Chapter Summary: Though they do not combat each other directly again, Sasuke is aware of her in the background. It's a strange, otherworldly awareness, too, one that he can't explain. Even when he can't see her in his periphery, he simply knows she is there.
Author's Note: A note about the dialogue - if you notice a lack of contractions when people speak sometimes, take a look at who they're speaking to. If they're in a formal situation, chances are they're speaking more formally. If you have two equals/friends talking, they'll be more informal. I just don't want to be accused of altering anyone's character too much :)
Chapter Beta: Sakura's Unicorn
戦国時代
As he follows Hyūga from the battlefield, Sasuke is unable to keep from glancing down at the woman in his arms. There's something about her that didn't register before—a mark on her forehead that he thought was debris. The sight of it worries at his memory, but he has no time to dwell on it before realising something else.
Her chest appears to be moving.
Sasuke pauses mid-step, his body going still as he focusses his attention. A second later, her lips part, and he hears the soft whistle of air between them. There's another minute movement in his arms.
"You're alive," he realises, genuinely mystified. It shouldn't be possible because he aimed to kill and no one can survive a wound through both the lungs and heart.
"What did you say?" Hyūga asks him. Sasuke barely hears, his knees already folding as he lowers the woman to the ground.
Before his astonished eyes, the mark on her forehead grows, black ribbons snaking across her face and neck, disappearing beneath her armour. He senses a burst of chakra and shifts her to one side, examining the spot where his blade pierced her. He finds beneath the blood-soaked chain and fabric only a thin, puckered red line like a newly scabbed-over wound.
Impossible, he thinks, staring at this woman. This is— But his thoughts stall when he notices her gazing up at him from beneath long lashes, those damned green eyes considering him. Judging him.
There's another shift and his attention falls to the one hand she suddenly raises. Slowly, she places her fingers against his chest, and he expects the weak, ineffectual push of someone seriously wounded. Instead, he flies several yards backwards, forced to relinquish his grip on her from the power of her shove. Shoulders heaving as she gasps for breath, she picks herself up, eyes never leaving Sasuke's.
Hyūga wastes no time charging at her in retaliation, Byakugan activated and ready to use jūkan to cut off whatever chakra allows her this inhuman strength. He is foiled by a simple stamp of her foot which splits the earth, disrupting the prodigy's balance and forcing him to jump back.
Through the dust and debris, Sasuke catches one last glimpse of her—still watching him—before she darts away. He moves to follow, only to find his way barred by Hyūga.
"Move," he orders.
"Do you know what that was?" Hyūga counters tersely.
"Sōzō Saisei," Sasuke replies, impatient. "Mitotic regeneration." Though he'd never seen it in action.
"So, not only is that woman very strong, but she won't fall in battle. Capturing her as a hostage will be a waste of our time and effort," Hyūga reminds him. "The only person I've ever heard of being capable of that technique is Senju Tsunade."
"That wasn't Tsunade," Sasuke replies.
"Exactly—if she's passed on her talents to an apprentice, that's intel your brother will need."
"Along with why we didn't know about her before," Sasuke says thoughtfully, still staring into the space where she disappeared. He must miss something else that Hyūga says because, when he looks up, the pale-eyed man is observing him with calculation. "What?"
"I don't think I've ever seen that expression on your face before."
Sasuke scowls. "What expression?"
The other man tosses the reply over his shoulder, a throwaway comment that is somehow still laced with suggestion.
"Interest."
Sasuke quickly turns around and follows him, glowering at his back.
"You've obviously been in the field too long," he tells him. "You're developing a sense of humour."
戦国時代
As odd as the incident is, Sasuke pushes his strange reaction to the green-eyed woman to the back of his mind. It's rather easy given that the same day he encounters her, his older brother is badly injured in battle.
Despite his battle prowess, Itachi cannot lead their troops with his eyes damaged, thus, the duty falls to Sasuke. He has cousins who are older and better suited—determined Obito, or even the reluctant, kind-hearted Shisui—but Sasuke is the heir of the main family after Itachi. He is required by law and custom to assume the responsibilities of commander and general, not just a front-line fighter.
Senju Tsunade quit the battlefield five years earlier to lead from shadows, nominating Uzumaki as her commander. The rumour is that the old age she tries to hide finally caught up with her, but days continue to pass without a formal announcement of her death. Until both the Senju and the Uzumaki are defeated, no one in Sasuke's clan can rest.
He often directly challenges Uzumaki, hoping that cutting him down will strike such a demoralising blow that his followers will surrender. He knows it's naïve—they've been fighting each other since they were eight, neither able to emerge the victor—but it's the only strategy that currently makes sense.
And so the weeks pass.
More often, he and Uzumaki end up fighting each other in earnest. They drill away at one another, trading endless blows that would cripple lesser men. Inevitably, before one of them can finish the other, some ally will intervene and drag them home to rest, all to fight another day.
It's here that Sasuke discovers he hasn't seen the last of the mysterious woman.
Just as Hyūga is his lieutenant, his second in battle, the woman with the outlandish hair and eyes appears to be Uzumaki's.
Though they do not battle each other directly again, Sasuke is aware of her in the background. It's a strange, otherworldly awareness, too, one that he can't explain. Even when he can't see her in his periphery, he simply knows she's there. She flits through the trenches, helping downed soldiers, retrieving the bodies of those who have fallen eternally. She does not fight unless directly challenged, and he sees the results of those bouts in crushed chests and caved-in faces.
The woman's reluctance doesn't make her less fierce or effective in her kills, and he wonders at the contradiction there. It's different from the brutal savagery he knows of Senju Tsunade, and yet, it's clear this woman has learned her ways.
There are no more Senju left, other than the old woman—which means she had no choice but to find an outsider to pass on her talents. Since neither Shisui nor his spies brought news of her, she was either very well hidden or—implausibly—a civilian that no one accorded any attention.
Whether that means she is simply heir to the Senju techniques, or has been adopted as leader of the defunct clan, Sasuke doesn't know. Nor, he tells himself, does he care.
He will kill her one day, either way.
戦国時代
The yearly floods make prolonged sieges impossible, and the brief engagements are so bloody that both sides will call a temporary truce for weeks or months at a time. They need to regroup, retraining the recovering wounded and drafting new soldiers into their ranks. Even gathering around the war table and planning strategies is useless because the rising tides are unpredictable; they often change the landscape completely by season's end.
When they were younger, Sasuke remembers spending these times skipping stones on the river and playing with a civilian boy and his dog. At least, he thought Naruto was a civilian, until they grew older. A tense encounter between their fathers ended that friendship, and since that day, they exist to kill each other.
Sasuke's brother often fills the lulls in fighting with quiet reflection. When they were both younger, Itachi would try to capitalise on the unofficial ceasefires, trying to convince their clansmen and the enemy to sue for peace. Sometimes, he would come close, too. And then another brawl would break out somewhere over real or imagined insult, and another wave of fighting would begin.
Sasuke sees that hopeful facet of his brother less and less since Izumi died. Childbirth has robbed them of as many good women as battle has ravaged their men, and Itachi is weary now—stoic. If he appreciates the breaks in fighting, he keeps it to himself, resigned to the inevitable return to battle.
It's different for Sasuke. He is and always has been restless during these periods, never knowing what to do with himself.
As he's gotten older, he's expected to spend his free time with the Hyūga's heiress, Hinata, but he doesn't. There are negotiations for a marriage between them, a full union between bloodlines which has never happened before. Both clans steadfastly prefer to marry within the clan to keep their kekkei genkai pure. Sasuke is indifferent to the potential match and feels nothing for the woman in question. She is a shy, kind-hearted girl, shielded from the harsh realities of the war by the sacrifices of her branch families. He knows she'll make a respectable wife—for someone else. A man like Sasuke—with his hands soaked in blood and more effective at ending life than creating it—does not deserve a woman as untarnished as she is.
So, instead of enduring supervised visits in which neither of them make any attempt to speak to or even look at one another, Sasuke explores the outlying villages. There are several which his brother has requisitioned for Uchiha use. These usually have spaces in their environs where he can hone his skills to prepare for the upcoming battles.
It's in one of these villages where he encounters his mystery woman face-to-face once more.
On a moonless evening after the most recent battle, he wanders the town square where the wounded and dying have been brought. Village women tend to them—wives, mothers, sisters, and lovers who cry in anguish at injuries that won't heal or have already robbed them of loved ones.
At first, he thinks that she's just another one of these—dressed like a peasant, hair and forehead covered by a turban. But, by chance, she looks up as he passes by and he stills; Sasuke would recognise those eyes anywhere.
She doesn't look away when she realises he's seen her, nor does she try to run; she simply holds his gaze, considering. When she finds whatever she's looking for, she slowly looks away and returns her attention to the gaping wound in a nameless man's side.
Every bit of training Sasuke has tells him to strike her down and take her as prisoner, or kill her outright. Instead, he wanders cautiously closer until he looms above her and the unconscious man. His eyes fix on the woman's hands. They are small and delicate-looking without her gear, but covered in scars—defensive wounds and callouses. Cool green chakra glows against the man's skin as she knits it back together.
"You are either brave or stupid to come here," Sasuke tells her quietly, duty-bound to remind her of their respective places. "No one here would question if I killed you where you stand."
"Death doesn't frighten me," she replies, unconcerned.
"How could it, given your talents?"
"Even without them," she informs him, shaking her head. Her tone is matter-of-fact, and when she looks up again, she's smiling. There's a subtle edge to it. "Women have to be strong to survive, in any era."
"They should be smart, too. Not wandering into rival territory, healing the enemy."
"The sick and wounded need to be cared for, whatever side of war they're on," she maintains. "We kill so many in battle—should we not try to balance those lives somehow?" She tilts her head to one side, looking deceptively innocent and earnest. He gets the sense she truly wants to know his opinion on the matter.
"Who are you?" he blurts out. The question encompasses both her identity and existence.
She chuckles. "In these times, it's unwise to give one's name."
He shifts, annoyed, because he's the last person who needs to be reminded of this.
"Perhaps you could make one up for me," she suggests then, pulling away from the man whose side is now whole once more and turning to face Sasuke. "And I could make up one for you."
"Childish," he snorts. "Especially considering you already know who I am." His reputation in battle and tendency to fight Uzumaki have ensured that no one in this land is ignorant of his identity.
"Uchiha Sasuke," she agrees. She ruminates on something for a moment, before declaring, "I would call you Taka, though. You're as proud as a hawk, and just as fierce. And with those keen eyes of yours…" Her voice trails off and she gives a little shrug, a tiny smile on her face that makes his stomach tremble inexplicably.
Sasuke scowls at her. There's nothing about this that he should find endearing. "I have no time for your games, or your disrespect. If you refuse to tell me your name, I will make you tell me—and more besides."
His hand goes to his katana, and instantly, she moves, jumping several feet back as nimbly as the lioness that graced her somen.
"Please don't start a fight again so soon," she suggests, a slight edge to her smile now. "I'm only trying to be friendly. There's far too little of that in the world these days…Sasuke-kun."
She disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but a satchel of medication in her wake.
It would be an easy thing to go after her—even Shunshin leaves traces that can be seen by eyes like his—but he doesn't move. Instead, he kneels and picks up the small bag, noting enough herbs and balms within to treat most of the wounded in the square.
This woman doesn't understand the concept of warfare, does she?
Sasuke is completely puzzled by her, unable to understand how someone can be so open in such a dark time. It's confounding. And annoying.
She's annoying.
In a way, more than Uzumaki, he decides as he passes the supplies to a nearby healer and walks away.
As he returns to camp, he can't bar her from his mind. Her uncommon hair and her damned green eyes—the image again reminds him of the cherry blossoms which rain from the sky in the spring.
Haru, he thinks, bemused. Spring.
Then his wits return to him and he angrily shakes his head in denial.
戦国時代
"Did you know that your woman heals our wounded?"
The question seems to confuse Uzumaki because, as he parses Sasuke's question, he nearly takes a katana to the knee. He only jumps out of the way at the last second, misdirecting the tip of the blade with a hastily raised kunai.
"My woman?" the blue-eyed man echoes. "I don't have a woman."
Sasuke rolls his eyes at the other man's clueless expression. "That doesn't surprise me in the least."
"Then why'd you ask me about my woman?!" Uzumaki demands as two of his shadow clones try to ambush Sasuke from behind.
With a wide arc of his katana, he disperses them. "Then what do you call her? The one with the strange hair, who turns the ground into craters and can walk off a sword to the chest."
He tells himself it's not admiration in his voice.
"You mean Sakura-chan? She's not really…" Uzumaki trails off with a snort, and Sasuke blinks, reflecting that his guess as to her name wasn't that far off. "What's it to you?"
"Nothing," Sasuke replies, lunging forward and meeting the other man blade-to-blade. "It's encouraging to see that treason lingers so high up on your side."
He tries to catch the other man in a genjutsu, but Uzumaki has always been irritatingly good at snapping himself out of his illusions. Sasuke doesn't think it's a natural affinity like the woman—Sakura—possesses, but something else. Uzumaki pulls back at the last second, earning a bloody swipe to his shoulder, but gets out of attack range.
"Sakura's not a traitor," he snaps, defensive. "She's doing her job—she is a medic."
"A medic who heals the enemy."
"To her, they're patients. And maybe she's hoping that by helping people get a second chance, she might get them to think twice about going back into battle," Uzumaki informs him. "Which, by the way, wouldn't be a bad thing."
"If any of my people left their positions to help the enemy, they'd be tried with desertion and executed," Sasuke returns.
Rather than get angry or defensive again, Uzumaki simply looks sad. "Sometimes, Sasuke, I don't think your side wants this war to end."
The lack of surname, along with the ridiculous suggestion, makes Sasuke snarl and dive forward, charging his sword with electricity.
"If you really believe that, why haven't you killed me yet?" he sneers. "There's been many opportunities over the years."
"I could ask you the same question," Uzumaki snaps back.
"Give me a few minutes, I will rectify that—usuratonkachi!"
"You—" he splutters. "Promises, promises, asshole!"
And just like that, their momentary lapse into conversation disappears into the usual death-match.
つづく
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