𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Return

It took us another day to walk back to the compound, where I cherished every moment I had with Ayumi. Occasionally, I'd catch Sasuke and Karin glancing my way as if they too wanted to hold her, but I was selfish. They could see Ayumi whenever they wanted, or so I assumed. These were my final moments with her, and I would make the most of it while I could.

At the gate of the compound, we were met by a small group of Uchiha who seemed to be awaiting our return. Among the seven faces, I recognised Naori and Izumi, both of whom looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes as we approached.

Instinctively, my grip on Ayumi tightened, as she slept peacefully against my chest in her carrier.

Karin, Sasuke and I came to a halt before the small group.

"We were told to come and apprehend Orochimaru... but where is he?" asked one of the men standing in the group. It was then that I realised that they were all armed, and it made sense that they were here to take in the traitor. A dark look crossed Sasuke's face, and he looked at me and Karin.

"Karin, take Ayumi to the nursery," he said in a quiet voice, almost looking tormented by his words. I bit my lip as Karin held out her hands to me, while I kept a hold on Ayumi, not moving.

"Sasuke," I pleaded, looking at him for help for the first time ever. Even though last night I had convinced myself that I could let go of Ayumi... I couldn't.

"Tera, please." I looked at the Uchiha with a defeated look on my face; his 'please' said it all. It was time to let go.

Ayumi was still sleeping quietly in her carrier, but my arms refused to move.

"So where is Orochimaru, Sasuke? Don't tell me you came back and allowed him to escape?" asked another, his eyebrow raised as he watched all three of us carefully.

"I can't tell you anything until I've spoken to my father, Takumi," said Sasuke, glancing at me over his shoulder. "Tera, hand her over. Izumi, please take Tera back to her room."

Izumi nodded at the Uchiha's instruction, and waited for me to get rid of Ayumi.

I didn't.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to escort you back to your father's office, won't we?" said the man named Takumi with a drawl, earning agreement from the others he was with. Sasuke sighed, obviously not in the mood to be dealing with his family at the moment, and turned around to face me.

"Tera, you need to give Ayumi to Karin."

His back turned to his clan members, Sasuke looked at me with dull eyes. I felt tears begin to well up in mine as I shook my head slowly, begging him not to let them take her away from me.

And then, I saw a brief glint of kindness in his eyes.

He gave me a small, unnoticeable nod and mouthed, "It's okay." 

Whether or not I was just hallucinating, seeing him reassure me that Ayumi would be okay made me feel better anyway.

I bit my tongue as the tears began to fall down my cheeks, telling myself that Sasuke would keep me updated on her. It was better than nothing.

Mindlessly, I undid Ayumi from her carrier and gently lifted her out, holding her up to my face and kissing her forehead. I don't know how long I stood there, but when I held her out to Karin, it felt like my time with her had been too short. Karin nodded her head at me as she took Ayumi, and walked off straight away into the compound with her. Striding past the group of Uchiha who clustered around the gate, I watched as Karin disappeared into one of the smaller buildings further behind the main one with Ayumi. I kept my eye on her bright red hair until she turned and completely vanished from sight.