For a brief moment I caught a glimpse of the pain on Sasuke's face, the agony in his eyes. And to be honest, if I hadn't seen that brief glimpse of emotion, of concern, then I would have given up right then and there.
There was so much more I wanted to say, had on my mind, but did not get a chance to get it out and over with.
More of those goddam rogue chunin level nin decided to make a timely interjection.
I found myself rolling head over heals after Sasuke shoved me out of the way of an attack. I regained my footing and jumped to my feet to deflect a barrage of shuriken lobbed clumsily in my direction. Three nin fell from the treetops, one after the other, hoping over each other in earnest attempts to actually be a challenge.
One let out a strange airy noise after I punched them in the gut and sent them flailing into the other. The third remaining nin was a bit faster, but not fast enough to cause me to panic. More like an annoying fly that was hovering just out of arms reach to swat.
I glanced over at Sasuke where he was gliding around with his blade twirling in one hand, cloak billowing behind him like a cape.
Oh, so he wants to show off? I'll show off...
Gritting my teeth and balling my fists so hard my fingernails dug into my skin, I raised slammed the whole of my knuckles against the earth, and laid waste to our attackers.
My ankles dug into the rolling mud as trees creaked and groaned over head. A few of the smaller ones wobbled and uprooting before falling like matchsticks. The bodies were literally blown away or swallowed up by the massive cracks in the ground. A chorus of alarmed birds screeched over head, only to settle once the last of the sudden tremors subsided.
Sasuke just stood, lazily waiting, on steadier tree branch nearby. I looked up at him as he put one hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow.
"Shut up!" I snapped as I stomped out of my sinkhole. He did indeed shut up and remained absolutely silent as we continued the journey back to the Leaf. We could have been quicker, traveled at greater speed, but we just walked down the over grown dirt path. Shoulder to shoulder, the words unsaid left unsaid between us.
We reached the border between the Mist and the Leaf that night. Near a familiar looking river we settled and made camp. Under the moonlight and against the rippling water, a dense fog rolled over the marsh.
There was a deep chill that cut through me.
I paced around, back and forth, back and forth until my sandals and toes were thick with slime.
Memories of a dying twelve year old boy on a bridge had me feeling like a conflicted fool. Regardless if we stayed together, I would have to carry these feelings with me for a lifetime.
Had it been easy for him? To leave me the first time? Or had it been harder the second time, after his change of heart?
Because it had been really hard, really fucking hard for me.
Sasuke was sitting on the edge of a rotting log, staring out into the immense unknown. Perhaps he was listening to the echoes of the past as well.
He turned his head to look at me as I settled down next to him, pulled his cloak around my shoulders and leaned into him. He shifted his weight so that I was at a more comfortable angle and pulled my ankles over his knees so that I was closer. He put his chin on the top of my head as I was lulled to sleep watching the tones of silver moonlight upon the water.
a/n: i hope to get them back in konoha and interacting with other characters soon so there can be more fun moments as opposed to angsty character building, dont get me wrong, i could write endless chapters on them just travelling and pouting at each other. leave a thought if you have one, ty!