Daughter of the Copy Cat, Rescuer of the Raven

Daughter of the Copy Cat, Rescuer of the Raven Chapter 25

For the next few days, I tried to act normal- tried to ignore the oncoming date that had my heart clenching. It seemed as if I was acting rather well, considering nobody seemed to pick up on my distress.

“Why a solo?” Tsunade asked, flipping through files in her desk drawer. “There are plenty group missions, too.” I smiled, my cheeks resisting as they tried to pull down into a frown. “And why in that particular area…?”

“I just want to try something without anyone’s help, so far I’ve had to do everything with another person, and it’s making me feel like I need supervision. And about the area,” I shrugged, “Kanazawa is close, and there are plenty of opportunities.” I briefly heard Tsuande grunt, before pulling out a folder, flipping through the contents half-heartedly.

Obviously, I was organising my mission to give me an excuse to visit the Sachiko Inn. Kanazawa was a small village, and there were many motels and hotels. If anyone ever asked why I chose the Sachiko Inn- which is unlikely, considering the Inn was secretive about its affiliations with the Akatsuki, and it seemed that nobody has caught scent of it yet, that, or nobody seems to care- I would just simply answer with ‘It was one of many, I don’t know.’

“There’s a small solo mission where a farmer wants help harvesting his field. It’s mundane, but it’ll do, won’t it?” Tsunade sat back, flipping to another page. “There are a fair few placed you can stay, so you don’t need to worry about being made to sleep in a tent or anything.” I quickly agreed to the mission, and I told the hokage I’d leave tomorrow- giving me plenty of time to book into the Sachiko Inn and think everything over. Surprisingly, I still had no answer. When I showed up, I figured something in me would tell me what to say. If that didn’t happen, then I guess I’d dug my own grave.

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It was hot. Sasuke hadn’t mentioned the unbearable heat that surrounded the Kanazawa area, and I found myself shedding my fur jacket and tying my hair up so it was off my neck. Groaning, my bad dragged along the ground.

“Here, let me help you.” I turned, coming face to face with a boy a few years younger than myself. His skin was a dark brown, showing how much he was in the sun. His eyes were an odd yellow colour that I couldn’t describe, and his hair was a shaggy white, similar to mine.

“Thank you.” He picked up my bag and threw it onto his shoulder, carrying it easily. It was surprising, actually, considering how many weapons I’d brought. Really, I didn’t know why. I guess I’d blanked out while I was packing, and simply packed what I’d normally bring- unfortunately, what I’d normally pack was necessary for week long missions.

“No problem, lady.”  He stared at me for a moment, “You’re really pale.”

I laughed lightly, “My skin isn’t made for tanning, and after all, I’m supposed to be able to blend into snow.” We started walking again, this time with the boy plodding beside me.

“I’ve never seen snow before, is it pretty?”

“Very.” A grin stretched across his face, and I found myself smiling along with him. He reminded me of Naruto, somehow. Maybe because of how easy it was to talk to him.

“Where’re you headed?” I wiped a hand over my forehead, taking a deep breath in.

“Kanazawa.”

“Ah, you’re close then. I live there.” The lord only knows how happy I was to hear I was near housing, so I could go inside- into the air conditioning.

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“Thank you for helping me!” The boy smiled, saluting, before running away without saying a word. Sighing with a smile, I shook my head. “Yep, just like Naruto.” Flinging my bag over my shoulder, I entered the Sachiko Inn, taking in how bright and happy the aura was. Nobody would’ve suspected a criminal organisation would have ties to the facility.

Approaching the desk, a woman with blond hair looked up. Her lips were painted red, and her clothes were pristine white. She stood once I was a few steps away from the desk, and bowed.

“Hello, m’am, what can I do for you?” Laughing, I gestured for her to sit down. Of course she didn’t, but she stood from her bow.

“No need to be so polite, I’m Ayame-“

“Kawa. Yes, I’ve been told about you.” Something glinted in her eyes and she sat down, reaching under the desk, and then retracted her hand. “Someone will be with you in a moment, Miss Kawa. Would you like me to fetch some watcher for you in the meantime?”

Smiling, I nodded, accepting her offer. I didn’t bother to ask who had told her about me, as I figured Sasuke would’ve called up and told them of the situation. The woman in white disappeared, before re-appearing a short time later with a plastic cup of water. I took it gratefully, sculling the cool liquid, letting out a satisfied sigh when I was finished.

Giving the woman the cup back, I felt a tap on the shoulder. Turning around, I came face to face with a man in a dark suit. His hair was slicked back neatly, and a smile was spread across his face. “Welcome, Miss Ayame. We are aware of your situation, and we have your room booked. I’ll show you the way.” I nodded, taking in a breath as I was lead down a bright hallway. “Sasuke will be here at six.” Jumping at the sound of Sasuke’s name, I looked around the empty hallway nervously.

“C-Can you  not say it so loud, please?” The man chuckled, not seeming worried in the slightest.

“This area of the Inn is reserved for criminals, such as yourself and Sasuke. Of course nobody in the area knows this, they all think this is for the wealthy.”

“I’m not a criminal!” I ignored everything else he said, focusing on that particular part of his explanation. We came to a stop, and he took out a set of silver keys, putting one in the lock of a door and twisting the handle.

“Miss Kawa, you are dating a criminal in secret, no?” I hesitated, and he knew the answer from that alone. “Anyone affiliated with Mr Uchiha is a criminal, that much is obvious.” He moved away, allowing me space to enter. I stood in the doorway for a moment, thinking over what he just said, before taking in a breath and entering the large space.

“Wow.” The man behind me bowed, bidding me farewell before leaving me to myself.

I dumped my bag onto the ground, wandering into the bedroom and falling onto the bed. And so there I laid for the next few hours- how many, I didn’t know, everything was just a big haze. My plan had failed, apparently, for when I heard footsteps approaching the door, I still had no answer.

The bedroom door opened, and I glanced towards Sasuke, who seemed to be frozen in place in the doorway. We both said nothing for a moment; we just stared at each other. Finally, he crossed the room as sat by my side, putting a gentle hand on my own, linking our fingers.

“You came.” I nodded, sitting up and putting my head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you came.” Feeling his hand leave mine, only to have both arms wrap tightly around me, something in my mind cleared, and all nervousness left me

“Sasuke,” I pulled back from where I’d been on his chest, staring up at him, our faces a few inches apart.

“Do you have your answer?” He pecked my nose lightly, just for the sake of it, apparently.

“I do.”

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Guys Guys Guys guess what. NEXT CHAPTER IS THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER AND I'M GOING TO CRY. 

There's going to be the next chapter, which is Ayame's decision, and then an epilogue which shows what happens in the future. I'm going to be really sad when this ends, since Ayame is my baby. I mean, just look at my username.... >.> She was my first SERIOUS character :c and now, her story is starting to come to a close. 

Ugh I'm just going to stop talking about this before I'm forced to crawl into a hole and cry for the next eternity. Okay, if you want, y'all can tell me what you think she's gonna say in the comments, I'm always interested in what you guys have to say about what's going to happen next c: