So I decided to change my pen name. Amai9 was something I came up with on whim one day. Vcoolbeans actually refers to something in my life, haha. It took me that long to change it. But I guess it's because I started to feel a bit awkward once I realized that I named this new character "Mai" and it made it seem like she was based off of me. Yeah… that was weird. Hahaha!

Summary: Three years after the death of Anemone, Hinata has returned to her every day life among her village without anyone suspecting a thing. Her friends are changing as time passes on, seeming to leave her behind. But this quiet peace is silently falling apart as an unknown threat is slowly creeping within the village. And Hinata may soon realize that she cannot stand on her own two legs by herself.

Pairing: Sasuke and Hinata

Rating: M to be safe

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

From Within to You

Episode 04

"So these are your prized Chunin?" Mai held the framed picture in her right hand as she scratched behind her ear with the other. "They seem so full of life and innocence. Not at all what I saw today with the hooligans."

Kakashi sat on the chair across the bedroom. His flak jacket was slightly unzipped, exposing the collar length sweater he wore underneath. His gloves rested on the chair arm to his left side. He kept his gaze on Mai who continued to stare at the picture. She traced her fingers over each student slowly. She stopped at Sakura's pink hair.

"She was much more interesting than I imagined." Mai began again, "It's a little hard to believe that she ended up marrying Naruto. I see her going after the stoic silent type in her youth and fantasizing having his children in her spare time. But she grew up into a very powerful and strong willed young woman."

"Sakura was like that in her youth." Kakashi responded, still staring intently at Mai who averted his gaze. "Sakura swooned over her other classmate but came to terms with her incompatibility enough to move on and find another victim."

Mai let out a small laugh, "You make it sound like she's some kind of praying monster that hunts for new blood. She's probably just another girl who realized her childhood love wouldn't work out. And next thing she knows, she suddenly looks at the village idiot and realizes he was the one meant for her."

"You make it sound so romantic." Kakashi frowned behind his mask.

"Because it is supposed to be romantic. Those two went on with their lives realizing that their years spent together as teammates would blossom into a deep understanding for one another." Mai paused looking over to Sasuke, "The other one, however, is probably still searching for something in his life. Or… he's already found it and is testing to see how things will pan out for his future. That's the one with the sole lineage in his family, right?"

Kakashi shifted in his seat. "Sasuke is the last one of his family, if that is what you've heard."

"Yeah, yeah… Lady Tsunade told me about his family past. In great detail. It would be interesting to see how he has turned out after all of these years."

"It's not a place you should meddle in." Kakashi's voice was firm, "Don't place your nose in his family affairs. That child won't let you get away with it."

"Dully noted, captain." Mai nodded as she placed the frame back on the table. She glanced over the second one, examining the next four people in the picture. "Do I want to know what the relationship between your former Jounin mentor and your Chunin trainee is?"

"I thought it was quite obvious."

"Right…" Mai extended that word. She turned away from the bedside table. Her eyes fixated on the pair across from her. The clock on the opposite wall read near midnight. "So I'm guessing you were the brooding loner boy in your group that all the girls fawned over?"

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched slightly. "I don't know about what the other girls thought of me growing up. I had other priorities in my life then."

Mai smiled to herself, still avoiding his stare. "I think I hit the nail on this one. You were that quiet, God-knows-what-you-thought little hooligan that hated listening to your classmates because you deemed them unworthy of your time."

"And I suffered the consequences for that too with the lives of my friends." Kakashi finished the statement.

Mai did not utter another word. Her mind started to race and he could sense it just by looking at her. Those thoughts that she never spoke of were contemplating and calculating, coming up with various scenarios and outcomes.

"What about your apprentices?" Kakashi's question was an unexpected reaction.

Mai stiffened slightly. "What about them?"

Kakashi relaxed in his chair, pulling down to rest his feet flat on the floor. "You mentioned you had some in the past. What happened to them?"

"Some of them went on to find new mentors. Some of them became experts in their fields, becoming mentors as well. Some of them died." Mai hesitated, "What else do you need to know?"

"Have you seen any of them once they finished their training with you?"

Mai leaned against the foot of the bed, crossing her legs. "I've visited some of them. Not all. But I've seen what they did with the discipline I bestowed upon them. Some made me proud. Others wrecked havoc. It's all a simple throw of coin to see which turned out as polished turds and which one fell between the cracks."

"Holland was one that fell between the cracks?" Kakashi crossed his arms. "Three years ago you knew what was happening to the people in Konoha and other villages of other lands. You knew Holland was involved. And you knew what was happening to them."

"Holland was involved. But he wasn't the one who fell between the cracks. He just fell in love and devoted himself to a lost cause." Mai replied with a rather cruel snarl, "My other idiot apprentice also decided to tag along with that Overseer but went about it the wrong way."

"Were both of them experts in Earth releases, like you?" Kakashi attempted to change the subject before Mai could continue her rant.

"They were gifted. They weren't experts. Neither had any significant blood ties to achieve the advanced techniques. Holland and Asher were talented but lacked the one thing that would transcend them throughout history. Lineage." The woman brushed her bangs out of her eyes briefly, "It's a shame. If I knew their Overseer, I would have liked to train her as well."

"You seem to be a person that enjoys teaching others."

Mai rolled her eyes at him. "Is this another session of 'let's figure out what lurks inside my head'? I suggest you keep out if you want to continue our arrangement. I'm not here to talk to you about all of the monsters in my closet."

Kakashi remained silent, hiding any emotional reaction to her statement. Instead, he reached out one of his hands towards her, nudging her to come forward. Mai remained in her spot, waiting for a reply.

"I won't try to analyze your fucked up brain anymore." Kakashi nudged at her again, "Just come here already."

Mai took a step forward. She stood in-between his legs, looking down at his bushel of grey hair. Her hand glided over his shoulder and up his neck idly. Mai was lost in her own thoughts now. She didn't pay much attention to the arm that closed in around her as it pulled her closer in. Kakashi buried his face into her stomach. He took in a deep breath of the faint smell of lilies. He couldn't reach her for the moment. No matter how hard he tried, Kakashi could not pull her back from her pondering. Mai remained in her thoughts as she stroked at his ear where the hairline met. It was such a simple agreement after all.

Her heart rate sped up slightly as she felt his breath rush over her hips. His heartbeat sped up a little as well at the thought of it all. It was starting. The high that would wash over him in an instant and turn his brain to mush was about to begin. It was incredibly childish and cheesy in his opinion. At times he couldn't even muster words to come out properly all because of some feelings that clicked in those moments.

Kakashi roamed his hands over her thighs as he made it up to her pants. He unzipped the clasp and slowly pulled down on the fabric. He stared a little at the plain light blue underwear. Without so much a suggestion, he leaned forward to kiss the rim at her hips. Mai suddenly remembered where she was. Her hands moved up towards the rest of the hair, playing at his locks while keeping control over her. Kakashi's hands travelled over Mai's butt, squeezing slightly to get something out of a reaction. Mai continued her deadpanned expression. This wasn't going to keep him entertained for long. Kakashi finally returned to the rim of her underwear before pulling down, exposing pink skin underneath the fabric. He pushed her legs apart with some rough force just a small bit before leaning in. Mai wouldn't be able to hold back sounds for much longer. Her breathing paced faster as he one hand rushed to her mouth.

And that was their agreement.

The sunshine rays of the following day crept through the window of Kakashi's bedroom. It covered hi shoulders, warming the skin. He nudged a little under the blanket as he turned his head to face the woman who was no longer in his bed. Kakashi blinked once, adjusting his eyesight to see whether his eyes had failed him the first time around.

No, Mai was no longer in the bed next to him. Kakashi sat up, yawning into his hand as he scanned the bedroom. There were no traces of Mai he could easily identify. All of her clothes had been picked up. The underwear that he had thrown across the room was not in sight. The workout shirt she wore yesterday that was such a pain to pull off was not on the edge of the bed anymore. Even the faint smell of lilies barely lingered on unless he tried extra hard to sniff out the scent.

His mind raced back to the night before. They had continued to the bed once she had a couple releases from his tongue. And from then on, she had a couple more releases after they had gotten down to more business. He remembered distinctly having her lie next to him, covered in sweat and barely functioning after an hour of pounding. She had been on her knees for a while too. He had managed to make her squirm in the process underneath his tight grip that held her hips in place. On multiple occasions she would scream into the pillow. He recalled her small figure underneath his encompassing broad chest. He recalled the shoulders that bunched up together in strain, as she would try to hold back a release. Her dark hair fell out of her side bun as it danced on her porcelain skin with every thrust he took in. He felt her clench up harder as her orgasm increased in magnitude with each attempt. He felt her throbbing from his own release as she held back her voice in a poor attempt. He could remember the loss of energy in his hands he felt as her body fell limp. It was as if all of her life was about to extinguish in one breath. Mai fell asleep first. She nearly passed out in all actuality. She liked the warmth of his blanket and even in her sleep managed to find it to pull over her head. He had remembered looking at her sleeping face before closing his own eyes. Her breathing had been heavy as she searched for all the air she could find. The radiating heat of her body had made him sleepy as he too passed out. And that was it.

Kakashi couldn't recall waking up in the middle of the night to Mai's rustling and getting dressed. He didn't even notice that body heat leave his side last night. He still felt a presence that warmed him up from the gentle caresses that she gave to his arm late at night. It was unexplainable. Their agreement didn't include such but here she was, touching and clutching on to his arm before falling asleep every night she spent there. It was always the little things that set it off for him. And he couldn't explain why.

No.

He knew why. He knew exactly why this woman would set him off into a high that seemed to never end. But he couldn't tell her why. She wasn't having any of it. She wasn't feeling the same high. He understood that all just from one gesture.

Mai refused to look at his face when exposed. Mai always avoided looking straight ahead whenever the mask came off. She would always stare into some distance, lost in her own thought, avoiding his existence. She was in this agreement solely for one thing and he had agreed to it as well.

The two were sexually deprived and they both needed a release for their frustrations. That was it. There was nothing more to it.

Kakashi got up from his bed to start his day all over again. That same boring routine. He would first go to the kitchen to start his batch of coffee. Then he'd return to take a quick shower and pull on a new set of clean clothes after washing his face. He crept through the hallway half asleep before his ears picked up on an unfamiliar sound. He spun around in an instant towards the direction of his bathroom. Someone turned on the faucet. Kakashi glided through the hall to the door before swinging it open in one go, hoping to catch the culprit by surprise.

And without any doubt, there it was. Those same hips that pressed against the faucet countertop rested on the surface smoothly. The hair that was still messy from bed parted slightly to one side slung on her right shoulder. Those legs, exposed underneath the night short seemed almost as fragile as twigs that could snap at any moment. That face looked up in the mirror and turned to the side to catch sight of a disheveled Kakashi who now couldn't come up with words to describe anything on his mind. Mai glanced once in his direction before turning about fully. She crossed those tender legs and leaned against the faucet counter. Her eyes were analyzing with mysterious thoughts that he could never decipher. Her lips pressed together firmly in a small smile.

"Morning."

And the high began once again.

"Morning." He barely breathed out the word.

"So what's on today's agenda?" Mai attempted at small talk knowing full well his mind was already too distracted.

"Nothing." Kakashi stated simply. His feet brought him forward to her side in three long strides. Before he could register what was happening, his hands had already found her face and he was slipping a tongue in.

The high was growing unstoppable with each passing encounter.

Sasuke stared into the daytime sky, watching the puffy white clouds travel across the blue. He sat on their apartment porch, examining everything around him in silence. Hinata was out of the house that morning as well. She was running errands early to finish everything up before the village crowd plagued the streets. Sasuke remained home though. He disliked that street and the people that walked about it. He preferred the solitude of his apartment and the forest that opened up to the back of the building.

He sat there thinking about what Hinata had shared with him the day before. Closer to the evening she had returned home with a smile plastered across her face. Hinata was eerily cheery as she glided across the kitchen to start preparing food for the upcoming week. She was humming a tune Sasuke had never heard of before, completely ignoring him as he walked into the kitchen by her side. Hinata turned to him at one point and gave a warm smile.

It wasn't that he disliked this Hinata. He just could not understand her oddly good mood. She wasn't calculating or brewing thoughts in her head as usual. She wasn't cautious or sneaking about, trying to hide her presence. She was just… there. And she was ridiculously happy over something he knew nothing about.

Later that day she had finally shared with him her 'wondrous adventure'. The meeting with the mysterious woman in the forest and their seemingly pleasant breakfast at the café was not sitting well with Sasuke. She knew almost nothing of this woman and Hinata had for some reason expressed her growing connection to this complete stranger. It wasn't jealously that was mainly igniting him. It was concern. And fear for whatever Hinata might have landed herself in. Sasuke pondered on the thought more. He had never met anyone by that description before in the village. What's worse, this unnamed woman was an outsider.

Sasuke tried to focus on as much detail as he could before feeling a sharp pain in his sides. He quickly grasped at his ribcage. The bruises from before had not stopped growing. The deep purple hue was becoming more pronounced and Sasuke feared that he soon wouldn't be able to hide them. He reached down to touch the scarred skin tenderly. The pain gave him another jolt as he grunted in dismay. Sasuke wasn't the only one. His teammates, including Naruto, were also popping up with serious injuries. It wouldn't be long until Sakura and Hinata notice the patterns. He gripped at his side tighter, hissing under his breath.

Their new assigned captain was the devil who showed no mercy. And one agent had already died under her training within the last three days.

Such a weird chapter. I've never wrote sexy times for anyone outside of Sasuke and Hinata. Such a weird chapter... eugh. /tomato cheeks