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Sasuke had been watching over Naruto at the Uchiha's house for the past few days. They'd barely left the apartment, only leaving to grab food from the store, or to just get some fresh air. There hadn't been word from Kakashi or any one else on Takahashi's mission squad for the time being, which Sasuke took as a good sign. Whomever this psychotic criminal was, maybe he wasn't after Naruto at all. However, there hadn't been enough passage of time to warrant that conclusion. And so, Sasuke stayed at his post—being Naruto.

He went into the local store to pick up a few things, namely eggs, milk, peppers, tofu, and tomatoes. Upon leaving, he ran into Sakura, who, as always, looked surprised to see him out and about. It's as if she'd never get accustomed to him living in the village.

"Sakura." He said, pausing outside the door and looking at her.

She smiled. "Sasuke-kun. How are you?" He could tell that she was treading lightly, unsure of what their relationship really was anymore. He considered her his comrade and friend, but he didn't know if she could say the same about him. Especially when her feelings for him had been so strong. Seeing him in this casual setting was also different than seeing him on a mission. She at least could distract herself with work in those cases.

"Just picking up a few things. You?" He asked.

"I was about to do the same. By any chance, has Naruto been staying at your place?" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the question. Yes, Naruto was staying at his house, but he didn't know how open he was supposed to be with Sakura about—first off, him and Naruto's relationship, and second off, his mission.

"I'm sure you know that Kakashi asked me to watch him for a while." Sasuke said, hoping that answered her question.

"Yeah..." Something was off though. She didn't seem satisfied with the response. Sasuke noticed how she looked down, and couldn't help but wonder why she was down all of the sudden. Did she assume something was happening between him and Naruto? If so, he didn't want to let it get out of hand. He was still on the fence about how they would share with other's their status. However, Sakura spoke before Sasuke had to.

"I talked with Hinata and she said that Naruto and her ended things few days ago and I just wanted to know if he talked with you about it at all?" Sakura said, lifting her eyes to meet Sasuke's. "He used to talk to me a lot about that stuff and it feels odd that he wouldn't."

Now Sasuke understood. Maybe Naruto had been too rash in his ending it with Hinata. The man could be a real blockhead when maneuvering tricky situations—and this was one of those types of situations. Yet, he also wasn't someone to hurt others. I'm sure Hinata was hurt in some way, but Naruto wouldn't have been an asshole about it. He would've let her down easy.

"You know, Hinata said that Naruto told her there was someone else." Sasuke almost dropped the bag of food he'd just bought.

He what?

Sasuke could feel all of the muscles in his body tense up. It was as if he was on stage and a spotlight was directed right at him. Suddenly, all the people around him who were walking in and out of the store were looking at him as if he was about to explode. He felt as if he would. How could Naruto say something like that? There's only so many people that would seem believable after Hinata. And now that Sakura knew Naruto was staying at his place and had been for a few days now. She probably already assumed. That would explain her downtrodden attitude and the pressing of questions to be answered. Sasuke had been thrust into a corner he couldn't escape from.

His voice was shaken. "Someone else?" It was all he could get out. It seemed his mind decided that taking the innocent, confused way out was the most convenient. However, Sakura wasn't dumb. He was sure she was reading his lies clear as day.