Hello people! Hope you guys like this story and sorry for taking so long to update, but I had school work and then I got sick. Thanks to marimo head's lover, larrycucumber2, Uchiha Black, Tsukinoyo, lovefatedestiny, sweetpixie27, Mizu Hime, Princesa de la Luna, jjayno1, Valinor's Twilight, ruler of dragons, japcherryblossom14, Lyris88, Hibiki-chan, ForeverInTheMoment, Mayan and lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl for reading and reviewing. Please review, reviews make me happy and a happy author means quick updates. Anyways, on to the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Rei, Okoru, Zakyo, and Yu.
A special thanks to yowazup for providing what must be the most creative (note the sarcasm) flame ever in which they wrote that the first chapter was "sucky". Needless to say that I was quite shocked (and offended) by this. I always thought that my stories deserved better, even when it came to flames. I mean, is it so hard to ask for flamers to be literate? And so passes another day in which I am amazed by the degree to which some people have sunk. Though I have to say, I now understand why this person sees the need to harass others to try to feel better after people mock their lack of a vocabulary (and intellect). Now that we've all had a good laugh I'll leave the rest of you to do some reading.
Chapter Fifty-One
Rei stood there looking at Sasuke as he scowled and glared at Okoru who was standing next to her. She was still in shock at what had happened and so she didn't really know what to say. She was snapped back to reality as Sasuke walked up to her. He glanced at her and before she could register what was happening he punched Okoru. She heard the sound of Sasuke's fist connecting with Okoru's face.
Okoru stumbled back and looked up in time to block another blow from Sasuke. The Uchiha was seething and he didn't blame him. Even though he knew he deserved it he liked living and so he would have to fight back. He jumped back and wiped some blood from his mouth. Sasuke glared at him and Rei hurried towards him.
"Sasuke stop, it was an accident."
Sasuke turned to her and glared. She was surprised by the way he looked at her, but she knew he had a right to be mad.
"I'm sorry; it was just an accident so just stop okay."
"Yeah right, an accident, how convenient."
Rei frowned and held Sasuke back as he turned back towards Okoru.
"Do you really think I would do something like that?"
"Why wouldn't you? I've seen how close you are to him; maybe you never were just friends."
Sasuke pulled his arm free and stood before Rei.
"Don't worry I'll leave you two alone since that's what you want."
Rei stared at Sasuke and for the first time in a long time she actually felt like crying. Okoru watched as Rei just stood there looking at Sasuke as he turned to walk away. He scowled and walked up to him. Sasuke stopped as Okoru stood in front of him.
"Get out of my way." Sasuke growled.
"Not until you apologize to her. It wasn't her fault and you know it."
Sasuke glared at him, but Okoru stood his ground even as he looked into Sasuke's Sharingan.
"Move."
"Stop running away from her."
Sasuke scowled and punched Okoru. He stumbled and Sasuke walked past him. He scowled and charged at him, but Sasuke turned in time and dodged. He kicked him and although Okoru blocked he slid back a bit. He moved to the side to avoid getting hit again as Sasuke charged at him.
"Just listen to what she has to say." Okoru said.
Sasuke kept trying to hit him and although Okoru was fast, Sasuke managed to kick him.
"Stay out of this."
Okoru stood up and sighed.
"No, this is my fault and I deserve this, but Rei doesn't and I won't let you hurt her because of me."
Sasuke looked at Okoru and smirked. He had to admit, he had been looking forward to having a chance to fight the guy. Ever since he had met him he had wanted to kick his ass.
"Fine, you want to fight, let's fight."
Okoru glared at Sasuke and got ready to fight. Sasuke took out some kunai and threw them at him. Okoru deflected them with his own kunai. Meanwhile, Sasuke made some hand signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
Okoru frowned as he made some hand signs. Some water from the nearby pond gathered around him and protected him from the fire. Sasuke frowned and charged at the boy. Okoru tried to dodged, but Sasuke punched him. He smirked, but his smirk faded as Okoru turned to water.
"A water clone?" He said surprised.
"Yep and you fell for it."
Sasuke turned around and felt something wrap around his body. He growled as he saw Okoru standing in front of him.
"What do you think of my water snakes?"
Sasuke just glared at him.
"I guess the Uchiha clan isn't as strong as people say it is."
Sasuke swore he would kill him after he said that. He felt the snakes tighten their hold on his body. He looked at Rei and saw that she was just standing there with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
She watched as the two boys fought and thought of what to do, but she realized that she didn't know what to do.
"What's going on here?"
She turned around and saw Yu and Zakyo standing there. Yu looked at Rei waiting for an explanation, but she didn't say anything. She frowned and ran over to Okoru.
"Okoru, stop!"
He ignored her, but she grabbed him and prevented him from hurting Sasuke any further. Sasuke fell to his knees as the snakes dispersed and he glanced back at Rei. She was looking at him with an expression that he couldn't really name. He had never seen her like that, but then he realized that it was because he had actually hurt her. He stood up and glared at Okoru before walking away.
Okoru frowned and then remembered that Rei was there. He turned to look at her. She glanced at him and then turned to go into the house. He sighed and watched her leave.
Rei sighed as she let herself fall onto her bed. She turned on her side and just laid there thinking about what had just happened. She still couldn't believe what Sasuke had said, but then again he was probably hurt. She knew it was hard for him to get close to people and she was one of the few people he trusted. She felt terrible when she thought about this. After a while she decided to go to sleep. She would deal with things in the morning.
Still, as she tried to sleep she thought about Okoru. She knew he probably felt bad about what had happened and she wished she could do something for him, but she couldn't just forget about Sasuke. Besides, Okoru would have to go back to Kirigakure with the others and she would have to stay. She groaned as she felt a headache approaching and hoped that she would be able to talk to Sasuke in the morning.
As Sasuke walked back home he couldn't stop thinking about the look on Rei's face. He had never seen her look so hurt and it made him feel bad to think that he was the cause of it. Still, what she had done had hurt him as well and he couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened. He scowled as he thought of Okoru. If it hadn't been for him he would still be with Rei. He wanted to blame Rei, but he knew it hadn't been her fault, but he still couldn't put all the blame on Okoru. Although he hated to even think of it he knew that he was also at fault for what had happened. If he hadn't acted so rashly things wouldn't be so bad. He frowned and just sighed as he kept walking.
He arrived home and went straight to bed not wanting to stay awake thinking about Rei any longer. He knew he would have to face her sooner or later, but he would try to avoid her for the time being.
The next morning Rei woke up to find things unusually calm. She knew things weren't right when she woke up so early. She sighed and got ready for whatever the day would bring. As she walked to the kitchen she became aware of how quiet things were. She frowned and cautiously stepped into the kitchen only to find it empty. She was surprised to find that neither Yu nor Okoru were there as they were usually the first ones up.
"Well, you're up early."
Rei turned around and saw Yu standing there with a smirk on her face. Still, she could see that there was something wrong.
"Where are the others?"
Yu sighed as she looked at her friend.
"After what happened last night Okoru decided that it would be better for us to leave. Apparently he doesn't want to cause you anymore trouble." Yu said calmly.
Rei was surprised to hear this and frowned. She was afraid Okoru would do something like this, but she couldn't really stop him from leaving if he really wanted to. Besides, they had stayed in Konoha for a long time. She sighed and turned around to fix herself some breakfast. Yu looked at her strangely before speaking.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" She said with a hint of surprise.
Rei stopped for a moment, but didn't turn around.
"Have a good trip."
Yu frowned.
"So you're just going to pretend you don't care?"
Rei didn't answer and Yu grew more impatient.
"And I thought you would at least want to say good bye to Zakyo."
"Yu, what can I possibly do? I can't make you stay here."
"You can at least say goodbye."
"It'll only make Zakyo feel bad if I do."
"She'll fell worst if you don't."
Yu sighed as Rei just looked at her.
"Fine, I guess this is goodbye then."
Rei nodded and Yu felt that even though they argued all the time she would miss her friend. She looked at her one last time and left.
Rei sat down alone at the kitchen table and sighed. Now she really was alone. Her friends were leaving and she didn't even have Sasuke. She looked out the window and wondered if staying in Konoha was the right thing to do. With Orochimaru on the move and Konoha in such a vulnerable state it would be easier for her to get caught by the snake bastard as she liked to call him.
However, she knew that if she returned to Kirigakure she would put her friends in danger. Even as she told herself this she knew that the real reason she wanted to stay was because of Sasuke. She didn't want to see him get hurt even if he didn't want to talk to her again. She wanted to make sure that he didn't fall into Orochimaru's hands. But she knew if Orochimaru really wanted him there wasn't much she could do.
She groaned and let her head fall on the table. Everything was so confusing. She didn't know what to do anymore and it was getting harder for her to stay in Konoha. She sighed, at least she still had Naruto. Nonetheless, she knew she would still feel alone. To be honest she had always felt alone, even when she spent time with her friends in Kirigakure. She supposed it was the fact that she was so different. No, that wasn't it. It was because she always pushed people away, even when she wanted to hold on to those she loved, she pushed them away.
She hated herself for it, but she couldn't help it. The truth is that she was afraid to lose what she had and so she would rather have nothing. She figured if she didn't have anything to lose there was nothing that could hurt her. But she had gotten close to people without meaning to. She had gotten close to Okoru, Yu, Zakyo, Sasuke…. She groaned as she stood up and headed outside.
Zakyo sighed as she waited for Yu to arrive. She hoped Rei would show up to say bye, but something told her that she wouldn't. She pouted slightly and kicked a rock that hit Okoru on the back of his head. She laughed nervously as he gave her a slight glare, but was surprised when he turned back to look at the road they would be taking. She frowned and cocked her head to the side in confusion. She knew by that time he would have usually killed her or at least left a good lump on the side of the head. He had been acting strangely and she really couldn't blame him. She looked at her cousin and sighed. Just then she turned around to see Yu walking towards them.
"So, are you ready to leave?" She asked as she reached them.
"Yeah, let's go." Okoru said, taking one last look at Konoha.
They were about to leave when Zakyo stopped and turned around. Yu and Okoru turned to see Rei walking towards them. Yu smirked as Zakyo ran to Rei and threw herself at the older girl. Okoru just stood there and smiled. Rei grinned and managed to get free from Zakyo.
"You didn't think I would let you leave without saying goodbye did you?" She said.
Okoru shook his head.
"Well, I guess you guys have stayed here long enough."
"Yeah, we should really head back now." Okoru said.
Rei sighed and hugged him.
"I'll miss you guys."
Okoru was surprised, but he hugged her back.
"I'll miss you too."
He let go of Rei and smiled.
"It was good to see you again." Rei said.
"It was good to see you too."
"Yeah, I'll miss you Rei-san." Zakyo said.
Rei laughed and hugged her.
"Don't worry I'm sure we'll meet again soon. Just take care and don't be so reckless."
"We should say the same to you." Yu said as she smirked.
Rei laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.
"I'll try."
"We should go." Okoru said.
The others nodded and began to walk away. Okoru sighed and looked at Rei.
"Sorry about what happened. I hope things get better for you."
Rei smiled.
"It's alright, I'll be fine. Just take care of those two."
He nodded and left before he had any second thoughts. Rei sighed and watched as her friends left. Once they were no longer visible she felt like she was alone and she hated that feeling. It made her feel weak. She frowned and turned around. She didn't feel like going home just yet so she decided to take a walk around the village and clear her head.
She walked around the village for a while before going to the training grounds. She laid down on the grass and sighed as she looked up at the sky. She wondered what would happen now. She didn't have missions, she didn't have anyone to train with, her friends were gone, and Sasuke probably didn't even want to look at her. She sighed and sat up as she heard something in the woods nearby.
Rei stood up and walked towards the noise thinking it could be Naruto as she knew he often trained around there. She walked through the woods until she found the person who was making all the noise. She frowned as she saw that it was Sasuke. He was panting heavily as he stood before a large stone that was missing large portions. She guessed he had been practicing the Chidori. She was about to leave when he noticed her.
They both stood there looking at each other for a while. Neither one really knew what to say. Sasuke frowned and Rei had to hold back the urge to leave.
"What are you doing here?" He asked with a hint of resentment.
"I heard you training and I thought it was Naruto."
"Hn."
Rei turned around and began to walk away. It was clear that he didn't want to talk to her and she wouldn't try to reason with him until she was sure he would listen. She sighed as she walked away and missed the saddened look that crossed Sasuke's face as he watched her leave. He wanted to talk to her, but he felt like it he should wait and so he was forced to put on his usual cold façade in hopes of hiding his feelings from Rei.
End Chapter Fifty-One
Hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll end it here because I'm sleepy and I have a music theory test tomorrow. Lol I'll try to update soon and the next one will have action. XD Yay action! Please review, reviews make me happy. Sayonara!