Sorry, it's long again. Too bad. :P
First of all, I'd like to thank people who reviewed, 'cause, well, you're just that amazing.
Secondly, I'd like to congratulate the Bears, 'cause this Chi-Town girl is a diehard fan! blows kisses. DAMN STRAIGHT THEY WON!
Excuse mistakes, only human.
And thirdly, it's AnswerQuestionsFromReviewsTime!:
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Basically, over the years, Sakura has perfected her chakra control and is able to use said chakra to use defensively and offensively, it can become visible and physical. Whee! Wish I could do that. .
There IS a sequel, sillies! Preview is on my profile. This part, honestly, will probably come out to about 25-27 ish chapters, but I'll have a better estimate when I get closer to the end.
No no no no no, we're not done yet. You think I'm done torturing these poor shinobi? Not even close. Read and learn.
Chapter 21: Vulnerably Yours
Pictures.
She had so many.
It had not been long since she had last dusted them off, right before they had left for this "contest".
The sitting room, the stairway, each room had at least one of some long ago team picture as Genin, some of this past summer, some with close friends like Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba and Hinata.
Kakashi stooped to pick one up off the stairs, dusted it off, and frowned at the shattered glass that obscured the faces; tucking it under his arm, he carried it with him as he continued on.
His room had been untouched for longer than the others; the mission he had been sent on two weeks prior to Team 7's leave of absence was exhausting but detrimentally necessary. It seemed almost like a teenager's, what with his books stacked high against the walls in towering piles, the closet half shut, shoes and other assorted items strewn across the floor. He had been forced to leave in a hurry without dinner.
Continuing down the hallway, he stepped into Naruto's room, which paralleled his, only a bit worse, and with a lack of so many books...those were out of sight and under the bed. Then he poked his head into Sakura's room, grinning reminiscently at the unnaturally organized shelves, novels kept straight by bookends and pictures arranged in a somewhat abstract fashion of assorted chronologies. The frame on her night stand illustrateda somewhat forced picture of Sasuke and her at this past Halloween.
And finally, Sasuke's room: Also neat, but not to match Sakura's, and it was decorated with a bit less personality. In fact, Kakashi knew from prior snooping that the only place that his male students kept anything interesting or incriminating was under the bed.
He'd already been through everything under there. Who would have thought, under all that anger...
Chuckling, he shut the door carefully, and went back down the stairs.
The normally loud house that had earned many a security call on it was desolately silent.
Standing alone, in the dark and dismal sitting room, he sighed the heavy sigh of a man who was becoming older, and he would rather throw himself off the highest precipice than admit this. He was damn lucky, and he repeated this to himself...people were dropping like flies, students of friends and relatives of students and any person in between. Even children. A dangerous and frightening thing, to know such an enemy that never paused in the brutal murder of youth or innocence. To not even care.
And then... there was Kurenai.
When you thought of her name, you immediately thought of Asuma. They had not been dating (as far as most could tell) and they had never put the relationship up on a sign for all to see, but it was so obviously there. Even Kakashi, whom had suffered so much and was not terribly keen on optimism but more on realism, never imagined in any time that something would not go well for her. That his colleague, her best friend, could be ripped from her. In heart-wrenching irony; the night that they had finally felt comfortable enough to admit...
The thought of her in such emotional pain made Kakashi burn with anger, anger toward more things he could not control and could not help with. He would do anything to help her, but what could he possibly do?
Ripped from this muse, he opened his eyes his eyes to see Gai, having just popped in with an all too familiar serious look.
"What's wrong now?"
Gai didn't speak, but glanced angrily at a nearby picture of Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi did not question, but left with him–
They reappeared in front of the compound; the ground sunk as they walked toward Iruka, Ibiki, and Anko, for it was saturated from the constant rain. Anko looked at him for the first time since that day he had carried Kurenai's body out of the hospital room, the same day Anko, along with the team of Chuunin, had discovered the Third Hokage's body.
They did not know who had killed him.
"What?" Kakashi asked impatiently, eye surveying the people around him in a semi-circle, all of whom seemed extremely serious.
After a long moment, Anko stepped forward after a nod from Ibiki and blinked a couple of times, contemplating her words carefully. Then, she did something that no one had ever seen her do; take a lock of her purple hair and wrap it around her finger in agitation, the nervousness that she was never allowed to show. Tunneled eyes stared back at a black one that demanded an explanation.
The fateful legend come true.
The sun was setting, and Anko raised her to gaze far into the sky, where a ring of squawking black birds circled the compound; the gray-haired jounin followed her gaze. Each noise they issued was a little more painful for him to take.
Iruka stiffened, remembering his student's words...The birds circle because there's always bloodshed.
They had all reviewed the cameras...they knew from which two it had come. And Kakashi knew too.
"I'm...really sorry," she whispered, glaring at the ground.
"They're not dead," Kakashi said genially, staring at the birds too, circling ominously. "They're both too stubborn to die."
"But maybe if we hadn't...I–"
"Every jounin gave their consent to let the young shinobi partake in this. There is no blame, and if there must be, it would be mine, for I gave the final okay."
The others were silent.
"But this has gone on long enough, for certain. Do whatever it takes; I request permission to pull my students out," he continued, raising his head to the highest power, Ibiki, who stepped forward and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"We're taking them all out, whether they like it or not."
"Right."
"But we have to break this genjutsu first," Gai interjected, stepping forward, taking the floor. "We've been trying to break it, dispel it, anything, but it's much too powerful for any of us to lift. Which means...it was cast by someone who has much more experience than a jounin."
Kakashi fell silent for a moment...he knew who might be able to help. He wished that bright little girl, the one he felt like a father to, Sakura, were there; she would at least know what it was, even if not able to break it, and they were probably unaware that they were trapped inside the compound. Anko cleared her throat and spoke to him, reading his mind.
"Would Kurenai be able to help?"
Kakashi nodded firmly, placing his fingertips together and leaving in signature fashion.
He reappeared in the infirmary, where the assistant medic came out of her office, presumably hearing him arrive, and looked from him to the empty bed that he was staring at, the bed that Kurenai was supposed to be resting in.
"Where is she?" they demanded in unison.
Kurenai pushed open the heavy door and shivered as the cold air permeated her weak bones. Still shuffling in her slippers, she pressed her back against the freezer door; it clicked shut and sounded strangely final, and she stared around at the shining metal room. Drawers covered the walls, labeled by name and by rank and date of official death.
The air had nothing to do with the chill that permanently settled in her heart.
"Forgive me."
Birds...
Circling overhead, ebony silhouettes against the vibrant hues of a setting sun, of a nature oriented depiction of beauty and peace. Telling him the rain was gone and so was the anger.
Eyes half-lidded and exhausted, onyx slits peered at the sky above, now so clear he had almost forgotten what such a thing looked like...the tiny chirps of unknown birds and the scurrying paws of tiny animals echoed on the ground where his head laid. Those sounds of innocence clashed terribly with the angry, frantic squawking of the crows still hovering above, screeching at the shinobi below.
Slowly the sound of human speech drifted into his mind, reminding him what it was, and he groaned as the pain came back too, it was everywhere.
Pain was always a dream-shattering thing.
She...
Sakura.
He put his arm out to his side, and she was not there, sending his heartbeat into a frantic dance...he would know if she were here, in his arms, touching him.
"Hey, I think he's comin' to!"
Sasuke felt someone lean over him too close for comfort and breath heavily, and he opened his eyes a slit to see a large blonde, obnoxious face peering at him closely.
The raven-haired shinobi cried out in surprise and Naruto jerked back, hands up in fear of retaliation; he laughed. "Hey, idiot, you're awake!"
"Really?" he muttered throatily, rolling his eyes at his friend. Naruto laughed loudly again and, before Shikamaru or Hinata could say a word, playfully punched Sasuke in the ribs, which was not wise considering nearly half of them were broken. Sasuke groaned loudly and punched Naruto back, leaving a welt that would bruise immediately, and closed his eyes. "And I'm the idiot?"
As pain flooded into his shattered knuckles, he rolled on his side, clutching them to his chest.
God, sometimes I am.
"Anyway," Naruto said, wincing as he sat up straight. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel great. I can barely move, the sun is blinding, and I just suffered a heart attack because you don't know the meaning of 'personal space'."
"Well your mouth obviously works," Naruto retorted, putting an arm behind Sasuke to help him sit up; he reluctantly accepted the help.
"You'll be fine, but man, did you take a beating," Shikamaru said, shaking his head and absentmindedly picking at his nails. He looked to Ino, who nodded in agreement and began to list off his injuries...Sasuke was staring straight ahead, lost in deep thought.
"I didn't ever want to do this..."
"Several broken ribs, deep scratches, severe burns–"
You're not like him. You never will be.
"Near–fatal blood loss and a concussion–"
You have the chance to turn it around. You made a wrong turn. You have another chance.
"–And your knee is just...it's going to take a lot of therapy for that," Ino finished, completely oblivious to the fact he hadn't taken in a word. After watching him for a second, she huffed angrily. "Thanks for listening...typical male."
"Oh Sasuke–kun..."
"Sakura," he muttered, clutching his arm...the arm he had used to slash through her soft flesh with Chidori. He looked around, and then glared at Naruto with his piercing, intense gaze. "Where is she?"
And the way he said it was so terribly needy.
The long silence that followed angered him considerably, as they exchanged darkly significant glances among them, not answering his question...Hinata began to twist her fingers around each other in agitation and Ino bit her lip, as if she would cry. For the first time, he wanted, he needed to see her, make sure she was there, hold her in the arms that had hurt her so badly and show her he was not the person he hated the most.
"Where. Is. She?" he repeated, low and dangerous, the last word coming out a horrifying hiss that sent a flinch through the group.
Hinata gasped as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the front of his jacket and got in his face, noses touching as he held his friend, shaking so violently from fatigue and unimaginable anger. Naruto's gaze softened in spite of his fear, and he still did not answer.
"TELLMEWHERESHEISORSOHELPMEIWILL–IWILL–JUST–TELL– ME!" He roared, shaking his victim back and forth ruthlessly, ignoring the throbbing elbow, breathing heavily and red in the face. Because if there was something wrong...if she was...
Gone...?
Then it was all because of him.
A burning pain erupted in his chest...I don't want to lose someone else...
"TELL–ME!" he screamed, lowering his head, ashamed of the angry tears that threatened to spill from his mistake. Seeing this, Naruto swallowed and put his hands around his best friend's wrists, and took a deep breath–
His name in fancy, italicized lettering was branded in her mind, the label on the drawer.
Wrapping shaking fingers around the metal handle, she closed her eyes and slowly pulled; the metal wheels glided smoothly on it's track, rolling the drawer out completely to reveal it's grisly contents. What was she going to see when she had to open her eyes?
Do it...get it over with. Besides, it won't be so bad.
Stomach churning, she opened her eyes slowly, seeing nothing but a white sheet covering his handsome face. Without hesitation, she grasped it and tore it off, frightened to the point where closing her eyes would do nothing...
Like a ghost it fluttered to the floor to rest on disinfected, sea-green tile, the almost inconceivably silent brush of material on a solid surface like a gong on her ear. As if it had been a pin in the silence.
If his skin had not been so frighteningly pale, if his eyelids and fingers had not been startling shades of purple and blue, she could have pretended he was only sleeping. But there he was, cleaned of the blood and scratches, lying there like a cadaver on the cold metal sliding gurney, still as handsome and genuine as he always had been. Kurenai's fingers were so numb from exhaustion and the icy chill of the room that his skin was nothing but glass to them.
"Asuma..."
Her voice was airless; emotionless. Just like him, a body amongst many with no life left.
"HE'S DEAD, KURENAI! DEAD!"
She had ignored the screams, as if she truly could make them go away.
"We're not exactly sure of the man responsible..."
"Kurenai?"
Bloodshot eyes had opened to see Shikamaru and Ino standing side by side, both looking terrible distressed; Ino's eyes were as red as Kurenai's. With shaking fingers, Shikamaru removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a clenched fist, something obviously inside. As the jounin's breath caught in her throat, his fingers uncovered the little velvet black box, and it didn't take more than a second to realize what it had all meant.
"He'd...want you to have it..."
With those monotone words, Shikamaru pressed the box into her hand, and let her white, shaking fingers close around it.
Responsibility had fallen on the students' shoulders...she regretted them having to do it. Something she had wanted for so long, yearned for with an aching heart, came when she least expected it. The worst time, if that was possible.
Fingers shook in fear; placing the edge of her long, sharp nail on his forehead, she pressed...deeper...until she felt the satisfying puncture through the skin. But then she realized...they had taken his blood out. Of course.
"Now I have to find it?" she asked herself hysterically, eyes frantically scanning locked cupboards and shelves, searching by the dates...there would have to be a sample somewhere, for investigation...
Finding the right door, she tapped the metal keyhole with her index finger and absentmindedly tugged on the handle, not really expecting it to open like it did, but she let it go and found herself staring at stacked jars.
Why wasn't it locked? She asked herself, full of a terrible sense of foreboding, but her hand disobeyed and automatically clenched a jar with a name she knew all too well. Her body was so determined, yet her mind was reluctant to follow through. A terrible scent washed over her as if stepping through a fog, released by the opening of the lid, the action that her hand had not asked to do. It was following no order except it's own, while her mind told her to stop.
Carrying it back to the body in plain sight, a pale finger swirled in red paint, like a little girl in school...as if it weren't really what it was. After pressing it against his forehead, she left a print in his liquid on her own; the smell lingered as a reminder.
Breath held, she performed each hand sign with the same deliberate precision...it was a disastrous thing to get wrong, and the syllables hummed in her throat, dry from fear. What if I can't get it right again? What if I pass out? What if...
Actions leading the way, her hands made a circle, to seal the deal. Blinding light shone from her hands. In one blink, her eyes were the same soft brown as Asuma's.
But her mouth was frozen in surprise...there was nothing to speak of, and nothing to view, and nothing to say. Caught, and she realized the truth.
"She's still unconscious!" Ino burst out, eyes nearly brimming with tears; Hinata uttered a soft whimper, but the men remained expressionless.
"Still?" Sasuke muttered, putting out an arm to catch himself; he cried out in pain, for it was too injured to support him, and Naruto held him upright. "What do you mean–"
"It's been three days," Naruto told him in a low voice.
"Three days," the avenger repeated, like a broken record, eyes dulled, yet full of anger. It seemed everything eventually would end up chipping away at the heart. Gaze sliding in and out of focus, he said the words again, clutching his throbbing arm.
Three days.
"There's a possibility of...a coma," Ino added cautiously, clearly afraid of his reaction, and sure enough, he raised his eyes to glare at her. He was not angry at her...only at himself. Like a broken record, her words echoed in his mind along with Naruto, who occasionally asked him if he was okay, but he could not answer. He could not speak.
Coma...
"Where...is she?" he muttered, staring blankly at the ground; Naruto peered at him anxiously, but answered his question.
"In Ino's tent."
How he knew which one was Ino's, he really didn't, but he stared at it, as though he possessed the power to set fire to it with just a glare. The others listened to him breath shallowly, gaze so intensely fixated on the tent, and you could practically hear his mind working furiously.
"See..."
"What?" Naruto asked, leaning closer to Sasuke to hear, but he did not respond. Instead he tugged his arm from Naruto's grasp and, holding his arm close to his body, tried to stand; his knee collapsed immediately and Naruto caught him, but he shoved him away, resisting help until he could stand on his own. Shaking, he straightened as much as he could without shifting his healing ribs and began to limp, slowly and desperately, to where Sakura was. Naruto said his name but he was ignored, again and again, until his exhausted body gave out and he fell again, on shaking hands and sprained knees.
The blonde reached toward him, wishing to help. "Sasuke, she's not awake, it won't do you–"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" he burst out, slamming his fist into the ground; his fingers were throbbing, knuckles purple and bloody, but he did it again and again, as if it would somehow change what was going on. Seeming strangely ashamed, he stared at the ground again, seeing things that were only memories, replaying in his mind...
Her blood was just...everywhere...
My fist came right back through...she could have ended up in half...her blood...was on my hands.
I am responsible.
"Help me," Naruto ordered, and Shikamaru took Sasuke's other side; as carefully as they could, they each lifted him and carried him across the dirt. He hung lifeless in between, still staring into nothing, letting his feet drag and create lines in the dust.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Naruto asked, stooping as they ducked into the tent; the avenger did not reply. The expression on his face was of a sadness that was not normal for him...and it seemed so defeated. But the only thing that would make him look up was the sight of her, whether conscious or not.
Her head was not bandaged but resting on a pillow, tilted to the side. Scratched arms were over the blanket someone had been kind enough to cover her with, but it was not enough; she was shivering uncontrollably in her long sleep, lips moving occasionally as if whispering or blowing out a candle, but there was no sound. One hand clutched at the other convulsively while her heavily bandaged chest rose up and down shallowly, each inhale and exhale a chore that shouldn't have been so difficult. The blood had been cleaned, but her skin was frighteningly white, as though she had no crimson liquid running through her veins. Bruises popped from soft, ivory skin that seemed so terribly frail, like all you had to do was brush her skin and you would hurt her, leave a mark.
Abandoning the little cooperation he had been giving, Sasuke froze: Naruto and Shikamaru buckled before gently letting his slide to the sleeping bag, silent. Immediately, he began to crawl, and it hurt to watch. Like a wounded animal with no one to help, he awkwardly dragged his limbs, as though made of lead, until he sat there watching her breathe with his hands in his lap, as though he had never quite seen her before.
He hadn't...not like this.
Naruto was considerably worried, for it was unlike him to act this way. You could tell the difference in the silence.
"I'm really sorry," he said quietly, but Sasuke completely ignored him, now staring at his hands as though he had never seen them before either. He barely felt the hand of comfort on his shoulder, and he didn't hear them leave, or maybe he just didn't want to.
Obsessive personality kicked into overdrive as he watched her clutch at her hand convulsively, digging nails into already marked skin, and every time she took a so-called breath, it moved that one lock of hair. It was driving him crazy, but when he raised his hand to correct these things, he just left it hovering in the air.
He could not touch her. He did not deserve to. His hand retreated to his side.
Sasuke did this quite a few times before holding his hands in front of him and gazing at them in shock and disgusted wonder. It was so hard to believe.
Something caught his eye: One single, solitary tear that escaped from beneath her eyelid and began to travel slowly down her pale, bruised cheek...he reached his hand out–
He cried out and pulled it back, glaring at it as though it had done him a great personal wrong. What had flashed through his mind...he remembered slamming curled knuckles into the side of her fragile face. Why?
Because I didn't think.
"She wanted to prove me wrong," he muttered to himself.
She always said...she would do anything for my respect.
"But why would you do this?" His question was nothing more than a pathetic whisper to nobody.
I made mistakes before...and now I've made another.
"I..."
You wondered why you were alone! His conscious snapped, and it was slowly sinking in. Now do you know why? Because when people try to get close...you do this.
"But you...she hit me first," he whined, attempting to create some justification, a defense for himself. But there was none.
Sasuke watched her chest rise slowly up and down; if he had not been silent, he would not have been able to hear her breathe. She whimpered in her sleep, and he clapped his hands over his ears as though she had shrieked: That's what his mind was hearing, over and over again, everything she'd said, every time he'd punched or kicked or bit or stabbed her. He heard every single scream.
But I'm not supposed to need anybody. Or anything.
You can lie to yourself all you want. But she deserves an apology. And recognition. Stubborn jackass.
Sometimes he truly wondered how many different sides of himself he had.
Im strong...
He would not hesitate.
After staring at her for another long moment, he grasped the ends of the shirt someone had put him in (considering his other was gone) and, as carefully as he could manage, slowly pulled it off; even the material brushing against his skin sent waves of shuddering pain. Scars and scabs caught and dragged, making him wince but not cry out, and for the first time he noticed his bandages had been removed and not put back on. It sort of bothered him...he felt very vulnerable, but not nearly as much as he did when he held the black shirt in his pale but bruised hands, those very hands that had done so much damage. Looking down at his chest, he stared at Sakura in amazement, trying in his mind to connect her with the injuries she had left him with. So terribly unreal...skin pale from exhaustion decorated with hues of purple, red and blue that followed no patterns and even small raised lumps from broken ribs, barely healing.
Sasuke stared at the shirt in his hands again, and then to her, just lying there as if sleeping, but he knew better. Crying in the desperate limbo between unconscious and not, perhaps reliving the same horror he was. Remembering every hit they had exchanged, every word they had said.
What had he been thinking? I will kill you.
"Do you really think she could slip into a coma?"
Naruto's words from outside the tent distracted him for a moment, and he drank in every word as though it were the very thing keeping him alive.
"I don't know...I mean, she knows way more about this than I do, or ever will," Ino said softly, clearly stung and regretful that she was not more experienced enough to help her friend. "But from what I know, it's definitely possible...if only you hadn't let her–"
"She would have hurt me," Naruto interjected, but his voice did not sound as though he were attempting to direct blame. On the contrary, he seemed angry at himself. "I should've done whatever it took."
"Me too," Ino replied.
Sasuke's mind was racing: What were they talking about?
"But she wouldn't leave him like that...I knew it from the look on her face when she saw him in that condition..." Naruto trailed off, leaving the end of the sentence hanging. "He probably would've died or come real close to it if she hadn't done something," he added, and with a jolt Sasuke realized they must have been talking about him, and it didn't take much intelligence to figure out what had happened during the past three days.
She had presumably awoken to find him hovering between life and death and, being the utterly selfless girl she was, helped him before she'd considered conserving energy or resting to stabilize her own condition. There was no way in all hell that she would leave him like that, or that she even possessed the strength to keep her body going, but she had done it anyway.
If he was able to touch her without remembering some painful memory, he would have taken her by the neck and strangled her for her idiocy. He could not handle even speaking her name, because a string of curses would have come with it. Sakura did not deserve this. She never deserved all the terrible things life seemed to throw at her. And on top of it, him, a screwed up young man who had never done anything for her and always made her push herself until it was just too much.
He held his breath: He was breathing her air, her strength, the essence of herself that she had given him to live on. If anything could make him feel selfish, it was that thought.
Shaking from fatigue, he leaned over her the best he could, listening to the vertebrae pop in his back like a sick little rhythm and draped the ebony shirt over her, closing his eyes. As the warm, thick material covered her, maybe he imagined it, but the shaking sobs that were gurgling in her throat as she dreamt in her sleep quieted a bit.
He gazed at her intensely again, expression hardening as he pulled himself together, shoving the memories back inside ruthlessly and effectively stemming the dangerous flow of emotion. Seeing her body so lifeless, broken, almost hurt...and she looked so terribly vulnerable, wrapped in comforters and as white as a corpse, small round face holding an expression of constant toil. Her weak, shuddering breaths made his stomach churnquelling the nagging ache of hunger that earlier had been plaguing him. Eyes narrowed and glittering, drawn to the majestic Uchiha symbol that was carefully sewn in the material.
Shaking his head, he turned from her and sat, leaning back on his arms and watching her out of the corner of his eye. Once again he stared over his shoulder at his hands, but there were no answers hidden in the scars or the lines of his palms, in the calloused flesh he called his own.
Letting his arms slide back he landed roughly on his back, staring up at the peaked ceiling of the tent and still shaking his head slightly as his dark eyes shut, eager for rest...falling asleep to the sound of her shallow breathing, and timing it with his own, as if unconsciously guiding her as she healed.
Opening his eye a slit before falling completely asleep, he looked her up and down, (or in his case, side to side). She was strong, and she would have to be to live through this.
And her beautiful body seemed to glow against the darkness he saw when his eyes closed.
"Shit!"
The shinobi swore loudly as he hopped around holding his foot; seething, he kicked the kunai knife across the dusty wooden floor and earned nothing but more pain. Glaring at it, magenta makeup accenting his narrowed eyes, he stepped a bit more carefully around the room, looking for any clues that could direct him to the answers he sought.
A picture frame was upside–down and shattered on the floor, and shards of glass stared up at him, accusing with their intimidating points. He had never done this before but if she was really gone, it would not matter because she was not returning anytime soon. Sand slapped against the window in a constant storm and he bent here and there to pick up papers of no importance. For such a mess, he had hoped she had left something behind.
"Kankuro?"
Startled, he stepped on another conveniently placed weapon and howled in anger, clutching his bare foot and fixing the visitor with a menacing gaze. "What? Don't do that, Gaara." Realizing that it was unwise to provoke the demon's temper, he huffed and changed his tone. "I'm just looking."
"She never came back? Was she not successful in her attempt to find Shikamaru?"
"She didn't go to get Shikamaru, she went to kill the blonde girl," Kankuro corrected, taking a vase from a nearby table and tipping it upside down, hoping something would fall out. "Besides, she would never disown ties with the Sand Village," he added.
Gaara shook his head, as though ashamed to be related to him. "You must be joking. Are you blind? Ever since these plans have started, she has not been around. She does not want to be involved with wars and problems anymore. If anything, she would end up fighting against us, not with us. We are not family to her."
Kankuro stared, disbelievingly, and thought about his brother's words as he scooped a furled scroll from the wooden floor and unraveled it. "But to turn her back on us?"
"No one ever did anything for her," Gaara said quietly. "And that's why I am here also. I am leaving too."
"What?" Kankuro let the scroll spring into it's cylinder and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Baki tell you to stay?"
"I've disobeyed him before, and I will again. We're just underfoot here, Kankuro. Surely you understand that. It's all about one person, one village, and one battle that our world is waiting for. Their plans are going well, from what I have heard. If you were smart, you would leave too. Anywhere is better than here."
"But I can't let Temari wander around while all this is going on!" Kankuro snapped, unfurling the scroll and reading it. There was a silence in which Gaara shrugged as if to say 'Suit yourself', and turned, nearly crossing the threshold before Kankuro growled in anger.
"She is gone!"
"I told you," Gaara muttered, looking at his brother over his shoulder.
"To some little tropical hovel down south!"
"Not a bad place to be."
"And you don't care?" Kankuro demanded of the redhead, who had his hand on the doorframe and was still staring at him with an indifferent air.
"Not really. She's better off."
"KANKURO!"
Gaara stepped back to let their former sensei step into the room and fix an angry, livid gaze on Kankuro, who nimbly slid the scroll into his back pocket.
"Where's Temari?"
"I–I have no idea," he stammered, willing himself not to break...he wasn't the liar out of the group. Luckily, Gaara took pity on him and stepped in.
"We have not found any trace of her whereabouts, Baki," he said firmly, standing nearly eye to eye with the man he had used to call his teacher. "But we'll continue looking."
Baki glared at Kankuro one last time, and then stormed out.
Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."
"For what? I'm not helping you...I'm leaving also. There's no reason for me to be involved in the affairs of the rest of the world anymore. And again, if you possessed some intelligence, you would steal away too."
"Why?"
"Because once they realize I'm gone too, you're the first person they're going to interrogate. And if you let them know anything, I'll pay you a personal visit when you least expect it. Leave. Get out and don't look back, and if you must, to ease your conscious, find Temari. But she's done with the world too. Once the Akatsuki puts their plans into full operation, all the little people won't matter anymore. Because the world will fall soon, and you don't want to be caught in it."
With that last cryptic pronouncement, Gaara hitched his bag a bit higher on his pale shoulder and disappeared, leaving nothing but little swirls of light brown sand sprinkled on the floor in circles.
"God damn, why can't he just talk normally? 'The world is going to fall soon', what the hell does that mean?"
Rereading the letter carefully again, Kankuro shoved it into the depths of his pocket and repeated the name of the little village he would have to find.
But he had to wait until nightfall to leave.
"Sir, you can't just barge into–"
"DO NOT TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO."
"If you'd just–"
BAM.
"AAAAUGH! MY GOD, WHAT IS SHE DOING?"
Kakashi nearly let the heavy door close on the petite nurse, who was shrieking incessantly, rising to a din and it took a great amount of self-control on his part not to slap her. His eyes were on Kurenai, motionless and miraculously, still standing over Asuma's body with wide brown eyes and the blinding light issuing from her hands. But there were no words tumbling off her lips this time, and it intrigued him.
"WHATISSHEDOINGWHATISSHEDOING–"
"SHUT UP!" Kakashi roared, throwing his hands out as if ready to choke the hysterical nurse. "Get Tsunade!" he snapped; she flinched in response to his harsh voice, but did as he had asked, letting the door slam shut and echo in the room of metal.
He didn't dare touch Kurenai: He did not know the finer aspects of the particular jutsu, so attempting to release it was out of the question, it could hurt her. Cautiously, he waved a hand in front of her face, and hoped that any minute now the mind technique would break...or maybe when her strength gave out, she would collapse. The situation was wrong in itself, but as he brought his hand back and gripped her arms tightly, ready to catch her when it ended, she still was not speaking...
Kakashi was sure the jutsu was supposed to show everything, speech included, and shouldn't Asuma have been making noise? Even a silent kill would have signs of such a thing...
The scream that came from Kurenai's lips was her own wretched shriek, and her hands fell to her sides as he steadied her, gripping her upper arms and holding her to his chest.
Worried and furious at her as he was, his curiosity beat them both out as he spun her around and held her; her knees had already collapsed as if she did not possess muscle or bone.
"What did you scream for?" he demanded, watching her eyes fade slowly back to the piercing red ones he knew so well.
Her mouth was hanging open, and nothing came out, not even air as she held her breath, shaking uncontrollably; she retched.
Tsunade swung the door into the wall, snapping the hinges and leaving deep spiderweb cracks in the wall. "What the hell?"
"That wasn't him," Kurenai whispered, and Kakashi lowered her to the ground; she wrapped her arms around his calves and grinned strangely up at him. "It wasn't him!"
"Kurenai..." Kakashi glanced at Tsunade, who shook her head slightly.
"It wasn't him! Because there was nothing to see! Nothing at all! Just the darkness...just the darkness," she said quietly, seeming suddenly fatigued, and she slumped and slid to the tile, motionless.
"Get me a stretcher!" Tsunade barked at the petite nurse, who jumped again as though electrified and scurried out. The jounin's words had frozen Kakashi.
There was nothing to see...no words to speak...because it's not his body.
Hey there, baby...
The sun's shinin' through...
And who would have thought
I'd wake up next to you?
"Should we...?"
"No, Naruto," Hinata whispered quietly, taking his forearm gently. "Let them be."
His blonde head disappeared from the flap and was quietly shut by the Hyuga's careful fingers, leaving the two shinobi to sleep in peace.
The sun was setting: It cast dancing shadows of light as it shone through the foliage that hung over the tent where they rested, so vulnerable yet so safe. And they had no idea.
The exhausted Uchiha had completely forgotten he had fallen asleep in a tent, much less next to the teammate he had nearly lost his life to. So his shock was justified when he opened his eyes a slit against the sun and heard another heartbeat, pounding with his own.
He attempted to sit up but his weak limbs did not allow it, and, opening his eyes completely, he saw a tousled pink head against his chest that brutally reminded him of everything that had occurred in the past hours. And he was surprised to feel her white arms latched around his bare chest, his black shirt draped over her shoulders; she groaned.
Hesitant, he paused, then cradled Sakura's head and tried to shift under her weight...his cry of pain and curse made the girl look up, bemused, and then raise an eyebrow.
"Ugh," he groaned, still squirming this way and that to quell the burning sensation in his torso, and she laughed softly.
"You make the most annoying noises," she whispered against his chest.
"You're not...in a coma," he said in wonder, and Sakura burst out laughing.
"Why would you think tha–Oh, OW," she whimpered, clutching her stomach and sliding off him and onto the sleeping bag, amusement interrupted by ruthless spasms of pain; he seemed wary at this sight, watching her begin to tear up as she coughed and wheezed, the humor almost certainly gone.
"Don't talk," Sasuke muttered quietly, carefully turning her onto her side as she continued to retch and writhe underneath his hold, biting her lip.
"Don't–tell–me–" Her retort was cut short as she clutched the blankets, coughing harder; Sasuke sat up in panic and cursed as a sharp pain shot through his side. With shaking arms he yanked her upright, ignoring the fact she was most likely bruised on every inch of her skin, and did the only thing his mind thought of. Holding her hair, he turned his head away as the disgusting sound of her retching grew to a din; opening an eye, he grew rigid at the shimmering crimson in random spatters upon the comforter.
Heaving, she crossed her arms across her stomach and whimpered, adding pressure to the wound, maybe hoping it would make her pass out again. Before Sasuke could stop himself, he muttered, "Stupid."
The look in her eyes sent a fierce flush into his face, but he was angry as he set his jaw and let go of her hair.
"I'm stupid?" she repeated, voice raspy and hoarse. "That's what you called me?"
"I could have killed you."
"That would have been your fault, not mine. And you wouldn't have."
"Look at you!"
"Look at you!"
Tears were brimming in her exhausted, bloodshot eyes, and she fixed him with a glare that would have sent Naruto high-tailing back the way he had come, but it only further provoked the raven-haired boy. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and she began to shake; Every purple bruise, every scratch, she remembered doing it as she struggled not to cry.
She raised a hand and he flinched: Her head shook slowly, pink locks barely swaying as she reached out and placed her fingers against his wounded chest...trailing them softly, feeling every raised inch of his skin, every lump that was a bruise.
Abruptly he grabbed her wrist and she gasped, but was too weak to fight with him again. He grabbed her other one and wrapped his calloused fingers around them both to incapacitate her, then used his other hand to reach beneath her shirt and touch the bandages. She gazed at him, but he stared over her head, silent.
"Sasuke...I'm okay," she murmured, trying to tug her wrists out of his strong hold, but he set his furious stare on her.
Don't let your temper rise–
SLAP.
SLAP.
Sakura flinched and took the first hit from him, but he was not expecting her to pull free and slap him right back; hearing bones crack, he straightened his neck and growled at her, still with her hand raised to deal more.
"STUBBORN!" they both yelled in unison, and then were spurred to greater heights as they continued to scream at each other, the words tangling with awkward syllables and separate tones. Eventually, they didn't know what they were saying anymore, just trying to outlast.
Sasuke raised a hand to hit her again, but she slapped him first, furious tears threatening to spill; his eyes were watery too, having been hit across the same cheek twice. One last time, he raised her hand and she mimicked him, waiting for his so–called quick reflexes...but when he stared down at her defensive gaze, he then looked at his hand.
He lowered it.
"We can't...do this," he said in a detached voice, cheek stinging against the air that felt of winter origin. Burning. Immediately she dropped her defensive manner and her gaze softened. "It never...gets us anywhere."
"Took you long enough," Sakura said in an exasperated tone, smiling the best she could, wincing slightly.
Sasuke nodded in reluctant agreement and hung his head, unsure of what to say next, but luckily, his mind had a handle on things.
"I'msorry."
Sakura blinked. "What?"
"IsaidIwassorry."
"I can't understand you when you mumble," Sakura huffed, feigning innocence. She'd heard.
"IsaidIwassorrydamnitandI'mnotsayingitagain!" He didn't look at her, but unconsciously rubbed his shoulder and ignored her intense stare.
"Prideful jackass," she said, arms folded. She smirked. "Sorry for what?"
Sasuke bit his lip and did not respond, and she laughed softly, tilting her head slightly at him.
"You're forgiven," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his forehead, which burned under her tender kiss.
Sasuke cleared his throat gruffly and looked out the side of the tent, where the bending rays of near-evening sunlight shone through. No sounds were heard from outside except the gentle, swaying breeze rustling foliage and the buzzing assorted insects.
"It's nearly sunset," Sakura mused, staring at the spot of sunlight and blinking slowly; Sasuke now stared at her intensely, reading her expressions and the thoughts that were racing through her mind. She wanted it.
Holding his breath, the avenger struggled and winced, but stood, hunched a bit in posture and ignoring the pulsing pain in his right knee. Holding both of his hands out for her, he hitched a smirk on his face, although she knew how much pain he was in.
"What are you doing?" she sighed, shaking her head at his stubbornness.
"Why do you need to question everything?" he said, taking her wrists and tugging on them, trying to get her to cooperate. After a moment, she grabbed his wrists in turn and pulled, struggling to get to her feet. Falling on her knees, she whimpered but dug her nails into his skin and eventually stood, shaking, with her chin on his shoulder and arms around his neck.
Without a word, she turned, keeping her arm around his back, the other clutching his shirt and a comforter to her chest; both were bent slightly as they ducked through the flap.
They stood as straight as they could, letting the afternoon sunlight burn their pale faces, and stumbled and limped past the other tents, past the smoking fire, to where the trees thinned out somewhere far away to reveal the sun. Tips of pines only brushed the bottom of the rippling horizon, while the colors of violet reds and navy blues and purples streaked across the canvas called the sky.
They were too exhausted to see the occasional black silhouettes dance against the backdrop, the golden orb that was the object of Sakura's sparkling, jade eyes.
Here we are...
Safe at last...
So we believe.
Sasuke caught her around the waist as her shaking legs gave, but her weight was too much for his body to handle; she landed on top of him, the blanket that had been around her now fanned out over them both. Tucking it around them, she rested her head gently on his chest and turned to stare at the setting sun, every minute passing casting long shadows.
Sasuke stared at it too, squinting slightly, feeling her nudge and slide into a more comfortable position on top of him...turned sideways, she curled her arms against her chest and pressed her tender hipbone into his groin, moaning slightly. If there was any way possible to be closer, she would have found it...her heartbeat pounded against his own swollen ribs...
He wrapped his arm around her, splaying his fingers across the back of her head and pressing her face closer...
You push everyone away...
You hurt everyone who is close...
But you're still here...
"I'm right here, Sasuke," she whispered, as though she had read his mind. "I will never leave."
Before he could stop himself, something blurted out that he hadn't even thought about saying.
"Never?"
She raised her head a bit to stare at his blank face that was hiding the fact that he wanted an answer.
"Never what?" Naruto asked, staring down at them.
"NARUTO!" Ino screeched, slapping her forehead. "You ruined it!"
"Ruined what? They're just sitting here looking at the sun...OHHH," he said obnoxiously, nudging Ino in the ribs and giving Sasuke a grin. "Riiiight."
In unison, the couple on the ground groaned in exasperation, but didn't move and avoided the eyes of each other and their teammates, who crowded like curious grade school girls. They had noticed that the camp had been empty before, but really didn't have any idea where they had gone.
Well, they were back.
"You both look so exhausted," Hinata said quietly, giving them a sad look full of pity, as if wishing she were in their place, just to keep the pain away.
"You guys should sleep," Shikamaru commented, not looking at the people he was talking to; perhaps it was in respect, but all the same, he stared at the setting sun deliberately, grinding his teeth down on a tiny stick of wood. Nodding in agreement and a dire want of escaping the scene, Sasuke began to sit up but Sakura put her cold fingers on his chest, fixing him with such a sad look that he was rooted to the spot. She did not want him to leave, or move, or otherwise try to blow off the situation however trivial it may have seemed. And a very little part of him did not want to upset her, after all he had done.
There was an awkward silence in which her lip slowly began to jut out and there was a sparkle in her eye, a challenge, daring him to refuse. He didn't want to leave her, the only person that seemed to take everything he threw...punches and insults and all...and still come back for more.
"Yes," Sasuke said slowly, "We should."
And with that, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it over him and Sakura, effectively covering them, hiding their similar smirks.
Naruto opened his mouth. "Um–"
"Sleeping."
Naruto opened his mouth again, closed it, took Hinata's arm and walked off toward the fire; Ino grinned and did the same, but made sure grab Lee's elbow with her free hand and take him too.
"You're such a bastard, you know that?" Sakura muttered, dragging her nails lightly on his skin, a slow but steady warmth spreading through her as she listened to his heartbeat. Her body rose and fell with his in a steady rhythm, the lullaby that would soon put her to sleep, and she smiled as his strong arm slid up her back and eventually cradled her head once again, fingers woven delicately through her pink locks.
He smirked in the dimness. "Hn."
"You don't care," she accused playfully, voice sounding breathy and positively enticing, so Sasuke thought. To spite him, she pressed her teeth against his bare skin and felt him shudder beneath her touch; he hated when she teased him.
"If I weren't so tired..." he groaned, letting her continue to drag her fingernails and gently brush her lips on his chest. Ignoring his threat, she smiled.
"Alright...I'll let the bastard sleep," she murmured.
"Yeah, let the bastard sl–" Sasuke noticeably bit his tongue, annoyed at his idiocy, which only caused Sakura to giggle. "Stop talking."
And she didn't retort, letting the rhythm of intoxicating heartbeats lull her, and him, to sleep.
I don't want to die.
She was alone.
Not again...it's happening...all over again...and his blood is on my hands.
Truly alone.
No no no no no no no...
But words could not stop it.
Orange and red and blue...swirling torrents of color pressed and smothered her, all around, nothing visible...
She dug her fingernails into her chest, feeling them penetrate layers of flesh, deeper, painfully...she wanted to get out.
Stop. Please. Stop.
Her fingers clutched at the blankets, scrabbling frantically for a weapon, something heavy, anything...as she watched her mind split apart...half in the fire. A nightmare that she would give anything to stop, heart-wrenching memories flashing through her head, every single one like a slap in the face.
And then...
"I can't take this anymore!"
The mother stopped in the doorway, framed by the light that lit up the snow around them, lengthening the shadows under her eyes. "Baby..."
"SHUT UP! If you can't even accept my decisions, don't refer to me as your daughter! It's not your job to protect me anymore and it's certainly not your job to constantly tell me how bad my teammate is!"
"But–"
"I KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM! I've known him for so long, I know he has problems, I know he has insecurities, and I know he can be very dangerous."
She stared at her mother fiercely, jade eyes flashing and full of such untoward hate.
"And I. Don't. Care."
Hitching the bag higher onto her bruised shoulder, she turned away and stood for a moment, staring up at the inky sky.
"I'll fix it. I'll fix everything."
"It's not your job, Sakura! It's not your place," her mother sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "Stop taking the world onto your shoulders. You have a job, you're a medic, and an amazing one at that. You have friends, and you have people that care about you. YOU DON'T NEED HIM!"
Sakura went rigid; her mother folded her arms and swallowed, struggling not to taste the salty tears.
"But he needs me."
With that, angrily sweeping her tears away, the medic began to walk away, every step another cut deeper, every step taking her further away from life, a step closer to him. As her mother's wails echoed in the desolate night, she wrapped her arms around herself and was a fifteen year old girl, so desperately entwined in the problems of the world. She would not see her mother for three years and would live under a roof with him and her other teammates, so close, yet so far.
Embedded deeply in his problems...
And she didn't want it any other way.
"SAKURA!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, perspiring fingers struggled to handle the weapon but were failing as she felt something warm and sticky in her fingers...realizing it was blood, she opened her eyes and swung blindly into to darkness her eyes had not adjusted to, screaming and crying and cursing–
The flap was wrenched back so ruthlessly there was a tearing sound and Sasuke was kneeling in the opening, eyes flashing wild and red, now wearing a shirt and seemed scared out of his wits. He was livid, ready to tear the thing apart that had dared make her scream and cry this way, but it took him a moment to realize what was going on; she continued to swing the knife and sob.
"Sakura," he said firmly, harsh voice cutting across her high-pitched fright.
"Sasuke! What's going on?" Naruto asked, voice worried, and Sasuke looked over his shoulder.
"It's alright. I'll handle it," he stated in the same firm voice, the voice that made people drop what they were doing and listen.
Crawling on his knees, he carefully dodged the swinging weapon and swiftly grabbed her wrist; Sakura dropped it and crumpled against him, screeching.
"Make it go awaaay," she whimpered, clutching him as if falling; he was rigid under her touch, because he had no idea what was upsetting her so badly or how to make her stop. First, he tried to be logical.
"Um...what's wrong?" he asked quietly, unconsciously holding her closer as she shivered against him, still whimpering.
"My mother is dead," she whispered, soaking his ebony shirt with burning tears. "I know what I saw that day, and it's true, and I don't know how, but she's gone. And I'm the most ungrateful daughter," she cried, breathing heavily. "In the water I saw it and I can't make it go away and every time I try to sleep it comes back and there's something in here and I'm–I'm–"
"Sakura, you can't just say that, there's no proof," Sasuke interjected, holding her head gently, praying for her to stop...it made him feel pathetic, her sitting her sobbing her heart out and him, enough of an idiot to the point where he had no words of comfort. "And for the record, you haven't slept yet."
"Of course I did!" she hissed, clutching him as close as humanly possible. "I woke up from a nightmare!"
"You weren't sleeping," he repeated, pushing her away to peer at her face. "You've been sitting here in the tent snuffling for about an hour, but you haven't slept. I was out by the fire with Naruto and we've been listening to you."
She stared at him for a moment, mouth open, and then turned away from him, scrambling for her weapon; he grabbed her shoulder and roughly dragged her away. "What are you doing?"
"There's someone out there!" she wailed, jerking from his touch and holding the knife steady. "If I wasn't sleeping...then it was a genjutsu...put on me while I was weak and vulnerable and god, I'm an idiot–"
"You're not...an idiot," Sasuke said awkwardly, "But you are being unnecessarily paranoid."
"P–p–paranoid?" she sputtered, face crumpling. "No!"
"Sakura, damn it, don't act like this!" he burst out, nearly pleading for her to stop and listen to the reason he tried to pound into her skull.
"There's someone out there...I can't rest...not now," she babbled, staring at the back wall of the tent with a detached gaze.
Sasuke groaned loudly and grabbed her around the waist, keeping her in his hold as he hissed into her ear:
"Enough. You are not weak. You are not stupid. But you are exhausted and so help me god if you keep pushing yourself like this I am going to–"
He broke off, staring in the same direction Sakura did.
"Don't speak," he whispered, still holding her protectively.
"I told you–"
"Don't speak!" he hissed, trying to move his lips as little as possible against her ear. "Sh."
They sat in the silence, holding their breath, waiting as the leaves rustled behind the tent, wind whistling through the foliage and tree limbs, masking the nearly silent footsteps of unwanted presences. Unknown, it was closing in, casting an unusual chill over the couple as they remained frozen, breathing shallowly, sitting ducks. It whispered.
Sakura made a strange noise in her throat, catching Sasuke's attention; he followed her gaze to find the thing that sent his heartbeat off into spiraling tangents, what froze his blood to ice. It was simply the shadow, glittering and shimmering with a thousand shades of gray and white and black, spreading steadily over the sleeping bag like a visible disease. But it was frightening because he could feel it and the power it held as it came closer, dimming the light that shimmered so far away from the fire. The wind died, as though literally sucked away through a tube, leaving an unearthly silence that set their ears ringing, yearning for a sound.
Sakura's fingers clutched the knife, knowing it was useless against...this. A force and nothing physical she could get at. Sasuke knew this too, but his mind was at a bit more ease when had a weapon in his hand, out in front of Sakura to keep whatever it was away.
Please protect me...
Her breath caught in her throat and Sasuke swore as quietly as possible...the shadow was spreading over her bare foot, leaving it ivory and scarred, as though a touch would shatter the skin to pieces. It was freezing and came as a shock, like the water in the shower coming on and waking you up by temperature. It set her shaking as it crept up her knee; she pulled her other leg to her chest, eyes wide–
The entire atmosphere was thick and dense and breathing was painful...every inhale brought forth the pricking of needles against soft lungs, while blinking was impossible. Both pairs of eyes were tearing in the freezing chill, limbs reduced to numb and useless weight
What the fuck is that? His mind demanded, pulling Sakura as close as he could; her legs were completely ivory and pale, scratched and scarred and so damn sickly looking, and now he felt it too. It pierced his back, stealing his air, and attacked him, closing in on both of them. Pressing his nose into the back of her ear, he shushed her quietly as the frightening whiteness smothered her stomach. She shook violently against him, tears running down her porcelain face of their own accord, for her eyes were open and they could not close. He knew it had to be a genjutsu, and that was bad luck for him, and maybe for Sakura too if she could not fight it off.
Her knife landed quietly on the blanket as her fingers fell limp, and Sasuke struggled in vain for another moment before his fingers went numb too. Awkwardly, he pulled back his arm and wrapped it around her, pressing his face into her neck and trying to make his lips form words...they were now bloodless and swollen. He heard her muttering to herself, mentally fighting off the effects...he would not be so lucky.
From far away he heard himself cry out as it tapped into his mind, as if there literally people inside ransacking his brain, shoving things to the floor and ripping things apart, little memories from long ago, chipping away at the ones he needed just to keep himself sane...
Now the tears forming in his eyes were not just from the cold.
"Sakura," he...whimpered? "Make it stop," he pleaded, the same words she had whined to him out of fear just moments before.
"I can't," she choked, breathing in slowly; Sasuke cowered at the sound, as if her lungs were rattling with loosened parts. "It's too powerful..."
"It makes my head hurt," he muttered, feeling them toy with his memories over and over. "So bad."
"Mine too." She found his fingers where they interlocked at her waist and intertwined them with her own, so numb and lifeless. "Don't leave me."
Sasuke squeezed them, feeling absolutely nothing, and he whispered in her ear... "I won't."
"Are you quite finished?"
The shinobi gazed up at his towering master and his sadistic grin faded; the bloody eyes held no amusement.
"Sorry," he muttered, and placed his fingers together. "Release!"
Immediately the atmosphere shifted imperceptibly back to normal...the gentle breezes returned, the sounds of a forest. Slowly the strange haze faded from the tent, leaving it as it had been before, and the disturbing sounds of retching reached his ears.
"I didn't ask you to toy with them. I asked you to watch, and to wait. If you are found out or spotted, it would be a trying task to get out, and that would set them on their guard."
The man stood, letting the wind lift black locks of his face, and absentmindedly tapped the ring on his finger, bored. "Now let them be."
After he had left, the shinobi muttered among themselves mutinously, stopping only when his powerful mental beating attacked their minds ruthlessly. Eyes fixed on the tent, they waited and listened to the crying and the words.
"Gone...it's gone..."
Sasuke's lips were numb and bleeding, and her words hit him like a slap, snapping him out of the freezing, dense atmosphere. It was slowly receding, the color coming back to limbs and faces, broken memories desperately trying to heal and come back together after being ripped apart. His head was pounding, the feeling returning to his fingers that were sweaty and shaking uncontrollably as he still held her close. Breathing heavily in her ear, his hands roamed everywhere, touching her face, grabbing her arm, squeezing her thigh, just to make sure she had not gone anywhere. She was still there.
He grunted. Are you alright?
She whimpered in fright, staring into nothing; she squirmed in his lap, turning until she was burying her face into his chest, eyes still wide as saucers, hands tugging on his shirt frantically.
Swallowing, he ignored his pounding head and slowly, as if unsure of what to do, he grasped her clammy hand and put his fingers through hers, holding her against him, trying to quell his own shaking and his tears of pain and anger.
"What was that?" she whispered, putting her lips against their linked fingers.
Sasuke was silent as he listened to the sounds: The fire crackling, foliage rustling, and their own breathing.
"I don't know. I just...don't know."
"Don't leave me...I can't sleep...alone," she murmured, sounding ashamed for her fear and for her childish pleads. She felt too vulnerable...if only she knew that he felt the same.
He didn't know if it was in his mind or the words really left his lips...
I'll always protect you.
When you're at the end...
And all you have is one left...
You cannot lose that too.
What keeps me sane.
0.0
Hm.
I feel really bad for them at the end. --sadistic laugh--. Really.