Bound to You (Naruto)

Chapter Twenty

Tsuki woke with a start only to realize Lord Orochimaru wasn't beside her. Though her wounds had been healed after she protected Sasuke from the projection of his older brother, her chakra seemed out of sorts and she found herself more tired than usual and was even able to fall asleep without being in Lord Orochimaru's presence, for the first time. She scanned the dark bedroom and jumped as she spotted the surly dark-haired teen standing at her bedside with a scowl.

"S-Sasuke-kun, w-what are you doing?" She panicked as she sat upright.

"Where's Orochimaru, we were supposed to have training?" He grumbled his gaze dropping to the revealed scar on the young woman's chest as her pale grey nightgown shifted slightly as she sat up. She should have died from the wound she'd received, it was fatal, yet somehow Orochimaru was able to heal her with a single kiss and all that remained was a faint red angry scar on her chest.

Tsuki yawned and stretched her arms up to the heaven's before slipping out of bed, "I don't know. How about breakfast?"

"Its afternoon." He pointed in annoyance.

"Lunch?"

Sasuke shrugged, "Fine." He watched her carefully as she wrapped a soft pale grey robe over herself and headed for the door. Her steps were somewhat wobbly and sluggish. "Why'd you save me?"

Tsuki paused at the door and turned to him, her pure white eyes expressing concern, the boy seemed unusually chatty and she could see guilt and remorse revealed on his face as he strained to keep a mask of indifference in place. "You can't avenge anything or anyone if you are dead..."

"You don't agree with me being an avenger-."

"I didn't say that." Tsuki smirked, "I just don't think you talking about it so much is helping you get to where you need to be in your training. Your need to be an avenger is what is holding you back. You're not ready yet." She shrugged as she turned and exited the room heading for the kitchen.

Sasuke clenched his fists and darted after her but paused as he noticed the unsteadiness of her gait. After the fight with Itachi's projection, when she'd nearly lost her life she seemed weak and everything she did seemed to require much more effort. "How are you still alive?"

Tsuki smiled softly at this, "Because my life is not mine alone."

Sasuke frowned not understanding her meaning. "What the hell is that supposed to me-." He cut off with a gasp as she turned to him quick as lightning and flicked him on the forehead.

"Perhaps one day when you realize there's more to life than being an avenger and you find people you love and want to protect, you will understand."

Deciding not to press the issue further Sasuke reluctantly trailed after her to the kitchen. He watched as she set to work preparing him a tasty and nutritious lunch. For the briefest of moments, he was transported to a time long ago as he watched the young woman cook and familiar smells of home wafted through the air. It reminded him of a time when he was still a child, when his mother was still alive and would cook for him.

"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?" Tsuki asked him curiously as she noticed the morose look upon his face.

"Nothing. I'm not hungry anymore." He muttered under his breath before turning and storming away.

Sasuke made his way to an elaborate underground Great Hall where he and Orochimaru usually met before training. He went to sit atop a set of a few steps leading to what almost looked like a throne carved in the stone fashioned to look like a snake. It was dark, like most of the rooms in the lair with only a few low burning torches at the far corners of the room a modification Orochimaru had taken into consideration for the pale girl's light sensitivity. The surly teen lost himself in his dwindling thoughts of home from a time when all was still right in his world. Tsuki's cooking was nostalgic and made with love and tended to spark pleasant memories from a happy childhood that only caused him pain.