Wᴏʀʟᴅ ᴏғ Sɪɴ | Iᴛᴀᴄʜɪ Uᴄʜɪʜᴀ

Chapter Five

When she opened her eyes, she was alone by the lake. Mei sat up and rubbed her temples. The sun was already down and only the fireflies were lighting the surroundings. She stood up feeling shaky. Mei needed to get back to the hideout. Sasuke must have been worried. She froze in her tracks wondering what she was going to tell Sasuke. Mei bit her thumb the way she always did when she was thinking hard. She continued walking to the hideout feeling more and more nervous. As she entered the hideout, she heard loud voices arguing. She rushed to the source noise. Sasuke and Kabuto were yelling at each other, each one trying to bring a point across. Sasuke was demanding for Kabuto to reveal a certain jutsu, while Kabuto was refusing passionately. Sasuke grabbed Kabuto by the collar ready to fight.

"What's going on?" Mei asked looking at the two men in confusion. Sasuke slowly released Kabuto, who hurried to exit the room. Sasuke's gaze was heavy and Mei felt like it was weighting her done. He was piercing her with his gaze making her feel like he knew exactly what happened. Sasuke lowered his katana. It dropped on the floor with a loud thud. Mei shivered.

"Sasuke..." she started. Sasuke slowly walked towards her. He stopped in front of her, their bodies almost touching. "Sasuke I..." Mei made another attempt to speak, but Sasuke stopped her. His arms wrapped around her tightly. He brought her closer, completely burying her in his bear hug. The girl blinked and a small smiled crossed her face. She wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug. She could feel his heartbeat through the thin material of his shirt. Sasuke pressed his lips to her temple, kissing it gently and Mei did not mind.

They stayed in each other's arms for a while longer. The tension in Sasuke's body was finally fading and Mei softly slipped out of his arms, leaving him with the feeling of emptiness.

"What happened? Where have you been?"

He watched her body tense. "I was by the lake," She started carefully. "Where we parted. Everything was fine and then suddenly my mind went blank. I blacked out." She looked into Sasuke's eyes making the most innocent face she could manage. "When I opened my eyes again, it was already dark and I was alone...I do not know what happened, I... I can't remember," Mei fiddled with her earlobe. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. That simple move gave her away. Mei always fiddled with her earlobes when she was trying to be sneaky. Sasuke was deep in thought when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder.

"Sasuke...the pendant you gave me...I... it's gone," the guilty look on her face was sincere. "I'm so sorry," she whispered her apology while holding onto his hand. Sasuke sighed. He pinched her nose and allowed himself a small smile. He took her hand and dropped something in it. Mei stared in disbelief.

"You have it!" she smiled widely. "Thank God! How did you get it?"

"I found it by the lake when I went looking for you. The chain was cut."

Mei gulped. She could not understand why Itachi would go as far as cutting her necklace. "Wa...was it?" she stuttered. "I'm so glad you found it though. Thank you." Mei tried to change the subject.

"Mei," Sasuke cupped her cheek and made her look at him.

"I...I'm going to bed now," Mei smiled nervously and tilted her head accidentally brushing her lips over Sasuke's hand. She stumbled back awkwardly. "I'm a bit tired. Goodnight." Mei hurried out of the room leaving Sasuke alone.

***

Sasuke

She was lying. It was so obvious, it made me sick. The way she tried to hide her gaze and fiddled with her ear; Mei could not have been more predictable. What happened at the lake that made her lie? She never lied to me before. Could it be...no! If it was him, she met, she would have told me. Wouldn't she? Would she not? The suspicions are driving me crazy, but what can I do?