A Rose By Any Other Name (A Sasuke Uchiha Story)

Chapter 19.

Things seemed to get easier for Sasuke from there;

But it was the opposite for her.

Though at first his anger had irritated her, and at times he acted like a spoilt child, becoming irate when he didn’t get what he wanted or something didn’t go his way, now she was beginning to wish it was still present—at least that way she would be able to deal with it. And the first few times he had asked for her name and for details about her past and she had refused, that frustration had been evident. True, it had faded at times, his curiosity overwhelming his anger, and Sasuke would ask again, but she had thought that if she did it enough times he would grow bored of asking—or he would be angry enough to not want to bring the subject up again.

Yet somehow that hadn’t been how things had turned out in the slightest. She noticed it more and more as the days went by, but he was so…relaxed with her. The questions were never forceful or pressurizing anymore; they were gentle and casual, almost merely hoping that she would answer them. To be honest, that was harder to come up against than force. She had trained herself to deal with aggressive attitudes and anyone trying to force her to do anything—the kind of atmospheres and personalities that she could ever come into contact with during a battle. But she hadn’t exactly trained herself to deal with genuine care; of someone only trying to get to know to her and understand her. No one had ever really tried to before, so it hadn’t been hard to stay firm. But now Sasuke was confronting her with it totally and utterly, and she felt as if she had nowhere to turn. What had happened to change him, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t deny it was affecting her. She liked spending time with him; she already knew they shared similarities in so many areas of their lives. He had shown her a part of him that not many people were allowed to see, and he wanted her to do so in return—so they could connect.

But she couldn’t let that happen. She noticed the times when she simply watched Sasuke training, almost as if she was finally noticing him for the first time. It was like she had missed how handsome he was; how muscled his body was and how he moved through his training in perfect harmony. She noticed herself relaxing in turn towards him as he altered, and even more so at her reaction to his questions. At how she halted, staring back into those intense eyes of his and her mouth opened, so close to telling him the truth. However, each time she managed to force that urge back. To turn away from him and say no, hearing the disappointment in his voice every time. The worst was when she lay in bed, thinking over the day and what had happened. Her present would combine with her past, and she realised that her feelings towards Sasuke were shifting, and feeling more and more like the way she had felt towards Uragiri. Maybe even more, as she had more to connect with him. It was at these times she would sit bolt upright, an almost childlike panic taking over her.

She wouldn’t—no, couldn’t—let herself get in the same situation as before. She had fallen completely for Uragiri, opened up entirely for him, and he had turned around, killed her father and destroyed everything she loved, her feelings for him only heightening the grief she felt. But her connection to Sasuke was much more prominent than the one she had had with Uragiri, and the idea of going through that same pain once more was not something she wanted to imagine. She still observed Sasuke; still felt that connection and began to understand that she liked him. But she couldn’t fully give her trust to him, and that meant not letting him fully into her life. She opened herself up, and she left herself open for attack. She wouldn’t do it in a battle, so why now? Trust wasn’t something she believed in anymore. No; it didn’t matter how she felt towards Sasuke. Regardless of how she viewed him, she would fight her feelings to keep him away.