"Naruto." Sasuke repeated coldly.
"It's you. It's really you!" Naruto released Mei and took a couple of steps towards Sasuke, pushing the girl aside gently. His soberness came back, and mind cleared in an instant. Did Sasuke always have that effect on him?
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked upfront, sending the blonde a heavy gaze,
Naruto looked back into Sasuke's dark eyes. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Mei felt out of place. All she wanted that moment was to disappear and never come back to face either of them. She roamed her mind for a good explanation, but there was nothing. She tried to step between them, but Naruto moved her aside once again.
"Sasuke, it is really you. I've been looking for you for so long…we all have," Naruto finally said. He finally got a hold of his emotions and tried keeping them in hand.
"I told you not to." Sasuke retorted coldly. The glaring completion continued.
The feeling of awkwardness was growing in the girl's chest. Slowly, slowly she started moving away from the two but Sasuke grabbed her hand and yanked her back. "Where do you think you're going?" he snarled.
"Well you know…I thought…you two wanted to be alone, this is a private conversation. I am not needed here, so…I'll go and make some tea." Mei made another attempt to leave but Sasuke's grip tightened on her hand. She winced in pain. Mei glared at the Uchiha and tried to pull her hand back.
"You are hurting her." Naruto took a step closer. The kindness disappeared from his eyes, quickly being replaced with a threat. A smirk played in Sasuke's lips. "She doesn't mind."
"Actually, I very much do mind." Mei hissed through her gritted teeth and pulled her hand away as hard as she could. Smirk faded from Sasuke's face as he released her. The girl glared at the two men and marched away into the house kicking the door closed. "Idiots," he exclaimed throwing her arms in the air. "Absolute silliness,"
"What is your relationship with her?" Sasuke question as he looked at the closed door. The thought of Mei and Naruto together was unsettling, yet he could not place why. He did not expect Naruto to answer but he did anyway. "There is no relationship between us." He said. "Not on emotional level at least."
"What does that supposed to mean?"
Naurot raised his eyebrows. "Does it bother you?"
"It does not, but I don't want any interference until our deal with her is over." Sasuke spat back.
"Deal?" Naruto looked at him suspiciously. "What deal?"
"I see it as none of your concern."
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. All this time he wanted to see Sasuke. He wanted to speak to him, but now that the raven-haired guy was in front of him, he was not sure if he was happy.
meanwhile
Mei poured herself a cup of tea and sat at the table. She opened the book where she kept a thorough track of every herb she came across. Her eyes scanned the lines but none of the information was getting to her brain. She could not concentrate. As the girl brought the tea to her lips, she realised how much her hands were shaking. "Ugh, this is not good." She stood up and rushed to one of the shelves. She opened a small box and took out three small yellow pills. Mei placed them in her mouth and swallowed them quickly without any water. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. "I don't want to deal with this." She mumbled. "I really don't want to."
Kuro walked towards her and rubbed his soft face on her leg. Mei smiled and kneeled to pet the cat. "You are right Kuro. Thank you."
A loud crash behind the closed door made the girl jump to her feet and rush outside. She stormed out to find Sasuke and Naruto standing a bit further away from her house. The two glared at each other heatedly. Their aura around them was changing drastically, becoming more dangerous and suffocating.
"What the hell are you two doing?" she yelled running towards them, but Naruto pushed her back. Mei lost her balance and fell on the grass.
"Do not get in the way Mei."
"Naruto…"
"This is between us." Naruto interrupted her.
Mei stood up and marched towards the two men. She stepped between them and raised her hands in the air signalling for them to wait and listen. "I don't care what's going on between you two." She said sending stern looks at both. "But this will have to wait until our deal with him," she nodded at Sasuke is over. "After it's done, you two can do whatever the hell you want and as FAR away from my house as possible!"
"Mei," Naruto wanted to object but Mei placed a hand over his mouth and smiled at him.
"Naruto please." She looked at him, begging him with her eyes. "This is important." Mei's tone softened. Naruto looked into her eyes searching…she was telling the truth. He closed his eyes and kissed her fingertips. Mei did not take her hand away. She smiled with the corners of her mouth as she stroked his cheek.
"We will settle this later." Naruto threw at Sasuke. He glanced at Mei one last time. He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers ever so gently. Mei's heart clenched. "I'll see you later." He told her and disappeared.
Mei let out a sigh and pushed her hair away from her face. She turned around and looked at Sasuke, who was quietly watching the scene. She could not tell what he was thinking and for once…she did not care. Without a single word the girl walked past him towards the house. Sasuke followed closely behind. He closed the door walked into the kitchen. Mei was making a fresh pot of tea. He sat down and watched her intently.
"Stop staring at me." She said not turning around. "And I would appreciate if you didn't start fights with my friends." She added finally turning around. She carried a tray in a shape of a lotus flower with two cups of steaming tea to the table and put it down.
"Friend?" Sasuke said dully. "Just a friend?"
Mei glanced at him surprised. "I was lonely not dead," she said. "And besides, my relations have nothing to do with you." she retorted and sat down opposite him.
Sasuke stood up causing his teacup to fall. Hot tea spilled all over the table and a couple of boiling tea drops landed on Mei's hand. She winced.
"You are right." He said. "They have nothing to do with me, but somehow," he leaned in over the table and brought his face closer to hers. "I am interested." He crashed his lips on Mei's catching her off guard. She leaned back in surprise and lost her balance. The girl fell off the chair and groaned in pain. She rubbed her hurt arm before her eyes shot up at Sasuke, who was already standing beside her. He picked her up as if she weighted nothing and carried her to the bed.
"Uchiha, I am warning you…"
"What?" a smirk played on his lips. "What are you going to do?" he whispered the last sentence into her ear. The girl shivered.
"I will not treat you!" it was her last attempt of defence.
Sasuke chuckled darkly as he placed her on the bed and hovered over her.
"If that is the price of you…" his fingers touched her neck. "Then I am willing to pay it."
/
Mei rested her chin on her hands and looked at Sasuke's unconscious body. A cup of steaming coffee stood beside her along with a large plate of cookies that she baked. Mei hated baking; she only did it when she was much stressed. *What the hell was he trying to do?* she thought rubbing her temples.
"Uchiha, I'm warning you…"
"What?" a smirk played on his lips. "What are you going to do?" he whispered the last sentence into my ear. I shivered.
"I will not treat you!" I threatened.
Sasuke chuckled darkly as he placed me on the bed and sat next to me.
"If that is the price of you…" his fingers touched my neck. "Then I am willing to pay it."
*Out of everything and anything, I least expected that.* she sipped the coffee. Its warmth pleasantly flowed down her throat. *I wonder how far he would go if I did not knock him out…* she thought with a small blush on her cheeks. Sasuke shifted and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked at the girl. Their eyes met but neither of them said a word. He stood up and walked to the table. Mei shifted in her seat feeling slightly nervous. The look on Sasuke's face was not amused. He sat down opposite her never breaking the eye contact.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked coldly.
Mei did not want to reply, but in Sasuke's current state no response could be dangerous. "I've pressed a pressure spot on the back of your neck." She admitted reluctantly.
"You seem to know my body well,"
A hint of rose coloured her cheeks. "Not at all," she snapped. "Everybody has that pressure spot there," she protested. *Why the hell am I even justifying myself to him? He was the one who attacked me!* Mei screamed in her head.
Sasuke reached out and grabbed her hand. He squeezed her fingers tightly, causing them to click. Mei gasped in pain and tried to pull away, but instead Sasuke yanked her forward. "Listen here and listen good," his voice sounded low and threatening. "If you do that one more time, I will kill you."
Something clicked in Mei's head; before she could stop herself, she raised her arm and slapped his hand away. Four deep red lines appeared on Sasuke's pale flesh. Mei shot to her feet and smacked her hands on the table glaring at the Uchiha. "And what makes you think, I will not kill you first?" she hissed angrily. "I am warning you Uchiha if you touch me like this one more time…just one more goddamn time, I will make sure you that for the rest of your life you will eat through a straw." They continued glaring at each other for a while longer. Sasuke slowly rose to his feet and walked away. she heard the front door open and close with a loud thud.
Mei dropped her head on her folded hands, thinking that she would never see the Uchiha again.