Yay, my third chapter! I'm so excited, lol. Thanks to all my reviewers. And this chapter takes a turn no one would expect a SasukeXOC fanfic to turn. I love you all!

Love

StoicNinja2009

Kaede leaned into him, breathing in his scent. She didn't know him that well, and yet, here he was, comforting her while she cried her eyes out. Her heart thudded in her chest; the sorrowful feeling was being replaced with another she could not identify, only by the familiar swelling and tightening sensation.

Uchiha Sasuke.

She bit her lip to try and stop the sobs, and pulled back reluctantly from Sasuke's grasp. Her hazel eyes met dark ones, dark ones that were filled with concern. The Uchiha's outer cover, his strong, indifferent demeanor had diminished, leaving a softer, kinder side behind.

"Sasuke," she murmured, moving back to arms length, her eyes searching Sasuke's face. He looked down at her, his lips tilting up in a hint of a smile.

"Better?"

A new glint in his eyes, something she hadn't seen before, caught her attention. She couldn't really describe it; if she had to, she would say it was something like care or worry or even…nah, impossible. But nonetheless, it was there.

She swallowed. "Yeah."

No sooner than the word was out of her mouth than the cold, dark, indifferent glare came back in Sasuke's eyes. He let go of her arms, turned away, and shoved his hands in his pockets, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Good," he snipped darkly, staring at the ground, his onyx hair shading his eyes. "I can't have someone as weak as that on my team."

Kaede's eyes widened in shock. What had he just said?!

"What?!"

Sasuke's smirk widened. "Hn," he muttered, glancing every-so-slightly in her direction. "You heard me. You'd better toughen up or you're going to slow us down. Even Sakura can hold herself together."

The fury was building up fast, Kaede couldn't stop it, and she didn't want to. How dare he speak to her with such…such….ugh! She couldn't even think of the word she was so mad! That rotten, disgusting, sorry excuse for a ninja! She'd tear that smirk off his face for sure.

Kaede was visibly shaking; her eyes narrowed dangerously, Sasuke's infinite calm infuriating her even more. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, eyes staring at the ground. His face was unreadable, the picture of serenity. Kaede clenched her fists, glaring at the cool, collected ninja. Already she was envisioning his downfall, her kunai at his throat, his urgent plea for mercy.

She shivered, the thrill of that image pumping adrenaline through her veins. Her breathing became ragged, and she forced herself to turn away from Sasuke. If she attacked him now, something bad was bound to happen. She knew she wasn't strong enough yet, but she knew that she would be soon.

"Hey, teme!"

Naruto's annoying voice could pierce through the thickest of walls, Kaede concluded, and took a deep, rattling breath before plastering a too-wide smile on her face and turning to greet Naruto.

"Oh, hi, Naruto," she said brightly, waving. "Where's Sakura?"

Confused for a moment, then smiling, Naruto replied, "She's not feeling very well today so she didn't come. I went to get her but she just threw something at me. I think it was the clock or somethin'." He chuckled sheepishly, and Kaede could just see a small red mark where the clock had hit him on the head.

She stifled back a giggle, in spite of her anger, and patted the blond on the back. "Yeah, I think I know why she's a little under the weather."

Naruto stared at her, intrigued, but she wouldn't say any more. Kaede sighed and sat down on the wood of the bridge, trying to calm her whirling mind.

First he comforts her, then calls her weak. Why would he do that? Oh, and he compared her to Sakura, of all people. For goodness sakes, Sakura cried if the sun went behind a cloud! Not that she didn't like Sakura; the other kunoichi was her best friend. But calling her a bigger cry baby? That was crossing the line.

She could feel her anger creeping up on her again, and she squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate on forcing it back. She did not want to let her temper flare. It would be best if she just kept herself calm. The small amount of time that she'd been conscious of her existence in this world, she had come to realize the extent of her temper. And that temper was what had pushed her to practice so hard.

Considering that she had no idea what other life she might have had, ninja was the only thing she knew. So she worked hard at it, despite Sasuke's constant accusations that she was weak and useless and would never amount to anything.

Her hazel eyes drifted over to where Sasuke stood stoic and calm as ever. She averted her gaze to Naruto, and the blond smiled at her.

"Hey, Kaede," he said, bounding over to sit next to her.

"Hmm?" Kaede mumbled, looking at the hyper ninja. His blue eyes danced eagerly as he flashed a bright smile.

"Wanna train with me today?" Naruto looked so eager that Kaede couldn't refuse. Besides, that would leave Sasuke without a partner, which meant he'd have to train with Kakashi, of all people.

Kaede grinned devilishly. "Sure, Naruto." She cracked her knuckles. "Get ready to get your butt kicked."

"Oh, you're on now!" Naruto tackled her right there, catching her by surprise. She landed hard on the wooden bridge, her back slamming onto the rough surface. Naruto was wrestling her hands down to the ground. Oh, that was so not going to happen.

She brought her knees to her chest, curled her feet back so the soles were facing the blonde's stomach, and rammed them into his sensitive tummy. Naruto coughed as he was sent flying backwards, but he stood up gamely, and came rushing back.

His fist landed on her jaw, and her head jerked back from the force of it. Blindly reaching out with her hands, she latched onto Naruto's wrist and took him down with her. The small of her back hit the railing, and, unable to stop herself or Naruto, they both fell over the side of the bridge and into the cold river beneath.

Kaede surfaced quickly, spitting water out of her mouth. Naruto appeared next to her, laughing uncontrollably. She joined him in his fit of giggles, dipping her head backwards into the water to make her hair flatten out of her face. Just as she'd blinked the cool liquid out of her eyes and come into focus, a splash of water met her head-on. Taken aback, Kaede coughed and spluttered, her hands wildly waving in front of her face.

Once she calmed down, she glared at Naruto, who was giggling—again. "Oh-ho, you're in for it now, Uzumaki!"

Growling low in her throat, Kaede lunged at Naruto, sending them both tumbling into the small, chilly waves. She wrestled with him, fighting to keep his head underwater, but his weight and strength was proving greater than her own. The blonde fought the restraining hands on his shoulders, kicking and flailing, finally able to push her off, and found himself on top this time. But he was more merciful than she, and let her sit up.

Both breathing hard from their little struggle, they smiled. "Tie," they chorused, and chuckled.

Suddenly, they were being lifted into the air by two strong hands. Kakashi.

Their sensei placed them both back on the bridge, rolling his eye. They tried their best to look ashamed, but they really weren't. They'd been having too much fun—what was wrong with that?

"Just what did you two think you were doing?" Kakashi queried, not sounding angry, but that was Kakashi. He was always calm and indifferent. Like Sasuke, Kaede realized, but not to such a degree as the Uchiha was.

"Um….playing in the river?" Naruto answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Kakashi chuckled lightly and shook his head. "You two…." He turned to look at Sasuke. "And I assume Sasuke didn't participate in this little event?" When the dark Uchiha shook his head, Kakashi directed his words at Kaede and Naruto. "Well, then, since Sakura is feeling under the weather, you two will train together, and I will work with Sasuke, OK?'

After eager nods from both young ninja, Kakashi turned away from them.

Naruto and Kaede slipped kunais out of their holsters, held them defensively, and charged at one another. As their knives clashed with metal-on-metal clangs, Kaede let her eyes slip over to Sasuke.

The Uchiha was sparring lightly with their sensei, his moves easily being blocked, but just as easily avoiding Kakashi's attacks. He moved with such precision, such grace, such….determination. It was hard to concentrate on someone else when he was fighting.

"HA!"

Kaede blinked from her daze and realized that Naruto had pinned her, and was dancing triumphantly a few paces away. She grimaced, stood quietly up from the ground, and tackled the happy ninja from behind. They tumbled to the ground, Kaede with her knees on Naruto's legs and her arm flat against his chest, retraining him. He looked up at her with wide, astonished eyes.

"Rule number one: never leave me laying conscious on the ground."



Kaede rolled over on her bed, and right off it. She landed on the ground, tangled in her sheets, with a muffled, "oomph."

She valiantly struggled to release herself from her covers, and once she was disentangled, she jumped up. What a horrible nights sleep, to wake up tangled as she'd been! She shuddered as she went into the bathroom, memories of her dream coming back to her in unwelcome rushes.

After stripping herself of her t-shirt and sleep shorts, she stepped into the hot shower and let the steaming water spray her face and wet her hair. The terror of her dream was still with her, no matter how hard she tried to block it out. Her heart thudded at the thought of running through those halls again, never quite reaching the end, and hearing those footsteps pounding behind her, that voice, calling her, threatening her, never going away…..

Kaede's breaths came out in short, rapid gasps as she sprinted down the dark, door-filled hallway. She could hear the laughter behind her, his slow steps approaching as calmly as if he were taking an afternoon stroll.

Her feet hit the floor hard with every quick-paced step, desperately fighting the urge to stop running and give in, give in to his will and allow him to take her. She forced herself to look forward, to the door at the end of the hallway. There were so many doors around her, but she couldn't focus on them. Just that one door, that one chance for escape.

Except, it never seemed to get any closer. No matter how hard she ran, she couldn't reach it! Her hand reached desperately for the doorknob, and she grabbed it, turned it, and fled through it. She slammed it behind her, leaning against it, breathing hard, and finding it even harder to relax.

Then, suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced down, saw the white limb gripping her, and screamed. He laughed, and hauled her backwards, through the door that wasn't there anymore. His cackle filling her ears, she was swung around and stared into those eyes, those eyes.

Snake-like orbs glittered in anticipation, his face crinkled in a horrible, awful laugh. There was nothing, no sound, nothing, just his face, his eyes, and his laugh. His mouth spread open with giggles, he showed two long, white teeth, matching his white skin. His black hair swung around his shoulders as they shook.

A final gasp was all she could muster, before his neck extended to hers, those long teeth piercing her skin, and her scream, filling the emptiness around her.

Swallowing hard and turning the water on cold, Kaede fought back a chill, shaking her head viciously. Even remembering the dream sent her into a fit!

Kaede yelped as the icy water hit her warm skin, and hurriedly turned the water off completely. She stepped out of the shower, still shaking, and the shaking wasn't from the cold water.

Her fuzzy blue towel felt soft and welcomed on her skin. She dried off as quickly as she could, realizing she was late, and threw her clothes on. It wasn't a moment later when the door was swinging closed behind her.

Sitting on the table next to the door was her headband, and her kunai holster.



At the bridge, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting, one patient, the other fretting, when Kaede arrived. One quick glance told her that Sakura was still under the weather, so she plopped down on the wooden bridge and ran a hand through her wet hair.

"Hi, Kaede!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically, bounding over to give her a tight and unwelcome hug.

Despite her irritation at his hug, Kaede didn't say anything to him and merely patted him lightly on the back.

Stifling a yawn, she mumbled, "Morning."

"Gee, you look tired today," Naruto commented, wrinkling his nose as he studied her carefully. "Did you not sleep last night?"

Oblivious to the blonde's concern, and cranky from her fright, Kaede snapped, "No, Naruto. I had a rough night last night, OK?"

Even Sasuke looked up at the harsh tone of her voice. Naruto looked slightly hurt, but Kaede hadn't the energy to console him and apologize. As if she would anyway.

She leaned her head back on the railing, closed her eyes, and willed all the bad images to go away. If only they would, she grimly told herself, and moved around so that she was laying flat on her back on the warm bridge. Behind her, she knew, was Sasuke, but after the previous day's events, she didn't think she could look at him without that hollow feeling returning.

For hours after returning "home," Kaede had fretted over Sasuke's actions and what he'd done the last week. First, taking her into his home and giving her some clothes, then consoling her, and suddenly insulting her? If all ninja boys were like that, then Kaede would have to turn gay or something, because they were just way too confusing.

If Sasuke had wanted to be crude and insult her, why had he acted so kindly beforehand? He should've come right out and said that she was weak and useless and a crybaby, if in so many words. Apparently, Uchiha's weren't people who enjoyed lengthy conversations or speeches of any kind.

We-ell, if Sasuke wanted to play that game, then she could, too. No more misses-nice-Kaede.

For once, Kakashi was late earlier than usual. Sort of an oxymoron, but that was Kakashi-sensei for you. What you saw was what you got.

Unlike Sasuke, Kaede thought bitterly as Kakashi instructed Naruto and Sasuke on their stances and attack methods. She'd requested to sit out of that day's practice, her excuse being lack of sleep and extremely sore muscles. So now, every time she moved, she made sure that she winced a little bit.

It was well past dinnertime when practice was over. They were all extremely hungry—as punishment for Sasuke and Naruto not listening to him and letting their tempers get out of control, Kakashi had taken their lunch privileges away, which in truth made them all feel like three year olds.

So, as an apology, Naruto treated all three of them to ramen at Ichiraku. As they each ate their preferred ramen noodles, Naruto attempted to strike up a conversation, which he was, just barely, able to with Kaede who wasn't in much of a talking mood. But, to humor and please the blonde, she conversed politely with him.

Even as they chatted, her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of the look on Sasuke's face as he fought Naruto, a look of pure rage and vicious fury that she had never seen before. It amazed and frightened her at the same time—it was amazing because it was an expression that could not be faked, and frightening because, well, it was.

There was no end to the oddities of Uchiha Sasuke, she decided, taking another bit of her ramen in her chopsticks and delivering it to her hungry mouth. No matter how hard she would try to understand him, she would never be able to. It would be best just to let it go, right?

No.

After he called her weak, a baby, and useless, she would not rest until she had received his approval. Or maybe even something else, something else she would not let herself admit to.

Wow, Kaede got dissed. Poor little Kaede. Oh, well. I'd originally had Sasuke tell her not to reveal the moment, then I thought, 'You know, maybe it would be more interesting if Sasuke just totally rejected her.' And I was right! Review if you feel like it. Luv ya!

StoicNinja2009