Disclaimer: Sadly, no.


"Your brother is a demon lord," I repeated slowly, wanting to be sure that I was hearing this right. "Your brother is the demon lord of the fourth what?"

I suppose I had been handling everything rather well so far but really, there was only so much a girl could take before she lost it.

"Hell is divided into seven levels, each with one lord who presides over it. The first level is where all-"

I held up my hand to stop Sasuke. All this was getting a tad too creepy for my liking.

"It's okay, I don't think I want to know." And I hoped I'd never ever have to find out.

There was a moment of awkward silence before I realized that I'd almost completely forgotten my original question.

"Then what does all that make you?"

Sasuke's expression grew even more severe. "The important thing is that I'll be able to protect you no matter what."

"And I'll be helping the bastard so you don't have to worry about a thing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chimed in. I smiled weakly at his enthusiasm.

"You'll have to stay in my place for the time being," Sasuke informed me.

"What?" That single shocked syllable was all I could manage at the moment.

Sasuke had anticipated my reaction and started to explain. "You're a prime target for demon attacks now that you have both your powers and mine. And knowing Orochimaru, he won't give up just yet. It'll be easier for me to guard you if you remain with me."

It was only then did I notice how tired Sasuke looked. On the surface he looked fine, but I could see weariness in his gaze that stretched far beyond the bounds of anything that mere physical strain could have caused. He must have been so worried about me while I was gone.

Then I remembered how he'd been injured during our accident with the motorcycle and my guilt multiplied tenfold. I had been so caught up in my own issues and insecurities that I hadn't even thought to ask him how he was now, but I knew that he wouldn't appreciate me bringing it up in front of Naruto.

"Okay," I murmured my assent and Sasuke nodded once in approval.

"I'll go with Hinata to your apartment to grab some of your stuff," Naruto declared helpfully. "Thank god it's Saturday tomorrow."

Saturday?

"Just how long was I down there?"

Naruto shrugged. "A couple of hours?"

Hours? It felt like I'd been trapped there for days.

"Time moves differently there," Sasuke said quietly in response to my unspoken question.

Naruto stood up, stifling a yawn. "I'd better get going."

I smiled up at him. There was only one reason why he'd stay so long.

"Thank you, Naruto. For being here for me."

Naruto scratched his head bashfully. "No problem, Sakura-chan. I'll leave you two love-birds alone now. See ya!"

Sasuke snatched up the nearest ramen cup and threw it at Naruto who ducked out the front door just in time to avoid it.


"Can you stand?"

I tentatively got to my feet. It took a little more effort than usual, but it was definitely an improvement.

I looked around Sasuke's apartment. It was smaller than what I was used to, but there was more than enough space for two people. The monochromatic furniture was simple and tasteful, but there were no photo frames, no paintings on the walls. No personal items that distinguished it as Sasuke's home. If not for the empty ramen cups strewn on the floor and coffee table, it wouldn't look like someone even lived here at all.

"The bathroom is next to my bedroom. Towels are on the shelves behind the mirror," Sasuke said as he went to retrieve the cup he'd flung at Naruto.

I started walking towards said bathroom for a nice long shower but the rustle of silk against the carpet reminded just exactly what I was wearing.

"Do you have anything I can borrow?" He looked up and I gestured at my gown. I had to suppress a shiver at the way his eyes seemed to linger unnervingly over my attire which was a tad too um, accentuating in my opinion.

"I'll go take a shower now." Without waiting for his reply, I headed for the bathroom as quickly as I could and closed the door behind me.

To my delight, I found out that Sasuke's building had an unlimited supply of hot water. The warm water had been so relaxing that the small room was filled with steam and the mirror was completely fogged up by the time I was done.

I opened the mirror/cabinet and grabbed one of the dark blue towels from the pile. I tried not to think about how I was wrapping a towel Sasuke had obviously used around my body after showering in the exact same stall he showered in every day.

Colour rose in my cheeks and I shook my head to clear the mental image. If Sasuke could be mature about this, then so could I.

Or so I thought until I opened the bathroom door leading to his bedroom and came face to face with a very shirtless Sasuke.

For all the strange ideas that had been running through my head, it simply hadn't occurred to me that he could be there at the exact moment that I decided to leave the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. And it definitely hadn't occurred to me that he would be changing himself.

By the looks of it, Sasuke hadn't expected this to happen either. His dark eyes went wide for a second before he turned away and I hastily pulled the door shut.


For a second, it felt as though my heart had just stopped. My face in the misty mirror was as pink as my hair and all that steam from my shower wasn't helping.

Pulling myself together, I took a deep breath and opened the door a tiny fraction.

"Sasuke?"

I opened the door just wide enough for him to pass me a set of clothes and I quickly closed the door again so I could wear them. On me, the shirt could have passed for a dress and the shorts fell to somewhere along my calves. Luckily, the shorts had drawstrings which I made sure were tightly secured and I felt infinitely more comfortable than I'd been that ridiculous dress.

This time when I stepped out of the bathroom, Sasuke was thankfully completely clothed in an outfit similar to what I had on now. His face was devoid of any emotion, as if the incident had never happened and I could finally steer my thoughts in a more appropriate direction.

Earlier I had only caught a glimpse of his well-toned back, but more importantly, the pale skin was absolutely flawless. I remembered that his back and his legs had been quite badly wounded during the accident but now there wasn't even a single scar on either one.

"How are your injuries?" I needed to know if he was really alright.

"They should be fully healed by tomorrow," came the decidedly truthful answer.

It was both amazing yet rather frightening.

"You can take the bed," Sasuke offered as he began to leave. Before I knew what I was doing, I was tugging on his sleeve and looking up at him imploringly.

"Could you stay?" Sasuke hesitated and my trembling hands held onto the material even tighter. "Please?"

I didn't want to be alone.

Sasuke moved to sit on the edge of the bed in silent agreement and I smiled gratefully at him as I let go of his shirt. I could feel him watching me as I dried my hair and arranged it into a simple braid for the night.

I snuggled beneath the covers and stared up at the ceiling. I should have been exhausted, but with everything I'd learned today, I knew that sleep was a long time coming.

The comforting weight beside me shifted slightly and I opened my eyes to look at Sasuke. He was facing the opposite wall, brooding as usual, though his expression left me with the feeling that whatever he was brooding about was anything but that.

"Why are you here, Sasuke?" I whispered.

His onyx eyes met my emerald ones and I knew I had his full attention.

"I've already told you, my duty is to protect you," he answered as though he was stating an obvious, well-known fact.

But protecting me didn't mean that he had to get to know me while posing as a human. It didn't mean that he had to steal me ramen or give me the bed. It didn't mean that he had to stay just because I asked him to.

"No, I mean why are you doing so much for me?" I tried to amend before Sasuke's hand touched my forehead gently, taking away all thought. The only thing that remained was the realization that I hadn't felt someone do that since the very last time my mother brushed my hair away from my eyes and tucked it behind my ear the way she always did.

The feeling was so soothing but the unbidden memories it invoked left a hollow ache in my chest that had me fighting back tears.

"Rest, Sakura."

I closed my eyes.


Chapter 7: Eyes Wide Shut


Naruto and Sasuke are just too cute for words. The whole post-shower awkwardness thing is so classic, but I hope I managed to do it justice. I bet you're all dying to know what Sasuke was thinking, but since this is a first person fic in Sakura's POV, no one will ever know. *laughs evily* The next bit was definitely more fluffy but in a bittersweet way. I seem to like that sort of fluff for some reason.

Three chapters in a week. Me is very proud of myself and I'm sure none of you are complaining XP This is the end of the first part of the story which was basically an intro to the characters and setting of this fic. The next part will pick up exactly where this part ended and will most likely end up being the longest due to the sheer amount of the thing called plot that's being stuffed into it. Sadly, my break is over and school's starting with my exams first thing next week (I'm supposed to be doing math now actually but ahem err yeah). I will try to update again as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll keep on planning so that the writing process will go much smoother when I'm actually able to write.

On a happier note, it has been decided that Pein and Konan will be in the story (as requested by no tears left to cry *wink*), but the way things are looking now, they most likely won't have any real interaction with our leading characters even though they will contribute to the plot. I'm also thinking of having an omake section, like chapter 7.5 or something like that as an intermediate between each story arc. I don't really have any ideas as of yet but you guys can let me know what you'd like to see.

Wish me luck, dearies :)