Here's the new chapter, I know I said in the last one I would give you a link so you could see what Mai looks like but no one seemed interested so I didn't put it online. If someone wants to see her let me know! For the ones of you that want to know what Naruto looks like, I finished her an hour ago so again, if you want to see it let me know...

Euhm just want to say Naruto and all the other delicious characters from the show belong to Masashi Kishimoto but Mai, Yurippe and her parents to belong to me. (Yes I'm proud of that :3 )

I want to thank everyone that reviewed I love you guys! and now on with the story!

The library and the coffee house

Sasuke had moved back to his own apartment 2 months after her death, he had decided that he'd stayed long enough with his brother and although they'd tried to convince him otherwise he wouldn't budge. A few days after that they were standing outside his apartment, Itachi and Mai had insisted to come with him. Sasuke would never say it out loud but he was happy they'd come with him. He didn't think he even wouldn't have made it through his front door without them.

Flashback

When the car stopped, Itachi turned around in his seat to look at Sasuke. "Are you sure about this?" Sasuke wasn't listening, he was looking through the window, his mind was obviously somewhere else and judging by the expression on his face it wasn't a pleasant memory. With a sigh Itachi looked at Mai, worry flooded her eyes but she just shrugged and said. "It's his choice Itachi, we can't force him to stay with us." Itachi sighed again and nodded. "I know, I know but, look at him, he isn't ready." Mai gave him a small smile. "If he says he is, we have to believe him."

"Believe what?" They both turned their heads to see Sasuke stare at them a bit confused. "Itachi?"

His brother smiled at him. "It's nothing, are you ready?"

"Yeah." Without another word he opened the door and got out of the car, with a sigh Itachi followed and soon after Mai was too. Sasuke didn't waste much time, as soon as his brother and Mai were out of the car he was already moving to the front of the apartment complex. He didn't need to get anything out of the car because all he needed was packed in one small suitcase.

The apartment block Sasuke lived in was really nice but the raven tried not to think about it. One look at the building and he remembered how ecstatic Yurippe had been when they first came to look at it. The couple had been visiting different apartments for two months then and every time it was a waste of time. They had seen so many crap apartments they were almost tempted to give up but then his brother had called, claiming he had found the perfect apartment for them. And boy how he was right. One look at it and Yurippe declared they were done searching. The next day they were already moving in and by the end of the week the apartment was already repainted and completely furnished.

Now, Sasuke wasn't stupid, he knew this would be hard, especially since it was the first time he'd really come out of the apartment, so when he was finally standing in front of his door, his key ready in his hand, he could kick himself in the head. He hadn't even gone in the apartment yet and already he was frozen in his spot. He wanted to slap himself across the face for being such a coward. Right next to the door there was a sign that said:

2B

Home of

Sasuke Uchiha

and

Yurippe Kurosaki

When Itachi noticed this, he sighed yet again. Somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice was asking him how many times he had already done that today but he pushed it back from where it came from and laid his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. That seemed to snap him out of his gaze, the raven nodded a small thanks and proceeded to open the door. Stepping inside Sasuke almost couldn't resist the urge to start sobbing. He shook his head. No. He'd decided long ago he wouldn't cry anymore, he had to stay strong.

With that in his mind he walked further into the room, Itachi and Mai following. He walked into the living room and put his bag next to the sofa. "Okay, what now?" He turned around. Itachi shrugged and answered. "I guess you could show us what you don't want anymore and we'll put it in some bags. Speaking of which, do you have some?" Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, there are still a few boxes in the storage room from the moving." He visibly swallowed before he continued. "We hadn't found the time to throw them out yet."

"I'll go get them. I know where it is." Mai offered him a small smile before walking away."

"So have you thought about it?" Itachi asked, earning himself a confused gaze from Sasuke.

"About what?"

"The things you want to keep and those you don't want." Itachi clarified.

"Oh, well not really. Her clothes I guess." Itachi nodded.

"And her painting stuff, like the brushes or the paint. You can take those too." Mai came back with the boxes and placed them in the middle of the room. "All right, Sasuke, I'm sorry but I have to ask." She said with a soft voice. Sasuke urged her to continue. "Do you want us to pack her stuff or will you do it yourself?" He looked at her for a few moments clearly thinking it through. "I should do it myself, shouldn't I?" Mai nodded and Itachi walked closer to squeeze his shoulder. "You won't have to do it alone Sasuke. We'll be here the whole time." Sasuke nodded and gave them a little smile. "I know… thanks."

It took them the whole day to clear his apartment. He boxed away her paint, brushes and everything she used to paint but kept the paintings that were finished. All of her clothes and her stuff from the bathroom he put away too. Then there were the things he didn't know what to do with like her cell phone, I pod and computer. Itachi said he should go through the documents and pictures on the computer to see if there was anything he wanted to keep but Sasuke said it was too early. He just didn't want to start the thing to look at the pictures they took together. It would hurt too much. His heart wasn't ready to see her again. Not after he just accepted that she's… kind of gone. His heart was already broken and it had yet to recover from the pain. So he would wait, maybe he would try next month again, maybe he would never try it and just throw the thing out. As if she was reading his mind Mai said. "Don't throw it out Sasuke, you'll regret it later, I'm sure. One day you will want to look at those pictures and you'll remember how much you loved her. I won't say it won't hurt but-"

'It won't hurt so much anymore. I know." Sasuke cut her off. "I won't throw it out, I promise."

That night Sasuke couldn't sleep, the night after was the just the same. It took a whole week before Sasuke could finally sleep again at night and it was 2 weeks before he wouldn't wake up bathing in sweat, waking up from a nightmare.

It started as a beautiful day, not that Sasuke cared but the clouds from yesterday slowly disappeared from the horizon and sun was shining with full power. Urgh. Sasuke hated this even more then the rain. If it had been his choice he would've stayed home with the curtains closed so that not a ray of sunlight could reach him. But his luck had decided otherwise or, to be specific, his brother did. Itachi had told him, no, he threatened him that if he wouldn't come out his apartment he would break down the door and force him out. Now most people would think he was kidding but Sasuke knew better, after all he was the man's brother and he had lived with him for over twenty years. If Itachi threatened you, you'd better obey. So against his will Sasuke agreed and closed his door behind him.

So that was why he was currently walking around town with nothing much to do. Itachi had wanted to stay with him but Sasuke argued that. It was bad enough he had gotten him out of his home, he didn't need a babysitter. He was twenty-four damn it! With a sigh he looked around him and realized he was walking to the library, the large building had already appeared in his vision and Sasuke couldn't help but walk towards it. He figured, why not? He could search for a good book and then go find a place to read it. He just thought about going back but, he was outside anyway so it wouldn't hurt to get some fresh air.

When he walked into the building several people greeted him, he was fairly known there because he would come here almost three times a week. The receptionist smiled when he walked over to her and he smiled back. "Hey Sasuke, long time no see. Where were you?"

"Hello, Tenten. I was staying at my brothers home, I didn't forget to return any books did I?"

She shook her head. "So how are you and Yurippe and how come you weren't home?" When she saw him flinch her smile immediately fell from her face. "Sasuke, I'm sorry did I say something?"

"No, no, well... yes but you couldn't know, it's not your fault."

"Oh, okay. Can I ask what's wrong or-" She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

He lifted his head to look at her, her eyes were sincere, he could tell. Sasuke wondered if he should tell her, they weren't exactly friends, it's not like they hung out every once in a while but on the other hand, he actually enjoyed her company. Before he and Yurippe had moved here, he already lived in this neighborhood so he'd known Tenten since he was 18. Sure he hadn't come so often back then, but when he did he would always stay late and Tenten was always there. He wondered why they didn't meet up outside this place but decided not to dwell about it. With another look at her, he let it out. "Yurippe died, Tenten." Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Oh my…Sasuke, I'm so sorry I-I didn't know. H-how? When? " She stuttered, she didn't know what to do.

"It's been 4 months now. She had a blood-clot in her brain, she began complaining about headaches and one day it became so bad that we went to a doctor. They said they had to operate her quickly but, before they could bring her to surgery there was a bleeding in her brain. The doctor said he couldn't do anything and she died." He said it as serenely as possible so that his face didn't betray any emotion. Not even when Tenten pulled him in a hug and whispered she was sorry. When she pulled away he gave her a small smile. "It's okay, I can't say I'm over it completely but I'm fine now, so you don't have to worry." She smiled too and suddenly realized where they were. "Oh yeah right, Euhm, is there something in particular you're searching for?"

"No I was just going to look around a bit. Is that okay?"

"Yeah Of course, take your time. We close in about an hour but you're welcome to stay until then."

He smiled again and started to walk away. "Thanks. By the way, Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"We should hang out some time, as friends. I mean outside the library." She gave him a surprised look but nodded, the corners of her mouth pulling up a bit. "Yeah, we should."

Sasuke loved books. In his opinion, if heaven really existed, it would practically be made of books. A bit like a library. Yes, a library was just like heaven. He could walk around for hours in this place, content with the thought that he could just lift his arm and grab whatever book he wanted. Yes, Sasuke loved libraries almost as much as he loved books.

But now, he wasn't content with just any book, he needed the perfect one. He wasn't sure what genre it had to be or how many pages or even what the story should be about but, he would search until he found it. He was currently walking through the sofa-place of the building. It was a small clearing right in the middle of the room with countless of sofas and settees in it. You could choose a book and just read it here if you wanted to. The only rule was that there was no food or drinks allowed.

So he was walking through it when suddenly he heard a voice. "Excuse me." He stopped in his tracks and started looking around him to see who had spoken a few people where sitting on the sofa's. There was a girl with long red hair currently reading 'The lucky one' from Nicholas Sparks. In another sofa there was couple, the girl was lying on her boyfriends lap sleeping, the book she had been reading, 'Skippy Dies', was still in her hand on her stomach and her boyfriend was unconsciously stroking her hair while reading his own book, 'lord of the flies'. Turning around he found a few others all of them busy reading their book or comic.

He frowned, he was sure he heard something but he couldn't find where it came from. He jumped when he felt a hand on his arm, he quickly turned around almost punching the person in front of him in the mean time. "What the hell!" He whisper-yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The girl quietly shrieked.

"It's okay, I just-" He trailed off when he finally took in the girl in front of him. First of all she was small, like really small, the top of her just barely reached his shoulder. Secondly she had shockingly blond hair, she was wearing it in a long braid and it hung over her shoulder but what shocked Sasuke most were her eyes, they were this blue he couldn't quite describe all he could say was that they were captivating. Her eyes reminded him of the ocean, you know, like clear blue water around the Caribbean islands or those in Hawaii. The girl began squirming under his gaze and he realized she must have been the one he heard. "Yes?" He said quietly, signaling her to continue.

"Ah yes I'm sorry, it's just, you were walking from here to there and back and I was just wondering if you were searching for something and if so maybe I could help you, 'cause, you know, you could say I've almost read every book that is inside. So I could recommend some books if you want?" She stopped with an expecting look in her eyes, waiting for him to say something.

Sasuke was surprised to say at least, he didn't know someone so small could talk so much.

"Well?" She asked, shaking him out of his daze.

He looked at her again, it couldn't hurt to ask for help could it? "I don't know if you can help me because I'm not really sure what I'm searching for." She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm searching for a book, of course, that's how do I say it-"

"A book that's perfect? Maybe a bit mysterious? One that you can't lay down until it's finished but where you sometimes have to close it for a minute to think 'Wow?' ?" Sasuke was surprised, again, unable to say anything he just nodded. A big smile appeared on the girls face and Sasuke couldn't help but be amazed by it. "Well then, you've found the right girl to help ya. Come on I'll show you the book I have in mind." Without another word she walked away, obviously expecting him to follow her, which he did.

He followed her to a bookcase in the section 'historical fiction' when she finally stopped. He awkwardly stood behind her while she was looking for the book. "It should be somewhere around here, I just hope no one took it." He didn't reply to that an just watched her move around, she really was small and her hair was now hanging on her back, it was so long it reached the small of her back. He took the time to look at her a bit closer, she was wearing a greenish skirt that reached just above her knees with a black blouse. An orange bag was hanging from her shoulder looking quite heavy and to top it off she was wearing bright orange chucks. Her shoes looked worn as though she wore them every day and they brought a smirk to Sasuke's face.

"Ah I found it!" She turned around with a big grin on her face and started walking closer to Sasuke. When she was close enough she lifted her arm so he could see which book she was holding. "I Coriander from Sally Gardner." He read out loud. "Yes, do you know it?" She asked cheerily.

When he shook his head her grin grew even bigger. "Well, take it." She pushed the book into his hands not letting it go until she was certain he was holding it. "What's it about?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain, it's about a girl, Coriander." She pointed at the title. "And euhm, her mother dies and then her father remarries and well euhm, it's hard to explain, just read it you'll like it!" He nodded. "Great." she smiled and then seemed to realize something. "What time is it?"

Sasuke looked at his watch reading it for her. "Almost 12:30."

"Shit, I have to go. It was nice to meet you, see you around." She said while walking away.

Sasuke tried to stop her but before he could say something she was already gone. "Damn it at least tell me your name."He sighed and looked down at the book he was holding, it actually looked like a pretty good book. Deciding it wouldn't hurt and realizing the library would close in a few minutes he took it with him. He walked back to Tenten and gave it to her. "Ah found what you were searching for Sasuke?" He nodded. "Yeah, I got some help." He said while he gave her his card.

"From who?" She frowned giving him his card and the book. "I have no idea."

She laughed at that and waved him away. "Well off you go, I have to close this thing." He smiled and walked away with a little wave.

With the book in one hand he walked away from the library, not knowing where to go next he just stood there for a minute before his stomach decided for him. Food, that was a good idea. He didn't really know a lot of restaurants and such so he decided to just walk around a bit in search for one. So he started walking, he just followed where his feet brought him, not caring if he got lost because he had his cell phone with him so if he wanted he could always call Itachi or Mai.

After what seemed like an hour of just walking around he finally found something. It was a small coffee house at the end of a small street. When he looked around he realized it wasn't very far from his house or the library. He walked over to it and opened the door. Once inside he was overwhelmed by the smell of coffee, hot chocolate, pancakes and cake all at once. He couldn't say it smelled bad, hell no, it smelled so good he had to keep himself from drooling.

The coffee house didn't only smell mouth-watering it looked really cosy too. The wall behind the bar was painted deep red and a large blackboard with the prices hung on it. The other walls where a sort of brown-gray that wasn't as dark as the red. There were pictures hanging all over the walls and Sasuke had the urge to go look at them, resisting it he continued looking around. In one corner there were a few comfy looking chairs and settees and on the other side of the room you could sit at tables. The chairs, settees and tables were all different kinds and colors but they fitted perfectly with each other.

Sasuke loved the place already and he didn't understand why the place was so empty, only a few people where sitting at the tables and no one on the settees. With a frown he looked back at the bar only to be surprised to find someone standing there. He walked closer to the girl and nodded hello. She smiled at him and said. "Hello sir, have you chosen your order?" She had a very light voice that fitted with her appearance, she was small, almost as small as the girl from before he distinctly thought, and had long black hair. Her eyes were very light purple and it seemed as if she didn't have pupils. She had a very gentle smile on her face and overall she looked really kind. He read her name tag that said 'Hinata'.

"I don't really know this place so what would you recommend?" He asked her.

"Well the menu of today is pancakes with chocolate sauce and a hot chocolate."

"That's a lot of chocolate."

Hinata quietly laughed. "Yes I know, the boss likes it."

"I'll take it."

"Okay, you can sit where you want I'll bring it over in a minute." She said with a soft smile. He nodded, walked to tables and sat down at the one closest to the window. A few minutes later Hinata came back with his pancakes and his hot chocolate. He thanked her and started eating. At the first bite he almost moaned. How could someone, a human, make pancakes this delicious? He took a sip from his hot beverage and almost moaned again. God almighty, this was good. Did he already say he loved this place?

He ate everything in a record time all the while looking at the pictures that hung on the wall. It were pictures of the staff, he recognized Hinata in a few of them, there seemed to be some older pictures too. They seemed like a family on it, he didn't know if they actually were or not but he doubted it. While Hinata had black hair the others in the pictures had blond, brown, red and even gray hair. No way there was a family with this much differences. But you could almost feel the love of a family coming from the pictures and that was all that counted. When he finished his pancakes, he took his hot chocolate and moved to sit in one of the settees.

He opened the book the girl had given him and started reading, every once in a while sipping his drink. When he was done he put it on the table next to him, never stopping with reading. He didn't even notice it when Hinata had come and removed the cup, he didn't notice she put a new one there until she gently shook his shoulder to get his attention. She pointed at it and he thanked her already moving his gaze back to the book. This happened two more times until he felt someone sit next to him. He turned his gaze to the side and almost did a double take. It was her! The girl from the library, what was she doing here?

He looked at her for a minute before saying. "Are you stalking me or something?" She laughed. She laughed so hard she was almost clutching her stomach because she was out of breath. She laughed so hard she almost made Sasuke laugh too, instead he just smiled a little. When she had calmed down again she said. "I could ask the same to you."

He gave her a confused look. She chuckled before saying. "This is my shop, I own it."

Sasuke's eyes widened."Seriously? You own this?"

She nodded with a big smile. "Yes, this is all mine."

"It's amazing, and the food is delicious."

"Thanks and thanks, I furnished and painted it, with help from my friends of course, and if you really want to know, I'm the cook."

His mouth fell open. "You are the cook?" He asked in disbelieve.

She frowned. "Yes, and is it really that hard to believe?"

"No, it's not that it's just, the food was really, really good." She chuckled again.

"Well thanks, I'm glad you liked it. You seem to like the book too." She said and gave a nod with her head at the book. He followed her gaze and was startled to see it was almost finished. "Yeah," He mumbled. "I like it, it's kind of bizarre though, but it's really good." The girl nodded. "I knew you'd like it, I read it twice. The first time I was way too young and I didn't understand half of what was happening but a few years later I stumbled upon it again and read it. I love it." She smiled again, did she ever stop smiling?

"I never thanked you for it. So … Thanks."

"You are most welcome, it was my pleasure."

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh a little, shaking his head. "Ah, by the way, what's your name? You never told me." He said.

"Are you serious? I didn't introduce myself?" He nodded. "Damn, I'm such an idiot." She shook her head.

"Dobe, you're forgetting it again." She looked up at the name he gave her.

"Did you just call me dobe?" She asked with a frown.

"Yeah, how do you know what it means?"

"My parents moved here from Japan a year before I was born, my mother was from Japan my father wasn't, how do you know Japanese."

"Same as you although both of my parents were Japanese and they moved here when I was five."

They stared a while at each other with interest, neither of them saying something until Sasuke broke the silence. "I still don't know your name, dobe."

"Don't call me dobe, bastard and I might tell you. Besides you haven't told me yours."

Sasuke smirked. "Touché."

They both stared again, both not wanting to be the first to give in.

"Well, bastard, I'm sorry to break it to you but you kind of have to go." She said. Sasuke frowned and looked around the shop only to find it empty. "Where's Hinata?"

"I told her to go home half an hour ago, since when are you here by the way?"

"Somewhere around 1:30." Her eyes widened. "Do you have any idea what time it is, because I hope you didn't miss some appointment." He looked at his watch. 10:30. "Shit." The blond laughed at him and stood from the settee. "Well, it's time for you to go home bastard. If you ever want more advice on books just come and find me." She said with a grin and he followed her lead and lifted himself from his seat. "I'll keep you to that." And he started walking towards the door.

"Oh I almost forgot. I haven't paid yet." He reached into his back pocket but was cut off by the girl. "It's okay, leave it. Just come back sometime, if you're hungry or if you are in the mood for chocolate." She said with a grin. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah now go before I kick you out."

He snorted and she glared at him. "Oh I could definitely kick your ass." And she closed the door before he could retaliate.

The whole time he walked home he kept thinking of her, because he didn't have a name he just called her 'dobe' because that fitted her nicely. He could've called her 'goldielocks' or 'goldie' or maybe even sunshine because she's always smiling. But 'dobe' was the first thing that came to his mind so he would rather call her that. He kept grinning about the way she called him 'bastard'. He decided he would go back there tomorrow, he would find out her name, he just had to. When he finally got home he showered and changed into his sweatpants. Sitting down he took his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello, this is Itachi." He heard his brother say.

"Hey Itachi, it's me."

"Sasuke, what for do have the honor of speaking with you?" Sasuke snorted.

"Just to say hello."

"Aaand?" Itachi pushed.

"And to say thank you for forcing me out of the house." He muttered.

"It was my pleasure, dear little brother. May I ask, what happened?" Oh Sasuke could hear the smirk on Itachi's face.

"Nothing you'd be interested in."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure, now I'm gonna hang up, Itachi. Bye." Not listening to the others protesting about that he wanted to know what happened he hung up and threw his phone to the other side of the sofa. He grabbed his book and continued reading.

So please review to let me know what you think! I know I haven't said anything about Naruto's (Oh come on, you ALL knew she was Naruto...) whiskermarks but they'll come later in the story (normally...). Review, review, review!