I walked out of the Ninja Hospital in the center of Konoha Village around noon the following day; the day proceeding "the incident". Still aggrivated, I could feel my cheeks burn red with embarrassment as I made my way back to my apartment. "Kuso." I cursed beneath my breath.Sasuke's words still rang within my head. I wish you had a crush on me, Naruto-kun. I wish you had a crush on me, Naruto-kun. I wish you had a crush on me, Naruto-kun. over and over again until it seemed to torture me. "Damn you, Uchiha." I stuffed my fists into the pockets of my pants and kicked up some dust as I walked. With my wonderful karma the way it was, it did not really surprise me that the wind blew the dirt back and have no other purpose than to attack me.

It did not surprise me, but it still pissed me off.

I continued on my way, this time making sure I did not kick up any more dirt, but my mood had definitely not improved. Why? I screamed inside of my head. Why did Sasuke have to say something like that? I doubt he was even being serious... as I walked on, that last thought sunk in. I realized the truth: The reason I was so mad was not at Sasuke's confession, but the means behind it. How was I so sure, after all these years of him wanting nothing but to hurt me, that he was even being serious? He could have secretly found out that I had a crush on him and was using that information to break me. It's not as if he had not done the same thing before.

Stopping cold in my tracks, my icy heart cascaded from my chest down into my stomach. I knew it. I had known it all along. Sasuke was pulling a horrible prank on me; or in the very least, he was joking. Why would Sasuke show the slightest interest in me? More depressed than I had been before, I trudged on. My entire body felt numb as the truth sank in around me. It was true. Sasuke knew I had still been awake and he wanted to toy with me, like a cat and mouse. As my thoughts flooded with those of unrequited love, heartache and sorrow, my feet had followed the all-too-familiar path to my home. As I took out my key from my pocket, I did not even notice someone had been standing there and waiting for me that entire time. At least, I did not notice until he said something.

"Konnichii wa... Naruto-kun." My mind identifying the voice immediately, I jerked up and spun ninety-degrees to lay my eyes on none other than Uchiha Sasuke-kun. My heart bolted into my throat, and I did nothing but stand and gape at him in surprise. "I... was waiting for you..." As he said this, the proud shinobi could not bring himself to look me in the eye. His face was so adorably red as he spoke, keeping himself devoid of any eye contact.

And still I did nothing but stare at him. I could not even give him any assurance that I had not just died, aside from the fact I was still on my feet. The silence that followed must have been excrutiating for Sasuke, since he began to fidget; shifting from foot to foot and wringing his fingers together with the opposing hand. I had never seen him uneasy like that before. When the moment became too much for him, he sighed heavily and finally looked me directly in the eye. He seemed somewhat annoyed, but beneath that facade, I could clearly see that he was just upsettingly impatient.

Once again, I was confused. What the hell did he have to be impatient for? I was the one who should be hurt by the past day's events.

"Look, Naruto," he spoke, his voice somewhat shaky. "I have to talk to you about something. It's..." he tried to search for the right word, his eyes shifting from side to side in concentration. "It's kind of important."

"Does it have anything to do with yesterday?" I inquired, my eyes narrowing slightly as my anger took over me once again. "Like, an apology, maybe?"

"Yesterday?" Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion, as he looked at me blankly. "Apology? Did I do something to you, Naruto-kun? I mean... aside from the fight." he flushed. There were several moments of silence that followed before, "Did I do something else?" It then occurred to me: maybe he did not know I was awake when he told me he liked me. This realization arose a whole new wave of unresolved questions. If he had not known I was awake, then maybe... just maybe... he liked me after all...? As my mind swam through these numerous ideas, I almost did not hear what he said. "I have to tell you this, Naruto. This might come as a shock to you, but," As the anti-clamactic scene approached, I became more and more uneasy about it. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, my palms started to itch with sweat. And suddenly, I felt both a tingling sensation and pressure in the pit of my stomach. Kuso! I cursed inwardly. What a time to have to go to the bathroom...! As I fidgeted myself, Sasuke did not seem to take any notice as he continued to speak. "I... I love you, Naruto." He finally said. As his words spilled out of his mouth, he found the courage to look deep into my eyes. "I love you."

"GAH!"

Apparently, that was not the romantic response he was hoping for, for he stepped back and his eyes started to cloud over. After several passing mioments of me cringing from the pressure in my abdomin, he inquired, "Do you really hate me that much, Naruto?" Tears sprang into his eyes right before he turned and started to hurry away.

"No!" I called after him. "It's not that! SASUKE!"

I jumped up with a start. My body was covered in a cold sweat and I realized it had all been a dream. Well, all of it except for me still having to go to the bathroom. Throwing my sheets violently off me, I tore out of bed and headed immediately for the bathroom. While I was in there, my mind ran through the events I had dreamed about. Everything had felt so real; so vivid. Raising my right hand, I carressed my cheek gently. I swore I could still feel his breath on my face. I was even positive I could feel his tears on my fingertips, until I realized the tears were my own. After I was done, I went back to my room and tossed myself onto my bed, bouncing slightly from the recoil. I pulled my pillow closer to my chest and I hugged it, my tears splashing onto its surface. I was still not sure what Sasuke's true feelings were. The only thing I was sure of was, no matter what, Sasuke would not have feelings for me.

The following morning, I awoke with dried tears on my cheeks, making my face feel hard and dirty. After I cleamed up, dressed, and ate my breakfast, I decided that I would go see Sasuke myself. I was determined to sort all of it out, even if that meant nothing but heartbreak for me in the end.

I searched all over Konoha Village looking for the shinobi prodigy. Asking around, no one had seen him that day. He was not at his house, nor at the Ninja school, or even with Kakashi (who was reading "Come, Come Paradise" with Iruka in one of the ramen shops). Walking around the greater expanse of the village for some time, I finally managed to find him. He was with Sakura in a run-down ninja training hall. They were sparring with each other and they both, by the looks of it, seemed to be evenly matched. However, it was obvious Sasuke was holding back. He had much more power than he was displaying and Sakura knew he was not doing things evenly. He was egging her on. I watched for several minutes, becoming more and more impressed by the scene I was witnessing. After almost a full ten minutes, Sakura attacked Sasuke. He could have easily dodged, but I heard myself scream out a warning before I could stop it.

"SASUKE! WATCH OUT!" Sasuke easily got out of the way (as predicted), but he was distracted. He had not noticed me before but since I had said something, he looked over and saw me by the door.

"Naruto." He said. The way he stated my name made my heart jolt. The small smile on his face confirmed that he was happy to see me, which only echoed through the joy in his voice.

However, that was Sasuke's mistake. Noticing his weak point, Sakura chose that split second to attack him. Leaping through the air, she used her thin body to move with more agility and momentum. She did a half-cartwheel, spinning her body so her head was facing the floor. In this motion, her foot connected with Sasuke's neck and he was thrown backwards. I watched everything in that one moment in horrific slow-motion. Crimson blood was spit out of Sasuke's mouth. The white in his eyes absorbed his dark, mysterious orbs. His muscles seemed to slack as he fell towards the hardwood floor.

"Sa...suke..." I choked, my breath caught deep within the confines of my throat. Then all at once, reality came crashing down around me; just like Sasuke's crumpled body did, falling to the floor below. Before I was even aware of what I was doing, I had rushed up to Sasuke and knelt down beside him.I reached out and brushed my hand across his forehead. When I removed it, I found that my fingers had been stained with the color and texture of blood.

A few light thumps onto the floor drew my attention back to Sasuke's attacker. Glaring at her, I tried my best to fight off my tears. "You bitch!" I exclaimed, not being fortunate enough to have my sorrow escape my voice. "How could you do this to him?"

"Tsk." was all Sakura replied with. She looked down, light blushing on her cheeks. "He's fine. Wherever he is."

I was caught on the last statement. "Wherever he is?" I asked back. "What do you mean?"

"Jeez, Naruto-kun," the pink-haired ninja scolded. "You are still a child. After all this time." My eyes narrowed as I twitched in anger.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" I demanded.

"Look behind you." Sakura said pointedly. Spinning around, a puddle of water was in the place Sasuke had lain only several moments beforehand.

Once again, I was confused.

"Wha...?"
"Dammit." she swore under her breath; the curse appeared to be more directed at Uchiha than at me, for which I was somewhat grateful. "He must have learned water-divide art." Grumbling to herself, the know-it-all walked off.

I stared at the puddle.

"Water-divide art..." I repeated slowly.

"Like it?" At the sound of that voice, I spun around to face my crush. I felt my cheeks start to grow hot again. Smirking, the black-haired shinobi made his way up to me. "I thought it would serve as some source of entertainment." He glanced over in the direction Sakura had wandered off, watching as her back got smaller. Grinning more broadly, he stated, "It certainly seemed to get rid of her." He pulled up his arms and stretched out. "I was getting tired of her games, anyway." He was silent for several moments as he stretched a little more and then turned his attention to me. "What did you want to see me about?" A mischevious glint sprang up into his eyes as he looked at me. His smile never faltered.

"What makes you think I came to see you?" I asked huffily as I regained my composure. I decided I did not want to talk to him (much less look at him) when he was watching me like that; as if he was expecting something. I didn't like it. Shoving past him, I made my way out of the training hall and onto the grounds.

"Well," he followed me. "I was thinking, 'there's no way Naruto would come all this way to view a fight he did not know about.' So then I thought maybe you wanted to find Sakura and talk to her. But that's when I remembered what you told me two nights ago; that you can't stand her. So that only leaves me." The smug way he said it made me want to punch him.

What a creep.

What a disgusting, cheap jerk.

Yet I still loved him so much

I said nothing, only ignored him, hoping that he would lose interest and go away. But he did not. As he continued to follow me, I wondered why the hell I had even bothered coming there in the first place. Sasuke was determined to get an answer out of me. Even if that meant following me all the way home.

Which he did.

Damn him.

I tried to put my key in the door when Sasuke stopped me from doing so. I glared over at him and it then hit me that I was having déja vù; this was the same thing I dreamed about the night before, only Sasuke looked more confident and smug than scared and sheepish. "What it it?" I snapped, not intending my voice to be so harsh. I flinched slightly at the brutality, but Sasuke did not seem to notice. All he did was place his hand on top of mine for e a second and say,

"Please don't go yet." I flushed. It took several minutes where I was completely vulnerable, to regain my composure. When I did, I yanked my hand away; an action that shocked Sasuke.

"Leave me alone!" I spat. "Just go away!" Defiantly, I put my key in the lock and attempted to open the door. Before I could slip inside, I felt a tug on my arm and I was diliberately pulled back. I looked up to look into Sasuke's eyes, which were different (also) from the dream. He was not full of remorse or confusion. He was mad. Annoyed. Aggitated. All emotions for which I was confused. He moved me away from the door to my apartment, slamming me lightly against the wall oustide. I watched him, my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide. What the hell was he doing? Raising his fist, my crush slammed his hand into the wall mere inches from my face. He did not use close to his full strength because, if he had, he could have easily destroyed the building. He glared at me, his eyes slits. A shiver of fear and intimidation ran up my spine as my eyes locked with his. Until he spoke, I was positive he was about ready to murder me.

"Leave you alone?" He repeated. Despite his nasty looks, he could not hide the hurt from his voice; even if it was menial. "'Just go away'? What the hell have I done to you, Naruto, to warrent such coldness?" His right fist still against the wall, Sasuke raised his left hand to cup my chin within his palm. "I don't understand you at all. I thought for sure that I had your feelings figured out, but you're still so cold."

It is true, then. I thought to myself. Sasuke has no idea I know the truth. My clear thoughts clouded instantaneously when Sasuke leaned closer to me. "You don't know how I feel about you, Naruto." he said calmly; quietly. His dark eyes never left my own and, as I stared into them, I felt as if I was being swallowed up by his darkness. "You think I hate you. But I'll tell you the truth." He leaned in closer to me, dropping the volume of his voice even further. The sound tickled my ears as well as sending a rush of adrenaline through my body. He sounded so sweet, yet so seductive. Blood and chocolate together as one. "I really like you, Uzumaki Naruto." With a smirk on his face, he did not even allow me to respond before he pressed his hot lips against my own.

I froze.

Owari! (of second chapter!)

Last minute notes/thank yous: There are two people I wanted to thank/mention for their support. First is Atemu-chan, who gave me a good review (and gave me Mai :smirk:) Arigatou, pharaoh-chan! Daisuki desu! And I wanted to thank Sakura for giving me an idea used in this chap. And also for demanding me to write more. I would have eventually, but since I promised her, this chapter came sooner. Thank you all, and please keep reviewing!