** I bring you all the next installment in Miyuki's journey! Enjoy! Don't forget to fave/rate/comment! And also don't forget to check out my other story: Naruto:Untold!**

Prologue: More Than Just a Dream

"You never tell me how your training is going."

"That's because I don't come here to talk about it." He breathed, lowering his head so that his lips could brush against my earlobe. "I come here to forget it."

"Th-that terrible, huh?"

He chuckled and my heart skipped a beat. It was so rich and warm, so genuine and true that I snuggled closer to him and ended up pressing a light kiss to his hair. His hands slid around my waist and he pulled me even closer to him just as I managed a quick breath through my gasp.

"Sasuke…I breathed.

"Yes?" He responded, his lips trailing soft kisses down the side of my neck.

"Wh-wh-wh-" I couldn't even finish my sentence, couldn't even form actual words because his lips were making me lose my train of thought. His lips lingered on my collarbone and his tongue slid out to taste my skin and that alone made my whole body shiver.

"Wa-wait." I managed, proud that I had at least found a word even if it wasn't the right one. He hesitated for a moment but just a moment. His breaths washed over my skin, thick and heavy and I could practically smell his desire.

How long had it been? How many weeks had it been since we had seen each other? We had been making a game of it, the two of us seeming to meet at random when in reality he was planning each meeting. We had relied on signals, small notes attached to small animals or small words etched into tree barks or on tiny wrappers. It was all about being in the right place at the right time.

It was dangerous, stupid even. The last thing I should have been doing was consorting with a rogue ninja, lying to everyone, grieving for the Sasuke we had all lost when in reality I had been seeing every month ever since his departure. I felt like a two-faced liar but it had to be this way. This was the only way that we could be together even if it was fleeting. I could only imagine Megumi-sensei's expression, imagine her lectures and of course the disappointment on Sakura's face.

He trailed more kisses, this time leading onto my chest and I forgot what it felt like to breathe. My nails dug into the flesh on his back and I gritted my teeth together, my heart racing so quickly in my chest, I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it. I glanced down at him and caught the smirk on his lips, knowing that even if he couldn't hear it, he could sense it and that was even worse.

He placed a kiss near my heart, and I flinched instantly thinking back to the night my entire family had been killed. The Obanji clan massacre, blood splattered on the walls, bodies littering the halls, and far away expressions on their haunting faces. Then, there were the cruel expressions of my sister and brother, the oldest siblings, blood dripping from their weapons as sickening grins spread across their lips. I remembered the feeling of the blade piercing clean through my skin and gasped just as he pulled his lips away from the scar, barely visible to the naked eye, but always visible to me.

"Are you alright?"

I looked down at him, struggling to get my breathing under control. I managed a light laugh and ran my fingers through his hair, forcing a nod.

"I'm fine…sorry."

He studied me, his eyes searching mine and he pulled away, moving to the side, one of his arms drawing circles on my stomach, the other holding his head up. He stared down at me, the intensity of his stare making me blush until I started to look away and his hand stopped me, catching my chin before gently turning me back toward him.

"Don't." He said.

My blush deepened. "Wh-why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" He asked, his voice low, making my insides quiver all over again.

"Wh-why do you always…" I lifted a hand and traced it over my scar. He had told me countless times that he couldn't see it and there were days where even I found it hard to locate. But I could always feel it, the subtle curve of my risen skin. I wasn't exactly self-conscious about it, but feeling someone else against it just brought back too many memories.

"You really want to know?"

I blinked up at him, knowing that the innocent route wouldn't work when it came to him. Over the past few months, he had learned to read me like a book. He was quick to call out any of my moods, quick to notice my true feelings. I couldn't hide anything from him anymore and he always knew what I was thinking even when the idea hadn't fully formed in my head. As for him, he was still a mystery to me but he was gentler now that we had what felt like our own private world, our little big secret. Behind closed doors it was just us and no one else. We were all that mattered.

"Y-yes." I managed quietly.

He smirked and his hand moved away from my chin, sliding down my side, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps.

"I know it bothers you." Sasuke said. "Not to the point where you wish it was gone, but just that it takes you somewhere other than here."

I stared at him.

"You've been going there more than usual lately…" His hand stopped at my hip and he gripped it almost possessively. His eyes followed down the length of my neck and ended just at my scar and I felt the familiar blush already shining on my face reach a whole new level.

"I've just been thinking a lot." I said and lifted a hand to cover the scar. "It's nothing really."

"You can tell me."

"There's nothing really to talk about." I said and rolled to the side so he couldn't see my face. I covered my body as I did so and I could feel him behind me and his hand had found a new home atop my other hip. He didn't say anything more and for a few passing minutes, we were completely silent.

"I should get going." He said before pressing a kiss to my shoulder. I felt him climb out of the bed just as I felt a sharp pang ring through my chest. I gripped the covers as I heard him start to get dressed behind me. I bit my bottom lip as the pain in my chest rose and at the last second, when I couldn't stand it anymore, I sat up and looked back at him.

He was pulling on his shirt and when he was done he looked back at me, his eyes unreadable.

"Not yet." I said, hugging the sheets to my chest. I could already feel it, the lump forming in my throat, the tears beginning to form in my eyes.

He stared down at me and bent over, pressing his forehead against mine, his eyes staring right into my soul. I blinked up at him, my lips quivering.

"I have to go." He said. "I'm going to be late."

He pushed away and was turning, reaching for his weapons case.

"A few more minutes. Please, Sasuke. I haven't seen you in so long."

To that he chuckled as he adjusted his weapons holster. "We'll see each other again, in a few weeks."

"Sasuke."

"Miyuki."

I folded my arms. "You can afford to be late."

He looked at me. "They'll fly by…like they always do."

"I don't like this."

"There's no other option…unless…"

"Unless what?" I asked, suddenly eager to learn that there would be another way that we could see each other.

"Unless we stop this right now." Sasuke finished and he looked at me, his eyes gauging my reaction.

My own eyes were wide and I was shocked. End it all? End what we had been doing for the past three months just like that? I placed a hand over my chest. I wouldn't be able to survive. Our moments together, even though they were hidden away, a secret meeting, it was my only way of checking up on him, of making sure that he was okay.

That night when he left Konoha, when he had leaned close to my ear, he had rattled off a random location in the Land of Rice and it had taken me a few weeks to realize what he had been suggesting and I had never looked back. The thought of not having that, of not being able to see him or even feel him was beyond unreasonable. It was unfair to even voice.

"N-no! I don't want that!" I said.

"Then I have to go." Sasuke said and bent down to press a chaste kiss to my forehead. "I'll send you the next location."

"Sas—"

He left the room and shut the door gently behind him. I didn't even hear his footsteps start down the hall but I knew why. All of the lands were on high alert for him. All the places we went to were secluded, low profile but it never mattered because he was just as low profiled, his head always low. He was always sneaking around in the shadows, surprising me. He didn't want to get caught but more than that he never wanted me to get in trouble either.

He was protecting me and I was always so desperate to keep him longer, so emotional I wouldn't be surprised if one day we would get caught because I'd be screaming for him to stay. I hugged myself knowing that I had to pull myself together. Just the same way Sasuke didn't want to raise suspicions with Orochimaru, I couldn't afford to raise suspicions with my own village especially my team.

I pushed the covers away and rose from the bed, only to catch my reflection in the mirror. My hair was disheveled and came down in gentle waves. I smoothed it out over my shoulder and looked deep into my eyes as my hand lifted, sliding across the skin on my chest until I felt the scar beneath my fingertips.

"How long can you keep doing this?" I asked my reflection, my stomach tightening in response. The sad truth was that I knew the answer but I just couldn't bring myself to face it.