Backslide-Blackkat

Chapter 15

I will be trying to get a chapter out per day, but I still have to go through and triple check for any spelling/grammar errors.

Sasuke watches Naruto's cousin walk away, shoulders a straight line and head held high, bright hair almost glowing in the sun. The man has descended once more to melancholy, and Sasuke hasn't noticed until now that lately such fits have become rarer, confined to the middle of the night when Sasuke comes out to get a glass of water and finds Kurama seated on the windowsill, staring at the moon. He's been happy lately, smiles genuine and laughter bright and clear, and only now, seeing the deep sort of sadness cross his blue eyes, does Sasuke understand just how much the change means.

He clenches his hands in his lap, staring blankly into his soba. Together, he and Naruto make Kurama happy, and somehow that feels...incredible. Humbling. It's different than being the son of the clan head, different than being another genius like his brother and getting a smile from his father that says I expected no less. Because there's something about Kurama that's very close to broken, and when he's around them, helping or teaching or cooking or just relaxing, the jagged edges seem less sharp, more bearable. They ease him, his heart or his loss or his soul or whatever romantic name can be put to those broken pieces, and that's—

Well. Sasuke's never been anything similar, to anyone, and it's all but impossible to look Kurama in the eye, see the way he needs them, and then go back to being cold and indifferent. Maybe Itachi would be disciplined enough, unkind enough, but Sasuke isn't. Not now, and hopefully not ever.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura says softly from Naruto's other side. "Kurama-san...he's from Uzushiogakure, isn't he?"

Kakashi makes a thoughtful noise, dragging his chopsticks through the broth remaining in his bowl. "Was might be a better way of putting it," he says, and the tone is light and absent, but the expression visible on his face is anything but. "Uzushio was destroyed almost thirty years ago, during the Second Shinobi World War."

For the first time that Sasuke can remember, Naruto isn't paying attention to the three bowls of ramen in front of him. He's gazing down the street, on the figure only just now disappearing into the line of trees, and Sasuke can't read his expression. Something sad, and fierce, and protective, and just a little helpless—though that could be Sasuke projecting, because that's certainly what he feels right now.

"Kurama-nii said that there weren't many Uzushio shinobi left," the blond says. "And that whoever did manage to escape scattered rather than go to another village. I don't think Kurama-nii has even met another one in a long time."

Kakashi dips his head, silver hair falling over his face. "I wouldn't be surprised." His voice is almost startlingly grim. "Whirlpool Country was small, and Uzushio even smaller—not even a quarter the size of Konoha. The Uzumaki were probably their most prominent clan, and they weren't even as numerous as the Hyuuga."

"But..." Sakura bites her lip, looking down, and then seems to come to a decision. She squares her shoulder, raises her head, and asks, "But why is Uzushio never mentioned in Konoha? Even if it was destroyed, the Second Shinobi War wasn't that long ago. There have to be records, or histories, or something, but when I looked in the library there were a couple of scrolls on advanced sealing theory and one recipe book and nothing else."

"Because Uzushio's destruction is one of the darkest stains on Konoha's honor," Kakashi says simply. He taps the spiral design on his jounin vest and explains, "We were allies, from the moment of Konoha's founding on. Senju Hashirama took a Whirlpool Country princess—an Uzumaki princess—as his bride. For years, when the rest of the Elemental Countries were at war or in turmoil, Konoha and Uzushio were stable because of their alliance. Trade, training, military support, political alliances—the villages were friends. But Uzushio specialized in sealing, taught its shinobi seals the way we teach bunshin. Other countries were afraid of that, and how powerful it made them, so Kiri and Iwa banded together and destroyed the entire village over the course of a few days. Uzushio sent a call for help, but Konoha was in the middle of several other battles and reached them too late. So it's our shame, as a village, and people don't tend to talk about it."