The eyes on him in the Uchiha Compound still followed him everywhere, but strangely, Sasuke no longer felt quite so awkward or tense.
The warmth against his palm seemed to form a thin barrier between him and those scrutinizing gazes.
He kept his eyes straight ahead, aware only of the real, living touch between his fingers and the girl's soft, steady breathing beside him.
They walked through the quiet streets of the compound, past a stone tablet carved with a fan, and out into the wider, busier streets of Konoha.
The bustle around them gradually grew louder. Shop signs, passing conversations, children chasing one another—the everyday life of Konoha met them at every turn.
Sasuke seemed lost in a strange, dreamlike calm, until—
"Hey, idiot Sasuke."
Naruko Uzumaki's amused voice startled him out of it.
"How much longer are you going to hold my hand?" She gave their joined hands a gentle swing. "I'm almost home."
Sasuke Uchiha stopped short and looked around.
Only then did he realize they had crossed more than half the Commercial District without him noticing. Before them lay a relatively quiet residential street.
Not far ahead stood the unremarkable apartment building made remarkable by its resident: the Fourth Hokage's home.
They had walked that far?
"!!!"
As if he'd been shocked, he snatched his hand away from Naruko's so fast it stirred a gust of air.
His palm suddenly felt empty. Cold air rushed in to replace her warmth.
His face turned visibly red, the color spreading all the way down his neck.
He didn't dare look at Naruko. Flustered, he forced out a muffled, "I'll leave you here!"
Then, without giving Naruko a chance to respond, he turned and practically fled, vanishing around the corner they had come from. Even from behind, he looked