I had drug him all the way to the Dango shop. He had tried to tell me he wasn't much for sweets and didn't want to go in at first until I gave him a smile and told him that here had the best green tea I've found in this village. Which is what led us to this particular booth and me wiggling in my seat as I sip my tea. "So you were made into a child again after you spent 40 something years in another world and sent to this one. Only he locked this world off from yours so you can't leave." He sums up the gist of my age problem he was having a difficult time believing. "And you aren't human, you survive on human blood but you can drink tea and eat... that?" He continued before pointing to my dango stick I had left on its plate to turn my attention back to my tea. I sigh but nod to him holding my teacup up near my lips as I watch him.

"I have found that a steady diet of coffee or tea helps curve my hunger. It effectively allows me to get by on less blood so I don't have to worry about rationing or blacking out in a blood lust and killing someone." I explain to him and take another sip of my tea. "And this Taiyo guy you mentioned earlier was actually your adopted son of the man you were with in the other world." He speaks more to himself before he takes a sip of his own tea, I believe he called it oolong. Even though he said it casually I could see a tick working in his jaw just from the thought of Light. "Those are some secrets you were keeping." He gives a short chuckle as he sets his tea down. "And my brother, he knows?" I give him a nod as I pick up my dango stick and use my tongue to slide one off of the skewer. "Among other things. Such as he knows that I know too much about everything in this world. I knew what was going to happen that night I showed up in your family home, I knew what he was going through, I knew you were going to go to Orochimaru, I knew he was going to mark you. Etcetera. Kakashi, Tsunade, and of course Aphrodite know that much as well. The others like Naruto and Sakura only know how old I really am, that I stop aging at the age of eighteen, and I drink blood." I found myself shrugging and licking off another dango from the skewer.

Sasuke sets back in his seat his right arm hooks over the top of the booth as he looks away from me in thought. Picking my teacup back up I take another sip acting like none of this was bothering me. Even though on the inside I was already weighing the probable outcomes of this conversation and figuring which one would most likely be the one to win out. With Sasuke's temperament and personality, I would have to say it's a 75% chance he'll end up storming out of this shop. Then again, he has grown. With this thought I found my gaze moving over his shirt. His chest muscles have filled in nicely making the fabric cling to them with his position. He was definitely not that twelve-year-old boy any longer. Just like the other boy that we had on team seven, he has become easier on the eyes with his age. Though still too muscular to really match my type. But to find someone with the studious bookworm build in this world is impossible.

Shaking my head I stand leaving my last dango on the plate and my cup empty. My movement catches his gaze as I pause next to his bench. "Let's go." I state and nearly cringe when my voice leaves me emotionlessly again. Once he gets up I leave the shop and begin walking through the streets. His silence continuing even though he did decide to follow me. Ignoring the ones who have been tailing us I look over my shoulder at the none too happy Uchiha. Looking ahead of me again when he doesn't even look in my direction I make a turn, taking us up the stairs towards the Hokage faces. "Why are we coming here?" He finally asks as I fold my hands behind my back. "Because, I wanted something to look at other than your brooding face." I retort lightly causing a grunt from him. With a glance back over my shoulder I smile lightly seeing that smirk back in its rightful place.

Once we are at the top I glance around remembering the last time I had been up here. I had confronted Aphrodite with the intent to defeat her, not caring if I would end up killing her. Her Anbu team was hanging out beneath that tree as if this was their normal spot. Seeing no one I allow myself to relax as I move to the railing just above the faces. Resting my elbows on the metal as I lean forward I look out over the entire village. "Sasuke, there is something else about me you should know." I speak quietly as he comes up next to me. His gaze silently on the village as well. "It seems once I reach my mature age I have something about me that makes people trust me. I call it a spell or a curse. I'm telling you this because while we were on team seven it wasn't in place yet, since I was technically a child so on the off chance that knowing this may cause you to question anything about me. Know that as team seven, our friendship was real."

"Can you control it?" His question catches me off guard as I look to him. His onyx eyes peering at me from their corners. "No, I can't and if it were up to me it wouldn't happen." Looking away from him I peer back out at the village. "I actually count myself lucky that Damen reverted me back to the age of a child before sending me here. Even though there is a high probability he only did it so I would be killed without him having to do it himself. But, I was able to make ties without the burden of knowing that it was only because of this curse that I had a friend. I got to relive my childhood, not stuck alone in that house but in a real academy with real kids my bodily age. Even though you all were snot-nosed brats to me, it was nice. I got to sit in a real classroom and learn rather than using my computer and learning on my own. And when team seven was formed. I made a friend. My first friend. A friendship made by chance rather than a stupid curse. So in a way, I'm grateful to him."

Silence falls between us as we watch the day slide past us. The sun lowering on the horizon over the village. A silence I didn't feel the need to break. It was comfortable as if we both were just taking in the fact we were standing here and we were not alone. The sudden touch at my hip nearly had me jumping out of my skin before I realize he was tracing his fingers over my curse mark. "Did you know, he was going to give me this?" His question was quiet enough I almost thought I had imagined it. So it's not just Kakashi. Sasuke too is missing things I'm telling them. As if their minds are becoming too overwhelmed with the information I pile on them to be able to take everything in. "I did, it's why I threw myself over you to block his jutsu." I state simply even though I could feel the goosebumps rising on my skin at his touch. "Hn." He grunts as his fingers skit over my skin nearly making me shiver. "Your arm.." He whispers causing me to look over my shoulder towards him as I feel his touch hesitate. "You're arm was more exposed than your hip. He could have more easily marked you there. But he chose here instead." I give him a nod and look back out over the village. It seems he's finally old enough to question something like this. He probably has dirty reasons in his mind. I don't blame him I thought the same thing more often than I cared for.

"I believe it has to do with placement. If you remember, the sound ninja five. Their marks were either on or around their necks. Kimimaru's was on his chest even. It can only lead me to believe that the mark has the greatest chance for success when it is on the torso. It would definitely explain the necessity to go after an odd strike rather than a more direct one like the limbs. Instead, he chose above my hip which is technically on my torso. When you think about it medically the neck and chest are the most preferable spots because of the amount of blood that flows through those areas. With blood circulation, it thins and takes much longer to reach the heart again on an extremity."

"Hn." He grunts and moves his hand from my mark. "Makes sense." What a lovely vocabulary, as always. I smirk at my own thoughts and nearly roll my eyes. "What is it?" He asks drawing my attention back to him to find him leaning against the railing again. "Just thought about how your vocabulary is lovely as always." I admit and lightly chuckle even as his eyes narrow for a moment before being taken over with his own smirk. "Hn." He grunts and I nudge him with my shoulder. "See." Honestly smiling as he chuckles I watch as the building lights come on throughout the village.

With him at my side I find myself thinking back to our time as team seven. All of the banters between him and Naruto, Sakura's hatred for me because of him. Our training sessions on our own with and without Aphrodite or the rest of team seven. The time we spent together up on that roof looking up at the moon, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Him getting drawn into a fight with Lee. All of it and for the first time in a while I was smiling. "You're still just as Emo as ever." I laugh lightly as his head snaps to me. "Well, you're still as cold as a glacier, Ice Queen." Looking to him I meet his gaze, both of us glaring at each other before our stern looks crack and I start laughing. He gives a chuckle and shakes his head.

"Well, I should be getting back home. I think our audience will be getting fed up here shortly and end up stepping in." I mutter as I stand straight. Raising my arms in a stretch before I drop my hands back to my sides and turn to walk away. Sasuke however catches my hand again causing me to stop. "Let them." He states drawing my gaze back to him as I tilt my head in confusion. "Kira, about what you said earlier." He speaks up after a moment as I turn to more face him. "About the curse." He turns his head away as he slips his free hand into the pocket of his pants while continuing to hold onto my hand with his other. Almost as if he wanted to make sure I wouldn't just walk away from him. "I don't feel any different about you than I did back then. If you do have this curse, it isn't affecting me." At his words I found my eyes widening. Could it be? If it is then what about when I was at the Akatsuki? He turns his head away from me almost as if he was trying to seem indifferent about what he was saying. Even though I could see his dark eyes watching me still. "Actually I don't think it's a curse at all. It could just be your personality that draws people in." My personality?

"What do you mean?" I ask causing a grunt to come from him just before he looks right at me, his eyes meeting fully on my own. "You can't figure it out on your own?" He asks in return before raising our hands drawing my attention to them. "When you actually smile it's like the world stands still. The moon reflecting in your eyes it's like your gaze is filled with stars. When you force yourself to smile only to have pain written in your eyes it makes the world cry for you. You put yourself at arm's length just to protect everyone else from you when everyone just wants to help you. It's your heart with its emotions fighting against each other constantly as you put everyone above yourself that draws people to you. You who refused to give in to the curse mark even though it is designed to force you to Orochimaru. You who admitted to me the only reason why you wanted to become stronger was so you wouldn't watch anyone you care about die in front of you with all of the pain you carried within you echoing in full unrelenting view." He pulls his free hand from his pocket and I found him stepping closer to me. His hand moving to my hip to keep me in place. Leaving just enough room between us for our joined hands. "It's not a curse at all or some mysterious spell. It's the power of your soul bearing itself to the world. It's you."

As he speaks my heart races with each passing word. Followed by all of the thoughts I have had about how I made Light fall in love with me, how I force people's wills out of their hands because of some unnatural thing about me. Is.. he, right? Is it a completely natural power? That the reason why people trust me so completely is actually because of who I am not what I am? The sudden kiss on my cheek brings me out of my jumbled and erratic thoughts taking me back to the present. Instead of claiming my lips as he had outside of Orochimaru's hideout he lightly kissed my cheek. Huh? I give an almost inaudible sound of question as his forehead rests against mine. His dark eyes boring into my own. "You told Itachi earlier that you are having a hard time with three people suddenly confessing their love for you." He speaks causing his warm breath to brush against my skin. "I will wait for you to decide. Don't think that means I'll give you up without a fight. I will hold you and kiss you as many times as I like so you don't forget me in your decision, just so you are warned." And with those words, he releases me and walks away from me. Leaving me standing there watching as he makes his way back down the steps.

"Emo boy, can't you see? That just makes it harder." Sighing to myself I walk back over to the railing and watch his descent down the stairs from the corner of my eye. Sighing I bow my head and close my eyes. His words still ringing in my ears. Once again, just like four years ago, I am reminded of Light all over again. That thought had my eyes widening and me looking back down towards the steps again as I look for him. "Sasuke.." I breathe and found myself moving for the steps before I can stop myself. Stopping just at the top step I found myself smirking. "I can see it now. He's so much like you, Light." Reaching my right hand up I curl my fingers into a loose fist above my chest where his pendant had once rested for decades. From his rather forceful way of doing things to the way, he words his thoughts. And even though his drive is different than Light's it's still as intense and focused. He can have a lightweight demeanor and yet still contain a serious side.

A tear rolls down my right cheek causing me to gasp in confusion. Reaching up I touch the warm liquid with my fingertips. A pain I had thought I was past coming back to the surface. Closing my eyes a moment I bitterly smile before looking up at the rising moon. -Is this why I had a vision of you four years ago? Back when I had wanted to protect Sasuke the most. That it's all because he reminds me of you? Is that why, when he kissed me I completely lost myself?- "Can't be, he's Emo boy after all. Not you." Looking away from the moon I turn and make my way down the steps to go home. The sudden reminder of Light was a bitter-sweet thought.