OKay, this is a short chapter, but I hope you love it. So far, i've gotten all positive reviews except for someone who called me a bad name, but forget them. You all love my story!

I don't own Naruto, get over it.

Chapter Four: Realization

Two months underground had past, with no successes, or any attempts at attacking the Sound. The plan to infiltrate what was Konoha had been moving along without any bumps and bruises—it appeared that Orochimaru was still as big an egomaniac as he'd always been. A few women, along with their elder children, had agreed to sneak back into the village and act as civil servants to the snake Sannin. They were brave to do so, and that bravery was greatly appreciated and honored.

After two months, Kaede had quite fallen back into the swing of being a normal ninja, not Hokage. And Naruto had taken a liking to his new position of power. He visited with everyone, comforted everyone, and set out jobs and plans for all the surviving ANBU. Kaede knew that Kakashi would have been proud of both of them, had he been there to see.

Kaede lay on the floor, staring up at the dark ceiling that she couldn't really see. Her mind was drifting away from the war, her friends, and the lost, and settling on the way things had been in the past. When she'd been younger, just starting out after waking up in Konoha, life had been easy. Training, arguing with Sasuke, having girl-chat with Sakura, and downing bowl after bowl of ramen with Naruto had basically made up her daily schedule. Of course, there were the times when more confusing and intimate moments had occurred between her and the Uchiha boy. Now, though, she understood his hesitation at making a relationship.

For the past few weeks, Sasuke had tried to speak to her over and over again, but she kept pushing him away. It hurt a lot to ignore him, but her pride wouldn't allow her to accept that he was back. She felt her heart wrench at the thought of that sad look in his black eyes whenever she turned away from him. There was no one else that she loved as much as she loved him. There was no one else she could imagine spending the rest of her life with. Except…

Except he left. He left her alone and without any reason for leaving. The only thing he'd left behind was a cryptic letter that didn't make much sense and seemed to have been written in a rush. Kaede knew he said something about leaving on a mission that was urgent and needed to be completed immediately. But how could he not come home?

She sat up and rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up. It was chilly down there—it was always chilly—and she had given her blanket to an older woman whose son had died in the battle. What she needed was a pair of hands to warm hers. She stood, shoved her hands into the pockets of the pants that she'd been wearing for two days, and padded in her bare feet out of the crowded room to find Miki.

The Hyuga girl was in the makeshift kitchen, eating a little granola bar, when Kaede entered and leaned against the wall next to her. Miki chewed the last bit of the food and tucked the wrapper into her pocket. She smiled at Kaede.

"How's it goin'?" she asked, bumping shoulders with the other girl. Kaede laughed a little and returned the gesture.

"Pretty good," she replied, pulling one of her hands out of her pocket and wrapping Miki in a one armed hug. Miki hugged her tightly, and they ended up stumbling over the floor to the doorway and giggling their way out into the hall.

"You've got some muscles on you, chick," Miki said approvingly, looking Kaede up and down and nodding. "Those'll come in handy someday. Oh, by the way, have you checked out the training and sparring rooms?"

"No, I didn't know we had them down here." Kaede shook her head slightly and linked arms with the Hyuga. "Show me." At those words, Miki shot off down the hall skipping, towing Kaede along at her side. Kaede refused to skip for a moment, then joined in the fun and matched her friend's pace.

They toured down a hallway that Kaede had never been in before, and she peered around curiously. Most of the doors were shut and locked, forbidding entrance. Kaede didn't know why, and was not tempted to find out.

Miki halted at a pair of double doors almost to the end of the hall, causing her chestnut-haired friend to plow into her, unaware of the sudden stop. Miki held her footing and supported Kaede too, amazingly. She shook her head, pushed the doors open, and went inside. Kaede followed her, looking around her in amazement.

Behind the doors was a room as large as the gymnasium-like areas that held all of the people. Along the walls perched targets and stuffed dummies for aim practice. Hanging from the ceiling were several punching bags being beaten by ninja working on their punches and kicks. There were mats for practicing acrobatics, makeshift, hand-worked treadmills for increasing speed and endurance, a pool for working fire jutsu over, and so many other things that Kaede couldn't take it all in at once.

"Wow," she whispered, not even realizing when Miki flounced out. She walked slowly over to one of the punching bags and running her hand over it. Tightening her headband, she gave it a good whack and moved on to study the ninja that were practicing. As she watched one ANBU man work out his anger on a dummy, she remembered that Miki had said something about a sparring room. Where would that be? She scanned the walls of the room, finally spying a door with the words, "Sparring Area" written across the top. She made a beeline for it, eager to see who was inside, and how the ninja were faring off against each other.

What she did find there, though, made her heart nearly stop.

Alone, practicing style, moves, and technique, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, was Sasuke, clad in only a pair of black pants and an open white shirt. Kaede was mesmerized by his smooth movements, the way he held himself, how he seemed to be moving like water, so fluid and flowing. She leaned against the doorway, her hazel eyes locked on him.

He leapt into the air, moving himself upside down, holding kunai in each hand. He threw them out strategically, making them spring off of each other to hit the targets one the wall that Kaede hadn't noticed before. Landing lightly on his feet, he shook his head, apparently disappointed. From what she could see, his aim was perfect, but maybe to his experienced eye, it was just slightly off. When he turned, she saw his eyes glint red—his Sharingan was on.

And then, suddenly, he was gone.

Confused, Kaede peered further into the room, and gasped as someone grabbed her from behind, placed a hand over her mouth, and pulled her completely in the room. She heard the door shut and the lock click. Angrily, she grabbed the wrist of her captor and yanked his hand off of her mouth. She attempted to turn, but the person's grip held her in place. The hand that she'd moved away now made its way around her waist and pulled her to a warm body. She felt skin, bare skin, underneath her shirt. The way the person held her, though, was familiar. Eyes widening, she stiffened and tried to pull free.

His grip tightened around her until she relaxed, and he turned her around. She found herself staring into red eyes holding three black marks. When she opened her mouth to speak, he placed a finger against her lips, shushing her. Sasuke moved his hand to her chin, tilted her head towards his, and kissed her. She felt herself falling into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him back, lavishing the feel of his lips on hers. Her mind whirred uncontrollably, everything tuning out except for that moment, the moment her heart yearned for, yet stubbornly suppressed.

They broke apart, and Sasuke stared into her eyes. She realized with a little fright that his eyes were still red, and that the marks were turning into pinwheels. The little bit of fright turned to flat-out fear as she shook her head, silently pleading with him to stop, to not do this. Sasuke looked almost apologetic; he gently placed his hand on her face to force her to keep his gaze.

Slowly, Kaede felt herself slip into darkness as the power of Tsukiomi took her over for the second time in her life.



The sounds of rustling leaves, gently flowing water, and the occasional hoot of a night owl reached Kaede's ears as she struggled into consciousness. She felt something tickling her skin, a welcome sensation, and a breeze ruffling her hair. After two months without fresh air, two months in confinement, she was outside. She relished the tingling feel the scents, sounds, feels brought to her. Her senses were on a high, obviously enjoying the things she missed so much about the world.

But then it hit her: she wasn't supposed to be outside!

She sat straight up and took in her surroundings. The tickling sensation she felt was grass, green, soft grass; the sounds of running water belonged to the lake before her, gently washing the shore. It was nighttime, the moon was high, and the air was cool and fresh. She lifted her chin to the breeze and took a deep breath, reluctant to let it out. She got to her feet, spreading her arms wide and tilting her head back, her chestnut hair flying lightly behind her. She didn't care how she got outside, why she was outside; all that mattered was the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins. Out here, she felt free.

That is, until someone behind her cleared their throat. She swung around, tearing a kunai out of her pouch and holding it in a defensive stance, shooting a glare in that person's general direction. A soft laugh reached her ears, and she relaxed slightly, recognizing it. Sasuke walked out of the shadow of the trees, arms crossed. He strode right up to her, grabbed her wrist, and took the kunai from her hand. She watched, frozen, both in fear and in anticipation. But for what, she didn't know.

"Do you like it," he said quietly, waving one hand across the view, his face expressionless. Kaede nodded slowly, trying to figure out why he'd brought her here. She recalled the incident in the sparring room, the look of the Mangekyou Sharingan in front of her, the feel of falling into darkness. And then nothing, except waking up outside, on the grass, in the breeze.

He moved away from her, turning his back to her and striding to the edge of the lake. Crouching down, he ran his hand through the water, staring at his reflection. Kaede stood frozen for a moment, watching him, before taking a few tentative steps in his direction. His head whipped around and glared at her. She stopped, startled. Her feet felt rooted to the ground as he stood, wiped his hands on his pants, and moved quickly to stand in front of her. He grabbed her face in one battle-roughed hand and stared hard into her face. His eyes searched her, looking for a sign of something Kaede couldn't quite figure out. Abruptly dropping his hand, he turned his head away, and Kaede just wasn't able to stop herself from reaching up and touching his cheek.

Sharingan eyes shot towards her, she jerked back, and stared horrified. What was wrong with him?

"Sasuke," she whispered, taking a step backwards. Remembering what Kakashi had taught her about avoiding the Sharingan by looking at a person's feet, she stared down at his black sandals. They moved away, back to the lake. She saw him lower himself onto the ground, pulling one knee to his chest and leaving the other one out in front of him. Hesitantly, she started walking to him, and, seeing no reaction after the first few steps, kept going and stopped next to him. Once again, no movement in her direction or acknowledgement.

She sank down on the grass next to him, letting the water run over her toes as she stared down at the rippling reflection of the moon. Silence. She was used to this. Living with Sasuke had taught her to be used to his quiet ways, convincing her to copy those ways and become as solemn as he was. She could wait it out. One of them would have to break soon and say something; they didn't have that long to begin with. When the others underground realized Kaede wasn't there, a panic would arise and a search party would probably come out to look for her. If they found her with Sasuke, she would be in trouble, as would he. He was in trouble for leaving the village and not giving word of his whereabouts; the only reason he was accepted was because of the dire situation they were presently in. They needed everyone they could catch.

The minutes dragged on like hours, making Kaede think time had perpetually slowed down and driving her insane. Maybe she couldn't out-quiet Sasuke. After all, he was silent ninety percent of the time.

Finally, she heaved a sigh and lay back on the grass, staring up at the moon and the stars. She watched the leaves sway on the trees, yearning to leap up into the thick branches and run away, leaving everything behind her. Sasuke, Konoha, the deaths of loved ones, everything.

In her daydream of leaping through the trees away from her honor and duties, she didn't notice Sasuke lay down next to her until his hand scooted across the grass and lay on top of hers. She looked at their hands; back up at him, and then at the sky again. Yearning for his warmth, she scooted closer to him, and he allowed her to rest her head on his chest. A calmness swept over her, drowning her suspicions and anger. The only thing that mattered was right now, as she lay next to her Sasuke—she smiled, thinking that she hadn't called him "her Sasuke" in a long time.

Drowsiness began making her eyelids heavy, but she forced them to stay open, not wanting to lose the time with Sasuke. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he kissed the top of her head. Kaede let her eyes stray to the lake in front of them, but they halted halfway there. Around Sasuke's waist was a belt she had never seen there before. It was tied it what looked like a bow, it was rope, and it was…oh, god no.

She rolled away from him, leaping to her feet and backing slowly away. Sasuke stood, too, but more slowly, his face still expressionless. She stared into his cool, young, smooth features, horrified at the realization that seemed so obvious now. He had disappeared for years, with no word from him. Now, three years, over three years later he reappears, right after the attack by Orochimaru. The kunai knives during the attack, the pained expression on those Sound nin's faces. His clothes—the half-open white shirt, black pants—just like Kimimaro wore. Her hand flew to her mouth and she shook her head, her hair falling into her face.

"Kaede, please," Sasuke said in that even tone of his, walking towards her. But she kept on backing up, not wanting to understand. No, she wouldn't take this as an answer for those years. She would rather it be because he left for some other girl, not…not…this.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, jerking away when his hand reached out for her arm. Sasuke swallowed, his cool demeanor fading, fear and sadness taking its place. He stopped walking, but didn't stop staring at her. She kept on moving away, praying silently that all of this was some kind of crude, terrible dream.

And suddenly, she couldn't move.

Sasuke approached her, and she realized that she was under the Body Freeze Skill jutsu. He touched her face lightly, his eyes begging for forgiveness. "Kaede, I didn't want to tell you, but I knew I had to," he whispered, still sobered by her reaction. What else could he expect, though? "I'm sorry, but there was no other way. He can give me the power that I need to defeat my brother."

"All of this," she said through a barely-movable jaw, "because of Itachi? What is wrong with you, Sasuke? How could you do this?"

He shook his head, unsure of how to answer. Despite the jutsu, Kaede felt tears well in her eyes and spill over. "Kaede, he hurt you. He put you in Tsukiomi, it nearly killed you. I couldn't let that happen again."

"That's not the only reason."

Solemnly, Sasuke nodded. "I know." He sighed. "It's because of what he did. He killed our family, our entire clan. There's no way I will let him get away with that. But, please, don't let us be destroyed by this."

Kaede felt the jutsu leave her, and she stared at Sasuke. He had been inside their hideout all this time. He knew the layout, the entrances, and the weak points. He knew exactly where everyone was, what they were planning, how long they were prepared to wait. Orochimaru would value this information from him, and he would no doubt give it away easily, all for power.

All this time, he was working for that devil man, that terrible snake Sannin. He may have protected her from certain death before, but now was a different story. There was no telling how many people in Konoha he had killed, how many buildings and lives he'd destroyed. No, she wouldn't put up with that.

"Sasuke," she said evenly, perfectly matching his indifferent tone. "You ended us three and a half years ago." She reached behind her, pulled out a kunai, and stood in stance. "You helped destroy my village, and I have no choice but to fight you to the death."

At this, Sasuke sneered. He actually sneered. "You couldn't touch me, Kaede, not with a ten-foot pole attached to your arm."

But then, his expression turned to one of pain as a kunai sank into his stomach. He looked into Kaede's angry, hurt eyes and mouthed the word, "Why?"

She glared, shoving the knife in further, then yanking it out, her movement jerky and forced. "Not with a ten-foot pole, could I?" Her body stiffened, she turned from him, her expression furious, and she dropped the kunai on the ground. "I'm no match for you right now. The next time you see me, though, you won't leave without a fight." She took a shaky breath. "You're dead to me."

I almost cried at this. I konw how much i would be hurt if the guy I felt so strongly for left me for Orochimaru! Wah! Next chapter, a nearly two-year time skip further into the war with Orochimaru!!!

Nicola