Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 3

Three years was much shorter than it seemed.

Maybe it was the constant stream of missions only being broken up by short periods of time off and training that made the time seem to fly by. Whatever it was, it felt like one second Sasuke was a thirteen-year-old genin and in the next he was sixteen and a jounin. He'd been the first of his graduating class to make jounin, but he'd seen that coming. He'd been surrounded by high level shinobi from the moment he was born. And now he was considered among their ranks.

"You should rest," Kakashi idly pointed out as he flipped to another page in his book. Sasuke didn't bother to respond to the man. He stared down at the fire between them, his arm resting atop his bent leg. The sound of Kakashi turning another page filled the silence.

Sasuke didn't mind running missions with Kakashi. The older jounin was more than competent and a very tolerable partner. Kakashi didn't feel the need to chatter pointlessly and was very quick to tell when Sasuke wasn't in the mood for his teasing.

After their team had dissolved, Kakashi was the only one Sasuke had bothered to keep relatively in contact with. Kakashi was just as awkward and hesitant at reaching out to others as Sasuke was. So when their paths kept bumping into each other whether through Itachi or pure circumstance, it made it much easier to build common ground between them.

When Sasuke had wanted to train for the Chunin Exams, it had been Kakashi that he'd asked. His former sensei had been surprised to say the least. Granted Itachi and Shisui had both been away from the village on an extended mission at the time, but it was the thought that counted. Kakashi must have seen Sasuke's drive to not only pass the exam but to step out of Itachi's shadow. While he was an only child and probably didn't fully understand the kind of pressure that Sasuke had been under, Kakashi had done his best to prepare Sasuke. Looking back on it, he may have gone a bit overboard and made Sasuke a bit too prepared, but Sasuke hadn't complained. If anything, the strength and skill he'd displayed had only brought pride to his clan and the village. After that, Sasuke had regularly sought him out for training sessions and Kakashi had taken it all in stride.

Sasuke couldn't say the same for his relationship with Sakura. He supposed he did consider her a friend, more so than most of the people in the village. She did try to see him when she wasn't busy with her training and hospital duties, but they rarely found time to meet outside his regular physicals and the rare stay in the hospital after a difficult mission.

Sasuke breathed deeply before leaning back against the tree behind him and closing his eyes. They weren't due to be back in Konoha for several days and tomorrow their mission would officially start. "Wake me in a few hours," Sasuke said. Kakashi hummed once in acknowledgement.

~:~

His sandals were muddy, sweat was gathering on his back, and he vaguely smelled of old blood. Sasuke was sure that he was starting to get bags under his eyes from the minimal amounts of sleep he'd gotten the past few days. What was supposed to be a simple infiltration and scouting mission of one of Orochimaru's possible bases quickly turned into an ambush and fight for their lives. The kinds of creatures that they'd found in that underground cavern hadn't even looked human.

Sasuke eyed the bandages around Kakashi's arm from the corner of his eyes as the leapt over tree branches. Kakashi had taken a vicious bite from a large, snakelike creature in an effort to protect Sasuke. The older man had immediately gone down from the hit and Sasuke's body had responded before he'd even realized it. Eyes blazing red, Sasuke had weaved and moved around the hissing creatures with his hands flowing through the mudras for the strongest fire jutsus in his arsenal.

Sasuke hadn't realized that he'd put Kakashi up on a pedestal like he'd done Itachi until he'd crouched at his former sensei's side and watched him slowly bleed out and lose consciousness. Kakashi had always seemed so larger than life. His hands had shaken only slightly as he administered the antitoxin that they'd brought with them. Using the rising smoke and ashes as cover, Sasuke had pulled Kakashi's limp body onto his back and make a quick retreat from the base. He'd kept watch over Kakashi for over a day before the man had finally woken. They hadn't spoken about the exchange, but Sasuke was sure that Kakashi was aware of the frequent checks that he was doing to Kakashi's well-being.