Behind The Veil

Chapter Five

Sasuke uchiha glanced at his surroundings, he was about a day's traveling from his home village. He didn't like being this close to that place. That close to his former teamates. He sighed to himself as he slumped agaisnt a large boulder.

It's been a week since he defeated Orochimaru, why haven't he heard any talk about Itachi? His stomache churned at the thought of his traitorious brother. He took everything from him. Any shot of happiness.

"Oh come on!" A childish voice disturbed his thoughts.

"Nobody wanted you here Suigetsu. Stop complaining about your stupid sword." Karin muttered as she dropped a backpack to the dirt. The two have not stopped bickering all morning. Sasuke's pateince was wearing thin.

"Silence," The single word slithered off his tongue. "I can't even hear myself think."

The two shuddered. A mad blush flushed Karin's cheeks as Suigetsu growled. "Any word on Hugo?"

Sasuke gave a slow nod.

"Animals take their time to explain", Karin blew a huff of breath, fighting laughter. She heals people if they bite her yet she can't get over talking animals?

She stared as her comrade's onyx eyes raked over the area before fluttering shut. Flawless. He rarely ever slept around them so she figured he must be exhausted.

"The idiot," Sasuke smirked as he jerked up, "He thinks that can hide him. He dares to underestimate me?"

His teamates eye him curiously as he storms away from the camp they've setup.

He walked calmly towards the barrier the idiotic Uzumaki hides himself behind, carefully concealing his prescence not to be discovered. As soon as he entered the area he flashed to a tree, set on observing his sworn enemy.

The boy hadn't changed much, still as clueless as ever. He watched Naruto as he drug his thumb across a girl's lip, then sucked on the same finger. He looked closely at the girl, and from the midknight hair and lavendar eyes he guess it was Hinata Hyuuga. She radiated with strength she once did not have. Yet still, it would never be enough to fend him off.

He frowned at Naruto, he had always been a mystery but he couldn't predict a single detail about the boy's current strength.

"Sasuke?" Naruto turned, baby blues glaring straight at him. So he was strong enough to locate him? A gasp from the Hyuga filled the silent void between them.

"Naruto," Sasuke's lip twitched, "How foolish could you be?"

"Someone grew up nicely," Kurama laughed in Naruto's head, "And in all the right places." Naruto gave a hushed warning.

"What are you even doing here?" Hinata was the first to break the silent trance, her eyebrows wereknit together in frustration.

"It's amusing, Hyuga" Sasuke gave her an innocent smile, "Watching Naruto so helplessly hide behind this weak barrier."

Naruto grimaced, "I'm not hiding behind it", Naruto didn't mention that he didn't know the strange feeling was a barrier incasing him, "Come back with us Sasuke. Sakura misses you."

"I don't want to go back to that dump, especially if you are there."

"Are you an Idiot? Just leave!" Hinata spat in fury, "All you ever do is cause people pain." Flashes of her nightmare crossed her mind, causing pain in her chest.

"I promised I'd bring you back home. I promised Sakura that and I never go back on my word." Naruto gave him a hopeless smile, when in all reality just looking at the traitor buckled his knees. "She's in love with you Sasuke, she needs you. I can't fill that hole in her heart."

The words cut at Hinata's insides. Naruto is too good for Sakura.

"Sakura is annoying." he said calmly, "Why don't you be a good little abandoned brat and go back to the lead? I only spared your life because I didn't feel like rendering the last blow, now my fingers itch to."

Naruto held a frown as he spread his arms out, "You're my bestfriend. Do what you need, but I won't go down without a fight. I need you, we need you, so i'll do whatever it takes to get you back to the leaf, even if I have to drag you."

"Who would want to be friends with a demon?" He scowled at the blue eyed teen.

"Oh Naruto, Your heart might need a little aloe vera after that," The demonic voice slid through is mind. Shut it Kurama.

"I might be housing a demon, but that isn't me." Nartuto desperatly called out, his hands wipping through his blonde locks. His blood began to boil and it begun harder to breathe. Calm. Steady.

'I'm not a monster', A silent chant.

"Oh, get over yourself. Go home fox, I left. Get it? I abandoned the leaf. Hell if I ever do come back to the Lead it would be to destroy it. Sakura is alone, rise to the oppurtunity. She's lonely, vulnerable. I'm sure you can wiggle your way into her heart as my replacemt." Sasuke smiled at him innocently, cocking his head to the left.

"Sasuke..." A lump formed in his throat, the words felt like venom coursing through his veins.

"Just shutup Sasuke," Hinata's small frame shook with the force of her anger, "Leave him alone. He trusted you, you filled the emptiness inside of him. He looked at you as if you were family and you abused that power you had over him. You sick bastard." She confidently poked a finger into his hard chest, " Give him some respect. He's trained to the breaking point, exhausting himself all for the respect of lowlifes like you. He is gentle, kind. Bright and funny. He tried to be cheerful no matter what life throws at him and it is amazing."

Her features softened as she turned to eye the boy, he stared at her in shock, "He is already so strong, I look up to him. He protects everyone no matter what, Sasuke, your opinion doesn't matter. I lov-"

Hinata's body froze as pain shot through her body, her words stopped sputtering out of her mouth. She slowly lowered her head, her eyes widening when she realized what happend.

Naruto's face paled as he saw Sasuke's hand impale her, blood poured down his arms in crimson streams. "Y-you?" Hinata finished, question in her voice as she stared at the foreign limb prodding out her body.

Rage flooded all Naruto knew, red bled into his sight, "S-Sasuke? You..Hinata." He took the scene in again Hinata still stared at her chest, mouth slightly parted. Sasuke sported a wicked grin as he slid his hand away from her, allowing her body to fall to the ground with a thud.

"Y-you basterd", Naruto mumbled to himself, a coat of red enveloping his quivering body. He stared at Hinata's limp body, was she breathing? What did she say? I love you? What did she mean by that? He looked up, Sasuke still held a wide grin.

Naruto pounced.