Pretty sure that was our stop. We passed some food stalls, (says kakashi, pointing down the length of the train. it's hard to see anything outside the fast-moving vehicle's windows when the city blurs past, but they've got two pairs of eyes trained to see what an average pair couldn't.
to confirm his suspicion, he checks the map over sasuke's head with a sigh. that was it, alright. this is going to take some getting used to.)
Let's see... The next one should work. And the one after itāthere was something in the virtual tour about local "bodegas." (a grocery, small and family-owned. wouldn't that mean less selection?) Guess it all depends on whether you were serious or not about the outdoor market...
So we've missed it, in spite of your being in charge of navigation this time.
[ His usual kind of criticism, the kind that's delivered emotionlessly but is designed to cut deep. The kind that Kakashi is also immunized against.
Sharp eyes narrow in response to a flash of neon out the window, a searing glare that his sensitivities have yet to fully adjust to in spite of the time they've spent exposed to them. They peer out behind buildings both new and half-destroyed, a city pock-marked with scars and their own form of flashy gauze alike. Eclectic in a way that's familiar, advanced in a way he hates. ]
If I say it, I'm serious. They're the ones with the good reputation, not your "bodegas". [ Maybe if he repeats it it'll make him sound like he truly comprehends what it is. ]
Well, we can just double back; you've still got both legs. (signalling a stop with a press of a button, he looks at him.
all smoke and no fire. sasuke's judgements make it feel like a tuesday, enough that nostalgia grabs him like a snare. it's still hard to accept that years of unshared experiences separate them now, and more so that his focus here, working for LILITH, should be on something unrelated.
he wants to address it. talk about it more than they have. but they haven't eaten, a fact that's beginning to wear them down. first, a meal. after that... maybe after that.)
What's on the list, anyway? We agreed on eggplant. Fish, if it's fresh. Ahāa soup base?
Ah, both legs, both eyes. [ And they can both remain uncovered. He'd throw in an extra quip that even at his slowest he's faster than Kakashi's swiftest, but it's overstepping.
There's an ease that comes with the comments, but past a certain point the familiarity is still unearned. Time separates them, and that's a far easier gap to bridge than the shared knowledge of his actions would be, but still he fights to guard his emotions. ]
... rice is obvious. Vegetables, for pickling. I still have stock already. [ He leans back just enough to sight ahead, estimating how long it'll be before they hit the stop Kakashi has requested. He's right either way, he could use the exercise. ]
(the retort would've been enough for a humoured snort if he were in the mood. it falls flat, however, as most things have this past couple of weeks. neither of their hearts is in it.)
Hm? Oh, that old stuff. That'll stay good for a while, won't it? (filler, uncertain what to say. they've never been domestic. they spoke of daily duties and training, but it was all superficial, and he'd actively kept sasuke at arm's length. less so, perhaps, than naruto and sakura, but... enough. maybe that's why they feel like strangers now.) The fish is all yours, and picking the produce, too. It's not like I'm all that used to cooking.
(as soon as he was old enough to secure more missions and earn better pay, fresh food cooked in his father's home was exchanged for boxes of takeout in a small apartment.
an "ah" is uttered as the train begins to brakes along induction rails, and the hand above them that holds a stabilizing strap falls instead to the bar by sasuke's shoulder. before the double doors open, he speaks up, but not so loudly that the throng of passengers waiting around them can hear.) I'd advise against taking off the second we get off the train. We should keep a low profile until we know what's expected of us.
Edited (i'm just going to keep editing forever) 2023-11-26 02:06 (UTC)
[ Kakashi's question isn't answered, because Kakashi's question isn't meant to be answered.
The insults were easier than small talk. Small talk suits Kakashi poorly and suits him far worse even than that, and even with nine years between them instead of fourteen they don't fall into any kind of easy rapport.
It would be easier if they were in battle, he thinks, and eyes scan the train as if he might find one. He doesn't. ]
Even as a child I would only have needed to be told that once, [ comes the equally quiet reply, that ever-present reminder that he is not the same boy that Kakashi once knew, and perhaps more importantly that he might possibly resent the implication that he is. When the train comes to a complete halt he stands, hand limp at his side as if undirected without a weapon nearby, and he sees himself out into a bustling station that reeks of fried food and stale urine.
No logical distraction here appeals, and he turns to glance at Kakashi as he follows out after him. ]
Your eye. How is it? [ It's a sudden question with absolutely no preamble or context given, but that's to be expected of Sasuke. ]
(was sasuke ever a child? kakashi moves closely after him, refusing to let filing passengers wedge between them as they exit the train. it's his duty to keep his comrades' backs clear of danger, and he's taking it more seriously than he perhaps ever has.
out in the open, he doesn't relax. their eyes meet, and he tilts his head in the direction of the market.)
Good to know some things haven't changed; you're as demanding as ever.
(he knows better than to give sasuke the runaround he might've given him when he was twelve. old habits die hard, which makes it difficult for him to share his condition openly, but they have to work together to get home. this is the first form teamwork takes.) ... My eye is fine for the time being, but it'll become a real problem if I have to keep it open. The draināno, it's not worth mentioning. I'll adapt.
(he'll have to. closed as it is now, half of his implants are inactive. if it's disorienting walking around as a civilian, it'll be potentially debilitating in full-scale combat.)
It's awkward, huh? Like looking at the same thing from two different angles. (with the sharingan in one eye and whatever's manifested in his other, sasuke must be going through something similar.) Though your case is much different than mine.
[ Demanding? He considers the fact that he phrased it as a question to be a kindness, but he has to remember how he used to be. He was blunt with Kakashi, he knows that much, but he was never dismissive. Never callous. Never cruel. Not like he would be later in life.
Appropriately, on that subject, he chooses to bite his tongue. ]
It's worth mentioning if it hinders our goal. Don't hide it in that case. [ It's the sort of thing his teacher would've said to him once and now, leaving the platform for a littered sidewalk, he returns the favor. ]
And you're right. We're different.
I was born to see things the way that I do now, but you weren't. If there's any worry you're holding onto about my performance or how I'll be able to handle myself, you can forget it now.
I'm not hiding anything. It's a drain on my stamina, obviously, (kakashi patiently offers. sasuke seems more defensive now than he did as a boy, which comes as something of a surprise. maybe their disparate timelines are creating simple friction. they clearly don't understand one another.
that can't matter now. he has to focus up. the night is alive with street chatter, and civilians flick cigarettes that skitter over concrete in the direction they're walking.)
The sharingan is absorbing information from the interface faster than my normal eye. But if I keep one or the other closed, I only get half the story. Crossed wires, that's all.
... As for forgetting your performance, Sasuke, that's a tall order. One I can't fill right now, unfortunately. (it's the first time since their arrival that kakashi's sounded a bit smug.) Besides, I'm talking about your implants and any potential reactions they're having with your two totally different eyes.
[ The soft snort in response to Kakashi's quip is one he'd deny as it blends easily into the background noise of a city come alive, but they both know the truth. ]
You're misunderstanding. My eyes are different, but I don't struggle with that. They work in tandem, and the implants haven't changed that.
[ As for whether or not it's uncomfortable? Well, on that he doesn't want to comment, for the simple fact that it's a psychological blow more than anything else. These people had touched his eyes, tampered with them, and he'd been powerless to stop it. Of course it's fucking uncomfortable. ]
If there's no problem with your eyes, there's no problem with mine. So we focus on something which matters instead.
Have you heard anything about new arrivals? Particularly from our world.
(he raises his hands to surrender to sasuke, only now looking away from him.) Hey, hey... you were checking in on me. I'm only returning the favour. (it's phrased as though the questions were posed out of generosity. for sasuke, kakashi's confident that's the case.
there's no telegraphed worry, but there's a reason he's asking after his condition. necessity doesn't quite cut it, not when there are now years of training he hasn't witnessed sasuke complete. training kakashi knows has elevated sasuke far past his own level.)
I keep tabs on LILITH's inflow and outflow. As far as I can tell, it's only you and me for now. Hirings could be kept to a schedule to stagger orientation periods. Biweekly, monthly, bimonthly... It's impossible to tell at the moment.
(the couple of blocks they've counted since the station start to wind down into narrow, maze-like streets. together they walk in the shadows of tall apartment complexes whose patios are sewn together by hanging laundry. naturally gifted with direction, he's able to keep their heading, indicating an alley they can take that'll allow them to keep straight on course to the markets. those without homes make their livings here under the lids of dumpsters, tossing the roaches of their paper-rolled dope beneath a street-cleaning robot struggling by.
it reminds him of amegakure. wars at the border created similar conditions. the inner city became a hellhole. like this place, ame had its own kaiju, but in the shape of men.)
You'd think an advanced city with these kinds of resources would be capable of making weapons powerful enough to stop the kaiju attacks. Instead, it looks like they waste them on entertainment and... self-modification.
[ There's nearly a second snort but he doesn't allow himself it, one inspired by the word "hirings". It's euphemistic but to call this a kidnapping is something even he himself can't bring himself to do. They may have come here unwillingly, but the cause is one he can do little outside of support. What would he have done, in the position of LILITH's leaders? Would he have shown restraint? ]
I see. [ Only two words but they're not filler; he says them to acknowledge his teacher's effort. To acknowledge Kakashi in general. The best he can do is assume he's understood.
He weaves around a man mumbling to himself, dragging a cart behind him, and eyes stay fixated on the possible threat far longer than is needed while instincts keep him close to Kakashi. One of the two of them knows where they're going, and it isn't him. If his old squad leader is going to navigate, then it falls to him to at least pay extra attention to their surroundings. ]
Is Konoha different? [ The question, however, comes seemingly out of nowhere and breaches a topic they've both hardly touched. ] You're criticizing their priorities, but even if you don't personally understand them I wouldn't expect them to surprise you.
(if sasuke had sung his praises, he might've fainted. the curt acknowledgement is more than sufficient and picked up on easily as though kakashi was waiting for it.)
Sure, I think so. That this Earth had to steal another's weapons tells me it's different. Konoha breeds its own. (his gesturing hands lack gloves, unable to bring them along. spares weren't provided to him and buying another pair would've been a waste of kryptos.) Resources funnel into soldiers like you and me. I'm not seeing that here. Not really.
(out of the alley and away from the watched man with a cart, they enter another thoroughfare lined with bars. food and entertainment seem to be blocked into all of the same areasāhe was hoping they'd pass by the rowdier crowds without being noticed. several stares follow them as they thread deeper in.)
There's a military force, but it seems ineffective, (kakashi continues, tone unbothered.) With their technology, they could supplement with science if bodies don't work.
(discrepancies exist in how he speaks and acts. while he appears calm, his stride shortens just enough to walk shoulder to shoulder with sasuke. inwardly, he's expecting an incursion like his student. and they're both hyperaware of each other's readiness.)
So, yeah. Everything about this city is a surprise to me... but not to you, huh? You don't believe it's different?
[ A quiet easy agreement would be easier to deal with, and the elder Kakashi he's familiar with might've given him exactly that. Instead here he's challenged, around listening ears and prying eyes, and it irks him to be confronted with a need to keep expressing himself. Is he shy about his opinions? No, but neither does he want to open the door to questions on how those opinions were formed. ]
Konoha's ability to produce warriors was never up for debate. You and I are proof of that.
This place generates weapons. Konoha generates weapons. My point of contention was the misplaced priorities in both places. For you, it's the resources they use and where. For me... well, you and I aren't knives or guns. We're humans. Konoha's failure is its inability to recognize that and account for the unpredictability inherent in people.
[ Food sizzles in woks within open-air restaurants that they pass, and the smells mingle around them in a way he categorizes as wholly unpleasant. As unpleasant as the necessary conversation. ]
(misplaced priorities. an inability to predict unpredictability. this was never a conversation about the power differential between worlds. it's about the maltreatment of their respective populations.
that's as far as he's able to follow sasuke.)
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. Sasuke, Konoha's your home. (deaf reassurance, inappropriately timed, sounds final. genuine though it might be, the fact that it originates from his failure to keep his ward safe within the village's walls cheapens it.
is he being asked for an apology?)
... Anyway, the train took us for a ride. By the time I hit the buttonāanother ten blocks, maybe.
(kakashi gets quiet after that. they travel past another half dozen businesses in the time it takes for him to think on a less divisive subject.)
[ The blend of emotions he feels in response to Kakashi's reply is indecipherable even to himself, but it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Disappointment? Anger? Some wry amusement? He should have known not to instigate the conversation, just as he's carefully sidestepped it in the past, but even an open-ended confrontation is dismissed by a man without the necessary context to understand he doesn't need to do any damage control. Not anymore, not when things have gone as far as they could go already. ]
Mm.
"Mastered" is a conservative way of putting it. I took what you taught me and improved it.
... besides, it's "Chidori", not "Raikiri". [ Raucous laughter mixes with the sound of distant vomiting as food stalls lessen in favor of bars, and Sasuke now questions their route. Not for its efficacy, but for the possibility of having to retrace any of this path with fresh food in hand should the closer train station not prove close enough. ]
So it is. (his only open eye closes briefly to express his contentment.
that's what any mentor wants to hear. the technique that he created has now been made sasuke's own, manipulated into something that suits himāhe's certain without even seeing the end result that it does.
pride feels strange when it mingles with worry.)
You'll have to show me what you've come up with. We could spar, (he suggests, avoiding breathing too deeply as they leave the sphere of an acrid odour of bodily fluids and alcohol. ahead, a couple argues in the doorway of an apartment building. an old one that doesn't sink into the ground with the more advanced infrastructure when the city detects a monster.)
How about it? It'd be good to get an idea of where you're at.
[ Two high class shinobi can understand each other when in combat, isn't that how it is? The offer of a spar may be as simple as Kakashi presents it, but this tense air between them won't be removed until he feels he's given proper cause to abandon his paranoia. That will only happen when they're on a level playing field, and that is exactly what Sasuke is so keen to avoid. An impasse. ]
You want to spar with me when I'm using that technique? [ The implication here is not subtle. He reaches up to adjust the satchel hanging over his shoulder, offering Kakashi a brief side-glance. ]
Fine, but don't complain to me in the aftermath. [ There's a pause as nostalgia strikes him, wondering just what his teacher remembers of his capabilities. And it prompts a far more direct, far more damning question. ]
I know your last memories are from when I was younger. But the real last thing you remember, the exact moment... what is it?
(four words carry the weight of his approval. sasuke won't miss it, not when they've been speaking in half-sentences for the past two weeks. he taught team seven to read between the lines, and while this isn't a test, it takes knowing something about him to be able to truly understand what he's saying.
defeat at the hands of sasuke would make him happy.)
Ah... The exact moment? (the pause is telling; he's about to lie.) I can't remember.
Almost all of the genin who were sent to bring you back to Konoha were hospitalized and in critical conditionāincluding Naruto. I was abducted in the days that followed.
His tongue presses against the roof of his mouth before it can form the word, instead giving him another of those glances that says enough. He wants him to know that he knows.
But he can't stay looking at him for long.
Not when he hears something he knows but a side of it he doesn't, well aware of his battle with Naruto and the clashes that preceded it but never did he have to actually bear witness to the bloody outcome of his actions. It stings in a wound that once festered, and it takes all his self-control to maintain that neutral expression. ]
"Abducted"? [ Telling, that this is what he focuses on. ] By whom?
(he knows. he can feel eyes on him. even if he didn't, he can hear what's held back by sasuke. maybe he needs to reevaluate his old method of leaving his team to guesswork.
the sky looks dark now like it might rain. figures. the weather enjoys reenacting the day he almost lost two of his three pupils. naruto looked dead; he'll never forget how limp his body was when he pulled him into his arms.)
By LILITH. I didn't come willingly. (the expected follow-up comes shortly after.) And judging by how you arrived, you weren't expecting to fight someone else's war either.
Are you going to tell me what you remember from before? The exact moment.
[ Ah, of course. Perhaps it'd be an amusing miscommunication between shinobi who had been through just enough to make the misunderstanding believable but not enough to consider it old hat. They both fall squarely within the second category.
The impending change in weather makes his arm throb, a phantom pain that plagues a limb recently lost. His last memory, huh. ]
You're really asking me? When you must already know what I'll say.
[ Here there's finally a flicker of something in his expression, a brief curve of lips but the emotion doesn't reach his eyes. ]
What you have to tell me about is an event I remember well. What I have to tell you wouldn't be understandable to you.
(is it Hypocrisy making you smirk at me? because it's definitely what's making your arm hurt. don't blame the rain.
the new expression is one he's never seen before. sasuke was always quiet and dour, and he'd even go as far as to say the boy had an odd sense of humour, but never had he known him to find unpleasant realities funny. the changes are obvious. does he wish they were a little harder to spot? or is he glad to be able to read what pitiful amount he can from him?
kakashi comes to this third conclusion: maybe with age, sasuke's become more like him. desensitized. overwhelmed enough to laugh at the joke. life.)
What makes more sense is that you don't want to answer the question. (without his forehead protector to stop it, his eyebrow raises into a white fringe of hair.) Not everything's a competition, Sasuke; I'm trying to learn more about you and what brought you to this point. And dealing with whatever comes my way... I don't exactly struggle in this department.
No, I'm not viewing this so frivolously. What I'm saying is you wouldn't benefit from knowing, and the story is one that isn't as easy to tell as yours. [ That's part of it. Of course, that's part of it. But Kakashi isn't wrong to approach it as if it's a small part. ]
... you won't like what I have to say, Kakashi. [ Finally, though it's quieter than before. ]
(he no longer has the luxury of being able to pick and choose the things he wants to hear... if he ever did. unable to be there for his team when they needed him, he's now forced to let go of all of them. naruto is leaving with jiraiya, sakura has secured an apprenticeship with tsunade, and sasukeāif only he'd been less selective and listened to him closely from the start, maybe sasuke wouldn't have sought out orochimaru.
if this is his second chance, he won't fail this time.)
You're shouldering something alone, and it's my duty to share in that.
(they round the corner of the tenth block. his guessāor perhaps keen estimationāof their distance from the outdoor market was accurate. it's grander than the slums they just waded through, causing him to stare until colours blur and blend.
a single blink puts him back on track, and he casts a sidelong look at sasuke.)
Well... it looks like we'll have to discuss it later after all.
[ Giving him an answer now means the same as it did when he was his student. If it's in line with what he's being asked and feedback is welcomed? It's accepted. If it's against what Kakashi believes is best for him or his team? It can't be entertained.
Sasuke drew a line in the sand, Kakashi stepped over it.
And now here they are at their destination and he wants to table a conversation that's already over. Somehow, it's nostalgic, but not in a way that boosts his mood. ]
We've discussed it. You're relieved of your duty, Kakashi.
[ The tarps over the various stalls, dyed with clashing colors and presentations which defy any sort of structure or planning, are sure to provide at least partial shielding from the incoming rain, and as such Sasuke makes for the nearest one without bothering to check what's for sale. It's to his detriment when he's immediately offered free samples of some kind of fried mystery meat, but a dismissive turn away proves even more effective than a stern no. Disgusting. ]
(to beg to differ aloud would be to act petty in the face of a junior and kakashi can't have that. his duty will never be over; whether sasuke likes it or not, he's the closest thing he's had to family in years.
he joins him in dismissing the meat after that but manages a more polite "no thanks" in the wake of sasuke who proceeds further beneath multicoloured canopies. assuming the radishes are for pickling and becoming possessed by the desire to eat some, his eye sweeps the area for both them and any dangers that might disturb them, finding no sign of either.)
It's not looking good. There's a poor selection... We might have to look uptown.
(with his forearm, a curtain hung to separate stalls is parted. behind it, wooden boxes lie filled with vegetables of middling quality. sprouting potatoes, cobs of corn with patches of shrivelled kernels, eggplants with thumbprint bruises, and more of the same all the way down.
they're marked down in cost, but will they pass a sniff test? a too-soft tomato is held in hand, giving off a bittersweet scent that makes him turn his head to seek sasuke.)
Hey, over here. These might work if we cook 'em today. I'll bet all the bad ones are placed on top.
[ Kakashi doesn't respond to his bluntness, and while he should feel gratified instead there's that small part of him, that tiny part that still sees through the eyes of a young boy wanting his teacher's attention, that wants to get a rise instead. How annoying... it's childish to hang on his words, isn't it? One day he'll consciously accept and acknowledge that his teacher is more measured and patient than he is, but today is not that day.
Instead he turns his focus fully onto their task, nose nowhere near as sharp as the part-canine's behind him but the sheer visual spectacle of what's on offer doesn't inspire confidence. There's far more cooked than raw, and that already hints at the stall owners' insecurity about the produce on offer. Turning away from another vendor ā this one trying to peddle fried rice ā he returns to Kakashi. ]
... hm. [ Displeasure radiates from the single sound. ]
Nothing worth eating on its own, then. Even in a soup broth, this quality isā [ You can take the boy out of the noble clan but you can't take the noble clan out of the boy. ]
Very well. It'll pass. But in this case there's something else we should be looking for here, and that's soil.
Eh, (kakashi sighs. he isn't seeking to complete sasuke's sentences, but their thoughts on the food, at least, align well enough that it happens organically.
as organically as these vegetables aren't. there's something synthetic about them, which fits given the setting.)
Planning on growing your own, huh? (he's assigned both hands the task of digging down into the display bins for the best and brightest produce to present to sasuke over his shoulder.) Makes sense. It's better to know what you're putting in your body anyway. Who knows where these have been...
... You know, it might be enjoyable. As a hobby, I mean.
It'd be preferable for a number of reasons, though that one is the most important. [ It would also save him this trip. Save them this trip.
Being out and about isn't inherently problematic but he'd prefer to keep a lower profile, and being reliant on inconsistent food quality at the end of the journey just leaves an even more sour taste in his mouth. ]
As for your ulterior motive, you can stop while you're ahead. [ The calm accusation matches a placid expression, staring down at each vegetable as it's revealed. The rinnegan's violet is always present, so who's to say when its ocular prowess is or isn't activated? Surely he wouldn't need to abuse such keen eyesight for something so frivolous. ]
Everyone needs a hobby. (a point that's stressed while kakashi flees from eye contact with sasuke as "you especially" goes unsaid. he likes to think it forms its own statement in the crushing silence that follows.
using his eye for something so ridiculousāhe suspects sasuke of it, but has no proof or desire to catch him up. it's one of the most boyish things he's done since arriving.
he's now letting three potatoes plunge forgotten back into the bin to unearth the one sasuke's indicated, perfectly happy to follow his order when it leads to something good. the only palatable potato is raised up like something holy. what sparse light there is shines through the clouds and focuses on it until it's gone all at once. the rain comes then, and not slowly or subtly. it drops what it's cached onto the canopies overhead that become distended like starving bellies.)
Aaah, I should've known. What a bother. (the potato noses into the bag over sasuke's shoulder with the help of a brutish push from kakashi. hold onto this, pack mule.) Our goal hasn't changed... Let's just continue to find what we need. Maybe it'll let up. What about those bins over there?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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to confirm his suspicion, he checks the map over sasuke's head with a sigh. that was it, alright. this is going to take some getting used to.)
Let's see... The next one should work. And the one after itāthere was something in the virtual tour about local "bodegas." (a grocery, small and family-owned. wouldn't that mean less selection?) Guess it all depends on whether you were serious or not about the outdoor market...
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[ His usual kind of criticism, the kind that's delivered emotionlessly but is designed to cut deep. The kind that Kakashi is also immunized against.
Sharp eyes narrow in response to a flash of neon out the window, a searing glare that his sensitivities have yet to fully adjust to in spite of the time they've spent exposed to them. They peer out behind buildings both new and half-destroyed, a city pock-marked with scars and their own form of flashy gauze alike. Eclectic in a way that's familiar, advanced in a way he hates. ]
If I say it, I'm serious. They're the ones with the good reputation, not your "bodegas". [ Maybe if he repeats it it'll make him sound like he truly comprehends what it is. ]
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all smoke and no fire. sasuke's judgements make it feel like a tuesday, enough that nostalgia grabs him like a snare. it's still hard to accept that years of unshared experiences separate them now, and more so that his focus here, working for LILITH, should be on something unrelated.
he wants to address it. talk about it more than they have. but they haven't eaten, a fact that's beginning to wear them down. first, a meal. after that... maybe after that.)
What's on the list, anyway? We agreed on eggplant. Fish, if it's fresh. Ahāa soup base?
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There's an ease that comes with the comments, but past a certain point the familiarity is still unearned. Time separates them, and that's a far easier gap to bridge than the shared knowledge of his actions would be, but still he fights to guard his emotions. ]
... rice is obvious. Vegetables, for pickling. I still have stock already. [ He leans back just enough to sight ahead, estimating how long it'll be before they hit the stop Kakashi has requested. He's right either way, he could use the exercise. ]
I'll be the one inspecting the fish.
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Hm? Oh, that old stuff. That'll stay good for a while, won't it? (filler, uncertain what to say. they've never been domestic. they spoke of daily duties and training, but it was all superficial, and he'd actively kept sasuke at arm's length. less so, perhaps, than naruto and sakura, but... enough. maybe that's why they feel like strangers now.) The fish is all yours, and picking the produce, too. It's not like I'm all that used to cooking.
(as soon as he was old enough to secure more missions and earn better pay, fresh food cooked in his father's home was exchanged for boxes of takeout in a small apartment.
an "ah" is uttered as the train begins to brakes along induction rails, and the hand above them that holds a stabilizing strap falls instead to the bar by sasuke's shoulder. before the double doors open, he speaks up, but not so loudly that the throng of passengers waiting around them can hear.) I'd advise against taking off the second we get off the train. We should keep a low profile until we know what's expected of us.
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The insults were easier than small talk. Small talk suits Kakashi poorly and suits him far worse even than that, and even with nine years between them instead of fourteen they don't fall into any kind of easy rapport.
It would be easier if they were in battle, he thinks, and eyes scan the train as if he might find one. He doesn't. ]
Even as a child I would only have needed to be told that once, [ comes the equally quiet reply, that ever-present reminder that he is not the same boy that Kakashi once knew, and perhaps more importantly that he might possibly resent the implication that he is. When the train comes to a complete halt he stands, hand limp at his side as if undirected without a weapon nearby, and he sees himself out into a bustling station that reeks of fried food and stale urine.
No logical distraction here appeals, and he turns to glance at Kakashi as he follows out after him. ]
Your eye. How is it? [ It's a sudden question with absolutely no preamble or context given, but that's to be expected of Sasuke. ]
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out in the open, he doesn't relax. their eyes meet, and he tilts his head in the direction of the market.)
Good to know some things haven't changed; you're as demanding as ever.
(he knows better than to give sasuke the runaround he might've given him when he was twelve. old habits die hard, which makes it difficult for him to share his condition openly, but they have to work together to get home. this is the first form teamwork takes.) ... My eye is fine for the time being, but it'll become a real problem if I have to keep it open. The draināno, it's not worth mentioning. I'll adapt.
(he'll have to. closed as it is now, half of his implants are inactive. if it's disorienting walking around as a civilian, it'll be potentially debilitating in full-scale combat.)
It's awkward, huh? Like looking at the same thing from two different angles. (with the sharingan in one eye and whatever's manifested in his other, sasuke must be going through something similar.) Though your case is much different than mine.
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Appropriately, on that subject, he chooses to bite his tongue. ]
It's worth mentioning if it hinders our goal. Don't hide it in that case. [ It's the sort of thing his teacher would've said to him once and now, leaving the platform for a littered sidewalk, he returns the favor. ]
And you're right. We're different.
I was born to see things the way that I do now, but you weren't. If there's any worry you're holding onto about my performance or how I'll be able to handle myself, you can forget it now.
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that can't matter now. he has to focus up. the night is alive with street chatter, and civilians flick cigarettes that skitter over concrete in the direction they're walking.)
The sharingan is absorbing information from the interface faster than my normal eye. But if I keep one or the other closed, I only get half the story. Crossed wires, that's all.
... As for forgetting your performance, Sasuke, that's a tall order. One I can't fill right now, unfortunately. (it's the first time since their arrival that kakashi's sounded a bit smug.) Besides, I'm talking about your implants and any potential reactions they're having with your two totally different eyes.
Is it uncomfortable or not?
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You're misunderstanding. My eyes are different, but I don't struggle with that. They work in tandem, and the implants haven't changed that.
[ As for whether or not it's uncomfortable? Well, on that he doesn't want to comment, for the simple fact that it's a psychological blow more than anything else. These people had touched his eyes, tampered with them, and he'd been powerless to stop it. Of course it's fucking uncomfortable. ]
If there's no problem with your eyes, there's no problem with mine. So we focus on something which matters instead.
Have you heard anything about new arrivals? Particularly from our world.
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there's no telegraphed worry, but there's a reason he's asking after his condition. necessity doesn't quite cut it, not when there are now years of training he hasn't witnessed sasuke complete. training kakashi knows has elevated sasuke far past his own level.)
I keep tabs on LILITH's inflow and outflow. As far as I can tell, it's only you and me for now. Hirings could be kept to a schedule to stagger orientation periods. Biweekly, monthly, bimonthly... It's impossible to tell at the moment.
(the couple of blocks they've counted since the station start to wind down into narrow, maze-like streets. together they walk in the shadows of tall apartment complexes whose patios are sewn together by hanging laundry. naturally gifted with direction, he's able to keep their heading, indicating an alley they can take that'll allow them to keep straight on course to the markets. those without homes make their livings here under the lids of dumpsters, tossing the roaches of their paper-rolled dope beneath a street-cleaning robot struggling by.
it reminds him of amegakure. wars at the border created similar conditions. the inner city became a hellhole. like this place, ame had its own kaiju, but in the shape of men.)
You'd think an advanced city with these kinds of resources would be capable of making weapons powerful enough to stop the kaiju attacks. Instead, it looks like they waste them on entertainment and... self-modification.
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I see. [ Only two words but they're not filler; he says them to acknowledge his teacher's effort. To acknowledge Kakashi in general. The best he can do is assume he's understood.
He weaves around a man mumbling to himself, dragging a cart behind him, and eyes stay fixated on the possible threat far longer than is needed while instincts keep him close to Kakashi. One of the two of them knows where they're going, and it isn't him. If his old squad leader is going to navigate, then it falls to him to at least pay extra attention to their surroundings. ]
Is Konoha different? [ The question, however, comes seemingly out of nowhere and breaches a topic they've both hardly touched. ] You're criticizing their priorities, but even if you don't personally understand them I wouldn't expect them to surprise you.
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Sure, I think so. That this Earth had to steal another's weapons tells me it's different. Konoha breeds its own. (his gesturing hands lack gloves, unable to bring them along. spares weren't provided to him and buying another pair would've been a waste of kryptos.) Resources funnel into soldiers like you and me. I'm not seeing that here. Not really.
(out of the alley and away from the watched man with a cart, they enter another thoroughfare lined with bars. food and entertainment seem to be blocked into all of the same areasāhe was hoping they'd pass by the rowdier crowds without being noticed. several stares follow them as they thread deeper in.)
There's a military force, but it seems ineffective, (kakashi continues, tone unbothered.) With their technology, they could supplement with science if bodies don't work.
(discrepancies exist in how he speaks and acts. while he appears calm, his stride shortens just enough to walk shoulder to shoulder with sasuke. inwardly, he's expecting an incursion like his student. and they're both hyperaware of each other's readiness.)
So, yeah. Everything about this city is a surprise to me... but not to you, huh? You don't believe it's different?
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Konoha's ability to produce warriors was never up for debate. You and I are proof of that.
This place generates weapons. Konoha generates weapons. My point of contention was the misplaced priorities in both places. For you, it's the resources they use and where. For me... well, you and I aren't knives or guns. We're humans. Konoha's failure is its inability to recognize that and account for the unpredictability inherent in people.
[ Food sizzles in woks within open-air restaurants that they pass, and the smells mingle around them in a way he categorizes as wholly unpleasant. As unpleasant as the necessary conversation. ]
How much farther?
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that's as far as he's able to follow sasuke.)
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. Sasuke, Konoha's your home. (deaf reassurance, inappropriately timed, sounds final. genuine though it might be, the fact that it originates from his failure to keep his ward safe within the village's walls cheapens it.
is he being asked for an apology?)
... Anyway, the train took us for a ride. By the time I hit the buttonāanother ten blocks, maybe.
(kakashi gets quiet after that. they travel past another half dozen businesses in the time it takes for him to think on a less divisive subject.)
You must've mastered raikiri by now.
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Mm.
"Mastered" is a conservative way of putting it. I took what you taught me and improved it.
... besides, it's "Chidori", not "Raikiri". [ Raucous laughter mixes with the sound of distant vomiting as food stalls lessen in favor of bars, and Sasuke now questions their route. Not for its efficacy, but for the possibility of having to retrace any of this path with fresh food in hand should the closer train station not prove close enough. ]
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that's what any mentor wants to hear. the technique that he created has now been made sasuke's own, manipulated into something that suits himāhe's certain without even seeing the end result that it does.
pride feels strange when it mingles with worry.)
You'll have to show me what you've come up with. We could spar, (he suggests, avoiding breathing too deeply as they leave the sphere of an acrid odour of bodily fluids and alcohol. ahead, a couple argues in the doorway of an apartment building. an old one that doesn't sink into the ground with the more advanced infrastructure when the city detects a monster.)
How about it? It'd be good to get an idea of where you're at.
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You want to spar with me when I'm using that technique? [ The implication here is not subtle. He reaches up to adjust the satchel hanging over his shoulder, offering Kakashi a brief side-glance. ]
Fine, but don't complain to me in the aftermath. [ There's a pause as nostalgia strikes him, wondering just what his teacher remembers of his capabilities. And it prompts a far more direct, far more damning question. ]
I know your last memories are from when I was younger. But the real last thing you remember, the exact moment... what is it?
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(four words carry the weight of his approval. sasuke won't miss it, not when they've been speaking in half-sentences for the past two weeks. he taught team seven to read between the lines, and while this isn't a test, it takes knowing something about him to be able to truly understand what he's saying.
defeat at the hands of sasuke would make him happy.)
Ah... The exact moment? (the pause is telling; he's about to lie.) I can't remember.
Almost all of the genin who were sent to bring you back to Konoha were hospitalized and in critical conditionāincluding Naruto. I was abducted in the days that followed.
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His tongue presses against the roof of his mouth before it can form the word, instead giving him another of those glances that says enough. He wants him to know that he knows.
But he can't stay looking at him for long.
Not when he hears something he knows but a side of it he doesn't, well aware of his battle with Naruto and the clashes that preceded it but never did he have to actually bear witness to the bloody outcome of his actions. It stings in a wound that once festered, and it takes all his self-control to maintain that neutral expression. ]
"Abducted"? [ Telling, that this is what he focuses on. ] By whom?
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the sky looks dark now like it might rain. figures. the weather enjoys reenacting the day he almost lost two of his three pupils. naruto looked dead; he'll never forget how limp his body was when he pulled him into his arms.)
By LILITH. I didn't come willingly. (the expected follow-up comes shortly after.) And judging by how you arrived, you weren't expecting to fight someone else's war either.
Are you going to tell me what you remember from before? The exact moment.
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The impending change in weather makes his arm throb, a phantom pain that plagues a limb recently lost. His last memory, huh. ]
You're really asking me? When you must already know what I'll say.
[ Here there's finally a flicker of something in his expression, a brief curve of lips but the emotion doesn't reach his eyes. ]
What you have to tell me about is an event I remember well. What I have to tell you wouldn't be understandable to you.
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the new expression is one he's never seen before. sasuke was always quiet and dour, and he'd even go as far as to say the boy had an odd sense of humour, but never had he known him to find unpleasant realities funny. the changes are obvious. does he wish they were a little harder to spot? or is he glad to be able to read what pitiful amount he can from him?
kakashi comes to this third conclusion: maybe with age, sasuke's become more like him. desensitized. overwhelmed enough to laugh at the joke. life.)
What makes more sense is that you don't want to answer the question. (without his forehead protector to stop it, his eyebrow raises into a white fringe of hair.) Not everything's a competition, Sasuke; I'm trying to learn more about you and what brought you to this point. And dealing with whatever comes my way... I don't exactly struggle in this department.
So, all that to say... "try me."
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No, I'm not viewing this so frivolously. What I'm saying is you wouldn't benefit from knowing, and the story is one that isn't as easy to tell as yours. [ That's part of it. Of course, that's part of it. But Kakashi isn't wrong to approach it as if it's a small part. ]
... you won't like what I have to say, Kakashi. [ Finally, though it's quieter than before. ]
And my answer isn't going to change.
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(he no longer has the luxury of being able to pick and choose the things he wants to hear... if he ever did. unable to be there for his team when they needed him, he's now forced to let go of all of them. naruto is leaving with jiraiya, sakura has secured an apprenticeship with tsunade, and sasukeāif only he'd been less selective and listened to him closely from the start, maybe sasuke wouldn't have sought out orochimaru.
if this is his second chance, he won't fail this time.)
You're shouldering something alone, and it's my duty to share in that.
(they round the corner of the tenth block. his guessāor perhaps keen estimationāof their distance from the outdoor market was accurate. it's grander than the slums they just waded through, causing him to stare until colours blur and blend.
a single blink puts him back on track, and he casts a sidelong look at sasuke.)
Well... it looks like we'll have to discuss it later after all.
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Sasuke drew a line in the sand, Kakashi stepped over it.
And now here they are at their destination and he wants to table a conversation that's already over. Somehow, it's nostalgic, but not in a way that boosts his mood. ]
We've discussed it. You're relieved of your duty, Kakashi.
[ The tarps over the various stalls, dyed with clashing colors and presentations which defy any sort of structure or planning, are sure to provide at least partial shielding from the incoming rain, and as such Sasuke makes for the nearest one without bothering to check what's for sale. It's to his detriment when he's immediately offered free samples of some kind of fried mystery meat, but a dismissive turn away proves even more effective than a stern no. Disgusting. ]
Keep an eye out for radishes.
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he joins him in dismissing the meat after that but manages a more polite "no thanks" in the wake of sasuke who proceeds further beneath multicoloured canopies. assuming the radishes are for pickling and becoming possessed by the desire to eat some, his eye sweeps the area for both them and any dangers that might disturb them, finding no sign of either.)
It's not looking good. There's a poor selection... We might have to look uptown.
(with his forearm, a curtain hung to separate stalls is parted. behind it, wooden boxes lie filled with vegetables of middling quality. sprouting potatoes, cobs of corn with patches of shrivelled kernels, eggplants with thumbprint bruises, and more of the same all the way down.
they're marked down in cost, but will they pass a sniff test? a too-soft tomato is held in hand, giving off a bittersweet scent that makes him turn his head to seek sasuke.)
Hey, over here. These might work if we cook 'em today. I'll bet all the bad ones are placed on top.
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Instead he turns his focus fully onto their task, nose nowhere near as sharp as the part-canine's behind him but the sheer visual spectacle of what's on offer doesn't inspire confidence. There's far more cooked than raw, and that already hints at the stall owners' insecurity about the produce on offer. Turning away from another vendor ā this one trying to peddle fried rice ā he returns to Kakashi. ]
... hm. [ Displeasure radiates from the single sound. ]
Nothing worth eating on its own, then. Even in a soup broth, this quality isā [ You can take the boy out of the noble clan but you can't take the noble clan out of the boy. ]
Very well. It'll pass. But in this case there's something else we should be looking for here, and that's soil.
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as organically as these vegetables aren't. there's something synthetic about them, which fits given the setting.)
Planning on growing your own, huh? (he's assigned both hands the task of digging down into the display bins for the best and brightest produce to present to sasuke over his shoulder.) Makes sense. It's better to know what you're putting in your body anyway. Who knows where these have been...
... You know, it might be enjoyable. As a hobby, I mean.
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Being out and about isn't inherently problematic but he'd prefer to keep a lower profile, and being reliant on inconsistent food quality at the end of the journey just leaves an even more sour taste in his mouth. ]
As for your ulterior motive, you can stop while you're ahead. [ The calm accusation matches a placid expression, staring down at each vegetable as it's revealed. The rinnegan's violet is always present, so who's to say when its ocular prowess is or isn't activated? Surely he wouldn't need to abuse such keen eyesight for something so frivolous. ]
... go back. The last one.
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using his eye for something so ridiculousāhe suspects sasuke of it, but has no proof or desire to catch him up. it's one of the most boyish things he's done since arriving.
he's now letting three potatoes plunge forgotten back into the bin to unearth the one sasuke's indicated, perfectly happy to follow his order when it leads to something good. the only palatable potato is raised up like something holy. what sparse light there is shines through the clouds and focuses on it until it's gone all at once. the rain comes then, and not slowly or subtly. it drops what it's cached onto the canopies overhead that become distended like starving bellies.)
Aaah, I should've known. What a bother. (the potato noses into the bag over sasuke's shoulder with the help of a brutish push from kakashi. hold onto this, pack mule.) Our goal hasn't changed... Let's just continue to find what we need. Maybe it'll let up. What about those bins over there?