Those Hearts Confused

Sasuke sat outside a large red door at the Akatsuki Konoha Headquarters. With a knife he slowly peeled an apple, creating a never ending peel. He wore a white shirt, baring his chest in the center, blue baggy pants that were tucked into his ankle high ninja sandals. He wore fingerless gloves, which had patting on the top. His black hair was spiked back with a few strands loose around his face.

He sighed; boredom was taking the best of him. For two days he had been sitting on a chair near the red door, waiting for them to leave. He finished peeling the bright green apple, letting the peel fall to the floor. With his knife, he cut a piece off the apple and then placed it in his mouth. The hallway was quiet, a very boring quiet. The only sound was the chewing of the apple in Sasuke's mouth. He looked down to the floor, staring at the perfect peel.

With his fingers, he lifted the peel up to his face and bounced the spring like peel in front of him. "God, I need to get out of here."

Suddenly, the door opened and out walked Itachi. He wore a large black coat with red clouds surround it, the coat he wore only to the Akatsuki meetings. Sasuke quickly stood up into a military stance, addressing Itachi as 'sir.'

Itachi, with only a blank expression on his face, stared at his younger brother. Since the murder of their family's clan, Sasuke has been loyal to his brother's side. Itachi promised Sasuke that one day they would find those that killed off their clan and bring them to justice. Sasuke was only a child when his clan was killed off. He recalls the day every night in his dreams. The fresh smell of blood, the sight of bodies mounted on top of one another, the cold shiver in the air of a village left with only his body to breathe. When he arrived home, he found his mother and father lying on the floor, with each of their heads detached, both thrown to seperate sides of the room.

"We will find them," said Itachi when he walked into the room to find a young Sasuke crying over his parent's bodies, "We will find the gypsies and have them pay for what they did."

Since that day, Sasuke has trained with the Akatsuki ninjas and became co-captain besides Itachi. No one was more loyal than Sasuke or more willing to fight.

"Sasuke, tonight the leaders leave Konoha, please make arrangements with the other ninjas to escort them out of the village," ordered Itachi.

"Yes, sir," answered Sasuke, "and what of Naruto?"

"What of Naruto?"

"It was his birthday two days ago and we have yet to visit."

"Your point being?"

"Well, I'm sure he misses you. Naruto does enjoy your visits, Itachi. It should be something we do for him."

"Should? There is nothing I 'should' do for Naruto. Everything I do for him is out of the kindness of my heart. Remember that Sasuke. Naruto 'should' be dead, but because of me, he is alive. That alone 'should' be enough."

"Yes, Itachi."

"But, none the less, I do need to visit the church, so while I'm there I'll give Naruto a visit. If you wish, go ahead of me and tell Iruka and Kakashi of my arrival. I'll be there in two hours, after the leaders leave."

"Yes, sir."

"You may go."

Sasuke left Itachi, following the orders he was given. With haste, he completed his given commands and made his way to the church, after make one quick stop.


The bells rang softly that afternoon, singing like children in a field on a brisk spring day. With each bell that rang, Sakura lit a candle, chanting her daily prayer.

"Agnus Dei.
Qui tollis peccata mundi.
Agnus Dei.
Dona nobis pacem."

As she lit her final candle, Iruka walked to her, holding a glass with fresh water. "This is for you."

"Thank you, sensei."

"Is everything alright, Sakura? Lately your prayers have been more frequent and your speech has become more passionate. Is something the matter?"

She sighed, placing the glass of water, handed to her by Iruka, down beside her candles without tasting a drop. "I seemed to have grown a bit these past few days."

"If I may ask, how do you know? Is it because of Naruto?"

"Yes… I'm growing to realize the unfairness of how Naruto is treated and I'm reaching a point that I can no longer stand and be silent. Naruto is a human, like everyone around us, he deserves to find happiness… but then again…" She paused, falling deep into her thoughts. She knew the truth and the truth was far from freedom. No one was free in Konoha. No one smiled freely or felt as if their actions were nothing but there own. In her mind, Konoha was a trap… Konoha was their bell tower.

Iruka smirked and placed a hand on Sakura's head. He gentle graced his hand over her face, stopping at the tip of her chin. He lifted her face as to see her eye to eye. "I can see it now… You have grown… you've grown stronger than anyone else I have seen in years. You are wiser than many older than you. It is this strength in which you will find your answer, but until you do, Naruto shouldn't be the only one you should worry about." He grabbed the cup of water and took a sip before leaving Sakura to her candles.

As Iruka walked away, Sakura gazed up at the ceiling, thinking of the prisoner in the bell tower. Suddenly, a strong scent of freshly cooked food distracted her from her train of thought. She moved her gaze to the direction of the smell to find Sasuke standing beside her, staring up at the ceiling as she was doing before. "One of these days I'll figure out your fascination with the church ceiling," said Sasuke jokingly.

Sakura giggled, but only enough for her to hear. She gazed at Sasuke as the candle lights flickered on his face. The lights made him look godly, as if a prince had come to save her. His dark eyes seemed to glow with the light, only staring towards her. Her knees felt weak as he gazed at her, although her imagination was stronger than the actual gaze Sasuke was giving her. Her heart raced in her chest, she loved standing near him. "Sakura… Sakura…" he spoke, trying to awaken her from her deep stare.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. It's so nice to see you Sasuke." She smiled, trying to hide the blush that began to rush on her cheeks.

"Where is Kakashi? I need to speak with him at once."

"He's with Naruto at the moment. I'll take you up stairs."

"I can wait, I prefer Naruto not to know I am here until after I speak with Kakashi." The strong smell of food passed through Sakura's nose once again. She looked around to see Sasuke hold a large wooden box with a handle.

"Did you bring lunch?"

Sasuke looked down to see what Sakura was speaking about. "Oh this… no this isn't my lunch. It's Naruto's birthday present."

"His birthday present?" she said confused.

"Well, Naruto always spoke about the fresh smell of ramen and how he's always wanted to try it, so I decided to bring him a bowl as a gift."

This was the reason Sakura loved Sasuke. Although he was related to Itachi, Sakura always had a feeling there was something different about Sasuke, something that made him a better man than Itachi. Since she could remember, she always felt that Sasuke was different, as if he was the angel of Itachi's demon. Yet she never understood why he stood by his brother's side, why Sasuke always fought for Itachi, with either words or violence. She never understood.

"I see," she answered, "and does Itachi approve of this."

Without hesitation Sasuke responded, "As long as Naruto enjoys it, Itachi does not need to know. This is something that does not concern him."

"Does this mean he does not know of this gift?"

"I am my own free person. What I bring to Naruto is nothing that concerns Itachi and regardless if Itachi did find out, he would not care for it is I who brought the gift."

"So, if I tell him, it wouldn't matter?"

Sasuke didn't respond he looked away from Sakura, holding the wooden box tightly in his hands. "I see," said Sakura, "even his own co-captain betrays his rules. What good leader has his own second hand man betray his own rules?"

Sasuke quickly turned to Sakura with devilish eyes. "I will not tolerate you talking about my brother in that sense. He is a righteous leader who will take Konoha to a higher level. He will fight for what is right and he will seek revenge on those that deserve it."

"Then why do you sneak food for Naruto behind his back?"

"I am doing no such thing. I am just doing a kind gesture for Naruto on his birthday from both Itachi and myself. A gift for a monster is nothing but a blessing."

Sakura was shocked from the words that escaped Sasuke's lips. "A monster? You believe that Naruto is a monster?"

"Believe… I know… What else but a monster looks the way he does?"

"A man who plays games with other people's hearts." Sasuke did not need to hear more, he knew who Sakura was referring to. Before he could speak, footsteps echoed behind him. Standing there was Kakashi, placing a small book inside his back pocket. "Sasuke, what a pleasure to see you. Is Itachi here as well?"

"Not yet. I came to inform you that Itachi will be arriving in two hours, after escorting the leaders of the Akatsuki out of Konoha."

"So what I heard was right, the leaders were here. If I may ask, what business did they have here?"

"I am unauthorized to tell you."

"Of course." Kakashi looked down at the box Sasuke was holding, "Is that for Naruto?"

"Yes, a birthday present from Itachi and me." Sakura turned her head away from Sasuke's lie.

Kakashi grinned behind his mask, "Well I am sure he would love to eat it before it gets cold. Sakura, please take Sasuke up stairs; I have some business to take care of here. It was nice seeing you Sasuke." Kakashi walked away from the pair, removing the small book from his back pocket.

Without a word, Sakura walked to a small door hidden at the corner of the church. Sasuke followed. With a small key, she opened the moldy, old, wooden door, which leads to a spiraling staircase with no lighting of window, but it did not bother them. With the years he had belonged to this church, Sakura knew each step to the bell tower by heart. She knew which steps would crack or we unstable to step on. She did not need light to lead the way. Sasuke, on the other hand, would listen to the instructions from Sakura. She guided him to each step until a small hint of light peaked through the cracks from the top floor door.

Sakura grabbed another key and opened the door, letting the sunlight illuminate the dark stairway. The two walked in slowly, side by side, without speaking a word. "Naruto!" yelled Sakura. A sudden thump was heard far across the room. Sakura followed the sound to find that nothing was there. She turned around, not noticing the small book lying on the floor. She tripped, falling forward to the ground, but before she could hit the ground, Sasuke caught her.

She was angry at him, but the touch of his arms wrapped around her, holding her from falling further, made her heart beat faster than it ever had before. Her face felt warmer and her body began to shake. She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to not pounce on him. "Are you okay?" he asked. She turned around to look at his face, but made sure to not stand away from his grip on her. "I'm fine," she answered.

A quick flash passed by them. Sasuke turned to see nothing there. He lifted Sakura and grabbed the wooden box from the floor, where he had left it to rescue her. He slowly walked around her, looking for what had passed him only moments ago.

Without a warning, Naruto's face was only inches from Sasuke, as he hung from the ceiling by the grip of his claws, feet, and tail. "Hey, Sasuke!" he screamed from enjoyment.

Sasuke flinched back, surprised by Naruto's uncanny entrance. "Hello, Naruto."

As the two greeted each other, Sakura looked for the book she had tripped on, only to find nothing. She turned back to Naruto, knowing now who the flash that passed by them was. "Well," she said, "I guess I should be going."

"Oh," said Naruto, flipping off the ceiling, landing on his feet, "why? Sasuke is here. Stay, we'll have a great time."

"I would love to Naruto, but," she looked towards Sasuke, "I have some things to take care of before a certain someone comes this evening."

"Is Master Itachi on his way?"

"Yes," answered Sasuke, "he'll be here in two hours."

Naruto's face glowed with a smile. He jumped up into the air, screaming with joyfulness. Sakura walked to Sasuke, "I would recommend you figure out what a monster truly is because the only person here who is a monster, is the one that treats his best friend like one." With those words, she left the bell tower, locking the door to the stairway behind her.

"So, Naruto, I brought you something," said Sasuke. Naruto dashed over to Sasuke, smelling the rich aroma coming from the small box. Sasuke opened the box and removed a small white bowl with two chop sticks lying on top. He snapped the chopsticks apart and handed them over to Naruto. "Fresh ramen… just for you… Happy birthday."

Naruto grabbed the bowl and chopsticks. He took a large breath of the sweet ramen, feeling a chill of delight down his back. He looked up at Sasuke, who had a small grin on his face, and began to tear up. Never had he received a present from Sasuke or did he ever expect to get one. Sasuke was a true friend to him, almost like a brother.

Naruto dug the chopsticks into the bowl, taking a large chunk of noodles and placing them inside this mouth. The warm noodles danced inside his mouth, filling it with a delicious taste of seasonings, vegetables, chicken and, his favorite part, freshly cooked ramen noodles. He has always smelled this fresh taste from atop the bell tower in the morning when the ramen shop began to make its first few batches, but never had he tasted it and it was better than he had imagined.

Sasuke watched Naruto digging into his bowl, watching his fox-like ears dancing on top of his head. Naruto's tail wiggled with joy, with every bite he took of the ramen. No one was happier than Naruto, not even the wondering Sasuke that sat beside him.

Sasuke sighed as he watched Naruto, thinking over his conversation with Sakura. Her words echoed in his head.

"I would recommend you figure out what a monster truly is because the only person here, who is a monster, is the one that treats his best friend like one."

Then, the sun began to set.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who found my fanfiction and reviewed... You have no idea how happy I am that you enjoyed my story so much... it makes me want to work harder on it... I hope you all enjoy the new chapter... Sorry it took so long... I was having trouble with Sasuke's character... Please leave me more reviews or just send me a hello... its always nice to hear from others. Enjoy.