"What's your name?" Ino threw at the man. After a week of being spoon fed and chained to her bed with very few unpleasant breaks, Ino had woken up to the pleasant surprise of unbound hands. She had then taken one look at the man sitting in the room and threw him her first interrogative sentence. She wasn't afraid of being held captive anymore – at least not by this man. He was ridiculously nice.
"You'll be living here from now on," he said instead, getting up from his chair and walking in her direction. "You can't go back to your past life."
Ino lied on her side and peered at him through her hair as he stepped closer. "Dude, what's your name?"
He rolled his eyes, earning a smile from Ino. "If I let you roam the house you must not walk out of the front door."
"Your name!"
"Tch." He stood there in front of her for a few seconds, contemplating. Then he spoke again. "Sasuke."
Ino jumped up from her spot on the bed and got on her knees. Then she patted his head mockingly. "You're such a good boy," she joked. "Only took three tries."
Sasuke didn't say anything. Instead, he just seated himself on the edge of his bed, running a palm over the covers of her given bed. He barely looked up when she stood on the bed and in one childish movement, fell backwards and sank into the glorious confines of the mattress. "So, you're saying I get to stay here? What do I have to do?" she asked, pushing long blonde hair out of her face.
"Just don't walk out of the door."
"What happens if I do?" she pondered, sitting up to look at his face.
And his face froze in perfection for a few seconds as he thought. He picked his words carefully. "Then you probably won't ever see anything ever again." Then he rose from his spot and walked to the door, swinging it wide open to show that he wasn't going to lock it once more.
"I'm serious. If someone else finds you, you'll die," he said, tossing the words behind him.
O_O
The first two months following the introductions were simply awkward. There were so many habits and routines that were never formally informed to the other so there would always be those moments when their roads would clash which always ending up with one blushing pink and the other avoiding eyes. But despite all the mishaps and the plain fact that Sasuke had abducted Ino and normal people should be too afraid to openly rule this new territory, they settled into a somewhat normal relationship that bloomed between roommates.
It was like they had revisited all the rules first taught to kindergartners about manners within the first month. It took them at least four times – two offences caused by each side – to finally learn that one should always knock on the door before opening. There were even days when Sasuke would just forget about the blonde girl's presence and walk around like he still lived in a bachelor pad, half-naked and only boxers. His blonde "roommate" was embarrassed by it at first – perhaps by his sheer brash display of masculinity or just by his body, a question he never did find the answer to – but she eventually grew used to it and said nothing about it because it also allowed her to walk around the house barely clad.
The pair barely talked but they learned many things about one another.
Ino learned that Sasuke was a very simple man. He did not like sharing anything, which included his food – she found out the hard way when she tried to pick a piece of tomato out of his dinner and he had nearly stabbed her with his fork. The man most certainly did not like talking and he had a very questionable job. His days usually consisted of him either quietly lying on the couch – Ino assumed he was busy thinking – or sitting in front of the ridiculous flat screen gaming. He looked like the type to work out often, maybe even every day, but he never did. The man only went on weekends and every once in a while on a weekday. Otherwise, he usually just frickin' sat there, and it drove Ino insane because it never looked like he got bored of it!
Sasuke, on the other hand, learned very well that Ino had a lot of energy – like way too much energy for a supposed adult. She liked to jump around all over the house and had a habit of wearing his shirts without his permission. He supposed it was alright since they were technically on good terms but …it was weird. It was like having a girlfriend he didn't like. She was sort of always there but not there. Within the first week of roaming free in the freakishly large house, she was already taking over the housework and had officially kicked him onto his couch without much to do. He didn't necessarily mind.
It was the third month when the blonde finally asked him a question that had been plaguing his mind since the moment he invited her to stay. "Hey," she had said to him when he was lying on the couch, deep in his thoughts. "Am I ever going to get new clothes?" she sat down on the loveseat to his left.
"Do you want to go outside or do you want to use the program?" he had replied, picking a strand of her hair off of his T-shirt. Damn that woman. She was like a cat with her hair; she got it everywhere.
Her eyebrows rose with curiosity. "What program?"
He kicked his feet off the couch and proceeded to stand up. "Follow me," he said and made a gesture with his fingers as he led her out of the living room and toward a locked door. Then he fished out a set of keys out of his sweats that she never once heard jingle from and looked through them briskly before singling one. He held the key over its slot and stopped and turned around to look at her.
Sasuke had thought over the idea of taking Ino in for a while. The dumb blonde didn't even know what she was the first time they had met, much less what was going on. She would die out there and for some mysterious unknown reason, something in his heart rose and something in his stomach dropped at the idea of her dying. He shook the feeling away. He barely knew her. Maybe it was because she reminded him of another blonde.
Fingers snapped in front of his face and his eyes focused back on the sunny blonde with the sky eyes. She looked excited. "Come on, what are you gonna show me?" She smiled at him.
He frowned. She just returned an even brighter smile and observed closely as he inserted the key into the door knob and twisted, listening for that satisfying click. She clapped her hands with glee as she heard the noise but stopped immediately when Sasuke turned back and stared at her. "What? It's the first time you're going to sho me around," she said, tiptoeing in an effort to peak over his shoulder.
"Can I trust you?" He finally said, blocking the doorway with his body. He looked at her warily with dark eyes.
She stared back at him, countenance suddenly much more serious, making him wonder if her excitement was all a ruse. "Should you really be asking me that question?" she returned, tilting her head, eyes dead. "Now? At this time? After you've practically taken me captive?" It might just have been him, but she seemed to be closer than before.
She had a point. "I don't want to show you something that you can't handle," he said after a moment. "You really can't leave after I show you."
She faked a gasp. "You're telling me I could have left these past three months?" When she didn't receive a response, she moved forward with an open palm and smacked him on his chest. It hurt a little. "I'm just playing with you. Why would I leave? You're letting me stay and if I ignore the fact that you sit all day and don't talk, you're not that bad a friend."
He raised an eyebrow. "Friend?" Since when was he promoted from 'Roommate' to 'Friend'?
"Yah, friend. I consider you a friend," she said and furrowed her eyebrows. "Even though you're sorta shitty at it." Then she moved forward and patted his cheek, smiling as she pushed by. "Whoa, it's like a whole other house here, how big is this place?"
The door led the pair into what seemed to look like another living room of a completely different house. The second house seemed to flair with a taste of elegance and sophistication rather than the piece of trash bachelor pad. It didn't look anything like something Sasuke would ever live in.
"Don't touch anything," Sasuke muttered, turning around to close the door soundlessly.
Disregarding his words, Ino ran her fingertips against the armrest of one of the couches and then picked up what seemed to be a simple glass figurine on the center of the coffee table. Before she could lift it up to inspect closely, a hand enclosed itself around her wrist as another plucked the item out of her grasp. "I said 'don't touch anything,'" he repeated, face a little too close to Ino's.
She instinctively took a step back, startled at his proximately and watched as he settled the object back in its place. Ignoring the frozen state she was in, Sasuke just led the way deeper in the second house, never once touching the sides of the wall or the doorknobs of the many closed doors in the hallway. He walked past it all and only stopped in the kitchen, where he waited patiently for her to catch up.
He positioned his hand over the bronze metallic knob of the door in the kitchen after she had caught up. She watched, mesmerized as the door flickered and pulsed to an unknown beat before finally swinging open with a soft creak. It opened up to a blank, white space.
He entered first and took a few steps out into nothing for a while before seating himself down on the floor. She followed after him wordlessly and decided to kneel across him.
They didn't speak for a while. They didn't move much either. With the exception of their chests moving as they breathed, nothing really happened.
Finally, without a word, Sasuke lifted his hand and pressed his palm against the space between the pair. From that single spot, fresh grass and soft clouds erupted in a violent gust of wind. He only drew his head back and covered his face with an arm. Across from him, he couldn't see, but he was sure he heard a scream.
When all the gusts of wind had settled down into a soft breeze, Sasuke opened his eyes to see a flustered Ino. Sharp, sky-blue, eyes bore into his. "Did you see anything?" she asked, clutching onto the bottom of her baggy T-shirt with white knuckles.
And for the sake of his life, he shook his head.
"Good," she said, more to herself than him, and patted the area over her heart. Then she opened her eyes once more to study the after effects of the wind. Gone were the wide expanses of white space. In its place were white cumulus clouds floating gently high in the sky and a ground full of bright green grass. She fisted a handful of the grass and turned toward the man. The man had his head rolled back, a small content smile on his face as the fresh wind hit his face. "How did you do that?" she asked.
He lied down on the grass. "Maybe one day I can teach you," he said and propped himself back into sitting position. "But for now, hold my hand."
"Never heard of that one before," she said and smiled. Then she took his hand.
He shot her a look so esoteric she doubted there was anyone that could decipher its meaning.
"Now," he said, beginning with slow words. "Think of what you want to wear out."
"We're going to go outside?!" she screamed loudly. She noticed him wince. "Sorry," she apologized with a meek smile. But he just stared at her and didn't respond she closed her eyes once more. "Okay, I'm thinking of what I want to wear." She felt him squeeze her hand in response.
"To your right," he spoke after a moment and she opened her eyes.
True to his words, her right side sat a bundle of clothes. She gaped at it before picking them up, shuffling through the stack quickly. "Like seriously, you should show me how you did that. What is this? Magic?" she said, looking at him.
He gave her a somewhat smile. "Maybe one day I can teach you," he said.
O_O
"The world isn't as you see it," he told her that night as they sat in front of the fireplace in her room. "There are a lot of things you don't know."
Stabbing a marshmallow with her metal extension fork, Ino rolled her eyes. "You couldn't be any vaguer. Stop easing into it. I don't know what you're hiding."
"Some things should really be eased into."
"Psh, no they shouldn't. Come at me, I can handle it! What's so bizarre about what you're gonna tell me?"
He sighed. "Ino, remember that first time I met you, how I struck that machete wielding boy to the wall?"
"Yah, with some lightning thingy. It came outta your hand," she said, mouth full of marshmallows. "Wow, these marshmallows are really good. What brand is this?" she flipped the pack over to scan its name. "You should have one." She reached for his extension fork.
"No, I don't really like sweet things," he replied and continued on with the matter. "Don't you ever think about how I did it?"
She shrugged her shoulders, causing loose blonde hair to follow its movement. "I just always assumed you would tell me." She licked her fingers. "You will, won't you?"
He nodded. "With time."
"How about we start now?" she suggested, stabbing another marshmallow. It must have been her twentieth that night. Should he stop her? She won't be able to sleep that night if she had too much sugar in her system.
"Sure," he said. Then he paused to collect his thoughts. "I'll tell you the basics. There's another world out there. And in this world …humans are the weakest," he finished, and made a motion that suggested he was going to get up.
She grabbed at his pants as he rose to his full height. "No, wait." She paused so suddenly he almost wanted to peer down to make sure he was alright. Then she relinquished her hold on him and slowly said, "Is there some sort of magic in this world?"
He nodded once more.
"In this world …are there other species?"
He nodded his head once, achingly slowly.
She pursed her pink lips. Then she gestured toward him, up and down. "Then what species are you, Sasuke?"
He stood there for a few silent seconds before turning around fluidly and walking out of her room.
In his bed that night, he realized that it was the first time she had ever called him by his name.
