplace to rent out. Networking. Unfortunately, most of the people who had friends who knew someone did not want to rent it to them. They might have taken Kakashi on his own, but Sasuke, being who he was and having done what he’d done, was blacklisted everywhere.
The other real estate option was to petition the Hokage for some sort of government-run flat, but Kakashi suspected Naruto wasn’t inclined to give Sasuke any more leeway. He hadn’t had Sasuke farmed out to other countries like the rest of the prisoners, but he hadn’t swooped in to rescue him, either. Kakashi wasn’t sure if Naruto had finally cut Sasuke loose, if this was his silent way of standing Sasuke on his own two feet. Naruto could simply be avoiding him and any further emotional damage Sasuke might cause. A Hokage must be firm, fair, and objective. Pent-up releases of emotions erupting in bad judgments and Kyuubi tails were not something the village could afford on any level. Kakashi was better off hunting for a new place without the Hokage’s assistance.
The real estate search went badly from the start. Their prospects grew fewer every day, especially once it got out that they were looking for a place. It also didn’t help that Sasuke was useless at this sort of thing. No. He was worse than useless. When they were lucky enough to go see an apartment--not having been turned down at first contact--Sasuke generally stood in the middle of the living room with a dark look on his face as if he were contemplating which method of destruction to use on the building. Kakashi didn’t know what Sasuke was actually thinking. (Maybe he wasn’t thinking at all.) Perhaps he didn’t like the paint color, or the view, or the fact that it was on the fourth floor. He didn’t know because all Sasuke did was stand there with his arms crossed over his chest. He never actually voiced an opinion.
After a while, Kakashi began asking questions to try and draw Sasuke out, but he also vented his own frustrations with the search. After living in the same apartment for so long, he’d forgotten how hard it was to find a place that would fit all a person’s needs. It got infinitely harder when he had to account for Sasuke as well. Did Sasuke have a deep hatred of carpeting? Would he feel like gouging his valuable eyes out if a bathroom were tiled entirely in baby pink? What about leaky roofs, lack of a balcony? It seemed like he was piling up a lot of trivial concerns, but he was, he reminded himself, trying to get Sasuke to at least not be worse, and if the constant drip of a leak or seeing himself surrounded by pink in the mirror would push him further away from recovery, Kakashi wanted to avoid whatever might cause that decline. He shivered minutely, remembering the Mangekyou’s power. No. Best not to repeat that experience…especially since that was one of the less dangerous things Sasuke could do to a person.
So, as they toured the latest rat hole apartment open to them, Kakashi again tried to get a response from Sasuke. Sometimes he made comments sotto voice, and others were purposely loud as he engaged the landlord.
“What do you think about the five flights of stairs we just did Sasuke?”
“Did you hear that Sasuke? The bathroom is a communal one for the whole floor. Wonderful, don’t you think, bonding with all our new neighbors and attending to our personal hygiene at the same time?”
“I’m almost impressed with that mold colony over there. It’s come almost six feet already on that wall.”
Kakashi scratched his head and craned his neck.
“I’m not an expert, but it looks like it’s headed toward the kitchen.”
“Why yes, that is a lovely view of the dump. Oh? They incinerate at night? Ah, I can just imagine the warm and comforting glow.”
The second bedroom of the two-bedroom apartment was hardly bigger than a closet, and Kakashi made sure Sasuke knew that he, Kakashi, would not be sleeping in it.
“It will be like a nice underground nest, don’t you think? You should be nice and cozy there, just like when…” And Kakashi realized that he was probably going too far. He glanced at the way Sasuke was clenching and unclenching one hand, and Kakashi could almost smell the chakra building up. He made nice, very quickly, with the landlord and got Sasuke out as soon as he could manage via the ever-so-handy poof-away transport jutsu.
Apologising could come later, Kakashi decided. Now that he’d let go of Sasuke, he thought it would be much more prudent to get to a training ground and see if Sasuke would follow him. An attempted pummeling would do them both good, especially since neither of them were going on missions these days. Well, to be accurate, keeping Sasuke within bounds was his mission. Kakashi got hazard pay for it, perhaps the only acknowledgement that it was still Naruto underneath the robes of office. He was still Konoha’s number one surprising ninja, but he played a lot more political tricks than practical jokes these days. Assigning Kakashi to look after Sasuke felt like a bit of both, at times.
Spending so much time dancing attendance on Sasuke left very little for training, let alone enough to escape that sullen presence for a while. It felt, for lack of a better word, nice, jumping from roof to roof with fresh air on his face, leaving Sasuke in the dust for a minute or two. Kakashi did some calculations while running. He decided the best training ground for them was a rather derelict space abutting the forest of death. Kakashi anticipated destruction upon their arrival, and he didn’t want to tear up a nice, frequently used, or, heaven forefend, his favorite, training ground. Really, Kakashi didn’t know why so many other people believed he was a heartless, thoughtless, perverted ninja. He was thinking about the rest of them all the time. Really he was. Being heartless, well…soft-hearted ninja died quickly and messily.
Not that being heartless was any great benefit in the long run. A ninja needed to balance, because becoming emotionless was both damn near impossible and definitively damaging. You turned brittle and broke that way, much like Sasuke. No matter what anyone else said, Kakashi thought deep inside himself that Sasuke might be beyond repair. But then, there was Sai, and surely he’d been tampered with beyond anything Itachi could have ever dreamed. Sai couldn’t even emote with a smile. At least Sasuke felt, even if it was hate and anger.
Kakashi concluded that anger was at the top of Sasuke’s feel-o-meter at the moment, judging by the way he was pushing himself to catch Kakashi. Sasuke might have beaten him to the training ground if he’d bothered to focus that anger. Kakashi dropped to the forest floor and had enough time to read a page of Icha Icha before Sasuke came down too. He shut the book and decided to take charge of the situation.
“I’ve made you upset. It’s only fair to give you a free shot. But after that…” Kakashi shrugged. “I’ll try not to kill you.”
He flexed and waited.
Sasuke stood still. He scrutinized Kakashi, as if he expected him to turn into a log or to disappear in a puff of smoke. Kakashi looked right back. He did not blink.
At length, Sasuke said “I never could tell when you were joking.”
And then he attacked.
-----------
Toodles!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
As always, enjoy.
Chapter 3
-----------
There were never any realtors in Konoha to begin with, and the classified ads in the paper were laughable. There are too many secrets in a secret village to promote a healthy, truth-based advertising service. Mostly, Kakashi and Sasuke discovered, you either wandered around looking for “for rent” signs, or you knew someone who had a friend who knew someone that had someplace to rent out. Networking. Unfortunately, most of the people who had friends who knew someone did not want to rent it to them. They might have taken Kakashi on his own, but Sasuke, being who he was and having done what he’d done, was blacklisted everywhere.
The other real estate option was to petition the Hokage for some sort of government-run flat, but Kakashi suspected Naruto wasn’t inclined to give Sasuke any more leeway. He hadn’t had Sasuke farmed out to other countries like the rest of the prisoners, but he hadn’t swooped in to rescue him, either. Kakashi wasn’t sure if Naruto had finally cut Sasuke loose, if this was his silent way of standing Sasuke on his own two feet. Naruto could simply be avoiding him and any further emotional damage Sasuke might cause. A Hokage must be firm, fair, and objective. Pent-up releases of emotions erupting in bad judgments and Kyuubi tails were not something the village could afford on any level. Kakashi was better off hunting for a new place without the Hokage’s assistance.
The real estate search went badly from the start. Their prospects grew fewer every day, especially once it got out that they were looking for a place. It also didn’t help that Sasuke was useless at this sort of thing. No. He was worse than useless. When they were lucky enough to go see an apartment--not having been turned down at first contact--Sasuke generally stood in the middle of the living room with a dark look on his face as if he were contemplating which method of destruction to use on the building. Kakashi didn’t know what Sasuke was actually thinking. (Maybe he wasn’t thinking at all.) Perhaps he didn’t like the paint color, or the view, or the fact that it was on the fourth floor. He didn’t know because all Sasuke did was stand there with his arms crossed over his chest. He never actually voiced an opinion.
After a while, Kakashi began asking questions to try and draw Sasuke out, but he also vented his own frustrations with the search. After living in the same apartment for so long, he’d forgotten how hard it was to find a place that would fit all a person’s needs. It got infinitely harder when he had to account for Sasuke as well. Did Sasuke have a deep hatred of carpeting? Would he feel like gouging his valuable eyes out if a bathroom were tiled entirely in baby pink? What about leaky roofs, lack of a balcony? It seemed like he was piling up a lot of trivial concerns, but he was, he reminded himself, trying to get Sasuke to at least not be worse, and if the constant drip of a leak or seeing himself surrounded by pink in the mirror would push him further away from recovery, Kakashi wanted to avoid whatever might cause that decline. He shivered minutely, remembering the Mangekyou’s power. No. Best not to repeat that experience…especially since that was one of the less dangerous things Sasuke could do to a person.
So, as they toured the latest rat hole apartment open to them, Kakashi again tried to get a response from Sasuke. Sometimes he made comments sotto voice, and others were purposely loud as he engaged the landlord.
“What do you think about the five flights of stairs we just did Sasuke?”
“Did you hear that Sasuke? The bathroom is a communal one for the whole floor. Wonderful, don’t you think, bonding with all our new neighbors and attending to our personal hygiene at the same time?”
“I’m almost impressed with that mold colony over there. It’s come almost six feet already on that wall.”
Kakashi scratched his head and craned his neck.
“I’m not an expert, but it looks like it’s headed toward the kitchen.”
“Why yes, that is a lovely view of the dump. Oh? They incinerate at night? Ah, I can just imagine the warm and comforting glow.”
The second bedroom of the two-bedroom apartment was hardly bigger than a closet, and Kakashi made sure Sasuke knew that he, Kakashi, would not be sleeping in it.
“It will be like a nice underground nest, don’t you think? You should be nice and cozy there, just like when…” And Kakashi realized that he was probably going too far. He glanced at the way Sasuke was clenching and unclenching one hand, and Kakashi could almost smell the chakra building up. He made nice, very quickly, with the landlord and got Sasuke out as soon as he could manage via the ever-so-handy poof-away transport jutsu.
Apologising could come later, Kakashi decided. Now that he’d let go of Sasuke, he thought it would be much more prudent to get to a training ground and see if Sasuke would follow him. An attempted pummeling would do them both good, especially since neither of them were going on missions these days. Well, to be accurate, keeping Sasuke within bounds was his mission. Kakashi got hazard pay for it, perhaps the only acknowledgement that it was still Naruto underneath the robes of office. He was still Konoha’s number one surprising ninja, but he played a lot more political tricks than practical jokes these days. Assigning Kakashi to look after Sasuke felt like a bit of both, at times.
Spending so much time dancing attendance on Sasuke left very little for training, let alone enough to escape that sullen presence for a while. It felt, for lack of a better word, nice, jumping from roof to roof with fresh air on his face, leaving Sasuke in the dust for a minute or two. Kakashi did some calculations while running. He decided the best training ground for them was a rather derelict space abutting the forest of death. Kakashi anticipated destruction upon their arrival, and he didn’t want to tear up a nice, frequently used, or, heaven forefend, his favorite, training ground. Really, Kakashi didn’t know why so many other people believed he was a heartless, thoughtless, perverted ninja. He was thinking about the rest of them all the time. Really he was. Being heartless, well…soft-hearted ninja died quickly and messily.
Not that being heartless was any great benefit in the long run. A ninja needed to balance, because becoming emotionless was both damn near impossible and definitively damaging. You turned brittle and broke that way, much like Sasuke. No matter what anyone else said, Kakashi thought deep inside himself that Sasuke might be beyond repair. But then, there was Sai, and surely he’d been tampered with beyond anything Itachi could have ever dreamed. Sai couldn’t even emote with a smile. At least Sasuke felt, even if it was hate and anger.
Kakashi concluded that anger was at the top of Sasuke’s feel-o-meter at the moment, judging by the way he was pushing himself to catch Kakashi. Sasuke might have beaten him to the training ground if he’d bothered to focus that anger. Kakashi dropped to the forest floor and had enough time to read a page of Icha Icha before Sasuke came down too. He shut the book and decided to take charge of the situation.
“I’ve made you upset. It’s only fair to give you a free shot. But after that…” Kakashi shrugged. “I’ll try not to kill you.”
He flexed and waited.
Sasuke stood still. He scrutinized Kakashi, as if he expected him to turn into a log or to disappear in a puff of smoke. Kakashi looked right back. He did not blink.
At length, Sasuke said “I never could tell when you were joking.”
And then he attacked.
-----------
Toodles!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
05 May 2009
Romance time!
I've done it! I've made a complete initial plot for my very first romance novel. (Seriously. It's three solid pages of plot-plot-plot.)
Believe it or not, I've been thinking of writing romance for a while now. Today I ironed out plot details. Now I just need a title... I'm thinking, maybe "Cherish the One" or "To Have and to Hold" or something classically cheesy like that. It's a pirate-ravishment sort of book...except mine will be completely awesome and well-written.
One of the good things about writing romance is that it's perfectly fine to fall into the romance cliches. And! I can overburden the reader with lavish details and quasi-French names. Among the cliches I intend to employ is the "swept-away" woman; the ruthless-but-loving man from her past; and a (botched) "chasing after her true love because she's realized that he's the one, now that he's gone" scene.
Ahh, the success. It smells so sweet and so like possible money-in-the-making. If I make it through and still like it at the end, you can bet I'm going to start submitting it to publishers!
Believe it or not, I've been thinking of writing romance for a while now. Today I ironed out plot details. Now I just need a title... I'm thinking, maybe "Cherish the One" or "To Have and to Hold" or something classically cheesy like that. It's a pirate-ravishment sort of book...except mine will be completely awesome and well-written.
One of the good things about writing romance is that it's perfectly fine to fall into the romance cliches. And! I can overburden the reader with lavish details and quasi-French names. Among the cliches I intend to employ is the "swept-away" woman; the ruthless-but-loving man from her past; and a (botched) "chasing after her true love because she's realized that he's the one, now that he's gone" scene.
Ahh, the success. It smells so sweet and so like possible money-in-the-making. If I make it through and still like it at the end, you can bet I'm going to start submitting it to publishers!
04 May 2009
Chapter Two! (New and improved!)
At long last! The fabled chapter two is here! (In case you've already gotten ahold of chapter two, I'm happy to say that this is a new, edited and altogether snazzier version of what you may have read.) Happy reading!
--Chapter Two--
Sasuke was a dangerous houseguest. He was infinitely twitchy, hair-triggered, and temperamental. He set random traps in the house. Some of them were sensible, like across doorways or windowsills. Setting tripwires across the bathtub not so much. And an exploding tag beneath the kitchen sink, Kakashi decided, was downright low. Getting extra scrubbies from that cupboard should not have been a punishable infraction. Kakashi couldn’t decide whether Sasuke was really so paranoid and unsure as to think that attackers would hide next to the dish soap and bleach, or whether Sasuke just wanted to fuck with him.
Granted, Kakashi fucked right back. Or, at least, he thought about it and had vivid daydreams of putting dye in Sasuke’s toothpaste. He had visions of short-sheeting Sasuke’s bed. Kakashi was halfway through writing a personal ad for Sasuke, but he was constantly revising it in his head and never bothered to actually write it down.
Kakashi’s fuse got shorter by the day and Sasuke wasn’t getting any better. So Kakashi decided the best thing would be to move to a different place. Sharing Kakashi’s little bachelor pad had never been the best of ideas, but it had been a spontaneous sort of decision. Moving wasn’t a question of if or when. It was a question of where. Not too close to the old Uchiha district, or the Hatake house, or the Academy or Naruto’s old place. Or the memorial…the training grounds, the bridge where the team used to meet…anywhere near the ANBU offices or the site of the jail or the monument. Huh. There were so many places that were uncomfortable, so many that might set either one of them off, and Kakashi was under orders to not let Sasuke get worse--and try to make things better, if he at all could.
So one day, over a modest dinner of takeout, Kakashi said:
“We’re moving. Do you want a house or an apartment?” Kakashi was viciously pleased that he’d managed to make Sasuke choke on his food. He was less pleased when he looked up from his plate of greasy noodles into the Mangekyou.
Even in that black-and-white world, Sasuke was conflicted. Kakashi was tied to a post, true, and it wasn’t a very comfortable position, but at least he wasn’t being tortured. Yet. Sasuke just stood...no, loomed, over him, running his limited facial expressions over and over, but mostly switching between an agonized angry look and one of desolate confusion. Sasuke held a sword and it twitched irritably in his hand, as if it couldn’t wait to sink into Kakashi’s otherworldly flesh. Kakashi gritted his teeth and tried to prepare for what he knew could turn ugly and painful very quickly.
The clouds overhead boiled, never repeating the same movements. A small part of Kakashi’s mind compared Sasuke’s inner world with Itachi’s. Sasuke’s was just as parched and flat as his brother’s but it lacked a certain hardness. If Kakashi looked closely at anything, the edges weren’t sharp and clean. Kakashi didn’t know if it was a lack of practice that shaped the world like that, or if the world was so well tuned tyo Sasuke’s conflict with himself. Every now and then, some strange shape would form in the darkness beyond them, and Kakashi was both curious and frightened to find out what moved there, just out of reach and nearly out of sight. It was impossible to judge distance here.
An interminable amount of time later, Sasuke’s face settled into a frown. Not an angry frown. Not a sad frown. Just a frown that swept his dark brows together and pinched his mouth shut in the whiteness of his face. The sword vanished from his hand and the clouds froze in place. The ropes around the post squeezed Kakashi hard. The Mangekyou world melted away.
Of course, undergoing the technique still took it out of a body, even if that body was blissfully phantom-wound free. Kakashi was drenched in sweat and breathing hard. But he seemed to have it better than Sasuke, who twitched into awareness, clutched his head, and passed out in his plate.
“Damn it. He never answered.” Kakashi sighed. He moved Sasuke’s head to the side so he wouldn’t suffocate on the long-cold dinner. Kakashi debated whether or not to finish first or to drag Sasuke to bed. Food won out initially, but he only managed three bites before he made himself get out of the chair, sling one of Sasuke’s arms around his shoulders, and carry him to his futon. Kakashi dropped into his own bed, grateful for the reprieve from the usual tension in the apartment. He didn’t remember falling asleep.
He bolted awake in the darkness. Someone was in his room, standing over his bed with an intense focus on him. He threw three kunai without opening his eye, but wasn’t surprised that they were deflected. A split second after throwing them he’d decided it was probably Sasuke, or perhaps a messenger from the Hokage.
“A house.”
Sasuke left the room and Kakashi took a look at the clock. Four in the morning. Of course Sasuke would wake him up an hour before he’d normally rise. He rolled over again and didn’t move an inch until the alarm went off.
By the time he’d showered and dressed and come out into the kitchen, Sasuke had, apparently, made breakfast for the both of them. His face looked especially pale this morning, though Kakashi couldn’t tell if the pinched look on his face was a side effect of the Mangekyou or from getting up so early. Kakashi guessed that, as soon as the worst of Sasuke’s headache had dissipated, he had stayed up and brooded. Sasuke was like that. But the unusual thoughtfulness of breakfast threw Kakashi a bit. He peered at Sasuke and still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. An apology, maybe?
“It’s not an apology,” said Sasuke. “It’s just...I though maybe we’d get an early start looking for a place.”
“Ah,” said Kakashi. “Well then.”
He scratched his head, scrambling to find a neutral topic of conversation. He settled for burying himself in the food…or at least, appearing to be busy with breakfast so he could continue to attempt to gauge Sasuke’s mood.
Sasuke scowled into his teacup, but carefully avoided looking Kakashi in the face. Yep. It was a peace offering, this breakfast. But it didn’t mean much, coming from someone so volatile. He sighed inside. He’d still have to watch carefully for a couple days. A conciliatory Sasuke was a Sasuke more on edge, looking for any signal that it was alright to stop being apologetic and start being angry again. Life was simpler without Sasuke. The day was already shaping up to be the latest in a never-ending parade of very long, very tiring days. Kakashi sighed and started eating.
----------
Chapter three may make its debut sometime soon...
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
--Chapter Two--
Sasuke was a dangerous houseguest. He was infinitely twitchy, hair-triggered, and temperamental. He set random traps in the house. Some of them were sensible, like across doorways or windowsills. Setting tripwires across the bathtub not so much. And an exploding tag beneath the kitchen sink, Kakashi decided, was downright low. Getting extra scrubbies from that cupboard should not have been a punishable infraction. Kakashi couldn’t decide whether Sasuke was really so paranoid and unsure as to think that attackers would hide next to the dish soap and bleach, or whether Sasuke just wanted to fuck with him.
Granted, Kakashi fucked right back. Or, at least, he thought about it and had vivid daydreams of putting dye in Sasuke’s toothpaste. He had visions of short-sheeting Sasuke’s bed. Kakashi was halfway through writing a personal ad for Sasuke, but he was constantly revising it in his head and never bothered to actually write it down.
Kakashi’s fuse got shorter by the day and Sasuke wasn’t getting any better. So Kakashi decided the best thing would be to move to a different place. Sharing Kakashi’s little bachelor pad had never been the best of ideas, but it had been a spontaneous sort of decision. Moving wasn’t a question of if or when. It was a question of where. Not too close to the old Uchiha district, or the Hatake house, or the Academy or Naruto’s old place. Or the memorial…the training grounds, the bridge where the team used to meet…anywhere near the ANBU offices or the site of the jail or the monument. Huh. There were so many places that were uncomfortable, so many that might set either one of them off, and Kakashi was under orders to not let Sasuke get worse--and try to make things better, if he at all could.
So one day, over a modest dinner of takeout, Kakashi said:
“We’re moving. Do you want a house or an apartment?” Kakashi was viciously pleased that he’d managed to make Sasuke choke on his food. He was less pleased when he looked up from his plate of greasy noodles into the Mangekyou.
Even in that black-and-white world, Sasuke was conflicted. Kakashi was tied to a post, true, and it wasn’t a very comfortable position, but at least he wasn’t being tortured. Yet. Sasuke just stood...no, loomed, over him, running his limited facial expressions over and over, but mostly switching between an agonized angry look and one of desolate confusion. Sasuke held a sword and it twitched irritably in his hand, as if it couldn’t wait to sink into Kakashi’s otherworldly flesh. Kakashi gritted his teeth and tried to prepare for what he knew could turn ugly and painful very quickly.
The clouds overhead boiled, never repeating the same movements. A small part of Kakashi’s mind compared Sasuke’s inner world with Itachi’s. Sasuke’s was just as parched and flat as his brother’s but it lacked a certain hardness. If Kakashi looked closely at anything, the edges weren’t sharp and clean. Kakashi didn’t know if it was a lack of practice that shaped the world like that, or if the world was so well tuned tyo Sasuke’s conflict with himself. Every now and then, some strange shape would form in the darkness beyond them, and Kakashi was both curious and frightened to find out what moved there, just out of reach and nearly out of sight. It was impossible to judge distance here.
An interminable amount of time later, Sasuke’s face settled into a frown. Not an angry frown. Not a sad frown. Just a frown that swept his dark brows together and pinched his mouth shut in the whiteness of his face. The sword vanished from his hand and the clouds froze in place. The ropes around the post squeezed Kakashi hard. The Mangekyou world melted away.
Of course, undergoing the technique still took it out of a body, even if that body was blissfully phantom-wound free. Kakashi was drenched in sweat and breathing hard. But he seemed to have it better than Sasuke, who twitched into awareness, clutched his head, and passed out in his plate.
“Damn it. He never answered.” Kakashi sighed. He moved Sasuke’s head to the side so he wouldn’t suffocate on the long-cold dinner. Kakashi debated whether or not to finish first or to drag Sasuke to bed. Food won out initially, but he only managed three bites before he made himself get out of the chair, sling one of Sasuke’s arms around his shoulders, and carry him to his futon. Kakashi dropped into his own bed, grateful for the reprieve from the usual tension in the apartment. He didn’t remember falling asleep.
He bolted awake in the darkness. Someone was in his room, standing over his bed with an intense focus on him. He threw three kunai without opening his eye, but wasn’t surprised that they were deflected. A split second after throwing them he’d decided it was probably Sasuke, or perhaps a messenger from the Hokage.
“A house.”
Sasuke left the room and Kakashi took a look at the clock. Four in the morning. Of course Sasuke would wake him up an hour before he’d normally rise. He rolled over again and didn’t move an inch until the alarm went off.
By the time he’d showered and dressed and come out into the kitchen, Sasuke had, apparently, made breakfast for the both of them. His face looked especially pale this morning, though Kakashi couldn’t tell if the pinched look on his face was a side effect of the Mangekyou or from getting up so early. Kakashi guessed that, as soon as the worst of Sasuke’s headache had dissipated, he had stayed up and brooded. Sasuke was like that. But the unusual thoughtfulness of breakfast threw Kakashi a bit. He peered at Sasuke and still couldn’t tell what he was thinking. An apology, maybe?
“It’s not an apology,” said Sasuke. “It’s just...I though maybe we’d get an early start looking for a place.”
“Ah,” said Kakashi. “Well then.”
He scratched his head, scrambling to find a neutral topic of conversation. He settled for burying himself in the food…or at least, appearing to be busy with breakfast so he could continue to attempt to gauge Sasuke’s mood.
Sasuke scowled into his teacup, but carefully avoided looking Kakashi in the face. Yep. It was a peace offering, this breakfast. But it didn’t mean much, coming from someone so volatile. He sighed inside. He’d still have to watch carefully for a couple days. A conciliatory Sasuke was a Sasuke more on edge, looking for any signal that it was alright to stop being apologetic and start being angry again. Life was simpler without Sasuke. The day was already shaping up to be the latest in a never-ending parade of very long, very tiring days. Kakashi sighed and started eating.
----------
Chapter three may make its debut sometime soon...
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights remain with its original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing these stories.
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