Hey you guys! Gosh, this chapter was easy to write (i hope that's a good thing) and I hope you guys like it!

Okay, can anyone guess who Hana is now? I've made it pretty obvious for a reason...so I hope I'm not a complete failure at giving hints.

Please review! :D

Chapter 10

I swear, my dreams get really, really weird and confusing when I take medication, and this time was no exception.

I was standing on smooth slabs of stone that made up the street, and around me there were bright green trees that seemed to glow in contrast to the dismal gray sky that loomed over me. My mind seemed to be thinking these things on their own…I was merely observing this body of mine, from a place I couldn't ascertain. Blonde spikes fell in front of my eyes, but I couldn't turn my head, I couldn't move from this spot. And yet I knew exactly where I was.

It was my home; it had always been my home.

A girl was standing in front of me, and she was shouldering a large pack, her pink hair going in choppy layers to just above her shoulders. She was obviously a ninja, her movements showing a strength and grace unknown to regular citizens, and a shuriken and kunai case strapped to her thigh. Her back was facing me, so I couldn't see her face, but that problem was solved a moment later when she tuned to smile at me.

Her emerald eyes were sad, and I felt my hands moving to grasp her shoulders.

The girl bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry…I wish you could come with me."

I didn't answer; my voice seemed stuck in my throat. I was angry at being left behind, but I was more worried about the girl in front of me. She had gone through so much…too much.

Her pink hair waved behind her as the breeze blew, and her slender hands clenched into fists.

"I just hope…"

I shook my head to stop her words, and pulled her into a tight hug, blinking to keep the tears from falling. I knew that this girl might not come back alive; I knew that this might be the last time I ever held her. She was going into a place where death was an everyday occurrence, and murder was even more so.

Did I love her?

Yes…I had always loved her. What a silly question to ask myself.

But I had to let her go now. The mission itself was to go undercover in Sound, but I knew the real reason she accepted the assignment. It was because of…him. I had to let her chase the boy that had torn her apart, because I knew that if I didn't let her go, she'd pine over him still, and she was too good of a person to have to go through that. She was the one who had taken down Sasori only a few months ago, almost dying to protect Chiyo; she was the one who healed Kankuro when no one else could. This girl was strong, beautiful, kind…all of those things and more. She was my best friend.

I loved her so much…and so I was willing to let her run into another man's arms, as long as she was happy.

But a part of me was furious with her. Why couldn't she see that I loved her? Why couldn't she see that I would never, ever do that to her?

The girl looked up at me, and I leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. I didn't know why I did it, it was instinctive. I wanted to let her know – however small the gesture was – that I would never stop thinking about her. That if something went wrong before we were scheduled to meet again, I would come for her, I would save her from anything and everything.

But of course, I couldn't say these words, so I just let my lips touch her skin for several long moments, letting the scent of her perfume and the feel of her soft skin ingrain themselves into my memory.

She pulled away, her face burning, and I felt my face heat up as well, but managed to put a confident grin on my face. Her emerald eyes crinkled cutely as she smiled back at me, and she waved as she began to walk away.

"Bye, ------"

I opened my eyes with a gasp, and sat up noisily, rubbing my forehead with my palm.

What the hell? Where did that kind of dream come from? Great…I was dreaming about people who probably didn't exist, I was dreaming about me being a guy getting all awkward and mushy with the girl he liked, with the girl that didn't like him back. Not a pleasant feeling, especially because I'm a girl.

The sky was pale lavender, some stars still shining but dimming quickly as dawn approached. I looked down to my stomach, only to find that the skin there was smooth.

Uh oh. I was still shirtless…

And a certain Uchiha was sitting up in his bed, his hair tousled from sleep, his back facing me – he wasn't wearing a shirt...yikes, attractive much?

I quickly pulled the covers up to cover my chest, and got up from my bed of blankets to hunt down a shirt. I heard him turn over, and hoped that he had fallen back asleep and wasn't currently witnessing my search for clothing. I finally found one in the cabinet – it was too dark to see if it would fit or not – and quickly pulled it on, praying with crossed fingers that Sasuke was still asleep.

I turned around, properly clothed, only to find that Sasuke was staring at me, his eyes dark and cold as usual. I forced myself not to let my eyes drift downwards to his chest – darn it, I'm staring! I pursed my lips, looking down at my feet, turning to head back to my bed. I realized just as I got into my bed of blankets that I wasn't in the least bit tired. I sighed, and rolled onto my stomach, looking up at the Uchiha who was starting to roll over once more. He still had an hour or so of sleep before dawn, which was when we usually woke up for training. But since I was wide-awake, I asked quickly.

"Hey, Uchiha-sensei?"

"…"

I took that to be a response, and I went on, resting my chin on my hands. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A day and a half."

I blinked. No wonder I wasn't tired…wow…

"Oh." I said quietly, and then that dream flashed before my eyes, the pink hair of that girl. I snorted, and asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Uchiha-sensei, have you ever seen a girl with pink hair?"

Sasuke's shoulders stiffened and didn't answer, rolling over completely and going utterly still. I frowned.

"Hello? Have you?"

"…"

"Aw, c'mon, don't get all anti-social on me now! Not that you've been very social before this, but–"

"Shut. Up."

"So you do know a girl with pink hair…that's weird. I wonder why I would have a–"

Something flat and wide came flying in my direction, and landed with a splat on my mouth, sealing it shut and cutting me off. I squeaked in surprise, and felt my mouth to find that it was like a piece of tape, only it was glowing slightly. I yanked at it as hard as I could, but it wouldn't come off, remaining irritatingly stuck to my skin. I tried to yell, but my lips were sealed shut. All that was heard was a humming sound in the back of my throat, and I turned to see Sasuke settling back into the covers, his back facing me once more.

"Mmm!" I growled, waving my fists around angrily.

No answer. I might have imagined it, but I actually thought I could detect a sigh of relief as he settled further into the covers. That miserable son of a–

I tried to convey to him what I thought of his methods, but ended up just making a fool of myself, and flipped him off multiple times to vent some of my annoyance. It made me feel a bit better, and I lay down with a sigh.

I watched the form of Sasuke on the bed become unconscious once more, propping myself up on my elbow. The boy turned over on his other side, and I saw his sleeping face in the dim glow of a new day.

I got to my knees, and crawled over so I was a few feet away, and studied his face with wide-eyed wonder.

It was like a totally different person. His face wasn't cold or composed; it wasn't scowling or glaring with irritation. It was...peaceful, almost. His mouth was in a straight line, lips parted slightly as he breathed. The light of the sun made his skin glow, and I wanted to touch that skin, just to make sure that it was real.

I quickly moved away, and unpacked my ninja attire from my small bag I kept my clothes in, and went into the bathroom to change. I pulled my hair up into a bun, and washed my face quickly, slapping my cheeks hurriedly as the cold water jolted me out of the surrealism of that moment.

Nothing had changed…it was still the same Sasuke Uchiha, even if he was asleep.

I left the bathroom with a sigh, and found that Sasuke was already dressed, strapping his sword to his waist, his face back to its usual stiff coldness. I marched up to him, and pointed to the contraption that was still covering my mouth, glaring angrily.

Sasuke smirked slightly, reaching out to pull it off and it seemed to melt away under his fingers. I let out a breath, and yelled.

"You jerk!"

"You wouldn't shut up."

"You could've asked! You just ordered me to, which isn't very polite!"

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered, and led the way out of the room, leaving me to quickly grab my pouch of kunai and follow him. I grumbled to myself as he passed the lunch area without stopping, knowing that I was terribly hungry, but also knowing that I would only eat when Sasuke ate.

What a bother.

I was staring at my feet as I walked, making invisible patterns on the cold stone with the tip of my sandal, the air silent except for the sound of our feet hitting the floor.

"Hikari-san!"

I turned to see Hana jogging towards me, her black hair unpinned now and falling around her face. Her face was calm, but her eyes – seeing them made me remember for a split second that pink haired girl as she walked away – shone warmly as she reached me.

"I have to accompany you to training today, to make sure that your body is back to normal."

I scowled, suddenly irritated by the cheerful smile that spread across her face. I glanced behind me, finding that Sasuke was standing there, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the medical ninja.

"Why are you doing this?"

Hana's brows furrowed, and she put a hand on her hip. "What do you mean?"

"This…being so nice to me, making up excuses to make sure you're around me." I knew that she was making it up, because Kabuto never, ever gave orders to healers concerning Sasuke or I, because Orochimaru was so careful with the two of us that Kabuto was the only healer who had ever healed us. This girl had either gotten his trust, or she was a rookie who didn't know how this base worked.

"Because…I want to have a friend here in Sound…"

I blinked, and stared at her. She wasn't…like the others? She actually wanted to be my friend; she wanted someone to talk to as much as I did?

I nodded, smiling at her. But I was still wary…it would take more than a sad face and some sweet words to win me over. I was about to answer when Sasuke curtly spoke.

"Hikari."

I rolled my eyes, and linked arms with Hana, pulling her along with me. I don't know why I did this, it was instinctual. Hana was like a doll, so fragile and breakable, and I felt that I had to protect her.

"Okay, okay emo-boy…I'm coming."

Sasuke ignored the comment, his eyes dark as he scanned Hana with a scowl. After a moment he turned with a scowl and began walking once more. I smiled at the girl beside me – I had to look down, because like with Sasuke, her head barely reached my shoulder – and whispered.

"So…have you been in Sound long?" I asked, and she bit her lip before answering, her green eyes dark and distant.

"I came here only three weeks ago."

I nodded, and noticed that her eyes were impossibly sad. "Why did you come here?"

"A promise I kept to someone…a long time ago."

I frowned at her tone, and looked away, but not before noticing her green eyes flicker towards Sasuke, her lips pursing in determination before returning her gaze to the floor.

I raised an eyebrow, and asked. "Hey, do you know Sasuke or something?"

Sasuke's head turned back slightly, and I smiled sweetly at him, so wide that my cheeks hurt. He hated it when I did that, and his eyes narrowed before he turned to face forward once more.

Hana laughed quietly. "You two have been roommates for a while, right?"

I shrugged. "Only for two months, and since he's more comparable to a piece of furniture than to a real roommate, it's basically just me in there."

Hana giggled softly, and quickly stifled it, glancing around nervously. I punched her arm playfully.

"Yeah, I know, right?"

"What?" Hana's eyes were confused. I sighed, staring at Sasuke's back as he walked.

"Sometimes, I feel like this place is suffocating me, slowly and surely squeezing the life out of me when I'm not on my guard. But then again, I don't think I could imagine being anywhere else, you know? It's the only place where I've managed to fit in."

Hana smiled. "Yes…I think I know how that feels."

I smiled back at her, and yet even as the warmth spread throughout my body, I also felt my defenses tightening. This girl was too bright, too trustworthy for me to allow myself to relax around her.

Emotions were what ruled us as human beings, without them we'd be blank emotionless cardboard boxes shaped into human resembling creatures – no, I am not referring to Sasuke, although I can see why you'd make that assumption. And in my time at Sound, I had discovered a few things about people in general.

Positive feelings were all well and good, and they had a powerful affect on others, as well as allowing for relationships to begin to sprout and bloom. But if you really want to get to know a person, wait until the situation gets really, really bad, and you'll see what their true nature is. It was in those deadly and furious moments that the innermost thoughts come forth to the front of your mind, and there are no such things as etiquette and politeness. There is only raw emotion, and that is what shapes the individual.

Hana smiled sweetly at me and began asking me more about my life here in Sound, and we continued to talk all the way to the training grounds.

It wasn't until much later that I realized that Hana had never answered my question, the question that asked whether she knew Sasuke or not.