Yeah! Another chapter is up! I think I'm getting the hang of this, but bear with me if I don't get the chapters up on time. Enjoy reading!
Holding his hand tightly, Suki continued to run along the path. Sasuke kept up with her, confuzed and at the same time a bit happy that she was. "Umm...can I ask you where you're headed?" he asked her. She didn't respond; instead she stopped running and loosened her grip from his hand. He looked around and realized it was an open field. It was nighttime now, and the moon was already out. "Suki? Where are we?" This time she turned around, stepping up close to him and staring at him. It was like she was looking straight through him. She closed the gap between them by stepping closer and hugging him. A gasp of surprise escaped from his throat, his face turning bright red. Not knowing what else to do, he just let her hug him.
"Thank you, Sasuke," Suki whispered in his chest. "Thanks for being there."
"Uh...you're welcome, Suki," he managed to say. He looked down on her and smiled. She looked at him and started to giggle. "What? What is it?"
"Well, it's just that I've never seen this side of you; come to think of it, I've never heard of you showing emotions," she said between chuckles. "And on top of that, you're as red as a cherry!"
He turned around quickly in embarrassment. "No I'm not! You're seeing things!"
"Then why can't you look me in the eye?" She couldn't control herself - she burst out laughing, making him even more embarrassed. She eventually stopped and turned him to face her. "I'm sorry. I really am."
He couldn't help but smile at her. "It's okay. Hey, how about I walk you home? It's getting late."
"Okay." She interlocked her arm with his and walked in the moonlight. As they walked together, Sasuke looked at her and saw that the ribbon wasn't in her hair anymore. Her hair was very long now that he saw it loose; it reached her in the middle of her back. The bangs she had seemed to accentuate her brown eyes in the moonlight. She's a really pretty girl when she's calm, he thought. She noticed that he was looking at her. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Oh! It's just...your uh...ribbon, it's not in your hair."
"I know. I took it out earlier after we sparred. You seem a bit distant, though."
"I was just thinking...about...stuff," he said. "About how you stood up for me back when we were younger."
"Wow. That's going way back."
"I know. I still can't believe you're the girl who scared all those other kids off."
"And I still can't believe you were the little kid that cried every time someone teased you! You really changed since then."
"I had to in order to become stronger." Without noticing, they had arrived at Suki's house. Her arm slipped from his as she approached the door. He stood at the base of the step. She stopped and turned around, a small smile on her face. Then she jumped from the top of the steps in front of him and kissed him on the cheek. His face turned pink and he stumbled back a bit. She grinned and ran to the door. As she went in, she turned to him again. His face was burning as he tried to gather what had just happened.
"Hope you get a good night's sleep, Sasuke. And get stronger." With that she closed the door, leaving the bewildered Uchiha in the dark. She just...kissed me... He walked on what to him felt like clouds. He placed his now sweaty palms in his pockets and headed for home. For the rest of the night, the only thing occupying his mind was the brown-haired teenage girl that sparred with him that day.
Suki was returning from her fourth mission since becoming a Jounin. She trained when she didn't have one to prepare for the next one. Akari had already gone on 4 missions as well and trained with her. It had been at least 2 weeks since she saw Sasuke - and since the 'incident'. Every time she remembered it, she blushed. She hadn't realized it, but she had fallen for the young Uchiha since the rescue. It was she had turned into Hinata somewhat - the very mention of his name caused her face to turn pink and play with her fingers.
Suki headed for the flower shop to meet up with the girls - Ino, Akari, and Sakura. It was her day off from work, so they all decided to meet up there and hang out at Ino's house. They were all standing outside when they spotted her walking down the street. When she got to them they were giggling like crazy.
"Ok, spill. What's so funny?" she asked Akari.
"Oh, nothing," she said smiling. "Just need to ask you something."
"Ok, shoot."
"You didn't really tell us what happened on your date," Sakura stated. "So you need to tell us."
"What? I thought I told you guys already!"
"Without details!" Ino exclaimed. "Now start over and put them in!"
"Fine! Can we at least start going to your house?"
"Yeah, yeah! Let's go!" They started walking as Suki retold the story. When she told them about running with him to the open field, they arrived at the door. Mrs. Yamanaka was in the kitchen and she greeted the girls as they headed for Ino's room. She locked the door and sat on the while everyone else sat on the floor.
"So what happened after you dragged him through the forest?" Sakura asked.
"I told him thanks for being there for me when I was hurt. And I hugged him." She paused for a moment before continuing. "He blushed when I hugged him."
"Sasuke-kun blushed?! You're lucky to see that!" Ino squealed.
"I didn't even know he had feelings!" Akari shouted.
"Exactly! I laughed so hard he blushed even more! But then he walked me home and I told him goodnight. That's about it." Except one small detail that I'd rather not say, she thought.
"There! Was that so hard?" Akari hugged her and grinned. "So, have you seen him since?"
"No," she said. "Being busy with all these missions and stuff, I haven't seen him for almost 2 weeks now."
"I heard he came back from his mission yesterday," Sakura pointed out. "Why not meet up with him at the ramen shop?"
"Wha...now? But...I wasn't really planning on..." Her face turned red and her friends giggled.
"Are you serious? You're nervous, aren't you?" Akari teased.
"N-n-no! It's just...well, I was thinking we do something else or..." She didn't finish the sentence, because they grabbed her by the arm and carried her to the ramen shop. Akari wished her luck as she pushed her inside.
"You guys!" She sighed and turned to sit when she bumped into someone. "I'm sorry..." Looking up, she saw the raven-haired boy looking back at her. "Sasuke?"
"Ohayo, Suki." He smiled at her. "What's up?"
"Umm...nothing, really. Just...hanging out," she said. Her face turned red even though she was trying to act calm.
"Cool. I was doing the same thing. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Oh, you know, missions and stuff. Gotta protect people and other things."
"Yeah. Same here." His hands were in his pockets as usual, but it was to hide the fact that they were sweating profusely. They stood there silently for what felt like an eternity, until Suki decided to break the ice.
"Well, how are you're missions?"
"Pretty good. Just came back from Suna yesterday."
"Interesting. I just returned from The Mist village today."
"That's neat." He was at a loss for words. Come on, say something! Anything!! "Well, I had fun the other night."
"Yeah, so did I." She looked down at her fingers. "We should do that again sometime. Spar, I mean. You know, to...get stronger..."
"That...sounds like a good idea." He shuffled around for a bit. "Well, I'll see you around then."
"Yeah. See you later." As he left a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. That was really awkward, she thought as she sat down.
Outside the ramen shop Sasuke remained calm enough. He walked through the alleys until he was sure noone was around to see him. Once alone, he slumped against a wall and slid to the ground. He still couldn't clear his mind of the kiss, even though it was a minor one. He put his face in his hands and sighed. Then he looked up, feeling another person's presence. Sure enough, it was none other than Naruto, standing in front of him.
"What is it now, dobe?" he sighed.
Naruto grinned. "Why would you be sitting in an alley all by yourself?"
"None of your business, baka. Now leave me alone."
"I don't think that's possible Sasuke." He sat next to him. "I know what happened the other night."
"What the hall are you talking about?"
"We both know you like Suki-chan."
Sasuke sat up in shock. "What the...what's that supposed to mean?"
"No use denying it. You like my friend and you know it." He chuckled as he looked the teen. "Never thought I'd see the day, you actually caring for someone."
Sasuke got up, trying to control himself. "I still don't know what you mean."
"Oh shut up! I saw you in the ramen shop! She looked at you for one split second and your face turned as red as a beetroot!"
Damn, so he did see it! "So what? It doesn't matter. It's none of your business anyways."
"It is too my business! She's one of my closest friends, and I won't let some egotistical bastard hurt her feelings."
Sasuke glared at him. "What was that?"
"Hey, I didn't say you couldn't like her," Naruto said in his defense. "I'm just saying that if you do, don't hurt her. Or I'll have to hurt you." He walked off with his hands behind his head. "Good luck with her though. It's good to see you happy again."
Sasuke stood in the wind, pondering on Naruto's last words. He knew what he had to do the next time he saw her.
Umm...this is weird...Naruto being all protective about Suki? Was this some sort of new rival for Sasuke?...NOT! Apart from the usual, Sasuke's feelings for the kunoichi seem to be showing on his face more, but does she know? Was that just a friendly kiss on the cheek, or did it mean something else? Tune in next time!
Kiba - You sound like you're on TV...isn't it just a story?
Me - Shove it dogboy...
