one_long_mission

She sensed the incoming killing-intent too late, wheeling and relying on her other senses to try to aim Hakke Koushou toward the attacker -- but before she could, there was another crash, leaving her pivoting to face the new threat. Before he even spoke, she relaxed, sensing the by-now familiar Chakra. Weaker than she'd expect, and that purple...

It was then she became aware of the strange senses of... something outside, something that was pushing back the tide of the battle.

Without hesitation, she moved forward, footsteps careful to avoid any kind of debris, to touch his arm, sightless eyes turned toward where she imagined his face to be as she ignored her relative. "You are overexerting yourself. Is the village evacuating? Command me."

Going against the Elders' orders in the heat of the moment was something that could get her ostracized from the clan at the very least, but right now, none of that was important.

"What are you saying? Neji!" her cousin was enraged. She just ASKED that Uchiha for a command!? He was about to say this was treason, but soon enough the raven-haired youth spoke with some effort.

"Evacuating... is something the weak do. If the village falls, I'll fall along with it." a pause, a light tremor coursing his body. "I have every intention to win, however." he rumbled rumbled. "I will not fall, and this village won't." he then turned his head back to Neji.
He was no longer fighting alone. "I've figured them out. The enemy is using some form of advanced camouflage and melding with the earth to spring into our village and attack from within." he added that those that used such a mysterious technique had no armor, which made them easy targets if uncovered and even easier to strike down. Since they had no chakra, it wasn't easy to find them under the ground, however...

This was where the snake transformation came in. With this, he could feel the earth's minuscule shift and the air's changes when an enemy sprang. "With those foes out of the way, we should win... They took out our strongest fighters from within, but... they are being treated." of course, he had one of those snake-clones of his guarding the hospital grounds from any foe.

"We'll... go lend our strength to the force at... the main gate."

She listened carefully to the explanation, still ignoring her cousin, before she moved in, an abrupt motion, tracking the sound of his voice to first touch his lips, then near his eyes. He was starting to exhaust his Chakra, that much was obvious even without her sight.

"Then be my eyes," she said simply. It defied logic, defied common sense; Sasuke would be distracted if she were there, less likely to protect himself. But at the same time, it would enable him to conserve his Chakra.

"And we will win."

He was dangerously low on chakra, but he was not going to let their enemy take any more buildings or lives out.
And so, taking her hand, he guided her to the main gate.

The foes within the village dealt with, he was able to allow his clones away. He did let the sharingan fade then, wincing against sudden pain and fighting the dizziness. He couldn't spare any more chakra... but he wasn't the only one fighting. "Forward!" he commanded, voice sharp even against the screams of battle. It was easier to notify her of the enemies' locations and let her strike.

"Three paces left!" With him directing her every strike, she did not even have to spend any chakra to try and see where the enemy was at. "Directly right!" He could see the last waves closing in. "Kaiten!" he shouted.

The other fighters redoubled their efforts, amazed at what these two could do. "Hey, wasn't Neji temporarily blind?" one asked his companion.
"Whoa, that's the Uchiha shouting orders!"
"Didn't he have those snakes from earlier too?"
"Check out the Hyuuga! There's Shourisha flying everywhere!"

The amount of trust was staggering, something she'd think on when time permitted. For now, there was only Sasuke's voice, his shouted commands to keep her open palms impacting flesh. She trusted him to guide her and protect her from harm.

She didn't know how long they were there, how much fighting they had to do or how many Shourisha she ended by Sasuke's command, but it was unimportant. Until Sasuke gave her the all-clear, she'd keep fighting.

Let her clan flee. They would see where the true strength of the Hyuuga laid, and that was with her hands, her blood. The offcast child the clan hadn't wanted in the first place.

From dodging to attacking, and even some amazing parries, it was a marvel how their teamwork was. Flawless, impeccable. Their opponents fell to well-practiced strikes and decidedly unforgiving hits.

The battle raged on for what may have been twenty more minutes until the other side sounded the retreat, the remainder of their fighters limping or running away Sasuke's voice was hoarse from the yelling, his body exhausted but still whole... he wasn't even sure how or when, but one moment he was standing on top of the main gate, and the next he had gathered Neji in his arms, among the shouts of victory.

They had done it. Their village was saved... and they had shaved off a number of their opponents before the others had given up. Their losses outweighed Konoha's in numbers.

He wanted to praise her, but found he lacked breath to do so.
Other people were doing it for him, however.

She wasn't sure who was supporting whom more in that moment as she clung to him, resting her weight back on her heels in case the strain was too much for him. Through the darkness of her lost sight, she could hear the cheering of the villagers, the way they praised not only her as a Hyuuga, but him. The Uchiha who had come to their rescue and kept fighting when all seemed lost.

Maybe it was the thrill of the moment, the adrenaline only slowly fading away coupled with the rush of having defied her family, escaped their control for even just a moment. Maybe it was because even if she could hear the voices around them, she couldn't see them. Whatever the reason, she brought a hand up to find his face again, fingers tracing up his neck to find the curve of his jaw and settle over his lips. Once found, she leaned up for an impulsive kiss.

There was a light muffled noise of surprise, but somehow, he oh-so-easily melted into that kiss.

His grip shifted, an arm looping around her waist, while another went fro a shoulder to support most of her back even as fingers tangled into that long hair. The exhaustion was numbed out, and his lips soon moved against hers.

He had never cared what others thought. The only thing that ever mattered was his wished.
His wish to change this village.
His wish to get stronger by finding out his family's secrets.

His wish to protect the village.
....and his wish to protect her.

She was someone he could count on, brave and wise, and her physical beauty paled in comparison to her mind's, along with her boundless courage.

Edited 2013-07-04 16:21 (UTC)

She held it for a long moment, completely wrapped up in the way he tasted, the smell of him, the touch of his fingers in her hair leaving her knees weak as she melted against him until it was hard to tell where her body stopped and his began. A long moment, longer than she'd planned, before she pulled away, soft smile crossing her face.

For once, she wasn't concerned about reading his face. She didn't have to read it to know what he was feeling this time.

"Come," she murmured, breathless with exertion and excitement. "You must be tended to for any injuries. The village is safe."

Injuries...? He couldn't even feel them.

All he could feel was that her lips were not on his, and her body was not providing his any warmth anymore, save for their still-joined hands, upon which realization he held tighter.

He was probably bleeding from somewhere, because he knew he had been struck a few times, but right now nothing mattered. There was the tangible elation from victory, and the fact he felt he wasn't even touching the ground anymore.

..and her smile after that kiss was something he knew would remain imprinted in his memories.

"..yes...injuries." he echoed vaguely, starting to walk towards the Hyuuga compound once more, shouts following them, praising their swift elimination of the opposing forces.

"Injuries," she repeated, tugging on his hand to stop him, already aware they were going the wrong way. This inexplicable happiness, one that wouldn't let her stop smiling no matter what... she had never felt anything like it before, and she'd be damned if she didn't feel like those birds she used to envy their freedom.

She tugged again, trying to free her hand as she turned her face toward his. "Medics, Sasuke." And leaned up, fingers finding his jaw against as a reference so she could lean in near his ear and whisper, "I will accompany you."

"..ah... yes, medics. Of course." Why was he... going that way? He knew he needed medics and yet.. Too aware of her fingers upon his skin, he'd not even tried to move until they were taken away, as if it would make this moment last longer.

Once he was admitted to a room, no one daring question his wish that she would come right along, he took this opportunity to have them examine how badly she had strained her eyes as the assistant bandaged the raking he had earned upon his chest. Once he saw the wound, he realized it was no wonder he had difficulty breathing. It hadn't been mere exhaustion after all.

Other nicks and somewhat deeper wounds were found, although a minimal amount needed bandaging. The most important part was how he had exhausted his chakra and should take great care to not do so in the near future.

The earlier forced use had set her healing time back; where they may have recovered by later tonight, the added strain and then the exertion of using her Chakra for combat rather than resting for healing meant that it would be another full day before she would note any improvement of her vision. Frustrating, perhaps, but... Worth it. The village was safe, and she was certain those Hyuuga who had felt were trickling back into the village as they were examined.

Let them suffer the shame of retreat; she already knew that her pride was unstained.

"Sasuke... how bad are the damages?"

She could only hear the sounds of destruction, not see them. Did he even have a home to return to...?

"I've worked on saving the buildings we needed from their attempts at putting them on fire. A few of the civilian housings are widely damaged though... and the market areas took the blast before I got to the culprit setting them up." he gave a light hiss, annoyed that he had lacked time to get there once he had been aware of the enemy.

"A few houses were burned to cinders, and the weapon depot is no more... but everything else is still standing." as for the death count, it remained to be seen.

"As for yours...?"

She gently but firmly pushed the medic away as soon as her eyes were rebandaged, moving to lightly touch his shoulder. "Do you have somewhere to go, Sasuke?"

He gave a sigh. "Cinders, not that it makes much of a difference." it did make him glad he had sealed that tome he retrieved within his belt. "I'm not the only one that'll need to rebuild." everything the Uchiha clan had in Michi had been taken by that fire back then anyway. It seemed somewhat fitting.

"I've been thinking... about setting up more effective defenses for this village. Permanently. Hopefully the tome can help in that."

"You may stay with me, if you like." Everything had gone so quickly, from him retrieving her from her home, to their combat against the Shourisha... Her fingers drew back from his shoulder, face starting to darken with a flush at the memory that she'd kissed him, in front of everyone.

"Though I think, after today, you will have no shortage of those calling you hero and offering you shelter."

His fingers caught hers, however, briefly after they detached from him.

"I might be called a hero, but they weren't the ones who looked at me before then." and this was what made all the difference to him. "I didn't do it for anyone's sake especially."

He did notice her flush, and his free hand went to stroke at her cheek. "...besides, I won't be the only one they'll be calling hero."

Her face only reddened more deeply as he took her fingers, knowing that he had to feel how her cheeks were burning beneath his touch.

"Perhaps that is so," she forced herself to agree neutrally, reaching to take his hand from her cheek and only hold it in her own. "When you are finished here... I will take you back to my home, so you may rest. You need it."

He knew the rush of their victory may be the only thing holding him up as he was. that and his pride. He wouldn't allow exhaustion to take him while he was still in public, hardly minding who even was there.

"Thank you." he murmured.

Once the last check-ups were done and Sasuke was administered a preventive shot since they had found traces of poison, the two of them were released. Now he led her back to the compound, not even looking at those other Hyuuga going around whom,he imagined, most likely had their tails between their legs in shame.

As they moved through the compound, she imagined she could hear them whispering, hear them talking about how she was hand-in-hand with an Uchiha. Let them whisper, let them learn just what they had missed while they were following the orders of the Elders. She kept her head held high, steps sure and confident as she again took the lead, taking him to her home and allowing him to enter once again.

With the door shut behind him, the sounds of the Hyuuga returning home and the celebration in the village itself was suddenly muted, an abrupt reminder that she was now alone with Sasuke, the man she'd kissed so impulsively before. Her first kiss, nonetheless, in the heat of the moment. That flush wasn't leaving her cheeks any time soon as she moved forward to where she had left her pack, starting to return the items to their proper places.

"My bedroom is down the hall," she murmured, keeping her back to him as much as possible in the attempt to hide her flush. "You may rest there if you like."

Yes, she was hand in hand with an Uchiha. With the Uchiha. Let those ignorant Hyuuga know just why the duo was the talk of the village. It wasn't because they were an item of any sort, but because of their flawlessly impeccable teamwork. In everyone's eyes, they had saved the village.

Once in the house, he'd noticed how that flush had yet to fade, forcing him to recall those heated moments after their victory.
It.... was impulsive, wasn't it? He wasn't so sure which parts were and which weren't, in his case.

Still, he knew he shouldn't put that matter in light. They would have more time later, and possibly clearer minds. For now he badly needed rest. "I'll take you up.. on that offer." he thought it was disgusting to not go in without taking a shower, but for today he had been ordered to let his wounds heal. Once he found the bedroom, he had a few moments after his head hit the pillow to notice how everything was bathed in that scent of hers...

If nightmares did assault him, he gave only vague outside signs, feebly whimpering twice, fingers curling up halfway to clutch at the blanket, but never waking. He would sleep for a full and perhaps alarming sixteen hours should nothing rouse him beforehand.

She hadn't forgotten about his nightmares. As soon as her things were back in their proper places, she ventured into her own room, taking stock of how he was curled up. Asleep, good... Alone, less good. A moment, then she moved to retrieve her thin yukata for sleeping from its hanger in her closet, changing her clothes before slipping in beside him. Gently so as not to wake him, she took that curled hand in hers and stayed in close against him.

Her orders had been to rest as well, and right now, there was nowhere she would rather be. She dozed fitfully for several hours, drifting in and out of meditation and sleep, alternately. It had been most of the day, perhaps as many hours as he was asleep, when she was roused by a heavy knock on the door.

Quickly, trying not to wake Sasuke, she untangled herself and moved to adjust her clothing, making sure everything was in its proper place before going to get the door. If Sasuke hadn't been woken by her leaving the bed, he almost certainly would be able to hear the heated discussion happening at the threshold. Disobeying the Elders could have a heavy price, and as soon as her eyes were healed, she was to report to them. No excuses.

The point of contention was the demand that permitting an Uchiha to stay within the compound was improper and unorthodox, and even if he were hero within the village, he had no place there within their clan. Polite, ever polite, but she shot down her cousin's protests, finally simply letting him know that she would speak with the Elders, and shutting the door in his face.

A heavy exhale, and she sank against the door, listening to make sure he'd gone and hoping Sasuke hadn't been woken by the argument.

There was a light groan and he rolled out of bed, woken indeed by the voices.

Slowly, he readjusted his own clothes, tying his sash and swordbelt, taking in all what was said. It was somewhat disgusting too. The clan was still stuck with its own inner workings. It had not even been a lesson to them that she had been a hero while they fled like chickens.

Still, she had asked for permission so that he could stay with her... This might have been improper and unorthodox, but it was a gesture they seemed to disregard for what it was: a hand held to help out a fellow villager. He had nowhere else to stay, and others were also found without a home, staying with relatives or even in free hospital rooms while rebuilding efforts started.
Rebuilding efforts which he wondered if any Hyuuga helped with. Sure wouldn't do to prick their fingers on some sharp wooden shavings or something...

Once silence stretched for a full minute, he went to splash some water on his face and then slowly strolled over to her. "Should I leave, or is the damage already done?" Oh he could guess the answer. "...because they certainly know I'm -not- leaving, right?"

She could hear him moving, but didn't move herself, staying there against the door in an attempt to regather her composure. Such defiance to her family as she'd never dared to show in the past...

Swallowing hard, she tilted her head as she heard Sasuke entering the main room where she was, pushing herself to stand upright instead of sagging against the wall.

"You are staying," she said firmly, not moving away from the door. "I must speak with my Elders tomorrow, and they will likely attempt to control my fate. Yours, however, is outside of their control, and this home belongs to me. I will do as necessary to ensure that you may stay here. If you are willing."

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