Waking up with her back to the raven haired young man was the strangest feeling Taizu had ever encountered. They'd agreed to take the last two watch shifts and therefore had to sleep near each other. However, she hadn't planned on that meaning as near as he'd meant. Back to back. This was to ensure that both of them could awaken if something happened and that nothing were to their backs. She understood why, but it didn't change the slightly fleeting feeling in her stomach. She sat up rubbing her eyes yawning and raised her hands above her head stretching. Sasuke heard her make a small noise as she stretched, it was small and cute…cute? Hell, when did he ever let the word cute enter his skull. She got to her feet and finished stretching out yawning and rubbing her right arm as if it were in pain. She ran her hand through her long red hair and unbraided it to pull it back into a ponytail this morning. Sasuke silently sat up turning to watch her, she hadn't even heard her. The ringlet curls that her hair fell in over her back were soft and gentle. They settled over her shoulder blades as her arms moved pulling the waves up shifting and bouncing over her pale flesh. It was all he could so not to stare. She glanced backwards for just a moment to make sure she hadn't woken him and stiffened rigidly catching him watching her. Her cheeks flamed the color of her hair and she quickly turned away from him like an embarrassed child. Had she really just caught Sasuke Uchiha checking her out? There was no way that were possible. She swallowed taking a slow breath and turned back around to look at him.
"I suppose it's time to start moving again?" she asked him. In the morning he could tell her voice was soft and lilted. Gentle. The level at which she spoke was barely above a whisper and he could see that here eyes were open but still glazed with sleep.
"Yes. We'll move once the others wake, which shouldn't be long." He nodded getting to his feet.
"So what should we do until they wake up?" she asked him leaning back against the cave wall of which they'd slept. He watched her carefully before an evil thought crossed his mind. He let a smirk escape his willpower. She quirked an eyebrow, watching him smirk. It was evil and dismantled smile one that gave away his unstable personality.
"We'll get everything packed up and then we'll make food. Get clean water…those sort of things." But he said the words things with an air of creativity as if implying many other things they could do. She rolled her eyes tucking small red curls behind her ears on either side of her face.
"Right. You mean I'm doing all of those things because I'm the new member." She said putting her hands on her hips smirking back.
"Why yes, that's exactly what I meant." He laughed and neared her by the wall leveling his eyes with hers. He set his hand on the wall beside her head cornering her where she stood. She went to move and he laid the other hand against the wall standing in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him watching his every minuscule movements.
"Move." She said firmly going to duck under his arms. He grabbed her shoulder shoving her back against the cave rocks and held her there. She growled in the back of her throat and went to shove his arms off.
"Get off her." Suigetsu snapped standing behind Sasuke his blade to the boy's neck. "Or I will seriously disfigure you Uchiha." His voice was icy. Sasuke chuckled and let go of Taizu, but he'd left a red mark on her collar bone where he'd held her.
"Let's get the water Taizu." Suigetsu said watching Sasuke turn to face them both as she walked to Sui's side.
"I was just having some fun." He said chuckling as they walked out of the cave. She would be a blast to manipulate and tame. He could see Sui was going to be a problem in his way, but he was willing to forego his friend to get to the girl. He leaned back against the cave wall and sneered at Karin as she slept. It had been far too long since he'd been around a self-reliant woman. One that could hold her own in a battle and not have to be protected. The only reason he kept Karin around was to use her for chakra. In the end she was a useless heap that he'd eventually have to discard or loose in the midst of battle. Taizu had almost accomplished that for him.
Suigetsu watched Taizu walk ahead of him carrying the four canteens on her shoulder by the straps. Her red pony tail hung down her back swaying and bouncing lightly in the wind as it churned along the forest's edge. He'd not realized how much he'd missed her. She was a constant reminder of their old home. The place they'd spent so much time together as a team for two years. She'd been a rare sight in any village, a hand to hand combat konouchi. She'd been in the regular female nin's class until a boy had knocked her down in the village one day. Her response had been immediate. She'd punched him, breaking his nose, and kicked him to the ground. A teacher who'd been in town that morning had been present and taken her to class that day to be with the boys. In the mist, the girls were separated from boys completely and trained only as medical nin. Taizu had been destined to evade that title sicne the day she was born.
"Oi, Sui, hand me the canteen." She said looking at him as if he'd lost his mind. He snapped back to reality and picked up the canteen form the river bank handing it to her. He knelt beside her and tilted his head, his eerie blue eyes watched her slightly.
"What did you end up doing back home? All that time…" he asked trailing the question off because they were nearing dangerous territory. She'd either punch him, or talk to him, and you never knew which one she'd do.
"I became a jounin." She said lightly filling the bottles carefully avoiding his gaze. "And then transferred to the Blank Ops." She said in a small voice. He sucked in a breath.
"Well you just were hell bent on destroying every rule the Mist ever set weren't you?" he chuckled but when she didn't say something snide back he touched her shoulder. She shrugged his hand off standing up.
"No." she said refusing to look at him, she spun on her heel and started walking back. "I became stronger to bring you home…" she said barely loud enough for him to hear. He suddenly shot up running to catch up to her. He slid in front of her cutting off her path.
"Are you crazy? I was gone for….half a decade…why would you train that hard to try and bring me back so much longer?" she looked up at him her eyes hurt and filled with strife and pain.
"Because you were my brother. I loved you. I would have died for you…and you left me…so I decided if you could leave me, I'd never stop trying to find you." She whispered.
Suigetsu was beyond stunned. His mouth opened but words did not come out. He watched her trying to shut his mouth desperately because his cheeks were flaming red. He couldn't believe he'd heard her correctly. She'd considered him her brother…Taizu who never let anyone near her or anyone into her life…had loved him like a brother.
"Why you didn't say that…before I left…or when I left?" he asked in a shocked voice.
"Because you were too stupid and infantile to have understood what that meant to me…what you meant to me." He sighed and dropped the canteens and grabbed her pulling her into a hug. She gasped and it took her a full minute before she registered enough to hug him back.
"I was stupid to have left you alone…my sister." He chuckled as she whacked him in the side of the head with a canteen.
"You're damn right you were being stupid!" she laughed as he laughed. Sasuke watched them from the cave mouth agitated his arms crossed over his chest. How could they suddenly apologize and get along with each other as if years of grief hadn't happened? That was impossible. He could never forgive Naruto like that…he could never re-enter Konoha as if nothing had happened…His eyes flashed red as they began to laugh and his fingers turned white as he gripped his arms. There was no such thing as a happy ending.