Here's a quick update for everyone! Happy new year!
Chapter Nine - Payback
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"Sasuke and Taka, you're up." We hear Kakashi lazily drawl.
His announcement brings about excited murmurs and squeals from the other Genin in the room. Even Ino and I stop moving and stare at each other, silently agreeing that we have to watch this duel. There is no way we'll let the chance to see Taka beaten and humiliated by the batch's number one Genin slip.
"Yes! Sasuke-sama can finally beat Taka-stard's dumb ass!" Ino lightly squeals as we walk towards the platform.
Ah, Uchiha Sasuke's charm...
The two males face each other on the platform wearing dissimilar expression on their faces. Taka looks happy and excited, while Sasuke is bored and uninterested-normal Sasuke face. Sasuke could not blamed for it, for his opponent is hardly a threat to him. Their physical, mental and fighting skill statistics are all in favor of Sasuke when compared.
No further questions on the mental aspect.
Sasuke sighs softly, showing his disinterest in the match; however, in a blink of an eye, he's already in front of Taka and has thrown his fist on his surprised opponent's nose.
Taken aback, Taka stumbles, but Sasuke doesn't let him fall. The Uchiha firmly grasps his opponent's shirt lapel, and then buries his right knee up on Taka's lower abdomen. Without pausing, he bends his knees a little to give the other a powerful uppercut using his left fist, which is his dominant hand.
Taka's bloodcurdling scream reverberated in the training room.
This time, he lets Taka's limp body fall on the surface. Taka is out cold, the match is finished-surprisingly the swiftest duel, by far, not exceeding a minute. I do not mean to sound like I enjoy this violence, but there were expectations this would somehow be a good fight, since they are among the top Genin of our batch, and Taka could at least hold himself up against Sasuke longer than Naruto.
None of us thought Sasuke would end it quick.
At the corner of my line of vision, Tobi makes a move to climb the platform to declare the victor, only to halt his steps when the younger Uchiha straddles Taka's body and continues to land heavy blows to Taka's face.
From our position, we can only see Sasuke's back, but we can see the blood spluttering from Taka at every angry punch of Sasuke.
Suddenly, everything just becomes blurry to me. My gaze only focused on the Uchiha crest on Sasuke's back, I could not clearly hear anything, anyone. I can feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. I can feel tremors all over my body.
What is happening? Taka is already knocked out, so why is Sasuke not stopping?
This fear... I know this feeling... It is the same as when I fought Taka... It is the same when I saw Sasuke look so dark at the clinic, for the first time.
But this time, this fear is for that boy beating the living daylights out of another boy.
This... this is not Sasuke!
Sasuke...
I want to hold him, to stop him from sinking into darkness.
Stop... Sasuke, stop...!
The Sasuke I know will not do this.
To my relief, Tobi and Kakashi finally step in, with the former pulling Sasuke away from Taka.
"Enough, Sasuke. You already won." Kakashi, who is in between Sasuke and the unconscious bloody Genin, says.
Letting out a low and angry growl, Sasuke pries his cousin's arms off of him and walks out of the training area with heavy steps, away from all of us.
Away from me.
All of us fall into deep heavy silence.
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"What are you looking at? Continue training!" Tobi snaps at us.
All of us, afraid of Tobi's temper, scrambles to go back to our own area and resume the training.
As sneakily as I could, I watch as Kakashi lifts Taka's beaten body, making me remember Sasuke's actions a while ago.
Until this fight, Sasuke's fighting style had been quick and controlled. He sometimes lets his opponents get up and try to counterattack, but then doesn't allow them to touch him, with the exception of Naruto, Shino and Idate. And then he finishes the fight less violently.
Sasuke is strong, there is no doubt about that, and I cannot deny Taka very much deserves that treatment; however, it pained me to watch Sasuke lose himself. He was never that violent. He is not the type to abuse his power over someone.
He is not the type to kill someone. I know it.
I have to run after him.
After watching him go berserk on the stage, I do not think he should be left alone for a long time. There must be a reason for his actions, and I cannot stay here in the training room, act like this is not affecting me, because as odd as it may seem, I am affected. I just have to make sure Sasuke would be alright.
While the others are preoccupied in returning to their previous stations, I take that chance to sneak out of the training room to search for Sasuke. I will just make up an excuse if I would be questioned for disappearing without permission.
Fortunately, Sasuke did not go that far. I find him sitting on the floor with both of his legs stretched lazily, his head hanging down. His arms are limp on his sides.
I don't like seeing him like this.
"How are you feeling?" I softly say as I squat beside him, but making sure to put some distance between us.
I have this sudden urge to pull him to me and brush my fingers on his hair.
Sasuke is unmoved for a moment, as if he did not hear me, until deciding to finally give me his infamous response, "Hn."
What catches my attention are his knuckles tainted by fresh blood; Taka's blood. Once again, the troubling feeling and scene come back to me.
Gently, I hold one of his hands and carefully brush my thumb on his knuckles, as if one wrong move would tear him apart. But I stop for a moment when I feel him stiffen under my touch and let him be.
Sasuke is someone who rejects physical affection, I noticed from the moment I first started training with him. The only time he lets anyone touch him is during battles, and only a few gets the privilege, while I get to have physical contact with him is whenever we spar. I eventually got used to it and respected that, but I feel Sasuke strongly needs someone to hold him right now, so I will not care about his reservations today.
"These hands..." I whisper, continuing to give soothing rubs on his skin. "...helped me a lot... saved my life many times... They shouldn't be dirtied by blood..."
Sasuke finally looks up at me, and that's when I see how dark and murderous his eyes have gotten. I almost gasp in surprise.
"They already are." He tells me, his voice laced with exhaustion. He sounded as if he has given up.
I keep my gaze firm on his. No, this is not the Sasuke I know. The Sasuke I know has deep gentle eyes which sometimes turn annoyed, determined, bored or playful. They can be intimidating, but it's nothing threatening, for he is doing it unconsciously. I have to bring that Sasuke back.
I pull out my handkerchief from my pocket and wipe the blood away from his calloused hands.
"Then I will keep on cleaning it." I say.
If he will always dirty his hands with others' blood, then I will make sure I will always be there to wipe it clean. He has saved my life, has helped me in more ways than one could imagine, and has made me strong; so I will support him using all the means I know, even if it means cleaning his mess.
Then, I find myself locked in his strong arms.
"S-Sasuke?" I shift uncomfortably. I'm afraid if he presses me closer, he will feel the rapid beating of my heart.
Once again, he surprises my by burying his face on my shoulder. My breath hitches.
"Hush. Don't move." His husky voice vibrates on my skin.
And so I obediently stay still, letting him tighten his grip on me.
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"Sakura?"
Hearing that familiar voice, I quickly pull away from Sasuke and turn around so he would not see the redness of my cheeks.
I have no idea how long-or short-we have stayed that way. He did not let go of me, so I did not move away. It's not like I wanted to pull away, either.
I look up, and regret doing it because Ino is staring down on us with a scandalized look on her face.
My body freezes in shock. Ino is the last person I expect and want to catch me and Sasuke in such a promising position. Her reaction right now is the reason behind it.
What should I tell her? Any excuse will not work on Ino, because she can still see through my lies despite now living in an environment where everyone wears different masks. Shinobi are good actors, and lying feels like second nature to them here, based on what I have observed from the day I interacted with them. Perhaps, I am not a good liar or Ino is just excellent in analyzing people.
There is no need to think of one, anyway, for the blonde immediately scurries away from us, not letting me miss her disappointment through her expression and actions.
I feel a hand firmly wrap around my wrist and I find my body pulled down to the crouched boy with me, not lifting his head up to look at me.
"Sasuke?" What's wrong?
He tightens his hold on me.
"Stay with me."
But I have to go after Ino...
"Stay, Sakura."
My chest clenches.
Why are you doing this to me, Sasuke?
Finally, Sasuke directs his gaze at me, his eyes reflecting confusion. I shoot him back with the same expression, then realize I might have spoken my thoughts out loud.
Embarrassment growing inside me, I push myself away from him and avoid meeting his gaze-after what I have said, I am afraid to see his reaction, positive or not. "S-Sorry. I might get called..." I mumble, looking down at my wrist which he held. It feels cold now that he has let go of it.
"Come back to the room when you feel like it."
Without sparing him a glance, I sprint towards the training room, not even bothering to hide myself or mind the questioning looks thrown at me by the other Genin. I automatically stand beside Hinata and Shino, seeing as Ino is not glancing my way. Besides, Hinata knew my secret with Sasuke, while Shino is on the neutral side and is not someone to judge. I catch Shikamaru staring at me, silently asking if I am okay, so I nod back at him, although we both know I am not.
To my dismay, Kakashi calls me to fight Ran, of all people.
I think her hair has gotten redder while we are fighting, I don't know. Possibly, because of what just happened to her lover, Ran becomes careless of her actions. Usually, she's more strategic than Taka, but now, it is like all logic has been thrown out of the window.
Wait, the training area has no windows.
Both of us are a wreck inside, but I am more composed than her, so I easily sneak behind her and hit a vital spot on her nape, rendering her unconscious in a less painful way, which is actually a move I learned from Sasuke.
Yay, fifteen points for me.
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22. Sakura
The training and duel session for the day reached its conclusion at three in the afternoon, and our instructors dismiss us after reminding us the end of round one will be two days from now.
Honestly, I do not even care about that for now. I immediately walk to where my fellow Transfer friends are, to see if Ino would talk to me. However, she is sticking by both Shikamaru and Kiba's side all the time, giving me no chance to even utter a single syllable at her. The two guys are sending me apologetic looks from time to time, and Idate takes the initiative to drag me with them, so I would not be alone, perhaps.
Still, the torture is heavy as we have our dinner at Yakiniku, and Idate and Sayu are being animated with me. I am not used to Ino not latching her arm on me and blow my ears off by chattering loudly and endlessly whenever we are together. I am not used to just watching Ino from a distance like this.
I am not entirely definite of Ino's reason behind her animosity towards me. I can think of two reasons:
One, Ino has been vocal on her 'admiration' for Sasuke, always gabbling how 'hot,' 'sexy,' and 'godly' Sasuke-sama is and how badly she would love to be his girl, but I know she has something going on with Shikamaru, so catching me be intimate with her crush should not be that big of a deal anymore.
We were not even that intimate.
And two, this would be strange, yet I believe Ino might be resentful to discover the weakest link has been receiving special training with the strongest Genin and the son of the Hokage.
I could not blame her, though, for I would probably feel the same way.
On the way back to the dorm, I separate from them. We normally still chat in the dorm, and I am sure I cannot bear the torment of being ignored once again. I appreciate Idate considering to convince me to come with them, but I really need some time alone, so I kindly refuse the offer.
My feet lead me to the Shinobi woods. There is a small hope of bumping into Sasuke, since he did not come back to the training area. Then again, what transpired between the two of us has blown that little hope away.
I still do not know what got into me when I blurt out those words. My confusion on his actions and intentions is genuine, but it should not have been out, especially this time. I was determined to keep my feelings to myself, and yet I just dropped a hint on Sasuke. Surely, Sasuke would avoid me like a plague from now on.
"I knew you and Sasuke are screwing each other." Kakashi said in a sing-song tune from behind me, catching me by surprise.
I turn around and shoot him a weak glare. "I don't know what 'screwing' means to you, but I can feel I won't like it, Sensei." Knowing Kakashi, it is something perverted. That orange book he's always reading is full of... censored scenes. I know, i accidentally read one line while we were discussing about chakra control. The experience was horrible.
"I'm just kidding." The silver-haired instructor laughs lightly.
"You always are." I mumble, shortly pondering when have I begun talking to the Jounin casually.
After a moment, he changed the tone of the conversation. "Why do you think I had Taka fight Sasuke?"
I merely shrug. There are times I cannot take Kakashi seriously, just like tonight. "Because you want to have fun?"
Kakashi softly chuckles while shaking his head. "Sakura, you are so dense."
"What?"
"Never mind," The silver-haired instructor leans on the trunk, his squinty eyes directed at the sky. "Just a warning, though: Don't get too close to him."
Since then, my conversation with Kakashi does not leave my mind, even if I am still clueless of who Kakashi might be pertaining to.
I do not want to stay in the Shinobi grounds alone. It suddenly feels empty yet suffocating, so I decide to walk back to The Pit and explore the place more. The Pit is astonishingly vast, considering it being underground. I might have explored only 1/4 of the entire pit.
I pass by the fast food chains first to check if I have tried every single store in that area. Recently, I have been craving for hamburgers of different kinds.
"Sakura-chan!" In the midst of my search for more hamburger stores, Naruto jogs to me smiling brightly and widely.
"Hi," I greet him back. I always feel light whenever I am with Naruto. His optimism can really be contagious.
"Where are you going?" He asks in between pants. He should not get too excited all the time.
"Nowhere in particular," I half-lie. I really have no idea where the other hamburger stores are.
Naruto suddenly blushes as he begins fiddling with his fingers. The sight is oddly familiar. Did Hinata possess him?
"Then... maybe... you could go on... a date... with me?" Naruto mumbles, "J-Just the two of us...?"
Date? Naruto is asking me out? I wonder why. I am certain he is not the type to date random girls unlike Idate...
"You look prettier with your hair down! Believe it!"
A certain raven-haired boy with dark eyes flashes in my mind, the same time I hear Kakashi's voice at the background.
"Don't get too close to him."
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I said yes to Naruto's date offer. After all, I know I cannot reject him. Not when he is blushing and stuttering and I actually found it cute.
I had fun, actually. It was a shock he did not bring me to Ichiraku, taking me out on a 'ramen picnic' on the Shinobi woods, far from the river, instead. It was so Naruto, but I probably won't have it another way. Turns out, he had been planning it for the past few days already. Then we just talked, ate and laughed. We were not even awkward, the feeling was light. It was really sweet and unexpected of him.
I suddenly feel bad while we were together. Just a week ago, I attempted on playing Cupid on Naruto and Hinata, and now I discover Naruto's feelings for me and went on a date with him. He has not confessed yet, but the signs confirm my theory.
How come I noticed it just now? What about Hinata? Doesn't Naruto like her, even just a tiny bit? She's sweeter and nicer than me. Plus, she's a Hyuuga and a natural-born Shinobi.
Maybe I really am dense.
Though, I admit Naruto can be a good lover. He is thoughtful and fun to be with, although stupid. He is quite attractive, too. I can imagine myself dating him, actually. It won't be bad, because we're good friends and I respect him.
Still, I don't want Naruto to be a rebound.
Because I like someone else, someone who would definitely not like me back.
"What should we do? We can't risk getting found out."
I stop hearing hushed male voices from a dark corner in the hallway, far from the rooms. I was taught eavesdropping is rude and wrong, but something tells me I should stay put...
"We have to quit." Quit what? That voice is familiar...
"We can't! You can't! We've reached this far now!"
"This is the only way. Our lives are in danger here..." I cover my mouth to stop myself from gasping. That voice...
"...they kill people like us."
That voice belongs to Idate.
TO BE CONTINUED
And yay, the plot thickens! Haha! Sorry I've been too busy lately.
Hope you enjoyed your holidays and let us all wish and aim for a better 2016!
cheerry