Forsaken Innocence

Chapter Twenty-Two: Gaara's Downfall; Michiko's Betrayal

Forsaken Innocence

Chapter Twenty-Two: Gaara’s Downfall; Michiko’s Betrayal

I watched, almost astonished as Naruto somehow contained the beast opposing him. From where I sat in the trees, it was hard to tell each individual thing that was happening.

But, one thing I was sure of: Naruto was winning. 

This being proven as the larger thing he had been fighting disappeared, leaving both boys to fall. 

I moved, my eyes trained on the falling orange blob, hoping to catch him before he made impact with the ground. But, a certain Uchiha grasp stopped me, tightening around my forearm. “Sasuke?”

His gaze seemed to narrow as he watched the blonde, only letting loose of his hold when Naruto finally hit the ground. When he did, Sasuke’s black orbs found my own blue, holding no emotion. 

“You should go help your friend, don’t you think?” My eyebrows furrowed at his vacant expression. 

Did he mean for Naruto to…

“Yeah…” As I jumped down from the tree, I couldn’t help the feeling that washed over me. Almost like a premonition. I didn’t know what to think of it. But, I had a feeling it was bad. 

Shaking my head, I focused on the boy that lay on the ground in front of me. His wounds were worse than I had anticipated. And, upon seeing them, I was too scared to even touch him for fear I’d only make it worse. 

“Don’t look at me like that, Hito-chan.”

“Naruto…”

“I kicked ass, huh?”

I let out the breath I hadn’t know I had been holding, pinching his dust coated cheek. “You’re such an idiot, you know?”

He whined, swatting at my hand. I laughed, gently kissing his forehead. “Yeah, Naruto, you kicked ass.”

It was then that I noticed Michiko hadn’t of followed behind me like I thought she would. Instead, the blue-haired girl had situated herself beneath the sand shin obi, his head resting in her lap. Carefully, she brushed at the red strands that stuck to his forehead due to sweat and blood, dirt mingling in with his cuts and bruises. 

“Sad, isn’t it?” Naruto sighed, calling my attention away from the two. 

“Hmm?”

“He’s been so alone, all this time. But, now, someone’s finally shown some compassion- being brave enough to love a monster, and she cant even prove herself to him for the fear of being labeled a traitor.”

~      ~       ~

I situated myself besides the Uchiha’s bed, flicking the strands of raven hair off of his bandaged face. Both boys were in pathetic states. And, even if Sakura had been awake to help, she probably wouldn’t have done much of a difference. 

As per usual. 

“You don’t have to stay,” the boy murmured, not bothering to open his eyes. Simply smiling, I shrugged, not caring that he couldn’t see me. He was Sasuke. He should just know. 

“I haven’t seen you in like a month. Did you really have to land yourself in the hospital as soon as you got home?”

He stayed still as I laid my head on his chest, still playing with his hair. I had missed his scent and the way it always seemed to cling to my hair and entwine into my hair. Or, how his silky strands of black hair felt between my fingers, its smooth texture tickling at my fingertips. 

“Form what I hear, you haven’t done a very good job at keeping yourself out, either.” He mildly scolded, bringing his hand down to muse my hair. It was evident it wasn’t supposed to be affectionate as he opened his eyes, merely to give me one of his belittling glares. But, that didn’t matter to me as I moved closer to him, resting my palm on his cheek. 

“It was a training accident. Over-exhaustion, that’s all.”

“You need to be more careful.”

I scoffed, “You’re one to point fingers.”

“Hn.”

I rolled my eyes, drawing my lips into a taught line. Sasuke really was the most difficult at the best of times. A real pain in the ass. 

But, still, I had missed him. 

“I missed you, Sasu-gay.” The raven’s lips twitched, recalling his old nickname. When just months before I had hated him with every fiber in my body. 

What had changed?

When did loathing mix with loving? When did he become the person to whom I always wanted near? Before, I had seen his self-contained attitude as boring- leaving absolutely no room for character; back when I figured Sasuke had no personality. 

But, now, I found his constant mood to be calming. Refreshing compared to Naruto’s spontaneity. 

Sasuke sighed, pulling me onto the bed with him. And, to ensure he didn’t hurt himself, I crawled in with him, situating myself under the hospital blanket, like we had done so many times before. Carefully, I cuddled into him, loving the way his nose pressed into my hair and his arms wrapped around my waist. 

It was everything I had missed in the past month. And, it was only now that I had realized why it had been so hard getting to sleep at night. 

“Miss you, too, idiot.”

!~*~*~*~*!

Guuuuuuuuuise. Sasuke’s back and they’re interacting and laying back together and what am I doing. Ugh. Hopefully I can end this story sometime during this two week break. Merry Christmas, guise! :*