Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the lovely Rei.
Chapter Fifteen
Sasuke sighed as he walked to the training grounds. He knew he had a mission with the others, but he was still a bit nervous about facing rei.The previous night was still fresh in his mind and he still had no idea of what his true feelings were. He had hardly slept as he had spent the night trying to find something, anything that could prove that he felt nothing but friendship towards her. Unfortunately, he had only succeeded in finding more proof of his growing affection towards Rei.
In reality he had no problem with Rei. Se was nice, smart, funny, strong and, as he liked to put it, aesthetically pleasing. No, he had no problem with her, he enjoyed her company and had a clear idea of why he liked her so much. The problem lay in himself, his upbringing, and her opinion of him.
Because of his past experiences he was rather reluctant to show his feelings to others. He felt that it would expose him and make him weak. Another problem directly connected with his past was his fear of losing a loved one. He was afraid that if he became too attached to someone he would end up losing them like he lost his family. Ever since his clan's massacre it had been hard for him to be himself and trust others. He didn't know if he could either love or trust Rei and if he couldn't he didn't want to hurt her.
Rei was one of his best friends and he liked spending time with her, but he wasn't sure of how she felt about him. He kept thinking of what she had said the night before.
'You're like a brother to me….'
Every time he thought about that he felt strange. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and he didn't know why. In truth he disliked the idea of her seeing him as her brother. Did that mean that he wanted to be something other than a friend or a brotherly figure? He sighed. He knew he would have to tell her how he felt. Maybe she would be able to help him sort out his stupid feelings. Still, he didn't want to tell him in fear of what she might say. He sighed as he saw his team in the training field, Kakashi was till not there. Damn him, now he would have to wait for hours with Rei. He saw Rei turn and look at him. She smiled and waved eagerly at him. He smirked and knew that he would have to keep his feelings to himself, at least until he was able to sort them out. He didn't want to lose one of his best friends because of his inability to deal with his emotions.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said eagerly.
"Hn." He said as he walked past her.
Naruto glared at him and he glared back. It was like their daily routine. He heard Rei sigh in exasperation. It always irked her when he argued with Naruto. He looked at her and smirked.
"Good morning, brat."
"Good morning, jerk." She said grinning.
Sakura glared wondering why Sasuke didn't pay attention to her, but always paid attention to Rei. She couldn't help but envy her as she had been able to get close to Sasuke in such a short amount of time when she had been trying for years.
"So, what kind of lame excuse do you guys think Kakashi-sensei will come up with today?" Rei said.
"I'd rather not think about it." Sasuke responded.
"All I know is our mission better be good!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah, he's been giving us nothing but boring missions." Rei said, bored.
Sasuke glanced at Rei just as she yawned.
"Didn't get enough sleep?"
"I had a rough night." She said distractedly.
"What happened, Rei-chan?" Naruto asked.
"It doesn't matter."
As she said this Sasuke noticed that she seemed unease, He sighed. She was obviously hiding something. Still he knew better than to try to make her talk. He shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time. Rei noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong Sasuke?"
"Nothing."
Rei didn't really believe him, but she didn't argue. They waited for a long time for Kakashi to show up.
"Hello." He said.
"You're late!!!" Everyone but Sasuke yelled.
"Yes, well on my way here an old woman-"
"Liar!!!" They yelled again.
Kakashi sweatdropped and then cleared his throat and composed himself.
"Anyways, our next mission is a C-rank mission. We are to escort a group of merchants to Kirigakure."
Sasuke glanced at Rei from the corner of his eye and saw her tense at the mention of her previous home. He wondered what it was that she was hiding. Then he wondered if he would be able to find out anything about her during the mission. Maybe they would run into her family. He tried to picture how she would deal with that. Then it occurred to him that maybe she didn't have any family. After all, why would she have left her family to go to a town where she didn't know anyone? His thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi.
"We'll leave at noon when the clients are ready. You have until then to get ready. You are dismissed."
With that he was gone in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind two disgruntled and sleep deprived blond shinobi who wasted no time in complaining about how useless it was for them to wait for hours for a five minute chat with their sensei. They were soon interrupted by Sasuke, as he attempted to get Rei's attention in an unusually polite way. However, when that failed he was forced to resort to his usual method.
"Rei. You stupid brat, pay attention." He said irritably.
"What the hell do you want you jerk?!?"
"Well, I would love to go back in time and kill myself right before I meet you, but for now I would like to get some breakfast." He said. Smirking.
"Alright, but I want ramen!"
"Fine, but I'm paying." He said calmly.
Sasuke began to walk away and Rei followed him.
"I don't need you to pay for my food."
"I don't care."
"You're an idiot."
"Good."
Rei sighed and gave up. There really was no use in arguing with Sasuke. She yawned and Sasuke noticed.
"What's wrong? It's not like you to feel so tired. Is training with me really that hard?"
Rei noticed the smugness in his voice and stuck out her tongue. However, she didn't answer him.
"Well, what's wrong?" He asked again.
"Oh, were you being serious? I thought you were just being full of yourself again." She said smirking.
"Shut up and answer the question." He said annoyed.
"Well, I can't do both. Make up your mind. Do you want me to shut up or answer?"
"Just answer the question." He sighed.
"It doesn't matter."
She walked faster and Sasuke sighed before catching up to her. They arrived at the ramen shop and ordered. As they ate Sasuke noticed that Rei was unusually quiet. He wondered if she was upset and shuddered at the thought of having to cheer her up. Still, he knew if he didn't want to o on a hellish mission with a pissed off Rei he would have to do something. They finished eating and Sasuke paid.
"You didn't have to pay." Rei complained.
"It doesn't matter to me and why do you care?"
He turned to look at her in time to see a faint blush spread through her face.
"I don't."
"Hn."
"Well, I jut don't want you to waste your money on me."
Sasuke looked at her in disbelief.
"Rei, you stupid girl, I don't care about money. In case you haven't noticed I have no reason to worry about monetary problems. When my family died I was left with more than enough money. It's not like I can spend all of it. And don't say you're a waste of money."
"Fine."
Sasuke looked at her and saw that she looked unusually serious. He knew it was because of the mission and wondered if he would be able to get her to tell him anything.
"So, what do you think of the mission?"
"It sounds boring."
"Then it doesn't matter to you that it's in your old village?"
"No, I would rather not go, but I guess it can't be helped."
"Don't' you want to see your old home?"
"To tell you the truth I don' care much about it."
"What about your family?"
"What family?"
"Your mother's family."
"They're dead." She said bluntly.
Sasuke stayed quiet for a while.
"I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter to me. Now, hurry up."
They kept walking, but Sasuke kept thinking of what she had just said. How could she be so uncaring about the fact that she had no family? Then he realized that she was the last of her clan, both clans in fact. Deep inside he felt sorry for her and he now understood what she had said the previous night. He was like a brother to her and the closest thing she had to a family. He realized that the same was true for him. She was also the closest thing he had to a family. He found that he cared about her deeply and he would do anything to keep her safe.
The arrived at her home and Rei gathered everything she needed while Sasuke watched. She picked something up and tried to put it away before Sasuke could see what it was, but she failed. It was her headband from Kirigakure.
"Why do you need that?"
"It could come in handy."
Sasuke knew she didn't want to tell him and he didn't push her. Once they were done they walked to Sasuke's house. He got his things and they set out for the village gate. As they walked Sasuke couldn't take his mind off the headband that Rei had. He wondered if she still held onto her old village. Was she forced to come here?
They waited for a while until the others arrived. Their clients were just a few merchants with a single cart. They proceeded to escort them to the village and found that the mission was easier than they had expected. However, when they arrived at the village it was already dark.
"Well, I guess we should stay at an inn. We'll head out tomorrow." Kakashi said.
They turned to go find an inn, but Rei stopped them.
"Kakashi-sensei, if you want, we could stay at my old home. It's not too far from here."
"Well, that would be good Rei. Please direct us to your home."
They walked to her old home and Sasuke thought about how quiet she had been throughout the whole mission. She had seemed quite tense and she seemed uneasy with the prospect of staying there for the night. Soon they came upon a large gated mansion. They looked at it in wonder. Rei just opened the gate quickly and ushered them in. She closed it and Sasuke noticed her looking around nervously. They entered the house and Rei turned on the lights.
"Wow, Rei-chan, your family must have been loaded." Naruto said.
"Yes, my mother's clan was quite wealthy as was my father's. This was my grandparent's house, but they are dead so it was passed on to me. Come on, I'll show you your rooms."
Rei showed each of them where they would be staying and after having dinner they went to bed. However Sasuke found that he couldn't sleep. He had too many things to think about and he felt uneasy in this village. Ever since they had arrived he had felt like they were being watched. He got up and left the room to take a walk. He stepped outside and saw Rei sitting down and looking at the water in a pond.
"You couldn't sleep either?" She said quietly.
"No."
Sasuke sat down next to her and looked at her.
"What's wrong? You seem worried."
Rei sighed.
"It's nothing really. I guess being here just brought back some memories."
"Hn."
Sasuke wasn't fooled. He knew there was something else.
"What about you? Why aren't you in bed?"
"To be honest, I feel a bit uneasy being here. Ever since we arrived I felt like we were being watched. I guess I'm just being paranoid."
He glanced at Rei and saw her grow tense. Then she turned to him and smiled, but something about the way she smiled seemed wrong to him.
"You worry too much. This is my home and you'll be safe as long as you're here. You have nothing to worry about."
Sasuke sighed.
"Yeah, I know."
He stood up.
"I guess I'll go back to sleep. You should too, we have to go back to Konoha tomorrow so try to get some rest."
"Yeah, I will. Good night, Sasuke-kun." She said smirking.
"Good night brat."
Sasuke left and Rei sighed and let her smirk disappear. She sat there for a while longer and then stood up to go inside. As she was about to go in a kunai flew past her face and embedded itself on the wall. There was a note attached to it. She looked around and pulled out the kunai. She took the note and read it. When she was done she fell to her knees and sobbed.
The next morning Sasuke rose up early and went to check up on Rei. He wanted to see if she was alright, as she had seemed very stressed the night before. He also wanted to make sure she was awake. He really wanted to leave the village and go home, but he knew if they let her sleep as much as she wanted they would be there until noon.
He steeped into her room and froze. She wasn't there, but her things were. He looked around the house, but couldn't find her. He woke up the others and told them that she was gone. They searched the house for her and then went out into the town. They had no luck and so they went back to her house to see if she had returned from wherever she had gone. They found her sitting outside, apparently waiting for them. When she saw them she stood up. Sasuke was happy to see that she was safe and hurried to meet her. As he approached he noticed that she seemed bothered by something. She was smiling, but he knew her well enough to know that something was wrong. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that she no longer had her Konoha headband. She was now wearing her old headband from Kirigakure. The others reached them and also froze when they saw the new change.
"Rei-chan, why do you have that thing on?" Naruto asked.
"Rei, where were you? We were looking for you." Sasuke added.
She sighed and looked at them. I received a note last night from my uncle. He had left the village for a while and was presumed dead. He says that he is coming back and so I have decided to stay here with him."
Sasuke couldn't believe what she had just said and neither could the others.
"I am very grateful for your hospitality, but it is time for me to return to my home. Please send my thanks to the Hokage."
She handed Sasuke her Konoha headband and he looked at it for a minute. His grip tightened around it and he looked up at her with anger and confusion, but apart from that there was pain, pain that he didn't want to feel.
"What are you talking about? You told me that you loved Konoha. You said you didn't care about this village! Now, you're just going to forget about all of us and stay here?"
"Sasuke, Konoha was my home for a while and I am grateful to everyone for their hospitality, but this is my real home. This is where my family is and this is where I belong."
"You're lying."
"I'm sorry, but this is where I want to be. This is my true home."
Ssasuke grabbed her by her shirt.
"Why are you lying? Stop this and tell me the truth. What happened? Why are you doing this?"
Rei looked at him and he couldn't believe how cold her eyes looked.
"Did you really think that I would stay in you village? Did you think that I would agree to live there for the rest of my life? How sad. I never wanted to be there. This is my true home and soon I will have my true family. You were nothing but a little experiment. I wanted to see just how weak Konoha shinobi were."
Sasuke let her go and she smirked. He went into the house to get his things as soon as they were ready they headed out. Sasuke still couldn't believe that he had been tricked like that. He looked around and saw that the others were also upset. Naruto refused to believe that Rei had fooled them and Sakura couldn't believe it either. Kakashi seemed disappointed and he felt like he could never trust anyone again. He had been fooled and used and he found that it hurt to think that she had been the one to do it. She had been nice and innocent and he had cared about her. He scowled as he thought of the time he spent with her. Was that all a lie?
As he thought about this and they exited the village he took out her old headband from Konoha. He looked at it and saw that there was something attached to it. He took off a small piece of paper. He opened it and froze. The others noticed that he had stopped and turned to him.
"We have to go back."
End Chapter Fifteen
Hope you guys liked it. I have good news! My dad ordered a new computer for me so I will be able to update during the week too. Anyways, please review, the sooner you review the sooner I update and the more reviews I receive the more I write. Sayonara!