Sasuke's POV (Leaf Camp - Land of Iron)
Sasuke was never one for celebration. His home life had been destroyed, his legacy besmirched, his purpose discovered. He had expected the help of his older brother. The man who had initially been his goal and mentor. Once his clan had been deposed, he and several other younger Uchiha had been spared the wrath of the Leaf; he had expected his older brother would be with him. Looking to redeem their name, find out why they had struck out, and how the most powerful clan in the village had been casually deposed. Before he was arrested, Itachi warned his younger brother not to follow his clan's path. That redemption could only be earned through loyalty. So Sasuke listened, serving faithfully. Training harder than his peers. Pushing himself to the next level, someone even stronger than Itachi. Someone with the knowledge and power to fully revive the Uchiha to their former glory. With this in mind, he had determined becoming a Chunin was his only choice. He had trained with Shisui, his brother's best friend, who had taught him his style. Sasuke was no master of it yet, but he had made it his own. Yet when he had intended to meditate for the night, one of his few remaining family members called to him.
Yuno was the oddest Uchiha he'd ever met. They were often known for their stoic and intelligent demeanor, which was only matched by a fiery temper. Yet she was known for cold patience and odd penchant for anyone or thing she considered "interesting." Truthfully, Sasuke found her complex and often infuriating. Yet he had come to treasure their rare haunts. It reminded him of a kinship he may never feel again. He had his mother, but similarly to Itachi, she seemed supportive of the clan's fall. Yuno was more open-minded. Similar to him, she figured the whole story wasn't out. Unlike him, however, she had determined it wasn't worth the trouble pursuing it. Dubbing the attempt, "an incredibly painful way to commit suicide". The better option would be to let go of his anger and treasure what he had left. Earnestly, this offended Sasuke to some degree. Of course, he treasured Yuno, Shisui, and his mother. But he yearned for the world he had before. He recognized the injustice of it all didn't matter. Not unless he had the power to do something about it. So he tentatively allowed his anger towards them to dull. It served him no happiness to draw the line against his remaining blood. Yuno recognized Sasuke's inner turmoil better than most had arranged for meetings between the two.
As such Yuno, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shino sat at a bar. Hinata and Shino both listened in shock. As an angry Yuno berated Sasuke aggressively. The male sat as if he was used to this and unaffected by her harsh words. Tellingly, he did not rage back at her or leave. Instead, he seemed accepting of this. Seeing him so calm when someone acted so bold towards him was odd. He assumed they thought of him as some kind of emotional brick. Typical of the Leaf to subtly look down on the Uchiha.
"You kicked Choji's cute little head through a stone, you absolute jerk!" Yuno yelled as she shook Sasuke violently.
"I could've killed him if I wanted." Sasuke countered.
"I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Yuno roared.
"Sasuke-san, it's unwise to get Yuno all worked up. She simply cares." Hinata said patiently as she sipped her tea. She wasn't much of a drinker and preferred to avoid it when possible.
Sasuke shot her a glare for teaming up on him. But Hinata merely met this with a patient smile. Seemingly unbothered by her teammates' brash nature.
"Hn," Sasuke replied stubbornly. As much as he tried to be aloof, Yuno seemed to drag a reaction out of him.
"Ugh, you're such a bore. You're never gonna lead the clan and raise an heir without some social skills." Yuno complained, crying into Shino's shoulder.
"You should respond to someone fully because you need to be charismatic, like a clan head like myself," Shino responded suddenly, needing to adjust his shades. He felt much more open after a few glasses.
"There is no way I'm less charismatic than Shino," Sasuke said sharply. He didn't usually allow himself to be so open. But he found it more challenging to contain his emotions when Yuno was around. "I was the most popular guy in the academy. Not to mention the number one shinobi. Fitting of the Uchiha clan."
"I-I find Sasuke very charming." Hinata tried to help her teammate.
"Is that why you asked me how to befriend him~? Saying you found him unnerving and hateful." Yuno sang.
Hinata eeped at this, her whole face blushing at this. She quickly poured herself a shot of sake and threw it back. Seemingly determining that it would hide her shame.
Yuno laughed at this. Shino seemed to vibrate briefly before controlling himself, and Sasuke smiled briefly. The joke broke up the tension a bit.
"I-I-I hate you s-sometimes Yuno." Hinata quietly whimpered.
"I love you too, lavender princess," Yuno countered with a smirk. She poured Hinata a glass of the liquor and smiled as she slid it her way.
Sasuke glanced around and noticed that Hinata and Shino had drunk a bit much and were about to depart. While he would silently admit to having a good time, he needed to meditate tonight for at least three hours. The sooner he settled in for the night, the better. Yuno met his stare and rolled her eyes. Subtly, the two suggested breaking off for the night. Shino and Hinata headed back to their rooms. Sasuke and Yuno had decided to walk a bit. They walked the snowy path around the camp. Light by torches.
"You find anything out? My emo cousin." Yuno asked with a smirk. He knew she subtly was happy he hadn't found anything. She likely didn't want to even know. She was such an odd woman.
"I've exhausted leads. With Chunin-level access, there is a chance I may find a new one, but at the moment, I have no luck." Sasuke said with a frown. "There certainly was a cover-up of some kind. Crimes of the nature of the Uchiha have been accused of should have an array of evidence. Documentation, containment papers of property and wealth, imprisonment or execution records of at least the civilian members of the clan were to be expected, and yet he had discovered a lack of information. The story he had found at first as he investigated had fallen apart.
"A cover-up is troubling; it suggests it was an order from up top." Yuno mused. "Perhaps it's related to Root? Or maybe even that secret Kabuto had mentioned to you?"
"I thought so as well. But they say Kabuto oddly enough attacked his team and has gone missing since." Sasuke replied.
"Kabuto? Really? He was cute, but I didn't think he was strong enough to do that. Or mean enough."
"That's the odd thing. He lagged behind even Hinata. Without his healing skills, he wouldn't be much." Sasuke said, focusing inwardly as he thought about it. "The timing is odd. I feel like it's not a coincidence he informed me of some secret and then suddenly went AWOL."
"Certainly does seem odd, even… ominous. Do you think he might not even be Leaf?" Yuno said, suddenly alarmed.
"Seems our timing is impeccable," Jiboro announced as he walked before the group.
"I would simply say the game has begun." Kidomaru offered as he walked in behind the two. "Objective: Capture one Sasuke Uchiha. Preferably alive. Expected difficulty?" Two arms suddenly snapped out, barely managing to catch a kick sent from Sasuke. "Medium." Kidomaru taunted as he threw Sasuke back. Yuno went to attack him as well but had to dodge a swipe from the more prominent man.
"It's a shame I must kill a lady such as yourself," Jiboro commented as he stood between her and her cousin. "You should attempt to flee; someone as puny as you would barely be a snack."
"Not cute or interesting…" Yuno said darkly as she pulled out two kunai, twirling them skillfully as she slid into her stance. "Guess I'll just cut you down to size."