Day 47: Recreational Field [Second Shift]

[vsyourface]

Scott wasn't really what one would call the sporty type, at least not currently. In the past, maybe. He could have called himself a hockey player at one point - in grade two (it totally counted). And he had been a jock in high school, hadn't he (he had at least played a lot of Track & Field for the NES, anyway)? Regardless of what his athletic

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[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke woke late, but he ignored his nurses chirpy morning greeting and lay still for a moment, simply taking his time to catalogue every limb. They were working; his entire body was working. The lack of chakra was something he was accustomed to by now, an endless frustration that had to be ignored in order to keep moving --

But he could keep moving. He had his hands and his feet and the will to see vengeance through to the end

[lostonlifesroad]

The best Kakashi could hope for after his conversation with Artemis was to have offered the boy some temporary distraction; shift changed before he could ask about what had been weighing him down so much, and Kakashi felt a bit guilty afterward. He hadn't meant for the entire conversation to be about him, after all. And what was worse, the nurse refused to let him take his 'calculus' book outside. That was a time for exercise, she admonished, and sent him into the cold with nothing to read

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke was halfway through a pattern when he caught the sound of grass rustling in approaching footsteps. When the person spoke, he realised that he should have expected it, especially after he'd left that note earlier. It wasn't easy to leave detailed explanations on the bulletin board, for more reasons than because Sasuke still wasn't sure how readable his handwriting was -- it made sense that Kakashi would seek him out for clarification

[lostonlifesroad]

Kakashi had to wonder just what Jiraiya had said to inspire such a conclusion. True, the Sannin didn't exactly approve of the elders, and the same could be said of many of the village's upper ranks. Kakashi might even include himself on the list, given what he'd learned just in Landel's. But to go so far to say the village would do nothing while Sasuke took his revenge among the upper ranks

[sasuke_of_sound]

Konohagakure's governance wasn't simple. Sasuke was aware of that much -- the elders and the Hokage's office aside, there was the pressure of the daimyo and the clout, or lack thereof, of the village's bloodline clans. But that complexity was also what would make it easier for Sasuke to work with the Konoha-nin here, because it muddied the chain of loyalty just enough to ease alliance. Sasuke had no need to attack their direct superior, and if Jiraiya was to be believed ... there was little love lost for the elders buried in the hearts of Konoha's remaining loyal Sannin

[lostonlifesroad]

Well, Kakashi couldn't say he wasn't pleased with the conversation; so far, it was turning out to be the most agreeable one he and Sasuke'd had since the jounin arrived. Granted, that was largely due to the silent agreement to simply not talk about the weightier issues, but Kakashi was willing to take what he could get. It was a start, and like Sasuke had said, first things first

[sasuke_of_sound]

Kakashi had found a weapon? That sounded more than promising -- Sasuke would have to deal with what he'd planned quickly, then. Even if Kakashi turned out to be occupied, there was the chance of finding someone else worth consideration. Sasuke was about to ask more about the opponent Kakashi had managed to take it from when the man spoke again, in a tone that clearly indicated the importance of the topic.

Once the name was spoken, it became obvious. Sasuke turned his head to listen more closely to Kakashi's voice as he continued, brow furrowing.

Firstly, that was the longest time difference he'd heard of yet. Even Haku and Zabuza had only been from three years previous. Secondly, judging by the future tense Kakashi had used in going to want to talk, Uchiha Obito didn't know about Sasuke's existence yet, let alone his defection from the village. Thirdly, if the reason Kakashi was putting forward for that eagerness was pride in the clan, the fact that said clan barely existed anymore had yet to be imparted

[lostonlifesroad]

Kakashi chuckled at Sasuke's question. Clearly the boy was assuming that Kakashi had been upfront about certain things with Obito. And maybe Kakashi should have been, but the fact of the matter was simply that most of it--or, all of it--still remained unrevealed. Maybe that would change in part come the next shift, particularly since Obito knew about the Uchiha presence in Landel's, and would seek Sasuke out probably before day's end. The idea of a deadline made telling Obito the truth all that more important and imposing at the same time, and Kakashi still wasn't relishing the idea too much

[sasuke_of_sound]

That second sentence was enough for Sasuke to draw his conclusion. Kakashi was as soft as the rest of the Konoha-nin here -- something Sasuke should have expected, given whose fault it was that Team 7 was as wilfully ignorant of the ninja code as it was. Still, he'd been able to say what he thought was necessary before; surely he didn't think that it would even be possible for someone in Uchiha Obito's situation to avoid learning the truth eventually?

"You've told him nothing." Sasuke's voice was flat, expression cool enough to express what he thought (very little) of that fact. Kakashi confirmed it in the next moment, and then -- then he asked what Sasuke had been expecting.

After all, if someone long dead to him had suddenly appeared -- not the way Fugaku had, not as a lie but as they had been before death, whole and alive and above all innocent of their future -- Sasuke would have wanted the same thing. If his family ... if ItachiBut there it was: family. And above that, clan

[lostonlifesroad]

"You're right. You don't know him." Kakashi had been expecting this to be Sasuke's reaction, and he couldn't entirely disagree. The Uchiha had always been a clan that prided their power and their heritage, almost to the degree of being separate entity, even within the village. Sasuke had carried that pride all of his life, and even more so after the massacre. Now, he was the heir of the Uchiha title, and maybe that did give him some right in this situation

[sasuke_of_sound]

Kakashi wasn't going to give up his right to tell his former teammate what had happened, that much was obvious from his most immediate response. It wasn't surprising; even Sasuke could understand it, even after what he had said. And it wasn't something he was willing to put effort in to fight, not least because -- judging by the fact that Kakashi had his eye -- it was doubtful that this Obito was going to come asking Sasuke for answers before he heard Kakashi's story