By the ti Sukuna threw Sasuke down for the third ti, the Uchiha boy was already panting hard, sweat dripping down his face, his hair sticking to his forehead. The small crowd of students who had gathered to watch looked on with mixed feelings. At first, everyone was excited to see their clash again—most were just happy to see the high and mighty Uchiha eating dirt for once. But now the fight was dragging, and it wasn't exciting anymore. So kids yawned, others whispered, and so began to look uneasy.
Sasuke refused to stay down—this was the third loss. With shaky legs, he pushed himself off the dirt once more, his fists trembling, his teeth clenched. "I'm not done yet," he muttered.
Sukuna raised an eyebrow, brushing the dust off his sleeve. "Perhaps, however, I'm done here. It's just a waste of ti keeping on beating you to the ground. It's not fun anymore."
The crowd chuckled, but Sasuke ignored the comnt. He lifted his fists again. "Fight ."
Sukuna sighed. "This is the third ti, Sasuke. I beat you once, twice, now thrice. What's the point of this? Just go ho."
A few kids snorted with laughter, but the mood quickly turned serious again when Sasuke lunged forward with desperation in his eyes. Sukuna easily sidestepped and tapped him on the back of the head, making him stumble and nearly fall.
"And you lot, don't laugh if you can't even bother trying to push yourselves. At least he's trying. Much better than you bunch of losers," Sukuna shouted, earning the ire of the group.
Sukuna didn't care. He just wanted them gone.
Among the watchers, Kiyomi clenched her fists. Her eyes softened, worry written all over her face. "Sasuke…" she whispered. She had noticed the dark circles, the haggard look, the way her brother's hands shook when he wasn't fighting. Ever since she ca back after being rescued, Sasuke hadn't been the sa. He trained endlessly, barely slept, and spoke less than ever. Kiyomi had an idea why he was like this, but she couldn't stop him. She couldn't even help him—because she was in the sa situation.
She took a step forward, calling out. "Sasuke, that's enough! You'll hurt yourself!"
But Sasuke didn't even glance at her. He only kept his eyes on Sukuna, stubborn and determined.
Sukuna scratched his head, looking annoyed now. "Tch. You're not even listening to your sister. Quit acting like Naruto, will ya? Think and stop this nonsense."
Naruto, who was also watching, shouted, "Hey! Don't drag into this!"
Sukuna ignored him and looked back at Sasuke. He could see it now—the way Sasuke's body trembled, the way his punches were slower than usual. This wasn't normal training. This wasn't a normal fight. Sothing was driving him beyond sense.
'What happened?' Sukuna couldn't help but question himself. Sasuke was always pushing himself after Itachi's betrayal, but this was looking out of control. Sothing wasn't right here.' He pondered, trying to rack his mind to figure out what caused this.
"Alright," Sukuna finally said, walking toward Sasuke, who staggered back into a stance. "Enough of this circus. Co with ."
Sasuke scowled. "Not until we fight again."
"We will," Sukuna replied calmly, "but not here. Let's move before Iruka shows up and makes us write apology letters."
Dragging a fight outside the academy wasn't unusual for Sukuna, but this ti he was serious. He glanced at Kiyomi, who looked like she wanted to follow. "Stay here," he told her firmly.
Kiyomi frowned. "But—"
"No buts," Sukuna cut her off. "I'll talk to him. Alone. Man to man."
Kiyomi hesitated but stopped when she saw the sharp look in Sukuna's eyes. She reluctantly nodded, though the worry didn't leave her face.
She wasn't listening to Izumi at this point, so perhaps Sukuna. She could only hope so.
Sukuna led Sasuke to one of his usual training grounds, a quiet clearing where he often trained alone. Sasuke followed silently, his fists still clenched, his breathing ragged.
When they arrived, Sukuna stopped and turned to face him. "Alright, Prince Charming. Before we fight again, answer one thing."
Sasuke glared. "What?"
"Why are you pushing yourself like this? You're not sleeping if those eye bags are any indication, you look like a zombie, and you fight like soone who doesn't care if he drops dead. What's going on?" Sukuna's tone was firm now, not mocking.
Sasuke's jaw tightened. For a while, he didn't answer. His fists shook at his sides.
"It has nothing to do with you," he retorted.
"You're either saying the reason, or I'm going ho," Sukuna didn't back down.
Finally, through gritted teeth, he muttered, "I need to get stronger."
Sukuna tilted his head. "Yeah, no kidding. But why this badly? You've always been the serious type, but this… this looks more like an obsession."
Sasuke's eyes flickered with pain, but he didn't hide it. "Because if I don't get stronger, I'll never be able to defeat him."
"Your brother, huh?"
Sasuke's hands curled into fists tighter.
"It's been a month or so, if I'm not wrong, since that happened. Strange how now you're showing the heavy symptoms rather than when it actually happened. Funny, isn't it?"
Sasuke remained silent.
"Look, either you tell the reason or we call it a day here. I have no reason to fight you. And I can't help you if you don't tell what's bothering you," Sukuna chided, now getting a little impatient.
For a mont, Sukuna was quiet too. He looked up at the sky, scratching the back of his head. "Man, you're heavy for a twelve-year-old. Most kids your age worry about howork and snacks. You're out here plotting how to kill your brother. Breaking your body and doing things that could hurt you."
Sasuke snapped, "Don't make fun of !"
Sukuna smirked faintly. "I'm not. But, ah, what the hell. You're not gonna listen to a word I say anyway. Let's do it your way then. Let's fight…"
Sasuke blinked, confused. "What?"
"You heard . We fight, and if you stand your ground for a minute, then you get another fight, no questions asked. However, if I win, then you have to say what's bothering you… Deal?"
Sasuke didn't hesitate—he took the chance to fight.
The two squared off again. It didn't last long—Sukuna was stronger, faster, sharper. Within a minute, Sasuke was on the ground once more, breathing hard, his body aching.
Sukuna stood over him, hands on his hips. "Now start talking. And I need the truth."
Sasuke lay on the ground, chest heaving, his body aching from yet another defeat.
"Damnit, damnit. Why am I so weak?"
His small hands went to his face, covering his eyes, and a broken sob slipped out.
Startling Sukuna.
'Oi oi… is he really crying?' He was speechless. He didn't hit him that hard. Yeah, to win before ten minutes, he did kind of go on the offensive, but nothing too much.
But here he saw it—Sasuke Uchiha crying like a kid in front of him.
'He is a kid, now that I think about it.' When Sukuna looked at the boy again, this ti forgetting everything he knew about the plot for a mont, he indeed only saw a helpless little child.
Sasuke's anger, the frustration, the endless nights of training, the voices in his head telling him he was weak, Itachi's voice—all of it ca crashing down.
"Why can't I get stronger? Why am I so weak?" Sasuke's voice cracked, muffled behind his hands. "No matter how hard I try… I'm still weak. I'll never catch up. I'll never… never defeat him…" His body shook as tears slipped through his fingers.
For the first ti, Sukuna didn't see the cool, aloof Sasuke that the academy knew—the boy who walked with pride, chin held high, never letting anyone see a crack in his mask. No.
Right now, he was just a child. A seven, maybe eight-year-old boy who had seen too much, who had forced the weight of revenge onto his small shoulders and carried it until he broke.
"I can't even protect my sister… I was helpless when that enemy took her from in front of my eyes." He muttered, cursing his weakness.
Sukuna exhaled sharply. 'So, that's what it was. Of course. How didn't I figure it out?'
Now he understood the desperation. And the sudden obsession with getting stronger.
Definitely Sasuke would be affected just as much as Kiyomi was after what those Root bastards did to them.
Not only was he seriously injured, but those Root mbers kidnapped Kiyomi in front of him. Now it all made sense. That incident must have pushed Sasuke further towards the darkness, reawakening his need for power after what Itachi did.
He once again looked into Sasuke's eyes and sure enough, earlier he hadn't noticed, but there were two tomoe Sharingan in both of his eyes.
'Damnit…' He wasn't good at this—comforting people, saying the right thing. But even he couldn't ignore it.
He could understand—he too had a sister. A family.
'Sigh…' He crouched down beside Sasuke, sitting in the dirt with him. He couldn't do anything for the boy until he cald down, so besides waiting he had no other option.
For a long while, he said nothing, just stayed there. Slowly, Sasuke's sobs quieted, though his shoulders still trembled.
When the boy finally lowered his hands, his eyes red and swollen, Sukuna looked at him seriously.
"Do you really want to get stronger?" he asked.
"More than anything," Sasuke replied with a rather soft voice. He was embarrassed now.
Prideful boys are a little Tsundere.
"Cool, then get up. Let show you what you're doing wrong."
xxx
Please Consider Donating Power Stones if you like the Chapter.
Every 250 Stones for an Additional Bonus Chapter.
"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"
If you want to read up to 20 Chapters in advance, check my Patreon on
Patreon/Kamidemond
User Comments
0 comments from readers