Blinded by Fear

Reunited

Suigetsu rested for what seemed like hours to Sakaria, who never complained, but was growing bored of making daisy chains. He eventually stood up and stretched his back, then looked down at her, extending his hand. "Well, let's go. We can't sit here all day." Sakaria rolled her eyes and took his hand to stand up.

"Where are we going again?" She said, taking one of Shikamaru's cigarettes that she had stolen and popping it into her mouth after blowing a small flame onto it to light it. Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her.

"I didn't know you smoked," he stated, seeming slightly intrigued by how much it changed her appearance. Look at you, little miss badass... he thought, grinning a little at the sight.

"I don't do it often... but sometimes you need something to take the edge off right?" She said, exhaling and pulling the cigarette away from her lips. Suigetsu thought for a moment then shrugged.

"I just kill things when I'm on edge," he said honestly. Sakaria laughed a little but couldn't escape the memory of Shikamaru that flashed into her head as she inhaled the smoke from his cigarette. It was in that moment of remembrance that she noted Suigetsu was nothing like her friend back in the leaf village. He was crass and volatile. He often acted upon impulse without analyzing things... in fact, she wasn't even sure that the word "analyze" was in Suigetsu's vocabulary. The more she learned about her new friend, the more she realized he was going to take some getting used to.

That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy his company though. Suigetsu was definitely more adventurous than Shikamaru and he humored her childish habits a little more. Shikamaru would have never asked her to show him how to make daisy chains. She found herself laughing more often with Suigetsu around as well which made her ponder something else.

Am I just a copy of whoever I'm around...? She asked herself, thinking back to the way she acted around both men, There's no way I can fit in with both of these people. They're polar opposites... Maybe I don't know who I am... Her train of thought was interrupted by Suigetsu, knocking aggressively on her head like a door.

"Hellooo!" He called, "anybody home?"

"Ow! Ow! Geez!" She replied, coming back to earth and holding her head where his knuckles had landed multiple times, "What's your deal!?"

"I said we're headed to one of Orochimaru's hideouts," Suigetsu responded, looking at her closely. "Sheesh, you really don't listen." He stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms to show disapproval. "What's going on in there that you can't focus, huh?" Sakaria rolled her eyes, smirked, and started walking as he continued, keeping pace with her and resting his hands on the back of his head. "I can't figure you out, girlie. It's like one second you're here and the next you're off in a different world. You should really try to pay better attention, especially when someone is talking to you. I mean, you could miss vital information if you keep spacing out like that. And anyway, what's so important that it takes all of your attention to think about it? I mean, it makes you seem really insensitive when you-"

"Shh!" Sakaria said, putting out her cigarette and suddenly putting her hand over Suigetsu's rambling mouth as they trekked further into the woods after coming down from the mountainside. He continued to talk, protesting her effort to silence him, but the sound was muffled by her hand, and Sakaria directed her ear in the direction of a noise she had heard in the forest. "Did you hear that?" She removed her hand from his mouth and reached to pull a kunai from the holster on her leg.

"Oh, NOW you can hear," Suigetsu complained, not paying attention.

"Hush!" Sakaria said, looking around. Near silence fell over the forest for a moment as the wind rattled the leaves in the trees. "Whatever it is sounds big..."