Red Roses, Black Feathers, and Bleeding Hearts

Author: Ebraheart

Warning(s): None really.
Pairing (s): Developing Naruto X Sasuke
Threesome later on.

Pleasant Differences.

Naruto pushed away from his desk and leaned haphazardly on his chair. Next to him, Sakura was busy starring at Sasuke, who was blankly starring forward. Class had started nearly an hour ago, but no one seemed to be very awake yet. Iruka-Sensei attempted to teach but whenever he looked up from his position at the front of the class he would always catch a few of the students being less than attentive. Sighing, he continued nonetheless.

Sasuke briefly looked out the window.

The yard was still and empty since most of the other students were in class or training. He could faintly hear cicadas and grasshoppers making their usual noises. The sun moved slowly and the shadow under the tree with the swing moved ever so slightly in the few minutes that Sasuke had paused to watch it. He briefly wondered why there was a swing there at all…but then again, he wasn't the type that was actually going to use the thing anyway so it didn't matter. He could remember though the times he had seen Naruto sitting there looking lonely and glaring at other people…

Turning back to the lesson, Sasuke once again focused his attention ahead of himself and continued to ignore Sakura who hadn't stopped watching him since they got into class.

!

After their first class, teams would often split up and find their Sensei. Sasuke walked out of the classroom with Sakura almost on his heel. He stopped briefly, checking to see if Naruto was coming, and kept walking when he saw the blond following behind Sakura.

They walked down the hallway, various other teams walking along nearby.

Ino caught up and squeezed herself between Sasuke and Sakura, "Hey, that was a little dull, ne?"

Sakura glared at her rival. The light-blond and baby blue eyed girl only smirked back, "What's wrong Sakura?"

Sakura's eye twitched but she only smiled pleasantly, "Nothing. I agree it was pretty boring but I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will give us something cool to do…"

Ino nodded but still didn't leave, instead she kept walking by Sasuke, "I suppose, after all, it won't be that exciting since were still Genin-level ninjas…besides, we're still in training…"

Sakura and Ino continued to talk but Sasuke finally realized that it was a little too quiet. Turning to look over his shoulder he saw only Shikamaru lazily following behind and complaining to a bored looking Kiba. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, Sasuke glanced at Sakura and Ino who were in the process of trying to out-talk each other. Everything was a competition with those two.

Mildly relieved at being left to himself, he continued walking. Naruto would probably show up later…

Naruto was walking in the opposite direction following not too closely behind Temari and Kankuro. He wasn't worried about them noticing he was there since the hall was a pretty public place and they didn't seem to care that he was there anyway. Naruto stopped following when they reached a stairway and went up. The blond looked curiously after them but only put his hands behind his head and turned back the way he had come. He almost bumped right into someone. He jumped back a few feet and clutched at his heart.

Breathing hard, he tried not to glare too hard but couldn't help it. Kakashi laughed and leaned on his hip as he looked at Naruto, "Didn't I tell you to meet me outside after class?"

Naruto growled under his breath, "That wasn't fair sensei, I was just looking around…"

Kakashi inclined his head slightly towards the stairway, "Were you now?"

Naruto made the mistake of glancing nervously away and Kakashi-sensei only laughed more, "Well, okay. Look around later then. I have something for you to do for me today…"

!

Sasuke

It was a lot like yesterday.

I was waiting for Naruto and Sensei to show up and had no one for company except Sakura who had practically doubled her efforts to talk to me since I made the mistake of answering a question Ino had asked. I think that Sakura had overlooked the fact that I had only answered because it was an intelligent question about something that had been said to us in class. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Sakura but she often asked me things that I thought were of no real importance…

Like what my favorite color was and what I liked to do on Saturdays…

It didn't really matter what I did but she insisted on asking anyway. I never bothered to listen anymore…

I look up when Sakura stops chattering away. Kakashi-Sensei was walking towards us, book in hand as usual and Naruto walked beside him looking defeated and hands behind his head.

I stood when they go closer and Sakura hopped up to meet them, "Sensei, you're LATE!"

Kakashi-Sensei apologetically scratched his head and smiled, "I was looking for a fox…"

Sakura took a minute to consider this but only shrugged and dismissed it, "You're always late…and you always have an excuse!"

Naruto was watching her, but glanced over her shoulder to look at me. Making a bored face he rolled his eyes and smiled at me. I shrugged a shoulder and smiled back slightly.

"Well…" Kakashi-Sensei paused, glancing at Naruto then to me, but then moved to stand where we could all see him clearly and vise versa.

We patiently waited for him to continue.

He glanced at us and resumed, "You all know about wandering cats, don't you?"

I said nothing but Naruto looked visibly confused and Sakura frowned a little.

"Well, today, I want you guys to find me a cat…"

We must have looked either disbelieving or confused because Sensei laughed and ran a hand thru his hair, "C'mon, don't look at me like that…This is actually a lot harder than it sounds!"

We all just starred at him.

He shrugged, "Jeez, you guys are dead today. Maybe this exercise will wake you up a bit…" he thoughtfully rubbed his chin, "…well, here are a few hints…Firstly, this cat an only be found where everything grows freely, but there are many rules…"

Sakura made a face, "That's not very clear…"

Kakashi winked, "It's not supposed to be…Second, he lives with a sky that has no moon and no sun…"

Naruto's stomach growled and interrupted Sensei's next clue. He looked at us sheepishly, "Skipped breakfast…"

Sensei cleared his throat and continued, "And third, he's very small and is hard to spot but he can change colors depending on his mood…"

We all starred at each other…

Okay…

Kakashi-Sensei pulled out his book and flipped it open casually, "Have fun…and report to me sometime tomorrow…"

Then, as usual, he just walked away.

The silence that followed Sensei's departure was only broken by Naruto's grumbling stomach. Sakura gave him a funny look and he blushed. I rolled my eyes and turned way to make my way towards the village. If Naruto was hungry than it was better to get food into him now instead of later when he was just going to moan about it anyway…

Sakura and Naruto followed soon after.

Sakura abandoned Naruto to catch up to me, "Where are we going? Do you already know where to look, Sasuke-Kun?"

I glanced at her but say nothing.

Naruto popped up on my other side, "What are you guys whispering about up here?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, "None of your business!"

Naruto loudly retorted, "If you can tell Sasuke then you can tell me!"

Sakura flipped her hair over her shoulder, "You wouldn't understand anyway so what's the point of wasting time to explain to you?"

They went on and on and I was just about ready to explode when we finally reached the village and Naruto ran ahead, right towards his favorite Ramen place…

Naruto

I was practically finished my fifth bowl by the time Sasuke and Sakura showed up. Sasuke glanced at the bowl in front of me and raised an eyebrow before plopping down into the stool next to mine.

I caught the look and smirked. I was just catching up on the breakfast I missed out on. Sakura was gaping at the steadily rising heap of bowls sitting in front of me. I ignored her and polished off my sixth. I considered eating another bowl but Sasuke was looking a little queasy. He eyed me and made a very mild grimace. Laughing I paid for what I already ate and bounced up, "Okay, let's go!" and ran further away down the street.

Sasuke stood and Sakura followed.

When they reached me, Sakura scowled at me, "What the hell where you laughing about a minute ago? I saw that weird look you gave Sasuke-Kun!"

I put my hands behind my head, "Nothing…" and grinned impertinently.

She was about to say something more, but Sasuke turned to her. Her next insult died on her lips when he sighed. She smiled uneasily and Sasuke glanced at me. I shrugged and he looked around, "Well, if we're going to look, we should probably try to puzzle out the clues Sensei gave us…"

Sakura instantly brightened up, "Hai! Sounds like a plan to me!"

I made a face at her turned back. She really was annoying…and at one point I had actually really liked her. Well, it wasn't that she was a terrible person or anything but I guess I just stopped looking at her the way I used to. I first saw Sasuke in a different light when I had actually had an argument with Sakura about 'why the hell Uchida was so cool' and she had just drowned me in a bunch of reasoning. To say the least, I kinda lost that argument. But it was probably because I didn't know as much about Sasuke. But then again, only girls spent time trying to know everything there was to know about their crushes…or maybe I was just being stereotypical…

Frustrated, I suddenly yelled. Several birds nearby flew away. Not noticing the odd looks both Sakura and Sasuke were giving me, I kicked a pebble and scowled when it didn't go very far.

The point was that after hearing about why exactly she thought made him so cool…I ended up thinking the same way…kinda ironic, I think. Feeling better, I shrugged and smiled sheepishly at the strange looks I received from both Sakura and Sasuke. I have to say though that Sasuke's slightly agape mouth makes more of a statement and is more effective than Sakura's look of slack jawed amazement complete with raised eyebrows.

I any case, I tried to break the little moment of weirdness by talking. "How about we each take a clue and split up…"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, "Can't we all just stay together…?"

I rolled my eyes and covered it up by laughing loudly, "What? Are you joking? If I stay with Sasuke all day, we'll never find the stupid cat!"

As usual, Sakura took the bait, "What!"

I cringed and flinched when she started yelling about my being a loser who needs Sasuke to find the cat for me 'cause I'm so damn dumb in the first place.

Something passed thru Sasuke's eyes and he smiled very slightly, "It's better if we split up…there are three clues…and three of us…why not?"

And as suddenly as it had started, Sakura's tirade was over. She visibly deflated and looked at Sasuke with slightly mournful eyes.

I couldn't help but snicker at the look on her face. I mean, melodramatic much? I grinned from ear to ear when I realized that the awkward moment was over and done with. I was happy that I wasn't the center of uncomfortable attention anymore and decided to let Sasuke win Sakura over with my idea. If I butt in she wasn't going to listen anyway. As predicted, however, she put up a little resistance when Sasuke showed signs of agreeing with me, "But three heads are better than one…and we can get more done as a group…and besides, Naruto's ideas are never any good anyway…"

I glanced at her dispassionately and "Hmph-ed" before turning my back to her.

I knew she just wanted to stay around Sasuke longer but I was kinda getting sick of her and even if we stayed together, I intended to go off on my own anyway. I gazed at the sky, briefly noted the position of the sun, and turned my attention back towards the other two.

Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets, "I disagree, you and Naruto fight to much…I can't concentrate…it's better if we split up…"

Sakura sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat when Sasuke turned away from her and glanced at me.

I shrugged, "It's all good with me"

Sakura glared at me and I shrank away from her. Yikes…

We ended up splitting up. Sakura got the clue about how it can change colors depending on its mood. Sasuke got the clue about when he comes out when there is no moon and no sun in the sky. That left me the clue about how it lived in a placed where everything grows freely but there are many rules.

I walked thru the street and looked around. I wasn't really looking yet but it didn't worry me. Slumping down against a fence, I waited.

A few minutes later, Sasuke rounded the corner and walked towards me. We eyed each other and for some odd reason I found myself laughing. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in silent question but I only shook my head and didn't answer.

I ran a hand thru my messy hair and pushed off from my slouching position, "So, where do we start?"

Sasuke shrugged and said nothing.

I scowled at him, "Well, your pretty damn useful…"

Again, Sasuke shrugged.

Frowning but not saying anything, I shrugged and decided to just look around the village for a bit…I was still trying to figure out what all those blank stares and wordless shrugs Sasuke kept giving me meant…

"Baka…we've been here before…"Sasuke's voice echoed to me for probably the fifth time in five minutes.

Aggravated, I grabbed his milkshake, "Urusai! You're not helping me here!" and guzzled down the rest.

Sasuke was seated in his usual position that caused him to be looking at me over his fingers. His elbows were one the table and his dark eyes were focused on me. Catching him starring, I blanked out.

I watched his dark eyes pass over me and come back to rest on my face. I blush crept into my cheeks without my noticing and I suddenly snapped out of it, "WHAT!"

Sasuke smirked, "Nothing"

"What do you mean nothing? Have I grown another head or something?"

Again, he just smirked and looked away, eyes settling somewhere other than on me. I didn't know whether or not feel relived that his immediate attention wasn't on me anymore…or say something…anything…that would bring his attention back to me…

Sasuke

The sun was a lot lower in the sky then it was when we first started. I judged that it must be close to maybe seven o'clock. Looking back towards Naruto, I caught him with the strangest expression on his face…

"Naruto?"

He jumped, looked at me and then shivered, making a face.

"Naru…to?"

His blue eyes were wide and he was starring at me as though he had never seen me before. The longer we starred at each other, the stronger the blush on his cheeks grew…A second later, he shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts and muttered something about crazy girls with pink hair but continued to blush furiously.

"Naruto…what are you thinking about?"

He sat up a little but then slouched into his chair, causing it to lean far back and balance on itself a little precariously, "I was thinking about…Sakura…"

I shrugged, "What about her?"

Naruto's blue eyes settled on me but it was almost as though he saw thru me, "Why do you like me and not her…?"

It sounded like he was asking himself the question. I raised my head to take a better look at him, "What's with the contemplative questions all of a sudden?" It was kind of unlike Naruto to care about all the little things and he usually hated to be bothered with little 'boring' details…

Naruto's blue eyes softened and he glanced towards the street and away from me, "I was curious, you know? Because Sakura-Chan has always liked you and she would do anything for you if you asked her. She's pretty enough, I guess, and lots of people like her…she's a pretty good person…but I'm completely different. Sometimes I really get bratty when I'm mad and screw up in the little things…everyone thinks that I'm just trouble and will never really become a ninja…much less Hokage…and you still picked me over her…and I'm a boy…if anyone found out we were together…It almost doesn't make sense…"

Naruto

I turned back to look at Sasuke but and he was smiling slightly. It was a smile that said he knew something you didn't. I realized that I was looking too much into this and sat up suddenly and tried to change the subject, "Hey! I get it! Somewhere where plants grow freely but there are a lot of rules…it must mean the forest!"

Sasuke got up too, "About time you figured it out…"

I glared up at him and snapped, "Urusai! You could've helped you know? What's the point of having the great Uchida Sasuke around if all he does is nag…?"

Sasuke reached forward and messed up my hair, "I didn't nag…I stated the truth…", turning away, he paused for me to catch up when he reached the street, "Besides, you need to learn to puzzle things out on your own. The answer to some things are sometimes right under your nose…but you have to look first..."

I starred at him and laughed, "You'll talk to me but you won't talk to Sakura? I must really be special…" and still laughing, I ran down the street.

Pausing to look over my shoulder, I saw Sasuke following behind and kept running…

Sakura

She had watched them for the better part of the afternoon.

Watched Sasuke following a wandering Naruto around all of Leaf Village.

They talked a lot together. Like real friends did.

Her heart had frozen when she realized that half the time Sasuke was the one that seemed to start the conversations. He wouldn't even look at her when she spoke to him…

'But he does smile…

And he does talk…

And he isn't cold at all…'

But he didn't do any of these things for her…

Perched on a the ledge of a roof, she felt the tears rising to her eyes without her wanting them to, sliding down her cheeks and down her chin. She was silent, not wanting to betray her presence, and made no attempt to wipe at the tears that fell and no attempt to block out the sound of Naruto's laughter and Sasuke's quiet responses. She watched till they disappeared down the street and sat back on her haunches.

She shook her head in total disbelief…

What did Naruto have that she didn't?

Vowing to find out what herself, she rose from her position and jumped off the roof, landing unnoticed by the people in the street. She glanced again at the place where Sasuke and Naruto had been sitting and sharing a milkshake before turning away abruptly and walking home.

She would find out…and she would make Sasuke like her…

Sasuke

I always thought that Naruto was a little crazy. In a good way, but still kind of crazy. I was proven right when we got into the forest. Naruto was practically bouncing off the trees. I debated whether or not to grab him and make him stop or let him be…but he solved it for me by coming to crash in front of me.

He was breathing hard, blue eyes sparkling and cheeks tinted pink from exertion. He was looking up at me because he had crouched down to rest a little. I reached out and touched his hair. Even before, I had always noticed Naruto. Even when he thought I wasn't looking…Blond hair and sky blue eyes are a bit hard to ignore.

However, what I remember most is the sight of him as a six-year-old boy. Blue eyes crying tears…clothes that were raged…blond hair that was full of leaves among other things because he spent his time hiding in the forest…and those same blue eyes would look at people, silently calling for help…for attention.

I had never been able to ignore those eyes. But, I feel ashamed when I look back. I was like all the others. Looking at him as though he was a demon and not a child. There was never any reason for me to shun him, but everyone else did and I followed the example. I often wonder how well Naruto remembers those times…if it still hurts him to think of them…and if he hates me at all for the way I treated him back then.

It was probably a fear that was slightly baseless but it haunted me. I never wanted Naruto to hate me. When we started going to school together, I slowly realized that he was just another normal kid, sort of. It was a long enough time ago, but I couldn't shake the suspicion that Naruto was still and would always avidly remember how I…and other people had mistreated him.

That was why, in part I think, that he is loud and obnoxious. Everyone noticed. They may not have wanted to but he was still there…laughing loudly, and causing trouble. I think that Naruto's loud, explosive nature was a kind of barrier to block out everything that might be prone to hurt him but at the same time it makes sure that no one ever forgets he's there. I knew this because whenever we are together the façade half drops. Naruto really is someone who laughs and smiles a lot...but so many times, he forces it…and he is a lot more intelligent then people give him credit for. He notices things that I never do and talks to me with a depth that still surprises me.

It shouldn't…but it does…

Naruto shifts under my hand and I pull away. Blue eyes look up at me questioningly and I can't help but avert my eyes and blush lightly.
Naruto stands up next to me and leans into me, "What?"

I just shake my head and look away, "Why did you ask me about why I liked you…?"

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head, "Oh, well that's just because I felt kinda insecure, you know what I mean? Like, if I were you I would have just taken Sakura…that is, when I still liked her…"

I look at him and he has his usual 'fox' face on a.k.a. the façade face. Eyes closed and a wide smile plastered to his face. I never know what he's thinking when he smiles like that. I kind of hate that he thinks that he isn't worth my attention…but I need him to understand that I have actually come to respect him and appreciate who he is…that I had somehow fallen in love with his personality…and that there was no one else that I could see fitting into the little niche that used to be a dark corner buried inside my heart.

But, as usual, I said nothing and just took his hand. He jumped, surprised, but wrapped his hand around mine. I hated that I couldn't openly express what I knew he needed to hear but it was hard for someone like me…I was glad that he could accept me the way I was and not try to change me. Even when he wanted me to say things I couldn't bring myself to say out loud…or be as affectionate as I could be…or tell him all the things he deserved to hear…

But…I am who I am…and I'm not sure if I'll ever change…

Yet, as we walked further into the forest, hand in hand, I got the impression that I was lucky. Lucky, because Kakashi-Sensei once told me that foxes do not trust people, but to have a fox's trust is a very precious thing…

I could easily agree…

!

Gaara

I was restless and wouldn't…couldn't rest. So, I left Kankuro and Temari sleeping and had gone out to get some air. It was odd how I felt more active during the night. I think it has something do to with the moon. I spend a lot of time looking at it. But it is not entirely it's beauty that captivates me, but more it's patterns. It shone brightly, imposing its presence in the night sky and could even be faintly seen during the day. It had a dark side and would even become entirely black some nights…I admired it.

Looking at it now made me calmer. Sitting on the roof was making me think too much and I decided to go look around in the woods. Standing, I made my way across to the far left side of the roof and looked out onto the sleeping village. There were many buildings, all painted in bright colors with wide windows out of which some still shone light. Not bothering to see how far down the ground was, I jumped off the edge and landed soundlessly, the sand breaking my fall easily.

The sand slowly disappeared back into the gourd and I glanced back towards the window that belonged to the room where my family was sleeping. Satisfied that no one had heard me, I walked slowly away…

The forest was quiet but not unusually so. It was night, and all things were resting. I walked between the trees and the bushes looking around but not really retaining any details. A mild wind whistled by and the white scarf around me fluttered and came back to drape itself over my shoulder. I stopped and turned around, glancing over my shoulder and behind. I felt as though there were people nearby. Interest peaked and I decided to go look.

I was only mildly surprised to see the boy called Naruto and Sasuke walking thru the woods. They probably still had a mission to accomplish. I noted that they were holding hands and walking peacefully with each other…despite not talking or showing any signs of noticing my presence. I focused my attention momentarily on Sasuke. He stopped and turned back, eyes scanning the trees and pausing over me before moving on. He hadn't seen me…but he had sensed me. He frowned but mentioned nothing to the blond. They resumed walking together and I silently followed.

They reached a cave. I watched the blonde peer in and turn to make a face at Sasuke. I found myself almost smiling at the look on the blonde's face. Sasuke seemed to have the same problem but only shrugged and motioned for Naruto to lead the way. I wanted to meet the blond and Sasuke properly on my own since I was now interested in both of them. Temari and Kankuro had told me that the blond had followed them after class but had been stopped from continuing when his sensei found him. They believed that he had been looking for me since he had made no move to speak to them. There was something captivating about the blonde…as well as unusual. Around him, Sasuke's energy seemed repressed. Not repressed, but maybe dulled. The darkness that I could feel from here was dormant…inactive. I think that it is because of Naruto. Something about the boy calms Sasuke.

I watched them walk in and disappear and stayed where I was for a moment wondering if I should follow. I was not afraid of meeting them, or to go in, but I was a little uneasy about what might happen if I talked to them…if I let my interest become something more. I highly doubted that was a real possibility, but it stayed at the back of my mind like a constant warning.

Deciding finally to forgo that warning, I walked out of the darkness of the trees and entered the small clearing where the cave mouth could clearly be seen.

Standing at the entrance to the cave, I peered in. There seemed to be something inside but I neither cared nor wanted to look but something told me to go. Drawn by the darkness and the fact that the other two had gone in, I stepped forwards and walked down, following my instinct and curiosity…

!

Sasuke

I had felt him since back when we were still in the forest. I thought that no one would be up at this hour, much less wandering the forest. I almost immediately felt that strange presence that let me know it was Gaara. I stopped and looked but I hadn't seen him. Deciding that Naruto didn't really need to know about the red head following us, I kept walking. It was funny. Because Naruto did have keen senses but when we were together, he just didn't try hard at all. It was almost as though he trusted me enough to think that he could let his guard down around me. I never asked him outright, but I think that was it…

While we were walking, I let Naruto know that a place where neither the sun nor the moon can shine, is a place that can't be reached by light or have a view of the sky. I decided to let Naruto figure out the rest, and he did…pretty fast, actually.

There is a cave where the mouth opens up and you can go straight down into it, but somewhere along it, it curves and the light can only reach so far. When I was younger, I remember that a lot of kids would play there. I didn't think there was anything special there, but it could stand to reason that an animal would have made a home from the abandoned cave.

Going down in now, I can also remember that I had been here too. Maybe not playing with the other kids, but simply exploring. It had smooth walls and even had plants growing all over the place. Naruto bounced away ahead of me and I paused again, just inside that mouth of the cave and looked back. I saw nothing but dark trees and even darker shadows but Gaara might as well have been standing there dressed all in white because I saw him as clearly as I would during the day. This time, I saw him and he didn't see me.

I watched him leave the shadow of the trees and stand where I could see him even better. Green eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head to the side and seemed to be considering something. Naruto called me and I left, following Naruto down into the half dark of the cave.

Gaara

I heard Naruto call Sasuke's name and hung back a little longer. Smirking, I realized that Sasuke must have been watching me. The blonde had to call to get his attention. Sasuke was perfectly aware of my being there. And it still looked like he hadn't told the blonde. I shrugged: that was fine with me. I was still going in after them anyway…

Naruto

I climbed down the walls and jumped to a ledge and stopped. Sasuke was standing near the entrance, barely inside, and starring at something outside.

I made a face, "Sasuke?"

He turned and looked down at me and nodded once before dropping down and catching up to me.

I scratched my head and looked up, towards the entrance, "What's up there?"

Sasuke seemed to ignore me and I pounced on him, "Don't ignore me!" My voice echoed all around the cave and Sasuke dropped me on my ass.

"Don't make so much noise, dobe!"

I glared up at him and he just sighed and helped me up. Dusting myself off, I strode away from him and ignored the small sound of protest I heard him make. I reached the edge of the ledge and glanced down before jumping off, not waiting for Sasuke but expecting him to follow anyway.

Reaching the bottom was the easy part. The walls were smooth the whole way down and they're enough ledges for us to make it down easily. The very bottom was a different story! It was covered in jagged rocks and blocked up by boulders. Plus it was beyond dark down here. Sasuke stood next to me, but soon nudged me and walked forward right into the dark.

I ran forwards and grabbed hold of his shirttail. We walked quietly in the dark for a long time and I was beginning to get a little bored.

"Sasuke-Chan, how much farther?"

He grunted and I could feel the annoyance practically radiating off him.

"Don't be like that…"

He sighed and still didn't answer.

Stopping, I turned around, "Do you hear that?"

Sasuke stopped briefly, "Not a thing…C'mon, were almost there…"

Trusting Sasuke's judgment, I turned back and we made our way deeper into the cave.

The cave slowly started to narrow out and we ended up in a place where there seem to be some kind of light reflecting off the walls and illuminating the small cave. Sasuke pried me off him and looked around, "This must be it…"

I looked around and childishly pouted, "I hope so…we've walked forever…"

Sasuke smiled slightly and shook his head, "…lazy…"

I pounced on him again, "Will you cut it out? I'm not LAZY! You're the one that let me go on a stupid wild goose chase around the village and didn't bother to stop me from nearly killing myself looking…"

Sasuke placed his hand against my mouth and I instinctively bit him. Scowling darkly, but not letting up, he pressed his hand harder against my mouth. I slowly relaxed and let go. Sasuke looked relived.

A faint sound of something crying out caught my attention and I froze.

He leaned close and whispered, "Did you hear that?"

I was about to loudly declare that I wasn't hearing anything when I heard the pitiful mewl again. I looked up at Sasuke with wide eyes. Nodding slowly, Sasuke let me go.

We split apart and made our way around the small cave and looked for the source of the sound. I found it first. It was a small mountain cat but not like the one's I have seen before. It was unusually small with white fur and blue stripes. It had small black eyes and a stumpy tail. It was fluffy and mewling.

Carefully picking it up, I cradled it against my chest and wandered over to Sasuke, "Found it!"

Sasuke walked towards me and peered at the bundle in my arms. Suddenly lively, the small kitten pounced on Sasuke and dug it's small claws into his blue shirt. Surprised but acting fast, Sasuke cupped his hands under it and fell into his arms.

I laughed, "Guess he likes you…"

Sasuke held it up the way someone who had a slight dislike of cats would; hands under its shoulders and holding it at an arms length away, "…she…"

I looked at Sasuke curiously, "She?"

He nodded and tried to hand it back to me. It mewled and dug its claws into Sasuke's wrist. He sweat-dropped and brought it back against his chest. I laughed at the look on his face; "Guess she's yours till we get her to Sensei…"

He glared at me, "What are you laughing at?"

I gulped and swallowed down the rest of my laughter, Nothing…honest…"

Sasuke glared at the kitten and then sighed and he walked back the way we had come. I watched his retreating back and smiled slightly to myself.

!

Sasuke

Naruto had burst into laughter soon after we had started on our way back up because I accidentally growled when the kitten crawled up and draped itself over my shoulder. I nearly dropped the damn thing…Annoyed at his laughter, I stepped up my pace and left him behind.

He would be fine, but I needed to get rid of this thing as soon as possible…I never really liked animals and having one as a personal responsibility was not my idea of fun. I would wait for Naruto outside.

I never even noticed when I stopped hearing Naruto's laughter.

!

Naruto

Sasuke left me behind but I didn't mind. I had sort of pissed him off…which also meant that I was going to have to apologize to him whenever I caught up to him. I stopped when a faint sound caught my attention.

Turning around, I looked around and nearly had a heart attack for the second time today…

That Red haired guy was standing right there…barely a foot away and starring at me intently.

Rubbing the spot right over my heart I started laughing soon after, "Hey, you shouldn't just pop up on people in the middle of the night!"

Gaara…or at least I was pretty sure his name was Gaara…tilted his head to the right and regarded me silently. I walked a little closer and looked at him more closely.

He starred back and asked me in a monotone, "Nani?"

Again, I smiled and just scratched my head in slight embarrassment, "Sorry, but I don't know many people with red hair and green eyes…you're Gaara, right?"

He didn't seem like he was going to answer but slowly nodded after a moment. I grinned at him and pointed to myself, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

He nodded as if he knew and his eyes roamed over me before coming back to rest on my face.

I found my eyes drawn to the tattoo above his left eye, "That's…"

He looked at me steadily, green eyes glittering.

I smiled, "I like that", and pointed to the tattoo.

He seemed surprised but said nothing.

I reached out and almost touched but he moved away. I grinned sheepishly, "Gomen! It's nice, though…"

He stood a ways away now but I hadn't really seen him move.

He was looking at me oddly, a slight frown on his face and reached up to touch the tattoo himself. His face twisted into an expression of bewilderment and he looked at me again.

A little worried by how withdrawn he was being, I took another step towards him, "Daijaubu desu ka?"

Gaara eyed me and then turned away.

"Matte!" I called after him. When he didn't stop, I ran after him, my hand closing around his wrist…

!

Gaara

The moment his hand closed around my wrist, I was frozen to the spot. Eyes wide, I turned to look at him. No one ever…no one has ever…

His blue eyes shone at me thru the dark and his hair was starkly visible despite what little light there was.

I starred at his hand and an odd feeling rose in me.

"Ano…I didn't mean to grab you but you just…" he trailed off.

Looking at him again, I realized that this was what Sasuke must feel.

Loosely shaking him off, I turned away, "I have to go…"

I felt different than I had a moment ago. His touch felt strange and made my skin prickle. It was something that I couldn't identify but it made me uneasy and uncomfortable. That's when I realized…his hand was warm.

He turned those blue eyes on me, "Demo…we hardly talked or anything…"

We I didn't answer, he reached out on wrapped his hand around my wrist again. Staying silent, I felt the warmth from his hand seeping slowly into my cold skin.

I shook my head, trying to clear my head, "Nani…?"

Naruto tugged me suddenly, leading me out of the cave and up to where Sasuke was probably waiting. Whether it was because I was caught by surprise or because I let him, I don't know…but he never once let go of my hand…

!

Sasuke

I cursed out loud for the fifth time and tugged the cat down from its perch on my shoulder. It mewled and curled into my chest, rubbing its head against me. Normally, any other person would have found this kawaii…I was just getting annoyed. I mean, didn't it ever give it a rest? I tried pulling it away from my body and it dug its claws into my shirt again.

Tugging lightly at her, I tried to talk her into letting go, "Hanase kudasai…K'so"

She mewled sadly and hung on.

"Oi…baka neko…"

I relented and settled her against myself again. After a while, she stopped moving altogether. I checked to see what was wrong and found that the fur ball had fallen asleep. Relieved, I sighed and slouched against a nearby tree. I think that she was about as clingy, if not clingier, than Naruto was capable of being…

"Oi! Sasuke!" I heard Naruto's voice and looked up.

The site of Naruto dragging Gaara along by his hand and smiling like a maniac greeted me. Gaara was looking a little annoyed but that was understandable. Naruto was kind of loud and obnoxious sometimes. They came to a stop in front of me and I smirked at Gaara before Naruto could notice.

Then Naruto smiled and held up the hand that joined with Gaara's, "Look who I found!"

I nodded and said nothing.

Naruto let Gaara go and put his hands behind his head, "He scared the shit outta me back there! You should've seen. This guy is totally silent!"

Gaara was looking at his wrist and glanced up when Naruto started babbling. We started at each other and I couldn't help but smirk at his expression. Being around Naruto takes some getting used to…

"Oh, and his name's Gaara! Have you two met?" Naruto looked from me to Gaara and back again.

I shook my head and said nothing. Gaara frowned but said nothing either.

Naruto laughed, "Well, never mind…let's go back!"

He ran ahead and I followed. Gaara paused and looked around the clearing. Naruto whipped around, "C'mon Gaara, let's go!"

Gaara turned back towards us and his eyes seemed to soften in the slightest bit and he nodded once and walked with us back to the village…

Naruto talked on and on about how Gaara had managed to scare him and that Gaara was going to have to teach him to do the same…

For his part, Gaara sometimes talked back and sometimes said nothing, but I think that he liked Naruto talking to him…

I was content to watch the cat and walk behind. Maybe Naruto's open nature was something that had caught Gaara's attention the same way it had caught mine. But despite how calm Gaara seemed to be, there was something very dangerous and unsettling about him. I would watch him closely…especially when he was around Naruto…

!#!

Ebra: I'll post in another day or two. Please tell me what you think.
Jane!