There was a heavy silence as you and your team treked down the road. Of course Naruto had returned to his flamboyant self and was skipping merrily ahead. Sasuke and you walked on either side of Kakashi and Sakura. Sakura continued to cast the impassive Sasuke worried looks. Kakashi on the other hand kept his eyes directed ahead but once in a while he would glance at you as if he was afraid in the intervals when he'd looked away you'd disappeared.
Your eyes were dull as you walked in silence. Taki was gone. He'd stayed in the Village Hidden in the Night. Your mind seemed strangely quiet without him around and it felt like there was a gaping hole in your chest. You felt drained. Empty almost. His face was etched in your mind as you walked along the dirt path.
His lower lip trembled as you stood at the gate. You watched him sadly. Abruptly he jumped forward and wrapped his small arms around you in a hug. Your throat tightened and you bit the inside of your lip. You dropped to your knees and wrapped him in a tight hug. You buried your face in his hair.
"I love you," you whispered.
I love you too. Please don't leave me.
The sound of his begging brought hot tears to your eyes but you fought them down.
"Taki, listen to me. This is probably going to be the last time we meet," you said softly, resting your hands on his shoulders. His eyes watered and tears leaked down his cheeks.
"Nee-chan.." He murmured.
"Such a pretty voice," you smiled kissing him on the forehead. He looked away. You rested your hand on his cheek and turned his face towards you, making him look at you.
"You're going to be the strongest ninja this world is going to see, alright?" You said. His eyes widened.
"You're strong already," you said, a weak smile curving the corner of you lips. His eyes lowered as a faint blush crept over his cheeks.
"Don't get hopeful but if there's time for one more visit, I'll be there," you said. He looked up, his eyes shining with hope.
"You're going to make me proud, you understand?" You said, raising an eyebrow. He nodded determindly.
"Good boy," you said straightening up. And that was that.
Your eyes welled up with tears.
I'm never going to see him again.
"Keoko," Kakashi murmurered.
"What?" You asked, your voice toneless.
"You'll see him again one day," Kakashi said firmly. You looked at him.
"It's a Tsunade's bet," you sighed. He chuckled. Everyone besides Sasuke looked at you strangely. You ignored them and returned your gaze to the ground.
The sound of water could be heard. You looked up, suspicious.
"It's a bath house," Sakura said excitedly. A grin spread across Naruto's lips.
"Can we go? Please Kakashi-sensei?!" He begged.
It would be nice..
"Sure why not?" Kakashi said, his eyes curved into a smile. You eyed him suspiciously.
"I'm not paying," you grumbled, trudging in the direction of the water.
"Of course not, I'm paying," Kakashi said. Another suspicious glare from you.
"What?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. You didn't answer.
Since when does he pay for anything? You thought with a discreet frown.
***
The old lady at the check-in smiled, her wrinkles folding to cause more wrinkles.
"What beautiful young people," she cooed. Naruto gave her a strange look and both Sakura and Kakashi smiled. You and Sasuke remained expressionless and silent.
"Two rooms please," Kakashi said. The woman nodded and handed him two passes. He smiled and led you and your teammates towards the stairs. He handed Sakura one key and had the other for himself.
"All right, we'll meet up for dinner at six o'clock," Kakashi said. Sakura nodded and you just took the key and began to walk towards the room.
"H-hey, wait up!" Sakura called, rushing after you.
The two of you changed and started to walk down to the hot springs. You turned a corner and locked eyes with a pair of dark ones. You stiffened and Sakura sighed. You walked forward with a blank expression. He didn't move. As you and Sakura walked past his shoulder hit yours forcefully. In place of where there'd normally be anger, all you felt was emptiness.
"Is there a problem Uchiha?" You asked softly. He grunted and you sighed lightly before walking.
When you were out of earshot Sakura turned on you. She leapt in front of you.
"Why are you and Sasuke-kun in a fight?" She asked. You blinked.
"Because he's an ass," you answered simply. Her jaw dropped.
"WHAT?! You had him under your thumb and you just let him go?!" She screeched. You frowned, your ears pulsing from her sudden outburst.
"Aren't you happy?" You questioned, still uncaring about the whole Sasuke situation.
"Don't you care?" She cried, still in disbelief.
"..Not really," you said, "should I?"
"YES! If not because you like him, at least for the sake of the team," she pleaded. You smirked and walked past her.
"I don't feel anything towards him so teamwork should not be a problem," you said breezily.
"You're lying!" She yelled after you. You ignored her and walked out into the room and slid the paper door open. You walked out towards the pool of steamy water and let your robe slide off.
"Keoko, I know-" Sakura cut herself off when she saw the scars decorating your back. You glanced at her over your shoulder.
"What?" You asked non-chanlantely before dipping your toe in the water. Seeing it wasn't going to burn your skin off you stepped in and sunk below the water.
"Where'd all those scars come from?" She asked softly, sinking into the water beside you.
"The Akatsuki. Why?"
"There's so many," she mumbled softly.
"I wasn't the most well-behaved kid," you chuckled. She looked at you surprised.
"You're not angry?" She asked. You gave her a confused look.
"About what?"
"How they treated you!"
"Heh, I was for a long time. Until I realised that I always knew before I did anything that that would be the concequences and did them anyways," you said with a smile. She gaped.
"B-but-"
"Sakura, if they didn't do what they did, I wouldn't be as strong as I am now. That just means I have more power to destroy them with," you said with a half smile.
"I see," she said smiling weakly.
"Naruto, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kakashi's warning voice could be heard. You and Sakura looked at each other. Both of you could feel anger overwhelming you.
"Narutoo.." Sakura growled.
"Wait," you giggled.
"Oooh, Sakura doesn't this feel good?" You sang. She caught on quickly.
"Mmm, my skin feels so silky," Sakura crooned. You reached up to your robe which lay discarded beside the edge of the pool. Tucked away in one of the pockets was a kunai you'd slipped in. You grabbed it and flicked it at the wooden fence. There was an eep from the other side, closely followed by a splash as someone fell back into the water. You smirked.
"Pervert," you muttered. You sighed and rested the back of your head on the rim of the pool.
"I told you," Kakashi chuckled.
"They cheated," Naruto whined.
"Well no girl wants you watching them," Sasuke said sourly.
What girl wants an Uchiha watching..nevermind. You sighed, rolling your eyes to look over at Sakura.
"Trust me Sakura, he's not perverted like that," you muttered. If there was any hope in her eyes it was distinguished. You chuckled.
"You never give up do you?" You asked, nudging her in the ribs. She sighed and looked down sadly.
"You care about him a lot don't you?" You asked. She looked at you nervously before looking away.
"Y-yeah," she whispered, a blush creeping over her cheeks.
"You deserve better," you sighed.
"You don't mean Naruto do you?" She gasped teasingly.
"Hey, don't be so hard on the guy. He tries really hard y'know?"
"I know, but he can be so annoying sometimes," Sakura whined, wrinkling her nose.
"So can you," you teased, sticking your tongue out at her. She pouted.
"Think about it, what Naruto is like to you is what you're probably like to Sasuke," you said. She looked away embarassed.
"Heh, don't worry about it," you said laughing lightly. She sighed.
"He hates me doesn't he?"
"I'm sure he doesn't."
"But he does."
"If it makes you feel any better, he hates me too," you said with a laugh. She looked at you astonished.
"Are you kidding me?! He practically drools over you! I'm so jealous," she grumbled. You snorted.
"The kid sure does know how to put up a front doesn't he?" You laughed bitterly and stood up.
"W-where're you going?" She questioned.
"My skin's turning red," you replied breezily.
How can someone lie so blatantly? Damn Uchiha.
...
Ohh my, what's gonna happen?
< !-- BEGIN CBOX - www.cbox.ws -->
< !-- END CBOX -->
