((A/N: Yay for Random Person, who told me to update! I mean seriously, if you guys just tell me which one to update I can have it updated within a day, if I'm busy two. Come on guys! Vote! Xd

Anywho, I'm writing a bunch of new fics… and I know I promised 'Curious Strangers' and 'Bold Encounters' awhile ago, but I forgot what I titled 'Bold Encounters'(too many documents…) and I got serious writers block for 'Curious Strangers'… but never fear, I shall have them posted soon!

Muse-chan out!!))

-Untold-

Chapter Nine:

An Encounter

I awoke what I can only assume was hours later, it was dark out… I blinked, I was in my room at the Subaku's… but I shouldn't be able to tell it's dark out…

My eyes flicked towards my boarded window…

…previously boarded window.

He took down my boards! That—that! Teme…

I sighed, deducing to simply take care of it later… he'd better not have bent the nails, I don't have money to buy new ones…

Now why did he of all people bring me home…? Ah, I fainted…

…why'd I faint again?

My head throbbed viciously as I tried to recall the events of earlier this day, but as my gaze drifted towards the lone clock in my room I corrected myself. The events of earlier yesterday. It was well after midnight, somewhere between one and two o'clock.

Likely one-forty…

I trailed off; I was distracting myself with meaningless thoughts! Now… what was I trying to remember?

Eventually, however, I gave up and shrugged. Snuggling under my blanket and attempting to achieve much needed rest.

It didn't take long for me to get thirsty.

If I attempted sleep for any longer without getting the life-sustaining substance known as water I wouldn't be able to get back to the rest that I so desired.

But I don't want to get up…

As the seconds ticked passed, thirst crushed laziness with the strength that made me wonder whether I was still awake.

Getting out of bed reluctantly I relished in the feeling of cold and hard tile against my feet… until the goose-bumps grew on my arms. I turned slowly and decided that I should bring my blanket along for the ride.

It still makes me wonder how I was able to unlock the room in my half-dead state, but I managed it and stumbled out into the hall.

No one was awake. The house was dark and quiet.

It reminded me of a time that I used to adore… from midnight to three… every evening.

I shook the thoughts away, my glazed and tired mind insisting that if I put too much thought into anything I would never be able to attain sleep again this evening.

After staggering into the kitchen my eyes drifted shut…

…the cups should be on the shelf left of the sink… against the wall and third shelf up…

I slowly reached a shelf directly above the sink, opened it and retrieved a cup.

…the red switch is the cold water because Otousama messed up in the plumbing…

I reached for the blue switch, cold water falling into the glass cup I held loosely under it.

…the ice is in the freezer, you have to pop the cubes out of the ice trays and picked them up before putting them in…

I pushed the glass against the button on the freezer, ice pouring into the water.

…best drink quickly and put the cup in the sink… or by the sink depending how full it is… you wont be able to get back to sleep if you linger too long…

Slowly slumping at the island table situated in the kitchen, I sat down on the chair already pulled up. Slowly bringing the glass to my lips I drank the liquid that would insure I rested well that evening.

Hair spilled on the table and I watched with half-lidded eyes as a dark figure took a seat across from me.

"Are you going to acknowledge my presence yet?"

I blinked, not quite sure who was speaking, the voice was familiar though… definitely male. Shrugging in indifference I took another sip of my water. Too tired to care about someone I don't quite recognize in the darkness.

Despite the lack of features that I could discern I could feel his skeptical gaze.

"Is that a no?" he asked darkly.

"More or less…" I muttered, still dizzy from sleep. Trying to stay half awake… after all, if I stopped being half awake the chances of being able to return to my desired rest were minimal.

A sigh could be heard from the figure in front of me, "You never cease to surprise me…"

"Are you only half awake as well?" I was not entirely sure why, but I felt his statement was… out of character.

"No… not quite." Was the response.

"Ah… well…" I struggled for something to say but quickly gave up, once again far too asleep to care anymore.

"What happened?"

There was something foreboding about what he asked, something that made me a little scared… but as sleep continued to be the only thing on my mind…

A shrug from myself, sipping more water.

"You're not going to answer?"

A small nod.

He gave another sigh and I could feel him falling asleep as well.

"I missed you…"

"I did as well…"

A silence that stretched and neither of us felt truly awake anymore, none of our statements made sense, I couldn't understand what we were saying and neither could he.

Shivering, "Its cold…"

Scoffing playfully, "You're the one with the blanket."

Smiling softly, "Hai… you're right…"

A pause was necessary for what was to be phrased next. I didn't care, I was already asleep.

"…it hurts…"

"…hai…"

"…it was your decision."

"…hai…"

"I want you to hold me…"

A pause, "I want to hold you…"

More silence.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself, words that came out of my own mouth making little sense even to myself. Everything he said was in one ear and out the other.

I felt a tug, not a painful one, in my chest. I felt the need to say something more… but what?

Silence consumed the room and the unspoken words were understood to both parties.

…at least I think… I didn't even feel I was here anymore.

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I could hear and feel steady breathing.

My eyes slid all the way shut, a smile gracing my lips.

"…good night…"

I knew it was morning before I felt someone shaking my shoulder. The morning sunlight spilled into the room and onto my tired eyes.

Judging from the taste in the air… I'd say it was about seven…ish.

I opened my eyes, turning my head slightly to see who was shaking my shoulder.

Gaara was glaring down at me.

…right… waffles…

I yawned and stretched my arms over my head, "O-ohayo Gaara-san…"

"What were you doing sleeping in the kitchen?" he eyeballed me for a second longer, "And with red hair?"

I laughed nervously, "L-long story…" I blinked, why was I sleeping in the kitchen?

A blurry image hit my mind and I felt goose-bumps grow on my arms.

I set to making Gaara's waffle's quickly in order to make it to the shower, the temporary dye would come out easily enough but I would have to wash it for awhile.

I really would rather go back to my normal hair color. I'm sure Neji already knows and I would rather not have red hair longer than absolutely necessary…

…I missed my indigo locks.

It didn't take long to complete the task and with Gaara happily eating the treat(at least I think he was happy…) I went to the bathroom.

My mind flitted to the evening… or earlier this morning if you really thought about it.

I woke to get… water. I got the water… I knew this because of the full glass of water on the table.

Did I not drink it? Did I refill it?

I couldn't recall…

I remember speaking with someone… about… something… it was all so vague, I couldn't remember anything of the night before in detail.

I felt safe…

I was resting so well… before the sunlight and Gaara had perturbed my sleep, I had been so happily engaged in sleep. So peacefully… I haven't felt that peaceful in rest since… since what? I blinked, unable to come up with an answer.

Water poured down on me and I set to washing out the dreaded color from my hair.

The trek to school was uneventful, Gaara wasn't coming today either.

When I arrived in the classroom I suddenly recalled why I had tried to disguise myself to begin with.

Hyuuga Neji was glaring a hole into my head.

I began to turn around in an attempt to run for my life but only found myself staring into the chest of the other person I wanted to see least in the entire universe.

Uchiha was giving me a bored look.

I absolutely adore my life.

Note the sarcasm.

"Going somewhere?"

I shook my head at the Uchiha, "A-ah, no! I-I… just…" I hung my head in embarrassment and headed to my seat.

What surprised me though, was when a girl I didn't recognize sat in the seat next to Gaara's(if he had been here) and greeted me.

I returned the greeting and mentally took note of her short pink hair…

Funny… I wonder if it's natural… I've only met one person in my life with natural…

My eyes widened and my thoughts trailed off while I sat down.

No… she couldn't possibly…

She lives in Izumo!

When the girl turned in her seat to face me with a thoughtful look I thought I would die right there.

"Hey… you're name… isn't by any chance… Hyuuga, is it?"

I smiled nervously, happy for my sunglasses that hid my panicking eyes.

"H-hai… you… w-wouldn't happen to b-be H-Haruno-san?"

A wide smile came to her, "I knew it was you!" she got out of her seat and gave me a hug, "It's been so long Hinata-chan!"

I nodded, mind still reeling.

There were few reasons she would leave Izumo…

I didn't like most of them.

"Hai… i…it has… it's g-good to see you again…"

She grinned happily, "I didn't know you moved to Kyoto! The teacher said that you and your family went to Hokkaido!"

…that was the cover story, wasn't it?

(A/N: Okay… I really need some help here, I'm not sure if Izumo is in Kyoto, I tried Wikipedia, it wouldn't tell me. I looked up maps; they were either in Japanese or didn't tell me! I hate plot holes, so if anyone happens to know, please tell me!!)

I laughed nervously, "W-we did… b-but…" I gulped slightly, the lie stinging my tongue on the way out, "O-otousama didn't like the c-cold climate."

I knew both Uchiha and Neji were staring at me, Neji because he knew I was lying and Uchiha… I didn't know why Uchiha was staring at me.

Perhaps he knew I was lying as well?

I kept my attention directed on Sakura though, "W-when did you transfer?"

"Ah! I arrived earlier this week but I only started classes yesterday afternoon." She was more than happy to answer.

"Mm hm… a-and… why'd you l-leave Izumo?"

The way she stiffened was enough for me to know.

I sent her a weak smile and shock played over her face.

"You mean… you're the…"

I nodded, still giving her the same vague and defeated smile. This sucks…

"You sh-should probably take y-your seat… the t-teacher will be here soon."

She nodded slightly and sat down, obviously put out at the knowledge.

I knew she appreciated me as a friend, so it really must be hard on her to realize the one she'd come here to kill was…

My thoughts trailed off and another question plagued my mind, since when was Haruno-san into this line of work?

A sigh escaped me; she wasn't the type to accept a job like this even if she was in this line of work. Another question that plagued me was why did she have to come all the way from Izumo?

She wasn't very famous in this business so why would they drag her all the way from Izumo to Kyoto to deal with a minor case like mine? Weren't there plenty of assassins in the area that they could use?

Neji was one thing, I was sure he was far away from this area when they contacted him, but he was revered as the best there is.

This was getting confusing.

It only occurred to me than that Uchiha probably came from farther away yet, he had been doing everything in hi power to avoid me last I checked.

My eyes narrowed and the answer became all too clear.

They were doing it on purpose.

They were going for people I knew.

They wanted to make this as straining on me as possible.

It suddenly occurred to me that someone was seated next to Neji.

Inching my gaze towards the girl sitting there I found my breath catching in my throat.

Hanabi…

My thoughts trailed off into nothingness and I turned away from her.

Doesn't matter…

I was surprised how little it was taking to sedate myself before it occurred to me that this was likely why I fainted yesterday.

So I already sedated myself…

I smiled faintly and set myself to paying attention to whatever the teacher was speaking of, mind faintly wandering to what waited for me after school ended.

I already knew it wouldn't be pleasant.

Eventually, however, I found my eyes drifting to the manicure that lingered as a nasty reminder of Ino and Temari's 'torture'. I don't like nail polish much… or at all for that matter, so it disturbed me lightly to see my nails sheen a pale violet.

I wished they had at least used see-through nail polish, so the effects would be less… striking to me. It perturbed me a great deal to realize that those… chemicals were already dry on my hand and I would have to wait for them to crumple off unless I wanted to use even nastier smelling chemicals.

An entirely trivial problem, I realize this, but it still irks me a great deal.

It was some time before I remembered where I was and promptly paid the teacher the attention he deserved from all his students(though I cannot say I was the only one daydreaming…).

Despite my best efforts however, my mind would escape me every few seconds, disappearing into the many ideals and attractions in this world that could have been dubbed 'distractions'.

I was shaken out of one of my many stupors by a kind hand and face.

I blinked, "H-Haruno-san?"

She gave me a waning smile, "Let's eat lunch together, ne Hinata-chan?"

It took several more blinks of confusion before it occurred to me exactly how much time had passed.

"A-ah! Gomen Haruno-san… d-demo I didn't br-bring a bento…"

A scoff could be heard from my right. I knew immediately that Uchiha intended to mock me.

I was preparing a retort for what his snide remark was likely to be before a hand slammed down on my desk.

Nervously, very nervously, I looked up to find blazing green eyes glaring…

…at the Uchiha.

"Is there something you wanted?" she practically hissed, her shockingly pink hair flicked behind her ear by an obviously annoyed finger.

I was in mild shock myself, the Sakura I had met oh so long ago was a lot shyer and…

…a lot less terrifying.

Uchiha didn't seem at all bothered, he raised an eyebrow at Sakura with his signature cold glare in place, "And who might you be?"

She growled, "I don't introduce myself to petty assassins." She really did hiss it out this time.

"Aren't you just one yourself?"

Sakura froze at Uchiha's remark. This gave me all the information I needed to know about Sakura's situation.

She was unwillingly dragged into this.

See? Told you she didn't do this sort of work.

Though she had to be pretty formidable if they recruited her despite her usual resume… I should likely worry about facing her, Uchiha's holding back on me for unknown reasons so he's not being too troublesome an opponent. I have my suspicions he's under an abnormal contract.

Sakura however… she's another story completely. It's very possible she's under a normal contract… meaning she wont be able to hold back in the least, I don't know what kind of fighting style or weapons she may or may not use so this is highly troublesome…

I brought myself back into reality barely in time to watch Sakura's angered reaction.

"I…" her voice was so dark and foreboding; I sunk lower in my seat. I couldn't see her eyes, the rosy pink locks of hair falling over her(slightly larger than normal) forehead in an ominous manner, "…am no petty, idiotic assassin."

Uchiha, though seeming to be slightly affected by her change in demeanor, kept his defiant front and raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Than what are you?" sarcasm dripped into every single syllable.

Her emerald eyes flared from beneath her bangs and she stood tall and defiant, hands finding her waist as she glared down at the 'petty assassin'.

"The second apprentice of the Gaidome Tsunade-sama, Haruno Sakura." Vague, but informative, she held her tongue from giving out too much information but still gave enough information to thoroughly clear her name of being a 'petty assassin'.

My stomach dropped into my toes.

Tsunade…? But that would mean…

I felt all the more nervous as I sunk slowly in my chair; I am so dead when Sakura gets a hold of me.

The window looked so inviting.

There was a small silence and Sakura realized that, despite her great intelligence, she had just gone back on her word of not introducing herself to 'petty assassins'.

Uchiha smirked (I hate that guy…) he then returned the introduction in a rare show of actually proper conduct.

It was a sad, pathetic thing that I was far too engrossed in my horror at Sakura's apparent mentor to really care about listening.

Oh well, I'll just continue to refer to him as Uchiha.

Sakura's glare darkened, "I've heard of you…" this caught my attention and I lifted my head slightly, "…you're much worse than a pitiful assassin—" I wonder how Neji is feeling about his career being constantly insulted…? "—you treacherous-!" sadly, before she could shed anymore light on Uchiha's current life-style he clamped a hand over her mouth…

…what bugged me was that his eyes were trained on me and me alone, not the furious and squirming girl he'd just cut off.

The tension rose again and I glanced at the window with a hopeful look.

Before long, however, our math teacher entered and both Uchiha and Haruno were forced to settle down and be seated.

The animosity that riveted off of Sakura when she heard Uchiha's name…

I shook it off, it was obvious where that thought was leading and it wasn't somewhere I wished to visit again.

The rest of classes seemed to end in a daze and I found myself in a situation I wished I wasn't in.

I lingered in the room too long. Well… not really… Neji and Uchiha seemed to have a way of emptying a room with dark looks alone.

After I looked up from my school bag that I had just finished packing I noticed the other occupants of the room…

…the only other occupants of the room.

I laughed nervously.

Neji stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a vicious glare consuming his face(I suddenly recalled 'the plastic'), Hanabi was nearby with an apathetic expression, Sakura looked troubled and as per usual I was at the mercy of a certain Uchiha's death glare.

Lovely…

I was severally tempted to grumble… or jump out of the window, either works.

My eyes flew form the window(that they had once again drifted to) and towards Neji when he cracked his knuckles.

Apparently he remembers the plastic as well…

I nearly flinched when he approached me.

"K-konichiwa Neji-san… life treating you well?" I didn't wait for a response, "Good! N-now if you'll ex-excuse me…"

My escape attempt was ruined when I bumped into Uchiha, who had changed positions to stand behind me.

Grand… utterly fantastic…

"Heh…heh, happy times, ne?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, he cracked his knuckles once more.

Sakur came in between us, "Geez! What the hell is stuck up your ass?!"

I froze.

She had not just used that analogy…

I almost cried when I realized she had.

The room went several degrees colder, I reached out and gripped Sakura's sleeve.

She blinked, "What is it Hinata-chan?"

I looked back at Neji, I could see the demonic aura crackling behind him in furry.

…maybe I shouldn't have resorted to the plastic…

"Eh heh… h-how did you ev-ever manage to get that out a-anyway…?" I can't believe I let that question slip out.

Sakura had a sort of dawning expression before sending me an apologetic look.

Smart girl, that one.

I felt a small amount of rage when I caught sight of Uchiha's mildly amused look out of the corner of my eye.

Before I met my impeding doom I pulled out the last and only card I had, "Y-you can't hit me y-yet! H-Hanabi-san's still h-here!"

One well placed glare from a Hyuuga later and that swiftly changed, the door shutting softly behind the short girl.

I attempted to follow but found that the Uchiha was determined to make my life a living hell.

Why me…?

I silently prayed that he didn't try to 'return the plastic' the same way he'd retrieved it…

My last hope for survival likely waiting in the hall I decided petty tricks wore my best hope… "A-ano… b-bear!" I pointed hurriedly in a random direction, my eyes widening in shock and horror at the animal supposedly across the room.

…Neji's head didn't move…

Well, that plan went beautifully… I almost wished there really was a bear so I could later exclaim 'I told you so'.

I glanced at Sakura and wondered if perhaps she would be an easier opponent… apprentice of someone legendary or not she didn't have as much experience in killing that Neji most certainly did.

I found myself reaching for my pocket, I had another trump card… swiftly I brought it out of my pocket.

"T-twenty yen and w-we forget all this?"

Their skeptical and disbelieving stares would forever stay in my memory… especially considering it'll probably be the last memory I have! Neji will decapitate me if I'm lucky!

Uchiha came out of his stupor and sent me a sharp glare; I lowered my head, sighed in defeat, and put the yen back in my pocket.

Neji was more than ready and seemed to want to begin immediately but I held up my hand, "O-one moment pl-please!" I turned around and looked for something in my bag.

I could still feel their impatient(Uchiha and Neji) and worried(Sakura) gazes on my back.

After a moment I found what I was looking for and set it on my desk before turning to face my certain doom.

"A-ano… I'm r-ready…" and I'm also a bad liar, but let's not concentrate on that.

((Ending Notes: I was going to cut this chapter in half, but I had mercy for once because as shikaruTo so kindly informed me, 'karma is a bitch'... and it twas! It was awful! X3 but then she updated and I was happy again...

Okay! Before anyone kills me for the animosity Sakura showed Sasuke, I would like to point out that I do not think it was out of character.

Sakura is a smart girl and there is likely some exact reason that she has a crush on Sasuke to begin with, other than appearance(though I fail to see what's worth crushing on…) thus I am going by the assumption that if there is no reason and the first time she sees Sasuke he's a petty assassin…

…you get my drift?

Another reason that I don't think it was OOC is she isn't a five-seven year old twit that crushes on the cutest boy she sees, even if as a child she might have crushed on Sasuke for mere looks, she likely would need more incentive now that she is older and more mature.

…see? I have a reason for doing stuff…

But, the main reason is, as a Sakura fan I cannot stand how she demeans herself in front of that asshole, thus I would much rather not write about how much of an idiot she is whenever Sasuke is involved(this is also one of the bigger reasons I hate SasuSaku).

-Muse-chan going to take a bath!))