Title: Unexpected
Chapter: 10- The unexpected kiss
Author: Tia/Bijou
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Airashii and the plot.
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the great reviews everyone.
Current standings:

Airashii-Naruto: 26
Airasii-Sasuke: 22
Sakura-Naruto: 19
Love triangle: 3
Airashii-Naruto sibling relationship: 3
Sakura- Sasuke: 2

"Normal speech,"
'Normal thought'
'Kyubi speech/thought'
'Rokubi speech/thought'
'Inner Sakura'

(-)

Last time

"You're so concentrated on revenge and getting more power that you forget to see how you're affecting other people. You don't let anyone get close to you. It's like, because you're so good of a ninja, you're too good for friends. People are trying to get close to you, but you just push them away." Airashii explained, blocking his punch, and retaliating with a punch of her own.

Sasuke just froze, and allowed the punch to hit him square in the face. It was all true. Every single word she said was true. No doubt.

(-)

Sasuke had been off balance for the rest of training. He wasn't able to block as well, and his jutsus were off. He had too much on his mind to really concentrate on training. Much too much was going on inside his head, as he thought over what Airashii had said to him earlier. Sasuke was actually happy when Kakashi said that training was over. He glumly walked home, still pondering what Airashii had said.

(-)

For some reason, Sakura felt much more at ease and carefree with Naruto than she had been before. She surprisingly felt as if she had enjoyed training with Naruto. She had laughed at his antics, which she finally realized, were not a way to just be annoying, but a way for people to recognize him, and give him attention. Suddenly it hit Sakura. That's how she acted around Sasuke, but he never gave her recognition. He simply sat there, an unreadable expression on her face. Sakura had tried her hardest to be recognized. She had tried to get him to love her like she loved him. 'Do I really love him?' The question seemed to echo in her mind. She pushed all the thoughts away though, because Naruto was asking her a question.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto said, trying to get the pink haired kunoichi's attention.

"Yes Naruto?" She inquired.

"Would you like to go out and get some ramen with me?"

Sakura pondered this for a moment. Normally she would say no, but it wasn't as if she had plans, and if she said, no, Naruto would just go home to an empty apartment.

"Alright, Naruto. You can pick me up at seven."

The blonde genin punched his fist in the air. "Alright!" He started running towards his apartment so he could get ready. "Thanks Sakura!" He yelled over his shoulder, offering a wave.

Sakura just smiled, and headed towards her own house.

(-)

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, and was happy at what she saw. She was dressed in a red halter top with pink cherry blossoms in the corner. Her billowy black skirt was about knee length, and had a pink scarf tied around the top as a belt. Sakura had abandoned her forehead protector for the red ribbon that Ino had given her when they were about 6. She was just smoothing he hair, when there was a knock at the door. She rushed to it, and was surprised to see Naruto was not in his orange jump suit. Instead, he wore a white undershirt that was visible under the black partially buttoned long sleeve top. He wore a pair of black pants, though he still wore his head band and ninja sandals.

"Hi Naruto!" Sakura said as she quickly slipped on some black flip-flops.

"Wow Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed upon seeing the pink haired kunoichi, "You look lovely!"

Sakura blushed. What, why was she blushing? She liked Sasuke didn't she?

'You know you think he looks handsome like this.' Inner Sakura stated.

"Tonight, we dine!" Naruto said with a grin, leading Sakura towards the Ichiraku ramen bar.

(-)

Sasuke's Point of View

I needed to get moving. I think better when I move, so I couldn't stay in the house. Despite the drizzle, I walked without an umbrella, deep in thought. Airashii, she was so, well, it's hard to describe. What she had said to me during training was still fresh in my mind. It was true, the way I pushed people away. I supposed I did it because I thought they would get in my way. My emotional ties to them would hold me back in my quest for the ultimate power. It was almost an unnatural thirst that kept me going. But what would I do when I defeated my brother? Who would I fall back on? Who would be there for me? These are the questions I had been asking myself since training. I knew the answer: no one. No one would be there for me. I would be all alone. Then I wouldn't have a reason to live. I wasn't surprised when I ended up at the training grounds. I walked this path almost every day, so it was probably burned into my subconscious. I was, however, surprised to see a form sprawled out on the ground next to the upright logs. I took a closer look, and realized it was Airashii. She must have worked herself into exhaustion, and fainted. There were blast marks on the trees and a few chunks taken out of the logs. She must have been practicing her technique, and her taijutsu. I just stood there looking at her for a while. She was extremely pretty, and she had an almost peaceful look as she slept. It started to rain heavier, and I didn't want her to get sick, or hurt, so I picked her up bridal style, and took her to my apartment, seeing as I didn't know her family, or where she lived. When we got to my house, I put her in my bed, after taking off her jacket. I knew she would catch a cold if she wore that wet thing all night. I turned off the lights in my room and went to sleep on the couch.

(-)

Sakura flopped down in her bed. What a day it had been. It had started out with her loving Sasuke, and hating Naruto, and it had ended it the emerald eyed girl going out on a date with the spastic blonde. She looked over at her dresser, to the picture of team seven all together. Airashii was sitting on Naruto's shoulders, giving Kakashi the bunny ears, as Kakashi ruffled Sasuke's hair. Naruto was grinning like crazy, Sakura herself was in the middle, blushing, and Sasuke was sulking as usual. She sighed. Why was she feeling so blurry? She couldn't get a straight feeling when she thought about the two boys. Her date with Naruto had gone wonderfully, though she did have to slap him for the comment he made about her forehead. Other than that, the ramen date had gone great.

"Sakura, do you hate me because of the Kyubi?" The blonde cyclone asked Sakura. She thought long and hard.

"No Naruto. I don't hate you." She replied, taking another bite of her ramen.

"Then why did you say you hated me when we introduced ourselves to Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned, a look of confusion coming over his face.

"Because I didn't know you then, but now I see… you're different."

Sakura sighed at the memory. Naruto was different. Different in a good way.

(-)

Airashii reached to tug on the sleeve of her jacket. It was freezing. She didn't ever remember her apartment being this cold. Much to her alarm, her hand met her skin, and not the fabric of her jacket. She bolted up in bed. She nearly fainted when she realized that she wasn't in her own apartment. She noticed her jacket hanging on the back of the doorknob to the room, and she put it on. Her arms felt so bare without it. She glanced around the room, hoping to find a clue of where she was, but nothing was in the room except what was in almost every room. A bed, a dresser, a night stand, a desk, a clock, and a closet.

'Boy. Who ever lives here sure has the personality of a rock.' She though to herself, then it hit her. A rock. She was in Sasuke's apartment, most likely in his bedroom. Anger boiled up inside her.

"SASUKE!" She yelled. A hint of a Transylvanian accent. The obsidian eyed genin opened the door and leaned against the frame.

"So you're awake." He said

"What am I doing at your apartment?"

Sasuke sighed. He had figured she would be angry at this. "I found you on the training grounds unconscious. I couldn't just leave you there while it was raining, could I? Since I didn't know where you lived, or any of your family members, I simply took you to my apartment." He said a hint of emotion in the mix.

"I have no family." Airashii whispered.

"What?"

"The only reason I'm here in Konoha, is because my guardian since my parents died, couldn't support me anymore. She had had some health complications, and was in the hospital too much to take care of me, so she contacted your Hokage, who agreed he would allow me hospitality here."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Sasuke said the sadness evident in his voice.

"Oh really?" Airashii said, not really believing in the dark genin. All of a sudden, she put a hand on her stomach, "Umm, Sasuke, do you have anything to eat around here?"

(-)

Sakura sat by the front door of her house, waiting for the knock. She and Naruto were going to train a bit by themselves today. She wondered about Sasuke and Airashii. She hadn't seen them today, and it was already 2:00pm. She had seen Naruto twice, and usually, where there is Naruto, there is Airashii. Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted when there was a knock at the door.

"I'm coming!" She said, acting as if she hadn't been waiting. She opened the door, and looked at a smiling Naruto.

"Are you ready to train?" The blonde boy asked Sakura.

"Of course," She answered, walking out the door.

"Have you seen Shii-chan around anywhere?" Naruto asked Sakura. He had sent a few mental shouts, but he had had no response.

"I haven't seen her or Sasuke at all today. Usually, you two are running around doing something stupid. Naruto got angry at that. He liked Sakura, but he wouldn't stand for her insulting his best friend.

"Shii-chan is NOT stupid! She's very smart, and pretty and funny!" He said, a vein appearing on his forehead.

"I didn't mean it like that, Naruto," Sakura said, attempting to calm the angry boy down.

He sweat dropped. "Oh."

"Maybe we should check Sasuke's apartment," Sakura said, walking towards it.

"Okay," Naruto agreed following the emerald eyed kunoichi.

(-)

Airashii finished off her rice cake, and joined Sasuke in the living room. She sat down on the same couch as him, but on the other side, as far away as possible. Sasuke, curiosity welling up inside him, asked her how her parent's had died. He noticed her eyes clouded over, but she still spoke.

"My parents were killed in a village raid when I was seven. We were sitting eating peacefully when a man…." A tear fell down her cheek, "A man, from a rival village walked in. My mama ushered my up to my room, where I hid in the secret cubby in my closet. My mom returned down stairs." Airashii turned her head, as more tears started coming. "I could hear the sounds of the fight down stairs, and I heard my mother scream my father's name, then all was silent. The man looked for me, but he never did figure out where I hid. I hid in that closet for almost a full 24 hours. I'll never forget the sight I saw when I went down stairs." The olive eyed kunoichi burst into sobs, as all of the memories started flooding back to her. Sasuke scooted over to her, and put an arm around her shoulders. He could relate. When he was young, his entire family was killed in front of his eyes by his older brother, Uchiha Itachi. It was amazing how alike their pasts here, but how different was the present. He lived a lonely life of anger, and revenge, while she lived a care free life, full of friends. Sasuke looked at Airashii. She was, so hard to explain, yet he loved everything about her. He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she was laughing. He loved the way her hair moved in the slightest breeze, and always looked nice, even when she just got out of bed. He loved the way she fought against all odds and rose to the top. Sasuke loved her. As she continued crying, Sasuke tilted her chin towards his face with his finger…..

(-)

Sakura softly knocked on the door to Sasuke's apartment, but there was no answer. The door was unlocked, so Sakura opened it, and looked in, just as Sasuke pressed his lips to the Airashii's.

(-)

Finally! Some action between the characters. I know this chapter was a lot longer than the norm, and this is the new length that they're usually going to be. Please, leave reviews, and constructive crit. don't be afraid to voice your opinion, and if you're wondering, yes I am still taking votes on pairings, because I like hearing what you guys out there think. I am really happy with this chapter. I felt like it expressed the characters a bit more and the next chapter is going to be more focused on Naruto's and Airashii's feelings. I hope you like this chapter as much as I did!

Edit: You'll notice I took out the 3rd person Narrative of when Sasuke finds Airashii and took her home. This was because of a suggestion by Jayge. Thanks!

Bijou