Okay, so you guys didn't meet the 40 reviews in time and I was seriously disappointed when I saw a few minutes ago that I only have 35 reviews... BUT! But then I finally got to a pm sent by Emo Lilium. I'm not gonna say exactly what she sent me, but it was enough to make me post this now. So thank her, lol.


Recap

The door slammed open and a very pissed Sasuke glared at his not-so-sober brother.

"Get...Off..." He gritted through his teeth. When Itachi just ignored him and began licking her again, Sasuke growled and charged at him. He punched him square in the jaw, knocking him off of Sakura and onto the floor.

Itachi reached up and pulled Sasuke down with him by his studded belt. The older brother scratched at Sasuke's abs with his purple nails , leaving marks that burned. Sasuke sat on his back and yanked his head back by the ponytail. He punched him in the cheek, making him cough up blood. Itachi shook him off and kneed him in the ribs.

Sasuke fell to the floor, but didn't give up. He chomped into his enemy's ankle and pulled him back to the floor. Sakura was standing fearfully in the corner, praying Sasuke would be okay.

But it was useless, Itachi was beating Sasuke down and fast. Out of Itachi's pocket, his lighter fell. Sakura ran to pick it up and lit Itachi's hair on fire. He began screaming and shaking his head like mad to put it out. He suffered from severe burn marks and fell unconcious, but was still alive. It'd take plenty more than that to kill him.

Sasuke could barely sit up. Sakura fell to her knees by his side and sobbed as she held him close to her chest. She was cold without her shirt, but didn't care. The person who she disobeyed, who had promised to protect her had almost died to save her.

He smirked and rested in her arms. "This is your fault." He laughed hoarsely. She continued to cry and held him closer.

--Chapter 7--

The man in her arms slowly rose to his feet. Nothing seemed broken, but it hurt like hell. Still, it was worth it. He reached over the bed and tossed her the brown coat. Itachi had ripped the white shirt apart.

She blushed and wiped her tears before putting on the thick article of clothing. She got up and walked to his side, offering support so they could walk. He reluctantly draped an arm over her shoulder and shuffled out of the room. But since he was a good eight inches taller than her at six foot three inches, her support was basically so she'd feel better.

When they got to the room, he still went to sleep on the floor.

"Sasuke, sleep in the bed! You need to be as comfortable as possible. I'll take the floor, okay?"

"Hn. Just get in the bed." He slowly made his way to the floor, trying to avoid all the pain he could.

She sighed, signaling defeat and got in the bed.

"Thank you, Sasuke. I'm sorry that I went out alone.."

"Hn."

She smiled and snuggled into the covers. I still can't believe he risked himself for me like that.. You'd think he'd be so pissed off at me, but he's acting as if it were nothing! And Itachi won't be waking up any time soon, so we can deal with him later..

Her heart was heavy with regret. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be stuck on the floor aching all over..

She scooted out of the bed and looked down at his half-asleep form. She laid down behind him and wrapped an arm around his stomach as she brought her face into his neck. At first he tensed and his eyes went wide, but then he loosened and his dark coals softened immensely. He rubbed her hand with his thumb as he laced their fingers together over his abs.

Her eyes began to water from the thoughts and playbacks of him and Itachi fighting.. For her..

Naruto was shivering on the floor. It was super cold and the sheets weren't working anymore. He had promised Hinata he wouldn't get in the bed, but this was too much! What should he do!?

Feeling worse every second, he gradually got up and crawled onto the the foot of the bed. He wiggled his way in and poked his head out near her feet. Ah..warmth..

Besides, it wasn't like he was right next to her trying to hold her or anything. He was as far away from her as possible and as close to falling out of the bed as he ever will be in his life.

Hinata felt the bed shift and almost laughed when she saw Naruto trying to keep the requested distance while staying warm. She reached under the bed and tapped his foot. It startled him and he immediately jumped to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan! I really am! I was just trying to get some warmth 'cause the floor is super cold and I-"

"It's okay." She said shyly.

"...What?" He was lost now.

"You can sleep in the bed.. I'll get over it. I just didn't think it would get much colder in here."

He smiled gratefully at her and got under the covers. This time, he was facing her. She blushed a bright scarlet at how close they were. She decided to calm her nerves and ask a question or something.

"Uhm, Naruto-kun, how old are you?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm 22."

"Oh, uhm, okay." He was a year younger than Sasuke, but still..

"How old are you?"

"18. Sakura and I are graduating this year."

"Congrats! I'm sure you'll be successful. Both of you seem pretty smart." He flashed her one of his huge smiles.

"Thank you." She was so embarrassed from all the attention he was giving her.

Hail began to smack the glass, which startled Hinata. She's the kind of person who still gets freaked out by thunder, so I'm sure you can understand. Though it wasn't like the glass would break. Seriously, it's a freaking bajillion dollar mansion! Of course it's hurricane-enforced glass! But no one really is aware of this. Too bad.

Hinata huddled into Naruto's chest, afraid that the hail might break through and nail her to death. Naruto blushed a little, but wrapped his arms around her to make her feel safer. And she did, even with the huge blush that would make a fire truck look pale.

Sakura was also a little uneasy about the hail, too. Every time a fat chunk slammed into the window, she'd grip Sasuke tighter. The squeeze toy was a bit amused by her fear, but felt a little bad for her.

He turned over, ignoring the aches that were still there. Her eyes were screwed shut, but cautiously peeked open when she noticed he moved. He looked down at her with a smug grin and she just pouted her lip out.

"You're such a baby." He teased her, making her more irritated than when he pulled her up the stairs.

"Am not! The hail just.. startles me." God, what a horrible liar.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at her, showing how obvious her lie was. He got up and slowly cracked his back. He felt a little bit better and was considering to take her up on her offer and jump in the bed. It would feel weird, though. I mean, I definitely don't want to stay on the floor like a dog, but neither should she.

"Okay, one more time I'm gonna try to reason with you. If we get in the bed, it's warmer, more comfortable and will make me happy. If you wanna repay me for earlier, this would be the way to do it."

She stared longingly at the cozy bed. He was right. "Besides," he added. "you already were sleeping with me on the floor, so I don't see a problem."

Yep. He had her stuck. She had no more excuses, so it was time to throw in the towel.. "Fine..."

He grinned smugly, happy it worked. He got under the covers and smirked as he patted the space beside him. She sighed and followed his orders. She tried to keep her distance, but it was pointless. He gently snaked an arm around her waist and proceeded to fall asleep.

She had to admit it did feel good to have him holding her. So she gave into it and got closer, allowing him to pull her into his chest. He smelled like the smoke from the fire and sort of like cinnamon. She inhaled deeply, getting further intoxicated by his scent...

Morning broke in and tried to bring in the little bit of light it could. Sasuke was first to wake up, but wasn't exactly wanting to get up. He was very content just remaining in bed with his arm around the girl beside him. His muscles felt much better, but still sensitive.

He blew the stray pink hairs in his mouth out of the way. She was pressed against his chest, her small fist loosely gripping his shirt. He brought his thumb to her cheek and caressed it. Soon after, her eyes opened and she looked up at him and his cocky smile.

She started her day by blushing like heck and crawled out of his hold. He frowned slightly, missing the warm contact they had.

"Well I guess you're up." He said flatly.

"Hey, I meant to ask you earlier, but can you heat some water up so I can take a bath?" She was fiddling with the hem of her sweater, praying he'd agree.

"Well, yeah, I can. But here's the thing. It takes a lot of fire to get that much water at least warm. And even then, it doesn't stay warm for long. Not here. And I don't want to get you in too much trouble when Ino's family comes home, so..." He sighed.

"What?" She hopped back on the bed, eager for his answer.

"The thing is, it'll take about as much wood as the dining room table. So, I can only make-"

"Itachi!! We forgot about Itachi!!!"

"Oh shit, that's right.. Lemme get Naruto and we'll take care of him."

Naruto yawned himself awake and tapped Hinata with his foot. She groggily woke up and smiled up at him. She bit her lip bashfully and sat up.

"Good morning!" They greeted each other at the same time. Both of them laughed at the coincidence.

"Hinata-chan, thank you for letting me sleep here."

"Your welcome, Naruto-kun." She then proceeded to blush.

Naruto stared at her intently. He gave her a faint smile and began to lean forward, moving his hand to her upper arm. She sat there while her face reddened even more.

"N-Naruto-kun.." She murmured faintly.

His smile grew as his lips almost touched hers. He leaned even closer and-

"Naruto! Get up!"

The two on the bed created distance between them in a flash. Hinata was too embarrassed to look at Sasuke, while Naruto just glared at him.

"Tch, baka. Make a move on her later. Itachi was trying to mess around with Sakura last night so he and I got in a fight. Sakura took his lighter and torched his hair. He's unconscious now, but we need to get rid of him before he wakes up."

Naruto jumped out of the bed and followed Sasuke out. He stopped the door and looked over his shoulder. He smiled at Hinata. "Maybe later, 'kay?" He winked at her with another toothy grin and then went to catch up with Sasuke.

Hinata fainted.

"Damn! You guys certainly beat the cheesecake outta him!"

Sasuke just scoffed. "Whatever. Help me get him on my back. We can get him out of here."

"Sasuke, we can't just dump him out in the storm.."

"I know, you're gonna dump him at a hospital."

"WHAT THE FRENCH TOAST!?!?"

"It's risky, but you've been through worse. I'm still sore, so I can't go. When the storm calms down, take that opportunity to jump. Oh, take your girlfriend, too. I don't wanna be left with both of them."

"Hey! What's wrong with Hinata-chan!? She's not annoying or anything! You don't know her, so watch it!"

"Naruto, calm down! I just meant that they might try to pull something on me. So I'll take it she is your girlfriend, then." Naruto blushed as Sasuke smirked.

"Go drink nail polish, pretty boy." Naruto grumbled as he pulled Itachi onto Sasuke's back so they could move him to the window by the tree.

After relocating the druggie/rapist, Naruto went to go tell Hinata they'd be leaving soon. Sakura found Sasuke on his way back to their room and was still waiting for him to tell her yes or no about the bath.

"Well?" She asked.

"We'll discuss this after they leave with Itachi." Then he went off explaining to her that she couldn't leave with them, since the Yamanakas had to believe she was stuck in there the whole storm.

"So... Okay, fine. But you're the one who will suffer if I start to smell."

She went downstairs to make a fruit salad for everyone.

Hinata was sitting on the edge of the bed as Naruto leaned against the wall and told her to get ready to leave soon.

She nodded and got up to go find Sakura. But Naruto put his arm up in front of the door.

"Just remember what I said earlier. Later, 'kay?" She blushed and walked out as he chuckled to himself.

Hinata went downstairs and greeted Sakura as she finished chopping up a fruit salad. "GUUUUUUYYYSSSS!!!!!!!! FOOOOOODDD!!!" Sakura yelled up the stairs. The two mentioned males trotted down the stairs, waiting to be served.

The girls handed them their plates and then ate their own. "Sakura, this is great!" Hinata praised her.

"Thanks! All the fruits are nice and chilly, so it works better." Sasuke listened carefully to the storm.

"Hey, I think there's a break in the wind. You guys better go now."


I hope it was worth waiting for, since you weren't even supposed to get it for another few days, lol. Okay, I'll post the next chapter a week from now. I have a lot of Biology, Geometry and English crap to take care of, so I need extra time and sleep.

Who's ur fav character????

happy unbirthday

--frumpyrox