Chapter 5 : White Shadows.

Quiet, murmuring voices were indisputably there, but the enveloping blackness didn't seem to rescind. The mumbles gradually became louder, as if someone had turned the volume slightly up; eyelids fluttered several times before opening, and then the shadows vanished.

There was a brief flash of pink hair, and Miyako found herself staring blankly into a pair of large, olive orbs. Sakura flashed her a smile of relief.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she called. "She's awake!"

Several pairs of feet shuffled noisily into the room. Miyako heaved herself upwards and gasped in pain; the agonizing discomfort in her ribs and legs reminded her of the unfortunate events that had occurred. All of a sudden, the dead weight in her chest seemed much more irritating than her wounds.

"Ah," Kakashi said, gripping her shoulder and gently pushing her back against the soft, white sheets. "Don't be too rash--it's only been two days, your wounds will open up."

Her delicate fingers shuffled beneath the blanket and located the clean bandages wrapped around her waist. She pressed them gingerly, and flinched.

"Are they broken?" she asked, bringing her arm to her head and rummaging it through her tangled hair.

Kakashi shook his head. "Bruised. Badly, that is. It might be difficult for you to move... at that speed, of course... impressive."

Miyako scoffed and said nothing. Bitterness flooded into her narrowed, coffee eyes. There was nothing spectacular about her speed, especially not after how easily Sasuke had countered it. The weight seemed heavier, causing the sullen feeling to plummet into her stomach.

She hadn't quite registered the consequences of her loss. Sure, she understood the regulations, but the simple comprehension of being defeated seemed distant.

Miyako bit her lower lip, covering her face with her two hands, despite the stinging strain that the stretch put on her wounds. For her, it was impossible to defeat Sasuke a second time. His Sharingan would continue developing, but her speed certainly wouldn't. The amount of effort she had put into working them two days before had already exceeded her normal limit. If he could read her movements now, he would be capable of reading them forever.

Disappointment surged through her aching body, and she scoffed in disbelief. Out of all the shinobi, all the clans, all the people she disliked, it was him. An Uchiha. Accepting the concept was bizarre, insufferable, and practically disgusting.

Her hands smoothed past her face, and she felt them brush against her chapped lips. Auburn eyes flashed anxiously, and she turned her head immediately towards Kakashi.

"Where's my mask?" she inquired, her eyes searching the room frantically.

Kakashi sighed deeply, his one, onyx-colored eye flickering uneasily. "He has it."

A pause.

"Tch," she scoffed. "Out of all people... him."

There was another seemingly long pause, though it must've lasted for merely a handful of seconds. Kakashi stood up and patted a gloved hand reassuringly against her forehead.

"There's a hot spring a few meters east from here," he said as he headed towards the door. "Why don't you go with Sakura and wash up a bit? As long as you don't strain yourself, it should do your wounds some good. If we depart in an hour or two, we should reach Konoha by dusk."

Miyako sighed heavily, staring fixedly at the ceiling. Tiny white shadows glistened briefly against the dark wood.

***

The two kunoichi walked side by side, their boots shuffling through the thick grass that was coated with the early morning dew. One of Miyako's arms was wrapped across Sakura's neck; Miyako placed her weight gingerly against her teammate's shoulder, hoping to put less of a strain on Sakura, but the pink-haired kunoichi didn't seem like she was struggling to support her.

The beckoning warmth of the hot spring could've been sensed from several feet away. Miyako leaned against a boulder, pressing her cut hands against the warm rock, and relaxed her shoulders. Slowly and carefully, she slid off her dark robes and stepped in, eagerly embracing the amiable warmth. It engulfed her skin soothingly, easing a good deal of her worries away.

She heard a small splash across from her, and her hazel eyes flickered over the misty pillars of steam. Sakura stretched her limbs and leaned her head back against a boulder lazily.

Neither of the two had said a word to each other the entire journey. Miyako lifted her head nervously, racking the back of her mind for a conversation topic. To her surprise, Sakura's glittering, jade eyes were already on her.

"Do I look weird?" she asked, her pink lips parting into a slight smile.

"N-no," stammered Sakura nervously. "It's just... different, that's all."

A few seconds of silence. Slowly, the smile slid off Miyako's face, and her auburn eyes stared elsewhere into the thick steam.

"... I'm sorry."

The two words were spoken so softly that it surprised Sakura, and she raised a worried eyebrow. Miyako determinedly avoided the puzzled emerald orbs.

"For... what happened," she replied awkwardly. Her voice had trailed to a softer tone, and Sakura had to strain forward to listen. "I know you liked him... a lot."

Sakura lifted a hand and waved her apology way, sending tiny, sparkling droplets of warm water into the air. Her light pink lips parted into an anxious smile.

"Oh, that," she laughed nervously, her cheeks flushing. "It's nothing... now that he has you, I mean... well, I can't just take him away from you after all that's happened."

"Why not?"

The details of her encounter with Sasuke two days before returned as she recalled their match, and the idea of drowning herself suddenly seemed quite tempting.

Sakura shook her head slowly; there was a guilty shimmer in her olive eyes. "I've loved him for ages, yet he still has no interest in me." She lifted her head and smiled sadly. "You'll have to learn to love him, I suppose."

The glimmer among the dark chocolate eyes seemed to vanish instantly. Her lips curled into a slight snarl, and her eyebrows furrowed in repugnance, causing Sakura to immediately regret her words.

"Never," she spat.

Another awkward silence followed. Her single-worded retort and tone of voice alone allowed Sakura's interpretation of the enmity in Sasuke and Miyako's relationship to become much more precise.

She heard the sound of water dripping, and the green eyes flickered upwards once more. Miyako sighed heavily and ran a soaking wet hand through her damp, black hair.

"I'm sorry," she said again, opening her eyes, eyes that shone in exhaustion and remorse. "I'll just have to live with it."

***

"Tsubaki."

Miyako turned, her hands running a towel through her damp, straight hair. Despite the fact that she recognized the deep, quiet voice, her aching body stiffened instinctively upon meeting his dark onyx-colored eyes.

She felt something rustle against her arm, and noticed that Sasuke had shoved her mask, which had been washed, into the palm of her right hand. Amber orbs flickered in curiosity, and it suddenly occurred to her that Sasuke's face was incredibly close to hers.

"Wear it from now on," he said just as she opened her mouth to ask.

"... Why?"

He leaned so close to her that his charcoal eyes blocked even her peripheral vision. Sasuke's hand crawled up against the wooden wall she was pressed against, and the beginning hints of a smirk began to appear.

"Because," he whispered slowly, looking down at her amusingly as he noticed her body tense in fear. His soft lips brushed past her cheek, and Miyako suppressed a shudder. "I don't want anyone else looking at what's mine... only I can see your face."

Miyako said nothing. She blinked and looked elsewhere, clearly determined not to meet his eyes. A hand forced her chin upwards almost instantly, and she flinched subconsciously.

"Is that understood?" Sasuke breathed dangerously in her ear.

She swallowed and gave a curt nod. Now that he had claimed her, she found it much more difficult to hurl a string of insults at him.

"It's funny," he said quietly, his smirk widening as he continued to stare into the pool of amber. "You were so headstrong and stubborn before... but now, you're so submissive. The amount of respect you have towards your clan is so respectable... Miyako."

The way he uttered her name and the sarcastic tone he said it with sent shivers of disgust through her body, and she repressed a snarl, through her emotions must've been shown through, for that smirk became even more prominent. He held a strand of wet hair, wrapping it delicately around his finger.

"It's about time, isn't it?" he chuckled. "Say my name."

"Uchiha."

He laughed softly, and leaned even closer so that he had now completely enclosed her personal bubble.

"Do as I say, Miyako."

Her tongue went through some difficulty as she attempted to wrap his name around it. Miyako's hands clenched into fists, and her heart sank in vexation as she realized how utterly pathetic she looked.

"Sasuke," she finally whispered, extremely bitterly.

"Better," he admitted, tilting his head as his lips briefly met hers, causing her eyes to widen. "Just remember that I won you, I own you... and thus, you belong to me. You're futureless without me... so let's just get along, mm?"

Sasuke did not wait for her reply, as caustic as it would've been. He pressed his lips against hers, and she shuddered as he pushed her damp hair back, further immobilizing her. A wave of nausea flooded through her as he continued to kiss her, clearly enjoying her obedience, and it took everything to keep the tiny tears from falling as his contemptuous voice echoed distinctly in her head.

"I won you, I own you... and thus, you belong to me."

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author's note:

sorry for the belated update! i've been slightly busy lately... at the same time, i feel the need to apologize for this particular chapter. i know it was somewhat boring, but it'll get better. promise. :D

hope you enjoyed it~ and please r&r! that would be fantastic. :]