I don’t know why Sasuke was so angry with me. Was it because I fell asleep? No, that’s no reason to get angry. Well, we are talking about Sasuke here.

“Oh, I just don’t understand him,” I said falling into my pillows. I was now in my room telling Hinata what happened and hoping for some advice. “He’s so damn moody.”

“I think you should try talking to him again. Sasuke doesn’t strike me as the type to get angry over small things,” Hinata said. “I’m sure you two will be getting along well tomorrow.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” I said sighing. “Oh right. I was wondering, what exactly do you like about Naruto?”

“W-what? Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?” she said blushing.

“No reason, just want to know. Besides, I need something to distract my mind.”

“W-well,” she started, “he’s different. Naruto is always smiling and could bring out the best in people. He’s always there for people and never lets anyone bring him down. Whenever I see Naruto, I just feel all happy inside.”

“Do you love him?”

“I think so,” she said smiling, her eyes shining.

“Naruto is one lucky boy to have a girl like you love him,” I said smiling sadly. “I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I turned my back to her and pulled the covers over me. I didn’t want her to see the sad look that came over me. If she saw it, then I would have to tell her about Yuki, and god knows I don’t want to think about him. But it was too late, and I was soon taking another trip through my memories.

“P-please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry.”

I stared at the guy begging on the ground with merciless eyes. He began to whimper and started crawling away. I advanced on him. He tried running, but I kicked him out cold.

“Outstanding as always,” I heard someone clap. I turned slowly to see a guy leaning on a nearby tree. His brown hair was messy and hung over his green eyes. He moved from the tree and walked toward me. “I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from Naruko Mitzuki.”

“Who are you?” I asked. He stopped a few feet away and stuffed his hand in his pockets.

“My names Yuki and I’ve been watching you. You’re strong,” he stated as he surveyed my body. “And you don’t look half bad.”

“Whatever you're selling, I’m not buying,” I said.

“Well, I guess I should come right out and ask,” he said smiling. “How would you like to be my partner?”

“Do you want to die?” I asked threateningly.

“No, not like that. I mean, would you like to start a gang with me? No one would cross us and we’ll run Iwagakure.”

“Sorry buddy, but I have no interest in running Iwagakure,” I said.

“Even if it means pissing off your foster parents?” Ah, now that intrigued me. There’s nothing I would like more than to piss off those miserable excuse for parents.

“Keep going.”

“If you do join me and cause enough trouble, they’ll have to send you back to the orphanage. That is what you want isn’t it?” I looked at him suspiciously.

“Why do you know so much about me?” I asked.

“I have my sources. So, are you in?”

Something told me not to trust this guy, that there was something off about him. The fact that he knew such an intimate detail about me gave me the creeps. But I wanted so badly to go back to the orphanage and away from my horrible foster parents.

“Fine,” I said. He smiled and, at that time, it should have occurred to me how much of a bad decision that was.

I opened my eyes to the sun shining in my face. I rolled over to see the other girls still asleep. I got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. I headed to the showers, which were thankfully empty. I took a long shower until other girls began to enter. I changed and went back to my room for my shoes.

“You're up early,” Hinata said when I entered.

“I’m surprised myself, especially since it’s a weekend,” I said throwing on my converse. “I’m going out for a walk. See ya.”

I headed from the dorms and into the warm morning air. There were some kids walking around, but it was pretty much empty. I guess most people slept in.

“Hey, Naruko!” I turned to see Naruto making his way toward me, with Sasuke close behind him. I smiled at him, but he turned his eyes away from me.

“Hey Naruto. Why are you guys up so early?” I asked.

“Practice,” Naruto said with a grimace. “Mr. Hatake wants us to start practicing on the weekends now.”

“You mind if I watch?” I asked.

“Sure!” Naruto said grabbing my arm.

He pulled me toward the gym, talking excitedly. We entered the gym and I went to sit on the bleachers. Thankfully, there were no fan girls. I put my elbows on my knees and rested my chin in my hands. I watched them go over drills and practice their shots. I couldn’t help but watch Sasuke, and wonder what was up with him yesterday. Sometimes that guy was so easy to read, but then he wasn’t.

“Okay, that’s it for now,” Mr. Hatake called. The guys made their way to the locker rooms. I got up and stretched. “Well, how did you like practice?”

“It was okay. I never thought they would be that good with you coaching them,” I said.

“Is that so?” he said laughing lightly. He grabbed his things and headed out of the gym. I waited for Naruto and Sasuke to come back out.

“So, how was I?” Naruto asked running toward me.

“You were great,” I said high-fiving him. “With moves like that, I bet all the girls would be all over you.”

“I bet you would know,” I heard Sasuke say as he passed us.

“What did you say?” I called after him. He ignored me and kept walking. I hurried after him and turned him toward me. “What the hell is your problem? You’ve been acting weird since yesterday.”

“I told you not to touch me,” he said coldly.

“You're avoiding the question.”

“I don’t need to answer any questions from you. Now leave me alone.” He walked away and I balled my fist. This guy was seriously annoying me. I grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at his head.

“What the hell?!” he yelled turning his angry eyes on me.

“Stop ignoring me!” I yelled. “If there's something I did, then tell me, don’t ignore me. If you don’t want to be friends with me, then tell me straight.”

“That’s not it,” he said rubbing his sore head. He looked up at the people who stopped to listen and glared at them. They scurried away, looking back ever so often. He headed toward me and grabbed my arm. “Let’s go somewhere to talk.” 

“Fine,” I said letting him lead me away. I looked back in time to see Naruto give me thumbs up. He led me to the same garden I met him at my first night. He let go of my arm and sat on the bench.

“Who’s Yuki?” he asked. My body went cold at the mention of his name. Sasuke was watching me carefully so I quickly hid my nervousness.

“How do you know that name?” I asked.

“You talk in your sleep,” he said. I laughed lightly and ran my hands through my hair. Weird, I thought I tied it this morning. “So, who is he?”

“He’s no one,” I said taking a seat beside him. “Why do you care anyway?”

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“You avoided mine.”

“Is he your boyfriend back in Iwagakure?”

“No,” I said slowly. “He was my ex.”

“So you still have feelings for him?”

“No, I don’t. I hate him,” I said with as much hate as I could muster. “That was the biggest mistake of my life.”

“So, you don’t have a boyfriend?”

“No, I don’t,” I said laughing. “So, we good now?”

“Yeah, we are,” he said smiling.

“You smiled,” I said happily. “You should do that more often.” He frowned and looked away. I poked at his cheeks, saying, “Ah, come on and smile again.”

“No way,” he said swatting my hand away. “You really know how to annoy me.”

“And that’s why you love me,” I said patting his shoulder. I felt his shoulder stiffen. “Hey, you okay?”

He suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. My body refused to pull away as he put his arms around me.

“Sasuke…?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he said. “It’s your fault I have these strange feelings. Damn it, Naruko. Why do you make me feel this way?”

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t do anything. I could knock anyone out, fight more than one person at a time, but couldn’t pull away from Sasuke's hug. But I didn’t want to pull away. I liked the felling of being in his arms, of hearing his heart beat so fast. It was oddly comforting. He finally pushed me away, blushing.

“Sorry,” he said.

He was still holding my arms and I could feel the warmth coursing through my body. I leaned closer, causing Sasuke to lean away. I had no control of my body as I continued to crawl toward him. I crawled over his body until I was over him. My hair fell over his face as I stared into his eyes intensely.

“Naruko…” he whispered wrapping his arms around my waist.

He pulled me closer to him until our bodies were touching. He moved the hair from my face and bought my face closer to his. I could feel his breath on my face before we completely closed the distance. I grabbed his face and deepened the kiss. The kiss got deeper and deeper as the need to kiss him more overwhelmed me. When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard.

“Wow, you're a good kisser,” I said breathlessly. He sat up, keeping me on his lap.

“You're not so bad yourself,” he said watching my lips. Knowing what he wanted, I pulled his face toward mine. I kissed him slowly this time, savoring every bit of it.

“I think my hormones are acting wacky,” I said after pulling away. He smiled and pulled me closer.

“I know how you feel,” he said. “You want to go out with me?”

“What?” I asked laughing. “You're asking me out?’

“No need to act surprised,” he mumbled.

“Sorry,” I said patting his cheek. “I’d love to go out with you.” He put his head in the crook of my neck, sighing.

I closed my eyes and pulled myself closer.