Chapter Text
The door to his room opens and the blade in Sasuke’s hand shimmers and disappears along with it's whetstone. He stares blankly at the girl who steps inside and notes how she’d enchanted her previously brown locks into yellow curls. Her brown eyes had changed to blue but the lack of whiskered lines on her cheeks was telling, though in its place she’d powdered them pink. She was wearing an exorbitant green dress and heels that clacked with every footfall. The sound of it making him wish he could tear out his eardrums.
Himiko takes a swaying step forward, purposefully half lidded eyes peering at him under thick eyelashes.
“What do you think?” She whispers, a hand cupping his cheek and it takes everything in him to not flinch away in disgust at the touch. Instead he says nothing and continues his sneer. But as he gazes at her yellow hair he couldn’t help but see familiar golden locks. As he observes her vacant blue eyes he imagines softer cerulean blues, decorated on the side by folds that accompanied a smile. When he glances at her lips, painted to make them look small, it’s replaced by ones that were always pulled wide in a blinding grin .
All of it inevitably forming an image he hasn't stopped yearning for since they were parted.
“Here”
Sasuke’s stares in shock at the leather satchel that was being held out to him. A part of him screams for him to grab it before the girl in front of him changes her mind and the other holds him back, knowing this was too easy to be anything but a trick.
But one glance at the blonde girl makes it obvious that she was doing no such thing. Proven by how her protective aura, that she was wearing only a few minutes earlier, was gone. If he wanted to he could conjure his sword and split her in two before she could even bring it back up. Instead she looks awkward and uncomfortable the longer the tiny bag laid on her palm.
Cautiously Sasuke reaches out and then immediately swipes the satchel away before the girl could suddenly close her fist. She didn’t make any gesture that suggests she would and instead heaves a sigh of relief the second it was taken.
“It felt so weird,” she says dicomforted, “like it was pulsing”.
She turns back to her horse, but looks his away again after climbing on.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give your wing back straight away in town. I just wanted to make sure we weren’t followed first. I was afraid the man was going to steal it back.”
The man. That man, who’d kidnapped him, cut of one of his wings and held it as a token to keep him obedient. To take a fairy’s wing was to basically take their soul. Twisting, rolling and crumpling it was to cause a pain more excruciating than one could imaginably endure. Some equated it to being stabbed in the heart over and over till it hurt so much it was shocking to see no wound in it’s place. Others have said it was like being crushed under the pressure of a million spikes so sharp that they tore through bone.
To destroy it was to die.
He had made a million plans of escape in the weeks following his capture and had even acted some of them out. But with the humans maintaining their protective barriers, a thick layer on their skin that was untouchable to him or his sword, and his wing kept away he would be lying to say he did not feel a sense of hopelessness suffocating him with every failed attempt. It didn’t help that as the man moved from one village to the other the distance between him and his home only grew wider.
He knew he was to be sold and he knew at the high price that he'd been tagged the only people who’d be able to afford him would be a rich, pampered and spoiled human who’d see him only as a toy. A slave. A pet.
To see his buyer be someone who looked no older than 17 wearing a dress decorated by clumsily sewn patches was surprising to say the least.
So his second assumption was that they’d immediately put him to some kind of work to recuperate what was spent. A long term investment of some sort.
Being set free was not among his expectations.
“You paid the man a 100 gold coins just to set me free?”
Her cheeks turn pink and she tries to wave off his words but he knew from eavesdropping other bargaining sessions the man had made with customers that his price would have been enough to buy a plot of land and then some.
So if this girl didn’t understand how much she’d given up, there was only one reasoning left.
“So you’re just stupid?”
At this the girls cheeks flush even more but this time it's accompanied by a flailing raised fist and a stream of obscenities.
“Watch what you’re saying you bastard! You should be grateful I had enough money or I’d have to spend months to work and get more and you’d have to wait ages for me to come back!”
Sasuke merely gives him an unimpressed stare which made the girl break out even more curse words. Some that he didn’t even know and he used to be neighbors with a dwarf.
Still fuming after her rant, she starts trotting away, muttering darkly under her breath. The road she stopped at to give him back his wing was split into two paths and as she took the one on the right, he turns to the left, knowing it would take him back to his forest.
Just as he starts walking he hears the girl call out to him.
Their eyes meet and it’s the first time he realizes the way her eyes seemed to shine even under the cloudy sky. Her face is melded into a picture of relief and apprehension and it makes him wonder if this is just how much she cares about everything.
“Be safe ok,” she calls out.
His tongue is suddenly knotted. Her words resonate something inside him that warms his core and it does occur to him how lucky he is that whatever stars that arrayed above him, theirs were crossed.
He nods, raising the hood of his coat to shroud his face as he turns and walks away.
Himiko closes the small distance between them and staggers. Sasuke’s arms stay stiff at his side even as she moves as though she was about to collapse. She continues her pathetic show before stilling when she realizes that Sasuke had little care for it. She pulls away just enough for him to see her playing with the leather pouch around her neck and for the first time since she came in, he bares his teeth and fury pours out of him but she didn’t care. Her protective aura coating her skin leaves her unmarred by whatever bursts of magic he has even as she herself touches him so freely.
Slowly, as if thoughtful, she wraps her fingers around the satchel and before he could take a preparatory breath they close around it tight in a maddening grip.
He lurches forward. His legs shake. Air refuses to fill his lungs and his hands desperately claw at his chest in a futile effort to pry the pain away.
Fingers loosen and he feels humiliated to admit that the only thing keeping him standing is the vile woman leaps forward to wrap her arms around him in an unwanted embrace.
“I just want you to love me Sasuke,” she whispers into his coat and pure disgust crawls up his throat, “Why won’t you love me?”
She pulls him even closer, “There’s nothing special about her. She's nothing.”
If he wasn’t so weak from the remnants of pain he’d just been inflicted he would have shoved her against the wall with his sword at her throat. Even though he knows he wouldn't be able to do anything.
The door to the room crashes open and the blonde girl inside jumps, the rattle of chains ringing along with her.
A figure with dark hair and darker eyes cloaked in a navy hooded coat steps in, a sword with an ebony blade and purple hilt held in one hand.
“You? What are you doing here?” She walks forward but is suddenly jerked to a stop by the chain around her ankle, holding her a few feet from the doorway. Without skipping a beat, Sasuke slashes through them like butter and notes the red, irritated skin that had been rubbed raw from her struggles to free herself since she’d been locked up.
“How are you here?” She splutters, still confused and Sasuke shrugs.
“Heard a blonde girl with blue eyes got herself captured by some lord. Figured it was you and I just thought I’d save your life so we’re even.” He looks at the table behind her topped with a variety of books on plants and an assortment of potted seedlings in a variety of shapes and sizes.
“I didn’t know you were a herbalist.”
“Technically I’m a botanist. Knowing how to make medicine is just a plus.”
Before Sasuke could reply both of them hear a roar of hooves and look out the wonder to see a group of soldiers heading their way. He grabs Naruto’s arm and starts hurrying to the door.
“The King knows Lord Orochimaru sold the King's secrets to the neighboring kingdoms. He’s sending an army to arrest him. But we all know what they're like. They'll burn his house down if he resists and even if he doesn’t. They wont care who's inside. We need to get out of here.”
Sasuke’s march is brought to a halt when Naruto jerks back.
“Wait! I’m almost finished! Just let me-“
Sasuke’s eyes widen so fast it was comical, “There are soldiers coming you idiot!”
“I know! Just wait ok!” She finally manages to pull her arm out of his grip and rushes back to the table to tip the contents of a mortar in a vial then fills the rest of it with a brown liquid that smelled like distilled alcohol before shaking it vigorously.
“Come on. Come on.”
After a few seconds the liquid suddenly turned a bright copper colour .
“Yes!” Naruto punches the air and before Sasuke could say anything she passes him and runs down the hall to a room at the end of it. The path bare of servants who'd probably heeded his warning when he came through searching for her. Sasuke catches up to see Naruto at the edge of a bed holding up a small sickly child, with skin and hair tinted blue, as she tips the contents of the liquid into his mouth. Almost immediately his gaunt features fade slightly and the child opens his tired eyes to show yellow irises.
“Father?” He calls out weakly but it was muffled by Naruto pulling him to her chest.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
To whom she was whispering her gratitude he didn’t know but it wasn’t the right time to ask. Again, before Sasuke could speak she had heaved the boy into her arms and was heading towards the door.
“Ok, let’s-“
“What are you doing?”
Both of them turn to the figure in the doorway. Clothed in richly robes that spoke of his social status with the only odd thing being his eyes that were the same colour as the child's except that his pupils were shaped into slits.
His eyes switch from Sasuke to Naruto and they widen when they see the load in Naruto’s arms.
“What are you doing with my son,” he snarls. He unsheaths his sword and raises it to strike but is stopped by Sasuke lifting his own to hold him back. Naruto however simply walks to him and closes the distance between them.
“Lord Orochimaru look.” Naruto adjusts the boy in her arms so his face was visible and his lips opened with a whisper.
“Father?”
There was a sharp inhale, “Mitsuki?”
Just as the man steps forward a booming thud as deafening as thunder slams against the front door of the small mansion.
The Lord grabs Sasuke and Naruto by the arms and hurries them down the stairs.
"Take the exit through the servants quarters. They won't see you. Take my son south to Otogakure. He has an uncle. He'll take care of him."
Just as the man was about to close the exit doors she calls out.
"Won't you-"
Orochimaru shakes his head before she could finish. , "If I follow they'll hunt us both down. Mitsuki will never be safe."
His features morph into a look that twists the fairy's heart. An odd meld of grief and joy. He staggers forward and while Sasuke’s sword was still gripped tight, he isn't surprised when the man merely reaches forward to hold his son's cheeks, resting his lips on his forehead in a lingering kiss.
"I'm so sorry my child," came the words barely audible.
In the next second the Lord bolted to the door and shut it with a deafening clang. Footsteps fading as he left them behind.
Sasuke wraps an arm around her shoulders, "Lets go."
"Embrace me Sasuke," Himiko's words came out sickeningly sweet but it does nothing to coat the bitter truth that they were an order not a request.
Gritting his teeth, he reluctantly raises his arms to envelope her in a bare semblance of a hug. Fighting to instead retain the image of her in his arms and how she might feel. The way she'd slot into him so perfectly as if she was a piece of him being returned. A fitted part of him made whole. Her smell filling his lungs like pure perfume, almost addictive. Her warm skin on his neck. Her hair threads delicate and soft as feathers.
She'll find him. He'll see her again.
"I don't even know your name."
Sasuke turns to the girl beside him still carrying the load she'd taken with her in their escape, though now he was on her back. He had tried to take the child from her when they left but she had insisted on holding onto him. Saying something about wanting him to wake up to someone familiar when he did. Though from how carefully and gently she was holding him, he wondered if there was more to it then that. Even now, hours later she refused to part with him. He could only hope they reached the next town soon. To have a rest and get a horse. He wasn't going to let her carry the child all the way Otogakure. On horseback it was at most 2 days away.
"Sasuke," he says. Not bothering to hold out a hand the way humans usually do in introductions since hers were currently full.
She didn't seem to find it an issue when she adjusts the weight on her back so she could momentarily hold the boy up with only one arm and hold out the other for a shake, seeming to not notice the exasperation in the fairy's expression.
"I'm Naruto," she replies before returning her arm to its former position just as they reached a crossroad, a mimic of the one they reached in the past. A sign informing them both of the different destinations at the end of each.
"Guess this is goodbye again," Naruto said expectantly as she stood by the path that would lead her to a village and closer to the goal of her journey.
Sasuke let out a tsk and walked past her down the same road. Turning around a few seconds later to look expectantly at Naruto who appeared dumbstruck.
"Well? What are you waiting for? If we hurry we can get to the next town before nightfall."
Her eyebrows furrowed, "The Kamui Forest is the other way."
"If I let you go to Otogakure alone you'll end up in trouble again. Might as well make sure you don't do something stupid."
Naruto made an offended sound and Sasuke turns around to hide a smirk. Managing to do so just as Naruto catches up.
They walk in comfortable silence for a while until Naruto speaks. Her voice so small it was almost a whisper.
"It's gonna be a long journey."
Sasuke simply shrugs, "I have time."
"Carry me to bed Sasuke," Himiko said. Seeming to have forgotten that she was still wearing an evening gown, heels and was caked with makeup.
His face was impassive when he slipped an arm behind her knee and carried her out of his room to hers.
"If you're going back home now you should take Kokuō."
Sasuke raises an eyebrow as he looks down at the reigns being held out to him. The horse it belonged to let out a huff and restlessly stamps his feet as if unhappy with the exchange which made sense since Naruto had been it's primary rider throughout their journey to Otogakure. Despite the blonde's insistence that they took turns riding him Sasuke had refused and turned a deaf ear. Her stubbornness would have pushed her to walk as well regardless if their steed had a rider but both of them didn't think it was safe to let Mitsuki ride alone. Especially with how the 5-year-old seemed to cling to her even when they stopped at taverns to eat.
Sasuke declined to explain that his adamant refusal was simply because it was easier to guard them booth on foot if they were to be attacked by robbers or any other unsavory individuals. If he was riding they could be surrounded by an ambush before he could even dismount. At worst if there were too many he could simply create an opening and send the steed running to get both Naruto and Mitsuki to safety even if it left him behind.
But she didn't need to know all that. Definitely not.
Parting with Mitsuki when they arrived at his uncle's house had been bittersweet but the pair were relieved to see the child run to him for a hug the second they saw each other. The poor man had assumed the boy was dead and in his gratitude had insisted they stay the night. Maybe Sasuke shouldn't have been caught so off guard by Naruto's offer since neither of them had discussed beyond a surface level regarding their intentions and destinations afterward. Naruto assuming for the second time that they were going to part ways was understable. So he can't blame her for looking bewildered when hemade no more to take the reigns from her.
"You're going back home right? I said I was heading to Konoha remember? To get my license? It's 5 days max on foot. But Kamui Forest is a 6-day ride," she patted the horse affectionately. Smoothing his white coat, "You should take him then"
The horse lets out a snort and Sasuke agrees, waving away the reigns.
"Idiots shouldn't make assumptions."
"Bastard! I'm trying to be nice here!"
"Another thing stupid people shouldn't do."
"You asshole! I-"
"Hurry up, if we're quick we can get to the next town by lunch." He walked out of the stable into effervescent rays of the rising sun before turning back to Naruto, a soft smile on his face, "Don't forget to say good bye to Mitsuki."
When he's finally allowed back to his room he immediately heads to the window, opening them wide and breathing in the cold night air till the smell of Himiko was cleaned away from his lungs. Pulling air in as if he'd been drowning seconds before.
She laughs, loud, deep, straight from her belly and the smile on his face insists on celebrating with her. Along with the crackling camp fire in front of them it almost sounds like a song.
"Don't get me wrong," she wheezes, " Your joke wasn't funny. How bad you are at telling it was."
Sasuke shoots her a dirty look as she throws another log into the fire, pulling her blanket closer to bundle herself up even more.
"I'm glad we did this," she says, eyes gazing into the fire. He silently agrees.
Instead of traveling straight to their destination the way they did with Mitsuki, both of them had instead chosen to take their time. Indulging in the scenery they passed, fields of flowers stretching beyond what the eye could see, and spending days exploring the attractions of some of the larger towns they passed through. Tonight they'd choosen to slumber with nature and bathe under starlight as they fall asleep. Sasuke doesn't think he's ever felt so content so far away from home.
"Hey Sasuke? I've got a question. "
"Oh no."
Naruto whacks his shoe with the stick she'd been using to stoke the fire.
"Shut up. Serious question ok," both of them turn so their eyes meet, " Is it true fairies have soulmates?"
Sasuke's eyebrows flew up, "What?"
Even in the orange tint of the fire he could see blood rushing to her cheeks. But her eyes on his were steady. Though his own heart skipped.
"When I was little my mom used to tell stories about fairies and elves and mermaids," her eyes seemed to light up the more she spoke, " One of my favorites from her was about a Fairy Prince who fell in love with his Guard.The Guard was his personal Knight and saw the Prince for who he was and not what the people or his father needed him to be. The guard saw every day the pain he had to hide, the grief he had to swallow, the joy he had to dampen and the anger he had to suffocate. For the Prince the Guard was his closest friend. Someone he could trust. Someone he could give his heart to with no fear of it being broken. So they fell in love and spent every minute of everyday that wasnt related to their responsibilities to the kingdom with each other. But the Prince loved his people so when the King told him that he was to be sent him away to be married the Prince obeyed but he also asked the King to give him three days and three nights for himself. On the fourth day the prince left the kingdom for his marriage and they never saw each other again." At this Naruto's features looked stricken as if she could physically feel the pain and heartache in her tale, "The Guard died as a soldier in a war years later and she said that when the news reached the Prince he was struck with a grief and heartbreak so visceral that he died a few days after." Despite the grievous end of her story Naruto's face softens.
"Why was your mother telling you such a grim story?"
Naruto rolls her eyes and swipes at him again with her stick, "Cause you didn't let me finish it. When they died my mom said they left all their responsibilities behind. So when their souls met they could just...love. For as long as they wanted."
A moment of silence falls between them and he takes the chance to study her.
Sasuke remembers the time he'd accidentally entered Naruto's room when they slept at a tavern near Amagakure. How despite the loud clang of her door Naruto was somehow still soundly asleep. A picture of it being quite a sight. Her mouth was wide open and drool had been dripping down the corner of it. She slept on her side hugging a pillow in a death grip as if her life depended on the misshapen lump and her hair was an absolute mess. Though not so different than the messy pigtails she usually wore them in.
Strangely instead of being disgusted, Sasuke had felt something in his chest bloom.
Something more intense pulled at his heart now as he looked at her. Sea blue eyes tinted dark by night. Hair untied into loose golden waves spilling over her shoulders. Her whiskered cheeks, apparently a gift from a kitsune she saved as a child, still visible despite the low light. Laugh lines decorating the corner of her of her eyes and lips. Tracing pleasant memories that budded a desire in him to hear. To know.
"So is it true then?"
His thoughts are broken and he's surprised to realize that he'd been leaning in to her.
"What is?" He manages to say.
"The story. The prince and the guard. Is it true?"
He raises his eyes to meet hers and barely holds back a smirk when he notes that despite her question, she looks as distracted he is. Her eyes were definitely not seeing his now.
It would be so easy to close the distance.
He suddenly jerks back and quickly turns away.
"I don't know," he finally replies.
"Oh."
He did know. It was a common tale told among his kind. One that was embellished at times but the bare bones of it were still there. A prince and a lover. Torn apart by duty. The bare bones were there because it was a true story. A part of their history. The story of their love was never recorded in text but it was an open secret.
The only thing that was untrue was the part about souls. It had been spread among them as well but it was simply a way for most to spin a happier end to what was a tragic tale. He didn't want her to know that.
But as he stared at the moon from his window, the same one that had dutifully accompanied them in their travels every night, he would give anything to be able to just speak to her again.
"You're a fairy aren't you?"
The question froze Sasuke in his tracks just as he realizes it was his first mistake. Brushing his panic aside he takes a step forward only to be intercepted by a girl with long brown hair in a sequinned green gown that looks like it costed more than their horse.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he retorts tersely but the girl wouldn't move.
"I knew it!" Her eyes rove over his face and down his neck and it makes him want to tear off his skin. He struggles to figure out how she knew. With the lone wing still attached to him hidden he looked no different than any other human. Unless the girl was a mage, she shouldn't be able to tell.
"You're too beautiful to be human."
He rolls his eyes and forgoes an answer to instead side step her and continue on his way. Hurrying when he hears her calling out to him.
"Please wait! You're Sasuke right? Thats what the barkeep called you. I know you came into town with a blonde girl. Does she own you? Is that it?"
He's close to breaking into a run now but somehow she'd managed to catch up to him and was once again standing in his way with her hands held out.
"I know she makes you live in that hut at the edge of town! And that she makes you do hard work for the farmer there!" She gestures towards his trousers, face morphed in disgust as if the dirt on them had personally offended her, "She won't even get you new clothes! If you were mine I'd take care of you! You wouldn't have to do anything and I'd get so many new clothes you wouldn't have to wear any twice!"
'And make me a doll?' the voice in his mind hissed. He thanked every higher being he knew off that Naruto was the one who bought him and not this spoiled brat.
"I'll buy you," she steps close as if to touch and he took another immediate step to the side.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me the hell alone." He spat and walks away. Relieved when she didn't move to follow or stop him.
When he finally reaches their current accomodation his entrance was tuned by a lethargic groan and the rustle of bed sheets.
"Sasuke?"
He approaches the lone bed at the corner of the room, topped by a bundle of blankets and a head of yellow hair peaking out.
"Where did you go?" Naruto asked, "I feel horrible."
Sasuke drops the container of soup he'd bought from the tavern on a nearby desk and places the back of his hand on his friends forehead. Noting in relief that it wasn't as warm as it was yesterday.
"That's what you get for playing in the rain."
Naruto let out another groan and disappears under the blankets before letting out a muffled, "I wasn't playing!" Which was true.
When they had entered town they'd stopped by the local bakery for its famous salted pretzels only to over hear a farmer relaying his worry to his friend concerning his dying crop. Naruto being who she is had immediately offered her help in exchange for meagre pay and a place to stay.
To call their current housing a 'hut' was an overreaction. It was a small cottage true, placed near the farmer's own home. But it was sturdy, clean and more than comfortable for both of them.
Naruto had worked her magic out on the farmer's field but when an unexpected heavy torrent of rainfall hit one morning she'd run out to protect the new seedlings she'd planted. She spent almost half an hour working on a canvas cover so it was a surprise to no one when she woke up the next day hot and shaking.
Sasuke sits down beside the bed and pulls back the blankets to coax her to eat but instead finds her alreaady sleep. Slowly, he raises his hand to push her hair away from her face, allowing his fingers to linger and brush through blond locks before lowering them to graze lined cheeks still blushing a subtle rose.
Cautiously but also curiously, he leans down as if to see how close he could get till his presence stirs her. It wasn't till his lips were a bare inch away from her cheek that she finally moves but before he could pull back Naruto turns and their lips met. For only a second. A shadow of a peck.
Naruto doesn't seem to realize what just happened but Sasuke himself jerks back with a gasp, eyes as wide as plates and breath held still in his lungs as if releasing it would break the moment and turn it into a dream.
Still Naruto slept on. Unaware of the revelation currently dawning over her friend.
He doesn't sleep.
Sasuke is only a few feet away from the cottage, Kokuō's reigns in his hand as he led him away from the farmer's stable, when he hears it. A furious scream, another of fear and the last of pain.
The horse forgotten, Sasuke closes the remaining distance in a desperate run and enters the small building to be greeted by a sight that sends his heart lurching to his throat.
The girl he'd met days before was on the floor, the skirt of her luxurious dress raised and scuffed and one hand holding her red check as if in pain. She was screaming at Naruto who had glowing red strings wrapped around her arms and neck, magicked into existence by a man behind her.
"Do you know who I am?!?"
"I don't give a damn. Tell your guard dog off and I'll do it again!"
"Give me Sasuke's wing!"
"Go to hell!"
The string glows brighter and Sasuke see's Naruto's face twist in pain when it tightens it's hold.
"Let go of her!" He dashes forward, not even realizing his sword had appeard in his hand until he's raised it and brings it down onto the length that connected Naruto to the man.
But the instant it breaks it reforms again this time twice as many and tightened even more around Naruto's neck and Sasuke realizes they're razor sharp when crimson beads formed along her throat. Knowing that his effort was futile was the only reason he turned to the girl when she called his name.
"Sasuke! It's ok! I'll get your wing from her and then you can come with me!"
"I told you to leave me alone!" Sasuke bellows, starting to walk towards her when he hears a choked gasp.
"Stop! Stop!" He screams at the guard, most likely also a mage considering how the threads were flowing from his fingers.
His pleas fall on deaf ears and a chill runs down his spine when the beads on the right side of her neck becomes a flow that drenches Naruto's collar much too quickly. Their eyes meet and Naruto's scream at him to run but he's paralyzed by the image of the thread passing cleanly through her throat with just a flick of the man's finger.
"You'll get my wing but only if you heal her first," his eyes don't leave hers even as they plead and beg. Something inside him falls apart knowing that he is the cause of her heartbreak. The girl takes too long to decide and by the time she does Naruto's eyelids are already flitting, half closed. Finally the strings disappear she falls like a crumpled paper doll. Sasuke catches her just before she can hit the ground, his own throat clogged as he watches the stream of blood from the deep cut change it's path to fall as droplets to stain the wooden floors.
He cradles her as a bright light emanating from the mage's hand covers the injured area entirely and it's not till the light disappears does he see that the wound was gone with nothing left behind but a scar. A second later his view is blocked by a palm and Sosuke grits his teeth, slowly raising his hand to his neck to pull out the tiny bag with his wing that had been hidden well under his collar. With a sharp, forceful tug, it's string snaps and he drops it onto the mans palm. He returns his attention to Naruto, ignoring the delighted squeal behind him, and is surprised to see her ocean blues searching for his coal black.
"Naruto-"
"It's ok."
"Don't-"
"I'm gonna find you"
Sasuke blinks, "What?"
"No matter where they take you, I'll find you. I'll save you."
She gives him a smile that hid no untruth. Only a pig-headed stubbornness that sealed a guarantee and he can do nothing but let out a breathy chuckle.
"What should I do in the meantime?"
"I don't think the person being saved needs to do anything"
"So I should just wait then?"
"Sounds about right"
He pulls her closer and tighthens his hold, breathing her in one last time.
"Then I'll wait for you,"