NS: This is the THIRD version of my original version I put up here... I made a lot of grammatical changes and such if only because I refuse to have up any work of mine that's badly written, even if I wrote it two years ago on a sugar high...;;; I also changed the content a little to make it slightly more realisitic (but there's only so much I can do with this fic...I don't know what I was thinking...oO) And... it's still very short. To make it worse, this was originally three chapters, right here...eh heh... And another thing I never caught (that none of you guys bothered to correct) was that halfway through it switched from first person to third. That wasn't intentional...but that's okay cause I fixed it now! Well, anyways, here ye are!

V 3.0--4/30/07

.:Sasuke:.

I would never have thought anything like that would have all started with a trip to the bathroom. No, I'm not crazy, but even if I am, it doesn't dent the credibility of what happened.

As previously stated, I was walking to the bathroom when I heard that obnoxious Uzumaki talking to Sakura. He was apparently trying again to get her to go on a date with him. I rolled my eyes and reached for the door handle, but when I didn't hear the familiar smack of hand-to-cheek or Sakura's screeching voice, screaming about men having no respect for women and how chivalry is dead, I stopped. Curious as to what replacement pain Sakura had inflicted on Naruto, I turned and peered around the corner, but quickly regretted it.

Nothing could've ever prepared me for what I saw: Sakura had not only apparently agreed to go on a date with Naruto, but was holding his hand and leaning in for a kiss.

I turned away and tried to forget about it, but found I could not force it away from my mind. I used the bathroom quickly and headed home for the day.

It was early November, and becoming rapidly colder as the sun sank down below the trees. And, as it was warmer earlier in the day, I hadn't worn a jacket. So, instead, I shoved my hands into my pockets and shivered. There was no one around to say anything about it, so I even allowed my teeth to chatter.

The farther away the sun became, the more I thought about Sakura and Naruto. Why did this keep running through my mind? There was no reason for me to care about what my other baka teammates did when I wasn't around...and yet...

I sighed heavily, then a familiar smell wafted towards me. I closed my eyes and took in the scent.

"Mmm.." I cooed. Ichiraku's was just around the corner. As I came up on it, I raised my hand to push the curtain aside when I noticed two familiar pairs of feet hanging over a couple of stools inside. Sakura and Naruto were there. I hurried to the side of the building and peered over, pushing the curtain slightly aside just slightly. I glanced in to take a look at them.

'Why I am spying on them? They're probably just enjoying a friendly bowl of--oh my god...' My eyes grew wide in some unknown emotion. I ran the ones I could think of through my mind. Terror, Fear, Shock, Amazement, and...heartbreak? No, it couldn't possibly be. Why would I care if Sakura was kissing the dobe? And what had they been doing kissing in such a public place like that?! I turned and allowed the curtain to fall away from my face. The two never seemed to notice I was ever there.

As I leaned against the building, my heart raced and I clenched my chest, heart pounding wildly. I didn't understand it. 'Why? Why?! Dammit, WHY?!' I slid to the ground as my heart rate slowed gradually. If I wanted, I could've cried; but I wasn't like that, and I never let the tears fall. I shot to my feet and ran the rest of the way home.

I had originally planned to head straight to my house, but somewhere along the way, my pace slowed and I took a walk instead. I hadn't picked a very good time to do something like that with it being so cold, but I didn't care. I shrugged away the feeling of dropped temperature and shivered without notice. All I could do was think.

'I don't understand why I care so much what Sakura and Naruto do when I'm not around, and why I care that they kissed. I don't like Sakura like that. I barely like her at all anyways. And there's no WAY I like the dob-' , My thoughts were halted as I walked into something. I groaned and stepped back. I had been watching the road at my feet instead of in front of me. I looked up and was greeted by the curious face of Kakashi.

"Hello, Sasuke. Isn't it a little cold for a walk through the forest?" Kakashi was dressed in his usual apparel plus a thick fur jacket. My eyes narrowed to slits and I shrugged.

"I can handle it. I don't mind a little cold." Kakashi gave me a 'yeah, right' look and removed his jacket.

"Here. Take this but make sure you bring it back to me. I can't have any more of my team getting sick when there are missions to do. See you tomorrow." Kakashi took off towards his house and I frowned, pulling the jacket over my hands and around me.

"What did he mean 'more of his team?" I asked in a low voice to no one in particular. Deciding I would add it to my list of 'things to think about', I about-faced and headed the same direction; afterall, I lived very near Kakashi. I hugged the jacket tighter and zipped it up. It was actually quite warm, and smelled nice; like the forest. I took a breath and sped up.

It wasn't long before I could see my apartment building. I looked around and saw no one, then shrugged it off and thundered up to my own apartment. As I slinked away through the mostly barren rooms to the one with my bed, I didn't even bother to turn on a light; I had the entire map of the place memorized anyways. The door to my room was already cracked, so i pushed it the rest of the way open and closed it behind me.

Walking to my bed took longer than usual since I was still so lost in thought I looked down and realized that I still wore the jacket. Not even bothering to draw down the covers or undress, I crawled into a ball on my bed and snuggled into the fur trim of the jacket. I drifted to sleep quickly, but the dreams I had were not something to cherish or remember in days to come...

...they brought me only fright and uncertainty.

In my dreams, I was a child again. I was innocent and sweet; carefree and unaware of crisis in the world. But it was that day; when I came home from school and learned the meaning of true crisis. I dropped my books at my feet when I saw my grandparents lying dead in the street. I hesitated for only a moment, then ran into my house where I frantically raced around. It was not long before I found my parents...dead as well. I looked around, trying to see who had done it, but where I should've seen my brother, Itachi, instead I saw twelve-year-old Naruto, transforming into the fox, bearing bloody hands and teeth.

All I could do was stand there. I screamed his name, once, twice, three times and a maniacal laugh erupted from his throat. He hunkered over and headed in my direction, and I knew he intended to kill me, but all I could do was cower in fear. Slowly, the image drifted away and I was in the classroom of the ninja acadamy again.

Naruto was no longer the fox. He was just Naruto and he was on the desk in front of me, growling and glaring into my eyes. I stared back, thinking about how much of an idiot he was. Then, suddenly, I felt something incredible. The person in front of him had turned slightly and bumped into the dobe--causing him to crash into me. He fell in such a way that our lips pressed together and alligned perfectly.

Though I attempted to play it off, I knew I would never forget that powerful feeling of warmth and his soft lips against mine, nor the ten thousand emotions that scrambled for the right to be called mine. He pulled away and it seemed much too soon...and he seemed to back away in slow-motion. His face turned into Haku's reflection; staring angrily at me from his crystal mirror.

I was certain that Haku would try and strike me again, but suddenly, I watched his attention shift to Naruto, who was too weak to defend. I gasped and hurried in front of the senbon, acting as his shield. I took all the needles for him, and had almost lost my life in return. Naruto caught me in his warm, open arms as I collapsed and announced that I had hated him before...but what did that mean for now? Was it the opposite? I couldn't tell, for my sight had gone blurry and faded to black.

All was dark, and I had lost, and I had died, and now Naruto was with Sakura...

I sat straight up, sweating from both the dream and Kakashi's jacket that I still wore. The fur that lined the collar was wet and matted against my face and neck. I unzipped it slowly and peeled it away from my face and body. Pulling the headband from my forehead and placing it on the bed beside me, I sighed... I glance over at the clock and groaned. It was 5:32 AM, meaning I would have to get up soon. I sighed and tossed the jacket to the floor, flopping backwards onto the cool pillow, welcoming the change in temperature. I had never had nightmares quite like that, before...and hoped to never have them again.

NS: Okay, I know a lot of ppl have already read this, so I'm a little late on the author's note, but how was it? Did you like it?

Also! I am very aware that Sasuke is supposed to be the only one left in a very protegious(sp?) clan and whatnot, so he should have a large estate left to him, but for the purpose of this fic, I am making it so that he lives in an apartment building; afterall, he stands out enough as it is. This makes him a little more normal. That's all! R&R!