8th Chapter

Kikyo felt fine and terrible at the same time. She was okay; she had recovered quickly from the incident with Krad. Last night, however, she had lied to Sasuke, saying that she had no idea over how Krad knew him or the "master" he had mentioned. Lately, she had gotten really close to Sakura and Naruto, but she was ever hesitant with Sasuke. Apparently, all the girls in the village were jealous of her for being Sasuke's "girlfriend". But she wasn't.

Was she?

Kikyo still did not know the answer.

Sasuke and Sakura had not inquired about her dangerous transformation. Kikyo was glad; as she was not ready to reveal that part of her yet. It was kind of like a kekkai genkai in a twisted way.

The main trouble was, if her master had sent Krad, then more were to come.

Would she finally show the truth?

Or would she continue to hide, deceiving Sasuke and everyone in Konoha?

The answer was about to come sooner than she thought...

"Hey! Yeah, you! That weird accent girl!" a harsh mocking voice rang in the air, jolting Kikyo out of her thoughts. She looked up.

Ino's sneering face stared back at her. "So. You're Sasuke's little "girlfriend" now, huh?"

Kikyo made no reply. She was really startled, and became even more so when she heard the word "girlfriend".

"Well, guess what? He doesn't want you anymore. Now go away." Ino laughed meanly.

Suddenly she felt like crying, but Kikyo remained silent and still.

"I SAID, go AWAY!" Ino suddenly shrieked and struck Kikyo hard against the face.

Coughing blood and filled with anger, Kikyo stood up. But before she could do anything, a shuriken flew out of nowhere and lodged itself into the wall behind Ino, a mere inch from her face. Sasuke stepped out from the apartment.

"Leave her alone." his voice was deadly.

But yet, even while he said those words, Sasuke's mind was in turmoil.

Why am I even doing this? Why do I care so much?

Could it be...could he really have learned to...love?

"Kikyo. Let's go." Sasuke spoke sharply, trying to drown out his thoughts.

Kikyo flinched, and he immediately regretted having spoken so harshly.

"I'm sorry. Now let's go." he muttered.

Ino stood stupefied as they walked away. Never in all her time fo stalking Sasuke, had she ever heard him utter the words, "I'm sorry."

What...did he really like Kikyo?

Ino had no idea.

Kikyo walked alongside Sasuke slowly. Each of them were deep in confusion, and had no idea what to do.

"Th-thank you..." she muttered, breaking the silence.

Sasuke shrugged. She slipped her hand into his proffered one. Both of them trying not to look at each other, they walked down the road, hand-in-hand.

Nearby, the Hokage chuckled. Spying on them through his window had become his favorite pastime. So, the young Uchiha was with the young girl...

things were going exactly as he had planned.

Also close to them, a hidden figure smiled evilly. A long snake-like tongue slithered from his mouth.

Things were also going exactly to his plan...

Sasuke and Kikyo continued walking, oblivious to the danger on the long road before them.

"Hey! Look!" Kikyo excitedly said, pointing at a nearby vendor stand.

Sasuke jolted to attention. They were in a market, full of shouting market stands, people jostling all around, and delicious semlls drifting everywhere.

"See...isn't it pretty?" Kikyo fingered a kunai knife. It was a silver color, and decorated with jewels. A red ruby was at the handle, surrounded by glistening diamonds.

Sasuke smiled against his will. Lately he had been way too nice, even replying back to the annoying girls that kept bothering him. He just felt so...happy when he was with Kikyo.

"OK! Let's go!" Kikyo said happilyand started to skip off.

"Wait...you like this, right? I'll buy it for you..." he gestured toward the knife. Beaming, the store owner sold it to him.

"What! Oh...but--" Kikyo gasped.

"Here." he thrust the knife into her hands.

Kikyo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Sasuke. It's beautiful."

Blushing, he shrugged and turned around. He clapsed his hand tightly over hers, and they continued the market road in silence.

"Whoa! He bought THAT for you! That must have cost a chunk of money!" Sakura gasped.

Kikyo nodded.

Sakura smiled and teased, "He likes yoouuuu..."

Kikyo flinched and said nothing. Instead, she stonily stared at the stream underneath the bridge they were standing on. Sakura fell silent.

Meanwhile, inside Kikyo's mind ran confused thoughts. She had gotten a message from Master yesterday...he was getting impatient. It was time...

Time for the kill...

The only problem was...would she be able to?

Would Kikyo be able to flatten her feelings and complete her mission?

The answer was about to come sooner than she thought...