Boo.
Hey. It's me again, S.A.Hikari. Here's Chapter 8. Sorry it took so long.
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Sasuke turned to look at me. His eyes were hard, but as soon as our sight connected, his head drooped, and they turned soft and regretful.
"Sasuke…"
He shot at me. "Don't talk to me."
Miho ran up and checked Kotaru's pulse. "He really is dead." She looked up at us. "Why Sasuke? Why did you have to kill him?"
Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but closed it in a small breath. He turned, put his hands in his pockets, and walked out the door. My heart ached excessively. "Wife?"
I looked at Miho. Her eyes were tearing.
"Violence… killing… what good comes from it all?"
Poor Miho. She didn't know Sasuke several years ago, when he was in the clutches of Orochimaru. Back then, all that mattered was power. He was confused, and in pain. It took more than a little bit of convincing to get him to come back. Well, that is a different story. One we don't talk about anymore.
I looked at the body. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I thought about what he'd have done to me if Sasuke hadn't killed him. Yet, the pain in my stomach was worse, as I thought about Kotaru's friends, family, maybe even lovers, who I didn't know, who would be sad to learn this information. I had no choice, but to leave him there.
My friends were all so glad to see me, and it was time to leave this place.
I walked out the door, and I saw the beach. The seagulls were cackling as usual, and I was happy to be greeted so fondly by everyone with hugs, kisses, and other things as well. But the thing that never left my mind as I followed my friends from that place was what Sasuke said before he killed Kotaru.
"Keep your paws off my wife."
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I gotta tell you. The Hidden Leaf Village really is a sight for sore eyes. I sighed heavily when we saw the front gate, and all the people wandering around inside of it. It was a beautiful reward for a terrible journey I hopefully will never have to take again. The price tag, however, was telling my parents what happened, which would have to be a lie. A lie. A very strange, complicated, make-me-faint-why-don't-you lie.
Shikamaru was ahead of us, and began running in a fashion I never thought I would see him do. But, he stopped, crouched down, and did that thing where he meditates. At least, it looked like he was meditating.
When we all caught up to him, it seemed like he had just prepared a speech. "Okay, dingbats. Partner up like we discussed. This part of our plan could be rough; hopefully Lady Tsunade will believe us in her very confused state."
Confused? She was downright crazy!
As Shikamaru continued to talk, I looked down at the ring Sasuke gave me back at camp. I gripped the gem with my thumb and forefinger of my other hand and twirled it around. It was really fancy, and a mystery. I might have to beat the answer out of the chicken haired, solemn, impossible heart-throb. And what was with that one-liner? Could he possibly be enjoying this fiasco? He called me his wife, gave me a ring, changed my last name to Uchiha on an unofficial document, oh, yeah, and kissed me! No wait, that was in that dream I had that night. The point is what was with him?
"Okay, anyone have any questions?" Shikamaru asked.
I looked up, a wave of panic washed over my face. I only heard one sentence of his so called 'speech'. "Wait… what?!"
"No." everyone recited except for me.
"Good. Now let's commence this thing." I just stood there, quietly thinking this over.
Everyone started walking. Sasuke grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. We sped along towards the gate, where the guards were waiting. They sat up in their seats.
"Whoa! They're back! The missing ninja are back!"
Sasuke pulled me closer to him, and I noticed that all the pairs were holding hands. Shikamaru, next to Temari, approached the guards and started talking in a way where none of us could hear.
"Wow! Really?" I heard that. It was the guard. "Fascinating. Well, I'm sure Tsunade will want to know that she can take all of you off of her Ninja to find list."
Shikamaru nodded and waved us to follow him to the Hokage's office. I looked and stared at how many couples were in the courtyard that day. My mouth was agape.
"Come along… dearest…" Sasuke said in a forced act. Gosh. You will never know how weird this felt.
By the time we arrived at the office, I counted 52 turned heads.
We all scrambled up the stairs in an unorganized fashion. I was scared to see Tsunade. I wondered if she kept care of herself. If her hair was cut unevenly, if her clothes were dirty, if her eyes would be crossed. I decided to stop thinking about this in several minutes because I was afraid of the image it gave off in my mind.
"Aha! The prodigal sons and daughters return." There she was. Despite the way that some called her crazy, and I hadn't seen her in quite a while, she didn't look that different. She carried herself as nobler as ever. "I expect a wild story." She said.
And boy did she get one. She had never expected us to go off and elope, even if we had good reasons to.
"Wow, Sakura! You could have come to me with this problem; you know I would have kept you safe from all the wedding crashers out there, even if you were marrying that Sasuke boy." Its' true. If I really did have that problem in real life, Tsunade would be my first resort. "But despite that, I trust you." When she said this, I kept a strait face, but inside I was wincing. "I know you had quite a crush on him when you were young, and you have my full support, as I do to all of you." That made me smile. Whoever thought Tsunade was crazy must be crazy.
Then I remembered that at first I thought she was. My mind put its foot in its mouth.
"So what are you going to do now?" She asked us.
That was a good question. I had no clue.
It was Hinata who spoke. "I guess we could all go and try to find h-homes now. I-I guess."
Tsunade nodded. "That would be best. I wish I could help you in the money department, but however this government doesn't have that much money. You'll have to find leases on your own."
"Thank you for your concern, Lady Hokage, but we will be alright." Sasuke said.
Tsunade looked at me, even if she was speaking to the lot of us. "Then comes the matter of your parents." She said wisely.
My eyes drooped, and I shuddered to think what the response of my parents would be once I coughed up the truth.
Sasuke didn't have any parents, but I wouldn't consider that very lucky.
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I stood with Sasuke in front of my door. I was hesitant to ring the doorbell, but I had to.
My arm felt so heavy as I lifted it, but the weight left me when I felt pressure on my shoulder. I turned. Sasuke looked at me, a look of sympathy in his eyes.
Before I was ready, I heard the heart-pounding sound of the door bell. I had pushed the button without even knowing it.
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Chapter eight everybody!
Why does it seem like the review count is going down? I know I sound like a stuffy author, but why? Is there a way I can fix it?
Sayonara-until-next-time,
S.A.Hikari
p.s. Did anyone see the finale of Avatar? Wasn't that amazing!? Keep on the lookout for an Avatar fan fiction to follow up the magnificent series by myself and my best friend Dappycat.