QUICK CREDITS: Sasuke Uchiha along with the series, belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Hana Uchiha is MY character, along with and Niigata. Aibara and "Songbird" belong to midnight6606. Ringo Hyuga belongs to Sunsetfire of Shinobi Way.
Don't Wither, Don't Wilt ... chapter 5 - The Hawk and The Songbird.
A/N: A SasukexSongbird chapter! This is a flash-back of what happens during that year-long time laspe with Sasuke and Songbird.
----on with the story. xxxxx!
Songbird was singing again this afternoon, but Sasuke noticed how injured her voice was beginning to sound. He should be pleased to hear the bird weep, but he didn't. Perhaps Konoha had made him softer then he had known. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, he glanced over slowly.
Orochimaru's desperate-looking face had neared his, and he was smiling wickedly. He chuckled, "She does have an decent voice, doesn't she?" Sasuke didn't answer his question, "I think it sounds much better with broken wings, hm?" So his theory was right.
"You beat her?" Sasuke asked with a very uncaring voice. Orochimaru smiled even more. What a creep.
"Well I had other people do so, but yes," Orochimaru stepped back, and put a hand on his waist, "Does it bother you?" Sasuke didn't reply right away, but didn't appear to be thinking about his answer.
He shrugged the sanin off, and sheathed his bloody sword, "Not at all," He said coldly, and moved to go home. Orochimaru chuckled behind him, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke glanced behind him once, and veered off of the path, and towards the institute. She had stopped singing by the time he had gotten to the institute.
"Damnit, Songbird," Sasuke stood in the pitch black darkness that consumed the halls. No light flowed through here, no candles were lit, it was just darkness. He closed his eyes and sighed, he felt stupid being lost. It was then that he heard the small sound coming from a nearby door. The hurt sound echoed down the hall, and hit Sasuke as a slight pang of guilt. Songbird was crying.
Sasuke found the door to the cells with ease now, and pushed it open. The sound of crying was choked out by his presence, Sasuke chuckled and moved forward. He stopped at her cell, just as the sun was beginning to move past the window. Her cell was lit up, and he winced inwardly. Her cell was covered in blood. Even worse, Songbird was covered in her own blood, though it was all crusted over and dried. And even though she appeared to be half-dead under all the dry blood, it somehow did not scratch her beauty.
Songbird glanced up at him, and squinted her eyes. Sasuke smirked. In this lighting, the girl couldn't see him - he was just a shadow against the light. Songbird shifted closer to the bars, "Have you come to hear me sing?" She asked in a hurt voice. Sasuke stared at her, and put a hand on the hilt of his chokuto.
"I've come to shut you up, Songbird."
"It's Mariko," The girl said quickly in protest. Sasuke noted her name, but didn't find it as nice as Songbird. She sighed with a shaky breath, "Are you going to kill me?" Her brown eyes dulled at the words. The Uchiha man shook his head, letting his raven hair move to break up the stale air around him.
"Killing a songbird is a sin," Sasuke said with a mild chuckle, and then put on a more serious face, "You need to stop singing," He said now with his normal, cold voice. Mariko laughed, and then made an obvious flinch. She appeared to be in a lot of pain.
"I'm not shutting up because some boy tells me to!" Mariko hissed and made it apparent that she regretted doing so, because she winced in pain again. Sasuke shook his head.
"Orochimaru will kill you," Sasuke warned in a low voice. Mariko frowned.
"What do I have to live for, anyways, hm?" The Songbird asked him with a dull gaze. Sasuke stood there for a moment, and found himself actually trying to conjure up a decent answer for her. A few moments passed, and the sun moved on. Mariko's cell was shadowed again, so Sasuke sighed and left.
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The next day, Sasuke slid through training with ease. Each day was becoming so simple, it was ridiculous. He had obviously mastered the raiton jutsu, and he was beginning to think he should learn another. Orochimaru dismissed him right around the time the sun would be seeping into the songbird's cage, and he walked past and waited to hear her singing.
She never did sing that day, and Sasuke felt a wrenching feeling in his chest. Sasuke pushed the strange feeling away, and failed. His heart pounded against his chest for the next few minutes, as if adrenaline had pushed into his system. Was he afraid for her?
The next few days continued like this. He'd be let out near-early every day, he'd walk past the institute, and hear nothing. Within a week, Sasuke had guessed that they had either brought her in for testing or they had killed her. The Uchiha didn't like the idea of people messing with his songbird, and so went in once a week after that and gave the scientist a fine reward for not using her as a test subject. They obeyed.
But still, a month later, he never heard her sing. Sasuke had thought about checking up on her, but he would only get lost in the darkness. He put his focus on other things for a while. Hana's golden birthday was coming up, and he had decided to get her something worth while.
Hissori Ryuu had turned out to be a beautiful katana, and he knew it would be perfect for Hana. He threw on clothing more suited for travel into Konoha, this being a hooded black cloak. Sasuke set out around one warm July night, and walked past the institute with Hana on his mind. But, Hana wasn't on his mind for to long that evening, because he heard the most beautiful sound in the world:
"Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves, your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower-"
Sasuke was caught by this, and tilted his head to the music. He only did this for a moment, before moving towards the institute.
"-And you, it's only seed.
It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never, takes a chance.
It's the one, who won't be taken
Who cannot, seem to give,
And the soul, afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live."
Sasuke pushed the door open the cells. Mariko paused a bit before going on. The Uchiha simply went over to her cell, and sat down in front of it. Sasuke could imagine the girl smiling, but he couldn't tell.
"When the night, has been too lonely,
And the road, has been to long,
And you think that love is only,
For the lucky, and the strong,
Just remember in the Winter,
Far beneath, the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the Sun's love,
In the Spring, becomes the rose."
Sasuke opened his eyes, and was surprised when he was able to see her. The moon was full tonight, and had slid past the windows while she had been singing. Sasuke smiled to himself. Mariko shifted closer to the bars, and leaned against them carefully. Sasuke could see the marks of whips that reached through her ripped clothes.
"So you came to hear me sing?" The songbird asked softly. She sounded stronger, which pleased Sasuke. He chuckled.
"I assumed you had headed my warning," Sasuke murmured.
"Hmph," Mariko crossed her arms against her chest and glanced up and down the rows, "I did it for these people," She whispered softly, "They like my singing, and I like singing for them," Sasuke didn't reply to this.
"Before I left, my baby sister wouldn't stop singing," Sasuke chuckled a bit and shook his head, "She was obsessing over this boy band, that I hated. I've hated most music ever since," He remembered Hana begging him for the new CD, and he refused to buy it for her. It wasn't the fondest memory he held.
Mariko smiled, "You have a sister?" She asked with a little giggle.
"M'hm," Sasuke replied coldly.
"What's her name?"
"Hana."
"And what's your name?"
Sasuke chuckled a bit, "I'll tell you later, it's not important now," He said and stood up again. Mariko looked like she was pouting.
"You know my name though."
"Fool," Sasuke chuckled, "I gave you your name, Songbird."
Songbird growled slightly before protesting, "My name is Mariko."
"I know, Songbird, I know," Sasuke shot her a smirk, though Mariko couldn't see it. He sighed, "I have to leave," Sasuke said and tightened his grip around the sheathed katana.
"Where are you going?" Mariko asked curiously. Sasuke shrugged.
"Just going to give my baby sister her birthday present." Sasuke sighed and tapped the katana to his shoulder.
"Awe," Mariko giggled, "You have a heart!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, and left for Konoha.
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Disguise was to easy to conjure up. A simple cloak, and nobody suspected you. It also helped when you walked in with a group. The group he happened to find had been a large group of genin squads who had failed the latest Chuunin Exams. Sadly, he realized that Hissori Ryuu would be no use to Hana now, because the Chuunin Exams were already being held.
What he found disappointing, was that Hana was admist the crowd. They were lingering to the side he was on, and he could easily hear their conversation.
"You guys should be ashamed of yourselves!" The greasy-haired woman spat. There was a Hyuga boy who looked like he could care less, and a white-haired girl who kept flinching at every word her sensei spoke. Hana was comforting the other girl, and appeared to be the only one paying much attention to her sensei, "This is why you should have been failed! Your lack of teamwork is ridiculous!" Hana shook her head.
"Niigata-sensei, Aibara wasn't ready to take that chance," Hana explained in very annoyed manner, "The team wasn't in it, so we made a decision," She sighed.
The woman named Niigata laughed, "How in the world is failing yourself considered teamwork!" She barked, "If you were on a mission, and one of your teammates wasn't in it, would you go on or just leave?" Niigata asked them. Now the Hyuga spoke.
"Well Sensei, look at it this way," He said briskly, "If a teammate was injured, you couldn't go on. If it was serious enough, you'd leave the mission to get them healed and fight another day," The Hyuga muttered.
Hana nodded in agreement, "Anyways, if you look on the bright side, we can train some more now." The girl laughed a little. The Hyuga faked a laugh and whacked her on the back of the head, "What the hell was that for, Ringo?" Hana growled, and hit him back.
"Damn girl, you can really hit hard!" Ringo rolled his eyes and sighed, "I'm fed up with training, it's so boring," He sighed as they neared the gates.
The white-haired girl laughed, "Well, when all the other genin are all trained and strong, while you're lying around being fed up with training, we'll see who's hitting who," She giggled a bit. Hana shrugged.
"I think I beat Ringo up enough as it is," Hana laughed and glanced at the white-haired girl, "Hey, do you want to spend the night at my house?" She asked and the girl nodded immediately. Ringo glanced over at them.
"Can I come?" He asked. The girls glanced at him suspiciously.
"Why?" The white-haired girl asked.
Ringo sighed, "If I go home tonight, I will be welcomed home to yelling and scolding," He grumbled and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Hana laughed, "Sounds reasonable enough," They entered the village then, and continued on towards the Uchiha reservation. Sasuke smiled, and disappeared into the trees when he could.
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"SURPRISE!"
The sound of laughing managed to make its way through into Hana's room. Sasuke finished writing the note quickly, and set it down atop the sheathed katana. He sighed, and pushed himself out of the window, and settled into one of the trees.
It didn't take long for Hana to find her present. She entered her room laughing, and then sighed tiredly. Her silver gaze moved to the katana, and she reached for the note cautiously. Hana read it over a couple of times, by the looks of it, and glanced out the window. Sasuke thought for a moment that she had spotted him, but she looked back down, and grabbed the blade from it's sheathe. Sasuke smiled as she admired it - Hana seemed to like it, because he could see tears in her eyes - and decided that he had spent enough time here.
He had been glad to see his sister. Sasuke had to admit, it was amazing how much she'd grown. Surprisingly, he didn't feel sad about leaving. For some reason, he thought it was because of Mariko, but he couldn't be sure.
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Once Sasuke returned to Otogakure, he continued going through his normal routine; he'd train, and then go home and sleep for a while, before waking up in the middle of the night and go to Mariko's cell where he'd listen to her sing, and then they'd talk.
They didn't talk about much. He learned a lot about Mariko. Oddly enough, she had lived in Konoha. Mariko had been in a grade lower then Sasuke, but to his disappointment, graduated at the same time he did. She was stolen from Konoha when Orochimaru found out that her parents knew some ancient healing methods which he needed. Mariko had heard word recently that they had died, and so she had began to sing the songs that they used to play.
Sasuke found himself enjoying these visits to much. He'd stop visiting her for a couple of days, but would eventually go to listen to her sing again. She was almost like a drug, he concluded on, though he never admitted his addiction.
This went on for months. It went on long enough that the leaves had turned ablaze and had fallen from the trees, snow covered the ground soon after, and then before he knew it, it melted away. Birds had migrated back up north months ago, and the cicadas were just beginning to chirp during the hottest part of the days. Sasuke was living a happy life up here, but one day, it just had to change.
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Sasuke let his sharingon fade, and sheathed his blade in its sheathe. About 500 men lay around him, all wounded and moaning with pain. He sat him self down on a nearby man, and looked up at Orochimaru was a cold expression. The serpentine sanin glanced around, and placed his hands on his hips, "You're to soft Sasuke," He shook his head, "You need to be merciless in front of your enemies," He sighed.
Sasuke stood up and glared at Orochimaru, "I only need to be merciless in front of him," He said coldly, and walked away.
The Uchiha came upon a nice surprise when he walked past the institute. His songbird was being whipped in front of a whole group of test subjects, "See this!" The man holding the whip laughed, "This is what happens to those with hope!" He whipped her again. Sasuke put a hand on his blade, and ran forward.
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Mariko winced, expecting another lashing to come upon her. But it never came. She opened one eye, and then another. Her punisher was sliced in half at her feet, she could see his guts spilling out from him, and the stench of death touched her nose. When she looked up to see who had done this, she found a familiar figure painted black against the setting sun.
"It's you."
He didn't answer, but merely stepped forward. His face came into few, and she stared at the mystery man for the first time in her life. She instantly recognized him from the Academy, though she couldn't recall his name, all she remembered was that he was an Uchiha, and a heart throb. She stared at him with wide brown eyes. The Uchiha smirked, and Mariko felt her heart leap up into her throat.
"Here's the deal, Songbird," He said, and leaned closer to her, "I'll get you out of here, if you want," The Uchiha smirked some more. As much as she wanted to get herself out of here, she glanced around to the others who had been watching her get beat. There eyes held longing, for they wanted to be free as well. She couldn't.
"I'll get the others out as well."
Mariko nodded. The Uchiha smiled.
"On one condition though, Mariko," The girl looked at him with mild surprise. He had never said her real name, and she had to admit she liked the way he said it. Her brown eyes stared at him expectantly, and she waited for him to go on, "You come back to Konoha, with me."
Mariko tilted her head slightly, "With you?"
"With me. You'll be mine, and I'll be yours," Sasuke said slowly, and moved closer to Mariko. He moved his blade to break the rope that secured her from above. Mariko felt relief run through her arms, and then the pain moving down her back. She fell into his arms without a choice, and looked up at him, "Mariko, I'll set you free, if you'll marry me."
Mariko smiled slightly, but was suddenly pushed back by the Uchiha and onto the ground. She was instantly angry at the raven-haired asshole, but she quickly saw why he had done such a thing. When she glanced up, she found Sasuke pointing his blade towards Orochimaru. Pure chakra and electricity had extended from his blade, and had pierced Orochimaru in the chest.
"Sasuke, you-" Orochimaru choked out a mouthful of blood, and slumped forward. Sasuke sheathed his blade again, and grabbed Mariko back up into his arms again.
"You were saying, Mariko?" Sasuke chuckled a bit as Mariko groaned in pain.
"Yes, Sasuke Uchiha, I'll marry you," She said in a rather grumpy tone. Sasuke smiled, and kissed Mariko passionately. Mariko didn't hesitate to kiss back.
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QUICK BIO: Mariko "Songbird" Uchiha
Birthday: March 20
Element: Wind
Family: Unknown.
Appearance: Warm brown hair with warm brown eyes.
Clothing: Her clothes aren't anything to look at, just some bloody rags at the moment.
Guess What?: Mariko didn't come into the picture until the original owner of the forum restarted the plot. Sasuke and Mariko were originally both of Konoha - I was against the whole, Sasuke in the Sound Village thing, and since I role-played Sasuke... ya - and they met by going on a mission together. They started liking each other when Sasuke gave Mariko a massage or something like that... That didn't last long. When the plot was restarted a second time, this happened, but in a slightly different way. Sasuke saved Mariko the first day he heard her sing, and kept her as a "slave/servant" - or that's what he told Orochimaru - and they got to know each other when Sasuke changed Mariko's bandages, which went around her chest and torso... Anyways. Mariko never really sang any of these two songs that were given in the chapters, the song she original sang was "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan.
---*The lyrics are from Aoi Teshima's "The Rose".