d/c: naruto is not my creation

-Lights In The Dark-

Sakura awoke the next morning with the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. She opened her eyes and saw Sasuke lying on his back, eyes closed, and alert. So he sensed it too. Sasuke's hand was still holding Sakura's, and he gave it a light squeeze, as if he were saying Someone's here, and we're going to do something about it. So Sakura lay, quiet, and watched for a signal. A glimmer of red appeared in the morning light spilling through a crack in the curtains, as Sasuke's eyelids lazily fluttered and Sharingan eyes glowed.

"There," he whispered, "the hole in the wall." and nudged Sakura's hand. In a few seconds, she saw it too, the tiniest of holes, peeking through the leaves of a plant. "When I call it, go through the window." Sakura nodded.

There was a silence, and then suddenly Sasuke sprang up, and shouted, "Go!" as he threw a kunai with deadly accuracy, straight at the hole. Sakura, too, jumped up, and slammed the window open. They heard a curse as the spy saw the kunai coming and jerked away from the wall, and as he did so, Sakura was already behind him.

"Jiraiya?!" Sakura blinked. Sasuke ran and stuck his head out the window.

"What the- Jiraiya?" he repeated.

Jiraiya was laughing, shaking the tree Sakura and he were seated upon. "Oh you kids, so fun to play with. I was being nice, just letting you two pretend you could catch me."

Sasuke's face had exasperation written all over it. "What are you doing here, crazy man?" he muttered.

"Tsunade's orders." the 'crazy man' replied.

"Tsun-" Sakura started, then reddened. "Kyuubi... she doesn't trust me at all."

And so the days passed. Sakura and Sasuke resumed their training together, and Sasuke's house didn't seem so oppressive with Sakura's laughter filling it. Each morning they woke up, threw a kunai or dagger or anything sharp at Jiraiya, exchanged quips, and then left for the day's work. Even when Sakura left to go resume duties at Tsunade's office, she got away at nights, if Tsunade let her, to visit Sasuke. Sakura's work didn't let her see much of Sasuke, but she refused to shirk her work, and even so, found time to train with him.

But she should have known it was too good to last. Sasuke took care not to let Sakura see, but his brooding returned, and once Sakura left the house, and he was alone, he would continue his thoughts of vengeance and frustration.

Then one night, Sasuke woke up for no real reason at all. It was raining outside, and there were rumbles of thunder; but that had never woken him up before. Sakura was sleeping over, and his arms were holding her close, her pink hair faintly shining and contrasting strongly with his raven black. He lay there for a while, trying to go back to sleep, until he heard a sound downstairs. Sasuke knew what his house sounded like when it was empty far better than he wanted to, and this was new. An intruder? Or just Jiraiya being weird... He'd better check anyways. Moving carefully as to not wake up Sakura, he pulled his arms away and brushed her hair off his cheek where he had been lying on it. Sasuke slipped out the bedroom door into the pitch-black hallway. He felt his way through the dark halls and down the staircase into the main hall, where the front door was. There was no one here. He hadn't seen anyone.

"Sasuke-kun, how nice to see you again." a voice said, quietly. It was a voice that had once restrained laughter and cheer, but was now constrained to a dry, cold, sneer. Sasuke had heard it before. He whirled around and a flash of lightning illuminated a group of standing figures. At their front, stood Naoko.

Sasuke's felt his lips curl back into a grimace, and his eyes narrowed. "Nakamura." he snarled.

"Be a good boy, won't you, and turn on the lights for us." she said, a cruel smile twisting her pretty mouth.

"I'm not moving." he barked back. Everyone could see, their eyes had adjusted, why the heck should he turn on a stupid light. Who are these people?

"Shush, shush. We don't want to wake up Flower, do we?" Naoko said. Sasuke paled, but only became angrier. How did she know?

"What do you want." he growled. The group behind Naoko began to call out.

"He's rather rude."

"Too much trouble, I'd say."

"Turn on the damn light, boy."

"No self control, whatsoever. That's bad."

"Be nice, friends," Naoko chided, eyes still focused on Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun wants our help." 'Sasuke-kun' bristled, and his reserve broke.

"No-I-don't." Sasuke almost shouted, in his fury. "Why are you back, Naoko? What do you want? You almost killed me, almost killed Sakura, threatened the Hokage, what more do you want to do? Take your horde of honorless fools and go." he spat.

But Naoko only stepped aside, and let a tall figure stride through from the back of the crowd, and the jeering people behind her fell silent. The person's face was hidden in the darkness, but slowly slid into a shaft of moonlight. To Sasuke's surprise, he was strikingly handsome. But it was a beauty to be wary of. Dark blue hair reflected the light as long thick bangs hung over his face, and off the sides. The rest was in a braid that fell down his back.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun." His voice was no more than a whisper, and yet it carried much further. His greeting was met by a cold hard glare from its subject.

"What do you want? Honestly, I don't know why you bastards aren't gone ye-" The man held a hand up, and to Sasuke's utter surprise, he found himself silent.

"Only to help you, if you help us." He replied.

"And why would I help you." Sasuke's voice was flat with anger, and the hair on his neck was standing on end. These people were not good, and he didn't need to give himself proof. "Who are you. I don't care, actually, just get out."

"I'm here to help you." The stranger said calmly, staring Sasuke straight in his bloodred eyes.

"I never asked for it." Sasuke snapped.

A rustle, and then the window blinds were whipped shut, enclosing them all in darkness.

"What the hell do you think you're do-" and again, Sasuke's voice was muted again as he was surrounded by a glow. Multiple glows. He looked around him, and saw that Naoko and her followers… no… this man and his followers had surrounded him. And each was glowing. Some body part was glowing. Fists glowed white, hated arms of Naoko glowed yellow, eyes green, some were covered in patches of it, and others did not glow, but held weapons that did. His eyes darted about, fruitlessly looking for the source of this freakish light, the chakra raging around them, and found nothing.

"Your Sharingan does nothing, am I correct?" the leader whispered, and Sasuke whirled around to see the man's handsome face wreathed in his blue shining hair.

"It's light. Big deal. Can't do anything with it." Sasuke tried to put cold apathy and disgust into his voice, but even he could hear the interest breaking through.

"You've seen what it can do, Sasuke-kun. Naoko-chan here has made sure of that. Uchiha Sasuke, younger brother to the traitorous Uchiha Itachi who murdered all your clansmen… do you know what light can do?"

Sasuke's pale face drained even more of color, and he looked positively ghost-like. "What's your name?" Sasuke demanded.

"I am Hanazaki."