Title: Be There To Love Me

Summary: The first time I saw my husband was on our wedding day. The first time we touched was when his lips met mine in a soulless, cold, life-binding kiss. The first time he spoke to me he told me I annoyed him. The first time I felt alive was when he said he loved me. AU SasuSaku

Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own it. Never will. My life sucks like that, doesn't it? –runs to Emo Corner and cries-

Author's Notes: So, it's been awhile, hasn't it? –burns calendar- Well, two months isn't so bad, is it? Nah, not so bad… -twitch-

-prepares for angry reviewers- Just have mercy, please? I tried! Now have mercy! –cowers-

Inspiration music: Anything by Aviatic (AWESOME band)

Beta Reader(s): Josie 'n the P.Cats

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Be There To Love Me

Chapter Six

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I didn't find a chance to talk to Naruto for another week. Whenever I was looking for the blond big mouth he was either training with Sasuke, out on a mission, or nowhere to be found. It bothered me to no end and I was itching to ask him if he'd be willing to train me.

However, time without Naruto gave me a chance to observe him. Well, to observe his fighting. I had begun watching the practice sessions in the rear courtyard religiously. My favorite group to watch was Naruto and Sasuke, of course, because the friction caused by their differences in character usually led to a battle royal. It also gave me a chance to examine the different styles, moves, and weapons each used. Within a few days of watching them spar, I had become accustomed to the most used weapons, which included the kunai that Temari had told me about, and a throwing star of some kind.

Currently, I was watching the beginning of Sasuke and Naruto's duel, which was being held in the rear courtyard, as their duels usually were. The crisp morning air was heaven compared to the heat of midday, so I was content to watch the two duel until Ino called me for our lunch later on.

The rear courtyard was more primitive than the central courtyard, and at almost twice the size it gave fighters more room to duel. I like it much more than the central courtyard because the main building, which was located directly behind the rear courtyard, shaded the fighters and spectators from the sun throughout much of the day. The porches surrounding the courtyard allowed for a direct view of fights, even if more than one might be going on at a time. That gave me a chance to compare and contrast the differences in fighting styles not only within one duel, but within multiple duels.

"Katana. Surrender. Winner buys lunch." Sasuke had just set the terms of his duel with Naruto, a sort of tradition that is practiced when the duo decided to wrap up their session. It was no surprise that the weapon he'd chosen was a katana (I could tell it was the one he preferred) and of course, the term of winning was to surrender. But winner buys lunch seemed to be a bit odd for a bet coming from Sasuke.

Naruto smirked, flung the kunai he was using into the ground a few feet away, and wrapped his hand lightly around the hilt of his sword, which had remained sheathed for most of their training. "Bastard, you'll be living on the streets when I'm finished with your wallet."

Sasuke found this amusing and even let a smirk curl at his lips while he placed his hand upon his katana's hilt.

I watched closely as the pair examines each other, trying to guess the next move or find a weakness. This wasn't really necessary, seeing as they'd fought each other at least a hundred times before, but Naruto seemed reluctant to strike and Sasuke was ever the strategist.

And then Naruto charged. Weapon's met and clangs sounded.

My heart thumped wildly as the two exchanged blows again and again. I pictured myself in Sasuke's place, fighting Naruto in a mock duel to see if I'd grown any stronger under his training. Now more than ever I wanted to talk to Naruto. Another day would kill me.

x

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x

Sasuke and Naruto's duel continued for some time. Naruto would not pass up a chance to receive free ramen (his favorite food, I soon found out) and Sasuke was equally hard headed because of his Uchiha pride, which I'd come to know very, very well. Eventually, both of them just dropped where they stood and began throwing random weapons at each other to prove neither had actually surrendered.

I was becoming bored with their stubbornness but knew I was in no place to say anything. Lucky for me, Kakashi showed up and dragged Sasuke to the main building for a meeting.

"You owe me ramen, bastard!" Naruto yelled after his foe before collapsing, his heavy breathing the only indication that the blond was still alive.

I stepped from the porches and made my way toward Sasuke's fallen comrade. He lay stretched out on his stomach, face buried in the dirt floor of the courtyard. I tapped him lightly with my foot. For a moment he didn't move, so I tapped him again. This time he looked up at me lazily, face smudged with a mixture of sweat, dirt, maybe some blood.

"'eh, Sakura-chan, it's nice to see you again."

I smiled lightly, forcing my eyebrow from tweaking. I figured my face had contorted into an odd shape, for the first thing Naruto did after he had moved into a seated position was let out a squeaky laugh. I frowned and he laughed harder.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" he managed to wheeze between laughter.

After a few moments of his gasping laughter I decided the blond was delusional from lack of energy. His face was beet red from lack of air and he was having a hard time keeping himself balanced with all the shaking he was doing.

I sighed, growing more frustrated. Naruto obviously needed food, water, and maybe some medical attention on the side.

"Naruto-san, are you alright?" I asked sweetly. "You don't look too well. You're tired, correct? Maybe you'd enjoy joining me for dinner?"

Naruto laughed harder and fell over, slamming the side of his sweaty face into the ground. Marginally upset was becoming an understatement faster than I'd expected and before I could stop myself I barked, "Quiet down, Naruto-san!" Naruto continued laughing even after my outburst and my temper was gone completely. "Please…please just shut up!"

The moment 'up' had left my mouth my hands flew over my mouth, eyes widening at what I had just said. I glanced down to see Naruto absolutely quiet, staring at me with the same wide-eyed expression I had.

He took a deep breath and mumbled hoarsely, "Yeah, dinner sounds nice"

x

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"So, you want to train, huh?"

"Yes, Naruto-san."

I shifted uncomfortably on my tatami mat, staring down at the teacup on the table in front of me. By now the tea had gone cold, despite the fact that I knew it was rude of me to leave the drink untouched. I couldn't help it though. The idea of digesting anything, whether that thing be light or not, made my stomach curl. Plus, the ramen stench of the Ichiraku left much to be desired.

I watched with contempt as Naruto finished his third bowl of ramen. Eventually, he placed the chopsticks to the side as if he were done. He looked wonderful when he wasn't inhaling noodles like a wild animal. But, then again, anything was better than watching that. Especially when your stomach was doing back flips out of nervousness.

The blond sitting across from me opened his mouth to speak (once he had swallowed the last of his ramen thankfully) and closed it quickly. This action was repeated a few times before he belted out, "Ayame-chan! Ramen!"

I sighed, letting my shoulders sag with frustration. Damn it, why did he have to make this so difficult?

"Naruto-san, it's a simple question," I whispered, "I've asked twice already, and I'm only going to ask once more: will you-" I paused, my eyes flittering to meet his. I tried to look as desperate as possible as I finished up my question. "Naruto, will you help me?"

Ayame, Naruto's favorite waitress, set his food in front of him, smiling widely. "Enjoy!" she exclaimed, as if ramen were the most wondrous thing on the planet. Naruto only shrugged. Ayame turned to glare at me. Oh, I would've loved to know what she thought of me at that moment, because I knew it was along the lines of, "Bitch, my favorite customer is drowning his sorrow in ramen because of you. Make things better. Now." She spun on her heal and marched to a table a few feet away without a word.

My eyes dropped to my lap, where my hands were placed neatly atop each other. I bit my lip to stop my crying, feeling sad and ashamed. "I'm sorry I-I've wasted your time..." I mumbled, sniffling lamely.

I continued gazing at my lap for a few moments and twiddled my thumbs some while listening to the soft buzz of the customers around me. Conversations went on as usual and I felt sick when I remembered exactly what Temari had warned me about. Perhaps this training wasn't such a good idea anyway. Normality was something many people fought for or took for granted and if Naruto said no, I would continue being 'normal'. Could I be happy? Probably. Maybe.

I sighed and shifted to stand, mumbling another sorry just as Naruto replied, "Fine, I'll do it."

I stilled immediately, staring at him openly. "Really?" I breathed.

Naruto's face lit up with another one of his cocky grins, just as he picked up his chopsticks. "Yeah, it should be fun, right? There's nothing like a little illegality to keep your spirits up and your heart pumping."

I smiled, watching as he took a large bite of his dinner. I situated myself once again and sipped at my cold tea contentedly.

The tea was disgusting. I set the cup down quickly and asked Naruto, "Naruto-sensei, what is your favorite ramen?"

He blushed a little. "All of them. And it's Naruto to you."

x

---i

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"And this is what you call a kunai." He held the oddly shaped weapon up, his finger hooked through the small circle on its handle. "You can cut things with it and throw it at stuff."

It was getting late. The sun was setting and a warm, delicious dinner was calling my name. Yet I was still standing in the middle of a dirty, smelly dojo, playing with potentially life threatening 'toys'. Naruto had insisted we start training the day after we'd talked in the Ichiraku. He even knew the spot; his uncle's rarely used dojo on the opposite side of the village from the Hokage Palace. A nice, secluded area away from any prying eyes. I hoped…

"And this," the blond pulled three small throwing stars from the holster on his left forearm, "this is a shuriken. You throw it too, and if you pop your wrist just right, it makes this nifty little buzzing sound." He smiled widely and handed me the shuriken. I took it and stared down at the star shaped weapon.

"Oh, and this thing!" Naruto sounded especially excited about this weapon, so my interest was piqued. He pulled out a small metal vile. "Man, I love it! Watch this!"

Naruto stepped back a few feet and I watched with anticipation. His arm rose quickly and he threw the vile toward the ground. It exploded as it hit, leaving a small crater and a surprised Naruto.

He let out a cough, waving a hand in front of him as smoke billowed around us. I covered my nose with my sleeve quickly.

"It's…not…suppose to do that," Naruto managed between coughs. I stepped back, feeling slightly nauseous and more than a little frightened about the idea of death-by-sensei.

"Um, right…" Naruto mumbled when the smoke had dissipated. "Let's just get the bokken." The blond was gone in an instant, running toward a small shack structure at the edge of the practice yard. He retrieved two wooden practice swords, the like of which I'd seen children play with in the courtyards.

"I have to begin…with this?" I asked as Naruto handed me the stick. "Aren't these for children?"

Naruto ignored my second question as his eyes trailed down my body slowly. "No, what we begin with is finding you something to wear."

I raised a brow and looked down. From what I could see, I was wearing something. The kimono was extremely simple, so simple it could've easily passed as a maid's outfit. In truth, it was a maid's uniform. I'd found it this afternoon on my way up, in one of the storage rooms. The kimono I had been wearing before was waiting for me in the same spot, but tucked under a couple other maids' outfits to hide it from any prying eyes.

However, I reminded myself, if it weren't for the maid uniform and all the trouble I'd gone through to get it, I would never have been able to make it out of the Palace gates.

"But I am wearing something," I protested. "This is the simplest outfit I could find!"

Naruto continued staring for a second before he withdrew a kunai from his thigh holster and approached me. He knelt a few inches in front of me and moved the fabric away from my leg as best he could. I blushed, grabbing for his hand, but stopped when a heard a long tearing sound and felt the knife travel up the right side of my kimono. Naruto stopped a few inches above the knee, leaving a large gash running up the side.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he repeated the process to the left side of my kimono. "If anyone caught us they'd think-" What would they think? Molestation came to mind first and I stepped back. What if that was Naruto's entire plan? Bring me to a secluded spot and-

Naruto breathed deeply, frustrated. "Look, Sakura-chan. You can't expect to be able to move very much in such a constricting outfit, let only practice in it. I'm just making some alterations so we can actually get something done. Now, take off your zori and tabi. They'll just get in the way." He smirked. "And next time, try stealing some useful clothing, not this maid junk."

I pouted and did as I was told. "But I've only seen children practice with these, Naruto-san." I repeated, rubbing my fingers over the bokken with curiosity. "When do we move on to using actually katana?"

Naruto let out a squeaky laugh. "Sakura-chan, you're in too much of a rush. If you want to loose a body part, I'll give you the sword. If you'd rather stay intact, we practice with these until you get used it."

I huffed. What was there to get used to? It was a stick!

Naruto must have read my thoughts because he whapped me on the knuckles with his bokken. I dropped my weapon (stick) quickly and cradled my hand. Naruto gave me a lopsided smile and asked, "Still want a katana?" I shook my head no and picked my bokken up, knuckles throbbing.

"Good. Then we start."

-x-

I hurt. I hurt badly. I don't think a single part of me was spared from pain. Not only that, I was actually having to sneak back into the Hokage Palace after nightfall, past some lecherous guards and palace attendants that I had to hide from just in case they might recognize me. It would've been kind of difficult, though, because I was dirty and sweaty and my borrowed kimono, now ruined, looked like something a prostitute might wear and it showed off way too much skin for my liking.

Thanks to the darkness in the palace, however, and my inborn ability to choose the most deserted hallways to walk through, I slipped by without incident.

I felt like either murdering Naruto or falling asleep and I couldn't decide which because I was too preoccupied with trying to keep my kimono from riding up and down and all around.

Practice had gone well for the first few moments, in which Naruto had described the numerous standard weapons used by ANBU, slashed my stolen kimono, and issued me a bokken. From the time he had crunched my knuckles it all went downhill.

For the first hour I had simply been beaten because I couldn't manage to block any of Naruto's attacks. I asked him why we weren't going over any forms or styles, hoping he'd give me a break and let me practice these 'forms and styles' the rest of the practice session, but he just began attacking me with more vigor than ever. Each time he landed a hit, which was often, he'd repeat the same thing, "The only way to learn is to do."

Naruto's little quote turned out to be true, because within the hour after that, I began to block his attacks. Of course, it was only one out of every six or so attacks, but it was progress.

Progress ground to a halt when I'd passed out as our third hour came and went. The moment I awoke, Naruto sent me back to the palace for sleep and told me to meet him in the same spot tomorrow. I wanted to cry at the thought.

I slid the door to the storage room open quickly and stepped inside. A few minutes of rummaging through kimono and I found mine where I'd left mine. I dressed, although the obi was difficult and I had to leave it bunched and awful looking, and hid the ruined kimono under a box in the corner. Tomorrow I'd need to burn it, or something. But at the moment I wanted, needed, sleep.

x

I felt rather than saw Sasuke's eyes watching me as I slid the door to our bedroom shut.

I had made sure to stop off in an empty corridor on the way, to cover up any injuries that may have been inflicted, and to wipe away any sign of dirt or sweat that had presented itself over the course of the day. But still, I sincerely hoped that Sasuke didn't notice anything weird. Like the fact that I almost tripped over myself in my rush to get behind the changing screen, or how (even after dabbing myself with a small cloth to get rid of the excess perspiration) I was sweating because I was nervous he'd found something out. Or would find something out soon.

I changed quickly. When I emerged, Sasuke was still seated where he had been when I rushed for the screen. Atop his makeshift bed (some linens and a cool, summer down blanket), legs crossed under him.

I turned toward my futon as he spoke. "Where did that cut come from?"

My eyes widened and I blanched. I was facing away from him, luckily, and knew he couldn't see my reaction. I knelt steadily, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and moved the blankets on my futon down so I could crawl in them. I hoped it looked like a standard action needed in order to prepare for bed. In truth, I was seriously trying to stall.

Cut. Cut. What cut? I had checked every visible spot of my body for any cuts, bruises, what have you. I had checked, I knew I had-

My face. Distinctively my hand flew to the right side of my face, then to the left side. On the left, I felt a thin line of cracked blood against my skin.

"Oh, this?" I said, giggling a bit for effect. "Oh, it's rather embarrassing. I was taking a late walk in the gardens tonight, to clear my head a bit, and stepped too close to the edge of the path! A branch must have nicked me. I'm thankful that that is all that happened. I could have very well found myself lying in a heap on the ground!"

Silence before a small 'hn' of acknowledgement from Sasuke. I held in a sigh and crawled into my futon, wrapping the blankets around me protectively. That was much too close for comfort…

Sasuke blew the lantern out and settled into his own bed. My eyes refused to close so I stared blankly at the wall ahead of me.

"Neji Hyuuga denies that he and Hinata were ever involved with the Sounds' mission."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why'd he bring that up now?

"I want to know if you've been lying."

Ah, so that was the reason. Sasuke didn't trust me.

"I assure you I am doing no such thing, Sasuke-kun," I whispered, kind of afraid of breaking the silence that had fallen between us. "Everything I've said is the truth."

He said nothing more. I hoped that was a signal he believed me.

I really tried not to ask myself this, but the question came despite my silent protest, what would happen to me if he didn't believe what I'd said?

X

Authors Notes: Wow, I kinda really hate this chapter now. It's all like, "Bleh! Just be finished already you stupid chapter!" It is, thankfully, and I hope that you guys read through it without feeling the urge to gouge your eyes out with a spork, even if I don't like it.

But besides that! Sixty-four reviews for this chapter? SIXTY-FOUR REVIEWS! THAT IS SO FREAKING AWESOME! Can you get more awesome then that? I DON'T THINK SO!one!1!

Okay, yeah, lots of caps. But it totally makes me all happy-ish and stuff.

-spazzy twitch- …I love you guys more than pudding!