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 27: Out of the Blue

Namiko popped out next to Sasuke, her hand gripping his wrist firmly and causing him to stop suddenly at her interruption. Kabuto and Orochimaru stopped immediately afterward, and Namiko found herself the center of attention from three sets of eyes. Kabuto and Orochimaru both looked intrigued. Sasuke was wide-eyed with shock; thankfully, Orochimaru and Kabuto stood behind him and couldn't see his face.

Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face. "Come to take Sasuke-kun back to Konoha?"

"No, I promised him I would help him find his brother and I intend to keep that promise." Namiko swallowed her fear and held her head high. "So, if you'll allow me, Orochimaru-sama, I'd like to stay with him until my role is complete."

Laughter rippled from the sannin's mouth. "Rarely has someone escaped my grasp and no one has ever come crawling back except due to my seal. You're either a very brave or very foolish girl." Orochimaru turned away and continued walking in the previous direction. "Come on then."

Kabuto followed quickly in line, but Sasuke hesitated, his face back to its usual stoic mask. Namiko looked at him quizzically and he whispered a low, "We'll talk later." He pulled his wrist from her grasp and suddenly Namiko felt like she was in for a major lecture.

"I see…" said Tsunade as she laid down the mission report in front of her. "And what do you plan to do from here on?"

Naruto grinned determinedly. "I'm not giving up on Sasuke or my sister. Sakura was right, Namiko rarely does things without a reason. She'd never join Orochimaru, so I think she's trying to bring Sasuke home…for me."

"I hope you're right, Naruto." Tsunade folded her hands across her desk. "Alright, unless anyone else has anything to say, you're dismissed. Yamato, I ask you to stay behind for a moment."

As the three younger shinobi left the room, Yamato waited patiently for whatever Tsunade needed to say to him. "Now then," began Tsunade, "what do you think of this whole situation? How did Namiko appear?"

"She seemed completely healthy and uninjured. She held off moving away from Sasuke for quite some time, almost as if she didn't want to be separated from him," answered Yamato.

"Hmm, Kakashi had mentioned to me a few times right after the Uchiha boy had left that both Naruto and Namiko shared a unique bond with him, but also that he suspected the Uchiha may have had romantic feelings for her. Perhaps it goes both ways." Tsunade stood and looked out her window. "I guess time will tell how things will progress. In the meantime, I want you to work with Kakashi and Jiraiya on helping get Team Kakashi, especially Naruto, as strong as possible. When I see fit, I'll assign them to go after Namiko and the Uchiha again."

The four shinobi ran until sunset was approaching. They had traveled along the edge of the Land of Fire until they reached an all too familiar landmark: the Valley of the End. Namiko slowed slightly as she took in the statues of Hashirama and Madara. The last time she had been this close to the statues was when Sasuke left, or rather, the day she told him to leave. She shook her head and continued following the three men in the depths of the Land of Sound.

They went deep into the forest with massive trees that reminded her of the ones in the Forest of Death during the Chuunin Exams. Underneath the base of a particularly large tree was a staircase leading to what Namiko could safely assume was another underground base. The outside of the entrance almost had a house-like appearance but upon entering, that was where the resemblance stopped.

Orochimaru opened the base using some kind of jutsu and led them inside. This base seemed to be much smaller than the previous one, possibly only as large as the room she and Sasuke had previously sparred in. They walked directly into what she could assume was the main laboratory; candles were scattered around the room and vials and jars containing all sorts of animals and even some body parts were on every flat surface. A dried-up dismembered hand sat on a table with a ring on the pinky, an Akatsuki ring. She remembered Itachi wearing a similar one.

Orochimaru sat down in a heavy chair near the table. "Sasuke-kun, you know where everything is, and you know my rules. You're responsible for everything our pretty little red-headed friend does, so make sure she behaves, or you'll be punished as well. Give her the tour."

Sasuke nodded and started to walk away with Namiko following closely before Orochimaru added, "I know it's been a while since we've been here, but I must remind you that we're limited on space and supplies. So Namiko-chan will not only be sharing a room with you but a bed as well."

Sasuke paused in his step but made no other visible reaction that anyone could see. Namiko, however, whirled around to face the snake sannin. "What?! There are no extra blankets for me to sleep on the floor or something?"

Kabuto smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "Afraid not. Like Orochimaru-sama said, we haven't been to this base in quite a long time and there's only been three of us before at this base, so you kind of threw a wrench into the mix."

Namiko pressed her lips together nervously. "That…makes sense. I apologize for my intrusion on your routine." She bowed before turning back to Sasuke and walking up beside him, signaling he could continue.

Orochimaru's smirk spread into a malicious grin as they left the room and wandered down the hallway. "She's quite an interesting little specimen, a meek mouse with the heart of a lion. Fake respect and manners, with a spitfire personality hiding underneath it all."

Naruto was walking home from his usual post-mission Ichiraku when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. "Naruto-kun!"

Only one person called him that and he froze. He liked Hinata, but he didn't want to have to explain that he came home empty-handed without her teammate and best friend. He knew all too well how it felt to lose a teammate.

He turned toward her and tried to put on his best smile, hoping to fool the Hyuuga. "Hey Hinata…" He hesitated as his smile quickly fell. "Look, uh, can we talk over here?" He gestured to one of the park benches nearby.

Hinata timidly followed him as they both sat down on the bench. Before she could open her mouth, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out, "I'm so sorry, Hinata! I failed to bring Namiko home."

"It's okay. Sakura already told me what happened. Namiko made a choice, and you had nothing to do with it! Please don't beat yourself up, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto opened his eyes to see Hinata looking at him with a soft smile on her face. "Hinata? You're not upset?"

She gently shook her head. "No, not upset. Just confused, but I'm sure Namiko will explain everything when she's home again."

"You have an awful lot of faith in my sister."

"She's been my teammate for nearly four years. That's longer than you've been gone with Jiraiya-sama. She's changed over the last two years, but I still trust her with my life." Hinata shrugged gently and stood. "If I can trust her with my life, I need to trust her with her life too."

"That's…poetic." Naruto breathed out a chuckle. "But it makes sense I guess too." He noticed her start to move away. "Are you heading home?"

She nodded slowly. "Mm-hm, it's getting dark and otou-sama wants me home before then."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Can I walk you home then?" He realized what he was asking and started stuttering and blushing, "Not that I think you're weak or anything! I just wanted to spend time with you for a bit and you can tell me what's all happened while I was gone."

'He wants to walk me home?! Breathe, Hinata, breathe. You will not pass out on him!' Hinata's face flushed bright red and she prayed Naruto couldn't see it due to the quickly setting sun. She pressed her fingers together nervously and smiled sweetly. "S-sure, Naruto-kun. I'd like that."

The two started to stroll in the direction of the Hyuuga Compound leisurely. Naruto glanced over to the shy girl next to him. "So, question: that mission that you and Namiko got sent on when she went after Sasuke, what kind of mission was it?"

Hinata tripped slightly but Naruto reached out a hand to steady her. She blushed at his light touch but was dreading telling him about the mission. "We were on a scouting mission of sorts. That's all."

"Why'd baa-chan just send kunoichi though? If it was scouting, why didn't Kiba go with you instead of Ino?"

"Well, we were trying to get information out of someone, so we needed Ino's help."

"Oh okay, that makes sense." Naruto seemed to accept Hinata's answer, then thought about it some more. "So what was Namiko's role then?"

Hinata paled. "Well, uh…she was…bait…"

Naruto's full attention snapped to her. "Bait?! What kind of bait? And why her?"

Hinata sighed; she was hoping to not be the one to tell Naruto this. "Because she was the most 'exotic' looking and also could escape easily thanks to Flying Raijin—"

"…why do her looks matter?" questioned Naruto.

"Let me start from the beginning," began Hinata as she blew out a nervous breath, "we were sent to discover how and when a man was buying women and girls to prostitute out." Hinata pressed her fingers together and bit her lip nervously. "Namiko acted as bait since she's pretty and stands out so much, but I promise, no one ever touched her in a bad way. I kept my Byakugan on her the entire time to ensure her safety."

"I'm gonna kill baa-chan!" growled Naruto. He took a breath to calm himself before smiling softly at Hinata. "Thank you for keeping my sister safe. I know she's your teammate, but she's the only family I have."

Hinata returned his smile. "She's like another sister to me as well. Sometimes I feel closer to Namiko than I do Hanabi."

"Your family is kind of messed up, huh?"

Hinata's eyes were downcast, and she hesitated before answering quietly, "Yes, I wish I was able to change the way my father and the elders see and do everything. There's so much room for improvement."

"I meant what I told Neji during the Chuunin Exam finals," Naruto said as they walked up to the compound gate, "when I become Hokage, I will change the way of the Hyuuga clan."

A smile spread over Hinata's face as she stopped in front of the entrance. "I fully believe you will and you'll have my full support." She blushed lightly as she faced him. "I need to go inside, but I'll see you later, right?"

Naruto grinned widely. "Of course! Maybe you can hang out and join me for ramen sometime?"

Hinata's eyes went wide. 'Is Naruto-kun asking me out? No, he wouldn't do that, he probably just means as a friend. It's still nice of him, though.' Hinata nodded once before turning and walking inside the compound walls.

Naruto let out a deep breath and started toward his apartment. No sooner did he turn to walk the other way, he heard a deep voice call out to him. "Uzumaki."

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Hinata's father standing with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. He turned to face the older man and gave a small bow. "Hyuuga-san? Is everything alright? Can I do something for you?"

Hiashi glared at the blond. "You can stay away from my eldest daughter."

Naruto felt as if he'd been slapped in the face. "What are you talking about?"

"You are a danger not only to my daughter but to the whole village," said Hiashi, his voice filled with venom. "I know what you and your sister are. The village elders shouldn't even allow you to be roaming about the village. I can't do anything to keep your sister away because she and Hinata are teammates, but I can keep you from Hinata."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. It was taking everything in him to not lash out at the Hyuuga head. He kept his voice calm and even. "How do you plan on that?"

"From now on, you are not allowed to be within fifty meters of the Hyuuga compound. If you see Hinata outside of these walls, you are not to speak to her."

"Fine, I'll stay away from the compound because it's Hyuuga property, but if Hinata speaks to me, I refuse to ignore her. That's not who I am. I don't ignore my friends." Naruto breathed out forcefully, trying to stay calm. "If that's all you have, I'll be going." With that, Naruto turned on his heel and walked away.

He was used to the hate that came with being a jinchuriki, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Hinata was a friend, a good friend. He liked being around her, but he also didn't want to cause her any problems. So, he'd follow Hiashi's rules even if he didn't like them.

Hiashi went back within the compound's walls and saw his eldest daughter staring at him. Hinata's brow was furrowed and her lips pressed together in a firm line. "Otou-sama, what did you just talk to Naruto about?"

"That is none of your concern," stated Hiashi with a sense of finality in his voice. "I do ask that you keep your distance from the boy."

Hinata looked at him in confusion. "Why? Naruto is a good friend!"

"Because he's dangerous." Hiashi started to walk past her. "He shouldn't be in the village, and neither should that teammate of yours. It's a good thing she's gone at the moment. Maybe it would be better if she stayed with the Uchiha kid and far away from here." He walked past her and toward the main house. "Goodnight Hinata."

Hinata didn't have time to retort her father's rude comments. 'What is wrong with him? Naruto-kun has never hurt anyone on purpose! He's a wonderful person, and so is Namiko. She's saved my life many times over during missions.' She sighed heavily as she started the trek back to her bedroom. 'Namiko, come home quickly. I think Naruto needs you now more than ever.'

"Orochimaru and Kabuto's rooms are at the very end of the hallway. The kitchen is the door on the left, and this one," Sasuke said as he opened the door across from the kitchen, "is where we'll be staying."

The room was smaller than the one at the Kusa base, with the same bare-bone furnishings of an unmade wood bed and a desk. There was still a door leading to a small, simple bathroom in the corner of the room. "I find it interesting that in such a small base, every bedroom still has its own bathroom."

Sasuke shrugged as he took his sword and laid it across the desk before lighting a candle. "He likes privacy and I'm thankful for it."

Namiko nodded. "Where do you train? There's not enough room inside the base at all."

"Outside. The borders to Oto are pretty well guarded, so as long as you're with me, you'll be safe. And speaking of—"

"So I can actually go outside here?" she interrupted.

Sasuke glared at her. "Yes, and don't try to change the—"

Namiko cut him off again as she brushed her hand along some dust near the bed's headboard. "I can go anywhere outside as long as you're with me?"

"Same rules as before: anywhere I go, you go. Now stop trying to keep us from talking about why the hell you're here!" he bellowed. Thankfully the walls seemed to be thick wood here, and she could sense they were far enough from the others that Sasuke shouldn't have been overheard.

Namiko suddenly found the dust pile she was gathering very interesting and ignored him. Sasuke took a step toward her, almost growling her name, "Namiko…we need to talk."

She kept her eyes focused on the dust. "No, we don't."

"Yes, we do."

Her eyes finally rose to meet his in defiance, only to meet his Sharingan head-on. She should've been paying more attention to his chakra to see the fluctuation that he had activated his dojutsu, but it was such a minor fluctuation, that she must've missed it.

Back again at the Uchiha pond.

"You're playing dirty," she said as she shot him a glare as she flopped into the grass facing him, his legs folded neatly to the side as she picked a blade of grass to play with.

"So were you by avoiding the question." He sat cross-legged on the grass across from her but within arm's reach. "Now, answer me: why did you come back?"

"I told Orochimaru. You were there."

"I know that's not the real reason. You heard what I told Naruto. I would give my body over to Orochimaru as long as it meant I'd get my revenge, and do you really think he'll let you stick around to help? He'll kill you the second he takes me over! Surely you're smart enough to realize that."

"I'm smart enough to know you were lying."

Sasuke paused. "What?"

Namiko leaned back on her hands casually. "You were lying. You and I had just talked about that very thing, and you told me you had zero intention of letting Orochimaru have your body."

"Look, it's not a lie…it's still a possibility if I don't time things right."

Namiko shook her head as she leaned forward, picking up another blade of grass to play with. "No, it's not a possibility. Because I'm not going to let it happen. You have me here now to help you."

"What if I don't want or accept your help?"

"Then too freaking bad because you're getting my help anyways. I don't want safe if you can't have it too!" She met his gaze with fierce determination, then after a moment, glanced down at the grass in her hands somberly. "I pushed you away after your fight with Naruto. I could've stopped you. But I chose to be stubborn and spiteful that you hurt Naruto and I just wanted you gone.

"I was hateful. I could've kept so much grief from happening if I would've stopped you. Naruto's struggles to bring you home. Whatever the hell Orochimaru and Kabuto put you through. Even stopping my own grief at losing my brother and you at nearly the same time…"

Sasuke expression softened slightly as he reached out and put his hand over hers. "Namiko, there's nothing you could've done. I would've left Konoha anyway somehow. The curse seal basically forced me to follow after Orochimaru. Despite being a jinchuriki, you're not all-powerful."

She stared at his hand on hers. "I know that…I just wish I had been able to stop some of the suffering everyone went through."

"I was the source of the suffering, so all of this is technically my fault," he said as he removed his hand from hers.

Namiko let out a bittersweet laugh. "Aren't we quite the pair? We're playing 'Let's see who can have the biggest pity party'." She sighed. "So what is our plan from here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how long do you think you have before you make your move against Orochimaru? It's the end of May now, which means you have less than six months before he'll have to take on another body. I don't see him using someone else to give you another three years, so you'll have to move sometime soon."

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair. "I'm going to wait until the very last second that I can. Probably sometime in October."

"I don't like you cutting it that close." Namiko bit her lip nervously as she played with another blade of grass.

"I can understand that and you've only been with us for a week, so you haven't seen the gradual decline in Orochimaru's health. He's been steadily getting weaker over the last year. From what little information I've got from Kabuto, this is how it is. The last year is normally a steady decline in his strength and overall health."

"I guess this means we won't be looking for Itachi until around October." Namiko let out a heavy sigh. "Which means I won't see Naruto again until we're sixteen."

"You didn't have to come back, you know. I wanted you back inside Konoha's walls where you'd be safe, not out here with me," grumbled Sasuke.

"I'm here now and I'm not leaving."

"Why do you have to be so ridiculously stubborn?!" snapped Sasuke.

Namiko smirked. "If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black."

"I'm serious. You should've just gone home. You're only going to get in the way of my mission, my revenge."

Namiko's mouth dropped open before closing it and clenching her jaw in anger. She stood and stomped a couple of meters away before turning to face Sasuke, her face flushed with anger. "You are so selfish! You think of absolutely no one but yourself. Everything is all about you, your ability, your power, your revenge…all it's done is make you self-centered and isolated. You're all alone and it's no one's fault but your own. You chose to separate yourself from everyone who actually gives a damn about you! From everyone who cares about you! Like I care about you!"

Sasuke stood and took a few large steps toward her. "You're not the only person who does things for the people they care about. After Itachi attacked Naruto, it made me realize that to keep you and Naruto safe, I have no choice but to kill Itachi. It's not purely about revenge anymore. I'm not going to let him kill another person I care about."

"Person you care about?" All the anger that Namiko had vanished in an instant. She smiled at him and let out a laugh of disbelief. "All this time you've always acted as if your heart was pure ice but turns out that's only the outside. I guess your fire chakra must be melting it, revealing your real heart underneath."

Sasuke turned away as he gave a scoffing laugh. "You're too emotional and sappy."

"You shouldn't keep trying to ignore your emotions. Emotions aren't the enemy; emotions give you freedom," she said with a shrug.

"You sound like a fortune cookie."

Namiko rolled her eyes. "Now who is the one not wanting to talk about things?" She failed to stifle an audible yawn, hiding it behind her hand.

"Sounds like the day is finally catching up with you." Sasuke dispersed the genjutsu and walked out of the bedroom, returning a moment later with clean bedding.

"Wait, I thought there wasn't extra bedding," said Namiko as she raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Sasuke put the bottom sheet on and reached for a pillowcase and pillow, tossing both at her. "Technically there isn't. There's enough clean bedding for each bed, that's it. Orochimaru tends to send one of his servants to clean things after we leave a base and everything that's been washed gets put in a closet for the next time. That way the next time we show up at a random base, the bedding and towels are always clean."

"That's smart," she said as she put on the pillowcase. She threw the pillow on the bed and reached to spread the blanket across. "So…um…how are we doing this?"

"Don't worry, we'll just keep to our sides of the bed. I think we can both be mature about sharing a bed."

"I'm not worried you'll make a move," she stated quietly, looking anywhere but at him.

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow questioningly. "You're not worried I'd make a move? Because you sound hesitant."

"Not at all!" she vehemently denied, though it sounded a bit forced. "Besides, when we were genin, everyone was kind of under the assumption that you may have been gay…" said Namiko with a smirk on her face, teasing him.

Sasuke's face snapped to hers. "What?"

"You never looked at any girls in Konoha…" Namiko shrugged as she leaned against the wall near the bathroom door.

'Not true, but she doesn't know that.' He hesitated for a moment before retorting, "Would you if you were me? I had the Yamanaka girl and Sakura stalking me non-stop." Sasuke rolled his eyes at the memory. "Crazy fan girls…"

"That's a stupid answer…"

"Hn?"

"You heard me. I thought there was a chance you could have been gay when we were younger. You did kiss my brother after all," Namiko's smirk turned into a grin.

"That was not by choice and you know it. I am not gay."

"You ran off with Orochimaru."

"I am not gay…"

"He looks like a pedophile that preys on young boys…"

"I am not gay!"

"You've stayed with the pervert for nearly three years and literally offered him your body!"

Sasuke glared lightly at her. "Want me to prove to you that I'm not gay?"

Namiko scoffed. "I don't know how you could…"

Sasuke walked over to her and put a hand on either side of her head, effectively blocking her from escaping. A small smirk appeared on his face when he noticed a hint of anxiety in her eyes. "Want to bet on that?"

Namiko's voice was small and hesitant as she tried to put up a false bravado with him so close to her. "Yeah, I do want to bet on that."

With those words, Sasuke's lips crashed down onto her own. Namiko's eyes widened in shock and then drifted closed as she began to kiss him back. Sasuke took her returning the kiss as a sign to keep going and he pulled her close as he deepened the kiss. He moved one hand to grip her hip tightly while the other was on the side of her neck, surprisingly gentle.

Namiko wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck and threaded her fingers through the back of his hair. She parted her lips slightly as Sasuke briefly ran his tongue along her lower lip but all too soon he pulled back.

As they pulled apart, Namiko looked deep into Sasuke's charcoal eyes. "Okay…you are definitely not gay," she said as she leaned against the wall and tried to regulate her breathing.

"I told you so," Sasuke said with a smirk of satisfaction on the outside, but on the inside his mind was racing, 'What the hell did I just do? Why did I act so impulsive? I mean, I liked her when we were kids, but that was just a stupid childhood crush, right? Come on, Sasuke, stop acting like Sakura.' He imperceptibly shook the thoughts from his head as he turned away from her.

Namiko stood still pressed against the wall in shock, 'Did the emotionless Uchiha Sasuke really just kiss me? Did I really just kiss him back? It's not like I like him…right? I mean, he's good-looking, but he's also an asshole. But protective over me. Maybe he is letting his emotions through finally,' she internally groaned as she shook her head, 'Why do I feel like that kiss just changed everything between us?'

Sasuke cleared his throat, "I'm going to sleep." With his declaration, he climbed into the bed, facing away from her as he lay on top of the blanket.

"Yeah…I guess I should too." She sat on her side of the bed, hesitating before slipping off her sandals and lying under the blanket facing away from Sasuke. 'I don't think I'll be able to sleep any time soon after that.'

"Goodnight, Namiko."

She touched her lips absent-mindedly. "Goodnight, Sasuke…"

A/N: We have the kiss finally! But how will they both act in the morning? Plus, Hinata and Naruto dealing with judgment and spite from Hiashi. (Fun Fact: the kiss scene was actually the very first thing I wrote down in this story…almost 10 years ago!)

Thank you all for hanging in there with the delay. I was super busy and then I ended up getting very sick and had a fever for several days. I'm back and shouldn't have any more problems from here on. Please leave a comment or review if you can, they mean so much to me and I love hearing your thoughts!

-Eriisu