D R O W N I N G S O R R O W S

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Ayuka's POV

Numb.

I was finally numb, numb enough to not care about the dried tears that stained my cheeks. In fact, I could barely remember why I was crying in the first place. Was it because I was worthless? That would make sense. Or maybe it was because I could never live up to who I wanted to be. A vague memory of anger and betrayal bubbled up at the edge of my mind, but I closed my eyes and pushed it away, feeling myself falling deeper into my stupor.

My clumsy hand found the full sake cup in front of me as I kept my eyes shut, bringing it to my lips and throwing it back along with my head. The contents had lost its stinging flavor hours ago.

"What are you doing?"

For some reason, I recognized Sasuke's voice right away. He sounded more annoyed than worried and quickly spun my bar stool around to face him. The sudden motion made my stomach woozy and I swallowed to try and keep everything down. I, being completely unaware of his presence before this moment, was taken aback and blanched at the sight of the Uchiha.

Why was he here?

...I couldn't remember.

My line of vision was hazy, but not obstructed enough for me to miss his unmistakable scowl. I immediately frowned at him in response as my memory exploded to the forefront of my mind all at once.

"What?" I asked angrily, doing my best to match his tone in my state. My voice came out slurred, but it went unnoticed by me. I was more focused on not letting myself become distracted by his jawline as it clenched and unclenched noticeably.

That's right... I was mad at him.

"Are you here to finish me off? Might as well just eliminate all of us while you can."

He winced slightly at my words and I watched as his angry expression softened. I quickly took this opportunity to spin myself towards the bar once more, ignoring the loud sigh that escaped his lips. I could practically hear his eyes roll.

In order to keep my mind from the boy behind me, I grabbed the small shot glass on the counter once more and filled it with the rest of the contents of the sake bottle. Tossing my head back smoothly, I drank down the liquid and my world immediately did a spin as my head lolled forward. I felt my hair fall in my face as I succumbed to the liquor for a moment, completely forgetting my anger again.

Sasuke realized that I left reality for a different alternative and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a subtle squeeze to bring me back.

"C'mon, let's go," his voice sounded substantially calmer than it was a few minutes prior. It almost sounded like he was trying to be nice. Weird. "The Inn's not far from here."

His words did sound tempting. A nice bed would be a welcomed change to the stiff mattress I was used to, but I was already embarrassed enough that Sasuke caught me drinking my sorrows away. I couldn't bare the thought of the others--of Karin, seeing me like this.

"Just go away," I said, staring down into the now empty cup in my right hand as my left dangled freely by my side. My vision began to vignette on the edges as the bartender came up and placed another bottle of sake in front of me, apparently ignoring the scene I was sure we were making.

Instead of listening to my previous demand, Sasuke grabbed at my left hand, holding it tightly in his grip. The action startled me and I raised my head to him, sobering up the slightest bit.

And I mean slight.

"Are you holding my hand right now?" I asked without thinking first. I blushed as the effects of the sake immediately returned.

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