Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I think I better leave right now ❯ somebody please show me how ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nor Sasuke... *cries*
Title: I think I better leave right now - chapter 10
Author: Purrfectly679 - e-mail purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and suggestions. Feedback highly appreciated.
Rating: R, angst, bad language. SakuSasu, SasuNaru, HinaNaru
Notes: No spoilers. This is a revised repost. Hehe thanks for all the comments... But most people had already guessed what happened between Sasuke and Naruto... -_- You people are either too smart, or I'm just terrible at being obscure! lol.

Previously: We find out that Sasuke left Konoha Village after sleeping with Naruto...

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Naruto opened his bleary eyes, and found himself back beside the mystical lake, under the pale moonlight… With another dark-haired person by his side…

Except in this circumstance, he was five years older, and five years wiser… And the dark-haired person also happened to be female…

And… Was she hugging him?? What the hell was going on?!

"H-Hinata-chan?" the blonde stuttered, as the bizarre circumstances of his situation finally crept up upon him. He began desperately searching for his mask… Where was his mask?! How did he lose it? He couldn't afford to lose it… He couldn't afford to break down…! He needed that mask! That disguise to hide the pain, to hide the sorrow… The disguise that pretended that everything was ok…

When it wasn't…

When it really wasn't…

"G-Gomen ne, Naruto-kun!" the dark-haired girl cried, as she leapt out of the blonde's embrace. What had possessed her to get so close?! Was she really that foolish enough to think that he would stay in that trance for much longer? And now she had ruined it all…

"No… I'm sorry, Hinata…" Naruto murmured, his voice cracking under the strain. It wasn't her fault… It wasn't her fault that he was stupid enough to get close to Sasuke… It wasn't her fault that he had just happened to choose the least compatible person to get intimate with… Was he blind or just plain stupid? Couldn't he see that getting personal with the Uchiha was a one-way trip down to the devil's domain? That he'd lose everything that had built up over the years… The friendship, the rivalry… The respect…

Especially the respect.

And it wasn't her fault that he couldn't keep up his façade… His cheerful, happy-go-lucky nature… Coming back to the one place that he had avoided for so long - the one place that had haunted his dreams for so long - had somehow shattered the seemingly futile pretentious mask that he had possessed …

The only thing he still possessed…

His heart crumbled painfully as his senses savoured the scent, the feel... the taste of the enchanted air around him… The heart wrenchingly beautiful place that had caused him so much sorrow… So much pain…

So many forbidden memories…

He had almost convinced himself that it wasn't real… That the lake didn't exist… That nothing had happened… Everything was nothing but an illusion, stemmed from his own erratic and delusional mind… And that Sasuke had run off for entirely different reasons… It had nothing to do with him… It wasn't his fault…

It wasn't his fault at all…

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered, anxiously, as the pain emitting so visibly from the blonde clenched at her heart with an icy grip.

The blonde's head snapped up at the mention of his name, his blue eyes hauntingly blank as if drowning under some immense agony. The dark-haired girl cringed at the expressionless stare. He looked so lost… So alone… So vulnerable…

…Just what had happened to him to cause all this?

And where did Naruto go? Where was Naruto with his carefree smiles? His comical jokes, and all the other things they took for granted…? Where were the exaggerated laughs, the loud shouts, the hyperactive movements…? When did the pranks stop?

When did it all stop?

And when did Naruto become nothing but the shell of his former self?

… Just when did he lose his soul?

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Knock knock…knock knock…

Sakura padded softly towards the front door of the Uchiha household, wondering who on earth would come visit at such ungodly hours of the night.

Knock knock… Knock knock…

Sighing in exasperation, Sakura quickly undid the various nuts and bolts securing the door, intent on getting back to bed as soon as possible...

"Hello?" A baffled expression traced across the pink-haired girl's features. There was no one outside…

Deciding that it must've been a prank, either from some very bored children who had a very late curfew, or from some mentally deranged adults who had nothing to do for fun, Sakura swiftly turned around upon her heel and strolled back into the house-

"AHHHHH!"

"Shhhhh!"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

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"Hehe, sorry for worrying you Hinata-chan! … It won't happen again!" Naruto smiled cheerfully, as he waved his arms around in the air to demonstrate his point. The light seemed to seep back into the small boy as his face broke into one his trademark mischievous grin.

Hinata stared at the blonde in bafflement. What the hell-? What was going on now? Was Naruto suddenly ok again?!

"N-Naruto-kun?" she enquired softly, before taking a deep breath to gather her wits about her. "Are you ok?" Something wasn't right… How could he be so heartbreakingly distressed one minute, then totally happy the next? It just didn't make sense…

"Hehe…I'm perfectly fine, Hinata-channn!" Naruto sang in his ebullient tone of voice, stumping the dark-haired girl even more. Hinata searched his blue eyes in bewilderment, but found no answers. He seemed normal, happy, cheerful… Like he always was…

"But Naruto-kun…" the small girl murmured, in a half whisper. "W-why…W-why did you act so strange before?" Her tone of voice betrayed her confusion. Was something going on that she didn't know about? Maybe it was a joke?

… But Naruto wouldn't be as cruel as to play a joke on her…

Not a joke like that… Right?

"Eh…" the blonde smiled warmly. "That was… Er… Yeh, I think I had some indigestion! Hehe!" Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment, and had the grace to blush. "Stupid me eh? Always getting things wrong!" the blonde mocked himself lightly.

"Right… Indigestion…" Hinata murmured weakly. She wasn't convinced. How could that have been indigestion? His symptoms were too severe… Way too severe for mere indigestion… When did unsettled stomachs suddenly cause frantic breathing, erratic heart rates and temporary unconsciousness…?

"Sorry for scaring you…" Naruto spoke up, while gazing at the soles of his feet in fascination. The smaller girl realised that he seemed to be doing everything in his power to divert his attention from the shimmering lake before him… But why would anyone do that?! The lake was absolutely gorgeous!!

Something must've happened here… Something bad… For the normally hyperactive blonde to act so withdrawn… Something was definitely not right...

But just what had happened?

Hinata stared at Naruto in blatant confusion. At the moment, there were just too few answers to the many questions swimming around in her mind… Like what the hell was going on? What the hell had happened to Naruto? And how could he just be ok all of a sudden?

…But he said he was ok… He sounded so sincere… So sure…. So normal… Just like he always was… So she should trust him right?

Or maybe he had gotten really good at lying??

'Unless…' Hinata's heart sank at the thought. 'Unless his whole life had been nothing but a lie…'

Unless he was nothing but the mask that he had perfected over the years…

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Sakura glared evilly at the older man standing in front of her, as she closed her front door suspiciously.

"Don't ever do that to me again, you hear me?" she growled, scathingly, her death glare still locked on the silver-haired jounin.

"Do what?" he asked nonchalantly, with a bemused smile crossing his one eye that was on display.

"Creep up on me like that!" Sakura barked, angry with herself for letting the older man get the better of her. Just how did he do it!? He just seemed to appear out of nowhere!

"But Sakuraaa," Kakashi whined, clasping his hands upon his chest. "You took so long, and there was a rabid dog outside-"

"Liar - I didn't see a dog." the pink haired girl felt her anger plummet, and sighed in defeat, as if talking to a really stupid little boy. Sometimes she wondered how the silver haired man ever made it to the ranks of an elite jounin… Didn't you need at least half a brain cell that worked to get that far?!

"Well there was this rabid cat as well and-"

"You know what, I don't want to know… Just tell me why you're here...!" Sakura interrupted, rather brashly and impatiently. She knew that he was going to say something totally ridiculous, unbelievable and unrelated anyway, so might as well save them both the energy and time. Some people just never changed…

"Aww you're no fun…" the silver haired man pouted, uncharacteristically.

"Yeh well, it IS midnight! So what did you expect?!" Sakura shouted, maybe just a little too loudly for the present time and place.

"Aww…Well I'm sorry for interrupting your hot sex, but I really need to speak to Sasuke…" Kakashi teased, as his eye glinted mischievously.

"W-We weren't having sex!" the pink haired girl squirmed, as she gazed at the floor in embarrassment. God! Did her sensei have no shame?! Oh my gawd, her teacher was talking to her about sex! Sex with Sasuke!

So that's what hitting rock bottom felt like…

"And if we were, it's none of your business anyway, you damn pervert!" she flustered, as she tried to compose herself, albeit unsuccessfully.

"Ahh… So I guess perfect Sasuke is lacking in the trousers department?" the silver haired jounin grinned. Oh well, no one could be perfect…! He had the face, the body, the mind and the skills… So what if he also had a weener?!

"Whaa!?" Sakura screeched indignantly, deeply offended by the comment. "What's that got to do with anything?!"

Sasuke… He… He isn't…small… Is he? Is he?!

Is that why he won't sleep with her?!

"Well, cos if I was Sasuke's fiancée, and he was good, I wouldn't let him leave the bedroom…" the copycat ninja explained, as he seemed to ponder the idea way too seriously and enthusiastically for Sakura to feel comfortable. God, if Kakashi was Sasuke's fiancée? That's… just… morbid…

Arghhh images! Nightmares! Nuii…..!

"Well, actually, he's not at home…" the pink haired girl glared; a little peeved that someone could inflict such torment upon her frail mind. She shivered involuntarily from the thoughts… Damn Kakashi and his stupid stupid ideas!

"Oh…? Where's he gone then? And when's he coming back?" Kakashi asked, as he jammed his gloved hands into his pockets with an air of nonchalance.

"I don't know and I don't know - its not like I own him!" Sakura glared defiantly. She felt slightly pissed off now - half from the fact that her former sensei had managed to scare the living wits out of her, and half from the fact that she didn't actually know where Sasuke was… She could never keep tabs on the boy, no matter how much she tried…

It was just a part of his nature - to need solitude, to be at peace, to think… So she hadn't worried about it too much… Until recently of course… Since coming back to Konoha, he had hardly been at home during the nights… She didn't know where he went or what he did… And when she asked, the Uchiha boy had just shrugged indifferently… Without even a single word of explanation.

Sometimes he could drive her patience to her wits end. But she always forgave him. She had to.

After all, love did the most stupid things to people...

"Aww but he said he was going to meet me to discuss things…" Kakashi pouted, as he un-jammed one hand and ran it through his untamed mess of silver hair, which looked as if it hadn't seen a brush in weeks.

"Discuss what type of things?" Sakura's eyes narrowed in suspicion. If discussing things involved the copy ninja of Konoha, then things definitely couldn't be good! She furiously wondered whether her former sensei was corrupting her future spouse with pornographic images from his favourite 'icha icha paradise' books…

Arghh… No Sasuke! Be strong! Don't succumb to evil...!

"Just about duties…" Kakashi winked and grinned. "Since he's a ninja, he's going to be assigned missions and things again, just like everybody else…"

"Oh…" pink brows knotted in slight confusion. The Uchiha hadn't mentioned anything to her… But she guessed that it had to happen sooner or later. They were both ninja's after all… And they had a duty to fulfil...

To the village, and to themselves.

"Yeh, we were going to see the Hokage… Oh and don't worry, I'm sure Sasuke won't need to consult my books! I bet he's a devil in bed already, eh eh eh?!" the silver haired man leered, good naturedly. Ah teasing Sakura never did get old!

"Kakashi-sensei!" the pink haired girl half barked, half scolded in embarrassment, both from the humiliating situation, and from the fact that the older man had perceived her doubts… How did he even know that she had suspected him of trying to corrupt her fiancé? With his infamous books nevertheless? Just what did she do to deserve this?!

God! Are you sure he couldn't read minds?!

"Just joking geez… But judging by your expression, he must really suck in bed…" the older jounin promptly made a face of sympathy.

Sakura glared and cracked her knuckles threateningly.

'She's getting good at this death glare thing… Must be the effects of spending time with Sasuke…' Kakashi grinned to himself. And he had thought that he'd never see the day when sweet, innocent Sakura turned psychotic and mad… Ah he was so proud…!

But still, it wasn't effective as the original Uchiha glare… Then again - no one could even get close to that!

Kakashi chuckled in amusement, as Sakura's dark presence loomed ever closer and closer…

Suddenly, the front door burst open, snapping off the hinges.

"AHHHHHHH!"

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"Anyway, I think we better get leaving now, Hinata-chan…" Naruto smiled softly at the evidently confused girl in front of him. "It's getting late…" his voice trailed off. But it wasn't as if he had anyone to go home to anyway… In all honesty, he just couldn't stand the place anymore. Beautiful - yes… But comfortable - no... It was too painful… Occupied with too many forbidden memories…

Occupied with everything that he had wanted to forget… Everything he wanted to leave behind…

Hinata seemed to hesitate on the spot. She gingerly reached an arm out, as if contemplating whether to touch the boy beside her or not. After a moment of dithering, she hastily retracted her arm, as a furious blush spread over her face.

Naruto stared dumbfounded. This girl sure was weird…

He got up unsteadily; willing his straying thoughts to stay focussed on the situation at hand. He couldn't afford to break down. Not again. Not ever. Putting on the cheeriest smile that he could muster, he offered his outstretched hand to the small girl upon the floor.

He had to be happy. He couldn't let anyone know…

"Come on Hinata… I'll walk you home!" his voice was warm with sincerity. He knew that he could fool her, fool her with that idiotic grinning mask of his. Hell - he could fool anyone, even himself sometimes. No one ever knew when he was upset… When he was hurt… Or lonely… No one needed to know… No one needed to know how weak he was deep inside…

How vulnerable he really was…

The dark-haired girl gazed up at him from her seating position upon the ground; her eyes shimmering strangely. Whether it was just the light playing tricks on him, or whether it had originated from unshed tears, the blonde couldn't tell. She timidly placed her own small hands into the warm palm of Naruto's, while keeping her gazed fixed firmly upon the floor.

Blue eyes widened slightly, as he felt ice-cold skin press against his own.

"Dammit Hinata, you're going to get pneumonia!" he growled, as he pulled the shivering girl into his warm embrace. How did she get so cold!? The temperature wasn't even that mild!

He felt her slight form shiver beneath him, as he pulled her closer. He didn't know what he was doing… But he knew that being frozen definitely wasn't good… And the only thing that he had in his disposal to warm her up with was his own body heat… He just hoped that she wouldn't catch a fever… Or pneumonia… Or worse.

He sighed wearily, his pretence wavering slightly, as he realised that it was his fault again… His fault for asking her to accompany him in their bizarre midnight stroll… His fault for not realising that she was shivering and half frozen… It was always his fault...

He felt his mask harden upon his face. He was useless. He was a curse. Dire things always happened to the unlucky few whose lives crossed his path…

He was guilty.

He was always guilty…

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"What are YOU doing here?!" Sakura screeched, as she pointed at the intruder that had just knocked down her front door.

"Eep." Oh well - at least the man who was splattered disorderedly all over her front doorstep had the dignity to look abashed.

"Yo!" Kakashi waved cheerfully, oblivious to the irate female standing by his side.

The man at the door stood up, and dusted his green jumpsuit indignantly.

"Is there some kind of midnight party here that I wasn't told about?!" the pink haired girl huffed, her patience obviously wearing thin. Hell, one unwanted visitor was enough for her fragile mind... And now 2?!

"I heard a scream, and thought you were in trouble…" the dark-haired man explained. "And since I am as wonderful as people say I am, I came to your rescue!" He posed conceitedly, winked, then flashed his superbly white teeth at a disenchanted Sakura - who promptly sank to the floor in distress.

"Nice night, isn't it?" Kakashi smiled up to the thick browed 'somewhat of a rival' jounin sensei.

"Actually yes, it's a lovely night! Lee-kun had just left my house after watching a series of ninja tactical videos and I was just about to start knitting a new scarf for him…"

Silence…

"Ah… You must be wondering why a scarf in summer! Well, yes… You see, it's kinda an early Christmas present… I don't want Lee-kun to catch a chill or anything… You know how unpredictable the weather can get! And since he's been crying so much recently… You know, he's more susceptible to an illness in his vulnerable state…"

More silence.

"And yes, it's green! Wouldn't think of any other colour! After all, green is the colour of vitality! It's the colour of our youth, the finest period in our brief and fleeting lives! The time when we gain responsibly, acquire maturity, develop both physically and emotionally… It's, all in all, the best colour for the job!"

"Yuhh…" the silver-haired ninja spoke up for the first time since their so-called conversation had started. But didn't conversations require two people? You know, two people talking to each other? Like a shared thing? Just when did it start to become a solo undertaking?

Peh, it definitely wasn't meant to be a lone person rambling off at random tangents...!

Kakashi faked an impression of contemplation. "I prefer orange…"

Silence.

"Why?!" Gai shouted in blind outrage. "What an obtrusive colour! So rash! So bold! Totally totally wrong! It highlights the injustice of today's teens! The loudness! Their recklessness! The impulsiveness! It's the colour of rage, and we all know that rage cannot lead to anything productive! Why, why, I'm really surprised at you Kakashi…" Gai tutted, as if seriously disappointed with his rival. "We, as ninja's, all know that green is the best colour for everything! And orange is useless when it comes to stealth! How can you possibly avoid the enemies' eye dressed in such an outlandish and prominent colour?"

Silence.

"Ha I'm glad that you've been stunned into silence from my informative talk! I guess after all these years, I've finally made it through to you! I knew it was going to happen someday! Well, I guess I shall leave you alone with your thoughts, as they must be very confusing at this present moment in time. But don't worry - things will become clearer! I do hope we can do this again sometime, and connect like we have tonight! Good night Kakashi, I shall never forget this…"

Gai picked up the fallen door and propped it against the wooden frame of the entrance, then spared a glance at the fallen heap upon the floor.

"Goodnight, Miss Sakura. Don't forget, if you are ever in another dire situation, just scream! I shall be glad to offer my services to you in the future! I shall rescue you and be your saviour! Don't worry, it's no hassle! After all, the value of sleep is insignificant compared to someone's young life! Why, we all know that the flower of youth should not be taken audaciously! So much ahead, so much to look forward to! I shall protect you and all the adolescences in Konoha that you represent! After all, you are the one responsible for Kakashi and I finally understanding each other! I am and will forever be in your debt!"

"Ehh… H-Hai…" the pink haired girl sighed dejectedly, wondering what the hell she did to deserve such bizarre company in the middle of the night. The older man's overly extended speech flashed through her head groggily. Geez, just what drugs were he on?! No wonder Kakashi was so damn eccentric - how can anyone stay sane with fuzzy eyebrows senior in their presence?!

Dread pulsed through her body as a disturbing thought entered her mind… Was there… No… Couldn't be…

Could it? …Was there… Was there finally someone weirder than Kakashi?!

Silence filled the room as the boisterous trespasser left the premises, after flashing a final pose worthy of an extremely large sick bucket. For a while, both occupants of the room could hear nothing but the faint whistling of the winds outside...

"Eh… Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura murmured, as fatigue consumed her body. She stood up unsteadily, before facing her former teacher and legendary ninja. He appeared to be deep in thought. Then again, she could never be sure with such a limited proportion of his facial expression on display.

"Eh… Yeh…" She realised that she was lost for words. And confused. What the hell had just happened anyway?

First her former sensei arrives uninvited at ungodly hours of the night, demanding to see an absent Sasuke, although the pink haired girl deduced that the inappropriate timing had more to do with his lateness than anything else… Then Mr thick brows gatecrashes the house, mentions something about the colour green, then prances off again??

She shook her head. She decided that she didn't want to know after all. In fact, she didn't even care. She had a feeling that if she ever got around it, she'd regret understanding the two. After all - didn't you have to be insane to understand the mentally retarded…??

The pink haired girl took a deep breath. "If there's nothing else that you want, I'm going to bed now…" she sighed wearily, as she began to push the unmoving ninja towards the exit.

"Ehh…" the silver-haired jounin murmured, rather disjointedly - the movement seemingly rousing him. He stretched his limbs out in an over exaggerated yawn, before blinking rapidly in the light. "Where am I?"

The pink haired girl sweat dropped. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then promptly shut it. No point in wasting anymore energy or time. Sometimes, she felt too much like the mother figure… It was starting to get a little disconcerting… Especially since her son was her teacher…

"Sasuke isn't here… I'll tell him when he gets back that you've been looking for him… Please excuse me, Kakashi-sensei, but I really would like to be getting back to bed now…" Her words were hasty and her movements exaggerated, but she decided that it'll probably be a lot less stressful if she just got straight to the point. No need beating around the bush...

"Uhmm k…" the silver haired man rubbed his one eye wearily. He stifled a yawn, albeit unsuccessfully. Oh dear, looks like he fell asleep again…Oh darn, and he thought he was getting better and better at enduring Gai's painstakingly long speeches… Even though they were usually pointless and about totally random issues…

But hey! Without bad speeches, how could you tell that a good speech was really good?

"Oh and can you prop the door back securely before you go, thanks…" Sakura's voice trailed off as she ascended the stairs to the bedroom, shaking her head and muttering something about stupid teachers and their stupider friends…

Kakashi whistled quietly, as he shoved the broken door back into place. Oh well - looks Sasuke will be having a nice day fixing things tomorrow.

He departed the house in quiet contemplation. Now all jokes aside - where the hell was Sasuke? It was pass midnight, and he still wasn't at home? What on earth could he be getting up to?

And judging by the expression upon Sakura's face, the Uchiha boy's sudden departures weren't unusual… But what could he be doing? At night nonetheless…

Was he training?

Or maybe he was having an affair??

Kakashi snorted at the last thought. The Uchiha, having an affair? Impossible! Firstly he had too much dignity and pride to commit in such a disloyal act… And secondly, the girl in question would sooo not keep quiet about it!

It'll be all over Konoha, and probably as far as the hidden village of sand by now… After all, who would keep quiet if they had the great Uchiha Sasuke in the sack?!

Silver eyebrows pinched in confusion. So if it wasn't an affair, then what exactly was he doing? Something was up. Normal people didn't leave their fiancée at home without even informing her about what time he was going to be back… Let alone where he was going or what he was doing…

Then again, Sasuke had never been at the epitome of normal…

Kakashi frowned. The Uchiha was hiding something - he was sure of it. And being everyone's favourite detective ninja, he vowed to get to the bottom of it…

After all - if he could help Naruto, he was sure he could help Mr-I'm-an-anti-social-bastard as well… He sighed. Looks like Mr-I-hate-interfering will have to take the back seat again.

But first things first…

The copycat ninja of Konoha hummed happily as he whipped out his favourite ORANGE book, titled 'icha icha paradise' and began his journey home…

(Kakashi has super eyes ok… He can read anything in the dark! GO Kakashi-sensei!)

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A twig snapped loudly, seizing the attention of the two ninja's locked in an embrace. Two pairs of curious eyes met a dark, smouldering glare.

"S-Sasuke?"

Hinata's mouth dropped in shock. What was Sasuke doing here? How did he find this place? Was Sakura here? Were she and Naruto intruding…? Maybe the couple wanted some private time together?

Hinata felt the boy in her arms stiffen from the unexpected company. She gazed back at the angry glare boring into her, with a frightened expression etched upon her features… So dark… So angry… So intimidating… Did she do something wrong? Why was he so… so furious…?

She had never seen so much emotion in those eyes before… Those usually blank eyes… They were almost on fire… Burning with some indescribable rage...

A shiver went up the dark-haired girl's spine, as she realised, rather distressingly, that an angry Sasuke wasn't a good thing…

Wasn't a good thing at all…

Silence consumed the three, and for a while, all Hinata could hear was the faint rustling of the wind, behind the pounding of her own frantic heart.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" each word from the lone figure was spat out carefully and concisely. Danger laced each syllable, and Hinata felt herself shudder inwardly. Damn it! She was a shinobi! She shouldn't feel threatened by him! Anyway, it wasn't as if he owned the lake! He had no right, no right at all to get angry with them for visiting the place!

Naruto stayed silent, but one look into his pallid features informed Hinata that something was wrong. He was unusually tense, clutching her so tightly that his knuckles were beginning to turn white.

Was he frightened of Sasuke too?

But they hadn't done anything wrong!

"G-Gomen ne, S-Sasuke-san…" Hinata mumbled weakly, each passing moment adding to her mounting fear. She was scared. God she was so damn scared. Scared because of the uncertainty surrounding the actions of the Uchiha boy, and scared for Naruto…

Because if the blonde was scared, then something must be wrong…

Who knew what the raven-haired boy could achieve…? Could accomplish… How he would react… He was unpredictable... Mysterious… Ever since that tragic day he had unexpectedly ran off, people had been curious… Just why? And where did he go? What was he doing? But the curiosity didn't die out - it mounted and mounted, until it finally developed into fear…

The villagers were afraid… Afraid of his power… Afraid of his unrivalled skills - the arms that could crush windpipes… The legs that could break limbs… They were afraid of the growing darkness that seemed to consume him from within… Was he going to betray them all? Because he had the power to betray them….

He had the power to destroy them all…

But if he wasn't planning against them, then why did he run off? Why didn't he come back? Or couldn't he come back?

'Oh god Naruto, please don't daze out on me again!' Hinata thought frantically, while pressing the boy closer against her… As if to reassure herself that he was still there… That he was ok… That she wasn't alone…

She could almost pretend that she could hide behind his warmth… That the comforting light that he represented was a shield… A barrier that nothing, and no one could penetrate…

That even Sasuke couldn't penetrate…

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" the raven-haired boy repeated, his voice becoming more and more like a growl. Hinata could feel his tolerance rapidly wearing thin…

Figures. Sasuke was never known for his patience.

"W-we were just walking…" the small girl stammered, feeling extremely uncomfortable under the cold glare of the dark-haired boy. Why was he getting so angry for? Was he always this angry?

He wasn't like that before he left… He was cold, yes… Expressionless, yes… Obnoxious at times… And sometimes damn right rude… But… He was never this livid without a good reason…

So either they had done something really dreadful, or Sasuke had changed… Changed a lot since he had left…

"We-we were j-just about to leave n-now… O-oya-s-sumi S-Sasuke-san…" Hinata stuttered, as the tension in the atmosphere mounted to an all time high. It felt as if her life was slowly being sucked out of her… Slowly and painfully…

Sasuke glared vehemently at Hinata, as she struggled unsuccessfully out of Naruto's tense grasp. The stubborn boy just didn't seem to want to move! What was wrong with him?! They had to leave! They had to leave now! Before the Uchiha could go even more psycho on them…

Sasuke… Sasuke wouldn't hurt them… Would he?

'Come on Naruto! We have to get going…'

"I don't think so."

"S-sorry?" the small girl stammered, a little confused at Sasuke's comment. Don't think so? What did that mean? Did it mean that he wanted them to stay then? God he was so confusing!

Sasuke took a step closer towards the couple, as another twig cracked dangerously under his feet. His eyes flashed threateningly, causing Hinata to recoil involuntarily. Yet Naruto was still rooted immobile to the spot... Just why won't he move?! Couldn't he see that Sasuke was acting a little irrational?

Fuck, he was acting very irrational! And an irrational Sasuke was a dangerous Sasuke!

The Uchiha boy stopped in his tracks, a cold glare penetrating the smaller girl, as if daring her to disobey his command.

"You go… But he stays."

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End of chapter 10

Yaay, come on you lovely beautiful people, review! ^_^ (I know for a fact that flattery gets you EVERYWHERE)

At Ichiraku...
Sasuke: *irate* Grr, I hope you've called me here to apologise you pervert!
Kakashi: *innocently* Apologise for what?
Sasuke: *waves arms around frantically* You know what! Those pictures, and all that other stuff, like-
Kakashi: *interrupts and changes subject* Look what I've got...!
Kakashi holds up a silver ring.
Sasuke: *pales* Where did you get that?
Kakashi: *wink* That's for me to know and you to find out!
Sasuke: *still pale* Give it back.
Kakashi: *smiles* No.
Kakashi drops the ring into a bowl of ramen...
Sasuke: *shouts furiously* WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING!
Naruto walks by... (yes, SUDDENLY walks by!)
Naruto: *tuts* Sasuke, you shouldn't use bad language like that! its bad for your health!
Sasuke: *blanches* No... No.... Noooo! WHY are you here!? Go homeeee! Nooooo! Don't you dare, Kakashi! DON'T YOU DARE!
Kakashi: *grins* Hey Naruto, want some ramen?
Kakashi winks as Sasuke drops to the floor in disgust, muttering something about hygiene issues, eternal pain and unforgiveness. After all, would you wear a ring if it had passed through your rival's digestive system?
Ehh... Thought not.

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