one_long_mission

"Right." and assistance was given as he readily claimed her hand to lead her at an easy pace, slowing when terrain became treacherous.

He had given himself a fifty-meter margin, to make sure none of their sidelines would see them, and kept to any vegetation he could find, extending his margin to seventy-five meters once they lost the cover of trees or shrubs on their way to plains. "We've just extended our outing by a half-day more" but the fact they travelled this safely was indubitably good.

"No movements? We should be safe... They're far from the mid-way point though... might have been reinforcements for somewhere."

She took his hand, relying on him to get her through the brush without faltering. As much as it irked her to put this much trust in him... had he wanted to betray her, he would have done it last night. For whatever reason, that look she'd seen in his eyes when he'd first woken from his nightmare, and then again this morning...

She didn't think he would betray her, not now.

"No movement. They have not noticed our presence." Her voice started to sound a little strained from the effort of keeping them in view. "I will continue to watch, if you will continue to lead."

"This far is enough." he shook his head. "We can't have you straining yourself, not with he possibility of an attack coming at any moment. We both have to constantly be on guard. These pilgrimage roads wee safe and sacred, in the texts, but it's been a while..." so he kept scanning what he could see, eyes and ears alert. Thankfully he had smelled no more leftover fires...

"We still have a full day and a half and we're in enemy territory already..." he was not pleased. "They gained land recently, or they got bolder?"

Her eyes narrowed, but she couldn't argue with the logic of that statement, withdrawing her gaze and blinking a few times as she became more aware of her surroundings. The sides of her eyes ached, just below her temples... Drawing her hand out of Sasuke's, she brought both up to rub at the skin there, closing her eyes for a moment before nodding.

"Both, I'm afraid. Hence why it was easier for me to obtain permission for a scouting mission. If they have gotten this far so quickly..." She shook her head and frowned. "We need to get back as soon as possible."

"...as soon as possible, yes.." after he had seen the temple or course, and gotten what he was seeking from there. It shocked him that she was not more insistent that they should go back -now- instead of forcing their way onto enemy lines, but then, she had stated she had an interest in this outing of his, he was fairly sure..

Thankfully, the rest of the day they met no other Shourisha. "Do you think you can find us somewhere secure to spend the night as, within a 2-hour walk radius?"he asked as the sun started its descent.

Not only his quest now, but she needed further information. If it was only the advance group of sixteen, that was less of a concern than an entire army.

"If there is one to be found, I will find it," she reassured him quietly, bringing her hands up to draw her Chakra to her eyes again. She carefully masked a wince at the sharp sting to the veins drawing Chakra, but focused her energy regardless. "Half an hour to the west, there is a small cave in a hillside. It is largely covered by brambles and thorned bushed, so there are no animals living there."

She was not only useful, but also reliable. "West. Good." he started that way and led them to it, blade summoned in hand to push away the branches within the path and leave the area untouched.

Once they had reached the safety of its insides, they waited for their vision to get used to its darkness and moved a little further in. He had easily claimed her hand even for that small trek, to assure himself of her proximity. "I doubt we need any vigil tonight. This place has been completely undisturbed and unused." all he had felt as he guided himself along the walls with his free hand, and then explored the floor, was rock and more rock.

To say she was surprised when he took her hand was an understatement, but she didn't protest, falling into step beside him as her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. "I will trap the entrance, so we will have that much foreknowledge should someone track us. It is unlikely, though, you are correct."

With that, she finally made to withdraw her fingers from his hand, glancing toward the cave entrance. "Ventilation is not adequate enough for a fire. I'm sorry, this level of light will be all we can afford."

"I wasn't expecting any fire, really. We can most likely spend the next evening and night at the temple, if it's suitable... though we'll have to see." he fetched some of that dried meat again to chew on. "..unless you mind entering it."

He seemed, however, more interested in lying down since he shifted quickly to the floor, perhaps hoping to catch up on sleep. "...I'll be going off here, unless there's something else to discuss..."

"If I am entering it, it is with your permission, Uchiha Sasuke."

She nodded to him though when he shifted as if to sleep, mindful that they'd both had less than adequate rest the night before. "Sleep well." And she meant that genuinely, too. Hopefully no nightmares would plague him tonight...

Though she had to reflect that she would be willing to again listen to him, should he need someone to, as she finished setting up the wire around the cave entrance and dragged some of the cut bushes back over to further mask it. With that secure, she unfolded her bedroll near him and crawled in to doze lightly.

He had settled with his robe as blanket again, breathing quietly, undisturbed.. but then, as they would never leave, the nightmares came again. His breathing shifted, light whimpers sounding as he moved around, curled fingers soon raking at the stone beneath him.

They never left, a permanent part of him, having singed his memories forever. In them, he constantly relieved that same night... Without a doubt, a lesser being would have gone insane.

In an instant, she was awake, blinking in the darkness at the sound of Sasuke shifting. Another nightmare, the same as last night... If they were attacked tomorrow, they would need adequate sleep, and this was not the way to get it.

Impulsive, perhaps, yes, dangerous, almost certainly, but she half sat-up and grabbed that scrabbling hand, holding it as he'd held hers earlier to guide her. "Sasuke."

The whimpering stopped, and he shifted, sitting up. Wide, dark eyes shone with unspoken terrors as he stared at the void, before relocating himself to the present.

He had not been lost so deeply, not as deeply as usual within the images, the screams, the painful memories. Once he realized he wasn't alone as he always was, he looked away... and then felt that warm encasing his hand, and knew just why he woke before he usually did.

...and then, dark eyes slowly shifted to her.

He didn't need to see the whole nightmare anyway. He knew... he wouldn't have been able to save them.
"..I woke you..." he wished he had not, for a variety of reasons.

"And then I woke you," she pointed out. His hand was warm, almost impossibly so, but she didn't let go. If anything, her grip only tightened around his as she met his eyes.

He was so alone, had been so alone for so long. Just like she had. And now she had a chance to do what no one had ever truly done for her.

"...What can I do?"

He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Another reason he hated these nightmares was that they robbed him of his usual defenses. He rarely had anyone wake him, and if he ever woke anyone else with them, they had known it to be better off pretending that nothing was wrong.
Those white eyes, in the darkness of that cave, were mesmerizing.

Wait, did he just think that?

"Nothing. You can't do a thing, I can't do a thing. No one can." he wasn't trying to reclaim his hand, perhaps since he knew her grip wasn't to be contended with. "I.. it's.. they won't leave.. and we.. should sleep."

Her uncle and cousins would disapprove. That entire side of the family had always been a stickler for formality. But she kept her hand in his, not about to let go.

"Sleep," she murmured, shifting in her bedroll to lie closer to him, easing the awkward angle of her arm. "They are not the only ones who are with you tonight."

He gave a light whimper, almost moving away, although his body shook he rooted himself firmly. Why did he want to flee?
He hid under the robe he used as blanket again, looking like nothing more than a scared child as he did, hand gripping hers a fraction tighter, perhaps in a result of the light tremor that coursed through him.

If he was alone, he couldn't be hurt...
...if he lost someone again, it couldn't hurt him if he wasn't as close as he could be.

She only squeezed his hand more tightly at the tremor and rested on her back, letting her eyes fall closed. She could not force him to acknowledge her as being there for him, only leave the opening and hope he would take it, for his own sake.

Overnight, he had shifted closer and closer, until only the bedroll separated them, his robe lying awkwardly sprawled over him, having somehow still hung through all the shifting. His face was lying a breath away from hers, features exponentially more relaxed than anything she way have witnessed earlier.

Despite his thoughts, the subconscious did not lie.

When she woke that morning, the first thing she was aware of was the unfamiliar warmth only centimeters away. Even through the bedroll she could feel it, and once she opened her eyes, she resolved the warm 'breeze' into Sasuke's breath.

And her cheeks flushed a dark red at the realization of just how close he was. She didn't shift, didn't try to wake him... it was his expression that caught her attention more than anything else. As much as he tried to push her away, his face...

It was captivating, in its own way. With a soft smile at his relaxation, she rested her head back down against her bedroll and closed her eyes, willing to wait until he woke.

It was about half an hour later, and his breathing shifted slightly as he swam out of a welcomed, restful sleep.

When he shifted, however, it was into her, and his nose dug faintly into skin before warning flashed into his brain and he pulled away, sitting up with a vaguely confused expression.

Better play it natural. "..hm.. morning." he murmured, gathering his robe, not intending to wake her at the moment if she was not.

Her breath caught, and she went completely still at the sudden press of his nose against her skin. She couldn't quite stifle the strangled gasp of surprise, and her hand immediately drew free of his as she sat up.

"G-Good morning," she greeted, cursing her own stutter as she reached behind her and tightened the tie in her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

He felt that, heard it, all of it... from her stillness to the very light gasp, and that stutter. Of course she caught his of course.

"Y-yea... I did." he fitted his robe upon himself again and carefully rose, careful about the cave's ceilling, feeling her hand's warmth still upon his. He shook his head to clear it. How easily could he be led astray. His journey had a goal, and he was close to it.

"We should reach the temple before darkness falls, if all goes well." he claimed a breath to steady himself. "It's a straight path north-northeast from here."

"I am pleased." And she meant that genuinely at least, wondering at herself how she'd managed to sleep through his shifting closer. Was it because she truly felt that safe around him...?

Forcing the thought aside she finished rolling up her own bedroll and slung her pack over her shoulder, fishing out a piece of fruit to munch on as breakfast. "Assuming there are no Shourisha in our path, that is."

"Assuming so, yes.... although if we find only a few strays, I wouldn't be adverse to cutting through them in order to speed up." he, after all, hardly seemed to wish to waste time.

"You still want to go through with this?" it was late to ask her this, but he still did. "Even I can't say for certain what I expect to discover." he knew some scriptures were mentioned, but what if the temple was devoid of anything? how could nothing have been pillaged? He may find nothing but dust, and then the voyage would have been for naught.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject