EDITED 2/18/2014

Chapter 4

Uchiha Sasuke was not happy. The Hokage had noticed that the clothes she had been wearing these past three weeks were either quite small or too large. Her old clothes did not fit her seventeen-year-old body so she had to make do with her mother's old clothes and sometimes even her father's. She would not dare to even touch Itachi's clothes. In the time she's spent in the house, she'd avoided even looking at the door to her brother's room. And it had been painful to enter the room her parents had shared, but she'd endured it. She couldn't go around naked all the time, though she didn't mind at all.

Uchiha Mikoto was only of average build, unlike her daughter who was tall and had a larger, but still feminine body structure. The sleeves and pant legs were a bit short, but the clothes did still fit. Some parts though were pretty tight since there was a slight difference in their… ahem… chest size, although it was not noticeable because Sasuke usually kept them bound with bandages.

Anyway, along with several reminders to keep good behaviour lest she would be sent to an actual prison Tsunade had 'asked' her to go shopping for new clothes, and here she was, being dragged by the Hyuuga to the shopping district.

She refused to waste her time buying things she probably wouldn't use much of. In her mind she knew she would be out of the village soon. It actually wasn't as soon as it should have already been. She hadn't expected to be still in captivity at this time, but it was better to bide her time, she convinced herself again.

She sighed as she glanced around the lively street and met the angry and disapproving stares of the villagers. It wasn't very hard to ignore them all, but she preferred to be in a quiet space than to be subjected to all this. Her betrayal was the sin everyone would forever remember her for and she had long since accepted it.

The weather was beautiful, and for her it was filled with gazes full of hatred and mouths curled in a cruel snarl. The contrast of the then and now amused her. Before she had left for her quest for power she had been a subject of admiration. However they regard her, though, had little effect on her. Despite that fact, she still did not want to shop around.

Sighing again, she started to turn to the direction of home and met with a resistance.

Already fed up of the Uchiha's many attempts to run away, Neji grabbed her waist and hoisted her form over his shoulder where she continued to struggle. His arm was as strong as an iron band and she could not break away from it with the lesser strength of her own two arms. He wouldn't give up, and despite that knowledge she refused to do so either.

Glaring at the back of his head, she was considering between elbowing his head or kneeing his stomach but the thought that one or even several of the watching eyes would use her own actions against her with a complaint stopped her. Within good reason, the Hokage could be overruled by the council of elders. If she were to be transferred to a prison cell an escape would unlikely.

She wondered when Orochimaru would send someone to take her back. He surely would. She was also certain that he had some spy or connection in the village that had informed him of her whereabouts and other details of her situation. What was he waiting for? She needed to go back to him. The seal on her shoulder had been constantly reminding her that she must go back to him, and it had to be soon.

That Orochimaru was purposely delaying a rescue operation was not beyond her thoughts and his inclination. The snake master knew very well what she needed from him, and it was more than the knowledge and power that had been promised to her.

Patience was the key to a succesful escape. She was losing it fast, but she had to endure.

"What are you doing?" The two of them simultaneously turned to the sudden voice, which belonged to none other than Haruno Sakuro. As he approached the pink haired male eyed the other in question and suspicion that Neji deemed absolutely unnecessary and pointless. He could understand though that it may look as if he was manhandling Sasuke, but personally Neji thought it was none of Sakuro's business, even as her former teammate. He had a job to do, and Sakuro was an outsider to everything concerning it.

"I am escorting her to go shopping." Replied the stoic Hyuuga, solidifying his hold on the still struggling female on his shoulder. "Hokage-sama's orders," he added, if only to reassure the other shinobi that there was a perfectly good reason for his actions, and soon enough the seventeen-year-old relaxed visibly.

"I see." Sakuro glanced at his former teammate who doesn't meet his eyes. Only silence emitted from the three of them for what seemed like a very long moment, with Sakuro not knowing what to say, Neji with nothing to say, and Sasuke not wanting to say anything. With much relief to all of them, it was soon broken with a loud "SASUKE-CHAN!" accompanied by the sound of quick footsteps coming toward them.

Sasuke, who had somehow managed to make a miraculous escape from the clutches of her guard tried to run away, but her efforts had been in vain as a yellow and violet mass tackled her to the ground.

Shit.

"Sasuke-chan! It's been a long time!" The female who was on top of Sasuke batted her eyelashes down at her in a flirty manner. The Uchiha was only slightly surprised by how freely she was being treated, completely without anger or censure at all.

Yamanaka Ino. Though a gorgeous woman with many suitors, her eyes only remained on the one female Uchiha Sasuke, her long time crush. It was a disappointment for some that such an attractive lady was in love with another. But one cannot blame her, for Sasuke's beauty was magnificently unrivaled. Ino loved beautiful things and couldn't keep herself away from this exquisite dark-haired person.

Sasuke looked through a hazy vision up at the blond lying on top of her. Slender arms possessively embraced her in a tight iron grip. Her situation now was both better and worse than what it had been just moments before Ino arrived. It was good that the tense moments were broken by the other girl's presence, but still, being latched onto by someone wasn't any fun either.

Light blue eyes looked down with desire and unknown intent at her. Before Sasuke could clearly see Ino's face however, the blond was skillfully unattached from her and gentle hands assisted her to her feet and held her until she was steady.

"Don't you go anywhere near her, you pig." Sasuke realized who had helped her and looked up at the man who, like Ino, had also sought after her during their younger years. The two were even self-proclaimed rivals for her love, and now it seemed that they still weren't over that. She was surprised that Sakuro touched her so easily. With the awkwardness in which they'd been responding to each other just minutes before, she didn't expect for him to come closer than a few feet from her.

"Why Forehead, I didn't see you there!" Ino smirked, a smug look making its way to her pretty face. Sakuro, who still had his grip on Sasuke's arm, pulled her closer to him as Ino made her way to them. Sasuke tried to pull away but his grip was as unyielding as Neji's had been earlier.

"Forehead, it's obvious that Sasuke-chan prefers to be with me. So you can just…" Ino stopped abruptly as Sakuro steered Sasuke to face him. He looked down at her, no emotion on his face. She had no idea how to respond to it or had any idea what it meant. Was Sakuro trying to tell her something, or was he simply observing the changes with her physical body? Or was he trying look inside her, to see if she had a change of heart? Immediately, Sasuke felt her face turn hard. She had not given up on her goal. Itachi would die by her hand. She wasn't sure why it was painful to return her ex-teammate's gaze.

Neji watched the scene with one eyebrow raised high, waiting for whatever was to come. But nothing happened. The younger male only kept staring down at the Uchiha who never even looked at the petal haired man in the eye. Sakuro's mindly blank face turned slightly sad and the Hyuuga wondered if he was the only one who noticed. Ino's face was in that impatient scowl he was familiar with, not commenting on the situation.

Sasuke was ashamed to look at the man who supposedly loved her. She thought back on their last encounter five years prior. Sakuro's confession, his failed attempt to either make her stay or to take him with her. She wouldn't have hurt anyone if she didn't have to. Sakuro, Naruto, and Kakashi, they were the ones who had put themselves in that position and there was nothing else she could do but hurt them in the process. Her anger and pain were stronger than their unexpected bond of friendship and that had been okay for her. She had not given up on her goal, she never would. She was merely biding her time until she could escape and accomplish it.

She schooled her features to a cold, stoic expression until she felt the grip on her shoulders tighten. Only then did she muster the courage to look at him and she studied that unfamiliar expression on this young man's face.

She saw the slight surprise that passed over Sakuro's face, but it was too short a moment that she wasn't even sure if she actually saw the shift in his expression. There was hurt in his eyes and she could see it shining through his emotionless façade. After a heavy sigh, he finally released her and abrubtly turned away, giving a nod to Neji who nodded back at his retreating figure. He said nothing to Ino and momentarily Sasuke thought it was slightly strange. Sakuro didn't even regard the blonde with a look of farewell or any sort.

"Have fun shopping, Sasuke," the retreating figure called out. Only she noticed the lack of the 'chan' suffix, and her countenance turned grave for a fleeting second before she was interrupted by Ino's loud voice.

"Shopping? Why didn't you say so! Let's go Sasuke-chan!" No one noticed the strained smile on the blonde's lips as she proceeded to enthusiastically drag the dark-haired girl to the nearest clothing store. Sasuke was prepared to forget the recently concluded encounter and so she allowed herself to be led away.

She hadn't expected that Ino would drag her everywhere.

The Hyuuga obviously enjoyed the moments of Sasuke's suffering. She could almost see the amused glint in his pale eyes. Not to mention the smirk that was clearly on his face. That smirk quickly turned into a frown the moment they were about to return home with all the purchases.

On their way back, Neji's face could not be seen as the stack of the purchases were entrusted to his care. If not for his Byakugan, he could not have travelled all the way back without having tripped or bumped into something.

Sasuke lagged behind him looking exhausted. Neji could not blame her, though, for Ino had dragged her to the shops all over the village for the whole day, only stopping an hour for lunch, while he had taken his sweet time walking behind them or sitting on provided seats while she had been forced to try on every article of clothing that caught the blonde's eye.

He heard a weary sigh from behind him, and he saw her glare at the few shopping bags she was holding, those that Neji was not able to carry. Sasuke had been reluctant to pay for Ino's purchases. Ino had made her buy not only clothes, but also shoes and accessories which the blonde deemed useful and necessary. She had even taken charge of the Uchiha's wallet. Sasuke had already decided earlier to secretly return some of the purchases another day after she inspected them. Ino did not know how to hold back and had definitely gone over the limit Tsunade had set on her shopping allowance.

Sasuke had tried to get away a few times whenever Ino's attention was elsewhere, and she cursed the Hyuuga in her head for always managing to skilfully intervene with her escape attempts before she could even get past the stores' entrance. He was smirking again at the memories of the earlier occurrences.

Neji snapped out of his reverie when his activated bloodline limit caught the form of a black haired, fellow ANBU atop one of the buildings as they were nearing the district. The figure moved away immediately upon his sighting. It had been only a glimpse, but Neji was sure of the person's identity.

What is he doing around here?

Sasuke appeared not to have noticed the man, and Neji did not bother to tell her. Arriving at the mansion, Neji placed the bags and packages down on a table. When it was time for him to leave some hours later, Sasuke trailed behind to close the door after him.

As soon as Neji's figure disappeared from her view Sasuke looked over to the building they had passed by earlier. It was several blocks away from the district but its wide, conical peak could be spotted from her vantage point.

She had noticed the man that had been watching them earlier and knew that her companion also did so but had said nothing to her. There was no point of it anyway. Obviously Neji wasn't the only one watching her. In the last three weeks she had sometimes felt other gazes on her.

It was the first time, however, that she had seen someone actually doing so and she wondered if it was on purpose.

It's him.

The image of a dark haired man of her age appeared in her mind and her eyebrows furrowed in recognition. She knew exactly where she had seen him before and frowned slightly at the memory.

As she closed the door, she didn't notice that that very man with the same hair and eyes was currently standing atop a tall tree just meters away from her front door. Beneath the shadows his dark gaze watched her with such intensity until she disappeared behind the door.

"Uchiha Sasuke, huh?" The man smiled an empty smile, and vanished, leaving no trace of him being there.