Bakashi-sensei

Wave Arc III

A/N:

a short chapter in Sasuke's POV, because I don't wanna switch POVs for this one ;D

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"Hey."

Sasuke pressed his lips together, eyes glued to the ground.

He heard a soft exhale before a pair of orange-clad legs appeared out of the corner of his eye. Naruto remained still for all of a moment before plopping down next to him.

"I didn't want Haku to die," Naruto confessed after a few moments of silence. "I know he was trying to kill Tazuna, but..." His face scrunched up, eyes trained on the graves before them. "He was just like..." His eyes flicked towards Sasuke before he pursed his lips. "Me."

"Us," Sasuke corrected, then grimaced when Naruto glanced back towards him.

Instead of shouting about or grinning at Sasuke's moment of weakness, though, he huffed. "Yeah. Us." He pulled his knees to his chest, pressing his chin into them. "And he was nice, even if he lied. And... he was totally right about precious people, too."

Sasuke tensed at that, gut churning. He thought he'd understood where Haku was coming from when he referenced his precious people. Thought he was fighting for his own by seeking vengeance, because if That Man was dead, then there'd be some sort of closure; he'd be able to live freely, knowing that neither he nor anyone he grew to love could or would be killed by his hand, and his clan could move on properly.

But, although he wasn't willing to admit it aloud, Haku had shaken him.

He loved deeply and truly, Sasuke could tell. He loved with his entire heart, his entire being , like an Uchiha.

He loved his mother, even though she wanted him to hide his power. Still loved his father, even though he'd killed his mother, and had attempted to kill him too. Loved Zabuza, even though he'd made Haku into nothing but a tool.

All because they had taken the time to raise him. Because they'd given him the bare minimum of what he deserved.

And Sasuke wanted to say the same of his clan. Wanted to say that he loved them all equally; loved the woman who'd sneak him a fresh pastry each time she made a new batch, loved the elders who kept their clan in line, loved the man who waved hello to each morning, loved loved loved his clan because they loved him , and it was only fair if he returned their sentiments.

But he didn't, not really. He loved his mother, and his father. He loved Shisui. He loved his brother , once, and that's why he hated That Man so much now.

And that meant something, didn't it? That Sasuke wasn't really doing it for them, because he never truly loved them. He cared for them - he had to, as one of the Clan Head's sons, and as a member of the clan - but he didn't love them like he was supposed to.

So Sasuke must be doing this, chasing That Man , for another reason.

Was it for his parents, who he'd killed without a second thought? For himself, so he wouldn't have to see anyone else die? For his cousin Shisui, who could've been great , and who was great in all the ways that typical Uchihas weren't?

For his brother, and the way That Man dared to destroy his memory ?

Sasuke didn't know whether his reasoning was shallow, or had any substance.

And he still would kill That Man . Had to, for himself, and for everyone, and for no one at all.

But if he didn't know why he was killing, what did that make him?

Did that mean he was just like —

"—you even listening to me, Bastard?"

Sasuke startled, head snapping to the side. Naruto gave him an odd look before rolling his eyes.

"Jeez. Okay, I'm only gonna say this once, ya hear?" he declared. When Sasuke simply stared, he furrowed his brows, looking somewhat constipated. "Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei are my precious people," he said slowly. "Because they're my teammates."

Naruto looked at Sasuke imploringly, and the Uchiha began to scowl. Was he trying to say that Sasuke didn't count as one of his teammates? Well, it wasn't like it mattered to him anyway. After all, Naruto was just the dead l—

" Ohmygod ," Naruto muttered under his breath, then threw his hands into the air. "You're my teammate too, Sasuke!" he shouted, face red. "Which means that you're also one of my precious people!" Sasuke froze, and the blond crossed his arms. "So you and I, and Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan, we're all gonna get strong and protect each other, okay? I'm gonna protect you, even if you're a bastard."

"I don't need your protection," Sasuke replied reflexively, though his words sounded hollow even to him. The world seemed near-silent compared to the blood rushing past his ears.

Naruto growled, standing up and jamming a finger in Sasuke's ace. "Oh, don't be all high and mighty now! I'm tryna be nice, you know! And I'm tryna tell you that we're gonna be different!" He gestured towards Haku and Zabuza's graves. "We're gonna live, and we're gonna be strong, and we're gonna be the best , because we're Team 7, dattebayo !"

Without bothering to wait for Sasuke to reply, Naruto stomped off down the cliff, muttering to himself. Sasuke watched him go, even when the blond disappeared, and even as his eyes began to burn.

Despite the lack of wind, Sasuke shuddered.

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A/N:

not sure if this is majorly ooc

hopefully not

uh, if you couldn't really tell, sasuke's having a bit of a crisis because haku (and naruto's) reasons for fighting are much more substantial/noble than his own, and he's not really sure *why* he's so obsessed with killing itachi
he also doesn't totally realize that team 7 is his main reason as of yet, but he did just get a hint :D

and if you're wondering about the bridge fight: everything went basically the same, except there was a little more teamwork. there wasn't enough for drastic change, though, so i just decided to forego writing it.

anyways
thanks for reading! <3