Weightless.

As Free as Birds

    Sasuke looked up from his reflection in the water and then around. Someone, possibly a group of ninja had been following him for months now. He had been careful with his movements, only letting them see what he wanted them to see but he was getting quite impatient and annoyed. Slowly he looked back into the water, watching the trees in its surface for any sign of movement. 'There' he thought and made a swift movement. He jumped into a nearby tree and looked up. 'Shoot,' you thought and pulled the Ninjatō from your back and moved it in one fluid movement. Your sword and his katana clashed. "Who are you?" Sasuke asked and narrowed his eyes. You didn't answer and simply jumped back into another tree. When you started to move your hands to use one of your techniques, he rushed at you again.

'Damn it, I need more time' you thought and ducked away from his attack. You did a flip out of the tree and Sasuke threw his katana in your direction. Quickly you made a couple hand signs and made a shadow clone. Your clone grabbed your arm and pulled you out of harm's way, it puffed into smoke when Sasuke's katana hit it instead. You grabbed Sasuke's katana and turned to face him since he was now behind you. Now you should have known better to send the rest of your team off, but here you were with Sasuke Uchiha, fighting him alone. This time when Sasuke went to attack you, he didn't aim directly at you or try to harm you; instead he yanked off your white porcelain mask. You stumbled back from the hit you had expected and your eyes widened when your face was exposed to him. "___?" he asked and threw the mask aside.

Everything changes... some things stay the same but not completely. You seemed to have forgotten that fact when you agreed to join the ANBU under Lady Tsunade's recommendation, Assassination Tactics Special Force, an organization of assassination squads that serves directly under the village's leader. This organization that you joined requires members to wear porcelain animal masks in order to distinguish ourselves from normal shinobi and to conceal our identities, and also have standard uniforms consisting of black and gray armor, arm guards, a signature spiral tattoo on their shoulder and a Ninjatō (sword) strapped on their back. ANBU are considered the elite, and perform high-ranked and dangerous missions. Before you could actually take on any missions, you had to study the human body in detail, and had to developed several techniques to perform your duties, such as paralyzing the target. Right away you weren't sure if the ANBU was the right place for you but you trusted Lady Tsunade's decision and choices, so once you had qualified, you took on several missions.

The missions weren't easy or enjoyable. Many deaths for both the ANBU and whoever the targets might be occurred. It was a very fast lesson you had to learn, to forget... forget everything. Missions that the ANBU took on were not like any other missions, lots of death and facts that could be critical. It was typical to lose some one on your team... it was rare to live for a long time in such an organization. You forgot, you made yourself forget your life, after completing a mission you'd make yourself forget everything that occurred. If someone asked you what happened on your last mission, you wouldn't be able to tell them. That is something you're good at doing... forgetting, blocking out, or burying memories. Everything changes... your different too.

"___, it has been a very long time," the woman with long blonde hair, with a purple dot on her forehead said. She smiled a little bit and held out her hand. Tsunade is a fairly tall, light-skinned woman with light golden-amber eyes and straight blonde hair. Her hair is waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face. She often wears a grass-green robe with the kanji for gamble written in black on the back, inside a red circle. Underneath she wears a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage. She wears open-toed sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails. She also wears a soft pink lipstick. You placed your detailed and to the point report about the last mission into the Hokage's hand. "Two years," you said from behind your mask.

She nodded; the mission she had given the girl had been a harder one, trying to find Sasuke. Her orders had been to find Sasuke and keep an eye on him but not to move in on him or hurt the boy. Tsunade set the pack of papers onto her desk that had filled up with many scrolls and paperwork over the last week. "You've done very good ___, you deserve a break. You get the next two weeks off," the Hokage said. You opened your mouth to refuse but she held up a hand. "No arguing with me, get out of that uniform and relax," she said sternly, her eyes narrowing.

Tsunade watched the girl slowly nod before disappearing. Slowly the Hokage slumped down in her chair and rubbed her fingers against her temples before eyeing the report. Gingerly she picked it up and began to read, not noticing that Shizune had walked in. "Was that ___?" asked Tsunade's assistant. She has shoulder length black hair with bangs and onyx eyes. Like usual Shizune wears a long blueish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. Unlike her usual stressed out boss, the Hokage, she is actually quite calm and often worries about others. "Yes, that was ___ with her report. I'm giving her a two week break... Shizune, she's changed so much," Tsunade said quietly. She placed the report back down on the crowded, messy desk and looked her assistant in the eyes. The other black haired woman bit her bottom lip lightly and fidgeted. "Being in the ANBU does that my Lady, but I'm sure somewhere deep inside, she is still ___. Maybe this break will do her some good," Shizune said and smiled. Tsunade slowly turned and stared out the window at the village. "I hope you are right."

---

You pulled off the red and white porcelain ___(animal) mask off and set it in a desk drawer before shutting it. Slowly you pried the ANBU uniform off and pulled out regular clothes before climbing into a nice hot shower. You let the warm water wash away all worries and memories of the mission. It had been a long time since you had been home so you were a bit curious about who was still around and if they had changed much. Slowly you shook your head and cleaned any remaining blood off your sore and tired body, water could do miracles. After taking a shower that was much longer than usual,you climbed out and wrapped a towel around your body.

The girl that you saw in the reflection of your full length mirror was hardly recognizable. When was the last time you had taken that mask off and actually looked at yourself? The girl you saw had ___ length hair that reached ___, dull ___ colored eyes, and a blank expressionless look on her face. "That's me," you told yourself and leaned closer to the mirror. It was hard to believe, your hands, everything about you seemed so unfamiliar. Had you even forgotten yourself? To shake away the small amount of terror that shook your soul, you pulled on a black skort and a ___ colored tank top, lastly you pulled your ___ colored hair into a pony tail. You were desperate to find anything that was familiar to you. Now you reached over and pushed the window open before climbing onto the roof and jumping down onto green lush grass that surrounded your apartment. You ran with no destination in mind, rather, you were in search of a specific person that you knew would make your fear and terror vanish quickly.

The training grounds, you had trained here for years before joining the ANBU. Now standing here, it brought back plenty of memories. Memories you had tried to block came back in a rush. Some memories you had found easy to force to the back of your mind, but they could sometimes push back so that you would remember them.


Flashback:

"You kind of suck at this," Sasuke said and crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh. You stood bent over at the waist, hands on knees and gasping for breath. You looked up at him from behind your hair and glared, still trying to catch your breath. "Well Uchiha, you are supposed to be helping me," you snapped and stood upright. Sasuke has black hair with a blue-ish tint to it and onyx eyes, his bangs hang on both sides of his face and is spiky in the back. His clothing consisted of a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a raised collar and the Uchiha crest on the back and white arm warmers and white shorts. He rolled his eyes but smiled a bit at your attitude. Now the black haired, punk ninja moved so that he was standing beside you.

"From the top," he said impatiently. He moved his hands. "Serpent," he said. You studied his hands then mimicked the position. He nodded in approval and changed his hand sign. "Ram," he instructed. Again you followed his movements. "Monkey," he continued, watching you carefully for any mistake at all. You signed, still not used to his staring but changed to the next hand sign. "Boar," he said, sounding bored. He really was a horrible teacher. It took all your self control to copy his hand sign rather than kick him. "Last two, horse then tiger," he said, making the last two hand signs. You made the hand signs more slowly but managed to do them correctly. The black haired Ninja repeated all the hand signs quickly. "Katon,Goukakyuu No Jutsu," Sasuke said loudly and then blew a fire out of his mouth the size of a huge tree.

Your eyes widened, you couldn't make a fireball that size which is why you had asked Sasuke to train with you in the first place. You mimicked the hand signs: serpent, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and then tiger before taking a deep breath and blowing it all out. The fireball you managed to make wasn't even half the size of his yet you still felt so drained and tired after forming it. You held onto your aching sides and fell back onto your butt with a grunt. Sasuke snickered and shook his head at your lousy try. "You might even be a worse ninja than that dobe Naruto," he said as in insult to your skills. You simply grunted in response, too tired to come up with a comeback. Sasuke looked away from you, but held out his hand. You stared at his hand for a moment, shocked that a guy with such a big ego and grumpy attitude would bother to try and help you up.

Slowly you reached up and grabbed his hand but instead of pulling yourself up, you pulled him down onto the grass beside you. His onyx black eyes widened in surprise and he looked over at you. "That was for the insult," you told him with a smirk that sent shivers down Sasuke's spine. He wondered if his smirk could have that effect on people. Now you stood and dusted yourself off before grabbing his hand. You pulled him up into a standing position. "Let's go get some ramen," Sasuke said after a long silence. He walked away before you could answer. "But... you don't like ramen!" you called after him and turned so that you could see him retreating. He raised a hand and motioned for you to follow him. "No, but you do," he said so quietly that you didn't hear him.

End flashback.


"___, you're back!" someone called. You snapped out of your memories and turned to face a blonde headed ninja who wore an orange and black outfit who was running towards you. "Hey Naruto," you tell him and give him a small wave. Instead of waving back, Naruto ran over and pulled you into a hug. You stiffened in his hold and lightly patted his back. "It's nice to see you," you told him, not used to the affection. The ANBU really did change you, at one point you would have ran at Naruto and hugged him but now you simply weren't sure what to do now that he had his arms around you. "I heard about your last mission, did you find Sasuke?" he whispered into your ear. He wasn't supposed to know about the mission, one of her instructions had been not to tell Naruto otherwise he would have come on the mission to search for his friend. The only way he could know was if Tsunade, Kakashi, Shizune, or Sakura spilled. "Yes," you reply just as quietly and pull out of his hold. You moved away from Naruto and ran your fingers through your hair. "Naruto, will you train with me?" you asked, desperate for any kind of normalcy. He studied your face for a moment as if trying to figure you out then a easy smile crossed his face. "Sure thing ___, but don't think I'll go easy on you, believe it!"

---

It turned out that training with Naruto, helping Ino out with her flower shop, playing shogi with Shikamaru (He beat you though), and playing with Kiba and Akamaru hadn't done anything for your mood or the strange feeling at the pit of your stomach. The sun in the sky had started its decent and your home was staring to quiet down as people and ninjas returned to their houses. Naruto's question about Sasuke still bothered you, even hours after he asked. He and Sakura still cared and wanted to be friends with Sasuke even though he left the village, you on the other hand weren't sure.

You climbed the steps up to your apartment, today they seemed longer than usual but that could have been because you were still exhausted from the mission and then all of the activities you had done today. Once outside your apartment you reached for the door knob but froze. You felt someone's gaze and looked around. As a ninja and being a part of the ANBU, you knew to trust your instincts. Slowly you studied your surroundings and tried to get a sense of someone's chakra. You had only sensed the chakra for a moment and it had seemed familiar, but the person was now hiding their presence and chakra. Slowly you reached down and pulled a kunai out of a little bag that rested around your waist then tossed it into the direction of where you had sensed the person a moment ago. The weapon thunked against the nearby tree but no other sound was heard but that.

'I'm just tired and getting paranoid' you told yourself and entered your apartment, shutting the door behind you. You slipped off your sandals and flipped the light switch. A small frown crossed your face and you flipped the light switch several more times. The chakra you had sensed outside was now in your house. A sigh escaped your lips and you slowly turned so that you were no longer facing the light switch. "I'm not surprised you were able to sneak into the village, my apartment though is another story," you said and studied the darkness. Though you couldn't see the invader, you could hear him move. A soft chuckle escaped the invaders lips and you flinched because his breath hit your neck. You pulled out a kunai and winced when you were shoved back against your front door. The two of you held a weapon to each other's necks. You held a kunai to his neck and he held a katana to yours.

"We really do need to meet on better terms than this," you said and narrow your eyes at Sasuke; his eyes that were now a red color. He pressed the katana to your neck a bit more and you glance at your kunai. You knew better than to do what you were about to, but you did it anyway. Slowly you loosened your hold on the kunai until you dropped it so that it fell to the floor at both yours and his feet. "You've been following me," Sasuke said. He looked the same as the last time you saw him; he wore a white long-sleeved shirt which was open at the torso with a smaller version of the Uchiha crest on his collar. He wore dark blue pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which he carries his sword. "I have," you said simply, knowing that there would be no use to lying to him.

He let out a long sigh and his breath tickled your face. "You're part of the ANBU now, you've been following me, you didn't quit following me after my warning to you, and here you are... refusing to fight me," he said slowly and quietly into your ear. He moved his katana away from your neck and you rubbed your neck warily. "What are you doing here Uchiha?" you asked and watched the wanted criminal sit down on your couch as if he owned the place.

Your eyes had adjusted to the dark and now you could tell that something seemed off about the boy. "You are part of the ANBU... you work for the Hokage herself yet you let me go free before. After our little skirmish, your team had been returning and you let me just walk away as if nothing happened. I don't understand you," he said and lightly rubbed his temples. You crouched down and picked up your kunai from the floor before setting it aside and walking into the kitchen, you'd still be able to hear him. "Why would you want to understand me in the first place? You abandoned me and the whole village," you said in anger. You slammed a teapot down into your sink and filled it with water so that you could make tea.

If you had been in a cartoon, steam would have been coming out of your ears and your face would be a dark red color. "You know why I left. I had to get stronger," he said in his usual monotone voice had a hint of amusement in it. You made a face and mouthed what he said while pacing about the room. Carefully you set the pot on the stove. "Don't mock me," said the other ninja's voice, now in the kitchen also. You were already too used to his habit of not staying in one place. You glanced in his direction and leaned against the counter. "You didn't answer my question, why did you let me go?" he asked, his sharningon deactivated and his eyes became its usual onyx color. "Because, unlike you I keep my promises; I promised I would protect and help you, and sadly I still am," you snapped.


Flashback:

The rain fell hard, providing more life for the living plants that surrounded Konoha. Sasuke stood in the rain, trying to wash away the troubles and annoyances of the day. At the Ninja Academy all the girls except ___ had bothered him and then just any thoughts about his family bothered him. Naruto could never understand him. It was true that both him and Naruto didn't have a family, but Naruto never knew his parents before they died or disappeared. Sasuke had known his family and formed bonds with them that his brother Itachi had severed by killing them all. He narrowed his onyx colored eyes and pulled out another kunai. Carefully he eyed his target and then flung the weapon, watching it hit the target hard and in the dead center. "You know that you are going to get sick by training in the rain right? You will probably over work yourself also," ___ said, startling him. He had been so lost in thoughts and concentrating on the training that he hadn't heard or sensed your approach.

You laughed softly at the surprised look on his face that he quickly tried to hide. Now you moved out from your hiding place and held your umbrella over your head with one hand while your other hand rested on your hips. "I'm serious, you look like you are going to pass out," you said boldly and honestly. The look of surprise vanished off Sasuke's face and was replaced with his usual unemotional one. He really was tired but he had to get stronger and that required training, even if he had to in the rain. You rolled your eyes, knowing he'd be stubborn. Now you walked over and held the umbrella over both of your heads. "Look what I've brought," you told him and carefully set down a basket you had brought with you on the wet grass. You opened up the basket while he held the umbrella and pulled out two cups of tea. "I made sure to be very careful with them, they should still be warm," you explained and handed him one of the cups. Once you took the umbrella back, he accepted his cup and took a sip. The tea defiantly warmed his tired and achy bones.

"Now look here, why don't you carry my basket for me along with your cup of tea and I will carry the umbrella and my own cup. You're going to come home with me and thank my mom for the tea and we will get you all dried off and taken care of," you informed him, leaving no room for arguing. Surprisingly your friend didn't argue with you, simply nodded and scooted closer to you so that the umbrella covered him completely. The two of you walked together towards your house quietly except for the sound of you two slurping your tea. "You know what? If you are going to keep doing stuff like this, I'm going to have to promise you something. I promise that I will protect you and help you as much as I can. I will keep that promise because that is my ninja way," you announced. You peered over at him with your ___ colored eyes. He refused to look at you and scoffed. "Right, whatever," he told you with a huff. When you looked away though, a small smile crossed his face.

End Flashback.


The criminal narrowed his eyes and moved so that he was standing in front of you. You glanced up at him and frowned when he trapped you between himself and the counter; blood rushed to your face causing it to go a bright red color. "I could ask you a question similar to yours. Why didn't you kill me? Why did you just leave like I said without killing me Sasuke?" you asked, using his name rather than his clan name. A flicker of emotion crossed Sasuke's face for a moment before vanishing. He was confused; he didn't seem to understand himself or you. You glanced away from him, still uncomfortable with how close he was to you. Gently Sasuke raised a hand and brushed your bangs to the side to reveal the light scar that had appeared on your forehead due to your last encounter with him. You slapped his hand away from yourself, yes you had feelings for the ninja, but he was still a criminal and he had hurt you.

"I hope you regret leaving the village and all your friends behind, you deserve it for all the crap you pulled. I hope you suffer and have a horrible lif-" you started but were cut off by lips being pressed to yours. Your eyes went huge and you rested your hands on his chest; trying to push him away from you. Sasuke only tightened his grip on you and pulled you a bit closer to him, not wanting you to yell at him anymore. You couldn't believe he was kissing you, the boy who pretended to be so emotionless, used to avoid girls, and had tried to avoid making bonds with others. Sasuke pulled away and a desperate look crossed his face for a moment. "Why won't you kiss me back?" he asked, frustrated. Before you could answer, he pressed his lips to yours again. This time you did kiss him back though while slowly wrapping your arms around his neck; pushing back how uncomfortable you felt. Gently you ran your fingers through his silky black hair. Yes you were utterly pissed off at Sasuke about what he has done but deep down you still loved the boy despite all the wrong decisions he has made. You weren't sure how long the two of you stood like that kissing each other and just enjoying each other's company, but eventually you pulled away.

"Y... You have to go," you said. You had let Sasuke go because even though you were angry and frustrated with him, you still cared and didn't want him to be caught. Maybe that was one of the reason you had joined the ANBU that you hadn't noticed, to protect Sasuke like you had promised. "You'll get caught here, now go," you whispered urgently. You rushed to your room and picked up a box before rushing back down stairs and shoving it into his hands. "Get out of the village now, by now someone must have figured out that you are here," you urged him. You leaned up and pressed one last kiss to his lips. "I love you," you told him and shoved him out of the apartment. He stood up on the stair railing and glanced back at you before mouthing 'I love you.... Thank you'. Just as quickly as he had arrived, he disappeared.

---

"For what she has done she should be punished!" snapped one of the council members. Tsunade sighed and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "She has betrayed the village by talking to the fugitive, not to mention that she didn't report that he was in the village.. in her apartment for that matter," the man insisted. The Hokage held up a hand and closed her brown eyes. "Yes, she is part of the ANBU and serves me directly so she has directly betrayed me, not just the village. Normally a crime such as this one would have the punishment of death, BUT I am letting her go," Tsunade said levelly. The man scoffed. "Are you sure that is wise?!" he questioned indignantly. Tsunade nodded and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. Slowly she turned so that she could look out the village. "She has been banished from the village and is no longer allowed in the Hidden Leaf Village and she is no longer a part of the ANBU. I feel that this choice is the best for her, I know ___."

---

Sasuke looked up from his reflection in the clear blue water when he saw you; he had ditched Karin and the others. "We have defiantly met on better terms this time," he said since neither of you had pulled out a weapon or started yelling at each other. He held up the box you had given him and opened it up so that you could see that it was now empty. You frown and study him more carefully not to see that the necklace you had given him was now around his neck. The necklace was one that Sasuke had forced you to take when the two of you were younger; it had a charm in the shape of the Uchiha Clan's crest. Slowly he pulled it off over his head and placed it around your neck. You lightly fingered the necklace and explain to him about your situation and not being able to live in Konoha.

"I don't want to be a fugitive Sasuke. I want to be with you... but in order to keep myself happy and my promise to you.. we can't cause any more trouble. We could just go into hiding Sasuke or turn ourselves in," you said seriously. He stood up from his sitting position and studied you, his childhood friend and girl he had grown to love. Never had he imagined that he would fall in love, especially after all the years of torture and fan girls due to the ninja academy. "Hmph," he said and looked up at the sky. You followed his gaze and spotted two birds flying together.

"Look at those two birds that are flying so freely Sasuke." He simply nodded and the two of you watched the birds fly off into the distance. If Sasuke could bring himself to change, the two of you could be just as free. Lightly you wrapped your arms around Sasuke's waist and rested your forehead against his chest. Maybe with you in his life, revenge wouldn't be so important? Maybe, just maybe, the Uchiha Clan could exist once more.