The dust began to settle in, and I realised then that it wasn't a suitable environment for Ayumi. Coughing as I waved the debris and dirt away from me, I gently bounced Ayumi in my arms as I made to climb out of the cavern, utterly confused about what was happening.
In front of me, Orochimaru lay with his head lying on the center of an open scroll, unmoving and blood staining the paper. Somewhere behind me, Sasuke was lying and looking equally dead, but I didn't think much of it.
"Here, come on, let's find Karin's stuff and get out of here," I murmured under my breath, leaping up to the ground above the cavern and finding my way in the dark. The only sources of light available to me were the stars and the moon, all of which illuminated the flat ground around me. I squinted as I looked for the Uzumaki, wondering what had become of her. Absolutely nothing made sense to me, but I didn't care. All that mattered was that the Uchiha had been incapacitated, and I was able to move with Ayumi.
"Karin?" I found the Uzumaki lying under a tree in the distance, her bag's contents scattered across the ground. One of which was the milk bottle I had filled earlier, and as I bent down to pick it up,felt that it was still warm. I looked down at Ayumi, who was still crying loudly, and wondered if it would be okay to give it to her.
"Uh... are you hungry?" I asked, receiving nothing but a piercing scream as an answer. Flipping up the lid, I raised the bottle to my nose and smelled the teat to see if the milk itself was still good. I swirled it around for a while, and only decided to give it to her when I saw a bottle warmer lying close by to it. "It must be okay."
As I cradled Ayumi in one arm, I placed the teat of the bottle between her lips and watched as her cries subsided, and all that I could hear was her gentle suckling. Breathless, I continued watching her as she ate in peace, feeling my heart melt in genuine affection.
I stood still and waited for her to finish eating, and when the bottle was completely empty, I softly weaned it out of her mouth and reached down for the lid, shutting it and tossing the whole bottle aside. I wiped the excess milk from her mouth with the corner of the blanket she was wrapped in, and lightly bounced her in my arm as I began to pick up the items that had strayed from Karin's bag. Finding no need for the breast pump or bottle heaters, I rummaged through her backpack to see if she had anything of actual value in there. I let out a little "yes!" when I saw that she had money in there, as well as the first aid kit she had prepared for Ayumi, and stood up to go find mine and Sasuke's backpacks.
Leaping back down into the cavern with Ayumi safely tucked away in my arms, I located the two backpacks I was after and nodded.
Sasuke's limp body lay before them, and I quietly stepped over him as I reached for them. The dust in the air had since dispersed, leaving it easier for Ayumi and I to breathe as we navigated our way around.
Knowing that I only had my weapons in my bag, I quickly took them out and put them in Karin's backpack, before grabbing Sasuke's bag and tipping it upside down, watching as the contents came flying down. There was nothing really interesting in here, except for some snacks and a pouch which I assumed to hold money.
"Better than nothing." I dropped Karin's backpack to the ground and opened it wide, throwing in what was in Sasuke's bag, before slinging it over my shoulders and starting to make my way out. However, as I prepared to leave, I heard someone begin to stir, and anxiously turned around to see Sasuke starting to move.
Yikes, I thought to myself, watching as he began to come to his senses. Gotta go.
I leapt out of the cavern and onto flat ground, running as fast as I could towards the village north of the hideout. Making sure to run smoothly so as not to wake up Ayumi, I gracefully navigated my way over the terrain until I was sure I was out of reach from the pair. I knew that they were excellent sensory shinobi, and that I really didn't have a chance against them. I hoped that when I found out exactly where I was, I could make a proper escape plan and have my exodus from the Land of Fire.
![The Baby Problem [sasusaku] by suqarr4men](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/333822024-80-k43818.jpg)
It took me a couple of hours to reach the outskirts of the village, and when I did, I was exhausted. Since it was the early hours of the morning, I was unsure whether or not I would be able to find shelter for the night, but figured that it was worth a try.
As I approached the village gates, I saw that it was guarded, and swore as I realised that they must have been Uchiha, or people working for the Uchiha. Squinting at the pair situated at the entrance, I couldn't determine whether or not they were shinobi, but cast my Camouflage Jutsu regardless. As I got closer and closer, the pair didn't seem to notice, so I cast away any doubts I had and began to make my way further down the walls, away from the pair and anyone else on guard duty, and found a good place to climb up.
Clutching Ayumi tightly in my left arm, I focused most of my chakra into my right arm as I leapt onto the wall, as well as my feet, and silently began to bound up the wall. In no time, I found myself climbing down into the village, and glanced around cautiously. The street I had landed in was still and quiet, with no sound of life from any of the surrounding houses.
"Ahh, we'll just scope out the area for now, huh?" I said to Ayumi under my breath.
I waited until daybreak to find somewhere to stay.
***
"Sasuke, wake up. Sasuke."
I groaned as someone prodded me in the arm, and slowly opened my eyes to be blinded by the sunlight that was streaming down on me. I refocused my sight and saw Karin kneeling before me, with a cut lip and looking worse for wear.
"Karin?" I sat up straight, looking around frantically for any sign of Tera and Ayumi. "Where are they?! Where did they go?!"
"She's gone," said Karin monotonously, looking over my shoulder. I glanced over and saw what she was looking at, reeling in repulsion. The sight of a bloodied Orochimaru lying face down on the scroll unnerved me, and I shook my head as I rose to my feet, looking around the ruined hideout. It was then that I saw our backpacks on the ground, open, and with everything scattered on the ground.
"She took my backpack and left," said Karin as I walked over to Orochimaru's body and had a closer look. He was completely, undeniably... dead. "She took your stuff as well."
I screwed up my hands into fists, furious at Tera.
"What did she do?!" I snapped angrily, mad mostly at the fact that I could barely recall anything that had happened last night. Karin grimaced, getting to her feet as well.
"I don't know, but we have to find her and bring her back," she said seriously. "The clan won't take it easy if they find out that she tried to escape. She'll be killed at a moment's notice."
"She just loves to make my life harder, doesn't she?!"
"Sasuke, we have to find her and take her back to the compound. Fugaku-sama won't let her live if he finds out she's escaped, especially since she's a trained kunoichi now. Shisui and Itachi won't be spared either."
I pulled at my hair in exasperation, groaning at her stupidity.
"Why couldn't she just go and get herself killed?!" I vented, leaping out of the cavern and onto the ground above. "Why does she have to drag other people into this?! And how are we meant to explain Orochimaru's death to the council?!"
As I stared up at the sky in absolute fury, I cursed Tera in my mind for her thoughtless actions.
You're such a pain in the ass.
***
I was woken up sometime that afternoon by the sound of Ayumi crying, and looked beside me to see her wailing once more. With a tired groan, I sat up and reached for Karin's backpack, looking through it and pulling out a diaper. I wasn't sure if she needed a change, but decided that it was better to be safe than sorry, and was about to do so when I realised she needed a bath.
