You...you guys...Look! Look over there!
100 reviews! That's just so awesome, and I really needed that pick-me-up since I've been constantly sick recently. Not puking my guts out sick, just flu/cold/stuffy nose sickness sick. I smile every time I check my email and see another review or alert or favorite. I don't even know how you people are finding this fic! XD I'll have to do a search and see.
Okay, a shout out to everyone who reviewed! The guest who said good job, THE NERD KID ON THE BLOCK(please don't die! DX), XxanimeaddictxX, Blackenflames, JustPlainOldMe, Kyoichi Amaya, XxCupcakeAssassinxX, s, mg4of6, Meatbun Attack, JustPlainOldMe two more times(I still got warm fuzzies, so yes, those are reviews lol), Bottomless Pit of EMOTIONS, and the 100th reviewer(even though your review had nothing to do with the fic) nemuchan123!
You say I'm awesome, but no- you people are the awesome ones.
Unfortunately, I have hit a snag in the writing of this story, and I'll need you people to be awesome again and give me your ideas! This chapter is incomplete and I have NO inspiration for it(I know, I know, I suck) so please help me out! Apparently you aren't alerted when I edit a chapter, so I'll post the next part and continue the story in a new one.
I own Suten and a pesky cold, but I would gladly trade the latter for the rights to Naruto. The Uchihas now have the power of love...wow.
We had long passed the elusive boulder, and Sasuke had not given any further opinions on my hair, my kimono, or the annoying level of the crow that had now dedicated its life to flying around us and cawing rather loudly. I glowered up at the creature as if that would scare the bird off, but it only fluttered its wings in an almost mocking way and gave me a nice big, "Aho!"
Clearly my glares weren't as proficient as the Uchiha death glare. In the future I would have to work on them. Meanwhile, considering the semi-awkward atmosphere (not to mention my pride) prevented me from asking Sasuke to glare the bird away for me, I moved on to contemplating more important matters.
More important…let's see…Sasuke thinking I was pretty was a taboo subject for now, as was the current state of my hair and the word 'pretty' itself. I didn't want to waste brain cells thinking about Naruto and Sakura, and I could already guess what they were doing: Naruto trying to impress Sakura, and Sakura beating up Naruto. Although someone had to wonder how Naruto took all those hard knocks without some serious hospital time in between. His inhuman recovery speed just seemed to provoke Sakura to hit him harder.
Come to think of it…that chakra in the Land of Waves had to be inhuman as well. But now I thought back, Kakashi hadn't really taken Naruto aside or checked for anything unusual. He'd just brushed the whole thing off.
What was Naruto? And why did it seem like I was the only one wondering?
The worst part was, even if I managed to ask Uchiha Sasuke about his opinion like he had me on Inari, he had been…disabled when the terrifying transformation had occurred. The warm sunlight failed to reach me for a moment as the memory of that cold, lifeless body lying motionless beneath me on the bridge came into my head. If I ever had to see him like that again…even if it wasn't for real…
"What is it?"
Sasuke's voice snapped me back to the present, and I realized my body trembled like a leaf in a hurricane, seconds from being lost to the gale. "Nothing," I responded semi-automatically, rubbing my arms in an attempt to gain some warmth back and trying to ignore his eyes on me.
Naturally, this failed to dissuade him. "Tell me," he pressed, standing in front of me.
"Leave me alone, Kishi."
"As soon as you tell me, Hime."
"It's not important."
"Then it wouldn't be bothering you."
"It's not bothering me."
Onyx eyes flashed with impatience. "That's a lie and you know it," he accused hotly. "You're trembling like a scared little kid and you expect me to believe it's not bothering you?"
He wasn't the only one getting impatient. "What does it matter to you, anyway?"
An important shinobi rule is to be ready for anything and everything. One should never allow themselves to be caught off guard or distracted. A shinobi with their guard down is a sitting duck in the middle of the field, open to attack, particularly if they're providing a perfect cover for the enemy with their own noise. You would think that Sasuke and I, being as smart as we were, would remember that rule. Except we didn't.
So to sum things up, I never got to hear just why my emotional wellbeing mattered to Sasuke. The blow to my head ensured that much.
-_-.-_-.-_-.-_-
I regained consciousness lying on a cold stone floor, complete with stiff aching limbs and a throbbing pain in the back of my skull. Trying to stretch and relieve some of the soreness provided me with the knowledge that my wrists were bound tightly behind my back. Further examination revealed that my ankles were tied, too.
Well, this couldn't possibly be good. Deciding to take a look at my surrounding, I cautiously opened my eyes.
A low fire burned in the center of the area, casting a low flickering light. I could just make out a few figures barely illuminated by the fire. They all seemed to be huddled around something and snickering to each other.
"Kid's got spunk."
"Yeah, that's what you'd expect from a Konoha brat."
There was the sound of a foot connecting with skin. A choked grunt.
I knew that grunt. I'd had to listen to it and other more annoying noises for a while. It belonged to none other than my Kishi, Uchiha Sasuke himself.
If they'd managed to capture both of us…my blood ran cold.
"Is the other one still knocked out?"
Shoot! My eyes immediately slid shut as I slackened my limbs and feigned unconsciousness, not a moment before I heard footsteps come to a stop near my head. "Your girlfriend's got a pretty face, kid," called the one standing over me. "I'd sure hate to have to mess it up."
Another kick and a low growl. Apparently Sasuke was losing his temper, but this only seemed to amuse his captors. I briefly wondered if he'd be desperate enough to bite them.
"Oh, looks like she's up after all."
A rough hand gripped my shoulder, forcing me roughly to my feet and shaking me. I glowered at the man whose face I could just see, my guise seen through a little too easily, and caught the gleam of metal on his forehead, reflected in the firelight. Rogue shinobi? Then my long hair started drifting into my eyes and I sighed in mild frustration. This was why I kept it up in a ponytail.
Since my ankles had been tied, the rogue thoughtfully dragged me across the cold stone floor to join the little party on the other side of the fire. I resisted the urge to elbow him in the gut, primarily because it wouldn't do me any good that I could think of. And when he took his place in the circle, I stopped wanting to fight completely.
Sasuke lay bound tightly on the ground, already plenty scuffed up and bruised. Breath caught in my throat as I remembered that haunting image of him lying lifeless on the bridge again…but his form shifted and raven bangs fell away to reveal a glowering onyx eye. My lungs immediately began working again in gratitude. At least he was alive.
The little voice whispering 'For now' into my head was quickly squashed.
"Now that your girlfriend's here," called another rogue, one with a scar on the bridge of his nose that almost reminded me of Iruka-sensei, "I think you might want to cooperate, you little brat. First off, what are you doing so far from your village?" He leered at me, strong grip digging tighter into my shoulders and provoking a wince. "And who's this?" he added, searching my face, and immediately my gaze left his.
"An escort mission, maybe," a third with overgrown brown hair suggested, "from those nice clothes of hers."
The Uchiha gave no response, but his glower upgraded into a full-on glare, and that spoke volumes. He must really not like being tied up and questioned like this- it was the only reason I could come up with for him to have such a strong negative reaction to the scenario. My gut twisted uncomfortably as a foot dug mercilessly into the soft flesh of his stomach, causing him to gasp and choke as pain flooded his features. It was one thing to hear him in pain, but to actually witness it…
Sasuke wriggled a little, but settled for glaring over his shoulder as Bedhead dragged him unceremoniously to his feet. Scar-nose's fist immediately connected brutally with the captive's face, earning another choked grunt. Seemingly amused by the small reaction, the rogue set to work driving his fists into Sasuke's face and stomach. I could only watch in something akin to sick horror, and a gasp escaped unbidden from my throat when the 'interrogator' paused to give his knuckles a break and crimson welled up from the corner of my teammate's lips.
And still, he only glared.
"He really is a tough nut to crack," noted my captor, apparently unfazed by his cohort's merciless beating of a defenseless genin. "Hold the girl," he commanded, shoving me to Scar-nose and whipping through handsigns. Lightning crackled to life in his fingers, and he extended two out like a dagger. I couldn't help noticing that he had a short black goatee. "Let's see if he just needs a little more…persuasion."
Was he insane? Even if the intensity of the lightning had hopefully been toned down for the sake of 'interrogation', Sasuke could…
"S-stop!"
The crackling fingers halted only inches from their destination- one unprotected gut- and suddenly all attention rested heavily on me. I needed to work on keeping my mouth from running ahead of my brain. "He…he won't tell you anything," I continued, trying and failing to put some steel into my wavering voice. "No matter what, it's useless. Stop hurting him." The last part sounded even weaker and more pathetic. Despite the rationale I had tried to put behind it, it didn't change the fact that I was begging- me, begging- for Uchiha Sasuke's safety. What was I, Sakura?
Sasuke was the picture of shock as his gaze connected with mine, trying to search my thoughts to discover what I could possibly gain from helping him. The electricity fizzled from Goatee's fingers as he gave me his full attention as well, but his stare was interested and calculating. "Hurting him is useless?" he paraphrased, studying me carefully. Now I really started to regret cutting in, but there was nothing I could say now.
And now, I have nothing! NOTHING, I TELL YOU! I don't even know how Sasuke and Suten are going to escape! Reviewers, countrymen, lend me your ideas! PLEASE XD Even if you only have a little inkling of a thought and you think, "No, SasuTenLuvr wouldn't care about that-" I would! It would help me! Even if I don't use the specific ideas, the flow of thoughts itself does help me, I promise.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Please review!