Illicit With You
Part 2
You left your clan as an act of rebellion?"
"Yes, rebellion. I was over the moon when I regained my position as heiress. It felt like the universe was acknowledging all my hard work and progress. I had never felt so good about myself."
She renders him a sour smile.
"Then I came down from cloud nine. At first, I wasn't sure why I was unhappy. It eventually dawned on me that I didn't want to lead the Hyuga clan. I had never wanted to. The whole idea of leading the clan had been forced on me.
By the time I finally understood my feelings, I was bottling so much frustration that I was ready to explode. I told my clan I no longer wanted to be the next clan head and then I left."
"And they just let you walk away like that and wished you luck with your future endeavors?"
"Of course not. Some of them probably wanted to hang me. But they couldn't stop me from leaving no matter how much they bullied or begged me. I was determined."
"Your apartment is cold," Hinata says from the bedroom doorway, rubbing her arms, discontentment on her brow. They are still in the thick of winter - the coldest winter Konoha has seen in over a decade.
"The fact that my human blanket abandoned me is not helping."
Hinata approaches the kitchen, her hands concealed in the too-long sleeves of his knit sweater. She leans back against the counter beside him. He takes in her scent, fruity notes mixed with his scent.
"What's a little cold? You're a big girl."
"Are you saying I'm fat?"
Lavender eyes stray to the black mug on the counter.
"Coffee after midnight? What's that about?"
"Call it a rebellion against sleep."
He does not mention that coffee barely
keeps him awake or that he's up because old demons had visited him in his dreams. Being disturbed by the same old nightmares from a decade ago is humiliating.
"Keep your panties on, Hyuga. I know rebellion turns you on but try to stay cool."
Hinata rolls her eyes.
"Very funny, Sasuke."
"Hilarious," he replies.
"Speaking of rebelling, Sasuke. Aren't you worried that I'll rebel against you too?"
She pries the mug from his fingers and takes a sip. She wrinkles her nose and grimaces at his coffee.
"Ew. What do you punish yourself by drinking this?"
He retrieves his mug from her grasp, takes a sip and exaggeratedly sighs in satisfaction. He smirks when she pretends to retch.
"You're not exactly submissive or agreeable in bed. How can you possibly rebel against me even more?"
She steals his mug again and takes a couple of sips.
"Why do you keep drinking it if you hate it?"
"I'm cold. To answer your first question, I could still go against your wishes in a way that would make you HATE me."
She puts down the mug, inches her face closer to his until he can smell the coffee on her breath and smiles. A wry smile that leaves a touch of apprehension in his stomach.
"I can fall in love with you."
She seizes his lips in a kiss. The warm, moist sanctuary that is her mouth fails to distract him. He pulls away from her face, grabs her throat and levels an unimpressed glare at her. The grip he has on her neck makes her wince but she finds her smile again.
"Oops, did I strike a nerve?"
"Piss off."
She pulls his hand off her throat, freeing herself from his unloving grip, stands on her toes and kisses his cheek.
"Enjoy your coffee, Babe. Relax, I won't fall in love with you. Aside from sex, you're not that great a guy."
She saunters off to the bedroom, swaying her hips. He pours the remaining coffee down the drain. He no longer wants it.
One morning, a student of his begins struggling to breathe during class. The Academy medic identifies the attack as an allergic reaction and instructs him to rush the girl to the hospital when the injection she administers is ineffective. The medic who attends to the girl at the hospital assures him that the girl will be alright and informs him that she will have to remain in the hospital for the rest of the morning for monitoring.
As he is leaving the hospital, he encounters Hinata in one of the corridors - she works at the hospital on some occasions. The corridor is empty save for the two of them but he intends on ignoring her - he has a class to return to. She thwarts his plan by snatching his wrist and pulling him into a nearby closet.
Hinata throws him against a wall and pins his neck with her forearm. Her free hand slips into his trousers. She stands on her toes and whispers in his ear.
"Someone's excited. You're such a pathetic worm, Uchiha. We're in a hospital. People are dying here and you're hard?"
"I'm hard because you have your entire arm down my trousers. You're fondling me in a hospital closet, you whore."
She pushes down on his throat more forcefully. The fire in her eyes burns hotter.
"What did you just call me?"
"I called you a fucking whore."
She grabs his testicles and squeezes, eliciting a grunt from him.
"I don't think I like it when my bitch talks to me like that."
"I'm not your bitch."
"I have you by the balls."
She squeezes more tightly. The pain makes his knees go weak.
"Stop it."
"Or what, Sweety?"
Hinata smirks and increases the pressure. He grabs Hinata by the neck, spins around and slams her into the wall. He slams her so hard that the cabinet against the wall rattles.
"Fuck off. I told you to stop. Can't you get that through that big forehead of yours?"
The forehead comment stings her.
"Well, if I'm so ugly then maybe you shouldn't be putting your hands all over my private parts week in and week out, don't you think?"
"Spare me. Are you illiterate? I said you have a big forehead. I said nothing about you being ugly."
Hinata shakes her head.
"You sure know how to flatter a girl, don't you?"
She begins unzipping his trousers.
"I'm not going to have sex with you in a hospital closet."
"Stop being such a bore." She curles her lips suggestively.
"I'll even do that thing you like."
"No. You want to be treated like a lady so I'm treating you like one."
She rolls her eyes.
"Wow. And all of a sudden you're this honourable gentleman."
He gives her a once-over before putting space between them.
"Come over tonight. We're not doing it in a damn hospital closet."
She brushes past him. He knows he'll be contending with increased stubbornness over the coming days for not indulging her.
"No thanks. I'm busy tonight."
"As if you have anything better to do than getting screwed by me. Your little life is not that interesting."
She stops walking, gives him a barbed sideway glance and flashes him the middle finger before leaving him in the poorly-lit closet.
"Hinata," he calls, shaking her. "Hinata."
The whimpering stops. Hinata opens her eyes, face wet with tears, and glances about in confusion.
"You were crying in your sleep."
Hinata sits up, draws in a deep breath and wipes her face. She laughs a little and rubs her arms.
"Terrible timing. You're not supposed to see me like this."
She leaves bed after mumbling about thirst. When she returns to the bedroom, she sits on the edge of the bed. She reminds him of a weathering lily.
"I dreamt about Neji," she says, voice small. "He was dying. Over and over again."
He says nothing. He watches her for some time until he decides that he hates seeing her look as destitute as a homeless dog on a stormy night.
"Hinata."
The subtle turn of her head tells him she is listening. He pats the space next to him. She shifts and sits beside him.
"Lie down."
She lies down without resistance. He takes her into his arms. He has never gotten accustomed to how perfectly she fits in his arms, as though she was molded for him. She clings to him as though there is nothing else to cling to. Her breath leaves feather-light touches on his chest.
"Try to fall asleep again. I'm right here."
He takes in the perfume of her disheveled hair, the slight odour of fresh perspiration from her underarms. She does not look or smell like a bouquet of roses. But even in that state, a part of him feels he would break the fingers of any man who touched her with sexual intent. And that bothers him.
On some days, Konoha feels like a three-by-three-meter prison cell. His bondage eats him up in the still moments. When idleness causes him to stray into the deep dark chambers of his mind. When he reflects on his childhood at the Uchiha compound... on Itachi...Danzo.
Eight months behind the walls of Konoha's prison. Or twenty-four of restricted movement and taking part in a community reintegration program. The latter entailed being forbidden from leaving Konoha and a teaching post at The Academy for two years. Those had been the options laid out as punishment for his crimes by the powers that be.
By all accounts, both options were extremely lenient. For his crimes of defecting, collaborating with enemy elements, his aggressions at the Kage Summit and murdering a Hokage - the hand of punishment had struck him softly. Kakashi had called it hero treatment.
It had taken a great deal of humility for him to accept the punishment dished out to him. If it had not been for lengthy conversations with Naruto and Kakashi, he would have simply refused to bow to the authority of the powers that be. He could have rejected their punishment and departed for lands beyond their territory. Who would have stopped him? Who could have even stopped him? In the end, he had been convinced to cooperate and do his time.
On some days, his shoulders feel too small to bear the state of being no better than a leashed dog. No better than cattle in a pen. It throws him into a pit of restlessness that is nearly insurmountable.
Sometimes, when people look at him, he gets the inkling that his imprisonment is amusing to them. The last Uchiha? One of the saviours of the world? Cut down to size and treated no better than a piece of property.
"I don't think the village is secretly laughing at you, Sasuke. I think you might be imagining things," Hinata says to him.
She is lying on her stomach, a coat of sweat glistening on her back. She exudes a quality of vulnerability that entices him for reasons beyond him.
"Don't patronise me. I'm not a child."
"That's not-"
"Don't pretend to give a damn about how I feel about being trapped. You probably get a kick out of it, don't you?"
He expects her to push back. He expects that fiery side of her to rear its head. His accusations are met with silence. The fire never comes. The one person who is ever ready to challenge him is not even bothering to defend her name. He does not know what to make of it but something tells him it cannot mean anything good.
"If you're going to act like you're doing me a favour then you might as well not come here."
Hinata shifts her gaze from the ceiling and sets it on him.
"What do you mean?"
"I might as well have been sleeping with a plastic doll. You were just lying there."
"That's not true."
"Tonight was bullshit, Hinata. You know it."
The woman beside him sighs.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just caught up in my head."
She lays her head on his shoulder and runs her fingers down the centre line of his abdomen. It is the first time she is touching him that evening.
"I'll be alright. I promise."
"A guy asked me out on a date yesterday," Hinata tells him, voice amused.
"He seems like a really sweet guy."
He is sitting cross-legged on the floor sharpening his katana. Hinata is leaning against the bedroom doorframe with a glass of water in hand. Her hair is still wet from showering. He does not pause from sharpening his sword. It is a Saturday morning and winter is breathing its last dying breath.
"And what's that got to do with me?"
"I was getting there but you interrupted me. How would you react if I started dating him?"
"I'll have an issue with it if it means you'll stop coming over. Otherwise, I don't care."
The amusement bleeds out of Hinata's countenance. She smiles again but this time her smile holds an element of fabrication. He sharpens his blade with slow, steady strokes.
"So what if I sleep with you both? You would have no problem with sharing me with another guy like that?"
The scenario twists his stomach. He struggles to not let it show. He can no longer meet her gaze.
"I'm not your boyfriend. Do whatever you want to do with your body. Just don't overdo the whoring or else you'll become damaged goods. I have no use for damaged goods."
Hinata's face darkens.
"You can be such a vile pig, Sasuke," Hinata mutters, voice devoid of warmth.
"I sometimes don't even know why I'm involved with you."
Hinata leaves before he finds a chance to respond. A petty part of him basks in satisfaction.
Euphoria possesses him. The pressure valve of his member opens. His head spins a little amidst the pleasure. He groans as unloads himself on the woman. Each throb of his member is accompanied by a relinquishing of his seed to the pale woman pinned beneath him. The woman who knows him best. He wishes to reacquaint himself with the taste of her tongue but she turns her face away. His lips land on her cheek. He ignores the stab of rejection.
"Off."
It is the first word she has said to him that evening. The words they had exchanged some days ago are still hanging between them.
The breeze from the open window running over his back reminds him of the pulsing scratches she had gifted him with. He takes stock of their battle wounds. The scratches on his back, the fresher ones on his chest and the throbbing bite marks on his traps. The bruises formed around her neck and wrists, the slight swelling on her lower lip.
He takes too long to heed her command and she shoves him off her. She gets up to clean herself. His eyes remain fixed on her nude behind.
"You better not mess up with the pill. I don't want some Uchiha-Hyuga crossbreed I didn't ask for."
"If you think I'd let a pig like you father any child of mine, then you need to get your head checked."
"Good. I wouldn't want you passing on anything to my children to make them spineless, timid little weirdos like you were as a kid."
It is one of those nights. Where the air is noxious with vicious spitefulness.
"I also wouldn't want any of my children to grow up to be a traitor like their father. Or a kin slayer like their uncle."
He crosses the space between them in a heartbeat. It takes him a moment to take stock of the situation. He is towering over Hinata, Sharingan blazing. Hinata's back is flush against the bathroom door. His hand is throbbing. There is a fresh fist-sized crater on the bathroom door beside Hinata's head. Hinata's fingers are aglow but the vice grip he has around her wrist hinders them from being any trouble. The moonlight pouring through the curtain illuminates the protruding veins surrounding her eyes.
"Keep my brother's name out of your fucking mouth."
Hinata opens her mouth to speak but settles for glaring. A moment passes. And then another. Neither of them twitch let alone yield to the other. An unstoppable force wrestles an immovable object.
Eventually, something cracks in Hinata. And then it crumbles altogether. The deadly glow of chakra illuminating her fingers dissipates. She averts her eyes.
"Okay, Sasuke," she says voice breaking after the third syllable.
Her resignation feels too consequential for merely that exchange. She exudes a sense of finality that feels ill-suited for such a spat. Her lips form a carcass of a smile. Her eyes shimmer.
"Okay."
He releases her wrist and steps away from him slightly bewildered by his read of her emotions. The woman previously pinned beneath him crosses the room, picks up her clothes and begins to dress. It feels like a pivotal moment in their involvement. Her odd recent behaviour - the detachment, the absences excused by unexplained busyness, the surprising lack of fight in her at times - it's all been a prelude to this very moment. He now understands it, her feet have been inching towards the exit.
He feels it in his bones, the reapers of death have come for them. Their union has been weighed and found wanting and now stands to be purged. Time has condemned their union to death. He follows Hinata.
"I'm sorry," he says resting his chin on the crook of her neck. He wraps his arm around her waist. He will not lose her for lack of trying.
"Come back to bed."
Hinata unwraps his arm from her waist and faces him.
"Are you the best I can do? A man who sees me as nothing more than a disposable vagina?"
It's not true. She is not just some sex plaything to him.
"I don't-"
She does not allow him to defend himself.
"I've been so angry at you lately, Sasuke. So angry."
A tear falls down her cheek. And then another. She shakes her head.
"But my anger has been misdirected. I have only myself to blame for forgetting what this is about. I can't be angry at you for not wanting more than this. You've always made it clear that you're only interested in what's between my legs."
He lowers his gaze. He evades her eyes for the first time since she bulldozed into his apartment. So this is what it's all about?
"I'm the fool for thinking hey this guy isn't so bad, we get along pretty well when we're not being assholes to one another. I'm the idiot for thinking this would actually-"
He has always known that a girl like Hinata would not settle for what he had to offer forever. He had just not expected that day to come so soon.
"Enough," Hinata says shakily. "Enough."
She turns her back on him and leaves.
Hinata is not coming back. That is what he concludes after seeing neither hide nor hair of her for four weeks. A part of him had accepted that as fact on his last night with her. A smaller part of him had still been holding on to the hope that her dependency on him was powerful enough to make her retrace her steps. That hopeful part of him has died.
After Hinata leaves, he buries himself in work. He volunteers to be assigned twice his previous workload at The Academy. He throws himself into training. Recommitting to training reveals how much idleness has dulled his blade. He tires quickly, his physical strength is back to what it was when he was 14 and his chakra reserves have been amputated at the knees. He welcomes his renewed fixation on training. He appreciates anything and everything that keeps his mind from dwelling on Hinata.
The first two weeks are vicious. A whiff of her, when he opens his closet and catches her lingering scent on his clothes, makes his stomach flip. A random girl in the crowd with similar hair makes him look twice. The nights are long. They stretch on and on as if they know no end. The silence is suffocating. His bed feels too large for him. He stares at her toothbrush, hypnotised, each time he uses the bathroom sink. By the end of the second week, he decides that ridding himself of idleness as much as possible is the only way he'll retain his sanity.
He brings a woman to his apartment once. A pretty brunette chunin with cute dimples who's probably two or three years older than him. He meets her at a bar after Naruto drags him there to celebrate for no discernible reason with the rest of the guys from their graduation class. The woman spends half the night eyeing him from the other end of the room. At some point in the night, she gets up to use the bathroom and he follows her. Half of the guys he came with are probably too drunk to notice his departure and the rest do not care. He waits for his prey at the entrance of the ladies' room.
"Get your stuff and say goodnight to your friends," is all the convincing the woman needs to go home with him.
Everything feels wrong. Her fingers move across his skin strangely. Her body? There are only toned muscles where there should be small deposits of excess fat, there are scars where the skin should be blemishless. The curve of her bottom is all wrong. Her hair is too short. She is too submissive. Her moans are amiss. Her scent is off. She is not Hinata Hyuga. He shuts off his brain halfway through the deed. Merely goes through the motions. It is the least enjoyable sex he has ever had.
"Hey, Teme! Open up!"
The insistent banging on his door continues.
"I know you're in there, asshole! Open up!"
He heads for the door while muttering curses under his breath. It's a Sunday. The only day he wishes not to be bothered on. Naruto knows that.
"What do you want?"
"Teme, it's time to PARTEY! Teme, it's time to PARTEY," Naruto begins singing at the top of his lungs.
"Sasuke, we wanna PARTEY!"
To say that he is unimpressed is a gross understatement.
"You do know that I have neighbours right, Dobe? So how about you shut your ramen hole?"
Naruto shakes his head.
"Damn, you're no fun." A grin lights up the blonde's face.
"Get dressed. We're celebrating."
"Whatever excuse you have for drinking, I'm not interested."
He tries to shut the door. Naruto pushes against it. He feels his patience spiraling down the drain.
"Let go of my door and piss off, Dobe. I'm not interested."
"It's kind of a big deal for the gang. Choji, Ino and Hinata passed the jounin exam. We're all jounin now. Oh man, can you believe it?"
Something inside him goes rigid at the mention of Hinata. The prospect of seeing her makes his heart quicken. His reaction disappoints him. Has he made so little progress in forgetting her? Does she still have such a grip on him?
"What's wrong? You look like someone kicked you in the nutsack."
Naruto's comment pulls him back to reality. He composes himself.
"Come on, Teme. Everyone will be there. Like I said, it's a big deal to us. Do it for me."
He cannot find it within himself to refuse. Unbeknownst to Naruto, someone other than himself is the reason he cannot reject the invitation. Someone he wishes to forget.
Naruto insists on gifting the newly-promoted jounin so they pass by a weapon's shop and a gift shop on their way to the Nara residence. He picks three identical sets of high-end kunai as gifts. Naruto picks out odd trinkets that are more sentimental but less useful than kunai.
The party is already in full swing by the time they arrive to the Nara residence. The Nara backyard looks worthy of a party. Two long tables have been set side-by-side and decorated with well-made tablecloths. The tables are covered with snacks and alcohol of various kinds. The alcohol is evidence that the Nara homemaker is out of town. No matter how old they are, getting drunk in front of their parents is taboo. The tablecloths, flowers, balloons, and other decorative paraphernalia are probably Ino's doing.
His eyes find her before anybody else. She is sitting next to Shikamaru. She laughs at something the genius says before her eyes slide over to him. She darts her eyes away before they can lock.
"Look what the dogs dragged in. You bastards were too busy making out to get here on time?" says Kiba, a bottle of beer in hand.
"Are you jealous, Dog Boy? Why don't I come over there and give you a big wet kiss?"
Kiba pouts as if going in for a peck, and beckons Naruto to him with his free hand. Naruto flips Kiba the middle finger.
He takes in the rest of the party. Sakura, Ino and Tenten bickering intensely at one end of the table. Shino and Sai engaged in a bland-looking conversation beside them. Choji caught up in entertaining the dark-skinned girl on his lap a ways from the rest of the gang. Kiba clumsily dancing to the not-too-loud music. Naruto heading over to Kiba to argue about nothing. The overgrown mutt lying at Hinata's feet. He takes it all in, feeling slightly out of place despite the many months he's been back in Konoha.
He walks over to the trio of kunoichi and exchanges a stiff nod with Sakura. He says a half-hearted congratulations to Ino and passes her a box of kunai. She squeals and flungs herself at him. He tenses at the unsolicited embrace. He feels eyes boring holes into his back. Ino removes herself from his person and he immediately puts some space between himself and the trio. Choji is his next stop.
"Took you long enough, Big Guy," he says tossing a box of kunai to the Akamichi.
He is on cordial terms with the Akamichi. Aside from Naruto and Sakura, Shikamaru and Choji were the first to welcome him back into their circle with open arms. The drum of Choji's laughter beats the air. It doesn't take much to get a laugh out of him. The dark-brown kunoichi on Choji's lap watches him warily from the corner of her eye. He pays her no mind.
He grabs a bottle of Sake and posts himself beside Sai and Shino. The two are comfortable with letting him be. He is grateful that they do not attempt to include him in their conversation for the sake of insincere hospitality. He catches Shikamaru's eye and toasts in the air in acknowledgment of his hospitality. Shikamaru nods and returns the favour. His eyes glide over Hinata but do not linger.
The chatting, arguing and laughing continue - voices raised by the single-digit or double-digit percentages in their bloodstreams. Two hours pass before Hinata is finally by herself. He slips into the seat beside her. Everyone is either too intoxicated, caught up in their little pockets of conversation, tomfoolery or dancing to care about his migration.
It's an hour or so after sunset. The music is louder now and the bottles of liquor emptier than when he arrived. Hinata sits quietly beside him, ignoring his existence and sipping on juice as he sips on sake. They sit like that for nearly half an hour before she gets up to use the bathroom. He does not expect her to reclaim her position next to him but she returns and sits next to him. He holds back a smirk. It's always been a game of dominance between them. Changing seats would be admitting defeat. Still, she ignores him.
He is outwardly indifferent but a swirl of emotion is wreaking havoc within him. How long has it been since he's held her? Six, or seven weeks? How many nights has she visited him in his sleep? How many mornings have felt empty without her scrounging for a few more minutes of sleep while he showers? How many evenings have his apartment felt destitute without her soft words bouncing between the walls?
He discreetly lays his hand on her knee. He feels her turn to stone. He aches to do more but he restrains himself. Hinata makes a move for her drink, still refusing to acknowledge him. He is paying so much attention to her that the sound of her gulping down juice is louder than the commotion around them.
"Your favourite colour is violet. Maroon used to be your favourite colour but you never wore it because you thought it didn't look good on your skin. Maroon stopped being your favourite colour after you got your first period because it reminds you too much of period blood," he says without looking at her.
"You started growing out your hair when you were thirteen because you overheard some girls saying that your short hair made you look like a boy."
He takes a sip of sake.
"You sometimes stutter when you talk about your childhood. On your left hand, you have a little scar between your thumb and your forefinger. You have a scar on your ankle from being bitten by a rabid dog on your first D-rank. You love cinnamon buns but you hate when they have too much sugar but too little cinnamon."
Naruto and Kiba grab each other's collars and start shouting in each other's faces across the yard. Ino's loud giggles have become the main soundtrack of the party. Hinata stares on at the party. So does he.
"The slightest breeze gives you goosebumps. You sing in the shower but you try to sing quietly because you don't want me to hear you. I hear you every time. Your toes curl when you stretch in the morning. Whenever I mention a name you've never heard of, you say it out loud three times to commit it to memory. You wince every time I mention snakes. Or at least you used to do those things. Since it's now past tense."
He finally turns to face her. She is staring down at the tablecloth.
"Your birthday is on December 27. You wish it was earlier because you feel like nobody really cares about a birthday that's so late into the year."
He brings that saucer of sake to his lips.
"How's that for only seeing you as a disposable vagina?"
He slams the remaining box of kunai next to her hand.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Hyuga. I have work tomorrow. Have a nice week."
"I'm not here to sleep with you," Hinata announces when she turns up at his door three nights later.
"I don't regret my decision to walk away. There's a reason why sex should be reserved for people who love one another. It wasn't healthy."
There's a vitality to her that had been absent at the dusk of their involvement. He thinks about shutting the door in her face. Why was she there if not to rekindle what they had? To play mind games?
"If that's not what you're here for then what the hell do you want?"
His voice comes out rougher than he intended it to. Hinata's eyes drop. She is quiet for an everlasting moment. She fixes her lips to speak but nothing comes out for a minute.
"Company? Just company. If that's okay with you, Sasuke."
The audacity of this woman turning up at his door requesting his company? When she knows very well how much he yearns for her?
"Can't you get that from your friends?"
"It's not the same. They don't know me like you do. Nobody does."
He ought to slam the door in her face. But he doesn't. Because loneliness has become his daily portion. He'll take what he can from her. Even if it's merely her presence. Because that's what you do when you're struggling to let go of someone. You take whatever crumbs you can get.
"Coffee?"
Hinata smiles at him for the first time in a long time.
"Coffee will do, thanks."
Thank you for reading. I know it's been long since I updated anything. Yes, I am still alive. No, I do not know whether I'll finish my main story, Under The Yoshino. So much has changed in my life and so much time has passed that I'm no longer in the space I was before artistically speaking. As an author, you need to be in a certain headspace to write a story with a dark tale like Under The Yoshino tree. Yes, I'll definitely complete this short fic. Take care and Merry Christmas.
{The Immortal Sage}