MOON SAYS:Last chapter, my readers, hope you like. It almost took exactly 4 months, tomorrow. This is my LONGEST CHAPTER, besides A New Start: Chapter 1:: WHICH WILL BE NEXT...once I get rested, this took a lot out of me.

16 pages; 10,450 words; ENJOY!

Notes:

Thinking to themselves

Thinking to other Guardians

*Thinking between Kyuubi and Naru*

Masks

Chapter 5: Confession

I knew I shouldn't have done this.

I thought I learned long ago that listening to Tina when she had that gleam in her mind was bad. Well…that's what I call it. It's where she has blocked something she was thinking about, so in essence we—her Guardians or anyone else—couldn't read what she was planning. This time she was blocking me. I don't know about the other Guardians—this time—whether they saw it or just knew. But I knew I was the only one that saw a gleam. The others though, I am not sure whether they see it…I don't know, nor do I care right now.

I thought I had whatever she was planning figured out. At first, I thought it was staying and talking with Naruto…my friends. But boy was I wrong, so wrong.

The longer I spent with them the more my cold exterior was dropping. I had to get away before I truly did something that Naruto would do, and I would surly regret that. For I was not Naruto, I didn't do Naruto things. Did Shika not just say that we were totally opposites?

What did I know? People change over years. So can't I have changed? Couldn't I have adopted some of Naruto's characteristics while posing as him for around a decade?

I shook my head, this was nonsense. There was no way I had any of Naruto's traits, I totally detested him. If someone had existed in reality that was just like him I would kill them. Plus, it's just impossible that someone's like that. They have to be…severely damaged or demented. I threw those thoughts out of my head and used my Element to slice them to shreds. It would do me any good to think about that. I didn't need to think about that. I had more important things to worry about.

For example: what Tina was reallyplanning. She was good at tricking people, I should have remembered that. She did grow up with the Kyuubi after all.

Back to the situation at hand, I needed to pay attention before one of Naru—my friends caught my mind wondering. I felt something in my chest, something burn. It was little, not big—yet. My mask was dropping, or to be more accurate, it was peeling off. Slowly, bit by bit, these people I have known for years were taking it off.

I couldn't let that happen. My mask was everything to me. It had been the only thing keeping me together after my soul started cracking. For as far as I knew in that moment and the years before, my mask was my soul. And everyone had to protect their soul's right?

That meant only one course of action: I had to leave. I had to get away before my whole world came crashing down again. I wasn't sure I was strong enough to survive another one.

Lucky for me—not entirely sure about that, for many different reasons, main one was seeing what happened next, not sure it was lucky—Shika saw what I was trying to hide. My need to hide, everything, emotions, thoughts, death threats, and the most important: my need to escape. But the question wasn't could I, it was did I really want to? Anyway, back on track Naru, Shika saw it.

But when has luck ever favored me?

Just as soon as Shika was about to give me my oh-so-needed escape, Neji showed up. Shika speaking compared to Neji arriving—no contest. I learned an important lesson that second after we all saw Neji appear out of thin air like magic! You can never take the fan girl out of the girl. Except by death…but were we going to go that extreme? I know Sasuke was considering it with Sakura before he left. She and Ino were getting too much for him.

Then it dawned on me. Was that the reason Sasuke left? Was that the reason why he hurt me so much? I laughed inwardly at the thought. If Sasuke was going to do anything about fan girls it would have been to kill them. And I am not ashamed to admit that I would have helped him. They were getting too much for me too.

Getting my thoughts back on track before Ino decided to hit me again for not paying attention, I was weary of saying lucky me again—what if it was a jinx? Oh well, screw it. I was going to do it and have some fun. If I was going to die, I will have a smile…no a smirk on my face.

I knew what they were going to do. I had seen Ino and Tenten start twitching when they saw Neji approach. All I needed to do was put the feel of God in them and watch the show. Okay that was bad, and so wrong. I should not have said that. I should have said put the fear of a Demon in them and watch the results.

They were just a hand's length away from him when my voice cut through the air.

"Girls, touch him and you will die rather painfully." I added a smirk my serious, yet oh so calm voice. It was like I talked about people getting tortured then dying every day.

I watched in satisfaction as they froze, not moving toward him—for fear of my words—or away from him either—for hope that I was lying. I knew they were just itching—literally—to touch him.

I felt Neji sent me a wave of thanks in my mind. He didn't want to be touched by them, but he didn't want to be the reason for their deaths. Not that he liked them, no, he tolerated them at the most, but it was just too troublesome to deal with the one who would kill them.

Shika gave me a look, a calculating one, as if he was trying to figure out if I was with Neji or not. I knew for a fact that Shika thought I was with Gaara, his girlfriend's younger brother. I winked at him, and watched him flinch.

Neji chuckled, "You know full and well that is a lie, little Naru-chan."

Now every guy turned to me, and so did the girls—the latter for a split second before trying to pounce on him again. The guys had it in their heads that I was in fact going out with Neji, because he never acted like this before. Poor girls, I noted as they were less than a second away from touching him, they were lucky I stopped them…again. They really were scared that they were going to die, if they were stopped by a simple voice.

"Oh right, my bad. They wouldn't die, instead they would beg for death. Of course, they would but not die. The torture wouldn't stop, so girls, tell me, is it worth touching him?" I nodded; my lips were doing the same thing as Neji's: playful smirking.

No one spoke for a minute, exactly. I timed it.

"You're serious?" I wasn't sure if it was Tenten or Ino, but I didn't really care.

I shrugged, "Ask Tina, though if you did touch him, she might blame the rest of you too. Her logic would be you could have stopped them." I gave them my version of the Uchiha's smirk. I love watching people flinch. I think I got that from Gaara.

On a different note, I wasn't sure if I was glad that they now knew that I wasn't with Neji. I waved goodbye and left before they could say anything.

Have fun dealing with the scared shitless friends of ours. I whispered in his mind through our Guardian link. He sent me an image of him flipping me the bird. I sent him a chuckle back, you still love me.

You are so lucky, Naru-chan. If it was anyone but you, I would have kicked your ass by now.

I snorted, try it and see what happens. Just because you're with Tina, doesn't mean I can't hurt you. Same with Gaara since he is with Onee-chan. I can kick both your asses.

Onee-chan? Too many of those Naru-chan. Name please, my mind is currently occupied with calming people down so I can't go: oh that is who you're talking about, after a moment of thought.

I sighed. Tasia, Tina's Onee-chan dumbass, she is the only one I call Onee-chan. And you called me dobe years before because?

You had a part to play, so did I little one. Till we die, we will have a part. Whether they are the same part or you change, we are stilling playing. To be quite honest, we play different parts all the time, constantly changing. And this part won't be our last.

Then he stopped and after a short pause, he told me something I wish I had paid serious attention to. Your mask still has a part to play.

When will it not have a part?

Soon, hopefully for your sake, it will end. Now remember have fun!

Bastard!

Nope, that is the Uchiha.

I rolled my eyes at him. We broke off our connection as my thoughts before he came to the front of my mind. Neji probably helped with that. I needed to get away. I needed to go somewhere to think. I needed somewhere to process how my life went to hell in less than a few hours.

I went to the only place I could ever just sit and think. Thanks to Ero-Sennin, and tradition, this was a place where I could bare my soul. It was the first place I was ever content. It was where I accepted that this was my life now, the ups and downs and everything else that went with it.

This was where I accepted that there were other people in my life. I accepted that there were people who mattered to me.

It was where Sasuke—the duck butt haired emo—accepted me as part of his team.

I teleported to where the three stumps were located on the Team Seven Training Grounds. But what was this I was feeling?

*Kit, be careful and raise your mask.*

Neji's words raced into my mind again: Your mask still has a part to play.

Kyuubi's warning was the only one I got, besides that feeling I got. Less than a second later I stood, well sat on the middle stump. My legs were swinging to the sides, while my hair was flowing in the wind behind me. Oh I loved the wind.

That was when I smelt as well as saw him. My foot was so close to where his hand was reaching out. He pulled it back just as soon as my foot got too close.

With Neji and Kyuubi's advice still fresh in my mind, I pulled up my mask just as I heard him say, "Oh shit."

We started into the other's eyes as we waited. For what you ask? I still don't know till this day. I do know that I ended up speaking first, though it wasn't what he expected to hear come from my mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Uchiha? Come to take me to your imperious leader? Yes, I know you joined Akatsuki. You and that fucked up team of yours. I know you captured the Eight Tails, it was just a matter of time before that sent my ex-rival for me." I spoke in my iciest voice. Uchiha flinched. I wasn't sure he was even aware that he allowed himself to let his mask down and show his flinch.

I gave him a smirk as I watched him flinch yet again. What can I say, I have a gift. When he flinched again—in response to my smirk—I gave him a laugh that matched my voice. This time he watched himself, there was no flinching. Oh well.

"What's wrong, Uchiha? Can't handle someone who is colder then you?" I asked, but looked thoughtful as I asked something else. This time my voice wasn't cold like it was before. "Why are you flinching? From me of all people?"

That last part left me before I could stop it, but I continued on, before he could catch my slip up. "Does this…" I paused as I waved at myself, "shock you?"

Sasuke scowled his old, but worn scowl at me. "Of course it shocks me. Besides the fact that you're a fucking girl?" he snapped at me. He wiped the scowl off his face and replaced it with a smirk. "And what this about? Copying me now? And here I thought I was the one with the Copying abilities."

I rolled my eyes at him. He blinked. I held back my smirk. He thought I would snap back, lose my coldness…I laughed at him. He was beyond confused.

"Uchiha let me tell you something. I was like the before you had everything you held dear ripped away from you in a single night. But besides that little fact, don't you get anything? You expect Naruto to pop up and argue back at you. You throw insults, you think you win when he snaps and starts a fight. It is not going to happen."

We then had a staring contest. A few minutes after he gave in, Uchiha had the nerve to sigh.

"So when you became a girl your personality changed as well?"

Those words made me blink, that was the only outlet I let my emotions use to make themselves known. "You think I became a girl? And my personality changed as well?" I asked to make sure I had heard right. There was no way he could have just said that.

Uchiha snarled at me, "Didn't I just say that? Did the sex change destroy what little brain power you had?"

I laughed; I knew what he was doing now. He was trying to get some of Naruto to come out. He was trying to get what power he could. Two could play at that game.

"I didn't get a sex change. It's called a henge dumbass."

Uchiha was playing along just fine, faking being shocked. He even went as far as letting it show on his face. I didn't let him speak; I was kind of getting tired of this so I just explained it all.

"I was born a girl. And the reason for my warped personality is the fault of none other than our precious Tina."

Uchiha's mouth closed with a loud smack. He really thought I was stupid, did he not think I couldn't see through this?

It was silent once again. We both were confused. There were questions we both had, but we couldn't ask them. Something was in the way.

"Why?"

I closed my eyes as I quickly turned my back to him, successfully turning around on the stump.

Sasuke waited, if there was something we both knew about him, it was that he could wait. Even though there was some times that he impatient.

After what seemed like forever I spoke. My voice was quiet, soft, but yet loud enough for him to hear it from a few feet behind me.

"There were a couple of times I thought you figured it out." I chuckled as I said the next part. "I even got scared. What if the teme did know my secret? My whole life was a lie—that he knew of—it was still my life though. It was something I didn't want or thought I could see destroyed."

I stopped watching the clouds for a moment. I hated them. They were completely free. And me? Only partial free…I would never be free. I should have kept that lesson held tighter against me growing up. No one could ever be completely free.

"I had been devastated when my lifelines—Tina and Tasia—left me. My world was broken, and I had to live this lie completely and totally. Naruto the loud, hyper active dumbass Ninja, if he didn't have my torture—I mean training—behind him he would have died during that first attack with the cloud Jounin."

"That doesn't answer the question dobe."

The way he said dobe, made me want to look at him. He wasn't saying it as an insult, but could it be true? Could he really have been using it as an endearment? I turned my head back toward him, twisting my body a little, but not completely turning myself around.

"You know about the Kyuubi." I didn't wait for the nod I knew was coming. "Then you can understand why."

It took him only a few seconds before his eyes widened, and then he looked disgusted. It seemed he knew what they would have done to me. I didn't add that they had tried it even when I had the henge up.

"Tina and I met after she jumped back. It was after the…your Clan's massacre. After that she trained me, then left me because your damn Clan had to be really retarded and want to rebel."

I watched as he controlled his anger. Though he could have been angered at his Clan, but I knew most of it was for me. It's something to mock him for at least.

"Oh is the great Uchiha unable to keep his mask up?" I said and raised an eyebrow for an added effect.

This time the mask went up perfectly. I wanted to laugh at how ironic this was. Why was I the only one who could challenge him, or make him do something he didn't want to do? Then it dawned on me, I was the same way. It was because I never wanted Uchiha to know about who I really was, so I worked just as hard as he did to train. But my training was keeping him from finding out.

"Why?" It slipped out before I could stop it. My face showed the emotions I wanted to keep hidden. I had lost another battle. But I sure as hell was going to win the war.

Sasuke regarded me slowly. "You still seem to be quite dumb, dobe, especially seeing as you have been trained by Tina of all people. I thought you knew why I left. Revenge—"

I cut him off with a snort. I didn't know if I could survive this. Yes, the Snake trained him to equal my power (without the Fox) but it wasn't that. My heart was frozen, but damn it all! Ever since Tina returned it had started to melt. Would I be able to survive this emotionally? Or mentally? I didn't know, and honestly, I didn't want to find out.

So if I was going to die, to hell with everything else. Including my emotions, they were getting me in trouble in the first place. So why not begin with them?

"Why did you not figure out I was a girl? You claim to be smart, a fucking genius." I hissed that last word.

"Why did you have to be so stupid? I admired you because no matter what happened, your bloody mask always stayed up. If it went down, it was only for a moment and then it was back up, and you closed yourself off. But you dropped it, and succumbed to your emotions." I paused. "Why did you change?" my voice asked softly, he barely heard me. "You hurt me, my comrade of pain. You, the only other one who knew what pain truly was and kept it at bay. But you cracked."

I stopped too see why I couldn't hear him breathing. My words seemed to take his breath away.

I threw my mask—through it was really cracked—back up. I wanted even the littlest of protections now that I bared some of my soul. I didn't want to crack in front of him—least of all him.

Then I let myself look at his face. Big mistake.

I clenched my fists, it was the only sign one could see of my anger. That bastard!How could he look at me like that? That stupid face of his was a mix of confusion—I ignored that. Sympathy—the teme should go shove something up his ass. And then there was pity==I wanted to kill him now, even though I promised not to. And the last was something I never expected on the Uchiha's face—regret.

I couldn't keep my rage at bay and Kyuu-chan wasn't helping by making perverted comments at me, so I blocked him out. I closed my eyes and that didn't help. I still saw his face and the feelings he let occupy them. What would help me block out his face, and those damnable emotions that I saw on his face?

For the first time in my life I couldn't control my charka. I heard Sasuke breath stop coming out—damn Kyuubi for extra heightened senses—I smelt something too, but I am not going to say what. I quickly pulled it back in, maybe that would help with what I smelt. I wished then that I started reigning in what was happening, but I needed to do something before he let his growing problem go out of control. God knew I didn't need that problem arising. I did the only thing left to do—fight.

Screw my promise; screw keeping my emotions tied down. That last one took me a little to let go of.

When my eyes opened I sawhis eyes show shock. I knew I was powerful. My charka had only grown—I was training after all. But I gave a little smirk; I allowed that little show of emotion. Uchiha had never known my true power. I watched as he scowled at me. He had connected the dots and realized that I had been playing with him all those years ago.

I pulled my charka back into my body, promising I would use it soon. I told it we were going to fight in a second—it calmed quickly. It knew calmness led to a good fight. One we would win.

He growled at me. "So you thought I was the idiot? The weak one? You're mad at me for the things I did, but you lied to me. I never lied to you."

That pissed me off. "Yes, congratulations on never lying to me, but you never told me anything either! Isn't that just as bad?!"

I didn't give him a chance to respond. I lashed out, my speed enhanced by both my training and the Kyuubi. I was fast.I was faster than even my father with his Jutsu. But with those stupid eyes of his it wouldn't really matter.

I then came to a decision. I was going to have to be unpredictable. But I also know how to fight someone who wields the Sharingan. I could have laughed. Combining Tina's knowledge of all and I mean all Kekkai Genkai with Gai's knowledge of fighting Kakashi—plus I could beat Kakashi with his eye out—I could beat Sasuke. Not to mention all my cool abilities. Which I would get my ass kicked if I actually used them. Sigh, Tina was such a hardass.

We didn't use any Jutsu's. Though we did use charka to enhance our bodies just a little bit, but most charka was saved when we changed battlegrounds. At first it was hand to hand combat.

Or really it was leg to body.

I caught him off guard. The asshole slipped back into our old routine. His guard was never up around the dobe, what could the dobe do to him? He seemed to have forgotten that I was not 'dobe,' I was smart and powerful, not idiotic and weak.

I was turned away from him so that helped. But I didn't remember turning around. Damn those emotions of mine! This was why I locked the up, they interfered. When my emotions were out I let my guard down and that was not acceptable.

I slid my right foot in a half circle toward my left while my other foot swung around toward the unsuspecting Uchiha who stood behind me. I wanted to smirk when we both felt and heard my boot connect with the right side of his face.

He recovered before his body slammed into a nearby tree. I smelt the line of blood coming from the side of his head where my boot struck before anyone could see it.

He wiped away the blood and gave me a calculating look as our masks were set into place once again. We started into the others eyes. We both knew then that this would be a pure fight, emotions shoved aside. Those had no place for what we were doing now.

We launched ourselves at each other. It seemed he still underestimated me, well my fist to be more accurate. I broke a bone somewhere on his body. I didn't have time to found out where I had hit him, within seconds we were a fury of fists, elbows, feet, knees, everything else we had we threw at each other. If only I had my sword. It seemed he didn't have his either. Wait…I did have my sword, oh damn it! I couldn't think about whether or not I had it. I had to focus on Uchiha. One little mistake and I would lose.

I couldn't remember if I left this morning with it on or not. But it didn't matter, neither of us had our swords. So our swords were of little consequence. For some reason I had an image in my head of someone with long blonde hair laugh with Neji about stealing a sword from under Uchiha's nose. I could have laughed. Tina had taken it. Next time I saw her, I would have to thank her.

The fight had gotten unpredictable, blocks and certain body parts came out of nowhere and then they were gone. Sometimes I would see something coming at me, and then it would be gone. Faking had an important in this battle. Add to that I didn't recognize the style he was using or the one I was using.

Our erratic and impulse dance ensued. We would hit the other, and we would block, those were the only constants in our movements, the other moves we used didn't register with me at first, but I got used to this dance. To be honest, we didn't land many blows. We were too evenly matched. Plus, I had wanted to be unpredictable. I began to take long looks at the moves we were using, it was in fact not part of a particular fighting style, maybe some random moves put together, but it wasn't unpredictable like I wanted. I looked even more closely and realized why I didn't place the moves at first, they were so basic. We put basic moves together in a random pattern.

A threw a punch and did a series of kicks that Jiraiya told me never to use against someone who had that Bone Kekkai Genkai, but for the ones with theirs in their eyes it was good. Those kicks were doing good, till the fourth kick when Sasuke seem to remember what the Snake taught him, and countered. He gathered Charka in the middle of his left arm and let my kick hit him.

I ended up throwing myself back so I wouldn't be caught. I growled, not for the first or last time that day. I launched myself back at him, instead of going through with the punch it looked like I was throwing, I dropped suddenly kicked his stomach with my left foot while holding myself up with my hands behind me. My right leg went immediately to his legs to make him fall.

That didn't work. The next four sets of moves I used, didn't work either. Neither did his. He started faking me, but I could tell before he did the fake. He found out from my body language a few seconds after the fact and wouldn't block all of my attack. I, on the other hand—for once glad of my heightened senses—had the ability to sense his emotions through his smell. He would tense right before he would fake or when he was taking a hit from me.

But I can't claim to be the only one earning hits. He cracked a few of the bones in my left arm. I still didn't find out where I had broken that bone…but unlike Sasuke, he couldn't heal as fast as I did. And since I was almost merged completely with the Fox inside of me—something Akatsuki didn't know, if they knew they couldn't use me—so as soon as he cut me, minutes later I was healed.

Uchiha, sensing that I was distracted by my thoughts, landed a kick and almost broke my rib. He then didn't let me recover. He launched himself fully at me, all I could was block.

It was then that I was glad I had pulled up my mask. I didn't want to see how pissed I was, nor did I want him to see. I was getting nowhere, and that wasn't acceptable. Sasuke and his stupid eyes made everything worse.

As I was thinking about being pissed, I was distracted long enough for Sasuke to land a punch on my mouth.

When was I going to learn Sasuke would know when I was distracted and actually hit me?

I growled at him and I did something unexpected—even I wasn't thinking about doing it. I faked two kicks then I punched him trying to get him to focus on my hand while I brought my knee up to crash against his chin. Then he smashed—back first—into the ground.

My body—I had planned to jump off before he hit the ground, but it didn't work out that way—ended up on top of his when he collided with the ground. His breath was knocked out of him when he hit the ground. Mine was as well when I hit him when he hit the ground. Wait, did that make sense? It doesn't matter anyway, I need to focus. Didn't I just say I had a problem with thoughts being distracted? Add to that the little problem of breathing, I couldn't breathe. More than the wind was knocked out of me…the irony. I began to assume irony had it out for me.

We got our breath back a few seconds later, but we just ended up panting and not actually getting up. Uchiha and I then fought for dominance, or just who was on top for a few minutes. I knew I had to be on top, I hadto show him that I was stronger then he always thought I was. I had to prove that I wasn't a dobe.

I drove my elbow into his side as he threw me on bottom, then he blocked my kick to his back. But—oh lucky me—when he hit the ground his Sharingan left his eyes. So he didn't see my knee going for his…Tina called it his special place.

I twisted my body—grimaced when I tasted blood in my mouth, it was that punch that he landed on me before I went wild—pushed him away from me. I then wrapped my left leg around his waist. I pushed him down, under me so that I was indeed on top. I let loose a shit load of killer intent. I knew for a fact that he had never felt this much. Even Tina would stop for a second; this was half of Kyuu-chan's KI.

I smirked as I watched him become still—forgetting momentarily the pain that occupied his groin.

I pinned him down, my arms held his wrists at bay. I put extra weight in my legs as I fully straddled him, instead of just one of my legs hooked around him. God, I didn't need that image the Fox trapped inside of my showed me. One day I would kill that Fox and then I would be happy, oh so happy. And on top of everything my hair was wildly flying around us. I had a theory that my Wind loved my hair.

We didn't move, even after I stopped emitting Kyuubi's KI.

I was really starting to think of putting a really good seal on Kyuu-chan. I was really getting tired of him sending me perverted thoughts. This time, he imagined some stuff and sent them to me. I really didn't want to see me doing stuff to Uchiha. It didn't help that Uchiha and I were in a very compromising position either. I told Kyuubi to either shut it or he won't be seeing anything. It made me wonder sometimes, he always said stuff when I was close to males or I was doing something that he could make perverted. It gave me two options, he was gay—which is impossible—or he was actually a girl. The latter would totally make sense. I would have to ask Tina next time I saw her…she did grow up with the Fox.

I focused back on Sasuke and ignored Kyuubi or anything that was perverted.

Why didn't we move? Why didn't we start fighting again? Why did we continue to stare into the other's eyes? I knew his eyes were onyx again, his Sharingan were gone just like I had noticed earlier. I had hardened myself before I first saw him. My eyes were ice just like my heart. But damn it! First Tina and now him, they made them try to melt. But did I want them to melt?

Why are we so still? It was like we were frozen. And again, I ask why couldn't we move? Then a light bulb lit up in my head. It wasn't that we couldn't, it was that we wouldn't.

After five years we were together again, arguing again, fighting again.

I felt a funny feeling inside of my chest—a burning. A fire was trying to consume me. My hands tightened around his wrists in response.

We didn't register the pressure I was applying. We were too captivated with the connection our eyes had.

So many emotions were racing through his dark, sensually eyes. It was making me dizzy. Was Sasuke indeed the only male alive that had mood swings? Or was he like me and pretended to be a guy? No guy can have so many changes in his emotions, especially so quickly. But that is off subject.

I dipped my head down in response to many things: how dizzy his mood swings made me, how tired I was; how emotionally and mentally exhausted I was after today. I didn't get much sleep last night on top of it. My nightmares came back.

It wasn't my fault about what happened next. Not my fault at all.

Uchiha, the duck butt haired asshole confused my 'head dipping down' thing. He raised his head to meet mine, his lips pressed against my still ones.

It felt like my eyes were going to explode or pop out. They were just so wide. When my shock left me and my senses returned anger and confusion gripped my entire being, yet confusion took me over the most. But being the good mask wearer I am, I only should anger.

I threw myself back. I couldn't stay on top of him. I needed to think.Straddling him just wasn't going to help. It especially wouldn't help if my little Fox who was caged inside of me got egged on by not only the position we were in, but Uchiha and his stupid kiss.

I couldn't look at him, I ogled the ground intently I wondered how he would feel. Would he feel rejected that I had broken the kiss, after it seemed that I in fact had encouraged it? I was a little scared to see how he would look. Would he feel anger toward me, or would he be filled with grief and hurt that I had in turn rejected him as he rejected me—but for different reasons though?

I took a chance, and I regretted it. Once glance at his stricken face turned my anger to confusion. If he was angry with me, then I would be at him. But if he was not angry with me, then how could I be angry with him? His face…I had never wanted to see that one emotion played out on his face. I knew for a fact that mine had showed it numerous times, and I had witnessed it on many others. But on Sasuke's? Never!

But safe to say, we were book confused, but only Sasuke a looked hurt, no it was something far worse than that.

"Why?" I barely heard my voice. Was that really my voice? It sounded all weak, despite, confused, and a little lack for a better word empty.

Why, I thought. That was the freaking question of the hour, day. No the whole fraking world.

His face became blank as my fingers involuntary went to my lips. Then the fire inside my chest wanted to…cry? I tuned myself out for a second, how can fire want to cry? When I choose to look at his face again, the fire grew worse.

"Don't you know?" he asked just as softly as I had asked my last question just moments before.

My mind went blank. I wanted to shut it down. There was no way this was right. No, it can't be.

He watched me as I trembled and shook uncontrollably.

"No…no it cannot be." My voice was so unstable. He frowned, I knew he couldn't' understand.

"You are the bastard raven. I'm the…god," I gave a bitter laugh. "I don't even know who I am, nor what I am. Am I the dumbass Naruto—who is male? Or am the ice princes of masks Naru—who is a female."

Sasuke got it then. But I wouldn't let him speak. I just had to go one. Why did I have to bare my soul here, of all days? Why in front of him? It doesn't matter, now or then, I still did it.

"I don't get it. You ran away from me. You pushed me away. So now, why do you want me?"

Then his eyes shifted, the fire went from the bitter ache to that feeling before. The scorching hot, burn you from the inside out feeling.

Maybe I really was the dobe after all. I know now what the fire and Sasuke's eyes meant. But then? No, I didn't know.

And more importantly, I couldn't take it. This was worse than before when I was with my friends. This was worse than knowing that they still accepted me after I lied to them. It was way worse than knowing I would break down in front of them.

So what did I do? The only thing I could do to keep my sanity. Though, there wasn't much left by then.

I ran.

I didn't look back to see if he was following me. I wasn't sure if I cared. As long as I could get away that is.

Something deep inside of me—I assume was the fire—told me he was coming after me.

Damn it all!

Why couldn't that bastard leave me alone? My world—the carefully kept deep lie that it was—was just broken. How could I handle what that stupid, duck ass haired stupid bastard just threw at me?

I called to something I knew would never betray me; never leave me, my element: Wind.

I let it consume me, fill me completely. I was the Wind, the Wind was me. We were one.

We moved at a speed no one could match.

Then—it felt all too soon—I stopped. Ibecause the Wind that made me feel so complete, left me. It didn't totally leave me as Tina and Sasuke did. I stopped, when did he become Sasuke in my mind again? I shook my head to clear it. Did it really matter? No, it did not.

The Wind just stopped running with me, it was still in my mind and around me, since I didn't need it, it didn't consume me like before.

The flame inside my chest told me again and again he was coming. But he wouldn't be here for—I cut it off. I didn't want to know, nor did I really care. I just wished he wouldn't come. I needed time to myself, just like when I went to Team Seven's old Training Grounds.

For the first time in over a decade I dropped to my knees. I hugged myself tight and cried. Not those tears before—those were happy tears. These were my 'life is too much, now let me die' tears.

Those kinds of tears had stopped finding themselves being cried when Tina found me. Before I didn't have a purpose, I was weak; my life didn't have any meaning, no value. I knew more than anyone how Haku and Gaara felt. We were all the same. That was why I always kept on trying to save Haku. I still haven't forgiven Kakashi for killing him.

But I soon found my purpose: to protect Tina and to be the Guardian of Wind and Air. The Element chose me, me. The Demon child of Konoha. And now this with Sasuke, wasn't I allowed something? Why do I receive something that kept me from breaking, only to throw something else at me that threatens to break me once more?

I thought no more tears would come from these frozen blue eyes, yet again I was proved wrong. I thought I could not cry tears of joy because I had no joy…wrong. I thought I had been through hell and no tears would leak from these over how fucked up my life or I was…wrong again.

I wasn't sure how long I cried, or just rocked myself once the tears were gone. Time slowed to a crawl for me.

My Wind tried to cheer me up at first, trying to rid me of my tears, but it soon understood. It let me cry. It tried to comfort me. But I guess I needed to cru, needed to let it all out. That was the only way my Element would just let me suffer like that.

Time came back to me when I felt arms wrap around me. Strong arms circled and were laid over my arms. Said arms were still hugging and holding me up.

Then I felt someone's breath next to my ear. Sasuke was whispering in said ear. I shivered and I knew he knew. But I didn't care, I also knew he was trying to comfort me, but I wouldn't have it. I ran away because I didn't want this, so why when I had gotten away would I let him do this?

If I let myself be held by him, comforted by him I would fall. I would never want to tear myself away. I would stay with him. I would let him be everything to me. And then if he would hold the power to completely and utterly destroy me. Everything I had locked away, everything that I was trying to hide would come out.

I knew when I laid in that hospital bed five years ago, I knew the truth. I knew I felt something for that bastard.

I also knew that if I fully realized in its entirety, what I actually felt for the raven I was going to break unequivocally—whether the actually emotion I felt for him was love or hate.

I knew now that my life was already in shambles after the Ceremony this morning. I had already begun to fix that—aka the meeting with my friends. In a few days I would bounce back and my life would be alright. It would be normal or almost as normal as my life could actually be.

But if I let myself love Sasuke…I would never have my life back.

Again I did the only option I let myself have: fall.

I threw myself forward off the statue I was on. Ironic, the First Hokage fought with Madara Uchiha at this very spot. Decades later, a Hokage child and future Hokage fought with an Uchiha over leaving the Village. And now a Hokage throws herself off the statue to get away from the Uchiha who came back.

But that wasn't the end of the irony. This time I drove myself into the water instead of being forced into it like last time.

I slowly sank. Just like last time.

Did I want to live? I could kill Sasuke easily. I could run, copy cat. Or I could fight with him, knock him out and seal him away someone. Or, I thought, I could use that Sealing Jutsu Ero-Sennin taught me before we came back. It was the one where I could seal a person from entering a certain area. I could make it impossible for Sasuke to come into Fire Country ever again!

I tossed that thought out of my head. There was no way I would do that spell. That would only be my last resort. But I did have to go back up there and face him.

Slowly I used my Wind to take me back up again.

I knew he looked at me and my wet clothes just seemed to tease him into thinking perverted thoughts. It didn't help that these clothes were tight even when they were dry. My boobs were visible again. Unlike before when they didn't bring attention to themselves, they were just there, being totally unnoticed. Why did I have to get wet…again?

I growled softly. It wasn't like I wanted everyone to see my bits, whether they were my front bits or my back bits.

After I told myself I hated people looking at me like I was eye candy I got a brilliant idea. My Element was Wind and Air. So couldn't it dry me off? Fire would work better, but so would this. Well, my Element and charka.

Sasuke waited till I was dry before he came down. He stood on the water in front of me. Within seconds of his landing, my Element was picking up. It wanted to hurt the one who made its Chosen One cry like that.

My eyes frosted over when the chill hit us.

"Now, now dobe." He waved his finger at me. "Thinking to freeze me? Or at least make me cold?" He tisked at me, then his dark eyes flared up as if they themselves were on fire. "Think again."

Flames suddenly burst out of Sasuke's skin as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He was the Chosen One for Fire.

And I was the Chosen One for Air and Wind. My Element picked up my hair; it seemed to flow around me.

He laughed at me, what nerve. "Come on dobe, you just made me stronger." He paused for a second as he thought about something that was bugging him. "Why did you run from me?"

Everything was silent while I composed my answer. It was perfect.

"Don't you know?" I fired back at him. His own words exactly.

The fire inside of me stirred back and forth. As if it didn't know where to go. A sudden thought struck me, was it pacing? It's confused, I thought. Confused explained the way the fire inside of me was reacting.

I gave Sasuke a look that clearly told the raven that I was mocking him. "I told you, my life is fucked up! I don't know if I am a guy or a girl. I'm almost broken beyond repair. If I can't tell whether I am Naruto or Naru, how can you? If you love me, which one do you love? Are you indeed gay, little Uchiha?"

I screamed then. He recoiled at my scream; it was as if I struck him. "I can't take this. I can't handle this!"

With that said I threw my Windstorm at him with everything I had.

He quickly got over my words. He in return for my storm sent one of his won. A Firestorm.

"Wind feeds Fire, my little dobe."

I laughed. I knew he heard me too. He was probably confused as to why I was laughing when he thought he had won.

Without a second thought I pulled back all of the Air in the area. My storm was gone…and so was his. I smirked.

Sasuke was shocked till he remembered that Fire needs oxygen to live. Oxygen was Air. I was Air. I controlled the Air.

I paused as I replayed his words in my head. Did he say my little dobe?"

"My little dobe? MY LITTLE DOBE? What the HELL Sasuke?"

He sighed and ran a hand threw his hair. "Do you really not get it…Naru?"

I froze. Please, I pleaded with God. Don't let him say that. My heart…no my soul couldn't handle it. If he left me again…

His dark, deep, passionate eyes caught mine and bore into them as he held them effortlessly—or so I thought.

"I have always cared for you whether you were Naruto or Naru; you are the same person to me." He emphasized the last part. "I wish I wasn't so blind before. I had thought I was gay—but it didn't matter."

The Wind unexpectedly stopped, do did my heart. "What?"

His eyes darkened with an emotion I had always wanted to ignore. It was a weakness…right?

"You changed me. I was lost in the darkness and your light brought me out. "I left for you, not becauseof you. If Orochimaru knew I loved you he would have stopped at nothing to use you to get to me."

My heart stopped, my charka stopped, time stopped.

He said the words I never wanted to hear for fear of the cracks shattering completely. I was afraid of what really breaking would do to me.

I waited for my soul, my mask, my heart to break.

Why didn't it break?

*You are a real idiot kit. What is the opposite of getting broken?*

I couldn't breathe, it was just too much. I knew I was going to break if he spoke those words. But I wasn't. Was Kyuubi right?

*Of course I'm right, I am always right.* The fox thought to me smugly. I ignored him.

I dropped my ex-rival's glaze and looked at my feet. The Kyuubi was the only reason that I was still on top of the water, he was supporting me. Just like last time. Fate hated me. How did I know? Fate threw irony in my face over and over.

I felt a hand under my chin lifting it up. Our eyes found each other again.

I closed my eyes and asked ever so quietly, "How can you love me? Naru? You love Naruto. Naruto is a ball of sunshine. I'm a ball of darkness. I have never—" He cut me off with a kiss.

Sasuke knew that was the only way to shut me up.

His lips left mine just as quickly as they came, but they lingered above just a moment more.

The raven with beautiful, shady, eyes bore deeply into mine, trying to make me see and hear the truth in his words.

"I didn't really like Naruto. He was annoying. But you are not. Every time it was just the two of us you didn't make me want to kill myself so I would be spared. Ever since the Battle on the Bridge I began to doubt that Naruto was real. I began to realize he was a façade, a mask." He paused to make sure I was following.

"Why did you think I asked if you were gay?"

"But—"

Sasuke shushed me. "Let me finish. I heard what Haku said and it made me realize what was going on. I then looked. I saw that when things got serious you were different, cold, calculating, like someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who understood what pain really was. It wasn't that hard to find you."

I chuckled. Tina is going to be mad that all that work and someone—three someone's—found me out. Well, only two knew I was actually a girl. But all three saw through it.

I smiled, for the first time since I was eight; I now knew the answer to Kyuubi's question. Healing, my cracks were healing, not breaking apart.

*Took you long enough. And you call yourself smart?*

"Sasuke?"

My raven seemed surprised that I said his first name. "Yes?"

I gave him a smile, not one of Naruto's, which seemed like the sun was shining down upon you, but one toned down. Maybe Naruto was a part of me after all.

"Let's go home." I took his hand in mine and started dragging him off.

My duck butt haired raven sighed as we walked across the water. "I'm a Missing Ninja, in case you have forgotten Naru."

I laughed at him as I turned to face him. I pulled him harder toward me.

"My Raven of Fire, I am the Hokage. If I pardon you, you are pardoned. If I say you are the Captain of the ANBU, you are." I sealed my words and promises with a kiss.

~Meanwhile somewhere near Konoha in the Underground ROOT HQ~

Some old man with a cane and a bandage wrapped around half of his face dropped dead.

~Meanwhile somewhere in the Hyuuga Complex~

A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes that out of nowhere changed to green laughed.

A man with long black hair and clear white eyes asked, "What did you do now?"

The woman turns to him and grins, the man couldn't help but smile at her. "Good things really! Plan One-kill the ones responsible for the order to kill the Uchiha Clan and the ones who are responsible for the mental and emotional abuse of two people who are…one was, really important to me, are all dead!"

The man closed his eyes; of course the love of his life had to think killing people was a good thing. But, the death of those three made him happy. One of those that were hurt was a fellow Guardian. Though his love didn't mention the others that got hurt, he cared for those two. One being his love, and the other her elder sister, so he was indeed happy about this.

"And?" he asked her.

She giggled; he loved it when acted like a child. She was serious too much, but he rolled his eyes, she was childlike too much too. "Plan Two, aka, get Wind and Fire to realize their feelings of love and get them together is complete and accomplished!" she paused for a moment. "A job well done, I should say. A good day's work too."

The dark haired man just shook his head with a smile on his face. She was too much some times. And her plans! It wasn't enough that most were outrageous, but making him an accomplice too? What was he saying? He would help in a heartbeat. Most of her plans were surprising quite fun.

He turned to her and saw a gleam in her eye. Her guard was down too, though he knew he was the reason for that. He sighed as he grabbed her and pulled her up against him. "So my love, what's the next plan that you are hiding from me inside of your mind?"

She just turned her head and smiled. An evil smile, God help them all. Then, she kissed him.

...FIN...

Well there it is, I had wanted to end it with Naru kissing Sasuke, but I forgot that I wanted to kill Danzou....so that had to be done. Anyway questions or comments do not hesitate to review!