#v. SCORTCHED FILM AND BLOODIED PHOTOGRAPHS (Part I)

[hatredcurse]

Today, the sky was painted a vibrant pinkish-purple with its usual chorus of cicadas to liven the atmosphere. Sasuke stumbled in, fresh scrapes on his knees, a few bruises on his arms, but a bright, warm smile over his mouth. He couldn't be faster to kick off his shoes at the door before running in to find his mother within, zeroing in at her for a hug.

"Kaa-san !!" he buried his face into her, unable to contain the joy that filled his body," I've missed you!"

❤️ for a starter || @fighterbound

[hatredcurse]

A certain happy little Uchiha sneaks up from behind and gives Sasuke the biggest hugs! “Happy Birthday, nisan!” Kyosuke chirps happily, snuggling into his twin. (Peferably set when they’re genin cause babies) || @twinuchiha

Sasuke stiffened at the shoulders, balancing his weight and the suspicious item in his arm. "You caught up to me before I found you," he said with a rare smile on his face," I was trying to hide your surprise."

In his arms was a small box, which he sat on the table to pat at Kyosuke's hand," get off and take a look."

Inside was probably matching purple and blue beaded bracelets he bought at a local craft stand.

[hatredcurse]

Seeing his son finally come to consciousness, Fugaku swallows his relief. He reaches into his pouch at his waist and pulls out a few food pills. He’ll need all the energy to survive getting him to a medical ward. It’s only been a few minutes since he found him, meaning he’s not sure how long the boy been hiding out here. “Sasuke,” he address trying to see how conscious he is, “can you hear me?” || @fighterbound

Everything felt like lead. From his fingertips down to his legs, he could hardly push his body to move, much less pry open even his eyes to look towards the source of that voice.

"Papa..." his hand fumbled over Fugaku's flak jacket, trying to grab onto him; anchor into reality.

"W-Where are we?" Sasuke asked again, weakly into the protective care of his father.

[hatredcurse]

"You're such a good brother, Sasuke." Mikoto smiles at her son gently, oh so proud. "Taking care of Kyosuke. But you should remember to take care of yourself too, okay?" She lightly pokes his cheek, chuckling softly. || @musesofchaos

Sasuke winced at the poke on his cheek, rubbing it a bit, chasing the phantom touch it left behind. "I am..." he smiled anyways, eyes alight with wonder and love for his mother. "I'll take care of everyone."

[hatredcurse]

Continued » @kikaichuno

It was more polite to admit that Sasuke had anxiety over small spaces than it was to outright say he hated the feeling of another body near his. Perhaps his little lie wasn't far from the truth, a variant of nervousness creeping up his spine at the sensation of his classmate's chest breathing offset to his own, the outdoorsy smell mingling into whatever natural, insectoid scent that carried with his sweat, and this general feeling of tightness occurring on the outside and seeping within.

Every blink set the Uchiha back several years; to a memory of a small, thinly child sandwiched against the warm press of dead corpses. His eyes would wet themselves and open to view the darkly lit room with nothing in clear view outside of Shino's black shades before regressing to worse times.

" Okay, " he said instead of a simple nod, figuring Shino ( for some reason ) could not nor feel physical acknowledgement.

Keeping the shroud of stealth, Sasuke was careful and slow with what little movement was he granted, sliding his the sole of his shoe over the ground in hopes of finding a latch. Similarly with his palms flush to the anterior wall, he felt for any sort of groove that would prize them with release.

" I don't hear them anymore, " he whispered, jutting his head towards the door.

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke paused in his step and held his hand up, palm facing his team, as a simple gesture of farewell. He knows if he didn't acknowledge them now, Naruto might run up and yank him by the shoulders, ruining his already descending mood.

Admittedly, this was a first seeing Daria interact with Sakura. Kind of. He's seen them in passing, but he didn't care to pay attention until this moment. He couldn't formulate an opinion that spoke to any truth other than to present passive curiosity about the bond between sisters.

"It'll take us the day or so to travel to our destination," he cuts to the chase, seeing as he didn't know what else they could possibly talk about. That, and he wasn't much for conversation.

"We'll probably want to camp near the outer edge, then slip our way in around dusk," his brow furrowed, a little frustrated at the lack of details," there isn't any information on this village's formation nor secret forces, so I guess we'll have to rely on intuition and hope no one catches us."

This certainly did nothing for the rising concern within himself. The uncertainty of it all and how he felt virtually stranded beside a girl who was both familiar and unfamiliar at equal mileage.

Daria released a quiet breath, silently relieved as he stepped out of her space. Still... artic blue eyes follow after him curiously. Able to tell that something was clearly still bothering the Uchiha. But she doesn't press. Instead, she nods. "Yeah, I'm ready." Pushing some hair out of her face, the kunoichi follows after him. But stops when a voice calls out. "Sasuke-kun! Daria, good luck!" Sakura is waving at them, a bright smile on her face. It makes her smile and wave back. "Good luck to you, too! And don't worry! I'll bring your boyfriend back in one piece!" She laughs at the squeak she receives, ignoring whatever else her twin hurls at her and speeds up to get ahead of Sasuke with a snicker. She may not think that the boy was good enough for her sister, but it was always fun to tease her.

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke stumbled in after her, knees knocking together without a semblance of balance to be seen. His energy exceeded proper form, that he tripped over himself to keep up with his mother.

"Oh! oh! Uhm-" he thinks to himself. The grease and additives of takeout were always extra delicious to him, but on the other hand, he gets to cook with mama, and that was a rarity. Not that he hated cooking with nii-san, mama was special and she always let him snack off the ingredients--

"What do you want??" he asks, smile pushing into the soft of those round cheeks, eyes rounder than plates staring up at her like she was the whole universe and he was a very small Earth peering into her vastness. "I want something extra tasty."

Mikoto's eyes glitter with amusement. She definitely will speak with Hana-san to confirm that.

"I went and chatted with the noble ladies from the other clans," she answers while ushering him inside their home. First she'll wipe him down and then see what dinner will look like. Fugaku sent her a messenger earlier in the day letting her know he'd be home late tonight. Itachi been out of the village for a few weeks on an assignment. It would be just her and Sasuke.

"Perhaps we can go somewhere," she mentions thoughtfully. "Or we can cook dinner together. It's just us tonight, since your father is working late. You know your brother is away on an important mission." Leading the way to the bathroom, she grabs a wash cloth and warms it before bringing it to his chubby baby cheeks. Her lips pull into content smile, savoring the simple action of looking after her youngest. Regretfully Itachi was taken from her too soon, she never got to look after him in these small ways.

[hatredcurse]

"..."

Sasuke readied himself to ask which mention she was talking about, but a sudden rush of cold adrenaline took to him, encasing his chest in a icy vice. It flashed like sped-up film, unraveling frame-by-frame within his mind.

"No, I wouldn't think so either, but..." this seems kind of like an oversight. What he wanted to say.

Shrugging off the anxiety, he pulled himself from Daria's radius, putting space between them so the two of them can breathe. "It's probably nothing. You ready to go?"

The sudden closeness makes Daria feel slightly uncomfortable, but she doesn’t say anything, nor show it. Instead, she stands as still as she can, eyeing the Uchiha over her shoulder.

His words make her pause, her frown deepening as she scans the missions instructions once more. Sasuke is right. Though she’s not gonna say that aloud.

“It doesn’t,” the kunoichi would say with a slow nod. “But you’re saying you feel like this could be like… that mission?” The Land Of The Waves mission. Her relief of team sevens return soon turned to concern and horror when a crying Sakura would collapse in her embrace and wryly tell her about what had happened on that mission. Not going into full detail, but whenever had happened, it left her twin shaken up. The genin had certainly taken a beating.

She wasn’t sure how much Sasuke had told Kyosuke, but something certainly sparked the desire for her teammate to request their sensei to up his training…

“I don’t think Kakashi-sensei would put us into deliberate danger,” she tries to reason. And she highly doubted that the jounin would give them a mission they didn’t think they could handle. “Maybe their just tryna intimidate us? This whole exercise does feel like a test…”

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke reserved his thoughts and commentary to himself. Normally, the teenage angst and unchecked anger would have taken him by now, but he was troubled by the contents of their mission. Not that its details were above his skill level. It just felt.... risky.

Too risky for only two genin without an instructor to follow. The Uchiha found himself questioning the ranking on it, if it were a mistake, or if it were some sort of silly joke by their educators. The more harrowing answer is that this is what was expected of him, and Daria, that the two of them will have to fast forward their knowledge of each other's ability to complete this. Something that ( he should know ) took about a year for him and his team to achieve.

"Something doesn't seem right," he replied back, moving to the side of her to read it over her shoulder," on paper, it doesn't seem difficult..."

He had hoped she would catch onto the hesitation.

Daria had to bite down on her tongue to hold back a snappy remark. Kami, he made her so mad. The kunoichi to a moment to take a deep breath when the Uchiha walked away. Blue eyes roaming around the field to study the other genin teams. Feeling a twinge of jealously at the sight of her teammates happily chattering away with their partners, seeming to be having a more positive experience then her. Kakashi sensei had to know that she wasn't particularly fond of Sasuke. Otherwise, the jounin was blind. But the girl was also well aware that most of the time the masked shinobi had an intent when doing things. Had he placed her with the raven-haired boy on purpose? Was this some kind of test?

"Eh?" Daria broke out of her thought when the scroll was thrown her way. Quickly catching it, with a slight fumble that she could only hope her partner hadn't taken notice of. Pink brows furrowed as she read over the mission. Well. She guessed it wasn't too surprising. "Better cat catching, I guess." She said.

[hatredcurse]

His mother's hand felt warm, imbuing him with a sense of security of comfort that he'd never find anywhere else. Sasuke buries his face more into her, squeezing every last bit of affection out before he released her from his vice.

"Yes, I did!" he likes to think so anyways. He did give his poor babysitter a run for her money when he went off to play-pretend as the Great Shinobi once again... and ended up tangled in a torn bush.

"What did you do today?? Are you going to cook dinner or are we going somewhere??" The questions came fast, unable to keep himself still as he rocked back on his heels, his blood full of sugar he shouldn't have had this late in the day.

It was busy day for the Uchiha matriarch, tasked with several duties that consisted of visiting a few noble clans. A tiresome task of spending the greater portion of the day making small talk with the other noble ladies and wives. Still Mikoto believed it productive, simply to remain in the loop of any noteworthy events.

Though she's glad to be home, and it seems her youngest shares the same sentiment. Running a hand through Sasuke's dark hair, she give him a warm smile.

"Good afternoon Sasuke," she greets while wiping the dirt smudged on his cheeks," I've missed you as well. Did you behave for Hana-san?"

[hatredcurse]

Not even a sentence into their interaction and Sasuke was already finding his patience being put through Herculean-level tests.

"Trust me, I wouldn't waste your time," he met her sass and promptly shut it down. Not that she had to believe him, as long as it kept her mouth shut.

Sasuke left her side for a moment to grab the first preliminary scroll to where they had to meet this afternoon. After unravelling the cloth and reading it's contents, he tossed it to her to also take a look.

"it's a basic find-and-retrieve mission. Shouldn't be that difficult," he dismissed their task no more a chore than it was an actual mission. Where was the challenge? Likely not there, given they were teams of two without a sensei to guide them.

Like the Uchiha boy, Daria had been half-paying attention when Kakashi was calling out who was with who. Arms crossed in a relaxed posture until the dread sentence.

"Sasuke with Daria."

The kunoichi stilled. Hands twitching. She had to have heard that wrong. This was a mistake, right? No. It wasn't. There it was, written in chalk. Sasuke-Daria. A dark aura surrounded the young genin. Her teammates slightly moved away from her. Both Kyosuke and Inosuke share a look before smiling at the pink-haired girl nervously. Him? Why him of all people?! "Neh... good luck, Daria-chan..." Kyosuke sheepishly chuckled, moving along with the other genin to go find their partners. Daria was tempted to say he'd be lucky if his brother came back in one piece. Inosuke gave a smile shrug, signing "hope for the best" before following after the others. The kunoichi held back a ground, begrudgingly following along. She inwardly seethed as the Uchiha approached her, already wanting to punch him. But she held still, simply crossing her arms once more as she fixed her smoldering gaze towards the ground.

"I guess it's you and me, Uchiha." She did her best to keep her annoyance out of her voice. She could already feel her Sakura glaring at the back of her head from somewhere. Why did her twin like this guy? "You better not be all bark and no bite. Or I'm gonna be disappointed- Mr prodigy."

[hatredcurse]

It seemed counterintuitive to forgo the original team dynamic to work outside of their designated trio. It made sense on paper to assign people at random should the ever rare real life occurrence happens and forces them with unlikely partners, but this felt... forced. Like its purpose was beyond plain reasoning and Sasuke had no chance of divining what that was.

Instead of picking apart this situation, he walked himself in quietly under Kakashi's lead, absently listening to Naruto's chatter. Sasuke caught a glimpse of his twin and gave him a small wave in return in acknowledgement before his own sensei spoke up to gather everyone's attention.

In a very structured, very slow fashion, Kakashi read down the list. "Sakura with Shikamaru, Naruto with Kyosuke..." Sasuke droned out the noise between the quiet whispering between student and Kakashi's monotonous voice.

"Sasuke with Daria."

His ear twitched.

Surely, he didn't hear wrong, did he? For a moment he so desperately wanted to feign ignorance to no avail since each pairing was written on the board as they were announced. And there it was, sharply written in crumbling chalk: "Sasuke - Daria".

Virtually emotionless in the face, his expression did not move, not even a slight twitch of his mouth. He consumed himself with thought, immediately vetting out the pros and cons of the situation. That of which he was finding more cons given that Haruno's such low opinion of him.

Simply put, this mission is doomed from the start.

Okay, maybe not so much. It can be salvageable. Diverting the embers of a sparking irritation, he focused his energy on mocking up a plan. Several plans. Plans with contingencies to at least come back from their mission successful. Not that he could account for everything. Kakashi made clear, from the start, each mission as intrinsic to the group they were assigned to. Without greater knowledge of what to expect, the most he can do is plan around Daria's attitude.

That which came with more variables than he cared to account for.

Somewhat satisfied with what he could prepare, he measured his restraint and kept pace with the rest of the genin that took to finding their partners. He walked himself with cool indifferent up to Daria, steeling himself for whatever she would have to say about the arrangement.

Starter for @hatredcurse

"Shiro-sensei, why is this excise important again?" Daria wore a questioning, slightly annoyed expression to hide how anxious she actually felt about the mission in question they were supposed to be doing that day.

Not so much the mission, but what was involved in it.

The jounin in question simply turned and gave her students an encouraging smile as they walked along. "It's so you three can improve on you your comradery skills. Not just with yourselves, but with your comrades." She explained. "There are gonna be times were you're going to be paired up with others that you don't usually work with. So, us sensei's all got together and agreed that this mission might be a good opportunity for you lot." "Why this mission?" Kyosuke spoke up from beside the pink-haired kunoichi. Inosuke nodded along and made a questioning gesture. Deep down, Daria felt a little glad that they didn't so sure about the situation either. They'd had just properly started bonding as a team, and now weird to... not work as a team. "What better situation to throw you in to force you to put your trust in others." Shiro stated slightly morbidly. Smirking slightly at the disturbed/annoyed expressions on the young genins faces. "Ah. Speaking of which. Seems like everyone else is here already." Sure enough, the other teams were already gathered and waiting. Kyosuke's eyes brightened once he caught sight of his twin amongst the other genin and waved enthusiastically. Daria rolled her eyes, while Inosuke just smiled. "Alright. Go line up with the rest of the gremlins. Kakashi was tasked with pairing up the teams this time, so pray he made some good choices." Daria sighed. Hopefully, she'd get a good partner...

[hatredcurse]

While Kyosuke pondered with himself, Sasuke took to inspecting the stitchwork again. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with it, he was fascinated by the craftsmanship. Anything made by hands always held his attention as his mind mentally recreated the process.

"Rikito... Yeah, I like that name." It wasn't juvenile, so he was bound to accept it.

Moving away from the toy, he wandered away from the two of them into the kitchen. "I couldn't buy a cake, so what would you want to eat instead?"

Thankfully, for the better, the change in Sasuke's demeanor was lost on the usually more observant younger Uchiha. Too wrapped up in excitement and a pleasurable job to notice the shift in his twins mood. "Yeah! Hm, a name..." Kyosuke pressed a finger against his lips thoughtfully. "Well, he's kind of an Uchiha now, so it has to be strong sounding..." Those on the outside looking in would most likely find the scene adorable; obsidian eyes stared at the toy intently as cheeks puffed lightly as he pondered, taking this into great consideration. "How about...Rikito?" He looked towards Sasuke for approval. As he always did.

[hatredcurse]

Right to whoever it was that warned Kyosuke against informing Sasuke. A bitter twist curled within his stomach; one of bile and minor disgust. Irrational, irrational, with a hint of reluctance. He shouldn't be feeling this way and tried his best to conceal it under a cool tone.

"A lot of work went into this," he commented.

Setting the toy down onto the chair, he propped it up against the pillow to make it seem like it was sitting as a guest.

"What should we name it?" he flicked his eyes back at him, keeping his friendly façade up.

The boy felt his smile widen at the question, cheeks flushing as he eagerly nodded his head. "Mhm! Auntie's lessons came in handy... Hinata managed to help me a little bit to." Kyosuke replied, admiring his little craft with shining eyes. "And the hat was Sakura's idea."

The kunoichi had thought it would be a cute touch. And it was. "And I was told not to tell you this... but Naruto helped get the yarn. It was kind of expensive." He'd say, smiling at the memory. The blonde nearly tore his frog wallet apart looking for extra money when Kyosuke realized he didn't have enough. "Said it had to be the best." He chuckled softly.

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke certainly didn't expect this level of artistry to come before him. Palming the plush into his hands, he took a long look at it, soaking in the details of the item. Between the seams down to the stray hairs sticking out from the yarn, he was trying to imprint this toy to memory.

"I don't plan on going that far away," he said, certain of himself," but I'll keep that in mind."

He already lost his family, he'd be damned to lose everything else with that.

"So, you made this?" he looked at him, a little inspired by the craftsmanship.

Kyosuke's eyes sparkled, practically jumping at the other to embrace him. "Thank you, Sasuke..." He'd say softly, touched by the gift. "I'll treasure it forever." In some way, it felt like some offered connection. That even if they were apart, they would stay have each other with them.

"Oh!" The boy suddenly leaped back. "Your birthday gift! Hang on-" He rushed off, disappearing behind the corner for a moment before returning with a small box in his hands. "I- heh, my gifts kinda crafty too..." He admitted, cheeks flushing as he gently handed the box to Sasuke. Inside was a small, cut-knitted black cat. With a cute little blue cat on it's head, the colour resembling their outfits. "I got help making it." Kyosuke said softly, putting his hands behind his back. "I...I know that we both have different goals. And someday, that might mean go in different directions. This way, I can always be there, and if you're ever lonely... you can just hug it until you feel better. And you'll remember... that I'll love you, no matter what." He finished softly.

[hatredcurse]

Sasuke followed the other about the edge of the table, watching those dark eyes reflect the bright refraction off of the indigo. "Yeah, I figured that would be something a touch more sentimental than some food."

Honestly, he probably could have bought anything and Kyosuke would have enjoyed it because it was from him. But, Sasuke was particular about items with longevity and use. Kunais whittle down and break, scrolls get used, charms deteriorate, but jewelry would at least serve its use for years to come.

"Happy Birthday."

The younger could only smile more, allowing a little giggle. "Heh, so you admit that I'm getting better." Kyosuke gave his shoulders another light squeeze. His eyes light up at the words. "Surprise?" He perked up at the sight of the box, carefully getting off of his twin and stepping around to get a closer look. Obsidian eyes widened once the boy saw what was inside. "Sasuke..." Porcelain fingers ever so gently picked up one of the beaded bracelets, thumb carefully tracing it over. "You... got us matching pairs?" Kyosuke blinked at his twin in surprise. Sasuke wasn't really into this stuff, after all...