Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Meanings ❯ the line ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

AFTER PASSING OUR GENIN EXAMS IN THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE MIST, WE HEADED FOR THE LAND OF FIRE, THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE LEAVES, WHERE WE MET NARUTO, SASUKE, SAKURA, AND KAKASHI. KAKASHI MET WITH THE HOKAGE, AND WE WERE ALLOWED TO PREPARE FOR THE CHUNIN EXAMS ALONG WITH SQUAD SEVEN, WHICH WERE TWO MONTHS AWAY. WE'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR A WEEK, BUT I CAN'T HELP NOTICING THAT KAT HAS BEEN LOOKING AT ME DIFFERENTLY LATELY. I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S RIGHT TO FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT HER. AFTER LIVING IN HER HOUSE FOR THREE YEARS, WOULD FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER BE CROSSING THE LINE? I'M PRETTY SURE THAT SHE THINKS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP AS A BROTHER/SISTER ONE, BUT I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE...

SMASH. "ha, looks like I win again!", I shouted to Naruto, who had smashed into a nearby tree so hard it collapsed. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Kat, Max, and I had all got up early (4am early) for some dueling practice in the woods. "DAMN it! why can't I beat you?!?!", Naruto shouted in a fit of rage. ignoring him, I turned to Sasuke, who had just defeated Max, who was laying on the ground in an akward position, twitching with pain, when he finally said, "ow...". "what says you, Sasuke, wanna duel?" he replied with a grin and stepped into the ring. "how about we make this interesting?", I asked. he shrugged, still grinning. Sakura was looking at Sasuke with a confused expression on her face. ignoring Sakura, I said, "we fight with only kunai and taijutsu. no shuriken, no ninjutsu. how's that sound?". he agreed, then Naruto, who decided to ref. the battle, shouted, "begin!", and we were off. I stood there, waiting for his strike, and after 45 seconds, he got bored and lunged at me. I jumped straight up and he went under me. I landed, turned, and kicked him with full force in the ribs. he flew outside the ring, and at first I thought I had him, but he kicked off a tree he was flying towards and landed back in the ring. "not bad", I commented, pulling out a second kunai and going in for a fast, relentless attack. we were moving around and around, then I backflipped to dodge a particularly brutal face lunge. then Sasuke grinned and said, "I win."
"what are you-" I said, looking down at my feet, then gasping. my backflip had put me outside the ring by only half a centimeter, but still, rules were rules. "you're a good fighter, Sasuke", I said with envy, "you fight like I do, only better." he blushed and said, "I'm not that good..." but I replied with, "yes you are, Sasuke! c'mon, take credit where credit is due!". he went silent for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind as he said, "Orphen, can I talk to you alone?". I was taken aback by this for a second, but only for a second. I replied, "uhh, ok, sure", and we were off. once we were alone, he said, "you're probably wondering why I treat you different than I do the others, huh?". I stopped and thought about this for a second, then said, "yeah, I was wondering about that.". he grinned and replied, "it's because you've been through what I have. you know what it's like to be alone." whatever I expected, it wasn't this. I was at a loss for words, that's when we heard the scream. I jumped to my feet, kunai at the ready, when I heard, "HA! got you Sakura!", I breathed in and sat back down. Sasuke did the same. "I don't know why I put up with those two. Naruto's just stupid, and Sakura's annoying, or at least, that's how I used to feel.", said Sasuke. "how do you mean?", I inquired. "well,", Sasuke began, "I don't know. when I look at her, ever since the Gato incident, she seems different, but she still looks and behaves the same. nothings changed, except for everything, you know what I mean?". I was silent for a second, then chuckled and said, "you like her, Sasuke." he jumped to his feet, saying, "no I don't!", but looking nervous all the same. "Sasuke,", I said, slightly annoyed, "that was a statement, not a question. I'm answering your question: I do know what you mean. I feel the same way about Kat, although I'm not sure it's right. I lived with her for three years, after all. does she think of us as brother and sister, or what?". Sasuke sat down, saying, "hmm...", still not completely convinced. I merely chuckled and said, "shall we rejoin the others?", and he looked at me and nodded.
by the time we returned, Kakashi had arrived. "alright, we're going on missions today, so let's go down to the hokage's place to see what we can find.", he said. by that evening, I was exhausted. babysitting and manual labor were good ways to gain respect in the village and learn vital life skills, but they were just so damn tiring. the seven of us split at the bridge, as Kakashi said, "you guys did well today, so I have a special treat for you all tomorrow.". Max was staying with Naruto, Kat with Sakura, and me with Sasuke. I bid the others good evening, giving Kat a gentle hug. she blushed and returned the hug. then later, at Sasuke's apartment, we ate and chatted about the girls some more, then we FINALLY went to sleep at 2a.m., me in a sleeping bag by his bed.

"aha! I knew you liked him, Kat!", Sakura shouted gleefully, erupting into a fit of giggles. "yeah, so what if I do?", I asked, somewhat defensively, "after all, YOU like Sasuke.". she went all akward and replied, "yeah, well, um, you know, uh, oh wow! look at the time, it's really late." I looked at the clock, it was 2:30 in the morning. "you're right," I replied, "but I wonder what he thinks of me? does he think of me as a sister, a friend, or what? after all, he lived in my house for three years, so who knows?". "don't worry," came Sakura's reply, "you'll find out." and we went to sleep without another word.