Chapter 2
Sasuke Uchiha
No one can deny its dreariness. The building towered over its subjects, swallowing them in its oppressing shadow that reached farther than the eye could see. Its subjects matching the building in its dreadfulness with their conformity to the system of education that constantly barrages its students with meaningless tasks in hopes of one day turning them into a computer that operates at society’s bidding: lacking originality and personal thought.
This wasn’t Sasuke’s first time attending Sarutobi High. He had attended the summer program that the school gave to incoming freshmen. The program was fine; the main goal was to find an activity that was related to your quirk and train in it. Sasuke chose hiking but he would usually sneak away deep in the forest when it was his group’s turn to go hiking on a nearby trail.
He met the Taka gang like that. All of them were also in hiking, and when they saw him sneak off, they decided to go join him.
For Sasuke, they were the best thing about summer.
Lucky for the boy, they were also attending Sarutobi High with him. Sasuke could never bear attending school and had a habit of sneaking away from class.
Now, he could sneak off with other people.
Sasuke sat down on a bench that was placed across The Pond. The Pond sat in the center of the school’s lawn and was always populated with people.
It was always fun watching these children interact. It was like watching dumb animals run and bark at each other. The animals putting so much value in something like popularity and social acceptability when in the end it didn’t matter. Death comes for us all.
Sasuke knew this firsthand
As he sat, observing the specimen, Suigetsu approached Sasuke stealthily, possibly trying to surprise him. Sasuke turned around before Suigetsu had the drop on him.
“Nice try” Sasuke said in monotone.
“Crap, I thought I could get you this time,” Suigetsu sighed. “Do you really leave your quirk on all the time?”
“I can’t let anyone catch me off guard,” Sasuke said sternly.
“Still though. That’s too much energy. If I left my quirk on all the time, I’d always be tired and dreeary…annnd dreaaaadfuuulll,” Suigetsu slowly started morphing into liquid.
“Stop,” Sasuke said sternly. He tried looking at him angrily but couldn’t help but find it a little funny. A smile passed through his angry face.
Suigetsu morphed back to normal. “So where’s Karin and Jugo?”
“I don’t know about Jugo but right now, Karin is talking to her classmates. She has a different homeroom than us.”
“She does?! Why didn’t she tell me this!”
“She did but we were high when she told us.”
Suigetsu’s face was filled with confusion. “When was this?”
“I think a couple days ago. I know it was recent cause I remember you giving me your lighter that day.”
“We didn’t get high recently,” Suigetsu started scratching his head, trying to think. “Last time we smoked was at Jugo’s birthday party.”
“Yeah, that was last week.”
“Ohhhh.”
Suigetsu sat down next to Sasuke and joined him in his observation. It didn’t last long for the observing was interrupted by loud laughter that erupted from behind them. Suigetsu turned around. He started laughing.
Suigetsu started nudging him on his arm. “You’re seeing this, Sasuke?”
“Yeah,” he said in monotone.
There was a crowd of people surrounding two people.
Both girls.
One of them was red hot, angry about something.
The other had their head in the concrete.
Sasuke watched them, bored.
Afterwards, Sasuke went to class, and he attended the boring, meaningless classes, all the while yearning to be in a different place. Anywhere but where he was. The classes bled into the next as he looked outside, viewing of The Pond, and watching the little fishes swim at peace, away from the humans that obstructed that peace. Away from the society that humans have created. There was no meaning to their swimming and yet, they swam, at peace.
One fish caught his eye. The fish was completely alone from the rest, swimming around in its own corner of The Pond. It looked to not mind being alone at first until eventually, it stopped its swimming. The fish seemed to be looking around for a second, like it realized how truly alone it was and hadn't really comprehended before. The fish then swam to the other side of The Pond to join the others in their meaningless swimming.
"Sasuke," Jugo said, pulling Sasuke out of his trance. "Suigetsu told me to tell you that we're going to the roof before lunch if you want to join. We plan on skipping the class after this one."
Sasuke turned off his perception quirk to stop examining the fish in the pond. "Yeah, sure," he said dully.
*********
“You got any on you,” Suigetsu asked.
“No, I didn’t bring any with me,” Sasuke replied.
“What about you, Jugo?”
Jugo ignored him. He was invested in writing in his notebook.
“Why did we sneak onto the roof if we’re not even going to smoke anything?”
“Why do you always want to smoke something, Suigetsu,” Sasuke said annoyed. “I just want to have a chill vibe without smoking.”
“I jUst waNT To HavE a CHiLl vIbE,” Suigetsu mocked.
“Oh shut up.” Sasuke leaned back, putting his weight behind him, allowing his arms to support him up.
“The sun…Star…Night…Moon…” Jugo muttered to himself.
“Whatcha doin,” Suigestsu asked Jugo. He started to investigate the page.
“Well, I’m writing a poem. I’ve decided I want to get into poetry.”
“Oh cool, how much do you have written?”
“I have most of it finished. Just tweaking it a bit. I know it has to be about the beauty of nature. The spiritual energy that nature possess is fascinating. Why is that we come to nature to become relaxed, and never indoors? Why do stressed people always need air, and come outside to get it? It is because nature is expansive. So big, urging us to be free from our cramped, indoor lives, and explore with our minds and souls, allowing us to forget anything that’s been bothering us.”
Sasuke used his perception to see how much was written on the page.
The page was blank. As expected.
Suigetsu looked tired. “I asked how much was written, not for you to go on a tangent about the entire thing.”
Jugo looked at him with contempt. “Well, now you don’t have to ask any more questions.” He then turned back to his notebook.
Suigetsu turned back to the view of the town.
The three of them sat in silence for a while.
It was peaceful.
It reminded Sasuke of his primitive years.
When he was younger, he went on a trip with his uncle, Madara.
Madara took him and Itachi on a camping trip deep in some forest that was an hour away from the Konhagakure capital.
Sasuke remembered how uninterested Madara was during the entire trip. It didn’t seem like he wanted to be there with the two. He remembered how Tobi was nearby, constantly watching over them, and being bothered by that.
He remembered that same cold gaze Itachi always had when he was with Madara. How Itachi would always try to be insubordinate to Madara.
Madara would try sometimes to make Itachi subservient by bringing Tobi over to remind Itachi that Madara was president of the Konhagakure. That Itachi had no power.
He remembered the quiet beatings Tobi gave Itachi in the woods. The seventeen-year-old man would never scream when Tobi beat him so all you could hear was the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. He would return, without a scratch on his face. It was as if nothing happened.
Madara always made sure to tell Tobi to hit Itachi in the chest or leg area.
He didn’t want the public to know that the president was beating his nephew.
But even then, Itachi’s face never changed around Madara, never once adopting the warm face he always had when he was around Sasuke.
One day, Madara took them up to a cliff to look over the entire forest. The entire time up, Madara and Itachi argued, while Tobi followed closely
But then, they reached the top.
Suddenly, everything shut up. He couldn’t hear anything. Everything cleared his mind.
Tobi, Madara, Itachi, and Sasuke sat down and watched the entire forest for hours, not saying a word. They let the forest take over their minds.
He remembered just watching. Not thinking, not worrying, not being afraid.
Just. Watching.
*************
The bell rung. Jugo tapped Suigetsu on his shoulder, trying to wake him.
“Huh?” Drool dripped down Suigetsu’s chin. “Oh…”
He got up and followed Jugo towards the door. Sasuke didn’t move.
“You not coming lunch,” Suigetsu asked.
“Huh? Oh. No, I brought my own. I think I’m going to eat up here.” He never once turned away from the view. He was completely immersed in it.
“Ok then we’ll get our lunch and sneak back up here. We'll be right back, after a short break,” Suigetsu said as he disappeared down the stairs that lead to the roof.
"What? Was that supposed to be some kind of joke," Jugo said as he followed Suigetsu. The two of them began to bicker between each other as they went down the stairs.
Sasuke didn’t care if they came back or not. He was too distracted by the view.
He continued to stare, to unbothered to even touch his food.
Then, the roof door opened. Sasuke turned around. Suigetsu and Jugo came back fas-
A lady emerged from the door.
She was alone. In her left hand was a can of beer. In her right, a pack of cigs. She tapped the pack with her thumb and pulled a cigarette out with her teeth.
The woman sat down on one of the ac units, placed the pack and beer down, then lit the cigarette. Then, with her left hand, opened the beer and chugged some of it down.
She then stared into the view, allowing it to consume her as she smoked.
Sasuke watched in shock. He knew who this is.
It was Tsunadae. The head nurse.
Tsunadae was about to give the beer another chug when she noticed him. The fourteen year old boy watching her.
She sighed.
Placed down the beer.
Took another smoke from her cigarette.
Reached into her jacket’s inner pocket.
And pulled out a detention slip.
Sasuke didn’t even say a word.
DENTENTION REFERRAL
Name: Saske Uchiha
Grade: 9th
Quirk: Perception
Quirk Level:
Partial Normal X Higher Enhanced Super
Additional Quirks: (normaL elemental control over LightnIng
Reason for Detention:
Smoking on the roof. That's why it smelled like smokE
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Date of Incident:
18-20-08
Time of Incident:
12:15 pM
______________________________________________________________________________
Teacher: Kakashi Hatake
Time of Detention:
18-20-08 4:10 PM