"Again!"

"I can't do it again! Let's just take a short break!"

"No! Right now!"

"Stop it! It's just training, it's not supposed to kill us! I'm going to sit down! I need a break!"

"Fine. If you won't come for me, I'll just go after you myself!"

"What?! Sasuke, stop!" I brace myself for a round of his attacks. We've been out here training for hours, doing the same thing over and over, and it's worn me to my limits. I don't have enough chakra or energy to defend myself. All I can do is stand and watch and try to shield my most vital spots. I don't know what's driven Sasuke this mad, but I really don't think it's fair of him to take it out on me.

He runs after me at top speed, so fast I can hardly see his movements. He's visible enough for me to notice that he's taken out a kunai. Is he really going to slash at me with it? Is this going to be the place where I die? My nerves are wracked and I'm frozen in place, watching as Sasuke approaches me. I haven't even caught my breath from the last round of this.

He's been having me perform the same series of attacks on him over and over, and when we began, I was okay with it since the jutsu doesn't use much chakra, but doing it over and over and over again on end like this, for this long? I can't do it; it's impossible!

Sasuke charges at me, holding his kunai at shoulder level. I watch him come closer, and in a split second, before I even have time to grab out a kunai and attempt to fend off his attack, he's face to face with me, looking into my eyes with his sharingan. He holds the kunai to my neck, and it pierces just my first layer of skin, making a small scratch on my neck. The air rushes past us a second after he's reached me, and he's silent. My heart pounds, and I wait for his next move. Is he going to kill me? It'd be easy enough, just dig in a bit deeper with that kunai of his and sever my artery. I'd bleed out in just a few moments. Dead.

"So, that's it?" He asks. "That's all you've got?" I don't answer him, but instead stand there, waiting for these events to play out so I can go and take a seat. Or until he kills me. "Do you know how easily I could kill you right now? With this kunai to your neck, just a few layers of skin separating the delicate membrane of your artery and this razor sharp kunai? Just a bit more pressure..." He presses into my skin a bit harder with his weapon, and I wince. "... and just a slight drag of this across your skin, and there goes your life." He's silent for a moment, apparently waiting for a response from me. He doesn't get one. He chuckles. "What's wrong, Rei? Are you mad at me? Tired?"

"Sasuke-san, please stop," I plead. "Just take a break."

"Do you want to die?" Sasuke asks, and I can hear the edge in his voice. It's scary, because I know that he has the guts to kill me if I push his buttons. "I'm the one who gives the orders here. I'll take a break when I want to, not when you tell me to." He bears down on me, and I slowly drop to my knees, whimpering like a child. Tears of distress and fear well up in my eyes and run down my cheeks. He bends down so that he stays face to face with me, and he uses his kunai to tilt my chin up. "Are you seriously crying? I thought you knew better than that, Rei. Looks like I was wrong."

"You're wrong a lot, Sasuke," I reply, gritting my teeth. His eyebrows stress, and I feel his hand on my shoulder, gripping me tightly. He pushes down further on me and applies more pressure to the kunai on my neck. Now I've made him angry.

"Do I need to teach you your place? I'm the one holding the cards right now. I have the power, so you'd better learn your place, and fast, or something... unfortunate may happen... I mean, I don't want any accidents happening or anything, especially to you." He tilts my head up even further with the kunai, using the point. He smirks at me, his face hardly three inches from mine. "You're special to me, but I'll still kill you if you make me." I glare into his eyes, then snort a laugh.

"I'm special to you?" I ask, a half hearted smile on my lips. He smiles back, obviously sarcastically.

"That's right," he replies. "I don't have to explain our history, do I? You couldn't have so easily forgotten. Or must I enlighten you?"

"Try me," I reply, the smile still on my face. Of course I remember our history. He took me in, looked after me. I usually end up receiving complaints from him about people he hates, all his complications in his everyday life, all that good stuff. He doesn't talk much, and it's tricky to get him with a good joke. I've been around long enough to understand though. Because he always made me listen to his stupid rants, I got to know him far better than anyone else. He even listens to me sometimes. He hardly ever replies, but he listens. I think he's grown quite fond of me.

I stare into his eyes, waiting to see if he'll really repeat our history, take that trip down memory lane. His eyes burn into mine with a never ending stare, his sharingan still ever-present, and he's gotten intensely quiet. Even his stare seems silent. It feels so cold... so lonely... I don't like it. Even so, I mirror his seemingly empty stare. I almost forget how close we are, being almost nose to nose. Suddenly, he shatters the silence of his stare with a smirk, and I'm dragged back into reality, out of my contemplation.

"Take a break," he says. "I wasn't being serious." I feel the pressure of his hand seizing my shoulder lift, and the sting of the point of his kunai is gone. In a moment, we are no longer mere inches from each other, his body heat that radiated onto my own body now gone. I silently watch his back as he walks away, secretly wishing that he'd get that close to me in times other than when he's brutally threatening to take my life.

Who could blame me? Despite his sour attitude and all his other "Sasuke" flaws, he's extremely attractive; it's simply the truth. He stands a few inches taller than me, a full assortment of muscles adorning his body, his perfect features and beautiful raven hair. Considering he's three years my senior, I guess he is a bit short, but that really doesn't matter. Even his cocky attitude can be a turn on sometimes, but when he's just having a huge ego, it's really unattractive. I might tell him that, but he doesn't care how "attractive" people find him. He already has enough fangirls as is.

I examine him as he walks to the other side of the giant sun filled room. He stands for a bit, checking some things, then sits and begins sharpening his sword. I slowly get up, touching the cuts given me by the kunai. I'm not sure if he meant that he wasn't being serious, but if he did, he plays rough. A little too rough in my opinion, but of course, Senpai is always right. I walk over to a bench near the wall and sit, wiping away some sweat with a towel, dabbing my cut, drinking down some water. I let down my hair and fix the ponytail I previously had in it.

As I tend to myself, I decide to pour some water on the towel to better cool myself, and as I do, I feel Sasuke's eyes on me. I don't pay attention at first, but after a second it becomes uncomfortable and unbearable, so I glance up at him. He doesn't turn away his gaze, and I just look back down at first, focusing on my towel, but I notice he hasn't stopped staring, so I look up again. He meets my gaze, leaning over his sword.

"Yes, senpai?" I ask, knowing he has something to say. He's silent for a bit longer, then replies.

"We can continue training tomorrow," he says to my relief. "I'm going to my room for now. Meet me there in a few minutes, when you're ready." With that, he gets up and simply walks away. I'm surprised by his order, as he never lets anyone in his room, but I do as commanded and decide to first change out of these clothes.

I walk to my room which Sasuke intentionally placed right next to his, and strip off my sweaty clothes. Until I can get my normal everyday attire cleaned, I throw on a simple black t-shirt and black capris. I'm not sure why, but all the clothes Sasuke provided for me are black. I've never gotten any of my own stuff; Sasuke never let me. He always went out and got it himself, then gave it to me.

Because of that, it's caused envy among some of Sasuke's team members with me; specifically speaking, Karin. The way she glares at me from across the room underneath those glasses... it's all too obvious, with me strutting around in all black, singling me out as a symbol of Sasuke's special care, and Karin's indifferent attitude towards me. It actually amuses me some, to see Karin being such a sucker for Sasuke and so envious because he singles me out and gives me "special treatment". Sasuke sees it too, and he seems to like the way it amuses me. Either way, it's not like he takes me out to fancy restaurants to eat and buys me all kinds of goodies. He just gets my basic needs while he lets the others take care of their own things.

Even so, if anyone were to receive special treatment from Sasuke, it ought to be me considering how much more I do for him compared to all the others. While they are just part of his team and are pretty much only nuisances to him when they aren't needed, I am always by his side; I actually am of use to him outside of dangerous missions where their lives are put on the line. I'm something between a servant and a friend. Our relationship isn't exactly that of a kouhai and senpai, but the first time I called him "sensei", he immediately objected; "Senpai" was the name that stuck ever since.

I finish my contemplations as I walk out of my room and knock on Sasuke's door.