Empire Fall

Chapter Nine

UNEDITED

    

    

    

Clang!

Huff.. Huff.. Huf- Clang!

"You will need to be faster than that, lady Izumi, if you wish to catch up."

Brown eyes narrowed.

Clang! Clang!

Clang!

A hint of a smile began playing at Itachi's lips. He used the advantage of his height to tower over her and then pushed. He supposed it was the rush of the battle that was keeping his fatigue at bay. When he'd first challenged her, he admitted to not having thought swordplay with her might actually be something he'd end up enjoying.

Clang!

As she blocked his blade and turned to free herself, he took the opportunity to make a quick swipe at her feet. Her sword lowered just in time to block it.

"My lord is certainly not holding back," she commented.

He pushed forward with another attack. She blocked this one as well.

"It would be against your honor if I did."

Her eyes showed the slightest notion of surprise, but other than that she was fully focussed.

Clang! Huff! Clang! Clang! Huff! Clang!

Huff..huff..huff..

Her hand hesitated this time. "My lord, perhaps we should stop here. You do not appear too well."

His sudden attack caught her off-guard, her sword thrown from her hand and clattering to the floor. The next moment, the tip of his blade rested at her neck.

Itachi met her surprised gaze with his calm one. "I win."

"But I -" she began.

"Even the smallest of distractions can decide defeat on the battlefield, lady Izumi," Itachi cut her off.

"I was merely concerned for you," she quietly said, looking away and felt the cool metal taken off her neck. She heard his sword being slid back in its sheath and a warm hand then placed itself lightly on her shoulder.

"You must be hungry. Come."

 
*
 

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. As usual, she had hidden her pink hair under a head cloth. She always did that. He wondered if she was ashamed of her unusual hair; there was nothing about this woman though, that would remotely even suggest she could be tamed by anything - let alone her hair.

What he was really thinking was why she had not asked him yet where they were going. Just as the time when they went to get Wind. What boggled his mind even more was that she agreed without a blink to travel with him. She did not even know his true name or identity. She still thought his name was 'Satoshi', the commander of King Uchiha's army.

Seeing her smiling lightly at the flowers and butterflies in their path, he felt a small trickle of guilt slide down the face of his conscious. Essentially, he had lied to her about who he was and she, unaware, was following him. But being the warrior that he had understood her to be, Sakura would prove very useful on his mission.

She had proved that she was capable of handling herself more than enough times. It made him wonder if she was hiding something from him. He snickered to himself. He'd given her no reason nor opportunity to tell him about herself. His sharp ears could hear the two siblings whispering something amongst themselves, followed by what sounded like a nudge from Sakura.