10. An eventful night
A thunder of applause and wild clapping broke loose as Yamato was awarded a medal for his outstanding services during the reconstruction of the village. Many people received awards in the course of this evening, but none of the others had received a reaction anywhere close to the deafening applause for the man who had given the Village Hidden in the Leaves its new face. More importantly still, it was also thanks to Yamato that at least three-quarters of the attending people had a home again and so they used this chance to express their gratitude.
If you were to conduct a popularity poll in Konoha, Yamato would rank pretty high at the top – second only to Naruto maybe. Today, however, no one had cheered for the Uzumaki, though there have been numerous people who greeted him or stopped him to have a little chat, really many, actually, which made it hard for him to find his way through the milling crowd.
They had put up a lot of tables and benches in front of the Hokage residence and all around it were many different stalls, where you could buy something to eat of drink. Despite being outdoors, the smells of the various snack stalls, a medley of curry, lemon, butter, fried eggs and all other sorts of vegetables and spices permeated the air, so various in their odour that it was nearly impossible to make them out separately.
Balancing six full glasses against his chest, Naruto shoved his way through the dense mass of people, which disabled him from finding the table his friends were sitting at.
"Damn it, where is everybody?" he groused, but could barely hear his own voice amidst all the ruckus going on around him. Actually he knew Konoha like the back of his hand, so it appeared almost absurd to him that he had gotten lost here, but then this was an exceptional situation…
It all looked virtually the same; there were tables everywhere and as far as he could tell there was not a single empty one left and in between the rows of tables were people and more people, either just standing around and chatting or dancing or trying to move and get somewhere, the way he did, too. In the turmoil he couldn't even tell left from right, but he did remember that they sat pretty close to the front, with close meaning they could see the people there without having to squint their eyes.
And so Naruto moved to where he assumed the front to be and by the time he reached it, the glasses in his hands were only about half full and still no sign of his friends. At least not the ones he was searching for…
There, almost at the very front was the Hyûga clan. They had put two tables together so they could all sit there and they were almost directly beside the table the Hokage, the Kazekage, the elders and so on were sitting at. It didn't surprise him to see they were all among themselves and it didn't look like they were enjoying themselves all that much. They were mostly quiet and busy with looking solemn and dignified, although there probably wasn't any effort involved in that. It seemed as though only hushed words were exchanged; you certainly had no one half lying on the table and roaring so loud that everyone around could perfectly well follow the contents of their conversation. The Hyûga didn't need any concrete walls around them; they seemed to be there anyhow.
He fought the urge to just turn around and submit to the repelling force surrounding them and let his eyes roam across the table instead, searching for a special person he hadn't seen in a few days. He found her sitting beside her younger sister, almost at the head of the table.
On first sight it struck him how pretty she looked. On second sight she merely appeared unhappy to him.
There she sat, looking all gorgeous, otherworldly really, in her violet dress and with her wavy hair and that humble hint of a smile on her lips. He had never seen her (or anyone else?) look that good and he really wanted to sit down next to her and run his fingers through her shiny hair and make her smile for real, but something about her face told him that she'd rather curl into a ball and sob.
So that was the extent of the Hyûga's family intern troubles – they went to the great festival to celebrate the reconstruction of their hometown and looked as though they were headed for a funeral. Damn, he was curious what was going on there. He hadn't gotten a word out of Neji, but maybe if he asked Hinata…
He detached his eyes from the blue-haired girl again and let them wander across the table until he found Neji, sitting almost at the other end of it. Unlike Hinata, Neji seemed to notice at once that he was being watched and looked over his shoulder, his almost white eyes meeting Naruto's blue ones in an instant.
The Uzumaki wanted to wave at him, but with his hands full that didn't really work (which hadn't kept him from trying for an almost fatal second), so he merely nodded his head and took a step closer to Neji. This was a public festival after all and no Hyûga-intern event, so why shouldn't he stop by their table and say hi? The meaningful look on Neji's face told him otherwise, though, and as he shook his head then, Naruto was again reminded of his words:
This isn't the time in which visitors are welcome here.
Though it went against the grain for him, Naruto came to a stop and after directing a last longing glance to the other end of the table, he turned around and left.
Hinata had not seen a single one of his admiring looks.
All she saw was how he turned his back on her.
Sayuri has been really excited about seeing Sasuke and presenting herself to him or maybe she had just been excited about his reaction. In the end that one turned out rather disappointing though.
Once they had finally reached their meeting place, they had already seen Sasuke and Kiba stand there, waiting for them. The very second her eyes had fallen on her boyfriend, a wide, irrepressible and most likely stupid smile had appeared on her lips and had persistently stayed there, regardless of how hard she had tried to force it back. When it came to coolness, she'd do well to take a leaf out of Sasuke's book.
He had stood there with his hands in his pockets, leaning against one of the large, square pillars of the bridge-like archway, which separated the market place from the rest of the village. He hadn't even looked up, until she almost stood in front of him and apologised for being late. By then, Ino had also reached Kiba and she had heard him shower her with compliments.
Sasuke had given her a long, unnerving look and she had been close to bursting with impatience, but all he said then was nevermind before giving her a kiss.
That was it.
She had spent the whole day trying to look pretty for him and all she got for it was a kiss – something she would have also gotten if she had shown up in her bathrobe. Needless to say that she had been a tinsybit disappointed, but then she didn't just know him since yesterday, so she shouldn't have expected anything else. He simply wasn't like that.
Then he had proposed to take off by themselves, before the others would notice, since they'd be stuck with them long enough later anyway and ever since then, they have been strolling through the village, taking a look at all the people and the different stalls. In all that time, Sasuke had kept his arm around her and she often caught him watching her, in fact he rarely ever took his eyes off her and that was kind of flattering - probably better than anything he could have said, considering how eloquent a speaker he was…
"You want to eat something?" Sasuke asked and draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer as they passed a group of young and apparently drunken men, who took up most of the space on the busy road.
"No, not really." She moved her hand up to link her fingers with his, before she looked up at him. "You?"
"Not really," he replied in the same fashion and kept his dark eyes fixed on the noisy drunkards.
"The award ceremony should be over. Let's go and join the others. I can't walk much longer in these shoes." She grimaced and looked down at her sore feet in the high-heeled sandals.
"Why are you wearing them then?"
"Ask Ino…"
"Hn," he smirked. "Then let's go."
He guided her onto the festival site, holding her close to him, so they wouldn't get separated. It was crazy – just how full it was and how these people were acting, as though something was given away for free. Did that really have something to do with the reason for the celebrations or was maybe the new market place just smaller or had the organising committee failed? It was really good that they hadn't taken Mikan with them. It was hard enough to look after the two of them and make sure they wouldn't be squeezed to death; with a child that would have been much harder. No wonder that he had seen hardly any children here. If anyone should stumble within the crowd he'd probably get stomped into the ground without anyone even noticing. But then stumbling seemed rather unlikely. There was too little space for that.
Sasuke tried his best to look over the billowy sea of heads and find out where their friends were, but it seemed impossible. The various small groups melted together and individuals were swallowed up and became one with the massive wave that swept across the market place and rolled down the streets, pounding and winding and swaying to the pulsating beat of music. He was almost tempted to tell Sayuri that there was no way they'd find them here and should just go home, but then he saw them.
"C'mon." He dropped his arm from her shoulder and reached for her hand instead to pull her along behind him, as he pushed their way through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.
"Oh, look who's back again," Ino drawled and regarded the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "One moment you're there and the next you're gone. What happened?"
"What?" Sayuri cupped a hand around her ear, to show the blonde that she hadn't heard a word of what she had said over the background noise, the music and the chatting.
Ino merely gave a dismissive wave of the hand and then pointed at the other end of the bench, inviting them to sit down. The table was already pretty full; Naruto, Ino, Kiba, Sakura, Shikamaru and Shiho were there, but there was enough space for them and maybe two or three other people still without it getting crowded. How had they even managed to get a table?
Once they were sitting, everyone resumed their little conversations and Sayuri leant halfway across the table in order to understand something. After a minute she gave up again.
"Wow, I don't hear a word!" she half screamed into Sasuke's ear, wondering if he heard her; after all she barely heard herself.
"Maybe it's better like that," Sasuke said without bothering to raise his voice any more than is usual, so if Sayuri hadn't paid attention to his lip movement, she probably wouldn't have understood him despite practically sitting on his lap.
"Huh? Can you hear what they say?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
"Experience…"
"Tze," Sayuri smirked and nudged him in the ribs, before she guided an awed look over the masses of people surrounding them.
"I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place. Just where do they all come from?"
"Hm." Sasuke shrugged. "Coming here was a bad idea."
"Oh, c'mon. Don't be such a drag," she moaned and looked at the man who usually said that and she was sure that Shikamaru thought something in that direction right now. "I'll go and get us something to drink."
"I'll do that," Sasuke said as she rose to her feet.
"Nah, it's fine," she smiled and stepped over the bench, before she cupped Sasuke's face in her hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll be right back."
And before he had a chance to say anything else, she had already vanished in the all-consuming crowd.
It took her nearly fifteen minutes to reach the area where food and drinks were sold and another ten minutes until she held their drinks in her hands and in that moment she wished she had let Sasuke go after all. Squeezing her way past all these people on her way here had been unnerving enough, especially since some of them were sweating profusely due to the temperatures and probably also the alcohol (which she experienced first hand since her nose was on the height of most men's armpits) and she could really think of a lot of things she'd much rather do than throwing herself into the fray with two full cups in her hands. That is why she decided to take a break first, so she could take a deep, unobstructed breath of clean air, without anyone pressing their elbows into her belly and more importantly she needed to give her feet a rest.
That is why she slipped into the aisle between two of the stalls and distanced herself from the festival area. It was almost like having slipped into another world; back here she encountered hardly any people and all the sounds were duller, almost muted, as though she had plucks in her ear. Maybe she was going deaf… Only the smells were even stronger here – the smells of food and garbage, though, and not of sweat and booze.
She was on the road leading to the academy and decided to sit down on one of the benches there, but as it seemed she wasn't the only one with that idea. She could see a dark figure, sitting there on the bench, with his upper body bent forward, as though drawn down by the weight of his head. His elbows were resting on his knees, his arms hanging loosely down between them and there was a brownish bottle dangling from his hand.
There was something about him that didn't exactly seem trustworthy. It would have been the cleverest thing to give him a wide berth and search for another bench or just turn around again and walk back, but the latest events had convinced Sayuri that she wasn't clever and besides, she thought she knew that person.
With slow steps Sayuri approached the crouching figure, trying her best to peek under the dark veil of hair that obscured his face, and only as she was a hundred percent convinced of the identity of the man, did she lower her guard and quietly sat down by his side.
"What are you doing here?" she asked with her eyes focused on the colourful sky that broke into a crimson sunset. "Neji?"
"…"
"You're no fan of these festivals either, huh?" She tried again as he didn't respond – he hadn't even moved yet and somehow that made her feel a little uneasy, but she tried not to let it show. "Why don't you come sit with us?"
"How was your exam?" He finally broke his silence, though he didn't react to any of her questions and posed a rather unpleasant counter question instead.
"Err," she grimaced and placed her two cups on the ground beside her feet, which she had at length freed of the murderous stilettos. "I don't have the results yet, but… I guess I passed…"
-Or maybe not, but she'd rather think positively – she could still reproach herself afterwards and on more than enough occasions.
"Congratulations. Here's to you." Neji lifted the bottle and took a generous sip.
Now at the latest Sayuri knew that it was alcohol. She had guessed as much, but now being sure of it unsettled her even more. She had only seen him drink once and that didn't end so well. And that was on a festival, too…
"Hey? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's just fine," he said bitterly and took another gulp.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Celebrating."
"Celebrating?" she frowned, before she ventured hesitantly, "And… what exactly are you celebrating?"
"My upcoming marriage."
Although he nearly spat out the words, they still left a sour taste in his mouth, so he tried to wash it away with the sharp-tasting beverage.
"WHAT?" Her eyes became impossibly wide. "Marriage? You mean, as in… getting married…? Why didn't you tell me?"
She clapped his shoulder, while a disbelieving smile fought its way to her lips, but died halfway, as his lack of response and just the whole situation in general finally made the penny drop.
"Wow…shit…" She shook her head and slumped back against the bench. "Who is it? Do I know her?"
"I barely know her myself."
"A-and is there nothing you can do about it?"
"…" He shook his head and so did Sayuri, though not with Neji's resigned quality, but with pure disbelief.
An arranged marriage? Not only did that sound awfully old-fashioned – something only the Hyûga with all their traditions and customs seemed capable of – but more importantly it shocked her how Neji just seemed to accept his fate without any resistance at all. It was his life after all, so there had to be something he could do, although right now she couldn't think of anything either.
"Wow," she repeated in a hollow voice, not knowing what else to say. "That sucks."
"Sure does," Neji sneered and took another sip, before offering the bottle to Sayuri.
She took it from him without hesitation, but first eyed the label. This wasn't simple rice wine, but high-percentage alcohol. Maybe it wouldn't be so good if she drank it. After all her tolerance for alcohol was rather low. But maybe that would be just what she needed right now… After the weeks of excessive studying she had to kill a few brain cells to get her head clear again. And it would be pretty mean if she let Neji drink here alone, when he so clearly needed company.
"Here's to family." She raised the bottle and tipped it slightly, before setting it to her lips and taking a sip.
The result was immediate. The moment the liquor touched her tongue, it felt as though her whole mouth was on fire and it spread down her throat and inflamed her entire chest cavity, leaving her coughing.
"Yuck," she grimaced and reached for her own cup to wash down the bitter taste and douse the flames. Not that it worked. "What is this? A disinfectant?"
"Not quite," Neji said, before he took the bottle from her again and repeated her toast without batting a lid.
"And you can't just tell them you don't want to, right?"
"No."
"Or that you have someone else already?"
"Tze," he hissed and couldn't help sneering because of the irony. Telling them he had someone else? That is what had gotten all of this started in the first place…
"But… it's your life! They can't just force you to do it!"
"I am but a mere branch house member. I have to acquiesce to the decisions made by the main house."
"But- that's just not right!"
"It's my fate. There is nothing I can do about it."
Despite his obvious aversion to the decision (why else should he be drinking?) Neji had obviously reconciled himself to the situation, so what choice did she have but do so as well? She wasn't a Hyûga and knew only very little of what was going on within the clan, so when he said there was nothing he could do about it, then that's how it was.
"Is she nice at least?"
"Hm…" He shrugged. "She's a member of the main house."
That didn't say anything about her character, but Sayuri was able to read between the lines. Neji had grown up hating the main house because of the power it had over him and now he had to marry one of them? What would their future look like? She doubted his curse seal would be removed, so theoretically she could make use of it whenever she wanted Neji to do something he didn't want to do. Like her personal slave. Now guess who'd be wearing the pants in their relationship…
"And what does she say about it?"
"She can't be happy about the arrangement either. Marrying someone below one's social status isn't exactly considered as prestigious."
And she thought she had problems… In the face of Neji's situation her stupid exam and her unhappiness about having to stay at home all the time appeared awfully petty to her all of a sudden.
"I was sure it would be Ino and Kiba," Sayuri mused and raised her knees, so she could massage her aching feet.
"Huh?" Neji turned his head to her, a big question mark on his face.
"With everything," she chuckled softly and watched shades of night steal the colour from the sky. "I thought they'd be the first to live together, the first to get married, the first to have a baby– just not necessarily in that order… Guess I was wrong…"
"Hn… we are the pioneers of our generation…"
"Sure thing," Sayuri giggled and leant forward to sit on her knees, before she took the bottle out of Neji's hand with a sweeping gesture and lifted it high into the air. "To pioneerdom!"
"Yeah… to pioneerdom…"
It went on like that for quite a while:
"Here's to marriage!"
"To babies!"
"To diapers!"
There have been too many toasts for them to even remember half of them.
"Here's to baby-making!"
It would have gone on if the bottle and the drinks Sayuri had actually bought for herself and Sasuke hadn't reached their end, but maybe it was better that way…
"Don't tell anyone," Neji said after a long moment of silence, which had only been disrupted by an occasional hiccup.
"Are you kidding? By tomorrow I won't remember anything of today anyway."
Right now it was hard enough to remember the beginning of his sentences by the time he ended them. She really wasn't much of a drinker…
"You look really pretty today."
"Finally!" Sayuri clapped her hands. "Thank you – that's number one."
"Huh?"
"Ino talked about counting the compliments you receive. Yours was the first."
"I see." Neji nodded, before he ventured a guess, "So Sasuke didn't say anything?"
"Oh no… I don't think he even noticed." She pressed her lips into a thin line and shrugged, trying not to look too unhappy about this. After all her self-confidence wasn't dependent on a single person, right?
"Tze, always said he is an idiot."
"Just from time to time." She stuck out her tongue and giggled, before she gave Neji a long, serious look.
"What?" He raised an eyebrow, suspecting nothing good to come from that look on her face.
"How about we go back and you show her to me?"
"No," he replied crisply and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Pretty please?" She fluttered her long, dark eyelashes, but the Hyûga remained unmoved.
"No."
"But I'm curious!"
"Not my problem."
"It is!" she exclaimed. "You were the one who told me about her, so now show her to me!"
"No."
"Show me."
"…" He merely rolled his eyes, not feeling like repeating himself again. Hopefully she'd stop if he just ignored her, but wide off the mark…
"Show me, show me, show me – I won't stop until you do, so if you ever want me to shut up again then show me, show me, sho-"
"-Alright." Neji cut in and got up. "C'mon then."
"Yay!" Sayuri cheered and leapt to her feet, but had to grab Neji's arm to keep from falling over. "Woah… that's not good."
Note to self: No quick movements.
"Maybe it would be better if I brought you home," Neji offered, entirely selfless of course, and steadied her by her elbow. "What are you doing back here anyway?"
"Oh no, you won't just change the topic – show her to me."
She pulled her hand out of Neji's grasp and slipped it under his arm instead, before tugging him in a resolute zigzag towards the festival region, but then she stopped abruptly and for a moment Neji was afraid she'd throw up. By now he really felt guilty for having made her drunk, but how should he have known that it took so little? In one moment they had still been talking normally and a moment later she was suddenly giggling and slurring her speech.
"Wait! My shoes!"
She rushed back to the bench to retrieve them and reluctantly slipped into them again.
"Ready?" the Hyûga asked dryly and received an eager nod in return and so he offered Sayuri his arm to steady her and led her back, glad that the crowd had thinned out a little by now, but it was still awfully full.
With a stealthiness only a ninja was capable of, Sayuri sought cover behind a lantern, from where she peeked at the table the Hyûga were seated at, just close enough to have a good look at them, but not close enough to attract attention. If she only stopped giggling now, their secret espionage mission was sure to be a success.
"So? Who is it?" Sayuri asked and rose on tiptoe to look over all these big people that got into her line of sight.
"The one over there." Neji pointed at a woman with long dark hair, fair skin and pale eyes – a typical Hyûga.
"Wow, she's pretty." Sayuri nodded in admiration and squinted her eyes to have a better look at her. "She looks like you as a girl."
"Yeah… thanks for pointing that out." Neji rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest. The similarities between them were impossible not to notice and that was just one of the things that bothered him about her.
"Ehe, but hey – you are sure to have really pretty children," she grinned and turned back to Neji, her eyes slightly glazed with the alcohol she had consumed and that caused all these tactless things to bubble out of her mouth that was stretched into a permanent grin. "An army of mini-Neji-clones."
Although not knowing it and maybe having chosen the wrong words to address the situation, Sayuri had still hit the nail on the head. Having children – that's what this arrangement was meant for in the first place.
The Hyuga were desperate, because the youngest generation was on the one hand very small, and they deviated strongly from their clan's teaching. That is why they were afraid that this new generation will overthrow the clan's old rules and jeopardise the Hyuga's continued existence. And they couldn't allow the Byakugan to get weakened, not to speak of having it just vanish along with its current users.
That's the reason why they decided to have Neji marry; to make sure that his Byakugan, strong as it was, would not be lost. His future bride is a distant cousin of his. She belongs to the main family and is five years older than him. It's usually not done to marry between the two houses. The marriage will give him a higher role within their clan, although it couldn't do anything about his curse mark and his branch-house background. Nevertheless, if he were to have any children, which they not only assumed, but expected he would have, his first born son and his daughters would be members of the main family and would accordingly be in the hierarchy above their father.
It was an awful mess.
"What's her name?"
"Samsara."
"Uh-huh… she seems pretty nice… maybe you'll learn to like her…"
"That's not what it's about."
No, it definitely wasn't.
"And what if you just procra- pro-cas—tini- oh dear," Sayuri shook her head and put a hand to her forehead, before she tried again, "and if you just… … put off the whole thing? Like… forever?"
"Procrastinating won't do," he said and felt his spirits sink, the longer he looked at the woman who was supposed to become his future. They kept standing in the cover of the cheerful crowd and pored over a way out for Neji. So engrossed were they in all their scheming that they didn't even notice that they were being overheard.
About an hour must have passed, maybe even two – it was hard to tell with all the ruckus going on in her head – until Sayuri finally remembered that she was actually here with Sasuke and made her way back to their table, hoping she'd find it. In the end it was far easier than she had thought and she was actually a little relieved to see that Sasuke was still there.
"Hi!" Sayuri flung her arms around Sasuke's neck from behind and pressed an exuberant kiss to his cheek.
"Late again," he said without turning to look at her.
"Sorry – again…" she murmured and walked around him to the end of the table.
"So?" He gave her an expectant look, but his question only brought a confused frown to Sayuri's face.
"So?"
"Where are our drinks?"
"Err…" She stared off into space and then slammed her flat hand onto the table. "Damn it. Hold on a second."
She turned around again, but Sasuke held her back by her wrist.
"Naruto already brought enough. Sit down."
He yanked at her hand and then she was already sitting by his side, though the contents of her head seemed to be suspended in midair and needed a little longer to return to their assigned place. A funny feeling.
"Did you stumble into a puddle of booze?"
"Huh?" She looked down at herself, but her dress was still as white as it used to be, no stains or dirt or whatsoever. Apropos dress…
"Sasuke…?" she purred and slipped her arm through his, as she leant closer and walked two fingers up and down his lower arm. "How do you like my dress?"
If he wouldn't say anything himself, she had no choice but to fish for compliments; something she'd usually not do (for fear that her bait would not be taken), but her alcohol level said whynot?
"…" His obsidian eyes rested on her for an awfully long moment, so long, in fact, that she was too impatient to wait for him to finish his scrutiny.
"Just say if it's good or bad – that's all I'm asking for."
No actually, she didn't want to hear the second one.
"It's good," he finally said, as reticent as always and Sayuri couldn't help but roll her eyes and pout. It was fine with her if he didn't give a wordy answer, but he could have at least used some slightly more creative words.
"Though I'd rather see you without it," he added and had Sayuri been drinking in that moment, then Temari in front of her would have probably gotten a nice shower. It left her blushing at any rate or was that the alcohol, too?
Wait, since when was Temari here anyway? Last time she had seen her with her brothers up front. Must have been too boring for her…
"Really?" she asked sceptically and straightened herself as she looked at Sasuke, pretending she hadn't seen through his ulterior motives, although he hasn't exactly been subtle … "You want me to take it off and run around naked?"
"Right," Sasuke snorted and draped his arm around her, lest she should get any stupid ideas. He has never really seen her drunk, so who knew what she would do? And he definitely had a problem with the prospect of letting other people – other men – have a closer look at his girlfriend.
"Hey, would you dance with me?"
"You wish," he snorted and rested his hand on her thigh, his thumb moving in lazy circles over the smooth skin, just above her knee.
"Heh," she smirked, before she tilted her head back slightly to look into Sasuke's dark eyes.
Compared to Neji, her problems really were nothing. She was with the man she loved, who was in the process of building up a house for them. They had a baby they loved and they were free to do whatever they wanted to. There was no one there to force them to anything. She couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be forced to spend the rest of your life with a person you don't love, maybe don't even like. Would Neji ever be sitting with her the way Sasuke and her did now? Would they ever share affections and actually mean them – all procreation purposes aside?
She really didn't want to be in his shoes.
With an unreadable look in her eyes, Sayuri leant up to place a kiss on Sasuke's lips, first just softly so she could savour his taste, then building in intensity and becoming more insistent, searching, claiming – as though they were all alone here and contradictory as it was, the sheer masses of people surrounding them supported that thought – anonymity in numbers.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke frowned at her, once they had to break the kiss to come up for air.
"Uh-huh."
In fact okay was pretty much of an understatement. She felt really cheerful and as light as a helium balloon – if it weren't for her two centner shoes, she'd probably take off to the slow, dull sky.
"I just love you." She shrugged with a smile on her face, which grew a little wider as she saw the smirk on Sasuke's lips and the challenging gleam in his dark eyes. Instead of replying though, he pulled her closer and lowered his head to claim her lips again, letting his tongue slowly sweep into her mouth, without any inhibitions, as if they really were all alone here and in that moment it actually felt that way.
They weren't as unobserved as they thought, though. Temari, on the other side of the table was watching them with a disgusted expression, before her eyes roamed over the rest of the table and came to a halt on Ino and Kiba who were occupied with pretty much the same activity. Alcohol really did bring the worst out of a person…
"Gosh, they're taking over," she moaned and rolled her eyes, while Shikamaru, who happened to sit right beside Sasuke, nodded with a grimace.
"You should think they were homeless," he added and took a sip of the amber liquor in his cup.
"Well, they're just in love." Ever the romantic, Shiho defended the two couples with a dreamy smile on her face, but once she became aware of the sceptical looks on both Temari's and Shikamaru's faces, her eyes widened with discomfort and she revised her statement, "Err… but they really could take a room or something…"
"Hmpf," Temari gave an amused sound, as she watched Shiho lower her eyes with a flushed face. Who was she anyway? Temari couldn't recall ever having seen her and quite frankly she didn't really seem memorable.
"Eh-ehm… Shikamaru-kun?"
"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow and directed his eyes towards the woman by his side, without moving his head.
"Did you read the update yesterday?" Shiho asked, not knowing what to talk about other than their work. Shikamaru was a genius! She couldn't just start with simple small talk, but she badly wanted to talk to him, so she tried to base a conversation on the little things they had in common and that was their work.
"No," Shikamaru sighed. "I couldn't find the time yet."
"Oh… uhm maybe we could meet earlier next time and then I tell you all about it. So you won't have to do it yourself. Only if you want to of course…"
"Hm…" He gave an indefinite sound that could mean everything and nothing all at once.
"Well… basically it just reports about the growing number-"
"-Say Shikamaru," Temari interrupted the blonde in a lazy tone of voice, while examining her fingernails. "Do you still do whatever is asked of you or have you developed a personality lately?"
Her dark green eyes were now sharply focused on the Nara and she barely paid any attention to Shiho's piqued 'Excuseme?'
"I only fulfil my duties."
"Is that so?" she sneered, thinking back of a boy who'd do virtually everything to escape his duties. "How ambitious of you…"
There was something about the tone in her voice, he didn't like at all.
"Of course he is ambitious!" Shiho defended the Nara, since she had by no means missed the sarcasm in Temari's voice. "He is a true Konoha-shinobi."
So that's how it is…
"Oh? And he can't speak for himself?"
"Of course he can! He is-"
From that point on Shikamaru no longer bothered to listen. Just what had gotten into the two anyway? Whatever it was, he sure didn't want to get dragged into it and so he leant back slightly, almost forgetting that there was no backrest, and tried to let their chattering blend into the din of their surroundings, as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pockets. He definitely needed something to calm his nerves right now, and so he lit one of them and took a deep breath of the thick smoke.
When he exhaled again, the smoke curled in trails around his face and the faint wind carried it to the other side of the table, to where Temari was sitting, but he barely registered the way she scrunched her nose or the killer glare she gave him. All he focused on was the feeling of the acrid smoke as it filled his lungs and the way it managed to calm him little by little. Too little actually…
"I wish you wouldn't do that," Temari said with a disparaging air that made clear that it wasn't a mere wish, but actually a command.
"Wishes have the habit not to come true," Shikamaru drawled and took another drag of his cigarette.
"Wrong," Temari corrected, "Only if you won't do anything."
She got up and leant forward, before she snatched the cigarette out of Shikamaru's mouth and dropped it into his drink.
"But I'm not of the passive kind." She gave him a nasty grin, before she climbed over the bench and left, but while Shiho could do nothing but gape in shock about this display of impudence, Shikamaru wasn't surprised in the least and merely sighed, dejected about the waste of tobacco and booze.
What a creepy girl she was…
And now he'd have to get a new drink… Just as expected the whole day was a total drag. Oh well… off to the bar…
"Hey, where are you going?" Shiho asked, as she saw Shikamaru rise up from his seat, but instead of responding, he merely raised his cup with the now undrinkable content and thought that was answer enough.
"Oh," she nodded, somewhat dolefully, and focused her attention on the people around her again, although she didn't really know them all that well. Not at all, actually… But at least she knew their names or she thought she did. On the other side of the table were Naruto and Sakura and at the end of it there were Ino and Kiba. They were sitting, somewhat tangled together, like they were trying to fuse into one person. But who was the man standing beside Kiba again? He looked a bit like Sasuke, but Sasuke was now sitting beside her so it couldn't be him. It looked a little weird, the way he just stood there so stiffly and watched the people at the table. Was he a part of this group, too?
"Hem-hem."
That must have been the third time at least that Kiba heard this weird sound and only now did he realise that someone had to be clearing his throat, most likely with the intention of getting attention.
Although reluctantly, the Inuzuka diverted his attention from his girlfriend, at least partly; his body remained turned her way, almost wrapped around Ino's slender frame and his hand was way up her thigh, but his gaze now found the dark-haired man, standing right beside him, apparently watching them. Almost creepy that he hadn't noticed him before; almost creepy that he was watching them in the first place.
"Oi, Sai! What is it? Whatcha staring at?"
No one had quite noticed the ANBU yet, but at the mentioning of his name all heads turned his way in an almost mechanical fashion, displaying varying degrees of disapproval. Sai really wasn't popular among his peers.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, but would you kindly allow me to sit down with you, please?"
Now that was something new and you could easily tell so from the stunned looks on everyone's faces. Up to now it had always seemed as though politeness was foreign to him; they had never yet heard him say please and now this…
"Well, it's a free world, innit?" Kiba shrugged, although he was still sceptical about the whole thing, which is why he watched the dark-haired man closely as he approached them and sat down next to Sakura.
"I hope you've had a nice night so far."
"Errr… yes." Still all startled, Naruto leant halfway across the table, so he could look past the Haruno at their new team-mate, just to make sure that it was really him, because it most definitely didn't seem that way -that all people at the table agreed on, but who was it then?
"I am very pleased to hear that," he said stiffly, though his smile not once wavered.
"Sine when?" Naruto almost barked, entirely unable to hide his incredulity.
"Well, since you said it," Sai replied. "I couldn't have been pleased about it beforehand, could I?"
"But what has gotten into you?" Sakura asked, still with her eyes wide open and her head shaking in disbelief nearly every time he opened his mouth. "Since when are you so… so…"
"So… not a pest?" Ino helped her out and after exchanging a quick look, both girls nodded and focused their full attention on the ANBU again, as did everyone else, too.
"Oh, that…" Sai grinned and scratched his temple. "I've realised that none of you seems to like me and so I've tried hard to find out why such is the case."
"Did you?" Sakura asked with her brows furrowed; it was hard to believe that he had noticed so only now – she had been sure he had been up to seeking trouble with everyone he came across…
"Yes, I did and I've found a book that explains how to make friends easily."
Sai pulled out said book and turned it from side to side, so everyone could have a look at it.
"I only bought it today, so I'm not really far yet. I jumped to the chapter about what is important when it comes to making new acquaintances."
"But… isn't it a bit late for that…?" Sayuri asked hesitantly and gave Sasuke a quick side-glance. "I mean… we already know you… kind of…" She furrowed her brows, as she realised that she actually didn't know anything about him at all, apart from the fact that he was an ANBU, most likely a spy and that he had no manners…
"I'm aware of that, but I sincerely hope you can forget about everything and give me a second chance," he said, before his blank eyes fell on the cover of his book again and his mouth opened with sudden remembrance, "Please…"
"Tze," Sasuke hissed and narrowed his eyes into slits. Needless to say that he wasn't in the least convinced or impressed by Sai's apparent change of heart and as it seemed Naruto shared his opinion on that matter, whereas the girls at the table appeared far more lenient than them.
"Well… we could give it a try…" Ino shrugged, rather unenthusiastically though, since she didn't think much good could come of this, but she was of the opinion that everyone deserved a second chance, and that everyone didn't exclude Sai.
"That is truly kind of you." He bowed his head slightly to express his appreciation.
"So what does your book say then, Sai?" Naruto asked and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It says that if you open your heart to someone, an affinity is made and soon people become friends."
"Well that's really nice and all, but it's not much of an advice, is it?" Ino murmured.
"That's not all. It says that you can start the process by making compliments. But they must be earnest and fitting or else they will appear insincere and that might offend people. I didn't really get that point, though…"
"Ah, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later." Kiba waved his hand dismissively, before a wolfish grin spread on his face and emphasised the feral side in him. "Then go ahead – give it a shot."
"Eh, okay…" Sai nodded his head and let his ink black eyes roam from person to person, until they at length came to a halt on Sakura, who looked a little uncomfortable, but also flattered about being stared at like this.
"Oh, what a nice wide forehead you have, Sakura-san. Would you mind if I touched it?"
For a moment it was eerily still at the table, but then Ino burst into a fit of laughter and was soon joined by the others, though in a more hesitant fashion, a little subdued by a sense of foreboding – that was true at least for everyone but Sakura, who had become rigidly stiff, seething just below the skin. Sai, however, was only aware of the happy faces surrounding him.
They are laughing. It must have worked.
That was the last thought that ran through his head, before Sakura brought her wrath down on him.
An hour later Sai was still there, though he rather stayed in the background now. It couldn't be too pleasant to distribute compliments with a spilt lip and quite frankly he didn't want a cracked nose or swollen eyes to add to the deformation of his face. Besides, the compliment-strategy didn't work out and he wasn't sure what to do now – he hasn't read that far yet. Therefore he left it at watching the people around him, analysing their behaviour, as he so often did and most importantly, he kept an eye on his two targets, though maybe not as vigilantly as he ought to. This was a public event after all; in case one of them should have any hidden agendas, then this sure wasn't the moment in which they would come into the open with them. But then because this was a public event it was the perfect opportunity for him to learn something about interpersonal relationships, interactions etc. There was really a lot for him to learn (and he didn't even understand half of the things going on around him…).
Shikamaru, too, had returned to his former place, not only with a new glass, but a whole bottle, so he wouldn't have to leave his place for a refill over and over again, just in case someone should again feel like using his drink as an ashtray… He was rather lazy anyhow and the alcohol did anything but give him a burst of energy. All he wanted to do was sit here in peace, have a nice drink or two and wait for this night to finally fade into a quiet day. And quiet it would be; it always was after an event such as this…
Much to Shiho's dismay, Shikamaru did not care to participate in any of the small conversations going on around him, and so it was not surprising that he was the only one who noticed a rather interesting occurrence.
He did not turn his head, but reached for the bottle, filling his own glass, before he reached for Sasuke's, although it was still full, but then he only did so to get his attention.
"One o'clock," he murmured and nodded slightly, as he passed Sasuke his glass. Fortunately, Sasuke was perceptive enough, not to need any grand explanations and without asking any further questions and more importantly without being conspicuous about it, Sasuke's obsidian eyes flickered to the table the Hokage were seated at, just in time to see the ANBU, Shikamaru had noticed before, vanish, after having talked to both the Hokage and Kazekage.
Their glasses returned to the table again and as Shikamaru filled them for another time, he observed from the corner of his eyes how Gaara and Tsunade rose from their seats and took off towards the Hokage building right behind them.
"Something's definitely going on there," Shikamaru murmured under his breath, mindful to keep his glass high enough to cover his mouth, just in case. After all, Sasuke had told him about his suspicions concerning Sai and the fact that he sat at the other side of the table, definitely necessitated this degree of secrecy in his opinion.
"Hn…" Sasuke nodded ever so slightly and as he saw Danzô take after them as well, not even two minutes later, he was sure it couldn't be anything good.
"Cheers!"
And down went another drink for a toast that barely seemed worth uttering; nothing about what they did seemed meaningful, but appearances had to be kept and so the Hyûga sat here at their table, showing that they joined the celebrations of the new Konoha and whatever else they could think of.
Pretentious, that's what they were.
They did their utmost to appear like a part of Konoha, when they were actually in the process of distancing themselves from it even further, and they were mindful to pretend that everything was fine, when a not so minor part of the people sitting at the table felt like doing anything but celebrating at the moment – or any other day in the near or maybe even faraway future. Neji was only the first one – who knew who came next? The only thing Hinata knew was that she would not be spared of her family's determination to protect their ancient lineage. Her father wouldn't leave it at merely deciding who she was not allowed to meet; he would also choose a suitable partner for her sooner or later.
Probably sooner.
And still she just sat here, always with that humble but so obviously fake smile on her face, drowning her emotions in adulations of her clan. She sure enough was beginning to feel tipsy, but the alcohol did very little to raise her spirits. It didn't seem to raise Neji's spirits either, but that didn't keep him from trying. She wondered if her cousin was trying to find the answer to his problems at the bottom of his glass, the way you might find a sunken treasure lying on the ocean bed, undiscovered and untouched for decades. Unthought-of, like any solution that might help him get out of this predicament; a way back into the freedom that has been taken from him the day he turned three.
Hinata wondered if he hated her now…
"To a bright and prosperous future."
"Cheers!" It sounded collectively and was followed by a clear clatter as the now again empty glasses were returned to the table, only to be refilled a moment later.
How long was it supposed to go on like this?
Hinata didn't have much experience with alcohol, but she knew enough to attribute her burning face to one of the last few drinks that had seared their way down her throat. Was she sober? Tipsy? Drunk? Most of all she felt sleepy and not at all the way she had imagined drunkenness to feel like. She didn't feel like laughing and giggling all the time, or to start dancing or what have you… Completely unlike what she heard inebriated people like to do – unlike what all the people around her were doing.
Actually she didn't feel like getting up but who was she to refuse the call of nature? And besides, she really wanted to get away from here. Now.
"Excuse me a moment," she said in a whisper and slowly, almost carefully rose from her seat, since she wasn't quite familiar with her current state and she hadn't yet tried walking and didn't want to risk failing at it in front of everyone's watchful eyes. She was more than glad that there were enough people around, so she slipped out of her family's field of vision and welcomed this new sense of anonymity. The feeling of being just one among many, without the annoying discomfort of paranoia that had haunted her, while sitting right there under her father's nose.
They had put up an extra house with toilets, right beside the academy, and once Hinata reached it, she could almost go half the way back again, as she saw the queue in front of it. At least in front of the ladies' toilet… This might just take hours still and although it wasn't this urgent yet, Hinata nevertheless didn't feel like spending half the night here. Maybe she could sneak into the academy…
After letting her pale eyes drift across the sheer endless line again, a despondent sigh escaped her throat and she turned around, taking the first steps away, when she heard someone call her name. At first she wasn't quite able to locate the source of the voice. She couldn't even tell if it was real or if it hadn't just been a product of her imagination, and so she looked from side to side and only as he already stood in front of her, startling her by his sudden appearance, did Hinata finally realise who had called her and where he came from and it now deprived her of any possibility to prepare herself. And an encounter of this kind sure enough needed a lot of preparation in advance. Especially for someone like Hinata.
"N-Naruto-kun-" Her voice was too quite to even reach her own ears, something that wasn't altogether uncommon.
"Hinata-chan…"
For just one second a serious, almost troubled expression darkened Naruto's features, but before Hinata had a chance to analyse it or assure herself of its actual existence, it was chased away by a smile, which slowly spread into his typical fox grin.
"Wow, Hinata-chan, you really look stunning."
Her cheeks had been flushed to begin with, but it didn't seem to get any worse. Even so, her eyes almost mechanically found their way to the ground, drawn down, while the corners of her lips curved up ever so slightly. Almost imperceptibly, really, but still that was more than they had these past few days. And more importantly in earnest. Naruto always did manage to make her see even the tiniest spark of light in the hopeless darkness and that without even trying. Simply seeing his face, seeing him smile did all that. He always got the best out of her and that is why-
She couldn't imagine a life without his smile. Without him.
"Thank you," she finally managed to say and let out the breath she had held from the moment he had sprung up in front of her; a sudden flash of colour in the dreary grey world.
"I came to visit you when you didn't show up the other day, but they didn't let me in." Naruto came right to the point. "Are you okay? What's the matter anyway?"
This was exactly what she has been afraid of. How could she possibly tell him? There was nothing between them, not on his side anyway, and still her father was acting like this… If she actually told Naruto, he'd be gone in an instant and she couldn't even hold that against him. Who would voluntarily go through the trouble of defying the Hyûga's collective stubbornness? And that for her little old self…
It's not to be…
"Uhm… I-I'm sorry about not showing up."
She decided to tread on safe ground first, before moving to the unpleasant part. She didn't know if it was a thing about her slightly tipsy state of mind, but her brain vehemently refused to form the words she needed in order to come clean with Naruto. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the fact that those words would contradict the very core of her feelings.
"Don't mind that. Just tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can hel-"
In that moment, Naruto was pushed from behind and stumbled against Hinata, his lips landing on hers (actually a tad above them, but who wants to split hairs?). They were both caught off guard, to say the least, and so all they did was stare at each other with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what was happening, but once the realisation finally caught up to them, Naruto pulled away quickly.
"H-Hinata-chan," the blonde stammered, his blue eyes still as wide as saucers and his whole face flushed a bright red." I'm so sorry…"
"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata lowered her eyes bashfully, but overall she seemed more composed than Naruto did and that aberration did not go unnoticed by the Uzumaki. He could even swear he had seen her smile for the briefest of seconds.
"Hey, you didn't faint!"
"Huh?" Hinata's head shot up, before she pondered his words. "N-no, I didn't."
They both smiled at each other and Naruto couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but there was something about her smile, something about the way it managed to steal his breath, something about how it made him unable to take his eyes away from her, lest he should never see it again. She definitely was too miserly when it came to giving away her smiles, and he'd love to change that.
Maybe it really was just the alcohol – that at least was the most common excuse for just about everything that happened this night – but at any rate, Naruto felt shier than ever before – a completely unfamiliar sensation – and yet he was also struck by courage. A courage which made him lift his hand and place it tentatively on Hinata's warm cheek. Her skin was as soft as a peach and prompted Naruto to run his fingers across, as he leant forward slightly, slowly. Too slow it seemed because it gave his courage time to ebb away and be replaced by insecurity again.
He stopped in his movement, his face still a seemingly insurmountable distance away from Hinata's. Just what in the world was he doing here? And since when did he give so many thoughts to his actions anyway?
"Uhm… can I…" His voice was quivering and his eyes still gazed past her. He was such a goddamn coward! But he was determined not to put up with that, which is why he forced himself to look at her, look into Hinata's pretty, but also positively shocked face and clear his throat, so his question wouldn't come out as an unintelligible stammer. "C-can I kiss you?"
"…"
You're gonna break my heart.
It was such a bittersweet situation. How often had she dreamed about this? She couldn't even count, but what she knew was that from this moment on it could only become worse. Maybe it would be more than one heart that ended up breaking…
It's not to be.
"Uh-huh," she nodded nevertheless and tried her best to fight the dizziness that was trying to force her to her knees and then he moved closer, his perfectly blue eyes holding hers, but they drifted shut as his lips touched hers and froze there for a moment, giving them time to adjust to the situation, savour the sensation. The whole world seemed to stand still for them, for as long as their lips were touching and only as Naruto broke the kiss again, did all the sounds and smells and everything else return, though they politely stayed in the background and allowed for the two to feel as though they were all by themselves.
"W-was that okay?" Naruto asked, searching for affirmation, because to him it had been awesome and it would be kind of great if Hinata thought that way too.
"Uh-huh," Hinata smiled, the very kind of smile he wanted to see on her face more often and it filled him with pride to know he had caused it.
The next kiss came without an announcement and it wasn't as static as the first one. Once the first hurdle was crossed it came more natural and less hesitant. Still far from perfect – noses could be such a bothersome body part – but they had time and the motivation to work on their difficulties and improve their technique.
"Whoa, Naruto! Way to go!"
They broke apart quickly, looking slightly disoriented and also guilty - almost like two pupils caught cheating.
"I-Ino… Kiba…" Naruto stammered, as he caught sight of the couple and although he felt uncomfortable about being caught in this situation (and he couldn't even get close to imagining how Hinata had to feel right now) he did not drop his hands off Hinata's waist and just gave the two a puzzled look.
"Go on, don't mind us – we are already gone." Ino waved apologetically and was just about to pull Kiba away, when she had another idea. "Say cheese!"
They were blinded by a dazzling white light and then Ino and Kiba were already leaving. However that last spark in Ino's eyes remained stuck in their minds; it made them sure that within five minutes every single person in this village would know about them. Weirdly enough they didn't seem to care.
Not yet.
The faint breeze wasn't enough to cool the warm air of this summer night. If at all it felt like a ghost touch against heated skin. They walked under a sky brimming with stars, like ivory dust dabbed on sable silk. The advanced hour had quieted the area and emptied the streets. The village had doused its lights for sleep, its buildings seeming to melt into the darkness. The eventful day was followed by a peaceful night. The air smelled of an impossible melange of old frying grease, burnt fish, whiskey and incense and the distant roars of some brawlers cut through the quiet every once in a while, but it was no less peaceful for that.
With her shoes dangling from her hands, Sayuri ambled after Sasuke, her bare feet pattering on the hot pavement and her grey-blue eyes directed heavenwards, marvelling at the celestial vault. What a beautiful night for a stroll, but still something was missing.
"Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
"You think we should go and pick Mikan up?"
"It's too late for that," Sasuke said and looked over his shoulder at his girlfriend. "And he might get passive drunk if you breathe at him."
"Hey!" Sayuri protested with a cross expression. "I'm almost sober again."
"Of course you are…" he smirked and before Sayuri had a chance to react to the obvious sarcasm in his voice, he put his arm around her shoulders and added, "And we haven't had any privacy in quite a while. Might as well make use of it…"
"Tze…" Sayuri gave a laugh. That's Sasuke for you. Here he wanted to have even more children, but then he missed having time for themselves.
"Do you eve-Ouch! I stepped into a shard," she wailed and lifted her foot to examine it, but as she did, it became apparent that her sense of balance was still rather poor and if Sasuke hadn't been there to steady her, she would have probably landed in a few more shards.
"Sober, eh?"
"Oh, shut your mouth, Mr Perfect," Sayuri grumbled and pulled out the piece of glass, before she began healing her bloody foot, but her chakra control was far from perfect, due to the slight haziness of her mind and that made her task rather tricky. "Hey, I'm seriously injured, you have to carry me."
"Do I?"
"If you want to 'makeuse' of having the house all to ourselves, then yes."
"Fair enough," he shrugged and next thing he threw her over his shoulder and began marching off.
"Hey, do it properly at least!" Her voice sounded almost choked and she felt the blood rush into her head. Damn, she was going to be sick…
Before it came to this, though, Sasuke had the mercy to shift her position so he carried her in his arms, with her head above her heels, the way it was supposed to be.
"Thanks a lot," she said dryly and after giving Sasuke a strict, though not quite serious look, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. A languorous sigh escaped her throat and her eyes fell shut to the rhythmic tapping of his steps. He felt so nicely warm.
"You're not gonna fall asleep now, are you?"
"Huh?" She raised her head slightly, giving him a disoriented look, before she settled back against his shoulder. "Noo… I won't."
Her fingers brushed across his cheeks, her lips kissing the underside of his jaw.
"You know what?"
"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're like my beautiful prince and my white horse at the same time."
"Hmpf," he merely snorted at that.
And she thought she was sober…
He couldn't take her serious today and as he brought her home, carried her over the threshold and laid her down on their bed, his actual plans for this day crept into the front of his mind, over and over again. The weight felt heavy in his pocket – much heavier still on his mind.
But this was hardly the right moment for that.
Everything was perfectly quiet so he did not quite know what it was that had woken him up. There was just the ticking of the clock, the occasional street sounds, although even those were much stiller than usually and then the beating-
-no, the hammering of his heart. It seemed determined to break out of his chest and take flight. He couldn't recall having had a nightmare – not in the five minutes he had maybe slept and not after everything that happened tonight… No, he was sure that whatever dream he might have had would have come coated in cotton candy, so that was not it…
He didn't know quite why, but Naruto was awake and his senses were alert, heightened to the point that he could even hear the fine scratch, the hands of the clock made as they moved on from second to second. He could hear his own heartbeat as though he had a stethoscope.
But something wasn't right…
He was overcome by a sudden sense of danger, even before he picked up on the additional heartbeat, sounding calmly from out of a corner of his room.
She must have lost herself somewhere, because she didn't recognise the girl looking at her out of the mirror.
He had acted on his threat. He had washed her, dressed her, done her hair and smeared makeup on her face to conceal the scars, lying gently like spider webs on her ashen skin, which was aglow now with a rosy hue, her cheeks couldn't have produced themselves. Her lips were juicy cherries, hardly reminding of the ghost she had become and her eyes were rimmed by fine lines of black, distracting from the dark rings that were there anyway. That girl, that nymphet, wasn't her. She curved softly in various layers of elegant fabric, a sumptuous kimono she'd need years to grow into.
She looked like a doll that had suffered a few too many tantrums by an angry child.
People used to tell her she'd grow up to be as beautiful as her sister, but when she looked into a mirror, she could detect no similarities, but their eyes. They were still the same, but while her dead sister's eyes have always been full of life, hers were dead, when she was living.
"Now look at you."
The tall man stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders, as though he was proud, as though he no longer feared catching an infection when he was only close to her.
"Look." He demanded again and so she did as she was told, she couldn't find it in her to object to anything he told her, anything he asked of her. She couldn't find it in her to care.
And so she looked into the mirror, looked at the woman she was afraid to grow into, raised her eyes to take in his face that was cut off above his brows. She wished the mirror had also cut off his eyes.
The demon in them was frightening her.
…
…