Welcome back we are on chapter three! This is AOTS here wishing her thanks.

To BlackStarrKitsune,

I would just like to give you a hug and a thanks, not only did you review, but you reviewed twice! This made me proud, more so when you told me you don't usually leave reviews for people, so your replies made me feel uniquely special.

You did nothing but support my story idea, and filled it full of your positive gratitude. These are the kind of reviews I like to receive, not only are they well written and full of nice content, but you can also feel energy that's behind the words. Your reviews made me feel confident that I'll have at least a selected few that will enjoy this work.

Thank you again, and I hope to read more of your karma-filled reviews!

With lots of happiness,

Assassin of the Shadows

All right, now the moment we've all been waiting for!

You Can See It



"...S-Sakura..." Soft and hesitant.

"Yes?" Annoyance.

"It's your birthday today right?" Nervous.

"Yes it is." Curious.

"Well, how about... since it IS your birthday and all, how about I treat you to some ramen?" Happiness.

Several emotions are swimming in those liquid emerald eyes. She's flattered, saddened, angered, and disgusted.

"What? NO! I don't want to spend my birthday with you! Surely you can get that through you thick skull! I don't want to eat ramen with you, I want to eat ramen with Sasuke-kun!" She rants and raves and never once looks at you.

She never once looks to see the damage she's inflicting on you. She never once decided to lower her voice. She, bringing all the attention to you, is embarrassing you; snickers and disgusted looks; all of them finding your pain amusing.

And once again the image rewinds. How many times have I viewed your memories, catching your tone in every detail? Constantly viewing your failures with a girl, who will never be happy, who will never be satisfied.

Surely you've seen it Naruto, the look in her eyes when she talks about him, when she courts him. It's all for the thrill, but as soon as she finally manages to sink her claws in him, she'll lose her amusement. The thrill of the hunt will leave and she'll grow bored.

You can see it now Naruto I know you can, you can see exactly what the male could see too. Of course he's affected, but it's not her he wants, he's become too obsessed I'm afraid.

You saw this too. Naruto, he's not losing himself.

The truth is, he's already gone. You may have brought him back, but that will be it. You brought his body; but his heart and soul were never there to begin with. They gave up on him the very moment he turned on you.

He's just a living doll, trying to fool everyone. His skin is cold, you know that; his eyes are empty; you know that too.

And his words are hollow, and you can hear that clearly.

It's the question I can't stand, as well as the promise you make at the end. Why is he acting like this? Why is he so distant? I will help. I will help him become Sasuke once more.

Naruto, he's just acting. But he now knows that you want to help him, and he's trying to suck the life out of you. Arg! Naruto... can't you SEE!

NARUTO HE'S TRYING TO STEAL YOU AWAY FROM ME!!

ME!!

HE CAN'T HAVE YOU! HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU LIKE I DO!!
"Naruto he's trying to steal you away from me!!"

His back stiffened, and his eyes widened at the sudden outburst. The sound of breaking dishes faintly registered to his ears.

"Naruto?"

"He can't have you!"

His whole frame began to tremble causing his three companions to worry and rush over to him. "Naruto are you alright?"

"He doesn't love you like I do!"

"Who doesn't" He choked. Shaking hands reached and gripped his head, squeezing, as if this would make the voice stop inside his mind.

A cold hand grasped his shoulder, even through his thick jacket and shirt he could feel the cold seep through his clothes, chilling his flesh. Naruto raised his head and stared into black glass eyes, drawn into the act of concern, "Are you okay, dobe?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He said shakily. The hand slid off his shoulder and rested loosely on his arm. "You're shaking."

"I thought I heard something, it was just my imagination." He replied with a tight smile.

A flash of... something... passed through the black abyss, "You broke a lot of dishes. Your imagination can't cause that."

"Well this time it did." He shrugged his shoulders and gathered his wits. As calmly as he could manage, he swept up all the dinnerware and promised the shop owner that he would pay for the damage; and the incident was buried.

For a while at least.

The stars were out, shining coyly, and if he has the power he would fly in the sky and play with them. The stars always just want to play.

"Naruto what really happened today?"

He froze in mid step and slowly turned his body slightly to see behind him to see his best friend kneeling on a tree branch looking at him with a 'concerned' eye.

The moonchild jumped down and calmly walked out of the tree's shadows, pale skin glowing underneath the moon's light. He had the look of a predator, and this made him nervous. Would he attack, or was he merely here for questioning?

His internal question was answered with a cold, "What happened Naruto?"

He sighed and looked back up at the twinkling lights, "Something's happening Sasuke."

"What?" The ebony haired boy just stared at the person categorized as 'friend'. The way the moonlight reflected off his hair, giving it a soft angelic look, how his eyes shone with a contemplating look. This boy... looked heavenly.

"I don't know for sure really, but something is happening. I can hear them, in my head sometimes, talking to me, but when I hear them, it's like I'm listening to their private thoughts. Listening to something I'm not meant to hear.

And each day that ends I feel something inside of me, like I'm getting closer to an important day. My stomach is twisting in knots, and my hands get sweaty. I'm excited about something, but I don't know what it is."

"You're going insane." Naruto laughed, Sasuke sounded so astonished.

"Really? I don't think so," He lowered his head from the heavens and smiled a sunny smile. Sasuke could feel something melting inside of him then, "I just think... that my eyes are opening now."

"Opening to what?" He asked.

"The truth." A pale pink tongue passed through smirking lips, "I guess it's just about time I start to grow up. That I start to accept things."

"But that still only partially explains what happened back there! The way you're describing it now sounds like you're happy with what's happening, but back then you were trembling like a leaf! You were scared!"

"You'd be scared too, if you had heard what I did."

"What did they say?"

A long silence drifted between them, and for a moment it seemed that Sasuke wasn't going to get an answer, when a soft, far away voice whispered beside him.

"He's trying to steal you away from me." Sasuke could feel something inside him, deep inside him, twitching, as if reentering.

"He can't have you." A liquid fire was racing through his gut spreading through his veins, lighting him up. His throat became dry and his breathing was heavy.

"He doesn't love you-" His heart beat fast, and a warm sensation set it to work to squeeze itself painfully.

"like I do."

We'll see...

And there's the ending for chapter three! I got some insight from my two friends Nat-Kat and Bloody Dragon, they were telling me that a good romance story needs conflict. What better way than to bring Sasuke in the picture?

Oh and from now on, I will answer all reviews in a seperate chapter, for as long as I can at least. I just don't like to have chapters swamped in author's notes making the chapter seem longer than what it really is (because it pisses me off when others do it)! So if you're wondering if you got a reply be sure to look at the last chapter titled "Support".

Please be sure to review for this chapter too! I love to hear what you have to say, just not flames... I think that wastes everyone's time, ne?

P.S: I know that the whole delima with Sakura and Naruto wasn't really all that horrible, things could have been worse between them. But I strongly believe that this can be just as horrible! Being constantly shot down, and then on top of that you go out of your way to be nice and get shot down and kicked into the dirt; plus the audience is just as bad.