Yay, two chapters in, like, two or three days. This is SO going great. :D Hey, I'm still open for ideas for a new story, or, if you all like, another story to add to the Sasuke and Kaede collection.
Oh, and if anyone finds a picture that they think looks like Kaede, please send it to me! My email is in my profile. Thanks!
Chapter Thirteen: Trusting in Sasuke
Nervous butterflies squirmed around in Kaede's stomach, making her queasy, and causing her little inner voice to go on haywire. It was screaming at her, telling her that this was a horribly bad idea, that she was going to kill everyone she ever cared about. Throat tight, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Sasuke was still following, and pointed up ahead to the entrance.
Sasuke's declaration of his loyalty towards Konoha, and how he had not severed his ties to it had convinced Kaede enough to at least allow him to speak his plan. And she wasn't going to be the only one to hear it.
Her little concoction went as such: After tricking Sasuke into thinking she had left the village, she told him the truth, and he, too, admitted to hating the Sound and wanting to help Konoha. So she had decided to take him and let the others hear his plan.
It seemed decent, though Naruto would most likely see right through it. But whatever. Kaede knew he would do anything for Sakura, and for the village, to save it. Surely he would accept Sasuke as an ally once again. He missed their friendship, didn't he?
Kaede wrung her hands together as she stopped in front of the tree, and looked to make sure Sasuke had stopped next to her. His blank face offered no encouragement, so she just went ahead and made the chakra sign. Slowly, the tree retreated from the entrance, its roots creaking and grinding as they retreated into the earth as the tree moved. When the wooden door was clear, Kaede reached down to take hold of the handle, but Sasuke's grabbed it first. He murmured the jutsu to open the door and slowly recede the darkness—which Kaede hadn't even known he knew—and pulled it free of its resting place.
It moaned in resistance, and Sasuke let it drop to the ground. After the small thud of the door hitting the earth, Kaede peered down into the darkness as it painstakingly crawled away. Sasuke grabbed onto her hand before a small smile pulled at the corners of his lips. She returned the smile, squeezed his hand, and started down the ladder.
She didn't hear anything, but that was probably normal. No one was waiting in the little room for someone to come back. That would be rather stupid.
Once Sasuke was down the ladder, Kaede opened the door and walked down the hallway, squaring her shoulders and working up as much courage as she could. Sounds of clanking dishes and a whining voice Kaede was terribly glad to hear came from the kitchen. With one look back at Sasuke, who was walking gruffly behind her, she dashed down the hall and into the room.
There was Miki, scrubbing dishes and making much more noise that necessary. She was grudgingly tossing plates into the sink, running the rag over them, and shoving them into the drying rack. As she did so, she grumbled under her breath about "stupid dishes….stupid Lee, ragging off on his duties….damn that Naruto…."
Unable to control her laughter, Kaede burst into giggles, and a slightly angered Miki swung around to confront her. At the sight of the former Hokage, though, the Hyuga squealed and lunged at Kaede, flinging soapy arms around her. Kaede hugged her back, not caring about her shirt getting soaked. It was dirty, anyway.
When they finally parted, Miki waved a hand in front of her nose. "Whew! Girl, you need a shower!"
"Yeah, I know, Miki," Kaede agreed, smiling. That was when an "ahem" came from the doorway, and both girls turned around to see who had made the small but obvious gesture. Standing nervously in the doorway, his face a mixture of displeasure and anxiety, was Sasuke, his hands shoved in the pockets of his black pants.
"Oh. My. God." Miki's face turned stark white and angry, her fists clenched, and she wheeled on Kaede. "What the hell kind of stunt is this? You were supposed to be helping us, on your mission! And now you show up with him!! What the hell is going through your head, Kaede?"
"Calm down, Miki," Kaede said in as soothing a voice as she could. She wanted to hold off letting Naruto see Sasuke as long as she could, to gain allies who agreed with that Sasuke could help.
"Don't you tell me to calm down!" Miki screeched, whipping kunai out of nowhere and plunging towards Sasuke. Kaede made a grab for her wild and upset friend, but missed by a mile and the tip of one of the knives stabbed into Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke took the hit without so much as a flinch, and easily blocked the rest of Miki's mad attempts at killing him.
He grabbed hold of her wrists and made her drop the kunai, but he wasn't able to cover her mouth before she let out a piercing scream. Kaede couldn't really understand what her friend was yelling, but she thought it sounded something like, "Neji."
Her guess was proved correct as a swiftly and skillfully place juriken jabbed into Sasuke's back and shoulders, and his arms went limp, and he fell to the ground, unable to hold himself up.
Staring down at the betrayer, his Byakugan activated and his face not very happy, was Neji. He scoffed, walked over to Miki, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" he asked, and Kaede blinked at the kindness in his normally rough, monotonous voice. She had always imagined Neji and Miki hooking up eventually, but in the midst of a war that had killed their friends, made them fight amongst each other, and caused so much destruction it made them all sick? Who knew.
After her momentary confusion and astonishment at Neji and Miki's newfound relationship, Kaede went over to Sasuke and knelt next to him. She knew that in a moment's time, all of the other Jounin her age would be crowding around them, asking for an explanation at just what she thought she was doing. She ran a hand over Sasuke's face, brushing the hair out of his eyes and comforting in the best way she could. The effects of Neji's juriken would fade in a few minutes, but it still hurt, and she knew just how much. Once before, she had angered Miki to the point of explosion during her reign as Hokage, and the Hyuga had sent her spiraling into darkness with her juriken. She'd only been out for five minutes, but it had hurt like hell, and she'd been sore for days.
Just as Kaede had predicted, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru came pounding down the hallway, and stopped at the sight of their old friend and their former Hokage having a quiet little moment on the floor. Kaede was still unaware of their presence, and was waiting patiently for Sasuke to regain his strength and chakra and stand.
Naruto cleared his throat impatiently, gaining Kaede's attention, and she stared hard into his furrowed face. He didn't look glad to see Sasuke at all, but what was she to expect? The two had been best friends, but when Sasuke had left for Orochimaru, it had nearly killed Naruto. Now, seeing Naruto's clenched fists, angered expression, and disappointed eyes, Kaede wasn't so sure that she had done the right thing by bringing Sasuke into this hell.
Slowly, she stood, meeting Naruto's gaze with a firm one of her own. She stared hard into his face, moving protectively between him and Sasuke. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neji and Miki standing very close to one another, one seeming to comfort the other. Sakura, her pink hair drooping and falling in her eyes, watched the goings-on with an unreadable expression on her normally completely open face. Shikamaru, with his usual bored stance, stood next to her, studying the confrontation through practiced and calculating eyes.
Kaede refused to break the gaze she held with Naruto, and he, too, stood steady. That is, until Sasuke grunted and began to stand. Immediately, Kaede moved to help him up, but stopped when the Uchiha gave her a look that said for him to handle this. She stepped back, and Naruto shot her a glance. She fought back the smirk that threatened the take over her face, looked nervously towards Sasuke, and let out a breath.
The two old friends stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes. Then, with the resolve Kaede knew he had, Sasuke held out a hand towards Naruto. Naruto looked cautiously down at the friendly gestured hand, back up at Sasuke, down at the hand again, and grinned wider than Kaede had seen him grin in a long time.
Welcomingly, Naruto grasped Sasuke's hand in his and shook it furiously. "Good to see you, Sasuke-teme," the Hokage greeted, pulling Sasuke into a hug. Not to anyone's surprise, the Uchiha boy did not hug his friend back, merely muttering a "hn," and waiting for Naruto to let go. When he finally did, Sasuke took a step back and rubbed a hand over his mouth. Anyone else would have thought it to be a simple, normal movement, but Kaede knew Sasuke was trying to hide a smile.
Miki still looked displeased, but held her tongue, Kaede realized thankfully. Apparently, if the Hokage accepted the betrayer, everyone else had no choice but to suck it up and go along with his decision. Kaede offered Miki a small smile, which the Hyuga girl returned, but only barely. She guessed that her friend was still pretty upset with her for bringing Sasuke into their little hideout, but she'd get over it.
"So," Naruto said suddenly, turning to Kaede after his jubilant reunion. "Is there any particular reason you brought him down here?" He jerked a thumb in Sasuke's direction, and Kaede peered over his shoulder to see what the Uchiha was doing.
When Sasuke saw her looking, he grimaced, and she giggled. Sakura was hugging him round the waist, not letting go, and babbling on about how stupid he was and how much she missed him and how useful he'd be to them and…
Unable to decipher anymore of Sakura's fast-talk, Kaede returned to her conversation with Naruto.
"He remains loyal to Konoha," she said in an authoritative voice that she had never used around Naruto. The blonde looked momentarily stunned, then urged her with a nod to continue. "I heard the truth and fierceness in his voice as he spoke the words, and I believe him with all my heart. He will be able to provide Konoha with the information we need to take back our village."
A soft smile spread across Naruto's face and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I agree with all that, but really, Kaede, what was the reason you wanted to bring him home?"
Forcing back the blush, Kaede met Naruto's blue eyes. "Naruto, you've known me for years, and Sasuke even longer. I really was never able to let him go, and I won't let him go, ever. No matter what."
Satisfied with that answer Naruto pulled her into one of the crushing hugs he'd used to give her when they were kids and she'd bought him a bowl of ramen. She laughed joyously and hugged him back, just as tightly. He gasped and chuckled, letting her go. They smiled at each other, shook hands, and turned to save Sasuke from Sakura.
As they pried the ecstatic kunoichi off of their old friend, Kaede felt her heart warm, and knew that finally, they were going to get somewhere.
"Alright," Shikamaru said in his serious voice, spreading out a map of Konoha on the large table in front of them. "Sasuke says he has a plan, and that it will take a long time to complete, but that it's worth it. Let's hear him out, alright?"
Naruto emphasized the words with a sharp glare around the room, meeting the gaze of every person there. Kaede nodded firmly as he looked at her, and he showed the merest hint of a smile. Sasuke stepped forward and began to draw long, skinny, curving lines all over the map. She knew what they were, and watched as he finished off the last tunnel and looked up.
"As you all know," he began, his voice monotonous as always, his face stony, "there are a series of underground tunnels running through the village and at least five miles outside of its walls. Several of the tunnels have been infiltrated and searched by the Sound ninja, and collapsed and guarded to prevent any invasion that might be possible. Though," he scoffed, shaking his head, "Orochimaru doesn't really expect any. Anyway, the tunnel we are currently in is a little over five miles outside the gates of the village. I managed to swipe blueprints for the tunnels in and out of the village, and know the entrances and exits into other passages by heart."
"Do you have these blueprints?" Shikamaru interrupted, his hands shoved into his pockets. When Sasuke nodded, Shikamaru held out his hand, obviously expecting the Uchiha to hand them over. Sasuke studied the Nara man for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a large, folded and rolled up sheet of paper. Shikamaru took it, and held it as Sasuke went on.
He leaned back over the map and drew X's through the areas of the underground city that had been caved in or guarded. "These tunnels are no longer accessible. Yet." He looked around the room, and his gaze lingered on Kaede for a moment. Then he returned to his plan. "I'll get to that soon enough. My plan is as follows:
"In the years to come—because this plan will not be a run in and get it done plan—we'll have to slowly and carefully begin to creep towards the farthest passage from the village, so that the Sand will be in closer reach and we'll have less of a chance to get caught."
"Hang on a sec," Miki snapped suddenly, all attention focusing on her. Kaede grimaced, knowing what was most likely coming. "What's with all this 'we' stuff? Who says we'd even let you help us, or even go with your plan, Uchiha? Naruto may consider you a friend again, but I certainly don't. I never met you before you left the village, but from what you made Kaede go through, and since you're serving that Sound trash, I don't trust you as far as I can throw you!"
"Miki!" Naruto shouted angrily, glaring in her direction as his eyes steadily turned red. Kaede knew this as a warning sign; his demon chakra was activating, and he was in a no-nonsense mood. "Watch your tongue!" He practically snarled the words, but Miki wasn't backing off.
"No," she growled in just as angry a tone. "I'm not going to watch my tongue. You may be Hokage, Naruto, but just because you accept this betrayer, doesn't mean the rest of us have to!" She moved to glare at Kaede. "And you, you're just as bad! How could you let an enemy down here? I know that you snuck out to meet this sorry excuse for a ninja, and you led those Sound ninja to attack us." Her voice was venomous now, and Kaede wanted nothing more than to punch that look right off her face. She was speaking to a former Hokage, one who could kick her ass in a split second if she desired.
"Miki, shut up. No one cares," Kaede said as calmly as she could.
"Oh, no. You knew damn well that you were being followed, and you just refused to tell us about it because you didn't want to get chewed out. Well guess what, buddy?" She spat the sarcastic nickname, causing Kaede to wince. "You're getting chewed out, and I hope that whatever happens to Sasuke happens to you, too."
With that, Miki turned and walked briskly out of the room. As she left, Kaede couldn't have sworn that her angry friend had let out a strangled sob.
Neji excused himself and went after her, and Kaede cleared her throat and forced her thoughts back onto the plan they were trying to concoct. Everyone was silently watching her for a reaction, but she gave none and tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. She didn't hear anyone move, but felt a hand on each of her arms, and looked to see whom it was.
Sasuke was standing behind her, his chin on her head, his hands on top of her arms in his own way of comforting her and telling her that he was still there. She swallowed and leaned against him, sighing. For several moments they stayed there, while everyone else politely looked away, until Kaede straightened and took Sasuke's hand in hers. She squeezed it gently, and nodded at the map on the table.
"If we get the Sand village to assist us in this plan," Sasuke went on, as if Miki's outburst hadn't happened, "which is likely, since they are as affected by the Sound as our village is, we can have them start the first attack. The Sand would send a customary war warning to the Sound village, but not lay out the date. Knowing the Sound, the area outside of the village will be heavily guarded, leaving whoever is bringing the scroll dead. Which would mean that, since the non-deliverance of the official warning would be the fault of Orochimaru's own game, he can't call unfair play. If the scroll is delivered, we will have to go with another plan. The chances of that are slim, though, so it should be alright."
"And what would be the second plan?" Rock Lee asked, looking suddenly interested at the prospect of such a devious plot. Kaede couldn't help but smile at his eager expression.
"That," Sasuke replied, staring Lee right in the face, "would be up to Shikamaru, myself, and the rest of us to come up with."
Rock Lee nodded, satisfied with the answer, and obviously excited to help concoct another plan.
"After the message fails," Sasuke continued, "we, underground, advance to the tunnels underneath of the village." He turned to the map at this, and pointed to a few places near the Hokage temple that hadn't been blockaded. "This is where we will start." With a glance at Naruto, Sasuke tapped an area by the wall surrounding the temple. "This is where a team of two will start. Kaede and Miki will come through here." Neji walked back into the room in enough time to hear this last comment, towing a begrudging Miki. "Neji, Naruto, you'll have here," he pointed to a spot on the opposite side of the wall, and waited for the two mentioned to nod before going on. "Sakura, you will take this tunnel."
"But that's one of the barricaded ones," Sakura said, looking at Sasuke in confusion. "How could I…oh!" She smiled, and Kaede couldn't help but grin, too. Sasuke wanted her to be one of the three that went through a tunnel by themselves and broke through the caved in tunnels. "Tsunade, you'll have this one. Jiraiya, that one."
"What's the risk of having a death in these tunnels?" Tsunade asked suddenly, and Sasuke just looked at her with that serious face of his. The former Hokage nodded slowly.
"Shikamaru, you'll be with Lee," Shikamaru barely held back a groan that was thankfully muffled by Lee's shout of joy, "going into this tunnel that goes right behind the gates of the village."
"And where will you be?" Kaede queried, worried that Sasuke would do something drastic. He looked down at her and offered the warmth of his amazingly expressive eyes. He had never looked at her the way he was now, and Kaede felt immediately relaxed, but she still wanted an answer, and he knew that.
"I'll be waiting."
All of the Jounin, save for one Uchiha who had to return to his duties to the Sound village, were in the room that they'd shared for the a while. They were all sitting quietly, as it was well after dinnertime and most of the people in the large room were asleep, escaping from the troubles they faced in dreams of better days.
Kaede wished she were among them, able to sleep without fitful nightmares of war, fighting, and the loss of friends. She couldn't help but refuse to close her eyes after suffering from visions in her slumber that caused her to wake up in a pool of sweat and tossed blankets.
She was sitting next to Naruto, who was slowly stroking Sakura's hair as she rested on his shoulder. Miki was on the other end of the small room with Neji, just quietly holding his hand and seeking comfort in his warmth. Rock Lee was snoring it up to the other side of Neji, earning disgruntled looks from everyone; Hinata was watching this all quietly; Shikamaru sat staring blankly at the cigarette he held in his hand, having not the resolve to put it to his lips and light it.
Kaede heaved a sigh and began to settle herself down for the night. It was no use just sitting around doing nothing. Maybe those dreams wouldn't haunt her for once and she would instead dream of Sasuke. Sure, that would be nice.
But not really, she reasoned as she rested back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. So far, bringing Sasuke here head resulted only in making Miki angry, and causing Kaede to lose one of her closest friends. Miki would probably get over it, but there was no telling how long that would be! Kaede needed her friend to talk to—face it, Sasuke wasn't much of a conversationalist, Naruto was wrapped up in the war, even if he always had a hug for her, and Sakura was constantly trying to help the people that remained with their illness, injury, or other ailing problems. She rolled over on her side, trying to think of something that would help her sleep, not cause her mind to go whirring off in another direction. She remembered when she was little, and unable to sleep, that her mother told her to think of doing something she loved to do, or focus on a memory and try to keep it vivid in her mind. Most of the time, it worked. So Kaede decided to do it now and picked a memory of herself and Sasuke.
Kaede sat by the fountain, a trim, and young, sixteen-year-old ninja. Her fingers lightly skimmed the surface of the water as she thought about how her life had been going for the past year.
She'd moved in with Sasuke, the love of her life, about eighteen months ago. He was quiet and stoic, but he loved her, and that was all she needed to know. They'd been living happily together, but none of them had even thought of commitment before. Except, Kaede was now.
After visiting her mother, finally, and completely avoiding her father, she'd come to realize that if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Sasuke, eventually they'd have to get married. But Sasuke wasn't the one to ask those kinds of questions, even when they were alone. He was so…lonely. It was like he didn't want to let anyone in.
Just as these sad thoughts raced through her mind, Kaede felt someone sit next to her, and grab her hand out of the water. She smiled, recognizing the touch and turned to meet Sasuke in a kiss. He turned is head, though, so she only hit his cheek.
Several years ago, Kaede might have been offended by this hesitation, but now, she knew how Sasuke was in public, and respected his shyness. Of course, he'd never admit that he was shy—he'd rather just keep the solemn, silent, stoic, ominous demeanor than be shy.
He brought her hand to his lips and nervously kissed it; she smiled and leaned back against him. She sighed and entwined their fingers together, lightly squeezing his hand. To her distaste, though, he took his hand away and placed it on the top of her head. She wanted to huff out a breath of disappointment, but she kept it in and waited to see what he was going to do.
His strong hand lifted her hair off of the back of her neck as the other pulled something around her throat. The cool feeling of the jewelry tingled her skin as he clipped it together and let her hair down again.
She reached up and touched the little gem and felt it was in the shape of a heart. Diamonds, she could tell by the sharpness of their design, outlined the heart. Smiling and touched by his gift, Kaede twisted half around and looked up into Sasuke's face.
"Thank you," she whispered, and he gave a firm nod, reaching up and brushing her face with his thumb.
"I..."
The next morning, Kaede woke with a feeling of disappointment, irritation, and regret that she'd been unable to finish her memory lapse before falling asleep. She hadn't realized it, but there had been one time when Sasuke had said he loved her, and she couldn't even remember they way it sounded.
"Thanks, Mom," she grumbled as she walked out of the little room filled with all her sleeping friends. She passed the kitchen, and as she did, something caught her eye. Intrigued, she backtracked to see.
Her eyes widened, she stepped into the kitchen, and she stared. On the wall, like in every other kitchen, was a calendar, with several events marked on the little squares representing certain dates on certain days of the week. Currently, there were only four squares left unmarked, and Kaede was focusing on one of them.
She had only told one person when that day was, the day she did not like to celebrate for the pain it seemed to bring. Today, if she had it right, and if someone had remembered the flip the calendar over, was her twenty-second birthday.
"Shit," she cursed under her breath, quickly grabbing the marker from the side of the calendar and scribbling the little square black. She did not want anyone to know it was her birthday—she was in enough trouble as it was. Naruto and a few of the others might accept Sasuke and be glad to have him, but they all still looked at her in a funny way. The truth of where she'd gone that night she'd claimed to catch a little boy breaking plates had spread through the underground city like wildfire, she knew. Most likely, if she even dared to go into the gymnasium-style room, she would earn the same looks that her friends gave her.
Someone cleared his or her throat from the doorway, and Kaede jumped, hastily shoving the marker back into place and putting on the most innocent look she could muster up. Leaning against the doorframe, a smug look on his face, was Naruto, still rumpled from a restless night of sleep. His blonde hair stuck up in odd directions, and he ran a restless hand through those yellow, scraggly locks. At the coy smile that made its way across his features, Kaede couldn't help but smile back sheepishly.
"Is there any particular reason you're scribbling out the first of this month?" he queried innocently, his blue eyes mimicking his tone. Kaede shrugged.
"I was…bored?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew that she wasn't fooling Naruto. The Hokage knew her like the back of his hand, more so than she knew herself, probably. It was no use lying. She sighed. "It's my…birthday."
Shocked, Naruto made his way quickly across the kitchen and wrapped her in a loving, brotherly hug. "Happy birthday, Kaede," he said quietly, and she groaned, not pleased that the big-mouthed Hokage knew what day her birthday was. Knowing him, he'd end up throwing a big bash for her or something.
When they'd pulled away, Kaede placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder—which was pretty high up to her—and said, "Please don't tell anyone. I really don't like my birthday. It makes me think of all the ones that I missed with my parents, and the ones I'm probably never going to have with them. It brings back thoughts of being with Orochimaru as a child, and I don't want to have that."
Naruto nodded solemnly. "I understand how you feel." He pulled a chair at the table out and motioned for her to sit, then joined her. "When I was growing up, no one wanted to celebrate my birthday. Everyone pretty much shunned me. Sure, I had a few friends, but when their parents saw me with them, they would drag them away, saying stuff like 'That's the monster' and 'Don't go near him. He's dangerous.' It hurt, a lot. So I refused to acknowledge my birthday every year. Until Iruka-sensei bought me a present one year. It was a brand new weapons pouch with a red ribbon on it. That was the first year anyone had given me anything." Naruto's eyes sparkled as they took on a far-away look. "It was the first year I decided to celebrate my birthday instead of mourn the occasion." He smiled. "October tenth. That was the best day of my life."
Kaede couldn't help but smile, too. Naruto's happiness and joy always had a way of spreading to everyone around him, and it was helping to be happy for once on her birthday. No one, save for Sasuke, had known about her birthday, and it felt good to tell someone else. Naruto would keep her secret, she knew, and was absolutely positive that Sasuke wasn't opening his mouth to say anything. Hell, he barely spoke to her.
"Thanks, Naruto," she said, giving him a quick hug. "But I still don't want you to tell anyone."
"No problem," he replied, and Kaede stood, pushing her chair back in. With another glance over her shoulder and a grateful grin, she left the kitchen to sit out in the hallway. As soon as she'd sank to the ground and begun to relax on the cool dirt, a soft thump came from the room holding the exit into the outside.
Curious, but not too worried, Kaede slowly got to her feet again, much to her displeasure, and tiptoed over to the door. With her ear pressed against the wood, she listened, trying to figure out just what she'd heard. Suddenly, the sound of creaking wood and shifting dirt came through the room, and Kaede flung open the door, fully expecting to see Kimimaro or Kabuto or even Orochimaru himself waiting for her, prepared for the kill.
Instead, she saw a little brown box that could fit into her palm with a little pink ribbon tied to it. Inwardly, she scoffed at the feminine color that definitely suited Sakura more than herself, and picked up the little box. Carefully, she took off the lid and peered inside, gasping in delight.
Sitting on the bottom of the box, coiled carefully with the diamond-studded heart placed on top was an exact replica of the necklace Sasuke had given her so many years ago. She felt tears spring to the corners of her eyes, and didn't have the energy to fight them back. Gently she pulled the necklace out of the box and held it closer to her face so she could see it better.
It definitely looked just like the necklace, but there was something different. She squinted and turned the little heart around, spying something on the back . Barely legible to the unpracticed eye was written a phrase and two sets of initials. It read, The love of one cannot compare to the love of two. U.S. and K.S.
Kaede sniffed as she read the words and clutched the box and necklace in one hand. She knew she had to get out of there before someone saw her, so she dashed to the room where she normally spent the night. No one was in there, save for a still-snoring Rock Lee, but she didn't have to worry about him. When Lee was out, there was no getting him back.
Quickly she pulled the picture of Sasuke out from under her pillow and laid it on her lap. She looked at the box again, suddenly spotting a tag tied to the pink ribbon. It said simply, Happy Birthday, Kaede…Love, U.S.
She felt her heart tingle at the little initials written in his neat handwriting. He had remembered her birthday, and given her a present. For the first time in years she'd received a gift from her one and only love. She looked at the necklace again, and put it around her neck, pushing back her hair to make clipping it easier. Once it was securely on, and she was satisfied with her efforts to stop crying, she tucked it under her shirt and kissed the picture of her Sasuke again.
When she left, she knew that the picture was safely under her pillow with the pink ribbon and the tag with his handwriting on it.
Okay, wasn't that a sweet ending? I've been planning that for a long time, and I'm so excited to have finally done it. Again, open for ideas. :D Love the reviews, keep on reviewing, cause it inspires me to do my best work. Oh, and remember the pictures! And I'm going to give you a little teaser...the last chapter just might be a wedding...
Luv ya
Nicola