They didn't give us any time to settle in, which I hated. Apparently we had arrived a little too late so now they were rushing around, getting us up to speed. Tsunade was no joking when she said they needed help. The village was a disaster.

Buildings stood on opposite ends, rubble and dust everywhere. The ground was cracked and what little trees they had in the mountains were bent and broken out of shape. I staggered along, my eyes taking everything. The place looked worse than Konoha when Orochimaru had attacked. This was like ten times worse. The ninjas that had met us were walking ahead of us, talking but I wasn't hearing one word it. Maybe it was because I was all the way in the back, or maybe it was because I wasn't really interested in what they were saying at that moment. I was too caught up in what I saw around me.

The person who did this to me was lingering somewhere around here. My anger dissipated and fear crept back in. And so was the guy who sent her.

"...to be perfectly honest, we are still not sure who is responsible for all this," one of the ninjas in front was saying. I ran up, aware that I was falling way behind. My feet were beginning to get blisters. "All we know that it wasn't Orochimaru."

"How are you so sure?" Sasuke asked.

The ninja looked down at Sasuke as if confused as to why this little boy was speaking in big people affairs. I glared at him and so did Sasuke. How big did he think he is??? He can't look at Sasuke like that.

Finally, the ninja conceded and answered. "Based on what we know from the attack on Konoha, Orochimaru normally uses snakes, large snakes, in his attacks. There were none such snakes during this attack."

"So because there were no snakes, you just ruled out Orochimaru," Sakura said. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't buying it and I agreed. I wasn't buying it either. So what if they were no snakes? Doesn't mean it wasn't him.

The ninja didn't say anything more as we ascended the steps to the Raikage's office. I didn't dare look down, since we had come so high without me noticing and, instead, chose to settle my eyes at the back of Sasuke's head. I don't know why, but staring at him comforted me.

Just then, Sasuke turned around and looked at me. I averted my eyes quickly. Shoot! He didn't catch me staring at him, did he? I pretended to be interested in the sights around me before, cautiously, peeking back at him to see if he had looked away. He was still staring, this time with a smirk around his lips.

I looked at him with full force this time. "What?" I mouthed to him, acting as if he was the creep for staring. Sasuke wasn't buying it. He laughed silently and shrugged before turning his head forward again. I breathed a sigh of relief. What the hell was wrong with me?

At long last, I finally managed to avoid looking at Sasuke long enough for us to reach the Raikage's office. Inside, there was a man sitting on the floor, facing the window with his back turned to us.

"Killer-sama," one of the ninjas leading us said. "They've arrived."

The man in front of the window waved his hands in what looked to be dismissal. The ninjas left. Horo walked up to the man and said, "I take it you will be debriefing us further on what it is we should be doing here."

"They didn't tell you?" the man said.

"No," I spoke up. "They didn't tell us anything except that they thing that whoever made this mess wasn't Orochimaru. Which is pretty vague and simple thinking, if you ask me."

"Lea!" Horo looked down at me and held his finger up to his lips. I crossed my arms and stared at him. What? I was just telling him what happened on the way here.

The man turned around and I got a good look at him. He had white hair that was brought back, with his headband wrapped around his forehead, and dark skin with a blue tattoo under his right eye. He wore dark shades. He looked at us, or I think he was looking at us. I couldn't really tell since I couldn't see where his eyes were but his head was in our direction.

Suddenly he jumped up. "Hey, yo, wassup. I'm the boss Killer B. I got mad skills you gotta wait around and see! Yo!"

Nobody moved. What the hell was that...?

Killer B jumped up and faced us. He pointed a big large thumb at himself and grinned. "Hey, yo, I introduced myself so you introduce yourself, yo."

He pointed at Horo. Horo, for once, didn't know what to say. His mouth open and closed like a fish about five times before he finally got out his name. I chuckled behind my hand. Killer B kept going down the line and everyone said their names when he pointed to them, all sounding very confused.

"Great names, yo! And this one would be?" He pointed his large finger at me. I looked down at the finger, a wide grin on my face. I couldn't help it. This guy was just too hilarious.

"The name's Lea, and I'm not too happy to be here. So about this mission, why don't you go ahead and share ... yo."

"OHHHHH, Lea got rhymes!" I laughed as he went crazy. Who was this guy? "Yo, you got the right stuff kid." He held out his fist to me and I bumped mine with his, grinning like a fool. This guy was awesome! He knelt at my ear and whispered, "Hey, we should do a rap battle one day but I don't think it can be any time soon. Your leader is looking at me as if he wants to kill me."

I looked over at Horo and saw that he was right. Horo's face was red, and he folded his arms impatiently. I couldn't help but laugh one more time.

"You guys are probably wondering who I am, yo. I'm Killer B, the Raikage's brother-"

"Younger or older?" Sakura asked.

"Does that matter right now, Sakura?" Kiba asked, impatiently.

"I was just wondering, jeez."

"Younger brother," Killer B said. "The Raikage, who I'm sure you know by now isn't here at the moment, is way older than me and is currently out on a mission. A covert one, yo, so don't ask me what it is."

"Wasn't going to," Sasuke said but I knew that that was a lie. He was just as curious as the rest of us.

"Then that's good, yo." Killer B sat on top of the desk. In turn I sat on the ground. I need to rest my feet. I can't believe they made me walk without shoes. My feet were dirty and swollen. I looked up at him as he continue to speak.

"Let me get down to business. You've seen outside, yo. You know what we went through is almost ten times what Konoha went through."

"And you're 100 percent sure Orochimaru isn't to blame?"

"Yes. One, because when he attacked Konoha he went after the Hokage. Sorry for your loss, by the way. And, two, because what attacked us wasn't ninjas and snakes."

"What attacked you?" Hinata asked.

"Shadows."

"Shadows?" Naruto looked at him as if he were mad. "You mean, shadow clones?"

"No, shadows, yo. Like the one standing behind you. There were shadows like that and shadows that looked as if you could touch them."

"I don't understand," Sakura said, sounding confused. She wasn't the only one. How could shadows wreck such havoc on a whole village? Shadows?

"You sure you didn't see wrong?" I asked Killer B.

He looked down at me before replying. "No, I'm pretty sure. I was there, yo. I don't know how to say this to you without it sounding crazy but there were shadows and then there were mega-shadows, yo."

"Mega-shadows?" Sasuke's voice sounded as if he was sure he was talking to a madman.

"Well, that's what I call them. They're the ones that aren't on the walls and the floors and stuff, yo. They have feet and walk but they're all black and shimmery and you can't touch them and but they can touch you, yo, oh yes, they can touch you alright."

"That s-sounds like ghosts to me," Naruto muttered. I looked over at him and saw that he was shaking. What's wrong with him?

"We thought it was ghosts at first but ghosts don't run along the walls like that. These mega-shadows kind of, evolved in front of us. They just lifted off the walls and started going crazy."

"And what exactly are we here for?" Horo asked.

"As you know this an A ranked mission but, maybe we should have said, S-ranked." Killer B's head turned from side to side, as if he were looking at the lot of us. "Maybe then they would have sent better forces. These are a bunch of kids, yo."

I was ready to open my mouth to speak but Horo cut in before me. "These were all we could spare, given the current state of Konoha. We couldn't really send all out good jonins and leave our village defenseless, now could we?"

"I suppose, I suppose. I hope you guys don't die out there, yo."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered.

"Wait, die?" Kiba spoke up. "Why would we die?"

"Okay this is the mission. After the shadows left, they left a message. 'We'll be back' it said, yo. Got us spooked. After it killed so many of us and put our village in ruins it's going to come back?"

"So, we are basically backup," I said.

"Basically. I thought there was going to be more of you. Tsunade specifically said-"

"Tsunade had other plans for them," Horo said. "But don't worry, I'm sure they'll be here in time."

Killer B rested his chin on his fingers and nodded, as if he was thinking deeply about it all.

"Do you know when exactly they'll be back?" Sasuke asked.

"Didn't I just tell ya? They only said they'll be back, boy, they never said when. That's the problem, yo, you don't get it?" Sasuke's scowled. I could tell this incredibly funny and awesome guy was getting to Mr. Stiff Sasuke. How comical.

Suddenly, Killer B jumped up and clapped his hands loudly. "Well, that's that! I told ya everything! Now it's time for ya to go out there and do whatever it is you do until they attack again."

As I got up he said, "As a matter of fact, yo, I'm going to go out to survey the damages. You guys should join me. See what you're up against."

I held up my hands. "Nope, no thanks. I need a nice soak, some new clothes, some SHOES and I need to be away from you all for a while. This is stifling me."

"Lea-" Horo began but I cut him off.

"Look at my feet, Horo," I said holding it up.

"Ew," Sakura gasped.

"That's right," I agreed. "Ew. I've been walking on some pretty hard and spiky rocks since I woke up and this is the result. I need. A break."

"You should have just made me carry you all the way here," Sasuke muttered somewhat sulkily.

"And listen to you bicker with Kiba for the whole ride? No thanks."

I turned and headed for the door. Sakura and Hinata ran after me.

"We'll come with you," Hinata said, smiling.

"We love shopping," Sakura said, smiling.

"Didn't you two hear me say I want to be alone?" I asked, definitely not smiling.

And their smiles fell. I walked out the room before anyone could say anything else. I really was feeling stifled around them. I need a break, just a little one while I refresh myself and put myself together. That's all I asked. Just some time to relax while I think about my recent close encounter to death. There's been so many things happening to me and so little time to process it all, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I had to wonder. Does this sort of thing happen to the average ninja? Somehow I doubted it.

I headed down the steps in less time than I had headed up the first time. My white robe was already dusty and brown and in dire need of changing. But of course, with my luck lately, I forgot my damn purse.

"Damn it!" I muttered, stomping my swollen foot on the ground in frustration.

"Forgetting something?"

I turned and saw Sasuke walking towards me. "Why don't you leave me alone?"

"You have no money," he observed with a snide smirk. "How do you expect to get new clothes if you have no money?"

I turned my back to him and continued walking, aware that he began walking alongside me. "You don't have to worry about that. I'll find a way to get new clothes and lodgings."

"Now, you see, if you had stayed behind a little longer before rushing out, you would have heard Killer B say that we were provided with rooms."

"Separate rooms?" I asked excitedly.

"One room for boys, one room for girls."

"Of course." I had so wished I didn't have to room with Sakura. Hinata was an okay roommate but Sakura was the type who wanted to stay up late and talk. "Just my luck."

"Hey, you're not the one who has to room with Shino, Kiba and Naruto. Naruto and Kiba are always bickering-"

"When Naruto isn't bickering with you, that is."

"I don't bicker," he huffed.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Riiight. And I don't have white hair."

"ANYWAY ... and Shino always has a bunch of bugs crawling all over the place."

"Aww, who would have thought that you're afraid of bugs?" I poked him playfully.

He brushed me off. "I'm not afraid of bugs. I just don't like them crawling up my nose when I'm trying to sleep."

I laughed, stopping at a stall with clothes folded on it. I held on up and turned to Sasuke. "What do you think about this?"

It was a long purple dress, tucked in at the waist, with matching black boots. Sasuke shook his head. "Too ... covering."

"Too covering? What do you mean too covering? I think it's nice." I looked at it again then looked at him with a frown. "I'm a ninja, what do I need to show skin for?"

Sasuke's face suddenly got very red. He looked away from me, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't say you should show skin. I'm just saying that will make you look like a priest that's all."

I looked back down at the dress before putting it back down. I took up something else, a two piece skirt and shirt. I held it up to my body and looked a Sasuke with the question 'What do you think?' in my eyes.

"Nope, too much skin. You should never show that much skin."

"Hey, first it's too covering, now it's too much skin. Make up your damn mind, man."

"Okay how about this." Sasuke took up an all in one. I looked at it and looked back at him, my eyebrow raised in question.

"Are you picking out an outfit for me, Sasuke Uchiha?" I asked, laughing.

Sasuke's face was as red as a tomato now. He dropped the clothes quickly as if they had burnt him. "N-no, what are you talking about?"

I continued to give him a wide grin until he started squirming. Which was hilarious, in my opinion. Sasuke Uchiha squirming uncomfortably. What a hoot.

"Don't bother," I said, finally looking away. "I'll take this." I took up a pair of black sweats with pockets, I might add, with a white striped running down both sides and a white tight crop top. I held up my hand before Sasuke could disapprove, which I was sure he would.

"Before you say anything, it may show a little of my stomach but my legs are covered so that's more 'covering' than 'skin', right? And I like these black boots." I clapped my hands loudly. "Glad you could agree. Now pay the good man."

I flashed the merchant man a quick smile before walking off with my goods, leaving Sasuke to pay.

"Now," I said when he caught up with me. "What should we do about lunch?"

"I'm not having lunch with you."

"Why not?"

"You're annoying."

"I am, aren't I?" I agreed, unfazed. "Just leave some money with me and I'll go have lunch by myself."

"Not going to-" But I grabbed his wallet before he could finish that sentence. I quickly withdrew as much money as my hands could get and gave it back to him. "See you later," I waved.

"Wait!"

I turned around. "What?"

Sasuke's eyes suddenly became very intense. He stared me down, his eyes looking blacker than usual. "I think I can do lunch after all."

There was something in the way he said it. As if he had finally decided to do something important. 'Screw it'. I wasn't sure what that was exactly.

"Okay..." I said, tentatively. "But, uh..." Why was I feeling so self-conscious in my robe so suddenly? "I think I'm going to change first."

He nodded. "Meet me back here when night falls."

I didn't answer. I just nodded my head and walked away as fast as I could.

Sasuke's POV

I watched her walk away, her shoulder length hair bobbing up and down. As soon as she was a safe distance away, I breathed a sigh, releasing all that built up tension. She was half running, half walking now, obviously creeped out by the way I had been staring at her.

But I couldn't help it. I can't help anything when it comes on to her. Just like I couldn't help running out behind her when she exited the room, and I couldn't help following her and helping her to shop. Never would I have thought that one day I would be helping a girl pick out clothes ... and paying for it.

That's the thing about Lea. She made me do things and feel things I can't understand. And it was about time I told her.

Later today, I was going to tell her. I was going to put everything out on the table, lay it out in a way that Lea had to understand, no matter how dense she was.

I had to tell her I loved her. Before it was too late.

Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update. Today is actually my orientation for six form (like senior year) so I'm rushing this chapter before I get too too busy. Thanks for being patient :) 

Also, I've decided to make the chapters longer so as not to make this book have too many chapters. I've noticed I have a habit of lengthening things lmao.

Anyway, love you guys, thank you :)

Comment and Vote please, thanks.