Crimson Passion

Chapter 3: Flashbacks

Minako kneeled in front of the Third Hokage's grave and felt her eyes brimming with tears. Tsunade and Miyako were next to her and they each placed a hand on her shoulders.

The dark haired elder twin placed a beautiful bouquet of daisies onto her grandfather's grave with a smile. She remembered a specific memory from 8 years ago.

"Uncle Hokage-sama!" A 9 year old Minako exclaimed as she came running behind the wise man. She had a wide grin on her face with her dimples visible. The young Yagari had her hair done in loose pigtails. She wore an adorable short purple kimono with black fish net three quarter length leggings.

The older man turned around and smiled at this; she was so new to the village and she didn't know what to call him. She ran up to him and giggled.

"Why hello Minako-san." He said and noticed that she was hiding something behind her back. "What are you hiding from me?" Hiruzen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Heheheee! Close your eyes first and open your hands! It's a surprise." She said with her high tone voice. The Third Hokage did as he was told and she placed something into his hands. "You can open your eyes now, Uncle Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen opened his dark eyes and saw few white daisies in his palms. "Minako-san, these are beautiful, thank you." He mumbled.

"You're welcome!" Minako giggled and he held her hand. "Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"We are going to go and eat some ramen." She smiled at this and her light blue eyes were filled with happiness. Ramen was her favourite and her silver haired best friend's favourite too.

Minako smiled at this and a tear fell down her cheek. She placed her hand onto his picture's face and sniffed.

"Thank you for everything, Ojii-san." She mumbled and wiped a tear. They heard the wind blowing and the leaves moving. The Hokage's final words echoed into her mind and soul.

"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew."

"Minako Yagari." She heard Sasuke say her name and looked up at him curiously.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Let's go and eat some ramen with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, Naruto's paying." He mumbled with an emotionless face but with a soft gaze. She turned to Tsunade who smiled and nodded. Then Minako looked at her twin and Miyako grinned with a thumbs up. Minako nodded and stood up. She turned to Sasuke and they left.

Ramen shop:

Minako sat next to Kakashi who sat opposite Sasuke and the Yagari sat opposite Naruto.

"So Minako-chan, what was your home like?" Naruto asked and she looked up at him. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at this.

"Teme, do you think she'll remember? It's been 8 years." He hissed and Minako's eyebrows furrowed together.

"For your information Uchiha, I remember everything about my home and I'll never forget it." She muttered.

"Back to the question." Naruto sang and Minako looked at him with a soft smile.

"My home was like a heaven, from my 9 year-old point of view. I had everything that I ever dreamed of, my sister, my mother, my papa and…my best friend." She said with a smile as her dimples became visible.

"What was your best friend like?" Naruto asked and her cheeks went pink. They noticed this and raised an eyebrow at this, especially Sasuke.

"Zero Kiryu, son of the prestigious hunter family that ever lived, or AKA, Zero-kun!" Minako said enthusiastically.

"Heh, you sound like a 9 year-old Minako-chan!" She fluttered her eyelashes and gulped. Her face went beet red with embarrassment and she gulped.

"S-sorry about that." She mumbled.

"I see that Zero Kiryu brings out the emotions from you." Kakashi stated and her eyes widened. She was caught off guard and averted her eyes to the ground.

"Ooooh, Minako! You're blushing!" Naruto teased and Sasuke growled at this. He grinded his teeth together and controlled his anger.

"N-no! I'm not blushing! It's just…it's just hot here okay!" She countered back and they got their food. They started to eat and for some reason, Minako felt hungrier. Then she realised that it had been 6 months since she had ramen at that specific shop. The dark haired teenager ordered another bowl of ramen and so did Naruto.

They started eating again and Minako looked at Naruto. Her eyebrow twitched and she had a devious smirk on her face; oh she loved competing. She finished another bowl of ramen and when Naruto looked at her, she smirked at him.

"Can I get another bowl of ramen?!" She called out and the trio were a bit shocked at this; especially Naruto.

"Coming right up!" The chef said and Minako looked at Naruto.

"What's wrong Naruto? You're not eating much; you've had one bowl of ramen." She said smugly. Naruto noticed this and smirked back at her.

"Challenge?" He asked and she nodded.

"You got it!" They started ordering a few more bowls and started eating. Tsunade came in and saw what they were doing. She took out a heavy pile of money and slammed it on the table.

"I bet Naruto is going to win!" He exclaimed and other people placed money for Naruto (including Kakashi). Minako didn't care but she put some money down for herself to win.

5 minutes later…

Naruto finished up his 15th bowl of ramen and sighed as he rubbed his filled up stomach.

"I can't go on!" He exhaled but heard the sound of bowls. He looked up and saw Minako crossing her arms with a pleased and smug look. She placed her crossed legs onto the table and relaxed. The blonde haired teen started to Minako's empty bowls and his jaw dropped (fail anime style).

"You ate 20 bowls of ramen?!" He yelled and she nodded. A few people, especially Tsunade sighed.

"Since I was the only one to bet on myself, I get all the money." She mumbled with a smirk and collected the money.

The bill was placed in front of Naruto who read it. He literally freaked out and fell off his cheer. He grinned nervously and got off the floor. Whilst everyone wasn't looking, Minako secretly, swiftly and quickly place a bit of what she got onto the bill and the woman collected it. When Naruto stood up again he saw the bill was gone.

"Wait, where did it go?" He asked and they all looked at each other. Then Sasuke noticed that there was something missing, or someone.

"Yagari's gone." He mumbled.

"She's fast!" Naruto exclaimed.

"She has improved during the years, quicker, swifter and more secretive." Kakashi said and Sasuke remembered a specific memory.

They sat down on the stools and Sasuke asked, "What are you going to eat?" She stared at him and felt so good. He was concerned about her wellbeing. She wasn't like those insanely disturbed fan girls, but loved him truly. "Um, anything!" He ordered something but Minako wasn't paying attention.

The chef came back with a bowl of rice, eggs and vegetables and a cup of green tea. She enjoyed, finished the meal and thanked the chef. She dug her hands into her pocket, and Sasuke did as well. They stared at each other demanding that they would pay. With his left hand he quickly put the money on the table (which the chef took) with Minako's arm in mid-air.

Suddenly he grabbed her arm and they gazed into each other's eyes. Minako felt her cheeks go extremely warm and he leaned in. Sasuke's face was still the same, no emotion. He got nearer and nearer and he was only a few centimetres from her lips.

"Minako…" He whispered and she whispered his name too. Her light blue eyes got heavier and closed them. He too closed his dark eyes and they closed the gap between them in a sweet peck on the lips. He pulled away for a few seconds, pecked her on the lips playfully and after a few minutes of pecking her soft lips, kissed her once more. Sasuke cupped her cheek and kissed her passionately and she kissed back...

"I think I love you…"

The Uchiha felt like someone was stabbing knives into his heart and he felt like someone was ripping it out of his chest. He felt nausea in the pit of his stomach and gulped. Sasuke gripped onto his fists and his breathing was short and uneven. He stood up and turned around with his bangs covering his eyes.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Kakashi asked but the said teenager didn't answer. He walked out of the ramen shop and walked briskly through the village. When he got to a secluded corner and faced the wall. Sasuke punched the wall and breathed heavily.

'Why do I still think of you? Why do I care for you so much?!' He thought and a tear fell down his cheek.

Does Sasuke still have feelings for Minako? Please review and thanks for reading!

~Parisa01