A/N: This is a fanfiction I wrote for Silver Kiss~121 not too long ago. I'm rather proud of it myself, considering Sasuke is my least favourite character and she requested a romance involving him x3 It turned out pretty good, and hopefully others will enjoy it, too.
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It was many years ago, that day everything changed. Naniko had high hopes; worked hard to achieve her goals. Saniko was a happy woman, a bright woman.
Until that day.
It was unexpected, even for Saniko, what he did. That man who had been there for them both for so many years, gone forever. Saniko was unable to grasp the reason why he left; she fell into a pit of despair. Naniko tried her best to achieve what was so close, but it was taken away from her in a sudden turn of events. Without him around, her family was doomed.
Saniko was able to pull herself together in time to save herself and her daughter, and she opened a shop. With the opening of the store, Saniko was forced to take her daughter out of the Ninja Academy to help her with the daily maintenance of the humble shop. Had it not been for that boy, Naniko might’ve lost all hope to be who she wanted to be.
Months passed, and things went back to normal; as normal as they could be, that is. Life without him was weird at first, but Saniko and Naniko soon adapted to the absence, but never forgot.
Naniko continued to pursue her dream, sneaking away at the first sight of night to train with that boy. She wasn’t sure why he took his time to help her, but she accepted it graciously, doing her best to achieve her goal. He was hard on her, often being more physical than what was necessary, but Naniko never complained.
It was that night, almost a year after his departure, that Naniko begun to change. Being thrown down and unable to get up again, that boy scoffed as he watched her.
“You’re weak,” he’d said as he gazed down at her, “all women are. I don’t see why you people even try.”
Striking a nerve, Naniko had risen, her legs shaky, and she looked him in the eye as she spoke, “We may be weak on the outside, but we are strong willed!” She spat, a red tint to the saliva which landed on the ground. “I’ll become as strong as you are, you’ll see.”
That boy had rolled his eyes, unbelieving of her words. They started again, and Naniko was left in the clearing after she collapsed from exhaustion.
It was early that morning when she was found by the Hyuuga genius. Still unconscious, he took her to the hospital where she awoke to find Saniko standing over her looking worried. After explaining that she’d been training, her mother frowned, but said nothing. Returning home, Naniko ran to the bathroom and examined her bruises and scratches. She remembered the words of that boy and grimaced; her eyes met her own as she looked into the mirror and she made her decision. She was going to prove to that boy that anyone could fight.
She cut her hair; once what flowed down her back became what framed her face in harsh, straight cuts. Her mother had been shocked to find Naniko surrounded by her hair in the bathroom, but did not ask what had compelled her to do it. The girl was old enough to think for herself.
That night, Naniko left her house again and waited for that boy to arrive. She waited for nearly an hour until he showed up, looking bored. When he spotted her, he eyed her and asked what had happened. She replied that she was going to prove to him that women were as strong as men.
He laughed. It was not a happy laugh, and his smile was not good natured. “I’ve seen that before, and it doesn’t mean anything.” He looked down at her, although they were nearly the same height.
Enraged, Naniko charged and the training began. Again, she was left in the clearing after she couldn’t go on and she fell asleep on the cold ground.
She was found a few hours later by the same Hyuuga genius as the day before. He looked at the girl, confused, until he finally lifted her and brought her to the hospital again.
Naniko awoke not much later, Saniko’s worried face above her again. Saniko, concerned for her daughter’s well being, told Naniko to stop the training sessions, but Naniko refused. She would become strong, nothing would stop her.
Training became no easier for her, that boy never giving her the respect she deserved. It became nearly a routine for the Hyuuga genius to find Naniko passed out in the clearing and eventually he approached her while she was conscious. He found her to be a lively spirit and he was taken by her. She intrigued him and as time passed he began to come around more and more, until they could be considered friends.
Saniko was delighted by the development, and Naniko was also pleased. She enjoyed having someone there, other than the pink haired Sakura.
Months passed and Naniko became stronger, her nights being abandoned in the forest brought to a minimum and that boy’s tolerance grew. He would never admit that Naniko was, indeed, a strong girl but he could see the potential, which bothered him for some reason. It was from this that he was given permission to call Naniko “Nani” for he’d often snap at her when he began to think. She didn’t mind his attitude, her own tolerance one to rival any other, and she took that boy’s remarks in stride.
It was after one particularly rough beating she took, nearly two years after they first began their night training sessions, that the Hyuuga genius approached Naniko. He took her away from the shop, her mother too pleased to let her daughter get some fresh air after the oddly quiet day she’d spent behind the counter. Neither spoke until they were at the edge of the forest, alone. Naniko revealed her bruises to the Hyuuga genius and he grimaced, convinced that she needed to have them looked at. She refused.
Naniko was quiet and contemplative which made the Hyuuga genius feel something tighten in his chest. He’d become infatuated with her; she was a bright light in his dim world, but he could see that there was someone else she had her eyes set upon.
“Naniko,” His voice had been soft and his eyes remained focused in front of him as he spoke, “who is it exactly who has been helping you?”
It had been a silent agreement that no questions would be asked; it was Naniko’s business who she met and for what reasons. But for the trained Hyuuga genius, knowing who it was she was involved with could mean a big difference for her life.
She hesitated; she did not want to speak of that boy to anyone. It was a private matter, that had been established when he insisted on night training rather than day training. Yet, as she looked up at the stoic man beside her she felt as if it would be best to go against what she had promised that boy, and herself, and tell the Hyuuga genius.
“Sasuke,” her voice was soft; she felt odd saying his name. “Uchiha Sasuke has been helping me.” The boy stiffened as he thought back to the day before and the irritated boy had paraded through the town with a frown of deep thought.
“You should speak with him.” The Hyuuga genius knew that the boy was in love, he’d witnessed enough people within the walls of their village to understand these emotions let alone the fact he had the Hyuuga eyes.
Naniko studied her friend and saw the tiny smile on his lips. She smiled, nodded and thanked him.
The Hyuuga genius had watched sadly as the girl he loved ran off, never to be his.
That night, Naniko waited patiently for an hour before Sasuke arrived, looking bored; but as she studied the expression it seemed as if he looked too bored. She mentally shook her head and dismissed the thought. It was ludicrous. Sasuke watched as Naniko simply stood before him, silent and thoughtful. It unnerved him, usually by this point she’d have begun the training, full of energy and ready to “prove her worth”. He almost sighed at the predictability of the girl.
Her voice broke through his thoughts, “Sasuke, is something wrong?”
He looked at her bewildered, had he heard her right? His “what” was not snapped, but asked in a way that revealed his confusion.
Naniko stepped closer, “Last night, you were rough, more so than usual and even Neji said…” She trailed off as Sasuke glared at nothing in particular. Or so it seemed.
‘That damned Hyuuga!’ he thought to himself as he looked over Naniko’s shoulder. He hated the trained eyes of the Hyuuga’s, how they thought they understood people just because of their eyes. Even Hinata had given him a worried look that day, which had been rather humiliating for him. He studied Naniko as he carefully chose his next words.
“I’ve been stressed,” She raised her brow at him and a small smirk took to her lips. She was laughing at him within her mind and he knew it. He clenched his jaw and the amusement in her eyes subsided, her face returning to the solid lines of a serious topic. For once, Sasuke wanted to start the fight. His fists clenched and unclenched and his legs itched to carry him in the graceful and skilled manor he’d trained himself to move.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Naniko went to move forward but the look Sasuke gave her made her stop. He sighed before positioning himself for battle while mumbling about getting started. Naniko’s hesitation only agitated him more and he charged. It was a big surprise for them both when Naniko was pressed painfully against a tree with a kunai sitting dangerously at her neck, pressing in a way that made her sweat. Slowly Sasuke’s tense muscles relaxed and he let Naniko drop, her legs just barely able to keep her standing after the shock. He stepped back and put away the kunai as he looked away.
“Sasuke,” Naniko was cut off by Sasuke’s rude attitude and she winced. What was his problem? He told her how she was not properly on guard, although she had been able to tell that his actions had been uncalled for even for himself. He flung himself at her again, his frustration evident even to her. She tried to stop him, to reason with him, but Sasuke continued to press forward stubbornly.
Sasuke began to lose himself to his thoughts, and eventually he stumbled. His attack missed and he was flung forward; Naniko took advantage, getting behind him before forcing him to the ground and using her kunai to assure he cooperated.
“Sasuke, what is going on?” Sasuke clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt, but even he did not know what was wrong. Naniko sighed with exasperation, but she remained focused on keeping Sasuke where he was. She was sitting on him, letting her full weight keep him down as her knife hovered above his throat. They stared into each others eyes, both being stubborn until finally Naniko punched Sasuke in the jaw. His head was thrown to the left and he spat out some blood, he glared at Naniko, but saw the frustrated tears in her eyes and couldn’t find any words to say.
“Why are you still helping me if you don’t want to?” she cried out, but the tears remained stubbornly in place, blurring her sight a bit. Sasuke blinked, but said nothing. She continued to blab, allowing everything she felt to flow off her tongue; she expressed her frustration of not moving forward, her self-consciousness, her depression, everything. Sasuke listened shocked by her sudden outburst, but refused to feel sympathy for the girl. He mumbled about how she couldn’t possibly understand true depression and Naniko moved to slap him, but stopped herself. Sighing in defeat she got off of Sasuke and moved away from him, her head hanging. Images of that man came to her and she felt the tears finally fall.
“You lost your family, but you still have your dreams.” Naniko had been denying the inevitable for all these years, ever since she was taken out of the academy, but now it came to her and hit her hard. She couldn’t be a ninja, even if she trained like this it would require a great amount of skill for the Hokage to take the time to test and accept her as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf. Sasuke stood up slowly and stared at Naniko, bewildered. Something tightened in his chest, but he didn’t understand what it meant - what it was.
“Why…”
“Because I love you!” Naniko yelled out, her eyes were narrowed in a glare and her cheeks were stained by tears, but he could still see the anger and frustration being directed at him. “I love you, you idiot! No matter how bothersome I’ve been you still helped me and now I can see that I love you for it!”
Sasuke was shocked, to say the least. This declaration caused his chest to ache more, and his heart beat faster. The pain was almost unbearable, he wanted to rip open his chest and hold onto his heart, free it from the constraints of his heavy chest. He couldn’t respond, he didn’t know how to, so Naniko simply shook her head before leaving the clearing. Sasuke went over to a large rock and sat down, his mind racing so quickly his thoughts were clouded.
He pulled at his hair as he groaned through clenched teeth. What was he supposed to do? What was her problem, suddenly dumping her life on him as if he cared? But something in him did care, something was tugging at the back of his mind, something that he’d passed off as minor and never thought about, but was, for some reason, important now. It came to him in a sudden flash of clarity and his head shot up to stare in the direction which Naniko had run off in. Her father, her father, had been the man who committed suicide about two years ago. Everything seemed to fit now, her leaving the academy, her family opening a shop. How had he forgotten? He stood up and was running off after Naniko before he consciously understood what he was doing. He was moving as quickly as he could, earning a few scratches from the trees and bushes, but he paid no attention to it.
When he reached his destination, he felt awkward. The streets were empty and he was sure the longer he stood staring up at the house which Naniko lived in the more suspicious he would appear. He clicked his tongue as he went to walk away, but a sudden presence caused him to whirl around and stand in a defensive position.
“You’re leaving that easily?” The cool voice that belonged to Neji was what gave him away before he stepped into the light.
Sasuke relaxed, but his gaze remained hard on the Hyuuga. “What do you want?” Neji raised his brow ever so slightly, and it only pissed off Sasuke more. The Hyuuga thought he knew everything, he was a pompous fool. Neji didn’t move to get closer, but the look in his near-white eyes suggested the movement had been thought of. Instead, he looked deliberately up at a certain window of the house, and then turned his eyes to Sasuke, looking at him from the corner of his eyes. Sasuke glared more viciously at the implied idea and stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep himself from killing the boy.
“She was upset.” Sasuke mumbled to himself, but Neji did not care about what the boy was feeling, “you should fix what you’ve done.” Neji then walked at a casual pace, passing Sasuke as if their encounter had never occurred and the Hyuuga genius walked back towards his home at the Hyuuga compound.
Sasuke bowed his head in thought, but finally decided that he was the last person Naniko would wan to see at this moment in time, so he took one last glance at the house before turning away once again, to leave.
“Sasuke?” Naniko’s tired voice came from above him and he turned slowly to see her peeking down from her roof. His eyes widened, had she been there the whole time? He turned so his body was facing the house so he could look up at her more easily.
“Naniko…” His lips were set in a tight line and he made the decision to set things right. His determination was evident as he leapt up to join her on the roof and she laid a hand on the tiles beside her. He sat down and they both sat staring at the stars.
“I apologize,” Sasuke began but Naniko shook her head. She, in turn, apologized for her outburst and told him that the training could be cancelled if he wished.
Sasuke grinned and shook his head at the suggestion, “then I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore.” Sasuke now understood why he put up with her, even when he didn’t want to do anything. He had become accustomed to her face, her voice, everything that was Naniko. He had come to care for her as well, and that was all he needed to know at that moment as he sat on the roof with her. He saw that Naniko was looking at him a bit confused, so he leaned his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes, “I love you, you fool.”
Naniko let out a short, nervous chuckle as she looked into his eyes and bit her lip. Sasuke placed his hand on the back of her neck as he brought himself closer to her, bringing his lips to hers.
Disclamer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from Naruto. This work is purely fan-based.
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