Hey there! Here's the next instalment of Forbidden Love. For the next chapter I'll probably post all the character's ages in case I've forgotten to mention anyone. I've been right into writing FL lately, I'm onto chapter 29 now! From now on I'm aiming to post at least two chapters each month because I'm also working on two new Naruto fanfictions, which I should start posting maybe the end of this month/beginning of next. Also, if any of you's read my other Naruto fanfiction, Naruko: Konoha's Hero, just to let you know that I'm thinking of starting it up again; I'm not sure where I'm taking it yet but I'm going to try giving it another shot. Anywhoo's on with this chapter! Let me know what you's all think!

Chapter17. Naru POV

"So how many girlfriends have you had, Sasuke?" I smile as he chokes on his drink, almost spitting it out at me. Fugaku was at the office, no rest for the wicked I guess, and Mikoto was at some photo shoot. Apparently her husband was joining her later so some magazine can interview them. The maids were here for a few hours earlier, fussing over us and trying to make us breakfast; but Itachi made it, telling them to just tend to the garden today. It's like he's the man of the house already.

"That's none of your business." I watch as Itachi tries to stop himself from laughing as Sasuke recovers from choking and just huffs. We're sitting in the living room, bored on a Sunday, so I decided to mess with the younger Uchiha.

"That means zero then."

"No, it doesn't."

"So you have had a girlfriend?" We sit in silence and I notice the slight smile on Itachi's face, probably trying not to worsen his little brother's embarrassment by laughing. A few minutes later, "The silence says it all, little Uchiha."

"Shouldn't you be asking Itachi that kind of thing?" He smirks at his brother, thinking he's in the clear.

"Why? She already knows the answer." I watch his face fall and I stifle my laughter as he turns to me.

"He's never had a girlfriend." My chest tightens; Kiba and Deidara are probably right. He's either gay or asexual. Ignoring the pain I give him a sly smile. "But I did take his kissing virginity."

"It's not like I had a choice. You forced yourself onto me." I throw a cushion at him.

"You make me sound like a pervert. Plus, I was only seven, I was being nice." He throws the cushion back, hitting me in the face. Humph, ass. "Anyway, this isn't about Itachi. It's about you." I look at Sasuke again, smirking. "So... how about sex?" Sasuke coughs, his face turning red, and it's Itachi's turn to choke on his drink.

"Naruko!"

"What?" I look at the shocked expressions on both of their faces. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm not asking him for sex. Just if he's done it. He's what, sixteen?"

"Fifteen. Stop asking questions. You're embarrassing him." I laugh as I watch Sasuke; it looks like he's trying to sink into the couch. He mumbles something that sounds like 'no I haven't.'

"See? He's fine answering them. Come on then, you're a teenage boy. You've got to have done something..." I watch as he shakes his head ever so slightly. "Not even a kiss?" Again a shake, but he refuses to look at me or his brother. "How come?" Itachi gives me a look, as if to say 'drop it'. Pfft, since when do I listen to him. "I just don't get why he doesn't have a girlfriend 'cause he's a nice looking lad; even if he's a pain in the ass sometimes." Standing up, I try to hide the blush that's forming. I can't believe I just said that, I'm like five-six years older than him! "I'm going for a nap." Before I can leave, Itachi's behind me hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me.

"Don't forget what we talked about earlier." I turn my head slightly. Sasuke watches us, a small blush still present on his face though I can see the confusion in his face. Taking my hand out of Itachi's grasp, I just nod and smile before heading up the stairs. I've got some phone calls to make.

Sasu POV

"What did you mean?" I watch as my brother sends a text to someone. "And when are you going to tell her about your boyfriend?" He glares at me.

"Keep your voice down." Finishing his text, he sets his mobile on the coffee table. "And I'll tell her when the time's right." What a shit reply.

"And when will that be? The longer you wait, the more you're going to hurt her." He sighs, running a hand through his hair and I realise he didn't actually answer the first question.

"It's really none of your business, Sasuke."

"It is when you're hurting her." He phone beeps, but he ignores it.

"No it's not. She's not your friend, Sasuke. She's someone you used to know; who is a placement student at your school. That is all." He grabs his phone, quickly checking it before heading to the door. I can feel the anger rising up in me as I follow him.

"And whose fault is that, huh? I would have known her for years if you didn't just let me forget!"

"We are not talking about this now, Sasuke." He tries to open the door but I reach around him, pushing it shut. "Just drop it."

"No I won't. When are we ever going to talk about it? How could you let me forget?" I move so that I'm standing in front of the door, determined to get answers this time. I've tried bringing it up a few times since Wednesday but he always changes the conversation or walks away. Not this time.

"Get out of the way." I shake my head, refusing to budge.

"Why can't you just talk to me about it? You're supposed to be my big brother." He glares at me, the anger evident in his eyes.

"Exactly; I'm your big brother. I was trying to fucking protect you from remembering something so terrifying that you refused to say goodbye to someone you adored. I was trying to protect you from those memories. I..." He still looks pretty pissed, but in a different way. "I should have been the one to take you to the park that day. I should have been the one protecting you and Naruko! If I hadn't been so stubborn, she would never have gotten hurt." The last bit comes out as a whisper but I hear it loud and clear because he's standing so close.

"Itachi..."

"I'm going out." He reaches behind me and I let him push me out of the way to open the door. Closing it behind him, I just stand there listening as he gets in his car and pulls away. I thought he was angry at Naruko but... he's actually angry at himself. If I forgot what happened, maybe he thought he could too and he wouldn't be reminded that he blamed himself for what happened...

Typical Itachi... After a few minutes I slowly make my way up the stairs, stopping outside Naruko's room, door slightly ajar, as I hear her speaking. Must be on the phone to someone...

"I'm sorry for ringing you all of a sudden." I lean back against the wall next to her door. "I'm just so scared that it could be them." There's a pause as whoever she's talking to speaks. "I know he's in prison, I saw it on the news, but what about the people who work for him? What if they're doing it for him?" Another pause. "Yes, I know it's very unlikely; but what if? They only took things from my apartment, not the other two. What if they messed them up just to make it look like they weren't targeting me?" I feel a bit guilty about eavesdropping, but I can't bring myself to walk away now. "Maybe I am thinking about it too much; but you'll still check though, yeah? Thanks, Gaara, I owe you big time." Who's Gaara? "Where am I? I'm staying with Itachi and his family until the apartment doors get fixed." Why does she need to tell him where she is? "Yeah, I mean Itachi Uchiha." She's quiet for quite a while.

"Not now Gaara. He's my best friend, okay? He's just helping me out." Another silence. "Yes that's all. He's my friend, that's it." Even from here, I can hear the strain in her voice as she says that; and I can't stop the tight feeling in my chest again. "Look I gotta go. I need to call my boss. You'll ring me if you find out anything, won't you? Thanks again, Racoon." What the... What's that supposed to mean? "Take care." There's silence, before she stalks talking again.

"Hey Asuma, its Naruko. Yeah, I'm fine. I know you said to take the week off, but I was wondering if I could just work as normal." She's quiet while he's probably lecturing her. "Honestly, I'm fine. I just want to get back to normal, you know? ... Fine not tonight but how about tomorrow? I need the money, Asuma..." Pushing myself from the wall, I move in front of her door, knocking slightly. She looks up at me as I open the door and beckons me to sit down on her bed while she continues her conversation. "Thanks Asuma. I'll see you tomorrow." I hear her sigh before dropping her phone onto her backpack.

I watch her as she continues to stand, and I can't help but wonder what she's thinking about... Before I can ask her, she turns to smile at me.

"Let's play a video game." I smirk at her and lead the way downstairs to the games room. I'm so going to kick her ass...

We played games for the rest of the night; and she beat me. At every single one. While we were playing, I got a text from Lee asking if I was joining any of the sports team and if I was taking part in sports day. Stupid question really, as Mr Morino makes everyone take part in sports day. Anyway, he tried to convince me to join a team but I refused. And no doubt he'll try again when I see him today.

When Itachi got back home last night, all he did was argue with Naruko when he found out she was working tomorrow. Our parents had already gone to bed so they yelling at each other in whispers. He refused to look at me, which really hurt, and only spoke to me when he told me to go to my room so they could argue some more in peace. I lay awake for an hour before I heard Naruko come upstairs but never heard Itachi come up. There's so much tension between those two at the moment...

Itachi had to drive me to school this morning because I slept in, and then had to come back because I forgot my backpack that had my coursework in it which is due in today. The drive was in complete silence, with Naruko in the passenger seat as I sat in the back. He dropped me off before speeding off. I guess Naruko has lectures this morning...

Half-way through the day, Naruko texted telling me to wait by the gates at the end of school seeing as we're both heading the same way. I made some excuse about going to Lee's, who I'd managed to avoid all day in fear that he'd question me about joining a team again, after school; something about coursework. She'll never know. I watched from the door as she left through the gates before following but heading in the opposite direction. Tsunade, she refuses to be called 'Mrs Sannin', suggested getting a part time job to pay back Naruko. She hasn't spoke about it since, but she said the burglars even took the savings for my re-sits; so I'm more determined to pay for them myself.

I spoke to Tsunade about it earlier today and explained what happened on Saturday to her. She didn't seem pleased that I was living with a member of the staff; but as she said 'there's nothing really to be done about it'. She's also going to try to put back the first payment so that I have a chance to get some money saved up for it.

I think Naruko's Landlady is getting someone to fix the doors sometime this week, but I doubt she'll feel safe there. She mentioned something last night about finding a different apartment but that's all she said. She's still not spoken properly about what happened yet, and I can see mother bringing it up soon. She's making an effort for Naruko, though, and trying to be around as much as possible; especially with it being her birthday tomorrow. She's decided on making a nice dinner for her as she definitely wouldn't want a party now.

I open the door to the little cafe, the bell above me ringing, and I notice there are a few people sitting at tables as I head towards the counter. I went into town after I spoke to Tsunade last Friday; I was about to give up after asking a few shops about any vacancies, they said no straight away once they knew how old I am. On my way home, I noticed a sign in a cafe window and thought one more 'no' wouldn't hurt. The manager and his wife were actually really nice and didn't seem to mind giving a fifteen year old a trial. So here I am at the Akatsuki cafe.

"Sasuke! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show." Konan smiles at me, her blue-ish hair appearing to glow under the light, as I rub the back of my head trying to look a bit sheepish.

"Sorry, I had to speak to my teacher after class." More like I was making sure Naruko didn't see me head into town.

"Don't worry about it. Nagato's popped out for a bit so it's just me and you kiddo." She beckoned for me to follow her into the kitchen and handed me an apron. She took my shoulder bag from me and placed it under the counter before coming back. Hooking it around my neck, she tied the apron around my waist while she explained that I'd just be taking orders until Nagato got back and she'd sort out the drinks and that for me to take back. Giving me an order pad she told me to put the table number in the top left, snacks/sandwiches/cakes etc below the table number and drinks at the bottom. "Table numbers are on the tables. We're not usually very busy on a Monday that's why it usually just me and Nagato, so it's perfect to show you the ropes." The bell above the door rings and Konan looks out of the kitchen before dragging me out with her. She passes me a pen and nudges me; "Go get 'em, tiger."

A group of four girls sat at the window, immersed in conversation. Walking over I give them a smile and ask if they would like anything to drink, just like Konan told me. They look at me silently for a few minutes and just as I start to think there must be something on my face they let out a giggle and whisper to each other; as if I can't hear them...

"Wow, he's so hot!"

"Isn't he just! I wonder if he's single..." I'm right here you know... this is why I don't like the girls at my school. Narkuo isn't like this... That's because I'm a kid to her. I ignore the fact that I want to say something really rude and walk away; so instead I cough slightly and ask them again, smile still present though faltering slightly.

"Can I get you ladies any drinks?" I hear one of them say something about 'he's so polite' in an annoyingly girlie voice, before another speaks up.

"Four diet cokes, please." She tries to smile sweetly at me, I'm guessing, but it just looks scary on her face.

"Anything else?" I write down the drinks at the bottom and their table number, five, at the top.

"We'll let you know."

"Sure thing." I walk away, hearing them giggle behind me. A few of the older customers laugh slightly at the young girls' behaviour but send reassuring smiles at me.

"Well you're going to popular aren't you, tiger." I sigh, leaning my elbows on the counter and mumble 'four diet cokes' to her. I watch as she prepares them before placing them on a tray for me to carry over.

"Fancy taking it over for me?"

"No chance, sweetie. Man up," she reaches over to pat me on the shoulder before gesturing with her hands to take them over. I sigh, placing the order pad and pen in the pocket of my apron, before carrying the tray over to the still giggling girls. I place a glass in front of each one of them before straightening back up and placing the tray under my arm, against my side, to keep it in place so I could write on the order pad if I needed to.

"Decided on anything else yet?" They all smile at me and I feel like I'm about to melt...

"Can we have four chocolate fudge cakes, all with whipped cream please?" The girl who spoke licked her lips slightly and I felt myself shudder. That was disgusting, is that supposed to look sexy? More like stupid.

"I'll bring them over for you." Running away would have been a bit too obvious, so I settle for walking away quickly and into the kitchen. Konan follows while laughing at me. I tear the sheet of the order pad and hand it to her. She gives me a quick run through of the desserts they sell and what cutlery I should take out with them.

"Don't forget to take a napkin out with each one." She showed me how to hold two plates with one hand, it wasn't hard seeing as they weren't very big. I carried the four cakes out and she followed me with their cutlery and napkins.

"Hi Konan." They all acknowledge her and she nods her head to them.

"Afternoon girls. So how do you like my new worker?" I resist stamping on the foot, barely, and settle for nudging it and sending a glare at her.

"Oh, he's lovely! So pleasant..." I disappear into the kitchen as they continue talking to her. Oh I'm gonna hate girls even more after this...

A few hours later, I finished cleaning the last table and made sure the chairs were pushed in properly. Konan told me it wasn't usually busy on Mondays, but thanks to those girls texting their friends the small cafe got full of giggling teenage girls who all looked at me as if I was their dessert... I shiver. That was scary.

"Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty! Bloody hell, Sasuke. You got twenty girls' numbers on your first day! That's more than I've had in my whole life!" Nagato patted me on the back as I walked past him to drop the dish cloth in the washing basket. I take the apron off and dump that in too. He reaches around me and pushes them into my front trouser pocket. I take them out and drop them in the bin.

Thankfully Nagato got back before the rush started, there was even girls queuing outside the cafe! It didn't take long to get used to taking orders, ignoring the personal questions from the female customers, and taking the drinks and that to the tables. I was actually starting to enjoy it, if the place wasn't full of teenage girls.

"What'd you do that for, tiger? Could have gotten yourself a girl." Konan winks over at me before cashing up the till.

"No way. Didn't you see them out there? They were like vultures." I suppress another shiver as they both laugh at me. Konan comes up and places some money in my hand. Looking at it, I try to give it back. "That's too much." She gave me £30 for working just a few hours!

"No it's not." She pushed it back towards me. "You earned it. Only £10 is from us, we still haven't decided how much to pay you yet because of your age. The rest is from the tips. You know, from your fan club." I look at her for a few seconds before shaking my head.

"I still can't take it." She just smiles before ruffling my hair.

"Yes you can. Now get out of here before I change my mind about giving you a job."

"Go on, kiddo." Nagato pats me on the shoulder before heading into the kitchen. "See you on Wednesday at half four, yeah?"

"Okay. See you then." I grabbed my bag, putting the money in my wallet, before heading out. Konan locks the door behind me before waving as I head home. They live in the apartment above the shop and have access upstairs to it through the back apparently.

I walk through town, casually looking in the shop windows, before stopping in front of an ornament store. Checking the time on my phone, ten minutes until the shop closes; I walk in and look around at the various ornaments and things throughout the shop. I head to the back where there's different photo frames. A white wooden one catches my eye and in the bottom right corner of the wood is the name 'Maria' in black.

"I can write anything you want where 'Maria' is, kid." The worker came up behind me and lifted down a box from above, with the photo frame in I guess. "Most people get somebody's name painted on."

"How much?"

"Twenty-five. But you gotta be quick. I got somewhere to be soon." I follow him to the counter.

"Can you put 'Naruko' on it?" He nods before sitting down at a desk in the next room. I watch as he pulls the photo frame out before starting to paint in the corner. After a few minutes he blows on it slightly, as if not to disturb it, before bringing it out. He holds it up, and I smile at how neat it looks. It's thick, but not too thick that it makes it too big, and the letters are joined up nicely. "Thanks." He puts it back in the box and hands it to me after I place the money on the counter.

"Make sure you keep it like this for a few hours otherwise it'll smudge." He rings the money into the till before following me to the exit and holding the door open for me. Bidding goodbye, he locks it behind me and I set off home again. I plan to grab something quick to eat and go straight to my room; luckily I don't have any work due in tomorrow so I can focus on finishing the drawing I'm busy working on.

I'd been thinking for a while of giving it to Naruko because the girl looked like her only younger. I wasn't sure whether to put the whisker-scars on at first, but then decided to pencil them in as they were part of who she is. And I hoped that it would make her see that I wasn't terrified of the scars like I was as a child...

So there you are! Let me know what you's think! ^.^