Fandom Redemption [Closed] [Graverobber141/arbus]

[arbus]

Sakura was a rather perceptive person. However, she was careful that, as she grabbed the strap of her pack, nothing in her face gave away that she very definitely had registered his fight-or-flight response.

She slung the backpack over her shoulders, adjusted the straps to even out the weight. She had to admit one thing: The look of surprise in his eyes had been very gratifying and had managed to already dispel much of her rather fleeting anger. She didn't wait for his invitation to go on ahead, stepping onto the road a good hour later than they originally intended.

How curious that time was such a fleeting concept. While every minute she had spent in his company up until yesterday had felt like an eternity, now it felt like time just flew by her.

She wondered if this was a good sign.

"Hm?" She looked curiously at him at the question, searching his face for any clues if he was mocking her. All she saw, however, was a certain openness, a mild interest, perhaps.
Her expression grew sheepish.
"Actually, yes. I have considered it."

Letting her gaze travel into the distant mountain range that separated the Land of Fire from Rain, she paused in her words for a moment. Hesitant to share the information but deciding that it wouldn't make a difference, she continued: "I think it would be nice. Teaching someone who is younger than me. Teaching them how to ... work together. Be a team."

It was a bit harder to swallow, as if the last words had put some restriction around her throat. She moved on without much pause, eager to dispel whatever kernel of truth and hurt could nest between them. "But I'm too young. And anyways, I want to focus on my training as a healer for now. It takes up much of my time."

 

[Graverobber141]

The sun had fully risen now, cascading bright rays down among the world awakening underneath its orange gaze. Traveling alone, Sasuke had kept a rigid regime; he was always on the move while it was still dark, and never turned in until his body demanded he do so. The span between that timeframe was spent with the sole purpose of making himself useful, finding ways, even if they were simple, to put some good into the world. Yet their late departure, which was entirely of his causing, and their pace, which was slower than the breakneck speed he usually pushed himself to keep, didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Having to first jog a little to catch up to Sakura, since it had taken him a moment, when he was raising his chin, to realize she had taken off before him, Sasuke settled in by her side, happy to keep in step with the tempo she chose.

Tilting his chin slightly in her direction, his habitual gesture to indicate he was listening, he observed her out of his peripheral vision. Still feeling uneasy at his last hawk’s disappearance, a slither of caution commanding part of his mind, he kept most of his watchfulness trained on their surroundings. Just in case.

Be a team. The only outward display of that one sentence’s effect on him was a momentarily aversion of his eyes, as if out of shame. But he seemingly seamlessly was able to move on, weary of letting that one thought fester the conversation.

“You’d make a good one,” he stated in a tone that said it was a fact, not a suggestion. Offering her one of his small smiles, he continued, “Better than Kakashi. The genin would be lucky to be under your leadership.” And he believed those words. If anything, he had always been one who had little patience for sugar-coated flattery, preferring simplistic bluntness.

 

[arbus]

"Look", she said in a matter-of-fact voice, hooking her thumbs into the straps of the backpack, "I would draw up lesson plans, for starters. And I wouldn't keep my genin waiting for hours on end. I'd expect them to be punctual too, of course, but that would be hardly a problem. Remember how meek we've been back then?"

She returned his smile with a brighter one. Naturally she had all thought it through, awake in bed or in front of the mirror, under the shower and blocking the bathroom long enough for her mother to passive-aggressively present her the water bill three weeks later. It had been a appealing fantasy. Learning from mistakes. Offering insight, and kindness.

The road was as hard and dusty under their feet as it had been the day before. With the river now on their other side, as they had to track back for a bit to the last way point and then take the road leading to the mountains, the path before her did not seem as intimidating, though. Even the sun appeared friendlier to her eyes, not as blinding, not yet burning up the back of her neck.

"And, kami, the excuses sensei came up with! Carrying a panda baby across the Naka to its mother?" She threw Sasuke a disbelieving glance, much like she had done on the day Kakashi had presented them with this excuse. "Looking for a rare flower that only grows once every ten years on top of Hokage mountain? And Naruto, that idiot, believed every word and bolted in the middle of our kana to go find one for himself." She couldn't help but giggle. "It's not actually that hard to be a better sensei than Kakashi, I guess."

 

[Graverobber141]

"You mean Kakashi wasn't referring to his lesson plans every time he stuck his nose in that book of his?" Sasuke asked, sarcasm lining his normally dry voice.

Glancing in her direction, his gaze lingered on that smile of hers, unaware that his own was spreading enough to reach his eyes, which glinted with a trace of humor. Listening to her criticize their former sensei and how she would improve upon his flawed teaching methods, watching her face light up during the conversation, he felt warmth in the center of his chest, like the comforting blaze of a campfire, so different from the coldness that had inhabited there before.

Catching himself slacking in his vigilance, he turned his eyes back to perceive the world around them, even as his thoughts lingered back to the days she spoke of. How frustrated he had been with those missions, with the Jonin himself, with Naruto and his constant antics, and how inattentive he had been to Sakura. He thought he had known everything, when in reality, he had known absolutely nothing. But he couldn't help to feel a tug of longing for that time, simply because it was before everything had fallen apart.

"For all his faults, he did get us three to work together." Their first day, chasing after two bells. Naruto tied to a post during lunch. Sasuke and Sakura offering him part of their lunch. Teamwork. It had been about teamwork all along.

Letting go a breath of air, he began to think about how she had certainly been thinking about being a squad-leader, past the point of just considering it. He mulled over the way she had spoken about the possibility, and he had a suspicion that the desire might have been more than just a passing consideration. Without thought, he turned his gaze onto her once more, speaking softly, "When the time comes, you should pursue it. If it's what you want."

 

[arbus]

"Thank kami he wasn't", Sakura replied, making a sound halfway to disgust. Their sensei's propensity for running around with those books had always irked her, even when, by now, it had become just one more quirk, easy to ignore. Nobody paid much mind to it at all anymore. Maybe this said more about them than about Kakashi.

She watched as Sasuke's frame tensed again, as if allowing himself to unbend could bring disaster in its wake. It had not escaped her notice, this need to stay on his guard. He was like a feral animal that way. And while every shinobi, herself included, was instilled with the compulsion to stay on their toes, Sasuke's vigilance was a sharp thing with ragged edges. The way his eyes scanned the treeline made tension coil in her spine. His readiness for battle was as contagious as it was unnerving.

The hair on her arms stood up as if enticed by static.

"He did", she replied in a more solemn voice. But she had not learned that lesson for many months, not until the events during their first chunin exams had forced that knowledge into her. She thought back to their very first day as genin, when they became Team 7 for the sole reason of them showing a potential of working together, although they had been fraught and fragile from the beginning. She had not offered Naruto her lunch for his sake, but because she had seen Sasuke do it. She had not wanted him to think of her as selfish, and because his opinion had meant more to her than of what she had thought as a stupid ninja rank, she had followed his example.

"We'll see", she said through a thick feeling of nostalgia and passing guilt for her own selfishness and stupidity.

Like a passing thought, she registered that the weight of his gaze had become bearable, and she returned it openly now. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as the breeze picked up, evolving into a wind that drove through their clothes. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, carrying the promise of a thunderstorm. They had passed the way point already, and while the river bent away from them back into Fire Country, they were now walking towards the mountains on a winded, seemingly deserted path. "What about you?", she asked shyly, unaccustomed to hold such easy conversation with him and wary to bring up anything that would hurt him. "Would you ... like to do that, one day?"

 

[Graverobber141]

It started as a drop. Singular. The splash of water collided onto the tip of Sasuke's nose, cool and foreboding.

"Sakura..." His voice was surprisingly soft. His gaze softer, yet undeniably broken, vulnerable. Whatever he had been meaning to say slipped from his tongue, and he was left simply studying her for a long moment.

Her question had slipped past his well-kept guard, underneath the armor he wore so well against the world. It caused his stomach to sink, sent the twisting blade of regret and guilt skewering into his conscious. And yet it had been so innocent, asked without intent to harm. But he couldn't shake the sharp recall to reality. The reminder of what couldn't be, because of what he had done.

Someone like him should never be a sensei. Teaching the life of a shinobi came with responsibility; the mentor was responsible for what they taught the student, and if that student decided to follow in his shadow-. He was the living example of what could go wrong. His eyes instinctively dropped to examine the small scars running across his upturned palm, remnants from sparking chakra. Kakashi had been the one to teach him chidori, after all.

The drops began falling one after another, congregating into a light drizzle.

The threads of his future were already woven. This. This is what awaited him, his damnation for his sins: strangling silence and masochistic memories. Everything else was but a dream, a childish wish born from a desire to wash everything away, for a chance to begin anew.

Between the mountains, lightning flashed within the dark clouds, and few moments later, the low roar of thunder echoed in the distance.

"I haven't thought about it," he finally settled on saying, and the lie left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The rain began falling in earnest, battling against the wind which drove it in new directions.

Tucking his arm underneath his cloak, Sasuke tugged on its edge, taking a step closer to Sakura. Lifting up the fabric, he raised it over her head, the difference in their height making it easier for him to help shield her from the rain.

 

[arbus]

The sudden realization hit her, like the many small revelations about Sasuke that she had encountered over the course of the last few days. Of who he had become, of who he was striving to be. Even at his sudden close proximity she did not stir, not for a long moment as she processed the thought - Sasuke didn't expect to come home. It was written all over his features, in the way the light faded from his eyes to look into some distance again only he could fathom. And she watched it happening, with a dropping feeling in her stomach and the strange sensation that the soles of her feet were weighted down with lead.

Sadness.

No. Sorrow.

She added to his lie with one of her own, unsure if she was making matters better or worse to keep up the pretense. But, she thought, at least for now, just in this moment in which I can feel the warmth of his body and the occasional breath against the top off her head, moving her hair. "Then maybe you should." And even though it was a lie, it was his lie, not hers. She meant every word as she added: "You'd be a great sensei. Or at least", she looked up at him. His closeness made her blush. "on par with Kakashi."

And then the moment shattered with the force of the thunder exploding in the sky. She winced and let out a shaky laugh. The storm was approaching much faster than she would have guessed, the morning now dark under a thick blanket of charcoal clouds. A gush of wind wrenched violently on the fabric of Sasuke's cloak. In a matter of a heartbeat, the drizzle turned into fat, cold drops exploding into dark stains onto the road, leaving an irregular pattern in the light-brown earth. Before she knew what she was doing, she had grabbed his arm, and was pulling him forward into a sprint through rain so heavy it was like a curtain, like stepping into a running shower. And it was loud, the rain pattering against the hard soil and their faces and shoulders and fronts; the whooshing as wind lashed it about; then a flash of lightening, a beat, and thunder rumbling in the sky again.

The inn lay too far back, and either way she didn't want them to backtrack, so she was steering them towards the forest, towards what the map had indicated to be a mining tunnel, a local landmark the innkeeper had told her about during their small talk this morning, and she hoped her sense of direction was not letting her down through the heavy downpour.

 

[Graverobber141]

Sasuke studied her face, his own expression softening like the hard earth underneath their feet being pelted by rain. He simply let her words sink in: the thought that, after everything she had seen him become, after everything he did to her, she considered he would, at least, make a decent sensei (with a few key faults, perhaps, but able to get the job done). While he was sure she believed it, he still had his own burdening doubts, but the sentiment lifted a weight from the center of his chest; a seed was planted in its stead, a hope, even if a majority of him was still wary to give it credence, that his story had yet to be fully written.

"Thank you, Sakura," he said quietly, lightning flashing overhead, the words drowned out by thunder. His cloak was ripped out of his grasp from the strength of the wind, dancing backwards behind them. Even the sword against his back was lifted up, violently dropping down to clang against his hip, and his pack was uncomfortably, consistently forced to shift its weight with a tug from the wind. The rain itself had begun to assault them like archers defending a fortress, sending arrows down upon them.

He barely had time to lift his head to examine the sky. The thought they should find shelter wasn't allowed to fully form within his mind, as Sakura had already considered it, he could only assume. A hn was jerked from his throat when she grabbed onto his arm, yet that was his only complaint. He followed her without resistance, his sandals kicking up the dirt that was quickly becoming mud as he ran slightly behind her, trusting she already had a plan.

The approaching outline of the forest quickly raced in front of them, until the point they found themselves within the embrace of trees. Branches were fiercely forced to dance, as if puppets on strings, controlled by the storm raging around them. A bolt of lightning struck a bit too close for comfort, making the following, deafening boom rumble in Sasuke's ears; it seemed to shake the earth itself, and after the flash of light cleared from his vision, he saw that a nearby tree had caught aflame, its trunk split in two, the bark charred black. Immediately, his eye gleamed red, the tomoes of his sharingan dancing around his pupil. Though he couldn't see through the storm, he could now perceive the area around them more keenly, and with that information, could steer them out of danger. Upturning his hand, he grasped Sakura's wrist in return, in a way creating a two way street; while she led them, he could give her a tug to redirect them out of harm's way.

 

[arbus]

Sakura felt the tug on her arm and shifted her weight, just in time to avoid the burning branch that came crashing down from the lightening struck tree. Her heart leapt in her chest the same moment her fight response kicked in, every muscle in her body tight while the smell of burnt wood and ozone filled the air around them. She accepted his guidance just like he had accepted hers, and they moved through the dense forest with swift grace. Soles enhanced by chakra as not to slip on wet leaves and muddy ground, they managed not to trip over hidden roots and keep up a steady pace. Thanks to Sasuke's enhanced perception, it took them mere minutes to find the cave, and Sakura inwardly thanked all the gods that she hadn't lead them astray into unkown territory, a forest during a thunderstorm. As they skidded into the gaping entrance, the feeling of relief to escape the unrelenting pounding of the rain was greater than the immediate weariness that would have otherwise settled in her bones. Sakura ignored her first impression of a big mouth gulping them down, like an endless black hole.

Only three steps in and it was pitch-black, but she kept going until the rain didn't reach them anymore. Only then did she let go of his arm, skewing over with laughter that resounded too loudly against the thick, edged rocks of their shelter. She was dripping wet, drenched from head to toe, her sandals giving of a funny squelching sound with every step. Her hair was sticking to her head. Droplets dripped from her nose and chin, and she propped her hands on her knees, still half-bend and heaving. Adrenaline and endorphins created a shortcut to exhilaration. Her diaphragm contracted and she gave a sound halfway between a giggle and a hiccup and wasn't even embarrassed: all it did was make her laugh harder, until she fell against the rocky wall, looking up at Sasuke with tears in her eyes, taking in the sight of him.

 

[Graverobber141]

Unknown territory or not, Sasuke was more than glad to follow Sakura into the cave, preferring just about anything over being caught in the middle of that storm. He was about to ask if she had obtained any injuries when the hollowed space seemed to come alive with the sound of her humor. Watching her succumb to a fit of laughter, he kept his hold on her arm, significantly gentler without the fear of losing one another looming over him, to attempt to help keep her steady. In the end, he could only watch as she collapsed, drenched and shaking, with a mixture of worry and amusement written across his face.

He himself had the appearance of a cat thrown into water; his disheveled hair was plastered to his head, remnant drops from the rain dripping down strands skewed across his face. His clothes were throughly soaked, most of all his cloak, which now did nothing more than weigh him down; his shirt and pants clung to his frame, causing water to seep into his skin. His sharingan fading into black now that they were clear of danger, he possessed the expression and composure of a cat that wanted nothing more than to be dry again.

Kneeling down before her, he took a moment to let his eyes trail over her body for any injuries, and when he was satisfied she was all right, the concern dissipated from his features. Instead, a smile appeared on his lips, reflected within the soft look of his gaze, and with a small chuckle, he declared, "We make a good team." Moving of their own accord before he had a chance to notice, his fingers were gently brushing her hair back, while he asked just for good measure, "Are you all right?"

 

[arbus]

Her laughter petered out into a few toneless breaths that were forced out of her lungs, as she not only registered what was once again such close proximity, but a touch. Sasuke was touching her, tugging a strand of her behind her ear, and it hit her like the lightning flashing across the sky outside: A dizzy, breathless shock. Her already accelerated heartbeat took a sluggish leap to then flutter as if it had transformed into a hummingbird, caged between her ribs.

He was so close, too. His knees almost brushed hers. Steady drops of water from his sleeve were hitting the back of her hand which was resting limply in her lap. It was hard to make out his features in the darkness; the sharp silhouette of his face and eyes like coals, as dark as the tunnel leading into the cave. A fierce blush spread from beneath her collar up her chin and cheeks and forehead. She could feel the heat rising, the way her ears grew hot and the tip of her nose was cold in the chill. And around her wrist, extraordinarily distinct, she felt the faint electricity of his former grip like little pinpricks, like a physical echo resounding on her skin.

"Ah."

She rasped, blinking at him in utter confusion. Then, after the initial surprise and the flush, came the embarrassment, and with it the knee-jerk reaction that was really much more of an arm jerk, because the one moment she was staring at him like a blushing school girl, the next the was shoving the palm of her hand into his face, and hard.

"L-let's dry off", she said with clattering teeth and a head that felt about ready to explode, as she turned and slipped off her backpack, his words all but forgotten in her fluster. "I m-might have some t-towels -"

It started as a low sound, almost inaudible over the storm, the crashing thunder. Increasing steadily in volume, it soon became a howl, echoing across the cave. Sakura's head snapped towards the pitch darkness of the tunnel, frozen in her movements of unzipping the pack.

 

[Graverobber141]

Sasuke didn't even register the slip of his hand until hers shot out as a reprimand. The crashing sound of her palm hitting his face echoed around them, and jarring pain shot through him like an earthquake. The force was enough to off-balance him on his knees, and too shocked to correct his center, he simply tumbled over, landing in the dirt-covered flooring of the cave with a grunt. Watching her shrug off her backpack out of his peripheral, he remained still for a few moments, one cheek planted firmly against the ground, as he muttered an answer to his own previous question, "I guess so."

Another grunt saw him sitting up, wiping the dirt from his face, trying to shake it out from his hair, and after he had done all he could do, he began rubbing the sore spot on his face, coming to the conclusion that he needed to be more careful in the future. A flash of her pounding Naruto popped into his mind like a horror jump scare, and he had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump at the back of his throat, thankful she hadn't used all her force.

Looking almost sheepishly in her direction, he was about to offer her an apology when he heard it. The storm made it hard to distinguish, but it was there: a threat, danger. A switch flipped within him. In a quick movement, Sasuke had shed both his backpack and cloak, and was on his feet, sliding in front of Sakura. His muscles were coiled, like springs ready to be released, and his eyes narrowed, scanning the darkness in front of him.

He wasn't waiting for an ambush.

Forming a few quick hand signs with dexterity, he raised his fingers to his lips.

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower.

The flames shot from his mouth in three balls, aimed toward the back of the cave. While he wasn't expecting to hit anything, the fire would illuminate what it passed, offering them a glimpse of whatever was making that sound, or so he hoped. In anticipation, as soon as he had completed the jutsu, his hand dropped to grip the hilt of his sword.

 

[arbus]

Sakura was on her feet, too, her eyes not leaving the darkness even as Sasuke's frame moved in front of her. A part of her catalogued this impulse of protectiveness for later consideration, but right now her glance did not waver. The chakra in her body evened out as if in intuitive response, giving her the steadiness she needed to focus. Her teeth were not clattering anymore.

The ruckus of the storm outside was like a backdrop, a white noise to their battle-ready tension. Sasuke's charka rose against her skin in a warm wave, and she knew the jutsu he was preparing before it shot out of his mouth. The balls of fire illuminated the darkness, crackling, throwing flickering shadows across the cave walls as they traveled back, far back, and then, finally, extinguished as they hit rock.

And halfway between the entrance and what Sakura could only assume was the back of the cave, something had caught her eye. A small bundle, huddled in what appeared to be a blanket, almost indistinguishable from its surroundings. But it had moved when the fire balls had flown passed it, jerked and then squealed. Sakura gulped down the lump of apprehension in her throat. She shoved her right foot forward without lifting it. The sole of her sandal caught a pebble and dragged it along. The tiny grating sound it produced was magnified against the cave walls, and before the jutsu lapsed, the bundle twitched again. And now, the sound was back, a howl that drove into Sakura's bones and sent a chill up and down her spine.

She touched Sasuke's shoulder lightly, and whispered near to his ear: "Cautious approach?"

 

[Graverobber141]

Watching with the eyes of a hawk, Sasuke scanned the illuminated areas as his fireballs soared near the back of the cave, trying to memorize the rock formation's shape and scope out whatever had caused that sound. Yet it wasn't a looming beast that greeted them, like he had expected, and he couldn't see anything besides a bundle of something in the distance.

Then Sakura's hand was on his shoulder, and he felt her breath as she whispered in his ear. Perhaps it had to do with the way electricity was already running through his body, the driving sense of fight-or-flight controlling his movements, but something about that action of hers brought a faint shade of red to his own cheeks, and he was suddenly grateful for the darkness, even if it currently had him at a disadvantage.

Focus.

Snapping himself back into the situation, registering what she had said, his head tilted to the side, before nodding to show he would follow her lead. It was her mission, after all. "Just stay close," he whispered back, and it sounded more like a request than a demand. In this low visibility, he didn't want to be second guessing where she was, just in case.

Though the tension in his shoulders seemed to lighten, his fingers remained wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Without another word, he slowly began approaching, careful of his step, using the minuscule amount of information he was able to gather while fire had lit the cave to guide his path.

 

[arbus]

Sakura did as he asked, following in his wake, close enough to feel his body heat through layers of wet fabric. Or maybe it was the heat of the chakra circling through his body. A whiff of burnt air and ash hung about them. As they steadily made their way forward, their steps were muted but not silent - even for a shinobi a next to impossible thing, she thought as she listened to the squelch squelch sqelch of her every step over her heartbeat, echoing back from the walls and ceiling. Her breath sounded too loud in the stillness, but the air grew staler the deeper they protruded. The tunnel was longer than she had imagined. The speed of the fireballs had distorted her spatial perception. As a consequence, they were walking much longer than she had expected, and after what felt like a full minute her hand searched for Sasuke's back as further proof of his proximity.

She was not scared, she told herself, but it was hard not to feel at least a tinge of fear tugging at the back of her mind when the darkness around them had become impenetrable. She was debating with herself if she should ask him for another katon jutsu, her body tense in the expectation of another blood-curdling howl, when, with the sound of rustling fabric and the scraping and shuffling of what sounded like feet, she felt a presence shooting in their direction, unmistakable by the bright bundle of energy that was chakra.

Her shout of warning came as an impulse but was drowned by a screeching battle cry, and the next moment she stumbled back, trying to pull Sasuke with her, as -

The small body flung itself against its target, as blind to its surroundings as its attackers. "Hyaah!", it cried in a high-pitched voice that was shaking with fear, but determination drove it forward. It was aiming for the tall one-armed guy, assuming if it threw him off balance by driving its nails into his calf he would fall more easily. Then maybe it could scramble and flee. Only three seconds until impact, two, one ...

 

[Graverobber141]

Walking into darkness, putting them both at a disadvantage, did not sit well with Sasuke. First, his sharingan was rendered useless, and while he didn't need it to fight, losing the advantage it gave him wasn't welcomed. And then there was the sound of their approach, so obvious that whatever was in this cave would know where they were before they knew where it was. His attention was divided between navigating them forward, annoyed by his inability to mask the sound of his wet footsteps, and checking on Sakura's position, through the sound of her own movements and the heat of her body. When she put her palm on his back, a sense of relief floated through him.

The feeling was fleeting, as the tension flared back up as soon as the thing screeched, and came flying at them--him.

A few seconds to act.

Adrenaline pumping through his veins like fire, minutes filled moments, his senses sharpened to a razor-like edge. Decisions were made from quickly gathered information, and before he could form any thought, his muscles were already contracting.

Protect.

Sakura was trying to pull him back, a gesture that already had him off-balance. With that thing flying towards him, he wasn't going to keep his footing. Calculations raced in the most primal part of his mind. Sacrificing the grip on his sword, his hand shot up to ply hers off of him. One of them needed to remain standing, and at this point it certainly wasn't going to be him. His last preparation was to twist his feet, throwing his body weight away from Sakura, so that when he was hit, they'd tumble away from her.

He thought it'd go for his neck, his left side (home to his missing arm), places vulnerable to attack, but instead it sought to nip at his ankle? There was a sensation of pain as he felt nails digging into skin, but it hardly registered under the haze of battle.

Something clicked within Sasuke's mind.

Toppling into the ground, he sought to fall with the thing, shifting his weight, and jutting out his arm to grab ahold of it, in an attempt to pin it underneath him.

 

[arbus]

"Sasuke!"

Sakura's mind raced. She had no idea what was happening, was spun and thrown and then stumbled to regain balance and Sasuke jumped away, or rather fell - she couldn't be sure. She cursed herself for her inability to muster a katon jutsu, even though it was well known even beyond the Uchiha, a trademark jutsu of Konoha. She had never had a talent for fire styles. What now?

Think.

And then it came to her. And heat accumulated in the palms of her hands as the familiar pull of the medical jutsu drew energy from her chakra resources, like leeches suckling at her lifeblood. Her hands began to glow in a low green light. It was not much, but enough to illuminate a circle around her in the width of an arms length. She followed the indignant cries that told her that Sasuke had gained the upper hand. One step, two, and then the shape of Sasuke's right foot came into view. Sakura held up her hands like flashlights. Thankfully her pragmatism triumphed over her chagrin of how stupid she must look. But as the greenish, wavering light of her jutsu illuminated the scene before her, she suddenly had an inkling that she was in good company.

Sasuke was kneeling over a boy, grabbing the strained fabric of his vest. The boy was looking up at Sasuke with round eyes, and either he had no lashes and no eyebrows or they were exuberantly fair. His skin seemed translucent in the pale light. A button nose, round eyes and a face that was still round from puppy fat. A child, and it was rigid under Sasuke's grip, stiff like a board as it stared up at him.

"What the -" She began, then stopped. The boy gave a tiny whimper. She sought Sasuke's gaze, unsure what to do even as she moved next to him, providing him with light. "It could be a henge", she suggested slowly.

 

[Graverobber141]

Even with his vision impaired, judging by how easy it was to wrestle this child, based upon his small frame, to the ground, Sasuke concluded that this was no dangerous shinobi they'd stumbled upon. Immediately, the tension in his body fled, the mist of adrenaline slowly lifting from his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the light provided by Sakura, watched as she approached.

It could be a henge.

Eyes traveling down to the boy beneath him, Sasuke gave a shake of his head. He didn't need his sharingan to conclude it wasn't. A trained ninja with the skills to pull off a transformation would have used the advantage provided by the cloak of darkness to disable him; this cave and the storm had provided the perfect set up for an ambush, yet instead of going for Sasuke's jugular, this boy went for his ankle.

The fireballs had to have terrified the child. And right now, pinned by Sasuke, the boy's heart must be racing in his chest. To be out here, alone, so young, trapped during a storm...

Sasuke's grip lessened, his expression softened, yet he made no move to let the child go. "Listen," his voice was surprisingly gentle, "We're not going to hurt you. But there's a storm raging outside, and if you attempt to flee into it when I let you go, you're going to end up getting yourself hurt. So I need you to remain calm. Understand?"

Tossing a subtle look to Sakura, one that said to be ready in case if the kid did decide to flee, Sasuke let go of his hold on the boy, standing up to free him.

 

[arbus]

Just by looking at his face, Sakura could almost see the thoughts running through the boy's head. At first, his saucer-wide eyes grew even larger, by fear or surprise was hard to tell. Different emotions ran in such quick succession across his tiny features it was practically comical: The rigid, heart-wrenching fear gave way to surprise gave way to wariness gave way to confusion, then the gaze of blue eyes flickered to the cave's entrance. It was a grey blur on their periphery. The noise of the steady downpour reached them even this far into the tunnel. Seconds passed by as the child clearly weighted its chances, when thunder crashed once again, making it jerk upright and wringing another squeal from its throat.

Scared, but also confused at his unexpected freedom, the boy looked from Sasuke to Sakura and, with wariness, back to Sasuke.

He snuffled audibly. In a visible attempt to gather his courage, he puffed himself up as much as his tiny frame allowed. If nothing else, he was betrayed by the quiver in his voice when he demanded, with a show of great bravado: "Who are you, and what are you doing in my hiding place?"

Sakura was starting to feel the drain on her chakra already. Medical jutsu not only took big bites out of your reserve, they also needed a lot of concentration. With the adrenaline receding, she felt the vague shiver, was reminded of the wet clothes sticking to her skin. She shifted her weight to kneel more comfortably on the ground, and offered a reassuring smile.

"My name is Sakura. This is Sasuke. We didn't know we were disturbing your hiding place. We were seeking shelter from the storm outside."

The boy inflated somewhat. Apparently he had not reckoned to receive his information so easily. Still wary, his eyes were drawn to Sasuke once more. For the first time, Sakura allowed herself to think how unbelievably cute he looked, a picture-perfect version of a child, a plume of hair on his head that curled at the ends, and expression so naively open it tucked at her heart. "You aren't going to hurt me?"

 

[Graverobber141]

Sasuke raised a singular brow, watching as the kid fearlessly puffed out his chest, trying to look like a seasoned veteran defending his turf, even if he had just been pinned easily against that turf moments ago. Something about the boy’s senseless bluster, even if he would never admit it, Sasuke couldn’t help but find it to be…cute.

Listening to Sakura engage the kid with ease—she had always been the one to smooth over situations like these in their team, so he wasn’t surprised at her skill in doing so—Sasuke took a moment to think over their predicament. He could already feel chills seeping into his body; his clothes were still wet, as well as Sakura’s, and the longer they stayed like this, the longer they risked their health. And the boy would benefit from a fire, probably a meal. He wondered how long the child had been out here, and he catalogued the term hiding place for later. Questions could come after they were all comfortable; the storm was bound to keep them hunkered down for a while.

“No, I’m not,” Sasuke told the kid. “But if you follow us to the front of the cave, we’ll scrounge you up something to eat, and I’ll start a fire—campfire—” he clarified, feeling a bit of shame at having had used his jutsu to scare an innocent kid, “—to keep you warm.”

“First, I’m going to give us some light.” He gently placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, signaling she could stop expending her chakra. Using her medical ninjutsu as a flashlight was a waste and being that it was the most valuable technique possessed between the two, he would rather misuse his own. “But I’m going to need to draw my sword to do it.” It was either that or flash the red eyes to control Amaterasu in his hand. Both options were over the top, but he figured the former had a slight less chance of scaring the kid.

He was thankful Kakashi wasn’t around to see how he was about to apply chidori.

With an exaggeratedly slow movement, for the kid’s benefit, Sasuke pulled his blade from its sheath, holding it vertically, he hoped non-threateningly, in front of his own face. A few hand signs made against its grip later, the metal lit up, sparking with the lightning he embedded in the flat. In the darkness, it cast a faint blue glow, acting as a torch.

He was also thankful that Naruto wasn’t here, because if the dope caught wind he used chidori as a flashlight, he would never hear the end of it.

 

[arbus]

Sakura looked up at Sasuke's touch, nodding at him when she realized he had a plan. She wound back the chakra with a sigh of relief, because immediately the energy drain on her system lessened, until it was back to the normal, rhythmical hum running through her chakra paths, as familiar as breathing. She smiled at the elfish boy with an expression like encouragement, what she hoped gave the impression of friendliness and comfort.

Where was the boy coming from, she wondered as she watched his eyes narrow with wariness. She wanted to hold out her hand to him, but she feared that instead of finding comfort in her touch his mistrust would rise, flow over like a clogged sink. This was their chance to gain his trust - if they wanted to help him (an idea not even bearing discussion, not in her own mind nor, she thought, Sasuke's), they needed him to open up, to tell two strange shinobi about himself.

She felt warmth rising at Sasuke's consideration of the boy's fear, a tenderness uncoiling in her breast like a flower to the sun, creating a crack into her wariness and distrust that enclosed her heart like stone.

"Woah!", the boy breathed, his eyes huge and his mouth the round o of surprise, completely taken by the sight in front of him. And some sight it was, Sakura thought, watching Sasuke with no less astonishment. His face appeared hard in the faint blue light of the chidori. A buzz was filling the air, like the hum of ethereal voices. The tightly controlled power of the jutsu, combined with Sasuke's easy grace, made him look like he wasn't from this earth, like some otherworldly being. Like a spirit. She wondered if he was aware of his own strange beauty, if any person could even know such a thing about themselves.

A moment of this reverend silence passed, then the boy jumped to his feet in a smooth motion, and it brought Sakura back to herself and their circumstances. She started to shiver almost immediately, as if her body just caught up to the fact that it was cold. She glanced about, stupidly searching for something to create a fire in the light provided by Sasuke's sword.

Then the boy vanished into the darkness, steps unwavering. She called out to stop him, already on her feet to follow, running with some nurturing instinct she hadn't known she possessed, but some grunts and clatter later, he re-appeard in their circle of light, arms full with thin branches.

"Can we make a fire with that?", he asked, looking up at Sasuke eagerly.

 

[Graverobber141]

Standing there, sword in front of him held like a torch, the faint chirping of the lightning sparking against the blade, Sasuke couldn't help but feel---ridiculous. One of his most powerful jutsus was being put to use as a flashlight, and in the back of his mind, he was kicking himself for not having packed a lighter. Some of Kakashi's lessons, it seemed, still escaped him. Yet the look on the boy's face, that flash of astonishment, amazement, even, quelled the thought. Instead, he couldn't help but be overcome with a distinct, faint feeling of being cool.

He kept this satisfaction to himself, as not to break the image (it was much better than the one he saw of himself before, looking like an idiot), yet the kid had moved on, and for a moment he and Sakura were left alone in the dark. He was weary of even walking with his chidori blade, due the to the fact that much of the cave was still cast in an impenetrable darkness, and bumping into the kid would be disastrous; he was already down to one arm himself, and the thought of accidentally hurting this boy was one he wouldn't entertain. So he simply and patiently waited, listening to his footsteps to trace his progress and direction, the howling of the wind and sound of thunder roaring outside still fierce outside.

Upon the boy's return, carrying with him what could be used as firewood, Sasuke felt a small amount of worry that he hadn't notice before slip away, along with a sense of pride at the child's pragmatism, and he knelt down as he was approached. At first, Sasuke merely nodded in confirmation, but upon studying the boy's expression, so innocent and eager, he felt compelled to add, "Yeah, thank you. And good work."

With those same deliberate movements as not to frighten, Sasuke slowly tilted his sword to be horizontal, before placing its grip between his teeth. The chidori seemed to weaken for a few seconds, as his chakra flow was redirected, but once the light was again steady, Sasuke relieved the kid of his twigs, arranging them into a formation that would allow them to burn more easily. Once satisfied, Sasuke made a small motion with his hand, gesturing for the boy to take a few steps back, before starting to form a few hand signs. He concentrated his chakra, held it. Letting the chidori burn out, they were once more cast in darkness, broken first by the sound of his sword falling into his lap from his mouth, and then as a small flame was blown between his lips, darting toward the pile of wood, eagerly beginning to eat away at the sticks to form a fire.

The shadow of the flames dancing across his face, Sasuke picked up his sword and carefully sheathed it, welcoming the warmth that now flooded his body. Now with a consistent source of light and heat, he supposed they were in good shape to ride out the storm, and more importantly, figure out what had happened to this boy to have stumbled upon him here. He shot a glance toward Sakura, checking in on her condition, before shifting his gaze to study the kid.

"You know Sakura's the best medical ninja in the world," Sasuke stated after a moment, before softly adding, "Why don't you let her take a quick look at you?"

As a sign of good faith, and in an attempt the show the kid he had no intentions of causing him harm, Sasuke carefully untied the rope holding his sheath in place, before placing the sword to the side, pushing it so that it'd be out of reach.

 

[arbus]

The boy's cheeks went ruddy with pride at the praise. He watched with equal fascination as Sasuke went about to make a fire and stumbled back a few paces, his eyes never leaving the process as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. And this time, when it went dark in the cave, he was not afraid of the roaring storm outside. The fact that he was practically trapped inside the cave with two strangers, which held an inherent danger, seemed to had slipped his mind in light of Sasuke's obvious skill.

Again, a sound of awe escaped the boy as fire flashed from his lips. What had appeared so dangerous before was now being utilized for good; because a bonfire was a good thing, everybody knew that. It gave warmth and food and comfort. Shadows danced on the cave walls as the flames flared higher, eating away at the wood, crackling comfortably. At the suggestion, though, the boy withdrew, fresh wariness glazing the eagerness in his eyes and dulling his features.

Sakura attempted a gentle smile. She sank down on one knee as not to hover, held out her hands to the fire palms first, partly to get some warmth against the stiffness, partly to show that she meant no harm.

"No thank you", the boy said. The light of the fire revealed how dirty he actually was; the fingers kneading the yukata-like gown he was wearing - which almost reached his ankles and was torn and caked with dried mud - were dark with grime, his fingernails black. His eyes flickered towards the dispatched sheath, then back to Sakura as if to make sure she hadn't moved.

Softly, Sakura said: "I won't do anything if you don't want me to. How about you tell us your name first? We told you ours, remember?"

Thin lips grew thinner as they were pressed together while the boy contemplated. Coming to a conclusion, he gave a tiny little shrug.
"I'll tell you if you show me how to make fire with my mouth. I want to do that too!"

Startled, Sakura looked at Sasuke. Somewhere between being attacked by the boy and making fire, he must have done something right. She felt herself vaguely reminded of similar situations with Naruto, who had the gift of drawing everyone's attention and - mostly - instant liking.
"Don't you think it is common courtesy", Sakura replied, eyebrow twitching with the faintest inkling of irritation, "to give your name after we gave ours?"

 

[Graverobber141]

He wants to be a dragon, Sasuke thought, looking at the kid with a mild expression of exasperation. How he managed to get this far went beyond him; his dealings with children, besides the manchild that was Naruto, were limited, and now he was scrounging in his mind for the best way to proceed. Oddly enough, he found himself asking himself what Kakashi, of all people, would do in this situation.

Find a way to subtly manipulate the kid into doing what he wanted.

"It's called katon jutsu, and it takes practice to master," Sasuke explained slowly, formulating a plan in his mind. As he talked, banking on the kid to be too busy hanging onto his words to notice, he slyly moved his hand to a pouch hanging from the back of his belt. "My clan's known for their expert use of the style. Normally I wouldn't casually give out the information." Searching the pouch, he found the sharp edge of a shuriken. Making sure to keep his expression under control, he started to dig the blade into his palm. Not too deep, careful of how far to stretch the cut, but it needed to be noticeable. "Yet since we're going to be trapped in here for a while, I suppose I could teach you the hand signs, at least, to pass the time." The offer and bait.

Withdrawing his hand slowly and casually back to his lap, hand clenched to hide the line of blood dripping down his palm, he turned his attention to Sakura, tilting his head as if to ask her to play along. And now for reassurance. When he was little, he remembered looking at Itachi in the same manner the boy was observing him now. What his brother did first, he wanted to follow and do as well. So, if he let Sakura heal his hand, perhaps the boy would be more willing and open to her.

"Sakura," he began, scooting closer to her. Though his gaze was kept on her, he was watching the kid out of the corner of his eye. "Would you mind...?" He upheld his palm, displaying the cut that he considered more of a scratch than an actual wound. Under normal circumstances he would never asked her to waste her energy like this, but the gleam in his eye told her this was part of his plan. "I seem to have cut myself sometime while fumbling around in that storm."

 

[arbus]

The boy was hanging on every word Sasuke said, Sakura could see that much. It was unmistakable, given the way he leant into the conversation, tilting his head just so as if it made him hear better. She, of course, had grasped immediately what kind of strategy Sasuke was applying. Too many years being victim to such tricks as not to notice. Everything comes full circle eventually, she thought, hardly daring to move to not give the kid any reason to be wary.

And wasn't it outrageous that she was the one who had to heed her movements? Sakura thought very much so - she was exceptionally good with children, at least in her mind. She hadn't really had a chance to interact with them very much. Not counting Naruto and Sai, of course.

But they counted, didn't they? She was very good with Naruto and Sai, made them behave and apologize and generally behave like decent human beings. If she used extreme measures to achieve those rapid changes, it was just something par du course, a question of habit. Tsunade-shishou certainly managed to instill respect in everyone she encountered with such a method.

But she could hardly threaten the boy with violence, could she, when the goal was to built his trust. Maybe she should look stricter, like Sasuke? Was that it? Children needed boundaries, right?

"Yes please!", the boy yelled, face lighting up once more with something akin to hope. Sakura had lost the thread of conversation there for a moment. She sunk back onto her heels, trudging a long branch through the fire to shift some of the wood to better feed the flame. She caught Sasuke's gaze just in time, and then looked at the scratch at his hand. Astonished.

Before she could help it, her expression softened. Her heart clenched-unclenched again, in the most grounding, yet exhilarating way. The irritation flew out of her thoughts, replaced by an onslaught of new, intrusive ideas that made it both harder to breathe and to subdue the smile that threatened to spread on her face. She nodded, keeping an earnest expression as she turned on her heels to face Sasuke fully.

"Of course", she said, taking his hand in both of hers. Turning it a bit in this direction, a bit in that, she made a show of examining the wound. She exchanged a conspiratorial look with him as the heat of chakra flowed once more into the palm of her hand, concentrating in her fingertips, which she hovered over the cut - inflicted by a sharp metal object by the looks of it, probably a kunai or a shuriken from his weapon's pouch - and applied the jutsu. Soft green light covered their skin as it flowed from the tips of her fingers into his palm. In mere seconds, the cut closed neatly, leaving no trace but a trail of blood on skin once again unblemished. With the pad of her thumb she brushed away most of the blood. Then she let go of his hand. "There we go. Easy as pie."

From beyond his spot at the fire, the boy cocked his head, sharp eyes not missing a beat of the exchange before him.
"What's that green light?", he asked.

"It's my chakra", Sakura explained, sinking back into her former position. "By compressing it I'm able to create energy, and then I can give this energy to someone else. That way I'm able to heal, say, small wounds or broken bones. Even bruises."

"Does it hurt?", the boy asked. His voice had grown meek again, and Sakura thought he looked much more like he had cowered at the back of the cave to hide from the storm just minutes ago now. Sasuke's ingenious maneuver had ripped away some of his bluff.