Was he immortal or has she been lied to?
Tayuya found herself wondering.
It was so confusing but comforting to see him again. It felt so assuring that he was holding her as a husband would hold his bride as he flashed past the branches. It felt like one of those romantic movies where a cursed couple was escaping their cursed home to ind freedom, the man holding his beloved tightly in his arms - not that it was the case with another girl following closely behind but what the hell... You could believe whatever the hell you want when you are kind of laying there with half-a-conscience, right?
So with that belief, she continued to imagine things.
But no such imagination went on forever as her consciousness began to return within her and she now grasped the situation that she was placed in.
Sakon was alive.
That was enough to make her jerk awake, drawing Sakon's attention to her. "Finally awake?" He asked her.
Tayuya did not know what to say. Millions of things rushed to her throat but her mouth did not know how to form it into words. Her voice did little to cooperate. Maybe about thirty seconds later of just gawking at him, she finally said a very unromantic thing. "How are you alive, you shithead?"
Sakon chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"
Tayuya pushed back her tears beginning to climb into her eyes again. "I asked you first," She said.
Sakon ran his finger through her hair, making her shiver. "Aren't you glad to see me?" He purred.
Dammit, how did he have the time - or reflexes, rather - to do this to her and watch out for the tree branches at the same time?
"Stop that," Tayuya said, against her will. What in the hell kind of question was Aren't you glad to see me? Why doesn't he go up to a freaking beggar who starved for three years, offer him a delicious meal and ask him "Aren't you glad to eat?" God dammit, of course she was fucking glad to see him! He was the reason for her sorrow! He was the reason that she drank and slept with all those men, thinking it was him! He was the one she missed the whole entire time and what does he have to say other than "Aren't you glad to see me?"
Ryoko looked at them sharply. "Sakon, focus on trying to get to our area. Mess around later!" And "Mess around later" meant with her, not Tayuya.
"We can't get there tonight," Sakon said. "It's kind of far. But isn't it funny? I told that copy ninja - Hatake Kakashi, was it? I told him that I'd be wanting the likes of her," Sakon gave Tayuya a little squeeze as he said this. "And all he does is let her walk around outside of Fire Country all by herself. Maybe he's not as great as people say he is," Sakon said, mockingly in which Tayuya silently agreed.
Tayuya just wanted to go back to sleep that way but a lingering question did not leave her brain. What was he doing here, and where was he taking her? Now that Orochimaru was dead, what else did he possibly want? And who was this Ryoko bitch? Was she Tayuya's replacement for the Sound Four?
Then all of a sudden, she felt a presence. The other two must have too because hey suddenly stopped. "Aye... aye..." Ryoko muttered. "Sakon, we have an enemy behind us," She said.
"It's that copy-nin," Sakon said, with a clearly annoyed expression on his face.
Kakashi? Now what in the hell was he doing, chasing her? And how did he catch up so quickly? Like that mattered...
"We'll have to deal with him one way or the other," Ryoko said.
"Hell no, we'll get killed. This isn't one of those simple annoying bugs, we're talking here. My curse seal level two isn't enough to defeat him... Well, unless, of course..." Sakon's gaze then trailed to Tayuya and she knew exactly why.
A sense of alarm rang through Tayuya. Wait a minute... she didn't want to attack Kakashi... It was true that she was angry at him but she never wantd to fight him till death... And plus, with all that jazz about her being free meant not activating her curse seal at all. She was a jonin of Konohagakure now... Oh god, she was so confused. "I can't help you kill my comrade," She said.
Sakon smirked as if he was expecting her to say so. "You know, I need you to be here with me. You were once my comrade as well, no? And you and only the other two possess the gift. When all of us gather again, we can continue as Sound Four," Sakon said.
Tayuya knew that the other two was Anko and Sasuke. "But what about her?" Tayuya asked, pointing at Ryoko.
"Only Orochimaru-sama can give these gifts, you know. Since he's dead, only the privileged three of you can learn the ultimate jutsu," Sakon said. "And you, are the most important piece here, since you already possess the power of the North Gate. It makes things much easier," Sakon said.
"I won't join you," Tayuya said, the strength behind her voice surprising even herself. Wow... was she that protective of Konoha? Maybe... maybe not. But this rather useless contemplation ended as Sakon firmly gripped her shoulder.
"Don't betray us again, Tayuya," Sakon said, his voice stern and quite angry.
"You don't understand, Sakon!" Tayuya knocked his hands off of her shoulder. "Konoha is my new home... There's no going back for me. Even if it meant to... to..." To fight him. Tayuya cursed the fate. To have the person she'd been yearning for all this time and now to fight him on the oppsite battle grounds... Oh god... Why didn't she think of this before?
"I don't think you grasp the situation here," Ryoko said, sneering. "There's two of us and one of you. You may be able to defeat me but you were second to Sakon here, wern't you?"
Tayuya jerked back and took out a kunai. She sensed Kakashi's presence much closer now - and only god knows how he caught up so quickly - and the others must have too since they looked more uncomfortable. "Not if Kakashi gets here before you take me," Tayuya said. She said this in a mere bravado, as her heart was aching at the thought of fighting Sakon. This was sheer cruelty. It felt as if her heart was tearing asunder yet if she was a shinobi, she ought to act like one and deal with it within herself.
"What's this? Have you suddenly realized that we were your enemies?" Ryoko said.
"I was not fully conscious, thanks to you for dropping me at such a height," Tayuya said.
"Your very welcome," Ryoko said as she also readied a kunai.
"Ryoko," Sakon called, lowering her raised arm. She glared furiously, but Sakon was stronger.
"Why, Tayuya?" He asked, with his voice sounding... almost hurt.
This startled Tayuya. This was Sakon, who always bad mouthed his opponents. This was Sakon who mocked her and teased her even as he was fucking her. This was Sakon who did not settle for words, but rather took things physically, and this was Sakon who didn't give a damn about how Tayuya even felt about him. Now he stood there, taller and broader than he had been, with eyes that were hurt and lips that moved with no voice to speak the words. She thought she was seeing things. Either that, or he was casting a genjutsu on her. But he didn't. Damn him to hell. Now she felt emotion choking her.
This moment was broken by Ryoko. "Shit, Sakon, we have to get going! That other ninja is too close!" She said, tugging his sleeve.
Sakon's eyes completely changed into his usual cold state as he looked back to Ryoko. "I'm gonna kill him," He said, his voice as still as the quiet ocean just before a turbulent storm.
Why Tayuya felt a boulder crush her insides she didn't know, yet she found herself screaming, "You will not kill him!" As the kunai in her hands shot to Sakon. Why or how that happened, she could not understand since defending Kakashi over Sakon was unthinkable and she was completely unaware of this ever happening. What was wrong with her?
Ryoko's kunai met with Tayuya's on the way to Sakon, making them plunge to the ground. "What are you doing, you bitch!" She yelled.
Uh oh... Well that was uncalled for... To be honest, Tayuya wanted to ask that question herself. What am I doing, me bitch? But that seemed pretty pointless. In these situations, where you don't know how to act, with angry people surrounding you there is an ancient art that many people use. In the situation where you do something offensive and you are walled with two people that pretty much want to kill the shit out of you, there is only one method in which you'll have a chance of surviving.
You run your ass off.
And Tayuya did just that.
The other two, being pretty intelligent beings themselves, decided to chase her.
Tayuya was surprized how fast Sakon had gotten. In the old days, she could out-run him in any match but she wasn't so sure anymore as he began to close the gap between him and her.
"Wait, god dammit! I want to say something to you!" He yelled.
In desperation, Tayuya attached an exploding tag on another kunai and threw it to where Sakon will stand in about two seconds, and Sakon fended it with his own kunai, making it explode in mid-air. It was an advantage for Tayuya still, since he couldn't see where she was going for awhile... So Tayuya took a wild turn to confuse him but she nearly shrieked as she saw Ryoko in front of her, who leapt and punched her stomach. If Tayuya had eaten at all today, she would have puked but she didn't. Tayuya recovered quickly and kicked Ryoko in the face, and with a short yelp, she flew off. How in the hell did she get there before her! To be honest, she didn't care. Dead branches kept on catching her strawberry-haired color hair as decoration but she could care less right now. The pain on her scalp was nothing compared to the hell that awaited for her. She turned her pace towards Konoha where she'd meet Kakashi quicker. It was strange because he was the last person she wanted to see on earth just about two minutes ago and now here she was, desperate to find him.
That exploding tag must have been the most ingenious thing ever since Tayuya had now lost them. A bitter feeling filled her as she thought about what had happened. The feeling... the emptiness... it wore her out. How she dreamed to taste his lips again, how she could have died to feel his embrace again, and how she would kill to be his woman, to be with him... But to betray Konoha... Whether Tayuya had a good life in Konoha or not, the village gave her a second chance. It was her fault that she drank and "whored" around. Plus, Anko believed that Tayuya was completely faithful to Konohagakure. Anko, who saved her, and who connected and understood her like a big sister, and a mother. And for some reason or another, killing Kakashi to be with Sakon was not as appealing as it should have been. In fact, she loathed the idea. Although lazy and inconsiderate, he was her comrade and much more... well... not that much more... Was being her mentor for about a week much more?
Only when she stopped for a breath did she notice that her legs were trembling quite violently. She attempted to calm herself down and failed miserably when she saw her arms shaking like a type five earthquake. Damn it, why on hell was she shaking like this? This was not good... Not good.
She reached in her pocket to see if she had any soldier pills to give her some energy but she only found a random string of green ribbon that Kakashi had given her earlier on. After sighing miserably, she used it to tie her hair into a clumsy ponytail to cool the back of her neck from the thick blanket of hair that covered it.
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Kakashi had summoned his ninken and managed to close the distance between him and Tayuya. The explosion ahead hinted the danger she may be in which made him strive harder. He wasn't sure if he could quite forgive himself if Tayuya had died or something. When he came to the site where the explosion had taken place, Pakkun sniffed around.
"It's a little confusing from here. Tayuya seemed to have turned somewhere here..." Pakkun said.
Kakashi swiftly headed in the direction Pakkun was sniffing at. Bits and strands of pinkish-red hair hung from numerous branches which were tangled on. "This way," He said. Looking at the hair briefly make him think of an image where Tayuya was struggling violently but he dismissed the thought. Such thought only brough unnecessary nervousness that caused hindrance.
Pakkun then indicated that Tayuya's scent was leading back to Konoha, which confused things alittle, but another sudden explosion from the direction made him sure that he shouldn't be sitting there any longer.
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In her thinking process, she tripped over a unruly loop of vines that protruded from the branch. She tumbled down the trees but managed to land safely even with all the trembling that was involved. It pissed her off somewhat but she didn't show it. Yelling "FUCK" in the woods would only reveal her location.
But it seemed that they already knew where she was, because when Tayuya looked up to the thick canopy of tree branches above, she saw Sakon and Ryoko smirking at her.
"Took you long enough to fall off of the fucking trees," Sakon said. The previous expression of hurt and sorrow was nowhere to be seen and he looked as if he was ready to devour her. "I've decided that I'm going to take you with me whether you like it or not," He said, more fiercely this time, and jumped down.
Tayuya quickly formed her seals and slapped her hand onto the grass. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" She shouted as her hidden Dokis were summoned between her and Sakon at the command of her flute. Only... she didn't have it with her. So what good did this do her?
Absolutely nothing at all.
Well, maybe some good since they were distracted but after they confirmed that the demons were not doing a didly shit (Which took like two seconds by the way), the chase was on once again.
Tayuya was worn with confusion and her body did not obey her will to run. Instead, her arms and legs gave out due to ignoring the strong need to rest.
"You're so weak," Sakon snapped, venomously.
Tayuya desperately crawled to a tree trunk nearest to her. Supporting her back to the tree, she was able to stand up but only to be grabbed by Sakon.
He pinned her wrists to the tree, crushing her with his weight.
It was a familiar situation as it was years ago, him pinning her down, and she, in the mercy of Sakon's strength. Only, this was a tree, not a bed.
He was so close to her. So close that she could feel his breath on her forehead, so close that the only thing that filled her sight was his eyes, so black and cold, but beautiful nontheless. His scent sent her mind to a wild frenzy and he smiled triumphantly. "I knew all along. That you had wanted me for so long. I'm this close to you, stupid," He said, his voice almost sweet. "Come to me. I'm only a kiss away. You have no idea how much we can accomplish together," He whispered.
His voice a sweet seduction... She was going to melt. Kiss...
Kiss me, Sakon...
Her heart cried out for those lips. Her body cried out for his and her soul sang in delight as he inched closer to her. She wanted it. Sakon... She wanted him so badly. She wouldn't have to hide anymore in fear of Kimimaro finding out about the secret affair. She had nothing to fear. Leaving things behind for him would be so easy. The craving of the heart... the objections inside her head was deafened by the desire of her soul.
Her hair became loose and fell the green ribbon ever so slowly.
Her eyes followed the ribbon as it softly landed on the ground next to her.
Kakashi... She thought. Save me now... or you never will... I want to be with this man and I will not stop myself. Stop me now or you never will...
She knew this was wrong. She may even regret it later, but human beings - including shinobi - were only slaves of their hearts after all. Submit to your desires... Submit...
She could almost feel his lips. She was going to kiss him with her heart jumping in delight and her head screaming FUCK NO all the way.
And then things got out of hand.
First, there was a short and alarmed "Sakon!" From Ryoko and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground.
Second, Sakon was suddenly kicked away and someone replaced his exact same spot.
Third, she saw a pair of mismatched eyes before her. "Wake up," He said, his voice filled with worry.
And fourth, he kissed her so warmly and tenderly that she was knocked to a different world.
Then finally, fifth, these words popped into her head. Hatake Kakashi... Why have you come this far for me? Why did you save me?