Two Steps Back: Chapter Two, Part One
Two Steps Back
'Now that it is all over, Sasuke repents - and is given his second chance. AU, Timetravel, Sasuke adopts Naruto.'
Chapter Two
(part one)
Sasuke could feel small hands clenching the trousers he was wearing, Naruto half-hiding behind him, and this shyness in him seemed so out-of-character. There was a hint of moisture in the air, foretelling the coming of rain, and Sasuke wondered briefly what he would do if it began to rain in his session. He would work through it himself, but these were children - Sasuke wasn’t comfortable around children. Naruto was an exception because Sasuke knew him, probably better than the boy would ever know himself.
Shizuka was over in the corner of the training ground, and Sasuke could hear the solid ‘thunk’ of her fists hitting the wooden post. Hopefully she’d remembered to wrap her hands this time - two days ago she’d come back with her knuckles bleeding after a training session, thick enough that he could smell it, and Sasuke had been forcibly been reminded-
“Tenten!” Lee screams as Sasuke pivots, slamming his fist into her throat and feeling bones crunch. She collapses, like a puppet with its strings cut, and Lee is knocking down the Sound nin as if they are nothing, screaming and shouting incoherently about “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!”
Sasuke turns and leaves, and behind him he can hear the sounds of a genjutsu falling into place over the boy who once beat him. He does not look back-
of Lee. He suspected she was punching wrong, though; there had been scratches along the length of her fingers when he had grabbed hold of her hand, clearly implying that her positioning was poor. He decided against mentioning it at that point, although he had pointed her towards a set of bandages. He’d correct her another time.
“When’re they coming, Kenshin-sensei?” Naruto asked, and in his voice there was a mixture of hope, nervousness and barely suppressed excitement. Sasuke ruffled the boy’s hair, feeling the slightly coarse strands and tugging out a couple of knots. He suspected Naruto didn’t even own a comb, although why he was wondering about Naruto’s appearance was slightly baffling to him.
“Soon,” he said, and there was a faintly stern note in his voice - patience - that made Naruto wilt slightly under his hand. A flicker of guilt ran through him, quick as a shiver, and he ruffled Naruto’s hair again in apology. What was this going to be like? He didn’t like children, but he needed the money (and wasn’t that a comedown for he who had never worried over it before?)
Training little children. This would be difficult. The only teaching he’d ever taken part in was in Sound, and Sasuke doubted their methods would be appreciated in the much softer Konoha - and he was blind. How was he going to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid? Nara Shikaku had already been over to talk to him about signing Shikamaru up, and there had been a kind of doubt in his voice that had made Sasuke bristle.
“Oi, Kenshin-sensei!” Shizuka bellowed from her side, and Naruto held on tighter to Sasuke’s leg, a possessive move that made Sasuke grin; a slight slip of his mouth.
He turned his head towards her, and cocked it to one side in question, and Shizuka took this as the invitation to continue that it was, walking over from where she had been training. “It’s nothin’ big,” she said, breathing slightly hard. “I was just wonderin’ why you didn’t want any of the Uchihas in your trainin’ sessions.”
Now that was something that had been bothering him. When he’d heard the Uchihas were alive, he’d felt… something. Some kind of duty; that he should save the family he’d been born into. He’d even started planning how to kill Itachi in an ‘accident’ - which he now realised was impossible; Itachi was good enough at thirteen that he’d easily be able to defeat Sasuke who had a heavy handicap. It wasn’t that which was stopping him though. It was more that he realised the Uchiha Massacre had to happen. If it didn’t, then Orochimaru would have a much easier job in finding someone to act as his host, instead of concentrating on Sasuke.
If he allowed Uchihas into his sessions, he might rethink his choice, changing the future in a way that it should not be changed.
Shizuka was still waiting for a reason and, from the shuffling of her feet, she was impatient. So. A half-truth was always better than a lie, and this had been part of his reasoning. “Uchihas have a history of mental instability - their bloodline originates from mixing demon blood with the Hyuuga line,” he said mildly. “I would prefer not to aid in their insanity.”
There was a choking sound from Shizuka, and Naruto spoke up curiously. “Mental instablility?” he asked.
“Instability,” Sasuke corrected. “They have something wrong with their minds, and they do foolish things that can be harmful to others.”
“Oh,” Naruto breathed, and then, “What? Why?”
Sasuke sighed. “They have a special ability called the Sharingan,” he said patiently. “This allows them to remember everything that they have seen, and so they store too many memories. It gets to the point, where the brain can’t remember anything more, so-“
“-It goes bang?” Naruto offered helpfully, and Sasuke snorted in amusement.
“Something like that,” he said.
“I ain't heard of nothin' like that,” Shizuka said uncertainly, and Sasuke shrugged, a bare movement of his shoulders.
“I wouldn't imagine it's something they want to broadcast,” he replied, and tried to change the subject. “Who did you say was coming?”
“Uh,” Shizuka said eloquently. “The Ino-Shika-Chou kids, some civilian brat, Takao's kid, a Morino and some others.”
It was through sheer force of will alone that Sasuke managed to keep from twitching. “I see,” he said in a tone of forced calm. “How exactly do you plan to become a chuunin if you can't produce a coherent report?”
“This ain't a report!” she protested, but any other complaint she might have made was silenced by Naruto's enthusiastic bouncing.
“I c'n see someone!” he said gleefully. “It’s a girl!”
“Oh?” Sasuke asked, changing his grip to Naruto’s shoulder to prevent him from jumping up and down.
“Yeah! She’s got blonde hair, like me!” Naruto gabbled. Ino, Sasuke thought-
“I don’t know what I ever saw in you, traitor,” she snarls opposite him. “Tell the bastard you serve that Konoha won’t ever fall to him or you.”
Sasuke stares at her, unimpressed, and for a second she is clearly unnerved-
“You’d be Arrekusu Kenshin?” a man’s voice asked, light and slightly - wary? The way his chakra swirled around him indicated that he was ready to draw on it, probably without even being truly conscious of it.
“I would,” Sasuke said, inclining his head in the direction the voice had come from. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” the man said, but there was still something in his voice. “My wife spoke to you about signing our daughter up - Ino?”
“She has,” Sasuke said, his shoulders tense. There was something wrong here; he could feel the beginnings of a fight stirring and he had no idea why. He pushed Naruto away with a hand, with the instruction to ‘go and introduce yourself’, and thought for a second. It was Inoichi (that had to be who the man was), who gave the excuse.
“I just need a few words with Arrekusu-san, Hiroshi-san. Something about my family’s techniques.” It was a reasonable excuse, and Shizuka seemed to accept it at face value as her footsteps moved away and a steady ‘thunk’ started up again.
The two men stayed in silence for a few long seconds, Sasuke determined not to be the first to speak. He didn’t know what this was about, but he would not be forced into the position of supplicant. Inoichi seemed to be off-guard, searching for words.
“Who was that boy?” he asked, and Sasuke felt surprised. He kept silent while he struggled to find the right words.
“What is it to you?” he replied, and then nearly winced. The words would be too defensive, if not for the blank tone they were delivered in.
“Arrekusu-san, please don’t try to play with me,” Inoichi said, and there was an agitated note as he spoke.
“I’m not,” Sasuke said, and paused. It would only do more harm than good if he continued to avoid the question - Shizuka would spill everything if asked. “His name is Uzumaki Naruto.”
There was a short intake of breath, and then Inoichi let it hiss out. “I never saw him this close,” he said - bewildered? Confused? Something like that. Sasuke wondered if this was going to be a problem; he knew many of the older shinobi saw Naruto as the demon rather than a vessel, but Inoichi didn’t sound afraid or angry.
Even through the seemingly rational thoughts, Sasuke could hear himself speaking, his voice frosty and disconnected from the rest of his body. “If you have an objection to my student, Yamanaka-san, there will be no problem in you withdrawing your daughter from my session.”
“No!” Inoichi shouted in alarm. He continued in a lower voice. “It’s not that, I was just…” Inoichi coughed, cutting himself off, and Sasuke became aware of the silence that had gathered over the clearing at Inoichi’s shout, even Shizuka stopping.
“Already arguing with the sensei, Inoichi?” someone else drawled - Shikaku, Sasuke identified, with a low jolt. How had he missed the man’s approach? “Scram over to the other kids, Shikamaru.”
“Dad?” Ino piped up from where she was standing. “What’s wrong?”
There was a forced smile in Inoichi’s voice as he replied. “Nothing, Ino love. Just discussing something with your sensei.”
Sasuke could hear Naruto’s concern - illustrated in how he wasn’t saying anything. The awkward moment was on the verge of becoming something more, Shikaku obviously moving to the defence of his friend, when the others arrived in a gaggle, chatting among themselves.
The introductions passed in a blur - my daughter Sakura, my daughter Tenten, she’s in her first year at the academy, my son Chouji, you already know Ino, this is Shikamaru, Morino Daisuke, sensei, nice to meet you, my daughter, Ayame-chan, she wants to get in some extra training before she goes into the academy, my son Ryuu, he’s only five but we think he’ll be able to keep up just fine.
It was luck that allowed Sasuke to overhear Shikaku cornering Inoichi in concern, and years of training that had him make a few subtle handseals to amplify his hearing - normally, he wouldn't use this jutsu, as it had a tendency to cause serious damage to the user's eardrums if there were any loud noises nearby, but he was paranoid over how Inoichi had reacted to Naruto. As he nodded and smiled to Seito Mitako, the concerned - and pushy mother - of this 'Ryuu', he strained to overhear what the two were muttering about.
“...what was that all about, Inoichi? Arrekusu didn't do anything, did he?”
“No, no - it was just- I was surprised at the kid's appearance. Nothing big.”
“The Uzumaki brat? It's weird how an ex-ninja would suddenly come along and pick that kid to become attached to, I suppose...”
“Don't push him, Shikaku. When he thought I was threatening the kid, he was as cold as anything. You should have felt the killing intent - and it was concentrated, as well. None of the kids noticed anything.”
“He's blind - he's not exactly a threat-”
“Yeah, but haven't you noticed the way he moves? He was definitely good.”
“He told Shizuka that he was a wandering nin.”
“...I just think he would have had a reputation. You can see it in the way he holds himself - and the whole 'no emotions' thing. Are you sure you trust Hiroshi-san?”
“She's my cousin.”
“Still, I'm just saying that she's a bit easy to take in, don't you think?”
“You reckon we should withdraw the kids?”
“No, I'm just saying he's not as helpless as you seem to think he is.”
“It was the kid, not him, that you were arguing about, though?”
“Yeah. It's just that he looks-”
“We gonna start, Kenshin-sensei?” Naruto asked, tugging on his trousers, and Sasuke cancelled the jutsu with a shake of his head, flicking Naruto's hair without really thinking about it.
“We are. Go get the others, will you?”
“Sure!” Naruto cheered, and Sasuke just knew he was bouncing off from the tone he spoke in. He didn't bother to turn his head to where he could feel Inoichi's and Shikaku's chakra, as Naruto began to happily sing-song at the others, instead speaking with his head facing straight forwards.
“”Do you wish to stay and supervise, Yamanaka-san, Nara-san?” he asked, and his voice was faintly sardonic. There was a soft mumbling between the two, and Sasuke briefly regretting dismissing his jutsu.
“No, we're fine,” Inoichi said at last. “We pick them up at five, right?”
“Hn,” Sasuke agreed, inwardly wincing. Five hours of the brats - and he could already hear Ino scolded Naruto in strident tones; something about 'not talking to a lady like that'. Look on the bright side, he told himself. It's only on the weekends.
------------
It was with some dismay that Sasuke realised just why Naruto had been failing at water-walking yesterday. None of the children knew how to draw on their chakra properly; Naruto had probably just been grasping at 'that weird feeling' and walking forward, ending up at the bottom of the pond every other time.
He'd sat them down and started them on basic meditation techniques, pausing only to wake Naruto up (for the sixth time in a row; Sasuke was really starting to empathise with Iruka) and confiscate Chouji's crisps, which the boy seemed to have an unlimited supply of. Sasuke had a nasty suspicion that Shikamaru was just cloud-watching from what he knew of his character, but considering that that was akin to meditation, he left the boy alone. Ino was whining about being bored over by a tree, and Daisuke- well, he seemed to have a good hang on meditation for a six-year-old, which was mildly disturbing.
“Now, chakra is like a store of inner power,” Sasuke said for what had to be the twelfth time. “When you're meditating, try to see a flame, and imagine that that flame is your chakra. Everyone got a flame?”
“I don't like fire, sensei,” Ryuu complained, and Sasuke just managed not to twitch.
“Pretend,” he got out in a voice that was edging on being strained. “Try to make the flame bigger, and then imagine it running through part of your body-”
He stopped as he felt the chakra signals alter slightly - Morino Daisuke was breathing slightly hard as he channelled chakra through one hand; impressive enough, and smart to focus on one area. Sakura seemed at about the same level, but Sasuke expected that. She was- he corrected himself; she had been the most focused on control, when they were genin.
He extended his senses out to the other children, and nearly choked. “Naruto, that's enough!” he snapped, feeling the chakra flow disrupt in the boy, fading away like it had never been there. For a second there, Sasuke had thought-
“Why'd I have to stop, sensei?” Naruto whined. “I was feeling something then.”
“Obviously you were doing something wrong, moron,” Ino snapped, and there was clear frustration in her voice - Sasuke didn't think she'd even managed to brush her chakra.
Naruto, though... Naruto had been drawing on more power than he should have been able to, even if Sasuke recalled his insane stamina. That had been lower chuunin level, except he was seven years old. It was unnatural, and he swore he didn't remember anything like that from the academy. Iruka would have had a heart-attack if Naruto had been summoning that kind of power. He would have been hailed as some kind of prodigy. (Apart from the fact that he was a complete idiot with books, but that was besides the point.)
“Nothing's wrong,” he said slowly, calmly, after a moment. “You were just going a little overboard, alright? Remember what I said about your pathways not being fully developed yet.” And definitely not developed enough for you to be acting as though you're a reasonably powerful ninja already.
“You suck,” Ino whispered loudly to Naruto, and there was a pause.
“You suck more,” Naruto replied grumpily, though there was a hint of upset in his voice. Sasuke ignored them.
“Daisuke, Sakura, both of you did well. Keep that up, and perhaps you can move on to more advanced techniques later.” No, Sasuke didn't see anything wrong at allowing his students to proceed at their own pace, whatever some might grumble about favouritism. And pointing out those two as good examples wasn't an attempt to make the others feel bad - just to foster competitions.
Unfortunately, both Ino and Naruto seemed to be lacking in the 'having been challenged' area, and were instead continuing to hiss childish insults at one another.
“Whatever, blondie,” Ino grumbled, and there was a scuffing sound, like Naruto was dragging his foot across the ground.
“You're blonde too!” he complained. “Stupid.”
“I'm a prettier blonde,” Ino said haughtily. “And I'm not stupid, you're stupid.”
Naruto laughed. “If you're pretty, I'm a tree!” he said, in the tones of one who has pulled out that ultimate trump card.
Ino thought about this, and then came up with a threat to respond to this. “I'll lick you,” she proclaimed triumphantly, and Sasuke could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.
“I don't want your girl germs,” Naruto protested.
“Naruto,” Sasuke said, but Ino continued, ignoring the teacher who was looking faintly irritated.
“Then admit that I'm pretty, blondie.”
“No way! You look like a pig,” Naruto said, and Ino shrieked in indignation.
“Ino-chan, please don't-” Sakura began from over to one side, but from what Sasuke could tell, Ino had launched herself at Naruto and was busy trying to lick him as Naruto screeched about drool and pig girls.
Sasuke could feel his nails digging into his palm as he gritted his jaw. He was never going to think of any teacher as taking the easy way out, ever again.
“I'm hungry,” Chouji grumbled beside Shikamaru.
“You're always hungry,” Shikamaru said back, his voice relaxed. “This is so troublesome.”
“Kenshin-sensei, I don't really understand the meditation,” Tenten confided quietly. “I use weapons more than chakra.”
“Ino's really good at taijutsu, ne?” Morino Daisuke said to Sakura, and she looked over at him.
“Yeah, she is,” she replied. “Ino's my best friend! Even if she is a pig.”
“Um,” Daisuke responded, and Ryuu began to cry at being ignored.
“Kenshin-sensei, Ino's given me girl germs,” Naruto whined loudly, as a victorious Ino began to dance about wildly, and Sasuke snapped.
“Naruto,” Sasuke said in a voice of eerie calm. Naruto wisely fell silent, as did everyone else in the training area. “You are going to shut up and sit down. Then you are going to meditate. You are not going to try and make a very big flame, because you will damage your chakra pathways. You are not going to sit near Ino. You are not going to talk to Ino. Do you understand?”
Naruto 'eep'ed, and Sasuke was left with a very fixed smile on his face. “Now, does anyone else have something to say?”
There was silence, and Sasuke held back a shiver of relief. He hated children.