chapter Twelve - Age 12/Year 12 [Part Two]

Not much time left. The clock continues to tick forward, and soon, it'll strike noon. Events of horrible scale might be just on the horizon. Death, war, treachery, and forgotten truths. I've changed so much, and so far, it doesn't seem like there's any mystical force guiding everyone's actions down a set path.

It's both a freeing and terrifying thought. Nothing will hold me back, thus, the future can be changed. People can be saved. But, that in itself means that others can die. A twisted part of myself keeps whispering that my very existence might have doomed this world. But, I've learned to live with it.

Once I was scared. Once, I sat back and did nothing. Even if I had tried, there was no way I could retrace Sasuke's steps. I'm not him. It was never an option.

The path I knew is fading, slowly vanishing into the ether. For now, all I can do is use it as a guide. Once I found myself amongst a wide, expansive field of boundless possibilities, then I'll have to forge a path of my own making.

Untill then, all I can do is try to be proactive. The first thing that comes to mind is Mizuki. I still have no idea if he's a spy or not. Things could have changed. What once was can be something else. Obviously, he won't be approaching Naruko this time.

She's not a failure. She's not ostracised. And, most importantly, she's not someone that can be easilly taken advantage of. Her mind is as sharp as a knife; she makes others think it naught but a child's toy, but that's the point.

They never question whether or not the blade aimed at their throat is a danger. Not untill it's too late.

I wonder where she picked up such a sly and perceptive attitude from. She wasn't like that when the two of us met. She was a scared, sad, and lonely child. Her eyes carried a spark of what she would become, but that was all; a spark.

Who fanned the flames? Was it me? Or did she develop such a cunning mind by herself?

Perhaps I'll never know. Whatever the case, I'm thankful that she's not as dull as her original counterpart. It means I don't have to constantly look after her.

Sometimes, I wonder how things would have turned out if I left her alone that fateful day.

I really do, wonder.

------------------

"Alright! Let's go, Sasuke!" Naruko's voice rips through the house. Her hands clamp down on mines and with that freakish strength of hers, she pulls me behind her. I could do nothing to resist and find myself being dragged along.

My mother sits there, a small smile on her lip as she giggles. Saeko just stares as I'm pulled out of our house. Of course, my father simply shakes his head and opens the door. A lesson he learned last time Naruko tried this. Suffice to say, she wasn't paying attention and he was the one that had to pay for the damages.

In any case, the two of us were gone in the blink of an eye, off to whatever adventure Naruko's found this time.

"Your mom's cooking was delicious, by the way!" she tells me as the two of us come to a stop by the compound's entrance. The few Uchiha that spot us on the way out furrow their brow in confusion. I'm not exactly an unknown face, but compared to the other children, I rarely go out to socialize.

Maybe that was something I overlooked. I'm not nearly as active inside the Uchiha compound as I was outside, so while I knew some of the kids my age, I didn't really have many as friends. Aside from Shisui, of course. It's also not like there aren't other Uchiha kids in our school, there just aren't in our class.

I blow a sigh and slip my hand out of Naruko's, giving it a gentle rub. She'll be a beast of a woman when she grows up.

"So, what's this secret treasure you were on about?" I subtly ask. "It's not something like last time, is it?"

Naruko narrows her eyes and puffs out her cheek.

"That was one time," she says with a huff. "How was I supposed to know someone was dumping all their useless stuff there?!"

My mother was not happy to see me come home covered in stains. The smell was also a point she made sure to drill into our skull. I won't be forgetting how she personally bathed us.

Did the woman not know the meaning of personal space?! I wasn't a kid!

"Trust me, this time it's something really cool," she proclaimed, guiding me through Konoha's streets and toward a section near one of the walls.

I rolled my eyes and followed, taking note of the path. From the looks of things, this seemed to be one of the parts of the city that got hit the worst during Kyuubi's attack. The reconstruction effort had been going nicely, but there were still sections like this that hadn't gotten much work done.

"Here it is!" Naruko exclaimed, pointing to a perfectly normal-looking patch of grass.

Obviously, there was more to this than just that. I raised a brow and waited for her to show me what was really going on.

She smiled and stepped forward, reaching into the earth and pulling up to reveal a secret tunnel.

"Found it when I was practicing a cool flip," she said with a grin.

"Ok, this is definitely not a garbage dump," I answered warily.

Maybe it was an escape tunnel? A secret warehouse? Whatever it was, it definitely seemed interesting. However, that also meant it could be dangerous.

"I know!" Naruko said cheerfully. "And I don't think anyone else has found it either!"

We'd be the first then. Very interesting indeed.

"Come on, I want to see what's down there!"

I didn't have a chance to stop her before she jumped on the ladder and slid all the way down. Well, that made the choice for me. With a sigh, I climbed down. It was dark, covered in spiderwebs, and abandoned.

------------------

The dark, unknown passage greets us with open arms. Spiderwebs coat its walls like blankets and dust flutters in the air. It takes a great deal of concentration to hold in the sneeze that follows. Naruko lacks my force of will, however.

"Achooo!" She blows, covering the nearby wall in spit and other dischargers. "S-So dusty," she says with a whimper as she wipes her nose.

Well, if there was still anyone inside, they definitely know we're here now.

"Try and be a little quiet, ok?" I whispered, cautiously stepping past her. "And keep an eye out for traps."

Naruko rolls her eyes but makes sure to silently follow after me.

"Sure thing, boss," she answers, giving me a great view of her pink tongue. I can't pass up the opportunity. Honestly, you'd have thought she'd have learned by now.

"Hwa?!" I snatch her tongue and gently pull down. "W-Wetgwo!" Naruko growls, eyes boring into my skull.

I hold back a laugh, though quickly move my fingers away when she tries to bite you. The clanking of teeth echoes through the old, abandoned bunker. What secrets slumber within its mossy, cracked walls? What dangers wait to be discovered?

I couldn't take this lightly. If there are any traps, then they'd likely fallen into disrepair, but that doesn't mean I should count them out. I take a breath and walk forward, eyes on the lookout for deadly dangers.

As the two of us cautiously step down the winding staircase, something glints in the corner of my eye. I immediately hold up a hand, stoping Naruko in her tracks. She stays silent, forgoing that childishness of hers untill I've said my piece.

"A trap," I point to one of the loose bricks. Worn away by time, the rusted arrow within is easy enough to spot.

I give it a quick look and find the best way to disarm it. Yet, just before I do so, a thought comes to mind. we're dealing with ninja's. If it was me setting up these traps, I'd place more than a single. Heck, I'd trap the trap!

With eyes sharpened by paranoia, I take another look at the trap and everything near it. Naruko patiently waits behind me, keeping herself entertained by looking at the walls and back the way we came. Eventually, I spot a tiny imperfection on the wall directly above us.

A small grin splits my lips. Clever. If I were to disarm the trap, then the one above would trigger. I'm not sure what's hidden up there, but I don't want to know.

"Alright, let's go," I say, marking the wall with one of my kunai for future reference.

"You didn't even turn it off," Naruko answers, arms crossed. "What's the deal?"

I point up top.

"Another trap." She goes silent with that, nodding in understanding.

The traps might be old, but by the looks of things, they're far past their prime. Just as I thought, things shouldn't be so dangerous. Still, we have to keep a constant eye for these things.

I only hoped the others were as easy to find as this one.

---

After what felt like eight minutes, the two of us arrived at the bottom of the stairs. There were a few other traps, but just like the first, they weren't all that hard to avoid.

"This place stinks!" Naruko exclaimed, fingers pressing down on her nose. "And what's up with all the weird tube things?"

My brow furrowed in thought. As she said, the air was rotten and a number of large tubes filled the room. I stepped forward, giving each a quick examination. Dust marred their surface, so I wrapped my hand around my shirt and whipped away at the glass.

"Ewwww!" Naruko gasped and took a step back. "What the heck is that?!"

I had no idea. Floating within one of the tubes was what appeared to be a black, rotting mass of meat. It bulged near the top and was surely dead. Likely for years.

I cleaned the others, finding that they were all in much the same state. Some were bigger, others much smaller. It was the largest glass tube that made my blood run cold. The others didn't give us much of a view, but this one was clearly a fetus. Tiny, shrivelled arms and legs curled inward. The large, lumpy head sent shivers down my spine. Bile rose to my mouth, but I swallowed it back.

What the hell had we found? As my heart began to race, I heard the tale-tell sound of a door opening. My head snapped to the right, sporting Naruko by the other door. She was waiting for me to come closer. Not wanting to look at the grim sight any longer, I indulged her request and followed.

I stepped into the next room, finding that there was nothing else. Just these two.

"Oh!" Naruko's eyes sparkled as she spotted the bundle of scrolls and other notes on the far table. Like the previous room, a number of things sat within glass tubes. These were far less human in origin. Eyeballs, snakeheads, and monkey hands. They had been preserved, but for what twisted experiments?

Before Naruko could even touch anything, I gave the room another sweep for traps.

Thankfully, aside from a small pressure plate near the door, it was clear. By the look of things, it would drop something from above. I definitely didn't want to disturb anything and risk setting it off, so I made sure Naruko knew where the trap was. After that, we went and began our investigations.

The texts were faded and very hard to read, especially in the dark.

"Huh? Oh, I mean, it's not that dark," Naruko commented as she began to read the scroll. "You need better eyes," she teased, making spinning motions in front of her own.

I rolled my eyes and patiently listened as she tried her hardest to pronounce the "big words" as she called them. It was both amusing and adorable.

"Pieliminareye test show alligator in-"

...

Sadly, she caught me snickering and said she'd tear the scrolls up if I didn't stop. Thus, my little fun ended.

What wasn't fun was what the scrolls spoke of. This seemed to be a lab where genetic engineering tests were being run. There weren't any clear markings to figure out who worked here, but I had a few guesses. All that was left was to decide what to do with all this information.

Hmm.

This wasn't something we could just fool around with. Traps littered the bunker's very walls. Death, twisted experiments, and god knows what else lay in the foundation of this room's inception. This was anything but safe for children. Weather Naruko wanted to make this a secret room wasn't the problem.

People had to know. The Hokage had to know.

"Aw well," my friend shrugged, eyes closing and lip turning downward in a cute pout. "We can just use my closet and pretend it's a secret hideout!"

...

"You... you were joking?" She really made me think otherwise.

"Of course, Sasuke." Naruko answers, lip pursed into another pout. "This place stinks!" she points to cobwebs and weird limbs in jars.

"I mean, there's some cool stuff, but it literally stinks," she gags, fingers tightening around her nose. "I don't know how long it'd take to clean it up, but I'm not doing it!"

...

I burst out laughing. That makes so much sense in hindsight.

"Huh? What's so funny?" she asks, brow furrowing. "Are you laughing at me?"

I restrained my laughter and look at her again. This is the same girl that once upon a time had boxes of spoiled food on her living room floor. Now, she cleans her room on the regular. How people change.

"Nope," I reply, a smile on my lip. "Just found it funny how you of all people complain about the room smelling."

For the first time in a bit, I see genuine embarrassment trickle up her cheeks. She sends a weak glare me way and then huffs.

"Whatever" Naruko whispers as she walks out of the room.

My smile falls and a tiny sigh slips from my lip.

Maybe I shouldn't have joked about that.

-------------

Try as I might, it seemed like Naruko had gotten in quite the stinky attitude after my little joke. I didn't want to push her too much, so I gave up and simply moved on to other matters. The Hokage had to be told, and while Naruko was a bit bothered, she still went along with me.

"Old man's sure to be surprised when we show up," she grumbled. "I bet he'll give us some cool stuff!"

At the very least, there was some more life slipping into her tone.

Before long, ee found ourselves in front of the Hokage tower. I wouldn't call ourselves a common occurrence, but the secretary knew me by name now.

"More trouble?" She asked, brow raising as she looks at Naruko. "Or you here for a personal visit?"

"Afraid it's the former," I said with a sigh. "We found something the Hokage would like to hear about."

"A secret something," Naruko nods.

The secretary takes a very good look at the two of us before blowing a sigh.

"Very well," she nods. "Just sit tight and he'll ask for you if he wishes."

In other words, there are ninja listening in on our conversations. It's a very easy way to keep us here while making sure no one leaves the room.

Anyways, we eventually do get called in.

"The Hokage will see you now," the secretary says as she opens the door. There hadn't even been a sound, let alone the passing of a message. One second she was sitting down, minding her business and the next she let us go.

Perhaps a Jutsu to deliver secret messages? I had to learn that.

-----------

Stepping through the office's main doors, we come face to face with Konoha's most dangerous man. With a body count likely higher than the total sum of everyone in this room's ages added together, he is a man not to be trifled with.

Hundreds?

Thousands?

Only his dreams can say.

"What's this I heard about secrets?" The old man asks with a smile.

I take a small breath and step forward, only for Naruko to blitz past me and leap straight into the old man's lap.

"So we found this secret bunker!" she starts, stealing the words right out of my mouth. "It was full of these weird experiments, eyeballs, hands, and stuff."

He blinks, looking to me for confirmation. I blink, holding back a snicker, and give him an affirming nod.

"I think there were fetuses floating in glass tubes," I hesitantly spit out. Just thinking about what we saw sends chills down my spine. "Most of them were rotting."

"Is that what they were?" Naruko asks, brow furrowed in confusion. "What's a fetas?"

This is exactly why I used such a "big word." It's best she doesn't know.

"Just a name for a dead thing," The Hokage says, sending me a knowing look. "But if what you say is true..."

A hum leaves his lip as he reaches for his pipe.

"A very interesting find indeed," he pauses. "Where did you say this bunker was?"

Naruko gladly spills the beans. Hiruzen takes it all in stride and sends for one of his men to check it out. Untill then, he entertains the both of us. Naruko continues to sit in his lap, telling him all about the "cool techniques" I showed her. Through it all, he smiles, gives her advice and laughs at any jokes she makes.

The deadly man known as "the god of ninja" is no more. All I see is a friendly grandfather listening to his granddaughter. There are no lies or trickery. Hiruzen is a good man, just like I thought.

Eventually, his men return with the confirmation from our stories.

He blows a hum and nods.

"I must admit, your achievement is quite something," he says with genuine pride in his voice. "Even we had missed that particular bunker."

The spark of mischief and light of idea glint in his eyes.

"Extraordinary contributions to the village and its safety demand extraordinary reward," he chuckles and lights his pipe. "As such, the both of you may request a single thing of me and I'll see about granting it."

As Naruko's eyes explode into massive saucers, the Hokage immediately questions his decision.

"These rewards, of course, have to be within reason." He says with a cough.

Well, well. That's a very interesting reward indeed.

"Ok, I know what I want!" Naruko suddenly says. "But I'll tell you later, ok?"

That was quick! The Hokage turns to me next.

"Well? What do you want, young Sasuke?"

Hmm.

-----------

"A high-quality blade, you say?" The Hokage hums, wrinkled hand gliding down his beard. "Is that all?" he asks with a chuckle.

"Erm, yes," I answer with a nod. "I'm sure."

"You could ask for secret knowledge, forbidden techniques, and even for I to train you in the arts," he continues with a curious nod. "Are you really certain of your choice?"

...

Ah, right. Sometimes I forget that others only see "Sasuke," the young Uchiha child. It doesn't matter how skilled I was, because, in the end, I'm still just viewed as a kid. It's an interesting advantage to have, for sure.

I shaked my head.

"All those things are nice, but I doubt you'd actually give me access to any secret teachings," I say with a small smile. "Besides, I'm sure showing so much favouritism might rub people the wrong way."

Or not. He's the Hokage. He can do whatever the hell he feels like doing. Honestly, I just couldn't think of anything "reasonable." Asking to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu or anything like that would bring up many questions you'd rather not answer. If I think about it- this "reward" of his might as well be a test of character.

Best to go for something simple and useful.

The Hokage nods, bringing the pipe between his fingers to his lip.

"Such conviction is a strength in itself," he hums wisely. "While I can't give you our treasured blades, I can have you pick out the highest quality ones available for all shinobi within Konoha's walls."

Sweet! He's going to pay for my stuff! Free things are the best kinds of things!

"Thank you," I say with a small and courteous bow of your head.

The Hokage nods and then turns to Naruko.

"Now, what did you want again?" he asks. Amusement dances on his face as a chuckle slips past his rising lip.

My best friend blinks, surprised at having the spotlight thrust upon her. She fidgets in place, cheeks taking a slightly red hue. For a fraction of a second, she glances in my direction before puffing out her chest.

"It's a secret!" She exclaims and points to me. "Sasuke, please go outside so I can talk to him!"

...

Huh. She's quite a bit shyer than I expected. Never lost that part, it seems.

The Hokage blows a chuckle that reverberates through his chest. He turns to me, brow raised questioningly.

I shake my head, a small smile on my lip.

"Alright."

And with that, I step out of the room. As the door shuts behind me, Naruko can be seen starring in my direction intensely.

Why so secretive? You'd think she was about to ask him to let my mom adopt her or something...

In any case, I patiently wait outside.

-------------

With our rewards chosen, the Hokage lends us a random "Chunin." He was there to bring me to one of the best weapon shops in town. I very much doubted that this guy was just a Chunin. There was something about the way he walked and talked that pricked at the back of my mind. And, of course, I just couldn't see some no-name Chunin being given this task.

Perhaps I thought a bit too highly of myself and Naruko, but it just didn't seem like the norm. Anyways, the three of us eventually arrived at "Elite Ninja." An apt name for a store praised for high-quality goods.

"Just pick out what you want and we'll pay for it," the Chunin said quite calmly. That was another thing about him. He was very relaxed.

Putting such thoughts aside, I honed my attention towards the actual weapons.

"Sasuke! Pick this one!" Naruko suddenly called out. "It's so cool!"

The shop owner was looking at my friend with a confused look on his face. He turned to the Chunin and then back to Naruko. The ninja simply shrugged and gave him a lazy wave.

Whatever the case, Naruko's "choice" was a massive greatsword twice our size. I nearly burst out laughing at the notion. Seriously? It looked so unwieldy! How could anyone actually swing that thing around?

"I'll think about it," I answered with a meek smile. "But I'm looking for something smaller, honestly."

And with that, I went around the store. There were quite a few good options, but one drew my eyes in above all the others.

---------

Only a few weeks after our little discovery, our class has its "final exam." It was a simple written test followed by a demonstration of the main three Jutsu and a practical combat test. By this point, just about everyone had a hold on everything required. Sakura's study group helped out anyone that was struggling behind catch up.

And thus, the teams were chosen.

"Sasuke, Naruko and Sakura- you'll make up team seven."

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Though, things weren't quite so similar, were they? There was no fanfare from Sakura- no overt shouting between her and Ino. The two obviously had some sort of ill-air between them, but it wasn't as obvious as what was supposed to be.

"You don't seem very surprised," I said to Naruko.

My friend blinked and then her eyes widened.

"Oh, um, I wasn't paying attention!" she suddenly shouted. "We're on the same team? Awesome!"

Indeed. Awesome.

With that, we'd all be meeting our team leader in a few hours.

I had a feeling I knew who was coming.

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