Kiyomi woke up as usual that day. She stretched, rubbed her eyes, and glanced toward her brother's futon. Empty.
"Sasuke…!"
Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind told her that he would be nearby, perhaps in the washroom, but she still felt anxious.
Sasuke had been acting strange for the past week—no training, no sparring, no challenges. Instead, he spent his days sitting in silence, reading old books or meditating alone. He even woke up late. It wasn't like him at all, and Kiyomi had grown more worried with each passing day.
Now, with his bed empty, panic set in. She rushed outside, determined to find him.
Before seeking other clan members' help and starting a commotion, she decided to search by herself.
What if he was just somewhere around the village?
As she hurried down the street, she nearly collided with a familiar face. Hinata was walking calmly, dressed in her training clothes.
"Hinata!" Kiyomi called, stopping her. "Have you seen Sasuke? He's gone from home."
Hinata blinked in surprise. "Sasuke-kun? No, I haven't. But… I'm on my way to meet Sukuna-kun. He invited me to join his morning training."
Kiyomi paused, still catching her breath. "Wait—you? Training with him too now? What's with him roping everyone into his training madness?" Kiyomi was speechless. What was this guy up to? Was he training future soldiers or planning to open a dojo? What's with these public training invitations?
"I thought your father wouldn't allow it. You said he was strict, didn't he?" Kiyomi asked in confusion.
Hinata lowered her gaze, fiddling with her fingers. "I thought so too… but when I asked him, he said I should go. I was… surprised too."
What Hinata didn't say was that Hiashi only agreed after hearing Sukuna's name. As for why, only he knew.
Kiyomi shook her head in disbelief. "That's strange… but right now, Sasuke is more important. Can you use your Byakugan to help me find him?" she asked, remembering what the Byakugan was capable of.
Hinata hesitated, then nodded. "O-Of course." She pressed her fingers together, veins bulging around her eyes. Her vision spread outward like a net, and within moments she spotted him.
"He's… there. Ahead, at the training ground," Hinata said softly.
Kiyomi let out a long sigh of relief before her expression twisted into irritation. "That idiot! He could've just told me he was going out to train. Why make me worry like this?"
The two girls hurried to the training ground. By the time they arrived, the scene waiting for them was unexpected.
There stood three boys—Sasuke, Sukuna, and Lee—completely drenched in sweat, clothes sticking to their skin, their breaths heavy. The ground around them was scuffed and torn from drills.
Kiyomi blinked, stunned. Hinata clasped her hands together, eyes wide.
Sasuke, the one who had been so quiet and distant all week, was training harder than ever.
'Okay, I'm sure now, this is all because of this bastard…' Kiyomi glared at Sukuna, certain that all the changes in Sasuke were because of him.
However, she didn't say anything. They would talk later. For now, she decided to just observe Sasuke.
The sun had barely climbed over the village walls when the last three stragglers finally showed up. Naruto came running in loud as ever, Karin huffing to keep up, and Sakura with her usual smile plastered on her face.
Sukuna, already sweaty from his drills, groaned under his breath. "Great. The circus has arrived."
"HEY!" Naruto barked the moment he spotted the scene. "What the hell, Sukuna? Lee? You guys were training without me?! And Sasuke too?! Why didn't you call me? You call Sasuke but not me? That's not fair!"
Seeing himself left out of training while others were getting stronger, Naruto immediately flared up in protest.
He wanted to train hard and sweat like them too, damnit. Though what he really wanted was to spend more time with his friends.
Lee straightened, still dripping with sweat. "Youth waits for no one, Naruto-kun! If you wish to join, you must wake up before the sun!"
Naruto pointed a dramatic finger. "You're all traitors! Even you, Sukuna! You—you—teme! What's he doing here? How come he's here and no one told me?" Naruto complained like a bratty kid, especially when seeing Sasuke of all people there.
Sasuke, panting but calm, just shot him a bored look and went back to stretching. "…Idiot."
Naruto all but blew up into a rant about Sasuke acting all cool. "I'm not the idiot, you're the idiot! Idiot! You snuck off and trained without me, didn't you?! You think you're better than me, huh?!"
"Sigh…" Sukuna finally cut in, rubbing the back of his neck. "Keep it quiet, will ya. No one invited him. Sasuke just showed up on his own."
Naruto blinked. "Eh?"
"And as for me and Lee," Sukuna added flatly, "we've been training like this ever since we started. I even told you about it, remember? You just couldn't drag yourself out of bed before sunrise, so how's that my fault?"
That shut Naruto up for half a second. Then his face turned red. "Wha—?! So what if I like sleeping?! I—I'll train harder than all of you combined! You'll see! Believe it!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Pathetic."
Naruto lunged at him immediately. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Sasuke stepped neatly out of the way, letting Naruto trip and eat dirt. "Tch. Hopeless."
"What did you say, teme?" Naruto gritted his teeth.
"If you think you can get stronger without working hard then you're just dreaming, idiot. While you cozy your lazy ass in bed, sleeping, we're here getting stronger. It's your fault for being lazy," Sasuke said with a smirk.
Sukuna was speechless. He wanted so badly to point out to the cocky kid that this was Sasuke's first day this early into training. But seeing Sasuke's casual and eased-up attitude from before, he let it go.
His words worked, and that was all Sukuna could have asked for.
Kiyomi sighed loudly, dragging a hand down her face. "I have a feeling he's gonna rope me into this stupid training as well somehow…" she muttered.
However, internally she was surprised seeing Sasuke grinning. How long had it been since she saw that grin on her brother's face?
Her eyes flickered to the pink-haired boy once again, and a complicated feeling arose inside her.
She couldn't understand Sukuna Haruno anymore. Was he dangerous, a friend, or a foe? What was he?
She didn't know, however, she knew one thing: she wasn't going to be left behind. She had to get just as strong as Sasuke.
'Hmph, before sunrise it is. What a troublesome brother I have. Still, it's not a big deal. If he can do it then I'll do it too,' she muttered to herself with a huff.
Meanwhile, Sakura spotted Sasuke from the corner of her eye and instantly transformed back into her squealing self. "Sasuke-kun! You look so cool when you're training! Do you need water? A towel? Should I cheer for you?"
Sasuke visibly flinched. "…No. Just stay out of my way."
'Sigh, some things never change I guess…' Sukuna was helpless.
Sakura only squealed harder. "He spoke to meee!"
Hinata, who had been quietly standing to the side, awkwardly tugged at her sleeves. Sukuna noticed and wanted Karin to teach her the basics, but before he could even call her, Karin was already standing near him.
"Geez, just look at you. All sweaty and dirty. Can't you just take things easy?" Before Sukuna could say anything, she was near him, taking out a handkerchief, wiping his sweat before asking.
It caught him off guard. And he wasn't the only one. Hinata, Sakura, and Kiyomi's eyes caught that gesture.
Sukuna was speechless. Did this girl think he was a child or something? But seeing the pink dusting her cheeks, he didn't move away…
"Thanks. Seems like our Karin-chan is getting sensible. Look, brat, this is how you act cute," Sukuna shouted, pointing at Sakura.
Hearing what Sukuna said, the pink on Karin's face deepened.
On the other hand, a tick mark formed on Sakura's head. This was the third time. Did he have to call her out every time like this? It was embarrassing. Inner Sakura roared.
"However, going easy will not make one stronger, Tomato. And keep your handkerchief—nothing less than a bath at this point can help me." He grinned, flashing her a grin, and then pointed at Hinata.
"Karin, show Hinata the group's normal training routine. Warm-ups, conditioning, that stuff."
Karin's face crunched up for a second. That nickname he gave her was just as much of a trigger for her as it was for Kushina. She didn't like it. It was annoying.
Karin pushed up her glasses with a glare and a cute pout before answering. "Sure. C'mon, Hyūga. Try to keep up."
Hinata nodded nervously, cheeks slightly pink.
"Tch, why is he always like this…" Karin couldn't resist sneaking glances back at Sukuna with a pout and muttered to herself in a complaining tone.
Kiyomi overheard and raised an eyebrow. "…What's wrong with girls in this place?" She meant world, to be exact.
Karin shot her a glare. "Shut it, Uchiha."
Sukuna ignored them both, already rolling his shoulders. "Alright. Everyone else, get to your training. I want to see progress, not excuses."
Naruto, still covered in dirt, shot his hand up. "HEY! If Sasuke's here, then we're sparring, right? Right?! Fight me then!"
Sukuna smirked. "Funny you say that. I was just planning on sparring today." He looked at Sasuke, then at Lee. "You two up for it?"
Lee's eyes lit up like firecrackers. "YES! A thousand times yes!"
Sasuke wiped sweat off his forehead, glaring slightly. "Hn. Don't think you'll beat me again." Determined.
Naruto clenched his fists. "Wait—what about me?! Don't just leave me out!"
Sukuna shot him a lazy look. "Finish your basic drills first. If you can do them properly, maybe I'll let you join next time."
"WHAT?!" Naruto stomped his foot. "That's not fair!"
Sasuke smirked faintly. "Figures. Can't even keep up with the warm-ups."
Naruto's face turned tomato red. "I'LL SHOW YOU, TEME!"
As Naruto stormed off to half-heartedly start push-ups, the sparring trio moved to the center of the field. Sukuna cracked his neck, eyes glinting with anticipation.
"Alright. Don't hold back," he warned with a grin. "I'm in the mood for a good fight."
Lee's teeth practically sparkled. "YOUTHFUL SPARRING! LET'S GO!"
Sasuke slid into his stance, Sharingan flickering. "I'll win this time."
Off to the side, Sakura clasped her hands dreamily. "Sasuke-kun is so strong…!"
Karin scoffed. "You know your own brother beat the shit out of that Uchiha many times over, right?"
Kiyomi, watching them, also let out a determined sigh. "Oi, pink head. Spar with me after this. Let's see how long it takes me this time to kick your ass."
A tick mark formed on Sakura's forehead. What was with this girl? She's worse than Ino.
"Bring it on, I'll teach you who's kicking whose ass!" she roared.
"Come on, Hinata, let them be. We have to start with the basics." Karin, sighing, dragged the confused and shy Hinata away.
xxx
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