The Way Into Mist Village (Naruto)

40: Sasuke's Second Choice

[OP: "Notos"--The Oh Hellos]

Wally stared at Sasuke like he was crazy, which only made it worse.

Shine straightened, like she was preparing herself.

"Sasuke, do you hear yourself?" she asked plaintively. "Do I have human feelings? Am I playing with you? You are so conceited! You've never once been genuine with us this whole time. You always ask me what I really want, what I'm really doing, but you've never told us what you want or what you're doing. Don't you get it? The way I've treated you is just how you treat us. You think I'm cold? Distant? Critical? Frustrating? What do you think it's like to deal with you all the time?"

This turn shocked Sasuke, though why it should have was beyond anyone's guess.

Shine stepped toward him, making him stiffen, and pointed at him accusingly, and her voice got louder.

"You've not done one nice thing for anyone since you joined this team and have complained and started more fights than almost anyone else just because you were bored. You treat everyone like they're beneath you. And yet you have the gall to ask why I don't waste my time cozying up to you like you're someone important? Is that how you try to earn respect? Maybe that worked for you when you lived with cutthroats and pedophiles and mad scientists who didn't care if you were the most insufferable little prick ever to walk this earth. In fact, the more selfish you were, the better for them, but we're not like them, in case that has escaped your notice. You don't desire our respect or our honor, and you've done nothing worthy of it that I can see since we met you."

That hit hard for a ninja.

Sasuke might be arrogant, but he didn't like to be told he was dishonorable any more than the others did. It was the worst thing you could say to one of them.

"As for doing you a favor, young man," Shine went on, "I think we did. No one else wants you right now, did you notice that? If you want to be alone, be alone. You're basically alone anyway here, since you care about no one and want no one's help. And that's fine, if that's what you want. Perhaps you should just leave if that's what makes you happy."

"Happy?" Sasuke didn't know how she'd unbalanced him yet again, but his control was going from him. "Do you think happiness is something I care about?"

"No," Shine said.

He paused.

"It would be better for you if you did," Shine added. "If you at least wanted to be happy, you might make something of yourself, someday. But you don't even want that anymore, do you? What do you want, Sasuke? Just tell me."

"Good question," Wally chimed in. "I'd like to hear this too."

Sasuke balled his fists--and the irony that he had both of them now because of their team was lost on him.

"I..." He didn't know... He knew he didn't know. "I don't know. But it's not this. What you have is not for me."

"Oh, you still don't even understand what we have," Shine said angrily. "It just scares you, so you're leaving. Same as usual. You're afraid to change, and you don't like that this is all getting too close to home for you. I knew you would quit if it pushed you too much to actually learn anything."

"What would I learn?" Sasuke spat at her. "To mindlessly help people who aren't worth the effort? To try to make a peace that would never last in the ninja world? To overlook the things people do because I'm too weak to do anything about it?"

"You're a fool," Shine shot back at him, "to think that that's what we do. Mindlessly help people!? You mindlessly hate them. You don't ask what they're really like, you just pick enemies to have. You don't really have an alternative to making peace, you just think it's too hard to try for. You don't really care about justice, you just want everyone to suffer the way you suffered so that you can feel better about it. Sick and twisted is what you've become. And you did it on purpose."