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

Chapter 21.

Sasuke had forced his arms to his sides and backed up into the trees, fighting every instinct in his body that said to help her out and join in the battle.

But he had to respect what she wanted. After all, she had done the same when he had been fighting Chirasu. She had known he wanted to fight him alone, and had stepped back to let him do so, only joining in when Sasuke had asked her to. She hadn’t been happy about holding back then, he had been able to tell from the look on her face, but she had still held back. Sasuke now felt exactly the same, disliking the idea of standing watching on the sidelines—but if she could hold back, then he sure as hell could. So he gritted his teeth and held fast, not even knowing why he was feeling so angry about this.

His gaze wandered from their fight to the floor and back again, not sure whether he wanted to watch, to keep an eye on everything, or to look away, knowing observing would only increase the urge to help. But it didn’t exactly matter. He knew she could handle it all—she had convinced him a while ago that she lived up to her name of Tatsujin no Kakusareta. In reality, it didn’t seem like there would be much of a threat; with the anger evident in her eyes it was clear she would stop at nothing to make sure this guy was killed, so no doubt it would be over relatively soon. But still he couldn’t get rid of that protective instinct; unable to walk away because of that feeling that he had to make sure she was safe and uninjured, regardless of whether he trusted in her abilities or not. It wasn’t a rational feeling—but not many of them had been lately.

It had been one of the moments his gaze had left the battlefield, glaring at the leaves under his feet and hoping that things would end soon so he wouldn’t have to feel like this anymore, that suddenly everything had changed. The sound of clashing metal had abruptly stopped, no other sounds apart from a slight shuffling. It took a second for Sasuke to realise that wasn’t right; that silence of that kind wasn’t a good sign during a battle, before he snapped his head up, his eyes widening as he finally saw what was going on. Her eyes fluttered shut as she hung over Uragiri’s shoulder, her hands already tied behind her back and unable to fight back. Before Sasuke even had time to blink Uragiri had set off, disappearing into the trees, and instantly Sasuke had followed. His mind was blank apart from the knowledge that he had to find her and bring her back, running as fast as he could to catch up. Uragiri turned and darted into thicker forest, changing directions several times with Sasuke struggling to keep up. It wasn’t until Sasuke skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the river that he began to worry. Spinning around, he scanned every tree, every leaf and everything surrounding him to try and pinpoint her location. But after a few minutes Sasuke's heart beat faster at what he now knew to be true:

He’d lost sight of them—she was gone.

It was the worst thing that could happen. Sasuke had wandered around in the village area, and by the pool—she’d then taken him up to the dojo and he’d stayed there. There had been no tour of the forest on her part; no directions on where to go or how to find his way through the trees. He hadn’t been here that long, and the forest was unfamiliar to him. Finding his way on his own at the start had been bad enough to begin with, but now? How in the hell was he supposed to find her? Uragiri clearly had a better knowledge of the place than he did, and he didn’t know him well enough to understand what he might do with her. Would he just head straight out of the forest and back towards civilization? Or would he stick around somewhere for whatever purpose he needed her for? Not to mention…what was that purpose in the first place? Sasuke hadn’t felt this helpless in a long time, and he hated it. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Crying out in frustration, he grabbed fistfuls of his hair, clamping his eyes shut in the meantime.

He’d promised himself he wouldn’t let this happen.

But it was that thought that caused Sasuke to change tactics. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down and think about things rationally. He had never relied on emotions to solve problems before, and he wasn’t about to do so now. He had to concentrate on what he could do. If he only focused on what he was feeling, he wouldn’t get anywhere. He needed reason at this point in time; he needed a clear head and strategic thinking. Though he might care about her, and made it the reason he was so desperate to find her, he had to treat it like a mission; another obstacle he needed to overcome to get to his goal. He had the determination to complete his task; now all he needed was the plan to go with it.

He kept his eyes closed as he thought things over. From what he could make out, they had a history, and it didn’t seem like the purpose of him kidnapping her was to take her out of the area. No; she would still be around, but hidden somewhere in the forest. But he wouldn’t risk just laying her on the ground with her hands and feet tied up or tying her to a tree; he couldn’t be stupid enough to think she wouldn’t be able to get out of that. So he’d have to put her under more restraints than that; the likes of a cell and chains. But in the middle of the forest, those wouldn’t be common, and therefore there had to be a building relatively nearby where he could lock her up before she woke up and began to break free. Where that building was, Sasuke didn’t know—but now he had a vague idea of where he could be going. If only the forest could talk; then maybe he could have at least asked for help. She was so in tune with the forest, they’d—

But then it occurred to Sasuke. Maybe he still could ask for help. One of the first things she had been trying to teach him was to be at one with the forest. That by listening to it and understanding it you could find out so many different things; even sensing people in it. Though he didn’t know what he could expect from doing this, it could at least give him a clue—and it was better than sitting around doing nothing or wandering aimlessly through the trees. She had taught him to form a connection to the forest, but that in turn meant it had a connection with him. She was practically a part of the forest by now, and it might just show him the way to find her. So retreating back into the trees, he found a comfortable place and sat down, settling into a meditative state, searching for that connection once more.

“You can feel it, can’t you? Then again, that’s not so much of a surprise. But these trees have existed since before the Sage of Six Paths—that’s why they give of this atmosphere; this…sense of power.”

Her words echoed once again in his head, and he sent his senses out, searching for that power. At first it didn’t seem like anything was happening, and a slight itch in the back of his mind spoke up, wanting him to just give up; that it was a stupid suggestion to the think the forest could help him—but Sasuke pushed it away and focused completely on what he was doing. He wouldn’t abandon her—he couldn’t. He had failed at protecting his family when he was younger, and he had told himself he would make sure he would protect her now that she was in his life. There was no way he was giving up—and as his feelings crossed through his mind, he felt that same power he had felt when walking through those trees; the aura extending past that area and throughout the forest this time. Abruptly it felt as if he could sense the entire forest, and every living thing that existed within it. He realised just how at harmony this place was, his mind having been opened up to all that was around him.

But just when he thought he could try and search for her aura, an image appeared in the back of his head, and concentrating on it, the image grew larger, and in a flash, came to his attention. It was a small building, with the basics and nothing more, hidden away within the trees. It had been abandoned long ago, but had stood the test of time being made out of stone. It acted as a blot on the landscape for the forest, and as Sasuke analysed it, searching every part of the building, her presence suddenly overwhelmed him. That was where Uragiri had taken her—he knew it. As such, his mind began to retract back into itself, the vision revealing the way through the trees until, as he opened his eyes once again, he knew exactly where he was heading. So standing instantly, Sasuke leapt into the trees, not about to hesitate in his actions.

There would be no running away this time around.