endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-11-14 10:32 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-11-14 10:32 pm
Bound By Resolve
Title: Bound By Resolve
Type: Definitely-Not-So-Drabble
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: Backpedaling [ 1314 ]
Character(s): Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke; brief mention of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Karin
Pairing(s): None
Warning(s): None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Based on a plot idea originally made for the RP community of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
circleobetrayal that eventually inspired the fic 'Inheritance of Betrayal.' Theme borrowed from 30_tortures.
Dedicated to:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
its_game_time ♥
"I saw rainclouds in the distance on the way here," she murmured softly, only pausing with a brief grunt to tug the load fully back onto her shoulders, "The pepper and curry mix I added to the tags should confuse Kakashi's dogs long enough for our scent to disappear."
He gave a small nod of simple acknowledgment -- acceptance, almost -- before they continued on in silence. All the better, she thought. There was still a lot to take in, and too much had happened in a short amount of time for either of them not to take several moments to make sense of it. Him, moreso than her, Tenten supposed.
Part of her had already suspected how things would go before she had ever stepped past the gates of the village to follow after them. And even as the kunoichi passed the three unconscious men who had been chosen to go with the Hokage's apprentice, there had been a small inkling of where her loyalties would ultimately rest when she felt relief at knowing he would only have to face up against one. At least for the moment. It hadn't ended up that way, of course. They were a team, after all. And as much as he wanted to deny his ties to them, they would always be one. But the moment Naruto showed up in the clearing, the rest of her conscious fell in line without hesitation and came to the same conclusion as all doubt disappeared. Tenten would continue to follow Sasuke. She would risk her career and place in Konoha to see his goals achieved.
His real goals, not the practiced lies he used to fool the world... and himself. Because she knew him better than that. Or wanted to believe she did, at least.
Almost instantly, she could see the question in all their eyes, both theirs and his. But before any one of them could give voice to it -- and thus it would be made real; all too real -- Tenten was already moving. With the kunai she had taken from Sakura's own hands during her attempted attack against Sasuke, the weapon mistress had given it a hard spin around her finger before sending it swift and sharp in the blond's direction. -- Accuracy and precision saw the red line of blood immediately start to pool at the surface, cutting across the marks that normally graced his cheek. -- An intended warning shot and a clear answer to their unspoken inquiry meant to at least give them pause on how to proceed forward. If Naruto had just remained their only obstacle, the distraction wouldn't have been necessary. But with Hatake Kakashi joining the fray, there had only been one real option to take.
The young Uchiha wasn't ready to take them both on at once, and she certainly was in no better shape to do so either.
So it was with one quick hand signal that the entire clearing was set ablaze as dozens of pre-set explosive tags were triggered. And then it was only a matter of escaping with an unconscious medic in tow and a reluctant avenger following close behind. Prideful, though he was, Sasuke knew when to trust in another's plan. Her plan, Tenten was quick to remind herself as she felt a drop of rain fall on her arm. Then came another. And another still until the both of them were drenched from head to toe with an equally wet Sakura draped limply over the kunoichi's shoulder as they treading carefully amid the slippery rocks and mud-covered tree branches.
There was no telling how long they had been running, or how far they had traveled. So busy with the escape, the kunoichi had failed to keep a conscious track of distance. Not that it would matter, she supposed. The continual downpour would wash away most traces of their existence, as the kunoichi intended. And with a little bit of effort and caution in their speed, it would be too late for them to pick up their trail again once the storm was over. The only uncertainty resided in just where they would be heading.
And avoiding unnecessary dangers along the way.
"Why did you do it?"
Pausing in her steps, she turned to the other with as much of a neutral and evened expression as she could. All the while, the kunoichi continued to blink away the water that kept dripping into her eyes. Her patience was wearing very thin, though. Now was not the time for twenty questions. And considering everything, it was difficult to tell just what he was addressing with the inquiry, though Tenten had a good idea. But Sasuke seemed determined not to move from his spot until she gave an answer. So the young kunoichi resorted to the one thing she could always rely on: sarcasm.
"Because you need a medic in your group," was her frank response, "And I doubt Karin would come back to you after what you tried to do, in love with you or not."
She had only managed to take two steps before a flash of lightning reached across the sky, followed almost instantly after with the loud boom of thunder.
Sasuke hadn't flinched or moved from where he stood. "That's not what I meant."
And he wouldn't move, she knew, stubborn as he was during their days in Oto. Not until he got his answers. Or at least one response that was sufficient enough so that they could continue the conversation at a better location. Because while he might've gained some control over his natural elements, Tenten wasn't sure how much he had improved. And the kunoichi preferred not to find out out in the field. So it was with another huff of breath that she moved to set Sakura down against a tree to relieve the pressure and weight on her back. More seconds passed as a hand wiped away mixture of sweat and rain from her brows to give her a moment of thought before proceeding.
"Do you remember what you said to me?"
His brows furrowed deeper in response. The look on his face clearly said he didn't, which was understandable, she supposed. Her answer had been about as vague and ambiguous as the question itself. And Tenten couldn't very well expect him to remember every single conversation they had while bound under the banner of the Sound Village.
"You said that you refused to be so useless and weak. And that you would do anything to ensure that you weren't." Here, the kunoichi waited for him to recall the memory from deep inside his mind. It would take a few moments, she suspected, for him. But for her, that particular conversation was forever marked in her mind as both one of the first conversations they had ever had with each other, brief though it was, and as a turning point -- one among many -- during her stay in Sound. Then the light of recognition flashed across the dark recesses of his eyes and she gave a nod in affirmation. "Same thing."
Trusting that it was enough for now, Tenten knelt down and prepared to pull Sakura's limp body over her shoulders once more when his voice cut through the patter and boom of the storm. "What about - "
" - They'll just have to trust me," she quickly cut in, knowing -- anticipating -- that the question would follow after the initial subject matter. And for the briefest of moments, the kunoichi's eyes held a sadness in them, though she kept her head turned away from him so that Sasuke wouldn't see the reluctance. Wouldn't see the weakness. Then, in strengthening her resolve to see this decision all the way through, Tenten hardened her gaze and shifted around to meet his. "And so will you."
Type: Definitely-Not-So-Drabble
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: Backpedaling [ 1314 ]
Character(s): Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke; brief mention of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Karin
Pairing(s): None
Warning(s): None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Based on a plot idea originally made for the RP community of
circleobetrayal that eventually inspired the fic 'Inheritance of Betrayal.' Theme borrowed from 30_tortures.Dedicated to:
its_game_time ♥"I saw rainclouds in the distance on the way here," she murmured softly, only pausing with a brief grunt to tug the load fully back onto her shoulders, "The pepper and curry mix I added to the tags should confuse Kakashi's dogs long enough for our scent to disappear."
He gave a small nod of simple acknowledgment -- acceptance, almost -- before they continued on in silence. All the better, she thought. There was still a lot to take in, and too much had happened in a short amount of time for either of them not to take several moments to make sense of it. Him, moreso than her, Tenten supposed.
Part of her had already suspected how things would go before she had ever stepped past the gates of the village to follow after them. And even as the kunoichi passed the three unconscious men who had been chosen to go with the Hokage's apprentice, there had been a small inkling of where her loyalties would ultimately rest when she felt relief at knowing he would only have to face up against one. At least for the moment. It hadn't ended up that way, of course. They were a team, after all. And as much as he wanted to deny his ties to them, they would always be one. But the moment Naruto showed up in the clearing, the rest of her conscious fell in line without hesitation and came to the same conclusion as all doubt disappeared. Tenten would continue to follow Sasuke. She would risk her career and place in Konoha to see his goals achieved.
His real goals, not the practiced lies he used to fool the world... and himself. Because she knew him better than that. Or wanted to believe she did, at least.
Almost instantly, she could see the question in all their eyes, both theirs and his. But before any one of them could give voice to it -- and thus it would be made real; all too real -- Tenten was already moving. With the kunai she had taken from Sakura's own hands during her attempted attack against Sasuke, the weapon mistress had given it a hard spin around her finger before sending it swift and sharp in the blond's direction. -- Accuracy and precision saw the red line of blood immediately start to pool at the surface, cutting across the marks that normally graced his cheek. -- An intended warning shot and a clear answer to their unspoken inquiry meant to at least give them pause on how to proceed forward. If Naruto had just remained their only obstacle, the distraction wouldn't have been necessary. But with Hatake Kakashi joining the fray, there had only been one real option to take.
The young Uchiha wasn't ready to take them both on at once, and she certainly was in no better shape to do so either.
So it was with one quick hand signal that the entire clearing was set ablaze as dozens of pre-set explosive tags were triggered. And then it was only a matter of escaping with an unconscious medic in tow and a reluctant avenger following close behind. Prideful, though he was, Sasuke knew when to trust in another's plan. Her plan, Tenten was quick to remind herself as she felt a drop of rain fall on her arm. Then came another. And another still until the both of them were drenched from head to toe with an equally wet Sakura draped limply over the kunoichi's shoulder as they treading carefully amid the slippery rocks and mud-covered tree branches.
There was no telling how long they had been running, or how far they had traveled. So busy with the escape, the kunoichi had failed to keep a conscious track of distance. Not that it would matter, she supposed. The continual downpour would wash away most traces of their existence, as the kunoichi intended. And with a little bit of effort and caution in their speed, it would be too late for them to pick up their trail again once the storm was over. The only uncertainty resided in just where they would be heading.
And avoiding unnecessary dangers along the way.
"Why did you do it?"
Pausing in her steps, she turned to the other with as much of a neutral and evened expression as she could. All the while, the kunoichi continued to blink away the water that kept dripping into her eyes. Her patience was wearing very thin, though. Now was not the time for twenty questions. And considering everything, it was difficult to tell just what he was addressing with the inquiry, though Tenten had a good idea. But Sasuke seemed determined not to move from his spot until she gave an answer. So the young kunoichi resorted to the one thing she could always rely on: sarcasm.
"Because you need a medic in your group," was her frank response, "And I doubt Karin would come back to you after what you tried to do, in love with you or not."
She had only managed to take two steps before a flash of lightning reached across the sky, followed almost instantly after with the loud boom of thunder.
Sasuke hadn't flinched or moved from where he stood. "That's not what I meant."
And he wouldn't move, she knew, stubborn as he was during their days in Oto. Not until he got his answers. Or at least one response that was sufficient enough so that they could continue the conversation at a better location. Because while he might've gained some control over his natural elements, Tenten wasn't sure how much he had improved. And the kunoichi preferred not to find out out in the field. So it was with another huff of breath that she moved to set Sakura down against a tree to relieve the pressure and weight on her back. More seconds passed as a hand wiped away mixture of sweat and rain from her brows to give her a moment of thought before proceeding.
"Do you remember what you said to me?"
His brows furrowed deeper in response. The look on his face clearly said he didn't, which was understandable, she supposed. Her answer had been about as vague and ambiguous as the question itself. And Tenten couldn't very well expect him to remember every single conversation they had while bound under the banner of the Sound Village.
"You said that you refused to be so useless and weak. And that you would do anything to ensure that you weren't." Here, the kunoichi waited for him to recall the memory from deep inside his mind. It would take a few moments, she suspected, for him. But for her, that particular conversation was forever marked in her mind as both one of the first conversations they had ever had with each other, brief though it was, and as a turning point -- one among many -- during her stay in Sound. Then the light of recognition flashed across the dark recesses of his eyes and she gave a nod in affirmation. "Same thing."
Trusting that it was enough for now, Tenten knelt down and prepared to pull Sakura's limp body over her shoulders once more when his voice cut through the patter and boom of the storm. "What about - "
" - They'll just have to trust me," she quickly cut in, knowing -- anticipating -- that the question would follow after the initial subject matter. And for the briefest of moments, the kunoichi's eyes held a sadness in them, though she kept her head turned away from him so that Sasuke wouldn't see the reluctance. Wouldn't see the weakness. Then, in strengthening her resolve to see this decision all the way through, Tenten hardened her gaze and shifted around to meet his. "And so will you."