Chapter THIRTEEN
Sasuke does not know what exactly he is feeling as he storms out of the inn room to clear his head before he does something he regrets.
He hears Sakura calling his name before the door closes behind him and he hears the scuffle of clothes and movement as Kimimaro stops the girl from coming after him. The Uchiha does not know if he is grateful or if he wants to deck the Kaguya in the face and instead, quickens his pace, because he does not want to deal with this at the moment.
The air outside feels equally suffocating and Sasuke scoffs at all the people that have told him to 'go out and clear his head'. He scowls up at where he knows their room is from outside. The windows are closed but he can see the moving shadows of either Sakura or Kimimaro and he feels his mood worsen. His feet automatically begin to lead him towards the village walls and he feels his skin itch for a frustration-venting fight. He barely pauses in his steps when a gate guard calls out to him and casts a Genjutsu on him before walking right past. He spends the next few hours beating up the trees in the forest a little travel away. After decimating a majority of the land, he feels relatively better. He glances up and notes that the moon is well up in the sky and his mood instantly dampens at the thought that he would have to return soon.
He flicks the dirt off his sword and wipes it with a piece of cloth. He takes his time polishing his blade and another while putting it carefully away in its sheath. With a sigh, he begins his journey back to their village.
Still, it's too soon when he finds himself back at their inn. It is late, however, and he thinks that while Kimimaro is still awake, Sakura is probably already asleep. Wanting to keep it that way, he carefully opens the door.
He instantly hears the sound of the shower running, an indication that Kimimaro is, indeed, awake. The Kaguya's stuff is placed neatly on the futon on Sakura's right so he takes the one on her left. He takes out a change of clothes and settled himself beside a sleeping Sakura just as the running water comes to a stop.
Kimimaro steps out awhile after that, hair still wet. He has a towel hung around his neck and he has changed out of his shinobi attire, now wearing a simple, loose white yukata for the night.
Sasuke is hit by how normal the Kaguya looks.
In Orochimaru's base, Kimimaro has always been an image of a strictly loyal figure with the prowess and skills to back him up. However, as he watches the white haired teen plop down on his futon and run his towel through his hair, he almost looks like any teenage boy fresh from a shower.
It doesn't help his jumbled mind that Kimimaro is not, in fact, loyal to Orochimaru, but to a pink haired girl who was the Snake's daughter.
The Kaguya looks up, as though finally tired of being stared at. Sasuke meets his challenging stare and Kimimaro nods once in the direction of the bathroom. Sasuke blinks once before he grabs his own change of clothes.
Perhaps a shower would help him relax a little.
"I believe he is testing you."
Those are the words Kimimaro greets him with when he steps out of the shower, hair dripping.
The Uchiha slowly looks up and his gaze lands on Kimimaro, who is still awake and sitting by the head of Sakura's futon. He watches the Kaguya run a hand gently through her pink locks and scowls.
Kimimaro instantly notices but does not make a snarky comment. Instead, he lets his own hand drop to the ground and simply settles to glanced between the girl and the fuming Uchiha.
It takes Sasuke a second to realize that the Kaguya had said something.
"Hn."
Kimimaro shrugs dismissively. "He wants to see how you would react in a situation like this." He pauses. "You've gotten too close to Sakura too quickly and you've made it way too obvious."
Sasuke's scowl deepens, because he knows that this is the case and he knows that he doesn't like it and he knows that he doesn't care that he doesn't like it. "And you think Orochimaru has a problem with this?"
Kimimaro eyes him, as though wondering just how much of what Sasuke has just said was a statement and how much was an actual question. "I guess he does."
A thought hits him and Sasuke opens his mouth but Kimimaro beats him to it.
"In Orochimaru-sama's eyes, Sakura is the ultimate follower. He knows how the mind of a normal person works well enough to know that isolation leads to attachment to the one person who hung around." He narrows his eyes. "However, he is too sure that Sakura is just like any other person and that will be what you will use to lead him to his downfall."
Sasuke decides that he does not like the way Kimimaro has assumed that he is going to carry out his betrayal. He knows the Kaguya isn't wrong, but he still doesn't like it.
He seems to dislike a lot of things today.
He pushes these thoughts away and decides to ask about the thing that caught his mind. "What do you mean 'any other person'?" He asked.
Kimimaro reaches out and flicks a lock of pink hair away from Sakura's face. "It is exactly as I have said." He said. "Did you think Sakura was normal?" Kimimaro's eyes widen a little at his own words and he catches himself quickly. He is speaking before Sasuke has a chance to question him. "Sakura has a chance to lead a normal life." He says firmly. "She has been so isolated that she will easily take to any situation." He looks directly into Sasuke's eyes. "The only thing she lacks is the chance to break away and you are the only person who can give it to her."
So, here's chapter thirteen~
Darque: There will be lots of Sasuke x Sasuke in the next few chapters...probably.
Raven: If you guys want fluff, send us ideas and we'll see where we can implement them :)
Darque: Fluff is cute.
Raven: And fluffy
Darque: I know right.
Raven: Yeah.
Read and Review~