City of Night

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Faster, Sasuke!"

Sasuke gasped as Itachi's foot connected solidly with his chest and he was thrown backwards yet again, but into the trees this time. Wood splintered and shattered at the impact and Sasuke cried out with pain as the air was knocked out of him and he hit the ground hard, landing in a crumpled heap. He could barely move the pain was so great this time. That had been the final blow. The battle was over and he had lost, yet again.

Sasuke forced his head to look up when he heard footsteps approach him and locked eyes with an identical pair of dark obsidian eyes.

Pathetic, was what his brother's cold eyes said. Sasuke didn't need to hear him say the word out loud to know that that was what Itachi was thinking. He had seen that look too many times after too many matches to be able to mistake it for anything else.

"Brother-"

"You disgrace the Uchiha," Itachi said coldly and it still felt like a knife wound through Sasuke's heart, even after having heard it so many times.

"You're still too slow, Sasuke. Still too weak and still too inexperienced. A human could probably defeat you. You'd be lucky to last an hour on the surface." Itachi turned away and Sasuke watched his older brother go, completely unscathed, for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Sasuke!"

It only took half a second for Tenten, Hinata and Neji to reach him from the other end of the training ground with vampire speed and they pulled him to his feet. Sasuke fought to keep his shaking legs from crumpling underneath him and coughed up blood and shakily wiped his mouth.

"He really did a number on you this time," Tenten said in a low voice, winding Sasuke's arm around her shoulders to help support him. Sasuke didn't reply. He watched his father shake his head with disappointment from the far end of the field before Fugaku disappeared. Neji supported the other half of Sasuke's weight, his mouth set in a grim line.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" Hinata asked timidly, her glowing silver eyes worriedly taking in his bruised, battered and bloody appearance. She reached out to touch a bruise on his cheek and he bared his fangs at her.

"I'm fine!" He snapped and immediately regretted his sharp tone when she drew her arm back quickly and darted to Neji's side, hiding her face with her hair, but Sasuke hadn't missed the hurt in her large eyes. Neji narrowed his eyes with anger but said nothing.

I'm sorry, Sasuke thought out to her but refused to say the words out loud as they began the slow and torturous walk back to the Uchiha Compound.

"That was uncalled for," Tenten hissed into his ear but Sasuke ignored her and kept his gaze trained ahead.

xxx

Mikoto was already waiting for them by the time the four of them had reached the gates to the main Uchiha manor, but by then Sasuke had already healed enough to be able to walk well enough on his own without needing Tenten and Neji's support.

Sasuke knew he must have looked terrible, his clothes torn and his skin covered with dirt, blood and unhealed cuts and bruises, because he watched his mother's dark eyes widen with worry.

She was in front of him in seconds, fussing motherly over him: lifting his arms to examine his wounds and brushing his fringe aside to see the cuts and bruises on his face. Sasuke stood still and said nothing as his mother once again took in the aftermath of his training with his brother.