1st fan

[fantheflame]

[Action: Awakening ((Closed))]

[Sasuke is not enjoying getting used to being unsure of things. But he is - unsure - and finds that while the things he is unsure of are troubling, the state of unsurety isn't as terrifying as it used to be.]

[Right now, there are two very important things he's unsure of: whether he's alive or dead, and, if the second, whether this is heaven or hell.]

[The last thing he remembers? His deranged excuse for a... cousin of sorts? Taking on the ten-tails as its container. And now he's here - wherever here is - standing in a stranger's bedroom, holding a photograph of his brother with (presumably) that stranger. He awoke nearly naked with a pair of wings sprouted from his own back, and now he's somewhere with evidence of one of the dead. What else could have happened?]

We lost, huh...?

[Something like guilt makes a feeble case for life in his chest, but it's hard to feel guilty when you don't remember an ending. Instead he's just... staring at this photograph. One thumb swipes idly across the cool glass, over Itachi's face, half-expecting it to vanish once obstructed. It doesn't.]

[He's not sure whether to feel a sense of final relief - he's here, and, it seems, so is Itachi - or sick doom - who the hell is this complete stranger who's gotten to share in his brother's... something. Not life, maybe, but...]

[The Itachi in the picture is almost smiling, and his eyes look more alive than Sasuke remembers since they were very small.]


[Action: Examination ((Sometime Later; Open))]

[Sasuke is - a little bit of everywhere. He doesn't exactly believe... most of this. Half thinks this is some sadistic side-plot in Obito's (Madara's?) ridiculous Moon's Eye genjutsu (keeps having to remind himself he wouldn't know that exists if that were the case). So he's exploring - barracks, apartments, the shrine, the forest - here one moment, maybe lingering to examine (Sharingan blazing red the entire time) - and then gone in a flicker, off to the next place. He's not taking particular care to remain hidden (really, he doesn't care who sees him in what may be a fake or an illusion or a dream), but he's not being loud about his presence either.]


[Follow-Up Action: Drained ((Closed to Sakura))]

[One thing Sasuke should maybe have done was paid attention to the tidbits he's heard about halved powers, weakened chakra, difficulty... being, as a shinobi.]

[Because now, feeling more physically real than he has the entire time he's been here - how could he be this bone-tired in a dream? - he's slumped on hands and knees on the riverbank just to the north of town, eyes fading back and forth between blazing red and dim grey-black, breath harsh in and out of his lungs. How did he run so quickly out of chakra? How did Sharingan run him so quickly out of chakra?]

[His eyes fade back to dull black and stay there at last, and he lifts a hand to brush sweaty bangs out of his eyes, feeling at once overheated and clammy. Maybe he's had his question answered, finally, and this is hell.]


[Voice: Greeting ((Sometime Later; Open))]

--believe this thing - hm.

[It's a voice some will recognize.]

If paper can really record - whatever. I'm told I've been here before. I don't think I believe that. I certainly don't remember it.

Some of you know me. That's fine. Some of you would rather you didn't, and that's fine too.

I don't know what you know and I don't know what kind of bullshit this jutsu or hell or whatever it is is pulling, and I don't entirely care.

You should know I'm no longer an enemy of Konoha.

Believe me or don't, but I don't intend to fight you.

[There's a shift, and a few long seconds of tape-recorder not-quite-silence, followed by a muffled shuffle of movement over paper before the recording ends.]

Comments

[fantheflame]

The First Hokage, Naruto.

[Now Sasuke has an even better idea of when Naruto is from. Even if "when someone is from" still seems bizarre as hell.]

If you keep asking me ten questions at once I'm not going to answer any of them.

[A beat.]

I'm not going to talk about any of it to you through this thing where anyone can find it later. I'll talk to you about it later.

[believeit]

The First Hokage? What? That guy's been dead for ages!

[What is even going on out there, first Sasuke's back, and now a dead Hokage too?]

[At least he accepts that it would be better not to talk about these things over the stupid magical book thing.]

What time later? You wanna come to my house?

["Talk to you about it later" mean in like... five minutes two minutes half an hour, right?]

[fantheflame]

And Madara's a spring chicken.

[More deadpan.]

I don't know, Naruto. Later. I'm busy right now.

["Busy" here meaning "trying not to pass out on a cot in the clinic," but who's counting?]

[believeit]

Yeah but he's different, 'cause he was back with that Edo-tensai thing.

[There's a pause for five seconds or so, almost enough to believe that hey he's actually using his brain to think things through, but nope.]

Busy doing what? You just got here.

[fantheflame]

You're still an idiot.

[Seriously, how is this even hard?]

Tensei. Tensei. I'll explain the rest later, dammit dobe, just leave me alone.

[believeit]

Shut up.

[Sorry he doesn't automatically assume people are zombies okay??]

Yeah-- that's what I said. [Tensai, tensei, same difference.] And you keep saying later, but that doesn't say when!

[fantheflame]

[Well if one dead person shows up and your teammate from the future tells you there are more dead people-!]

I'll decide when later is when I feel like it's later.

[That's. Probably also going to go over the blond's damn head, isn't it?]

[believeit]

[Yes. In fact he's just going to... try and find out where he is.]

Where are you, anyway. In town already?

[fantheflame]

You've already asked me this question.

[And he didn't answer then. Have some more deadpan.]

[believeit]

Yeah, and you didn't answer so I'm asking it again.

[If you think he won't ask another fifty times, or ask everyone he knows (or those he doesn't know) if they've seen you... then you're wrong.]

[fantheflame]

I'm not gonna answer you just because you keep prodding. Annoying... You have no concept of privacy.

[believeit]

It's important, of course I'm gnna keep asking. [GOD YOU ARE SO ANNOYING. That never changed.] Why can't you just tell me where you are?

[fantheflame]

Because I don't want to see you right now, get that through your thick skull!

[believeit]

Why not??

[You said you weren't an enemy anymore so WHY NOT.]

[fantheflame]

Because I don't want to see anyone right now, dobe! Fuck, let me choose when I do and don't want to be alone.

[believeit]

Argh, why have you gotta be so difficult, teme! [He can't help but fall back into the old insults. Odd, that someone can be so happy yet completely frustrated at the same time.]

Fine! But you're coming over later! [That's not even a choice, stupid Sasuke, you're doing it.]

[fantheflame]

I'm not the one being difficult, usuratonkachi. [Speaking of easily falling into old insults, y'know.]

Whatever. Just later, not now.

[believeit]

[SASUKE. JUST...]

You're gonna come to my house, after dinner, else I'm gonna come find ya.

[fantheflame]

No. I'll see you tomorrow.

[It's going to take Sasuke well past dinner to recover all the chakra he's spent as fast as he's spent it.]

[believeit]

[Tomorrow..

There's a loud, long sigh. Naruto is being impatient and tomorrow is not soon enough, but he knows he doesn't really have much of a choice save for searching the entire village for Sasuke. Which, he decides, he will do if he doesn't show tomorrow.]

..In the morning?

[fantheflame]

Fuck.

[Holy shit Naruto you are too annoying for words.]

Noon. Gods. No earlier.

[believeit]

Fine, noon then. You'd better not be late! [Holy shit Sasuke you are too annoying for words.]

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE also [action]

[fantheflame]

[Noon the next day sees a very annoyed (and still sort of sore) Sasuke approaching the door of Naruto's house, all his senses on alert for traps or wayward blond morons hanging out of windows with buckets of water or any other random bullshit that might be waiting for him. Like being greeted at the door won't be bad enough.]

[But after a moment making a most unpleasant face, he sighs a low ugh to himself and knocks on the door. This is going to be stupid.]

GOOD I wondered if you would also [action]

[believeit]

[It's a good job that he's on guard then because instead of the door, it's the window above that instantly opens. No throwing water out of it though, it's open just long enough for Naruto to lean out and see that it's Sasuke before it gets slammed shut again, and the usual 'thump thump thump' is heard as he leaps down the stairs.]

[He may or may not have spent the past hour waiting for Sasuke to show up. Or three hours. But the fact that he actually has, well that in itself makes him happy. Aaaand there goes the door, swinging open.]

Sasuke! You actually came. Hey.

[action forever]

[fantheflame]

[Oh for fuck's sake this is going to be a mistake. Naruto is as noisy as ever, and Sasuke doesn't really expect that to change.]

[He's at least not still making that face when the door opens, but he's sure as hell on edge.]

You'd have hunted me down with Kakashi's dogs if I didn't.

[At least this way he gets a choice, sort of.]