Moonfall: Sasori

"There you are."

He acknowledged her with only a glance, before returning his red-tinted gaze to the waning moon above.

Rolling her eyes, she put her hands on her hips. Leaning in front of him with a scowl, she forced him to look up at her again. "I sensed your arrival hours ago, Sasori," she huffed, "but you couldn't even take one minute out of your busy schedule to come see me." She paused in hopes of a response. "Like usual," she added, shaking her head when she received little more than an apathetic stare. "You don't even care that I was worried about you, do you?"

"And like usual," Sasori murmured back at her, "you always jump to conclusions."

Kagome's face flushed in an instant. Trying not to sputter, she asked, "W-what's that supposed to mean, huh?"

Sasori's carmine stare tracked her in the silence that followed. He shook his head lightly when she finally looked away and tried to hide within her raven locks with another huff. "It's a requirement for me to report to the mission office after returning to the village," he quietly reminded her.

"I know that!" Nearly stomping her foot, Kagome crossed her arms. Turning toward the large, imposing sliver of a moon that had captivated him before, she bit the inside of her cheek out of frustration. "But you weren't at the mission office this entire time, were you?" Tucking her chin, she sighed, "You say you don't like to make people wait, Sasori, but ever since Komushi…"

"You could've come to me if you were so worried for my safety. You knew where I was the entire time."

Glancing over her shoulder, Kagome frowned deeply. As stoic as ever, it did not look like Sasori had so much as flinched, despite having interrupted her. "Sasori…" She looked away from him again, shaking her head. "That's not… You've been taking so many missions lately, and… I just…"

Sasori made a noise that nearly sounded like a snort, causing her to glare at him lightly from the corner of her eye. "Kagome, there's a war going on." There was an edge layered into his voice that had not been there before, as he said, "Everyone is being assigned as many missions as possible, even you."

"That's different!" Her hair whipped around her shoulders with a turn of her heel. Throwing out her hand in aggravation, she growled underneath her breath. "You're purposely going out of your way to stay on the field!" Swinging her finger in his direction, she finally allowed herself the pleasure of stomping her foot. "And I can't believe I have to be the one to spell it out for you, Sasori, but your puppets can't protect you forever! You need to rest and eat and… and, ugh, you're just so… so… stupid sometimes!"

Leaning his head onto his raised knee, Sasori blinked at her.

Kagome kicked the layer of sand settled atop the roof they were occupying, knowing that waiting for a response would be useless. The fight was slowly seeping out of her the longer they stared at one another. Sinking onto her hunches, she wrapped her arms around her knees and mirrored his stance.

The red haired young man tipped his chin, returning his gaze to the moon behind her.

"Sasori…?"

"Hm?"

"Do you…?" Kagome paused, watching him in the quiet stillness. The moonlight swallowed by a lone cloud passing overhead, the shadows upon his face shifted and highlighted the downward twitch of his lip. Hugging her knees tighter, she finally asked, "Do you want to… leave Suna?"

Halfway shrouded in darkness, Sasori's eyes were striking. The color of fresh blood. "Do you want to leave Suna?" He parroted her question as if it was ludacris, yet his gaze had fixed on her in an instant. His voice lowered into a husky tenor, as if he had run out of breath, while he asked, "Why would you think I want to leave Suna, Kagome?"

She wrinkled her nose when he smiled woodenly a moment later.

"Suna is where Chiyo-obaa-san is," he seemed to laugh at her, "and where you are."

Biting her lip, Kagome's dark eyes widened at the faint whisper of his fingers brushing across her flushed cheek. Her spine stiffened, a shiver rushing through her when his thumb trailed underneath her cobalt colored gaze and snagged on the edge of her bottom lip.

He… he had never…

Sasori's eyes only seemed to brighten.

"S-Sasori…?"

"I'd never leave Suna without you." The red headed young man easily pulled her in, his gaze reflecting the strange, sudden madness that had taken hold of him. "I promise."

"W… what does that mean?"

Stroking her moist little mouth as if he were caught within a lover's spell, Sasori only continued to smile in response.

Kagome swallowed, suddenly feeling uneasy, as she breathed around his thumb, "...Sasori?"

But he never answered.

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