A/N: Thanks for all the amazing feedback on the previous chapter, even if most of it was about you all wanting to kill Ataru, lol. I still loved every single comment. Thanks to all those who favorite/followed/reviewed Mine to Take. As always, it means a lot and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Not sure if anyone saw the post in my journal entry on QuoteV of the contest. If you're interested, please enter. :) I will be extended the date.
We're about three quarters away from this story ending. So it's getting rather close. Which means, things are going to get a lot more serious. Rated M for mature. :)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
From her spot on the examination table, Yuna recounted the events that evening to the officer in a halting, quiet voice, watching her parents go pale and grimace at some parts. She reached over to the glass of water and took a welcome sip, trying to bring her erratic heart rate under control.
"Miss Katayama, we're going to need a written statement if you're wanting to press charges against Ataru."
Yuna closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead trying to fathom how they got to this.
Her mother put an around her, pulling her close. Her face remained impassive as she regarded the officer.
"We really need to wrap this up, please."
He hesitated a moment before nodding.
"We'll finish this another time, Miss Katayama. You rest." The officer tucked his notebook away and stood. "And don't worry about Ataru. We've got enough to hold him. He won't be going anywhere."
"He's in custody?" Yuna asked.
"Yes," he said. "Although Konohamaru is here under guard. They had to remove the ice spike Ryōgi left in him as well as the frostbite he endured during their altercation."
Oh shit. Ataru is here?
Yuna paled. Her empty stomach convulsed, tears prick her eyes, and a deep shudder ran through her.
"Hey." Her father stepped forward, his voice filled with concern. Taking the glass from her hand, he tenderly folded her into his arms. "You're safe now," he murmured against her hair, his voice hoarse.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry." Her tears start to fall.
"Hush." He stroked her hair, and she wept into his neck.
"It's all my fault."
"This isn't your fault, Yuna." He assured. "You're not responsible for his actions."
She opened her mouth to speak but a familiar voice sounded outside the door.
"Please. You don't understand; I have to see her."
"Young Lord, you really-"
The nurse never had a chance to finish as the door slid open with a clang, and there in the entrance stood a dismayed Boruto. He's dressed in just his shirtsleeves and drawstring pants. He looked tired, dirty, and utterly beautiful.
She drank in the sight of him and relief coursed through her, leaving her spent, exhausted, and completely elated. Yet her tears don't stop.
"Boruto-kun…"
He moved toward her, blue eyes bright though weary and anxious. From somewhere deep inside, she found the strength to stagger to her feet and bolt into his open arms.
"Boruto!" she sobbed.
"Hey," he said and held her, burying his face in her hair and inhaling deeply. She raised her tearstained face to his, and he kissed her far too briefly.
"Hi," he murmured.
"Hi," she whispered back, the lump in the back of her throat burning.
"Miss me?"
"A bit."
He grinned. "I can tell." And with a gentle touch of his hand, he wiped away the tears that refused to stop running down her cheeks.
"I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered. There-the words are out. All her worst fears packaged neatly in one short sentence now exorcised.
"I'm sorry I worried you."
"Boruto," she gasped, and her tears start anew.
"Hey," he said, softly. "You know...in the few seconds of sheer terror before everything went dark, all my thoughts were of you. You're my talisman, Yuna."
"I thought I'd lost you," she breathed.
"I thought I was going to lose you too," he whispered.
"I'm sorry, Boruto. Just sorry for everything. For making you worry, for risking everything—for not believing you about Ataru." She rested her hand over his heart, and he gently placed his hand on hers. They were both silent for a moment
"No more recklessness, okay?"
She nodded.
"Okay."
~MINE TO TAKE~
Yuna was distracted and she knew it, yet she couldn't get herself to focus. Ever since that night in Ataru's apartment she had been acting like a space case. That image of him on his knees behind her was still fresh in her mind, burned into her retinas and reappeared every time she closed her eyes. She knew that memory would never fade even if she wanted it to. But even so, she was determined not to let her distress show and kept her smile in place, hoping that maybe, just maybe it would serve as a facade to deceive the people around her.
That afternoon, Sarada and Chōchō invited her out for a girl's lunch at Yakiniku Q. The diamond kunoichi felt a little guilty that she'd agreed in the first place and now she hadn't touched a single thing on her plate. If Sarada and Chōchō minded, they didn't say anything and chatted casually as they continued to eat. The teal eyed ninja tried to remain responsive but her mind was in such a whirlwind that sometimes she zoned out as she tuned into her own internal thoughts.
"Hey Yuna, are you even listening?"
"Huh?" she said, snapping herself out of her trace yet again.
"I asked if you were going to eat that. It's just been sitting on your plate this entire time."
"Oh no." Yuna smiled, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm actually not all that hungry. It's yours if you want it."
Chōchō stared at her hard for a moment, as if she was trying to see inside her head and read her thoughts, but then she nodded her approval and slid the plate toward her.
"I'm still in disbelief about Ataru" Sarada whispered. "I just can't believe it."
"It's okay, Sarada. I'm okay," Yuna reassured her, wanting to believe it too, even as her voice wavered. Maybe she wasn't okay today, but she would be. She would get through this.
"It's not okay. He can't get away with this, Yuna."
Yuna sat back and fought the tears away. She didn't want to be breaking down right now. She didn't want to stir it all up again when she'd spent all day trying to forget. In addition to bombarding her brain with training, she had been busy shoving down the memories of the other night that kept popping up, down into a dark place. She didn't want to think about any of it.
"Yuna?"
She looked up.
"You're going to police, aren't you? They'll need you to cooperate with them if they are going to prosecute."
"I think so," she said, betraying the fact that she still wasn't really convinced that she could go through with it.
She sighed quietly. "You have to. Promise me you will."
She nodded quickly.
She'd been wrestling with the prospect of going to the police. Her parents had told me that they'd left cards and would want to speak with her. Something about it scared the hell out of her. Deep down she'd blamed herself. The blame and the shame of sharing the experience with someone else had kept her silent.
But this was different. She knew Ataru, and no one could question what he'd done, with Ryōgi who had been there. The bruising and scratches between her thighs were proof enough of his intentions. How she'd find the strength to walk into the police station and tell her story though, she'd never know.
"I'll go with you. You won't be alone." Sarada reached for her hand.
"Me too." Chōchō piped up.
"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you two."
"You'll never have to know. We're always here for you, and we're not going anywhere. We're all but family now."
Her heart pulsed with gratitude for their friendship.
"Thanks you two."
~MINE TO TAKE~
Put one foot in front of the other. Just keep going. Just ignore them.
No matter how many times Yuna repeated these words to herself, she couldn't help but feel eyes on her, watching her, scrutinizing her. She felt that every person she passed on the street was whispering about her. Every glance in her direction seemed tinted with consternation and sorrow.
As much as she tried to lose herself in the pages of her new novel, she couldn't help but be alert to the whisperings that reached her ears. She heard her and Ataru's name whispered over and over and it seemed Ataru's actions had spawned rumors as the villagers took it upon themselves to enhance and embellish the already horrendous stories as they saw fit.
After leaving Yakiniku Q, Yuna had made a firm resolution to go home and spend the rest of the day licking her wounds and hiding from civilization. However, due to a momentary lapse into insanity, she thought it might be a good idea to walk through the streets instead of taking to the rooftops and avoiding the looks and whispers that centered on her and Ataru. They all whispered behind their hands and shook their heads sadly, taking what they had heard about her and Ataru at face value.
Not even the littlerednovel in her hand could offer solace.
"Yuna," Boruto had joined her. "You okay?"
"I am now," She smiled weakly at him. "What are you doing here? You just got released from the hospital two days ago. Should you really be out wandering around?"
"I feel fine." Boruto leaned down and gave her a kiss that was both tender and careful. Pulling back, he studied her. "How was your day?"
"Uneventful. I'm going back to work tomorrow, regardless of what anyone says. If I sit around here lazing around one more day, I'm going to lose my mind."
He smirked. "Well, we can't have that."
Less than twenty minutes later, they barreled through the doors of her house and upstairs to her bedroom.
Yuna chewed her lip. The fire that had lain dormant for days lit within her. Apparently the days of being deprived of intimacy had taken its toll, and now that her energy was back, she was having a hard time ignoring it.
She missed their closeness. Boruto had been careful with her. Exceedingly careful. She hated that what happened had put an invisible wall between them, separating them by their fear of hurting each other when she needed Boruto more than ever.
"I missed the hell out of you today," he said.
"I missed you too. I always do."
She caught him by the hair and levered against him, bringing them chest to chest. After all of this madness, Yuna longed for his touch, for the reassurance that nothing had changed between them. He groaned and pushed her back against the door. Instinct took over, and in seconds she was climbing him. Thigh over hip, arching into his hard body. He cupped her ass, increasing the contact. They couldn't be close enough.
"Touch me," she whimpered.
Yuna caught a breath of air, before sealing her mouth over his again. His erection pressed against her, teasing her. The connection sent a tingle of desire through her. But the sensation was tainted. She kissed him harder, drowning the doubt. He moaned, sliding his hand down her thigh. He trailed a slow path between her legs, slowing over her mound before cupping her. She tensed in his arms, not immediately understanding why. Her chest heaved, her rapid breathing betraying the battle raging inside her. Shit.
"Yuna?"
She kissed him fiercely, closing the small separation between them, answering any question he might have. Damn it all, she needed him.
No less than she'd ever needed him. He pulled back and caught her roaming touch, stilling her. "We don't have to do this."
"I want to."
He hesitated. "I know. I want to too, but…give yourself some time."
"I'm fine," she insisted, even as her voice wavered.
Was she? She knew what she wanted, what she craved, but she recognized the tension. On edge, ready to react, she battled with her desire. The battle made her as angry as she was horny, starving for him to love her through the feeling that she didn't want to face.
He kissed her, a slow chaste kiss that she barely felt through the heat and mist that collected on her skin. The gesture seemed to repeat his words.
"I'm fine, Boruto," she repeated. "He didn't do anything. I'm fine. Nothing's changed."
He stared down, concern swimming behind his eyes. "Just because he didn't get a chance to follow through doesn't mean you haven't been through emotional hell. We're not talking about banged up knuckles. You know as well as I do those wounds go deeper than either of us want them to. You need time. We should take some time."
Yuna hated that he was probably right. She hated that she'd become so flawed and vulnerable in a matter of days. "Maybe I'm stronger than you give me credit for."
He let out an exasperated sigh. "I have no doubts about your strength, Yuna. I'm talking about your state of mind, your well-being. You can't brush this whole thing off like it's nothing."
"How about you let me tell you what I can take?"
Her embarrassment mingled with the rejection. She pulled away from him and then went to bed. Huddled onto her side, she tried to ignore his presence when he joined her. A moment passed before he came behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Pressing his lips to her shoulder, he caressed down her arm, eliciting a shiver that almost made her forget her irritation.
"Look at me," he whispered.
Reluctantly she turned, positioning her body to face his. A smile softened his features as he traced her jaw, running a sensual line over her lips.
"I love you, even when you're marching around all pissed and indignant."
"I hate this."
His eyes dimmed. "I know you do. I know we both want more, but it's worth waiting for. Tonight, all I want is to taste your sweet lips and hold you. I have the rest of my life to make love to you. Tonight, I just want you in my arms."
Something cracked in her, that need to fight wilting under Boruto's gentle insistence. Her muscles weakened, and she surrendered.
"You're still going to the police, right?"
He must have read the doubt in her eyes because he came to her. She stood still, paralyzed by the sight of his perfectly sculpted body. He stood before her and skimmed his palms down her arm. She shivered, his touch cool against her skin.
"You need to do this," he said quietly.
"Why? Why do I need to put myself through this?" Tears quickly brimmed her eyes. Apprehension took root in her gut.
"You still have healing to do. I'm here for you. I always will be. I'm here to love you in every way that you need to be loved. But telling me, telling Sarada... It's not enough. You need to be strong and stand up to what happened to you. Then and now. Every time I think about what Ataru did...what he could have done...my blood boils. But I can't do this for you. This is your chance to make things right, and you're the only one who can do it."
Yuna closed her eyes. "I can't. Something about it...I don't want to break down in front of a stranger. To admit how stupid I'd been...how vulnerable he made me. Ryōgi saw." She choked over the last words.
He hushed her and pulled her close. She melted against him and let the tears fall.
"You weren't stupid. He made you vulnerable, but you don't need to be now. You're strong." He held her a little tighter then. "You can do this."
~MINE TO TAKE~
Officer Hirai led her away from her desk to a small private room. She might have been her mother's age, a little heavy set. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. A few short curls had escaped from it, framing a face that was lined.
The chair legs squeaked against the concrete floor, and they sat down at a table across from each other. She twisted her fingers together nervously as she opened a file and shuffled through some of the papers. Her heart pounded at the walls of her chest as she waited for her. Her meager lunch turned in her stomach a little. Her pep talk affirmations were drowned out by the voice in her head that kept reminding her how much she didn't want to do this.
This was part of working through it. But she didn't know this woman. A stranger to her, she seemed as hard and cold as the room they now shared, and she didn't want to be vulnerable now to her, or anyone else for that matter.
She scanned the papers and glanced over at her briefly. "You okay, hon?"
Yuna regained her focus on her face. Her breathing had become erratic. She licked her lips. "Yes, I'm fine. Just nervous, I guess."
She pulled out a piece of paper and positioned her pen above it. "No need to be nervous. All you need to do is tell me what happened exactly how you remember it. I'm going to write it down here. I'll read it back to you when we're done. And if everything is accurate, you sign it and then we're done."
Yuna nodded quickly. Her mind had invented all of her coldness. In that second, she'd become someone different, someone who maybe wasn't judging her in all the ways she was afraid she and the rest of the world would.
"Okay," she finally said.
"Tell me what happened the night of the assault."
She closed her eyes and let her mind travel back to the night.
Over the next half hour, she relayed to Officer Hirai how the evening had unfolded. The rest had been witnessed by Ryōgi. While she scribbled down the final pieces of her account, she cringed inwardly that anyone else had seen her so helpless.
"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
Yuns shifted her focus back to her and shook her head. As promised, she read it back to her. Yuna signed it, her hand trembling slightly as she did.
Nervousness wasn't making her shake, but a flood of relief. This was over. Finally. She let her know that they would be in touch if they needed anything further and showed her of the room.
As she left, the concrete block that had taken up residence in her stomach lifted. It was all said and done, literally. She couldn't know if it would mean justice for Ataru, but it began to mean something more to her. She'd done something she'd never had the chance to do before. She'd overcome her fears and insecurities enough to tell her story. She wanted to believe it was an important step toward healing.
A/N: Reviews, pretty please?