Chapter 36

It was difficult to act normal around Sasuke for the remainder of the night and during breakfast the next morning. Just as I've gotten fluent in reading his body language and subdued facial expressions, he's become attuned to how I usually act. The closer we were, the more he seemed to silently suspect something was off.

He appeared in the doorway of the bathroom and rested against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown.

It was hard to keep my eyes averted from his flexing arm muscles as I finished freshening up after breakfast, "Where are you going?"

The fact that he's gone out of his way to ask meant that he undoubtedly knew I was hiding something. Like I mentioned before, he hasn't exactly been the most talkative as of late.

I made myself tear my eyes from his flawless appearance and rinsed my toothbrush as I stared pointedly down into the sink, "I'm visiting Naruto today." There wasn't a good reason to lie about my whereabouts, so I didn't.

He uncrossed his arms and left me alone in the bathroom to finish up without saying anything else. Once I'd successfully cleaned up after myself, I headed back out into the bedroom. As I knelt down by the dresser to pull the boots Mikoto had bought me onto my feet, I noticed Sasuke doing the same with his own shoes.

My brow furrowed and my heartbeat quickened, but I quickly masked my anxiety as I rose back up and smoothed out my dress, "Where are you going?"

He didn't bother meeting my eye and responded casually, "To visit Naruto."

I hesitated for just a moment too long, it seems, because he soon rose to stand before me with dark eyes peering into mine as though daring me to keep up my calm facade.

My face warmed and I attempted to smile reassuringly with a hand flirtily against his chest, "You don't have to escort me, Sasuke. I won't even be leaving the castle grounds."

He didn't acknowledge my attempt to dissuade him, instead reaching behind me to grab one of his jackets off of the hooks near the door and gently placing it atop my shoulders, "It's getting colder outside."

The blush on my cheeks warmed slightly as he grabbed a jacket for himself and exited the room, pausing out in the hall when I didn't immediately follow, "What are you doing? Let's go."

I tentatively slid my arms into the much too large sleeves of the jacket and followed him downstairs and out the front doors of the castle.

Our walk was silent and almost awkward, at least by my perception. My shoulders were starting to ache because the secret I've been keeping felt like I was carrying a ton of bricks around. Sasuke didn't say anything else the entire time we walked and the longer the silence drew on, the more my anxiety levels rose.

Finally, I saw Naruto's lightly-colored hair and sped up my pace. My best friend was outside, in front of Ino's shop and his family's new home. My eyes widened and I smiled widely when I came close enough to recognize Hinata's dainty form sitting on the steps as she watched Naruto help the builders pack up some supplies.

When Neji had collected her from the castle after our rescue, I'd gotten the feeling it'd be hard to see her again soon. Here she was, though, watching her crush with a pretty blush on her elegant features.

A soft grin rose prettily to her lips when she noticed me approaching and rose to her feet to greet me, "Hello, Sakura. It's wonderful to see you. How have you been?"

She accepted my friendly embrace much easier than she would have before our trip to Otogakure and I gave her a relieved smile when we parted, "I'm much better, Hinata. How about you? Have your ribs healed?"

Her grin faltered for a moment before she forced it back up, "For the most part, yes. Thank you for asking."

Naruto noticed our arrival at the same time Sasuke caught up. A wide grin spread happily across his face as he wrapped an arm casually around my shoulders, "Hey! What brings you around, Saku? Ouch!"

He yanked his arm away to baby it in his other arm and shot a glare at Sasuke, who was now standing on my other side. I playfully nudged the prince in the ribs since he must've pinched the Uzumaki boy for being more touchy than he would like. I shook my head knowingly, which he appeared to ignore as he listened to Naruto's complaints, but I noticed a small hint of amusement in his eyes.

"What the hell, dude? That hurt!"

Before the two could get into their argument further, I interjected, "Can we use your kitchen to prepare some tea?"

The blonde waved a dismissive hand in my direction, "Yeah, Mom and Dad are in town right now. Go on in."

Hinata followed me up the stairs and inside without me having to ask, leaving the two boys to continue bickering loudly outside. The Hyuga heiress retrieved some cups from the cabinet as I filled the teapot with hot water.

"I'm surprised to see you again so soon, Hinata. Did you get into a lot of trouble at home?"

"My father was quite upset and tried to forbid me from leaving the family estate ever again, but after all that happened…It wasn't as terrifying as I thought it'd be to stand up to him," her soft voice was both prideful and sad.

She didn't wait for my response and continued as she turned the stove on and set the pot on the small flame, "Is something troubling you?"

A small smile dusted my lips for a moment and I shot her a grateful look for being able to read me that easily. After verifying that I could still hear the two outside arguing, I spoke in a much quieter voice, "I have a lead on where Orochimaru may be and I don't know if I should tell Sasuke or not."

I went on to explain how the Uchiha prince has changed since our rescue and when I was done she gave me an understanding look.

"There's not really any other choice but to tell him and hope for the best, right? If you don't and he ever finds out, he'll be incredibly upset."

For a few silent moments, I thought about her words and eventually let out a sigh of defeat. She was right. No matter what course of action I chose to take, we'd be in danger, and if I hid this information from him he'd be in danger and be angry that I lied.

"I suppose you're right-"

"What're you talking about, ladies? Is the tea ready?"

Hinata and I both jumped in shock as we turned to see Naruto and Sasuke coming through the doorway of the kitchen. They shot annoyed glances at one another as they sat at the pretty dining table. I brought the back of my hand up to my mouth to stifle the amused laugh their childish appearances caused as I sat calmly next to the prince.

"We're having girl-talk, Naruto, nothing you'd be interested in."

The young man in question gave Hinata an intrigued look, "How do you know if I'll be interested or not, hm?"

Her face swiftly turned a bright red and I swept in to save her, "So you want to hear what Ino told me about her honeymoon, then?"

The blonde man's face quickly matched Hinata's and he shook his head frantically, "N-Nevermind, nope! You were right!"

Us girls shared an amused laugh at his bashful reaction and I briefly wondered how the couple before me was fairing. They had plenty of time to talk when I was unconscious or away from my cell in Oto, so surely they're back on good terms since Hinata's here visiting him.

Leaning back in his seat and letting out an annoyed groan, Naruto changed the subject, "I can't wait 'til these workers are finished. It'll be nice to have some privacy again."

Sasuke grumbled at him under his breath, "We could always send you back to your old place."

I elbowed him in the ribs with a look of mild disbelief and he shot his glare at me for a moment. Naruto let out a laugh, shocking me by his casual reaction to the prince's jab, "If you were human, you wouldn't last a day in the slums, asshole."

Ino told me that Sasuke and Naruto had talked a bit when I wasn't awake during our travels home from Oto, but I hadn't realized the Uchiha royal had warmed up to my childhood friend so much that he'd let an insult like that fly. My chest warmed slightly as the two men exchanged a few more insults, only to stop as Hinata placed a hot cup of tea in front of them.

"Please be careful. It's still hot."

I gave her a grateful look and she smiled knowingly. The rest of our visit was relatively uneventful and we were soon headed back to the castle.

About halfway back to the castle, Sasuke surprised me by suddenly speaking in a low voice, "What were you really talking about?"

I looked at his back as he continued to walk slightly ahead of me, swallowing nervously before deciding to just come clean, "I might know where Orochimaru and Kabuto are."

He froze and turned on his heel to face me, a bewildered look in his eyes, "What?"

I felt a frown tug at my lips, "I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not because the lead came from Madara."

He searched my face in disbelief for a few moments before motioning toward me impatiently, "Well? What is it?"

A negative feeling brewed in my chest, but I told him what happened anyway. Hinata was right. He was going to run into the evil doctor one way or another. Sasuke took in the information with a blank face, pausing momentarily once I was finished before turning and walking a bit more briskly toward the castle than before.

Confusion furrowed my brow as I rushed to catch up with his much quicker stride, "Where're you going?"

Even if I'd come clean about what I'd been hiding, it was obvious he was still angry that it took me this long to confess. He didn't even look at me, "To prepare for travel to Amegakure."

I grabbed his arm to stop him and he looked down at me with an annoyed frown, "Wait, Sasuke! Shouldn't we talk about this first? What if it's a trap?"

He rolled his eyes and moved to return to walking, but I tightened my grip on his arm, "Stop, this is serious! We both almost died last time! We should come up with a plan."

He gave me a look of disbelief, "What do you mean we? You're not coming."

I dropped his arm in shock and he stood in front of me with his hands on his hips like a parent telling their child no.

"Why not? That's not fair! I want revenge just as much as you and-"

He scoffed and cut me off, "What are you going to do?"

My mouth clamped shut and I gave him a hurt look. I already struggle with the fact that I'm practically useless compared to anyone else I know, but hearing him agree with that fact so blatantly was like a critical hit to my self-esteem.

He opened his mouth to try and take back his words once he realized how harshly they'd come off, but I stomped past him with angry tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't let them fall, though, "I wish you'd stop being like this."

He wordlessly followed me back to the castle and when we arrived at the family room, Madara, Mikoto, and Fugaku were resting casually. I felt their eyes on me and paused to give them a bow of respect with as much composure as I could muster.

A low whistle leaving Madara's lips made me stop in my tracks, "Uh oh! Trouble in paradise, you two?"

I looked over at Sasuke, who was glaring over at his uncle, and rolled my eyes before excusing myself from the room. The fact that Madara at least appeared to be back to his old, teasing, ways didn't even phase me. In fact, it was kind of a relief because at least I'll know what to expect.

I headed to the third floor and into Tenten's room before flopping angrily onto her bed, which had her jumping in shock as she hadn't heard me come in, "Hey, watch it! I just tidied up in here!"

I gave her a pathetic pout, letting out an aggravated groan, "Ugh! Men can be such jerks."

She obviously picked up that I was upset and flopped down beside me, "Duh. Why do you think I'm not married yet? I'm gonna end up an old spinster with twenty cats."

I shook my head with a grin, "No you won't. Neji will eventually realize what a catch you are and whisk you away."

Her cheeks pinked slightly and she shook her head, "I know we're in a castle, but this isn't a fairytale. Anyway, what'd Sasuke do?"

I caught her up on the situation and she lay back on the bed with a perplexed look, "That's a tough one. He probably didn't mean to say that, but I get why you'd be offended."

I fiddled with the hem of the sleeve of Sasuke's jacket as I held it in my lap, my tone defeated, "I know. I just don't wanna accept that I'm just a giant liability."

She lightly smacked my arm, "If you were fighting humans, you'd probably be an asset. It's not your fault everyone else are vampires."

I nodded silently, letting the room fall into a comfortable quiet. An idea popped into my head and I sat up with a renewed energy, "I know! I'll ask Ino if she'll take me! If I ask her to teach me some of the fighting moves Kakashi showed her, maybe she'll say yes!"

She tilted her head to the side in thought, "That could work! Maybe I'll get to come along, too! I've always wanted to travel."

We shared a nod and headed off to find my sister so we could plead our case. I clenched a fist at my side, a determined feeling swelling in my chest.