Chapter two: friends?
Sasuke dodged one of the kunai thrown at him as he returned the favor by throwing shuriken at his attacker. Kiriomi just disappeared into a puff of smoke and left a piece of wood in her place with an explosive note attached to it. The explosion knocked Sasuke back and he hit a tree. Kiriomi took this chance to claim checkmate as she rushed towards him, but she found a hand grabbing her feet. She was pulled down into the ground up to her neck.
"You almost forgot me, but you didn't try to throw a kunai at me and take me out at a distance," said Sasuke. "You allowed yourself to fall into a trap that could be avoided easily."
"I didn't want to throw something that might kill you," said Kiriomi. "I don't want to kill you a friend."
"In this exorcise I am not your friend, but your enemy. You have to come at me with the intent to kill or else you won't be able to beat me."
"Fine then let me remedy that mistake," said Kiriomi as she burst from the ground with kunai in hand. The raw strength that this kunoichi had didn't cease to amaze Sasuke. Her movement with the kunai however, was at a disadvantage because for the fastest stroke to be used, she would have to perform the most predictable and easily dodged attacks a ninja could perform. All Sasuke had to do was to move back an inch and the kunai missed him by an inch. He then used his fist to knock Kiriomi back into a tree. Before she could defend herself, shuriken and kunai pinned her to the tree.
"Looks like you'll be the one buying lunch today again," said Sasuke. He told her that the loser paied for lunch and Kiriomi had never won a single match with Sasuke, but she was coming close. "I think I can buy myself another bathhouse to the Uchiha compound with the money I'm saving."
"Just wait, one day I'm going to kick your ass and then we'll see whose laughing," said Kiriomi. "I'm gonna hold it over your head for so long that all you'll be to see is my in your face dance in your dreams."
"If there is any dance I want you to do in my dreams it's a lap dance," said Sasuke bluntly.
"YOU PERVERT," she shouted as she slapped Sasuke across the face. "How dare you say such things to a lady like me."
"You're right and I'm sorry," said Sasuke. "I don't know where that came from."
"So you think I've lost my body," said Kiriomi pretending to be angry. She loved to tease Sasuke like this, it could sometimes make him feel guilty and pay for lunch.
"Yes," said Sasuke as he ran away from her.
"Wait a second right there you bastard," said Kiriomi chasing after him.
The chase led them to Ichiruka Ramen, a place that Sasuke found okay to go to every once in a while, but most of his friends met up here, which he hated because he was so certain that Naruto's eating habits had been behind it. He found Naruto, Hinata, Gaara, Sakura, Shino with Kiba's sister, Hanad, Kiba, Kiba's girl friend Nishino, Neiji, Tenten, Keiji, and his wife Anko. The two had gotten married two weeks ago and Anko was already pregnant. Everyone was talking about how quiet things had gotten since the death of the Akatsuki. Shino however was busy enjoying the taste of Hana's mouth.
"Hey Sasuke-teme, I see you brought your date," said Naruto.
"And I see you left your balls at home, dobe," said Sasuke with a smirk. "Where are Temari and Shikamaru? I thought that Gaara would never let her out of his sight."
"Like Shikamaru would have the minimals to do that," said Gaara. Shikamaru was the type of guy you could trust around your daughter because he was too lazy to try anything.
"Besides he's not stupid," said Naruto. The dobe was right, fucking Temari mean instant death by the hands of Gaara. He was like the ultimate birth control.
"I know what you mean," said Sasuke."He can intimidate any of his siter's boyfriends unlike dog boy."
"You don't know Shino or my sister," said Kiba. "They aren't weak and Shino has everyone bugged so he can knock a person out except for Naruto. They don't seem to work on Naruto."
"Yeah sure," said Sasuke. "They're the only people I know with a more active sex life than Keiji and Anko and those two go at it like sexually starved rabbits."
"Sasuke-sama do you have to say things like that in public," said Kiriomi.
"Sorry about that Kiriomi," said Sasuke.
"You never complied with any of Sakura's requests for you to not fight," said Naruto. "Just how close are you two."
"We're just friends," said Kiriomi.
Those words caused a certain feeling in Sasuke that couldn't place. It felt like something had poked him a little, but he didn't know what. Surely he couldn't have actually been hurt by what she said. It was then that out of the corner of his eye he saw him. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw his brother Itachi. He couldn't stand still; he left abruptly leaving the others to look at him. He was so concerned about catching up with Itachi that he didn't notice Kiriomi following him. The trail led him all the way to the Forbidden Forest, which he entered without noticing Kiriomi following him. She had seen the look in his eye and she was worried about him. She had grown attached to her idol and would never allow anything to hurt him.
Sasuke had lost track of Itachi, but he soon picked up another person's presence right behind him. He turned to see Kiriomi standing there with a worried look in her eye. She was just trying to see how I was doing. It' understandable but I feel strange when it's me that someone's worried about. He stopped and walked towards her.
"What are you doing here," asked Sasuke.
"I'm following you," said Kiriomi. "You left in a hurry and I thought you might have seen your brother by the way you were looking."
"I did see him or I could have sworn I saw him," said Sasuke, he looked delirious. He looked up at her and saw over left shoulder, Itachi coming at her from behind with a kunai. "Get out the way."
He shoved her out the way and felt the cold metal slip into his stomach. Pain shot through his body and his older brother rammed Sasuke right into a tree. He stared at his brother with accusing eyes and then disappeared without a trace. Kiriomi came running towards him with a medical kit. He had heard that she had learned a few medical techniques. She opened his shirt to check the wound that Itachi had left. She removed the kunai and proceeded to treat the wound with antibiotics to prevent infection. Sasuke looked dazed and his felt like they weighed two hundred pounds.
"Come on stay with me Sasuke-sama," said Kiriomi. "Please stay alive for me Sasuke-sama."
The last thing Sasuke could remember was the feeling of something warm against his lips before he passed out.
Sasuke woke up next to a campfire and found his wound had been bandaged. It was getting dark, probably after eight o'clock. He looked around for Kiriomi, but she wasn't there. He wanted to thank her for healing him and he wanted to thank her for the kiss he was so certain he felt. The question popped up into his head. Are we more than just friends? Do I love her like a friend or is it more? Sasuke had never felt this way before, not even with Sakura. He sensed someone coming and reached for his kunai pouch. It was only Kiriomi returning with food.
"So you're awake," said Kriiomi. "You had me worried that you weren't going to make it, but your tougher than that."
"No I'm not," said Sasuke.
"Just because you lost to your brother again doesn't make you weak," said Kiriomi.
"It's not the physical victories over me that show I'm weak. I gave up my village, my friends, and a girl who loved me, all so I could get strong enough to kill him. I got more people killed and here I am. Let's face it I'm weak."
He felt arms around him as Kiriomi brought him in for a warm embrace and he couldn't help himself. He just wanted to lie in that safe warmth that he had always denied himself, but he wasn't sure who he wanted to be giving that warmth to him. He helped her cook dinner and he stared up at the night sky. He wondered where there relationship was going and where he wanted it to go. Surely he could do worse for a companion and he needed someone to love. But just because I feel I need someone to love doesn't mean I should pick the first person who kisses me. Kiriomi looked at Sasuke and wondered what was on his mind. Was he still plagued by the feelings he had for Sakura or the hatred he bore towards his brother? Was he feeling shocked from the events or did he feel the kiss and was now wondering what to make of it?
"Are you okay Sasuke-sama," asked Kiriomi. "You seem to be troubled by something."
"I'm troubled by a lot of things," said Sasuke. "I don't what I'm going to do with my life and I haven't the answer for the questions in my mind. A shinobi should always have clarity of vision, but that is something I don't have right now. What am I going to do?"
"You're going to be you," said Kiriomi. "You're Uchiha Sasuke, savior of the Uchiha clan and that means you have to be strong and face your faults. I'm weak, I have things I want to say, but can't. You say everything you want to say without fear, no matter how much a person can hurt you. You don't need to sit there and feel as if you've been stripped of everything that is good because you haven't. Your friends see it in you, Tsunade-sama sees it in you, and I see it in you."
Her words brought tears to his eyes as he said, "thank you." He held her like he was she'd disappear and he'd be lonely. She stroked his hair as he cried all his troubles and his problems into her shirt. The feeling inside of him grew and he feared that he might be in love with Kiriomi and she might think of him only as a friend.
That night he had a dream about her. In the dream he tells her he loves her and they kiss. He woke up from the dream with a start afraid that he had actually made what he thought was a big mistake. He didn't even know if it was really love or if he was just lonely and he didn't want to hurt. I envy you Naruto. Your love with Hinata can bear fruit, but what about mine. Am I going forward or backward? Where is my love going?