Rinn nervously bit her lip as she sat on the sofa fiddling with her fingers. She was still waiting for Sasuke to come home, and it was now starting to get dark. Naturo had managed to defeat Gaara (more or less) whilst Rinn maintained the protective barriers around herself, Sasuke and Sakura. She had pretended not to notice when Sasuke ripped his hand out of her grasp, and she had tried not to think too much of the fact that he had not said a word to her after that moment. She even kept quiet when Sasuke told her to put him down and let him make his own way home after the fight as they jumped through the trees back towards the village. At that point, Rinn was becoming a little fed up with his attitude, and happily obliged.

That was several hours ago, and he still had not returned. Her earlier annoyance towards him had now begun to dissipate, and she was starting to feel a little guilty at her impulsiveness. If she had been more patient with him and insisted that he came home with her, would he have given in and now be sat safely next to her? However, her feisty side was still not very happy with him at all. She had gone to great lengths to try and help him, for no other reason than that she cared about him. Why was that so offensive to him? Why was he being so... ungrateful?

And now I'm sat here waiting for him. Like his little pet. Not having a clue where he is. What is his problem?!

Rinn fluctuated back and forth between being angry, worried, and feeling guilty. She began to pick the skin alongside her nails – a habit that manifested itself when she was nervous.

Where the hell are you Sasuke?!

- X -

Sasuke's brows were permanently knitted together as his face remained contorted into a stern frown. His feet grew heavier as his energy drained with every step. He had certainly allowed himself a fair amount of time to collect his thoughts after he had forced Rinn to leave him behind. The now blackened sky was hammering down an unforgiving rain onto his fatigued body, drenching him to the bone.

As per usual, his mind had reached two completely opposite conclusions. On the one hand, he knew he'd acted like a brat to the person he claimed was the most important to him, when she had only tried to help. Sasuke realised that he had upset her, and he knew that she was probably sat at home wondering where he was now and wondering what had caused him to behave this way.

Did he feel guilty?

Absolutely.

Was it enough to overcome his wounded pride, and the rage he currently felt towards both his teammates and himself?

Probably not.

Having mastered chidori and progressing further with his sharingan, Sasuke was sure that he had done enough to at least be level with his comrades, if not surpass them. And yet, it had been Naruto that had held off Gaara. It had been Rinn that had protected him and Sakura.

And I was useless!

Sasuke kicked the dirt in anger as he continued to walk down the street towards his and Rinn's houses. Knowing that he was growing ever closer, he tried to collect himself. It seemed that more and more frequently, he was contradicting himself – like he had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. One was the old Sasuke, the one that Rinn wanted him to be and the side of him that kept her close to him. The other was the Sasuke that could defeat Itachi: strong, heartless, and powerful. But he knew he could not have both.

And that only made him angrier still. A vicious sneer appeared on his face as he reached their houses, his less considerate side tempted to go straight through his own front door rather than let Rinn know he had returned. Reluctantly, he ended up in front of Rinn's door instead, and he gripped the handle with such ferocity that he could have easily pulled it off its screws. As his knuckles turned whiter from his vice-like grip, Sasuke flung the door open with such force that it slammed loudly on the inside wall of Rinn's living room, causing her to yelp slightly in surprise.

"S-sasuke?" she called out, nervously at first, as she peered round from the sofa as he made his way into her line of sight.

He's soaked through...

"Hang on, let me get you a towel," Rinn offered kindly, about to stand up from the sofa.

A glint of red caught her eye in an instant.

The look in Sasuke's eyes...

It was like he was daring her to move.

Rinn gulped and slowly took her seat once more. Sasuke tutted and looked away from her as he bared his teeth and clenched his fists, evidently attempting to calm his emotions. Rinn studied him for a minute or so. Ever since the Forest of Death, when Sasuke had first gotten that strange mark, she had noticed a change in him. It was like something inside him had been unlocked, and the result of this was a more volatile and reckless Sasuke, whose already short fuse was getting shorter by the day. Indeed, he had always been excellent at hiding his emotions, but anger was not one of them. What bothered her the most though, was that he used to at least share his emotions with her. Recently, even she could not get through the wall that Sasuke put up to hide behind.

He continued to stand very still, with his sopping wet clothes hanging off him, body tensed and shaking slightly. His ebony hair was slightly stuck to his face as it dripped rhythmically onto the cold tiled floor, and his sharingan burned defiantly through the confines of his furious frown.

Inside Sasuke's head, he wanted so badly to stay mad at Rinn. For always being so unnecessarily helpful, when he didn't even ask for it. For going off with Shichiro when the chunin exams were interrupted.

For being stronger than me.

Sasuke sneered further still, his breath quickening as his anger rose. He heard Rinn call out his name once more from the sofa, worry evident in her voice.

But he couldn't look at her.

Because he knew if he did... That would be it.

And this bothered him too. The fact that her presence alone had such a hold over him, only made him resent her more. Or at least that was what he told himself.

"Sasuke...?" Rinn called out again, more quietly this time.

Go on.

One look won't hurt.

Sasuke's eyes flicked over to Rinn, for what was supposed to be just a second. As his eyes made contact with hers however, he couldn't look away.

That was it.

She had him in an instant.

Just like every time.

Rinn studied him as she watched the fiery anger in his eyes begin to dull, but behind them she saw something much worse. He looked like he was in so much pain. But not the physical kind.

She sighed heavily and began to pick at the skin on the side of her nails absent-mindedly – a trait of hers when she was worried, stressed or panicked. She so desperately wanted to help him, but she didn't know how. And how could she know? She had no idea what was causing him to be this way. Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she cast her eyes down to the coffee table in front of her. Sasuke hated to see her like this, looking so downcast and vulnerable. It was so unlike her, and knowing he had been the cause of this threatened to ignite his anger once more, but at himself this time. He hadn't a clue what to say.

Actually yes he did.

Sorry.

But he could not – no – he would not bring himself to say it. Despite Rinn's undeniable ability to calm him, even she could not work miracles. So, he continued to watch her, getting lost in that beautiful face that he was so very fond of. However, in the next instant his gaze was broken, distracted by her fingers as they began to pick her skin raw on either side of her slender fingernails, and then –

Blood.

Before he could even think, his body had moved on instinct alone. In one quick swoop he was sitting tentatively next to Rinn on the sofa, snapping her out of her daydream, but not out of her skin picking, much to his dissatisfaction. Sasuke gently reached out to take both her hands in his, but she flinched backwards as if he were about to attack her, and this wasn't because she was mad with him, she looked...

Frightened?

Immediately, Sasuke's face was a picture of absolute sadness and shock.

What...? She knows I would never hurt her.

...doesn't she?

Looking into her shining green eyes, which were bloodshot, wide, and alert, he realised that was not the case. Her body was tense, as if ready for a physical fight. The way she was looking at him right now – it killed him. He gulped firmly as he felt his eyes sting with the threat of tears, yet he managed to keep them at bay.

"Rinn..."

She continued to stare at him.

Unable to look at her face any longer, he dejectedly focused on her hands.

She's still making them bleed because she's picking them so damn hard!

Sasuke reached out again. This time more delicately, and more slowly. He lightly encompassed her smooth hands inside his strong, rough palms, guiding them together until her palms touched. He gingerly held them there inside his own, to try and halt her relentless picking and pulling.

"Please. Don't do that," he said to her quietly, his eyes flicking to hers briefly before he gently raised her hands to his mouth and planted a soft kiss on them. Rinn surveyed him with confusion as he rested his forehead on their joined hands and let out a long, pained sigh, closing his eyes.

"Sorry..." Rinn replied in barely a whisper, causing Sasuke, who had not moved a muscle, to emit a sarcastic tut.

I'm the one who should be saying sorry, Rinn.

Eyes still closed as if meditating, Sasuke's lips remained resting ever so lightly over Rinn's hands, barely touching them, but hovering there resiliently. He was not prepared for what she had to say next.

"Sasuke... You're the most important person in the world to me," she began nervously, "Please, tell me... What did I do wrong? Why do you seem to dislike me so much these days? You're my best friend, and – " Rinn stopped mid-sentence, as she felt something damp hit the skin at the bottom of her thumb where Sasuke's head was resting. She looked up at him.

Is he...?

His face was set in a concentrated frown, eyes squeezed tightly shut as if he were trying to block something out. Sasuke gripped her hands tighter as his body tensed, and Rinn carefully wiggled one of her hands free from his vice-like grasp, placing her palm gently on the side of his cheek.

"Listen, I know there's something going on with you. And I want to help. But you have to let me help. Please, just talk to me. Like you used to. You promised not to push me out again..."

With that, Rinn felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her body and pulled her close, as Sasuke tucked his damp face into the crook of her neck, trying to hide the emotions that were now evident all across his features.

"Shh. It's OK, I'm here."

That was all she needed to say. And finally, one by one, the walls came down, and at last, for the first time in a long time, Sasuke allowed himself to cry. It was the quietest of sobs, but Rinn could recognise it straight away. She held him tightly as he gripped onto her shoulders firmly, his body shaking both from his now irregular breathing and his freezing cold form, as the rain continued to chill his soaked body. Rinn soothingly combed through his sodden raven hair with her fingertips as she cradled him for a few minutes in silence. Feeling him begin to shiver more and more, she frowned a little.

"Sasuke, you're ice cold. Let me get you a towel," she said kindly, attempting to wriggle out of his grasp temporarily.

"NO," he replied a little too quickly, grabbing her and pulling her back, his voice choked.

"Please. Not yet," he added, a little more calmly, briefly looking up into her eyes, which only seemed to make his onyx orbs water even more than they were already. He instantly tucked his head back into the crook of her neck so he couldn't be seen.

After another few minutes, he finally spoke again.

"I... I feel so lost Rinn," he whispered into her neck.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, pulling away from him so that she could see his face. Her eyes hovered there, studying his every expression.

"I don't know what to do," Sasuke replied, keeping his eyes down, "and it makes me feel completely helpless. Like I have no control. Then because I have no control, that makes me freak out. Angry, upset, frustrated, numb – I never know which feeling I'm gonna get. It's almost like my brain does what it wants, and I'm stuck in the middle. Stuck between these two versions of myself..."

He reached out and carefully took her hands in his.

"...and I don't particularly like either of them," he finished, meeting her gaze again for no more than a second, pain evident in his watery eyes.

"Why ever not?!" Rinn said, slightly outraged at how he could think so lowly of himself. No matter how much he had pissed her off as of late. He was still her best friend after all.

"Neither of them is the person I want to be... One will mean sacrificing my lifetime goal, but in return I might get my lifetime dream... The other could give me my goal, as well as make me a very powerful ninja – but I would likely lose my dream, perhaps for good. One is weak and one is strong. One is bad and one is good. One is lonely and one is... happy," Sasuke tried to explain, without giving too much away. He couldn't let her know the true gravity of the situation.

"Sounds like a bit of a riddle to me Sasuke! I'm not sure I can make any sense of it – and you know how much cleverer I am than you!" Rinn responded with a grin, trying to make light of the situation whilst giving his chin and affectionate grab, forcing him to keep looking at her. His face responded with a gorgeous half smile that make Rinn's weak at the knees, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Sasuke... This seems a to be a much bigger deal than you're letting on, with that confusing statement you just made I can't say I know what to suggest...But know this: Like I said to you a moment ago, you are the most important person to me. I will support you with whatever decision you make. Unconditionally. As long as you're still you, and I'm still me, everything will be OK," Rinn said, trying to comfort him.

Sasuke didn't say anything.

He couldn't.

So he pulled her close, kissing her forehead, resting his head on top of hers as she snuggled into his chest.

What if I told you the truth, Rinn?

What if I told you I'm thinking of leaving the village in search of power, no matter the cost?

What if I told you my life's goal is to kill my brother?

And my life's dream...

...it's you.

It's always been you.

But that's the risk. There's a risk surrounding both paths. Uncertainty. I might not gain enough power to defeat my brother, and then I've lost you for nothing.

But if I stay, and give up on avenging my clan...

How do I know if you'll even love me back?

Could I be the man you want me to be? No – the man you deserve if I always have this burning need to destroy Itachi? I can never wholly give myself to you until he's dead.

Would you ever forgive me if I left the village? Could we rebuild everything, once I've done what needs to be done?

These were just some of the questions that tortured Sasuke's mind daily. He was forever stuck in limbo. Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes he thought about telling her everything, but he knew he never could – and that's what destroyed him the most.

It was at that moment that the multicoloured bands he wore around his wrist caught his eye. The friendship bracelets that Rinn had made him all those years ago were still standing the test of time, as were the ones she wore that Sasuke had crafted for her. He just hoped that their friendship could do the same.

"My Starfish..." Sasuke mumbled absent-mindedly as he gently stroked her hair, still holding her in a loving (but cold and soggy!) embrace.

"My Snapdragon," Rinn responded, showing she still had not forgotten their affectionate nicknames for one another, causing Sasuke to smile happily.

"However..." Rinn began, making Sasuke stop stroking her hair in anticipation, preparing himself for a negative comment. Given his behaviour today, he certainly deserved it...

"As much as I love you, you're damp and cold and not very cuddly at all! You need a nice warm shower!" she finished, giggling, pushing him away and flicking his nose before running off upstairs, chortling to herself.

Sasuke sat there blinking to himself for a few seconds, butterflies beginning to flutter in his stomach – immediately reading far too much in to what Rinn had just said as a passing comment.

She...

Loves me?

He blinked twice more.

"HEY RINN?" He yelled up the stairs to her from his perch on the sofa.

Clearly intending to wind him up, she did not respond.

"Oi! RINN! What was that you just said?!" He called, desperate to hear her utter those words again, as he stood up and made his way to the bottom of the stairs.

Still nothing.

"Don't make me come up there..." he said mischievously, a smirk appearing across his face.

"Or WHAT?" she replied, chuckling, only making Sasuke's smirk widen.

"I don't think you really want to find out," he said, taking a step forwards onto the bottom step of the staircase, trying to sound as serious as possible despite the growing grin on his face.

"I said you need to take a shower!" Rinn yelled back.

"Yeah... and what else?" Sasuke called, still determined to prove to himself that he didn't imagine it, as he climbed another step on the staircase.

"I don't know what you mean Sasuke!"

Which was true.

She didn't.

She didn't quite realise the effect that her innocent little comment had on her friend, and as such only remembered what she considered to be the most important part of the conversation – Sasuke getting into the shower before he got sick from being so cold!

"Right. That's it. I'm coming to get you." Sasuke said in a mockingly threatening way as he ran up the remaining stairs, causing Rinn to let out a terrified shriek due to his pounding footsteps closing in.

And then...

Silence.

Rinn narrowed her eyes suspiciously as no monstrous Sasuke came bounding through the door, and she wondered what exactly he was up to. Quietly sneaking out of her hiding place behind her bedroom door, Rinn tiptoed around her room trying to locate her friend. But before she could let out a sigh of relief-

"BOO!" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed her around the waist from behind, cuddling her at first before lifting her off of the ground and chuckling at her frightened squeals as she tried to squirm out of his grip.

"You little...! Where were you hiding?!" She demanded as she continued trying to wriggle free.

"That's for me to know, and for you never to find out," Sasuke replied smugly, slightly pleased with himself that he managed to best her in this little game.

"Why I oughta..." Rinn grumbled, beginning to scowl at her predicament.

Sasuke laughed loudly.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making threats little starfish..." he cooed patronisingly as he tightened his muscular grip around her whilst she continued to struggle.

"That's what you think..." she mumbled darkly, blue sparks beginning to form on her body where Sasuke was holding her tightly.

"Wha-" he began before leaping away from her in an instant, a gleeful Rinn chucking evilly at her success.

"Did you enjoy the 'snap' of electricity little snapdragon," she taunted, mocking what he had said to her moments before.

Sasuke glared at her in response, lightly rubbing his body where Rinn's forcefield had got him.

A devilish look in his eyes, he approached her once more, this time activating his sharingan, causing Rinn to gulp and back away slightly.

As he blocked her incoming punches he firmly grabbed her wrists.

"That," he began, dodging an incoming kick.

"Was."

Sasuke threw her off balance, and Rinn landed on the bed flat on her back.

"Very naughty of you," he finished, pinning her wrists above her head and straddling her so she couldn't throw any more attacks at him.

As she looked up at his chiselled features and red eyes Rinn's heart started to beat faster and faster.

"Now, say sorry," Sasuke demanded, smirking at her and leaning in a little closer to her, not giving away that he too was losing his cool at the position he found himself in.

I could so easily kiss her right now... And she wouldn't even be able to stop me...

Rinn narrowed her eyes at him.

"No." She said simply, mischief evident in her eyes.

He leaned in further still, and Rinn felt his still damp bags brush across her forehead.

"Are you sure about that?" he barely whispered, their noses now touching.

Both of their hearts were beating so loudly they each wondered if the other could hear, and Rinn let out a small gasp at his close proximity. Sasuke changed his grip so that only one of his hands was pinning her wrists, using his other hand to gently brush some hair away from her face, resting his rough fingertips on her cheek.

He studied Rinn's face for a minute, before she spoke once more.

"Hey, Sasuke?" she said.

"Mmm?" he mumbled, in a world of his own.

Rinn leaned in so that she could whisper in his ear.

"Get in the damn shower."

Sasuke's moment of content was rudely interrupted by another set of shocks hitting his legs, and he promptly leapt off of her.

"For future reference, I don't need to use my hands to activate my defensive jutsu," Rinn said, getting off of her bed and throwing a clean towel at him, winking cheekily.

Sasuke scowled at her.

"OK OK I get the hint, I'll get in the 'damn' shower..." he whined like a stroppy child.

In a final act of defiance, Sasuke stripped from the waist up and threw his soggy shirt right at Rinn's face, wandering to her bathroom chuckling to himself.

- X -

By the time Sasuke had finished scrubbing up in the soothing warmth of the shower, during which he couldn't help but imagine himself and Rinn in a whole number of inappropriate situations having not completely cooled off from earlier, Rinn had already fallen asleep.

Sasuke carefully opened her bedroom door, now only wearing his boxer shorts and a towel around his neck. He smiled to himself as he observed her sleeping form in the dim light of her bedside lamp – she was in the foetal position as per usual. He roughly dried his hair with his towel before hanging it on the back of her door and wandering over to sit beside her as she slept.

As he looked at her longingly, he once again could not believe he even thought for a second about leaving the village. This was always how it went. He would get consumed by his anger, bitterness and hatred. He would lash out. Then afterwards he could never understand why he got so worked up. It seemed like being around Rinn almost had the ability to soothe his soul.

Is this... what love feels like?

Sasuke wondered this to himself for a few minutes as he continued to gaze at Rinn, absent-mindedly tracing his index finger around the palm of her hand then softly placing his hand over hers as she slept soundly on her side, still undisturbed.

Slowly, he leaned over her and gently brushed her flaming orange hair away from her face, placing a small kiss on her forehead. He left his lips against her for a few moments more, threatening to lose himself in his thoughts once again. Finally managing to pull himself away, he quietly crawled into bed beside her, trying his best not to wake her.

Sasuke wrapped his arm tightly around her sleeping form just like he did every night, and cuddled up closely to her from behind. The struggle he always used to have sleeping, and the gruesome nightmares that terrorised him for years - they all seemed a million miles away when he held her in his arms.