Shadows

1- a meeting

Yer chief finally back at it

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He'd defected — though with some carefully omitted hesitance — from his home village after making his pink haired teammate faint.
He hadn't the slightest idea why he'd even put in her brain the misconception that he loved her or even remotely cared for her, but it'd do.

He was now faced with the fact that he'd have to follow some ugly followers of Orochimaru's to one of the said Sannin's numerous bases. He suppressed a shiver. This was not the time to be rethinking his choices. Especially after all that's happened.

It was the next morning, after being told to go to sleep and 'not to worry about dying' that he was to be shoved inside a box to evolve his cursed seal. He was dubious about the...motive behind all of this. His narcissistic loyalty towards Orochimaru surely wasn't the reason why he was being 'gifted' with this.

There was another point, he thought out. But it was for another day.

He was now stuck in the box and in excruciating pain. Though incomparable to the night his 8 year old self had experienced — it was a close second.

It was until a voice cut him out of his musings. A voice surely but in his head, as he was being carried by strong shinobi (at least, he presumed), spoke gently. A voice he'd grown accustomed to albeit reluctantly.

Asuga. That woman. The one that would appear anywhere and everywhere beside him at any time. At first, it scared him. Undoubtedly so. There was something about a grey haired, red eyed, pale woman presumably his age that would come whenever he in struggle or painful focus. Like when on the bridge mission. He'd passed out for a long time after being stabbed by a lot of senbon, and wouldn't have survived had she not been there to heal a spot where a senbon had pierced something it shouldn't have.
Before that, he'd only seen her back on the day of the Massacre, right before arriving to the gruesome scene.

They'd had a chat at wave; he'd learnt her name, age, and what the general idea of her skills were (though he knew that was but the tip of the iceberg).

"Hang on, I'll do this uh thing and you'll be just dandy after a while," she mumbled sheepishly. He'd have scowled and uttered that it was impossible had he not seen what she was capable of. Truly— she was a remarkable person with skills to rival most. From the medical field to genjutsu. He wondered if there was a backstory to how she came to be. After all; no great man came without a happening. Or woman, in this case.

In turn, true to her word, he could suddenly breathe without choking and move without muffling his screams. Though his head did hit the top of the box at the action, it was better than nothing.

"What do we say now, Sasuke-chan?" she asked amusedly. He rose a metaphorical brow.

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't know; might you enlighten me?" he humored with a smirk. He heard snickering on the other line.

"Why yes, my dear. It is a saying we say when we are given help. 'Thank you,' is what we say where I come from," she responded wisely, earning a slight snort from him. He liked it when she played along.

"Then allow me to say it," he cleared his throat.
"Thank you," he faked the struggle to say the word. Despite what most people say, yes, he did have manners and he respected people who deserved his respect.

  "'Twas not a problem, sire," he could feel her grin.

The people outside must be thinking he crazy — with him talking with himself out of thin air and with the sudden lack of struggle.

"Don't worry. They placed silencing seals over the box so that they wouldn't have to hear your hideous screams of pain," she chipped in after his thought.

"Ah," he responded after not knowing what to say. Truthfully, he didn't truly trust the woman. But she was all he had and maybe a small misplacement might cost him but for company; it was worth it.

"I didn't know I was so special Sasuke-chan."

They continued in silence.

(￣□￣」)」☆ｏ(＞＜；)○

Waggles brows.

The first chapter is short because it felt right to end it here at about 700+ words. Pretty short by my standards, so I hope you can bear with it