A/N: Yeah, yeah. Sorry about the last chapter. Too mushy, I know. Oh well. At least you don't have to go back to it, right? Ahem…moving on. Glad to know not everyone got grossed out.
Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. Picker-upper if you know what I mean…Oh, and to bill-the-cat, there's no need to call me 'sama'. I think I'm younger than you. I'm only 13. Um…everyone knows I'm a girl, right? Some people have been calling me dude, so I was just worried…
Chapter 4: Untitled
Sasuke leapt through the air, landing gracefully on a tree branch. He looked up as the setting sun touched the horizon, bleeding red and orange onto the sky.
His dark gaze traveled to the village not to far from where he was.
Konoha.
He had left it a few weeks ago, due to…circumstances beyond his control. He hoped that his short absence would be enough for them to declare him "missing: presumed dead". From what he heard so far, that's exactly what the Hokage had did.
He shook his head. It's foolish to return. He told himself. You're now a rebel, and you definitely won't be welcomed back with open arms.
But still…
He had to go back. He didn't care if the whole village thought he was a rebel, villain, or whatever. As long as those two people knew the truth, he'd be satisfied.
Shikamaru flung his kunai through the air. He heard a sharp sound of metal hitting metal. He grinned as Hinata smiled and took off her blindfold.
"That was perfect!' he said, picking up his kunai. Hinata had just managed to block at least eight of his kunai. Blindfolded.
"Arigato." She said, her cheeks a slight pink. He tucked his kunai back into his pocket.
"But…" his gaze traveled to the blood stain on the side of her jacket. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Hai." She said, nodding. "It didn't go down that deep and, besides, it was entirely my fault."
He shook his head and gently forced her to sit down. He sat down next to her, a look of concern on his face.
"You shouldn't force yourself, you know."
"I know…it's just…I…" she bit her bottom lip and trailed off. Shikamaru furrowed his brow. She looked really uncomfortable.
"Hinata-chan, what is it?" he asked tenderly. "You can tell me anything."
"It's just that…well…a few days ago, I…made a sort of…warm promise."
Hinata buried her face into her folded arms, a sob escaping her throat. She was so…confused. A lot of things happened to her, and she couldn't keep it together.
"Darn it, darn it, DARN IT!" she sobbed, clenching her fists. "What's wrong…with…me? How…could I…have been…so…stupid?"
Sobs wracked her body. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up to find Neji's soft white eyes boring into hers. He looked…angry. Annoyed.
"Crying won't really help matters, you know." he said softly.
More tears leaked out. "I know," she said, looking away. "I just…can't…help it. I was so stupid!" she sobbed again. It was quite a pathetic sight, really.
"Kami, would you just SHUT UP!" he yelled angrily. Hinata looked at him, a sob stuck in her throat.
"Don't you realize how pathetic you sound?" he said, glaring. "Crying is stupid. Useless. It makes you seem weaker than you already are."
He turned away. "Kami, would you stop crying and grow up!"
Hinata watched him leave, unable to say anything. The tears no longer streamed down. They had completely dried up. Then, the sadness was replaced by anger. Once again, it wasn't there. The comfort that she had been wanting. She had to do without it. After all, as the heiress to this clan, she had to be strong, right?
'Fine', she thought. 'You want me to stop crying, Neji-nii-san? Then I'll stop. I'll literally stop crying.'
She looked away, trying not to meet his eyes.
"You didn't give him a promise." He said. "You gave it to yourself. That doesn't mean-"
"A promise to myself is more important than any other promise I could give to anyone else!" she said angrily. "I made a promise to no longer cry, and I intend to keep it."
Shikamaru said nothing. Finally, he smiled. "All right," he said, standing and helping her up as well. "I'll respect that."
"Thank you," she said, returning his smile, happy he didn't try to dissuade her. "Thank you so much."
Neji jumped up, the kunai blade missing him by inches. He grabbed her thin, frail arm and threw her. She hit the wall and, with a loud pop, transformed into a block of wood.
Damn, he thought, she's getting better.
"Gomenasai," a soft voice said behind him.
Oh, great.
He felt her soft hand encircle the back of his neck. He felt his feet leave the floor and, a few painful seconds later; he was on his back, lying on the floor.
He heard a few dark mutters to his right, where he knew a few of the branch members were staying. To the left, a few claps rang out.
He looked up and saw one of the elders looking down at him.
"Well, done, Hinata-san. Exactly what is expected of the main. You're getting stronger and stronger every passing day."
She bowed, her cheeks tinted pale red.
He got to his feet, not wanting to know what the elders were going to say. Slowly, he left the training courtyard. No one noticed him, of course.
He walked down the path leading to the river. It was a full moon, so the path was quite illuminated. He felt a whole mix of emotions, all of which made no sense whatsoever.
Finally, he reached the waters edge. Sitting down, he sighed and lightly touched the surface of the water.
Just a few more days, he told himself, trying to calm down. Just a few more days.
Sakura buried her face in her pillow, trying to stem the tears that were flowing freely down her face. She knew she should forget about him and move on. He had died a rebel. A traitor to the village. She was suddenly glad that his parents were dead. If they were still alive, they would have been sorely disappointed in their son. Their pain would be intense.
Or maybe they would be proud that he had finally acted like his brother. They had been comparing him to Itachi since the day they had died, or so he had told her.
She took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself. It didn't work. Not knowing why, she raised her head to look at her bedside table, she found her gaze resting on the framed picture that stood on its surface.
Fresh tears leaked out of her eyes as she looked at their faces. Team 7. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, her…it seemed so long ago that all their worries were just missions, battles, and the occasional spat between friends. Sure, most of those problems had resulted or included danger, but at least they had faced it together. Now, Kakashi-sensei was dead, (more tears leaked out) and it was Sasuke, they man she had once loved, who had killed him. And now, to top it all off, Naruto wasn't himself anymore. He was more quiet, serious, and she never saw much of him. He had even stopped going to the Ramen shop. Everyone had noticed that.
Come to think of it, no one saw much of him anymore. She knew of only two people who had seen him the past week: Shikamaru and Hinata. But both had seemed rather reluctant to answer her questions about him. Uncomfortable, in fact, to even discuss him.
It was strange. Whenever she'd ask Hinata, she would never say his name anymore. She seemed angry. And considering that Hinata used to go 'gaga' over him and seemed to think that he could do no wrong, that was intense.
She let out another sigh and turned away from the picture. She wished she could just stop crying, but the tears hardly dried up.
A rap on the door startled her put of her sorrowful stupor.
"Sakura," her mother's voice rang out, "are you still crying? It's late. You need sleep."
"I'll sleep when I'm ready." Sakura snapped, rather irritated. Trust her mother to be insensitive to her feelings right now. "Leave me alone!"
A soft sigh, then the sweet sound of footsteps walking away.
Sakura turned on her side and tried to sleep. It didn't work.
Shikamaru watched him move his hands through the water, causing ripples to branch out. He seemed completely lost in thought. His face seemed paler, like her hadn't seen the sun in three weeks or so, and there was no trace of his standard sunny smile left on his face.
Jeez, Naruto, Shikamaru thought, .you really let yourself go.
Finally, all was still. Naruto just lay on his back, a distant look on his face.
Did he fall asleep? Shikamaru wondered,leaning forward, trying to get a good look at his face. He had hidden behind the trunk of the tree
He froze to see tears running down his cheeks. He looked sorely miserable.
Shikamaru bit his lip. It was obvious. He loved her, more than he was probably willing to admit. Why was he so afraid to admit it? What was holding him back?
Shikamaru nearly jumped when he saw Hinata peek out from the branches above him. Her pale eyes were fixed on Naruto, and she looked as miserable he did. Then, it happened. A few pale streams of tears ran down her face, as if she was feeling exactly what he was. As if she knew the pain he was probably feeling.
Shikamaru turned away. Neither of them noticed him.
They were exactly the same, weren't they? They were both afraid to let their feelings show. But it was crystal clear. They loved each other.
They still loved each other.
And he knew what he had to do now.
A/N: Yeah, I know. Sorta sucky ending, right? I'll leave you all to wonder exactly what Shika-kun and Neji-kun are gonna do. Oh, and I decided to give some time to Sakura. As much as people probably hate her, I'm just trying to show them that she was probably one of the people most affected by the current happenings. Her sensei dies, her love interest is banned a traitor, and her best guy friend is not acting like himself anymore.
Oh, and tell me what you think Sasuke's doing back in Konoha. I just want to know what you suspect, that's all...
Oh, and sorry about the lack of pagebreaks. This computer is a-n-c-i-e-n-t. Ancient.
Um, review please! Thanks!
PostScript: Um…do my stories really suck? 'Coz a few of my schoolmates read my story 'SorrowFilled-Eyes', and they said it was crappy. From the title to the ending, or so they say.
Um…is it really that bad? Just wondering…
