(Naruto x Reader)- My nendo, my ninja way

Chapter 22

"Y /n, wake up." I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder lightly. I groan quietly. "Mmm."
I hear a quiet laugh, and recognize it as Uchi's. I sit up quickly, and my blanket falls off of me. Or- not my blanket, Uchi's kimono. I fell asleep outside by the fire.
I look around quickly, hoping no one else saw, and luckily it seems to just be me and him. I blush. "You should have woken me, I would've gone back to the tent." I hand him back his kimono, which he puts on.
"You looked comfortable though. I thought you might have nightmares if I woke you up again."
I wonder if I should have told him about the nightmares at all. "Well... thank you."
Before we can talk anymore, Kakashi exits his tent. He looks surprised to see me. "Oh, Y/n, you're awake. I've never known you to be one of the first people awake."
I laugh awkwardly. "Haha yeah..."
"Anyways, I'll go wake up Sakura and Sasuke." He goes and wakes them up, and they exit the tent. I notice as we begin taking down camp that Sasuke's bag is suspiciously bulky, and he keeps glancing over at me. Stupid idiot, why's he being such a little bitch?
I pack my own things, and we set off once again, zooming through the trees with our arms behind us. I watch Uchi as we run, he seems to have things on his mind. It's strange how far off he seems, and I wonder if he's thinking about his 'mission' or whatever else it might be.
I notice however that Uchi also looks over to me every once in a while, when he thinks I don't see it. I pretend not to notice.
We stop for a lunch break at a small stream, and refill our water. I go off to sit and take a break on a fallen log, and Akamaru goes off to smell things in the woods. I'm having a great time and relaxing when friggin Sasuke comes up to me. "Hey Y/n!" He sounds like he's forcing cheerfulness, and I notice his arms are behind his back.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I ask, suspicious of his actions. Something smells really good, but I can't tell what it is.
Sasuke sighs. "Y/n... we've had our differences and struggles in the past, right?"
"Yeah, and in the current! What do you want, Sasuke."
"Well... You saw sense once, all that time ago when you got concussed by the snake."
I stiffen. "I was concussed! And you were manipulating me!"
Sasuke sighs sadly. "I didn't come here to argue, Y/n. I just..." He fiddles with whatever's behind his back. "Well, I want to make a peace offering."
He pulls out what was behind his back, and I realise what it was that smelled so good. It's... a bouquet, but a bouquet of... raw meat. So that's what smelled so good earlier.
I almost start drooling, but I can't let Sasuke know how badly I want the raw slabs of meat.
"I'm not asking for anything, I just want a truce, okay? I promise I don't have any ulterior motives, and I won't push any boundaries, just... can you talk to me like a normal person?"
I stare at the raw meat hungrily. I want it so badly, but if I do that I'm letting him win. I can't let Sasuke win, I just know he has other motives! But... the raw meat is just so tempting, it's potent stench wafting over to me.
I stand up from the log, and take a step towards him. Sasuke flinches away, probably because I slapped him yesterday, and have a general tendency of unprompted violence towards him. He looks hopeful though, a kind of desperate hope.
I look from him to his offering.
I reach my hand out slowly, and Sasuke looks almost happy.
I grab at the bouquet, slashing it out of his hands and onto the ground. What a waste. Sasuke made me do this.
"I want to make this clear to you, one last time Sasuke." I step in close to him, feeling like I'm towering over him. "I will never accept you. I'm never going to be your friend, and I will never, EVER love you."
He looks broken. He quietly mutters, "Why?"
I point a finger at his chest, claw extended. "You made one mistake, Sasuke. I don't love raw meat more than I hate you."
Sasuke nods, taking a step back. "Okay. I'll leave you alone, then. I just thought it was worth trying to give you a chance, one last time."
I'm about to tell him to fuck off again, but he's already leaving.
Finally, some peace and quiet. I spend the rest of my break relaxing, and I end up scarfing down some of the raw meat from the ground, and Akamaru eats some as well, it's just such a waste. I leave the rest for the creatures of the forest. Ah, supporting the ecosystem.
Akamaru and I go and rejoin the group after, Kabuto and Sakura are talking about some medical ninja stuff. Sasuke refuses to look at me, which is just fine by me.
Kakashi sensei notices that I've returned. "Ah Y/n, ready to get going again?"
"Of course."
Kakashi looks at his map. "Well, we're making good time, we should be there in a day or so."
Sakura smiles. "That's good! I can't wait to get back to the village to do more training with Tsunade-sama!"
We head off again, ninja running and leaping through the trees.
I'm happy that the mission will be complete soon, but I can't help but wonder if this means we won't see Uchi again. I'll miss him.
I try not to think about it too much, but I end up doing it anyway.
When we get to camp that night, I'm pretty tired from the journey, and everyone else is too. We set up our tents and crawl inside, ready to sleep.
This time, I don't stay up until Uchi comes in and falls asleep. I wonder if it's because he has nightmares like mine. I wonder if he, too, feels like he's trapped in a dark box with monsters.
I slip away into unconsciousness, and mercifully, I don't dream.

Sakura's voice startles me awake. "Y/n! Wake up!"
I shake myself awake, she sounds... scared? I open my eyes, it's morning, and Sakura is in my tent. Why is Sakura in my tent? I wonder hazily, still trying to wake myself. "Sakura? What's going on? Are you okay?" My voice is hoarse.
Sakura's eyes look juicy, like she might cry. "Y/n, it's Sasuke. He's... gone!"