Hola, todos! Sorry, I'm currently watching a spanish movie, and I guess I'm thinking in Spanish.THANKS FOR 1.3K GUYS!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this story the whole way. A special thanks to @Silverwolf735 for always expressing her support and making me laugh because we have the same brain waves, as well as a special thank you to @lunastarx22 for always leaving your thoughts and being so supportive. Thank you. Anyway, I basically spent all of today writing this chapter. For some reason, it took me all day! I don't know why! Well maybe it was because I was watching Friends at the same time... but still!! I was just unsure of how to write this I guess; there was so much I wanted to put in one chapter. Now, it might be just me but now I've been working on this so much that I don't know if it's good or not but it seems rushed, so please let me know what you guys think. And so, here is chapter 19!

            Sasuke's family had loved Sakura. Fugaku hadn't said much, but every once in a while when she would smile nervously in a cute fashion, he would look at her softly, and he wasn't an easy man to please. Sasuke had been worried about Fugaku most of all because he was really a hard ass, and not very trusting; that was probably where Sasuke got it from.

            All throughout dinner though, he had been glancing at Mina. Something had been off about her ever since he'd gotten back. He didn't normally pay attention to people, but he had a soft spot for Mina. Ever since Itachi had come back one day when he was 13 with a blood-covered girl in his arms who seemed void of emotion, even in his misery he had been intrigued. He had paid attention to her ever since then, observing her as she gradually changed at Itachi's side, becoming more open and cheerful. She had also always paid attention to him, noticing ever time he disappeared and coming after him even though he had been pretty rude to her at first. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the way she carried herself, and how her movements seemed more controlled sparked some unease in him. He didn't know if Itachi had noticed too, or if he was just being paranoid, but it worried him.

            They had finished with dinner, and Sasuke was going up the stairs to his room when Mina rushed past him, throwing a jacket on. He caught her by the arm, and she yelped in surprise.

           "Hey, where are you going?" he asked.

            "Ah! I don't really want to steal him away from Hinata on his first day back, but Naruto and I are going out for a bit," she responded practically bouncing with excitement.

            Ah, right. Ever since she had first met Naruto when they had both been going to try to find him during one of his regular disappearances of rage, she had taken an instant liking to him. They were pretty much best friends despite the age difference.

            "Ok then. Have fun," he said ready to let her go, but he kept his grip on her, and instead decided to ask, "Hey, are you ok?"

            She blinked and looked at him curiously.

            "I'm fine. Why?" she asked.

            Suddenly feeling stupid, he quickly let her go and coughed out, "Whatever, bye."

            "Wait, Sasuke!" she called after him, but he continued up the stairs.

            He opened the door to his room and started to take his shirt off when a person on his bed caught his attention.

            "Holy crap, Nii-san! What the hell are you doing in here just creepily sitting on the bed?" he yelled, hurriedly pulling his shirt back down.

            Itachi chuckled silently before his face turned serious, and Sasuke knew the interrogation was finally here. He gestured for him to sit, and reluctantly sat down; knowing his brother, he would not get out of this. He fiddled uncomfortably with the hilt of his katana propped up against his bed.

            "So?" Itachi asked expectantly.

            "So?" Sasuke mimicked, pretending to not know what he was talking about.

            Itachi's eyes narrowed at him, and Sasuke gulped.

            "She's Naruto's childhood friend," he offered.

            Now Itachi looked confused.

            "Naruto used to run away a lot when he was a kid and I guess he made it all the way to Normy territory once and met Sakura," he explained.

            "And what is the deal with you and her?" he asked, eyeing him as if he could see right through him.

           "Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about," he said, looking away.

            "Kaa-san told me you sucked her blood," Itachi countered.

            "What?" Sasuke exclaimed, whirling to face him.

            "Sakura apparently said so," he shrugged.

            He was so going to kill her.

            "You never suck anyone's blood outside our family except Naruto," Itachi said, his eyes scrutinizing him.

            Sasuke hated it, but he was going to have to tell Itachi everything by the looks of it. And so he did. Everything about his inner saying she was his mate and how he wasn't sure whether to believe it. Once he had started, he couldn't stop; it was his brother after all. He told him everything down to the smallest detail, feeling more embarrassed by the moment. Fortunately, his inner also seemed to think that this was enough torture, and stayed quiet. By the end of it, Itachi, who was normally calm in every situation, had eyes round as saucers.

            "Wow," he breathed. "I... honestly don't know what to say."

            "Nii-san! That doesn't help!" he groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

            "Sorry, but... well, I suppose it could be possible," Itachi said with a hand on his chin as he thought. "They never did find a body, and although she would have been a baby when they were attacked, there's no guarantee that she died. And since she was living with Normies her whole life, they could have recued her just in the nick of time."

            The problem was that Sasuke could see no flaw in his logic.

            "Plus, our inners are never wrong," Itachi said. "Especially in the matter of mates. You should listen to him."

            I love you, Nii-san, his inner sang, blowing a kiss to him.

            You need to stop.

            "Just take some time to think about it, okay? But I think you should embrace your chance at happiness," Itachi said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

            "Yeah..." he muttered.

            "Alright, good night," he said, and he reached out, poking him in the forehead with two fingers.

            Sasuke blushed in embarrassment and turned away.

            "Yeah... good night..." he muttered, touching his forehead.

            Itachi chuckled and walked out of the room, patting Sasuke on the head as he passed.

          The next day, Sasuke woke up early; he hadn't been able to sleep very well since his conversation with Itachi. Thankfully, everyone had been downstairs during their conversation, so the vamp hearing wouldn't have extended that far, and no one had heard their conversation.

            He turned and groaned into his pillow. Why was life so complicated?

            He jumped up, and headed to the bathroom, deciding to just get ready for the day. He was just about to open the door when it opened almost right in his face, and a familiar pinkette walked out and right into his chest. She looked up at him, rubbing her nose, and blushed cutely.

            "G-Good morning," she stuttered.

            "Hn," he responded, moving to go past her, but she grabbed him by his arm.

            "I'd like an actual response if you don't mind," she said harshly, looking at him with blazing green eyes.

            "Excuse me?" he frowned.

            "You've practically ignored me since yesterday, and it's infuriating," she gritted out.

            Sasuke blinked. Well, that was kind of true... but wait, why did he care?

            "I don't have time for this," he said, and again moved to go past her, but her grip tightened painfully, and he looked to see her eyes glowing. Crap, she must be really mad; he had activated her powers! What should he do?

            Apologize, you idiot! His inner yelled.

            And why should I? He retorted. I've done nothing wrong, and I don't care if I practically ignored her!

            Yes you do! You care so much that it hurts! The only reason you ignored her in the first place was because you're still reluctant to accept the fact that she's your MATE! OUR MATE! And I don't care if you can't accept it, but you need to apologize!!

           His inner's every word rang with truth, and they were like a punch to the gut. Though he didn't want to admit it, it was true that Sasuke had ignored her because he was too conflicted about his feelings. Being next to her was bliss and torture at the same time because he still didn't know if he was ready to admit that she was his mate. And seeing her interacting with his family, he... he could practically imagine her staying forever, and that scared him. It seemed too good to be true, but—and Naruto's voice echoed in his mind now—that didn't mean he had to take it out on Sakura. He gritted his teeth, and exhaled slowly, looking at her steadily.

            "I am sorry," he said slowly.

            Sakura blinked, apparently not expecting him to actually apologize.

            "Say that again," she mumbled, the glow fading from her eyes.

            "I'm not going to say it again!" he said, turning away and ripping his arm from her grip.

            He stopped in the doorway though, and turned to face her again, not liking her silence.

            "I'm sorry," he repeated.

            She smiled a dazzling smile at him that made his heart race, and turned to skip off. Just as she was about to head back into her room right next to his own, courtesy of his mom apparently, he remembered something.

            "Oh, Sakura!" he called out. "Get ready because I need to take you to see the Hokage."

            "Hoka—oh!" she said, suddenly looking nervous.

            "Relax, and go put on some clothes. The Hokage isn't some scary beast," he said, waving her off.

            She is.

            I know.

            Sasuke was walking Sakura through the village towards the main village building as Sakura was constantly wringing her hands, seemingly extremely nervous. It irritated him so much that he reached out and grabbed her hand.

            "Stop," he said. "Just stop."

            "I-I can't! This is... I've never done anything like this before!" she said.

            "Yeah well it's annoying so if you can't stop, I have no choice."

            "What?" she asked, and looked down at their now intertwined hands. "Oh..."

            Sasuke, suddenly very aware of what he was doing, looked away, and tried to pull his hand away. Key word tried. Her hand was just so soft, and fit so perfectly in his that he couldn't bring himself to let go, so their hands just lay between them, fingers laced together. Butterflies started erupting in his stomach, and he glanced down at Sakura to see her face as red as he was sure his was.

            Nice, his inner said. I love her hand.

            Shut up and go away, or I will let go of her hand.

            Not a word. He should use that all the time.

            In too short a time, it seemed that they had reached the building, and were standing in front of the Hokage's door.

            "Well," Sakura said, speaking for the first time since they had started holding hands. "I guess this is it."

           "Y-Yeah," he said, cursing himself for stuttering.

            They both pulled away slowly until their fingertips were just barely touching, and then she was gone, and through the door, like air slipping through his fingers. He found himself standing stupidly in front of the Hokage's door, his hand outstretched where she used to stand.

            What the hell was wrong with him? He turned tail and stalked out of the building, kicking a can out of the way as he went. He entered his house, scratching his head roughly. This girl was tearing him apart, but she made him feel amazing at the same time. He ran upstairs, wanting to splash cold water on his face, and threw the bathroom door open only to find Mina in only her bra and underwear, dripping wet and looking at herself in the mirror. She screamed and threw a towel at him.

            "What the hell, Sasuke! You don't walk into a bathroom without knocking!" she yelled, hurrying to grab her clothes and covering her body with them.

            "Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, covering his eyes and closing the door.

           She came out shortly after, flushed with embarrassment.

            "Why the hell were you even in this bathroom? Yours is on the other side of this floor!" Sasuke said, pointing down the hallway.

            Mina leaned against the banister on the side of the hallway overlooking the stairs and entrance of the large Uchiha compound.

            "Well, Mikoto-san's toilet is malfunctioning, so she's using ours, so I came to take a shower since you weren't here," she explained.

            "Oh..."

            Then something came to his mind, and he turned to look at her, scanning her up and down.

            "What?" she asked, fidgeting now.

            "Have you gained weight?" he asked bluntly, cocking his head to the side as he looked at her.

            "What?!" she said in an unnaturally high voice as she started smacking him. "You don't ask a woman that!"

            "Ow! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" he said, grabbing her hands. "It's just that your sto—"

            Her eyes flashed with something he couldn't identify and small transparent crystals started sprouting from the skin on her face and he shut up. Mina was what was called a Kekkai Genkai, a supernatural whose powers couldn't be categorized in the normal ones. She could basically grow practically unbreakable crystals from any part of her body in any shape she wanted, and though he had never seen it, he knew she had a "beast form", as Itachi called it. She was one of the strongest warriors Konoha had to offer, and yet she was still here...

            "Mina, why are you still here?" he asked, turning to look at her. "And where's Itachi?"

            "Oh, no one's told you? All troops are being called back and the Kages are having a summit since the Zetsus haven't been spotted for almost a full week, and they need to discuss the next move. Itachi's out with your father to discuss more strategies for the Uchiha police force to tighten security since we don't know if, or when they'll strike. I came back pretty late last night because I had to drag Naruto's drunk ass back home, and slept in," she explained.

            "They really haven't attacked in a week? At all?" he asked, flabbergasted.

            "Yes, ever since the last battle, there hasn't been a single sign of activity," she said seriously. "It's got the higher-ups worried, and they want to try to predict what their next move will be, if that's possible... On the bright side, morale will be boosted because everyone will get a break from fighting, and your friends will all be back!" she smiled nervously, and Sasuke was suddenly aware that he was probably making a scary face.

            "Anyway," he said, trying to change the subject as he started walking down the stairs. "So Naruto got drunk, huh?"

             "Oh, yeah," she giggled. "Two shots of sake and he was hallucinating about swimming in a bowl of ramen!"

            "He knows he can't hold his liquor, why did he even drink?" he smirked.

            "Yeah, he's lucky I was sober, and was able to drag him to Hinata before he passed out," she laughed.

            "Wait, you didn't drink?" he asked.

            "Yeah, and?" she asked, looking a little nervous.

            "Well, you like sake, and usually you'll have at least a shot. Is something up?"

            It wasn't as if Mina drank excessively or anything, but she'd have one shot of sake if there was some, and usually on special occasions. Naruto being back from possibly being dead would have certainly qualified.

            "So what if I didn't drink? It's not like I have to drink, right? I just decided this time that I wouldn't drink!" she said defensively, then said quickly, "And I knew Naruto would get hammered after only a few, so of course I wouldn't drink!"

            "Ok, ok, geez. Anyone who heard you would think you have something to hide," Sasuke said, looking at her to gauge her reaction.

            "Well I don't, but I know you do," she said, suddenly looking at him knowingly with her golden eyes.

            They were now sitting on a couch in the living room, and Sasuke scooted away from her. He had a bad feeling about this.

            "What do you mean?" he asked warily.

            "What I mean is that I know Sakura's your mate," she said slowly.

            Sasuke thought wildly about who could have told her.

            "I am so going to kill Itachi when he gets back," he growled.

            "No, no, it wasn't Itachi who told me," she said quickly. "It was Naruto."

            "What?" he asked uncomprehendingly.

            Naruto had betrayed him? It seemed like the most unlikely thing ever. Obviously seeing the look on his face, she hurried to say, "It wasn't his fault! He was really drunk and he started mumbling about how he was worried about you, and well, I was confused so I started asking him questions. He was reluctant to tell me, but after his second shot he spilled everything. It really wasn't his fault so don't get mad at him!"

           She looked at him pleadingly, and Sasuke's flare of anger faded away. Naruto had been drunk, and after everything he'd done for him, this wasn't really something to warrant being mad at. He was still going to give him hell for it, but just to rile him up. He sighed and said, "I'm not mad at him... So, he told you everything?"

            "Well, he told me things, but they were all jumbled and slurred, so I basically understood that your inner is convinced that she's your mate, but you don't want to accept it. Oh, and I know you sucked her blood," she said.

            "Well, I guess you know the essentials," he grumbled.

            "Listen," she started, and he stiffened, thinking that he was going to get the same lecture Itachi, his inner, and Naruto had already given him. "I'm not going to force you to talk to me about it, and explain yourself, but just hear what I'm saying."

           Sasuke was slightly curious so he stayed silent. She bent her feet under her, and wrapped her arms around her knees, as if she was preparing herself for something.

            "You know, until Itachi found me, I was just like you. My... well my life was pretty shitty, as I think you've guessed from my scars. I'll tell you some day since I guess it's about time, but just not right now. But basically, I was in such a bad place that I was sure that my mate was either dead, didn't care about me, or was never going to be able to find me. I gave up, and just tried to survive everyday until your brother showed up one day when he was on a mission, and swept me off my feet.

            "I couldn't believe it at first, and I avoided him as much as possible even just in this house, but Itachi was persistent. Eventually, I realized that I was an idiot! I'd finally found the person that's destined to take care of me and that I'm destined to take care of, and I was ignoring him! He was trying so hard just to make me happy, and I was denying that because I'd been miserable my whole life! So, I decided that I was going to take my happiness in my own hands, and make Itachi as happy as possible. So, my advice to you is to take your happiness when it's offered to you because you never know when it will slip away."

            The whole time she had been talking, Mina had had a faraway look in her eyes, one filled with pain and sorrow. To this day, he had no idea what had happened to her.

            He looked down at his left hand at her last words, the hand that had held Sakura's, and remembered the feeling he had had of her just melting away into thin air. He had to decide. He didn't know why this decision was so hard for him, but he had to decide, and soon. 

So! That was chapter 19! I hope you guys liked it! Please tell me your thoughts and predictions! A couple questions! Did you like the hand holding? What do you guys think is wrong with Mina? What do you think Mina's backstory is with the hints I've dropped? What do you think the future of Konoha is? Please vote, comment, and share and I will see you guys next time! Ja ne!

P.S. This movie is killing me!