Preview of Chapter 23 – Perfect, Part 3

Author’s note: Happy St. Patty’s Day! Chapter to come soon!

The branch bounced once, rattling the leaves around him. He knew it was careless, but he wasn’t slowing down. Knees buckled, he launched into the darkness towards the next limb.

Katsuro hoped he could still catch her tonight. It was so late, it would be a miracle really. But she’d waited this late before, he told himself. That thought alone kept him pushing off the branches with greater force. Hoping against hope that she would still be there.

Her missions were carrying her farther afield, for longer periods of time. Which was sometimes great, but sometimes hard. Like tonight.

He’d had to scramble to get this last job done, then cross the vast dark countryside to get to her. And even now, he didn’t know if he’d make it in time.

He creaked onto a branch then shot off again, shuddering the tree’s canopy in his wake.

But if she was out there, waiting for him, he knew now he’d go to any length to see her. This partnership with Sakura was mesmerizing. He found himself wanting it more and more.

And he didn’t know for certain, but he thought she might — just might — feel the same about him. He smiled to himself, dragging in a deep low breath, and launched extra-hard from the next branch.

It didn’t matter when or how he got there, she was always happy to see him. That sweet, expectant smile, like she had been looking out for him. And she never asked anything, still honoring that unspoken agreement between them. That trust was balm enough on the nights that he’d raced across miles of country just to have a few hours with her.

He didn’t always arrive dirty, hungry and tired, though. Sometimes he’d be fresh and waiting for her instead, having been there all day. Then sometimes it would be several hours into the night until he’d show up. But he always managed to make it, even if it was just for a little while.

Lately though, he had taken to arriving towards the end of her mission. The pressure was off him then, and he could accompany her back to the chakra sensor’s farm.

It worked out well, he certainly got more time with Sakura. But he was growing more and more aware of her solitude on these assignments. The first visit to the little girl’s farm was what sparked it.

He never worried about anything. Ever. Fear, which controlled so many of the men around him, simply was not a problem for him. He feared getting caught, he supposed. But he never worried about getting hurt. His wounds would always heal, and, if driven far enough to access his true power, his opponents didn’t stand a chance. And he never thought about anyone else.

Katsuro landed softly on a branch, only the whisper of movement in the leaves this time, and dropped to a squat. His fingers skimmed the cool bark at his feet.

There had never been anyone else to think about. Until now.

Over the next hill, the lights from the town cast a round glow on the horizon. The nights were growing cooler with the changing seasons, but summer seemed determined to hold on. Tonight the air was still soft and sweet. And somewhere, beyond that dark line of a hill, she was waiting for him.

Maybe.

He blinked, refocusing. He’d needed to check his bearings and keep going.

He was familiar with this area, that would save him some time at least. He wouldn’t have to scout around to find the most likely spot. The towns here were older, built against the hillsides for protection ages ago. Which meant the most secluded area should be where the town gave way to the rising land. He hoped his hunch was right, and leapt off towards the dark slopes.

Noiselessly, Katsuro made his way down toward the town. He moved through the wooded outskirts, always watching the trails for any sign of her. But there were none. He circled closer, keeping to the trees just at the edge of the town. From there, he could peer down into the dimly lit lanes. But each one was empty

Hope was fading. He continued to the highest roads, and down the other side, but still there was nothing.

The longer he looked, the more a deep fear took hold in him. The one that had been slowly coming on for weeks now. If he felt a wisp of worry about the little girl, about her safety in an unkind world, then thinking about Sakura, and what she might face on her solitary assignments, was like standing at the edge of a dark abyss.

What if something’s gone wrong this time….

He shook his head and continued going. It was stupid to feel this way. She was a kunoichi — a powerful one. She was always on her own and perfectly capable of defending herself.

Still, he quickened his pace as he moved back up the woodland to the top of the sloping town.

Besides, if he truly felt that way about her, that he wanted to be near her, available just in case she needed him…just like a true partner, his treacherous mind whispered…then what was he doing out here?

The branch groaned under his foot just then. A stray dog rooting through trash perked up it’s ears, looked around warily. Katsruo quickly leapt to the next limb, irritated with himself for his distracted attention.

His concern for her was cracking his own resolve. He was out here for his group, she was here for her village. His village, he thought with an angry burn. And that was the beginning and end of it.

A partnership with her was something he knew he could never have. No matter how much more time he wanted with her.

Yet even as he vowed it, he was quickly looking down each street, desperately scanning for a flash of pink, hoping for a glance of anyone now. That panicky feeling ratcheting back up again. She still hadn’t shown.

He was almost to the top again, where the main road dwindled to a thin footpath over the hill. He had scoured it first and come back to check it a few times, but he decided now, after one last look, he’d take to the rooftops. Perhaps she’d left him a sign—

At that moment, Sakura stepped out of a shadowed lane ahead of him, crossed hurriedly over the dimly lit cobblestones and disappeared up the forest path.

Katsuro nearly overshot the next branch. He leapt after her, relief swelling in his chest.

And as he landed on the forest floor, watched her turn in a whirl, already smiling, everything became clear. He knew that he’d been lying to himself: He was out here for her. And he simply didn’t care about the rest.