Okay...so wow. This chapter is "big" too. And Sasuke might seem...well...totally OOC. So I'm sorry. But I'm trying to put in some romance. Anyway...I hope you feel the tension growing. :)...Please don't be upset. I really like this twist.
I really need people to review and tell me how they thought this went.
Enjoy!


Chapter Twelve: Let It Rain

"So stand in the rain. Stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down."


"So, she left this morning, right?"

"Hn."

Sasuke was laying down face down on the couch as Kalei squatted down next to his head. "You miss her, huh?"

Sasuke turned his head the other way.

"Don't ignore me."

He grunted.

"Whatever." She stood up and crossed her arms. "Fine. I won't ask the questions. You ask me your question."

"No."

She groaned. "And why not?"

"Not ready."

Angrily, Kalei turned around and sat on Sasuke's back, causing him to groan. "Kalei. Get off."

"No."

"Now."

Kalei crossed her arms again and sighed. "Your people skills suck. And I mean it."

"Is there any purpose to your bothering me?"

"Yes."

He turned his body on the couch, balancing Kalei's weight. Once turned around completely, she was sitting on his stomach. He looked up at her and put his arms behind his head. "And that would be...?"

"I want you to take me somewhere today!" She said, looking down at him and smiling. A confused look flooded his face.

"Where?"

"To the Uchiha Estate!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

She shrugged and sighed. "So I can see where you really live, I guess."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "No."

Damn, he was being difficult. It was about 11 in the morning, and when Kalei had come inside Sasuke's house, she found him sleeping on the couch. She had woken him up, making him extremely crabby, and had been bothering him every since.

"You have nothing better to do."

He opened one eye. "Haven't you seen it already?"

She shook her head and leaned back on the couch.

Sasuke opened his other eye and scowled at her. Why the sudden interest? "You've never been there?"

"I never had much interest until I met you."

He rolled his eyes.

"So take me. Please." She said, folding her hands together on her lap. She was persistent. Definitely.

"Fine."

Her eyes widened. That was surprisingly easier than she thought. "You will?!" She asked, smile brightening.

He nodded. "If you get off."

She quickly jumped off and giggled. "Lets go!" She walked over to the door and opened it as Sasuke stood up. He wasn't really in the mood to do anything today, but he knew well enough that she'd just keep annoying him if he didn't. He slowly walked behind her out the door. He turned to shut the door and when he looked back, she had stopped and was staring up into the sky.

"What?" He asked irritably.

She was quiet for a few seconds.

"Nothing, just thinking. Let's go."

She started walking ahead and he stared at her, puzzled. A sad smile covered her face. She was simply examining the gray sky. And any idiot could tell...that later...

It was going to rain.


They slowly approached the gates into the estate, noticing the 'Do Not Cross' strip hanging across it. They could see some shinobi cleaning up cracks in buildings and area's that had deteriorated over the years.

"I guess we can't go in." Kalei said thoughtfully, looking up at Sasuke. He just stared down the street, his eyes cold...his expression, no different. She frowned. She hadn't wanted this to hurt him. She just wanted to know more about him.

"Sasuke..."

His eyes widened and he looked down on her, as she snapped him out of his trance.

"Why did you pass my last question? I mean...even if you didn't know...all you had to say was that you weren't sure." She asked softly. A small smirk crossed his face, causing her heart to jump.

"It wasn't that." He said quietly.

She bit her lip.

"I'm sick of telling you things because it's a game. And I'm sick of you telling me because you don't want to lose."

Her eyes widened and she felt her throat go dry.

"I want you to tell me things because you want to." He said, turning around and sighing. Apparently, looking at his old home wasn't going as he had planned.

She nodded. "Okay..."

"I'm glad you told me those three things about you. About you hating the rain and stuff...because I never asked. You just told me."

She felt her face growing hot. He was being so...open. He looked down at her and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well...I want you to tell me things to." She mumbled. He just nodded and cracked his knuckles.

"So, what now?"

Kalei shrugged. She really wanted to see his home. Where he grew up. Maybe it would explain more things about him...but their plans had been canceled.

"Lets get something to eat." He said slowly, walking ahead of her.

She looked up at him as he walked away and smiled. He was being nice. Strange.

She ran up to him and started giggling, "Taking me out to eat? Are you paying?"

He grunted. "Sure."

She broke into a childish laughter and bit her lip. "You know, this could be a date."

A small smirk crossed his face and he looked up into the sky. "Why not, it seems I've been doing a lot of those lately."

She started blushing and looked away. That wasn't the answer she was expecting...it was a whole lot better. It was perfect.


After they had gone to eat, Sasuke had left to go find Naruto to talk to him about training. Kalei had simply gone to Sasuke's and was sitting on the window ledge, looking up into the sky.

It was raining.

She ran her hand down the window, noticing the small droplets running down the glass. It was pouring out. The sky was gray. It was sad. She was sad. Something about the rain always made her want to cry. It made her susceptible to her feelings. And that scared her. Something about tonight was scaring her.

I guess even the heaven's cry. Her heart felt like it was sinking.

All of a sudden the door flew open and Sasuke walked in. She averted her gaze to him as he took off his cloak and dropped it onto the floor. He looked over to see Kalei staring at him. A solemn look crossed his face when he seen her expression. He ran a hand through his hair a couple of times.

"You alright?"

His voice sent chills through her body. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's raining."

Her heart plunged into her stomach. She hated this feeling. Why did the rain do this to her? She looked out the window again and ran her hand down it once more. "I know..." She whispered softly.

Sasuke walked over to her and sighed. "Tea?"

She shook her head and leaned her forehead against the window, taking in the cold sensation. She heard a crack of thunder and jumped. Sasuke noticed and chuckled quietly. She turned back to look at him. "What?" She asked quietly.

He shook his head and smirked at her. "You're afraid of thunder and lightning, aren't you?" She lowered her gaze to the floor and shrugged.

After a minute of silence, he sat down on the ledge by her, causing her to scoot over a bit. He stared at the floor, running words through his mind to find the right thing to say. But he could find nothing.

"Is it easy to talk to me?" She asked quietly, staring into his eyes. He looked up, making eye contact. He slowly nodded. "Why?" She asked quietly.

"I think...we feel the same things." He muttered slowly, causing her eyes to widen.

"Are you referring to our past..." His breath grew shallow. "...or now?" The raindrops on the window behind them grew softer and you could hear the rattling wind.

A small, sober smile crossed his face. "Why is it easy for you to talk to me?" He said, leaning his head back against the wall behind him.

"It was...the way you looked at me after I took my mask off." She said, closing her eyes. His expression at that time was so vivid. "I felt like you seen me. Not just my face."

She heard a small laugh escape him and opened her eyes. "I did see you." She smiled softly and nodded. Another crash of thunder caused her heart to skip a beat.

"If you're curious...another reason why I talk to you...is because your unreadable."

She inhaled a deep breath and felt her face grow hot. Sasuke noticed and his smile grew. "It was...something about the way you smiled. I can never tell what you're really feeling when you smile." He broke his gaze with her and looked out the window.

Something was different about him. Had Sakura broken into him this far in just one night?

All of a sudden, she felt something running down her cheek. She lifted her hand to brush it away. A tear. She was crying.

Sasuke looked back at her, his face expressionless once again. "Do you always cry when it rains?"

She looked up at him as a flash of lightning poured in through the window.

"How about I answer your question."

Her eyes widened. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure how I feel about Sakura. It wasn't how I felt back when we were younger. It's different."

Her heart dropped into her stomach. So he does have feelings for her. I knew it. She closed her eyes tightly and forced a smile. Sasuke looked out the window again. The rain had picked up.

"You told me once you wanted me to be with Sakura. Well..." His voice trailed off. Kalei bit her tongue. I won't cry. I will not...I will not cry.

"...I want you to be with who makes you happy too." Her eyes shot open and Sasuke stood up. He started walking over to the door and grabbed the doorknob, staring at the floor.

No. I never said that.

She watched him intently, hearing the rain hit the window. He opened the door, ignoring his cloak on the floor, and walked outside, closing the door behind him.

And just like that. He was gone. And it was over.

No...no.

Without thinking, she stood up and walked over to the door. She took a deep breath and felt more tears pricking at her eyes.

Why does the rain do this to me?

She thought back on the first time she had met Sasuke. Slowly, she raised her hand to the doorknob and turned it. She pulled the door open and seen Sasuke walking away in the rain.

"Sasuke!"

He looked back to see her running up to him. She stopped a few feet away from him.

The rain was drenching them both, causing Sasuke's bangs to cling to his face. He looked back at Kalei, bewildered.

"I..." Her tears were choking up her words. "I said I wanted you...to be with who makes you happy...a-and that's still true but...I...I just want you to know..." Part of her was frozen by the fact that she was standing in the rain...but the other half was thankful. Hopefully...Sasuke couldn't see how hard she was really crying.

His eyes widened and he turned his body so he was facing her completely. She clenched her fists at her side and closed her eyes tightly.

This isn't a dream. You can't turn back now.

"I care about you so much!"

His breath caught in his throat.

Her shoulders started shaking and she drew her arms up against her chest to try and control her sobbing.

"I just want you to be happy..." She mumbled quietly to herself...as the cold enveloped her.

This wasn't how she had imagined this going. It was all wrong. And she knew...because it was raining...nothing good was going to happen. It was over. She was sure.

But to her surprise, she felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her and pull her to him. The warmth caressed her skin. She buried her face in his shirt, grabbing onto it tightly. She never wanted to let go. This was how she wanted it to be. Him beside her. And to be happy with her.

"Kalei..." His rough voice was still audible through the pouring rain. "...Why?"

"I don't know...I just do..." She whispered into his chest, causing pain to writhe around his heart. He tightened his embrace on her and closed his eyes, leaning his head down. He was feeling the same way he had when he was holding Sakura's hand. That security of somebody being there for him to hold onto. But somehow it was different. He couldn't quite describe it. But something about it...made him not want to let go this time. Instead, hold it closer. Hold her closer.

"You said only sad things happen in the rain. Right now...what do you think?" He whispered into her ear. Her sobbing had died down a bit, and she looked up at him as the rain stroked her face. Right now, her heart was melting into him. It wasn't fair. She was vulnerable.

"Right now..." A tear fell from her eye. She could feel him slowly remove his arms from her. But he never stopped looking into her eyes. "Right now...I think...I'm falling in love with you." She whispered softly, causing his eyes to widen.

The only thing running through his mind was Sakura. And what she had said to him.

"Those bonds...I never broke them..."

"You never had to."

Was it really okay for him to form any new bonds? He had something he had to do. Nothing could change that. Nobody could change that. He wasn't sure what he was feeling...it was something so similar to how he felt about Sakura. But still...somehow it was different. But looking down at Kalei right now...he could only imagine the pain Sakura had been through after he left. He hated it. He never wanted anybody to feel the same loneliness and pain he had once felt. He didn't want to make Kalei feel what Sakura had for him. But there was nothing he could do.

So he slowly grabbed her hands and rested his forehead on hers, closing his eyes. She too closed her eyes, and took in the feeling of his breath on her face.

He didn't know what was happening. He didn't know what to do. Part of him was numb. But the one thing he was feeling. Was that security. That hope.

"Kalei...I can't make the rain stop...but I can be right here."

And that was true.

That was one thing...

That he could do.


Next Chapter: The Only Thing Missing