Those Who Possess The Eye [Closed|Naoto]

[Uchiha Shinji]

5 o'clock in the morning
Uchiha Clan District
Uchiha Shinji's House

The Cursed Eye
Surrounded by darkness, the only thing that illuminated the room was the light of the moon that pierced through Shinji's glass windows. The silver ray did not light the whole room but instead split the room in half. But what the light did reveal was a small boy, with open blue eyes, laying on his bed. The boy had his hands behind his head and was staring at his ceiling, deep in thought. This boy was Uchiha Shinji.

Shinji just laid in his bed motionless. He had gone over the event multiple times in his head up to the point where he was even having dreams about it. Lost in his thoughts, all that occupied Shinji's head were questions.

"What is the Sharingan about and what caused me to unlock it? I know it is supposed to be powerful and is the icon of our clan but what is the Sharingan?"

Suddenly, Naoto, Shinji's favorite cousin, came into Shinji's mind. Shinji smiled as he thought about his cousin who was a year his senior and his role-model. Figuring that Naoto knew everything, an idea popped into Shinji's head.

"Maybe Naoto will know about the Sharingan! Wait... I wonder... has he even unlocked his Sharingan?"

Shinji then shook the thought off.

"Of course Naoto has unlocked his Sharingan. Naoto can do anything!"

Anxious to get some answers, Shinji jump out of his bed and proceeded to make it. After his bed was fixed, Shinji then grabbed his towel and headed for the bathroom. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he figured he might as well take a trip to Naoto's house. After he took a shower, he would make his way to Naoto's house. Looking up at the sky as he exit his home, he felt the cold air stab at his neck. It was still dawn and freezing outside. He then grabbed the hood of his blue hoodie and put it over his head, letting it fall loosely over his hair. Time to go see Naoto again.

---

6 o'clock in the morning
Uchiha Clan District
Uchiha Naoto's House

After arriving at Naoto's house Shinji just stared from outside. He looked at the front door which he doubted was open and he didn't want to wake his uncle Shigeru. That left only one option.

"Naoto ...... Naoto ....... Naoto ......"

Shinji stopped jumping up and down in front of Naoto's window and whispering Naoto's name as loud as he could. At this rate he'd wake up the whole neighborhood. He felt the dew of the grass seeping through his sandles, as if it weren't bad enough that he could feel the wet grass between his toes. And the cold breeze didn't help either. That was when Shinji decided: it was now or never.

Taking a kunai out from his pouch, Shinji the tip of it to pry the window open. Once the window was successfully open, Shinji crawled in stealthily.

"Mission: Succe--"

But before Shinji could finish his thought, he slipped through the window and fell on his face. Embarrassed, Shinji jumped up to his feet as fast as he could before someone could see that he fell, hoping he had not awoken Naoto. Walking to Naoto's bedside, Shinji lightly shook Naoto's shoulder and whispered until Naoto awoke.

"Naoto... Naoto~"

[NAOTO]

Fortunately for Shinji it took no less than a herd of hormonal rampaging elephants to rouse his cousin once he was deep in his sleep cycle. The creaking of his window followed by the subsequent THWACK as he smacked onto his matted flooring failed to spur even a twitch from the huddled mass underneath a cocoon of blankets. Naoto's room was large and spacious with several scrolls hung on the walls at full length detailing various notes he'd taken during his academy days, missions he'd completed, and training regimens. The floor was covered with books, old toys, weapons, clothes, papers, manga, and everything else. Anything that winded up in Naoto's possession inevitably found itself on his floor at some point.

His rolled over once onto his stomach, his mess of dark blue hair shifting to halfway cover his slumbering face. Shinji's hand came and rocked his bare shoulder. Though sound couldn't wake him up, touch was the one thing that could shatter his dreams and jolt him back to the present. With a grumble and a fluttering of his eyes he stared up at the image of his cousin hovering over him.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Can't you ever come over during normal-people hours?"

He complained as he sat up in his bed clad only in a pair of underwear and rubbed his eyes. The room was still too cold so he pulled the covers up tighter around his lower half. Slowly he reached over to the bedside and pulled a plain green t-shirt over his chest as he stretched to the ceiling. The Uchiha heir didn't even bother to make himself any more decent. It was only Shinji, not someone important.

"So...[yawn] what's up? Dad's not here...he's off...doing...whatever it is he does."

[Uchiha Shinji]

Waiting until his older cousin finished talking, Shinji gave him a stale face as a sweat drop appeared on his forehead.

"Shigeru-san isn't here?"

His eye then twitched. He could have easily entered through the door if he knew his uncle was not home. But either way, the deed was done. Shinji then shook off his reaction and answered Naoto with a innocent smile on his face.

"These are normal-people hours. My parents are up.... I think... I didn't see them when I left... but either way, your dad's up. And the sun is coming up so that means the day's about to begin!"

Shinji then paused to widen his grin, hoping it would rub off on Naoto. As he spoke he noticed Naoto pulled his covers up to his barely clothed body. Guessing that it was probably because he was still cold, Shinji closed the window behind him.

"But anyway... Naoto, I have something to talk to you about! I couldn't sleep because I've been thinking about it."

Shinji then paused for a moment. He looked at Naoto again wondering if he should flat out tell him that he had acquired his Sharingan. But he decided against it. First he wanted to see what Naoto knew about the Sharingan and it's abilities.

"Naoto-kun. What do you know about the Sharingan?"

[NAOTO]

Another yawn was forced from his esophagus as the back of his left hand continued to wipe the lingering traces to sleep from his eyes. Reluctantly he kicked the covers off of him and stumbled around the room for a decent pair of pants to slip on. It wasn't that Shinji's visits were unappreciated, on the contrary; most of the time he didn't mind him shooting up at his leisure.

His presence had become as familiar to him as that of his own father's. Sometimes he questioned if Shinji even had a family of his own, he'd spent so much time within the clan leader's estate that his father would sometimes set a plate for him at the table out of habit. The only thing in particular that caught him off guard was the subject of his visit. He'd slipped on a pair of plain black shorts and trademark blue sandals while his companion chattered away, attempting to hide his growing confusion. Finally he snagged his hitae-ate from the dresser and securely fastened it around his forehead. He jerked his head to the door and motioned for the younger boy to follow him into the hallway.

The house was plain and strangely hollow. Outside it was still dim, the sun barely peeking over the horizon as the residents of the Uchiha Ichizoku still tossed and turned in their beds. There were few decorations that lined the long hallway, though most of them were testaments to Suzumi's various accomplishment throughout her long life. Naoto scratched the side of his head whilst he racked his brain for a suitable answer.

"Sharingan? Why the sudden interest in Sharingan?"

He asked with one eyebrow raised to his cousin as he peered at him over his shoulder and lead him into the kitchen area. Sharingan was a subject he was well versed in yes, but then again Naoto was well versed in just about everything. There were few questions pertaining to anything in the shinobi world he couldn't conjure an answer for.

[Uchiha Shinji]

Feeling at home in his cousin's house, Shinji casually followed Naoto as if he were in his own abode. As they walked throught the hallway, Shinji passed the decorations on wall as if they weren't there. It wasn't that he wasn't amazed by them and that they didn't peak his interest but more so that he was there so often that they blended in with the background. After he finished speaking, Naoto's question baffled him and left him standing still in his place.

"Should I tell him? Yeah... sure.... It's Naoto. He can keep a secret.... I hope..."

As Naoto looked over his shoulder to his cousin, he would see his cousin's head down as he spoke.

"Naoto... I have something to tell you... but you can not tell anyone.

Shinji saw what befell Naoto because of people expecting greatness from him and he did not want to be victim to the same burden. Shinji's whole persona changed from happy-go-lucky to a more serious tone that could be felt just by being in the room.

"You have to promise you won't tell a soul. It has to be our secret."

[NAOTO]

'...What could possibly be bothering him this early in the morning?'

He thought as he stopped and turned around to face Shinji once he froze in the hallway. The subtle streams of scarlet light wafting through the beige screening only confirmed his notion; this was something that had been on his mind for a while. The day wasn't far enough along for anything to befall him yet. What could be so urgent that he'd disturb Naoto during one of the rare periods of time he actually managed to fall asleep at a decent hour?

His eyes focused themselves into a blank stare, sweeping over Shinji's facial expression and silently appraising him. There was little he could tell Naoto that he wasn't already expecting to hear. Either his shadow unlocked the dojutsu, was trying to unlock the dojutsu, or had been nosing around in something he shouldn't have regarding the dojutsu. Whichever one it was he wouldn't get too much of a reaction. Partly because of the simple fact that he was still half-asleep and partly because there was little that surprised him anymore.

"You're acting mighty peculiar...alright. Fine, I won't tell anyone. Now out with it."

[Uchiha Shinji]

As soon as Shinji heard Naoto confirm that he wouldn't tell anyone, Shinji raised his head. But there would be something different about Shinji. Where his love and care-free blue eyes once were, was the cursed dojutsu of their clan. His crimson eyes now staring Naoto in the face.

"I have it. But I've only really used it once. Now I just train with it, trying to push the limit of how long I can use it..."

Shinji then looked away ashamed. He wasn't ashamed that he unlocked the dojutsu, because honestly, he thought it was cooler than learning Gokakyuu no Jutsu. What he was ashamed of was the fact that he had been hiding it from everyone. The Sharingan was a beautiful thing amongst his clan and feared amongst others. It was what separated the Uchiha Clan from the others and what made the one of the strongest clan in the shinobi world. But here Shinji was, hiding his from the world and not letting anyone know he acquired it... until now.

"So can you tell me about it please? I just want to know more about it and I figured you'd know."

Shinji looked at his cousin, awaiting his reply. He hoped that telling him wasn't a bad idea and that nothing cruel would befall him for revealing it.

[NAOTO]

The silence seemed to seep in from every crevice. Naoto's stare peered into Shinji's sharingan completely unchanged. Witnessing his cousin's dojutsu warranted the same unenergized reaction as noticing a leaf in a forest. He patiently listened throughout the junior clansman's response with a look of moderate intrigue. He'd asked for an explanation. And he would get one. When he finished Naoto turned his back on him and gestured for him to follow him into the kitchen. Words were pretty, but useless. He didn't have the patience to sit still and give an entire lecture on the ins and outs of kekkei genkai and he doubted Shinji had the attention span to listen. In silence he led him into the kitchen area and pulled a small knife from the drawer as well as a plum from the top of the counter. Quickly he sit it down as if he were about to start chopping.

Without warning he pivoted on his right foot and half-spun with his arm reared back, in one fluid motion the knife was slung straight past Shinji's face to narrowly miss his cheek and embed itself into the far wall. The force and speed of the hit sent a crack through it. If it'd actually hit his cousin there was no doubt the wound would've been deep and nasty. Though instead of showing malice he'd find Naoto now facing him with a smirk on his face.

"...You probably knew I was gonna do that, right? That's your sharingan. It analyzes motion and anticipates movements then is able to commit those movements to memory. Because it senses motion it's able to see the flow of chakra and read the muscle tension in my body. But..."

Naoto stood in front of him and went through a random series of handseals, each one as quickly as he could.

"...that's not all. The sharingan's main attribute is the ability to decode the three ninja arts and defeat them. Our clan can take the opponents techniques and use them as our own. Decoding. Copying. Reproducing. Right now, even though I'm not doing any real jutsu, your eyes should still be able to clearly follow the movement of my hands and time your seals with mine. If I were to manipulate chakra..."

He made a new seal and molded his chakra in explanation. A raging flame of blue would appear to engulf him to Shinji's eyes though outwardly nothing would change. He stopped, causing his energy to return to normal.

"...you should be able to see it being molded and match your chakra output to an opponent's. This combined with the sharingan's memorization of motion is what lets members of our clan copy ninjutsu. With taijutsu the mechanics--"

He flipped across the open floor space a few times then punched and kicked at an invisible opponent.

"--are roughly the same. Only stamina is used instead. When it comes to copying you'll only be able to mirror someone if your body is capable of matching their chakra or stamina output."

He stopped and stepped back in front of Shinji to end his demonstration.

"Finally, there's genjutsu. The sharingan has the ability to see the reality behind other's illusions and cast our own. This is done by disrupting and taking control of the flow of chakra inside of someone's brain by making them look at your sharingan. This one I can't show you because I don't really know any genjutsu and your sharingan probably isn't strong enough to cast any. But its pretty straightforward. Sharingan goes through three stages of evolution as shown by the markings around the pupil. So I guess you can say that everyone's sharingan is different depending on their skill level and how they use theirs."

He shrugged and went back to the plum on the counter, picked it up, and began eating it casually. His father might be curious about the knife in the wall but by now Shigeru knew better than to ask questions. All he'd have to say was "Shinji came by" and that'd suffice.

"That's pretty much it. Oh, and you have to unlock it. It's not something we're born having...but you already knew that."

He answered nonchalant with his mouth full. Naoto hoped this demonstration would suffice and his cousin's curiosity would be satisfied for the time being. Somewhere in the darkest trench of his psyche he knew what was coming next. Though he'd continue to play coy as the thought of where exactly his cousin was going with this amused him greatly. Maybe this day would be worth leaving bed for after all.

[Uchiha Shinji]

Shinji stared at Naoto who did not really give much of a reaction. He wondered why but figured it was because Naoto was so used to seeing the dojutsu in hiw mother's eyes that by now it left him unchanged. But what Shinji did question was why he was not surprised that Shinji had unlocked it.

Sharingan stil activated, Shinji saw Naoto turn and throw the knife at him. And seconds later, Naoto's body followed the motion. Seeing the incoming attack and knowing that it was coming, Shinji moved his face to the side and dodged the aerial assualt. He then turned to face th THUD! looking at how deep the knife was in the wall, it could have easily left Shinji breathing through two holes.

Shinji then turned back to Naoto who was looking at him smiling, almost as if he were please that Shinji dodged the assault. Then Naoto explained his actions, explaining that the Sharingan enabled Shinji to see movement before it happened. This was due to the Sharingan being able to read muscle movements. Then Naoto started making seals, and just like the knife being thrown, Shinji could see the movement clearly even though it was at a face pace.

Naoto then explained how the Sharingan also allowed Shinji to see hand seals as they were made. But the only obstacle was if Shinji was able to make the hand seals as quickly as he saw them. As Naoto explained, Shinji tried to make seals as quickly as Naoto, but seeing as Naoto was a year Shinji's senior, it was rather difficult. Shinji then started picking up speed, eventually matching Naoto's speed. He decided to make a mental note to practice reading and making seals since him and Naoto were only genin and if he wanted to go up against higher ranks, his eyes and hands would have to be faster.

Naoto continued to explain how he was not using chakra but if he was, Shinji would see it. And to give a visible example, Naoto applied chakra to his hands and Shinji saw something he had never seen before. Looking at Naoto, #hinji would see what seemed like a blue aura engulf him. Shinji then figured this was the chakra that he should be seeing. He then exerted the same amount of chakra that Naoto did while forming the same seal.

And last but not least, Naoto explained the Sharingan's ability in refrence to genjutsu. Apparently, the Sharingan was able to tell the difference between an illusion and reality, allowing it to break genjutsu. Aside from decifering the difference between reality and a genjutsu, higher levels of the Sharingan allowed the user to cast their own genjutsu and sort of reverse the genjutsu on the user. To do that, the user had to disrupt and take control of the chakra in someone's brain by having them looked their Sharingan.

But unlike the others, Naoto couldn't show Shinji this one. Because Naoto did not possess any genjutsu in his artilery and Shinji's Sharingan was not strong enough to cast it's own. And though it sounded difficult, the other things the Sharingan had done were difficult without it so Shinji figured this one would be easy with the help of the Sharingan as well.

All this information made Shinji excited. It was no wonder the Sharingan was praised by some and feared by others. Naoto then proceeded to eat his plum, also saying that Shinji had to unlock it, of course and Shinji alreasy knew this but one thing left him still questioning Naoto. Naoto had not asked how Shinji acquired it which meant he already knew. And Shinji's expectation of Naoto being better than him made him assume Naoto already unlocked his Sharingan. But Shinji had to ask. He wanted to see for himself.

"Naoto ... can I see your Sharingan?"

[NAOTO]

He kept eating as if he hadn't heard him. Inwardly he was smug at his own prediction coming to be. Shinji was so predictable sometimes. The energy and enthusiasm he exuberated on a regular basis made it a simple manner to guess his motives. It simply wasn't in his nature to use tact when it came to him and for that Naoto felt a slight twinge of guilt in his stomach for what he was about to do. This grand maneuver would have to be executed in such a way as to not offend him and leave him ignorant. Outwardly his facial expression didn't change as he continued to smack on the juicy plum remnants he clutched between his fingers. When he was finished eating he tossed it aside into the trash and stretched his arms high above his head in a mighty yawn.

"I can't show you what I don't have. Sharingan is a rare trait after all, a lot of people in our family never manifest it. Dad didn't. So maybe I take after him~"

He explained calmly and started rummaging around in the fridge for a fresh carton of juice. A golden stream of deep orange filled his cup to the brim and he duplicated the process and made Shinji a glass as well. It was hard to drink and ask questions at the same time. He held his glass up to him and gulped it down, taking his sweet time.

"Tasty~! So! Whaddya wanna do today? It's kinda boring around here."

Skillful subject change- executed.

[Uchiha Shinji]

Shinji never thought about it but it was true. He had never seen Shigeru use or even activate his Sharingan. But it couldn't be true. Not Naoto. Not Shinji's role-model. Naoto could do anything; there wasn't anything Naoto couldn't do. And though he was Shigeru's son, he also was Suzumi's son and all she was a Uchiha prodigy.

Shinji shook his head in disbelief.

"No.... it can't be true..."

Shinji took the glass and drunk his juice. While he drank it, he stared at Naoto. But there was something weird about how Naoto replied. It was almost as if when he dismissed the question immediately and tried to change the conversation. Then it hit him.

"Heh... Naoto... its funny... because you say no, but your actions say different... but either way... how about we got train today. We haven't sparred in a while and training my Sharingan alone can only take me but so far and you're the only one I've told about it so I can't really train with anyone else...

If Naoto insisted on lying, Shinji would force him to show him his Sharingan. Shinji knew Naoto was lying and even though they both knew Shinji would not be fooled so easily, and that Shinji knew Naoto had it. But Shinji would not stop there. Shinji wanted to see Naoto's Sharingan for himself.

[NAOTO]

'...Tricking Shinji shouldn't be this hard...maybe its my conscience stopping me from being convincing...'

He asked himself and attempted not to react once he was called out on it. Instead only one eyebrow and a shrug would be given to his little cousin as he didn't trust himself with words quite yet, at least not in regards to his supposedly nonexistent sharingan. Deceiving the little boy who'd flanked him most of his life caused something in his heart to sink. It was like duping a loyal dog with a promise of food that was never going to come, and he loathed it. But he couldn't tell Shinji. He'd made himself a promise that Ashoke would be the last person to see his sharingan and walk away alive. Too many people already knew. Rika. Hayaku. Ashoke.

Just how many more could find out and still have it be a secret?

Eventually someone would blab and the life he'd worked hard to make for himself during these years of parental abandonment would fall to ruin. All he had to do was make it through this spar without slipping. If he lost then Shinji would know he was holding back. He had to win and he had to do it while keeping his ace safely hidden in its hole. Fighting against another sharingan user was something he was well versed in though never successful. Then again, her sharingan was in a tier entirely of its own and had advanced itself to all three tomoe long before the first ninja war even began. Would his limited experience be enough to let him pull this gambit off and keep his relationship with the other boy in one piece? That was the question forming in his head as he put his own cup in the sink.

"Heh...what? Why so skeptical all the sudden? Don't get cocky just cuz you can see chakra! It's a dojutsu, not a lie detector. "

He laughed as a half smile crept onto his face. Quickly he led the way out the back door and down a winding dirt path. Their house had its own dojo, though it was meant mostly for solitary training. His mother hogged it and never allowed anyone inside. Besides, training with Shinji always tended to get...animated. There was no guarantee the room would still be in one piece once they'd finished.

The cool breeze gently danced through his mane of sapphire silk as they reached a massive dirt arena by the opposite side of the infamous lake. The lake where many where shown the Gokakyuu no jutsu. Surprisingly there was no one there. The sky was still pink with the rising sun and the ground wet with the dew of the night. Though the ground was damp Naoto had a feeling it wouldn't make too much of a difference. He kept his hand by his holsters casually and brought himself into a stance of neutrality.

"Whenever you're ready. You'd better not hold back. You'll regret it."

[Uchiha Shinji]

Shinji laughed at Naoto's joke. Yes it was not a lie detector, but Shinji didn't need one around Naoto. he's been around Naoto so long that he basically knew everything there was to know about Naoto... well at least almost everything. As Shinji followed Naoto, they entered an open area. It was a dirt arena by the lake where everyone had learned to first use Gokakyou no Jutsu. But since it was so early, no once was there.

As he stepped on the ground Shinji felt his sandals slightly sink into the ground, but not enough to be noticeable or effect him during the spar. As the breeze blew through his brown hair, Shinji knew it was time. It was now or never. He heard Naoto's warning and heeded it. It was not as if he was planning on going easy in the first place. He was there to see Naoto's Sharingan, and he wouldn't leave there until he did.

"Then let's begin."

With the flick of his wrists, two kunai came out from his sleeves. And immediately he launched them at Naoto.

"Hidden kunai holsters... yeah. They were new....

As the kunai flew through the air, the string that was attached to them were revealed. The kunai were thrown so that crossed. The one from Shinji's left hand was thrown to Naoto's right shoulder and vice verse. The objective was that even if they missed Naoto, Shinji could pull them back. As the strings were a foot from Naoto, Shinji made a seal activating the explosive tags on the kunai causing them to explode. Whether or not Naoto was affected by the explosion, Shinji would make his remark.

"If you had your Sharingan active, you would have seen that coming..."

Shinji then followed up by rushing Naoto and not giving him time to regain his composure. With a flick of his wrist, another kunai was now in his left hand.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kunai Horusuta
Kunai Holster
These kunai holsters hold one kunai each and are located on the inside (bottom) of Shinji's sleeves. He has three in each sleeve, one of them having a long thin rope attached to it and an explosive note wrapped around the hilt (but the note is not visible due to them being below the bandages that are wrapped around the hilt of all kunai). These holsters make is easier, faster and more efficient for Shinji to attain his kunai. Though he has more kunai in his pouch, these can be attained with little movement such as the flick of a wrist.

[NAOTO]

"I don't need sharingan--"

With a rapid motion into his own holster and a jump backward a few feet he pulled out a kunai and flicked it at the visible "X" where the two lines crossed, slicing it through its epicenter to send the kunai Shinji deployed flying off in wide arcs away from him; no longer a serious threat. If his sparring partner for the morning still chose to activate them they'd do him more harm than Naoto as they would still land fairly close to him. Perhaps a splash of dirt would cover his clean clothes, but that would essentially be all. His own kunai however was flying straight toward Shinji the moment he'd let them fly, something he'd have to contend with.

"--to see through that."

He said in a bored tone of voice. With Shinji's sharingan active and Naoto knowing the workings behind it this match would come down to who could anticipate the other's reaction better. The one with the kekkei genkai active or the one concealing it that knew the secrets behind it?

[Uchiha Shinji]

Shinji watched as his assault was foiled and decided not to blow the tags. No matter, Shinji would just have to continue with taijutsu assaults. Hoping that he would see Naoto's and react before Naoto could, Shinji guessed he had the upper hand which would hopefully force Naoto to use his Sharingan to have the same advantage. Shinji used his kunai in his left hand to block the kunai headed towards him. It was just like in the kitchen, he could see the movements before they happened.

Closing in on Naoto, Shinji leaped over Naoto, while flipping and sent his kunai down at Naoto's head. After he landed behind Naoto, he swung his right fist across Naoto's face to punch him while he was distracted with the kunai. If Naoto were to back up, Shinji would just lean in with his elbow trying to catch Naoto either way and if Naoto ducked, he would be met by Shinji's knee.

[NAOTO]

Naoto meant what he said. He didn't need sharingan to anticipate Shinji's movements. Sharingan was a tool that made life on the battlefield easier. Both a convenience and a shortcut to any real effort on the user's part. That was where weakness lay. Clansmen growing too attached to the fabled eyes implanted in their skull that they forgot what it meant to work hard. This fight was going to be his no matter what it took, partially to convince Shinji of the lie he was trying to weave and partially to prove a point to himself and to cousin.


He saw his cousin jump and in the middle of his flip he kept his eye on the weapon in his hand, guard up. Instinctively he turned and skid to the side to catch the kunai as it came down, having watched his arm move and braced for the throw. Shinji now faced him with a punch closing in. While Shinji's arm extended he'd take a tiny hop back to place himself just outside the reach of his punch and fling the kunai with full force. It was aimed at the joint where his right shoulder connected to his arm to impale him through there. It'd be a fairly deep hit, just enough to make using that arm agony, but not enough to do any serious damage. Even though his sharingan might anticipate the movement they were far too close to eachother now for him to do much about it. The punch had already been slung and the kunai could move much faster at this close range than Shinji could.

[Uchiha Shinji]

After failing his assault Shinji watched as Naoto send his own kunai flying at him. Though his Sharingan interpreted it, Shinji's stance was left wide open. Making it difficult for him to completely dodge the kunai. All he could do now was alter it's path. And so Shinji smacked the kunai as it passed his hand. Though Shinji had stopped the kunai from damaging his joint, his hand was still cut by the kunai. Shinji watched as the crimson liquid fell from his hand. But he had no time for that now. He was in the middle of a spar. Shinji then smiled at Naoto.

"Obviously you do need your Sharingan."

Shinji then made a single hand sign. Making the two previous kunai go off. Since they were near Shinji before, he did not have them go off. But now Shinji and Naoto switched places since Shinji leaped behind Naoto and caused him to back up right into his trap.

"Now how about we stop playing Naoto-kun? You have yet to attack me. All you have been doing is countering. FIGHT ME NAOTO! Wasn't it you who said, 'You'd better not hold back. You'll regret it.' Then why do you hold back Naoto? Show me your Sharingan!"

With that Shinji wrapped his hand with the string that was still connected to his sleeve to stop the bleeding and prepared himself for Naoto's next attack by getting in a defensive stance. Naoto was going to get serious, whether it was by his choice or by force.

[NAOTO]

Shinji had made a mistake. He should've kept quiet. By offering a smile and even a sentence as a retort he'd essentially announced when he was about to attack. Naoto made a handseal of his own and focused his chakra to the legs simultaneously with his cousin's. With only a blur of motion as warning he'd vanish in a shunshin. The air shuddered as waves of dirt would fly up into the brightening sky, soon joined by the brief flare of light and cloud of smoke the twin exploding notes produced.

Naoto reappeared roughly twenty feet in front of Shinji halfway out of breath. His eyes were narrowed and dilated with alarm. Truthfully he had been playing with Shinji up until now, his mind was too distracted to give him enough focus. He'd figured, perhaps without realizing it, that as long as he just deflected his attacks then the other Genin would be satisfied. Apparently that wasn't the case as he seemed to be almost offended. He put his hands in his pocket and stared back at him, the aggravation now apparent on his features.

"Tch. You're still going on about that? How many times do I have to tell you!? I can't show you what I don't have! Why can't you just accept that and come off it already? Did it ever occur to you that maybe this is the best I've got?"

His face twisted into a half-frown. His eyebrows pulled together as the annoyance flowed through him. Naoto was far too easygoing to allow himself to be worked up. He rarely took anything seriously, let alone fighting, merely because he didn't have to try. He played with his opponents until he got bored and finished them off like he could've done from the start. Shinji was too perceptive and now it was working against him.

His hands slipped discreetly behind his back to play with the flap of his shuriken holster on his lower back. To Shinji it'd look like nothing more than a stretch, though his left hand was filled with four of the stars held securely between his knuckles. He'd wait for Shinji to respond and hold his position.

[Uchiha Shinji]

"No. I refuse to believe this is your limit. This can't be."

Flicking his wrist as another kunai entered his hand Shinji looked at Naoto with eyes that would pierce into any human's soul. And with the stare of death came what he was thinking this whole time. Finally being able to bring his thought into words, he spoke.

"If you won't show me your Sharingan, then I will force it out of you."

Shinji ran at Naoto again, this time taking a less aggressive approach. This time, before he was even remotely close to Naoto, Shinji skid to a stop. Him skidding on the wet ground build up mud as he slid to a stop. The mud came in groups, forming a miniature wall, covering Naoto's vision as Shinji threw a kunai through the mud. And while Naoto was distracted, Shinji made the same seal he saw Naoto make and utilized a shushin. Appearing above Naoto, with his hand in his pouch, Shinji would begin his aerial assault of kunai and shuriken at Naoto's ten foot radius.

[NAOTO]

'Just let it GO already!!'

Everyone was always suspicious. Not once since he could ever recall were his bluffs taken at face value. There was always some baseless level of suspicion, some lingering pools of doubt that puddled together until the person was convinced of a lie. His facade of idiocy infuriated his teachers and confused his father, causing them to constantly lament on supposed wasted potential. No one believed him when he claimed a lack of skill, whether it was because of his surname or his mother or for another reason entirely; people weren't having it. Shinji was just the latest to join an ever-expanding mass of individuals determined to call out the Uchiha heir to put forth a real effort. Naoto meanwhile grew exasperated, partly from the fatigue of attempting to outwit a sharingan and partly from the stubbornness that oozed from Shinji's every orifice.

He certainly didn't get that attitude from Shigeru's side. His aunt must be to blame.

The kunai was lobbed at him and instantly he flicked his handful of shuriken to swat it. The 'CLANG' of metal was accompanied by the kunai dropping to the ground right where it was struck. It was then that he noticed his opponent had vanished and reappeared above him utilizing the same technique he'd shown him moments prior. Twin irises of the brightest blue shrank with a mixture of surprise and indecision.

'SHIT!!'

There wasn't enough time to do anything. Ten feet above him loomed the shadow of his enemy for the morning. How was he going to get out of this? That was the question his inner self was now sent into a frenzy attempting to answer. He'd known the sharingan could instantly copy and replicate any technique, though to be the target of that skill he'd studied for years was as eerie as it was dangerous. He couldn't keep this up. He realized it from the second Shinji mirrored his shunshin. If he used ninjutsu then it'd just get decoded and flung back at him. If he continued to dodge and waste time with taijutsu then it was only a matter of time before his movements too were analyzed and turned against him. Not to mention the stamina he'd waste would end up doing him more harm than good.

'...'

He could try to counter with his own weapons. But that'd be too tiring. To accurately predict and intercept them all from an upward angle would be difficult and exhausting in its own right without sharingan. Yet to do it anyways only to have the trajectory of his assault known before it was made would be foolish. The more Shinji used it the more adept he'd become. Time was not on his side. Either he had to end this now or stick to his resolve to the bitter end.

The first weapon was flicked.

'!!'

Twin kunai suddenly found themselves in his hands. In a flurry of motion the weapons that rained down on him from above were swatted away as the constant 'CLANGCLANGCLANGCLAG' cracked though the morning air. The path of the metal was revealed to him. Through careful anticipation of the strikes and matching it with his own deflections Shinji's assault was warded off.

As the last weapon would fall into the graveyard of steel formed around Naoto's feet, he'd slide back and launch his own two directly in the other boy's pre-determined path of landing one after the other. The first would be launched down to hit him where his lower body would be. The second would smack against the first to change its flight path at the last possible moment to send it flying upward at his torso. The sudden change in direction would confuse his sharingan and hopefully hurt him enough to end his endeavor.

Naoto's arms crossed themselves tightly over his toned frame. The immaculate pools of liquid sapphire were gone. Tainted. In their place was dark scarlet accompanied by black ripples dancing around the center pupil. His own Sharingan stared down at the ground guiltily, active from the second Shinji had thrown his first weapon. His face stained itself crimson with the embarrassment of being forced to use it, the shame of being caught in a lie, and the blood of his pride which had been forcibly slain all strewn together in a permanent flush.

"...Are you happy now?"

He asked in a forced whisper that burned the sides of his throat. A part of him was almost proud that Shinji was strong enough now to force him to use the legendary stare that now dug into the dirt. Though that part was overshadowed by the knot in his stomach now commanding all of his attention.

Why did people expect so much from him? It was easy for people to believe his father was a failure. Never had Shigeru's aptitude been questioned. Never had his status of sharingan manifestation been put under a microscope. If only he could live his life in such obscurity. A peaceful existence where the only bar he'd have to reach was the one he'd set for himself.

He'd never be able to lead such a life. Not so long as things remained as they were.

"...So...how'd you know?"

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