Fate Wheel | Naruto

54| Waterfall

It took me nearly forty five minutes until I reached the training grounds, which was a wonder as to how Sasuke had made it here so quickly. Maybe it was the adrenaline that drove him all the way into the dark forest where the only person who had nearly memorised the whole layout of the forest was me. It'd made my job easier in finding him.

That, and the brightness of the flames was a huge giveaway of his location. He wasn't exactly discrete in informing everyone that he was currently bubbling with rage.

"Oh, boy." I muttered, the mixture of orange and yellow light illuminating my face- the heat warm against my skin.

I flinched at the contact, the flames were clearly from the excessive use of a fire-styled Jutsu, and it wasn't too hot either. Fire in general was something I'd grown a little scared of, but not exactly something I can confer with someone. It was fire that had killed my family and my Village, burning them to the ground, even feeling a portion of that heat was a reminder of the hell that they must've endured and the horrible deaths they had.

The safest option was climbing up the trees and leaping past the branches to avoid being hit by the numerous waves of flames, or I could wait till he had burned every inch of his anger and collapsed out of exhaustion but a huge part of me didn't want him to be alone— suffering in his frustration and thinking that everything had gone entirely wrong. Well, it had gone entirely wrong, but I found myself enjoying his company and the others a lot. I liked knowing things about him and I liked hanging out with him, it was much better than utilising my loneliness in punching innocent trees.

After a few minutes of boredom, I opted to take a small detour around the outskirts of the fire, knowing that if I had attempted to climb the tree it would strain my injuries further. Fast-walking all the way here made my muscles ache and throb, stitches creasing the corners of my stomach and my breath escaping in erratic intervals. But it was worth it, after finally finding the Uchiha who was slumped against a bark of a tree with his head hung low, his shoulders slumped, his shirt torn and his skin covered in sweat and dirt. He looked like an entire, distraught mess and I was determined to change that.

Cautiously eyeing him, I made sure to step on a stray leaf or two to alert him of my presence before releasing a small sigh. "I... uh, like what you did with the fire... it's a nice look on you."

Really? I inwardly winced. That's what you say? You really are terrible at comforting people Dawn.

Well, I'd make it work. I helped Naruto and Sakura and didn't seem like a complete fool, Sasuke was no different. Or maybe that was me lying to myself again, Sasuke was different, only because I was absolutely terrified of saying the wrong thing around him. Or maybe it was because I didn't know exactly what to say or how to approach the situation. But I could only assume that he wouldn't want me bringing up the topic and would bring it up on his own accords, pushing him for answers wasn't the right way to help him. Rather, he needed company, he needed to be reassured.

Sasuke didn't respond, all I heard was the sound of his heavy, ragged breathing and the sight of his body trembling. Weighing my thoughts, I slowly bent my knees and placed my hand on his shoulder. He tensed, abruptly lifting his head to face me, his fierce, wild eyes staring directly into my calm ones.

"What?" Sasuke hissed. "You saw what you saw now what the hell do you want? What do you want me to say?" He shoved my hand off his shoulder.

I wasn't hurt by his behaviour, after all I was used to it in the sense I've realised that he wasn't in the right state of mind to consider whether or not my feelings would be hurt by my actions. So I took it upon myself to not allow myself get hurt.