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Chapter 6

We rented one of the inn rooms, and when the afternoon of the next day came, I was ordered by Sasuke to buy more appropriate clothes for the task I was assigned. I assumed by the commands on the mission scroll that I would have to seduce him, which was really sick, once I thought about it. I mean, I was only fifteen! I should be worried about studying for the next history exam, not about seducing and assassinating strangers!

I sighed as I walked down the small narrow street, and looked around for a clothing store that would sell the kind of clothing I was looking for. The town was small, but it seemed to have an abundance of stores that surprised me, people bustling constantly through the streets. There was a larger mansion like building at the far end of the main street, but there were gates that were securely locked, and I peeked inside briefly to see nothing but a luscious garden and a few guesthouses. Whoever owned this was swimming in cash…that sounded like the man I had been assigned to kill, based off of his file.

The picture was sad, because the man himself was an extremely attractive guy in his early twenties, clean, neat, orderly; the epitome of the perfect gentleman. There was a gentle smile on his face that made me want to like him, maybe even become friends with him. But soon he would be dead. I knew this, because I also knew that if I didn't kill him, Orochimaru would kill me.

Heck, maybe the snake will order the Uchiha to do it for him. I wonder how quickly the Uchiha would kill me; would he make it quick, or draw it out?

I shuddered at the thought, and glanced back and forth, making my way towards a large clothing shop with a smiling woman helping customers. Her gray hair was piled on her head, her bright eyes warming as I entered the shop.

"Hello dear, how can I help you?"

I swallowed hard, forcing a smile on my face. "Just looking for a special outfit."

Her eyebrow rose. "Oh? Forgive me if I seem nosy, but are you looking to impress Jiro Itoshi? His birthday banquet is being held tonight, after all, and I've had many girls come in to buy outfits."

I coughed. "Um, yeah, you could say that."

Except that I'm also "looking" to kill him. Other than that, everything's peachy.

The woman smiled widely, her eyes lingering on my blonde hair, which was tied in a tight bun, as usual, before going on. "He's a sweet boy, always so modest, so kind. He's looking for a wife, and so every available woman has been jumping at the chance. No one usually listens to an old woman like me, but I know Jiro, and he wants a woman who will respect him for being himself, not for the amount of money in his wallet. You look just like her…a pity…"

"Like who?"

"His fiancée, Hana, who died three years ago. Jiro loved her more than anyone in the world, and losing her has taken a toll on him. His grief has led him to near insanity, and he has meddled with some very dangerous business. If he doesn't stop those illegal imports, he'll be hunted down and killed!" The woman clapped a hand to her mouth, and fear was in her eyes. "Dear me, please do not speak of what I just revealed to you. I beg of you, it would ruin him!"

I smiled, and assured her that his secret was safe, although on the inside I was reeling.

Jiro was trading illegal goods…and that was meddling with Orochimaru's underground control of the docks. If Jiro continued to trade illegal goods, he would disrupt the snake's entire operation involving needed supplies. Of course! That was why I was here!

If I could just convince Jiro to stop trading illegally, then Orochimaru would have no reason to kill him! I didn't have to kill him! It had to work, right? How could it go wrong?

I turned back to woman, and asked. "Are you some kind of relative or something?"

"His grandmother. Now, let me find you something to wear…" The woman was jumpy, and she hurriedly showed me to the racks of lovely dresses that hung on the eastern wall. No longer looking at the dresses with seduction in mind, I was able to pick one that I personally liked.

I picked a simple silver dress that glimmered mysteriously in the light of the shop. It was sleeveless, and went to my ankles in liquid rivers of silk and satin that hugged my waist and torso. It wasn't adorned with any elaborate beads or stitches; I had never liked that kind of stuff. I also bought some silver shoes with a faint heel, and a simple necklace that had an oval shaped moonstone that rested just below my collarbone. I packed it all into a bag, and thanked the woman for her help. She nodded, and I made my way back to the inn, unable to keep a smile from my face. I stopped to buy some makeup, but I barely noticed what I was doing, I was so euphoric.

I wouldn't have to kill anyone. It was going to be fine.

I found the Uchiha waiting with a surly frown on his face. I saw him glance at the clock, and the frown deepened. I took that to mean, You were out too long. I frowned, and added on. Now I only have an hour or two of sitting in awkward silence before we have to go pretend to be happy about some guy's birthday.

I grinned, and the Uchiha scowled, standing fluidly. "Why were you out so long?"

"I was buying a dress." I pulled it out, and shook it to show how it glimmered in the fading rays of the sun. He didn't reply, just stared at the dress silently, a frown once again forming on his face.

I laid the dress on the bed, and unpacked the rest of the bag, and turned to ask him. "Will anyone here recognize you? I mean, you are Orochimaru's crony, so I cant imagine you being unknown to these people."

"It doesn't concern you."

"Whatever. If you get confronted, remember, I don't know you."

No answer. I guess he didn't deem that worth responding to. What a buzz-kill. I huffed a sigh, and slipped into the bathroom to change, and I saw the boy reaching for his clothes, which were folded on the bed, and I silently cheered. I'd actually get to see him in something besides that boring outfit of his!

I pulled on the dress, and clipped on the necklace, touching the moonstone pendent, staring at myself in the mirror. My face was…different. More grown-up, more guarded. The bruise was still there, faintly, but now I had makeup to cover that up. I sighed as I brushed mascara on my eyelashes, and dabbed some silver eye shadow over my eyes. I pulled the hair band that was keeping my hair tied in a bun away, and my hair fell down my back and shoulders. I hadn't had it down in so long; I had almost forgotten what it looked like. I brushed it out, admiring at how curly the bun had made it, smiling slightly.

It had been so long since I had had a moment to really look at myself.

A curt knock raised me from my thoughts, and I quickly opened the door, and my jaw almost dropped at the sight before me.

The Uchiha had transformed from cold, stoic ninja to attractive, laid back teen who could send a girl into hysterics by just looking at her.

I'm only slightly exaggerating.

He was in dress pants, along with a buttoned white shirt with a black jacket that was unbuttoned, leaving him with a slightly tousled, attractive look. Oh my dear Jesus was he attractive.

I blinked.

It was all I could do in that moment.

The Uchiha was either very good at ignoring such looks from girls (no doubt he got them every day of his miserable life, the bastard…) or completely and hopelessly oblivious, because he just looked me up and down, and with a grunt turned and walked over to the bed where the scroll was.

He sat on the bed, and scanned the slanted writing that was written on the paper, and his eyes remained calm and passive, emotionless. I moved to sit next to him, and I debated whether to tell him about my plan to confront Jiro instead of killing him. Would he tell Orochimaru? Would he kill me for disobeying his master's orders?

I shuddered, and the boy glanced over at me briefly but didn't comment, his dark eyes scanning the scroll.

"I will be impersonating his cousin, here to celebrate Jiro's birthday, and you will be my escort to the banquet. He doesn't know a large number of his cousins, so we will blend in. Do you understand?"

I nodded, and couldn't restrain myself.

"Can we have like, code-names or something? It'd be so cool! I could be Natasha von Steindler and you could be San Antonio or something! I…" I trailed off at the exasperated sigh that escaped the Uchiha's lips as he rubbed his head with the palm of his hand, his dark eyes staring at me unblinkingly. He murmured something under his breath, but it was so soft that I couldn't catch it. I laughed nervously, and stared at my lap, twiddling my thumbs as I struggled to contain the blush that I just knew was slowly rising in my neck and cheeks. I was such an idiot, all those weeks of training to contain my emotions around this particular ninja, and what had it done me? Nothing. I was still the same blabbermouth that I was when I got here. God, I was so–

"Fine."

My head snapped up so fast that I felt it tweak slightly, and I winced as I rubbed it furiously. The boy looked slightly embarrassed, I couldn't really read his face, and he quickly went on.

"But just…not…Natasha von Steindler or anything like that." Something small quirked at the corner of his lips, and I realized that it was a small smile. Not a smug smirk, not a sneer.

A true smile.

I was so shocked that I couldn't speak for a moment.

His voice was as cold as before when he spoke again. "I will be–"

"San Antonio!"

"…"

"Oh, sorry…"

"I will be Kyoto, and you will be Yuki."

I whined, crossing my arms. "Awww…those are so boring!"

"…"

"Oh, fine! Be that way, you stinker." I stuck my tongue out, and he sighed again in exasperation. The bed creaked as he rose once more, and he reached over to grasp a small slim packet. He handed it to me, and I saw that it was a small kunai case, with a single kunai inside. My stomach twisted painfully as I realized what it was for. I swallowed hard, and looked up to see that the Uchiha was already making his way toward the door.

"Wait, Uchiha-sensei–"

"You know your mission. There is nothing more to say that is not part of our mission."

I flinched back, and watched as he held open the door, his dark eyes staring at me with their emotionless mask back in place.

It had been only for a second…but I had seen a softness to the Uch…no, to Sasuke. He hadn't been so closed off, so closed in. He had looked at me as if I was…I don't even know! Sasuke was staring at me as if I wasn't the girl he was forced into training, more as if I was a friend that he could watch and secretly marvel at how he ever became friends with someone like that. But it was all over now…I guess I had just imagined it.

There was no way that Sasuke Uchiha could ever feel anything besides the drive to seek vengeance, to seek power. The thought made me unbearably sad, but it was strange, because how could I be sad…if this was the way that Sasuke always acted. There was no other side for me to see to compare this to.

How could I feel this way, as if there was another side to him, a faded, dying side, which was so different from the Uchiha I saw before me? A side that was smiling, and smiling gently at someone, reluctant amusement in those dark eyes.

I sighed, strapping the kunai to my thigh, and quickly made my way to the door. I stopped when I was in front of him, and stared into his face. I didn't have to look up, and I could see that this bothered him. I liked it; it was easier to focus on his face.

I held his gaze for a moment, and felt my fingers reaching up as if to touch his cheek. Sasuke pulled away jerkily as my fingertips touched his skin, and his eyes burned with something foreign and unknown to me. I smiled to try to cover up the confusion, pulling my hand away.

"Let's go."

I led the way down the stairs, and out into the cool night, trying to convince myself that I hadn't touched his face because I was attracted to him. That definitely wasn't it, right?

I glanced over at the boy next to me, who was staring up at the stars. There was no appreciation for their beauty in his empty eyes, only that same somber look that was as if…he wanted to see the beauty, only the light was lost to him, everything cloaked in the blank shroud that hid him from the world.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I watched his lips exhale slowly, sending foggy wisps into the cool night air. His dark eyes reflected the lamplight, glowing embers that had lost their glow a long time ago. Cold, unfeeling pieces of stone.

Who could ever grow to love a man – no, a boy – that was so wrapped up in the cold, dark evil that it was starting to eat at his soul?