Obedience
-Chapter Seventeen-
Things aren't always as they seem
The devil comes as everything
you've ever wished for.
_______________________________________________
~*~
The flash of a camera was all it took to set Emiko off. Currently, their travel to the Land of Iron was stopped due to a handful of Sasuke's fangirls. Though unfortunately, they weren't your average fangirls, they were journalists.
"Hey!" Suigetsu yelled, as they threw him from the Uchiha's side. "Give me one reason I shouldn't put this blade to work"
"You're a loser?" Karin suggested. "Did I ask you?" he furrowed his eyes at the redhead, "Well, Hozuki...I can't give you a reason." Emiko walked forward, "Then again...look at him over there, so helpless. Not fitting for an Uchiha, is it?" She looked to him, laughing, "I almost wish I had a camera" Suigetsu flashed her a look of amusement, as Juugo managed a grin, shaking his head. "Really? You think this is funny?" Emiko rolled her eyes at the Uzumaki, "lighten up" "-Yeah, lighten up Karin!" Suigetsu followed.
"Well, alright...it's been long enough.." Juugo interjected. He let out a sigh, mentally preparing himself. Once he was up he pushed into the group of women, snatching the Uchiha from the center of the crowd.
"Let's get into the hotel" he grumbled, his onyx hair ruffled and out of place. As soon as he could begin to reach for the door, the Fangirls heads snapped to his direction. "Nice knowing you" Suigetsu ran for the door, pushing Karin out of the way, "Hey you idiot!" they each argued.
Juugo sent Emiko a look which she returned, "You've had to deal with this for how long?" she asked, as they reached the door. "Too long" he replied. Emiko laughed, as she looked for the rest of the group. There she found Karin sitting down, reading a magazine.
She realized it wasn't a bad idea. So she reached for the first booklet that caught her eye. A yawn escaped her lips as she reached for the world news magazine. The headline read, "Call for Kage Summit" Emiko recognized the information, as Sasuke had told her earlier they were heading to the same place. This is where Madara would declare war and they would take Danzo's head. Once she had flipped to the actual article, her eyes landed on Suna's Kazekage. Her world froze. There was something about that particular Kage...
"You ready?" Sasuke asked the group, his gaze fell on the news article she was reading. Immediately, his stomach dropped. "Yep" Emiko bounced to her feet happily. Sasuke followed the girls expression with his eyes as nothing particularly seemed out of place about the girl. So in turn, he headed forward as relief comforted him.
~*~
The Kazekage flung forward, awakening. For a moment his greens were wide but they had soon turned to normal once he assessed his whereabouts. He had dreamt that Emiko was back, sitting on his front porch. But he was only dreaming.
A frown made its way onto his lips as he decided to get out of bed. Like a stain you couldn't get out, memories of Emiko refused to leave his brain. They were vague yet at the same time every bit was memorable. He couldn't just forget her though he wanted to. She had betrayed him. But why couldn't he bring himself to be angry with her?
Exhaling, he found himself walking to the porch. This was where he'd last seen her as they said goodbye to each other. If only he would have known, then he would have never left her there. Had he been gone too long? He simply was unable to find where he had gone wrong and that was the worst part about it.
"Gaara?" the creak of the front door snapped the Kazekage from his thoughts. He looked up to see his brother Kankuro. He fell silent, as the puppet master came to his side. "Listen..." he began, "I don't know if Emiko joined Sasuke's side voluntarily or not..."
"I know you had feelings for her. Hell, I really liked her for you. But I'm just saying, for your sake... prepare yourself for the best and worst. " Kankuro set a hand on his shoulder and in turn Gaara sent him a nod, "Thank you... You're right."
As Kankuro left, dread continued to fill the Kazekage...
~*~
"Hey" Sasuke watched while Emiko went to leave their room. "Where you going?" Emiko met his gaze and measured the boy. "A walk...What's been up with you lately?" she shoved him playfully. Sasuke tensed, "...Nothing, just...I'll come with." he grabbed his katana, following after.
"He should be glad Karin's in the bathroom..." Juugo joked to Suigetsu, earning a laugh from the Hozuki. "you know, I wonder how long he can keep this up for." Suigetsu scratched his chin in thought. "...I don't know but I don't think this is very fair to her." Juugo sighed. "I saw her looking at that Magazine with the Kazekage on it. She seemed to notice him."
"What?" Suigetsu stopped him, "Well, she hasn't acted any differently yet but don't underestimate her. Emiko is smart, she could know more than she's letting on."
"Oh I'm aware of that alright." Suigetsu's face went blank. "Why?" Juugo asked, "You don't know?" he sighed, explaining, "That sly little one tricked me into Orochimaru's possession."
"It doesn't take much for you to be tricked." Karin entered the room. "Why don't you just shut your mouth Karin!"
~*~
The stars were had been out for a long time now. Emiko sighed happily as she looked above. A canopy of luminous stars materialized along the ocean of sky. She watched above, awestruck. At that time she noticed how many stars there were in the galaxy and how little she was compared to it all. She would have felt lonely if Sasuke wasn't by her side.
But he was too busy watching her. Her face lit up beautifully in the moonlight, though he wouldn't dare admit it. Her Amethyst eyes held the night sky as if it were gold. Sasuke saw a lot of things in Emiko, but the best part about the girl was that she was never concerned about the petty things in life. She only focused on what needed to be paid attention. She never worried too much about boys or the way she looked. She wasn't afraid to be genuine.
"Why did you kiss me?" Sasuke interposed. Emiko stopped in her tracks, "What?"
"I want to know why you kissed me." Sasuke set a hand on his hip, "I thought you were different from the other girls" he looked out to the distance. "Well" she pondered her thoughts for a moment, "I did it because I didn't want some other girl giving you a kiss you'd regret."
"You just wanted to" Sasuke turned to her, flashing her a smirk. "There's no crime in that..." "-Shouldn't you be plotting your revenge about now?" Emiko teased, "Very funny" he rolled his eyes.
"Look, there's something I want to speak to you about..." Emiko crossed her arms, as he stopped on top of a bridge, leaning over the railing. "I want you to be careful this mission" he turned to her, his gaze hardening. "I don't know if you were aware but the Leaf still has a bounty on your head." A long sigh escaped her lips and she looked up to the boy, "Why don't they just leave me be?"
"They know how powerful you are." he replied, facing her. "All five Kage will be there. So the risk of losing you to them goes 50/50. I need you to think smart and lay low for this mission." Emiko scanned his expression for a good long time. "What has you so worried you'll lose me...?" she questioned,"My clan's Kekkei Genkai?"
"You wish" he bent forward, touching his lips to hers. As they inched away an obvious blush dusted her cheeks. The Uchiha's Onyx gaze twinkled in amusement. "You're just kissing me for my reaction, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Perhaps..." he looked down at her, tracing her cheek with a thumb.
"Let's get back" he decided, in order to prevent himself from getting too lost in her eyes. "Don't want to let your girlfriend find out you're with me?" Emiko joked, earning an eye roll from him.
As soon as they were able to enter the hotel room, Suigetsu flashed the two a look. "You should be glad she's sleeping" he motioned to Karin, fast asleep on the bed.
