Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Moon On Fire ❯ Feelings Erupt And Then... ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11

Feelings erupt and then…

 

 

 

Mizuki and Sasuke left Tsunade's office a few minutes later. They walked in a silence almost more uncomfortable than any that had existed between them until that moment. Both of them were angry about Sasuke's attitude and for almost the same reason. Neither of them could figure it out.

 

“He's civil and almost nice one moment and the next he's tossing insults at me like someone throwing rice at a wedding. And what's with the way he looked at me when he caught me earlier? I don't know what's going on in his head but I wish he would choose one or the other and stop flip-flopping around. It's making me dizzy.” Mizuki thought as they walked. She wanted to be angry and hate Sasuke as much as she was sure he hated her but she couldn't stop herself from feeling hurt by his actions. “He doesn't have to like me but does he have to be so rude about it? I don't even know why the hell I care.”

 

“I just don't get her.” Sasuke thought, absorbed in his own thoughts as Mizuki was absorbed in hers. “One moment she's sarcastic and downright rude and the next she's kind-hearted and almost fragile. I can't decide whether to protect her or slam her against a wall. She's not as strong as she wants us to believe. She can't keep it up forever but she makes it so hard. She doesn't have to like me but why can't she just let me protect her? Heh. She really is annoying. I don't even know why the hell I care.”

 

Both were brought from their thoughts when they stopped in front of Sasuke's house. Mizuki once again gave him a look of confusion. Sasuke did not look at her.

 

“You go wash up and change and then we'll meet with Naruto at Ichiraku.” He said with all the anticipation of someone who was about to have their teeth drilled without anaesthetic. Mizuki nodded in understanding and hurried inside the house. She emerged a half hour later and Sasuke was waiting in the pavilion in the backyard. He heard her come out and said, “You finally ready?” before stopping in his tracks with wide eyes.

 

Mizuki had changed into the dress Sakura had insisted she buy. She had left her hair down and it just grazed her shoulders as the wind played with it. Her face was flushed and getting redder.

 

“What?” She asked annoyed. “I know you don't like the dress but after the day I've had I felt like wearing something nice. If you have a problem with that I really don't care.” This reason that she had told herself while putting the dress on sounded fake even being said out loud. She had wanted to feel a little more human after her hard morning but that wasn't the only reason she was wearing the dress. She had wanted to wear it for the same reason that she found herself no longer enamoured with Neji.

 

“Do you really have time to worry about things like this?” Her mind had demanded as she had gotten changed. “Your life is in constant danger remember?” But even as she thought those things, she also remembered the look in Naruto's eyes when he had told her he didn't care about Itachi, he was only concerned about helping her. The way he'd held her hands and the things he'd said to her before she'd made him stop by complaining of her thirst. Memory loss or not, she was sure no one had ever said anything like that to her before. For the first time since arriving in Konoha, she could feel a little of her loneliness fading and it had felt good. She brushed her hair and realized with no surprise that her fear of Naruto was all but gone. “Also,” she reasoned with herself. “I've had a rather dark day so far, I think I deserve to have a little fun this afternoon.” So she had slipped Gaara's bottle of sand in a back pocket of the dress and headed out without another thought.

 

Sasuke said nothing as he followed Mizuki out the front door and down the street and as they walked, he found his mood darkening. When they reached Ichiraku and Naruto practically beamed at the sight of Mizuki, Sasuke realized he was feeling downright miserable. He wanted nothing more than to turn right back around and go home. But before he could say anything, Naruto had guided Mizuki to the stools by the counter and he was ordering. Sasuke reluctantly sat down and ordered as well.

 

“So how did your training with Neji go?” Naruto asked in between slurps of his double order of ramen with extra pork.

 

“Quite well actually. I learned a lot more than he thought I would today and if Sasuke hadn't interrupted me at the last moment, I'm sure I would have gotten that last roundhouse kick perfect too.”

 

“You wouldn't have fallen if you'd been paying attention.” Sasuke snapped.

 

“I was paying attention. Just not to you.” Mizuki shot back.

 

“What if I'd been Itachi? I would have been all over you before you knew what was happening!”

 

Mizuki's eyes went wide as she looked at Sasuke's reddening face as he realized what he'd just said. She could hear Naruto trying all too unsuccessfully to hide a snicker. She decided in a split second to ignore what was obviously a slip of the tongue. Nothing more. “Heh, if it had been Itachi then I guess it would have meant you failed at your mission. I can see why that would upset you.” She said as sarcastically as she could so as to cover her suddenly uneasy feeling.

 

“If that's what you want to think then you go ahead.” Sasuke said back just as grumpily as he took a big mouthful of pork.

 

“Uh huh.” Naruto spoke up no longer snickering. “Are you enjoying your ramen Mizuki-chan? I told you this place was awesome didn't I?”

 

“This was a great idea Naruto I'm really enjoying myself.” Mizuki's smile shone but it didn't reach her eyes. She looked at her ramen with downcast eyes and stirred it with no real interest. Naruto looked to Sasuke who was eating his bowl but with the same unenthusiastic demeanour as Mizuki. Naruto, who had long since devoured his ramen decided it was time for a change of scenery.

 

“Come on Mizuki-chan. How about we go for a walk? Konoha's a pretty big place and you haven't seen the half of it.” He looked at her with a small smile and held out his hand. Mizuki looked him in the eye and felt the hot feeling start along her face again.

 

“First Neji and now Naruto. Am I that fickle?” She thought to herself mildly annoyed but she ignored the feeling. As she placed her hand in Naruto's she resolved not to let anything else bother her today. Especially not Sasuke and his putdowns.

 

Naruto's smile became brighter still when Mizuki took his hand and he turned to lead her away from Ichiraku when a rather annoyed voice called out, “Uh dobe, what the hell do you think you're doing? I agreed to chaperone lunch, not play tour guide with you.” Sasuke was still sitting on the stool beside his barely touched bowl of ramen wearing a thoroughly unimpressed look. Mizuki looked back feeling sheepish. She'd almost forgotten he was there.

 

“Sorry Sasuke.” She said disappointed. “You probably have things to do right?”

 

“As a matter of fact I do.” Sasuke said standing up and walking over to Naruto who had an angry look on his face. “And seeing as I'm her bodyguard Naruto, she's going to have to come with me.”

 

“The hell teme! What do you have to do this afternoon? You're only duty is to keep Mizuki-chan safe. Why can't you do that while we go for a walk?”

 

“I'm not a dog on a leash Naruto!” Sasuke snapped but stepped back, his eyes going wide as he realized what he had said. Naruto in his anger seemed to not have noticed but Mizuki was looking at him strangely and almost fearfully. He looked away and took a deep breath to calm himself. “Fine. You two do whatever you want. I'll keep watch because it's my mission but I'm not walking with you.” He turned and leapt away before Mizuki or Naruto could say anything.

 

“That teme. What is his problem today?” Naruto asked annoyed. Mizuki didn't answer. She watched Sasuke leave with a heavy heart. She thought she had heard something else behind Sasuke's seemingly simple snap and she was sure she had seen something in his eyes just before he looked away.

 

“Did I hurt his feelings?” She thought for a moment before laughing at herself. “What the hell am I talking about? That jerk has no feelings to hurt. He's just mad because he can't keep me locked up in the house all night again and out of his hair.” She grew angry thinking about it and strangely enough, it comforted her. “I definitely can't stand him.” She turned to Naruto with a serious scowl on her face.

 

“Come on Naruto. I've had enough of Sasuke and `his' way. I want to have some fun this afternoon. He can fulfill his duties without being right behind me. And if he can't then I know you'll protect me.” She still had hold of Naruto's hand and practically dragged him down the street.

 

Sasuke had leapt to a nearby rooftop out of the two's sight while still able to keep them in his. He walked along the rooftops a ways behind them, simultaneously watching them, the area around them, and fighting an unfamiliar battle in his heart.

 

“What is wrong with me?” He thought angrily. He knew he didn't have any other duties this afternoon. He'd had no reason to fight with Naruto over going for a walk. Yet he knew now how Naruto felt about Mizuki and the idea of following them around the village, being forced to watch them become even closer on their `date' was almost unbearable to him. The urge to grab Mizuki and drag her back home was insatiable but he couldn't say anything more without seeming….

 

“Jealous?” The word came unbidden and unwelcome but it came nonetheless. It just made him angrier.

 

“Ridiculous.” He said aloud without meaning to. “It's my mission to protect her from Itachi and that's all there is to it.” He said the last and tried unsuccessfully to ignore the sudden memory of holding her body against his. Her warm breath on his neck. The calming feeling of her heartbeat next to his own.

 

“For crying out loud Sasuke get a freaking grip!” He said aloud forcefully enough to blow the memories to the back of his mind where they belonged and scare a cat that had been walking along the edge of the roof. It hissed at him menacingly and fled past at lightning speed. Sasuke frowned at the disappearing feline morosely and continued to follow Naruto and Mizuki.

 

Naruto and Mizuki walked around the village talking for a while until the sun started to set behind the Hokage Mountain. They reached a small clearing and sat down against a boulder to watch it.

 

“They were former leaders of Konoha weren't they?” Mizuki asked, pointing to the stone carvings.

 

“Yeah all the Hokages get their faces carved into the rock. That's Tsunade-no-ba-chan to the far right. Beside her are the Hokages that came before her. The fourth right down to the first; he was the founder of the leaf village. Tsunade-no-ba-chan is actually his granddaughter.”

 

They stared in silence as the sun's bottom reached the top of the mountain, casting a red

glow on the ground. The red light blazed behind Hokage Mountain making it look like the carved faces were on fire. Naruto shifted positions on the ground beside Mizuki, his arm brushing hers accidentally, and she could have sworn the burning light coming off the mountain was suddenly giving off some intense heat.

 

“My face is gonna be up their someday. Right beside Tsunade-no-ba-chan's.” Naruto

said suddenly, spooking Mizuki out of her reverie. She looked at him but he was still looking at the mountain. He wore the look of pure determination on his face that he had shown Mizuki so many times. She smiled.

 

“You know what Naruto? I believe that.” Naruto looked at her with a shocked look.

 

“Surprised? Don't be. I may not know much about this world or myself but I know one thing for sure. You're too damn stubborn NOT to have your face up there!” Naruto's expression was still one of surprise and Mizuki started to laugh. She heard Naruto start to laugh too and that just made her laugh harder. She laughed until her stomach hurt and tears ran down her face. She crossed her arms across her stomach and leaned into a more comfortable position as the laughter finally started to subside. It was only when she heard the absolute silence from Naruto that she opened her eyes and realized that she was leaning on his shoulder! She sat bolt upright with a red face. She sneaked a look at Naruto out of the corner of her eye and saw him sneaking a look at her with an equally red face. Mizuki looked away, her heart thumping madly. She heard the grass rustle and turned to see Naruto stretched out on the ground, his arms crossed behind his head against the boulder with a rather large smile on his face.

 

“Something amusing you?” Mizuki asked with an eyebrow raised.

 

“See that? Your namesake is out even before the sun has fully set.” He pointed with his left arm and Mizuki turned her gaze in the direction his arm was pointing. The moon was indeed out and it was white and full. It grew brighter as the sun gradually dimmed and fell further behind the mountain.

 

“Beautiful.” One of the only things Mizuki had discovered about herself the last several days was that she did indeed have an almost unnatural fascination with the moon. She had been unable to see it from her hospital room in either the Sand Village or in Konoha but she had spent the evening before looking at the moon as it hung outside the bedroom window at Sasuke's house. It had been very close to full then but it was nothing compared to the sight she saw now. It hung in the sky, pale and haunting but lit from behind by what was left of the sun's final entreaties before it had to give over its command of the sky. She thought it the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen and found herself unable to look away. She almost didn't hear Naruto speak.

 

“What's that Naruto-san?”

 

“I said, that's my lake on the moon right there.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?”

 

“Right there!” He pointed with his left arm once again at the moon. “That's Naruto's lake. I once used a jutsu so powerful that it flew to the moon and created that lake.”

 

“Except, there's no water on the moon.” Mizuki had crossed her arms and was giving Naruto a very disbelieving look.

 

“No seriously! It was when we were fighting the last remnants of Akatsuki. I was up against one of the Pein's and I thought I was done for sure. But with my last remaining strength I pulled off a killer version of the Rasengan and blasted him to pieces. The explosion was so huge it reached the moon and made that.” He continued to point to a spot on the moon that seemingly only he could see. Mizuki squinted, trying to see what he could. She leaned down closer to Naruto, trying to follow the trajectory of his arm with her gaze.

 

“See it?” Naruto's voice sounded very close to her ear.

 

“Not with your arm in the way I don't.” Mizuki reached out and very softly pushed Naruto's arm down out of the way with her right hand. She squinted even more, trying to bring anything odd into focus. She thought she had found a small black dot on the moon and was about to chastise Naruto for calling that a lake when she felt very warm breath on her face. She turned in the direction and found that her face was mere inches away from Naruto's! He was looking at her rather intently and Mizuki felt her face turn redder than she thought it had ever been. She heard a branch of a tree break in the distance but her sense of hearing was cancelled out as she felt Naruto's hand take her own.

 

“Mizuki-chan I…” Naruto's voice was barely a whisper. “I want to tell you…” But he was unable to finish.

 

Mizuki could not move and she could barely draw breath. She looked to where Naruto was holding her hand and back to his eyes. They held the same look of kindness and affection she had seen earlier that day when he had held her hands and told her that she was more important to him than any mission. That Itachi or no Itachi, he would be there for her and protect her, even if it cost him his life. She heard him say it all again in her head and when he closed the already minute distance between them and she felt his warm lips against hers she let those words and this feeling engulf her. Briefly she thought about Sakura and how she would feel if she knew this was happening but Mizuki was so tired of feeling so alone. Of feeling so out of place. Naruto's kiss showed his acceptance of her, memory or not. It showed her she never had to be alone again. Her defences didn't just drop they practically melted as she returned his kiss with fervour and she did not resist when she felt Naruto gently guide her so she was laying on her back on the soft ground. Her left arm came up and around Naruto's neck. Her right hand was still tangled with his and he slowly pushed it to the ground beside her head and held it there. The deeper and more urgent their kiss became, the more pressure she felt on her hand until she couldn't move it anymore. It was pinned.

 

She was pinned and she couldn't move.

 

He held her down, ignoring her cries. She struggled against him but that only succeeded in a slap to her left cheek. The fresh pain burned on her face and mingled with the seemingly hundreds of other pains she could feel in her body. She could feel her blood dripping from slashes that ran down her legs, her torso, her arms, and her face. But not only blood. The menacing red sky above her began to cry rain. Large droplets the same colour as her blood…no. Rain that was made of her blood poured down on her face, burning her eyes. She shut them tight and tried to will her mind away from the unceasing pain, but it and low laughter followed her. Cruel and ruthless laughter from somewhere near her feet. She felt another set of hands grab her hair tightly, holding her head still. She tried to yell but the red rain made of her blood was falling faster now, into her mouth, making her choke. The laughter near her feet became louder and crueler. The person the laughter belonged to suddenly grabbed her feet roughly, twisting her ankles. She felt them pushed up towards her head and held by another person who was also laughing. But this laughter came from a girl! A girl who knew what was going to happen but who laughed with such cruelty. Through her pain and fear, Mizuki thought she could recognize the laughter. Her eyes begged to remain shut but she forced them open. She had to see who was doing this to her….

 

“No. NO!” Mizuki screamed as she wrenched herself from Naruto and rolled away. The red rain faded, the laughter faded and the pain faded but what still remained…

 

“Oh my God!” She yelled struggling to her feet. “It's not possible!” She grabbed her head as the tidal wave of memory came pounding against her sanity, trying to break it down. Suddenly feeling nauseous, she stumbled against the boulder and retched.

 

Naruto had been knocked back hard by her unexpected and strong push. He stood up confused as she started yelling. When she grabbed the boulder and threw up he ran to her. “Mizuki-chan what's wrong?'

 

Mizuki pulled back from him so hard she almost fell. When Naruto reached for her again she slapped his hand away and spun a kick to his chest. Naruto was unprepared for the attack and went flying several feet away. He stood up coughing and saw Mizuki vanish running down the hill. “Mizuki-chan!” He yelled after her but she ran on ignoring him. “Sasuke!” He looked all around him but Sasuke did not answer either! “He must have seen what happened. I'm sure he's already gone after her.” Naruto brushed himself off and took off after Mizuki.

 

Mizuki did not know where she was going, she only knew she had to get away. Her mind continued to show her images of her pain; her torture and she ran as fast as she could away from the memories. And the people she saw in them.

 

“It can't be.” She yelled at her memories. “It just can't be! What did he do to me?” She turned blindly down an alleyway and tripped over a trashcan. She landed sprawled on her stomach and heard her new dress ripping slightly. This new and real pain brought her to her senses somewhat. She could suddenly hear Naruto calling out for her. She couldn't hear the concern in his voice however, to her it just sounded menacing. She picked herself up off the ground and quickly hid behind another trashcan. Holding her breath, she saw Naruto dash by the alleyway, not seeing her. She let her breath out in a gasp and hugged her knees to her chest. “Why them? Why now? This is just too cruel! Why?” She whimpered into her hands.

 

“Are you alright nee-chan?” She jumped at the voice. The alleyway was dark and her sudden violent fear clouded her vision somewhat. But she knew the voice.

 

“Konohamaru-kun? Is that you?” Mizuki sighed with relief. It wasn't Naruto.

 

“Yeah it's me.” He knelt down and took her hand. “What's happened to you nee-chan? You look hurt. Where's Naruto-nii-chan?”

 

Mizuki held back a shudder at Naruto's name. “I don't know where he is and at the moment I don't care.” A sudden idea came to her. “Konohamaru-kun, could you help me get to Tsunade-sama's office? I need to talk to her right away.”

 

“Oh I'll take you somewhere much better than that.” Konohamaru answered with a smile as his grip on her hand tightened. Mizuki looked at the young shinobi's menacing yet completely blank eyes and knew the proverbial jig was up. She did not even feel the blow that knocked her unconscious.