endless_scrolls | In Killing Demons

Title: In Killing Demons
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Wordcount: 1203
Character(s): Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke; brief mentions of Rock Lee, Uchiha Itachi
Pairing(s): Maybe a small hint of Sasuke/Tenten
Warning(s): None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Short and randomly written fic/drabble inspired by a conversation concerning [ THIS ] quiz.
Dedicated to:

its_game_time and

alory_shannon

Spending hours without uttering a single word to each other was nothing unusual for them. In the beginning, it had been a little uncomfortable and awkward for Tenten. But Sasuke was never the sort to talk much and verbal communication was never necessary during missions. And as the years passed, it became easier and easier to read the unspoken words written in the young man's movements and demeanor. Just like how it became easier for him to read the messages mapped in her glances and facial expressions. A trust and understanding was there that had taken years to develop. And there was no one else in the world that could contest their unique sort of bond. So when the young woman found herself on the receiving end of a long stretch of silence while she shuffled around for a first aid kit and started to dress his wounds, Tenten had thought nothing about it.

Missions worth of injuries and spur-of-the-moment patch jobs had more than acquainted them with the initial awkwardness of seeing each other stripped of clothes in one form or another. Of having to be intimate enough to mend each other's scrapes and scars even despite his continual protest of being perfectly capable of tending to his own wounds. Tenten had never believed him either way, and pride was a luxury neither one of them could afford while out on assignments. So the ritual of silence during the bandaging process had become somewhat of a tradition and comfort for the both of them.

Still, there was a tenseness that was too obvious to ignore. And it all centered, she knew, around the blood dripping and streaking down her arm. Or rather, the source of it.

Through whatever reason -- carelessness or an adaptive quality of the zombies neither of them had been aware of when their food source had not been so dire and limited -- she had been bitten as well. It was not as crippling or cumbersome as his. Tenten still had the use of her arm and most of her skills unlike him who had to be careful of every movement. But it was a bite all the same. And it meant that the both of them would turn if the cure was not brought in time. Already the young woman could sense the slow changes within her body. Specifically her sense of smell. Things -- scents -- that would've gone unnoticed before by her all too human senses seemed heightened. Highlighted with a blazing beacon that steadily began creeping into the more primal side of her subconscious. And she had only been infected for a few minutes. The virus had been cultivating within Sasuke's body for nearly an hour.

Moving to tighten the bandages, she was startled out of her thoughts when his hand suddenly came up and took hold of her wrist, stilling the young woman's efforts. "If he doesn't come in time, shoot me."

Turning, she only gave him a furrowed glance before forcefully wrenching her arm away from his grasp. " If I do that, who's gonna shoot me, genius?"

"You were just bitten." It was a simple statement of a fact they both knew. The truth of the matter was that Tenten was lucky that a bite was the worse that happened, though it was severe in its own right. Still, things could have been worse. She would have likely been dead if he hadn't stepped in and killed the monster before she was dragged outside to be at the mercy of every single creature within sight. But the reality of hearing the words from his mouth held a weight of finality to it that she was not quite ready to admit, even to herself. Because being bitten meant that they were both marked for an afterlife of the Undead. "He might make it in time to save you."

"I've also been moving around a lot more than you have," she countered, still every bit as stubborn as he could be, "It's spreading through me quicker."

Jerking his head around sharply, he fixed his eyes on hers. "...So you smell it too."

She gave a single nod of affirmation, her expression grim and laced with dread for what the words meant. "Have been for the past five minutes, at least, yeah."

But she had been trying to ignore, forcing all of her attention and concentration on simply finishing the meaningless task of wrapping cloth around a bleeding cut. To forget the fact that something inside of her wanted nothing more than taste what was still warm and alive with life inside of him. With how much had been spilled during their trek across the city and how long they had remained in one place while waiting for the third member of their party to return -- exerting himself to fight off the last of the zombies in that last battle had only made things worse -- there was no denying the scent. Tenten could smell the rich copper tang of Sasuke's blood. Her own had been wafting and wavering in the air as well while they moved about and worked. But while hers was like a lingering afterthought, his was overwhelming. And it had taken every bit of conscious thought not to dwell on that knowledge. Not to hear the blood as it pumped through his veins...

"It doesn't matter," came the other's blunt response, cutting off her thoughts almost immediately before they could continue down the eerie path they were headed, "Lee was only sent to get one vaccine."

Tying off the loose end of the bindings and fixing his shirt back in place, Tenten quickly pushed all other unwanted musings aside to address the matter at hand, retorting back at his point with little mercy. "And he knows better than to come back without at least two."

His brows furrowed deeper and his tone took an almost deadly shift. "Tenten."

"Sasuke." Then again, she was just as stubborn and determined, if not more. By that creed of her character alone did she managed to remain his partner for so long when others would've given up years before.

It was a foolish hope to think that the both of them would be saved in time before the virus overtook any sort of resistance their bodies could muster. Even the strongest and bravest of them had eventually fallen victim to the undead disease that swept through the island nation, seeking out the flesh and bone of their former comrades -- families -- in order to sustain their own unHoly existence. Tenten had only heard stories of the Uchiha Massacre that had taken place when Itachi had been infected with the deadly strain. But the look in Sasuke's eyes each and every time he was faced with a horde of mindless and soulless crowd of zombies was something that told a thousand horrors without uttering a single breath.

Tenten didn't want those same eyes to haunt her as well.

Dusting herself off at the thought, the young woman struggled to her feet before holding out her good arm to him. "...Come on. We better get going if we wanna avoid another fight like that."

In Killing Demons

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