Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 28: Dilemma

Namiko jerked awake to the feeling of someone moving behind her. She sat straight up and looked over to see Sasuke had lit the candle and was walking toward the bathroom.

He raised an eyebrow at her shocked expression. "Am I not allowed to go to the bathroom?"

She laughed nervously. "Of course you are. I guess my stupid brain was confused by the idea of sharing a bed. I mean, my chakra sensing is active, so I knew you were the only other person in the room, but when I felt the bed move in my sleep, my body thought it was an enemy. I guess I internally panicked for a moment."

"I think you should've realized by now I'm not going to hurt you."

Namiko turned her head away from him. "I know that. Just shinobi reflexes I guess."

"Hn."

She heard the door shut and she flopped onto her back on the bed. She hadn't slept well, maybe only a few hours of sleep. Her brain had been too preoccupied last night with thoughts of the other person in the bed and the kiss he had given her. She never suspected for a moment that he would've kissed her, especially not because she teased him.

That kiss played over in her mind for what seemed like hours. The way his hands on her conveyed his two different sides: the strong grip on her hip showed his passionate side and the ghosting touch of his other hand on her neck showed how kind and caring he could be. His eagerness in the kiss itself surprised her like maybe he'd wanted to do that for a while.

'That kiss had to mean something to him, right? It was…intense. Especially for a first kiss. My first kiss. Was it his first kiss? I mean, obviously, I'm not counting the one with Naruto. They were both so freaked out by that.' She giggled quietly to herself before suddenly blushing. She covered her eyes with her forearm. 'I never thought my teasing him last night would've led to all that. I may have teased him, but he was the one to initiate the kiss.'

Namiko groaned out loud just seconds before Sasuke exited the bathroom. He quirked an eyebrow at her as he cleared his throat. "You okay?"

She sprung up swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." Her voice was jittery and nervous. "W-why wouldn't I be fine?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You're just very jumpy."

"Am not!" She protested as she pulled on her sandals and stood to go into the bathroom. "Give me a minute and we can check out the kitchen to see what I can cook."

Sasuke nodded as she closed the bathroom door, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts. 'Ugh…I really should've thought things through before I kissed her. This…this is one of the reasons why hiding your emotions is important. I never wanted to make things awkward between us. I can't let her get closer. Letting her get closer means potentially risking her life. I can't do that.'

The bathroom door closed and Namiko immediately made her way toward the bedroom door and started across the hall to the kitchen without a word to Sasuke. He quickly followed her and watched her as she began opening cabinets to see what was available to cook.

"Namiko," he said cautiously, "what's wrong?"

'I can't tell him that I'm just freaking out over a stupid kiss…' She shook her head, refusing to look at him. "I guess it's clicked in my head that I willingly volunteered to be here with you along with two incredibly dangerous rogue shinobi for months. I'm just trying to keep bust and not have a panic attack."

"I told you that you should have gone back to Konoha with Naruto. It's not safe for you here."

"I know that it's not safe for me here, but it's not safe for you either. And like I said last night, I don't want safe if you can't have it too." Namiko finally looked him in the eyes and Sasuke noticed a spark behind her blue-violet eyes that hadn't been there before.

She turned away from him again to put a pot on the stove. "I told you also last night that I care for you, and I meant it. You're…important to me." She blushed when she realized what she admitted and quickly tried to backtrack. "And Naruto! And Sakura and Kakashi-sensei... I wouldn't have come after you if you weren't."

"Namiko…" He walked over to her but still kept out of arm's reach. "Last night…was a mistake. I let my emotions get the better of me when my competitive side came out."

Namiko rolled her eyes and let out a scoffing laugh. "Sasuke, I've known you for almost ten years. You never do anything just because someone dared you to do it."

"We're not going to talk about this here in case someone overhears," grumbled Sasuke.

She leaned over and whispered as she passed by him, "The only reason I'm letting you off the hook about this right now is because Kabuto is awake and heading this way." She quickly set down the miso soup she'd made on the table before grabbing a few bowls out of the cabinet.

Namiko finished laying out the food just before Kabuto walked through the kitchen door. His smug smirk was locked on his face. "Good to see you both up and Namiko-chan continuing to play chef." He shrugged as he sat down at the smaller table. "I'm just thankful I don't have to do it anymore," he said with a chuckle.

"I honestly don't mind it. Growing up without parents meant I had to learn to cook or Naruto would've had us living only on ramen, which he tried to do anyway. Cooking is cathartic in a way." She set some rice and natto on the table as she and Sasuke sat down. "Though there isn't much food here except a handful of different ingredients that are dried or otherwise preserved, so it was a bit of a challenge."

"There should be some nori and bonito flakes; those tend to be standard at the bases," commented Kabuto as he happily combined the natto into his rice. "Though you'll probably need to go hunting to get anything substantial."

Namiko tilted her head curiously. "Hunting?" Hunting while on missions was fairly common, but it had been a while since she'd had to do it herself.

"We can go hunting later this afternoon for rabbits or birds," suggested Sasuke as he took a bite of rice.

Kabuto quickly finished eating before preparing a tray of food. "I'll take this to Orochimaru-sama. I think he's planning to go through some scrolls and things today, so you're on your own." He disappeared just as suddenly as he had arrived.

As soon as Kabuto was out of sight, Namiko swiftly put the lid back on the container of natto. "Ugh, that stuff is vile. I can't stand the smell."

Sasuke held back a chuckle at her obvious disgust. "I agree with you there. I can't stand the taste or texture either."

He stood to wash his dishes, but Namiko grabbed them from him. "If you want to help, I'll wash and you dry." She handed him a small towel from a drawer.

He took it without argument but a hint of a smile played on his lips. "Just don't drop any dishes this time. I don't want to pick glass out of your hand again."

"Oh, shut up," she muttered as she started washing. She kept her eyes completely focused on her task to make sure she didn't break anything. "I could make some onigiri with the leftover rice and the bonito flakes for us to take while we're hunting."

"That's not a bad idea. We can train for a while before going hunting and take them with us."

After she washed the last dish, she turned her attention to making the onigiri. She grabbed the cooled rice from earlier and the bonito flakes. She rummaged through the cabinets and found some soy sauce, sesame oil, and even a jar of umeboshi. Sasuke watched her thoughtfully as she went through the motions of wetting and salting her hands before scooping the rice, adding the filling, and shaping it. She made a total of ten, some with nori and some without, wrapped four of them up to take with them, and left the others for Kabuto and Orochimaru.

She found a small canvas bag in the corner of the room and placed the rice balls inside, along with a couple bottles of water. "So, where are we going to train?"

"There's a large clearing I go to when we're here to train and keep up on my shuriken skills. I'll show you."

"Hinata, you seem…quieter than usual. Is everything okay?" asked Kurenai as she walked alongside her former students from one of the training grounds. They weren't an official team anymore, but they tried to train together at least once a week as long as they weren't on missions.

"There's just a lot going on right now," replied Hinata.

Kiba spoke up, "Though I thought you'd be happy to see Naruto last night. I can smell him on your jacket…"

Hinata's face immediately flushed bright red. "I-it's nothing! He just walked me home! That's all!"

A large smile spread across Kurenai's face. "He walked you home? Was it his idea?"

Hinata nodded slowly. "He wanted to talk about Namiko. He feels guilty that he didn't bring her home."

"I know Namiko not coming back is hitting us all hard. We just have to trust her judgment." Kurenai laid a soothing hand on Hinata's shoulder. "But it makes me happy to know he intentionally sought you out to talk to you."

"And he must have been standing awfully close if I can smell him on you," said Kiba as he wiggled his eyes suggestively and Akamaru loudly barked in agreement.

"Kiba, don't tease her," admonished Kurenai.

"Sorry, Hinata," apologized Kiba with a cheesy grin. He gave Akamaru a pat on the head. "I hate to run, but I know Hana needed me to help with some of the dogs today. See you two later!" He waved to them both before jumping on Akamaru's back and taking off.

Kurenai noticed a sullen shift in Hinata's behavior and looked empathetically at the young girl. "Hinata, is there something else going on?"

"Otou-sama saw Naruto with me last night and demanded I stay away from him because he's a 'danger'," explained Hinata. She lowered her voice even further, "I know that Naruto and Namiko are jinchuriki, but they're not dangerous."

"Unfortunately, both of them have faced and will continue to face that stigma their entire lives." Kurenai sighed heavily. "We know the truth, but others don't. The best thing we can do for both of them is to support them and not abandon them. Though I would be cautious, the last thing you want to do is make your father or the Hyuuga elders angry with you."

Hinata nodded. "I know, but I won't abandon either of them. They're family too."

"I know you've been struggling without Namiko here. You two have been joined at the hip for years. She's smart and I trust she has her reasons for doing this."

"Sensei? How long do you think she'll be gone? Do you think she's safe?" questioned Hinata.

"That…is hard to know." Kurenai held a worried expression. "There's no timeline for something like this. However, when it comes to her safety, Sasuke seems to hold some sort of feelings for Namiko. We can only hope that he'll protect her to the best of his abilities." Hinata nodded in agreement.

Sasuke had led her to a mostly open clearing with a few targets on trees that were well-worn, with some targets being on both sides of the trees. She opened her chakra senses fully, stretching them to her limits. "We're not far from Otogakure proper, are we?"

"Around fifteen kilometers. Why?"

"I can feel a lot of people over in that direction," she said pointing north of their location, toward Otogakure. "Did you come here a lot? To this training area, I mean."

Sasuke shrugged as he tapped the seals on his wrists and pulled out several shuriken. "It's not like I had anywhere else to be when I'm here. I wasn't about to hide in my room the whole time and I don't want to be with Orochimaru more than I have to be."

"I can't blame you there." Namiko shook off a chill as she set down the canvas bag on the edge of the clearing. "You know, this setup almost reminds me of the one you have at the Uchiha Compound."

Sasuke paused, eyeing her curiously. "I don't remember ever showing you where I trained on the compound."

"I…uh…" Namiko knew she'd been caught like a kid with their hand in a cookie jar. "I spent a lot of time on the compound after you and Naruto both left. If I wasn't on a mission or training, I would go to the pond or explore the wooded areas. I found a setup a lot like this one, though with a large rock in the middle. Though I have no idea how you're supposed to reach some of the targets when they're behind the trees."

"You have to know what you're doing." Sasuke smirked as he flung out a handful of shuriken. The sound of metal clanged through the air followed by multiple sounds of the shuriken hitting squarely on their marks.

Namiko walked around a noticed that even the targets on the backside of the trees had all been hit dead center. Her mouth dropped open as she spun on her heel to stare at Sasuke in awe. "How on earth did you do that?! Even the ones on the backside are bullseyes!"

"Training," he replied sarcastically. "I've trained with kunai and shuriken since before we even entered the academy." He glanced at her before walking over to her and handing her a shuriken. "Care to try?"

Namiko burst into laughter. "There's no way possible I can do that!"

He took another step forward so they were only a few centimeters apart. "I could teach you."

Namiko's cheeks turned a light pink and she nodded. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Okay, show me what you're starting with and aim for the center target," he suggested as he took a few steps back.

Namiko aimed and hit the target right in the middle. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "Again."

This time when she aimed, her shuriken never even made contact. A sharp pinging rang out and her shuriken fell to the ground while a second shuriken thunked in the bullseye of the target on the back of the tree. She whirled around to see Sasuke staring at her with a smirk. "Okay, Mr. Show-off…" she said, rolling her eyes. "How about you actually show me?"

"I just did."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Fine, come here." He motioned to her before taking two shuriken in his hand. "When you throw them, you throw the first and immediately throw the second."

"Sounds easy enough." She threw the shuriken again but they landed on separate targets. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Try adding a flick of the wrist with the second so it curves slightly." He placed two more shuriken in her hand, grabbed her wrist gently, and moved it to show her how to move her hand. He kept his eyes trained on their hands when he felt her gaze focused on his face.

As he looked up, they locked eyes and the tension became palpable. Sasuke quickly let go of her hand and coughed to break the trance. "Yeah, just move your wrist like that."

Namiko nodded before attempting again, following his instructions. This time the shuriken hit the target on the back of the tree. It wasn't centered, but it did stick deep within the target. She turned back to Sasuke with a smile of confidence. "Far from perfect but you're a good teacher."

The two continued with shuriken for a while until until she got quite a bit closer to the bullseye, but still nowhere near Sasuke's perfect marks every time. Namiko looked over at Sasuke. "Okay, I need to burn a little more energy. Up for a spar? Taijutsu only though."

"Afraid ninjutsu would be too much?" he said with a cocky half-smirk.

"It's definitely your strong suit thanks to the Sharingan. Though if I could spam Flying Raijin like my dad, I'd definitely give you a run for your money," she said returning his smirk with a mischievous smile of her own.

"Good thing you can't then." Sasuke put distance between them and dropped into a defensive stance.

Namiko decided to take the offensive as they started their spar. They exchanged swift strikes and nimble dodges. Namiko's lightning-fast kicks couldn't break Sasuke's precise blocks; it all came too easily to him.

She attempted a roundhouse kick, but he anticipated her moves, grabbing her ankle and flinging her several meters away toward the edge of the clearing. Namiko smoothly regained her composure and jumped back into her offensive attacks.

"You're so worried about trying to land a hit, you're leaving yourself open too much," explained Sasuke as he took the opportunity to land a light hit on her side.

"And you're too worried about whatever to make a decent strike at me, so you'd rather play safe with defense," she taunted. "Quit pulling your punches!"

"Fine then." Sasuke activated his Sharingan. "I'll stop handling you with kid gloves."

Namiko glared at him. "That's not what I meant. That's cheating."

"It's no more cheating than your Flying Raijin."

Namiko smirked. "Have it your way then…"

She immediately vanished from sight, and everything seemed to slow down as Sasuke was harshly yanked to the ground by his wrist.

Sasuke suddenly found himself lying flat on his back and staring up into mischievous blue-violet eyes. "What the hell?"

"Since you decided you were going to use Sharingan, it's only fair that I can use Flying Raijin, right?" She straddled his stomach with her hands on his chest as she leaned over him, the front strands of her hair brushing against his cheeks as she grinned. "I win."

Sasuke just stared at her, his Sharingan still swirling and active as he took in her appearance. The freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks, the smudge of dirt on her jaw, and how the bright smile on her lips slowly faded as she leaned forward to close the gap between them.

Namiko pressed her lips to his cautiously, her eyes drifting closed. Sasuke's own eyes closed as he brought a hand up to cup her cheek he leaned up and returned her kiss, slowly, leisurely, both taking their time.

She let out a soft sigh, snapping Sasuke out of the trance of the kiss. His eyes shot open, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her back and off him before sitting up.

Namiko tilted her head, confused by his actions. "…Sasuke? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed just because last night—"

Sasuke quickly stood, facing away from her, and ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. "That's not it."

She stood behind him. "Then why—"

"We can't do this." He let out a heavy sigh. "I don't like people, Namiko. I can't even stand to be around my own thoughts sometimes, but I want to be around you all the time." He turned to face her. "Do you get what I'm trying to say? I want to be around you. I…need you. But we can't do this…it's too risky for you."

"Risky for me? Why? Because I'm a jinchuriki?"

"No, because of who I am. I'm a danger to you in every way. I'm a rogue shinobi who decided to follow one of the most dangerous shinobi in existence, just so I could kill my brother and get revenge for my clan."

Namiko's expression softened. "That's not what I see. I see a man who was hurt by so many things and people that you feel like you have to push everyone away from you to protect others. Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Naruto, me…people care about you." She breathed out a laugh. "If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have come after you to begin with."

Sasuke kept his facial expression neutral. "If Orochimaru or Itachi ever found out about us, they'd just use us against the other."

Namiko gave a little half-smile and shrugged. "So, we don't let them find out about us. Plus, I'm pretty sure Orochimaru probably put us together for that reason. He wants us to get attached."

"That's exactly my point!" He snapped. "I'm not going to let him, or anyone else, hurt you. I'm not going to risk your life!"

Namiko's anger flared to life. "News flash, Sasuke, we're shinobi! Every day we're alive is a day we're risking our lives! I refuse to let that fear consume my life."

He grabbed her upper arms firmly. "I'll risk my life, but I refuse to risk yours."

"And I don't care about the risks, I just care about you. Fear shouldn't stop us." She looked up at him with eyes pleading. "We need each other or we're not going to get through this. If you shut me out, I'm going to be stuck listening to the kyuubi in my head, and trust me, you don't want that. I need you just as much as you need me. Please—"

Sasuke kissed her again. This time it was desperate and raw. She clung to his shirt and kissed him back. He soon pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "Looks like we're in this together."

She nodded slowly as a smile spread across her face. "Together." He kissed her forehead just as a low growl broke the silence and Namiko burst into a fit of giggles. "Sorry!"

"That," said Sasuke as he shook his head in amusement, "is how I know you are related to Naruto. Come on, let's eat and then we can go hunting."

The duo ate their lunch quickly and set up a few traps to check on the next day before hunting with kunai for that evening. They returned to the base with three rabbits and a pheasant in hand which Namiko quickly prepared and set to cooking dinner.

Dinner went much like breakfast had: Kabuto popped in, ate quickly, and took Orochimaru a tray of food. Namiko was thankful; the less time she had to spend around Orochimaru, the better. His chakra was dark and poisonous feeling while Kabuto's felt almost slimy to her. Neither was pleasant to be around, but if it wasn't for wanting to keep tabs on where the two were, she would've turned off her chakra sensing long ago.

She knew she was safe with Sasuke, but as much as she didn't want to admit Sasuke was right, Orochimaru was still too strong and they weren't strong enough. Yet. So, she'd be on high alert until Orochimaru was dead. Then she'd be able to relax.

Currently, as she at on the bed staring openly at Sasuke coming out of the bathroom with his hair wet and shirt untucked, she didn't think she'd be able to relax ever again. Last night had been awkward but she chalked it up to him kissing her just to prove a point and it being her first kiss, but tonight, knowing there were some sort of feelings between the both of them, she didn't think she'd sleep a wink ever again.

She refocused on braiding her hair and avoided eye contact with him. Sasuke noticed her behavior as he sat down on the other side of the bed. "You know, you're overthinking this, right? I'm not going to jump you in your sleep."

'You're not the one I'm worried about...' Namiko pressed her lips together tightly. "I know that. I'm able to sense when you're awake or when an enemy comes near."

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, you showed me that this morning when you panicked because I moved."

"If I'm anxious, I tend to go on high alert and I'm easier to wake up. Great for missions, but not so much daily life. And considering this will be daily life for the foreseeable future, I need to adjust it somehow so I keep my guard up for Orochimaru but down for you. I'll figure it out." She shrugged and flipped the finished braid behind her shoulder and gave him a soft smile.

"Makes sense. It's not like there's a manual for it." He got up to blow out the candle before lying down on top of the blankets facing away from her. "Get some rest, you're safe with me, I promise."

Namiko got under the blanket facing away from him. "I know. Goodnight Sasuke."

"Goodnight Namiko."

Important A/N:
So, I want to apologize for this being so late! I got very sick on Thursday and just now started feeling a little more normal. I have Multiple Sclerosis, so when I get "normal people" sick on top of things, I tend to be bedridden and can barely hold my phone.
Writing has been a huge therapeutic thing for me through this, and I love it. I don't intend to ever let you guys down or stop until this story is finished. If you want to make sure I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, you can follow me on Twitter at _Eriisu_ for updates. (I also post sneak peeks and pictures.)
Also, I've upgraded this story to an M rating, just as a precaution. Nothing is going to be a switch flip and changing about this story, it's just more so I'm covering my own behind.
Lastly, thank you to ALL of you who have been faithfully reading and supporting me through this whole thing. I love reading your comments and getting messages from you all! You're the best! See you soon!

Love, Eriisu