AN: Oh ho, ho! Return of Sasuke is here!

I can see the smirk on his face. It's the only thing visible; the hood of his cloak shades everything else. He removes the hood, showing me with hard features. I can tell that he has changed a lot from this one second. He looks so much more mature. Being with Orochimaru must have made him want revenge on Itachi even more so. I smirk back up at him and withdraw my kunai.

"I came as soon as I saw fit. You still haven't learned to be patient, have you, Pori-chan?" He says to me.

I snicker, "Sasuke-kun, I'm patient to a point. But three years seems like an eternity in some situations."

His eyes darken, "Believe me, I've noticed."

I sigh dreamily, "Well, is it time to go then?"

He nods, serious, replacing his hood. "Meet me here again at the crack of dawn."

I bow to him quickly then hurriedly go to gather a pack from my home. When I get to my house, I know Gontei and Uncle Sate are asleep. I quietly sneak into my room, praying that Sate isn't that good of a Shinobi. Once I'm inside my bedroom, I glance around to take in the scenery one last time.

I gaze at the pictures on my bedside table. There is one of my whole family; Keime, Shinzi, Mi-ho, and my parents. I study my mother. Her lushes long brown hair hanging at her side. Her bright sapphire eyes are as lively as I've always imagined her.

My mother died of cancer when I was only two years of age. My eldest sister, Keime, took it the hardest. She became very quiet and shy, but it didn't break her strong will. She worked so very hard at becoming a Leaf Shinobi. It really is too bad she was too naïve to see how Konoha has done so many wrongs.

I gather things that I think I'll need in a backpack and then hide it under the covers of my bed and fall asleep quickly only because I'm so goddamn anxious.

~Shikamaru's POV~

When I wake up, I sit up and prop my elbows up on my knees. I put my face in my hands and rub my face to wake myself up. I sigh then stand up lazily. I get dressed then head outside. I walk slowly with my hands held behind my head.

I sigh again then pause in my stroll. I look left, then right. Just as I thought, Popori is moving suspiciously in the shadows. I cock an eyebrow as I watch her move stealthily through the trees. I crinkle my forehead in thought. What is she doing? Where is she going? I have to find answers.

I follow her with my own stealth. For a moment, I think I've lost her, but I spot a glimpse of her dark blue hair out of my peripheral vision. I've followed her all the way to the edge of the village. When I study her from a distance, I can see that she is with someone. A male about my age with concealed features stands opposite her.

Who is that? Why is Popori meeting is secret with him? She can't be planning to betray Konoha. No, that's out of the question. Popori is the loyalist of the Leaf. She devotes herself to the village like a dog does its master. She is like a high ranking soldier; she will do anything the village needs and wants.

The man whispers something and she nods obediently. He disappears and she vanishes along with him. What? Where did she –

A kunai sails toward my substitution's face. I inhale sharply from my real position. Popori holds a sharp pointed weapon to my back.

"What are you doing here, Shikamaru?" She asks flatly.

My face hardens, "I should be asking you that, Popori."

I can feel her smirk, just by the way the grip on the weapon changes behind me. "Maybe you should . . . But I'm not going to tell you. You should just go back to the village. You'll get no answers from me."

I know she's right. Popori is more stubborn than a mule. She won't do anything she doesn't want to, and she gets anything she wants at any cost.

I blink, ignoring her advice. "Are you betraying Konoha?" As soon as I say it, I know it's true. All the facts add up. It has only taken me this long because the organ in my chest doesn't want it to be true.

She snickers; it's a sound I've never heard her make. That only makes the truth more apparent. "What if I am, Shiky-kun? Will you kill me?"

The weapon drops from my back and I turn quickly on my feet. I can see her expression clearly now. There is a sick smile on her face, but her eyes are emotionless, almost dead. That tells me all I need. No matter what she says to me now, I'll know she doesn't mean it. A part of her may agree with it, but the rest of her resents this decision with a passion.

"I could never harm and ally of the Leaf," I tell her.

She frowns, "Don't you understand? I'm defecting! I'm a traitor! It's your duty to execute me! I'm going to kill everyone in this damned village and there isn't anything you'll be able to do if you don't kill me now!"

She's breathing hard, she looks insane. I don't know what to do. She glares at me, and then lunges with the kunai at my throat. I grab her wrist and then the other and lock her in place. I stare hard down at her face.

"Popori, you are not a traitor. What ever it is you're planning on doing, you don't have to go through with it. You're a good person. You don't have to do this!" I tell her urgently. I'm getting more and more panicked as I study the demented look on her face.

"Shut up! There is nothing you can tell me to change my mind. I made a freaking promise! I can't break it. I swore." She hisses at me.

I sigh, "I really didn't want to admit this for a while." She looks at me like I'm insane. That's what I feel like, really. "I was going to wait until I wanted to settle down to say it out loud." I sigh again, closing my eyes, "How troublesome."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She demands of me.

I open my eyes and look into hers, "I have strong feelings for you, Popori Ikame. I have for a long time. I guess it's taken this long to truly register in my mind just how much I care for you."

~Popori's POV~

What the hell? Did he just say what I think he said? What is wrong with him? Does he not understand the situation he's in? He isn't even trying to trap me, and I could twist out of his grip and snap his neck if I wanted to. If I wanted to. Want. What do I want? I want to cry. I want to punch him in the face. I want to curl up in a ball and die. I want to fall into his arms and feel the warmth of his body against mine.

But wants are a sin. And all of those wants are not acceptable. But, I can't believe this. Does he not know that I just had my heart twisted into a knot and squeezed of all its love? How can he stand here and tell me all of this? Shikamaru Nara, what is the matter with your mind?

I twist out of his grip and push him away. "Well I don't care about how you feel. I'm leaving the Leaf whether you want me to or not."

He scratches his head and sighs, "I don't understand this, Popori. You aren't a bad person. Whatever has made you do this? Is it worth betraying all the people you care about? Hurting Gontei, Sate, Shoji, or Oricha Sensei? Hurting Kankuro?"

I glare at him, "You know nothing about me. I care for only one person. Only one person matters to me."

He gives me a challenging look, daring me to tell him, "And who is that?"

My glare softens to a deadpan look. "Sasuke Uchiha."

I can see everything click into place. He knows. He knows exactly what my plans are now. He knows everything I choose to do now. I can see the outrage spread onto his face. He is utterly sickened by the idea that I go to work for Orochimaru. Well, tough crackers.

He shoots up onto his feet and grabs me by the shoulders, "What? Popori you can't go to him! He'll do tests on you! He will torture you!"

I shrug and look up at him with a blank expression, "I don't care. I'm loyal to one person and one person only, and that is Sasuke."

He shakes his head, "No, you're loyal to Konoha. I know you are."

I smirk, "You fool. I was only loyal to Konoha because Sasuke told me to. You remember all that information I stole from Tsunade? That was all for Sasuke. All those week lone missions were to obtain more information. I know things even Tsunade herself is clueless of.

"You've said in your life time that I am selfless and righteous. Well let me inform you that I am nothing but a power-hungry little brat. All the seemingly selfless acts that I have performed were only for my benefit."

He gapes at me, "Popori, you're lying. I don't believe any of that."

"I thought you were smart. You have such a high IQ, and you can't even see the truth when it's held in front of your face? You're the biggest idiot I've ever met!" I spit at him. This makes him drop my shoulders and take on a defeated look. "I told you, there is nothing you can say or do to me that will change my mind."

Something in him changes; he gets a determined look on his face then looks at me. I cock an eyebrow at him as he stands. I'm about to demand what he's doing, when his lips collide with mine.

As soon as I feel his breath flow into my mouth, I melt like ice in his arms. My defensive wall crumbles and falls into nothingness. All the things I just told him, none of that matters. He did manage to do something to change my mind. I just can't believe I'm doing this.

Guilt hits me like a fist to the stomach. I pull away from Shikamaru as I hear Kankuro's apology in my head. Well, I guess we're even now . . . right? Now he can understand why I was so upset. But that doesn't make it right. I feel horrible. But at the same time . . .

Shikamaru grins down at me and hugs me close. My breath catches in my throat again. I just realized that his eyes are the reason I was able to finish his paperwork when he fell asleep on me. That his smirk makes my heart jerk in a different direction when it's a secret, just for me. That his hobby for cloud watching is why I think art is a natural thing. That his lazy demeanor is why I put up with him on every mission we had together. That I too, have strong feelings for Shikamaru Nara.

I bury my face in his chest and hold my breath. I didn't have much regret before this, but now I can't stop thinking about how I'm making Shiky feel. Does this hurt him as much as it kills me?

I pull away and stare at our intertwined fingers. "I am truly sorry for this, Shiky-kun. I'm sorry I have put you through this. And I'm sorry, that it has taken me this long to figure out that I, too, have feelings for you."

I look up just in time to see the pain roll across his face. He thinks we could've been together. And maybe, if I hadn't gone to Suna that first time, we could have. But not now. I know that I love Kankuro . . . can it be possible that I also love Shikamaru?

I release my hands from his and look into his eyes. Before he can say anything more, I turn to take my leave. Just as I am about to use my speed to get as far away from him as possible, he grabs my wrist. My heart sinks; oh, please no. Don't do this.

"Po-chan," I hear him say to me in an agonizingly pained voice. "I love you."

I close my eyes and before I can stop them, the words roll off my tongue and out into the world. "And I love you, Shiky-kun."

I yank my hand out of his and then vanish. I couldn't look to see the expression on his face. It would only make it harder for me in the long run. Besides, this is only the first of many hurtful deeds I will carry out in my time of betrayal.

When I meet up with Sasuke, I can pick out the things that make him seem so different. He's gotten stronger, I can tell. Just the total authority that drips from his very essence is enticing to me. I want to know how he got this power. Maybe I can obtain it as well.

We are very similar, Sasuke and I. We both have the same dark blue hair. His eyes are black while mine are dark blue, but they look like the same shade when not studied too closely. Plus, we have the same shade of skin. Not only do we look alike, but our powers are very much the same. While he has the Chidori, I have my kekkai genkai which is lightning oriented.

As I walk up to him, he takes his hood down again, showing me his older face. The three years that we have been apart have aged him well. Ino and Sakura adored him back then, they would go ape shit now.

I smirk and he looks at me curiously, "What are you thinking of?"

"I'm thinking 'why aren't we hauling ass out of here?' " I answer him.

He stares at me, "Have you really not matured at all, Pori-chan?"

I blink then sigh, "I get a little anxious when in battle. I did have to get rid of Shikamaru Nara after all. I'll be fine in a few minutes."

Even as I finish my excuse, I can feel it becoming true. Being in fights has always made me bloodthirsty, if not slightly sadistic. When I've been away from the excitement for a while, I settle into a dark mood.

He looks me over, "Alright, I believe you. Let's get moving."

And with his word, I follow Sasuke to Orochimaru's lair, not knowing what specifically to expect.

AN: Alright, for all of you who are in favor of Popori x Kankuro, this is only to build the relationship between Popori and Shiky-kun. But I still don't know for sure who I'm going to make her end up with.

Tell me what you thought.

Oh, and I might take a little while to get the next chapter up. I'm going to spend the summer with my father and he doesn't have Microsoft Word, so I'll have to use the word pad. . . So inconvenient for me, so if I make some kind of spelling error I'm sorry. I'll try to edit it when it goes on . But, I'm trying to not make you guys wait that long; I'm trying my best for you!