Don't do it, Sakura. She squeezed her eyes shut. Don't scratch.
The bugs in this muggy swamp made a meal out of her legs, but she knew that once she started itching, she'd never stop.
You are a shinobi. You are the master of your body. Your hands don't have a mind of their own!
She trembled, resolve on the edge of crumbling.
But they're soooo itchy! It'll be okay if I just rub them. I won't even use my nails.
Her hands crept closer to the tingling burn that enveloped her from the knees down.
I'll just... No! Endure!
Despite her commands, Sakura's hands really did seem to have a mind of their own. She watched as her palms grazed her knees, rubbing relieving circles around them.
"Hmm," she hummed. That's better. And I didn't even scratch—what?!
She was shocked to discover her perfectly filed nails raking up and down her shins until they were nothing but raised, red welts. A mind of their own, indeed! she said with a scowl and then a long sigh. Oh well...
She contentedly itched until Sasuke dropped his pack then himself onto the log beside her. Startled, Sakura grabbed the hem of her dress and yanked it over her legs, grinning maniacally in the hopes that a brilliant smile would distract him from her unsightly shins. He glanced at her for just a second before his hand shot out and—thwack—smacked the back of his neck hard.
"Fucking mosquitoes."
"Ha-ha!" Naruto leaned against a tree trunk, hands tucked behind his head. "Guess the bugs are hungry for loser tonight."
Sasuke glowered, fisting his hands, and Sakura wondered if he was waging the same war in his head that she just lost. Naruto continued chuckling while his hand reached up and rubbed across his face...then scratched his cheek...then behind his ear, until the smug grin melted off his face.
"SHIT!"
Plunging one hand into his collar and the other down his pants, he clawed at himself furiously and took off running toward the stream.
SPLASH!
"Idiot." Sasuke said as he scraped his back against the fallen tree. Sakura watched him, fingers curling into her dress, as she worked up the nerve to say something.
"Umm, Sasuke-kun?" He stopped shifting and turned to her, teeth gritted. Sakura winced at his glare, but swallowed and pushed ahead. "If you're itchy, I can help." She held up her green-polished nails as evidence.
Sasuke looked from her hopeful face to her wiggling fingers and back. "How long does that take?" When she hummed in confusion, he clarified with, "Your nails."
"Oh!" She was surprised, but elated at his interest. "When you've been polishing your nails as long as I have, it doesn't take more than twenty minutes or so. But then you have to let it dry, so the color doesn't smudge. So...I guess maybe an hour?"
"Pfft. An hour, huh? Do you know how many new jutsu you could learn in an hour?" He shook his head and returned to rubbing his back against the log.
Like air leaving a balloon, Sakura's whole body deflated, her shiny fingernails hidden in the folds of her dress.
"Well, well, well. What's going on here, hmm?"
"N-nothing, Sensei!" She blinked back tears as Kakashi stepped into the firelight, fish dangling from a stick across his shoulder. Sasuke muttered something unintelligible, but clearly bitter, into his collar as he stopped his scratching.
"Where's Naruto?"
"Right here!"
Sakura's cheeks burned with irritation and embarrassment as Naruto strode into camp, his clothes in a clump under his arm.
"Took a swim and now I'm feelin' fine! Bugs can't defeat the future Hokage!" he announced, thumping a fist against his chest.
"The future Hokage should also be mindful of the presence of ladies when he decides to go au naturel." Kakashi inclined his head toward Sakura, who'd covered her eyes. "Manners, Naruto. Look them up."
"Wha–" Naruto's head snapped toward her and he flushed dark red. "S-sorry, Sakura-chan!"
As she used her hand to shield her view of her teammate falling over as he climbed into his pants—"Moron," Sasuke huffed—Sakura turned to Kakashi. "Sensei? I have a question. Why did we stop here? I mean, if we'd traveled just another half-mile, camping would be much more comfortable." Sasuke seconded her opinion with another thwack to the back of his neck.
She'd examined the map and knew that another half-mile would put them in the heart of Claw Country's biggest forest. More importantly, it would put them further away from this humid, sticky, bug-infested swampland.
"Sakura!" Kakashi said, his eye widening in astonishment. "Don't tell me you don't know about...the curse of Black Dragon Forest!"
Knowing things is what Sakura did, so when she was accused of being ignorant, she got her back up. "Black Dragon? There's nothing on the map about any Black Dragon Forest. There's Shikon Woods, Kuma, and the Great Evergreen Forest, but nothing about any dragon." Her eyes narrowed at him. "Could it be that you're making it up?"
"What?! You doubt your sensei?" Kakashi said, blind to Sakura's grimace of disgust as he ruffled her hair with his dirty, fish-smelling hand.
But when Sasuke made a dismissive noise and folded his arms, Sakura soared—he agreed with her! She folded her arms, too, and tried to level Kakashi with an Uchiha-like glare.
"I'm even more surprised at you, Sasuke. The Forest of the Black Dragon was once an Uchiha settlement, long before the founding of Konoha."
Sitting up straighter, Sasuke chuffed and turned his head. "I knew that," he mumbled, but Sakura wondered if that was true when his ears turned bright red.
"Well, I don't know a damn thing about any black dragons, Sensei," Naruto admitted proudly. "How about you tell me?"
"I would, Naruto, but I have these fish to cook, firewood to gather, and traps to set. If I wasn't so busy, I'd tell you, but…" Kakashi spread out his hands and shrugged.
"Leave it to me! I'll have all those things done in no time."
Sasuke stood up. "Last time you set traps, you nearly killed us all. I'll set the traps."
Leaping up, Sakura chimed in, "And I'll—"
"You'll stake the fish," Sasuke commanded. "Come on, Naruto."
Before water could gather in her eyes, her teammates disappeared into the forest.
Later, after they'd eaten, cleaned up, and stacked wood for the night, Kakashi finally gave in to Naruto's non-stop pestering. With Team Seven gathered tightly around the crackling fire, Kakashi began the tale of the curse of the Black Dragon.
"Less than a mile from this very spot, there was once a village of people—Uchiha clan members—who built their homes in the branches of the old oaks. Their children played like squirrels in the treetops."
"Those Uchiha sound like a buncha nuts!" Naruto guffawed at his own joke and Sakura brought her fist down on his head, worried that Sasuke would take offense.
"Their tribe leader, Hikaku, was skillful, but he was a stern, cold man. Despite his stony nature, the village flourished, so he was respected by the townspeople. He was respected, but his younger brother, Setsuna, was beloved. Even though he wasn't half the warrior his brother was—in fact, it's said that he was a bit of a prankster, always interrupting clan meetings with his crazy antics. But he was adored because he always seemed to be right there when someone needed a hand.
"But Hikaku..." Kakashi sighed long and wistfully. "Well, Hikaku felt differently about his little brother. Nothing Setsuna ever did measured up in his big brother's eyes. He thought his brother wasted time, that he was foolish and weak."
Sakura watched the way Sasuke's eyes slid to Naruto, who sat entranced by the story like a toddler. His lip curled in a way that made her stomach sour with worry.
"So, Setsuna escaped his brother's tyranny by immersing himself in books about adventure in big cities. He read about the diversity of nations outside their woods—their fields of fruits and vegetables, exotic animals, and blue oceans.
"His brother sneered, telling him 'If you concentrated as much on learning to fight and lead as you do reading, you might actually amount to something. Pull your stupid head out of those books and do something!'
"Then one night, Setsuna did do something; he snuck out of the village. He vowed to see the world and prove to his brother how wrong he was."
Sakura felt a kinship with the younger brother. Her eyes flicked from Sasuke to Naruto then back to her own small fist.
"After ten long years, he returned to the forest. Setsuna had grown up surprisingly strong. He entertained everyone with fantastic stories of the world beyond their village."
"Smoooooth with the ladies!"
"Naruto! Shut—" Sakura's fist swished through nothing but air. She gaped when she realized he'd dodged.
His self-satisfied snicker was cut short when Sasuke kicked him. "Ow! Hey, asshole! You almost broke my leg!"
Kakashi cleared his throat and there was silence once again. "Anyway...when Setsuna came upon his older brother, he found him looking much the same as when he left—with his arms folded and a frown on his face."
Their sensei mimicked the Uchiha leader, but the effect was lessened as his mask hid the frown. A strong, but fleeting, urge to make a grab for the mask pierced Sakura, but she tamped it down so he could get on with the tale.
"So, he said, 'Hikaku, I did what you asked—I pulled my head out of the books and did things! I traveled to the furthest edge of the map, dipped my toes in the ocean, and touched the mountain's clouds. More importantly, I've met so many people—people who've taught me how to be strong in body, mind, and heart. But I never forgot my brother, so, I came home with this gift.'"
Kakashi shifted closer to the fire, the illumination on his face eerie. Sakura felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and her skin prickle.
"Setsuna unveiled a dragon carved out of dark black onyx. He said to his brother, 'Consider it payment for all the years you shared your heart with me and our people.'
"The statue's hungry fangs, menacing claws, and ridged spine glittered with gold, but its eyes were two ovals of flat, dull stone. Hikaku shivered at the sight."
Sakura echoed Uchiha Hikaku's response, a primal fear rippling up her spine.
"Ha! Scared by a statue! What kind of leader is afraid of a stupid statue? Right, Sasuke?" Naruto nudged him sharply in the ribs.
"Get off me!" Sasuke hissed, pushing him away which, naturally, instigated a brawl.
"Shush! Both of you! Finish, please, Sensei!"
Sasuke sat up, grumbling, "His fault…"
"Setsuna told the tribe about the dragon's previous owner, how he couldn't wait to get rid of it. It seems the dragon was supposedly possessed by a demon."
Sakura stifled a gasp with a hand over her mouth.
"The demon was said to be hungry for icy hearts—the hearts of people who choose to freeze their feelings, who deny themselves the warmth of friendship and camaraderie."
"Gimme a break, Kakashi-sensei! Whaddya think we are? Kids? We don't believe in stupid stuff like demons hungry for icy hearts!" Naruto wiggled his fingers like claws and pulled a goofy, devilish face.
"That, Naruto, is exactly the reaction Hikaku had. But the next morning, the villagers found their leader beside the dragon turned to solid stone."
"Come on!"
"It's true. Tomorrow, when we get closer to the city, you'll see Uchiha Hikaku on the side of the road, solid granite. The village is gone, but he's still there as a warning for those who look down on others."
Sakura leaned closer to the fire and chanced a glance at Sasuke. A heavy-lidded stare, calculated to imply that he was infinitely bored by their sensei's story, sat like a mask on his face. But Sakura knew better. She could read in the set of his shoulders that Kakashi's story affected him in ways he'd never reveal in words. His eyes slid in her direction, his mouth curving into a frown.
"What?" he barked.
She jumped back. "Nothing!"
"Stop yelling at Sakura-chan, you bastard, or I'll kick your ass!"
A dismissive snort. "Yeah, right."
"Are you saying I couldn't?" Naruto stood up.
"Try it, dead last." Sasuke pulled himself up to his full height, staring Naruto down.
"Relax, kids." Kakashi laid a hand on each of the boys' shoulders. "Time to call it a night."
Sasuke immediately shook off his teacher's grip, grousing as he disappeared into the highest branches for first watch. "…stupid...moron..."
Sakura stood at the edge of camp, wringing her hands, until Kakashi shooed her off to bed.
Shik. Shik. Shik.
The rhythm of his kunai abrading the bark from the thin branch was hypnotic. Sasuke loved working with his hands this way—sharpening shuriken, winding rope, whittling arrows. It served as a form of meditation, helped him lose himself in action, so he didn't think too much about his brother and...
Shit!
A moment's distraction and the blade jumped over a knot, nicking his thumb. He jammed it in his mouth, sucking off the blood before wiping it on his pants. By the campfire below, Naruto chose that moment to turn over with a roaring snore.
Idiot, Sasuke thought, somehow blaming his injury on his moronic teammate.
He huffed, running his kunai down the twig again, and thought of Kakashi's story. Ridiculous tale meant to scare kids. He scowled, wondering what their squad leader was thinking inserting his clan into his made-up story. Just like everyone else in Konoha...jealous. The Uchiha were the only shinobi powerful enough to impose law on other shinobi. He nodded self-righteously. The upper ranks of the village's police force were full of Uchiha.
His mind took that moment to throw an image at him of a much younger Sasuke riding on his brother's back past Konoha's police headquarters. Doubt's frozen hand gripped him; his most cherished ideals about the clan...Itachi told him all that.
Was everything his brother told him true? Were they powerful and noble? Were the Uchiha the strongest clan in the village?
If we are then why was there never... Sasuke's hand holding the branch went slack as a thought occurred to him. Why has there never been an Uchiha Hokage? For a full minute, that thought locked him up. He couldn't find any way around it. His brain stalled completely.
Itachi was strong enough. He could've... No. Itachi was strong enough to kill the entire clan, but he was no Hokage. Hate, his ever-present companion, thawed the ice in his head, building and raging until he could think only one thought.
I have to kill him.
Naruto snorted again, pulling Sasuke back to the present. Why am I here? Itachi's out there and I'm stuck here...with them. He sneered at the three bedrolls grouped around the fire, as he gripped the fragile twig too tightly, bending it too far. I'm wasting time. I need to get stronger now!
SNAP!
He looked at his hand, expecting to see the broken remnants of his whittling, but the arrow was still whole. No...the sound had come from further into the woods. Curling like a spring, Sasuke strained to hear a second sound. When seconds passed without a whisper, his body slackened, settling back against the tree.
Probably a squirrel.
SNAP!
Head pivoting, Sharingan blazing, Sasuke saw the faintest light of chakra in the distance.
That's no squirrel.
He rose, ready to leap into the forest when Naruto snuffled in his sleep.
I can't just...leave them. The light was growing dimmer. The campsite's warded. I have to...
With gritted teeth, he jumped to the next tree in a race to catch up to the strange intruder.
The full moon's light dappled his path, casting strange shadows, making Sasuke second-guess every step—was he landing on another branch or a dusky mirage? He followed for what felt like close to a mile, using his dōjutsu sparingly. Still, his breathing was labored when he stopped once more to reignite his Sharingan, making sure the stranger was still on the same trajectory.
Yes. There he is. The light's getting closer!
He braced his hand against the tree trunk to push off when he felt a groove in the wood that was...unnatural. With a tiny Katon, Sasuke saw the carving, and the shock of it caused him to lose his footing.
My clan insignia?!
He righted himself before he touched the ground, shooting off after the stranger.
Could Kakashi's story be true? Is this the Black Dragon Forest? He shook off the fairy tale, chastising himself for not concentrating; while he was daydreaming, the stranger had vanished. He couldn't have gotten far, he thought, but he couldn't risk using his Sharingan again—he needed to conserve chakra for when he overtook him. So, he pressed on, trusting his instincts. Sure enough, he spied the man disappearing into the base of what appeared to be a hollow tree.
Sasuke pulled out two kunai, twirling them into his palms cleanly; the corded grips in his fists boosted his confidence as he silently approached.
If I was Naruto, I'd call out to the stranger...dare him to mess with the future Hokage. He stifled a snort and slunk closer to the tree. He peered inside. Nothing.
If I was Sakura... This time, he actually snorted. If I was Sakura, I wouldn't even be here. She would've woken Kakashi and hid behind him.
Feeling emboldened with superiority, he plunged into the darkness inside the tree, kunai at the ready, and...
...the mossy earth beneath his feet gave way. Sasuke flailed, trying to dig his blades into the tree to slow his descent to no avail. He plummeted for what felt like a full minute, roots whipping at his skin, tumbling around and around so much, he had no idea which way was up.
Oof!
He landed with a thud, all the air whooshing out of his lungs. Everything hurt. He lay still for a moment, assessing the damage.
"What's the matter? Fall down, little baby?" A young girl, maybe eight years old, leaned over him, hands dug into her hips, a disgusted sneer on her face. "Maybe you tripped over your big, stupid feet."
"Nah. The only thing big here is that head." Another girl joined her, knocking Sasuke back with a flick on his forehead while they erupted with laughter.
He struggled to his feet, ready to put these young kids in their place, and found, with no small amount of astonishment, that he was level with their shoulders.
Wait. What? I'm thirteen. I should be much taller than these little girls. He'd lost one blade on the way down, so he clutched the remaining one like a lifeline.
"Oooh!" the girls chorused tauntingly. "Look! A kunai!"
The first girl stepped up to him, chin jutted. "Whatcha gonna do with that, huh? Think you can throw?" More laughter. "I'll tell you what; you hit that target—anywhere on the target—and I'll walk away. If you can't, well..." She cracked her knuckles.
He wasn't sure what was going on, but the need to show these girls who they were messing with was potent. Sasuke stepped up and gauged the distance to the target, his mind already making adjustments for the wind whistling in his ears. Closing one eye, he took aim. He knew his technique was flawless—endless hours of practice had ensured that. He cocked his arm and let fly, waiting to hear the satisfying thock of a bullseye.
"Just as I thought."
He turned to find that, not only had he missed the target, he'd missed it by a mile. His kunai lay in the dust several feet in front of the board.
I didn't even hit the target? he thought, astonished. How could that be?
"Let's go, girls!"
Sasuke was pushed to the ground. His arms rose to block his face from fists...that never landed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself upright, standing in the middle of the road from Konoha's main gate.
"Tch. You want to practice teamwork?"
A foreign thrill ran through Sasuke's spine at the voice. He turned to find his vision dominated by broad shoulders in a blue shirt, his heart oddly thumping in his chest.
That's...
A shock of blue-black hair and the fan-shaped crest cemented it. "If you have time to follow me around, why don't you try learning a new jutsu or two." There was clear disdain in the deep voice. "You're as bad as Naruto."
That's me! he thought as a foreign pain filled his chest.
"I take that back."
Sasuke felt strange, like he'd been filled with helium.
"You're worse than Naruto."
Deflated, he hung his head, a strange, crushing weight forcing him to slump. His hand curled against his heart as if it could deflect the hurt. As he watched himself walk away, his other hand reached out and Sasuke was paralyzed with shock—at the tips of his fingers were perfectly manicured nails colored a very familiar green.
With a powerful rush like a kick to the chest, he was ejected from the hollow trunk, landing hard on the forest floor. He looked down. It's me. I'm me, he thought as he touched his familiar blue shirt, his nails clipped short and unpolished. And I still have both kunai. Was that...genjutsu? he wondered, remembering the Uchiha crest carved into the tree. But that was so long ago...could remnants of illusionary tech possibly still linger here?
Sasuke didn't have time to think that notion through because the rustling foliage meant someone was approaching. He adopted a ready-stance, ignited his Sharingan, and waited.
Green chakra burst from the shrubbery and halted. He shut down his dōjutsu to find a gray-cloaked figure clutching something in a sack.
"What are you doing here?" he said with menace.
A white flash blinded him. He rubbed at his eyes, cursing himself for his lack of awareness—being tricked by a flash bomb was something he thought he'd left behind at the Academy! He froze at a loud crack of wood, and pricked up his ears, listening for sounds in the forest. He blinked his eyes until his vision cleared and took off in the direction of the noise.
Whoever this is, they've stopped being careful. The stranger must've been desperate—Sasuke could easily follow the trail of disturbed leaves and broken branches in the man's wake. I've got you now. With a burst of chakra, he launched himself at the stranger, pinning him with a forearm to the throat. Now to see who you are, he thought, tugging off the hood...
...to find his fingers tangled in pink hair.
"Sakura?" He stared at her, numb with disbelief. "What're you..." He noticed she was clasping something against her chest. "What've you got?"
A look of terror passed over her face and she snatched it back, shielding whatever was in the sack from his view. Determined now, he grabbed at it and they wrestled for possession until stars danced across his vision and pain rocketed through his head. As he fell back, Sakura wriggled out from under him and darted into the dark forest.
Sasuke sat up and gingerly touched his nose. She hit me. She hit me! What the fuck? Furious, he jumped to his feet in pursuit. He was quick, so it didn't take long before her gray cloak was visible. In mere seconds, he was close enough to reach out and catch the hem of the fluttering cloth, yanking her back.
"No! You can't!" she yelled, releasing the clasp and hurdling over a dead log.
Growling at the empty cloak in his hand, he exploded the log with a small fireball and pursued—her panting breath just steps ahead of him intensified his drive. He dodged a handful of shuriken easily and launched a volley of his own, diverting her. Knowing where she'd run to, he made sure he was there first, ready to secure her and get that sack!
As expected, she mistakenly ran right into his arms. He caged her, jackknifing her against his hip. "Sakura, that's enough. Now, give it to me," he demanded...but she smiled a tired, victorious grin before turning to liquid and splashing all over his clothes.
A water clone? When did she...
A whoosh sounded too close to his ear as he was pinned to a tree by a kunai though his high collar. Yanking the blade free, he attempted to compute the blade's trajectory—to find its source—but was soon tangled in equations. In a knee-jerk reaction, Sasuke turned to ask his math-savvy teammate for the answer...but realized she was the one he was pursuing.
No more running, he thought, a plan bubbling in his brain. I'll bring her to me. He spooled off a few yards of wire and fenced in an area a few steps away from a high cliff. For a moment, he contemplated setting up a genjutsu, but knew she'd see right through it. Instead, he used up the last of his chakra for a clone. It went right to work, slashing and rubbing dirt into its clothing. For the final touch, the clone removed its hitai-ate and bashed its head against a tree. A gush of blood ran down its face as it called out.
"Sakura! Sakura...help me..."
Sasuke crouched behind a bush and waited.
To his surprise, she didn't come bursting through the brush to his rescue—he spotted her peering out from the treetops. He signaled to the clone and it groaned as it fell to the ground with a thud.
"S-Sak...ura..."
She dropped down and approached tentatively. "Sasuke-kun? A-are you—"
Yanking the wires in his hand, he sprang the trap. His clone disappeared in a smoky cloud and he rushed in to find...nothing. He shook his head—how did she evade his cage of wires? A gasp betrayed her location on a branch above and he jumped to tackle her. They tumbled down, landing heavily on the rocky ground.
"That's enough. Show me what you have."
"No!" Sakura pressed the package against her, curling her body around it.
"No?" Indignation flared and he grabbed at it, but she was surprisingly fierce; he couldn't pry it out of her grip.
"Sasuke-kun! Don't! Please!"
As his hands moved over the sack, repositioning for more leverage, he felt the weight of whatever was inside, noting that it was heavy...and cold...like rock...like some kind of statue. All at once, understanding dawned as his fingers slid over a fanged mouth, a ridged back, and bared claws.
"Don't look at it! I don't want you t-to turn to stone." She was sobbing now, but her arms stayed wrapped around the...
The Black Dragon?
He was taken aback. Where did she find it? I thought that story was just some crap Kakashi made up. How did she even know where to look? She was by herself—no map or guidance. Wait! Does she think that I don't...that I don't care about...
"Do you know how many new jutsu you could learn in an hour?" He heard his own voice echoing in his head. "You're worse than Naruto!" He looked at Sakura, tears washing lines down her dusty face. She fought him hard—nearly beat him, too. He'd never seen such a fire in her.
If I hurt her so much, he thought, remembering his harsh words, why does she fight so hard...for me? Pain that was all his own radiated from his chest to his stomach as guilt sat on him heavy as a bear. He held out a hand to help her up. It hurt more to see the incredulity on her face as she stared at his outstretched hand. "Come on!" He knew that'd come out sounding impatient, so he tempered it with, "I'll...help you back to camp."
She got to her feet on her own and stepped back warily. Behind her was the sheer cliff-face Sasuke had used to cut off her retreat. She glanced at the white water growling below then back at him. "I don't want you to end up like him." She took a step toward the edge.
"Sakura! Don't!" Alarmed, he made a move toward her. She startled away toward the dangerous precipice, but he snagged her ankle, bringing her to the ground before she could do something incredibly stupid. The sack slipped from her hands and danced over the edge.
Both of them scrambled to the cliffside to watch its decent. As it pinged off a jutting rock, the statue was freed from the bag. Sakura gasped and slapped a hand over his eyes. He pried it off to see gold embellishments glinting as the dragon spun and bashed its way toward the river below. Finally, it hit the jagged shoreline with a thunderous smash, splintering into thousands of tiny shards.
They sat back and Sakura buried her head between her knees, panting as if everything caught up with her at that moment. Sasuke felt awkward. He felt the urge to reach out to her, to maybe—he wasn't sure—but maybe to reassure her? He knew how he felt about his teammates. Sure, they could be annoying at times, but didn't she know? Hadn't he shown her enough times what was truly in his heart?
"Sakura, I..."
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a dazzling whoosh of energy that knocked them both back. He threw an arm in front of Sakura and they watched in fear and awe as the glare curled into a shape. If Sasuke had even the smallest inclination toward superstition, he might've said the light formed the shape of a dragon before swirling into wisps then disappearing completely.
They stayed like that for a moment more, both locked in their own thoughts, before Sakura piped up. "We should get back to camp."
"R-right." Sasuke didn't like the quaver in his voice, so he quickly got to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes. He watched surreptitiously as she struggled to her feet. "Here." He was about to grab her arm, but stopped—he touched her elbow and guided her arm over his shoulders gently.
"Thanks," she said, her lips edging toward a smile. It made her look softer somehow. The word pretty popped into his head and then some kind of squirming started in his belly, like he'd eaten live eels, so he concentrated hard on nothing but his sandals. After a few yards, she said quietly, "I wasn't going to jump, you know."
"I know that," he growled...but was glad to hear it.
"Hmm." She sounded disbelieving. "Your ears turn red when you lie." He jerked his head around. "Just so you know."
"Whatever." He could feel his skin getting warm, her cool arm around his neck. "Let's get going."
Sakura grinned the entire walk back to their campsite.
"Man! I'm so glad to be away from those bugs," Naruto said, grimacing. "I think I might need a transfusion, Sensei! They sucked all the life out of me!"
"I suppose they took what little was left of your brain," Sasuke deadpanned.
"Little?!" Naruto squeaked, his voice cracking with irritation. "I'll have you know, asshole, that I'm way smarter than you! My brain is much bigger! Right, Sensei? You know that I'm better than he is at just about..."
Sakura chuckled as she watched the boys of Team Seven doing what they did best—argue. Their familiar bickering filtered into the background as she watched the scenery go by on their walk to Claw Country's capital city.
"Your leg is better."
"Huh?" Sasuke was beside her, looking right at her. It took Sakura a moment to realize she wasn't daydreaming—he was here, expecting a response! "Oh, um, yeah. A few bruises, but it's much better." She couldn't tamp down the grin, but she kept their conversation hushed. "Thanks for your help last night."
He nodded and they went silent, but continued to walk in step. After a minute, she figured that's all he wanted from her and he'd soon join in on Naruto's non-stop commentary on Claw's trees, birds, amount of sunshine, road conditions, and anything else that popped into his head and how each compared to (and fell short of) Konoha...but, instead, Sasuke stayed. Now began the struggle for what to say. Sakura tried to think of something interesting or witty, something that would—
"That water clone..." he said. "How'd you do it?"
Initially stunned silent, a pleased but flustered heat seared across Sakura's cheeks, and she began, "Well, um...I got the idea watching Zabuza and Kakashi. I knew there were different types of clones, but that was the first time I'd seen one with my own eyes. So, I researched." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'd never actually done the jutsu before last night, though. It was all just theory." She slumped and added, "Honestly, I don't know if I could make it happen again."
"When we get back to Konoha, we could...practice," Sasuke said.
The voice in Sakura's head squealed so loud and so high, she was sure dogs in Tea Country heard. She was near hyperventilating, dreaming of stolen moments in the woods of Training Ground Three, where she and Sasuke would—
"I am not an ignora...ignopotamus...whatever you just called me!" Naruto shouted.
"No need to get upset," Kakashi said to placate. "Not everyone is an intellectual. Some of us are gifted in...different ways."
"Just what are you getting at, Sensei?"
"Umm...well, Naruto... Oh hey, would you look at that! It's Hikaku!"
Kakashi pointed at what looked like a timeworn roadside deity statue—the features were almost completely scrubbed by time. It was little more than a strangely-shaped boulder, moss nearly overtaking it.
"WHAT?!" Naruto was indignant. "That's what you want us to believe is a man turned to stone because a dragon ate his soul?!" He chuffed and turned away. "That's bad, Sensei...even for you." He continued walking, shaking his head in disappointment as Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck.
Sakura brushed some of the growth from Hikaku's face. "Do you really think..." She turned to Sasuke, and saw that his face was clouded with emotion. "I-I suppose Naruto's right—it's just a made-up story."
Sasuke agreed and changed the subject back to Sakura's research. She happily chatted on, but glanced at her teammate. Despite his blasé, hands-in-pocket attitude, she knew he felt the same way about the truth of the Black Dragon as she did.
After all, his ears were bright red.
Hi Everyone! It's so nice to be writing again! Can you believe that I've been over and over this story for the last two months? Ugh. Self-doubt, you are so evil! Maybe I should've eaten more bacon? Anyhoo, I'm hoping I can get back to writing a little more regularly, but we'll see what plans my muse has (maybe not taking a multi-year vacation again!).
Please let me know what you thought about 'The Black Dragon'...hearing from all of you gives me the creative energy I need to write more!