Author's Note: I tried to read again the last chapter I'd written but I got bored and decided to forget about it. I also read all of the reviews I got for the last chapter (sorry for not having the time to reply). It's nice that I got so many reviews making this fic my most reviewed one so far. I also remember receiving a review that said that the words don't flow but that he/she got the picture. I must apologize for this because I'd hoped I would improve with this aspect of my writing. I remember saying that I was writing in this weirdo trance when I wrote the last chapter. I really meant it. D:

Due to a flame I recently got, I have disabled the anonymous reviews for my fics. Actually it was always disabled but some of my friends wanted to review my fics and they asked me to enable it for them. To be honest, the flame I got made me laugh and snicker. The person said horrible things about my fic but I guess he/she only did it cuz' he/she was really bored. Poor thing had nothing better to do. Sad sucker! So kind of him/her to actually waste his/her time on my "awful" fic….

I'll be editing my previous chapters soon. Hopefully.

I walked quickly, looking nervously around in case someone was following me. My biggest fear was of course being followed by either Sakura or Mother. I was afraid of Sasuke going through with his threat if it was Sakura who found out about me. And if it was Sakura…then I was also afraid of what her reaction was once she knew that I was really a girl. If it was Mother who followed me then I would be dead. It would be just that.

My whole body was sweating and even though I couldn't see myself I knew I was flushed. Wiping a trickle of sweat on the side of my face, I turned around to look at the trees surrounding me anxiously. These were the times I wished with all my might that I was a shinobi too. This was so that I could at least know or have the decency to sense if there were others who were watching me or spying on me. As I was now, I could only pray that I was safe.

That bastard Sasuke had wanted me to meet him here today. He didn't know the hell I had to go through with Mother in order for me to even get out of the house.

Flashback—

"Naruto! Where have you been!?" she cried out at me, grabbing my arm and pulling it hard, making me yelp at the pain.

"Mother!" I cried out, wincing as I pulled my arm away from her iron grip.

"Well?" she screamed angrily, "Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't find you anywhere?"

I sighed. Pushing past her, I walked quickly to my room, hoping she'd just let it go and forget about the whole thing.

"Naruto, don't you dare walk away from me!" she called after me, walking right behind me.

"I want to know where you've been and why is your shirt all torn up?"

I turned to look at her and was surprised to see tears in her eyes. I was immediately seized with guilt.

"Were you…out with someone?" she croaked out. I could tell she was really worried about me.

"Look, Mother don't get all crazy just yet," I said in a soothing voice, "I was just hanging around in the woods reading some stuff, that's all…"

Mother didn't look like she was convinced though. She brought out both hands to cup my face and leaned in to me. I could see myself in her eyes as she spoke.

"Now don't lie to me, Naruto," she said, "I didn't raise up my son so he could be a liar. You better tell me the truth or else…"

"Please, tell me you didn't do anything I wouldn't want you to…"

"Tell me you are not lying!"

I took her hands in mine and pulled it away from my face. I knew that I could never tell her the truth. It was just impossible to do so and I was relieved to realize that I felt nothing about lying to her.

"Mother, I'm telling you the truth," I said, smiling at her. I made sure to look at her directly in the eyes.

Hearing this, she openly wept and took me into her embrace.

"I was so worried when I couldn't find you anywhere! I kept thinking to myself that you wouldn't go out all by yourself and leave me like that! I knew you wouldn't have gotten far so I told myself to wait and I waited and waited but you still….!"

I held onto her and stroked her soft hair. I inhaled deeply and I could make out the faint smell of her perfume. I knew that lying to her was wrong but given the circumstances I had no choice and I knew what I was doing was right. I had to protect both Mother and I from Sasuke. If it meant having to lie to her in order to do so then I was ready for it. I had no room for regrets or guilt anymore.

"There, there," I whispered in soothing tones, as she hiccupped in my arms.

End of flashback—

So that was what had happened the night before. When I went to bed that night I was filled with fear of the unknown of tomorrow. I had a feeling Sasuke was going to interrogate me again but I wasn't so sure. Perhaps he would also be way more prepared than he was last night and found him some torturous tools to punish me if I didn't answer him with the truth. The thought made me want to curl up and die then facing him the next day. It was also frightening that he had such power over me despite the fact that he had only just met me yesterday.

I wished I hadn't had a secret this huge. If I was really a boy then there wouldn't be any need for all these lies and secrecy. Lies and having to pretend were so exhausting to me that I would have probably been grateful if someone would just put me out of my misery.

That morning, I had to keep on convincing Mother that I wasn't going to run away from her and that I was just going out for some fresh air.

"Really, I'll only be in the woods, minding my own business!" I said, munching on my tuna sandwich as I put on my sweater.

"Don't talk to anybody when you're out there, do you hear me?" she called out to me from the kitchen.

"Not to anybody, okay, especially to those pesky little teenagers that goes about in tight, skimpy little outfits!"

She followed me to the door in her apron and spatula in one hand, looking just like the mother from textbooks and fairytales.

"I'm not even sure I should let you go at all, you might just get abducted or fall in the river or-," I cut her off mid-sentence.

"Mother! I will be fine, don't worry already!" I cried trying to sound frustrated, "Geez, you're such a worry wart!"

"Hey!" she cried out, playfully whacking me on the arm with her spatula.

I chuckled but walked out the door before she could open her mouth. The door hit behind me and she was out of my hair.

So there I was walking over to my doom in the middle of the morning, scanning the area as if I was a vulture looking out for corpses.

To be truthfully honest, as much as I feared seeing Sasuke again, I couldn't deny that part of the fact that my heart was throbbing was also because I was quite…excited to see him again. My cheeks burned when I remembered how handsome he was.

Onyx dark eyes, glinting slightly when he got angry, midnight black hair, long straight aristocratic nose with nostrils that flared delicately and thin shapely lips that promised to kiss enticingly. Smooth pale translucent skin that looked like it was made out of crushed pearls. He was undeniably the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes upon. In fact, I couldn't remember knowing anyone who was more beautiful than Uchiha Sasuke, be it man or woman.

I couldn't understand why I could still find him so attractive despite knowing what an asshole he truly was. Was it only because the way he looked? Or could it have possibly been the mysterious dark aura surrounding him. I didn't want to think it was because the way I reacted to his touch. It was unbelievable the way I'd reacted to his hand. I still feel humiliated at the very thought of it all.

Silently, I wondered to myself if he knew what his touch had done to me. If he had the slightest vague idea of what went on throughout my body when all those delicious waves of electricity flowed trough me from a single touch. I found myself at moments wondering even, if he had felt it too? Had he found pleasure in his actions as I did? The thought made me hot…and I found myself wanting more…

I shook my head in shock at what had just run through my mind. Wanting something like that from the Uchiha when it was obvious he was a selfish demon come to ruin my life was unthinkable. But oh why did demons have to have such a beautiful face and form?

I sighed in sadness as I knew that if I didn't thread carefully around the Uchiha he would truly carry out his threats and expose me to the whole world.

"You're early," a voice rang out in the silence of the woods.

I turned swiftly to the sound and saw Sasuke leaning against a tree with a rather laid-back attitude that was unlike him.

"So are you," I replied crisply. Folding my hands together, I approached him slowly.

He nodded as if in approval at my early arrival and watched me carefully as I came nearer. When I reached him he brought out his hand to pull me towards him in a speed that I couldn't follow.

"You look frightened," he whispered, eyes emotionless, "Don't be…"

He leaned in until our noses touched and I could hear my heart pounding against my ribs as if to free itself. I was becoming breathless as I looked into those dark hypnotic eyes. I couldn't make out what it was he was about to do next.

He looked at me a minute longer and then swiftly crushed my lips with his. I gasped at the pressure of his mouth on mine. His lips were nipping mine, gently pulling my upper lip and then tracing it with his tongue making me gasp in surprise at his boldness.

I clutched his gi tightly as he proceeded to invade my mouth with his tongue. He let his tongue push past my teeth and tangle itself with mine, dancing with each other as if in some mating ritual. I whimpered as he kept on exploring my mouth. It felt so good, oh so good… My knees buckled and he had to hold onto my waist so I didn't crumble to the floor.

He kept kissing me fiercely as he slowly lowered me to the forest floor, taking care not to crush me with his weight as he did so.

"I can't stop thinking about you…" he whispered as he trailed kisses to my neck.

I made a sound and tried to pull away. This was becoming too real for my liking and I was afraid at what he'd do next.

"Sasuke…Please stop!" I choked out, pushing his chest away.

He abruptly stopped only to stare into my eyes, his own darkened with some sort of emotion unfamiliar to me.

"Wh-what do you want with me?" I asked quietly, blushing as I realized that we were on the ground together with him on top of me.

Sasuke sighed at my question and pulled himself off of me, brushing off the dirt and dried leaves that clung to his gi as he did so.

"I don't know myself…" Sasuke muttered, "All I know is I must have you."

"You must have me?" I asked in disbelief. He couldn't have said that, that was just so unexpected of him.

"I want you," he said simply, "You have to belong to me. I don't know in what way, all I know is that you must be under my rule for as long as I want you to."

I gaped at him, stupefied by his words. He was talking like a maniac or some spoiled little kid.

"You'll have to listen to me and obey my every command," he went on softly as he leaned in to play with a lock of my golden hair.

He seemed to inspect it the way a scientist studies his experiments; in admiration and curiosity all rolled into one.

"You are a mystery to me, Naruto," he said, as he inhaled that lock of hair he was twirling, "You make me do things, think things that I had never before…"

"Why do you let yourself be dressed like that when you could look so much better in female clothing?" he asked as he pulled at my shirt.

That was when panic struck me and I kicked him as hard as I could right there in between his legs. Hastily, I pulled myself up and watched as he crumpled to the ground groaning loudly.

"Dammit…!" he cried out harshly.

"You'll pay for this, you little rat!"

His words made me cry almost immediately, tears coursing down my face as I helped to pick him up. I couldn't bear the thought of my secret being exposed and was seized with regret at what I had done to jeopardize it. If this really irked him then I could very well say goodbye to life as I knew it. Sasuke was the person who had ultimate power over me and I should have known better then to make him angry.

"Please forgive me, Sasuke-san!" I cried out, tears freely streaming down my cheeks.

"Your actions made me panic and I- I just got scared…"

Sasuke glared at me as I pulled him into a sitting position. I was almost surprised to see that his face was flushed from the pain. The pink hue staining his cheeks looked a bit out of place with his fierce eyes but somehow for a reason unknown to me I found it extremely attractive.

"You're going to pay for it nonetheless," he growled at me, baring his fangs at me. He grabbed my shirt collar and pulled me to him. He looked directly into my eyes as he started to activate his sharingan relishing at the idea of looking into my fear-filled eyes.

"S-Sasuke!" I gasped, and tried to pull away but he held firm. I saw blood in those eyes of his…I saw people screaming and yelling in exquisite pain and could almost see their pained faces myself…I saw flames red and orange licking at each other…I saw hell in those eyes…

The next thing I saw was a pitch black darkness that consumed everything including the screams and angry flames. I couldn't see or hear anything then and I really thought I'd died. part of me wished I'd died…But how unfortunate for me…

"Naruto! Naruto, get up!" a deep voice called out to me. I felt sharp little taps to my face and groaned as I groggily opened an eye, the sun rays making me wince slightly.

"Get up! I will not tolerate this pathetic display of feminine weakness!" the voice called out harshly. I noticed the taps on my face became even sharper than before.

I blinked a couple of times before finally my vision could focus again. I saw Sasuke towering above my sprawled out form. He seemed to be peering at me but there wasn't a hint of concern in those emotionless eyes of his. He just sat there staring at me.

"Wh-What happened?" I rasped, rubbing the back of my head with one of my hands. I tried to get up but my head hurt too much. I was beginning to see flashes of white beams that seemed to burst right underneath my eyelids.

"You fainted when you saw my sharingan," Sasuke answered, "I was extremely pleased to see that it has that affect on you. After this, if you dare attack me again I won't hesitate to activate my sharingan on you."

Slowly, I got up rubbing my eyes together. There was big part of me that felt like grabbing Sasuke by his ridiculous spiky hair and smashing his head right into the dirt that was the ground. Everything he was saying wasn't at all making me feel better and I was never one known for patience. If only he hadn't so much power over me, I would've done exactly what I wanted to. It was rather amusing to think that sometimes I found him attractive and almost the very next minute I wanted to kill him.

"You're an asshole!" I choked out as I coughed a bit into my hand.

At this, Sasuke smirked, seemingly enjoying my pain.

"You deserved it, dobe," he replied.

"Dobe?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow, "What the hell did I do to deserve that shitty nickname?"

"You were the last to arrive at Hyuuga's party, weren't you?" he said, "And anyway, you're so incredibly stupid that I can't help but think of you as someone who will always come in last."

"That is so not relevant! It doesn't have anything to do with anything!" I cried out angrily, "Anyway, how the fuck do you know I'm stupid, huh? I could be a genius with an IQ of 500 or something!"

Sasuke snorted, "It's impossible for a human being to have an IQ of 500 and for that only it proves that you clearly are an idiot!"

Huffing at his words, I decided to try and ignore the urge to attempt a murder at a certain Uchiha. Tch, the only Uchiha…

"So how long was I out?" I asked, brushing off the dried leaves and twigs that stuck to my shirt and jeans.

"You were unconscious for 20 minutes," he said simply. Sasuke was watching me intently, still crouching on the ground.

"So can I go home now? Or are you still not satisfied?" I snarled at him.

His trademark smirk appeared again.

"I still have some questions," he said, folding his fingers together, "Like how come you aren't a shinobi?"

I shifted my weight from side to side as I pondered on how to answer his question. It was a simple question really and I suppose if I had been given a chance to choose the path of my own life then perhaps I would have been able to answer him quickly. But as it turned out, I didn't have a choice in my own life. Mother was the one who made decisions for me and that had been the case for so long.

"Mother did not want me to become a shinobi," I said slowly, "I don't really know why exactly but I guess she just didn't want me to live in danger."

Sasuke merely looked at me with an expression that I couldn't read at all, then again Sasuke was really a hard to read guy. He still had his fingers laced together and as he twiddled his thumbs together he looked like he was trying to figure out something really difficult.

"Would you have wanted to be one?" he asked, looking directly into my eyes.

I looked away from him. The question struck a chord in me. It was almost as if he knew that I really had wanted to become a shinobi, that it was only one of my biggest dreams ever and that I would have given my right arm to become one. Part of me despised him for making me realize how much becoming a shinobi meant for me but the other part was rather grateful to him for reminding me. I tend to erase everything my heart desires that I know I cannot have no matter what happens. Well, not unless Mother was out of the picture but neither did I want that.

"Fine, let's move on to another question that has been bugging me," Sasuke said nonchalantly, suddenly losing all interest in the previous question.

"Do you realize that you are a jinchuuriki?"

"And I told you last night I don't what the fuck that is!"

He sighed in annoyance at my answer. He pulled his hands apart and leaned backwards so that his back rested on the ground and his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Very well then, I'll play along with this stupid game of yours though I don't know why you even bother," Sasuke said in a tone of utter boredom.

"Alright, usurantokachi, a jinchuuriki or sometimes known as a host is exactly that; a host!"

I stared at him blankly. I still couldn't understand what it was he was trying to say. The new nickname was left ignored.

"I'm sure even a dobe such as yourself has heard about the legendary tailed-beasts that roam the lands in this world, right? Well, there are nine tailed beasts and almost each one now has been imprisoned in a host. The hosts happen to be humans and you happen to be one of them. Understand me so far?"

I gaped at him, unable to believe his words. He sounded like a lunatic, saying all that stuff about tailed-beasts and I was just about to retort but then quickly cut myself.

What he had just mentioned…

Tailed-beasts…

Nine…

His eyes shone suddenly and it clearly showed that his thoughts were jogging alongside mine. I couldn't believe that what he was saying was true but there was no use denying it. I had seen the proof with my very own eyes. If I still tried to deny it then I would be the one who was the lunatic.

"I-I'm a jinchuuriki?" my voice shook, "That gigantic fox I saw was real then? It wasn't just a figment of my imagination? That fox…Are you saying that that fox is one of those tailed-beasts?

Sasuke nodded.

"A person can tell the strength of a tailed-beast by the number of its tail," Sasuke explained patiently, "For example if the beast has only one tail then it is the weakest of all the tailed-beasts, the beast with two tails is then stronger than the first one, the list goes on until you reach the ninth beast."

He paused then and gave me a look that seemed to be a cross between concern and irritation; if there was even such an expression.

"Your fox had nine tails," he said, "You do the math."

I gasped when I realized just exactly what my fox was. The sheer depth of this new information was almost too much for my fuzzy brain to handle and I almost succumbed to the thought of fainting again.

"I have the strongest of all the tailed-beasts in me?" I asked slowly, fisting both hands into my hair.

"Is that what you're saying to me, Sasuke-san?"

Again, he nodded, this time looking almost pleased with himself. He folded his forearms behind his head and proceeded to lean back fully.

"Why is such a thing in me?" I cried out, my voice rising with my panic, "Why do I have in me? How come I wasn't aware of this?"

Sasuke tsked at me in annoyance and glared up at me. He was apparently extremely vexed with my loud voice but I couldn't care anymore because annoying Sasuke was the least of my worries at that moment.

"How the hell should I know, dobe?" he grunted, "Why don't you go and ask that crazy mother of yours for some answers. I'm sure she would have at least had some knowledge of the fact that her child happens to have a demon fox stored in her."

When I thought about what he'd said, I realized with anger that he was right. If anybody would have had the answers, it would have been Mother of course. Surely she'd have had some idea of this whole psychotic situation.

Now that I knew this, I couldn't help the anger I felt for Mother at that particular moment. She was always hiding things from me; lying to me and making me pretend I wasn't what I was. I couldn't yet find it in my heart to hate her but I did feel hurt that she wouldn't even tell her own daughter (or son as she'd like to think it) that she was a jinchuuriki.

But I still knew that I could never outright ask her what I was and how much she knew about all this. As much as I displayed all that bravado, I was probably more terrified of Mother than I was of Sasuke. I cursed myself for being such a coward when it came to my own mother. To me, Mother had way more power over me then Sasuke did. This was obvious because when it came to Mother, her every wish was obeyed willingly on my part despite what I thought about it but this clearly wasn't so with Sasuke. In fact, I was still trying to figure out ways for me to get rid of Sasuke but I would never think of such a thing when it came to Mother.

Mother's influence on me ran so deep; I would have probably obeyed her had she ever asked me to kill someone.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Sasuke taunted, getting up into a sitting position, "Too scared to ask Mommy? I wonder for how long you can live like that. Surely all that stress will one day take a toll on you…"

At his remark, I went over to him swiftly, grabbed his gi and pulled him forward, glaring at him fiercely.

"Don't you dare insult me or my mother!" I cried out into his face, "It's got nothing to do with you! How the hell would you know anything?"

Sasuke hissed, "I wouldn't now, would I? I no longer have parents."

His statement made me loosen my grip on his gi and my eyes immediately softened. I had forgotten that the whole Uchiha clan had been wiped out except for Sasuke himself. He was the only one left alive by his very own brother at that. I wondered how much pain he had. Perhaps even more than I'd ever feel in my entire life combined. Recalling Sasuke's past immediately made me pity him. Perhaps the reason he became such a cold heartless bastard was all because of his traumatic past. If that was so then I wasn't one to judge him or blame him.

"I don't want your pity, dobe!" he said, prying my fingers off of his shirt, roughly pushing me away as he did this. His actions made me stumble to the ground on my rump.

"Stupid little female!" he said snarling at me, "You can keep that sympathy of yours for someone else who actually wants it. I don't give a damn for such petty things."

Despite his harsh words I still couldn't help to feel a little bit sympathetic towards him. He must have really suffered for him to become such an arrogant prick. Poor Sasuke. He probably felt it was his only defense to put up a cold snobbish attitude so that no one pitied him and treated him in an inferior way. So I did the unthinkable. I couldn't stop myself from going over to him and hugging him…

Yeah, I actually hugged the Uchiha Sasuke.

The cold calculating bastard that was putting me through so much mental torture and stuff…

I went over to him and embraced him, holding my breath the whole time…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I was just about to smack her upside her head for looking at me the way she would at a wounded puppy dog when I suddenly felt her slim arms around me.

What the fuck…?

My mind couldn't really register exactly what was happening and I knew that I was completely stunned. I was at a loss for words and my mouth had gone so dry it felt like it was filled with cotton balls. My whole body tensed at the contact and my sweat trickled out of my pores slowly as if it too was afraid of what was happening.

And then I caught her scent. A sweet lingering scent that somehow reminded me of sunshine, honey and butter. I couldn't wrap my brain at the very idea of how my thoughts were going so out of control right now. This wasn't at all like me. Uchiha Sasuke didn't go around smelling girls all the while thinking stupid sappy things like sunshine and sugary stuff…

Ugh! At the very thought of that, I immediately brought my hands up to push her away…

And then I saw her hair…And felt her soft yet firm body press against me and I was lost. Completely and utterly lost.

I felt my whole body respond to her. It went to her as if it were calling out her name the whole time. My arms encircled her waist and I buried my head into her hair, inhaling the alluring scent as if I would die if I didn't do so.

I was powerless to stop myself. This time I just felt like I needed to allow myself this one small pleasure. It just felt so wonderful to have someone hold me like that again. I couldn't even remember the last time anybody held me like this…Maybe that was when my family was still alive. Such a long, long time ago.

It was difficult to say how long we stood holding onto each other like that. It was probably only a few minutes but I felt like time had stood still for me. Like the whole world had moved on light years ahead of us, leaving just the two of us stuck in our own time space. But I did realize when we finally pulled apart from each other.

We slid our arms slowly across each other's torso as if not really willing to break away. Part of me wanted to protest that I couldn't smell her scent any more but I told myself that I'd best shut up.

I stared into her eyes and she into mine. We didn't say anything to each other and it was probably better that way because as I far as was concerned, words were useless in this situation.

I wished I could turn back time.

I wished I could erase people's memories.

I wished I hadn't gotten myself involved with her.

But all of these things were never going to happen to me. In this case, I was unfortunately, absolutely useless. I had no power to stop my attraction towards her and neither did I have the ability to go back in time or wipe her memory clean.

I guess you could say that I was filled with regret and humiliation. So filled with it that the only thing stopping me from killing myself was the thought of vengeance…and probably…something else…I couldn't properly name it yet but there was this feeling deep inside of me.

"Go home," I spoke to her, loudly, pronouncing each word clearly.

She stood there staring at me, her expression not at all faltering.

"Get out of my face, Naruto," I sighed exasperatedly, "I don't want you here anymore. You can go home to your mommy now."

Naruto blinked at me but still she didn't say anything. She just merely stood there, hands at her side, blue eyes on me.

"Go on, get," I hissed. I made my hands wave her away in the 'shooing' gesture.

"When will you want to see me again, Sasuke?" she asked gently and so suddenly I almost jumped at the sound of her voice.

It took me three seconds to respond but then I finally did.

"Tomorrow, here, same time," I said, quickly, "Bring something feminine to wear as well. If you can't do even that and if you're one minute late; the secret gets out."

She jerked her head forward in agreement, sky blue eyes fixed on the ground as she did this.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," she whispered softly. Then she turned and left.

I watched her back the whole time, wondering to myself what it was that I was thinking and what had possessed me so into acting so unlike myself. I cursed myself for my weakness. Cursed myself for actually wanting her embrace to go on forever. Cursed myself that I actually dared wanting something that was so useless it was a hindrance to my goals. How could I, the avenger, crave for warm embraces, lingering scents and emotions like love? It was unthinkable and yet there I was, thinking just that.

As her figure disappeared into the forest, I wondered to myself about my very own brother, Itachi, the man responsible for the slaughter of my clan. What would Itachi do if he were in this situation? Wait, that sick bastard couldn't feel anything at all even if he tried. Then I wondered again, what would Itachi do if he knew of my feelings? If he knew what I'd done?

I knew the answer to that…

"You are weak. Why are you weak? Because you lack ... hatred."

Then I cursed myself again…