The Hebinomura (Sasuke x OC)

A Fitful Night

"Hey, hey, Orochimaru, Orochimaru!"

A man with long black hair and white skin turned, gazing at the child that ran towards him, throwing her arms up with a bright smile upon her small and rounded face. He bent down and lifted her up, the girl giggling, her yellow eyes obviously gleeful over something only she knew.

"And what are you laughing about, Mamushimi?"

"Mama and daddy taught me how to use my chakra. They said I was probably the fastest person to learn to climb the trees so fast. They said I might be some sort of genius!" She threw her arms up and the man set her down.

"Go on, then. Show me" he said and she nodded, concentrating for a moment.

She ran towards the nearest tree, dashing up the trunk as his deep yellow eyes followed. She twisted, leaping upon the bridge above that connected several homes to one another.

"See, Orochimaru? I'm really good, aren't I?" She called down to him, obviously awaiting his praise.

His eyes narrowed, the slits shrinking as she giggled and waved, the corner of his lips tugging up.

"Yes. Very good."

​​​​​​​Mashi awoke with a gasp, her fingers clutching at the sheets before she sat up.

The bandages of her eyes were damp with tears and she sniffled quietly, reaching up and undoing the coverings of her eyes and head. She unwrapped them, the thick pads of gauze falling from her eyes and into her lap.

She reached towards the desk beside the bed, which she never moved back to its original spot on the wall despite Sasuke having moved back to his apartment by now.

Her hands patted the desk for a moment before she found the package of gauze, reaching further and grabbing the coil of bandages.

She kept her eyes shut as she tilted her head back, placing the gauze on her eyes and wrapping and tying the fresh dressings.

She sighed to herself, fingers clutching the blankets for a moment.

"Hello?" She asked, raising her head curiously.

Sasuke Uchiha sat silently in the corner of the room, watching carefully as he didn't move, not making a sound that could possibly alert her to another presence.

"Hello?" She repeated, but nothing responded, making her feel idiotic for calling out to nothing. 

"I need a glass of water..." Mashi muttered to herself.

She stood up and held her hands out, slowly walking towards the door, and opening it, not noticing the silent footsteps that followed a few paces behind her.

She walked towards the kitchen, her hip bumping into a chair, which she scrambled to catch before it could fall and wake Kakashi. She sighed with relief as she held the back of the chair, Sasuke keeping his foot hooked on the leg of the chair as she place it firmly back down on the floor.

Mashi reached the fridge and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, pouring herself a drink and sipping the cold beverage quietly.

"It's almost that time...I won't be able to see the stars this year..." she murmured quietly and Sasuke glanced around, spying a calendar on the fridge, which made him walk closer to inspect it.

He found scribbles and exclamation points written beside times, no doubt by Mashi to remind Kakashi not to be late—though it never did any good.

His dark eyes continued to scan the list before he found "Orionid meteor shower" written in, the time of 12:00 to 1:00 beside it.

He stood up straighter seeing her inching carefully out of the room, quietly following her back, where she slept until morning, though she gave off different expressions in her sleep, some of terror, others a slight smile, and plenty were pained.

"I'm telling you, she needs to hurry up and heal."

"Do you really think she wouldn't if she could?" Kakashi asked, yawning as Sasuke glared.

"Well, can't the doctors do anything? She needs to get better by Friday" he argued.

"Sasuke, look, just let her take it easy. The doctors are doing everything they can right now and it's going to take some time. Orochimaru quite literally almost gouged out her eyes" Kakashi said, though Sasuke looked angrier and angrier the more Kakashi spoke, though the man had no clue as to why.

"Look, Sasuke, I know you're worried," this earned a scoff, "but it's not just about physically healing. She needs to mentally heal as well, understand?"

"No."

Kakashi sighed at the stubborn boy.

"Orochimaru did more than just attack her, you know. It really scared her, so give her some time. And why does she have to be healed by Friday?"

"Because that's when the meteor shower is" Sasuke responded, his tone frustrated.

"That's right" Kakashi recalled. "She was going to ask you three to come and watch with her."

"And now she can't watch because she can't see."

"I don't know why you're getting so upset. I understand it's painful to see her going through this, but I'm starting to wonder if you're worried for a different reason, hm?" Kakashi asked, but Sasuke huffed loudly.

"Don't compare me to Sakura, Kakashi Sensei. I just thought you could do something to speed up this lame process if no one else could. Besides, now I'm stuck with Naruto and Sakura on these missions. Least she could do is come along on the D rank ones and keep them entertained" he muttered, turning and walking out as Kakashi stared at his back.

"Yeah right."

He shut the open door to his room and turned, walking towards the hallway and quietly opening the door to Mashi's room, peeking his head in.

He was relieved to find her asleep and curled up, not sweating or tossing and turning in a fitful rest.

"Mashi, just what in the world have you done to Sasuke Uchiha?" He shook his head, shutting the door.