He was frustrated as he walked through his compound to his house. He kept replaying the scene of that damn snake hovering over HIS thorn. She had been smiling – why had she been smiling? She NEVER smiled around him.
Sasuke's frown deepened as he made it to his front door. He tensed as he felt the chakra within his home. What the hell was she doing here? He hadn't called for them. He didn't want to deal with them right now. Opening his front door, he briskly walked to where he felt the intruder's chakra, his glare ready to kill.
Onyx eyes watched the magenta haired woman sitting within the living room of his home closely. He didn't like how comfortable she made herself against the cushions of his couch. It looked as if she had burrowed into the cushions while she waited for him. How long had she waited for him? And why did she look so smug? Team Hawk hasn't – even remotely - done anything for her to feel smug about.
What the hell did she want?
"Hello Sasuke." She smirked. Magenta eyes glinted behind her glasses as she sat with a confidence she shouldn't have. Sasuke waited with quickly thinning patience for her to continue, not bothering with a greeting himself.
"We are ready to take them out. All you need to do is say the word; then we can leave this god forsaken village." Karin continued after a moment of silence. Her smirk tilted down into a slight frown at the ravenette's lack of response. He wasn't responding like she thought he would – he barely responded at all.
Another pregnant pause stretched between them. She no longer felt comfortable or welcome within the Uchiha compound as Sasuke stared at her. Onyx eyes became molten as he thought over what she said. "Leave the Leaf" wasn't on the agenda for the moment – or any time soon - and neither was "taking them out."
"No." the Uchiha bit out before he began to turn away. He was done here. It had been an eventful day to say the least; and he wanted to think over his next move – alone.
Karin was shocked. When they went over this plan before Sasuke had "returned" to the Leaf, it had been: Get in, kill the elders, and get out. They were ready to kill them, so why weren't they? Why was he hesitating? Why didn't he want to leave?
Was it because of that girl? Is that why he didn't want to leave? Her frown deepened as her magenta eyes darkened with anger. It better not be.
"Why?" Her voice wasn't light anymore. It was hard and to the point. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, letting his Sharigan out once more. Scarlett glowed in the dark, threatening the missing nin without speaking.
"Because. I. Said. So." He enunciated each word carefully, putting an unspoken threat within each harmless little word. They wouldn't attack now. Not until he told them too. Or else he would kill them. It was that simple. And by the scared look that over took the annoying magenta haired woman's face, team hawk knew that.
"Now get out." Karin flinched at Sasuke's harsh words as he walked away. The anger she felt towards him at his refusal to continue the original plan switched quickly over to that blonde freak he had faced in Suna. Just what exactly was it about her that caused Sasuke to do the exact opposite of everything he told her he would do? What is it about her that is causing him to stall his revenge on the Elders of this damn village? She clenched her fists in frustration as traveled back towards team hawks current location.
He would go back to following through with his word if that bitch was gone right? Karin glanced back through the trees in the direction of the Uchiha compound. Would he? Her eyes narrowed. There was only one way to find out. That bitch better watch her back – although it would be useless for Karin was coming for her, and soon.
Kazu stood before Tsunade once more in the morning, eager to see why her Hokage had called only her in to receive their next mission. Maybe she had reconsidered her horrible decision – although that was highly unlikely. Unfortunately. The blonde Hokage eyed the last Hotoya through her eyelashes as she shifted paperwork around on her desk. It was obvious to anyone that Kazu was angry with her decision to keep Sasuke on her team. It could be seen in the way Kazu stood as if she was prepared for an attack on all sides: shoulders were tense, legs were slight spread, and her hands drifted close to her weapons. The golden dragon was wrapped around her visibly agitated and fidgeting, a light growl on her lips.
But, Tsunade couldn't let Sasuke off of her team now. Not after what she had seen in the hallway, not after what Shizune had told her about their departure, and especially not after Moru storming into her office the day before raving about the Uchiha going uninvited into the Hotoya compound and "harassing" Kazu. Definitely NOT after the last bit of information had found its way to her.
Sasuke had come back for her. Who was Tsunade to deny him if what he wanted benefited the Leaf in some way? Although it had another plus – Kazu would most likely deny him at every turn. Tsunade sat up to fully watch the Chunnin before her. Oh no. This woman would deny the Uchiha anything that was within her power to do so in the name of the Leaf.
She was extremely loyal to the Leaf as was her team. Tsunade's stare intensified as she placed her chin on a closed fist. Kazu didn't flinch or shift backwards. This woman had been through a lot and had proven herself to the Leaf ten times over. Just as it had been for Team Gai and Shikamaru, it seemed that it was time for Team Kazu to take the Jonin exams.
After all, sometimes people need their faith to be rewarded - It was way past time for Kazu's to be rewarded.
Her team deserved the rise in rank anyway. Not to mention that it gave the Leaf a chance to assess Sasuke Uchiha's level of power at last. It also gave her a reason to keep team Kazu within the confines of the Fire Country for an extended amount of time.
"I'll be giving your team missions sporadically during the next two weeks; don't expect many or any hard ones." Tsunade finally spoke, breaking the silence that had stretched between the two female shinobi. If it was possible, Kazu tensed even more. Her eyes became hard. Shaku barred her teeth.
If this was because the mission to the Snow had been harder than expected, it was completely ludicrous! They had gone on hundreds of unanticipated hard missions and NEVER had the Hokage reacted this way. It was because of the traitor wasn't it? Her team wouldn't get the missions they deserved because he was now within their midst. Was that it?!
That wasn't fair! This wasn't right! How the HELL could she do this to them?!
"Lady Tsu-" Kazu's beginning of an angry rant was cut off by her Hokage raising her hand to silence the absolutely fuming blonde. Tsunade decided she was torturing the Hotoya enough already by forcing Sasuke to stay on her team, so she quickly continued with her speech.
"It has come to my attention as to just how valuable your team could be to the Leaf if you were raised up in rank. In two weeks, all of your team members will participate in the Jonin exams. The light missions are to allow for your team's training for the exam. Use the time wisely. And hopefully in two weeks I will be congratulating you all on your new rank. Come back tomorrow with ALL of your teammates to receive your mission. You are dismissed."
Kazu stood rooted in her spot as Shaku loosened and snapped her jaw shut. Her team was the next to go take the Jonin exams – HER team? She had heard her Hokage correctly, right? There was no prank being pulled at the moment right? Her tense shoulders loosened and her jaw slackened. The corner of her mouth pulled up into a little half smile after a moment of dumbstruck awe. Glancing back at Lady Tsunade from where her eyes had trailed to the desk, Kazu remembered herself and bowed before exiting the office.
Tsunade watched Kazu leave. A huge sigh of relief left her once the door closed. She had just pleased one of her most loyal shinobi after the major blow she had hit her with the day before. Hopefully the tensions that were obviously building within Team Kazu would dissolve in the next two weeks.
Hopefully – but Tsunade knew it was not likely. If anything they would build and build until Kazu just – snapped. Tsunade hoped that wouldn't happen.
The last Hotoya was in a state of shock as she left her Hokage's office, a small goofy smile was present on her face. Jonin. Lady Tsunade was going to let her team test to be Jonin. Jonin! She couldn't believe it!
Shaku let out a small almost bark like sound in excitement before she nuzzled the blonde chunnin's cheek. Her mistress was going to be a Jonin! Another excited yelp escaped her throat as she launched into the air and twirled around Kazu as she walked. Even Junkin was letting out a pleased growl, proud of his charge.
The blonde stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the Hokage's hallway. Her smile turned into a confused frown as her eyebrows scrunched. Jonin – really? She turned to glance at the closed door of Lady Tsunade's office.
Her golden familiar settled onto her shoulder with a questioning purr. Shouldn't her mistress be practically jumping for joy? She was going to become a Jonin! Why wasn't she jumping?
What was this sudden change in attitude with the Hokage? Just two days ago, she was acting as if she was hell bent on ruining Kazu's life. Her fists clenched as she thought of how her Hokage practically ruined her life by refusing to take the traitor off her team. But – now - she was allowing them to test up into Jonin.
Was she not as deep into the traitor's as she thought? Could it really be that she HAD moved out of his shadow and she just hadn't realized it? Did her Hokage truly see her – unlike the rest of the Leaf – unlike most of her friends?
I put him there for a reason.
Did Tsunade really have another reason besides torturing her when she had assigned the traitor to her team? Is she doubting her own Hokage for no reason? Could she be too paranoid?
Her sapphire eyes freckled with gold when she looked towards the spot the traitor had attacked her in the Hokage's hallway – because that's what he had done. Nothing more. Although, what he had done wasn't a small matter either. He was just trying to get her focus off of his true intentions with the Leaf.
No. No. She wasn't too paranoid.
What if she wasn't paranoid enough?
Shaku growled rubbing her snout against Kazu's throat, trying to pull her back to the fact that she would be a Jonin soon. Her mistress' hand came up and held her against her neck. Kazu hushed her familiar's growls. There was no need to get overly angry at the moment. Now wasn't the time.
She should and would relish in the notion of moving up in rank right now. The traitor wasn't going to ruin it for her – even if he might become a Jonin as well. Her Hokage was putting more faith in her and was rewarding her for all the missions her team and she had completed so far.
That's all that mattered.
The blonde picked up her trek again as she forcefully pushed the memories of the "incident" to the untouched corners of her thoughts. Now was not the time - NEVER was the time to think about THAT. Anyways – if her Hokage was going to put her faith in her by making Kazu a Jonin, then she was going to make sure the Leaf was safe by stopping the traitor from doing whatever it was that he was planning to do. Kazu smiled slightly. It was the least she could do to show her gratitude for the up-coming promotion.
Shizune watched, stunned, at the vast difference between Kazu's departures from the Hokage's building within the last few days. There was no sign of the desperate need to leave in this most recent departure. The Hotoya even seemed quite satisfied with what had just transpired behind the closed doors of the Hokage's office. Could Lady Tsunade have been right in saying that all Kazu needed was to have her faith rewarded?
The Hokage's Secretary could only watch as a much happier Kazu give a small wave to her as she left the Hokage's building. Hopefully this would encourage the chunnin to keep the Leaf her top priority and watch the Uchiha for them – even though she didn't really know she was doing it.
Kazu couldn't wait to tell Moru and Riku the great news. They could rise in rank! And maybe – for some unknown reason – the traitor would be moved from her team while they were at it! Like maybe they were too advanced for him (which would be hilarious to Kazu considering the traitor left to get stronger because the Leaf wouldn't help him in that department); or maybe her team was already balanced before he came on, prompting the Hokage to move him somewhere else (which seemed more likely because her team practically had every technique between the three of them).
Things could be looking up soon enough! Shaku let out another excited yelp before dancing through the air around Kazu again. Looking up indeed!
Her good mood soured considerably when she felt the traitor's chakra signature with in her compound as she neared the door to her home. She had forgotten that he was the reason they HAD to train within her compound now – although how she had forgotten that she didn't know. It wasn't like anyone could ignore his masses of fangirls that mob him where ever he goes. Idiots. Who idolizes a traitor? Oh right. The entire Leaf.
Okay. Enough with that. She had promised herself that he wouldn't ruin this for her – and what was he doing? Ruining it! He wasn't even physically present yet! The tense blonde inhaled deeply, calming herself as Shaku settled onto her shoulder.
Calm, cool, and collected.
That's what she needed to be. To become hysterical, confused, or a deadly combination of the two would just be giving the traitor some ground in their fatal chess game they had seemed to get themselves into. Kazu wouldn't allow that – couldn't allow it.
Finally composing herself, she entered her home with a small smile etched onto her face deciding to just ignore the traitor all together. A soft contented rumble flowed through her head as Junkin expressed his approval of how his ward was handling the moment. She had finally expressed her ire to another; now it was time to just focus on removing the cause of her ire – without him affecting her. The golden dragon didn't like how the traitor made Kazu act.
The sooner he was gone, the better.
Sasuke still marveled at how full Kazu's compound felt even though her clan had been slaughtered as well. He briefly wondered just exactly how she was able to make her empty home feel so – welcoming and warm. If he had stuck around the Leaf (which he wouldn't have done at all – ever) would his own compound feel this way or would it feel just as cold and lonely as it always had been since that dreadful night? Most likely it would still feel just as haunted as it did now. He didn't think his compound could ever feel like hers.
As his swirling onyx eyes surveyed the living room of the main house of the Hotoya compound, he made eye contact with the green eyed bastard who stood within the room to make sure he didn't do anything while Kazu was gone. A scowl formed on his lips as he began a stare down with the bastard. When was this bastard going to learn? What went on between HIS Kazu and him was none of his business.
He could do anything he wanted.
Sasuke Uchiha wasn't told what to do – he didn't need a babysitter. He fisted his hands hard. Maybe it was time to give the bastard a lesson on just how much he didn't need one. The Uchiha was about to begin stalking towards the bastard - and then the silver haired freak walked in, heading straight towards the green eyed bastard in his place. There was no exchange of blows though like there would have been if it was himself that had approached the snake.
He could hear them talk lowly with one another.
"He's still here?" The freak whispered to the snake. Sasuke wanted to scoff. No. he was just an allusion. Idiot.
"Unfortunately." The bastard glared at him. The onyx eyed man let a smirk play on his lips just to agitate the men his thorn seemed to trust more than anyone else within the Leaf. He watched them tense at the sight of his smirk. Good.
Sasuke's attention was drawn from the two losers when he felt his thorn's chakra near her front door. Finally. He had showed up for training only to learn his thorn had been called in by the Hokage causing him to wait there on the sofa within her living room under unwanted and unneeded surveillance for at least an hour. It was about time his thorn showed up. The ravenette needed to scrape out more gains from her; and Sasuke couldn't do that while she was gone.
Onyx eyes watched the front door from his spot within the living room with an intensity that unnerved Moru and Riku. The moment all three of them had felt her chakra near, it was as if they didn't exist to him. The ravenette's attention was all focused on the front door when only seconds before the last Uchiha had obviously been planning each of their murders down to the last minute detail. Not to mention how this deserter had acted only two days before: just barging into Kazu's home and ripping Moru away from her as if Moru was hurting her.
The two accepted members of Team Kazu exchanged a look before watching the Uchiha closely. This man was acting odd. And his interest – or whatever the hell how he is acting could be called – was not welcome by Kazu. That much was explained crystal clear through her tear filled rant to Moru as she broke down just two days before. So, in turn, they weren't welcomed by Moru and Riku either. These – intentions – hurt her. They didn't like it when she was hurt and would do anything to make her feel better or – better yet – not be hurt at all.
He watched her enter her home smiling. His chest tightened and felt as if it coiled. A flicker of worry reared its head: what if Tsunade had changed her mind and removed him from his Kazu's team? His pride quickly squashed that idea. Sasuke had been present when Tsunade had practically ordered Kazu to stop asking for him to be removed from her team. That couldn't be it. He would always be on his thorn's team unless he said something otherwise.
This led him back to the dilemma of his thorn smiling. Why? What could possibly get her to show such happiness – even with him around? (His chest throbbed painfully for a second at that thought. Why did she never smile like that around him?) Eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he cocked his head slightly to the right.
Smoldering onyx trailed her up and down trying to find any differences to how she looked from when he last saw her two days ago. She wasn't smiling because she was smothered by that damn snake – which was fantastic. She couldn't be smiling because she got him removed from her team – he refused to even acknowledge that notion.
But she was smiling. It was small, but it was there. His ribs hurt with every loud heart beat of his own heart. Sasuke couldn't really move; he felt as if he couldn't speak. He didn't like it.
It was a mistake to let his eyes glance at the bastard and his brother, the freak. Green and blue were intensely glaring at him, daring him to just try to do anything to his thorn. Green moved from him to Kazu before the snake hugged his thorn. Blue followed the snake's example. His immobility was suddenly lifted as the urge to beat both of them into the ground replaced it with a burning passion.
The weight of such an urge didn't floor Sasuke at the moment like it seemed to have done within the Snow. How many times would he have to show them that touching her wasn't okay? He rose to his full height slowly, molten onyx never leaving the backs of the bastard and the freak. His shoulders were taught, squared; his fists kept clenching; and his teeth grinded slightly as his jaw tightened pulling his lips into a thin line.
They would pay for touching her. He would make sure of it.
"I have some great news!" He heard her excitedly exclaim as she hugged them both. Again the irrational worry tried to rear its head. No, she could never get rid of him. Sasuke moved closer only to stop on the outskirts of the little group– a funny feeling beginning to pool in his stomach.
"We are going to be able to take the Jonin exam in two weeks!" She continued without prompting from anyone. Kazu did a little hop as her golden dragon yelped in - what Sasuke assumed was - an exclamation of happiness. He watched from the un-acknowledged outskirts of their little group as her eyes sparkled and her smile widened.
Not once did she look his way or acknowledge him nor did the snake or bastard once she had entered the room. Her golden dragon didn't even glare at him either. The beast was too busy flying around the trio and landing on one of their shoulders to nuzzle them and growl only to take flight again.
The line of his mouth dropped into a frown as his eyes narrowed on them. Acknowledge him damn it.
"Seriously?" the bastard asked as he grabbed her arms. Sasuke visibly tensed this time. The blood flowing through his veins began to heat up quickly. His Kazu nodded her head as her smile grew even more, showing almost all of her teeth now. Her blonde hair, which was up in a pony tail, bounced with every movement of her head.
"Yes! We might be the second team to make it to Jonin!" Her voice rose with her excitement. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her this excited about anything. The rise in rank meant that much to her? Intense onyx stayed fixated on Kazu as she was enveloped in another round of blasphemous hugs.
No more. It was time he ended this horrid - touching fest.
"Can we get to training now?" His voice was gruff and strained. All three pairs of eyes turned to him. The snake and freak's faces morphed instantly to angry glares while his thorns smile became forced. She let go of the freak, releasing him from her hug.
"Of course, wouldn't want you to fail the test now would we?" she sarcastically bit out as the golden beast settled onto her shoulder and back. Her smile was mocking now and directed solely at him. Onyx eyes narrowed; he didn't like this smile of hers. Sapphire eyes rolled before she strolled past him, the other two in tow.
Sasuke grunted, his blood boiling within his veins, before stomping after them. She just had to be so god damn difficult and hide every leverage he could gain from him diligently. His thorn just had to fight him every moment she got. Maybe another incident like the one that happened within the Hokage's hallway would make her easier to deal with.
The corner of his mouth lifted for a moment in a small smirk. He just had to get her alone again because trying to provoke her in front of others didn't work the way he wanted at all. Sasuke learned that the hard way. Now the only question running through his mind was how would he get her alone this time?
Magenta eyes narrowed as she watched Sasuke's "new team" walk further into the blonde woman's home, away from any spying vantage points from which she wouldn't be spotted by Sasuke. She didn't like how he had acted towards the blonde; she hasn't liked it sense the aftermath of their fight in the Sand.
Impassive and un-breachable Sasuke Uchiha was an emotional roller coaster around this woman. It was obvious. Sasuke was never readable; at least when he wasn't around that bitch.
Karin could read everything about her –once believed unemotional – leader. He had wanted to kill the charcoal haired and silver haired men, and even the golden dragon that slightly intimidated her.
It was almost as if he had been entranced by her smiling; the man stood there dumbstruck for a solid minute after that bitch had walked in!
No. She wasn't going to allow this bitch to take Sasuke away from her. And Karin wasn't going to allow her to reach the rank of Jonin anytime soon either. She would kill her before then and bring Sasuke back to his senses. A smirk etched onto her lips as she moved back away from the window she was peering in.
Oh Yes. That bitch would be dead before these two weeks were up. Karin swore on her own life that she would do it.
Stalking home frustrated seemed to happen a lot to Sasuke. He knew the exact reason as to his frustrations too, and he just couldn't do anything about it. Or rather SHE thwarted everything he tried to do to alleviate his frustrations.
The plan to get her alone and gain more ground that he (desperately) needed? Failed horribly thanks to that goddamn snake and the freak. Sasuke couldn't so much as look at her without seeing one of them close to her.
It set fire to his blood and weight heavily down on his chest. Both of them touching her infuriated him, especially when he couldn't. The trio would shift away every time he stepped closer.
His breathing had been extra heavy for just throwing kuni at targets. His body grew heavier the longer he trained – the longer they touched her, the longer she allowed it to happen.
Onyx eyes melted red as he thought of one moment when that damn snake had punched her in their sparring. His thorn had been knocked off her feet; and if she hadn't rolled out of the way, she would have been killed by the kuni he threw at her. He could have killed her! Damn snake didn't know what the hell he was doing.
He had no right to either. That bastard (or the snake for that matter) weren't allowed to kill her – touch her. That was his job. His!
He needed to get rid of those two somehow. They were obstacles in his way. They kept him from what he needed. That was unacceptable. Sasuke would deal with them soon. He wanted to gain more ground with his thorn and not just hang on the cliff with his finger tips.
He needed it.
And, he was going to have a talk with Karin. He didn't like being followed or pressured into anything. She insulted him by thinking he couldn't see her or feel her outside the window at his thorn's compound. Plus, he told Team Hawk to wait; by how Karin was acting, it seemed that they didn't want too. But wait they would damn it. He clenched his fists. If Karin did something stupid he was going to kill her himself – happily.
Kazu stood underneath the shower nuzzle as it lightly sprayed her with sizzling hot water. She was surprisingly devoid of most of the tension that usually plagues her after she would have to deal with the traitor. Her head lolled back allowing the water to hit her chest and throat before running down her body and loosening her muscles even more.
Could ignoring the traitor be this beneficial? Could ignoring him help her focus on training for her promotion? She knew having him back stressed her out. But she didn't know it was that much.
She breathed in the thick steamy air deeply, closing her eyes and just feeling the water hit her skin softly. Kazu turned to let the water rinse out her hair before she began washing it. The blonde forced her thoughts from the man whose shadow she has lived in since she was twelve. Happily she allowed her thoughts to drift to her training and what she needed to work on.
After an hour of breathing in steam, Kazu decided to get out of the shower. The two major reasons to her departure from the blissful shower being that she was a living prune now and the water was starting to cool. Her movements were lethargic as she dried herself off by patting herself down with her white towel.
As she dried herself off, her hands ghosted over several of her white scars, reminders of her stay within the Akatsuki. The white scars were silk under her fingertips. Even so, she hissed as she traced some; the memory of receiving those particular ones still painful and fresh.
Kazu didn't like her scars; she didn't like the memories they gave her. Or the nightmares she had about receiving them. They shamed her. How could she have let herself get captured?
Weak.
Pathetic.
She dug her nail slightly into a rather long, more prominent scar on her stomach. The blonde had promised herself she would never feel like that again. And yet, she mused; she had felt like that ever since the traitor had showed up. A slight frown marred her features and her eyes became misty. Her chest puffed up as her shoulders squared; her hand moving to another scar.
Despite every horrible feelings they gave her, in a way she was proud of her scars. They showed what she could endure – how strong she was. Those little white lines wrote the testament to her survival.
Kazu gazed at her foggy bare reflection. The condensation on the mirror blocked her scars from being seen. A hand ran along her skin and for a moment – she was scar less, mentally and physically. She was lying to herself – she knew. But at the moment, she needed that lie. She would hold onto it tightly and covet it as she pushed forward to her promotion.
Scar less.
Unbroken.
She was strong. She would protect the Leaf from the traitor. He wouldn't break her. Kazu was done with Uchihas breaking her. Itachi's Sharigan flashed in her mind's eye. She tensed, he hand stilling over another one of her countless scars.
Not again, not anymore.
Kazu broke from her melancholy trance and hurriedly got dressed. She pulled on a comfy pair of big pajama pants and a loose razor back tank top. The dark reds and blacks of her pajamas were kind of ironic as well as her reds and blacks of room. She couldn't stand the sight of the Sharigan and yet she surrounded herself with those colors. Ironic and unexplainable.
The exhausted Hotoya dove into her warm bed and wrapped herself with her comforter, ready to dive into sleep head first. As her eyes closed, she felt Shaku snuggle close into her chest, warming her nicely. Her breathing deepened as Shaku's low rumble lulled her to sleep.
She stared into the Sharigan eyes of the traitor. They were somehow different from his brother's. She couldn't really see anything else to use as a clue to the Sharigan's owner – everything was all out of focus. But she could just tell that these eyes were Sasuke's and not Itachi's.
She could feel his breath against her cheek. Kazu felt secure – trapped. He wasn't touching her; at least she didn't feel him. Kazu could feel the rough bark of a tree behind her. It dug into her back as she tried to pull away from those eyes.
But, the tree behind her wouldn't budge. They never did. For a moment she pondered why he always seemed to corner her. How did he always corner her?
She wouldn't be cornered any longer.
Kazu began to move to the left – to get away. She was swiftly blocked by an arm caging her in. The long fingerless gloves just confirmed her suspicions. It just angered her more. Blue darted to the right to see her other escape blocked as well. Breathing out loudly, the trapped blonde settled back against the tree trunk behind her.
The traitor before her cleared in her vision as everything else became even more of a blur. She could see only him. Kazu didn't like it. Her eyes narrowed on the man trying to tower over her.
"What do you want?" She spat at him, her voice tight and angry. A small smirk played on his lips. Kazu wanted to smack it right off his face. She hated that look. The furious blonde struck quickly, raising her hand and bringing it down on his cheek as hard as she could.
He seemed stunned after she had slapped him. She smirked herself and congratulated herself on getting rid of his smirk. The red hand print forming on his cheek was just a bonus – a very satisfying bonus.
Suddenly, his body was against hers and her hands were pinned, the bark biting her skin softly. His Sharigan was spinning slowly now, shining a bright scarlet. Kazu didn't shy away as he moved closer. He was trying to intimidate her and she wouldn't let him do it.
Not this time.
Sasuke brushed his nose against hers. He's been keen on doing that, she noticed. Kazu didn't like it. The Hotoya didn't like a lot of things the Traitor did. His breath warmed her cheeks and caused shivers to race down her spine.
Stop it!
She wanted to scream. She wanted to push him away – get him to let go. She wanted –
"Stop being so stubborn." He whispered to her. Sasuke's voice was light and air; it caused her to lose hers.
Stop it!
She struggled hard, trying to get him to let go. He didn't budge.
"Stop it." He grunted out against her struggles. If anything they brought him closer. Something she didn't want – would never want.
"Just stop being so goddamn stubborn." He said before taking her lips with his.
Kazu gasped awake, shaken by her dream. Cold sweat clung to her skin. It made her feel clammy underneath her sheets. Desperately, she kicked them off of her.
Shaku watched her mistress with a growing worry. She had woken up suddenly and disturbed Shaku's sleep. The golden dragon moved closer to her sweating mistress, trying to comfort her from whatever had startled her.
Kazu couldn't exactly remember what happened in the dream she had just woken up from, but she knew it had the Traitor in it. That was enough to disturb her deeply. He was now invading her dreams? What the hell?!
Sapphire eyes looked out the window across her room to see that it was still dark outside. A small hand pressed against her chest to calm her breathing. It was too late – or too early. Either way she should get back to sleep. Tomorrow began her training for her promotion. She needed all the sleep she could get.
All though it seemed she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.