Lost and Found

Chapter Ten

-Secrets-

Natsumi set down a beautiful arrangement of flowers she had made on the kitchen table. She examined it and readjusted a tulip. She smiled happily, pleased with her work. She had gone through the flowers in the garden and made a beautiful bouquet. The past week had been wonderful, she had gone on many dates with Akito and he had bought her a few very pretty shawls that she used to cover her hair.

She didn't mind, because she liked trying new things with them and seeing what looked best. She was even allowed to go have tea with Sasuke again, but Akito didn't join her. He said he would rather let them have their own time. It made her happy that he trusted her to stay at his father's house. And she enjoyed their time together. It was nice to talk about Akito with someone else. She really liked Sasuke, he was nice to her and she didn't understand why he and Akito were on such hostile terms. But then again she didn't have a father, so she really didn't know how it worked.

There was a knock at the front door and she tensed. Akito had been called out by someone named the Hokage, who he explained was the leader of the village and that every ninja village had one. Hesitantly, she walked to the door, grabbing one of her shawls that happened to be a light green, similar to her eyes, and slid it open to see a girl about her age with long dark hair down to her waist. She had cerulean blue eyes that widened when she saw who answered the door. "Akito's not here." She said, somewhat hiding behind the door, keeping a tight grip on the fabric, to make sure her hair wasn't showing.

The girl just looked confused. "Who are you? And why are you in Akito-kun's house?" she asked. Then her face lit up. "Oh! Are you his new girlfriend?" she asked excitedly, clapping her hands together and smiling at Natsumi.

"His what?" she blinked.

"His girlfriend." Her smile fell. "You know…" she trailed off not knowing how to explain it. Maybe she was wrong.

Natsumi just stared at her. "Um well I sleep with him and we go on dates. Is that what a girlfriend does?"

Minako's eyes widened at this new knowledge, and then narrowed. It seemed her friend had a lot of explaining to do when he got back from wherever it is he was. She just gave the woman a kind smile. "Yes, that is what a girlfriend does." She said.

"Oh, well then I guess I am." She said looking off. "So are you one of Akito's friends?"

"Oh yes, I've known Akito-kun since childhood. My name is Uzumaki Minako, it's nice to meet you." The ebony haired woman said.

"Um…I'm not supposed to tell people my name. So you'll just have to come back when Akito gets home." Natsumi said about to close the door. She glanced past the woman and saw the one they had just been speaking of. "Oh there he is." She pointed. Minako turned and looked back, seeing her friend.

"Akito!" She waved.

Said Uchiha's eyes widened slightly when he saw Minako, and he looked between the two women. "Hey."

Minako placed her hands on her hips and glared slightly at him. "Akito-kun, you've got some explaining to do! How could you go and get a girlfriend and not tell me? Is she the one you were at the festival with?" she asked.

"How did you know about the festival?" Akito asked, growing slightly nervous. If Toshiro was in town then Natsumi would have to stay home for a while, until the redhead left.

"Shiro-kun told me in a letter." She said simply.

"Oh. Right." He said, unsure of what to do now that Minako had seen Natsumi.

"Who's…Shiro-kun?" Natsumi asked, looking straight at Akito.

Minako looked back at Natsumi and smiled. "He's my boyfriend. He's the Kazekage's son. He's really, really nice. You should meet him when he comes to visit me. I don't know when that is though, so it might be awhile." She laughed.

"No, she doesn't need to meet Toshiro." At Natsumi's confused look, he elaborated. "He's the red headed man I spoke to at the festival that I had to hide you from."

She nodded and looked between the two. "Um…so Minako, do you want to come in for tea? I just made some. If that's ok." She said glancing back at Akito. She was trying not to get her hopes up for a new friend, who was a girl, if she wasn't supposed to trust this one. Especially if it was the girlfriend of that man who would tell everyone about her.

Akito nodded his consent. He knew that if he just let Minako leave now she'd start spreading the news that he had someone living with him, so he needed to talk to her first and make her promise not to tell anyone. Minako gave them a weird look. It was odd that the other woman was asking permission, well, the manner in which it was asked was odd. Along with the fact that she didn't even know her name yet, since she had said that she wasn't allowed to tell people.

"Alright then come on in." she turned away from the two and returned back into the house, tying her shawl so she wouldn't have to hold it any longer. Akito and Minako walked in together, an awkward silence between the two. They sat down at the table as Natsumi each brought them a cup and filled it to the brim. She set out some treats and sat beside Akito, sipping at her own as the silence continued. "So…" she began when she saw they were not going to talk. "Minako right?"

"Yes." She said, nodding.

"And you live in Konoha too? Do you like it?"

"I like it well enough. Although I'm hoping that Shiro-kun will propose to me soon, so I can live with him in Suna. It's so beautiful there." The ebony haired woman said, a dreamy look coming to her eyes. Akito just kept quiet, not wanting to crush his friend's dream, since he knew the redhead probably wasn't going to ask any time soon.

Natsumi stared at her oddly. "Suna? Where's that?"

"It's about three days west of here, in the desert." She said.

"Why would someone live in the desert?" she blinked, weren't deserts hot and held nothing but sand.

"Well they live near an oasis, and it's so beautiful there. Plus, if you think tactically, it is the least likely nation to be invaded or attacked, because people who aren't used to the desert don't know how to survive. So most die or are seriously dehydrated before reaching the city." She explained. "And there's just something about the desert that I find…magical. I don't know, the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular, and there you can see all of the stars."

The pink haired woman pondered. She had never seen a desert before, but the way that Minako made it sound, she wanted to see one. She felt a smile form on her face. "That does sound really nice. I would like to see it someday. I do like sand a lot."

Minako paused in raising her cup to her lips, a startled look coming to her face. That was the same smile that Toshiro had, and in turn, Sakura. She was sure it was the same, since she had known the Sabaku family her whole life, and been with the redhead for years, as friends and romantically. "It is nice." She eventually said, taking a sip of her tea.

Akito watched his childhood friend suspiciously. He knew what the look on her face meant, and if things continued as they were, something bad was going to happen, he could just feel it. Minako may have an idiot for a father, but she wasn't stupid. Any more time in Natsumi's company, and she would probably figure everything out. And then he would be screwed.

At that moment Natsumi knocked her spoon off the table. "Oh I'm sorry." she laughed, leaning down to pick it up. But as she came back up, that shawl around her head snagged on the table and was pulled off, exposing her soft pink hair.

Minako gasped as her eyes became the size of saucers, and pointed to the pink haired woman. Before she could say anything, Akito was out of his seat and had his hand clamped over her mouth. "We're going to go talk outside for a minute Natsumi. Just sit tight." He said to her, dragging the ebony haired woman towards the back door. At the sound of the other woman's name, Minako's eyes widened even more, and muffled words could be heard coming from behind Akito's hand.

Natsumi just stared after them, watching in shock. "Ok…take your time…I guess." She sighed and rest one of her elbows on the table, propping her head up. "No wonder Akito always makes me cover up my hair. People freak out when they see an out of the ordinary color." She let out another sigh and blew some of her bangs from her face.

Once they were in the backyard, Akito let go of Minako, who stepped away from him and pointed her finger at him. "Why is she staying with you? And why doesn't Shiro-kun know?" then she gasped. "OH MY GOD! You didn't tell him! You lied!" then she gripped her hair and began to pace. "I can't believe this, he doesn't know. If he knew…"

"Minako, calm down and just let me explain." Akito said. The ebony haired woman looked up at him and glared.

"How could you not tell Shiro-kun you found his sister? He's been searching for her his entire life! And so have her parents!" she yelled.

"Look, I found her, and I want to keep her. I can watch over her and protect her, the way her family obviously couldn't." he said, crossing his arms.

Minako mimicked his actions. "So. It's her family, Akito-kun. They have a right to know that she's still alive. And you slept with her. Don't deny it, she said so herself."

"Well you slept with Toshiro, so I don't see what the big deal is." He retorted. Minako gasped.

"He told you?" at her friend's nod, she blushed. She should have known he would say something anyways. "Well, that's different. We've known each other our whole lives, and actually had a healthy relationship before having sex."

"Natsumi and I had a relationship before we had sex." He said.

"Oh really, tell me, what was it?" Minako asked, raising a brow.

"I was her guard and protector, and I taught her about the world. That includes how other men only want her for sex, what kisses are, and so on and so forth." He told her.

Her jaw fell open and the look she gave him was one of shock. "You're using her! You…you…slut!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. He looked offended.

"You're the slut! Having sex before marriage, good God."

"I'm not the slut, you are! You no good man-whore!" she yelled, face becoming red in anger.

Akito pointed a finger at her. "Hussy!"

"Horn dog!"

They got into a yelling match then, and continued to call each other names as their faces grew redder and redder in their efforts to best the other in their name calling.

Natsumi looked up from doing the dishes, hearing the loud banter. But she didn't really understand the words, and by the tones of their voice she really didn't want to go and see what was wrong. She'd already been yelled at by Akito, and she never wanted to be anywhere near that when it was at someone else. She sighed and continued the dishes. They would come back in eventually, right?

"Look, who the bigger slut is here isn't the problem. The problem, Akito-kun, is that you lied to your best friend about his sister, are lying to her and keeping her here captive, and don't feel bad in the least about it." Minako said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not keeping Natsumi captive, she wants to be here. If she wanted to leave, all she has to do is say so." Akito said.

Minako snorted. "Please. We both know you would find some way to persuade her to stay. Does she even know about her parents?"

"She knows some." He shrugged. "I told her their names and ninja abilities, but not that they are still alive. Or that she has a brother."

Blue eyes widened. "You didn't tell her. You lied to Shiro-kun, and Natsumi-chan? Oh you are so dead when I tell him. And I won't stop him from killing you either, because he has every right to do so."

"No, Minako, you can't tell Toshiro. As my first and best friend, you are obligated to keep this secret for me. Nobody can know." Akito said.

"That is not a good enough reason to lie to Shiro-kun." The ebony haired woman said, crossing her arms and sticking her hip out stubbornly.

Akito smirked. "Alright then. If you tell, then I'm going to tell your father you had sex with him. And when he finds out his precious little girl is no longer innocent, he's going to go after Toshiro, and only one of them will come out of that fight alive. On top of that, your grandfather will find out, and you will have disgraced the entire Hyuuga Clan. Do you really want that on your shoulders?" he asked.

Her arms fell. "Well…no." she said, lowering her eyes in defeat. "But I don't think I can lie to him. I've never kept anything from him before, and we both know I'm a terrible liar."

"Yeah but I think that now that you have the right incentive to lie, you will." Akito said with confidence. "Come on, Natsumi is waiting for us back inside."

She let out a sigh and turned to go back into the house. "Yeah." When they entered the kitchen, she smiled at the other woman, who was putting the dishes away. "I'm sorry if my outburst startled you Natsumi-chan." She said.

She looked back at the two and kept glancing between them. "Oh…it's ok. I just don't like when Akito yells is all. No worries."

"Sorry if I upset you." Akito said, giving Natsumi an apologetic look.

She waved her hands in front of her face and shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. I'm ok." She smiled, but really wanted his comfort. He hadn't touched her since he had returned and she wondered if it was because of Minako's arrival.

Minako went to go sit back at the table, and while her back was turned, Akito wrapped his arm around Natsumi's waist and pulled her to him, kissing her on the cheek when she was close enough. He had sensed that Natsumi needed some form of comfort, and on top of that, he'd been dying to touch her since his return home. She leaned against him, staying in his hold and gripping tightly onto his shirt. She could sense something was wrong. But he would tell her if something were bothering him. Right?

When Minako turned to look back over at them, she noted their embrace and watched as Akito gently stroked Natsumi's cheek. She gave the couple a contemplative look. It was clear to an onlooker that the two felt something very deep for each other, for she had never seen a look so tender in her friend's eyes before. If this were the case, perhaps it would be easier for her to lie to Toshiro, although she doubted it. But maybe that's why it was a good thing he wouldn't be coming back to Konoha for a while, no matter how much she would miss him. She rose from her seat and cleared her throat, getting the other two's attention. "Well I think I'm going to go, since my original purpose for coming here was fulfilled. Thank you for the tea. It was nice to meet you Natsumi-chan." She said with a smile, nodding to the other woman.

Natsumi smiled at her, the similarity was almost painful. "It was nice to meet you too. You should come over again and we can plant some flowers. I've been playing a lot in the garden lately. And having a girl to talk to would be nice. After all, it's just been me and Akito and the few times I've gone over to visit Sasuke." But she didn't move from her spot in Akito's arm. She was feeling distressed from their earlier spat and needed his anchor.

"Of course! I'll come by sometime tomorrow, if that's alright. I have a mission to go on in a few days, otherwise it will have to be next week." Minako said, growing excited about becoming friends with the woman, although at the same time she felt a little guilty, knowing the truth about Natsumi and yet not allowed to tell her or Toshiro, even though they had a right to know.

"Sounds great." Natsumi said happily, knowing Akito would not deny her this. "Then you should come over tomorrow." She nodded. Minako did the same and waved them both goodbye before leaving. When she was sure the dark haired girl was gone, she pulled away from Akito and looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to fall off. I thought I had tied it better than that."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault, Minako was just surprised is all. But we talked about it, and she has promised not to say anything. She's a good friend, we can trust her. And…I want you two to be friends. I figured you'd like that." He said, running his thumb along her jaw gently. She nodded slowly and moved towards him, pressing her body to his.

"If you say so. I do like her. She seems nice."

He ran his fingers through her hair and held her closer. "She is." After a few moments he pulled away and kissed her forehead. "So I didn't scare you when I was yelling earlier? Because it wasn't angry yelling, it was more like argument yelling." He said.

She shrugged, "I didn't have to see your face. So I was ok. I just didn't understand what was going on. I didn't realize my hair was that upsetting." She sighed.

He chuckled. "It wasn't your hair, trust me." He said, ruffling the short pink locks.

"Then what was it?" she asked curiously.

"She knows who you are." He said simply.

This seemed to confuse her only further. "But what would a woman want with me?" then she went wide eyed. "Is she a bi-sexual?" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

He laughed. "No, she isn't. But since Toshiro is her boyfriend, she would tell him. And I know for a fact that he would take you from me." He said, becoming serious.

This made her eyes widen even further. "Why would he try and take me from you? I don't even know him."

"He has an obsession for women with pink hair." He lied.

"Really?" she said in awe. That was a weird thing to have a fetish for. "Well, I guess its good then that it was all settled and I'll be safe." She smiled happily. "It's been a long day. Wanna take a bath?"

"Yeah, let's go." He said, leading her to their bathroom.