R E S I S T A N C E

D E A T H in the D A R K N E S S

Sasuke's POV

It was a short sprint to the front gates of Iwagakure. We made it there quicker than expected, and I silently hoped that the conflicting interests of the Hebi wouldn't mess this up. I glared over my shoulder in the direction of Karin, a subconscious reaction to my thoughts.

After our regroup, we agreed to split up as we made our way closer to the village. Karin stuck to my side like glue, whether I wanted her there or not, and Jugo followed us close behind about five meters back. Suigetsu and Ayuka took to the other side of the main road, staying parallel to our position as we ran.

In theory it was a secure formation, keeping one sensory specialist with each offensive member and having the powerhouse towards the back, but I couldn't shake this lingering gut feeling about our situation. Something was telling me not to leave Suigetsu alone with Ayuka. Just seeing them together was starting to leave a sour taste in my mouth. It wasn't like I invited her along just so she could cozy up to--wait. I scoffed at my ridiculous thoughts.

Focus, Sasuke.

The breeze blew through the trees above us ominously as I looked across the dirt road. My eyes caught the blue glint of Ayuka's stare almost immediately and I nodded to give her the signal. She smirked a reply and turned to face the gate, but before she began weaving signs as planned, she glanced at Suigetsu and seemed to whisper something to him. He grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture as she closed her eyes to focus.

I grimaced at the sudden pain I felt in my chest, but quickly pushed the feeling away. There was no time for such nonsense.

The skilled Yuna made quick hand signs before whispering to herself a jutsu that I recognized immediately. As I moved my line of vision to the guards standing watch, chunks of rock lifted from the ground around Ayuka. They slowly morphed and sharpened into needle-like projectiles before being lifted up into the air by her will alone. Each stone senbon shifted its position slightly to target specific guardsmen, before shooting out to incapacitate them. The projectiles moved with incredible speed, each one silently lodging themselves into the back of the shinobi's necks. I watched as they all dropped to the ground in unison. 

Just as planned.

As the dust was still settling, we all converged on the entrance, running as one unit through the unguarded open gates. I let a satisfied smirk emerge at our small victory as I turned my head to glance over at Ayuka. She had a determined scowl on her face as she ran, her hair catching on the wind behind her and causing it to ripple slightly with her movements. It didn't appear that being back in her home village was causing her any grief as of yet, and for that I was grateful.

I quickly turned away from her to shake this odd feeling off as I sprinted into the lead, using my chakra to jump onto the nearest building before continuing our route to the Inn. The other four followed close behind.

We were almost there when I noticed the smoke.

~~~~~

Ayuka's POV

As we jumped from rooftop to rooftop, I did my best to keep a straight face. So many different emotions were coursing through me at once, and I had no idea how to process them. I'd gone years with barely any human contact. My sole focus was always to become stronger, better, faster--I wanted to surpass any and all expectations that were set on me. I wanted to finally feel superior than my past self, and I achieved that goal. But now, after feeling the threat of friendship and happiness for the first time in ages, I was realizing that during that process I had ostracized myself from everything that used to make me who I was. I had lost me.