Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Tale of Hyuuga Kaede ❯ An Uchiha's Memories ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The First Day Of School
 
Sasuke's POV
(Country of Fire, 1993)
 
*Sasuke is five-years-old
 
“Onii-chan! Onii-chan!” I yelled, jumping up and down my older brother's bed. “Onii-chan! It's my first day of school! Didn't you say that you'd come with me? Wake up!” I said into his ear, shaking his shoulders.
 
“Hn. Sasuke, I'm tired. Next time, ne?” Itachi answered, poking my forehead like he always does. “There won't be any next time! I'm only gonna have one first day of school in my life!” I protested. “I'm sorry. I just had a tiring mission yesterday.” He mumbled, closing his eyes again. “Onii-chan, you liar! You promised you'd come with me!” I muttered, pouting.
 
“Sasuke-kun! Time for school!” “Hai, okasan! But onii-chan won't get up!” “Let him sleep, Sasuke. He's very tired.” “But, okasan! -” “No buts. Come on, you don't want to be late.” My mother said. I guess she's right. I gave my older brother one final prod to try and change his mind to no avail. I pouted again and followed my mother out of the house.
 
When my mother and I were already walking towards the ninja academy, I was so excited that my disappointment towards Itachi evaporated. I'm going to be a great ninja, just like Itachi! Then, even otosan will be proud of me!
 
As we finally got to the entrance of the ninja academy, my mother bent down to kiss me goodbye. “Bye, son. Have a good day at school, ne?” “Okasan! Everyone's looking!” I hissed in her ear, turning red with embarrassment. My mom laughed. “Alright, son. Bye now.” “Bye, oka- ” my words were died down in my throat as I caught sight of a little girl stepping out of an elegant carriage with a Hyuuga crest on it.
 
A doorman stepped down from the back and opened the carriage's doors. Another man stepped out first and assisted a girl about my age or so out onto the street. The man was blocking my view of her face, but when he bowed and left with the carriage, I saw.
 
I stared at her, enthralled. She looked like a Japanese doll that came to life with her black-lacquered slippers, black kimono with dainty flower designs, red lips, porcelain skin, glossy raven hair and innocent almond-shaped honey eyes. She carried a small backpack, a minute umbrella, and a navy blue bundle that I assumed contained a bento box.
 
She looked so sweet that I almost grabbed her and bit her. Breathless as I watched the little girl stare up at the morning sun's gentle rays with her eyes alight and red lips curved into a smile, I tugged on my mother's shirt.
 
“Okasan! Is she an angel?” I asked, loudly and curiously. My mother chuckled. “No, son. She's a Hyuuga, Hiashi-san's daughter. Pretty, isn't she?” my mom answered. Pretty was a bit of an understatement, if you ask me. “Alright, son. Run along now, or you'll be late for class.” She said, giving me one last hug and a gentle push towards the door before departing.
 
I found my classroom. The little Hyuuga girl was there, and the seat next to her was empty. Hesitantly, I took the empty seat next to her. “Hello, what's your name?” she asked me. She had a natural pink blush on her porcelain cheeks. I goggled at her for a while, dumbstruck. She was so kawaii, I could glomp her. She giggled. “Oh, yeah. My name's Hyuuga Kaede.” She said with a smile. So she was friendly… I wasn't. I never was. But I answered her question anyway. “I'm Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke.” I told Kaede.
 
You're Hyuuga Kaede? They say you aren't a real Hyuuga!” a kid who was passing by said. All the other kids in the classroom quieted down to watch. “Hey, watch your mouth.” I told the kid irritably. “You're so arrogant, just because you're an Uchiha.” The kid sneered at me. I felt my temper rise as something within me awakened. “Yamero. Sasuke, ignore him. He's not even worth talking to. And you, you don't know what you're talking about. Because I am a Hyuuga.” Kaede said angrily. And to my surprise, her eyes were now white not honey-colored, and veins appeared at the sides of her eyes. Everyone watched the scene before them in awe, when with great timing the teacher walked in.
 
“Hi everyone, my name is Yuhi Kurenai. I will be your sensei here at the academy, and I will not tolerate fighting, especially since today is our first day here in the academy together.” The red-eyed teacher said, looking directly at Kaede and me. She gasped. “U-uchiha Sasuke, am I right?” “Yes.” I said, confused. “And you? Hyuuga Kaede?” “Yes, sensei.” Kaede answered, as politely as she could.
 
“Since you have both activated your Sharingan and Byakugan eyes this morning, I will let this incident pass. I will make sure to tell your parents of your progress.” Kurenai-sensei said, with a slight smile on her lips. It was obvious that Kurenai-sensei was pleased.
 
“This is the beginning of a great friendship.” I thought, as Kaede and I grinned at each other. I could tell.
 
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
 
The Night Of The Uchiha Massacre
 
Sasuke's POV
(Country of Fire, 1997)
 
*Sasuke is nine-years-old
 
“No, no, no. Stop.” I moaned, trying the block out the horrible images of my murdered clan from re-entering my mind. Those horrible images that he forced me to see. The things that he told me, the way that he looked at me with his mad, bloodlust-driven eyes…
 
Him. Onii-chan. No, he's no longer my brother. He's a monster. A monster. Itachi is a monster…
 
I willed the pain constricting my heart to disappear, for the fear to vanish, and for the tears to stop flowing. But I knew it was over. My whole life is over. My clan is gone, my world is shattered.
 
I ran out of my home blindly, my own tears blurring my vision. I could hear my own rapid heartbeat, the blood pounding in my ears. I could feel my feet slamming into the pavement as I ran, ran without knowing where my feet were taking me.
 
I got to a doorstep, and I pounded desperately on the door. Shortly, it entered my mind that I was on the Hyuuga mansion's doorstep. “Wait a second! No need to break down the door!” Kaede-chan's voice called out. Kaede-chan…
 
“Hmmm? Sasuke-kun?! What's wrong?!” Kaede gasped, as I crumpled down onto the floor. “Kaede-chan… Help… Somebody - ” I croaked out, stretching out a hand to hold her. The world started spinning, and I felt my consciousness starting to slip away. “Sasuke-kun?! Sasuke-kun! What happened?! Answer me!” I heard Kaede yelling hysterically, trying to pull me up.
 
The last thing I heard was Kaede's blood-curdling scream, then everything went black.
 
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
 
The Formation Of Team Eight
 
Sasuke's POV
(Country of Fire, 1998)
 
*Sasuke is ten-years-old
 
Team eight: Yamanaka Mayuri, Hyuuga Kaede, and Uchiha Sasuke.
 
I covered my ears, trying to block out the sound of Kaede and Mayuri's shrieking. “Eeeeh! Isn't it great? We're all in the same team together!” Mayuri squealed. “Yeah! It's absolutely wonderful!” Kaede yelled, she and Mayuri hugging each other like the crazy girls that they were. “It would also be great if the two of you would shut up for a second.” I muttered, but my voice was drowned in the midst of their shrieking.
 
“We're finally ninjas now!” Kaede said into my ear, pulling me up and squeezing the life out of me.
 
“Not quite.” A female jounin said, as she entered the room. She was fairly tall, with long deep green hair and vibrant violet eyes. That was the first time I saw our team leader, Sarutobi Saiyaka.
 
“You three will be genins, after you pass my test.” Saiyaka-sensei said, grinning at the three of us, effectively silencing the shrieks.
 
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
 
The Copy-Ninja
 
Sasuke's POV
(Country of Fire, 1999)
 
*Sasuke is eleven-years-old
 
Saiyaka-sensei chose to concentrate on Mayuri. Kaede, on the other hand, has her mother to train her. And me? I have no one. Not like it matters. I don't need anyone.
 
Except maybe Kaede. Her, I need. I'll go insane without her. More insane than I already am. Mayuri, Iruka, and Saiyaka-sensei are okay. They don't irritate me as much as the rest of the world does.
 
Who needs a mentor, when I could train myself? I looked up at the cliff and shaded my eyes from the bright afternoon sun. It was scorching out here. Scorching, yes. But the place was deserted. Just the way I like it.
 
I proceeded to climb the cliff when a voice behind me said “Hmm. What do you think you're doing?” “None of your business.” I answered rudely, without bothering to look back to see who it was. “Training for the chuunin exam?” the voice asked me. “So you know. Why bother to ask when you know what the answer is anyway?” I muttered, climbing higher. “Why are you alone then? Who is training you?” “No one is. I'm training myself.” I said, sighing then letting go to finally face whoever was talking to me and tell him to scram.
 
It was a tall masked Jounin, with crazy silver hair and a sleepy-looking right eye. His slanted leaf protector hid his left eye, and his black cloth mask covered his nose and mouth. He looked like he was only a few years older than I was, probably around seventeen. He didn't look very strong, but I knew better than to judge people by their appearances.
 
“I see you've finally chosen to look at me. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I assume you're Uchiha Sasuke, judging by the Uchiha crest at the back of your shirt.” He said, and I could tell that he was smiling warmly beneath his mask. It annoyed me that he was still being nice, even when I was being very rude indeed - on purpose. “Yeah, I am. And I'd like you to leave, please. I prefer to work alone.” “You're going to need someone to train you.” “No, I don't.” “Your arrogance won't help you, and neither will your insolence.”
 
“If I can't help myself, then who will?” I asked him with an air of challenge in my voice. “I have an offer for you: I could help you, if you'd let me.” “You?! How could you help me? And besides, why would you?” “I could be your mentor. I'll teach you many things. I'm helping you because you have potential, and because we have something in common.” “Like what?” I asked him suspiciously.
 
“Like this.” Kakashi said simply, raising his leaf protector to reveal his left eye. He - he has a Sharingan! “But - how? You're not even an Uchiha.” “I'm not.” “Then how the hell did you get a Sharingan eye?” “Long story.” He shrugged, putting his leaf protector back in its place. I was frozen on the spot where I was standing. “So, about my offer - are you accepting it?” he asked me, raising a brow.
 
Mutely, I nodded.
 
“You know what, kid?” “What?” “You remind me of someone.” Kakashi said, ruffling my hair and giving me another smile. I had a feeling that I knew who that someone was. I looked up at him and saw my own reflection in his eye.
 
He sees himself in me.
 
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
 
The First Real Kiss
 
Sasuke's POV
(Country of Fire, 2004)
 
*Sasuke is sixteen-years-old
 
I ventured back outside into the training ground, where Kaede was still giving the log simultaneous kicks and punches. She's been doing that since the past hour, nonstop. That girl is really crazy; she's exhausting herself to bits.
 
Don't get me wrong; I'm as serious as hell about my training to be a Jounin. I was training with her up to one point. But I knew we needed our rest too. One S-class mission was all we needed. One last mission before both Kaede and I attain the last prerequisite that we need to achieve in order to become Jounin.
 
I caught Kaede around the waist and dragged her away from the log. “Hey, enough. Take it easy. Go and rest first, come on.” “Geroff!” Kaede said, struggling to get back to the log. “No.” I said firmly, dragging her back into my house. “Sasuke! Let me go! Can't you see? I'm training hard because this is our chance! This mission is the ticket to our dreams! We've wanted this for so long! What if we mess up?! What if we don't make it?! What if - ” I whirled around in the receiving area and placed my hands on her shoulders to steady her and gave her a stern `quit-babbling' look.
 
I raised my hands and cupped Kaede's face in them. “Look, Kaede. Stop saying it as if I don't know. I know we've both wanted this since we were kids, but if you wear yourself out too much, that isn't going to help either. Rest is essential. Plus, quit saying that we can't make it, because we can. We're ready, and we deserve this. We can.” I said, surprised at my own calmness. And that little speech that I said was probably more words than I've ever said in one go.
 
Kaede nodded weakly as I realized that I was still holding her face in my hands. I was all of a sudden aware of the closeness of our bodies, and the mingling of our breaths. I felt my eyes semi-close as I slowly tilted my face towards hers.
 
I've kissed Kaede before, on the cheek, back when I was seven during Valentine's Day. But I guess that didn't really count.
 
So technically, this is my first kiss. My first real kiss.
 
I still had one hand tenderly cupping Kaede's face, while the other pulled her body tight against mine. She wrapped her arms around me as well, and then my lips were on hers. I kissed her gently - at first. The kiss grew in intensity as she responded to my touch as we both fell onto the sofa.
 
Finally, we had to break the kiss off, both of us completely out of breath. I noticed only then that I had Kaede framed beneath me. I raised myself a little to keep my weight off her, noting that the only sound I could hear was the sound of our ragged breathing.
 
Awkwardly, I stood and brought Kaede up with me. “Sasuke?” I braced myself for her possible reactions as I forced myself to look at her lovely face. “What?” “I like you, too.” She said with a grin, replying to what my actions had told her.
 
And with that, we both understood. Wordlessly, I pulled her in for another kiss.
 
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
 
A/N:
I moved the last part of this chapter to the next one, because I suddenly realized that it was a chapter in itself. Hehehe ^_^;;