(Untitled)

[hatedriven]

Characters: the littlest uchiha & the eldest spandex wearing ninja
Location: Inner Residential District
Rating: PG for sasuke's mouth
Time: Dec 24
Description: gai is a creepy stalker that's what

Comments

[spandexisyouth]

While Gai had tried to make it sound that any finding of Sasuke would be accidental, he hadn't meant that it would be at all. Those who he was concerned about he sought out and Gai had gotten very good at seeking people out over the years.

Ever since Sasuke had stumbled through the mirror, clearly traumatized and not dealing well with it at all, the boy had been more on Gai's mind than before. How many times had he dragged someone back to the village? It wasn't easy. The silent runs loaned themselves all too easily to thoughts Gai didn't like dwelling on, and sometimes they were unavoidable. They didn't get easier. Each carried with it its own dreads and concerns. Sasuke's brother had even been behind one of Gai's most frightening rescues of an incapacitated comrade. If he never saw someone slip under the water like that again it would be too soon.

Gai knew he was close to where Sasuke patrolled. He moved with skilled silence through the streets, appearing casual and relaxed should anyone spot him while he searched. Hearing the sound of a rock skittering across pavement, Gai turned. Someone was over there. If it wasn't Sasuke he'd say hello, but otherwise... There. The stalking had paid off. Well, it probably had. Sasuke was facing him, and in a few moments Gai would know if Sasuke was going to stay or if he was going to bolt. He hoped for the former.

"Hello, Sasuke. How is this day treating you?" Gai was smiling, but it wasn't what some might deem a frightning one, and his voice wasn't quite as loud as it often was. "It is good to see you again!"

[hatedriven]

Despite his relatively slow pace, Sasuke stopped so abrutply that it could have given someone whiplash. When this man had made mention of speaking with him, he hadn't expected it to be quite so soon. Briefly, dark eyes narrowed, bearing defensively down on the taller shinobi. Maybe it wasn't coincidence at all, which was both frustrating and confusing. This guy, like so many others, hadn't given him a sideways glance when it mattered. And now, not only had he been called out, he'd been found, and not with the intent that they'd all possessed upon first arriving.

He had every intention of turning heel and walking away, feeling his heartrate kick up in his chest. Sasuke had a feeling he knew what this conversation would entail, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face it or not. Not for the first time in the last five days, however, his body refused to obey and he remained rooted to the spot.

"Fine," He grunted, choosing neither to return the greeting or the niceties.

[spandexisyouth]

When it had mattered back home, Gai hadn't known. After all, he'd had his own team and thought that Kakashi would slowly warm up to his students and perhaps all of them would heal a bit together. By the time Gai realized he was wrong on that hope, it had been too late. Sasuke was gone, taken by Orochimaru, wanting to be there.

Gai saw the narrowed eyes and knew that Sasuke wasn't happy. It didn't change Gai's intent. How many times had Neji been unhappy with Gai? Steady, determined work had paid off there, and now Gai couldn't be more proud of the young man. He would work with the anger and the aloofness for neither were new and both were simply shields.

A hand on the now-still boy's shoulder would likely only get it shrugged off angrily, and the goal was not to simply anger the young man. In the course of conversation they might find something that could serve as a healthy target for that emotion. If so, they would focus it that way. But not yet. So Gai simply walked over to Sasuke and stood near him, but not too close. There was a familiarity to dealing with this brusqueness that still didn't fully serve Gai. Kakashi was not Neji was not Sasuke. And none of them were Karkat, or Rokudo, or any of the myriad of others Gai was trying to help here.

"Fine. That does not sound very convincing. I would like to join you for a time, and make sure of that, please." He had to ask, at this point. Sure, Sasuke must know that saying no would mean Gai simply showed up again later and so it was an effort in futility, but there had to at least be the impression of a choice. Gai was inevitable.

"We could simply walk, or I could take you out for a meal. It is up to you." They could even balance on their heads. Gai had a feeling Sasuke wouldn't suggest that option, though.

[hatedriven]

It sounded like a question, but Sasuke had the suspicion it really wasn't. That, and should he turn the man down, the persistent ass would just show up again later. It came down to whether Sasuke truly wanted to drag the inevitable out or get it over and done with. He'd become a proficient liar, maybe by the time this was over he'd be able to convince Gai he was well enough not to be tailed constantly.

Maybe he was just confused and intimidated by this sudden show of interest. Particularly in light of everything he now knew.

He takes a breath, and closes his eyes, as much to centre himself as to look utterly uninterested in the other shinobi's proposal. "Tch," Was his final answer, neither acquiescing or denying his company as he stepped forward and continued walking. Sasuke hadn't outright said no, which he figured, fuzzy eyebrows here would take as some kind of permission to join him.

[spandexisyouth]

Clearly Sasuke was beginning to catch on. Telling Gai to go away really was just postponing things. Cheerfully Gai fell in next to Sasuke. That noise was this boy's 'whatever,' and Gai needed to take it with more grace than he took other replies.

He let a few steps go in silence, but Gai wasn't good at quiet things. Sure, if a mission required it he could pull it off, but this was a bit different. "I am here to find out how you are doing after things of late. There is no easy way of dealing with bringing home a comrade that may be dying, and from what I know, this may have been among the first few times you have done so." Or the first, really, Gai would guess, but he didn't want to sell Sasuke short just in case. Sure, he'd heard how easily Karin had been discarded. He knew the bonds back home weren't all that strong with Team Seven. But there could have been things he'd missed, and things that happened here before he arrived.

There was a faint smile in Gai's eyes as he reflected for a moment. "And it does not get easier, even after you have done it many times. I do not think there is any getting used to it." In other words, it was no weakness to feel and care. If anything, Gai counted it as a strength when one could be attached to someone else like that.

[hatedriven]

Gai opens his mouth, and immediately Sasuke's hand snaps into a fist; tightly clenched near his hip. He didn't want to talk about this. He didn't want to hear this shinobi's high and mighty I've been where you are speech. Maybe he hadn't faced war as they had in Konoha, but he'd limped back to Death City a handful of times with others weapons and meisters to understand how brutal it was. He remembered carrying Naruto out of the base with jarring clarity.

Sasuke takes a quiet, calming breath through his nose and stays very quiet. It's less a desire to hear Gai out, however, and more a hope that maybe once he says what he's come to say he'll leave him alone. He still didn't think this guy could understand; what it had been like, that it had been his damn fault, that it was so uncannily like his memory, his conflict over it all. He had no doubt that sure, other shinobi had lost things, particularly in the war; but Sasuke's pain was his own, he was convinced nobody could hurt like he did, or with the same sense of betrayal and need to achieve.

[spandexisyouth]

Gai sighs at the fisted hand. He doesn't know what to say. Arrogance and pride were two of the hardest things to deal with, and he knows this because he has pride in spades. But when combined with entitlement and rage... You don't know me. It was all in that one sentence. So many thought they hurt more than others, had dealt with more than others, were in some way more unique and special. The thing was that everyone was unique and special.

"I am not going anywhere," Gai finally says. "As long as we are both in this city I will not go away. You will have to deal with my presence often. You can be proactive and speak, and we will get to know each other more, or you can be passive and stew." Sulk. But Gai wasn't going to say that, no matter how much he was thinking it. "I have outstubborned your sensei. I have outstubborned Neji. I have nothing against a new challenge of stubbornness, because I embrace them avidly. And."

Gai steps in front of Sasuke for just a moment, looking the boy in the eyes. "And I have already determined that as here is not there, I will take a different tack. I will seek you out. I will find you. I will speak with you. And I will be there for you. You cannot get rid of me. You may try if you wish. Insult me. I have heard worse. Attack me. My years of physical fitness will prove useful. Ignore me. I will follow you around. It will be easier for both of us if you speak, but if you do not..." Gai shrugs and goes back to Sasuke's side. "As I have said, I enjoy challenges."

[hatedriven]

He draws to an abrupt halt when Gai moves before him, forced to stop to prevent the collision the gesture would have ended in. He meets Gai's eyes without flinching, and listens because he has no way to avoid the conversation. But when Gai returns to his side, with the intention to keep walking, Sasuke doesn't move. It forces the older nin a few steps passed him, creating a distance Sasuke is far too familiar with, but his gaze is now unwavering.

"Following me around isn't going to make me like you," He finally says at length. Gai could tail him around all he liked, but Sasuke wasn't Kakashi or Neji and he had zero intention of disclosing anything about his personal life to this guy. And if he was going to be honest, he still didn't think he trusted any of them. Somehow, he didn't doubt that one wrong move would turn them all on him again. They knew what he was like back in their world, and Sasuke didn't see a reason to put any effort into explaining what he'd gone through here. What had changed. He had no intention of going back to Konoha, and though Naruto may understand it, at least partially now, he didn't expect these people to get it. Eve if he did explain it.

[spandexisyouth]

Gai waits for Sasuke to continue again and shrugs. "My goal is not to force you to like me. I do not care what your opinion of me is at the end of the day. I am myself and that is what matters to me." Gai still plans on getting through to Sasuke, no matter what it takes. Well. Not no matter. There are things that Gai will not sacrifice for a stubborn child if Sasuke insists on being so. But he's not going away easily, and if Sasuke continues to resist he'll just get a whole lot of Gai presence.

The reply had been interesting, though. Did Sasuke think Gai was doing this due to a shortage of friends? He has lots. While Gai will not turn down another, that's not what this was about. "This is not for me. This is for you." There's a pause as Gai reconsiders that statement. "Actually, this is partly for me as well. I was busy with my own team and thus have no real obligation to you or your training, but as there is a chance to actually be involved and do things in a better way now, I am taking it. I will not make the mistake that others did before."

[[ooc: Also, I think Gai was invited for the Christmas dinner?]]

[hatedriven]

His gaze narrows, just fractionally. Yes if nothing else this guy was totally comfortable in who he was, there was no other explanation for the way he behaved or what he wore.

"Kakashi spoke to me before I left the village, and it made no difference," He wasn't sure why he was telling him this, something he hadn't told anyone. Nor was he sure why he was even continuing this train of conversation, this argument. If Sasuke were more self aware, he might recognize it as a defense tactic. Push them as hard as he could, because they'll stop eventually, and it kept his own broken heart safe. The fact that now, in retrospect, he could see how he'd dug his own grave, and that he was terrified of what he could become, wasn't something he was going to cop to.

"You're setting yourself up for disappointment," He finally said, tasting the bitter tang of how big a lie it was on his own tongue as he brushed passed the ninja.

[spandexisyouth]

"I think we both know that while Kakashi has many good qualities, speaking is not his strong point. Reaching out to someone is difficult for him." Gai looks over at Sasuke. "And, I believe, for you." He holds up a hand to forestall any repeat of a comment he'd already heard. "I know. I do not know you well at all. But it does not take a genius to see a pattern when they know a few people who do not reach out easily."

Gai shrugs as he resumes walking beside Sasuke, not letting him get very far away at all. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. I choose to have hope that I am not. After all, you did not tell me to go away, and that in itself is a small opening." Not much of one, but Gai would take what he could get. Even a teensy step forward was huge, when it came to Sasuke.

[hatedriven]

"Tch," He closes his eyes with the scoff, but doesn't turn to acknowledge Gai, or that his statements were mostly correct. The only reason he hadn't told the guy to go away was because he would follow him anyway, and the quickest way to deal with annoying people was either to scare them off or ignore them. Of course, neither had really worked with Naruto; but Naruto had always been a class of his own.

Sasuke scowls impressively, but makes no effort to explain what it's about.

[spandexisyouth]

A lack of outburst or protest is another victory. Gai has no doubts that if Sasuke feels his statements are wrong he will get an earfull. On the other hand, a lack of reply also makes conversation hard, and Sasuke isn't even using the 'whatever' that sometimes Gai can turn around to his own benefit. Oh well. Gai will simply go forward. It's what he does, after all.

"So how are you recovering after Europe?" The question hadn't been answered earlier, and still might not get answered, but it's the biggest question on Gai's mind. It may be possible that Sasuke's on the brink of something, growing or changing or anything, and Gai wants to encourage that, wants to fan what might be a small spark into a full flame.

[hatedriven]

This time, he does shoot an annoyed sideways glance at the man. "I wasn't injured," He responds tightly. "So I'm fine."

Save the fact that he was fairly certain there was something really fucked up with his resonation. He'd never felt a failure like that, and he'd felt a few of them before. It had felt like something had given out, fractured, and even now he could feel an upset like an imbalance in chakra. But no amount of meditation had been able to fix it.

[spandexisyouth]

"Physically that is correct. I did not see any wounds on you when I looked." His expression is calm, unruffled. "I was not speaking of the physical, though. And I believe you know that, and I believe you may not be entirely fine."

It's mostly conjecture, and all from Sasuke's shock at the scene. He might be wrong. "I am here to help. And I am here to help because I wish to be, not because I am required to or because I feel pity or anything along those lines."

[hatedriven]

"I'm not having this conversation with you," Sasuke said without looking at the older nin, attempting a different tactic. The guy had repeated himself a few times now, likely to get his point home, but Sasuke was only getting annoyed. If he wanted to hang around, that was fine, but he wasn't going to talk about his feelings with someone he hardly knew.

"He was injured, we retreated," The fact that Sasuke almost lost his mind with fear of losing someone important to him went unsaid, if not only because he was almost embarrassed to admit to it. Instead, he spoke almost clinically. "You said it yourself. This isn't the first time or the last time it's going to happen."