Disclaimer: Naruto & co. don't belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

AN: omg... i had this chapter half-way written and then the disket just... went all bad on me -sob- so i had to re-write all that i had down... and took longer than i expected... oh well, thanks to all that reviewed -and to Neogem, my exam was tough... well, either that or i didn't try hard enough... anyway i've had nightmares about my results, and am still having 'em... did you do PMB btw? if so, how was it? if not then which Form are you? -insert grin here- ... -waves at everyone- i'm glad that you've taken time to read this fic.

Chapter: It's Like That

The day was long. And it was cold. It was now evening, and it was even colder. Yuki smiled out of her new bedroom window in satisfaction. Maybe the little blunder she had with the night before was just a fluke. She was able to sense changes in temperature correctly today. What she found was a little disturbing but... at least she found out, right? Her body was cold. Colder than normal. She didn't know exactly how cold. It was just that she couldn't feel the cold of the stones of the pavements, but found that, at times, contact with other persons felt hot. Not warm, but hot. And sometimes, just a little too hot for her comfort.

"Taking a break?" Sasuke's voice interrupted the silence. She smiled at him as she turned to the door. Stretching her arms up, she yawned.

"Yeah," she said, rubbing the yawn-induced tears out of her eyes. "Didn't know I had so much stuff lying around." He followed her out to the main living room where she plopped over on the couch and lied down. "Do you mind? I'm going to take a nap." Sasuke shook his head and followed her with his eyes as she moved to make herself comfortable.

There was so much peace in her expression that it softened his own. It felt so... relieving to finally have convinced her to... what exactly had he convinced her to? Live with him? That was a start. Would she love him? ... Love. Catching his thoughts, he shook his head. All he knew was that he wanted her. What of her that he wanted? Everything. Her smiles, her touch, her gaze, those lips and blood-red eyes that reflected him in such a way it seemed as though all she had in her world was just him.

"Sasuke?" her voice snapped him out of his daze. He blinked in surprise. He'd somehow moved himself from the doorway to kneel in front of the couch, what more he had his hand cupping her face and those same red eyes he was just thinking about was staring back at him.

"Sorry," he said gruffly as he mechanically pulled away. "Actually, there's something you need to see."

"Hm? Now?" she questioned sleepily.

"No. It's not urgent. We'll go after dinner."

"Right," she said, yawning once more. "Wake me up later then."

"Hey Yuki."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Sasuke was just full of surprises, Yuki thought. She'd never seen him smile so much in such a short time span. Or thank someone while looking at them straight in the eye either. With that thought she fell into dreamless sleep.

The dark-haired youth watched her carefully, the hair on his skin bristling as he thought of what he had to tell her. His eyes had darkened dangerously as he left the room. Walking over to a remote end of his home, he placed his hand on a panel and pushed it slightly, revealing a hidden passageway. Taking a torch and lighting it, he walked down the series of steps that led him to the hidden basement while the sliding door closed on its own.

His mind was riddled with dark thoughts. What had happened while he was away from Konoha... during the jounin exams, was bad. Beyond bad. Clenching his free hand to a fist he punched the dirt wall in a sudden burst of anger, leaving a deep imprint in the dirt.

"Damn bastard."

"Oh," Yuki said. It was late into the night. Very late, in fact neither knew exactly how well past midnight it was - but could have cared less. Being in the profession that they were in had always required unstable work times. Working in the dead of the night was usually one of the requirements - and at the moment both were wide awake. "I haven't yet congratulated you for your appointment. Good work. It was your first try wasn't it?" Even as she said that lightly, she was thinking very deeply. They were walking towards the Hokage's private clinic. The room where Itachi was supposed to be held. First off, it was in the dead of the night and it was understandably quiet. But, a little too quiet. And there were barely any patrol guards around. Too few of any. Curiously few.

"Yes it was," Sasuke answered shortly, briefly wondering why she was bringing that up now.

"How many of you were appointed?" she continued. They were talking about the jounin exams.

"Naruto." But then she knew that already. "Neji." She knew that too. "Tenten and Kiba."

"Ah," she said in understanding. "There were so many appointments this year. I have to admit that I'm a little surprised." Sasuke gave her a curt nod before turning back to face the front. They were two steps away from Itachi's confinement room when Sasuke stopped. Hand posed over the handle of the door. But he wasn't about to move any further. "What are you doing Sasuke?" she spoke up after a few moments of silence. A frown made its way to her expression. "Are you even authorised to be here?" But it seemed that the youth wasn't listening to her. A dark cloud seemed to have made its place over him. His every movement indicated such intense suppression. His hand was steady but she could see some of the muscles of his body twitching in an erratic manner. And all that could only mean on thing.

He was angry. Beyond angry. Uchiha Sasuke was infuriated. Yuki understood that it definitely had something to do with his brother. But the entire situation was just plain strange. First off, it was too quiet. There were a minimal amount of guards. And Uchiha Sasuke was... allowed to be here? That was beyond suspicious. Before Itachi's attempt to escape, only Tsunade and some selected anbu and jounin knew that Uchiha Itachi was being held in the Hokage's office building. The rest of the ninjas knew that he was confined somewhere. Anywhere. As long as he was kept away from the general population, they didn't care where he was held. The secrecy was also an important security measure conducted so no one could try to bust him out. Or to kill him. That was one of the reasons why Uchiha Sasuke was one of those people whom they'd especially couldn't tell, no matter that it was he that allowed them to capture Itachi. No matter that they were siblings. Because Sasuke wanted to kill him. But Konoha had other plans for Itachi. So they kept him away. They kept Itachi secret.

So what was Sasuke doing now in front of the door to Itachi's jail? Yuki didn't know what exactly Konoha had in plan for Itachi, but she knew that they needed him alive. So why was Sasuke allowed to simply stroll up there? It was surprising enough that she managed to get Sasuke into 'capture' mode instead of 'murder' mode when they'd encountered him those many months before.

"Sasuke, are you authorised to be here?" she asked again. Repeating each of her words with more clarity and force to pull his attention away from the door to her. He clenched his fists as if in answer and then roughly shoving open the door, letting it slam the wall on the other side. Quickly she stepped in front of him before he could get in the room. "What are you doing, Sasuke?" she asked. But even as she was prepared to stop him from doing something disastrous, she knew there was something wrong with the room itself. Drafty. It wasn't supposed to be drafty.

"He escaped." He barely said it before Yuki turned around to figure that out herself. The scene was, in short, shocking. It was almost as if her heart died on her and all that was left was that empty shell that was her body that had suddenly turned to stone. Over where the bed was supposed to be was a pile of rubble. The walls and ceilings were cracked to the point that it could collapse at any moment. All the medical equipment there was destroyed and bits and pieces of them were left all over the place as though there was some great explosion in that very room. There was just a small trace of dried blood splattered here and there that showed that there was some sort of struggle. Most of the blood was near that huge hole on the wall opposite the door. The wall that led to the outside. There was debris everywhere inside the room. And the judging from the layer of dust that had already settled, Yuki could figure out exactly what happened. When it happened.

Somebody busted him out. God, who was crazy enough to do that? Itachi's location was secret. No matter how many times anyone ever tried to find him, it would've taken them years to figure out exactly where and how to get him out. When was also a crucial but different matter.

"This happened while I was hospitalised, am I correct?" she asked, swallowing painfully as she made her way to the other side of the room to assess more of the surroundings.

"Yes."

"How?" she asked, her voice wobbling a bit - with an emotion unidentifiable to Sasuke.

"We were away for the jounin trials. Most of the upper ranks were out of the country. So our defenses were low at that time."

"That's impossible," Yuki snapped back harshly. She bit her lip and winced. She couldn't take it out on Sasuke. "Our defenses remain constant at all times. No matter how many of our forces are out of the country."

"No," Sasuke retorted. "It was particularly low at that time. The available jounin, chuunin and anbu were scattered."

"But-"

"He's right, Yuki-chan." A new voice penetrated the tense atmosphere in the room. It was Tsunade who had just entered. She looked straight at Yuki with a slightly pained look. "A mistake in our administration. We were lacking proficiency in internal networking at that time. It was a little difficult to gather enough troops."

"You must be joking." Yuki stared at the two in astonishment. "And Itachi escaped! Just like that."

"There were two who helped him out. I, myself was on the other side of the village at that time," Tsunade said through clench teeth. Her fists were clenched tightly. Just like Sasuke's. "At this point there's nothing we can do but gather intelligence of where he might be."

"You mean, we lost him in pursuit and now we're back to square one?" Yuki interpreted correctly - still looking astonished. Tsunade nodded reluctantly. Sasuke barely reacted. He still had that dark look about him - well, at least she understood why that was now. "And... I suppose the majority of the villagers don't know."

"They probably do, but don't know it for sure," Tsunade said heavily. "You've noticed right?" she said, waving her hand once and then giving her a tired smile. "Things have been tense around here."

"Y-yeah." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before something snapped in her. "Why wasn't I told earlier!" she said, stepping back and looking at them with indignant bewilderment.

"Your medical condition was unstable," Tsunade said firmly. "I judged it was the right thing to do until you left the hospital. And then I asked Sasuke to tell you himself when he can personally judge that you are fit enough." Yuki swallowed painfully again. There was something about that which made her uncomfortable. No doubt it was probably the fact that there was someone responsible for her now. Sasuke. So it's like that, huh? As happy as she felt for that yesterday, today was a different matter. How could such news be with-held from her because of the judgment of one person who barely knew her?

"Fine," she said curtly - then turning away to look out the hole in the wall. There was a dull pain that kept rising in her chest. She knew what it was, but refused to acknowledge it. It was fear. Hysteria. What you wish. She was afraid. One of the most deadly men ever known... out loose. With two of his companions.

It was Akatsuki. She was sure of it. They must have gotten wind of the time when Itachi tried to escape and then decided to bust him out. Yes. Only Akatsuki could've done this. It was the only organisation powerful enough for it to be possible. But... they'd been quiet for years. So many years. And now....

"This is bad," she said lightly, although she was betrayed by a little wobble in her voice. "And I suppose the scouts you've sent have been largely unsuccessful thus far?" Tsunade nodded solemnly. "So it's them, right?" Akatsuki. Tsunade nodded once more, confirming it as she understood her meaning. "As elusive as always," she remarked. "They're such a pain." After one last look at the rubble she turned to look straight at both Tsunade and Sasuke. "I've seen all I need to see. Let's go, Sasuke."

"Ah, Yuki!" Tsunade called before she could leave the room. "Maybe I should give you a check up." Yuki froze for a second, getting her meaning immediately. She glanced sideways to Sasuke - whom she almost forgot was there - in a slight panic.

"M-maybe not now, Tsunade-sama?" she asked quietly. Turning away. Sasuke didn't know. It'd be better if things were just left at that. ... Sasuke didn't know that she had the Seishin sealed in her. Who knew what he would do... especially after his ardent confession just the night before. Tsunade took one long look at Yuki, glanced at Sasuke's impassive expression and then back to Yuki before it clicked. She gave the younger woman a disappointed look.

"I see..." she said solemnly. "Don't delay it for too long, Yuki-chan." Don't delay telling him? Or don't delay the check up? Which ever it was, Yuki nodded it off and then immediately left the room.

Sasuke was watching the entire display and could help but allow his curiosity to stop him before leaving the room. He allowed himself to turn around to look at the Hokage to question their odd behaviour, but found that Tsunade was currently in her own world. She was looking out the same spot Yuki had been near the hole with a lost expression. She shifted on her legs a bit before returning Sasuke's look.

"It's almost time for Shikamaru's team to be relieved," she said.

"Yes," Sasuke said, nodding once to show that he understood what she was saying. Shikamaru's team was currently the team scouting out for intelligence regarding Itachi. Within the next few days they were due to return and Sasuke and two others would be the next team to set off. Tsunade knew that it was a little risky to send out Sasuke considering the youth would rather kill Itachi than simply gather intelligence on him, but he was the only available powerhouse yet unused. And he did state clearly - after much force - that he would do exactly as the team leader would say, whom which in this case was an older, more experienced jounin.

"Don't do anything stupid, understand?" she said sternly. Sasuke raised his head arrogantly and gave her a tiny smirk. After sharing a look of mutual understanding, Sasuke turned around and left the room - forgetting completely to inquire of their previously odd behaviour.

It was early the next day... both Yuki and Sasuke barely had gone in to sleep because, after Yuki's headstrong insistence, Sasuke 'allowed' her to go patrol around the village for a short while. But because she didn't go back home soon enough, Sasuke, being impatient, went out to look for her and almost had to drag her back. They arrived home around false dawn. And it was now close to 8 in the morning.

Although being no stranger to shifting sleeping schedules, Yuki was barely awake as she opened the front door to whoever was persistently knocking on the door. Briefly, she wondered where Sasuke was... and why he didn't go to open the door to his own home.

"Yuki-chan!" An orange blur glomped her. The blur smelled faintly like ramen. She smiled sleepily as the blur let go.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." After some moments of almost delirious cheerfulness, Naruto let go and gave her a scrutinising look.

"Did that Uchiha touch you last night?" he asked. Yuki couldn't stop herself from jerking back in surprise. Just what was that blonde asking?

"Err... no, Naruto-kun. Wherever did you get that idea?" Naruto then went and laughed loudly.

"It's 'cos I made him give me his promise to take it slow."

"Oi! You idiot!" The voice came from a little ways behind Yuki. She turned around to find Sasuke by a doorway, glaring at Naruto. He was glaring at him because he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard Naruto say. Sure, every bit of it was true, but to say it to the girl... that was just plain tactless!

"I'm not an idiot! You arrogant asshole!" Naruto retorted, crossing his arms in front of him. Sasuke cut him before he could say anything else.

"Don't come barging into my house with your shoes on," he heard himself growling. At that he turned around on his heel and practically stomped off to the kitchen to finally get some breakfast. Yuki looked from his exit and then back to Naruto. It was normal - just another one of their tiffs, but Sasuke was right this time.

"Naruto-kun, your shoes are caked with mud..." she said reproachfully as she gently pushed him over to the front door. "Please take them off before you come in again." Naruto staggered over to the door in surprise and then looked down at his feet.

"Aaaaaa!!!" Yup. There was dirt all over the place.

Naruto stayed over for breakfast and was with Yuki by the time Sasuke had to leave to check for assignments. Naruto didn't go with him because he'd already gone and gotten a job assignment - he was basically on village-patrol for the rest of the week.

"Hey, Yuki-chan, you going anywhere today?"

"I'll be meeting Tsuanade-sama today," she answered with a soft smile. Naruto gave her an awfully weird look. "For a check up, Naruto," she said nervously. "Just a check up." Naruto went and crossed his arms in front of him again and nodded to himself.

"I'm going with you!" he decided cheerfully.

"Wha- B-but your assignment!" she managed to stutter out before Naruto practically shoved her out of the front door, shoes and all. She could barely protest before he dragged her all the way to the Hokage's offices. She sighed heavily as Naruto brought her in front of Tsunade out of breath. Her! Out of breath! Her body must've been more out of it than she'd initially thought.

"Your patient today, Tsunade-baba!" Yuki cringed at his loud voice next to her ear.

"Naruto-kun!" she interrupted quickly. "Why don't you just go off on your assignment? I'll be alright here, okay?" She could already feel her skin prickling as their interaction brought more and more viewers.

"Okay!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up grin and then promptly leaving. Yuki let out another sigh as she turned to the Hokage.

"Why didn't you come here with Sasuke? He's your fiancé after all," the Hokage stated, giving her a gleeful grin. "From the looks of it, you'd have to babysit that brat covertly and overtly as well."

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun just wants-"

"Attention," she cut in. "Yes, I know. But I can think of another boy who would probably need your attention too." Yuki blushed at that and turned away. "You should've seen how lonely he looked coming in here all alone-"

"Tsunade-sama!" she gasped, blushing even redder. Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"I'd never thought I'd ever see the day," the older woman continued gloatingly. "'Ice Queen', they used to call you - and now look at-"

"Alright! I get your point!" she interrupted, giving her an irritated scowl. Tsunade giggled at that, and then excused herself from the office and then led Yuki to another more private room.

"Of course, it's only right that you met up with the Ice King..." It was at that point when Yuki just let out a resigned sigh and then submitted herself to listening to her elder's constant teasing for the whole while she was there.

Instead of reacting to her statements, Yuki chose to close her mind to the outside and start thinking of the problem. Itachi....

Even the thought of the man sent her unwelcome shivers. What was he up to now? What were the Akatsuki going to do? They were surely not just going to stand by and allow Konoha to live on freely after recapturing what Konoha had caught so long ago.

If it came to worse... they would probably start attacking Konoha.