I'm trying not to make Sasuke out of character...but for any good romantic moments...I somewhat have to. Anyway, I hope everybody likes this chapter. I got it up way sooner than I thought. Review and tell me what you think!
Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Courage and Bonds

"He wants love but his heart won't let him let her in"

Two weeks. It had been a couple of days since she had last really held a conversation with him. And today, it had been exactly 2 weeks since she met him. Since he had been back. Home.

Kalei was sitting by a small pond near the edge of town. She was pulling petals off of flowers and tossing them into the pond. A petal for each reason I dislike him. The pond was littered with beautiful petals of many colors. There was a flower garden just a little ways beyond the pond where she had picked all of the flowers. Now, she was sitting...thinking about that stupid conversation. It's been all she's been thinking about. She'd been watching him from a distance, as to not have to strike up any conversation with him. She didn't know how it would go. ANBU don't normally take off their masks when they are on ANBU missions...she didn't know how to feel about what happened. For some reason...she just let him take it off. It wasn't even such a big deal he seen her face...but at the time...she felt so...weak... to him...and that was the problem.

"You were right." He said, breathlessly.

"About being...beautiful?"

"Yeah." He handed the mask to her and turned away.

"I've heard that before..."

He let a small laugh escape him.

"It all means the same thing."

"And that is?" He turned back to her as she stood up.

"Nothing."

"Yeah?" A smirk crept across his face.

She slowly nodded and turned around.

"It's your turn." He said, catching her off guard.

"I-I don't have a question yet."

"It's not like I think any different of you now." He said, causing her to look back at him.

"What do you mean...?"

"I'm glad I don't have to stare at that mask anymore. Don't wear it in front of me again."

"Well...then you have to stop being such an ass to me..."

Silence.

He stood up. "I think I can do that."

"Promise?"

"If you do."

She was now wearing long, baggy black pants, a fish net undershirt and a green vest. Normal shinobi attire. Her hair was down, scattered all over the place, and her Konoha headband was tied around her thigh. Normal shinobi attire. The next day after he had seen her face, she asked the Hokage if it would be okay if she took this mission on as an undercover jounin. She would be able to keep a closer watch on him...and would be able to keep her promise. She let a sigh escape her, as she threw another petal into the water.

I hate him. I hate him...don't I? He's so cocky, rude, and obnoxious...I...

"I hate him. I hate Sasuke Uchiha." She muttered angrily.

"Hehehe...wow, you're talking to yourself. You okay?"

She heard footsteps behind her and looked back. There was a blond boy in a long black sleeve shirt and orange pants standing behind her. She seen the Hokage's old necklace on his neck. She knew this boy.

"Naruto Uzumaki, right?" She asked quietly. He scratched his head and smiled at her.

"Yep, that's me!" He shouted happily, as he walked up beside her. He glanced at the pond and back at her. "What's with destroying the flowers?"

Kalei sighed and pulled the last petal off of the flower in her hand. She dropped the stem and casted the petal into the water. "I'm angry."

Naruto chuckled. "I can tell."

"And since you already heard me confess my hatred for him...each petal represents one reason why I hate Sasuke Uchiha." She said in a monotone voice. Her eyes looked dull as she stared out into the water.

Naruto sat down beside her and sighed. "I bet...you're Kalei."

She looked at him, confused. How would he know that? He smiled and nodded. He could tell by her expression he was right. "That shinobi that's supposed to keep him in line...that's you, isn't it?" He asked.

She nodded and looked out at the pond. He sighed once again and turned to examine the pond himself. "I'm willing to bet you that you couldn't name a reason for even half those petals out there."

Kalei's eyes widened. Was he testing her? She wasn't in the mood. "You'd lose that bet. I'm a hateful person."

"Naaaahhh! There's a million petals out there. You really must have taken a toll on that flower garden." He said and laughed, looking back at her. She slowly looked at him and examined him. He looked like a really carefree person. But he was talking so smart. Odd. "Besides...you don't look like a hateful person to me." He finished. Her eyes narrowed this time. Who was this Naruto Uzumaki?

She let a small giggle escape her and she ran her hand through her long, velvet hair. "You don't know me." She said quickly. Naruto shrugged.

"Well...I know you're...annoying, childish and demanding." He said sarcastically, counting them off with his fingers.

Oh yeah that's right. This knucklehead hangs around Sasuke alot. Kalei rolled her eyes. "Yeah...maybe."

"I like that!" Naruto said loudly, causing Kalei to look at him. She started laughing.

"Wow...you're energetic...you must annoy Uchiha alot yourself, huh?" She said, standing up.

Naruto shrugged and stood up himself.

"Well...no offense...but anything related to him in any way...is just automatically on my hate list right now." She said, brushing off her pants and shooting Naruto an 'I'm sorry, yet I'm not' type of look.

Naruto groaned. "That's not fair. I'm nothing like him. I'm everything he's not!" He said proudly. Kalei smirked.

"Well, then I can say off the bat that you're everything I like." She said, turning around and walking away.

"Thanks!!" Naruto called back. "By the way..." She turned her head to look at him, still walking. "I can name a reason on each one of those petals..." He continued, pointing at the pond. Kalei stopped, still looking back at him. "...why Sasuke is such a bastard." He finished, his face serious.

Her breath lodged in her throat.

"So...give him a break?" He said, a small smile growing back onto his face. He was lively and cute...making it contagious. Kalei giggled and turned back around.

"Maybe...for you, Naruto."

And with that, she disappeared.

"Only a little more than 2 weeks, and you should be up and training, right?" Sakura said happily, handing Sasuke a cup of tea. She had met up with Sasuke and Kakashi outside of a sweets shop and asked them to sit with her. Kakashi was more than happy to...Sasuke? Not so much. Turns out, Sakura had caught them right after Sasuke had asked Kakashi to supervise his training.

"Hn." Sasuke muttered, his head in his hands. His elbows were on the table, and he was holding his head so he faced the table.

"Sasuke, you'd think you'd be a bit more excited." Sakura said, sipping her own tea.

Sasuke groaned. "I have a screaming headache, now shut up."

"Now, now you two. Get along." Kakashi said, standing up. "Look, Sakura, I have to run. Keep her company until she leaves, will you Sasuke?" He said waving and turning around. Sakura sighed. She would have rather been here alone...not with Sasuke. Things weren't exactly awkward with him after she had told him she was sorry about her rude remark...but they hadn't exactly held a conversation since then either. They only said hello and goodbye when they seen each other.

Sasuke grunted and leaned back in his chair, tugging at the sleeves of this black shirt. Apparently, he was in pain.

"Do you want me to heal it for you?" Sakura offered sweetly.

"No." But apparently not sweetly enough.

"Are you sure? I am a medic."

"No."

Sakura frowned. "You doubt my abilities, don't you?"

"Sakura, shut up." He glared at her quickly and then looked out under the curtain in the doorway.

She bit her lip. "Look, if you don't want to be here, fine! I don't want you here anyway...not if you're going to be so-"

He turned back and glared at her again. She flinched. Wow, way to go. He's going to kill you, stupid.

She slowly stood up and walked over to him, startling him. His eyes widened as she attempted to rest her hand on his forehead. He slapped it away.

"What are you doing?" He asked sharply. She muttered something under her breath and attempted to put her hand on his head again, but he swatted it away again, harder.

"What do you think I'm doing, Sasuke? I'm going to help you. Knock it off!" She said angrily, slapping her hand onto his forehead, making him wince. Chalkra slowly started to flow out of her hand. After a minute or two, she removed her hand and Sasuke rubbed his forehead.

"Better, huh?" She asked sarcastically and sat back down. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Thanks." He said quietly, looking away. A moment of silence passed, and Sasuke took a drink of his tea.

"You know...back when we were younger, I would have done anything to be alone with you like this." She said, looking at him. He looked back at her and stared into her green eyes.

"Like a date." He said, confirming what she meant. She nodded slowly, never removing her eyes from his.

"Sasuke...I was thinking...you have a lot of time before you can train." She slowly brushed a hair behind her ear and looked away. Sasuke sighed. He knew there this was going.

"We should go on a date. For real...just to, catch up." She said quickly, looking back at him.

"I thought we've already caught up. That can't be your excuse to see me all the time." He stated, taking another drink of his tea. Sakura nodded.

"Fine...then just to spend some time together. Sasuke?" Her voice sounded nervous. He thought of all the times when they were twelve that he had rejected her offers to go on a date with her. It was really pointless. It's not like he returned those feelings for her. But nevertheless, she had a point. He had time to blow before he could start focusing on training.

"Sure. Whatever." He said in a low monotone voice, sending chills through her body. Her eyes widened. Did he just say that? Is he serious?

"Y-You'll go on a date with me, Sasuke?" She asked, bewildered.

A small smirk crossed his face. "I will go on a date with you, Sakura." He loved when she looked so shocked.

Her heart jumped as all her feelings came rushing in. He was serious. She was happy.

He pushed his chair out and stood up, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out some yen and left it on the table. Sakura's mouth fell open. "Sasuke, I...don't-." She said, standing up.

"I got it." He said simply. He turned around and started walking out the door, lifting a hand to wave as he ducked under the drapes. Sakura's mouth went dry. He was being...nice. Well, sort of. It was good enough for Sakura.

"Hey Sasuke!!!" Naruto shouted from across the street. Sasuke had just reached his house but before he could go inside, somebody had shouted his name. Naruto ran over to Sasuke and took a deep breath. "I seen Kalei today, bastard! She was pretty upset with you!" Naruto said, running a hand through his hair.

Sasuke shrugged.

"What happened?"

Sasuke rested his hand on the doorknob. "I seen her face." He said simply.

Naruto's mouth fell open and a small laugh escaped him. "Wow, really...hahaha! Nice! But you know...when I seen her...she wasn't in her ANBU uniform." Naruto said, his face slowly turning serious. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"She was just in normal clothing with a shinobi vest on."

Sasuke blinked thrice and slowly twisted his doorknob. "Look, loser. I'm tired. Thanks for the information, but I'm not interested."

Naruto glared and him. "I heard you're going on a date with Sakura." Sasuke's eyes widened and he glared back and Naruto. How did he know that? Where did that even come from? He had just got done talking to her. Wow, new travels fast.

"Oh yeah. How do you know?" Sasuke asked, curiously. Naruto's brow twisted.

"I seen you leave the shop Sakura was at. She said she had managed to ask you on a date. And you accepted." Naruto said angrily. This didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke, who smirked, and found this the perfect opportunity to anger the loser.

"Yeah. I did. You still have that stupid crush on her?"

Naruto's face relaxed a bit, but he still gritted his teeth. "Maybe a little."

Sasuke's smirk grew. "Then, looks like you lost your chance."

"It wouldn't have worked between me and her anyway." Naruto's face grew solemn. His eyes bore into Sasuke's. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in frustration. So much for that.

"I couldn't make her mine. She was yours to begin with." Naruto said, a small, sincere smile forming on his face. His words hit Sasuke, as his throat tightened. What? Who said he wanted Sakura? How could she still have those types of feelings for him after everything he did? He left her and Naruto...all for selfish reasons. And yet...both of them still forgave him.

Naruto turned around and started to walk away. Sasuke pushed the door in.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said, turning to face him once more.

Sasuke stopped, not looking back at Naruto.

"Don't hurt her, okay? Just like you still being my best friend...Sakura still loves you."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. A moment of silence passed, and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Bastard, you know you're still my best friend, right?" Naruto snickered, scratching the back of his head. He heard a small chuckle come from Sasuke. Satisfied with Sasuke's reply, Naruto started running off.

A small, sad, smile formed on Sasuke's face as memories started racing through his mind. He should have never came back. He should have went for Itachi right away. He needed to leave this place. But could he? The loser just said he was his best friend. Why? It made no sense...

And your still my best friend...Naruto.

Next Chapter: Our Moonlit Reflection