3.

Most days it almost felt like he was still in the academy as Team Seven fell into a rhythmic schedule of numerous D-ranks only to end with their sensei mysteriously disappearing for the first four weeks. The slow-paced, negligent style of Hatake was getting on his nerves. He needed to train, not walk dogs. Why couldn't anyone understand this? If That Man got sick of waiting and decided to seek him out he would finish the job and the last remaining founding clan of Konoha would perish along with the Senju they worshiped so much. Couldn't this stupid village at least think of the benefits of keeping him alive? Another strong, loyal Uchiha ready to bare his neck for a military dictatorship. 

Fighting with Naruto was just about the only thing that stopped him from committing homicide. It was oddly therapeutic to tease the blond and watch him turn interesting shades of red as he squawked and sputtered at every insult. He didn't bother trying to look into why he found it so endearing unless he wanted to start another identity crisis he was not prepared for.

"Sasuke," Sakura's cheerful voice called out. It had been three hours and still no sign of their sensei. And why did he even bother getting out of bed so early? Hatake never even bothered giving a lacklustre excuse about how it was a test of patience or some shit. Instead he would drone on about something to do with old ladies and cats stuck in trees. 

"What?" he hissed, unfairly taking his anger out on the kunoichi. Naruto angled his head up from lounging on the training ground, eyes narrowing at him threateningly.

"W-Why do you look so angry right now?" she stammered, smiling wobbly. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out–"

"I'm angry because this shitty excuse of a sensei has been wasting our time as genin away doing chores that civilians are capable of when I should be training harder so I can fight That Man. I'm angry because nobody is taking me seriously. I'm angry because I got stuck on a team with a deadlast with questionable heritage and a kunoichi whose only usefulness is theoretical knowledge which, in case you didn't know, would be completely useless in a fight! This pathetic excuse of a team is driving me crazy. I've accomplished nothing!"

Sakura's eyes shuttered as she processed the slew of insults directed at her and Naruto. "S-Sasuke, I'm sorry…" 

"Sasuke–" Naruto growled menacingly as a dark aura enclosed around the boy

He swallowed, seeing that his outburst was unwarranted. Sakura didn't deserve that, a small part of his mind whispered but damn did it feel good to let it out.

"Look, I'm s-sorry," he said. His throat was dry and he licked his lips anxiously, watching Sakura's eyes well up with unshed tears. "That was harsh of me, but I meant what I said. They don't tell you in detail how hard it is being a shinobi. Of course they warn you it's not for the faint hearted but they mostly focus on the benefits and how duty to your village outweighs it all in the end." If his voice took a caustic edge near the end, nobody mentioned it. 

"But the truth is you don't take this seriously, Sakura! Shinobi die everyday. You could easily be living a peaceful life as a civilian but you chose to become a shinobi whereas people like Naruto and I became shinobi because it's the only option available for us. Sure, it might seem cool as you're defending the village you love but there's more to it than that. The mental fortitude needed to withstand the violence of this profession is something I don't think you realise yet. If you're seriously here just because you like me then you should rethink your career choice."

"I know that!" she screamed in distress, clutching her head like her mind was splitting apart. "Do you think I'm stupid? I fucking know that! This is what I hate about you clan-born shinobi. So stuck up and snobbish." 

His eyes automatically swirled in fury at the blatant disrespect and he took a step closer. "Then fucking take this seriously, you're deader weight than Naruto and he's the deadlast!"

"Have you ever stopped to consider that I don't have the same resources as you? As you so succinctly pointed out, I'm not clan born so I didn't start training at four-years-old and my body isn't naturally fit to sustain the strain of becoming a shinobi. I had to work hard for this and you're not taking that away from me!"

He refocused and looked at her with those bottomless black eyes of his that once made her swoon, only now leaving her with bitterness and the realisation that he was just like the rest of them. 

"You're weak," he murmured, hearing That Man's voice instead of his own, disjointedly. Was he telling himself that or Sakura? He didn't know anymore.

"I'm not," she cried. Her knees gave out and she dropped to the floor. "I won't… I won't be a failure, never again…"

He felt the punch before he saw it. Pain bloomed across his cheek but Sasuke knew he deserved it enough to not dodge. Naruto looked feral, staring down at him with such disappointment and contempt he could practically taste it. "How could you say that to her, Sasuke? You only ever think about yourself. You're so selfish!"

He ignored him and focused back on Sakura.

"If you're not weak then prove to me, prove to everyone you're strong," he whispered dazedly, rubbing the right side of his bruised face. "Don't think about the limits you have, go beyond them. Ignore them. Fuck what everyone else thinks. Play to your strengths so well that nobody will ever question your worth based on your lack of clan."

Her eyes widened in recognition. "You…"

"And stop… stop looking at me like I'm perfect," he reluctantly added, pointedly not looking up. "I'm not. My brother was though."

Before he killed everyone, was left unsaid.

And that was what hurt the most. Sasuke was chasing a standard so high it was nigh impossible until his miracle of a brother broke every boundary placed for someone his age.

His body trembled in exhaustion from the mentally taxing heart-to-heart. Naruto was watching him warily as he tried to leave the training ground like he was an enemy, and Sasuke desperately wanted to convince himself the churning in his stomach was from hunger only.

"Well," Hatake drawled as he jumped out from the tree he was perched on with his Icha Icha in hand. "That was interesting. I was going to interfere but it seems like I didn't need to in the end."

"Sensei," Sakura said, nervously, rubbing her arms self-consciously.

"Save it," he snapped, before softening considerably, "I've heard everything."

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"The reason I assigned you so many D-ranks was because of what our cute Sasuke so politely pointed out: your teamwork dynamic is horrendous, frankly and what was I thinking when I passed you? Oh wait, I didn't have a choice!" The trio blanched at the jounin's blunt, uncouth statement. "I don't think I'm allowed to say that. Oh well, I'm sure you guys guessed that anyways. There's lots of eyes on this team and if you're constantly bickering like children that wouldn't look good for me, now would it?"

"No worries, I was simply trying to get a feel for this team and how to approach your training when the time comes… I think, anyway. You should enjoy being a genin while you can. It only gets worse from here," he said, with a hint of regret in his voice. "To be able to rely on your teammates on the battlefield is a matter of life and death. It feels like you haven't taken into heart the message I imparted on you on the day of the bell test, so I simply waited until you did something about it." 

"What?" Naruto shouted.

He nodded his head innocently. "I can't hold your hand through everything, now can I? Take action, mend the issues within this team, have a little independence instead of waiting for everything to be handed to you."

"But that's literally your fucking job!" Sakura shrieked, stomping her foot angrily. 

His entire demeanour changed as he straightened up from his perpetual slouch and tucked his book away, looking down at his students seriously. "Perhaps, but if you can't take the incentive to have a professional working environment, you will not survive in this line of work. As shinobi the time may come where you will have to work with somebody you disapprove of or even hate who has personally wronged you. Can you put your differences aside and focus on the mission, or will you jeopardise everyone's safety?"

"Genin teams in particular are special for most shinobi. They're your first squad, all rookies unsure of what life beyond Konoha is like. I told myself I hated my genin team until they all died and left me alone," he sighed with a bone-deep weariness that made Sasuke's skin prickle.

"Naruto, you shouldn't have punched your teammate but Sasuke you shouldn't have provoked the two of them in such a way. I understand you realised that later but my point still stands. Once you two work through all your issues, I will begin training you as I see fit."

The three shuddered at the dangerous tone only to stare dumbfounded as he shifted back to his usual state of boredom. "That's enough for today. You can all go home now and tomorrow… D-ranks!" He clapped his hands. "Except you, Sasuke. Stay behind for a moment."

Sasuke groaned. At least they got somewhere today.

Hatake's lone eye watched him with an intensity that was unsettling. "Now little Uchiha, why didn't you tell me you awakened the Sharingan, huh? Does your poor old sensei not deserve to know?"