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Chapter 20: Enter: The Forest of Death Pt. II

For years, I had been plagued by the same nightmare.

I had been a little girl, a little younger than Sayuri and had been standing outside of my house, giggling. I could hear some sort of argument brewing inside, the sound of heavy footsteps stomping down on the wood floors and suddenly, the front door swung open. My laughter had cut short and I had stared up at the darkened doorway, my heartbeat stilling in my chest.

I had continued staring for a few seconds more before the terror struck me, the sheer terror in the unknown, in the unseen. I had been turning then, had been ready to run when she darted out from the darkness, and wrestled me onto my back, pressing a kunai to the base of my throat.

"Ru-Ru-Rukia." I had breathed as the blade pressed deeper into my neck.

"Let me show you how much I hate you." She had breathed, the woman with the eyes of a wolf, her eyes a dark shade of purple, her lips pulled back into a dark grin. She pulled the kunai back and was swinging it down when I would wake, drenched in sweat and a scream lodged at the back of my throat.

I was reminded of my nightmare as I jolted awake, my heart racing in my chest, and a heavy, thick sweat on my brow. I blinked, reaching up to rub my eyes and heard the soft crackling of a fire, from somewhere beside me. I looked over at it, scanning the length of the orange/yellow glow it cast over my surroundings.

"Good." A voice said from my left. I swung to face it, gasping for air now, my eyes wide, as I sat up and instantly became dizzy.

Temari was standing a few inches away from me, her eyes reflecting the fire, her body relaxed as she watched me try and pull myself together with no avail.

"You're awake." Kankuro's voice said from my right, sounding just as bored as he always did.

I placed a hand on my head and groaned, my vision a little blurry around the edges as I looked around and found the boys lying on the opposite side of the fire, their eyes closed, the aura from their mark seeping out. They were drenched in sweat and Kyoske was shaking slightly.

"How-how long were we out?" I managed, my head pounding.

"A whole day." Temari said.

"And you were lucky we found you instead of enemy ninja." Kankuro said.

"But you should really be lucky that Gaara went and looked for you because at first we really only saw the boys." Temari added.

I could see him then, Gaara, sitting in one of the tree branches above her head. His eyes were trained to the night sky, his expression calm. I owed him one and was thankful suddenly that he wasn't like Kankuro or Temari who wouldn't let me live it down.

"What happened to you guys anyway?" Kankuro asked.

I placed a hand at the back of my neck, feeling a distant sting when my fingers brushed over the mark. I wasn't ready to spill the details about the cursed mark to the Sand shinobi. What I needed to do was see Sasuke, see for myself how he was doing or if…or if…

I shook the thought from my head, making my headache slightly worse. But, I knew I needed to give them something or they wouldn't let me leave.

"We got into a fight…it was a little too much to handle." I said.

"A fight?" Temari huffed before nodding to the boys. "Why am I finding that hard to believe?"

"I didn't ask you to believe it." I groaned, as I forced myself up.

"You shouldn't move too much." Gaara called from above.

"Exactly." Temari said, rising to her feet and holding out her hands, as if she was ready to steady me if I fell over. I moved away from her reach and held up my hands.

"Just watch them for another hour." I said.

"Wh-what do we look like?! Babysitters?" Kankuro grumbled.

"Why?" Gaara asked, silencing Kankuro's fussing.

"I have something I need to check on and then we'll be out of your hair." I said.

I jumped off after that, building chakra in my feet to move even faster through the trees knowing that they wouldn't follow me but they would probably hope and pray that Kyoske or Hideki would wake so they could bombard them with questions. I had never been good with explaining and I prayed that Hideki would wake first and offer up an excuse. He was always better at convincing others, at pulling people together and speaking to them and getting them to believe that he was in the right.

The sad truth was our worst fears had been right. Orochimaru had revealed himself in Konoha and though it was unsure if he planned on attacking the village, one thing was for sure, he was planning on taking Sasuke with him. If he survived the bite, that is. I pushed myself even faster, moving higher so that I could jump from branch to branch. I could sense chakra all around, hear the distant sounds of fights continuing and just beginning along with a sharp cry for help every now and then. I wasn't going to get anywhere with my basic senses and knew I would have to use the power of my Kekkei Genkai if I wanted to find him.

I closed my eyes and built the image of Neji's Byakugan in my head. When I opened my eyes, I could feel it coming over, the veins rising around the sides of my eyes. I could see, for miles and miles and it took me a minute to not let the sights overwhelm me. I knew what I was looking for and a few moments later I could see them all, Sakura, Naruto and others gathered around a fire. But I couldn't see Sas—

A kunai shot through the trees and I gasped, not having enough time to do anything else but slip out from the tree and come tumbling through the branches. I cried out as I broke through the last layer and was about to seriously injure myself when something darted forward and caught me in its arms.

Panic burst in my chest and I was ready to fight until I looked at the person, focused to bring my vision back. It slipped back into place, the veins disappearing, the Byakugan falling back. I blinked up at Sasuke, my stomach in knots. At first I was shocked, convinced I was seeing a ghost, but then my hand lifted and came down gently on the side of his face. He arched an eyebrow, a light flush lighting his cheeks as he stared at me, dumfounded.

"You're alright." I breathed, tears lighting my eyes as my arms wrapped around his neck. I hugged him, my head resting on his shoulder, as I held him close and breathed in the scent of him.

"Wha-what are you—" He grumbled beneath me, his hands releasing me as he stumbled back to try and support us both.

"You're alright!" I sniffed, my tears falling.

His hands reached back, catching my wrists, before he pulled them away, pushing me back lightly. He looked down at me, studying the tears falling from my eyes. I took a good look at him too, well, what I could from between my tears. He was filthy, his clothes a little torn, his face spotted with some dirt. His forehead protector was missing and his hair was a little messy too. He also looked tired. But, he was alive and that meant that he had survived.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, his voice firm.

I wiggled my hands away from his grip and he let me slip away. He watched me with careful eyes while I composed myself. I took a breath before shooting him a hard look.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." I said.

He knitted his brows together. "What are you talking about?"

I wondered then if he remembered but I could see it, the flare of caution in his eyes. He knew what I was talking about, but he was unsure if it was a trick. I reached up and his eyes cut over to my hand, watching my fingers pull back my hair, exposing the side of my neck.

"What are you—"

I turned my head around so that he could catch sight of my mark, the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Orochimaru's strongest curse mark. He was stunned into silence, his eyes wide.

"I was five and a half when I got mine." I said and was about to cover it again when I felt his fingertips brush over my skin, brush over the mark. I blushed, heat rising to my face and glanced up at him. He seemed entranced by the mark, his eyes moving over it slowly before they landed on my face. He moved his hand away as I let my hair fall.

We stared at each other before he lifted a hand and pulled back the collar of his shirt and there it was right next to two fresh bite marks. The three tomoe in a circle. I looked away and he let go of his collar, his eyes drifting away from me toward the ground. I was opening my mouth to get his attention when alarm shot through his eyes and before I could ask what was wrong, he clamped a hand down over my mouth and pushed me behind a tree. There were distant voices, shinobi just passing through, non-combatants no doubt who could smell the fire but knew that there were too many shinobi to try and pick a fight with all at once.

"We can't talk here." He whispered, his hand dropping from my mouth to one of my hands. I let him pull me away and lead me through the forest until we reached a beautiful lakeside. We jumped up into one of the tallest trees, seeking refuge on one of its sturdy branches.

We stared at each other at first, neither of us making a point to speak. He was fixing me with a curious look, his eyes wary as they held mine and then closed in on my neck. I could see the questions burning behind his dark eyes though, I knew it would be uncharacteristic of him to fire them all out at once.

"I was young when it happened." I said. "Young and stupid if we want to be specific."

Sasuke looked down at his hands. "This Rain kunoichi appeared and she…she…"

"She was actually him…in disguise." I said. "He does that a lot."

"I thought I was going to die."

My eyes widened at the look in his eyes. He seemed traumatized I couldn't blame him. I had felt the same way that day and had managed to remember bits of it as Megumi-sensei pulled me from the rubble. I remembered the icy-hot fear that had washed over me when I had looked into his eyes and saw my death play over and over again. He had held nothing back and though I didn't remember much of the vision he had cast into my head, I remembered it had been brutal. I reached for Sasuke's hand, wrapping my fingers around his palm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He didn't seem to register my touch and instead his eyes drifted down toward the lake, a haunted look still shining in his them.

I didn't know what else to say and yet I wanted to make him feel better somehow. He looked so small suddenly, like some scared little boy. I could even swear that he was trembling slightly. It was a different side to him and I imagined a young Sasuke staring down at the bloody bodies of his parents, the same shock and fear in his eyes. Seeing him that way and imagining him having the same expression forced me to think of Orochimaru's cruel laugh and I pressed my lips into a tight line as it echoed in my head along with his words.

Sasuke will come looking for me, seeking the power he so desires.

My grip on his hand tightened at the thought of the words, at the certainty that had burned in his voice. I had vowed that I would never let that happen, that if Orochimaru did come around, Sasuke would not go with him. I refused to let him make the same mistake I had made and let his words, his kindness, cloud my judgement. I didn't want Orochimaru to have the same power he had had over me over Sasuke. I thought back to all our time together, how I had tried to get him to realize that he wasn't alone. I thought about all that he did have, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. I even thought about the other Rookies who, even if he did find them annoying, were still there as well. He had so much and I was afraid that even though I could see it, clear as day, he couldn't.

I let go of his hand and reached up for his face, my hand smoothing along the side of it. He jumped slightly at my touch and as his eyes turned to mine, I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. It felt tense at first, his body going stiff the moment I leaned in. His hand shot up and I could feel it hovering over mine as if he were going to pull it away, or slap me, or push me back. But once my lips brushed over his, after a moment, he seemed to relax.

I pulled away a moment later, a moment after he fully relaxed, his hand smoothing over mine. My heart was in my throat instantly, a hot flush running across my cheeks. I was holding my breath and realized as I allowed myself a quick one that I hadn't taken one since I had moved toward him. I could barely bring myself to look at him and could imagine his look, his reaction. I had moved without thinking and if he wasn't ready to throw me out of the tree, he was waiting to shoot me a dark look before he did.

Then, I felt his hand slide up along the side of my face, before he turned my head up to meet his eyes, my face ablaze as our eyes met. I was speechless, unable to form words, unable to hold his gaze for very long or even register his expression. He seemed the same, except his eyes didn't seem as dark, just firm as they held me in them. He was looking down at me as if he were studying me, as if I was some sort of anomaly and before I could manage a sound, his lips curved at the end and suddenly he was smirking down at me, mischief in his eyes.

"What was that for?" He asked, his tone even, light with humor.

My face grew even hotter if it was possible, and if it was hard to hold his gaze before, it was even harder now and I felt myself trying to pull away from his hand. But, he didn't let me go. He held my face in place, his smirk deepening slightly. I was nervous suddenly and I felt like an idiot. Of all the things I could think of, instead of just hugging the kid, I had kissed him. I had kissed Sasuke Uchiha and now it felt like he was teasing me, as if he could read my mind and knew I was embarrassed by it.

He arched an eyebrow when I didn't give a response and just the overall look on his face was enough to make the heat rise to my chest as well. I could only imagine how I looked to him, like some blotchy, red tomato. I pulled away then, breaking from his hold and turned my body to face the water, hiding my face with my hair. He had seen enough of it, enough to last him a lifetime probably while I was sure my embarrassment would last even after death.

Don't get too close, Hideki had warned and there I had gone, pressing my lips firmly against his, as if I was so sure. As if I had planned it. As if I had wanted it. The last thought struck something within me, made my insides tingle and my eyes widened in response to it. I had wanted it. I had wanted it. It felt so right thinking it, so right that I could feel it, sharp in my gut, in my chest where the butterflies were starting to flutter around. I had wanted to kiss him and suddenly I wasn't sure how long I had wanted such a thing. It felt like it was the missing piece to a puzzle I had been struggling to solve. But, I couldn't remember starting the puzzle, or even wanting to finish it.

"Hey—"

I saw him reaching for me from the corner of my eye and moved away, choosing at the last second, before he could touch me, to jump down to the grass below. He was beside me just a second after and as I turned to go, to run, he caught my arm and swung me around to face him. I felt like a child, small as I stared up at him. I didn't meet his eyes, but I felt my face get even brighter.

"What's—"

I squeezed my eyes shut, my hands balling into tight fists. It was harder to breathe suddenly, harder to think. I just wanted to get away from him, try to cool off my heated cheeks. I was so desperate to escape that I said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry." I cut him off and pulled away from his touch before turning and running off.