Author: desbutterfly
Genre: drabble
Pairings: not really any, Sasuke/everybody in Sound if you squint or have a dirty mind (like me)
Rating: PG
Summary: The first time Sasuke's seal acts up it takes him by surprise.
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The first time Sasuke's seal acts up in Sound it takes him by surprise.
His knees buckle under a wave of almost crippling pain, and he bites through his bottom lip trying not to scream. Tayuya is triumphant until she realizes that it is not her attack which has brought the Uchiha avenger to his knees, but a not-so-subtle reminder left by their master. Then she is just annoyed and hauls Sasuke off to Kabuto for monitoring before leaving to find another sparring partner.
In the night, Sasuke feels the cool weight of a damp rag placed over his burning eyes and forehead and tries desperately not to retch. When he regains enough of himself to open his eyes, he wonders whether he is disappointed or relieved to find that it is Kabuto and not Sakura placing and replacing the wet cloth with gentle fingers that smooth through his sweat-damp hair.
When Sasuke wakes again, it is to Orochimaru's strange slit eyes and a bone-white hand gripping his chin, forcing his head back and to the side. Sasuke feels something slide against his too-warm skin, tracing the faintly glowing marks of the curse seal which are slowly spreading across his neck and chest. He shivers and tells himself that it's the fever's doing.
"Don't worry Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru soothes, and Sasuke hates being talked to as if he is a child, "it will be over soon."
Sasuke opens eyes he doesn't remember closing and finds that everything is bathed in a sea of red.
'Nothing's ever over.'
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