Chapter 7: Possibilities.
The sun was beginning to set; smudges of yellow, orange, red, and a slight tinge of purple were splattered against the open sky. There were unmistakable hints of summer located all throughout the Village of the Leaf, ranging from the considerably humid zephyrs that blew every minute or so to the increasing number of festivity preparations alongside the main roads.
Miyako ceased walking and turned her head lazily, her eyes flickering calmly as she spotted a tuft of black hair lurking behind a bridge. She paused momentarily before heading towards the semi-concealed figure.
Familiar dark, onyx eyes flashed in displeasure as he noticed her presence, and his lips deepened into a frown.
"What do you want?" he asked bitterly, avoiding her eyes.
There was a brief silence following Sasuke's question. Charcoal eyes glittered as they remained transfixed on nothing but the clear, trickling, river before him. Several minutes passed before the muscles in Sasuke's neck began to twitch in tension.
"What are you—" he began, clearly annoyed with her silence.
"It was today, wasn't it?"
His eyes flashed, in both resentment and surprise. "… What are you talking about?"
"Wasn't it the day of Tanabata? When your clan was exterminated?" she asked coolly, making sure that there was a good distance between the two of them before she sat down.
The Uchiha bit his lower lip frustratingly. "That's none of your business."
Miyako shrugged and leaned back, spreading her hands across the surface of the soft blades of grass. "Frankly, you're overreacting."
Sasuke's eyes widened, and his lips curled into a dangerous snarl. "Overreacting?! What do you know?! My—"
"—clan was completely obliterated by one of your own," she finished lazily, clearly oblivious to his fury. "I know, I know. And just in case you were concentrating too hard on your own plight, let me remind you that I don't have a family either. Neither does Naruto."
Sasuke was so enraged with her answer that it took him a few seconds to speak. "You think we're all the same?! Everything was taken away from me from one of my own! How are you going to compare me to you, whose clan was destroyed by an adversary?! How can you compare me to Naruto, who had no bonds to begin with?!"
"Your nii-san, was it? Uchiha Itachi?" she mused aloud, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully.
"… Say his name again, and I'll kill you," he said softly.
Miyako raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, opened her mouth to retort, decided against it, and instead heaved a deep sigh.
"Don't sigh at me—"
"Why don't you just surpass him, then?," she interrupted, shooting such an aggravated glare at him that he ceased talking. "Being depressed, moping around, wallowing in your own selfishness when you could be focusing on defeating him… what you are now is pathetic, Uchiha Sasuke. If you don't learn to change, to make an actual difference, then to you, Tanabata will always be the day where you lost everything. Is that what you want?"
Miyako stood up, her boots trailing gently against the swaying blades of grass. Sasuke's lips pursed together furiously as he digested her words, causing her to heave another exasperated sigh, turning to leave.
"I'll see you tonight, Sasuke."
Which left him feeling extremely stupid. He heard the sound of her departure despite the fact that his eyes were still focused on the flowing river in front of him. Her sharp remarks, obstinate as they were, made all the sense they had intended to make. His heart sank in disappointment, and at the same time, fluttered in dissatisfaction. The way she had said his name had caused his stomach to lurch—whether it was in annoyance or in some sort of bizarre hope, he could not tell.
***
"Why do we have to go to this stupid event anyway?"
Naruto turned around, tilting his body back and forth as he bounced against the balls of his feet. He was dressed in a loose, khaki-colored yukata, which trailed all the way to his thin ankles. His pronounced, flaming blonde hair seemed subtler now that he had removed his forehead protector, and a huge grin formed as he noticed the deep scowl on his teammate's face.
"Want us to leave you alone with Miyako-chan during the fireworks tonight, Sasuke?" jeered Naruto.
Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. Like Naruto, he had also removed his forehead protector and was dressed similarly in the traditional yukata, though Sasuke's was a shade of dark blue. The fact that neither of them was wearing their usual training clothes made the two shinobi appear much older, mature, and at the same time, like ordinary teenagers.
The sky had blackened considerably during the past hour. Though the moon was still far away from its normal peak in the ink-like atmosphere, faint, silvery beams of light fluttered every few seconds or so. The lanterns were being lit, filling the environment with a much more cordial presence, as the jittery expressions and enthusiastic preparations could be heard from a distance. Konoha had always ensured that every year's Tanabata was prearranged flawlessly, and this year was no exception.
"Oi! Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke groaned upon hearing the familiar voice, and a wave of aggravation immediately flooded through him. Naruto, however, waved to the blonde kunoichi as she approached the two young men.
Ino was dressed in a radiant pink kimono, and the thinness of her waist was accentuated by a thin, white obi. Her blonde hair had been released from its usual, tight ponytail, and the gentle strands reached all the way past her waist, all in all leaving her looking very attractive indeed. She approached Sasuke at once, fluttering her long, mascara-coated eyelashes flirtatiously.
"Sasuke-kun," she cooed, her red lips pursing together as she blew him an air kiss. "You look dashing, as always."
He grunted in thanks, which was more than the usual response Ino received normally, and she let out a squeal of delight.
"Sasuke's here with someone today," Naruto said, shooting Sasuke a huge grin, "so I'm afraid you're going to have to back off a bit tonight, Ino-chan."
Ino gasped in horror. "Is it Sakura?!"
Naruto's grin seemed to lengthen tenfold. "Of course not—Sakura-chan's coming with me!"
Ino let out a small sigh of relief, though her thin eyebrows were still furrowed together in thought. "Then who? You two aren't around any other girls… it can't be the Tsubaki girl—she's too plain, with that mask of hers and all—"
"We're here," a familiar sing-song voice called, cutting Ino off from finishing her sentence.
Sakura approached the group first—her long, pink hair was tied back in an elegant bun, pinned together at the top of her head with a pair of jeweled chopsticks. She was wearing a crimson kimono, tied together with a scarlet obi, all of which matched her pink hair extremely well. Naruto stared at her, clearly dumbfounded and lost for words, and even Sasuke had to admit that Sakura looked quite… cute when dolled up.
"Sorry we're late," another voice said breathlessly from behind Sakura.
Sasuke snorted again. "Damn right you're late… hurry up, let's get this thing over with already."
Ino frowned slightly and folded her arms as she recognized the voice. "So it was you, Tsubaki… how you managed to land an unbelievably attractive person like Sasuke-kun, I don't know, but you would have the nerve to make him wait… holy—"
Miyako hurried forward into the light, panting heavily. It was obvious that she seldom wore such clothing, and the tight kimono she was wearing was undoubtedly restraining her movements. Sasuke turned around, curious at why Ino had so suddenly ceased speaking, and instantaneously found himself lost for words.
The dim, golden beams from the few lanterns hanging loosely above the teenagers fell lightly against her shining amber eyes. There were tinges of white flowers sewn onto the surface of her silky, ocean blue kimono, which matched Sasuke's yukata color flawlessly. Silky, ebony strands had been in a stylish side bun, which had undoubtedly been arranged by Sakura, and cocoa-colored eyeliner lined the rims of her large eyes, greatly highlighting her hazel orbs. Compared to the plain, black robes she normally wore to training sessions and the mask she tied so tightly to conceal her image, the young woman who stood in front of them was nothing short of stunning.
Miyako's cheeks were flushed a light pink from the heat and from struggling to catch up with Sakura, and the rosy color deepened as she noticed the immediate silence. It was abnormal for her to reveal her face in public, and without her mask, she felt extensively revealed. Lengthy, black eyelashes fluttered awkwardly as she looked elsewhere.
"Wow," whistled Naruto, his navy eyes wide with surprise. "You look nice, Miyako-chan."
"Thanks," she replied, clearly grateful that someone had broken the silence. "It was all Sakura-chan's work, of course."
Ino's jaw had dropped a considerable amount, and she arched a blonde eyebrow—the look on her face made it obvious that there was no doubt that the lovely female standing in front of her was the same, masked kunoichi she had glimpsed alongside Naruto and Sasuke so often. Sakura smirked.
"Jealous, Ino?" she asked, her emerald eyes glittering. "Didn't get to snatch Sasuke-kun from me this time, mm?"
Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes in disgust. "Tch, what are you talking about? You didn't get him either."
"At least I have a date," snickered Sakura.
Ino opened her pink lips in an effort to retort, but then shut them before marching away in frustration, leaving Sakura with a very satisfied smirk.
"Let's go, then," said Naruto, clapping his hands together excitedly before offering Sakura his arm.
"Aren't you going to offer me your arm?" asked Miyako, sniggering.
"You know neither of us want this," he said irritably as the two of them followed Naruto's lead.
"… Is something the matter?"
Sasuke scowled. "Of course not."
Miyako raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to Sasuke's pale face, causing him to stiffen almost instantly. He turned his head hastily in an effort to avoid her probing, chocolate eyes.
"Huh," said Miyako coldly as she walked further ahead, greatly lengthening the gap between the two of them. "If you abhor me so much that you won't even face me, then you should've just gone on ahead with Ino-chan—"
"What are you—" he began.
"Because I can assure you that the feeling is mutual," she snarled impatiently. Her cheeks had flushed into a light, crimson color from both the heat and the indignation that shone through her sour expression, and loose strands of sea-black hair had fallen from its original bun.
Sasuke watched her disappear around a corner, and a surge of guilt rippled through him, joining the considerable amount of chagrin that had accumulated seconds before. He couldn't comprehend the reason behind his irascibility—perhaps it was the fact that the entire festival was a mandatory waste of time, or that tonight was the anniversary of his clan's extermination, or that Miyako had the nerve to appear in public, in front of other men at that, without wearing her usual disguise—
He ceased walking instantly and shook his head unconsciously. These possibilities were illusions; there was indubitably no such thing.
***
"Bye, Sakura-chan! I'll come find you when the fireworks start!"
The attractive, green-eyed kunoichi smiled and waved amiably before turning to join the dark-haired young woman, who had been setting off tiny firecrackers with a relatively large group of Genin—Sasuke recognized the genius rookie, Hyuga Neji, along with Lee, Kiba and a handful of other young who were undeniably also participating in the Chuunin exams. Coal-black eyes flickered unconsciously back to the young Tsubaki, and they shimmered in an indescribable emotion as he watched her lips part into a wide smile, revealing two rows of straight, white teeth, as she laughed alongside the other carefree shinobi. Her hazel eyes twinkled in a blissfulness that was never present when he was with her, and for that reason alone, Sasuke couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.
"Can't stop staring at her, eh?" Naruto snickered, his cobalt eyes gleaming as he teased his teammate. "Is that why you tried so hard not to look at her when she was right next to you?"
Sasuke blinked and immediately looked elsewhere. "Shut up, Naruto. Don't be senseless."
Naruto raised a skeptic eyebrow. "Your eyes have been glued to her the entire time. Why aren't you two together anyway?"
"Because neither of us like the other," he snapped. The impatience was beginning to swell inside him once more.
The blonde-haired Genin tutted loudly, shaking his head as he did so. Sasuke's scowl deepened, and he turned his head back in order to continue watching his peers, only to realize that the ocean-blue kimono had disappeared.
Sasuke blinked, and the charcoal eyes flickered from the rows and rows of people, searching for the familiar ebony hair and glittering chocolate eyes. Without thinking, Sasuke stood up, causing Naruto to turn his head in question.
"Bathroom," Sasuke said hastily, shuffling away into the crowd as soon as he could in order to avoid any further questions.
The noise level intensified sizably as he entered the gargantuan multitude of Konoha villagers, coercing him to push his way further back until he caught a hint of thick, black eyebrows—missing such an attribute was simply unfeasible.
"Lee!" he called briskly.
"Ah, Sasuke-kun! Good to see you here! I wanted to apologize for—"
"Never mind that," Sasuke interrupted snappishly. "Have you seen Tsubaki?"
"Miyako-chan? Are you here with her?" asked Lee curiously. There were faint hints of a smirk against his lips.
"Yeah, sure," retorted Sasuke, irked at the fact that he hadn't received the straightforward answer he had expected. "Where did she go?"
"She said she was going to cool off," answered Lee, shrugging. "You should check the booths up ahead—maybe she's over there."
Sasuke nodded curtly in thanks, ignoring the bundle of anxiety that had tied his stomach into knots. Nothing made sense to him—he had looked away for merely a second and she had vanished from his sight—it wasn't as if she had been missing for hours. There was obviously nothing worth worrying about.
Sasuke stumbled through a vast number of ecstatic people with much difficulty before reaching a fork at the end of the road, both of which lead into narrow, dimly-lit alleyways. He was about to turn towards the right pathway before he heard several deep murmurs from the opposite alley.
"Why didn't you pick the pink-haired one out? She was pretty cute."
"Yeah, why didn't you?" a familiar voice echoed sarcastically.
Sasuke froze. The voice unquestionably belonged to Miyako, but he was unsure of who the others were.
"She had a date with her, didn't you see?" another rough voice answered. "You two can leave—I saw a blonde chick that was walking around alone earlier, so you guys can go find her. I haven't seen this cutie around here anyway… are you from outside of Konoha, sweet? Wanna go grab a drink while you're here?"
Obsidian eyes narrowed dangerously. Sasuke pressed himself against the shadowed wall, and his right hand fingered the handle of a sleek kunai he had stashed inside his yukata.
He counted three males, all dressed in yukata, and a shorter figure who was indisputably the teammate he had been searching for. Two of them departed from the alleyway without looking twice at the silent figure standing a mere few feet before their exit. Sasuke twirled the kunai dexterously between his fingers, grateful for the fact that his impatience wasn't present at a time like this.
The tallest male, a shinobi who had short, dirty blonde hair and deep green eyes that gleamed with amusement, leaned closer to Miyako's face, emboldened by her silence. Sasuke's lips curled into a snarl, yet he managed to refrain himself from revealing himself, as difficult as it was. He craned his neck forwards, itching to hear the quiet mumbles that were being exchanged between the two of them.
"What do you say, mm?"
"I already declined," she replied icily, unbothered by the towering height of the male in front of her.
"Don't act so haughty," he jeered, seizing her wrist and tugging her deeper into the alleyway. "You came here dateless anyway, didn't you? There's nothing you need to—"
A foot collided with the bottom of the male's chin so quickly that Miyako stumbled backwards, her chestnut eyes wide with astonishment. Sasuke was glaring menacingly at the unconscious figure lying face-flat on the dusty ground before him.
"Pathetic," he scoffed, slipping the unused kunai back into his yukata before he turned to face Miyako. "What the hell are you doing with him anyway?"
"It's none of your business," she replied coolly, amber eyes hardening at his tone of voice.
"He wasn't about to take you out for a drink, in case you're that dense."
"I could've handled him myself," snapped Miyako.
He slammed a hand into the wall that stood behind her, causing her to flinch.
"If you had listened to me and kept your mask on, none of this would've happened," he whispered dangerously.
Audacity gleamed in her round, brown eyes as she faced him, her cheeks flushed in fury. "Don't tell me what I should do, Uchiha, especially since it was you who wouldn't look twice at me in the first place, and—"
Sasuke had just realized how close their faces were to each other as well as how shady the alleyway really was. Even in the dark, he could see the details of her face so clearly—had her eyes always been that piercing? Her skin that radiantly tan? Her lips shimmered a glossy, nude color—must've been Sakura's doing—they were curved upside down in a frown as she continued her harangue, it wasn't like he was listening anyway…
"—why everyone sees something fascinating in you, I have no idea, though the last time someone did, you got your ass handed to you… are you even listening—"
Sasuke leaned forward so swiftly that the thought of what he was doing hadn't registered in his mind until he felt their lips meet. Whether he did it just to shut her up or satisfy that innate desire that had been crawling up in him since the moment he had laid eyes on her that night, or a bit of both, he did not know.
He tasted the momentary sweetness of her lip gloss, and the scent of her lightly perfumed hair suddenly heightened his craving for something more. He kissed her deeply for several more seconds; Sasuke's hands reached into her hair—he had no idea when that had happened—pulling the hair tie away and running his fingers through the thin layers of wispy waves.
Miyako felt the cold stone wall press against the back of her silky kimono as Sasuke leaned his weight gingerly against her. Her brown eyes had widened with disbelief the second he had kissed her, but she forced her shoulders to relax, and did not struggle.
He broke off the kiss, leaving both of them breathless, and leaned merely a few centimeters from her face. Jet-black eyes darted elsewhere, and even in the dark, it was evident to anyone that his cheeks had deepened in color.
"Sorry," he muttered hastily, gently pushing her shoulders as he turned his head, avoiding her inquisitive eyes. "I didn't know—"
Miyako grabbed his wrist lightly, and he found himself staring wordlessly into those coffee-colored eyes that were glistening with both suspicion and curiosity.
"Why—" she began, tightening the hold on his wrist as he tried to pull away.
"Because… I don't know," he said hurriedly, struggling to find some excuse.
Sasuke caught a whiff of her floral-like perfume, and the intrinsic craving to hold her began to resurface. Burning with impatience and anxiety, he yanked his hand forcefully from her grasp, causing her to unexpectedly lose her footing.
He caught her instinctively, his dark eyes flashing in slight surprise as she fell awkwardly against him. Certain that Miyako was going to snap at his rashness, Sasuke opened his mouth to apologize, then realized that apologizing and stuttering wasn't in his nature, so nothing came out. She stared at him silently—the incredulity had disappeared from her eyes—and he did what his mind instructed him to do, and that was to quench the bubbling aggravation he had been experiencing all evening, to embrace the priceless opportunity chance had granted him, and to satiate his absurd hunger for her presence. Sasuke leaned closer to her face, and when she did not budge, brushed his warm lips against hers, welcoming the sweet pleasure that flooded through him as he felt her soft lips part and slowly return his kisses.
The vibrant and glimmering fireworks began to explode in the distance, miles and miles above the starless evening sky, its shadows concealing the two hidden figures in the alleyway below and unveiling a new foundation of possibilities.
author's note:
so i must apologize for the extremely belated chapter--i had some trouble getting my hands on a personal computer over the past couple of weeks, but now that i do have one, updates will hopefully be more frequent!
oh, and i have to say that i actually have no idea when the uchiha clan really was annihilated--i highly doubt that it actually did occur on tanabata evening... just throwing that out there, haha. :D
on another note, i am trying my best to avoid making miyako into a mary-sue character. i do intend for speed to be her most imperative attribute in combat, but it's nowhere near sasuke's or lee's speed at their current genin level--that's a rank of speed she develops only after the three years (before shippuden starts!).
i hope this chapter was enjoyable! as always, please read & review--it's always a lot of fun reading them. :)
xoxo.