NARUTO © Kishimoto Masashi • Shueisha • Studio Pierrot • TV Tokyo. All rights reserved. Non-profit fun ahead!
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Against the Tide
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Prologue
Uzumaki Naruto.
That was the name printed solemnly across the pale, white sheet of paper.
And even after staring at it for a good fifteen minutes, Sasuke knew that it meant nothing to him.
"Watch where you walk, if you don't want to end up in a manhole," the silver-haired man beside him spoke up, his lazy, quiet voice echoing down the quieter corridors of the Youma Research Laboratory. The season was such that most of the Youma-Ningen living there had been loaned out for missions. The usually hushed halls of the Laboratory thus seemed even more subdued than usual.
Unhappy at being caught off guard, Sasuke snorted softly and turned his head away from his immediate superior. "Why don't you mind your own business, Kakashi," the boy scoffed, while tucking the document safely away into his pocket. "I don't care if you're the Inspector or not - if this Youma-Ningen doesn't fit the bill, then I'm not even giving him a second glance, you hear?"
"Yes yes," the man called Kakashi scratched his forehead protector experimentally. "Whatever you say, Sasuke-/kun/."
Although the dark-haired boy shot his mentor a glare, he did not say anything else in retort. They continued down the hallway in mutual silence.
Their destination was reached in a short while - a long stretch of observatory corridors decked floor to ceiling with heavy-duty, see-through mirrors. The rooms along the particular stretch they were in were either dark or dimly lit. Only one had bright light pouring out from it, and Sasuke assumed that it was the room they were looking for. There was already someone outside, pacing along the lighted glass panels. When that person noticed two additional sets of footsteps, he looked up, and his anxious countenance warmed into a smile.
He stood upright in an official salute when the duo approached him. "Inspector Jounin," he looked at Kakashi, who nodded, "and Officer," he then turned to salute Sasuke, who saluted back glumly. Quickly replacing his hands by his side, the man started his introduction, "I am Umino Iruka, the assigned caretaker for Youma-Ningen Uzumaki Naruto. I have heard that you both wish to engage him in some official services, and I am more than honoured to act as his referral and testimony..." He trailed off, looking to Kakashi for a reply.
The masked man smiled such that his single visible eye tilted into an upturned curve. "That sounds very interesting. Perhaps you would like to give us more information."
Iruka immediately perked up, his single ponytail bobbing about in excitement. "Yes, sir!" He exclaimed, in the voice of someone who had obviously seen many rejections. "Uzumaki Naruto is sixteen years of age and fresh for any mission. He is strong, talented, hard-working and picks things up quickly. He can also..."
The fast-paced babbling of the caretaker escaped into the dark recess that was the back of Sasuke's mind after a while. He had agreed to come look at the Youma-Ningen, after all, only because Kakashi threatened to dissolve the Anti-Youma Brigade - commonly known as the Taiyoubu - if he didn't at least try to get a partner for his mission this time. The special department was established as a subset of the police force by the Uchiha, some time after Orochimaru's experiments had been granted restricted recognition. But authority had been given to Kakashi after the clan fell, since Sasuke was not yet of age to inherit it legally. Still, he held no interest in hearing what the caretaker had to say to encourage him to engage this Youma-Ningen as a partner, at all.
Because he already knew, from the start, the decision he would make at the end of this meeting.
The light from the mirror-glass attracted his attention while he vaguely heard Kakashi laugh and say, "That sounds a little too good to be true. What problems does this boy have?" Ignoring the nervous reply of Iruka, Sasuke leaned towards the window and peered into the laboratory room, willing to do anything to let the conversation between the adults drift away from his ears.
The more he peered, however, the more he found himself staring in muted disbelief at what was inside.
He had been to Youma-based laboratories, and had seen experiments going underway there. He had even been in the living quarters of a Youma-Ningen before, Kakashi having compelled him to, in order to investigate his 'potential partner' - as the perverted Inspector had so lewdly put it - more thoroughly. Although prisoners to the labs, the Youma-Ningen he saw before were at least free to move about, and even visit one another, pretty much like they lived in a massively grand scientific hotel.
This particular one, however-...
"And... well, that is... you see... he does have a bit of a track record..."
...-was a little different.
"So much so that he has to be chained to the bed?" The conversation between the adults continued, but Sasuke was only paying half a heed. He leaned further towards the mirror, squinting through the tinted glass to try to inspect the boy.
"Well... he hasn't /technically/ succeeded in any of his previous assignments before..."
The Youma-Ningen boy's shoulders tensed, as if he could sense that someone was talking about him behind his back.
"And he also has a prankster streak and often gives more trouble than help..."
Slowly, the boy turned around to face the glass panel.
"Which Youma did they... ugh... combine him with?"
The room proceeded to be engulfed by an ear shattering silence.
Naruto, as Sasuke remembered was the name of the boy, took the period of silence to turn around completely, so that he could now be seen in his full, front view.
"... did you not read the document I sent to you prior to your coming, sir?"
The boy cast his lonely depths right at Sasuke, looking him straight in the eye.
"Ahaha... Sasuke was hogging the sheet the whole time, so..."
Something in the boy's eyes flinched.
"... It is the Kyuubi, sir."
And for that one moment, Sasuke thought he could see a perfect reflection of himself in those clear, painful irises.
"... Kyuubi." Sasuke heard Kakashi reiterate monotonously. There were some paper rustling sounds, possibly that of the man flipping through Naruto's assignment history. "I see... that would explain a lot."
The uncomfortable silence stretched.
"Sir..." the caretaker, Iruka's voice was suddenly cold. "... if there is perhaps something about Naruto's background that displeases you, then I'm afraid this-"
He was stopped when Kakashi held a hand up. The silver-haired Jounin then turned to Sasuke and asked in a low tone, "Sasuke. What do you think?"
Blinking at the sudden query, Sasuke slowly turned to regard his mentor suspiciously. "You /know/ what people out there say about me-"
"What they say about you won't help preserve the Taiyoubu," Kakashi reminded the teen darkly. Caught, Sasuke suppressed a snarl and turned away, pressing his hands firmly against the window in a symbolic attempt to push his frustrations away. "You either take another partner - I don't care who, or the Taiyoubu goes. That wasn't very hard to understand, was it?"
Sasuke spun back quickly upon the threat. "You!!" He glared angrily at Kakashi. Years of experience with the man, however, told him that quarreling was no use. "I can't!" He settled for his honest opinion instead. "I can't take another partner, even /if/ he's Youma-Ningen, and you very well know it! Why do you keep asking me to?"
"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi reverted back to his schoolteacher ways. "Have you even read the documents beyond the first line?"
Taken aback at the piercing question, Sasuke looked away in guilty silence.
"Thought so," Kakashi scratched the back of his head again. He looked at the a sheet singled out from stack of papers Iruka had handed him and read slowly, "Uzumaki Naruto, 16, male. Problematic, unpredictable, but flexible and powerful. Son of a great hero, bearer of a great curse. Carrier of the most powerful Youma in the Fire," he paused, "Kyuubi no Youko." Letting his arms drop to his side, he stared expectantly at Sasuke.
"What's your point?" The Uchiha demanded after a while, not quite understanding what Kakashi was getting at.
"My point is, Sasuke," the older man shrugged, "is that yes, I understand. I know what they say about you, and I know about the curse. It's true that the curse has worked on everybody who was brave enough to try it so far, but think, Sasuke. Think really carefully," he wagged a finger at the youngling. "Is that curse so strong that it can win even the Youma who almost destroyed Konoha sixteen years ago?"
Sasuke growled. "I'm not going to use someone else's life as an experiment to satisfy my curiosity," he all but barked.
"Hmmm, well that is true," Kakashi turned his attention this time to Iruka, who had been listening to them quietly all this while. The ponytailed caretaker jumped slightly at the sudden focus. "Perhaps we should ask the caretaker how he feels about the matter."
"... 'the matter'... sir?" Iruka expressed his confusion.
"Let's say," Kakashi gestured, speaking with a bright, optimistic slur, "that Sasuke here decides that he will assign Naruto to himself for a partner in this upcoming mission," he paused to take in the incredulous and disbelieving looks on Sasuke and Iruka respectively. "Will you allow it?" The silver-haired continued, uncaring.
"Will I allow it??" Iruka's face literally lit up with joy. "Are you kidding, sir? Show me the papers and I'll be more than happy to sign them!"
"Really?" Kakashi walked up next to the unsuspecting Sasuke, who had returned to glaring into the glass pane, fuming silently to himself. Stealthily, he grabbed Sasuke by the neck, turned him so that he back-faced Iruka, and pulled down the collar near his left shoulder, earning him several frantic screeches of protest. "Even after you see... this thing?"
"Kakashi! You bastard!" Sasuke's shout echoed into the dark, lonely corridors. He valiantly attempted to break free, but there was a reason why Kakashi was an Jounin while he was still just a Genin, after all. He found that his struggles were futile, so he stopped, tensed and seething. When he became of age and took over the squad, the first thing he was going to do was to sack this stupid guardian of his! Really!
In the meantime, Iruka had been taken aback at Kakashi's action initially. Slowly, however, he grew paler in the face. His eyes were upon the single blemish that marred the whole of Sasuke's lower left shoulder back. "That's... the mark of... !!"
"I see I don't have to explain any further," Kakashi released Sasuke, and the boy literally jumped as far away as he could with a glare that could burn walls. He was ignored, because Kakashi simply continued as if nothing had happened, "So you see? You understand, right? The mark of the Hebi-Youma is no trifling legend. It has never failed to come true so far, though the superiors do not wish to recognise it. By letting your Youma-Ningen partner Sasuke, you may end up doing him more harm than good." He observed the caretaker turn pensive. "Well, caretaker? If push comes to shove, are you willing to take up this gamble?"
Iruka was a wall of silence, after the revelation. There was evident worry, doubt and hesitation etched across his features. He glanced in the direction of the window, looking absently into the room where Naruto was imprisoned. "Inspector," he said, with an anxious frown, "I admit, after what you have said and what I have seen, that now I am quite hesitant about permitting the assignment."
Sasuke gave a silent snort, and turned to want to leave, happy that someone else had made the decision for him. He was stopped, however, when Kakashi shot him a stern glare and held him by the wrist.
He found out why soon enough, when Iruka spoke up again. "But I also must admit," the adult sighed with a wistful smile, "that even though I am Naruto's caretaker, I must administer, not my will, but his decisions." The wistful smile turned determined. "I fear you underestimate Uzumaki Naruto, Inspecter, Officer," he nodded at both man and boy. "He is not only strong, but also fearless. Not even the curse of the Kyuubi has defeated him. I don't see how a Hebi-Youma can do otherwise."
"You hear that, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi reverted back to schoolteacher speech. He hadn't needed to look at the boy to know that he was scowling. "Neither the caretaker nor the Youma-Ningen cares about your curse. It's your call entirely."
"I told you I'm not interested!" Sasuke snapped. He spun around so he did not have to face the two adults and pouted angrily at the mirror-glass window.
"Be nice, Sasuke," Kakashi shook his head, while Iruka reclined in disappointment. "I'm not asking you to get married. Just this one mission, Sasuke. I want you to go on this new mission with someone else other than yourself. After that, I won't interfere with your choice... or rather, lack, of companions anymore." The Inspector sighed. "Well? What do you say?"
Sasuke chose not to reply. He peered angrily into the mirror-glass, noticing that Naruto had not broken away from staring at him from since just now. That was strange, since Naruto could not possibly see anything but his own reflection from inside the room through the windows. That was how the lab was built. For some reason, though, Naruto just kept staring at the spot Sasuke stood.
Almost as if he knew that there was someone there.
"Sasuke. I don't have all day," the voice of Kakashi once again reminded him of his current responsibility. "Do you want the Taiyoubu to stay or not?"
"Of course I do!"
"Well that's settled it then," the wily inspector turned and nodded at Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, we're engaging Uzumaki Naruto for one mission. Kindly show me where to make my signature-"
"Kakashi!!"
"That's enough, Sasuke," the inspector frowned sternly at his protege. "Treat this as an order if you must. You will complete your next mission with Uzumaki Naruto, or you will have no more missions at all. Do I make myself clear?"
Rage and rebellion rose all the way to the tip of his tongue. Yet Sasuke restrained his thoughts from bursting out in a fantastic display of infuriated commentary against his guardian. He looked away and twisted his face in reluctance and helplessness. He could not help but hear the words he had not heard for a long time force themselves through his memories.
Somebody was going to die again.
Somebody was going to die, and it would be all his fault again.
"Please, show me the way to the reception," Kakashi's fading voice and footsteps echoed into Sasuke's ears. Yet, he was no longer interested in what the man was doing or saying.
Giving a long sigh of frustration, Sasuke glared into the lighted room. Through the heavily tinted glass he saw that Naruto had kept looking at him, and so he looked back. Information filtered through his mind selectively; he recalled the bits and pieces he had caught during Iruka's previous briefing.
Had it really been years since Naruto's last assignment? Did that mean that he had been chained to his bed all this time? Sasuke could feel his heart growing soft at the thought. That would probably explain why those eyes looked so lonely.
So lonely.
Almost like the same pair he saw in the mirror every morning.
Sasuke knew that it was only as a last resort that Kakashi dragged him down to the Youma labs to find a mission partner. For as long as he could remember, the man had been emphasising teamwork during missions - something he couldn't quite do if he was alone and by himself.
At that thought, however, Sasuke's mind immediately reminded him - with vivid images, of what had happened to his last partner. He stifled a cry of distress at the mere thoughts, knocking his forehead against the clear window. Why didn't anybody understand? Did they think he willingly /chose/ to be alone? Did Kakashi not remember what happened to each and every one of his previous partners? Did teamwork matter to him so much more than the lives of people who would be jinxed by the curse?
/Is that curse so strong that it can win even the Youma who almost destroyed Konoha sixteen years ago?/
Kakashi's previous statement was like an arrow of hope, aimed at his heart.
Perhaps it was true?
Perhaps there was someone in this world the curse could not reach?
/... you underestimate Uzumaki Naruto, Inspecter, Officer ... Not even the curse of the Kyuubi has defeated him. I don't see how a Hebi-Youma can do otherwise./
The caretaker had a point, however minute, Sasuke realised, while he stared at his shoes in rigid consideration.
The boy was still staring at him when he looked up. He was tinted in shades of clear brown through the mirror-glass. Sasuke found himself wondering randomly what colour those lonely eyes really was. Subconsciously, he withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket, and he looked upon it with thoughtful, clouded eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto.
That was the name printed solemnly across the pale, white sheet of paper.
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22/7/2004
Part 1 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
Special thanks to Neen and sadieko for helpful suggestions! :D This goes out to everyone in OMG! Naruto RP, and Chien, whose fic challenge generator spurred me on in the middle of a hiatus. Full author's notes at the end of entire story. Hope you like the fic!
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Against the Tide
--------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue
Uzumaki Naruto.
That was the name printed solemnly across the pale, white sheet of paper.
And even after staring at it for a good fifteen minutes, Sasuke knew that it meant nothing to him.
"Watch where you walk, if you don't want to end up in a manhole," the silver-haired man beside him spoke up, his lazy, quiet voice echoing down the quieter corridors of the Youma Research Laboratory. The season was such that most of the Youma-Ningen living there had been loaned out for missions. The usually hushed halls of the Laboratory thus seemed even more subdued than usual.
Unhappy at being caught off guard, Sasuke snorted softly and turned his head away from his immediate superior. "Why don't you mind your own business, Kakashi," the boy scoffed, while tucking the document safely away into his pocket. "I don't care if you're the Inspector or not - if this Youma-Ningen doesn't fit the bill, then I'm not even giving him a second glance, you hear?"
"Yes yes," the man called Kakashi scratched his forehead protector experimentally. "Whatever you say, Sasuke-/kun/."
Although the dark-haired boy shot his mentor a glare, he did not say anything else in retort. They continued down the hallway in mutual silence.
Their destination was reached in a short while - a long stretch of observatory corridors decked floor to ceiling with heavy-duty, see-through mirrors. The rooms along the particular stretch they were in were either dark or dimly lit. Only one had bright light pouring out from it, and Sasuke assumed that it was the room they were looking for. There was already someone outside, pacing along the lighted glass panels. When that person noticed two additional sets of footsteps, he looked up, and his anxious countenance warmed into a smile.
He stood upright in an official salute when the duo approached him. "Inspector Jounin," he looked at Kakashi, who nodded, "and Officer," he then turned to salute Sasuke, who saluted back glumly. Quickly replacing his hands by his side, the man started his introduction, "I am Umino Iruka, the assigned caretaker for Youma-Ningen Uzumaki Naruto. I have heard that you both wish to engage him in some official services, and I am more than honoured to act as his referral and testimony..." He trailed off, looking to Kakashi for a reply.
The masked man smiled such that his single visible eye tilted into an upturned curve. "That sounds very interesting. Perhaps you would like to give us more information."
Iruka immediately perked up, his single ponytail bobbing about in excitement. "Yes, sir!" He exclaimed, in the voice of someone who had obviously seen many rejections. "Uzumaki Naruto is sixteen years of age and fresh for any mission. He is strong, talented, hard-working and picks things up quickly. He can also..."
The fast-paced babbling of the caretaker escaped into the dark recess that was the back of Sasuke's mind after a while. He had agreed to come look at the Youma-Ningen, after all, only because Kakashi threatened to dissolve the Anti-Youma Brigade - commonly known as the Taiyoubu - if he didn't at least try to get a partner for his mission this time. The special department was established as a subset of the police force by the Uchiha, some time after Orochimaru's experiments had been granted restricted recognition. But authority had been given to Kakashi after the clan fell, since Sasuke was not yet of age to inherit it legally. Still, he held no interest in hearing what the caretaker had to say to encourage him to engage this Youma-Ningen as a partner, at all.
Because he already knew, from the start, the decision he would make at the end of this meeting.
The light from the mirror-glass attracted his attention while he vaguely heard Kakashi laugh and say, "That sounds a little too good to be true. What problems does this boy have?" Ignoring the nervous reply of Iruka, Sasuke leaned towards the window and peered into the laboratory room, willing to do anything to let the conversation between the adults drift away from his ears.
The more he peered, however, the more he found himself staring in muted disbelief at what was inside.
He had been to Youma-based laboratories, and had seen experiments going underway there. He had even been in the living quarters of a Youma-Ningen before, Kakashi having compelled him to, in order to investigate his 'potential partner' - as the perverted Inspector had so lewdly put it - more thoroughly. Although prisoners to the labs, the Youma-Ningen he saw before were at least free to move about, and even visit one another, pretty much like they lived in a massively grand scientific hotel.
This particular one, however-...
"And... well, that is... you see... he does have a bit of a track record..."
...-was a little different.
"So much so that he has to be chained to the bed?" The conversation between the adults continued, but Sasuke was only paying half a heed. He leaned further towards the mirror, squinting through the tinted glass to try to inspect the boy.
"Well... he hasn't /technically/ succeeded in any of his previous assignments before..."
The Youma-Ningen boy's shoulders tensed, as if he could sense that someone was talking about him behind his back.
"And he also has a prankster streak and often gives more trouble than help..."
Slowly, the boy turned around to face the glass panel.
"Which Youma did they... ugh... combine him with?"
The room proceeded to be engulfed by an ear shattering silence.
Naruto, as Sasuke remembered was the name of the boy, took the period of silence to turn around completely, so that he could now be seen in his full, front view.
"... did you not read the document I sent to you prior to your coming, sir?"
The boy cast his lonely depths right at Sasuke, looking him straight in the eye.
"Ahaha... Sasuke was hogging the sheet the whole time, so..."
Something in the boy's eyes flinched.
"... It is the Kyuubi, sir."
And for that one moment, Sasuke thought he could see a perfect reflection of himself in those clear, painful irises.
"... Kyuubi." Sasuke heard Kakashi reiterate monotonously. There were some paper rustling sounds, possibly that of the man flipping through Naruto's assignment history. "I see... that would explain a lot."
The uncomfortable silence stretched.
"Sir..." the caretaker, Iruka's voice was suddenly cold. "... if there is perhaps something about Naruto's background that displeases you, then I'm afraid this-"
He was stopped when Kakashi held a hand up. The silver-haired Jounin then turned to Sasuke and asked in a low tone, "Sasuke. What do you think?"
Blinking at the sudden query, Sasuke slowly turned to regard his mentor suspiciously. "You /know/ what people out there say about me-"
"What they say about you won't help preserve the Taiyoubu," Kakashi reminded the teen darkly. Caught, Sasuke suppressed a snarl and turned away, pressing his hands firmly against the window in a symbolic attempt to push his frustrations away. "You either take another partner - I don't care who, or the Taiyoubu goes. That wasn't very hard to understand, was it?"
Sasuke spun back quickly upon the threat. "You!!" He glared angrily at Kakashi. Years of experience with the man, however, told him that quarreling was no use. "I can't!" He settled for his honest opinion instead. "I can't take another partner, even /if/ he's Youma-Ningen, and you very well know it! Why do you keep asking me to?"
"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi reverted back to his schoolteacher ways. "Have you even read the documents beyond the first line?"
Taken aback at the piercing question, Sasuke looked away in guilty silence.
"Thought so," Kakashi scratched the back of his head again. He looked at the a sheet singled out from stack of papers Iruka had handed him and read slowly, "Uzumaki Naruto, 16, male. Problematic, unpredictable, but flexible and powerful. Son of a great hero, bearer of a great curse. Carrier of the most powerful Youma in the Fire," he paused, "Kyuubi no Youko." Letting his arms drop to his side, he stared expectantly at Sasuke.
"What's your point?" The Uchiha demanded after a while, not quite understanding what Kakashi was getting at.
"My point is, Sasuke," the older man shrugged, "is that yes, I understand. I know what they say about you, and I know about the curse. It's true that the curse has worked on everybody who was brave enough to try it so far, but think, Sasuke. Think really carefully," he wagged a finger at the youngling. "Is that curse so strong that it can win even the Youma who almost destroyed Konoha sixteen years ago?"
Sasuke growled. "I'm not going to use someone else's life as an experiment to satisfy my curiosity," he all but barked.
"Hmmm, well that is true," Kakashi turned his attention this time to Iruka, who had been listening to them quietly all this while. The ponytailed caretaker jumped slightly at the sudden focus. "Perhaps we should ask the caretaker how he feels about the matter."
"... 'the matter'... sir?" Iruka expressed his confusion.
"Let's say," Kakashi gestured, speaking with a bright, optimistic slur, "that Sasuke here decides that he will assign Naruto to himself for a partner in this upcoming mission," he paused to take in the incredulous and disbelieving looks on Sasuke and Iruka respectively. "Will you allow it?" The silver-haired continued, uncaring.
"Will I allow it??" Iruka's face literally lit up with joy. "Are you kidding, sir? Show me the papers and I'll be more than happy to sign them!"
"Really?" Kakashi walked up next to the unsuspecting Sasuke, who had returned to glaring into the glass pane, fuming silently to himself. Stealthily, he grabbed Sasuke by the neck, turned him so that he back-faced Iruka, and pulled down the collar near his left shoulder, earning him several frantic screeches of protest. "Even after you see... this thing?"
"Kakashi! You bastard!" Sasuke's shout echoed into the dark, lonely corridors. He valiantly attempted to break free, but there was a reason why Kakashi was an Jounin while he was still just a Genin, after all. He found that his struggles were futile, so he stopped, tensed and seething. When he became of age and took over the squad, the first thing he was going to do was to sack this stupid guardian of his! Really!
In the meantime, Iruka had been taken aback at Kakashi's action initially. Slowly, however, he grew paler in the face. His eyes were upon the single blemish that marred the whole of Sasuke's lower left shoulder back. "That's... the mark of... !!"
"I see I don't have to explain any further," Kakashi released Sasuke, and the boy literally jumped as far away as he could with a glare that could burn walls. He was ignored, because Kakashi simply continued as if nothing had happened, "So you see? You understand, right? The mark of the Hebi-Youma is no trifling legend. It has never failed to come true so far, though the superiors do not wish to recognise it. By letting your Youma-Ningen partner Sasuke, you may end up doing him more harm than good." He observed the caretaker turn pensive. "Well, caretaker? If push comes to shove, are you willing to take up this gamble?"
Iruka was a wall of silence, after the revelation. There was evident worry, doubt and hesitation etched across his features. He glanced in the direction of the window, looking absently into the room where Naruto was imprisoned. "Inspector," he said, with an anxious frown, "I admit, after what you have said and what I have seen, that now I am quite hesitant about permitting the assignment."
Sasuke gave a silent snort, and turned to want to leave, happy that someone else had made the decision for him. He was stopped, however, when Kakashi shot him a stern glare and held him by the wrist.
He found out why soon enough, when Iruka spoke up again. "But I also must admit," the adult sighed with a wistful smile, "that even though I am Naruto's caretaker, I must administer, not my will, but his decisions." The wistful smile turned determined. "I fear you underestimate Uzumaki Naruto, Inspecter, Officer," he nodded at both man and boy. "He is not only strong, but also fearless. Not even the curse of the Kyuubi has defeated him. I don't see how a Hebi-Youma can do otherwise."
"You hear that, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi reverted back to schoolteacher speech. He hadn't needed to look at the boy to know that he was scowling. "Neither the caretaker nor the Youma-Ningen cares about your curse. It's your call entirely."
"I told you I'm not interested!" Sasuke snapped. He spun around so he did not have to face the two adults and pouted angrily at the mirror-glass window.
"Be nice, Sasuke," Kakashi shook his head, while Iruka reclined in disappointment. "I'm not asking you to get married. Just this one mission, Sasuke. I want you to go on this new mission with someone else other than yourself. After that, I won't interfere with your choice... or rather, lack, of companions anymore." The Inspector sighed. "Well? What do you say?"
Sasuke chose not to reply. He peered angrily into the mirror-glass, noticing that Naruto had not broken away from staring at him from since just now. That was strange, since Naruto could not possibly see anything but his own reflection from inside the room through the windows. That was how the lab was built. For some reason, though, Naruto just kept staring at the spot Sasuke stood.
Almost as if he knew that there was someone there.
"Sasuke. I don't have all day," the voice of Kakashi once again reminded him of his current responsibility. "Do you want the Taiyoubu to stay or not?"
"Of course I do!"
"Well that's settled it then," the wily inspector turned and nodded at Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, we're engaging Uzumaki Naruto for one mission. Kindly show me where to make my signature-"
"Kakashi!!"
"That's enough, Sasuke," the inspector frowned sternly at his protege. "Treat this as an order if you must. You will complete your next mission with Uzumaki Naruto, or you will have no more missions at all. Do I make myself clear?"
Rage and rebellion rose all the way to the tip of his tongue. Yet Sasuke restrained his thoughts from bursting out in a fantastic display of infuriated commentary against his guardian. He looked away and twisted his face in reluctance and helplessness. He could not help but hear the words he had not heard for a long time force themselves through his memories.
Somebody was going to die again.
Somebody was going to die, and it would be all his fault again.
"Please, show me the way to the reception," Kakashi's fading voice and footsteps echoed into Sasuke's ears. Yet, he was no longer interested in what the man was doing or saying.
Giving a long sigh of frustration, Sasuke glared into the lighted room. Through the heavily tinted glass he saw that Naruto had kept looking at him, and so he looked back. Information filtered through his mind selectively; he recalled the bits and pieces he had caught during Iruka's previous briefing.
Had it really been years since Naruto's last assignment? Did that mean that he had been chained to his bed all this time? Sasuke could feel his heart growing soft at the thought. That would probably explain why those eyes looked so lonely.
So lonely.
Almost like the same pair he saw in the mirror every morning.
Sasuke knew that it was only as a last resort that Kakashi dragged him down to the Youma labs to find a mission partner. For as long as he could remember, the man had been emphasising teamwork during missions - something he couldn't quite do if he was alone and by himself.
At that thought, however, Sasuke's mind immediately reminded him - with vivid images, of what had happened to his last partner. He stifled a cry of distress at the mere thoughts, knocking his forehead against the clear window. Why didn't anybody understand? Did they think he willingly /chose/ to be alone? Did Kakashi not remember what happened to each and every one of his previous partners? Did teamwork matter to him so much more than the lives of people who would be jinxed by the curse?
/Is that curse so strong that it can win even the Youma who almost destroyed Konoha sixteen years ago?/
Kakashi's previous statement was like an arrow of hope, aimed at his heart.
Perhaps it was true?
Perhaps there was someone in this world the curse could not reach?
/... you underestimate Uzumaki Naruto, Inspecter, Officer ... Not even the curse of the Kyuubi has defeated him. I don't see how a Hebi-Youma can do otherwise./
The caretaker had a point, however minute, Sasuke realised, while he stared at his shoes in rigid consideration.
The boy was still staring at him when he looked up. He was tinted in shades of clear brown through the mirror-glass. Sasuke found himself wondering randomly what colour those lonely eyes really was. Subconsciously, he withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket, and he looked upon it with thoughtful, clouded eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto.
That was the name printed solemnly across the pale, white sheet of paper.
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22/7/2004
Part 1 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
Special thanks to Neen and sadieko for helpful suggestions! :D This goes out to everyone in OMG! Naruto RP, and Chien, whose fic challenge generator spurred me on in the middle of a hiatus. Full author's notes at the end of entire story. Hope you like the fic!