Chapter Five

"Those children, so sensitive to the cold, gaze upon the stars."

The mission had taken nearly a week and still nothing. Sakura and Sasuke had talked out their feelings during the walking and their periods of rest. How pointless it seemed, but Sakura calmed down and felt all right with Sasuke being with this new girl. She even wished the best for them. "Progress…" Naruto had whispered into Sasuke's ear regarding that matter. It seemed like it was the old team 7 as they all seemed to have the old battle chemistry still running through their veins, even Sai found it easy to fit into the flow. However, days of following up leads had gotten them nowhere.

Naruto had called for a team meeting around their fire. Naruto talked about abandoning the mission and having people from lower ranks go out to investigate. "Why not have a small team of ANBU or ex-ROOT go and investigate. They'd be more reliable than gennin or chuunin." Sasuke said. Sai agreed with that idea.

"That would be a waste of man power." Sakura said. "ANBU are stationed to protect the boarders of the village and ex-ROOT have been sent to the outskirt villages. If we pull out men from we could leave some places defenseless." Naruto thought long and hard about it. Moments of silence passed and Sasuke, Sakura and Sai looked at each other waiting for Naruto's answer. The blonde man had his hand on his chin and his eyes on the ground.

Naruto finally raised his head before delivering his answer. "Three chuunin, one ANBU and one ex-ROOT." He concluded. The other three look at each other once again and nodded at the plan, it seemed good enough. "Then let's rest tonight and go home in the morning." Naruto said and summoned a frog to send a message to Konaha that they were returning. With the message sent they are all ready to prepare for the night.

Everyone got ready to sleep, laying out their sleeping bags and resting on them. As soon as Sasuke set his out instead of getting on his side to sleep he stared up at the sky. He was thinking about something regarding home and was in no mood to sleep. As if his mind was filled with thoughts and words and things Naruto knelt beside him and got over his face. "What are you thinking about?" Startled by Naruto's face suddenly in his, Sasuke rocketed up into a sitting position inevitably smashing his forehead with Naruto's.

Both rolled away from each other, thanked God for their headbands that took a majority of the impact. Once they recovered a bit, they looked at each other and started getting into a quiet argument about who's fault it was and trying not to wake their teammates. Naruto and Sasuke made some distance from their teammates to talk. "What are you thinking about that you have that look on your face again?" Naruto asked, putting his hands into his jacket's pockets.

"What look?" Sasuke question, tilting his head to the side.

"The look of the dark and mysterious, burdened character that all ladies swoon over." Naruto said using his hands to hold his face and gave Sasuke a similar look. Sasuke scoffed and looked away from Naruto's silly antics. "But in all seriousness, you look heavy, what's wrong?"

"Well, I was thinking about you and Hinata. When we were over at your place and she fixed your neck for you. I was just thinking about it." Naruto looked at him and asked him to elaborate. "When Akina and I had our first date…"

"You mean that one that you got caught on?" Sasuke jabbed his elbow into Naruto's ribs.

"Yeah, that one. When we were on that date we were talking about loneliness and solitude." Sasuke looked up at the stars, at thought of the conversation and all the stargazing that they did together. That's when Naruto realized what Sasuke was thinking about.

"Sasuke, you've only known her for about six months, nearly seven, and what you are thinking of is a big commitment." Sasuke looked from the sky and then down at him. "This isn't just about how you feel, it's that neighborhood too isn't it?" Sasuke nodded. Naruto sighed and whipped his face with his hand, "You really do love this girl, don't you?" Sasuke nodded again. "Alright, alright. You have the best friend seal of approval."

"Thank you, Naruto." Sasuke said.

Naruto stretched his arms. "Let's get some sleep because morning will come faster and the faster you can talk to her about it." He said. Sasuke chuckled at that and followed Naruto back towards the camp. The two men went to sleep and morning came in an instant flash. They all got up and stretched their arms and legs getting the fatigue out.

They got back to the village in a few hours and the sun was high up in the sky. Naruto slapped Sasuke's back to give him a jolt forward to go and accomplish his task. Everyone waved at each other and went about their own duties. Sasuke made his way to the teahouse without dropping off his things. He got in and seated himself. A waiter came and asked for his order. Sasuke gave his usual order and then gave an odd request.

He watched Akina take the cup of Kukicha. Sasuke got up and left his things there he took a stroll so when she arrived to the table there was so no one there. She was shocked but put the cup down at the table. When she turned back around Sasuke was standing before her, shocking her. "Is the tea strong enough?" He asked.

The little waitress let a small laugh escape her lips as her smile brightened. "Yeah, it is Sasuke, just how you usually order it." Sasuke had a small smile on his face as he looked down at her, there was silence between them but somehow they still managed to communicate exactly what they wanted to. "I'll see you after work?"

His small smile turned into a smirk. "I'll be here."

The girl went off to continue her duties and Sasuke did as promised and waited. He was outside the doors of the teahouse when she came out from work. She was about to speak when Sasuke cut her off, his thumb and pointer finger hooking her chin up and his lips on hers. He felt her tension, the same kind of tension as when he asked her on their first date. Her body immediately relaxed and she kissed him back. Peace was the only word that ran through Sasuke's head throughout the kiss, he was feeling peace and he was glad. Both their eyes were closed and neither of them moved for anything.

When the kiss ended she was blushing and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her, his hand still on her chin. Akina looked away from him, "Welcome back, Sasuke." She mumbled under her breath, whatever confidence she had before was crushed from the moment.

He let her go, "Good to be back." He replied. They began walking together again. "Odd ball." He whispered beginning the name-calling.

"Jerk." Akina muttered back.

"The song of midnight cried out"

Word had spread around that the great and gallant Uchiha Sasuke was dating a non-shinobi. It was the talk of the town, Akina asked her coworkers not to say anything and Sasuke asked the rest of the Rookie-9 and Team Guy to also keep their silence. Waiter's honor and Ninja's honor, they both got their vowed silence. Even when the boys were out on their weekly tea break, they would not speak of the matter. The only time that it was spoken of in a general and public area was when Naruto and Sasuke spared in the training fields, as they attempted not to rip the place apart.

They couldn't spar without it getting overly intense. Every time they did a part of the training field would be destroyed. When they ripped the ground apart with Naruto's rasengan that afternoon they realized that it was a good indicator to stop. They both sat on the ground trying to catch their breath. The hardest part for them in their sparing was holding back, it took much more energy than giving it their all. "We need to find a place outside of the village where we can do this…" Sasuke commented. Naruto nodded.

Naruto groaned and fell back into the grass. "Man, that was good." Sasuke nodded agreeing. "Hey did you ask Akina yet?" He asked.

"No." Sasuke replied.

"It's been a month. Why haven't you asked her yet?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Akina doesn't like a lot of attention, and these rumors are making her feel a bit insecure." Those words only made Naruto's smile get bigger. "What?"

"Doesn't that question then make more sense?" Naruto asked and stretched out his arms and legs. "She'll feel more secure if you ask her. More importantly, she'd feel more secure if you are around her."

Sasuke sighed and dropped onto the grass. "You're right." He whispered. That afternoon he found Akina during closing time for the little teahouse and when he asked her she nearly dropped the glass cup in her hand. She scrambled a bit but she caught it steadily into her hands. There was absolute silence between them as Sasuke's question processed into her head.

"Move in with you?" She asked.

"Yeah, if you want to, you could feel a bit safer and my place has room so I wouldn't mind." Sasuke said.

"Um, when?" Akina asked.

"Tonight, tomorrow morning. Whenever is good for you. But I do I have a mission tomorrow afternoon." Sasuke said, his hands digging into his pockets as usual.

Akina felt really unsure of herself. "S-sure. Tomorrow morning?" She asked putting the rest of the cups away.

Sasuke nodded, "Would you like me to come over and help you?"

"I would greatly appreciate that." She whispered with a small smile.

"I truly hate to go on living completely alone…"

The door opened to the small little apartment, "The kitchen is a bit messy, I hope you don't mind." Sasuke shook his head and they both entered. "Should we start with the bedroom?" She asked. He nodded and followed her into a single bedroom with a desk and a dresser. He hated to make the comparison but it truly did remind him of the simplicity of the rooms when he lived in Orochimaru's dens. She got down to the ground and pulled two duffle bags. He knelt down and helped her get them onto the bed.

They had packed everything in about two hours. She had very few belongings. Sasuke still had energy however Akina did not and it was very late in the night. "Get some sleep." He said. Akina looked at him. "I'll wait here until the morning and then we can move your things.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Sasuke nodded. "Um, well then take the bed, I'll get a blanket." She couldn't finish moving when Sasuke gently took her wrist. "I'm going to take the bed aren't I?" She whispered after studying the look in his eyes. Sasuke nodded again and smirked at her.

"Odd ball." He flicked her forehead and smirked.

She rubbed her forehead and pouted at him. "Fine, sleep on the couch. Your back is going to suffer for it in the morning." She said and tried to turn around but of course Sasuke caught her by her arm, turned her around and caught her by her waist.

He was nose to nose with her and he wore a devilish grin on his face. "Are you wishing me ill, Kobayashi?" He asked, calling her by her surname.

"What if I am?" She asked. The answer came almost immediately, she had a blanket over her head and she was tossed onto her bed. She got out of the blanket and looked at him. He had his weight on one side of his hip, his hand was on that side as well and he wore a victorious grin. She stuck her tongue out at him.

He chuckled and got out of the room. "Good night, Akina."

"Good night, Sasuke." She whispered and curled up on the mattress with her blanket.

"All I need is being able to scoop up happiness with a tiny spoon"

They got to Sasuke's apartment early in the morning. He gave her a general tour before letting her settle into the spare bedroom. They spent the day getting her things into his space. It was weird at first; they had both lived alone for years and years, now they shared a space with someone. It was even Sasuke who had been living with Sakura felt this oddness but by the end of the morning.

Even though their rhythm was disturbed for a bit, they had gotten back into it. A sense of ease washed over both of them. Sasuke home immediately felt more inviting and there was this new feminine touch to the place that wasn't there before. Sasuke was changing for his mission and Akina was making some food for dinner. When he came into the kitchen, he placed himself beside her as she finished molding the rice on the riceballs. She stopped and placed the one she was working on the plate that held the rest of them. She turned to him slightly and he looked down at her.

"What's in them?" He asked.

"Salmon and dried tomatoes. Do you want to take some with you?" She asked. He nodded. He knelt down and Akina got out of his way as he got to a cabinet and shuffled around in it for a proper container. He brought up a narrow, rectangular box and placed it beside her. He opened it and watched her place four inside of them and closed the container. "Here you go." She said, a warm smile on her face.

Sasuke leaned in and kissed her again but unlike the first time she did lock up as long. She kissed him back and rested her hand on his arm for a bit of balance. This kiss lasted much longer than the last one but once it did break it was because both of them needed air. She blushed again and looked to the side. His lips found her forehead this time. "Thanks." He muttered against her skin.

"Any time." He smiled and put the container into his backpack before started heading for the door, Akina followed him. "Good luck." She whispered.

Sasuke nodded his head and began to head out.

"So long as I have someone to share it with."

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Sakura all came into view from the tallest trees and down below their feet was a cave. It was cold, even though it was nearly summer again and the birds chirped away and the plants grew up towards the sun the area right here was freezing cold. From being on the warm woodlands in the summer, it suddenly felt like being on the tallest mountain in the middle of winter. Naruto felt heavy and something was not right. He jumped down from the tree and his team followed suit.

They dodge to the side of the enterence of the cave. Naruto looked at Sasuke and nodded. He activated his sharingan and looked towards the interior of the cave. No chakra signatures were spotted. "Clear." He whispered and Naruto and Sakura jumped in. Indeed there was no one there and Sakura let out a soft whistle and Sasuke and Sai rejoined the group. Sasuke kept his sharingan active to be weary if someone did enter the caves. They got to a dead end and Sakura made an audible sigh.

"No, wait, my sources said this would happen, there is an entrance on this cave wall." Sai explained and stared brushing his hand against the wall trying to find a loose stone or something that would lead them to the entrance. Naruto crouched down and ran his hand along the floor.

"Sai's right, I feel a light breeze. Sasuke?"

"I'm looking." Sasuke's eyes scanned the wall. Sakura joined Sai in searching but Sasuke found it first. "There is a slight chakra imprint here." He said and went to the stone that was on the cave wall.

He backed off and Naruto approached it. He put in some chakra before pushing the stone in and a doorway opened up. They went into the corridor and saw a great door in front of them. However halfway through the corridor Sakura gasped feeling her foot go a little further than the floor. The boys immediately turned around and gas was pumped into the hall, everyone covered their mouths.

Sai's eyes widened at what he saw. "Naruto!" He shouted and pointed at the entrance of the place. The door was closing on them. Immediately, Naruto burst into a golden orange glow and he grabbed everyone, incredible speed over took him and he went crashing out of the poisonous corridor, the door slammed shut. They were back in the back of the cave. Sasuke looked back shocked.

"What the hell…" He whispered.

Naruto got up and let everyone go. "Let's get out of here…" He whispered. They all took the trees again.

"Naruto, these can't just merely be bandits, there is an enemy out for us." Sasuke said and Naruto scowled a bit, knowing it was true.

When Sasuke got back to the apartment it was in the dead night, three days from the day he left.. He coughed, but tried to be quiet. Sakura said that the poison would run through their systems without any damage but it would take a few hours. Sasuke tried to keep himself quiet but coughed again and went crashing down against the kitchen table. That crashing woke up Akina. He saw her rushing to his side. He tried to dismiss it but it didn't stop her from getting him up and taking him to his room.

"Thanks…" Sasuke whispered as she brought him down onto the bed.

"Don't worry about it." She whispered. "Let me get you some water." She sat up to go to the kitchen but he grasped her hand to stop her.

"No." He coughed again. "Sakura said we shouldn't eat or drink anything for a few hours." He continued to hold her hand and she continued to stand in front of him. She watched him take deep breaths to recompose himself and trying to clear up his lungs. "You can't go to the tea fields anymore." He said.

"Why not?"

Sasuke looked up at her, she nearly pulled away from the hardness in his eyes. "Because these people are not just simple thieves, Akina. They are dangerous people, we don't know anything about them and that makes them ten times more dangerous." Akina shook her head and Sasuke yanked her hand forward. She nearly fell on Sasuke. Her hand stopped fall as she caught his shoulder, her knees dug into the bed in between his legs and her face was dangerously close to hers.

The girl couldn't breathe. The only lightning in the room was from the moonlight that streamed in from the two windows in the room. Sasuke's onyx eyes searched her dark ones. He let go of her hand and rested his hand on her hip, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…" He whispered.

"It's alright." She whispered.

He watched her close her eyes and let him pull her close to him. "I'll protect you." The words rolled off his lips as he looked at her peaceful face. Even if he had momentarily scared her, she was at ease once again. She let her forehead touch his and she nuzzled her face against his. It caused Sasuke to relax and lean up just a little bit more to kiss her. The hand he was using to hold his weight found its way to her chin, even her arms draped around his neck as they kissed.

It was only when Sasuke's hand began to move on it's own did he stop, when his hand began to trail up her side did he abruptly move away from her. Both his hands were off of her and Akina's gentle embrace was broken. Their gazes were locked together and they had both lost their breath. Sasuke felt a familiar buzz in his head; regret and guilt were singing a familiar tune in his head. It was the same tune that was played in his head when he found the truth about Itachi. His hands began to tremble and his body began to feel weaker and it wasn't because of the poisonous gas that still rushed through his lungs.

He started getting up and the girl took a few steps back to give him room to stand. His examined all the exposed skin on the girl and shook his head. He felt dirty suddenly. His hands were now visibly trembling. Akina was about to say something about it but was interrupted. "I need to go for a little bit." He whispered. He got out of the room and Akina simply watched his form leaving the room and when she followed out of the room she watched him leave the apartment. Her heart ached for a moment and she backed off to a small table in the hall, gripping it to regain her balance. Her head fell; she bit her bottom lip before tears began to fall. This pain and her seemed to be old friends, she had felt it once before, nearly four years ago.

Sasuke found himself at Naruto's that evening. Naruto was still coughing badly and even though it was late at night, Hinata was not asleep. Sasuke was muttering unable to get his feelings into a few sentences but after a few recommended deep breaths from Hinata, the disaster in his head cleared up. "She's a non-shinobi… there isn't a single wound on her, Naruto… I am covered in scars and bruises and wounds. I feel like… if I touch her I am going to hurt her."

Naruto tilted his head. "Sasuke, you told me yourself that she too is covered in wounds… just because you can't see them, have you forgotten about them?"