Post by Uchiha Sasuke on Jul 16, 2008 17:40:19 GMT -5
Aside from birds chirping somewhere in the trees and bushes, it was pretty quiet all around. And empty; only here and there, a leaf torn away from its branch drifted with the current. It flew for a while, seemed as if it would soar, only to still end up on the ground in the end. No sunlight touched the scenery at such an early hour; there was only the grey of early dawn. The hour was accountable for the absence of people, as well. It was too early for anyone to be awake, except for the shopkeepers who needed to set up their small businesses a while before customers were to come. As he jogged past towards the park, Sasuke had seen several such people receiving morning shipments or setting up the day's special offers on the shelves. He had paid little attention to them, but the images were there, registered in his mind regardless.
Now he was at the top of the long flight of stairs in Konoha's park, however, and away from those sights. His thoughts had been frantic, though, drifting from trivial things like flash-memories of those men performing routine activities to the far more annoying recollections of the dream to which he owed being awake at such an hour. He didn't quite remember what it was, aside from a few unclear frames, but he couldn't lose the feeling he had woken up with, that sudden tension. What he was doing now, taking advantage of the extra time this had bought him into the day and proceeding with an extended morning training plan, was his attempt to fight it off. But somehow, it hadn't been entirely successful.
For some reason, undefined even in his own mind, Sasuke was on his guard. Maybe it was just because he had only trained in Kakashi's company during the past couple of weeks, and he had grown unused to being by himself, but even so… Now that he had stopped to catch his breath after reaching the top of the stairs in a single sprint, he could pay even more attention to his surroundings. The park was centred on a small hill, and an actual part of the village, so from up here he had a good view of whichever part of Konoha he should choose to face. But if he looked, he would still find nothing much to see, as it was still too early for anyone but the change of guard shifts to be around. Not even the tiniest sound was out of place, so he couldn't figure out what bothered him. Probably just his own demons catching up again.
Itachi.
There was no proof that his brother had even appeared in his dream, but Sasuke assumed that to be the case. He wouldn't be this troubled for anything else, not even the approaching finale of the Chuunin exam. Of course, the fight with that Gaara from Sunagakure would be no easy one. That guy looked strong and deadly, and there was also the mark on Sasuke's shoulder, which still carried a minor amount of hindrance. But however that was, they had some unfinished business, it seemed. Sasuke hadn't been able to shake off that impression ever since a few days back, when Gaara had shown up unexpectedly at the site of his training. If Kakashi hadn't been there, that encounter might as well have become the fight itself. But in front of a Jounin, two Genins, no matter how strong, had been forced to play by the rules.
Sabaku no Gaara had mentioned something about Sasuke's eyes being the same as his. That was their unfinished business. To prove which of the resolves behind those similar eyes was the strongest. Each would test himself against the other, or at least that was Sasuke's view on it. He wasn't afraid of his opponent, only content to have matched up with someone with enough potential to be a real test for his power. That was the sense in which he didn't care when the fight took place, as long as they made it happen. Like Gaara, he was impatient to see the end of it, as well. And he would not lose. He couldn't afford that much now, when he was seeing fast progress at long last.
Still, he needed the rank of Chuunin. In obtaining that, more power would be accessible to him sooner. He knew that Kakashi had kept things in check because he thought Sasuke wasn't ready to fight Gaara yet. On his part, though, he had conceded to not fight at this point and to wait until later only because he didn't want to lose the chance of advancing in rank. He was after a goal which, like he had said before, wouldn't remain a dream for long. It would become reality. Despite this long-term plan, however, Sasuke looked forward to this fight on a simpler level. That of just wanting to win against someone strong. Managing that would let him know he hadn't gone this far for nothing. If he managed to beat Gaara in the match, he would know that agreeing to function alongside a team was probably not as bad as it had seemed at first.
For either reason, this fight would be interesting, and Sasuke was looking forward to it.
Now he was at the top of the long flight of stairs in Konoha's park, however, and away from those sights. His thoughts had been frantic, though, drifting from trivial things like flash-memories of those men performing routine activities to the far more annoying recollections of the dream to which he owed being awake at such an hour. He didn't quite remember what it was, aside from a few unclear frames, but he couldn't lose the feeling he had woken up with, that sudden tension. What he was doing now, taking advantage of the extra time this had bought him into the day and proceeding with an extended morning training plan, was his attempt to fight it off. But somehow, it hadn't been entirely successful.
For some reason, undefined even in his own mind, Sasuke was on his guard. Maybe it was just because he had only trained in Kakashi's company during the past couple of weeks, and he had grown unused to being by himself, but even so… Now that he had stopped to catch his breath after reaching the top of the stairs in a single sprint, he could pay even more attention to his surroundings. The park was centred on a small hill, and an actual part of the village, so from up here he had a good view of whichever part of Konoha he should choose to face. But if he looked, he would still find nothing much to see, as it was still too early for anyone but the change of guard shifts to be around. Not even the tiniest sound was out of place, so he couldn't figure out what bothered him. Probably just his own demons catching up again.
Itachi.
There was no proof that his brother had even appeared in his dream, but Sasuke assumed that to be the case. He wouldn't be this troubled for anything else, not even the approaching finale of the Chuunin exam. Of course, the fight with that Gaara from Sunagakure would be no easy one. That guy looked strong and deadly, and there was also the mark on Sasuke's shoulder, which still carried a minor amount of hindrance. But however that was, they had some unfinished business, it seemed. Sasuke hadn't been able to shake off that impression ever since a few days back, when Gaara had shown up unexpectedly at the site of his training. If Kakashi hadn't been there, that encounter might as well have become the fight itself. But in front of a Jounin, two Genins, no matter how strong, had been forced to play by the rules.
Sabaku no Gaara had mentioned something about Sasuke's eyes being the same as his. That was their unfinished business. To prove which of the resolves behind those similar eyes was the strongest. Each would test himself against the other, or at least that was Sasuke's view on it. He wasn't afraid of his opponent, only content to have matched up with someone with enough potential to be a real test for his power. That was the sense in which he didn't care when the fight took place, as long as they made it happen. Like Gaara, he was impatient to see the end of it, as well. And he would not lose. He couldn't afford that much now, when he was seeing fast progress at long last.
Still, he needed the rank of Chuunin. In obtaining that, more power would be accessible to him sooner. He knew that Kakashi had kept things in check because he thought Sasuke wasn't ready to fight Gaara yet. On his part, though, he had conceded to not fight at this point and to wait until later only because he didn't want to lose the chance of advancing in rank. He was after a goal which, like he had said before, wouldn't remain a dream for long. It would become reality. Despite this long-term plan, however, Sasuke looked forward to this fight on a simpler level. That of just wanting to win against someone strong. Managing that would let him know he hadn't gone this far for nothing. If he managed to beat Gaara in the match, he would know that agreeing to function alongside a team was probably not as bad as it had seemed at first.
For either reason, this fight would be interesting, and Sasuke was looking forward to it.
