Ai-chan's note: It's been too long since I updated and I am so sorry everybody! Thanks to all who reviewed. Made me happy! Looking back at the last chapter it made me realize one thing. I was an awesome writer! Conceited much? Yup! But it's only because my recent work is bad that I thought I should try again. My update statuses of all my stories so far are on my profile as well as future stories. Take a look if you are curious. Happy late birthday Sasuke-kun :) it was unfortunate that I had to work on your birthday so I couldn't celebrate properly. I couldn't even draw anything during my break…

Enjoy!

Chapter rating: K+?

Warning: Jealous! Possessive! Sasuke; one-sided rivalry; new character…(OC)

-Start! Aoi Bara by RURTIA—

Chapter 6: Finally!

Sasuke watched Yūko as she examined what seemed to be herbs in her hand. She glanced down at a scroll and back at the plants. They were probably for him. He watched with amusement as her nose scrunched as she took a whiff of one of the herbs. Frowning, she put it back down. A small chuckle escaped the raven boy's lips as he continued to watch the girl.

Upon hearing that small chuckle, Yūko turned and glared at the boy with a frown. Sasuke blinked in surprise as she scowled at him, "something funny?"

He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. What's got her panties in a twist? A small blush appeared on the Uchiha's cheeks upon the word 'panties'. Try not to think about it Sasuke. The medicine Yūko had given Sasuke earlier started to kick in and he started to feel a bit drowsy. He spared the snake girl one more glance before folding his arms and nodding off to sleep against the tree behind him.

Seeing the young Uchiha close his eyes, Yūko let out a sigh of relief. Did he really not think that she could feel the hard stare he was giving her? She rolled her tense shoulders as she walked to a different clearing away from Sasuke. And hopefully he wouldn't notice her absence when he woke up from his nap. She'd probably get an earful of his scolding because apparently she can't defend herself. 'I can defend myself! Well enough to give me time to run away from bandits' she thought sheepishly in her mind.

Once in the next clearing she had to squint her eyes a bit. It was a downfall for being inside all day but it is worse when you are underground with zero sunlight. Yūko cursed to herself. She should have brought an umbrella with her. But then again, she could think straight thanks to a certain someone. (Sasuke: You better not be talking about me)

"Stupid assistant! Stupid damn sunlight!" she kept muttering to herself. But lo and behold, it took her one full minute to figure out there was an umbrella over her head giving her the shade she needed. Did Sasuke go back to the hideout to get her umbrella? But there were no snide (secretly concerned) comments. Then it wasn't Sasuke! Yūko slowly turned around. 'Please don't let it be a bandit or a pervert' she hoped.

It seemed like Mogami Yūko really did freeze. Or maybe she was going insane? She could've sworn the guy behind her had ears and a tail. Just to be sure, she rubbed her eyes and pinched herself. She let out a small cry of pain from the pinch of course. The raven girl looked up again. Yup the ears and tail were still there. And now a paragraph dedicated to describing the new guy.

Yūko looked him over carefully and noted that he was pretty scrawny and pale (probably from malnutrition). He had pitch-black hair and his side fringe was long enough to cover his right eye up to his chin. Judging by the way he was squatting down to Yūko's level, he was fairly tall (about 160 cm…?). He had pretty eyes too. They were a beautiful shade of gray. But what was the most interesting was… his ears and tail! The guy had a pair of fox ears on the side of his head and a fluffy tail! No doubt this was either Kabuto or Orochimaru's doing.

And now, Yūko knows why her so called father had been snickering and said that she would definitely like her new assistant. She thought only three people besides herself knew she was a sucker for fluffy cute animals. Believe the narrator (that's me) when she says that he was utterly adorable. Even Yūko had to restrain herself from hugging and squealing. So she remained (well tried to) stoic.

"Um thanks for bringing my umbrella" she raised a brow when he simply blinked at her, "do you have a name?"

He shook his head no. the girl groaned in annoyance. So her new assistant was a mute with no name. Just great. But it was better than nothing.

"Alright then I should give you a name" she pursed her lips in thought. The boy however, began to fiddle with the plants near his feet. He tilted his head slightly and plucked the plant with interest. "Maybe Shizuka (静香)? Since you're quiet and you smell kind of nice too" Yūko said but she was still thinking. She looked at the plant he was holding and her eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets. She snatched his hand and took one hard look at it. Yeah it was the herb she was looking for!

"Where did you find this?" he pointed the area next to his foot. Being extremely happy, she threw her arms around his neck. The boy was puzzled by this. What was she doing? He didn't know what was so special about this plant. And isn't Shizuka a girl's name?

Suddenly, the snake girl was pulled back by a developing strong arm. And so Yūko sighed knowing who it was. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Who is this?" Sasuke asked angrily. He threw a hot glare at the other boy who still had no idea what was going on. But he knew that he didn't like the way the other boy had just man handled Yūko as if she were just an object. He was just instructed to find Yūko, stay by her side and help her when she needed it which also included in protecting her. He remained emotionless though and it bothered Sasuke by much.

"Oh! I'll name you Yoshi!" Yūko exclaimed as if a fight wasn't about to break out. And now his new name was Yoshi (吉) because of the new found luck he had brought with him. It was perfect. Well except for Sasuke.