Suiren
vicissitudes
June 09, 2007.

There is the sky above him – the sky that reminds him of the boy he had left behind in Konoha and the boy he had met somewhere in Kusa – but there is nothing particularly beautiful about the sky. The sky is devoid of anything but pigments of sacrificed colors; and there is the ocean – a beautiful ocean brimming to the edge with life.

You cannot run across the empty sky but you can trend softly on the seas.

ii.

He had first learned that he was aligned with fire when he was four – when Itachi had been sweet and kind to him and when life had been so much simpler and easy. He had first learned that he was aligned with lightning when Kakashi had taught him Chidori. He had first learned that Naruto was aligned with wind when he learned the Rasengan, and that was not the only time that he has been jealous.

iii.

Suigetsu personally thinks that his team leader is crazy, and probably a sociopath.

Karin personally thinks that her team leader is ambitious, hot, crazy, and probably a sociopath.

Juugo really doesn't care.

iv.

There has not been a day when Sasuke hasn't thought about revenge and power. There has not been a day when Naruto thought about dreams and promises. There has not been a day since he left when Sakura hasn't thought about how truly scarring being alone is.

There has not been a day when they haven't woken up yet, so they continue.

v.

Ever since the mission to Kiri, Sasuke has been afraid of water and ice; no matter what Kabuto says, it's not a very comforting idea to stick your head in a bucket of cold, half-frozen water to keep cool.

Kabuto says that he walks on water all the time and has nothing against the water underneath his feet.

Sasuke replies – sarcastically, of course – that he thinks that there are water people under the glassy level ripples of the lake and he is afraid that they will reach out to the sky and accidentally grab his foot instead of the untouchable sky.

Kabuto says to Orochimaru that Sasuke needs to go to a mental hospital.

vi.

Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke did not mean "I love you" when he said "Thank you" to Sakura.

What he meant was "Thank you."

vii.

So, apparently, seven is a lucky number.

Karin flat-out refuses to believe so; Suigetsu snorts and says that there's no such thing as "lucky numbers"; Juugo nods distractedly; Orochimaru – before he was dead – said that it was all in your head; Kabuto says that it had to do with psychology – say something encouraging and they'll believe it, right?

And then, for the rest of the day, Sasuke thinks about Konoha and about life.

viii.

Sakura finds that there are cures for everything; growing up, unrequited love, psychopathy, shyness, phobias of all kinds.

Except for broken bonds.

And, while she thinks about it, broken hearts, too.

ix.

Sasuke has a team now. He has Suigetsu (unfortunately); he has Karin (who is annoying, for the most part); he has Juugo (who is too quiet). He has three people under his influence and that is power.

He does not talk about his old team; the team that had too much water – he was afraid that the water would come up and drown every last one of them – and too little tea leaves – (no power, no vengeance – too much love, too much family, too much bonds).

x.

Because Sai will never be a part of Team 7 and he will never stay.

His feet are barely touching the lake that he was walking on, looking beautiful and sorrowful and – look – there was a scar that never quite healed on his left cheek and a bruise on his right jaw; Kusanagi on his back and Chidori in his hands.

He does not look down because he does not want to see the water people laughing at him, reaching up to the empty, ugly sky.

Until they cannot reach anymore.

(i) "the sky": Sasuke
(v) "water people": Team 7
(v) "water": mission to Kirigakure
(viii) "growing up, unrequited love…": Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, Sasuke
(ix) "too much water": water dilutes the flavor of tea
(ix) "too little tea leaves": love
(x) "until they cannot reach anymore": until he truly cuts off his bonds.

"suiren": literally "water people" in Chinese.
Unbeta'd. Revised. Because I can.