Lost in His World (A Sasuke Fanfic)

⇜Chapter 46⇝

            Zero halted the stallion to a stop and he maneuvered it to move behind the trees. We just barely reached the snow-covered ground and were still in the area with only a few inches deep of ice. Zero got down, tied the beast to the tree and peaked from behind it.

            “Zero, what is it?” I asked and got myself down from the horse.

           “Something’s up,” he said while still watching something from a distance using his telescope. I stood next to him and peaked as well. About a mile ahead is the border of the Land of Snow. I could barely see its posts from where we were standing but I wasn’t seeing anything unusual. It was a little hard to notice anything though for we were already losing daylight.

            “What do you see?”

            “Palace guards. There weren’t any at that side of the border when we left this morning. Something’s wrong.”

            “We better hurry then,” I said and started to walk towards the stallion but Zero grabbed my arm, stopping me.

            “No!” he said in a low but firm voice. I gave him a questioning look. “We have to move by foot. Everyone must be tense right now because of whatever it is that happened when we were gone. It’s best not to alarm them.”

            I nodded. “Okay.”

            “We’ll leave the horse here. Come on, I’ll take you back to the palace.”

           Zero took my hand and guided me towards the Snow Kingdom’s border. He was very observant and seemed to know the best way to go for us to get in without being seen. I was impressed at his stealth and how he was able to move and get around the palace guards without making a sound. Especially with a barely-a-shinobi girl in tow.

            Zero and I managed to avoid all the guards and reached the part of the forest that opened up to the palace garden. It was already dark when we reached it.

            “Go,” I heard Zero say. We were hiding behind some bushes.

            “How about you?”

          “I’ll meet with my men. You go and stay in the palace. You’ll be safe there,” he answered, took another look at the circling guards, and started to move back into the forest.

            “Zero,” I called in a low voice. He stopped and turned to face me. “Be careful.”

            Zero nodded. “I will see you again, Mika,” he said then he vanished in to the darkness of the forest. I heaved a sigh and smiled to myself before I stepped out of my hiding place and entered the garden.

            “Halt! Who’s there?” demanded one of the guards.

            “It’s me. It’s Mika from the Leaf Village,” I replied and moved towards where there was light so they could see my face. The guards put down their weapons when they recognized me and allowed me to pass. But before I could even make a step, I was already stopped by an angry voice. It wasn’t a yell but I could sense the danger behind it.

            “Where were you?”

            I gulped when I heard that voice. I knew it very well and I knew the man who owned it well. Judging from how his voice sounded like, I knew I was in for a deep trouble. Especially when even the guards scattered when they saw who spoke. I slowly turned to face him. Sasuke was standing at the border of the forest looking sharply at me. He looked dangerously scary as he stared at me and I couldn’t help but swallow to clear my throat before I spoke.

            “I—was out.”

            “Out where? I looked everywhere for you,” he said then started to walk towards me, his eyes never left me until he was standing right in front of me. Sasuke reached for my hair and for a second I thought he would hurt me. I flinched when his fingers touched the strands of my hair but didn’t feel him pull them. Instead, he pulled a strand of grass that was sticking on my hair and held it to my face.

            “You were outside the Snow Kingdom’s borders, were you?”

            “I, ahm…” I started nervously, choking at my own words.

         “What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled. “Why would you even go outside the kingdom’s borders?”

            “I…just needed to go out. Get some fresh air.”

            “There’s not enough fresh air in the palace ground for you?”

            My mouth opened but no words came out. I didn’t really know what to say.

            “How could you be so damn careless, Mika?” his voice thundered and I felt my body shivered in fear while I look at him feeling scared. Sasuke shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth, trying to calm himself down.   

          “A handful of the prince’s men were murdered inside the kingdom. Those murderers could still be here, hiding. You could have been killed,” he said, trying not to yell but I could still sense his anger.

           “I’m…sorry,” I apologized while trying to choke away my tears. “But I told you never to come find me again. I don’t need you to save me. I’m not your responsibility, Sasuke…I don’t want your help.”

            Sasuke’s fists clenched. “You better be sure that you will never need my help again. Because if you do…I won’t come running to save you. Not anymore,” he said. There was coldness in every word he uttered. His eyes reflected his intent to keep his words and, in an instant, it made me regret what I said. It made me feel worried and helpless, as if I just lost the only thing that kept me alive during this whole crazy journey. And I was scared. But I have made my decision. A decision to sever any feelings I had for him.

Sasuke didn’t wait for me to respond. He turned his back on me and headed towards the forest where he disappeared into the darkness. I was left alone weeping because of something I lost but never really had.