Chapter 28

I tossed and turned all night, somehow already too accustomed to Sasuke's presence to ignore the lack of it. By the time I was able to force myself to stay asleep, the birds started singing loudly outside, signaling that the sun was rising.

Before long, I also heard the sound of someone arguing outside the house, which shook me awake. I sat up in a panic and looked around, my messy hair swirling around my shoulders. I recognized Naruto's voice outside and struggled out of the blankets to see what was going on.

After wrapping one of Tsume's robes around my body to mask the fact that I was only wearing a large t-shirt, I dared a peek into the front yard. To my complete and utter surprise, there stood Sasuke, not dressed down at all to blend in, clearly holding himself back from tearing Naruto's head off.

His dark eyes locked onto mine when I rushed out to greet them and his eyebrows raised in relief, an expression I wasn't used to seeing on his usually brooding features.

I felt my cheeks warm slightly in embarrassment as I approached both him and the seething blonde, "What's going on?"

Naruto turned to see me and pointed accusingly at the Uchiha, "He thinks we kidnapped you!"

I let out a small laugh, turning to Sasuke, who looked annoyed, "Is this true?"

He settled into his usual glare as he clenched his jaw, "You were supposed to return before dark yesterday."

Walking over to stand in front of him, I offered a reassuring grin, "Were you worried about me, Sasuke? I'm sorry."

His glare darkened as I teased him, "Now that I've found you, let's return."

He reached to grab one of my wrists, but I pulled it away, putting my hands up defensively, "Wait, I can't come back yet. My mother's missing."

The prince looked confused by my statement, "So? If I remember correctly, she's not the most supportive of both you and Ino."

I gave him a stern look, "She's still my mother, Sasuke."

He paused in deep thought for a moment before letting out a sigh, "I will stay then."

Naruto finally spoke up, "Oh hell, no! We don't need you around here judging everyone and making snide comments. Go back to your little castle so we can get back to work."

I noticed Hinata and Kiba watching in silence near the entrance to the Inuzuka house and wondered briefly where Kiba's and Naruto's families were, but was quickly distracted from the thought as Sasuke and Naruto seemed to be inching closer and closer to one another. I feared if they got within a foot of each other, they'd start fighting and Naruto doesn't know about the Uchiha secret so he has no idea just how badly he'd lose.

I moved in between the two of them, a hand on each of their chests to hold them apart, "I'm sure we could use the extra pair of eyes, Naruto. Besides, it's not your choice if he helps or not."

Naruto looked shocked that I hadn't taken his side and immediately started pouting like a reprimanded toddler, arms crossed and all, "Fine, but I don't want to hear you complaining when he starts getting annoying."

I shook my head at him, a small amused smile on my lips. He could be so childish sometimes. The blonde strode past Kiba and Hinata back into the house and they followed, leaving the prince and I alone.

Once they were all out of earshot, I faced him once more, "I can't believe you came all this way. You don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable, you know. I can handle this alone."

His glare hardened further, but he shocked me by gently caressing my face with one hand. After a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly noticed my attire and moved his hand from my face down to peek under the robe I was wearing.

My face burnt red and I pushed his hand away so I could pull the clothing tighter around my body, "H-Hey! You can't do that here!"

"Who's shirt is that?"

My warm face just got hotter as I realized what he'd been looking at. His smoldering eyes were wild with anger.

"Naruto lent it to me to sleep in, why?"

The whites of his eyes started to darken and I gasped, reaching up to try and cover them as I glanced around to make sure no one had seen, "S-Sasuke, calm down!"

His hands wrapped around my wrists and he leaned down slightly to meet my eyeline as he spoke in a blunt voice, "Go change. Now."

Luckily, his eyes returned to normal, but I still did as I was told without complaint. I couldn't help but feel kind of flattered that he'd gotten possessive over me and struggled to keep a smile off my lips as I changed.

Once we'd caught the prince up on what we'd learned so far, he seemed deep in thought for a few moments before coming up with a thought that hadn't crossed any of our minds yet, "What if Naruto was targeted to lure out Hinata?"

The two in question looked at each other with surprised red faces before looking back at the Uchiha. Hinata put a hand on her head as though she was disappointed in herself, "There have been a number of kidnapping attempts on both me and my sister in the past year. Remember the attacker the night we met, N-Naruto?"

He nodded, his mouth in a hard line.

She shook her head slowly, "After my father found out about my run-away attempt and that attack, he had the man hunted down. The only information they could get from him was that he'd been hired by someone else."

My hands clenched into fists in my lap, "Is the man still in your family's custody? Do you think we could speak with him?"

The heiress frowned with a pale face, "I have no doubt he's d-d-dead."

Other than collecting a ransom, what possible reason would someone have for kidnapping one of the Hyuga heiresses? Hinata and Sasuke met eyes for a moment before she averted her gaze down to the table, "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, N-Naruto!"

I looked between the two royals with curious eyes, but both ignored me.

Naruto didn't even hesitate and pulled her hands into his own, making her turn to face him, "The only person at fault here is the one who set those fires. Let's find them together."

She nodded at him with a bright blush on her cheeks, eyes wide with tears threatening to fall. Sasuke interrupted their sweet moment, "I know someone who might know something, "he looked at me, "but you're not going to like it."

My frown deepened.

A few hours after Sasuke sent two militia members to fetch whoever he was speaking about, a knock came at the door. Kiba rose, as it was his home we were using, and answered it. Anger and annoyance quickly washed over me as who else but Karin flounced her way past a stunned Kiba and tried to plop herself down on Sasuke's lap.

He pushed her away, but she still fawned over him as she stood, "I've been awaiting your summons, Sasuke! It's been way too long!"

Her eyes finally landed on my annoyed face and her flirty expression dropped to one of anger and disbelief. When she spoke again, her voice was no longer sultry and attractive, but deadpan, "What is she doing here?" She looked back at Sasuke's face accusingly.

He motioned for her to sit at one of the empty seats at the dining table and she did, albeit reluctantly. "What do you know about the kidnapping attempts on the Hyuga heiresses?"

Karin's expression fell further, "That's why you summoned me? For information?"

We all stared expectantly, including Sasuke. She let out a huff and crossed her arms with a pout on her painted lips, "That's too bad. I can't tell you anything."

Naruto stood up with a clear look of anger on his face, "What do you mean you can't tell us?!"

Karin's eyes narrowed at the blonde young man, "Be careful how you speak to me, Handsome, or I'll-"

Sasuke cut off the redhead's threat, "You will give us the information."

Karin's bored expression turned to one of discomfort, "I won't."

Sasuke's jaw clenched in annoyance and his glare seemed to bore into her very soul. I wasn't even on the receiving end of it and I was nervous. She wiggled under his gaze. "Do you know what will happen if you refuse?"

Karin's crossed arms tightened slightly before she groaned and slammed her hands onto the table, the pitch of her voice higher as she gave up her brave facade, "Anything you do will be nothing compared to what he'll do if he finds out I gave him up." Sasuke looked confused by her statement as though he was trying to figure out who this man she was speaking of was.

I spoke up, "I'm sure the Hyugas would offer you protection if you give up an enemy to their family, right Hinata?"

The Hyuga nodded eagerly when Karin looked over at her. The redhead shook her head fiercely, "Those uptight politicians won't stand a chance. The Uchiha's, on the other hand..." She looked me in the eye with a smirk before turning to face Sasuke with a grin, "If the Uchiha family offered me protection, perhaps I'd be more inclined to give up my guy."

I looked over at Sasuke, worried just as much that he'd say no as I was that he'd say yes. He closed his eyes, eyebrow twitching in aggravation, "Fine."

Karin relaxed back in her chair, crossing one of her legs atop the other, "You're looking for a man named Orochimaru from Otogakure. That's all I can give you."

After Karin was escorted out of the house by some militia men, it was midday and we were all at the table once more, making plans to travel to this Otogakure place to find out more about this mysterious man.

Both Sasuke and Hinata admitted to never even hearing the name before. On top of that, the issue of where on Earth my mother was still hung over my head. From the way the preacher had acted, I had a feeling that we'd at least find a clue to her whereabouts from this Orochimaru man, as well. Sasuke was adamant on going alone, but Naruto, Hinata, and I all but demanded to be included.

A few days later, after preparing and getting permission from both Naruto's and Hinata's families, we left in one of the Hyuga family's cars to trek to Oto.