Wow. To anyone who ever is thinking about taking an English Honors course, don't, because you'll have to read a boring book by a boring British author from the boring nineteenth century. I'm still not done with the whole "reading journal" thing for Jane Eyre. Ugh. But the essays are done. YAY!

Finally updated, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Nicola

Chapter Seventeen: The War Is On

Kaede swiftly blocked the punches Rock Lee was throwing at her, predicting his every move almost before he even knew them. She and Lee were sparring, trying to get in as best of shape as possible, tweaking their skills to perfection. The last fight, their last chance to gain back Konoha, was looming in the near future. For the past nearly two years they had slowly inched closer and closer to the village, and were almost at the stopping point. But it was here, Sasuke had informed them, that they would have to stay for a long while, months.

She was grateful for that, she reminded herself as she threw a kick at Lee that was easily blocked. The people would be glad to not have to pick up and move for a while, which in turn made her life easier. It was hard enough to see the people being shuffled around like luggage, but to hear their despairs and complaints was terrible.

Rock Lee, noticing her suddenly distracted state, hit her square in the jaw, but she recovered quickly to latch onto his wrist and send him flying in the other direction. He flipped in the air and landed on his feet, grinning.

"You are very good, Kaede," he said, obviously satisfied. Modestly Kaede smiled and gave a slight wave of her hand.

"Yeah, I learned from the best."

Lee positively beamed at the words of praise and rushed over to hug her. Kaede let him, glad that she had made him feel high and mighty. As if he needed it, anyway. After all, his teacher's name did come to mean "Might Guy."

Of course, saying that she'd learned from the best didn't necessarily mean she was talking about Rock Lee, but she would rather let him believe that than be crushed. Again.

"I'm just about done for today," she said easily, and Rock Lee nodded, straightening the headband around his waist and motioning for her to leave the sparring room first.

She had to admit, this area of the underground was pretty nice. It had dozens of good-sized rooms equipped with cots and blankets and pillows for Konoha citizens to sleep on. Each room fit about twenty-five adults, leaving plenty of room for children to stay with them. There were also smaller rooms for the Jounin, Sannin, ANBU, and other higher-ups. Kaede shared one of these with her diminishing group of friends.

Subconsciously, she reached up and rubbed around her right eye, thinking of the day another of her friends had perished under the hands of the Sound. About eight months ago, she, Hagane Kotetsu, and Shizune had gone out to visit Gaara, the Kazekage, about some supplies that they needed. On the way back, however, they were ambushed by Sound ninja. All three of them fought with determination, and Kaede had been burning with the urge to kill the enemy nin. That burning desire had heightened when she saw Kotetsu with a kunai stuck nearly all the way through his chest.

Shizune had been unable to save him, as his heart was pierced and bleeding. There was nothing they could do for him but bury him and wish his spirit rapid travel to whatever heaven was waiting for him. Besides, they'd had their own injuries to worry over.

As a result of the fatal battle with the Sound ninja, Shizune had sported two black eyes, making her look like a raccoon of sorts, and a fractured ankle. Kaede still suffered from an injury, one of several dozen she'd received. Sure, a few little bitty sprains and scratches and bruises—and one sort of large gash over her rib cage—caused her a small amount of agony, but the one injury that she was suffering from would never be completely healed.

In a mad attempt to kill the ninja who'd slain Kotetsu, she'd attacked him insanely, eventually ending his life but receiving a stab to the eye. Even though the actual wound had healed up, her cornea had been badly damaged, and she was unable to see clearly in the left eye. She could make out shadows and shapes, but it was all fuzzy, and in black and white. It made fighting more difficult, yet she persisted.

With a sigh, she turned the waterspout over the basin in the kitchen on and placed a glass under the spigot, filling it to the brim. She let the cold liquid flow over her tongue and down her throat. Her hair was, as usual, tied back in a loose, lazy ponytail that was inevitably coming out and frizzing up. She didn't even try to smooth it down anymore, because it was useless. As if she had anyone to look nice for anyway.

A sting on her neck that would have normally startled her was now ignored. It wasn't a conscious effort when she reached up and rubbed the oddly shaped bruise that was the source of the pain. The curse mark hurt most of the time now, and she'd grown used to it. It didn't bother her anymore.

Ever since the first time her curse seal had activated over a year ago, the frequency of the episodes had increased until she was constantly living with sharp pains and stings. No longer did she pass out with the pain. She merely ignored it, except for certain moments when it was unbearable.

Like when Sasuke was around.

She had no idea why, but every time Sasuke was near her, or she heard his name in conversation, the bruise began to throb violently and she had to fight to resist the temptation to cry out and clutch at her neck. If the Uchiha ever saw her do that, he would most definitely rush to her aid and come up with some reason to hang around even more. It would be hard to refuse if he did offer to stay, but she'd have to, because he was the source of the excruciating pain.

Sometimes, she swore he could see right through her little acts and fake smiles and half-heartedly cold greetings. It irked her beyond belief that she couldn't see what he was really feeling, too. She truly did want to hear him speak to her like they'd used to, hold her and brush the hair out of her face. But she had broken the ties between them, and she'd have to live with it.

With a rather sad and lonely sigh, Kaede set her glass back on the counter, tugged the leather strip out of her hair, and ran a hand through the brown locks, trying to imagine what it would be like if Sasuke suddenly came up behind her, tugging lightly on her hair, wrapping one arm around her waist. The hollow feeling that had been clogging her chest widened a great deal with thoughts of the Uchiha man; she grimaced and tried to force her mind onto another subject.

Like…the Kazekage.

Smiling slightly at the idea of another visit from redheaded Gaara, Kaede pulled her hair back into a tighter, more secure ponytail. If there was anyone that helped fill the void Sasuke had left, it was Gaara. He came around every now and again, always on her worst days, claiming he had some kind of business that was usually finished in fifteen minutes, leaving the rest of the day to spend talking with her.

But their relationship stopped there.

Gaara was more of an older brother to Kaede than an actual partner in an intimate relationship. He understood what she was going through, how much it hurt, and how much it took to be brave all the time. He'd never experienced love as a child, but now he did, from his village and his siblings and even a few close friends. He could hardly imagine letting go of the love he now received that he'd longed to have. And that was only part of the things they spoke of.

They talked about life, and their respective villages, their pasts, their families and friends, the losses they'd suffered, the war, love, hate, the Akatsuki, everything. Simply put, the two of them were great friends, close enough to be related.

And it didn't hurt that he was cute, as Miki was constantly reminding Kaede. She blushed lightly at the thought, wondering why the Hyuga girl was trying to play matchmaker when Neji was being as stubborn as he was. Neji had been getting it into his head that it would be better for them to spend less time together and more time apart, of which Miki was not fond. Consequently, Miki was hanging around Kaede in increasing amounts, to the point that Kaede was beginning to get a little short tempered with her friend.

Almost as if on cue, the Hyuga strolled into the kitchen, a broad smile on her face. Kaede raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was up to.

"What?" she asked warily, glancing sideways at the grinning woman. Miki merely began to hum pointedly and jerked her head towards the door. Afraid to look, Kaede searched Miki for any more signs, didn't see any, and reluctantly turned her gaze to the hall.

Standing with his back to the doorframe, his arms crossed in his usual manner, and his clothes neatly pressed as always, Gaara was speaking in earnest tones with Naruto. Kaede noticed that they stood at eye level, well, almost, seeing as Naruto was just slightly taller. She also noticed that their voices were low, but urgent, and the blonde Hokage was making rapid gestures with his hands.

Still slightly curious as to why Miki seemed so happy about this obviously crisis in the making, Kaede shot another glance at her friend, but Miki wasn't paying any attention. With a shrug, she went back to studying Naruto and Gaara speaking to one another. She crept closer to the door to better hear them, staying against the wall and pressing her ears as near to the open doorframe as she dared.

"…can't do it now! There would be no sense in it! I don't care if he's threatening your village, at least you have one! You've been a help in this, but there's no way we are attacking tomorrow." That was Naruto.

"Well, I'm sorry, Lord Hokage," Gaara said in a monotonous voice, somehow managing to make it sound venomous. Kaede winced. "I've put Suna and its people in enough jeopardy. If we wait any longer, we won't be there to help, and there'll be two villages in this condition instead of one." Gaara sighed. "And Kaede, we know you're listening."

Sheepish and feeling like a little kid caught eavesdropping, Kaede stepped through the doorway and stood where she could face both of the Kage's.

"From what I heard," she said sensibly, having gathered enough from those two small rants to understand what was happening, "you," she looked at Gaara, "want to attack several months early, in the hopes of preventing Orochimaru from killing off your village. And you," she looked at Naruto, "don't want to. You want to stick to the plan." She jabbed her thumb to her chest. "And I believe that in compromise attack in two weeks." At Naruto's noise of protest, she held up her hand. "Look, Naruto, I understand how close that seems, but there's no time like the present. And besides, the longer we wait, the harder it will be, and the more suspicious Orochimaru will become. It doesn't make sense, I know, but that's how he thinks. If we're not abrupt with him—considering we've waited years already—he thinks we're planning some big thing. And that's not what he's expecting."

"So you want us to attack early, when he expects us to?" Naruto said in astonishment. Gaara, however, folded his arms and nodded.

"I see. And I agree. Naruto, Kaede's right. We'll have to attack, and if it can't be now, why not in fourteen days?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong, it's just something else for your conscious, Kaede." He turned and called over his shoulder, "You're going to tell Sasuke when he gets here. I'm going to go inform the shinobi that'll be fighting. They need to be forewarned."

Kaede caught the last two things he'd said, but his comment on her having to tell Sasuke was burning in her ears. How could he be so cold as to make her talk to the Uchiha when he knew damn well they hadn't spoken more than mere formalities for the past two years?!

Gaara laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, noticing her shaking in what he took to be fury, but was really fear. She barely felt his hand, fuming and worrying over what they would say to each other. Sasuke would be furious; he would be upset and probably go into a rage. He would probably scream at her and tell her she was dumb and throw insults left and right and threaten to throttle her alive and…and a whole mess of other things. But she was going to tell him, even if she was scared out of her mind.

Coming to her senses, she reached up to her shoulder and took Gaara's hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze. "Thanks."

Gaara was silent for a moment, turning her hand over in his and tracing her palm with his forefinger. "If you want me to tell the Uchiha for you, then I will."

Surprised, Kaede watched him lace their fingers together in a comforting way. "No, I'll do it. There's no way I'd give him the satisfaction of knowing I chickened out of talking to him. He'd never let me live it down."

She smiled and started towing Gaara down the hallway towards the door that Sasuke always came through. The Kazekage followed willingly, and Kaede was extremely thankful for his presence. It would be easier to have such a great friend squeezing her hand when she had to speak to Sasuke, much easier than acting bored and nonchalant around the Uchiha man. No matter how many times she confronted him, she was never able to really look him in the eye and speak to him without stumbling over her words. Those black eyes just…made her heart want to melt despite her best defenses.

They stood there for a while, in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company, until they both heard movement coming from the other side of the door behind them. Kaede turned and held her breath, waiting.

The door opened, and Sasuke looked up, his eyes darting rapidly from Kaede's hand entwined with Gaara's, to their faces, and back again. Kaede could see him swallow hard and tighten his jaw in an effort to keep his emotions from showing. His eyes finally rested on her face, and she lifted her chin in greeting.

"Sasuke," she said, taking a step forward, retrieving her hand from Gaara's, and holding out for the Uchiha to shake. Sasuke looked at it as if it were covered in poison, the reluctantly took it in his. Kaede bit back the gasp threatening to come out; the moment her hand touched Sasuke's, a shock had gone through her straight to her heart, which thudded rapidly in response.

She wasn't sure if he'd felt it too, but he pulled his hand away quickly and shoved it into his pocket.

"Kaede," he mumbled, staring hard into her face. "Is there any special reason," his eyes ran over Gaara almost completely inconspicuously, but Kaede caught the movement, "that you have come to greet me?"

"Yes, actually," Kaede replied, not letting his tone go unnoticed. "We have decided to attack early."

Suspicious, Sasuke licked his lips before speaking. "How early?" It sounded as he had chosen his words very carefully, and Kaede fought back her smile.

"We'll be attacking in two weeks."

The response from Sasuke would normally have gone unnoticed, but Kaede knew him too well, and saw the slight jerk of his head and tightening of his fist in his pocket. He was quiet, glaring at a spot on the wall over her head as he mused over the unexpected change of plans.

Thankfully, Gaara then stepped forward. "Sasuke," he said, holding out his hand. Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily over it, then moved away as he acted like he hadn't heard the Kazekage. Gaara's hand went back down to his side. "We are attacking at my request. I would have like the attack to be earlier, tomorrow, in fact, but Kaede convinced me otherwise. Naruto is not happy either, but you'll have to understand that my village is in jeopardy and I will not stand for it." Gaara looked at Kaede and placed a hand on her shoulder, his face blank. "I'll see you soon, Kaede?" She nodded, and he walked down the hallway, disappearing into another room.

The moment Gaara was out of sight, Sasuke sneered and turned his venomous stare to Kaede. "What's with him? He your boyfriend?"

Despite the anger billowing up her vocal cords to her mouth, Kaede replied as calmly as if he'd asked her how her day was going. "No, he's just a very good friend who has his loyalties and morals in the right places. But we're not talking about him."

Sasuke seemed to swell with irritation at her answer, and she allowed herself a smirk, which only infuriated him more. "Look, you have no right to change the date all of a sudden without my consultation. You…" He couldn't find the words, and Kaede motioned for him to come closer. He leaned forward and hissed venomously, "You are nothing but an arrogant woman who does anything in her power to spite me, you know that?"

SMACK.

"You deserved that," Kaede snarled, turning on her heel and stalking down the hallway. "And even if he was my boyfriend, he'd be a better one than you! He's not a complete, total, utter jerk!" For the last two words she spat out, she turned around for emphasis and threw him an obscene gesture with her right hand.

When she started stomping towards she didn't know where, she clenched her hands into fists and bellowed, "I HATE YOU UCHIHA SASUKE!!!!"



Still fuming, Kaede paced back and forth in the kitchen, kicking aside a chair that just happened to be in her way, slamming a fist on the counter as she passed by it for the umpteenth time. How dare he call her an arrogant woman? How dare he say that she was only out to get him? Ugh! Men were so infuriating!!

On her billionth trip from the far wall to the counter, she noticed that someone was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, waiting for her little rage to be over with. When she stopped to stare at the person, she realized that her earlier worries had been wrong. He hadn't been going to go into a rage—she was. It was inevitable.

What did he want now? Hadn't he already called her names and made her feel foolish for nothing? So what if she was a friend with Gaara? That didn't mean he had to act like a definite jerk-face and make her yell at him.

They stared each other down, neither moving nor giving any hint that they were going to speak to one another. Kaede felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest, almost painfully as it rammed against her ribcage in quick succession. She didn't know if he felt the same way at the moment, but being so close to him, with no one else around, made her regret everything they'd ever broken up because of. When they'd been together, it had been so close that she could never have called him a boyfriend. It didn't seem right, not the right term for their relationship. She didn't think there was a word for what they used to be.

They still stood there.

Kaede knew she wasn't going to be the one to make the first move, and he wasn't going to, either. They were at a stalemate that neither wanted to nor would break. How strange things could get to, she mused silently, her crossed arms beginning to ache. A few years ago, nothing could have kept them so far apart for so long when in the same proximity. A few years ago, she would be nestling in his arms and telling him how scared and excited she was about the upcoming attack. A few years ago they wouldn't be fighting. Now, it seemed all they ever did was fight, even if they were broken up.

Despite how much she wanted to run over to him and hug him as tightly as she could, she decided that this was not the time for reconciliation. This was not the time for them to get back together, if they ever would. She looked into Sasuke's eyes for a long, long moment, then turned her back and stared at the wall, waiting until she heard his retreating footsteps to turn around.

He wasn't standing in the doorway any more, and she relaxed, moving over to the table and sitting down. She pulled her hair loose from its ponytail and fluffed it habitually. There was really no reason for her to try and make her hair look nice; there was no one that cared. Sure, Gaara complimented her, but in a kind, friendly, almost brotherly way. The only one who had ever enjoyed running his hands through her hair and twisting it around his finger was Sasuke, and where was he now? Probably off trying to blow steam from their argument.

With that thought in mind, Kaede blew her hair out of her face and tried to concentrate on the battle coming up. If it succeeded, Konoha would be theirs again, Orochimaru would be run out, and the remaining citizens could start their lives over and life as happily as they ever had. She smiled at the thought, but couldn't shake the idea of them losing again.

Orochimaru had won once. Despite the best efforts of their best shinobi, they'd failed to keep their village. And here, almost five years later, they were planning to fight as hard as they could to take back their home. Nothing was going to stop them, she knew it.

As far as she'd gathered from the meetings with Sasuke she was half-distracted during, staring way too much at those dark eyes that wouldn't meet her own, she knew the basic gist of the plan.

She knew that she and Miki were going to leave through a tunnel that led to the gate outside the Kage temple. From there, they were to make their way into the temple, fight back the guards there as silently and stealthily as they could, and sneak up to the old Hokage office where Orochimaru was bound to be, surrounded by his best guards: Kimimaro and Kabuto.

She also knew everyone else's role, but was still confused about what Sasuke was supposed to be doing. She remembered that he'd said he would be waiting, but what did that mean? Did that mean he would be waiting for her and Miki, or up in Orochimaru's office to help with the resistance? She hadn't the slightest clue.

The sound of someone coughing lightly from the doorway reached Kaede's ears, and she turned in her chair to see who had made the sound—Sasuke, of course. He was wearing a disgruntled and somewhat sheepish expression as he made his way over to the sink and gestured for her to join him. Reluctantly she did so, and stood next to him while he filled the basin up with water and squirted some soap in to make bubbles.

"What, are we taking a bubble bath?" she snipped, watching him take out two rags and a towel. He didn't say anything, just shoved one of the rags at her and dunked his into the soapy basin. She followed suit, still having no idea what he was up to.

"We're supposed to wash dishes," he said finally, reaching over and, using one hand, dropped all the dirty dishes into the sink. She wrinkled her nose in distaste—wasn't it Miki's night to do the dishes?—and set to work scrubbing the dirty plates and bowls. She noticed that every time she put her hand back into the water to feel around for another dish to wash, Sasuke watched her extremely carefully and once even subtly pushed her hand away from a knife she hadn't seen. As if she wouldn't catch the gesture anyway. Cheh.

They scrubbed in silence for a while, until all of the dishes and utensils were sparkling clean and on the drying rack. Kaede turned so she was leaning against the counter and sighed, tossing her dirty rag into the sink. It plopped into the water, scattering small droplets all over the place, and Sasuke glanced at her momentarily. She ignored him and continued to stare at the ceiling.

A splash of water hit her on the side of the face and she spluttered, not expecting it. When she looked round to see who had splashed her, she saw a smirking Sasuke looking down at her. Blowing through her lips, irritated, she scooped up a palm full of water and tossed it on him. He took the blow with a jerk of surprise, and proceeded to splash her back.

Insulted, Kaede skimmed her hand across the surface of the water, splattering him and her both with a rain of dishwater. She laughed at the expression on his face, and ducked a little too late. He had turned the faucet on and taken the little sprayer, carefully aimed, and hit her with a jet of water. She gave a little "eep" of surprise and dipped one of the cups she'd just washed into the sink, dumping the whole thing onto Sasuke's head. He let the sprayer go, and it zipped back into its holster next to the faucet. He moved closer to the giggling woman and, grabbing her face, kissed her.

For a moment, Kaede couldn't think straight. He was kissing her. He was kissing her. Oh, it felt so wonderful to have his lips on hers again. There were no words to explain the shock going through her body. She placed her hands on his chest and gripped his shirt in her tight fists, falling into the kiss with everything she had.

His lips were so soft…so…warm and welcome. The feel of his rough, calloused hands on her face and neck sent shivers down her spine and she gripped his shirt even tighter. But then, it hit her.

They weren't supposed to be kissing.

They were through. They weren't together.

So why was he kissing her? Why was he kissing her?!

Her hands loosed his shirt and she pushed him back. He released her almost too willingly, as if he, too, had figured out that what they were doing was wrong. He looked sort of sheepish, but it was covered up immediately by a scowl. Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving a slightly dazed and confused Kaede behind.

She leaned heavily against the counter, her hand rubbing her forehead, and tried to gather her jumbled thoughts together. He had just kissed her. Why had he just kissed her like he used to? They weren't supposed to be touching at all, much less kissing. Or more like making out, really. It had started out, she realized, as a playful match of splashing each other, like they would have done years and years ago in their comfortable home in Konoha.

How far away those days seemed…but maybe, in a few months, after Konoha was back to what it used to be and everyone had settled, things could go back how they were, maybe she and Sasuke could get back together and live in their home in the Uchiha District and spend every day together and get married and have a family and grow old together and…

She needed to stop herself before she got in way over her head. All of that was merely wishful thinking.

But maybe…

Thank goodness I was able to update. Poor Kaede, wishful thinking. Shoot, half my days are spent in wishful thinking, lol. Okay, give me the reviews. But don't flame me, I've been out of commission for a while so it might not be what it could have been.

Review, por favor!

Luv ya

Nicola