Chapter 4 - Inner Demons

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When I speak I cross my fingers

Will you know you've been deceived?

I find a need to be the demon

A demon cannot be hurt

--- Guster

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Sasuke was pissed off as he walked through the streets of Konoha village, and he was having a difficult time hiding it behind the impassive mask that he wore to guard his thoughts. Every now and again he caught himself narrowing his eyes or flexing his fingers involuntarily and had to force himself to relax. After all, there was no point in displaying his displeasure openly in front of a crowd of strangers. Strangers to him at least. They seemed to know who he was perfectly well, judging by the sideways glances and hushed voices. He made out a few choice words being said about him with his extra sensitive hearing, and it didn't improve his mood.

Traitor...

Filthy coward...

He tried to reach for the familiar cold haven inside his mind. At that moment, all he wanted was to curl up with the familiar numbness he knew so well. He couldn't afford to lose himself to petty emotion right now. Maybe later when he had time. Not right now. Not when the pain was so raw.

You don't care, he told himself firmly, trying to quash the angry feelings still burning away at his chest. These people's opinions mean nothing to you. Don't let them get to you. You don't care.

Naruto's flushed face flashed in his mind briefly. Sasuke's eyebrows knit tightly together as he fought off the new wave of emotion.

"You! YOOU! What are b you /b doing here!"

The thought opened up a flood gate for more voices to spring forth, each one biting into him and making the fire inside his chest leap up and brighten into a blaze.

"Look, it's the traitor."

"-if we hadn't have gotten there they would have died!"

"All his fault."

"And they were his comrades."

"What a coward."

"GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT!"

"Asshole!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Sasuke shouted out furiously. His hand came down in a swift jester of banishment for the tormentors in his head.

The people passing him fell silent and stared. Their gazes burned against Sasuke's skin as he fought to control his breathing that was coming in shallow gasps. He became a little more aware of the area around him and noticed he was in the center marketplace of the village. The very last place he wanted to be when he was having such difficulty controlling his emotions right now. Humanity, sights, and sounds pressed in closer to him suddenly. A cart cut by in front of him dangerously close. He moved out of the way instinctively, wanting to hold his head to block the sudden buzz of people talking around him and in him.

You're not a kid anymore. Stop acting like one! his mind suddenly lashed out. Sasuke's shoulders relaxed a bit. What was he doing? Now wasn't the time for theatrics. He needed to prepare for his mission, and he still had to go by and talk to Kakashi.

"Uchiha Sasuke," someone said behind him. It wasn't a greeting more then a simple statement.

Sasuke was instantly on guard as he turned. He worked his face into an impassive mask. "Yo," he said in recognition.

Hyuuga Neji's silvery eyes were transfixed on Sasuke as he uncrossed his arms and strolled toward him. He was a good five inches taller then Sasuke. A reminder that Sasuke was still having trouble getting used to when the Hyuuga genius was close enough to him to effectively tower over him.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked curtly.

"Nothing, really. Just saw you walking by and decided to talk."

He was a good liar Sasuke decided. "I don't believe you," he said flatly.

Neji inclined his head slightly to the side and look at him calculatingly. "What makes you think I want something?" he asked.

"You don't go out of your way just to say hello to someone," Sasuke said icily.

"How perceptive of you."

"It didn't take much to figure out. So what do you really want?"

Neji shrugged. "You looked distressed, so I decided to come over and talk."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Do I need a better reason? I was concerned."

Sasuke scoffed at this. "I don't need your concern."

"And I usually wouldn't be one to give it, especially to someone like you," Neji said casually. "But I understand how lonely it can get-"

Sasuke stiffened.

"-When you feel like you've been isolated from everyone you love."

Sasuke didn't want to be hearing this right now. "Spare me," he growled.

"Spare you? Not likely. If it had been me, I'd probably have killed you by now, but he always was more forgiving then me."

Sasuke knew what Neji was talking about, and it made his fists ball in rage. "Don't go presuming you know everything, Hyuuga."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Sasuke's teeth ground together. "Bastard."

"Traitor," Neji deadpanned.

Sasuke flinched.

A ghost of a smirk fluttered across Neji's face. He leaned in closer toward Sasuke's ear, and before he could shy away, he whispered: "Don't even kid yourself by saying you don't care, Uchiha. If you didn't, you wouldn't still be chasing him. Admit it."

Sasuke's insides felt cold. "You're a freak," he snarled at the pale eyed jounin.

Neji's smirk stayed with Sasuke even when the tall boy turned and left him standing there with a whole group of spectators watching and judging him over their shoulders. Neji hadn't said a word, but Sasuke knew what he must be thinking:

'Better a freak then a traitor.'

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Rock Lee was in a very grave state of mind as he peered down at a certain pink-haired ninja from a safe distance behind the branches of a tree. His heart gave an uncomfortable skip as he watched Sakura lean in closer to his rival and friend Uzumaki Naruto, who made a move to put his arm over her shoulder.

'Don't think that you have won, Naruto-kun!' he swore angrily to himself as the fox boy laughed and dodged playfully out of the way when Sakura made a move to elbow him. 'Hard work and devotion always prevails over every hardship!'

However, Lee had a sinking feeling that of all his rivals, Naruto was the one most likely able to compete with his determination with equal ferocity. It was almost possible that Naruto could win his young, beautiful...

'No! Don't even think it!' he rebuked. 'A man's heart much be strong and unfaltering in dramatic times like these!' And besides, hadn't he and Sakura-chan kissed...?

Hot red spots burned their way onto Lee's cheeks as he remembered. He was so distracted by the momentary reflection, that he didn't hear the creak until it was too late.

With a very un-ninja like yelp, Lee fell off his perch as it broke and onto the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. He would've been able to land in a more dignified manner, preferably on his feet, but a squirrel had the unfortunate luck of being right underneath where he was falling and only quick timing, which lead to slight bruising, had Lee saving the otherwise crushed squirrel that was now safe on top of his stomach.

Lee's back ached from where it had landed on a tree root, and he gave an annoyed groan. The squirrel ungratefully ran away from him once it finally had the sense to realize what had happened. As it scampered away, bushy tail swishing indignantly, Lee tentatively got up from the ground and felt around to make sure everything was intact.

Luckily, all that seemed to be damaged was his pride.

"You're face is bleeding. Did you know that?"

Maybe not...

Lee looked up at a blond haired girl with her bang covering one of her eyes. She pushed it impatiently out of her way with an expression that reminded Lee of Tenten somehow. She tucked her hand into her pocket and produced a white handkerchief.

"Here," she offered, holding it out to Lee.

He took it politely. "Thanks. Uh, where am I-"

"Right here," Ino pointed to a spot on her forehead and Lee dabbed the indicated area on his own head. Sure enough, it came back red. He must've cut it on a branch coming down, he imagined.

"I thought ninjas of your level aren't supposed to fall out of trees like that," Ino commented dryly with her hands behind her back.

Lee blushed slightly. "I, uh, I was a little distracted."

"Oh?"

The blush deepened. "Um, I mean to say, that I was careless. That's all."

"You're Rock Lee, right?" Ino blurted out.

Lee looked surprised. "Yes, I am."

"Sakura's told me about you, andI came to visit you once in the hospital with her. Did you know that?"

Lee shook his head incredulously. "No, I didn't know that."

Ino smirked. "I'm Ino. I'm a friend of Sakura."

"I'm pleased to meet you," Lee said, rubbing his hand against his leg before holding it out for Ino to shake.

She did it readily, pointedly ignoring the dirt stains he'd gotten from the fall. Lee could feel the calluses on her palm before he let go. It impressed him.

"So how long have you and Sakura-chan been friends?" he asked curiously.

Ino took this as a sign and moved over to lean against the tree. "Oh, forever, practically. I've known her since she and I were just kids. She was always a shy one, and I took it upon myself to kind of toughen her up, make her see her own potential. She did eventually, but not quite in the way I had expected her to. Sakura always liked doing things her own way. It was one of the things that drew me to her, though it can be a pain sometimes, too. Does that make sense?"

"Actually, it makes a lot of sense," Lee said.

Ino pushed off of the tree. "You like Sakura, right?" she asked.

"What?" Lee asked.

"I asked if you liked Sakura. You do, don't you? After all, you don't make it much of a secret. You proposed to her publicly just last week."

Lee's shoulder's sagged. She had a point. "Yes, I care very deeply for Sakura-chan."

"Why?"

Lee blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Why do you like Sakura so much?" Ino asked curiously.

Lee was thoughtful. "She inspires me," he said truthfully. "She has this passion to her... She's like, I don't know... sweet and sour sauce."

"Sweet and sour sauce?" Ino raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah!" Lee said, suddenly emotional. "She's kind but fierce at the same time, a perfect blend of a woman's grace and a fighter's spirit! Both sweet and sour!"

He said the last part a bit loud.

Ino looked vaguely disturbed. "And it helps that she's pretty too, right?"

"Yes- I mean, no! Beauty is something that is in the soul. You shouldn't judge by the outward appearance." Lee reddened some.

Ino smiled in an understanding way, though it could've been smug, Lee couldn't tell.

"You're an interesting one," she commented. "You should come out with me tonight and hang out. I'm having a get together with a couple of friends. Sakura will be there." She cast out the last statement like it meant nothing.

Lee's eyes lit up hopefully. "Really? You'll let me come?"

"'Let?' No. I'm inviting you. You're interesting. Is that so hard to believe?"

"A little bit."

Ino laughed. "What do you say to six? We're meeting at the new restaurant next to the cafe on Gabe street. You know it?"

Lee nodded.

"Good. See you there then." Ino left the tree with a wave.

Lee was torn for a moment but then...

"See you at six then!" he yelled after the retreating blond.

Once Ino was gone from sight, Lee could barely contain his glee. He did a little leaping dance around the tree and even gave into the urge to hug it. Imagine him having dinner with Sakura! He hoped it was all right for him to go in his training clothes. He didn't have anything else clean to wear at the moment.

Oh well! Gai-sensei always said that green was my best color, he assured himself with a twinkling grin.

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Random Responses:

xXxDeadOnArrivalxXx - you're not disturbed! Well, maybe placing me on a pedestal's a little disturbing. I'm not that good! Or at least, it's better for me to think that way before I get a swollen head.

BlackMystick - Oh, come on…. Did you think I was going to be THAT predictable:cackles evilly:

Azamiko - yah, Sakura bashing's a real annoyance for me because she doesn't deserve it at all. I mean, yeah, in the beginning episodes it took a while for me to get used to her, but at least she thinks and fights (every 50th episode or so….) unlike most of the other anime girls out there.

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Be kind. Take the time…. Review.