Love and Death
Disclaimer: I envy you, Masashi Kishimoto-san...
A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I was kinda slacking off...eheheh...because of the long weekend and everything. Anyway, this chapter was inspired! And, due to a specific review I had, I realized that some of you might also be confused in this area. No, this is not a love triangle. It's kinda throwing you off, cuz I thought that would be fun, but oh well. Anyway, I'm not telling you how the "love" stuff is turning out, but now at least you know it's not a love triangle...although it may seem like that in this chapter. Yosha! Now that that's done, on with the story! (Oh, some of the characters I used in the beginning part, I used the original name from the series, but kinda made them into my own characters, ok?)
Chapter 10-
His and Her Circumstances **no, don't own that either**
Somewhere in the wind country...
A group of four was sprawled in the small, cramped room. None spoke, the still air consumed them. Sudden footsteps broke the silence. A dark figure emerged from a door off to the left of the room. He looked around at them all, smirking slightly.
A deep, raspy voice erupted from the man's throat as he began to speak. "The Jounin from the Konoha village are heading in our direction, it seems. I suppose that Naruto-kun is not such a bad Hokage for their village after all...he's already figured me out. It seems we will have to throw them off."
The girl, once lying in a chair off to the back of the room, now came forward. Her pink hair fell forward, the hat she wore on her head shadowed her eyes. Kneeling before him, looking nowhere but at the ground, she asked him, "Orochimaru-sama, we are willing and ready."
Orochimaru, too, knelt in front of her and placed a hand on her cheek. He began to rub it slowly, looking her in the eye. "So loyal, are you not?" he asked her. She didn't answer, but her eyes had grown wide. Smirking once more, he removed his hand and got up slowly. "This is not a 'we' effort, Tayuya. I need you."
She looked up at him suddenly, revealing bronze coloured eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked him in a hushed tone. Surely she alone would not be sent to do this task.
He turned and walked away from her. "You are both female and skilled in genjutsu. These two qualities qualify you, and only you, to do this favour for me." Facing the girl once more, he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for her to speak. She would not refuse him. If she did...she would pay.
"H-hai, Orochimaru-sama. What is it, exactly, that I am so qualified for?" Finally, she got off her knees and stood, opposite him.
"Sasuke-kun...he is with the Konoha shinobi, on his way to this country. I need you to help create a rift between his team and him. After all, it should be much easier for his to betray those whom he loves the most if he feels that they have betrayed him."
The other three subordinates sat up in their seats immediately. A tall, lanky brown-haired man who much resembled a spider spoke up. "Orochimaru-sama, are you going to..."
"You aren't that stupid after all, Kidoumarou." The man Orochimaru left the room.
To his departing figure, the four shinobi stood and bowed jerkily, as they all murmured, "Hai, Orochimaru-sama."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*
As they walked through the forest, Team 00 was quieter than usual. The rustle of the trees, the whistling of the breeze, and the sound of footsteps were all that could be heard.
The heat of the sun was felt by every creature in the forest, and as the sun descended lower and lower, its heat began to decline also. The fresh smell of the flowers bunched together at the base of every tree wafted delicately through the never-ending wilderness, teasing the senses. It was a day of calm...and peace.
Yet this could not be understood by the minds of the three shinobi who walked down the winding dirt pathway. Minds which were, in the least, wreaking havoc upon the three. Terrible thoughts clashed...catastrophic. Their exterior features were tranquil, and because of this they betrayed their innermost emotions.
Neji stopped suddenly. "Minna...I think it would do us all good if we took a break about now." He didn't wait for the others' reply. Hands tucked behind his head, he sat upon the trunk of a nearby tree, face turned upward, eyes closed. Soon, soft breaths could be heard.
Miharu's face softened. "Heh. Even Neji has to sleep at one time or the other." She yawned unexpectedly, grinning sheepishly at the look that Sasuke gave her. "What the hell are you lookin' at?" She joked. "I think I need to get some sleep too. You should, too, Sasuke. You look like all hell just broke loose." Walking over to a tree, slightly away from the others, she sprawled underneath its shade. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Sasuke warily scanned his two comrades. They were right. What they were doing now had nothing to do with any mission of any sort. This was probably as close to a vacation as they were going to get for a while anyway. And there was absolutely no use in him standing guard, anyway. No one would be after them for the next couple of days, anyway. Besides, Orochimaru probably didn't realize they were after him anyway.
Thinking of the ninja, Sasuke clutched his neck. There was no pain...for now. Yet still, Sasuke ran his fingers along his curse seal. Just the thought of Orochimaru made him want to kill somebody. Anybody. He clenched his fists, so hard that he began to bleed. 'I have to get out of here!' he thought to himself. 'Otherwise I don't know what I might do...'
Running quickly, he made a jump for a tree just off to his left. Using the technique Kakashi-sensei had taught Team 07 when they were in the forest, Sasuke gathered his chakra in the balls of his feet. Running along the top of the trees, he thought to himself. Really thought, for the first time in a long while. Thought about everything, from the destruction of his clan because of Itachi, his graduation from to academy, the first time he had met Sakura and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, his first encounter with Orochimaru in the Death Forest...all the way to the near death of Hyuuga Hinata because of her cousin, his graduation from Genin to Chuunin...joining up with Neji and Miharu to become Team 00...becoming Jounin...and then, finally, the death of his brother, only a while ago, at the mercy of his own hands.
Remembering this, he looked down at his hands, now bleeding. "Humph." Grabbing a roll of bandages from his pack, he wrapped it around both his hands. Finally finishing, he tossed it back into his pouch.
He stopped suddenly, realizing he had been running steadily for little over an hour now. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, and a purplish glow covered the forest. "Kuso..." he swore silently to himself. "I wonder if they've realized that I've gone yet."
Back on the other side of the Forest
Neji and Miharu: ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz.......
(sweatdrop -__-*)
Back to Sasuke...
Jumping from the top branch of the tree, Sasuke landed squarely on his feet. He looked around himself. "I guess, I might as well get some sleep while I'm here." He yawned.
Leaning against the trunk of the tree, he slid down slowly until he was sitting upon the rough floor. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head onto his knees and fell asleep.
*****Day 2-Final day of Vacation *****
Miharu woke with a start, brushing away the leaf which had fallen on her face. Stretching, she got up and looked around, only to see that Neji was still asleep, and Sasuke was...Sasuke was...
"Ne..." Miharu said to herself (Nope, she's not crazy), "Where'd Sasuke go off to?" Careful not to wake Neji, she walked down the path a bit more, towards where Sasuke had gone the day before. "Sasuke!" She called out, hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound of her voice. "Sasuke! Where are you?"
Dropping her hands to her side, she shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "Oh, whatever. He'll be fine on his own." However, her conscience wouldn't leave her alone.
'Hey! Don't you love him?' it asked her.
"Don't you even dare use that one on me!" She warned it, wagging her finger warningly. "Of course I do, but he's stronger than me!"
'What does that have to do with anything?'
"Exactly! No, wait...forget what I just said! He's a big boy...he can take care of himself now!" Miharu reasoned.
'WHATever!' her conscience waved Miharu's words away.
"Hang on...stop for a second...Why the hell am I even arguing with myself?"
'Who knows?' And with a POOF her conscience disappeared.
(Heh...too irresistible!) Miharu shook her head furiously and walked back to camp.
Neji, now awake, looked at her with little concern. "So, are you going to tell me where you were or not?" He asked her, as he got up and began clearing their things away.
"So I don't have to if I don't want to?" She questioned him innocently. However, it didn't work. He evil-eyed her. Waving her hands in defeat, she laughed nervously. "Wakatta, wakatta yo! I was looking for Sasuke. He must'a gotten lost by himself somehow while we were sleeping last night." 'Oh, yeah, and I was also arguing with myself over whether or not I should go off looking for him.' She added silently to herself.
Neji looked at her strangely, then resumed his clean up. "Him? He wouldn't have gotten lost. He's somewhere in this area, trust me. We can both go and look for him when I'm done with this."
Miharu just stood off to the side, watching Neji watch her. Suddenly, he growled "Well? Are you going to help or just stand there like an idiot?"
"O-of course." Walking over, she began to help him clean. Then, it sunk in. Dropping everything she was carrying, she pointed at him accusingly. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IDIOT, YOU ASSHOLE? YOU WANT TO START SOME SHIT NOW THAT SASUKE ISN'T HERE TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS???"
Neji chuckled softly, and it caught Miharu so off guard that she forgot to push the subject. Soon, she was laughing to. "Well," she started, spirits lifted. "We might as well hurry up so that we can find Sasuke. We have to head back to the village anyway."
Neji nodded, and they did just that.
*
Sasuke awoke somewhere around midday. The sun was at it's peak, and bright light washed over his face. Blinking his eyes rapidly to get them to adjust, he stifled a yawn and stretched. Getting up slowly, he sighed. "Those two have probably already woken up...and realized that I'm not there."
Leaning against the same tree he had fallen asleep under, he wondered whether they were going to come and look for him, or if he should go back to camp. After contemplating for some time, he figured that if they were going to have searched for him, they would have found him by now. "Guess that means I'm going back to camp..."
He was about to jump into the trees when a faint sound reached his eyes. Stopping all movements, he cupped his hand around his ear and listened. Was that someone...crying? Sasuke had seen enough tears to last him a lifetime. However, no matter how cold he could be at times, he decided that he would find out what was going on.
Heading in the direction of the sobs, he stopped suddenly. A young girl was on the ground, crying. She had pink hair...green eyes... "Sakura?" He gasped. "What's wrong?" He walked toward her, on guard the whole time.
'Perfect...' Tayuya thought to herself. 'The girl is bound to find him here soon. When she does, won't she be surprised!' Getting up slowly, she staggered, and Sasuke caught her. Her eyes glinted maliciously under her ragged hair. 'He does think it's Sakura!' she thought giddily. 'Won't Orochimaru-sama be pleased!'
Sasuke let go of the girl and looked at her. Exactly like Sakura. It had to be her. "What happened?" He asked her. The girl didn't answer. Instead, she walked up to Sasuke and grasped him in a tight hold, head resting on her chest, tears falling upon his shirt.
Unconsciously, One of Sasuke's hands rested itself around the girl's tiny waist. "It's ok now." He told her, still a bit nervous. They stood there like that, her arms around his neck, his one arm around her waist.
*
Miharu and Neji stood on a branch of an unusually tall tree. "We don't have the time to waste. You go that way..." Neji pointed straight ahead. "And I'll go to the left. Meet back here," He twirled a kunai in his hand and threw it into the branch of the tree, "in ten minutes. With or without Sasuke."
Miharu nodded. "Ryoukkai!" she said.
"Right." Said Neji. "Go!" Both he and Miharu sped off in their respective directions.
*
Miharu heard sobbing. Stopping suddenly, she veered off her path and towards her right. Seeing two figures in what seemed like a private kind of conversation, she used her chakra to conceal herself, and tried to hide the rest of her chakra so that neither of the two could sense her. She walked forward carefully, not making a sound, and then stopped.
Horror filled every part of her body, and made itself shown upon her face. Slowly, her guise depleted, and she could be seen the naked eye. "S- sasuke...?" She stared at the two in front of her.
Sasuke's head turned toward her slowly, sadness drowning out any other emotion. He looked at her hopelessly, helplessly. He looked at her for as long as she looked at him. Tears welled up in her eyes, and began dripping slowly down her cheeks. And yet still, Sasuke just looked at her.
Taking one step back, then two, then three, she turned her back on him and began to run, the tears flying from her eyes. And yet still, Sasuke just looked.
Miharu's p.o.v
'In that moment, my heart shattered into tiny pieces. See...? They're lying on the floor.'
Sasuke's p.o.v
'I'm drowning in her tears...I feel like I'm going to die...'
Using her strength, she summoned enough chakra to once more conceal herself. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Running blindly, she managed to trip and fall into the dirt. Not bothering to get up, she crawled over to the nearest tree and began to sob hysterically. She didn't even notice the figure in front of her.
"You really can be so stupid sometimes. Just because I can't see you, it doesn't mean I can't hear you."
Releasing her chakra, Miharu revealed herself. She didn't bother to argue back, and she didn't bother to move over. She just stayed where she was and continued to cry.
Neji walked over to her and bent down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yo...what's wrong?" He asked her.
Shrinking back, she screamed at him, "Sawannai de!" (Don't touch me!)
Neji pulled away his hand and his face hardened once more. "Mo ii yo." He said to himself. Placing his back against her tree, he slid down so that he sat beside the girl. Still sobbing, she unconsciously placed her head on his shoulder. After a while, she fell asleep. Neji, realizing this, didn't try to move at all.
Near to a half hour later, having finally freed himself from the girl, whom he had realized was not Sakura, Sasuke bounded through the forest, looking for Miharu. Stopping suddenly, he looked onward with a shocked expression on his face. He had found her.
And she was not alone. Her head was placed on none other but Neji's shoulder, and she was seemingly asleep. Sasuke black eyes narrowed furiously. He glared wickedly at his comrade, who was lazily staring at the sky.
"I'm going to kill you...that's a promise."
End Chapter 10!
A/N: So, that was the long awaited chapter. It was sort of longer than the others. I was kind of surprised myself. Anyway, I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be up, so you're just going to have to look out for it. This fic should be done pretty soon. Maybe in the next four or five chapters. Oh, and another thing, as for Tayuya, I'm not too sure if that's her name, so I'll double check and then if it isn't, I'll fix it. Same goes for Jirobou and they're descriptions. I might have gotten them mixed up, so yeah...anyway! I'll update soon, hopefully! Ja ne!
A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I was kinda slacking off...eheheh...because of the long weekend and everything. Anyway, this chapter was inspired! And, due to a specific review I had, I realized that some of you might also be confused in this area. No, this is not a love triangle. It's kinda throwing you off, cuz I thought that would be fun, but oh well. Anyway, I'm not telling you how the "love" stuff is turning out, but now at least you know it's not a love triangle...although it may seem like that in this chapter. Yosha! Now that that's done, on with the story! (Oh, some of the characters I used in the beginning part, I used the original name from the series, but kinda made them into my own characters, ok?)
Chapter 10-
His and Her Circumstances **no, don't own that either**
Somewhere in the wind country...
A group of four was sprawled in the small, cramped room. None spoke, the still air consumed them. Sudden footsteps broke the silence. A dark figure emerged from a door off to the left of the room. He looked around at them all, smirking slightly.
A deep, raspy voice erupted from the man's throat as he began to speak. "The Jounin from the Konoha village are heading in our direction, it seems. I suppose that Naruto-kun is not such a bad Hokage for their village after all...he's already figured me out. It seems we will have to throw them off."
The girl, once lying in a chair off to the back of the room, now came forward. Her pink hair fell forward, the hat she wore on her head shadowed her eyes. Kneeling before him, looking nowhere but at the ground, she asked him, "Orochimaru-sama, we are willing and ready."
Orochimaru, too, knelt in front of her and placed a hand on her cheek. He began to rub it slowly, looking her in the eye. "So loyal, are you not?" he asked her. She didn't answer, but her eyes had grown wide. Smirking once more, he removed his hand and got up slowly. "This is not a 'we' effort, Tayuya. I need you."
She looked up at him suddenly, revealing bronze coloured eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked him in a hushed tone. Surely she alone would not be sent to do this task.
He turned and walked away from her. "You are both female and skilled in genjutsu. These two qualities qualify you, and only you, to do this favour for me." Facing the girl once more, he folded his arms across his chest, waiting for her to speak. She would not refuse him. If she did...she would pay.
"H-hai, Orochimaru-sama. What is it, exactly, that I am so qualified for?" Finally, she got off her knees and stood, opposite him.
"Sasuke-kun...he is with the Konoha shinobi, on his way to this country. I need you to help create a rift between his team and him. After all, it should be much easier for his to betray those whom he loves the most if he feels that they have betrayed him."
The other three subordinates sat up in their seats immediately. A tall, lanky brown-haired man who much resembled a spider spoke up. "Orochimaru-sama, are you going to..."
"You aren't that stupid after all, Kidoumarou." The man Orochimaru left the room.
To his departing figure, the four shinobi stood and bowed jerkily, as they all murmured, "Hai, Orochimaru-sama."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*
As they walked through the forest, Team 00 was quieter than usual. The rustle of the trees, the whistling of the breeze, and the sound of footsteps were all that could be heard.
The heat of the sun was felt by every creature in the forest, and as the sun descended lower and lower, its heat began to decline also. The fresh smell of the flowers bunched together at the base of every tree wafted delicately through the never-ending wilderness, teasing the senses. It was a day of calm...and peace.
Yet this could not be understood by the minds of the three shinobi who walked down the winding dirt pathway. Minds which were, in the least, wreaking havoc upon the three. Terrible thoughts clashed...catastrophic. Their exterior features were tranquil, and because of this they betrayed their innermost emotions.
Neji stopped suddenly. "Minna...I think it would do us all good if we took a break about now." He didn't wait for the others' reply. Hands tucked behind his head, he sat upon the trunk of a nearby tree, face turned upward, eyes closed. Soon, soft breaths could be heard.
Miharu's face softened. "Heh. Even Neji has to sleep at one time or the other." She yawned unexpectedly, grinning sheepishly at the look that Sasuke gave her. "What the hell are you lookin' at?" She joked. "I think I need to get some sleep too. You should, too, Sasuke. You look like all hell just broke loose." Walking over to a tree, slightly away from the others, she sprawled underneath its shade. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Sasuke warily scanned his two comrades. They were right. What they were doing now had nothing to do with any mission of any sort. This was probably as close to a vacation as they were going to get for a while anyway. And there was absolutely no use in him standing guard, anyway. No one would be after them for the next couple of days, anyway. Besides, Orochimaru probably didn't realize they were after him anyway.
Thinking of the ninja, Sasuke clutched his neck. There was no pain...for now. Yet still, Sasuke ran his fingers along his curse seal. Just the thought of Orochimaru made him want to kill somebody. Anybody. He clenched his fists, so hard that he began to bleed. 'I have to get out of here!' he thought to himself. 'Otherwise I don't know what I might do...'
Running quickly, he made a jump for a tree just off to his left. Using the technique Kakashi-sensei had taught Team 07 when they were in the forest, Sasuke gathered his chakra in the balls of his feet. Running along the top of the trees, he thought to himself. Really thought, for the first time in a long while. Thought about everything, from the destruction of his clan because of Itachi, his graduation from to academy, the first time he had met Sakura and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, his first encounter with Orochimaru in the Death Forest...all the way to the near death of Hyuuga Hinata because of her cousin, his graduation from Genin to Chuunin...joining up with Neji and Miharu to become Team 00...becoming Jounin...and then, finally, the death of his brother, only a while ago, at the mercy of his own hands.
Remembering this, he looked down at his hands, now bleeding. "Humph." Grabbing a roll of bandages from his pack, he wrapped it around both his hands. Finally finishing, he tossed it back into his pouch.
He stopped suddenly, realizing he had been running steadily for little over an hour now. The sun was dipping below the horizon now, and a purplish glow covered the forest. "Kuso..." he swore silently to himself. "I wonder if they've realized that I've gone yet."
Back on the other side of the Forest
Neji and Miharu: ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz.......
(sweatdrop -__-*)
Back to Sasuke...
Jumping from the top branch of the tree, Sasuke landed squarely on his feet. He looked around himself. "I guess, I might as well get some sleep while I'm here." He yawned.
Leaning against the trunk of the tree, he slid down slowly until he was sitting upon the rough floor. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head onto his knees and fell asleep.
*****Day 2-Final day of Vacation *****
Miharu woke with a start, brushing away the leaf which had fallen on her face. Stretching, she got up and looked around, only to see that Neji was still asleep, and Sasuke was...Sasuke was...
"Ne..." Miharu said to herself (Nope, she's not crazy), "Where'd Sasuke go off to?" Careful not to wake Neji, she walked down the path a bit more, towards where Sasuke had gone the day before. "Sasuke!" She called out, hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound of her voice. "Sasuke! Where are you?"
Dropping her hands to her side, she shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "Oh, whatever. He'll be fine on his own." However, her conscience wouldn't leave her alone.
'Hey! Don't you love him?' it asked her.
"Don't you even dare use that one on me!" She warned it, wagging her finger warningly. "Of course I do, but he's stronger than me!"
'What does that have to do with anything?'
"Exactly! No, wait...forget what I just said! He's a big boy...he can take care of himself now!" Miharu reasoned.
'WHATever!' her conscience waved Miharu's words away.
"Hang on...stop for a second...Why the hell am I even arguing with myself?"
'Who knows?' And with a POOF her conscience disappeared.
(Heh...too irresistible!) Miharu shook her head furiously and walked back to camp.
Neji, now awake, looked at her with little concern. "So, are you going to tell me where you were or not?" He asked her, as he got up and began clearing their things away.
"So I don't have to if I don't want to?" She questioned him innocently. However, it didn't work. He evil-eyed her. Waving her hands in defeat, she laughed nervously. "Wakatta, wakatta yo! I was looking for Sasuke. He must'a gotten lost by himself somehow while we were sleeping last night." 'Oh, yeah, and I was also arguing with myself over whether or not I should go off looking for him.' She added silently to herself.
Neji looked at her strangely, then resumed his clean up. "Him? He wouldn't have gotten lost. He's somewhere in this area, trust me. We can both go and look for him when I'm done with this."
Miharu just stood off to the side, watching Neji watch her. Suddenly, he growled "Well? Are you going to help or just stand there like an idiot?"
"O-of course." Walking over, she began to help him clean. Then, it sunk in. Dropping everything she was carrying, she pointed at him accusingly. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IDIOT, YOU ASSHOLE? YOU WANT TO START SOME SHIT NOW THAT SASUKE ISN'T HERE TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS???"
Neji chuckled softly, and it caught Miharu so off guard that she forgot to push the subject. Soon, she was laughing to. "Well," she started, spirits lifted. "We might as well hurry up so that we can find Sasuke. We have to head back to the village anyway."
Neji nodded, and they did just that.
*
Sasuke awoke somewhere around midday. The sun was at it's peak, and bright light washed over his face. Blinking his eyes rapidly to get them to adjust, he stifled a yawn and stretched. Getting up slowly, he sighed. "Those two have probably already woken up...and realized that I'm not there."
Leaning against the same tree he had fallen asleep under, he wondered whether they were going to come and look for him, or if he should go back to camp. After contemplating for some time, he figured that if they were going to have searched for him, they would have found him by now. "Guess that means I'm going back to camp..."
He was about to jump into the trees when a faint sound reached his eyes. Stopping all movements, he cupped his hand around his ear and listened. Was that someone...crying? Sasuke had seen enough tears to last him a lifetime. However, no matter how cold he could be at times, he decided that he would find out what was going on.
Heading in the direction of the sobs, he stopped suddenly. A young girl was on the ground, crying. She had pink hair...green eyes... "Sakura?" He gasped. "What's wrong?" He walked toward her, on guard the whole time.
'Perfect...' Tayuya thought to herself. 'The girl is bound to find him here soon. When she does, won't she be surprised!' Getting up slowly, she staggered, and Sasuke caught her. Her eyes glinted maliciously under her ragged hair. 'He does think it's Sakura!' she thought giddily. 'Won't Orochimaru-sama be pleased!'
Sasuke let go of the girl and looked at her. Exactly like Sakura. It had to be her. "What happened?" He asked her. The girl didn't answer. Instead, she walked up to Sasuke and grasped him in a tight hold, head resting on her chest, tears falling upon his shirt.
Unconsciously, One of Sasuke's hands rested itself around the girl's tiny waist. "It's ok now." He told her, still a bit nervous. They stood there like that, her arms around his neck, his one arm around her waist.
*
Miharu and Neji stood on a branch of an unusually tall tree. "We don't have the time to waste. You go that way..." Neji pointed straight ahead. "And I'll go to the left. Meet back here," He twirled a kunai in his hand and threw it into the branch of the tree, "in ten minutes. With or without Sasuke."
Miharu nodded. "Ryoukkai!" she said.
"Right." Said Neji. "Go!" Both he and Miharu sped off in their respective directions.
*
Miharu heard sobbing. Stopping suddenly, she veered off her path and towards her right. Seeing two figures in what seemed like a private kind of conversation, she used her chakra to conceal herself, and tried to hide the rest of her chakra so that neither of the two could sense her. She walked forward carefully, not making a sound, and then stopped.
Horror filled every part of her body, and made itself shown upon her face. Slowly, her guise depleted, and she could be seen the naked eye. "S- sasuke...?" She stared at the two in front of her.
Sasuke's head turned toward her slowly, sadness drowning out any other emotion. He looked at her hopelessly, helplessly. He looked at her for as long as she looked at him. Tears welled up in her eyes, and began dripping slowly down her cheeks. And yet still, Sasuke just looked at her.
Taking one step back, then two, then three, she turned her back on him and began to run, the tears flying from her eyes. And yet still, Sasuke just looked.
Miharu's p.o.v
'In that moment, my heart shattered into tiny pieces. See...? They're lying on the floor.'
Sasuke's p.o.v
'I'm drowning in her tears...I feel like I'm going to die...'
Using her strength, she summoned enough chakra to once more conceal herself. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Running blindly, she managed to trip and fall into the dirt. Not bothering to get up, she crawled over to the nearest tree and began to sob hysterically. She didn't even notice the figure in front of her.
"You really can be so stupid sometimes. Just because I can't see you, it doesn't mean I can't hear you."
Releasing her chakra, Miharu revealed herself. She didn't bother to argue back, and she didn't bother to move over. She just stayed where she was and continued to cry.
Neji walked over to her and bent down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yo...what's wrong?" He asked her.
Shrinking back, she screamed at him, "Sawannai de!" (Don't touch me!)
Neji pulled away his hand and his face hardened once more. "Mo ii yo." He said to himself. Placing his back against her tree, he slid down so that he sat beside the girl. Still sobbing, she unconsciously placed her head on his shoulder. After a while, she fell asleep. Neji, realizing this, didn't try to move at all.
Near to a half hour later, having finally freed himself from the girl, whom he had realized was not Sakura, Sasuke bounded through the forest, looking for Miharu. Stopping suddenly, he looked onward with a shocked expression on his face. He had found her.
And she was not alone. Her head was placed on none other but Neji's shoulder, and she was seemingly asleep. Sasuke black eyes narrowed furiously. He glared wickedly at his comrade, who was lazily staring at the sky.
"I'm going to kill you...that's a promise."
End Chapter 10!
A/N: So, that was the long awaited chapter. It was sort of longer than the others. I was kind of surprised myself. Anyway, I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be up, so you're just going to have to look out for it. This fic should be done pretty soon. Maybe in the next four or five chapters. Oh, and another thing, as for Tayuya, I'm not too sure if that's her name, so I'll double check and then if it isn't, I'll fix it. Same goes for Jirobou and they're descriptions. I might have gotten them mixed up, so yeah...anyway! I'll update soon, hopefully! Ja ne!