Next Chapter, Yay! Okay, so there is going to be a big part of this next chapter that may make many of the male readers a little bit uncomfortable, but it's an important part (for future reference), so bear with me.
Oh, forgot to say last time, there's also no such thing as Shio Island :P
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
It was dark, and Sasuke was outside, hurtling shuriken at an oak tree. He was still fuming from another fight with Sakura. What the hell was I thinking, saving her from Orochimaru? I should've let the snake finish her and leave it at that, he thought to himself. But even so, he couldn't stand around as a life was taken for no reason. And besides, he really did need a house keeper.
He cursed himself for his weakness. Even now, he wouldn't take a life unless necessary. He thought he was better than that. 'One less life here or there wouldn't make a difference' he tried to convince himself, but all to no avail. He threw another shuriken at the tree and split it in half. Angered that the tree could be so weak, he propelled himself at it, smashing it to smithereens.
What had they argued about, anyway? Oh yeah.
Sasuke lay on his bed, dosing off. Sakura was occupying the bathroom, and had been for a long while. 'What is it with women and bathrooms?' He thought.
"Sasuke?" He heard Sakura's meek voice. Sasuke didn't move. Whatever her problem was, she could figure it out for herself.
"Sasuke?" She called again, louder this time. He ignored it again. 'Shut up…' was all he thought.
"Sasuke!" She yelled from the bathroom. He couldn't ignore it now.
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
She didn't answer for a while, and he was starting to get comfortable again when a small voice sounded. "Sasuke, could you help me, please?"
"No," was his gruff reply.
"Please, Sasuke. I really need your help."
Sasuke sighed and rolled off the bed and went to the bathroom door. He could hear her crying softly on the other side, so he went to open the door. "What do you -?"
"DON'T COME IN!" She shrieked in horror and Sasuke quickly closed the door, almost afraid.
"What? You ask for my help and then tell me to go away? Piss off…" He walked towards his bed again and was about to lie down when she spoke again.
"No, I'm sorry, I just… This is really awkward and I don't know what to do."
He grunted. What is her problem? "What?"He demanded of the girl.
He heard her audibly gulp from the other side of the door. "Uh… I just got my period and you don't have any… Supplies." She said hesitantly.
"So?" He asked. He couldn't care less.
"Don't you get it?" She questioned.
"Hn."
"Men… Ugh… Look, can you help me? Please?" She begged.
"No."
He heard her let out an exasperated sigh, and then sensed her anger building rapidly. "Look, Sasuke. I am bleeding and unless you want that blood going everywhere, I suggest that you HELP ME!" She screamed at him.
Sasuke was confused. She was bleeding. Big deal. "Oh. Can't you just heal yourself?" He didn't understand what her problem was. What was a period?
"EVEN IF I WANTED TO, I COULDN'T! FOR ONE, I CAN'T USE MY CHAKRA, AND TWO, UNLESS I HAVE A SPECIAL KIND OF SURGERY TO STOP MY MENSTRUATION, THIS CYCLE WILL CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER THIRTY YEARS! AND I WOULDN'T HAVE THE FUCKING SURGERY ANYWAY BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN! YOU STUPID FUCKING IMBECILE! GO AND FIND KABUTO AND ASK HIM FOR PADS AND TAMPONS OTHERWISE I WILL MAKE YOU RUE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN, UCHIHA!" Sakura stabbed him with her words. He flinched at her wrath.
Why was she so angry, anyway? "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but get out of that damn bathroom! I am not doing any favours for you. Go ask Kabuto yourself!"
"I CAN'T!"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm bleeding!"
"Why the hell are you bleeding? You aren't injured!"
"I know I'm not injured, I have my period!"
"What the fuck is a period?"
"It's the week every month where I bleed because I haven't conceived. Hasn't anyone ever told you this before?" She questioned.
"No! And I don't understand why you need these… what are they called? 'Pad's' and 'Tampons'? What the hell are they for?"
"To stop blood from going everywhere!" Was her simple reply.
At that he had stormed out, and now he looked at the remains of what was once a tree.
"Stupid women!" He growled to no one in particular. Looking up at the sky and finally realising how late it actually was, he scowled and trudged towards the river.
"Ah, Sasuke. What an absolute honour," Kabuto drawled, dripping sarcasm, and making a very low and exaggerated bow. "What can I do for you?" He straightened up and continued with whatever he was doing.
"Something is wrong with Sakura. She claims to be bleeding because of a period, and wants pads and tampons," Sasuke mumbled, feeling his pride being degraded purely by doing Sakura this favour. She would pay.
"Ah, so it's that time of the month for our little guest? Tell me, how did she take the news of being your maid servant? It couldn't have been pleasant."
"Hn."
"Anyway, it's lucky that I have a stock of these things here, incase a female sound nin ever does get her time of the month while here. I'd suggest that you give her some pain medication as well. I hear that the cramps can be quite unpleasant. Oh, and be careful of her for the next week. They generally get quite foul during their time of the month, if set off."
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked. He was so confused. Time of the month? Period? Menstruation? All of these terms, especially in this context, were completely new to him.
Kabuto looked at him for a moment, and saw the obvious confusion in his eyes. "You mean, you have no idea what any of this is?" He asked incredulously.
Sasuke shook his head. "Explain," he ordered.
Kabuto sighed, and dumped some packages into Sasuke's arms, before taking a seat, motioning for Sasuke to do the same. "When a girl reaches puberty, her hormones start to run rampant. This not only includes the growing of breasts, widening of waist and pubic hair, but also the start of her menstruation cycle, also known as a period. This cycle will last for approximately one week every month, until around the age of fifty, give or take a decade or so. It depends on the girl. What it means, is that she can now conceive if she were to have sex in the day or two before her period starts." Kabuto explained, frustrated that it was him to, essentially, give Sasuke 'The Talk'.
He looked up at Sasuke. "Please tell me that you know what sex is."
Sasuke looked offended. "I am hardly that ignorant and innocent, Kabuto. What does menstruation entail?"
"Blood." He answered simply. "Or, to be more specific, the body releases an egg that was left unfertilised, and rips away of the lining in the uterus. She bleeds from… down there… for the week. She can be more aggressive than usual in the week leading up to her period. This is known as Pre Menstrual Stress, or PMS for short. She will sometimes get pains when she feels the lining of her uterus being ripped away. This is known as cramps. Understand?"
Sasuke nodded. With anything that was constant, he could learn quickly.
Kabuto continued. "Stress can make her period come earlier or later. Pregnancy will cause it to stop until the baby is born. Her cycle won't stop until she hits menopause, which won't happen for a long while yet."
Sasuke nodded and gathered up the parcels, before closing the door behind him.
He closed the door to his room behind him, loudly enough to alert Sakura to his arrival.
"Sasuke, is that you?" Sakura's voice issued from the bathroom.
"Aa. Here is your stuff." He opened the door a crack and slid the boxes in the direction of the toilet.
"Arigato." She said gratefully. Five minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, her face bearing a pink tinge of embarrassment. "Arigato, Sasuke. I didn't think you would actually help me. Did Kabuto explain anything?"
"Aa."
Sakura stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. She couldn't go to bed as he was sitting on the couch, and… Well… That's where she slept. "Did you want anything?" She asked through gritted teeth. She hated this arrangement. In order to keep her life, she had to work for Sasuke. Clean his room, cook his meals, wash his clothes. She was basically a slave and she hated it.
"Hungry." He replied in a monotone.
Sakura clenched her fists, swallowing back her reply of 'Go make your own fucking food!' "What do you want?" She had only agreed to the arrangement in the hopes that she could gather more information if she ever got back to Konoha. If Orochimaru killed her, at least she had died keeping Konoha safe. Either way, it was an almost win win situation.
"Tomato Soup and bread."
"Yes master" and she curtsied extravagantly, before going to his kitchen and preparing his meal. Besides, she thought, maybe I'll be able to convince Sasuke to come back with me. She highly doubted it, but it was worth a shot. She would probably never get another chance. She would just try and be his friend. Stick it out. See if he would trust her enough to come back to Konoha with her. Starting now, she would try. She took the soup and bread out to him, and he started eating it. He screwed up his face at the flavour. "Too salty."
Sakura big back a sharp insult. Starting tomorrow.
One Month Later.
Naruto was walking with Hinata home from Ichiraku Ramen. Unnerved by the uncomfortable silence, Hinata decided to speak up.
"H… How is your search for Sakura Chan g… Going, N… Naruto Kun?" Hinata asked him.
Naruto sighed. "I think I'm starting to lose hope, Hinata Chan. It's been a month and there is still no trace of her. I just don't know where to look… What to do. I'll never stop looking for her, but I don't know if I'll find her alive." Naruto couldn't continue. After Cho had told him about Daiko and his gang, Naruto had searched the forest high and low, but found nothing. He had thought that Cho had lied to him, so he went back to Koishi, only to find that Cho and her little cousin Aika, had already left. Dejected, he had returned to Konoha and told Tsunade of the new found lead. Tsunade had wasted no time sending out some of Konoha's best tracker ninja. Naruto had insisted that he accompany them, but Tsunade had refused, pointing out that he would only get in the way as he didn't know much about tracking. He may even accidently destroy something of importance that would lead to Sakura's whereabouts. After hours of arguments, a threat to take away Naruto's status as a ninja, make sure that he never got the title of Hokage, and the removal a certain part of his male anatomy, whilst awake, Naruto had finally agreed to stay behind.
It had taken over a week for the trackers to return, and when they did it was with downcast faces. They were in Tsunade's office for hours, and when they exited, Tsunade had called Naruto to talk to him. He still remembered it, word for word, even to this day.
Naruto paced impatiently outside of Tsunade's office, when the doors suddenly opened and the two trackers trudged out dejectedly. Naruto hesitantly walked into Tsunade's office, afraid of what she might tell him.
"Naruto, sit down." Naruto obeyed her, for once not putting up a fight.
Tsunade turned her honey eyes to him and he saw that they were swimming with unshed tears. "The trackers found the forest and they even found the clearing Sakura was in. They found seven dead men and the remnants of Sakura's clothes. Along with some misplaced blood, which they later were able to identify as Sakura's. If she is dead, a body has not been found. There is no trace of her leaving, apart from being near what was once a fire. There was an unusual chakra signature that led through the clearing, and the trackers followed it. They lost it at a small river in the Sound Country. They searched up and down each side of the river for a day, and found nothing. It seems that Sakura has disappeared completely. There is no trace of her." A tear made its way down her cheek. Naruto sat there in shock. He couldn't process everything that was happening.
"Tsunade…" He was so shocked, he even addressed her as 'Tsunade'. "You don't think it was Orochimaru, do you? If they went to Sound?" Naruto threw the idea out into the open, hoping to have some form of explanation, no matter how farfetched. There just had to be an answer!
"I don't think so, Naruto. Orochimaru would have no interest in Sakura. Besides, our latest report says that he was in the Land of Iron. I don't think it was Orochimaru."
"Then who?" Naruto tried hard to keep his tears in check. 'A ninja is not meant to show emotion', he reminded himself. 'A ninja is not meant to show weaknesses, such as emotion.'
"I don't know, Naruto. I just don't know."
Naruto and Hinata stopped outside of Naruto's apartment and faced each other. Hinata looked around, unsure of what to do. Her face was slowly turning a pretty shade of pink.
"Uh… Thanks for the ramen, Hinata Chan." Naruto offered.
"Hai, Naruto Kun." Hinata replied quickly.
Then Naruto did something even he wasn't expecting. He leaned in and kissed Hinata, full on the mouth. Once he realised what he was doing, he pulled back.
"Naruto Kun!" Hinata squeaked in shock and surprise, touching her lips with her finger tips.
"G… Gomen, Hinata Chan… I…" He lifted his eyes to Hinata's scarlet face.
Naruto turned and started fiddling with the lock on his door, but in his haste he broke the key inside the door lock. "Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit…" Naruto berated himself quietly while Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. The male slid to the floor and buried his face in his hands, allowing himself to cry. "Gomen, Hinata… I'm so, so sorry… I…"
Hinata crouched down to Naruto's level. "Naruto Kun, don't be sorry. You've had much to deal with." She gently removed his hands from his face and made him look at her. "It's all going to work out fine." And she held him in her arms as he cried for the loss of his friend.
"I'll find her, Hinata Chan. I'll find her alive, and I'll bring her back. Believe it."
So, did you like it? I attempted to put a little bit of humour in there to make up for the feminine stuff. But one of the reasons I also put the squeemish part in there (and this one I can tell you,) is... Could you ever see Orochimaru giving Sasuke 'The Talk'? Oh funnyfunnyfunny... But seriously, he would never have learnt about that stuff! I'm just assuming he knows what Sex is. What, with his whole 'revive my clan, rar rar rar, revenge, rar rar rar, tomatoes, rar rar rar' shizz. But I also didn't really want to describe Sex. Also, because I know that if I did, I would have had to have started with 'When a mummy and a daddy love each other very much...' So yeah, that's my reasonings X)
Uh, I'm sorry if I don't update for the next couple of days, I have lots and lots of school work and music on. I have my seventh grade flute examination tomorrow! ARGH! (For those who don't know, one more grade, and I'll start training to be a pro. *gulp*). And guess what? I don't know my scales! All forty - something! Yay! *sarcasm*
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