Suguru watched Sasuke's expression with his usual blank stare, noting the subtle tension in his jaw and the haughtily lazy set of his shoulders.
Despite the deviations observed, some things never changed.
Sasuke was still as serious as ever, carrying the weight of his ambitions like a physical burden.
Thus.
"Have you eaten yet?" Suguru asked casually, gesturing toward Ichiraku. "I was just about to grab some breakfast before meeting with the Hokage."
Sasuke's eyes glanced over, and his expression was vague.
"No," he replied after a moment's hesitation. "I train before eating."
"Ah, so that's your discipline," Suguru nodded approvingly. "Though I've found a light meal before training helps with stamina. Especially if you're working on chakra-intensive techniques."
It wasn't something he had researched specifically, but instead an intuition born from analyzing his own state.
Sasuke seemed to consider this, his gaze drifting toward the ramen shop.
"Mitsuko said something similar," he said, "She even brings rice balls to our morning sessions sometimes."
"Oh? Mitsuko, huh… Does she share?" Suguru asked.
The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched. It was not quite a smile, but perhaps the closest thing to it.
"She does. Even with Sakura, who never brings anything."
Suguru chuckled. "Haha, I never expected Sakura to be the type to not be prepared with a lunch box…."
Sasuke shrugged, but his body language had relaxed slightly.
"Sakura has been too engrossed with figuring out Akuta-sensei's assignments to care about food. In fact, all three of us have been swamped by the knowledge he keeps throwing at us." He paused, seeming to search for words. "Akuta-sensei just does whatever, yet somehow still structures it rigidly… I quite like it."
"High praise coming from you," Suguru almost laughed.
Sasuke shot him a look that might have been annoyance, but it wasn't hostile.
"What about you?" Sasuke asked. "I know I asked already, but… Where have you really been all this time?"
Suguru recognized the curiosity in Sasuke's question. Seeing as how he repeated it just shortly after the first time, it wouldn't hurt to say a little more.
"As I've said, research," Suguru said simply, a response both truthful and deliberately opaque.
"Mostly in the Land of Rivers. And Kumogakure. I've been trying to come up with more jutsu while also studying seals and different environments."
Sasuke's eyebrow raised slightly, "I see…"
He asked no further. In his eyes, Suguru had always been an anomaly, even during their Academy days. A shinobi who didn't quite fit the traditional mold.
"Kumogakure, huh?" Sasuke repeated, his tone a mixture of wistful suspicion.
Suguru's lips curled into a subtle smile. "It's a fascinating place with strong shinobi."
He then gestured toward Ichiraku. "If you want to ask more, let's do it while we eat. It won't hurt to skip training just this once. Maybe your body needs to rest before the exams~"
The invitation seemed casual, but it was actually a few parts strategically placed. Suguru wanted to observe Sasuke a little more and understand how much he'd changed.
'I need to figure out where the story might go…' Suguru thought, his eyes flashing in secret.
Unaware of his status as a guinea pig, Sasuke hesitated before nodding after a split second. The simple act of sharing a meal was not going to disrupt much of his day.
***
Suguru glanced at Sasuke as they walked to the side of the street.
Suddenly, the nostalgic image of Naruto, a bright and boisterous speck against the stoic landscape of Sasuke's internal world, flashed briefly across his mind.
Recalling this memory, Suguru couldn't help but shake his head, deciding to put those thoughts aside for now.
"So, how has Konoha been, Sasuke-nii?"
Suguru asked as they approached Teuchi's ramen shop. "Did anything particularly noteworthy occur while I was gone?"
Sasuke paused, his gaze distant as if recalling something. A frown creased his brow. He and Suguru both ducked under the curtains as he formulated his next words.
"Hm. Well… There was an incident with a rogue shinobi a few months ago," he said.
"Marked with strange seals, resembling demonic figures. He kept attempting to steal information from the archives."
"Oh? That's weird," Suguru hummed, his tone neutral. He casually ordered two bowls of miso ramen.
"Akuta-sensei handled it swiftly," Sasuke continued, as he settled into the seat beside Suguru. "I assisted with the perimeter defense, but it wasn't… particularly challenging."
"Oho~ Fighting demons?" Suguru mused, smiling momentarily at Ayame, who was surprised to see him, "Has that become a trend in Konoha?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No, just one rogue ninja. But… something was unsettling about his marks. Akuta-sensei said the seals were unfamiliar."
Suguru's brows rose slightly. Akuta speaking of an unfamiliar threat… That was unusual.
Especially since Suguru knew of the old man's bottomless knowledge as The Professor. He should've been able to identify what those seals were.
Could it be a cultish mark? Similar to the Jashin Cult's design?
Slightly intrigued by this revelation, Suguru pressed further.
"…And were there any particular missions, other than that incident, that stand out in your memory?"
Sasuke hesitated, his gaze flickering down to the bowl of ramen before him.
"There was one infiltration mission." He paused, as though weighing his words carefully.
"I was tasked with retrieving something from an abandoned settlement. Akuta-sensei was known for his secrecy even then. We had minimal intelligence, and the mission was dangerous since we had to fight a lot of others."
Suguru leaned forward, his eyes shining, "So? What happened?"
Sasuke avoided Suguru's gaze, a hint of seriousness underlying his expression as he looked down.
"We found something… weird."
Wanting to say terrifying but too prideful to say so, Sasuke made it clear from his tremble alone that what they saw wasn't… necessarily shinobi-esque.
Thus, Suguru's eyes flashed as he searched his memories. Filler stories were most likely to have the information he needed.
A few beings crossed his mind just then.
Suguru raised a questioning brow at Sasuke.
"Really… We found something weird," Sasuke repeated, still avoiding Suguru's eyes as his ramen arrived.
Suguru leaned back, though that single interrogative eyebrow was still raised.
A smug smile played on his lips.
"Weird, huh? Can you elaborate?"
Sasuke finally met his gaze, a flicker of uncertainty in his usually dull and annoyed expression.
"Akuta-sensei didn't want to risk revealing the information until we were certain it wasn't a bluff. He said it was too sensitive, and too… unexpected."
Suguru nodded, "Alright, take your time. Just tell me, what made it seem so… different?"
Sasuke dug his chopsticks deeper into his noodles.
"It was a humongous snake-like figure. And it moved almost like it floated."
Suguru's mind raced, sifting through his memories.
To a degree, he had studied and even created entities beyond the purview of typical shinobi, and this description was unsettlingly familiar.
"Did it have any markings or particular features?" he asked, pushing his bowl aside. "Anything that stood out?"
Sasuke hesitated again.
"It had a mask that morphed into different expressions. And, despite being shaped like a worm or a snake, it could summon hands from its body. A lot of it."
Then, after a beat, he added, "On its mask was a mark that meant [Zero]."
Suguru's fingers twitched, an almost involuntary surge of excitement pulsing through him. For that to indeed exist…?
Oh, the implications!
He would have to spend time searching for it in the future… If it hadn't been annihilated by Hiruzen already.
"What of its size?" Suguru asked further, a hunch forming in his mind like a half-formed plan.
"Large," Sasuke said simply, the word carrying a weight of awe and unease.
"Large enough to coil around a building?" Suguru asked, holding Sasuke's gaze.
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, as if surprised by the question itself.
He paused for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"I understand." Suguru leaned back, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He had his answer.
"What you saw should be the Reibi."
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