Caranril: Well, I said I have ever intention of finishing this fic, and look how many years its taken! 3-ish? Goodness, I'm such a slacker. Ah, but I have the rough draft complete, all I need to do is edit and upload and voila! An epic comes to a close. It's sort of lonely in a way. Maybe that's why I don't want to finish...

disCLAIMER: While I do not own Naruto nor any affiliated subjects therein, Kishimoto-sama does and therefore he owns my soul.

Chapter 17: Hitanichi

Sasuke saw Kaori's expression just before she took off after the prisoner. Her face was filled with fear and hope, a combination that yanked at his heart. As she reached for the bandaged man who smiled back at her with the nickname only her shipmates called her, he understood. Before this, he realized that she had been with someone while a sailor, possible years before she came to Konoha. He accepted this deduction, for he had been with a couple girls himself. Of course, those instances never led to real relationships, not like the one he figured Kaori had had with the sailor. He thought the man had died during a raid, but now he truly understood. Orochimaru found the body, possibly drifted to the shores of the Land of Sound, and defiled the body and its honor by bringing it back to life as a subject for another twisted experiment. All this flashed through his mind before another, singular thought overpowered all others: he was going to lose her.

He grabbed Kaori's arm. Somehow, he had ended up by her side. "Excuse me, sirs, but I'm escorting Akumako-san to her quarters. She is on probation and has yet to learn any real discipline. I will take her off your hands." The ANBU looked at each other, then nodded as they released her.

"Hey!" The bandaged man stared at Sasuke furiously. "Her name isn't Akumako. It's Kaori."

Sasuke turned abruptly, a flush of shame welling up that he had called her Akumako despite their promises to each other. He was attempting to be formal in front of the ANBU, but it came back and bit him in the ass anyway. Figured as much. He pulled Kaori along none too gently. As she overcame her shock of seeing her formerly dead lover, she protested him manhandling her.

"Oi, Sasuke! What are you doing?"

"Taking you back to your apartment before your escort misses you," he said simply, but inside he raged with emotion. This man's arrival only solidified his determination to get an answer from her concerning his question. She had let go of her old life and prepared to be a Shinobi, but this one thing would keep her tied to her past. Why now of all times?

"No! I need to talk to him!" She emphasized "talk" with a hard yank away from Sasuke. His head whipped around, Sharingan flashing dangerously. She hesitated, and that allowed him to throw her over his shoulder and complete the journey to her apartment. She thrashed wildly and, just as he entered the unit, bit his side. He dropped her unceremoniously, adding an irritated kick to her leg.

"You smell disgusting. Go take a shower."

Kaori sat up slowly, muttering under her breath.

"What was that?" he said fiercely.

"You don't understand," she repeated quietly. She made no move towards the bathroom. She remained on the floor, looking very dejected. Sasuke's heart twinged. He was a very jealous man, this he admitted readily, but he also did not want her to be unhappy. This whole situation sucked. He said so as he squatted in front of her.

"This sucks," he sighed. "Explain it to me, so I can understand."

She stared back defiantly. "The man I thought long dead is suddenly alive. Well, I came across him in Orochimaru's lair, but I didn't know who he was. I think I knew on some level, but I didn't know know. But he's alive and," she swallowed hard, "I'm ashamed, 'cause for awhile, I'd forgotten about him. Is that horrible of me?"

Sasuke scratched his chin. "No. We honor the memories of those we lose, but we cannot cling to them or their spirits will not rest. If this Hitanichi is anything like...me, then he would be glad that instead of lingering in the past, you're pushing forward and making a future for yourself. Believe me, I know how destructive it is to live in the past. Once you get through this year, you will be a full-fledged Shinobi. You will make a living helping other people, people who will appreciate your hard work. Most of the time anyway."

"I don't know what to do," Kaori admitted. "The fact that he's here also changes everything. What's going to happen to him?"

"I have no way of knowing. I imagine he will be confined and interrogated thoroughly. They aren't very lenient towards people who were...employed by Orochimaru. I think they let me off easy. Then again, it's not this guy's fault that the snake bastard brought him back to life as a freak of nature."

Kaori stared at him. "How did you know he was dead?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out. Talking to different people, thinking about it...I am a genius, you know."

She smiled. "Yeah. So you keep reminding me. Still, considering the ways we've clashed before, I'm so lucky to be your friend."

"Ah." The "f" word. If that didn't seal his doom, an outright "no" would. Still, sometimes she was incredibly dense...

He opened his mouth to speak, but she stood and trod to the bathroom.

"If there's anything to eat it here, help yourself. I'll be a few minutes." And she was gone.

Sasuke was not hungry. Nor was he tired. His pulse pounded in his ears like it did when he stalked an enemy. He had not slept since the night he spent in the hospital with Kaori, but he felt no tell-tale sluggishness or burning eyes. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like a drug, making him very alert, but also very nervous. What was even more nerve-wracking was that despite his acknowledgment of his feelings for Kaori, he had no idea how she felt about him. She seemed to enjoy his touch and his kiss, but he had no idea if it extended beyond enjoyment. And he was almost too nervous to find out.

"Stupid Uchiha, act like a man," he growled to himself, sitting on the floor and willing himself to calm down as he meditated. As the minutes ticked by, his self-discipline mastered his thudding heart, and he relaxed. He sensed each muscle in his body, each joint, and willed them to release tension. He swam in pale yellow light, barely needing to breath. This was control, and he would maintain it when he fell out of meditation.

That last thought flew out of his head as warm lips tentatively pressed against temple. An equally warm hand held back a few wild locks of raven hair so that the kiss could be planted directly on his skin. His eyes flew open in alarm, the very bizarre notion entering his mind that a fangirl had snuck in and caught him unawares. He turned his head and stared in surprise at, not a fangirl, but Kaori.

"Oh. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You looked so cute." She smirked. Sasuke let out a small noise of surprise before knocking her over. He bent over her threateningly.

"I dare you to call me cute again," he challenged.

"Oh, you're also cute when you're slee-!"

Sasuke silenced her with a deep kiss. So much for the meditation. His heart raced madly again. Kaori tilted her chin up and returned the kiss with fervor. Her hands traveled up his arms on either side of her, relishing the tensed muscles running through them. Sasuke slowly lowered them both flat on the floor, and her hands traced those muscles to his back, where she gripped his vest and pulled him closer. With his full weight on her, it was just a minute before Kaori broke the kiss, gasping for air. Sasuke rolled off, staring at her intently.

"You still haven't answered my question." He fought to make his voice steady. He felt so warm all over, remembering the feel of her beneath him.

"Idiot. Wasn't that answer obvious enough for a genius nin?" she replied breathlessly, sitting up and weakly socking his arm. Her head reeled from the power of that kiss. He smiled, and she returned it, leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. It was so sweet and soft that Sasuke had to fight tears of joy. What a wuss, to be choked up over something like this. He was one seriously lovesick bastard.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well, there's no sense in wondering who to tell, since the fanclub will have it rumored by now that we're dating." He grabbed her hand and squeezed. "But first, I'm taking out to dinner tonight. Someplace casual, because I know you don't have anything to wear besides your uniform." Kaori made a face. "Second, we'll talk. There's a lot we don't know about each other, and even if we talk about absolutely nothing, we'll learn so much. Third, we have some more dates, some more kissing, some sex...and then who knows? I've never really dated before so I don't know how this works."

Kaori turned tomato red. "What makes you think this will last long enough to get to number three?"

"The fact that we keep hurting and forgiving each other is a good sign that I'll never get rid of you, and you'll never get rid of me," Sasuke smirked.

"Unless you take off on a secret mission without telling anyone," she said bitterly. Sasuke could almost see the silver-haired man reflected in her eyes.

"I pity Kakashi," he said truthfully. He knew that the older man had fallen for Kaori, and somehow Kakashi knew that Kaori would choose Sasuke. He gave up and ran away, the coward. But now was not the time to tell Kaori. Actually, he did not think he ever wanted to tell her, for he knew how much she liked Kakashi. Knowing her illogical decisions to do something for someone else despite mortal danger to herself, she would find a way to make things better for Kakashi. So he would keep his intuitions to himself.

"Well, I'm going to go home and clean up." Sasuke stood and stretched. "Pick you up at 6:30?"

"Um, yes. That would be fine." Kaori stood too, dusting off her blue Chuunin jumpsuit. "I need to do some cleaning anyway. Yech." Sasuke distracted her from the filthy floor by drawing her in for a short smooch.

"Bye," he said over his shoulder, noting the flush creeping up her cheeks as he gazed at her heatedly.

"B-bye."

When he closed the door behind him, Sasuke had to lean against it for support. He put on a good show, but he was such a bundle of nerves that he could barely carry his own weight. It was difficult to believe he and Kaori were officially dating. It was even more difficult to believe that it would last long with that sailor in Konoha's clutches. He might have to do something about that.

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Kaori thought napping would be a good idea, since she had all that cleaning to do and then a date later. A date! A date with Uchiha Freakin' Sasuke! How many people in the world could claim that? Not only that, he spoke of it as something that would happen often, like people who "go steady," as Ino called it, would do. She was completely new to this whole dating scene. Hitanichi was important to her, but they lived and worked together on a ship. There was no need for dating.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked her reflection. Napping was out of the question, for every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sasuke's eyes as he said "bye." Another wave of warmth rushed through her, and she scrubbed the mirror vigorously. Maybe he used a doujutsu on her. That was it.

"That's not it, and you know it!" she argued. "Arg!" She set down her rag. Cleaning was out of the question too. Instead, she went to her sadly lacking closet and pondered exactly what she should wear for a first date.

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After much mind-changing and a good long nap, Kaori came up with black shorts, ninja sandals, and her blue Chuunin shirt. She braided her hair, and instead of lining her eyes with kohl, she used some mascara that Sakura had given her. A bit of face powder like she had been shown, and Kaori stepped back to see the results. She could not help gaping. Her reflection was nothing like she had ever seen. The mascara made her grey eyes pop out, and her skin looked so smooth. The clothing was not glamorous, but it implied comfort even as she showed a bit of leg. The sandals seemed slightly out of place, but they were the only shoes she owned. She looked at the clock. 6:26. Almost time.

She double-checked everything in the apartment, as if she had never left for an extended period of time before. All lights had to be out. Windows and door locked. She practically flew down the stairs, pausing a moment to collect herself before leaving the complex. Leaning against a taxi, staring up at the stars, was a stunningly-dressed Sasuke. His attire was as simple as hers, but luscious all the same. He wore black jeans that hugged his hips nicely, a navy blue t-shirt, and grey sneakers. He tore his gaze from the stars and looked straight at her. He did not react for a moment, then smirked.

"We match," he said wrly.

"Eh, eh? What?" Kaori realized he was correct. She backed away, waving her hands apologetically. "Oh! Well, I'll just go change..."

"Stupid," Sasuke snorted, striding after her and grabbing her arm. "You look fantastic."

Kaori smiled as he escorted her to the taxi. She had never heard him use the word fantastic before, and now he used it to describe her. This could turn out to be okay.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total disaster. Complete and total disaster. One minute they had been toasting to Juubi's defeat, when their table was suddenly swarmed with fangirls trailed by paparazzi. Kaori flung the table at them before grabbing Sasuke's hand and yanking him out a window and to the roof. If it hadn't been for his Shinobi reflexes, he would have continued right out onto the street. Instead, he ran along the outside wall, using Kaori for leverage as he flipped up to the roof too. They didn't stop until they returned to his apartment, which was significantly more secure than hers. Once again, the guardian was caught by the rabid fangirls. Kaori would have felt bad for him if she wasn't seething about the ruined dinner.

"I can't believe there are people like that in the world!" she raved, pacing up and down Sasuke's immaculate apartment. "Don't they have respect for other human beings."

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. He was used to the hordes of attention. Having been deemed "monster" and all that, it would make sense for her to be used to it too. Apparently not.

"Is it going to be like this every time we go out?"

"For awhile," he admitted. "Then they'll get bored or find something else to entertain themselves."

"You better be worth it," she growled, plopping on the couch.

"I like to think I am," he smirked, slinking towards her.

"I know! We could just never leave the apartment. Stay here all the time! We could have Naruto or Sakura bring us stuff to cook with, toilet paper, soap, the works! Then I'd get to be around you all the time!" Kaori froze, realizing she had said something important. Sasuke froze too, surprised that she came right out and said it.

"'All the time'?" he murmured, smiling at the rush of happiness that sentence sent through him.

"D-don't read too much into it," Kaori objected. "I just happen to like being around you. If I didn't, we wouldn't be dating, would we?"

Sasuke placed his hands on either side of Kaori's head on the back of the sofa. "Stop saying such things. You're making me fall more in love with you."

"Eh?" Kaori could not say more as Sasuke descended in for a kiss. It took her a few more seconds for Sasuke's words to hit home. Love? Seriously? She almost did not believe it, but his lips were so amazing, she would believe anything. Her hands reached around his waist and drew him in deeper. She wanted more of him. More than just dates, more than just words. She wanted him all to herself, all the time. Who cared what the fangirls did? Sasuke loved her.

She panted in his mouth, that absolutely breathtaking mouth. His pale face flushed nicely, and she realized just how handsome he was. Especially when he looked at her with that expression. It gave her goose bumps to see the love in his eyes. Kami-sama help her, was she in love too?

Like an icy claw reaching through the walls, ignoring all barriers of privacy, a sickly Chakra field sliced through the room. Sasuke reeled backwards and Kaori gagged. Something was definitely wrong with the person the Chakra belonged to, and it flooded their senses with its perversity.

"Hitanichi!" Kaori gasped. She had no way of knowing for sure, but something inside screamed that it was him. Sasuke nodded in agreement, having the same feeling himself.

"This way." He grabbed her arm, and they staggered out of the building together. Instead of fleeing or puking like others in the street, they trudged toward the source. If someone hemorrhaged this much Chakra, they would be dead in minutes. The wave would pass for a few moments, and then another stabbed through them. The waves led them to a gigantic, unmarked circular building. The large doors were wrenched open, like some monster clawed its way out. Several ANBU and Jounin stood outside, tending to the wounded. The sidewalk was littered with wounded Shinobi, most of them punctured with long white spears. Sasuke knelt next to a screaming man whose leg had been torn clean off by a spear. Kaori lunged into the building, sensing that this was the same one she was interrogated in. In the center of the room and the pulses of Chakra stood Hitanichi, his bandages gone. Large white spears covered his body, and Kaori cried out and stepped closer. Why wasn't anyone helping him?

Her cry alerted the dying man. He managed to bring his head down to look at her, his brown eyes blazing with internal fire. Another wave of Chakra rippled out of him, bringing with it his roar of pain and several of the white spears. The spears shot in a radius around the room, one coming very close to impaling her. Then to her horror, the lost spears were replaced by more growing from Hitanichi's body. ANBU had not been torturing him: he had created the spears. Spears of, much to Kaori's disgust, bone. As the wave subsided, she reached for Hitanichi.

"Stay away!" he cried. "I can't control it!"

"What happened to you?" She touched his face, which he flinched at.

"Senchou put this power in me, but I wasn't meant to have it. My body isn't compatible. I'm dying, Kaizoku." His big brown eyes gazed at her sorrowfully. "They took off the bandages, even though I told them not to. And now..." he grimaced as he tried to contain his Chakra. "You have to leave! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I can't do that! There must be some-" Kaori did not finish. She was thrown away by an enormous rush of Chakra. The power threw her against the far wall. She opened her mouth to call to Hitanichi, but instead of words, a stream of blood flowed. Her shaking hands touched a hard, smooth surface near her belly. She looked down at the bone spear that pinned her to the wall.

"No!" Hitanichi screamed. "Kami-sama someone help her!"

Ah, it was nice that she did not really feel it. It probably would hurt a lot. She thought about pulling it out and going for help, but her arms would not move. There was a lot of blood, but she could not really see it on her navy blue shirt. She could feel it though. Strange. She could feel the blood, but not the pain. Well, might as well count her blessings before she...

Sasuke's voice. She was vaguely aware of him in front of her, asking her a question.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Sorry for dying and leaving him alone. Sorry that she had not realized her true feelings as quickly as he had. Sorry...her eyes burned with tears. He said something that sounded like a curse, then his hands went to the bone spear and yanked it out. Then the pain came. It exploded inside and spread to every limb. As she fell into darkness, she remembered hearing herself screaming.