Sasuke's P.O.V
I hit her in the head with the rock hard enough to knock her out but soft enough to not make her bleed. She fell lightly into my arms, her blonde hair sweeping onto her face. She had a peaceful expression and her lips were curved upwards in a smile.
I laid her down in the snow trying not to think too much about the dark red that would soon stain the pure white. I pulled out my kunai knife and let it hover over her heart. She'd die for me. For me. I looked at Winter again and thought how fitting it would be for her to die in the snow, but as I thought it that boy's face fluttered into my head. She had wanted to go back for the boy but I hadn't allowed her.
If I had allowed her to take the boy, would we be here? Would she be here lying in the snow awaiting my blade? No. She would have run off to protect the boy, but because of my choice, I've brought her here. I've brought her to the point of life and death, a point where no fifteen-year-old girl should have to go through. She's not a ninja, she's just a normal girl.
Shaking my head I lift my kunai over her heart again. This was her choice, I shouldn't let it be in vain. Lifting my hand high, I get ready to plunge it into her heart. I swing my arm down but my kunai freezes over her chest. She made her choice to die for me, I should have a choice. What do I want?
Putting my kunai away I leave her side and look over the edge of the cliff. What do I want? I remember everything that's happened since she got here, everything that impacted me personally. I laughed, I felt pain and I ran.
I laughed because of her silly side comments, every day I was surprised at how much confidence she had. She didn't cower, she didn't throw herself on her knees in front of me. She treated me as an equal, she gave me space when I needed it. She saw things about me that other people couldn't.
I felt pain because I hated her, I objected to teaching her Japanese and got backhanded because of it. I leaped out on her accidentally and she stabbed me with her poisonous kunai. She winced when I was in pain like she was feeling it too. She had so much empathy inside her that I could never understand how she could murder the people who killed her family. Maybe good people have dark sides too. Do evil people have good sides?
I ran because she was missing. I ran because I asked Orochimaru if I could find her, find the quirky person who shone a light down my dark path. I thought I ran because I didn't want her to kill Orochimaru, but I was wrong. I ran because I needed her. She connected me to a part of myself that I thought I had lost a very long time ago.
Walking slowly back to Winter I made a choice. I made a choice that could end me. Instead of cutting her heart out and returning it to Orochimaru, I would hide her in my home. A home I had when I needed a place to stay beside the Leaf Village and Orochimaru's hideout. A refuge of solitude, of peace and of serenity. A place where I could be me without anyone finding out.
Orochimaru doesn't know about it yet, and if I can help it, won't ever know about it. Sliding my hands underneath her cool body, I lift her and hold her against my chest. I'm not ready to let her go just yet, but if she ever annoys me too much or If I ever own up to the fact that this is a really terrible decision, I'll kill her and cut out her heart for real. For the time being, I'll use someone else's heart and Orochimaru will never know the difference.
Holding her close to me, I walk towards where my home is. I thought about how on the way there were two sets of footprints, but now, on the way back there was only one.
******
After dropping Winter off at my home I found a man in a nearby village and cut out his heart. Trying not to drip any blood I wrapped the heart in my shirt and then covered my shirt with my hands just in case any blood seeped through.
Arriving at Orochimaru's hideout I put on a grim face and entered his room. I carefully placed the heart at his feet and stepped a few feet away. "Her heart is as beautiful as I thought it would be." His creepy voice surrounded me. I tried not to gag as he licked his lips with his snakelike tongue and picked up the heart impostor. "How are you feeling Sasuke?"
"Fine."
"Not even a little bit upset?" He wondered out loud.
"Not even a little. When's training?" Kabuto fumed at that.
"Do not speak to Lord Orochimaru in that manner!" Kabuto yelled.
"Now now, Kabuto, leave the boy be." Orochimaru mocked me. My fists clenched at my sides. "You know, Sasuke, I thought you were getting rather attached to the girl." A snakelike grin appeared on his face as he walked towards me.
"You thought wrong."
"I must have. You do have to be careful though Sasuke. Women are dangerous creatures, they can wrap you around their fingers without you even knowing it. They can get inside your head and you start making decisions you wouldn't usually make." Orochimaru walked back to his throne and sat on it like he was some sort of king.
Dismissing me, I walked out of the hideout to go wash up at my home. What if Orochimaru was right? If it was any other person I would have just killed them, but I actually thought about it. Was she getting into my head? Wrapping me around her finger?
Perhaps I was a tool in some sort of game of hers. I was so worried the whole time about making the wrong decision and hurting her but when in fact, I should have been worried about her hurting me.
I couldn't let her out of my home, if I let her out she would sell me out to Orochimaru and then run. She would have me killed. I could use the boy that was at the Akatsuki as leverage. If she ever tried to run, I could kill the boy.
Angry and riled up I walked louder than usual back to my home.
Winter's P.O.V
I felt warm. Was I in hell? No, I wasn't burning - it's a comforting warmth. Slowly opening my eyes I saw a hearth, the fire crackling, and flickering. Sitting up I get a head rush and wince at the pain, the back of my head stinging. If I could feel the pain I definitely wasn't dead.
As my vision adjusted to the darkness, as did my memories come back to me. I was supposed to be dead, but Sasuke didn't kill me. I was supposed to have a voice, but Orochimaru took it away from me. I felt my tears sliding down my face again and I silently scolded myself for being such a baby.
I needed to figure this place out, where was I? Why didn't I die? But before I could I heard the sound of rushing water. Being the curious person I was I silently lifted myself off the couch because that's all I had now, silence. Creeping towards the noise I passed a dining room that was decorated nicely. Whoever did it had painted the walls a dark green giving you the impression that you were outside.
In the dining room was a small doorway that I was certain the noise was coming from. Standing by the door frame I peeked in and gasped. Sasuke was washing his hands in a kitchen basin, there was so much red. He had red on his clothes and red on his hands. Blood.
"In case you were wondering, this isn't my blood." His monotone voice sounded in front of me.
I wanted to ask what happened but I couldn't speak. Sensing my disturbance his head turned around. A shiver went through me as I saw how cold his eyes looked.
"Go back to the couch. The only reason you're not dead is because of a momentary weakness I had. I let myself think that I needed you. Stupid of me really."
His words hurt me more than it should. Hiding the new tears brewing at the corner of my eyes, I scampered back to the couch. Sasuke had made the couch like a bed, it had a dark green patterned pillow at one end and there was a navy blanket that I had kicked off when I went to explore the noise.
For a momentary weakness, he sure had thought things through. I wanted to snicker my comment, anything that didn't make me seem as much as the crybaby I was acting like, but I couldn't. Closing my eyes I heard the water stop and watched him enter the dining room, heading towards the couch I was sitting on. "Carrying a heart without dropping blood on the snow, messy business." He said with a grin.
I gave him a worried look and his eyes darkened so I quickly glanced back at the fire. "Look here Winter." I didn't want to look but his hand grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. "I don't want to know you're here, it isn't going to be hard for you since you can't speak. I don't want to see you, I want to believe that you're dead. Understand me? If Orochimaru gets word of this he'll kill us both."
I furiously nodded my head not quite understanding what I was getting myself into. I let myself think for just a moment if I would be better off dead. Which is worse, pretending or actually being dead?
My stomach rumbled and Sasuke glared at me. I wanted to yell at him and say my stomach had a voice of its own. I wanted to scream at him to let me go, let me run away safely and Orochimaru would never know.
Sasuke must have sensed what I wanted because he answered, "How would I know you would actually run away? Perhaps you would show yourself to Orochimaru and then run away leaving me to die and you to live? No, I'm keeping you where I can keep an eye on you." He sauntered off behind the couch to what looked like his bedroom and he slammed the door.
I wanted to yell at him and tell him he was being idiotic. Why would I let him kill me and, after he chooses not to, try to kill him? I hugged my knees to my chest, I could survive this. My name is Winter. I am strong. I will not submit to Sasuke Uchiha. My eyes became determined as I smiled sarcastically at Sasuke's door.
If he wanted to kill me, let him try. There's nothing holding me back anymore. Did he realize that? No, it's probably why he thinks I'll stay here like a good dog.
Suddenly, Sasuke's face appeared in my vision and I jumped out of my skin. My face must have given away everything as he said, "You run, I kill the boy. I know where the Akatsuki are, I'll get to them before you could run a kilometer. You're not a ninja, however, I am." There was an evil glint in his eyes and I visibly flinched. He knew what would hurt me.
With nowhere to go, I wondered how long I would stay here until Sasuke decided to kill me. It's the worst when you don't know your fate, when you have to leave it in somebody else's hands. Let's just hope destiny has a better grip on me.
******
Thoughts on Sasuke's mood swing? Personally, I don't think he's mad at her, I think perhaps he had been hit with the full realization of, "I didn't kill her."
Maybe being evil and cruel is Sasuke's mask... #ShoutOutToChapter5
Love, Books4_Ever xx