Team Harmony

P17: Reprecussions

At the Uchiha District, Sasuke had been working on his fireball jutsu since he was well enough to get up after having been under a genjutsu. The anger and betrayal he felt from Itachi leaving him was fueling his desire to master this jutsu and become a full-fledged Uchiha. It would bring him one step closer to bringing his brother back and getting those answers he wanted.

More than anything, he felt abandoned. Itachi, though gone a lot, was always with him to help him wherever he could, to take the brunt of everything but now...Sasuke was having to fill those shoes. As soon as Sasuke was well enough to get up, his father brought him into a meeting where he was announced at the Uchiha Heir. He needed to begin taking leadership classes and training harder than ever to be the skilled shinobi Itachi was.

He gritted his teeth as he sped through the hand seals to create another fireball. Itachi had just left and dropped all of that extra weight on his shoulders with no regard for how he would feel. All for what? Because he probably murdered his best friend, their cousin? It was unfair and...and...

Why did he leave me behind?

This question rang constantly in his head. He would've followed his brother to the ends of the earth, but Itachi had taken that choice away from him.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" He yelled as he blew a large fireball from his mouth. It was much bigger than he'd started from but it still wasn't good enough in his eyes. Cursing to himself, he immediately began doing the hand seals and going again. And again. And again.

He continued until he collapsed onto his bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He dreamt of Itachi's eyes and chasing after his brother only to never catch him.

The next morning, Sasuke rolled out of bed when a maid came to wake him up. His body was sore, around his mouth felt tight and tender, and he still felt exhausted but he also felt good. The soreness and exhaustion were a testament to how hard he was working, and soon enough he could drag his brother's defeated body back to the village.

He swore this.

Touching around his mouth, he winced and hoped Hinata had some more of that salve. At the thought of his best friend, he froze. Hinata. He hadn't thought of her—rather, he tried not to but now she was there. She lost her fiancé, her future, and the life she'd been preparing to live. He felt the guilt of it all weighing on his shoulders. He knew he wouldn't have been able to stop Itachi, but with all the training they've done the last two years he felt like he should've put up a better fight.

But she hadn't even crossed his mind in that situation. After all, Itachi was his brother and she was just his best friend in comparison. At the end of the day, Itachi meant more to him than anyone else. He thought Itachi felt the same way, but that was proven to be wrong.

Yet, he missed her now. Other than his brother, he felt she understood him more than anyone else. At that, his mind went to another matter: now that Itachi was gone, who was she to marry? His father hadn't given him any other news than that he was now the Heir.

"Sasuke-sama, are you ready?" The maid asked through the door.

"I'm coming out," he announced as he grabbed his school bag. He wasn't looking forward to facing the looks people were going to be tossing out, but he was thankful he was at least going to have his friends with him.

"Sasuke, when you return from the academy we'll go over what your new responsibilities will be as the Uchiha Heir," his father said as he was putting on his shoes. He didn't think he was going to see his father this morning—or his mother as she had locked herself up in the room since the news of Itachi broke during the night. He couldn't blame her for that; he wanted to do the same.