This chapter was very satisfying to write. There isnt much plot advancement, but I have a feeling that most of you will still enjoy it.

Also, I have a new story up called Water: Twist of Fate. It's an Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic,so if you're familiar with the series could you please check it out and let me know what you think?

Oh, i have a voting poll on my profile that pertains to who Hikari should end up with romantically. It'd be great if you guys could vote!

thanks, and PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 36

I stood just inside the entrance that would let me into the streets of Konoha, and sighed as I glanced at Tsunade, who crossed her arms over her ample chest. Two ANBU were standing just behind me, and I pursed my lips, my fingers itching at the seal that was situated around my left wrist.

The Hokage was eager to leave, and she spoke quickly. "Seeing as we can't just have you unguarded, I've asked the Hyuuga clan to take you in for the time being, and they have graciously accepted my request. A high ranking jounin will be in charge of your chakra seal, so you will be able to train as long as this jounin is present. He'll be here soon to pick you up, and I'll be sure to drop the seal off for him at the compound."

"Who's the jounin?"

"Neji Hyuuga."

If I could've screamed my lungs out without making it seem like I was out of my mind, I would have.

"Are you kidding? He'll flay me alive!"

It was true. Ever since that day with Tenten and the whole genjutsu fiasco, Neji had been…well…for lack of a better word, a complete ass. And I didn't blame him, but it didn't make it any less unpleasant.

Tsunade shrugged. "Eh. That's not my problem. The rest of his squad is away on a mission for the next three weeks, and I'll be sure to keep his mission numbers low. That way he'll have no choice but to train with you. You should be thanking me…"

"Thanks…" I growled, and Tsunade smirked, walking away with a flick of her long blonde ponytails.

"…for practically digging my grave for me." I finished once she was out of sight, and flopped myself down on the floor. Knowing Neji, he'd take his sweet time in picking me up. I wouldn't be surprised if he purposely left me here to rot. Training was out as well, as if Neji would even consider training with me.

Why, oh why, did I have to get Neji of all people? Gah!

Part of me had been hoping that Kiba would be the one to pick me up, so that I could talk to him about…whatever it was that I felt for him. But I guess it wouldn't be that easy.

I leaned against the stone of the wall, ignoring the two ANBU who were still standing beside the door. I couldn't tell if they were looking at me or not, because their eye holes were too small for me to see their eyes. Kinda creepy, but whatever.

I leaned my head against my hands, and was shocked to hear a tap at the door, and my head snapped up so fast that it tweaked my neck. I blinked in surprise at the sight of Neji Hyuuga standing there, and I quickly got to my feet.

Neji's face was cold and tense, and I could see that he detested this arrangement as much as I did. I crossed my arms over my chest as he entered the dark hallway. The Hyuuga nodded curtly to the two ANBU, who disappeared without another word. I faced Neji with a scowl, and he scoffed quietly.

"Still as disrespectful as ever, I see…"

Still as stuck-up as ever, Neji…what a surprise.

I huffed furiously at his insult, and he turned to leave the room. "Are you angry because I insulted you, or are you angry because it's the truth?"

I struggled to keep my irritation at bay, following him silently, my fists clenched in frustration. Neji smirked at my expression, and turned to face front once more as we made our way through the streets.

The village was the same as I remembered it, noisy and cheerful as civilians and ninja alike walked and shopped in the small stores that lined each street. Children were huddled together off to the side, giggling and playing with cardboard shuriken and kunai in imitation of the ninja they would grow up to be. The air was clean and smelled of grass, and I couldn't help but relax slightly as I walked through the village.

My eyes automatically searched for my teammates, but they were nowhere to be found. I guess they were all getting used to this…suddenly coming back to Konoha wasn't exactly what I'd call a "smooth transition".

A shock of bright pink hair caught my eye, and I quickly moved away from neji in order to intercept the girl.

"Sakura!" I called out, and Sakura's head shot up at the sound of her name, and she quickly and carefully made her face neutral at the sight of me. I saw Neji stop and wait by the curb, watching me with emotionless, and I ignored him as I walked up to her.

"Hi, Hikari."

"Hey Sakura. I know this is weird of me to ask…but…" I scratched my head nervously. "You know Juugo from Sasuke's team? The big, orange-haired one?"

Sakura nodded coolly, eyes flashing at the sound of Sasuke's name. "Yes, what about him?"

"Well, he may not seem like it, but he has kind of a split personality. One side is kind and gentle, but the other is a terrifying murderer. He was one of Orochimaru's experiments, and–"

"I'll ask Tsunade-sensei to run some tests. I'll probably help her, seeing as I saw him advance into the second stage when Sasuke-kun and the others came to rescue you."

I flinched at her cold tone, and sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Look, Sakura, I know that it's hard to–"

"You don't know a thing about what's hard and what's not, Hikari, so just stop. You have no idea what it's like to lose someone who you loved with every fiber of your being, you have no idea what it's like to have that person throw you aside as if you were nothing. You're just a selfish, naïve kunoichi who is accustomed to getting her way and having everyone like her, no matter what."

With a glare, Sakura pushed past me and walked away as fast as she could, her shoulders tense and stiff and her head bowed slightly. My throat closed automatically as her words sunk in, and I forced myself to remain calm. They were just words…they were just words.

But that fact didn't make it hurt any less.

I had always seen Sakura as the person that would always be my friend, no matter what happened. After spending all that time with her in Sound, she and I had become what I would consider friends. I looked out for her, and she was the happy light that helped to distract me from my dark and lonely life in sound. Sakura had always been so caring and kind…and when I returned to Konoha I thought that she of all people would be my friend still.

I was wrong. I had really been honest about my feelings concerning Naruto and Sakura continuously chasing Sasuke, I knew that they needed to hear it not from Sasuke, but from someone they trusted and who knew Sasuke better than they did. I suppose this was my honesty coming back to bite me on the ass. Now Sakura hates me, the one person I had hoped would be there for me.

If this was how Sakura of all people was acting…I shudder to think about what I'm going to get from the rest of the ninja I had befriended in my time here.

But I suppose I deserved it. I had gone willingly to join the enemy; I had pushed them aside without a second thought. I had done exactly what Sasuke had done…three years ago. I had sacrificed my bonds in Konoha for the purpose of being with Sasuke, for proving that I wasn't weak.

I swallowed hard, and with a sigh turned to walk back to Neji, who was watching me calculatingly. I didn't speak as I reached him, and he didn't speak either, just turning and continuing his way back down the street.

I glanced back to where Sakura had gone, biting my lip for a moment before turning and running to catch up with Neji, who hadn't looked to see if I was following or not.

The Hyuuga pulled something out of his pocket, and looked at it briefly before speaking. "Hinata-sama asked me to collect some groceries at the market…we'll need to stop there."

I nodded, not really having it in me to speak. I wonder…was Sakura going to rip into Sasuke like she had done with me?

Something told me that she would do just the opposite.

Ugh. Sometimes I hated being me.

Sasuke walked down the street, ignoring the whispers and glares he received from the ninja as he passed. Naruto had asked that he go and buy some vegetables from the market, since Naruto was busy cleaning his apartment and making a sleeping place for Sasuke.

The two had entered the apartment, only to find clothes and trash everywhere, as well as the lingering smell of ramen in the air. Flies swarmed in the kitchen, where dishes were piled everywhere.

Sasuke had grimaced at the sight, and Naruto, laughing nervously, pushed Sasuke out the door. The pink-faced blonde slapped some money into the Uchiha's hands.

"Uh, go get some stuff for dinner, okay? I'll just…clean up a bit."

Sasuke had nodded stiffly, and turned without a word to walk briskly down the stairs and into the crowded street. He was so thankful to get away from that hell-hole of an apartment that he forgot why he loathed going out alone.

Now Sasuke growled to himself, ignoring the whispers that followed him as he searched for a suitable grocery store. He was still in the same outfit that he had worn coming to Konoha, and he put his hands in his pockets, scowling as he realized that he had no idea where to find a grocery store.

Sasuke stopped at the edge of the street, letting out a sigh as he let his gaze trace over the crowds of shoppers and civilians. His eyes unconsciously searched for Hikari, scanning for that familiar way she held herself, searching for the deep golden color of her hair. But she was no where to be found, and his search was interrupted by a voice speaking behind him.

"Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha recognized the voice – as well as the chakra signature – to be Sakura's, and he slowly turned to face her. She was dressed in a short-sleeved red shirt, black shorts, and a medic-nin skirt that was a pale ivory color. Sasuke sighed at the hesitant tone of her voice – it was so strange, seeing as when they were genin, she had been anything but hesitant – and reluctantly let his eyes flicker up to meet her emerald ones.

She was irritated about something, it wasn't hard to tell that much, it was obvious in the way that her brow was furrowed slightly and her lips were a bit tighter in the corners.

The girl blinked rapidly, and struggled to speak after a moment. "W-What're you doing out here? I thought Naruto was supposed to be watching you…"

"That idiot can barely keep track of himself, much less another person." Sasuke muttered, much to his surprise.

It was strange, how much he wanted to communicate with his teammates. Not just in the verbal sense…he wanted to try and repair some of the damage he had caused by leaving, he wanted to try and distract himself from his revenge. As for the ease to which he teased…he blamed the influence of a cheeky kunoichi who was probably making whoever was supervising her wish that they had never been born.

Sakura was surprised, but she quickly pushed it aside as she smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." The girl seemed less hesitant as she put a hand on her hip. "Are you looking for something?"

Sasuke nodded curtly. "A grocery store."

Sakura bit her lip, putting a hand over her eyes in search. Sasuke glanced at her several times as she searched, and found that even he couldn't deny that she had grown into that forehead of hers. Sakura was – to be perfectly honest – much prettier than Sasuke had been expecting.

"Okay, well…oh, there's one!

Sasuke looked to where Sakura was pointing, and saw that there was a small grocery store with a blue roof at the end of the street. Sasuke turned to her, and found that she was smiling slightly at him, an indiscernible look in her eyes.

"What?" Sasuke asked, and Sakura shook her head.

"I just can't believe that you're actually here. I keep waiting for you to start laughing and yell April Fools or something…"

Sasuke scoffed. "Impossible."

Sakura frowned, her eyes confused as she looked up at him. "How is that impossible?"

Sasuke smirked. "It's April 2nd."

And with that, the Uchiha turned and started walking towards the store Sakura had pointed him towards, smirking at the flabbergasted sound that erupted from Sakura as she watched him walk away.

It didn't take him long to reach the store, and he grabbed a plastic basket on entering the store. It had been so long since he'd been in a place that was so…ordinary. There were women chatting as they pushed their children in the carts, ninja and citizens paying for their food, some with sighs and others with cheerful smiles. There was an almost constant chime that came from the register whenever it clicked open to reveal the money inside, and Sasuke sighed as he thought about what to get.

Tomatoes were a definite must, Sasuke knew, and he smirked as he moved towards the fruit and vegetable section of the store. The air grew colder as he moved into that part of the store, and he looked over the selection of tomatoes carefully, not touching, but looking for one with just the right shape and color.

"Tomatoes, Sasuke? Never pegged you for a veggies kind of guy…"

Sasuke felt the pressure in his chest ease at the sound of her voice, and the familiar scent of her hair made him more relaxed then anyone would ever know. Sasuke glanced over to see Hikari leaning on the metal bar that surrounded the selection of vegetables, smirking.

The Uchiha's eyes immediately darted to the seal around her left wrist, and his fingers twitched towards his own seal as he rolled his eyes.

"They're not vegetables. They're a fruit."

"Eww, definitely not. Fruit is sweet…tomatoes aren't. Simple as that."

Sasuke snorted at her disgusted tone, not bothering to respond. He let himself look over at her once more. It had been nearly two days since he had seen her. Her hair was down and loose, something that Sasuke had always preferred. Long hair was appealing to him, the only fact about him that the annoying fan-girls back at the Academy had managed to get right.

But it was strange; he didn't find himself affected by Karin and her long hair, nor by countless other kunoichi that sported similar lengths. It was only Hikari's hair that made him realize his attraction to long hair.

Very strange.

Sasuke let his eyes study her features briefly, unconsciously searching for any injuries. When he found none, Sasuke turned back to the tomatoes. But out of the corner of his eye

Hikari was picking up nectarines – which were in the opposite side of the cart that Sasuke was standing by – and sniffing them, much to Sasuke's confusion.

"What are you doing?"

Hikari smiled. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to see which nectarines are ripe."

"…"

Hikari laughed lightly, walking around the cart while holding onto the bright red-orange fruit in her hand. "It's just a habit of mine, I like smelling things before I eat them, it lets me know it its rotten or not."

Sasuke frowned as the girl moved next to him, holding up the nectarine for him to smell. Sasuke sighed, turning his head away slightly. Hikari scowled.

"Smell it, Sasuke."

"…"

"Don't be a wimp, Sasuke…just do it."

Sasuke huffed irritably, and took the fruit out of Hikari's hand, and smelled it briefly. It smelled unbearably sweet, with a slightly spicy undertone. The Uchiha handed the fruit back to Hikari, who took it and smelled it again, a small smile crossing her lips as she did so.

"See?"

Sasuke shrugged, and Hikari batted his arm playfully before walking around to put the fruit back with the other nectarines. When she came back, she looked at the empty basket in Sasuke's hand and frowned. "What are you getting, anyway?"

"Food."

Hikari raised an eyebrow, and with a grin grabbed the plastic basket from Sasuke's hands. The Uchiha sighed as she put a finger to her chin, and his dark eyes couldn't help but notice the way her golden hair spilled over her shoulders, glinting in the sunlight that streamed in from the nearby windows.

"Hm…very specific. Well, candy is a food, so I guess you won't mind if I fill your basket with it."

Sasuke knew that he shouldn't react to her threat, knowing that she couldn't control what he bought. If she did fill the basket with candy, he would just empty it out and buy the food he had come to originally purchase.

But even so, his hand found its way around her wrist, preventing her from walking off with his basket, and earning him a sly grin from the girl in front of him. His heart beat rather uncomfortably as she smiled at him, her eyes clear and bright.

Sasuke smirked, snatching the basket back from her. "Healthy food."

"Was that so hard?"

Sasuke blinked sourly, and Hikari laughed as she unconsciously slipped her hand downward so that Sasuke and she were holding hands. Sasuke looked down at their intertwined hands, and Hikari's cheeks flared red as she realized what she had done.

"Uh…sorry. I–"

"It's okay." Sasuke murmured, tentatively squeezing her hand as he met her eyes once more.

Hikari flushed an even deeper shade of red – this was a rare occurrence, because she wasn't one to become embarrassed easily – and Sasuke knew that he had found his new favorite color. Didn't she realize how tempting she was? Sasuke knew that most of his attraction towards her was because of the fact that her endearing personality only served to accentuate her physical beauty. But that didn't matter.

Sasuke had been denied so many things in his time at Sound. He knew that being immersed in such a dark and merciless environment in his early crucial years of puberty – as well as not allowing himself to focus on anything besides killing his brother – hadn't allowed him to experience the confusion and awkwardness that most teens felt. He had never had a crush, he had never been rejected, and he had never been physically attracted to anyone because frankly, most of the women at Sound were cruel and unfeminine.

When Hikari had appeared, nothing had changed, really. Sasuke had noticed that she was good-looking, but since he had no experience with such feelings, he pushed them aside without a second thought.

It wasn't until Hikari left to Konoha that Sasuke really began realizing that he was attracted to her. And even then, it had been hesitant, unsure of whether the emotion was allowed or not.

Now, as he stared at her, he knew that he was still confused about his feelings. He knew that he…liked her, but after admitting that to himself, he knew that she couldn't possibly feel the same way. Kiba – the Uchiha's teeth ground together at the thought of that dog boy's cocky grin going anywhere near Hikari – was better for her, he knew what he was doing. Sasuke was just a lost soul who had no idea what the hell to do when it came to love and shows of affection.

Hikari glanced up at him, and frowned at Sasuke's expression. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head to clear it, and Hikari snorted when he said that it was nothing.

"Bullshit. What's got your panties in a twist, Emo-boy?"

Sasuke smirked at her tone, and was about to answer when Neji Hyuuga's imperious voice called out.

"Hikari, we're leaving."

Sasuke glared at Neji over Hikari's shoulder, and the Hyuuga glared right back from his position by the door. Hikari stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Sasuke.

"Sorry, His Royal Pain-in-the-Ass-ness is waiting…gotta go."

"I heard that, Hikari." Neji growled, and Hikari grinned impishly as she lowered her voice exponentially, obviously mimicking something he had said earlier.

"Are you angry because I insulted you, or are you angry because it's the truth?"

Neji flared, and Hikari laughed triumphantly as she turned back to Sasuke, who was trying not to smile at the Hyuuga irritation.

"That one's gonna bite me in the ass later, it always does. So, are you staying at Naruto's place?"

"Yeah."

"I'm staying at the Hyuuga Compound. Maybe tomorrow morning we could…go train or something. If I want to train with chakra, I have to stick with Pain-in-the-Ass-ness here, but other than that, I think I could train by myself."

"The same with me. Kakashi has to be there to unseal my chakra."

Hikari nodded, and Sasuke barely had time to take another breath before he felt soft lips on his cheek. Sasuke blinked, and she was pulling away, her face red and her eyes averted away from him. Without another word, the girl whirled away from him and ran over to where Neji was waiting, exiting the store without a backwards glance.

Sasuke knew that he must look like a fumbling idiot, just standing and staring into space, but he couldn't care less.

Sasuke let his hand come up and ran his fingers through his hair furiously, his cheeks warm in embarrassment. Was that just a friendly kiss on the cheek, was that supposed to signify that she liked him? It wasn't like her to do something like that, but even more unusual was the way his heart was racing and his hands were tightly clenched into fists. What the hell was wrong with him?

The boy growled, and picked out a few tomatoes before letting his mind wander to what else he was going to buy. But every time he tried, the memory of her warm lips against his cheek flashed before his mind.

Like he was going to be able to concentrate on shopping after that.