Anime: Naruto
Pairing: Possibly Sasuke... (suggestions welcomed!)
Summary: Revenge twists the hearts of many in times of need. Sometimes it reaches out and promises happiness for those who have lost everything. When Mariko's brother is murdered, her once innocent heart turns black and she swears revenge. Can a hero who has changed the hearts of many reach her? Or will she be the one to extinguish the Will of Fire?
Author: Triggerspec
OC: Mariko
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters. I also cannot take credit for the similarities to the plot. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto
A/N: Alrighty folks, this story is different, more because it is an all impulse story... and it is mainly impulsed by the anime I've been watching but the real impulse isn't until the next chapter which is about half-way complete. I do hope this new way of writing is good, and that pat-readers of mine enjoy it as well :D
The rain poured down as I trudged through the mud. My original plan was to make it to Konohagakure by dawn of tomorrow, but now I find myself walking in the opposite direction making my way back to the small cabin I have currently camping in. What made my situation much worse was beside me strolled Uchiha Sasuke.
"Why exactly are you following me?"
I growled, glaring from the corner of my eyes. He stared ahead, ignoring the irritation that clearly hovered around me.
"This storm is not going to let up anytime soon and I presumed you had a dry place to retreat to."
My face scrunched up even more with disgust at his tone.
"Retreat? I am not retreating, I am just keeping myself in peak condition to extract my revenge. Plus, what makes you think I want something like you anywhere near me. You're a damn plague to someone like me."
"Hn. You have no choice. Whether you want me around or not, I can easily kill you and find shelter on my own. And a plague? Who are you to talk so high and mighty?"
"Wh-What?" I stopped staring at him in utter disbelief..., "Me talk high and mighty? You make Madara look humble, you arrogant punk! Just being around you makes my damned skin crawl you bloody freak of nature!"
I hissed pointing a finger at him. He stopped and turned to face me, his face showed nothing, his cold, black eyes stared at me with a raised brow.
"Freak? Have you looked in the mirror. At least my eyes aren't a mutation."
"What? How dare you, you ignorant piece of shit! Thinking you're precious Sharingan is so special. Do you know where your precious dojutsu comes from? From the Sage himself who bore the Rinnegan. You're eyes and those stuck-up Byakuga carriers are the mutations! So I suggest you watch your mouth before I bring you to reality!"
I glared at him, my face red with anger and my fist trembled, wanting to strike him hard across the face. I couldn't stand people like him. He just stared down at me, as if I was a bug crawling in the dirt.
"I think you should take your own advice. You run around claiming your going to change the world. What makes you any different from me, or even Uzumaki. I remember he would always run around claiming he would be Hokage even though it was far out of his grasp. You're pathetic."
My anger turned to sadness and my pride had turned to guilt. Inside was a twisting and stinging frenzy with my organs. I thought back to the past few days since I've heard about Nagato. I could feel his own annoyance and anger towards me and this disappointing feeling caused my eyes to sting with tears as they mixed in with the rain.
With a crippled forfeiting posture I shuffled along the path, continuing my way towards the cabin. I was absolutely disgusted with myself. The rest of the trip went by in silence between us. Nothing but the rain pouring, the booming of the thunder and the screaming whistle of the wind. Even with all of this chaos, the atmosphere felt, soothing.
I was completely at ease by the time I entered the wooden building and even went as far as forgetting that Sasuke had followed me in. I flinched when he spoke.
"What is your name?"
"Huh? Oh... Just call me Mariko."
I watched behind my bangs as he brushed his hand through his hair, removing some of the moisture that had stuck to the strands. I walked to a wall closet and grabbed a couple of small towels.
"Here. The temperature is only going to drop more and you'll catch a cold."
He scuffed as he took it. I viciously scrubbed at my hair, trying to dry it as much as possible before leaving the towel on my head and collapsing on the sofa. It was the only piece of furniture in this cabin other than the table. This cabin was abandon for a long time before I came across it. I had no need for personal items so this sofa and table was all I really needed.
"Do you live here?"
I glanced over to see Sasuke looking about at the pile of folded clothes that were identical to the outfit I was wearing now. My outfit was rather simple one that matched my fellow comrades back before the Akatsuki was formed. A short black shirt robe with green trimmings, dark pants, a black and white belt that I tied in front with mesh armour underneath. There were other small indicators that this was a living space.
"Yes. I wasn't allowed to be a part of my brother's organization so I travelled around most of my time. I have multiple abandoned cabins like this scattered throughout the lands. I thought that if I travelled and trained that my brother would see me as a worthy companion... but I was always just his baby sister."
"Hn. I suppose I could relate."
I forced a small smile on my lips as the atmosphere was becoming heavy between the two of us. It seems that it was not only I who had unforgotten baggage weighing my shoulders down. I felt the slight shift of the cushions as Sasuke took a seat on the other end of the sofa.
"Do you have a sibling Sasuke-san?"
"What?"
I turned to look at him, "Well you said you can relate..., doesn't that mean you have a sibling?"
He only stared at me with disbelief as I questioned him, it's as if I was missing something.
"Did I say something wrong?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I'm just surprised you haven't heard. Yes, I had an older brother..."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry like that. Forgive me for making you feel uncomfortable."
"Huh?"
I turned to stare at the ground, "Like I said before, I'm sensitive to those around. I can feel the emotions of the people around."
"Is that why you said I was a plague?"
I nodded, "From the first time I met you, I knew what kind of person you were. You were corrupt and evil through and through. Revenge and death cloaks you like a veil and it's toxic. When you are around I get this bad taste in my mouth and my skin becomes cold. When we fought everything intensified and I could feel the emotions take me over, also without my brother, it's as if I can't tell what's wrong or right myself. I am normally a withdrawn and gentle person."
"What about now? What am I now?"
I looked over at him and he just looked over at me. His eyes were sharp, dark and had the cold gaze to them. His hair was just natural and it seemed to fit his personality, silky and sharp. Inside though..., inside he was twisted and black. As calm as he was now, you could still feel the anger and guilt inside of him. Even with such negative energy, his company is still comforting.
"You are a troubled little boy."
His eyes narrowed and I couldn't help but smirk a little at the teasing.
Nothing but the sound of the storm could be heard. We both took comfort in the silence and the ability we could sit with ease with one another.
"So you really want to get rid of Uzumaki?"
"After Konoha ninja had murdered my parents in cold blood. My world became darker and darker. Nagato was all I had and he protected me with everything he had. He taught me everything I know and he had a heart larger than life. All he wanted was to show the world that it could be better..., peaceful. Uzumaki, he... he took that dream away..., he took..."
My throat choked up and I couldn't speak anymore on the subject. I was never one to face a problem because I would always get to emotional about it. I always looked the other way and distracted my attention from the problem. I think that was why my brother refused to allow me to join the organization. I flinched when I felt something brush against my cheek. I looked over to see Sasuke leaning over with his hand held out. A drop of clear liquid on his finger.
"I don't get why girls cry so much."
"You speak as though you have never cried before Sasuke-san."
"Hn. It's weak and that is one thing I am not."
"But you were at one time..."
I wiped my eyes with the towel and went to place it in a basket. It was probably very late and my body was beginning to feel the pain from my earlier battle.
"Tsh. What do you know?"
I glanced over seeing him staring off in the distance.
"I know about being weak, and that urge to become strong. If you were never weak you would not have gone through so much to get more powerful and by the looks of you, you went through hell and back."
"Hn."
I yawned and then realization struck me like an anvil. I have always been on my own and so I have never prepared my hideouts with more than necessary. I looked in the closet to see the one rolled up bed sitting there mocking me.
"Hm..."
I guess I could allow him to use the bed and I can just use an extra robe to stay warm. A chill ran down my back thinking of the temperatures in the next couple of hours. I let out a sigh as I grabbed the bed.
"Here, I don't usually have guests so it's not much but you can take my bed roll. I'll camp out on the couch."
I could feel his eyes on me as I prepared the bed and scurried around removing the damp outer layer of my outfit replacing it with the fresh pile in the corner. It's not like I had never had a unfortunate night before.
Soon enough the lamps had become dim and then finally went out. I had curled up on the couch with my robes blanketing me as much as they could while Sasuke was laying on the bedroll staring at the ceiling.
"Why are you being so kind?"
I stared at the back of the couch. My eyes could see the stitching even without light.
"Whether you meant to or not, you had saved my life. I may not like you but I am grateful for what you had done. Plus, like I mentioned before, I am normally a decent person."
A long while passed and I was unable to sleep. Maybe it was because my back was turned to a man who could kill me with one strike and feel no guilt afterwards. With this thought I turned over to face him. His eyes were closed as he lay still on his back. For a moment the way the dim light of the moon peeking from behind the retreating storm clouds hit his pale face... The distort colours my eyes received from his chakra... My loss playing tricks on my mind...
A/R(author rant)...: WARNING! Long and irrelevant! Read at own risk! Alright... I had just re-read a story of mine, When The Boys Open Up..., I know it's a favorite for many and I can't understand why? I appreciate the cheers of course with all of my heart but I'm so upset with myself on how bad I have made spelling, grammar and punctuation errors! Of course it was more of a diary, rant type story... so I suppose it would have such issues... And I 've noticed how out of character everyone was but I think that was the charm of the story... using the characters as an appearance and slight reference is fun... I'm only ranting about this here is because I'm using this story as a filler to give me a break as I work on the sequel for it... -sigh- Well I hope I haven't wasted too much of your time with this and that you enjoyed the chapter so far and getting to know my latest OC.. (I have WAY too many OC's...) I had to write them all down at one point :C -pulls out hair- I've also begun o watch yaoi... they are very forceful animes XD always just BAM KISS! it's different and i kinda like it. So i'm gonna try a more blunt approach with some stories... let me know if I get carried away yeah? :D... I should make a blag story, chatting with characters in stories XD HA!
