𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Freedom

The dust began to settle in, and I realised then that it wasn't a suitable environment for Ayumi. Coughing as I waved the debris and dirt away from me, I gently bounced Ayumi in my arms as I made to climb out of the cavern, utterly confused about what was happening.

In front of me, Orochimaru lay with his head lying on the center of an open scroll, unmoving and blood staining the paper. Somewhere behind me, Sasuke was lying and looking equally dead, but I didn't think much of it.

"Here, come on, let's find Karin's stuff and get out of here," I murmured under my breath, leaping up to the ground above the cavern and finding my way in the dark. The only sources of light available to me were the stars and the moon, all of which illuminated the flat ground around me. I squinted as I looked for the Uzumaki, wondering what had become of her. Absolutely nothing made sense to me, but I didn't care. All that mattered was that the Uchiha had been incapacitated, and I was able to move with Ayumi.

"Karin?" I found the Uzumaki lying under a tree in the distance, her bag's contents scattered across the ground. One of which was the milk bottle I had filled earlier, and as I bent down to pick it up,felt that it was still warm. I looked down at Ayumi, who was still crying loudly, and wondered if it would be okay to give it to her.

"Uh... are you hungry?" I asked, receiving nothing but a piercing scream as an answer. Flipping up the lid, I raised the bottle to my nose and smelled the teat to see if the milk itself was still good. I swirled it around for a while, and only decided to give it to her when I saw a bottle warmer lying close by to it. "It must be okay."

As I cradled Ayumi in one arm, I placed the teat of the bottle between her lips and watched as her cries subsided, and all that I could hear was her gentle suckling. Breathless, I continued watching her as she ate in peace, feeling my heart melt in genuine affection.

I stood still and waited for her to finish eating, and when the bottle was completely empty, I softly weaned it out of her mouth and reached down for the lid, shutting it and tossing the whole bottle aside. I wiped the excess milk from her mouth with the corner of the blanket she was wrapped in, and lightly bounced her in my arm as I began to pick up the items that had strayed from Karin's bag. Finding no need for the breast pump or bottle heaters, I rummaged through her backpack to see if she had anything of actual value in there. I let out a little "yes!" when I saw that she had money in there, as well as the first aid kit she had prepared for Ayumi, and stood up to go find mine and Sasuke's backpacks.

Leaping back down into the cavern with Ayumi safely tucked away in my arms, I located the two backpacks I was after and nodded.

Sasuke's limp body lay before them, and I quietly stepped over him as I reached for them. The dust in the air had since dispersed, leaving it easier for Ayumi and I to breathe as we navigated our way around.

Knowing that I only had my weapons in my bag, I quickly took them out and put them in Karin's backpack, before grabbing Sasuke's bag and tipping it upside down, watching as the contents came flying down. There was nothing really interesting in here, except for some snacks and a pouch which I assumed to hold money.

"Better than nothing." I dropped Karin's backpack to the ground and opened it wide, throwing in what was in Sasuke's bag, before slinging it over my shoulders and starting to make my way out. However, as I prepared to leave, I heard someone begin to stir, and anxiously turned around to see Sasuke starting to move.

Yikes, I thought to myself, watching as he began to come to his senses. Gotta go.

I leapt out of the cavern and onto flat ground, running as fast as I could towards the village north of the hideout. Making sure to run smoothly so as not to wake up Ayumi, I gracefully navigated my way over the terrain until I was sure I was out of reach from the pair. I knew that they were excellent sensory shinobi, and that I really didn't have a chance against them. I hoped that when I found out exactly where I was, I could make a proper escape plan and have my exodus from the Land of Fire.