literature

Toxic Angel: Chapter 9

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You'd locked yourself in your room following the incident with Kabuto. It was rather ironic since you'd spent so much time trying to gain your freedom, but it was the best thing to do under the circumstances. Somehow, you had to figure exactly how to handle things. Everything was getting out of control.

The confrontation played over and over in your mind, and you couldn't deny the regret welling up in the pit of your stomach at the lost opportunity. It was the right thing to do. Wasn't it? Like all of the years spent pretending you were nothing more than an average kunoichi, training in secret, and doing all the right things. You'd lived just the way your grandfather instructed, even though he would never explain the reasons.

There had been some satisfaction in your friendship with Naruto. He'd encouraged you to do your best, and for the first time in your life, you'd begun to loosen the vice-like grip on your control and embrace the feeling of success. The Chuunin exams were a piece of cake, and everyone had been amazed at the ease with which you'd passed. You'd felt a smug sense of self-satisfaction at the hushed whispers passing through the village after that. They truly had no idea what you were capable of doing, and the urge to show them taunted you in ways you would never admit.

As the missions came rolling in, you discovered a sense of peace in accomplishment, never failing once in your intended tasks. People looked at you in a new light, your friends and your enemies. But in the wake of your newfound glory, your grandfather became increasingly disturbed by the notoriety. He lectured you about the need to blend in and scolded you for pushing the bounds of mediocracy, but when you demanded an explanation, he would only look at you with a pained expression and tell you that greatness held a terrible price.

Six months after you became a Chuunin, your grandfather passed away from unexpeceted health complications. A sense of guilt claimed you, and though you continued to complete your missions, you also shied away from excellence, settling into the confines imposed upon you for so many years. Everyone knew you were good, but deep down, you knew that you could be better. Resentment sparked within your heart, as much as you tried to ignore it.

Absently, you traced the pale pink scar that divided your palm. You'd come to Otogakure with a noble purpose. You wanted to help Naruto. You hated Orochimaru. Still. Your hand trembled, frustration bringing tears to your eyes, blurring the line beneath your fingertip. The freedom of being in this place was an addiction, and you didn't know if you could escape it - you didn't even know if you wanted to anymore.

Then, there was Kabuto. You winced as his reaction to your rejection replayed in your mind, and you allowed yourself to consider that there was something more than lust driving your disappointment at the turn of events. All those hours spent contemplating the mysterious shinobi, your desire to know more...could it all be something more than you suspected? He intrigued you. His presence here. His past. That scar you recalled so vividly.

Sure, you'd had relationships before, from girlish crushes to more mature infatuations with other ninja from Konoha. You'd even spent several months secretly involved with a shinobi from Sunagakure, but the distance and distraction of responsibility had been too much to bear and you'd reluctantly parted ways. This was different though. Kabuto was the enemy - Orochimaru's right hand man and the cause of more than a little distress to your village and its people. How the hell could you feel anything more than contempt for him? But regardless of how wrong it was, the evidence was all too clear.

But he had told you to leave. No, he'd demanded it. A single tear wound its way along your cheek, and you swiped it away with a growl of defiance. You wouldn't fall prey to emotion. You never had, and this wasn't time to start. Your mission here was to get Sasuke to come back to Konohagakure, and that's what you were going to do. Everything else could be dealt with later.

Your determination moved you from the edge of the bed and across the room. Your stubborn will guided one hand up to click the lock open, but only your well honed ninja training got you out of the way fast enough to avoid being smacked in the face by the door as it swung open.  

"What the hell?" you shrieked jumping back across the room. "Kabuto..." your reprimand fell fatally short when you realized that it wasn't Kabuto who was standing in your room. "Sasuke? Wh-what are you...?"

"Orochimaru wishes to see you." His words offered no hint of emotion, but those black eyes bore into you with an intensity that set you on edge.

You weren't in the mood to accomodate his attitude. If it wasn't for Sasuke Uchiha, you wouldn't be standing here, trapped in the midst of a moral dilemna with your heart and body aching for someone you had no business associating with in the first place. So, you merely rolled your eyes and turned to grab a book off the table by your bed, "I'm busy. Come back later."

A quick glance back at the dark-haired shinobi gave you more satisfaction than you could have imagined. His jaw had dropped slightly and a look of complete bewilderment had settled over that handsome, brooding face, but he recovered quickly, a dark look chasing all evidence of confusion away in a flash.

His hand clamped down on your wrist, causing you to drop the book, "This is not a casual request, I'm afraid."

Your (color) eyes narrowed, frustration clouding your judgement, "Then tell him to come get me himself instead of sending his lackeys to do it."

The banging of the door rang in your ears as a jolt of pain down your spine shocked you back into your senses. You swallowed hard, and the unmistakable sensation of cold steel pressing against your throat sent an icy chill racing through your body. Sasuke's speed was unbelievable, and his temper obviously possessed a very short fuse.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, more curiosity than malice lacing the question.

"I'm here to tell you that you need to go back to Konoha. You're making your friends crazy with worry."

The kunai blade trembled for just a second, but Sasuke neither moved it nor did he loosen the deadly pressure with which he had you pressed against the door. "(first name, last name). I knew I recognized you."

"Gee, I'm touched."

He smirked. The sarcasm hadn't escaped him. "So was it Naruto or Sakura that sent you?"

"Neither. They don't even know I'm here." You allowed a faint smile at the surprise that lit his eyes. "It was sort of a spur of the moment decision on my part. Since Kabuto insisted on my company anyhow."

"You're an idiot. Get out of this place while you still can."

"Oh, you're one to talk, you ungrateful jerk! Do you know how much you've hurt the people that care about you? I risked my life coming here because I know how determined Naruto is to bring you home!" You couldn't be certain, but you thought that you saw him flinch. "Are you really that cold?"

"You don't know a damn thing about why I'm here," he growled.

The pressure on the blade increased noticably, and you felt a single drop of blood trickle down to rest in the hollow of your throat. "But I do, " you said, each word carefully measured. You hadn't anticipated Sasuke's behavior and wondered at the irony that you might die at the hands of the very person you'd come to save. "Maybe I don't know you very well, Sasuke, but Naruto has spent hours talking about you and why you left the village. I know about your clan, and I know about your brother. There has to be a better way."

"You don't know Itachi. He's a monster. He has to be stopped at any cost."

"And he's after Naruto now," you reminded him softly, a pang of guilt stabbing at your heart as you spoke. "Wouldn't it make more sense to fight beside your friend than to gain power through your enemy?"

The kunai lowered a fraction of an inch, just enough so that you could breath easily once more. Sasuke's entire demeanor shifted in that instant, and he seemed exhausted, as though the long years of hatred had suddenly caught up with him. "If you came here chasing after me, (name), then you made a mistake. I'm not going back."

"Is it really worth it?" you asked him. You waited with bated breath for his answer, much more than simple curiosity hanging in the balance.

Sasuke stepped away, the hand that held the kunai falling to his side. His depthless black eyes met yours, "This is the path I've chosen, right or wrong, it just has to be this way. I can't turn back. Naruto needs to let it go and focus on his own problems."

"But is it worth it, " you pressed, "to sell your soul to the devil for power?"

A deep frown turned the corners of his mouth, a silent war raging deep within that guarded gaze. The silence stretched into eternity, and you'd begun to fear that he would not answer. You continued to watch as he slipped the weapon in his hand back into its pouch, his stare never faltering from yours for even a second.

"If it accomplishes its goal, then yes, it's all worth it."
Chapter 9 - I need to finish this fanfic.
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