Chapter 9
Sasuke had to stop himself from wrinkling his nose at the ruins in front of him. His mom and dad were so proud of this place, so Sasuke could at least act as excited as they were. Normal civilians would have needed a couple of days to recover but the Uchiha clan were never born normal civilians. “Alright everyone,’ Fugaku started giving instructions. “Fan out and clear as much rubble as possible. See if any of the houses are usable and if we can get running water and electricity here.” He was pointing at people and talking so quickly that Sasuke could barely keep up.
“Kids!” The youth perked up at being addressed. Fugaku smiled as he looked at the future of his clan. Pointing to the younger kids, “start helping clear the rubble in this area.” He directed them to a place that could have been the village center at one point. To the older kids, he directed them to help with clearing a few of the nearby caves and collecting firewood from the surrounding wooded area.
It was hard work to clear out the rubble. Sasuke didn’t complain and made sure everyone stayed hydrated. He told the others to start putting the larger stones that could be used for building in a pile and started stacking the smaller stones in the center of the clearing. “For a fire pit,” he explained. He knew how to do it by now. His mother had been showing him what to do for the last couple of weeks.
The younger kids had trouble staying focused though and played just as often as they worked. Sasuke figured whining wouldn’t do them any good and since some of the adults were taking turns supervising them, a little play was alright. By the time part of the clan went out to hunt some food, Sasuke was sweaty and smells gross. Mikoto called them to a halt when the adults went hunting and gathered them around the fire pit the younger child made and the older children put wood in and lit it with a fire jutsu.
It was nice to feel everyone’s chakra singing. The entire clan, even the kids, were told to suppress their chakra while they traveled. Now it was like the air was simmering with all the released chakra. Fire chakra always tends to breathe life in the area around it. That was one reason the redwoods surrounding Konoha were always so large and the ground and animals were plentiful and fertile.
Sasuke could already feel the earth being affected. Even if the ground couldn’t grow the crops they needed now, in the years to come it would. The release of chakra would reshape the world around where they live. Sasuke remembered it from his history lesson with his mother. Mikoto wasn’t able to give much of a lesson around their fire pit tonight though. Everyone was tired and covered in dirt and grime. The surrounding area was already starting to look cleared out but everyone knew there would be more work ahead of them and not much time to prepare.
“Great job, today,” Mikoto praised all the children. So young and already having to do so much more than their age required. “You all did so good clearing this area for us to sleep in.” She gestured around the fire. Some of the children were already starting to doze and the adults that needed to were taking a break around the fire. Technically with their fire nature, they didn’t need a fire to keep warm. They did need it to cook though and the comfort it brought was priceless. Sasuke was half asleep as he went to the nearby lake he swore wasn’t there when they first came in.
Sometimes people were born in the clan with different kinds of chakra or they would get adopted. Uchiha loved so strongly, having a couple of water users in the midst of the fire was not that unusual. It also came in handy, Sasuke thought mildly as his body washed itself on autopilot. He didn’t remember eating but he did remember Naruto putting a plate in front of him. He felt bad for not setting things up for the kids like he normally did but that was okay. Naruto seemed to have it covered.
The next thing he was aware of was the warm sun shining down on his face. He fell asleep around the fire. He waited a few minutes to see if he wanted to get up before deciding he had to pee. Raising to the sitting position, he absently noticed he missed a spot on his arm cleaning yesterday. He rubbed it off as he looked around. Shisui looked at him from his position near the edge of the sleeping pile. Bodies surrounded him on all sides and Naruto was still slung over his legs.
He carefully untangled the blond and made his was out of the sleeping maze. Lacking anything else to do, he made his way over to his cousin. Looking at his face, Sasuke could tell he was feeling better than he was a few weeks ago. Most of his family had already recovered from their wounds. He looked around to see if Itachi was around, he usually was.
Reading his mind, Shisui said, “he’s off checking around the village, but he’ll be back soon.” Content with that answer, Sasuke climbed up on a rock and kicked his feet. After he was sure he wouldn’t fall, he looked up at the sunrise with Shisui. They stayed like that for a while before Shisui asked a weird question. “Are you happy?” It was so sudden that Sasuke jumped and slid a little from his perch.
He looked at Shisui and couldn’t understand why he looked so serious, or was it confused? “What do you mean?” Sasuke asked in case it was a trick question. Sometimes the adults liked to give him riddles and he thought this might be one of them.
“It’s not a riddle, silly,” Shisui sounded like his normal teasing self but his eyes still looked odd. Sasuke couldn’t figure out why. “Are you happy leaving Konoha? Didn’t you leave your friends behind?” Sasuke wanted to answer right away but he thought that might upset Shisui so he thought about it for a few minutes.
By the time he thought of an answer for the older boy. Shisui was beginning to look sad. “Why would I be upset?” He settled on. “I get to spend more time with mom, dad, and Itachi. Mom is teaching me a bunch of things and I’m not stuck inside with someone telling me stuff I already know.” His parents told him over and over how important school was but it was hard to remember why when he was stuck listening to someone rant about how evil people outside the village were.
“Also, I got to see lots of places and I know how to start a campfire.” His words became more excited. “Naruto got to come too, so I have someone my own age to play with. The kids at the academy never played with me.” They were too busy stalking him or being mad at him. “So of course, I'm happy now.”
It must have been a good answer because Shisui’s shoulders relaxed. “If you think the fire pits are so cool, watch this.” Sasuke took that as his cue to watch his cousin. Usually when Shisui said that, it meant he was going to show him something really awesome. Sometimes his mom didn’t approve of it like when Sasuke fell learning a shuriken technique but it was always fun.
“Come closer,” Shisui urged and Sasuke scooted closer to see the older boy cup his mouth. He made a few easy hand signs and his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel. Sasuke giggled as Shisui went cross eyed before blowing smoke right in Sasuke’s face. It startled the boy so much, he fell off his rock. He watched thick smoke cover the top part of both rocks and settle for a few moments. It didn’t take long for the smoke to clear but it looked so cool to the young child.
“Wow,” he gushed as Shisui puffed out his chest. “Do it again!” Sasuke demanded. It didn’t take long for Shisui to start making shapes out of the smoke it was making. Sasuke tried the jutsu a few times but all that came out was a little puff of smoke.
“You have to do it like this,” Shisui was instructing when Itachi found them. Both of them were standing on the ground now and Shisui was trying to explain how to get more smoke.
“You look busy,” Itachi interrupted and accepted the tackle hug from his younger brother. It only took a few puppy dog eyes for him to join in on the fun. A quick peek across towards the center of the sleeping pile told him more people were beginning to wake up and prepare breakfast. Eventually he relented and the three of them spent a couple hours doing smoke screens and talking about the perfect shapes. Sasuke wanted them to make a dragon but both swore it wouldn’t be practical.
Eventually Itachi gave it a try and was able to make a crude snake looking shape that gave him the creeps but delighted Sasuke. He was having more fun than he had had in years playing like a fool with his kin. Sasuke was also having the time of his life right now. Lately, it seemed like Itachi and Shisui were avoiding him and never wanted to play but now, they were showing him things just like they used to.
He almost didn’t notice when in the middle of a smoke ring. Both Itachi and Shisui bolted upright. They both began looking at the front of the work in progress village. Looking around, Sasuke noticed others start to look that way. Mikoto was pale as she ran over to the three boys and ushered them back to the center. She frantically looked around for a bit before she grabbed a stone and performed a jutsu. The stone began to glow a white color that was hard to see in the sunlight.
“Listen Sasuke,” She spoke urgently. “Take this and lead the others into the caves behind us.” She pointed to the cave that the clan began clearing yesterday but didn’t explore deeping. “ Take everyone as far in as you can and hide in the tunnel. If this stone turns blue, you can come out. If it turns red, Wait until nightfall and then run away.” More adults started going towards the front.
He was frightened but managed to ask, “What about you?”
She failed to smile before answering. “Some people are coming that we need to talk to. If it turns red, just go and I’ll catch up later.” She looked like she did when she ate the last cookie and told Itachi that it was probably Fugaku. He knew she was lying and his legs began to shake. He could feel the tears starting to well up in his eyes. Naruto grabbed his arm and he felt like it would bruise later but didn’t care right now.
Before he could start crying, Mikoto did something she had never done before. She grabbed his shoulder and shook Sasuke hard. “Look at me!” She demanded before she glanced to the front. She looked guilty and rubbed his cheek, like when he had a bad dream. “Just go in the tunnel and I’ll find you later. Okay.” She was trying to sound soothing but Sasuke understood more than he should.
Something was wrong and they were all in danger. He looked around him at the other kids. There weren't many Uchiha children. If he counted the civilian children as well. There were about 20 total. They all looked like he felt. Like they would break down and cry at any minute. He looked at his mom. Determined and holding the stone. Then he looked at his dad and brother. They didn’t look back at him. Only towards where the danger was coming from.
He reached out and grabbed the stone. “Yes, ma’am.” He tried to sound confident as he turned to the others. “Follow me.” He thought quickly. “They want us to clear out one of the tunnels in the back today.” The lie was easy for the older kids to catch but the younger ones relaxed and the group followed him. He could barely see the mouth of the cave when he felt the first foreign chakra reach the camp. He just turned his eyes forward and looked for a place to hide.