A/N: Hey there! Lots of breaks in this chapter. Just...try to roll with me. This won't become a frequent thing, I promise! Just needed to explain some stuff. Love you all!


After I tried my hand at kicking the training post—with much more success than I had with punching, might I add-I was completely and utterly exhausted. The sun was still high in the sky, which probably put me somewhere in the afternoon, and I took to sitting in the shade of the post to relax and drink my water.

I'm really gonna need some help if I'm ever going to get anywhere with this training, I thought bitterly to myself. I knew that my stance for kicking was getting stronger and my kicks themselves were getting stronger, but I had no idea if I was even doing it correctly to begin with.

I sighed, leaning back against the post and closing my eyes. I thought about Naruto and Sakura, and wondered what they were doing on their mission. How they were doing. I remember Sakura mentioning something to Naruto before he left…Jin-something? I got the impression that it was something that applied strictly to Naruto, or Lady Tsunade wouldn't have had him move me. At least, I hoped that's what possessed her to transfer me to this hell-hole. I mean, she had I had just talked about the fact that I was living with Naruto to get acclimated to the city. Didn't she realize that I would be less apt to help them with this insane prophecy if I hated the people I was living with—and therefore the whole city.

I inhaled deeply, and exhaled deeply in return. I needed to calm down. Freaking out about things I couldn't change at the moment wasn't going to help anything. I knew that I couldn't focus on trying to escape until I knew how this complex and the city mapped out, and when I knew Sasuke wasn't paying attention. I was starting to get the impression that he was more aware than I previously gave him credit for, so all I could focus on for now was training to be able to hold my own.

Not for the prophecy, though. No, once Naruto trains me, I'll be high-tailing my way past all of these semi-terrifying ninja and back to the lake. I figured if the lake spat me out, it had to suck me back in as well.

At least, I hoped.

The warm wind blew past my face as I relaxed against the pole. The air here was extremely clean, something I hadn't taken the time to notice until now. Living even in a small town had polluted the air by my house, and the air that I thought was clean there was nothing compared to the crispness of the wind blowing by me now.

I felt so at peace as the birds chirped and the leaves rustled in the wind, and for the first time in a few days, let my guard down.

And fell asleep.


He walked up to the figure lying on the ground, and was careful to walk around her hair that was spread across the packed earth. He knew how Sakura and Ino felt about their hair, for whatever reason, and this girl was probably the same.

He looked down at her and immediately tensed up. It was as he had feared when he had seen her lying there from the window. He couldn't sense her chakra. Her breathing wasn't apparent. And since he wasn't medical nin, he couldn't tell if she had a heartbeat.

"(Y/N)."

His low voice seemed to fill the entire training field as he looked down. She had just moved in last night. If she was dead, this was not going to look good to the Elders.

"(Y/N)." He raised his voice this time, nudging her shoulder with his foot. No response. He remained cool and calm, kneeling down to poke the girl's cheek. "(Y/N)." Still no response.

Sasuke took a deep breath, and placed his fingers on her wrist. He couldn't locate her pulse anywhere. Shit. She wasn't even here for one whole fucking day.

He began to panic a little bit, but kept it well contained on the inside. Before he ran to the hospital, he thought he should try one more thing. There was no need to get people unnecessarily involved. He gripped the girl's shoulders and lightly shook her.

Nothing. Either this girl is dead, or she sleeps like a freaking rock.

He maintained a tighter grip on the girl's slender shoulders, and shook her more firmly. He was adamant that he was going to wake up, and when Uchiha Sasuke decided that something was going to happen, it happened.

"(Y/N), goddamnit, wake up!" He shook her so hard her entire body convulsed. He didn't care so much about the state of her hair anymore.


I woke up abruptly to the entire world moving up and down and immediately went into a very panicked state. I saw a flash of black somewhere in the middle of the rapid movement, and I punched out as a high-pitched yelp escaped my throat. My fist made contact with something, and I heard a crunch.

The movement stopped, and I quickly took stock of my surroundings. I was still in the training field, and the sun had moved a considerable amount towards what I assumed was the west. The most surprising thing, however, was the man with one hand on my shoulder (and one hand on his bleeding nose) staring intensely into my eyes.

Sasuke…?

I felt extremely uncomfortable, and my entire body tensed up. He hadn't moved a muscle, and was still intently staring into my eyes with an expressionless glare. Why is he glaring at me…? And why is he still holding on to my shoulder…?

My heartbeat began beating out of my chest, and I was worried that the figure on top of me would hear it. I cleared my throat awkwardly, and after a pause he was off me within a millisecond. This was, hands down, the most awkward situation I had been in to date. The infamous "Sasuke-kun" had just been basically on top of me, hands on my shoulders, shaking the hell out of me. I mean, honestly…I must have missed something…why was the mysterious-and-creepy Sasuke touching me?

I leaned back on my elbows to push myself up, and he immediately stood up. He turned his back to me slightly, and looked to the lake…while holding his sleeve up to his nose. "I thought you were dead," he muttered under his breath.

I paused, processed his words, and burst out laughing. "What?" I stood up and walked over to him, trying to hold my laughter in. "You thought I was dead?" He frowned and let go of his nose, which had finally stopped bleeding. "I mean, I've been told I sleep like the dead, is that what you mean?" I giggled, and he began walking back to the house.

My smile dropped as I realized he was upset that I had laughed at him. "Wait," I blurted out, as I grabbed my pack and jogged up beside him. "You're kidding me, right?"

He clenched his jaw and continued walking in silence, looking straight ahead. What is this guy's problem? "I was joking."

No response.

"I'm a really heavy sleeper and I'm sorry I freaked you out, but take a joke already, geez."

It took me a couple steps to realize that he had stopped dead in his tracks, and I turned around to face him, expecting…well, anything other than what I got, really. I was met with an intense, icy glare formed by red eyes that seemed to shoot daggers into my own. I had never been more scared of a human being than I was at that moment.

"You don't know anything." He spat out the last word, and I shrank back a step. "You didn't have a pulse, and you hardly have any chakra in your body. It was a reasonable assumption." I swallowed hard as he took a step towards me.

"Stay off the training field."

I started shaking, but managed to get a word out. "What?"

"Stay. Off. The training field."

"But…why?" As soon as the words escaped my mouth I knew that I had made a mistake.

His eyes locked with mine, and suddenly the horizon became fuzzy. The ground began intermixing with the sky, and everything around me began to swirl together.

My surroundings were constantly churning together in a disturbing mix of reds, blues, purples and blacks. All sound disappeared, but immediately an intense ringing sound pounded my brain. I dropped to my knees from the pain, eyeing Sasuke out of the corner of my eyes. He was the only other distinguishable thing I could make out.

Lo and behold, he hadn't moved an inch. All of this was happening and he was standing perfectly unharmed.

He's the one doing this to me…

"If you even think about training, there will be hell to pay."

With that, the world became normal and the ringing sound disappeared abruptly. He walked coolly into the house, leaving me shaking and on my knees. I held my head in my hands, and flinched as I heard the sliding door slam shut.

What the hell was that? The world had literally changed shape, and how my head still hurt from the intense and overwhelming ringing that had seemed to envelop my entire being. How powerful is this kid? I shuddered. I really didn't want to go through that again.

"Stay off the training field," he had said. But I had to train. I needed to train. If I didn't train, I wouldn't be able to leave. I gripped my head tighter and scooted myself under the nearest tree. Curling my knees in tightly, my mind snapped back and forth between Sasuke leaning over me, holding my shoulders, thinking I was dead, and putting me through something that was immensely painful. He had tried to save my life and kill me all within five minutes.

This is all too much…I just want to go home where everything makes sense.

Through my confusion, however, I knew one thing for sure: I wouldn't be going inside tonight.

Something about bunking with a guy who could probably kill me without even moving was slightly disturbing.


He slammed the sliding screen door shut and shuddered as he exhaled. He couldn't move from that spot. He had just used an extremely dangerous genjutsu on a girl who couldn't even train for an hour without exhausting herself to the point of sleeping. She did nothing to deserve that, she made a stupid joke for God' sake, and he had just put her through it within her first 24 hours at his complex.

I thought she was dead… He shook the memory from his mind. That had not been the reason he activated his Sharingan. I overreacted, but it was justified. She almost took the key last night.

The key. The small object that could ruin him in the eyes of the Elders. She had reached for it. How had she known about it? Is she a spy from the Sound? He paused. No, if she was a spy she would have fought him for it. This girl didn't even know how to fight. She was useless to any nation she belonged to.

He moved to the window and peered out at the girl he had just used his bloodline ability on. He saw her curled up in a ball under the cherry blossom tree, clutching her head so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. He felt a slight pang of guilt in his chest, knowing what she was going through, but it quickly subsided.

She'll be alright. I'll sort out this key ordeal at another time.

She would get over it. She wouldn't, however, get wrapped up in the intense world of ninjas. Sasuke wasn't stupid. He knew that he couldn't sense her chakra, and since she was still alive, she obviously wasn't from around here. There was no need for a small, foreign girl to enter a world of bloodshed and death…especially one that her body wasn't naturally equipped to handle.

She would not train, but only for the sake of keeping the key safe. He nodded to himself, moving away from the window and allowing all of his guilt to subside.

No, she would not train. He would make sure of that.


"(Y/N), sweetheart, you need to promise me something." The girl looked up at the woman who was gently holding her face. She had never seen her face appear so disheveled before, and the panic in her eyes alerted the girl to the fact that whatever was going on was very serious.

"Of course, mom."

The woman smiled a weak, forced smile. "I need you and your brother to stay in your room for a while. No matter what happens, do not come out. Do you understand?"

The girl froze. "Mom? What's going on? Are we in danger?"

She paused, but gave the girl a pained smile. "You and your brother will be safe. But I need you two to promise me that you won't make a sound. No matter what you hear, no matter what happens, you cannot leave your room. Okay? Can you promise me that?"

The girl nodded, fear apparent across her face. The little boy next to her clutched the girl's sleeve. "Mom…"

"Stay away from the windows and put a chair against the door handle." The woman stroked the girl's cheek and kissed her forehead. "I love you, both of you. And your father loves you too." Tears started streaming from the woman's face as she embraced the girl and the boy in a tight hug.

"I love you too, mom. Dad, too." The woman smiled and stood up, holding the children's hands. Then all kindness washed from her face. She turned to the front door.

"(Y/N). Grab your brother and get into your room. Now!"

The girl began to panic, but nodded and pulled her brother into her room. "I love you mom!"

"I love you both so, so much." Her mother never turned around, never took her eyes off the door. The girl forced herself not to cry as she closed the door and jammed her desk chair under the handle. She started to breathe heavily as the weight of the danger they must be in crashed onto her shoulders.

"(Y/N)? Are we going to be okay?"

The girl turned to her little brother and embraced him in a massive hug before ushering them both into the closet. He crawled next to her and held on to her shirt tightly.

"We're going to be just fine, buddy, just fine. I promise."

"And mom? And dad?"

A massive sound echoed through the house as the girl imagined that the door had just been blown off its hinges. Her brother clutched onto her shirt even tighter, and she held him back the same. She heard her father and mother downstairs shouting things to each other, but she couldn't make them out. Almost like they were in a different language.

The whole entire house shook, and she heard strange voices yelling in her foyer. Whatever was going to happen had started, and the girl had to protect her brother.

The house shook again, more violently this time. "(Y/N), I'm scared…"

"Me too, buddy, me too." She couldn't be strong for him.


I woke up with a start, clutching my chest. I hated those dreams. I always seemed to get them when I was stressed out or exhausted, and I think the past day's events kind of encompassed both of those. I tried to distract myself by becoming aware of my surroundings, which was hard to do since it was pitch black out.

It was still night time, and the clouds covered up the stars. I was still under the tree by the training fields, relatively close to the house where he was. I pulled my knees to my chest and shivered as I forced the dream out of my head. I had cried about that memory too much in the past could of days, and, quite honestly, I was getting sick of waking up with puffy eyes.

I took a deep breath, and stood up. I was shaking from the cold, and knew that I needed to go inside before I got hypothermia. As much as Sasuke scared me, freezing to death scared me just a little bit more.

I quietly slid the door open and took my shoes off when I entered. It seemed to be the only tradition I was picking up on, but I was glad to have at least one thing that didn't immediately set me apart.

I tiptoed down the hall, trying to avoid squeaky boards but failing miserably. If Sasuke wasn't awake already, he definitely is now. The thought of him searching me out sent a shiver down my spine. I repressed it and continued on, against my better judgement.

After a couple minutes of roaming around, I decided that I was hopelessly lost. I leaned against a board in the wall, and was heavily debating on sleeping there for the night, when I noticed a thin light coming from a room. Against my better judgement for the second time tonight, I decided to check it out.

This is so out of character for me, I thought as I quietly made my way to the light, but maybe more out of character for old-world-me. New-world-me is a hell of a lot more adventurous.

I found my way to the light, and it stemmed from a crack in a door that was almost fully closed. The kitchen…right? I peeked through the crack, careful not to move the door or make a sound, and my breath hitched.

Sasuke was sitting on a stool by the counter, perfectly calm. It was unnerving. Even though he was just reading some book and eating a tomato, I immediately flashed back to earlier that night when he did that…that thing to me. I shivered recalling the pain I felt, and stepped away from the light.

"I know you're there, don't bother trying to leave." I froze up, and peered through the slit again. Sure enough, his eyes were still trained on his book and he was still eating his tomato like an apple. He spoke to me without even moving. How did he know I was here? "Come in."

He knew I was there. There was no point to leaving now, and besides, I was hopelessly lost. I took a deep breath, clenched my jaw, and slid the door open. He hadn't even turned his head to look at me, so I decided it was safe to continue. I stepped into the kitchen, my body tensing up with every second that I was getting closer to him.

"Sit down." He patted the stool next to him, eyes still trained on his book. As I took my seat, sure to stay as far away as I could while still being polite, he closed the cover and placed the book down. I couldn't read the title.

"(Y/N). I need to talk to you. In order for me to do that, I need you to listen. No sarcasm, no comebacks. Listen."

I gulped, and nodded. But…seriously? That was it? No 'why are you up so late', or 'sorry I almost killed you earlier, please accept this half-eaten tomato as a token of my desired peace'? Just, 'listen'. Cool.

"The first night you were here. I need to know what you were trying to do when I found you."

You mean pulled me back, restrained me, and locked me in my room. "I told you. Trying to escape." My jaw set immediately after I spoke. Shivers were continuing up and down my spine.

"Hn." He took a thoughtful bite out of his tomato, chewed, and swallowed. I watched his Adam's apple as a bead of sweat dripped down my forehead. He can kill me without even moving…and he's sitting inches away from me.

He eyed me out of the corner of his eye as he placed his tomato back on his napkin. "You're nervous."

I froze up. I'd only been here for a day and this guy could already read me like a book. With the way things were going, he would know what size diaper I wore at 7 months before the sun came up. I didn't want to say anything, but his onyx eyes were staring right into mine, and his eyebrows were raised expectantly. His eyes were red before…the realization his me like a truck.

I swallowed, still trying to process the new information I had just gathered. "Y-yes…"

"Why." It wasn't a question so much as a statement.

"B-because…" I looked down and clasped my hands together, drawing myself in as tightly as I could on a stool. "Because of—"

"Because of what I did to you earlier." He stated it so calmly, as if we were discussing the weather or the temperature of our coffee.

"Y-yes," I stammered out. I was extremely tense, and wasn't quite sure what came next. I waited for a couple beats, and nothing happened. I peeked up at him.

I don't know what I was expecting—maybe his icy glare or the red eyes, which I had now connected to what had happened to me. After all, his eyes had never been red at any other time, and they weren't red when I talked to him earlier.

To my relief, and slight confusion, he had picked up his book and was eating his tomato again. I slid off the stool, thankful to have an excuse to leave, and slipped through the sliding door within a matter of seconds.

"You room is down the hall, second door on the left."

"Arigato," I breathed, overwhelmingly relieved to be heading back to my own room, my own personal space, my own safety.

As I closed my door and headed into the shower, I stopped dead in my tracks. Arigato? Since when do I know any Japanese?

Then it hit me. I dropped my towel, shampoo, and slid down the shower door to the floor. The people here don't speak English.

I've been speaking Japanese this entire time.


A/N: Hey! Hope you liked it! I'm trying to really get into the story now. I'm sorry if it feels like it's taking forever, but I HATE short stories that don't allow for character development, so I'm trying not to become what I hate.

AND FLUFF SOON I PROMISE!

I'm going out of town this Friday to lead a pre-orientation trip in the mountains, so it'll be about a month or so before I can update again, but PLEASE STICK WITH ME! You all have been so encouraging and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you guys like this as much as you do.

Thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favorite-ing! You guys all rock! Love y'all!