::There Are Limitations To Our Hearts::A Sasuke Story::Chapter 16::

Chapter 16

“Well, it’s obvious that you’ll have to accept the challenge Sayuri,” Tsunade stated, repeating what Heisei had been telling me throughout the journey here. I couldn’t stop myself from biting my lip; anxiety had replaced all the blood in my veins by now. Team 7 were standing just behind me, although Kakashi had his nose once again buried in his perverted little book. I could feel my hands shaking lightly. This was something I’d been avoiding for years. Confronting my clan was like a nightmare, one I’d had frequently over the years. Yakata are ruthless, it’s how they’d survived without joining one of the great nations for so long. No one dared force them too. And the punishment for abandoning the clan no matter what the age is death by the most vicious way possible. They make slices all over the traitor’s body, and chain them out in the open, so that members of the clan can watch the blood drain from them until they die. The Yakata did this so that the traitors of the clan do not enter the land of death with their blood; they didn’t want to insult the true demons there.

“I know,” I whispered, just loud enough for the others to hear. If I didn’t, the Yakata would lay siege upon Konoha. I didn’t want that on my conscience.

“NO! You shouldn’t have to! You told them you didn’t want to lead the clan, so why are they making you fight anyways?! How can they be so cruel?” Naruto questioned.

“You’re still naive to the ways of my clan Naruto. They’re ninja of the worst kind. They’re ruthless killers. They’re forcing me to fight Hitoshi because they want me to receive the punishment I should have taken years ago for leaving. To them I’ve betrayed them in the worst possible way, because in their eyes, I’ve tainted the blood that runs through my veins.” I explain to him, and the others, and the image of Hitoshi lingered in my mind, the face of my executioner.

“Don’t you dare think like that! I did not raise you to give up so easily. Blood is not the only thing that matters in this world, as you should know. You’re more than that, little one. We need to train, because I swear that I’ll use the last of my power an incinerate any who threaten your existence!” Heisei was the kind of person you both loved and feared. But it was a fear of her really, it was a fear for the consequences of what’d happen if you didn’t meet her expectations.

“Sayuri, we can’t afford to be at war with the Yakata. Not after everything that happened during the chuunin exams,” Tsunade started,

“I know that, it’s just a difficult thing to face,” I admitted to her,

“I’m sorry Sayuri, but I am ordering to fight Hitoshi three days from now. I have faith in you, besides, you can always ask Heisei for assistance in battle if you need to,”

“She can’t,” Sasuke’s sudden interruption drew everyone’s attention, my own because he’d beaten me to stopping the Hokage,

“And why is that?” Questioned Kakashi, finally looking up from his book, glancing first at me, then back to Sasuke. “Because,” He started once again, but he stopped speaking, probably thinking of a reason himself. I couldn’t stop the small smile at my own thoughts, He either knows me better than I thought, or he really does resent that fact that I rely on Heisei a lot,

“Because I refuse to. I’m proud to the point of stupidity. This is my fight, and I won’t accept help for it. Besides, if I accepted Heisei’s help, I’d be disqualified. This fight is one on one; I refuse to cheat, even if no other Yakata would know.” I explained to the other’s, looking from each of them, but letting my eyes linger with Sasuke’s a few moments longer than I should have.

“Do you think you can win?” Kakashi asked, his voice sounding bored, but his eye showing sharp curiosity,

“Honestly? I have no idea, but from what I know about the rules of title matches, it’s definitely more towards me losing than winning,” I refused to meet any of their gazes then, though I could feel the apprehension in the room practically melting my skin. I could feel the guilt of Tsunade for having to make to do this; the sorrow from Sakura; Naruto’s look of disbelief at my attitude; Kakashi’s begrudging acceptance of the situation, and finally Sasuke’s anger. Each of them bit into me, making me feel guilty for being unable to provide them with the answer they were hoping for.

“We have faith in you Sayuri, as our friend, our comrade. I don’t know the full extent of either your abilities, or those of Hitoshi, but I wish you luck. You’re all dismissed.”

I ran from the room as she uttered the last syllable, I couldn’t bare the words Team 7 would say to me.

I ran because when the adrenalin hits you it’s either fight or flight. And I was always one to avoid confrontation.

Lying on your back, staring up at a sky that seemed to calm the world can do wonders for a panicked state of mind. And at that moment, it was exactly what I needed. I could think. I could breathe. I was strong, I knew that much. And I knew that in a fair fight, I could beat Hitoshi into the next millennia. However, the rules of combat in the Yakata clan are biased when two members fight. The favoured child is given the chakra of the current leader through the marking on their wrist. It’s done to ensure that each new leader is better than the last, however, these battles don’t usually take place until each child is at least 21 years of age, when each has had the chance to grow into an adult. I let out a sigh and stretched my arms above my head. My life is too complex. I complained to myself, Heisei having disappeared into the recesses of my mind. For the first time in a long time, I just completely relaxed. I stopped thinking about everything, I stopped being overly cautious, I stopped being aware of everything apart from the deep sky above me. I dove into its solitude without regard, for once simply being. I laid there for hours, until almost all of the lights of Konoha were out, and the world was dark. Perfection reigned within the night.

I heard the footsteps only a few seconds before they stopped. But I refused to react, I was relaxed now, and as vulnerable as it made me, I wanted nothing but to stay like that forever. I searched only with my eyes, until my gaze found the familiar Uchiha towering above me, looking down back at me.

“Hi,” I whispered, not wanting to disrupt the peace of the night. “What are you doing out here?”

He looked up towards the sky before looking back at me, “I was looking for you.” He confessed, putting his hands into his pant pockets. I didn’t question him why, I simply accepted it, and went back to looking at the sky, although my gaze occasionally went back to him. His own gaze didn’t remove itself from me, and he didn’t look away even when I caught him staring.

“Why are you staring?” I asked him, still in the quiet whisper,

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you not on guard. You’re always so alert.”

“But that’s no reason to stare,” I commented, my eyes locking with his once more.

“Hn,” I rolled my eyes at his response, and watched as he lay down beside me. We stayed like that, simply staring at the sky, and I welcomed it. It was actually kind of nice to have someone beside me. I was tired of being on my own.

“I’m scared,” I admitted to him, “I’m actually petrified,”

“Of dying?” He asked bluntly, his words full of blatant mockery, “I thought you were a ninja,”

“No, Sasuke. Not of dying, of failing. I’m petrified of failing, and not making an impact on anything. Of having made no change in the world because of my existence. I’m scared to discover that I’m unnecessary,” I listened to the sound of Sasuke turning his head to look at me, and when I turned to look back at him, it seemed as though he understood exactly what I meant. It made us both change our opinion of the other in that moment. His eyebrows furrowed, as though deep in thought, contemplating my words, and me. “I’m not quite what you expected right? You only know the girl who loves to play pranks on others, to train with utter determination. To fight as though the world depended on me.” I paused, watching him, waiting for his reaction,

“But what do you think, now that you realise that I play pranks on others because I want to learn as much as possible, about everyone and everything. I study their reactions and store them in my mind, so that, if I am to fail and die, I can look back on their faces and know how life can be lived. I train with utter determination, because I have nothing else in life apart from those dear to me, so I must protect them, because what scares me most on this earth is failing those loved ones and allowing them to be hurt, or worse to die themselves. And I fight as though the world depends on me, because my own world does. No one else on earth has the same perception of it as me, so if I am to die, so does my world.” I spoke as though confessing the secrets of the universe. At that moment, I was vulnerable, trusting in a person who could betray me.

“I think I can understand that. At first, I thought you were like a female version on Naruto. But, there was always something else. It’s in your presence, it consumes everything around it, and I can tell that you would protect what you cherished with everything you had and more.”

“Sometimes you frighten me, Sasuke Uchiha. When did the anti-social become the specialist on others?”

“When you don’t get too involved with everything in front of you, you can see it for what it really is,”

“But if you don’t get involved, you’ll always be missing out,” I tell me, refusing to tear my eyes away from his. “Maybe, but I gain a lot too,”

With that, the both of us fell into silence, and it was during this time that I realised Sasuke and I had a strange bond. It was difficult to describe. It was slightly different from a friendship, which form quickly and then grow. The bond between Sasuke and I seemed more like a bridge building between us. But it was a slow process, because I could tell that both of us wanted this bridge to be strong, so we had to slowly work towards it, getting closer and closer. And what made me smile, while staring to that dark sky, was thinking that when the bridge between us was finally finished, it’d be stronger than friendship. I think Sasuke knew that too, that’s why at some point, while lying under the stars, he brought his hand down next to mine, our fingers gently touching one another but not holding. It was something that could seem small and insignificant to some, but to me, that moment was forever engraved into my mind.