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 30: Dark Side

Weeks passed and it was nearing the end of July. Orochimaru made them change bases several times but almost everything remained the same. Namiko still took care of most of the cooking unless they happened to be at a much larger base with slaves or human experiments; she wasn't thrilled with the idea but there was nothing she could do to change it. The current base they were in was somewhere down south, near Land of Waves, and housed a large amount of prisoners.

Most days consisted of Namiko and Sasuke training together or just simply enjoying each other's company. How they spent their time together often depended on what base they happened to be visiting. Some were in forests, allowing Namiko and Sasuke to go on walks together or hunt. Some were massive structures in stone or underground and had no way out, so they talked or did their own things in comfortable silence.

Despite often being bored throughout the day, Namiko had yet to have another night terror. She could only attribute the sudden change to Sasuke. They still shared a room and a bed or futon at his insistence, claiming it was to keep her safe from Orochimaru, and she wasn't about to argue in the slightest. She and Sasuke had been falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms under the blankets, and it seemed to help them both. They slept deeply and soundly without problems.

Today seemed to be an exception.

Namiko woke when she felt Sasuke's chakra tense and churn, like a violent storm about to let loose. She leaned over and glanced at the battery-powered clock sitting on the desk across the room.

3:46 am.

She slowly sat up, taking great care not to wake him, but Sasuke shot straight up in bed, gasping for breath and Sharingan glowing as he stared into the darkness of their bedroom. She timidly reached out to him. "Sasuke…?"

He turned toward her sharply and suddenly she was pulled into the darkness.

Namiko took a moment to take in her surroundings. Wherever this genjutsu was that Sasuke put her in took place at night; the full moon was high in the sky. She moved forward, trying to place where she was as she walked down the dusty street. It was eerily silent.

The road looked familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where she was until she noticed the bold red and white uchiwa painted on the side of the building next to her. She examined the store closely and realized it looked new, or at least newer. No cracks. No paint chipping. The sign showed no sign of wear on it either.

Uchiha Senbei.

Namiko remembered going there once or twice after the academy when she had a little extra money. It looked just like it did nearly eight years ago. Eight years ago.

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. 'Oh God, please let me be wrong…' She picked up the pace as she neared the gate to the Uchiha compound.

As she rounded the corner, everything was dark and empty. No lights or sounds that would've been common in Konoha, even this late at night. Nothing looked out of place.

Suddenly, she heard light, quick footsteps from behind her as a small child ran right past her. She took note of the hair and bold Uchiha crest on his back. She spent enough time staring at him from behind in the academy to know immediately who it was.

Sasuke.

A young, almost eight-year-old Sasuke.

Another realization punched her in the gut, and she felt sick to her stomach. It was after midnight, which meant it was now July 22nd.

Today was the eighth anniversary of the Uchiha massacre.

She was about to watch the man she had started to fall in love with go through the worst night of his life and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The only thing she could do was watch everything unfold. She started running and followed Sasuke through the main streets. 'I'm going to take a wild guess that this is most likely just a memory of Sasuke's and the young Sasuke I see in front of me is the present Sasuke reliving this night.'

"I stayed behind way too late for shuriken training! I shouldn't have closed my eyes to rest. Why did I have to fall asleep?" puffed Sasuke as he ran through the street.

She and Sasuke both stopped in their tracks at the same time and looked up. Something seemed to vanish from its perch on an electric pole. "What was that?" said Sasuke aloud. "I swore I saw something just now. Wait, why are all the lights off? It's too quiet…something is wrong…"

Sasuke took off running again and Namiko followed after. She could only assume he was heading home. He slid to a stop off one of the main streets to look down a side street. "Wh-what is this? What is going on?!"

Kunai and shuriken were sticking out of houses and businesses. Signs and decorations ripped. Windows and doors were broken. Blood was splattered on almost every surface. The street was littered with bodies; throats were slit, kunai lodged in chests, and some appeared to be impaled by swords.

Namiko stood next to Sasuke, looking down at the horrified look on his face. Fear was etched into every pore. Once the shock started to settle slightly, panic was written on his face again as fear rose. "Tou-san! Kaa-san!" He bolted as fast as his legs could carry him past all the death in their path.

Namiko forced herself to look as she stayed two steps behind him. 'If he had to live through this night, I want to know everything.'

They soon arrived at his house and he slid open the door. The house was completely dark except for the moonlight coming through the windows. They both stepped inside the house carefully.

Sasuke remained oddly calm as he called out to his parents and he took off his shoes at the genkan. "Tou-san? Kaa-san? Are you here?" He dropped his bag on the floor next to his shoes.

Namiko followed him silently as they walked into the kitchen, then the living room. A loud crashing noise caught their attention and Sasuke took off running full speed through the house with Namiko right behind him. They ended up standing in front of double doors as Sasuke's shaking hand hovered over the handle.

His whole body shook as he was frozen in place in front of the doors. Gingerly, Sasuke moved one foot forward and placed his hands on the handles, pushing the door open slowly. The room was completely dark except for the moonlight streaming through the large window. In the middle of the room illuminated by the light were two bodies.

Sasuke's father lay over his mother, both surrounded by a pool of blood.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" he shouted as he took several steps forward before stopping as he felt another presence. Out from the shadows stepped Itachi with his Sharingan active as he stared at his younger brother. Namiko felt a chill run up her spine, even in just a genjutsu memory, Itachi was terrifying.

Sasuke stepped back as he shook his head in confusion. "Nii-san…tou-san and kaa-san are both… I don't understand. Who could do all this?" A shuriken flew through the air, slicing into Sasuke's left shoulder. "Nii-san? Wait a second, what are you—?" He held onto the cut on his shoulder. "Oh no…what have you done?"

Finally, Itachi spoke, "Foolish otouto. I almost pity you…" He closed his eyes for a brief moment before reopening them as the pattern of his Sharingan began to change. "Mangekyo Sharingan."

Suddenly, the sky was red and everything else looked like a film negative. Namiko and Sasuke were back in the street where they first saw the bodies, and people all around them. One by one, people started dropping like flies to the ground. Shuriken and kunai flew through the air and blood seemed to stream from the sky.

Sasuke screamed in absolute horror as he closed his eyes and held his head as if trying to remove the nightmare in front of him, but even with her eyes closed, Namiko still saw everything and she was sure the same happened to Sasuke.

"Stop it, Itachi! Why are you showing me all of this?" Sasuke's screams turned to sobs and Namiko wanted nothing more than to hold Sasuke but she knew it wouldn't change the memory. "Why? Why did you do this, nii-san?"

Dozens of people ran toward Itachi and without lifting a finger, they were all thrown back, dead. Sasuke watched as a shuriken flew through the air and killed the two people next to him. Namiko recognized them as the owners of the Uchiha Seiben store. He screamed again. "No! Ba-san! Ji-san!"

The scenery around them shifted again and they were back in Sasuke's home, in his parents' room. His mother and father knelt on the floor as Itachi stood over them, his katana poised to strike. Sasuke couldn't do anything but scream as he watched the brother he once idolized kill their parents in one blow.

Sasuke fell to his knees and Namiko dropped to hers beside him. There had to be something she could do to stop this awful nightmare. Sasuke collapsed fully on the ground, gasping for breath. As his breathing slowed, he whispered, "Why? Why did you do this? Itachi, why?"

Itachi replied stoically, "To test the limitations of my ability."

Sasuke raised his head but still lay prone on the floor. "To test your ability? That's why you did this? You're telling me that was the reason that you butchered every single member of our clan?"

'To test his ability? That was his reasoning?!' Namiko shook with anger.

"It is of great importance," stated Itachi.

"What are you saying?" questioned Sasuke as he slowly got to his feet. "You're out of your mind!" He sprinted forward, trying to attack Itachi, but he simply sucker-punched Sasuke and he collapsed on the floor again.

Sasuke lay on the ground in the puddle of his mother and father's blood. He lifted his head just enough to see his parents before him. His father's lifeless eyes stared at him, cold as always. His mother's hair was slick with blood. Tears welled up in his eyes before finally breaking free and streaming down his face.

Itachi stepped in between Sasuke and their parents. Sasuke looked up briefly before he hurried to his feet, running out of the room, repeating, "I'm scared. I'm scared!"

He ran blindly through the compound, tears blocking all hope of seeing anything in front of him. "Please! I don't want to die!" Namiko's heart broke into a million pieces as she followed after him.

He stopped running when Itachi blocked his path again. Sasuke stood his ground but tears still poured down his face. "Please don't kill me…"

"You're not even worth killing," Itachi's voice was icy cold and emotionless. "Foolish otouto, if you wish to kill me one day, foster your hatred and despise me. Surviving in such an unsightly manner as this. By all means, flee, cling to your wretched life."

Itachi vanished, leaving Sasuke standing in the middle of a bloody street. Namiko walked up beside Sasuke as he collapsed to his knees again. He screamed in anger and grief, bending forward and pounding the dirt street in front of him.

Namiko couldn't stop herself from collapsing to her knees and throwing her arms around him. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Sasuke. No one should've had to go through this, especially just a child…" she whispered as tears began to flow freely from her eyes, "I'm so, so, so sorry!"

Sasuke's small voice broke through the sounds of her choked sobs, "…Namiko?" She pulled back to see Sasuke staring at her with wide, tear-filled eyes just as the genjutsu faded leaving them back in their room.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of their room, she noticed a single tear had stained Sasuke's cheek as his eyes faded back to their usual black. She reached to brush it away but before she could, he had pulled her into a hug so tight that Namiko thought she'd stop breathing.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, choking back tears as she whispered, "I'm so sorry…Sasuke, I'm so sorry…"

Sasuke nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, wishing the mental images would leave his mind's eye. "It's okay, it happened a long time ago…"

She leaned as far back as she could so she could look at his face. He raised his head but kept his death grip on her waist. She looked at him aghast. "It's not okay! How can you even say that?! No one should ever go through that! You were just a child…" Tears finally broke free of the dam she tried to sustain. "I knew what you went through was horrible, but I never expected that! I don't understand how your brother could do that…to murder your whole clan…and for you to have to watch it…I'm so sorry…"

Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm the one who's sorry. I hoped no one would ever witness that, especially not you." He placed another gentle kiss on her forehead before he finally let go of her, trailing his hands down her arms. "Are you okay?"

Namiko chuckled incredulously. "I don't even know how to answer that. I'm upset that you had to go through that as a child, especially all alone! I'm grieving for your clan, and I'm beyond furious with your brother." She closed her eyes trying to calm the turmoil raging within her. "Honestly, after witnessing that I want to help you with finding Itachi more than ever. I want you and your clan to be able to be at peace. I know it won't change what happened, but I understand your drive behind your vengeance a lot more now."

"I'm sorry I pulled you into my nightmare; I've never done that before. I didn't even know it was possible."

"Well, it's not like you've shared a bed with anyone else…or have you?" She failed to hide her mischievous smile as she tried to lighten the mood.

"Why? Would you be jealous even if it were true?" he teased back.

"Nope! Because you're all mine now," she said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good. Because I want you all to myself as well." He pulled her to his chest and laid them down, pulling the covers back over them. He tilted his head down, kissing her hair.

Namiko looked up at him, her eyes searching his curiously. Sasuke didn't wait for her to analyze him further. He placed a finger under her chin to tilt her head back a little further so he could gain better access to her lips.

He leaned down but stopped just short of her lips and he smirked when her breathing hitched. "Hn."

"Sasuke, either kiss me or don't, but don't tease me," she whined as she stared at his lips.

His smirk just fell short of turning into a smile. "So impatient…" he said a moment before their lips met. Sasuke knew this was strange timing to be kissing her, but disassociation was often better than reliving a horrible experience like the one they went through.

The kiss started slow, just looking for comfort as they explored each other. However, when Namiko ran her hand down the opening of his shirt on his bare skin, it was like a switch flipped in Sasuke. He braced himself over her as he trailed kisses down her jaw, neck, and collarbone.

Namiko let out a barely audible gasp at the sensation; they normally kept kisses limited to their faces and having Sasuke kiss somewhere else made butterflies in her stomach. It felt good. She wished he'd never stop and failed to hide the small groan that escaped from her lips.

Sasuke froze. 'What are we doing? This isn't the time or place for this, plus it could lead to something else…not that I don't want…that eventually…but not this early in our relationship and not when we're both so emotionally charged.' He kissed her lips chastely and forehead one last time, pulled away from her, and rolled onto his back.

Namiko sighed as she tried to catch her breath. 'Well, that was steamy.' She fanned her face for a moment with her hand, praying for the heat to leave her face.

"We should both go back to sleep," suggested Sasuke.

Namiko returned to his side, lying her head on his chest as he pulled her close. She still felt a little lightheaded and disoriented from the kiss as she wrapped her arm around his waist over the blanket. "Right, right…goodnight, Sasuke."

"Goodnight…"

Despite not being a morning person, Namiko typically woke first, however, this time Sasuke was the first to wake. He activated his Sharingan as he lay on his side facing her and took in the picture of the woman before him. She was lying on her stomach with one hand gripping his shirt and one leg draped over one of his.

She must have thrown off the blanket in the middle of the night as it pooled around their feet. Her hair had come loose from her braid, tumbling around her shoulders and splaying across her back. He brushed her bangs out of her face, causing her to stir.

Namiko let out a soft grunt as she yawned and attempted to roll over, not realizing that she had a tight grip on Sasuke's shirt, and pulled him on top of her. He braced himself above her and chuckled slightly at the look of surprise on her face. "Good morning, Namiko."

She let go of his shirt and blinked several times until their position clicked in her head, and a blush flooded her cheeks. "…uh…good morning?" She cleared her throat, hoping to force the blush down. 'You'd think I'd be used to being so close to him by now, but I can't help the reactions he manages to pull from me. And the worst part is that a majority of the time he doesn't even realize he's doing anything to cause me to get flustered!'

She stared up at him for a moment before deciding to make a move. She gently touched his jaw and leaned up to kiss his lips, but he shifted his body weight to kiss her forehead before getting off the bed. She furrowed her brow, confused at his behavior. "You okay?"

Sasuke didn't look at her as he lit the candle on the desk. "I'm fine. My leg was going numb though with you on top of it, so I needed to stand up to get the blood flowing again."

"Sorry! Until now I've always been a light sleeper thanks to the kyuubi, that's why I struggled when Naruto would snore," she paused for a moment before standing up, walking over to him, and wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

She laid her cheek on his back, just below the Uchiha crest. She smiled as she spoke softly, "You make me feel safe, which helps me sleep deeply," the softness in her voice gave way to a giggle, "so I guess you could say you only have yourself to blame for your leg going numb."

Sasuke breathed out a chuckle as he turned to face her. "Hn. Blaming me for your deep sleep? I guess I should take that as a compliment."

Namiko tilted her head up, giving him an impish grin. "You should."

He placed a hand on her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw. He bent down and captured her lips with his. She melted into his touch, pulling on his shirt to bring him closer with one hand and running her fingers through his hair with the other. She walked backward until the back of her knees hit the bed.

He quickly pulled back and she sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him quizzically as she twisted her hair into her signature bun. "Why'd you stop? Are you sure that you're okay? Is this about the genjutsu last night?"

"No, that's not it. I promise I'm fine," he said as he walked over to the desk and picked up his Kusanagi, fastening it to his waist, "it's just that we probably should be careful where we kiss."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Namiko was beyond confused.

He sighed. "There's nothing more irresistible to me than you…I want to be careful. If Orochimaru finds out about our relationship, it would be bad. He'd use you against me in a second because then he'd have confirmation that I'd do anything he wanted if it meant keeping you safe."

"Sasuke, I appreciate your concern, but Orochimaru is nowhere near us right now."

"He has ways of knowing things even when he's not near."

Namiko rolled her eyes as she strapped on her kunai holster and hip pouch. "You're being paranoid. He's nowhere near us and neither is Kabuto."

"I'm being smart."

"Sasuke, you know my chakra sensing is reliable. There's no one within twenty meters of us right now, and Orochimaru and Kabuto are even further away on the other side of the base."

"It's…just not a good idea," he said as he started for the door.

"I don't understand, you were the one who started the kiss in the first place and the one to stop it!" Suddenly, everything clicked into place in Namiko's mind: he avoided kissing her on the lips when they woke, suddenly kissing her deeply once they were standing, then halting everything when they moved toward the bed.

"Wait…are you worried that we'll have sex if we kiss on the bed?" she questioned skeptically. 'There is no way I'm right…right?'

Sasuke avoided her gaze and paused a second too long at the door, and she pounced on the realization. "You are!" She rolled her eyes as she grabbed his hand and turned him to face her, her voice softening, "Sasuke, I'm not asking to have sex, I just wanted a little extra affection. I don't think we are ready for that in our relationship." Her cheeks reddened at the thought. "However, I like you a lot and I enjoy kissing and touching you."

"And I enjoy it too." Sasuke could feel his neck warm at the subject of their discussion. "But I also don't want to put us in a situation where it could lead to…that." He brushed her hair from her face. "Namiko, the truth is…it's hard for me to hold back."

He suddenly realized what his words insinuated, and immediately, his voice got a little louder, almost panicked sounding, "My emotions! I meant, hold back my emotions." Namiko had to suppress a laugh at his flustered behavior as he tried to correct his words. He took a breath to calm himself before continuing, "Shinobi rules state that we put away our emotions. And…you elicit emotions from me I didn't know existed, which is another reason I almost wish you had gone back with Naruto."

"Did you learn nothing from Kakashi-sensei about breaking the shinobi rules? Honestly, I'm beyond thankful I didn't go back. I would've never got to be with you." She laid her hand on his chest. "You can't run or hide from your emotions. Emotions are meant to be felt."

She stood on tiptoe to press a light kiss to his lips. "So let yourself feel them."

He took her hand in his. "The Uchiha always kept from showing their emotions to anyone outside the family. Those who risked that often experienced tragedy as a result. You're my exception; I broke the unspoken rules for you." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before locking his gaze with hers. "I can't lose you. I can't lose another important person in my life…not because of Orochimaru or Itachi or the Akatsuki. I need you to be safe."

"With you by my side, I know I'm always safe." She smiled sweetly at him, trying to ease his worry. "Look, I know you blame yourself for what happened to your clan, but you were only eight years old and Itachi was too strong for hundreds of Uchiha, so you wouldn't have stood a chance. But now, you're stronger and I know you can defeat both Orochimaru and Itachi. You can't bring back your family, but you can get closure for yourself. Plus, you'll have me by your side the whole way."

"I'm thankful for that." He squeezed her hand. "Let's go eat something and then go train." She nodded in response, giving him a peck on the cheek before exiting their room before him. Sasuke just shook his head in amusement. 'It's a paradox; I've lost all my family, yet I've gained so much more because of her. Namiko has been the calm to my storm and I don't want to do anything to mess that up.'

Namiko glanced over her shoulder back at him with a cheeky grin. "So, how are we celebrating your birthday tomorrow?"

A/N: So, I couldn't bring myself to have a pure angst chapter, so I gave you a little spice too. I do want to say that Sasuke and Namiko are 15 (about to turn 16) at this point in our story. Their hormones might get a little crazy and touchy-feely, but any (possible) future sex scenes will be a "fade to black" scenario. That doesn't mean things will be boring though. ;)
I've finally reached over 10,000 hits on FFN and nearly 5,000 on AO3! I'm so thankful people love this story so much, but I'd love to hear your comments or reviews! Pretty please?
Anyways, I will see you lovely people next week!
Love, Eriisu