Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I think I better leave right now ❯ And I'd love to say I do ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Title: I think I better leave right now - chapter 5
Author: Purrfectly679 - e-mail purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and suggestions. Feedback highly appreciated.
Rating: PG-13, angst, bad language, slight AU. SakuSasu, SasuNaru, ShikaIno
Notes: No spoilers. This is a revised repost.

Previously: A drunk Naruto is taken home by Hinata. As Hinata leaves, a very jealous Sasuke appears.

Thanks to all reviewers!! every review is appreciated! ^_^ *hands out sweets*

--------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. This took more effort than he had anticipated - did someone glue his eyelids shut during the night or something? The glaring sunlight through his window caused him to winch painfully. Ugh, his head hurt like hell… What the hell had happened? Did he train too hard and pass out in the forest again?

He rolled over and felt the familiar comfort of his duvet beneath him. Nope, he was definitely at home. He shuffled about restlessly, then realised that he still had his khaki pants on. 'That explains why I feel so hot,' he explained to himself. And uncomfortable… Ugh… He usually slept with very little clothing, which he supposed had one thing or another to do with the demon fox residing deep inside of him. Well - maybe there was one advantage to having the nine tails as a constant companion...

At least he'd never freeze to death.

Naruto rolled over again, as he attempted to free himself from his bed. Just what had happened? Why the hell was he feeling so crap? His eyes hurt, his head felt like splitting and he felt like throwing up...

'So is this how it feel to be pregnant?' he snickered silently. Even in dire times, Naruto never ceased to add humour to any situation.

With a heavy grunt, the blonde Shinobi somehow managed to get onto his feet, before immediately crumbling to the floor into an ungraceful heap.

"Ouch," he muttered humourlessly. His throat was sore and his voice came out raspy and uneven. He still couldn't remember anything. And why couldn't he walk straight? Did someone beat him up really badly? Or maybe this was some kind of Genjutsu? (Mind technique)

He sighed pitifully. If this was genjutsu, it was a sure damn good one...

It was enough to put anyone off living…

------------------------------

"So… What type of dress are you planning to have?" Ino asked. The blonde girl and Sakura were both sitting in the local sushi parlour. Both weren't particularly hungry, but they had promised to meet up the night before to discuss the 'maid of honour' duties. Well that had been the official reason, but the unspoken truth was that they had just missed each other too much!

"I dunno…" Sakura answered truthfully. What was she going to wear? She had thought of investing in the typical Japanese wedding attire, such as maybe a silk kimono? Something with an elegant design, but unique in it's own way… She had always imagined her day to be big and memorable, and the people to be dressed grandly. And for everyone to be watching her, admiring her… The day when all her dreams came true...

But now she wasn't so sure. Sasuke really didn't seem like the type to opt for big ceremonies. Not that he'd ever voice his opinion… Sakura sighed inwardly. No matter how much she wanted things her way, it took two to tango. She couldn't ignore his preferences…

Could she?

"What about Sasuke?" Ino asked curiously. She had to admit, after seeing the Uchiha boy yesterday, she realised how lucky the pink-haired girl really was! He had grown so damn sexy! Back then, she hadn't thought it was possible for anyone to be sexier than he already was, but once again, he had surpassed himself and all expectations…! 'But you have Shikamaru…' she silently scolded, then snickered innocently to herself. 'It's only looking… No crime in looking is there?'

Sakura sighed again, visibly this time, jolting a flushed Ino out of her thoughts. "I dunno…" the pink-haired girl repeated.

"What was the sigh for?" the blonde enquired. Hell! She was marrying the most eligible male in the whole of Konoha! She had no reason at all to be sighing! No reason at all! She was only the most envied girl in probably the whole of the country! For god's sake - even married women lusted after the raven-haired Shinobi!

Sakura remained silent, and stared blanky at the table in front of her. How could she tell the blonde that Sasuke didn't treat her the way that she wanted him to? That the man of her dreams didn't act the way that she had dreamed, didn't do as she had always desired… It wasn't as if she was disappointed in him… Hell, she had always known that it'd be difficult. He wasn't the most open person in the world after all… But after sometime together, and especially after their experiences together, she thought… She thought that he'd at least open up to her, if not to anyone else... At least share with her his feelings, his doubts, his dreams…

At least trust her.

It wasn't too much to ask, was it?

"He doesn't…" Sakura started, wondering how the hell she was going to put her predicament in words. She immediately lowered her eyes to the table, and hid her face behind locks of pink hair. Was she ashamed? Or was it embarrassment?

Was it possible that she was embarrassed over Sasuke?

"Hey… You can trust me you know…" Ino began, mistaking Sakura's pause for hesitation. Didn't the girl trust her? Although, it's not that she could really blame her… They had spent most of their childhood fighting one another for the attention of the Uchiha heir… But if she could go back in time right now, she would change everything. She wouldn't have ever let a boy come between them… Wasn't that one of the most sacred rules of friendship? Boys come and go, but friendships lasted forever…

How on earth did they manage to break such an imperative regulation?

"I know I can trust you…" Sakura murmured softly. Deep inside, she knew she could. Although they had been rivals in the past for the same boy, the essential word in that sentence was had. The green-eyed girl knew that her friend would never do anything to come between her relationship with Sasuke. They had both grown up a lot since then, both in physical appearance and mentality.

They had both matured.

"It's just… Well, you know how he's always been kinda quiet…" Sakura continued quietly, as Ino nodded for confirmation, and gestured for the pink-haired girl to continue.

"Well he never voices his opinions on anything… Like the party, nor the date, nor the dresses… Its almost like he doesn't…." care. Sakura trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say it. He did care, didn't he? Although he had never said the words to her outright… Nor had he ever visibly expressed his feelings towards her… But he must care, right? Otherwise why would he agree to the idea of the marriage? If he didn't care, why would he bother buying a ring for her? He wasn't the type to play games, mess around... Everything he did was serious. So he had to be serious about her…

Right?

The food came. Sakura suddenly felt very relieved.

At least now she had a distraction away from the confusing and conflicting emotions rushing through her mind.

----------------------------------

"Shower…" Naruto mumbled incoherently. Not that it mattered. It wasn't as if anyone was around to hear him. His hair was kinda itchy and he felt really, really grotty. A shower should wake him up, and hopefully make him remember what the hell had happened the night before.

Naruto gazed wearily at himself in the mirror. Oh well, at least he felt worse than he looked. He ran his fingers through his hair, untangling the masses of knots and kinks from within his blonde locks. A familiar smell invaded his senses, and his eyes widened momentarily. Where was that smell from? It was so familiar… So intoxicating… Yet it filled him with a sense of dread. He racked his brains, trying to figure out the source of the scent, but to no avail...

He sighed and stripped off his pants.

That's when he noticed the crumpled up sheet of paper in the left pocket. He gazed at it curiously, before taking it out and unravelling it.

'Don't let her down. You'll hurt her more than you think you could.'

'Huh? What was this about?' Naruto's head spun rapidly.

Kakashi's writing… training… Kakashi… Hurt… Sakura?…

Engagement party!

Suddenly, the blonde wasn't so keen on remembering after all…

----------------------

"Thanks…" Sakura smiled at the waiter, before looking at Ino. "I'm starving!" she lied, acting enthusiastic.

Ino frowned at her. The pink-haired girl wasn't fooling anyone.

"What about Sasuke?" she continued, ignoring Sakura's futile diversion towards food. Why was she trying to act like Naruto of all people?!

The pink haired girl sighed heavily. There really was no point in lying anymore... Not to Ino - her maid of honour, her best friend. She slowly put down her chopsticks...

"I don't think he trusts me…" she whispered honestly, too weary to be angry as her voicebroke. Funny how things changed huh. In the past, she had never - and would never - let Ino know how she was truly feeling, how she had often felt weak and inferior to her presence… To feel strong, she pretended to be strong, keeping her true feelings to herself… After all, it was ok… As long as no one knew how she really was, how she really felt - it was ok...

But now, they were equal. They were friends. They had grown up, matured… It was ok to tell her right? She needed someone to confide in… And the blonde girl seemed like the perfect person… After all, a burden shared was a burden halved... Right?

Maybe some things were better off shared.

It had to be… Right?

---------------------------------

"What do you mean?" Ino asked softly. She could see that the conversation was hurting the pink-haired Leaf-nin. Trust? What did she mean by he didn't trust her? Sasuke had always had a problem with reliance, but surely he could trust his own girlfriend? His own fiancée??

"He doesn't open up to me… He doesn't confide in me… I don't know… I… Is it normal?" Sakura whispered, her voice slightly wavering under the emotional strain. She sounded so stupid! Oh god, why did she sound so weak? Was it even a good idea to bring this up in the first place?

And the raven-haired boy definitely won't appreciate being the topic of their conversation…

"Com'on, its Sasuke!" Ino snorted, trying to liven up the obviously upset girl. "He never opens up to anyone! He probably just needs more time…" the blonde assured her friend. Although it was slightly strange that after… What? 3 years? And he was still being untrusting? Ino sighed inwardly. Sure he was weird, but was it possible for anyone to be this weird? 'That stupid boy, if he hurts her, I'll… I'll… I'll kick his sorry behind!'

The pink-haired girl gazed hopefully at her friend. She needed anything, any reassurance that Sasuke wasn't being strange with her, that he cared… And that he loved her? She wasn't going to be too optimistic, but maybe, after some time… He'd grow to love her… She didn't expect too much - she won't expect him to love her as much as she loved him… But maybe, just maybe, after some more time…

After a little more time...

"He's always been like that… It's like… His unique trait! Com'on now, don't you remember all the millions of times he used to ignore us? And now he's marrying you! He would never agree to anything without thinking it through carefully, let alone one that affects him for the rest of his life…! He's not Naruto for god's sake…" Ino snorted, as the hyperactive blonde's image flashed into her mind. Didn't he get really wasted last night? What had happened to him anyway?

Sakura immediately brightened up. That had to be it! There's no way Sasuke would marry her if he hadn't thought it through properly! He was too sensible… Thanks to Ino, she had been able to put her worries all into perspective. She was just reading too much into things again… There was absolutely nothing wrong with their relationship… Sasuke just need a little more time, that's all… Yeah, just a little more time…

"Just a little more time…" she repeated out loud, as if trying to convince herself...

But if that was true, then why was her heart feeling so uneasy?

---------------------------------

Naruto sank back to the cold bathroom floor as erractic memories rushed back at him. 'Ok… So Sasuke and Sakura both came back, and are engaged… To each other…' His stomach flipped uncomfortably. 'Ok… There was an engagement party, and Kakashi had persuaded me to turn up…' he rubbed his head furiously, wondering whether he had done the right thing in going... He shouldn't run away from them… Right?

'Ok lets not go into that little internal battle of whether staying away is better for Sakura again…' he grimaced wearily to himself. After all, what's done is done. It wasn't the time to turn back.

'Ok back to the party… There was…' Naruto gulped nervously. 'Sasuke… and Hinata… and Neji… Oh…. Punch! Weird taste… Alcohol… Ahh so that's why I feel like this!' he thought to himself, slightly amused. At least it wasn't Genjutsu! But ugh…

'Reminder to never drink alcohol…' the blonde promptly stored the warning in his non-existent memory bank.

'Erm… Anyways... Back to last night... Shikamaru woke me up… Hinata took me home… Uhm... I was outside my door…Then...' From then on Naruto's mind went completely blank. Why did she bother taking him home anyway? Did she pity him or something? He suddenly felt anger stir within him. He hated pity more than anything... It made him feel insecure, inferior…

Sasuke. Naruto's eyes flew open. Sasuke was here! … He remembered seeing him at the door… And then… And then… Wait… What had happened? How did he manage to get from the front door and into his bed? A soft frown graced the blonde's features...

Sasuke hadn't been here after all. Why the hell would he have come anyway? Naruto snickered at his own idiocy. 'The boy hates you! Why would he bother going to your house of all places?'

'Naruto, you are too dumb sometimes…' he grinned to himself, as he clambered into the shower, and turned on the hot water. That familiar scent was starting to bug him, and he still didn't know where it came from. He needed to get it off him. And it needed to get it off fast.

For some strange reason, he had a feeling that he'd regret it if he ever remembered what it was…

Then that's when it hit him. Best man. He was going to be the best man at the wedding. Naruto held back an urge to throw up. He couldn't be the best man! No way! Sasuke… He'd… He'd… Oh shit… Panic gripped the blonde boy as his mind raced furiously. What could he do? What? How…

How the hell was he going to get out of this one?

Naruto moaned as he crawled out of the shower, cradling his head in his arms. Why did things like this always happen to him? After the promises to stay uninvolved, and all those countless oaths…. And now look what's happened! He couldn't…. It's too much… He… Sasuke…

"I need to talk to her…" Naruto muttered out loud to himself, as he threw on random items of clothing from his bedroom floor. He was slightly wet and the white t-shirt clung his torso awkwardly. He needed to see her now, before this could get out of hand. He had to tell her… No wait! What the fuck was he thinking? There was no way he'd tell her, he'd break her heart…. No way… He had… He… He just had to let her know that he couldn't be the best man… Yeh that was right! He'd… He'd make up an excuse… He'd apologise…

Then… Kakashi could be best man! That's right! They didn't need him! And he was sure Sakura's parents would disapprove if the demon boy was a vital guest at the occasion anyway… It would be so much easier and less stressful if the copycat ninja was the best man! Uh huh. The teacher would be the best choice. Obviously. It amused Naruto that the pink haired girl didn't think of that in the first place…!

The blonde leaf-nin smiled, extremely pleased with himself with his great plan. He was tired, his head still hurt and although he hadn't thought of a good excuse to give Sakura yet, he was still out of the door before you could say "ramen." All he knew was that he needed to see the pink haired girl...

And he needed to see her fast...

-------------------------------------

"Anyway…" Ino's voice dropped down a tone and became more serious. "What exactly did happen between you two?" The blonde took a piece of sushi and started to nibble one end of it. "I mean, I know he ran off… Then you went after him… But did you ever figure out why? Why did he leave?" The question was an innocent one. She was curious. Why exactly did he leave? She knew that he was an avenger… Does that mean he left to kill his brother, like he had promised numerous of times in the past? Did he manage to do it? … But he was only 16 at the time… Could he really end someone's life? Let alone his own flesh and blood…

The whole affair had actually been really shocking... The raven-haired boy had seemed fine at the time… He seemed so normal… Well - as normal as an anti-social youth could get... No one had suspected anything… Then one day he had just disappeared. Stopped turning up for missions. Just like that. He was gone…

So, what exactly did he do? What exactly did they do?

"I…" Sakura turned deathly pale at Ino's question. Blood. There was so much blood… Sasuke…

"I…" green eyes became dull, as if desperately trying to suppress some kind of painful emotion or memory… She couldn't think about that...! Not here… Not now! Why was Ino bringing it up? She suddenly felt really sick.

Ino must've noticed the pink-haired girl's pained expression, as she immediately changed the topic of conversation. It was obvious that this wasn't the time to talk about what had happened between them. Although curiosity gripped unrelentingly at the blonde girl, she overcame her inquisitiveness as concern became the dominant emotion. Pushing down a wave of guilt at causing her friend so much discomfort, she grabbed a salmon sushi.

"Try this!" she grinned, hiding the worry that was threatening to spill over her features. "This one's nice…"

-----------------------------------

Naruto ran all the way to Sasuke's house, without pausing or even stopping for a rest. He didn't even waver outside the ramen shop, even though the scent of his favourite food had tried to entice him to stay...

Fuzzy thoughts rushed through his head as he ran, mainly of Sakura, but random images of Hinata also flashed up in his mind. He was still a bit irked at her, but that feeling died down rapidly. 'Maybe she wasn't doing it out of pity, maybe she was doing it out if friendship… After all, that's what you'd do in her position right?' his conscience tried to reason with him. He ignored it. He didn't need another distraction, another confusion to think about...

All he knew was that he needed to see Sakura, and he needed to see her fast.

He panted as he reached the front door to the Uchiha house. It didn't look so bad during the day. It looked less threatening, less looming to the eyes... He knocked loudly on the door, as he struggled to gain his breath. 'Com'on Sakura, what's taking you so long?' he muttered quietly, as his breathing began to gradually slow down.

No one came to the door.

"Sakuraaaaa!" he shouted, and knocked once again on the entrance. His patience was starting to wear thin - not that he had much in the first place... Maybe she was still asleep? No, she couldn't be! It was past noon! She always got up before noon…

Naruto was about to knock again, when the door suddenly opened, throwing the blonde ninja off balance, and tumbling into the darkly lit house.

This was definitely not his day...

------------------------------

"So what about you? Have you gotten with anyone?" Sakura asked teasingly. The previous show of raw emotion and fear had all but seemed to disappear from the aura of the green-eyed girl. She seemed almost back to normal now, which had deeply relieved the blonde haired girl…

But she could still feel a presence of darkness looming, like an air of uncertainty surrounding her best friend…

'What the hell happened between you two, Sakura?' she asked silently.

"Me?" Ino grinned, thinking about her dark-ponytail boy. This was a good topic to sidetrack her attention! 'I bet he's still in bed right now, looking so adorably-'

"So who is it?" the pink haired leaf-nin asked with mock impatience, jarring Ino out of her cute thoughts about the lazy Shinobi.

The blonde blushed. "It's…"

"Let me guess… Could it be a certain Shikamaru?" the pink haired girl asked, eyes glinting.

Ino nodded shyly, which was a first!

Sakura grinned. "Hehe I knew it… You were practically all over him last night!"

The blonde blushed furiously. It was probably true - she couldn't get enough of the shadow boy - but she hadn't thought that everyone else would've realised that easily… She thought that she had hidden it relatively well!

Very few people knew about their close relationship… Shikamaru said it would be troublesome if people found out, as they'd be bound to talk and gossip about them… But Ino hadn't really minded. And she couldn't help but feel extremely giddy that this secret was only between them. It made it seem so much more special, secretive and so much more exciting! After all, as long as they were happy...

That's all that mattered, right?

"He's…special…." Ino admitted, her eyes becoming strangely gooey. Maybe it was infatuation? Maybe it was love? She didn't care… All she knew was that she adored anything and everything about her boyfriend. She even loved his negative points, his laziness, the way he frowned while playing go… The way he hogged all the pillows... She sighed longingly.

"How long have you two been together?" Sakura asked, happy that her friend was obviously ecstatically in love, and finally showing some sort of weakness. Shikamaru huh! Who would've guessed! The lazy Shinobi and the rapturous blonde…

Maybe teammates were eligible boyfriends after all!!

-------------------------------

Sasuke.

Naruto could feel the Uchiha's presence in front of him - could smell his unique scent surrounding him, choking him… So many memories… He didn't know how, but his body somehow managed to jump away at the last split second, before any contact was made between the two former rivals.

Then they just stood there staring at each other.

Naruto felt weak. He had almost crashed into him. That would've been… bad... Right? To feel him again… He shook the thoughts out of his head. He felt strange, as his stomach shifted uncomfortably… He wanted to ask for Sakura, but his voice refused to follow his commands… Why couldn't he even control himself? What was happening to him…?

What was the Uchiha doing here anyway? Wasn't he meant to be training? He always used to train in the early hours of the mornings... He wasn't meant to be at home, just standing there… Like he was now…

Silence descended upon the two. But neither made an attempt to talk nor move...

Nor even breathe.

"Is… Sakura home?" Naruto finally blurted out, as the silence became too uncomfortable to bear. The blonde immediately looked away, as he felt the raven-haired boy look at him - the intense gaze boring deep into him... But why was his ex-rival staring at him like that? Didn't he know that his stare made people feel uncomfortable?

And why did he look away? He felt so weak, so vulnerable…

Naruto waited patiently for an answer, while his insides squirmed with apprehension. The tension in the air was so thick; you could cut it with a knife... Why was the dark-haired boy still standing there? Wasn't he going to move? The blonde willed him to move, to say something - to say anything…

Time seemed to stop between the two. Naruto could sense nothing, feel nothing, hear nothing but the beating of his own heart… 'Move dammit!' he cursed himself. But his legs would not yield - would not even flinch… Why was this happening to him? Was this another effect of alcohol influence?

Or was it simply the intoxicating boy in front of him?

A cold breeze entered the house through the front door, jerking Naruto out of his Sasuke-induced trance. Once he managed to gain movement of his limbs again, the blonde walked out of the front door in defeat. No apology was offered for bursting in. There was no point trying to get through to the heir to the Uchiha clan. Its not like he cared…

It's wasn't like he cared about anything…

--------------------------------

"Anyways, want to come over? I think Sasuke has gone out to train anyway…" Sakura asked, as the two girls exited the sushi place.

Ino considered the option. "Might as well, got nothing else to do!" she smiled. It was only noon. Shikamaru wouldn't be awake just yet… And since Sasuke lived so close to the shadow boy, that meant she could pop over there easier… She licked her lips deliciously, as thoughts of the black ponytail boy flashed through her mind…

The day was looking up!

-------------------------------

"Don't do it," the voice was hesitant. Naruto's ears instantly pricked up. Sasuke's voice had sounded so soft, so uncertain… So desperate?? The blonde almost laughed out loud. The cool Sasuke had just hesitated! The ice-king had shown emotion! What was the world coming to?

Or was he just hearing things wrong?

Naruto swallowed his laughter. Sasuke wouldn't have appreciated it anyway... But at least he had realised one thing about the Uchiha since his return… Something he joked about in the past as being impossible…

The raven-haired boy had gotten a hell of a lot colder...

It was a shame really - a shame that all this had to happened...

A shame how even the toughest of friendships could be ruined by one simple mistake.

---------------------------------

"So… What's he like in bed?" Ino asked mischievously, as they began the short walk back to the Uchiha house. The great Sasuke-kun! In bed! Isn't that what they, and half of the female population in Konoha, had been dreaming about for many, many years? And now she was finally going to get some insight on the unknown! Pushing back all thoughts of her beloved Shikamaru, her ears perked up in interest as her full attention was devoted to the pink-haired girl walking alongside her.

"We… We haven't…" Sakura blushed a bright pink. They hadn't actually done it yet…

"What?" Ino gasped, oblivious to the fact that her reaction was making the pink-haired girl feel even more uneasy. "I thought that he'd be more than willing to jump into bed at the first opportunity…"

Sakura frowned at her blonde friend.

"I don't mean it that way!" Ino added hastily, realising that all her words had just come out terribly wrong. "What I meant was that he's always seemed kind of … Confident… So I just assumed… But I guess you'll be his first?"

"Uh huh…" Sakura blushed at the fact that she was going to be his first, be his special first... She was almost positive that he hadn't slept with anyone else. She didn't stalk him all those years for nothing…! The only time that he might have gotten with someone was during the two years they were apart… But she doubted anything had happened, especially after the state that she had found him in…

"He wants to wait until after marriage…" Sakura explained, the pink blush still evident upon her cheeks. 'At least that's what I think…' she added silently. There had been a few kisses - he had been a very good kisser, but whenever she had tried to take things further, the raven -haired boy had always backed off. Was he shy? In the end she had just assumed that he had wanted to wait… Which was kinda romantic in a sense… Even though she did want to screw the boy senseless…

On more than one occasion…!

"So is he big down there?" Ino's blue eyes flashed with playfulness.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, her cheeks becoming red again.

"So you haven't -"

"NO!" Sakura interrupted.

"And he hasn't -"

"NO!"

"Oh…" Ino grinned. Sakura sure flustered easily.

------------------------------------------

"Don't do it…" Sasuke's voice came out cool and clear, as if confidence had somehow injected itself into the dark-haired boy. Naruto could almost feel the intensity radiating outwards from every pore in the Uchiha's body. Whatever he had been doing during the 5 years he was absent, he sure as hell hadn't been idly sitting around and getting weak...

Naruto paused. "Don't do what?" he asked dumbly, before he even had the chance to think it through properly. That had always been one of the blonde's negative traits - he never thought before he spoke. His mouth seemed to be a detachment from his being, a function of his body that even he couldn't control, no matter how hard he tried…

Sasuke sighed, bring up angry emotions within the depths of the kitsune. He was doing it again! Acting like he was superior, treating him as if he was stupid…

"Don't turn down the best man position…" the Uchiha continued, his voice painfully frosty and steady. His voice emitted cold authority, enough to make even the greatest captains flinch. This was one hell of a powerful man, and what was even more terrifying was that he knew it.

"And why the hell not?" Naruto asked angrily, then immediately wished that he had silenced his sudden outburst of emotion. He couldn't let the Uchiha heir see that he was making him feel uneasy… He couldn't let the dark-haired boy know how much he affected him… How he affected his emotions...

Sasuke stayed silent, his glare still defiantly focused upon the blonde boy. Naruto glared back, with as much spite as he could muster. How dare he! How dare he just turn up after all these years… After the blonde had spent all that time convincing himself it was all over… All those oaths, dreams… broken promises…

And now for the raven-haired boy to come back engaged? And he wants to control him? Order him about? Tell him what to do? As if he was insignificant, inferior… Unimportant...

Non-existent.

"Just don't." the reply was cold and callous, betraying no emotion from within the dark-haired boy. Then again, maybe there was no emotion... After all, you couldn't reveal something that wasn't there in the first place... Maybe he simply felt nothing, felt nothing at all...

Naruto grew angry - he wanted him to feel bad, feel guilty… confused… He wanted the Uchiha to experience the strange emotions that he had to experience, had to suffer…

The blonde could imagine it now, Sasuke, laughing… Sasuke looking down on him, calling him weak, taunting him, thinking that he needed him… Knowing that he needed him… The humiliation, the fear…

"Oh yeah? How you gonna make me?" Naruto whispered dangerously, forcing himself to act rather than dwell on his depressing thoughts. His fingers were starting to itch with resentment.

Resentment because of Sasuke.

----------------------------------------

"Sasuke-kun? You home?" Sakura's voice brought both boys back to reality. Both girls entered through the front door, which was still left open.

"Hi Sasuke-kun… Naruto-kun…" Ino greeted politely.

"Naruto!!" Sakura said happily, before throwing herself upon the dazed kitsune. "I'm so glad you're ok! I guess Hinata took you home safely… Hehe, I'm relieved you're not that hung over!!" her green eyes sparkled with happiness as she chattered on aimlessly. What was wrong with her? Why was she getting so emotional from the presence of Naruto? For one reason or another, the blonde boy made her so happy, made her feel so alive…

Ino frowned inwardly. Although Naruto and Sakura weren't in a position to see it, she had definitely witnessed it - the flash of raw emotion across the raven-haired boy's face. She gazed at him curiously, trying to hide the fact that her attention was devoted to him.

There it was again! There was no mistaking it.

The Uchiha boy was jealous.

Extremely jealous.

'My my, and to think Sakura was afraid that you might not like her…' Ino thought mischievously. But unlike Kakashi, the blonde-haired girl wasn't about to let this fact go unnoticed.

After all, it would make Sakura feel better, more confident about herself... And anything was worth her friend's happiness!

"A little envious are we?" Ino asked, as she grinned manically at the stoic boy in front of her. She was ecstatic. She had finally found the Uchiha's weakness! So he wasn't Mr perfectly cool after all!

Sasuke flinched, but remained silent. His stare fixated steadily upon the blonde girl in front of him. His face became devoid of emotion once again, his initial jealously gone within a flash. It was so quick… Did Ino imagine it? No… Couldn't be! She saw it twice!

"I saw that look! Don't worry, it was only a hug!" Ino added, unfazed by the raven-haired boy's glare, although she as starting to feel slight uncertainty gnaw at her. He looked so cool, so confident… Maybe she was hallucinating after all?

"Huh?" Sakura asked, as she released Naruto from her grip. What was Ino on about?

"Sakura, your fiancé is more possessive than you think! You should stop hugging other men in front of him!" she added cheekily. Oh well! So what if she was wrong? At least Sakura would benefit from her mistake! As long as she didn't find out of course…

Sakura blushed. Was it true? Was Sasuke jealous… jealous of Naruto? It sounded incredulous. Unbelievable! Maybe that's why they were acting strange with each other? What the hell! She had never expected this!

The pink-haired girl smiled happily and grasped the dark-haired boy in a fierce hug. Maybe he liked her after all! All that worrying was for nothing... Ino was right! She had been reading too deep into things again!

Ino smiled at the couple as Naruto slowly snapped out of his daze. But even then she couldn't mistaken the blank expression upon the raven-haired boy's face... So unfeeling… So cold… It was as if the pink-haired girl within his arms meant nothing to him…

'Just what is wrong with you?' the blonde girl thought, as her features knitted in worry.

She then realised, painfully, that maybe Sakura had the right to be worried...

Maybe she had every right to be worried.

--------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

End of chapter 4

Please review, or email me at purrfectly679@hotmail.com

Kakashi: Yo, I've come to help you persuade people to review!
Sasuke just happens to walk by with Naruto, grabbing the blonde boy and shaking him violently.
Sasuke: (gritted teeth) Listen - you - dobe! I do not fancy you! I never wanted to *censored* you! It was all a misunderstanding!
Naruto: (desperately tries to get out of Sasuke's grip) Lemme go you pervertttt... Gyaaaa!
Kakashi: (sing song voice) Narutoooo! You dropped some money!
Sasuke lets go of Naruto who bends down to search for his missing yen. Uh huh. He bends down, bum sticking up, which just happens to cover Sasuke's crotch.
Kakashi: (grinning) Ok boys, just hold it there!
Kakashi grabs a camera from... his...pocket and takes a picture of the offending scene, leaving one boy confused, and another blushing furiously.

Thanks for reading ^_^ x