Invictus
By:
fruor
Summary: Five years ago, Uzumaki Naruto disappeared. The only witness: Uchiha Sasuke. While people fail and stray, Uzumaki Naruto always remained unconquerable. SasuNaru.
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairings: SasuNaru, KakaIru
Disclaimer: Naruto is created by Masashi Kishimoto and owns it damn well.
Note: Sasuke and Naruto are around 20-21 years old. Do the age math for the rest XP Lengthened summary.
II. Can't Breathe
"OOOWWWWW!" Tanned hands grabbed blonde hair. A pout graced the lips of the blonde, eyes staring in anger and confusion towards Sasuke. "That really hurt, Sasuke! You didn't have to punch me like that!"
"IDIOT!" Sasuke screamed with a voice he didn't expect to have. "What the heck was that!"
"That? What that? You mean the teasing or the one at the Valley of the End – but then, that should be teasing as well, right?" Naruto bit his lip, crossing his arms in what seemed to be deep thought. But Sasuke caught that smirk and shudder that most definitely ruins that molestation-prepared image. Ah, the lies – half-truths Naruto gives to protect his pranks.
The blonde's eyes narrowed into an annoying grin, "Were you honestly affected by that?"
Sasuke twitched but it was quickly covered up by his cool composure. "With your low class pranks? Who would be?" he smirked, putting his hand inside the pockets of his pants. He would never show Naruto how horrified he was being tricked like that…because it wasn't funny at all. He didn't know if he could still hold to his sanity if Naruto vanished from his sight once again.
"What the hell do you know about pranks! You never had any successful pranks!" Naruto scowled, pointing a shaking finger towards the brunette. No one insults the prank genius.
"I don't lower myself to trickery."
"ARGH! MY PRANKS AREN'T LOW, MR. HIGH-AND-MIGHTY!" Naruto swung his foot towards the Uchiha but it was easily dodged.
Sasuke opened his mouth to throw another insulting comment towards the blonde but the sound of a door being kicked open stopped him. He turned to the right side of the room. There he saw, standing with a small tray in her hands, was the Godaime.
The Hokage put the tray on her table and looked at the Uchiha, an eyebrow raising in question. "Didn't I tell Shizune not to let anyone in my office?" she asked, her voice edged with danger.
Sasuke remained silent like a child that knows his mistake – except that he was armed with his trademark death glare.
"Oh, Sasuke came to ask for a mission." Naruto supplied easily, his anger towards the Uchiha forgotten.
"And you," Tsunade pointed at Naruto, "get out of my chair. It's the Hokage's chair and as long as you aren't one, you can't sit there, gaki." She flicked at the blonde's forehead, which was, as of the moment, unprotected by his hitai-ate.
Naruto scrambled out of the chair, rubbing his forehead with a pout on his face. Absolutely adorable.
"Uchiha, we can discuss your mission requests later." Tsunade flapped a hand, waving the brunette away. "A certain Uzumaki and I need to talk first before you can take him away. Just wait a few hours. Obviously, Ichiraku would be his first destination."
"Hn." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and turned around, glimpsing that confused look the blonde gave to both him and the Hokage. He passed the ANBU guarding the Hokage's office and wondered why they never stopped him from entering the room. Was it possible that they didn't know Naruto was there? Was it even possible for the blonde to be undetected by ANBU? But, as he exited the building, all questions about the ANBU and Naruto were gone.
- - -
Sakura paced back and forth in front of the counter of the Yamanaka flower shop. She was worried about Sasuke. She knew how much Naruto's disappearance had affected the Uchiha despite all the effort he put into hiding it. Not only that, she was the only Sasuke ever responded to since the incident – at least from their generation. Maybe it was because they were both Naruto's teammates or that Naruto had once shown affection towards her – she knew Naruto was the reason behind the sudden decrease of harshness she received from the Uchiha.
So, she took it as her obligation to make sure Sasuke remained in – as her medical studies say – functional condition.
Hallucinating about someone presumably dead was something that qualifies anyone for mental instability.
"You know, pacing around like that won't solve a thing you're worrying about." Ino smiled gently at her best friend. She was leaning on the counter, her chin resting on the palm of her right hand. "Sit down a bit and tell me about it. Maybe I could help." She took a plastic chair from the stack at the corner of the room, just behind the counter, and dragged it towards the pink-haired young lady.
Sakura sighed, sinking to the chair offered to her.
"It's Sasuke-kun, isn't it?"
The medic nin nodded.
"When hasn't it been about him?" Ino chuckled lightly as she placed a chair across Sakura, sitting on it with crossed legs. "So? What happened? Had he returned with innumerable injuries again?"
"No, it's not that. Sasuke only got a retrieval mission this time." Sakura explained, eyes downcast, "And I gave him a knock-out gas so it would be easy for him to finish the mission."
Ino raised a brow and leaned forward, "Don't want him killing too much?"
Sakura nodded, "I know he's using missions to relieve his frustrations and anxieties. That's why he overloads himself." She shrugged, "Sure, he's a jounin and all – he could even be part of the ANBU if the Orochimaru incident never happened!" She threw her arms in the air, letting the backrest of her chair support her tired shoulders. "But he's just making himself worse."
Ino sighed, eyes full of worry – both for her friend and Sasuke. "Telling him that didn't work, now did it?"
Sakura shook her head, "The only one that ever got through to him was Naruto." She said in a tone that was a bit too smug than she meant. "Even his death had this much change in him." Of course she noticed the changes. Being Sasuke's stalker once helped a lot.
"Death, hmm? If Sasuke-kun heard that, he'd walk out on us." The blonde said light-heartedly, attempting to lift the mood. "After all, death should never be confirmed until the body is found." Blue eyes met green one, "But no one ever found Naruto's body, right?" Her voice was slightly shaking.
Sakura remained silent.
It was a topic most of them avoided. Innumerable search parties from Konoha and its allies (mostly from Sand) had been dispatched to search for the said shinobi but all their efforts proved to be futile. There was no sign of the blonde anywhere. At first, they assumed that he was captured by Akatsuki or the Sound but Akatsuki themselves were looking for the jinchuuriki and Sound…Sound had nothing to do with the disappearance…as confirmed by Sasuke himself. In order to prevent Naruto from being labeled as a missing nin, Tsunade made his status MIA, missing-in-action, dead. There were a lot of protests from the council but her power as the Hokage prevailed in the end.
The medic nin stood up. She turned to Ino and smiled. "I should be going now. The training center won't be waiting for me. And there's no way I'd let myself get a reputation like Kakashi's." the two ladies laughed. "Well, thank you for listening to me…and making me talk." Again, laughter was exchanged between the two.
"Before you go, let me give you some flowers." Ino rushed out of the counter and quickly skimmed the numerous plants in their flower shop.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Besides, I don't have my wallet with me."
"Nonsense! It's my treat!" The blonde flashed a friendly smile, "You give them to Sasuke-kun." She picked out three different kinds of flowers and a couple of leaves. "A couple or so of scarlet geraniums, a passion flower, some purple hyacinths and the leaves of an arbor vitae tree." She went to the counter and grabbed a plastic, some newspapers and a string. She arranged the plants into a bouquet and handed it to Sakura. "'I trust you will find relief, through faith, in your sorrow; be assured of my unchanging friendship.'" She quoted, a big and proud smile shining on her face.
Sakura smiled, taking the bouquet and holding it close to her chest. "You know, Sasuke-kun might not necessarily know anything about flower language." She sneered, teasing her best friend.
Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, he better know it because it's the sweetest thing you could take into consideration when giving flowers." She raised her nose in the air, hands firmly placed at her hips.
Sakura and Ino looked at each other. Then they laughed.
- - -
True to Tsunade's predictions, the vulpine shinobi did indeed go straight to Ichiraku, humming a tune to himself – still without his hitai-ate. He had performed a henge that turned him into a red-haired man dressed in the same clothes as he did a while ago – a long-sleeved black shirt over an orange vest and dark green cargo pants with the typical shinobi sandals in black. He also retained his eyes and skin color. Somehow, he had gotten rid of his whiskers though it looked like he used a different jutsu for that. Now, he looked like a normal citizen from any country. It must be Tsunade who suggested that he hide his identity before things are cleared up. After all, a presumably dead shinobi cannot suddenly appear out of nowhere in perfect physical condition and resume his duties as though nothing ever happened.
Of course, Sasuke was there to witness that. He waited for three hours outside the Hokage tower in a place too far for anyone in the tower to sense his charka (taking his chakra suppression into account) and near enough to see anyone exiting the building – in rain or shine…except that it was all "shine" while he was waiting…and not that bright a shine either (it was mid afternoon).
He followed the blonde diligently. He had wondered why his prey had not shown any signs of noticing him because at his distance, he was sure he would be found – considering the blonde's detecting skills the last time they met. He doubted that Naruto would let his skills dull and the Naruto he knew would definitely hone his abilities. If his prey had no problem with him playing predator, then he had no problem continuing.
Naruto had entered the ramen stand around five minutes ago. Sasuke had waited enough. He jumped off from his "stalking" place because being out in the open is not considered a "hiding" place. A while ago, while waiting for Naruto to get out of the tower, his patience seemed limitless. Funny how he couldn't wait for more than five minutes now.
Sasuke poked his head into Ichiraku. His eyes automatically scanned the stand for any suspicious characters (force of habit) until it settled contentedly on Naruto. Currently, the blonde (well, he's a redhead as of the moment) that caught his eyes was ordering enthusiastically with that higher-than-most-males-his-age voice. With silent footsteps and barely heard breathing, he made his way to Naruto in speed only jounin are capable of.
"Oh hello, Sasuke." Naruto exclaimed, not once turning his head towards Sasuke's direction. "Add two more bowls after that, jiji! One beef after the miso and then a prawn one for the third!" he pointed a finger towards the old man but it was Ayame, the owner's daughter who acknowledged his order. He turned to Sasuke and said, "Uhm, those orders are for me. You order if you want – and I'm not paying for your meal!"
Sasuke stared at the blonde. So his prey was really playing prey like he was playing predator. He smirked. Just what he expected from Naruto – skills worthy of intriguing him…though he seemed to have achieved intriguing him about more than just skills. He sat at the empty stool beside Naruto, briefly speculating whether the fox reserved the seat for him or it was simply that way.
The first of the three was expertly tossed on of Naruto's counter: miso.
"Five years and you're still eating that junk?" Sasuke started with an insult that he was sure would rile up Naruto.
Naruto blew him a raspberry and grabbed the ceramic bowl, chopsticks ready in his hand. "Hey, I haven't eaten in Ichiraku for five years!" He poked Sasuke's cheek the chopsticks, "AND DON'T YOU INSULT RAMEN THAT WAY!" His chopsticks made a straight dive into the broth and came out full of noodles, which was quickly shoved into his mouth.
"But that still doesn't mean that you never ate it in five years." Sasuke commented, snorting at the suggestion. "Knowing you, you'd never survive a day without ramen."
Again, the chopsticks – now wet with the broth and, needless to say, Naruto's saliva – were poked on the Uchiha's cheek. "Bastard! I can survive without ramen for a day! I ALREADY DID!" The wooden utensil went into the ramen and was shoved into Naruto's mouth…yet again. "But still, it wasn't Ichiraku ramen!"
"And what's the difference?"
The poking ensued once more along with the ramen and mouth part. "ICHIRAKU RAMEN IS THE BEST!" Naruto slurped the soup away and grabbed the second bowl thrown his way: the beef one. "And it's human." He added almost inaudibly but the Uchiha heard well-enough though he gave little thought to it.
Sasuke wiped his cheek as he watched Naruto eat his ramen. The chopsticks trade route: Uchiha cheek – ramen – Uzumaki mouth. Would that consider as an indirect kiss? Maybe I should let the chopsticks poke my mouth instead. , Sasuke sealed his mouth tightly. Whatever was going on in his mind definitely won't benefit him in a symbiotic way…at least as long as his and Naruto's relationship was still undefined.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Naruto looked up (because Sasuke refused to turn his head towards the voice and away from Naruto) and beamed. His mouth ate the second bowl like a black hole. He stood up and waved his arm excitedly in the air, "SAKURA-CHAN!"
Sasuke resisted the urge to slap himself (or Naruto). When you're trying to hide your identity, you do not – repeated, do not go around and greet people whom you're supposed to hide from.
The pink-haired girl came to a stop behind the Uchiha, looking at Naruto with confused eyes. "Uhm, excuse me? Do I know you?" she held a bouquet closer to her chest, adjusting the angle so that she could use one of her hands if needed.
"Oh? You don't remember me? That's so mean, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura's face scrunched in thought. She doesn't remember meeting a redhead with bright round eyes nor does she remember the voice. The eyes looked strangely familiar but nothing else. Well, there was only one place for someone to know her with she herself not knowing what the person looks like. "Shinobi hospital? Did we meet there by any chance?" she guessed. She noticed the lack of a hitai-ate and quickly regretted asking.
Naruto shook his head, pouting as he slurped away his shrimp ramen.
Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun." She offered the bouquet, "Here. Ino gave it to me. She told me I should give it to you." She smiled hesitantly.
Sasuke eyed the flowers. He was thankful they weren't roses but then, they weren't familiar ones. He figured that Ino probably conjured up some flower language thingy with this one. He analyzed the situation in his mind. Across him was a pouting Naruto and adjacent to him was a Sakura offering him flowers. He sighed and took the bouquet into his arms, raising an eyebrow at the passion flower.
"I trust you will find relief, through faith, in your sorrow; be assured of my unchanging friendship." Sakura's sweet voice was edged with worry. After all, the sign of Uchiha Sasuke within Ichiraku – the place he avoided since the incident – was a sure signal that says worry, worry, worry.
Naruto dropped his bowl loudly on the tabletop. He dug his hands into his pockets and out came a frog wallet that was his trademark. He took out some coins and let it drop noisily on the counter. "Thanks for the meal!" he smiled at Ayame who smiled back along with customary bow. He turned to Sasuke and Sakura, "Well, see ya!" he waved and skipped out of the stand in a carefree air.
Sasuke stood up and pushed the bouquet back to Sakura who looked at him, baffled.
"Sasuke-kun? Who was that? Is he a shinobi from another village?" Sakura asked. She really had no idea who that was but if he could make Sasuke act like this then he was worth knowing. Maybe he could stop Sasuke's hallucinations.
The Uchiha looked at Sakura and Naruto, who just went out of the ramen stand. He turned his head sharply towards Sakura, "That was—that was—" the image of an angry Hokage and an upset Uzumaki appeared on his mind "Just come with me." He said as he walked briskly past the customers and towards the redhead that just left. Sakura followed closely behind him.
- - -
It wasn't long before Sasuke caught up with Naruto. Apparently, the said shinobi wasn't running away. He was simply walking leisurely through the streets of Konoha. Sasuke landed abruptly in front of Naruto in attempt to surprise him…which he failed beautifully since the fox crouched down to pick up a coin he saw on the ground thus, was unable to see the Uchiha.
Sasuke grabbed the young man on the wrist and dragged him over the rooftops, towards the Uchiha compound. Naruto, being Naruto, was able to keep up with the pace despite the bother of Sasuke's grip on his wrists. And Naruto, being Naruto, was able to somehow tangle his legs with the Uchiha as they landed in front of his unit, sending both of them toppling on the ground – on top of each other – in a very yummy position.
All the while Sakura watched the two from behind as they bickered like long lost friends. She felt as sense of familiarity creep over her as she watched the scene with an eerie smile on her face. She was happy that Sasuke seemed better with the man-whose-name-she-does-not-know but the problem was…she just doesn't know who that person is. After all, with Naruto away, she has to be the one to worry about the Uchiha – in her own way of course.
Sasuke stood up, dusting away whatever clung to his clothes and hair during his fall with Naruto – a part of him regretted not being on top but he shoved it away as he opened the door to his unit. He pushed Naruto inside, mumbling something about idiots and their idiosyncrasies. He went inside afterwards, leaving the door open for Sakura to come in and close.
At the sight of the newly upholstered couches in the Uchiha living room, Naruto's face brightened. Sasuke, seeing the expression on his face, rushed to the sofa and sat down with his feet propped on the leather surface. "Don't you dare jump on any of the couches." He seethed, his eyes twitching at the vulpine young man who was still ready to spring on the one Sasuke was on despite well, Sasuke sitting on it already. Maybe he really wanted it was Sasuke he really wanted to jump upon….
Sakura laughed lightly. She walked past the two of them and sat on the one-person sofa place on the right side of the one Sasuke was sitting (protecting?) upon. It was amusing to see the two of them bicker like children even though they were – legally – adults already. She felt her chest grow heavy. It was so familiar it hurt. "Naruto…." She whispered.
"Finally! I thought you'd never notice!" Naruto threw his arms in the air. He walked towards Sasuke's couch, kicking the other man's legs from the cushions and sitting down properly beside the Uchiha – well, proper for him with the light bouncing he was making.
Sakura looked at the redhead with the same confused eyes as before. No matter how much good he doing the Uchiha, she could not overlook the fact that he was acting like that towards Naruto's name. It sounded extremely annoying and overly disrespectful. She knew how many people hated Naruto – for reasons unknown to her but that never stopped her from standing up for the blonde – and if he was one of them, he would surely get a good beating from her.
Clenching her fists and forcing away all anger with a smile, she looked at the redhead and said, "Excuse me, but I seriously don't recognize you and if you have any whims over Naruto – his name even – I think that it would be wise for you to leave."
Naruto's eyes swirled with confusion. He shook his head and squinted his eyes at his former teammate.
"You're still in henge, dobe." Sasuke supplied helpfully though his voice was annoyed.
The fox snapped his fingers. "Ah, sou ka!" he laughed loudly, throwing his feet in the air. He stood up and beamed at Sakura. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. There's no way I would have something against…" he made a series of seals and with one poof, he returned to his usual blonde hair. "…myself."
The medic nin's breathing grew rapid and abrupt. She put a hand over her mouth in shock. Tears were forming in her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. "The whiskers…the scars…cheeks…." She mumbled.
"Dobe, the whisker marks!" Honestly, one day Uchiha Sasuke shall write create a guideline for idiots and their idiosyncrasies. Some times he would think that the blonde would've improved intellectually but a sudden stupid action would ruin his thoughts.
Naruto laughed once again. He snapped his fingers and the jutsu – if it ever was a jutsu – was dispelled. "See, Sakura-chan! It really is me!" he waved his hands enthusiastically but instead of getting happy welcome-homes, he was greeted only with tears.
Sakura couldn't help it. She was so happy and relieved that Naruto was alive that she burst into tears. After Sasuke (and probably Iruka), she was the one who was destroyed the most with Naruto's disappearance but she knew how to move on, she knew that sulking over him would do her no good; she knew that many people needed her skills so she pushed away the pain. She denied Naruto's death for a long time but facts held a solid argument.
"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, what's the matter? Don't cry. Aren't you happy to see me?" Naruto crouched down, patting the young lady's shoulder in an attempt to comfort.
Sakura bawled and latch onto Naruto in a tight hug. "BAKA! I'm crying because I'm happy to see you!" she slammed a fist on the blonde's chest a bit too hard than she intended to. She smiled, both for Naruto and Sasuke's sanity. At least she confirmed that the Uchiha didn't really have hallucinations – not unless she was having one as well and exact hallucinations could not be considered as one.
Naruto coughed, having the wind knocked-out from him. "Ehehehe, Sakura-chan. You're still as strong as ever."
The medic nin shook her head, "You're such an idiot, Naruto."
- - -
It took around an hour for Sakura to calm down: 30 minutes to stop the tears and another 30 to catch her breathing and stop the shock. As of the moment, Sakura was supplying Naruto with all the information he wanted…like what the rankings of his friends and the situation of Konoha.
Sasuke had left the living room when Sakura and Naruto started chatting. Not only does he want nothing to do with what seemed like gossip, his jealousy would not benefit that reunion. He knew that Sakura no longer sported that annoying crush towards him (he was thankful for that) but what he didn't know was if Naruto still had a liking towards Sakura. Naruto never asked him about Konoha or any of their comrades but then…it's not as if he would answer and most likely he couldn't. He was never a fan of gossip and the only person who could blab incessantly in front of him would be Naruto himself so he was almost as clueless as Naruto.
He could still hear Sakura's sweet voice from the kitchen and Naruto's enthusiastic reactions.
"Oh, so all of you are jounin already?"
"No, not all of us. Hinata and Ino are still chuunin. I don't think Hinata has any plans becoming a jounin but Ino would be taking the test next year." Sakura said animatedly, "Neji and Shino are in ANBU though and Tenten, I think, wanted to get into ANBU but she was denied."
Naruto pouted, "So then, I'm the only genin from our generation." He ruffled his hair furiously and then sighed. "But what about you, Sakura-chan? You're a medic nin, right? Is your training with Tsunade-baachan finished already? And what about Sasuke? Knowing him, he'd die to get in ANBU."
Sakura laughed lightly, flapping a hand, "Not so many questions at one go, Naruto. You could always catch up slowly. Anyway, yes, I'm still a medic nin. I'm helping with the medic nin training center. Tsunade-sama set it up to decrease the morality rate of our missions. And Sasuke-kun," she looked behind Naruto, towards the kitchen door, where she glimpsed the Uchiha's raven hair, "He's not allowed into ANBU."
"Oh. Because of the Orochimaru thing, right?"
"Yes. He still has the cursed seal so the council didn't approve." Sakura nodded, sighing sadly. "But enough about us, Naruto. What about you? What happened to you? Tsunade-sama had the whole world looking for you!"
Sasuke jerked his head towards the medic nin. He wanted to know this as well. He went to the open door and leaned on the frames, arms crossed with impatience.
Naruto bit his lip. For a moment he was silent and lost in thought. Then, as Sakura touched his shoulder, he looked up, smiling brightly, "Well, I wasn't really in any of the countries so there's no chance of ever finding me." He laughed, rubbing the back of his head in nervousness.
Sakura frowned. She knew that reaction. She knew that Naruto didn't want to talk about it. But she wanted – needed – to know oh-so-much. She was hurt by the disappearance. Sasuke was destroyed. Nonetheless, she was a woman and a woman knows when not to pursue issues further.
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."
The pink-haired young woman shook her head, tapping the blonde's shoulder lightly. "It's okay, Naruto." She smiled softly. She glanced at the wall clock and stood up, "Anyway, it's late. I should be going now." She hugged the blonde one last time, squeezing to make sure he was real. "I'll come by tomorrow. You'll be staying with Sasuke for the night?"
Naruto shrugged, "I don't really know. Tsunade-baachan told me my apartment had been sold so I guess I have no choice." He sheepishly turned towards Sasuke, a pleading look in his eyes.
"I'm sure Sasuke would love to have you over." Sakura winked at the Uchiha who ignored her with one smug jerk of his head. "See you, Naruto. Take care."
"Ah, Sakura-chan. I'm not going out of Konoha so you don't need to worry like that."
The medic nin laughed. She bowed politely and led herself out of the house.
"So…Sasuke." Naruto faced the Uchiha, "About that stay…."
Sasuke shrugged. "It's okay with me. There's another room in this house and there's also a lot of empty houses in the compound." He said simply.
The blonde jumped up in triumph.
"But I want something in return."
The smile fell and was replaced by a serious frown. "What do you want?"
Sasuke ignored the unusual seriousness of the blonde. After all, he himself was serious about what he wanted. He approached the blonde and grabbed one of his wrists, his hand winding tightly on the tan skin. "Where you went when you vanished."
Naruto scowled, eyes showing irritation. "Well, that's something you have no right to know." He turned around and tried to leave but Sasuke had a good grip on his wrist.
"I have every right to know, Uzumaki." The brunette said dangerously. "You fucking disappeared in front of me. I was the only one who saw what happened and I demand to know your whereabouts!"
The blonde growled, twisting his arm in an attempt to break free from the Uchiha. "NO YOU DON'T!" he screamed. He jerked his hand upward, finally making the other let go. "WHY CAN'T YOU BE LIKE SAKURA!" Naruto pushed Sasuke away, making him topple on the ground. Without looking back, he ran out of the house in anger.
Sasuke cursed himself. He knew it wasn't right for him to force something like that out of him when he obviously didn't want to talk about it but he just couldn't help it. His words came out angrier and more forceful than he meant it. He stood up and ran outside, only to see the blonde perform henge and that whisker-removing jutsu. He sighed. He was happy about the blonde being alive and he forgot about his disappearance but then Sakura just had to go and remind him.
"Sasuke, you idiot."
I love Sakura in the latest manga chapters – well, as long as Sasuke's not in the picture yet. She's strong and practical and worries over her friends and the people around her rather than worrying about Sasuke all the time. And that's the way she should be.
Sasuke and angst…when have they not been together? But too much angst makes a bad fic (well, IMO) though a good one-shot. I mean, no one angsts every second in his life. That's just plain unhuman and inhumane.
I think I missed a few words that were italicized. I convert the whole chapter into html before uploading it so I might've missed a few. Oh well. On the other hand, since it's almost my Christmas vacation, I'm getting the chapters done faster! Once my sem starts, I'll probably be dragged once again ;
Anyway, feed me reviews, dears. The 3rd chapter is finished already. I'm just waiting for your response. And if you plan to give me flames, please label as so…or I might not be able to see it. It's not sarcasm. I mean it. I don't really see what's so bad about recieving flames. I bash myself on a daily basis so there's nothing wrong with others doing the same XDXDXD Criticisms are much appreciated though.
And much love to my reviewers: Nadramon, SephirothduMatrea, Megagirl14045, Love Squared and prettybeka. Now there are five of you XD Much love!
