[week 33, day 2 | accidental voice]

[aimlessronin]

[Sasuke opens his eyes. The rain has stopped. He had thought the hollow patter of drops on the rocks-on his skin, in the scattered puddles of blood-would be the last sounds he ever heard. And yet, tragically, his eyes are open and he finds himself staring at nothing. Blurs. He blinks rapidly. Leaves. Sky. Blue.
Other senses awaken. Birdsong and the

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[sketchy_nin]

[Sai knew that voice, a small inkling of disdain threading through him. He worries for Naruto now, having the other black haired young man in Kannagara could prove some explosive catalyst. He with held judgement on many things and people but since coming to know Naruto as a person, Sai couldn't help the slight irritation he felt toward Sasuke at the emotional rollercoaster he'd placed upon Naruto's shoulders. None of this shower on Sai's face, a perfect mask in place before he'll appear on Sasuke's screen with a hollow stare and a fake smile on his lips.]

Sasuke-kun, interesting that you of all people would show up here next. Welcome to Kannagara, luckily you aren't dead.

[aimlessronin]

[Pale face, dark eyes and hair. They could have been brothers, perhaps...brothers...You're not paying attention, little brother.]

Do I know you?

[He does, of course--inkblot animals and interrupted sleep and fated meetings--but he'd tried to inject some of that famous hatred into his voice, he really had. Only it had receded, and the peace of this place smoothes it over and it comes off sounding far too genuine for his tastes.]

[sketchy_nin]

You should, of course you seem like you've hit your head so it might not be surprising that you do not.

I am Sai, your... replacement for lack of a better term on team 7.

[He let that sit a beat, before continuing.]

What is the last thing you can recall before waking up in Himorogi?

[Sai's curious, Naruto is not from the same time stream that himself, Kakashi, and Iruka are from. So it is possible that Sasuke might not remember him for he might not have ever met him if the timing wasn't right.]

[ Video | Private to Sai]

[ura_no_ura]

[ Kakashi looks like he's moving through the forest when the video comes on. ]

Sai. I would advise that you measure your words and interaction with Sasuke. I am en route to him right now and about fifteen klicks away.

[ He pauses here, the wind whistling past him, along with the rustle of leaves and the thump thump of his feet. ]

Also, it is incorrect to say you are a replacement. You are a part of our team, but you are not anyone's replacement.

[ Video | Private]

[sketchy_nin]

Kakashi-san I am well aware of the fact that I am hardly a replacement for your former student. My apologies. I was attempting to see if I could provoke such a reaction as I had the last occasion I met him face to face...

[He'll trail off for a moment and look away from the screen a moment then return his gaze, more blank than ever.]

It seems something is wrong with him. I will leave it to you to find what it is.

[ Video | Private to Sai ]

[ura_no_ura]

I'll find out what's wrong.

[ And here, Kakashi pauses as he jumps from one branch to the other, the steady thudding of his feet resounding in the background. ]

Anyway, Sai, I hope you realize you're an important member of Team Kakashi. No one can be replaced. Not Sasuke, and not you.

[ Video | Private to Kakashi ]

[sketchy_nin]

Hm.

[Sai doesn't know what to say to that. His newly found fledgling emotions war for several moments with his learned ROOT principles and behaviours. It's a tense moment that confuses Sai, fighting within himself before the ROOT training kicks in, set on default as it has been since he was a child. Looking blankly at the hitomi Sai pulls himself back from being an individual into a number.]

I am here to help Kakashi-san, in whatever way is possible to keep you and Naruto alive. I will let you deal with Sasuke-san. I will wait for further commands for action.

[aimlessronin]

[His brow rises at the word 'replacement.' What does he remember? Blood, pain, fear, imsorrynii-san. His eyes linger on those so similar to his own for a moment longer before looking away.]

Victory.

[sketchy_nin]

[After having Kakashi remind him of his place, Sai will keep his words to himself and nod ever so slightly. His face betrays nothing, eyes as flat as Sasuke's own as he merely watches the other man on the screen.]

I see... victories depending on the circumstance are not always victories. But that is not my place to say.

[A false smile so well practised it looks very natural.]

But merely a victory does not give context as to what happened to place you here, Sasuke-kun.

[aimlessronin]

[Something warm and faint wriggles gently in the back of his mind and he picks up the hitomi, bringing it closer.]

Why are you here?

[Unspoken, a question: 'And are you alone?']

[sketchy_nin]

That is something we both want to know. I should be back fighting, not here waiting out a rainy season and risking being flooded.

[He won't answer the second unspoken question, body language betraying nothing. It seems like Sai for all intents and purposes could actually be alone here. But one this he does pick up on is how young Sasuke looks, unlike himself who just turned nineteen in November.]

If you would like to know the last I recall is an explosion before I woke in this world the same as you have. No one I have talked with seems to know either.

[aimlessronin]

So you're useless, too.

[If the gods really are behind this, he hopes they're entertained.]

[sketchy_nin]

[Sasuke will get a very amused smile in return for that comment.]

Disposable yes, but far from useless. Sasuke-kun.

Although from what I see, it looks as if you have given up. I would not hold onto that, you never know, something better might come forward. I know it has for myself and change sometimes can be a good thing.

[It's all very cryptic but Sai sees a little of his past self in Sasuke, the broken part that doesn't want to keep going and the other part that doesn't understand and doesn't want to think enough to understand. Of course, Sai could be reading this completely wrong, but he believes there's a small figment of his soul still left there.]

[aimlessronin]

[ He stares at nothing. Given up? Perhaps. He doesn't know. He doesn't know anything. And can't find it in himself to care. ]

Aren't you the optimist.

[ He inhales deeply, the scent of flowers and so much life overwhelming. He should be drowning in blood, his lung was punctured, and yet here he can breathe. ]

[sketchy_nin]

It has taken practice, along with learning the difference between apathy and not actually feeling. But optimism is one of the few things that keep a ninja sane in our world of death.

[Sai will sigh and set something off screen aside.]

But what you may or may not wish to know is that you are for certain not deceased. If that is a question you have hanging over your head.

[Sai's not too sure how to address Sasuke. He feels that Sasuke is hurting but he doesn't understand the full salient details of why. If he had known that Sasuke had just lost his older brother Sai would certainly be kinder to him, Sai having lost his little brother himself a few years prior.]

While I do not understand your apathy, something I have learned in pieces is that talking can help. Often it is best with strangers who have no outright emotional connection to you or the situation at hand. But it seems you are like myself and prefer silence to superficial words.

[aimlessronin]

And yet, you continue to speak.

[ And if Sasuke weren't so closed in on himself and his suffering, he might mention that he had felt the life-energy leave his brother's body, that victory tasted bittersweet and left an acid burn on his tongue, and that no amount of talking would ever replace the things he had lost. But these aren't things to be spoken of, but hidden away, and this not-quite-perfect copy, his replacement, has done nothing to earn the right to uncover them. ]