A/N: I am terribly, terribly sorry for not having uploaded for a looooong time. You see, our computer got destroyed, and all the memory went down the drain. I had to get my handwritten copy and retype it all over again, BUT I could only do it when our PC was delivered back from the repair shop or whatever you call it. And THAT didn't happen until, like, almost a week.

Chapter 6: So We Are Finally Friends…

This time, it was he who started going down the hill.

Miraculously, she called, "Er... wait! Well, I'm not that coldhearted too, you know. If you want, I'll leave and... er... you can stay here."

He turned around. "You mean it?"

She grinned apologetically. "Yep!"

"Oh, you don't have to leave you know. And,... er... as hard as it is, I promise not to talk to you about love or courting or anything annoying. As of now, we are just friends and nothing more."

"Can I trust you? You sure?"

"Swear it with my Sharingan. Is that okay with you?"

She smiled. "Don't bother, you look like somebody with sore eyes.It's fine with me. Make sure you keep your promise. So, come here and tell me about your family."

Fugaku grinned and sat to where she indicated. "My family? Hmm, not much to tell. Mainly, it's boring at home. Why are you interested in my family anyway?"

She shrugged. "I guess I want to know what it's like being a family member of one of the biggest clans in Konnoha."

Fugaku chewed on a piece of grass. "Like I said, it's boring. You know Uchihas are supposed to be big and strong and perfect, and so, everybody expects us to be. You know what? It's tiring sometimes, the way everyone expects you to always be brave, ready to defend the land, and so on...but I just want to live a normal life. That's all, really. But you should see the way the others carry themselves. They look like fools strutting around. You'd think by now they know how stupid they look, but no! They parade themselves, bearing our crest, and proclaim themselves as Uchihas. Wonderful. Perfect...ly embarassing."

"Oh? And does your...father know how... wonderful your opinions are about his clan?"

He adopted a strong, stentorian voice. "You must uphold the honor that was bestowed on the Uchiha clan," Fugaku quoted his father. In his normal voice, he added, "That's what he always says. Somehow, it never imbedded itself in my head."

Mikoto had to chuckle at his imitation of his father. "You're constantly getting yourself into trouble. Is that it?"

He looked at her unbelievably. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Women's intuition. I have a lot of it." She sighed. "Never mind. You probably don't have a single idea about it. But aren't you lucky to be dreadfully wealthy? I mean, you've got servants, large houses, and whatever else there is to be about being rich."

He gave a short laugh. "Ha! Oh, we're wealthy all right. But our father doesn't even let us buy new shirts. He says we need to save money. But for what, I don't know. Our meals are simple everyday, and we wash our own clothes. The servants are for cooking and cleaning the house. Some of them manage the business. And some of them are bodyguards."

"I see." She was quiet for a minute.

"Mikoto?" Fugaku waved a hand in front of her. "Are you alright?"

She caught his hand in midair. "Of course I'm alright. I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking?"

"You have a pretty nice hand in spite of all the training you people do." She examined his fingers. Fugaku didn't try to grab it back. It was a dream come true that she was holding his hand.

"You've got an amazing talent in changing the subject. What were you really thinking?"

"About how rude I was to you those past days." She let go of his hand. He didn't seem to notice. "Please forgive. I deeply apologize for my earlier behavior. I guess I was pissed off."

"You didn't have to say that. That's understandable. I wouldn't want my own brother to be knocked out. Anyway, Ryen forgave me. He said so, the day you stomped off to your room."

"That's good." She remained silent again. This time, he didn't prod her on. Fugaku resorted to watching her silently. Now that she was up close, he could see that she really was quite a woman. There was a certain aura about her that seemed to say she wasn't just any girl, but one-of-a-kind. She was also quite beautiful, inspite of the shapeless bundles she called clothes. But the most intriguing part of her were her eyes. They were a deep, emerald green, and you could lose yourself into them if you looked for too long. Fugaku liked that about her. And more so, he liked the fact that she wasn't whiny like other girls. She had a strong sense of individuality, and at the same time had a strong spirit. Hoshizora Mikoto was a one-in-a-million, and Fugaku would gladly give up his title of Uchiha to have her as his own.

"Do you ever think?" she interrupted his reverie.

"Huh?" he asked, a bit dazed.

"I asked you if you ever thought too."

"Oh. Of course I do. This is my favorite place to think. You see, it's calm. And I like the way you can see the sky when you look overhead."

"That's nice."

"How about if I say you can go here whenever you like?"

She laughed. it was the first time he heard that sound, as sweet and clear as a rushing brook. "You mean it? You can bet on that. So what should we name the place? Between us, I mean."

"Name?" he thought for a moment. "You decide. I can't think of anything. I'm terrible in names."

"Oh," she looked away for a moment, and he thought she looked a bit crestfallen at what he said. Is there really such a big deal in meadow names? Fugaku wondered. Well, maybe women actually took strange interests in naming gardens and meadows.

Thankfully, Mikoto herself drove the thought out of his mind by smiling and saying, "Okay, maybe I'll think of something later. It's got to be nice, shouldn't it?"

"Er.. yeah, yeah…" he grinned like an idiot and rubbed the back of his head.

Mikoto glanced ather watch. "It's five minutes to seven! I have to get going!" She picked herself up and ran speedily down the path.

Fugaku had already sighed when suddenly, she came up again, and bowed, saying, "I'm grateful to be your friend. I'm sorry I was rude. I hope we can still be friends. And I'm still sorry, 'cause I have to be home by now. Bye!" And she sped off again, completely out of sight.

"It's… okay, and yeah, we can still be friends," Fugaku muttered to the meadow.

A/N: I'd like to state my thanks to my reviewers, KaLye and xo Misunderstood Kunoichi ox. Thanks a lot guys!