Just a reminder that for this story, Sasuke is the main historian and we see his point of view the most. Unbeta'ed, yolo, we die like men.
Chapter 9
Posted on July 18th, 2022
Suigetsu is slurping a slushy through a thick straw, his one sharp tooth pointing out. He and the rest of the group are sitting at a round table outside. Sasuke is typing something on his laptop, glancing over to the open textbook to verify information.
"You wanna hang later, S'ke?"
"Hn." Sasuke doesn't even look at him, the typical Uchiha phrase dismissive enough to convey his message. Suigetsu rolls his eyes and continues to slurp loudly. Sasuke throws him a glare and starts collecting his things. "I'll see you guys tomorrow at practice." And with that, the three watch as Sasuke walks away toward the parking.
Sluuuuurppp. "Damn. You're shit out of luck, Karin. Sucks for you." Slurp, sluuurrpp.
"What? Why would I be out of luck?" Karin throws Suigetsu a nasty look.
Suigetsu stirs whatever is left with the straw and sucks at it again. "Because my man Sasuke has been obviously heartbroken for weeks. Your little crush on him will never work."
With furrowed eyebrows, Karin leans in, "What?! What do you know?! He looks and acts just the same!"
"That's what you think," sluurpp, "because you're not observant enough. Man's got it down bad for someone. So you're out of luck, but hey, I'm always here if there's a scratch you need to-aw!" Karin smacks Suigetsu on the arm, grabs her things and walks away with a loud "Hmph!"
"Man, everyone is just leaving left and right," Suigetsu mutters. He goes to take another sip but his slushy is over and he sighs as if he didn't just drink a huge cup. "Man! You gonna leave me too, Juugo?"
Juugo has been sitting quietly through the whole thing, as he usually does. He folds away the rest of his sandwich neatly. "I hope Sasuke-san is okay. I've noticed he's been more distant lately. Maybe we can offer to go on a walk with him to boost his mood."
"He won't agree to a walk but what I don't understand is why he keeps saying no to my parties!"
"Because they're a lot." Juugo supplies calmly.
"Yeah – a lot of FUN! One of my parties and he won't be moping around anymore after any girl!"
"Hello, guys." Suigetsu and Juugo almost jump when Sakura joins their conversation from a neighboring table. "I couldn't help but overhear – is something wrong with Sasuke-san?"
Suigetsu immediately smirks, not sad anymore over his slushy. "Well, hello. Our friend is just troubled with matters of the heart. Nothing a good party can't fix."
That doesn't seem to be the answer Sakura wants. "Does he have a girlfriend or something?" She asks with an innocent tone but the tucking away of a strand of hair behind the ear gives Sakura away that she is pretending to be more nonchalant about this than she actually is. Suigetsu takes notice.
"I don't know. Maybe you can ask him?"
Sakura's eyebrow twitches a bit but she keeps a smile on. She jots down something on a piece of paper and hands it to Suigetsu. "I've heard about your parties. I'd love to come some time – here's my number," her smile stretches more. Suigetsu takes the piece of paper, looks at it, and sets it aside.
"Sasuke doesn't ever come," he informs her.
"I know. Maybe he will one day. Hope you two have a great day now."
Suigetsu watches her retreating form and sighs. "Honestly. What is with all these chicks liking that aloof, rude guy." Suigetsu looks to Juugo for support, but Juugo is already doodling some birds on a piece of paper. Suigetsu sighs and opens up his textbook.
Sasuke is lying in bed at home. He's trying to concentrate on his studies but whenever he would get alone in the past few weeks, he'd always think about contacting Naruto. He wanted to text her, was so relieved when she gave him her number. But the image of her and the redhead comes to mind, tangled in each other, and Sauske clenches his jaw so tight in gives him a headache. There was obviously a romantic relationship between the two and Sasuke felt inexplicably jealous and angry. He understood he had no claim over her – shit, they had barely talked – but something in his very gut demanded that she be his. Which is completely counterintuitive to how an Uchiha is – calm and collected, never begging for anything or anyone. Sasuke forces himself yet again to suppress the contradicting feelings and forces himself to not contact her. If she is not available, he would not reduce himself to anything pathetic like begging or pining over someone. That, of course, was a ridiculous notion for an Uchiha. If she wasn't interested, then Sauske wasn't either and if he just kept telling himself that, eventually he would condition himself and forget her.
Sasuke gets up and gathers his things to go study in the library where a loud Suigetsu would distract him from his nagging thoughts and desires.
Naruto looks down at the phone screen. She types and deletes a text several times to a contact named "bastard".
"Naru-chaaaan, are you coming?" Hidan calls. The group is about to go out.
"Yeah, I'm coming." Naruto locks her phone, puts it in her back pocket, and follows.
"Do you want anything special for dinner tonight? Other than ramen-" Gaara looks at Naruto sternly in the passenger seat as she was excitedly going to request ramen. She pouts.
"Obviously, ramen is a god-sent food, but if you insist, I'm up for whatever."
Gaara pulls over the car to drop Naruto off. "Okay. I'll make some salmon then."
Naruto just nods and goes to get out. Gaara holds her forearm and levels a gaze at her. "Is everything okay? You've been more distracted lately."
Naruto looks into the teal eyes she knows so well. A smile tugs at her lips at the concern and protectiveness of the redhead. "Yes, all is well. I promise," she insists at Gaara's stern gaze.
At dinner, they catch up and Gaara shows her more pictures of his recent trip. After they've talked for a while after dinner, Naruto yawns and goes to shower. Gaara meets her at the open bathroom door when she's done brushing her teeth. He looks at her – his presence steady and protective.
"Do you want me to take you home?"
"No. I'll stay here, if you don't mind."
"I never mind." Gaara puts two warm hands on her hips and leans down to kiss her gently. It's not a lustful kiss. Naruto can almost hear what he says through the kiss: "I missed you and taking care of you makes me happy."
Gaara's warm lips move to her neck and Naruto sighs in content, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning some of her weight against him. The familiar physical touch feels nice and relaxing. His hands massage her hips and move up and down her sides, massaging her muscles. Naruto feels this can almost lull her to sleep until she feels his erection against her abdomen. She reaches to cup the hardness, but Gaara stops her. "You look exhausted. Let me take care of you."
Gaara takes her to the bed and lays her down. He massages her muscles and continues to place well-targeted slow, relaxing kisses along her body. Gaara had always been good at knowing exactly what Naruto needs. If Naruto showed affection through physical touch, Gaara definitely showed affection through acts of service. When Naruto feels him adjust her legs so he can get in-between and lick her pussy languidly, Naruto sighs and relaxes further, strokes his hair to thank him. Gaara has always been excellent with his tongue and fingers and when he cups her breasts gently while eating her out, Naruto can't help but orgasm and release on his tongue. Gaara laps up everything and pulls out his finger, kissing her vulva gently. Naruto has been intimate with Gaara long enough to know that the action of making her cum, serving her in this way, had made Gaara release as well.
Before she knows it, Naruto is asleep.
"I want to meet her."
A phone screen is placed in front of Gaara on the desk. He sees a picture he took of Naruto on it. Immediately, Gaara looks up and frowns at the man.
"Not like that," Yahiko clarifies at Gaara's stern gaze, "I'm only interested in auditioning her. What is she, a girlfriend? Doesn't matter, have her reach out to me for an audition."
Gaara looks at Yahiko still, contemplating his words. Yahiko is the director of the series Gaara had been cast for. They haven't been able to find anybody to cast as co-lead with him yet. Yahiko notices Gaara's hesitation and elaborates.
"Look, we haven't known each other that long so I'll be direct – I'm gay. The red-haired guy you see around doing our sounds – Nagato? Yeah, my husband." Yahiko points at the wedding band hanging on a chain around his neck. "I have no interest in messing with Naruto-chan here – and yes, I already researched everything about her. I just want to meet her, audition her, and see if I feel the same I feel looking at her in the photo."
Gaara considers his words, more relaxed now, and stands up. "Okay. I'll talk to her. If she agrees, I'll have her contact your assistant."
"No. Have her contact me – directly." Yahiko dials something on his phone and walks away.
"How has life been?" Itachi asks as he is chopping some green onions to add to the soup he's making for dinner.
"Hn. School has been okay. Lots of things to do." Sasuke answers, sitting at the counter, filling out some homework on his laptop. Every time Itachi had come around in the last few weeks, Sasuke was either doing schoolwork on his laptop or was buried in his textbooks more than normal.
"I didn't ask about school. I asked about life."
Sasuke looks up at Itachi, brows furrowed, then back to the screen. "School is my life, Itachi. You remember how it was."
"Aaah, yes, I do," Itachi reminiscences. "But I made time for other things, like hanging out with friends, dating…"
"This again." Sasuke looks at Itachi sharply. He grabs his laptop and goes to move to the couch, further away form Itachi.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't want to tell me."
"There's nothing to tell."
"There could be."
"Stop."
"Lots of people interested in you."
"Just-god. Nii-san. Just stop." Sasuke may look the same to anyone who didn't know him, but Itachi could see the annoyance collected in a small curve of his eyebrow. Itachi focuses back on his cooking but there is a small downward curve to his lips. The brief conversation with Sasuke had revealed that Naruto hadn't reached out to Sasuke and neither had he. Itachi knew his little brother was a special kind of stubborn, but he was rather surprised Naruto hadn't reached out either in the last few weeks since Itachi spoke with her at the theatre. He felt a small pang of sadness for his brother that maybe she wasn't as interested in Sasuke as he was in her.
Itachi had noticed Sasuke being more distant and withdrawn than usual. To the side observant, Sasuke looked as normal as always, confident, collected, and precise. It was in the slight slump of his shoulders when he sat and in the way he would look at something but his black eyes would not be concentrated on it, as if playing some memories in his head before being able to concentrate again. Itachi had hoped that the result of Sasuke's first significant love interest would be different, but Itachi supposed it was inevitable for love to come with a little sadness.
A couple of months pass until the end of the semester. Today Sasuke and his classmates had taken their last exam for the year. Suigetsu is dangling from an arm around Sasuke's neck and being loud right in his ear.
"Even you can't say no to a party for this occasion, Sasuke! Oh, don't look at me like that – I meant a normal party, like in a bar or something. Our classmates are meeting later at the Kunai. You literally cannot say no – I'll come pick you up at nine and if I have to, I will use Itachi-san to get you out."
Suigetsu runs off to be loud somewhere else and Sasuke considers his words. It's the end of the year, all exams are done. He could always find an excuse, but he shouldn't this time. He finds himself not fighting Suigetsu too bad on this one.
The bar is relatively loud with people's chatter. The lighting is very comfortable with some string lights around. Sasuke finds himself actually not hating the environment. Sasuke is wearing black jeans and a dark blue crewneck. They walk to where their classmates are and Suigetsu proceeds to obnoxiously greet everyone.
"I even managed to bring THE MAN, Uchiha Sasuke himself!" Suigetsu dangles on Sasuke's neck again, Sasuke shoots him a gaze which Suigetsu catches but completely ignores. "Looking like a million bucks, my man!" Suigetsu pats Sasuke on the abs, then makes a gesture to pretend his hand is hurt. "Goddamn! You got bricks under there or somethin'? How are you so ripped when I constantly see you hugging the books?!"
Sasuke has long learned that not every statement of Suigetsu's requires an answer. Suigetsu proceeds to bounce around their classmates and Sasuke raises a regal eyebrow slightly – there must have been a little something-something Suigetsu took before coming out. He was more annoying than normal.
Sasuke is surprised he is actually in a generally very good mood – for an Uchiha. He actually finds he is enjoying himself and feels comfortable. The group is big but it is split in smaller sub-groups and the people around him are the people he feels comfortable at school with. He even accepts shots when the group offers. For the first two, everyone is staring at him weird, especially when he doesn't flinch after taking the shot. Then everyone cheers that Sasuke is actually partying with them, everyone thrilled to have gotten through the year successfully and to have some time off now. Sasuke notices Shikamaru a few tables away – Shika nods to him and raises his glass which Sasuke responds to. Sasuke feels a gaze on himself several times and meets eyes with Sakura several times. She smiles and raises her glass at him. He nods to her, trying to be polite. Sasuke was used to people's advances. She wasn't doing anything inappropriate to upset him or be in his space too much, so Sasuke reminds himself to at least be polite.
At the next cheering, Sakura makes her way to Sasuke. He doesn't exactly want her to come, but he is buzzed enough to not be an asshole about it.
"Cheers," she clings their glasses together and smiles at him. She's wearing a short mint-colored dress. There is a bit of color on the apples of her cheeks and she is pretty but Sasuke knows that there is no chance he would be able to respond to her the way she hopes for. She continues to stay close to him.
The music is a comfortable tone, enough to be entertaining but also allowed for conversation. Sasuke finds himself pleasantly buzzed as they take more shots and less and less annoyed with Suigetsu when he comes by to cheer with Sasuke loudly and say something stupid. Sasuke is actually… quite enjoying himself.
It is then that Sasuke sees her: coming in from the garden section with a bunch of other people, Naruto is laughing and carrying an empty glass to the bar. She's wearing a casual dress that stops mid-thigh and absolutely hugs her gorgeous figure. The running shoes give her a tomboyish vibe. Her skin is sparkling as if she'd just gone to the beach. At this moment, she looks like a movie star belonging on the red carpet and Sasuke is absolutely smitten all over again in the matter of three seconds.
Weeks of resisting his weakness and building up discipline, gone.
As if knowing she is being observed, Naruto locks eyes with Sasuke. Recognition flickers on her face. She gestures to her friends that she will be right back and leaves the empty glass with them. Sasuke doesn't even know when he has stridden to her and is now standing in front of her.
Not having seen her for weeks and having her right in front of him now makes Sasuke feel as if the decision to end his interest in her had vanished. Such a decision now seems completely irrational and Sasuke couldn't even retrieve the feeling or logic that caused that course of action from him. There is buzzing between them as she looks up at Sasuke with those bright eyes. She tilts her head to motion for him to follow her to a quieter part of the bar.
"Sasuke." She greets when they stand in front of a more secluded part of the bar. Just the way his name rolls off her lips and the overwhelming feeling of seeing her in front of him, combined with being buzzed from the alcohol, make Sasuke step really close to her. She doesn't step back. His sudden proximity immediately makes her eyes darken.
Sasuke fists the back of her head and brings his mouth down to hers. She immediately responds to the kiss and wraps both arms around his neck. All coherent thought is gone from Sasuke's mind when she opens up her mouth to let their tongues glide against each other. Sasuke wraps an arm around her waist and brings her closer - how could he possibly think to deny himself this?
Naruto lets out a sound in his mouth when Sasuke presses her against the bar. The arm around her waist roams to her sides and Sasuke has half a mind to lift her up on the counter and devour her when Naruto gives a hard shove at his shoulders. Her lips are wet and she is breathing hard, looking at him with hooded eyes. Sasuke thinks the way she looks now, only he wants to see her like that.
Naruto takes in a deep breath. She guides Sasuke back to the main bar and through the crowd. Sasuke doesn't question her actions even for a moment, only being able to focus on the way her hand feels in his and the apparent urgency in her step, shared in his own. They reach a secluded area that has a couch and is dimly lit. The music from the bar is still loud but somewhat muffled. Or maybe it's Sasuke's loud heartbeat in his ears that is muffling it.
Sasuke decides he doesn't care for any of that and needs to be back on her in the next two seconds or otherwise he would go insane. She wraps arms around his neck and head again and he walks her into the wall, pressing her there. He is painfully hard in his black jeans and when he bucks against her, she moans loudly into Sasuke's mouth. Suddenly, Sasuke is being pushed and turned around to press against the wall. Naruto presses up her chest against his and licks down to his Adam's apple. Sasuke fists her hair and hisses when she kisses and nuzzles at his neck. She palms hard at the erection through his jeans and Sasuke's head is spinning, not sure and not caring if he is even holding in his sounds anymore. Naruto fumbles with the button, unzips his jeans and the next thing Sasuke knows, she is on her knees in front of him and his brain absolutely short circuits.
The cool air mixed with Naruto's warm breath against his dick when she finally takes him out has Sasuke's head loll back. "Shit Sasuke. Where have you been hiding this monster." Sasuke is not sure what she says when she licks at him then and takes him in her warm, wet mouth and Sasuke strains to not buckle at the knees. A hand fists her hair and Sasuke is openly moaning now, head thrown back. Naruto takes him in deeper and swallows around him. She massages his balls, as if more and more encouraged by the grip in her hair going tighter and tighter and driving this composed and stoic man into madness.
Sasuke looks down at her and almost cums when he sees her like this, willing and eager on her knees, her mouth full of his thick cock. There is a furrow between her eyebrow in concentration while attempting to take in more and more of him in. Sasuke takes deep breaths and pushes strands of hair away from her face. He holds her head and thrusts his hips a bit. Naruto moans around his dick at that. "Shit, Naruto. You, like this…" Sasuke doesn't finish, steadies her again and gives another thrust with his hips. His dick goes in more but not fully still. Naruto looks up at him, pupils blown out and eyes dark, even more eager at his ministrations.
Sasuke steadies her and lets loose, shoves his fat dick down her throat while she rubs his balls. Sasuke could die like this, he thinks, as he alternates between looking at Naruto choking on and gargling around his dick and throwing his head back to moan from the visual and sensual overload. Sasuke gives a particularly hard thrust, then holds her head there, almost screaming from the feeling of his whole cock finally buried down the throat of the woman he had had wet dreams of for months.
He guides her mouth off his dick and the visual has him immediately squeezing the base of his dick to stop from cumming. There is spit and pre on her face, she's breathing hard, her hair is a mess but most of all, her eyes are looking up at him in complete burning want and willingness. She sees him gripping his cock and kisses and licks at his full balls, eventually going to lick at the fingers around his cock. Sasuke cannot believe how much he likes watching her do this lewd thing, and willingly provides his two fingers for this goddess to massage with her tongue and suck on. She's looking up at him again, absolutely putting on a show for his enjoyment. The texture of her tongue against his fingers sends a pleasant tickling sensation to his overheated brain and spine. Sasuke cannot believe such a creature exists and is so eagerly sharing his desire.
Sasuke guides her to stand up and takes her to the couch. He sits down and leans back, moves his jeans down more. His dick is glistening with precum and her saliva. Naruto is on her knees on the couch next to his lap, wiping the spit off her chin. Sasuke fists the back of her neck and brings their mouths together. She tastes exquisite, her mouth even warmer now from the activity. Her hands are on his chest and Sasuke palms at her full breasts and swallows her moans. They could go all the way now, Sasuke thinks, his head spinning but at the same time completely focused on the moment.
Naruto caresses Sasuke's chest and down his abdomen. "Shit, teme." Naruto withdraws from the kiss and eyes Sasuke cock, now fully out with his full balls and straining against his strong abs. Sasuke watches her lick her lips and swallow and doesn't understand how this could be real. Naruto palms his full erection, presses it against his abs and jerks him off. She dives back down to take him in her mouth, cups and fondles his balls with her left hand.
"Naruto. Holy fuck. Yes, just like that," Sasuke caresses her head and hair. Her ass is up in the air as she sucks him off. Sasuke slides up the bottom of her dress to reveal the round mounts of her ass. He lifts her pelvis and moves her whole lower body closer to his face, squeezes and kisses her soft ass cheeks. When he rubs at where her panties are covering her core, she moans loudly around his dick and momentarily loses rhythm in sucking him. The tight stings of Sasuke's self-control almost snap then and he shoves her panties down. With blown-out pupils, Sasuke watches her slick dripping out her pussy and inhales her essence. Slender fingers split her slit and Sasuke marvels how his fingers are glistening when he withdraws them. When her legs begin shaking, Sasuke steadies her with an arm around her waist and abdomen and slowly pushes a finger inside. He chokes on his breath and his eyes almost roll back when he feels how tight, hot and slick she is inside. "You're so fucking wet I can't even believe it"
Naruto stutters in sucking him off, moaning, but takes in a deep breath through her nose and tries to get back to it. Sasuke moves his finger in and out, pushes one more inside. He kisses and bites her ass still, marveling at how his fingers are going in and out of her. He presses down against her belly with his fingers and Naruto moans loudly. She withdraws from his cock, rests her cheek against his warm thigh as she holds his cock with shaking hands. Sasuke fingers at that spot again and Naruto's knees give out. Sasuke holds her with strong arms, the hand against her lower belly presses up and his fingers inside press down. Naruto screams in pleasure and Sasuke holds her in place.
He sets a pace, fingering her in a steady fast rhythm and pressing a palm steadily against her lower belly. Naruto is shaking and spasming all over, attempts to jerk Sasuke off with shaky hands but the shocks of pleasure make her hands spasm and stop. Eventually, she gives up and just curls against Sasuke, lets him finger her to a brutal orgasm. Sasuke lets out curses as he watches her face, curled against his thigh and abdomen, her moaning and shaking, gripping at his legs and the couch. The spasms become more violent, and Sasuke has to grip her harder to hold her. She looks so close, with the way the spasms become more frequent and strong.
Naruto digs her nails in his legs and lets out a silent scream against his warm belly. Her pussy contracts around Sasuke's fingers and slick is almost pouring out. Sasuke's breath stops at feeling her like this, the subject of his wet dreams for months, here in his lap, reduced to a moaning heap only because of his fingers. If she was this sensitive to getting fingered, Sasuke's mouth goes dry thinking how she'd be bouncing on his cock. Seeing and feeling Naruto orgasm was so much more than Sasuke had imagined.
Sasuke keeps finger fucking her through her orgasm. When her eyes open again, they are wet and hazy. She's breathing hard and seems like she just wants to stay curled up on Sasuke's lap. He finds that he doesn't really mind that. But then she lifts herself up and goes back to sucking him off, almost taking him whole on the first go. Sasuke is startled, feeling overstimulated from the previous visual and experience. Naruto bobs her head and goes down deep on him, rubs his balls, and Sasuke finds himself slumped against the back of the couch, holding her head and moaning in a hoarse voice. He wants to watch her take him but can't keep his eyes open, can't stop the spasms and tightening in his lower belly.
"Fuck, yes, Naruto, fuck!" Sasuke doubles over, eyes wide open as the most brutal orgasm of his life wracks his body. Naruto's head is tightly pressed against his pubic bone as Sasuke experiences the absolutely most violent spasm and cums down her throat. When his hold gives out a bit, Naruto pushes up, stroking him through his orgasm and catching the smaller spurts of cum. Sasuke falls back against the back of the couch, vision black around the edges. He feels completely boneless and timeless. After some time, he realizes Naruto is licking around his cock and abdomen, licking off all the cum he'd poured out. Sasuke weakly reaches for her and draws her to him, sighs in content when she curls against him and nuzzles at his neck.
Sasuke doesn't know how long they stay like this, or even if they had fallen asleep at one point. When he comes to, he almost jumps at the muffled sounds of the bar until he feels Naruto shifting her weight against him. His vision is more clear now and he looks down at her. The lighting is dim but he sees her bright eyes, something new in them and content written on her face. Something makes him dip down and gently kiss her. Her taste mixed with his own unlocks a new level of feelings of possession Sasuke hadn't considered himself capable of before. There is something about this woman that absolutely destroyed Sasuke's tautly strung self-control and that fact somehow brought him satisfaction. Sasuke couldn't believe they had just gotten each other off in some dark room in a bar. There was no question whether she was interested in him, one way or another. The tinies of smiles settles on Sasuke's lips as he moves some hair off her face and when Naruto notices the small smile and softness in his eyes, she grins up at him brightly and Sasuke's breath hitches.
Naruto lifts herself off him and adjusts her dress. Sasuke himself pulls up and adjusts his jeans. He feels a sense of dread suddenly – she is going to run off again before they've talked and he won't see her again for weeks, almost begins beating himself up for not talking first instead of jumping into bed—
"Do you want to go grab something to eat?"
The unexpected question and the inviting smile on her face give Sasuke pause. The wave of dread dissipates. The small smile is back on his face when he gets up and follows her out.
On the way out, Naruto gestures for Sasuke to hold on a second. She heads out to the garden section. A few seconds later, she comes back through the door holding a small backpack and a jacket. Someone is coming behind her and Naruto turns around, heard her name being called. A familiar red-haired man catches up with her and Sasuke watches as he holds her arm to turn her to him. Gaara stands way too close to Naruto for Sasuke's liking. One look at her, the slight flush on her cheeks and the few misplaced strands of hair and Gaara recognizes that face. He knows exactly what she did. Sasuke watches as Gaara's jaw tightens and he leans closer to her. Teal eyes scan the crowd and Gaara finds hard black eyes staring back at him. Gaara narrows his eyes at Sasuke and Sasuke knows he must be staring daggers at the man himself.
Naruto follows Gaara's gaze and hurries to distract him after he so easily identifies the man she's going home with. She pushes on Gaara's chest softly to change the angle of his body and make him look at her again. "I'll be fine, it's someone I know. My phone is with me." When he goes to say something, she presses, "I promise I'll be fine," and walks away. Sasuke locks eyes with Gaara again, feels his fists clench, until Naruto reaches him. He takes her hand and guides her out as soon as possible.
Thank you to everyone following the story and letting me know what you thought! :)
